South Africa: 489 arrested for violence, infrastructure damage as NATJOINTS intensifies operations

As violent looting and damage to businesses and infrastructure continue in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, police had by Monday evening arrested 489 people.

Of these, 166 were in KwaZulu-Natal and 323 in Gauteng.

The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) on Tuesday welcomed the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in support of the operations of the South African Police Service (SAPS).

The NATJOINTS said it had intensified deployments in all the affected areas in the two provinces and this would be augmented by SAPS recalling operational members from leave and rest days.

This will increase the presence of law enforcement personnel on the ground.

The continuation of the sporadic violent protests throughout the day and night has resulted in the increase in the number of fatalities, with three in KZN and six in GP, said NATJOINTS.

The four police officers who were injured while responding to the violent protests over the weekend are recovering well.

Last night, President Cyril Ramaphosa in his address to the nation extended his best wishes to the four SAPS members.

Constable Sangweni was shot and injured in Alexandra, while his two colleagues, Sergeant Maraheni and Lieutenant Colonel Nefolovhodwe, were hit with bricks. Constable Seloane was shot and injured in Daveyton.

The President also named those who had lost their lives: Nkosikhona Chiza, Ndumiso Shezi, Khaya Mkhize, Zethembe Ndwandwe, Lindani Bhengu and Lindokuhle Gumede in Gauteng and Bhekani Ndlovu, Themba Mthembu, Aphiwe Gama and Cebo Dlamini in KwaZulu-Natal.

He said while there was a high cost to property, livelihoods and businesses, the loss of human life is the greatest cost of all.

It is therefore a matter of vital importance that we restore calm and stability to all parts of the country without delay. It is vital that we prevent any further loss of life or injury. It is vital that we protect property and safeguard social and economic infrastructure.

We are therefore mobilising all available resources and capabilities to restore order, said the President.

He called on the country to come together and for everyone to play their part in restoring calm to those areas that have been affected by violence.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-07-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
South Africa: 757 arrested, 10 dead in Gauteng, KZN violence

Over 757 people have over the past five days been arrested for the wanton destruction and looting of businesses and properties.

Of these, 304 were arrested in KwaZulu-Natal while 453 were nabbed in Gauteng.

This was on Tuesday revealed by Ministers in the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster during a press briefing amid violence in the two provinces.

Ministers in the cluster have over the past two days met to discuss the reports received from the Joint Operations Committee (JOCOM) of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and State Security.

These reports included critical intelligence information from the State Security Agency (SSA), South African Police Crime and Defence Intelligence. The intelligence information has provided timeous, critical and sometimes unique analysis information to give early warning signs of potential risks and dangers.

The law enforcement officers have used this intelligence information in responding with speed to the issues on the ground and attending to areas which have been identified as potential hotpot areas, said Police Minister Bheki Cele, speaking on behalf of the cluster.

He said Ministers were satisfied with the reports they had received and were confident that law enforcement agencies were able to do their job effectively.

He said of grave concern was the loss of lives that has accompanied the incidents of violence and destruction to property. Ten people have been killed in the two provinces.

In all our operations, we still have the responsibility to save lives. The current situation on the ground is under strong surveillance and we will ensure that it does not deteriorate any further. We cannot allow anyone to make a mockery of our democratic state and we have instructed the law enforcement agencies to double their efforts the stop the violence and to increase deployment on the ground, he said.

The cluster has called for an immediate end to this violence, looting and the disregard of the law and call for an immediate return to peace and stability.

The Ministers said they were encouraged and heartened by the outpouring of messages from South Africans saying their shops, malls, taxis, trucks and other transport infrastructure will not be destroyed in their name.

These messages of support echo the attitude of our country that this infrastructure is the life-blood of our society and economy.

Without these we cannot hope to grow our economy, ensure we all have food and fuel and can go about our daily lives toward the goal of prosperity for all.

Cele said South Africa was a democratic state governed by the Constitution.

While South Africas Constitution guarantees the right of every person to protest, to organise, and to engage in free expression and free association, this should not infringe on the rights of others who may not want to protest.

No amount of unhappiness or personal circumstances from our people, gives the right to anyone to loot, vandalise and do as they please and break the law.

We call on the communities to exercise restraint in dealing with the situation and above all ensure that innocent civilians are not harmed, he said.

The JCPS further urged all communities and groups to reject any call for violence and making this country ungovernable.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-07-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
South Africa: KZN tables plan to counter violent protests

Outlining KwaZulu-Natal's plans to deal with the spate of violent protests, Premier Sihle Zikalala has assured citizens that government is working hard to stop these riots.

During a media briefing on Tuesday, the Premier said a multi-pronged response plan to deal with the protests has been developed and will be implemented by law enforcement agencies.

The deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) came as a result of engagements within the security cluster, having [seen the] events in various wards," the Premier said.

The SANDF will work in support of the South African Police Service (SAPS).

Their deployment will be supported by the intelligence coordinating committee, which will include intelligence, defence intelligence and State security. These forces will be part of our multi-disciplinary law enforcement strategy to quell the unrest and attempts to render the province ungovernable.

This will enable our law enforcement authorities to counter these sporadic yet well-orchestrated violent protests, Zikalala said.

In this regard, the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) and the Provincial Joint Operational and Intelligence Structures (PROVJOINTS) have intensified deployment in all areas affected by violent protests.

This has been done to arrest protests and damage to property, as well as to stop the looting that has taken place recently.

The SAPS, together with law-enforcement authorities, will be manning all key economic centres, highways and strategic areas that lead to hospitals, the port of Durban and other national key points.

As the provincial government, we have directed that all municipalities must operationalise Operation Sukuma Sakhe to identify risks and threats in their area and report these before they even happen.

We have also activated coordination at district level, where our mayors and councillors will work with all stakeholders and assist law enforcement to attend to threats and protests that are engulfing our areas.

We are also ensuring that all MECs are on the ground, working with their respective mayors, stakeholders and districts to identify areas that might have threats and ensure that they are addressed, the Premier said.

Zikalala said according to the latest fatalities statistics, 26 people died during a stamped as protestors ran riot. Law enforcement agencies have arrested 187 suspects.

Cost to the economy

The destruction to private and public infrastructure in the province has been estimated at about R1 billion.

The violent protests have had a negative impact on the economy of our province. This is largely because the protests have targeted key economic centres and infrastructure, including shopping malls, trucks and major arteries such as routes on the N2 and N3.

More significantly, this violence has crippled our small and emerging businesses. Hawkers cannot sell because cities are shut down, Zikalala said.

With the taxi industry not operating, it is losing money and risks losing vehicles due to being unable to meet their commitment to the banks.

The sectors that have been severely impacted include freight and retail. However, other sectors were not spared, as many companies had to suspend their operations due to the inability to transport materials and stock.

These incidents have the potential to dampen investor confidence and derail our economic recovery efforts. The social cost of the damage might come in the form of increased unemployment and increased poverty in years to come, the Premier said.

Protest hinder service delivery

The blockading of key infrastructure routes has made mobility difficult and this has been worsened by the unavailability of public transport.

As a result of this, some community health centres and clinics have been operating on skeletal staff, with many nurses, doctors, allied workers and general staff unable to report for work.

Some clinics have had to be closed because of the unrest. Many hospitals with trauma cases are unable to undergo important [procedures] such as x-rays and others.

It is extremely concerning that in some cases, the protestors stop vehicles from delivering much needed oxygen intended for the use of patients battling COVID-19 and other ailments, the Premier said.

The protests have also put a stop to the COVID-19 vaccination rollout programme.

The current situation has a huge potential to undermine our advances in battling the Delta variant of COVID-19, which is increasing at an uncontrollable rate across the province, the Premier said.

Most municipalities within the province have also been adversely affected.

The delivery of services has been halted due to the continuing unrest. Maintenance and infrastructure repair teams are unable to get to areas that require such service.

The sporadic outbreak of violence has also hindered the delivery of basic services such as waste removal, and provision of water through water tankers in water scarce communities, the Premier said.

Zikalala has called for the return of peace, calm and stability in the province and the country.

We are appealing to the collective conscious of all those who are trying to render our province ungovernable to desist from what they are doing in order to avert the unnecessary loss of life, he said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-07-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
South Africa: State Security intelligence averted greater damage

Swift State Security intelligence intervention spared the Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces from further destruction of businesses and public infrastructure.

This was on Tuesday revealed by State Security Minister Ayanda Dlodlo during a briefing by the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster amid violent flare ups in the two provinces.

She said even before the violence flared up, information was shared between the State Security Agency (SSA) and the South African Police Service (SAPS).

We do this all the time, not only in this period that we are facing. From day one, when everything started, we did share information with the police, she said.

Dlodlo said South Africans needed to understand that only so much can be done with the information that is at hand.

Some of the information tends to be false, some of the information is accurate and true. We use various sources of collecting information and we'll also use our own systems for analysing the information to package it for our client, which in this regard would have been the police.

The police, she said, would have done their best to follow up on the information given to them.

Police also have their own crime intelligence capability, all agencies work together under the auspices of the JCPS Counter Intelligence Coordinating Forum, including the National Intelligence Coordinating Committee.

The task of the latter was only to put a strategic product on the table, emanating from information that would have been collected from the intelligence services of the defence force crime intelligence and SSA.

That information that we received, the information that we analysed and packaged was handed over to the police.

However, the target was very fast moving, the Minister said.

We tried our best wherever we could and we affected a lot more than what you see on national television, she said.

Proactive stances taken by both intelligence services of the three ministries and the police averted greater crime. We want South Africans to rest assured that we avert a lot. What you see is only a part of what could have happened.

She reiterated that the SSA and the police were not missing in action in the violence.

We tried our level best in a very difficult situation, she said, commending staff from the departments for putting their shoulders to the wheel to ensure that information is available.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-07-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
South Africa: Social media violence instigators warned

Government has issued a stern warning to those inciting violence and disregard of the law with inflammatory messages on social media.

This warning was on Tuesday relayed by Ministers in the Justice, Crime Prevention, and Security (JCPS) cluster during a media briefing amid a flurry of public violence flare-ups in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

Chaotic scenes have been playing out in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, leaving many businesses gutted and looted by protesters, who are reportedly calling for the release of former President Jacob Zuma from jail.

The Cybersecurity Act states that any person who unlawfully makes available, broadcasts or distributes, by means of a computer system, a data message to a specific person, group of persons or the general public with the intention to incite violence, or call people to be involved in the destruction of any property belonging to people, is guilty of an offence.

In a statement, the Ministers said those who engage in such acts will be liable for a criminal offence and could receive a fine or be sentenced to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years.

As the cluster, we are monitoring all social media platforms and we are tracking those who are sharing false information and calling for civil disobedience, they said in the statement read by Police Minister Bheki Cele.

Meanwhile, Cele said they are engaging different platforms to track and trace the origins of inflammatory posts and messages inciting violence. Cele requested that these be taken down immediately.

While the intervention of some communities to actively stop the mass lootings has been commended, we encourage communities not to take the law into their own hands and continue to work with the police, he said.

The Minister said the involvement of other stakeholders was also critical in the fight against lawlessness.

In this regard, the cluster had already engaged the leadership of private security companies to increase working relations with the police.

As Ministers in the cluster, we have the responsibility to assert the authority of the State and to safeguard our territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic, the Ministers said.

They reiterated President Cyril Ramaphosas message on Monday night in which he said: We are building up, not shutting down. We will not be deterred, as South Africans, from the task ahead.

The Ministers said if the acts of violence continued unabated, the country ran the risk of running out of basic food, a development that would be disastrous for the country.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-07-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
South Africa: Defence Minister: State of Emergency only to be declared when need arises

Defence and Military Veterans Minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, says the President will only declare the State of Emergency when the need arises.

While the Minister strongly condemned the current looting and damage to infrastructure, she did not believe the situation warrants a State of Emergency.

For now, I dont think there is an indication that there should be a State of Emergency, she said on Tuesday.

Mapisa-Nqakula was speaking during a briefing by Ministers in the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) cluster amid public violence flare-ups in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

If the time comes, informed by intelligence gathered and coordinated by the three entities [SAPS, Defence and State Security], the President will be advised and [only] then would he declare a State of Emergency, if the need arises based on that assessment report.

The Minister acknowledged that the situation is grave, and the nation is duly panicked.

 Were all concerned about what is happening A State of Emergency [however means that] you take all the liberties from the citizens and the military takes over the country. For now, we dont think weve reached that point, she explained.

As the Commander-in-Chief of the South African Defence Force (SANDF), the President has deployed the army in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in support of the operations of the South African Police Service (SAPS).

Mapisa-Nqakula said the number of soldiers mobilised is far less than those who were deployed during the COVID-19 hard lockdown.

She said an ongoing assessment is taking place behind closed doors to make decisions about the number of soldiers who will be deployed on the ground.

When we talk numbers, we also have to talk possible expenditure incurred for the deployment of those people... Were informed by intelligence, and then [we will] decide about what kind of strength we need for deployment, and then we will make an announcement.

The deployment of soldiers



Major General Siphiwe Lucky Sangweni said the SANDF conducts deployment operations inside the country in support of the SAPS and to assist other State departments.

SAPS and other law enforcement agencies will conduct their work and when there is a situation that requires or warrants that the military assists and supports as the security cluster, then the call will be made then, he explained.

According to Sangweni, this involves conducting assessments and then the decision is sanctioned by the President.

Its the President that will authorise the deployment of military internal operations.

It will not be correct that the military is at the forefront in terms of law enforcement and dealing with criminality in the country, he said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-07-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
South Africa: Gauteng Premier calls on community leaders to help quell looting

Gauteng Premier David Makhura has called on the community and political leaders in the province to join hands with law enforcement agencies to stop the looting and destruction to property in the province.

We must make sure that this looting stoops, Makhura said during his visit to the Meadowlands Police Station in Soweto, where a nearby mall- Ndofaya Mall - was looted.

Looting at the mall continued during the Premiers visit.

Makhura said looting has also happened in schools, where technology equipment has been stolen.

A total of 10 people died during the looting incidences and a total of 279 people were arrested for looting in Gauteng.

Among those who died is a Gauteng Metro Police officer, who was shot by looters in Kathorus. The officer was shot while responding to a call of looting at a mall.

Makhura said the looting has severely affected businesses in Soweto.

Businesses have been severely affected and the business community here have closed their businesses because they are afraid of the looters, Makhura said.

Makhura, accompanied by the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko and senior police officials conducted a walkabout at the mall.

The Premiers visit was to assess the extent of damage caused to property.

Countrywide, over 757 people have over the past five days been arrested for the wanton destruction and looting of businesses and properties in KwaZulu-Natal and in Gauteng.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-07-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Study shows forests play greater role in depositing toxic mercury across the globe

LOWELL, Mass. - Researchers led by a UMass Lowell environmental science professor say mercury measurements in a Massachusetts forest indicate the toxic element is deposited in forests across the globe in much greater quantities than previously understood.

The team's results underscore concern for the health and well-being of people, wildlife and waterways, according to Prof. Daniel Obrist, as mercury accumulating in forests ultimately runs off into streams and rivers, ending up in lakes and oceans.

Mercury is a highly toxic pollutant that threatens fish, birds, mammals and humans. Hundreds of tons of it are released into the atmosphere each year by coal-burning power plants, as well as through gold mining and other industrial processes, and the pollutant is distributed by winds and currents across the globe. Long-term exposure to mercury, or consuming food containing high levels of the pollutant, can lead to reproductive, immune, neurological and cardiovascular problems, according to Obrist, chair of UMass Lowell's Department of Environmental, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.

Forests constitute the world's most abundant, productive and widespread ecosystems on land, according to Obrist, who said the study is the first that examines a full picture of how mercury in the atmosphere is deposited at any rural forest in the world, including the deposition of mercury in its gaseous form, which most previous studies do not address.

"Trees take up gaseous mercury from the atmosphere through their leaves and as plants shed their leaves or die off, they basically transfer that atmospheric mercury to the ecosystems," he said.

The results of the project, which is supported by a three-year, $873,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), were published today in an issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. UMass Lowell student Eric Roy, a double-major in meteorology and mathematics from Lowell, is among the study's co-authors.

For the past 16 months, the team has measured how mercury in the atmosphere gets deposited at Harvard Forest in Petersham, a nearly 4,000-acre site that includes hardwood deciduous broadleaf trees such as red oak and red maple that shed their leaves every year. A set of measurement systems placed at various heights on the forest's 100-foot-tall research tower assessed the site's gaseous mercury deposition from the tree canopy to the forest floor.

"Seventy-six percent of the mercury deposition at this forest comes from gaseous atmospheric mercury. It's five times greater than mercury deposited by rain and snow and three times greater than mercury that gets deposited through litterfall, which is mercury transferred by leaves falling to the ground and which has previously been used by other researchers as a proxy for estimating gaseous mercury deposition in forests," Obrist said.

"Our study suggests that mercury loading in forests has been underestimated by a factor of about two and that forests worldwide may be a much larger global absorber and collector of gaseous mercury than currently assumed. This larger-than-anticipated accumulation may explain surprisingly high mercury levels observed in soils across rural forests," he said.

Plants seem to dominate as a source of mercury on land, accounting for 54 to 94 percent of the deposits in soils across North America. The total global amount of mercury deposited to land currently is estimated at about 1,500 to 1,800 metric tons per year, but it may be more than double if other forests show similar levels of deposition, according to Obrist.

The researchers are continuing their work at a second forest in Howland in northern Maine. Howland Forest, a nearly 600-acre research site full of evergreens that retain their leaves year-round, offers a distinctly different habitat than the deciduous forest in Petersham. Assessing both forests will allow researchers to examine differences in mercury accumulation between different forest types, Obrist said.

The work is providing a hands-on research experience for Roy, a UMass Lowell Honors College student who was invited to become a member of the university's Immersive Scholar program in 2019. The initiative enables first-year students with outstanding academic credentials to participate in lab work and research right from the start of their academic studies.

"It's really exciting to be a co-author," Roy said. "This study allowed us to quantify how much mercury is being accumulated in this type of forest. Modelers can use these results to improve their understanding of how mercury cycles through the environment on a global scale and how that might change in the future."

Roy helped analyze the data collected in the field.

"Eric's contributions to the study are tremendous. It's not very common for an undergrad to play such an important role in a major, federally funded research project," Obrist said. "His work is really impressive and he has become more and more active in data analysis and doing complex flux calculations and data processing. He really earned himself second author position in the paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."

###

Other contributors to the study include Asst. Prof. Roisin Commane of Columbia University; students and postdoctoral researchers from UMass Lowell and Columbia University; and collaborators from Harvard University; the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada; and the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources and the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Lanzhou. Additional research support was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy.

UMass Lowell is a national research university offering its more than 18,000 students bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences and social sciences. UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be leaders in their communities and around the globe. http://www. uml. edu

This story has been published on: 2021-07-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
South Africa: Report incidents of incitement

Government has called on the public to report incidents of incitement and acts of violence to the police.

This as violent protests take place in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, with protestors destroying public and private infrastructure.

The Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) has condemned the violent riots.

Today is a sad day for Alex FM and the community at large after its broadcast equipment and related items were looted. The radio station has been serving the Alex community faithfully for about 27 years and is the voice of the residents of Alexandra, GCIS Acting Director-General Michael Currin said on Tuesday.

Two days ago, a SABC news crew was also robbed of its equipment while covering protests in Alexandra.

The violence, looting and destruction to property needs to stop now! Violence is never the answer. The media plays a crucial role to the economic and political development of citizens and it creates a broad range of information to stimulate citizens on the various developmental issues in their country, Currin said.

South African media, Currin said, provides a platform to amplify the publics voices, facilitate meaningful participation, and foster social change.

We need to work together to build our country. We cannot destroy what we have worked so hard to build, Currin said.

The GCIS has called on religious leaders, traditional leaders, trade unions, businesses, community organisations, as well as political parties to help to calm the situation.

Calm and order will be restored so that the task of rebuilding this country and creating a better life for its people continues. Government encourages members of the public to report incitement and acts of violence to the police by calling 08600 1011.

Remember COVID-19 is still with us. We still need to protect ourselves by wearing a mask, maintaining social distancing, and washing or sanitising our hands, the GCIS said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-07-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
South Africa: Situation remains calm in Limpopo, says Premier

With the violent protests taking place in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, Limpopo Premier Stanley Mathabatha says the situation in the province remains calm.

So far, only one truck was torched in Dennilton last night. Police have been able to disperse a mob that was trying to loot Dennilton mall, Mathabatha said on Tuesday.

Addressing a media briefing on the provinces response to the ongoing public violence in the country, he said the security cluster has information on people who are trying to cause public violence in the province and they are being monitored, as well as attended to.

We call upon people to not live in fear because the government will safeguard their lives and property. Our people must work together and report all incidents and threats coming from their places of residence and work, and across the spectrum, the Premier said.

A report from the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster indicates that the province is ready for any eventuality that may arise.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) is ready to deal with any dissidents who may wish to spoil our provincial resolution that we will not be part of any destruction of property and public violence.

Destruction in its very nature brings along unintended consequences that are unfathomed, therefore as Limpopo, we urge our communities to be vigilant and be on high alert.

As a province, we cannot afford to interrupt our COVID-19 rollout programme and we will not be part of the public violence, Mathabatha said.

He encouraged citizens to adhere to the non-pharmaceutical interventions for COVID-19 and avoid gatherings.

The Premier condemned the public violence that has taken place, as it infringes on the rights of South Africans.

These acts of violence result in the destruction of property, destroy lives and livelihoods and in the main, infringe on the human rights of other citizens, as enshrined in the Constitution.

The public violence we are experiencing equally affects us negatively. Today, most of our law-abiding citizens are living in fear and that cannot be allowed in our constitutional democracy, Mathabatha said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-07-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Smarter by the minute: Myriad of applications unlocked by artificial intelligence

Automation of technology has reshaped both the way in which we work and how we tackle problems. Thanks to the progress made in robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) over the last few years, it is now possible to leave several tasks in the hands to machines and algorithms.

To highlight these advances, in the July 2021 issue, IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica features six articles covering innovative applications of AI that can make our lives easier.

The first article, authored by researchers from Virginia Tech Mechanical Engineering Department ASIM Lab, USA, delves into an interesting mixture of topics: intelligent cars, machine learning, and electroencephalography (EEG). Self-driving cars have been in the spotlight for a while. So how does EEG fit in this picture?

Sometimes drivers become distracted or fatigued without realizing it, increasing the risk of a traffic accident. Fortunately, cars can now be equipped with AI systems that sense and analyze the driver's EEG signals to constantly monitor their state and issue warnings when deemed necessary. This article reviews the latest EEG-based driver state estimation techniques. They also provide detailed tutorials on the most popular EEG decoding methods and neural network models, helping researchers become familiarized with the field. The authors explain, "By implementing these EEG-based methods, drivers' state can me estimated more accurately, improving road safety."

Next, scientists from Sichuan University, China and University of Florida, USA, propose a new approach for image captioning, a task that is difficult for computers. The problem is that even though computers can now aptly recognize objects in a given image, it is tricky to describe the scene solely based on these objects. To tackle this, the researchers developed a global attention-based network to accurately estimate the probabilities of a given region in the image of being mentioned in the caption. This was achieved by analyzing the similarities between local visual features and global caption features. Using an attention module, the model can more accurately attend to the most important regions in the image to produce a good caption. Automatic image captioning is a great tool for indexing large images datasets and helping the visually impaired.

In the third article, scientists of Institute of Management Sciences, Pakistan, Yeungnam University, South Korea, Xidian University, China, and University of Naples Federico II, University of Calabria, Italy attempt to bring collaborative robotics to the field of top-view surveillance. More specifically, they propose a detailed framework in which deep learning is used in top-view computer vision, contrary to most studies that focus on frontal-view images. This framework uses a smart robot camera with an embedded visual processing unit with deep-learning algorithms for detection and tracking of multiple objects (essential tasks in various applications, including crime prevention and crowd and behavior analysis).

In the fourth article, researchers from Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Hunan University, China, propose a new approach for producing super-resolution images based on features that a neural network can extract and use. Their method, called weighted multi-scale residual network, can leverage both global and local image features from different scales to reconstruct high-quality images with state-of-the-art performance. The authors say, "Current imaging devices certainly cannot provide enough computing resources, and thus, we designed a fast and lightweight architecture to mitigate this problem."

The fifth article by researchers from the University of New South Wales, Australia, covers the complex topic of transparency and trust in human-swarm teaming. According to the authors, explainability, interpretability and predictability are distinct yet overlapping concepts in artificial intelligence that are subordinate to transparency. By drawing from the literature, they proposed an architecture to ensure trustworthy collaboration between humans and machine swarms, going beyond the usual master-slave paradigm. The researchers conclude, "Human-swarm teams will require increased levels of transparency before we can begin to leverage the opportunity that these systems present."

The last, scientists from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China showcase yet another use of deep neural networks in the field of computer vision-- more specifically, in video anomaly detection. Existing models for automatically detecting anomalies in video footage try to predict or reconstruct a frame based on previous input and, by calculating the reconstruction error, determine if anything seems out of place. The problem with this approach is that abnormal frames are sometimes reconstructed well, leading to false negatives. The scientists tackled this problem by developing a cognitive memory-augmented network that imitates the way in which humans remember normal samples and uses both reconstruction error and calculated novelty scores to detect anomalies in videos. With verified state-of-the-art performance, the network can be readily applied in surveillance tasks, such as accident and public safety monitoring.

We are all very likely to witness artificial intelligence becoming pivotal in many real-life applications soon. So, make sure to keep up with the times by checking out the July 2021 issue of IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica!

###

Information of the Papers:

(1)

C. Zhang and A. Eskandarian, "A survey and tutorial of EEG-based brain monitoring for driver state analysis," IEEE/CAA J. Autom. Sinica, vol. 8, no. 7, pp. 1222-1242, Jul. 2021.

http://www. ieee-jas. net/ en/ article/ doi/ 10. 1109/ JAS. 2020. 1003450

(2)

P. Liu, Y. J. Zhou, D. Z. Peng, and D. P. Wu, "Global-attention-based neural networks for vision language intelligence," IEEE/CAA J. Autom. Sinica, vol. 8, no. 7, pp. 1243-1252, Jul. 2021.

http://www. ieee-jas. net/ article/ doi/ 10. 1109/ JAS. 2020. 1003402?viewType= HTML&pageType= en

(3)

I. Ahmed, S. Din, G. Jeon, F. Piccialli, and G. Fortino, "Towards collaborative robotics in top view surveillance: A framework for multiple object tracking by detection using deep learning," IEEE/CAA J. Autom. Sinica, vol. 8, no. 7, pp. 1253-1270, Jul. 2021.

http://www. ieee-jas. net/ article/ doi/ 10. 1109/ JAS. 2020. 1003453?viewType= HTML&pageType= en

(4)

L. Sun, Z. B. Liu, X. Y. Sun, L. C. Liu, R. S. Lan, and X. N. Luo, "Lightweight image super-resolution via weighted multi-scale residual network," IEEE/CAA J. Autom. Sinica, vol. 8, no. 7, pp. 1271-1280, Jul. 2021.

http://www. ieee-jas. net/ article/ doi/ 10. 1109/ JAS. 2021. 1004009?pageType= en

(5)

A. J. Hepworth, D. P. Baxter, A. Hussein, K. J. Yaxley, E. Debie, and H. A. Abbass, "Human-swarm-teaming transparency and trust architecture," IEEE/CAA J. Autom. Sinica, vol. 8, no. 7, pp. 1281-1295, Jul. 2021.

http://www. ieee-jas. net/ article/ doi/ 10. 1109/ JAS. 2020. 1003545?viewType= HTML&pageType= en

(6)

T. Wang, X. Xu, F. Shen, and Y. Yang, "A cognitive memory-augmented network for visual anomaly detection," IEEE/CAA J. Autom. Sinica, vol. 8, no. 7, pp. 1296-1307, Jul. 2021.

http://www. ieee-jas. net/ article/ doi/ 10. 1109/ JAS. 2021. 1004045?viewType= HTML&pageType= en

IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica aims to publish high-quality, high-interest, far-reaching research achievements globally, and provide an international forum for the presentation of original ideas and recent results related to all aspects of automation.

The first Impact Factor of IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica is 6.171, ranking among Top 11% (7/63, SCI Q1) in the category of Automation & Control Systems, according to the latest Journal Citation Reports released by Clarivate Analytics in 2021. In addition, its latest CiteScore is 11.2, and has entered Q1 in all three categories it belongs to (Information System, Control and Systems Engineering, Artificial Intelligence) since 2018.

Why publish with us: Fast and high quality peer review; Simple and effective online submission system; Widest possible global dissemination of your research; Indexed in SCIE, EI, IEEE, Scopus, Inspec. JAS papers can be found at http://ieeexplore. ieee. org/ xpl/ mostRecentIssue. jsp?punumber= 6570654 or http://www. ieee-jas. net

This story has been published on: 2021-07-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Hong Kong: Personal data claims refuted

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government today rejected an overseas media report alleging that its purchase agreement with Fosun Industrial Co contained clauses which empowered the company to collect the personal information of vaccinated people in Hong Kong.

In a statement, the Hong Kong SAR Government said the July 12 report is completely untrue and misleading, and expressed deep regret over it.

The purchase agreement concerned does not contain any clauses which empower or enable Fosun or any third party to collect, access, or via any means to obtain or use the personal information of vaccinated individuals.

The Hong Kong SAR Government has always accorded great importance to personal data privacy, in particular the protection of medical records and relevant information.

There are clear and stringent guidelines and procedures for the collection and use of personal information in respect of the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme. The relevant requirements under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance are also duly met.

Click here for the relevant statement of purpose of personal data collection.

This story has been published on: 2021-07-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Hong Kong: Sophia Chan tours new health centre

Secretary for Food & Health Prof Sophia Chan today inspected Sham Shui Po District Health Centre to understand more about its operation and the primary healthcare services provided there.

The district health centre, the second one established by the Government, started to provide services by phases from June 30.

Operated by St James' Settlement, the centre provides government-subsidised primary healthcare services including health promotion, health assessment, chronic disease management and community rehabilitation.

Prof Chan was briefed by the centre's representatives on its operation, services and major facilities including those in the assessment and interview area, the activity area, the health resource corner and the rehabilitation and wellness area. She also watched a demonstration on the operation of the Pavigym area.

The health chief also exchanged views with staff and gave them encouragement as well as chatted with members of the public using the services to find out their opinions.

Prof Chan pointed out that the scheme on district health centres is a key component of the entire public healthcare system in a bid to change the treatment-led focus of healthcare services.

It aims to encourage the public to take precautionary measures against diseases, strengthen their capability in self-care and home care, enhance public health, and reduce unnecessary usage of hospital or accident and emergency services with a view to relieving the burden of public hospitals.

After the establishment of the district health centres in Kwai Tsing and Sham Shui Po, the Food & Health Bureau expects that the centres in five more districts and interim District Health Centre Express in the remaining 11 districts to be established within the term of the current Government.

This story has been published on: 2021-07-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
RTHK: UK govt survives vote against foreign aid cut

The British government on Tuesday avoided defeat over controversial plans to slash the foreign aid budget, which has triggered anger among lawmakers and campaigners who warned it will cost lives around the world.

MPs in the House of Commons voted 333 to 298 to approve a government motion to keep the cuts until economic conditions allow the budget to be restored.

The government maintains it needs to suspend a legal obligation to spend 0.7 percent of gross national income on aid to help rein in public borrowing, which has ballooned to second world war levels during the coronavirus pandemic.

Finance minister Rishi Sunak had called a snap vote, hoping a pledge to reinstate the 0.7 percent commitment once borrowing is brought down would win over the rebels, including from within the governing Conservatives.

But former prime minister Theresa May was among those who voted against, saying the government was turning its back on the world's poor as well as reneging on its election promise in 2019 to maintain the budget.

"Fewer girls will be educated, more girls and boys will become slaves, more children will go hungry and more of the poorest people in the world will die," she said.

The proposal to reinstate aid to 0.7 percent eventually was seen as an attempt to win over the rebels who threatened the government's 85-seat working majority in parliament.

Sunak has said unforeseen pandemic spending meant he had to cut the budget from 15 billion to 10 billion, or find savings elsewhere.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson opened Tuesday's debate by telling MPs that there was common ground on the issue.

The main opposition Labour party's leader, Keir Starmer, said the cut was likely not temporary but "indefinite", given the prospect that the right economic conditions will not be met in the foreseeable future.

The cut, which comes after sustained criticism about foreign aid spending from right-wing media, has also triggered fierce criticism from campaigners for its effect on humanitarian projects and the damage to Britain's global standing. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2021-07-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Project Air View maps ultrafine particles, soot and other substances in Amsterdam air

Over the past two years, the municipality of Amsterdam, Utrecht University and Google have collaborated on Project Air View, in which the Amsterdam air quality was measured by two Street View cars with special measuring equipment. These maps have now been shared with the world for the first time. They show that motorized traffic can increase the concentration of ultrafine particles, soot and nitrogen dioxide in busy streets up to 3 times compared to quieter streets. The maps and data can be accessed via the websites of Google's Environmental Insights Explorer (EIE) and Utrecht University.

The quality of the air we breathe has a major impact on our health. Hyperlocal street-level air quality information can help residents, city planners and others identify areas of poor air quality and develop plans for improvement.

Low emission zones Amsterdam in Google Maps

Besides sharing the data and maps from Project Air View, Google will also roll out a new feature in Google Maps in Amsterdam in the upcoming weeks that will visualize low-emission zones in the city. This new feature gives drivers insight into when they are navigating through an environmental zone and whether a specific vehicle is allowed in the area. Based on this information, drivers can, for example, choose an alternative means of transport or take a different route.

Measurements at street level

Pollution data are measured at street level with Project Air View, on both busy and less busy roads. This gives hyperlocal insights, which are a unique addition to the measurements from the fixed measuring stations that Amsterdam already uses for monitoring and planning. The project also offered the possibility to measure certain air pollutants that are currently not routinely mapped (such as ultrafine particles and soot). The approximately 6 million measurements with the Street View cars took place in Amsterdam over 9 months in 2019 and 2020.

Insights

Motorized road traffic is the most relevant source of air pollution in Amsterdam. Air pollution in a busy street with a lot of traffic is about three times higher than in a quiet street with little traffic.

The highest concentrations on the maps can be seen at the main access roads to the city, where there is a lot of car traffic. For example, for the three components measured (ultrafine particles, nitrogen dioxide, soot), the A10 ring road has the highest concentrations. Busy streets such as Stadhouderskade, Wibautstraat and Nieuwe Leeuwarderweg also score significantly higher than surrounding neighborhoods and streets. Concentrations around the city center appear to be higher compared to the neighborhoods that are more distant from the center (eg North, New West, South East). The data also show an increase in ultrafine particle concentrations in the vicinity of Schiphol, while concentrations of soot and nitrogen dioxide in these districts appear to be lower than in the rest of the city.

According to the Municipality of Amsterdam, Project Air View confirms existing insights into air quality in Amsterdam. In certain areas it complements the existing air monitoring network, such as the extensive measurements of other substances. Think of the relatively new component ultrafine particles, a substance that is also important for health.

Opportunities

Roel Vermeulen, Professor of Environmental Epidemiology and Exposome Science at Utrecht University: "It is crucial to have these very detailed maps of air pollution for an entire city, especially when we talk about harmful particles that are not regulated yet, like ultrafine particles. They are widely spread, and this is the first time we can see this in detail. This gives us the opportunity to investigate what the health effects are and whether there is a need for regulation."

Google Netherlands' country manager, Martijn Bertisen: "We are happy that we can contribute to creating new insights about air quality in Amsterdam and make them available to researchers, politicians - and the citizens themselves. It also shows how advanced technology and partnerships can help solve some of the greatest challenges of the time, such as sustainability, when government agencies and private actors work well together."

Air View has also been introduced in Copenhagen, Dublin and London, among others. The two Street View cars and the measuring equipment used in Amsterdam have been taken over by Utrecht University and will now be used for the Data- and Knowledge Hub Healthy Urban Living and the European research programme EXPANSE to measure air quality in several European cities, with Basel as one of the next cities.

###

This story has been published on: 2021-07-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Bacteria are key to vaginal health, UArizona health sciences researchers say

Bacterial vaginosis is the most common and recurrent gynecological condition affecting nearly 30% of women between the ages of 15 and 44, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A University of Arizona Health Sciences-led study recently identified a specific bacteria family and uncovered how it contributes to bacterial vaginosis, paving the way for new insights into disease prevention and treatment.

Led by Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz, PhD, a member of the BIO5 Institute and associate professor of basic medical sciences at the College of Medicine - Phoenix, researchers found that members of the Veillonellaceae bacteria family contribute to an increase in inflammation and cell death, and alter the acidity of the cervical microenvironment. These changes support bacterial vaginosis and create favorable conditions for subsequent gynecological diseases, such as sexually transmitted infections and cancer.

"Bacterial vaginosis is an enigma," said Dr. Herbst-Kralovetz, who is also director of the Women's Health Research Program. "We know many factors contribute to this disease, but little is known about the functional impact of the major players and how they're changing the local landscape."

The paper, "Veillonellaceae family members uniquely alter the cervical metabolic microenvironment in a human three-dimensional epithelial model," published July 6 in the journal npj Biofilms and Microbiomes, found that Veillonellaceae family members contribute to disease by altering inflammation and metabolism in the cervicovaginal region.

The female reproductive tract is typically colonized by bacteria that promote health, such as Lactobacillus. While these bacteria are considered friendly, an imbalance can lead to the creation of a biofilm - a consortium of many different harmful microbes - that promotes disease.

Last year, Dr. Herbst-Kralovetz and colleagues described a hypothetical model in which the interactions between microbes and human cells alter the vaginal microenvironment and ultimately influence the balance between health and disease. This study is the first to define a definitive role for this bacterial family in bacterial vaginosis.

Using a 3D human model, Dr. Herbst-Kralovetz's group evaluated the effects of three bacterium - Veillonella atypica, Veillonella montpellierensis, and Megasphaera micronuciformis - on the cervical microenvironment.

They found that two species - V. atypica and V. montpellierensis - decreased lactate, an acid typically produced by beneficial bacteria that provides protection from harmful infections. These two species also increased substances that play a role in bacterial vaginosis-associated vaginal odor.

They also found that M. micronuciformis further drives disease progression by increasing inflammation and promoting cell death through the production of certain fat molecules.

Insights from this study lay the foundation for polymicrobial, or "multi-bug" studies, which can determine the complex interaction effects of multiple bacterial species on female reproductive health.

"Using this study and our 3D model as a foundation, we hope to determine if and how other species are altering the environment to contribute to bacterial vaginosis," Dr. Herbst-Kralovetz said. "We have found that different species have distinct contributions, so we also hope to categorize a variety of bacterial vaginosis -associated microbes based on their unique effects on the female reproductive tract."

Ultimately, Dr. Herbst-Kralovetz says this study and others like it can help to inform treatment and intervention strategies.

"It is important to know who the major players are, but also how they're influencing physiological processes and disease, so we can develop targeted strategies to treat bacterial vaginosis and prevent subsequent gynecological infections and cancer," she said.

###

Dr. Herbst-Kralovatz's co-authors from the College of Medicine - Phoenix are Jason Maarsingh, PhD, a postdoctoral research assistant in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Pawel Laniewski, PhD, an assistant research scientist in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences. Other co-authors include undergraduate student Camryn Garza and Mary Salliss, who participated in the Bath University Placement/Exchange Program.

This story has been published on: 2021-07-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
It is unclear if the pontiff will return tomorrow, as some have suggested. In a statement released yesterday, the Holy See Press Office noted that In order to optimise his medical and rehabilitation therapy, the Holy Father will remain in hospital for a few more days.

Rome (AsiaNews)  The Holy See Press Office issued a statement signed by its director Matteo Bruni, saying that The Holy Father is continuing his planned treatment and rehabilitation, which will allow him to return to the Vatican as soon as possible.

It is unclear however if this will happen tomorrow, as some have suggested. In yesterdays statement, the Holy See Press Office noted that In order to optimise his medical and rehabilitation therapy, the Holy Father will remain in hospital for a few more days.

For his part, Francis is still meeting other patients at the Gemelli University Hospital, as he did with the patients of the facilitys paediatric oncology ward, some of whom stood next to him on Sunday during the Angelus.

In todays press release, Director Bruni goes on to say that after meeting many patients in the past few days, he addressed a special thought to those who are bedridden and cannot return home, expressing hope that they may live this time as an opportunity, even if experienced in pain, to open themselves with tenderness to their sick brother or sister in the next bed, with whom they share the same human frailty.

With the Holy father in hospital, greetings and good wishes continue to arrive in the Vatican. The latest include messages from the leaders of some Muslim countries, like the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, King Mohammed VI of Morocco and the Prime Minister of Bahrain Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa.

On behalf of the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations, Rabbi David Fox Sandmel said that he had offered fervent prayers for a rapid and complete recovery of the Pope.

Among Catholics, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Paraguay, meeting for its 230th general assembly in Asuncion, expressed its fraternal affection for and closeness to the Pope. In particular, Paraguayan bishops entrusted Francis to the protection of the Virgin of the miracles of Caacupe.

In Myanmar, Card Charles Maung Bo, Archbishop of Yangon and president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Myanmar, said that he is praying for the Lord to bless the Pope with many more years of life, full of grace, in order to bring comfort to the wounded world.

The people of Myanmar, the prelate added, are deeply touched by the constant pastoral care shown by Francis, particularly in the most difficult moments [. . .] bringing to the attention of the international community the anguish of this small country of ours , in which the lack of food and health care threatens many human lives.

In two dioceses, more than 100,000 displaced people depend totally on the support of the Church. The situation is very sensitive and worsening rapidly.

Finally, the Inspectorate General of Italys prison chaplains, noted that prisoners, chaplains, nuns, deacons and volunteers all stand by him with continuous prayers.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Ningbo ZEEKR Intelligent Technology Co.,Ltd., the company operating Geelys young premium EV brand ZEEKR, has been renamed ZEEKR Automobile (Ningbo Hangzhou Bay New Area) Co.,Ltd. and its only shareholder changed to Shanghai Maple Guorun Automobile Co.,Ltd. from Geely Auto Group, according to the business information provider Tianyancha.

The new shareholder is a subsidiary of Shanghai Maple Automobile Co., Ltd., which is 90% controlled by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.

ZEEKR 001; photo credit: ZEEKR



After being reached for a comment by a local media outlet, Geely Auto said the withdrawal from ZEEKR is to put some assets of Geely Auto Group into the listed company system and under the management of ZEEKR.

ZEEKR is a new electric mobility technology and solutions company created by Geely Holding Group to satisfy the global demand for premium electric vehicles. On April 15, the first ZEEKR-branded production model, the ZEEKR 001, was launched with its presale kicking off at the same time. The vehicle is expected for delivery in October this year.

On June 25, Geely Holding announced the global headquarters of ZEEKR Intelligent Technology Co.,Ltd. will be located in Ningbo, Zhejiang province.

According to a statement released by Geely Automobile Holdings, the listed arm of Geely Auto Group, in late June, the board of ZEEKR Intelligent Technology has passed a resolution to explore different external financing options for the sustainable development of ZEEKR brand.
News  Headlines

Japan donates another 1 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Vietnam
US prisoner abuse scandals expose hypocrisy of human rights defender claim

22:01, July 12, 2021 By Zhang Xinfeng ( People's Daily Online

(Cartoon by Lu Lingxing)

Frequent prisoner abuse scandals committed by the U.S. armed forces have had a great deal of exposure in the media, shocking the world with their brutality.

Since its opening in 2002, the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, the U.S. detention facility on the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base on the coast of Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, has held numerous terrorist suspects captured in U.S. global counter-terrorism actions after the 9/11 attacks.

A report by the U.S. military investigators to the Senate Committee on Armed Services on July 13, 2005 revealed frequent detainee abuse cases in the detention camp, many of which seriously breached the Geneva Conventions and U.S. military Law.

Another notorious record was exposed in April 2004 when many photos showing U.S. soldiers abuse of Iraqi prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq from the second half of 2003 to early 2004 were aired by U.S. media outlets including CBS and CNN.

One month later, a scandal involving abuse by U.S. troops in Afghanistan was exposed for the first time. Since then, more similar scandals committed by U.S. troops in Iraq and in Afghanistan have been exposed.

The U.S. media revealed in 2017 that U.S. forces employed torture in their interrogations of detainees held in secret prisons in Yemen, and conspired in abuse cases committed by its allies. According to insider sources, the detainees were routinely beaten, trussed up on a grill'' and sexually assaulted.

The frequent occurrence of prisoner abuse scandals revealed what the U.S. was truly like while it claimed to be a human rights defender.

Related:

US wages illegal wars, disturbs international order

US wields sanctions to bully other countries

Americas double standards aggravate humanitarian crisis

US interference in other countries' internal affairs aggravates chaos in Middle East

(Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji)
Commentary: "Press freedom" not an excuse for Western interference

Xinhua) 07:47, July 13, 2021

Photo taken on July 8, 2021 shows a view of Tamar Park in south China's Hong Kong. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaochu)

The global community needs to keep vigilant over Washington's habitual tactics of twisting facts and truth, creating biased narratives, and deliberately stirring up an ideological confrontation to influence global public opinion.

BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhua) -- In a ridiculous statement posted on the website of the U.S. State Department recently, the so-called "Media Freedom Coalition" pointed accusing fingers to the lawful actions of the Hong Kong authorities against the local Apple Daily newspaper.

Washington is up to the same old tricks by interfering in China's domestic affairs under the guise of "press freedom." No matter what the pretext, nothing will halt Hong Kong's desire for stability and prosperity.

Jimmy Lai Chee-ying is taken by the police to the headquarters of Apple Daily for investigation in Hong Kong, south China, Aug. 10, 2020. (Xinhua/Lui Siu Wai)

The Apple Daily -- a so-called "media outlet" -- has for years engaged in illegal activities that have seriously endangered China's national security and disrupted Hong Kong's development.

From publishing fake news and spreading hate speech, to hyping up "color revolutions" and instigating "Hong Kong independence" as well as violent and criminal behaviors, the daily is widely regarded as "a toxic apple" by the people of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong police arrested the directors of Apple Daily, who were suspected of colluding with external forces and jeopardizing national security. The arrests were not about "suppressing journalism" as claimed by the West. Instead, they were a legitimate move to safeguard the rule of law in Hong Kong and a response to the needs of residents who have long yearned for a return to normalcy in their city.

Photo taken on July 7, 2021 shows a view of the Hong Kong Island seen from Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong, south China. (Xinhua/Wang Shen)

Behind the coalition's "strong concerns" about the newspaper are some of its members' malicious intention to use "press freedom" as an excuse for violence and criminal acts. But media organizations and related personnel are not free to act outside the law.

There is no doubt that the coalition's statement is part of a Washington-instigated smear campaign against China to contain the Asian country's development. For quite some time, anti-China elements in the United States have been meddling in China's internal affairs concerning Hong Kong and Taiwan, fabricating a "human rights crisis" in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and politicizing the coronavirus pandemic to attack China.

The global community needs to keep vigilant over Washington's habitual tactics of twisting facts and truth, creating biased narratives, and deliberately stirring up an ideological confrontation to influence global public opinion.

Michael Lueders, a well-known German writer, has revealed in his new book "The Hypocritical Superpower" that the U.S. government and its interest groups are apt at influencing and shaping public opinion by selecting information and polarizing the public's views.

Photo taken on July 8, 2021 shows a view of a ferris wheel and Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center in Hong Kong, south China. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaochu)

The so-called coalition is neither a representative of the global majority, nor a reflection of the main voice in the international arena. Most importantly, its statement cannot shake China's resolve to implement the "one country, two systems" principle, maintain the rule of law in Hong Kong, and safeguard the country's sovereignty and security.

It is time for Washington to abide by international law and basic norms governing international relations and stop talking down to other countries. Finally, it has to stop interfering in Hong Kong's and China's internal affairs under the pretext of "press freedom."

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Du Mingming)
PLA expels destroyer on South China Sea arbitration anniversary, as US acting like disrupter in the past 5 yrs

08:17, July 13, 2021 By Xu Keyue and Liu Xuanzun ( Global Times

Two warships attached to a naval frigate flotilla under PLA's Southern Theater Command carry out coordination drill during a maritime combat training exercise on April 21, 2021. (Photo/China Military Online)

On Monday, which marks the fifth anniversary of the so-called South China Sea arbitration and the so-called award, the US suffered a head-on blow when trying to make provocations in South China Sea, fully exposing the US nature again as the destroyer of regional stability.

Without authorization from the Chinese government, the US guided missile destroyer USS Benfold illegally trespassed into China's territorial waters of Xisha on Monday, and the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command organized maritime and aerial forces to track and monitor it and expelled it, Senior Colonel Tian Junli, spokesperson of the command, said in a statement released on the same day.

The Xisha Islands are inherent territory of China, and the US military's move seriously violated China's sovereignty and security, damaged peace and stability in the South China Sea, and violated international law and norms of international relations, Tian said, noting that this marks more irrefutable evidence of the US' militarization in the region with navigational hegemony.

The US move shows it is continuing its provocations in the name of "freedom of navigation" with the illegal and invalid arbitral ruling, but China is displaying strong determination and capability  even more so than five years ago  in safeguarding its sovereignty and security, Zhang Junshe, a senior research fellow at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, told the Global Times on Monday.

Before the provocative move, the US warned China it stands behind the so-called South China Sea ruling in a statement marking the fifth anniversary of the ruling that rejected China's territorial claims over the waterway, siding with the Philippines, CNN reported on Monday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday the US could invoke the US-Philippine mutual defense pact in the event of any Chinese military action against Philippine assets in the region.

Chen Xiangmiao, an assistant research fellow at National Institute for South China Sea Studies in South Chinas Hainan Province, told the Global Times on Monday that the South China Sea Arbitration ruling was born under political manipulation by US-led Western power and serves as a tool to contain and smear China under the guise of international law.

The US and its partners including Japan and Canada are trying to depict China as a destroyer of international norm and multilateralism and the US as a defender in their narratives by hyping up the ruling on South China Sea, Chen said.

Zhao Lijian, spokseperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, on Monday slammed the US as its statement ignored facts, violated and distorted international law, went against the longstanding public commitment of the US government not to take a position on the issue of sovereignty in the South China Sea, provoked disputes on South China Sea in purpose and destroyed the peace and stability in the region, which is very irresponsible.

China always advocates friendly negotiations and consultations to settle the South China Sea issue, treats our South China Sea neighbors as equals and exercises maximum restraint when safeguarding our sovereignty, rights and interests in the South China Sea, he noted.

On the opposite, since the beginning of this year, the US side conducted close-in reconnaissance for nearly 2,000 times and over 20 large-scale military drills on the sea... This exposes its power politics logic and hegemonic practices, Zhao said.

The series of provocations by the US on South China Sea issue have exposed that the US is actually the destroyer of international norms and multilateralism, Chen said.

During the past five years, the China-Philippines relations have experienced a sound development and the situation in the South China Sea has seen a steady improvement, which is not attributable to the illegal ruling, but to the Philippine government's rational policy on the South China Sea and the consensus reached with China to shelve the ruling and not take the ruling as the precondition to deal with the South China Sea issue, Chen noted.

In recent years, China and the Philippines have launched cooperation on the fishing industry, marine law enforcement and the epidemic fight, Chen said.

China and the countries concerned in the South China Sea have effectively managed differences through dialogue and consultation, and constantly promoted practical cooperation, Zhao said. China and ASEAN members have fully and effectively implemented the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and made important progress in advancing consultations on a code of conduct in the South China Sea, Zhao noted.

However, a few Philippine politicians are trying to press the Duterte administration on South China issues for their own political gains.

Vice President Leni Robredo on Monday called out the Duterte administration for its failure to capitalize on the arbitral win of the Philippines against China five years after the ruling, Philippine media reported.

Chen said as Robredo is likely to run for the presidency, she is trying to create a public image that she is striving for the national interests to win more support in the 2022 election. The minority of politicians in the Philippines wants to win support from pro-US and anti-China powers regardless of the Philippine citizens interests.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Du Mingming)
Bloomberg's pro-US anti-epidemic ranking serves political gains: epidemiologist

By Lin Xiaoyi and Liu Caiyu (Global Times) 08:42, July 13, 2021

Photo taken on July 7, 2021 shows the US Capitol building in Washington, D.C., the United States. The highly transmissible Delta variant has overtaken the Alpha variant to become the dominant variant in the United States, according to new estimates from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).(Photo/Xinhua)

In Bloomberg's latest COVID-19 resilience ranking under the title The best and worst places to be as the world finally reopens, the US jumped to the No.1 spot for the first time with its fast and expansive vaccine rollout stemming what was once the worlds worst outbreak, although it has incurred doubts.

In response to a question about Bloomberg's ranking which placed the US first and China eighth, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Monday that the always authoritative Bloomberg had adopted such naive tricks, and it was neither factual nor respectful of science and human life.

US, ranked 13th in June, soared to the top of the list as Bloomberg introduced several new indicators, highlighting the so-called reopening progress with other four major indicators  people covered by vaccines, lockdown severity, flight capacity and vaccinated travel routes.

Bloomberg argued that some in the Asia-Pacific regions like Singapore and the Hong Kong SAR have slipped in the rankings because strict border curbs remain in place and a zero-tolerance approach.

Several of my colleagues and friends have been asking me over the past few days if this Bloomberg report is a misprint, Zhao said in response to a question from the Global Times.

Zhao pointed out that reports show Bloomberg's so-called ranking omits key elements such as the confirmed COVID-19 cases and number of deaths in order to rank the US first, and considers the implementation of lockdown policies and border exit and entry control measures as negative factors.

Data from Johns Hopkins University shows that an average of 19,455 new cases has been reported in the US in the past seven days. As of Monday, there were 33.8 million COVID-19 cases and over 600,000 deaths in the country.

The intention of the ranking is evident to all that it is to serve political gains, Zeng Guang, a former chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told the Global Times on Monday.

Zeng noted that a scientific ranking should at least evaluate basic epidemic data including the rate of deaths and overall infections, which would make the US one of the worst countries in epidemic performance.

Lockdown measures, which are effective in containing the virus spread, should be considered as a positive element that gives extra points. However, they were instead considered negative in the ranking, Zeng said, adding that the ranking failed to give an accurate assessment of the epidemic situation in countries at all. It is just a tool to shape the illusion that the US epidemic prevention and control is under control, the epidemiologist noted.

Being the top country in medical infrastructure and resources, the US has adopted improper anti-epidemic policies that disappoint American citizens, now Bloomberg makes the US the top above all other countries in COVID-19 resilience ranking, he said. what a shame!

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Hongyu)
More harvests but less water consumption in China

08:59, July 13, 2021 By Wang Hao, Li Xiaoqian ( People's Daily

A farmer poses for a picture with newly harvested wheat on a cherry-wheat relay cropping field in Zhangye, northwest China's Gansu province, July 2, 2021. (People's Daily Online/Yang Yongwei)

China's annual water consumption in the agricultural irrigation sector has been maintained at around 340 billion cubic meters over the past 30 years, accounting for 56 percent of the country's total water use, according to a water-saving forum recently held in Jiuquan, northwest China's Gansu province.

With 6 percent of the world's freshwater and 9 percent of the world's arable land, China is providing food for around 20 percent of the population on the planet. That's not easy for a populous country with an extremely uneven distribution of water resources.

Water-saving irrigation has made vital contributions to China's stable agricultural water consumption. As of 2020, water-conserving irrigation had been applied on 567 million mu, or 37.8 million hectares of farmland across China, and 350 million mu of land was irrigated with high-efficient water-conserving techniques, such as sprinkler, mini sprinkler and pipeline irrigation. The coefficient of effective use of water in farmland irrigation was 0.565.

China has constantly upgraded the supporting and water-conserving systems for its medium- and large-size irrigation areas. Thanks to the efforts, a series of ancient irrigation systems are still vigorous today, including the Dujiangyan in southwest China's Sichuan province, the Jinghui canal in northwest China's Shaanxi province, the Hetao irrigation area in north China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, and the Qingtongxia irrigation area in northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region. Besides, the country is also building new irrigation areas. As a result, China's effective irrigation area has grown from 240 million mu in 1949 to 1.04 billion mu at present, making it the country with the largest irrigation area in the world.

Through a reform in the water price, a water conservation campaign was kicked off across China. From 2018 to 2020, China allocated 4.5 billion yuan ($695 million) to advance a mechanism for the pricing of agricultural water consumption, a mechanism subsidizing and incentivizing those who conserve water, a mechanism for water engineering construction and maintenance, and a mechanism for water use management. By the end of the last year, comprehensive agricultural water pricing reform had been implemented on around 400 million mu of farmland, with Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang taking the lead to complete reform missions. In addition, the reform has taken effect on almost all the farmland irrigation areas in Tianjin and Shaanxi.

Chen Mingzhong, director of the Rural Water Resources and Hydropower Department under China's Ministry of Water Resources, introduced that China has invested huge amounts of central government subsidies on constructing supporting systems and upgrading water conservation systems in medium- and large-size irrigation areas. Water resource departments will keep expanding the investment, make further innovations in financing and investment mechanisms, make good use of local government bonds, and encourage and attract social capital, he added.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji)
'Freedom of press' rhetoric shall come to a halt

09:08, July 13, 2021 By Zhong Sheng ( People's Daily

The US Department of State published a statement on Apple Daily on July 10 local time, expressing "strong concerns" about this publication that was shut down last month for instigating the "black terror" in Hong Kong.

Published in the name of the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC), the statement was signed by 21 countries, making up less than half the organization's total members. It is like a desperate cry of a few Western countries wishing to offer their last but worthless support for the anti-China forces.

Anyone with a conscience can see that the statement is misleading and totally abandons morality and ethics, running against justice under the disguise of so-called freedom of the press.

Karl Marx once said that self-discipline of human spirit is the basis of morality. Obviously, freedom of the press is not a freedom that can escape moral restraint and it should not undermine human civilization.

Apple Daily was a newspaper known for its "inciting, obscene and bloody" news. Such a publication of yellow journalism would have been abandoned and denounced even in the US, where yellow journalism originated.

Yellow journalism trampled on morality in the US in the 1880s and early 20th century. Articles and pictures attacking celebrities and calling for wars were everywhere in the newspapers, chasing after profit in a crazy and greedy competition.

In 1901, former US president William McKinley was assassinated nine months after the New York Journal publicly instigated it. US society believed that the newspaper was responsible, and its circulation subsequently dropped until it eventually closed.

History is a mirror. It's inevitable that Apple Daily, following a path of the American yellow journalism and making a living by selling lies, finally hit a dead end. A Hong Kong media organization recently listed 100 crimes committed by Apple Daily, including funding fraud, bribery, slandering celebrities, and fanning up violence. In the past 26 years since the newspaper was established, it has been declared guilty numerous times, and has put itself into the "hall of shame" of history. Shutting down the newspaper was not an order from the government, but a choice of the market that expresses the views of most Hong Kong citizens.

Any freedom or right in a civilized society shall not be practiced arbitrarily. On the contrary, it shall be stipulated and protected by laws that embody the public will. John Stuart Mill, a British philosopher who influenced liberal parties in a number of Western countries with his essay On Liberty, admitted that the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.

Over 100 years ago, a former associate justice of the US Supreme Court said that the most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic. There is a clear legal boundary between freedom of the press and instigating crimes. The member countries of the MFC should ask themselves whether their laws allow news media to undermine national security, damage social order, divulge state secrets and instigate religious and ethnic confrontation.

Many countries have clear legal provisions on freedom of the press. For instance, the Press Law of 1881 in France was designed to punish media organizations for incitement, slander and disturbance of public order. Similarly, the anti-China rioters who fanned up "achieving justice by violating the law" in Hong Kong two years ago were not abiding by the rule of law, either.

Since the national security law for Hong Kong was enacted, the chaos in the city has ended and stability has returned, which is more conducive to normal news reporting. To have a better understanding of Hong Kong, the world must grasp the special administrative region's transition from order to prosperity. Over the past year, multiple media organizations from the US and UK have raised the number of foreign staff stationed in Hong Kong. How would MFC countries that signed the so-called statement explain such an arrangement?

Some people from a few Western countries made a fuss about Apple Daily, but what they have done is just a farce staged under the name of freedom of the press. Such rhetoric shall come to a halt, as lies will eventually be torn apart by facts, which is an inexorable law.

(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People's Daily to express its views on foreign policy.)

(Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji)
China's StarTimes announces short video contest to showcase BRI projects in Africa

Xinhua) 09:47, July 13, 2021

NAIROBI, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese pay television service provider StarTimes on Monday announced the official start of a short video competition aimed at showcasing the transformative aspect of Belt and Road projects in Africa.

StarTimes said the third edition of Belt and Road Short Video Competition will accept submissions from African contributors who demonstrate how China-funded projects are changing the livelihoods of the local population.

StarTimes will be the media partner of the competition organized by the China Public Diplomacy Association, the News Center of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) of China and Global Times Online.

"The competition is aimed at showcasing new individual and national development opportunities brought by international cooperation against the backdrop of the post-pandemic era while detailing stories of people-to-people bonds and how countries have since pulled together through adversity to jointly create a bright future through international cooperation," StarTimes said in a statement issued in Nairobi.

The theme of this year's contest, "Share opportunities for a splendid future", will focus on strategic infrastructure projects including Kenya's Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), Lagos-Ibadan Railway in Nigeria, and national digital migration in Mozambique.

Local media practitioners and ordinary citizens have been encouraged to participate in the short video competition based on their understanding of BRI.

"Each video in the competition tells a distinct story of how China has joined hands with other countries to enhance local construction and economic development and build a community of shared future for mankind," said StarTimes.

Submissions for the short videos commenced from June 17 ending August 27 while voting will take place from September 6 to 12. Experts evaluation is from September 13 to 18 and final results will be announced on September 27.

Participants will be required to send the short video to the organizers or upload it on their social media accounts.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Hongyu)
Chinese top legislator stresses ecological conservation at global forum

Xinhua) 10:01, July 13, 2021

Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, attends the opening ceremony of Eco Forum Global Guiyang 2021 and delivers a keynote speech in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, July 12, 2021. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

GUIYANG, July 12 (Xinhua) -- China attaches great importance to ecological conservation, and its environmental protection has gone through a historic turnaround, Chinese top legislator Li Zhanshu said on Monday.

Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, made the remarks while addressing the opening of the Eco Forum Global Annual Conference 2021 held in southwest China's Guizhou Province.

China has made resource conservation and environmental protection a basic state policy and sustainable development a national strategy, Li noted, adding that the country's environmental protection has gone through a historic turnaround with wide-ranging implications.

Reiterating China's pledge to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, Li said the country would contribute to coping with global challenges concerning the climate and environment and safeguarding global ecological security.

To deliver on the pledge, Li stressed efforts in enhancing ecological awareness, accelerating green and low-carbon development, stepping up pollution prevention and control, improving the relevant legal system, and promoting international exchange and cooperation.

Foreign leaders including Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and Tongan Prime Minister Pohiva Tu'i'onetoa addressed the conference via video link, which is themed "Green and Low-carbon Development, Fostering a Community of Life for Man and Nature."

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Hongyu)
Foreign diplomats, heads of int'l organizations in Macao visit exhibition on CPC centenary

Xinhua) 10:08, July 13, 2021

MACAO, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Foreign consul generals and heads of international organizations in the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) on Monday visited a photo exhibition in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Liu Xianfa, commissioner of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Macao SAR, said in his speech that by founding, leading, implementing and safeguarding the "one country, two systems" cause, the CPC had strongly safeguarded national sovereignty, security, development interests and the long-term prosperity and stability of the SARs.

The commissioner's office would continue to comprehensively and accurately implement "one country, two systems" and the principle of "patriots administering Macao," so as to create a sound environment for safeguarding the overall stability of the Macao society and maintaining the long-term prosperity and stability of Macao.

Rafael Custodio Marques, consul general of Mozambique in the Macao SAR, extended his greetings to the CPC on its centenary and his tribute to the CPC for leading the Chinese people to great political, economic and social achievements.

He also extended his gratitude to the CPC, the Chinese government and the Chinese people for the spirit of friendship, solidarity and cooperation that they have demonstrated in the international cause of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Paulo Jorge Rodrigues do Espirito Santo, deputy secretary-general of the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao), told reporters after visiting the exhibition that China's achievements on various fronts have proved the "one country, two systems" principle a success.

Over 60 people, including diplomats from Portugal, the Philippines and Angola, heads of international organizations, as well as their families visited the exhibition.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Hongyu)
China stresses disaster prevention, reduction to ensure autumn harvest

Xinhua) 10:12, July 13, 2021

BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday made arrangements for disaster prevention and mitigation for the agricultural sector to ensure a bumper autumn harvest.

With more extreme weather conditions likely in the second half of the year, efforts should be made to ensure stable grain output and supply and cope with uncertainties in the international market, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Tang Renjian told a meeting on agricultural disaster prevention and mitigation work.

Autumn grain yields account for the bulk of China's grain production, and disaster prevention and mitigation work is the key to autumn harvests.

The minister urged targeted precautionary measures in different regions. Northeast China should pay attention to flood control and drought relief, while south China should be alert to typhoons, he said.

Tang also demanded coordinated efforts in pest control during summer and autumn.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Hongyu)
Chinese companies to supply 110 mln COVID-19 vaccines immediately to COVAX project

Xinhua) 10:43, July 13, 2021

Photo taken on June 1, 2021 shows vials of Sinopharm vaccines in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua)

Gavi announced in a press release that it had signed advance purchase agreements with Sinopharm for its "BBIBP-CorV" inactivated virus vaccine and with Sinovac for its inactivated virus vaccine "CoronaVac".

GENEVA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Two Chinese pharmaceutical companies will provide 110 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines immediately to participants of the COVAX project, announced the global Vaccine Alliance Gavi on Monday.

The Chinese Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines have been approved earlier this year by the World Health Organization (WHO) for emergency use.

Gavi announced in a press release that it had signed advance purchase agreements with Sinopharm for its "BBIBP-CorV" inactivated virus vaccine and with Sinovac for its inactivated virus vaccine "CoronaVac".

Workers transfer boxes of COVID-19 vaccines arrived at Abidjan International Airport in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, Feb. 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Yvan Sonh)

The agreements, which come at a time when the Delta variant of the virus is posing a rising risk, will begin to make 110 million doses immediately available to participants of the COVAX Facility, the international vaccine supply and distribution facility co-led by WHO, Gavi and other partners, read the press release.

According to the press release, 60 million doses of Sinopharm vaccine will be made available from July through this October, and 50 million doses of Sinovac vaccine will be made available from July through September this year.

In addition, Gavi said that it has the option to purchase a potential total of 170 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine and up to 380 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine in Q4 of 2021 and in the first half of 2022.

An airport worker transports packages of Chinese COVID-19 vaccine at the Phnom Penh International Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on July 10, 2021. (Xinhua/Phearum)

"Thanks to this deal, and because these vaccines have already received WHO Emergency Use Listing, we can move to start supplying doses to countries immediately," said Gavi CEO Seth Berkley.

A source with the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations in Geneva commented Monday that the signing of the agreement between Gavi and the two Chinese vaccine makers is an important move showing China's commitment to treat vaccines as a "global public product."

"The Chinese government has been actively encouraging and supporting Chinese vaccine research and development companies to participate in the COVAX to provide vaccines to developing countries," the diplomat said, adding that China is willing to continue to work together with all parties to promote the fair distribution of vaccines and make positive contributions to global solidarity in the fight against the epidemic.

Workers arrange boxes of COVID-19 vaccines to be kept at the Palestinian Authority's storage facility in Salem village, east of the West Bank city of Nablus, March 17, 2021. (Xinhua/Ayman Nobani)

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Hongyu)
Commentary: China's welcome panda news a success but not full stop of biodiversity efforts

Xinhua) 10:54, July 13, 2021

BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The growing number of the once-endangered wild giant pandas in China is the latest example of continuous efforts to save the planet's biodiversity.

In a welcome piece of good news for the world's threatened wildlife, the at-risk status of wild giant pandas has been downgraded from "endangered" to "vulnerable," as their population has grown to some 1,800. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment attributed the notable progress to China's drive to establish a relatively complete system of nature reserves.

While this change marks the improving condition of wildlife in China, it does not mean that efforts to protect wildlife in China will be downgraded. Only with a long-term vision and persistent actions can the protection of biodiversity continue to improve.

Green development has become a key component of China's new vision of innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development. Its ecological conservation and restoration projects, such as forest and wetland protection initiatives and the fishing ban in the Yangtze River basin, are facilitating the recovery of rare and endangered species. The wild giant pandas, Tibetan antelopes and milu deer are living in better environments. The numbers of Siberian tigers, Asian elephants and crested ibises have grown rapidly.

The welcome panda news came months ahead of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The meeting, to be held in China's Yunnan Province that is known for its dense forests and rich biodiversity, will review the "post-2020 global biodiversity framework."

It is expected to see China and other countries pool their wisdom and resources to bring about a transformation in society's relationship with biodiversity and to ensure that the shared vision of living in harmony with nature is fulfilled.

Biodiversity is wealth and treasure. Putting biodiversity conservation high on its domestic policy agenda will help China achieve harmony between humans and nature and foster green, eco-friendly and sustainable growth.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Hongyu)
Singaporean deputy PM calls on ASEAN, China to nurture new areas of complementarities

Xinhua) 11:05, July 13, 2021

Aerial photo taken on Nov. 26, 2020 shows the view of Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center, the venue of the 17th China-ASEAN Expo, and its neighboring buildings in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Lu Boan)

"The ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is a cornerstone agreement that has benefited all members," Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies Heng Swee Keat said. "Let us work towards upgrading this agreement, to reduce non-tariff measures and address new priorities, especially for the digital economy."

SINGAPORE, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies Heng Swee Keat Monday called on ASEAN and China to fortify the foundations of existing partnerships, and nurture new areas of complementarities.

He said while delivering a keynote speech at the FutureChina Global Forum (FCGF) 2021 that the two sides should strengthen the rules-based multilateral framework for trade and investments.

"The ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is a cornerstone agreement that has benefited all members," Heng said. "Let us work towards upgrading this agreement, to reduce non-tariff measures and address new priorities, especially for the digital economy."

He also called on the two sides to rebuild their aviation links and further liberalize the ASEAN-China Air Transport Agreement to boost the region's connectivity, as they prepare to resume cross-border travel.

Photo taken on Aug. 6, 2020 shows a view of southwest China's Chongqing. A total of 230 cooperation projects have been inked under the framework of a China-Singapore connectivity initiative since it was launched in 2015. The China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity aims to conduct pilot cooperation in various fields. (Xinhua/Liu Chan)

"Beyond ASEAN and China, we must maintain the momentum for global trade liberalization, and build confidence in multilateralism," he said. "RCEP (the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership), which was signed between ASEAN Member States, China, and four other major trading partners is an important next step."

Beyond FTAs, Heng said that ASEAN and China should explore new building blocks, including digital collaboration and sustainable development, to strengthen cooperation, to seek new sources of growth and address global challenges.

COVID-19 has accelerated the global shift to digital, and ASEAN and China must move swiftly to respond to this shift. Therefore, he called for piloting more city-to-city projects, and establishing Digital Economy Agreements at the country level.

More over, climate change is an existential challenge, and both ASEAN and China understand the urgency of the challenge, he said, noting that ASEAN and China can focus on catalyzing a green recovery, from investing in buildings that are more energy-efficient, to exploring cleaner energy sources such as solar and wind.

"China's Belt and Road Initiative or BRI is an important initiative, and a 'Green BRI' will be a major step in catalyzing green infrastructure," Heng said.

Aerial photo taken on Jan. 14, 2021 shows the container terminal of Qinzhou Port in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Cao Yiming)

The FCGF 2021, organized by Business China, a non-profit organization that aims to strengthen ties between Singapore and China, commenced on Monday morning.

Held in a hybrid format for the first time, over 1,500 distinguished business leaders, public personalities, political leaders, and industry experts from Singapore, China, and the ASEAN region gathered at the forum, to discuss pertinent trends, opportunities, and lessons drawn from ASEAN and China, that will prepare the region for an increasingly volatile and complex "Never Normal" future.

The "Never Normal" is a term coined by business entrepreneur, advisor, and author Peter Hinssen as a "reality where change is constantly triggered by 'seismic shocks'," -- be it ecological, societal, or geopolitical in nature.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Hongyu)
Draft plan aims to ensure data security

China Daily) 11:22, July 13, 2021

China plans to step up the development of data security products and services, as part of a broader push to cultivate its cybersecurity industry into a 250 billion yuan ($38.6 billion) sector by 2023.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the industry regulator, said in a draft three-year plan released on Monday that more efforts are needed to enhance capabilities in data management, with a focus on ensuring security in the storage, transfer and privacy of data. The move came as data security becomes a prerequisite for digital economic prowess and countries worldwide ramp up regulatory measures to better govern and protect data assets, experts said.

The draft plan called for more efforts to build capabilities in intelligently managing data, optimizing data classification and strengthening data protection, on top of preventing data theft, tampering and leaking.

The nation also aims to achieve breakthroughs in a number of crucial cybersecurity technologies by 2023, with accelerated integration of emerging technologies and cybersecurity services, the draft plan said.

Last year, the market size of China's cybersecurity industry exceeded 170 billion yuan, twice the size of 2015, according to figures from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, a Beijing-based think tank.

As of 2020, China had more than 3,000 enterprises engaged in cybersecurity-related business, covering network security equipment, services, software and system integration, the academy said.

Du Guangda, deputy director of the cybersecurity administration of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that "Data has become a new type of production factor, having an important impact on economic development, social governance and people's daily lives and work."

Wu Hequan, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said data security is of increasing importance, with the accelerated digital transformation of China.

Data security is not just about technology companies. It is also becoming increasingly relevant to companies in traditional sectors, as the real economy becomes intertwined with the digital economy, and as more industrial, manufacturing and medical data go online, Wu said.

Such risks were reflected in a ransomware attack that affected up to 1,500 businesses globally this month, Reuters reported.

Amid rising risks, countries worldwide are placing increased importance on data security and play their part in regulating companies. Television broadcaster CNBC reported that United States President Joe Biden signed an executive order last month to protect personal data from foreign adversaries. The order sets criteria for the US government to evaluate the risk of apps linked to such adversaries, including the threat to national security.

On Monday, shares of Chinese cybersecurity companies surged on the heels of the draft plan. Qi-Anxin Technology Group shares skyrocketed by 20 percent on the Science and Technology Innovation Board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Qi Xiangdong, chairman of Qi-Anxin, said: "New cybersecurity challenges have popped up with the development of new technologies such as the internet of things. Governments and enterprises need to ramp up efforts to establish a complete network security system to combat the rising cyberattacks."

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Hongyu)
People with visual impairments, dyslexia visit Tel Aviv Museum of Art

Xinhua) 12:24, July 13, 2021

People with visual impairments and people with dyslexia visit the Tel Aviv Museum of Art in Tel Aviv, Israel, on July 11, 2021. A special meeting was held on July 11 at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. Some exhibits selected from the museum's collection were displayed and made accessible to the visually impaired by various means including tactile graphics, audio description and Braille. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Hongyu)
Night economy in Tianjin, N China

Xinhua) 12:36, July 13, 2021

Aerial photo taken on July 10, 2021 shows the venue of a drinking carnival in Xiqing District of north China's Tianjin. A drinking carnival called "Craft Brew" was held Saturday on the Wisdom Mountain Hill Square in Xiqing District, attracting many young visitors to come and play. People can enjoy a dazzling collection of craft beer, coffee and food from all over the world during the carnival. (Photo by Sun Fanyue/Xinhua)

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Hongyu)
China ready to strengthen cooperation with Turkmenistan: FM

Xinhua) 12:57, July 13, 2021

Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) holds talks with Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, July 12, 2021. (Xinhua)

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, July 13 (Xinhua) -- China is willing to beef up cooperation with Turkmenistan in various areas, visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Monday.

China sees Turkmenistan as a truly reliable strategic partner, and the development of bilateral ties has maintained sound momentum under the strategic guidance of the heads of state, Wang said during talks with Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov.

China will firmly support Turkmenistan in taking a development path suited to its own national conditions, its commitment to permanent neutrality, and its measures to safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests, said Wang.

China, he said, is willing to take the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties as an opportunity to work with Turkmenistan to deepen political mutual trust, expand all-round cooperation, enhance coordination on major international and regional issues, and turn the high-level cooperation into more concrete results that will benefit the two peoples.

China will continue to provide COVID-19 vaccines to Turkmenistan and back its efforts to fight the pandemic, said the minister.

China is ready to step up cooperation with Turkmenistan in traditional and non-traditional security fields and help the country safeguard its national security, he said.

Wang suggested that both countries seek to ratchet up the scale of cooperation in natural gas to solve existing problems, increase cooperation in oil and gas processing, new energy, green energy, nuclear energy so that the two countries can forge a long-term strategic partnership in the energy sector.

The top Chinese diplomat also proposed that the two countries explore more opportunities in non-natural resources sectors to make bilateral cooperation more diversified and multi-faceted.

Together with Turkmenistan, China is ready to speed up the alignment of China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative with Turkmenistan's development strategy to revive the Great Silk Road, create new growth areas like digital economy and cross-border e-commerce, implement cooperation in production capacity and investment, establish an interconnected network, advance agricultural and sci-tech cooperation, and expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which celebrated the 100th anniversary of the party's founding this year, China has found a development path suited to its national conditions and is widely supported by the people, Wang noted.

While China's development marks an increase in the forces of peace and developing countries, Wang said some Western forces attempted to impede China's development by spreading disinformation, by meddling in China's internal affairs on the pretext of human rights, and by politicizing COVID-19 origin tracing in a bid to shift their responsibility for the botched response to the pandemic.

He said China is ready to work with Turkmenistan to safeguard the basic norms governing international relations, including non-interference in other's internal affairs, jointly uphold international equity and justice, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries.

Meredov, for his part, voiced his heartfelt congratulations on the centenary of the CPC, highly appreciated the remarkable achievements made by Chinese people under the leadership of the CPC and expressed confidence that led by the CPC, China will surely achieve its set development goals.

Turkmenistan and China have established a high level of political mutual trust, have understood and supported each other on issues concerning their respective core interests, and have continuously deepened mutually beneficial cooperation as well as cultural and people-to-people exchanges, said the top Turkmen diplomat.

Not long ago, the phone conversation between the two heads of state charted couse for the future development of bilateral relations, he said.

As the two countries will usher in the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations next year, Turkmenistan is willing to take the opportunity to strengthen the alignment of China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative with Turkmenistan's development strategy to revive the Great Silk Road, and expand cooperation in the fields of anti-pandemic, security, oil and gas, and non-natural resources, said Meredov.

Turkmenistan is grateful to China for providing COVID-19 vaccines and hopes that the two sides will jointly combat the "three evil forces" of terrorism, extremism and separatism, promote cooperation in biosecurity and information security, and strengthen cooperation in renewable energy, environmental protection, aviation and telecommunications, he said.

Turkmenistan welcomes China's establishment of the Luban Workshop, a worldwide program for technical personnel, and hopes to set up a Turkmen-Chinese dialogue mechanism of cultural exchanges, he added.

The two countries hold the same or similar positions on major international and regional issues, and Turkmenistan firmly supports China in improving the "one country, two systems" institutional system, opposes foreign interference in China's internal affairs and politicization of the COVID-19 origin tracing, and backs China in safeguarding its own core interests, said Meredov.

Wang and Meredov agreed to negotiate and sign documents for cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative as soon as possible, formulate a five-year plan for cooperation and a plan for expanding partnership in economy, facilitate the negotiation on natural gas cooperation to achieve substantive progress as soon as possible, and ink international road transport agreements and pacts in other areas.

They also conducted in-depth exchanges of views on international and regional issues of common concern, such as the situation in Afghanistan.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Hongyu)
Commentary: Suppressing China won't help U.S. tech vitality

Xinhua) 12:58, July 13, 2021

Photo taken on June 17, 2021 shows the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

Washington's bullying tactics harm itself and the rest of the world: America's credibility as a free and open country will be the first victim; people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States will take another hit; and the widely-accepted rules governing global trade will be severely disrupted.

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Washington's agitation to preserve its technological edge by suppressing China seems to be running unimaginably wild these days.

Most recently, the U.S. administration added another batch of Chinese technology firms to its entity list over their alleged roles in so-called human rights abuses in Xinjiang and connections with the Chinese military. Before that, it was reported to have rejected visa applications by more than 500 Chinese students planning to pursue postgraduate study in sciences and engineering at top American universities.

Those moves show that the current White House is still taking its cue from the toxic China policy engineered by the administration of Donald Trump.

Blacklisting those Chinese firms has nothing to do with improving the human rights conditions in Xinjiang. U.S. politicians pay no more than lip service even when tackling human rights problems at home. How can they have real love for people in a region far off America's shores?

Anyone with real knowledge of Xinjiang and an objective mind knows that the region has witnessed remarkable progress in recent years: the Uygur population continues to grow; terrorist acts have been tamed; and living standards have significantly improved.

The United States, in sharp contrast, has a rather lamentable human rights record. Yet it seems that America's political leaders are either indifferent to or clueless about solving such chronic problems as systemic racial discrimination or a widening wealth gap.

A visitor takes pictures of an AI-powered robot brewing coffee during the China International Big Data Industry Expo 2021 in Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province, May 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

Moreover, Washington's move to deny visa applications of those Chinese science students is yet another proof that the United States is getting increasingly agitated towards China's technological progress and is turning to self-isolation and protectionism for help.

For the record, China's purpose to promote scientific and technological advancement is not to outcompete the United States, but to improve the welfare of its own people and contribute to the world's peaceful development.

And it would be infantile for China hawks in Washington to resort to blacklisting some Chinese firms or refusing to admit some Chinese students to prevent China from moving forward.

In fact, despite Washington's repeated sanctions, China has still managed to achieve substantial technological progress over the years.

Washington's bullying tactics harm itself and the rest of the world: America's credibility as a free and open country will be the first victim; people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States will take another hit; and the widely-accepted rules governing global trade will be severely disrupted.

The United States is the world's sole superpower and the most advanced country in scientific innovation. Its own story of success indisputably attests to the necessity of openness and international cooperation for technological progress.

Sadly, Washington's ballooning hubris and self-serving protectionist slant are demolishing the fundamentals that once underpinned the edifice of America's technological power, and leading the country down the wrong path.

The United States should once again embrace a spirit of collaboration to maintain its technological competitiveness in the 21st century. It stands to lose otherwise. After all, America's biggest enemy is itself, not China.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Hongyu)
Cooperating with China, Egypt seeks to become COVID-19 vaccine self-sufficient, regional exporter

Xinhua) 13:11, July 13, 2021

CAIRO, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Egypt on Monday celebrated the local production of the first 1 million doses of China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, seeking to meet domestic demand and then export to other countries in the region.

Egyptian Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA) and Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac signed two agreements in April to jointly manufacture the Sinovac vaccine in VACSERA's factory in the North African country.

The first agreement enables the Egyptian side to obtain the expertise and technical assistance to produce the vaccine, while the second one gives the VACSERA the license to manufacture and pack the vaccine in its factory.

IMPORTANT STEP TOWARDS SELF-SUFFICIENCY

"Manufacturing the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine at the factories of VACSERA makes Egypt the first Arab and African country to produce the coronavirus vaccines," Mohammed Eid, director of Abbasia Chest Hospital in Cairo, told Xinhua.

Producing the vaccine locally will have a great impact on controlling the pandemic, not only in Egypt but also in Arab and African countries, he said.

"This move will enable Egypt to achieve great successes in controlling the spread of the virus ... Egypt is very qualified to produce the vaccines since it has a very strong scientific and technological base," he added.

In addition to the health and technological benefits, Eid said, Egypt will also have economic gains from providing the vaccine to regional countries.

He stressed that the Chinese approval of the production of the Sinovac vaccine in Egypt proves China's confidence in Egypt's scientific, technological and industrial capabilities.

"This also means that China and Egypt are keen to strengthen their mutual cooperation for the interest of the two peoples," he added.

Egypt is also seeking to expand its production capacity of the Chinese vaccine. Last week, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly told reporters that his government is in talks with the Chinese side to double the supply of vaccine raw materials in order to produce 600,000 doses per day.

INTERNATIONAL ADMIRATION

The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomed the cooperation between Egypt and China in producing Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine in Egypt.

"The cooperation between Egypt and China is a successful model for international cooperation and transfer of global expertise, which contributes to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," said Naeema Al-Gasseer, WHO representative in Egypt, in a statement last week.

The WHO official said that the cooperation between Egypt and China in this regard helps achieve Goal 3.8 of the SDGs, concerning "access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines."

The WHO also appreciates Egypt's plan to vaccinate 40 percent of its citizens and residents by the end of this year, saying it is consistent with the organization's call.

It valued Egypt's plan to "achieve self-sufficiency in vaccines to become a center for exporting vaccines in Africa."

So far, some 52 African countries have acquired more than 70 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the African Union, said around 1.19 percent of Africa's population have been fully vaccinated.

Five countries, namely Morocco, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa and Algeria have acquired and administered the most doses of COVID-19 vaccines to their respective populations, according to the agency.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa reached 5,919,408 as of Sunday afternoon, Africa CDC said.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Hongyu)
China-EU trade sees rapid growth in H1

Xinhua) 14:04, July 13, 2021

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Bilateral trade between China and the European Union (EU) saw a rapid growth in the first half of this year, demonstrating vitality and resilience in their trade cooperation, a customs spokesperson said Tuesday.

China-EU trade jumped 26.7 percent from a year ago to 2.52 trillion yuan (389 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half, making the EU the second-largest trade partner of China during the period, data from the General Administration of Customs (GAC) showed.

Around 16.6 percent of China's mechanical and electrical exports were shipped to the EU while more than one-third of the consumer goods imported into China were from the EU, said GAC spokesperson Li Kuiwen.

"China and the EU are important economic and trade partners with strong economic complementarity and great potential for cooperation," Li said.

Strengthening economic and trade exchanges between China and the EU is conducive to enhancing the well-being of the people on both sides, coping with global challenges and promoting the recovery of the world economy, Li added.

Tuesday's data showed that China's total imports and exports expanded 27.1 percent year on year to 18.07 trillion yuan in the first half of 2021, marking an increase of 22.8 percent from the pre-epidemic level in 2019.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Hongyu)
Chinese septuagenarian inspires netizens after earning degrees in painting, calligraphy

People's Daily Online) 15:27, July 13, 2021

"It is never too late to learn," said Xu Anling, a septuagenarian from Jinshan district, Shanghai, who received her second bachelor's degree in Chinese painting last month.

Photo shows Xu Anling standing beside her work. (Photo provided by the interviewee)

The inspirational granny received her first degree in calligraphy in 2019.

Xu said her keen interest in painting dates back to her childhood, but she was unable to pursue the hobby in her early years. After Xu retired and had no more pressure from work, she was finally able to throw herself into her artistic creations.

"When I picked up the brush again after all these years, I just felt that I had picked up my childhood dream," Xu recalled.

A group photo of Xu Anling with her teacher and classmates. (Photo provided by the interviewee)

At one point, when Xu realized that she needed to improve her professional skills rather than focus only on creativity, she decided to sign up for further studies at the China Academy of Art, one of the country's top professional art institutions, at the age of 58 in 2009.

Four years later, Xu was enrolled into the further education class for adults at the same university. However, obtaining her junior college diploma did not make Xu complacent. In order to be exposed to a more professional and systematic art learning experience, Xu decided to sit the national adult college entrance examination in 2017.

Xu Anling holds a certificate for "outstanding graduate". (Photo provided by the interviewee)

"I was thrilled when I received my university admission notice," Xu recalled, adding that during her time at university, she never felt ill at ease when surrounded by students in their twenties.

"Faculty members and fellow students all courteously called me Sister Xu," she revealed, calling her past 12 years of schooling the most precious time in her life.

Xu Anling draws a sketch. (Photo provided by the interviewee)

After stories about Xu earnestly pursuing further studies at such an advanced age were circulated online, many netizens were deeply struck by her passion and grit.

"I admire the old lady who believes in her own dream, does not set limits for herself, and always pursues what she is passionate about with hope in her heart," commented one netizen.

"I hope I can just be like Aunt Xu in the future. Live and learn!" another online user posted.

Photo shows Xu Anling's paintings. (Photo provided by the interviewee)

Photo shows Xu Anling's paintings. (Photo provided by the interviewee)

(Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji)
Providing 500 mln vaccine doses to world, China aims to enhance int'l cooperation against COVID-19

Xinhua) 15:35, July 13, 2021

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese vaccines are gathering steam across the world, injecting strong impetus into the global fight against COVID-19 as deaths from the virus topped 4 million worldwide and variants spread to more than 100 countries.

As a steadfast advocate for equitable vaccine distribution around the globe, China has supplied 500 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines and concentrates to more than 100 countries and international organizations, accounting for one-sixth of the current global output.

China has provided more doses to developing countries than anyone else and has vaccine cooperation partners all over the globe, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Monday.

With the support of the Chinese government, Chinese vaccine companies have started joint production in many countries including the UAE, Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt, Brazil, Turkey, Pakistan and Mexico, with producing capacity exceeding 200 million doses.

HIGH EFFICACY

Two Chinese pharmaceutical companies, Sinopharm and Sinovac, will provide 110 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines immediately to participants of the COVAX project, announced the global Vaccine Alliance Gavi on Monday.

The Chinese Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines were approved earlier this year by the World Health Organization (WHO) for emergency use.

"The Chinese government has been actively encouraging and supporting Chinese vaccine research and development companies to participate in the COVAX to provide vaccines to developing countries," a diplomat with the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations in Geneva said on Monday.

Two doses of the Sinopharm vaccine provide 84-percent protection from death caused by COVID-19, showed a report by the Argentine Ministry of Health based on cases from the country's 24 provinces.

In February, Argentina authorized the emergency use of the Sinopharm vaccine after Health Minister Carla Vizzotti signed a resolution, an official measure which highlighted the "safety, immunogenicity and efficacy" of the vaccine.

The South African government, political parties, labor and civil society have given thumbs up to the CoronaVac, also known as the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, whose use in the country was approved by South African Health Products Authority (SAHPRA) on July 3.

SAHPRA's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela said they approved the use of the CoronaVac vaccine based on its safety, quality and efficacy of the data presented to them. South Africa's opposition political party Economic Freedom Fighters also welcomed the Sinovac vaccine, calling on the government to make it available to the people soon.

"The efficacy of the CoronaVac vaccine to the COVID-19 variants that are dominant in South Africa and its safety are essential. We are therefore looking forward to deepening our party to party relations with the CPC (Communist Party of China) and inter alia, scientific cooperation with China in our struggle to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and resolve underdevelopment," said South African Communist Party General-Secretary Blade Nzimande.

Interim analysis of Phase 3 clinical trial of the CoronaVac vaccine in more than 10,000 participants, aged 18-59, in Turkey suggests the efficacy of two doses of the vaccine is 83.5 percent against symptomatic cases of COVID-19, according to a study published last week in The Lancet, a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal.

The vaccine -- which has been in Phase 3 trials since mid-2020 in Brazil, Indonesia, Chile, and Turkey -- can be stored and transported at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, according to The Lancet.

"This could be particularly important for global distribution, as some countries may struggle to store large amounts of vaccine at very low temperatures," said Murat Akova, lead author of the study and a professor at Hacettepe University School of Medicine in Ankara.

The World Health Organization said Monday it believes that Chinese coronavirus vaccines Sinopharm and Sinovac, distributed internationally via COVAX sharing mechanism, were effective enough against the disease.

"At any point, if we have concerns with the efficacy of these vaccines, we would definitely make that known. So, at this point, I think we are confident," WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan told a press briefing.

SETTING EXAMPLE FOR INT'L COOPERATION

A total of 438,867 new COVID-19 cases were reported across the world during the past day, bringing the global tally to 187,238,474, according to data by the Johns Hopkins University.

Nonetheless, "at this stage in the pandemic, the fact that millions of health and care workers have still not been vaccinated is abhorrent," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, told a biweekly conference in Geneva on Wednesday.

Tedros reminded that "vaccine nationalism," whereby a handful of nations have taken the lion's share of vaccines, is "morally indefensible" and an ineffective public health strategy against a respiratory virus that is mutating quickly and becoming increasingly successful at infecting new hosts.

"Variants are currently winning the race against vaccines because of inequitable vaccine production and distribution ... It didn't have to be this way and it doesn't have to be this way going forward," he noted.

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last week stressed that the world needs a global vaccine plan to at least double the production of vaccines and ensure equitable distribution, using COVAX as the platform.

Under current circumstances, cooperation between China and other countries in producing COVID-19 vaccines has been increasingly welcomed by the international community, with many hailing such cooperation as setting an example for international vaccine cooperation and transfer of global expertise.

Naeema Al-Gasseer, WHO representative in Egypt, praised the cooperation between Egypt and China in producing Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines in Egypt as "a successful model for international cooperation and transfer of global expertise, which contributes to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals."

Egyptian Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA) and Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac signed an agreement in April to jointly manufacture Sinovac vaccines in VACSERA's factory in the North African country.

Egypt has recently celebrated the production of the first 1 million doses of the vaccine, seeking to meet local demand and further export them to other countries in the region.

Similarly, Malaysian firm Yong Tai Bhd, which has partnered China-based Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products (SZKT) to supply Chinese-produced COVID-19 vaccines in Malaysia, is aiming to offer its vaccines to the private sector by September or October.

The firm, which has an agreement with SZKT to supply 10 million doses per year and an additional 10 million if required, has been conducting the Phase III Clinical Trial in Malaysia and has applied to the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency for approval to use the vaccines in the country.

Yong Tai's CEO Boo Kuang Loon is confident that the vaccine developed by SZKT will be well accepted, as it is from the same technology platform as the other two Chinese COVID-19 vaccine developers Sinopharm and Sinovac.

Elsewhere in Asia, Mongolian Foreign Minister Batmunkh Battsetseg said the two countries have maintained active cooperation despite COVID-19, setting a real example of how neighboring countries help each other and overcome difficulties together.

"We are sincerely grateful to the Chinese government and people for donating vaccines and essential medical equipment to Mongolia during this difficult time, as well as for sharing experiences in successfully combating the pandemic," she said, adding that China's vaccine support is very important for Mongolia.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Hongyu)
China remains worlds largest B2C cross-border e-commerce market

People's Daily Online) 15:59, July 13, 2021

China is the worlds largest business to customer (B2C) cross-border e-commerce market, and continues to see broad prospects for cross-border e-commerce.

A staff member works at the factory of a clothing company in Yuping Dong Autonomous County in southwest China's Guizhou province. Clothing factories in the county have seen peak production and sales recently, as they now sell their products to more than 30 countries and regions around the world. (Photo/ Hu Panxue)

According to statistics provided by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, China became the worlds largest economy in terms of B2C cross-border e-commerce in 2018, followed by the U.S. The two countries together accounted for nearly half of the total sales volume in the global sector.

About 26 percent of global B2C transactions took place in the Chinese mainland, followed by the U.S. which had 21 percent, according to statistics from online payments giant Paypal.

B2C cross-border e-commerce has become an important force stabilizing Chinas foreign trade. Last year, China's cross-border e-commerce imports and exports reached 1.69 trillion yuan (about 260.9 billion U.S. dollars), up 31.1 percent year on year.

Medical materials for epidemic prevention and control, small home appliances, electronic products and toys became popular products on cross-border e-commerce platforms. According to AliExpress, a global online retail marketplace and part of Alibaba Group, sales of home appliances and household products both increased by more than 50 percent.

A survey by AliExpress indicated that the best-selling products on cross-border e-commerce platforms are clothing, shoes, electronic products and toys, and most consumers like to buy products with high added value, such as artworks.

Mould King, a company based in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong that produces and exports toys, built a profitable business online last year after shifting its focus to cross-border e-commerce to offset the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Consumers shop at a duty-free shop in east Chinas Jiangxi province. The store opened in the first half of the year and all the goods it sells were transported by the China-Europe freight train service. (Photo/Hu Guolin)

An executive of the company disclosed that during the Double 11 shopping spree last year, the number of orders for toys received by the company increased by 100 percent. The products are of high quality and their prices are 85 percent to 90 percent lower than global brands.

Over the past year, the global consumer market has moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and with foreign manufacturing badly hurt by the pandemic, goods made in China have risen to become a mainstay in the global consumer market, said Wang Mingqiang, general manager of AliExpress.

E-commerce also provides a channel for medium- and small- sized companies to reach overseas customers more easily. Unlike the traditional mode of foreign trade, which involves various parties such as traders, foreign buyers, distributors at various levels, and retailers, e-commerce connects the manufacturers with the consumers directly, bringing more profits to the manufacturers and benefits to the customers.

China has rolled out a basket of policies to support, regulate and guide cross-border e-commerce. The policy support has helped create a stable environment for enterprises to grow and greatly boosted their confidence, said Li Mingtao, vice president of a research institute affiliated to the China E-commerce Research Center (CECRC).

(Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji)
Safeguarding core interests underlined as shared mission for the two countries Leaders, officials and scholars have hailed the mature, unique partnership between Beijing and Moscow that outperforms traditional alliances, helps each other ensure strategic security at their doorsteps and provides support for multilateralism and peace across the globe. They made the observation as the two countries recently held a series of events to celebrate the upcoming 20th anniversary on Friday of the signing of the landmark China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation. Beijing and Moscow extended the treaty last month, with President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin issuing a joint statement officially announcing the extension. The two countries have worked together to effectively promote multilateralism, oppose hegemony and power politics and contain the impulses of some Western countries for fanning a new Cold War and bloc confrontation, officials said. When addressing a grand reception on Sunday in Beijing to mark the anniversary, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi defined the bilateral comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership as "not an alliance, but better than an alliance". In the past 20 years, under the guidance of the treaty, China-Russia ties have reached historic highs, and the two countries should further build staunch supporting pillars for world peace and security, Wang said. He underlined three shared missions for the two countries to step up what he called "side-by-side collaboration": safeguarding their core interests, promoting their development and revitalization, and championing regional security and stability. The two governments have thoroughly resolved the border issue left over from history and secured constant peace at their shared boundaries of over 4,300 kilometers. Annual bilateral trade volume has increased nearly 14-fold in the past two decades, from $8 billion in 2000 to $107.77 billion in 2020. Recently, Russia's Finance Ministry completed an asset structure adjustment to the National Wealth Fund, the country's sovereign wealth fund, and the share of the Chinese yuan was increased from 15 percent to 30.4 percent. "It shows Russia's confidence in the prospects of China's economic growth and China-Russia cooperation," Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Thursday. At the event on Sunday, Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov said that the two sides have stayed true to the treaty and achieved fruitful results through cooperation in various fields, and Russia-China cooperation has demonstrated strong stability and tenacity, particularly amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the changing global landscape. Xu Bu, president of the China Institute of International Studies, said the two countries have achieved constant progress in their ties as they "exercise mutual respect and mutual trust, pursue no alignment or confrontation, target no third countries and subscribe to win-win cooperation". As a result, their strategic cooperation has become increasingly mature, and their ties have "become a role model between major powers in modern times", Xu said at a recent seminar. In an interview with the US television broadcaster NBC last month, Putin voiced support for China on issues related to the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and Taiwan, and he debunked attempts by some Western countries to alienate or sabotage China-Russia relations. "We do not believe that China is a threat to us," Putin said, noting that the two countries enjoy "a high level of trust and cooperation in all areas". Chen Wenling, chief economist at the Beijing-based China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said the two-way partnership is not only a country-to-country relationship, but also "an anchor of global peace and balance". "Without the cooperation of the two major countries, some people may be bolder and increasingly fearless when prioritizing their own national interests above the world's interests, bullying and suppressing other countries in order to maintain their hegemony," Chen wrote in a recent article published on a news website affiliated with the National Development and Reform Commission. International order As long as China and Russia further unswervingly champion the whole of humanity's common interests, a fair and just international order and the basic principles of international relations, more countries will follow their lead and stay undisturbed, and "the world will not be messed up too much and will be full of hope", she added. Since both China and Russia have announced that they will not form a strategic alliance to deal with other countries, this unique nonalignment policy "enables the development of the world's diversity and lays a solid foundation for world peace", Hong Kong-based China Review News said in a commentary. The two permanent members of the UN Security Council have shown that "equal cooperation can be achieved as long as countries respect each other and do not interfere in internal affairs", and "a no-win situation cannot be avoided unless cooperation is based on mutual benefits and mutual respect", it added.


All three countries claim the islands and require either permission or advance notification before a military vessel passes through, which the U.S. did not give Monday.

The USS Benfold destroyer sailed near the small archipelago, located south of China and east of Vietnam, in a move known as a freedom of navigation operation, according to the Navy. The operation challenged "the unlawful restrictions on innocent passage imposed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam," the Navy said in a statement.

The U.S. Navy dismissed as "false" China's claims that it "drove away" a U.S. warship that passed through the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on Monday.

The Navy added it would continue to carry out these operations "as long as some countries continue to assert maritime claims that are inconsistent with international law."

"Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight, free trade and unimpeded commerce," the Navy said. "No member of the international community should be intimidated or coerced into giving up their rights and freedoms."

Chinese authorities on Monday called the move "provocative" and urged the U.S. to stop, according to Reuters. The freedom of navigation operation comes on the fifth anniversary of an international court ruling in The Hague that held China had no historic title over the South China Sea. Beijing has ignored the ruling.

Other islands and atolls in the South China Sea are contested by Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines. China considers much of the resource-rich sea its territory -- overlapping with the territorial claims of other nations -- and has created hundreds of hectares of artificial islands to bolster its territorial claims.

The U.S. frequently conducts freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea to dispute China's claims and to promote free passage through international waters that carry half the world's merchant fleet tonnage, worth trillions of dollars each year.
The minimum wage for next year was set amid dramatic scenes on Monday at W9,160 for next year, an increase of a substantial 5.1 percent (US$1=W1,148).

The sum is lower than the W10,000 President Moon Jae-in promised in his election campaign, but businesses still say they are struggling.

The increase has been steep over the last few years, jumping a whopping 41.6 percent from W6,470 an hour in 2017.
Road construction continued on Monday on a stretch of East South Street in New Braunfels. The city this week will be soliciting public input from people about the next slate of streets that should be focused on by city crews.
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. High 92F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mostly clear. Low 74F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
Woburn, MA (01801)

Today

Overcast. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High around 70F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy with occasional rain showers. Low 64F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Support Local Journalism

Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution.
Zac Efron "busted" his grandfather out of his nursing home.

The 33-year-old actor shared a funny video of he and his brother Dylan arriving at the retirement home to take their elderly relative out for the day and joked they'd had to sneak him out past the staff.

In the Instagram video, the 'Mission: Impossible' theme played in the background as Zac said: "Time to bust grandpa outta here."

In a black face mask, the 'High School Musical' actor sneaked through to the room and his grandfather added: "Let's get outta here."

They got him out to the car where he had a drink of Coca-Cola and told his grandsons to "hit it" before making their escape.

They then arrived back at the Efron residence, where they settled in to watch the Euro 2020 final between Italy and England.

Towards the end of the clip, Zac joked his grandfather is "better at acting than I am".

Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution. Contribute

Meanwhile, the 'Baywatch' star called time on his romance with Vanessa Valladares earlier this year after 10 months together, and a source said their romance came to an end when Zac decided things didnt feel right anymore.

The insider said: "Zac broke things off with Vanessa recently. It just didn't feel right to him anymore.

He met Vanessa at the Byron Bay General Store in New South Wales, Australia, where she was working.

And despite their split, Zac will reportedly stay in Australia as he loves the country.

The source added: Zac will still stay in Australia. He just loves Australia so much. He is working and busy with several upcoming projects. He is happy, healthy and enjoying life."

Meanwhile, Zacs friend Kyle Sandilands confirmed the stars break-up, and insisted there was no drama involved.

He said: I can also confirm after speaking with him yesterday. Its only recent, but not like yesterday recent. But theyve gone their separate ways. [There was] no drama, but its done.
In just over a week, the full 90-man roster is slated to report to Green Bay, with the first practice of training camp set for July 28. And because Rodgers has said next to nothing publicly about his intentions, all anyone can do at this point is make educated guesses.
James "Jim" Henry Wright, 93, passed away on July 10, 2021 at Golden Living Center in Kokomo. He was born on February 6, 1928 to the late Gordon and Sarah Ellen (Armstrong) Wright. He married Ruth Shufflebotham on August 20, 1948, and she preceded him in death on October 30, 2009.

He served during the Korean War in the United States Army from 1951-1953. On April 4, 2015, he had the privilege of going on an Honor Flight to Washington, DC with his sponsor, John Murdock. That is a memory he cherished for the rest of his life.

Jim retired from Pittsburgh Plate Glass (PPG) after 43 years of dedicated service.

Jim and his wife loved to go camping, wintering in Florida. They also enjoyed traveling to Europe and Hawaii. Most of all, they loved spending time with their family.

Jim is preceded in death by his brother, Gordon Wright, Jr.

Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution. Contribute

Left to cherish his memory are his numerous nieces, nephews, and relatives in England.

Services for Jim will be held at 1pm on Wednesday, July 21 at Ellers Mortuary Webster St Chapel, with Chaplain John Murdock officiating. Friends and family may gather for an hour of visitation, from 12-1pm, prior to the service.

Memorial contributions can be made to a charity of your choice in Jim's honor.

The family would like to thank Waterford, Wellbrooke, Northwoods Commons, Golden Living Center, and Guardian Angel Hospice for their years of care to Jim.
Attorney General Todd Rokita is demanding numerous officials connected to two Indiana virtual schools repay more than $154 million in state funds he claims the schools misspent or were not entitled to receive.

The lawsuit filed Monday against Indiana Virtual School and Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy, along with various related business entities, is the largest amount of money the state has sought to recover following a State Board of Accounts audit.

According to the lawsuit, officials at the online-only schools spent some $86 million in state funds without properly documenting the spending, used money for prohibited purposes or outside the terms of contracts, or funneled it to related businesses controlled by school officials.

The schools also received nearly $69 million in state tuition support and other state aid between 2011 and 2018 for 4,706 students state auditors said never logged into an online class, and another 3,811 students who were listed as completing some courses despite no online activity, according to the lawsuit

"This massive attempt to defraud Hoosier taxpayers through complex schemes truly boggles the mind," Rokita said. "This case demonstrates once again that public servants must remain ever vigilant in our work to safeguard the public treasury from opportunists."

Records show the two virtual schools abruptly shut down in 2019 after officials at Daleville Community Schools, which authorized their charters, revoked them in light of questions about the virtual schools' accounting practices and commitment to academic standards.

A State Board of Accounts special audit of the virtual schools covering the 2011 to 2019 period concluded public funds were misappropriated through malfeasance, misfeasance, and/or nonfeasance by the virtual school officials  paving the way for Rokita to seek repayment through the courts.

"The State Board of Accounts is committed to creating a culture of accountability where public officials and institutions are held to the highest standards," State Examiner Paul Joyce said. "We appreciate the attorney general for bringing this action on behalf of all the citizens of the state of Indiana."

Court records do not yet list an attorney representing the virtual school defendants, which include individuals and businesses associated with the schools' administration, business managers and contractors.

Rokita additionally is asking Hamilton Superior Court Judge David Najjar to order the defendants pay treble damages of $462 million, or three times the allegedly ill-gotten funds, as punishment for their actions.

The Republican attorney general said local and federal prosecutors also have been alerted to the audit findings for potential criminal charges.

Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution. Contribute

Watch Now: Riding Shotgun with NWI Paramedics

The outcome of the state's civil lawsuit in this case could hinge on a similar, pending legal dispute involving two former School Town of Munster superintendents accused by the attorney general of unlawfully sweetening their pensions.

At issue is whether the attorney general is permitted to seek repayment based on a State Board of Accounts special audit looking back years in the past, when state audits conducted at the time uncovered no malfeasance.

The Indiana Supreme Court last year suggested in a different case that civil recovery based on a special audit is permissible. But it directed Lake Circuit Judge Marissa McDermott to determine how the high court decision applies to the Munster superintendents.

She ruled in October the attorney general's case against former Superintendents William Pfister and Richard Sopko could proceed.

The superintendents, however, are insisting their extra pension payments were lawful, and the state's lawsuit against them should be dismissed.

The next hearing in the Munster case is scheduled for July 28.

State v. Indiana Virtual Education Foundation lawsuit

State Board of Accounts audit of Indiana Virtual School and Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy

Get to know these new Indiana laws enacted in 2021
LANSING  A Lansing man has been arrested for a fatal shooting in a driveway last week, police said.

The Lansing Police Department arrested Juwan Frazier, 37, after he came to the police department with his attorney and turned himself in without incident, Chief Al Phillips said in a news release.

WATCH NOW: Riding Shotgun with NWI Cops  Patrolling Lowell with Cpl. Aaron Crawford

Frazier was charged by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office with first-degree murder, police said.

At 2:20 a.m. July 6, officers responded to a report of shots fire in the 17000 block of Grant Street in Lansing, police said.

Officers found Floyd Steele, a 34-year-old Lansing resident, with multiple gunshot wounds to his head and body, sitting in a parked car in the driveway. He was treated by Lansing paramedics and taken to Franciscan Health Hammond where he died of the gunshot wounds, police said.

Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution. Contribute

Police said Frazier shot Steele after seeing him with his ex-girlfriend.

"The Lansing Police Criminal Investigations Division conducted a thorough investigation and the Illinois State Police Crime Scene Investigators gathered shell casings and other evidence from the scene. Detectives learned that the offender (Juwan Frazier) went to the address on Grant Street, where he previously lived, and observed his ex-girlfriend in a vehicle with another male subject," Phillips said in the news release. "Mr. Frazier confronted Mr. Steele and fired several shots striking him multiple times."

Last Thursday, the Lake County Coroner's Office ruled the death a homicide.

Frazier is slated to be taken to Markham Courthouse and is scheduled for a bond hearing on Tuesday.

Gallery: Recent arrests booked into Lake County Jail
RICHARDSON, Texas and CARMEL, Ind., July 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The XLerate Group ("XLerate") has added Liquid Motors to its arsenal of offerings serving consignors and buyers, both digitally and in-lane. Liquid Motors is a highly respected, critical service provider to independent auctions, dealers, marketplaces, and key industry participants.

Cam Hitchcock, XLerate CEO, remarked that "we have come to know and trust Liquid Motors and the Liquid Motors team as a critical enabler of our multi-platform digital offering, which has grown explosively at XLerate and many other independent auctions. Michael Daseke and his core team are go-to resources for the auction community, and this team will continue to operate Liquid Motors as a highly independent service provider to auctions, dealers, and other consignors."

Michael Daseke, Liquid Motors' CEO, commented that "becoming part of XLerate met several of our family's personal and professional objectives. XLerate is a well-respected and innovative group that will invest in Liquid Motors' technological capabilities and, at the same time, provide Liquid Motors with the independence and confidentiality it needs to be a trusted industry service provider. This is a great outcome for both Liquid Motors, its many customers, and the remarketing industry."

Chuck Tapp, XLerate's EVP & Chief Revenue Officer, commented that "XLerate will benefit from the deep insight into various digital strategies that Liquid Motors is familiar with given its market visibility. Digital transactions have grown tremendously at XLerate over the last five years, and digital is a key component of XLerate's omnichannel, go-to-market strategy. The Liquid Motors acquisition will bolster our digital sales capabilities and transform our go-to-market strategy for other business segments. Liquid Motors provides us the opportunity to enhance and increase the unique value and capabilities to service our existing dealer, commercial, and institutional customers as well as potential prospects for whom we have previously been unable to provide solutions. The Liquid Motors platform allows us to integrate any auction functionality seamlessly."

Liquid Motors, headquartered in Richardson, TX, was founded in 2006. XLerate Group is a multi-channel, multi-brand remarketing company that sells from 20 fixed and mobile auction platforms across 11 states and has a significant multi-seller platform presence.

ABOUT THE XLERATE GROUP:

Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution. Contribute

XLerate Group Auctions are a leading group of independent auctions with over 20 different simulcast online/physical sales combined with remote and off-site dealer sales, in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin,

wwwXLerategroup.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/xlerate-group-acquires-liquid-motors-301331978.html

SOURCE XLerate Group
Press Release

July 13, 2021 De Lima seeks probe into shortcomings, accountabilities in govt's drug war Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has filed a Senate Resolution urging Congress to look into the gains, achievements, shortcomings, and accountabilities of the Duterte regime's "War on Drugs". In filing Senate Resolution (SR) No. 770, De Lima said that "in spite of billions of pesos in intelligence fund, there has been no notable achievements in terms of effectively neutralizing any drug syndicate other than kill suspected low-level drug peddlers." "Before this administration's term comes to an end, it behooves the Senate to evaluate the results or performance of one of the centerpiece programs of this government not only to determine the effectiveness of the program but also to hold accountable those who used this program as a cover for corruption and abuses," she said. During his first State of the Nation Address in 2016, Duterte said that "[w]e will not stop until the last drug lord, the last financier and the last pusher have surrendered or are put either behind bars or below the ground, if they so wish." However, then Director of the Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group (PNP-DEG) P/Col. Romeo Caramat admitted on Feb. 7, 2020 that the "shock and awe (approach of the government) definitely did not work," adding that the "[d]rug supply is still rampant". In fact, Peter Lim, who was accused by Duterte himself as one of the country's biggest illegal drug dealers, has an outstanding warrant of arrest for conspiracy to engage in illegal drug trading and a ?500,000 bounty on his head. To date, the government has yet to determine his whereabouts and confirm whether he has already left the country. De Lima recalled that when the House of Representatives conducted a probe on the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in 2016, said investigation only led to the filing of three drug cases against her. De Lima has consistently and firmly asserted her innocence in these cases. She was acquitted in one of these three cases on February 17, 2021, exactly four years to the day after the charges were filed with the Regional Trial Court of Muntinlupa. "In spite of the allegation of conspiracy, none of the alleged co-conspirators who are NBP inmates were charged, except for Jaybee Sebastian who died under suspicious circumstances supposedly due to COVID 19" she said. "Even with direct access to the drug lords inside NBP, the government has failed to obtain leads on the drug supply chain or financing that could be useful in arresting the distribution of illegal drugs in the country." De Lima, the most prominent political prisoner under the Duterte regime, said that "even as the war on drugs offer little significant gains in stopping the distribution of illegal drugs in our country, the violence that attended it caught the eye of international human rights agencies." According to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) report, Duterte's "harmful rhetoric" and "incendiary" language combined with his government's "heavy-handed focus" on fighting illegal drugs and threats from insurgents has led to numerous deaths, arbitrary detentions and a suppression of dissent. "Noong 2016, pinaimbestigahan ko na ang walang habas na patayan at karahasan na dulot ng drug war ng gobyerno. Ang layunin natin: Matigil ang pang-aabuso at maglatag ng mekanismo para wastong tugunan ang salot ng ilegal na droga. Pero imbes na makiisa, ako ang pinuntirya, ginipit at ipinakulong." "Mahigit limang taon ang nakalipas, anong napala ng bansa sa War on Drugs ni Duterte? Libo-libong Pilipino ang pinaslang, kabilang na ang mga bata at inosente, habang naglipana pa rin ang ilegal na droga!", said De Lima. Vice President Leni Robredo, for her part, revealed in a report released last Jan. 6, 2020 that during her short stint as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Illegal Drugs (ICAD), law enforcement agencies were only able to seize 1% of the shabu supply in the Philippines.
Press Release

July 13, 2021 Statement of Senator Risa Hontiveros on Chinese Foreign Ministry's assertion that 2016 Hague victory is "a piece of waste paper" I unequivocally condemn Chinese Foreign Ministry Zhao Lijian's statement that described our 2016 Hague victory as "nothing more than a piece of waste paper" and that it is "illegal, null, and void." On what planet does he think China is? The entire world has accepted and honored this landmark legal decision. The Arbitral Award has made it clear that China's nine-dash-line claim has neither historic nor legal basis as China cannot exceed what nations are entitled to under UNCLOS. China is a signatory to the UNCLOS, so she has to play by the same rules as everyone else. She stands alone against the global consensus on the issue. China is indeed part of the United Nations, and in fact, she is also a permanent member of the UN's Security Council, so Beijing's leadership better stop contorting international law, which member-nations should abide by, just because it is not in her favor. Beijing should also stop lying through her teeth. It is unfortunate that five long years since our triumph, China has still not come to her senses. The entire globe is still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic and it had been hoped that we would be more reflective about how we live and more especially, how we nations live together. But amid a health and economic crisis, China's behavior vis-a-vis the West Philippine Sea has only been obstructive, devoid of respect for our sovereign country. Moreover, Malacanang should denounce China's statement. It is long overdue. It is disturbing to read that China's position of relegating our 2016 victory to "waste paper" is similar to how President Duterte described this award. The words that come out of the President's mouth should echo the sentiment of the Filipino public, not of China. I have previously called on the President to retract his previous statement. He cannot abandon his duty to represent and fight for the best interest of the Philippines. He owes every Filipino that.
'The Great Wastes of China in what might become the Waste Philippine Sea'

It is not only reclaiming land in the West Philippine Sea; by its actions, it is also renaming it as the Waste Philippine Sea.

By turning reefs into toilets, two man-made things are now visible from space: the Great Wall of China on land, and the Great Wastes of China at sea.

Ships are prohibited by domestic and international laws from dumping its refuse and trash into our oceans. Under Philippine laws, such are environmental crimes that carry a jail term and a hefty fine.

But even without these laws, decent human behavior commands civilized men not to turn rich fishing grounds into a cesspool of feces.

DENR should investigate this, and if there is basis, file charges in court. Government cannot fine sidewalk litterers while turning a blind eye to this.

DFA should also study filing a diplomatic protest.
Kuwait customs has seized 2.22 million bags of narcotics at the countrys Shuwaikh port, Kuwaiti state news agency KUNA reports.

The substances were found in three containers left behind for over 90 days in the port. The General Administration of Customs also said the first container contained 111,000 bags of the narcotic substance Paan, the second had 109 bags, and the third 2 million bags.

The authorities pledged to take action against the smugglers without providing details on their identities. The region has witnessed several attempts to smuggle prohibited drugs into some countries.

Earlier in July, security officials in Saudi Arabia thwarted several attempts to smuggle large quantities of drugs into the Kingdom, Arab News reports. Coastal patrols in the Eastern Province had foiled an attempt to sneak 495,481 amphetamine tablets into the country, while naval patrols in Khafji in the Eastern Province had stopped 241 kilograms of hashish and 419,000 amphetamine pills from getting through, Arab News also notes.

Maritime security officers also thwarted in the Tabuk region a smuggling operation of 334,000 amphetamine tablets.
The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) signed Monday a memorandum of cooperation with the French National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), the kingdoms state news agency SPA reports.

The deal is meant to strengthen and develop a general framework for collaboration between the two countries.

The cooperation agreement also seeks to raise the level of coordination between the two sides to promote intellectual property rights.

SAIP has launched several programs to educate small and medium enterprises (SMEs) about intellectual property rights, SPA notes. SAIP, to promote intellectual property rights, has launched IP Clinic, a communication channel with inventors and SMEs.
Detectives have formed a multi-agency team made up of the police, the military, and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to hunt down fugitive police officer Corporal Caroline Kangogo.

The team of security agents has intensified the search on major highways, including the Nairobi-Nakuru-Eldoret and the Nairobi-Mombasa highways.

The elite squad will also be surveilling hotels and means of communication.

We have expanded our hunt to major highways, hotels, lodges and other places where we feel she could be hiding. Soon we shall arrest her, a senior detective with the DCI Special Service Unit told the Nation.

Ms Kangogo has been on thee run for a little over a week now after she shot dead two men in a span of 24 hours, on Sunday, July 4 and on Monday.

Nakuru County Criminal Investigations Officer Anthony Sunguti said it was difficult to trace Kangogo because she dumped her mobile phone.
A defiant deputy president William Ruto has declared that he will not stop giving out cash donations to churches and welfare groups.

Speaking at African Holy Ghost Christian Church in Huruma, Nairobi, on Sunday, Ruto appeared to respond to a jibe from president Uhuru Kenyatta.

The Head of State had on Friday said that some leaders do not have plans for transforming the lives of Kenyans and have instead resorted to dishing out handouts.

Kenyans dont want handouts. They want to be given the ability to fend for themselves, Uhuru said.

In his response, Ruto appeared to accuse Uhuru of having double standards.

When you were looking for votes you gave out Sh100 but you did not call it handout. But when I am giving to churches, boda bodas and mama mbogas, it becomes a handout. We may not be geniuses, but we are not fools, the DP said.

You gave people Sh100 to get a five-year job but when I give Sh5,000 to mama mboga, that becomes a handout.

Earlier in the day, Ruto spoke at New Breed City Chapel, Kiambu Road urging his critics to let him worship God in his own way.

Some people have a problem with the way we worship. I have been accused of carrying money to church in sacks, but we will not stop, he said.

Some of us did not have godfathers, we only know of God the Father. Allow us to worship God the way we think we should.

DP Ruto further defended his donations citing the Bible.

When you hear me talk about bottom-up, we are speaking the language of the Bible. The Holy Book says God will uplift the poor and they will dine with kings. That is the explanation of the bottom up approach of dealing with issues, he averred.
According to a press release published by VIKING Life-Saving Equipment on July 2021, the company chooses inaugural DEFEA Athens as first live event to showcase consolidated high-performance boat, life-saving and safety solutions for defence sector.

Model of Munin S1200 (Picture source: Army Recognition)



With order volumes from defence customers in Greece at their highest level for many years, VIKING Life-Saving Equipment is taking the first real-life opportunity to present its consolidated portfolio of products and services to naval and military clients in an encouraging market.

The return of a "real life" event comes at a time when Ministry of Defence procurement in Greece is gathering momentum. It also coincides with high activity at VIKING NORSAFE Life-Saving Hellas, the Danish companys Greek subsidiary.

John Georgiadis, Managing Director, VIKING NORSAFE Life-Saving Hellas, says that VIKINGs boat production at plants in Norway, Greece and Asia has weathered COVID-19 challenges effectively. The first in a second batch of ambulance boats for the Hellenic Coastguard will leave its Athens plant at the end of July bound for the Sporades Islands. DEFEA will also provide a platform to introduce a new 14m fast patrol boat designed for a current tender.

In addition, the Athens event allows VIKING to highlight the June reopening of its training center in Lavrio and the lifting of travel restrictions on service engineers. Consolidated global service has been a key gain for clients following the 2018 acquisition of NORSAFE by VIKING, he says.

With a customer base including navies, air-forces, special forces, coast guards and SAR, law enforcement and harbor patrol, VIKINGs wider portfolio of life-saving equipment has also been turning heads in Greece, adds Sren Hansen, Senior Sales Manager Defence, VIKING Life-Saving Equipment. VIKING will bring its new SOLAS-approved PV9380 VIKING YouSafe Vanguard lifejacket to DEFEA, designed for its compatibility with other safety equipment. Another new life-saving product disclosure is being saved for the show itself, says Hansen.

The Norsafe Munin S1200 represents a state of the art platform for all professional user groups requiring the highest possible quality in terms of seaworthiness, user-friendliness and safety at sea in all conditions. A TwinStepped wellproven deep V-Hull with superior shock mitigation, stability and maneuverability. Built to operate reliably and effectively in extreme conditions.

The boat is designed to serve the patrol, boarding and inspection role, with deck layout allowing the crew to operate efficiently and comfortably over long periods of time. The layout and performance of the boat ensures optimum diving support, survey and work boat duties.

The VIKING Norsafe Munin S1200 has a twin waterjet from Alamarin with joystick control and dynamic positioning. It employs a twin installation, Mercury diesel engines developing 740 hp offering a top speed of 45 knots.
Decrease Font Size Font Size Increase Font Size

Article body

Within its release of the worlds most influential climate scientists, the international news agency Reuters has named Hanqin Tian, professor in Auburn Universitys School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, to its list of top scholars leading the study of climate change.

Tian, who serves as the Solon and Martha Dixon Endowed Professor and director of the International Center for Climate and Global Change Research, was ranked 118th out of 1,000 international scientists. Known as a preeminent scholar of global environmental change, Tian also leads Auburns Climate, Human and Earth System Science (CHESS) Cluster, an interdisciplinary group of faculty working to advance solutions to persistent environmental challenges.

Dr. Tians contributions to the study of climate systems continue to advance solutions to many of the grand challenges facing our society, including protecting natural resources and developing environmentally sustainable solutions, said Auburn Provost Bill Hardgrave. His exemplary record of research and scholarship certainly makes him one of the most influential scholars in the field.

Two of Tians former graduate and postdoctoral fellows, Chaopun Crystal Lu and Wei Ren, also are included on the list.

To compile the list, Reuters data journalist Maurice Tamman developed a system of identifying and ranking climate academics according to the influence of their research. Examining more than 350,000 scholarly papers, Tammans criteria included evaluating the number of publications as of December 2020, the frequency of those citations relative to other papers in the field and the number of references in the press, social media and other public policy papers.

Tians groundbreaking research findings in the field of climate science have been featured in over 300 publications, including 10 papers published in the most prestigious scientific journals: Nature, Science and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, or PNAS. Tians Nature paper, A comprehensive quantification of global nitrous oxide sources and sinks, made the Altmetric Top 100 most discussed article out of 3.4 million works in 2020 and was featured in 134 news outlets globally.

In 2019, Tian received a prestigious Andrew Carnegie Fellowship to support his work in climate change and food security. Tian was also elected as a fellow to the American Geophysical Union, or AGU, in 2020 for his outstanding and pioneering contributions to understanding the role of terrestrial ecosystems in controlling sources and sinks of greenhouse gases. AGU elects fewer than 0.1% of members to join this prestigious group of fellows.

Tian has co-led an international consortium of scientists from 48 research institutions in 14 countries under the umbrella of the Global Carbon Project, on which he serves as one of 12 scientific steering committee members and co-chair for the International Nitrous Oxide Assessment.

International collaboration is essential for solutions to global climate change and sustainable development goals, said Tian. Therefore, strengthening partnerships for international research and education is of critical importance to Auburn Universitys global profile and ranking.

In the past decade, Tian has trained and prepared young scientists, including more than 10 doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows who have become faculty members across the United States, such as the two who also made the Reuters list: Lu, currently an assistant professor at Iowa State Universitys Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, and Ren, now an assistant professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at the University of Kentucky.

Lu and Ren had a decade-long training and research experience in climate science at Auburn, initially as graduate students, postdoctoral and then research fellows before they assumed faculty positions, said Tian. Both received NSF CAREER awards, the most prestigious award in support of early-career faculty.

Janaki Alavalapati, dean of Auburns School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, said the U.S. administration acknowledges the growing need for climate scientists and initiatives relating to academics, research and outreach.

With global recognition of Auburns unique strengths in climate science, Auburn is well-positioned to engage and lead some of these emerging sciences, said Alavalapati. To extend the intellectual reach of Auburn University at regional, national and international scales, it would be strategic and timely to facilitate a conversation to explore avenues to strengthen and expand AUs climate science platform.

(Written by Teri Greene)
Welcome Guest! You Are Here:
Yugra Bank seeks to collect about $643 mln from NK Dulisma oil company

 flickr.com/Moscow-Live.ru

12:37 13/07/2021

MOSCOW, July 13 (RAPSI)  PJSC Bank Yugra has submitted over 48.5 billion rubles ($643 million) in creditor claims to JSC Oil Company Dulisma that is allegedly owned by Alexey Khotin, a former shareholder of the bank, according to the order of the Moscow Commercial Court.

The court is to consider the claim on October 6.

On June 10, the Moscow Commercial Court, at the request of the Federal Tax Service of Russia, introduced a monitoring procedure with respect to NK Dulisma. The register of claims of the oil company's creditors included the claims of the Federal Tax Service of Russia for the largest taxpayers No. 2 in the amount of 7.5 billion rubles ($1 billion at the current exchange rate) of the principal debt, 602.6 million rubles ($8 million) in penalties and more than 3 billion rubles ($40 million) in fines. Alexey Posashkov was approved as the temporary manager of the debtor.

In November 2020, the Moscow District Commercial Court dismissed a cassation appeal of Yugra Bank against the ruling of the Moscow Commercial Court of August 17, 2020, which terminated the bankruptcy proceedings against Dulisma Oil Company, saying that on the basis of the case materials the obligations of Dulisma to the bank had been terminated.

NK Dulisma is a subsoil user of the Dulisminskoye oil and gas condensate field in the Irkutsk region. Previously, it was a part of Urals Energy, and in 2012 it was sold to business structures owned by the Khotin family.
Supreme Court upholds 12-year jail term for ex-Russian top investigator in graft case

 RAPSI, Eugeny Varlamov

14:43 13/07/2021

MOSCOW, July 13 (RAPSI)  Russia's Supreme Court has upheld a 12-year jail term for Alexander Drymanov, the retired head of Moscows Investigative Committee, sentenced for his role in a bribery scheme, the press service of the court told RAPSI.

The Supreme Court excluded an indication of the conviction of Drymanov from the descriptive and analytical part of the sentence. Otherwise, the sentence and the appellate decision were left unchanged, the cassation appeals were dismissed, the statement reads.

Moreover, the court dismissed appeals against the sentences of two other defendants, Colonel Alexey Kramarenko and ex-investigator Mikhail Maksimenko.

The Moscow City Court convicted and sentenced Drymanov in March 2020. In addition to the prison term he was fined 196 million rubles ($2.6 million at the current exchange rate), prohibited from holding law enforcement and state posts for 7 years and deprived of his Major General rank. Kramarenko received 10 years in a high-security prison. Maksimenko was ordered to be imprisoned for 14 years.

As it was established by the court and investigators, the defendants received a $1 million bribe for mitigation of restrictive measures with respect to a member of an organized gang.

Neither of the defendants admitted guilt.

According to Drymanov's testimony, since 2013, he has been constantly under the state protection, what, in his opinion, prevented any opportunity to receive bribes. Officers of security agencies routinely examined his office and listened to his phones, the general said in court. He emphasized that he could not affect decisions in criminal cases due to their quantity, but relied on the honesty of his subordinates.
Dalondo Moultrie is the assistant managing editor of the Seguin Gazette. You can e-mail him at dalondo.moultrie@seguingazette.com .
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on July 13, 2021

2021/07/13

CCTV: Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on July 9 that July 16 marks the 20th anniversary of signing the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China. She said that the document laid the legal foundation for Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era, and practical cooperation across the board. The 20-year experience of steadily deepening bilateral ties shows that the Treaty has successfully withstood the test of time. The leaders of Russia and China have agreed that the anniversary of this document is the most important event in the countries' relations this year. Russia invariably strives to further implement the Treaty's potential and to deepen ties with China in the most diverse fields. What is China's comment?

Zhao Lijian: China and Russia have a high degree of agreement on the significance and role of the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation between China and Russia. Twenty years ago, the two sides signed the Treaty on the basis of a comprehensive review of historical experience and an accurate grasp of the overall trend of world development. The past 20 years since the signing of the Treaty have witnessed accelerated changes in the world landscape and turbulent international situations. Guided by the spirit of the Treaty, China-Russia relations have forged ahead with determination and become stronger as time goes by. They have become a model of major-country exchanges and a pillar of strength for world peace and stability. In a few days, we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty. Facts have proved that the principles enshrined in the Treaty can stand the test of history and practice, and live up to the expectations of the two peoples and the international community.

During their video meeting on June 28, President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin jointly announced the extension of the Treaty and issued a joint statement, setting new goals and drawing a new blueprint for bilateral relations. Going forward, under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China and Russia will continue to work hand in hand and support each other, carry forward the vision of longstanding friendship enshrined in the Treaty, deepen strategic coordination and practical cooperation across the board, and make China-Russia relations in the new era more beneficial to the two peoples and the world at large.

Bloomberg: A couple of questions. First, the Financial Times reported that US President Joe Biden has apparently warned US companies of the risk of doing business in Hong Kong, which would be the first time the US has issued a business advisory of this kind on Hong Kong. Does the foreign ministry have a comment on this matter? Second question, White House officials are said to be discussing proposals for a digital trade agreement covering Indo-Pacific economies, as the administration seeks ways to check China's influence. The details of the agreement are still being drafted, but the pact could include countries such as Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. The deal could also set out standards for the digital economy, including rules on the use of data, trade facilitation and electronic customs arrangement. Does the Foreign Ministry have a comment on this matter?

Zhao Lijian: On the first question, I'm not aware of the situation. We always firmly oppose the US interference in China's internal affairs under the pretext of the Hong Kong issue. The Basic Law of Hong Kong and other relevant laws clearly protect the rights and interests of foreign investors. Since the implementation of the Law on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong SAR last year, the society in Hong Kong has returned to the right track and the Pearl of the Orient has become even more shiny. The so-called advisory to be issued by the US side is a typical political manipulation with double standard.

As for your second question, I'm not aware of the situation. I want to stress that China always pursues openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation and is committed to working with neighboring countries to promote common development in the region. If what you said is true, the US act to build walls and counterbalance others in the region under the pretext of rule-setting violates the laws of the economy and the shared aspiration of countries in the region. This fully exposes its plot to gang up against China and contain its development and obstruct the common development of countries in the region. It is doomed to fail.

Macau Monthly: The US State Department submitted on July 12 the 2021 Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act Report to Congress, once again accusing China of "committing genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs...and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang". Do you have any comment?

Zhao Lijian: Here is a joke. In this US report there are the following words: "This Administration will defend and protect human rights around the world". How hilarious! The US government has a deplorable human rights record that continues throughout history to the present. Some in the US are in the habit of giving prescriptions to others when they themselves are sick. A report following such absurd logic is completely worthless.

Here is another joke. In the report the US accuses the Chinese government of committing "genocide and crimes against humanity" in Xinjiang. This is an outrageous and preposterous lie. It has revealed the true face of the US government to the Chinese people. The US image in the hearts of the Chinese people has collapsed and its credibility completely bankrupt. Speaking of "genocide and crimes against humanity", the US has a better claim to them than any other country.

The US should not forget the innocent African American lives taken by the brutal Tulsa race massacre 100 years ago, the Indians who were cruelly expelled and slaughtered during the Westward Expansion, or the desperate cries of people like George Floyd. Due to US indifference to human rights, over 600,000 American lives have been claimed by COVID-19, ethnic minorities live in fear of racial hate crimes, refugees and immigrants are left in miserable conditions, millions of children suffer from abuse, poverty and forced labor. The US even condoned its troops' illegal killing and abuse of foreign civilians in overseas military operations, of which there is iron-clad evidence.

The US is in no position to criticize other countries' human rights conditions. No matter how some in the US go to great lengths along its misguided course to hype up lies on Xinjiang, their political conspiracy to disrupt Xinjiang and contain China will only end up in failure. The US had better direct more energy to actually resolving domestic human rights problems.

Indonesia Antara News Agency: Indonesia faces a worsening COVID surge. Yesterday, the other batches of China's Sinovac vaccines arrived in Jakarta. Indonesia is seeking more medical equipment supplies, such as oxygen generator, from other countries. What's your comment and will the Chinese government help the Indonesian government to contain the situation?

Zhao Lijian: Since COVID-19 broke out, China and Indonesia have been supporting each other and conducting anti-epidemic cooperation, especially vaccine cooperation, which has been a pacesetter for such efforts globally, and has become a fine example of major developing countries combating the virus in solidarity. China is following very closely the epidemic situation in Indonesia and feels for the Indonesian government and people in their trying moments. We stand ready to do our utmost to provide urgently-needed assistance. The two sides will soon hold the HDCM Secretary-General Special Meeting on Fighting against COVID-19 and Public Health Cooperation. I'm sure more concrete measures will come out of it.

Hubei Media Group: On July 12, the 47th session of the UN Human Rights Council adopted again the resolution on "the contribution of development to the enjoyment of all human rights" submitted by China. Can you brief us on the relevant situation?

Zhao Lijian: On July 12, the 47th session of the UN Human Rights Council adopted the resolution on "the contribution of development to the enjoyment of all human rights" submitted by China. The resolution reaffirms that development makes significant contribution to the enjoyment of all human rights by all; the aim of development is to constantly improve the well-being of the entire population; and countries should meet the aspiration of the people for a better life. The resolution welcomes the tremendous efforts and achievements made by countries in promoting sustainable development and eradicating poverty; calls upon all States to realize people-centred development of the people, by the people and for the people; calls upon all States to promote sustainable development to enable better enjoyment of human rights, and to promote equality of opportunity for development.

In their remarks, representatives of Venezuela, Pakistan, Cuba and Cameroon commended this important resolution draft submitted by China and thanked China for its lead role. They stressed that development is critical to countries, developing ones in particular, adding that without development, it would be impossible to achieve enjoyment of human rights and overcome the challenges brought by COVID-19. They said countries should step up international cooperation, uphold a people-centered approach, promote sustainable development, eliminate poverty and inequality and earnestly safeguard all human rights of the people.

Development is mankind's eternal quest and the key to all problems. Better development is the only way to better promote and protect human rights. The ongoing pandemic across the globe is dealing a heavy blow to the economic and social development and the enjoyment of human rights in countries. In the face of grave challenges, countries should enhance solidarity and cooperation in fighting the virus while vigorously promoting sustainable development and redoubling the effort of reducing poverty to overcome the negative impact of the virus on people's lives. This is the third time the Human Rights Council adopt this important resolution submitted by China. It is hoped that the resolution can galvanize the consensus for promoting sustainable development and the universal enjoyment of human rights.

China News Service: At the 47th session of the UN Human Rights Council, systemic racism and racial discrimination in Western countries have caught wide attention. Can China share more information on that?

Zhao Lijian: On July 12, an interactive dialogue on the protection of Africans and African descendants was held at the 47th session of the Human Rights Council. Developing countries condemned systemic racism and racial discrimination, and called on the international community to step up efforts to combat discrimination and violence against people of African and Asian descents.

China made a joint statement on behalf of more than 50 countries. It stressed that Africans and people of African descent, Asians and people of Asian descent have long been suffering systemic racism, racial discrimination and hate crimes. Multilateral human rights bodies should take actions to treat both symptoms and root causes of systemic racism and structural racial discrimination, and eliminate legacies of slavery, transatlantic slave trade, colonialism and labor trafficking. The international community should work harder on racial discrimination and hate crimes targeting Asians and people of Asian descent. Political and public figures should stop making racist remarks. The rights of Asians and people of Asian descent should be fully guaranteed.

The Chinese representative pointed out in the intervention that Africans and people of African descent still face systemic racism and racial discrimination in the U.S., the UK, Canada and EU member countries. They face serious discrimination and violence from law enforcement and judicial bodies and justice cannot be upheld. In recent years, discrimination and hate crimes against Asians and people of Asian descent surged rapidly in the U.S., the UK, Canada, Australia and EU member countries. This has to do with inflammatory remarks made by certain politicians and media. The international community should not stand idly by and should not allow discrimination and violence to continue to harm Africans and people of African descent, and Asians and people of Asian descent.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet pointed out that "behind today's systemic racism and racial violence lies the absence of formal acknowledgement of the responsibilities of States and others that engaged in or profited from enslavement, the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans, and colonialism." Relevant countries should take concrete measures, change discriminatory systems and measures, hold perpetrators accountable for racism crimes and provide reparations to victims to realize racial justice and equality at an early date.

The African group, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab group, the Gulf Cooperation Council, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Indonesia, Vietnam, Belarus and others all condemned systemic racism and racial discrimination, urging relevant countries to fully and effectively implement the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, eliminate legacies of historical issues such as slavery, transatlantic slave trade and colonialism, end police brutality, prohibit the spread of speeches inciting racial discrimination, and earnestly protect the human rights of all, including Africans and people of African descent, Asians and people of Asian descent, and indigenous groups.

We urge relevant Western countries to address the international concerns seriously, deeply reflect upon their issues of systemic racism and racial discrimination and take concrete measures to resolve them. By doing this they will be making tangible contributions to domestic protection and promotion of human rights and also to the progress of the international human rights cause.

TASS News Agency: According to Russian media, Chinese Consul-General in Russian city of Vladivostok said that the two countries are planning to announce the mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccines in September. On Monday the Consulate-General of China in Vladivostok denied media reports. Are there any discussions on mutual recognition of vaccines between Russia and China? When mutual vaccine recognition can possibly happen?

Zhao Lijian: We noticed that China's Consulate-General in Vladivostok already released information about this on its website. I don't have anything to add on that.

Beijing Youth Daily: It is reported that Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, announced that it had signed advance purchase agreements (APAs) with Sinopharm and Sinovac on July 12. Could I have China's comment?

Zhao Lijian: China has been strongly supportive and actively engaged in the COVAX program, and has announced supply of vaccines to the COVAX, mainly for the urgent needs of developing countries. Ever since their vaccines were granted WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL) on May 7 and June 1 respectively, Sinopharm and Sinovac have immediately started coordination efforts to ensure production, and reached out to Gavi on vaccine supply. Under the recently signed purchase agreement, the two Chinese manufacturers will supply 110 million doses of vaccines to the COVAX over the next four months, with options for additional doses. This is another concrete step taken by China to honor its commitment to make vaccines a global public good, promote equitable distribution of vaccines and contribute to the global fight against the epidemic.

As COVID-19 is still ongoing in many parts of the world, vaccines serve as the most powerful weapon against the disease. As the largest developing country and a responsible member of the international community, China never seeks its own interest at the expense of others, and rejects vaccine nationalism. Instead, we uphold the vision of a global community of health for all, and actively promote international vaccine cooperation with concrete actions, making real contributions to ensuring accessibility and affordability of vaccine in developing countries. To date, China has provided more than 500 million doses of vaccines and concentrates to over 100 countries and international organizations in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas and the South Pacific, which is equivalent to one sixth of the total global output, making China the largest supplier of vaccines to developing countries.

China will continue to make contributions to the equitable access of vaccines in developing countries. We also call on countries that are able to do so to take concrete actions sooner than later to help developing countries obtain vaccines, so as to secure an early victory against the epidemic.

CCTV: Matthew Palmer, Special Representative for the Western Balkans and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the US Department of State, said during a recent visit to Montenegro that China is engaging in "debt trap diplomacy" in Montenegro and the Western Balkans and warned the country to be wary of commercial exchange with China. Do you have a comment?

Zhao Lijian: China and Montenegro enjoy long-standing friendship. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 15 years ago, the bilateral relations have been growing smoothly with the two countries respecting each other's core interests and major concerns. We conducted productive cooperation in such fields as transport infrastructure on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, which is of great significance to Montenegro's economic and social development and the improvement of people's wellbeing. China sets great store by its relationship with Montenegro and hopes the two sides can work together to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation to deliver more benefits to the two peoples.

I would like to stress that the attempt of certain countries with ill intentions to hype up the so-called "debt trap" in the cooperation with China will garner no support. The true intention behind the false accusation of "debt trap" is to sow discord between China and relevant countries. Anyone with impartial attitude on this issue will come to an objective conclusion.

Shenzhen TV: A report by the NHK on July 8 showed that Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) found through its recent investigation of the nuclear waste storage area of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant that the lids of two containers became loose and fissure appeared. The density of radioactive substances of the water inside was up to 79,000 becquerel per liter. The areas around the storage were also contaminated to different degrees. This is the third time since March this year that the nuclear waste containers in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant has leaked. What is China's comment on that?

Zhao Lijian: As a Chinese saying goes, "do not make the same mistake more than three times". Since March this year, there have already been three disclosed leakages of the nuclear waste containers. We don't dare to imagine how many leakages are left undiscovered or hidden.

In April this year, Japan has unilaterally made the wrong decision to release the Fukushima nuclear contaminated water into the sea. Over the past three months, the Japanese side has disregarded doubts and concerns both at home and abroad, abandoned international responsibility and obligation, distorted facts frequently, and tried to talk its way out of responsibility. Moreover, the Japanese side has done little while the nuclear waste leakage of the Fukushima power plant keeps happening. How is this not worrying and concerning? Putting one's own economic interests above the shared interests of the entire humanity as Japan did challenges the bottom line of human conscience, harms the public interest of the international community and the health and security of people across the world. The Japanese side should reconsider its wrong decision at an early date and give a responsible explanation to the international community.

After China, the ROK and other stakeholders called for it repeatedly, the IAEA has decided to put together a technical working group on the disposal of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear incident which experts from China, the ROK and Russia will join. The Japanese side should show its sincerity and cooperate with the working group comprehensively, act with a great sense of responsibility for global public interests and prudently handle relevant issues in an open, transparent and scientific manner.

Phoenix TV: On July 12 local time, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic of Cuba said in a televised address along with main government officials that the anti-government action on July 11 is by no means accidental. He said a few anti-Cuba elements are disrupting the peaceful life of Cuban people under the pretext of improving livelihood, and demanded that the US stop its embargo on Cuba. Do you have any comment?

Zhao Lijian: We noted that after demonstrations took place in parts of Cuba on July 11 local time, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic of Cuba immediately went to the site to listen to the call of the people and delivered a televised address on July 12.

As the Cuban side pointed out, the US embargo is the root cause of Cuba's shortage of medicines and energy. For the 29th consecutive year, the UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution with an overwhelming majority calling for an end to the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed on Cuba by the US, which shows the widespread call from the international community. The US should fully lift its embargo on Cuba and play a positive role in helping the Cuban people overcome the effects of the epidemic.

China firmly opposes foreign interference in Cuba's internal affairs, firmly supports what Cuba has done in fighting COVID-19, improving people's livelihood and upholding social stability, and firmly supports Cuba in exploring a development path suited to its national conditions. I'd like to stress that China stands ready to work with Cuba to implement the important consensus of the two heads of state and is firmly committed to deepening friendly relations between the two countries.

Prasar Bharati: Indian and Chinese foreign ministers are in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe for the SCO foreign ministers' meeting tomorrow. Is any bilateral meeting expected between the two foreign ministers on the sidelines of the SCO foreign ministers' meeting?

Zhao Lijian: During the SCO foreign ministers' meeting, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will have exchanges with foreign ministers of other SCO member states on major international and regional issues and cooperation in various sectors under the SCO framework under the current situation, and make the political preparations for the SCO summit later this year.

As for your specific question, we will release information in a timely manner. Please stay tuned.

CRI: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia on July 9 released country reports on human rights situation, which points out that the United States continues to grossly violate human rights both inside and outside the country. The freedom of the media in the United States, to which Washington declares adherence, is sliding into complete degradation. The level of racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and other manifestations of such discrimination and xenophobia continues to rise. Do you have any comment?

Zhao Lijian: I noted relevant reports. As a matter of fact, we have also shared the facts of US human rights abuses on multiple occasions.

I want to stress as a Chinese proverb says, "The best way to hide a misdeed is not to commit it." The sins and wrongdoings the US government has committed in the field of human rights are too numerous to record. Even if the US government avoids any mention of that and seems forgetful, those countries whose people are living in misery due to the US sanctions, bullying and wars will never forget it. Journalists who have been silenced and harassed by the US will never forget it. The minorities who are persecuted by racial discrimination in the United States who cannot breathe freely will never forget. Each and every practice of US' human rights violations has long been documented, with iron-clad evidence that is indisputable.

The reports released by the Russian side once again shows that the international community has long seen through the "human rights" disguise of the US, and it is high time that the US stopped its clumsy performance as the so-called "defender of human rights" and put aside the big stick of human rights it has wielded arbitrarily. The US should also spend more time listening to the voices of Asians and other ethnic minorities, indigenous people, refugees and immigrants at home, and seriously examine and correct its own human rights abuses such as genocide, racial discrimination and forced labor. The international community will wait and see how the US will correct its mistakes.

SCMP: Japan released Defense of Japan 2021 white paper on Tuesday, which referred to the importance of stability around Taiwan for the first time. What is China's response?

Zhao Lijian: Recently, the Japanese side has been making issues out of China, grossly interfering in China's internal affairs, making groundless accusation of China's normal national defense and military activities, pointing fingers at China's legitimate maritime activities and playing up the so-called "China threat". This is extremely wrong and irresponsible. China deplores and rejects this.

I must stress that, Taiwan is part of China and the Taiwan question is purely China's internal affair. China never allows interference in the Taiwan question in any form by any country. China must and will be reunified. A complete reunification of China is most beneficial to regional peace and stability.

Diaoyu Dao and its affiliated islands are China's inherent territory. By conducting patrol and law enforcement activities in waters off Diaoyu Dao, China is exercising the inherent right of China as prescribed by law. The Coast Guard Law is just a routine piece of domestic legislation. It is not targeted at any specific country. And it is totally in line with international law and international practice. In fact, many countries, including Japan, have enacted similar laws and regulations long before China. Enough with Japan's "lying diplomacy" and double standard!

The "Indo-Pacific Strategy" aims to stoke bloc confrontation and create cliques for geopolitical game. It marks the comeback of Cold War mentality and retrogression and should be tossed into the dustbin of history. Will Japan first solve the problem of its flagrant discharge of nuclear contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean before touting the idea of "free and open Pacific"?

We once again urge Japan to approach the relevant issues with the right mentality, and show its respect for China's sovereignty and sincerity in upholding regional peace and stability.

Global Times: According to reports, violent attacks occurred in the Cota 905 neighborhood in the southwestern part of the Venezuelan capital Caracas, resulting in the death of 4 police officers and 5 civilians. The Venezuelan police cracked down on the gangs involved in the case and killed over 20 criminals. President Maduro accused external forces including the US, Columbia and Spain of joining up with extreme right-wing elements in Venezuela to organize the attacks. Do you have any comment?

Zhao Lijian: China opposes all forms of foreign intervention, radical violence and terrorist acts. We firmly support the effort of the Venezuelan government to uphold national peace and stability. We hope the international community can play a constructive role in facilitating the proper settlement of this issue through dialogue, so as to help Venezuela come back to the normal track of development at an early date.

Bloomberg: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is using a trip to Brussels to urge EU members to help confront China and Russia. She is to say in a speech, "together we need to counter threats to the principles of openness, fair competition, transparency, and accountability". She accused China of unfair economic practices, malign behavior, and human rights abuses. Does the ministry have a comment on this matter?

Zhao Lijian: China deplores and categorically rejects the remarks of Treasury Secretary Yellen. We always firmly support multilateralism and the multilateral trading regime with WTO at the core and conduct international economic and trade cooperation following the principles of equality and mutual benefit. We never bully others or wantonly impose sanctions, practice "long-arm jurisdiction" or willfully suppress foreign companies. The word "unfair" has nothing to do with China. Those who cherry-pick mechanisms and rules under the multilateral trading regime and go all out to smear and malign other countries based on lies, rumors and disinformation are being unfair in the true sense of the word.
Kathleen "Kathy" Fitzsimmons Rotzell, 73 of California, MD, formerly of North Palm Beach, FL passed away on July 3, 2021 at her home with her husband by her side. She was born on March 2, 1948 in St. Louis, MO to Thomas Fitzsimmons and Mary Grace (Powers) Fitzsimmons.



Kathy graduated in 1966 from Hazelwood High School in MO. She later attended Florissant Community College in MO where she studied Accounting. She worked many different places but most notably for Ozark Airlines and Venture Department Stores, from which she "retired" to become a stay at home mother, which was her favorite job of all, until she became a grandma.



She married the love of her life, Timothy Clifford Rotzell on August 22, 1981 in St. Louis, MO. Kathy and her husband raised a daughter, Amanda, whom she loved dearly. She and her family loved to travel. Their most memorable trips were cruises and summer family vacations to many different destinations like Sarasota, Williamsburg, Gulf Shores, and Pigeon Forge. Family and friends were most important to her and she was, without a doubt, the caretaker and peacemaker of the family. When Amanda was in school, Kathy was the parent you would always find volunteering, involved with organizing field trips and running Girl Scout troops. As a grandma, she continued that tradition, remaining ever present, never missing a preschool graduation or a school performance.



She was an excellent cook and her specialties according to her grandsons were pumpkin pie, mac-n-cheese, chili, and layered rainbow jello. Her love of learning and reading was evident as she always had her Kindle in hand. She was skilled in the knowledge of random trivia facts; winning trivia contests, answering the most challenging questions on Jeopardy and finishing any puzzle on the Wheel of Fortune. Her newest passion was researching her family heritage, delving into online research and recently making exciting new discoveries of family connections from far in the past that she had not known.



Kathy will be remembered for her loving, compassionate, and outgoing personality and her ability to make friends with anyone no matter where their paths crossed. She was the life of the party with a presence that filled the room, a contagious laugh, and a wild story always on hand to share. She will forever be remembered and loved by all who knew her.



Kathy is survived by her loving husband, Timothy; her beloved daughter, Amanda Ramos and favorite son-in-law, Ricky Ramos of California, MD, and her grandchildren, Ricky, Jr. and Timmy, whom she loved to spoil rotten. She was preceded in death by her parents.



At this time services are private.



Condolences to the family may be made at www.brinsfieldfuneral.com.



Arrangements by the Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A.
Artist's impression of the HD265435 system at around 30 million years from now, with the smaller white dwarf distorting the hot subdwarf into a distinct 'teardrop' shape. CREDIT University of Warwick/Mark Garlick

Astronomers have made the rare sighting of two stars spiraling to their doom by spotting the tell-tale signs of a teardrop-shaped star.

The tragic shape is caused by a massive nearby white dwarf distorting the star with its intense gravity, which will also be the catalyst for an eventual supernova that will consume both. Found by an international team of astronomers and astrophysicists led by the University of Warwick, it is one of only a very small number of star systems discovered that will one day see a white dwarf star reignite its core.

The team's new research is published in today's issue of the journal Nature Astronomy.

With the help of W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea in Hawai'i, the astronomers were able to confirm that the two stars are in the early stages of a spiral that will likely end in a Type Ia supernova - a type that helps astronomers determine how fast the universe is expanding.

The couple - a binary star system called HD265435 - is located roughly 1,500 light-years away; it is comprised of a hot subdwarf star and a white dwarf star orbiting each other closely at a dizzying rate of around 100 minutes. White dwarfs are 'dead' stars that have burned all their fuel and collapsed in on themselves, making them small but extremely dense.

A type Ia supernova is generally thought to occur when a white dwarf star's core reignites, leading to a thermonuclear explosion. There are two scenarios where this can happen. In the first, the white dwarf gains enough mass to reach 1.4 times the mass of our Sun, known as the Chandrasekhar limit. HD265435 fits in the second scenario, in which the total mass of a close stellar system of multiple stars is near or above this limit. Only a handful of other star systems have been discovered that will reach this threshold and result in a Type Ia supernova.

Lead author Ingrid Pelisoli from the University of Warwick Department of Physics explains: "We don't know exactly how these supernovae explode, but we know it has to happen because we see it happening elsewhere in the universe."

"One way is if the white dwarf accretes enough mass from the hot subdwarf, so as the two of them are orbiting each other and getting closer, matter will start to escape the hot subdwarf and fall onto the white dwarf. Another way is that because they are losing energy to gravitational wave emissions, they will get closer until they merge. Once the white dwarf gains enough mass from either method, it will go supernova," she says.

Using data from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, the team was able to observe the hot subdwarf. While they did not detect the white dwarf, the researchers observed the brightness of the hot subdwarf varied over time; this suggests a nearby massive object was distorting the star into a teardrop shape.

The astronomers then used Palomar Observatory and Keck Observatory's Echellette Spectrograph and Imager (ESI) to measure the radial velocity and rotational velocity of the hot subdwarf star, which allowed them to confirm that the hidden white dwarf is as heavy as our Sun, but just slightly smaller than the Earth's radius. Combined with the mass of the hot subdwarf, which is a little over 0.6 times the mass of our Sun, both stars have the mass needed to cause a Type Ia supernova.

"Keck's ESI data was crucial in determining that the compact binary system exceeds the Chandrasekhar mass limit, which makes HD265435 one of the very few supernova Ia progenitor systems known," says co-author Thomas Kupfer, assistant professor at Texas Tech University's Department of Physics and Astronomy.

As the two stars are already close enough to begin spiraling closer together, the white dwarf will inevitably go supernova in around 70 million years. Theoretical models produced specifically for this study also predict that the hot subdwarf will contract to become a white dwarf star before merging with its companion.

Type Ia supernovae are important for cosmology as 'standard candles.' Their brightness is constant and of a specific type of light, which means astronomers can compare what luminosity they should be with what we observe on Earth, and from that work out how distant they are with a good degree of accuracy. By observing supernovae in distant galaxies, astronomers combine what they know of how fast this galaxy is moving with our distance from the supernova and calculate the expansion of the universe.

"The more we understand how supernovae work, the better we can calibrate our standard candles. This is very important at the moment because there's a discrepancy between what we get from this kind of standard candle, and what we get through other methods," says Pelisoli.

She adds, "The more we understand about how supernovae form, the better we can understand whether this discrepancy we are seeing is because of new physics that we're unaware of and not taking into account, or simply because we're underestimating the uncertainties in those distances."

"There is another discrepancy between the estimated and observed galactic supernovae rate, and the number of progenitors we see. We can estimate how many supernovae are going to be in our galaxy through observing many galaxies, or through what we know from stellar evolution, and this number is consistent. But if we look for objects that can become supernovae, we don't have enough. This discovery was very useful to put an estimate of what a hot subdwarf and white dwarf binaries can contribute. It still doesn't seem to be a lot, none of the channels we observed seems to be enough," Pelisoli says.

###

This research was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and the Science and Technology Facilities Council, part of UK Research and Innovation.

ABOUT ESI

The Echellette Spectrograph and Imager (ESI) is a medium-resolution visible-light spectrograph that records spectra from 0.39 to 1.1 microns in each exposure. Built at UCO/Lick Observatory by a team led by Prof. Joe Miller, ESI also has a low-resolution mode and can image in a 2 x 8 arc min field of view. An upgrade provided an integral field unit that can provide spectra everywhere across a small, 5.7 x4.0 arc sec field. Astronomers have found a number of uses for ESI, from observing the cosmological effects of weak gravitational lensing to searching for the most metal-poor stars in our galaxy.

ABOUT W. M. KECK OBSERVATORY

The W. M. Keck Observatory telescopes are among the most scientifically productive on Earth. The two 10-meter optical/infrared telescopes atop Maunakea on the Island of Hawai'i feature a suite of advanced instruments including imagers, multi-object spectrographs, high-resolution spectrographs, integral-field spectrometers, and world-leading laser guide star adaptive optics systems. Some of the data presented herein were obtained at Keck Observatory, which is a private 501(c) 3 non-profit organization operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation. The authors wish to recognize and acknowledge the very significant cultural role and reverence that the summit of Maunakea has always had within the Native Hawaiian community. We are most fortunate to have the opportunity to conduct observations from this mountain.

Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
Traces of the gas phosphine point to volcanic activity on Venus, according to new research from Cornell University.

Last autumn, scientists revealed that phosphine was found in trace amounts in the planet's upper atmosphere. That discovery promised the slim possibility that phosphine serves as a biological signature for the hot, toxic planet.

Now Cornell scientists say the chemical fingerprint support a different and important scientific find: a geological signature, showing evidence of explosive volcanoes on the mysterious planet.

"The phosphine is not telling us about the biology of Venus," said Jonathan Lunine, professor of physical sciences and chair of the astronomy department at Cornell. "It's telling us about the geology. Science is pointing to a planet that has active explosive volcanism today or in the very recent past."

Lunine and Ngoc Truong, a doctoral candidate in geology, authored the study, "Volcanically Extruded Phosphides as an Abiotic Source of Venusian Phosphine," published July 12 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Truong and Lunine argue that volcanism is the means for phosphine to get into Venus' upper atmosphere, after examining observations from the ground-based, submillimeter-wavelength James Clerk Maxwell Telescope atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii, and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in northern Chile.

If Venus has phosphide - a form of phosphorous present in the planet's deep mantle - and, if it is brought to the surface in an explosive, volcanic way and then injected into the atmosphere, those phosphides react with the Venusian atmosphere's sulfuric acid to form phosphine, Truong said.

Lunine said their phosphine model "suggests explosive volcanism occurring," while "radar images from the Magellan spacecraft in the 1990s show some geologic features could support this."

In 1978, on NASA's Pioneer Venus orbiter mission, scientists uncovered variations of sulfur dioxide in Venus' upper atmosphere, hinting at the prospect of explosive volcanism, Truong said, similar to the scale of Earth's Krakatoa volcanic eruption in Indonesia in 1883.

But, Truong said, "confirming explosive volcanism on Venus through the gas phosphine was totally unexpected."

###

Funding for the research was provided by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
With this launch, Bhutan will become the first country to adopt UPI standards for its QR deployment and second country after Singapore to have BHIM UPI Acceptance at merchant locations

NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the International arm of National Payment Corporation of India and Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) of Bhutan have partnered for enabling and implementing BHIM UPI QR-based payments in Bhutan. The service will be formally launched by the Honble Finance Minister of India Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman on 13 July 2021 at a virtual ceremony in presence of Honble Finance Minister of Bhutan, Lyonpo Namgay Tshering, Governor of Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan, Dasho Penjore, Secretary (Department of Financial Services) Shri Debasish Panda, Ambassador of Bhutan to India General V Namgyel, Ambassador of India to Bhutan, Ruchira Kamboj, MD & CEO of NPCI, Dilip Asbe and other distinguished guests.

The launch of BHIM UPI in Bhutan will add a new milestone in financial integration between the two economies. The collaboration between NIPL and RMA will enable acceptance of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) powered BHIM App in Bhutan. RMA will ensure that the participating NPCI mobile application through UPI QR transactions is accepted at all RMA acquired merchants in Bhutan. The launch will benefit more than 200,000 tourists from India who travel to Bhutan each year. With this launch, Bhutan will become the first country to adopt Unified Payment Interface (UPI) standards for its QR deployment. Bhutan will also become the only country to both issue & accept RuPay cards as well as accept BHIM UPI.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is an instant real-time payment system, allowing users to transfer money on a real-time basis, across multiple bank accounts without revealing details of ones bank account to the other party. The simple, safe, cost-effective mobile-based payments system has become one of the most prominent forms of digital payments. In 2020, UPI enabled commerce worth USD 457 Billion, which is equivalent to approximately 15% of Indias GDP.

Ritesh Shukla, CEO, NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), said, Our vision has always been focused on taking our robust and popular payments solutions to global markets.

This strategic partnership with Bhutan in the area of digital payments will not only enhance the ease of transacting for Indian travellers to Bhutan but will also add value to lives of customers in Bhutan.
NxtGen launched SpeedCloud High-Performance Computing as a Service (HPCaaS) for global markets. Fueled by best-in-class technology from global leaders like HPE and Intel, SpeedCloud HPCaaS is NxtGens endeavor to simplify, strengthen and accelerate mainstream adoption of high-performance computing by enterprises, research institutes, and government entities.

Modern application workloads involved in advanced scientific, engineering, and technology domains are complex and demand next-level performance, power, and accuracy for problem-solving on large datasets at very high speed and scale. The ability to process data at scale and perform complex task calculations at high speed is what HPC is all about. The most common users of HPC systems are scientific researchers, engineers, governments, and academic institutions, as well as businesses performing data-centric computing projects in AI and other areas. NxtGens SpeedCloud HPCaaS, built with know-how and collaboration from HPE-Cray and Intel is already being used by some of the premier technology institutions across India.

SpeedCloud HPC Cluster is powered by HPC-Cray and 2nd Gen Intel Xeon Platinum 9200 family of processors, featuring Intel Deep Learning Boost for unmatched 2-socket performance leadership across popular workloads. Built to support both liquid-cooled and air-cooled options, the HPE Apollo 20 System takes advantage of the Hewlett Packard Enterprise experience in HPC cooling technologies as workloads continue to push power and density. The cluster houses high-speed InfiniBand EDR interconnects and for efficiently handling large datasets for your simulations, data analytics, and innovative AI/ML emerging technology workloads.

Commenting on the launch, A S Rajgopal, CEO & MD, NxtGen said Not long ago, high performance computing use cases came solely from the rarefied realm of research, government and the largest corporations. SpeedCloud HPCaaS makes it possible for mainstream enterprises to leverage these technologies for manufacturing excellence, healthcare, financial services, etc. We were encouraged by our customers eagerness to accelerate experimentation and innovation.

How NxtGens SpeedCloud HPC-aaS stands out from its global competitors

 Speed  SpeedCloud HPC-aaS leverages modern and advanced CPUs, GPUs, and low-latency Networks, helping its users perform massive calculations, now in a matter of minutes. Speed provided by the NxtGen HPC cluster depends on the configuration provided to it. Users will witness faster results and processing of data, if more clusters and cores are enabled to the job

 Pay Per Use  NxtGen SpeedCloud HPC-aaS provides lower TCO since the resources are offered on-demand, fully managed, and maintained by NxtGen. Customers subscribe to the service and consume resources customized to their needs without any upfront investment

 Price Performance  Faster calculations mean less wasted time and money. Additionally, with cloud-based SpeedCloud HPC-aaS, even small businesses and start-ups can afford to run HPC workloads, paying only for what they use and scaling up and down as needed. As HPC utilizes fewer clusters, it has the benefit of being cost efficient over supercomputing

 Fault Tolerance  If one part of the system fails, the entire HPC system does not fail. Given that HPC workloads are compute heavy, NxtGen HPC clusters fault tolerance ensures that the computations continue uninterrupted

 Fostering Innovation  SpeedCloud HPC-aaS is equipped to drive innovation across nearly every industry and can be the force behind scientific discoveries that improve the quality of life for people around the world

NxtGen SpeedCloud HPC-aaS has been rolled out for a select few customers for comprehensive testing and inputs. To begin with, NxtGen has opened its HPC services at 100,000 CPU hours worth of free credits to academia. Further, NxtGen SpeedCloud HPCaaS Cluster will be made available to all technology education institutions for free on a time-share basis so that students can learn to use supercomputing models for research.
AMS-IX (Amsterdam Internet Exchange), one of the worlds largest Internet hubs, is expanding its data centre footprint in the Netherlands with two new locations. As of October, they will add a Points of Presence (PoP) in the data centres of Smartdc in Rotterdam and Greenhouse Data Centers in Naaldwijk. It is the first time in the history of the organization that AMS-IX adds PoPs outside the Amsterdam metro area to the exchange in Amsterdam.

According to the governmental body of the Metropolitan Region of Rotterdam The Hague, these latest expansions of AMS-IX are a great stimulus for the establishment of tech and enterprise companies in the region. Through AMS-IX, companies have direct connections with a multitude of networks regionally and globally and can therefore guarantee high quality and efficiency of digital services to be delivered. Many applications benefit from this enhanced connectivity, including live streaming, provisioning of business software, online gaming, the delivery of video calling services, or just facilitating an efficient set-up of extensive company networks.

AMS-IX is one of the largest Internet exchanges in the world and has more than 875 networks connected to the exchange in Amsterdam, including companies like ebay, Akamai, Vodafone, T-Mobile, Tele2, Worldstream, Leaseweb, GoDaddy, i3D.net, and many more. The exchange in Amsterdam is hosted in fourteen data centres in and around Amsterdam. The data centres in South Holland will be the fifteenth and sixteenth physical locations of the node.

The arrival of AMS-IX is of great importance for the growth of the economy in our region, says Saskia Bruines, alderman for Economy in The Hague and also administrative leader of Digital Economy and 5G of the Metropolitan Region Rotterdam The Hague. The Rotterdam The Hague Metropolitan Region is an attractive location for tech companies and has the ambition to host many more top-tier companies in the future.

Rapid Growth

AMS-IX will start building the extension in South Holland this summer. These should be ready in the fall, says AMS-IX CEO Peter van Burgel. These new locations are of great importance for our ambitions. The Rotterdam The Hague region has the potential to grow into a major tech hub, so it is important for us to have a presence here. Several large technology companies are already established in the Rotterdam The Hague region and there are no restrictions to facilitate rapid growth.

Smartdc pays close attention to optimizing its carrier ecosystem, offering an exceptional mix of in-house Tier-1 carriers and connectivity providers, says Smartdc CEO Richard Boogaard. With the expansion of a PoP from AMS-IX, Smartdc can offer a unique mix in terms of connectivity. At Smartdc, customers can directly pick up and connect local and international connections.

The deployment of the physical AMS-IX-PoP makes us even more attractive as a data center provider for companies that want to host their IT infrastructures in the Rotterdam-Den Hague region, said Guido Sip, Chief Commercial Officer of Greenhouse Datacenters. Customers will now have even more opportunities to achieve the very highest reliability and network connection speeds for interconnectivity and international connections. It also represents a significant expansion in terms of options to optimize network traffic and associated costs, for example during large-scale live events including major international sporting events.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced the launch of AWS Public Sector Startup Ramp in India, a new program to help early stage public sector focused technology startups build solutions on AWS.

AWS Startup Ramp is an acceleration program for startups that are building innovative solutions for public sector customers worldwide, including but not limited to customers in national and local government, space and defense, and healthcare. Startups in their early stage growth can apply to join the AWS Startup Ramp in one of two tiers: pre-revenue startups can apply to the Innovator tier, and post-revenue startups (with up to INR 100 crores in revenue) can apply to the Member tier. Startups meeting all qualifying application criteria will be reviewed and evaluated for participation based on their potential contributions to public sector customers.

AWS Startup Ramp is modeled after AWS EdStart, which works with education technology (EdTech) focused startups, and AWS GovTechStart, our US-based program that supports commercial technology companies serving state and local governments. Each program offers eligible companies support including access to AWS Promotional Credit, technical training and support, a community of experts, and more.

We are excited to launch the AWS Startup Ramp in India where there is incredible opportunity for startups to solve public sector challenges through their innovative solutions. This global initiative is a critical way for us to support startups who are using technology to change the world, said Sandy Carter, vice president of public sector partners and programs at AWS.

Our experience in India has shown that public sector organizations are increasingly keen to experiment with new ideas and technologies to advance their missions at speed and scale. Startups bring disruptive innovative solutions that create broad impact, and can pivot quickly to meet societys changing needs. We are doubling down on our focus to serve the public sector, and empower startups with the new AWS Startup Ramp program. We are thrilled to introduce the program to expand the capabilities of Indias strong and aspiring startup ecosystem, said Rahul Sharma, President, Public Sector  AISPL, AWS India and South Asia.

Startups and industry experts weigh in on the value of this new AWS initiative

During the development phase of the AWS Startup Ramp program, we worked with several startups focused on the distinct needs of the government technology sector. Learn how three of these companies worked with AWS Startup Ramp to accelerate development of new cloud-based technologies.

Anil Nadig, co-founder of TraceX, a technology platform leveraging blockchain for a connected, clean, traceable, and transparent supply chain, shared, Working with AWS greatly helped accelerate our product development. The solution architects from AWS helped us in technology selection, cost optimization, and refinement of our application architecture for enabling our implementations at scale. As a matter of fact, AWS solution architects were at the forefront, helping us build resilience in our infrastructure and application architectures to prevent distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.

Fintech startup Whrrl is working to revolutionize the post-harvest ecosystem through its integrated blockchain platform. Their service helps reduce fraud risk that banks face with warehouse receipt finance, and provides warehousing and marketplace facilities to farmers that will aid in solving problems such as distress sale, access to finance, and market linkage. With AWS in the picture, we have always been ultra-sure about two things: first, the belief in our systems performance and their uptime. We are assured that with AWS support, we will not disappoint our stakeholders. Second, the financial support in the form of AWS Promotional Credit that weve received is hugely helpful for us as an early-stage startup, said Ashish Anand, chief executive officer (CEO) of Whrrl.

Praveen Kuruganti, co-founder of Unmiti, an agritech startup that is working to monitor and evaluate agriculture projects, shared, The AWS team has been helpful during the initial phases of our company. AWS is the best cloud solution available in the market, both in terms of technology superiority and pricing. Most of our data is sensitive information related to the farmers and farmland, and with security features of AWS implemented, we are able to manage data security with ease.

How to join AWS Startup Ramp

If you have a big idea for a company that can help enable government entities to better serve its citizens, AWS Startup Ramp can help. By joining the program, AWS Startup Ramp members will have access to technical experts, education, and live or virtual events. You will build solutions on the same scalable platform used by QLess, Juvare, OpenGov, and SOMA Global.

From idea to IPO and beyond, AWS looks to continually help improve public sector focused technology services and solutions. Through AWS Startup Ramp, qualifying startups can get access to low cost, simple-to-use infrastructure designed to enable it to scale and grow a business of any size.
Saudi Arabias LogiPoint has awarded a SR68-million ($18.5 million) deal to Sahara Building Contractors for the construction of its multi-purpose warehousing complex, Warehouse Village V, at Jeddah Islamic Port.

An internationally recognised and award-winning logistics real estate company, LogiPoint has grown to become the kingdoms premier developer and operator of transformative logistics parks and zones.

The new facility will be built on a 24,500-sq-m area within the group's flagship logistics park - the Bonded and Re-Export Zone in Jeddah - with dedicated zones for handling frozen, chilled, ambient

and dry cargoes.

The bonded and re-export zone is a 1 million sq m fully integrated logistics platform dedicated to facilitating trade and development in the kingdom by enabling the supply chain and logistics industry and by creating value through investments in innovative, next generation solutions and state-of-the-art logistics infrastructure.

Warehousing Village V also introduces a LogiPoint first with a dedicated zone designed and equipped to handle Pharmaceutical goods inside Jeddah Islamic Port.

Additionally, the Value Addition Zone will enable LogiPoint to extend their time tested and much in demand value added services to their clients allowing them to act as a truly transformative logistics hub for the region.

Currently, LogiPoint warehousing facilities are operating at over 100% utilization and hence Village V is a welcome addition, said a senior official.

"We believe the companys mission of enabling logistics and facilitating trade and economic growth by acting as a stakeholder in the kingdoms growth has become more pertinent than ever before," remarked its CEO Farooq Shaikh.

LogiPoints investments into infrastructure projects carry a multiplier effect for the kingdoms economy because of the multiple new investments these projects attract to the Kingdom.

"Village 5 is going to be our most sophisticated addition yet to LogiPoints warehousing infrastructure inside Jeddah Islamic Port. The importance and relevance of a facility that is designed to receive, handle, store and distribute pharmaceutical goods can scarcely be overstated today," he noted.

"At the same time, the addition of a multi-purpose state-of-the-art warehousing facility at LogiPoint BRZ reinforces Jeddah as an integrated logistics hub internationally and demonstrates just how well we are aligned with the Vision 2030s goal to make the Kingdom a regional logistics hub of choice. Village 5 is start of the expansion plans that is expected to increase LogiPoint BRZs warehousing capacity by about 150% during next 2-3 years," he added.

Warehousing Village V has been designed by Jamjoom Consulting in line with international logistics infrastructure specifications and incorporates the latest green building technologies to ensure compliance with environmental standards.

The facility will rely on renewable resources for power generation and has been designed to conserve energy through eliminating waste and using low consumption LED lighting system.-TradeArabia News Service
Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) has issued a Request for Qualification (RFQ) for the development of the Jazan small sewage treatment plants (SSTP) with a 104,500 cu m per day capacity.

The Jazan Cluster comprises 17 small plants with sizes ranging from 1,000 cu m/day to 15,000 cu m/day, together with associated collection networks of 1,500 km (with lengths ranging from 7 km to 415 km).

The main indicative plant features are expected to include the influent connections, tanker discharge points, all by-passes, inlet works and primary, secondary and tertiary treatment, pumping facilities including all the associated buildings, civil, structural, mechanical, electrical supply, control and instrumentation infrastructure, said the statement from SWPC.

According to SWPC, a total of 46 companies, including 27 Saudi firms, as part of 38 consortia, have expressed their interest in the Jazan SSTP project.

Leading global giants vying for the Jazan project include Spanish heavyweights Acciona Agua, FCC Aqualia and Copasa; Saur Sas (France); Marubeni (Japan); Arkoil Technologies (Netherlands); and Indian group VA Tech Wabag in addition to Chinese majors - Jiangxi JDL Environmental Protection, Jinluo Water Company and China Railway Construction Company.

Among the Saudi companies, the top names in the race are Ajlan & Bros Energy Company; Tawzea; AlFanar; Al Khorayef Water; Haji Abdullah Alireza; Amiantit; Nesma; Mowah Company; and Tamasuk Holding in addition to some GCC players including Metito Utilities (UAE); Elsewedy Electric (Egypt); and Bahrain-based Lamar Holding, said the statement from SWPC.

Following the tender bid, the winning group, through a project company to be incorporated, would develop the SSTP project on a build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) model under a 25-year Sewage Treatment and Collection Network Implementation Agreement with SWPC, while for the collection network, it will be on a design, build, finance and transfer (DBFT).

KPMG Al Fozan & Partners have been roped in as lead and financial advisors, while Jacobs Engineering Group (CH2M Saudi Limited) will be the technical advisor and Amer Al Amr Law Firm the legal advisor.-TradeArabia News Service
Euro Auctions, Europe's leading auctioneers of industrial plant, construction and agricultural machinery, expands in the UAE and Middle East with the appointment of Milad Akhitar as a new Territory Manager for the UAE.

Akhitar joins Euro Auctions with a solid sales background having worked in the media for many years in the plant and machinery sector. Working as the Key Account manager for Plant & Equipment magazine, Milad has good connections across the region, with an excellent understanding of the market, with experience in evaluating and assessing machinery and equipment. With good connections with the main decision makers in OEMs, dealers of used equipment, contractors, rental companies, as well as end users, Akhitar will be active in introducing the Euro Auctions brand to more potential consignors across the Middle East.

"I have seen the growth of Euro Auctions in Dubai and across the region, from the early beginnings when the company took over the site at Jebel Ali Free Zone. Whilst known globally, the brand had little profile in the UAE, but now, having worked hard over the last five years, Euro Auctions has an excellent reputation in the region and are seen as the premiere auction site in Dubai. The company is seen as a trusted business partner attracting new consignors at each sale and becoming seen as the premier auction specialist in the Middle East. I was also impressed with the management structure and being a privately-owned business there is real sense of family with all of its employees, working as a cohesive team and all members having a real 'can do' attitude."

"Euro Auctions have also been excelling in the market place, and realising good prices for its consignors for machinery and equipment entered into each sale. With new equipment in short demand, Euro Auctions has extensive reach globally and as such brings good compliments of excellent machinery to all sales, and recently many unregistered and 12 to 24-month-old machinery."

-- TradeArabia News Service
Etisalat Group, stc Group, Zain Group, Mobily, and du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), are joining forces for the implementation of Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) solutions in their existing telecom networks.



They will share their industry knowledge and experience setting a clear path to drive innovation for the ICT sector across the Middle East.



The memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the five operators confirms commitment to deploy Open RAN across their footprint, providing an opportunity to traditional RAN vendors to adopt open interfaces, software and hardware to build more agile and flexible mobile networks in the 5G and 4G era, support new entrants with innovative solutions and achieve cost efficiencies in RAN deployments.



This partnership will open immense opportunities for operators and the telecom ecosystem with the availability of interoperable, competitive and commercial grade Open RAN products, building a framework to exchange best practices and technical outcomes. For customers, they will gain advantage with service catering to the local market requirements with faster time to market while using the most advanced mobile access networks. With operators focusing on introducing software capabilities in the Open RAN environment it will bring technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the forefront.



Hatem Bamatraf, Chief Technology Officer, Etisalat Group, said: This is an extraordinary opportunity for the Middle East operators to come together to promote the development of an open technology that will help to enhance the flexibility and efficiency of our networks. I am excited about this partnership that will foster a diverse and secure 4G/5G ecosystem based on Open RAN solutions. This is also a testimony to Etisalats commitment and leadership in innovation in the ICT sector and to development and adoption of Open RAN ensuring the best network experience for our customers.



Haitham Alfaraj, Senior Vice President of Technology and Operations in stc Group, said: stc is committed to the introduction of latest technologies and innovative 5G/4G mobile networks solutions. Todays announcement signals the entry into a new era of operators collaboration in Middle East to accelerate the development of Open Network technologies, which helps in diversifying our strategic technology growth.



He added: Our commitment has always been to deliver a best-in-class mobile network to our deserving customers. This is an exciting milestone in stcs digital transformation journey; stc will continue to endeavour to always lead the market towards digital transformation, in line with the Kingdoms Vision 2030.



Nawaf Al Gharabally, Zain Group's Chief Technology Officer commented: This joint and innovative initiative by like-minded and visionary regional mobile operators is truly inspirational as it brings multiple benefits to all our stakeholders and further enhances the Middle East telecom sectors position on the ICT world map.



Alaa Malki, Chief Technology Officer at Mobily, said: Mobily is keen to strengthen this partnership, which copes with the latest innovations in ICT sector, as it improves the services provided to customers and build an advanced open access network.



Almalki added: The implementation of Open RAN solutions supports the flexibility and provides more innovation in managing the network for more efficient operations. Mobily is willing to exert all efforts for the success of this partnership and forge several partnerships that push forward the development and innovation in the ICT sector.



Saleem AlBlooshi, Chief Technology Officer, du, said: Driving innovation and Open RAN deployment is the shared responsibility of every telco operator. At du, we are committed to working with our regional counterparts, which will enable us to create further value by increasing infrastructure flexibility and efficiency while accelerating technology adaption and network expansion across the UAE.



With Open RAN the industry is working towards standards and technical specifications that define open interfaces within the radio system, including hardware and software, so that networks can be deployed and operated based on mix-and-match components from different suppliers. Operators will be able to draw on the reinvigorated supplier innovation to drive cost efficiencies and more flexibly deliver customised services in response to evolving customer demands.



The introduction of Open RAN, virtualisation and automation will enable a fundamental change in the way operators manage networks and deliver services. Operators will be able to add or shift capacity more quickly for end users, automatically resolve network incidents or provide enterprise level services on-demand for industry.  TradeArabia News Service
Indigo Living, a luxury home furnishing firm, has announced its biggest sale as part of this year's Dubai Summer Surprises promotion.

Offering up to 75 per cent off, the sale will run until July 31, 2021 at the company's Sheikh Zayed and Al Wasl branches. Indigo Living recently launched their latest homecation collection, hoping to elevate buyers' at-home ambience, a statement from the company said.

"Residents can use this opportunity to spruce up their surroundings and transform their home as the company promises huge savings on furniture, home decor, and more. Customers who want to upgrade/ refresh their homes, can also speak with their in-house design team," the company said.

The sale is also available for customers who prefer shopping online - on www.indigo-living.com. , it added -TradeArabia News Service
Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, has announced that it will resume direct operations to Tbilisi International Airport in Georgia starting with three weekly flights, from July 15, 2021.

The flag carrier currently flies to and from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Kuwait, Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Madinah, Muscat, Cairo, Amman, Casablanca, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Athens, Istanbul, Larnaca, Bangkok, Manila, Singapore, Dhaka, Colombo, the Maldives and several destinations in India and Pakistan.

It has also launched all of its seasonal destinations for this summer with direct flights to Mykonos and Santorini in Greece, Malaga in Spain and Alexandria and Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt.

Acting CEO Captain Waleed Abdulhameed Al Alawi said: "We have been operating direct flights between Bahrain and Georgia since 2017 and it is one of the airlines main destinations in the Caucasus region." "We are extremely happy to see a much healthier trend in summer traffic and the resumption of some of our most popular destinations as the global vaccination programme continues to bring a sense of normalcy back into our routine, he stated.

Recently, Gulf Air had announced complimentary Covid-19 travel insurance coverage to all ticket holders including health and quarantine expenses in the unexpected circumstances of being diagnosed with or contracting the virus during passengers journeys.

All tickets booked, including redemption tickets, on Gulf Air flights for travel until November 10 are automatically covered with Covid-19 insurance at no extra cost.-TradeArabia News Service
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, is offering free private airport transfers to and from Dubai for guests travelling in Economy to select destinations.



Tickets must be booked by August 11 for travel by September 30, 2021. Travellers will also earn double Etihad Guest Miles on their flight too.



Guests travelling to Dubai do not need to quarantine on arrival and can travel easily from Abu Dhabi International Airport, using Etihads complimentary transfer services to Dubai. During the promotion, guests travelling in Economy can use the free private car service direct to their home, hotel, or preferred destination in the emirate of Dubai.



Fatma Al Mehairi, Vice President Sales UAE, Etihad Airways, said: With Dubai just an easy one hour drive from Abu Dhabi International Airport, were committed to making travel as easy as possible for guests travelling to and from Dubai this summer. The Etihad Wellness programme also means guests can travel with Etihad with complete peace of mind.



Guests travelling in Etihads Business and First cabins continue to have complimentary access to the Etihad Chauffeur service, regardless of their travel destination.



In line with the Etihad Wellness programme, the driver will be wearing face masks and disposable gloves, and all vehicles are sanitised after every trip too.



The free private airport transfer service is available for all guests travelling between Dubai and one of the following destinations: Amsterdam, Athens, Bangkok, Barcelona, Brussels, Casablanca, Chicago, Dublin, Frankfurt, Geneva, Istanbul, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, London, Madrid, Malaga, Manchester, Manila, Melbourne, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Mykonos, Paris, Phuket, Rabat, Rome, New York, Santorini, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Washington, or Zurich.



In order to make travel as easy as possible, Etihad has extended its Verified to Fly travel document initiative across its entire network. Travellers can validate their Covid-19 travel documents online before arriving at the airport, and then access the fast track Verified to Fly check-in desks at the airport to beat the queues.  TradeArabia News Service
Help India!



On July 4, a week after the Jammu drone attack, which was the first of its kind in Jammu and Kashmir, the district administration of Srinagar banned drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles in the district. The order directed those owning or possessing drone cameras or other similar kinds of unmanned aerial vehicles to deposit them at local police stations. The order has left many photographers in Kashmir apprehensive and fearful of earning a decent livelihood.

Auqib Javeed | TwoCircles.net

Support TwoCircles



SRINAGAR  On July 5, 27-year-old Burhan Nazira young wedding photographer handed over his drone camera to a local police station in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. Nazir had bought his drone at Rs 2 lakh from New Delhi to make a living as a photographer. However, the recent government order banning drones in Srinagar has come as a dagger to Nazirs livelihood.

Talking to TwoCircles.net, Nazir said that he was given a receipt at the police station after depositing his drone. I deposited my drone camera, charger, battery and some accessories at police station RajBagh in Srinagar, he said.

On July 4, a week after the Jammu drone attack, which was the first of its kind in Jammu and Kashmir, the district administration of Srinagar banned drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles in the district.

In an order, the Deputy Commissioner of Srinagar Mohammad Aijaz Asad directed those owning or possessing drone cameras or other similar kinds of unmanned aerial vehicles to deposit them at local police stations.

The order, however, exempted government departments from using drones for mapping, surveys and surveillance in agricultural, environmental conservation and disaster mitigation sectors but directed them to inform the local police station before using them.

The ban on drones has hit dozens of young and talented wedding photographers in Srinagar, who would use drones on wedding ceremonies, or for travel photography to get an aerial view of the beautiful Kashmir valley.

Over the years, the use of drones in weddings has picked up and has become a trend in Kashmir with many youth investing a handsome amount of money to add drone technology to their armour and increase their income.

I used to work in different Bollywood songs and would provide them with the aerial landscape of the Kashmir Valley. This was benefiting us in two ways. We would get to know about the beauty of Kashmir and we would earn a good amount of money, Nazir told TwoCircles.net.

However, the latest order has left Nazir and scores of other photographers in Kashmir apprehensive.

Witnessing back to lockdowns since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, Kashmirs economy has taken a hit. The conflict-dominated region has the highest number of unemployed people leading to a mental health crisis for its people.

As reported earlier, the valley is witnessing rising cases of suicides amid the pandemic, which the mental health experts are blaming on joblessness.

As per observers, the new order banning drones has added to the anxiety of the youth who work as photographers, or who use drones in their work.

Through this order, the administration also cautioned that any violation of the guidelines will attract punitive action, and directed police to implement the restrictions in letter and spirit.

What should we do? Why wont they allow professional photographers to do our job? We will go through mandatory verification and can co-operate with the authorities, Nazir said.

Nazirs company Creative Photography Kashmir would offer a package to couples for a pre-wedding shoot in Kashmir. The use of drones in the package would be the selling point, Nazir said.

Now we just have a camera and the gimbal. We cant afford other big equipment like cranes etc for film making, Nazir told said.

Nazir said he doesnt know what to tell the families in Srinagar, who have booked him for shooting their wedding ceremonies and where usage of drones has been assured.

What should I tell them now? he asked.

Bilal Ahmad Dar, an ace cinematographer from Srinagar, has a different opinion. He argues that the extensive use of drones by the youngsters in Kashmir has created a mess. As a result, the administration is finding it hard to distinguish between a professional photographer and those who just use it for fun, he explains.

Dar, however, believes the administration should have started a licensing and verification program. They should have allowed only the genuine drone users to operate, Dar, who runs Kashmir Creative forever and has over 42K followers on Instagram, told TwoCircles.net.

Dar said a professional drone user will never misuse the drone and knows its pros and cons.

Like Nazir, another photographer Aadil Rehabar is also planning to hand over his drone to the local police station.

Do I have any option rather than handing over my drone to the police,? Rehabar told TwoCircles.net.

He said that the addition of drones has been beneficial for photographers in Kashmir. Drones gave a new look to the stunning Kashmir landscape and people outside the valley would love that, he said.

Rehabar said the people from the rest of the country want to see the meadows, mountains, lakes and other aerial views of the valley.

Now with this order, the outsiders cant see it. And as a result, people who use drones for showcasing the beauty of Kashmir will suffer and their business will be hit, he said.

Rehabar said the decision to ban drones in Srinagar (the ban was later extended to other districts) is not well thought out.

I failed to understand why the administration decided to ban professionals from using drones, without even giving a thought to what would happen to our livelihood, Rehabar, who runs Kashmir Capture on Instagram having over 16K, added.

Auqib Javeed is a Srinagar-based journalist and tweets @AuqibJaveed.
Story by Senior Master Sgt. Vincent De Groot

185th Air Refueling Wing, Iowa Air National Guard

A black and grey, U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II from the Indiana Air National Guards 122nd Fighter Wing recently rolled out from a repaint at the Air National Guard Paint Facility in Sioux City, Iowa. In a departure from the standard tactical two-tone grey livery, the Blacksnakes of the 122nd Fighter Wing conceived a sleek commemorative design to celebrate 100 years of aviation in the Indiana National Guard.

Indianas two Air National Guard units, the 122nd FW in Fort Wayne and 181st Intelligence Wing in Terre Haute, both have a long history of flying single seat fighter aircraft in the Hoosier State. Consequently, the design for the A-10s new paint scheme venerates both the Blacksnakes of the 122nd FW and the Racers of the 181st IW.

The new livery is a mixture of black and dark grey with colors breaking along standard A-10 paint lines on the wings, engines and fuselage. The aircrafts nose is wreathed with a distinctive 122nd FW green-eyed snake, complete with fangs, surrounding the aircrafts seven-barrel 30mm autocannon. One side of the aircraft has a 122nd FW fin flash with the text, Fort Wayne embossed in yellow over Indiana state-flag-blue background, while the opposite fin shows a Racers checkered flag with the text Terre Haute of the disbanded 181st Fighter Wing, now the 181st Intelligence Wing.

[wbn_ads-google_one]

The A-10s distinctive engine nacelles are embossed with an Indiana ANG centennial logo displaying the text Indiana Air National Guard under a large number 100 with the years 1921-2021.

Although the Air National Guard was not officially established as a separate service until 1946, some ANG units like the 122nd can trace their beginnings to the interwar period between 1918 and 1941. Following the First World War, the War Department recognized the necessity of including aviation in national defense. The Indiana National Guard began their flying mission in 1921 with the establishment of the 137th Observation Squadron, based initially at Fagley Field in Kokomojust north of Indianapolis, Indiana.

[wbn_ads-google_one]

Now located in Fort Wayne, the 122nd FW has been flying single-seat fighter aircraft for most of its history. Presently, the Blacksnakes are equipped with the Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt II, which they use primarily for close air support missions. Master Sgt. William Hopper, 122nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs Superintendent, noted that the 122nd adopted the Blacksnake moniker from the Revolutionary War figure, Anthony Wayne, who is also the namesake for the city of Fort Wayne. Also known as Mad Anthony Wayne, Wayne received the title Black Snake from Native Americans. Wayne was known for a methodical fighting style in which he instructed soldiers to lie in wait for the right moment to strike, similarly to the actions of a North American black snake. The Blacksnakes are proud of the names historical significance and connection it gives us to our local community and home town of Fort Wayne, said Hopper.

This Indiana Air Guard A-10, with its unique paint scheme, may soon begin showing up at air shows, where it will help promote the mission and heritage of the Air National Guard. Units of the Air Force and Air National Guard can get permission to temporarily paint non-standard markings on aircraft as part of unit heritage and/or morale programs. The 122nd FWs A-10 paint scheme is one of several commemorative liveries recently completed by the ANG paint facility as many Air Guard units have been celebrating significant anniversaries in recent years. The Air National Guard paint facility is part of the Iowa Air National Guards 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City; they have been painting small fighter aircraft since the 1990s.
Turkish Airstrikes in North Iraq Ignite Fires in Assyrian Lands

A Turkish airstrike July 6 ignited agricultural fields of Assyrian villages in the Nahla Valley of the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq. As flames burned for hours at night and well into the next day, authorities never arrived to help extinguish the blaze.

The fire and lack of emergency response is endemic in the region as Turkish attacks routinely impact communities in Iraq's north. Kurdistan authorities cannot enter villages during fires, a representative told Rudaw, because of fears of continued Turkish bombings. Another source told Al-Monitor that when an area is hit by Turkish airstrikes, authorities do not have permission to act until at least 24 hours have passed in case there are additional strikes.

Read the full story here.
by Vladimir Rozanskij

President Sandu's Pas party exceeds 50% of the vote. The pro-Russia bloc of socialists and communists defeated. The vote of Moldovans abroad made the difference. Sandu promises a peaceful solution for Transnistria. Natalia Gavrilitsa is likely to be the new premier.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - Moldovan President Maia Sandu's pro-European Action and Solidarity (PAS) party won over 52% of the vote in the July 11 parliamentary elections. This is the first time since 2009 that a party has secured an absolute majority in the country squeezed between Russia, Ukraine and Romania. Pas also broke the communist record of 50.07% in 2001, the highest result in the 30-year post-Soviet period. Sandu has already announced that she intends to proceed with a one-party government, with no alliances with other parties.

In second place was the pro-Russian bloc of socialists and communists. Led by former presidents Igor Dodon and Vladimir Voronin, the electoral cartel gained 27.2%. The Sor party of businessman Ilan Sor, with 5.8%, and the party of German businessman Renato Usatij, which won 4.1%, also entered parliament. All other parties failed to pass the 4% barrier, and will now have to redistribute their votes. Participation was the lowest in recent history in a parliamentary election, remaining 48.41% below the majority of voters.

Following the dissolution of parliament in April, Moldova's parliamentary elections were held ahead of their natural expiry date; the 101 MPs now elected are expected to remain in office for a period of four years. Dodon's Socialists and his allies controlled the previous legislature: pro-Moscow formations tried hard to oppose the European integration policy of Sandu, the country's president since December 2020. The Constitutional Court had accepted the dissolution, given the inability of parliament - which Sandu described as "corrupt" - to vote on the formation of a government.

The resounding result in Sandu's favour was mainly due to the votes of Moldovans living abroad, driven in particular by the protests in Transnistria. In the strip of land on the Black Sea, still partly controlled by the Russians and run by a separatist government, 41 polling stations had been opened. Sandu promised to find a solution for Transnistria without conflict with the Russian Federation.

Crowds of Sandu's supporters celebrated in the square in the centre of the capital, where Pas is based, chanting slogans such as "we have the majority!" and "the country for the young!". The two Pas leaders, Igor Grosu and Natalia Gavrilitsa, were there to greet the crowd. Gavrilitsa is expected to form the new executive, thus completing the tandem of "democratic women" in power in Moldova.
by Emanuele Scimia

The request is part of a new EU-China strategy that the European Parliament will vote on this Thursday. Commercial interests and common values between Europe and Taiwan are underlined. For rapporteur Hilde Vautmans, the EU Commission and Council are reluctant to avoid endangering relations with Beijing. However, they should defend European values when they are under attack.

Brussels (AsiaNews)  The European Commission and the European Council should move towards a bilateral investment agreement with Taiwan, said Hilde Vautmans, an MEP with the liberal Renew Europe group, speaking with AsiaNews. The request is included in a new EU-China strategy that the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament is set to vote on next Thursday.

The draft report, of which Vautemans is the rapporteur, calls on the Commission and the Council to urgently start the impact assessment, public consultation and scoping exercise with the Taiwanese authorities.

Taking into account regional dynamics in East Asia, it underlines the importance of economic relations between the Union and Taiwan, especially in areas like multilateralism and the World Trade Organisation (of which Taiwan is a member), technology and public health. The report describes as essential the cooperation with Taiwan on critical supplies, such as semiconductors, of which Taiwan is one of the worlds leading producers.

For their part, Taiwanese authorities are urging the EU to sign a trade agreement with their country. Last month, the Taiwanese mission to the EU said that negotiations for an investment treaty should not be held hostage by EU-China investment talks.

In 2020 Taiwan was the EU's 14th trading partner. The volume of trade (US$ 58.3 billion) was higher than that recorded by the Union with Vietnam and Singapore, two countries with which it already inked comprehensive trade and investment agreements.

However, the European Commission remains lukewarm about the idea of entering into a formal agreement with Taiwan. We are looking into possible options to boost our engagement with Taiwan, which remains an important and like-minded trade partner. This is a work in progress in Brussels, said a European Commission spokesperson.

For Vautmans, the EU Commission and the European Council are reluctant because they believe that the move would damage the EUs one China policy. China considers Taiwan a rebel province, and has never ruled out the use force to take it. The island has been de facto independent from mainland China since 1949. That year, Chiang Kai-shek's nationalist (Kuomintang) forces fled the mainland after losing the civil war with the Communists, but continued to claim to be the heir to the Republic of China founded in 1912.

Chinese authorities have repeatedly warned the European Union not to entertain government relations with Taiwan. Signing a trade pact with Taiwan would spark Chinas anger, worsening already tense relations between the EU and China. Recently, the two sides have exchanged sanctions over Chinas treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, while the EU Parliament has frozen the ratification process of the China-EU investment agreement.

According to Vautmans, this reluctance is not unsurprising, however, if you see the lack of official reaction from the Commission and European Council after Chinese countersanctions on EU individuals and entities defending human rights. EU leaders wants to avoid confrontation with China for good reasons, noted the MEP from Belgium, but at the same time EU institutions have to act united and defend European values when they are under attack.
by Giorgio Bernardelli

In 1990, Mother Teresa's nuns asked him to stay with them to celebrate Mass. A PIME missionary, as soon as he arrived he wrote: "The whole of Cambodia has been reduced to a forced labour camp". For 30 years he accompanied the rebirth of the small local Church.

Phnom Penh (AsiaNews) - The Catholic Church of Cambodia is mourning its pioneer in the post Pol Pot era. Father Toni Vendramin, an Italian PIME missionary, who in 1990 was the first priest to return to the country after the reign of terror, died last night at the age of 78. He had been in the Royal Phnom Penh Hospital for a few weeks due to bacterial pneumonia.

Vendramin had been a missionary in Bangladesh for 15 years before leaving for Cambodia, just when the Khmer Rouge government had launched its first signs of opening up. "Mother Teresa's sisters had been invited by the government: they wanted to return permanently, but were looking for a priest to accompany them. They had met a French missionary, Fr Emile Destombes (the future Vicar Apostolic of Phnom Penh, who died in 2016) who was there for two or three months on a cooperator's visa. He was joined by another Maryknoll missionary, Fr Tom Dunleavy. There were no other priests. The sisters told the government: we will go back to Cambodia, but we want a guarantee that we will have a priest with us to say Mass.

On 23rd November 1990, with four nuns from the Missionaries of Charity, Fr Vendramin boarded a flight from Hong Kong to Phnom Penh. "We arrived without a visa, but with a letter of invitation from Prime Minister Hun Sen; at the airport they didn't know what to do," Fr Toni recounted.

"The whole of Cambodia was reduced to a forced labour camp and the extermination of its own people, in the name of an aberrant and criminal ideology," the priest wrote a few days later in a letter to his friends.

The Cambodian government wanted the Missionaries of Charity to open a home for landmine victims, but the sisters did not feel able to take on such a task. Instead, they started to gather and care for the sick or the beggars who slept in the streets; then they took in abandoned children or those suffering from AIDS."

Vendramin recalled: "There were no churches, we had to celebrate Mass in private homes. At the end of 1990 we managed to have a dormitory of the minor seminary returned to us: that's where we celebrated our first Christmas, a very powerful and moving experience".

Yet their work was still marked by many restrictions: "I could not move beyond a radius of 20 kilometres from Phnom Penh", the religious explained. "It was only with the arrival of the United Nations for the 1993 elections that freedom of movement improved and it was possible to start reorganising the Church.

In recent years, Fr Vendramin had led the parish of St Peter, in the airport area. As long as the government allowed him to do so, he also visited the prison once a month to visit the inmates.

Taking stock of his 30 years in Cambodia last year he observed: "Coming here was a very profound experience for me. Everything has changed in Phnom Penh: where there were only two or three paved roads, there are now 40-storey skyscrapers built by the Chinese. But the wounds of the past remain, more or less open or hidden. As for the Catholic presence, in all the missions today there is a kindergarten, sometimes a primary school. Together with basic facilities, homes for the disabled, other social initiatives at both diocesan and national level. The city has grown, but this little Church of ours is also growing in small steps".
by Sumon Corraya

Video goes viral on social media showing lawyer Gobinda Chandra Pramanik speaking out against an alleged anti-Hindu plot, accusing Christians of stealing the Vatican from Hindus. For the Bangladesh Christian Association, This kind of hate speech is a barrier to religious harmony in the country.

Dhaka (AsiaNews)  A Bangladesh Hindu leader has launched surreal accusations in a video that has gone viral, sowing confusion and raising concern among Christians

Gobinda Chandra Pramanik, a lawyer and secretary general of Bangladesh Jatiyo Hindu Mohajote, said, during an online seminar last Thursday, that The Vatican was Hindu and Christians grabbed it, just as Muslims captured Makkah from Hindus.

In reality, Pramanik's target is a campaign by some human rights activists to get the Bangladeshi government to change the Hindu family law so that Hindu women can inherit land.

This was enough for Hindu radicals to lash out at Christians, accused them of plotting against Hinduism with legislative measures of this kind.

Quoting the Gospel of Luke, Pramanik said that Jesus himself came to Earth to divide and dominate the world. He went so far as to define the God of the Bible as satanic.

The video went viral on social media, upsetting many Christians. One of them is Nirmol Rozario president of the Bangladesh Christian Association.

The Hindu leader hurts the feelings of Christians, Rozario said. He behaves like a fool. We strongly condemn this speech.

For the Christian leader, Pramanik should apologise, noting that This kind of hate speech is a barrier to religious harmony in the country.

For the head of Bangladesh Jatiyo Hindu Mohajote, this is not the first anti-Christian statement. Last month he accused Banchte Shekha (Learn to survive), a Christian NGO, of anti-Hindu propaganda.

Headed by Angela Gomes, the advocacy group backs changes to the existing Hindu family law so that women can have the right to inherit.
Her cousin, Nachelle Lunger, said she last saw Green at her brothers wedding in Erie in June. Hours before the wedding was set to begin, Lunger realized she hadnt bought a pair of shoes, so she went to the mall with Green, an avid shopper. But Green split off, and started shopping on her own. By the time her family found her, checking out at JCPenney, the group was too late to get their manicures for the wedding, and had to rush to the ceremony, Lunger said.
In only about 30 minutes, Patels testimony unveiled details about the shooting and Ramos motivation not previously revealed. His testimony, and that of Dr. Gregory Saathoff before him, showed just how carefully Ramos planned the mass shooting, how he carried it out callously and how happy he was with the notoriety he received afterward. His testimony will continue Wednesday.
The meeting  the first held in-person in City Hall since the start of the pandemic  came as Baltimore continues to see an accelerated rate of homicides and non-fatal shootings. As of Monday afternoon, there have been 182 people killed in the city so far this year, 10 more than the same time last year, and 367 others have been shot but survived, a 13% increase, according to police.
The confrontation follows a November shooting when a Baltimore police officer working on the Warrant Apprehension Task Force fatally shot a suspect while surveilling a fugitive at the intersection of North Ellamont Street and Westwood Avenue. Police said the shooting suspect pulled up at the intersection in a vehicle around that time, got out and fired into the officers vehicle, striking one unnamed officer in the upper thigh. The officer returned fire, killing the suspect, police said.
Under the law, the oversight board includes at least five people: the mayor or his designee, the City Council president or his designee, the comptroller or his designee, the city solicitor or an appointed member of the city law department, and a member of City Council appointed by the council president. If the mayor and council president agree, two additional members take seats: the deans of the law schools at the University of Maryland and University of Baltimore.
Governors in about two dozen states  almost all, like Hogan, Republicans  have canceled those expanded benefits early, claiming that the increased jobless aid was hurting businesses by making people more reluctant to return to work as the economy reopens. Hogan administration officials, including Robinson, testified Monday that the governors decision to pull out of the unemployment programs also was driven by rising vaccination rates and concern about what they characterized as extensive fraud in claims.
News Around the Republic of Mexico



AMLO Offers Medicines, Vaccines to Cuba After Protests



"Mexico could help [Cuba] with medicines, with vaccines, with food, with whatever is required, because health and nutrition are fundamental human rights," AMLO said during his morning press conference on Monday. Mexico City - President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday offered his help to the Government of Cuba in the face of protests against its current administration.



In that sense, the president said that if necessary, he would offer humanitarian support "without any political tendency or bias."



"Mexico could help with medicines, with vaccines, with food, with whatever is required, because health and nutrition are fundamental human rights," he said during his morning press conference.



The protests erupted amid Cuba's worst economic crisis since the fall of former ally the Soviet Union in the 1990s and a surge in coronavirus cases, with people angry over goods shortages, curbs on civil liberties and the handling of the pandemic.



The Mexican President remarked that to support the island, the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba must be "suspended". In addition, he indicated that he will ask Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard to establish a communication bridge between the two nations.



Meanwhile, he repeatedly called on the governments of other countries not to intervene in order to respect the self-determination of the Cuban people.



"Let them be the ones to deal with their affairs in a peaceful way, but let there be no interventionism," Lopez Obrador added.



Sources: Vallarta Independiente, Reuters - President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday offered his help to the Government of Cuba in the face of protests against its current administration.In that sense, the president said that if necessary, he would offer humanitarian support "without any political tendency or bias.""Mexico could help with medicines, with vaccines, with food, with whatever is required, because health and nutrition are fundamental human rights," he said during his morning press conference.The protests erupted amid Cuba's worst economic crisis since the fall of former ally the Soviet Union in the 1990s and a surge in coronavirus cases, with people angry over goods shortages, curbs on civil liberties and the handling of the pandemic.The Mexican President remarked that to support the island, the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba must be "suspended". In addition, he indicated that he will ask Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard to establish a communication bridge between the two nations.Meanwhile, he repeatedly called on the governments of other countries not to intervene in order to respect the self-determination of the Cuban people."Let them be the ones to deal with their affairs in a peaceful way, but let there be no interventionism," Lopez Obrador added.



Site Map  Print this Page  Email Us  Top


News Around the Republic of Mexico



Mexico Vaccinating Tourism Workers in 8 Destinations



The Mexican official stressed that the vaccination of workers is vital for the economic recovery of the tourism sector, which is prepared to serve national and foreign tourists in the face of new health requirements. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - The Federal Secretary of Tourism (Sectur), Miguel Torruco Marques, announced that the first phase of vaccination of workers in establishments in that sector includes eight tourist destinations. Vaccinations will begin in Cancun, Quintana Roo and in Los Cabos, Baja California, and then will continue in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico City and Playa del Carmen.



The official stressed that this measure is vital for the economic recovery of the sector, which is prepared to serve national and foreign tourists in the face of new health requirements.



He indicated that according to Datatur projections, in this summer season, which runs from July 10 to August 28, the different destinations of the country expect to receive 20.2 million tourists, 178 percent more than in the same period of 2020, when only 7.4 million arrived.



The destinations that will attract the largest number of visitors will be Cancun, Acapulco, Mazatlan, CDMX, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Ciudad Juarez, Tijuana, Merida, Leon and Oaxaca. He didn't mention Puerto Vallarta or Riviera Nayarit, which will surely have more visitors than most of those places.



He reported that the country's hotel associations estimate to close the year with the arrival of 26.8 million international tourists, who will spend an estimated $12,200,000 US dollars on vacation.



Torruco Marques explained that the profile of domestic tourism has changed, with visitors currently looking for places that offer more outdoor experiences.



The business sector declared that all health protocols are in place and it is ready to receive the more than 20.2 million tourists that are projected to arrive in these destinations.



The president of Concanaco Servytur, Jose Manuel Lopez Campos, assured that currently the tourist activity is at a point where the economic dynamics of the country's tourist destinations' return will depend on the actions carried out by civil society and the productive sectors in coordination with the authorities.



He considered that coordinated actions can be the balance between continuing towards sustainable tourism recovery or returning to new confinements that will put thousands of tourism-related companies throughout the country at risk.



Original article, written by Jose Fernando Ortega for - The Federal Secretary of Tourism (Sectur), Miguel Torruco Marques, announced that the first phase of vaccination of workers in establishments in that sector includes eight tourist destinations. Vaccinations will begin in Cancun, Quintana Roo and in Los Cabos, Baja California, and then will continue in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico City and Playa del Carmen.The official stressed that this measure is vital for the economic recovery of the sector, which is prepared to serve national and foreign tourists in the face of new health requirements.He indicated that according to Datatur projections, in this summer season, which runs from July 10 to August 28, the different destinations of the country expect to receive 20.2 million tourists, 178 percent more than in the same period of 2020, when only 7.4 million arrived.The destinations that will attract the largest number of visitors will be Cancun, Acapulco, Mazatlan, CDMX, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Ciudad Juarez, Tijuana, Merida, Leon and Oaxaca. He didn't mention Puerto Vallarta or Riviera Nayarit, which will surely have more visitors than most of those places.He reported that the country's hotel associations estimate to close the year with the arrival of 26.8 million international tourists, who will spend an estimated $12,200,000 US dollars on vacation.Torruco Marques explained that the profile of domestic tourism has changed, with visitors currently looking for places that offer more outdoor experiences.The business sector declared that all health protocols are in place and it is ready to receive the more than 20.2 million tourists that are projected to arrive in these destinations.The president of Concanaco Servytur, Jose Manuel Lopez Campos, assured that currently the tourist activity is at a point where the economic dynamics of the country's tourist destinations' return will depend on the actions carried out by civil society and the productive sectors in coordination with the authorities.He considered that coordinated actions can be the balance between continuing towards sustainable tourism recovery or returning to new confinements that will put thousands of tourism-related companies throughout the country at risk.Original article, written by Jose Fernando Ortega for Contra Linea, translated and edited by Lorena Sonrisas for BanderasNews.com.



Site Map  Print this Page  Email Us  Top


Research News

Field biologists, NASA planes to map biodiversity in South Africa

A protea shrub growing amongst reeds and dozens of other plant species in South Africas Greater Cape Floristic Region. Photo: Adam Wilson

By CHARLOTTE HSU

The Greater Cape Floristic Region is a really fascinating place  it has extremely high plant diversity, and theres been dramatic environmental change over the last 50 years, due to both climate and land use change.  Adam Wilson, associate professor Department of Geography

Scientists from the U.S. and South Africa are launching a campaign to map marine, freshwater, and terrestrial species and ecosystems in one of Earths biodiversity hotspots: the Greater Cape Floristic Region at the southwestern edge of South Africa. NASA will fly planes over the area for six weeks in 2023 to measure the height and structure of vegetation and collect ultraviolet, visual, thermal and other imagery across terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Satellites will gather additional data. Teams on the ground will make observations at locations of particular interest, logging plants and, possibly, animals they detect. Using this data, the team will map the regions biodiversity, providing estimates of the distribution and abundance of species, and the boundaries of ecosystems, and researching how biodiversity impacts the physical environment and vice versa. In other words, the campaign will help scientists understand the structure, function and composition of ecosystems in the study area. This is a broad collaboration between several organizations, says Adam Wilson, principal investigator and a UB biogeographer. The Greater Cape Floristic Region is a really fascinating place  it has extremely high plant diversity, and theres been dramatic environmental change over the last 50 years, due to both climate and land use change. Our data will capture this regions biodiversity in greater detail than ever before from a plane or satellite. In combination with the field observations, these new data will help us understand this dynamic region and improve our ability to monitor biodiversity from space globally.

A Cape Sugarbird pauses in the fynbos, a belt of shrubland in South Africas Cape Floristic Region. Photo: Adam Wilson

The project, titled Marine, Freshwater, and Terrestrial Biodiversity Survey of the Cape (BioSCape), is funded by NASA, with UB researchers receiving $873,000 in NASA funding to complete their share of the work. The leadership team includes Wilson, associate professor of geography, College of Arts and Sciences; Erin Hestir of the University of California, Merced; Jasper Slingsby of the University of Cape Town; and Glenn Moncrieff of the South African Environmental Observation Network. Other institutional partners include the South African National Biodiversity Institute, South African National Parks, CapeNature Provincial Parks and the South African National Space Agency.

Panoramic view of the Cape of Good Hope, Africas southwestern most point. The fynbos of South Africa is an ecologically important shrubland found in the Greater Cape Floristic Region. Photo: Adam Wilson

Much of the research in Earth observation has been conducted in the worlds forested ecosystems, like the Amazon or northern temperate forests, says Moncrieff, a scientist with the South African Environmental Observation Network. But non-forest ecosystems harbor a substantial proportion of the worlds biological diversity, and perhaps the most diverse of these non-forest ecosystems are the shrublands of the Greater Cape Floristic Region in South Africa. BioSCape will bring the most advanced NASA remote sensing technology to this region, facilitating a large amount of research into remote sensing of biodiversity beyond the forest edge. We hope that by mapping plant biodiversity and its function, we will be able to show the link between important ecosystem services that many people here depend upon and the unique flora of the region.

King protea, a flowering plant, is among species found in South Africas Greater Cape Floristic Region. Photo: Adam Wilson

Slingsby, a lecturer at the University of Cape Town, adds: The BioSCape campaign really is a great opportunity, not only for boosting the use of remote sensing in the region, but for driving innovation in remote sensing of biodiversity in general. The shrubland ecosystems in the region are hyperdiverse and have complex spatial and temporal natural dynamics due to fire, seasonality, habitat heterogeneity, etc., and will really put the science teams to the test. The aquatic ecosystems will be no less challenging. The world is facing an extinction crisis, says Hestir, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Merced. We are experiencing the sixth great extinction in the history of the Earth, with unprecedented rates of species loss. Understanding the diversity of life, what drives it and how it might change in the future is critical to maintaining and protecting life on Earth  for us and all creatures. The UB Department of Geography is recruiting a postdoctoral researcher to fill the position of BioSCapes science project manager. The team is committed to building a diverse and inclusive project, Wilson says.

A second project

New plant life emerges in the fynbos of South Africa after a wildfire. Such fires, which help many native plants reproduce, make it difficult to detect unusual changes in vegetation. Photo: Adam Wilson

In a separate but related project in the Cape Floristic Region, Wilson is working with a team that includes some of the same partners to develop a tool that uses satellite remote sensing and AI to monitor ecosystems in the area. The goal is to detect fires, land-clearing, the spread of invasive plant species and other unusual damage to vegetation. The $483,000 effort  also funded by NASA  is a collaboration among UB, the South African Environmental Observation Network, the University of Cape Town, CapeNature, the Nature Conservancy in South Africa and South African National Parks. The idea is to create a decision-support tool that can support monitoring and management of biodiversity, Wilson explains. The system will flag unusual ecosystem changes, such as invasive species outcompeting native species, or land cover change in protected areas, so that teams on the ground can then go check it out to learn more about whats happening. This project will also leverage the expertise of Yingjie Hu, UB assistant professor of geography and a co-investigator on this project. Hu is an expert on geospatial artificial intelligence (GeoAI). One challenge of monitoring biodiversity and ecosystem changes in the Cape Floristic Region is distinguishing between natural changes  such as wildfires that occur regularly and are vital to the health of the local ecosystem  and anomalous changes that threaten biodiversity. Hus work will integrate AI and ecological modeling to facilitate development of a system that can make these distinctions.
Today

A mix of clouds and sun. High 98F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight

Mainly clear skies. Low 69F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.

Tomorrow

Generally sunny despite a few afternoon clouds. Near record high temperatures. High 99F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph.
Dakota graduated from Bret Harte in 2013 and went to Davidson College, NC where she earned a bachelor's degree in Arab studies. After spending time studying in the Middle East and Europe, she is happy to be home, writing about the community she loves.

Comment Policy Calaveras Enterprise does not actively monitor comments. However, staff does read through to assess reader interest. When abusive or foul language is used or directed toward other commenters, those comments will be deleted. If a commenter continues to use such language, that person will be blocked from commenting. We wish to foster a community of communication and a sharing of ideas, and we truly value readers' input.
Aston Carter, a staffing firm acquired by Allegis in 2011 that had been a division of Aerotek, will be headed by Stuart Ferguson, its president, and focus on job placement in professional areas. Those specialties include accounting and finance, governance, risk and compliance, operations and customer support. The firm runs more than 200 offices on four continents.
Pilots must undergo training after not flying for a given period of time, leaving airlines shorter staffed than normal post-pandemic, when far fewer people traveled and fewer pilots were needed. The Federal Aviation Administration also sets limits on the number of hours pilots are allowed to fly  things Tajer said American Airlines should have been aware of when scheduling flights for June and July.
One of the speakers was County Councilmember Robert Wagner. Wagner, who said he was speaking for himself and not on behalf of the council, said there doesnt seem to be a simple solution. However, they should not be this far into it if no suggestion seems to work.
If these people want to be hanging out, wherever theyre hanging out on this taxpayer-paid junket, theyre going to have to be prepared to do it for well over a year. As soon as they come back in the state of Texas, they will be arrested, they will be cabined inside the Texas Capitol until they get their job done, Abbott said.
Geyser Peak, in particular, is a winery that has had its up and downs. When former owner, Accolade Wines of Australia, got the property, we praised Daryl Groom for elevating its quality. When he left, the brand went back into a funk. But what we recently tasted under Pepis guidance was much better than what we remember.
The Prime minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday took stock of Covid situation with chief ministers of the north-eastern states and praised them for building infrastructure to combat COVID-19.

All the chief ministers acknowledged that the PM Care Fund has helped the north-eastern states for rising up to the challenges of COVID-19, stated sources.

They also informed that in the meeting, chief ministers spoke in detail about the COVID-19 situation in their respective states. Many also thanked the Prime Minister for the continuous support they have been receiving from the Central government to combat the COVID-19 pandemic since the first wave.

While all CMs have put forth their preparedness plans to deal with third wave and acknowledged that cases are on the decline, Mizoram CM Zoramthanga did speak about problems the state is facing due to the porous border with Myanmar and Bangladesh and cases are coming across the border.

Union Home minister Amit Shah too was present at the meeting.

A brief introduction cited a decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases and related deaths during the second wave. Sources stated that everyone agreed that there is continuous decrease in cases and deaths during the second wave.

The chief ministers were asked to share their concerns if they want the Centre to resolve it.

Sources confirmed that Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu stated that many ongoing projects in the state and internet connectivity in the state are in poor shape, and the state was unable to upload data on ICMR website and the positivity rate as stated at 16 per cent, is not that high.

The positivity rate is 8 percent in the state, clarified the chief minister, according to sources.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said he should be able to vaccinate whole population within a month or two whereas Tripura CM thanked PM for Jan Dhan Yojana and help extended to combat Covid.

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma sought more vaccines for tea workers. He thanked PM for PM Cares Fund and gave a comparison of vaccines received between Assam and Kerala, sources stated.

Acknowledging the fact that India is still in the midst of the second wave, a detailed analysis of the COVID-19 situation of the north-eastern states was done in the meeting.

The Prime Minister advised strong steps at the micro-level and quoted Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for not resorting to lockdown but making containment zones at the micro-level. He was asked to administer caution.

PM Modi also asked to identify best practises and use them on a broad scale. The Prime Minister acknowledged that many businesses have borne losses especially in tourism industry.

"I am concerned about large number of people thronging the tourists spots and saying that they want to enjoy before third wave hits. Third wave won't come on its own but through people," said PM Modi while cautioning everyone against impending danger ahead of the third wave of COVID-19.

(ANI)

Also Read: Coronavirus: India reports 31,443 new COVID cases, lowest in 118 days
Expressing bond between both countries, Afghanistan Ambassador to India Farid Mamundzay on Tuesday said India's long-term commitment towards a peaceful, sovereign and stable Afghan remains strong.

"India's long-term commitment towards a peaceful, sovereign and stable Afghan remains strong," Afghan Ambassador to India Farid Mamundzay said in a tweet.

Mentioning country's security situation, the envoy also said that India has brought their diplomats back on the basis of safety and security grounds.

"Indian consulate general in Kandahar has not been closed and continues to operate through local staff. The temporary measure to bring diplomats back to India is based on safety and security grounds," he said further.

India has evacuated its staff from the war-torn country on July 11. India has its embassy in Kabul along with the consulates in Kandahar and Mazar where it has over 500 staff deployed.

Two consulates in Herat and Jalalabad had ceased operations earlier there.

The country, which has had a big presence in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in 2001 following the US invasion, has been helping the successive governments there including the members of the northern alliance who have been friends with India for a long time.

Describing the security situation in Afghanistan as fluid and deteriorating, the Afghan envoy to India Farid Mamundzay has said the Taliban need to cease violence and there should be an end to the bloodshed.

"More than 200,000 Afghan civilians are displaced already. There is an active fight going on between Afghan forces and Taliban fighters in 200 districts out of a total of 375. There is also trouble in 18 border districts that share a border with several countries Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Iran," the envoy said.

Considering that the complete withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan will end in August. India has worked immensely for the redevelopment of Afghanistan and helped it to construct Parliament building along with several roads connecting important cities of the war-torn country.

(ANI)

Also Read: Taliban attack on Afghanistan's Ghazni pushed back: Police
Russia has expressed its concerns over reports that Pakistan is considering working out an alternate plan to construct the USD 2.5 billion Pakistan- Stream Gas Pipeline (PSGP) project from Port Qasim to Kasur, formerly known as North-South Gas Pipeline.

The information was disclosed by the sources close to the Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Power and Petroleum told Business Recorder.

It can jeopardise Pakistan's ties with Russia. Pakistan and the Russian Federation had signed the amended Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) on May 28 in Moscow on Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline Project (PSGP), now both the countries have to sign the share-holders Agreement (SHA) within 60 days from the signing of the protocol scheduled for July 27.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs has conveyed Moscow's concerns to Petroleum Division, prior to the visit of a 12-member delegation headed by AA Tolparov, Deputy Director of the Department of Foreign Economic Cooperation and Fuel Market Development. The delegation held four-day parleys with Pakistan that started from Monday, reported Business Recorder.

Moscow sent a letter to Islamabad on June 7, informing that a Russian delegation wants to visit Pakistan from June 22 for talks on the Heads of Terms and Shareholders Agreement with the participation of nominated entities ISGS and "PAKSTREAM" and competent authorities from the Pakistani side.

Petroleum Division, which earlier agreed to a 56 diameters pipeline with Russia, is now considering using 42 diameter, which is more expensive.

Meanwhile, US Charge d' Affaires, Angela Aggeler, also met the SAPM on Power and Petroleum a couple of days ago and sought an update on the gas pipeline project.

Some stakeholders fear that the meetings of Americans before talks with Russians could be aimed at creating confusion, which will not be liked at the highest level, reported Business Recorder.

The problems began soon after the signing of the amended IGA. As many as 27 days after the agreement was signed, CCOE (Cabinet Committee on Energy) that met on June 24 asked the Petroleum Division to finalize an alternate gas pipeline project by mid-July 2021, arguing there are massive negative consequences of the delay in the implementation of PSGP and the deadline set by the Supreme Court has already been missed.

The Petroleum Division carved out an alternate plan under which the Petroleum Division wants to build the LNG-III pipeline under the consortium of Sui Southern, Sui Northern and PAPCO - the company of PARCO.

The Petroleum Division favours the alternate project in case talks with Russia fail on the PSGP/also known as North-South Gas Pipeline. The Petroleum Division's proposal is based on Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) decision, of January 5, 2018, under which financing was approved for the 1.2 billion cubic feet per day gas (BCFD) capacity RLNG-III pipeline of 1,150 km from Karachi to Lahore through a 42-inch diameter pipeline.

Later, the CCOE decision, the Petroleum Division responded to the Russian letter and informed them of Pakistan's readiness to negotiate the shareholder's agreement.

Meantime, the Special Assistant to Prime Minister Tabish Gauhar has already favoured the Sui Southern and Sui Northern to develop the LNG-III pipeline from Karachi to Lahore in place of PSGP, advocating that the country should not rely on external assistance as it would escalate the cost of the project, reported The News International.

The shareholder's agreement and deal on heads of terms with Russia may take more than one and a half years before any groundwork can get underway on the project. Besides, the Petroleum Division has made up its mind not to extend the guaranteed rate of returns to the Russian side against its 26 per cent shares in Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline.

According to Tabish Gauhar, it has been decided that the government will not provide any sovereign guarantee for profit on any foreign investment in Pakistan in all sectors of the economy, whether it is in the power and refining sectors.

The Russian Federation is negotiating this project with Pakistan since 2015 and has witnessed many upheavals lead to the delay. Reviewing the process since 2015 from the change of structures, change inequities up to amendments in IGA, the authorities in Pakistan are found at fault for the delay and not the Russian Federation, The News International reported.

(ANI)

Also Read: All COVID-19 restrictions in UK to end on July 19
Clay Center, KS (67432)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun with a slight chance of thunderstorms this afternoon. High around 85F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy. Low 64F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.
Folkston, GA (31537)

Today

Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High 92F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 72F. Winds light and variable.
Defense lawyers argued that Calk could not win approval for the loans without the banks loan committee and underwriters agreeing to the terms. And they noted that the loans were obtained at a time when Manafort was considered wealthy and successful and had not yet been criminally charged.
United and Mesa also said the electric planes would help reduce climate-changing emissions. As some consumers have grown more concerned about the environmental impact of flying, the airline industry set a target of cutting emissions in half by 2050, while United and the U.K. aviation industry said they aim to reduce net emissions to zero by that date.
Loyola Medicine announced Thursday that it would require employees and doctors to be vaccinated, becoming the first large hospital system in the Chicago area to do so. That requirement, to provide proof of vaccination in many cases by Sept. 21, will apply to employees and doctors at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park and MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn as well as Loyolas other locations.
A: I started my CPS career as a science teacher. Im very passionate about science. It was a favorite topic of mine when I was a kid, and as a science teacher, I had parents who would come to me, and say my daughter never cared about science until she was in your class and now she says she wants to be a doctor, an engineer. It was so moving to me to know that I could play a small role in helping young girls, and specifically young girls of color, see that this is a viable pathway for them. As a lover of books, when I was a science teacher, I was always looking for crossover opportunities and works of literature that touch on science themes. It was hard to find really good ones and contemporary ones. And I wanted some good novels that would slide the science content in there. Theres quite a bit of real science in the book and I hope that science teachers as well as language arts teachers will see opportunities to collaborate and to see Maya models the research and inquiry process; she explains certain things to her friends; theres some real content about machine learning and Artificial Intelligence, as well as some other fun science stuff. That was definitely a big motivation for me  to try to write a really fun book that was engaging in terms of the story, but that also could launch kids who may or may not see themselves as being curious about science down that path.
Among the activities the Shedd is offering for Shark Week is the Virtual Shark Feeding Tour, a live virtual tour that gives guests a chance to see the behind-the scenes process of feeding in the Wild Reef Exhibit. Guests learn about meal preparation for the sharks, which receive restaurant-quality seafood, and about daily care. The tour lasts 40 minutes and is offered on select Saturdays and Sundays through August 2021. The cost is $49.95 per person ($44.95 for members).
Pazdernik has previously been producing associate and company manager with Porchlight Music Theatre, where he had also directed for the Porchlight Revisits series. He has also worked at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and won a 2017 Jeff Award winner for his direction of Refuge Theatre Projects High Fidelity. According to Tuesdays announcement, he served as Refuges artistic director for three seasons.
We understand that those unemployed have inadequate food. We understand that the situation has been made worse by the pandemic, an emotional Makhura said on the state South African Broadcasting Corp. But this looting is undermining our businesses here (in Soweto). It is undermining our economy, our community. It is undermining everything.
I was told they will go to your home back in your district, they will go to your place of work, they will got to your apartment in Austin or wherever you live close by when youre in session. And also family and friends that they may know of, he said.
Earlier on a WBEZ radio segment, Palmer said the county was not prioritizing SEIU 73s contract demands compared with the other unions that reached deals with Preckwinkles team that Palmer said amounted to an average 4% more in increases than SEIU got. The county board president dismissed those statements later, saying her administrations offer to SEIU 73 was in the same range as that of the other groups, the local chapters of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; Teamsters; National Nurses United; and the Fraternal Order of Police.
The topic is something that Brown said was brought up to President Joe Biden on Monday at the White House. The meeting with the president went an hour over the allotted time, Brown said. The president and other police leaders discussed short- and long-term solutions to crime deduction, including how to reduce the flow of illegal guns into the city. Brown said he also was able to talk one on one with Attorney General Merrick Garland and plans to have follow-up meetings with him.
Police said Floyd Steele, 34, had been shot multiple times while parked in a car in the 17100 block of Grant Street. He was taken to a hospital in Hammond, Indiana, where he was later pronounced dead. The Lake County, Indiana coroners office determined his death was a homicide.
You are here: Arts

A naming ceremony for fossils of a new giant rhino species, Paraceratherium linxiaense of 26,500,000 years ago, was held in Hezheng County.

Deng Tao, a research fellow of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, introduced the discovery and evolution of the stratum and geomorphology of the site.

The fossils of the species e were buried in the stratum right below a dead tree, Deng said.

In the early Oligocene, Paraceratherium linxiaense dispersed to South Asia through northwest China and its Pakistani descendants returned to Gansu and Xinjiang in the late Oligocene, Deng added.

It shows that the QinghaiTibet Plateau had not formed at that time, or it was below 2,000 meters then, failing to impede the dispersion of large mammals like giant rhinos.

A giant rhino weighed up to 24 tons, about the total weight of the four largest African elephants.

It is the largest land mammal known in the history of the earth.

It occurred 42 million years ago in the middle Eocene and died out 21 million years ago in the early Miocene.
You are here: Business

The State Administration for Market Regulation has unconditionally approved Chinese internet giant Tencent's acquisition of the country's second-largest search engine Sogou Inc, according to an announcement from the administration on Tuesday.

Tencent shares were up more than 4% as of 10:29 a.m.
China will apply to make the second phase of its migratory bird sanctuaries, which lie along the coast of the Yellow Sea and Bohai Gulf, a UNESCO World Heritage site before February, aiming to further protect wildlife in the world's largest intertidal wetland system.

The migratory bird sanctuaries along the Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf coast are in exceptionally productive areas that also serve as areas where many species of fish and crustaceans grow.

The areas are of global importance as gathering places for many migratory bird species that use the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. Large gatherings of birds, including some of the world's most endangered species, depend on the coastline as a stopover to molt, rest, winter or nest.

Phase I of the area was inscribed into the World Heritage List by the World Heritage Committee in July 2019 at its 43rd session.

Phase II covers several habitats of many migratory bird species in Tianjin and Shanghai and the provinces of Liaoning, Hebei and Shandong, said Yan Chenggao, deputy director of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration's nature reserves department.

"Most of those regions are highly developed, which has been regarded as a downside for a world heritage site listing," he said. "We will work closely with the local governments and make reform plans with professional guidance. We are confident in finishing the declaration on time."

The Phase II area is high in biodiversity, with about 280 species of fish and more than 500 species of invertebrates providing a variety of food sources for millions of migratory birds.

The 186,400 hectares of Phase I, located in Yancheng, Jiangsu province, are important for more than 3 million birds among the East Asian-Australasian Flyway populations and provide critical habitat for 17 endangered wild species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's red list, including two of the world's rarest migratory birds-the spoon-billed sandpiper and the Nordmann's greenshank, which depend on the tidal flats for their continued survival.

"Having the sanctuaries listed as a World Heritage site helped to increase public awareness of the migratory birds and also contributed to biosecurity and biodiversity worldwide," Yan said.

Since joining the International Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1985, China has been granted 55 world heritage sites. Of these, 14 are natural heritage sites and four are mixed cultural and natural sites-both ranking first in the world.

The 44th session of the World Heritage Committee will be held in Fuzhou, Fujian province, from Friday to the end of the month.
Chinese police have located and rescued 2,609 missing or abducted children, including adults who had gone missing or were kidnapped as kids, since a nationwide campaign was launched in January to help reunite such victims with their families, the Ministry of Public Security said Tuesday.

Police have cracked 147 cold cases involving child abduction and trafficking during the period, and arrested a total of 372 suspects linked to such crimes, the ministry told a press conference.

One victim was traced after a span of 61 years, according to the ministry.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang recently held an online summit with U.K. business leaders and said that "China is willing to consolidate mutual trust with the U.K., along with mutual respect" and hoping to "expand common ground while shelving differences, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation for win-win results, build consensus and address divergences via equal dialogue, so as to promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral ties."



The meeting was held against a backdrop of relations between the United Kingdom and China having experienced uncertainty. Although Boris Johnson has continued to make a number of gestures towards America's strategic version, nonetheless he has maintained a position of viewing China favourably, calling himself a "Sinophile" and showing understanding of the economic benefits of bilateral ties.

The differences and disruptions have nonetheless held little significance, and, as of July, there have been many signs that the British government is recalibrating its ties with Beijing yet again and turning back to a policy of openness and engagement in the pursuit of economic ties, seen as vital in the wake of leaving the European Union.

Prior to this meeting, signs of a rapprochement began with a phone call between Foreign Secretary Dominic Rabb and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, where the U.K. readout talked of trade between the two countries.

Last week, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak publicly stated that it was important to deepen economic ties with China and to have a "stable and mature" relationship, an open swipe against Conservative Party hawks who have sought to advocate decoupling and engagement in line with the U.S. vision.

The special relationship with America obviously remains the key driver of Britain's foreign policy. Ultimately, however, there is no Brexit prosperity without China. For the time being, London recognizes that China remains its largest potential market worldwide for exports and a critical source of foreign investment.

As a result, the U.K. has avoided copying the American policy that has sought to sledgehammer the relationship and promote Chinese decoupling.

Of course, this remains a very delicate balancing act. A constant factional to and fro between pro- and anti-China members of the British cabinet continues. While the hawks had their day for most of 2020, the pivot towards engagement sees them marginalized for now, with many of their efforts failing to disrupt relations.

This is not likely to shift further unless game-changing tensions occur on some issue or other. This means there is political space for London and Beijing to engage again and focus on promoting economic ties, and this is what Boris Johnson's government is seeking.

Potential risks will linger in the future; however, for now, one can look beyond the rhetoric and recognize that in practice business as usual is back on the agenda.

Despite some challenges, the U.K. is still ready to pursue partnership with China in multiple areas. The Conservative right, as well as the media, will always be lurking on the sidelines to stir up trouble however, meaning it will be amicable and procedural, but always slightly on edge.

Tom Fowdy is a British political and international relations analyst and a graduate of Durham and Oxford universities. He writes on topics pertaining to China, the DPRK, Britain and the U.S. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/TomFowdy.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

If you would like to contribute, please contact us at opinion@china.org.cn
Family Research Council Welcomes Andrew Brunson as Special Advisor for Religious Freedom





NEWS PROVIDED BY

Family Research Council

July 12, 2021



WASHINGTON, July 12, 2021 /Christian Newswire/ -- Family Research Council is pleased to announce that Pastor Andrew Brunson has joined FRC as Special Advisor for Religious Freedom. For 23 years, Andrew and Norine Brunson dedicated their life to the mission of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Turkey by planting churches, starting a house of prayer, training Christian leaders, and providing aid to refugees. In October 2016, Andrew Brunson was falsely accused of terrorism and held for two years in Turkish prisons. Following a worldwide prayer movement and significant political pressure from the U.S. government, he was dramatically released in October 2018. Brunson, who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, joins FRC at a critical time, as the persecution of Christians continues to increase around the world.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins stated:

"In a world that is growing increasingly hostile to Christian beliefs, it is important that followers of Christ are prepared to stand firm in their faith. We must also defend the fundamental human right of religious freedom with confidence in the Lord as we show compassion toward all people. We are honored to welcome Andrew Brunson to the FRC team to help us in our vital mission of protecting and advancing religious freedom both at home and abroad."

Andrew Brunson, FRC's Special Advisor for Religious Freedom, added:

"During my imprisonment in Turkey, Family Research Council advocated for my release and encouraged many to pray for me. I am glad that I can now join with FRC to do for others what was done for me. It's very much on my heart to encourage those who are facing persecution."

For more information on FRC's efforts to promote religious freedom around the world, visit: frc.org/irf.



SOURCE Family Research Council



CONTACT: J.P. Duffy or Joshua Arnold, (866) FRC-NEWS or (866)-372-6397








NEWS PROVIDED BY

Catholic League

July 12, 2021



NEW YORK, July 12, 2021 /Christian Newswire/ -- Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the debut of "Benedetta" at the Cannes Film Festival:

Worldwide, there are upwards of 1 billion Protestants, 1.4 billion Catholics and 1.8 billion Muslims. While Catholics revere Our Blessed Mother the most, the majority of Muslims, and many Protestants, hold the Virgin Mary in high esteem.

Atheist film director Paul Verhoeven, who has a history of bigotry, both in print and on the screen, wants them to know that he has been thinking about them. His latest contribution to hate speech is "Benedetta," a movie designed to stick it to all of them, especially Catholics.

The film "was inspired by real events," which means it is not an accurate portrayal. No matter, Catholic bashers believe every bit of it. The movie is based on a book by Judith C. Brown, "Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy," which features 17th century lesbian nuns who have gone off the rails.

Given our gay-crazy world, where every perverse act is not only tolerated, but celebrated, it is not surprising to learn that "the audience at the Cannes press screening applauded the film's blasphemous nerve." Another film critic noted that at her screening, "the movie was received with shocked laughter and applause," yielding a "five-minute standing ovation."

What were they so happy about? Benedetta, the star nun, has visions of having sex with Jesus, "a lanky-haired, high-key jealous hottie." "When Benedetta orgasms," Rachel Handler writes, "she screams, 'My God!' and 'Sweet Jesus.'"

Benedetta and her lover, Sister Bartolomea, are shown "trading flirtatious remarks while audibly s****ing next to each other in the nunnery's toilets and, scenes later [this next part is revealing], as is the lesbian tradition, f***ing one another with a wooden figurine of the Virgin Mary carved very carefully into the shape of a dildo."

The Telegraph, an English newspaper, was delighted. "Could anything be more Verhoeven than using a wooden Mary as a sex toy?" When Verhoeven was asked if he thought the film was blasphemous, he denied that it was. It is also true that the Klan deny they are racists.

A critic cited in the New York Daily News called the movie a "blasphemous, sapphic nun fk fest that's horny, traumatizing, violent and unhinged." Handler, who liked the film, said it was "deranged on nearly every single level, a blasphemous, maximalist, hilariously erotic satire."

The only prominent media source that was truly critical was Variety. It called the film pornographic, saying that Verhoeven is more interested in "kink" than anything else. "Simply put, 'Benedetta' intends to offend," amounting to "just another entry in the tawdry nunsploitation genre."

Verhoeven is correct to say that not everyone will be offended by the movie. "Actually, I don't think the film will be scandalousat least not in Western Europe." He's right. Western Europe is a fully atomized secular oasis.

"Maybe Americans will be different," he notes, owing to "more puritanism" there. In other words, Catholics, Protestants and Muslims who are insulted by his insults are puritanical and need to become more tolerant of his intolerance.

Verhoeven is no stranger to the Catholic League. He spent two decades co-authoring an offensive book that he hoped would become a movie; it never made it to the big screen. But his work, "Jesus of Nazareth," did tell us what he really thinks.

Jesus was not the son of God, the Dutchman says, and his mother, the Virgin Mary, was probably raped by a Roman soldier, resulting in Jesus' birth. Moreover, Jesus never performed any miracles and Judas Iscariot was not responsible for Jesus' betrayal. And how does he know this? He doesn't. He feels that it may be true.

The hatred of Christians in many parts of the world these days results in torture, imprisonment and death. In Western Europe and North America, the Christian haters do not resort to violence: They just seek to disparage and silence them. That's why Verhoeven delights themhe appeals to the sickest appetites of these fully deracinated people.

Contact Verhoeven's agent, Marion Rosenberg: marion@marionrosenberg.com
Ministry to Russia's 'Forgotten' Partners with U.S. Churches RUSHING THE GOSPEL TO RUSSIA: A one-of-a-kind mission in the former Soviet Union is seeking to propel the Gospel in countries that once boasted they were strongholds of atheism. Slavic Gospel Association (SGA, www.sga.org ) announced today it has appointed Rev. Larry Pauley -- a veteran pastor -- as its new director of church relations. Slavic Gospel Association announces new director of church relations to boost ministry opportunities for American churches



NEWS PROVIDED BY

Slavic Gospel Association (SGA)

July 13, 2021



LOVES PARK, Ill., July 13, 2021 /Christian Newswire/ -- A one-of-a-kind mission in the former Soviet Union is seeking to propel the Gospel in countries that once boasted they were strongholds of atheism.



Slavic Gospel Association (SGA, www.sga.org) announced today it has appointed Rev. Larry Pauley -- a veteran pastor -- as its new director of church relations. It aims to increase opportunities for U.S. churches to partner with evangelical churches across Russia and neighboring countries.



"God's primary vehicle for working in the world is the local church," said Pauley, who was part of the first-ever national pastors' conference in Russia several years ago. "When American churches and churches in the former Soviet Union partner together to help those who are forgotten and advance the Gospel, God is glorified."



Reaching 11 Time Zones

SGA partners with an extensive network of more than 6,500 evangelical churches ministering to millions across a vast region -- covering 11 time zones -- from Eastern Europe to the Bering Strait off the coast of Alaska.



The Illinois-based organization helps equip local churches across the former Soviet Union to share the Gospel, plant new churches, train pastors, run kids summer camps, and deliver crucial aid directly to hurting children, families and others at the point of need.



4 Million Meals, Thousands Receive Bibles

Since the pandemic started, local Russian-speaking Christians partnering with SGA have delivered free groceries supplying over four million meals to desperate families -- and given out Bibles and "Jesus Loves You" ornaments to tens of thousands of children and parents, sharing the Gospel with at least 35,000 people who'd never heard it.



"Through partnerships between evangelical churches in the U.S. and their counterparts in the former Soviet Union, God does amazing things," said Pauley, who has pastored churches in the U.S. attended by Russian and Ukrainian immigrants.



Through its Orphans Reborn outreach, SGA -- founded by a Belarussian immigrant to the U.S. nearly 90 years ago -- supports evangelical churches serving more than 150 orphanages and shelters in Russia and the former Soviet Union, bringing food, Bible materials, and the hope of the Gospel to 12,000 "forgotten" children.



"It's truly amazing how God has used the pandemic to open doors for the Gospel in Russia and other ex-Soviet countries," said SGA President Michael Johnson, "and it's a wonder how he's drawing together the hearts of Christians in America and believers in Russia -- who've never met each other -- to fulfill the Great Commission in the Russian-speaking world."



Founded in 1934, Slavic Gospel Association (SGA, www.sga.org) helps "forgotten" orphans, widows and families in Russia, the former Soviet countries of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Russian-speaking immigrants in Israel  caring for their physical needs and sharing the life-transforming Gospel of Jesus Christ. SGA supports an extensive grassroots network of local evangelical missionary pastors and churches in cities and rural villages across this vast region.



SOURCE Slavic Gospel Association



CONTACT: Matti Stevenson, 719-360-0586, mstevenson@inchristcommunications.com



Share Tweet
What's Included

With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 319-283-2144 or email circ@oelweindailyregister.com.
What's Included

With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 319-352-3334 or email legals@waverlynewspapers.com.
The new law is only subject to secondary enforcement, which means police may not pull a driver over solely for an adult in the back seat without a seat belt. Under the law, a ticket may only be issued for the unbelted passenger if the driver is pulled over for another offense, such as speeding.
Office space in East Hartford will be consolidated into four buildings on the campus, including the new $180 million engineering and technology building which opened in 2017. Although Pratt is reviewing which buildings on the campus will be retrofitted for use in the new hybrid workplace, it is unlikely that the landmark headquarters on Main Street, which hasnt been updated in years, will be among them, Pratt said.
It has been a challenge since the first case, she said. You have people who still say it is not real. You have people who say it is a cold. You have people who say what is the big deal. You have people who say it is all a government plot.
What the data is telling us is that for the general public, two doses of the vaccine is highly protective against the currently circulating variants, including the Delta variant. It seems like breakthrough infections are very rare and when they occur, symptoms are mild and they dont result in hospitalizations, said Dr. David Banach, an epidemiologist at UConn Health.
What this list underscores is how many other companies out there need this funding. The companies not represented on this list had losses just as big as companies that are on this list. They just didnt get any money, Jennings said. Some of these businesses may fail. Jennings business applied for the grant and was passed over.
The wellness checks did help, first and foremost, to build a relationship, a positive relationship, with the students and their families and help them understand that were here with the same shared belief that every student  should have the opportunity to thrive in any educational setting, Benjamin said, adding that there were also barriers these students faced when it came to engaging in school, like having connectivity problems, that he would also help them with.
Paluzsay recalled, My parents own home burned and I spent my first three years in the (Ewell) house, not that I remember it, she said. My family lived in the house until it was sold in 1962. One reason my family let Mr. Dewey Renick buy the land was because he was a family friend. He told my mother he would put a cemetery in and the house would always stay and be maintained.
The Supreme Court has declined the plea of Telugu Desam MP and actor Maganti Murali Mohan, promoter of Jayabheri Group, and his relative Ram Mohan Maganti, to set aside the orders of erstwhile Hyderabad High Court against them. (PTI)

Hyderabad: The Supreme Court has declined the plea of Telugu Desam MP and actor Maganti Murali Mohan, promoter of Jayabheri Group, and his relative Ram Mohan Maganti, to set aside the orders of erstwhile Hyderabad High Court against them in relation to sale of apartments in the Jayabheri Silicon Valley.

The HC had directed the trial court at Miyapur to frame charges against them and start trial for breach of trust and cheating.

Jayabheri had started the Silicon County, Jayabheri Silicon Towers and Club Jayabheri, a mixed development project in six acres around the rear 2000.

Allegations against Jayabheri Constructions and its promoters and partners are that they had violated the norms prescribed by HUDA to leave a set back of 14 metres to Silicon County. But some part of this was used for a drive-way for the IT Towers and Club Silicon.

On the other side of the Silicon County, the driveway was shown as 24 feet as per agreement, but practically it was only 16 feet.

The second accusation is that though total land set apart by the accused for Jayabheri Silicon County was 18,521 sq yds, the actual existing area is only 16,568 sq yds and thereby the flat owners have lost 1953 sq yds. The accused have allegedly usurped this.

The third allegation was about the common maintenance charges of the building complex.

Complaints were made against the developers and promoters in 2008 before the Madhapur court, the FIR was registered and chargesheet submitted under Sections 406, 420 IPC read with several sections of the AP Apartments (promotion of constructions and ownership) Act.

Challenging it, Murali Mohan and others filed a discharge petition before the trial magistrate court of Cyberabad, Kukatpally, located at Miyapur. The trial court discharged them. Challenging it, the complainants approached Hyderabad High Court in 2014, which then directed the trial court to continue the trial against the promoters and developers.

Challenging it, Murali Mohan and two others approached the apex court, which rejected their plea two days ago.
Revenue authorities handed over 1,100 acres of land to the Andhra Pradesh airport development corporation (APADCL), an the SPV (special purpose vehicle). Representative Image. (AFP)

Nellore: Additional land is being acquired on a war-footing as part of a bid to develop airport-linked industries and cargo handling facilities at the proposed greenfield airport at Dagadarthi near Nellore.

A reason for extending the scope of the proposed airport is the fast pace of development at industrial parks and the special economic zones in the district.

Nellore is the lead district in terms of investment and income generated both in agriculture and allied sectors as also the manufacturing industry sector.

Nellore is industrially well-connected to South-East Asia through the Krishnapatnam Port, which is Indias largest private port. The Ramayapatnam port is another planned port coming up in neighbouring Prakasam district.

Nellore city also serves as an important industrial node along the Vishakapatnam  Chennai and the Chennai  Bangalore industrial corridors.

The proposed airport site is located about 30km north of Nellore. The site is situated on the west side of the Guntur-Chennai Highway (NH-16) and 26km away from Krishnapatnam port and 50km from Ramayapatnam port.

Recently, the AP government through its infrastructure corporation (INCAP) appointed RITES for updating of the techno-economic feasibility study (TEFS) report (primarily, updation of the passenger traffic forecast and cost estimates) and for a fresh cargo potential study.

Revenue authorities handed over 1,100 acres of land to the Andhra Pradesh airport development corporation (APADCL), an the SPV (special purpose vehicle). Some 488.42 acres belonging to the forest department is being acquired now, said district collector KVN Chakradhar Babu.

Saying that alternative land has been identified for compensatory afforestation, he expressed confidence in handing over the extent earmarked for the airport within the next three months.

He said land allocation has been increased from the proposed1600 acres to 2000 acres to scale up the project for commercial activity and set up airport-based industries.

The authorities have requested the principal chief conservator of forests, Guntur, to accord permission for initiation of transfer proposals and for conduct of a DGPS survey.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with the chief ministers of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Maharashtra and Kerala on July 16 to discuss the COVID-19 situation in these states.

These are among the states where the Covid infection numbers have seen an increase in several districts or have not in general seen a dip like they have in most other states.

Modi on Tuesday interacted with the chief ministers of eight North-Eastern states, another region of concern, through video conferencing, and said the vaccination drive needs to be continuously ramped up to deal with the pandemic.

He also said that it is a matter of concern that big crowds are thronging hill stations and market areas without masks and social distancing.
Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao issued directions to officials on July 9 to submit a detailed report on vacancies in government departments to the Cabinet for approval on July 12. (Twitter)

Hyderabad: A long wait of government job aspirants and unemployed youth for job notifications is expected to end with the State Cabinet meeting on Tuesday to approve the filling up of over 50,000 vacancies in government departments. The job notifications were last issued in 2018.

The previous recruitment drive came to a halt for over three years, after the government devised a new zonal system for recruitments to ensure 95 per cent reservations for locals in employment and education opportunities. The creation of new districts, zones and multi-zones and the creation of a new zonal system based on them besides securing Centre's approval took three years.

Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao issued directions to officials on July 9 to submit a detailed report on vacancies in government departments to the Cabinet for approval on July 12.

Following this, officials of the finance department and heads of various departments identified vacancies and prepared a report. Accordingly, officials identified 50,000 vacancies, out of which, a majority were found in police and education departments.

After the cabinet approval on Tuesday, the indent is expected to be sent to recruitment agencies such as the TS Public Service Commission, the TS Police Recruitment Board, the Telangana Residential Educational Institutions Recruitment Board, etc, to enable them to issue job notifications, conduct exams and release the finalised selection lists.

The government is planning to issue notifications from August in a phased manner to ensure that all candidates get an opportunity to appear for recruitment exams with no clash in exam dates or other milestones of the recruitment process.
Nellore: The TTD Vigilance and Security Wing has been asked to examine the possibility of adopting Israeli technology for providing a foolproof security cover for Tirumala, both to the temple and the multitude of visiting pilgrims, since the technology is believed to be the best.

TD executive officer, Jawahar Reddy, said security in Tirumala shall be further strengthened with new technology. He, along with additional EO Dharma Reddy and chief vigilance and security officer Gopinath Jatti inspected the Common Command Control Centre at PAC (pilgrims amenity centre)-4 in Tirumala on Tuesday.

During the visit, the CVSO thoroughly explained the functioning of the centre with the help of powerpoint presentation. He had explained to the EO with some video clippings about how their personnel prevent wild animal intrusion in living areas using automatic sirens and diverting them back to the woods.

Gopinath Jatti gave details on how thieves, dalaris and cheats are caught hold with the help of CCTV footages inside the temple, at the hundi, at PACs, the Akhilandam and laddu counters.

He also explained how missing children are reunited with their parents, how unauthorized hawkers are being identified etc.

The CVSO said efforts are on to transform Tirumala into a crime-free pilgrim centre.

Of the 1,654 CC cameras installed in the hilltown, 1,530 were integrated with the command control a facility to alert mobile vehicle-bound security personnel on their tabs immediately if any crime is committed in their region.

A few more CC cameras will be linked to the C-Cube Centre to aid the functioning of the TTD vigilance staff, he said.

TTD EO said the TTD vigilance and security wing is setting an example to other places of worship with its state-of-art hi-fi security apparatus.

Later, the TTD EO felicitated 30 vigilance personnel including a woman guard who had excelled in discharging their duties and presented them with cash awards as a token of appreciation of their services.

Thereafter, the TTD EO also inspected the CC cameras in Vaikunta Queue Complex 2 and made some valuable suggestions to officials.

VGO Bali Reddy, AVSOs Veerababu, Gangaraju and Pawan were also present.

The TTD EO inspected the rooftop slab works of the Alipiri footpath on Tuesday, walking down the route from the Sri Lakshmi Narayana temple to the Seventh Mile Prasanna Anjaneya Swamy. He urged CE Nageswara Rao to complete these works by this September as the annual Brahmotsavams are scheduled for October. He also inspected the works of the Alipiri footpath between Rajagopuram and Galigopuram.

The EO took a look at the plantation works at the Seventh Mile Prasanna Anjaneya Swamy area by the forest wing of TTD and proposed DFO Chandrasekhar to give it an aesthetic feel by planting colourful and attractive floral species. DyEE Surendra, AVSOs Shailendra, Ganga Raju etc were also present.
New Delhi: Crowded marketplaces and hill stations may be good for a revival of the economy, but they are also a cause of worry and an invitation for a possible Covid-19 third wave, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday as he expressed concern over people crowding at hill stations and markets without wearing masks or observing the social distancing norms. He urged all citizens to guard against complacency to prevent a third wave of the coronavirus.

India on Tuesday recorded 32,906 fresh cases of Covid-19 and 2,020 deaths. The big jump in daily fatalities was because Madhya Pradesh revised its Covid-19 death data. MP is the third state after Maharashtra and Bihar to revise its Covid death figures.

If we remain cautious and take precautions, we will be able to prevent the third wave there should be no compromise in this, the PM said during an interaction with the chief ministers of the northeastern states on the Covid-19 situation.

The interaction was attended by the chief ministers of Assam, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. The CMs briefed the PM about the progress of vaccination in their states and the steps that are being taken to take vaccines to far-flung areas. They also discussed the issue of vaccine hesitancy and measures being taken to overcome it and gave an assurance of taking timely action to bring down the positivity rate as well as the number of cases in their states.

The PM expressed his worry over the growing number of cases in some districts and stressed the need to detect these signals and take strict action at the micro level. He stressed the need for micro-containment protocols in dealing with the situation and asked everyone to make full use of the experience and best practices learnt in the past one and half years in this regard.

Noting the fast-mutating nature of the virus, the PM advised strict monitoring of the mutation and keeping track of all variants. He said the experts were studying the mutations and their impact, adding: In such a scenario, prevention and treatment are critical.

Acknowledging the impact of the pandemic on tourism and business, the Prime Minister strongly warned against crowding at hill stations without observing proper precautions. Rejecting the argument that people want to enjoy life before the arrival of the third wave, he said that it needs to be understood that the third wave will not come on its own. He said the main question in our minds should be how to prevent a third wave. Experts are repeatedly warning against carelessness and crowding as they can lead to a massive surge in cases, he said, strongly advocating for the prevention of avoidable crowding.

On Friday, July 16, Mr Modi will interact with the chief ministers of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Maharashtra and Kerala to discuss the Covid-19 situation in these states. These are among the states where the infection numbers have seen an increase in several districts or have not in general seen a dip, unlike in most other states.

Dr V.K. Paul, Niti Aayogs member (health), said, meanwhile: The third wave is already here in the world as 3.9 lakh new confirmed cases are being reported from across the globe each day.

The Uttarakhand government on Tuesday announced its decision to cancel the Kanwar Yatra this year in view of the pandemic. In Odisha too the Bol Bam yatra has been cancelled. The Uttarakhand police is learnt to have sent back over 8,000 tourists from Mussoorie and Nainital to avoid overcrowding after the visuals of a sea of people surfaced.

Meanwhile, the developers of Russias Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine said a deal had been struck with the Serum Institute of India (SII) to produce 300 million doses annually. The SII is also trying to upscale the production of its Covishield vaccine, and 110 million doses have been produced by July. On the other hand, Dr Reddys Laboratories has said it will strengthen the commercial rollout of Sputnik V vaccines in India in the coming weeks.
HYDERABAD: The Telangana state Cabinet meeting which started on Tuesday will be continued to the next day after the meeting failed to arrive at the exact number of vacancies existing in various departments for issuing job notifications. The Cabinet will again meet on Wednesday at 2 pm to discuss and finalise the vacancies. This is for the first time that the Cabinet meeting is being continued to the next day, which is unheard of in any state or Union Cabinet meetings.

The meeting chaired by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao began at 2 pm at Pragathi Bhavan. The Cabinet approved drafting an 'annual recruitment calendar' on the lines of Union Public Service Commission's annual recruitment calendar to fill vacancies arising in various departments every year.

The Cabinet felt that this would be beneficial for job seekers and unemployed youth to know in advance the vacancy position besides schedule of issuance of job notification and conduct of exam and plan their exam preparation accordingly.

The Cabinet directed secretaries of all departments to attend the meeting with full details of existing vacancies in their respective departments on Wednesday. It also directed officials to distribute all existing posts and future vacancies to all districts, zones and multi-zones as per the recently approved new zonal system to implement 95 percent jobs to locals in each district, zone and multi-zone.

The Cabinet also approved 50 percent reservations for local students in admissions into government residential schools in every Assembly constituency.

Several key decisions to be taken today

The state Cabinet which met here on Tuesday for over seven hours put off taking a decision on increasing market value of agriculture, non-agriculture lands, registration charges and stamp duty.

Although the meeting chaired by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao at Pragathi Bhavan discussed in detail about this issue, no decision was taken as the meeting could not arrive at a consensus on the amount of hike to be effected.

The cabinet sub-committee on resource mobilisation headed by finance minister T Harish Rao submitted a report to the Cabinet seeking enhancement of market value of properties, registration charges and stamp duty as they were last revised in 2013 in undivided AP.

This apart, the Cabinet approved release of Rs 1,200 crore to ensure adequate drinking water supply in the peripheral municipalities of Hyderabad city. The Chief Minister instructed the officials concerned to initiate immediate measures to prevent scarcity of drinking water in Hyderabad and its surrounding areas in future. He also asked the officials to establish a third wire (neutral) for power supply in all villages especially for streetlights in an attempt to prevent any inadvertent short circuits.

While reviewing the implementation of Palle and Pattana Pragathi programmes, the Chief Minister directed all ministers to achieve 100 percent target of constructing Vaikuntadhamams (crematoriums) in all districts within a month. He said no town or village should exist without a crematorium in any district after a month. The Cabinet instructed officials to explore the option of 'land pooling' in all municipalities to develop layouts.

The Cabinet also discussed the prevailing corona situation in the state. The medical and health department official team, which toured seven districts, where Covid cases are comparatively higher, to assess the ground situation, submitted a report to the state government. The team explained the measures being taken to curtail 'third wave' in the state.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
El Paso Democrat Joe Moody was stripped of his position as speaker pro tem of the Texas House on Thursday in the first major backlash for a De
Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!

Your notification has been saved.

There was a problem saving your notification.

{{description}}

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Hartford City, IN (47348)

Today

Cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. High 81F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Clear skies. Low 62F. Winds light and variable.
How is the pixie cut wig market?

The global market for human hair wigs is expected to reach $5 billion by 2026, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 8.5% over the forecast period from 2021 to 2027.

"Baldness" has become a common problem around the world. According to data from cross-border e-commerce retail platforms, sales of human hair wigs and pixie cut wig have been growing at a rapid rate of 300% all year round.

Over the past few years, the pixie cut wig market has been driven by the increasing number of customers requesting extensions or wigs for aesthetic or functional purposes. African natives and people of African descent are the biggest consumers of pixie cut wig and extensions. Wigs are popular in Africa, where they are as much a part of everyday life as clothes and shoes. Their hair is curly, a good head of hair is a symbol of beauty, many women even wear several wigs, including pixie cut wig.

North America human hair wigs market contribution is expected to rise. Right now, transaction volume is growing at about 50 percent a year in the U.S. and Europe, and it going to grow 100 to 300 percent in Africa. In 2020, North America occupied the global wig and hair extensions market with more than 40% market share. The region population of African and Caucasian descent is the main source of sales of human hair wigs. The US market is heavily influenced by age groups.

By region, the pixie cut wig market for human hair wigs is divided into Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East and Africa. North America has the largest share in terms of revenue and currently dominates the market segment. In the United States and Mexico, the presence of major suppliers and the growing demand for these wigs, which are fashion and style accessories, has helped fuel the demand.

Social media scammers sell phony wigs at high-end prices

Social media is rife with misleading ads, but sometimes scammers go a step further. They create social media accounts, build (or buy) a following and trick consumers into paying big money for products or services they never planned to deliver. BBB Scam Tracker recently found an increasing number of social media scammers selling (allegedly) high-end wigs. Social media scammers selling wigs at high prices affected the market and price of pixie cut wig. The demand for human hair wigs has driven the expansion of the market for most pixie cut wig. Feel free to send an email to info@loveuwig.com for the latest information of pixie cut wig.

How does the scam work?

Youll find a social media account, usually on Instagram, with professional-looking photos and nice wigs. The "web celebrity" claims to be a professional stylist who works with celebrities and seems to have a legion of fans. You contact the seller and they send you a deal on the item youre interested in. When you accept, they ask you to pay through an e-wallet app. After you send the money, the seller promises to deliver the fake by a specific date. Scammers may ask for extra money to get your wig just right.

When your wig arrives, it doesnt look anything like it in the photo! Or you might never get any wigs. When you try to contact the seller about the situation, they claim to deliver as soon as possible or simply deny that the transaction ever happened. Either way, if you ask for a refund, the seller will block you and disappear.

One victim told BBB Scam Tracker that she had paid $900 for a wig, but it never arrived. After trying to get a refund, the Instagram she bought, a web celebrity, blocked her and posted her home address.

"She told me that she would block me forever and that she would be in touch with me through her lawyer." Ive never heard of any law firms. I never got my money back." "To make matters worse, this lady started Posting my private home address on her public Instagram account for all to see. I entrusted her with my sensitive information and she publicly leaked it!"

How do you spot social media sales scams

Take a close look at the seller social media profile. Legion sellers post frequently, respond quickly, and clearly show and describe the services they offer. Fake social media accounts are devoid of original content, offering only general introductions and little real engagement.

Read their reviews. If a seller is not very reputable, you may find reviews pointing to poor customer service or outright scams. Keep in mind, though, that sellers can delete or hide bad reviews, so the absence of negative reviews doesnt necessarily mean the company is reputable.

Check for clear sales agreements. A reputable business will have a clear process for selling and delivering products. In addition, the seller should give you a written confirmation of the purchase, as well as detailed instructions if you need to cancel the order or ask for a refund. If the seller information about payment or delivery is unclear, or they cant provide a receipt for your purchase, you can shop elsewhere.

Use secure payment methods. It always best to pay for products and services with a credit card. That way, if something goes wrong, you can fight the charge. If the seller insists that you pay through a digital app, especially if it insists that you mark the money as a friend or family member, think again. Bypassing normal payment methods is a common tactic used by scammers to scam you out of your money.

The price of pixie cut wig

The price of pixie cut wig will fluctuate randomly under the influence of pixie cut wig cost, political and economic changes in the international market in recent years, frequent adjustment of international trade policies, and fluctuations of the international exchange rate. Loveuwig is a trusted Nigerian human hair wigs supplier for women online at the best prices. Find affordable virgin human hair wigs online and refresh your look! Loveuwig is committed to give you the most favorable price and the most honest service. If you are looking for quality pixie cut wig, please feel free to send an email to info@loveuwig.com for the latest price of pixie cut wig.

The pixie cut wig market trends

The forecast of the global pixie cut wig market shows the upgrading of the consumption structure, which provides the impetus for the economic shift to high-quality development, and opens up a broad market development space for human hair wigs products, beauty salons and other fashion hair and makeup industries. The size of the pixie cut wig is expected to continue to grow, with the global wig market expected to reach $250 million by 2027.

The cost of pixie cut wig

Actually, the cost of pixie cut wig is a wild card because raw materials are hard to supply in the wig industry. The price of the pixie cut wig varies from a few hundred to a thousand, and the profit is considerable. Real human hair is the main raw material, but the purchase requirements are more strict, also cant hot dye. Although chemical fiber hair is also one of the raw materials, the service life is short, also easy distortion, the market share is far lower than the wig of real person hair. Due to the scarcity of raw materials, the development of the whole wig industry will be more or less restricted, and the cost of pixie cut wig will also fluctuate accordingly.

The supplier of pixie cut wig

Loveuwig with the website of loveuwig.com is a Nigeria based wig store with factories and local retailing stores in both Nigerian and China. Loveuwigs only sell 100% real human hair wigs, including pixie cut wig, with many different styles or colors such as lace front wigs, bob wigs, curly wigs, wave wigs,straight wigs, Brazilian hair wigs, African women wigs, and Nigerian women wigs. If you are interested in pixie cut wig, please send an email to info@loveuwig.com and get morn information about it.
Hellicopters and vehicles are deployed at U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, during this year's first Combined Command Post Training between South Korea and the U.S. in this March 8 photo. The two sides are yet to reveal the scale of the drill, which is anticipated to take place next month. Yonhap



Pyongyang issues warning against August exercise plan



By Nam Hyun-woo



North Korea has resumed its belligerent rhetoric against a combined summertime military exercise between Seoul and Washington, raising questions about whether the Kim Jong-un regime will escalate the situation with a military provocation.



Uriminzokkiri, a North Korean propaganda website, issued a warning Tuesday to South Korea and the U.S. with regard to the drill expected to be held in August, saying that "war exercises" and peace cannot exist simultaneously.



"The current instability on the Korean Peninsula is fully attributable to the warmongers among the South Korean military colluding with an outside power, and engaging in reckless, confrontational machinations," the website commented.



Citing previous exercises including the Combined Command Post Training in March and Seoul's participation in the cooperative maritime exercise Pacific Vanguard, it alleged "(South Korea) showed its craze for war exercises."



Uriminzokkiri also mentioned the recent deliveries of material and equipment to upgrade the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense base in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, and South Korea's deployment of RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude unmanned surveillance aircraft, saying "war games to strengthen armed forces will never stand hand in hand with peace."



Another propaganda website, Meari, also slammed the South Korean government for "pouring taxpayers' money into introducing and developing weapons without considering the South Korean people's toughened livelihood amid the fast spread of a vicious virus."





North Korea's newly developed submarine-borne ballistic missile Pukguksong-5 is shown at a military parade held Jan. 14 to mark the ruling Workers' Party of Korea's eighth congress, in this photo released by the country's state-run Korean Central News Agency the following day. Yonhap


Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Won In-choul met with new U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) commander Gen. Paul LaCamera Tuesday and discussed ways to boost a combined readiness posture and the bilateral alliance, officials said.



LaCamera took office earlier this month to lead the U.S. military in South Korea, as well as the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Korea and the United Nations Command.





During the meeting, Won stressed the importance of maintaining a robust combined defense posture and advancing the bilateral alliance. LaCamera vowed to "strive towards an even greater and stronger Republic of Korea-U.S. alliance, which was forged in blood 70 years ago," according to JCS.





"The two sides agreed to beef up cooperation and coordination, and to work more closely for a firm readiness posture," JCS said.





Key pending issues include the combined military exercise slated for August. Seoul's defense ministry said discussions are under way with the U.S. about when and how to stage the summertime exercise amid North Korea's protest and the COVID-19 pandemic. (Yonhap)














Republic of Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Gen. Won In-choul presents a traditionally made, inlaid mother of pearl baton to Gen. Paul J. LaCamera, head of the United Nations Command, ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command and United States Forces Korea, Tuesday, during the latter's first visit to the headquarters of the JCS in Seoul's Yongsan District since taking command July 2. LaCamera also met Defense Minister Suh Wook to discuss pending matters regarding the ROK-U.S. alliance. Courtesy of JCS
Officials of Yongin City and the environment ministry inspect a bear farm in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, July 8, two days after two three-year-old bears escaped from the breeding farm. One of them was found and killed on the day of the escape, and the authorities are searching for the remaining one. Yonhap



By Bahk Eun-ji



It has been a week since two Asian black bears escaped from a breeding farm in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, but authorities are still searching for one of them after the other was killed.



Earlier on July 6, the owner of a bear breeding farm in Yongin reported to the city government that two three-year-old male bears, weighing 60 kilograms each, disappeared at around 10:30 a.m. Workers from the city's wild animal control department and the Ministry of Environment conducted a search operation of nearby mountainous areas and killed one of them after finding it near a house about a kilometer from the farm.



But the authorities suspended the search two days later as no trace of the other bear had been found. The city government said it would lure the bear to the farm and attempt to capture it rather than killing it following protests from animal rights groups. It installed three unmanned traps and three thermal imaging cameras near the farm.



But the traps and cameras have only caught badgers so far. Residents have made about 10 reports on the missing bear, but all have been false alarms.



The city government and the ministry resumed the search work on Monday in hopes of finding any trace of the missing bear.



Suspicions have been raised that only one bear escaped from the farm, rather than two as the farm owner claims, because animal control workers have found traces of only one bear based on footprints around the farm.



But the authorities are continuing the search operation on the premise that two animals escaped due to the possibility that an undiscovered bear could pose a threat to humans.


An abalone farmer in Gangjin County in South Jeolla Province  whose abalone farmed in waters near Maryang Harbor were killed after a monsoon downpour earlier this month kneels on top of the dead abalone before Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Moon Seong-hyeok and his aides, asking for help, July 12. Yonhap





By Ko Dong-hwan







A whopping 29 million farmed abalone in Korea's southern waters died after days of a monsoon downpour earlier this month disrupted the habitat that the mollusks live in.







The dead abalone, some of them unripe young ones, were concentrated in farms in waters off the coastal counties of South Jeolla Province. Over 6 million abalone raised by 61 households died in Jindo, and 300,000 farmed by five households were killed in Wando.







But the most abalone died in Gangjin County. At enclosed farms in waters near Maryang Harbor in southern Gangjin, the summer monsoon fatally affected some 22.9 million abalone raised by 32 households.







Taking into account other South Jeolla counties with abalone farms, such as Jangheung and Haenam, the total number of abalone killed in the province amounts to a whopping 29.23 million, farmed by some 100 households. Their market value has been assessed at over 22.6 billion won ($19.8 million), according to the Korean daily newspaper, the Chosun Ilbo.







The abalone are believed to have died because the fresh water that had accumulated on land due to the heavy downpours during the period of July 5 to 7 overflowed into the coastal sea water areas where the farms are situated. The fresh water reduced the salinity of the sea water, disrupting the natural conditions required for abalone to live.







The severity of these incidents raised the concern of the regional authorities, resulting in South Jeolla Governor Kim Yung-rok and Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Moon Seong-hyeok visiting the farms in Gangjin, July 12.







Some 30 Gangjin residents whose abalone were killed in the rain sought the help of the governor and the minister at one of the farms. With the dead abalone on fishing nets, reeking in the hot summer sun in front of them, some desperate fishing industry workers even knelt down before the government officials, pleading for help.







According to Kim, the current laws set the amount of legal subsidies for fishermen who lose their products at an average of 23 percent of their original value. Kim said that the laws need to be revised to raise the subsidy rate to above 50 percent in order to be of any practical help to abalone farmers. While a two-year-old abalone's market value is around 3,000 won, only 700 won is offered as a subsidy under the current laws, which is an amount that is hardly helpful.







Kim also pointed out that the current laws only cover fully grown abalone, leaving a legal loophole in which young abalone are not subsidized.







Kang Seong-woon, the provincial government's ports and shipping division official, said that the provincial authorities have begun clearing the dead abalone from the farms in order to prevent contamination of the sea water surrounding the farms. They have also started the process of requesting from the ministry a list of legal adjustments to help the farmers.


Lee Jun-seok, left, chairman of the main opposition People Power Party, answers questions from reporters at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap



By Kang Seung-woo



Lee Jun-seok, chairman of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), is in the hot seat for backpedaling in less than two hours on an agreement with his ruling party counterpart to provide COVID-19 relief money to all citizens.



On Monday, ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Rep. Song Young-gil and Lee met and agreed to provide emergency relief funds to all citizens regardless of their financial status, according to their respective spokespeople. The government and the ruling party had initially decided to provide the relief money only to those outside the top-20 percent income bracket.



However, the agreement was short-lived as PPP spokeswoman Hwangbo Seung-hee corrected her previous wording, saying the two leaders agreed to review the need to first use the extra budget to expand support for pandemic-hit small business owners and, if there is money left over, review the need to expand the handouts to all citizens. It was an apparent withdrawal from the agreement announced just one hour and 40 minutes earlier.



The reversal came because, as soon as the news about the agreement broke, some PPP members immediately objected to Lee, who had changed the party's stance of selective payouts without consulting its lawmakers.



"Despite promising to operate the party in a democratic fashion, Lee acted like an imperial leader, disregarding the party philosophy," Rep. Yun Hee-suk said on Facebook, Monday night.



She reiterated her criticism of Lee, Tuesday, saying he ruined the PPP's stance of opposing the ruling party's plan to shower money on the public.



Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong also said, "I am disappointed by Lee's decision, given that he agreed to what the DPK wanted. DPK Chairman Song may make fun of the PPP."



The ruling party, particularly its presidential hopefuls, did not waste the opportunity to bash Lee, urging him to make a public apology.



"Although it is very common in political circles that any agreements are easily breached, the reversal is not the right thing to do for either the public or the rival party," Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung said on Facebook, Tuesday. The governor is the leading presidential contender within the ruling bloc.



"It cannot happen if the PPP respects the people as sovereigns. Internal complaints should be eased within the party," he added.



Choo Mi-ae, a former justice minister, said the administration of state affairs is not a joke, while Rep. Lee Nak-yon, a former prime minister, criticized the PPP leader for throwing the people into confusion.



In response to the growing criticism, Lee said in a radio interview, Tuesday, that due to the stricter social distancing rules, he and Song had to discuss the issue without their respective spokespeople, which prevented him from delivering the details precisely to his spokesperson.


Rep. Kim Eui-kyeom of the minor opposition Open Minjoo Party / Yonhap



By Bahk Eun-ji



Criticism is mounting over a journalist-turned-lawmaker's remark that it was common for journalists in his days to impersonate the police in order to obtain information for stories.



Other journalist-turned-politicians all refuted the remark by Rep. Kim Eui-kyeom, of the minor liberal Open Minjoo Party, a former spokesman for President Moon Jae-in, urging him to apologize to journalists.



He made the remark Monday in a radio interview about a case where two reporters from local broadcaster MBC allegedly impersonated police officers, while looking into suspicions surrounding former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's wife.





Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl / Yonhap




By Ko Dong-hwan







One year has passed since the government announced its ambitious commitment to economic growth based on carbon neutralization and other eco-friendly strategies under the Green New Deal.







To mark the first anniversary on July 14, the Ministry of Environment rolled out several consumer-friendly initiatives on Tuesday to boost the use of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), which form one of the pillars of the Green New Deal.







On Wednesday only, 31 hydrogen vehicle recharging stations across the country will offer discounted recharging rates. Twenty-nine stations will offer a 20 percent discount to the current rate of 8,800 won ($7.68) per kilogram, lowering the price to 7,000 won. Two stations in Seoul's Gangdong District and Incheon's Namdong District will offer an 11 percent discount, reducing the rate to 7,800 won.







The participating stations account for 45 percent of the entire hydrogen-recharging stations in operation nationwide. The locations of the participating stations can be checked at the websites of

or

.





During the day, people can also test-drive hydrogen cars made by Hyundai Motor, which agreed to cooperate with the ministry for the event. People can make reservations on Tuesday or Wednesday at 19 hydrogen car test-driving centers across the country that are operated by the carmaker. Test drives are also available at Hyundai Motor dealerships. Those who want to make reservations on Tuesday either at a test-drive center or a dealership can do so at

.







"With the help of this event, we hope that hydrogen cars, which are 'moving air purifiers,' will draw more interest from people," said Kim Seung-hee, an official at the ministry's Air Quality Policy Bureau. "We will spur our efforts to meet our country's national goal of complete carbon neutralization by 2050 by safely and promptly establishing hydrogen car recharging infrastructure so that people can drive hydrogen vehicles more conveniently."







The government hopes the number of hydrogen cars purchased by consumers by 2025 would reach 200,000 vehicles, while aiming to build 450 hydrogen car recharging stations across the country by then.


Park Jun-sik, head of the Minimum Wage Commission, leaves the commission's final meeting held at Government Complex Sejong, Tuesday, during which the minimum hourly wage for 2022 was set at 9,160 won. Yonhap



Hourly minimum wage for 2022 set at 9,160 won



By Lee Hyo-jin



The country's hourly minimum wage for 2022 has been set at 9,160 won ($7.98), a 5.1 percent increase from the current 8,720 won, which did not satisfy either the union or business sectors.



Unions expressed anger over President Moon Jae-in's unfulfilled campaign pledge to hike the minimum wage to 10,000 won per hour during his five-year-term, as this year's negotiations were the last to be held during his term.



Representatives from business were equally unsatisfied, as they had been calling for a virtual freeze of the minimum wage considering the problems facing small- and medium-sized enterprises due to the COVID-19 pandemic.



Around midnight, Monday, the 27-member Minimum Wage Commission, a trilateral panel composed of nine members each from the union, business and public sectors, voted on the new wage during its final plenary session held at the Government Complex Sejong.



Only 14 members participated in the vote as all nine members from the business sector and four union representatives left the room in protest against the proposed wage hike.



The final proposal of 9,160 won, made by representatives for the public, made up of professors and experts in labor issues, passed the vote with 13 in favor and one abstention.



The unions had proposed an increase of 14.7 percent to 10,000 won, while the business side insisted on a 1.5 percent rise to 8,850 won. The two sides failed to narrow the gap as both were firm on their demands.



The union representatives insisted that the 10,000 won rate was the bare minimum to ensure the livelihoods of low-paid workers and their families.





Union representatives speak to reporters after leaving the Minimum Wage Commission's plenary session at the Government Complex Sejong, Monday, to protest a proposed minimum hourly wage hike to 9,160 won. Yonhap
By Vera Songwe





ADDIS ABABA  Despite incurring high costs in terms of lost and foregone social and economic progress during the COVID-19 pandemic, Africa has so far avoided the kind of health and economic calamity that some anticipated when the crisis began. Like any crisis, the pandemic could represent an opportunity to lay the groundwork for a better future. But it won't be easy.



First and foremost, the continent must get COVID-19 under control, which requires ensuring equitable access to vaccines. As it stands, some advanced economies are on track to achieve widespread vaccination within months. Yet Africa is struggling to secure the 90 million doses it needs to inoculate the highest-priority 3 percent of its population, including health-care workers and the most vulnerable groups.



This is clearly a humanitarian disaster in the making: Every day those most at risk are denied access to COVID-19 vaccines is a day when more people die needlessly. But it is also an economic disaster: According to a National Bureau of Economic Research study, if the advanced economies continue to hoard vaccine doses, the global economy would suffer losses of more than $9 trillion in 2021.



There is some promising news. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration recently pledged to join the 100 other countries seeking a temporary COVID-19 waiver of the World Trade Organization intellectual-property rules. Allowing countries to manufacture generic versions should, one hopes, facilitate the rapid scale-up of vaccine production, thereby enabling all countries to immunize their populations soon.



But ending the pandemic is only the first step. Africa must also strengthen the resilience of its health systems and supply chains. Success will depend largely on countries' commitments to the kind of collaboration and solidarity that characterized the pandemic response.



Africa was nowhere near prepared for COVID-19. Before the pandemic, the continent's annual health-care financing gap already stood at $66 billion, while 550 million people lacked legal identity, making it extremely difficult for health authorities to test, treat, and identify priority groups for vaccination.



Moreover, Africa-based manufacturers could meet only 2 percent of the continent's needs for medicine, and 1 percent for vaccines. In 2018, nearly 96 percent of African countries' pharmaceutical imports were from outside the continent. Food supply chains are similarly vulnerable: 82.2 percent of food imports were from outside Africa in 2018.



The combination of trade disruptions and protectionist policies during the pandemic proved just how vulnerable such "optimized" global supply chains can be. That is why, in addition to boosting investment in health-care systems, Africa must work to diversify its supply chains in strategic industries and develop regional value chains.



This must include strengthening local capacity to manufacture vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics. To aid this effort, governments should ratify the Treaty for the Establishment of the African Medicines Agency and begin collaborating on common regulatory and quality standards.



Beyond supply chains, African countries  many of which remain highly dependent on oil, commodities, and tourism  must make economic diversification a top priority. Here, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) can play a central role.



The AfCFTA investment protocol soon to be adopted will enable Africa to attract funds that can be channeled toward more productive sectors  including transport infrastructure and logistics  thereby facilitating greater intra-African trade. More broadly, by creating a single market of 1.2 billion consumers  worth $2.5 trillion  the AfCFTA can facilitate industrialization, enabling African economies to ascend the value-added ladder.



Yet Africans can and must go further and reimagine our economies, so that they are inclusive, green, and digital. The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected women, young people, slum dwellers, and informal workers.



These groups must be at the center of the pandemic recovery. Governments must ensure equitable provision of services, such as health care and education. They must devise effective policies to unlock employment and business opportunities for underserved populations. And they need to emphasize long-term returns by allocating resources toward high-impact projects in areas that can crowd in private investment.



A good example of a project that brings together Africa's private sector, regulators, and governments is the Africa Communication and Information Platform. The ACIP is an interactive mobile-based menu system that enhances African governments' ability to communicate and interact with the citizenry in mitigating and managing the socioeconomic impact of COVID-19. Using artificial intelligence and mobile data analytics, the ACIP turns user-generated survey data into actionable health and economic insights to inform the pandemic response.



Investments in sectors such as renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, and sustainable public transport also meet the requirements of durable returns, leading to significantly more job creation and value added than fossil-fuel-based investment. In South Africa, for example, green projects could deliver up to 250 percent more jobs and 420 percent more value added, compared to fossil-fuel alternatives.



To fund a green pandemic recovery, African governments should take advantage of carbon offsets and innovative sources of finance, including green and blue bonds and debt-for-climate or debt-for-nature swaps. Governments will also need to create incentives for the shift from resource-intensive to sustainable models of production and consumption.



Finally, Africa must invest in its digital economy. The pandemic has shifted a significant share of work and consumption online. Moreover, grassroots innovation is already happening across the continent. The value of e-commerce on the continent could reach $500 billion in 2030.



The public sector must encourage and facilitate these developments. To achieve the African Union's vision of "continental ownership" in the digital space, countries must fulfill their commitment to raise gross expenditure on research and development to 1 percent of GDP. At the same time, they must invest in the relevant hard infrastructure (such as electricity and broadband) and soft infrastructure (consumer protection, privacy and data regulations, and digital skills).



The United Nations' Economic Commission for Africa will continue to support member states. That means using our convening power and technical expertise to drive progress in critical areas, including fiscal policy, domestic resource mobilization, macro-structural reforms, trade, investment, green growth, intellectual property, digitalization, debt management, sustainability, and AfCFTA negotiations and implementation.



When the history of the coronavirus crisis is written, policymakers will be assessed not only by how they coped with the pandemic, but also by what they made of it. If Africa emerges with old inequalities unaddressed and new opportunities unrealized, we will have missed a window. We must recognize that a better normal is possible, and act boldly to make it a reality, thereby transforming the crisis into an opportunity.





Vera Songwe is United Nations under-secretary-general and executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa. This article was distributed by Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org).


Time to keep balance between nuclear power and renewables



Korea's nuclear safety watchdog has finally given conditional approval for operations to commence at the Shin-Hanul No. 1 nuclear power plant, which had been delayed since its completion in April last year. The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission gave the go-ahead to the 1,400-megawatt reactor in Uljin, 330 km southeast of Seoul, after eight hours of heated discussion last Friday. Its operation has been put off for 15 months due to "safety concerns" raised by the Moon Jae-in administration, which is seeking to phase out nuclear power generation and shift to renewable energy.



Two factors were pivotal in reversing the government's stance  a snow-balling economic loss and expected power shortages. According to Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Corp. (KHNP), the cost of managing the idled plant amounts to 1.1 billion won ($958,000) a day, and incurs an additional cost of 540 billion won if operation is delayed for 16 months. The change by the Cabinet under new Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum also played a role. "I think it is problematic for the government to mothball a newly dedicated power plant," Kim said in his reply to lawmakers' questions.



The Moon administration also seems to have become aware of the criticism about its policy to "denuclearize" the country's energy mix too rapidly. Pro-nuclear energy experts have pointed out that the government needs to adjust its pace to phase out such power plants until the country attains sufficient commercial viability with renewable energy resources, such as solar and wind power. Rep. Song Young-gil, chairman of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), said recently, "We need to introduce small modular reactors (SMRs) to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050," signaling a change in the ruling camp's energy policy stance.



However, it is not just difficult but undesirable to flip-flop on the country's energy policy. Considering the huge investment poured into building renewable energy infrastructure, the environment-friendly energy industry and the unchanged need for developing related technology, the government should keep a balance between its policy of nuclear phase-out and ways of making the most of the existing reactors. The conditional approval of the Shin-Hanul No. 1 reactor indicates that whoever takes power next May will have to come up with a better energy policy.


Focus on helping those hit by COVID-19



The Ministry of Economy and Finance is on a collision course with the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) over whether to provide COVID-19 relief aid to all citizens. The clash came Tuesday, one day after the leaders of the DPK and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) reportedly reached a consensus on the need for a universal handout of relief cash to all South Koreans.



Economy and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said during testimony at the National Assembly that he is against the idea of universal relief handouts. He made clear that his ministry will not follow a "political decision" regarding its fiscal operations.



In late June, the Moon administration proposed an extra budget of 33 trillion won ($28.7 billion) to finance another aid package after holding consultations and coordinating with the DPK. At the time, the government and ruling party agreed to provide handouts to people in the bottom 80 percent income bracket and small business owners. The supplementary budget plan, the second of its kind this year, is based on the ministry's position that it should not exceed the excess tax revenue of 31.5 trillion won.



Local media reported Monday that DPK Chairman Song Young-gil and his PPP counterpart Lee Jun-seok had reached an agreement on the universal provision. The next day, however, the PPP backtracked. Spokeswoman Hwangbo Seung-hee said the two leaders agreed to "first use" the government's proposed extra budget to expand the scope of aid recipients among small business owners who have suffered the most from the pandemic's fallout.



She added that they agreed to review the need to expand the scope of the recipients to all people if there were leftover funds. In other words, the PPP has reaffirmed its stance on giving relief cash selectively to those bearing the brunt of the coronavirus. It has made clear its opposition to the DPK's push to make the aid available to all members of society.



Lee, the new young leader of the PPP, seemed to have agreed on the matter with Song without carefully considering his party's basic position. However, more worrisome is that the DPK has now decided to change the government's plan in order to provide aid to all people. Song and his party cannot avoid criticism for trying to resort to populism ahead of the next presidential election set for March 9, 2022.



Against this backdrop, the finance ministry is right to oppose the DPK's move. It is not the time to push for the universal provision of relief aid. Rather, the government and the DPK should consider providing more handouts to the poor, the self-employed, and small business operators who will be hit harder by the fourth wave of the pandemic. Politics should never be allowed to meddle in fiscal operations, especially when the country's fiscal health has deteriorated due to multiple relief packages following the spread of COVID-19.


By Bernard Rowand





Recently, I've taken to helping my best friend in a fortunate way. He's allowed me to mentor his second son in a job search. It happened after wishing the young man a happy birthday on Facebook. In doing so, my friend has given me a chance to help a fine college graduate search for his first job in the United States. The experience leaves me with good feelings, and also a sense of time passing and the role of generations. It also shows the friendship between Korean and American people and their countries.



I've written about the enduring value of a certain type of Confucian thinking in Korean political culture. A few of my Korean friends say to me, "You are so Confucian." I don't really think so, but I believe in the ongoing vitality of a certain kind of Korean Confucianism. Not neo-Confucianism or sexist Confucianism but a continuing, ever-present, and vitalizing Confucian thinking grounds my faith. This kind of Korean Confucianism avoids scapegoating, conserves and extends common self-development, and honors the ties of generations, within and outside the family. My friend accepts me as part of his family, and his son as an uncle.



Korea has given me so much self-development. My seniors and peers, academics and their families welcomed me from early adulthood to the present. They value who I am and what I do, and they let me help them, at times leading, at times following. I can tell you this experience has happened for me in the United States as well. Friendship through learning brings happiness.





Zong In-Sob recorded the tale of "The Young Gentleman and the Tiger," a story about friendship. In it, the young man accepts friendship with various objects, and gains the means to save a young girl from a ravenous tiger. Friendship brings to life what may not seem alive. It extends humanity to all who embrace it. This friendship goes beyond, though it respects ties of blood, age, and nationality.



As I reach toward my 57th year, I aspire to "give back" to Korean friends, my extended family, and to Korea. Helping my friend's son is one way of doing so. Confucius believed in taking care of basics, including the primary value of education as lifelong development within a community, as a way of creating fundamental energy for life and its continuity. When I help my friend, making him as my junior into a new friend in a way, and I help the next generation to stand on the shoulders of the present one. Confucianism teaches one to surrender one's self to life's movement and to the harmony that binds all.





Through understanding the contemporary and permanent relevance of this kind of Confucianism, I find peace and transcend the limits nations put on humanity. My friend's son is a Korean born in America and a graduate of an American university. He's bilingual and at home both in Korea and in the United States. Like many Koreans, he's looking to gain some career experience in America and chart new paths.



I have given him advice on the kind of tone with which to present himself in a meeting and how to answer questions directly and with consideration. I want him to value first and foremost what he brings to the table. We've had some success thus far, and it made my day when this young man said, "It's all about love." Whatever my friend's son gains from me isn't the main purpose. I'm trying to instill in him the impulse to keep going. Success follows the spirit to learn, along with aptitude and skill. The way of the heart is to encourage the values of this kind of Korean Confucianism.



Arthur Lovejoy's "The Great Chain of Being" reflects this way of helping others. When it occurs across cultures, friendship anticipates a fuller world of peace and happiness. I don't think Confucius thought about nationalism and internationalism. We need to overcome their limits, while respecting both. Much of the work moves to younger generations, but I think it's in good hands between the people of South Korea and the United States. In many ways, we've helped one another as nations, as people and as fellow human beings. May these efforts in friendship continue. And may my friend's son, and all young adults, take this mantle of mutual self-development for the good of society, which is what we pray for  this common trust  for now and forever more.





Bernard Rowan (browan10@yahoo.com) is associate provost for contract administration and professor of political science at Chicago State University. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and former visiting professor at Hanyang University.


Apple's logo is seen at an Apple Store in New York / AP-Yonhap



Korean firm partners with US giant for strategic interests



By Kim Bo-eun



Apple is stepping up its efforts to strengthen its foothold in the Korean smartphone market by capitalizing on LG's smartphone exit.



LG Electronics made a strategic decision early this year to withdraw its loss-making smartphone business, and the process is set to be completed this month. Existing players in the market are moving quickly to capture parts of LG's market share, offering trade-in programs for LG smartphone users here.



LG accounted for 13 percent of the local smartphone market in 2020, and Apple 20 percent, according to market tracker Counterpoint Research. Samsung took up the dominant share of about 65 percent.



LG's exit from the smartphone market was widely expected to benefit Samsung, based on presumptions that Android-based handset users would likely opt for models using the same operating system (OS).



But Apple appears to see an opportunity to expand its market presence. And LG seems willing to work with the U.S. tech giant, as this is in its interests as well.



Apple and LG are in talks for LG's home appliances and electronics retailer Best Shop to sell iPhones and other Apple items. LG also recently offered Apple's iPhone, Apple Watch and iPads on an online mall for its executives and employees. This came as a surprise as LG had offered only its own products via this mall previously.



LG Uplus, LG's telecom affiliate, is also known to be developing an Apple iOS-compatible system for use by LG executives and employees.





An ad for LG smartphones is seen at a business district in Seoul. Yonhap
Hanwha Systems' UAM Butterfly / Yonhap



By Kim Hyun-bin



Hanwha is speeding up development of its urban air mobility (UAM) business, aiming to launch it by 2025.



Hanwha Systems, in cooperation with U.S. aircraft manufacturer Overair, has been jointly developing the Butterfly, which has a maximum speed of 320 kilometers per hour, capable of traveling from Yongin to Gwanghwamun Square in just 15 minutes or from Gwanghwamun to Incheon in 20 minutes.



The Butterfly is equipped with Hanwha's radar, sensors and aviation electronics technology and four electric Overair tilt-rotors capable of vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL).



The Butterfly is 100 percent electric and does not emit pollutants. It's also relatively quiet, emitting less than 65dB of noise, compared to conventional helicopters which produce over 150dB of noise. The noise level of the UAM is similar to that of a luxury sedan that makes 70dB of noise.



Not only is Hanwha jointly developing UAMs, but it is also involved in creating related infrastructure and aims to provide total mobility solutions in cooperation with prestigious companies in the field.



In January, Hanwha Systems signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Korea Airports Corp (KAC), SK Telecom and the Korea Transport Institute to establish a UAM business model and ecosystem.



The Hanwha affiliate also plans to launch the world's largest "verti-port," a city terminal for the takeoff and landing of air taxis, at Gimpo International Airport in southwestern Seoul, in cooperation with KAC.



Hanwha is looking at the big picture to export its services overseas. In May, Hanwha Systems signed an MOU with British Skyports to develop air taxi infrastructure. Skyports specializes in developing verti-ports.



Although the future of UAM services seems to be promising, many experts believe it will be difficult to find success in the local market.



"Hanwha is most likely focusing on the overseas market to export its UAM technology, as its operations in Korea will be very limited due to strict regulations," an industry official familiar with the matter said. "Also there are many military bases all around Seoul and the country designated as no-fly zones."




Former Korea International Trade Association Chairman Kim Young-ju, fifth from left, who was named to lead Korea's World Expo 2030 bid, poses with Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, fifth from right, Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon, fourth from right, and other dignitaries during a general meeting of the government-led bid preparation committee at Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap



By Yi Whan-woo



A government-led special committee to prepare Korea's bid to host the World Expo 2030 in Busan held its first general meeting, Tuesday.



Operated under the wing of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the committee named former Korea International Trade Association (KITA) Chairman Kim Young-ju as its chief during the meeting at Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul.



Kim will spearhead the bid for the country's first-ever World Expo, scheduled to be held in 2030 from May 1 to Oct. 31.



If successful, the World Expo 2030 will be held at a 2.7 million-square-meter area near Busan North Port, a part of Busan Port that is being redeveloped.



Kim will be assisted by 68 committee members who were also named during the meeting. The 68 consist of high-profile figures, both active and retired, from business, government, media and other sectors.



Among them are four chairmen of the country's five largest conglomerates  Chey Tae-won of SK, Chung Euisun of Hyundai Motor, Koo Kwang-mo of LG and Shin Dong-bin of Lotte  who will serve as the committee's vice chairmen.



Notable is the absence of Samsung with its chief Lee Jae-yong being imprisoned over a corruption scandal. It remains unclear whether or not the country's top business group will have a representative to serve as a committee vice chairman.



In their respective speeches, Kim Young-ju and Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum expressed hope to get the most out of the five conglomerates in preparation for the bid.



"I am burdened by overwhelming responsibilities. Still, I will do my best by capitalizing on the networks of the business community including the five largest corporations as well as the government's diplomatic capability for a successful bid," Kim Young-ju said.



The prime minister assessed the five corporations can help the nation to bid for the expo.



The Busan municipal government officially expressed its wishes last month to host the expo in 2030 and has been working on preparations.



The committee accordingly seeks to set up a cooperative body jointly with relevant ministries and the Busan municipal government by August at the latest to better visualize the bid strategy.



Korea and Russia are the only two countries so far that have announced their official intentions to bid on hosting the World Expo 2030.



Headquartered in Paris, the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) oversees and regulates World Expos.



The 2030 host will be announced during a BIE meeting November 2023.



Korea has hosted Specialized Expos, or expos on a smaller scale and of a shorter duration than World Expos, in Daejeon in 1993 and Yeosu, South Jeolla, in 2012.


People demonstrate, some holding Cuban and U.S. flags, during a protest against the Cuban government at Versailles Restaurant, Miami, July 12. AFP-Yonhap



President Joe Biden on Monday called protests in Cuba ''remarkable'' and a ''clarion call for freedom,'' praising thousands of Cubans who took the streets to protest food shortages and high prices amid the coronavirus crisis  one of the island's biggest antigovernment demonstrations in recent memory.



''The Cuban people are demanding their freedom from an authoritarian regime. I don't think we've seen anything like this protest in a long long time, if, quite frankly, ever,'' Biden said in a brief exchange with reporters at the start of a meeting with mayors and law enforcement officials to discuss gun violence in the U.S.



The comments marked a notable change in tone from Biden's old boss, Barack Obama, who as president sought to ease decades of tensions between Washington and Havana while loosening U.S. imposed economic sanctions. It was an effort that was reversed by Republican President Donald Trump, who partially rolled back Obama's rapprochement, limiting U.S. travel to the island, banning American financial transactions with dozens of enterprises, and more.



''We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba's authoritarian regime,'' Biden said in an earlier statement Monday. ''The Cuban people are bravely asserting fundamental and universal rights.''



Julie Chung, the acting assistant secretary for the department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, on Sunday suggested that the protests were driven by Cuban people exercising ''their right to peaceful assembly to express concern about rising COVID-19 case/deaths medicine shortage. We commend the numerous efforts of the Cuban people mobilizing donations to help neighbors.''





White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki speaks to reporters during a briefing at the White House in Washington, July 12. Psaki spoke about the ongoing protests in Cuba and the administration's coronavirus vaccine plans. EPA-Yonhap



But White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday sought to frame the protests being driven by far broader frustration, calling the demonstrations ''spontaneous expressions of people who are exhausted with the Cuban government's economic mismanagement and repression.''



Psaki added that the U.S. remains ready to assist Cuba in its COVID-19 vaccination effort, but the Cuban government's decision not to participate in COVAX  a worldwide initiative aimed at distributing vaccines to poorer nations  complicated the effort.



''We certainly recognize and understand that access to vaccines is one of the issues that a number of individuals on the streets is voicing concern about, but we have to determine what the mechanism would be to work with the Cuban people to get vaccines to them,'' Psaki said.



The scene of demonstrators on Havana's Malecon promenade and elsewhere on the island was an unusual scene as the communist leadership has historically shown little tolerance for criticism. Police initially trailed behind as protesters chanted ''Freedom,'' ''Enough'' and ''Unite.'' One motorcyclist pulled out a U.S. flag, but it was snatched from him by others.





Police scuffle and detain an anti-government demonstrator during a protest in Havana, Cuba, July 11. Hundreds of demonstrators went out to the streets in several cities in Cuba to protest against ongoing food shortages and high prices of food products amid the COVID-19 pandemic. AP-Yonhap
A looter smiles as she runs away from a member of the South African Police Services at the Lotsoho Mall in Katlehong township, East of Johannesburg, July 12. AFP-Yonhap



Rioting triggered by the imprisonment of former South African President Jacob Zuma escalated Monday as shopping malls in Johannesburg were looted, major roads were blocked by burning tires and the police and military struggled to contain the violence.



President Cyril Ramaphosa, in a somber address broadcast to the nation Monday night, vowed that the police and army would restore order, and he appealed to all South Africans to work together for peace.



The unrest started last week in KwaZulu-Natal province after Zuma was imprisoned for contempt of court. What began as fairly small-scale blocking of roads in Zuma's home area intensified and spread to Gauteng, South Africa's most populous province, including Johannesburg, the country's largest city.



The South African National Defence Force has been deployed to help the police.



At least 10 people have been killed and more than 490 arrested ''in acts of public violence rarely seen in the history of our democracy,'' Ramaphosa said.





A woman wearing a face mask walks past a damaged KFC fast food restaurant at Naledi shopping complex in Vosloorus, east of Johannesburg, South Africa, July 12. AP-Yonhap



Without once mentioning Zuma, Ramaphosa said that the ''violence may indeed have its roots in the pronouncements and activities of individuals with a political purpose, and in expressions of frustration and anger ... However, what we are witnessing now are opportunistic acts of criminality, with groups of people instigating chaos merely as a cover for looting and theft.''



He said the root cause of the rioting is South Africa's high rate of poverty and unemployment.



''This moment has thrown into stark relief what we already knew: that the level of unemployment, poverty and inequality in our society is unsustainable,'' Ramaphosa said. ''We cannot expect a lasting and durable peace if we do not create jobs and build a more just and equitable society in which all South Africans can participate freely and equally.''



He urged all South Africans to refrain from violence.



''Together, we will defeat those who seek to destabilize our country,'' he said. ''We will stand as one people, united against violence, unanimous in our commitment to peace and to the rule of law.''



Earlier Monday, the looting of retail centers broke out in several of the poorer areas of Johannesburg, including Benmore, Jeppestown, Vosloorus, and Soweto, where the Jabulani and Dobsonville malls were hit.











A man gestures as rioters loot the Jabulani Mall in the Soweto district of Johannesburg on July 12. AFP-Yonhap



Retail stores in Alexandra, east of Johannesburg, were also affected, and journalists covering the riots for the public South African Broadcasting Corporation and news channel Newzroom Afrika were robbed of their equipment.



Several malls, car dealerships and retail centers in more affluent areas of Johannesburg, including Rosebank and Kempton Park in eastern Johannesburg, closed early even though they were not directly threatened.



In KwaZulu-Natal, people took appliances, including microwave ovens, television sets and clothing from stores in the Mariannhill and Umlazi areas.



The violence began last week when Zuma began serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court. He defied a court order to testify before a state-backed inquiry probing allegations of corruption during his term as president from 2009 to 2018.



The Constitutional Court, the country's highest court, began hearing Zuma's appeal on Monday.





A picture taken in Vosloorus, southeast of Johannesburg, July 12, shows the Gold Spot Shopping Centre after being looted. AFP-Yonhap


MetLife Group, Inc. seeks Principal Software Engineer in Cary, North Carolina to assess delivery strategies and automation opportunities. Requires Bachelor's or foreign education equivalent in CS or Eng plus 5 years' experience developing and delivering IT solutions. To apply visit https://jobs.metlife.com/. Req #118503

recblid vjuvhy0rgns2x8xv1zjknb23yhgq1k








The City of Dubuque invites applications for the position of Computer User Support Technician. The successful candidate will provide first line technical assistance and support to end users experiencing technical, hardware or software issues; answer questions or resolve computer problems for clients in person, via telephone or electronically; provide assistance concerning the use of computer hardware and software, including printing, installation, word processing, electronic mail and operating systems; and perform other duties as assigned. Graduation from an accredited two-year college or technical school with major coursework in computer science, information technology, network security or management information science; or equivalent education and experience required. The successful candidate will possess the ability to follow a management philosophy that is input oriented and values equity, problem solving and the development of partnerships; and the desire to be part of an organization that values service, people, integrity, responsibility, innovation and teamwork. The City offers an annual salary range of $42,182 to $55,182, and an attractive benefits package which includes twelve weeks of paid parental leave. The City of Dubuque is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.

recblid w4ur82guh5exuk3l8kk9sj1tqaiv88








Academic Lab Coordinator - Writing Center



About Tulsa Community College

Tulsa Community College is committed to creating equitable and inclusive work environments to support the success of the full range of our employees. We believe that employees who feel valued and respected will create policies, programs, practices and services to effectively meet the needs and exceed the expectations of our increasingly diverse student populations. We encourage candidates to apply who have demonstrated capacity to create inclusive work environments, to work effectively on increasingly diverse teams, and to serve the increasingly diverse college community. We are committed to hiring and retaining a racially diverse, culturally competent staff at all levels of the organization who not only reflect the demographics of our students, but also continue to deepen their skills and competencies to serve the full range of our community.



Job Summary:

Responsible for the daily operation of the respective Tutoring Center (Writing Center). Collaborate with peers on each campus to provide academic support for students in the form of tutoring. Responsible for assessing and responding to the academic needs of faculty and students. Provides assessment to the college.



Campus: Southeast

Classification: Staff

Position Type: Full-time

Curricular:

If Faculty, Contract Length:

Job Code Number: 3822F-6-21

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in related curricular area.



One year experience tutoring or teaching.



Demonstrated supervisory experience.



Ability to organize daily work and perform duties under limited supervision.



Excellent verbal or written communication skills; ability to interact with others.

Preferred Qualifications:

Master's degree in the related curricula area.



Tutoring certification and experience in developmental education.

Starting Salary Range: $16.30/hour - $18.54/hour

Work Schedule:

generally Monday-Friday 8-5 pm

Posting Date: 06/30/2021

Closing Date:

Open Until Filled: Yes

Special Instructions to Applicants:

We are hiring for a full-time Academic Lab Coordinator for the Southeast Writing Center, starting in summer 2021.

Advertised Department:

School of Communication, English, and World Languages

recblid sf9sqr0cf87dr3h8c692nis5c0v0a6










Requisition ID 2021-37575

Hospital TRHMC

Shift Day

Department Center For Public Health

Category Social Services

Hours per Pay Period 16

# of Openings 1

Position Type Regular Part-Time

Work Schedule 8 hours during Monday-Friday with some flexibility

Overview

The Center for Public Health is the only provider of HIV care services federally designated for both Berks and Schuylkill counties in Pennsylvania and serves almost 1,000 people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) annually. As a Ryan White funded clinic, it has a multidisciplinary Ryan White clinical team, including nurses, social workers, nutritionists, behavioral health therapists, pharmacists, certified registered nurse practitioners, colo-rectal surgeons, family medicine physicians, and infectious disease physicians. In this role, the Coordinator will be responsible for special projects, grant writing, monitoring, and reporting, as well as other tasks. The Coordinator will see special projects through to completion and will work with multidisciplinary teams to do so.

Responsibilities

Responsible for utilizing evidence-based therapeutic practices within the context of a multi-disciplinary team to ensure the delivery of quality behavioral health services to patients and families. Provides behavioral health support, education, and supervisory services to colleagues, Reading Health System departments, and to other providers and agencies as needed.

Qualifications

Education Requirements Master's Degree Experience Relevant Experience Certification and Licensure ACT 31 Training as mandated by the position (child abuse recognition and mandated reporting)

Dual certification in Mental/Behavorial Health and Substance Abuse Required Skills Computer Skills to include use and navigation

Excellent Communications Skills

Excellent Interpersonal Skills

Bilingual preferred


Detroit Neighborhoods Reporter



The Detroit Free Press is looking for hard-charging reporter with social media savvy and an ability to meet people where they are -- in the neighborhoods -- and tell their stories with detailed authority and authenticity.





The ideal candidate will have the ability to write short and longer pieces on interesting people and places in and around the city of Detroit, occasionally filing several stories in a day, similar to a blog format.





A deep knowledge of the city of Detroit, it's nuances, history and residents is a huge plus and preferred. The successful candidate will be a well-organized, detail-oriented, self-starter, capable of working independently while consistently producing attention-grabbing stories across all platforms that engage and inform readers online through video and audio stories, by connecting with them through social media and through our print product.



So, if you have a love for being out in the community, getting to know people and telling great stories in a great city for a high-energy newsroom, we're waiting to hear from you!

*This is a full time reporting position.

*Please apply with cover letter and links to clips of your recent work.



#content


The Maryland Independent College and University Association (MICUA), a non-profit association which has as its mission the representation, coordination, and impassioned advocacy on behalf of independent higher education in Maryland, is seeking an experienced individual to assist in providing research support and analysis of both State and federal higher education statistics and related fiscal and employment data and information. The successful candidate must have the ability to respond effectively and creatively to complicated requests for information. The successful candidate will have expertise in database management software, presentation software, visual representation of data, and spreadsheet manipulation, as well as experience with statistical and analytical methodologies and strong writing skills. At times, the work of MICUA is performed in an intense and challenging environment and the successful candidate will exhibit excellent interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work well as part of a team. The Research Analyst works collaboratively with the team and reports directly to the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Responsibilities include: collecting and interpreting data and information from various sources; compiling and analyzing datasets to produce presentation elements; drafting reports and other documents; assisting with the representation of MICUA on workgroups; assisting with the facilitation of campus-based affinity groups; and coordinating the solicitation and collection of donor information for the Independent College Fund of Maryland. A bachelors degree is required and a graduate degree in a related discipline or previous work experience as an institutional researcher is preferred. A candidate is expected to exhibit a proven history of positive social relationships and interactions with colleagues, supervisors, and other stakeholders and a willingness to be challenged and attempt to exceed expectations. General Description: The Research Analyst provides research support and analysis of both State and federal higher education statistics and related fiscal and employment data and information. Responsibilities include: creating tables, charts, graphs, dashboards, infographics, reports, and other documents to support the MICUA mission; researching matters that are responsive to requests of the MICUA team, MICUA member institutions, and key policy-makers and leaders including elected and appointed officials and their staff; and liaising with the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) and campus-based institutional researchers and financial aid officers. The Research Analyst additionally provides support for the Independent College Fund of Maryland. This position works collaboratively with the team and reports directly to the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Specific Duties: Collect, interpret, and synthesize data and information from MHEC, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), National Postsecondary Student Aid Survey (NPSAS), the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and other State and federal sources;

Compile and analyze datasets to produce tables, charts, graphs, dashboards, infographics, and other presentation elements showing the operational and fiscal impact of MICUAs member institutions;

Coordinate with the Director of Communications to produce visually understandable presentation of data and information;

Conduct surveys and compile and analyze responses from MICUA member institutions;

Evaluate studies, reports, regulations, State and federal legislation, and other issues impacting higher education;

Draft reports and other documents that incorporate both qualitative and quantitative data and information that supports the MICUA mission and positions before State and federal officials;

Assist the Associate Vice President for Government and Business Affairs with the drafting of testimony for legislative bill hearings;

Assist with the interpretation of financial ratio analyses in support of the capital project grant request process;

Assist with the representation of MICUA on State agency and other workgroups and committees on issues relating to research, data collection and use, and institutional reporting;

Assist with the coordination and facilitation of meetings of campus-based affinity groups, including institutional researchers and financial aid officers;

Attend meetings of interest to MICUA member institutions;

Coordinate the solicitation and collection of donor information for the Independent College Fund of Maryland;

Identify relevant issues and trends that are likely to affect MICUAs member institutions; and

Handle other responsibilities as assigned by MICUA leadership. Qualifications:

A bachelors degree in a related discipline is required

A graduate degree in a related discipline or previous work experience as an institutional researcher is preferred

Expertise in the use of database management software, presentation software (PowerPoint), and spreadsheet manipulation (Excel) is required

Experience with statistical and analytical methodology preferred

Excellent interpersonal and communications skills

Ability to work well as part of a team

Advanced research and writing skills

Knowledge of information technology and web-based applications preferred The position is salaried between $50,000 and $75,000 and offers a full range of benefits, including health, dental, vision, long-term disability, and life insurance. MICUA does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, disability, religion, age, or any other protected class under federal, state, or local law in recruitment, admission and access to, or employment with the organization. MICUA provides flexible work hours with the opportunity for both in person and telework engagement. Please email a resume and a letter of interest that includes three professional references to aswift@micua.org. Candidates may also submit letter(s) of recommendation for consideration. The position remains open until filled; however, letters of interest must be received by August 15, 2021, to guarantee full consideration.

recblid w4pzduwwko2xzyqwyeea12ldtl41hz








LOCAL COMPANY NEEDS CDL DRIVERS $16 PER HR WITH BENEFITS! 850-769-9136 The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces Federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. These laws protect employees and job applicants against employment discrimination when it involves: Unfair treatment because of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information .

Harassment by managers, co-workers, or others in the workplace, because of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.

Denial of a reasonable workplace accommodation that the employee needs because of religious beliefs or disability.

Retaliation because the employee complained about job discrimination, or assisted with a job discrimination investigation or lawsuit. Not all employers are covered by the laws we enforce, and not all employees are protected. This can vary depending on the type of employer, the number of employees it has, and the type of discrimination alleged. An employee or job applicant who believes that he or she has been discriminated against at work can file a "Charge of Discrimination." All of the laws enforced by EEOC, except for the Equal Pay Act, require employees and applicants to file a Charge of Discrimination with us before they can file a job discrimination lawsuit against their employer. Also, there are strict time limits for filing a charge. The fact that the EEOC has taken a charge does not mean that the government is accusing anyone of discrimination. The charging party has alleged that an employer has discriminated against him or her and it is the EEOC's job to investigate the matter to determine whether there is reasonable cause to believe that discrimination has occurred.

recblid educbfrjcymju2bo3gd1lcx2yfvhdl








Are you looking for an exciting career with a nationally known company and industry leader? AmeriGas Propane, the largest distributor of propane in the United States, is searching for an energetic and customer service oriented person to join us as a Delivery Representative. At AmeriGas, our employees are the keys to our success and we are proud to offer a comprehensive benefits package, in addition to excellent starting pay: $10,000 Sign On Bonus

Exceptional medical, dental and prescription benefits

401(K) with company match

Generous bonus potential

Paid time off (including holidays)

Uniforms

Paid Training

Annual performance reviews and salary increases

Propane discounts

Career advancement

Tuition reimbursement Job Summary: The Delivery Rep delivers filled gas grill cylinders to large retail chains and convenience stores that resell the cylinders to individual consumers. Full cylinders are placed into the customers storage cage and exchanged for empty cylinders, which are loaded back onto the truck and taken back to the AmeriGas facility for refill. Education & Experience: At least 21 years old with a valid Class B CDL, including HazMat and Air Brake endorsements Willingness to work outdoors in all weather and driving conditions Lifting, pushing, pulling, bending and climbing in and out of the truck

recblid tsunnaqisuyl9sqirtrk860owejobz








RMI is seeking a professional individual to join our human resources team as an HR Business Consultant to work in our Anchorage office. This is a great opportunity for emerging professionals with some prior HR experience, as it is fast-paced and exciting, working with clients and employees in all aspects of HR and in a variety of industries Must have a Bachelor's degree and at least two years of practical human resource and benefits experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience. The ideal candidate will have knowledge of both federal and multi-state employment law. Duties include the following:  Counsel and assist clients regarding all aspects of employment, including hiring, employee counseling and separations.  Ensure client compliance with employment law.  Administrative duties, including managing FMLA, unemployment, worker's compensation, onboarding, drug tests, background checks, and E-Verify.  Assist employees with benefit-related questions, including health, life, dental and vision insurance plans, HSA, FSA, as well as coordinating open enrollment.  Write employee handbook policies, job descriptions, job postings and other employment documents.  Investigate employee grievances and harassment/discrimination claims.  Conduct training on topics such as sexual harassment and hiring/firing. To perform the job successfully, proven abilities should include:  Dependability, accuracy and thoroughness, and innovation.  Excellent customer service skills, including patience and a desire to provide assistance.  Able to communicate with and build trust with a wide variety of people, including professional speaking and writing skills.  Able to work with a variety of insurance carriers, outside vendors, brokers, and other internal departments with an understanding of benefits terminology is preferred.  Able to multi-task and work well under pressure.  Excellent word processing and spreadsheet skills.  Spanish language skills are a plus. Competitive pay, excellent benefit package including health, dental, vision, and life insurance, 401(k) with employer match, and Flexible Savings Account. This is a non-smoking company. Must pass post-offer, pre-employment drug test and background check. This employer participates in the E-verify program.

recblid 6ejj15aay5rarkq4arpkltoyqcdqt6






Magnolia, AR (71754)

Today

Partly cloudy early. Thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 88F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Low 72F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.
Why Helium Stocks Are Set To Soar in 2021

You thought it was about balloons. Instead, its one of the most strategic gases in the world 



And were running out of it.



Helium was discovered at the beginning of the last century, and the US government immediately placed production and supply under strict control.



Then, in the 1960s, the Cold War rendered helium even more valuable. It was collected and stored in the US federal helium reserve in Amarillo, Texas.



It was only in the late 1990s that the government allowed helium from the reserve to be sold to private entities. Now, the reserve is nearly depleted and will shut down entirely in September.



Why all the fuss about a gas the general public largely associates with party balloons?



Because its a critical gas from a technical, biomedical, and national security standpoint.

By adding it to the list of strategic minerals, the US government is recognizing that our healthcare and high tech future is intricately tied to helium, says Chris Bakker, CEO of Avanti Energy Inc. (TSX:AVN.V; US OTC:ARGYF), a junior Canadian explorer that is getting ready for its maiden drill on a prime helium prospect in Alberta.



With so much at stake, and the US taking over 2 billion cubic feet off the market, the next explorer to hit a new helium discovery of commercial viability will reward early-in investors 



Even better if its a small-cap whose stock would jump by multiples at every positive announcement in the exploration phase.



Right now, Avanti looks best positioned as our next North American helium play at a time when supply is absolutely critical.



And its just made its biggest acquisition move, yet 



There are 4 reasons to put Avanti Energy Inc. (TSX:AVN.V; US OTC:ARGYF) on your radar:



#1 Avanti Is exploring for a gas that isnt just strategic, its make-or-break for trillion-dollar industries



The 21st-Century economy is nothing without helium.



Nothing is possible without it. Not astrophysics. Not space travel. Not big data. Not fiber optics, or even an MRI.



There would be no video streaming 



No Netflix.



No cell phones.



And there is absolutely no substitute for helium in the massively growing $5.7-billion cryogenics market, where temperatures below 429 F are required.



Running out of helium would be like going back in time. In the case of cryogenics  quite literally.



Helium is formed when radioactive elements (uranium and thorium) decay through fission into smaller particles that are helium atoms stripped of their electrons. That fission replenishes helium that is then dispersed in the atmosphere or trapped in minerals typically found in natural gas reservoirs, where helium is usually mined as a by-product.



Helium is a noble gas. Its non-combustible, very unreactive, highly stable and so light that Earths gravity cannot hold it. Once it escapes into the atmosphere, its gone forever in the vacuum of space.



Its properties are vital to virtually everything that is the backbone of our modern-day economy. In addition to the fact that it is inert and nonreactive, helium is also non-toxic and boils at -268 degrees Celsius--near absolute zero, which is the lowest temperature in the universe. No other element comes close to this magic of being able to remain a liquid at such temperatures.



In other words, helium is irreplaceable.



And its 100x more valuable than natural gas.



Natural gas goes for around $3 per Mcf. Helium can go for as high as $400 per Mcf. Its not traded like a commodity, though, so prices are harder to track.







And for the next 20 years, we are facing a situation in which helium supply will not be able to keep up with demand.



That makes Avantis prospective helium acreage in Alberta and Montana prime-time territory.



Canada has some of the largest helium reserves in the world, and several explorers are hovering around some of the best territories in Saskatchewan.



With helium prices hitting what the Calgary Herald calls stratospheric levels, and supply rapidly diminishing, Alberta is witnessing a land rush that hopes to turn the province into a major supplier of the critical gas.



That makes Avantis two newest moves in Montana even more important. Theyve moved on over 60,000 acres in northern Montana, one on territory that is nearby and on-trend with helium prospects in Saskatchewan and the other on-trend with drilled wells in Alberta that have shown helium concentrations over 2%.



#2 4 Prospective Helium License Acquisitions, and Avantis Biggest Yet



Avanti Energy Inc. (TSX: AVN.V; US OTC: ARGYF) could be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the helium rush, and its four big license acquisition moves are putting it on analysts radar.



The beginning of Q2 saw Avanti acquire the license for over 6,000 acres from the Government of Alberta in highly prospective helium territory, and then another ~2,500 acres in Alberta. Those projects--Knappen and Aden--show helium up to 2% and helium-trapping structures.







Gas analysis at Knappen shows helium concentrations up to 2.18% and nitrogen up to ~98%, as well as several deep structural features that are ideal for trapping helium.



Aden has an even more promising structural trap and similar high helium concentrations in multiple zones



Avantis Alberta acquisitions garnered some attention due to the fact that this province is prime-time for helium  but it was what happened next that set the radar pinging.



In mid-April, Avanti moved to acquire the helium license rights to a 12,000-acre land package in Montana that is on-trend with an active helium drilling area in Saskatchewan, and anticipated to close in the coming weeks..



Two months later, Avanti made its biggest move yet announcing its intention to purchase the helium license rights a huge land package of ~50,000 more acres in Montana. Although the transaction is not finalized just yet, the highlights look great, and appears to contain multiple formations like Aden where surrounding wells showed helium in multiple Devonian and Cambrian targets. More specifically, they show helium of 1.5% to 2.2% in the Cambrian and 0.7% to 1.7% in the Devonian, along with nitrogen up to 96%.



Those are some impressive numbers to start with considering that in Alberta, 1% helium is considered a very good concentration.



But the biggest news is this fourth acquisition of license rights to the 50,000 acres in Montana that Avanti expects to be finalized by the end of this month, giving Avanti rights to 60,000 acres (75,000 total acres when you include Alberta) of prospective helium land against the backdrop of a critically looming supply squeeze.



Alberta is gunning for status as a major global helium hub  and Avanti Energy Inc. (TSX: AVN.V; US OTC: ARGYF) might just be the one to help the province do just that.



Its got a track record that makes this look perfectly feasible 



#3 The Avanti team has done this before  with giant Encana



Helium is found by drilling wells, similar to natural gas.



The team at Avanti Energy Inc. ( TSX: AVN.V; US OTC: ARGYF) has already made one discovery in Canadas prized Montney, for Encana. Thats one of the richest natural gas deposits in the world, and its also where you find helium. That Montney discovery ended up producing 300,000 boe/d over 15 years.

Avanti CEO Chris Bakker has over two decades of experience in oil and gas and served as a commercial negotiator with Encana/Ovintiv for major facilities and pipelines in the Montney gas play.

Hes an expert in natural gas exploration, from acquisitions and exploration to drilling and production.

#4 Analysts have initiated coverage and insiders are buying it up

Insiders have been buying up this stock, and thats always a good sign 



Beacon Securities Limited, which initiated coverage recently, is maintaining its 12-month $3.80 price target, noting that with its big move on another 50,000 acres in Montana, Avanti now has a contiguous land block that may support several years of drilling.

If successful, numerous development wells would follow with production in H2/22 once facilities are configured and installed, Beacon notes, adding that critical mass has been achieved with Avanti, which now has a key asset on which its world-class technical team can explore.



The helium rush is on and demand is set to be as staggering as this gas is critical, while Avanti looks to be positioned to catapult Alberta into a major global helium hub. This is early days speculative exploration play, but if it pays off, it will pay off big--all the better before it starts pinging Wall Street radar.



By: Lucas Friedman

** IMPORTANT NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER -- PLEASE READ CAREFULLY! **



PAID ADVERTISEMENT . This article is a paid advertisement. GlobalInvestmentDaily.com and its owners, managers, employees, and assigns (collectively the Publisher) is often paid by one or more of the profiled companies or a third party to disseminate these types of communications. In this case, the Publisher has been compensated by Avanti Energy Inc. (Avanti or AVN) to conduct investor awareness advertising and marketing. Avanti paid the Publisher to produce and disseminate four similar articles and additional banner ads at a rate of seventy thousand US dollars per article. This compensation should be viewed as a major conflict with our ability to be unbiased.



Readers should beware that third parties, profiled companies, and/or their affiliates may liquidate shares of the profiled companies at any time, including at or near the time you receive this communication, which has the potential to hurt share prices. Frequently companies profiled in our articles experience a large increase in volume and share price during the course of investor awareness marketing, which often ends as soon as the investor awareness marketing ceases. The investor awareness marketing may be as brief as one day, after which a large decrease in volume and share price may likely occur.



This communication is not, and should not be construed to be, an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Neither this communication nor the Publisher purport to provide a complete analysis of any company or its financial position. The Publisher is not, and does not purport to be, a broker-dealer or registered investment adviser. This communication is not, and should not be construed to be, personalized investment advice directed to or appropriate for any particular investor. Any investment should be made only after consulting a professional investment advisor and only after reviewing the financial statements and other pertinent corporate information about the company. Further, readers are advised to read and carefully consider the Risk Factors identified and discussed in the advertised companys SEC, SEDAR and/or other government filings. Investing in securities, particularly microcap securities, is speculative and carries a high degree of risk. Past performance does not guarantee future results. This communication is based on information generally available to the public and on interviews with company management, and does not (to the Publishers knowledge, as confirmed by Avanti) contain any material, non-public information. The information on which it is based is believed to be reliable. Nevertheless, the Publisher cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information.



SHARE OWNERSHIP. The Publisher owns shares and / or options of the featured company and therefore has an additional incentive to see the featured companys stock perform well. The Publisher does not undertake any obligation to notify the market when it decides to buy or sell shares of the issuer in the market. The Publisher will be buying and selling shares of the featured company for its own profit. This is why we stress that you conduct extensive due diligence as well as seek the advice of your financial advisor or a registered broker-dealer before investing in any securities.



FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS. This publication contains forward-looking information which is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements in this publication include that prices for helium will significantly increase due to global demand and use in a wide array of industries (including key technology sectors) and that helium will retain its value in future due to the demand increases and overall shortage of supply; that Avanti can pursue exploration of the recently acquired licenses of property in Alberta; that Avantis licenses in respect of the Alberta property can achieve drilling and mining success for helium; that Avanti will be able to acquire the rights to helium on the 12,000 acres of land in Montana pursuant to its recent letter of intent announced on April 16, 2021, and the helium rights to the ~50,000 acres of land in Montana pursuant to its recent letter of intent announced on June 14, 2021; that the Avanti team will be able to close on the aforementioned Montana helium license acquisitions; that the Avanti team will be able to develop and implement helium exploration models, including their own proprietary models, that may result in successful exploration and development efforts; that historical geological information and estimations will prove to be accurate or at least very indicative of helium; that high helium content targets exist in the Alberta and both Montana projects; and that Avanti will be able to carry out its business plans, including timing for drilling and exploration. These forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. Risks that could change or prevent these statements from coming to fruition include that demand for helium is not as great as expected; that alternative commodities or compounds are used in applications which currently use helium, thus reducing the need for helium in the future; that the Company may not fulfill the requirements under its Alberta licenses for various reasons or otherwise cannot pursue exploration on the project as planned or at all; that the Company may not be able to acquire the helium rights to the Montana lands as contemplated in the letter of intent or at all; that the Avanti team may be unable to develop any helium exploration models, including proprietary models, which allow successful exploration efforts on any of the Companys current or future projects; that Avanti may not be able to finance its intended drilling programs to explore for helium or may otherwise not raise sufficient funds to carry out its business plans; that geological interpretations and technological results based on current data may change with more detailed information, analysis or testing; and that despite promise, there may be no commercially viable helium or other resources on any of Avantis properties. The forward-looking information contained herein is given as of the date hereof and we assume no responsibility to update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.



INDEMNIFICATION/RELEASE OF LIABILITY. By reading this communication, you acknowledge that you have read and understand this disclaimer, and further that to the greatest extent permitted under law, you release the Publisher, its affiliates, assigns and successors from any and all liability, damages, and injury from this communication. You further warrant that you are solely responsible for any financial outcome that may come from your investment decisions.



TERMS OF USE. By reading this communication you agree that you have reviewed and fully agree to the Terms of Use found here http://GlobalInvestmentDaily.com/Terms-of-Use. If you do not agree to the Terms of Use http://GlobalInvestmentDaily.com/Terms-of-Use, please contact GlobalInvestmentDaily.com to discontinue receiving future communications.



INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. GlobalInvestmentDaily.com is the Publishers trademark. All other trademarks used in this communication are the property of their respective trademark holders. The Publisher is not affiliated, connected, or associated with, and is not sponsored, approved, or originated by, the trademark holders unless otherwise stated. No claim is made by the Publisher to any rights in any third-party trademarks.

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.






Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading.
Honmono, which will be open regular market hours Tuesday through Saturday, will join two other new Downtown Allentown Market tenants: Johnnys ArtsWalk Diner, a casual concept offering burgers, cheesesteaks and more from the husband-and-wife team behind Johnnys Bagels & Deli; and 1838, an Allentown-themed beer and wine bar from the operators of two existing market tenants, Batch Microcreamery and Middle Eastern favorite Zahra.
However, two doses are definitely better than just one. In the U.K., where the delta variant now accounts for more than 90% of all infections, more than 20% of all delta infections were in partially vaccinated people while about 8% were in fully vaccinated people, according to an analysis by NBC News in late June. A recent peer-reviewed report from scientists in France found that the delta variant may be resistant to some types of monoclonal antibodies and that a single shot of the Pfizer vaccine provided very little protection.
It provides a clear path for students from us to you, out into the workforce to do great things for this community, said Mark Erickson, president of Northampton Community College. What makes this partnership even more compelling is when our students go from us to you, they thrive.
Lockett claimed that a commanding officer, Lt. Stephen Homoki, kept a compilation of photos of Black people, many of whom had never been arrested by Easton police, and ordered officers to stop and photograph Black people. The city responded by saying the logbook was a legitimate police tool used to track individuals of all races and ethnicities who had multiple aliases and no identification. It also said Lockett admitted never personally hearing the order to stop and photograph Black people.
I was just coming home from work when I see water coming in the window from the [Poquessing Creek], said Robert Viereck, who lives in the flooded Bensalem complex, Lafayette Gardens. I told my fiancee, Get the cats. And we had to get three cats out of here. The carpet started getting wet before anything and as soon as I opened up the door, water just rushed in. It was so fast. We didnt have time to grab nothing but the cats.
Images

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular images.
As a current print subscriber, you receive 24/7 access to our website and online e-edition at no additional charge. All you have to do is activate your access. To activate digital access, you will need your account number. You can find your account number on any recent subscription notice or bill.
International

40 Taliban militants killed in Afghan airstrikes

KABUL, JUL 12 (IANS) | Publish Date: 7/12/2021 1:31:13 PM IST

At least 40 Taliban militants were killed in multiple strikes carried out by the Afghan Air Force, the Ministry of Defence confirmed on Monday.

In southern Helmand province, 14 militants were killed and two others wounded after warplanes targeted Taliban hideouts in Garmser district, the Ministry said in a statement.

The victims included Mawlawi Hijrat, a deputy commander of the Talibans Sara Keta or Red Unit for Garmser.

Twenty militants died and 35 others were injured when the air force targeted hideouts in Dilaram district in western Nimroz province, according to the Ministry.

Besides, six militants were killed and five others wounded after the air force hit a Taliban position in Tagab district of eastern Kapisa province.

A huge amount of militants weapons and ammunition were also destroyed in the raids, the statement said.

While the US and NATO troops are leaving the country, violence in the country is on the rise.

To check the situation, the Afghan government security forces also continued to press the militants.
International

SA to deploy military as nationwide riot intensifies over Zumas imprisonment

Police walk past a shop looted in protests following the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma, in Durban.

JOHANNESBURG, JUL 12 | Publish Date: 7/12/2021 1:30:13 PM IST

The South African government is all set to deploy troops to control the violence that has erupted in various parts of the country over the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma for contempt of court.

Initially, soldiers will be deployed in two provinces -- Guateng and KwaZulu-Natal, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) announced on Monday.

KwaZulu-Natal is Zumas home province.

Zuma is currently imprisoned in the Estcourt Correctional Centre for failing to obey a court order to testify at a judicial commission that is investigating allegations of corruption during his term as South Africas president from 2009 to 2018. The 79-year-old politician, who denies corruption, handed himself in to police on Wednesday last week to begin his 15-month sentence.

Following his arrest, Zumas supporters across the country have started demonstrations by blocking roads with burning tires and other obstacles. Shops were looted and buildings set on fire in the violent protests, which also claimed six lives so far.

The SANDF in a statement said it has commenced with pre-deployment processes and procedures in line with a request for assistance received from the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure to assist law enforcement agencies deployed in Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal provinces to quell the unrest that has gripped both the provinces in the last few days.

The deployment will commence as soon as all deployment processes are in place, it said.

The SANDF said its mandate is strictly to help keep police safe as they carried out their duties.

The exact number of soldiers who will be deployed has not been announced yet, which the SANDF said would be released after law enforcement agencies have done an assessment of the situation.

Meanwhile, live telecasts on TV channels showed police personnel being outnumbered by the looters, who include both women and children. The video footage showed rioters carrying off huge furniture items from shops and looting pickup vans loaded with goods.

A number of shopping centres in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces have been stripped bare as looting goes on unabated. Even heavily fortified automated teller machines have been ripped apart and tens of thousands of currency notes looted.

Major banking group Nedbank has already announced the closure of all its branches across the country.

The violence by Zumas supporters has been condemned across the board by the government, the opposition parties and civil society organisations.

They say the supporters are engaging in criminal action in the name of protests about the jailing of the former president.

In an address to the nation on Sunday evening, President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed concerns about the violence being ethnically based.

The South African Chamber of Commerce warned about the huge setback to the economy as the rand began dropping in value.

There is also a major concern that the rioters will become super spreaders of COVID-19 as most of them were not wearing masks. Level 4 of the five-level lockdown regulations was extended for a fortnight by Ramaphosa on Sunday evening in the wake of the exponential rising infections and deaths due to the deadly viral infection.

However, Isobel Frye, Director of Studies In Poverty And Inequality Institute, said the riot is the publics reaction to unemployment and poverty spilling out in the country.
Millions of people are employed in the forestry industry, which connects us to an expanding range of consumer items that may be traced back to the forest. To fulfill ever-increasing national and international demand, nations frequently rely on natural resource exploitation and agricultural expansion. Land development destroys biodiversity, rich soil, and ecosystem services, endangering future generations' well-being.

Today, forests all around the globe are under attack. They are ill, they are burning, and they're going away. Economic expansion has put a great strain on the world's forests. To achieve this balance, everyone is encouraged to leave what is left intact, repair what can be restored, and be good stewards of our scarce woods.

Indonesia's Rainforest and Resources

For years, the country Indonesia, which has been the greatest producer of palm oil, has been open to anybody who wished to establish a plantation.

However, a ban on new plantation licenses that became permanent in 2019 under Widodo, along with record commodity prices, has slowed the commodity's previously unstoppable rise. Indonesia is home to one-third of the world's tropical rainforests, which are home to people and birds, leopards, rhinos, tigers, and gibbons. New safeguards are helping these crucial areas thrive.

Indigenous tribes, primates, and many more now have a seat at the table thanks to Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who was elected in 2014. The Widodo administration's shepherding of land-use changes and the re-establishment of a logging moratorium has resulted in four straight years of deforestation reductions. This consistent effort culminated in 2020, when the country recorded its lowest forest-loss rates since tracking started, with a 75 percent year-over-year decrease.

Half of Indonesia's 17,500 islands are now covered by forests, peatlands, marshes, or mangroves. There are some very lovely and iconic creatures that rely on trees for survival in those areas. These include the Sumatran orangutan, the Komodo dragon, rhinos in Java, starlings in Bali, dwarf buffalo in Sulawesi, and the Sunda clouded leopard in Kalimantan.

This beneficial shift in forestation techniques has been observed not just by communities, but also by the Norwegian government. The first tranche of a 1 billion prize came in Indonesia nearly a decade after signing an agreement that would reimburse government agencies if they could minimize forest loss.

Also read: Trees in Western US Are Slowly Dying of Thirst Brought by Severe Drought

The Palm Oil Moratorium in Indonesia

Since, Palm oil is the most widely produced vegetable oil, accounting for 66 million tons per year. Because of its cheap global market price and characteristics that lend themselves well to processed meals, the food industry has used it in half of all retail items.

Palm oil may be found in frozen pizzas, biscuits, margarine, body creams, soaps, cosmetics, candles, and detergents. Few people understand that biofuel accounts for nearly half of all palm oil imported into the EU. The mandated mixing of biofuels into motor vehicle fuels has been a major source of deforestation since 2009. Currently, oil palm plantations occupy more than 27 million hectares of the Earth's surface.

That is when Indonesia's president has made a temporary moratorium on forest clearing permanent. The government says the policy has proven effective in curtailing deforestation. Environmental activists say it has not helped slow the loss of primary forests. They say the deforestation rate has actually increased within areas that qualify for the moratorium.

The moratorium, which forbids the conversion of main natural forests and peatlands for oil palm, pulpwood, and logging concessions, was implemented in 2011 by then-President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as part of broader measures to decrease greenhouse gas emissions caused by deforestation.

The ban was originally set to last two years, but it has been extended three times since then, with the most recent extension agreed in 2017 and set to expire on July 17 of this year.

Also read: California Drought Putting Trees in Bay Area 'Under Stress'
Chinese researchers plan to fire more than 20 of the nation's largest rockets into space in hopes to potentially divert 'doomsday asteroids' that could impose massive destruction and end life on Earth.

The 23 Long March 5 rockets that weighs 992 tons (900 metric tons) are expected to deflect the 85.5-million-ton (77.5 million metric ton) asteroid Bennu. The space rock which is the size of the Empire State Building could hit Earth in 1 out of 2,700 chances, but would leave behind a historic catastrophic event.

The asteroid impact - 1,200 megatons of kinetic energy - could hit Earth with an collision that is roughly 80,000 times greater than the energy of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, and as destructive as the 100-million-megaton space rock that wiped out the dinosaurs some 65 million years ago.

Saving the Earth, Armageddon Style

If you haven't watched the movie yet, Armageddon is a 1998 Bruce Willis film that used atomic bomb method to save the planet. In a 2013 article, it was predicted that the movie was real after Ukrainian astronomers detected a 1,350-foot-wide massive asteroid that could hit Earth on 2032, with a note that chances of collision could likely shift one way or another.

According to scientists from China's National Space Science Center, the asteroid Bennu could swipe within 4.6 million miles (7.5 million kilometers) of Earth's orbit between 2175 and 2199. The scientists plan to use the 'more direct, yet riskier means' such as the atomic bomb method in the aforementioned film, which in reality could lead to devastating consequences, but could divert the space rock away from a fatal course of around 6,000 miles (9,000 km) - 1.4 times the Earth's radius.

"Asteroid impacts pose a major threat to all life on Earth," Mingtao Li, space science engineer of the National Space Science Center in Beijing and lead author of the new study, wrote in the paper. "Deflecting an asteroid on an impact trajectory is critical to mitigating this threat."

Also read: Black Holes Could Grow Massive Tsunamis from Outflow Winds According to NASA

HAMMER: The NASA Plan

China plans to follow the NASA Plan in dealing with asteroid Bennu, but theirs is 'slightly more costly'. The Hypervelocity Asteroid Mitigation Mission for Emergency Response (HAMMER) is the past proposal made by the United States of sending off a fleet of 30-foot-tall (9 meters) spacecraft to fend off the large asteroid in different direction. To do so, NASA conducted some simulations and found that around 34-53 HAMMER spacecrafts should be fired 10 years before Bennu collides with Earth.

A NASA spacecraft called Osiris-Rex was sent to the classified B-type asteroid to collect loose pieces of samples from its surface and expected to bring the samples back to Earth in 2023.

China's Long March 5 rockets had been a key to their space ambitions as they are being used to deliver modules to China's space station, as well as to launch probes to Moon and Mars. However, it also raised some major safety concerns due to their past uncontrolled reentry to Earth.

Also read: NASA Scientists Are Studying Lightning to Predict Hurricane Intensity
A strong storm system capable of creating a tornado passed over the El Paso and Las Cruces areas Sunday night, bringing 70 to 90 mph wind gusts, flying dust, heavy rain, intense lightning, and huge hail as well as heavy rain, powerful lightning, and large hail.

This storm also caused a massive power outage that affected more than 17,000 El Paso Electric customers.

Severe Thunderstorms

Severe Thunderstorms on Multiple Occasions Weather warnings were in place in the El Paso and Las Cruces regions until approximately 9:15 p.m., when circumstances began to ease.

About 17,000 El Paso Electric customers across the Borderland lost power as a result of what ABC-7 chief meteorologist 'Doppler Dave' Speelman described as a "monster storm," a massive tree on the New Mexico State University campus was among many uprooted, and there were scattered reports of hail damage and flooded roads throughout the region.

Power Interruption

About 3,500 people were still without power Monday morning, according to EPE. However, crews were "working as swiftly and safely as possible to restore electricity," according to the utility. According to the EPE's outage map, the 17,000 dispersed power outages that occurred during the storm spanned Dona Ana County to El Paso County.

Related Article: Destructive Tornado Sweeps Through Chicago Overnight, Damaging More Than 100 Homes



Damages

A felled tree stopped traffic near Country Club Road and Montoya in west El Paso, in addition to the uprooted tree on the NMSU campus; city personnel worked late into the night to attempt to get that tree removed.

After a multi-vehicle pileup near Lordsburg, Interstate 10 westbound was blocked due to 60 mph wind gusts and limited visibility due to blowing dust.

U.S. 70 in the Las Cruces region was one of the highways that were heavily inundated. According to the New Mexico Department of Transportation, it was blocked from milepost 160 to 170, a region known as the "San Augustine Pass," which claimed it was inaccessible and would be closed until further notice. NM 28 from milepost 0 to 14 in Anthony was also inundated with debris.

The National Weather Service issued a Flash Flood Warning for El Paso and Dona Ana counties through 11:30 p.m. Sunday. According to ABC-7 StormTrack Doppler Radar estimations, up to 1.9 inches of rain fell in portions of west El Paso over a 3-hour period, 1.8 inches in Las Cruces, and 2.7 inches near White Sands Missile Range.

Storms Creating Tornadoes

A tornado is one of nature's most devastating storms, with its whirling column of wind. Houses can be ripped from the ground, vehicles can be thrown into the air, trains can be flipped, and trees may be uprooted by the most violent tornadoes.

Greensburg, Kansas, was hit by tragedy on a spring night in 2007. A mile-wide tornado was coming shortly before 10 p.m., according to the alert. It wasn't just any tornado, though. It was a category EF5, the most severe, with winds estimated to be above 320 kilometers (200 miles) per hour.

Emergency Measures

Most people in Tornado-prone areas had enough time to get to their basements or storm shelters, thanks to the warning sirens. However, only a few structures are capable of withstanding an EF5 tornado. The hurricane swept the town apart in less than ten minutes. People climbed through the ruins once the rage subsided. Their houses had been destroyed or taken away from them. Ten people were killed, and 95% of the town's buildings were damaged or destroyed.

Also Read: Storm Anxiety: How to Handle Extreme Weather Phobias During Hurricane Season

For more climate and weather updates, don't forget to follow Nature World News!


CONSUMER watchdog, National Consumer Rights Association (Nacora) has warned that the ongoing riots in neighbouring South Africa following the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma will likely spark food shortages and price hikes in Zimbabwe.

Nacora spokesperson Effie Ncube said Zimbabwe would be affected as its economy was largely dependent on the South African economy, with most food items in local supermarkets being South African products.

As much as we are seeing traffic being disrupted in South Africa, particularly commercial trucks and trains, this will have an impact on the Zimbabwean economy by way of shortages of basic commodities that mostly come from South Africa. We might see this in the coming weeks, particularly if the protests are sustained over a long period of time, Ncube said.

He said this would translate to price hikes, as well as scarcity of products.

Violence, destruction of property and looting gripped parts of KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng provinces following Zumas incarceration over contempt of court charges. Zuma has started serving a 15-month jail term.

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday warned that his country faced the risk of food and medication insecurity in a few weeks.

Political analysts said apart from food shortages, the South African disturbances also had political implications for Zimbabwe.

Analyst Rashweat Mukundu said: The economic fortunes of Zimbabwe are tied to those of South Africa as it is our biggest trading partner and contributes a huge source of diaspora remittances to Zimbabwe. Durban is also a trade transit point for Zimbabwe.

This means continued chaos in South Africa will impact negatively on the Zimbabwean economy, resulting in the increase of poverty.

Another political analyst Vivid Gwede said: The ongoing political, social and economic crisis in South Africa does have an impact on the region because the countrys political and economic stability as a regional economic powerhouse is important for Sadc.

Youth Forum Zimbabwe director Ashton Bumhira said the situation in South Africa should serve as a reminder to authorities in Harare that the absence of violence did not mean there were no genuine grievances from the people.

Meanwhile, International Cross-Border Traders Association president Denis Juru yesterday warned all foreigners in South Africa to abstain from participating in the violent protests which had claimed 45 lives by end of day yesterday. Newsday
ZIMBABWE Human Rights NGO Forum executive director Musa Kika yesterday filed a fresh application seeking the recusal of judges set to preside over a case where a Zanu PF activist wants the Constitutional Court to overturn a High Court ruling on Chief Justice Luke Malabas continued stay in office.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa extended the top judges term using a controversial constitutional amendment that extended the retirement age for judges to 75.

But three High Court judges, Justices Happias Zhou, Edith Mushore and Jester Charewa ruled in May that Malaba ceased to be chief justice judge after attaining the age of 70, which was the retirement age for judges prior to the constitutional amendments.

Marx Mupungu, represented by Lovemore Madhuku, applied to the ConCourt challenging the High Court ruling, arguing that Mnangagwa acted constitutionally. The case will be heard today ahead of a Supreme Court appeal by government over the ruling.

All the Supreme and Constitutional Court judges cited in Kikas case also appealed the High Court ruling. Legal experts have been calling for their recusal, arguing that they were conflicted parties.

The court has already appointed a friend of the court (amicus curiae), Advocate Tawanda Zhuwarara, to assist with Madhukus application.

Zhuwarara on Monday filed his heads of argument seeking to have Kikas case dismissed on a technicality.

The judges will today decide whether to proceed with the case after Kika cited 18 of them in his latest application seeking their recusal from presiding over the matter.

They will also decide whether to give Kika time to respond to issues raised by Zhuwarara. The 18 judges were also cited as respondents in his first application under case HH264/21 in which he challenged the extension of Malabas tenure.

In his application, Kika argued that the High Court ruling handed down on May 15, 2021 by a three-member panel affected the same judges who were set to make a determination on Mupungus application at the ConCourt.

He is also seeking relief that in the event that Malaba, cited as the first respondent in the matter, was confirmed to hold the office of chief justice, he too had to recuse himself from hearing the matter in Mupungus case CCZ13/21.

This is an application made in terms of section 85(1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe for the recusal of the cited honourable judges being second to 17th respondents and of Luke Malaba (the first respondent), in the event that he is found to still be the Chief Justice of Zimbabwe, from hearing the matter under case number CCZ13/21 as that would infringe the applicants right to a fair hearing as provided by section 69 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Kika stated in the court papers.

My emphasis is on the constitutional requirement of impartiality and independence of an adjudicating body. This is by no means a mathematical concept, but one that is gleaned from circumstances surrounding a matter.

I submit that there cannot be greater indication of the possibility and potentiality of partiality when the order being sought before the cited honourable judges under CCZ/13 concerns them directly and further is pertaining to a High Court matter in which the honourable judges are not only parties, but which they have opposed and now have appealed against. The appeal is pending.

Zhuwarara, in his heads of arguments as a friend of the court, said Kikas case should be dismissed because he did not seek leave to sue Malaba and his deputy, Elizabeth Gwaunza, as prescribed in Order 3 Rule 18 of the High Court.

According to Zhuwarara, Order 3 Rule 18 of the High Court states that no summons or other civil process of the court may be issued against the President or any judge of the High Court without leave of the court granted on court application made for the purpose.

It is noted by present counsel that the CJ Malaba and the Deputy Chief Justice Elizabeth Gwaunza were cited as respondents in the proceeding a quo, Zhuwarara said.

Both the chief justice and deputy chief justice are High Court judges by operation of section 170 of the Constitution and no litigation can be instituted against them unless leave to sue is obtained in terms of Order 3 Rule 18 of the High Court rules (1971).

He said the High Court erred by entertaining Kikas application before obtaining leave to sue a judge of the High Court.

As there were no valid proceedings in the court a quo (lower court), it follows that the constitutional issues and questions dealt therein were improperly determined, Zhuwarara said.

Put bluntly, the declaratory order that causes these confirmation proceedings cannot be even engaged on the merits as the High Court did not have the requisite jurisdiction to proceed to deal with the merits of the disputation. Newsday
The ads goal is to illustrate the risks of the highly transmissible delta variant to younger people, as CNN noted. The only problem is, that age group will not be eligible for the shots until later this year. People under age 40 have been told to wait for availability of the Pfizer vaccine because of the rare chance of blood clots from AstraZeneca, CNN said. Now, though, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said that those under age 40 could ask their doctors for that shot, even though those vaccines had until now been prioritized for high-risk groups including health care workers and the elderly.
I dont know many more times you can say to people, Listen, it will save your life, " King told Fauci after he spoke about the dangers of the highly transmissible delta variant and the urgency that lends to vaccination efforts on CBS This Morning. I have this problem with some members of my own family, which Im now going to ban for Thanksgiving vacation. Thats how strongly Im taking what youre saying.
Under the new emergency measures, authorities could impose a fine of 1 million rupiah ($70) for foreigners who did not use masks properly and deport those who did not wear masks at all. Previously, foreigners were given guidance to use masks properly, were fined for a first offense and were deported after a second offense.
It would be easy to toss a black hat on the guy and call it a day because it would make us feel better to be able to just say he was a psychopath, Macmanus told the Daily News. But the truth of the character is he was more complex. He was a product of his nature, being born, I believe, a narcissistic sociopath, having that nature nurtured throughout his upbringing and then having it blow up into a full conflagration when he actually began to operate and people were telling him how good he was.
The offers are still clustered in some of the citys highest-performing, and wealthiest, districts. Students in Manhattans District 2, which spans much of lower Manhattan and the Upper East Side, received more than 300 offers  about 13% of those given out, despite making up less than 10% of the citys kindergarten class.
At best, the Mayor, once again, is ill-informed as to the operations of the New York State Court System. In New York State, by statute, while the Office of Court Administration operates the courthouses, the local municipality is responsible for both providing the facility and maintaining it, OCA spokesman Lucian Chalfen told The News.
One of Calks preferred choices, secretary of the Army, simply wasnt going to happen, Scaramucci said. The Mooch said he had no idea that while Manafort was lobbying on Calks behalf, Manafort was also trying to score two loans from Calk worth more than $16 million.
Why on earth he went there I dont know, said the 31-year-old friend, who was shown a photo of the suspect by an emergency room worker. So I went outside immediately after she showed me that picture and he was there. And I see him physically right in front of me. I immediately called the cops.
It is obvious to anyone with any sense of racial justice that Maud is racist and openly so. She attacks efforts to end racism by claiming there is no racism. ... Maud Maron has no business having a career in public defense, and were ashamed that she works for the Legal Aid Society, the BALA tweet said.
Judge John Cronans decision hinged on a contract Moore signed prior to his interview with Cohen, who was in costume and pretending to be an Israeli anti-terrorism expert showing off a device that detected pedophiles. The prank was filmed shortly after Moores campaign for U.S. Senate was derailed by allegations he had sexually assaulted two women when they were underage. Moore denies the claims.
I urge them to make their apologies public ASAP to show their sincerity, as this situation is more than just about the impact on our business, but rather what it says about privilege in society. When we receive such videos, we will post it instead of this video to provide closure. Until then, this post will remain in order to be a place holder to inform people of this development and other development.
Trump Payroll is run by Trump Organization employees and processes payroll for company staff, according to an indictment in New York state court. In 2015 and 2016, Trump was listed as the only officer of Trump Payroll, according to Florida records, the Journal reported. Trump wasnt charged in the case.
He also spilled that Wallace would sell the stolen money orders on WhatsApp and the encrypted messaging app, Telegram, prosecutors said. Cook said he would sometimes drive with Wallace to deliver the money orders to customers they found on those apps, prosecutors charged.
Chanel should not be in prison. He should have had a fair trial, McCall said. The real killer is still on the loose. We are demanding that she live up to her campaign commitment and reopen the investigation.
The 57-year-old victim was ambushed from behind near W. 47th St. and Sixth Ave about 10 p.m. July 5, cops said. A stranger doused him with a mystery liquid, possibly a cleaning material, without saying a word, startling video released by cops shows.
Less than two months later, on Feb. 9, he was arrested again with a gun, this time outside a bodega on Richman Plaza near the River Park Towers. Then, on March 27, he and several other teens were caught with a gun after they were stopped fleeing a shooting inside Crotona Park; that case ended up sealed, a law enforcement source said. It was not clear if the gun belonged to Gil-Medrano.
The university did not acknowledge wrongdoing in reaching the settlement last year, but it did agree to update its procedures for preventing, identifying, investigating and dealing with sexual misconduct. Some changes include requiring a trained chaperone to be present during intimate physical examinations of patients age 8 or older unless they opt out.
Building a safer Baltimore requires us to hold violent offenders accountable, Scott said during the news conference. Our Warrant Apprehension Task Force goes out each and every day attempting to apprehend those tho cowardly commit violence in our streets and bring them to justice so that these families and communities can begin to heal.
She figured the signage would go unnoticed, but photos of it quickly made the rounds on social media, promoting her bosses to call and tell her to take it down. Flores said she started work at her local Burger King after the start of 2021 and has since dealt with understaffing, 50 to 60 hour work weeks and kitchen temperatures topping 90 degrees due to a lack of air-conditioning. According to Flores, when she was hospitalized for dehydration, upper management said she was being a baby.
West said in March that rather than pursuing tenure at Harvard Divinity School, where he signed on in 2017, he would return to his previous teaching job at the Columbia University-affiliated Union Theological Seminary. He implied that tenure was an issue in his decision and suggested that his politics, particularly with regards to supporting Palestinians in the Middle East, were a factor in his deteriorating relationship with the school.
After being told he needed to purchase a credit card company gift card to pay the fee, and that the cards were only for sale in an adjacent terminal, Rosen allegedly stormed off and left his bag at the counter. When the employee told Rosen he needed to take the bag with him, he made his fateful remark.
The woman said she later asked a different flight attendant for an extra garbage bag so she could keep the dirty diaper with her during the rest of the trip. But that second crew member told her she had done nothing wrong and should have disposed of the diaper in the bathroom, Khan said.
He had diarrhea, and thats unfortunate, and its happened before, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Windham said. He had to go back to jail to be cleaned up. We did that, I was able to make some phone calls to get him cleaned up and brought back here today so we dont lose court time.
A 60-year-old woman who was with Sylvester when the shooting started was struck by one bullet in one of her knees. She remains in good condition at the hospital. A second woman also suffered injuries after being grazed by a bullet near her mouth.
The victim said the man began touching her before the plane even took off and continued until it landed about three hours later, according to prosecutors. She reported the abuse to her family after leaving Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport and her family then contacted law enforcement, authorities said.
Garcia, the former sanitation commissioner, conceded to Adams last week after a data dump showed her trailing by roughly 1%. And Adams, who is an overwhelming favorite in the general election, has spent the days since on a victory tour that took him to the White House on Monday.
And so weve allowed people to take terms and slogan to define what it means to be liberal, progressive, moderate, conservative, he added. I dont live by that. Im a very complex person. Life is complex. I look at the issues and come up with real solutions to solve them. And so I say to the Democratic Party: if you allow slogans to direct how we govern our city and New York City, were going to make a big mistake. That cant happen, and Im not going allow that to happen in my city.
With this nomination, the Biden Administration reaffirms the best tradition of American foreign policy and diplomacy: the credo that partisan politics should stop at the waters edge. U.S. foreign policy can and should be bipartisan, Flake said in a statement. That is my belief as well, and my commitment.
I was told they will go to your home back in your district, they will go to your place of work, they will go to your apartment in Austin or wherever you live close by when youre in session. And also family and friends that they may know of, he said.
Alexander Lashkarava, 37, was shooting footage of a protest against a planned Pride parade last Monday when he was assaulted by anti-LGBTQ protesters. Lashkarava was one of dozens of journalists injured by the mob, suffering facial fractures and a concussion, according to Reporters Without Borders.
We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cubas authoritarian regime, Biden said. I dont think weve seen anything like these protests in a long, long time if, quite frankly, ever.
France has slapped Google with a fine of nearly $600 million for its failure to reach an agreement with publishers that would allow for the technology company to use snippets of their content on Google News.
They are going to leave this prison hell where they dont belong and where they risked extreme violence every day, Nkom told Reuters. We are not going to stop there. We must explain to people that a court must never again convict LGBT people in this way, she added.
Some say Adams is magnifying the citys crime growth out of all proportion: After all, murders here number only 225 so far this year. While thats up 37% over 2019, its down 15% from 11 years ago and 77% from 1993. Shootings, while more than doubling since 2019, are still 70% below their high-water mark in the Bad Old Days. Anyhow, suggest the calm-mongers, the bloodshed is largely the result of COVID-19-created economic desperation, as though that means itll soon magically dissipate. (Never mind the fact that pandemic-related displacement didnt drive crime increases in other countries.)
Another data-driven solution is to continue investing in justice reforms which, despite narratives to the contrary, have worked to make New York City safer and more just. Take bail reform. According to many in leadership and many of my Wall Street peers, bail reform has fueled violence in our city. However, research by the Mayors Office of Criminal Justice shows that in 2020, after the new bail law was passed, only approximately 1% of the thousands of New Yorkers released pretrial were re-arrested for a violent felony. Further, the research shows that the remaining 99%, thousands of New Yorkers, have a better chance of not committing a new crime and contributing to their communities because they are home with their families rather than in a cage.
Schmitt, though perhaps singular in his eloquence, is hardly alone in his opinion that vax bad, COVID good in the new right wing, the movement thats chosen to parrot disgraced President Donald Trumps anti-science quackery, villainization of public health, and rejection of common sense. (It painfully bears pointing out that Trump, some of his family members, and many of his employees contracted COVID while bragging openly about flouting mask and social-distancing recommendations.)
The prosecutor of record does not have any correspondences from any attorney claiming to represent Mr. Massey, which are passed along by the front office when received. That prosecutor is listed in the public court documents, spokesperson Casey McNerthney said in a statement.
Meghan, 39, also spoke to Winfrey about struggling with her mental health during her time in the U.K., and said she learned of concerns within the palace about how dark their son Archies skin might be before his 2019 birth.
The post included throwback photos of Ford, including one showing the actor suited up as the Star Wars character Han Solo, as well as more recent images, including one of him with Hamill.
I was thinking it was like glamping or something like that, still going to be like some kind of five-star experience, she said, recounting the experience to Arsenio Hall, who was guest hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live. And you get there and you really are in the middle of the jungle, and you dont get to eat after 1 p.m. You have to walk a very far distance to get your water. You cant shower because theyre in a drought, so you cant use the water, obviously. You need to respect the rainforest. Nothing glamorous about it. Its all a part of sort of making you vulnerable so that you surrender to the experience.
The nod comes seven years after Orange is the New Black star Laverne Cox became the first transgender person to receive an Emmy nomination in any category in 2014  getting the first of her four nominations for outstanding guest actress in a drama series that year, according to Variety.
A mural of the late rapper Earl "DMX" Simmons is seen at the Calcagno Houses on July 13, 2021 in Yonkers, New York. The mural, painted by artist Floyd Simmons (no relation), was unveiled at Calcagno Houses, the public housing complex where DMX once lived. DMX died on April 9 after suffering a catastrophic cardiac arrest. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Weve got 63 percent of our voting population that said enough is enough. We have to have their backs, Commissioner Jimmy Weekley said. We have to stand here and find a way in which we can defend that referendum question that was passed. And weve got to tell the state of Florida, you can preempt this all you want, were going to keep coming back with ordinances or resolutions in a way that we can get what our constituents want.
I think its an opportunity for all of us who have been considering to get vaccinated or not to go ahead and exercise that, Rolon said. What we hope is that as more people become vaccinated, the less of a threat that will become for our community.
Fear because we still have loved ones there, and we know whatever we do and say here can backfire to them, de la Torre said. But I am very proud of the people who said enough, we are going out, I dont care. This is a new generation. It is not my generation. They know there is more out there, and they know that living in fear and oppressed is not a way of living.
Officials have described Walker as a leader of the 438 gang, based in the Silver Star Road area, which they have linked to multiple shootings and homicides in the greater Orlando area in the last year. At least one other person who officials have linked to the 438 has denied it is a gang, calling it a place of housing.
The suspect, though, didnt match anyone in DNA databases and remained unknown to the public for years  until Tuesday, when local and state authorities announced they had used genetic genealogy to identify Harris as a suspect in the two cases. The 50-year-old nighttime delivery driver was arrested July 2 and booked into the Orange County Jail on two charges of sexual battery with a deadly weapon or physical force.
J.Z., a 6-year-old biracial Black girl with autism, was eating at Universals Loews Royal Pacific Resorts character breakfast with her family on March 23 when she saw Gru. She was excited to meet a character from one of her favorite movies and posed with him as he placed the symbol on her shoulder in photos and at least one video, according to the lawsuit.
The Miami Herald and the McClatchy Washington Bureau have learned that the suspect is Joseph Gertand Vincent, first arrested more than 20 years ago for filing false information on a U.S. passport application and who went on to become an occasional DEA informant.
Dr. Citrin made a mockery of his Hippocratic oath by cutting and pasting the same symptoms and vital signs for most of his patients so he could fraudulently bill insurers millions of dollars, Palm Beach State Attorney Dave Aronberg said in a news release. Our Sober Homes Task Force will continue to investigate, arrest and prosecute those, like Dr. Citrin, who exploit people in drug recovery and put profit over patient care.
It is notable that on January 6, 2021, Mr. Curzio did not go to the Capitol in the company of any gang members; he did not wear any gang colors; he did not give a Nazi salute; he did not have any posters with Nazi insignias. In short, his presence at the Capitol had nothing to do with his prior gang affiliation, Balarezo wrote in April.
The Coast Guard statement suggested that such permission would not be forthcoming. It noted that the voyage is dangerous and unforgiving, with nearly 20 Cubans dying while trying to cross in recent weeks. It said the Coast Guard is working with state, local and federal partners to monitor unpermitted vessel departures from Florida to Cuba.
To be very clear, we do not think those protesting for Cuban freedom in Miami, Tampa or anywhere else should be charged with a felony for blocking traffic. We generally dont think they should be charged at all except in extraordinary circumstances. Were glad theyre exercising a freedom granted to them by the U.S. Constitution.
Were all for less flooding and cleaner water. But paying for it by cannibalizing housing money is no solution, especially when the state had other pots of money it could easily have used, like revenue from a new online sales tax. Lawmakers didnt have to use housing money to pay for environmental projects, they chose to use it.
Thats fine, but her praying isnt helping the people with whom she comes in contact. Granted, she was masked and gloved, but she probably doesnt spend the entire day like that. I dont wish to be at the mercy of health-care organizations who do not offer their patients the assurance of vaccinated workers or even let us know that they are not vaccinated. The only solution is for us, the vaccinated patients, to demand that we be treated by vaccinated health-care workers. It is a free-market issue. We will find other providers.
I actually wish that wasnt the case. I believe money is one of the most corrupting influences in politics, that our Founding Fathers never intended to equate million-dollar checks from corporate interests with an individuals right to free speech and that the U.S. Supreme Court got it wrong when ruling as much in the Citizens United case. Heck, I might even cheer any serious effort to challenge that premise. But Florida politicians arent serious people. And they have no objections to corporate cash or massive donations. They roll around in it like pigs in slop.
I mean, they are cheering about someone saying that its a good thing for people not to try and save their lives, Fauci said. Everybody starts screaming and clapping. I just dont get that. I mean, and I dont think that anybody whos thinking clearly can get that. What is that all about?
People understand the difference between peacefully assembling  which is obviously peoples constitutional right  and attacking other people or burning down buildings or dragging people out of a car, he said. Those are not just simply run-of-the-mill protests like we would see in the U.S. They dont have freedoms respected there, whereas in the U.S. you have a panoply of freedoms that are respected. They are seeking an end to the regime itself.
Youll have huge percentages of the population will not be able to identify the number of branches of government for the federal government, you will have key mistakes about what period of history does Abraham Lincoln belong in, who were some of the main Founding Fathers, can you name some of the key ideas in the Bill of Rights, DeSantis said.
The history center is the only Florida institution recognized in the 2021 AASLH awards. It also won in 2017 for its One Orlando Collection Initiative. The museums current exhibition called Community: Five Years After the Pulse Tragedy uses multiple artifacts from that collection. Community remains on display through Aug. 15.
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The appointment of the governing body of the High Commission for National Reconciliation in Libya is close, the official spokesperson of the Presidential Council, Najwa Wahiba, told reporters here Monday
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Libyan Parliament, sitting in the eastern city of Tobruk, on Tuesday resumed its plenary session on the draft law of state finance for year 2021, while differences still persist among members of the House about this budget
Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - Releasing two companion reports on Monday, the UN health agency has provided the first global recommendations for DNA-altering technology, known as human genome editing, to be used as "a safe, effective and ethical" public health tool to benefit everyone
Welcome back pirates! As you make your return to campus The East Carolinian has created a forum that centers around topics within the community where readers can express their experiences and concerns. With the new guidelines set in place by East Carolina University do you feel as these precautions will keep you safe?

Survey
TNR Engineering has been awarded the contract to provide bulk earthworks and civil engineering works at the mine.

( ) has taken the next step towards production at its flagship Lindi Jumbo Graphite Project in Tanzania, appointing local contractor TNR Engineering to undertake site preparation work.

The value of the mobilisation agreement is about US$5.6 million and it aligns with Walkabouts local first policy and extensive due diligence process examining safety, experience and capabilities.

TNR is well known to Walkabout, having previously successfully completed an early works contract in 2019, and as part of the contract, it will complete excavation and terracing of the processing plant it started in 2019.

Local-first agenda

Walkabout CEO Andrew Cunningham said Walkabout would continue to rely on local knowledge and expertise.

We have one of the highest grade, undeveloped natural flake graphite projects globally, and were excited at the imminent escalation of activity on site in Tanzania, he said.

Our longstanding working relationship with TNR Engineering will enable a smooth transition towards becoming a mine developer and producer.

Mine works

In addition to completing the works started in 2019, TNR will complete and compact access roads and internal roads, ROM pad and wall, stormwater drainage, raw water pond, explosives magazine and mine workshops and offices.

It will also complete the earthworks at the tailings storage facility including topsoil loading and stockpiling, bulk excavation and roadbeds, fill for tailings storage facility embankments, and supply and install piping and HDPE lining and fencing.

TNR has also been awarded the contract to complete the civil works on-site to the value of about US$3.1 million, which includes all of the earthworks, concrete works and building in preparation of the construction and installation of the Lindi Jumbo Processing Plant and associated infrastructure.

TNR is deploying project staff, sourcing local accommodation and undertaking stakeholder engagement facilitated by the Lindi Jumbo team and it is expected the team will be mobilised on site this month.

Directors show support

Meanwhile, Walkabout directors have demonstrated their confidence in the companys energy minerals strategy by participating in a recent entitlements issue.

On July 12 non-executive chairman Michael Elliot acquired a total of 1.43 million shares for a total value of $286,000 in a mix of direct and indirect interests, taking his total holding to 15.83 million shares with 2.2 million of these held in a direct interest.

Executive director and CEO Andrew Cunningham acquired a total of 91,908 shares valued at $18,382 in direct and indirect interests.

He now holds a total of 659,873 shares in two indirect interests and 772,223 shares in a direct interest.

Director Allan Mulligan acquired 200,000 shares valued at $40,000 in a direct interest, taking his holding in that interest to almost 3.969 million while a further 1,705,801 shares are held in an indirect interest.
Create your account: sign up and get ahead on news and events

NO INVESTMENT ADVICE

The Company is a publisher. You understand and agree that no content published on the Site constitutes a recommendation that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy is...

In exchange for publishing services rendered by the Company on behalf of named herein, including the promotion by the Company of in any Content on the Site, the Company receives from said issuer annual cash...
The Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority said the banks remained "well capitalised and resilient and as a result the restrictions on payouts were being lifted with immediate effect

Shares in several of the UKs major banks moved higher on Tuesday after the scrapped a ban on dividend payments introduced during the Coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement on Tuesday morning, the BoEs Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) said that the UKs banks remain well capitalised and resilient and that uncertainty around the economy and the pandemic had decreased significantly since December last year.

As a result, the PRA said the guardrails on dividends introduced in 2020 have been removed with immediate effect as part of the central banks intention to transition back to its standard approach to capital-setting and shareholder distributions through 2021.

The BoE initially forced banks to suspend dividend payments in March last year as the onset of the pandemic caused global markets to tumble. The central bank also announced in December that for 2021 banks could announce dividends but not pay them.

Despite the removal of the restrictions, the BoE warned that the banks should continue to support households and businesses through the economic recovery, and as a result bank boards should continue to exercise an appropriate degree of caution around the level of any shareholder distributions.

However, the return of dividends boosted bank shares in early trading, with PLC ( ) up 1.3% at 47.8p, while ( ) rose 0.7% to 173.9p, Holdings PLC ( ) climbed 1.6% to 419.3p, gained 1% to 459.5p and PLC ( ) ascended 1.9% to 210.7p.
Following several years of significant under-investment across the junior exploration sector, we are taking a major-company approach to the funding and development of exploration projects," said Dr. Kerim Sener

( ) announced the launch of a discovery fund to assess potential investments in discovery-stage mineral exploration companies.

The wholly owned fund, Asgard Metals Fund, is being developed as part of Ariana's proprietary Project Catalyst Strategy.

Asgard Metals Pty. Ltd, the wholly owned Australian subsidiary of Ariana, intends to invest an initial A$2mln (1.1mln), primarily into listed exploration companies with projects that meet its rigorous selection criteria.

Investments will be focused on potentially high-value discovery-stage opportunities, which show early development potential, and the projects can be located anywhere in the Eastern Hemisphere, so they are close to Ariana's operational hubs in Australia, Turkey and the UK.

"We are launching the Discovery Fund in order to support the early-stage exploration of high-quality exploration opportunities, which show the potential for value creation over the near-term, said managing director Dr. Kerim Sener.

This launch is in line with our long-term ambition to represent the cutting-edge of the mineral exploration and development sector internationally.

It builds on our earlier and highly successful strategy of making early-stage exploration investments in gold and lithium assets across several non-European jurisdictions, which now provides the financial basis of the Fund.

Following several years of significant under-investment across the junior exploration sector, we are taking a major-company approach to the funding and development of exploration projects to the benefit of our project partners, and ultimately, our shareholders," he concluded.

Selected projects will receive an initial investment of up to about A$500,000 in capital and will receive expert assistance from the Ariana team, while participating companies will have the opportunity of working with Ariana's exploration team.
A glance at some of the day's highlights from the Proactive Investors newswire

(LONEVG) has announced progress for its lead asset on two fronts in the field of cancer. In the US, it has applied to the Food & Drug Administration for orphan drug status for SFX-01 in the area of glioma, a brain cancer with a very poor prognosis. A separate announcement, meanwhile, revealed that SFX-01 shows some very early promise as a potential leukaemia treatment.

( ) said the Cape Town Formula E meeting, where it has a five-year commercial rights contract, has been confirmed as the fourth race on the 2021-22 calendar.

( ) gave a half-time report in which the board expressed confidence that full-year results would be in line with market expectations.

( ) and Jubilee Metals Group ( ) have committed to an immediate pilot sampling and investigation programme at Caeruss portfolio of copper-gold assets in Cyprus.

( ) reported a 12.3% increase in gold production to 201,608 ounces for the year to end June 2021, boosted by underground operations at its Barberton and Evander mines in South Africa.

( ) told investors it believes its two gold projects in Western Australia, Northern Zone and Jundee East, could each deliver significant shareholder value over the medium term.

( ) reported on its second quarter which it described as another positive period, both financially and operationally.

Zephyr Energy Plc ( ) has kicked off the drilling of the State 16-2LN-CC appraisal well ahead of schedule.

( ) announced the launch of a discovery fund to assess potential investments in discovery-stage mineral exploration companies.

Bushveld Minerals Limited ( ) gave notice that its annual general meeting (AGM) will be held in Guernsey on 5 August.

( ) announces that it will hold an investor presentation with a questions and answers session after its AGM annual on 27 July at 12pm BST via video conference. Chief executive Ryan Moore and chairman Jonathan Rowland will host the presentation, covering highlights from 2020 and future plans.

FastForward Innovations Ltd ( ) said its change of name to Seed Innovations Limited will take effect from 8am on Wednesday 14 July with its ticker changing to SEED but the ISIN and SEDOL codes remaining the same.
The search engine giant is locked in a battle with publishers APIG, SEPM and AFP over copyright compensation

Google ( ) has been whacked with a 500mln fine by Frances antitrust watchdog for not talking in the right way to the countrys media groups.

The search engine giant is locked in a battle with publishers APIG, SEPM and AFP over copyright compensation for the use of news stories on its platform.

Googles fine follows accusations it has not been acting in good faith during the talks and came with a warning it will face a further penalty unless it comes up with a solution.

Google, which is owned by , has to find a solution within the next two months on how to compensate news agencies and other publishers for the use of their news or face further penalties of 900,000 per day.

Google said while very disappointed it would comply with the ruling.

"Our objective remains the same: we want to turn the page with a definitive agreement. We will take the French Competition Authority's feedback into consideration and adapt our offers," Reuters reported.

"We have acted in good faith throughout the entire process. The fine ignores our efforts to reach an agreement, and the reality of how news works on our platforms."

Frances antitrust authority said the fine stemmed from the fact it has already demand Google hold talks within three months with any news publishers that requested them.

"When the authority decrees an obligation for a company, it must comply scrupulously, both in the spirit and letter (of the decision). Here, this was unfortunately not the case," the antitrust body's chief, Isabelle de Silva, said in a statement.
Azure acquired the Barton Gold Project in September last year and the exploration licence has now officially been granted.

On-ground exploration, including drilling, will be underway as soon as practicable.

( ) (OTCMKTS:AZRMF) has started initial exploration at its wholly-owned Barton Gold Project in WAs Eastern Goldfields following the granting of an exploration licence.

The Barton project is in the Kookynie Gold District, close to several large and growing gold deposits and adjoins Minerals Ltds ( ) new Puzzle North gold discovery.

It is mostly soil-covered and has undergone little historical exploration, with a best drill intersection of 7 metres at 1.26 g/t gold within 18 metres at 0.77 g/t along trend from Puzzle North.

Azure exploration team mobilised

Azure managing director Tony Rovira said the companys exploration of the project would now take the next step, with a detailed airborne magnetic survey already underway while on-ground exploration, including drilling, would be underway as soon as practicable.

Barton contains several very exciting gold targets and we have already commenced our maiden exploration program, with a detailed aeromagnetic survey underway to be followed by aircore and reverse circulation drilling, he said.

The Barton tenement provides us with sole ownership of a large and highly prospective foothold in the Kookynie Gold District, which has recently seen substantial increases in gold resources and new discoveries being made close to our property.

Given recent exploration successes by other companies in the Kookynie district, Azure is confident that comprehensive and targeted exploration on the largely unexplored 200 square kilometre landholding has good potential for the discovery of significant gold mineralisation.

Azure has entered into a Heritage Protection Agreement with local Traditional Owners to allow on-ground exploration activities.

Barton Gold Project potential

The Barton Gold Project lies adjacent to the historical gold mining town of Kookynie, about 40 kilometres south of Leonora in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia.

Azures exploration licence contains 67 graticular blocks covering around 200 square kilometres of the Kookynie Gold District and adjoins several growing gold deposits, including Minerals Ulysses Gold Project, s ( ) Apollo Hill Gold Project and recent high-grade gold discoveries at Kookynie by ( ).

Since the 1890s, the Kookynie-Orient Well-Ulysses district has produced more than 1.1 million ounces of gold from open pit and underground mining of high-grade, quartz vein gold deposits and currently hosts additional gold resources in excess of 3 million ounces.

The majority of historical exploration in this district focused on areas of outcrop and shallow soil covered terrain, however, due to extensive soil cover within the Barton project area, all soil sampling and shallow drilling previously undertaken was ineffective in testing for bedrock-hosted gold mineralisation.

Recent drilling by Genesis at their newly discovered Puzzle North prospect has identified wide zones of shallow gold mineralisation over a strike length in excess of 400 metres.

Mineralisation is associated with quartz veining hosted in hematite-sericite altered granite adjacent to a north-striking granite-greenstone contact.

The nearest mineralised drill holes are about 300 metres south of the Barton tenement boundary and the mineralised zone remains open and trends directly towards Azures property.

Next steps

Initially, Azures drilling will follow-up gold mineralisation intersected historically at the Daisy Corner prospect, which may represent the northern extensions of the recent Puzzle North discovery where Genesis Minerals is undertaking a resource definition drilling program.

The company will also test for structurally controlled bedrock-hosted gold associated with cross-cutting shears and fault zones elsewhere on the property.

- Daniel Paproth
Development activities are critical for the gold explorer, which is hard at work shaping one of the worlds highest-grade open pit projects.

Matador Mining Ltd (ASX:MZZ) (OTCMKTS:MZZMF) (FRA:MA3) is advancing development activities across the Cape Ray Gold Project in Newfoundland, Canada, with a suite of key environmental studies nearing completion.

The gold explorer has been collecting environmental data over its project since 2019, with the findings set to form the basis of the companys environmental impact statement, slated for government submission in 2022.

Meanwhile, Matador has also engaged with First Nations groups in the area and advanced discussions with other key stakeholders.

The gold explorer is also starting to develop its environmental, social and governance framework, aligning its strategy with global standards.

Significant source of jobs and income

Executive chairman Ian Murray said: Canada has a well-defined methodology for progressing the environmental assessment and permitting process that typically incorporates an extended period of between two and five years for data collection.

Matador has now completed most of this baseline work, with the effects assessments and valued component section writeups commencing shortly.

Importantly, the work completed to date with our independent consultants indicates that the process should proceed on schedule, complying with all the required legislation.

In addition, discussions with local communities and government officials in Newfoundland have shown significant support for the project with the expectation that the project will be a significant source of jobs and income in the future.

Development activities

With baseline data collection, field and technical studies underway, Matador is preparing to commence a suite of impact assessments during 2021s second half.

In quarter four, Matador hopes to draft the environmental impact statement (EIS) and prepare it for peer review.

After that, the gold explorer is targeting EIS submission to both federal and provincial governments in 2022s second quarter, while the next major milestone  the permitting process commencement date  is estimated to occur in 2023.

As it looks ahead, Matador has also outlined the remainder of its environmental assessment work in 2021.

Activities include:

Final field studies;

Final fauna data collection;

Final data collection from surface and groundwater sites, including water quality and sediments data;

First Nation engagement plans;

Completion of traditional knowledge and land use assessments;

Effects Assessments and;

Valued component writeups for the EIS.

As an investment in Cape Rays future development, Matador is also looking into future power sources.

The ASX-lister has commissioned a local power company to identify grid connection points at the Newfoundland project for future power generation.

Positively, the Newfoundland and Labrador province is on track to achieve 98% green renewable hydroelectric power and is committed to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

There are two energy providers on the island, either of which Matador can select based on location and power requirements.

Powers costs for the project are estimated to land between C$0.06 per kilowatt-hour and C$0.10 per kilowatt-hour  some of the lowest power costs in Canada.

The Cape Ray Project

Matadors flagship gold exploration asset is situated along the Cape Ray shear, one of the most prospective, yet underexplored gold regions in North America.

The Newfoundland-focused gold explorer is developing what it anticipates will be one of the worlds highest-grade open pit projects in a world-first jurisdiction.

Currently, Cape Ray hosts an 837,000-ounce gold resource, grading at 2 g/t  96% of which is less than 200 metres from the surface.

The Newfoundland project sits along 120 kilometres of continuous strike, 88% of which has seen just 20 historical drill holes.

During its 2021 exploration campaign, Matador intends to complete more than 20,000 metres of resource exploration drilling and a major greenfield discovery program  its largest campaign to date.
These results highlight the possibility of breccia-vein style copper-gold mineralisation below the current Kalkaroo mineral resource that may have bulk tonnage underground mining potential, says technical director.

Havilah shares have been as much as 12% higher on the news, up to a two-week high of 23.5 cents.

( ) (FRA:FWL) has received high-grade copper hits of up to 39 metres of 1.62% at East Kalkaroo as it continues to strengthen its large Kalkaroo Copper-Gold-Cobalt Project in South Australia.

Assay results from four recent reverse circulation (RC) drill holes at East Kalkaroo have been returned with these holes designed to test for breccia-hosted copper-gold mineralisation at the eastern end of the Kalkaroo orebody.

Apart from the 39-metre intersection from 131 metres, other economic grades of copper sulphide and oxidised gold mineralisation included:

59 metres at 0.83% copper and 0.28 g/t gold from 145 metres;

34 metres at 0.70% copper and 0.78 g/t gold from 100 metres;

15 metres at 0.67% copper from 173 metres; and

15 metres at 1.59 g/t gold from 118 metres.

Taking Kalkaroo to development

Havilah technical director Chris Giles said the latest results were proof of the companys significant progress at Kalkaroo.

Our RC drilling at East Kalkaroo has returned some excellent drilling intercepts in highly brecciated (fractured and broken) and veined host rocks, he said.

This mineralisation is known to continue to at least 500 metres depth based on an earlier 2001 drill hole.

These results highlight the possibility of breccia-vein style copper-gold mineralisation below the current Kalkaroo mineral resource that may have bulk tonnage underground mining potential.

Our priority objective remains advancing the West Kalkaroo gold open pit towards development during 2022.

Detailed drill results

The drill holes were specifically targeted on the Kalkaroo fault zone at East Kalkaroo to test for deeper copper-gold sulphide mineralisation in areas marginal to the current Kalkaroo mineral resource.

Widespread copper and gold mineralisation was intersected in all drill holes, closely associated with highly brecciated and veined host rocks within or adjacent to the Kalkaroo fault zone.

Location of East Kalkaroo drill holes and the planned West Kalkaroo gold open pit outline (blue), which is being advanced towards development.

All of the East Kalkaroo drill holes ended in brecciated and mineralised material associated with the interpreted position of the major Kalkaroo fault zone.

For these drill holes the assay results are copper-rich in the sulphide zone, with gold mineralisation tending to be patchy and less consistent within the copper mineralised intervals.

However, gold was encountered in the oxidised ore zone and Havilah plans to further test the mineralisation with an additional tier of shallower drill holes.

The assay results are consistent with the few earlier drill holes that intersected this zone, such as the 2008 Havilah diamond drill hole KKDD196A, with results as follows:

33 metres of 1.0% copper and 0.25 g/t gold from 119 metres;

10 metres of 0.47% copper and minor gold from 165 metres;

22 metres of 0.54% copper and 0.14 g/t gold from 209 metres; and

11 metres of 0.47% copper and 0.15 g/t gold from 252 metres.

Of particular significance is an earlier MIM Exploration Ltd diamond hole in the near vicinity that intersected the widest and deepest zone of primary copper-gold mineralisation ever drilled on Kalkaroo deposit, with an intersection of 317.4 metres of 0.26% copper and 0.1 g/t gold from 316 metres to the end of hole.

It represents a potentially large mineralised zone at East Kalkaroo, that has only ever been tested by one drill hole, to a vertical depth of 500 metres.

The high tenor of copper mineralisation intersected at much shallower depths in the drill holes indicates a well-mineralised system, pointing to the potential of the breccia-vein copper sulphide mineralisation at depth.

Project details and next steps

Havilahs 100%-owned Kalkaroo copper-gold-cobalt deposit contains JORC-compliant resources of 1.1 million tonnes of copper, 3.1 million ounces of gold and 23,200 tonnes of cobalt.

It has an open pit ore reserve of 100.1 million tonnes at a copper equivalent grade of 0.89% of which 90% is proven - making Kalkaroo is one of the largest undeveloped open pit copper-gold deposits in Australia on a copper equivalent ore reserve basis.

Testing of the deep breccia-vein zone is beyond the current depth capacity of Havilahs RC drilling rig; it will be followed up in due course by contract diamond drilling.

In the meantime, Havilah has mobilised its drilling equipment to the Mutooroo Copper-Cobalt-Gold Project about 70 kilometres to the south of Kalkaroo, to begin next week.

- Daniel Paproth
Securities will remain in a trading halt until Thursday, July 15, 2021, or when an announcement is released to the market.

Initial observations from drilling at Big One Deposit of the Mt Oxide project have been positive.

( ) ( ) ( ) has been granted a trading halt pending the release of an announcement relating to material exploration results.

The halt will remain in place until the start of regular trading on Thursday, July 15, or until an announcement is released to the market, whichever occurs earliest.

Big One intepretations

The company was highly encouraged by observations from reverse circulation drilling at the key Big One Deposit within the flagship Mt Oxide Project in northwest Queensland.

For the first three holes drilled at Big One mineralisation intersections ranged from 7 to 17.5 metres, according to field geologist estimates.

In addition, preliminary down-hole electromagnetic (DHEM) survey results from holes BO_315RC, BO_316RC and BO_317RC, as well as eight 2020 drill holes, suggest the density of copper mineralisation intersected is potentially higher than initial expectations.

Geophysical campaign in Zambia

Earlier this month, the company announced the launch of a comprehensive induced polarisation (IP) survey across the key Luanshya and Mkushi projects in Zambias copper belt.

Given the scale of the campaign, the explorer expects it will take 6-8 weeks to complete and fully analyse the results.

To accelerate identifying targets that can be drill tested, CCZ has engaged Geophex Surveys (GS) to undertake the survey.

Reconciling findings with known anomalous areas at the surface should identify priority targets to drill.
The company has staked a total of 996 claims over 24,900 hectares which are strategically located and contiguous to First Mining Gold, Sokoman Minerals-Benton joint venture, and to Marvel Discovery

Falcon said the most significant deposit is the Hope Brook gold mine which was in production from 1987 to 1997 producing 752,163 ounces of gold

( ) (OTCPINK:FGLDF) (FRA:3FA) said it has acquired a significant land position within the Hope Brook Area in Newfoundland.

The mineral exploration company has staked a total of 996 claims over 24,900 hectares, which are strategically located and contiguous to First Mining Gold, -Benton joint venture, and The acquisition gives it a strategic land position as exploration activity within Newfoundland continues to accelerate with no sign of slowing down, Falcon said.

The Hope Brook mine was and is a very significant gold deposit intimately associated with structure, said Falcon CEO Karim Rayani in a statement. Falcon's land is situated in a very active structural corridor giving us a tremendous opportunity for success."

Within this immediate area, Falcon said the most significant deposit is the Hope Brook gold mine which was in production from 1987 to 1997 producing 752,163 ounces of gold.

The Hope Brook deposit is now owned by , which has outlined an additional 6.33 million tons at an average grade of 4.68 grams per ton (g/t) gold for 954,000 ounces of gold in the indicated and inferred categories.

Falcon holds five additional projects, including the Camping Lake Gold property and the Springpole West Property in the world-renowned Red Lake mining camp; a 49% interest in the Burton Gold property near Sudbury Ontario; and in British Columbia, the Spitfire-Sunny Boy Gold Claims and the Gaspard property.

Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com
Tradplus has integrated Kidoz SDK into its mediation solution for mobile apps, which will seamlessly serve Kidoz ads within kids mobile apps using the TradPlus solution

Kidoz co-CEO Eldad Ben Tora said the company is 'expanding globally and China is a strategic market that we are unlocking via strategic partnerships like the one with TradPlus'

Kidoz Inc ( ) (OTCMKTS:KDOZF), a mobile AdTech developer and owner of the market-leading KIDOZ Contextual Ad Network and the Kidoz Publisher SDK, said it has partnered with TradPlus, a leading mediation platform in China.

The company revealed that Tradplus has integrated Kidoz SDK into its mediation solution for mobile apps, which will seamlessly serve Kidoz Ads within kids mobile apps using the TradPlus solution.

Compliant with all national and international regulations (COPPA and GDPR) in relation to child safety, global advertisers work with Kidoz to target and reach more than 300 million children and families every month. Top brands such as , Lego, Disney, Crayola and more, launch kid-safe ads on the Kidoz Network.

"TradPlus is a leader in mediation technology in China and now thousands of apps will have the opportunity to access Kidoz ad inventory. TradPlus is excited to bring kid-safe advertising to our publishers in China and leverage Kidoz global sales operations," TradPlus CEO Matt Wang said in a statement.

TradPlus is a trusted and popular mediation platform that provides professional monetization services for top publishers in China, serving more than 50 billion ad requests daily.

"Kidoz is expanding globally, and China is a strategic market that we are unlocking via strategic partnerships like the one with TradPlus," said Kidoz co-CEO Eldad Ben Tora. "As privacy and safety concerns are increasing globally, partnering with TradPlus is mutually beneficial, as Kidoz can enable top app developers in China and Asia to safely monetize their under 13 traffic, and will expand the Kidoz Network with hundreds of millions of users in China.

Google certified and Apple approved, Kidoz provides an essential suite of advertising technology that unites brands, content publishers and families.

The approval from Google and Apple have made Kidoz the most popular mobile network for Kid-Safe publishers and our growth is a result of our high performing media and highly engaged users, said Ben Tora. Our partnership with TradPlus is a great achievement for Kidoz and we look forward to working together."

Founded in 2017, TradPlus is a monetization service that integrates SDKs of multiple mainstream ad networks around the world. Through the refined management of advertising resources and optimization algorithms, TradPlus provides developers with the best solutions for mobile traffic monetization.

Kidoz has offices in Anguilla, Canada, UK, and Israel.

Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive
The company said the patent application, entitled 'Psilocybin and Norbaeocystin Compositions and Methods of Treatment', contains 67 new inventive claims and further demonstrates its vision to build a strong intellectual property portfolio

PsyBio said it plans to submit its initial pre-investigational new drug application request by the end of this quarter

PsyBio Therapeutics Corp ( ) (OTCMKTS:PSYBF) (FRA:PSYB) said it has filed a new provisional patent application with the US Patent and Trademark Office aimed at protecting numerous novel psychedelic drug candidates being developed for clinical trial evaluations.

The patent application, entitled 'Psilocybin and Norbaeocystin Compositions and Methods of Treatment', contains 67 new inventive claims. The biotechnology company said it further demonstrates its vision to build a strong intellectual property portfolio.

PsyBios portfolio now includes five pending provisional patents and one pending non-provisional patent application.

In a statement, PsyBio CEO Evan Levine told investors the company is uniquely positioned as one of the leading biotechnology companies sponsoring the development of new therapeutic targets for a myriad of human health conditions.

"PsyBio has a multifaceted, biotechnology-focused development program spanning compounds from different plants and fungi as well as a discovery program for a variety of non-natural drug targets, Levine said.

"We have successfully tech transferred the first two molecules from the bench to commercial manufacturing and will continue with additional product candidates in the coming months, he added.

The company said it plans to submit its initial pre-investigational new drug (IND) application request by the end of this quarter with the goal of filing an investigational new drug application around the end of 2021.

"Results from our latest testing demonstrate preliminary enhancement of efficacy when compounds are combined," said Dr Matthew S. McMurray, a member of PsyBio's scientific advisory board and assistant professor of psychology at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

"This suggests powerful synergies exist between certain tryptamines, which may herald improved therapeutic profiles and safety. The collaboration agreement with PsyBio has expedited testing of these novel tryptamine combinations in my laboratory," he added.

PsyBio Therapeutics is an intellectual property-driven biotechnology company developing novel formulations of psychoactive medications produced by genetically modified bacteria for the treatment of mental health challenges and other disorders.

The team has extensive experience in drug discovery based on synthetic biology and metabolic engineering as well as clinical and regulatory expertise progressing drugs through human studies and regulatory protocols.

Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com
TraQiQs solutions have been deployed with leading multi-national customers around the world and are helping increase customer loyalty, improve profitability and drive efficient financial transactions

The Gig economy has become a focus in recent years as working patterns shift and companies and people take on more flexible working conditions due to digitization, a phenomenon that has been accelerated by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Gig workers are independent contractors and temporary workers who enter into formal agreements with on-demand companies to provide services to the company's clients as opposed to traditionally employed workers.

One firm which is working to embrace the Gig economy is . ( ), a global technology company with a suite of products designed to offer a comprehensive set of services that enable customers to meet their goals in a dynamic global technology environment.

TraQiQs leading-edge FinTech and AI (artificial technology) and ML (machine learning) solutions have been deployed with leading multi-national customers around the world and are helping increase customer loyalty, improve profitability and drive efficient financial transactions.

TraQiQ has a global presence with offices/customers in Asia, North America, Africa and Latin America and its leadership and advisory team includes people with deep experience of running large businesses as well as successful entrepreneurs.

One of those successful entrepreneurs is its CEO, Ajay Sikka, who Proactive sat down with to find out more about the company.

Proactive: TraQiQ describes itself as a leading provider of FinTech solutions for the gig-economy, can you explain what you mean by this?

Ajay Sikka: There has been so much conversation in the last few years about FinTech, with companies chipping away at the monolithic banking system. There are so many trends, but the one that I like the most is the one that puts the customer at the center. And it's not just FinTech standalone. Its about other trends together with FinTech that make the customer happy.

These trends, such as AI and ML help us predict their requirements. FinTech is an enabling technology that helps put the transaction in place, but you've got other important trends like blockchain that provides the next level of security and so on. So, what we're trying to do at TraQiQ is look at a scenario where we are building a product stack that brings these FinTech solutions to the masses.

We use our strength in working with the Gig economy to enable a lot of things. We have a wallet, we have our settlement engine, we have our own workflow engine, meaning that we have a complete software stack. And this software stack enables customers to manage tasks. You can take our software, and you can manage your 5 people, 500 people, 5,000 people.

More importantly, we also have a network of over 14,000 people in India who are actually doing deliveries. So, we get this beautiful combination of the FinTech tools, the wallets, as well as the actual gig workers, the actual task workers who bring these two things together  going into the field, collecting cash payments from a variety of customers.

So it kind of brings these two worlds together, these two worlds that are colliding. And that's kind of what we are enabling today.

The company is focused on three primary pillars designed to help identify customers, facilitate transactions, and fulfill those transactions. So can you tell us more about that?

Our company is very heavily focused on these three areas. The first one, being very customer-centric, is to really understand your customer: What they want? When do they want it? How do they want it? There are so many dimensions to our customers which means we have a complete suite of AI and ML tools that help us understand a customer's behavior, the transactions they are doing, how they are doing them, and when they're doing them.

The second is our FinTech stack that enables a bunch of transactions. This could be for customers who have bank accounts and credit cards, and for customers who don't. We have tools that enable you to make a payment via a text message.

The third and final pillar is our last mile pillar where we facilitate deliveries and tasks where were a combination of Uber Eats, Doordash and TaskRabbit. If I look at the service we provide, our people in India are probably the most proficient at doing deliveries and tasks in the area of finance, banking and insurance.

But we also do a variety of other services such as background verifications and address verifications. We also work with real estate companies to help their tenants in a variety of tasks.

TraQiQ has also been building blockchain-based solutions to leverage that super-secure infrastructure for more complex transactions. How is that progressing?

We all agree about the power of blockchain. We talk about security and microtransactions, and the technology prowess is amazing. But there is a second dimension as well and that's the people part of it.

If you look at the data, 44% of gig workers are university graduates; 28% of them are professionals, they are lawyers and accountants and so on. I believe about 60%-plus do it to generate extra income to support their lifestyle. There is a lot of data on these people because this is such a high-growth element of our ecosystem today.

When all of it started it was really good because all these venture-funded companies were getting a lot of money to these task workers coming into the network. However, if you talk to these people there is a lot of angst. They don't really make as much money as they were supposed to, with people in regular jobs making more.

So these are the areas of blockchain I think that really needs to get highlighted, not just the secure network.

Why do I need an Uber or Lyft or Doordash, if I can build a suitable blockchain solution that means the actual nodes of the network can interact amongst themselves, and make that extra 30%-40% of money. So from our perspective, we look at both sides, the security and all the other technology benefits as well as the people benefits.

So how does blockchain help us? It helps us from a hiring process. If people have all their credentials and certifications on a blockchain, as we do each and every transaction, we can validate and make sure it's all good. That way our customers or partners or employees, everybody gets paid rapidly. And then there's also the whole notion of sharing money equally. So we are very, very committed to the blockchain platform.

We actually built a wallet a couple of years ago and we are rearchitecting some of the components of our product stack right now. We are well on that journey and we're hoping that before the end of the year that we'll be making an announcement where we can start actually bringing them into our core production products.

The company has a goal of getting to a $20 million-plus run rate in revenue this year, through both organic growth and strategic acquisitions. So, is more M&A imminent?

Yes, we have demonstrated that we are keen on adding companies to our portfolio. But it's not just pure acquisitions. If you look at organic growth first, we announced in our Last Mile business a couple of weeks ago our growth in the verification segment, where our task workers physically go to locations and verify whether somebody does live or work there. We are going to be adding a couple of more segments in the near term in our Last Mile business.

Similarly, in our Loyalty and Rewards business, we have added a couple of very large, multinational customers where our products have gone live and we're waiting to make sure everything goes well, and will be talking about those as well. So there's a fair amount of organic growth in our core business.

However, if you look at the three pillars we just talked about, I expect us to make a couple more acquisitions. Some of it is about adding new technology, new products to the mix. But we're also very keen on adding significant new revenue streams. Our current focus is emerging markets and we're hoping that we can add new geographies to the mix.

As of now, it does appear that we will be able to get to our $20 million run rate, or better perhaps, by the end of the year.

So what should TraQiQ shareholders expect from the company in the near term?

Our company is continuing to grow rapidly and our growth is, very specifically, in the three areas we've talked about, which is in Analytics, to target the customer, in FinTech, and then Last Mile delivery. This growth will continue. It will continue to be a very focused set of parameters that we will deliver on.

We've talked about our revenue numbers. We've not talked about profitability, but it's coming, it's coming very soon, and we expect to be profitable in the short term to near term. The area that I'd love for our shareholders to see is new geographies, new revenue streams, new product bundles. This world that we live in is innovating so rapidly, there are so many new things happening, that it's critical that we not stop that process.

COVID impacted us in many ways, however, we were fortunate that we were able to continue our revenue growth, with not very much of a hit to expenses. Our employees were fabulous, they stuck with us through many of the challenges.

So going forward, I expect acquisitions; I expect better revenue; I expect us to hire a lot more people as we build out this business rapidly. In the world of technology, our employees are the most important element outside of customers. So we will be talking more about what we're doing with our employees. We'll be talking more about the social benefits that our company is helping with. And I think, lastly, over the course of the next 6 to 12 months, we'll also start talking about the profitability goals that we have, not just revenue goals.

Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com
Tocvan Ventures (CSEL TOC) CEO Derek Wood joined Steve Darling from Proactive to share news the company is continuing with their Phase II drill program at the Pilar Project in Mexico. That drilling has included a step-out hole that hit 35.1 meters at 0.66 g/t Au and 6 g/t Ag. That was 100 metres east of the main Pilar zone.

Wood talks more about the drill program and what the company is planning to do next.
BioSig will collaborate with the physician team at Medical City North Hills as the company continues to advance and expand upon the clinical and commercial strategy for its PURE EP technology

PURE EP technology is currently installed at several clinical sites in Texas, one of the three strategic areas that BioSig is focused on in the targeted commercial launch phase alongside the Northeast and Florida

BioSig Technologies Inc ( ) has announced the signing of a new agreement for the clinical evaluation of the companys PURE EP technology for arrhythmia care at Medical City North Hills in North Richland Hills, Texas.

As part of the evaluation agreement, Medical City North Hills clinical representatives will provide on-site training and assist with data collection and interpretation and workflow customization for every physician and all electrophysiology lab staff members to ensure optimal user experience.

We are pleased to start conducting patient cases at another outstanding hospital in Texas. With over 400 electrophysiology labs, the state of Texas is home to some of the greatest cardiac care facilities in our country, BioSig CEO Kenneth Londoner said in a statement.

We look forward to collaborating with the physician team at Medical City North Hills as we continue to advance and expand upon our clinical and commercial strategy, Londoner added.

PURE EP is a computerized system intended for acquiring, digitizing, amplifying, filtering, measuring and calculating, displaying, recording and storing of electrocardiographic and intracardiac signals for patients undergoing electrophysiology (EP) procedures in an EP laboratory.

The company noted that Texas is one of the three strategic areas that BioSig is focused on in the targeted commercial launch phase, alongside the Northeast and Florida.

PURE EP technology is currently installed at several clinical sites in Texas, including Houston Methodist Hospital.

BioSig added that more than 50 physicians have completed over 1000 patient cases with the PURE EP System across 12 clinical sites.

Contact Sean at sean@proactiveinvestors.com
"I'm not an anti-vaxxer. I'm not a pro-vaxxer. I'm somebody that's looking at this thing and trying to figure it outI feel like a vaccination in a weird way is just generally kind of going against natureLike, I mean, if there is some disease out there -- maybe there's just an ebb and flow to life where something's supposed to wipe out a certain amount of people, and that's just kind of the way evolution goes. Vaccines kind of stand in the way of that. Do you follow what I'm saying? Does that make sense to somebody in medicine?"

Newsmax host Rob Schmitt

NO.

Everyone in medicine
Russian Business Ombudsman praises effectiveness of business support amid pandemic

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

11:13 13/07/2021

MOSCOW, July 12 (RAPSI)  The economic support measures taken by the authorities have helped to save small and medium-sized businesses during the period of the pandemic and respective restrictions, according to Business Rights Commissioner Boris Titov.

This Monday, Titov presented President Vladimir Putin with a report on the results of his activities in 2020. Special attention in the report was paid to business support measures amid the pandemic, the Kremlin press service informs.

Titov believes that measures to support business and entrepreneurship over the pandemic period have been very balanced.

In spite of the fact that initially these measures were somewhat frowned at, basing on their results it can be seen that the measures were weighed, effective, and timely, Titov is quoted as saying.

The best practice on the part of the authorities, the Business Ombudsman believes, is that they refrained from massive lock downs.

In the III-IV quarters of 2020, small and medium-sized businesses practically recovered, and large ones were generally loosing less, Titov observes.

According to the Business Rights Commissioner, the measure providing for a 15% reduction in social contributions from businesses worked very well and was economically justified, for instance, the personal income tax has grown by more than 6% in terms of budget revenues. At the same time, he praised the fact that in 2020 the number of business inspections decreased and asked the President to extend the moratorium on inspections of small and medium-sized businesses until 2022.

However, Titov notes, the figures registered in the first quarter of 2021, unfortunately, were not so good. A special index developed by his Office in cooperation with Sberbank demonstrates that the revenue of small businesses decreased by 19% over this period, and the current situation demands to ask for working out additional support measures and reintroduction of some already used ones in the event new restrictions on businesses are needed because of the pandemic, the Business Ombudsman stressed.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
After UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath unveiled the draft population control bill, Congress leader Salman Khurshid said the state should tell how many "legitimate or illegitimate" children ministers have.

While other opposition parties have termed it as an election gimmick, commenting on the draft bill Khurshid said the state government should share how many "legitimate and illegitimate children" its ministers have.

Khurshid said, "Politicians should declare how many children they have. I will also declare how many I have and then it should be discussed."

The Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh has unveiled its new policy on population control for 2021-30 on the occasion of the World Population Day on July 11.

The Chief Minister has called for a community-centric approach to population control so that better facilities may be made available to the people and the state can be developed properly.

"Poverty and illiteracy are major factors for population explosion. There is also a lack of awareness about population in certain communities and we therefore need community-centric awareness efforts," he said.

According to a government spokesmen, the state's total fertility rate is 2.7 per cent currently whereas it should ideally be less than 2.1 per cent.


In yet another blow to China, navies from India and Maldives participated in the fourth edition of Ekatha exercise, with Male making a statement that it is India and not China which will serve as the net security provider of Maldives. A pivotal nation in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), Maldives is strategically located close to key international shipping lanes. In a meeting with Vice Admiral Anil Kumar Chawla, Flag Officer, Commanding in Chief, Southern Naval Command of the Indian Navy on Sunday, the Maldives Foreign Affairs minister Abdulla Shahid not only reflected on the "historically strong bilateral relations" between the two countries, particularly in the field of defence and security cooperation, but also discussed in detail the "emerging security threats" in the region. Held at the Maldives' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the meeting saw Shahid reaffirming his government's commitment to focus on strengthening maritime safety and security in the Indian Ocean and also acknowledging the "important role" played by the Indian Armed Forces in enhancing and developing the capacity of the Maldives National Defence Force. "Delighted to meet with Vice Admiral A.K. Chawla, Flag Officer, C-in-C, Southern Naval Command of Indian Navy today. Discussed importance of cooperation between countries in maintaining peace & security in the Indian Ocean Region, especially in light of emerging security threats," the minister tweeted after the meeting. Shahid was accompanied by the country's Foreign Secretary, Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed and Joint Secretary, India Division, Mariyam Midhfa Naeem at the meeting. Building bridges of friendship, Indian Navy's elite marine commandos unit MARCOS have held joint training exercises with the strategically located neighbour since 2017, contributing to the capacity building of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) Marines and enhancing the interoperability of the forces. Vice Admiral Chawla also paid a courtesy call on Maldives Defence Minister Mariya Didi following the end of the Exercise Ekatha who appreciated the support provided by the Indian Navy during the Covid-19 pandemic, undertaking the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) surveillance and towards training of the MNDF personnel. Thanking the Indian Armed Forces for the continued support rendered to MNDF, Maldives' Chief of Defence Force, Major General Abdulla Shamaal also deliberated on enhancing maritime security cooperation and other key areas of military cooperation during his meeting with the top Indian Navy officer. India leads maritime security efforts A key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region, Maldives continues to occupy an important place in India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy and the 'SAGAR' (Security and Growth for All in the Region) vision of the Narendra Modi government. In pursuit of its priority of growth and development, or 'sabka saath, sabka vikas', the Indian government is continuously working to increase the momentum and energy in the bilateral relationship which has "reached unprecedented levels" under the leadership of PM Modi and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. In May, New Delhi announced the opening of a new Consulate General in Addu City to help augment India's diplomatic presence in Maldives and make it commensurate with the existing and aspired level of engagement. A month before that, in the first meeting of the 'Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism, Countering Violent Extremism and De-Radicalisation', both sides had reviewed threats posed by terrorist entities that are under UN sanctions and emphasised the need for concerted action against all terrorist networks. India had also played a key role in the Maldives candidate, Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid, winning the election to the post of the President of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, last month. The victory meant that the Maldives will be only the sixth President from a Small Island Developing State, presiding over the UN General Assembly in the history of the United Nations. With two-thirds of the world's oil shipments and half of all container ships passing through its waters, Maldives remains a geo-strategically important country, especially with the growing presence of China in the Indian Ocean Region. With maritime security becoming the most pressing issue, India has not only conveyed its unwavering support and assistance to Maldives, but also led discussions on issues pertaining to cooperation among Indian Ocean countries at engagements like the 'Indian Ocean Region Defence Ministers Conclave 2021' held in Bengaluru earlier this year and the revived 'NSA-level Meeting on Trilateral Maritime Security Cooperation', organised after a gap of six years, in Colombo last November.




The long delayed monsoon finally arrived early on Tuesday giving much needed respite to the citizens in Delhi-NCR.

The national capital along with adjoining cities including - Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida, and Ghaziabad have also received rainfall.

On Monday evening, the Met Department had predicted that the conditions were favourable for further advance of southwest Monsoon over Delhi, parts of West Uttar Pradesh, some more parts of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.

"Thunderstorm with light to moderate intensity rain and winds with speed of 20-40 Km/h would occur over and adjoining areas of isolated places of Delhi, North-East Delhi, East Delhi, NCR (Noida, Ghaziabad), Sonipat, Aurangabad, Palwal (Haryana)," IMD had tweeted on Monday.

The South-West monsoon arrived in Delhi-NCR after India Meteorological Department's (IMD) several predictions made in the last 15 days went wrong.

Reacting to the arrival of monsoon on Tuesday, Madhavan Rajeevan, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, tweeted, "Finally Monsoon Rains over Delhi! Even though monsoon conditions were prevailing the last 2-3 days, India MET dept was waiting for these rains to declare the onset of monsoon. Last 2 days it has rained everywhere surrounding Delhi, except Delhi."

"Rain realised over Delhi between 7 to 8.30 hrs of today, the 13th July 2021. Safdarjung - 2.5 (cm), Ayanagar - 1.3, Palam - 2.4, CHO Lodi Road - 1.9 and Ridge- 1.0," read another tweet of IMD.

Due to the delay in the arrival of the monsoon, the MET Department had to face criticism. On July 11, Madhavan Rajeevan, responding to criticism on its wrong prediction, had said, "We just don't download someone's model forecast to provide users. We have one of the best end-to-end forecasting systems, thanks to the Monsoon Mission. Trust us, we are one of the best and we will keep improving. Our forecasts sometimes can go wrong."

This year, the rains were first predicted to make a record early march across the country, initially predicted to hit Delhi by June 13-15. But in the latter half of the month, the progress slowed down before it eventually stalled and entered a three-week break phase.

The Monsoon had reached almost all parts of the country but had stayed away from Delhi, Haryana, parts of west Uttar Pradesh and west Rajasthan. The weather forecasting agency had predicted that monsoon is expected to cover these parts by June -- a little less than a month back but that did not happen.

K Jenamani, a senior scientist at IMD has said they will study why the arrival of monsoon was delayed in Delhi despite favourable conditions.
Edison, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/13/2021 -- HTF MI Analyst have added a new research study on Title Global Durable Juvenile Products Market Report 2020 by Key Players, Types, Applications, Countries, Market Size, Forecast to 2026 (Based on 2020 COVID-19 Worldwide Spread) with detailed information of Product Types [Strollers, Child Seats, Bicycles & Tricycles, Baby Carrier & Others], Applications [Maternity & Childcare Store, Brand Store, Supermarket & Online] & Key Players Such as Britax, Dorel Industries Inc., Artsana Group, Newell Rubbermaid, Kolcraft Enterprises, Combi Group, Silver Cross & Goodbaby International Holdings Ltd. etc. The Study provides in-depth comprehensive analysis for regional segments that covers North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa with global outlook and includes Clear Market definitions, classifications, manufacturing processes, cost structures, development policies and plans. The facts and data are well presented in the Durable Juvenile Products report using diagrams, graphs, pie charts, and other pictorial representations with respect to its current trends, dynamics, and business scope & key statistics.



If you are a Durable Juvenile Products manufacturer and deals in exports imports then this article will help you understand the Sales Volume with Impacting Trends.



Click here for free sample + related graphs of the report @: https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/3016463-global-durable-juvenile-products-market-report-2020-by-key-players-types-applications-countries-market-size-forecast-to-2026



Impact Analysis  Global Durable Juvenile Products Market Research

Analysts at HTF MI constantly monitor the Durable Juvenile Products industry factors with impacts of current events; with this study an update of how industry players have tackled latest scenario and what key strategies have made significant difference is showcased.



Key Highlights from Durable Juvenile Products Market Study.



Revenue and Sales Estimation  Historical Revenue and sales volume is presented and further data is triangulated with top-down and bottom-up approaches to forecast complete market size and to estimate forecast numbers for key regions covered in the report along with classified and well recognized Types and end-use industry. Additionally, macroeconomic factor and regulatory policies are ascertained in Durable Juvenile Products industry evolution and predictive analysis.



Manufacturing Analysis the report is currently analysed concerning various product type and application. The Durable Juvenile Products market provides a chapter highlighting manufacturing process analysis validated via primary information collected through Industry experts and Key officials of profiled companies.



FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS: In order to better understand Durable Juvenile Products market condition five forces analysis is conducted that includes Bargaining power of buyers, Bargaining power of suppliers, Threat of new entrants, Threat of substitutes, Threat of rivalry.



Competition  Leading players have been studied from Durable Juvenile Products Industry depending on their company profile, product portfolio, capacity, product/service price, sales, and cost/profit.



Demand & Supply and Effectiveness  Durable Juvenile Products report additionally provides distribution, Production, Consumption & EXIM** (Export & Import). ** If applicable



Have Any Query? Ask Our Expert @: https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/3016463-global-durable-juvenile-products-market-report-2020-by-key-players-types-applications-countries-market-size-forecast-to-2026



Geographically, the following regions together with the listed national/local markets are fully investigated:

- APAC (Japan, China, South Korea, Australia, India, and Rest of APAC; Rest of APAC is further segmented into Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, New Zealand, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka)

- Europe (Germany, UK, France, Spain, Italy, Russia, Rest of Europe; Rest of Europe is further segmented into Belgium, Denmark, Austria, Norway, Sweden, The Netherlands, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania)

- North America (U.S., Canada, and Mexico)

- South America (Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Rest of South America)

- MEA (Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Africa)



The Latest Trends, Product Portfolio, Demographics, Geographical segmentation, and Regulatory Framework of the Durable Juvenile Products Market have also been included in the study.



Market Growth by Applications: Maternity & Childcare Store, Brand Store, Supermarket & Online



Heat map Analysis, 3-Year Financial and Detailed Company Profiles of Key & Emerging Players: Britax, Dorel Industries Inc., Artsana Group, Newell Rubbermaid, Kolcraft Enterprises, Combi Group, Silver Cross & Goodbaby International Holdings Ltd.



Market Growth by Types: Strollers, Child Seats, Bicycles & Tricycles, Baby Carrier & Others



Book Latest Edition of Study Global Durable Juvenile Products Market Study @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=3016463



Introduction about Global Durable Juvenile Products



Global Durable Juvenile Products Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) [Strollers, Child Seats, Bicycles & Tricycles, Baby Carrier & Others] in 2019

Durable Juvenile Products Market by Application/End Users [Maternity & Childcare Store, Brand Store, Supermarket & Online]

Global Durable Juvenile Products Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Applications

Global Global Durable Juvenile Products Sales and Growth Rate (2016-2026)

Durable Juvenile Products Competition by Players/Suppliers, Region, Type and Application

Durable Juvenile Products (Volume, Value and Sales Price) table defined for each geographic region defined.

Global Durable Juvenile Products Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales Data

Key Raw Materials Analysis & Price Trends

Supply Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers, Industrial Chain Analysis

........and view more in complete table of Contents



Check Complete Report Details @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/3016463-global-durable-juvenile-products-market-report-2020-by-key-players-types-applications-countries-market-size-forecast-to-2026



Thanks for reading this article; HTF also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research according to clientele objectives. Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report like North America, Europe or Asia



Contact US :

Craig Francis (PR & Marketing Manager)

HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited

Unit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJ

New Jersey USA  08837

Phone: +1 (206) 317 1218

sales@htfmarketreport.com

Connect with us at LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter
Northbrook, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/13/2021 -- According to the new market research report "Military Sensors Market By Platform (Airborne, Land, Naval, Munitions, Satellites), Application, Type, and Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, Rest of the World) - Global Forecast to 2026", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market size is projected to grow from USD 9.9 Billion in 2021 to USD 13.2 Billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 5.9% from 2021 to 2026. The military sensors market is growing at a significant rate across the world, and a similar trend is expected to be observed during the forecast period. Increasing demand for battlespace awareness among defense forces, ongoing advancements in MEMS technology, increasing use of UAVs in modern warfare, and increasing focus on weapon system reliability are fueling the growth of the military sensors market.



Ask for PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=267608019



"The gyroscope sub-segment is projected to lead the military sensors market from 2021 to 2026."



The introduction of MEMS-based gyroscopes has been a major point of innovation in the gyroscope technology. An increase in demand for high performance inertial navigation systems (INS) has fueled the growth of gyroscopes in military sensors market. The military aviation industry, which is one of the key consumers of inertial navigation systems, has been a major reason for the market growth and is expected to be a key driver for the global market. The increased adoption of drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the defense sector will also play a major role in market growth. In June 2019, the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) awarded a USD 4.4 million three-year contract to Vector Atomic (US) for the MDA Hypersonic Defense Component Technology program to design a micro-flatpack accelerometer-gyroscope sensor that will use hybrid integrated photonics. The company will develop and test a low size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C) navigation-grade gyroscope-accelerometer capable of navigating under severe acceleration, shock, and vibration characteristics of a hypersonic missile interceptor.



"Based on application, electronic warfare segment will register the highest growth from 2021 to 2026."



Significant technological advancements and integration of sensors and electronics in military equipment are resulting in a shift towards multilayered defense systems, which is expected to drive the electronic warfare segment in military sensors market during the forecast period. Adding to these factors, the increase in the use of UAV systems and the need for ground surveillance and communication jamming serve as opportunities for the electronic warfare segment. In March 2021, BAE Systems secured a USD 58 million contract to begin low-rate initial production of an electronic warfare system for F-15s to protect pilots from advanced threats coming over the electromagnetic spectrum. The contract scope includes multispectral sensors and countermeasures, signal processing, microelectronics and algorithms to deliver radar warning, situational awareness, geolocation, and self-protection capabilities.



Browse in-depth TOC on "Military Sensors Market"

200  Tables

44  Figures

256  Pages



Inquiry Before Buying: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=267608019



"The North America is projected to lead the military sensors market from 2021 to 2026."



Significant investments in R&D activities for the development of advanced military power solutions by key players and increased demand for lightweight and energy-efficient sensors are some of the factors expected to fuel the growth of the military sensors market in this region. The US is expected to drive the growth of the North American military sensors market during the forecast period, owing to easy access to various innovative technologies and significant investments being made by manufacturers in the country for the development of improved health monitoring and warfare sensors. Several developments have taken place in the field of military sensors in the region.



Major companies profiled in the report include Honeywell International (US), TE Connectivity (Switzerland), Raytheon Technology (US), Lockheed Martin (US), Thales (France), Bae Systems (UK) among others.



Related Reports:



Aircraft Sensors Market by Connectivity, Platform (UAV, EVTOL, Fixed, Rotary), Sensor (Pressure, Temperature, Speed, Proximity, Gyro) Application (Engine, Door, Environmental Control), End Use (OEM, Aftermarket), Region - Global Forecast to 2025



About MarketsandMarkets

MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions.



Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model  GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve.



MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets.



Contact:

Mr. Aashish Mehra

MarketsandMarkets INC.

630 Dundee Road

Suite 430

Northbrook, IL 60062

USA: +1-888-600-6441
Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/13/2021 -- With this special offer you just need to buy a flight ticket to Dubai or reconnect via Dubai and you get to stay in a luxurious 5 Star Hotel in Dubai for a night. Book a business class ticket to Dubai and stay for 3 (three) nights in a 5 Star hotel. Travel Guzs always delivers world class travel services at affordable prices and complete satisfaction. With the Dubai Stopover program, travelers can reconnect to Dubai with cheap business class tickets from various US Gateways.



The hotel features award-winning dining options, its own shopping galleria and much more; and is conveniently located near attractions like the Dubai Mall, Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Opera.



Dubai is a place where you can experience the pinnacles of luxury accommodation and five-star dining, but also more down-to-earth traditions and leisure activities.



Book by July 15, 2021.

Travel Guzs has negotiated Air Fares in Economy and Business Class to Suit your Budget, fly from Miami, New York, Newark, Boston, Washington, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle to Dubai spend 1 or 3 Nights with Travel Guzs Complimentary Hotel Accommodations Offer and Connect to Your Onward Destination to Phuket, Maldives, Seychelles, Nairobi, Athens, Milan, Cairo, Cape Town, Cebu, Kathmandu, Kula Lumpur, Johannesburg, Mumbai, Amman and many more.



Travel Guzs is an authorized travel agency to offer Dubai Expo packages.



Dubai Stopover/Dubai Experience specifically designed for short-stay tourists to enjoy the wide range of attractions and experiences of the Emirates at the most affordable rates.



Emirates Dubai Experience has been specifically created for passengers connecting or transiting via Dubai International Airport. It is well suited for Tourists looking for exclusive customized Dubai experiences. Dubai Stopover enables guests to choose from a variety of hotel stay options and activities whether it is for a short stay in Dubai or 3 or more days stay in Dubai. This program allows tourists to enjoy a taste of Dubai.



Travel Guzs is committed to work closely with partners to curate and offer Dubai Itineraries that can be experienced in a shorter time frame.



Passengers can also schedule to visit places and Sightseeing in Dubai before arrival. Stopover in Dubai offers the best added value service available in Dubai, allowing visitors to experience an array of popular attractions and experiences.



With Stopover in Dubai, the passengers will be able to explore popular attractions in Dubai, including Burj Khalifa, Theme Parks, Dubai Marina, Dubai Fountain Show, City Sightseeing with Hop on Hop Off Bus, Aquarium and Underwater Zoo & Dubai Frame according to the customer's schedule.



Hamid Lakhani, the CEO of Travel Guzs speaking about this launch: "We are extremely excited about Complimentary Hotel Night(s) Program. With the introduction of this new Emirates Dubai Stopover, Tourists are provided with additional ease of access to a few tourists' attractions in the city with great benefits for both Families and for Independent Travelers. TravelGuzs is offering a taste of the Emirates Leisure attractions, the program will not only allow guests to optimize their time in the city of Dubai but shall also convince them to come back and re-discover what else does Dubai has more to offer."



About TravelGuzs



TravelGuzs is one of the reputed & leading Travel Management Company based in US and India, currently in process of expanding the reach of services to Companies globally for association to partner for all kinds of travel needs, be it air, hotel, car, insurance, holiday packages or Cruises. With a strength of more than 12 travel arrangers on roll most of them are IATA certified with minimum 15 years of experience. Having worked on more than a million travel itineraries over the past decade, TravelGuzs is a rising star.



Media Contact



https://www.travelguzs.com/
New Delhi, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/12/2021 -- Tula Digital has perfected the art of developing and manufacturing weighing solutions in line with the global industry standards. The company has three certified, state of the art facilities for the production of electronic weighing scales, weighbridges, and weigh-based systems. Accurate, efficient, and cost-effective, the weighing solutions have takers across industries, regions, and countries. Companies like ISRO, BHEL, SUPERTECH, ICGEB, NV Group, ICICI Bank, BIKANERWALA, HAVELLS, Hero Honda, Pepsi, MOD, and Max Healthcare have been relying on Tula Digital to usher improved materials flow capabilities and transparency into their day to day operations.



The spokesperson at Tula Digital stated, "23 years on, Tula Digital has been at the forefront of the delivery of weighing solutions in India. We have 30 plus locations across India to cater to every industry and region, requiring accurate measurements and higher accountability. We even ship to five countries, giving us a strong international presence. Our USP has been a stunning product variety backed by the promise of quality, prices, and friendly service. We offer Retail Scales, Weighbridges, Precision Balances, Table Top & Platform Scales, and Tank Weighing. We are extensively relied on for custom weighing solutions to the client's specifications."



Tula Digital is one of India's leading electronic weighbridge manufacturers, supporting all applications, budgets, and requirements. The company offers it all with full quality assurance from Steel Pitless and Steel Pit Type to Concrete Pit Type and Concrete Pitless. Tula Digital has a thriving after-sales service setup with factory-trained engineers extending their expert service on-site. The company has partnered with DIBAL (Spain) Retail Scales, a top-rated weighing and labelling company credited with streamlining the European retail industry. As a distribution partner, Tula Digital sells and services DIBAL retail scales India-wide with commitment.



On truck weighing machines, the spokesperson further stated, "Tula Digital is associated with both steel and concrete platform top truck weighing machine. Also, we have analogue and digital options for loadcells. The digital loadcell system is developed in-house in line with the industry standards in accuracy and efficiency. While both types of loadcells deliver similar performance and functionality, digital loadcells offer a certain advantage in accuracy, ease of use and upkeep, and overall security. They incorporate an internal system to convert analogue signals into digital ones, making the loadcells virtually tamper-proof."



Since the digital loadcell system is self-calibrating, the need for corner adjustments is pushed out of the equation while truck scale commissioning time is also brought down significantly. The system can also be relied on for improved diagnostics and error reporting, discouraging the chances of deliberate tampering. The truck weighing machines are powered by Swift Weighlink, user-friendly software that can be operated on any PC. The software is designed to deliver precise info on date, vehicle, supplier, material, and more. Reports can be retrieved on all transactions taking place within a specified time frame.



About Tula Digital (India) Pvt. Ltd

Since 1997, Tula Digital (India) Pvt. Ltd is the market leader in weighing technology. Under the Swift brand, the company offers retail scales, weighbridges, precision balances, tabletop & platform scales, and tank weighing solutions. Lately, Tula Digital is attracting a deluge of those who want to get pit less weighbridges across India and abroad.



Contact Information:



Tula Digital (India) Pvt. Ltd

Head Office:

A-12, Naraina Industrial Area Phase 1,

New Delhi  110028, India

Telephone: + (91)-11-4141 1058/ + (91)-98100 33681/ + (91)-98731 99235

(Mon-Sat 9:30 AM  6:00 PM)
In 2020, planetary scientists detected small amounts of the biosignature gas phosphine (PH 3 ) in the atmosphere of Venus using the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescopes. In a new paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a duo of scientists from Cornell University argues for the plausibility of volcanically extruded phosphide as an abiotic source of the atmospheric phosphine.

It is of value to ask why phosphine is in the Venusian atmosphere, if it is there, said Cornell Universitys Jonathan Lunine and doctoral candidate Ngoc Truong.

Phosphine had been considered and proposed as a potential biosignature in oxidizing terrestrial exoplanets atmospheres.

However, the specific pathway of biological production of phosphine still remains uncertain with no known direct metabolic pathway.

The authors hypothesize that trace amounts of phosphides formed in the mantle are a plausible abiotic source of the Venusian phosphine observed.

In their hypothesis, small amounts of phosphides, sourced from a deep mantle, are brought to the surface by volcanism.

These phosphides are then ejected into the atmosphere in the form of volcanic dust by volcanic eruptions.

Sufficiently large explosive eruptions similar to the scale of Earths Krakatoa volcanic eruption in Indonesia in 1883 could inject material directly into the Venusian sulfuric acid cloud layer, explosions invoked by other scientists to explain the episodic changes of sulfur dioxide seen in the planets atmosphere.

There, these phosphides react with sulfuric acid in the aerosol layer to form phosphine.

The phosphine is not telling us about the biology of Venus, Professor Lunine said.

Its telling us about the geology. Science is pointing to a planet that has active explosive volcanism today or in the very recent past.

Our phosphine model suggests explosive volcanism occurring, while radar images from NASAs Magellan spacecraft in the 1990s show some geologic features could support this, he added.

If Venus has phosphide  a form of phosphorous present in the planets deep mantle  and, if it is brought to the surface in an explosive, volcanic way and then injected into the atmosphere, those phosphides react with the Venusian atmospheres sulfuric acid to form Phosphine, Truong said.

In 1978, on NASAs Pioneer orbiter mission, scientists uncovered variations of sulfur dioxide in Venus upper atmosphere, hinting at the prospect of explosive volcanism, similar to the scale of Krakatoa volcanic eruption.

But confirming explosive volcanism on Venus through the gas phosphine was totally unexpected.

_____

N. Truong & J.I. Lunine. 2021. Volcanically extruded phosphides as an abiotic source of Venusian phosphine. PNAS 118 (29): e2021689118; doi: 10.1073/pnas.2021689118
A new study led by a Duke University researcher supports the idea that domestication enhanced the cooperative-communicative abilities of dogs as selection for attraction to humans altered social maturation.

Dogs are born with the innate ability to understand that were communicating with them and were trying to cooperate with them, said lead author Hannah Salomons, a doctoral student at Duke University.

In the study, Salomons and colleagues compared 44 dog and 37 wolf puppies (5-18 weeks old) on a battery of temperament and cognition tasks.

In one test, the researchers hid a treat in one of two bowls, then gave each dog or wolf puppy a clue to help them find the food.

In some trials, they pointed and gazed in the direction the food was hidden. In others, they placed a small wooden block beside the right spot  a gesture the puppies had never seen before  to show them where the treat was hidden.

The results were striking: even with no specific training, dog puppies as young as 8 weeks old understood where to go, and were twice as likely to get it right as wolf puppies the same age who had spent far more time around people.

Seventeen out of 31 dog puppies consistently went to the right bowl. In contrast, none out of 26 human-reared wolf pups did better than a random guess.

Control trials showed the puppies werent simply sniffing out the food. Even more impressive, many of the dog puppies got it right on their first trial.

Its not about which species is smarter, Salomons said.

Dog puppies and wolf puppies proved equally adept in tests of other cognitive abilities, such as memory, or motor impulse control, which involved making a detour around transparent obstacles to get food.

It was only when it came to the puppies people-reading skills that the differences became clear.

Other tests showed that dog puppies were also 30 times more likely than wolf pups to approach a stranger.

With the dog puppies we worked with, if you walk into their enclosure they gather around and want to climb on you and lick your face, whereas most of the wolf puppies run to the corner and hide, Salomons said.

And when presented with food inside a container that was sealed so they could no longer retrieve it, the wolf pups generally tried to solve the problem on their own, whereas the dog puppies spent more time turning to people for help, looking them in the eye as if to say: Im stuck can you fix this?

This study really solidifies the evidence that the social genius of dogs is a product of domestication, said Duke Universitys Professor Brian Hare, senior author of the study.

Its this ability that makes dogs such great service animals, It is something they are really born prepared to do.

Much like human infants, dog puppies intuitively understand that when a person points, theyre trying to tell them something, whereas wolf puppies dont.

We think it indicates a really important element of social cognition, which is that others are trying to help you.

The study was published in the journal Current Biology.

_____

Hannah Salomons et al. Cooperative Communication with Humans Evolved to Emerge Early in Domestic Dogs. Current Biology, published online July 12, 2021; doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.06.051
Page Content

The Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor, Omar Ottley would like to reiterate to the public that the Collective Food Assistance Program coordinated by the St. Maarten Development Fund (SMDF) is still open and actively accepting new registrations.





Persons who were previously beneficiaries of the Red Cross version of the program received a WhatsApp or SMS text message to re-register their households under the new program being coordinated by SMDF and implemented by K1 Britannia, Freegan Food Foundation, and COME Center. Persons who were receiving assistance from any of the three organizations are also able and encouraged to re-register.





If you are having difficulty re-registering your household; appointments can be made to visit the Help Desks in Dutch Quarter or Cole Bay by sending a WhatsApp message to 721-554-3219.





Persons interested in registering for the first time can visit foodprogram.sx or send a WhatsApp message to 721-554-3219 for further assistance.





The Whatsapp number services the languages of English, Spanish and Creole.
The Prime Minister is right when he said that there is a need to focus on developing futuristic solutions in the fields of education, health care, agriculture, defence and cyber technologies.

by N.S.Venkataraman

In an interaction with the heads of over hundred institutes including the IITs and the Indian Institute of Science (IISC), IISERs , Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Atmanirbhar Abhiyan implemented by Government of India should form the basis to achieve the dreams and aspirations of India in the coming 25 years. Prime Minister further said that R&D institutions would be critical to ensure that the upcoming decade is termed Indias Techade

A long way to go :

The Prime Minister is right when he said that there is a need to focus on developing futuristic solutions in the fields of education, health care, agriculture, defence and cyber technologies. Obviously, the Prime Minister knows that several other sectors including chemical and allied industries have to expand and improve the performance in quantitative and qualitative level, as the progress in chemical and other industries is a pre condition for development in several other sectors..

The Prime Minister expects much from the innovators, researchers and scientists in India.

However, considering the ground realities, it appears that India still has a long way to go.

Obviously, drastic changes have to be brought about in the mindset of the Indian scientists , technologists and entrepreneurs , apart from the fact that the commitment of those in power and those serving in government machinery at various levels should be significantly improved.

Performance in R & D field

While there are some isolated spectacular achievements in R&D in some sectors, taking a holistic view, the overall achievements in Indian R&D field does not inspire confidence.

R&D activities are taking place in India largely in government owned CSIR labs and universities. The contribution of the private sector in R&D activities is minimal due to whatever reasons.

As a result, the growth of Indian industry now is largely dependent on the level of import of technology from abroad, which happens even from tiny countries like Taiwan, South Korea and Israel.

To achieve Prime Ministers aspirations for Indias Techade, it is absolutely necessary that an element of dynamism and accountability have to be injected in the Indian R&D institutions and universities. Since the government is spending thousands of crores of rupees year after year in funding research and in maintaining research institutions, the Government of India needs to ensure that the investment is well spent.

Obviously, one solution could be to privatize the CSIR labs and convert them into joint venture between private bodies and the government , that would lead to purposive and target oriented and time bound research activities. Further, international organisations should be encouraged to set up research centres in India , for which India need to proactively modify the patent regulations and policies relating to intellectual property rights . This would go a long way in moving towards Techade India.

 Meddling environmentalists 

In India, unfortunately, the dividing line between politicians and environmentalists have become too thin. As a result, even some well meaning projects have been stopped by so called environmentalists,due to political reasons and motivated, poorly informed and prejudiced views.

It is a sad fact that the media and politicians do not give credence to the views and opinions of the scientists and researchers in matters relating to science ,technology and ecological issues. The politicians and activists seem to think that they have the liberty to over rule the scientists and researchers. The immediate example is the Neutrino project in Tamil Nadu , which has been stranded due to agitation by politicians and environmental activists, who seem to think that they know better than the researchers and scientists even with regard to such advanced technologies. It may be recalled that the views of former President Abdul Kalam , who was a renowned scientist, supporting the Neutrino project was not good enough for the politicians and activists in Tamil Nadu to give up their resistance to the Neutrino project.

Several other poorly informed and prejudiced debates against important projects have resulted in the derailment of the projects , which has been causing enormous harm to the industrial development and scientific advancement in the country.

The grim fact is that the counter productive and motivated environmental campaign have become stumbling block to achieve the Prime Ministers dream for Indias Techade.

Certainly, Prime Minister has to restore the pride of place for technologists and researchers in the national arena and in the decision making process. In the present vitiated climate in the country, where it appears that politics is the be all and end all of the national activity , ensuring the respect for the researchers and technologists appears to have become a challenging task.

Need consistent and long term government policy :

On many occasions, the project promoters and industrial leaders have found that the frequent change in the policies, tax measures and directives of the government have upset their short term and long term plans , due to lack of consistency in the policy measures of the government.

One immediate example that comes to mind is the retrospective tax, which has made the Vedanta group go to court against the Government of India.

The frequent and sudden changes in the mining laws have also impacted several mineral based industries.

Sugar industry is yet another victim of the governments whimsical policies with regard to cane pricing , export of sugar etc., which come as a bolt from the blue for the project promoters.

Entrepreneurial dynamism need recognition :

Certainly, there are many project promoters and entrepreneurs in India in multiple fields, who have shown extraordinary level of initiatives that have contributed to the industrial and economic growth of India.

While some entrepreneurs could have indulged in misappropriation on some occasions , they are very few in number and it is extremely counter productive to view all entrepreneurs with suspicion . Some politicians and motivated critics have been creating a bad image about the project promoters as if they are greedy and exploiters and the media give undue publicity to such negative aspersions.

For example, the campaign against the Sterlite Copper unit in Tamil Nadu which has been forced to close down by the Tamil Nadu state government is suspected to be more political than technical. Many believe that Sterlite Copper has been sinned against rather than sinning. While the courts have allowed Sterlite Copper to resume operations after examining the environmental issues and suggesting some remedial measures, the hate campaign against the promoters is so strong and venomous and the state government is refusing to permit the unit to operate. As a result, India has now become a net importer of copper though it was an exporter of copper when Sterilite Copper was in operation. In the process , India is losing foreign exchange worth several thousands crores of rupees.

Indias Techade achievable :

All said and done, the Prime Ministers aspiration on Indias techade is praiseworthy and achievable. However, this cannot be achieved by tall talk and impressive dreams.

While several measures are required to improve the investment and research climate, the need is that investors and researchers should be given their due place in the country and their true image as contributors for national growth should be protected, so long as they operate within the ambit of the law.

Finally, this article would not be complete without mentioning political corruption at various levels including at ministerial level, which is adversely impacting the growth of the economy and industrial projects.

The Prime Minister should boldly and clearly tell the ministers and bureaucrats, both at the central and state level, that they should stop forthwith the habit of summoning chief executives and top officers of the industrial and commercial organisations for personal appearance at the drop of a hat. Often , such summons are suspected to happen due to the demand for favouritism and bribes by those in power. Many times, the executives feel humiliated at the hands of even petty government officials. The Prime Minister has to condemn such behavior and tell the ministers and bureaucrats that they should exercise their powers within limits of modesty and humility and should not behave like emperors.

While Indias Techade is technically feasible, whether it is achievable in practical terms is a moot question.

The Prime Minister has done well to call upon the scientists and technologists and industrialists to raise up their performance . At the same time, the Prime Minister should also realize that they can raise their performance, only if the ministers and bureaucrats and officials at various levels in the government too raise their standards of performance.

It needs two hands to clap.
System error

error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.

context: ... 21: </%method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951

/var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17

/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149



Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fc002f58708)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc002f408e0)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fc002f58708)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc002f408e0)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fc002f57f58)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc002f408e0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc002f408e0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc00268b9c8)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fc002e74b98)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fc002e74b98)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
System error

error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.

context: ... 21: </%method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951

/var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17

/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149



Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fc002b62198)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc002bdf478)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fc002b62198)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc002bdf478)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fc002bb1f28)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc002bdf478)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc002bdf478)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc00268bec0)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fbfb6c05e60)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fbfb6c05e60)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
System error

error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.

context: ... 21: </%method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951

/var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17

/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149



Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fc002b62198)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc00268b908)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fc002b62198)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc00268b908)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fc002bb1f28)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc00268b908)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc00268b908)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc00268bec0)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fc002f9e2f0)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fc002f9e2f0)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
System error

error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.

context: ... 21: </%method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951

/var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17

/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149



Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fc002ec8c68)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc002fdd0a0)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fc002ec8c68)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc002fdd0a0)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fc002fcef98)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc002fdd0a0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc002fdd0a0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc00268a848)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fc002ee0728)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fc002ee0728)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
Homestead, FL (33030)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 88F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 78F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.
In Afghanistan, having in mind the example of South Vietnam, people who have worked with foreign forces have no illusions.

by Tomislav Jakic

As the date of complete withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan nears, more and more often we hear comments in which this withdrawal is compared with (literally) the escape of US military forces from the South Vietnam in the seventies of the last century . Even more, as the Taliban, who were the main objective of NATO (and in fact the US) military intervention in Afghanistan are rapidly taking control of all major parts of the country, including the border crossings to several neighboring countries, for example Iran. Washington, as could have been expected, rejects such comparisons, although they are very founded and although it is almost certain that the Taliban will gain control over the whole country after the withdrawal is completed. Just as the communist forces from North Vietnam once took over the south, thus uniting the country in todays Vietnam.

Both in Afghanistan, and in Vietnam the withdrawal of foreign troops was preceded by a yearlong war in which, according to some estimates, more than seventy thousand Afghans and Pakistani were killed, leading to a situation in which today almost 50% of the population of Afghanistan is just surviving below the poverty line. In Vietnam everyone in the south who have in any way cooperated with the Americans, suffered, if nothing else than being sent for a long-term re-education in special camps. In Afghanistan, those who have cooperated with NATO forces, if only as translators, openly fear for their lives in the country under the rule of the Taliban. In the south of Vietnam, hundreds of people floated for weeks on small boats along the coast, in the vain hope that they will be picked up by their American friends, whose warships will suddenly appear on the horizon. They didn't come.

In Afghanistan, having in mind the example of South Vietnam, people who have worked with foreign forces have no illusions. Thus, a wave of refugees towards neighboring already started, and there is no doubt that this wave will reach Europe as well. The war lasted for twenty years and, the longest war the US waged in its short history. And although President Joe Biden successfully avoids triumphant phrases a typical for George Bush junior, such as: "Mission accomplished," even his milder variant: Goals achieved does not corresponds to the truth.

If the goal was to fight against terrorism and Al Queida, then the target was reached in liquidating Bin Laden and breaking up of this organization, meaning that the time for withdrawal from Afghanistan was during the Obama mandate, when Biden was vice president. If, however, the goal was to destroy the Taliban, then the war in Afghanistan, is a total US failure (it would be wrong to say that Americans are the losers, because the biggest loser the people of Afghanistan). And a failure it was. Not only because the eradication of the Taliban failed, but primarily because the Taliban are "American offsprings" (just like Bin Laden), summoned to life and supported both financially and militarily, only to hamper Soviet troops after their intervention in Afghanistan (1979), with the clear aspiration to turn Afghanistan in some sort of "Soviet Vietnam". Yes, the Soviets did militarily intervene after they estimated that the government of the nonaligned Afghanistan could become close to the West. After ten years of fighting they understood that this attempt has no perspective and retreated - organized with a commander-general who was the last to cross the bridge at the border at the rear of his troops (unlike the Americans who escaped by helicopters from the roof of the US Embassy in Saigon and now left Bagram, their largest air base in Afghanistan under cover of night (although they claim to have informed the military forces of the Afghan government which, given the situation on the ground, would be more correct to call the Kabul government, or the government in Kabul .

It is also not true what President Biden claims when he says that the purpose of the American intervention in Afghanistan was not "nation building". Because a profound reform of the Afghan society was something that was considered to be one of the key tasks of NATO forces, since the Taliban pushed the country back to the Middle Ages (which will probably do again now). At the same time, it is forgotten that Afghanistan until the overthrow of King Mohammed Zahir Shah was a relatively advanced Asian country, with this "advanced" referring primarily to the position of women in society and the education system.

The inclusion of women in social life, schooling of girls is emphasized as a major success of intervention by foreign forces, as if this never existed before in a country that gave a birth to the Prince of Physicians Ibn Sina/Avicenna  reminds us notable Afghan scholar, prof. Djawed Sangdel. And indeed, it seems as if those forces that have emerged under American greatcoats did not destroyed such Afghanistan. Today, the country is literally devastated by twenty years of war, and the only result of those twenty years, the only thing that has progressed, is the cultivation of poppies, that is, the smuggling of opium.

This author remembers well the conversation of the then Croatian president, Stjepan Mesic with his Afghan counterpart Karzai in which Karzai complained that the Americans are putting him under pressure to destroy poppies farms, arguing that he neither can nor will do this, because in this case half of the country would starve, being stripped of this source of income.

And one more question arises, when we try to analyze the implications of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. The intervention in this country which took place soon after the famous attacks on the New York twins was conceived as intervention of the Atlantic Pact. And nominally it was. But if one views things, as they really are, it must be admitted that NATO (in this case too) acted as an extended arm of US policy; just as now, as soon as the United States announced its decision to withdraw its troops, and NATO hastily brought the decision to withdraw troops from their member countries too. Pointing up this fact, and it is a fact, that cannot be blurred by any rhetorical figure, we want to say that the member states of NATO, should wisely think twice (at least now, if they have not done this so far), what is the purpose of NATO, precisely what is the purpose of NATO, if it is acting as Washingtons puppet on the string.

We have also in mind the "enthusiastic" sending of troops to the border with Russia, in order to prepare Europe for defense against "Russian aggression". To whom and what goal serves such a NATO, to whom and to what goal does serve the policy of violent overthrow and / or establishment of regimes in other countries, to whom and to what goal does serve the policy of imposing certain social (and economic) framework to countries that want to go their own way, to whom and to what goal does serve the continuation of the anti-Russian hysteria, especially after Biden - Putin summit, which was supposed to open, or at least ajar new chapter in relations between the two countries?

As for Afghanistan - to come back to the beginning of the story - Biden's statement that it is not necessarily inevitable" that Afghanistan will be conquered by the Taliban after the US (NATO) withdrawal, it is simply hypocritical. It won't be long before reality denies it. But. The US are not giving up their efforts to be present in Afghanistan in the future too. Washington tries to hire some allies in the region to take a role in attempt to keep the government in Kabul alive. The term "proxy wars" is nothing new!

To summarize: in Afghanistan, the world will follow a kind of reprise of what happened in Vietnam in the past, so the phrase "already seen" (deja vu) makes a lot of sense. And secondly, no less important, the United States loses its credibility with such moves, in other words, those who are American allies should consider the price of such a partnership, that is, how much it pays off. And if it pays off at all.

Author is one of the most influential Yugoslav and Croatian journalists, who is covering the international relations for over 50 years and who served as Foreign policy Advisor to Croatian President Stjepan Mesic (2000.  2010.).
Before Betty Thompson became involved in city and state government, she was a civil rights activist, fighting for jobs for Black people at places like Jefferson Bank. She marched for fair housing beyond public housing and led rent strikes.
I would rather do more inspections if it gives us results wed like to get  that is to insure fewer properties and only take the ones required by law, Beruff said. Later, he said he wanted to give Citizens ammunition to get us out of hundreds of thousands of policies.
Boba tea, also known as bubble tea or pearl milk tea, is named after the signature chewy balls of tapioca that bob near the bottom of the cup. The sugary drink originated in Taiwan, where boba is as ubiquitous as coffee in the United States. In South Florida, bubble tea is gaining fame as a refreshing and playful shaken beverage that fans can customize to their tastes.
This is not a time to be sitting on our hands and saying unless it happened in Surfside Trantalis said after the boards meeting. It makes no sense to just rely on one cause that may have caused the Champlain to collapse, there could be other types of causes that may threaten these buildings, especially the older ones.
Scott attempted to contact the victim using various accounts. She would block the accounts, but the same request would appear from a different account, deputies said. At one point, the victim said Scott accessed her Snapchat account and changed her password, although she was able to regain control of the account.
The defense has not disclosed a trial strategy. A conviction on at least one of the 17 first-degree murder counts would be required to impose the death penalty under the law. Even with the conviction, it takes only one juror to opt for a life sentence under current state law.
They see the international leaders come in and out, he continues. Theyre flying in and out, theyre on the plane to Haiti, nobody knows what theyre doing. They see the leadership, all they do is drive beautiful cars. ... They enjoy life in Haiti. They go to the beach, they have all the beautiful houses, they have funds. So what happens to the rest of the people living in poverty? Theyre discouraged. They have no hope.
According to FHP troopers, the man saw the car, but wasnt able to stop in time, and struck the back-end of the womans car. The force of the impact pushed both vehicles into the center lane.
One officer said she was receiving training from Hite when he touched the top of her breast on several occasions, despite requests for him to stop. She gave a sworn statement that Hite once touched her butt without permission and another time placed his hands on her inner thighs.
Inman and two dogs go into the building, but the small black dog is fighting Inman to stay outside near [the man] and the dog continues looking back at the man as Inman pulls it inside, according to the arrest report.
The demonstrations were extremely unusual on an island where little dissent against the government is tolerated. The last major public demonstration of discontent, over economic hardship, took place nearly 30 years in 1994. Last year, there were small demonstrations by artists and other groups, but nothing as big or widespread as what erupted this past weekend.
Doctors in COVID-19 wards often say they avoid confronting patients families who are mishandling oxygen tanks, for fear they will react violently, he said. But families say that they have legitimate fears about leaving the lives of their vulnerable loved ones up to medical staff that they regard as under-resourced, overburdened and disinterested.
What I think whats happening in Cuba is there are people that are rebelling against a communist dictatorship. They are not necessarily, we were talking about this, necessarily designed to be peaceful. They are trying to end the regime. And so that is fundamentally different from what we saw law summer, when people were burning down buildings. And it fortunately wasnt happening in Florida to any large extent  burning down buildings, looting, breaking windows, targeting law enforcement  and all those things, DeSantis said.
Forensic scientists are like artists, Perper told The Miami Herald in 1994 as he was preparing his move to Broward from the Allegheny County Coroners Office in Pittsburgh. An artist is painting an object or doing the sculpture and, at some time, its finished. You can continue forever to chisel another detail into it, another crease. But sometimes, you have to move to another challenge. For me, Broward is that challenge.
Among other things, there arent enough monitors for the 400,000 acres of cane. One had been out of use for eight years. In addition, regulators use a system that doesnt take into account short-term pollution from the burns  an average of 25 per day for four months.
Women did not always have the same opportunities we have today, and that becomes abundantly obvious when I assist women reaching retirement. When it comes to topics like estate planning, budgeting and managing income, many of these clients simply do not have the knowledge or experience to make informed decisions. There are many reasons why this situation is so pervasive. Perhaps they have always let their husband handle their finances, left the workforce many years ago, and/or were never interested in managing their own money until they were forced to do so.
Marbella is approaching the Covid-19 cumulative incidence rate limit imposed by the Junta de Andalucia to request the border closure of municipalities with more than five thousand inhabitants.

The Costa del Sol town has an incidence rate of 854 infections per 100,000 people in the last fourteen days, on the verge of the one thousand threshold established by the regional government to ask the judicial authorities to order that no one can enter or leave the municipality - except for justified reasons.

In Malaga province there are six other towns that exceed this rate (Istan with 2008 and Carratraca with 1,216) or are close (Ojen with 864; Montejaque with 843; Benaojan with 894 and Serrato with 829), but in these cases they do not exceed five thousand inhabitants.

The Junta does not apply the same measures in small towns as in large municipalities because, in the former, the incidence rate when measured per 100,000 inhabitants, can be triggered by a small outbreak, even if it is localised and controlled. For example, Montejaque has an incidence rate of almost 900 infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the last two weeks despite the fact that only eight positives have been diagnosed in this period of time.

In large cities, however, the judicial request is almost automatic. And that's where Marbella comes in being, at the moment, the only large town in the province with a rate higher than 800 infections.

During Spains state of alarm, the regions could decree the perimeter closure of the towns when they considered it appropriate. But when it ended in May, the regional governments lost the ability to make decisions. The most effective measures to control the pandemic, such as a curfew or lockdowns, have since depended on the judicial authorities.

The president of the Junta de Andalucia, Juanma Moreno, has reiterated on several occasions that he will request the perimeter closure of those municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants whose rate exceeds one thousand cases, although the request may not be instantaneous because the experts also evaluate other parameters such as the pressure on healthcare and the percentage of intensive care beds occupied by coronavirus patients.
Officers from Spain's National Police force have helped dismantle an alleged international criminal organisation, made up of French nationals of Northwest African origin, which was based, in part, in the Axarquia region.

During Operation Pinas, the police arrested a member of the network in the Malaga town of Almachar, where it is alleged the gang handled and stored consignments of hashish and marijuana bound for France.

During a search of one of the houses allegedly used as a drug storage place in Almachar, officers found a 4.35 metre wingspan drone that was used for the transport of hashish and marijuana between Morocco and Spain, according to the National Police. In the same property, numerous tools used to handle, prepare and ship narcotic drugs and various computer equipment were also seized.

The person was taken into custody in Almachar under a European arrest warrant and three other people were detained in France.
The number of coronavirus infections continues to rise in Spain - especially among the youngest, unvaccinated age groups although, fortunately for now, its real impact is nothing like that of previous waves.

On Monday, 12 July, the countrys cumulated incidence rate stood at 368 infections per 100,000 inhabitants but it is expected that it will soon exceed 400.

For now, these infections are not directly translating into a collapse of the hospital system or a significant increase in deaths, since young people have the disease with less virulence and there is already a large sector of the older population vaccinated.

But the big question is whether this trend is going to continue like this.

The director of Spains Centre for the Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies (CCAES), Fernando Simon, has predicted that the incidence of Covid-19 cases at 14 days per 100,000 inhabitants will exceed 400 "in a couple of days", although he also believes that Spain could soon be entering a "progressive stabilisation phase" as infections are increasing at a slower rate.

The problem continues to be the unvaccinated, according to Simon, with an incidence rate "up to 20 times more than the vaccinated." Will these cases end up in hospitals?

Simon warns that the increase in infections "is gradually being noticed in the levels of hospital occupancy." He insistED that, for now, it is very likely that they will not reach the levels of previous waves, "but there may be a significant impact and therefore there may be some units with excessive pressure again."

The Ministry of Health expert added that the increase in infections is already having an impact on the healthcare system, even if there are not more people in hospital. "The primary care and public health services, are those that are currently experiencing this pressure in the face of this number of cases of infections among young people, as they are responsible for contact tracing.
What's Included

With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 712-243-2624 or email circ@ant-news.com.
Texas A&M's Education Abroad program gives students the opportunity to travel and explore new places particularly as COVID-19 cases begin to decline.
LGBTQIA+ history is on display in a new exhibit that is available throughout the College Station and Houston areas, with an additional opportunity to view the exhibit through the Cushing Memorial Library and Archives beginning on July 12.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
if the people of Biafra want Republic of Biafra, it will be a reality during my administration. ----Donald Trump Donald Trump I wi...
 Unlimited website access 24/7

 Unlimited e-Edition access 24/7

 The best local, regional and national news in sports, politics, business and more!

With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime.
If you already subscribe to our print edition, sign up for FREE access to our online edition. Thanks for reading The Henderson News.
MANZINI  Despite the ban on the delivery of petitions, political parties have vowed to peacefully ground Manzini this coming Friday.

This is according to the President of the Peoples United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), Mlungisi Makhanya, who spoke on behalf of the Political Party Assembly (PPA). Makhanya said the PPA would have a four-week mass rolling action which shall consist of a massive peaceful march in the hub of the country  Manzini  on Friday. Leading to this march, the PUDEMO president said there would be decentralised activities throughout the week, whose itinerary would be released by the PPA today.

This follows that the political parties leaders could not meet yesterday to formulate their programme due to certain logistics. Furthermore, Makhanya, in an interview with South African 24-hour news channel  eNCA  said they were convinced as the PPA that their struggle was getting headway. He emphasised that they would be filling the streets in a build-up for Friday in what he termed the mother of all marches as they were resolute in intensifying their call for democracy.

Swipe

Also, Makhanya took a swipe at people he described as arm chair critics as he emphasised that it was simple for those watching from afar to be critical of the civil society groups as they lacked the facts. He said they were privileged to interact with people, most recently being families of those who were injured and died during the pro-democracy protests a fortnight ago. The pro-democracy protests which had started peacefully as protesters delivered petitions to their constituency centres, took a turn for the worst when violence, looting and torching of businesses and structures happened. The violence started at Siphofaneni Constituency when protesters were denied an opportunity to present their petition to the Member of Parliament (MP), Mduduzi Simelane. This soon spiralled countrywide as it climaxed on June 28, 2021, when supermarkets were looted, vandalised and torched, resulting in the army being deployed to beef up security in the country.

During these protests, many people were allegedly shot by security personnel and government, who first denied any casualties, later confirming 27 while pro-democracy activists have been claiming that over 60 people died and many sustained injuries due to being shot with live rounds. Meanwhile, Makhanya said the violence had not stopped as a mourner was supposedly run over by a vehicle filled with security personnel. Therefore, the PUDEMO president said it was apparent that people were being forced to be scared. On the other hand, he said there was immense support for pro-democracy advocates in their quest to pursue the ideal of a democratic society. He said a number of organisations in the region, inclusive of South African political parties, were in solidarity with the people of Eswatini.
MANZINI  There is a COVID-19 scare at Matsapha Police Station as about four suspected looters have tested positive for the virus.

According to an impeccable source, the suspected looters were arrested in Matsapha last weekend and one of them fell sick while locked up at the jam-packed Matsapha Police Station cells. Thereafter, the source said the suspect was taken to hospital where he was tested for COVID-19 as the medical practitioners saw COVID-19 symptoms. He said the test results reflected that he had contracted the virus. After that, the source said contact tracing was conducted and more suspected looters who were locked up at the Matsapha Police Station were tested for COVID-19 and three more tested positive.

Transported

Later on the day (Sunday), the source said the police from Matsapha Police Station transported the suspects who had tested positive for COVID-19 to Manzini Remand Centre (Zakhele), but they were turned back. As a result, the source said the suspected looters were locked up in the jam-packed police cells. He said this raised concerns with the other suspects and the police themselves as they were at risk of contracting the virus. After testing positive for COVID-19, they spent two days (Sunday and yesterday) in the packed police cells and they might see the prosecution today, the source said. The source added that the fears were that this might result in a superspreader as the police cells were full. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said procedurally, His Majestys Correctional Services (HMCS) facilities did not accept a patient without a doctors report. She said it was on that regard that the suspects in question were turned back.

They are still at Matsapha Police Station and they might go to court or see the prosecution tomorrow (today), the police mouthpiece said. It is worth noting that according to reports from the Ministry of Health, the country has been hit by the third wave of COVID-19 as the number of new cases has been increasing drastically these days. By end of business on Sunday, the country had recorded a total of 19 918 cases of COVID-19 and this was after 48 people tested positive for the virus on the day (Sunday).

On that day, there were five deaths, which took the total number to 692.
MANZINI - A car which was travelling the late Thabani Nkomonyes mother was shot, allegedly by the police.

The incident allegedly took place on Sunday evening around 8pm at Ngwane Park. The mother of Thabani, Siphiwe Mkhabela was travelling with a 34-year-old man, who was driving, when the incident happened. According to an impeccable source, the car was supposedly shot once while at Ngwane Park, but luckily, no one was injured. The source claimed that the police who are purported to have shot the car, were part of a team which was deployed to patrol around Manzini and surrounding areas, including Ngwane Park. He said after the incident, the duo went home and yesterday morning, they went to the Manzini Police Station, where they reported the matter and opened a case against the police. After reporting the matter, the source claimed that the police promised the complainant that they would investigate it and give a report.

Deployed

He alleged that the police said their investigation would start with getting the list of the officers who were deployed to patrol around the area on the day in question and they would then find out how the shooting incident took place. When reached for comment, Mkhabela said she could only confirm that the car she was travelling in on Sunday night was shot, allegedly by the police. She asked not to comment about the incident until she received a report from the police, who promised her that they would investigate and revert to her. On the other hand, Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said there were over 20 vehicles that were found at Ngwane Park. She said the cars were found there after 8pm and the people were ordered to disperse, but they did not comply. She said when the police emphasised to the people to disperse, they did not and other means were used. However, Vilakati said a complaint was reported with the police that a vehicle was shot while at Ngwane Park on Sunday.

Investigate

We are still trying to investigate on what happened and how was the car shot, she said. Worth noting is that as a stringent way to restrict the spread of COVID-19, government set an 11-hour curfew, between 6pm-5am. During this period, the public is encouraged to be at home. Thabani is the 25-year-old University of Eswatini Law student who went missing on the night of Saturday May 8, 2021 after the car, a Mazda II Demio, which he was driving, was said to have been involved in a road traffic accident at Nhlambeni, along the Mhlaleni/Nhlangano Public Road. After the accident, his body was not located. It was eventually discovered five days later, on May 13, 2021 and it was about 20 metres from where the car was found. It is worth mentioning that Thabanis mother is one of the key witnesses in the ongoing inquest into his death.
dnata, a leading global air and travel services provider, has announced the appointment of Musdalifa Abdullah as the companys Managing Director for Singapore.



In his role, Musdalifa will oversee dnatas ground handling, cargo and catering operations at Changi Airport in Singapore. He will manage a team of 1,800 employees, ensuring world-class services and safety for over 40 airline customers.



Stewart Angus, dnatas Divisional Senior Vice President for Airport Operations, said: Im pleased to announce that Musdalifa will lead our Singapore team. Im confident that our partners and colleagues will all benefit from Musdalifas customer-oriented approach and extensive experience in the aviation industry. Our Singapore business will be in good hands.



A Singapore national, Musdalifa joined dnata in 2017. As Chief Financial Officer for dnatas Asia Pacific Region, he has played an important role in the transformation and innovative development of dnata Singapore in the last few years. Before joining dnata, Musdalifa held several senior positions within the aviation industry in Singapore and the UAE. Musdalifas appointment is effective immediately.



A trusted partner of over 300 airline customers, dnata operates at 129 airports globally. In the Asia Pacific region dnata provides quality and safe ground handling, cargo and catering services to more than 80 airlines at 14 airports in four countries, including Australia, Singapore, Indonesia and The Philippines.  TradeArabia News Service
Spains Ampo Poyam Valves today (July 13) announced the launch of its new valves manufacturing and servicing plant in Dammam Second Industrial City, Saudi Arabia in partnership with the kingdoms Dar Massader Group.

The two companies have partnered to form a joint local subsidiary known as Ampo Arabia, the company said in a statement.

Ampo Arabia, an extension of the main valve manufacturing plant in Spain, will follow similar structure, technical and operational capabilities, as well as rotating key staff to ensure consistency and product quality. In addition, the local facility will positively impact local delivery lead times and after-sale services to meet demands of current and future projects, the statement added.

Commenting on the partnership and launch, Salah Elkadiki, General Manager Ampo Arabia, said: Fast, reliable and top-quality service at a global scale is one of Ampo Poyam Valves main success factors, and that is why it is considered as a world leader in highly engineered valves for the most severe applications and industries. By aiming to become a strategic partner and share the Kingdom of Saudi Arabias Vision 2030, we have decided to align our future to become part of the local industrial cluster. In addition, we aim to improve our services for customers in the Kingdom and the neighbouring countries as we see that through our Ampo Arabia, and the new plant.

He added: Our local plant will also create quality job opportunities for Saudi nationals through our extensive training and development programs. Ampo Arabias facility will commence manufacturing as early as the first quarter of 2022.

Dar Massader will play a crucial role in assisting Ampo Arabias Saudi Arabia and regional expansion as it will provide market analysis and utilize its network to support local sales. Dar Massader will also liaise with local regulators, provide HR staffing and utilize its vast experience for on-ground project executions.

Noting on part of Dar Massader Yazeed Alzoom, Board Director and Deputy CEO, said: Dar Massaders role shall primarily emphasize on realizing the Saudi Vision 2030 by expanding national industry capacity, transferring global top-tier technology and know-how to the Saudi market and arming local manpower with competitive industrial positions that can add exponentially to the Kingdoms national economy. 

Alex Eizmendi, Ampo Poyam Valves Strategy Director noted that: Our unique partnership with Dar Massader reflects our faith in the Saudi local industrial infrastructure as well as the vast domestic and regional marketplace, believing that the new venture shall stand as an addition to both of us as well as the Saudi industrial cluster as a whole. We have opted to localize highly engineering valve products that are needed by the local and the GCC industrial sectors. We presume that our new AMPO Arabia is just a start that might be followed by further business opportunities that can add higher value to the Saudi thriving economy.

Ampo Poyam Valves has been in Saudi Arabia since 1998 and during all those years it has supplied more than 20,000 valves for strategic projects such as Marjan Field Expansion, Berri Field Development, South Berri Water Injection Plant, Upgrade Water Disposal Facilities at Qatif and Abqaiq Water Injection Project, amongst others. From now on, however, valves will be manufactured and locally supplied from Ampo Arabia.

Ampo Arabias local plant shall design and manufacture highly engineered valves, in addition to providing best-in-class services and technologies for the local and regional industry covering applications in the oil, gas, petrochemicals, chemical, water, mining and power sectors.

The new 5,000 sq m plant includes valve assembly, testing, painting, and servicing facilities. AmpoArabia will then manufacture a range of highly engineered and custom gate, globe, check and ball valves, and has the ability to contribute to its global manufacturing capacity.

Ampo Poyam Valves is well known for having the most reliable and safest valves in the market, and is backed by 57 years of experience, technology, know-how, references, operating time of the valves and a fully in-house manufacturing process that starts from its own foundry.

Moreover, Ampo Poyam Valves also has one of the widest ranges of valves in the market, offering ball, gate, globe, check, lift plug, switch, slurry angle and butterfly valves, together with Integrated Smart Solutions. The extensive range of solutions offer the highest level of reliability hand in hand with minimum operating and maintenance costs for the most critical applications.

The Ampo Service team guarantees prompt response to customer needs wherever they are globally; including technical support in start-up stages, commissioning, engineered solutions, equipment selection, preventive, and predictive maintenance, troubleshooting and training.TradeArabia News Service
Hardees and Initiative Media partnered with Snapchat to elevate its brand image and to connect with consumers by building on its Go All In campaign.

Through this collaboration with Snapchat, Hardees leveraged a dual-format approach using augmented reality (AR) Snapchat Lens and commercials to generate awareness and excitement around the brands limited-edition burgers launched for the Godzilla vs. Kong blockbuster in collaboration with Warner Bros.

Launched regionally, the results were outstanding with the lens delivering more than 15 million impressions with an average playtime of 15s vs 10s for the QSR industry.

UAE and Qatar witnessed a stellar playtime of 35s and 24s respectively. Commercials on the other hand delivered more than 2.9 million impressions with an eCPV of 0.005 vs 0.01$ benchmark and a completion rate of 90%. The campaign delivered +6 points brand lift which is double the norm for Mena and +14 purchase lift within the 18-20 age group.

Vishal Badiani, Creative Strategy Lead for Mena at Snapchat: Snapchat offers formats that really do make the most of the mobile screen - from passive formats like full-screen, sound-on video ads in our brand safe content environment, through to completely immersive and interactive AR Lenses in our camera. You can see with this campaign just how effective and impactful it can be for brands that use both.

Anupama Jangid, Lead Digital & Media, Hardees, said: "Partnering with Snapchat has given us the opportunity to reach our new and existing audiences in an entertaining and engaging way. The campaigns performance and the impact it has had on our brand image is remarkable. It has been a pleasure working with the Snapchat team and we look forward to working with them again in the future. -- TradeArabia News Service
Centara Hotels & Resorts, a leading hotel operator in Thailand, has announced the much-anticipated opening date of Centara Reserve Samui in August 2021.



Centara Reserve is Centaras sixth brand, complementing the groups five other industry-leading labels including Centara Grand, Centara, Centara Boutique Collection, Centra by Centara and COSI.



Marking the start of a new era of experiential luxury hospitality, Centara Reserve offers personalised travel experiences for individuals seeking a meaningful escape with experiences crafted with a personal touch. Each Reserve property is set in a uniquely curated destination, inviting guests to explore a world reserved for them.



Set at the tranquil end of Chaweng Beach, Centara Reserves flagship resort on Samui will comprise 184 brand-new luxury rooms, pool suites and beachfront pool villas. Guests can enjoy five unique dining experiences and the worlds first Reserve Spa Cenvaree, as well as a state-of-the-art fitness centre, yoga pavilion, childrens zone, and diverse event spaces.



Travellers are invited to be among the first to experience the curated spaces and unique services at Centara Reserve Samui, the first resort in Centaras new collection of luxury hotels and resorts.



From a short Samui sojourn to an extended escape, and for those who enjoy the good life, to those who enjoy the suite life, a trio of experiences have been wonderfully crafted for guests. Choose from a selection of introductory offers to complement your travel lifestyle from THB5,900++ ($180++) per night inclusive of breakfast, complimentary room upgrade and much more.  TradeArabia News Service
The Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan hosted an international media forum titled Regional Dialogue with Participation of Political Scientists and Reporters. Representatives of the Turkmen and foreign mass media as well as academic staff and students of Ashgabats higher education establishments participated in the forum both online and in-person.

The media forum participants discussed prospects for the further strengthening of international cooperation, including between the mass media of different countries. The leaders and representatives of Mir TV and Radio Company, the Russian international network of information agencies Russia Today, the TV and radio company of Uzbekistan, the agency for press and mass communications Tatmedia of the Republic of Tatarstan, the State TV and Radio Company of Belarus, the TV and radio broadcasting of the Republic of Korea spoke about their approaches to solving problems in the sphere of mass media.

The speakers highly appreciated the level of partnership between states in the information space. In particular, it was emphasized that Turkmenistan established a regular exchange of news reports and analytical materials with foreign media on the political, economic, social and cultural life of the countries of the region and the world in accordance with its neutral foreign policy.

 TURKMENISTAN.RU, 2021
Kabul, Jul 13 (UNI/Xinhua) A total of 29 militants have been confirmed dead as fighting planes struck Taliban fighters' gathering in Tepa area of Afghanistan's northern Jawzjan province on Monday, the Defense Ministry said in a statement released on Tuesday.



Three key Taliban commanders were among those killed in the air raids along the road linking Jawzjan to the neighboring Sari Pul province, the statement said.



A large quantity of arms and ammunitions of the militants were also destroyed in the airstrikes, the statement added.



Taliban militants have yet to comment on the incident. The militant group has overrun more than a dozen districts in Jawzjan and the neighboring Faryab, Balkh and Sari Pul provinces over the past two months.

UNI/XINHUA ACL1314


Kathmandu, July 13(UNI)

Sher Bahadur Deuba was sworn-in as the new Prime Minister of Nepal on Tuesday.

Deuba was administered

the oath of office by President Bidya Devi Bhandari administered at a ceremony at the latter's official residence, Sheetal Niwas this evening.

Earlier today the President's office had issued a notice stating that Deuba has been appointed the PM as per the Supreme Court's Monday verdict.

However, to the surprise of many the notice did not reveal the Article under which the appointment was being made.

The Supreme Court in it's order had specified that Deuba would be made the PM in accordance with Article 76 (5) of the Constitution.

Deuba had made it clear to the President that he will not take the oath unless the notice is rectified and the article specified.

Bhandari agreed to Deuba's terms and appointed him pursuant to the aforementioned article.

Deuba, who has earlier served four terms as Nepal's PM will now have to gain the trust of House of Representatives within 30 days, as provisioned by the Constitution.

UNI XC RKM
EDII to set up an entrepreneurship development center in Bhutan

Kolkata, Jul 13 (UNI) Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) will be setting up an Entrepreneurship Development center in Bhutan.

The proposed Center will be the 6th overseas entrepreneurship development center, established by EDII with the support of Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India, dedicated to promoting and nurturing entrepreneurship. The other countries that have seen such Centres with EDIIs efforts are Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Uzbekistan. As a precursor to the establishment of the Center, EDII has organised a two-day virtual policy makers workshop to gain insights on Bhutans entrepreneurial calibre and needs.


UW Proposes Transformation in Light of Budget Reductions, Changing Needs

Aiming to better serve Wyoming, adjust to economic shifts and respond to a changing higher-education landscape, the University of Wyoming is pursuing a transformation of its academic programs to propel new and ongoing initiatives and to deal with budget cuts.

A proposal from the administration of UW President Ed Seidel to the universitys Board of Trustees, announced today (Tuesday), would reconfigure UWs colleges; discontinue or reorganize some academic programs; build on UWs existing Tier-1 Engineering, Science and Trustees Education initiatives; advance the new Wyoming Innovation Partnership; and launch a School of Computing, a Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and a Wyoming Outdoor Recreation, Tourism and Hospitality Initiative.

The world, Wyoming and higher education are in the midst of major changes; UW must respond. In order to better serve our students and our state amid a significant decline in state funding, we must restructure to put UW on a sustainable path for the future, Seidel says. The goals of this plan are to enhance the student experience and train them for success; become a better engine for innovation and economic development; and develop new revenue streams.

The plan, which will be presented in detail to the UW Board of Trustees during its meeting in Torrington this week, consists of these primary components:

Reconfiguration -- Reorganize UWs academic colleges to create larger, more stable departments with common disciplinary interests while reducing redundancies.

Specifically, the plan calls for changing the College of Engineering and Applied Science to the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences. Currently in the College of Arts and Sciences, these departments -- Chemistry, Geology and Geophysics, Mathematics and Statistics, and Physics and Astronomy -- would move to the newly named College of Engineering and Physical Sciences and become part of new academic units there.

Meanwhile, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources would become the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Moving to that college from the College of Arts and Sciences would be the departments of Botany, and Zoology and Physiology, as well as the Life Sciences Program.

The College of Arts and Sciences would become the College of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts -- bringing UW in line with the way many universities organize those disciplines.

These reorganizations would expand and enhance two very important colleges central to our land-grant mission, focused on agriculture and engineering, better positioning the university to advance the Tier-1 Engineering and Science initiatives, and making its research programs more competitive in the federal science and technology ecosystem. They would provide additional critical mass, create new synergies and bring new opportunities for faculty members and students in all of the academic units housed in these colleges, Seidel says. At the same time, we would still have a very robust college focused on the arts, humanities and social sciences, which also are part of the land-grant charge -- and are at the core of a strong university education.

New and ongoing initiatives -- The university also will propose new initiatives to advance its offerings in computing and digital literacy, needed for all students and all disciplines of study, such as precision agriculture, and central to supporting economic growth in Wyoming.

It will propose to launch a new School of Computing, as well as a campuswide Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) and the Wyoming Outdoor Recreation, Tourism and Hospitality (WORTH) Initiative. These three linked initiatives are aimed squarely at training students in areas important for advancing key markets for the future economy of Wyoming, while propelling the new Wyoming Innovation Partnership.

The Wyoming Innovation Partnership (WIP) -- formerly the Wyoming Innovation Network -- is a new collaboration with the states seven community colleges endorsed by Gov. Mark Gordon to develop innovative solutions that will support and enhance Wyomings economy and workforce. It includes an emphasis on focusing workforce development on high-potential areas; supporting and training entrepreneurs and new business startups; a research and market analysis agenda aimed at technology transfer and commercialization; and developing outside revenue sources such as corporate partnerships to provide new opportunities for students.

WIP is about aligning all of higher education to work together on both training students, giving them skills to succeed in the new economy and creating jobs -- attracting companies and building the economy so students can stay in Wyoming, says Seidel, who notes that WIP is pursuing funding from the American Rescue Plan Act and other potential federal sources. We have an opportunity to truly move the needle for Wyomings economy as we collaborate with the community colleges, private and federal partners, and others.

The proposed School of Computing is envisioned to be a statewide asset led by the university with statewide and national impacts and global reach. It would provide the organizational infrastructure and emphasis to accelerate the growth and impact of computing, artificial intelligence and data science at UW across research, teaching, entrepreneurship and engagement. The school would collaborate with all academic departments and UW Libraries, student success programs and discovery programs.

The CEI would serve as the hub for entrepreneurship education and practice, supporting the teaching of entrepreneurial skills across all disciplines; providing experiential programs for students; and engaging in statewide outreach. WORTH would serve the states second-largest economic sector by providing real-world experiences for students; courses, training and certificates via distance technologies to working professionals; outreach services such as market analyses and business incubation; and applied research in collaboration with industry.

Program elimination or consolidation -- Move, combine or eliminate a number of departments and programs, most with relatively small enrollments.

The proposed program reconfigurations and consolidations would increase critical mass of faculty and students into a smaller number of departments; reduce administrative overhead; better serve students; and organize better for research competitiveness and corporate partnerships. Certain programs with low enrollment would be eliminated.

The proposed changes would reduce expenditures by more than $13 million annually, as the university seeks to address budget cuts and restructure to better support its students and the state economy, and to grow new revenue streams. The restructuring and budget reduction would lead to the elimination of as many as 75 faculty and staff positions at the university, including up to 10 department heads. Programs that are not discontinued or reorganized, including UW-Casper, would receive a 3 percent budget reduction.

The proposed changes to academic programs have been informed by an in-depth review considering enrollment and graduation numbers; scholarly output; external grant funding; constitutional and statutory requirements; private support; and relevance to the states economy and goals. Students currently enrolled in programs eyed for discontinuation would be able to complete their degrees.

In the newly named College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, the departments of Computer Science, and Electrical and Computer Engineering would be discontinued, but those degrees would continue to be offered under new academic units. Likewise, the Department of Chemical Engineering would be discontinued, but its degrees would be maintained under a reorganized unit that includes the current Department of Chemistry. From the current College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Geology and Geophysics would be reduced in size, and it would join the Department of Petroleum Engineering in a new unit to include geological sciences and preserve geological, geophysics and geosciences degrees.

From the current College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics would be consolidated with the Department of Economics in the College of Business; the program in agricultural communications would move to the Department of Communication and Journalism; and the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences would be reduced, with the nutrition program moving to the College of Health Sciences, and the Early Care and Education Center moving to the College of Education.

In the current College of Arts and Sciences -- to become the College of Social Sciences, Humanities and Art -- the Creative Writing Program would be consolidated into the Department of English; the Department of Visual and Literary Arts would be renamed to the Department of Visual and Performing Arts and add the departments of Music, and Theatre and Dance. The Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies would be reduced. And the American Studies Program would move into the School of Gender, Culture and Social Justice, with a number of low-enrollment degree programs in that school combined into a single degree with various concentrations.

The School of Counseling, Leadership and Design would be discontinued in the College of Education, and the college would be reorganized.

A number of low-enrollment degree programs have been identified for discontinuation as well.

Academic program reorganizations, consolidations, reductions and discontinuances are governed by UW Regulation 2-13, which requires a period of review to seek feedback from stakeholders including the Faculty Senate, the Staff Senate, the Associated Students of UW and other interested parties. This process is scheduled to be initiated this month by Provost and Executive Vice President Kevin Carman, with the planned deadline for feedback Oct. 1. Under that timeline, the finalized academic reductions are slated to be presented to the trustees in November. More information can be found at www.uwyo.edu/acadaffairs/program-review/current/index.html.

It is never easy to restructure or eliminate academic programs and positions. The faculty positions being considered for elimination are filled by real people who work hard for this university, and the magnitude of what we are proposing is, as far as we can tell, unprecedented in the universitys modern history, Carman says. But, the situation we face as a university, with a 25 percent drop in state funding in recent years and a need to respond to changing times, necessitates a reconsideration of the way were structured and what we offer. Our proposal will now go through the collaborative review process directed by university regulation, and we will consider all input in an effort to assure the best possible outcomes.

Carman notes that specific reductions to programs focused on statewide outreach, such as UW Extension and the university agricultural research and extension centers, are not part of the proposal.

The university absorbed a $42.3 million reduction in the current biennium, accomplished by eliminating about 80 unfilled positions; centralizing budget, facility and operational activities; a utility cost savings initiative; one-time use of reserves; and other efficiencies.

In addition to the changes noted above, the university is considering an across-the-board reduction for academic programs and administrative offices; cost-saving measures related to end-of-appointment sick leave; reduction of sick-leave accruals; centralizing administrative functions; and restructuring debt. UW also is seeking approval to increase parking fees.

We are committed to making UW a best-in-class, 21st century land-grant university true to its Wyoming roots, and that means taking bold steps even during a time of financial distress, Seidel says. We look forward to our discussions with the Board of Trustees and our many constituents to refine our plans to serve the best interests of our students and the people of Wyoming.

More details of the administrations proposal are available in the materials prepared for the Board of Trustees July 13-16 meeting, which may be found at www.uwyo.edu/trustees/2021-meeting-materials/july_13-16_2021_meeting.html.
You have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close


remaining of

Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading.
DOYLINE, La.  Funeral services are expected to be finalized Sunday for a Webster Parish law enforcement officer who died in the line of duty Friday night.

Sheriff Jason Parker said he is assisting the family of Deputy William Earl Collins Jr., also known as Billy, as they make the arrangements.

Parker had to make an announcement Friday night that no sheriff wants to make  and thats to acknowledge the death of one of his own men while on the job. Residents in the village of Doyline are also grieving the loss.

The community of Doyline grieves the senseless death of one of our own, Officer Billy Collins. He was killed tonight in the line of duty while responding to a call for service. We are heartbroken for his family, friends and fellow officers. I ask that you join us in lifting up Billys family, his Doyline Police Department family and his Webster Parish Sheriffs Office family in your prayers, states a post on the Village of Doyline Facebook page.

RELATED REPORT: Webster deputy killed while working for Doyline PD; suspect in custody

Condolences also have been shared by other area law enforcement agencies, and by hundreds of northwest Louisiana residents whove joined in mourning the loss of a public servant.

Collins wore a sheriffs badge during the day as a supervisor at Bayou Dorcheat Correctional Center. But on his off time, he also patrolled the streets of his hometown of Doyline as a part-time officer. He was serving in his capacity as a Doyline officer Friday just before 6 p.m. when he two fellow sheriffs deputies responded to a disturbance at a house on Green Tree Street.

Collins arrived ahead of the deputies, and all took on gunfire from a man inside the house. The officers returned fire.

Collins was shot in the head. He was flown to Ochsner LSU Health Hospital in Shreveport, where he died at 7:43 p.m., Parker said.

As many as 200 law enforcement officers from multiple surrounding agencies converged on the small municipality to secure the scene. Negotiators tried unsuccessfully for over four hours to contact the alleged shooter, whom KTBS has confirmed is Mahlon Taylor.

Just before 11 p.m., entry was made into the home, where officers found Taylor with a gunshot wound. Life-saving measures were started, and he was taken by helicopter to Ochsner LSU Health, where he was last listed in critical condition, according to a hospital spokesman.

State police detectives will lead the investigation. Charges are pending against Taylor.

Other law enforcement losses

Collins is the fourth area law enforcement officer to die in violent encounters while on the job since 2015.

The others are:
Man Sentenced on Sex Abuse Charges

By West Kentucky Star Staff

PADUCAH - A man who plead guilty to multiple charges involving sexual abuse of a minor has been sentenced.The McCracken County Circuit Clerk's office says 20-year-old Joseph Newcomb was sentenced to nine years in prison by Judge Tony Kitchen.Newcomb plead guilty May 14 to 2nd degree sexual abuse, promoting a minor in a sexual performance, use of electronics to procure a minor for sex, 2nd degree sodomy, and possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Charges were dismissed for unlawful transaction with a minor and tampering with evidence.The charges stem from his arrest last September after police reportedly found him smoking marijuana in a car with a 12-year-old girl. Officers said Newcomb exchanged marijuana for sexual contact with the girl, whom he initially claimed was his cousin.
McCracken Co. Now 2nd Amendment Sanctuary

By West Kentucky Star Staff

MCCRACKEN COUNTY - The McCracken County Fiscal Court voted during its regular meeting Monday to make McCracken County a 2nd Amendment sanctuary county.Part of the resolution read, "the McCracken County Fiscal Court wishes to express its intent to stand as a sanctuary county for 2nd Amendment rights and to opposes within the limits of the constitution of the United States and the commonwealth of Kentucky any efforts to unconstitutionally restrict such rights."The resolution went on to state the purpose was to "preserve" for the people of McCracken County their rights guaranteed by the constitution and that opposition had to be within the bounds of the constitution.Commissioner Jeff Parker, who submitted the resolution, said it was a copy of what came from Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron's office.McCracken County Judge Executive Craig Clymer said he previously opposed a similar resolution because he felt it was unnecessary, considering those rights are protected by the US Constitution."I was the one that voiced opposition to the resolution last time, not because of the substance of it, it was more philosophical opposition," Clymer said. "Because the United States Constitution, the supreme law of the land, that it's superfluous and unnecessary for a county government to adopt or validate or enforce or state that we are going to follow what we have to follow."Clymer also said that he doesn't opposes the measure if the commissioners feel strongly it needed to be done. He said he believes in the right to bear arms and exercises his right to do so frequently.Commissioner Bill Bartleman pointed out that the resolution does not instruct law enforcement to not enforce any federal law, but expresses the court's opposition to any restrictions. Bartleman said only three counties in the state have not adopted some sort of resolution like this, with McCracken being one of them.In the end the resolution passed with all commissioners voting in favor. Clymer abstained from the vote.
Motions Heard in Two Men's Court Cases

By West Kentucky Star Staff

PADUCAH - Motions were introduced in court Friday related to separate cases.A court clerk says a motion was made to split charges against Demario Daniels. He was arrested March 19 after a McCracken Sheriff's drug detective met a man who had allegedly agreed to sell methamphetamine. Daniels was a passenger in the vehicle and fled on foot. He faces charges of fleeing or evading police second degree, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct second degree, wanton endangerment second degree, identity theft, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, and was wanted on multiple warrants, including escape second degree.A hearing on the motion is scheduled for July 30.An attorney for 28-year-old Bradley Vallely moved to reduce his bond, and a hearing has been scheduled for July 29. Vallely faces charges of first-degree wanton endangerment, possession of methamphetamine, possession of ecstasy, possession of marijuana, possession of a hallucinogen, possession of a legend drug, and possession of drug paraphernalia.He was arrested May 14 after a man found a child on his Epperson Road property. McCracken Deputies found Vallely asleep in a nearby home, and he claimed the child's mother hadn't told him the child was there. A search of the home reportedly uncovered meth, ecstasy pills, marijuana, psychedelic mushrooms, other pills, and drug paraphernalia. The child's mother is also facing charges.
Murder Suspect's Arraignment Postponed

By West Kentucky Star Staff

PADUCAH - The first court appearance for a Murray man facing a murder charge was continued on Tuesday.Twenty-year-old Khalil A. Griffin was set to be arraigned in McCracken District Court, but it was continued to July 20, according a court clerk.Griffin turned himself in June 25 after a warrant was issued for his arrest on June 11.The murder charge stems from a shooting incident on June 10 at the intersection of Elmdale Road and Jameswood Drive that claimed the life of 28-year-old Thomas Willett.Another man, 25-year-old Justin C. Wells, of Lone Oak, was arrested shortly after the shooting and faces charges of complicity to murder and tampering with physical evidence.On the Net:
Police Locate Missing Paducah Man

By West Kentucky Star Staff

PADUCAH - Paducah Police are reporting that Williams was located and is in good health.The Paducah Police are seeking help in locating a missing person.Police said 33-year-old Antonio R. Williams was last seen at Baptist Health Paducah. He is 5'7 with black hair and brown eyes. Police say Williams is possibly driving a gray 2000 Chevrolet Tahoe with Illinois plates.Anyone with information is asked to contact the Paducah Police Department.
Fulton Principal Takes New Position

By West Kentucky Star Staff

FULTON - The Fulton Independent School System is now looking for a new principal.The opening comes after the Christian County Public School System announced the hiring of Fulton's Mancell Elam as the districts diversity administrator.Elam returns to Christian County where he taught for 11 years. He was also assistant principal at Hopkinsville High School in 2018.Elam is a Fulton County High School and Murray State graduate. Elams wife, Renisha, also works in the Christian County School System as an elementary school principal.
Lyon, Caldwell 641 Project Hearing Monday

By West Kentucky Star Staff

WESTERN KENTUCKY - Registration is still open to provide a final round of input in Monday's Zoom hearing about the US 641 project in Lyon and Caldwell counties.The online meeting on the project to realign 9 miles of the US 641 corridor as a four-lane highway will be held at 6 pm.During the meeting residents will get an update about the preferred route between Eddyville and Fredonia. They will then have an opportunity to provide comments and input for the official record.The route maximizes the use of land owned by other state agencies and has been adjusted slightly near the Fredonia Valley Quarry to utilize a section of old railroad bed.Once complete, the new roadway will link with another US 641 improvement project between Fredonia and Marion, which opened to traffic in 2018.Participants must register in advance at www.641connect.com. As of Monday, they had 49 people registered and had received written or verbal comments from several people in advance.On the Net:
Name of Driver Injured By Falling Tree Released

By West Kentucky Star Staff

TRIGG COUNTY - The Trigg County Sheriff's Office has released the name of a woman that was severely injured Sunday morning after a tree fell on her vehicle on P Pool Road in Trigg County.Deputies told WKDZ the driver, 31-year-old Melissa Wyatt, was driving on P Pool Road shortly before noon when the tree hit her car, trapping her and her passenger inside.Trigg County rescue was able to free the pair after a local resident used his tractor to help remove the tree.Wyatt and her passenger, 48-year-old Adam Ingram, were taken taken to Trigg County Hospital for treatment.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-12 19:06:17|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Medical workers administer doses of COVID-19 vaccine to school teachers at the Army Hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 12, 2021. Sri Lankan authorities on Monday began administering the Sinopharm vaccines to teachers and school staff across the country, with an aim to re-open schools as soon as possible. (Photo by Ajith Perera/Xinhua)

COLOMBO, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan authorities on Monday began administering the Sinopharm vaccines to teachers and school staff across the country, with an aim to re-open schools as soon as possible.

Minister of Education G.L. Peiris, who attended one of the vaccination centers in Colombo, along with several other ministers and Army Commander Shavendra Silva, said they hoped to complete vaccinating teachers, principals, and non-academic employees within a week.

Accordingly, arrangements have been made to vaccinate all school employees of 10,155 schools in the country under this program, Peiris said.

The minister added that this program had been launched directly under the directives of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, following which discussions were held with all the provincial governors, chief secretaries, provincial directors of education, and the health division.

Peiris said continuing to keep schools closed in this manner due to the COVID-19 pandemic was not possible and expressed confidence that this vaccination program would be completed soon.

Health authorities said that following the arrival of a batch of Sinopharm vaccine on Sunday morning, doses had been distributed to the respective districts to begin vaccinating teachers.

According to official statistics from the Health Ministry, nearly 3 million people in Sri Lanka, above the age of 30 years, have received the Sinopharm vaccines in Sri Lanka to date, making it the leading vaccine to be administered among the general public.

Out of the nearly 3 million people jabbed, over 1 million have received their second injections as well, Health Ministry statistics showed. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 00:40:14|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BUCHAREST, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), supporting President Maia Sandu, won 52.8 percent of the vote in Moldova's snap parliamentary elections on Sunday, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said on Monday after the final count of votes in the country and abroad.

The pro-European PAS was followed by the Electoral Bloc of Communists and Socialists (EBCS) with 27.17 percent and the Eurosceptic Sor Party with 5.74 percent.

Accordingly, these three parties will enter the country's next Parliament. The other contenders -- one electoral bloc, 18 parties and one independent candidate -- failed to reach the thresholds of seven percent, five percent and two percent of the vote, respectively.

Turnout on Sunday was 48.41 percent or 1.447 million people, the lowest ever recorded in Moldova.

Over 212,000 Moldovans voted abroad, where the PAS won 86.23 percent and the EBCS 2.47 percent.

The official preliminary results indicated that the PAS, founded and led by President Sandu until her victory in the presidential elections late last year, would hold the majority in the 101-seat unicameral Parliament and would be able to form a government on its own.

"We consider the result a natural manifestation of democracy," Igor Dodon, leader of the Party of Socialists, which is part of the EBCS together with the non-parliamentary Party of Communists, told a press conference on Monday.

"I congratulate the PAS party and President Maia Sandu on the victory. They now have all the power -- the president, Parliament, government, the Constitutional Court," he said, calling on the winning party to "form a government and start working."

The Parliament of Moldova is elected for a four-year term under normal circumstances. The previous Parliament was elected in 2019 but was dissolved by President Sandu on April 28 after two failed attempts to form a government. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 00:58:46|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson walks back to Downing Street after attending a press conference in London, Britain, on July 12, 2021. The British government confirmed Monday that most COVID-19 restrictions in England will end next week despite surging cases caused by the Delta variant first identified in India. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)

LONDON, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The British government confirmed Monday that most COVID-19 restrictions in England will end next week despite surging cases caused by the Delta variant first identified in India.

Most restrictions are set to end on July 19 as part of the final step or Step Four of England's roadmap out of the lockdown, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has previously announced. But this still needs to be confirmed on Monday following a review of the latest data by the government.

The detailed arrangement of Step Four includes: no more limits on social contact to allow people to gather in groups of any size; removing the "one meter-plus" rule in almost all settings, except for specific places such as airports; no capacity caps on large scale events; people are no longer required to work from home, etc.

Speaking at a press conference Monday at Downing Street, Johnson said it is "vital" to proceed with caution and "this pandemic is not over".

His remarks came as Britain reported another 34,471 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 5,155,243, according to official figures released Monday.

It is the sixth day in a row where the daily cases have been more than 30,000.

The country also recorded another six coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 128,431. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

Johnson said that England's strict border policy would continue, and tracking, tracing and isolating positive cases will stay in place.

The move to Step Four was delayed by up to four weeks so every adult could be offered a vaccine. Some 6.8 million first and second doses have already been administered in England during the delay so far, according to a government statement released on Monday.

It is the right time to go to Step Four, Britain's Health Secretary Sajid Javid said during his speech in the parliament on Monday. "If not now, when? There will never be a perfect time to take this step because we simply cannot eradicate this virus."

Despite the easing which will see legal requirement to wear face masks in shops and on public transport being scrapped, the government will still recommend the use of face masks in crowded areas, according to Sky News.

Scientists have warned that lifting all restrictions at this stage could increase likelihood of dangerous variants.

More than 87 percent of adults in Britain have received the first jab of COVID-19 vaccine and over 66 percent have received two doses, the latest official figures showed.

Javid said that the government is now on track to offer every adult a dose of the vaccine by July 19.

The vaccination rollout will continue to accelerate by bringing forward second doses for under 40s to eight weeks - meaning the entire population will benefit from maximum protection more quickly, according to the government.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Russia, the United States as well as the European Union have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 02:03:28|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, addresses the 74th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, May 24, 2021. (WHO/Christopher Black/Handout via Xinhua)

At Monday's press conference, the WHO chief warned of the danger of easing measures while many countries in the world still lack vaccines for their population.

The virus variant first identified in India in October 2020 is continuing the spread around the world and has now been detected in 104 countries, he said.

GENEVA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), on Monday warned of the "devastating outbreaks" caused by the Delta variant of COVID-19, saying that the new strain of the virus was infecting people "at a scorching pace."

"Last week marked the fourth consecutive week of increasing cases of COVID-19 globally," Tedros said at a virtual press conference from Geneva, adding that "after ten weeks of declines, deaths are increasing again."

The virus variant first identified in India in October 2020 is continuing the spread around the world and has now been detected in 104 countries, he said.

"The Delta variant is ripping around the world at a scorching pace, driving a new spike in cases and deaths."

Fans of England are seen during the final between England and Italy at the UEFA EURO 2020 in London, Britain, on July 11, 2021. (Xinhua/Han Yan)

Leaders around the world have responded to the new rise in infections in markedly different ways, with countries such as France adopting new restrictions while others easing them. The United Kingdom (UK), for one, still intends to lift all restrictions on July 19.

At Monday's press conference, the WHO chief warned of the danger of easing measures while many countries in the world still lack vaccines for their population.

"The current collective strategy reminds me of a firefighting team taking on a forest blaze," he said. "Hosing down part of it might reduce the flames in one area, but while it's smoldering anywhere, sparks will eventually travel and grow again into a rolling furnace."

Tedros reiterated his call on governments to share vaccines, adding that "the world should battle together to put out this pandemic inferno everywhere."

People wait in line to receive COVID-19 vaccines during mass vaccination at Gelora Sepuluh November Stadium in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, July 10, 2021. (Photo by Kurniawan/Xinhua)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 09:57:21|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Photo taken on June 1, 2021 shows vials of Sinopharm vaccines in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua)

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Two Chinese pharmaceutical companies will provide 110 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines immediately to participants of the COVAX project, announced the global Vaccine Alliance Gavi on Monday.

The Chinese Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines have been approved earlier this year by the World Health Organization (WHO) for emergency use.

China is the world's largest vaccine supplier, having supplied more than 480 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the international community, provided vaccine assistance to nearly 100 countries, and exported vaccines to more than 50 countries.

With Chinese vaccines being administered worldwide, they have been found, according to multiple studies, highly effective in preventing infection, hospitalization, severe illness and death from the virus.

Here are some figures & facts:

Health workers transport a COVID-19 patient at San Jose Hospital in Santiago, Chile, May 15, 2020. (Photo by Jorge Villegas/Xinhua)

SANTIAGO -- China's CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine effectively prevented COVID-19 in Chile, with the adjusted vaccine effectiveness reaching 90.3 percent for the prevention of severe disease, according to a study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

A nationwide mass vaccination campaign was conducted from Feb. 2 to May 1, and a cohort including approximately 10.2 million people aged 16 years and above was used, according to the study titled Effectiveness of an Inactivated SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine in Chile published.

Among those who were fully immunized, the adjusted vaccine effectiveness was 65.9 percent for the prevention of COVID-19, 87.5 percent for the prevention of hospitalization, and 86.3 percent for the prevention of COVID-19-related death, the results of the study showed.

The CoronaVac, also known as the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, is an inactivated virus COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech.

CoronaVac uses an inactivated whole virus, compelling a recipient's immune system to attack the harmless form of the virus by producing antibodies to fight it off, thus leading to immunity.

A medical worker receives a dose of China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine at the Sabiha Uzun Maternal Child Health Center in Ankara, Turkey on Jan. 15, 2021. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

LONDON -- Interim analysis of Phase 3 clinical trial of the CoronaVac vaccine in more than 10,000 participants in Turkey suggests the efficacy of two doses of the vaccine is 83.5 percent against symptomatic cases of COVID-19, according to a study published in The Lancet, a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal.

The randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted in Turkey using the CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine, developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech. The trial involved over 10,000 participants aged 18 to 59 years. They were randomly assigned to receive two doses of the vaccine (given 14 days apart) or a placebo.

The preliminary findings indicated that CoronaVac induced a robust antibody response, and no severe adverse events or deaths were reported among the participants. Most adverse events were mild and occurred within seven days of an injection, according to the study.

However, more research is needed to confirm vaccine efficacy in the long term, in a more diverse group of participants, and against emerging variants of concern, said the study.

CoronaVac uses an inactivated whole virus, compelling a recipient's immune system to attack the harmless form of the virus by producing antibodies to fight it off, leading to immunity.

The vaccine can be stored and transported at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius and has been in Phase 3 trials since mid-2020 in Brazil, Indonesia, Chile, and Turkey, according to The Lancet.

"One of the advantages of CoronaVac is that it does not need to be frozen, making it easier to transport and distribute. This could be particularly important for global distribution, as some countries may struggle to store large amounts of vaccine at very low temperatures," said Murat Akova, lead author of the study and a professor at Hacettepe University School of Medicine in Ankara.

A woman receives a jab of China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine in Montevideo, Uruguay, March 1, 2021. (Photo by Nicolas Celaya/Xinhua)

MONTEVIDEO -- The COVID-19 mortality rate among Uruguayans aged 18 to 69 who were vaccinated with Sinovac vaccine fell by more than 95 percent, according to the latest Vaccine Effectiveness report from the Public Health Ministry.

Two weeks after receiving the second dose of the CoronaVac vaccine, developed by Chinese drugmaker Sinovac, mortality fell by 95.3 percent among the vaccinated population aged 18 to 49, and by 95.2 percent among those aged 50 to 69, showed the report.

Meanwhile, CoronaVac reduced hospitalization in intensive care units by 94.4 percent among those under the age of 49 and by 92.2 percent among people aged 50 to 69.

In addition, COVID-19 infections dropped 64.5 percent 14 days after receiving the second dose in people aged 18 to 49, and 61.5 percent in people between the ages of 50 and 69, the report said.

The ministry study monitors the "vaccine effectiveness and safety for SARS-CoV-2" by an interdisciplinary team.

A nurse prepares a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac in Bangkok, Thailand, May 12, 2021. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)

BANGKOK -- A new vaccination study conducted by Thailand's Chulalongkorn University has found that China's Sinovac vaccine has extremely high efficacy in boosting immune responses against COVID-19, according to media reports.

The study run by the Center of Excellence in Clinical Virology of the Faculty of Medicine at the university showed that 99.49 percent of the recipients had developed antibody responses four weeks after their second shots, the Bangkok Post said, quoting the study results.

Three weeks after the first shot, around 66 percent of the recipients had developed immune responses, the report added.

The number of antibodies against the coronavirus was measured with Roche Elecsys Electrochemiluminescence Immunoassay, a qualitative detection of total antibodies developed against the virus in people's blood samples before and after the vaccination period, said the research group.

The tests were conducted before injections, three weeks after the first shot and four weeks after the second injection.

A health worker (L) receives a dose of China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine during mass vaccination program for health workers as a main priority group in Jakarta, Indonesia, Feb. 4, 2021. (Xinhua/Agung Kuncahya B.)

JAKARTA -- China's Sinovac vaccine against COVID-19 has appeared to be highly efficacious, as an overwhelming majority of vaccinated health workers were found protected from death and hospitalization, according to a Bloomberg report.

Pandji Dhewantara, an official of the country's health ministry, told a press conference that among the 128,290 health workers vaccinated with Sinovac vaccines and tracked from January to March, 98 percent of them were protected from death and 96 percent from hospitalization as soon as seven days after the second dose.

Dhewantara also said that 94 percent of the workers had been protected against symptomatic infection.

The Indonesian study compared vaccinated people against the non-vaccinated to derive the estimated effectiveness, said the report. The median age of the participants is 31 years old.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that another group of 25,374 people tracked showed the same effectiveness data for hospitalization and infection with the aforementioned group. Protection against death was 100 percent in the smaller group.

"We see a very, very drastic drop," in hospitalizations and deaths among medical workers, Sadikin was quoted as saying.

Staff members unload Chinese COVID-19 vaccines at the Ezeiza International Airport, Buenos Aires, Argentina, April 1, 2021. (Photo by Martin Zabala/Xinhua)

BUENOS AIRES -- The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm is 84 percent effective in preventing death from the disease, showed a report by the Argentine Ministry of Health.

The document, titled "Study of the National Vaccination Campaign's Effectiveness in Reducing Mortality from COVID-19 in People aged 60 and over," was prepared by the ministry with cases from the country's 24 provinces during the period from Jan. 1 to June 22.

The study found that the Sinopharm vaccine has an efficacy of "84 percent after the application of its two doses," state news agency Telam reported.

The effectiveness against COVID-19 mortality in the Sinopharm vaccine reached 61.6 percent with the application of the first dose in the 147,908 cases analyzed, and increased to 84 percent after the second dose was applied to the same number of people.

In February, the country authorized the emergency use of the Sinopharm vaccine after Health Minister Carla Vizzotti signed a resolution, an official measure which highlighted the "safety, immunogenicity and efficacy" of the vaccine.

In an interview with Xinhua, Argentine infectious diseases expert Martin Hojman said that the Sinopharm vaccine is "effective" and its arrival in the South American country is "excellent news."

"It has two doses. It is an inactivated vaccine that has proven efficacy and no adverse effects, it is a safe vaccine," said Hojman, a member of the Argentine Society of Infectious Diseases.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 09:59:55|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

KAMPALA, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Uganda's coffee exports in June and for the 2020/21 financial year hit a 30-year record high, according to the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA).

The East African country exported 618,388 60-kg bags worth 58.56 million U.S. dollars in June, the highest monthly record since 1991, and an increase of 47 percent in quantity and value from a year ago, according to a report published by the UCDA Sunday.

In the year ending June, Uganda exported 6,078,638 60-kg bags worth 559.26 million dollars, up from 5,105,881 60-kg bags valued at 496.28 million dollars the previous year, Apollo Tugume Kamugisha, director of development services at the UCDA, told Xinhua by telephone.

The high yields were a result of the government's intensive coffee growing campaign that started in 2014, said Kamugisha, adding that 302 million coffee seedlings were distributed to farmers countrywide.

"Since coffee takes about three years to mature and come into production, that is why we are seeing high yields this year," he said.

A positive trend in global coffee prices in the last two weeks of June prompted exporters to release their stocks, according to Kamugisha.

The UCDA has also been engaging farmers in best handling practices to avoid post-harvest losses, he said.

"As a result, farmers stopped harvesting immature coffee and learnt how to dry the harvest well, resulting into higher value of export quality," he said.

The official predicted that an upward trend would continue now that the coffee sector had rebounded. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 10:44:56|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

by Xinhua writer He Fei

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Washington's agitation to preserve its technological edge by suppressing China seems to be running unimaginably wild these days.

Most recently, the U.S. administration added another batch of Chinese technology firms to its entity list over their alleged roles in so-called human rights abuses in Xinjiang and connections with the Chinese military. Before that, it was reported to have rejected visa applications by more than 500 Chinese students planning to pursue postgraduate study in sciences and engineering at top American universities.

Those moves show that the current White House is still taking its cue from the toxic China policy engineered by the administration of Donald Trump.

Blacklisting those Chinese firms has nothing to do with improving the human rights conditions in Xinjiang. U.S. politicians pay no more than lip service even when tackling human rights problems at home. How can they have real love for people in a region far off America's shores?

Anyone with real knowledge of Xinjiang and an objective mind knows that the region has witnessed remarkable progress in recent years: the Uygur population continues to grow; terrorist acts have been tamed; and living standards have significantly improved.

The United States, in sharp contrast, has a rather lamentable human rights record. Yet it seems that America's political leaders are either indifferent to or clueless about solving such chronic problems as systemic racial discrimination or a widening wealth gap.

Moreover, Washington's move to deny visa applications of those Chinese science students is yet another proof that the United States is getting increasingly agitated towards China's technological progress and is turning to self-isolation and protectionism for help.

For the record, China's purpose to promote scientific and technological advancement is not to outcompete the United States, but to improve the welfare of its own people and contribute to the world's peaceful development.

And it would be infantile for China hawks in Washington to resort to blacklisting some Chinese firms or refusing to admit some Chinese students to prevent China from moving forward.

In fact, despite Washington's repeated sanctions, China has still managed to achieve substantial technological progress over the years.

Washington's bullying tactics harm itself and the rest of the world: America's credibility as a free and open country will be the first victim; people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States will take another hit; and the widely-accepted rules governing global trade will be severely disrupted.

The United States is the world's sole superpower and the most advanced country in scientific innovation. Its own story of success indisputably attests to the necessity of openness and international cooperation for technological progress.

Sadly, Washington's ballooning hubris and self-serving protectionist slant are demolishing the fundamentals that once underpinned the edifice of America's technological power, and leading the country down the wrong path.

The United States should once again embrace a spirit of collaboration to maintain its technological competitiveness in the 21st century. It stands to lose otherwise. After all, America's biggest enemy is itself, not China. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 12:16:02|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese police have located and rescued 2,609 missing or abducted children, including adults who had gone missing or were kidnapped as kids, since a nationwide campaign was launched in January to help reunite such victims with their families, the Ministry of Public Security said Tuesday.

Police have cracked 147 cold cases involving child abduction and trafficking during the period, and arrested a total of 372 suspects linked to such crimes, the ministry told a press conference.

One victim was traced after a span of 61 years, according to the ministry. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 12:23:31|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

HANOI, July 13 (Xinhua) -- China plays a crucial role in handling major regional and global issues, a senior official of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) has said in a recent interview with Chinese media outlets.

China has actively taken part in regional and international bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms, and made significant contributions to promoting international cooperation under the framework of the United Nations, said Le Hoai Trung, head of the Commission for External Relations of the CPV Central Committee.

Political parties are an important force in international politics and relations, with significant responsibilities and an indispensable role in dealing with both regional and global issues and challenges, said Trung, former Vietnamese deputy minister of foreign affairs, who has paid multiple visits to China.

China has developed rapidly under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and plays a significant role in regional and international affairs, he noted.

The initiatives China has put forward can help the international community realize its common development goals, Trung said.

"Vietnam welcomes the Belt and Road Initiative and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which have boosted regional and global economic growth, facilitated multilateral investment and trade, and shortened the development gap between countries," he said.

Vietnam and China are neighbors linked by mountains and rivers, and they are also socialist countries led by the communist parties, which are both advancing their socialist cause, Trung noted.

The CPV, the Vietnamese state and its people would like to extend warm congratulations on the 100th anniversary of the CPC's founding and the remarkable achievements the CPC has made over the century, he said.

China has gained valuable experience since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 and the launch of reform and opening-up in 1978, especially since the 18th CPC National Congress, he continued.

"Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and other theories on state governance are of particular referential value to Vietnam," Trung noted.

The CPV and the CPC have maintained regular exchanges and communications, which provided significant guidance for the Vietnam-China relations, he said.

The relations between the two countries remain stable and positive, and the two sides have carried out effective exchanges and cooperation at different levels in flexible ways despite the COVID-19 impacts, according to Trung.

"We are willing to push forward concrete exchanges and cooperation with China in all respects at all levels," he said.

"I hope the two sides will closely work with each other, implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two parties and two countries, and contribute to consolidating and promoting the relations between the parties and countries," said Trung. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 13:03:24|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Photo taken on June 17, 2021 shows the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

Washington's bullying tactics harm itself and the rest of the world: America's credibility as a free and open country will be the first victim; people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States will take another hit; and the widely-accepted rules governing global trade will be severely disrupted.

by Xinhua writer He Fei

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Washington's agitation to preserve its technological edge by suppressing China seems to be running unimaginably wild these days.

Most recently, the U.S. administration added another batch of Chinese technology firms to its entity list over their alleged roles in so-called human rights abuses in Xinjiang and connections with the Chinese military. Before that, it was reported to have rejected visa applications by more than 500 Chinese students planning to pursue postgraduate study in sciences and engineering at top American universities.

Those moves show that the current White House is still taking its cue from the toxic China policy engineered by the administration of Donald Trump.

Blacklisting those Chinese firms has nothing to do with improving the human rights conditions in Xinjiang. U.S. politicians pay no more than lip service even when tackling human rights problems at home. How can they have real love for people in a region far off America's shores?

Anyone with real knowledge of Xinjiang and an objective mind knows that the region has witnessed remarkable progress in recent years: the Uygur population continues to grow; terrorist acts have been tamed; and living standards have significantly improved.

The United States, in sharp contrast, has a rather lamentable human rights record. Yet it seems that America's political leaders are either indifferent to or clueless about solving such chronic problems as systemic racial discrimination or a widening wealth gap.

A visitor takes pictures of an AI-powered robot brewing coffee during the China International Big Data Industry Expo 2021 in Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province, May 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

Moreover, Washington's move to deny visa applications of those Chinese science students is yet another proof that the United States is getting increasingly agitated towards China's technological progress and is turning to self-isolation and protectionism for help.

For the record, China's purpose to promote scientific and technological advancement is not to outcompete the United States, but to improve the welfare of its own people and contribute to the world's peaceful development.

And it would be infantile for China hawks in Washington to resort to blacklisting some Chinese firms or refusing to admit some Chinese students to prevent China from moving forward.

In fact, despite Washington's repeated sanctions, China has still managed to achieve substantial technological progress over the years.

Washington's bullying tactics harm itself and the rest of the world: America's credibility as a free and open country will be the first victim; people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States will take another hit; and the widely-accepted rules governing global trade will be severely disrupted.

The United States is the world's sole superpower and the most advanced country in scientific innovation. Its own story of success indisputably attests to the necessity of openness and international cooperation for technological progress.

Sadly, Washington's ballooning hubris and self-serving protectionist slant are demolishing the fundamentals that once underpinned the edifice of America's technological power, and leading the country down the wrong path.

The United States should once again embrace a spirit of collaboration to maintain its technological competitiveness in the 21st century. It stands to lose otherwise. After all, America's biggest enemy is itself, not China. 
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 13:30:19|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Photo taken on May 9, 2021 shows the exterior of Egyptian Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA) in Cairo, Egypt. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

Producing the vaccine locally will have a great impact on controlling the pandemic, not only in Egypt but also in Arab and African countries, said Mohammed Eid, director of Abbasia Chest Hospital in Cairo.

CAIRO, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Egypt on Monday celebrated the local production of the first 1 million doses of China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, seeking to meet domestic demand and then export to other countries in the region.

Egyptian Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA) and Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac signed two agreements in April to jointly manufacture the Sinovac vaccine in VACSERA's factory in the North African country.

The first agreement enables the Egyptian side to obtain the expertise and technical assistance to produce the vaccine, while the second one gives the VACSERA the license to manufacture and pack the vaccine in its factory.





IMPORTANT STEP TOWARDS SELF-SUFFICIENCY

"Manufacturing the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine at the factories of VACSERA makes Egypt the first Arab and African country to produce the coronavirus vaccines," Mohammed Eid, director of Abbasia Chest Hospital in Cairo, told Xinhua.

Producing the vaccine locally will have a great impact on controlling the pandemic, not only in Egypt but also in Arab and African countries, he said.

"This move will enable Egypt to achieve great successes in controlling the spread of the virus ... Egypt is very qualified to produce the vaccines since it has a very strong scientific and technological base," he added.

In addition to the health and technological benefits, Eid said, Egypt will also have economic gains from providing the vaccine to regional countries.

He stressed that the Chinese approval of the production of the Sinovac vaccine in Egypt proves China's confidence in Egypt's scientific, technological and industrial capabilities.

"This also means that China and Egypt are keen to strengthen their mutual cooperation for the interest of the two peoples," he added.

Egypt is also seeking to expand its production capacity of the Chinese vaccine. Last week, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly told reporters that his government is in talks with the Chinese side to double the supply of vaccine raw materials in order to produce 600,000 doses per day.

Staff members work at a mass vaccination venue converted from the Cairo's International Exhibition Center in Cairo, Egypt, on May 25, 2021. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)





INTERNATIONAL ADMIRATION

The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomed the cooperation between Egypt and China in producing Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine in Egypt.

"The cooperation between Egypt and China is a successful model for international cooperation and transfer of global expertise, which contributes to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," said Naeema Al-Gasseer, WHO representative in Egypt, in a statement last week.

The WHO official said that the cooperation between Egypt and China in this regard helps achieve Goal 3.8 of the SDGs, concerning "access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines."

The WHO also appreciates Egypt's plan to vaccinate 40 percent of its citizens and residents by the end of this year, saying it is consistent with the organization's call.

It valued Egypt's plan to "achieve self-sufficiency in vaccines to become a center for exporting vaccines in Africa."

So far, some 52 African countries have acquired more than 70 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the African Union, said around 1.19 percent of Africa's population have been fully vaccinated.

Five countries, namely Morocco, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa and Algeria have acquired and administered the most doses of COVID-19 vaccines to their respective populations, according to the agency.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa reached 5,919,408 as of Sunday afternoon, Africa CDC said. 
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 13:50:36|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

VIENTIANE, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Border patrols in Laos on the Mekong River are being stepped up in Champasak and Savannakhet provinces to prevent people entering Laos from Thailand illegally.

Local daily Vientiane Times on Tuesday quoted Deputy Head of the Public Security Department in Champasak province, Sivilay Keopaseuth, as saying that his staff were partnering with soldiers to patrol the river in Champasak and Savannakhet provinces, which recorded a spike in imported COVID-19 infections.

On Tuesday, Champasak province (some 484 km south of Lao capital Vientiane) recorded 43 new imported cases of the virus and Savannakhet province (some 410 km east of Lao capital Vientiane) recorded 21 imported cases, according to the National Taskforce Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Border controls have been enhanced under the prime minister's order on reinforcing containment, prevention and response measures to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was issued in the middle of April.

Police and soldiers are using longboats to patrol the river.

Teams are monitoring boats crossing the Mekong River around the border area with Thailand to prevent people entering Laos illegally and avoiding screening for COVID-19.

Laos has seen a spike in imported cases of COVID-19 since the start of this month. Most of the new infections were found among Lao workers returning from Thailand.

On Tuesday, Laos reported 76 new COVID-19 infections, with the total number standing at 2,901.

Laos reported its first two confirmed cases of COVID-19 on March 24 last year. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 15:18:23|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

TIANJIN, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Mahmoud Alsalehi sanitized his hands before walking toward the sickbed of a young patient, gently shaking a toy to delight the 1-year-old who just had surgery for congenital heart disease.

When the kid relaxed, Alsalehi leaned down carefully, put a stethoscope on the child's chest, and listened to the child's heart.

As a well-loved doctor by kids, Alsalehi was called "Uncle Lao Ma," a nickname derived from the first syllable of his given name.

"Ma" literally means horse in Chinese, which represents diligence. "I like this name, and it makes me feel very close to the kids," he said.

Alsalehi, 39, who hails from Palestine, now works as the director of Pediatric Cardiology II and Pediatric ICU Department in TEDA International Cardiovascular Hospital in north China's Tianjin Municipality.

During his training in a children hospital in Canada, Alsalehi got a chance to work for the TEDA hospital in August 2019.

"I accepted immediately. China is a very close friend to Palestine and helped us a lot. I hope to help more Chinese children with congenital heart disease to give back to China," Alsalehi said.

With the help of Chinese colleagues, Alsalehi soon acclimatized himself to his new working environment.

Shuttling between patients' sickbeds, screening and monitoring their heart conditions, reviewing the echocardiogram and checking their nursing records, Alsalehi and his colleagues are always busy making tailored medical and surgical plans for each child.

"I often joke around and said that my colleagues are like 'motors' that work ceaselessly. I really admire these dedicated Chinese doctors who are considerate to their patients," Alsalehi said.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, pediatric patients had to stay in the ICU alone after surgeries. Without their parents' company, they were prone to loneliness and anxiety, a major concern for doctors.

Pediatric doctors including Alsalehi himself racked their brains to console the young patients.

"Even though I cannot speak too much Chinese, I try my best to express my kindness through smiles and eye contact," Alsalehi said, adding that he treated them as his own children.

Since 2004, the hospital has worked with local authorities and plenty of charities to carry out dozens of projects to provide free surgeries for children with congenital heart disease from poor families.

Their surgery expenses are completely covered by charity projects, which have already reached 24 provincial-level regions of the country.

Alsalehi said he hopes to be dispatched to remote regions in China, which were once haunted by poverty, to help kids with congenital heart disease there, like what his colleagues have done for years as part of the country's anti-poverty efforts.

"It would make me happy to see those less-privileged children enjoy a normal life again," he said.

In the future, Alsalehi plans to go back to Palestine and build a professional pediatric cardiology team. "I hope to do something for my people and my country. The experience I gain in China will definitely be useful." Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 15:30:20|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese vaccines are gathering steam across the world, injecting strong impetus into the global fight against COVID-19 as deaths from the virus topped 4 million worldwide and variants spread to more than 100 countries.

As a steadfast advocate for equitable vaccine distribution around the globe, China has supplied 500 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines and concentrates to more than 100 countries and international organizations, accounting for one-sixth of the current global output.

China has provided more doses to developing countries than anyone else and has vaccine cooperation partners all over the globe, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Monday.

With the support of the Chinese government, Chinese vaccine companies have started joint production in many countries including the UAE, Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt, Brazil, Turkey, Pakistan and Mexico, with producing capacity exceeding 200 million doses.

HIGH EFFICACY

Two Chinese pharmaceutical companies, Sinopharm and Sinovac, will provide 110 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines immediately to participants of the COVAX project, announced the global Vaccine Alliance Gavi on Monday.

The Chinese Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines were approved earlier this year by the World Health Organization (WHO) for emergency use.

"The Chinese government has been actively encouraging and supporting Chinese vaccine research and development companies to participate in the COVAX to provide vaccines to developing countries," a diplomat with the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations in Geneva said on Monday.

Two doses of the Sinopharm vaccine provide 84-percent protection from death caused by COVID-19, showed a report by the Argentine Ministry of Health based on cases from the country's 24 provinces.

In February, Argentina authorized the emergency use of the Sinopharm vaccine after Health Minister Carla Vizzotti signed a resolution, an official measure which highlighted the "safety, immunogenicity and efficacy" of the vaccine.

The South African government, political parties, labor and civil society have given thumbs up to the CoronaVac, also known as the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, whose use in the country was approved by South African Health Products Authority (SAHPRA) on July 3.

SAHPRA's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela said they approved the use of the CoronaVac vaccine based on its safety, quality and efficacy of the data presented to them. South Africa's opposition political party Economic Freedom Fighters also welcomed the Sinovac vaccine, calling on the government to make it available to the people soon.

"The efficacy of the CoronaVac vaccine to the COVID-19 variants that are dominant in South Africa and its safety are essential. We are therefore looking forward to deepening our party to party relations with the CPC (Communist Party of China) and inter alia, scientific cooperation with China in our struggle to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and resolve underdevelopment," said South African Communist Party General-Secretary Blade Nzimande.

Interim analysis of Phase 3 clinical trial of the CoronaVac vaccine in more than 10,000 participants, aged 18-59, in Turkey suggests the efficacy of two doses of the vaccine is 83.5 percent against symptomatic cases of COVID-19, according to a study published last week in The Lancet, a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal.

The vaccine -- which has been in Phase 3 trials since mid-2020 in Brazil, Indonesia, Chile, and Turkey -- can be stored and transported at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, according to The Lancet.

"This could be particularly important for global distribution, as some countries may struggle to store large amounts of vaccine at very low temperatures," said Murat Akova, lead author of the study and a professor at Hacettepe University School of Medicine in Ankara.

The World Health Organization said Monday it believes that Chinese coronavirus vaccines Sinopharm and Sinovac, distributed internationally via COVAX sharing mechanism, were effective enough against the disease.

"At any point, if we have concerns with the efficacy of these vaccines, we would definitely make that known. So, at this point, I think we are confident," WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan told a press briefing.

SETTING EXAMPLE FOR INT'L COOPERATION

A total of 438,867 new COVID-19 cases were reported across the world during the past day, bringing the global tally to 187,238,474, according to data by the Johns Hopkins University.

Nonetheless, "at this stage in the pandemic, the fact that millions of health and care workers have still not been vaccinated is abhorrent," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, told a biweekly conference in Geneva on Wednesday.

Tedros reminded that "vaccine nationalism," whereby a handful of nations have taken the lion's share of vaccines, is "morally indefensible" and an ineffective public health strategy against a respiratory virus that is mutating quickly and becoming increasingly successful at infecting new hosts.

"Variants are currently winning the race against vaccines because of inequitable vaccine production and distribution ... It didn't have to be this way and it doesn't have to be this way going forward," he noted.

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last week stressed that the world needs a global vaccine plan to at least double the production of vaccines and ensure equitable distribution, using COVAX as the platform.

Under current circumstances, cooperation between China and other countries in producing COVID-19 vaccines has been increasingly welcomed by the international community, with many hailing such cooperation as setting an example for international vaccine cooperation and transfer of global expertise.

Naeema Al-Gasseer, WHO representative in Egypt, praised the cooperation between Egypt and China in producing Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines in Egypt as "a successful model for international cooperation and transfer of global expertise, which contributes to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals."

Egyptian Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA) and Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac signed an agreement in April to jointly manufacture Sinovac vaccines in VACSERA's factory in the North African country.

Egypt has recently celebrated the production of the first 1 million doses of the vaccine, seeking to meet local demand and further export them to other countries in the region.

Similarly, Malaysian firm Yong Tai Bhd, which has partnered China-based Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products (SZKT) to supply Chinese-produced COVID-19 vaccines in Malaysia, is aiming to offer its vaccines to the private sector by September or October.

The firm, which has an agreement with SZKT to supply 10 million doses per year and an additional 10 million if required, has been conducting the Phase III Clinical Trial in Malaysia and has applied to the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency for approval to use the vaccines in the country.

Yong Tai's CEO Boo Kuang Loon is confident that the vaccine developed by SZKT will be well accepted, as it is from the same technology platform as the other two Chinese COVID-19 vaccine developers Sinopharm and Sinovac.

Elsewhere in Asia, Mongolian Foreign Minister Batmunkh Battsetseg said the two countries have maintained active cooperation despite COVID-19, setting a real example of how neighboring countries help each other and overcome difficulties together.

"We are sincerely grateful to the Chinese government and people for donating vaccines and essential medical equipment to Mongolia during this difficult time, as well as for sharing experiences in successfully combating the pandemic," she said, adding that China's vaccine support is very important for Mongolia. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 16:09:52|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

As the COVID-19 pandemic has deepened confrontation between China and the West, many scientists have called for the end of politicization of COVID-19 origin tracing, saying that the process should be a scientific rather than geopolitical one.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 16:16:01|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

PHNOM PENH, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia will host the 13th ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Summit (ASEM13) on Nov. 25 and 26 via videoconference, according to a foreign ministry's statement on Tuesday.

Cambodia will host the summit virtually given that the COVID-19 pandemic still prevails and emerging variants trigger new waves in many parts of the world, including Cambodia, said Foreign Ministry's secretary of state Luy David, who is the ASEM Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) leader for Cambodia, according to the statement.

"The decision has been made based on the recommendation of the National Committee for Combatting COVID-19 that a physical summit is neither safe for ASEM leaders to attend nor practical as the virus continues to rage on while travel restrictions are being re-imposed by many countries," it said.

The statement was released after the ASEM SOM was held via videoconference last week, the statement said, adding that the meeting was attended by all 51 ASEM SOM leaders as well as the representatives from the European Union, ASEAN Secretariat, and Asia-Europe Foundation.

The meeting substantively discussed the draft of the Phnom Penh Statement on the Post-COVID-19 Socio-Economic Recovery, which will be one of the two outcome documents to be adopted at the ASEM13, the statement said.

Originally scheduled for Nov. 16-17, 2020 in capital Phnom Penh, the summit had been twice postponed due to the pandemic.

ASEM is comprised of 53 partners, including 21 Asian countries, 30 European countries, the ASEAN Secretariat, and the European Union.

Collectively, ASEM partners represent 65 percent of the global economy, 60 percent of the world's population, 55 percent of the world trade and 75 percent of the world tourism.

ASEM was founded in 1996 and Cambodia became its member in 2004. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 16:18:24|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

PHNOM PENH, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said Tuesday that 5 million people in the Southeast Asian nation have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine so far.

Nop Mean, a 70-year-old farmer from northwestern Oddar Meanchey province, was the 5 millionth person to be vaccinated, the prime minister wrote on his Facebook page, adding that he awarded the man 10 million riels (2,500 U.S. dollars) and some relief items for being the special recipient.

"Thank all of the compatriots for joining in the fight against COVID-19 through receiving vaccines in order to protect yourselves and family members," Hun Sen said. "To date, we have vaccinated 50 percent of our 10 million targeted adult population."

Cambodia launched a vaccination drive on Feb. 10, with China being the key vaccine supplier.

The country reported 830 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, pushing the national total caseload to 62,700, the health ministry said, adding that 28 new fatalities were reported, taking the overall death toll to 953. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 16:27:27|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Photo taken on June 1, 2021 shows vials of the Sinopharm vaccine in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua)

As a steadfast advocate for equitable vaccine distribution around the globe, China has supplied 500 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines and concentrates to more than 100 countries and international organizations, accounting for one-sixth of the current global output.

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese vaccines are gathering steam across the world, injecting strong impetus into the global fight against COVID-19 as deaths from the virus topped 4 million worldwide and variants spread to more than 100 countries.

As a steadfast advocate for equitable vaccine distribution around the globe, China has supplied 500 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines and concentrates to more than 100 countries and international organizations, accounting for one-sixth of the current global output.

China has provided more doses to developing countries than anyone else and has vaccine cooperation partners all over the globe, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Monday.

With the support of the Chinese government, Chinese vaccine companies have started joint production in many countries including the UAE, Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt, Brazil, Turkey, Pakistan and Mexico, with producing capacity exceeding 200 million doses.

A staff member checks tags on vials of COVID-19 vaccine at a packing line of Sinovac Life Sciences Co., Ltd. in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 23, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei)

HIGH EFFICACY

Two Chinese pharmaceutical companies, Sinopharm and Sinovac, will provide 110 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines immediately to participants of the COVAX project, announced the global Vaccine Alliance Gavi on Monday.

The Chinese Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines were approved earlier this year by the World Health Organization (WHO) for emergency use.

"The Chinese government has been actively encouraging and supporting Chinese vaccine research and development companies to participate in the COVAX to provide vaccines to developing countries," a diplomat with the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations in Geneva said on Monday.

Two doses of the Sinopharm vaccine provide 84-percent protection from death caused by COVID-19, showed a report by the Argentine Ministry of Health based on cases from the country's 24 provinces.

In February, Argentina authorized the emergency use of the Sinopharm vaccine after Health Minister Carla Vizzotti signed a resolution, an official measure which highlighted the "safety, immunogenicity and efficacy" of the vaccine.

A medical worker prepares to put vaccines developed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinopharm into a refrigerator in La Plata, Argentina, March 3, 2021. (Photo by Martin Zabala/Xinhua)

The South African government, political parties, labor and civil society have given thumbs up to the CoronaVac, also known as the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, whose use in the country was approved by South African Health Products Authority (SAHPRA) on July 3.

SAHPRA's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela said they approved the use of the CoronaVac vaccine based on its safety, quality and efficacy of the data presented to them. South Africa's opposition political party Economic Freedom Fighters also welcomed the Sinovac vaccine, calling on the government to make it available to the people soon.

"The efficacy of the CoronaVac vaccine to the COVID-19 variants that are dominant in South Africa and its safety are essential. We are therefore looking forward to deepening our party to party relations with the CPC (Communist Party of China) and inter alia, scientific cooperation with China in our struggle to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and resolve underdevelopment," said South African Communist Party General-Secretary Blade Nzimande.

Interim analysis of Phase 3 clinical trial of the CoronaVac vaccine in more than 10,000 participants, aged 18-59, in Turkey suggests the efficacy of two doses of the vaccine is 83.5 percent against symptomatic cases of COVID-19, according to a study published last week in The Lancet, a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal.

The vaccine -- which has been in Phase 3 trials since mid-2020 in Brazil, Indonesia, Chile, and Turkey -- can be stored and transported at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, according to The Lancet.

"This could be particularly important for global distribution, as some countries may struggle to store large amounts of vaccine at very low temperatures," said Murat Akova, lead author of the study and a professor at Hacettepe University School of Medicine in Ankara.

The World Health Organization said Monday it believes that Chinese coronavirus vaccines Sinopharm and Sinovac, distributed internationally via COVAX sharing mechanism, were effective enough against the disease.

"At any point, if we have concerns with the efficacy of these vaccines, we would definitely make that known. So, at this point, I think we are confident," WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan told a press briefing.

People walk on a street in London, Britain, on July 12, 2021. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)

SETTING EXAMPLE FOR INT'L COOPERATION

A total of 438,867 new COVID-19 cases were reported across the world during the past day, bringing the global tally to 187,238,474, according to data by the Johns Hopkins University.

Nonetheless, "at this stage in the pandemic, the fact that millions of health and care workers have still not been vaccinated is abhorrent," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, told a biweekly conference in Geneva on Wednesday.

Tedros reminded that "vaccine nationalism," whereby a handful of nations have taken the lion's share of vaccines, is "morally indefensible" and an ineffective public health strategy against a respiratory virus that is mutating quickly and becoming increasingly successful at infecting new hosts.

"Variants are currently winning the race against vaccines because of inequitable vaccine production and distribution ... It didn't have to be this way and it doesn't have to be this way going forward," he noted.

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last week stressed that the world needs a global vaccine plan to at least double the production of vaccines and ensure equitable distribution, using COVAX as the platform.

Under current circumstances, cooperation between China and other countries in producing COVID-19 vaccines has been increasingly welcomed by the international community, with many hailing such cooperation as setting an example for international vaccine cooperation and transfer of global expertise.

Naeema Al-Gasseer, WHO representative in Egypt, praised the cooperation between Egypt and China in producing Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines in Egypt as "a successful model for international cooperation and transfer of global expertise, which contributes to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals."

Egyptian Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA) and Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac signed an agreement in April to jointly manufacture Sinovac vaccines in VACSERA's factory in the North African country.

Photo taken on May 9, 2021 shows a building of the Egyptian Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA) in Cairo, Egypt. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

Egypt has recently celebrated the production of the first 1 million doses of the vaccine, seeking to meet local demand and further export them to other countries in the region.

Similarly, Malaysian firm Yong Tai Bhd, which has partnered China-based Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products (SZKT) to supply Chinese-produced COVID-19 vaccines in Malaysia, is aiming to offer its vaccines to the private sector by September or October.

The firm, which has an agreement with SZKT to supply 10 million doses per year and an additional 10 million if required, has been conducting the Phase III Clinical Trial in Malaysia and has applied to the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency for approval to use the vaccines in the country.

Yong Tai's CEO Boo Kuang Loon is confident that the vaccine developed by SZKT will be well accepted, as it is from the same technology platform as the other two Chinese COVID-19 vaccine developers Sinopharm and Sinovac.

Elsewhere in Asia, Mongolian Foreign Minister Batmunkh Battsetseg said the two countries have maintained active cooperation despite COVID-19, setting a real example of how neighboring countries help each other and overcome difficulties together.

"We are sincerely grateful to the Chinese government and people for donating vaccines and essential medical equipment to Mongolia during this difficult time, as well as for sharing experiences in successfully combating the pandemic," she said, adding that China's vaccine support is very important for Mongolia. 
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 17:01:48|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

LUANDA, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Angola has approved a draft law which aims to create an agency responsible for carrying out the investigation of accidents and incidents in the transport sector, authorities announced on Monday.

The draft law approved by the Angolan parliament was for the amendment to the country's Civil Aviation Law, aiming to make up for some deficiencies and make updates in compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organization, said Ricardo de Abreu, the country's transport minister.

"It (the document) was established that the executive should create an entity that is responsible for carrying out the investigation of accidents and incidents in the transport sector, which includes the activity of civil aviation," he said.

The minister further said that the agency, to be called the National Public Institute for Investigation and Prevention of Accidents and Incidents of Angola, will be created by Presidential Decree. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 17:05:44|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Incomes of people in southwest China's Guizhou Province have been increased thanks to the area's forest carbon sink trading program.

Guizhou officially launched a pilot project, which is literally translated as Individual Plant Carbon Sink Trading for Guizhou's Targeted Poverty Alleviation, and its online platform in 2018.

Trees planted by registered impoverished households are given identities, with the storage amount of carbon emissions calculated based on each plant's variety, age and size.

All individuals, enterprises and organizations dedicated to low carbon growth can purchase the carbon sink trees via the platform, and the amount of sales will be deposited to the personal bank account of the tree owner.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 17:23:20|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday met with representatives of all who had participated in the preparations for the centenary celebrations of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, expressed appreciation for their work and achievements, encouraging them to work hard to make new contributions. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 18:21:56|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Aing Sambo, secretary general of Funcinpec Party in Cambodia, has extended his admiration of China for its achievements in reducing poverty, building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and battling the COVID-19 pandemic under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC). He made the remarks in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 19:53:48|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), a major platform for the service trade in the country, will take place in early September in Beijing, authorities said on Tuesday.

China will expand the opening up of the service sector and further relax market access restrictions, said commerce ministry official Chen Chunjiang at a press conference.

Highlighting openness, cooperation, and global economic recovery, the CIFTIS 2021 will focus on current topics such as the digital economy and carbon neutrality, said Yan Ligang, head of the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau.

Apart from the traditional venue of the China National Convention Center, some CIFTIS events will take place in Shougang Park, a new city landmark, once a vacated industrial site in Shijingshan District, said Yan.

As of Tuesday, some 138 overseas organizations and foreign embassies in China had shown their intentions to stage exhibitions or meetings at the CIFTIS, according to Yan.

The fair, to be held from Sept. 2 to Sept. 7, will feature an exhibition area of 130,000 square meters and will likely see over 100 forums, conferences, and business negotiations, he added. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 20:01:09|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

MANILA, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines and China have shown "excellent cooperation and solidarity" in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin said Tuesday.

"The Philippines and China have demonstrated excellent cooperation and solidarity since the pandemic started," Locsin said in his opening remarks during a webinar on China's experience in the fight against COVID-19.

"The Philippines is grateful for China's assistance to the country's public health response, including in-kind and vaccine donations," Locsin said.

The top diplomat also thanked China for sharing "best practices and know-how" with the Philippines. "Chinese medical experts came over to teach us what they knew although China was battling the virus still," Locsin said, ending the speech with thanks to China "from the bottom of my heart."

Vince Dizon, the deputy chief implementer of the government's response against COVID-19, echoed Locsin in appreciating China for the steady supply of COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines amid the global shortage of supply.

China was the first-ever country to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines, allowing the government to kick off its vaccination drive on March 1.

Dizon said China is "the biggest supplier" of COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines. "I thank China for its help. Thank you to our partners in China," he added.

Aside from sending a Chinese medical expert team to the Philippines, China has donated personal protective equipment, tests kits, and other equipment needed to defeat COVID-19 to the country. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 20:06:48|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close





-- As the global vaccination rollout brings light to countries wrapped in a COVID-19 darkness, an emerging "political virus" has cast a shadow on the origins of the disease.

-- Some Western politicians have cooked up the lab-leak hypothesis to blame China and unleash intense waves of disinformation about the disease's origins, which have drawn criticism from the science community.

-- Scientists are increasingly worried about the consequences of unfounded allegations, which will hinder origin-tracing work and undermine preparations for the next pandemic.

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- As the global vaccination rollout brings light to countries wrapped in a COVID-19 darkness, an emerging "political virus" has cast a shadow on the origins of the disease.

As of Tuesday morning, more than 187 million people around the globe have contracted the virus, with more than 4 million lives lost.

However, some self-interested Western politicians are concocting conspiracy theories and spreading misinformation about the origins of the deadly virus, including the tired lab-leak hypothesis. Such unsubstantiated notions do nothing but distract researchers dedicated to learning how and where the contagion began.

Scientists worldwide have spoken out against practices of politicizing the origins of COVID-19.

Chinese expert members of a WHO-China joint team introduce the report on the WHO-convened global study of COVID-19 origins at a press briefing in Beijing, capital of China, March 31, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei)

OPEN QUESTION

How and when the novel coronavirus reached "patient zero" remains unanswered.

Evidence has begun to emerge that COVID-19 had been circulating around the world earlier than the pathogen was first reported in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

In mid-June, a new antibody testing study by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, which analyzed more than 24,000 blood samples from all 50 U.S. states between Jan. 2 and March 12, 2020, found evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the country earlier than initial reports, which date back to late December 2019.

In early June, the World Health Organization requested an Italian research team re-test the samples in their study. Last November, Italy's National Cancer Institute reported that it found evidence of COVID-19 antibodies in the blood of four Italian cancer test subjects in October 2019, meaning they would have been infected by the virus in September, while the first known patient in Italy was detected with infection on Feb. 21, 2020.

Dominic Dwyer, an Australian virologist with the University of Sydney, thinks that animals are the likely source of COVID-19, but it remains overhasty to reach a definitive conclusion right now, saying "the 'gotcha' evidence still eludes in what can take years."

In the view of David Fidler, a global health researcher with the Council on Foreign Relations, a Washington-based think tank, it's hard to expect COVID-19 origin investigations to reveal definitive data any time soon, according to a report published in the science journal Nature in late May.

The origins of most Ebola outbreaks remain mysterious, and researchers have spent 14 years nailing down evidence that the 2002-04 SARS epidemic was caused by a virus transmitted from bats to civets to humans, Fidler said.

The video screenshot taken on March 30, 2021 shows Peter K. Ben Embarek, leader of an international team of experts to Wuhan, attending a virtual press conference. (Xinhua)

FOLLOW SCIENCE

In late March, the WHO released a report on the global tracing of COVID-19 origins, following a 28-day joint study in Wuhan by 34 experts from the WHO and China.

The experts assessed the likelihood of possible pathways, saying COVID-19 introduction through an intermediate host is "likely to very likely," through cold/food chain products "possible," and through a laboratory incident "extremely unlikely."

Calling the report "a very important beginning," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "We have not yet found the source of the virus, and we must continue to follow the science and leave no stone unturned as we do."

Nonetheless, some Western politicians have cooked up the lab-leak hypothesis to blame China and unleash intense waves of disinformation about the disease's origins, which have drawn criticism from the science community.

Danielle Anderson, who has extensive experience in bat-borne virus research, is the only foreign scientist to have worked in the high-security BSL-4 lab of the Wuhan Institute of Virology. In an interview with Bloomberg in June, Anderson rejected the lab-leak theory, saying, "If people were sick, I assume that I would have been sick -- and I wasn't.

Anderson also said that no one she knew at that time was ill. "We went to dinners together, lunches. We saw each other outside of the lab," said the virologist, who feels "dumbfounded by the portrayal of the lab by some media outside China, and the toxic attacks on scientists that have ensued."

Furthermore, Vladimir Dedkov, deputy director for scientific work at Russia's Pasteur Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, recently told Xinhua that if the hypothesis of an artificial origin is investigated, then it is necessary to investigate all laboratories with viruses of this type, not only in China, but in other countries.

Only scientists who rely on international cooperation can clarify the question of the origins of new viruses, he added.

The video screenshot taken on May 7, 2021 shows World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attending a press briefing in Geneva, Switzerland. (Xinhua)

POLITICAL HINDERANCE



Some non-scientists are rushing to fabricate evidence in the name of science. U.S. President Joe Biden has tasked the U.S. intelligence community to produce a report on the origins of COVID-19 within 90 days, instead of offering assistance to the WHO and facilitating the worldwide hunt for the source of the virus, including in his own country.

Meanwhile, scientists are increasingly worried about the consequences of unfounded allegations, which will hinder origin-tracing work and undermine preparations for the next pandemic.

Earlier this month, two dozen prominent international scientists reiterated their belief that the coronavirus evolved naturally rather than escaped from a lab, in a letter published in The Lancet medical journal.

Photo taken on March 30, 2021 shows an exterior view of the headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland. (Xinhua/Chen Junxia)

"Allegations and conjecture are of no help, as they do not facilitate access to information and objective assessment of the pathway from a bat virus to a human pathogen that might help to prevent a future pandemic," they wrote. "Recrimination has not, and will not, encourage international cooperation and collaboration."

"I concur with the many scientists who say that politicizing the science does not help genuine efforts to identify the origins of SARS-CoV-2, or ongoing collaboration between Chinese and Western scientists," said Hume Field, a science and policy advisor for China and Southeast Asia at EcoHealth Alliance in New York.

It just generates "doubt" and "mistrust" and fundamentally undermines the united global effort needed to prevail against the virus and the pandemic, Field told Xinhua.

Similarly, Dedkov said politicizing the topic is purely counterproductive, urging his colleagues to work together to find the cause of the pandemic instead of blaming China without proof. (Video reporter: Zhang Xuan; Video editor: Peng Ying)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 20:25:37|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

CHENGDU, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Police in southwest China's Chengdu City said Tuesday that they have busted a cross-border online gambling case involving over 100 million yuan (about 15.46 million U.S. dollars) and arrested 74 suspects.

In February this year, Chengdu police discovered that a suspect surnamed Cao was engaged in cross-border online gambling activities by acting as an agent for overseas gambling sites and set up dens for the illegal activity in the Shuangliu and Chenghua districts of Chengdu, Sichuan Province.

Eleven of the suspects are agents of more than 20 foreign gambling apps. They solicited gamblers to use the apps through China's popular social networking apps WeChat and QQ, from which the suspects made profit.

After an investigation, over 200 police officers raided 15 dens in Chengdu on April 19, confiscating 38 computers, 276 cell phones and more than 100,000 yuan in cash.

Further investigation into the case is underway. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 20:53:09|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Leaders of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the state Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji and Han Zheng meet with representatives of all who have participated in the preparations for the CPC centenary celebrations, in Beijing, capital of China, July 13, 2021. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday met with representatives of all who had participated in the preparations for the centenary celebrations of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, expressed appreciation for their work and achievements, encouraging them to work hard to make new contributions.

Members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee -- Li Keqiang, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, and Han Zheng -- attended the meeting.

At a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held earlier, Xi made a speech after hearing a report on the celebrations.

Xi noted that the celebrations of the CPC centenary, a major event in the political life of the Party and the state, have reached the expected results under the CPC Central Committee's strong leadership and through joint efforts of all participants.

The celebrations turned out to be a grand ceremony of the Party and a festival for the people, he said.

The passion and positive energy aroused by the celebrations can channel into the dynamic for fully building a modern socialist country and realizing national rejuvenation, Xi said.

He called for efforts to make the Party stronger, ensure its core leadership over socialism with Chinese characteristics, and better present the CPC to the world so as to enhance the international influence of the Party and the country.

Xi stressed strengthening and expanding what has been achieved in the celebrations to ensure a good start for implementing the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) and embarking on a journey toward the second centenary goal: building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects.

Speaking at Tuesday's meeting, Wang Huning called for studying and implementing Xi's speech and requirements, while consolidating and expanding the achievements of the celebrations.

He called on all Party members, officials, and the public to channel their passion into actions in their work. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 20:55:12|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

by Dana Halawi

BEIRUT, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Hadi Hadba cried when he showed cell phone photos of his father lying in bed next to an oxygen concentrator, which failed to save his life due to successive electricity cuts in Lebanon.

Suffering from a lung disease, Hadba's father had to use the oxygen concentrator for at least 14 consecutive hours. But because of the power supply shortage in Lebanon, the machine stopped working on Saturday afternoon, leaving the old man dead on his bed.

"I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw my father lying lifeless on his bed," the 28-year-old man told Xinhua.

Lack of electricity in Lebanon has been a chronic problem, exacerbated by the shortage of U.S. dollar which limits the country's capacity to import fuel for the operation of power stations. As a result, Lebanese households bear daily intermittent power cuts that last for around 20 hours a day if not more.

Even worse, diesel generators most Lebanese used to make up for the power failure now face an absence of sufficient supply of the fuel across the country.

On that afternoon, Hadba borrowed an uninterruptible power source in hope of sustaining the oxygen machine for a few hours, but it was too late.

Failing and corrupt policies adopted by successive governments in Lebanon deprived the Lebanese of some basic rights, including the right to access medicines, proper hospitalization, advanced internet services, and 24 hours of electricity.

The electricity sector has cost Lebanon around 40 percent of 95.6 billion dollars of its public debts since 1990. However, Lebanese authorities failed to reform the sector, just relying on ships for power generation which cost millions of dollars yearly.

"It is corruption in this country that kills my father and many others," Hadba said.

Asma el-Zein, a young lady in her 30s, told Xinhua that her mother had a heart attack last year and she has to use a special device against her sleep apnea to help her breathe at night and prevent heart strokes.

"My brothers and I have been in shifts at night to keep an eye on my mum in light of the successive power cuts and the interrupted service by owners of private generators," el-Zein said.

The nightmare of electricity blackout has expanded to hospitals which have been pleading to authorities to find a drastic solution to power shortage while warning them that patients' health is in danger.

Firas Abiad, director of Rafic Hariri University Hospital, told Xinhua that his hospital has been relying on private generators only as a temporary solution.

Abiad noted that his hospital can reduce the number of beds to minimize power consumption but it would be unfair for patients who can not afford to go to private hospitals.

Sami Haddad, head of maintenance at El Roum Hospital, told Xinhua that power shortage crisis has worsened when hospitals are forced to pay for the generators' spare parts in U.S. dollar while they charge patients with the local currency which has lost over 90 percent of its value.

"It is hard for us to sustain for much longer," Haddad said. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 21:54:57|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

RABAT, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The French Development Agency granted Morocco a loan of 150.6 million euros (180 million U.S. dollars) to support Morocco's agricultural Green Generation Strategy, official news agency MAP reported Tuesday.

Morocco's Green Generation 2020-2030 Program-for-Results is designed to make farming more rewarding and strengthen sustainable agriculture by streamlining climate-smart practices.

Agricultural sector represents 14 percent of Morocco's GDP annual growth rate, and is the main provider of jobs, with nearly 38 percent.

Morocco's Green Generation Strategy aims at achieving a total transition toward climate resilient agriculture that in future will be able to mitigate the impact of severe droughts.

It also targets the empowerment of young people and women in rural areas to develop their own businesses and cooperatives in the agricultural sector. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 23:08:07|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

People search remains at the quarantine center in al-Hussein Hospital in al-Nasiriyah, Iraq, July 13, 2021. At least 92 people were killed and dozens wounded in a huge fire that broke out at a hospital in Iraq's southern province of Dhi Qar, the official Iraqi News Agency reported on Tuesday. (Xinhua)

BAGHDAD, July 13 (Xinhua) -- At least 92 people were killed and dozens wounded in a huge fire that broke out at a hospital in Iraq's southern province of Dhi Qar, the official Iraqi News Agency reported on Tuesday.

On Monday evening, the fire broke out in the quarantine center of the al-Hussein Hospital in the provincial capital al-Nasiriyah, and quickly spread to the nearby 20 sandwich panel caravans.

Firefighters and teams of civil defense rushed to the scene to evacuate the patients and health workers, and they put out the fire hours later.

On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi held a cabinet meeting, during which he pledged to announce the result of the investigation into the fire within a week, according to a statement issued by the prime minister's media office.

Meanwhile, al-Kadhimi decided to suspend and detain the director-general of the provincial health department, the director of the hospital and the provincial civil defense director, and ordered an investigation into the deadly incident, said the statement.

He also declared a three-day national mourning for the casualties, it added. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 23:50:59|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- China will continue to strengthen vaccine, medical cooperation with Barbados and help the country win the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic at an early date, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Tuesday.

"At present, the COVID-19 pandemic is still spreading across the world. We feel a duty bound to extend a helping hand whenever our friends need one," Xi said in a phone conversation with Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-14 00:19:14|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

RABAT, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Morocco announced on Tuesday 1,897 new COVID-19 cases, taking the caseload in the North African country to 545,016.

The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco increased to 526,168 after 882 more were added.

The death toll rose to 9,395 with 11 new fatalities reported during the last 24 hours, while 338 people are in intensive care units.

The COVID-19 fatality rate in Morocco stands at 1.7 percent while the recovery rate is 96.5 percent.

Meanwhile, 10,713,551 people have received so far the first vaccine shots against COVID-19 in the country, and 9,409,395 people have received the second doses.

The North African country launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on Jan. 28 after the arrival of the first shipment of China's Sinopharm vaccines. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-14 00:30:05|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese side stands ready to conduct in-depth vaccine cooperation with Turkey and help it defeat the COVID-19 pandemic at an early date, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Tuesday in a phone conversation with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Xi pointed out that since last year, the practical cooperation between China and Turkey has yielded encouraging results, showing strong resilience and great potential.

The close cooperation between the two sides in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic has become a new highlight in bilateral relations, Xi said.

Noting that China and Turkey are about to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations, Xi said the Chinese side is willing to work with Turkey to promote greater development of China-Turkey strategic cooperative relations.

Xi emphasized that both sides should respect each other's core concerns and enhance strategic mutual trust.

China supports Turkey in safeguarding national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and in taking a development path in line with its own national conditions, Xi said, adding that China is also willing to strengthen cooperation with Turkey in anti-terrorism, security and other fields.

Xi called on the two sides to promote synergy between joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Middle Corridor project of Turkey, explore new ideas and measures to optimize bilateral trade structure, and improve economy and trade cooperation so as to push for more fruitful results in their practical cooperation.

Both sides should jointly oppose labelling the virus and politicizing origin tracing, and promote the building of a global community of health for all, Xi added.

For his part, Erdogan said the safety and effectiveness of Chinese vaccines have won recognition and trust worldwide, and Turkey hopes to strengthen vaccine cooperation with China. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-14 00:39:24|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- A spokesperson with the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council voiced support on Tuesday for Macao's Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election in disqualifying some candidates for the upcoming Legislative Assembly election.

The candidates were disqualified for not upholding the Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) or not pledging allegiance to the Macao SAR. The move is in line with the "one country, two systems" policy and the Basic Law, and is to ensure the implementation of the principle of "patriots administering Macao," said the spokesperson.

Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Macao SAR must be staunch patriots, the "patriots administering Macao" principle must be implemented in the Legislative Assembly election, and the candidates must meet the standards for patriotism, the spokesperson added.

The upcoming election is a major event for the Macao SAR in 2021, and the central government will give its full support to the SAR in organizing the election, according to the spokesperson.

"We believe all sectors of Macao society will respect and support the decision by the Electoral Affairs Commission regarding the election, firmly safeguard the 'patriots administering Macao' principle, and elect Legislative Assembly members that fit the patriot standards," said the spokesperson. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-14 01:14:51|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said Tuesday that China is ready to continue strengthening cooperation with Ukraine on vaccine and traditional Chinese medicine, and help the country beat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Xi made the remarks in a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ever since China and Ukraine established their strategic partnership 10 years ago, bilateral ties have maintained a healthy and stable momentum in development, and their cooperation in various areas has achieved positive results, bringing tangible benefits to the people of the two countries, Xi said.

He also said that the two countries have since last year joined hands in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic, and carried out cooperation on vaccine and other areas, deepening the friendship between the two peoples.

The Chinese side is ready to work together with Ukraine to carry forward the traditional friendship, deepen mutual understanding, strengthen practical cooperation, and take the 30th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral ties next year as an opportunity to actively push forward China-Ukraine relations, and help the two countries better achieve their respective development goals, Xi added.

Noting the recurring waves of the outbreak, Xi said the only way for the international community to perform well in humanity's arduous fight against the virus is through solidarity and cooperation.

Xi added that the two sides should take high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road as an opportunity to push forward cooperation on such projects as infrastructure and China-Europe freight train service, advance cooperation on agricultural products, and expand people-to-people exchanges and cooperation.

For his part, Zelensky noted that the Chinese side just celebrated the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), saying that the Ukrainian side extended its congratulations, and wishes greater achievements by the Chinese people under the CPC's leadership.

In the face of the strike by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese side has offered timely and precious assistance to Ukraine, which has played an important role in helping Ukraine fight against the disease, he said, adding that he hopes the two sides can strengthen cooperation on vaccines, medicine and other areas.

Noting that the Ukrainian side attaches great importance and is dedicated to developing a closer Ukraine-China strategic partnership, Zelensky said Ukraine firmly adheres to the one-China policy, and is ready to take the 10th anniversary of the bilateral strategic partnership as well as the 30th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral ties as an opportunity to promote exchanges and cooperation with China in various areas. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-14 01:23:00|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese side stands ready to conduct in-depth vaccine cooperation with Turkey and help it defeat the COVID-19 pandemic at an early date, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Tuesday in a phone conversation with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Xi pointed out that since last year, the practical cooperation between China and Turkey has yielded encouraging results, showing strong resilience and great potential.

The close cooperation between the two sides in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic has become a new highlight in bilateral relations, Xi said.

Noting that China and Turkey are about to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations, Xi said the Chinese side is willing to work with Turkey to promote greater development of China-Turkey strategic cooperative relations.

Xi emphasized that both sides should respect each other's core concerns and enhance strategic mutual trust.

China supports Turkey in safeguarding national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and in taking a development path in line with its own national conditions, Xi said, adding that China is also willing to strengthen cooperation with Turkey in anti-terrorism, security and other fields.

Xi called on the two sides to promote synergy between joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Middle Corridor project of Turkey, explore new ideas and measures to optimize bilateral trade structure, and improve economy and trade cooperation so as to push for more fruitful results in their practical cooperation.

Both sides should jointly oppose labelling the virus and politicizing origin tracing, and promote the building of a global community of health for all, Xi added.

For his part, Erdogan once again congratulated the Communist Party of China on its centennial.

He said that this year also marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and China, which is of special significance for both countries.

Turkey attaches importance to developing relations with China, and is willing to have close contacts with China and look to the future, jointly build the Belt and Road, and expand practical cooperation in such fields as economy, trade and infrastructure, Erdogan said, adding that Turkey welcomes investment cooperation with Chinese enterprises.

Expressing appreciation for China's invaluable support in fighting the COVID-19 epidemic, Erdogan said the safety and effectiveness of Chinese vaccines have won recognition and trust worldwide, and Turkey hopes to strengthen vaccine cooperation with China.

Turkey has and will continue to adhere to the one-China policy firmly, he said.

Turkey also supports China in safeguarding its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and in combating terrorism, he said, adding that his country does not allow anyone to use Turkish territory to engage in separatist activities that endanger China's sovereignty. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-14 01:23:41|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

MACAO, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government and the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR on Tuesday voiced firm support for Macao's Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election in carrying out its duties in accordance with law and rendering some candidates unqualified to stand for election.

The commission announced Tuesday that 20 candidates were rendered unqualified to stand for the direct election of the upcoming Legislative Assembly election for having not upheld the Macao SAR Basic Law, or not pledging allegiance to the Macao SAR.

The number of candidate lists for the direct election was reduced by five from 19 to 14.

The SAR government said that upholding the Macao SAR Basic Law and pledging allegiance to the Macao SAR are the fundamental standards for members of the Legislative Assembly, noting that it is the responsibilities of the commission to examine the qualifications of candidates in accordance with law so as to safeguard the overall interests of the Macao SAR and the constitutional order as stipulated in China's Constitution and the Macao SAR Basic Law, and implement the principle of "patriots administering Macao."

The SAR government stressed that disqualifying certain candidates does not affect the basic rights enjoyed by Macao residents in accordance with law, the freedom of speech they enjoy, or their right to know and supervise the SAR government's work.

The SAR government vowed to continue supporting the commission in carrying out its duties in accordance with law to ensure the steady and sustained implementation of "one country, two systems" and maintain the long-term prosperity and stability of Macao.

The liaison office said making sure members of the Legislative Assembly uphold the Macao SAR Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the Macao SAR is an inevitable requirement for implementing "one country, two systems" and safeguarding the fundamental interests of the country and Macao.

The office stressed that the decision of the commission serves the overall and long-term interests of the Macao SAR and the vital interests of Macao residents, adding that the decision is of profound and lasting significance to maintaining the long-term prosperity and stability of Macao, guaranteeing the livelihood and well-being of Macao compatriots and promoting the steady and sustained implementation of "one country, two systems" with Macao characteristics. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-14 01:27:25|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- China will continue to strengthen vaccine, medical cooperation with Barbados and help the country win the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic at an early date, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Tuesday.

"At present, the COVID-19 pandemic is still spreading across the world. We feel a duty bound to extend a helping hand whenever our friends need one," Xi said in a phone conversation with Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley.

Xi said that Barbados is China's good friend and partner in the eastern Caribbean, adding that since the two countries established diplomatic ties 44 years ago, the two sides have seen sustained high-level exchanges and fruitful cooperation.

He also said that since the outbreak of COVID-19, China and Barbados have pulled together and jointly overcome the difficulties of the moment.

Noting that both countries adhere to putting the people first, Xi said China stands ready to strengthen exchanges of experience in national governance with Barbados, expand practical cooperation in infrastructure and other fields, and keep promoting China-Barbados relations to new levels.

China is willing to continue providing help for Barbados in economic and social development to the best of its ability, Xi said, adding that the two sides should reinforce coordination and cooperation in international affairs and safeguard the common interests of developing countries.

The Belt and Road Initiative has created more opportunities for common development, Xi noted, saying that China is ready to work with Barbados and other Caribbean countries to promote the joint construction of the Belt and Road.

Xi also said that he hopes that Barbados can make positive contributions to advancing cooperation on the China-Caribbean community with a shared future and to boosting China-Latin America relations.

For her part, Mottley extended her sincere congratulation on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Under Xi's far-sighted and strong leadership, China has successfully realized its first centenary goal and eliminated absolute poverty, she said.

She also expressed her belief and wish that under the leadership of the CPC, China will definitely make greater achievements on its new journey to achieve the second centenary goal.

Barbados is glad to have such a friend as China, Mottley said, adding that her country is ready to work with China to strengthen bilateral practical cooperation and multilateral communication and coordination, jointly build the Belt and Road, and promote Barbados-China ties as well as Latin America-China ties for greater development.

Mottley thanked China for offering precious help to Barbados in fighting against the pandemic, saying that her country opposes politicizing the origin tracing of the virus, appreciates China for its positive contributions to promoting the fair distribution of vaccines among developing countries, and hopes to strengthen vaccine cooperation with China. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-14 01:37:57|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

GAZA, July 13 (Xinhua) -- A senior Qatari diplomat said on Tuesday that Qatar exerts efforts to ensure that a new round of tension between Israel and militant groups in the Gaza Strip does not recur.

Mohammed al-Emadi, the Qatari envoy to the Gaza Strip, made the remarks in a meeting held late on Monday night with Yehya Sinwar, the leader of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in Gaza.

In a press statement sent to Xinhua, the office of al-Emadi in Gaza said that "Qatar is making efforts with all parties to ensure the establishment of a ceasefire and to ensure that the round of escalation is not renewed."

The statement added that al-Emadi told Sinwar during their meeting that his country "is keen to bring urgent humanitarian and relief aid to the populations of the Gaza Strip as soon as possible."

According to the statement, al-Emadi discussed with Hamas leaders the current political situation and the developments in the region and expressed hope that calm will be stable in the Gaza Strip.

On May 21, Egypt brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas-led militant groups in the Gaza Strip, ending 11 days of tension between the two sides that killed more than 250 Palestinians and 13 Israelis.

The statement said that al-Emadi explained to Sinwar that Qatar is standing by the Palestinian people, and will keep supporting the Palestinians at all levels.

Meanwhile, Sinwar told al-Emadi that the Qatari support for the Palestinian people "confirms the depth of the relationship and the firmness of Qatar's position in supporting the Palestinian cause." Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-14 01:51:51|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Turkmenistan is willing to expand cooperation with China in various areas, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said here on Tuesday at a meeting with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Berdymukhamedov asked Wang to convey his sincere greetings to Chinese President Xi Jinping and extended his warm congratulations on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China.

China is the only country that has eliminated absolute poverty and completed the building of a well-off society in an all-round way, and Turkmenistan admires China for its achievements that have attracted worldwide attention, Berdymukhamedov said.

Turkmenistan and China are long-term strategic partners, and the relationship between the two sides is based on mutual respect, trust and support, the president noted.

Berdymukhamedov thanked China for consistently supporting the international initiatives put forward by Turkmenistan and its permanent neutrality, saying that Turkmenistan firmly supports the one-China principle and will continue to firmly support China on issues involving China's core interests.

To cooperate with China in the energy field is a political decision made by Turkmenistan, he said, adding that Turkmenistan regards China as a long-term and reliable strategic partner in the field of natural gas, and is willing to further expand cooperation with China in the fields of information, communications, high technology, etc.

The Turkmen side thanked China for its assistance in fighting the epidemic. China's vaccines are safe, effective and trustworthy, and Turkmenistan is willing to continue to strengthen vaccine cooperation with China, according to Berdymukhamedov.

China and the five Central Asian countries are not only close neighbors, but also friends and partners. They have huge space and potential for mutually beneficial cooperation, and should work together to give full play to the role of the "China+Central Asia" mechanism to maintain regional security and stability, and promote regional development and prosperity, Berdymukhamedov added.

The Turkmen side advocated that neighboring countries should play a bigger role on the Afghan issue, and expressed its willingness to strengthen communication and coordination with China on the situation in Afghanistan.

Wang conveyed Xi's cordial greetings to Berdymukhamedov.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations nearly 30 years ago, the China-Turkmenistan ties have seen healthy and stable development, with the strategic guidance of the heads of state being the biggest advantage and mutual support being the most fundamental feature, Wang said.

Not long ago, the important phone conversation between the two heads of state charted course for and injected impetus to the future development of the bilateral relations, he said.

Wang said that China firmly supports Turkmenistan's commitment to permanent neutrality, its important initiatives aimed for international peace and prosperity, and its major political processes.

China is ready to deepen cooperation with Turkmenistan in various areas and add more substance to their strategic partnership, he said.

Wang said the two countries should sign as soon as possible documents on the alignment of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative with Turkmenistan's development strategy to revive the Great Silk Road, formulate a five-year plan for all-round cooperation, plan overall strategic cooperation between the two countries, and turn the high-level political relations into more concrete results that will benefit the two peoples.

Wang noted China always views cooperation with Turkmenistan in natural gas from the strategic and long-term perspective and offers to be the most reliable and stable export market for Turkmenistan's natural gas.

China is ready for cooperation with Turkmenistan across the whole industrial chain of oil and gas, and jointly forge a high-level strategic partnership in the energy sector, he said.

Wang suggested that both countries expand cooperation in non-natural resources sectors and enrich their strategic cooperation.

He said China will continue to provide aid, including vaccines, to Turkmenistan to help it combat the COVID-19 pandemic, strengthen bilateral health cooperation, and build a global community of health for all.

Wang emphasized that the current security situation in Central Asia is not optimistic, and the urgency and necessity of strengthening security cooperation between China and Turkmenistan have become increasingly prominent.

China is willing to maintain close communication with Turkmenistan on the situation in Afghanistan, strengthen cooperation under the "China+Central Asia" framework, strictly guard against and respond to the spillover effect of the situation in Afghanistan on neighboring countries, and maintain regional peace and stability, Wang said.

During his visit to Turkmenistan, Wang also held talks with Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov, and met with Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister and Turkmen President of China-Turkmenistan Cooperation Committee Serdar Berdymukhamedov. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-14 01:57:17|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

DHAKA, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The entry of Chinese vaccines into the COVAX demonstrates contributions China has been making to solving the uneven distribution of COVID-19 vaccines around the world, a Bangladeshi health advisor said on Tuesday.

Mushtuq Husain, an adviser to the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research under Bangladesh's Health Ministry, in an interview with Xinhua said so far China is the country that provides the most vaccines for developing countries.

He said China's contributions will bolster the inoculation drive against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic worldwide.

The official said Bangladesh is delighted to learn that the Chinese drugmakers Sinopharm and Sinovac will provide COVID-19 vaccines for the COVAX program to bolster its goals of reducing death and suffering as well as improving the global economy.

"We are very happy and feeling relieved that Sinopharm and Sinovac have contributed to COVAX to facilitate the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccine to the developing countries," he said, adding that this would be a big boon for the whole world in the fight against the deadly disease.

The official said Bangladesh is in need for more Chinese support to rein in the worsening COVID-19 situation.

The Bangladeshi health official also said they are seeking more cooperation with Chinese organizations in the fight against infectious diseases. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-14 04:15:58|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BRUSSELS, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The Council of the European Union (EU) on Tuesday approved the first batch of national plans for recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic fallout, concluding the process for nearly half of EU countries to get the initial capital.

The first 12 countries to be able to get the much-needed loans and grants are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain.

"I think today is a historic day because it's the first time that the EU, the European Commission supported states in such way. For example, went to the markets, issued bonds, and now pays grants and loans to the countries," declared Slovenian Minister for Finance Andrej Sircelj, whose country holds the current presidency of the Council of the EU.

"This is excellent news. We have come a long way in preparing these ambitious plans. The EU funding can now start to flow to finance much-needed reforms and investments in each of these countries," said Valdis Dombrovskis, European Commission Executive Vice-President in charge of An Economy that Works for People.

"But this is only the start. Putting all plans into proper and rapid effect will be vital," he cautioned.

The 12 countries will now have to sign grant and loans agreements with the European Commission, which will enable the commission to unlock a 13 percent pre-financing of the total amount each country will receive. Countries should get their pre-financing by the end of July, according to Dombrovskis.

"I think it's very important that this formal final approval of these plans is set to arrive exactly in the moment when the recovery is underway. This will boost confidence in the markets," said Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for Economy.

The money will be allocated from the 672.5 billion-euro Resilience and Recovery Facility, an instrument at the heart of NextGenerationEU, the bloc's massive recovery package. Up to 312.5 billion euros will be available in grants, and up to 360 billion euros in loans.

Among the 12 EU member states, Italy will receive 191.5 billion euros from the EU, including 68.9 billion euros in grants and 122.6 billion euros in loans. It is the largest package so far.

Italy's plan devotes 37 percent of expenditure on projects that support climate objectives, including a large-scale renovation program to increase the energy efficiency of buildings. A quarter of the money will go to digital investments, according to the European Commission.

An extraordinary economic and finance council will be held virtually in late July, during which the resilience and recovery plans of Slovenia, Lithuania, Cyprus, and Croatia should be approved. Ireland could also be part of the second batch, announced Sircelj. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-14 05:41:08|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

TUNIS, July 13 (Xinhua) -- A plane loaded with 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine arrived on Tuesday at Tunis Carthage Airport from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said a statement released by the Tunisian Presidency.

The batch of COVID-19 doses offered by the UAE follows a telephone conversation between Tunisian President Kais Saied and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, it said.

This aid, which aims to support Tunisia's fight against the pandemic, reflects the strong relations between the two countries, according to the statement.

The presidency also announced that Tunisia received 250,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine from Algeria to help fight the pandemic.

"This noble initiative reflects the strength of the bonds of brotherhood and the solid relations between Tunisia and Algeria," said the presidency.

On Tuesday, another batch of 50,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine donated by Turkey also arrived in Tunisia. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 12:48:03|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

CAIRO, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Egypt on Monday celebrated the local production of the first 1 million doses of China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, seeking to meet domestic demand and then export to other countries in the region.

Egyptian Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA) and Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac signed two agreements in April to jointly manufacture the Sinovac vaccine in VACSERA's factory in the North African country.

The first agreement enables the Egyptian side to obtain the expertise and technical assistance to produce the vaccine, while the second one gives the VACSERA the license to manufacture and pack the vaccine in its factory.

IMPORTANT STEP TOWARDS SELF-SUFFICIENCY

"Manufacturing the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine at the factories of VACSERA makes Egypt the first Arab and African country to produce the coronavirus vaccines," Mohammed Eid, director of Abbasia Chest Hospital in Cairo, told Xinhua.

Producing the vaccine locally will have a great impact on controlling the pandemic, not only in Egypt but also in Arab and African countries, he said.

"This move will enable Egypt to achieve great successes in controlling the spread of the virus ... Egypt is very qualified to produce the vaccines since it has a very strong scientific and technological base," he added.

In addition to the health and technological benefits, Eid said, Egypt will also have economic gains from providing the vaccine to regional countries.

He stressed that the Chinese approval of the production of the Sinovac vaccine in Egypt proves China's confidence in Egypt's scientific, technological and industrial capabilities.

"This also means that China and Egypt are keen to strengthen their mutual cooperation for the interest of the two peoples," he added.

Egypt is also seeking to expand its production capacity of the Chinese vaccine. Last week, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly told reporters that his government is in talks with the Chinese side to double the supply of vaccine raw materials in order to produce 600,000 doses per day.

INTERNATIONAL ADMIRATION

The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomed the cooperation between Egypt and China in producing Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine in Egypt.

"The cooperation between Egypt and China is a successful model for international cooperation and transfer of global expertise, which contributes to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," said Naeema Al-Gasseer, WHO representative in Egypt, in a statement last week.

The WHO official said that the cooperation between Egypt and China in this regard helps achieve Goal 3.8 of the SDGs, concerning "access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines."

The WHO also appreciates Egypt's plan to vaccinate 40 percent of its citizens and residents by the end of this year, saying it is consistent with the organization's call.

It valued Egypt's plan to "achieve self-sufficiency in vaccines to become a center for exporting vaccines in Africa."

So far, some 52 African countries have acquired more than 70 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the African Union, said around 1.19 percent of Africa's population have been fully vaccinated.

Five countries, namely Morocco, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa and Algeria have acquired and administered the most doses of COVID-19 vaccines to their respective populations, according to the agency.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa reached 5,919,408 as of Sunday afternoon, Africa CDC said. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 15:03:12|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

ADDIS ABABA, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia registered 66 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally to 277,137 as of Monday evening, the country's Ministry of Health said.

The ministry said no deaths were registered over the last 24 hours and 33 more recoveries were reported during the same period, bringing the total number of recoveries to 262,022.

Ethiopia has so far recorded 4,343 COVID-19 related deaths.

Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous nation, has so far reported the largest number of COVID-19 cases in the East Africa region.

According to the ministry, Ethiopia currently has 10,770 active COVID-19 cases, of whom 121 are under severe health conditions.

Amid the national push for vaccination, the East African country has so far administered a total of 2,062,456 COVID-19 vaccine doses, according to the ministry.

It received the first batch of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Chinese government in March.

Figures from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that Ethiopia's COVID-19 cases accounted for about 5 percent of Africa's total.

Ethiopia is among the countries the hardest hit by COVID-19 in Africa, following South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 18:35:25|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

LUSAKA, July 13 (Xinhua) -- It is a bright Sunday morning and 7-year-old Grace Chimdidi and her elder sister 17-year-old Chiyembekezo Chimdidi, are preparing to visit their grandparents in Chazanga, a peri-urban area in Zambia's capital Lusaka.

Grace is always ecstatic about visiting her grandparents who live a few kilometers from her home. A visit to their grandparents is an opportunity for her to climb trees and eat roasted maize among other things.

For Chiyembekezo going to Chazanga entails having a free fancy hairdo done by one of her aunts, something that she has always looked forward to whenever she is around her grandparents' place.

"Please remind your grandfather about the vegetable seedlings I requested for and don't forget to carry them along on your way back," said the children's mother as the two sisters headed to a nearby bus station.

No sooner had they reached the station than a minibus stopped and they quickly got on board. Within minutes, the two children were at their grandparents' place.

Once inside the premises, elated Grace rushed to knock on the front door that was quickly answered by her grandfather, 72-year-old Kasuli Chenje, who seemed somewhat perturbed to see the duo.

Instead of welcoming the children in, Chenje stood in the doorway and asked Chiyembekozo and Grace to take a few steps backward while he reached for his mobile phone which was in one of his pockets. He swiftly dialed a number.

"We will not be receiving any visitors for a while. We have had too many funerals in our compound and so it will not be wise to allow Chiyembekezo and Grace inside the house. Sorry, I will have to send them back," he said as he ended the brief phone conversation.

He turned to look at the two and said that "sorry I cannot allow you inside the house or around this place. I have already spoken with your mother and she understands why that is so. Please go back home."

Chiyembekezo and Grace left their grandparents' house both confused and disappointed at the turn of events. The girls got in a taxi and headed back home without saying much.

"It seemed as though he was suggesting that my sister and I were carrying the coronavirus," said Chiyembekezo, after days of that sad episode at their grandparents' place. "I think he was only trying to protect himself and us because anyone can pass on the virus without knowing and there is no sure way of telling who has it who and who doesn't," she added.

The story of Chiyembekezo and Grace exemplifies what is currently happening in a number of communities in Zambia today. With the third wave of COVID-19 taking a toll on society, households are not only fearful of welcoming visitors but also unsure of how to handle the social dilemmas brought about the pandemic.

Individuals continue to recount how the pandemic has greatly affected their lives particularly its social aspects.

"COVID-19 has really shown us the unimaginable. Who would have thought that for one to attend a funeral ceremony of a relation or friend they would need to be invited," said 35-year-old Tobias Mumba, a resident of Lusaka.

He went on to recount how he was denied the privilege of attending a friend's funeral in June this year. After days of waiting for an invitation to attend the funeral of the said friend, Mumba tried to gatecrash but failed.

According to Zambian sociologist Mwiya Mataa, physical interactions have been an essential part of human social experience, and are particularly important for the social development of young people.

Mataa who is a lecturer at the University of Zambia, said in response to the COVID-19 situation, societies will need to adopt new values and new norms in order to survive.

"But we must ensure that we disseminate accurate information about COVID-19 so that individuals fully appreciate that it is in their best interest not to, for instance, attend a funeral physically," he explained.

He further emphasized the need to continue investing in technology noting that physical interactions are diminishing and people the world over are relying more on technology to stay connected with friends and family.

"We now have to value virtual interactions," Mataa stressed. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 20:50:25|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

GABORONE, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Botswanan government on Tuesday issued an advisory to its citizens against travel to neighboring South Africa and Kingdom of Eswatini, due to the ongoing incidents of violence and unrest in the two countries.

In a media statement from the Botswanan Ministry of International Affairs and Cooperation, Botswanan citizens were advised to avoid unnecessary travel to some parts of South Africa, particularly KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng Provinces. Batswana (Botswanan citizen) who are already in South Africa were advised to exercise extreme caution and avoid unnecessary movements, especially in cities such as Johannesburg and Durban. Botswanan truck drivers were advised to consider alternative routes to avoid protest areas.

In South Africa, protests started in the KwaZulu-Natal province last week over the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma for failure to abide by a court order. Supporters of the former President started violent protests and looting calling for his immediate release from jail. The protests were reported to have spread to other provinces including Gauteng by Monday evening.

The ministry also advised Batswana to avoid unnecessary travel to the Kingdom of Eswatini due to civil unrests in that country. Those people who are already in Eswatini were advised to exercise extreme caution and avoid unnecessary movements within the country.

Unrest started in the Kingdom of Eswatini at the end of June when demonstrators took to the streets to protest against the monarchy and for democratization. What started as a peaceful protest then escalated into violence and looting a few days later as the government took a hard-line stance against the demonstrations and prohibited the delivery of petitions. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 23:07:46|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

LUSAKA, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Zambia has seen an improvement in the availability of oxygen following a critical shortage due to increased COVID-19 cases as the third wave rages on, a government official said on Tuesday.

Kennedy Malama, Permanent Secretary in charge of Technical Services in the Ministry of Health has since thanked local producers for responding to the oxygen shortage by making the commodity available.

"We continue making good progress in commodity security to ensure enhanced quality of care in our health facilities. We are pleased to report that we have greatly improved our oxygen availability," he said during a COVID-19 update press briefing.

Zambia currently has 12,163 active cases, with 11,203 under community management while 960 are admitted to isolation facilities.

Out of those admitted, 696 are on oxygen therapy with 152 in critical conditions.

The country's cumulative cases currently stand at 178,748 following 2,006 new cases recorded in the last 24 hours while total deaths stand at 2,904 following 37 new deaths during the past 24 hours. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-14 00:42:27|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

NAIROBI, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The introduction of real estate investment trusts (REITs) in Kenya has enabled local and foreign property owners and developers to address finance constraints, Geoffrey Odundo, the chief executive of Nairobi Securities Exchange said.

He noted in a statement on Tuesday after an investors meeting in Nairobi that REITs in Kenya have opened up a new investment asset class that is accessible not only to large investors, but also retail investors.

In 2013, Kenya became the third African country to establish REITs as an investment vehicle with the country's regulations providing for three types of the assets.

Wycliffe Shamiah, Capital Markets Authority chief executive, observed that REITs have helped unlock the value of the real estate sector in the east African nation by facilitating developers' access to capital that can help boost growth of the capital markets.

Through REITs, he added, investors get an opportunity to diversify their investment portfolios.

The NSE currently has three REITs that are the ILAM Fahari I-REIT, which started trading in November 2015, the Acorn Student Accommodation I-REIT and D-REIT launched in February.

Kenya's REITs market, according to analysts, has the potential for vast growth and to transform the country's property sector. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 08:12:58|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

JAKARTA, July 13 (Xinhua) -- A ship with about 109 people on board caught fire in the waters off western Indonesia on Monday afternoon, but all the passengers and crew members were rescued safely, an official said.

The ship, Gunsa 8, caught fire when it was sailing in the Bangka Strait. The fire came from the engine of the ship, said Aswind Abu Nawar, head of the emergency unit of the disaster management agency in Kepulauan Bangka Belitung province.

The ship departed from a seaport in the province and was heading for a sea port in South Sumatra province, according to the official.

"All of the 90 passengers and 19 crew members were rescued by another passenger ship which was passing by at that time. Six of the people on board were children," he told Xinhua via phone.

"The fire was extinguished by a tugboat which was equipped with tools for stopping fires at sea," said Aswind.

All the passengers were transported to the seaport in Kepulauan Bangka Beitung, he said. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 13:48:12|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

VIENTIANE, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The Lao government has extended the ban on the import of cattle and other beef products due to an outbreak of lumpy skin disease, which is continuing to spread in various areas of the country.

According to local daily Vientiane Times on Tuesday, measures have been introduced to monitor and control the spread of the disease and address the shortage of beef and buffalo meat so there is enough to meet the needs of consumers.

The Department of Livestock and Fisheries under the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has issued guidelines to control the transport of cattle until the disease outbreak subsides.

A ban on the transport of cattle between provinces has been instituted to ensure the disease does not spread around the country, with checkpoints to be set up on roads.

The department has instructed the relevant sectors and local authorities to inform the public, farmers, and livestock businesses about the ways to prevent the spread of the disease, including improving hygiene and ensuring a clean environment for livestock.

The department stressed the need for closer coordination between central and local authorities to prevent delays in response to the disease outbreak.

Lumpy skin disease is a viral infection that affects cattle but cannot be transmitted to humans. It is transmitted by direct contact, such as by eating contaminated food, proximity to a herd, and by contact with an infected animal.

The virus is also indirectly transmitted by blood-sucking beetles and mosquitoes. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 15:31:11|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

KABUL, July 13 (Xinhua) -- A total of 29 militants have been confirmed dead as fighting planes struck Taliban fighters' gathering in Tepa area of Afghanistan's northern Jawzjan province on Monday, the Defense Ministry said in a statement released on Tuesday.

Three key Taliban commanders were among those killed in the air raids along the road linking Jawzjan to the neighboring Sari Pul province, the statement said.

A large quantity of arms and ammunitions of the militants were also destroyed in the airstrikes, the statement added.

Taliban militants have yet to comment on the incident. The militant group has overrun more than a dozen districts in Jawzjan and the neighboring Faryab, Balkh and Sari Pul provinces over the past two months. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 18:05:50|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

NEW DELHI, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Two more cases of Zika virus have been detected Tuesday in the southern Indian state of Kerala, taking the case tally to 21, officials said.

According to the local health department officials, both the cases are from Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala.

"Two more people in the state have been diagnosed with the Zika virus," a local news agency quoted Kerala health minister Veena George as having said. "A 35-year-old resident of Poonthura and a 41-year-old resident of Sasthamangalam. With this, 21 Zika virus cases are confirmed in the state."

Last week 14 cases were detected in the state.

The first case was a 24-year-old pregnant woman. Later on, 13 people, mostly healthcare workers, were found infected.

Since then cases keep on increasing though at a slower pace.

Following the detection of Zika virus cases, the local government sounded an alert across Kerala.

George on Sunday said hospitals in the state have been instructed to test patients, especially pregnant women, with fever, rashes and body pain.

"We have intensified the vector control activities and given a message to district medical officers and collectors," George said last week. "We have also prepared the action plan to manage the infection."

Zika virus is mostly spread by mosquitoes. It can also be sexually transmitted.

The mosquito-borne virus has been linked to shrunken brains in children and a rare auto-immune disease called Guillain-Barre syndrome.

India reported a Zika outbreak in the western state of Gujarat in 2016-17.

The current outbreak has been reported at a time when the state is battling the ongoing second wave of COVID-19. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 18:23:07|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

COLOMBO, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Cabinet of Ministers on Tuesday approved a proposal to attract digital tourists into the country and to introduce a long-term visa category for these digital tourists, the government information department said.

According to a statement from the government information department, when visiting Sri Lanka, digital travellers often stay in restaurants, public libraries, and other such venues and provide their services online through devices with internet access.

A proposal made by Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga was approved by the ministers to provide high-speed internet connections for communication, long-term visas, affordable accommodation, tax exemption for earnings, etc. to such tourists which are the facilities required to attract such a tourism market.

"By attracting digital tourists to Sri Lanka and providing them with the facilities they need to stay longer, the country will be able to earn more foreign exchange," the government information department said.

Sri Lanka's tourism sector has been one of the worst affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the government is now looking at ways to revive this sector.

An estimated 4 million people are directly and indirectly employed in this sector. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 19:15:25|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Sher Bahadur Deuba takes oath as Prime Minister during an inauguration ceremony administered by Nepali President Bidya Devi Bhandari in Kathmandu, Nepal, July 13, 2021. Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba was appointed prime minister of the country on Tuesday within a deadline set by the Supreme Court. (Office of the President of Nepal/Handout via Xinhua)



KATHMANDU, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba was appointed prime minister of the country on Tuesday within a deadline set by the Supreme Court.

"The president has appointed Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba as the prime minister" under the Constitution of Nepal, Bhesh Raj Adhikari, chief personal secretary to Nepali President Bidya Devi Bhandari, told Xinhua.

"He will be administered the oath of office and secrecy at 6"00 p.m. today (Tuesday)," said Adhikari.

In its Monday verdict ordering the dissolved House of Representatives to be restored, the Supreme Court also directed Bhandari to appoint Deuba as the new premier by 5:00 p.m. Tuesday local time.

It is the fifth time for 75-year-old Deuba to assume the premiership. The 2017 general election in Nepal was held under his leadership. The outgoing Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli succeeded him in February 2018.

Deuba will head the government until the next general election slated for November next year if he survives a vote of trust in the House of Representatives within 30 days after his appointment as prime minister.

The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a session of the lower house of parliament shall be called in seven days.

Currently, the Nepali Congress has 61 seats in the 271-member lower house, and Deuba needs 136 votes to pass the floor test.

Among the parties and factions that had endorsed Deuba's claim to the premiership, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) has 49 seats, the Upendra Yadav faction of the Janata Samabadi Party has 12 seats, and the Rashtriya Janamorcha has one seat.

While the Madhav Kumar Nepal faction of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) headed by Oli had supported Deuba's bid for the post of the prime minister, this faction has forged an agreement with the Oli faction to settle their disputes.

As recommended by Oli, President Bhandari dissolved the lower house on May 22 after she rejected claims by Deuba and Oli to the premiership, a move that was challenged by an alliance of the Nepali Congress and other opposition parties and factions at the Supreme Court. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 21:28:45|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

A man receives a dose of Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccine at Port Moresby General Hospital in Port Moresby of Papua New Guinea (PNG), July 13, 2021. Papua New Guinea (PNG) announced a rollout of the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine on Tuesday in a further effort to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the Pacific island country. (Chinese Ambassy to Papua New Guinea/Handout via Xinhua)



SYDNEY, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Papua New Guinea (PNG) announced a rollout of the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine on Tuesday in a further effort to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the Pacific island country.

A ceremony was held at Port Moresby General Hospital in the capital city of Port Moresby. The event was attended by Chinese Ambassador to PNG Zeng Fanhua, PNG Health Minister Jetta Wong, Forestry Minister Walter Schnaubelt, Deputy National Pandemic Response Controller Dr. Daoni Esorom and Port Moresby General Hospital CEO Dr. Paki Molumi, as well as representatives from the World Health Organization. Schnaubelt received a vaccine jab on site.

The announcement came after donations of the Sinopharm vaccines arrived in PNG in late June.

Zeng said vaccination is the key to defeating the pandemic. China has provided more than 500 million vaccine doses to over 100 countries globally.

According to China's National Health Commission, there have been more than 1.38 billion doses administered in China so far, which Zeng said testifies to their safety and effectiveness.

He added that the China-donated vaccines would help PNG protect its people's health and safety. China will also continue to work with PNG to strengthen health exchanges and help PNG cope with the pandemic.

Wong thanked the Chinese government for donating the vaccines. He said the fact that Chinese vaccines have been approved by the WHO for emergency use and are provided to participants of the COVAX project illustrates their safe use.

He called on PNG residents to get vaccinated, saying the more people get vaccinated the earlier they could be protected from the virus.

Dr. Esorom said a national rollout of the Chinese vaccines will help PNG better control the pandemic and prepare for a possible new outbreak.

According to the latest statistics released by the PNG government as of July 9, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country reached 17,340 with 179 deaths. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 22:27:19|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BANGKOK, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The Thai government approved on Tuesday a one-month relief aid for people affected by travel restrictions and curfew under the sustained COVID-19 situation.

A total of 30 billion baht (about 920.24 million U.S. dollars) will be granted to employees and business owners in Bangkok, its five neighboring provinces, and four southern provinces, according to government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri.

The government will provide each Social Security-covered employee with financial aid equal to half their monthly pay, up to 7,500 baht (about 230 U.S. dollars), and an additional 2,500 baht (about 76 U.S. dollars) on top, Anucha said.

Employees without Social Security coverage will receive 5,000 baht (about 153 U.S. dollars) from the government, he said.

The affected business operators will receive 3,000 baht (about 92 U.S. dollars) for each of their employees for a maximum of 200 headcount, he added.

Thailand on Monday imposed a semi-lockdown in Bangkok and nine provinces to curb the further spread of coronavirus, especially the variants.

With 8,685 new COVID-19 cases and 56 deaths recorded on Tuesday, the country's total number now stands at 353,712 infections and 2,847 deaths.

As of Monday, nearly 13 million doses of vaccine have been administered in Thailand. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 22:29:33|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

ISLAMABAD, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Three terrorists and two security forces personnel were killed as the Pakistani military conducted an operation against militants in the country's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said on Tuesday.

The security forces conducted the intelligence-based operation in the Zewa area of Kurram district of the province, and killed three militants, the army's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

The ISPR said that two security forces personnel were killed during an intense exchange of fire with terrorists.

"Cordon and search operation is in progress to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area," said the statement. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-14 00:11:16|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Turkmenistan is willing to expand cooperation with China in various areas, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said here on Tuesday at a meeting with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Berdymukhamedov asked Wang to convey his sincere greetings to Chinese President Xi Jinping and extended his warm congratulations on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China.

China is the only country that has eliminated absolute poverty and completed the building of a well-off society in an all-round way, and Turkmenistan admires China for its achievements that have attracted worldwide attention, Berdymukhamedov said.

Turkmenistan and China are long-term strategic partners, and the relationship between the two sides is based on mutual respect, trust and support, the president noted.

Berdymukhamedov thanked China for consistently supporting the international initiatives put forward by Turkmenistan and its permanent neutrality, saying that Turkmenistan firmly supports the one-China principle and will continue to firmly support China on issues involving China's core interests.

To cooperate with China in the energy field is a political decision made by Turkmenistan, he said, adding that Turkmenistan regards China as a long-term and reliable strategic partner in the field of natural gas, and is willing to further expand cooperation with China in the fields of information, communications, high technology, etc.

The Turkmen side thanked China for its assistance in fighting the epidemic. China's vaccines are safe, effective and trustworthy, and Turkmenistan is willing to continue to strengthen vaccine cooperation with China, according to Berdymukhamedov.

China and the five Central Asian countries are not only close neighbors, but also friends and partners. They have huge space and potential for mutually beneficial cooperation, and should work together to give full play to the role of the "China+Central Asia" mechanism to maintain regional security and stability, and promote regional development and prosperity, Berdymukhamedov added.

The Turkmen side advocated that neighboring countries should play a bigger role on the Afghan issue, and expressed its willingness to strengthen communication and coordination with China on the situation in Afghanistan. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-13 21:12:30|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

NICOSIA, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus' Deputy Ministry of Tourism started offering subsidized holidays to vaccinated people as a means of encouragement to people to get the COVID-19 jab, a statement said on Tuesday.

At the same time, the Cyprus Employers' Federation urged its members to consider banning employees who refuse to be vaccinated.

From Friday to the end of August, the government will pay 35 percent of the cost of accommodation in hotels and tourist apartments for individuals who present a certificate proving they have received at least one dose of one of the EU-approved vaccines, according to the statement.

The arrangement applies to all permanent residents of Cyprus.

Deputy Minister for Tourism Savvas Perdios said that about 25 percent of hotels and hotel apartments have applied to take part in the scheme, which also involves offering reduced prices.

He said the move aims both at increasing the ratio of vaccinated people and at helping the hotel industry to deal with the situation of reduced tourists from abroad.

The campaigns are mostly aimed at encouraging people of the age group between 16 and 30 to get vaccines.

Zoi Dorothea Pana, an expert on COVID-19 at European University Cyprus, said that the majority of young people have not received even the first dose of a vaccine.

She added that 90 percent of new COVID-19 cases relate to young individuals. The median age of new cases dropped to 23 years of age, and as a result, the median age of patients has dropped to 53 years of age.

Pana also said that 67.6 percent of the population over 16 have received the first dose of a vaccine, but the ratio of people who have completed their vaccination regimen is only 57.5 percent. Enditem
The nominee to be the next secretary of the Navy pledged Tuesday to support the push to grow the service to 355 ships over the next three decades.

But during Carlos Del Toro's nomination hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, several Republican lawmakers questioned whether President Joe Biden's proposed military budget would be enough to set the Navy on that path.

Del Toro told lawmakers that he fully supports the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, which requires the Navy to reach that 355-ship goal. The service currently has about 297 battle force ships, including logistics and supply vessels.

Read Next: No Plans for Space Force PT Test Yet

The growth in sea forces will be necessary as the military shifts its attention from the land-based conflicts in the Middle East of the last two decades to the Pacific region, he explained. Deterring China in particular will require a "more dominant maritime strategy" and more resources for the Navy and Marine Corps, Del Toro added.

If confirmed, Del Toro said he would make the case for more Navy resources to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as the fiscal 2023 budget proposal is prepared.

Although some Republicans questioned the Biden administration's budgeting priorities, the questioning of Del Toro was collegial, and no issues emerged that appeared likely to jeopardize his confirmation to run the Navy.

In his opening statement, Del Toro highlighted China as a top challenge for the United States. China's "determined incursion" into the South China Sea represents a persistent naval threat, he said.

"China's rising military expenditures, fueled by a growing economy coupled with their global adventurism, means that we can no longer take U.S. naval superiority for granted," Del Toro said. "Access to contested waters requires more robust capabilities and capacity."

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., concurred with Del Toro's assessment of the threat posed by China, but disagreed that Biden's proposed budget adequately addresses that.

He cited Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday's testimony to the House Armed Services Committee last month that the proposed top-line budget figure for the Navy would set the service on a path to only 300 ships.

Wicker said lawmakers from both parties are willing to help the service find the resources it needs to counter and deter China.

The Navy would receive $211.7 billion under the proposed 2022 budget, an increase of $207 billion from the current year. It calls for transforming the fleet with new ships, and would speed up the retirement of several older ships to free up resources.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., questioned the proposed budget's emphasis on research and development as opposed to buying new ships.

Del Toro said that, while he wasn't present while this budget was being prepared, it's important for the Navy to invest in research and development to prepare for future conflicts.

"We can't be fighting the wars of yesterday, we have to fight the new wars of tomorrow," he said. "That includes cybersecurity and space and many other challenges that are presented."

He later told Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., that the Navy needs to invest in missile technology, hypersonics, cybersecurity and other advancements in computing power.

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper last September, in the waning months of his tenure running the Pentagon, laid out an ambitious plan for reaching at least 355 ships, including proposals to overhaul the shipyards necessary to produce and maintain ships. Esper's plan also called for focusing on the Indo-Pacific with a more dispersed fleet, and a new class of frigates to better withstand the threat from China's long-range "carrier killer" missiles.

However, Esper -- whose relationship with former President Donald Trump was already rocky -- was not in a position to follow through on that plan given his limited time left in office, and such a surge in military spending did not appear to have bipartisan support.

-- Stephen Losey can be reached at stephen.losey@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StephenLosey.

Related: Navy Speeds Up Ship Retirements as It Ramps Up Investment in New Platforms
press release

Washington, DC  Third Waves Rage Around The World As New Variants Create New Threats

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, a Senior Chief Deputy Whip and Chair of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee, led a letter to the German Ambassador urging the nation to reconsider it continued opposition to a waiver of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Intellectual Property (TRIPS waiver). Specifically, the group is requesting a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who will be in Washington this week to meet with President Biden. Schakowsky was joined by Representatives Earl Blumenauer, Rosa DeLauro, Lloyd Doggett, Andy Levin, Adriano Espaillat, Jesus Chuy Garcia, Barbara Lee, and Angie Craig.

The letter, in part, reads:

We are troubled by the European Unions continuing opposition to this initiative, which we understand is a position led by Germany within the EU. The United States and almost every other WTO member seeks to enact a COVID emergency temporary TRIPS waiver as quickly as possible. In advance of/when Chancellor Merkel is in DC the July 15 summit with President Biden, we respectfully request an opportunity to meet with her to discuss the urgency of Germany ending its blockade against adoption of a waiver.

Scaling up much greater production of mRNA vaccines is necessary to save millions of lives and livelihoods. Thanks to IP barriers, it is the U.S. and German firms that have the only approved COVID-19 mRNA vaccines that hold the monopoly power to decide if this scale-up will occur. This summit will decide the fate of tens of millions of people.

This same group of legislators led a group of 110 Member of Congress to call for the White House to support the TRIPS waiver. In May, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced that the Biden-Harris Administration supported the TRIPS waiver, in response to the extraordinary threat the coronavirus continues to pose around the world.

A full PDF of the letter is available HERE.
The government's attempt to regulate the media is the only the latest in series of failed attempts to do so.

The front banners of major newspapers in Nigeria on Monday bore a picture of an individual with a sealed mouth.

"Information Blackout," read the caption that ran with the picture. "It's not just against the media... .it's about society's right to know, your right to be heard."

The message is a joint release from the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and Newspaper Proprietors' Association of Nigeria (NPAN).

It is expected to be the chyron on television stations, the jingles on radio stations and the lead graphics on online media.

This is a pushback by media organisations in the country against the Buhari government's brazen attempt to regulate social media and censor the press through controversial media bills at the National Assembly.

The controversial bills are the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the Nigerian Press Council (NPC) Act amendment bills.

The former sought lawmakers' cooperation to include "all online media" among the media organisations the government seeks to be able to censor.

Existing censorship on broadcast stations persists, and instances, where the stations are ordered to stop the broadcast of programmes the government feels uncomfortable with, are rife. Heavy fines are imposed at will when there is an alleged breach.

The latter gives the president the right to appoint the chairman of the board of the Nigerian Press Council (NPC). It also empowers the president to appoint all other members of the board upon the recommendation of the information minister.

"I stand resolutely by the NUJ, NGE and NPAN in its campaign against information blackout as represented by the NPC and NBC (Media) Act amendment Bills," a former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, wrote on Facebook Monday evening. "Freedom of the press and access to information is the oxygen of democracy and must never be compromised."

Attempts At Stifling Free Speech

Since coming to office, the Buhari administration has made clear its preference for controlling, or possibly, silencing the media. Mr Mohammed, a lawyer and former spokesperson for the ruling All Progressives Congress, has led the effort to actualise that mandate.

Mr Buhari ran a repressive military dictatorship in the early 1980s and his government jailed journalists and critics, and enacted draconian anti-press decrees.

As a candidate seeking to return a civilian president, Mr Buhari claimed he had become a "reformed democrat".

His government's initial attempts to regulate social media through a bill at the National Assembly fell flat largely due to public backlash. The government has now clawed back its resolve through the newly introduced controversial media bills.

Mr Mohammed says it is the practice across the world. However, PREMIUM TIMES has shown his narrative is flawed as most of the countries Nigeria seeks to emulate are ranked poorly in the press freedom and on the human development index.

In June, the government banned Twitter after the social media platform deleted President Buhari's post, and threatened to prosecute Nigerians who continued with its use. The administration has refused to reverse the decision despite public backlash and international condemnations. It, however, later admitted it lacked the legal backing to go after Twitter users.

Rights groups and activists have criticised the government's move to regulate the media and have demanded greater transparency in government.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance Media By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"The National Assembly should not enact any law that will deny press freedom," the executive director of the International Press Centre, Lanre Arogundade, told PREMIUM TIMES in June.

"The public should know that an assault on the media is an assault on them. It's not a media battle alone, it is for everyone," Mr Arogundade added.

A coalition of civil society organisations including Amnesty International and the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) also lashed at the bills in a recent statement.

"The Nigerian authorities have continued to propose laws to regulate the social media, and restrict the rights to freedom of expression, access to information, and media freedom, including through legislative bills popularly known as the 'Hate Speech Bill' and 'The Social Media Bill' which both provide severe punitive sanctions such as the death penalty in some cases, for social media users convicted of 'crimes' provided under them."
Economic empowerment advocacy group, the Affirmative Action Group (AAG) has distanced itself from recent utterances by its controversial deputy president Passion Java who last week endorsed Mary Mliswa-Chikoka for the position of Zanu PF Mashonaland West provincial chairperson which became vacant following the elevation of Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi as a politburo member.

The comments by Java are said to have divided the AAG's board members prompting the group's president Mike Chimombe to issue a statement over the weekend.

"The comments that were made by the Vice President Passion Java were in his personal opinions and do not represent AAG. It is, therefore, futile to try and malign the reputation of the AAG leadership and what it stands for by associating the organisation with the remarks made by Vice President Java in his personal capacity.

"Vice President Java will buttress this point by speaking on these issues to correct the misconception that has arisen as a result of his personal opinions. The AAG is apolitical and holds its values sacrosanct and, therefore, has no business dabbling in Mashonaland West politics, which the circulating video is attempting to project," said Chimombe.

He added that AAG does not campaign for political parties but stands with President Emmerson Mnangagwa's policies.

"The AAG does not endorse or campaign for political candidates. We only stand for the President of Zimbabwe, His Excellency Cde ED Mnangagwa and his economic empowerment policies of attaining an upper middle income economy through the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) initiative." he said.

Another controversial businessman with strong links to the ruling party, Delish Nguwaya is said to have resigned from AAG following Java's statements.

AAGPassion JavaPhillip Chiyangwa
The Benin Palace and the Edo State Government disagreed over where the artefacts will be housed.

The Edo State Government has downplayed the reported rift between it and the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II over the proposed return and storage of the 1,130 stolen artefacts belonging to the state.

The position was contained in a statement by the Secretary to the Edo State Government, Osarodion Ogie on Monday.

The Oba had asked the Federal Government to temporarily take custody of 1,130 stolen Benin artefacts when they are repatriated from Europe amid the controversy surrounding where the artefacts will be housed.

The Benin Palace and the Edo State Government have disagreed over where the artefacts will be housed.

While the palace wants the artefacts kept in the Benin Royal Museum, which will be built within the palace, the state government wants the items preserved in the proposed Edo Museum of West African Arts.

The artefacts were looted during the invasion of the Benin Kingdom in 1897 by the British.

In the statement, the state government said it has always acted transparently and in consonance with existing federal and state laws in all matters relating to the proposed return of the artefacts and monuments.

Governor Godwin Obaseki also said he would "continue to make efforts to secure a private audience with His Royal Majesty to discuss his concerns."

The Governor also ordered that "on no account should anyone, whether in government or acting independently, engage in disrespectful exchanges and/or altercation with our revered Royal Majesty and the Benin Royal Palace".

While appreciating the federal government, the state government assured that it would work with all the interested parties to ensure the eventual return of the artefacts.

Read full statement below:

Benin artefacts: Obaseki will continue to engage His Royal Majesty to secure final return

The attention of the Edo State Government (EDSG) has been drawn to the widely publicized media statement issued by the Palace of His Royal Majesty, Omo N'Oba N'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II.

It is concerning that the statement appears to have created the impression that there is a major conflict between the interests of the EDSG and His Royal Majesty with regards to the laudable national milestone of having our highly valued artefacts returned home to Nigeria.

The Government of Edo State and the Governor have always acted transparently and in consonance with existing Federal and State laws in all matters relating to the proposed return of the artefacts and monuments.

The actions of the government thus far on this issue have been driven by selfless, patriotic considerations and in the best interest of Edo State and Edo people.

The Governor of Edo State, His Excellency, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has displayed and will continue to display immense respect for our traditional institutions and therefore will continue to make efforts to secure a private audience with His Royal Majesty to discuss his concerns.

The Governor has consequently ordered that on no account should anyone, whether in government or acting independently, engage in disrespectful exchanges and/or altercation with our revered Royal Majesty and the Benin Royal Palace.

Governor Obaseki, meanwhile, expresses his gratitude to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR) and Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and other officials of the federal government for their patriotic and tireless efforts that have brought us to the verge of this eagerly anticipated achievement which has remained elusive for over a century.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Entertainment By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

While thanking and congratulating the Federal Government, the President, the Minister, the Royal Palace of the Oba of Benin and all stakeholders who have contributed to the successes so far recorded in this endeavor, the Governor assures that he will continue to work assiduously with all local and international stakeholders for the eventual and final return of these valued records of our great and glorious heritage back to Benin City for the benefit of ALL Edo people, Nigerians and the black race.

Osarodion Ogie Esq.

Secretary to the Edo State Government
The Bureau of Public Enterprises says it has shortlisted 30 projects for privatisation and concession.

The Nigerian government does not plan to privatise the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), has said.

Yunana Malo, Director, Energy Department, of the BPE said at a media conference on Monday in Abuja, that the bureau would instead hand over the company to a private manager on a concession arrangement to get maximum value.

He said transmission was the weak link in the power reform, as generation which was privatised had since attracted investments, making it more efficient.

He said the generation capacity had improved, adding that 60 per cent of the distribution segment had also been partially privatised and was beginning to pick up through the reforms of the Federal Government.

"The seemingly weak link is the transmission component, it is still 100 per cent owned by the FG," he said.

"The idea is to think outside the box and bring in solutions that will make the transmission component service the value chain, and make it more efficient.

"Government is not thinking of privatising, it is thinking of ways and means that the private capital can be brought into the transmission component without giving out the ownership of Transmission Company," said Mr Malo.

He explained that the bureau would use the concession option, "so that we can have somebody building the high tension lines, covering areas that have not been reached or to maintain the existing ones to get maximum value, to move from the radial system we have today into a mesh.

"So the idea is not to privatise but to reform and make it efficient, bringing in private sector operational modalities within the transmission company."

On the Federal Government's 40 per cent stake in the Distribution Companies (DISCOS), Mr Malo said the shares were still intact and protected by BPE.

Alex Okoh, BPE Director-General, said over the years, N1 trillion had been generated from 234 concluded transactions of previously government-owned enterprises from various sectors of the economy.

He said the Bureau expected to generate N493.40 billion net revenue from various transactions as approved by the National Council on Privatisation (NCP).

He said over 30 projects had been categorised under five segments with 22 of them carried over from 2020.

He, however, said the plan to privatise the nation's refineries had been dropped as the Federal Government was considering other approaches to revitalise and improve on them.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance Energy By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The director-general said BPE was very close to resolving the issues surrounding the Ajaokuta Steel Company, especially the litigation and that once that was done a decision would be taken on how to proceed with it.

Mr Okoh said the rationale for privatisation was to generate revenue for government, reduce operational inefficiencies, revitalise and optimise public sector entities and increase investment level as a catalyst for growth.

"The country's fiscal space is getting increasingly constrained, as a result, government cannot provide the resources required to meet all of its obligations and bridge the huge infrastructure gap.

"The most feasible option is to attract private sector investments. BPE's current initiative in its 2021 work plan and additional roles in the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) space is, therefore, poised to impact on the economy positively.

"This is in the areas of infrastructure development, improved health care service delivery, power generation and supply, employment creation, food security, and human capital development," he said.
Shell had claimed the case would be better decided in Nigeria. Now, its subsidiary SPDC will now be part of the lawsuits filed in England against Royal Dutch Shell.

Royal Dutch Shell has given up its struggle to move a Niger Delta oil spill case, involving thousands of the region's residents, from the UK to Nigeria, Bloomberg said Monday.

The decision comes on the heels of two recently lost suits for Shell. In January a Dutch court directed the supermajor to pay compensation to residents of its operational base in the country's far south for an oil spill action, a couple of decades ago.

Members of Nigeria's Ogle and Bile communities numbering around 40,000 said the energy giant and its local unit, SPDC, are both accountable for oil contamination in the Niger Delta since the 1980s.

The push gained notability under the leadership of community organiser and environmental rights activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was executed by the Nigerian government in 1995.

Shell's lawyers failed to return to the High Court of England with the position that the trial, half a decade old, would be better decided in Nigeria, said parties in the suit, stating that SPDC will now be part of the lawsuits filed in England against Royal Dutch Shell.

In February, the UK Supreme Court said in a pivotal trial of the possibility of Shell's parent company being sued in English courts for activities of its Nigerian operation.

Nevertheless, it allowed Shell to argue that it was better to leave any action against SPDC to courts in the West African nation. With SPDC's inclusion in the UK trials, more documents on Shell's operation in Nigeria are likely to be made public.

Bloomberg quoted Daniel Leider, an attorney representing the claimants as saying in a statement that "this is a significant win" for the affected communities because it means they can finally bring their case to trial.

"Shell's oil contamination remains in their drinking water, land, and waterways, and still no clean-up has taken place," Leider said.

The firm said that it cleans up any environmental damage, irrespective of what causes it.

Royal Dutch Shell plc has a horrific history in Nigeria, where a number oil spills it partly blames on sabotage, has prompted it to re-evaluate its future there.

CEO Ben van Burden told shareholders in May that "the balance of risks and rewards associated with our onshore portfolio is no longer compatible with our strategic ambitions."

The company had earlier this year announced a move to become "net-zero" in respect of carbon emissions by 2050.
Mr Ekweremadu says a single term of five or six years will help circumvent the distractions and manipulations that come with the quest for second term.

A former Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, has advocated the amendment of the 1999 Constitution to reflect a single term rotational presidency.

Mr Ekweremadu made the call on Monday in Lagos while speaking at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Ikeja Branch Law Week 2021 with the theme "The Nigeria of Our Dreams."

He said he had long advocated a single presidential term of five or six-years.

"This will help us circumvent the distractions, manipulations, divisiveness, and excesses that come with quest for a second term of executive offices.

"It will as well ensure that power rotates more frequently among the various sections and groups.

"If people are sure that it will get to them, the struggle for it by various sections will be less desperate.

"Besides, it is better if every President or Governor understands that he or she has only a single term to begin and complete all his or her good works," he said.

Mr Ekweremadu said this model had worked for some Latin American democracies in the 1970s when they faced similar challenge of excessive contestation for power.

He said some Latin American countries adopted the model for a fixed period of time and had since reverted to two presidential terms after their democracies stabilised.

"Some others such as Mexico still operates a single term of six-years," he said.

Mr Ekweremadu, who represents Enugu West Senatorial Distrct, noted that a region's access or lack of access to political power affected public attitude and sense of belonging in governance and democracy.

He said there was nothing to prove that sections of Nigeria that produced presidents or military Heads of State were better off than those that had not.

"Save the patronage enjoyed by a privileged few, rotational presidency is nevertheless imperative in our African environment where ethno-religious and sectional sentiments are still high.

"So, in the higher and long-term national interest, it is time to revisit and entrench the idea of rotational presidency.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"This idea was first muted in Nigeria by the late military Head of State, General Sani Abacha, in his 1995 Independence Anniversary speech," he said.

Also speaking, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Joe-Kyari Gadzama, called for the devolution of some centralised powers between the Federal, State and Local Governments.

He said the centralised nature of powers of government under the federal system had stood against the equal and progressive development of states and local government areas.

"It also stands against the effective exploration of the resources in Nigeria for development purposes.

"I believe that the need to devolve some of the powers vested at the centre will also serve the interest of government in providing Nigerians with the opportunity to succeed.

He said that to achieve this, some items must be moved from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent list.

Mr Gadzama noted that a list of items to be undertaken solely by the local government should be introduced by the constitution to be called the 'residual list.'

The SAN said the general legislative limitation for local government which was contained in Section 4(7)(a) of the 1999 constitution should be deleted.
The NFIU boss, Modibbo Tukur, placed the agency's associate directors on suspension for initiating investigations against Atiku Abubakar and Bola Tinubu, almost a year ago.

The Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has dismissed two of its top officials who were suspended nearly a year ago for initiating investigations against Atiku Abubakar and Bola Tinubu.

The Director and Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Modibbo Tukur, notified the two officials of their dismissal in separate letters sent to them on June 29, PREMIUM TIMES was reliably told by insiders, who have also raised concerns about the legitimacy of the NFIU boss' action.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported how Mohammed Mustapha, the associate director, Intelligence and Investigation, and Fehintola Salisu, associate director, Compliance and Analysis, were suspended by Mr Tukur in August 2020 for initiating the probes against Mr Abubakar, a former Vice President , and Mr Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State.

Although both Messrs Abubakar and Tinubu are big guns in the rival Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the All Progressives Congress (APC), respectively, both men are believed to be eyeing the presidency in the forthcoming 2023 elections.

Mr Tukur levelled other allegations against the two senior NFIU officials, but initiating separate investigations against the two politically-exposed persons appeared to be the driving force for the action taken against them.

According to him, Mr Mustapha wrote to the Inspector-General of Police and the Chair of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Mr Abubakar without authorisation in violation of his standing directive.

He had added that launching such investigation was not part of Mr Mustapha's departmental briefing.

On Ms Salisu's role in the former Vice-President's case, the NFIU Director stated in a document relied on by PREMIUM TIMES for the previous report, "she claimed to have minuted the request on the investigation of Atiku Abubakar to Mustapha AbdulRahman (Mr Mustapha) who went ahead to write IGP and the EFCC Chairman directly, all without approval while I was actively on duty as the Head of Agency."

Mr Tukur also alleged that Mr Mustapha sent a request to the United States of America based on an old Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) case against Mr Tinubu.

"Significantly, after his suspension, it was discovered that he initiated a request to the U.S on Bola Ahmed Tinubu which he extracted from an old case of CCB," he had stated.

In 2011, during the then President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration, the CCB accused Mr Tinubu of breaching Nigeria's code of conduct law by operating foreign accounts while serving as Lagos State governor between 1999 and 2007.

The case was eventually dismissed by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

Accusing Mr Mustapha of violating procedure, the NFIU Director said his approval as the CEO of the agency was not sought before the move to initiate a probe against Mr Tinubu was initiated.

'Outcome of investigation'

Insider sources , who are privy to the goings-on at the Nigeria's number one financial intelligence agency, told our reporter that Mr Tukur had queried, suspended and ordered the probe of the two officials August 11, 2020, for their roles in initiating investigations against Messrs Abubakar and Tinubu, among other allegations.

He said in the letters seen by our insider sources that they were given the opportunity to defend themselves in line with the principle of fair hearing.

The investigative committee recommended the dismissal of the two officials, Mr Tukur was said to have written in his letters of dismissal sent to them.

He also specifically accused Mr Mustapha of conniving with an unnamed staff member of the agency to enjoy full salaries and benefits during the period of his suspension.

Our source said the NFIU who alleged that such conduct "is both criminal and prosecutable in the service", demanded that he "make a full refund to government."

Mr Mustapha was also directed to return all NFIU's property in his possession immediately.

Our reporter reached to Mr Mustapha and Ms Salisu for their comments in vain. They did not answer calls or respond text message enquiries sent to them on the matter.

Background

A law firm, C. Chris Ekemezie & Associate, had sent a petition to Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) , accusing Mr Tukur of various infractions including alleged "unexplainable" suspension of two of the agency's staff members.

In the petition, later dismissed, the petitioner alleged that the two staff members were suspended "for trying to profile a politically- exposed person from his (Mr Tukur's) state."

Mr Tukur, in his response to the petition, defended his action taken against the officials, but also raised other sundry allegations against the officials.

Concerns over legitimacy of officials' dismissal

Many insiders and close observers of the NFIU have raised concerns about the legitimacy of Mr Tukur's action dismissing the two officials, who are just a notch below the CEO in the hierarchy of the agency.

Mr Mustapha and Ms Salisu are the remaining legacy staff members of the NFIU in the directorate cadre of the country's foremost financial intelligence body.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the other four associate directors only came on board after the re-establishment of the unit through the new NFIU Act which came into force in 2018.

It is against the norm of global financial intelligence bodies for member Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) to take actions such as disciplining staff members in a manner that appears to be politically-motivated, experts in the field have told our reporter.

"Dismissing staff members, top directors at that, in connection with moves to investigate politically exposed persons, is definitely not global intelligence bodies will frown on," one of them said.

In addition to that, some insiders have punctured the dismissal for being arbitrarily done.

Section 7(3) of the NFIU Act 2018 gives the agency the power to make staff regulations to provide for staff disciplinary procedure and remunerations.

But three years down the line since the coming into force of the Act, the regulations meant to be issued with the approval of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice "and other appropriate authorities" have yet to see the light of the day, insiders say.

The implication is that the Director takes disciplinary actions in the agency at his whims and caprices.

The public service rules that can also fill in the gap in the absence of the NFIU staff regulations were also not followed in the case of the two NFIU officials, because it confers only on the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) the exclusive power to dismiss any officer in the public service, PREMIUM TIMES' analysis shows.

Rule 030307 of the Public Service Rules enumerated the strict procedures that must be followed for an official in the public service to be dismissed by the Federal Civil Service Commission.

The procedure stipulated in the Rules begins with issuing a query to the officer stating the grounds for the proposed disciplinary action against him or her.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The officer will be expected to respond in writing, within the period specified in the query.

If the officer submits his/her representations and the Federal Civil Service Commission is not satisfied that he/she has exculpated himself/herself, and considers that the officer should be dismissed, it shall take such action accordingly.

"Should the officer however fail to furnish any representations within the time fixed" the Rules say, "the Commission may take such action against the officer as it deems appropriate." This could be a breach Mr Tukur hid under

But it goes further to state that "If upon considering the representations of the officer the Commission is of the the opinion that the officer does not deserve to be dismissed from the Service but deserves some other punishment, it shall impose on the officer such punishment as it considers appropriate".

It adds that "where necessary, the Commission may set up a board of inquiry which shall consist of not less than three persons one of whom shall be appointed chairman by the Commission."

The members of the board are to be selected with due regard to the status of the officer involved in the disciplinary case and to the nature of the complaint which is the subject of inquiry.

The findings of the board, if it decides that the officer be dismissed, must be approved by the commission for the dismissal to take effect. If not approved, the officer must be immediately reinstated.

The rules provide that the disciplinary procedure must be completed within 60 days.

Contrary to the provisions of the rules, the procedure for the dismissal of the two NFIU officials started and ended between him and the agency's investigative committee.

No regulations were cited in the letters of dismissal sent to the officials.
The Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum yesterday said that the alleged appointment of a governor over some territories in Borno state by Boko Haram and Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP), was not authenticated.

Governor Zulum also declared that he was fully in charge of the state and that there was nothing contrary to show the emergence of any parallel government in the state.

The governor, who stated this while speaking to State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa, Abuja, said his administration was not investigating the issue.

It will be recalled that a report had recently emerged, which claimed that the insurgents had appointed one Abba Kaka as the governor under a new leadership restructuring by an interim council.

Professor Zulum, who dismissed the veracity of the report, said: "We are yet to validate the authenticity of this report that ISWAP appointed governor in Borno state. So, as the governor of the state, I think it's not right for me to speak on something that I don't have full knowledge of."

Asked whether he would investigate the report, he said there was no such plan, even as he blamed the report on the social media.

He said, "(I am) not investigating. This report is not authenticated. You have just seen somebody written something in one of the... I think it's on Facebook or something like that. You're a journalist and I think we have to prove reports beyond reasonable doubts, before commenting on such reports.

"As far as I'm concerned. I'm the governor of Borno State and I don't have any information that we have another government Nigerian state. Yes. And I'm very much in charge."

On his mission to nation's seat of power, he said that he was at the presidential villa to seek the president's assistance to repatriate the over 200,000 Borno indigenes who fled insurgency to Chad, Cameroon and Niger Republic.

He stressed the need to bring them back as according to him, the security situation in the state has improved.

He said: "Now that we have started witnessing gradual return of peace to Borno State, these people that are taking refuge in our neighbouring countries are willing to return home.

"Therefore, Borno State government picked a date of 27th of November 2021 for the commencement of the repatriation process, especially to local government areas of Abadam and Guzamala.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"So, I came to brief Mr. President, to solicit his support, with the view to ensuring hitch-free repatriation exercise."

The governor, however, declined to place a figure on what it might take to implement the repatriation, saying: "I can't quantify, but I think the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs with its agencies; NEMA, the Refugee Commission and indeed the Northeast Development Commission, lastly the Borno State government, have the capacity to shoulder the responsibility of the repatriation exercise."

On the fate of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) still in camps in the state, Governor Zulum said government was working on returning them to their communities.

He said, "On the issue of internally displaced persons, yes the IDP camps are not palatable, that is why the government of Borno state and indeed the federal government, are exploiting the potentials of resettling them back to their own communities or relocating them to areas that are safe."

Vanguard News Nigeria

RELATED NEWS
A total of N4.8 billion was allocated to NIA to monitor in the 2021 Supplementary Budget approved by the National Assembly last week.

A total of N4.8 (4,870,350,000) billion has been allocated to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to monitor WhatsApp messages, phone calls, text messages, among others.

Of the figure, N1.93 billion was earmarked for "WhatsApp Intercept Solution" and N2.93 billion for "Thuraya Interception Solution" - a communications system used for monitoring voice calls or call-related information, SMS, data traffic, among others.

This was contained in the supplementary budget approved by the National Assembly last Wednesday.

The lawmakers had approved and passed a supplementary budget of N982 billion (982,729,695,343) for the 2021 fiscal year, against the N895 billion proposed by President Muhammadu Buhari - indicating an increase of about N87 billion.

While N123.3 billion was fixed for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, N895 billion was earmarked for contribution to the Development Fund for Capital Expenditure for the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2021,

Another N45 billion was approved for foreign aid/loans.

This budgetary allocation comes amidst several attempts by the federal government to limit freedom of expression in the country - an act many have described as a means to gag the media.

It comes barely a month after the federal government suspended the operation of Twitter in the country on June 4.

Besides, the National Assembly, particularly lawmakers at the House of Representatives, are in the process of amending several media bills with the aim of "regulating the media."

Some of these bills include the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Act and the Press Council Act.

The Minister of information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, had in June asked the House of Representatives to include internet broadcasting under the control of the NBC.

He said all online and internet broadcasting entities should be included in section two (c) of the bill - which gives powers to the NBC to "receive, process and consider applications for the establishment, ownership of radio and television stations including... ... ."

"I want to add that internet broadcasting and all online media should be included in the bill," Mr Mohammed said at a public hearing.

Similar proposals are contained in the Press Council Amendment bill. And the bills, if passed with the recommendation of Mr Mohammed, online media entities will have to get approval from the NBC before operating.

Many have opposed and rejected the proposed amendments, describing the prescriptions as draconian, ill-advised and an attempt to gag the media on all fronts.

In protest of the proposed amendments, major newspapers on Monday, published the same headlines calling on the National Assembly to halt the amendments. It was sponsored by the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Nigerian Guild of Editors and Newspapers' Proprietors Association of Nigeria.

"Information Blackout: This is what the National Assembly wants to achieve with the NPC and NBC (media) amendment bills," read the front pages of papers like Punch, Vanguard, the Nation, Daily Sun and the Guardian.

There were also previous attempts to control the social media space via bills introduced by two Niger senators at the Senate.

More details of the budget

In the supplementary budget seen by PREMIUM TIMES, N11.48 billion was also allocated to the Defence Headquarters for the purchase of ammunition and another N15.8 billion for the purchase of vehicles and generators.

While the Nigerian Army headquarters got N37.6 billion for ammunition, N14.8 billion for arms and N 48.6 billion for "vehicle requirement."

Another N96.5 billion was given to the agency for "payment for purchase of defence equipment". The equipment was, however, not clearly stated.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance Media By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

In the same vein, the Nigerian Navy was given N36.5 billion for "arms and ammo requirement" and N140.7 billion was allocated to the Nigerian Air Force for "additional aircraft requirement."

Under the budget of the Department of State Security, a total of N6.5 billion was earmarked for the construction of multipurpose gatehouses and installation of integrated security systems of the National Assembly.

While N1 billion was approved for constitution review, N6.7 billion has been allocated for procurement and installation of new oxygen plants nationwide and repairs of oxygen plants in hospitals in the Federal Capital Territory.

The federal government had said the budget is specifically meant to enhance the capacity of the military and paramilitary agencies to tackle the various security challenges in the country.

The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, admonished relevant committees of the upper legislative chamber to carry out oversight and ensure that the funds are properly utilised.
The federal government has endorsed a digital platform enabling travelers book accommodation and other hospitality experiences influenced by local culture.

The vice president. Prof. Yemi Osinbajo gave the endorsement in Abuja last week when he launched Aura by Transcorp.

Aura is Nigeria's equivalent of Bookings.com where members of the public can make reservations for hotels, apartments, spas, restaurants, even photographers.

Osinbajo described the Aura application as an "excellent innovation" that would give a boost to the country's hospitality industry.

Speaking of his experience using the aura app which is owned and operated by Transcorp Hotels, the vice president said he "was quite intrigued by the concept of Aura. I actually went to the website to better acquaint myself with the service. I downloaded the app on my phone and on my iPad and I found the dashboard was quite easy to navigate".

Of particular interest to him was the fact "there are copious offerings of hotels, short let apartments, restaurants and I have found the response interesting."

While commending Transcorp Hotel for coming up with the Aura app, Osinbajo noted that "the unique offering here is that Transcorp Hotel is putting its huge reputation behind helping customers choose the best accommodation. I think this is great and it will help revive the hospitality industry especially after the downturn in the aftermath of COVID-19".

"I would like to commend the Transcorp team led by my brother and the man of many ideas, Tony Elumelu."

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Also speaking at the event, chief executive officer (CEO) of Transcorp Hotels, Dupe Olusola, said: "Aura will create jobs and help diversify the country's economy".

According to her, "Aura is a digital hospitality platform that gives people the opportunity, at the touch of their fingertips, to book exciting accommodation, restaurants, spas and other hospitality derivatives at all locations in Nigeria."

She explained, "Aura is an opportunity to diversify our economy, it is an opportunity to create jobs and employment, an opportunity to develop domestic tourism and leisure travel. There is nothing that has been done like this before in Nigeria and our plan is to go beyond and to Africa and take on the world".

Aura app she further said, will be helpful "so many people that have invested in real estate and have left it fallow and are not actually making money from it. Aura provides an opportunity for you to list your property and be able to make money from it."
Emir of Kajuru, Alhassan Adamu, broke down in tears shortly after he was released.

He was speaking to a gathering of his subjects after his release but was overwhelmed by feelings.

He started saying, "People of Kajuru... " and then his emotions overcame him.

He covered his face with both hands to contain his emotions in a 21-second clip Daily Trust has seen.

His release on Monday evening reunited him with his subjects.

Bandits had abducted him from his private residence in the early hours of Sunday.

They had contacted the family to demand a ransom of N200 million on Monday but hours after this, the monarch marched back into his kingdom in Kaduna state.

Hid children, grandchildren, and some title holders of the emirate are still being held.




"We have been informed that at least Moderna and Pfizer laboratories are working on a third special dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, known as booster shot," he stated.





The minister explained that "this dose is not like the ones that have already been administered, but a booster against the variants that are circulating around the world."





"There is no scientific evidence to prove that a third single dose is better than two," he added.





Booster to be expected





In statements to RPP radio and TV station, the high-ranking official affirmed that it is foreseeable that Peru will need to boost the immunization effort against COVID-19 as the protective effect of the vaccines is still unknown; laboratories are just testing it, and the immunity of those who have been infected lasts no more than nine months.





Ugarte emphasized that Minsa has purchased an additional quantity of vaccines, because it considers it advisable to enhance the protection of the population with a third dose.





Perhaps, Minsa will provide a booster dose at the end of the year to those who have already been vaccinated against COVID-19, following the same order of priority: front-line healthcare workers, the elderly, and people with comorbidities.





"We have bought enough doses considering this forecast," he concluded.





(END) SMS/JOT/RMB/MVB

Loading...

The Ministry of Health (Minsa) is assessing the possibility of enhancing the protection of the population vaccinated against COVID-19, Health Minister Oscar Ugarte said while commenting that Moderna and Pfizer laboratories are working on a third special dose of the vaccine.Publicado: 13/7/2021
.

18:01 | Callao (Callao region), Jul. 13.









Thus, the main port of entry for visitors to Peru has been recognized as a destination that complies with all the safety measures for COVID-19, in order to protect tourists and tourism service providers operating in this important area of the country.













The ceremony was attended by local authorities and business people in the tourism sector.





"With great enthusiasm, we grant this important recognition to Callao region, which will contribute to the responsible and safe restart of tourism, as the conditions for its reactivation are generated and promoted," Carbajal stated.





"Callao is the first image (of the country) that visitors see and, as such, we must ensure their safety and that of all of us," she added.





Joint efforts





Mincetur noted that the receipt of this stamp is the result of collaborative efforts made by public and private agents in the region to promote the resumption of tourist activities.





To obtain the Safe Travels Stamp, Callao' regional authorities had to submit a formal evaluation request to Mincetur.





Afterwards, virtual and field working meetings were held and sectoral health protocols were implemented through surveillance plans or COVID-19 prevention documents.





In addition, tourism service providers had to undergo audits, as well as checks of cleaning, disinfection, and waste management, to verify that they comply with the protocols established by the Government.





As part of the commitment to receive the Safe Travels Stamp, authorities and the population must ensure compliance with the aforementioned protocols. Besides, at the Executive-Branch level, there will be constant monitoring of safety and hygiene actions in the region.





Below are the tourist circuits that have been classified as safe for tourists at times of COVID-19:





- Real Felipe Fortress





- Grau Plaza





- Galvez Plaza





- Monumental Callao area





- Matriz Church





- Abtao Naval Submarine Museum





- Palomino Island

- San Lorenzo Island

- Neighborhood of Chucuito

- La Punta's Main Square





- Wiesse Pier





- Santa Rosa (Saint Rose) Plaza

Gastronomic route





It features eight representative restaurants from Callao region.





(END) NDP/LIT/RMB/MVB

Loading...

Peru's Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur) has handed over the Safe Travels Stamp bestowed by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)  to Callao Destination, which includes the districts of Callao and La Punta.Publicado: 13/7/2021
YEREVAN, JULY 13, ARMENPRESS. Experts believe that the Ambassadors of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries to Azerbaijan  France, Russia and the United States, have rejected the official Bakus invitation to visit Shushi because they do not consider that the Artsakh issue is solved and are interested in the resumption of the negotiation process under the auspices of the Co-Chairs.

Expert on Azerbaijani studies Taron Hovhannisyan told Armenpress that that step of the three Co-Chair countries aims at not obstructing the resumption of the negotiation process.

I suppose that the motive of not visiting the occupied territories of Artsakh at the invitation of Azerbaijan is for those countries not to damage the future process of the conflict settlement which they want to resume. Otherwise, their visit could have had a very serious negative impact on the prospects of returning to the settlement process and could be perceived as a message by that countries that they agree with Azerbaijans approach that the issue is solved, Taron Hovhannisyan said.

Asked whether with this step Russia, France and the United States show signs for restoration of the Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship format, the expert noted that this is more like a desire to quickly restore the process or a demonstration of a desire of not obstructing the resumption process.

According to him, if the Ambassadors of the Co-Chair countries visited Shushi, it would show that they are not so interested in the resumption of the Karabakh process, but, instead, they accept that this new status-quo is a solution to the conflict. But as the Co-Chairs have stated that this is not a solution for them, therefore, the only effective tool of staying in the process is the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

Mr. Hovhannisyan said the talk mainly concerns France and the United States because Russia is already involved in the process.

Therefore, they need to come back to the process and participate in the management of that process. Thus, the resumption of the negotiation process for the conflict settlement within that same format is beneficial to them, the expert stated.

Analyst, expert on Oriental studies Armen Petrosyan is convinced that the decision of the Ambassadors of not visiting Shushi is again connected with the fact that the Artsakh issue is not solved yet, in particular that the status of Artsakh is not clarified.

He noted that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries have made quite a competent decision of not visiting Shushi.

Ambassadors of 46 countries accredited to Azerbaijan and representatives of the diplomatic corps visited Artsakhs occupied territories, including Shushi, on July 9-10 at the invitation of the Azerbaijani government. However, the Ambassadors of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries Russia, France and the US, have rejected Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyevs invitation.

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs support resumption of the high-level political dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan aimed at the lasting and comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, however the Azerbaijani leader continues to claim that the conflict is solved after the 2020 War.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
STEPANAKERT, JULY 13, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh has issued a statement over the recent visit of diplomats accredited in Azerbaijan to the occupied territories of Artsakh.

Armenpress presents the full text of the statement:

We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the organization on July 10, 2021 by the Azerbaijani authorities of the visit of staffers of foreign diplomatic missions accredited in Azerbaijan to the occupied territories of the Republic of Artsakh, including the city of Shushi. By such actions, Azerbaijan is trying to consolidate the results of the aggressive war it unleashed on September 27, 2020 with the participation of Turkey and militants from international terrorist and extremist organizations against the Republic of Artsakh.

We emphasize once again that the current situation is the result of illegal actions of Azerbaijan, which has grossly violated fundamental principles of international law, such as the non-use of force or the threat of force, the peaceful settlement of disputes, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, equality and the right of peoples to decide their fate and the implementation of international obligations in good faith.

Azerbaijan's attempts to legitimize the current illegal state of affairs also means justifying the unleashing of an aggressive war, cooperation with international terrorists, violations of international humanitarian law and war crimes. In this regard, it is regrettable that foreign diplomats accredited in Azerbaijan have succumbed to Baku's manipulative actions, which are not only aimed at preventing the resumption of the process of a comprehensive settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict, but also undermine the foundations of international relations, laying the basis for recognizing the results of illegal actions as an acceptable norm. No territorial acquisitions resulting from the threat or use of force should be recognized as legitimate.



We reiterate that the territories of the Republic of Artsakh, including the city of Shushi, captured by Azerbaijan with the support of Turkey and international terrorists during the 44-day war, are temporarily occupied territories in accordance with the norms of international law. The city of Shushi is an integral part of Artsakh both in territorial, cultural, economic and historical aspects. Any attempt to reject it is a gross violation of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Artsakh.

The restoration of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Artsakh and the acquisition of international legal personality by Artsakh are indispensable conditions for achieving a comprehensive settlement of the conflict and establishing lasting peace in the region. We call on the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair states to take all necessary steps aimed at resuming the negotiation process with a view to a final settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict.
YEREVAN, JULY 13, ARMENPRESS. The queue of foreigners at a COVID-19 mobile vaccination site in downtown Yerevan is conditioned by the recent change in the vaccination policy for foreign nationals, spokesperson to the minister of healthcare of Armenia Hripsime Khachatryan told Armenpress.

The queue is connected with the new change according to which starting from July 15 only those foreign nationals, who will spend over 10 days in Armenia, will have the right to be vaccinated here. Perhaps this is the reason that the citizens of our neigbour country are actively being vaccinated these days, she said.

Vaccinations for foreign nationals in Armenia are free of charge. They can get vaccinated with AstraZeneca.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, 13 JULY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 13 July, USD exchange rate up by 0.28 drams to 496.16 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.17 drams to 587.55 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.06 drams to 6.70 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 0.14 drams to 687.38 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 200.69 drams to 28592.21 drams. Silver price down by 1.13 drams to 413.55 drams. Platinum price up by 249.09 drams to 17626.86 drams.
YEREVAN, JULY 13, ARMENPRESS. The heads of the relevant diplomatic missions were invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia with regard to the participation of the diplomatic representatives of some countries in the visit organized by the Azerbaijani authorities to the occupied territories of Nagorno-Karabakh on July 9-10, ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Armenia.

The ambassadors have been handed over note verbal addressed to the respective governments, wherein it was particularly stated that the Republic of Armenia considers utterly unacceptable the visit of diplomatic representatives accredited in Azerbaijan to the occupied territories of Artsakh, including Hadrut and a historical center of Artsakh - Shushi: regions which were ethnically cleansed and their population was a subject of war crimes and other mass atrocities committed by Azerbaijani armed forces during the recent aggression. It was emphasized that by arranging such events the Azerbaijani authorities are trying to legitimize the aggression against the people of Artsakh and to strengthen their own claims of having resolved the conflict by force.

During all the meetings, it has been underlined that the involvement of diplomatic representatives in such visits contradicts the spirit of cooperation existing between the Republic of Armenia and those countries, as well as to the position of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship. In this regard, Armenia strongly calls for refraining from any actions that may justify the use of force and thereby undermine regional peace and security.

The use of force and mass atrocities cannot settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the resolution of the conflict can be achieved only through negotiations under the auspices of the only internationally mandated format- the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has brought the above-mentioned position to the attention of the capitals of the respective countries, which hold non-resident diplomatic missions to Armenia.
YEREVAN, JULY 13, ARMENPRESS. Fr. Archimandrite Shahe Ananyan, Director of the Inter-Church relations Department of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin commented on the false announcements made by the Grand Mufti of Azerbaijan, Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims` Board Allahshukur Pashazadeh in an interview with ARMENPRESS, as well as spoke about the possible meeting between the Catholicos of All Armenians, the Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims` Board and the Patriarch of All Russia.

- How would you comment on the statements of Allahshukur Pashazadeh, the chairman of the Caucasus Muslims` Board, made in Shushi about St. Ghazanchetsots Church, that it's allegedly of non-Armenian origin?

- We learnt from the media about the regular false announcements made by Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims` Board Allahshukur Pashazadeh in front of different religious denominations of Azerbaijan What can we say? It is a style typical of Pashazadeh, to interpret facts according to their own interests and perceptions. Avoiding thinking about the occupation of the most part of Artsakh, leaving thousands of families without shelters, desecration and destructions of religious-cultural values of the Artsakh Diocese, Pashazadeh again referred to the so-called Aghvan-Udi church (Caucasian Albania-edited) and its false religious-cultural agenda.

- Its known that there is an official format of meetings between the Catholicos of All Armenians, the Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims` Board and the Patriarch of All Russia, in the sidelines of which a declaration has been signed on the peaceful settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Does that format still exist and is that possible that new meetings and discussions are held in that format?

- There is an official format of trilateral meetings between the Catholicos of All Armenians, the Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims` Board and the Patriarch of All Russia, where the religious leaders have discussed the opportunities of finding ways for a peaceful settlement of the Artsakh conflict, and naturally, many other issues related with it. Still during the military operations the Catholicos of All Armenians had sent a letter to Patriarch Kirill, expressing readiness to meet with the leader of the Caucasus Muslims in a trilateral format aimed at fostering the restoration of the ceasefire and regional peace.

After the 44-day war the Catholicos of All Armenians sent an official letter to Patriarch Kirill, so as he could leave for Baku under Patriarch Kirills mediation to meet with Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev and Pashazadeh for discussing the issues of returning the Armenian POWs and the preservation of our religious-cultural heritage in the territories that have passed under the Azerbaijani control.

As refers to the announcement of Allahshukur Pashazadeh about his willingness to meet under the UN auscpices, that's a result of misunderstanding. The Catholicos of All Armenians answered to the proposal of the UN representative in the USA about meeting with the Azerbaijani Sheikh (Pashazadeh) that Patriarch Kirill has already agreed to hold such a meeting in Moscow.
YEREVAN, JULY 13, ARMENPRESS. Caretaker Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan held a phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the initiative of the latter.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister, the American side congratulated Nikol Pashinyan on the victory of the Civil Contract Party in the elections, emphasizing the consistent steps taken by the Armenian Government in the recent years aimed at ensuring the democratic achievements of Armenia. In this context the U.S. Secretary of State highly assessed the efforts made by Nikol Pashinyan aimed at the easing of pre-election tensions and establishing civilized relations with the opposition.

Antony Blinken emphasized the importance of the reform agenda implemented by the Government of Armenia, particularly, in the spheres of fight against corruption and justice and added that the USA is ready to continue assistance in this direction.

At the same time he noted that the relations between the two countries is based on democratic values.

Caretaker Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan thanked for acknowledging Armenia's achievements in the direction of democratic reforms. He praised the United States' continuous support to strengthening democratic institutions and the rule of law in Armenia, as well as for launching a police patrol in Yerevan. Pashinyan noted that the patrol service will expand throughout the country in the future and hoped that the U.S. assistance will give an opportunity to fulfill that process.

The caretaker Prime Minister highly assessed the efforts of the Assistant Secretary Philip Reeker for the return of the Armenian POWs from Azerbaijan a month ago.

The return of POWs and the withdrawal of the Azerbaijani armed forces from the sovereign territory of Armenia were highlighted as key factors for establishment of peace in the region.

The U.S. Secretary of State assured that the USA will continue making efforts for ensuring the return of all the POWs. Referring to Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the Secretary of State strongly highlighted the restoration of the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs, emphasizing the necessity of developing a clear agenda for the peace process, which will give an opportunity for finding a sustainable ad lasting settlement to the conflict.

In this context, Nikol Pashinyan also stressed that the conflict is not settled and needs a comprehensive solution, which can be achieved only within the framework of the Minsk Group Co-chairs' format.

The American side agreed with the Prime Minister's observation that the status quo can not be stable, and the Minsk Group Co-chairs need a clear agenda that will contribute to the success of the talks.
Magna Carta came out of an intra-elite struggle between 40 barons and their King

We now take our liberties and rights for granted, and the way of life it guarantees us as inherent. But what we now have has come after a long process of evolution, and many a time they flowed out of something else quite unintended. The Magna Carta is a case in point. In June, the entire English-speaking world celebrated the 806th anniversary of the Magna Carta, or Great Charter, that is synonymous with the fundamental rights and rule of law which are considered the cornerstones of modern democracy. Much of the world now believes that the Magna Carta came out of an eruption of a long-suppressed yearning among the common people for protection against the caprices of the monarch and the nobility. But it is not so.

It came out of an intra-elite struggle between 40 barons and their King. Englands King John had emptied the royal treasuries in a fruitless war with France, and the barons were no longer willing to meet his demands for higher taxes. The consequence was the Magna Carta to protect the barons from the Kings demands.

The demand to be judged by their peers was another protection. It was not meant for the ordinary people, but only for the barons. Thus, the Magna Carta was not quite a grand demand for equality, the basic freedoms and rule of law but just a narrow demand for restricting the rulers powers to ring fence the interests of the elite.

But the myth of the Magna Carta has endured, and it is often invoked whenever and wherever people struggled against injustice and freedom.

Mahatma Gandhi invoked it in South Africa when he fought for racial equality, and emancipators and freedom fighters like Nelson Mandela, Jawaharlal Nehru, Ho Chi Minh, Fidel Castro and Martin Luther King Jr have invoked it when they were being tried for sedition by oppressive rulers. Like those English barons, they too were arguing for limiting the oppressive and unjust powers of oppressive regimes, but now not just for themselves and their peers, but for all their fellow citizens. The story of modern democracy is about the long journey from the rights of a few to the rights of all.

Another myth that endures is that the twin notions of democracy and the rule of law somehow originated with the Magna Carta and its acceptance. The fact is that the King rejected the Magna Carta soon after it was presented to him. But King John avoided the consequences of the barons indignation by helpfully dying and thereby perpetuating the myth.

The first democracies long preceded the Magna Carta of 1215. Even as early as the sixth century BC, several independent republics existed in India as sanghas and ganas. The main characteristics of these sanghas and ganas were a raja, elected or hereditary, and a deliberative assembly. These assemblies met regularly and passed laws pertaining to finances, administration and justice. The raja and other officials obeyed the decisions of these assemblies. While these assemblies were mostly comprised of the nobility and landowners, in some cases they included all free men. But the Brahminical system prevailed in the sense that the monarch always had to be a Kshatriya. While the Licchavis, who held sway over the Kathmandu Valley in present-day Nepal and a major part of northern Bihar, were governed by an assembly of about 7,000 rajas who in turn were the heads of all the major families, others like the Shakyas, the clan to which Gautam Buddha belonged, had assemblies open to all people, rich or poor, and noble or common.

The greatest contribution to the evolution of democracy as a philosophy was in Athens, where great philosophers like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle lit up the public discourse with their brilliance and original thinking. Socrates and his pupil, Plato, deliberated and expounded on the role of a citizen within a community and laid down the foundations of the political philosophy that flourished in Athens and spread to most of the world over the next two and a half millennia. Aristotle, who counted among his students Alexander the Great, dwelt more on systems of government and who first qualified liberty as the fundamental principle of democracy.

This principle that whatever is decided by the majority is sovereign has always had to contend with the rights of the individual. In the United States of America, which was formed after a great debate among the founding fathers as a democracy, it was by majority will that slavery had flourished till the Civil War. It took another century before equal rights for black people became the majority will. This constant struggle for individual rights against the will of the collective has been the central story of the evolution of the modern democratic state.

Free India by contrast provided for all these rights and liberties from the beginning in its Constitution. The Magna Carta, because it sought to limit the powers of the ruler, perhaps still has a place in our hearts and minds, because of just that. To most of us citizens in democratic states, our life is also a constant struggle against the assertion of collective will to trample individual liberties or the rights of smaller groups.

The rise of democratic and elected parliaments in England and Scotland just 50 years after the Magna Carta is not a coincidence but the consequence of that demand to share power. It is from the Magna Carta that the English writ of habeas corpus evolved, safeguarding individuals and their freedoms against unjust and unlawful imprisonment with the right to appeal. It is from this emergence of petitions for the production of the body that parliaments in due course became to be increasingly used as a forum to address all the concerns and grievances of ordinary people.

Thus, whatever be the first intent of the Magna Carta, its consequences greatly expanded over the centuries into a charter, which guarantees individual liberties, equality and justice to all, irrespective of their race, religion and class. But that struggle is far from over. It goes on and only its forms change as human values and means change.
Back in 2018, I featured Hooked Up Seafood in Wildwood as one of my stops during the initial season of Shackin Up for the Summer. It was one 
An apartment building in Sydney's eastern suburbs has been plunged into isolation, with no one allowed to enter or leave after Covid-19 spread to five different households.

Of NSW's 89 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, one was linked to the apartment block on Botany Street Bondi Junction.

"There are nine cases identified in recent days across the five different households," Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said on Tuesday.

"I think the key message to us is when you're in apartment buildings, we're not wanting you to congregate in any shared spaces with instituted mask-wearing requirements for those premises.

The apartment block in Bondi Junction has been plunged into isolation and under guard after nine residents across five different units tested positive to Covid-19. Source: AAP

"We understand and respect that they are private premises but we are really requiring under a public health order that you wear masks when you're transiting through common areas."

The health advice for wearing face masks in all shared areas of apartment complexes applies to not only residents, but visitors, building managers, concierge staff, contractors, delivery drivers and cleaners.

In a statement, NSW Health said authorities were working with the residents and strata management to assess the situation.

NSW Health also said it was working with other agencies and "implementing measures to address infection control and the health and welfare of residents".

NSW Police are guarding the perimeter and the premises is cordoned off with no one allowed in or out.

A video shared by Today Show reporter Lara Vella shows supplies being dropped off for residents inside.

NSW Health is working with police and private security to ensure compliance. Source: AAP

A spokesperson with NSW Police confirmed officers and private security were assisting NSW Health, and were ensuring food and other provisions and services were provided to the residents throughout their 14-day isolation period.

The Covid outbreak was first detected in Bondi last month and now 767 cases have been reported since and the Delta strain spreading to other parts of Sydney.

People in Greater Sydney are subject to lockdown and people are not allowed visitors from other households or leave the home unless it is "absolutely necessary".

Story continues

Right now in NSW, there are 65 people in hospital with Covid-19 and 21 people in intensive care, four patients are on ventilators.

It was also announced on Tuesday a man aged in his 70s has died after contracting Covid-19.

With AAP

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
Japan will make additional donations of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Taiwan and other Asian neighbours this week, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi says.

Japan will ship out 1 million doses each to Indonesia, Taiwan and Vietnam on Thursday as part of bilateral deals with those governments, Motegi told reporters on Tuesday.

An additional 11 million doses donated through the COVAX sharing scheme will be sent this month to Bangladesh, Cambodia, Iran, Laos, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, as well as various Pacific Island states, he said.

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry expressed thanks for the gesture, particularly at a serious stage in Japan's own coronavirus battle. Japan has donated about 3.4 million doses to Taiwan in a show of support for the Chinese-claimed island.

"The friendship between Taiwan and Japan is unwavering," the Taiwan ministry said in a statement. "The Foreign Ministry once again thanks our partners in freedom and democracy for their warm assistance and strong support."

In a statement, Vietnam said it would receive a million doses from Japan on Friday in the southern business hub of Ho Chi Minh City, where it is fighting its largest outbreak yet after months of successful containment.

"It is encouraging that a number of richer countries have made generous pledges and donations of vaccines to countries in Asia in recent weeks," said Alexander Matheou of aid group the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

"We need to speed up the delivery of these lifesaving doses so that we can get them into people's arms, giving us a genuine shot at containing this pandemic once and for all."

Taiwan has complained that Chinese interference blocked its deal this year to secure vaccines from Germany's BioNTech SE , charges Beijing has denied. Since then, vaccine donations have rolled in to Taiwan.

Taiwan's relatively small domestic COVID-19 outbreak has generally been brought under control, except for a few sporadic community infections.

Japan has pledged $US1 billion ($A1.34 billion) and 30 million doses to COVAX. Motegi said on Tuesday the AstraZeneca doses made in Japan were approved by the World Health Organisation on July 9 for use in COVAX.
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County will move to temporary offices at Cayuga Community College later this month as a new workforce development center is built at the extension's Grant Avenue home.

The extension will be closed July 21-23 as it completes its move to the Cayuga Works Career Center in the Regional Economic Center wing of the college, 199 Franklin St., Auburn. The extension will reopen July 26 in Suite 204, and its phone number will remain (315) 255-1883.

The extension will return to its longtime offices at 248 Grant Ave. after construction on the workforce development center is finished. Afterward, the extension will be able to partner with others in the building, namely Cayuga Community College Community Education and Workforce Development, and the Cayuga Works Career Center. The extension and its programs will also benefit from technological upgrades to the building.
Upcoming blood drives

The following blood drives are scheduled to take place in the Cayuga County area:

 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 15, at St. Mary's Church, 15 Clark St., Auburn

 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday, July 16, at the Elbridge Fire Department, 275 E. Main St., Elbridge

 2 to 6 p.m. Friday, July 16, at First Baptist Church of Memphis, 1960 W. Genesee Turnpike, Elbridge

 7:15 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, July 17, at Sacred Heart Church, 90 Melrose Road, Owasco

 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, July 31, at the Skaneateles Fire Department, 77 W. Genesee St., Skaneateles

 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, July 31, at First Presbyterian Church, 112 South St., Auburn

For more information, visit redcrossblood.org or call (800) RED CROSS.
The first round of hearings will occur shortly before the commission receives redistricting data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Imamura said the commission will get the data in mid-August, then prepare draft maps that will be presented to the public by Sept. 15.

After the release of the draft lines, the commission must hold public hearings to gather feedback. That set of hearings will begin in October. Once the commission reviews the comments, it will finalize its proposal and submit it to the state Legislature.

To win approval, it must be supported by two-thirds of the state Assembly and Senate. However, there is a constitutional amendment that will be on the ballot this year to change the number of votes needed to approve a redistricting plan. Instead of a supermajority, the amendment would require a simple majority vote to adopt redistricting plans.

For now, though, the commission's focus is on hearing from New Yorkers. Martins said they want to learn more about communities of interest and how best the commission can represent these areas in the new lines that are drawn.

"We are the first independent redistricting commission for the state of New York," he said. "What we do will set precedent going forward."

Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0

Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
An obscure New York law prohibited barbers from performing their duties on Sundays.

Until now.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday signed legislation to repeal the section of New York's business law that made it illegal for barbers to engage in "shaving, hair cutting or other work of a barber on the first day of the week."

Barbering on Sunday was considered a misdemeanor. For a first offense, the barber would be fined no more than $5. Repeat offenses would result in fines of between $10 to $25, a jail sentence of 10 to 25 days, or both.

But the law was rarely enforced. State Sen. Joe Griffo and Assemblyman Billy Jones introduced legislation to repeal the language prohibiting barbering on Sundays. It received unanimous support in the state Legislature.

"Barbershops and salons, like all small businesses, have faced significant, unprecedented and strenuous challenges during the coronavirus pandemic," said Griffo, a Rome Republican. "By removing outdated and unnecessary laws such as this, these businesses will be provided with an additional opportunity to recover financially as we work to rebuild our local and state economies."
We actually only contributed maybe a third of what we hold here because the other two-thirds of the materials...we received under an agreement that we wouldn't share them, he said.

The first part of the grant was focused on building an infrastructure for the database, which Axelrod said was mostly complete. He expects the second part to expand on that foundation.

All of those infrastructure and planning and data pieces needed to be designed and constructed, he said. Towards the end of the last phase of the grant that was all getting completed and tested. The next phase is really about building out and expanding all of those aspects and the use of the system.

He said a few additional institutions had been brought into this phase of the pilot project.

Ultimately, Axelrod said, it's something that we would want to offer as a membership organization so that schools around the country could pay a reasonable fee to participate.

He gave the example of a smaller institution, such as a community college, with a disability support team of only a few people to help several students with disabilities.
But, primarily, youll want to climb Saddle Mountain for the views  not just at the top but on the exposed road wending around the south-eastern ridge, affording unobstructed gazing of the San Francisco Peaks and Kendrick Mountain, as well as the green expanse of the Kendrick Meadow hugging Highway 180 down below.

I was most eager to get to the top so I could gawk, like a traffic-accident rubbernecker, at the fresh burn scar from the Slate Mountain Fire, which charred more than 11,000 acres on both sides of 180. Recently, driving west on 180 to the Grand Canyon, I had seen blackened patches of forest really close to the highway, but was buoyed by seeing that many of the ponderosa pines emerged relatively unscathed.

A view from on-high, I figured, would give me a better sense of the devastation wrought.

But  and heres another pleasant surprise  things didnt look so bad from the summit. Yes, you could see blackened spots that looked like male-pattern baldness. But there was no widespread scarring; the forest still looked mostly intact.

Best of all, I didnt have to make awkward small talk with other people at the summit because, remember, not another soul was around  and no footprints either on the forest road, merely scattered cloven hoof prints.
Other new records in the area included: 111 degrees in Page on both Saturday and Sunday (beating the previous record of 107 in 2013 and 106 in 1976 and setting a new all-time high); 110 in Winslow on Saturday (106, 2003); 108 in Seligman on Saturday (106, 2003); and 119 degrees in Phantom Ranch on Friday (116, 2003).

But all that hot weather may have helped to bring this new set of monsoon storms, said NWS meteorologist Carter Humphreys.

The warmer temperatures have been the result of high pressure that's been sitting over the Southwest. And that's been working to kind of pull some of this moisture up into Arizona to get the monsoon going, Humphreys said.

A lot of that moisture is originating in the Gulf of California, he said.

During monsoon season, its not uncommon to see significant thunderstorms develop and begin to move across Mexico, Humphreys said. Then high pressure systems can pull those storms north and into Arizona.

For the latest Museum Fire scar weather conditions and NWS notifications, visit www.weather.gov/fgz/MuseumFireFloodRisk. Residents should sign up for emergency notifications at www.coconino.az.gov/Ready. More information is available at www.coconino.az.gov/MuseumFire/FloodArea.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Emerging from a private meeting at the White House, Sen. Bernie Sanders said Monday that he and President Joe Biden are on the same page as Democrats draft a transformative infrastructure package unleashing more than $3.5 trillion in domestic investments on par with the New Deal of the 1930s.

Sanders, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and Democrats on his panel also huddled privately at the Capitol for two hours late Monday with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and key White House advisers during a consequential time for Biden's top priority. Congress is racing to put together a sweeping proposal financing infrastructure, family assistance and other programs for initial votes later this month.

Sanders, I-Vt., said he had a very good discussion" with Biden .

He knows and I know that were seeing an economy where the very, very rich are getting richer while working families are struggling, Sanders told reporters.
Hong Kongs district councilors largely take care of municipal matters such as organizing construction projects and ensuring that public facilities are in order. Their election took on symbolic importance, however, after Hong Kong was rocked by pro-democracy protests for much of 2019.

In elections that year, many pro-democracy candidates unseated incumbent councilors seen as loyal to Beijing.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said at a regular news conference Tuesday that she is sure that given the security law, each district councilor will gauge their past behavior to check if they have crossed a line.

Individual incumbent district councilors of their own accord took some actions after seeing that there are certain legal requirements, that is, legal liabilities will have to be borne if they have violated certain rules and regulations, Lam said. They decided to resign. This is out of our control.

Lam said that despite the exodus of district councilors, authorities will press on with the oath-taking for the remaining councilors.

She also brushed off concerns about whether the resignation of the councilors would affect the operations of the District Council.
Thank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Living alone should be a personal choice, but many people in China find it strange that women, especially younger women, would make such a decision, particularly as it may result in a barrage of criticism.

Yang Lin (not her real name) was the subject of online gossip after she accidentally locked herself in the bathroom of her Beijing apartment.

The incident occurred in February on Chinese New Year's Eve. Yang expected the evening to be quiet and uneventful because she had stayed in Beijing for the holiday, heeding official appeals not to travel to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The mishap came when she finished showering. She had closed the door securely, but when she turned the shabby doorknob at about 1 am, the door remained stuck despite her frantic efforts to open it.

To make matters worse, she hadn't taken her smartphone into the bathroom, and there was no one in the apartmentapart from her "roommate", a cat named Sphinxto help her escape the muggy, cramped bathroom.

She tried opening the door by many means, including inserting an eyebrow trimmer into the key barrel and even removing the showerhead and using it to bang on the door in the hope of making a breach. Nothing worked.

Then, she pinned her hopes on shouting to see if the Siri function on her iPhone would respond and allow her to call for assistance.

The night was long and tough, but the 30-hour ordeal ended when Lin Jian, a 30-something man who lived in the apartment below, heard Yang's calls for help and phoned a locksmith.

Yang's life should have returned to normal, but she posted her story on WeChat Moments.

When a friend shared a screenshot of the post, the story went viral, triggering a wave of criticism about Yang's decision to live alone.

She was distressed by comments that blamed her for living alone and not having a boyfriend, but even worse, she was followed and threatened by strangers.

Eventually, she had no option but to find another apartment.

A new option

Despite the criticism, living alone is becoming a regular choice for many young people, especially those who are single.

Figures from the Ministry of Civil Affairs show that 240 million people were single in 2018, and about 77 million of them were living alone. That figure is projected to rise to 92 million this year.

Li Ming, a 24-year-old Beijing native, enjoys living on her own, even though it costs more than sharing.

"I'm having a very good time. I get up early, at about 6:30 am, and nobody disturbs my life. I have a nice breakfast, and then I concentrate on my work and finish all my early tasks during the morning," she said.

Zhang Siyu (an assumed name) is looking forward to living alone because she currently shares an apartment with three other women and a man.

While it's quite normal for younger or junior employees to do this in Beijing, the monthly rent for a single room is still reasonably high at about 4,000 yuan ($617).

"I think the criticism of the girl (Yang) was crazy. I would enjoy living alone, and I would do so if I had the money. I saw some malicious comments about Yang's experience, which I thought were irrational. It's a personal preference to lock doors or not. For me, it's quite normal to lock the door when using the restroom even when I am at my parents' house in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region," said Zhang, 25, who works in the education industry.

"Also, the focus should not be on having a boyfriend or not. It's funny, anyway. The criticism sounds like 'Living alone is dangerous, but you will be safe if you have a boyfriend.' People who hold that opinion may have a misunderstanding about intimate relationships that aren't just limited to boyfriends, but to anyone you trust, such as a friend or the house owner, who may be able to offer emergency help."

Safety concerns

Safety, security and feeling lonely are the main concerns of some of those who live alone.

Yang Shumiao (not her real name) has worked in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, for two years. She shares an apartment with strangers.

"I have my own room, and I don't really know the people I live with. So I'm effectively living alone, even though I'm actually sharing an apartment," she said.

The 24-year-old said her residential area is quite secure, but she still has fears about her safety.

"Earlier this year, I accidentally fell to the floor. It really hurt, and I couldn't get up by myself. The sharp pain lasted more than 10 minutes, but I eventually climbed into bed. I was worried I had a bone fracture and felt really sad," she said.

"I feel like I am an empty nester in such a big city, even though I'm only in my 20s. That makes me feel aggrieved from time to time."

She expressed sympathy for Yang Lin, the young woman who was subjected to cyberbullying.

"Everyone has the right to choose the way they live. But a girl may have to do much more to protect herself when she lives alone," she said.

"I like the humorous notion of changing a female tenant's name to a masculine one. I once joked that I planned to change my name to Yang Bajun (meaning'a bossy man'). It's a joke, but kind of poignant," she said ruefully.

Xu Xiaowen contributed to this story.
The drafted plan stated that BPS plans to operate in a traditional learning environment for the 2021-2022 school year, unless a state Directed Health Measure or federal mandate requires otherwise. It further states that if there is a COVID-19 outbreak of 10% or more of the student and staff population, which is roughly 250 people, that the district would look to implement some or all of their safety protocols for 1-10 consecutive school days.

Trusty asked if the plan could state the school board could consider, but not necessarily adopt, any mandate.

The district plans to operate in a traditional learning environment during the 2021-2022 school year, unless theres a COVID-19 outbreakand consideration would be given to state DHMs or federal mandates. So then its consideration, not we will follow, Nielsen said. Because again, over half of our budget is federal dollars. I dont think we could operate without federal assistance.

If theres other school districts saying were not following this, then it gives the school board a chance to discuss and make a decision locally, Trusty said, regarding the DHMs.

Nielsen noted that the return plan has to be reviewed every six months until Sept. 1, 2023, because thats how long ESSER III funding is allowed.
MOSCOW (AP)  Russia has strongly warned the United States against deploying its troops in the former Soviet Central Asian nations following their withdrawal from Afghanistan, a senior diplomat said in remarks published on Tuesday.

Russias Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Moscow conveyed the message to Washington during Russian President Vladimir Putins summit with U.S. President Joe Biden in Geneva last month.

The warning comes as the U.S. military said last week that 90% of the withdrawal of U.S. troops and equipment from Afghanistan is complete. Biden said the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on Aug. 31.

I would emphasize that the redeployment of the American permanent military presence to the countries neighboring Afghanistan is unacceptable, Ryabkov said. We told the Americans in a direct and straightforward way that it would change a lot of things not only in our perceptions of whats going on in that important region, but also in our relations with the United States.

He added that Russia has also issued the warning to Central Asian nations.
Billings will buy the Stillwater Building downtown for $17.1 million and begin the process of building it out to be the new home for the city's law and justice center and city hall.

Billings City Council voted 10-1 Monday night to accept the buy/sell agreement with building owner WC Commercial and move to the next phase of acquiring the building.

"Looking at the whole of what the city needs ... this meets those needs," said council member Roy Neese.

Council member Penny Ronning cast the lone no-vote, explaining that she loves the building but was disappointed with the process used by the city to vet the facility and negotiate to buy it.

"I don't think it's been good government the way this has worked," she said.

She wanted more opportunities for the public to comment on the process and the decision, and she wanted to hear from the public how they thought the city should spend the money it will be using to buy the Stillwater.
New legislation will be one of the focuses of North Dakota's seventh annual Indian Education Summit, being held Thursday and Friday at the state Capitol and the neighboring North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum in Bismarck.

The Legislature earlier this year approved Senate Bill 2304, which requires North Dakota studies instruction in elementary school to include an emphasis on the states federally recognized Indian tribes: the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, or Three Affiliated Tribes; the Standing Rock Sioux; the Spirit Lake Nation; the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa; and the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Nation.

Including curriculum in our classrooms that speaks to the culture of our Native American students is essential to helping them learn, said Lucy Fredericks, the Department of Public Instructions director of American Indian and multicultural education.

State Rep. Ruth Buffalo, D-Fargo, a member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, helped garner support for the bill. She'll speak during the summit on Native American Education for All.
Scientists say climate change has made the West much warmer and drier, and they warn that weather will get wilder as the world warms. They say extreme conditions are often from a combination of unusually random, short-term and natural weather patterns heightened by long-term, human-caused climate change. However, special studies are needed to determine how much global warming is to blame, if at all, for a single extreme weather event.

North Dakota this spring and summer has had nearly 1,500 wildfires scorching more than 100,000 acres, including two Badlands fires last week that blackened more than 3,000 acres. The total area burned this year is about eight times what burned in all of 2020. All of the state is mired in drought -- much of it in extreme or exceptional drought.

Firefighters have had some success in keeping the Bootleg Fire out of several small communities.

Quick actions from crews on the ground prevented numerous homes from catching fire during nighttime ember showers, a U.S. Forest Service statement said Monday.
1999 as a Turning Point: Lionizing the 1989 Student Leaders

13. 7. 2021 / Muriel Blaive

cas cteni 18 minut

- Shortly after the fall of communism Monika Pajerova saw herself, modestly, as an interpreter who, on the margins, helped some Civic Forum activists.



- Twenty years later, she was already a Hero of the 1989 Revolution, she had almost single-handedly carried it out.



- Was the requirement for the construction of heroic figures, which emerged in 1999 along with anticommunism and attempts to exclude some citizens from the political process, really helpful?





Many thanks to Veronika Pehe, Marian Lozi, and Jill Massino for their critical remarks on this text.

In September 1990, I enrolled as a student in the Faculty of Czech at the University of Oriental Languages in Paris. I already had a passion for everything Czech, and I eagerly followed the activities of the cultural institute. We had a new Czechoslovak ambassador, Jaroslav Sedivy, and a new cultural attache, Monika Pajerova. Sedivy was a jovial fellow, and at every event I attended until 1992 (when I left Paris for Prague), he reminded that he had inspired Kundera in his character of Tomas in The Unbearable Lightness of Being  minus the philandering, as I keep repeating to my skeptical wife, he would quip to the audiences unfailing mirth.

Another joke he was fond of repeating was that his young cultural attache, Monika Pajerova, had been one of the leaders of the Velvet Revolution. But Monika Pajerova was very shy, and she would blush bright red to the root of her very blond hair. She would feel compelled to protest: No, no, not at all, I was no leader, I just happened to be there and to speak some languages, and they needed people to communicate in English and French to the outside world!

Fast forward twenty years, and the improvized-press-attache of 1989 discovered her inner heroic identity after all. Monika Pajerova was among the top personalities of the student generation who managed to lay the ground of the independent student movement during the mid-1980s  During these unsettled days when the communist regime was collapsing, Monika Pajerova organized the strike committee at the Faculty of Arts, and also functioned as a spokeswoman of the University Strike Committee and later also participated in the newly established Civic Forum activity .

Indeed, by 2009, Monika Pajerova had not only become a full-fledged leader of the Velvet Revolution but, it was now revealed, she had actually planned it for years together with Pavel Zacek. Large information panels on Wenceslas Square put together by the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, which Zacek had founded the previous year and of which he was director, described how Pajerova and he had met and planned all the details of the revolution: This really conspiring groups task was to establish a very powerful network throughout universities. After STIS united with Stuha led by Simon Panek, an unbelievably sophisticated organization of future strike committees was created throughout the faculties. Its ability to act quickly and its professionalism surprised us. It is probably an irony of fate that the November 17th demonstration was only one of the many planned activities which we prepared together. But the other ones were swept away by the avalanche of changes that came after the police raid on National Avenue .

Since the Czech public is fond of the notion of historical truth, what is the historical truth in this case? That Monika Pajerova was a modest cog in the wheels who happened to be at the right place at the right time, and was otherwise a loyal citizen of the communist state, who had the privilege not only to study in Czechoslovakia but to repeatedly travel, and even study, in the West , or that she was a genuine student leader during a movement that was preparing to bring down the communist regime? Had Sedivys remark, that was made partially or wholly in jest at the time, become the new truth? Is my own memory reliable, or has it been influenced by the thirty-two years that have passed in between? Did I even hear or understand correctly what was said back then?

The answer is: both versions of the story are equally true insofar as the notion of historical truth is a feeble concept that changes with time and is inscribed in a constantly evolving context. The example of Monika Pajerova, that I take here because I happened to hear her in 1990 but the same point could doubtless be made also of the other student leaders, shows that their personal trajectories and the rewriting of their biographies has evolved alongside the tenets of ideal conduct defined and redefined along the years by the official memory politics of the Czech state, as well as by the societal evolution of the relationship to the communist past.

The narrative substantially evolved between three versions over twenty-four years: what I remember hearing in 1990, the interviews Monika Pajerova gave to Mirek Vanek in 1997-1998 for his volume One Hundred Student Revolutions, and Monika Pajerovas memoirs published in 2014 , purportedly reproducing her contemporary diaries but evidently heavily redacted. As P remysl Houda has usefully pointed out in an analysis inspired by cultural anthropologist Alexei Yurchak , the great pains Pajerova (and others) takes into painting herself as having been against the system before 1989 is a reconstruction that dates to the post-socialist period. Indeed, the within/against the system dichotomy is a dissident discourse that was mainstreamed only after 1989, resulting in the representation of the socialist public sphere as illegitimate and anyone being active in any way in the late socialist period as being against the system, whereas there was no such binary at the time. In 1990, the students were modest and dedicated to the collective success of the newly established democracy; by 2009, the state narrative was promoting a call for heroes, perhaps to divert the attention away from the failures of the decommunization policy, and those of the 1989 social actors who had a career or a reputation at stake made use of this new call.

How have we reached this state of development? I contend that a major stage was the year 1999 and the first commemoration of the Velvet Revolution.

Who benefited from the 1989 rupture?

The narrative promoted by the students and more generally by the new political elites after 1989 was one of rupture, that refused to acknowledge any continuities with the pre-1989 regime. Yet the wider public had no qualms acknowledging and underlining these continuities. In a report prepared for the Czech public radio CRo 1 in 1999, here is what the providential ordinary people had to answer to the question of knowing if we had succeeded in dealing with the communist past in the previous ten years: I think we weren't doing bad under the communists and we didnt have what we have now, this horrible Sherwood park at the Prague Central Station where we are standing now; We have not come to terms with the communist past, I fundamentally think we havent. The economy of the country today is controlled by the communists, absolutely nothing happened to anyone, yet it would have been easy to document the crimes; I don't see that we are any better off than we were before, not me personally, anyway. As for myself, I've had three heart attacks and the communists gave me a pension and the new guys in power now took it away. And so, I actually have to go to work even though I had three heart attacks; The people who were in the Communist Party and who were in power just turned their coats.

Even more enlightening is the reaction of surprise and shock by the guests of the same talk show, first of all former dissident and now politician Rudolf Battek: These are bitter words, and one is at a loss how to respond  part of the historical tragedy is in the way it all happened ten years ago. Indeed, Battek lamented that his generation had not been morally prepared for the change, and had to take on board many of the former communists in 1989, some of whom were decent, but some of whom were crooks. As to the other guest, former student leader Monika Pajerova, she mentioned that the communist regime had all the power, while the revolutionaries had only public opinion on their side, so their aim was mainly to avoid spilling blood.

This is a legitimate argument to justify the course taken by Havel and his allies in November-December 1989. As I have shown in another article , the dissidents suffered from a lack of legitimacy in the revolutionary days. They were the only alternative to the communist power, but they represented only a minor segment of society at first. Their only argument was to be anticommunist, and this is how the anticommunist constitutional identity of the new state was born.

Insofar as the new state was anticommunist, the policy of lustration seemed to make sense. However, it proved to be misplaced, and needlessly excluded from public service many a competent, be they formerly communist, administrator. Instead, it pushed the former apparatchiks, who had the social, economic, and networking capital, towards the economic sphere, and it left it entirely at their mercy. As both Battek and Pajerova readily admitted it, neither the dissidents, nor the students, any part of the loose opposition, or the West for that matter, were prepared and ready for such a radical change as the fall of communism, nor could they have been. When Vaclav Klaus appeared in 1989, despite the personal misgivings of upcoming President Havel the former dissidents could only be grateful for his presence, as they had no idea how to navigate the economy. They also did not have much of an idea in the following years about what Klaus was really up to as Finance Minister  which might appear, in hindsight, as little else but preparing to sell the country away to emerging barons of the industry, or in any case slowly but systemically destroying the core value of Czech identity, i.e., egalitarianism. Perhaps the most visible symbol of the continuity in behavior, if not in policy, of the post-1989 leaders was the gigantic 1998 electoral billboard of Vaclav Klaus that had taken the place of the previous statue of Stalin, itself the biggest Stalin statue in the world. The megalomaniac impression that resulted from it was quite at odds with the message conveyed by the billboard, We think differently.

The 1999 debates make clear that the student leaders and former dissidents were fully aware of their own shortcomings in 1989, while the public was begging them to rectify their original mistakes. The petition Thank You and Goodbye!, organized by seven former student leaders of 1989, Monika Pajerova, Igor Chaun, Vratislav Rehak, Josef Broz, Vlastimil Jezek, Simon Panek, and Martin Mejstrik was a manifesto that demanded the resignation of political leaders Vaclav Klaus (then head of the lower chamber of Parliament) and Milos Zeman (then head of the government), the end of the so-called opposition agreement, and the restoration of civic decency. Indeed, the opposition agreement passed between ODS and CSSD in 1998 had essentially silenced the opposition and stifled the democratic debate. The petition garnered 200,000 signatures in just a few months and was, according to opinion polls, supported by 56% of the population. The public was evidently expecting, and hoping, that the former dissidents and/or student leaders would create a new political party and lead the country back on the path of honesty and decency. But none of the political leaders who had been in power since 1989 agreed that they should step down, be it Milos Zeman, Vaclav Klaus, Petr Pithart, Daniel Kroupa, Jan Ruml, Marek Benda, or even Vaclav Havel.

As in 1989, the former students toyed with the idea to run for political mandate. However, as in 1989, they eventually gave up on it in the context of internal feuds. Jezek decided not to involve himself, as his embedded distrust in political parties was too strong. Independent senator Vaclav Fischer, held by pundits as a potential head of a future party, refused to meet with the students. Simon Panek decided to keep dedicating himself to humanitarian work. Igor Chaun supposed that a new political subject would be born and decided to remain a filmmaker. Martin Mejstrik said he was too busy reconstructing his house in Mala strana  although he would indeed be elected senator in 2002 and continue on his own path of anticommunist radicalization. Josef Broz left for France. As to Monika Pajerova, she aimed for a federation of civic movement (that would never really take off), and continued her career as a civil servant.

That the former students pulled off from political engagement as a group was a fateful turn in the post-communist development; their retreat symbolizes the unwillingness, or inability, of anyone in this country to shoulder the responsibility of developing civic society, even though both they and the wider public knew it was badly needed.

The Original Sin

The former students were of course not responsible for the imperfections of the transition out of communism. But their attitude only worsened the situation. Here is one small example of historical reconstruction: in 1999, Monika Pajerova knew that the lack of development of Czech civic society was a major handicap in the post-communist transition. She called for a dialogue between different groups of citizens, between the state and society, between state institutions and society. Ten years earlier, in her speech on 17 November 1989, she had already appealed for dialogue: It is all about dialogue, because there is more that unites us than divides us, she had then said. "People clapped a lot, she reminisced in 1998 about her 1989 speech, because it was the feeling of probably every one of us that nobody has a completely pure conscience, everybody got a little mixed with up the regime, every (student) was taking the tests in Marxism-Leninism, but what we had in common was bigger, and that is what we had to build on.

By 1999, she had seemingly forgotten that her call for dialogue in 1989 was one of dialogue with the communists, not against them, and one that took into account peoples everyday compromission with the regime. If the devil hides in the detail, by 1999 the former students notion of dialogue now actively excluded the communists and their 20% share of the electorate. Monika Pajerova invited the media to exercise judgment and stop inviting communist leaders, she wanted them simply to be pushed out of the mass media. Or as Igor Chaun put it, We invite everyone to join us for a decent and peaceful meeting. Our slogan is: Take your Christmas bells with you, and you, communists, stay home. Martin Mejstrik agreed, as did film director Jan Hrebejk.

The question becomes, of course, the following: if the students notion of dialogue excluded both the elected representatives and the communists, who would have been the discussion partners? Between whom and whom should the national dialogue have taken place?

From excluding the communists to rewriting history

It gets worse. Vratislav Rehak, another one of the former students and authors of the appeal, pronounced the following words at the big demonstration organized by the Thank You and Goodbye! organizers: I call on you to wage intellectual terror against current politicians, MPs and representatives of all parties. It is your democratic right to ask them what they are doing and why they are doing it, and to demand that they make amends. In a country that had recently exited a forty-year dictatorship, a call on citizens to exercise intellectual terror upon their elected representatives was rather chilling.

Indeed many 1999 students and other citizens were in favor of using radical practices to get rid of the communists. In their rejection of the communists, the former students replicated the communist methods that had become standard practice in Czechoslovakia against the enemies of communism: rejection, boycott, appeal for intellectual terror. I therefore argue that the movement around Thank You and Goodbye! symbolizes a turning point in the post-1989 regime, one that would turn genuine concerns and a sincere analysis of the democrats own shortcomings into a new ideology of remembrance that would gain extraordinary precedence in the following years.

Under the guise of never forgetting, the former students would in the following decade transform their pertinent analysis of the situation in 1989 and in 1999 into a powerful anticommunist ideology that would soon endeavor to rewrite history, with all the more determination, as Ondrej Slacalek has shown, that the growing importance of anticommunism in public discourse was in fact hiding the loss of its hegemony . This is how we arrived at the biographical difference between 1990 and 2009 described in the incipit of this article.

Conclusion

The hard and painful way to solve the inconsistencies of the Velvet Revolution would have been for society to face their own past, their own involvement, their own compromission with the past regime, and it would have been for intellectual elites to lead them in this direction. Instead, the refusal to lead any dialogue with the communists was a more facile path. By pretending that communism was alien to Czech culture, by externalizing the communist period as a period that was not worth belonging to Czech history, the new democracy adamantly rejected any possibility of national reconciliation and placed itself into an impossible position: what kind of democracy could pretend that 20% of the electorate did not exist? How could a movement make any claim to national unity in these circumstances? How could it blame the past while pretending the new political actors did not belong to this very same past?

In the same way as the postwar Czechoslovak democracy had pretended that the Germans had never belonged to Czech history, the post-communist Czech democracy pretended that the communists had never belonged to Czech history. The refusal to hold any nation-wide reconciliation was a fateful choice of the post-communist regime, one that would create the necessity to rewrite history so as to de-legitimize the place of communism in national history  the latest avatar of which is its latest proposal to reduce the pensions of former communists and secret policemen . The radicalization of the former students is inscribed in this collective refusal to face the past, be it in 1989, 1999, or 2009  or as it would continue be in 2019. It opened the door to the manufacture of heroes. By the end of 1999, Monika Pajerova had already become, in Erik Taberys words, a legendary figure of the student movement.

0
Dear President Trump,

It was my great honor to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

in your Administration. You asked me to prioritize public safety, and that is exactly what

I did. While Larry Krasner, the radical leftist Philadelphia District Attorney, was letting

violent criminals go and refusing to prosecute rioters, looters, and arsonists, our Office was

putting them in jail and standing up for law-abiding citizens.

In the spring of 2020, I prosecuted and won an election fraud case against a Judge of

Elections in South Philadelphia who was stuffing the ballot box. I also charged the

political consultant (a former Democratic Congressman) who was paying bribes to the

Judge to stuff the ballot box.

President Trump, you were right to be upset about the way the Democrats ran the 2020

election in Pennsylvania  it was a partisan disgrace. The Governor, the Secretary of the

Commonwealth, and the partisan State Supreme Court made up their own rules and did not

follow the law. Even worse, the State Attorney General, Josh Shapiro  the very person

responsible for the enforcement of state election law  declared days before Election Day

that you could not win the election. It would be hard to imagine a more irresponsible

statement by a law enforcement officer, especially during a hotly contested election.

In light of such statements, it is hardly surprising that many Pennsylvanians lack faith

in our states election results.

On Election Day and afterwards, our Office received various allegations of voter fraud

and election irregularities. As part of my responsibilities as U.S. Attorney, I wanted to

be transparent with the public and, of course, investigate fully any allegations. Attorney

General Barr, however, instructed me not to make any public statements or put out any

press releases regarding possible election irregularities. I was also given a directive to pass

along serious allegations to the State Attorney General for investigation  the same State

Attorney General who had already declared that you could not win

I disagreed with that decision, but those were my orders. As a Marine infantry officer,

I was trained to follow the chain of command and to respect the orders of my superiors,

even when I disagree with them.

Mr. President, public service is in my blood, and I would like to serve the people of

Pennsylvania and restore conservative leadership to our state. I will be the Republican

candidate for Governor with the best chance to win the general election in November

2022. Based on my background and experience, I am uniquely positioned to defeat

Mr. Shapiro (the likely Democratic candidate) and would welcome the chance to discuss

this with you in person. I would be honored to have your support.

Once elected Governor, one of my first priorities would be to modernize Pennsylvanias

election process and protect the right of all Pennsylvania citizens to cast a legitimate vote.

That means no ballot harvesting, undated ballots, unsigned ballots, ballots collected

after Election Day (other than legitimate military and overseas absentee ballots), obstacles

to poll watchers observing the counting of ballots, different rules in different counties,

and, of course, no ballot stuffing of the kind that I previously prosecuted. It also means

responsible voter ID legislation. Ensuring peoples confidence in elections should be

a nonpartisan issue. In short, we have a responsibility to make it easy to vote, but hard 

if not impossible  to cheat. That is how we respect the will of the people  and how

the best and most deserving candidates win.

Thank you for your consideration, and I hope to see you soon.

Very respectfully,

William M. McSwain

Former United States Attorney, Eastern District of PA, 2018-2021
Finish this article for as low as $1 when you purchase a day pass. Just click the sign up button to purchase. If you are already a subscriber, just click log in to continue reading.
"I can't take anybody else this year. It's not that I can't do it, it's that there are no vendors available," she said.

Roman is dealing with things she never thought she would see: She can't find a baker for a cake that she doesn't even need until October. A flower shortage  partly due to California growers switching their crops to cannabis  has caused floral costs to nearly double. She is three chairs short for a party that increased its head count  and the vendor doesn't have any left in that style.

"It's been super hard to have those conversations and get people to understand what I'm talking about," she said. "One groom is super upset that they can't invite 30 more people. It's not that I don't want more people  they won't fit in the tent."

With everyone in the industry so busy, it has been hard to connect with vendors. For the first time, Roman has had to staff her office with three people on weekdays just to keep up with calls and emails, and to double and triple check orders. When she finally gets someone on the phone, she keeps them there until everything is straight.

"The lag in communication is insane because they don't have the bandwidth to do their job and manage their inbox at the same time," she said.
All of the properties are part of the developers' $150 million conversion of the former Women & Children's Hospital of Buffalo campus into Elmwood Crossing. A separate request by the developers to subdivide 219 Bryant St. into four parcels  three on Bryant and one on Hodge  was tabled at the companies' request.

The board also agreed to rezone the former Spencer Kellogg Elevator and Buffalo Malting grain silo complex at 395 Ganson St., at the corner of Michigan Avenue, to enable the redevelopment of the four-story facility with its 20 silos into a nonprofit community center and home for Hope Rising Together. Constructed in 1909 and adjacent to St. Mary's Cement, the complex is 110 feet tall, with a 60-foot central penthouse on top, but most of it won't be used.

"It is quite a substantial building at the waters edge," said project architect Douglas Klotzbach of K2 Architecture. "The silos are pretty much not usable."

The Clarence nonprofit organization, which was founded in 2009, focuses on providing clean water, education, healthcare and sustainable development in the West African nation of Sierra Leone, but has been expanding its services in its hometown. It plans to use the first floor of the silo structure  totaling 19,040 square feet  for a theater, film studio, music or podcast room, offices and volunteer work areas.
"Theres been immense pressure for studio spaces around the United States," Murrett said. "Thus the owners willingness to advance the entire buildout at this point in time, but in a slightly different configuration."

No changes are planned to the interior support space or the exterior elevations of the building, and the number of people in the building or on site is not expected to change, Murrett said. However, the overall building will now be 18% bigger  at 67,000 square feet in size, with the larger studio pushed to the east side while the smaller stages are "tucked in the core," he added.

"We have made modifications not only to satisfy our investors but also to react to the marketplace and post-Covid adjustments that have happened in the industry," Quinn told the Buffalo Planning Board Monday.

New technology in filmmaking, particularly the use of a video wall system that "basically replaces the green screen approach," is one reason for the change. And by using smaller stages, he added, Great Point's clients would be able to work on three scenes at once, while also isolating people more for social distancing and safety.

"This gives us a much more diverse operation," he said. "It's also oriented toward streaming rather than a big movie, although we could do a big movie."
The man spoke to The News on the condition that he not be identified by name.

He said he had hoped to tell Grosz at the confirmation about the abuse by Keppeler, but he quickly realized that would not be possible when he approached the altar to be confirmed.

I was immediately scared and uncomfortable. The bishop looked me over from head to toe and literally licked his lips, the man said.

Grosz then told him that he looked as if he had stepped out of the pages of GQ magazine, according to the man. The newly confirmed teenagers gathered with their families, Keppeler and the bishop inside a church hall after the Mass.

The man said he found himself alone with Grosz in a separate room until Keppeler walked in and encouraged them to rejoin the party.

Later, Grosz posed for pictures with the boy and various family members.

He was molesting me, feeling me, groping me the whole time, the man said.

His mother and grandmother, who both attended the confirmation, remembered Grosz paying an unusual amount of attention to him.
Buffalo Common Council members are holding a public meeting as another vehicle to get feedback from the community for how the city should spend hundreds of millions of dollars in federal stimulus funding.

Its a listening session, said Council President Darius G. Pridgen.

We just want to give people another way to weigh in, said University Council Member Rasheed N.C. Wyatt, chairman of the Finance Committee.

Buffalo is slated to receive $331 million in American Rescue Plan funds.

Half of the windfall  about $166 million  arrived at City Hall on June 1. The second payment is expected to come next year. All the funds must be spent within the next four years.

In early June, Mayor Byron W. Brown announced the city will distribute its $331 million through what Brown deemed the "Buffalo Transformation Fund.

The four pillars of his plan to transform the city's social and economic landscape are people, places, progress and prosperity, he said.
A 4-foot-by-8-foot glass window etched with words from the U.S. Constitution was installed Monday at the Robert H. Jackson U.S. Courthouse, replacing a panel damaged last year during protests against police brutality after the death of George Floyd.

Joe Geiger, property manager for the federal courthouse, said the glass was damaged during the last weekend in May 2020 when protests in Niagara Square turned violent.

"For a period of many hours, rocks and bricks were being thrown at the building, and damaged it," Geiger said about the panel.

"It's a double-pane glass, though. It's ballistic grade, so the interior pane was never damaged. It was just the decorative exterior pane with lettering on it that was damaged," Geiger added.

All 4,543 words of the U.S. Constitution are etched into the glass facade of the federal courthouse.

The damaged panel was one of a kind, which set off a yearlong journey to create a replacement. Geiger said the original installer and the original etcher were no longer in business, complicating matters.
Three-year-old Shaquelle Walker Jr. was a hugger. He would latch onto his younger brother "every five seconds."

Shaquelle got his own share of hugs after he was bit by a dog over Fourth of July weekend, Alexis Lewis, the boy's great aunt, said.

After getting bit in the stomach, Shaquelle promised his family he would become stronger, so no more dogs could bite him, Lewis said.

Shaquelle will never get that chance.

The boy's family is making funeral arrangements after last week's quadruple shooting on Donovan Drive where police said a hail of bullets  the same caliber of which prosecutors said were found inside a Cheektowaga apartment where two "persons of interest" live  ended Shaquelle's life and wounded three men.

Since then, Lewis said Shaquelle's little brother doesn't understand why his best friend isn't there to give him a hug. And all the family has left is the memory of the little boy's infectious smile.

"He had these dimples. They go all the way," she said of Shaquelle, with her index fingers pointing to her cheeks.
A Porter man who has been in and out of mental institutions since he was charged in 2018 with killing his stepfather, has been deemed competent to stand trial.

That's happened before to Gregory A. Roy, only to have him relapse and be recommitted to the custody of the state Office of Mental Health.

After a brief court appearance in Lockport on Tuesday, defense attorney George V.C. Muscato said he has filed a notice to offer a psychiatric defense at Roy's trial, which has not yet been scheduled.

Roy, 32, is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Rudy Ray Rockett, 64, of Redondo Beach, Calif.

Rockett's body was found May 19, 2018, in a ravine in East Otto State Forest, Cattaraugus County.

At the time, the Niagara County Sheriff's Office said Rockett had been shot multiple times April 29, 2018, in a car driven by Roy.

They said Rockett thought Roy was driving him to Buffalo Niagara International Airport for a flight back to California, but investigators said Roy took a circuitous route through Niagara County and allegedly killed his stepfather at some point during the drive.
A Rochester teenager was arraigned Tuesday on an indictment charging him with two felonies stemming from a pursuit that seriously injured a Buffalo police officer, according to the Erie County District Attorney's Office.

The 16-year-old, whose name has not been released by authorities, is accused of fleeing from Officer Jonathan Negron, who was rendered unconscious in a crash during the June 3 chase.

The teen was arraigned before Erie County Court Judge Kenneth Case on charges of assault on a peace officer and unlawful fleeing a police in a motor vehicle.

Negron was dispatched to respond to a 911 call about four people in a vehicle with a gun at Crossman Avenue and Heminway Street. When Negron spotted the vehicle on Genesee Street, the teenager allegedly sped east toward Cheektowaga. The teen drove through Mount Calvary Cemetery, crossed onto Harlem Road, and crashed into two vehicles and a utility pole near Mafalda Drive. The collision caused the pole to fall and crash through the front windshield of Negron's patrol vehicle.
On Friday, Perry wrote, "Quelle we love u forever fly high u got ur wings now."

Three men also were injured in Monday's shooting.

While no arrests have been made, Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn has said that two "persons of interest" in the shooting face drug and weapons possession charges in Cheektowaga.

The Buffalo police investigation into Monday night's shooting led to a search warrant being executed Tuesday at an apartment on Slate Creek Drive, off French Road, in Cheektowaga, Flynn said.

That shooting, which happened during an impromptu gathering involving fireworks at about 11 p.m. in the courtyard at the Ferry Grider Homes, "was the genesis or the foundation of the search warrant," Flynn said Thursday.

After the search in which police found an assault rifle and a handgun, as well as cocaine and drug paraphernalia, two residents of the apartment  Dequan I. Richardson, 22, and Jonay B. Robinson, 25  each were charged with four felonies and two misdemeanors.
Republicans who dominate the state Legislature rejected complaints from Democrats after the fraud allegations emerged that responsibility rested with lax state regulations. GOP leaders argued it was difficult to legislate against criminal intent.

Democratic Rep. Ed DeLaney of Indianapolis said he was only surprised by the scale of the apparent fraud and that he had little hope of the state recovering much money. He said the state had provided flimsy supervision.

We need to learn from this, DeLaney said. You know if you give vast sums of money to people who are allowed to act outside of public view, they might take advantage of it.

The schools reported an enrollment of about 7,200 students before state education officials cut off funding in 2019 based on preliminary audit findings of the enrollment padding.

Officials in Indiana have disagreed about oversight responsibilities between the State Board of Education, the state Department of Education and the Daleville Community Schools, a district of about 1,000 students near Muncie, which was the charter authorizer for the two online schools.

State auditors cited the Daleville district for a lack of meaningful oversight and monitoring. District officials, however, maintained the district played no role in the erroneous enrollment reports and didnt have access to data about the online schools students until 2018 because of concerns about federal student privacy laws.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Moore had been told he was receiving an award for supporting Israel. But in the segment, Baron Cohen appeared as a faux counterterrorism instructor Col. Erran Morad, discussing bogus military technology, including a supposed pedophile detector. In the segment, the device beeped repeatedly as it got near Moore, who sat stone-faced.

The judge noted the absurdity of the segment in dismissing Moores lawsuit, which sought $95 million in damages.

In light of the context of Judge Moores interview, the segment was clearly a joke and no reasonable viewer would have seen it otherwise, the judge wrote.

Court records indicate Moore and his wife, who also was a plaintiff in the suit, are appealing.

Of course we will appeal  this Court used words like tricked and Joke in describing Cohens behavior but will still do nothing to rein in his fraudulent misconduct, Moore said in a statement texted to The Associated Press.

Baron Cohen has for years lured unwitting politicians into awkward interviews. He has faced past lawsuits over similar pranks, but those were tossed out because the individuals had signed releases.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
We are doing things that probably entail a high risk of contagion," he said. No matter whether it's this variant or another one, the risks we take would lead to an increase in transmission.

Spain has fully vaccinated more than 21 million people or 46% of its total population. But only roughly 600,000 of those are under 30, the next target group for vaccine jabs.

Since lifting a national state of emergency in May, regional authorities trying to keep the spread of the virus at bay have sought court authorization for adopting restrictions that curtail basic freedoms. That has led to varying results.

While judges on Monday rejected plans by the northern Aragon region to close nightclubs, a Valencia high court authorized the 10-person limit on meetings there and a 1 a.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew in 32 towns. The targeted towns, including the regional capital, were labeled high risk after the regions 2-week caseload jumped from fewer than 50 new cases per 100,000 residents last month to more than 250 currently.

In Catalonia, where authorities over the weekend described the surge of new cases as explosive, an uptick in hospitalizations, including among few dozen patients who had received two doses, has caused concern.
Metro North has a fleet of dual mode locomotives, which could provide service north of Poughkeepsie on to Rhinecliff, Hudson and Albany. The NIMBY squad (Not In My Backyard) living in communities north of Poughkeepsie years ago would not allow the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Metro North Railroad to even conduct a feasibility to study for potential extension of Metro North service beyond Poughkeepsie.

Even with speeds of 110 miles per hour, most people west of Albany from Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse would rather fly to New York City than take Amtrak. Real high-speed rail is 200 miles or more per hour as available in Europe or Japan. Air travel would still be faster by several hours.

It might make more sense to just add additional service between Niagara Falls and Albany, along with Albany to New York. Rather than increasing speed, potential new customers could be attracted by increasing the frequency of service to various intermediate destinations from Niagara Falls to Albany and Albany to New York. This requires purchase of additional equipment and increase in operating subsidies. There is also the need for more grade crossing improvements and feeder bus services to other smaller cities and towns adjacent to existing Amtrak stations.
The reports have prompted questions on the legality of using surplus campaign funds for this purpose. Federal law requires campaign funds be used only for campaign-related travel, even if leftover from a previous campaign. Van Orden was not an active candidate in January.

Derrick Van Orden not only lied about his involvement in a deadly attack on our democracy, but he appears to have violated federal law by bankrolling his attendance as he stood on the Capitol grounds during the insurrection on his campaigns dime, DPW executive director Nellie Sires said in a statement.

Van Ordens misconduct is disturbing, unethical and confirms hes unfit to represent Wisconsin, Sires said.

The Van Orden Campaign said this in a statement: This is a frivolous complaint by a bad faith campaign.

Two weeks ago Ron Kind missed votes in Congress so Joe Biden could buy him two scoops of ice cream, and then claimed it was a meeting to talk about vaccination rates to cover it up. Anybody who used to think Ron Kind isnt a typical Washington D.C. politician is being shown otherwise on a nearly daily basis. The lies that Ron Kind and his allies continue to push prove exactly what Derrick has said about entrenched politicians like Ron Kind for the last year: They will do and say anything to keep their power.

Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}
The fact that the OMB will not be pursuing the change at this time will ensure that essential community services, funded by various federal agencies which consider population size and MSA status, will continue into the foreseeable future," said Bismarck Mayor Steve Bakken. We are very grateful the current threshold will remain in place at 50,000 people."

Federal statisticians who originally had recommended the change said it was long overdue, given that the U.S. population has more than doubled since the 50,000-person threshold was introduced in 1950. Back then, about half of U.S. residents lived in metros; now, 86% do.

The committee of federal statisticians that made the recommendation said Tuesday that it would now support putting it on hold pending additional research and outreach to municipalities and others.

Updates to these standards are considered every decade. Even though the proposal was made during the Trump administration, and put on hold in the Biden administration, statisticians say any changes to the standards aren't based on politics.

Of the 734 public comments the Office of Budget and Management received about the proposed change, 97% opposed it, the agency said Tuesday in a notice of its decision.
Authorities didn't immediately say how the men escaped, but said they should not be approached by members of the public under any circumstances.
With high efficacy and a good safety profile, it is critical that the Sputnik vaccine is accessible in full measure for people across India and the world, said Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of the Serum Institute of India.

Dmitriev said that Sputnik V vaccines manufactured by the Serum Institute of India will be supplied to the Indian market and also be exported to more than 60 countries that have registered for the Russian vaccine.

The announcement came as coronavirus deaths in Russia hit another daily record Tuesday with authorities reporting 780 more fatalities amid a continuing surge in infections.

Russias coronavirus task force reported 24,702 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday. The daily tally of confirmed infections has soared from around 9,000 in early June to over 23,000 in early July.

Officials have attributed a steady rise in infections and an increase in mortality on Russians lax attitude toward taking precautions, the growing prevalence of the more contagious delta variant and vaccination reluctance.

Authorities have sought to boost vaccinations which have remained at a lower rate than in many Western countries.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13)  The Philippines saw foreign direct investments spike by 114.4% in April, recent Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data revealed.

The BSP on Monday said inflows rose to $679 million during the month, from the $317 million logged in April 2020.

The latest figure brought cumulative investments to $3.1 billion, also a 56.3% rise from the $2 billion recorded from January to April last year.

The central bank said that the higher FDI tally came on the back of positive foreign investor sentiment on the countrys macroeconomic fundamentals and strong growth prospects.

Foreigners investments in debt instruments climbed to $500 million during the month, up 121.2% from last years $226 million.

Equity capital placements, meanwhile, rose 131% in April to $108 million from $47 million.

However, reinvested earnings fell from $88 million to $82 million during the month  a 6.2% decline.

Most of the investments in equity capital made in April came from Japan, the United States, and Singapore. The central bank noted these were funneled primarily in the manufacturing and real estate industries.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 7)  Newly crowned Binibining Pilipinas Intercontinental Cinderella Obenita's reply went viral after she was asked about the value of luxury items during the Q&A segment of the pageant held over the weekend.

During the Q&A portion of Binibining Pilipinas 2021 competition held at Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on Sunday, renowned fashion designer Michael Cinco asked the 25-year-old beauty of Cagayan de Oro - Misamis Oriental: "How important are luxury items like bags, clothes, and jewelry for a woman when the national economy is down and struggling?"

Obenita answered by saying that women always have different choices.

"In life, we always find ourselves in a crossroad of choices. Women always have a choice - whether to prioritize luxury items while we are facing a pandemic, and we also have a choice to embrace the concept of a New Beautiful, which is responsive to the needs of the times, and adaptive to the change of times. I think I would choose to be that woman, the one who understands the problems of the Philippines, the problems of my community, so that we may be able to uplift each other. I would be that kind of woman, to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable," she said.

Pageant fans and netizens lauded Obenita for her answer.

"Ms. Intercontinental PH Cinderella Obenita answered the question not only in a manner that respects women's choice, but also being steadfast with her stance that is called upon her as a true spokesperson, which is to be the woman of change and action. #BinibiningPilipinas2021" Twitter user @jadee_arr said.

"Of all the [Binibini], Cinderella Obenita is my favorite who really nailed the QandA portion. " said @ceo_fren.

However, some slammed the question for being "misogynistic."

"Smh. A lot of men buy luxury brands but you don't see them getting asked with these questions," said @SofiaiDragon.

Prior to the Q&A round, Obenita was named the wildcard finalist, rounding out the Top 13 candidates in the pageant.

She was eventually crowned alongside three other queens who will represent the Philippines in upcoming international competitions: Samantha Panlilio of Cavite won Binibining Pilipinas Grand International, Maureen Montagne of Batangas was hailed Binibining Pilipinas Globe, while Hannah Arnold of Masbate won Binibining Pilipinas International.

READ: Masbate's Hannah Arnold crowned Bb. Pilipinas International 2021
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 12)  Half of the Senate filed on Monday a resolution calling for an investigation into reports of funds from state coffers being used to finance alleged troll farms spreading misinformation and fake news online.

Senate President Tito Sotto, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto and Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon joined Senators Kiko Pangilinan, Nancy Binay, Leila De Lima, Richard Gordon, Risa Hontiveros, Ping Lacson, Manny Pacquiao, Grace Poe and Joel Villanueva in filing Senate Resolution No. 768.

It orders the appropriate Senate committee to hold an inquiry in aid of legislation into the said reports, as troll farms proliferate such false content in social media platforms.

The resolution recalled how Lacson earlier alleged a government undersecretary has been mobilizing internet troll farms nationwide against political rivals or those not aligned with President Rodrigo Dutertes administration  something the Palace denied.

The senators also cited the Department of Finances award of a 909,000 communication strategy consultant contract to the suspected operator of inauthentic Facebook pages behind Dutertes online campaign in the 2016 polls.

The DOF has since defended the contract as legal and aboveboard.

The Senate resolution also mentioned a similar occurrence with the Foreign Affairs Department in 2017, where it had a similar social media consultancy contract with a known pro-administration blogger" accused of spreading fake news and hateful comments against the regimes critics.

Such instances illustrate that troll farms and the misinformation and fake news that they propagate may be state-backed and state-funded, read the resolution.

Filipinos should know why government spends public funds on troll farm operators disguised as public relations practitioners and social media consultants who sow fake news rather than on COVID-19 assistance, healthcare, food security, jobs protection, education, among others, it further said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13)  Trainings of police and fire personnel being held in Baguio City have been temporarily halted after protocol violations were discovered.

Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong said he asked Philippine National Police chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar and Bureau of Fire Protection chief Jose Embang Jr. to immediately stop trainings.

"It's about time that we send a strong message that if you cannot comply with the minimum health standards in the City of Baguio, we will never accept any PNP training dito sa siyudad [here in the city]," Magalong said at the Laging Handa briefing on Tuesday.

He said there were a lot of violations of minimum public health standards, as well as lack of physical distancing in barracks and in classrooms.

Magalong added that rules in the city must be followed and the PNP was "not a separate republic."

Meanwhile, the mayor said training of BFP personnel was temporarily stopped because there was COVID-19 transmission in the training site.

"Ganon din ang nangyayari [the same thing happened]," he said.

"Indefinitely, both training ng PNP at BFP hinto muna indefinitely hanggang makita ko yung kanilang mga ginagawa at they are very compliant with the minimum public health standard," added Magalong.

[Translation: Trainings of both the PNP and BFP have been stopped indefinitely until I see what they are doing and that they are very compliant with the minimum public health standard.]

The mayor said both chiefs acted quickly upon his request and assured him inspections would be conducted.

Neither the PNP nor the BFP have released statements on the issue.
(CNN)  When you compare states with high vaccination rates to states that are lagging, the difference in the number of people getting COVID-19 is staggering.

Over the past week, states that have fully vaccinated more than half of their residents have reported an average Covid-19 case rate that is about a third of that in states which have fully vaccinated less than half of their residents, according to a CNN analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas are the only states to have fully vaccinated fewer than 35% of their residents. Average daily case rates in each state were among the 10 worst in the country last week.

Vermont leads the nation with about 66% of its population fully vaccinated  and while case rates there increased compared to last week, the state still had the lowest case rate in the country last week, with an average of less than one new case per 100,000 people each day.

States that have fully vaccinated more than half of their residents reported an average of 2.8 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people each day last week, compared to an average of about 7.8 cases per 100,000 people each day in states that have vaccinated less than half of their residents.

"We really need to get more people vaccinated, because that's the solution," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Monday on "CBS This Morning." "This virus will, in fact, be protected against by the vaccine."

Across the country, more than 99% of US Covid-19 deaths in June were among unvaccinated people, said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Howard Jarvis, an emergency medicine physician in Springfield, Missouri, told CNN on Monday that his sick patients are all unvaccinated.

"If they're sick enough to be admitted to the hospital, they are unvaccinated. That is the absolute common denominator amongst those patients," he said. "I can see the regret on their face. You know, we ask them, because we want to know, are you vaccinated? And it's very clear that a lot of them regret (not being vaccinated)."

The pace of vaccinations has dropped sharply in recent months. About 246,000 people initiated vaccination each day over the past week, down 88% from the April peak, and about 278,000 people became fully vaccinated each day over the past week, down 84% from the April peak, CDC data shows.

About 56.2% of Americans 12 or older are fully vaccinated.

CDC, FDA looking into risk of nerve complication after J&J shot

Federal health officials are investigating the possibility that Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine might slightly raise the risk of a rare neurological complication known as Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), a spokesperson from the CDC said in a statement to CNN on Monday.

But even if the vaccine does raise the risk, it's still better to get vaccinated, the CDC stressed.

"GBS is a neurological disorder in which the body's immune system damages nerve cells, causing muscle weakness or in the most severe cases paralysis. Each year in the United States, an estimated 3,000 to 6,000 people develop GBS; it is typically triggered by a respiratory or gastrointestinal infection. Most people fully recover from GBS," the spokesperson said.

"Reports of GBS after receipt of the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) are rare, but do likely indicate a small possible risk of this side effect following this vaccine. Around 100 preliminary reports of GBS have been detected in VAERS after 12.8 million doses of J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine administered. These cases have largely been reported about two weeks after vaccination and mostly in males, many aged 50 years and older."

The same pattern is not seen with the other two vaccines authorized in the United States, made by Moderna and Pfizer. The spokesperson said the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices would discuss the matter in an upcoming meeting.

The US Food and Drug Administration updated the label for the vaccine Monday.

"Reports of adverse events following use of the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine under emergency use authorization suggest an increased risk of Guillain-Barre syndrome during the 42 days following vaccination," the updated label reads.

'Surprising amount of death' will occur in some US regions from increased cases, expert says

As the Delta variant rapidly spreads, US hot spots have seen climbing case numbers  and an expert warns a "surprising amount of death" from Covid-19 could soon follow.

The United States is averaging about 19,455 new cases over the past seven days, a 47% increase from the week prior, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. And a third of those, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner said, come from five hot spots: Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri and Nevada.

"In places like Missouri where ICUs are packed, you're going to see a surprising amount of death," Reiner said Sunday.

At Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Missouri, 91% of patients in the intensive care unit are on ventilators and many are in their 20s, 30s and 40s, Chief Administrative Officer Erik Frederick told CNN on Saturday. That is especially concerning, he said, because at the peak last year there were only 40 to 50% of ICU patients on ventilators.

Typically, spikes in COVID-19 cases leads to a rise in death rates three to four weeks later as a small percentage of the infected are hospitalized and deteriorate. "We will start to see an increase in mortality in this country," Reiner said.

What is particularly frustrating for many experts, Reiner said, is that the deaths are "completely avoidable" now that vaccines are available.

"The vaccines we have work really well against this variant. It doesn't need to be this way," Reiner said.

Pfizer to brief the US on boosters

Another concern for many experts as variants spread is whether the population will need boosters for their vaccines.

Pfizer will virtually brief US government officials Monday evening regarding the potential need for booster shots of its Covid-19 vaccine, a company spokesperson and two administration officials confirmed to CNN.

The meeting is seen as a courtesy, and federal guidance on boosters is not expected to change immediately following the meeting, a senior health official said.

Last week, Pfizer/BioNTech reiterated its expectation that people may need boosters to its vaccine in six months to a year, citing waning immunity they are seeing among people who got it. The company also said it would seek emergency use authorization in August from the US Food and Drug Administration for a booster.

But some experts have argued the data is showing boosters are not necessary yet.

"Americans who have been fully vaccinated do not need a booster shot at this time," the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FDA said. "FDA, CDC, and NIH (the National Institutes of Health) are engaged in a science-based, rigorous process to consider whether or when a booster might be necessary."

Fauci also disputed the need at this time.

"Given the data and the information we have, we do not need to give people a third shot, a boost, superimposed upon the two doses you get with the mRNA (Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccine) and the one dose you get with (Johnson & Johnson)," he told CNN on Sunday.

Further, World Health Organization leaders asked wealthy countries Monday to hold off on giving booster doses to their residents before people in other countries can even get their first doses.

"Instead of Moderna and Pfizer prioritizing the supply of vaccines as boosters to countries whose populations have relatively high coverage, we need them to go all-out to channel supply to COVAX, the Africa Vaccine Acquisition task team, and low- and middle-income countries, which have very low vaccine coverage," WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a media briefing.

Experts weigh whether vaccinations should be mandated

In the United States, the now-dominant Delta variant, which is believed to be more transmissible, has driven the rising case numbers. And the variant has sparked discussions over local vaccination mandates.

Experts say vaccines are key to managing spread. With information changing rapidly, it is important to be smart about how vaccinations are mandated, George Washington University School of Medicine professor Dr. Gigi El-Bayoumi said.

"In states where there are high vaccination rates, that are like 75 or above, it makes sense to loosen up the restrictions. In places where there are not, such as some of the Southern states, it makes sense" to mandate vaccinations, El-Bayoumi said Sunday.

Mandates at the local level are a good idea, Fauci told CNN.

"We're talking about life and death situation. We've lost 600,000 Americans already, and we're still losing more people. There've been 4 million deaths worldwide," Fauci said. "This is serious business."

Fauci expects vaccine mandate hesitancy to lift when vaccines are fully approved, he said.

Right now, Covid-19 vaccines are being administered under emergency use authorizations, which Fauci said has made some people skeptical as to their safety and efficacy. But the amount of data that supports the importance and safety of the vaccines is more than anything experts have seen for an EUA, he said.

"These vaccines are as good as officially approved with all the I's dotted and T's crossed," Fauci said.

CNN's John Bonifield, Kaitlan Collins, Maggie Fox, Eric Levenson, Amanda Sealy, Veronica Stracqualursi, Naomi Thomas and Ben Tinker contributed to this report.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "'Surprising amount of death' will soon occur in these US regions from increased Covid-19 cases, expert says."
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13)  With a major international debt watcher recently dialing down on its expectations of the Philippines, some economists are flagging its potential repercussions on the economy and livelihoods.

Earlier this week, Fitch Ratings revised its outlook for the country from "stable" to "negative," with the rise in risks to the country's credit profile due to the COVID-19 health crisis and the economy's scars from it among the reasons it cited.

While the global credit rater affirmed its BBB rating for the Philippines, a negative outlook means the "likelihood is there" for a downgrade of the country's investment grade, UnionBank chief economist Carlo Asuncion told CNN Philippines.

"Syempre kasi dapat mas mura, mas madaling um-access ang gobyerno at mga private companies sa external financing systems," he explained, as a lower investment grade means it's going to be more expensive for the nation to secure debts abroad.

[Translation: Of course it's supposed to be cheaper, easier for government and private companies to access external financing systems.]

"Definitely may impact diyan 'yung mga needs na kailangang pondohan ng gobyerno, needs na kailangang pondohan ng mga private companies that were actually expanding," he explained. "May impact 'yan sa job generation."

[Translation: That definitely has an impact on needs the government needs to finance, needs of private companies that were actually expanding that must be funded. That has an impact on job generation.]

Some 3.73 million Filipinos were out of work as of May, easing from the month prior with the relaxation of quarantine restrictions. This translates to a national 7.7% unemployment rate.

Asuncion says this reflects how the Philippine economy and its growth potential are seen at least in the medium term.

ING Bank senior economist Nicholas Mapa, for his part, noted the recent revision shows how ratings agencies have been paying attention to the rise in outstanding debt while "recognizing the slowing momentum of the economic engines."

The country's outstanding loans breached 11 trillion in May as the government borrowed more to beef up its COVID-19 war chest. However, this also came as the government's stimulus package Bayanihan 2 expired at end-June, with billions of pesos still unspent.

While the proposed Bayanihan 3 already hurdled the House of Representatives, Congress as a whole has yet to pass it.

"Despite showing some green shoots, the overall growth trajectory is likely less vibrant compared to pre-pandemic levels as consumption remains constrained by high unemployment and investments are held back due to poor sentiment," said Mapa.

Asuncion also noted that the recent downgrade might make other credit raters also take a look, mentioning in particular S&P Global Ratings and Moody's Investors Service.

Earlier this year, S&P maintained its BBB+ rating for the Philippines while Moody's affirmed its Baa2 rating. Both ratings come with a stable outlook.

"If trends continue we could see other ratings agencies follow suit in the next 3 months with a possible downgrade by yearend if fiscal metrics worsen further," Mapa further explained.

BDO chief market strategist Jonathan Ravelas told CNN Philippines the outlook revision is a "writing on the wall" that the country needs to do better in navigating the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ravelas mentioned that ramping up the national vaccine drive can allow the further reopening of the economy, a move that he said can ensure recovery takes place.

This is a view shared by RCBC chief economist Michael Ricafort, who also noted that additional measures to open the economy more will also boost the government's revenue collection efforts and in turn slash the national budget deficit and slow the debt stock's growth.

A budget deficit happens when the government spends more than it collects. The deficit reached 200.3 billion in May, a five-month high.

CNN Philippines correspondent Melissa Lopez contributed to this report.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13)  Overseas Filipinos sent more money in May 2021, recent data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

Remittances hit $2.65 billion during the month - up by 13.3% from $2.34 billion in May last year.

This pushed total remittances from January to May to $13.68 billion - a 6.6% increase from $12.83 billion during the same period last year.

The BSP said land-based workers with contracts lasting at least a year sent home $2.05 billion in May this year. This is 16.2% higher than the $1.77 billion recorded in May 2020.

Remittances made by seafarers and short-term land-based laborers also grew from $519 million to $532 million - rising by 2.7%.

The central bank reported cash transfers from overseas Filipinos in the United States had the biggest chunk of overall transactions for the period.

Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, South Korea, Qatar, and Taiwan were also top sources of remittances from abroad.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13)  The newly-crowned beauty queens at the 57th edition of the Binibining Pilipinas 2021 looked back at what transpired at Sunday's pageant as they get ready to represent the country in international competitions this year.

Binibining Pilipinas International Hannah Arnold of Masbate, Binibining Pilipinas Grand International Samantha Panlilio of Cavite, Binibining Pilipinas Intercontinental Cinderella Obenita of Cagayan de Oro-Misamis Oriental, and Binibining Pilipinang Pilipinas Globe Maureen Montagne of Batangas shared with CNN Philippines on Tuesday how they prepared themselves for the coronation night held last Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

"I did not feel the pressure. Instead, I used that as my motivation, knowing that so many people believe in me and that they were on the other side of the camera watching," Arnold told The Source.

Arnold, who will be competing at the Miss International pageant in November, revealed the importance of being her true self and letting go of others' expectations  something she learned from her first stint at Binibining Pilipinas in 2019.

READ: Hannah Arnold on 2019 pageant loss: 'I was forcing myself to be someone else'

Panlilio said she and the other girls motivated each other during the coronation night.

"I was quite nervous backstage. However when we were backstage, I looked at the girls beside me, I think Hannah was beside me as well, we just looked at each other and said, 'We could do this. Well be fine, just be calm and be yourself.'"

Obenita, the wildcard finalist who rounded out the Top 13 contestants in the semi-finals, expressed her gratitude to fans and friends who believed in her.

"I'm really thankful to be voted by the people, to be part of the Top 13 and to be voted as your wild card. You really made it happen," she told New Day. "To the Binibining Pilipinas, maraming salamat (thank you) for this twist. I think it's really destiny."

RELATED: Here's why Binibining Pilipinas Intercontinental Cinderella Obenita's Q&A went viral

Montagne, who has had an extensive experience in competing in international pageants, discussed plans for her advocacies while preparing for the Miss Globe 2021 pageant.

"During Binibining Pilipinas, I was advocating (for) HIV and AIDS awareness, so I hope to contninue working with organizations like The Red Whistle, Stay Sexy and other orgs," she said. "And during the pandemic we started a community kitchen in Siargao so I do hope we'd do more feeding programs dito sa (here in) Manila."

Gabrielle Basiano of Borongan, Eastern Samar and Meiji Cruz of Valenzuela were named as the first and second runners-up in the pageant.

The 2021 Binibining Pilipinas pageant was the first edition of the competition since the Miss Universe Philippines Organization announced in December 2019 that it had acquired the Philippine franchise for Miss Universe.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13)  Newly-crowned Binibining Pilipinas International Hannah Arnold shared how she once tried her luck in the same pageant two years ago.

The 25-year-old beauty from Masbate told CNN Philippines' The Source on Tuesday what it was like to join Binibining Pilipinas for the first time in 2019 and the major lesson she learned when she failed to bring home the crown.

"Back in 2019, I guess there was so much expectations and I was kind of forcing myself to be someone else. However that night, I realized its better for me to just truly be me, Hannah Arnold," said Arnold, who finished as a top 15 finalist at the time.

"And thats what I really brought on July 11. I just gave my all to God and said its His plan if I will win or not and I just enjoyed the night so much," she said.

In the Binibining Pilipinas 2021 competition held at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on Sunday, Arnold gave a winning answer during the Q&A segment.

CNN Philippines anchor Pinky Webb asked her: "Given the reach and power of social media, do you believe that genuine freedom of speech exists in the Philippines nowadays? Why or why not?"

Arnold responded by noting the importance of social media in choosing the country's next leaders.

"First of all, freedom of speech is a basic human right that we all must remember. It is important for a democracy. With our upcoming election, we definitely need freedom of speech. For example, on Twitter, we are limited to a few characters, and what I have seen in this Tweets is powerful. That has helped me think about who I'd like to vote for in the upcoming elections," she said.

Arnold succeeds Bea Patricia Magtanong as Binibining Pilipinas International. Should she win at the Miss International competition in November in Japan, she will be the country's sixth titleholder after Aurora Pijuan, Melanie Marquez, Precious Lara Quigaman, Bea Santiago, and Kylie Verzosa in 2016.

Three other queens were also crowned during the ceremony. Samantha Panlilio of Cavite won Binibining Pilipinas Grand International, Cinderella Faye Obenita of Cagayan De Oro - Misamis Oriental was named Binibining Pilipinas Intercontinental, while Maureen Montagne of Batangas was hailed as Binibining Pilipinas Globe. They will be representing the country in international pageants.
As suggested by neuroscientist Sam Harris, science and morality shouldnt condemn each other. Somewhere in between are decisions that come with difficult questions. During the pandemic, hospitals grapple with those decisions.

Philippine Hospital Association President Dr. Jaime Almora compared the COVID-19 situation in the Philippines to a doomsday scenario in the movies. The scenario consists of patients waiting to be accommodated in emergency rooms, overworked frontliners, inadequate medical resources, and people dying as they wait to be attended to. Deciding which patients should get access to health care first is a crucial part of a health workers job.

Caught in this morass of ethically compromised situations and systemic inefficiencies are not only COVID-19 patients but also those suffering from other diseases, such as cancer and chronic kidney disease.

Deciding which patients should get access to health care first is a crucial part of a health workers job. Photo by JL JAVIER

There was a time during the pandemic that doctors could only answer phone calls and text messages from cancer patients, explaining to them the unfortunate scenario of closed clinics and suspended services, and facilitating the transfer of their care, according to the paper The Pain of Sending Away Cancer Patients Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic in Philippines, written by Frederic Ivan Ting, Aveline Marie Ylanan, and Dennis Lee Sacdalan and published in the Eurasian Journal of Medicine and Oncology (EJMO).

What goes around

Sandy Mae Gaspay, whose mother was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2017, can speak to this.

I believe that, in a way, my mom died because of COVID-19, she said.

Last year, she would visit her doctor twice a month. When the pandemic hit the Philippines, her chemotherapy sessions had to be done at home.

In August 2020, lumps grew on the neck and chest of Sandys mother. It was difficult for her to breathe. She felt like drowning. Sandys mother was hospitalized due to a build-up of water in her body. She and her companion were able to enter the emergency room after taking a rapid test. The hospital inserted a tube on the right side of her stomach to remove the accumulating water.

Not all hospitals, especially those inundated with COVID-19 patients, can fully accommodate non-COVID patients. Resources are scarce. The workforce is drained. Metro Manila ICU capacity has peaked many times with the surge of COVID-19 cases. From Visayas to Mindanao, hospitalization capacity is a serious concern. And even if those with life threatening illnesses manage to hold on, they may still walk away from the hospital with a long shadow behind them.

RELATED: Govt needs to double COVID-19 beds in NCR  treatment czar

In the case of Sandys mother, that shadow has eyes. When she was hospitalized for the second time, an ambulance picked her up from their home. The people who went inside their house were wearing PPE. The neighbors saw them. Shortly after, a rumor spread in their barangay that Sandys mother was COVID-19 positive.

Sandy said she and her siblings stopped laughing at the rumor when it started to blow out of proportion. They learned that convenience stores refused to accommodate their helpers daughters. Another neighbor, a close contact of their helper and a barangay aide, was denied a days work.

Meanwhile, Sandys mother was placed in the COVID-19 wing in the hospital because of her breathing problems. Sandy said she and her siblings were worried that their mother would be further exposed to health risks. They showed their mothers previous RT-PCR negative test result to convince them that she had no COVID-19.

Still, she was treated as if she had COVID-19 as the attending staff all wore PPE every time they entered our room. As a result, our hospital bill ballooned to twice or thrice the expected amount. We wanted to complain further, but mom just said to pay the bill and let it go, Sandy recalled.

Normally, mom would want to stay longer in the hospital for a week so her body could stabilize after chemo, she would have enough fluids with the IV, and her condition could be monitored. This time, we had to go home immediately after her procedure as it was riskier to stay in the hospital, not to mention expensive, Sandy added.

Sandy, who works in Manila, heeded her mothers request for her to come home to Tacloban after her second hospitalization. Sandy said she had to travel by land due to the quarantine procedures of LGUs. When she came home, she was able to take care of her mother. She and her siblings set up a separate room for their mother inside their house. They placed an oxygen tank and a hospital bed inside the room.

I feel lucky that we were not totally powerless and had resources when we dealt with our moms ordeal. I can just imagine the less fortunate who have no voice and dont even get to be counted as casualties of this pandemic, Sandy said.

But on September 12, 2020, Saturday, her mother could not sleep. She was rejecting food and vomiting blood. Had there been no COVID-19, Sandy said they would have brought their mother to the hospital right after her first vomit. The next day, her mothers condition showed no signs of improvement. They decided to call an ambulance.

Meanwhile, Sandys mother was placed in the COVID-19 wing in the hospital because of her breathing problems. Sandy said she and her siblings were worried that their mother would be further exposed to health risks. They showed their mothers previous RT-PCR negative test result to convince them that she had no COVID-19.

The hospital ambulance was not willing to pick her mother up. They feared that she had COVID-19 after learning that she had difficulty breathing. Sandy and her siblings also asked for help from the citys rescue office, but it only catered to COVID-19 patients. It was the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) that responded to them after hours of making phone calls.

When they arrived at the hospital, Sandys mother had to wait for 10 minutes inside the ambulance. Sandy said the hospital was informed about her mothers condition prior to her arrival, but no staff was there to attend to their mother. Since the ambulances blood pressure monitor wasnt working, her sister used her smartwatch on their mother.

After a while, her mothers heart rate started slowing down.

Still, the hospital told them to wait a bit more because the staff had to don their PPE first, as well as swab test her mom, though the earliest result would be the next day as the lab was closed on Sundays. Their mother was transferred to the isolation area outside of the emergency room instead of the ICU.

The lack of urgency was very appalling, said Sandy. While her siblings were making phone calls left and right, their mother stopped breathing. The hospital staff tried to resuscitate her, but the line on the ECG machine went flat.

Looking back, Sandy felt lucky that they had resources to support their mothers entire ordeal. I can just imagine the less fortunate who have no voice and dont even get to be counted as casualties of this pandemic, she said.

Science can address the disjunction between the need for urgent care and the inadequacy of health care systems that people from all walks of life deserve. Moral reasoning can and should make that happen. When these two dont meet, some have to bear the pain or beg for their life.

The weight of waiting

Jon Emmanuel Agads back and legs were aching.

He had been sitting in his wheelchair for over seven hours. He was in pain, but like many other patients in line, he could not do anything but wait for a doctor.

Earlier that day, he and his mother, Eleonor, were about to go home after a routinary check-up. But they stayed because he suddenly found it difficult to breathe. The attending medical staff could only check his oxygen and blood pressure. They told him and his mother to wait for a nephrologist, but they couldnt guarantee somebody would attend to them because there were still other patients waiting to be treated in the ER.

Jon Emmanuel Agad has been battling chronic kidney disease since he was five years old. His monthly check-up was halted when the pandemic hit the country. Photo courtesy of the AGAD FAMILY

COVID-19 patients had to wait for days before admission, according to data obtained by Rappler from the Philippine College of Emergency Medicine (PCEM). Imagine the waiting that non-COVID patients like Jon Emmanuel, or Jeuel, endure.

The number of hospital visits is low throughout the pandemic. Non-COVID patients fear getting infected by the virus and face travel restrictions due to community quarantine measures.

Using claims data from the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), the authors of The Hidden Health Cost of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Philippines, examined 12 high burden diseases in the Philippines, including stroke, cancer, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), gastroenteritis, chronic kidney disease, and pneumonia. They saw a decline in the number of medical claims in both public and private health facilities in 2020. The figure has not returned to pre-pandemic levels in the third quarter.

The paper, published by The Center for Global Development, found stable claims for chemotherapy but declines for cataract removal surgery and child delivery in hospitals. This supports the anecdotal evidence that many hospitals temporarily halted or reduced healthcare services, the researchers wrote.

Tings paper in EJMO states: In a situation of an international health emergency such as this COVID-19 pandemic, the principle of justice will ethically dictate the allocation of very limited resources such as manpower and hospital. This involves treating patients fairly and equitably, which means those who are sicker and need more urgent care are prioritized.

However, in a crisis shrouded by systemic inefficiencies and ethically compromised events, fairly and equitably wont look the same in different situations and to different social classes.

Wala na po kasing bed. Lahat ng patients sa ER ay nasa tent area. Sa wheelchair lang natutulog ang mga bantay at kanya kanyang gawa ng paraan. Yung iba, humahanap ng karton para mahiga na lang sa sahig, said Jeuel's mother, Eleonor. Photo courtesy of the AGAD FAMILY

Jeuel has been battling chronic kidney disease since he was five years old. His monthly check-up was halted when the pandemic hit the country. His check-ups resumed, but they were not face-to-face. If they didnt need to be admitted to the ER, they had to wait at a parking lot where, despite being in a tent, they are largely exposed to the sun and the rain. Only a nurse would attend to the patient and then bring the laboratory results, records, and assessment to the doctor. The nurse would return to the patient to give them the doctors prescription, medical abstract, and a laboratory test request for the next check-up.

Hindi po sapat yung tent, Eleonor said. Mainit at hindi mapigilan magdikit-dikit rin mga tao kaya dumidistansya po kami. Naghahabol kami ng lilim. Hindi po kasi sila basta-basta nagpapapasok sa building.

Jeuel was admitted thrice to the hospital in 2020. According to Eleonor, his admission in September was the hardest. They had to wait for the swab test result for more than 12 hours before they were brought to his room.

Wala na po kasing bed. Lahat ng patients sa ER ay nasa tent area. Sa wheelchair lang natutulog ang mga bantay at kanya kanyang gawa ng paraan. Yung iba, humahanap ng karton para mahiga na lang sa sahig, she said.

Ako po ay nakapagdala ng folding stool at dun lang natulog nang nakaupo, pero paggising ko, ay na migraine po ako, na nagsimula sa back pain dahil sa hindi maayos ng posisyon sa pagtulog. Yung iba raw pong patients, ilang araw nang naghihintay ng beds, she added.

What made their current situation harder for Eleonor is the company she is working for imposed a four-day workweek on its employees when the pandemic started. The new setup reduced her salary to 5,000, and it greatly affected her sons treatment.

Naputol po yung loan cycle ko. Dahil po sa hindi enough yung salary ko sa gamutan ng anak ko, I resorted to loans. Mangungutang ako para ibayad din. Then yung sobra, idinadagdag ko sa gamot. Pero dahil nag-temporarily stop operation yung ibang lending companies, natigil rin yung pagbayad ko, she said.

She has asked for financial assistance from government agencies and is trying to look for additional sources of income. However, Jeuels medical expenses, including costly maintenance medicines, are piling up.

Young soldier

Rein Reyes froze when she first saw her baby, Primo, 25 days after she gave birth to him.

He is a lot smaller than I thought he is, she said.

But that young, gentle warrior put COVID-19 to shame on the day he was born.

Primo and his mother survived an unplanned Cesarean section. Primo was born 11 weeks early in March 2021 because Rein tested positive for COVID-19. At 28 weeks, she had fever, loss of taste and smell, and a terrible headache.

Rein Reyes with her baby Primo. Photo courtesy of the REYES FAMILY

They can't give me meds for COVID-19 kasi there's no study for pregnant women, and it might harm the baby, Rein said. I told her [OB-GYN] let's give the antibiotics some time to work kasi two days pa lang naman.

However, she still had trouble breathing. When she could no longer complete a sentence, the doctors convinced her and her husband to do the C-section to save her and the baby. When Primo was born, he was diagnosed with patent ductus arteriosus, neonatal pneumonia, and apnea of prematurity.

But the private hospital where they were admitted took good care of Primo, according to Rein. I felt all the love they have for the babies in the NICU.

Before joining other babies in critical care, Primo had to be placed in the NICU isolation room for two weeks to make sure he did not get the virus. Meanwhile, his mother stayed in the COVID-19 floor where patients are in separate rooms with oxygen support.

"It was hard because I was alone in the room while recovering from both COVID and CS. Plus the agony of having my baby in the NICU, and I wasn't allowed to see him. I was just crying the whole day. The nurses were very kind and they always tried to comfort me, Rein said.

Primo is now over two months old. The doctors made sure he would be able to breathe on his own when they were discharged. They took home oral meds for apnea, and so far, he has no more apnea episodes at home.

We just have to make sure he will be healthy for the first two years of his life, Rein said. That's why I also made sure I breastfeed him from the moment he got home. Happy to say now he is exclusively breastfed.

"It was hard because I was alone in the room while recovering from both COVID-19 and CS. Plus the agony of having my baby in the NICU, and I wasn't allowed to see him. I was just crying the whole day, Rein said. Photo courtesy of the REYES FAMILY

Rein shared that there were other women who were in the same situation as hers but many of them did not make it.

I begged for my life. I was praying the whole time and really asked God for a second chance for my family, Rein said. It made me feel so depressed, and I kept on blaming myself that my baby was suffering. What happened to us made me want to become a better person, she added.

As hospitals fill up due to COVID-19 cases, there would be more people like Rein, Eleonor, and Sandy if the government and medical institutions continue to settle with the choices they have now instead of creating reforms and a system where no life is deemed less valuable than the other.

***

If you would like to help Jon Emmanuel Agad, you can follow his Facebook page Jeuel's Journey to Healing.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13)  As the government seeks to standardize the adobo recipe, Nancy Reyes Lumen - known as the "Adobo Queen" - expressed her opposition to such move, emphasizing that every Filipino has his or her own way of cooking the well-loved food.

"Adobo, it's a property, you cannot meddle with someone's property. Everybody owns their own adobo," she told CNN Philippines' The Final Word.

Lumen also described the move to standardize the dish as a "very rude awakening."

"The word standardize is so stressful and intimidating. They could have not started with adobo because adobo, it hits at the gut of the Filipino," she said.

The Department of Trade and Industry earlier announced that a technical committee will be developing the Philippine National Standards when it comes to cooking some popular local dishes.

This will pave the way for a "distinguished Filipino food culture while establishing the common ground for food businesses," and will also determine an authentic Filipino adobo dish, according to the department.

It drew flak on social media, but on Sunday, the DTI clarified the proposed standard in cooking adobo and other local dishes are for international promotion only, and will not be mandatory for Filipino households.

Instead of doing this, Lumen suggested that the government develop an adobo product - like powders or sauces - which will really say "Philippine Adobo."
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13)  Filipino American author Meredith Talusan's memoir is a liberating trip down memory lane.

She talked about embracing changes -- from leaving the Philippines to transitioning to another gender -- in her book titled "Fairest: A Memoir."

"I am a transgender and I am also a Filipino first-generation immigrant," she told CNN Philippines' New Day. "A lot of people can't tell because I am albino...and I just thought that all of those elements combined for a really interesting story."

Being able to contemplate and write about her "confusing experiences" turned out to be a crucial process for the award-winning author and journalist.

"Writing the book has been a way for me to come to terms with all of these experiences," she also said. "A lot of them are really difficult and a lot of them entailed a lot of loss."

Advocating for LGBTQ+ rights

The Fairest writer also expressed hope her book can make a contribution to the LGBTQ+ rights movement as she noted the discrimination against their community persists.

"There has definitely been a lot more visibility, a lot more tolerance [on] the LGBTQ+ people," the author said. "But at the same time, with that degree of visibility, with...allies coming to our defense, there are also a lot of forces attempting to silence us. And also, we still experience really significant rates of violence."

"And so, I do think the fight and the advocacy around LGBTQ+ issues [are] far from over and I hope my book can contribute positively to that conversation," she added.

Talusan's memoir was a finalist for the 2021 Lambda Literary Awards, which has been honoring the literature produced by or for the LGBTQ+ community for over 30 years now.

What's next?

Talusan disclosed she is now working on fiction short stories and a novel. Many of her characters are Filipinos, interacting with Filipinos or in the Philippines, she shared.

She emphasized that her Filipino roots will be a big part of her work no matter where she is.

Talusan has written for The Guardian, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Nation, WIRED, SELF, and Conde Nast Traveler, and many other publications.

A recipient of the 2017 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Digital Journalism, she graduated from Cornell University with an MA in Comparative Literature and an MFA in Creative Writing; from California College of the Arts with an MFA in Visual Art. She also earned a BA in English and American Literature from Harvard University.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 7)  The daily number of new cases in seven cities in Metro Manila is rising again, an official said Tuesday.

"These are the cities of Makati, San Juan, Muntinlupa, Mandaluyong, Manila, Malabon, and Navotas," Department of Health chief epidemiologist Alethea de Guzman told an online briefing.

After having negative two-week growth rates or TWGRs from June 13 to 26, these cities logged positive growth rates from June 27 to July 10, according to de Guzman's presentation. Malabon recorded the highest increase with a 116% TWGR while the rate of six others ranged from 5% to 33%.

Meanwhile, the epidemiologist also flagged Makati and San Juan for having high COVID-19 bed occupancy rates.

Makati's utilization rate in terms of COVID-19 beds and ventilators is at 70%, while the beds for patients in intensive care units in San Juan's hospitals are all occupied as of July 10, de Guzman said.

The average number of COVID-19 cases recorded per day in Metro Manila from July 6 to 12 is 633, lower than the 644 tallied the week prior, the official said.

"Mula sa dulo ng Hunyo hanggang ngayong July, flat or plateau po talaga ang ating NCR at very very slow po yung pagdecline," she said.

[Translation: From late June until this July, cases in NCR have seen a flat or plateau trend and their decline is slow.]

A group of researchers monitoring the country's COVID-19 trends had the same observation.

"Over the past three weeks, the weekly growth rate has averaged -3%, which indicates that the trend is nearly level or flat," OCTA Research said in its report on Tuesday.

The highest daily average recorded in the NCR was 5,534 from March 29 to April 4 this year, de Guzman said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13)  The Commission on Elections said mass gatherings during the campaign season cannot be banned outright, but they will certainly be conducted differently amid persistent coronavirus threats.

They will be smaller, they will be more strictly controlled, and in-rally behaviors will have to be very different, COMELEC spokesperson James Jimenez said in a House of Representatives committee hearing on Tuesday.

For one, political candidates would have to state venue capacities first before holding the event, so the number of attendees could be regulated. The commission is also eyeing restrictions on the granting of permits, Jimenez said.

Veering away from tradition, candidates will also be prohibited from shaking peoples hands and from other gestures which the COMELEC said could qualify as public displays of affection.

Where public displays of affection used to be part of the whole idea of campaigning  as they say, politicians go out to shake hands and kiss babies, youre not going to be able to do that anymore, because that will certainly be very risky behavior, Jimenez said.

He added food can no longer be distributed during campaign gatherings as an additional preventive health measure.

On why mass gatherings wont be banned even in the midst of the pandemic, he said it is the only platform universally accessible to all candidates regardless of income level.

He noted getting exposure through mass media, such as broadcast or print, is costly. While social media is free, he said those moneyed still have obvious leverage, as they could pay for advertisements or hire more administrators, among others.

Meanwhile, Anyone can stand on a street corner and gather people to himself," he said.

The campaign period for president, vice president, senator, and party-list groups is from February 8 to May 7. Campaigning is prohibited on April 14 and 15 for the Holy Week break.

The Constitution sets elections on the second Monday of May, which falls on May 9, 2022.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13)  The Quezon City government will conduct contact tracing for people, including online personalities and celebrities, who attended a party in a bar that was temporarily closed for violations of health protocols, a local official said Tuesday.

"Actually, yesterday, upon closure, we requested the management of the Ciso's bar to submit their guest list so that we can start our contact tracing," Quezon City Task Force Disiplina head Rannie Ludovica told CNN Philippines' New Day.

Ciso's and another bar in Tomas Morato were ordered closed after photos and videos shared on social media showed patrons partying in these places, the local government said Monday.

Around 160 people, including "social media influencers and known celebrities," were seen in Ciso's bar, Ludovica said. The establishment can accommodate up to 300 people, he added.

Under the general community quarantine guidelines of Quezon City, bars are still not allowed to operate.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines)  President Rodrigo Duterte will go down in history as the Philippine leader in power when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Just like the rest of the world, his administration aims to bring down the number of cases over time in order to reduce deaths and to eventually achieve herd immunity.

But with a year left in office, where is the Duterte administration in dealing with the global health crisis? Read our three-part series.

Test, trace, treat, and isolate are the primary pillars of the government's pandemic response. But one remains the weakest link, more than a year into the health crisis.

A significant portion of the country's population should be protected against COVID-19 through vaccination. However, four months into the government's program, only a measly 3% have been fully vaccinated.

Health experts lament that the Philippine government has always been late in sealing its borders  since the start of the pandemic and until now that more transmissible coronavirus variants are emerging.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13)  The Department of Health said the Philippines is in a race against the coronavirus variants of concern as other countries are being challenged to control their spread.

We are in a race against the variants of concern at nakararanas ngayon ang ibang bansa ng matinding surge dahil sa pagkalat ng mga variant (and other countries are experiencing surge due to the spread of the variants), DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said during a taped briefing

Currently, a spike has been prevented in the Philippines and the number of cases in some areas is plateauing due to the strict community restrictions being implemented to prevent the spread of variants, especially the more transmissible ones, Duque explained.

However, he noted that efforts should not be wasted which is why it is important that more Filipinos, especially the elderly, get immunized.

Hindi natin dapat ito sayangin at dapat itong maging daan tungo sa pagbabakuna ng mas marami pang Pilipino lalo na ng mga senior citizens, Duque said.

[Translation: Efforts should not be wasted, and this should be the way for more Filipinos, especially the senior citizens, to get vaccinated.]

There have been concerns on whether COVID-19 shots are effective against the coronavirus variants, especially those listed as variants of concern. There are also calls to the administration for a booster shot to ensure that one has the right protection from getting infected.

Food and Drug Administration Director General Eric Domingo assured that coronavirus vaccines remain useful despite this threat. Citing data from the World Health Organization, he noted that vaccines remain effective against the variants of concern despite reduction in their efficacy level.

Generally, efficacy of vaccines decline up to 20% when one is exposed to the Alpha variant. For the Beta variant, efficacy declines up to 30%.

Data for the Gamma and Delta variants are not yet complete, but those current available show that efficacy of COVID-19 shots are reduced by up to 20% for both.

Domingo then reiterated the call to get inoculated whatever the brand is to protect oneself from the virus.

To date, the government has administered more than 13 million vaccine doses, of which around 3.5 million Filipinos have completed their COVID-19 shots.

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said they target to reach at least 7 million fully vaccinated individuals by the end of July. This as the government aims to immunize at least 60% of the population, with more focus in Metro Manila, to achieve population protection.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13)  President Rodrigo Duterte has said his constant mention of a possible vice presidential run in next year's polls is part of his tactics to scare critics, even as he admitted he is truly open to the idea of taking the government's second highest seat.

"Ako naman, 'yung vice president ko, pantakot lang sa kanila 'yan. But sabi ko, let us see if it is good for the country, I will do it." he said during a televised speech on Monday.

He added, "If it does not contribute anything to our Republic, then huwag na lang, magsasayang lang tayo ng oras pati you contribute to the conundrum of the moment."

[Translation: My vice president plans, that's to scare them off. But as I said, if it's good for the country I will do it. If it does not contribute anything to our Republic, then I won't do it. It will just waste our time and may contribute to the conundrum of the moment.]

In the same speech, he reiterated his advice to his daughter Sara Duterte not to seek the presidency in the 2022 elections. The Davao City mayor earlier said she is "open" to the idea, but Duterte said she should reconsider since he wants to protect her from political critics like Senator Leila de Lima and ex-Senator Sonny Trillanes.

The filing of certificates of candidacy for the May 9 national elections will be held from Oct. 1 to 8.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13)  OCTA Research said it supports the move to allow children to go out even without being vaccinated, but added its support is tempered "with caution."

"Sinusuportahan ng OCTA as a group iyong hakbang ng gobyerno pero sinusuportahan namin ito with caution kasi nga kailangan ho talaga may mga iba pa tayong kailangan i-establish," said Professor Ranjit Rye on Tuesday.

[Translation: As a group, OCTA is supporting this move by the government, but we support this with caution because there are other things that must be established.]

OCTA's statement came days after the Inter-Agency Task Force on COVID-19 said children aged 5 and above can go outdoors in areas under general community quarantine and modified GCQ, as long as the areas are not under "heightened restrictions."

Among the matters OCTA wants the government to address are the guidelines for allowing kids to go out and their strict enforcement to reduce the risk of virus transmission to youngsters.

"May consensus kami na okay 'tong idea na 'to as long as may guidelines tayo na susundan across the city, lalo iyong sa National Capital Region na ma-ensure iyong safety po ng ating mga kids po 'no. Ang importante po dito iyong siguraduhin na susundan natin, ma-monitor at ma-enforce iyong minimum public health standards,' Rye added.

[Translation: There a consensus among us that this idea is okay as long as there are guidelines that must be followed across the city, especially in the National Capital Region, to ensure children's safety. What's important is to ensure that minimum health standards are followed, monitored and enforced.]

OCTA said handwashing facilities should be included in areas designated as safe spaces. Area managers should also be assigned to help enforce health standards.

The group also urged parents to observe safety protocols, particularly when traveling by public transportation to these places.

The Department of Tourism also chimed in over the IATF's decision, saying the ruling was not a "blanket authority for complacency and misrepresentations."

"We must continue to be vigilant and act responsibly as well," Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Metro Manila mayors said they would release a list of allowed outdoor places for kids.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13)  A ranking PDP-Laban official supported by President Rodrigo Duterte does not see the chief executve running in the vice-presidential race with Senator Manny Pacquiao as standard bearer.

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, vice chairman of the ruling party, thumbed down the Pacquiao-Duterte tandem floated by Senator Koko Pimentel, the groups executive vice chairman and former president.

Pimentel earlier said this could be the potential compromise as squabbling heats up within the Presidents political party which was co-founded by Pimentel's father  the late Senate President Aquilino 'Nene' Pimentel Jr.

Pimentel supports Pacquiao, president of the party, whose supposed criticisms against party chairman Duterte now threatens his possible presidential bid.

Sa ngayon po ang posisyon ng partido is to convince the President to run for vice President in 2022," Cusi told reporters in an online interview on Tuesday. "Kung isusulong nila na si Senator Pacquiao ang maging katandem  yun na nga ba sinasabi ko nung mga nakaraang araw na sinusunog na nila ang bahay, sinusunog na nila ang kanilang mga tulay e papaano pa sila babalik?

[Translation: Right now, the position of the party is to convince the President to run for vice President in 2022. If they will push for Senator Pacquiao as President Dutertes running mate  thats what I have been saying. They have been burning the house, burning bridges, how can they make a comeback?]

Cusi said its not proper for party members to publicly criticize partymates, much more the chief executive and party chairman.

So kung ganoon ang gagawin mo, umalis ka (If thats what you will do, just leave), he said.

Asked if this means the Pacquiao-Duterte tandem is out of the question, Cusi said, At the present condition prevailing, I dont think that is possible.

Complaint vs. Pacquiao up for discussion

The Cusi faction will hold a national council meeting on Friday and the national assembly the following day  both gatherings sanctioned by Duterte. Cusi said part of the agenda is the PDP-Laban Bulacan Chapters complaint against Pacquiao for criticizing Duterte.

There will be a report on that coming July 16, Cusi said. That investigation is not to expel but investigation on the accusations made by Senator Manny Pacquiao.

While Cusi said he does not want to preempt any decision from the national council, he said it is possible sanctions would be imposed against Pacquiao.

Under the party constitution, disciplinary measures "shall range from warning, censure, and suspension, up to expulsion."

It all stemmed from Pacquiao's May 3 comment that he found Duterte's public pronouncements on the South China Sea dispute lacking.

The senator's camp said he did not mean to get on the Presidents bad side, and was only comparing Duterte's recent remarks to his previous ones. But Duterte went on berating Pacquiao in public speeches.

Pacquiao recently accepted Dutertes challenge for him to prove claims that corruption worsened under the current administration. He identified some agencies as graft-ridden, but has yet to present proof.

Asked what may happen if Pacquiao decides to stop making negative comments against the administration, Cusi said the boxer-turned-lawmaker just has to prove himself to the members.

He has to present himself to the body and articulate, discuss his position why he should be chosen as a presidential standard bearer," Cusi said. "He has to convince the body.

What expulsion?

As for the Pacquiao wing, Cusi and two other party officers  Acting Secretary General Melvin Matibag and Membership Committee Chairperson Astra Naik  have already been expelled from the party. The two sides clash in interpreting their party constitution.

Citing the PDP-Laban charter, the Cusi group said the Pacquiao-led national executive committee does not have the authority to discipline members  only the council or chapter of the erring member or the national council can do so.

But Pimentel, who wrote the party constitution, said that in an "emergency situation" such as when there is an attempt to divide the party, members can be automatically expelled for taking an oath of membership in or allegiance to any other political party. This is the allegation hurled against Cusi and other officers for supposedly supporting the possible presidential bid of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte of the regional group Hugpong ng Pagbabago.

Cusi denied pushing for the father-and-daughter tandem, saying the party has not decided on a standard bearer yet.

The Cusi wing plans to elect new officers during the national assembly on Saturday. This means the ruling party may again submit two different sets of officers to the Commission on Elections, leaving the poll body to decide which one is legitimate, just like what happened in the 2019 midterm polls.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13)  A national survey revealed that more adult Filipinos are inclined to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.

The recent poll by Pulse Asia from June 7 to 16, showed that 43% of adult Filipinos are willing to receive their COVID-19 shot, an increase from Februarys 16%.

The rest of the Filipino adults are either not going to get their vaccine (36%), unable to say whether they will get their dose or not (16%), or are already vaccinated (5%), either fully (2%), or partially (3%).

A big chunk at 55% of those from Metro Manila, and 48% from Mindanao, as well as 50% from Class ABC and 42% from Class D will get their vaccine now that supply is available in the country. On the contrary, 49% of Visayans said they will not get their dose.

Around the same percentages of those in the rest of Luzon and Class E will either get a vaccine against COVID-19 (both at 38%) or they will not (39% and 44%, respectively), Pulse Asia added.

Vaccine safety is the most common concern for those not receiving their shot (69%) and those still undecided (79%). This is also the predominant reason across geographic and socio-economic areas among those not inclined to get vaccinated  ranging from 59% to 76% and 57% to 80%, respectively. It is also the main reason for those who cannot say whether they will get inoculated or not at 57% to 85% and 76% to 95%, respectively.

Meanwhile, 35% of those not getting their COVID-19 vaccine would change their mind when they see that their relatives, friends, and/or acquaintances who have received their doses are safe, while 33% would flip when a medical expert assures them about the safety of the shot.

Among the undecided ones, the top reason that would convince them is seeing someone they know who got vaccinated is safe (44%).

The survey also revealed that 96% of the adult population is concerned that they or a member of their household will get infected with the coronavirus.

Concern about contracting the virus is also high across geographic areas (96% to 98%) and socio-economic classes (96% to 97%).

The national survey was conducted face-to-face with 2,400 representative adults aged 18 and above. It has a  2% error margin at the 95% confidence level.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13)  The Department of Science and Technology said a letter of agreement between the country and the World Health Organization has been signed for the vaccine solidarity trial to be held in the Philippines.

"Nagpirmahan na. Pormal na po ang pagsasagawa nitong WHO solidarity trial on vaccine. Nagpirmahan na ng letter of agreement si Secretary Duque, representative ng Philippine government, at saka yung WHO chief scientist, Soumya Swaminathan," said DOST Undersecretary Rowena Guevara on Tuesday.

[Translation: It has been signed. The WHO clinical trial will be formally done. Secretary Duque, the representative of the Philippine government, and WHO's chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan signed the letter of agreement.]

Guevara said the WHO has given the final clinical trial protocol, standard operating procedures and investigational brochures, but did not reveal more details, including the number of people who would take part in it.

The health official added that the trial can help in discovering the most effective vaccines for Filipinos. She however said they still could not disclose which vaccines would be included in the study.

In May, Dr. Marissa Alejandria, a Philippine representative to the international clinical trial, told CNN Philippines that recruitment is ongoing and that it will take place in various hospitals all over the Philippines.

In April, the DOH said the country's participation in the vaccine solidarity trial was approved by the DOH's Single Joint Research Ethics Board.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire earlier said the study will initially involve at least 500 COVID-19 patients in 20 hospitals, adding that the sample size could expand. Doctors will enroll patients for the trial, she added.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13) The government will look into a report allegedly showing the dumping of human waste by Chinese ships in the Spratly Islands, the Department of Defense said.

In a statement on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said he has directed authorities to verify and investigate the report of US-based geospatial imagery firm Simularity, which supposedly revealed that Beijings vessels have been causing long-term marine life damage by dumping waste and sewage in the reefs.

While we are confirming and verifying these wastes being dumped in the WPS, we consider such irresponsible acts, if true, to be gravely detrimental to the marine ecology in the area, Lorenzana said, adding that all nations staking their claims on the South China Sea must be responsible stewards of our natural resources and environment.

A number of lawmakers, including Senators Ralph Recto, Risa Hontiveros, and Francis Tolentino, earlier urged the Duterte administration to take a more proactive role following the circulation of the Simularity report, which purportedly showed that the sewage discharge has led to an increase in chlorophyll A pigment.

Simularity said chlorophyll A concentration leads to excess phytoplankton which cannot be consumed by the reef inhabitants, which die and sink to the sea floor to be consumed by bacteria.

It also warned that damage to the reefs directly affects the fish stocks of the entire South China Sea, where the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam have claims, but is mostly contested by China. The reported added the ceaseless dumping of raw sewage may lead to a hunger crisis and a collapse of commercial fishing as the size of fish stock in the disputed waters is directly linked to the health of its reefs.

Lorenzana, however, still raised questions over the report.

The photo of a ship seen dumping waste accompanying the report was found to have been taken in the Australian Great Barrier Reef in 2014, Lorenzana said. Therefore this intent to mislead has cast great doubt on the accurateness of the Simularity Report.

The Environment Department earlier said it will coordinate with the DND and Coast Guard to authenticate the report and verify if Chinese vessels were involved in the incidents. If proven, it said it will "seek the attention" of the Chinese government through the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13)  A US-based geospatial imagery firm has revealed that Chinese ships in the Spratlys Islands are creating long-term marine life damage in the entire South China Sea.

Simularity, in a report released on the fifth anniversary of the Philippines' arbitral win against China on Tuesday, said the crews of the hundreds of anchored ships continue to dump human waste and sewage in the reefs.

"Sewage effluent sources in the Spratly Islands include ship wastewater and human habitation without sufficient sewage treatment. When the ships dont move, the poop piles up," it said in the report with the hashtag #ChinaStopShittingOnTheSpratlys.

It reported that sewage discharge led to increase in chlorophyll A pigment, as evidenced by satellite imagery taken in mid-June. This was also seen in the Union Banks or Pagkakaisa Banks, a group of features in the Kalayaan Island Group  which the Philippines considers part of Palawan province.

It said chlorophyll A concentration leads to excess phytoplankton which cannot be consumed by the reef inhabitants, so they die and sink to the sea floor to be consumed by bacteria. These bacteria consume oxygen that would normally be available to the fish, creating a "dead zone" for marine life.

Simularity warned that damage to the reefs directly affects the fish stocks of the entire South China Sea, where the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam have claims, but is mostly contested by China. The ceaseless dumping of raw sewage may lead to a hunger crisis and a collapse of commercial fishing as the size of fish stock in the disputed waters is directly linked to the health of its reefs.

The report said this "catastrophe of epic proportions" will take the reefs decades to recover even with active mitigation.

"The damage to the reefs in just the last five years is visible from space. This time period is after and therefore in addition to the well-documented reef destruction wrought by Chinas giant clam harvesting and artificial island building," it said.

When asked for a response, the Chinese Embassy only pointed out the report's use of an old photo taken in Australia. The report used the photo as an illustration of phytoplankton and algal blooms caused by excess nutrients in water.
(CNN) -- Thousands of Cubans took to the streets on Sunday to protest a lack of food and medicine as the country undergoes a grave economic crisis aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic and US sanctions.

Demonstrators complained about a lack of freedom and the worsening economic situation during the rare protests, according to people who spoke to CNN and videos from multiple cities, including capital Havana.

Many chanted for "freedom" and called for President Miguel Diaz-Canel to step down.

Multiple protesters were arrested by police, who used tear gas to break up some demonstrations. In Havana, a CNN team witnessed demonstrators being forcibly arrested and thrown into the back of vans by police officers. There were also violent clashes, where protesters turned over a police car and threw rocks at officers.

In a nationally televised address, President Diaz-Canel said US trade sanctions had created economic misery on the communist-run island.

Diaz-Canel did not offer the protesters any concessions in his speech, but instead urged his supporters to physically confront them. "The order to combat has been given," he said at the end of his appearance, "Revolutionaries need to be on the streets."

In the city of San Antonio de los Banos, just outside Havana province, hundreds of people defied a heavy police presence to air their complaints.

One resident who did not wish to be identified told CNN that residents had been enduring power outages for a week and that had "detonated" the growing outrage.

Social media platforms are being restricted in Cuba, according to internet monitor NetBlocks.

NetBlocks tweeted on Monday that "Social media and messaging platforms restricted in #Cuba from Monday on state-run internet provider ETECSA; real-time network data corroborate reports of internet disruptions amid widening anti-government protests; incident ongoing #CubaSOS."

The NetBlocks website said its metrics showed that WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and some Telegram servers were being disrupted.

Videos uploaded to social media showed how the spontaneous protest movement has gained momentum, with streams appearing of other protests in a handful of cities and towns across the island.

In some of the videos, people shouted they "weren't afraid" or that they wanted liberty or access to coronavirus vaccines.

President Diaz-Canel made an unplanned stop in San Antonio de los Banos on Sunday after police had cleared protesters, while Cuban government officials blamed the protests on "salaried agents" on Twitter.

On Monday, US President Joe Biden expressed support for the Cuban people, calling on the Diaz-Canel government to "hear their people and serve their needs."

"We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba's authoritarian regime," Biden said in a statement.

President Diaz-Canel criticized the protests, calling demonstrators vandals who "broke into the stores and stole [many] items." He reiterated that US sanctions were the cause of Cuba's ailing economy.

US-Cuban relations are at their lowest point in years. The Trump administration enacted some of the toughest economic measures against Cuba in decades, and so far, the Biden administration seems reluctant to lift them.

The already struggling Cuban economy has been hit hard as tourism and good imports have dropped steeply during the pandemic.

On Sunday, Cuban health officials reported a record single-day increase for new Covid-19 cases and deaths.

Calls for restraint

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan tweeted support for the Cuban people Sunday night saying, "the U.S. supports freedom of expression and assembly across Cuba, and would strongly condemn any violence or targeting of peaceful protesters who are exercising their universal rights."

Other US officials also urged for restraint, saying Cubans had the right to protest. "We are deeply concerned by "calls to combat" in #Cuba. We stand by the Cuban people's right for peaceful assembly. We call for calm and condemn any violence," Julie Chung, acting assistant secretary for the Department of State's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, tweeted Sunday.

"For decades, Cuba's dictatorship has used violence and repression to silence its people, rather than permit the free exercise of democracy and their basic social rights," Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez said in a statement.

"This must end. The world's eyes are on Cuba tonight and the dictatorship must understand we will not tolerate the use of brute force to silence the aspirations of the Cuban people," he added.

Cuba's Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodriguez criticized Sullivan's statement on Monday, saying he had "no political or mortal authority to speak about Cuba."

"His government has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to promote subversion in our country & implements a genocidal blockade, which is the main cause of economic scarcities," Rodriguez added in a tweet.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Cubans take to streets in rare protests over lack of freedoms and worsening economy"
(CNN)  Several of the men involved in the operation that killed Haiti's president previously worked as US law enforcement informants, according to people briefed on the matter, as US investigators grapple with an increasing number of Florida links to the alleged hit squad.

At least one of the men arrested by Haitian authorities previously worked as an informant for the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the DEA said in a statement in response to CNN.

"At times, one of the suspects in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise was a confidential source to the DEA," the DEA said in a statement.

"Following the assassination of President Moise, the suspect reached out to his contacts at the DEA. A DEA official assigned to Haiti urged the suspect to surrender to local authorities and, along with a U.S. State Department official, provided information to the Haitian government that assisted in the surrender and arrest of the suspect and one other individual," the DEA said.

The DEA said it is aware of reports that some assassins yelled "DEA" at the time of their attack. The DEA said in its statement that none of the attackers were operating on behalf of the agency.

Others also had US ties, including working as informants for the FBI, the people briefed on the matter said. The FBI said in response to CNN's reporting that it doesn't comment on informants, except to say that it uses "lawful sources to collect intelligence" as part of its investigations.

Moise was killed Wednesday in an operation that Haitian authorities say involved at least 28 people, many of them Colombian mercenaries hired through a Florida-based security company.

Authorities on Monday announced the arrest of a suspect who they say orchestrated the assassination. Christian Emmanuel Sanon, 63 years old, entered the country on a private jet in June, Police Chief Leon Charles said at a news conference.

Haitian authorities say that Sanon hired Florida-based CTU Security, which they alleged recruited men initially to provide security for Sanon, though their mission appears to have changed thereafter.

It's not clear that the men who worked as US law enforcement informants wittingly participated in the assassination plot or were aware of the mission, the people briefed on the matter said.

CNN has not been able to reach Sanon or his representatives for comment since his arrest.

Haitian authorities have provided limited details on the investigation, but the growing number of Florida connections to the plot appears to portray an operation at least partly hatched in the United States.

That may increase the likelihood that the US Justice Department could bring charges against any US participants in the plot. Haitian authorities have said three US citizens are under arrest for their involvement in the assassination.
(CNN) -- At least 41 people have been killed in a hospital fire in the southeastern Iraqi city of Nasiriya, Dr. Ammar al-Zamili, the spokesperson for the local health department, told CNN.

At least five people were critically injured.

The fire on Monday night is believed to have started after oxygen tanks exploded in an ICU treating Covid-19 patients, al-Zamili said.

"The civil defense teams managed to control and put out the major fire that broke out at al-Hussein hospital in the city with the help of health workers and neighborhood volunteers," al-Zamili told CNN.

Al-Zamili and other health officials could not say how many people were inside the building when the fire broke out but said an operation is continuing to evacuate people "if they are still alive," including health workers.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi will hold an emergency meeting with a number of ministers and security commanders "to find out the causes and repercussions" of the deadly fire, his office said Tuesday morning.

Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi tweeted the fire shows a failure to protect lives "and it is time to put an end to this catastrophic failure, and Parliament will shift today's session to examine options regarding what happened."

Al-Hussein Hospital was set up to treat Covid-19 patients at the start of the pandemic and has quarantine stations on site.

In April, at least 82 people were killed in a huge fire at a Covid-19 hospital in Baghdad. That fire had started after oxygen tanks exploded in the Covid-19 ICU.

Nasiriya, in Dhi Qar province, is about 360 kilometers (225 miles) southeast of Baghdad.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "41 killed in fire at Iraqi hospital treating Covid-19 patients"
(CNN) -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has deployed the country's military to restore calm after days of violent protests and looting sparked by the imprisonment of former leader Jacob Zuma.

Ramaphosa addressed the nation Monday evening, calling for calm after at least six people died in the violence and hundreds were arrested.

As Zuma's lawyers argued for a sentence reduction Monday, protests and looting centered in two provinces escalated.

"We will not hesitate to arrest and prosecute those who perpetrate these actions and ensure they face the full might of the law," Ramaphosa said in a national address, as local media played live pictures of malls being looted in Durban.

"It is this rule of law that enables our society to function and our economy to develop in the interests of the people of South Africa."

Ramaphosa acknowledged the protests and looting may have begun with political grievances, but that criminal elements had taken over.

"What we are witnessing now are opportunistic acts of criminality," he said.

Ramaphosa also warned that continued protests and looting could further undermine the nation's Covid-19 response and vaccination rollout. Several vaccine sites had to pause administering Covid shots because of the violence, he said.

"We will soon be facing a huge risk of food insecurity and medication insecurity in a few weeks. Our vaccination program has been severely disrupted just as it is gaining momentum," he said.

His remarks come just 24 hours after he extended the country's lockdown by another two weeks.

CNN witnessed police firing rubber bullets at dozens of looters as they ran from a mall with everyday items, while other shops in the vicinity were set ablaze.

Zuma, 79, was jailed for 15 months on June 29 for contempt of court. He had refused to appear at an anti-corruption commission to answer questions about several allegations, including bribery and fraud. He has repeatedly denied the long-running allegations of corruption against him.

He handed himself over to police last week to begin his jail term after days of speculation over whether he would comply with the court's orders.

Zuma's conviction marks a fall from grace for the former leader, who served as president from 2009 to 2018 and was once widely celebrated as key figure in the country's liberation movement. Zuma spent 10 years in prison with anti-apartheid hero and former President Nelson Mandela.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "South African military deployed as ex-leader Zuma jailed and looting spreads"
The Afghanistan National Defense and Security Forces, mostly funded by the United States and NATO, have put up resistance in some parts of the country, but overwhelmingly Afghan government troops appear to have abandoned the fight.

In recent weeks, the Taliban have gained several strategic districts, particularly along the borders with Iran, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

Afghanistan's National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib, who attended the handover, said the U.S. and NATO withdrawal has left a vacuum that resulted in Afghanistan's national security forces stranded on the battlefield without resupplies, sometimes running out of food and ammunition.

In comments after the ceremony, Mohib said the greatest impact of the withdrawal is a lack of aircraft to resupply troops. Currently, the government is regrouping to retake strategic areas and defend its cities against Taliban advances.

The Taliban control more than one-third of Afghanistan's 421 districts and district centers. A Taliban claim that they control 85% of the districts is widely seen as exaggerated.

After Miller's departure, a two-star admiral based at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul will oversee the U.S. military's role in securing the American diplomatic presence in Kabul, including defending the Kabul airport.
Local

editor's pick top story

Cumberland County

Claremont sale debate could boil over into other matters after weeks of acrimony

Jason Malmont, The Sentinel Cumberland County is considering selling Claremont Nursing & Rehabilitation Center at 1000 Claremont Road in Middlesex Township. Eichelberger Becca Raley Scott

While a sale price for the anticipated transfer of Claremont Nursing and Rehabilitation Center has yet to be inked, a political price may already have been extracted, regardless of whether the county completes the deal.

Although public discussion of the matter has sometimes been strident, the tone behind the scenes has often been even more fractious, veering from a policy debate into a contest over political motives.

At the center of the matter is a belief by county Commissioner Gary Eichelberger, a Republican and the chair of the countys three-member governing body, that opposition to the sale proposal he has championed is part of a coordinated political operation.

Those who have voiced skepticism of the countys process regarding Claremont, the county-owned nursing home, are often Democrats and supporters of the union that represents Claremont employees, and whose views on the privatization of public assets differ from Eichelbergers.

But local leaders have voiced concern that Eichelbergers accusations go far beyond a simple divide in policy preferences between a conservative commissioner and more liberal constituents.

Selling Claremont: Key questions for the proposed sale of Cumberland County's nursing home Close

In a series of previously unreported emails and conversations that have become increasingly public over the past three months, Eichelberger has suggested that this discord could or would impact future dealings with local organizations and municipalities far beyond the issue over Claremonts future.

Corresponding with the leadership of the Partnership for Better Health in April, Eichelberger wrote that the county will approach any new entanglements with the Partnership with far greater caution in the future, I would imagine, due to what Eichelberger perceives as the local public health nonprofits collaboration with political bullies and union proxies.

Eichelberger sent a similar missive to Carlisle Borough leadership after the borough passed a resolution urging the county to delay and reassess its decision to divest of Claremont.

In the email, Eichelberger wrote that the county has the ability to identify many possible improvements that Carlisle may need to make, including traffic issues around county buildings as well as what Eichelberger described as frequent assistance to borough police from county sheriffs deputies.

This would seem to indicate a shortfall in staffing on the part of the borough police that may need to be prioritized higher and more publicly in the future, Eichelberger wrote. He also wrote that the county is often reviewing its real estate needs, including determining whether the borough remains an appropriate setting for many offices at all, outside of those that are legally required to remain in the county seat.

These issues are not raised as threats, Eichelberger wrote at the end of the message.

Middlesex Township approves zoning change that would ease possible sale of Claremont Nursing and Rehabilitation Center The zoning amendment that passed on Wednesday creates a new zoning district, labeled institutional, in Middlesex Townships land-use code, and re-zones the county-owned land along Claremont Road and Army Heritage Drive to this new zoning classification.

The contentious nature of the matter has not abated in recent weeks  if anything, it has only grown more public.

The emotional correspondence that Gary is sending out to, as far as I can tell, half the county, is confusing people because it doesnt seem like what they would expect from an elected official, said Deb Fulham-Winston, a Carlisle borough councilor and board member of the Partnership for Better Health, where she served as chair until her term ended in June.

Eichelberger has also not changed direction, reiterating that he believed certain entities have overstepped their bounds.

Can I say theres not going to be any consequences? I cant say that, Eichelberger said in an interview last week. And thats not on me, those are choices other people made. If youre going to engage in scorched earth, youre going to be eating ashes.

Eichelberger also said he was taking tangible steps to act.

Ive asked the [county] solicitor to arrange for an additional layer of review whenever one of our departments is engaging with the Partnership, Eichelberger said, in order to ensure there is no chance of any kind of quid pro quo involved.

Im not saying they implied a quid pro quo, it is the action [which] raises the question of whether there is an expectation of quid pro quo ... there is a pattern of behavior, Eichelberger said.

The Partnership for Better Health, however, is in the dark as to what this alleged pattern of behavior may be that would lead Eichelberger to believe that there could be an appearance of impropriety.

Our focus throughout the Claremont deliberations has been bringing forward quality research, said Becca Raley, the nonprofits executive director. We have a longstanding and positive relationship with many departments in Cumberland County and we plan for that to continue.

The Partnership for Better Health provides grant money and support, to the tune of millions of dollars per year, to organizations that are involved in health care and wellness. This includes assistance to agencies and projects under the direct purview of the county government.

Eichelberger maintains that members of the public may believe that this history buys the Partnership undue influence over county decisions, such as the Claremont sale.

This accusation is baseless, according to the Partnership; the organization has never suggested or entertained the idea that its offers of assistance regarding Claremont constitute a quid pro quo over the countys final decision regarding the nursing home, Raley said.

In our role as public servants and stewards of community funds, our work is consensus-driven, fully accounted for and transparent, Raley said.

Sale process

In October 2020, the county commissioners  Eichelberger, Republican Vince DiFilippo and Democrat Jean Foschi  voted to retain Susquehanna Group Advisors as a consultant on a possible sale of Claremont.

The facilitys account balance has been declining since 2015, dipping into the negative earlier this year, meaning the county will need to begin subsidizing the facility with general fund tax revenue, something Eichelberger and DiFilippo have said they are unwilling to do for any significant length of time.

Foschi was initially supportive of a sale investigation, saying divestment should be fully vetted as an option, but quickly soured on the process. The sale was being pushed as the only outcome being justified to the public, Foschi said, instead of the county trying to quantify the time and cost associated with turning Claremont around, either under county or private ownership.

The county has done a terrible job of explaining why this place needs to be sold, and they did a terrible job going with primary and secondary bidders, Foschi reiterated in a recent interview, referencing the March vote by the commissioners (with Foschi in objection) to name Transitions Healthcare as its primary interested party, with Allaire Health Services as a secondary.

Negotiations with Transitions fell through in April. Eichelberger has said for the past month that a sales agreement with Allaire may be within days of finalization, although no public vote on the matter has taken place.

Opposition presses forward as Cumberland County on cusp of Claremont sale deal An agreement with Allaire Health Services, the prospective buyer for Claremont, is imminent, County Commissioner Gary Eichelberger said this week, and could come as soon as Monday.

Opposition to the sale has been consistent through the time period, led by the group Citizens Saving Claremont, which includes a number of liberal-leaning activists.

The regional chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents Claremont, promoted a rally to pause the sale procedure. Other municipalities in the county also passed resolutions similar to Carlisles, including the Republican-controlled boroughs of Newville, Mount Holly Springs and Mechanicsburg.

The Partnership for Better Health offered to fund a financial prospectus study for Claremont and encouraged the county to apply for COVID-19 relief grants through the Partnership. It also sent the commissioners a lengthy analysis of the issues facing skilled nursing facilities, citing academic studies and news articles.

The Partnership also commissioned a poll, done by Susquehanna Polling & Research, that showed that a plurality of the 400-person sample size was opposed to privatization, although nearly as many said they were unsure.

Eichelberger has been adamant that these undertakings are not simply a series of individuals who have different values and policy priorities from himself  rather, he believes, they are part of a coordinated effort, a viewpoint he has not hesitated to share.

In a letter sent last month to multiple municipalities that passed resolutions similar to Carlisles, Eichelberger opined that wider public concern is largely a product of the ongoing disinformation, and nearly all opposition communication is part of an orchestrated campaign that is highly political in nature.

I think they were working in very close alignment, Eichelberger said this month. Clearly the Partnership was just parroting what the other interest groups were saying. I do think they were working in cooperation.

Those on the receiving end of Eichelbergers missives have often expressed confusion.

Neither myself or anyone on council is coordinating anything with anyone, Carlisle Mayor Tim Scott said. They may have certain political sympathies, but this is grassroots.

Weve received communications from Citizens Saving Claremont and weve received communications from the commissioners and other stakeholders, Raley said. But we are not a member of those groups. Anyone can call me at any time and tell me what they think, but were neutral and independent and here to be of service to local residents.

Lobbying

To Eichelberger, outside parties making public recommendations on county business  after he believed their concerns had been addressed  crosses the line into lobbying, which he does not welcome.

Its not engaging in dialogue with us. Its meant to hammer us over the head, he said. I dont see that as their role.

The warnings he has issued regarding matters beyond Claremont are necessary to keep the debate within the proper parameters, Eichelberger said.

To me, thats what I have to do to get the proper message out there so that the general public does not have their thought process contaminated by these people who have an agenda, he said. These guys know what theyre saying is false and they continue peddling it. These are the people who are driving the dialogue.

The falsehoods that Eichelberger ascribes to others often do not match up to the public discourse of those individuals or organizations, however.

Eichelberger maintains that the Partnership had an agenda from the get-go, citing the December 2020 analysis paper regarding nursing home financials and performance metrics, which the Partnership sent to the commissioners.

In describing the paper to The Sentinel, Eichelberger said it concluded all privatizations have been bad and therefore all privatizations will be bad and that Raley demanded that you drop what youre doing and commit to retaining Claremont as a public institution, no matter what.

The 23-page paper itself makes the statement that not-for profit facilities typically offer higher quality care. Beyond that, Raley said, none of the assertions Eichelberger ascribed to the Partnership have been expressed or implied.

In one email to the commissioners, Raley had observed that the poll contracted by the Partnership would suggest most local residents would respect and appreciate any pause or doubling back you may do to reconsider other options. She also said that, based on the Partnerships review of performance data for the remaining buyers the collection of finalists leave much to be desired.

But beyond these observations, Raley said the Partnership has not taken a formal position on whether the county home should be sold or retained.

In the case of Carlisle, Eichelberger blamed the borough for spreading the poorhouse fallacy, the idea that privatizing Claremont would leave the countys most disadvantaged residents with fewer options for long-term care.

This is a misnomer, Eichelberger said, because many private facilities, including ones operated by Allaire, have the same or even a higher proportion of Medicaid beds compared to Claremont. The countys sales plan, dating back to October, intends to execute a clause in the prospective sales agreement that requires a buyer to maintain Claremonts Medicaid beds for a period of 10 years.

Carlisles resolution, however, does not pursue the Medicaid ratio argument; rather, the document passed by the borough council states that former Carlisle Borough residents account for one-sixth of the residents of Claremont. Carlisle does have the countys most acute poverty problem, according to federal metrics.

Although the borough may not have literally stated the claim, Eichelberger said it was his belief that the resolution was reinforcing that message very clearly.

The Medicaid ratio is also a matter of dispute regarding the Partnerships poll, in which one of the questions stated that Claremonts Medicaid population makes Claremont different from other long-term care facilities, a premise Eichelberger rejects.

Another of the questions posed to respondents asked if they would be willing to pay an extra $20 in property taxes on a $200,000 home in order to keep Claremont in county hands. That number is based on the countys projection of Claremonts account going roughly $2.6 million into the red this year.

Eichelberger said this number is deceptive. The countys finance office has projected a tax increase or equivalent of between 8% and 14% next year if the county must retain ownership of Claremont  although this projection was only put forth after the Partnership poll had been completed and published.

Eichelberger did not entertain the notion that the Partnership may have simply conducted a poll with poorly framed questions or information that was superseded after the poll was conducted.

Rather, the poll was intended to reinforce an ideological message, and the phrasing of the questions indicates, in Eichelbergers view, that the Partnership was working in very close alignment with other groups and is neck deep in union-dominated Democrat politics.

Explicitly partisan and electoral implications have been launched with some frequency; in one email chain, Eichelberger accused Fulham-Winston of creating a yet another circus of outrage to make liberals feel relevant where they cannot win elections.

While Fulham-Winston and others acknowledge that their views are certainly to the left of Eichelberger, the debate should not be about partisan electoral interests, they said.

We have a public issue that is not being well-aired because of one persons decision about how the conversation is being framed, Fulham-Winston said.
To me, thats what I have to do to get the proper message out there so that the general public does not have their thought process contaminated by these people who have an agenda, he said. These guys know what theyre saying is false and they continue peddling it. These are the people who are driving the dialogue.

The falsehoods that Eichelberger ascribes to others often do not match up to the public discourse of those individuals or organizations, however.

Eichelberger maintains that the Partnership had an agenda from the get-go, citing the December 2020 analysis paper regarding nursing home financials and performance metrics, which the Partnership sent to the commissioners.

In describing the paper to The Sentinel, Eichelberger said it concluded all privatizations have been bad and therefore all privatizations will be bad and that Raley demanded that you drop what youre doing and commit to retaining Claremont as a public institution, no matter what.

The 23-page paper itself makes the statement that not-for profit facilities typically offer higher quality care. Beyond that, Raley said, none of the assertions Eichelberger ascribed to the Partnership have been expressed or implied.
Information is from police reports and may be incomplete depending on the status of an investigation. Phone numbers are nonemergency.
President Biden and former president Trump, who first announced the withdrawal of U.S. forces, have said that America cannot engage in nation building. Even recent history has proved that true. The larger question is whether we can defend ourselves against further attacks on this country if Al-Qaida regroups and, with the help of Iran, stages another 9/11-type attack, or worse, this time with nuclear devices.

All wars cost money, lives and limbs. The question is whether the investment was worth it. Did it produce desired outcomes? At best the answer when it comes to Afghanistan is problematic. At worst, it is what The Economist magazine calls a disaster.

The Military Times reports on a study by the Cost of War Project, which found that the combined cost of our involvement in Afghanistan is over $2 trillion: Those funds do not, however, include the amount the United States government is obligated to spend on lifetime care for American veterans of this war, nor does it include future interest payments on money borrowed to fund the war.

The Cost of War Project also estimates 241,000 people have died because of the war in Afghanistan, which includes more than 2,400 American service members and at least 71,344 civilians.

Will there be a wall to commemorate U.S. deaths? The Vietnam Veterans Memorial still haunts me when I visit it in Washington, D.C. I knew some people whose names are carved into the black granite wall. My name might have been one of them. As an Army enlisted man, I received orders for Vietnam, but managed to get re-assigned, thanks to my position at Armed Forces Radio in New York and contacts at the Pentagon. More than 58,300 others were not as fortunate. What did we learn from Vietnam? Obviously nothing because we have repeated history in Afghanistan. There was no end game, except to hold off the Taliban, an entity motivated by religious fervor that has no intention of quitting. If Al-Qaida regroups and another terror attack is launched against the U.S., what will be our response and who will be assigned blame?

Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com.

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to track the delta variant and its prevalence in the United States.

The delta variant, first identified in India, has now spread to more than 60 countries and accounted for 30.4 % of COVID cases in the United States between June 6 and June 19. Its rapid spread has led the CDC to upgrade it from a variant of interest to a variant of concern.

CDC data updated for a two-week period ending June 19 shows the delta variant as the third most prevalent variant (10.7%) of COVID-19 for Region 3 in the United States, comprised of Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

The CDCs state table shows the delta variant in Pennsylvania at 3.4% of total cases for the same time period. Right now, the most dominant variant in Pennsylvania is the B.1.1.7 strain that was originally detected in the U.K. It is also known as the alpha variant.

Those numbers are expected to increase in the CDCs estimates for the two-week period ending July 3. The delta variant will become the dominant variant in the country at 51.7%. In Region 3 it is expected to rise to 31.4%.

There were three patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the county in Wednesdays report, with none in an intensive care unit and one on a ventilator.

Email Jeff at jpratt@cumberlink.com. Follow him on Twitter @SentinelPratt.

Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Videos

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.
The signing agreement between REST Development Ltd and the Ministry of Lands in the presence of URA, State Law and UNELCO. Photo: DoWR
In addition, theres the letter of Mrs. Maria Perkins. She was a literate, enslaved mother who was writing to her husband saying, please find a buyer for me right away because they already sold my son Albert away and theyre taking me to the courthouse next week. And then he just disappears from the historical record. So we do have some words from actual enslaved people to draw from, Schmidt said.

Schmidt said that some of the descendants encouraged the development of an educational component to accompany any monument or physical marker.

Schmidt and Douglas held their last tour of the Confederate statues on Memorial Day. They aim to give participants greater historical context to the white supremacist origins of the statues through tours.

The tours specifically focused on the context of the statues in relation to Charlottesvilles Black community, particularly how the statues were erected in parks that were only open to white people.

Dr. Douglas estimates weve had over 1,000 people  I think its made a difference and people say, you know what you said, it really made me think, it changed my mind about some things. It really moved me. So I think its made a difference just in terms of educating the community, and thats why Dr. Douglas and I do them, Schmidt said.
EXPOSED TO THE VIRUS? NO PROBLEM

The rules say students who are exposed to someone who has the virus don't have to stay home for 10 days to quarantine. They can continue to attend class if they don't have symptoms and if they keep wearing a mask and are tested twice a week for 10 days. But they can't participate in sports or other extracurricular activities during that period.

LUNCH OUTSIDE

Schools should still enforce physical distancing during lunch. The state says schools should have students eat outside as much as possible.

LIMIT VISITORS

The state says schools should limit nonessential visitors, including volunteers, who are not fully vaccinated.

VACCINES ENCOURAGED, NOT REQUIRED

The state says vaccination is strongly recommended for everyone eligible. Right now, that's anyone 12 and older. But the state doesn't say it's required.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Matt Benson, a Cincinnati-based attorney, estimated his firm alone has filed more than two dozen such motions, with the vast majority being granted by judges.

The court is being flooded with these motions, he said. This is now a major tool to avoid a removal order against a client.

ICE, which had argued in the Supreme Court case that its notification process was sufficient, said Friday it's been providing the required information on a single notice since January 2019.

It also referred to a June memo in which it said ICE lawyers will exercise their prosecutorial discretion in deciding whether to challenge immigrants who seek to reopen their immigration cases in light of the Niz-Chavez ruling.

In the meantime, Agusto Niz-Chavez, the 30-year-old Guatemalan national at the center of the Supreme Court case, says hes waiting for his case to be remanded to the immigration court in Detroit.

Niz-Chavez says hes anxious for it to be resolved. His wife was deported to Guatemala last year and hes been raising their three children in Detroit while trying to balance work at a local pallet factory.
RICHMOND  The Virginia Bar Associations summer meeting has for decades hosted the first general election debate of Virginias campaigns for governor. That wont be the case this year.

Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin on Monday announced that he would not participate in the associations July 24 debate at the Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, citing his objections to organizers about the format and the moderator, Judy Woodruff, anchor and managing editor of PBS NewsHour.

Democrat Terry McAuliffe had accepted the debate at the VBAs summer meeting, a fixture of Virginias campaigns for governor since 1985.

Youngkin, through his campaign, said he would participate in three debates. McAuliffe has agreed to participate in five, including the VBA encounter.

Right now, the only debate both campaigns have agreed to is one organized by the Appalachian School of Law in Grundy on Sept. 16.

The campaigns have been tussling for weeks over when and where the candidates would debate. McAuliffe on Monday accused Youngkin of trying to hide from voters.

Debates have long been highly publicized venues for voters to get to know the candidates for governor  arenas where politicians have to defend their ideas unscripted.
McAuliffe, who in mid-June announced his intention to participate in the bar association debate, along with four others, said the decision showed Youngkin lacked courage."

His refusal to participate in this debate is an insult to Virginians and shows that Glenn knows just how out of step he is with the people of the Commonwealth, said McAuliffe, who is seeking a second, nonconsecutive term in office.

After McAuliffe's campaign announced in mid-June the debates he intended to participate in, the Youngkin campaign was initially silent on the schedule. A spokeswoman then said the candidate would participate in at least one debate and was open to doing two others.

Youngkin's campaign on Monday confirmed he planned to participate in three debates: one hosted by Hampton University, Liberty University and the Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce in late August; one at the Appalachian School of Law in Grundy in September; and a to-be-determined host and location in mid-October.

The Appalachian School of Law event is the only one both men have committed to. Also in the race making a longshot third-party bid is activist and educator Princess Blanding.
Yes. I will do my part to conserve household energy usage, even if I'm uncomfortable in my home.

No. It is too hot to conserve household energy usage.

I already conserve, even before ERCOT requested it.

Maybe, depending on the reason ERCOT provides and whether or not I am home during that time.

Vote

View Results
Pakistan: Seafood exporters see potential in export to China

July 13,2021 | Source: Daily Times

China is our backbone in exports. In seafood exports, China is the compulsory aspect of our sales, Suhail Firdous, CEO of Super Star Enterprise told Gwadar Pro. Located in the northern part of the Arabian Sea, Pakistan is endowed with rich fishing potential and its seafood export has shown robust growth. The seafood exports during July-May (2020-21) were recorded at $383.088 million against the exports of $373.382 million in July-May (2019-20), showing growth of around 2.6 percent, according to the latest data of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).



The export to China takes up a great proportion. According to data from International Trade Center(ITC), Pakistans exports of fish and aquatic products to China accounted for 29% of Pakistans total exports of such products in 2019. 7-8 different types of fish are mostly consumed in China. There is a Tianjin City where our Sole Fish is very popular. Pakistans 70% Sole Fish is consumed in that city. There is also Ribbon Fish, cuttlefish, squid, octopus, and other items that are loved by Chinese people, said Suhail Firdous. Targeting this huge market, Suhail Firdous mentioned that from a marketing point of view, its very easy for the export as all we need to do is to prove the quality.

 2021 Daily Times
India: Aquaculture startup raises $4 million funding

July 13,2021 | Source: The Fish Site

The round was led by Rebright Partners and Flourish Ventures, while AgFunder and 6G Capital also participated, along with existing investors Omnivore and Hatch. Aquaconnect's digital platform helps fish and shrimp farmers maximise their income by connecting them with smart farm management tools, financial services and customers. Aquaconnects mobile app features predictive SaaS tools for pond management, which improve productivity and help farmers avoid disease risks. This farm data intelligence is then leveraged by Aquaconnects omnichannel marketplace, allowing farmers to transact directly with farm input manufacturers, banks, insurance companies, and certification bodies. Finally Aquaconnects post-harvest market linkage solution helps shrimp and fish farmers sell their traceable and certified produce to buyers across the globe. Aquaconnect* currently works with over 30,000 aquaculture farmers across Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.



Despite India being the worlds largest exporter of shrimp and second largest aquaculture producer globally, the industry is fraught with various challenges  ranging from unscientific farming practices to inefficiencies in the value chain. Aquaconnects full-stack platform provides a 360-degree solution for aquaculture farmers. The startup plans to use this pre-series A funding to strengthen their GIS-enabled fintech product development and accelerate the volume of exports flowing through the platform. They intend to launch their Series A round in six to nine months. Raj Somasundaram, founder and CEO of Aquaconnect, said: The recent investment from marquee investors like Rebright, Flourish, AgFunder, and others is a strong validation of our goal to become Indias largest aquaculture value chain aggregator, and will help us scale up in both size and scope. We will deploy the fresh capital to scale our farm advisory, financial services, and marketplace for seafood exports.



Commenting on the investment, Brij Singh, general partner of Rebright Partners, said: We are backing Aquaconnect to help enable digital transformation in Indias aquaculture industry by supporting all stakeholders to increase exports of high-quality seafood with traceability to key markets like Japan. Anuradha Ramachandaran, investment director of Flourish, said: "Flourish is proud to back Aquaconnect. Raj and his team have developed a platform that uses data and technology to help farmers maximise their income, access financial services and connect with customers. Aquaconnect is a compelling example of how financial services that are integrated with popular platforms can empower small businesses and enhance their owners' livelihoods, reflecting the importance of embedded finance as an investment thesis for Flourish." Based out of Chennai, Aquaconnect was founded in 2017 by Raj Somasundaram, an IIT Kanpur alumnus. Before starting Aquaconnect, Raj founded Hexolabs, a mobile VAS company, that operated across 15 countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa.



The World Economic Forum has named him among Young Global Leaders 2012 in recognition of his leadership and contribution in the field of mobile communications and information services. He also became a TED Fellow in 2009 for his accomplishments in Mobile4Good initiatives in emerging markets. Aquaconnects leadership team includes industry veterans from consumer internet, BFSI, and data science backgrounds. Arpan Bhalerao, the Chief Growth Officer, is an IIT Madras and Indian School of Business alumnus, who previously served as an AVP at Urban Company. Karthivelan, the Chief Operating Officer, is a seasoned banker, while Venkatesan OV, an MIT TechReview recognized data scientist, leads the technology and data sciences team. Finally, Amit Salunkhe, ex-Head of BFSI at Cropin, and Sudhir Silawal, formerly with Farmguide, are spearheading the fintech and GIS endeavors respectively.

 2021 ? Hatch Accelerator Holding Limited
Here are 20 things to know about his royal soles:

1. Prince, a massive star with a diminutive body, had a smallish foot. Hiatt, who wears a women's size 8 or 8.5, could easily fit in his shoes, meaning he probably wore a men's size 6.5 or 7. Not that he ever bought any shoes off the rack after 1981 or so.

2. Prince had shoes made for every outfit, usually out of the same material as the outfit. But when it came to more generic shoes  say white, black, peach or turquoise  he'd require three or four pairs of each.

"Matching the boots to the colorful suits was a bit much, it wasn't the way one with any fashion sense normally dressed," Leeds said. "But this was rock 'n' roll where rules were nonexistent. And it didn't escape me that matching from head to toe tended to elongate a rock star who was self-conscious about his height."

3. Prince would sit with Hiatt and pore over European fashion magazines  Vogue, Elle, Cosmopolitan, et al  for inspiration. He'd give her ideas, she'd draw sketches and get his feedback and take the instructions to the designers.
This national crisis  or more impolitely put, this national disgrace  is why the Biden proposals didnt end with just the infusion of federal funds. More significantly, the Title I money is conditioned in part on states efforts to remedy inadequacy and inequity in their own funding.

The full details of the proposed new Title I equity grants are not known. But essentially, to get some of the new Title I funding, states would have to set goals for improving equity and adequacy and show progress toward meeting those goals. States are encouraged to establish state equity commissions. The Education Trust, a national policy group, lauds the grants as a catalyst for state and district leaders to remedy inequities in their existing school funding systems.

Maryland clearly has a leg up on other states. The Blueprint for Marylands Future charts a 13-year course toward a world-class school system and provides some additional funding. The blueprint has received national praise as a gold standard for school finance systems.

Still, as some experts attest, the blueprint comes up substantially short on necessary funding. The learning loss caused by the pandemic has shone painful light on the depth of students deficiencies and the huge costs of closing achievement gaps. And the COVID federal funding will end all too soon.
Self-guided tours were allowed immediately, while guided tours will be offered daily at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. beginning July 19. Tours of the Capitol tower won't return until 2022.

For updated information on hours, tours, and ongoing construction, go to the website for visitors.

Visitors will not be able to see the Senate and House chambers, which are undergoing renovations through the end of the year. The main entrance and rear entrance will be closed at time for the refurbishing work.

During the closure, only state government officials, lawmakers, limited staff, some capitol employees, and journalists were allowed inside.

The House and Senate held three short special sessions in 2020 and the full 160-day regular session in 2021. Committees held virtual hearings, but lawmakers were required to come to Salem for the final floor votes.

The closure has been politically divisive, with Republicans who opposed many of the state limits imposed during the virus crisis demanding the public be allowed into the building when the Legislature was meeting.
Oregon State University's chief diversity officer is leaving OSU to return to Ball State University to help guide the universitys strategic initiatives.

Charlene Alexander joined OSU in the summer of 2017 after serving as a Ball State professor for 16 years and as Ball States associate provost for diversity and interim associate vice president for community engagement for four years. A native of the West Indies island of Trinidad, she will leave OSU on Sept. 17.

Charlene has contributed remarkably to Oregon State University by leading the creation and development of the Office of Institutional Diversity, said Becky Johnson, OSUs interim president. Students, faculty and staff of color and all members of the university community have benefited from Charlenes contributions, leadership, care and compassion.

Johnson said Alexander has collaborated with OSU campuses, colleges, divisions and departments to advance the recruitment and retention of students from historically underrepresented communities; recruit and retain diverse faculty; foster an inclusive, safe and welcoming university community; and collaborate with community leaders to promote diversity, equity and inclusion statewide.
In Oregon, the Bootleg Fire exploded to 224 square miles (580 square kilometers) as it raced through heavy timber in the Fremont-Winema National Forest, near the Klamath County town of Sprague River. The fire disrupted service on three transmission lines providing up to 5,500 megawatts of electricity to neighboring California.

The largest wildfire of the year in California was raging near the border with Nevada. The Beckwourth Complex Fire  a combination of two lightning-caused blazes burning north of Lake Tahoe  grew by a third Sunday to 134 square miles (348 kilometers). However, firefighters working in temperatures that topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) were able to gain some ground, doubling containment to 20%.

Late Saturday, flames jumped U.S. 395, which was closed near the small town of Doyle in California's Lassen County. The lanes reopened Sunday, and officials urged motorists to use caution and keep moving along the key north-south route where flames were still active.

Do not stop and take pictures, said the fire's Operations Section Chief Jake Cagle. You are going to impede our operations if you stop and look at what's going on.
* Username

This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely!
Denton, TX (76205)

Today

Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High around 95F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early followed by scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low 76F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.
The seven countries holding out against the US-backed global minimum tax
Deutsche Telekom-owned Croatian telco Hrvatski Telekom and Zagrebacka Banka (ZABA) have signed an agreement with Telemach Hrvatska (priorly TELE2) owned by United Group on the sale and purchase of the shares of the Optima Telekom.

Under the deal, the South-eastern European service provider United Group will secure the 17.41% share currently held by HT and 36.90% owned by Zagrebacka Bank.

The closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other agreed contractual conditions and is expected by the end of 2021.

Optima Telecom provides services to 125,000 broadband subscribers and 55,000 pay-TV customers. It is listed on the Zagreb stock exchange. After obtaining regulatory approvals, United Group will launch a tender offer for Optimas outstanding stock.

United Group entered the Croatian market last year after acquiring Tele2s business in the country.

United Group is spending 130 million on modernising Telemach Croatias mobile network to improve quality, expand coverage and offer a full 5G experience. It is also investing 100 million to build a state-of-the-art fibre optic network on which it is already offering Croatian customers fixed telephony and superfast broadband internet with speeds from 300 Mbps to 2 Gbps.

This agreement is a step further in our plan to transform Telemach Croatia into a fully converged telecom operation offering the full range of telco services  including TV  on our own infrastructure, said Telemach Croatia CEO Adrian Jezina.
Were zooming up on the start of school. Im super excited Washington State University is going to completely be back to normal, with no restrictions. That is the appropriate response to the end of the pandemic, and it is a statement against irrational fear, and pro-science. COVID-19 has now
ATHENS, Ala. (AP)  A judge on Tuesday reversed course and will allow reporters to witness jury selection in the corruption trial of a longtime north Alabama sheriff.

Retired Criminal Appeals Judge Pamela Baschab, who is presiding over the case against Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely, granted the request from media organizations. They included the Alabama Press Association and the Alabama Broadcasters Association joined with newspapers and television stations.

Baschab had initially barred reporters and the public from attending jury selection.

Members of the public have a constitutional right to attend criminal court proceedings, the media groups said, adding that Baschab's decision to hold jury selection in secret is unconstitutionally overbroad."

Referring to reports that the judge closed the selection process for the comfort of potential jurors, media members argued that the judge failed to take less restrictive steps that could include asking potential jurors sensitive questions in her office.

In office since 1983 and indicted in 2019, the 70-year-old Blakely has pleaded not guilty to a dozen felony counts alleging he stole campaign donations, got interest-free loans and solicited money from employees.
Blakely faces a dozen felony counts alleging he stole campaign donations, got interest-free loans and solicited money from employees.

He has pleaded not guilty and announced plans to seek an 11th term in office if acquitted. While state law doesnt require the removal of a sheriff under indictment, a conviction would result in his automatic ouster from office.

In office since 1983, Blakely is currently the states longest-serving sheriff. Court officials summoned roughly five times as many potential jurors as normal, about 500 people, because Blakely is so well known in the area, news outlets reported.

Prosecutors have tried to tie charges that Blakely took money from public and campaign accounts to claims that Blakely drinks and gambles in out-of-state casinos. While the defense argued that such evidence is aimed at harming the sheriffs reputation, a judge ruled previously that jurors would be allowed to hear it.

Meanwhile, Baschab barred the defense from presenting evidence to show that other public officials have done the same thing as Blakely without being charged. In a brief order, she agreed with prosecutors who claimed that an everyone is doing it and the state is picking on me defense cant be presented to jurors.
I know the character of the man, Caldwell said. You take a man like that and youre then going to say he participated in a brutal crime of murder, knowing that being associated with that would send him to the pits of hell? ... If there was one man who would be willing to stand in the breach to help his country, it would be Christian.

Haiti's National Police chief, Leon Charles, said Moises killers were protecting Sanon, whom he accused of working with those who plotted the assassination.

Charles said officers found a hat with the logo of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, 20 boxes of bullets, gun parts, four license plates from the Dominican Republic, two cars and correspondence, among other things, in Sanon's house in Haiti.

Twenty-six former Colombian soldiers are suspected in the killing and 23 have been arrested, along with three Haitians. Charles said five suspects are still at large and at least three have been killed.

They are dangerous individuals, Charles said. Im talking commando, specialized commando.
MONTGOMERY  Three Dothan residents have been sentenced to prison for their roles in stealing guns from firearm dealers in 2019, a U.S. attorney announced Tuesday.

A judge sentenced 19-year-old Michael T. Taylor to 26 months in prison on July 8. Previously, 20-year-old Jamir Y. Baxter and 21-year-old Michaela R. White were both sentenced to 36 months imprisonment in June and May, respectively, according to an announcement from acting United States Attorney Sandra J. Stewart of the Middle District of Alabama.

Following each of their prison sentences, they will serve three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

Court records show that on Aug. 6, 2019, Baxter, acting alone, burglarized Performance Machine Works in Dothan. He stole five firearms, including a Glock model 27 .40-caliber pistol; a Glock model 20 10mm pistol; a Glock model 48 9mm pistol; an FN model 509T 9mm pistol; and a Remington model 1911 R1 .45-caliber pistol.

Then on Sept. 6, 2019, Baxter, Taylor, and White all conspired to burglarize The Outpost, a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) in Dothan in order to steal guns. They made entry into the building by using hand tools to remove material and breach the business back wall to avoid setting off the alarm.
Controversial U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is set to be the keynote speaker for a GOP event at the Dothan Civic Center next Friday at 7 p.m.

The private event hosted by the Alabama Federation of Republican Women, a political action group (PAC), is selling tickets for $99 plus tax.

We are excited to have Congresswoman Greene as our keynote speaker, Patty Hobbs, AFRW PAC director, said in a press release. She is exactly the kind of firebrand Republican woman we need to help drain the swamp.

We hope she will fire up our guests and encourage them to continue supporting Republican candidates and values. This fundraiser will help the Alabama Federation of Republican Women PAC, which will help Republican candidates in future elections.

Greene represents Georgias 14th congressional district, which is adjacent to northeast Alabama. Shes made national headlines due to several incendiary comments shes made before and during her term in office.

Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}
We have to look at this data on these deaths and recognize that over 96% of the deaths were in unvaccinated people, Landers said. I mean, literally, that is astounding information and absolutely indicates that we have a much better chance of people surviving if theyre vaccinated against this disease.

Landers points out that the latest J&J warning deals with 100 cases out of millions of doses of vaccine and the possible link has not been fully reviewed. Landers said shes more concerned about the cardiac risks for people with COVID-19, including children.

Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

I think if you look at the data, what people are only hearing is a very small risk and making a decision on a very small risk as opposed to the very large risk of dying and also the very large risk of having long COVID or complications from COVID as a result of the disease, Landers said.

Nationally, the daily number of new COVID-19 cases has doubled in the last three weeks, attributed to the Delta variant, lagging vaccination rates and Fourth of July gatherings. The numbers of cases, deaths or hospitalizations across the country are still far below numbers when the pandemic hit its peak this past winter.
If these people want to be hanging out, wherever theyre hanging out on this taxpayer-paid junket, theyre going to have to be prepared to do it for well over a year, he said.

But it was not immediately clear who was footing the bill for the Democrats' trip. Martinez Fischer said he would use his own campaign funds to pay for hotels for House members, but declined to comment on who funded the chartered flights.

Speaking in the airport parking lot, he blasted the governor for likening the group, which includes many Black and Latino lawmakers, to animal or property, to say he will corral us and he will cabin us in the capitol to get this agenda. After addressing the media, Black lawmakers led the group in singing We Shall Overcome."

Over the weekend, Texas Republicans began advancing measures that also bring back provisions to ban drive-thru voting, add new voter ID requirements to absentee ballots and prohibit local elections officials from proactively sending mail-in ballot applications to voters. Abbott also gave lawmakers a lengthy to-do list this summer, heavy on hot-button conservative issues including restrictions over how race is taught in schools and banning transgender athletes from playing in girls' sports.

The decision to flee carries risks, and no guarantee of victory in the long run.
Charles Henderson was born in 1860 in Pike County. His father owned a mercantile business and died when Charles was 16. By 17, Charles Henderson was running his fathers business and by 20 had turned it into the largest wholesale grocery company in Southeast Alabama. By the age of 27, he had formed his own railroad company, established the Troy Normal School which later became Troy State University and now Troy University, and started the Standard Chemical Company. By the way, he was elected the mayor of Troy at age 26.

He resigned as mayor of Troy in 1906 after being appointed president of the Alabama Railroad Commission, which not only regulated railroads but utilities also. It is now known as the Public Service Commission. During this era, he brought telephone and electricity to Troy. He owned both entities. He also owned the Pea River Utility Company.

At 54, Charles Henderson was elected Alabamas 35th governor. He is known in history as Alabamas Business Governor. When he took office, the state was broke. When he left in 1919, the state coffers were flush, which was apropos for the states Business Governor.
In June, Hoa Phat produced 658,000 tons of raw steel, a year-on-year increase of 49 percent. It sold 569,000 tons of finished products, including 230,000 tons of construction steel and 230,000 tons of hot-rolled coils. The sales of construction steel was the lowest volume in the last four months.

In March, the group had made its biggest-ever monthly sales of over one million tons of steel products, including nearly 480,000 tons of construction steel. Its sales of construction steel, hot-rolled coils and steel billets all surged over 30 percent over March 2020.

The group says sales of construction steel and steel tubes in June dropped against May 2021 and June 2020 mainly due to the impacts of the fourth wave of Covid-19 nationwide, especially in HCMC and southern provinces. Besides, the rainy season has started, weakening demand for construction steel.

In the first half of this year, the group sold 1.8 million tons of construction steel, up 22 percent on-year.

After a sudden surge in the beginning of this year, steel prices have kept declining in the last few weeks in Vietnam, mostly because of a fall in world steel billet prices, especially China.

Many construction contractors said the prices of domestic steel products were still high, cutting deep into their profits. Steel costs account for 10-30 percent of a construction project.

According to the Vietnam Steel Association, the decrease in steel prices will slow down in the coming time and could even go up. To stabilize prices, the association has advised Vietnamese steel producers to limit exports and increase supplies of hot-rolled steel and raw steel in the domestic market.

Vietnam produced nearly 12 million tons of steel products of different kinds in the first five months of this year, a year-on-year rise of more than 38 percent, while exporting nearly 2.8 million tons, up 80 percent.

The country exported 1.1 million tons of steel to China in the five-month period, twice that of last year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.
Vietnam on Monday requested Israel to help it access Covid-19 vaccine sources, and share the doses it had ordered.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh made the request to his Israeli counterpart Naftali Bennett during the pair's first telephonic dialogue, adding he wished for Vietnam and Israel to cooperate more in the Covid-19 fight, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

As the pandemic continues to progress around the world, Chinh wanted the two countries to cooperate on vaccine research and development, as well as for other treatments. Israel should prioritize supporting Vietnam to gain access to Covid-19 vaccines and drugs as soon as possible through all means possible, including sharing the vaccine doses Israel had already ordered from AstraZeneca and Moderna.

In response, Bennett said he agreed with Chinh's proposals and requested the two countries' relevant authorities soon discuss the topics further, especially cooperation regarding Covid-19 vaccines, which would help deepen relations between the two nations.

Bennett praised Vietnam's achievements in the Covid-19 fight as well as its socio-economic development and foreign relations.

Both PMs agreed to cooperate to make Vietnam and Israeli relations become more practical and effective through boosting negotiations and signing free trade agreements, while aiming for higher investment and bilateral trade turnover goals post-pandemic.

They also invited each other for official visits for the upcoming 30-year anniversary of the two countries establishing diplomatic relations (1993-2023).

Around 60 percent of Israel's 9.3 million population have received at least one shot of the Covid-19 vaccine produced by Pfizer/BioNTech, prompting a dramatic decrease in the number of daily cases in June to single digits, Reuters reported.

But as the government relaxed social distancing measures and mask requirements, the Delta variant also began to spread globally. The variant's higher transmissibility is thought to have contributed to a rising number of new cases in Israel in recent days.

Last Sunday, Israel said it would begin to offer a third shot of the Pfizer vaccine to adults with weak immune systems, while still deciding if the booster would be available to the general public.

Vietnam meanwhile has vaccinated over 4 million people with at least one shot of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, with over 280,000 having received two shots.
The United States has imposed sanctions on four members of the Ortega-Murillo regime in Nicaragua, as a wave of repression and intimidation in the country reaches new heights. These four regime insiders include representatives from the national legislature, banking industry, military, and a daughter of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.

Just months before the November 2021 presidential election, 27 high-profile opposition leaders, including six presidential candidates, have been arrested on apparently trumped-up corruption and national security charges. They include Cristiana Chamorro, Arturo Cruz, Felix Maradiaga, Juan Sebastian Chamorro, Miguel Mora, and Medardo Mairena as well as student leaders, private sector representatives, and other civil society activists. The regime continues to harass independent media and other civil society members who express dissent as well.

In a written statement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the latest actions of the Ortega-Murillo regime and declared that the United States holds President Ortega and those complicit in these actions responsible for their safety and well-being.

The U.S. sanctions were imposed in response to the recent wave of repression, as well as to the failure of the regime to implement meaningful electoral reforms called for by the Organization of American States and backed by the UN Human Rights Council.

While this latest campaign of fear and repression is particularly egregious, the Ortega regimes assault on human rights and democracy is not new. A violent government crackdown on prodemocracy protests in 2018 left at least 325 persons dead; more than 2,000 injured; and hundreds illegally detained, tortured and disappeared.

State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said that under President Ortega, Nicaragua is becoming an international pariah moving farther away from democracy. Mr. Price noted that the United States has additional tools at our disposal to hold members of the regime and those who enable them to account, and we will not hesitate to do so. On June 15, 26 member states of the Organization of American States supported a resolution calling for President Ortega to take urgent action to restore full respect for human rights and to create the conditions for free and fair elections.

On June 22, 59 governments signed a joint statement at the UN Human Rights Council calling for the immediate release of the prisoners. U.S. diplomatic efforts have included coordinating with the OAS, EU, and other international partners to pressure the Ortega-Murillo regime to relent on its repression against the Nicaraguan people who deserve more than a one-party state.
RENO  The Northern Nevada Section of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration this week announced the availability of a specialty Nevada license plate to honor mining in Nevada. These plates are available through local Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles offices, or they can be ordered online through the DMV website.

Northern Nevada SME first submitted a request for a specialty plate to honor mining in December 2011, and the DMV approved the request in August 2018. Northern Nevada SME solicited design ideas for the plate from its membership and from other professional societies. The winning design for the plate was submitted by Patsy Moran, PhD, an SME registered member, and fine-tuned with help from numerous Nevada SME members.

We have been working to make this plate available for a long time, and we are pleased with the final result. It honors both the past and future of mining in our state. Any supporter of mining and its vital role in Nevada should be proud to have this plate on their vehicle, stated Chris Blue, chairman of the Northern Nevada SME.

Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}
July 12Brad L. Catlett, 53, of Visalia, California was arrested in Clark County on a warrant for contempt of court. Bail: $1,360

Charmaine King, 30, of Elko was arrested at 667 S. Fifth St. for battery. Bail: $1,140

Indiara J. Modesto, 24, of Owyhee was arrested at 9735 Thomas Loop Road on two Bureau of Indian Affairs tribal charges. Bail: $1,000

Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

Daniel P. Murphy Jr., 43, of Elko was arrested at 700 S. Fifth St. for felony possession of a controlled substance. Bail: $5,000

Casey J. Ross, 24, of Carlin was arrested at Elko County Jail on a warrant for two counts of failure to appear after bail on a misdemeanor crime.

Angel G. Santos, 37, of San Jose, California was arrested at Elko County Jail for fugitive felon from another state.

Marcus R. Swallow, 33, of Clinton, Utah was arrested at the Salt Lake County Jail for assault with a deadly weapon, resisting a public officer with a deadly weapon not a firearm, and possessing, receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle. Bail: $40,000

Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
ELKO  The countys active cases of COVID-19 continued to decline over the past week, while the test positivity rate increased.

There were 35 new cases and 42 recoveries, for a total of 47 active cases as of Monday. Most of the new cases were in Elko and Spring Creek. Two were in Carlin, one in Wells and one in Wendover.

Hospitalizations ranged from one to four last week.

The test positivity rate increased to 21.9% from 14.4% a week prior.

The case rate per 100,000 people also increased, from 211 to 238. Elkos case rate is the second-highest in the state, behind only Clark County at 405.

Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

As of Monday, Nevada was tied with Louisiana for the second-highest average case rate per capita in the nation, behind Arkansas. Hospitalizations in Nevada were up 85% over the past two weeks.

A total of 28.5% of vaccine-eligible residents in Elko County have been vaccinated. The statewide rate is 46%.

Most of the increases in COVID-19 infections are blamed on the Delta variant in places with low vaccination rates.

The U.S. Surgeon General, meanwhile, continued to waffle over whether booster shots would be needed.
Mormon missionaries and settlers arrived in Eastern Nevada in May of 1864 with hopes of establishing a network of growing colonies in the area. This effort, led by Francis Lee, was responsible for establishing the town of Panaca. William Hamblin, a Mormon missionary to the Native Americans, was shown a location where panacker was found in abundance. The Panacker Ledge (Panaca Claim) was staked and the town of Panaca was born.

When Panaca was first settled, the area was a part of Utah. Upon a request by the Nevada State Legislature, in 1866 the boundary was revised and Congress allowed an additional degree of longitude to be added to the eastern border of Nevada. The Mormons who declined to recognize this change refused to pay taxes to Lincoln County and the state of Nevada.

After much conflict and extensive surveys, in 1870 the Mormon settlers were declared to be residing in Nevada. Many of them left the state leaving only a handful in what had been planned to be the foundation of the Latter Day Saints. Panaca remained as an outpost with its population of a few hundred.
LAS VEGAS (AP)  The Las Vegas area has seen an increase in homicides the first half of this year, compared with the previous two years, a newspaper tally found.

After a decrease in 2019, Clark County homicide cases rose 37% in 2020 and went up again in the first half of 2021, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Monday. There were 75 killings from January to June compared with 66 slayings in the first six months of last year, a 14% increase.

Las Vegas police reported eight cases of children under 8 years old killed during the first six months of 2021, a significant increase after seven homicides of young children were reported in all of 2020.

Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said that based on his three decades of law enforcement experience, he thought the COVID-19 pandemic may play a role in the increased number of young children slayings.

I think its anxiety over COVID and economic factors in those cases, Lombardo told the Review-Journal. A lot of people tend to lash out when they dont see a light at the end of the tunnel.
BUHL, Idaho  A Proud Boys float was one of nearly 100 that went through the center of town during last weekends Sagebrush Days parade.

The men accompanying the float wore the black and yellow polo shirts often associated with the far-right group, while they carried an American flag and a black flag with the yellow letters P.B.

The organization, which has locally run chapters throughout the country, describes itself as a pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world; aka Western Chauvinists, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Organizations such as the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League have labeled the organization as a hate group.

Caitlin Patten, who has lived in Buhl for six years, is concerned that a local chapter of this organization participated in the parade, given the groups national reputation and its connection with the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol.

Im very concerned that a group that (is) nationally known as a hate group was allowed into a small town family-friendly parade, Patten said in a Facebook message to the Times-News. Whether or not the local group is more moderate or not, they are representing that name and that reputation.
(AP)  Dozens of wildfires burned across the torrid U.S. West on Monday, but fire agencies reported some progress in corralling the flames and forecasters predicted a gradual decrease in extreme temperatures, The Associated Press reported.

The two largest fires were burning forests in northeastern California and southern Oregon, sending smoke across Nevada and other states.

The Beckwourth Complex, two lightning-ignited blazes, covered about 140 square miles on Northern Californias border with Nevada. Plumas National Forest officials said firefighters successfully contained almost a quarter of the blaze but still expected some extreme fire activity.

Evacuation orders and warnings were in effect for remote areas of Californias Lassen and Plumas counties and Nevadas Washoe County. Some structures were destroyed over the weekend in Doyle, California, a town of about 600 residents.

In Oregon, the Bootleg Fire covered 240 square miles in the Fremont-Winema National Forest, near the Klamath County town of Sprague River.

After doubling in size at least twice over the weekend, it grew only incrementally Sunday, a sign of some progress, said Rich Saalsaa, spokesman for the Oregon State Fire Marshal.

Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}
Judge Doughtys frank words point directly to the nub of the issue. While the Biden administration has no rational reason for impeding the development of the USAs vast hydrocarbon reserves, it has a strong ideological reason for doing so: Team Biden, like the hardcore environmentalist movement, is fanatically opposed to the idea of Americans having access to abundant and affordable domestic supplies of reliable energy. That overall bias comes into focus if one looks at other Biden energy policies.

On his very first day in office, Biden issued an EO that scuttled the Keystone XL Pipeline that was to transport Canadian crude oil to American refineries. On June 1, Biden banned drilling for oil in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge. (In a case of tone-deaf timing, that ban was announced on the same day that the price of oil rose above $70 per barrel for the first time in two years.) And on June 23, The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is resurrecting a dubious Obama maneuver to exploit the Endangered Species Act to restrict fossil fuel development on millions of acres of land. (Actually, the greater danger to winged wildlife are wind and solar energy installations.)
Michigan residents who sign up to get a covid-19 vaccine will be eligible to enter a new lottery offering the chance to win an enormous cash jackpot, as well as other lucrative prizes.

The exciting new incentive was first announced on 1 July by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and it goes live on Monday 12 June. Eligibility for the lottery is retrospective, meaning that anyone who has received at least one shot of a vaccine will be able to enter.

The top prize is a $2 million jackpot, in addition to another $1 million draw and daily prizes of $50,000 each. Young people who have received a vaccine will get the chance to win one of nine $55,000 college scholarships.

How to sign up for the Michigan vaccine lottery

To be entered into the Michigan vaccine lottery you must have received at least one shot of a covid-19 vaccine and be a US resident living in Michigan. Entrants aged 18 or above will be entered into the cash draw while those aged 12-17 will be eligible to win the college scholarships.

You will not be automatically entered into the lottery and will instead have to sign up for the Michigan Shot to Win lottery. You can either do this by going to MIShotToWin.com and submitting your details, or through the covid-19 hotline on 888-535-6136. The hotline is open from 8am to 5pm on weekdays and 10am to 1pm on weekends.

Gov. Whitmer is optimistic about the impact that the new incentive will have, describing it as a great way to encourage more Michiganders to get the safe and effective vaccine so you can protect yourself, your family, and help get life back to normal. If we all roll up our sleeves and do our part, we can all win big.

Michigan currently below the national average vaccination rate

Since the new year the ongoing vaccination effort has been the top priority for health officials looking to bring an end to the pandemic. Across the US a total of 334,600,770 shots of a covid-19 vaccine have been administered, meaning that 55% of the total population have received at least one shot with 48% now fully vaccinated.

The state with the highest proportion of vaccinated residents is Vermont, where 75% of the population have had at least one dose. According to the latest figures from the New York Times, in Michigan 52% of people have received a dose. The state with the lowest vaccination rate is Mississippi with only 37% of residents having had even a single shot of a coronavirus vaccine.
When the COVID-19 pandemic still rages on with many countries and regions in dire need of vaccines, the CoronaVac vaccine developed by Sinovac has been widely supplied across the world, demonstrating encouraging results in the global fight against the virus.

To ease the bottleneck of the production capacity and reach broader recipients, China has cooperated with eight countries to manufacture vaccines locally.

Screenshot shows the article published on Daily News Egypt.

Egypts Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly was cited as saying that the country has already produced one million doses of the Sinovac vaccine domestically, according to a July 5 article from local media Daily News Egypt.

The production line in Egypt marks the first instance of China working with an African country in vaccine manufacture. Its expected to benefit the neighboring African and Middle Eastern countries after meeting Egypts own needs.

New evidence also emerged to reaffirm the safety and high efficacy of the vaccine developed by Sinovac.

A woman receives a jab of China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine in Montevideo, Uruguay, March 1, 2021. (Photo by Nicolas Celaya/Xinhua)

Last month, a statement released by Uruguays Ministry of Public Health said the Sinovac vaccine reduced COVID-19 infections and deaths among Uruguayan adults. The real-world data showed the shots cut deaths by 95.3 percent among the vaccine recipients aged 18 to 49, and by 95.2 percent among those aged 50 to 69. Meanwhile, it was 94 percent effective at preventing intensive care admissions.

As children and adolescents are always the key concern in vaccination drive, researchers have confirmed the safety and efficacy of CoronaVac for children as young as three in the early-stage human trials.

Screenshot shows the paper published on The Lancet.

CoronaVac was well tolerated and safe and induced humoral responses in children and adolescents aged 317 years, noted a June 28 paper published on The Lancet.

In the trial, a total of 552 young participants were given two doses of vaccine from Sinovac 28 days apart. Among the various age groups, more than 96 percent of trial participants were found to develop antibodies against the coronavirus in initial studies.

In terms of real-world application, Indonesia has recommended Sinovac vaccine for children aged 12 to 17, as Reuters reported on June 28.

The country seeks to extend inoculations amid a surge in infections, said the article, Task Force data shows children aged 0-18 account for 12.6 percent of Indonesia's total COVID-19 infections.

Vaccines are key to curb the pandemic. Globally, as of 5 July 2021, more than 183 million cases of COVID-19 were confirmed, including nearly 4 million deaths. According to the latest data from WHO, a total of 298 million vaccine doses have been administered worldwide to date.

When the whole world is in a race between infection and injection, Chinese vaccines serve as a promising solution to the pandemic for the easy accessibility, safety and high efficacy.

So far, China has provided vaccine aid to nearly 100 countries from 5 continents. More than 480 million doses of Chinese vaccines have been supplied to the international community, making China the largest supplier of vaccines in the world, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin told at a regular press conference on July 2.

We also hope that all countries in the world that are able to do so will act as soon as possible, honor their commitments, and make their due contributions to promoting equitable distribution and application of vaccines for better global anti-epidemic cooperation, Wang said.

[ Editor: WXL ]
Zhang Qingyu(1st, R) talks with her friends in Qingxi Village, Huangjian Township of east China's Anhui Province, July 10, 2021. "I'd like to skip these two days of separation if I could." Xu wrote on her social network account as she was about to end her service in Huangjian Township. Xu Xiaochan and Zhang Jianming, together with their daughter Zhang Qingyu, moved to Huangjian Township of Huangshan City in 2019 as the couple decided to join in a campaign to provide medical services for local villagers there. The medical service in rural area, lasting for two years, is part of a program in Anhui province to call for doctors working in big cities to serve in remote villages to help impoverished people. In the past two years, Xu Xiaochan and Zhang Jianming have set up standardized clinics in the village and made regular home-visit to villagers. The couple also trained follow-up successors for village clinics and promoted medical knowledge in the mountainous area. Through their efforts, the public medical services in the township have been improved a lot. On July 10, the last day of their work in the township, local people came to bid farewell to them as the couple witnessed many great events in the village. "Huangjian Township has become our second hometown." Xu Xiaochan said, "Our hearts stay with the villagers here." (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

15

1

[ Editor: WXL ]
Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, attends the opening ceremony of Eco Forum Global Guiyang 2021 and delivers a keynote speech in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, July 12, 2021. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

GUIYANG, July 12 (Xinhua) -- China attaches great importance to ecological conservation, and its environmental protection has gone through a historic turnaround, Chinese top legislator Li Zhanshu said on Monday.

Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, made the remarks while addressing the opening of the Eco Forum Global Annual Conference 2021 held in southwest China's Guizhou Province.

China has made resource conservation and environmental protection a basic state policy and sustainable development a national strategy, Li noted, adding that the country's environmental protection has gone through a historic turnaround with wide-ranging implications.

Reiterating China's pledge to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, Li said the country would contribute to coping with global challenges concerning the climate and environment and safeguarding global ecological security.

To deliver on the pledge, Li stressed efforts in enhancing ecological awareness, accelerating green and low-carbon development, stepping up pollution prevention and control, improving the relevant legal system, and promoting international exchange and cooperation.

Foreign leaders including Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and Tongan Prime Minister Pohiva Tu'i'onetoa addressed the conference via video link, which is themed "Green and Low-carbon Development, Fostering a Community of Life for Man and Nature."

3

1

[ Editor: WXL ]
The CR400AF-Z and CR400AF-BZ Fuxing intelligent bullet trains are firstly put into service on the railway lines of Beijing-Shanghai, Beijing-Harbin, Chengdu-Chongqing, June 25, 2021. The new Fuxing intelligent bullet train integrates modern technologies of 5G, cloud computing, big data and more, upgraded in terms of intelligence, safety, and convenience in operation and maintenance. Since the service functions have been optimized again, passenger experience is expected to be further improved.

Photo taken on June 25, 2021 shows the CR400BF-GZ brand new intelligent Fuxing bullet train departing from Beijing Railway Station. It is the first bullet train numbered with "G" at Beijing Railway Station. (Sun Lijun/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on June 25, 2021 shows the G8602 Fuxing Intelligent bullet train from Chongqing West to Chengdu East operated for the first time. (Bao Liang/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on June 25, 2021 shows staff members of the G8602 Fuxing Intelligent bullet train providing food for passengers. (Hu Zhiqiang/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on June 25, 2021 shows staff members of the first G5 Fuxing intelligent bullet train from Beijing South to Shanghai Hongqiao explaining the use of intelligent equipment and facilities to passengers . (Yang Baosen/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on June 25, 2021 shows the G901 Fuxing Intelligent bullet train from Beijing Chaoyang Station entering Harbin West Station. (Yuan Yong/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on June 25, 2021 shows the driver on mission in the G904 Fuxing intelligent EMU train. (Yuan Yong/Guangming Picture)

[ Editor: WXY ]
The 42-year-old Liu Tianxin is a native of Guizhou Province in southwest China. He lives in Liudong Village, Zhemi Town, Pingtang County, Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. In order to seek better development opportunities, he once left his hometown to work in the Pearl River Delta of China. In 2012, he gave up the highly paid job in Guangzhou City, southeast China's Guangdong Province, and determined returned to his hometown to start a business of his craftsmanship. Considering the local ethnic customs, Liu Tianxin opened an embroidery workshop in Liudong Village, embarking on his own "Embroidery" road.

Liu sews embroidery products at the workshop by himself. Through long-term operation, he finally explored a unique way to independently design and produce ethnic embroidery tourism products with Maonan characteristics and adapted to the market in southwest China's Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan Province, which perfectly met the diversified market needs. Photo taken on June 8, 2021 shows Liu sewing embroidery products at the embroidery workshop in Pingtang County, Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, southwest Chian's Guizhou Province. (Xiao Wei/Guangming Picture)

In the past eight years, Liu started as the "boss" of a small factory with 20 people, focusing on creating brands, developing markets, and training workers. At the same time, as a party member of the Communist Party of China, Liu's active entrepreneurship also promoted the local economic development. Photo taken on June 8, 2021 shows Liu (first from right) instructing workers to operate embroidery machine tools at the embroidery workshop in Pingtang County, Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, southwest Chian's Guizhou Province. (Xiao Wei/Guangming Picture)

With the gradual expansion of market demand and scale, the number of workers in the workshop has grown from 20 to more than 300 now. The factory has also expanded from Zhemi Town to the relocation site for poverty alleviation and resettlement, effectively driving the employment of the relocated people. Thanks to Liu's efforts, the town has achieved an organic combination of poverty alleviation through employment and relocation. Photo taken on June 8, 2021 shows Liu (first from left) discussing embroidery patterns with workers at the embroidery workshop in Pingtang County, Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, southwest Chian's Guizhou Province. (Xiao Wei/Guangming Picture)

The embroidery workshop has also become a characterized industry of local economic development and poverty alleviation. Photo taken on June 8, 2021 shows Liu taking photos of the finished embroidery products at the display area of the embroidery workshop in Pingtang County, Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, southwest Chian's Guizhou Province. (Xiao Wei/Guangming Picture)

Speaking of the next plan, Liu Tianxin said confidently that in the future, the local people will definitely embroider a better life with the skills of their own hands. Photo taken on June 8, 2021 shows workers packing the embroidery products at an embroidery production enterprise in Pingtang County, Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, southwest Chian's Guizhou Province. (Xiao Wei/Guangming Picture)

[ Editor: WXY ]
BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The China-Italy Youth Future Fashion Design Competition kicked off at Tsinghua University on Thursday, aiming to build an international innovation platform for the two countries' young people.

As one of the major activities of the "China-Italy Year of Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship," the competition was held by Tsinghua University, the Polytechnic University of Milan, and the government of Keqiao District, Shaoxing City, in east China's Zhejiang Province.

Tsinghua University said that the competition would promote innovation, production, and education in design and discover and cultivate cutting-edge design talent with creativity and vitality.

Fu Zhiyong, the deputy director of the China-Italy Design Innovation Hub and associate professor at the School of Fine Arts of Tsinghua University, said the competition welcomes Chinese and Italian young innovators under 45. It is also open to global artists, designers, teachers, students, and design lovers.

With the theme of "Tech for Fashion," the competition has categories like Fashion Design, Fashion Technology, and Fashion Lifestyle. In the case of Fashion Technology, it focuses on combining arts and technologies, including applying new materials and technological innovations.

Participants may register and submit an entry through the official website and sign up as individuals or teams. The entry collection is open until September 6. An expert panel will evaluate the entries for the first and second rounds. The Final Round Evaluation and the Award Ceremony will take place in the Keqiao District of Shaoxing City in October.

Prize winners of the competition will qualify for a special exhibition held by the China-Italy Design Innovation Hub during the 2022 Milan Design Week.

The competition aims to combine science and technology, arts, culture, and a vision for a better life to promote international cultural exchanges and cooperation, said Fu.

"More importantly, we hope to gather young people's innovative powers from both countries, link them with fashion design, have more exchanges in creativity and culture, and promote innovative achievements," he added. Enditem

[ Editor: JYZ ]
Photo taken on June 1, 2021 shows vials of Sinopharm vaccines in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua)

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Two Chinese pharmaceutical companies will provide 110 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines immediately to participants of the COVAX project, announced the global Vaccine Alliance Gavi on Monday.

The Chinese Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines have been approved earlier this year by the World Health Organization (WHO) for emergency use.

China is the world's largest vaccine supplier, having supplied more than 480 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the international community, provided vaccine assistance to nearly 100 countries, and exported vaccines to more than 50 countries.

With Chinese vaccines being administered worldwide, they have been found, according to multiple studies, highly effective in preventing infection, hospitalization, severe illness and death from the virus.

Here are some figures &facts:

Health workers transport a COVID-19 patient at San Jose Hospital in Santiago, Chile, May 15, 2020. (Photo by Jorge Villegas/Xinhua)

SANTIAGO -- China's CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine effectively prevented COVID-19 in Chile, with the adjusted vaccine effectiveness reaching 90.3 percent for the prevention of severe disease, according to a study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

A nationwide mass vaccination campaign was conducted from Feb. 2 to May 1, and a cohort including approximately 10.2 million people aged 16 years and above was used, according to the study titled Effectiveness of an Inactivated SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine in Chile published.

Among those who were fully immunized, the adjusted vaccine effectiveness was 65.9 percent for the prevention of COVID-19, 87.5 percent for the prevention of hospitalization, and 86.3 percent for the prevention of COVID-19-related death, the results of the study showed.

The CoronaVac, also known as the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, is an inactivated virus COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech.

CoronaVac uses an inactivated whole virus, compelling a recipient's immune system to attack the harmless form of the virus by producing antibodies to fight it off, thus leading to immunity.

A medical worker receives a dose of China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine at the Sabiha Uzun Maternal Child Health Center in Ankara, Turkey on Jan. 15, 2021. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

LONDON -- Interim analysis of Phase 3 clinical trial of the CoronaVac vaccine in more than 10,000 participants in Turkey suggests the efficacy of two doses of the vaccine is 83.5 percent against symptomatic cases of COVID-19, according to a study published in The Lancet, a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal.

The randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted in Turkey using the CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine, developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech. The trial involved over 10,000 participants aged 18 to 59 years. They were randomly assigned to receive two doses of the vaccine (given 14 days apart) or a placebo.

The preliminary findings indicated that CoronaVac induced a robust antibody response, and no severe adverse events or deaths were reported among the participants. Most adverse events were mild and occurred within seven days of an injection, according to the study.

However, more research is needed to confirm vaccine efficacy in the long term, in a more diverse group of participants, and against emerging variants of concern, said the study.

CoronaVac uses an inactivated whole virus, compelling a recipient's immune system to attack the harmless form of the virus by producing antibodies to fight it off, leading to immunity.

The vaccine can be stored and transported at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius and has been in Phase 3 trials since mid-2020 in Brazil, Indonesia, Chile, and Turkey, according to The Lancet.

"One of the advantages of CoronaVac is that it does not need to be frozen, making it easier to transport and distribute. This could be particularly important for global distribution, as some countries may struggle to store large amounts of vaccine at very low temperatures," said Murat Akova, lead author of the study and a professor at Hacettepe University School of Medicine in Ankara.

A woman receives a jab of China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine in Montevideo, Uruguay, March 1, 2021. (Photo by Nicolas Celaya/Xinhua)

MONTEVIDEO -- The COVID-19 mortality rate among Uruguayans aged 18 to 69 who were vaccinated with Sinovac vaccine fell by more than 95 percent, according to the latest Vaccine Effectiveness report from the Public Health Ministry.

Two weeks after receiving the second dose of the CoronaVac vaccine, developed by Chinese drugmaker Sinovac, mortality fell by 95.3 percent among the vaccinated population aged 18 to 49, and by 95.2 percent among those aged 50 to 69, showed the report.

Meanwhile, CoronaVac reduced hospitalization in intensive care units by 94.4 percent among those under the age of 49 and by 92.2 percent among people aged 50 to 69.

In addition, COVID-19 infections dropped 64.5 percent 14 days after receiving the second dose in people aged 18 to 49, and 61.5 percent in people between the ages of 50 and 69, the report said.

The ministry study monitors the "vaccine effectiveness and safety for SARS-CoV-2" by an interdisciplinary team.

A nurse prepares a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac in Bangkok, Thailand, May 12, 2021. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)

BANGKOK -- A new vaccination study conducted by Thailand's Chulalongkorn University has found that China's Sinovac vaccine has extremely high efficacy in boosting immune responses against COVID-19, according to media reports.

The study run by the Center of Excellence in Clinical Virology of the Faculty of Medicine at the university showed that 99.49 percent of the recipients had developed antibody responses four weeks after their second shots, the Bangkok Post said, quoting the study results.

Three weeks after the first shot, around 66 percent of the recipients had developed immune responses, the report added.

The number of antibodies against the coronavirus was measured with Roche Elecsys Electrochemiluminescence Immunoassay, a qualitative detection of total antibodies developed against the virus in people's blood samples before and after the vaccination period, said the research group.

The tests were conducted before injections, three weeks after the first shot and four weeks after the second injection.

A health worker (L) receives a dose of China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine during mass vaccination program for health workers as a main priority group in Jakarta, Indonesia, Feb. 4, 2021. (Xinhua/Agung Kuncahya B.)

JAKARTA -- China's Sinovac vaccine against COVID-19 has appeared to be highly efficacious, as an overwhelming majority of vaccinated health workers were found protected from death and hospitalization, according to a Bloomberg report.

Pandji Dhewantara, an official of the country's health ministry, told a press conference that among the 128,290 health workers vaccinated with Sinovac vaccines and tracked from January to March, 98 percent of them were protected from death and 96 percent from hospitalization as soon as seven days after the second dose.

Dhewantara also said that 94 percent of the workers had been protected against symptomatic infection.

The Indonesian study compared vaccinated people against the non-vaccinated to derive the estimated effectiveness, said the report. The median age of the participants is 31 years old.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that another group of 25,374 people tracked showed the same effectiveness data for hospitalization and infection with the aforementioned group. Protection against death was 100 percent in the smaller group.

"We see a very, very drastic drop," in hospitalizations and deaths among medical workers, Sadikin was quoted as saying.

Staff members unload Chinese COVID-19 vaccines at the Ezeiza International Airport, Buenos Aires, Argentina, April 1, 2021. (Photo by Martin Zabala/Xinhua)

BUENOS AIRES -- The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm is 84 percent effective in preventing death from the disease, showed a report by the Argentine Ministry of Health.

The document, titled "Study of the National Vaccination Campaign's Effectiveness in Reducing Mortality from COVID-19 in People aged 60 and over," was prepared by the ministry with cases from the country's 24 provinces during the period from Jan. 1 to June 22.

The study found that the Sinopharm vaccine has an efficacy of "84 percent after the application of its two doses," state news agency Telam reported.

The effectiveness against COVID-19 mortality in the Sinopharm vaccine reached 61.6 percent with the application of the first dose in the 147,908 cases analyzed, and increased to 84 percent after the second dose was applied to the same number of people.

In February, the country authorized the emergency use of the Sinopharm vaccine after Health Minister Carla Vizzotti signed a resolution, an official measure which highlighted the "safety, immunogenicity and efficacy" of the vaccine.

In an interview with Xinhua, Argentine infectious diseases expert Martin Hojman said that the Sinopharm vaccine is "effective" and its arrival in the South American country is "excellent news."

"It has two doses. It is an inactivated vaccine that has proven efficacy and no adverse effects, it is a safe vaccine," said Hojman, a member of the Argentine Society of Infectious Diseases.

[ Editor: WPY ]
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) plans to begin in the near future the gradual lifting of restrictions on the purchase of foreign currency by businesses without obligations, said Deputy Head of the NBU Yuriy Heletei.

"We are ready to move on towards currency liberalization. This is our absolute priority. The next important step will be to remove the requirement for businesses to buy foreign currency against obligations," he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

The deputy head of the National Bank noted that, in the opinion of the regulator's team, such a decision will have a greater impact on the foreign exchange market than the latest liberalization measures.

"Now we are actively discussing this topic and finalizing the discussion on modality. The removal of this restriction will be gradual, but it will happen. This decision will be approved by us shortly," Heletei added.
An article written by Russian President Vladimir Putin called "On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians" has been published on the Kremlin's website.

The president's article was published in both Russian and Ukrainian.

"I said at the recent Q&A session, responding to a question about Russian-Ukrainian relations, that Russians and Ukrainians are one people, one whole. These words are not some kind of tribute to the current situation, the current political circumstances. I have said this more than once; it's my conviction. Therefore, I believe I need to state my position in detail, share my view of the current situation," Putin said at the beginning of his article.

The president said he used public documents that contain well-known facts, not some secret archives, when he worked on the article.

"The leaders of today's Ukraine and their external patrons prefer not to mention these facts. But it is now accepted to condemn 'the crimes of the Soviet regime,' including in them even those events to which the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the USSR, let alone today's Russia, have no relation, on various occasions, with reason or without, including abroad," the article says.

Meanwhile, the actions of the Bolsheviks to separate from Russia its historical territories are not considered a criminal act, Putin said.

"It is clear why. If it weakened Russia, it suits our ill-wishers," he said.

The borders between the republics were conditional in the USSR, but all these territories, and most importantly, the people who lived in them, found themselves abroad overnight in 1991, Putin said.

"Everything changes. Including countries, societies. And of course, a part of a people can realize itself as a separate nation at a certain moment, in the course of its development, for a number of reasons, [due to] historical circumstances. How should one treat that? There can only be one answer: with respect!" Putin said.

Speaking on the desire of the republics to create their own states, Putin recalled the words of Anatoly Sobchak. "I will mention here the evaluation given by Anatoly Sobchak, one of the most prominent political figures of the new Russia, first mayor of St. Petersburg. As a highly professional lawyer, he believed that any decision should be legitimate, and therefore, he said the following in 1992: the republics that founded the Union had to go back to the borders in which they joined the Union after they annulled the 1922 Treaty. All other territorial acquisitions are a subject for discussion, negotiation, because the foundation was annulled," he said.

In other words, "leave with what you came in with," Putin said. "It's hard to argue with such logic. I will only add that, like I said, the Bolsheviks began arbitrary changes of the borders even before the creation of the Union, and all manipulations with the territories were conducted according to their own will, ignoring the opinion of the people," he said.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky says he intends to respond to the published article by Russian President Vladimir Putin "On the historical unity of Russians and Ukrainians" in the future.

"We will definitely analyze this article as soon as I find the time: we will read it in detail and if it is necessary for this article to find an answer, it seems to be written in Ukrainian [...] it means that we need to answer something. Well, think about it," Zelensky told reporters at the conference "Ukraine 30. Humanitarian Policy," answering a question whether Zelensky plans to somehow respond to Putin's article, released on Monday in Russian and Ukrainian on the Kremlin website.

However, he said that he did not have time to read the entire article. "But some parts, the ones that I read, I saw deep work there. Indeed, the president of the Russian Federation spent a lot of time, because there is a lot of archival work. Well, I can only envy that the president of such a large state can take so much time to afford to spend on such a volume of such detailed work [...]. We are constantly talking about our meeting, and now the president of Russia does not have enough time for the meeting of the presidents of Ukraine and the Russian Federation. I just did not know what he wastes his time on, and now I see the result. But it seems to me that it is important that after all, some things, and by the way, those that he wrote about, we could discuss. And, probably, I would provide him with a lot of material, which can also be used in another article in the future," Zelensky said.

The head of the Ukrainian state also commented on the thesis from Putin's article about the "fraternal people." "As for the fraternal people, I already answered: we are forgotten when we talk about the victory over fascism, about the Second World War, and how many lives were lost among Ukrainians, and we are remembered on other occasions that we are fraternal peoples. It seems to me that I just so I think that [...] it is not brotherly to do that. More like Cain and Abel, something from this story," he said.

At the same time, Zelensky said "if the president of the Russian Federation has already started to write in Ukrainian [Putin's article was also published in Ukrainian], then we are doing everything right, in this direction I support this decision."
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky says that Ukraine needs guarantees of stable gas supply if the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is launched under the Baltic Sea.

"For us, these are not just words  energy security. We receive $2 billion for transit annually. If we are talking about Ukraine's Green Deal, where we are going is about reducing gas production and use, reducing thermal generation. Where do we get money for all this? Two billion, and part of this money we spend on infrastructure, our army, changing the energy infrastructure of Ukraine. Where to get this money?" Zelensky told journalists at the Ukraine 30. Humanitarian Policy all-Ukrainian forum on Tuesday.

He said Ukraine needs "approximately 10-15 years of guarantees of a stable gas supply for the population, since the volume of Ukrainian gas production is insufficient."

According to the head of the Ukrainian state, "the price of gas is also important." "We have an annual package, it is less than UAH 8 for population. What will happen if there is no transit of gas or there is an opportunity to receive gas from Europe, at what price? Who will compensate for this?" Zelensky said.

The President also spoke about differences in views on the implementation of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, with who he held talks earlier on Monday.

"Yes, we have different views on Nord Stream, but, nevertheless, I believe that we have made a lot of arguments [...] There will be a meeting between the Chancellor and President [of the United States Joe] Biden, and there they will discuss what Nord Stream 2 brings, what it will bring to Europe and what it will bring separately to Ukraine, and how to guarantee energy security for Ukraine, and so that we do not lose from this stream if it is completed and put into operation," Zelensky said.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky stated the need to hold a meeting of the Normandy Four (Ukraine, Germany, France, Russia) to resolve the situation in Donbas.

"The Normandy meeting should be [...] Clusters have been worked out, steps for the practical implementation of the Minsk process. The clusters were developed by the German side and approved by France. And we are, in principle, in favor. They were handed over to the Russian side, and everyone can see that the Normandy meeting is being postponed because of the position of Russia," Zelensky said during a conversation with journalists at the Ukraine 30. Humanitarian Policy all-Ukrainian forum on Tuesday.

He said the Ukrainian side "is doing everything to hold the next meeting of the Normandy Four."

"We did everything to ensure that Russia also fulfills all the points of the agreements in December 2019 at a meeting of the Normandy Four," Zelensky said.
Pechersky District Court of Kyiv has seized assets of MP Taras Kozak (Opposition Platform - For Life faction) wanted for aiding treason and plundering the national resources.

"Pechersky District Court of Kyiv, at the request of the Prosecutor General's Office [PGO], decided to seize Kozak's movable and immovable property," the PGO press service told Interfax-Ukraine.

As reported, MPs Viktor Medvedchuk and Taras Kozak (Opposition Platform - For Life faction) on May 11 were notified of suspicion of high treason and attempted plunder of national resources in the Russia-occupied Crimea. According to Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova, the suspicion concerns three episodes of illegal activity and cooperation with the aggressor country.

According to the investigation, in 2015, Medvedchuk conspired with an official of the Russian government to extract minerals on the Black Sea shelf (the sea economic zone of Ukraine, temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation).

Another episode of criminal proceedings concerns the transfer of information containing state secrets to Russian security services.

The third episode of illegal activity relates to anti-Ukrainian subversive activities, in particular, devising the anti-Ukrainian Luch project.

On May 12, Medvedchuk arrived at the Prosecutor General's Office, got acquainted with a copy of the suspicion presented to him and said that he did not intend to hide from the investigation, and the suspicions were politically motivated.

Kozak, according to law enforcement agencies, is in the Russian Federation. At the same time, according to Medvedchuk, Kozak is staying on the territory of Belarus, where he is undergoing treatment.

Kozak has been put on the wanted list, there is a court decision on his arrest to choose a preventive measure.

The court chose a preventive measure for Medvedchuk in the form of house arrest.
Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Arsen Avakov announced that he had submitted a letter of resignation.

"In accordance with Part 1 of Article 18 of the law of Ukraine on the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, I submitted a letter of resignation from the post of Minister of Internal Affairs. Thanks to the Interior Ministry team for the years of joint work. Thanks to every officer, private and employee. I am honored!" the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs said, citing Avakov on Tuesday.

According to a photocopy of the document posted on the ministry's website, Avakov wrote the letter of resignation on Tuesday, July 13.

As MP Yelyzaveta Yasko (Servant of the People faction) reported on Facebook, the issue of Avakov's resignation could be considered at the parliament on Wednesday or Thursday.

Avakov headed the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine since February 27, 2014. For the first time, he was appointed to a post in the government under Arseniy Yatsenyuk (2014-2016). Later Avakov was a member of the governments under Volodymyr Groysman (2016-2019), Oleksiy Honcharuk (2019-2020) and Denys Shmyhal (2020-2021).
Russia-occupation forces in Donbas on Tuesday, July 13, carried out a provocation by shelling a peaceful settlement near the contact line using weapons prohibited by the Minsk Agreements, the Ukrainian side of the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination (JCCC) reports.

"On July 13, 2021, between 7:40 and 8:25, mercenaries from occupied Syhnalne carried out targeted shelling of Taramchuk settlement, Donetsk region, using artillery systems with 122 caliber. In total, the invaders fired more than 30 shells, as a result of which civilian buildings and a transformer substation were damaged, which led to the blackout of Yablyneva and Shyroka Streets," the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) press center said on Facebook.

It is noted that none of the civilians were injured.

Also, the Ukrainian side of the JCCC said that the enemy deliberately resorts to provocative shelling, increasing the number of violations with the use of prohibited weapons.

"At the same time, the mercenaries hide behind another Kremlin narrative about 'protecting the Russian people' and, allegedly, 'firing back,' which confirms the direct connection between the actions of occupation forces and their Moscow curators and serves as yet another proof of the planned nature of provocations by pro-Russian criminals," the report says.

The Ukrainian side of the JCCC stresses that the Ukrainian Armed Forces strictly adhere to the ceasefire regime. All these violations were recorded and documented by the Ukrainian side of the JCCC and transferred to the OSCE SMM and the preliminary investigation bodies of Ukraine.
U.S. stands with Cuban people in call for freedom, Biden says

People hold Cuba's national flag during protests against and in support of the government, amidst the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Havana, Cuba (Photo : REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini)

President Joe Biden said on Monday the United States supports the people of Cuba in their call for freedom and relief from the pandemic and economic woes, but the White House stopped short of a shift away from a Trump-era embargo of the island.



Thousands of Cubans joined street protests https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/street-protests-break-out-cuba-2021-07-11 from Havana to Santiago on Sunday in the biggest anti-government demonstrations in Communist-run Cuba in decades. They chanted "freedom" and called for President Miguel Diaz-Canel to step down.



Advertisement

Biden referred to the protests as "remarkable" and told reporters at the White House that the Cuban people were "demanding their freedom from an authoritarian regime."



He called on Cuban leaders to allow the protests to proceed without violence.



"The United States stands firmly with the people of Cuba as they assert their universal rights, and we call on the government... to refrain from violence or attempts to silence the voice of the people of Cuba," Biden said.



He declined to answer questions about whether the United States would alter its policy toward Cuba, and White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki gave no indication of an immediate shift.



Biden's administration has been reviewing its approach to Cuba since he took over from Republican President Donald Trump, who had closed the door to increased tourism to the Caribbean island nation opened up by Democratic President Barack Obama.



"We are assessing how we can be helpful to the people of Cuba," Psaki said.



The protests erupted amid both Cuba's worst economic crisis since the 1990s and a record surge in coronavirus infections. People denounced shortages of basic goods, curbs on civil liberties, and the authorities' handling of the pandemic.



"The Cuban people are bravely asserting fundamental and universal rights. Those rights, including the right of peaceful protest and the right to freely determine their own future, must be respected," Biden said in a statement earlier on Monday.



"The United States calls on the Cuban regime to hear their people and serve their needs at this vital moment rather than enriching themselves."



Diaz-Canel on Monday blamed U.S. sanctions, which were tightened in recent years, for problems such as medicine shortages and power outages.



Psaki said U.S. policy still allowed significant amounts of aid to get through to Havana.


Sidney Powell, an attorney later disavowed by the Trump campaign, participates in a news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani (not pictured) (Photo : REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo)

A U.S. judge on Monday appeared likely to reprimand Sidney Powell, a former campaign lawyer for Donald Trump, and other attorneys over a lawsuit they filed in Michigan seeking to overturn Democratic President Joe Biden's election victory.



U.S. District Judge Linda Parker in Detroit suggested the pro-Trump lawyers should have investigated the Republican former president's voter fraud claims more carefully before suing.



Advertisement

"Should an attorney be sanctioned for his or her failure to withdraw allegations the attorney came to know were untrue?," Parker said during a court hearing via video conference. "Is that sanctionable behavior?"



She said she thought affidavits in the case had been submitted in "bad faith."



Parker held the hearing to determine whether Powell, Lin Wood and other pro-Trump lawyers should be disciplined for a lawsuit they filed last November that made baseless claims of widespread voter fraud in the U.S. presidential election in Michigan.



They are not the only lawyers allied with Trump to land in hot water for supporting his false claims that his election defeat was the result of fraud. New York state and Washington, D.C., in recent weeks suspended https://www.reuters.com/world/us/rudolph-giuliani-is-suspended-law-practice-new-york-state-2021-06-24 former New York City Mayor and Trump confidant Rudy Giuliani's law license after finding he lied in supporting Trump's claims.



Parker dismissed the Michigan lawsuit last December, saying in a written decision that Powell's voter fraud claims were "nothing but speculation and conjecture" and that, in any event, the Texas lawyer waited too long to file her lawsuit.



'REALLY FANTASTICAL'



Parker did not rule during the hearing on whether she would impose judicial sanctions on Powell, of Dallas, and her co-counsel, or refer them to a regulatory body for disbarment proceedings. She said she would issue a written ruling "in due course."



But she spent a large portion of the hearing grilling Powell and the other attorneys on whether they vetted affidavits claiming voter fraud in Michigan before filing them in federal court.



"I don't think I've ever seen an affidavit that makes so many leaps. This is really fantastical," Parker said. "So my question to counsel here is: How could any of you as officers of the court present this affidavit?"



Powell asserted the hundreds of pages of affidavits showed they had conducted due diligence, and that the only way to test them would have been at trial or a hearing on evidence they have gathered. Her co-counsel repeatedly called for such an evidentiary hearing.



Starting in January, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and other government lawyers asked the judge to discipline the pro-Trump lawyers, saying they had filed a frivolous lawsuit full of typos and factual errors and should be held accountable.



"What they filed was an embarrassment to the legal profession," David Fink, a lawyer for the city of Detroit, said during Monday's hearing. "This was a sloppy and careless effort."



Powell represented Trump's campaign when he tried to overturn last Nov. 3's presidential election in the courts. His campaign distanced itself from Powell after she claimed without evidence at a Nov. 19 news conference that electronic voting systems had switched millions of ballots to Biden.



On Nov. 25, a team of lawyers led by Powell filed a lawsuit on behalf of Michigan Republicans alleging rampant voter fraud. They also sought to have Trump named the winner of the Midwestern state's election, giving him Michigan's votes in the U.S. Electoral College, which formally elects the winner of presidential races.



During the hearing, Parker asked Powell and her co-counsel why they did not voluntarily dismiss their Michigan case on Dec. 14 when the Electoral College confirmed Biden's victory.



"Why did the plaintiffs not recognize this lawsuit as moot and dismiss it on that date?," Parker asked.



Donald Campbell, a Michigan attorney representing Powell and the other lawyers, replied that the election was "fluid" and unpredictable and that the pro-Trump legal team believed its lawsuit was still viable after Dec. 14.


A sign warns of extreme heat in Death Valley, California, U.S., (Photo : REUTERS/Bridget Bennett/File Photo)

A punishing heat wave was again forecast to bring near-record high temperatures to many parts of the U.S. West on Monday, as a wildfire raged out of control in drought-stricken Oregon.



The forecast comes a day after Death Valley, California, hit a scorching 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54 Celsius), one of the highest temperatures ever recorded on Earth.



Advertisement

But the National Weather Service said the intense heat had likely peaked across much of the region, ahead of more seasonable temperatures later this week.



In Oregon, the so-called Bootleg Fire had burned through more than 153,000 acres (nearly 240 square miles) as of Monday morning, mostly in the Fremont-Winema National Forest.



Hundreds of residents in the Klamath Falls area, in south-central Oregon, were under mandatory evacuation orders, and the Klamath County Sheriff's Department began issuing citations to enforce them and will consider the unusual step of making arrests if necessary, county officials said.



The agency that manages California's power grid, the California Independent System Operator, issued a "flex alert" urging residents to conserve power between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. local time on Monday, after the Bootleg Fire in Oregon disrupted electric transmission lines.



Other states have also confronted fires as temperatures soared in many areas. Along California's border with Nevada, the Beckwourth Complex Fire had grown to around 89,600 acres (140 square miles) as of Monday morning, with about 23% containment, according to the state's fire incident reporting system.



In Arizona, federal authorities on Monday were investigating the crash of a small plane that went down while surveying a wildfire in the northwestern part of the state, killing both crew members.



Authorities said the Beechcraft King Air C-90 aircraft was part of the initial effort to contain the Cedar Basin Fire when it crashed at about noon on July 10 near Wikieup, approximately 139 miles northwest of Phoenix.



The fire has burned 734 acres and is 75 percent contained as of Monday morning, fire officials said.



The crew members were identified as Jeff Piechura, 62, a retired Tucson fire chief, and Matthew Miller, 48, a pilot with Falcon Executive Aviation Inc.



The Department of Interior Office of Aviation Services, in conjunction with the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration, are investigating the accident.


SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO Elon Musk looks on as he visits the construction site of Tesla's gigafactory in Gruenheide, near Berlin, Germany, (Photo : REUTERS/Michele Tantussi/File Photo)

Elon Musk insisted in court on Monday he does not control Tesla Inc and said he did not enjoy being the electric vehicle company's chief executive as he took the stand to defend the company's 2016 acquisition of SolarCity.



The lawsuit by union pension funds and asset managers alleges the celebrity CEO strong-armed Tesla's board into wasting the company's assets to buy SolarCity, which was running out of cash. Musk at the time owned a 22% stake in both Tesla and SolarCity, which was founded by his cousins.



Advertisement

Musk said in his testimony Monday that he's tried "very hard not to be the CEO of Tesla, but I have to or frankly Tesla is going to die."



The shareholders' lawsuit accuses Musk of dominating deal discussions, pushing Tesla to pay more for SolarCity and misleading shareholders about the deteriorating financial health of the solar panel maker.



Kicking off a two-week trial in Wilmington, Delaware, Musk, wearing a dark suit, white shirt and a slightly askew dark tie, refused to agree he controlled board members and disagreed that recordings of interviews depicted him as a boss with unlimited power.



Shareholder attorney Randall Baron asked if the board vetted his two "master plans" for Tesla or his Technoking title, which he gave himself in March.



"It generated a whole bunch of free press and Tesla doesn't advertise and it's helpful to general sales," he said of the unusual title, calling it a joke. "I think I'm funny."



Tesla's master plans outline the company's long-term goal to create affordable vehicles with sustainable power sources.



Central to the case are claims that Musk was a controlling shareholder of Tesla. If he was, it would impose a tougher legal standard and increase the likelihood the deal was unfair to shareholders.



Shareholders have asked the court to order Musk, one of world's richest people, to repay to Tesla what it spent on the deal.



Musk often declined to give the simple yes or no responses sought by Baron. Most of the questioning focused on the Tesla board's control over Musk.



Musk was initially questioned for about an hour by his attorney, Evan Chesler, who asked him to describe his relationship with the board of directors. Musk said: "I'd say good. They work hard and are competent. They provide good advice and are rigorous in acting on behalf of shareholders."



Legal experts said the judge will be looking for evidence that Musk threatened board members or that directors felt they could not stand up to him. Board members and others involved in the 2016 deal will testify beginning as soon as Tuesday.



Baron warned Musk at the start of questioning that "we plan to spend a lot of time with you. It's going to be a grind."



Musk grimaced, poked at the six-inch thick binder exhibit and replied "I can tell by the binder."



Tesla's directors settled allegations from the same lawsuit last year for $60 million, paid by insurance, without admitting fault.


U.S. President Joe Biden walks from Marine One as he returns from Wilmington, Delaware, to the White House in Washington, U.S. (Photo : REUTERS/Joshua Roberts)

President Joe Biden will call efforts to strip the right to vote from some Americans "authoritarian" in a speech on Tuesday, the White House said on Monday.



Biden "will lay out the moral case for why denying the right to vote is a form of suppression and a form of silencing," and discuss steps the administration plans to take to shore up voting rights, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.



Advertisement

Biden's speech in Philadelphia will address the ongoing "onslaught of voter suppression laws based on a dangerous and discredited conspiracy theory that culminated in an assault on our capitol," she said.



Republican governors of Arizona, Florida and Iowa have signed new voting restrictions this year, while state legislatures in Pennsylvania and Texas are trying to advance similar measures that the Biden administration and Democrats say target minority voters.



Biden will also "decry efforts to strip the right to vote as authoritarian and anti-American," Psaki said, adding that the president plans to make the case for passing laws in Congress and building a voter education system to fight "the worst challenge to our democracy since the Civil War."


The TikTok logo is pictured outside the company's U.S. head office in Culver City, California, (Photo : REUTERS/Mike Blake)

Popular short-video app TikTok told its employees on Monday that some will be offered the option to work remotely for up to two days a week after they return to office, according to an internal message seen by Reuters.



TikTok will also give employees the choice to work remotely from a domestic location based on manager approval, according to the message. This policy applies to full-time employees and interns in the United States, the UK and Ireland, with other markets to follow.



Advertisement

The company is currently working fully remote and is yet to set a return-to-office date. TikTok hired "thousands of colleagues" during the pandemic, according to the message.



"There is no substitute for in-person collaboration, and we're excited to eventually re-open our U.S. offices. But it's clear that many of us have adjusted well to working from home, and value the flexibility and balance," one of the messages said.



TikTok operates in countries including the United States, U.K, France, Germany, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan. The United States is one of TikTok's biggest markets, with major hubs in Mountain View, California, Los Angeles, New York and Austin, Texas.



The vast majority of employers believe their employees do not want to return to in-person work as offices reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and most are planning to implement a hybrid model allowing remote work some of the kind, according to a survey that Reuters reported in May.



Apple Inc, Google and Amazon have made similar announcements on moving to a hybrid work week this year.



TikTok is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance and has sought to distance itself from Beijing after the United States raised national security concerns over the safety of the personal data it handles.


The logo of the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies is pictured next to a statue on top of a building in Copenhagen, Denmark, (Photo : REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo)

Chinese telecommunications company Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and U.S. group Verizon Communications agreed to settle a pair of lawsuits alleging patent infringement, the companies both said on Monday.



The confidential settlement came days into a trial that opened in one of the two lawsuits last week. Huawei and Verizon filed joint motions to dismiss both cases and Verizon's counterclaims late on Sunday in two U.S. courts in Texas.



Advertisement

In February 2020, Huawei sued Verizon alleging the company used a dozen Huawei patents without authorization in areas such as computer networking, download security, and video communications, seeking an unspecified amount of compensation and royalty payments.



Verizon said it was "happy with the settlement reached with Huawei involving patent lawsuits. While terms of the settlement are not being disclosed, our team did an outstanding job bringing this protracted matter to a close."



Huawei said in a statement it was "pleased that Verizon and Huawei reached an agreement that ends the companies' patent litigation. The terms of the agreement are confidential."



The company noted it "holds more than 100,000 active patents worldwide, including about 10,000 U.S. patents."



Verizon had last year had filed counterclaims against Huawei, claiming the Chinese company violated Verizon patents.



Huawei said in 2020 it was "simply asking that Verizon respect Huawei's investment in research and development by either paying for the use of our patents, or refraining from using them."



Huawei has been a flashpoint in the U.S.-China relationship for several years. The United States placed the company on an economic blacklist in 2019 over what it said were national security concerns.



In June 2019, Reuters reported that Huawei told Verizon it should pay licensing fees for use of more than 230 Huawei patents and was seeking more than $1 billion.


Representations of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency are seen in this illustration picture taken (Photo : REUTERS/Edgar Su/Illustration/File Photo)

Trading volumes at major cryptocurrency exchanges fell by more than 40% in June, research showed on Monday, with a regulatory crackdown in China and lower volatility among the factors depressing activity.



Spot trading volumes fell 42.7% to $2.7 trillion, with derivative volumes down 40.7% to $3.2 trillion, London-based researcher CryptoCompare's data showed.



Advertisement

"Headwinds continued as China persisted with its crackdown on bitcoin mining," CryptoCompare said. "As a result of both lower prices and volatility, spot volumes decreased."



Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, fell more than 6% last month, touching its lowest since January, as authorities in China tightened restrictions launched a month earlier on bitcoin trading and mining.



It had tumbled 35% in May, with its losses sparked by Beijing's moves to rein in the fast-growing sector. Crypto trading volumes tend to spike during periods of extreme price swings.



Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance, which has faced scrutiny from regulators across the world, retained its position as biggest platform by spot trading volume, CryptoCompare said. Still, volumes at Binance fell 56% in June to $668 billion.


An employee demonstrates a sample of crude oil in the Yarakta Oil Field, owned by Irkutsk Oil Company (INK), in Irkutsk Region, Russia in this picture illustration taken (Photo : REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko/Illustration/File Photo)

Oil slumped on Monday over concerns about spreading COVID-19 variants derailing the global economic recovery that has brought fuel demand to near pre-pandemic levels, while tight crude supplies kept prices from falling lower.



Brent crude for September settled at $75.16 a barrel, losing 39 cents, or 0.5%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for August settled at $74.10 a barrel, down 46 cents, or 0.6%.



Advertisement

Both benchmarks shed about 1% last week, stalling out a rally that had brought both U.S. crude and Brent to levels not seen since October 2018.



Tokyo reimposed pandemic-related restrictions due to concerns over coronavirus infections, less than two weeks before the city hosts the Summer Olympic Games.



"It has raised hackles in the market about demand recovery again," said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital in New York. "Asia is obviously essential. It's a swing demand center, and this is a huge setback."



The spread of new variants and unequal access to vaccines threaten the global economic recovery, finance chiefs of the G20 large economies said over the weekend. The remarks weighed on the oil demand outlook.



"Traders are now refocusing on the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and global concerns over the new variants' expansion," Rystad Energy analyst Louise Dickson said.



The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, a group known as OPEC+, abandoned talks last week that would have raised output, after a dispute between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates about how to extend the pact.



Analysts say the collapse of talks raises the longer term prospect of producers abandoning the deal and pumping at will. That concern fed trader fears last week, leading to a bout of selling that has not quite abated.



"The longer the standoff ... the greater the possibility of some sustained price weakness," said Jim Ritterbusch of Ritterbusch and Associates in Houston. "For now, we still anticipate some movement this week with an OPEC+ plan to disregard 2022 production quotas while focusing on the coming six months in which the UAE demands for less production restraint may be accommodated."



Helping to limit oil price losses, stockpiles in the biggest crude producing nation continued to tighten, with U.S. inventories falling to the lowest since February 2020 in the week to July 2. [EIA/S]


Egypts Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Monday that the European Union may take measures that affirm its dissatisfaction with Ethiopias practices and unilateral moves with regards to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) issue.

Shoukry made the remarks after he met on Monday with EU officials in Brussels, as well as President of the European Council Charles Michel, Secretary-General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg and other diplomats.

Shoukrys visit comes only few days after the UN Security Council held a meeting to discuss the GERD issue.

The UNSC session was requested by Egypt and Sudan, both of whom seek a binding agreement with Ethiopia over the filling and operation of the mega dam, a step Ethiopia has resisted.

The dispute over the dam escalated after Ethiopia announced early in July that it was commencing with the second stage of filling the dams reservoir, despite the two downstream countries rejection of the step without a binding agreement.

In a phone call to Sada El-Balad, Shoukry said he has urged the EU to understand the existential nature of the GERD issue for Egypt and to work on convincing the Ethiopian side of the necessity to show flexibility.

The top Egyptian diplomat said the international community should live up to its responsibilities and send clear messages to the Ethiopian side of the necessity of changing its current approach.

Shoukry said that an EU statement last week criticising Ethiopia for commencing the second filling of the GERD unilaterally displayed much appreciation for the Egyptian-Sudanese stance.

The European Union, as an observer to the GERD negotiations, is ready to intensify cooperation to help resolve the current stalemate, Shoukry said.

The minister also noted that the European Council has the desire to use its available capabilities to support the negotiation path.

There is a willingness for the EUs role in the GERD talks to be transformed from an observer to a mediator, but this will require a decision by the African Union in consultation with the concerned parties, Shoukry noted.

It was a good opportunity, during the meeting with the ministers and the meetings with EU commissioners, to emphasise the justice of the Egyptian stance and the interest of every Egyptian citizen in this issue, Shoukry said.

The minister also noted that he stressed during the meetings that the GERD issue is a central one that must be resolved in order to avoid any kind of escalation or tension.

When asked about the possible future measures that can be taken by Egypt, Shoukry said the country would take the proper measures at the proper time.

The FM stressed that all Egyptian institutions coordinate and take appropriate measures at the proper time, affirming that Egypts policies are always characterised by responsibility and balance.

Shoukry said the state is keen to achieve stability and security and defend the interests of the Egyptian people.

Short link:


Egypt has set Thursday 15 July as the deadline for Egyptians stranded in the UAE to register their data with the Ministry of Emigration and Expatriates Affairs to return home via the Emirati airlines.

Over 1,900 Egyptian workers who were enroute to Saudi Arabia via the United Arab Emirates found themselves stranded in the UAE as the kingdom suspended the entry of non-citizens travelling from Ethiopia, the UAE, Vietnam, and Afghanistan over coronavirus concerns.

The Saudi decision went into effect on 4 July, with no date set for lifting the restrictions, according to the Saudi official press agency.

Minister of Emigration and Expatriates Affairs Nabila Makram said on Monday that Fly Dubai had set July 15 as the deadline for receiving requests from Egyptians stranded in the UAE due to their inability to continue their trip to Saudi Arabia because of new travel restrictions issued by the Saudi authorities.

She added that cooperation is underway with the ministries of tourism and civil aviation, Dubais government, and the three airlines to sort out the problem, commending the commitment of about 38 travel companies to facilitate the return of stranded citizens and relieving them of additional financial burden.

Stranded Egyptians who traveled via UAE airlines should register their trip details, especially the number of their tickets and the name of the airliner on the ministry's link.

Short link:


Related 64 dead in catastrophic hospital fire in Iraq

Egypt extended its condolences to Iraqi's government and people over a fire that erupted at the Imam Hussein Hospital in Dhi Qar province.

The flames erupted at the Imam Hussein Hospital, an isolation hospital for coronavirus patients, on Monday night, leaving 64 people dead and over a 100 wounded.

In a statement Tuesday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry extended condolences to the victims' families, wishing the injured people a speedy recovery.



Short link:


The Ever Given container ship that had blocked the Suez Canal in March left Egyptian waters at 4 a.m. local time following inspections at Port Said, a canal source said on Tuesday.

Ship tracker MarineTraffic showed the Ever Given to be underway in the Mediterranean Sea north of the Egyptian coast.

The ship were idle in the Egyptian waters for nearly four months before a compensation deal reached with the Egyptian Suez Canal Authority (SCA) on Wednesday.

The 400-metre ship, which was refloated on 29 March by a fleet of Egyptian tugboats and diggers, was caught in a legal dispute linked to an initial $916 million compensation claim against the ships Japanese owner.

The SCA had demanded $916 million in compensation to cover salvage efforts, reputational damage, and lost revenue before publicly lowering the request to $550 million.

During the signing ceremony of the deal on Wednesday, Khalid Abu-Bakr, the SCAs lawyer, said that the canal authority was committed to keeping the terms of the agreement confidential.



Short link:


Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Belgian counterpart Sophie Wilmes discussed on Tuesday ways of promoting bilateral cooperation in various fields, foremost of which are combating antiquities smuggling and restoring tourism coming from Belgium.

Shoukry, who is on an official visit to Brussels, commended the interest of Belgian companies in participating in Egyptian development plans, particularly infrastructure and renewable energy projects.

Minister Shoukry reviewed, during the meeting, the continued national efforts aiming to reinforce human rights conditions and the country's success in combating illegal immigration, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Hafez said.

Egypt is hosting nearly 6 million immigrants and refugees, according to Hafez.

Both ministers also tackled a number of regional and international issues of mutual concern, including the developments in the Palestinian cause and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam dispute.

Short link:


In a meeting on Tuesday, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell tackled the latest developments in several issues of mutual concerns, including the Palestinian cause and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) dispute.

Shoukry and Borrell exchanged points of view regarding means of pushing forward peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis, as well as efforts to reconstruct Gaza and support the Palestinian economy.

Egypt mediated a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian factions in May, ending 11 days of military operations in the Gaza Strip that caused devastation in the enclave. Egypt has also allocated $500 million for reconstruction in Gaza.

Cairo seeks to revive the long-frozen peace talks to end the decades-old conflict by reaching a two-state solution and establishing a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital based on 1967 borders.

As for the GERD dispute, Egypt seeks to reach a binding deal over the filling and operation of the dam built by Ethiopia on the Blue Nile, a crucial source of water for Egyptians.

Throughout the decade-long negotiations, Ethiopia  which says the project is important for its development goals  has evaded a legally binding deal and only sought guidelines that could be modified at any time at its discretion.

Tuesday's meeting also dealt with the situation in Libya and efforts aimed at combating illegal immigration, said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Hafez.

During the meeting, Shoukry presented the Egyptian vision for solving these regional issues and restoring stability in order to achieve prosperity in the region, according to Hafez.

Both officials emphasized the importance of pursuing all aspects of cooperation to promote the "strategic" relations between Egypt and the EU in light of the shared challenges at the regional and international levels.

Minister Shoukry, who arrived in Brussels on Sunday on an official visit, has met with several officials over the past two days.

Short link:


Egypts Defense Minister Mohamed Zaki signed on Tuesday a military cooperation protocol with Serbias Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic in Cairo, the Egyptian Armed Forces said.

According to the Egyptian army spokesperson, Zaki and Stefanovic discussed issues of mutual concern, topped by military cooperation and exchange of expertise between the two countries' armies.

Stefanovic and a delegation of Serbian military officials are currently on a visit in Egypt to attend the meetings of the Egyptian-Serbian military cooperation committee in Cairo.

During Tuesdays meeting, the Egyptian defense minister lauded the deeply-rooted relations with Serbia in the military field.



For his part, the Serbian minister lauded the pivotal role played by Egypt at the regional and international levels and its efforts to maintain regional security and stability.



The meeting was attended by Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces Mohamed Farid.

Short link:


Egypt's Health Minister Hala Zayed has thanked Slovenia for donating to Egypt 250,000 doses of Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine through COVAX, the health ministry said.

Zayed met Slovenias ambassador in Cairo Mateja Prevolsek at the health ministry on Tuesday, and they discussed ways to boost medical and health cooperation between Egypt and Slovenia, the ministry said in a statement.

Slovenia announced that it would donate 250,000 doses of AstraZeneca to Egypt along with 500,000 euros to the global COVAX initiative.

The Slovenian government said the donation to Egypt is part of tripartite agreement between Slovenia, Egypt and AstraZeneca.

Slovenian News website reported the decision was in the best interest of Slovenia because it was better to have as many people vaccinated as possible outside the country to reach higher collective immunity, especially in countries where Slovenians travel to a lot as tourists or on business, such as Egypt.

According to statements by health officials, more than 3 million people have been vaccinated in Egypt.

Short link:


High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell has expressed concern over the situation regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), state-owned MENA news agency reported.Borrell made the comment during a meeting Tuesday with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to discuss a range of issues in the context of the partnership between the EU and Egypt, a statement by the European External Action Service (EEAS) said.Borrell and Shoukry discussed the importance of the Nile waters for downstream countries, including Egypt.The EU high representative stressed that efforts led by the African Union (AU) to solve the GERD dispute have the support of the EU and need to be intensified to reach a solution agreeable to all parties.He also reiterated the EUs regret over Ethiopias announcement about the start of the second filling of the GERD without reaching a prior agreement with downstream partners on this issue.

The top Egyptian diplomat has been in Brussels since Sunday to hand over a message from President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to the President of the European Council Charles Michel.

In statements to Cairo-based Extra News on Saturday, Shoukry stated that Egypt was seeking to involve the EU in future negotiations over GERDs filling and operation policies along with the UN and the US under the auspices of the African Union.

Last week the EU said "a jointly agreed clear roadmap is urgently needed for GERD, and called for setting out the timeframe and specific aims of the negotiations for talks to resume as soon as possible. It criticized at the same time Ethiopia for commencing the second filling of GERD without reaching an agreement.

The EU also called upon the three parties to resume negotiations under the auspices of the African Union.

Middle East Peace Process and Libya

Borrell also expressed appreciation for Egypts important role in the Middle East Peace Process, particularly in reaching a ceasefire ending recent hostilities and towards the joint objective of a two-state solution.



He said that the EU will work closely with Egypt and other international partners to restart the political process to bring about lasting and sustainable solutions.

Borrell and Shoukry also agreed in their talks on the shared interest of Egypt and the EU in a stable and united Libya and the importance of supporting the Government of National Unity and UN efforts in making progress on the different political, security and economic tracks.

This includes the withdrawal of all foreign forces and mercenaries from the country and the need to respect the roadmap for the organization of the parliamentary and presidential elections on 24 December 2021.



The discussion further centered on cooperation between the EU and Egypt on immigration-related issues, including the shared objectives of preventing irregular immigration and ensuring the protection of asylum seekers and refugees as well as the promotion of legal channels of migration and mobility.

Short link:


Austrias Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said on Tuesday that no one should play with fire in the current stage of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) dispute.

In statements to Egyptian talk show On my responsibility" on Sada El-Balad TV channel, Schallenberg said that the River Nile is a matter of existence and it is not owned by a specific country.

There are international laws that regulate those issues [of trans-boundary rivers] and no country can control alone the matter, he added.

Schallenberg stated that the European Union was extremely concerned over Ethiopia's unilateral actions.

The top Austrian diplomat revealed that he spoke with Ethiopian officials recounting to them the Danube River and its history as an example on how to resolve the conflicts and disputes over trans-boundary rivers.

He also suggested that the upstream country should send its experts to study the Danube Rivers history so they can benefit from that.

The Danube River runs through ten countries, the largest number in the world, while the Nile comes second with nine countries.

The Egyptian foreign minister has been in Brussels since Sunday to hand over a message from President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to President of the European Council Charles Michel.

In statements to Cairo-based Extra News on Saturday, Shoukry stated that Egypt was seeking to involve the EU in future negotiations over GERDs filling and operation policies along with the UN and the US under the auspices of the African Union.

Last week, the EU said "a jointly agreed clear roadmap is urgently needed for GERD, and called for setting out the timeframe and specific aims of the negotiations for talks to resume as soon as possible. It also criticized Ethiopia for commencing the second filling of GERD without reaching an agreement.

The EU also called upon the three parties to resume negotiations under the auspices of the African Union.

Short link:


Tigrayan forces claimed Tuesday to have launched a new offensive in the conflict-torn northern region of Ethiopia, two weeks after the federal government declared a unilateral ceasefire in the face of rebel advances.

A spokesman for the Tigrayan forces told AFP they had seized Alamata, the main town in southern Tigray, after launching the offensive on Monday.

Getachew Reda said fighting was also taking place in western Tigray.

The claims could not be independently confirmed because communications were largely down in the area, while an Ethiopian military spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Tigray Defence Forces last month swept across large parts of Tigray and seized the regional capital Mekele after eight months of brutal conflict with federal troops.

The fighting -- marked by grisly massacres and widespread sexual violence -- has killed thousands of people, while the United Nations says hundreds of thousands are on the brink of famine.

Security forces and officials from the neighbouring Amhara region had moved in to both the southern and western areas of Tigray in November in support of the Ethiopian army, after Tigrayan forces cleared out during the early phase of the war.

'In hot pursuit'

"We promised to liberate every square inch of Tigray," Getachew said.

"Yesterday (Monday) we launched an offensive in (the southern region of) Raya and were able to absolutely rout federal defence forces and Amhara special forces divisions," he said.

"We have been able to secure most of southern Tigray including Korem and Alamata (the main town in the area)".

Getachew said TDF fighters were still "in hot pursuit" of pro-government fighters, adding: "We don't want to give them a chance to regroup."

The offensive was launched just two days after election results showed Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had won a landslide in a June election that went ahead despite the Tigray conflict that has battered his global reputation.

The TDF had described its seizure of Mekele and most of Tigray as a major victory and branded the government's unilateral ceasefire a "joke."

Rebel leaders later said they accepted the ceasefire "in principle" but posed strict conditions including the withdrawal from the region of Eritrean and Amhara forces.

Abiy and other officials have countered that federal forces executed a strategic pullback to focus on other threats.

Abiy -- who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for his efforts of rapprochement with neighbouring Eritrea -- sent the army into Tigray last November to oust the region's once-dominant ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

Abiy had accused them of orchestrating attacks on Ethiopian military bases in Tigray, an important economic and industrial region in the Horn of Africa nation.

Short link:


Clashes erupted Tuesday between rival forces in a refugee camp in Ethiopia's war-hit Tigray region, humanitarian sources told AFP, citing witnesses.

Fighting broke out in the Mai Aini camp housing Eritrean refugees between Tigrayan forces and Ethiopian soldiers and their allies in the Amharan special forces, the sources said.

There was no immediate word on casualties from the clashes, which come after Tigrayan forces announced a new offensive in south and west Tigray.

Short link:


As Lebanon's economy tanks, foreign envoys are resorting to increasingly undiplomatic language to make clear their exasperation with politicians who demand bailout cash without delivering basic reforms in return.

Donors have conditioned any financial aid to the Mediterranean country on the establishment of a new government to enact urgently needed reforms that would tackle endemic graft.

But while Lebanese citizens slide further into poverty, politicians remain unable to agree on a new government line-up, nearly a year on from a deadly port explosion that forced the last one to resign.

"There's great frustration with the Lebanese political class, because it's incapable of placing the common good above its personal interests," a French diplomatic source said.

As political parties squabble over ministerial portfolios, the Lebanese pound has plunged, lately trading on the black market at less than a tenth of its official value.

Bread has become more expensive and petrol scarce, while at home and work Lebanese swelter during increasingly long power cuts.

Supplies of some drugs have run low and the cash-strapped state can barely buy enough fuel to keep the nation's power on, respectively leaving charities and private backup generators struggling to fill the gap.

The French diplomatic source said the international community was ready to help Lebanon.

But "sadly we can't because, opposite us, we have no one to talk to, or we do but they don't have the means -- or the willingness -- to act".

The last government, painstakingly cobbled together, had barely got off the ground before the explosion at Beirut port on August 4, when hundreds of tonnes of ill-stored ammonium nitrate fertiliser ignited, killing more than 200 people.

'Help yourself'

Foreign donors have over the past year pledged millions of dollars in humanitarian aid to the Lebanese people, including at two conferences organised by former colonial power France.

But, said the French source, "we're not going to provide the Lebanese state with a blank cheque".

A high-ranking UN official said a third donor conference this month would be the chance to sound the alarm over the "humanitarian consequences" of the political paralysis.

"Lebanon -- which has a GDP higher than most poor countries -- is facing food insecurity, malnutrition and issues of access to basic services," the official said.

But "humanitarian aid cannot be a sustainable solution," the official noted, adding that the international community will not "take over the state's... role".

An Arab diplomat in Beirut said Lebanese decision-makers did not appear to have a plan of their own, hoping instead that the international community would help, without them "making any concession, any change" in return.

"The international community has long been repeating the same thing: Help yourself so that we can help you."

In Lebanon, more than half the population now lives below the official global poverty line.

Beirut's diplomats have seen living conditions deteriorate first hand.

"Electric power supply is down at my residence since early morning," the Japanese ambassador Takeshi Okubo tweeted Friday.

Canada's envoy, Chantal Chastenay, earlier this month tweeted a photo as she edged bumper-to-bumper in a gas station queue, "waiting in line patiently like everyone".

Local media then asked lawmakers and ministers how they filled their tanks.

"The guys" took care of it, they said, referring to their drivers and bodyguards.

'Something rotten'

In a meeting with ambassadors last week, outgoing prime minister Hassan Diab urged donors to drop their pre-condition that a government be formed ahead of releasing funds.

He said money was needed now to "save" the country, and tried to blame the crisis on a foreign "siege".

The French ambassador, Anne Grillo, said on Lebanese state television that the country's collapse was instead "the deliberate result of years of mismanagement and inaction" by the country's political class.

The broadcast was then suddenly interrupted.

Alongside her US counterpart Dorothy Shea, Grillo last week headed to Saudi Arabia, to discuss with Riyadh how to press for the creation of a Lebanese "government that is committed to and able to implement reforms".

Saudi Arabia has major influence over Lebanon's Sunni politicians, while Riyadh's regional rival Iran backs powerful Shiite group Hezbollah -- a cleavage that has long complicated governance in Beirut.

The two ambassadors said "concrete actions by Lebanon's leaders to address decades of mismanagement and corruption" would be crucial to unlocking donor money.

Days earlier, and with the one-year anniversary of the Beirut port explosion fast approaching, the outgoing British charge d'affaires wrote a farewell note decrying "something rotten at the heart of Lebanon".

"The failure so far to hold anyone accountable... is just the most dramatic example of the impunity and irresponsibility that characterises too much of Lebanese life," Martin Longden said.

Short link:


Iran confirmed Tuesday ongoing "negotiations" with the United States over a potential prisoner swap, after a US official said Washington is working to release its detained citizens.

The US envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, said on Saturday that President Joe Biden insists on the release of all Americans and will not accept a "partial deal".

Malley called the release of Americans detained in the Islamic republic a "priority" and said that negotiations with Iran have "made some progress," NBC News reported.

Asked about Malley's remarks, Iran's government spokesman Ali Rabiei confirmed the talks and said Tehran calls for the release of all Iranian prisoners, not just those held in the US.

Iran "is ready to swap all political prisoners in exchange for freeing all Iranian prisoners across the world," he told reporters at a televised press conference.

They include those "who have been detained upon US orders" or at Washington's request, he added, saying that "the negotiations on this issue are ongoing".

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said Monday that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had "put forth a plan to swap all Iranian and American prisoners", state news agency IRNA reported.

"Biden's administration also considered this issue from the first day" in office, he added.

The remarks came as Iran has engaged in talks with world powers in Vienna on reviving its 2015 nuclear deal.

The agreement, which limited Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for international sanctions relief, has been on life support since former US president Donald Trump withdrew from it in 2018 and reimposed sanctions.

Arrests of foreigners in Iran -- especially dual nationals who are often accused of espionage -- have increased since then.

Tehran and Washington have held indirect negotiations in the Austrian capital since early April.

The two countries in May denied having concluded a prisoner exchange deal, following reports that an agreement was made on the sidelines of the Vienna talks to release four prisoners from each side.

Iran and the US have had no diplomatic relations since 1980, and tensions between them worsened during Trump's tenure.

But they have released each others' citizens in the past, most recently in June 2020, when the US freed Iranian scientist Majid Teheri as Tehran set free US Navy veteran Michael White.

The most prominent exchange between them came in 2016, months after the nuclear deal was clinched, with four Americans released in exchange for seven Iranians.

Short link:


Thousands of Palestinians marched through Ramallah Tuesday to bury rights activist Suha Jarrar, 31, as Israel refused to release her mother, lawmaker Khalida Jarrar, from prison for the funeral.

"We are all your daughters, oh Jarrar," the crowd chanted.

Khalida Jarrar, 58, has been arrested and jailed many times and often held without charge in what Israelis call administrative detention.

Palestinians and human rights organisations had pressed in vain for her release for her daughter's burial.

Suha Jarrar was found dead in her Ramallah home on Sunday, according to the advocacy group Al-Haq where she worked.

Al-Haq director Shawan Jabarin told AFP the cause of death was not known and the family was waiting for autopsy results.

A statement from the group said Suha Jarrar would remain "a role model in her strength, patience, generosity and defiance in the face of extreme injustice and adversity of Israel's prolonged military occupation and apartheid".

Khalida Jarrar was sentenced to two years in prison in March 2021 for belonging to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which Israel and the United States label a "terrorist" organisation.

She had been detained without charge since 2019, and her sentence included time served.

Jarrar was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council, or parliament, as part of the PFLP, but the Israeli occupation military did not find evidence she had taken part in violent acts.

On Monday, Palestinian demonstrators threw rocks and shook the yellow gates of Ofer military prison north of Jerusalem, where many Palestinians are held. Israeli occupation forces responded with tear gas.

Activist Abdullah Abu Rahma told AFP he attended the protest "to express our solidarity with Khalida Jarrar", put pressure on Israel and "for our voices to reach the human rights and international institutions to stop this arbitrary arrest".

At Al-Haq, Suha Jarrar specialised in environmental and gender issues, including briefing the United Nations on Palestinian access to water under Israeli occupation.

She studied in Canada and earned her Master's in climate change science and policy in Britain.

Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director for Human Rights Watch, blasted Israel's decision not to release Khalida Jarrar for her daughter's burial.

"Having repeatedly detained Khalida in violation of her rights, Israeli authorities should at minimum allow her to say goodbye to her daughter," Shakir wrote in a statement.

Short link:


An explosion Tuesday in the Afghan capital Kabul killed four civilians and wounded five others, police said.

The rush hour blast occurred "in the centre of Kabul", police spokesman Ferdaws Faramurz told reporters.

Short link:


France calls on all its citizens in Afghanistan to leave over security concerns: Embassy

"The government will set up a special flight on the morning of July 17th, departing from Kabul, in order to allow the return to France of the entire French community," the embassy said in a statement
Malta reversed plans to introduce a ban on unvaccinated travellers just hours before it was due to come into effect Wednesday, with those without coronavirus jabs able now to quarantine.

"Persons who arrive to Malta from any of the countries listed... without being in possession of a vaccination certificate shall be required to submit themselves to a period of quarantine," the government said in a legal note issued late Tuesday.

The length of the quarantine period was not immediately clear, although Malta had already imposed a requirement for those arriving from certain "red" countries to spend 14 days in self-isolation.

The Mediterranean island nation last week said it would become the first European country to impose a ban on unvaccinated travellers after a spike in Covid-19 cases.

But that announcement drew criticism from the European Commission, as it risked undermining an EU-wide travel certificate that shows whether someone is vaccinated, has recovered from coronavirus or has recently tested negative.

Health minister Chris Fearne had appeared to shut the door completely on US tourists and others, saying last Friday that only a Maltese, British or European vaccination certificate would be valid for entry.

However many more countries are included in the new legal notice, which comes into effect on Wednesday, including most of the United States, Japan and others.

Unvaccinated Malta residents who found themselves outside the country when the rules changed can show a negative PCR test, as long as the country involved is on the approved list.

Short link:


The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has announced a package of procedures that aim at easing banking operations in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak.

On Sunday, the CBE instructed domestic banks to raise daily transaction limits on credit cards, besides cancelling fees and commissions applied at points of sale and on withdrawals from ATMs for six months.

The CBE announced that these actions come as a part of a number of procedures the CBE has adopted to cope with the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus and its likely consequences.

In a statement, the CBE said the procedures are in line with the states orientation in response to Coronavirus, to give reassurance on the stability of the Egyptian banking sector, and to support the national economy in this phase.

The procedures also include keeping bank deposits locally in branches as reserves as well as urging clients to use credit and debt cards instead of cash.

The CBE added that is following all updates on the domestic and global levels regarding Coronavirus, committing to take all necessary actions to preserve banking and monetary stability.

Short link:


By :Dr.Mohamed Sobhi El Said Othman

The Vision

The dream of establishing a gigantic industrial medicinal hub has been always a desire that the Egyptian state sought after for a while ago, as the Egyptian state commenced on founding & building the basis for such concept seven years ago, of a hub that is to be built on the foundations of quality and efficient management, until we have reached the time eventually for the execution of this concept, it is a decision that is consistent and parallel with too many unprecedented efforts exerted towards the different sectors for the time being at Egypt, that befits both its great heritage and people.

President. Abdelfattah Al-Sisi has made the decision for establishing this venture, and the work took place in the past three years, until the first phase of the medicinal city was opened on the 1st of April 2021, a launch that was attended by Mr. President himself and other senior statesmen, imposing an unmistakable sign emphasizing the importance of this national project, that the state have sought after for long ago as in order to possess modern technological and industrial capabilities in such vital field.

The city of medicine also known as (GYPTO Pharma) is a specialized hub in manufacturing various medicines and vaccines, occupying an area of a total one hundred and eighty thousand square meters in Khankah, Qalyubiyah north of Cairo, thus making it is the largest pharmaceutical hub in Egypt & MENA.

The Egyptian states vision was to establish a national pharmaceutical entity that operates per the global standards towards achieving various strategic aims including:

First aim: Enabling the Egyptian citizen to access safe and efficient medicine, that is compliant with different international standards & good manufacturing practices (GMP) with an affordable price.

Second aim: Achieving sufficiency of supply and therefore enhancing the states strategic pharmaceutical safety, and preventing the monopolistic practices.

Third aim: Establishing a regional and an international hub for the pharmaceutical industry, therefore attracting the mega pharmaceutical companies to invest further in Egypt, especially in the strategic & essential medicinal products.

Fourth aim: Bolstering Egypts investments in this sector, and unlocking huge potentials as for the exports, therefore supporting the Egyptian the economy and reducing the pharmaceutical imports.

Fifth aim: Keeping up with the worlds technological pace in the pharmaceutical sector, mainly in the specialized strategic & essential products.

Sixth aim: Spreading the proper pharmaceutical awareness across the Egyptians, and therefore curbing the misuse of medicines.

Seventh aim: Turning focus into the manufacturing of critical forms of medicines, aimed to counter such widespread chronic diseases in Egypt for ex. (Blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, kidney diseases, brain diseases, nerves, antibiotic and hormones), not to mention that GYPTO Pharma would enable Egypt as well to enroll in the field of developing and producing vaccines.

Eighth aim: Allowing Egypt to foster new pharmaceutical industries, such as the raw materials, and to expand into the manufacturing of oncological drugs, as these are the two main mandates issued by Mr. President to those in charge of implementing this project since its inception.

The recent pandemic crisis of COVID-19 has proven that the countries that recover from it firstly are the ones with the first and foremost scientific progress in research and manufacturing, especially in the fields of vaccines, and perhaps this confirms that the vision in establishing the medicine city was insightful and timely.

The execution of the GYPTO PHARMA takes place in two phases:The first phase : Consisting of two parts, with a total size of one hundred and twenty thousand square meters:-

Part 1 : Includes non-sterile medicines of a solid and non-solid forms, as well as liquid forms with a total number of ten production lines spread across thirty three thousand square meters of land.

Part 2 : Includes the sterile production halls, consisting of five production lines, fully equipped with the most advanced tech in co-operation with big pharmaceutical companies in Europe, USA and South Korea, the first stage is also inclusive to a seven thousand square meters of warehouses with an overall height of fifteen meters built as per the highest standards, as well as five administrative buildings.

the second phase : Occupies sixty thousand square meters, dedicated for the production of the oncological medicinal forms, hormones and antibiotics.

It is projected that the medicine city would consist of a total number of one hundred and sixty production lines, producing the various pharmaceutical forms of medicine, these lines have a projected production capability of one hundred and fifty million packages annually.

In addition to the fact, that a ten thousand square meters of land were designated to build an electricity supply station with a total capacity of fifty mega volt amber, meeting the citys entire demand of energy demand.

The Plan & Governance

The Egyptian pharmaceutical sector currently includes an overall one hundred and fifty three factories with seven hundred different production lines, marking a total number of seventeen thousand registered products, yet six thousands and three hundred of them are the ones that are actively traded in the market, this represents eighty eight percent of the Egyptian markets demand for medicine.

And still twelve percent of the domestic markets drug needs are still imported since they are highly specialized and more complex, such as cancer drugs.

Narrowing this gap is a strategic goal of the Egyptian state, and the existence of such gap has undoubtedly prompted the states efforts to consider establishing a city of medicine.

As the objective of this gigantic city is to produce the essential, strategic and most complex medicines, the city certainly applies what is known as the good manufacturing practices (GMPs), enabling it to apply the highest quality standards while managing to provide an electronic governance system within the city, yet capitalizing on the human resource as in order to raise a professional, trained worker who is capable of functioning with and adapting with such a fully automated work environment

Noting the citys facilities are equipped with the most advanced machinery and tech that could sort out any type of medical forms ( for instance tablets) that do not comply with the physical required specifications as in terms of weight, color or any other specification automatically, the machinery therefore are time efficient as it cleans itself in an automated manner, instead of the exhausting manual procedure of cleaning.

We could then assume that all the pharmaceutical forms with the varying degree of importance from basic to strategic are manufactured per the highest quality standards in the city of medicine (GYPTO Pharma).

There is no doubt that the citys most crucial and prominent aim is to penetrate into the industry of the raw materials manufacturing, thus taking the pharmaceutical industry in Egypt & the region to a whole new point where it was long overdue.

Such desired co-operation and co-ordination between the city of medicine and the Egyptian pharmaceutical authority and the newly established unified purchase authority will always be in the interest of Egyptian citizens, as such collaboration will certainly narrow and encounter any gap of a qualitive or storage nature regarding the essential products that Egyptian drug security relies upon.

Not only that, but the city aims to export twenty five percent to thirty percent of its production in a phased manner, which will enhance Egypts exports of medicine both in quantity and quality, as the pharmaceutical exports accounts to just two hundred and fifty million dollars per annum, and therefore the citys facilities are seeking to attain the European credit certificates as in order to penetrate new markets and bring more exports potential for the citys products, the upcoming days will bring positive news regarding the launch of the citys medicative products to the market, following the completion of the stability tests, as each product that is approved for release from the authority of medicine will be offered at an affordable price for Egyptians citizens.

Day by day, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisis directives will be met to increase the minimum strategic stock of medicines and medical supplies to at least six months, reaching the goal of securing a two to three year stockpile, and here we could say that the health crisis that the world has witnessed in the past two years due to coronavirus pandemic has forced the countries of the world to launch and develop themselves rapidly across three directions:-



First direction: The pharmaceutical industry.



Second Direction: Enhancing the logistics of the health sector through the implementation of strategic warehousing projects for medicines, medical supplies and devices.



Third direction: Achieving self-sufficiency of vital and essential products.



And undoubtedly the medicine city project and the fruitful cooperation with the medicine authority and the unified purchasing authority are pushing the Egyptian states momentum to complete the movement on these previous axes.

Moving towards export

Since many years and the state has been launching projects and initiatives related to the medical & health sector in Egypt, including but not limited to the likes of the comprehensive health insurance for instance, and the following integration and application of the project on five governorates in its first phase, in addition to the Dignified Life initiative which includes the establishment of various health units, medical centers and hospitals in the Egyptian countryside to provide the highest standards of medical service to more than fifty eight million Egyptians, also the 100 millions health project, and as a continuation of these initiatives and projects, the state is currently completing another critical aspect of the project, which is the industrial aspect and one of the dazzling and promising examples is the Medicine City project, of which has been discussed in detail previously, and as we mentioned that it is projected to export thirty percent of the citys production upon completion.

Then what is the trade volume of the medicine industry both internally and externally?



The total trade volume of the internal market of medicine in Egypt is about hundred and twenty five billion pounds, of which ninety billions are through the private sector and thirty five billions are through government tenders.



As for the export, its volume does not exceed two hundred and fifty million dollars per year, of which is undoubtedly not proportionate with the pharmaceutical industry in Egypt, and for many reasons, including:

Discouraging pricing policies as the local pricing policy is the referential for the export price.

The constant increase in the domestic demand for many essential drugs, and therefore constraining some of the export opportunities, especially for the essential drugs.

Once again reiterating that the decision to establish the city of medicine is a great boost to the Egyptian drug market is a must here, not only to narrow the shortage gap in the list of essential drugs for the local market, but also to penetrate & unlock a wider field for exporting the citys production upon fulfilling the domestic demand needs.

The value of the global pharmaceutical industry in the year 2020 reached 1.43 trillion dollars, of which about 150 billion dollars are spent on research and development in order to keep pace with the increasing global demand for medicine

A quick look at the top ten drug manufacturers in the world, one could find that some of these companies have budgets nearly the size of some countries budgets and with gigantic annual business numbers.

And here is a list of the top ten drug manufacturers in term of their sales in 2020:

Listed Companies Country of Origin Total Revenue (USD Billions) 1 F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG Swiss 53 2 Pfizer Inc. USA 49.7 3 Johnson & Johnson USA 42.2 4 Merck & Co. USA 41.8 5 Novartis International AG Swiss 37.7 6 AbbVie USA 33.3 7 The Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. Japan 31.3 8 Bristol Myers Squibb USA 26.1 9 Sanofi S.A. France 25.7 10 Amgen Inc. USA 23.4

The volume of global pharmaceutical exports in 2018 amounted to about $371 billion, and these exports increase annually by an average of 5.8%.

Europe accounts for about 79.7% of the value of these exports globally, followed by Asia with about 10.7%, while North America contributes about 8.1% of the value of these exports, and the exports of the rest of the world of medicine represent only small percentages such as:

Latin America 0.7%

Australia 0.5%

Africa 0.2%

Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of drugs and medicines during 2018:

Listed Companies Country of Origin Total Revenue (USD Billions) 1 F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG Swiss 53 2 Pfizer Inc. USA 49.7 3 Johnson & Johnson USA 42.2 4 Merck & Co. USA 41.8 5 Novartis International AG Swiss 37.7 6 AbbVie USA 33.3 7 The Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. Japan 31.3 8 Bristol Myers Squibb USA 26.1 9 Sanofi S.A. France 25.7 10 Amgen Inc. USA 23.4



A great effort to open new markets, develop the current markets of Egyptian medicine and review some policies that may limit the launch of export figures to a level worthy of the Egyptian pharmaceutical industry is accordingly in orderEgypt is ranked the 50th in the list of the countries with exporting volume of 250 million dollars which is far below the ambitions of many of the drug industrys pioneers and those of Egyptian statesmen and those associated to that sector. Hence, a strong focus should be placed on the development of the size of this sector and its exports, especially with the praised endorsement of consumers and importers of Egyptian medicine in the external markets in terms of quality and effectiveness.

There is no doubt that the presence of giant projects such as the city of medicine pushes towards the aforementioned and we are still waiting to start and expand the manufacturing of pharmaceutical materials in the city of medicine to boost the probabilities of Egyptian medicine in competition both internally and externally.

We are confident that we will soon see a marked surge in Egyptian drug exports as well as unprecedented successes in ensuring Egyptian drug security and the availability of essential medicines for Egyptian citizens.

Finally, a special tribute to President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and to the Egyptian statesmen for bringing this gigantic and leading project to reality

About The Author:

One of the leading experts in developing and marketing of cosmoceuticals and supplements, Founder of MACRO Group Pharmaceuticals, Octipharma UAE and CIRA Pharma group Egypt All specialized in producing and promoting pharmaceuticals, cosmoceuticals and food supplements.

Dr.Sobhi has contributed in the huge enrichment and development of the industry specially in the field of cosmeceuticals

Currently he is moving on to the next chapter by founding CIRA Pharma group with its administrative office opened for business in Nasr city  Cairo along with the CIRA factory in Badr city  Cairo expected to open for business by 2021 which is being founded with the highest Quality Standards for the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals.

Blog :https://mohamedsobhi.com/

Linkedin :https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohamed-sobhi-753552211/

Twitter :https://twitter.com/MohamedSobhiOt1?s=08

Mail :[email protected]

Facebook :https://www.facebook.com/cirapharma/?ti=as

Instagram :https://www.instagram.com/cirapharma/?igshid=qc9xu21cy8x7

Short link:


In the heart of Cairos oldest market place, lies the workshop that has adorned the holy Kaba with its hand woven stitches for decades. Elegant calligraphy serma tableaus covers the entrance and walls of the small workshop. Shawqi Al-Qasabgi, reads the old sign that summarises about 100 years of hand weaving the Kiswa (Holy Kabas cover).

Last Friday, the To The Workshop Initiative resumed its local tours that uncovers gems and human treasures in Egypt. Founded by specialist in intangible heritage Mostapha Kamel in 2015, the initiative aims to document and safeguard handicrafts in Egypt, as well as introducing such rich elements of intangible heritage to new generations. After being on hold for a long while due to COVID 19, the initiative restarted its activities by visiting the old workshop during the Hajj season.

Al-Qasab hand weaving style

I am the grandson of Othman Abdel Hamid, who was the head of Dar Al-Kiswa in Egypt (1923-1926) and we are honoured to say that for three successive years, we were the ones to hand weave it, explained Ahmed Shawqi Al-Qasabgy to Ahram Online.

Being among the masters of the trade, Ahmed Al-Qasabgys family name is related to the hand weaving of Qasab string, which is a very tough string made of 22 threads. The Qasab weaving is a very famous Egyptian embroidery that has adorned the holy Shrine for centuries. With its shades of bright yellow and white, the Egyptian hand made calligraphy of Quran verses gracefully crowned the four corners of the Kiswa.

The makers of Kiswa were ten of Egypts finest embroiderers. They would spend one year making it. Sitting in two groups of five opposite to each other, they used to perform ablution, then rinse their hands with rose water. They would recite the Fatha and start off using the Qasab string, which was made of silver, plated with gold. They would cover their fingers with leather to avoid pricking them with the needle, remembered Al-Qasabgy.

Al-Qasab style, also known as serma, was not limited to Kiswa making. It decorated the front area of the royal Khedive and kings jackets with their golden colours. My grandfather was also in-charge of hand weaving military badges and that of the Egyptian king. We would hand weave the royal suits of the king with the crest and sashes, Al-Qasabgy explained.

The Kiswa stopped being made in Egypt during the Nasser era, for political reasons. And after the assassination attempt on the late-President Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian government stopped ordering handmade military badges, added Al-Qasabgy. Since then the family business expanded the scope of the art of Qasab to include canvas, clothes, curtains, fabric for upholstery, and even wedding dresses.

In this workshop we hand wove the 11 meter long wedding veil of Princess Diana, he told Ahram Online. And we also decorated the crib of Princess Alia, the military uniform of Sadat (late Egyptian president), Sudanese, Kuwaiti and Yemeni military uniforms to name but a few. Al-Qasabgy added.

From Cairo to Mecca with love

Kiswa has been made in Egypt for centuries. According to the book titled Kiswa of Kaba and The Arts of Hajj, by Ibrahim Helmy, the first account of Kiswa was documented in the year 159 Hejra in the book titled Akhbar Macca (Mecca News), where the author Al-Fakehi stated that the he had seen the Kiswa made of Al-Kabati fabric of Egypt. That Kiswa had been made in Egypt since the time of Prophet Mohamed until the end of the Fatimid reign.

The fabric of Kiswa itself was made of pure silk, black in colour with same colour prints of religious quotes such as: Ya Hannan Ya Mannan (O you the source of kindness and that who provides for us), Subhan Allah wa behamdihi, sub7an allah al azim, Al Hafiz, Subhan Allah Al Azim (Praise Allah the great), La Ilah Ella Allah Muhamed Rasoul Allah (There is no god but Allah, and Muhammed is the Prophet of Allah) then the name god. Such quotes are scattered along the fabric, Al-Qasaby explains.

The annual ceremony of sending the Kiswa to Mecca was a grand procession, with khayamia decorated camels, members of sufi orders and the Walli himself in the lead until they bid them farewell at the Bab Al-Wadaa (The Gate of Farewell). In addition, Egypt also has a long tradition of artistic hajj rituals that includes, hajj songs and hajj graffiti.

All the colours of Kiswa

Though black in colour for decades, the Kiswa was not always black, noted Al-Qasaby. During the Mamluk era, till the Othman era, the Kiswa was dark red, white, yellow and green. After the arrival of a new Kiswa, the old one is usually kept inside the Kaba. Saudi Arabia used to hand out pieces of the old Kiswa as royal gifts for high profile people.

Even the key to the door to kaba is kept in a handmade cover.

Written by Helmy

The embroidery of calligraphy is no easy task. It required experienced artistic hands of calligraphers who would draw the design in Tholous Tarkeeb Arabic style, which is usually used in Kiswa embroidery, noted Al-Qasaby.

Among the oldest Egyptian calligraphers of Kiswa was Abdalla beih Zohny and Hajj Refaie (around 1340 hijra) as well as Saudi calligraphers Helmy (1365 hijri) and Salem Bagnid (1430 hijri). Helmy used to sign his works with the phrase : Written By Helmy, he noted.

Short link:


South Koreas ambassador to Egypt endeavors to reinforce public diplomacy activities through music hoping that his efforts contribute to bringing people of Egypt and Korea together.

Hong Jin-Wook announced that the Korean Embassy produced a video clip titled "Love for Egypt: Saxophone by the Korean Ambassador - 3Daqat and National Anthem of Egypt".

The song comes as part of the embassys continued public diplomacy activities, the diplomat said.

Ambassador Hong said that he was more than delighted to humbly share what he had practiced for the past one year since his appointment as the Korean Ambassador to Egypt in June last year to express his love for Egypt through music.

The ambassador added that the popular Egyptian song 3Daqat (three beats), which was also covered by the Korean boy group B.I.G., is quite well known to the Korean people.

He further said that as the old Egyptian proverb "He who understands music understands the cosmos" goes, he hopes that his efforts will contribute to bringing the two countries' peoples together so that they can better understand their beloved friends in the other side of the globe.

Short link:


What is the role of UNODC in combating terrorism in the Middle East and the Gulf?

As the custodian of international norms and standards on crime prevention, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) works on a wide range of issues to help member states at large and particularly those in areas like the Middle East and the Gulf to improve their legal, regulatory, and institutional frameworks to prevent crime.

Terrorism prevention is also high on the priority list of the UNODC. We start by helping member states to develop and enhance existing legal and regulatory frameworks to comply with resolutions coming out of the UN Security Council in addition to the relevant treaties and conventions covering terrorism and its financing.

Thus, we work with countries to ensure that their domestic legal system recognise the major offences of terrorism and embed all the needed legal instruments to detect, prevent, and stop terrorism at the national, regional, and international levels. The second level we work on is helping countries to establish an appropriate, and to enhance the existing, institutional framework in their main law-enforcement and criminal justice bodies such as the police, the security services, the prosecution service, and the judiciary to ensure the active and effective detection, investigation, interrogation, and prosecution of terrorism cases in their jurisdictions.

The third level is building countries capacities to prevent the violent extremism and fundamentalism that leads to terrorist acts. In addition, we help countries put together methods to enhance public awareness with regards to terrorism.

Helping member states to build the needed national, regional, and international partnerships to help them face the threats of terrorism is particularly important. For example, on the national level, we support the establishment of national commissions and committees including all stakeholders, starting with the government and civil society such as NGOs, because terrorism prevention is a very complex exercise that needs the collaboration of the whole of society.

This is the reason why we also work with all national committees on countering terrorism in most member states, of course the Middle East and the Gulf included.

In light of the expansion of the use of social media and communication platforms, how does UNODC help in limiting the use of cyberspace and communication technology in terrorist operations?

A lot of efforts are being put in by UN member states, UNODC, as well as other UN entities, to prevent the use of the Internet for terrorism and crime.

In doing so, there are three different categories of prevention. First, we try to help member states in building the capacities of law enforcement to be able to detect and intercept the use of the Internet in committing crime at large and terrorist acts in particular, and of course we are also lean on partnerships with our agencies and international entities such as Interpol and Europol. As the regional representative of UNODC for the Gulf, I work very closely with GCCPOL, which is the entity that deals with criminal justice and law enforcement in the GCC countries.

The second category is the prevention of the use of Internet for recruitment by terrorist groups. With the technological revolution that we have seen in the whole world, and of course also in the Arab world and the GCC, terrorist groups have started targeting young people in particular and the users of social media platforms to try to inject their poisonous narratives and recruit more members to such groups.

We have seen hundreds of cases in many countries, Europe included, where youth in particular have been introduced to and recruited by terrorist groups over the Internet. As a result, they have in some cases travelled to join them in areas where such groups exist like Syria, Iraq, and Libya.

An important aspect of our task is working with religious institutions and establishments such as Al-Azhar in Egypt, the Bin Naif Society in Saudi Arabia, and Hedayah in the United Arab Emirates, to get the help of their scholars to counter the violent extremist narratives of the terrorist groups.

Do you have any agreements with communication service providers, usually foreign companies, to help in countering terrorism?

One of the main challenges that countries and the UN faces is the fact that most of the social media platforms are privately owned by global enterprises. However, when these have been approached, they have shown a full commitment and have engaged with us and UN member states to make sure that there are very strict measures that prevent the use of these social media platforms for the interest of the terrorist groups.

I would like to say that when such partnerships with the private sector came into force and the coordination actually started between member states and the service-providers, this helped very much in the war against terrorism worldwide.

Egypt has strategic relations and strong ties with the Gulf states. How have these been translated into joint efforts to combat terrorism and extremism?

Of course, it is not only the culture and traditions and the geographic space that link the Gulf countries with Egypt, but also the aspects and perspectives of national security and the common challenge of terrorism. Most of the coordination and cooperation we are doing with the Gulf countries is with the full participation of Egypt in the areas of countering terrorism, countering violent extremism, and more importantly in countering the financing of terrorism, because the financing of terrorism is actually the root cause for the existence of these groups.

There is a lot of cooperation between the Gulf countries and Egypt to share information, intelligence, and practices and experience in the area of countering terrorism and countering the financing of terrorism that is a challenge that is threatening the entire region.

Many Western countries are looking forward to working closely with such partnerships between the Gulf countries and Egypt, in order to benefit from the ability of the Gulf countries and Egypt and other Arab countries to use Muslim scholars to offer a moderate religious discourse to counter the narrative extremist groups may use to recruit new members.

Moreover, there are a lot of linkages and financial ties between the Gulf, Egypt, and Europe and the US, and that is why they seek to benefit from such solid partnership between the Gulf countries and Egypt in countering the financing of terrorism and working on the detection, interception, and prevention of money laundering and the illicit financial flows that are feeding terrorism not only in the region but also beyond.

One of the main manifestations of such partnership is the cooperation among the Gulf countries, Egypt, Morocco, Iraq, and Jordan to implement UN Security Council resolutions related to terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and the Islamic State group to detect and intercept the financing of such entities and individuals. The Gulf countries work very closely with Egypt and a number of Arab countries to ensure that they have a very advanced, progressive, yet harmonised, listing system that detects and dismantles such terrorist groups and dries out the financial means of financing them.

This has been very rewarding not only for the region, but also at the global and international levels as well, because it has revealed the involvement of certain entities and individuals in terrorist acts and in supporting terrorist groups, and it has helped in intercepting and drying up their financing sources.

In the light of the current tensions in the region, to what extent are you given powers to limit and investigate crimes related to terrorism, the Internet, and social media?

UNODC does not interfere directly with any ongoing investigations or interrogations, but rather puts countries in the best position to conduct the most effective investigations, detection, information, and evidence-gathering leading to interrogation and prosecutions. This takes place through helping them to develop and build capacities for law enforcement and to provide them with the best evidence-gathering techniques, like, for example, techniques to deal with cyber-crime, especially in relation to organised crime and terrorism.

We also help in building regional and international platforms for the coordination of criminal cases on organised crime and terrorism. For example, in the Gulf and through our work with the GCC Secretariat, we have been able to support the establishment of the GCCPOL, which is a platform that gathers law-enforcement and security agencies from all six Gulf countries to work on harmonising criminal intelligence. It also cooperates with its peers from international and regional platforms such as Interpol and Europol to make sure that global efforts on investigating, interrogating, and prosecuting such cases are done in coordination to achieve such objectives.

We are also working equally actively with global counter-terrorism and counter-organised crime programnes led by our headquarters in Vienna, while maintaining a fully collaborative partnership with our regional programme for the Arab states led by our regional office in Cairo.

Of the main challenges, one of the first is the nature of organised crime and terrorism. First, these have a changing nature, as they differ from one country to another depending on the goals of the criminals or terrorist groups. So, this crime is transnational, as it crosses the borders of the countries concerned and benefits from its existence in several countries to facilitate and implement criminal acts in other targeted countries.

That is why during intelligence-gathering and the detection and investigation of such crimes, the law-enforcement or the security agency of one country never has the full picture and the full information, because the information is scattered between several countries and several territories. Gathering this information requires a lot of coordination between law-enforcement and criminal-justice entities in other countries, and that is exactly the role of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in enhancing and triggering international cooperation in investigating and prosecuting organised crime and terrorism.

There are many facets of terrorism. Is the role of the United Nations limited to combating religious terrorism?

Terrorism is an act of terror that is committed for religious, political, or criminal reasons by a group of any origin that is seeking to terrify people or governments in order to achieve a certain objective. It does not have to be for religious reasons, as some people might think.

For example, we see in some parts of Latin America and the Caribbean drug cartels and drug lords using terrorist acts against the government and peoples of the nations concerned in order to be able to pursue the illegal cultivation, production, and illicit trade in drugs. We have seen also that in other parts of the world certain extremists belonging to religious sects target people of different ethnicities to cleanse the society, as they claim.

It is unfortunate that in the last few decades there have been a lot of terrorist acts committed by terrorist groups hailing from a certain religious group, as it is more rewarding for them to hide under the cloak of religion. But, of course, we do understand that terrorism is much wider than any particular religion or belief, and that it includes, for example, the hate speech that might trigger a terrorist act.

Does the United Nations work to combat the ideology that leads to terrorism and human trafficking, or is it satisfied with military and financial solutions only?

Most of our work does not only aim at combating terrorism or preventing it but is primarily concerned with enhancing the ability of member states to counter violent extremism and the violent thoughts that lead to terrorist acts in the long run. We work on preventing terrorism by helping governments and presenting members of society, particularly the youth, with a well-balanced religious discourse that will attract them back to society and to a healthy mental state that denounces violent extremism.

In so doing, we take full advantage of the many entities and bodies in the Gulf countries, but also in the rest of the Arab region and Egypt, that work in this vein. For example, in the Emirates we have the Hedayah International Centre that works with the rest of the world on developing a counter-narrative to the fundamentalism and extremism that leads to terrorism. We work in Saudi Arabia with the Prince Mohamed bin Naif Centre that works on the rehabilitation of prisoners and terrorists. Al-Azhar in Egypt is playing a prominent role in developing the counter-narrative of what is called moderate Islam that explains to the Arab nations and the West that Islam is a religion that calls for peace and the security of all members of society and the rest of the world.

What are the types of crimes that are classified as human trafficking? What are the difficulties you face in eliminating these forms of crimes?

Human trafficking or trafficking in persons is one of the main types of organised crime, and the extent to which it can be harmful not only to countries but also to society and its members has many manifestations. The most famous, which some people may mistakenly believe is the only side of human trafficking, is the exploitation of prostitution in different countries. However, human trafficking also involves the exploitation of human beings in any sort of work that is aimed at bringing a financial return or a financial benefit to an organised crime group.

For example, we have forced labour, and exploitation at work, particularly in construction or farming, as we can see in some Western countries and in the Arab region, as well as trafficking in human organs. I believe trafficking in organs is one of the most shocking manifestations of human trafficking, and it shows the extent to which pressing socioeconomic factors, in addition to the disturbances and conflicts that are happening in a lot of countries, can push members of society who face poverty and have no source of income to sacrifice their organs to survive. Organised crime groups seek to take advantage of such tragic circumstances to traffic organs from whoever will financially reward them.

We also see emerging manifestations of human trafficking in the Arab region, such as arranged marriages where family members seek to traffic their underage daughters as temporary brides to whoever will pay the family. We have also seen that the political unrest and the armed conflict in many countries in the Arab world have caused the displacement of families from their homes, leaving them in poverty with no source of income and making them more vulnerable to human trafficking, which has resulted in the emergence of a new trend of trafficking in persons that is exploited by terrorist groups in what is referred to as jihad marriages. This refers to terrorist groups seeking to traffic females from different countries of the world and sexually exploit them to encourage foreign terrorist fighters to fight in battles.

The UNODC, being the custodian of the relevant protocols of the UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime, is exerting all possible efforts to help member states in countering such challenges and working together not only on detecting, investigating, and prosecuting cases of human-trafficking, but also and more importantly providing the victims with care and support. It provides the victims of human trafficking with all the social, health, and legal protections they need to recover from such atrocities.

In the Gulf countries, for example, we are working with national committees on combating human trafficking, as is also the case in Egypt. We are also working with the Arab League, which is the regional body that gathers the Arab countries to support the development of Arab responses against human trafficking and provides the needed victim care and support. The Arab network on combating human trafficking brings together all relevant entities from the Arab region to work harmoniously to fight human trafficking and provide its victims with all the needed care and support.

The UN plays an active role in many contentious issues. What funding sources enable it to play this role?

The UN depends on the contributions of its member states in supporting its activities worldwide. There are various sources of funding: the regular contribution for membership, or a countrys contribution to support a certain cause or certain activities, like, for example, for the UNODC Office for the Gulf Region to which the Gulf countries contribute 100 per cent of the needed funds for the Gulf region, in addition to contributing to our global activities aimed at helping other countries.

There are many countries in the world that support the fight against terrorism, the fight against drugs, and the fight against human trafficking and contribute specific funds to support those activities.

How has your background as an Egyptian judge affected your work and helped you to reach this high-ranking position in one of the most important and sensitive United Nations bodies?

I have been blessed with the knowledge and experience I gained from working for more than 18 years in Egyptian law enforcement and the judiciary. I started in the prosecution service and made my way up to the judiciary to become a judge, and this gave me a wide spectrum of experience on crime prevention and criminal justice, and it helped me very much in understanding crime and investigative techniques related to criminal justice and law enforcement.

It also gave me also a good understanding of the patterns of organised crime and terrorism, money laundering, and the financing of terrorism. My work as a judge provided me with knowledge and experience on how to analyse cases, how to weigh evidence, and how to issue balanced sentencing. Together with my academic education in the area of international criminal law, I was also lucky to study with one of the prominent figures who established this subject in Egypt, the late Mahmoud Sherif Bassiouni, who was also the head of a fact-finding mission in the former Yugoslavia.

By the time I joined the UNODC, I had a great deal of experience in the Egyptian judiciary, in addition to the academic knowledge that enabled me to take lead positions in Afghanistan and in the UNODC headquarters in Vienna, and now most recently as the regional representative of the Organisation for the Gulf Countries.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 15 July, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Short link:


On Sunday the Court of Cassation  Egypts highest judicial authority  upheld the life sentences handed down to 10 senior Muslim Brotherhood officials, including the outlawed groups supreme guide Mohamed Badie.

The court found that the international branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, in collaboration with the Shia Lebanese Party Hizbullah, the Palestinian movement Hamas, and armed elements of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were able to infiltrate Egypts eastern border with Gaza and help large numbers of Islamist prisoners escape during the security vacuum that followed the 2011 uprising.

The court said all appeals filed by Brotherhood defendants had been rejected and that its judges agreed that the Cairo criminal court verdict issued in September 2019, should be upheld.

The Court of Cassation judgement is the second against the Muslim Brotherhood in a month. On 14 June, the court upheld death sentences passed against 12 Muslim Brotherhood leaders involved in 2013s Rabaa Al-Adawiya Square mass sit-in protest which was dispersed by security forces. The 12 Brotherhood leaders include prominent officials such as Mohamed Al-Beltagui and Safwat Hegazi, the main organisers of the 2013 sit-in protests in east Cairos Rabaa Al-Adawiya Square and west Cairos Nahda Square.

Following the dispersals, Islamist activists affiliated with Muslim Brotherhood and militant Salafist groups, attacked police stations, electricity pylons, the Media Production City, and churches across the country.

Tarek Fahmi, a professor of political science at Cairo University, said in a TV interview that Sundays ruling would severely undermine the Brotherhood.

The verdicts came after much deliberation and are final, said Fahmi. The court rejected the defendants appeals, concluding that the Brotherhood leaders were active in destabilising the country in 2011. The group coordinated closely with Islamist militant movements such as Hamas and Hizbullah, and when the regime of former president Hosni Mubarak began to collapse moved quickly to exploit the chaos.

The ruling sends a clear message that the Muslim Brotherhood has no hope whatsoever of returning to power in Egypt.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives on Monday approved legislation that allows state employees with proven links to the Muslim Brotherhood or any other terrorist-designated groups to be dismissed.

Ibrahim Al-Heneidi, chair of the Houses Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee, said the new law, first submitted by MP Ali Badr, reflected a general awareness of the necessity of ridding government and administrative circles of Muslim Brotherhood and terrorist elements.

According to Heneidi, the bill, an amendment to the Law on Non-Disciplinary Dismissal of Civil Servants (10/1973), will also help protect national security by purging the government and administrative system of employees holding radical ideologies.

The new law defines the conditions under which civil servants and state employees with proven links to the Muslim Brotherhood and other terrorist-designated organisations can be dismissed, said Al-Heneidi. Civil servants and state employees will first be suspended from exercising their roles for six months, a period during which they will be paid half their salary. After six months they will be completely and legally dismissed.

Badr said he drafted the law in response to the pressing need to remove terrorist elements from the administrative system.

Cabinet ministers had complained to parliament that they lack the legal tools to rid their ministries of civil servants who espouse radical ideologies and with links to the Muslim Brotherhood, said Badr. The new law gives them the means to sack employees with proven links to the Muslim Brotherhood and other terrorist-designated groups.

The law gives civil servants the right to appeal against their dismissal and return to their jobs should their links to extremist organisations prove to be false.

The current civil service law prohibits state employees from using their jobs to serve radical agendas or publish confidential information on social media but in recent years employees have ignored these prohibitions. It was important that the law be amended to fight this phenomenon, and protect the state from the Muslim Brotherhoods wicked plans, MP Essam Alaa told Al-Ahram Weekly.

Minister of Transport Kamel Al-Wazir told parliament last month that Egypts Railway Authority includes 162 Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated employees. He urged MPs to change the law and give him the tools to rid the Railway Authority of the forces of darkness and evil.

Last month, Minister of Waqf (Religious Endowments) Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa complained to MPs that there are many sleeper Muslim Brotherhood cells in government ministries and the Brotherhood spends a lot of money on these cells to promote its agenda in government circles and stir up trouble.

Ibrahim Shaarawi, deputy justice minister, said the law will allow the state to fight extremist elements in administrative circles while at the same time allowing state employees to appeal their dismissal before administrative courts.

Abdel-Fattah Mohamed, a member of the Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee, argued that the legislative changes had become an urgent priority because extremist and terrorist groups had been able to infiltrate government circles in recent years, mostly in the form of sleeper cells,

When the Muslim Brotherhood was in power between 2012 and 2013, it worked to place its members in all government sectors, he said.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 15 July, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Short link:


Two months ago, Egyptian and Turkish officials concluded two days of talks in Cairo aimed at normalising relations. In a joint statement on 6 May, the two sides said they would evaluate the outcome of the first round of consultations before agreeing the next move, and that an Egyptian delegation would visit Turkey for a second round of talks.

On Monday, however, Egypts Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri told Sada Al-Balad TV channel that while we could hold a new round of exploratory talks with Turkish officials in the future there is nothing on the agenda right now.

In another TV interview on 25 June, Shoukri said: We have reservations over Turkish policies in a number of areas, particularly the deployment of Turkish forces in Libya.

Their presence there lacks legitimacy. It is based on a deal between Turkey and the transitional Libyan government which was not authorised to initiate such an agreement.

International consensus is behind the resolutions of the Berlin 2 Conference which clearly state that all foreigners in Libya should leave.

Informed sources told Al-Arabiya TV channel on 24 June that Cairo had stipulated Turkish forces must leave Libya before any more steps towards normalising relations between the two countries are taken and had sent a message to the Turkish intelligence agency informing it there can be no security coordination or bilateral talks until the condition is met. This explains why Egypt is refraining from holding further exploratory talks with Turkey despite Ankaras eagerness to resume such talks, said Al-Arabiya.

On 3 July, Shoukri referred to another obstacle in the way of normalisation, telling Cairo and the People TV channel that Ankara is still giving refuge to fugitive Muslim Brotherhood members facing terrorism charges in Egypt. He, nonetheless, noted that Ankaras recent move to prevent some Muslim Brotherhood fugitives from appearing on TV channels and the social media was a positive step.

Shoukri was referring to Ankaras decision on 24 June to prevent two Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood hosts from appearing on Al-Shark and Mekamleen TV channels which broadcast from Istanbul.

Al-Arabiya described the ban as an attempt to pave the way for the restoration of relations with Egypt and cited sources as saying that four other Brotherhood-linked TV hosts  Moetaz Mattar, Mohamed Nasser, Hisham Abdallah, and Hamza Zoba  had been banned from TV channels and social media.

Despite such moves, Al-Ahram political analyst Beshir Abdel-Fattah says Turkeys relations with the Muslim Brotherhood remain strong, and no one should expect the banning of a few hosts from appearing on TV to lead to an improvement in relations.

Meanwhile, on 2 July Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that We have military forces in Libya, Syria, Azerbaijan and the East Mediterranean and we will stay there, he said.

MP Mustafa Bakri says Erdogans statement was deliberately provocative. I think it explains why Cairo wont move forward towards normalising relations with Turkey. Egyptian officials have yet to be convinced that Ankara is sincere in wanting to normalise relations with Cairo.

Last months visit of the Turkish defence and foreign ministers to Libyas capital  Tripoli  to review a Turkish air base there, merely served to confirm Cairos suspicions.

Bakri also notes that Yassin Aktay, one of Erdogans leading advisors, condemned Egypts Court of Cassation for upholding death sentences against 12 Muslim Brotherhood leaders found guilty of inciting violence and of murder.

In an article in Yeni Safak newspaper, Aktay said that an Egyptian court had ratified a previously issued ruling to execute 12 people, including ministers in the elected government that was overthrown by the coup, as well as figures in the party of that government.

These conflicting signals coming from Turkish officials send one message  Ankara is neither sincere nor serious about restoring relations with Egypt, says Bakri.

Dalia Ziada, an Egyptian human rights activist, points out that Aktay is the architect of the relationship between the Turkish president and the Muslim Brotherhood and one of the most important catalysts for the deterioration of relations between Egypt and Turkey after 2013. He facilitated the entry of Muslim Brotherhood members who fled Egypt to Turkey, and he has been taking care of them since then. Over the past seven years he has been supervising and directing Muslim Brotherhood activities inside Turkey, especially their media activities targeting the Egyptian state, she says.

It seems that there are two wings in the Turkish government: one led by Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu pushing for reconciliation with Egypt, and one led by Aktay pushing in the opposite direction.

Bakri also notes that Turkishs reconciliation talks with Saudi Arabia have also faltered. I think that Egypt and Saudi Arabia are in coordination in this respect, and no one should expect a breakthrough in relations with Turkey anytime soon.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 15 July, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Short link:


Like her husband Anwar Sadat, Jehan Sadat, who died this week, is the focus of conflicting views and contradictory sentiments. Below, Al-Ahram Weekly recalls some of the most significant moments in the life of this controversial but remarkable woman, in her own words.





29 August 1933: Jehan Raouf was born in Cairo to Safwat Raouf and Gladys Cotrell. Her parents had met in 1923 when Safwat was studying medicine at the University of Sheffield. Gladys was a music teacher. It was a marriage, Jehan Sadat later said, that her fathers family had vehemently opposed.I did not know until I was 11 that my name was Jehan, a Persian name picked out by my father which means the world. My mother, who was English, had nicknamed me Jean, and that is what I was called by my father, an employee at the Ministry of Health, she wrote in her memoir A Woman of Egypt. I was born on Roda Island, one of two islands in the Nile linked by bridges to Cairo in the east and Giza to the west. In Cairo, my family was not poor and not rich  but middle class.She attended school in Giza and developed an early interest in politics because, as she wrote in her memoir, she grew up at a time when unease about the performance of the king was growing. Sentiment was mounting against king Farouk. He did whatever the British asked him to as long as they let him stay on the throne His government was extraordinarily corrupt, and it was said that many in it sold titles and government positions in exchange for land I wanted to be proud of our king but instead I was ashamed.My obsession with politics was puzzling to my family. My father was not political at all. she said.29 May 1949: In 1948, during a summer holiday with her family in Suez, Jehan met Anwar Sadat. The year also saw the creation of the state of Israel.I did not recognise him when I first saw him. Perhaps it was because of the hour, two oclock in the morning, when I was in my aunts kitchen in Suez helping to prepare Sohour, the predawn meal, during Ramadan. Perhaps it was because of the improbability of it all. How could this man, this national hero, be just sitting in the hall of my cousins home? It was unbelievable.Jehan Sadat wrote that her admiration of Anwar Sadat was instant and irreversible. She would ask a family member to tell her stories of Anwar Sadats political battles against the British occupation.I was thrilled to hear the story of how Anwar had first been sent to prison after the British security police searched his house and found a German transmitter that he was trying to fix so that he could send a treaty to Rommel in the desert east of Alexandria. Anwar wanted to offer Rommel Egyptian military support in return for Egyptian independence, she wrote.In her memoir, Jehan Sadat agreed that what she learned about Anwar Sadat should have quelled her interest in him. A man who was almost 20 years her senior, who came from a very poor background, whose life had had more downs than ups and whose future was uncertain. But, she adds, it was impossible for her as a 15-year-old romantic girl to be practical.It was her birthday, she wrote, and Anwar Sadat was still in Suez with her family. He took her for a drive and told her that while he could not buy her anything for her birthday, he would sing her a Farid Al-Atrash song.At 15, or at any age for that matter, I did not need to be told about the power of love. It is an emotion that comes easily to women, she wrote.On 29 May 1949: A little under a year after their first encounter in Suez, the couple married.You are a lucky man, the photographer said to Anwar as we posed for our official wedding photograph.My husband and I began a journey that was carefully charted. Often our roots would be very different. But always our destination would be the same, she wrote.22 July 1952: The eve of the day when the Free Officers, of which Anwar Sadat was one, decided to depose Egypts last monarch, king Farouk. Anwar and Jehan had gone to the cinema. Following their return to the house of Jehans parents the porter came and asked her about her husband. When he knew that Anwar Sadat was parking the car in the garage the porter handed her a note that had been left by a man who had come looking for her husband. Once he saw the note Anwar Sadat pretended that a friend of his was really unwell and rushed to see him.The following morning a worried Jehan Sadat got a telephone call from her husband who told her to turn in the radio. At 7:30am on 23 July 1952 she heard her husband reading a statement: Egypt has gone through a difficult period in its recent history, which has been plagued by bribery, graft, and corruption. The corrupt elements were responsible for our defeat in the Palestine war. This is why we have carried out a purge. The army is now in the hands of men in whose ability, integrity, and patriotism you can have complete confidence.For Egypt, just as for the Sadats, this was clearly a new beginning. Anwar Sadat was now part of the ruling regime.When her husband was made speaker of the Peoples Assembly, Jehan Sadat became more involved in public affairs. She wrote that by 1965 she was becoming increasingly anxious about what she saw as misguided policies, not least the way the civilian and military police handled any form of opposition, from landowners to members of the Muslim Brotherhood. The latter were particularly loathed by Abdel-Hakim Amer, Gamal Abdel-Nassers minister of defence and right-hand man.Many of Amers influential colleagues were running out of control, using their new positions of power to crush anyone they disliked and to stifle all criticism of the government, Jehan Sadat wrote. Anyone suspected of being a member of the Brothers or even knowing one was being seized for questioning and often tortured. The property of former politicians was being appropriated in the name of the state.5 June 1967: Anwar Sadat, never commented much on her worries over state management, looked his wife in the eyes and told her that, contrary to the news on the radio, Egypt had lost the war. Jehan, I have just come back from speaking with Amer and Nasser Every one of our planes is lost. Israeli infantry have already captured Arish. Our soldiers are on the run. This is a disaster for Egypt, she recalled.Egypt faced political upheaval and an ongoing military struggle to rebuild its military capabilities and the combat readiness of the Egyptian Armed Forces. Following the mysterious death of Amer, Anwar Sadat became vice president on 19 December 1969.28 September 1970: Jehan Sadat wrote in her memoir that she woke up after having a disturbing dream. She told her husband that in the dream she had been standing on her parents balcony and watched Arab leaders, who had just taken part in an Arab summit in Cairo, walking with tears in their eyes. A few hours later, Nasser was dead.6 October 1973: Jehan Sadat was the spouse of a president who had come to power when part of Egypt was occupied, and when Nassers supporters, who opposed her husbands presidency, were working to remove him.She wrote: Anwar, what are you waiting for? Are you waiting for them to arrest you, to put you in prison, to kill you? I asked him in exasperation, one night in April. Well, Jehan, you have forgotten something very important, God is with me, he would answer.Less than a month after this conversation, Anwar Sadat had his political opponents arrested. His wife, meanwhile, began to assume an ever larger public role.In her memoir, she does not shy away from sharing details of conversations she had with her husband about domestic political developments of details of conversations she had with his aides in which she confided to them her concerns over his safety.In her memoir, Jehan Sadat wrote that she had suspected war was round the corner but was not sure. Her husband had gone on yet another mission that would take a few days. She had sent her three daughters and son to school and was listening to the radio.Suddenly, just after 1:30pm, the news bulletin I had been waiting for interrupted the normal programming: Attention, enemy forces have started an attack against our forces in the Gulf of Suez. Our forces are now engaged in repelling the aggressors.Following Egypts victory in 1973 Anwar Sadat embarked on a series of daring political decisions, on the home and foreign fronts. Jehan Sadats public profile also grew. She became increasingly active over health and social issues, particularly those relating to women.Not only did Anwar Sadat face criticism for his economic and political choices, he also came under fire for allowing Jehan Sadat to assume a high-profile role. But as Jehan Sadat wrote in her memoires, her husband felt he had the confidence of the vast majority of the people. Nor was she particularly upset when critics referred to proposed amendments to the personal status law as Jehans laws.19 November 1978: On this day, Anwar Sadat made his controversial/historic visit to Jerusalem in pursuit of a negotiated settlement to the Arab-Israeli struggle. Following the trip the negotiations started with Israel that would eventually lead to signing a peace treaty with Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin.Anwar Al-Sadat, Menachem Begin, Jimmy Carter. These men, these leaders are shaking hands, embracing each other. The sight is too much to readily absorb. It is 26 March, 1979 We are at the White House where the three men have just signed the Camp David Peace Accords. I cannot believe this is actually happening, Jehan Sadat wrote in A Woman of Egypt.What followed, however, kept Jehan Sadat on edge. Her husband was moving from one confrontation to the other, on the domestic and foreign fronts. Egypt lost the support of other Arab states, and the Arab League moved its headquarters from Cairo. Tensions were running high and, in September 1981, Jehan became increasingly alarmed when her husband ordered the arrest of a wide range of political opposition figures.









6 October 1981: 6 October 1981, was one of the few days out of thousands of days that I did not fear for my husbands life. 6 October had become one of Egypts proudest anniversaries, the annual celebration of the moment in 1973 when our soldiers had crossed the Suez Canal to reclaim the land taken from us by Israel, she wrote in her memoir.



Her confidence, sadly, proved misplaced. During the military parade staged to celebrate the anniversary of the crossing Anwar Sadat was assassinated.



Anwar was buried in a tomb shaped like a small pyramid right across from the parade grounds in Nasr City where he was gunned down. This was my decision not his, wrote his widow.



In the years that followed the death of her husband Jehan Sadat lived between Egypt and the US. No longer a controversial figure, she maintained a public presence by sharing her memories of life with her husband in TV and press interviews. In 1987 her memoir, A Woman of Egypt, was published in English from Simon and Shucster. An Arabic edition soon followed.



Following the January 2011 uprising that forced her husbands successor Hosni Mubarak to resign, Jehan Sadat showed sympathy with the demands of the protesters. On 6 October 2012, however, with Mohamed Morsi president of Egypt, she was shocked to see Aboud Al-Zomor, one of the Islamist army officers involved in planning her husbands assassination, invited to an event organised by the presidency to mark the October War.



Following Morsis removal from power, Jehan Sadat said she was relieved to see him out of office. She said she had faith in President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi who she felt would continue the mission of her late husband.



In recent years Jehan Sadat made fewer and fewer public appearance. Her time was mostly dedicated to her family  her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. For the last two years her appearances became ever more rare as her health became increasingly frail.



On 24 June 2021 Jehan Sadats family announced that she had been admitted into intensive care, and on 9 July 2021 the announcement was made that she had died.





10 July 2021: Jehan Sadat was laid to rest next to her husband in the tomb built for Anwar Sadat next to the Monument to the Unknown Soldier. Jehan Sadats burial ceremony followed a military funeral attended by President Al-Sisi who ordered the minting of a medal to honour Jehan Sadat, the first woman in Egypts history to be given a military funeral.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 15 July, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Short link:


The UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting that convened on 8 July failed to adopt the draft resolution that Tunisia had tabled on behalf of Egypt and Sudan. The draft called on Ethiopia to negotiate in good faith with the two downstream countries, and set a timetable of six months for reaching an agreement, under the umbrella of the African Union, on the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).A few days ahead of the UNSC meeting Ethiopia began the second filling of the dams reservoir in the absence of an agreement. Cairo and Khartoum are now telling concerned world capitals that this is the last filling Ethiopia can get away with in the absence of a legally binding agreement.In meetings with European Union (EU) officials this week, and with UN Security Council officials last week, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri urged international bodies to live up to their responsibilities and send clear messages to Addis Ababa that it must end its refusal to negotiate seriously. Informed diplomatic sources said that in Brussels Shoukri made it clear to his European interlocutors that Egypt cannot be expected to continue to accommodate Ethiopias intransigence.It was not for nothing that the foreign minister stressed in his speech before the UNSC that GERD represents an existential threat to Egypt in the absence of an agreement on its filling and operation, said a diplomatic source.He added that Shoukri was very clear that when the push comes to shove Egypt will do what it takes to defend itself. I think the message is clear we have been far too patient to be blamed by anyone for taking action to defend our own survival, he added.Egyptian diplomacy is adopting parallel approaches in its attempts to resolve the GERD issue, says Ayman Abdel-Wahab, a senior analyst at Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, one of which is to mobilise international public opinion by highlighting the repercussions of Ethiopias refusal to reach a legally-binding agreement.On Monday, after concluding a series of meetings with EU officials in Brussels, and with the President of the European Council Charles Michel and Secretary-General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg, Shoukri hinted the EU may soon make clear its unhappiness with Ethiopias unilateral moves over the dam.In his statement before the UNSC, Shoukri had already commended the EU for its statement, issued hours before the UNSC meeting, expressing concern over Ethiopias unilateral decision to start the second filling in the absence of an agreement. Shourki called on the UNSC to take a similar position.The foreign ministers of Egypt and Sudan both held consultations ahead, and after, the UNSC meeting. While Shourki left New York for Brussels, his Sudanese counterpart Mariam Sadik Al-Mahdi travelled to Moscow to lobby for support from Russia which is about to sign a major military deal with Ethiopia.In Brussels, Shoukri stressed the need for a clear roadmap and timeline for Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt to reach a legally-binding agreement on the dam.During his meeting with Michel, Shoukri conveyed a message from President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, and stressed that Cairo would like to see the EU, UN, and US involved in future negotiations over GERD. Khartoum has long been pushing for a proposal to the same effect  that the UN, EU, and US play a part in talks alongside the African Union  only for Ethiopia to reject it out of hand.Concerned Egyptian diplomats say that while last weeks meeting of the UNSC saw a consensus among members on the need for the three riparian countries to reach an agreement through AU-led negotiations, it failed to draw a roadmap on how to get there.In the press conference that followed the session, Shoukri told the media that the next step is in the hands of the UNSC and its members who must assume their responsibilities under the UN charter and work to resolve the dispute peacefully.The unilateralism displayed by Ethiopia threatens the water security of Egypt and Sudan and the livelihood of 150 million people Ethiopia has yet to demonstrate the political will needed to reach an agreement, and this has been the main obstacle to resolving the dispute despite the flexibility and moderation that Egypt and Sudan have shown, he told the press conference.Abbas Sharaki, a professor of geology and water resources at Cairo University, says it is only sensible for Egypt to give the UNSC a chance to take a clear position on the way forward. According to Sharaki, should the UNSC fail to take a clear position on GERD it will be up to Cairo and Khartoum to decide their next step, which could include legal action over the building of the dam, the way it is being built, and its location.According to Abdel-Wahab, should diplomatic lobbying fail to get the world to pressure Ethiopia into changing its position, then it will be up to Cairo and Khartoum to underline to international players the danger this poses to peace and security in the Horn of Africa.He argues that a cooperative approach with Addis Ababa and other countries can go hand-in-hand with a tougher approach that reminds all concerned parties of the high cost of water as a weapon against Egypt.Abdel-Wahab is also under no illusions about the tough stand Egypt and Sudan will have to take even if an agreement is reached given there is nothing to guarantee that Ethiopia will stick to any agreement, or will not use the water weapon against Egypt in the future.Ethiopia started building the mega dam in 2011. Last year, it unilaterally executed a first 5 bcm filling of the dams reservoir. On 5 July it started a second filling, initially planned to trap 13.5 bcm of water. Construction delays, however, mean the second filling is unlikely to reach more than 9 bcm.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 15 July, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Short link:


In a move aimed at limiting losses due to an oversupply of local cement production, the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) has decided that all cement companies working in Egypt will reduce production starting on 15 July.



Decision 56/2021 means that cement producers will introduce a 10.69 per cent cut in their production in addition to a 2.81 per cent reduction per production line. It gives room for further cuts at older factories. The reductions will last for a year, according to the decision.



The move was made in the wake of a proposal submitted by 23 industry players to preserve competition in the market and stop the losses they have been shouldering for the last three years.



The Cement Division of the Federation of Egyptian Industries has announced its support for the decision. According to a statement, the crisis that the industry is currently facing, the need to protect the industry, and the interests of consumers all explain the decision made by the ECA with a view to preserving competition in the marketplace and rationalising cement production.



The production capacity of Egyptian cement producers has reached about 85 million tons per year. The opening of new cement factories and production lines in conjunction with a drop in sales to about 50 million tons have caused a crisis in the market, and the repercussions of the Covid-19 and consequent weaker demand have added insult to injury.



The Ministry of Trade and Industry has been in talks with cement companies operating in the local market over the last few months to reach an agreement to reduce their production, as part of a solution to the current losses and to help the sector cope with the oversupply that it has been suffering from.



Medhat Stefanos, head of the Cement Division at the Federation of Egyptian Industries, praised the decision, saying that the production of cement should be based on consumption. Cement is not a commodity that can be stored for a long time, and Egypt has been self-sufficient in cement for many years. Further excess supply would have meant that the market would have kept deteriorating until the factories were forced to close, he said.



He added that the decision to reduce production at the 23 cement companies had come with the aim of protecting them from the risks of bankruptcy and closure.



He pointed out that the production capacity of state-owned factories is about 18.5 million tons on 10 production lines, while the private sector is estimated to have a capacity of 64 million tons with 37 production lines. The overall value of investment in the Egyptian cement sector is about LE250 billion.



However, Ahmed Al-Zeini, head of the Building Materials Division at the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, said that the decision to cut cement production had already led to an increase in market prices.



Cement prices have increased by LE50 over the past two days for the production of some companies, he said. The average price of a ton of cement currently ranges between LE900 and LE1,000.



Although the buying and selling of cement is currently slow, I expect more price increases to come, Al-Zeini said, adding that the Building Materials Division had held a meeting last Thursday to discuss the decision and its effects on the market.



It wanted to see cement companies steady any increases in prices and to monitor them carefully. It asked for the market to be studied on a monthly basis, with special attention being paid to the impact of this decision on prices, Al-Zeini said.



A report on demand and supply and the prices of cement is to be submitted to the ECA every two weeks to protect the market from price hikes, he added.



The Arab Cement Company said in a statement to the stock exchange that its profits would likely improve in the light of the expected rise in cement prices in the coming period. It expects its production to decrease by 26 per cent in the wake of the decision.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 15 July, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Short link:


As the US withdraws from Afghanistan, Iran is turning its eye to opportunities there to fill the void left by the decades of military existence of the US, as it becomes the most vulnerable in the region to the threats posed by the bordering country.

With the Taliban taking over Afghan cities and districts, violence and chaos are growing on the borders with Iran. Tehran has moved to hedge its bets and establish contacts with both warring sides in the war-torn neighbouring country to facilitate peace talks.

Last week, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif  whose government supports an all-inclusive Afghan government that includes Taliban  met the group negotiators; they issued a joint statement that confirms the groups intentions for a negotiated settlement on the future of the country just before the Taliban captured a key border crossing between Iran and Afghanistan.

The role of Iran in making a breakthrough remains unclear as it already lost trust by supporting Taliban against US forces after the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal. But Sanam Vakil, an Adjunct Professor of Middle East Studies at the Johns Hopkins University told Al-Ahram Weekly, Facilitating an accommodation between both parties in Afghanistan will help Iran remain a credible broker with both sides.

Iran is one country among others like China and Russia that has direct interests motivating its influence in Afghanistan in the future especially after the US pullout. There is a lot to lose and gain for Iran in Afghanistan as Iran has a long involvement in Afghan politics by supporting various political factions and recently this activism was at its peak since the start of the Afghan peace process in 2018.

Navid Mohebbi, a policy fellow of the National Union for Democracy in Iran, told the Weekly that the meddling of Iran in Afghanistan talks to the Iran doctrine of being sympathetic to groups and countries that are inconsistent with international norms and in conflict with the interests of Western countries as these groups can support each other in regional and international developments.

Irans military doctrine in the Middle East is based on the creation and support of proxy groups to the extent that these groups effectively seize power in respective countries. Irans support for dozens of militia groups in Iraq, Hizbullah in Lebanon, Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza, as well as the Houthis in Yemen, are just a few examples that align with this doctrine, Mohebbi added.

Iran, one of the most influential regional actors in Afghanistan, has always seen Afghanistan as a threat to its security but also an opportunity to expand trade and accessibility to Afghan and Central Asian markets. Iran has other trade ambitions in Afghanistan through the first railway between Iran and Afghanistan, launched in December 2020, which aims to connect Afghanistan with the world through the Iranian port of Chabahar.

On the security level, Iran has extended security interests in Afghanistan and this was embodied in sending fighters to deter the Islamic State Khorasan Province.

Iran sees that any engagement in the Afghan peace process is an aspect of defending its backyard and that broader influence there is required. At the same time, Afghanistan represents a menace that needs to be tamed by Iran for a couple of reasons.

This is happening at a defining moment as Iran already faces discontent at home as hopes for economic relief are fading due to sanctions by the West along with the elections excluding the reformists of Iran, yielding to the victory of the hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi.

Afghanistan presents Iran with more of a threat than an opportunity, said Ali Vaez, Iran Project director and senior adviser to the president at International Crisis Group.

The ongoing violence caused by the Taliban takeover of Afghan provinces is expected to produce waves of refugees that will flee to Tehran across the borders, a crisis that makes the border guards intolerant as some 50 migrants were allegedly beaten and drowned last year while crossing the bordering Harirod River.

At the same time Iran is alarmed by the Taliban control over Islam Qala, a key border post between the two countries and a gateway to the Afghan city of Herat where the Iranian consulate is located, as it saw the killing of nine Iranian diplomats there by the Taliban in late 1990s.

In addition, relations between Tehran and the Taliban are mostly marked by hostility and being at odds as the Sunni militiamen and the extremist groups sympathetic with them, regard the Shiism of Iran an apostasy.

While Iran has developed a relationship with the Taliban in the past few years, the two sides neither trust nor like one another. While Iran prefers to see the US withdraw from its near-abroad, it does not want to see a total takeover by the Taliban, Vaez told the Weekly.

So in the short run, Iran will have to manage the chaos and prevent instability on its borders. Tehran will try to protect its own security interests, primarily through diplomatic mediation between Afghans and, if not, true pressure. For the latter, it might need to draw on some of the Afghan Shia militias that it deployed to Syria in 2014-2016.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 15 July, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Short link:


Foreign ministers of the European Union agreed late on Monday to establish a sanctions regime against Lebanese political leaders, who have been unable to create a coalition for almost a year. Yet the effectiveness of such a move in ending the countrys political crisis is debatable.

The pan-European organisation gave no details on the new punitive process, which has been led diplomatically by Paris. All that is known about it is that it will include travel bans and asset freezes. Despite being a key piece of information, the names of the targeted politicians remain unknown.

I can say the objective is to complete this by the end of the month. I am not talking about the implementation of the regime, just the building of the regime according to a sound legal basis, EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell said. The French Foreign Minister Jean-Yvez Le Drian believes that Lebanon has been in self-destruct mode for several months; he adds that now there is a major emergency for a population in distress.

Last May France decided to impose sanctions on Lebanese officials, involving restrictions on their arrival to its soil. Names were not revealed, but the decision was related to the fact that many of the Lebanese leaders own properties and investments and have bank accounts in France and Europe in general.

Prime minister-designate, ex-premier and Sunni leader Saad Al-Hariri and President Michel Aoun, a key ally of the Iran-sponsored Shia Hizbullah group, have failed many times to reach a coalition deal. The problem is reportedly related to who will get the majority of ministerial seats in the new government. This is clearly an issue of trust. For example, Hariri  at some point in time  called on Aoun to ignore party affiliations, while the latter accused him of submitting a line-up different from the one they discussed.

Yet Tony Badran, a Lebanon expert at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, doubts if it would work. When Macron came to Lebanon in August of last year, he met with Hizbullah MPs and as reported in Le Figaro at the time, told them he wanted to work with them. Similarly, the Biden administration is set to lift sanctions on Hizbullahs

patron in Tehran, which will trickle down eventually to Hizbullah, and through it, to Lebanon. In other words, the US posture towards Iran, and Frances towards Hizbullah, makes the proposition of EU sanctions even more moot, said Badran, who previously testified in the US House of Representatives on US policy towards Lebanon, Syria and Iran.

It remains to be seen how sanctions would affect the lives of ordinary Lebanese people, especially amid endless post-explosion economic crises. In that sense, Badran argued that the ruling oligarchy in tandem with the Central Bank has been avoiding structural reforms that would erode their power.

The Central Bank and the private banks meanwhile have been writing off liabilities and loading all losses on the depositors The sectarian chiefs and the Central Bank governor are playing up the spectre of further economic deterioration in order to put the onus on the US and Europe, as well as international organisations, to intervene with more financial aid, he explained.

Hassan Diabs caretaker government last month decided to cut fuel subsidies, and then increase its prices by more than a third. The average price of 20 litres of 95-octane petrol increased by 35 per cent, reaching 61,000. Diesel prices rose by 38 per cent, which equals a 12800-pound increase.

Speaking to Al-Ahram Weekly from Beirut, Sarah Al-Richani - an assistant professor of Mass Communications at the American University in Cairo - noted that fuel subsidies were not entirely removed. They were just reduced, although it is not enough to stop the smuggling into Syria nor to instigate another round of protests.

It remains to be seen if such sanctions will be enacted in the first place, whether they will be enacted on a select few or the entire political class and what they will entail. The French visa bans on a select few it appears have not rattled the largely inept, corrupt and contemptuous political class. Pressure in whichever form though is welcomed by the hapless and traumatised general public as they struggle to make ends meet, Al-Richani pointed out.

Nowadays, Lebanon is facing massive crises as regards shortages in electricity, medicine and petrol. Never-ending human stories about how the Lebanese people are suffering are told on a daily basis through social media platforms and local and international media outlets.

This is something to add to a tragic fact: the world doesnt want to give Lebanon money. The absence of an elected government to talk to and the strong influence of Hizbullah in both parliament and presidency have led to this end result.

Official estimates suggest that the country needs $10 to $15 billion to make up for the destruction caused by last years devastating port explosion. So far, international donors offered only $298 million in humanitarian aid, and most of the money has not been transferred yet because of such political considerations.

As put by Imad Salamey, an associate professor of political science at the Lebanese American University, Lebanon is doomed to further plunge into economic collapse amid political paralysis that undermines any prospect for solutions. Hence, the economy appears to drift the country towards pure laissez faire in light of shifts towards the black market. Two major aspects now dominate economic activities: humanitarian assistance and the black market.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 15 July, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


The most lethal and transmissible variant of the Covid-19 virus is taking Tunisia by storm, exacerbating the countrys political and economic difficulties in what is probably the North African countrys worse crisis since the 2011 uprising.

This week, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that Tunisia, described as going through a hard time, has the highest death rate from Covid-19 in the Arab world and Africa continent.

WHO Tunisia representative Yves Souteyrand said that there are more than 100 deaths a day from Covid-19 in Tunisia. In a country of just 12 million people, thats really a lot, he said.

On Monday, the Tunisian authorities said that 144 people had died from Covid-19 complications, down from a record 194 the previous day.

According to the Health Ministry, Tunisia now has a daily infection rate of 8,500 people. Healthcare professionals expect a surge in the death toll by the end of July to rise from the current 189 to 300.

We are in a catastrophic situation... the health system has collapsed, and we can only find a bed in hospital with great difficulty, Health Ministry Spokesperson Nisaf Ben Alaya said.

We are struggling to provide oxygen... and doctors are suffering from unprecedented fatigue, she said. The boat is sinking.

On Thursday, neighbouring Libya announced that it would close its land border and airport with Tunisia for a week due to the rise in coronavirus cases in the country, a government spokesman said.

Tunisian President Kaies Saied has sought the assistance of the countrys army in dealing with the health crisis and overseeing vaccinations. He has also been reaching out to Arab leaders for their support.

Saied said that Saudi Crown-Prince Mohamed Bin Salman and Abu Dhabi Crown-Prince Mohamed Ben Zayed had pledged vaccines and medical equipment.

Meanwhile, Tunisian Parliamentary Speaker Rached Al-Ghannouchi spoke with the Qatari and Turkish authorities in a bid to secure medical aid and pledges for vaccine jabs scheduled for this week.

The presidents office said last week that the US had pledged to donate 500,000 vaccination doses to Tunisia. Libya has also pledged to send medical aid.

Algeria sent 100 cubic metres of oxygen to the Tunisian health authorities on Thursday, while Qatar sent a military plane with a field hospital on board, including 200 medics and 100 respirators.

Observers have noted the political dynamics in the swift Arab response to help Tunisia  seen as the only success story of the Arab Spring  while neglecting to assist Lebanon in dealing with its catastrophic economic and health crisis.

This is vaccine diplomacy at its best, and Europe is absent when needed the most, commented Tunisian political analyst Youssef Cherif on his Twitter account.

The Saudis and Emiratis are providing Tunisia with 1.5 million jabs this week. The Algerians are sending 250,000 jabs. Along with the Egyptians, the Qataris and the Turks, they are sending tons of medical equipment to the ravaged country, he said.

France, the US and the EU, the expected natural allies, were much slower to react.

After successfully containing the virus during the first wave last year, Tunisia is now struggling with a rise in infections that medical professionals attribute to the Covid-19 Alpha and Delta variants.

The country imposed a lockdown in some cities starting last week, but it refused to introduce a full national lockdown out of fears it could hurt its already fragile economy further.

Now the entire health sector is failing under the weight of the surge in infections in ways reminiscent of Italys tragic struggle with the pandemic at its onset.

Intensive care units in Tunisias public hospitals currently have some 4,354 Covid-19 cases. On 6 July, the government declared the collapse of the health sector after hospitals reported a 200 per cent occupancy rate by Covid-19 patients and a shortage of oxygen supplies.

The Delta variant is 55 per cent more transmissible than the Alpha variant initially detected in the UK. The WHO says it will become the dominant strain of the coronavirus globally.

There has been a power struggle between the president, the parliamentary speaker and the prime minister in Tunisia over recent months, and this has meant that the nations most powerful institutions have not been coordinating efforts or prioritising the pandemic over political disputes.

Zeid Mhirsi, a Tunisian policy strategist for the New York-based Global Health Strategies, said Tunisias health crisis was the result of the limited vaccination process that has only covered three to four per cent of the population.

Social distancing has been a struggle in the absence of large-scale lockdowns, he said in a telephone interview from New York.

The governments efforts to mitigate the impact of the economic crisis in the country has caused a far more serious predicament that has spun out of control.

Tunisia has one of the highest percentages of older people in Africa, which is reflected in the high death and infection rates that continue to grow.

The Delta Covid-19 variant took the government by surprise and overwhelmed the health sector at a time when the thinking was that open air, summer activities were safer, Mhirsi told Al-Ahram Weekly.

But the kind of Arab solidarity Tunisia had received was unprecedented, he observed.

I want to congratulate the Arabs coming together for the first time on such large-scale support. The influx of jabs, field hospitals and oxygen will help increase the capacity of the health system and save people from dying in the short term, he added.

And hopefully this will prevent a fourth wave of the virus.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 15 July, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Short link:


On his first foreign trip since his enthronement last year, the Sultan of Oman Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said landed in Neom  northwest of Saudi Arabia  on Sunday. This is also the first visit by an Omani ruler to Saudi Arabia in many years.

All official announcements about the two-day visit focused on consolidating cooperation between the two Gulf neighbours, especially on the economic front. Yet the significance of the visit and the talks concern hot regional issues, with Yemen topping the list.

Both Saudi Arabia and Oman share borders with Yemen, and Oman recently actively joined the UN-sponsored efforts to settle the Yemen conflict and end the six year-long war. Friendly relations between Oman and Iran give the Sultanate some edge to claim it is at an equal distance from all parties.

Western observers following Gulf developments see the visit as a symbolic move that Oman is resuming its activities  after a transition period following the death of late Sultan Qaboos Bin Said last year  mainly as a neutral regional mediator that keeps out of conflicts. But it also indicates the new approach by Oman to face its internal economic hardships. Recently, the Sultanate witnessed demonstrations protesting rising unemployment among young Omanis. The Coronavirus pandemic exacerbated debt and budget deficit problems. Trade and investment agreements with the biggest economy in the region, as announced during Sultans visit and talks with King Salman and his Crown Prince, could alleviate some of these burdens.

Since the oil price crash of 2014, Omans debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio has leapt from about 15 per cent in 2015 to 80 per cent last year, while Omans plans to diversify revenue away from oil and reduce spending on its bloated public sector have made slow progress, according to a Bloomberg report.

But the pressing regional issue of the Yemen war is of great concern for both Riyadh and Muscat. The Houthi militia continues to attack southern Saudi cities and towns, using armed drones and ballistic missiles. Almost every day, Saudi defences intercept and destroy a projectile from the south. Inside Yemen, the fighting is claiming more lives and impoverishing an already devastated population.

On the day Sultan Haitham started his Saudi visit, the Houthi militias carried out a rare missile strike on a southern region that has seen renewed infighting between forces allied to a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia. The attack on a military base in Abyan took place while the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and the Southern Transitional Council (STC) both amass fighters in the area and Riyadh moves to ease tensions.

This is in addition to the ongoing Houthi assault on gas-rich Marib, the northern region not under their control. Whether the Abyan attack is meant to further complicate Saudi efforts to bring its allies together or just pull the forces of the legitimate government away from Marib is not clear. But it further complicates the international endeavour to stop the war in Yemen.

The STC is wary of Hadis government as it includes the Muslim Brotherhood affiliate Islah Party. The ultimate aspiration of the STC is to control southern Yemen in any form to be agreed on in a final settlement of the crisis. The southerners worked well with Emirati forces within the Saudi-led coalition until the UAE withdrew its forces from Yemen in 2019.

Militarily, the Saudis need the UAE to push the Houthis to the north of Yemen. Politically, they need the Omanis for their friendly relations with Iran and their interest in ending the war on their border, as one veteran British commentator close to the region told Al-Ahram Weekly. He added that the Saudis are now parting ways with the UAE on certain issues, and Oman might be poised to fill this void.

One remarkable regional development in the Gulf in recent weeks has been the Emirati stance within OPEC, which is in contradiction to the Saudi position, which some have seen as going beyond economic differences. Saudi Arabia didnt join the Abraham Accords, normalising relations with Israel as the UAE and Bahrain did last year. Oman was believed to be the next Gulf country in line to do so, but its Foreign Minister Sayid Badr Bin Hamad Al Busaidi told the London-based Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat that his country would not be the third Gulf nation to normalise relations with Israel even though it supports the Abraham Accords.

The Israeli media floated the suggestion that Muscat might be hosting Iran-Saudi talks, and not only mediating the Yemen crisis. The Israeli daily The Times of Israel reported concerns that any Omani-sponsored rapprochement between Riyadh and Tehran might not be in the interest of Israel. It referred to a previous meeting in Baghdad as mainly focusing on Yemen, but talks in Oman would be on broader issues.

Yet few observers are optimistic about the Omani role in ending the war in Yemen. The Saudi commentator Abdul-Aziz Alkhames told the Weekly that nothing much is expected of Omani mediation. Alkhames added that the problem with the Houthi militia is Iranian support which creates conditions prior to any possible peace talks. Neither Oman nor any others will be able to achieve a breakthrough in settling the Yemeni conflict peacefully as long as Houthis see no need to compromise. They think they are in a better position and are not accepting negotiations.

While US-Iran talks in Vienna are ongoing and Washington plans on re-joining the nuclear deal, the Arab Gulf countries might be seeking their own route to a new chapter in relations with Iran. That would be the first step in sorting out the Yemen crisis and similar issues in the region where Iran and its proxies are involved. As the British commentator put it, An Iranian president leaning to the right might be the person to make peace with Gulf neighbours. Look to Israel for example: leftist governments always talked about peace with Arab countries, but it was always Likud governments that made it.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 15 July, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


A decade of pointless negotiations with Ethiopia over the building of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile has convinced the Egyptian leadership that it is time to take matters to international mediation before Egypt has to resort to firmer action. The UN Security Council meeting on the matter on 8 July was part of this intention on the part of the Egyptian government, designed to counter Ethiopias irresponsible insistence on treating the Nile as its own possession.

The debate over the use of a river originating in one country and flowing through another has long been settled by the international law governing such issues. Accordingly, the claim by Ethiopia that the Nile originates on its territory and thus that it has the right to control it is simply an act of aggression that places this already divided country in the line of fire from its neighbours, particularly those who rely on the Nile for their survival such as Egypt and Sudan.

During the recent Security Council session, the Ethiopian representative, his countrys Minister of Irrigation Seleshi Bekele, delivered a speech full of arrogance and self-deception. He started by saying that he was amazed to find himself addressing the Security Council, adding that he was the first such minister to do so. But, of course, the Ethiopian government chose him as the representative of his country in making this speech.

Bekele then repeated his countrys claim that it is willing to resolve the crisis and that the real issue was that Egypt and Sudan are not willing to do so. Bekele tried to stress the importance of the African Union (AU) being the primary sponsor of the negotiations and not the UN Security Council. But he failed to mention the fact that Ethiopia has broken its commitments and every agreement it has signed on the GERD, the last of which was the memorandum of understanding between Egypt and Ethiopia in 2015.

Ethiopias record of bailing out of any signed agreement is well known, and from here came the importance of involving the Security Council in the negotiations before any further escalation of conflict in the region.

The international community has not seen the escalating situation between Egypt and Ethiopia as perilous enough to intervene, despite Ethiopias complete disregard of international law. This complacency has empowered the regime in Addis Ababa to continue its tomfoolery with the continuous building of the massive dam, and it has even gone as far as to threaten to build a hundred more, according to its Foreign Ministry.

This very declaration exposes the lies that the Ethiopian regime has been trying to sell to the international community and its claims that it seeks a peaceful resolution of the crisis with Egypt. To cover up its domestic failures, the Ethiopian regime led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has incited the Ethiopian public against Egypt through an elaborate media campaign that claims that Egypt is one of the reasons for Ethiopias failure as a state  a claim that could not be more ludicrous.

Egypts allies and friends around the world understand the severity of the situation. Former US president Donald Trump wondered why Egypt had allowed the building of the dam, asking why it did not simply demolish it. He said the Egyptians would take it down if they had to, adding that he would not blame them if they did. However, Egypt chose not to take this road, even though it is more than capable of doing so effectively.

The Egyptian state has chosen diplomacy instead, given the stark quantitative and qualitative difference between the sophisticated Egyptian army and the rudimentary Ethiopian one. Moreover, there are other aspects to consider if military operations are to be initiated by Egypt over the GERD crisis. As President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi has said, a war over this issue would cause mayhem in the region and eventually affect the whole world.

A new war in the region, or even a limited conflict, could result in the disruption of the flow of vessels through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal for as long as military operations are ongoing. The Suez Canal blockage in March this year caused global trade losses amounting to $9 billion, and that was just over the one week of the canals closure. Should a new war occur, these losses will take place over a longer period and cause a spike in oil prices as well as shipping prices should the war drag on.

Thanks to Egyptian diplomatic efforts led by Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri, the international communitys response to Egypts call to intervene before the situation escalates has been in many cases conspicuous, with the Arab League, the US and the European Union all issuing statements. The Russian response has been obscure and requires clarification. That said, there has still been no clear message from the international community to hold Ethiopia to its responsibilities over the GERD. This kind of complacency will escalate the situation in the coming period, as Egypt will not put up with further incursions by the regime in Addis Ababa.

The world has stood by nearly silent as the Ethiopian regime has murdered and tortured thousands of people in the Tigray region of the country. Egypt cannot be a victim of this regime, as it has more than enough capabilities to defend its national interests. The Ethiopian regimes threatening tone against Egypt and Sudan does not befit a country that is itself fighting a civil war and that has already been responsible for massacres. The Tigray Defence Forces fighting the government in Addis Ababa have reclaimed the capital of the Tigray region and kicked out the Ethiopian army forces in a humiliating defeat for the regime.

Ahmed must not be allowed to use the GERD to cover up his regimes crimes in the country and thus cause the larger crime of disrupting water supplies to over 150 million people in Egypt and Sudan. It is up to the Security Council and its permanent members to realise that a war may be imminent if they do not keep the Ahmed regime in check and oblige it to negotiate in accordance with international law.

If this does not take place, Egypt will defend its God-given right to the Nile, emphasising its position as the first and most important ancient civilisation in the world founded on its banks. It is imperative for Egypt to maintain the security of its citizens, which far surpasses the importance of maintaining cordial relations with Ethiopia.

The writer is a political analyst and author of Egypts Arab Spring: The Long and Winding Road to Democracy.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 8 July, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

Short link:


Negotiations are in progress in New York over a proposed Security Council resolution calling on all parties in the dispute over Ethiopias Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD) to return to the negotiating table. The goal would be to hammer out a binding agreement on the rules for filling and operating the dam. The negotiations would take place under African Union (AU) sponsorship and be attended by key international observers. Egyptian and Sudanese diplomats are shuttling between influential world capitals in order to clarify the Sudanese-Egyptian position and the need for a binding agreement before the dispute reaches a point it can no longer be contained. Perhaps the most significant recent development in this regard was the statement released by the EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Commission on 8 July, expressing the EUs disappointment with Ethiopia for having proceeded with the second filling unilaterally and calling for a clear roadmap to ensure that serious negotiations between Cairo, Khartoum and Addis Ababa resume as soon as possible.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukris talks in Brussels were consistent with this and with Egypts desire to break the vicious circle of negotiating rounds with Addis Ababa that lead nowhere. It is not enough just to return to the negotiating table. There have to be genuine guarantees, especially on the technical track, that the talks under AU auspices will not end in failure again. The very fact that the UN Security Council (UNSC) convened to discuss this crisis is proof of how precarious it is, especially after the Ethiopian speech exposed Addis inveterate intransigence and persistent unilateralism. The Ethiopian spokesman made it clear that his government has no desire to consult with or share information with the downstream nations despite the peril GERD poses to Sudan and Egypt both in terms of water supply and the possible structural instability of the dam itself.

The positions of Egypt and Sudan, on the one hand, and Ethiopia, on the other, are so far apart on some crucial issues that third parties are needed to break the impasse between them. The parties most able to do this are the UN, the EU and the US. Egypt and Sudan want a timeframe for the anticipated new round of negotiations and they want the output to be consistent with the rules and principles governing the management of shared watercourses, as this is the best means to achieve sustainable development in all three countries, the fulfillment of their rights, and the sound, equitable and optimal usage of Nile waters. Egypt, which has consistently advocated such principles, has never denied Ethiopias right to develop and to generate electricity. Indeed, Egypt took the lead in submitting proposals for electricity grid linkups.

History tells us that crises of this sort start when the international community ignores the signs they are looming and that they end when the international community acts together to solve them before they escalate into major and extended conflicts. Although many UNSC members are reluctant to embroil that body in water disputes, which is understandable in the context of the intricate and sensitive nature of international relations, Egypt strongly believes that pre-emptive diplomacy is of the essence in order to forestall further deterioration of the situation after Ethiopia initiated the second filling of GERD, in a direct challenge to Cairo and Khartoum, and in defiance of international norms and principles. Ethiopia is not interested in talks that would lead to a binding agreement. It dismisses the notion of a dispute settlement mechanism and it refuses to discuss the dangers of drought and prolonged drought. In short, it places no value on the lives and wellbeing of millions of people in Sudan and Egypt. This type of behaviour can only generate more severe conflict in the near future.

If regional and international peace and security are to be preserved, then the countries that want to address this problem outside of the UNSC must treat Egypt and Sudans concerns seriously. International observers in any negotiating process must prove themselves effective in bridging points of view and imposing a roadmap. This is the only realistic alternative to the UNSC platform, which some fear would be too politically sensitive at this point as it would set a precedent for the international handling of water disputes while others caution that this is precisely the type of issue the UNSC should begin to consider in light of the spectre of mounting conflicts over water resources because of climate change.

The fact is that Ethiopia has already politicised GERD. The government there has capitalised on it for domestic gains and it has set its sights on regional gains, inspired by the unrealistic dream of weaponising water in order to impose its political hegemony over other Nile Basin countries.

International stakeholders in East Africa need to see Addis Ababas designs for what they are and act quickly to promote a roadmap to resolve this crisis.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 8 July, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

Short link:


There is a river that has gently flowed for 30 million years, six times older than previously thought.



It could have been just another river, on the face of the earth, like the hundreds of thousands flowing across the globe. No one has really counted them but estimates run to over 250,000, with 76 rivers that are 1,000 miles long and 160 that are considered major. This could have been any one of those rivers, but it was not.



This river had a historic mission to accomplish.



It was destined to create the greatest civilisation man has ever known. It is the River Nile. Its very name evokes a thrilling sensation of excitement and wonder. For thousands of years, it has and always will be, the source of life in Egypt.



It travels for 6,650km from its origin in Africa, and takes an unusual flow northwards, unlike most rivers, until it reaches the Mediterranean Sea in Alexandria.



On its northward journey it cruises through 10 or 11 countries: Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, and Egypt.



The flow into Egypt is in itself a miracle .Researchers, among the University of Texas scientists, published a study in Nature Geoscience, which assessed the links between geographical and physical features, and connected the Niles topography to its age as well as its journey. It revealed a conveyor mantle of mountain rock rushing up against the Ethiopian highlands in the South, and pulling the surface down to the north.



This incline kept the Nile on a consistent northward course from its beginning to the end.



The study said if it were not for the mantle movement, the Nile would have turned West long ago  but nothing would stop this river from its mission. History would not be changed. As destiny would have it, after the West turn, it turns north again by making a great half-circle to the East and then back to its northern course.



Finally reaching Cairo it splits into two branches or distributaries that feed the Mediterranean, the Rosetta branch to the West and the Damietta branch to the East, forming the Nile Delta.



Another miraculous occurrence took place over 10,000 years ago. Evidence of habitation in Egypt stretches back tens of thousands of years. The earliest inhabitants of the Stone Age, the hunter-gatherers roamed the desert area, rich in wild life. However, the Sahara desert began to expand and no specific reason is known to date. Scientists have two theories, a tilt of the earth or a change in rainfall patterns. The desert nomads needed to move closer to the river in search of water.



Grateful to the river that gave them life, they deified it. The population grew, so did their prosperity and output. They called their great river Hapi  and happy it made them indeed. They built a civilisation that became a wonder of the world. Monuments, architecture, art, trade, science, medicine, crafts, there was no end to their ingenuity.



When the Greek historian Herodotus, came to visit this wonderland, he wrote: Egypt is the gift of the Nile.



He was right of course, but Egyptians gave back to the Nile by building a civilisation that lasted 8,000 years and was the root of the Greek, Roman and other civilisation to come.



There is no place to list ancient Egypts accomplishments, and certainly not to take away from other great, ancient pre-historic civilisations: Sumeria, Phoenicia, Carthage, Kush, Nubia, China, Ethiopia among others.



The purpose is to emphasise the Nile and what it meant to Egypt and the Egyptians. If you hear that Africa is the cradle of civilization, which civilisation comes to mind?



Despite foreign conquests and colonisations, it stood firm and erect, retaining its identity, expanding, turning the foreigner into a proud Egyptian.



It became a seat of learning with its famous ancient Biblotecca, Plutach, Diogenes, Laetitius Pythagorus, Aristotle among others came to study in Egypt, a mystical wonder of spirituality, of creation, of love and of wisdom, the land of Isis and Osiris, of the Sun God Ra and Akhenaten the worlds first monotheist.



The Roman historian Seneca, owned land in Egypt. He wrote of the miracle of the exotic fame of the Nile and how efficiently by Egyptians used it.



In modern times, the discovery of the impeccable tomb of king Tutankhamun, fondly known the world over as King Tut, who was only 19 when he died. The discovery of his tomb in 1922 created a veritable mania worldwide. Fashion, furniture, costumes, Art Deco designs even hair styles and perfumes were dedicated to the boy king.



Who has not heard of Hatshepsuts courage, the perfection of Queen Nefertiti, or of Cleopatras allure, marrying a Roman emperor, and dying for the love of her Antony.



Every discovery of the ancients brings back the magic of the land to the consciousness of the world. The discovery of the solar boats that sailed into the night with the dying pharaoh, was so perfect and astounding, it was front news on The New York Times for six consecutive days in 1954, only WWII took received that kind of coverage



Hollywood has not missed a beat in depicting ancient Egypt and the Ten Commandments. This is where Moses kneeled to God, this is where the Virgin Mary found refuge from King Herod.



Authors, historians, and scientists are still enchanted by the land of the Nile.







Herodotus today would write: Egypt is the Nile! The Nile is Egypt!



Whoever drinks of the waters of the Nile, will surely return.



Old saying (accredited to Napoleon)

*A version of this article appears in print in the 15 July, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


We were sitting in a cafe watching one of the Arab satellite TV channels when one person referred sarcastically to an analyst being interviewed on a talk show. These experts make fortunes without putting in much effort, he said. My attempts to explain that such experts had probably invested years studying until they had reached that status did not seem to resonate.



But this person may not be the only one thinking this way. Many experts have been keeping a low profile despite the fact that they are more and more in demand, particularly since the outbreak of the Arab Spring revolutions in 2011 and due to the acceleration and complexity of events in the region.



An average Arab satellite channel hosts some 25 experts per day in different domains, social, political, and economic, asking his or her opinion of events. According to the Arab Broadcasting Union, there are now some 133 Arab news channels out of a total of some 1,101 Arab channels. This means that more than 3,300 experts are hosted on Arab channels daily, assuming that the same faces do not show up more than once.



Moreover, there are also thousands of experts working in universities and research centres who do not show up on our screens. This means that there is now a huge number of experts in different fields playing influential roles in forming public opinion and government policy-making.



Are these experts really adequately qualified? This has been an issue of debate recently, particularly as many people may call themselves strategic experts when there is no guarantee that they have a long-term vision of current events.



The controversy is not unique to the Arab region, but is rather a global issue. Google the word expert, and you will be inundated with sarcastic comments and YouTube videos poking fun at various experts views in both the Arab and Western countries.



US writer Tom Nichols, author of The Death of Expertise: the Campaign against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters, examines the relationship between experts and others and has expressed his frustration at the demise of the public credibility of many experts. The Internet is one reason why experts have been keeping a low public profile, he says, as it can provide the illusion that almost anyone knows enough to challenge expert views.



Such attacks on experts, however, may not be totally unfounded. The rise of the populist tide in much of the world and the dramatic ebb of democracy have provided a platform for some political leaders to express their hostility towards experts. Former US president Donald Trump slammed experts in his last election campaign as terrible, for example. Trump also ridiculed the views of chief US epidemiologist Anthony Fauci during the Covid-19 pandemic.



In the same vein, the UK Brexit also unveiled a rift between anti-Brexit experts and sections of society insisting that Britain should maintain its EU membership and pro-Brexit populist politicians. UK Minister Michael Gove publicly slammed experts critical of Brexit, for example.



Yet, there are certain international criteria that all experts should adhere to. An expert should have scientific integrity and remain objective when analysing phenomena. He or she should have the skills to present a new vision when tackling certain issues. More importantly, an expert should have the ability to provide reliable expectations that can enable decision-makers and others to confront future crises and reduce potential losses.



Expert credibility comes under fire when such views and expectations prove unrealistic. This gap between expert viewpoints and reality undermines the prestige of experts, as people start to think that perhaps they have not looked deeply enough into what they are talking about or studied it well enough. They may think that some experts are biased or controlled by personal whims or serve the agendas of various parties.



This dilemma is particularly evident in the field of forecasting. Experts lose public trust when they fail to anticipate major crises. Although there have always been expectations that epidemics could occur, no expert predicted the Covid-19 pandemic or warned that it could sweep the globe and impact life in such an unprecedented way.



Experts can fail in their predictions for two main reasons, many studies agree. The first is linked to the nature of the tools employed in building future knowledge and expectations, which may lack objectivity and tend toward generalisation. The second may be what experts themselves call cognitive blindness, meaning building judgements of current events on the logic of previous experiences, leading to unexpected surprises.



The 2011 Arab Spring revolutions may be a case in point. Before 2011, protests had already erupted across the region, but many experts underestimated or even ignored them on the grounds that the Arab regimes were in full control of their societies. They similarly underestimated the impact of social media and miscalculated the magnitude of pent-up public ire due to the deterioration in economic, social, and political aspects of life in the region.







DILEMMA OF STANDARDS: However, experts remain an influential force that states employ to support their policies and enhance their global status. Experts are the ones who produce government narratives that shape foreign policies and form global agendas.



The spread of the rhetoric of economic reform, governance, conflict resolution, and other such buzzwords reflects the influence of experts in forming global policies. US political scientist Joseph Nye has been influential in reshaping perceptions of power through the concept of soft power, for example.



One of the reasons behind the US rise after World War II was its appreciation of experts, seeing them as qualified to interpret crises and propose alternative policies. It is therefore not surprising that the US today has the largest number of the worlds most influential think tanks even after its relative decline with Chinas rise to power over the past two decades.



According to the Pennsylvania Global Index, which measures these and other things, there are about 1,777 think tanks in the US, in addition to its prominent universities and media that influence global public opinion.



The global force of such experts has led many US research centres like Brookings, Carnegie, Rand, and others to be even keener on applying strict standards of expertise, particularly in academic teaching. Academics employed in such centres have lists of qualifications, and in addition to various degrees they have many publications in the field of their specialisation and long years of experience. They have often undertaken security and diplomatic positions.



This means that such experts should possess academic knowledge as well as field experience. It is also important that they should have scientific and academic references as a further guarantee that they are qualified for the job and that their work is open to public inspection.



Arab experts, on the other hand, may not be qualified in quite the same sense since the Arab region has different political and social conditions as well as less money for scientific research. There are fewer opportunities for people to receive institutional training in different fields.



According to Mohamed Ezz Al-Arab, an expert at the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, the centre employs three criteria for hiring experts. They should have a doctoral degree in the social sciences, should have spent 10 years in a prior appointment, and should have published at least five studies in their field of specialisation.



However, the problem with Arab experts, Ezz Al-Arab said, is that they have fewer opportunities to mingle with people in general compared to experts in western countries, and they thus depend more on office than on field work when analysing phenomena. This has put the credibility of Arab experts into question, since some of them may not live up to the international standards set for such expertise.



In the meantime, the fact that many Arab satellite TV channels have to cope with limited margins of freedom and the lack of expertise in the region have resulted in the rise of a new kind of media expert who may not be deeply acquainted with the nature of events and may sometimes be interviewed just because they have views that match the editorial policy of the host channel.



Groups of so-called on-call experts have thus emerged, being experts who are ready to analyse any event or issue even outside their field of expertise because they are ready to speak to the camera and have views matching the editorial policies of the interviewing channel. Such on-call experts may use terms that lend an aura of superiority to what they are saying in attempts to legitimise government policies.







CLIMATE PRESSURE: The political climates in which they operate form a source of pressure on many experts. In times of political turbulence, they have great influence over public opinion since many ordinary citizens depend on them to clear the fog surrounding events.



In the wake of the Arab revolutions, for instance, the media had an increasing influence in mobilising the public, whose power rose in the face of governments.



It is no surprise that the 2016 Arab Satellite Broadcasting Report, a survey of media in the region, indicated a growth in the number of satellite TV channels from 440 to 1,122 launched in the period between 2006-2007 and 2016. This meant that more and more experts were needed to explain and even justify events in the light of a highly polarised environment between supporters and opponents of the Arab Spring.



Meanwhile, the emergence of a number of think tanks and research centres on the Arab region also gave rise to a new calibre of experts seeking fame on the satellite channels. They might be looking for PR to promote their own careers or to promote the centres they were working for. This has been particularly the case in the Arab region, where thousands of PhD holders have sought the limelight. In Egypt, for instance, estimates by the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) indicate that 9,000 people obtained PhDs in 2019 alone.



In the meantime, the failure of the Revolutions, the collapse of state structures in Libya and Yemen, the rise of armed militias, and cross-border terrorism have all given rise to a new calibre of security and strategic experts who have been badly needed to explain such events to the public on satellite channels.



The problem is that these experts may not always live up to high standards. According to Khaled Okasha, a security expert and director of the Egyptian Centre for Strategic Studies, the turmoil and high speed of events in the Arab region have increased demands for security experts to speak to the media. He says that those who do so should be qualified, adding that military and security academies such as the Nasser Military Academy and the Police Academy both grant scientific degrees and qualifications at the international level.



A further problem is that some experts may function as agents or spokesmen either for the authorities or for the opposition. This politicisation of expert views has sometimes undermined their credibility. People may suspect the knowledge that such experts provide, thinking that they are defending a particular political party in an attempt to reach the official policy-making rank in the framework of the rotation of elites. The fact that many government officials are already employed in research centres upon their retirement is already widespread in Europe and the United States.



Experts tend to be more politicised at times of political polarisation. In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, the satellite channels provided platforms for competing experts who provided different takes on such issues as the NATO intervention in Libya, the war in Yemen and Syria, and the recent normalisation with Israel, for example.



When experts get politicised, they may suffer from the same so-called confirmation bias as ordinary citizens, selecting information that serves their arguments and supports their viewpoint and ignoring the rest. However, unlike ordinary citizens, experts choices may not be just the product of human error.



The issue of who is funding the experts also undermines their credibility, since their views may be seen as serving the agenda of their financiers rather than providing objective knowledge to the public.



Canadian author Alain Deneault has been highly critical of experts who commodify knowledge and defend various interests. For Deneault, such experts think according to who pays them and who funds their research since many major companies, including oil companies, finance research centres where experts may be asked to express views that serve the economic interests of the companies in the global market.



Experts may even get excluded in cases where they disagree with the policies of those financing them. A case in point was a recent incident when US expert Barry Lane was expelled from the New America Research Centre in 2017 after supporting an EU decision to impose fines on Google for abusing its powers over the Internet. Google was one of the largest funders of this centre.







CONSPIRACIES AND PROPAGANDA: Some experts have also recently come under fire for spreading false information or conspiracy theories that lack evidence and are not based on reliable sources, a matter which has recently become a subject of political satire in the media.



The Covid-19 pandemic has created fertile soil for experts to spread conspiracy theories since people have been stressed or even panicked by it. This general atmosphere of fear has pushed some experts to simplify events and jump to conclusions without adequate study or reliable evidence, and this has reinforced the US-China war of mutual accusation on who was responsible for spreading the virus.



Conspiracy theories have been spread by academic experts such as Tim Hayward from the University of Edinburgh in the UK and Russian biologist Igor Nikulin, who have insisted that the new coronavirus is a biological weapon invented by the West to weaken China. They have also said that international institutions have been exploiting the epidemic in order to promote genetically modified vaccines.



The coronavirus crisis has also provided a platform for non-specialists to promote views regarding the pandemic and the effectiveness of vaccines. Dozens of videos circulating on YouTube feature non-epidemiologists as well as media professionals and YouTubers giving their takes on the issue of vaccination, warning against it or even slamming it as part of an international game to control human beings, all without providing any evidence or even being specialists in the field.



Such conspiracy theories and non-specialist opinions greatly contributed to the initial public reluctance to accept the vaccines, also casting doubt on the opinion of experts at the World Health Organisation (WHO).



These factors have shaken the status of experts in the Arab region and the rest of the world, but they do not mean they no longer have any power. Their speculations may falter and they may get mired in polarisation and conspiracy theories, but they still have an important role to play in promoting public awareness and orienting governments. After all, India and Brazil lost billions of dollars and thousands of lives when they ignored expert opinions on the coronavirus pandemic.



Maintaining the status of experts may require a national and global review of the professional and ethical standards governing their work, whether addressing public opinion or dealing with decision-making circles.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 15 July, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

Short link:


Malta lifts ban on unvaccinated travellers



AFP, , Tuesday 13 Jul 2021



Persons who arrive to Malta from any of the countries listed... without being in possession of a vaccination certificate shall be required to submit themselves to a period of quarantine, the government said



Malta reversed plans to introduce a ban on unvaccinated travellers just hours before it was due to come into effect Wednesday, with those without coronavirus jabs able now to quarantine.



"Persons who arrive to Malta from any of the countries listed... without being in possession of a vaccination certificate shall be required to submit themselves to a period of quarantine," the government said in a legal note issued late Tuesday.



The length of the quarantine period was not immediately clear, although Malta had already imposed a requirement for those arriving from certain "red" countries to spend 14 days in self-isolation.



The Mediterranean island nation last week said it would become the first European country to impose a ban on unvaccinated travellers after a spike in Covid-19 cases.



But that announcement drew criticism from the European Commission, as it risked undermining an EU-wide travel certificate that shows whether someone is vaccinated, has recovered from coronavirus or has recently tested negative.



Health minister Chris Fearne had appeared to shut the door completely on US tourists and others, saying last Friday that only a Maltese, British or European vaccination certificate would be valid for entry.



However many more countries are included in the new legal notice, which comes into effect on Wednesday, including most of the United States, Japan and others.



Unvaccinated Malta residents who found themselves outside the country when the rules changed can show a negative PCR test, as long as the country involved is on the approved list.



https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/417151.aspx
KYODO NEWS - Jul 13, 2021 - 23:37 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

The administration of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga faced a growing backlash Tuesday for a controversial plan, retracted after a day, to have financial institutions help enforce a ban on eateries serving alcohol in Tokyo to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Both ruling and opposition parties criticized the proposal, viewed as an implicit threat to withhold loans from restaurants and bars already hit hard by the pandemic.

Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of the coronavirus response, apologized at a press conference for "causing confusion and anxiety" by suggesting the move last Thursday.

"I failed to fully get across the point, so I feel sorry," he added, while denying he would resign as a minister over the matter.

The government said it had also abandoned a plan to ask beverage wholesalers to stop selling alcohol to eateries during the state of emergency, also in place in Okinawa.

Nishimura said an official from the Cabinet Secretariat had briefed Suga and other members of his Cabinet on the plan to call on financial institutions to help enforce the alcohol ban.

It appeared to contradict Suga's assertion Friday that he "had no knowledge" of Nishimura's statements the previous day.

The government's top spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato, told a separate press conference the meeting with Cabinet members in question was on Wednesday, but there had been no discussion of specific measures.

The government said Tuesday it had also abandoned a plan to ask beverage wholesalers to stop selling alcohol to eateries during the state of emergency, also in place in Okinawa, a senior administration official said.

Under the COVID-19 state of emergency covering Tokyo from Monday through Aug. 22, restaurants and bars are prohibited from serving alcohol and are required to close by 8 p.m.

The plan regarding financial institutions sparked an outcry among eateries, some of which have defied the restrictions amid the government's slow payout of "cooperation money" for businesses that comply.

The No. 2 figure in Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai, on Tuesday expressed his chagrin at Nishimura's suggestion of the move, ahead of a general election later this year.

"I'd like him to give us an explanation beforehand in order to avoid any misunderstanding, and to be careful in putting out his message," Nikai was quoted by a senior LDP official as saying at a party meeting.

Meanwhile, Yukio Edano, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said "the problem is with the entire administration, not just Nishimura." The opposition is expected to further press the matter in parliamentary hearings later this week.

Related coverage:

Japan retracts controversial policy over alcohol-serving restaurants

Nishimura vowed to stay on as minister, saying he will "live up to the responsibility of curbing the spread of the virus and creating an environment in which businesses can be maintained."

Last Thursday, he said the government would share with financial institutions information about their clients running restaurants and bars that were not following the alcohol ban, and wanted such institutions to request compliance with anti-virus measures.

The Cabinet Secretariat the same day sent the finance and industry ministries a document asking them to seek the cooperation of lenders including state-backed ones under their jurisdictions, indicating the government had already been moving to put the plan into action.

Nishimura retracted the plan the following day.

Other Cabinet members claimed they had been opposed to the proposal from the beginning, with Finance Minister Taro Aso saying he told his aide to ignore the directive.

The government has been encouraging financial institutions to provide more loans to eateries, but the policy "was about stopping making loans, which did not make sense," he said.

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama said he "strongly felt there was something wrong" with making such a request to financial institutions and instructed ministry officials to find out what the purpose was, adding he did not give approval to go along with the plan.
KYODO NEWS - Jul 13, 2021 - 13:34 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

Japan will donate 1 million additional doses of a COVID-19 vaccine each to Taiwan, Indonesia and Vietnam later this week, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Tuesday.

The provision of Britain's AstraZeneca Plc vaccine manufactured in Japan under license to Taiwan from Thursday comes on top of a total of some 2.37 million shots already delivered to the self-ruled island in two batches since early June.

The offers of AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Indonesia, where a highly contagious Delta variant is spreading quickly, and Vietnam from Thursday also follow initial donations of some 1 million doses and 2 million shots, respectively.

Japan has so far provided AstraZeneca vaccine doses also to Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Separately, Motegi said Japan is coordinating near-term shipment of a total of about 11 million shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine to 15 countries including Cambodia, Laos, Fiji, Kiribati and Iran through the U.N.-backed COVAX global vaccine sharing program.

Japan has enough AstraZeneca doses for 60 million people and approved their use in May, but does not intend to use them immediately due to rare cases of blood clots reported overseas.
By Reito Kaneko, KYODO NEWS - Jul 13, 2021 - 21:01 | All, Japan

Stability in the Taiwan Strait is more important than ever, threatened by increasing Chinese military pressure, Japan's annual defense report said Tuesday, touching on the issue for the first time.

This year's white paper, reported to the Cabinet the same day, said China has further intensified military activities around Taiwan with some 380 Chinese warplanes entering Taiwan's southwestern airspace in 2020, citing data from the island's Defense Ministry.

The paper also mentioned that Chinese warships, including an aircraft carrier, sailed through the Bashi Channel, the waterway connecting the South China Sea with the western Pacific Ocean, and conducted a military drill last year.

"Stabilizing the situation surrounding Taiwan is important for Japan's security and the stability of the international community," the paper said.

"With military activities in the East and South China seas and around Taiwan becoming more active, we need to pay more attention to the military trends of the two countries (the United States and China) in the Indo-Pacific region," Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said at a press conference when asked why Taiwan stability was mentioned in the report.

As attention was growing to the timeline of a possible Chinese invasion of the island democracy, former U.S. Indo-Pacific Command chief Adm. Philip Davidson said in March that China could try to invade Taiwan "in the next six years."

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and U.S. President Joe Biden said in a joint statement in April that peace and stability are important across the strait, the first reference to Taiwan by the two countries' leaders in such a document in more than half a century.

Taiwan and mainland China have been governed separately since they split amid a civil war in 1949. Beijing has since regarded Taiwan as a renegade province awaiting reunification by force if necessary.

While pledging to build up his nation's military, Chinese President Xi Jinping committed to the "reunification" of Taiwan with the mainland in a speech on the 100th anniversary of the ruling Communist Party's founding.

In reaction to the release of the paper, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters, "China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes" the report.

Japan has "grossly interfered" in China's internal affairs, "unreasonably condemned" China's normal defense and military activities and "exaggerated the so-called Chinese threat," Zhao said.

Kishi wrote the preface for the paper in a rare move, saying Japan would collaborate with such countries as Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, India, New Zealand and the United States that share the same value to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific, an initiative apparently aimed at countering China's rising assertiveness.

"It expresses my determination as defense minister to protect the country, including values" such as freedom, democracy, the rule of law and respect for fundamental human rights, Kishi said at the press conference.

The Taiwan issue was raised in the white paper to show that concerns voiced in the Japan-U.S. leaders' communique remain intact, said Takeshi Yuzawa, a professor of international relations of East Asia at Hosei University.

"Japan's intention is also reflected to show its increasingly serious concerns over China's military activity against Taiwan," he said.

The paper gives harsher criticism for China's "unilateral attempts to change the status quo by coercion" near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

Last year, Chinese coast guard vessels were spotted near the islands for 111 consecutive days, the longest streak since Japan bought the islets from a private owner and put them under state control in 2012. The paper claims activities of Chinese vessels represent "a violation of international law."

Beijing implemented a maritime law in February that allows its coast guard to use weapons against foreign vessels it views as illegally entering its waters.

The law "includes problematic provisions in terms of inconsistency with international law," the paper said.

The paper includes a new section focusing on U.S.-China relations, describing the world's two biggest economies as being in a "strategic race" and saying their rivalry will be even more apparent in various fields.

Related coverage:

Japan, U.S. urge China to comply with tribunal ruling on South China Sea

FOCUS: G-20 hails cooperation, but ease in U.S.-China tensions not in sight
KYODO NEWS - Jul 13, 2021 - 18:20 | All, Japan

Japan and Britain have held an anti-piracy military drill in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia in East Africa, Japan's Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said Tuesday.

The drill, conducted on Sunday and Monday, involved the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Setogiri and P-3C patrol planes as well as a strike group of the British aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth, the Royal Navy's largest warship, Kishi said.

U.S. and Dutch naval vessels accompanying the British strike group also participated in the exercise, according to the defense minister. It marked the first time for the MSDF to hold a joint drill with the Queen Elizabeth.

"Together with Britain, the United States and the Netherlands, we have demonstrated our willingness and capability to ensure the safety of sea traffic that is the cornerstone of global prosperity," Kishi told a press conference Tuesday.

"We will continue to conduct joint exercises with the strike group in a strategic manner," he added.

The strike group left Britain in May for the western Pacific to showcase London's increased engagement in the Indo-Pacific in the face of Beijing's active presence in the East and South China seas.

During the joint antipiracy drill, the participating units engaged in replenishment at sea and photographing vessels, according to the Japanese Defense Ministry.

Japan has dispatched the destroyer Setogiri and P-3C aircraft for an anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden.

Related coverage:

Japan, Britain to hold joint naval drill in Gulf of Aden
KYODO NEWS - Jul 13, 2021 - 16:00 | All, Japan

Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi said Tuesday he expects space tourism to "accelerate rapidly" after U.S. company Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. successfully carried passengers to the edge of space on the weekend.

"I think changes such as a collapse in the cost (of space tourism) will happen soon," Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said in an interview with Kyodo News.

The 56-year-old, who returned to Earth in May after a six-month stay at the International Space Station, predicted that costs could fall from tens of millions of yen per person at present to fit the budgets of ordinary tourists.

"I think we can organize 'a six-day space trip with Noguchi'," the veteran astronaut joked. "If you want to see the aurora borealis, the coral reefs of the Caribbean Sea, and the Himalayas in one day, the only way will be through space travel."

On Sunday, Virgin Galactic's space plane flew to about 80 kilometers above Earth's surface, successfully sending the six passengers including the company's founder, billionaire British businessman Richard Branson, into suborbital space and allowing them to enjoy a few minutes of weightlessness.

In November last year, Noguchi arrived at the ISS aboard U.S. aerospace manufacturer SpaceX's Crew Dragon ship on his third mission to the station. In his two previous space missions in 2005 and 2009, he traveled on the Space Shuttle Discovery and a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

During his latest mission, Noguchi conducted his fourth spacewalk. He stayed on the ISS for a total of 335 days -- the longest by a Japanese astronaut.

Looking back on what was his third space flight conducted while he was in his 50s, Noguchi said, "I am happy to be able to keep challenging myself."

Noguchi said it is important for him to support astronauts following in his footsteps such as Kimiya Yui, 51, and expressed his desire to continue his involvement in JAXA's international space exploration.

Related coverage:

Japan astronaut Noguchi to return to Earth on April 28 aboard SpaceX ship

U.S., Japan, France astronauts arrive at ISS in SpaceX ship

Japan's Hoshide, other astronauts head to space station aboard SpaceX ship
KYODO NEWS - Jul 13, 2021 - 16:34 | World, All, Japan, Coronavirus

Surging coronavirus cases in Southeast Asia, in such countries as Malaysia and Indonesia, have started affecting the supply chains of Japanese companies, with the possibility of regional production disruption becoming more real.

In Malaysia, where lockdown has been in place since June 1, plants belonging to Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. remain closed. That is largely because of regulations that limit factory workers reporting to work to 10 percent or less.

The lockdown has already been extended twice, with more stringent restrictions imposed July 5 on Malaysia's capital region, where Japanese companies operating in the country are concentrated.

Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co., which makes smartphone materials in Malaysia, announced a production halt on July 5. Even though the government has since allowed the electronics industry to resume work, a press representative of the company says production will not return to earlier levels until sometime between late July and early August.

Japanese companies have also been hit hard in Indonesia, where daily new infections surpassed 40,000 on Monday. A survey conducted by the Japan External Trade Organization showed manufacturer after manufacturer decrying the increase in infections and the impact on their operations. One company reported having 18 percent of its workforce infected, creating problems for its operations.

Also finding it difficult to operate at full capacity due to restrictions imposed on people's movements, many Japanese companies operating in Indonesia are considering sending their Japanese expatriates back home.

An official of a Japanese automaker posted in Southeast Asia said the difference between the coronavirus pandemic and natural disasters lies in the former having a long-term impact on supply chains and hitting multiple areas simultaneously.

The official said that in Southeast Asia, where vaccine rollouts remain slow, it is difficult to make a one-year forecast, much less longer ones.

Thailand, considered a linchpin of Japanese companies' production networks in the region, has had a curfew imposed on the Bangkok region since Monday. But that has yet to be accompanied by strong restrictions on corporate operations. A Japanese electronics company suggested that the curfew's impact is expected to be limited.

Vietnam, once touted widely for successfully containing the pandemic, is experiencing a surge in cases in its largest city, Ho Chi Minh City.

So Kitami, a researcher at JETRO Bangkok, said that while Japanese companies are doing their best amid the pandemic, "there is a possibility that if infections continue to spread in other countries, regulations as strong as Malaysia's could be adopted there."

"That could sap the appetite for investment," he said.
KYODO NEWS - Jul 13, 2021 - 18:06 | News, All, Japan

Four electricians from the United States and Britain who came to Japan to work on the Tokyo Olympics have been arrested on suspicion of using cocaine, police said Tuesday.

The four -- two Britons and two Americans -- were arrested between July 3 and 5, but have denied the allegations, according to the police.

The four had entered Japan between February and May to take part in maintenance work for electric generators used at venues for the Tokyo Games, commencing their duties after completing a 14-day quarantine.

On July 2, all four were drinking at a bar in the capital's central Roppongi district from around 8 p.m. After leaving the bar, one of the suspects trespassed at a nearby apartment, prompting the police to hurry to the scene, according to the police.

A drugs test on the four men revealed cocaine use, they said.

Olympic minister Tamayo Marukawa said at a press conference Tuesday, "If (their crime) proves to be true, it's an incident that could damage the image of the games. It's really unfortunate."

The four, who are suspected of using cocaine between July 3 and 4, are employees of Tokyo-based Aggreko Events Services Japan, a local subsidiary of a foreign-owned firm dealing with electric generators.

The company said it is fully cooperating with the police investigation and that the four men have been suspended from their posts.

"We deeply apologize for any inconvenience this incident may have caused to the people of Japan, the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the athletes, and the many people who are working to ensure the safety of the Tokyo Olympics," it said in a statement.

The games organizers said it has issued a warning to Aggreko Events Services Japan and urged it to ensure no such similar incidents occur.

In light of the incident, Marukawa said, "Nonessential outings at night will not be tolerated, even after the quarantine period is over."
KYODO NEWS - Jul 13, 2021 - 15:09 | All, World

Japan will extend $5.8 million in emergency humanitarian aid to Myanmar where supplies of food and daily necessities are scarce following the Feb. 1 coup, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Tuesday.

The aid, to be delivered through U.N. agencies such as the World Food Program and the United Nations Children's Fund, is expected to cover supplies for some 136,000 people affected in the southeastern part of Myanmar near the Thai border, where living conditions have sharply deteriorated since the military takeover.

The latest provision by Japan is on top of its initial donation of $4 million in food aid, also through the WFP, to deliver food for about 600,000 people in Yangon, the largest city in Myanmar.

Japan has so far contributed about $20 million in humanitarian assistance to Myanmar, including the latest provision, following the ouster of Myanmar's democratically elected government and civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

"The Japanese government will continue to stand by the people of Myanmar in providing assistance," Motegi told a press conference.

Japan has condemned the Myanmar military's violent crackdown on peaceful protesters and called for a halt to violence, the release of Suu Kyi and other detainees and a return to the democratic process.

The government has put on hold new official development assistance for the Southeast Asian country in response to the coup, though it remains cautious about joining the United States and other democracies in imposing sanctions on individuals and groups involved.

Related coverage:

Myanmar sees daily COVID-19 infections surpass 5,000 for 1st time

Japan grants visas to 300 Myanmar nationals amid political unrest

Myanmar troops forced way into Japan diplomat's home in April: source
New Delhi:

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi on Monday announced Rs 6,000-7,000 crore investment plan in 100 Indian start-ups companies in order to strengthen their hardware and software ecosystem. Earlier in 2017, the tech giant had invested in 10 start-ups and with the new plans, they are taking a step forward towards their goal.

"Till 2017 the net investment of the company was Rs 3,000 crore. In the next five years we will invest Rs 6,000 crore to Rs 7,000 crore in around 100 start-ups in India," PTI quoted Manu Kumar Jain, the Managing Director and vice-president of Xiaomi India.

According to Jain, Xiaomi is especially interested to invest more in mobile tech side with the aim to strengthen hardware and software ecosystem of the start-ups. He has also promised to keep the momentum in Xiaomi's fastest growing success all over the world.

Much to the delight of customers, the company has recently unveiled its first flagship experience store in Chennai and is offering products sold in China but not available in India.

The products include an electric cycle, a self- balancing scooter, an electric folding bike, smart shoes, smart cooker, laptop, water purifier, he said.

"The company will use feedback from customers on these products to understand the level of customisation required before launching some of them in India," Jain added.

While Xiaomi was actually introduced to build an internet company back in 2000, currently it is known to be one of the leading smartphone companies across the globe. However, the company has several internet products called 'ecosystem products'. Smart shoes, smart cycles, smart scooters, smart air purifiers, smart water purifiers, and smart routers are some of those internet products available in China.

Also Read | Uber exits Southeast Asia; will not impact India operations

Talking about Xiaomi's future plans Jain said, "Our aim is to make everything smart, internet-enabled and eventually run by a smartphone.

"Everything that we have in China is not suitable for India market," he said. "For instance, we have a water purifier but it doesn't have a water tank whereas in India market where you have power and water shortage, you need a water tank," he added.

Xiaomi had already launched its televisions in China and is currently selling smartphones, air purifiers and different mobile accessories across Indian markets.

"India is a very important market for us and within a very short time, we have been able to capture significant market share in the smartphone market. TV is a big category after smartphones for Xiaomi and in China, we are the fastest growing TV brand," he said.

The combined market share of the company in online and offline is 27 per cent as per market research institute GFK, according to Jain.

"We grew almost 20-30 times in offline. We already have 2,500-Mi preferred partners in 25 big cities in India," he said.

While the company has over 750 mobile service centres in India, it wants to further manufacture other electronic products across the country.

"But we need certain volumes to start manufacturing and you have to do a return-on-Investment analysis. If that is favourable, we would want to set up local factories for everything here," Jain stated.

Also Read | Vivo V9 launched in India; Check price, specifications, features and more

The company has expanded to five big warehouses and 26 smaller ones in India, he added.

To a question, he said Chandigarh is one of the biggest centres for the company in north India.

"As per GFK, Xiaomi holds 40.3 per cent market share in Chandigarh's offline smartphone market for January 2018," he said.

(With inputs from agencies)
Lucknow:

A day after Mayawatis Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) suffered a setback in the Rajya Sabha biennial elections in spite of support from Samajwadi Party (SP), on Saturday she confirmed that results will unlikely impact the newfound affability between the 25 years arch-rivals.

The BSP chief also launched a sharp attack on the BJP for allegedly engaging in horse trading and fear to force lawmakers to switch sides, only because it wanted to defeat a Dalit candidate.

Fearing of the outcome of Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha bypoll results, the BJP tried to create a rift between the SP and BSP via the Rajya Sabha elections by forcing in a ninth candidate, Mayawati said.

We are happy with our performance, Our candidate supported by SP and BSP had garnered 32 seats in first preference but loss in because his numbers were more in the second preference, the BSP chief added.

Mayawati further asserted that she has no complaints against the SP and Congress. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav did what he had promised us, BSP chief added.

Stating reasons for the loss, Mayawati said that one of her own party members cheated them by cross-voting and accused the BJP of "playing dirty games to win the election".

We losing a seat is same as it is of the public. PM Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath government like always have misused the government machinery and perpetrated terror and fear along with horse trading to make a passage for its candidate to Rajya Sabha, Mayawati added.

The BSP chief also added that the Rajya Sabha polls is a clear example that BJP believes in money power than the constitution.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Scribes across the world regularly face dangers from ruling powers for revealing the truth. In India too, it is no different.

For years, editors and correspondents have been allegedly targeted in various ways by persons in the government ranks or people associated with underground groups.

An international report compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists ranks India as the deadliest nation for reporters in Asia, even more than Pakistan and Afghanistan. The killing of scribes in the country is only lower than war-torn Syria and Iraq.

The latest casualty of the profession are three young journalist  two from Bihar and one from Madhya Pradesh.

Journalist Sandeep Sharma, 35, was hit by a dumper from behind, killing him on the spot. He was going for a work assignment on Monday morning. His friends and family members have claimed that the hit and run case by a heavy vehicle was not a case of road accident.

Sharma was murdered for investigating the nexus between police and sand mafia in Madhya Pradeshs Bhind district, said a local scribe.

Navin Nishchal, a correspondent of leading vernacular newspaper in Bihar and his colleague Vijay Singh were rammed by a SUV allegedly driven by the village council headman and his son at Bihars Bhojpur district late on Sunday.

According to family members, Nishchal was recently threatened of dire consequences by a local leader for writing against him.

In February, a journalist in Lucknow was attacked by unknown assailants with rods and sharp weapons. He was lucky to survive the attack thanks to his wife who ran with a pistol for his rescue on hearing ruckus at outside the house.

According to CPJ data, 66 journalists were killed across the globe while carrying out their duty in 2017 and in India alone five journalists were brutally murdered.

The journos who lost their lives in 2017 for doing their work were Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru, Santanu Bhownik in Tripura, Sudip Datta in Tripura, Navin Gupta in Kanpur and Rajesh Sheoran in Haryana.

The profession has lost at least 64 brilliant journalists since 1992. The CPJ report states that the journalists who were killed had exposed corruption or government machinery and mafia nexus.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Amid the growing unity among Opposition parties against the BJP, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will attend a dinner hosted by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday.

Banerjee, who reached Delhi on Monday for a four-day visit has taken an initiative to forge an alliance of Opposition parties to defeat the BJP in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Aimed at consolidating Opposition unity for the upcoming general elections, NCP chiefs dinner is seen as another attempt towards an anti-BJP alliance after last weeks gathering at UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhis residence.

Mamata, who shares a healthy relationship with Sonia could not attend the dinner she hosted last week on March 14. But during the visit, she is also expected to meet the UPA chairperson on Wednesday.

Also Read | Mayawati firm on BSP-SP alliance to crush BJP in 2019

Mamata has termed her meeting with Sonia as "strictly personal visit". However, it was not clear whether she will also meet Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

Mamatas expected meeting with Sonia comes days after she met with Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao who is keen to form a federal front minus the BJP and the Congress.

However, Pawar is more likely to support an alliance formed around Congress and Mamata too will not support any scheme that keeps the Grand Old Party out of it.

In politics, situations sometimes allow everyone to come and work together. I have faith in democracy. It is best to work along with everyone, Mamata had said after meeting Rao.

She has also thrown her weight behind the SP-BSP alliance and welcomed Mayawatis statement that her partys alliance with Akhilesh Yadv-led Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh will remain at least till 2019.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Amid conflicting reports, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar in Delhi.

Earlier in the day, while talking to news agency ANI, Pawar had denied reports of any meeting taking place with the Bengal CM.

There is no meeting, there is no dinner, news agency ANI quoted the chief as saying.

The meeting between the two leaders is seen as an attempt towards stitching a federal front to defeat the BJP in 2019 Lok Sabha election.

A strident critic of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government, Banerjee is considered as one of the key interlocutors between opposition parties.

The Bengal CM, who reached Delhi on Monday for a four-day visit, is also expected to meet UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi at his residence on Wednesday.

Also Read | Mamata Banerjee in Delhi to meet Sharad Pawar, Sonia Gandhi; anti-BJP alliance on agenda

Banerjee, who shares a healthy relationship with Sonia, termed the meeting a "strictly personal visit". However, it was not clear whether she will also meet Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

Her expected meeting with Sonia would come days after she met Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who is keen to form a federal front minus the BJP and the Congress.

However, Pawar is more likely to support an alliance formed around Congress and Mamata too is unlikely to support any scheme that keeps the Grand Old Party out of it.

In politics, situations sometimes allow everyone to come and work together. I have faith in democracy. It is best to work along with everyone, Mamata had said after meeting Rao.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Washington:

In a decision reminiscent of the Cold War era, the US on Monday expelled 60 Russian diplomats, describing them as "intelligence officers" and ordered closure of the country's consulate in Seattle over the use of nerve agent allegedly by Moscow against a former Russian spy in the UK.



A dozen of these expelled diplomats are based at Russia's Permanent Mission to the UN.



" President Donald J Trump ordered the expulsion of dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States and the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle due to its proximity to one of our submarine bases and Boeing," the White House Press Secretary, Sarah Sanders, said.



All Russian diplomats, connected to the country's intelligence agencies, and their families have been given seven days' time to leave the country.



The White House said this is in retaliation to the use of nerve agent against former spy Sergei Skripal in the United Kingdom, which blames Russia for the attack.



Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, both remain critically ill in hospital in Britain.



Moscow has denied these allegations. The United Kingdom has already expelled 23 Russian diplomats.



The United States takes this action in conjunction with its NATO allies and partners around the world in response to Russia's use of a military-grade chemical weapon on the soil of the United Kingdom, the latest in its ongoing pattern of destabilising activities around the world, Sanders said.



"'s actions make the United States safer by reducing Russia's ability to spy on Americans and to conduct covert operations that threaten America's national security. With these steps, the United States and our allies and partners make clear to Russia that its actions have consequences," she said.



She said the US stands ready to cooperate to build a better relationship with Russia, but this can only happen with a change in the Russian government's behaviour.



There are 100 Russian intelligence officials based in the US. This is the first step, a senior Trump administration official told reporters during a conference call.



The US reserves the right to expel more, the official added.



The US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said that the United States has begun the process of expelling 12 intelligence operatives from the Russian Mission to the United Nations who have abused their privilege of residence in the United States.



"After a review, we have determined that the 12 intelligence operatives engaged in espionage activities that are adverse to? our national security. Our actions are consistent with the United Nations Headquarters Agreement," she said.



Haley said Trump's decision shows that Russia's actions have consequences.



"Beyond Russia's destabilising behaviour across the world, such as its participation in the atrocities in Syria and its illegal actions in Ukraine, it has now used a chemical weapon within the borders of one of our closest allies," she said.



"Here in New York, Russia uses the UN as a safe haven for dangerous activities within our own borders. , the United States and many of our friends are sending a clear message that we will not stand for Russia's misconduct," Haley said.



The strong US move comes after the UK alleged that on , Russia used a military-grade nerve agent to attempt to murder a British citizen and his daughter in Salisbury.



"This attack on our Ally the United Kingdom put countless innocent lives at risk and resulted in serious injury to three people, including a police officer," the State Department Spokesperson, Heather Nauert, said.



In response to this outrageous violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and breach of international law, the US will expel 48 Russian officials serving at Russia's bilateral mission to the United States, she said.



"We will also require the Russian government to close its Consulate General in Seattle by . We take these actions to demonstrate our unbreakable solidarity with the UK, and to impose serious consequences on Russia for its continued violations of international norms," Nauert said.



The US calls on Russia to accept responsibility for its actions and to demonstrate to the world that it is capable of living up to its international commitments and responsibilities as a member of the UN Security Council to uphold international peace and security, she said.



The US move was followed by 14 European Union member states who expelled a number of Russian diplomats in a coordinated response.



Germany, France and Poland have said they will each expel four Russia diplomats, the Czech Republic and Lithuania three, Italy, Denmark and the Netherlands two, and Latvia one.



Colonel Skripal was convicted of treason in 2006 and jailed for 13 years for selling secrets to MI6, which had recruited him in the 1990s. The senior intelligence officer with Russian military intelligence GRU, was pardoned in a spy swap in 2010 and settled in Salisbury, Wiltshire.



The US move revives memories of the Cold War (from 1950s to early 1990s) when the two super powers - the United States and the Soviet Union - were engaged in a competition for increasing their sphere of influence and often targeted each other with such expulsions.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Srinagar:

Two Jammu and Kashmir police personnel and one army men were killed and another was injured in an encounter between militants and security forces in the Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir. Five terrorists have been gunned down by joint security forces since Tuesday evening, Army spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Two policemen lost their lives and another was injured in the gunfight. The wounded personnel is undergoing treatment at a hospital. His condition is stated to be stable, a Jammu and Kashmir Police spokesperson said.

An encounter broke out in the Arampora area of Kupwara on Tuesday evening after security forces launched an operation in the wake of militants opening fire at an Army patrol party.

The spokesperson said the anti-militancy operation, which continued overnight, was going on when reports last came in. Four unidentified militants were killed in the operation on Tuesday.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Centre to file a comprehensive status report giving details of conditions in Rohingya refugee camps in various states.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud considered the submission of senior advocate Colin Gonsalves that conditions at the camps are unhygienic and "filthiest to say the least".

The senior lawyer, appearing for the petitioner Zaffar Ullah, said the Centre and states like Haryana, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir should be asked to provide better hygienic facilities at these camps.

The plea alleged that poor and unhygienic conditions at these camps have led to several deaths recently.

Also Read: 6,700 Rohingya killed in first month of Myanmar violence: MSF

The Rohingyas, who fled to India after violence in Myanmar's western Rakhine state, are settled in Jammu, Hyderabad, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

North Korea leader Kim Jong-un on Monday made a surprise visit to China ahead of his potential meeting with US President Donald Trump.

As per reports in Bloomberg, Kim's visit to China is his first known overseas trip since taking power in 2011.

Details of his visit including its purpose and itinerary were not yet known, Bloomberg said. Japanese media reported earlier on Monday that a high-ranking Pyongyang official appeared to have arrived by train in Beijing.

Sources close to the matter said the visit of the official was intended to strengthen ties between Beijing and Pyongyang that have been badly hit by North Koreas bid to enhance its nuclear arsenal and Chinas backing of tough sanctions against North Korea at the United Nations Security Council.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Three journalists were allegedly killed in the last 24 hours in separate incidents in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, according to sources.

While two journalists of a leading vernacular newspaper were rammed in Bihar's Bhojpur district, another was mowed down by a heavy vehicle in Madhya Pradesh on Monday morning.

Journalist Sandeep Sharma, 35, who had been investigating the nexus between police and sand mafia in Madhya Pradeshs Bhind district was hit by a dumper from behind, killing him on the spot, family members and friends said.

According to local scribes, the incident happened hardly a few meters away from the town Kotwali Police station but police took more than 20 minutes to reach the incident site.

Recently, the channel where Sharma worked, had aired an audio conversation on the link between police officials and sand mafias.

Bhopal Press Club president told the media that Sharma had informed the local administration about the issue.

He had submitted a written complaint citing threat of life to the Bhind superintendent of police (SP), Madhya Pradesh press club members said.

In another incident, Navin Nishchal and his colleague Vijay Singh were rammed by a SUV allegedly driven by the village council headman and his son at Bihars Bhojpur district late on Sunday.

Police have identified the village headman as Mohammad Harsu. According to a Bihar police officer, Harsu has several criminal cases against him.

Soon after the incident, local torched the SUV. However, the local headman and his son managed to escape.

Both the journalists died on the spot. An FIR has been lodged against Harsu and his son, Bihar Police added.

Nischals brother also informed the police that Harsu and his family members had recently threatened the deceased over an article published against the local headman.

We have formed a special team to nab the accused, Bhojpur SP Avkash Kumar said.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on lashed out at the media for allegedly stirring hate against him with their "cunning twisting of facts". He said he was honoured they made their livelihood spinning lies about him.



Gandhi took to Twitter to express his criticism of the media and cited the 'Cobrapost' sting operation, allegedly revealing that 17 media firms were ready to push communal reports for cash without even raising a bill for it.



"I can never hate those who try to stir up hate against me, with fake stories and their cunning twisting of facts. For them it's just business; hate sold for a price, as the Cobrapost expose shows," Gandhi said on Twitter.



"I'm blessed and honoured that they make their livelihoods spinning lies about me," he added.



The Cobrapost sting operation is codenamed Operation 136.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Tata Steel Ltd on Friday said it has won the bid to acquire debt-laden Bhushan Steel (BSL) in an insolvency auction.

In a statement, the company said it has been "declared as the successful resolution applicant by the committee of creditors of Bhushan Steel Limited on March 22, 2018, subject to obtaining necessary regulatory approvals, including approval from the NCLT and the Competition Commission of India."

Tata Steel said it has accepted the letter of intent (LoI) for BSL under the corporate insolvency resolution process of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (IBC).

Also Read: Tata Sons to sell 1.48 percent stake in TCS for Rs 8,127 crore, funds likely to be used for paying off wireless division's debt

For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

The Election Commission on Tuesday announced the poll dates for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections. The voting for the assembly elections shall be held on May 12 and the counting shall happen on May 15.

The Election Commission announced that the elections in the state will be held in a single phase.

The term of the current 224-member legislative Assembly ends on May 28. The elections in the South Indian state is due to be conducted in late April or early May. As per sources, the elections in Karnataka can be held in two phases.

The elections would once again see the BJP take on its traditional rival Congress, which has been in power in the state. After BJP came to power in the Centre in 2014, it has won in states like Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Assam and Manipur by reducing the Congress to just four states.

Suggested Read | Amit Shah goofs up in Karnataka, calls BJP's Yeddyurappa 'most corrupt CM'

Live updates from Election Commission's press conference:

#11:40 am The Election Commission announced that the elections in the state will be held in a single phase.



#11:30 am Voting to be held on May 12, counting of votes on May 15 - CEC OP Rawat

#11:25 am Candidates cannot spend more than Rs 28 lakh while campaigning - CEC OP Rawat



#11:22 am The use of loudspeakers will be regulated - CEC OP Rawat



#11:20 am Election Commission has mandated parties to use eco-friendly items while campaigning for the Karnataka Assembly election.



#11:15 am Karnataka Assembly elections will see 56,696 polling stations, an increase of almost 9 per cent compared to the last election - Election Commision



#11:15 am The model code of conduct comes into effect immediately - Election Commision

#11:10 am Karnataka Assembly election will see special arrangements being made for women - CEC OP Rawat

#11:10 am More than 450 voting stations will be managed by all-woman staff - CEC OP Rawat



#11:05 am 4.96 crore voters in Karnataka - CEC OP Rawat



#11:00 am Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat is now speaking at the press conference in New Delhi.



For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

The main Opposition Party Congress will move a no-confidence motion against Modi government on Tuesday as the budget session of Parliament resumes after a three-day break.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has also given a similar notice to Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha.

Earlier the Congress party was supporting the TDP and YSR Congress who has already given notices for a no-confidence motion against the Modi government.

The notices could not be taken up as the House was not in order due to the protests by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), and AIADMK in the Well of both Houses of Parliament.

Also Read | Election Commission to announce poll schedule for Karnataka Assembly elections today

However, the TRS has decided not to protest in the Well on Tuesday, paving a way for the no-confidence motion to be taken up by the speaker.

The House was getting adjourned every day. A misconception was gaining ground that we were not letting the House function at the behest of the ruling BJP to block the no-confidence motion, the Indian Express quoted TRS floor leader in the Lok Sabha AP Jithender Reddy as saying.

We will also participate in the deliberations, the TRS leader said.

Live Updates:

#12:10 PM: Lok Sabha adjourned till tomorrow, after ruckus.

# 12:05 PM: Congress has become a marginal party, Kharge ji needs to introspect on it. We are always ready to have a discussion no-confidence motion: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, amid ruckus in Lok Sabha

# 11:06: Lok Sabha adjourned till 12 noon after loud slogans of 'we want justice' were raised in the House as soon as proceedings began.

# 11:00 AM: Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to meet NCP Chief Sharad Pawar in Delhi today

# 10:55 AM: "YSRCP says they'll not attend the all-party meet called by Andhra Pradesh CM. They don't have clarity & credibility, they are hand in glove with BJP. They say 5 of their MPs will resign, let us see, they must've spoken to govt that they don't accept the resignation: TDP MP CM Ramesh

# 10:50 AM: YSR Congress party MP's stage protest in Parliament over demand for special category status for Andhra Pradesh.

#10:30 AM: RJD MP JP Narayan Yadav gives adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha, writes, 'Urgent discussion should be held on inciting speech by two Union Ministers in Bihar & situation arising out of the pending arrest of the main accused in Bhagalpur clashes.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday invoked the legacy of grandmother and former prime minister Indira Gandhi while addressing the public in Chikmagalur district in poll-bound Karnataka.

"You supported my grandmother when she needed it the most. I can never forget this. Whenever you need me, I will always be available," said Rahul Gandhi, referring to Indira Gandhi's political comeback which started with the Lok Sabha bypoll win in Chikmagalur in 1978.

Expressing confidence Rahul Gandhi said that the ruling party will win the polls because of unity and hard work of its cadres, Congress President also requested people to bless him with their support as they did to his grandmother.

"I humbly request you to bless me with your support like you supported my grandmother Indira Gandhi," the Congress president said.

He also took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for telling "lie". he said Modi was talking about corruption while sharing stage with party members who were jailed on graft charges.

Also Read: Congress denies links to Cambridge Analytica, says BJP, JD-U used services in 2010

Modi doesn't see corruption in the sudden rise in turnover of a company owned by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah's son Jay Shah, he said.

The Prime Minister was also not addressing corruption cases of state unit president B.S. Yeddyurappa and diamond jeweller Nirav Modi, said Gandhi his 30-minute address delivered in Hindi and translated into Kannada by a party leader.

"People do not want to listen to lies or hate speeches. They want to listen to truth and issues that concern them.

"Four years of Modi's rule has gone by and he has only one year left. He is going to lose the next (Lok Sabha) elections in 2019 with this kind of rule."

The 47-year-old party chief was on a two-day visit across the coastal districts of the state since Tuesday. This was his third visit to the state since February.

Earlier in the day, he visited Sringeri Mutt and interacted with the students of "Veda Pathashala".

Also Read: CBI registers FIR in Rs 824-crore 'loan fraud' by Kanishk Gold; carries out searches

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Pervez Musharraf, former Pakistan military ruler, is likely to return to the country from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in April, sources said.

"Former president (Retd) General Pervez Musharraf would return to Pakistan next month," Iqbal Dar, secretary general of the Pakistan Awami Ittehad (PAI), was quoted as saying by the 'Dawn'.

Musharraf, who has been living in Dubai since 2017, has to appear before a special Pakistani court in a high treason case.

The 74-year-old retired General was indicted in March 2014 on treason charges. And he has been declared "proclaimed offender" by courts in the treason and the Benazir Bhutto assassination cases.

Musharraf imposed emergency in the country, which led to the sacking of over 100 judges and confinement of Supreme Court judges in their houses.

The former president, however, was permitted to leave Pakistan on the pretext of medical treatment.

Also Read: Pakistan protests as India denies visas for Ajmer Sharif pilgrims

He had sought adequate security from the government for his return and his lawyer had moved a petition to the Interior Ministry, stating that the former president faced security threats.

The ministry, in its response, had sought the details of Musharraf's travel itinerary and his stay in Pakistan so that necessary fool proof security arrangements can be made for him well in time.



On March 16, the special court hearing the treason case against him authorised the government to suspend his passport as well as his computerised national identity card.



The court had also directed the Interior Ministry to approach the Interpol for the arrest of the former president.

Also Read: India lodges another protest after diplomats harassed in Pakistan

PAI is a coalition of 23 political and religious parties led by the former General, and Musharraf ruled Pakistan from 1999 to 2008.

(With inputs from agencies)

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Marriage is an institution which gives a start to new life, achievements in the form of love, support, and identity. Delay and problems in marriage for marriageable girls is a big tension for the parents. According to our ancient scriptures, marriage is a pious relation and have allotted separate duties for both the partners.

If Vastu Shastra principles are to believed then it can do wonders for love and affection between all family members. By following certain Vastu Shastra rules unmarried girls will be able to find their life partner soon.

Follow these Vastu Shastra principles to get married soon:

# The room of an unmarried girl should always be in the north-west direction of the house and the south-west direction should be avoided.

# The rooms of the house should be painted in pastel colors to help positive energies in the house. Black and brown should be avoided.

# Also, the door of the attached toilet must be kept closed when not in use.

# Not only girls but all the family members must avoid sleeping under the beam. It causes unnecessary pressure and also is detrimental in terms of health.

# Girls are also suggested to wear red color as it brings back the lost love in your life and stimulates the desire as well.

# Mirrors should be strictly kept in the bedroom, visible to beds or reflecting the bed from any side. The mirrors can be placed in the south and west walls without facing the beds.
Three bomb blasts on July 13, 2011, following serial blasts on local trains in Mumbai on July 11, 2006, shocked not only Mumbai but the whole of India. The bomb blasts in Mumbai on July 13, 2011, were carried out by the Indian Mujahideen to commemorate the birthday of Ajmal Kasab, accused of the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai. The entire conspiracy to carry out the July 13 bomb blast in Mumbai was that of Indian Mujahideen's Aka Yasin Bhatkal. In Mumbai, 3 bomb blasts were carried out in the busiest areas in a span of 10-15 minutes. It was Wednesday and it was evening. Mumbai, which never slept, was a laughing-sport that evening as they did every day. The employees were returning to their homes after working. The women had gone for a walk with their children.

But on July 13, 2011, Maya Nagari probably had no idea that she was going to have a moment that would hurt them for a lifetime. The first blast took place in south Mumbai, at 06:54 pm. The blast was caused by a bomb planted in a bike in Khau Gali in Jhaveri Bazar. At first, no one understood anything. The movement of the people turned into a stampede. There were only screams all around. A minute later, a bomb placed in a tiffin box outside the prasad chamber, and the Pancha Ratna building in the Opera House area exploded a massive explosion. This area of the opera house is one of the busiest areas of Mumbai. There is a movement of hundreds of people at a time. When the second blast took place, the people of Mumbai feared that Mumbai was once again the target of terrorists. The third blast was followed by a bomb hanging from an electric pole at a bus stand near the Pigeon Khana area of Dadar at 07:05 hrs. However, Mumbai police had promptly recovered two live bombs from Grant Road Santa Cruz.

The bomb blasts, which used IED, are said to have been more powerful than the earlier blasts in Mumbai. The lands of the three places where the blasts took place were shaken. The glass of the buildings was broken. The rags of the bodies of those directly exposed to the blast were scattered for several meters, with only blood and rags of bodies all around. Mumbai was once again counting the bodies of its people. The bloodstained mutilated bodies were waiting for them to be wrapped up and handed over to their loved ones. The injured people were lying unconscious in a pool of blood. While 31 people lost their lives in the blast, 500 people were seriously injured. Ajmal Amir Kasab, accused of the brutal terror attack in Mayanagari on November 26, 2008, had his birthday on July 13. Kasab was sentenced to death at that time. On July 13, 2011, the blasts in Mumbai were carried out in memory of Kasab's birthday. Indian Mujahideen chief Yasin Bhatkal had said he was proud of the blast. The entire plan for the bomb blasts was made by Yasin Bhatkal. This was followed by a high alert in Delhi, Bengaluru, and the rest of the metros. Several persons were questioned after the blast. the ATS was entrusted with the responsibility of investigating the blast.

Clues were sought in 18 states during the investigation. Blast accused Yasin Bhatkal was arrested from the Nepal border on August 28, 2013, after an undercover operation after which he was later sentenced to death. Earlier, on 11th July 2006, serial bomb blasts were carried out targeting a local train called the Lifeline of Mumbai. There were 7 blasts in Khar and Bandra Road stations during 7 minutes. 189 people were tragically killed while 900 others were injured in the blasts. Earlier also, in 1993, 2002, 2003, Mumbai was constantly rocked by bomb blasts.

These 3 big faces joined the crucial Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs

Family members had to do it as soon as wedding card of a Hindu girl with a Muslim boy went viral

Big news: Rs 5 lakh disappeared from Nashik currency note press
Kathmandu: Nepal received more than 1.5 million doses of johnson and johnson corona vaccine from the US on Monday. Nepal has received these vaccine doses when the country is facing a serious vaccine fort. This is the first consignment of vaccine received by Nepal. The US has provided 15,34,850 doses to Nepal through the 'Covax Scheme'.

US Ambassador Randy Berry handed over the vaccine to Nepal's health minister Krishna Gopal Shrestha on Monday. "Today we are giving nepal enough JNJ Covid-19 vaccine through cowax to completely vaccinate 15 lakh people," Berry wrote after handing over the vaccine to Nepal. "I am proud that the US is the only largest country to help Nepal with covid-19. The gift is aimed at saving people's lives on behalf of the American people," Berry added.

On the other hand, PM K P Sharma Oli expressed gratitude to the US government on behalf of the Government of Nepal and the people for providing the vaccine. According to media reports, Health Minister Shrestha said on Monday that the US vaccine dose will be given to people between the ages of 50 and 54. According to a press release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, the johnson and johnson vaccine will boost Nepal's vaccination campaign amid the second wave of the Covid-19 epidemic.

Covid Roundup: Britain reports another 34,471 coronavirus cases

Arvind Kejriwal to arrive Goa today, Keep an eye on next year's assembly polls

Crime against women, children in Kerala: BJP chief to intensify action plan
Kathmandu: Nepal caretaker Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned on Tuesday as opposition leader Sher Bahadur Deuba is set to be sworn in as the new PM after the Supreme Court's verdict, saying that Our party abides with the order given by the Supreme Court.

The apex court in its verdict ordered President Bidhya Devi Bhandari to appoint Deuba as the successor of now caretaker Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. A total of 146 members of the House of Representatives (HoR) reached out to Supreme Court with a writ petition to demand the restoration of the house and appoint Sher Bahadur Deuba, as the next prime minister on May 24.

The petitions at that time included a total of 61 members of the House of Representatives from the Nepali Congress, 49 from the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), 23 from the Madhav Nepal faction of CPN-UML, 12 from Upendra Yadav-Baburam Bhattarai of Janata Samajbadi Party and one from Rashtriya Janamorcha Nepal.

With Oli failing to secure the vote of confidence on May 10, Bhandari on May 13 had appointed Oli prime minister under Article 76 (3) of the constitution as the leader of the party with the highest number of members in the House.

A week after his appointment, Oli on May 20 in a sudden move recommended that the President invoke Article 76 (5) to choose a new prime minister. Dissatisfied with the judgement of the Supreme Court, supporters of caretaker Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Monday staged a protest against the order to reinstate the dissolved House of Representatives (HoR).

Spanish cabinet reshuffle: Pedro Sanchez names younger Cabinet with more women

Woman commits such act in a flying plane that endangered passengers' lives

UN CBD releases new Global Biodiversity Framework for managing nature
Kathmandu: Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has become the country's PM for the 5th time on Tuesday. The move is seen as a major setback for KP Sharma Oli, who is playing the role of Communist Party leader and so far acting PM. According to media reports, President Vidya Devi Bhandari has made him PM under Article 76(5) of the Constitution. This is the fifth time that Deuba (74) has returned to power as Nepal's PM.

His appointment comes after the Supreme Court ordered on Monday. The court had sealed Deuba's claim for the POST of PM by removing KP Sharma Oli. The President's Office has informed Deuba about his appointment. It is not yet clear when Deuba will be sworn in as preparations are on for the same.

Sher Bahadur has been PM 4 times before. It has first held the post of PM - September 1995 - March 1997, second time July 2001- October 2002, third time June 2004- February 2005 and fourth time June 2017-February 2018. Deuba will have to get a vote of confidence in the House within 30 days after his appointment as PM under the constitutional provision.

Must chant this divine mantra of Hanuman ji on Tuesday

Urvashi Rautela to be seen in Randeep Hooda's 'Inspector Avinash,' to play this character

Delhi HC sends notice to Central government over new Aadhaar card number
Sugarcane is one of the most productive plants on Earth, providing 80 percent of the sugar and 30 percent of the bioethanol produced worldwide. Its size and efficient use of water and light give it tremendous potential for the production of renewable value-added bioproducts and biofuels.

But the highly complex sugarcane genome poses challenges for conventional breeding, requiring more than a decade of trials for the development of an improved cultivar.

Two recently published innovations by University of Florida researchers at the Department of Energy's Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) demonstrated the first successful precision breeding of sugarcane by using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing -- a far more targeted and efficient way to develop new varieties.

CRISPR/Cas9 allows scientists to introduce precision changes in almost any gene and, depending on the selected approach, to turn the gene off or replace it with a superior version. The latter is technically more challenging and has rarely been reported for crops so far.

In the first report, researchers demonstrated the ability to turn off variable numbers of copies of the magnesium chelatase gene, a key enzyme for chlorophyll biosynthesis in sugarcane, producing rapidly identifiable plants with light green to yellow leaves. Light green plants did not show growth reduction and may require less nitrogen fertilizer to produce the same amount of biomass. That study, published in Frontiers in Genome Editing, was led by CABBI researchers Fredy Altpeter, Professor of Agronomy at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), and Ayman Eid, a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Altpeter's lab.

The second study, also published in Frontiers in Genome Editing, achieved efficient and reproducible gene targeting in sugarcane, demonstrating the precise substitution of multiple copies of the target gene with a superior version, conferring herbicide resistance. Scientists co-introduced a repair template together with the gene-editing tool to direct the plant's own DNA repair process so that one or two of the thousands of building blocks of the gene, called nucleotides, were precisely replaced in the targeted location. The result was that the gene product was still fully functional and could no longer be inhibited by the herbicide. That study was led by Altpeter and former CABBI Postdoc Mehmet Tufan Oz.

Altpeter's lab, part of CABBI's groundbreaking project to develop new oil-rich sugarcane varieties, has pioneered research with sugarcane genome editing using the TALEN gene-editing system. But the two recent publications are the first to successfully demonstrate CRISPR gene-editing in sugarcane as well as gene targeting for precision nucleotide substitution in sugarcane using any genome-editing tool.

"Now we have very effective tools to modify sugarcane into a crop with higher productivity or improved sustainability," Altpeter said. "It's important since sugarcane is the ideal crop to fuel the emerging bioeconomy."

Sugarcane is a hybrid of two kinds of parent plants, so it has multiple sets of chromosomes rather than just two, as with humans or "diploid" plants. That creates genetic redundancy -- with many sets of genes doing the same job -- which may contribute to the plant's productivity: If one set breaks, there's a backup. But it makes sugarcane extremely difficult to modify. Crop scientists have to target all the genes and copies that govern a particular trait in order to make improvements.

With conventional breeding, two types of sugarcane are cross-bred to reshuffle the genetic information present in each parent in the hope of enhancing a desirable trait such as disease resistance. The problem is that genes are transferred from the parents to offspring in blocks, and desirable traits are often linked with deleterious genetic material. This means scientists often have to do multiple rounds of backcrossing and screen thousands of plants to restore the elite background, or underlying plant characteristics, in addition to improving one trait theyre attempting to modify. The process is more time-consuming and costly in plants with complex genomes like sugarcane.

Precise gene-editing technologies such as CRISPR-Cas9 offer a much more targeted path to crop improvement because it avoids the reshuffling of genetic information and simply changes inferior gene versions into superior ones. Given the sugarcane genome's complexity, Altpeter and his team focused initially on genes that control noticeable traits -- leaf color and herbicide resistance -- so they could determine if the edits worked.

Beyond providing an easily identifiable phenotype, the targeted genes may prove useful in future research. Changing the chlorophyll content of sugarcane has the potential to increase canopy level photosynthesis or reduce the requirement for nitrogen fertilizer, based on previous plant modeling. Sugarcane is a tall, dense plant, with the top leaves getting lots of sun and shading lower foliage. If the upper leaves have less chlorophyll, sunlight can penetrate deeper into the plant, increasing its biomass with the same amount of light and less fertilizer. Herbicide resistance is not only an agronomically desirable trait to facilitate weed management; it will also facilitate future gene-editing efforts by enabling suppression of non-edited plant cells.

At CABBI, Altpeter and his team are already applying the results to develop improved sugarcane lines. Sugarcane has many different gene targets that can translate into more biomass or the production of lipids or specialty fatty acids -- all of which would advance CABBI's goals to produce fuels and other products from plants to replace petroleum. Because the crop is already harvested and processed for sugar extraction, the basic infrastructure to process its raw material into a product on a shelf is essentially in place.

"Adding value streams is relatively inexpensive compared to other crop alternatives," Altpeter said.

###

Coauthors on the first study included CABBI visiting scientist Chakravarthi Mohan, CABBI Lab Technician Sara Sanchez, and former CABBI Postdoc Duoduo Wang, all in Altpeter's lab. Coauthors on the second study included Angelika Altpeter, Ratna Karan, and Aldo Merotto of the Agronomy Department at UF/IFAS.
Description

"In Her Night of Romance, an heiress (Constance Talmadge) traveling in England disguises herself to discourage fortune hunters. She falls in love with a handsome nobleman, who is secretly impoverished. When they spend a night alone at his former estate, they are forced to pretend that theyre married, a situation that threatens to unravel their storybook romance just as its getting started. Often appearing as the virtuous vamp (a mesmerizing beauty who could be naughty yet nice), Brooklyn-born Constance Talmadge was one of the biggest stars of silent movies. Her style and comic timing feel as modern today as they were almost 100 years ago. At the end of the era, she chose (without regret) to retire from motion pictures and enjoy her personal life, without ever having made a talkie. (USA, 1924, 70 min., NR, Silent with English intertitles | Dir. Sidney Franklin)"



Cinema Arts Centre
Description

With live music offered just about every night, K.J. Farrell's is a must-visit for music fans in Nassau County. The venue has a full menu of appetizers, pizzas, tacos, sliders, and more to snack on during each show. Darren Gallagher & The Killer Band will be performing on this particular date.
New DRI and EAF installations in Gijon will reduce carbon e missions at the companys Spanish operations by approximately 50%

The DRI installation in Gijon will also enable ArcelorMittal Sestao to be the worlds first full-scale zero carbon-emissions1 steel plant

13 July 2021, 13:45 CET

ArcelorMittal has today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Spanish Government that will see a 1 billion investment in decarbonisation technologies at ArcelorMittal Asturias plant in Gijon. The investments will reduce CO 2 emissions at ArcelorMittals Spanish operations by up to 4.8 million tonnes, which represents approximately 50% of emissions, within the next five years2.

The MoU states the commitment of ArcelorMittal and the Government of Spain to transition towards a decarbonised steel industry. ArcelorMittal will introduce new manufacturing processes that contribute to a considerable reduction of CO 2 emissions. It will also further intensify its R&D capabilities in Spain to support the new project and innovation requirements. The Government of Spain will promote reforms and investments to support the development and growth of a strong, more competitive and sustainable industrial sector, as well as endeavouring to provide maximum financial support for the project, in line with Spanish legislation and European Union regulations.

Given the significant cost associated with the transition, in terms of both capex and opex, it is ArcelorMittals expectation this support will cover at least half of the additional cost to enable its operations to remain competitive as it accelerates its decarbonisation program.

The MoU was signed at an event in ArcelorMittal Asturias plant in Gijon, which was attended by ArcelorMittal Executive Chairman, Lakshmi Mittal, CEO Aditya Mittal and the President of Spain, Pedro Sanchez as well as Raul Blanco, the Secretary General for Industry, and Adrian Barbon, President of the Asturias regional government.



At the heart of the plan is a 2.3 million-tonne green hydrogen direct reduced iron (DRI) unit, complemented by a 1.1 million-tonne hybrid electric arc furnace (EAF). This starts the transition of the Gijon plant away from the blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace steelmaking production route to the DRI-EAF production route, which carries a significantly lower carbon footprint. The new DRI - which will be the first of its kind in Spain - and EAF will be in production before the end of 2025.

Story continues

To maximize the emissions reduction potential, ultimately green hydrogen will be used to reduce the iron ore in the DRI, with the EAF powered by renewable electricity. The support of the national and regional governments in this project is crucial as it will enable ArcelorMittal to have access to green hydrogen supplied through a consortium of companies that will cooperate in the construction of the infrastructure required in order to produce hydrogen in the Iberian Peninsula using solar-powered electrolysis and to transport it directly through a network of pipelines. The initiative involves the construction of multiple large-scale solar farms, with hydrogen produced in situ and with the corresponding impact in terms of employment.

The Gijon DRI will also feed the companys Sestao plant, situated approximately 250km from Gijon, where production is already entirely from the electric arc furnace route. This means that by 2025 ArcelorMittal Sestao will produce 1.6 million tonnes of steel and be the worlds first full-scale steel plant to achieve zero carbon-emissions.

Speaking at the signing of the MoU in Gijon, Aditya Mittal, CEO ArcelorMittal, said:

It is widely understood that for the world to achieve net-zero by 2050, faster progress over the next decade is essential. The MoU we have signed today will play an important role in doing exactly that. The construction of the new green hydrogen DRI plant in Gijon will not only enable us to reduce emissions from our Spanish operations by half but will also result in the worlds first full-scale zero carbon-emissions steel plant in Sestao.

Clearly, this is a project that will require the support of many different partners to succeed; our plan hinges on the supply of affordable, mass-scale hydrogen, access to sustainable finance and a supportive legal framework that allows us to be competitive globally. The Spanish government has clearly defined plans to transition the country to a decarbonised economy and I have been impressed by the progress made in creating the energy infrastructure that this green economy will require.

As a large emitter, the steel industry can make a vital contribution to achieving net zero by 2050. This project demonstrates what is achievable.

Expressing their support for the plan, Spains Minister of Industry Maria Reyes Maroto said:

The Government of Spain and the ArcelorMittal Group fully agree that the transition towards a decarbonised economy is an essential objective for Spain, and they both recognise the industrial, technological and regulatory challenges that this transition poses for Spanish industry, as well as the opportunities it offers, in terms of innovation and improved competitiveness. The Government of Spain, through the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, will strongly support a new framework of institutional relations between the Government and the ArcelorMittal Group, because the Government of Spain recognises the importance of the steel industry for the development of the Spanish economy, while also recognising that the industry needs a stable and predictable legal framework as the best tool to enable it to be competitive and attain the targets set in terms of energy transition and digitalisation, both at national and at European Union level. In this regard, the Government of Spain is exploring regulatory instruments to support the industry in the transition process, such as the compensation programmes for electricity-intensive industries, tools to promote improved energy efficiency, public financing for digitalisation, instruments to promote industrial investments, training programmes and strategies to promote the use of clean fuels.

ArcelorMittal Europe has a target to reduce CO 2 emissions by 30% by 2030, and an ambition to be net-zero by 2050. The company is pursuing two pathways to achieve this: Innovative DRI and Smart Carbon.

ArcelorMittal Spains operations are already contributing to the reduction of CO 2 emissions from the companys steelmaking operations. Earlier this year, ArcelorMittal Asturias completed its project to capture hydrogen-rich coke oven gas and re-inject it into the blast furnace, replacing some of the coke used in the blast furnace. Deploying this innovative technology will result in a reduction in CO 2 emissions of 125,000 tonnes a year, equivalent to the emissions generated by the annual consumption of 84,000 Spanish households with individual natural gas-based heating systems. These CO 2 savings have already generated XCarb green steel certificates, which were launched by the company in March 2021, allowing ArcelorMittal customers to report a reduction in their Scope 3 CO 2 emissions.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

ArcelorMittal Asturias plant in Gijon currently operates using the blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace steelmaking method.

It has two blast furnaces producing hot metal for Aviles and Gijon steel shops:

Aviles steel shop produces slabs for the hot rolling mill (in Aviles) and the heavy plate mill (in Gijon).

Gijon steel shop produces billets for the the wire rod mill (in Gijon) and blooms for the rail mill (in Gijon).

Once the plan announced today has been implemented:

Gijons blast furnace B will produce hot metal for the Aviles steel shop

DRI will be produced in Gijon for Sestao and Gijon steel shop, which will be revamped as an EAF

ArcelorMittal Sestao operates two EAFs and produces a range of flat products. Sestao is approximately 250km east of Gijon.

About ArcelorMittal

ArcelorMittal is the world's leading steel and mining company, with a presence in 60 countries and primary steelmaking facilities in 17 countries. In 2020, ArcelorMittal had revenues of $53.3 billion and crude steel production of 71.5 million metric tonnes, while iron ore production reached 58.0 million metric tonnes.

Our goal is to help build a better world with smarter steels. Steels made using innovative processes which use less energy, emit significantly less carbon and reduce costs. Steels that are cleaner, stronger and reusable. Steels for electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure that will support societies as they transform through this century. With steel at our core, our inventive people and an entrepreneurial culture at heart, we will support the world in making that change. This is what we believe it takes to be the steel company of the future.

ArcelorMittal is listed on the stock exchanges of New York (MT), Amsterdam (MT), Paris (MT), Luxembourg (MT) and on the Spanish stock exchanges of Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia (MTS).

For more information about ArcelorMittal please visit: http://corporate.arcelormittal.com/



Contact information ArcelorMittal Investor Relations General +44 20 7543 1128 Retail +44 20 3214 2893 SRI +44 20 3214 2801 Bonds/Credit

E-mail +33 171 921 026

investor.relations@arcelormittal.com Contact information ArcelorMittal Corporate Communications



Paul Weigh

Tel:

E-mail:







+44 20 3214 2419

press@arcelormittal.com





1 On a Scope 1 and 2 basis.

2 Should green hydrogen not be available at affordable rates by the end of 2025, natural gas would be used to power the DRI furnace. This would still result in a very significant reduction in CO2 emissions, of 4 million tonnes, approximately 45%.




HSBC China

Joe Biden is to take new steps to isolate American companies operating in Hong Kong, sparking fresh concerns for HSBC as it turns its focus on Communist China.

The White House will this week warn US firms of the growing risks of operating in the region as Beijing asserts greater control over the financial hub, the Financial Times reported.

Analysts said such a move could hamper HSBCs ability to serve customers in the US and in Hong Kong. The lenders most profitable region is Asia and it is headquartered in London, but it also has a regulated bank in the US.

The warning comes as HSBC sharpens its focus on the Far East, despite a recent crackdown by Beijing on pro-democracy campaigners in the region.

Gary Greenwood, a banking analyst at Shore Capital, said HSBCs business model of trying to operate in the West and in Hong Kong was looking more difficult due to the deteriorating political landscape.

He added: One of the things HSBC pushes as its key point of difference is its international reach and its ability to service companies cross-border.

So if the Biden administration makes it more challenging for companies to operate in both jurisdictions, or makes it more challenging for lenders to service those companies operating cross-border, then that may create difficulties for HSBC.

The US President is expected to warn businesses that the Chinese government can gain access to data that foreign companies store in Hong Kong.

He will also issue a warning about a new law that means Beijing can target individuals and organisations involved in implementing foreign sanctions with countermeasures including asset seizures, the FT reported.

HSBC has increasingly pivoted its focus towards Hong Kong and last month handed a major promotion to the banker who led its support for a controversial security crackdown in the financial hub.

In April, it also moved a raft of top executives from London to the former British territory to bolster its operations in the Far East.

Story continues

Mr Greenwood added that, in his view, HSBC would be broken up in the coming years due to the political turmoil in Hong Kong.

The push in that direction will ultimately come from the political situation damaging the internationalisation benefits that the group gets. If you start to erode that, then theres no point being an international business anymore, he said.

However, he added that any breakup was unlikely to happen under the current management team.

HSBC declined to comment.
VANCOUVER, BC, July 13, 2021 /CNW/ - Healthy ecosystems are the foundation of every part of our lives. We depend on them for clean air and water, food and medicine, security from natural disasters, and cultural connection. Canada and the United States are committed to strong, ongoing collaboration with their partners to protect and manage the health of the Salish Sea ecosystem.

Logo: Government of Canada (CNW Group/Environment and Climate Change Canada)

Today, the governments of Canada and the United States announced that they have signed a new four-year "Action Plan" under their Joint Statement of Cooperationfirst signed in 2000that commits both countries to work together on transboundary issues and challenges facing the Salish Sea ecosystem. Under the action plan, the two nations will continue to engage with partners across the region to advance shared priorities for ecosystem health, including information sharing, improving transboundary coordination, and reporting on ecosystem health.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also updated their joint "Health of the Salish Sea Ecosystem Report" analyzing ten indicators of the health of the Salish Sea. Overall trends described in this report reveal some improvement, but also areas of no change or decline that can be identified as ecosystem priorities for future action.

The renewed joint action plan reinforces the commitment by Canada and the United States to address ongoing and new challenges to the health of the Salish Sea together. ECCC and the U.S. EPA will continue to work together with Salish Sea partners, including British Columbia, the State of Washington, Indigenous peoples, local governments, universities, and stakeholders, on the priorities identified in the Action Plan to achieve the goals under the Joint Statement of Cooperation.

Quotes

"Collaboration and partnerships are key to addressing the challenges facing the transboundary Salish Sea ecosystem. The government of Canada is committed to continue working together with our partners to achieve our collective goals. Sustainable stewardship of the ecosystem is critical to the economic and overall well-being of a growing population in the region."

 The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

Story continues

"This action plan and indicators report highlight the importance of continued partnership between the U.S. and Canada. The waters of the shared Salish Sea are the economic, social, and cultural backbone of the communities of the region, and we're confident that the enduring partnership between EPA and ECCC will continue to advance the protection and restoration of the Salish Sea for future generations."

 Michael S. Regan, Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Quick facts

The Salish Sea ecosystem is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in North America and includes the Juan de Fuca Strait, Puget Sound, and Georgia Basin.

Today, about 8.7 million people live in the areas around the Salish Sea. By 2040, it is expected the population will expand to over 10.5 million people.

The Joint Statement of Cooperation between Canada and the U.S. serves to:

The 20212024 Action Plan prioritizes the following:

The "Health of the Salish Sea Report" draws from publicly available monitoring, research, and other information gathered between 2017 and 2020. The work aims to answer the following questions based on a suite of ten indicators:

The data and information in the report were provided by ECCC, the Puget Sound Partnership, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Coast Salish Gathering, Washington state agencies, British Columbia agencies, Metro Vancouver, Western Washington University's Salish Sea Institute, and many others.

Associated links

Logo: EPA (CNW Group/Environment and Climate Change Canada)

SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2021/13/c0883.html
Surge in cyber-attack and security breaches in physical systems and need for operational technology networks drive the global critical infrastructure protection market.

PORTLAND, Ore., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Critical Infrastructure Protection Market by Component (Solution, Service), Security Type (Operational Security, Information Security), Industry Vertical (IT & Telecom, BFSI, Energy & Utility, Government and Defense, Oil & Gas, Transportation & Logistics, Manufacturing and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2027." According to the report, the global critical infrastructure protection industry generated $118.19 billion in 2019, and is expected to witness $203.09 billion by 2027, witnessing a CAGR of 7.2% from 2020 to 2027.

Allied Market Research Logo

Prime determinants of growth

Enforcement of stringent government regulations toward the adoption and implementation of critical infrastructure protection software, surge in cyber-attacks and security breaches in physical systems, and need for operational technology networks drive the global critical infrastructure protection market. However, high initial cost of CIP and lack of interoperability between the CIP solutions along with complexity in the technical operation hinder the market growth. On the other hand, emergence of cutting-edge technology such as cloud technology and internet of things (IoT) along with rise in investment of government authority present new opportunities in the coming years.

Download Report Sample (150 Pages PDF with Insights) at https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/9724

Covid-19 Scenario

Various regulatory bodies have lifted off some of the enforcement criteria during the pandemic. However, several new organizations have been planning for long-term regulatory compliance with data security and data management becoming crucial factors for adoption of critical protection infrastructure services and solutions.

The majority of organizations have adopted the "work from home" policy, so the demand for cloud-based systems increased significantly. However, the risks regarding cyber threats rose, which led to increase in investments in cyberinfrastructure security.

Though many tourist places were closed, leading to reduced implementation of critical information security systems, the opening of tourist places during the post-lockdown would lead to a gradual increase in demand.

Get detailed COVID-19 impact analysis on the critical infrastructure protection market:

Story continues

https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-for-customization/9724

The solution segment to maintain its lead position throughout the forecast period

Based on component type, the solution segment held more than three-fifths of the total share of the global critical infrastructure protection market in 2019, and is expected to maintain its lead position throughout the forecast period. This is due to increase in adoption of CIP solutions among enterprises to gain strategic as well as competitive advantage and strong infrastructure security over their competitors. However, the services segment is estimated to manifest the fastest CAGR of 8.0% from 2020 to 2027, owing to assurance provided by these services for effective coordination between service provider companies and customers by offering services such as implementation and training, consulting services, and managed services.

The operational technology segment to maintain its leadership status by 2027

Based on security type, the operational technology segment contributed to more than half of the global critical infrastructure protection market in 2019, and is expected to maintain its leadership status by 2027. This is due to rise in demand for critical infrastructure security solutions in manufacturing, transportation & logistics, energy & utility sectors with increase in incidents of cyber threats and attacks. However, the information technology segment is projected to register the highest CAGR of 8.7% from 2020 to 2027, owing to increase in number of data centers in industrial verticals such as BFSI, IT & telecom, and the oil & gas industry.

For Purchase Inquiry: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/9724

North America to maintain its dominant share in terms of revenue by 2027

Based on region, North America contributed to the largest market share in 2019, holding around two-fifths of the global critical infrastructure protection market, and is projected to maintain its dominant share in terms of revenue by 2027. This is due to rise in usage of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, industrial automation, and a major shift toward digital transformation. However, Asia-Pacific is expected to maintain the largest CAGR of 9.7% from 2020 to 2027, owing to strong economic growth along with the ongoing developments in the national security and personal safety sector.

Leading Market Players

Honeywell International Inc.

BAE Systems Plc

IBM Corporation

Lockheed Martin Corporation

General Dynamics Corporation

DXC Technology Company

Northrop Grumman Corporation

Airbus

Intel Corporation

TRL Technology Ltd.

Access AVENUE- A Subscription-Based Library (Premium on-demand, subscription-based pricing model) at:

hthttps://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access

Avenue is a user-based library of global market report database, provides comprehensive reports pertaining to the world's largest emerging markets. It further offers e-access to all the available industry reports just in a jiffy. By offering core business insights on the varied industries, economies, and end users worldwide, Avenue ensures that the registered members get an easy as well as single gateway to their all-inclusive requirements.

Avenue Library Subscription | Request for 14 days free trial of before buying:

https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/avenue/trial/starter

Similar Reports:

Building Information Modeling Market Expected to Reach $15.89 Billion by 2027

5G Technology Market to Reach $667.90 Billion by 2026

Location-based Services Market is Expected to Reach $183.81 Billion by 2027

About Us:

Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.

Pawan Kumar, the CEO of Allied Market Research, is leading the organization toward providing high-quality data and insights. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.

Contact:

David Correa

5933 NE Win Sivers Drive

#205, Portland, OR 97220

United States

Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285

UK: +44-845-528-1300

Hong Kong: +852-301-84916

India (Pune): +91-20-66346060

Fax: +1-855-550-5975

help@alliedmarketresearch.com

Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com

Follow Us on: LinkedIn Twitter

Cision

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/critical-infrastructure-protection-market-to-reach-203-09-bn-globally-by-2027-at-7-2-cagr-allied-market-research-301332194.html

SOURCE Allied Market Research
World Health Energy Holdings, Inc.

WHEN Group appoints Dr. August Hanning to Advisory Board.

WHEN Group appoints Dr. August Hanning to Advisory Board.

Leading German Government Security Expert Joins as Company Eyes Global Expansion

NEW YORK, NY, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- World Health Energy Holdings, Inc. (OTC PINK: WHEN) (WHEN Group or the Company), a cybersecurity company with proprietary technologies developed to protect individuals and enterprises from cybersecurity threats, announced today the appointment of Dr. August Hanning, the former director of Germanys Federal Intelligence Service (BND), and state secretary of the German Federal Interior Ministry, to its Advisory Board.

Dr. Hanning joins World Health Energy Holdings, Inc. as the company is expanding commercial availability of its security monitoring solutions for businesses, organizations, and families.

Dr. August Hanning, commenting on joining the WHEN Group Advisory Board, said: I am excited to join a company whose cutting-edge technology positions it as a leader in developing a new generation of cybersecurity technology. With the constant rise in cyber-attacks and data breaches across the globe, cybersecurity plays a critical role in securing global enterprises and their infrastructure, as well as national governments. I look forward to applying my expertise to drive the Companys global growth and help position WHEN Group as a world leader in cybersecurity."

Dr. August Hanning has over 50 years of experience in top intelligence and security leadership roles. Prior to being appointed as the state secretary of the Federal Interior Ministry in 2005, and president of the German Secret Service, the Bundesnachtrichtendienst (BND), in 1998, Dr. Hanning supervised the intelligence services of the Federal Chancellery, where he served as the director general from 1996. Starting in 1986, Dr. Hanning led the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) to the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) in Berlin, where he was responsible for diplomatic relations between the two countries. Dr. Hanning earned his law degree in Munster and Freiburg, Germany, in 1966.

Story continues

We are pleased to welcome Dr. August Hanning to WHEN Groups Advisory Board, said WHEN Group President Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Danny Yatom. As a fellow senior intelligence expert, I am ecstatic that Dr. Hanning accepted our invitation to join the board. His addition further expands our existing skills and experiences, and we are confident he will provide invaluable insight and expertise as we continue to develop our innovative and groundbreaking technology and global strategy."

WHEN Group CEO Giora Rosenzweig said: With long decades of service in major national security and intelligence positions in Germany, Dr. Hanning is a significant asset to our board. The recent addition of senior global security veterans like Maj. Gen. (ret.) Danny Yatom, president of WHEN Group, and now Dr. Hanning to the company, demonstrates WHEN Groups commitment to expand its expertise and develop the next generation of cybersecurity systems.

Rosenzweig continued: Recent high profile ransomware attacks (Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that the damage caused by ransomware could cost the worldwide stage $265 billion by 2031) highlight the increase in global cyber threats and costs to businesses and governments, and with the inclusion of Dr. Hanning, WHEN Group is perfectly positioned to directly take on these challenges.

Future WHEN Group Press Releases and Updates

Interested investors and shareholders will be notified of future Press Releases and Industry Updates by e-mailing info@worldhealthenergy.com

About WHEN Group

World Health Energy Holdings, Inc. (d/b/a WHEN Group) is a holding company comprised of SG 77, Inc./RNA Ltd, which develops and significantly improves existing cybersecurity solutions in the B2C and B2B marketplace. WHEN Group develops new systems by applying pattern recognition technology based on IOT / mobile / servers and computer activity, analyzing human and device behavior, relationships and BPM (Business Process Management) in order to automatically identify and prevent potential danger to individuals and companies. The B2C Cybersecurity division targets families concerned with external cyber threats and exposures in addition to monitoring a child's behavioral patterns that may alert parents to potential tragedies caused by cyberbullying, pedophiles, other predators, and depression. The B2B Cybersecurity system software development and implementation company is focused on innovative solutions for the constantly evolving cyber challenges of businesses, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and governmental entities. By deploying a highly experienced development team, RNA Ltd. anticipates both internal and external cyber threats, by identifying behavioral patterns that flag potential cyber compromises. Additional information is available at: https://www.whengroup.com/ .



Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements involve substantial uncertainties and risks and are based upon our current expectations, estimates, and projections, and reflect our beliefs and assumptions based upon information available to us at the date of this release. We caution readers that forward-looking statements are predictions based on our current expectations about future events. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Our actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including, but not limited to, our ability to integrate the operations of the acquired entities and manage the combined entity, the success of our business plan, market reception of our products, our ability to raise the capital needed to realize our business plan and on commercially reasonable terms, our ability to retain needed personnel and our ability to compete against companies with much larger resources as well as the risks and uncertainties discussed under the heading "RISK FACTORS" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 filed on April 15, 2021, and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement for any reason.

Investor Relations:

World Health Energy Holdings, Inc.

Tel: +1 561-870-0440

Email: info@worldhealthenergy.com

Media Contact:

Binyamin Tjong-Alvares

Rimon Cohen PR for WHEN Group

Binyamin@rcspr.co.il

@tjongalvares

+972 52 6791817





Attachment




DFC's investment supports Government of Canada's objective of planting two billion trees over 10 years

OTTAWA, ON, July 13, 2021 /CNW/ - Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) is excited to announce a $100,000 investment in Tree Canada's National Greening Program (NGP), which will support the planting of 25,000 trees in various locations throughout Canada. The NGP is supported in part by the federal government's Two Billion Trees Program. Today's announcement, made in conjunction with DFC's Annual General Meeting, represents a major step towards that goal.

Dairy Farmers of Canada (CNW Group/Dairy Farmers of Canada)

Canadian dairy farmers are dedicated to preserving our natural resources for future generations and taking concrete steps to fight climate change. Trees play an important role in diversifying and restoring native vegetation, stabilizing soil, creating habitat and corridors for wildlife, and promoting carbon sequestration and clean air for all.

Thanks to advances in agricultural technology and the sector's ongoing commitment to continuous improvement, producing one litre of milk in Canada emits less than half the greenhouse gas emissions than the global average. Our carbon footprint decreased by 23% from 1990 to 2016 alone, according to data from Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Still, the dairy sector is constantly striving to identify new innovations and efficiencies. This fall, our sector will again take its stewardship of the environment to the next level, when the environment module of the proAction program is fully phased in. Under proAction, dairy farmers demonstrate stewardship of their animals and the environment, and produce high-quality milk under some of the world's most stringent standards and practices.

Through investments in research, the adoption of new practices and creative partnerships such as this one, the dairy sector will continue to find innovative ways to support a greener future for all Canadians.

Quotes:

Pierre Lampron, President, Dairy Farmers of Canada

Story continues

"Over the years, dairy farmers have made great strides in cutting emissions, land use and water use associated with milk production. We are thrilled to support Tree Canada's National Greening Program, which will contribute to our collective future."

Danielle St-Aubin, Chief Executive Officer OR Leo Duguay, Chair of the Board, Tree Canada

"Tree Canada is grateful to work with and receive the generous support of Dairy Famers of Canada. We applaud their commitment to sustainable practices and for planting trees as a way to preserve our country's green spaces and mitigate the effects of climate change. We look forward to working closely together to make a positive impact across the country."

Hon. Seamus O'Regan Jr., Minister of Natural Resources

"Planting two billion trees is more than a plan for climate action. It's a plan for creating thousands of good, green jobs. We're rolling out tree-planting projects right across the country, like this one with Dairy Farmers of Canada. Planting trees gets us to net-zero."

ABOUT DAIRY FARMERS OF CANADA

Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) is the national policy, lobbying and promotional organization representing Canadian dairy producers. DFC strives to create stable conditions for the dairy sector in our country. It also seeks to maintain policies that promote the sustainability of Canadian dairy production and promote dairy products and their health benefits.

SOURCE Dairy Farmers of Canada

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2021/13/c5951.html
Cactus Export service helps local business owners meet growing overseas demand, with next-day delivery excluding customs inspection and clearance process.

CITES Permit (Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora) and Phytosanitary Certification are required by the customs authority, and import requirements at different destination countries vary.

DHL's cross border and customs expertise makes it easy for local sellers to export cactuses from Thailand to four destination countries in Southeast Asia

BANGKOK, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- DHL Express Thailand has introduced Cactus Export Service to provide next-day delivery of delicate plants like cactuses from Thailand to Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia. Cactuses have become increasingly popular in Southeast Asia. This new service will allow local business owners to capture the opportunities of this increasing demand and expand their reach across the region.

DHL Express provides cactus business owners with access to direct routes from Bangkok Hub and Gateway to the four country destinations. Full tracking visibility is enabled across the entire supply chain and supported by DHL Express' own fleet of planes, ground transport and logistics facilities.

"Regular conversations with our customers in order to review our services and identify areas where we could improve is important to us. We are constantly looking at ways to better serve our customers, and to be the platform of choice. By expanding our capabilities to now include cactus delivery not only opens doors to new possibilities and cross-border opportunities for our customers, it also shows our versatility and commitment to meet their needs," said Ken Lee, CEO, DHL Express Asia Pacific.

According to the Global Succulent & Cactus Plants Market Report 2020, the Succulent & Cactus Plants Market will register 16.80% CAGR over the next six years to 2027[1]. The four destinations accommodate international trade amid the COVID-19 gardening boom. Many cactus species are highly localized and tend to be slow-growing. These features make cactus particularly attractive to collectors interested in exclusivity.

Story continues

"The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of lifestyle e-commerce. With our cactus export service, cactus business owners can take advantage of our global network and expertise to get their products quickly delivered. This launch reflects our commitment to Thai SMEs, the sector most affected by the pandemic. We continue exploring alternative services for them, working closely with our operations to establish compliant processes that address the restrictions for cactus shipping to accommodate them," said Herbert Vongpusanachai, Managing Director at DHL Express Thailand & Head of Indochina.

Cactuses adapt well to the intense heat and survive the warm and dry conditions of a centrally heated home. These succulents are also perfect for the less green-fingered, as they need only moderate watering and minimal care. The cactus business has become one of the hottest during the pandemic, with shops struggling to keep some species in stock.

DHL Express clear processes and guidelines to ship cactuses

"With home gardening surging in popularity during the lockdown, I have been growing cactuses at home and this propelled me to take the plunge into entrepreneurship. I started the cross-border business because the market is much bigger and I use DHL Express for delivery," said Athiwat Chakpan, the owner of Cactus Inter. "Although drought-resistant cactuses can survive without soil for months, having them packed with limited airflow during transit may cause the cactus to die quickly and lead to fragmented quality. Using a reliable express service provider is essential to building trust, especially with my return customers. Being able to track and trace their products en route, and receive their cactus plants safely and on time, is a great customer experience that we always aim to deliver."

To deliver cactuses to Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia with DHL Express, a CITES Permit (Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora) is required by the customs authority, together with Phytosanitary Certification to certify that cactus is free from pests and aligns with conditions of the destination country. The recipient is advised to contact the ministry or relevant agency before the goods are delivered to prepare the import documents and facilitate prompt delivery.

Contact our Customer Service at 02-345-5000 (24 hours) for shipment booking instructions of DHL Express Cactus Export service or read an interview of how business is spiking for the Thai cactus seller amid a Covid-19 gardenging boom at https://lot.dhl.com/business-is-spiking-for-this-thai-cactus-seller-amid-a-covid-19-gardening-boom/

DHL Logo (PRNewsfoto/DHL)

 End 

Website: https://www.mydhl.express.dhl

Follow us at: https://www.facebook.com/DHLExpressTH

DHL  The logistics company for the world

DHL is the leading global brand in the logistics industry. Our DHL divisions offer an unrivalled portfolio of logistics services ranging from national and international parcel delivery, e-commerce shipping and fulfilment solutions, international express, road, air and ocean transport to industrial supply chain management. With about 400,000 employees in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide, DHL connects people and businesses securely and reliably, enabling global sustainable trade flows. With specialized solutions for growth markets and industries including technology, life sciences and healthcare, engineering, manufacturing & energy, auto-mobility and retail, DHL is decisively positioned as "The logistics company for the world".

DHL is part of Deutsche Post DHL Group. The Group generated revenues of more than 66 billion euros in 2020. With sustainable business practices and a commitment to society and the environment, the Group makes a positive contribution to the world. Deutsche Post DHL Group aims to achieve zero-emissions logistics by 2050.

SOURCE DHL
SAN DIEGO, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Fresh Start Surgical Gifts will donate life-changing surgeries to 11 children during their Surgery Weekend July 17-18 in partnership with Rady Children's Hospital, ranked among the nation's top children's hospitals in 2021 by U.S. News & World Report. Fresh Start will also see an additional 35-40 children at their clinic for postoperative follow-up visits, speech therapy, laser treatments, dental and orthodontic services.

Fresh Start patient Andrea, age 3. She was born with a port-wine stain covering a large portion of her face, and will receive her final treatment on July 17 at Surgery Weekend. With advancements in technology over the years, a high-tech laser is used by Fresh Start Volunteer Dr. Bari Cunningham, Dermatologist, and Dr. Greg Ostrow, Ophthalmologist. The value of Andreas medical treatments to-date is over $100,000, all provided at no cost to her family.

Fresh Start Surgical Gifts will donate life-changing surgeries to 11 children during their Surgery Weekend July 17-18.

Fresh Start Surgical Gifts transforms the lives of disadvantaged infants, children and teens who have physical and cosmetic deformities through their gift of reconstructive surgery at absolutely no cost to patients or their families. World-renowned surgeons donate their time and expertise pro bono to these children to offer them the medical care they need, and essentially, a fresh start in life.

"Our mission goes beyond just helping children  we are literally shaping lives," says Shari Brasher, CEO of Fresh Start Surgical Gifts. "Some of these families have been told no so many times; we're so grateful that with the help of our volunteer expert surgeons, we're able to give them the medical care they deserve and make all of their dreams come true."

To efficiently treat children's deformities, Fresh Start hosts six Surgery Weekend cycles annually. Each cycle provides patients with two days of intensive surgeries along with supporting medical treatments, such as dental, orthodontics, laser and speech therapy. Fresh Start's volunteer medical professionals are highly qualified and strive to empower the confidence of these children.

The surgeries set for this upcoming surgery weekend range from kids starting at age 3 to 25. The cases range from several cases of microtia, two gynecomastia cases, two hand surgeries, cleft palate surgery and an intense laser treatment for a port-wine stain.

Story continues

Always in pursuit of excellence and to provide disadvantaged children the best possible care, Fresh Start Surgical Gifts formed a partnership with Rady Children's Hospital over 10 years ago. Through this partnership, reconstructive surgery and other medical services are provided at the Fresh Start Clinic at Rady Children's Hospital by a volunteer team of private practice surgeons and medical professionals from Rady Children's Hospital and UC San Diego. Fresh Start also partners with the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. To see a preview of Surgery Weekend, click here.

Every child receives the highest quality medical care, and the families never see a bill for the services provided. Each donor's money is put to the highest use and each dollar donated enables Fresh Start to provide $5 in medical care. One hundred percent of contributions go directly to medical programs.

For more information on Fresh Start Surgical Gifts, please visit FreshStart.org.

ABOUT FRESH START SURGICAL GIFTS

Fresh Start Surgical Gifts transforms the lives of disadvantaged infants, children and teens who have physical and cosmetic deformities through their gift of reconstructive surgery. Providing reconstructive, plastic and neurosurgeries for children across the U.S., Fresh Start's commitment to children extends far beyond medical care. The organization ensures their children will leave feeling more empowered than before. The impact Fresh Start has on their children's confidence, drive to receive an education and desire to make a difference goes unmatched. To learn more, visit FreshStart.org.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fresh-start-surgical-gifts-to-provide-600-000-worth-of-life-changing-medical-care-to-11-patients-during-surgery-weekend-july-17-18-with-rady-childrens-hospital-san-diego-301331701.html

SOURCE Fresh Start Surgical Gifts
SAN CLEMENTE, CA, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire  Global WholeHealth Partners, Corp. (OTC: GWHP), a multinational supplier of over 70+ FDA approved tests and including Dengue, Ebola, Zika, TB and Malaria for international sales, also offers one of the largest lines of tests for CoViD19 SARS2, and is prepared to help in the fight against CoViD19 SARS2. With the pandemic still not under control in the United States, and new variants coming out, Global needed to make sure it kept up with the needs of the nation and the world.

With the new More Highly Contagious COVID-19 Strain quickly spreading throughout the US and the rest of the world, Global WholeHealth Partners, Corp. (OTC: GWHP) confirms their Antibody and Antigen Test Kits detect the mutated COVID-19 strain, like the newest variant DELTA (B1.6117.2), the UK strain (B.1.1.7) and the South Africa (B.1.351).

The Delta variant was first identified in India in December 2020 and led to major outbreaks in the country. It then spread rapidly and is now reported in 104 countries, according to a CDC tracker.

As of early July, Delta has become the dominant form of the coronavirus in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and other countries. In the U.K., for instance, the Delta variant now makes up more than 97% of new COVID-19 cases, according to Public Health England.

https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20210712/what-to-know-about-covid-delta-variant

Researchers have said that the Delta variant is about 50% more contagious than the Alpha variant, which was first identified in the U.K., according to The Washington Post. Alpha, also known as B.1.1.7, was already 50% more contagious than the original coronavirus first identified in China in 2019.

https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20210712/what-to-know-about-covid-delta-variant

The U.K. variant of SARS-CoV-2, known as B.1.1.7., was first discovered in the U.S., in the state of Colorado, at the end of last year. Since then, 690 cases have been detected across 33 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. California has the second most reported cases in the country, behind Florida, with 150. Of those, the majority of infections have been diagnosed in San Diego County, according to Dr. Clayton Chau, the countys health officer. The New Variant DELTA COVID

Story continues

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/21-year-old-san-clemente-man-is-o-c-s-1st-case-of-highly-contagious-covid-19-variant-from-u-k/

Although currently available vaccines appear to be effective against most of the coronavirus variants that have been identified to this point, the strain fueling a resurgence of COVID-19 in South Africa (B.1.351) was not slowed down by vaccines developed Newsom said, One of the cases was found in Alameda County and the other in Santa Clara County.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-02-10/first-cases-of-south-african-coronavirus-strain-found-in-california

So far, only six cases of a South African variant of the coronavirus have been reported in the U.S., but concern among experts is growing, as emerging data suggests available vaccines may not protect as well against it.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/02/08/south-african-variant-your-questions-answered-new-covid-strain/4433074001/

The world newest tally on the COVID-19 Virus:

The global tally for the coronavirus-borne illness rose above 185.6 million on Friday, while the death toll climbed further above 4.01 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

The U.S. leads the world with a total of 33.79 million cases and in deaths with 606,483. India is closing in on the U.S. in cases at 30.75 million but is third in deaths at 405,939, while Brazil is second in deaths at 530,179 but is third in cases at 18.96 million. Mexico has the fourth-highest death toll at 234,458 but is 15th in cases with 2.6 million. In Europe, Russia leads in deaths with 138,441 fatalities, while the U.K. has 128,601, making Russia the country with the fifth-highest death toll in the world and highest in Europe.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/delta-variant-of-covid-19-is-forcing-asian-countries-to-lock-down-while-africa-suffers-its-worst-week-a-year-and-a-half-into-the-pandemic-11625841608

There is no better way to Stop the Spread of COVID-19 and its various mutated strains then by utilizing the rapid antibody test or antigen test kits that we offer to accurately detect those who have become infected and having them immediately quarantine, says Charles Strong, CEO of Global WholeHealth Partners, Corp. With some of the variants being resistant to vaccines, like the DELTA (B1.6117.2) and South Africa strain B.1.351, testing more people and following the CDC guidelines is the way to win this war on COVID.

Global WholeHealth Partners recognizes that there is a crucial need for faster testing and faster results when it comes to fighting the COVID. Global WholeHealth Partners knows that the quicker the test results can be reviewed by a Front-Line Healthcare Worker, the quicker we can stop the spread of this disease.

With results in minutes versus hours or days with other diagnostic kits, the more lives that can be saved with the FDA authorized COVID-19 POC serology Point of Care Test. With the new fingerstick test, healthcare providers can prick a patients finger and get results in minutes without having to wait for venous blood. Global WholeHealth Partners will be able to distribute these tests to more urgent cares, hospitals, and  to help curb the spread of CoViD19 SARS2.

As a third surge of the coronavirus threatens much of the United States, public health experts across the country say there still arent enough tests available to keep the virus under control.

About 30 million Covid-19 tests are given every month, according to estimates from The Atlantic magazines Covid Tracking Project. But studies have found that the U.S. would need millions more 193 million a month, according to one report  to be effective.

The USA has the largest number of Covid-19 cases in the world and there is concern that this next wave of infections will be worse than the previous. Global WholeHealth Partners, Corp. is confident that its Covid-19 Rapid Test can make a difference through assisting companies, staff, and public places where transmission may occur with a reliable, accurate, and fast Rapid Test.

Global Wholehealth Partners, Corp. provides cutting edge technology using In-vitro Diagnostic (IVD) Real-Time PCR Machines for detection of SARS-CoV-2 IgM/IgG antibodies in human serum, plasma, or whole blood. It has led the fight against vector borne terminal diseases such as Ebola, ZIKA, Dengue, Malaria, Influenza and Tuberculosis, Corona Viruses, and among other vector borne diseases with an FDA Certificate of Exportability (2260-11-2019). The company was founded on March 7, 2013 and is headquartered in San Clemente, CA.

GWHP develops, manufactures, and markets in vitro diagnostic (IVD) tests for OTC, or consumer-use as well as professional rapid diagnostic point-of-care (POC) test kits for hospitals, physicians offices, and medical clinics in the US and abroad. Notably, GWHP offers CE Marked tests for its high quality, rapid antibody test for COVID-19 and an EUA filing with the FDA is pending approval. Currently, the Company offers over 70 products FDA approved and many are Approved for OTC use, and 19 POC products approved by the FDA CLIA WAIVED.

Disclaimer:

The Company is not making any express or implied claims that its product has the ability to eliminate, cure or contain the Covid-19 (or SARS-2 Coronavirus) at this time

Media Contact:

Name: Charles Strongo

CEO, Global WholeHealth Partners, Corp.

Email: Sales@gwhpcorp.com

www.gwhpcorp.com

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/there-still-aren-t-enough-covid-19-tests-u-s-n1243787

https://www.prevention.com/health/a35031411/britain-covid-19-coronavirus-mutation/

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/covid-19-diagnostics-market-size-is-projected-to-reach-23-67-billion-by-2027--polaris-market-research-301191983.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/covid-19-testing-capacity-strained-surge-demand-n1249592

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/12/30/coronavirus-variant-colorado-unlikely-first-case-us/4085694001/

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements. Such statements may be preceded by the words "intends," "may," "will," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "predicts," "estimates," "aims," "believes," "hopes," "potential" or similar words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, are based on certain assumptions and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, and cannot be predicted or quantified and consequently, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties associated with (i) market acceptance of our existing and new products, (ii) negative clinical trial results or lengthy product delays in key markets, (iii) an inability to secure regulatory approvals for the sale of our products, (iv) intense competition in the medical device industry from much larger, multinational companies, (v) product liability claims, (vi) product malfunctions, (vii) our limited manufacturing capabilities and reliance on subcontractors for assistance, (viii) insufficient or inadequate reimbursement by governmental and other third party payers for our products, (ix) our efforts to successfully obtain and maintain intellectual property protection covering our products, which may not be successful, (x) legislative or regulatory reform of the healthcare system in both the U.S. and foreign jurisdictions, (xi) our reliance on single suppliers for certain product components, (xii) the fact that we will need to raise additional capital to meet our business requirements in the future and that such capital raising may be costly, dilutive or difficult to obtain and (xiii) the fact that we conduct business in multiple foreign jurisdictions, exposing us to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, logistical and communications challenges, burdens and costs of compliance with foreign laws and political and economic instability in each jurisdiction. More detailed information about the Company and the risk factors that may affect the realization of forward-looking statements is set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Investors and security holders are urged to read these documents free of charge on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.




OTTAWA, ON, July 13, 2021 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories are working together to help create new opportunities in the Northwest Territories and provide greater access to quality education, build healthier communities and support a sustainable and dynamic economy.

Today, the Minister of Northern Affairs, the Honourable Daniel Vandal, Northwest Territories' Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, the Honourable R. J. Simpson, and Aurora College President Andy Bevan highlighted new investments in post-secondary education in the territory, with an emphasis on key priorities such as access to higher education and the expansion of the post-secondary education system in the Northwest Territories.

To further increase access to quality post-secondary education in Canada's North, Minister Vandal highlighted that Budget 2021 proposes to provide $8 million over two years, starting in 202122, to the Government of the Northwest Territories to support the transformation of Aurora College to a polytechnic university. As well as increasing access to post-secondary education for Northerners, this transformation will also advance the growth of research beneficial to Arctic and Northern communities and people, and all Canadians.

This funding is in addition to Budget 2019 measures to strengthen Arctic and Northern communities, including $40 million over five years to support options for post-secondary education in the North. This funding included $1 million to establish a task force to study post-secondary education in the Arctic and the North; $26 million for a new science building in support of Yukon College's transition to Yukon University; and $13 million to help the Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning meet the high demand for their Indigenous-led, northern land-based learning.

The need to address education in the North was identified by co-development partners in Canada's Arctic and Northern Policy Framework, launched in 2019, as part of its goal of supporting resilient and healthy northern and Indigenous People.

Story continues

Supporting post-secondary education in the Northwest Territories will benefit all northern residents, especially youth and Indigenous Peoples, who represent over 50% of the population in the territory. Investments in education also benefit lower-income individuals and families through increased access to degree programs along with applied training in order to obtain skills needed in the workforce.

Quotes

"Every Canadian should have the opportunity to continue their education, learn new skills and have the same chance at success in life. Our government will continue to work with territorial, provincial and Indigenous partners to address issues that matter to them, including better, more relevant and accessible education and increased opportunities for skills development, practical learning and access to local high-quality higher education. The transformation of Aurora College will allow it to become the institution that's needed to underpin social and economic development and prepare Northerners for jobs in their communities or wherever they wish to go. Access to education will help develop the skills needed for today's jobs and it will promote innovation and economic growth. Together with partners, we are creating an environment in the Arctic and North in which Canadians have access to the education needed to help them succeed."

The Honourable Daniel Vandal, P.C., M.P.

Minister of Northern Affairs

"We are pleased to be working with the Government of Canada to strengthen the post-secondary education system in the Northwest Territories. The $8 million federal investment will support planning and development of the polytechnic university, but also affirms the importance of our continued work in this area. The transformation of Aurora College into a polytechnic university will bring wide-ranging economic and social benefits to generations of Northerners. It will also help ensure local businesses and industry can fill current and future in-demand jobs. Through the establishment of a polytechnic university, we will be increasing access to quality programming for residents in all communities, providing more equitable opportunities for Northerners to reach their education and career goals."

The Honourable R. J. Simpson

Minister of Education, Culture and Employment in the Government of the Northwest Territories

"Co-investment by the Government of Canada in the planning and development of a Northern polytechnic university is critical to our success. Federal co-investment continues to be key to maintaining quality teaching and research programs in the North, and helping to ensure those programs can be tailored to Northern priorities. We look forward to working with both the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Government of Canada to increase access to quality post-secondary education opportunities for Northerners and to build capacity for Northern research."

Andy Bevan

President of Aurora College

"Improving access to high quality post-secondary education in the Northwest Territories is key to ensuring a brighter future for our youth. Through the Government of Canada's investments, we are working with our local partners to help make this future a reality."

Michael McLeod

Member of Parliament for Northwest Territories

Quick facts

Budget 2021 includes $101.4 billion over three years in proposed investments as part of the Government of Canada's growth plan that will create good jobs and support a resilient and inclusive recovery. Key measures include the following:

The Government of Canada launched Canada's Arctic and Northern Policy Framework on September 10, 2019. For the first time, the federal government worked collaboratively with Indigenous representatives and six territorial and provincial governments to define and co-develop this long-term vision.

Associated links

Stay connected

Join the conversation about the North:

Twitter: GovCan_North

Facebook: GovCan  North

You can subscribe to receive our news releases and speeches via RSS feeds. For more information or to subscribe, visit www.cirnac.gc.ca/RSS

SOURCE Indigenous Services Canada

Cision

View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2021/13/c8441.html
TSX:GWO

WINNIPEG, MB, July 13, 2021 /CNW/ - Great-West Lifeco Inc. (Great-West Lifeco) subsidiary Irish Life Group Limited (Irish Life) has reached an agreement to acquire Ark Life Assurance Company dac (Ark Life) from Phoenix Group Holdings plc for a total cash consideration of 230 million, in a transaction which will see approximately 150,000 policies and 2.1 billion in assets move to Irish Life.

Great-West Lifeco Inc. Logo (CNW Group/Great-West Lifeco Inc.)

"As a leading provider of life insurance, pensions and investments in Ireland, this acquisition adds significant scale to Irish Life's retail division," said Paul Mahon, President and Chief Executive Officer, Great-West Lifeco. "Together with focused execution on our strategy, this transaction enhances our ability to provide customers with market-leading wealth and insurance solutions."

"Our ambition is to grow our business both organically and through acquisitions where we see a strong commercial and cultural fit," said Declan Bolger, Chief Executive Officer, Irish Life Group. "Our existing relationship with Ark Life means we are ideally placed to continue to offer excellent customer service for policy holders, including access to enhanced digital services."

Ark Life is closed to new business, and manages a range of pensions, savings and protection policies for its customers in the Irish market.

This transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals, and is expected to close by early 2022.

About Great-West Lifeco Inc.

Great-West Lifeco is an international financial services holding company with interests in life insurance, health insurance, retirement and investment services, asset management and reinsurance businesses. We operate in Canada, the United States and Europe under the brands Canada Life, Empower Retirement, Putnam Investments, and Irish Life. At the end of 2020, our companies had approximately 24,500 employees, 205,000 advisor relationships, and thousands of distribution partners  all serving our more than 30 million customer relationships across these regions.

Story continues

Great-West Lifeco and its companies have approximately CAD$2.1 trillion in consolidated assets under administration as at March 31, 2021 and are members of the Power Corporation group of companies. Great-West Lifeco trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the ticker symbol GWO.

About Irish Life

Irish Life is one of Ireland's leading financial services groups, now taking care of 1.4 million customers. We help people to confidently prepare for and embrace life's changes with our wide range of health, life, pension and investment solutions.

Irish Life delivers innovative solutions for personal and corporate customers, backed by the highest standards of service. And as part of Great-West Lifeco, we have access to experience and expertise on a global scale, so we can continuously enhance our leading range of services and solutions.

SOURCE Great-West Lifeco Inc.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2021/13/c9570.html
CLEARWATER, Fla., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Joshua T. Chilson, partner at Johnson Pope in Clearwater, Florida, has been appointed by Florida Bar President-elect Gary Lesser to the Board of Directors of The Florida Bar Foundation, a statewide charitable organization whose mission is to provide greater access to justice.

Joshua T. Chilson

Josh is a well-respected leader in the Florida legal community currently serving on The Florida Bar Board of Governors representing the approximately 4,000 lawyers and judges of the Sixth Judicial Circuit since 2016. Prior to that time, he served as President of the Clearwater Bar Association where he received numerous honors including multiple president's awards and the CBA's top honor, the Ralph Richards Award.

Josh is a civil trial lawyer. He practices almost exclusively in the area of personal injury, having represented clients in most all types of personal injury matters including auto accidents, motorcycle accidents, wrongful death, premises liability incidents, negligent security, dog bites, defective products and most other types of negligence actions involving serious injuries.

Josh is a longtime supporter of The Florida Bar Foundation becoming a Florida Bar Foundation Fellow many years ago. His Foundation board term began on July 1, 2021.

The Florida Bar Foundation accomplishes its mission by funding programs that expand and improve representation and advocacy on behalf of low-income persons in civil legal matters, improve the fair and effective administration of justice, and promote public service among lawyers.

Johnson, Pope, Bokor, Ruppel & Burns, LLP is a regional, full-service law firm with offices in Tampa, Clearwater and St. Petersburg.

CONTACT:

Suzanne Kinman

Director of Public Relations

suzannek@jpfirm.com

813-767-0960

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/joshua-t-chilson-appointed-to-board-of-the-florida-bar-foundation-301332936.html

SOURCE Johnson, Pope, Bokor, Ruppel & Burns, LLP
(Bloomberg) -- An oil refinery that was once one of the largest in North America filed for bankruptcy after a series of environmental breaches and a government-ordered shut down, highlighting pressures faced by the oil industry to curb its environmental impact.

Limetree Bay Refining LLC sought creditor protection on Monday after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency halted its operations earlier this year. The St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands-based refinery, which filed for bankruptcy in 2015 under previous ownership, said in a statement that it plans to use the court protection process in Houston to negotiate with creditors and equity holders and weigh options including asset sales.

The refinery sought bankruptcy due to severe regulatory and financial constraints that forced it to suspend its refinery operations indefinitely, and has lined up as much as $25 million of so-called debtor-in-possession financing that will help it maintain the refinery through the Chapter 11 process, according to the statement.

Arena Investors is providing the DIP loan through an affiliated entity, according to people with knowledge of the situation who asked not to be named discussing a private matter. A representative for Arena didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

The refinery, which had restarted operations in February after years of inactivity, was well positioned to process sour crude oil supplies from South America and meet fuel demand in regions such as the U.S. East Coast.

Halted Operations

The 200,000-barrel-a-day refinery in May was forced to halt operations following emissions incidents that included contamination of drinking water. On June 21, the company said it was suspending plans to restart the business and cutting more than 270 workers after efforts to raise capital foundered. In the years prior to the troubles, Limetree spent more than $4 billion to refurbish the refinery, according to court papers.

Limetrees woes have prompted investigations by the EPA and the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and National Resources, according to court papers. The Office of the U.S. Attorney in the Virgin Islands also requested to visit the refinery, and the company faces multiple class-action lawsuits related to the alleged pollution problems, the companys chief restructuring officer, Mark Shapiro, said in court documents.

Story continues

The company is in talks with regulators about the conditions for reopening, Shapiro said. Affiliates of BP Plc and Baker Hughes Co. are among its largest creditors, according to court papers.

Limetree is controlled by EIG Global Energy Partners, which said in an emailed statement that it became the reluctant owner of the troubled refining operation in April as part of a restructuring. EIG had previously led a group of Limetrees so-called mezzanine lenders and has been involved in efforts to revive the refinery since 2018. EIG, based in Washington D.C., specializes in private investments in energy infrastructure.

Terminal Business

Limetree was formed in 2016 after an affiliate of ArcLight Capital Partners and Freepoint Commodities LLC bought the St. Croix refining units and terminal assets from Hovensa LLC, a venture owned by Hess Corp. and Venezuelas state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA that had filed for bankruptcy months earlier. In 2018, Limetree announced an approximately $1.3 billion funding plan to restart the idled refinery, which started running earlier this year.

The refinerys parent will continue to operate its related oil storage terminal business. That unit is working with financial and legal advisers to navigate financial strains associated with the shuttered refinery, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

The bankruptcy comes at a time when the industry is struggling with shrinking profitability, excess production capacity and rising competition from mega-refineries in Asia amid a push by the Biden Administration to move the U.S away from fossil fuels.

The case is Limetree Bay Services LLC, 21-32351, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (Houston).

(Updates with details about creditors starting in 8th paragraph)

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.

2021 Bloomberg L.P.
Reuters

(Reuters) -Some U.S. tech companies expressed disappointment with a ruling by a federal judge that blocked new applications to a program that protects immigrants who were brought to the United States as children from deportation. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen on Friday sided with a group of states suing to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, arguing that it was illegally created by former President Barack Obama in 2012. "We have long argued in support of this program, filing an amicus brief in this case, and we are very disappointed by the decision (from the judge)", Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said.
Military Flight Training Schools Market  Scope of the Report A new study on the global military flight training schools market is published. It presents detailed information of key market dynamics, including drivers, trends, and challenges for the global military flight training schools market as well as its structure.

New York, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Military Flight Training Schools Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2020-2030" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06104720/?utm_source=GNW





This study offers valuable information on the global military flight training schools market in order to illustrate how the market is expected to expand during the forecast period i.e. 20202030.



Key indicators of market growth, which include value chain analysis and compound annual growth rate (CAGR), are elucidated in This study in a comprehensive manner. This data can help readers interpret the quantitative growth aspects of the global military flight training schools market.



An extensive analysis of business strategies adopted by leading market players is also featured in This study on the global military flight training schools market.This can help readers understand key factors responsible for growth of the global military flight training schools market.



In this study, readers can also find specific data on avenues for qualitative and quantitative growth of the global military flight training schools market. This data would guide market players in making apt decisions in the near future.



Key Questions Answered in Study on Military Flight Training Schools Market

What would be the Y-o-Y growth trend of the global military flight training schools market between 2020 and 2030?

What is the influence of changing trends in technology on the global military flight training schools market?

Would North America continue to be the most dominant regional market for providers of military flight training schools over the next few years?

Which factors would hinder the global military flight training schools market during the forecast period?

Which are the leading companies operating in the global military flight training schools market?



Research Methodology

A unique research methodology is utilized by the analyst to conduct comprehensive research on the global military flight training schools market and arrive at conclusions on future growth prospects for the market. This research methodology is a combination of primary and secondary research, which helps analysts warrant the accuracy and reliability of the conclusions drawn.



Secondary research sources referred to by analysts during production of the report on the global military flight training schools market include statistics from company annual reports, SEC filings, company websites, World Bank database, investor presentations, regulatory databases, government publications, and market white papers. Analysts have also interviewed senior managers, product portfolio managers, CEOs, VPs, and market intelligence managers, who have contributed to the production of This study on the global military flight training schools market as a primary research source.



These primary and secondary sources provided exclusive information during interviews, which served as a validation from leading players operating in the global military flight training schools market.Access to an extensive internal repository as well as external proprietary databases allowed this report to address specific details and questions about the global military flight training schools market with accuracy.



The study also uses a top-down approach to assess the numbers for each segment and a bottom-up approach to counter-validate them. This has helped in making estimates on future prospects for the global military flight training schools market more reliable and accurate.

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06104720/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________

Story continues

CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001




OTTAWA, ON, July 13, 2021 /CNW/ - Today the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, announced the reappointment of Ms. Genevieve Parent as a member of the Canada Agricultural Review Tribunal for a three-year term, effective August 31, 2021.

Ms. Parent is a full-time professor at the Faculty of Law at Universite Laval, where she is also the Legal Research Chair in Food Diversity and Security. An associate member of the French Academy of Agriculture since 2019, Ms. Parent holds a PhD in International Law. Her main areas of interest include food security, as well as national and international agri-food law.

Ms. Parent has been active in research over the past 20 years, focusing on national and international legal instruments for ensuring food diversity, the impact of international law on Canadian and Quebec agri-food legislation, the achievement of greater coherence between international economic law and other dimensions of law to promote sustainable global food security.

Ms. Parent has published numerous scientific papers and is frequently invited to speak at various national and international meetings dealing with food security issues.

In 2016, the Government of Canada implemented an open, transparent and merit-based process for selecting Governor in Council appointees. Appointees play a fundamental role in Canada's democracy by serving on commissions, boards, Crown corporations, agencies and tribunals across the country.

Quote

"The Canada Agricultural Review Tribunal acts to balance our rights while protecting the health and well-being of consumers and enhancing the economic vibrancy of Canadian agriculture. I am pleased to announce the reappointment of Ms. Parent to the Tribunal where her valuable experience and knowledge of food security and agri-food law will continue to be an asset."

- The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Quick Facts

The Canada Agricultural Review Tribunal is an independent, quasi-judicial body established by the Government of Canada to provide impartial reviews of notices of violation issued by federal agencies regulating agriculture and food.

Members of the Canada Agricultural Review Tribunal are appointed by the Governor in Council upon the recommendation of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

Additional Links

Story continues

Canada Agricultural Review Tribunal

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn

Web: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

SOURCE Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Cision

View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2021/13/c5056.html
DELAWARE CITY, DE / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2021 / Nearthlab, an innovator in wind turbine technology, is thrilled to announce next month's opening of its first US-based office in Delaware City, Delaware in July.

Nearthlab, an industrial drone technology company, currently offers much-needed solutions in the wind energy business: safer, more efficient ways to inspect wind turbines. CEO Jay Choi said, 'It takes a day to inspect a wind power plant using conventional ways, but the same inspections take 15 minutes using Nearthlab drones.'

Wind turbines have been a viable alternative energy source for decades, but the wind energy field has not always been efficient or safe. Nearthlab's approach leverages artificial intelligence capabilities to minimize human involvement in wind turbine inspection, optimizing production while reducing risk.

In addition to delivering massive improvements in how wind turbines are inspected, Nearthlab backs its approach with reliable, flawless results and an accident-free record, making them a trusted presence in wind energy.

Prioritizing human safety has always been a priority for CEO Choi. 'The goal is to recognize Nearthlab as a drone solution provider that everyone uses during facility safety inspections,' explains Choi, adding, 'I hope that Nearthlab can become a standardization of industrial drones.'

Nearthlab's ability to harness AI's capabilities means wind turbine inspection time and costs both improve, a benefit that greatly serves both private and public interests. With experience that includes collaborating with leading companies, Nearthlab's expansion to the United States only further solidifies its place as a trusted partner in wind energy.

About Nearthlab

Nearthlab began as a startup in South Korea focused on increasing safety and inspection outcomes for wind turbines. The company offers AI-powered O&M services, both through autonomous drones and a unique data management platform, Zoomable.

Story continues

Blades are the most expensive components of a wind turbine, constantly facing extreme loads and changing weather conditions. As such, they need regular maintenance to stay reliable and functional. With Nearthlab technology, the operational efficiency of wind turbines is drastically increased in a safe and reliable way.

Contact Information:

For Media Inquiries, please contact natalia@exclusiveprs.com

SOURCE: Nearthlab





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/654784/Nearthlab-a-Korean-Based-Industry-Leader-in-Wind-Energy-Opens-its-First-US-Based-Office




DUBLIN, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "North America Disposable Medical Supplies Market 2020-2030 by Product Type, Raw Material, Application, End User, and Country: Trend Forecast and Growth Opportunity" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Research and Markets Logo

North America disposable medical supplies market is expected to grow by 6.5% annually in the forecast period and reach $106.9 billion by 2030 owing to the growing incidence of disease & disorders coupled with aging population, rising incidence of Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs), and the growing preference towards the low-cost disposable medical supplies amid COVID-19 pandemic.



Highlighted with 27 tables and 54 figures, this 113-page report "North America Disposable Medical Supplies Market 2020-2030 by Product Type, Raw Material, Application, End-User, and Country: Trend Forecast and Growth Opportunity" is based on comprehensive research of the entire North America disposable medical supplies market and all its sub-segments through extensively detailed classifications.

Profound analysis and assessment are generated from premium primary and secondary information sources with inputs derived from industry professionals across the value chain. The report is based on studies on 2017-2019 and provides estimates for 2020 and forecasts from 2021 till 2030 with 2019 as the base year.



In-depth qualitative analyses include identification and investigation of the following aspects:

Market Structure

Growth Drivers

Restraints and Challenges

Emerging Product Trends & Market Opportunities

Porter's Five Forces

The trend and outlook of the North American market is forecast in an optimistic, balanced, and conservative view by taking into account of COVID-19. The balanced (most likely) projection is used to quantify the North American disposable medical supplies market in every aspect of the classification from perspectives of Product Type, Raw Material, Application, End User, and Country.



Based on Product Type, the North American market is segmented into the following sub-markets with annual revenue ($ bn) for 2019-2030 included in each section.

Story continues

Surgical Instruments & Supplies

Infusion & Hypodermic Devices

Contact Lens

Syringes

Tubes

Diagnostic & Laboratory Disposables

Glucose Monitoring Strips

Blood Collection Consumables

Diagnostic Catheters

Bandages & Wound Dressings

Infection Management

Exudate Management

Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Devices (NPWTD)

Nonwoven Medical Disposables

Shoe Covers

Sterile Nonwoven Swabs

Surgical Caps

Surgical Drapes

Surgical Gowns

Surgical Masks

Dialysis Disposables

Incontinence Products

Intubation & Ventilation Supplies

Other Products

Based on Raw Material, the North America market is segmented into the following sub-markets with annual revenue ($ bn) for 2019-2030 included in each section.

Plastic Resins

Nonwoven Material

Rubber

Paper & Paperboard

Metals

Glass

Other Raw Materials

Based on Application, the North American market is segmented into the following sub-markets with annual revenue ($ bn) for 2019-2030 included in each section.

Cardiovascular Care

Cerebrovascular Care

Ophthalmology

Gynaecology

Urology

Orthopaedics

Other Applications

Based on End User, the North American market is segmented into the following sub-markets with annual revenue ($ bn) for 2019-2030 included in each section.

Hospitals

Ambulatory Surgery Centers

Clinics & Physician Offices

Home Healthcare

Assisted Living Centers & Nursing Homes

Other End Users

Geographically, the following national/local markets are fully investigated:

U.S.

Canada

Mexico

For each key country, detailed analysis and data for annual revenue ($ bn) are available for 2019-2030. The breakdown of key national markets by Product Type, Application, and End User over the forecast years are also included.



The report also covers the current competitive scenario and the predicted trend; and profiles key vendors including market leaders and important emerging players.



Key Topics Covered:



1 Introduction

2 Market Overview and Dynamics

3 Segmentation of North America Market by Product Type

4 Segmentation of North America Market by Raw Material

5 Segmentation of North America Market by Application

6 Segmentation of North America Market by End User

7 North America Market 2019-2030 by Country

8 Competitive Landscape



Companies Mentioned



3M Company

Abbott Laboratories, Inc.

B. Braun Melsungen AG

Baxter International

Bayer AG

Becton, Dickinson and Company

Cardinal Health, Inc.

Domtar Corporation

Johnson & Johnson, Inc.

Medline Industries, Inc.

Medtronic Plc

Molnlycke Health Care AB

Smith & Nephew Plc

Terumo Medical Corporation



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/kscrmo



Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

Cision

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/north-america-disposable-medical-supplies-market-expected-to-grow-by-6-5-annually-from-2020-2030--301332901.html

SOURCE Research and Markets
The Admissions Department at NPU makes the path to earning a bachelor's degree more accessible for prospective students from Merritt College

FREMONT, Calif., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Through a recently enacted articulation agreement, Northwestern Polytechnic University (NPU) has made the path to a bachelor's degree more accessible for community college students at Merritt College of Oakland, California. The articulation agreement with Merritt College allows for the easy transfer of credits to NPU and shortens the degree completion time for students interested in earning a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (BSCS) or a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA).

(PRNewsfoto/Northwestern Polytechnic University)

Dr. Steven Pantell, Merritt College's Articulation Officer, said, "Merritt College's transfer agreement with NPU has helped to ease the transfer of students between our two institutions."

In order to maximize accessibility and ease of use, the articulation agreement also provides a list of specific courses that are mapped to undergraduate General Education (GE) and major course requirements.

NPU President Peter Hsieh said, "We at NPU make sure that our students and prospective students get the best chance at a high-quality education that will position them for future success, whether it is in the pursuit of career goals or further academic accomplishments. We are very pleased that we can reinforce our relationship with Merritt College, which has established itself as an excellent institution that shares a common goal with NPU to offer its students as many educational opportunities as possible. We're proud to be partners with Merritt College."

Beyond the articulation agreement with Merritt College, NPU continues to develop partnerships and relationships with other educational institutions throughout California. Prospective students from community colleges are highly encouraged to discuss the transferability of credits with counselors at their respective colleges and also with the NPU admissions team.

Story continues

Please contact PR@NPU.EDU for additional information.

Founded in 1984, Northwestern Polytechnic University (NPU) is a WASC-accredited non-profit private university in Fremont, California that awards bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science, engineering, technology, and management programs. Learn more at https://www.npu.edu/.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/northwestern-polytechnic-university-establishes-seamless-transfer-of-credits-with-merritt-college-301331940.html

SOURCE Northwestern Polytechnic University
- N-butanol market is estimated to grow at a sizable CAGR of 6.1% during analysis period 2021-2031. Increased product use in paints, coatings, building, and construction sectors will boost sales

- Increased demand from paints and coatings, automotive, plastic additives, and adhesives & sealants industries will shape growth of North America market

ALBANY, N.Y., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Companies operating in the global n-butanol market are increasing focus toward strengthening their production capabilities. This move is in response to the potential growth in demand for n-butanol following restoration of markets after COVID-19 pandemic.

Transparency_Market_Research_Logo

A new assessment report by Transparency Market Research gives lucid data and analysis on the global n-butanol market. This study emphasizes that the market is likely to gather the valuation of around US$ 14 Bn by the end of assessment period 20212031.

Request the Covid19 Impact Analysis at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=covid19&rep_id=54084

N-butanol Market: Key Findings

Varied Applications of N-butanol Fuel Market Sales

N-butanol refers to a colorless liquid that shows medium volatility. It is popular as a primary alcohol that is used as a chemical intermediate for manufacturing of various other chemicals including amino resins and esters. At present, the liquid is utilized in the production of a wide range of consumer products. Thus, increased product use as a solvent for coatings, paints, fats, varnishes, waxes, oils, plasticizers, and rubber is foreseen to bring extensive sales opportunities in the n-butanol market in the years to follow.

Increased Product Use as Solvent Creates Massive Demand Opportunities for Market Players

As n-butanol shows solubility in nearly all organic solvents, it finds wide application as a solvent for a wide range of formulated products including inks, paints, camphor, adhesives, cosmetics, and dyes. In addition to this, n-butanol is in high demand across the building and construction industry. This growth is on the back of its various properties including high solubility and good reactivity. Thus, the thriving building and construction industry will work in favor of the n-butanol market in the forthcoming years.

Story continues

See how you can be a leader in N-butanol Market with our Research Report, Get Brochure at: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=54084

N-butanol Market: Growth Boosters

N-butanol is extensively utilized in polymers, plastics, brake fluids, synthetic rubber, and lubricants in the manufacturing industry. Thus, increased product application in manufacturing industry will help in expanding growth of n-butanol market in the forthcoming years.

In the food and beverages industry, n-butanol is increasingly used for artificial food flavoring purposes. This factor is estimated to bring lucrative avenues for players in the market for n-butanol.

Over the period of past few years, there is noteworthy growth in the use of coatings across varied end-use industries. This aside, the government bodies of many countries across the globe are increasing investments toward the infrastructure development activities. All these factors are likely to generate incremental expansion avenues in the global n-butanol market over the period of next few years.

Major vehicle users from across the globe are showing concerns pertaining to the VOC emission of solvent-based coatings utilized across the automotive industry. This aside, the government authorities of many nations are introducing stringent environmental regulations. Owing to this scenario, a noteworthy growth in the acceptance of water-soluble paints is projected in the period of upcoming few years. As a result, the global n-butanol market is likely to observe high demand opportunities from the companies engaged in the paints and coatings industries.

N-butanol finds application as an industrial intermediate in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, ethers and butyl ether acetates, plastics, and polymers. Apart from this, it is utilized in different end-use industries including personal care and marine. It is also used in chemicals in the form of chemical intermediate in the production of plastics, adhesives, oil, varnishes, and wax. On the back of all these applications, the market is foreseen to gather promising sales opportunities in the years ahead.

View Detailed Table of Contents at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/54084

N-butanol Market: Well-Established Participants

The report profiles key participants working in the n-butanol market. Thus, the study sheds light on many important aspects such as key product offerings, financials, strategies, and recent developments of all market players.

The list of key players in the market includes following names:

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation

Eastman Chemical Company

SABIC

Dow

KH Chemicals

GALAXY CHEMICALS

KH Neochem Co., Ltd.

Solventis

OQ Chemicals GmbH

Purchase Premium Research Report on N-butanol Market @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=54084<ype=S

Explore Transparency Market Research's award-winning coverage of the global Chemicals and Materials Industry,

Tert-butanol Market - Transparency Market Research has recently published a new research report on global tert butanol market. According to the research report, the global market is expected to reach a valuation of US$650 mn by the end of 2027. Initially, the market was valued at US$472.3 mn back in the year 2018. This huge growth of the global market is expected be achieved with the help of a steady CAGR of 4% for the given period of assessment.

Isobutanol Market - According to the report, the global isobutanol market was valued at US$679.7 mn in 2016. The market is likely to reach US$1,069.9 mn by 2025, expanding at a CAGR of 5.2% between 2017 and 2025. Asia Pacific to Continue to Remain Leading Regional Market Applications of isobutanol across industries such as automotive, chemical, and paints and coatings are likely to amass the most share in the overall revenue of the global market over the forecast period. The rising usage of the compound across the bio-fuel sector is also likely to present promising growth avenues before the market in the near future.

About Transparency Market Research

Transparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. Our experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.

Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.

Contact

Mr. Rohit Bhisey

Transparency Market Research

State Tower,

90 State Street,

Suite 700,

Albany NY - 12207

United States

USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453

Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com

Press Release Source: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pressrelease/n-butanol-market.htm

Website: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Cision

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/promising-growth-in-paints-and-coatings-industry-boosts-revenue-in-the-global-n-butanol-market-highlights-tmr-301332542.html

SOURCE Transparency Market Research Pvt. Ltd
ROUYN-NORANDA, QC, July 12, 2021 /CNW/ - Canada's mining sector is an important pillar of Canada's economy. The Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, will announce an important investment to accelerate the development and commercialization of innovative and more sustainable mining technologies.

A media availability by teleconference will follow the announcement.

Date: Tuesday, July 13, 2021



Time: 11:00 a.m. (ET)



Location: LaRonde Complex  Agnico Eagle Mines Limited

Security booth, Centre de support et developpement (CSD)

10200 Route de Preissac

Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec

The announcement will be live-streamed on Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada's Canadian Innovation Facebook page.

Notes for media:

Media representatives attending in person are asked to check in at the security booth of the Centre de support et developpement (CSD) no later than 10:30 a.m. You will then be driven to the announcement site.

Dress code

For safety reasons, long pants and long sleeves are mandatory.

Personal protection equipment will be provided and the following items must be worn at all times: hard hat, steel-toed shoes or boots, safety vest and glasses.

COVID-19 guidelines

Temperature check and symptom self-assessment check will be done upon arrival at the CSD.

Masks must be worn at all times and hand sanitization upon arrival is mandatory.

Physical distancing of one metre must be respected.

Members of the media participating virtually are invited to contact ISED Media Relations (mediarelations-mediasrelations@ised-isde.gc.ca) no later than July 12 at 5 p.m. (ET) to receive the dial-in information. Media are asked to join the call at 11:00 a.m. (ET).

Stay connected

Find more services and information at Canada.ca/ISED.

Follow Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on social media.

Twitter: @ISED_CA, Facebook: Canadian Innovation, Instagram: @cdninnovation and LinkedIn

Story continues

SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

Cision

View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2021/13/c2478.html
Key Companies Covered in Smart Meter Market Research Report are Siemens (Germany), ABB (Switzerland), Kamsturp (Denmark), Itron (US), Landis + Gyr (Switzerland), Badger Meter (US), Diehl (Germany), Secure Meter Limited(UK), Aclara Technologies (US), Sensus (US), BMETER (UK), Jabil(US), Honeywell (US), ZENNER (US)

Pune, India, July 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global smart meter market size is projected to reach USD 44.18 by the end of 2026. Recent technological advancements have emerged in favor of the market in the coming years. According to a report published by Fortune Business Insights, titled Smart Meter Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Smart Electric Meter, Smart Gas Meter, Smart Water Meter) By Technology (Automatic Meter Reading {AMR} and Advanced Meter Infrastructure), By Application (Residential, Commercial and Industrial), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026, the market was worth USD 24.53 billion in 2018 and will exhibit a CAGR of 7.7% during the forecast period, 2019-2026.

Request To Sample PDF Brochure: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/smart-meter-market-102666

The emergence of COVID-19 has brought the world to a standstill. We understand that this health crisis has brought an unprecedented impact on businesses across industries. However, this too shall pass. Rising support from governments and several companies can help in the fight against this highly contagious disease. There are some industries that are struggling and some are thriving. Overall, almost every sector is anticipated to be impacted by the pandemic.

We are taking continuous efforts to help your business sustain and grow during COVID-19 pandemics. Based on our experience and expertise, we will offer you an impact analysis of coronavirus outbreak across industries to help you prepare for the future.

Click here to get the short-term and long-term impact of COVID-19 on this Market.

Please Visit: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/covid19-impact/smart-meter-market-102666

Story continues

Smart meter provides two-way communication and acts as a medium between customers and service providers. This allows for improved efficiency, subsequently aiding the demand for the product across the world. Modern smart meters allow for improved product operations. The use of advanced concepts such as the IoT and sensor-based monitoring has opened up the potential for widespread product applications. The presence of several large scale companies has made a huge impact on the growth of the market in the foreseeable future. The increasing number of company mergers and collaborations has also contributed to the growth of the market. The contributions from government organizations, as well as private companies, will bode well for the market.

Increasing Number of Company Mergers Will Aid Growth

The report encompasses several factors that have contributed to the growth of the market in recent years. Among all factors, the increasing number of company mergers and acquisitions has made the highest impact on the market. In March 2017, PUB awarded a contract to CH2M Hill Singapore. The contract will be aimed at the development and installation of 300,000 water meters. The water meters will be installed existing residential, commercial, and industrial premises by the end of 2023.This contract will have a positive impact on the growth of the overall market in the foreseeable future.

Ask for Customization: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/customization/smart-meter-market-102666

Asia Pacific Dominates the Market; Focus on Sustainable Energy Management to Aid Growth

The report analyzes the ongoing smart meter market trends across North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and Europe. Among these regions, the market in Asia Pacific currently dominates the market. The focus on implementation of sustainable products by major companies will aid the growth of the regional market. As of 2018, the market in Asia Pacific was worth USD 12.23 billion and this value is projected to increase further in the coming years. The market in North America and Europe will witness considerable growth in the coming years, driven by the presence of several large scale companies in several countries across this region.

A few of the leading companies that are operating in the global smart meter market include:

Siemens (Germany)

ABB (Switzerland)

Kamsturp (Denmark)

Itron (US)

Landis + Gyr (Switzerland)

Badger Meter (US)

Diehl (Germany)

Secure Meter Limited(UK)

Aclara Technologies (US)

Sensus (US)

BMETER (UK)

Jabil(US)

Honeywell (US)

ZENNER (US)

Industry Developments:

October 2019: The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), announced a new joint venture labeled IntelliSmart.

Quick Buy- Smart Meter Market: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/102666

Major Table of Content for Smart Meter Market:

Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions

Executive Summary

Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities

Key Insights Key Emerging Trends  For Major Countries Latest Technological Advancement Regulatory Landscape Industry SWOT Analysis Porters Five Forces Analysis

Global Smart Meter Market Analysis (USD Billion), Insights and Forecast, 2015-2026 Key Findings / Summary Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Type Smart Electric Meter Smart Gas Meter Smart Water Meter Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Technology Auto Meter Reading (AMR) Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Application Residential Commercial Industrial Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Region North America Latin America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa



TOC Continued !!!

Speak To Our Analyst- https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/smart-meter-market-102666

Have a Look at Related Research Insights:

Smart Solar Market Size, Share and COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Service (Asset Management, Network Monitoring, Meter Data Management, Remote Metering, And Others), By Device (Smart Solar Meters, Intelligrid, and Radio-Frequency Identification [RFID]), By Application (Residential, Commercial & Industrial, and Utility), and Regional Forecast, 2020-2027

Impact of Covid-19 on the Oilfield Services Market Size, Share, Industry Analysis and Regional Forecast 2019-2027

Hydrogen Generation Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (On-site and Portable) By Technology (Steam Methane Reforming, Water Electrolysis, Partial Oil Oxidation, and Coal Gasification), By Application (Ammonia Production, Petroleum Refinery, Methanol Production, Transportation, Power Generation, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2020-2027

Heat Exchanger Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Shell & Tube, Plate & Frame, Air Coolers, Cooling Towers, and Others), By Application (Chemicals, Oil & Gas, Power Generation, HVAC, Automobile, Pharmaceuticals, Food & Beverage, Others), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

Oil and Gas Drill Bit Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Roller Cone Bits {Milled Tooth, Tungsten Carbide Inserts}, Fixed Cutter Bits {Polycrystalline Diamond Compact, Diamond Impregnated}), By Application (Onshore, Offshore), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

About Us:

Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in.



Our reports contain a unique mix of tangible insights and qualitative analysis to help companies achieve sustainable growth. Our team of experienced analysts and consultants use industry-leading research tools and techniques to compile comprehensive market studies, interspersed with relevant data.



At Fortune Business Insights, we aim at highlighting the most lucrative growth opportunities for our clients. We therefore offer recommendations, making it easier for them to navigate through technological and market-related changes. Our consulting services are designed to help organizations identify hidden opportunities and understand prevailing competitive challenges.

Contact Us:

Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd.

308, Supreme Headquarters,

Survey No. 36, Baner,

Pune-Bangalore Highway,

Pune - 411045, Maharashtra, India.

Phone:

US: +1-424-253-0390

UK: +44-2071-939123

APAC: +91-744-740-1245

Email: sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com

Fortune Business Insights

LinkedIn | Twitter | Blogs



Read Press Release https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/press-release/smart-meter-market-9809




Middle East & Africa Type-C Bulk Bags Market  Scope of the Report The analyst started a new study on the Middle East & Africa type-C bulk bags market providing forecast for the period of 2021-2029.

New York, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Type-C Bulk Bags Market - Middle East & Africa Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2021-2029" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06104737/?utm_source=GNW

In the study, growth opportunity for the type-C bulk bags market is witnessed.



The report provides valuable insights, which enable readers to make winning business decisions for future growth of their businesses.The report highlights significant factors that are constantly determining the growth of the Middle East & Africa type-C bulk bags market, untapped opportunities for manufacturers, trends and developments, and other insights across various key segments.



Macroeconomic factors that are directly or indirectly affecting market growth are also incorporated in the report.



Key Questions Answered in Report on Middle East & Africa Type-C Bulk Bags Market Report

What will be market size for the Middle East & Africa type-C bulk bags by the end of 2029?

What will be the impact of COVID-19 on the type-C bulk bags market in Middle East & Africa?

Which is the most preferred segment by capacity in the Middle East & Africa type-C bulk bags market?

Which country will remain most lucrative for market growth?

Which end use holds maximum market share of the Middle East & Africa type-C bulk bags market?

Who are major key players in the Middle East & Africa type-C bulk bags market?

Key indicators associated with the type-C bulk bags market in Middle East & Africa have been calculated thoroughly in the report.The study enumerates vital market dynamics such as key drivers, challenges, and trends, along with opportunities in the Middle East & Africa type-C bulk bags market.



A comprehensive study on the value chain, which includes raw material suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and end users have been incorporated in the Middle East & Africa type-C bulk bags market report.Other key aspects laid down in the market include pricing strategy of leading market players and comparative analysis of type-C bulk bags.



Furthermore, forecast factors and forecast scenarios of the type-C bulk bags market in Middle East & Africa have been covered in the report to understand future prospects of the market.



A comprehensive evaluation and forecast on the type-C bulk bags market in Middle East & Africa are provided on the capacity, design, filling & discharge, end-use industry, and country.



Y-o-Y growth comparison, volume and revenue comparison, and market share comparison of various market segments are provided in the report. The type-C bulk bags market in Middle East & Africa is analyzed at the country level.



The report delivers an exhaustive assessment on the structure of the Middle East & Africa type-C bulk bags market, in tandem with a dashboard view of all leading company profiles in the report.Every companys share analysis on market players have also been presented in the report, apart from the footprint matrix of profiled market players.



The report depicts the presence of type-C bulk bags manufacturers by leveraging an intensity map. It also highlights key end uses for type-C bulk bags.



The report includes company overview of key players. Some of the key companies profiled in the Middle East & Africa type-C bulk bags market report include Olympic Bulk Bags Pty Ltd., LC Packaging International BV, Gulf Plastic Industries, Jumbo Plastics Industry LLC, Nice Smell Trading L.L.C, Plastochem F.Z.C., Akma Packaging Industries LLC, Anwar Makkah General Trading LLC, and STARLINK Dubai LLC- NOVA Starlink, among others.



Research Methodology

A realistic methodology, along with a holistic approach makes the base for sharp insights, which are provided in the Middle East & Africa type-C bulk bags market for the study evaluation period. The report comprises of detailed information on growth prospects, along with riveting insights into the forecast assessment of the market.



Extensive primary and secondary researches have been employed to garner keen insights into the forecast study of the Middle East & Africa type-C bulk bags market. The report has further undergone a cross-validation by in-house professionals to make the Middle East & Africa type-C bulk bags market report one-of-its-kind with the highest credibility.

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06104737/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________

Story continues

CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001




FILE PHOTO: Security guards stand at the gates of what is officially known as a vocational skills education centre in Huocheng County

By Michael Martina and David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Tuesday strengthened its warnings to businesses about the growing risks of having supply chain and investment links to China's Xinjiang region, citing forced labor and human rights abuses there.

"Given the severity and extent of these abuses, businesses and individuals that do not exit supply chains, ventures, and/or investments connected to Xinjiang could run a high risk of violating U.S. law," the State Department said in a statement.

Signaling broader U.S. government coordination on the issue, the Department of Labor and the U.S. Trade Representative's Office joined in issuing the updated advisory, first released on July 1, 2020 under the Trump administration by the State, Commerce, Homeland Security and Treasury departments.

The Treasury Department declined to comment on a Financial Times report that the United States would impose more sanctions this week in response to China's crackdowns in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters they were hearing the administration was preparing new sanctions, but had no details on the timing. Another source told Reuters the administration could announce a similar business advisory covering Hong Kong as soon as Friday, based on deteriorating conditions there.

The new advisory announced on Tuesday strengthens warnings to U.S. companies, noting they are at risk of violating U.S. law if their operations are linked even "indirectly" to the Chinese government's "vast and growing surveillance network" in Xinjiang. The warning also applies to financial support from venture capital and private equity firms.

It also summarized previously announced actions taken by the Biden administration to address alleged forced labor and rights abuses in Xinjiang, including a U.S. Customs and Border Protection ban on some solar product imports, and sanctions on Xinjiang companies and entities.

Story continues

On Friday, the administration added 14 Chinese companies and other entities to its economic blacklist over alleged human rights abuses and high-tech surveillance in Xinjiang.

The advisory said China's government continues "horrific abuses" in Xinjiang and elsewhere "targeting Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, and ethnic Kyrgyz who are predominantly Muslim, and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups."

China denies abuses and says it has established vocational training centers in Xinjiang to address religious extremism.

USTR Katherine Tai praised Canada, Mexico and other U.S. partners and allies for committing to ban the import of goods made with forced labor.

"I want to commend our allies for sending a clear sign that there is no place for forced labor in a fair, rules-based international trading system," she said in a statement.

President Joe Biden has sought to enlist help from U.S. allies to hold Beijing accountable for human rights abuses and what the White House says are increasingly coercive foreign and trade policies.

State Department spokesman Ned Price told a regular news briefing Washington would continue to hold Hong Kong authorities accountable for the erosion of the rule of law and would impose "costs and sanctions" on Chinese officials responsible for human rights abuses, including forced labor.

He said risks to the rule of law that were formerly limited to mainland China were now increasingly a concern for Hong Kong, but made no specific mention of any new measures.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Michael Martina, Tim Ahmann, Susan Heavey, David Shepardson, David Brunnstrom, and Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Franklin Paul, Jonathan Oatis, Dan Grebler and Paul Simao)
STOCKHOLM, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ZandCell, a biotech company with a proven track record in immunotherapies and COVID-19 diagnostics is announcing that it will enter into the manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines for governments in need.

ZandCell logo

The company has signed several contracts with various governments around the world for the manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines. Contracts over 160 million doses were made with governments in Asia, South America, and Africa.

Many countries are suffering from the slow purchasing processes related to vaccines and as a result, many people are suffering from the lack of vaccines, particularly in less developed countries.

"Currently, there are huge problems in COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing and distribution. Governments and politicians worldwide with no prior experience in international trade, medicine or vaccines are handling purchasing for their population. The process is slow when governments are involved. Too much politics involved and people are suffering everywhere," said Michael Zand, CEO of ZandCell.

"For this reason, ZandCell very much welcomes this new initiative of countries to sign with independent manufacturing companies like ZandCell to speed up the process of immunization globally and at a more affordable price. I am expecting our order portfolio to triple in the next coming months. Also, our experience in this area will help those countries to comply with all the complex logistics processes such as cold chain transportation and advanced data systems for registration of vaccinated people".

Apart from COVID-19 vaccines, ZandCell is also working on the manufacturing of vaccines in general closer to the end users.

"Financially, we are in a comfortable situation that we can invest in the manufacturing of vaccines," according to Michael Zand.

About ZandCell

ZandCell is a privately held, biotechnology company committed to bringing to market life-transforming therapeutics for patients with untreatable diseases. The company focuses on diseases for which the unmet medical need is high, the biology for treatment is clear, and for which there are no current effective treatment modalities. The company is led by a management team experienced in the development and commercialization of disease therapeutics. The overall objective of ZandCell and its operations is to develop medical treatments in the fields of regenerative medicine, gene editing, and immunotherapy worldwide.

Story continues

Contacts

ZandCell AB

info@zandcell.com

+46-736779970

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zandcell-covid-19-vaccine-order-book-grows-to-160-million-doses-301328938.html

SOURCE ZandCell
The son of a Locust Grove woman killed in a March 30 crash involving a Culpeper County Sheriffs Office vehicle has filed a $5.35 million lawsuit against the lieutenant driving the unmarked SUV and the local sheriff who hired her.

The lawsuit claims the high-ranking officer had a history of unsafe driving, which the sheriff either knew about or should have known about.

Helen Marie Quarles, 65, died in her Nissan Altima at the scene of the crash at State Route 3 and Carrico Mills Road in Culpeper in the collision with a CCSO-issued Chevy Tahoe SUV driven by Lt. Ashleigh Baughan.

Quarles, months away from retirement, was on her way home from work in the state probation office in Manassas at the time of the wreck. She was attempting to make a left-hand turn onto eastbound Route 3 when she was struck.

Both vehicles were totaled.

According to the accident report from Virginia State Police, the lieutenant was driving 75 mph in a 55-mph zone at the time of the crash. Baughan was not responding to an emergency or in pursuit of another vehicle at the time of the fatal wreck and her emergency lights and sirens were not activated.

She has been employed with the CCSO since 2013 and was one of a few female employees to be on the SWAT team.
The name Benedict Arnold, an American military officer who crossed lines to join the British during the Revolutionary War, became synonymous with treason. But he was never captured or tried for it.



CHRISTIANA RESISTANCE

Escaped slaves in Christiana, Pennsylvania, and several white people who aided them were charged with treason in 1851 for resisting U.S. marshals seeking to capture the escaped slaves. Following acquittals at an initial trial, in which lawyers argued the resistance was not akin to levying war, charges were dropped against the around 40 others indicted.



JEFFERSON DAVIS

The president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis was charged with treason but his prosecution was later abandoned, in part, as an effort at reconciliation following the Civil War. While scholars say they clearly fit the criteria of treason, no Confederate generals or statesmen faced the charge.



TOKYO ROSE
We just need to be vigilant, Prickett said.

Schaffner said he thinks schools wont face similar outbreaks because they tend to be more structured and disciplined than camps and because most got used to making adjustments over the past year and a half. But he said the best way to reduce the risk is to get most people vaccinated.

There are many parts of the country that simply have not grasped this, he said.

It could be several months before regulators make a decision on authorizing shots for children under 12. Studies on such youngsters are still going on.

Meanwhile, in Tennessee, the state's top vaccination official was fired Monday after facing scrutiny from Republican state lawmakers over her departments outreach efforts to vaccinate teenagers against COVID-19. Dr. Michelle Fiscus told The Tennessean newspaper about her termination. A Health Department official said the agency would not comment.

The Department of Health instructed county-level employees recently to stop vaccination events aimed at teens and to halt any online outreach to them, The Tennessean previously reported, citing emails it obtained.

Ford, the teacher whose daughter narrowly escaped getting COVID-19 at a Missouri summer camp, is worried.

With the uptick in cases, I am concerned that we wont be able to go back to normal, and we will have to ask people to mask and stuff, she said, "and I have a feeling that there is going to be a huge argument.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
After a black-owned business in Chicago was destroyed during the police protests-turned-riots last year, the family lamented that they had lost everything [they had] worked for in one day.

Shatira Wilks, another woman of color, said she didnt know if [she] was going to cry when her Edible Arrangements store was destroyed in similar fashion.

Instances like these have happened all over the U.S. in 2020. While anecdotes about businesses like Wilks being robbed may tug at readers heartstrings, owners of damaged property are devastated. Nevertheless, theyre treated like second-class victims.

This stems from a serious misconception that because businesses are insured, owners will be reimbursed for their losses. This is not the case. Not only does it take months to recoup insurance money, which can sink a business, but insurance claims are rarely fully paid.

For small business owners, particularly historically marginalized ones, setbacks from property crime can put an entrepreneur into bankruptcy. Unfortunately, police departments often treat property crime with a lighter hand.

For instance, last summer the Chicago Police Department arrested over a thousand individuals for disorderly conduct. Of those arrested, only a fraction faced serious charges.
Military exemplifies the socialist welfare state

Neil Hornings letter [McAulliffe offers divisive rhetoric, recycled socialism, June 15] is more hyperbole by a Republican Party patsy. Pity that FLS writers dont offer a more intelligent, issue-oriented, and factually-based point of view than this letter.

Again we hear the Democrats labeled as socialists as a sinister foreboding of governmental control of an economic system that is anti-capitalistic and anti-free-enterprise. This inane labeling of the Democratic Party as socialist grossly insults our intelligence and better judgment.

The largest socialistic institution in our country is the U.S. military. The products and services of the military are funded by the taxpayer and owned and controlled by society as a whole through the governmentthe definition of socialism.

We the People provide the governance and funding to ensure that military personnel have living wages, housing, and health care, so that all their basic needs are met so they can live a healthy and productive life. The military exemplifies the workable, socialized general welfare state.
At least four civilians were killed and five others were wounded in an explosion in Kabul on July 13, police said, as the United Nations warned that Afghanistan was "on the brink" of a new humanitarian crisis as violence intensified amid a hasty withdrawal of U.S.-led forces from the war-torn country.

No group has claimed responsibility so far for the blast, which came amid an ongoing offensive by the Taliban militants who have captured around one-third of Afghanistans districts since the start of the foreign forces' pullout, raising fears that the government in Kabul could collapse.

The type of explosion and the target were not immediately clear, police said in a statement.

The blast occurred "in the center of Kabul" at rush hour, police spokesman Ferdaws Faramurz told journalists separately, adding that an investigation was under way.

The attack came as a senior Taliban leader on July 13 said that despite their military advances, the militants do not want to battle government forces inside Afghanistan's cities and urged them to surrender.

"It is better...to use any possible channel to get in touch with our invitation and guidance commission," said Amir Khan Muttaqi in a message tweeted by a Taliban spokesman, adding this would "prevent their cities from getting damaged."

Muttaqi is the head of a Taliban commission that oversees government troops who surrender to the militants.

His call came the same day as a video emerged that CNN said it had verified showing a team of Afghan commandos being shot dead by the Taliban last month after surrendering.

Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency warned on July 13 that more Afghans are likely to flee their homes due to escalating violence.

"Afghanistan is on the brink of another humanitarian crisis. This can be avoided. This should be avoided," Babar Baloch, spokesman of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told a Geneva news briefing.

"A failure to reach a peace agreement in Afghanistan and stem the current violence will lead to further displacement within the country, as well as to neighboring countries and beyond."

According to the UNHCR, some 270,000 Afghans had been newly displaced inside the country since January, bringing the total population forced from their homes to more than 3.5 million.

The number of civilian casualties has gone up 29 percent during the first quarter compared with last year, the UNHCR said, citing figures from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

"We urge the international community to step up support to the government and people of Afghanistan and its neighbors at this critical moment," Baloch said.

With reporting by CNN, AFP, Reuters, and TOLO News
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has come under fire from politicians and commentators for his praise of Chinas autocratic one-party system, which he said offered a better model for countries compared to electoral democracy.

Speaking via video link at the Chinese Communist Party and World Political Parties Summit in Islamabad on July 6, Khan said Pakistan hoped to emulate the partys remarkable achievements in development and nation building and went on to praise Chinese President Xi Jinping for launching the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Those statements follow earlier ones delivered by Khan to Chinese-state media on July 1 for the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Chinese Communist Party, where he offered support for Beijings repressive policies against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang and lauded Chinas political system.

The [Chinese Communist Party] is a unique model. Up until now we were told that the best way for societies to improve themselves is the Western system of democracy, Khan said. And they have actually beaten all Western democracies in the way they have brought up merit in their society.

The strong relations between China and Pakistan -- which date back to the early days of the Cold War -- have grown stronger in recent years through the expansion of the BRI, in which Beijing has become an increasingly important economic and political patron for Islamabad.

Despite the close ties, Khans effusive praise for an authoritarian, oppressive one-party system also received criticism at home from both politicians and independent analysts.

This is dangerous thinking if Imran Khan wants to convert Pakistan into China, prominent Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir wrote on Twitter following the prime ministers interview with Chinese media. Friendship with China is good, but the Chinese system cant work in Pakistan.

Echoing those sentiments, Murtaza Solangi, another prominent journalist, offered a critique of Khans words by quoting a poem from the famous poet and leftist activist Habib Jalib.

China is our friend, we are ready to sacrifice for it. But the system that runs China, dont go towards that, we will have our solute from far away, Solangi tweeted.

Iron Brothers

Official statements from both Beijing and Islamabad often refer to the two countries relationship as unbreakable, referring to them as iron brothers that maintain an all-weather friendship.

The mammoth China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project has become the centerpiece of the BRI, morphing in size and scope into a bundle of energy and development projects that could reach $62 billion once it is completed.

Beijing also enjoys strong relations with the Pakistani military, with China reportedly leaning on Islamabad as it looks to navigate the complex security situation in the region triggered by the withdrawal of U.S.-led Western troops from Afghanistan.

Pakistan was also early in expressing support for China during the COVID-19 pandemic, with Beijing sending millions of vaccines to its South Asian neighbor.

The main motivation behind [Khan's] remarks is the fact that China is Pakistan's main source of political and economic support, and Islamabad can't afford to alienate its closest ally, Filippo Boni, an expert on Sino-Pakistani relations at the Open University in Britain, told RFE/RL.

Despite the political maneuvering that Pakistans generally China-friendly political class would expect, Khans comments were still seen as crossing a line by some.

Mushahid Hussain Syed, a senator from the opposition Pakistan Muslim League party, told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal that he believed Khans statement was more related to [the] China-Pakistan friendship and it has nothing to do with democracy.

Lahore-based analyst Rasul Bakhsh Rais was also critical of the prime ministers comments, telling Radio Mashaal that the region has a storied history of constitutional democracy and, while the Chinese model has indeed strengthened Chinas economy, it has also deprived the Chinese people of their democratic rights.

Implementing [the] Chinese model here in Pakistan is not possible, he said.

Former Pakistani envoy to the United Nations Maliha Lodhi raised concern that such overt praise for the communist system by Khan could have diplomatic consequences and lead to miscommunication that could damage other important relationships for Pakistan.

In diplomacy it is essential to know when not to publicly say something and when to speak. Words have consequences, intended or unintended, Lodhi wrote in a July 5 op-ed in Dawn, a leading Pakistani newspaper.

These considerations seem to have been ignored in foreign policy statements and interviews by the governments top leaders, causing unnecessary confusion and slip-ups, which are unhelpful for the country, she added.

Different Audiences

In addition to his favorable statements about the Chinese political system, Khan also went on to offer support in interviews for China's policies in the western province of Xinjiang, where Beijing is operating internment camps that have targeted Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other Muslim minorities.

United Nations human rights officials estimate that more than 1 million Muslims are detained in the camp system, prompting an international outcry that included the U.S. government and the parliaments of several Western nations calling China's actions in Xinjiang a genocide.

Beijing has denied such charges and labeled the camps as vocational educational and training centers, defending them as necessary to combat extremism.

Khan said on July 1, echoing previous statements, that he accepted the Chinese narrative.

Because we have a very strong relationship with China and because we have a relationship based on trust, so we actually accept the Chinese version, Khan said during an interview with Chinese media. What they say about the programs in Xinjiang, we accept it.

The prime ministers stance on the treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang stands in contrast to his outspoken advocacy against Islamophobia and discrimination toward Muslims, particularly in European countries.

At a time when the West is confronting China on its human rights record, Pakistan has clearly signaled where its priorities and allegiances lie, said Boni.

Daniel Markey, a professor at Johns Hopkins University and a former State Department official for South Asia, told RFE/RL that Khans recent comments, which were delivered in English, were designed for an international, primarily Chinese audience, and not a domestic one.

Pakistani leaders have long counted on the fact that they can effectively control messaging to the vast majority of their people even in the [online] media era, Markey said.
Taliban fighters in northern Afghanistan have reached the borders of Central Asia and there is a familiar sense of urgency in the three countries in the region with an Afghan frontier: Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Familiar because the Taliban have occupied many of the northern Afghan districts bordering Central Asia before, more than 20 years ago, and much of the response seen in the Tajik, Turkmen, and Uzbek capitals resembles the moves they made in the late 1990s.

And yet, much has changed since then also.

Refugees

On July 7, the independent Tajik news agency Asia-Plus reported more than 1,000 Afghan refugees had crossed into Tajikistans eastern Gorno-Badakhshan region, fleeing the fighting between advancing Taliban forces and government troops in Afghanistans neighboring Badakhshan Province.

Barely two weeks earlier, Yodgor Fayzov, the head of that sprawling Tajik region, ordered local officials to prepare for the arrival of up to 10,000 refugees, though he warned that number could climb to as high as 30,000.

This is neither surprising nor an exaggerated figure.

In late September 1996, the Taliban captured Kabul and continued its drive northward.

On April 26, 1997, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon (then called Rakhmonov) was hosting the head of Russias Federal Border Service, Andrei Nikolaev, and Rahmon said some 100,000 displaced people had fled to the border of Tajikistan.

The Tajik Civil War, which started in 1992, was coming to an end and on June 27, 1997, the government and its battlefield opponents signed a peace agreement.

The appearance of the Taliban in Afghanistan played a role in hastening the two sides -- pushed by mediators from Russia, Iran, and the UN -- to end the war.

More than 50,000 Tajik citizens, at least, had fled the fighting and crossed into Afghanistan during those five years. Among those 100,000 refugees Rahmon mentioned were several thousand citizens of his country.

The Tajik government needed the full force of its military for the battles inside Tajikistan at that time.

Russian border guards -- with some help from a Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) peacekeeping force that included troops from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan -- were tasked with defending the Afghan border.

As peace took root, Tajik troops were gradually deployed to the Afghan border, joining the Russian border guards who ended up staying there until 2005.

In late September 2000, Tajik Security Council Secretary Amirkul Azimov warned there were again some 100,000 Afghan refugees massing along the border with Tajikistan attempting to escape the fighting.

Rahmon said Tajikistan would not accept any Afghan refugees and, until those 1,000 Afghan refugees crossed into Tajikistan on July 4-5, 2021, none ever did.

Afghan refugees had also crossed into Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in the 1990s.

Some 800 crossed into Turkmenistan in November 1996, and about 8,000 in June 1997, all of whom Turkmen authorities sent back after a few days.

WATCH: Taliban Seizes Civilian Homes In Kandahar As Government Forces Fight To Defend City

Most were from Afghanistans Badghis Province, where on July 7, 2021, reports said the Taliban had captured all the provinces districts and a fierce battle for control of the provincial capital, Qala-e Naw, was being fought.

There were already an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 Afghan refugees in Uzbekistan by 1994, but Uzbek authorities gradually sealed off the countrys relatively short 160-kilometer border with Afghanistan.

When the Taliban first approached the Uzbek border in 1997 and in August 1998 when they seized areas that border Uzbekistan, Uzbek officials did not allow Afghan refugees to cross.

So far, the only Afghan civilian refugees reported to have crossed into Central Asia are those in eastern Tajikistan.

For now, displaced Afghans in the north are gathering in Tajik camps not far from the areas they abandoned to escape the fighting.

But the camps are short of food, water, and medical care, and many people often have to live together in cramped rooms and tents. If this dire situation continues, it is only a matter of time before some try to cross northern borders, looking for better temporary conditions in neighboring countries.

Soldiers And Paramilitaries

Unlike the late 1990s, this time the Tajik and Uzbek governments are contending with the Afghan government troops trying to flee the fighting in Afghanistan.

On June 21, when Taliban forces took the border post at Shir Khan Bandar, 134 Afghan soldiers fled into Tajikistan.

By July 5, Tajik authorities said 1,037 Afghan soldiers in total had crossed into Tajikistan and were being allowed to stay for humanitarian reasons," but on July 7 Afghanistans National Security Council said some 2,300 Afghan soldiers had been sent from Tajikistan back to Afghanistan, many via plane to Kabul.

On June 23, Uzbek troops stopped 53 Afghan soldiers and members of paramilitary forces who attempted to cross into Uzbekistan and sent them back.

On June 26, three Afghan soldiers tried to cross into Uzbekistan, and the next day 44 others showed up at the border.

All were sent back to Afghanistan.

WATCH: 'They Would Cut Us Into Pieces': Afghan Civilians Flee Taliban Attacks In Kunduz

The Tajik and Uzbek governments did not have such a problem 20 years ago because the Afghan government they recognized was that of President Burhanuddin Rabbani and the only government forces were the fighters under the command of Rabbanis defense minister, Ahmad Shah Masud.

They controlled only limited areas in northeastern Afghanistan along Tajikistans border and Masuds stronghold in the Panjshir Valley. Tajikistan did allow Masud to evacuate several warplanes to Kulob and Masud and Rabbani were frequent visitors to Tajikistan.

Uzbekistans government supported ethnic Uzbek Afghan field commander Abdul Rashid Dostum, and while he fled through Uzbekistan in August 1998 when the Taliban defeated his forces, Dostums forces stayed in northern Afghanistan to wage a guerrilla campaign.

Taliban Ties

In the late 1990s, the Tajik and Uzbek governments were openly hostile toward the Taliban, while Turkmenistan, guided by economic interests in exporting its natural gas and brandishing its policy of neutrality, engaged with the Taliban, even allowing the group to open a representative office in Ashgabat.

Turkmenistan still touts its policy of neutrality, but something has clearly changed.

Turkmenistans first president, Saparmurat Niyazov, was able to deal with the Taliban and the Afghan group was undoubtedly pleased to have one Central Asian neighbor staying out of Afghan internal politics.

Niyazovs successor as president, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, who was practicing dentistry when the Taliban were neighbors in the late 1990s, seems less successful in relations with the Taliban.

Three Turkmen border guards and three Turkmen soldiers were killed in separate incidents along the Afghan border in February and May 2014, and it appeared the Taliban were behind those attacks, though the Turkmen government never admitted they occurred.

There has been information since then about other Turkmen soldiers and border guards being killed along the Afghan border.

Turkmen authorities have not commented about those reports.

But after the 2014 incidents, the Turkmen government started paying more attention to the countrys armed forces and purchasing weapons from several countries.

Turkmen authorities called up reservists in January 2019 to fortify positions along the Afghan border, and at the start of July 2021, Berdymukhammedov reportedly ordered more forces sent to the border area, including warplanes, tanks, and artillery, though officials later denied moving tanks and cannons to the border.

It seems clear Berdymukhammedovs government is not as confident in benign relations with the Taliban as Niyazovs government was, though a Taliban delegation did visit Ashgabat in February 2021 and again on July 11.

Tajik authorities have been quiet as the Taliban captured territory that took it up to their border. Tajik officials do not speak much about the Taliban.

But Tajik authorities have not invited Taliban representatives to visit, nor sent any officials to third countries to meet with Taliban representatives.

Uzbekistan probably currently has the best ties with the Taliban.

Uzbekistan hosted a Taliban delegation that visited for several days in August 2019.

Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov has met with Taliban representatives in several countries over the course of the last few years and it was Kamilov who was meeting with Taliban representatives in Pakistan in 2000 and 2001.

After Dostum fled in 1998, Uzbek authorities gradually and grudgingly came to accept the fact that the Taliban was its neighbor.

In October 2000, President Islam Karimov said Tashkent is ready to recognize any government in Afghanistan, even if it is the Taliban government. It doesn't matter whether we like that government or not.

The Uzbek governments primary concern was the presence of militants from a homegrown group called the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) who had found refuge in northern Afghanistan and from which they crossed through the mountains into southern Kyrgyzstan in the summer of 1999 and again in the summer of 2000 when they also went to eastern Uzbekistan.

It is groups such as the IMU that the Central Asian governments fear, far more than an unlikely attack from the Taliban.

There are now several militant groups in northern Afghanistan with citizens of Central Asia in their ranks.

Back To The First Plan

Following the recent Taliban advances, Uzbekistan conducted tactical military exercises near the Afghan border in late June. On July 7, Uzbek troops conducted joint exercises with Russian troops in Uzbekistans Samarkand Province and Tashkent is sending additional forces to the Afghan border.

In October 1996, Uzbekistan moved elite forces to the Afghan border and sent more troops in August 1998 after the Taliban captured Mazar-e Sharif.

Some 23 years later, Tajikistan on June 26 put its forces near the Afghan border on heightened alert and on July 5 the Tajik government called up some 20,000 reservists to strengthen forces along the approximately 1,360-kilometer frontier with Afghanistan.

Elements of Russias 201st Division, which is stationed in Tajikistan, conducted military exercises on July 6 involving attack helicopters and tanks, specifically in response to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.

Also on July 6, representatives of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) visited the Tajik-Afghan border area.

The following day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Russian troops based in Tajikistan and the CSTO would prevent any aggressive encroachments against our allies."

In February 1997, Russian Defense Minister Igor Rodionov met with his Central Asian counterparts (except the Turkmen defense minister) in Tashkent and said the Russian government was prepared to step in to protect the southern borders of the CIS.

Over the next few years, Russian troops regularly conducted joint military exercises with all the Central Asian countries except Turkmenistan in Russia and Central Asia.

It seems all of the parties near Afghanistan's northern borders are well aware of the events that occurred in the late 1990s and 2000s in the war-torn country and are carefully preparing for a possible return to power of the Taliban and all of the possible ramifications.

Radio Azadi contributed to this report.
The lightning speed with which the Taliban has overrun large swathes of rural territories in Afghanistans north has shocked locals and surprised foreign observers with some worrying whether the internationally recognized government in Kabul can weather the storm.

But the speed of the Talibans advances has everyone asking how a group composed of ragtag militants could overrun dozens of districts in eight strategic provinces that share borders with Afghanistans neighbors: Pakistan, China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran.

People are asking how so many districts can fall [into the hands of the Taliban] without a fight and all the [government] resources and equipment left intact, said Abdul Hafeez Faroozan, a government employee in the northeastern province of Badakhshan, which was feared to become the first province to fall into Taliban hands last week. People are terrified.

The fighting escalated in northern Afghanistan after the final withdrawal of some 10,000 international troops began on May 1. In the past three weeks alone, the Taliban has overrun scores of districts and has virtually overtaken most trade routes, border crossings, and major roads in the region, prompting Afghanistans neighbors to assemble troops and turn to regional powers for help. The Taliban now claims to control some 100 districts in northern Afghanistan in addition to 85 districts elsewhere.

The militants success in the north is even more surprising considering the region offered some of the toughest resistance to the Taliban after its emergence as a student militia in the southern province of Kandahar in the mid-1990s that went on to sweep southern and southeastern Afghanistan.

The Northern Alliance, a coalition of various factions primarily comprising ethnic Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Hazars, fought the Taliban in the 1990s. It prevented the group from overrunning Badakhshan, Takhar, and Panjshir provinces, where a rival government mainly backed by India, Russia, and Iran fought hard against the Taliban, which was supported by Pakistan.

The Taliban regime quickly collapsed following the U.S.-led invasion in late 2001, but the group reemerged as an insurgency in 2003. In the following years, most of its attacks were limited to southern and eastern provinces along the countrys border with Pakistan.

By 2010, the militants had returned to northern Afghanistan and were carrying out attacks in the region, gaining some rural territories.

Tamim Asey, a former Afghan deputy defense minister, says the Taliban is now concentrating on northern Afghanistan to prevent the reemergence of the resistance it faced there in the 1990s.

Asey says the Taliban also wants to choke Kabul by depriving it of important revenues, trade routes, and resources in the north, which is connected to central and eastern Afghanistan by a Soviet-built road and tunnel network that is a key trade artery for trade with Central Asia. The northwestern province of Herat connects Afghanistan to Iran and Turkmenistan through vital border crossings.

The Taliban concentrated on this strategic region because it generates vital revenues, he told Radio Free Afghanistan, adding that divisions among the regions strongmen paved the way for the Talibans advances.

Conspiracy And Civil War

Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum, a former vice president and communist-era ethnic Uzbek military strongmen, has long competed for influence with Atta Mohammad Noor, a former Tajik commander of the Jamiat-e Islami political party. In recent weeks, the two have mobilized armed supporters to fight the Taliban.

There is a real possibility of a civil war. This is a very dangerous possibility, Noor said in an interview with the Associated Press last week.

Dostum, who is currently undergoing medical treatment in Turkey, says theres a conspiracy behind the quick fall of northern territories.

All districts [and] tanks were handed over to the Taliban without resistance. I dont know what the plan is, he was quoted as saying by Afghanistans Tolo TV late last month. He has vowed to return to the battlefield. We will return to the north. It is our home. I was raised thereI would be proud to be killed and martyred there, he said.

Like elsewhere in Afghanistan, however, the region is rife with rivalries, vendettas, and disputes, some of which the Taliban exploited to attract volunteers to its cause of fighting the international military presence and overthrowing the Western-backed government in Kabul.

Amrullah Aman, a former Afghan Army general, says the popular uprising that has seen saw civilians and former combatants take up arms against the Taliban prompted the group to hasten its offensive in the region. He also criticized Afghanistans neighbors for trying to cut separate deals with the Taliban to protect their countries from the possible fallout of Taliban victories along their borders.

I want to warn the regional countries of disastrous consequences if they remain indifferent to [our plight] here, he told Radio Azadi. The region could face instability for a long time.

Sher Mohammad Karimi, a former commander-in-chief for the Afghan Army, says the Taliban is pursuing a strategy to win.

The militants are increasing the tempo of their attacks wherever they see success, he told Radio Azadi. Fighting is going on everywhere in Afghanistan, but it is more pronounced in the north because the Taliban is focused on this region.

Hamdullah Mohib, Afghanistans national security adviser, however, is refusing to concede that the Taliban has overrun dozens of rural districts in northern Afghanistan. He told journalists last week that a lack of timely reinforcements and supplies prompted some units to abandon their places, which encouraged the Taliban to capture posts and offices -- which does not equal capturing entire districts.

Our forces are on the offensive in many districts, and we have recaptured some 14 districts during the past few weeks, he said.

The Taliban has been quick to claim victory. Zabihullah Mujahid, a purported Taliban spokesman, said the groups forces are advancing everywhere.

The Taliban appears confident in its ability to claim the victory that some Afghans say was handed to the militants by the departure of international forces. The movements military gains in Afghanistan are also bolstered by the apparent willingness of regional countries to engage them in an effort to protect themselves from the turmoil in Afghanistan.
Taliban representatives have warned Turkey against keeping troops in Afghanistan after the departure of the U.S.-led forces following Ankara's announcement that it was considering maintaining a contingent to protect the Kabul airport.

The Taliban has captured around one-third of Afghanistans 423 districts since the start of the U.S.-led forces' withdrawal on May 1, raising fears that the government in Kabul could collapse. The situation prompted Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on July 13 to visit the north to see the security situation on the ground.

The Turkish NATO contingent in Afghanistan has been providing security and essential airfield services for Kabul International Airport, which has huge strategic value as the only emergency gateway out of Afghanistan for officials and diplomats in emergency situations.

Ankara has said talks are ongoing with the Afghan government and Washington to keep its troops at Kabul airport to ensure the international gateway keeps functioning after the departure of U.S. troops.

"The decision of Turkish leadership is ill-advised, a violation of our sovereignty and territorial integrity, and against our national interests," the Taliban said in a statement on July 13, adding that if Turkey extends its "occupation," the militant group is prepared to fight over the issue.

U.S. President Joe Biden in April said U.S. forces will leave by September 11, the 20th anniversary of the Al-Qaeda attacks on the United States that prompted the American invasion of Afghanistan. Last week, however, Biden said the date of the withdrawal had been brought forward to the end of August.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has called for a fair burden-sharing of the task given that "uninterrupted, safe operation of Kabul International Airport is indispensable for the continued presence of diplomatic missions in Afghanistan."

A new air defense system was activated and tested at Kabul airport over the past several days.

Meanwhile, Ghani traveled to Mazar-e Sharif, the capital of the northern province of Balkh, where Taliban militants have taken control of a number of areas over the past two months, to assess the situation on the ground.

The Taliban's gains have been particularly strong in northern Afghan areas bordering Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, reportedly prompting an exceptional visit by Taliban representatives to Ashgabat at Turkmenistan's request on July 10. Mazar-e Sharif is located some 100 kilometers south of the Uzbek border.

This story includes reporting by Radio Azadi correspondents on the ground in Afghanistan. Their names are being withheld for their protection.

With reporting by AFP, and dpa
Anti-government protesters march in Havana, Cuba, Sunday, July 11, 2021. As Cubans facing the country's worst economic crisis in decades took to the streets in droves over the weekend into Monday, July 12, 2021, authorities blocked social media sites in an apparent effort to stop the flow of information into, out of and within the beleaguered nation.
When a Massachusetts state trooper saw two cars with their hazard lights flashing in the emergency lane of Interstate 95 at 2 a.m., the natural response was to go and offer help.
President Joe Biden is declaring that preserving voting rights is a test of our time as he urges passage of federal legislation to combat efforts by Republican-led state legislatures to restrict access to ballots
Less than two months before the Seven Peaks Music Festival was scheduled to bring country music to Buena Vista, the star-powered fest has been canceled.

The festival, co-hosted by Dierks Bentley and Live Nation and set to feature stars such as Keith Urban and Old Crow Medicine Show, will not be held over Labor Day weekend this year, according to an announcement on the festival's Facebook page.

Organizers called off the three-day event due to capacity restrictions in Chaffee County designed to limit the spread of coronavirus. As stated in a county public health order, the officials limited capacity at outdoor events to 5,000 people.

Seven Peaks Music Festival previously applied for a special event permit from the Chaffee County Board of County Commissioners, and, on July 7, Live Nation submitted another application proposing an event size of 17,000 spectators, 500 staff and 200 participants, according to a press release from Chaffee County.

The board of commissioners hadn't officially reviewed nor denied the application.

According to the press release, organizers of the Seven Peaks Music Festival started promoting the event in early June, "though the special event permit application was not yet reviewed by Chaffee County ... at that time."

Bentley, who lives at least part time in Colorado and launched the Seven Peaks festival in 2018, also posted the cancellation announcement on his personal social media last week.

"Seven Peaks Music Festival is being canceled for 2021 due to current capacity restrictions in place by local health officials," read the statement.

Tickets purchased for the 2021 event on the festival's website will be automatically refunded within 30 days, the statement also said.

"We are already planning for 2022 and a new location will be announced in the coming months," the post concluded. "Stay tuned for details."
Jonathan Gray works for Aurora Public Schools as a preschool teacher. He is in his second year in the CU Denver Masters of Public Administration program.
U.S. Gen. Austin Miller, left, shakes hands Monday with Afghan Defense Minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi at a ceremony in Kabul as Miller relinquishes command during the final phase of Americas withdrawal from

Afghanistan.
A Gazette investigation shows an increasing number of soldiers, including wounded combat veterans, are being kicked out of the service for misconduct, often with no benefits, as the Army downsizes after a decade of war.
First time lemur-mom, Allagash, surprised zookeepers at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo early Sunday morning when they discovered the expecting lemur had given birth to not one, but two lemur pups, according to a Monday news release.

So far zoo staff have reported the twins are showing behaviors that indicate that they are "healthy and bonding well" with Allagash.

"Allagash is probably our feistiest lemur, so were excited to see how her bold personality translates to motherhood, said Philip Waugh, lead keeper of the Waters Edge exhibit. "Weve heard her cooing gently to her babies while they nurse, which is something we didnt see with Rogue."

Rogue is another first-time mom in the lemur exhibit, who gave birth earlier this year. Her 11-week-old pup has been curious about the new babies, and sneaking around Allagash to get a quick look at them, the release said.

Although the zoo was aware of Allagash's pregnancy, and were able to monitor her and the twins throughout the gestation, the sexes of the babies have not yet been identified.

Typically breeding female lemurs will have only one baby per year, but according to the release it's not uncommon for twins to occur when food resources are abundant.

For the next two weeks, the twins can be seen clinging to their mother's abdomen, but in a month they should be independently exploring their new home.

The twins are the second and third lemur pups born to the zoo in 2021.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment sent a mobile covid vaccine lab to Country Jam in Mesa County. In the three days of the music festival, only six people of the thousands in attendance were vaccinated on the bus.
A police truck takes two unidentified detainees to the police station of Petion Ville in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on July 8. According to Police Chief Leon Charles, the two detained are suspects in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise.
Colorado Springs, CO (80903)

Today

Sunny to partly cloudy. High 83F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Mainly clear skies. Low 59F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.
When Colorado had a Republican senator talking to a Republican president, one thing seemed likely. Colorado would be the long-term home of Space Command. Then-U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn and then-Sen. Cory Gardner each spoke with Trump frequently about the command and maintained cautious optimism he would keep it in the Colorado Springs.

In early 2020, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, whom Trump invited to the White House and appeared to admire and respect, climbed aboard Air Force 1 at Peterson Air Force Base for a conversation with Trump. Like Gardner and Lamborn, Polis made the unassailable case for keeping Space Command in Colorado. At a speech in the Springs later that day, Trump, flanked by Gardner and Lamborn, said he would make a Space Command decision sometime after the election.

Anyone could read between the lines. Just in case Colorado did not get it, The Gazette's editorial board predicted Trump would penalize Colorado  specifically by moving Space Command  if the state's voters rejected him and Gardner. That's who Trump is, and realpolitik is all that really matters in Washington.

After voters shellacked the former president and Gardner, one of his closest Senate allies, Trump did as easily predicted. He gave Space Command to Alabama, where voters overwhelmingly supported him and an assortment of statewide and congressional Republicans.

There was, of course, good news in the mix  or so it seemed. Colorado voters showed overwhelming support in helping elect President Joe Biden. They ejected Gardner and gave Biden a friendly new senator by electing former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. Surely, if Gardner and Lamborn had so much sway with Trump we could expect similar influence in a Biden White House from Colorado's four Democratic House members and two Democratic senators.

Just as assuredly as Trump would punish us with Space Command, Biden, Hickenlooper, Democratic Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet and the rest of Colorado's Democratic establishment would quickly convince Biden to reverse Trump's decision and reward them like Trump rewarded Alabama. This, we thought, would be an easy win for Hickenlooper, Bennet, and Biden.

We were wrong. Six months have passed since Biden took office and we have no indication Colorado's Democrats have moved the dial at all regarding Space Command. Hickenlooper had a meeting with Trump in April, and we can find no indication of any mention of Space Command. Lamborn and Gardner, by contrast, said "Space Command" every time they had Trump within earshot.

Few military experts seriously justify moving Space Command, perhaps the most important component of our military, at a cost of billions and a disruption to our imminent need to compete in space. As reported by Gazette City Editor and longtime military specialist Tom Roeder, Air Force Gen. Ed Eberhart recently spoke out against relocating Space Command and advocated keeping it in the Springs. He would know a thing about it, as he led the last iteration of Space Command before it was shuttered at the end of the Cold War.

Roeder reported how retired Army Lt. Gen. Ed Anderson also opposes the move and advocates keeping Space Command in the Springs. He might know what he's talking about, as he used to lead Army Space and Missile Defense Command in Huntsville, Alabama  the city Trump chose as Space Command's future home.

These are just the latest in a long line of military experts who have questioned Trump's self-indulgent, spiteful decision to play politics with a military asset essential to national security.

Colorado voters should expect results from the Democrats they send to Washington, and this should be a big one. The case is easy to make because all serious tactical, practical, financial, and social considerations favor leaving Space Force right where it is.

Biden quickly reversed a slate of Trump decisions, even bringing an end to border wall construction during an immigration and drug-trafficking crisis. If Bennet and Hickenlooper cannot get their friend to help them out with Space Command, voters should seriously question the influence of their senators at the Pentagon, the Capitol, and the White House when they seek re-election.
Health-med-fit

alert featured

CICS looks to make 'smooth' transition with mental health services in Cerro Gordo County

Though CICS has been Cerro Gordo County's new mental health service provider for almost two weeks and the switch from County Social Services was planned since October 2020, Director Russell Wood told attendees of a ceremony for the organization on Monday morning that there's still work to be done.

"Were working hard to get things up and running," Wood said.

According to him, one thing that has helped CICS transition in from CSS, which served Cerro Gordo for more than a decade prior, is staff staying on and other mental health providers in the area readily cooperating with the organization that has offices in 15 counties across the state.

Jared McNett / Jared McNett Globe Gazette Russell Wood, the director of CICS, the new mental health service for Cerro Gordo County, said at the county courthouse on Monday morning that the goal for his organization is to make a "seamless and smooth" transition from previous provider CSS.

New mental health service for North Iowa counties holding ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday The event starts at 9 a.m. in the Cerro Gordo County Courthouse in Mason City.

"Were familiar with the services available and the service providers available," Wood said. "(And) Cerro Gordo has been good to work with."

At the ceremony, three staff members introduced themselves to those in attendance: Jessica Crawford, who does coordinating work, Jen Sheehan, who's worked in jail diversion, and Starla Varrelman who said that she works to keep a continuity with clients. As for what that will mean for a resident in the county, Wood said it shouldn't change much.

"I dont know that the everyday person would see a big significant difference. I dont think we should be sitting in the basement waiting for people to come to us."

Jared McNett / Jared McNett Globe Gazette State Sen. Amanda Ragan (D-Mason City) told CICS Director Russell Wood that she's excited to have the organization as the new provider for the county. "I think youre going to have a real good feel for who we are up here," she said.

Cerro Gordo County Supervisor Chris Watts, who pushed for the change in organizational providers, said he also doesn't expect for the average resident to notice any changes in services other than that they may see some new options now available.

"We expanded services that we did not have like mobile crisis stabilization. It was icing on the cake by joining CICS because we gained some services," Watts said.

Before Cerro Gordo County Supervisors Casey Callanan, Tim Latham and Watts unanimously voted in October to withdraw from CSS to make the move to CICS, Watts said that they did consider forming a mental health region all its own for the county as Iowa's system involves regional management of local services.

"Basically, we wouldnt have had the leadership to form our own region so we were looking at the perfect fit and the perfect fit was joining an existing region," Watts said.

One potential difficulty Watts pointed to, not just for CICS, but for other providers as well, is the passage of Senate File 619 in Iowa that includes new language related to funding and reimbursement for mental health services.

"(The) legislature came in and changed the way we do business. We are going to have performance based contracts beginning in January so were having to look at how that impacts what we provide," Wood said.

Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors approves withdrawal from County Social Services "There is no guarantee that we are better off in making this move."

In terms of specific services, Wood said that what CICS provides is roughly divided into three categories: urgent, emergent and routine with a big part of urgent being crisis intervention. Under those other banners are services such as support for housing and short-term rental assistance, family support, medication management and response training.

"Our goal is to have more crisis services available to meet with people before law enforcement gets involved," Wood said.

Along with partners in local law enforcement agencies, Wood said that CICS in Cerro Gordo will work closely with organizations such as 43 North Iowa, which helps people with disabilities be fully integrated into their community, and Prairie Ridge Integrated Behavioral Healthcare which offers a range of treatment and intervention options.

$1 for 3 months to support local journalism
Agreements released Monday show Iowa is donating the use of state troopers and their equipment at no cost to Texas to fight crime along the U.S. border with Mexico. A Reynolds spokesman said there's a chance Texas could later reimburse some costs.
Today is Tuesday, July 13, 2021. Let's get caught up.

Here's what you should know today: President Biden will be in Philadelphia today to give a long-awaited speech on voting rights; president calls Cuba's "remarkable" protests a "call for freedom"; and the 2021 Emmy nominations will be announced today.

Keep scrolling for today's top stories, this date in history and celebrity birthdays.

TOP STORIES

In long-awaited speech, Biden to decry voting restrictions

WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden will lay out the moral case for voting rights as he faces growing pressure from civil rights activists and other Democrats to combat efforts by Republican-led state legislatures to restrict access to the ballot.

Biden has declared that protecting voting rights was the central cause of his presidency, but the White House has taken sharp criticism from allies for not doing more while contending with political headwinds and stubborn Senate math that have greatly restricted its ability to act.
In the new court filing, defense lawyers Jennifer and Chad Frese assert there are witnesses who can support Bahena Riveras version of events  that others were responsible.

The motion asserts that two different people who do not know each other told law enforcement in two different cities that the same person  who is not named in the motion  was involved in the killing.

This evidence would certainly have made a difference in the verdict. The defendant chose to testify and spoke of two individuals who were involved in the abduction and killing of Mollie Tibbetts, the defense motion states. The DNA from defendants trunk identified other individuals who were contributors to the blood mixture. It also helps explain the relative scarcity of blood in defendants trunk. While perhaps not every bit of the account fits neatly into defendants account of the events, enough of the facts fit to certainly question whether the state would have been able to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt had this information been known and presented to a jury.

The motion tells the accounts of two individuals who are not named in the document.
Iowa belongs to all of us, and most Iowans are proud to look out for our neighbors and share a sense of responsibility to our community. We want to invest in each other, and in services like good public schools, roads, and clean drinking water. Unfortunately, special interests like the Association of Business and Industry work every day to influence politicians, all to stop wealthy corporations from paying their fair share to make those necessary investments.

Gov. Kim Reynolds, the Republican Legislature, and corporate interests like the business association have been in power here for the past decade. The results? Public schools are chronically underfunded, the state universities propose tuition hikes because of inadequate resources, our bridges are among the worst in the country, and our drinking water is severely polluted. And this year, after years of warning about underfunding and understaffing, a nurse and correctional officer were killed at Anamosa state penitentiary.
Caseloads have been rising in Virginia since June 20, when the daily average was about 130 cases. On Tuesday, that was up to about 268 infections for a 7-day rolling average.

The increase in cases comes when the delta variant is becoming the domination strain of COVID-19.

Its important that everyone is aware of the delta variant, so they can take steps to protect themselves and their loved ones, Dr. Brandy Darby, a veterinary epidemiologist with the Virginia Department of Health, told the Register & Bee last week. Every time the virus gets an opportunity to infect a new host, theres an opportunity for the virus to mutate and change in a way that allows for a new variant to emerge.

The variant is a concern among health experts based on evidence showing it can spread more easily between people. The delta strain also appears to cause more severe illness. Fewer than half of the adult population in Danville and Pittsylvania County fully vaccinated, adding to the growing worry of the delta variant.

Locally, Danville and Pittsylvania County combined are seeing about three new cases per day, but that figure is clouded by negative caseloads recently. When officials find a case was assigned to the wrong location, its moved to the proper jurisdiction. Doing so skews the rolling averages of cases.
HIGH POINT  The mother of 25-year-old Robert Booth doesnt want her son to become just another crime statistic.

Booth was a beloved pastor admired by his family and friends in the community. His mother, Deneka Booth, said she and her relatives have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support since her son was shot and killed May 25 outside his condominium on Ardale Drive in south High Point. The father of a 2-year-old son, Robert Booth earned his certificate of pastoral installation as a minister five days before he was killed.

Though High Point Police Department investigators are still sorting out a motive for Booths homicide, his mother believes her son was killed because someone didnt want him reaching out to turn around the lives of others living on the criminal margins of society.

He realized that a lot of African American males and gang members were being killed, she told The High Point Enterprise. Because of his teachings and being raised in Christ, God and religion, he would try to get people to understand that theres another way to live.
A&T will pay for these new programs with a portion of its federal pandemic relief fund. A&T has received three rounds of funding since 2020 from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund totaling nearly $243 million. A&T received a disproportionally higher amount than some other area schools because federal legislation gave extra help to historically Black colleges and universities like A&T.

About 14% of the money that A&T received went as emergency financial aid to students. A&T expects to end up spending at least half of its federal allocation to help students directly.

Last month, A&T announced that it would use HEERF funds to cover the cost of textbooks for all undergraduates for the next two years. This summer, A&T paid for two classes for all students enrolled in summer school. The university said about 3,800 A&T students got summer school scholarships.

A&T leaders said this massive amount of financial assistance will help a student population battered by the financial toll of the pandemic.
Plus, non-citizens seeking the individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITIN) from the IRS that they need to file for the credit for their children who are citizens face long delays, said Lipman.

But she is confident that more people will take notice once the $300 checks start hitting the bank accounts of their friends and family later this week.

"Once we explain to them that you can get your money when you file your taxes or you can get this money during the year to help you with your day-to-day expenses, that's the motivation right there," said Pat Smith, program director at Nevada Free Taxes Coalition, which has two sites in Las Vegas that will help residents file their returns through mid-October. "Most of these folks are living on the edge anyway. So any little bit that's coming in monthly is going to help them."

The potential to get a $750 monthly credit for her three teen boys is what drew Ivelisse Vasquez to the IRS office in lower Manhattan last month to file her return. A house cleaner who lost her job in the pandemic, Vasquez saw information about the enhanced benefit on her phone. She said she could use the funds to help pay her rent and bills, as well as school supplies for her children.
I was joining a long list of first-time officiants. The Universal Life Church says it has ordained more than 20 million people and it is not the only organization offering the service.

The wedding planning website The Knot says its data shows 51% of couples in 2020 had a friend or family member officiate their wedding, an increase from 37% in 2015. And according to the 2020 Brides American Wedding Study, 25% of couples are married by a friend or family member.

Modern couples want to say I do, in their own way, and this includes the person who marries them," Brides magazine's associate editorial director Anna Price Olson said. In working with someone who knows them so intimately, a couple is able to shape the ceremony into exactly what they want, making both the ceremony itself, and the experience of creating it, more personal for both the couple and their guests.

Leaning on my three decades of sportswriting experience in Michigan, I peppered Ryan and Natalie with questions. I talked with them separately and together. I fact-checked my notes, of course, and I also left some of the details I'd gleaned as surprises that I hoped would make them laugh and cry.
BLY, Ore. (AP)  An army of firefighters labored in hot, dry and windy weather Tuesday to contain fires chewing through wilderness and burning homes across drought-stricken Western states already sweltering in the second heat wave of the year.

A high-pressure system that created the intense weather was weakening, but temperatures were forecast to remain above normal on the lines of more than 60 active large blazes burning in the West and Alaska.

More than 14,000 firefighters and support personnel were attacking fires covering close to a million acres (1,562 square miles, 4,047 square kilometers) of land, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

The largest fire in the United States was incinerating huge swaths of the Fremont-Winema National Forest in southern Oregon, where firefighters received a warning about conditions from incident commander Al Lawson.

As you go out there today  adjust your reality," he said. "We have not seen a fire move like this, in these conditions, this early in the year. Expect the fire to do things that you have not seen before.
Someone defaced a Black Lives Matter mural one day after it was painted in the North Carolina town where sheriffs deputies shot and killed Andrew Brown Jr., video from Sunday shows.

Footage shared with news outlets shows tire marks covering three letters of the new street art in Elizabeth City, roughly 165 miles northeast of Raleigh. The markings were discovered after an artist had finished painting the words Black Lives Matter onto the pavement.

I was utterly disgusted to learn that just hours after we dedicated it that an individual would try to defame and deface that, after the artist worked so hard to make that a reality, Elizabeth City Council member Darius Horton said, according to WVEC-Channel 13, a TV station in Hampton, Va.

The citys police department is investigating the case, according to WTVD-Channel 11, The News & Observers media partner. Officials said the skid marks may have been from a black Dodge Ram, Raleighs WRAL-Channel 5 reported.

Horton in a Facebook post shared photos of the pickup seen driving over the mural.

Silly Rabbit tricks are for kids, he wrote in the post. Do you think we would invest in a mural and not have adequate surveillance. You sir are going down!
As serious as the rejection of fair elections is, it seems but part of a more philosophical rejection of democracy itself.

Last year, Republican officials in Mississippi and Missouri overturned voter-supported ballot initiatives to establish medical marijuana programs. In 2018, after voter-supported Medicaid expansion and increased funding for education were passed in Idaho, the Republican legislature passed laws that make future ballot initiatives more difficult to pass. More than 125 bills were introduced into 31 state legislatures to amend or change the referendum or ballot initiative process in 2021, according to data compiled by Ballotpedia for NBC News. Republican legislators are certain that they know better than their constituents.

Some Republicans seem to be on the verge of just admitting that they no longer believe in democracy, like Rep. Mike Lee, who in 2020 tweeted: Democracy isnt the objective; liberty, peace, and prosperity are. We want the human condition to flourish. Rank democracy can thwart that.

Of course, not all Republicans have bought into this anti-democracy movement. Some want to win elections the old-fashioned way: by getting more votes. They still believe that voters should select their legislators rather than the other way around.
"We've always had support from the local businesses," Hamm said. "We're getting a lot of good feedback from the businesses. They want to be involved."

That mutually beneficial relationship is what Big Sky Pride is aiming for, Hamm said.

Mitchel Wheeler, an employee of Firetower Coffee House at 422 N. Last Chance Gulch, said his employers have always been open to everyone and that it is great to see all the other businesses leaning in.

"I think it shows this is a town that's open to growth, open to change," Wheeler said. "We're able to listen to voices of marginalized people."

Following the cancellation of 2020's Pride events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wheeler said this year's events will mean that much more to the community.

"We're excited to be celebrating together again," he said.

Organizers have said they're expecting about 3,000 attendees.

One of the last big pieces to fall into place was the insurance coverage. It allowed the organization to secure a permit from the city permitting alcohol consumption on public rights of way.
This summer will see the book bike have a full schedule for the first time. It will be present at both the Capital Farmer's Market and the Helena Farmer's Market. It will also make regular visits to Spring Meadow Lake and Anchor Park. However, the event Byrd is most excited for is Downtown Helena's Revive at Five concert series, where the book bike is expected to visit each concert stop.

Byrd said the purpose of the book bike is to go to the places the bookmobile cannot. The bookmobile for instance cannot get into Anchor Park, which is where the bike comes into play. The bike offers a variety of services. There are a small selection of books to check out. Byrd said the person riding the bike that day gets to pick the books and they typically go for eye-catching and new books. Byrd said a lot of the choices are based on what stop they'll be making that day, over time they learn what stops attract what people and which books those people are interested in. The bike also acts as a Wi-Fi hotspot, something which has proven very popular in places like Spring Meadow Lake. The book bike also has a computer on board, which allows people to sign up for library cards and is how they track checked-out books. Additionally, they have "take and make" crafts for kids that are handed out at the book bike's stops.
The Department of Public Health and Human Services launched a collaboration Monday with state Fish, Wildlife & Parks to support the FWP's "Kids Dont Float" program by donating more than 300 life jackets.

Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras, DPHHS Deputy Director Laura Smith and FWP Director Hank Worsech were joined by children from Rocky Mountain Preschool at Spring Meadow Lake to promote the program.

Over the past decade, Montana has averaged about four accidental drownings among children each year -- including in natural waterways and in bathtubs when children were left unattended, officials said.

Worsech said the "Kids Don't Float" program, which started in 1998, supplies free loaner life jackets at about 60 locations near water across Montana.

The life jacket loaner stations that are available across the state are there for Montanans to borrow a life jacket as they enjoy the water, Worsech said. This program has been available for many years, and its important that we ensure people are aware of it.
Exports to the United States rose 17.8% over a year ago to $46.9 billion while imports of American goods grew 37.6% to $14.3 billion despite tariff hikes still in place in a lingering trade war.

Chinas global trade surplus swelled 11% over a year earlier to $51.5 billion while the politically sensitive surplus with the United States expanded 10.9% to $32.6 billion.

President Joe Biden, who took office in January, says he wants better relations with Beijing but has yet to indicate whether he will roll back tariff hikes imposed on Chinese goods by his predecessor, Donald Trump, in a fight over Beijings technology ambitions.

Biden's trade envoys have talked with Chinese officials by video link but have set no date for negotiations.

June exports to the 27-nation European Union rose 27% to $43.1 billion while imports of French, German and other European goods climbed 34.1% to $27.7 billion. The Chinese trade surplus with the EU widened by 16.7% over a year earlier to $15.4 billion.

June trade appeared to shrug off the disruption from a month-long disruption at the world's fourth-busiest port, Yantian in the southern city of Shenzhen, after a coronavirus infection was found there in late May.
As the Taliban extends its grip over Afghanistan and as Islamic State and other extremists continue to press their oppressive ideologies across the world, it is increasingly important that the United States leads on protecting and extending the natural rights of women and girls.

One important element of that leadership will be preventing and prosecuting cases of sexual violence in wartime.

Rape is often a weapon of war. Researchers and historians agree that just about every major military conflict in history has brought with it a rise in instances of sexual violence. Thats not just because war leads to lawlessness, though that is certainly true. Rape isnt just a byproduct of war; its a tool of war. It is a strategy.

Rape is recognized as a war crime under the International Criminal Courts Rome Statute of 2002, but it is rarely prosecuted. Thats not to say all sexual violence is a war crime, but when it is perpetrated as such, it should be prosecuted as such.

And there is more to be done. Specifically, even as (and especially because) the Biden administration is leaving Afghanistan, it should take the lead on the worlds stage to protect the rights of women.

First, the president should lead rhetorically. He should find a platform that will draw public attention to rape as a weapon of war, similar to how Ronald Reagan used the Berlin Wall to ensure his speech calling for its destruction drew an international spotlight. Bidens public remarks should show how militarized forces like Islamic State and Boko Haram use sexual violence to strategic ends. He should meet with survivors, hear their stories, and make sure the world hears their stories too.

Second, the Biden administration can press for specific regimes and even individuals to be identified as committing these crimes so they cant continue to do so with impunity. Without pressure in the public sphere, prosecution is unlikely. The State Department should promote an awareness campaign along the lines of the 2012 effort that put a global spotlight on Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony.

This administration can also organize allies behind this cause much the way the U.S. government created an anti-proliferation initiative 20 years ago to enforce laws already in place related to sanctioned chemical and other weapons of mass destruction. If militia leaders perpetrating these crimes cant cross international borders without risking arrest and prosecution, they will be less likely to commit these crimes and more likely to be held accountable.

Whats needed here is leadership. This is an opportunity for Biden to make good on his campaign promise of restoring American leadership on the world stage.

Finally, the administration can expand asylum laws beyond those fleeing political or religious persecution to include people fleeing rape as a weapon of war. Biden has already made a related move last month, rolling back Trump-era policies that required asylum-seekers fleeing gender-based violence to be part of persecuted social groups. A change here could add pressure to an already overloaded immigration system, but it would also address other policy goals of the United States.

Bidens withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan is likely to make women less safe there. And that is only one of many conflict zones around the world where women are exploited and subjugated for military ends. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees report, 65.6 million people were forced to move because of persecution, conflict, widespread violence or human rights violations in 2016. Women in those situations are particularly vulnerable. According to a 2019 report in The Journal of Public Health, In times of war, women and girls are more vulnerable to rape and are at greater risk for other forms of sexual violence, such as early or forced marriage, intimate partner abuse, child sexual abuse, sexual exploitation and trafficking.

For Biden, this is a choice. He can decide to lead here. We hope he works to ensure the U.S. remains a global leader in human rights and specifically in protecting women.

The Dallas Morning News

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
IDA Vice Chairwoman Jackie Nophlin also supports leaving the site for retail development.

I want to come at this from another direction. When you put up apartments you invite what happens in apartments  around retail businesses, Nophlin said. Apartments tend to wear down in two or three years, as far as their appearance.

She also voiced frustration over the project being presented as a retail center to residents in 2012 and 2013, when the money was being borrowed, versus this plan to include residential housing.

Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

Vice Mayor Neal Osborne addressed the proposal with the IDA.

Weve had some success at The Falls, but lot 23 has been a problem for a very long time, Osborne said. Its a big space, and, right now, theres not many offers. The city has about a $2 million deficit at The Falls, and this wont cover that whole $2 million deficit, but it will generate about $330,000 in real estate taxes a year.

City Manager Randy Eads said The Falls has fallen short of every expectation that previous city and state leaders had of the project since it was first envisioned.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 0.4%, with most of the companies in the benchmark index losing ground. Banks, industrial stocks and companies that rely on consumer spending accounted for a big share of the decline. Technology stocks bucked the trend, helping counter some of the broader slide. Small company stocks took some of the heaviest losses.

The pullback brought the major stock indexes slightly below the record highs they set a day earlier. Treasury yields rose.

Investors sized up mixed quarterly earnings reports from Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, PepsiCo and other big companies. They also got another snapshot of how inflation continues to show up in the economy as the a rapid spike in consumer demand and supply constraints translate into higher prices for consumer goods.

The latest report from the U.S. Labor Department showed yet another increase in consumer prices in June that surprised economists. Prices jumped by the most in 13 years, extending a run of higher inflation that has been raising concerns on Wall Street that the Fed might consider withdrawing its low-interest rate policies and scaling back its bond purchases earlier than expected.
It is certainly possible that the witnesses experienced some level of emotional trauma from this incident, but the State failed to prove it," Cahill wrote. He also said that while Ellison pointed to research that shows adults view Black girls as less innocent and less in need of protection, no evidence of that was presented prior to Chauvin's sentencing.

Be that as it may, it is the State that is injecting supposed racial presumptions in this case, not this Court, Cahill wrote. He said his sentencing order never mentions the race or ethnicity of the girls. He said the youngest, who was 9 years old at the time, and her then-17-year-old cousin are Black, but the other two teenagers, who are now 18, are white.

Whether adultification of Black girls is, as the State insists, common in American society, including in the criminal justice system, this Court emphatically rejects the implication that it played any part in the Courts sentencing decision," Cahill wrote.

He also said that while Ellison complains that the court did not hold a separate sentencing hearing, prosecutors had a right to request one but did not.

Ellison's office said Tuesday that it is reviewing the judge's order.
We have large swaths of rural Virginia that have seen their traditional employment base wither or sometimes die. Does Youngkin have any special insight into how to build a new economy in rural Virginia? We know what McAuliffes record on that is and have no reason to expect a second term to be any different from his first. Can Youngkin do better? Again, we just dont know  and we dont hear Youngkin talking about it, either. Politically, he probably doesnt need to. Given our current political alignments, Youngkin will win those areas big whether he lays out a 100-point plan or whether he says nothing at all. But as governor, hell have to deal with the drag that those regions put on the state, so wed like to hear some details, if he has any. Does he back a constitutional amendment to end school disparity? We have at least one county (Scott) that says its too poor to put up $238,000 to get a state match of $1 million for teacher pay raises. What would he do about that? How would he raise the educational level of the adult workforce in rural Virginia to make it more competitive? Would he put up money for energy research programs at the University of Virginias College at Wise? These are practical questions  questions that McAuliffe isnt addressing either, which gives Youngkin even more opportunity to make his case.
Why do these court challenges appear to have a higher political purpose? There must be flower shops in Washington State and bakeries in Colorado that cater to same-sex weddings. Why pick on the ones that dont? Is this part of a larger goal to destroy what remains of what used to be known as traditional values?

Basic pillars that have supported America have included religious faith and the military and have been reflected in the stories and characters created by the iconic Walt Disney. These and many others are now under attack.

The Walt Disney Co. has announced a change in its welcoming messages at all properties from Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, to Good evening, dreamers of all ages. A company spokesperson (notice my avoidance of gender specificity) said the decision is in alignment with Disneys inclusion and diversity policy.

Why is it that inclusion and diversity always seem to exclude people who believe differently? Such people are now viewed as criminals in some states if they seek to apply their faith to their businesses and in the public square.
A Monday night police chase ended with a car crashed near the Jack in the Box restaurant and an arrest in the parking lot of the nearby Dicks Sporting Goods.

Catawba County Sheriffs Capt. Aaron Turk said a deputy saw two cars drag racing on U.S. 70 Monday night around 10:30 p.m. The office was able to stop one of the vehicles, a black Range Rover.

The Range Rover took off shortly after stopping and was followed by the deputy.

The vehicle chase came to an end on Catawba Valley Boulevard SE when the driver of the Range Rover crashed near the Jack in the Box restaurant.

The driver of the vehicle then ran from the scene and was taken into custody in the parking lot of the Dicks Sporting Goods located in the strip mall behind the restaurant.

The driver is facing charges in the crash, including felony counts of speeding to elude arrest and hit-and-run with personal injury, Turk said.

Turk said Tuesday morning he was not releasing the name of the driver because the sheriffs office was waiting to notify family.

He said the driver was in a local hospital and he anticipated the sheriffs office would release the name once the driver is booked in the jail.
Orange County, North Carolina officials are cautioning residents to keep an eye out for four large dogs thought to be wolf and German shepherd hybrids that are on the loose.

The dogs were among roughly a dozen that recently escaped from their enclosure in the Cedar Grove community north of Hillsborough, Orange County Animal Services officials said in a news release. Eight of the dogs have been captured and are being kept at an animal shelter, they said.

Officials have not confirmed whether the dogs are wolf hybrids. There also is no indication that the dogs have attacked people, animals or livestock. However, officials said, they may become aggressive if confronted by people.

The Animal Control team has been working with the owner to resolve the situation and safely recover the dogs, Animal Services spokeswoman Tenille Fox said. Animal Control officers also have set traps in the Cedar Grove area.

Authorities are cautioning people not try to capture or confine the dogs.

Animal Control also is asking people not to feed the dogs or interfere with the traps that have been set.
North Carolinians disagree about a great deal. But heres a proposition virtually all of us endorse: the future of our state is closely tied to the amount and quality of education our people receive.

I could say the future of North Carolinas economy depends on better education  and Id be right. You only have to listen to what employers say about the importance of skilled employees who exhibit creativity, collaboration and a strong work ethic. You only have to listen to what employees say about the value of what they learned, or should have learned, in school. And you only have to scan the dozens of studies that link average test scores or educational attainment to gross domestic product and income growth.

To focus on economic considerations alone wouldnt fully capture what I mean, though. Education encompasses more than vocational training. It introduces learners to great swaths of human experience and accomplishment. It broadens perspective. It provides historical context. It builds character. It forms citizens. It fires the imagination.

It isnt just the future of North Carolinas economy that is at stake here, then. Better education will strengthen our relationships, our communities, our culture and our republic.
Hope College Formula Racing earned a top-10 finish in the Formula SAE competition held at Michigan International Speedway earlier this month.

The colleges team earned 9th place overall out of the 45 teams participating in the competition, held on Wednesday-Saturday, July 7-10. Among the events (listed six paragraphs below) that make up the score, Hope placed 1st in fuel economy.

The team was also the first to pass the initial visual inspection on Wednesday and the first to pass the dynamic technical inspection on Thursday (the latter of which assessed qualities such as tilt, noise and braking). The latter inspection is particularly rigorous  five of the 45 teams didnt pass and couldnt compete in the subsequent events.

In addition, staff advisor Carl Heideman noted that the response to the team itself was even more gratifying than the statistical outcomes.

Many volunteers and sponsors/recruiters approached us and complimented the team's organization and culture, said Heideman, who is director of process and innovation at Hope. One of the recruiters told me that they had highlighted Hope as a team to watch.

This years event operated with a reduced number of participating teams because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The competition usually hosts 110-120 teams from around the world.

The concept behind Formula SAE is that a fictional manufacturing company has contracted a design team to develop a small Formula-style race car. The prototype car is to be evaluated for its potential as a production item. Each student team designs, builds and tests a prototype based on a series of rules whose purpose is to provide standards while promoting clever problem solving.

The Formula SAE competition is not just a race. Instead, the teams are evaluated in a series of static and dynamic events, including presentation, design, cost analysis, acceleration, cornering ability, maneuverability and handling, fuel economy and endurance.

The international Formula SAE organization provides a variety of design parameters within which the participants must work, but beyond that the teams make their own decisions. Some of the parts are pre-fabricated, like the 600cc Honda motorcycle engine that provides the power. Others  like the frame  are developed by the group, starting with initial concept, and then moving through design and theoretical testing using the computer and ultimately to fabrication and construction.

Hope first participated in Formula SAE in 2010, competing with more than 100 teams from around the world at MIS. The college returned to MIS in 2016 and 2019, and also competed at Lincoln, Nebraska, in 2018.

Hopes team placed 76th out of 102 teams in 2010, winning the William C. Mitchell Rookie Award in 2010 for having achieved the highest overall score among first time teams, and finished 77th out of 115 teams in 2016. Hope also finished 11th in the international Formula SAE Lincoln 2018 competition in Nebraska out of 80 teams. Also in 2018, Hope finished first out of 10 Great Lakes FSAE teams at the 2018 Lawrence Tech Grand Prix, and had the 49th fastest time out of 1,375 entries in the SCCA Solo Nationals autocross held in Lincoln, Nebraska. Hope finished 30th out of 109 teams at Michigan International Speedway in 2019. The team was prepared to compete in 2020, but the competition was canceled.
The self-proclaimed "front page of the internet" has set up in Barangaroo, Sydney. Photo: Shutterstock

Global discussion-forum giant Reddit will use its new Sydney office to tweak its Australian presence in a more focused and nuanced way, the company said as it formally expanded into its fourth-largest market worldwide.

Australians spend an average of 31 minutes per day on Reddit, the company said, contributing 158m posts, comments, and votes on the wide-ranging discussion forum every month.

And, with its Australian user base growing by 40 per cent year on year, chief operating officer Jen Wong said in announcing the move, the companys decision to establish its Barangaroo, Sydney office reflects its desire to level-up our local offering in a more focused and nuanced way.

From building out our highly engaged Australian communities to finding homes for local brands on the platform, this launch is just the beginning of our investment in the market and key to our wider international vision as we continue to scale Reddit at pace.

Reddit raised $330m ($US250m) earlier this year and plans to double its 700-strong employee base this year, with the Australian expansion following new offices in Canada in March, and the UK last September.

The local operations will be headed by David Ray, who spent 10 months as general manager of digital platforms with Woolworths digital subsidiary WooliesX before taking the opportunity to shape Reddits Australian operations.

Rays resume also includes a whos-who of Australian digital media including stints running the local operation of Amazon Music, as Australian director of audiences and growth with Twitter, managing Telstras NRL and V8 Supercars digital media operations, and working in business development with Fairfax Digital.

Tapping the advertising mine

Founded in 2005 as a wide-ranging discussion forum characterised by upvoting and downvoting, Reddit has exploded in usage  and value  and has become the go-to community for many users around the world.

It now claims 52m daily active users worldwide, spread across more than 100,000 communities of interest  with popular Australian subreddits including r/australia, r/ausfinance, r/asx_bets, r/afl, and r/nfl.

Fully 51 per cent of Reddits Australian users arent even on Snapchat, 40 per cent arent on Twitter, 23 per cent arent on Instagram, and 20 per cent arent on Facebook, the company said.

Its grouping of users by interest, rather than by linking friends as on other social-media sites, makes it a dream for advertisers that increasingly value the ability to target their messages to particular audiences.

Reddit is particularly well ensconced within what it called the highly desirable 18 to 34-year-old marketing segment, with 62 per cent of its Australian users falling within this range and 28 per cent aged between 35 and 49.

The ventures marketing potential prompted Joshua Lowcock, expat Australian and US chief digital officer with advertising agency Universal McCann, to note that the Australian operation will reinforce Reddits market position for locally-based brands and advertisers seeking to navigate the depth and breadth of the platform and unlock its immense value.

Yet Reddit has its work cut out for it in building brand awareness locally, with the site not even rating a mention in Roy Morgans latest survey of Australias favourite social-media sites  which last year found Facebook and YouTube to be easily Australias most widely used social networks.

Reddits promise of targeted marketing to Australians is, however, likely to appeal to advertisers increasingly marginalised by the death of tracking cookies and tighter controls by platforms such as Apples iOS  whose increasingly onerous privacy measures are proving so effective at preventing advertiser tracking that many advertisers have simply given up trying to target iPhone users by platform.
Ex-staff have gone on-record to say the company botched its own security. Image: Shutterstock

Former staff of US software vendor Kaseya said they warned the company about potential security problems prior to the supply chain attack that caused a mass ransomware event affecting over 1,000 other organisations.

Speaking anonymously to Bloomberg, five ex-Kaseya employees  including software engineers and developers  said they had raised cybersecurity issues with executives at the company but were ignored.

Less than two weeks ago, the REvil ransomware group hacked Kaseya to send out ransomware using the companys remote monitoring and management software, Kaseya VSA, which is used by managed service providers (MSPs) to help their clients with IT services.

REvil orchestrated a supply chain attack on Kaseya VSA to push out malware disguised as a software update, using the high privileges afforded to this trusted software to infect a wide range of organisations around the world.

One of the former staffers who spoke to Bloomberg said he penned a 40-page memo about security problems at the company which he sent to leaders at Kaseya  and resulted in him being fired a fortnight later.

Existing security problems at the company allegedly included outdated code in the companys software, poor encryption and password management  such as storing passwords in plain text  in Kaseya products, and a generally poor cyber security posture.

Some employees had quit Kaseya because of the management problems and what Bloomberg described as frustration that new features and products were being prioritised over fixing problems.

Further staff were sacked after a 2018 restructure saw Kaseya outsourcing software development to Belarus where it hired 40 developers.

The ex-employees said they saw the move to Minsk as another potential security concern given the countrys close political ties to Russia.

REvil is understood to be one of many ransomware groups operating in Eastern Europe.

REvil runs an affiliate program hiring hackers to deliver its malware and has long been careful to make sure its ransomware doesnt land on Russian and former Soviet Union systems, potentially risking the groups tacit protection from local authorities.

The ransomware targeting Kaseya and subsequent organisations was written to check for and avoid Russian-language keyboard layouts.

US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin had an hour-long phone call last week discussing the ongoing scourge of ransomware that Putin apparently turns a blind eye to.

I made it very clear to him that the United States expects, when a ransomware operation is coming from his soil even though its not sponsored by the state, we expect them to act if we give them enough information to act on who that is, Biden said, adding he was optimistic after the talk.

Earlier this year, the US slapped Russia with a set of sanctions because of its alleged involvement in the Solar Winds attack that saw hackers access US government and business systems.
(Corrects paragraph 24 of a July 13 article to clarify the number of sources who provided which piece of information. Three of the people with knowledge of the delegations findings, not four as the article stated, said the Gamaleya information the scientists accessed showed that fetal bovine serum had been used in the culture to nurture the master cell bank and that the developers hadnt documented the serums origin. One of the people specified the information was contained in paperwork, not four.)

By Michel Rose, Polina Ivanova and Emilio Parodi

PARIS (Reuters) -The developers of Russias Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine have repeatedly failed to provide data that regulators deem to be standard requirements of the drug approval process, according to five people with knowledge of European efforts to assess the drug, providing new insight into the countrys struggle to win foreign acceptance of its product.

Reuters reported last month that the European Medicines Agency (EMA)s review of the drugs safety and efficacy was delayed because a June 10 deadline to submit data on the vaccine's clinical trials was missed, according to one of those people, who is close to the agency, and another person familiar with the matter. The EMA is the European Unions medicines watchdog.

The hitches go beyond that one deadline, the person close to the agency said. As of early June, the EMA had received hardly any manufacturing data, and the clinical data the agency had received was incomplete, the person said.

Separately, an assessment of Sputnik V by a French delegation of scientists in advance of the EMA review found that the vaccine developers were unable to document that the so-called master cell bank, the initial building block of the vaccine, complied with specific EU regulation on preventing disease contamination, according to four people with knowledge of the delegation's findings.

The EMA, which launched its formal review of the Russian vaccine in March, had previously been expected to decide in May or June whether to approve use of the drug in the EU.

Story continues

The person close to the EMA said notable missing clinical information during the EMA review included case report forms that record any adverse effects people experienced after receiving the jab in trials. It is standard practice for developers to submit such forms, this person added. It was also not clear how the scientists working on the vaccine tracked the outcomes of people given a placebo, the person said.

The watchdog rates such data shortcomings on a scale that goes from critical - the most serious - to major to minor. The person said nothing had met the critical threshold, but there are several majors, indicating issues that can be remedied but require much work. The person added they didnt expect the review to be completed until after the summer.

Several people who have interacted with Russias Gamaleya Institute, which developed Sputnik V and oversaw the clinical trials, attribute the repeated failure to provide some information to lack of experience in dealing with overseas regulators. "They are not used to working with a regulatory agency like the EMA," the person close to the agency said, referring to Gamaleyas scientists.

Gamaleya is supervised by Russias health ministry. Neither Gamaleya nor the ministry responded to questions for this report. The Kremlin declined to comment.

Sputnik V is marketed overseas by Russias sovereign wealth fund, called the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).

RDIF said Reuters reporting contained false and inaccurate statements based on anonymous sources who are attempting to harm Sputnik V as part of a disinformation campaign. RDIF suggested the vaccine could be under attack by the Western pharmaceutical lobby, without offering evidence of such a campaign.

RDIF added that the vaccine is registered in more than 60 countries and that studies from places including Argentina, Mexico and Hungary that are already using the vaccine show it is safe and effective. It said there had been no reported serious adverse events.

On the French delegations findings, RDIF said the Sputnik V cell bank is fully compliant with all EMA requirements.

RDIF said it is working closely with the EMA, whose inspectors have visited Sputnik V production facilities. From the inspections already completed weve received no major critical comments and none of the issues raised doubted the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, said RDIF.

One of the people with knowledge of European efforts to assess the drug said they had no reason to doubt that Sputnik is a safe and effective vaccine. A study by international scientists published in the Lancet in February found Sputnik to be more than 90% effective.

The EMA, which is headquartered in Amsterdam, declined to comment on details of the review while it is ongoing. The agency said it applies the same standards to all applicants and to authorise a COVID-19 vaccine the EMA requires detailed information on its safety, efficacy and quality.

The delay could allow rival vaccine makers to sew up key markets. The stumble is one of several for the developers of Sputnik V in dealing with some overseas drugs watchdogs reviewing the vaccine, who have identified a lack of data, insufficient documentation of methodology and non-compliance with what they view as standard protocol.

Brazilian regulators initially rejected imports of Sputnik V after technical staff highlighted "inherent risks," citing a lack of data guaranteeing its safety, quality and effectiveness. Slovakias drug agency said it had insufficient data from Moscow before the government ultimately gave a limited go-ahead for the vaccine. Hungary gave emergency approval for the jab despite what several people with knowledge of the process said were concerns raised by some specialists working on the review at Hungarys drug regulator about insufficient documentation.

Brazilian regulator Anvisa last month gave conditional approval for imports of Sputnik V. The conditions imposed seek to overcome the information gaps in the process and ensure minimum conditions of vaccine safety and quality, Anvisa told Reuters. It added that Sputnik V has not been distributed to people in Brazil.

Hungarys regulator, at the time it approved Sputnik V in January, publicly acknowledged that there can be conflicting opinions during an authorization process and that it had received reassuring answers to its questions regarding the vaccine. The Slovakian government this month said it sold most of its Sputnik V back to Russia, citing low interest.

CELL CULTURE

Sputnik V is named after the Soviet-era satellite that triggered the space race, in a nod to the projects geopolitical importance for Russian President Vladimir Putin. EMA approval would lend legitimacy to the vaccine, which initially faced scepticism by some Western scientists and politicians, and speed up its availability in Europe.

Moscow's efforts to obtain EU approval hit obstacles before it submitted its application.

In November 2020, the French government dispatched a team of scientists to Moscow to help Paris decide if it should use Sputnik V and manufacture the drug on French soil, in the event of EMA approval.

Three of the four people with knowledge of the delegations findings said the Gamaleya information accessed by the scientists showed that fetal bovine serum had been used in the culture to nurture the master cell bank and that the developers hadnt documented the serums origin.

According to one of these three people, this information was contained in the vaccine developers paperwork. The fourth person with knowledge of the delegation's findings said there was an issue related to whether cells used in developing the vaccine complied with European rules.

After this story was published, RDIF in a statement said the assertion about the use of untraceable bovine serum was false, without going into specifics.

Fetal bovine serum is commonly used around the world in vaccine development. But since the outbreak of mad cow disease in the 1980s, European and North American regulators have required that vaccine developers document it is from a safe source.

One of the four people familiar with the delegations work is French scientist Cecil Czerkinsky, a member of an international advisory board set up by RDIF and who was separately briefed on the delegations concerns about the master cell bank. The French team felt frustration with the answers they received when they asked the vaccine developers about the issue, Czerkinsky told Reuters.

Czerkinsky, after this story was published, said in an email that since he last spoke to Reuters in May it had been "scientifically refuted" that the Sputnik vaccine had a potential problem with the master cell and fetal bovine serum. He did not respond to a follow up question from Reuters asking who had refuted this.

He also said in the post-publication email that the harmlessness of the Sputnik vaccine is also difficult to dispute after it was administered to the population at large in a number of countries.

The French delegation informally shared their conclusions -- including their questions regarding the master cell -- with the EMA, one of the people said.

RDIF told Reuters the Gamaleya Institute never used non-traceable bovine serum for cell bank preparation. It added that the Sputnik V cell bank has been independently verified not to contain prions - the proteins associated with conditions like mad cow disease. RDIF didnt identify who conducted the independent verification.

The EMA in early March announced the launch of a "rolling review" of Sputnik V, a faster process that checks data as it lands. But the drugs developers did not submit the first data until a month later, delaying the process at the earliest stages, said an official in the French government briefed on the matter.

France's ministries for health and research, which sponsored the delegation to Moscow, did not respond to a request for comment on the delegations findings.

BRAZILIAN CAUTION

Brazilian regulator Anvisas rejection in April of Sputnik V imports kicked off a testy public exchange with RDIF, which threatened to sue the Brazilian agency for defamation.

A crucial issue for Anvisa related to the adenovirus, the virus that causes the common cold and which is used in Sputnik V to carry into the body information that triggers an immune response. Anvisa publicly said there was a risk the adenovirus in Sputnik V could replicate, potentially causing a negative reaction in recipients. Anvisas manager for medicines and biological products called this possibility a serious defect. The Russians said there was no evidence of replication and Anvisa had misinterpreted the documentation.

Sergio Rezende, a former science minister advising Brazilian state governors who are looking to import the Russian vaccine, said that in discussions with Gamaleya, the Russians appeared unfamiliar with the expectations of Brazilian regulators. Rezende told Reuters he urged the Russians to rework their application, which they initially resisted but ultimately did.

Anvisa told Reuters its requirements are aligned with the regulations of other agencies of reference around the world.

On the possibility of the adenovirus reproducing, Anvisa said studies and documents supplied by Gamaleya indicated the occurrence of replicating adenoviruses and lacked adequate assessment of the relationship between that and the vaccines safety. Anvisa added that the conditions it imposed included demonstrating the absence of replication in all batches sent to Brazil.

RDIF, in its responses to Reuters, said Gamaleya has confirmed that no replication-competent adenoviruses (RCA) were ever found in any of the Sputnik V vaccine batches that have been produced.

(Reporting by Michel Rose in Paris, Polina Ivanova in Moscow and Emilio Parodi in Rome; Additional reporting by Matthias Blamont in Paris, Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia, Stephen Eisenhammer in Sao Paulo and Marton Dunai in Budapest;Writing by Christian Lowe;Editing by Cassell Bryan-Low)
By Tim Kelly

TOKYO (Reuters) - Growing military tension around Taiwan as well as economic and technological rivalry between China and the United States raises the prospect of crisis in the region as the power balance shifts in China's favour, Japan said in its annual defence white paper.

China rejected Japan's conclusions about what it said was normal military activity, calling them irresponsible.

The Japanese defence review, which was approved by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's government on Tuesday, points to China as Japan's main national security concern.

"It is necessary that we pay close attention to the situation with a sense of crisis more than ever," the paper said in a new section on Taiwan.

"In particular, competition in technological fields is likely to become even more intense," it said about U.S.-China rivalry.

China's recent increase in military activity around Taiwan has Japan worried since the island lies close to the Okinawa chain at the western end of the Japanese archipelago.

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry expressed thanks to Japan for attaching such importance to security in the Taiwan Strait.

But there was an angry reaction in Beijing which said Japan has "for some time now" been making baseless accusations about China's normal defence buildup and military activities.

"This is very wrong and irresponsible. China expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this," said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian.

Chinese President Xi Jinping this month pledged to complete the "reunification" with Taiwan and in June criticised the United States as a "risk creator" after it sent a warship through the Taiwan Straits separating the island from the mainland.

Japan's deputy prime minister and finance minister, Taro Aso, this month in a speech reported by Japanese media said Japan should join forces with the United States to defend Taiwan from any invasion. Aso later said any contingency over Taiwan should be resolved through dialogue when asked about the remarks, which drew a rebuke from Beijing.

Story continues

As the military rivalry between the United States and China deepens, their economic competition is fuelling a race to take the lead in technologies such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

The technological rivalry poses a challenge for Japan because its economy relies as much on business ties with China as it does with the United States.

Japan will also have to spend heavily to keep up with government funding for technology development in the United States, China and Europe.

U.S. Senate lawmakers recently passed the Innovation and Competition Act of 2021, which authorises $190 billion spending on technology including $54 billion to increase chip production.

U.S. House of Representative lawmakers are debating a separate proposal that also promises generous funding, known as the Ensuring American Global Leadership and Engagement Act, or EAGLE Act.

The Japanese annual security review for the first time included a section on threats posed by climate change, which it said would increase competition for land and resources and may trigger mass movements of displaced people.

An increase in disasters linked to global warming could also stretch military capabilities, Japan said, while Arctic Sea ice melting could lead to the militarisation of northern waters.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Additional reporting by Yew Lun Tian in Beijing and Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Stephen Coates)
Kathmandu, Jul 12 (PTI) Nepal's Opposition alliance on Monday decided to work towards forming a coalition government led by Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba on Tuesday in accordance with the Supreme Court's historic ruling, according to a media report.

A meeting of the alliance held on Monday afternoon decided to work towards forming a small Cabinet on Tuesday after the Supreme Court, in its verdict issued in favour of reinstatement of House of Representatives, had also passed an order to President Bidya Devi Bhandari to appoint Opposition leader Deuba as the prime minister by 5 pm on Tuesday in place of incumbent K P Sharma Oli.

According to the leaders of the alliance, the meeting stressed the need to make the alliance more effective, The Himalayan Times reported.

The alliance comprises Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Center), CPN-UML Madhav Kumar Nepal- Jhalanath Khanal faction, Janata Samajwadi Party's Upendra Yadav faction and the Rastriya Janamorcha.

The Supreme Court on Monday overturned Prime Minister Olis May 21 decision to dissolve the House of Representatives and ordered appointment of Deuba, Nepali Congress president, as prime minister.

The five-member Constitutional Bench led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana said that Olis claim to the post of prime minister as per Article 76 (5) was unconstitutional.

Reinstating the House yet againthe court had restored the House earlier on February 23 after Oli dissolved it on December 20the bench has ordered to make arrangements for holding the House meeting by 5pm on July 18.

In its order, the constitutional bench said President Bhandaris decision to reject Deubas claim to form a new government under Article 76 (5), as called by her, is unconstitutional.

Although the apex courts order has paved the way for Deuba to become a new prime minister, for now, Deuba will have to secure majority votes in Parliament to survive as the prime minister for the remaining term of the 275-member House.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Oli called on President Bhandari at her official residence Sheetal Niwas after the apex court rendered their move to dissolve the House of Representatives, unconstitutional. PTI AKJ AKJ
We are thrilled to be able to move forward with plans to build this new, state-of-the-art hospital and provide the highest quality care to residents in and around the Lake Norman area with convenient access, close to home, said Ken Haynes, president of the Greater Charlotte Region for Atrium Health. With the population growth that has been taking place, this new hospital is a key piece of our mission to better meet the needs of residents in the area. Whether someone is having a baby, undergoing surgery or needs emergency care at any hour of the day or night, our expert physicians, nurses and support staff will be close-at-hand.
That an individual, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex, is not inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive.

That an individual should not be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of his or her race or sex.

That an individuals moral character is not determined by his or her race or sex.

That no individual, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex.

That no individual, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex, should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress.

That the United States comprises of persons that are all created equally.
Additionally, Hinnant noted the increase was originally planned for the 2020-21 fiscal year, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was set aside for a while.

The issue of the increase in the environmental fee this year was brought up by City Councilman Ryan Dayvault at the meeting as he wondered if it would be a good idea to raise the fee considering the financial impact COVID-19 had on the city, county and state for the better part of the last year.

In reviewing everything (over) the past few weeks, the only thing Im a little concerned about is the environmental fee increase, he said during that meeting. Given our climate right now of COVID and everything that weve been through, theres a reason people have been sent checks for economic recovery and all that stuff. So maybe, if theres any way that we could put that off until the next fiscal year and use fund balance to cover that amount  just a suggestion  but maybe that will help people a little bit.

Dayvault did not comment further on the issue at Mondays meeting, but he did vote against it.

Mayor Hinnant said Monday that he believes the city is well on its way to a full financial recovery.
The project was dubbed Project Aquamarine about a year ago when Cabarrus County officials first began discussing it in August 2020.

The Red Bull Rauch North America announcement came the same day that the Job Development Investment Grants (JDIG)  an incentive program that provides cash grants directly to a company when the company creates jobs and invests in the state  were approved by the North Carolina Economic Investment Committee. The projects home in Concord was facilitated by JDIGs, and it is expected that $4.2 million will be paid over 12 years. During that time, the projects economic impact on the state is projected to be $1.8 billion.

The governor said North Carolina ranks low in pandemic-related death rate and job losses, and the goal is to have the state come out of the pandemic on its way to building back the economy. That plan starts with jobs, but ends with education, he said.

We have made it a point to come out of this pandemic economically strong, Cooper said. We have been able to work together to build jobs. Now we are really going to make sure the workforce is educated and has the skills to do these jobs.
Winston-Salem police investigated two shootings that happened near each other about 90 minutes apart on Monday but say theyre not sure whether the shootings are related.

In the first case, police said two intruders forced their way into a sleeping mans apartment and shot him in the groin area. That shooting was at 1:54 p.m. and occurred in the 1800 block of Trellis Lane.

Around 3:26 p.m., and only a block or so away, an 84-year-old man sitting on his porch received a minor wound as other people were firing shots at each other.

The victim on Trellis Lane was identified as Jacquan Terez Nivens, who is 27. Both suspects left Nivens apartment after the shooting, police said. Nivens was being treated at a local hospital for injuries that were described as serious but not life-threatening.

Police said that they responded to the vicinity of 25th and Ansonia streets an hour and a half later when they heard firearms being discharged.

Police began circulating in the neighborhood to find out who was firing a gun and whether anyone was hurt. They found that Alvin Eaton had been sitting on a porch in the 2000 block of 25th Street when he observed some people firing weapons at each other. There were about five people among the groups firing weapons.
Undergraduates at Winston-Salem State University wont have to pay for textbooks this fall.

The university announced Monday that it will cover the cost of all printed and digital textbooks and other course materials for undergraduates for the upcoming fall semester.

Thats an average savings of roughly $650 per student, according to the universitys posted cost of attendance, though textbook prices can vary widely by class and academic major.

The university also said it will give all graduate students a $500 credit to use towards books.

Chancellor Elwood Robinson in a statement called Mondays announcement a game-changer because it covers a significant college expense.

Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

A university spokeswoman said Winston-Salem State might extend the free-textbook offer to the spring semester.

WSSU will cover the expense with a portion of its federal COVID-19 relief funding. The university has received $100 million since early 2020 from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund.
They are revolting against a corrupt communist dictatorship that has ruled that island with an iron fist for over 60 years, that is responsible for death and destruction, not just on the island of Cuba but really throughout the Western Hemisphere, DeSantis said at a news conference.

He said the demonstrators desire a free society."

Nationwide protests last year under the Black Lives Matter movement drew attention to racial injustice in the U.S. after the killings of Black people by police. Earlier this year, DeSantis signed into Florida law a measure that enhances penalties against protestors who turn violent and allows criminal penalties against those who organize protests that turn violent. DeSantis dismissed similarities between Black Lives Matter and Tuesday's demonstrators.

These are people that are rebelling against a communist dictatorship, the governor said. He said the demonstrations in Miami were fundamentally different than what we saw last summer.

DeSantis, who is said to be considering a run for the White House in 2024, declined a direct response when asked how Democratic President Joe Biden's administration should handle Cuba policy. But he said federal officials shouldn't be satisfied with small Cuban government accommodations designed to quell demonstrations.
President Biden and former President Trump, who first announced the withdrawal of U.S. forces, have said that America cannot engage in nation building. Even recent history has proved that true. The larger question is whether we can defend ourselves against further attacks on this country if al-Qaida regroups and, with the help of Iran, stages another 9/11-type attack, or worse, this time with nuclear devices.

All wars cost money, lives and limbs. The question is whether the investment was worth it. Did it produce desired outcomes? At best the answer when it comes to Afghanistan is problematic. At worst, it is what The Economist magazine calls a disaster.

The Military Times reports on a study by the Cost of War Project, which found that the combined cost of our involvement in Afghanistan is more than $2 trillion: Those funds do not, however, include the amount the United States government is obligated to spend on lifetime care for American veterans of this war, nor does it include future interest payments on money borrowed to fund the war.

The Cost of War Project also estimates 241,000 people have died because of the war in Afghanistan, which includes more than 2,400 American service members and at least 71,344 civilians.
But purely anecdotal includes the experiences of untold thousands of veterans.

Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein has also expressed concerns that the bill could open the door to recreational marijuana.

I support people with genuine health needs, who can benefit from marijuana, being able to access marijuana, Stein said. I support that. And that requires us to change the law. But we have to be incredibly careful in how that is done.

We agree, and we believe it can be done.

All these years after the public first became aware of marijuana, it still stokes controversy. Some will insist that it serves as a gateway to more harmful drugs. Others refer to the degree to which marijuana has become normalized, used by 13% or 24% of American adults, depending on the poll, while still maintaining jobs and raising families.

But one neednt be a supporter of recreational marijuana use to understand that using it under controlled medical supervision would be preferable to self-medicating. If it can be used safely to alleviate pain and suffering, especially among our veterans, then it should be.

The bill has to meet the approval of several Republican-led committees before reaching the full Senate. Given the support it now receives from people who had been the most resistant, if it gets that far, it deserves to pass.
Before walking into a convention of neuroscientists, surgeons and medical technicians at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Friday, Amy Pruszenski had to check in with staff standing behind plexiglass, show proof that she had been vaccinated against COVID-19 and walk past a thermal camera that measured her body temperature.

The gathering was billed as California's first in-person medical convention since the pandemic struck. Pruszenski, an optometrist from New Hampshire, felt at ease meeting in a large hall  in physically distanced chairs  with hundreds of strangers from across the country.

"I'm feeling completely safe here," she said. "These are the world's leading neuroscientists. If anyone is on top of it, they are."

On the other end of the spectrum was Deborah Zelinsky, an optometrist who stayed home in Illinois and rented an electronic tablet mounted on a remote-controlled robot so she could virtually roll around the convention hall, looking at exhibits and talking to fellow conventioneers.

As the robot bumped into exhibit booths and walls, she said that she wanted to be there but was still not comfortable mingling with others.
Local

editor's pick topical alert top story

GRAFFITI MAGNET

His Lincoln elevator is officially worthless, but owner wont let go

JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star The former grain elevator at 740 S. Sixth St. was hit with graffiti again last month. JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star The graffiti above the 80-foot grain bins could be seen for blocks before it was covered up earlier this month. JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star The city's graffiti-prevention office has fielded 11 complaints in the past 12 years about the former grain elevator at 740 S. Sixth St. JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star The former grain elevator at 740 S. Sixth St. has been repeatedly targeted by vandals. JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star The former grain elevator at 740 S. Sixth St. hasn't been in operation for years. JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star The former grain elevator on the south edge of the Haymarket stopped loading grain cars in the early 1980s. JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star Graffiti vandals also target the inside of the former grain elevator on South Sixth Street.

Hes had trouble at the top of the grain elevator before.

Last month, it was fresh graffiti -- more than 80 feet up, numbers and letters spray-painted so tall, broad and bright they could be seen from several blocks away.

But more than 40 years ago, when James Woolsoncroft bought the elevator on the edge of the Haymarket, it was the roof itself. The previous owner had let it fail, and rainwater had seeped into the silos, ruining the corn.

Woolsoncroft knew the property needed work. But he also considered it the Cadillac of grain elevators: A dozen concrete bins on the north side, 80 feet tall and 24 feet across with 7-inch steel-reinforced walls; and six smaller bins to the south.

It took him a year to clean out the old corn, he said. Then he replaced the roof and spent $120,000 installing a new rail scale.

Within a couple of years, he was loading up to seven train cars a day. The Lincoln elevator was helping support his fathers operation in Princeton, where they struggled to fill enough loads.

We needed more railroad cars, so we bought this one here so we could ship more grain. The quicker you turn it, the better.

The help didnt last long. Five years after Woolsoncroft bought the elevator, he said, the railroad pulled up its tracks.

Woolsoncroft turns 79 next month. He splits his time between his home in east Lincoln, his farm in northern Kansas and, when theres trouble, at his elevator on the corner of Sixth and G.

In the decades since he stopped taking in grain, vandals stripped all of the elevators copper wiring, leaving it without electricity.

City inspectors have fielded three complaints in the past three years.

The windows are broken out, its covered in graffiti, and its right across the street from Park Middle School, a citizen complaint said in 2019. Its a safety hazard and is an open invitation for gang activity.

Another, from the year before: There are kids getting inside this property in the evenings. LPD has had kids climbing up the towers.

Lincoln police have fielded at least five trespassing or disturbance calls in the past five years. And the citys graffiti prevention coordinator has asked Woolsoncroft to clean or cover graffiti 11 times in the past 12 years -- most recently, last month, when someone tagged the very top of the building again.

Its been a fight, he said last week. Ive just patched and patched and patched to keep them out.

As the elevator grew older, much of its neighbors grew up, with the redevelopment of the Haymarket on the horizon and slowly marching south.

Some of the nearby brick warehouses across J Street are now brick office buildings, and the city is planning a $9 million South Haymarket Park project a couple of blocks away. To the west, TMCO has expanded and improved its close-cropped campus. The ice distributor immediately to the north recently got new life -- and bold new paint -- as a self-storage center. Across the street to the south, Park Middle School and Cooper Park are undergoing renovations.

But last year, when the county assessors office increased the value of the land beneath the elevator nearly triple-fold -- to $184,500 -- Woolsoncroft protested.

It would cost more to demolish the elevator than the land is worth, he testified. He asked the valuation be reduced to zero.

The Lancaster Board of Equalization ultimately agreed, and now Woolsoncroft owns what could be the countys only officially worthless commercial property and building.

Which means he doesnt pay property taxes on it. But he also doesnt plan to part with it anytime soon -- because he has a dream.

Everybody wants to knock it down, he said. I say, as long as Im alive, it wont come down.

'Continues to be dangerous'

The latest graffiti report was lodged on the citys complaint app on June 7.

The elevator had been peppered with graffiti, some of it legible -- Dillons Mom, Smoke Weed -- and some not. But the clearest message was at the top, yellow and orange letters against a purple backdrop, more than 80 feet up.

Its not clear if that tag, which includes the letters KEK, is an alt-right reference, as suggested by the Southern Poverty Law Center, or simply the vandals handle.

It didnt matter to the city, which has a statute to enforce: Property owners have 15 days to remove graffiti or face the possibility of special intervention options.

Graffiti prevention coordinator William Carver takes an educational approach, explaining -- in a letter and often in person -- the negative impacts of graffiti and encouraging its removal within a day or two.

And its worked. Hes fielded more than 260 cases since Sept. 1, and hes closed them in an average of six days. Only once since 2009 has the city had to clean up the graffiti itself, he said.

Carver is familiar with Woolsoncroft and the old elevator. After the latest complaint, they met on South Sixth Street, where Woolsoncroft was already painting over as much graffiti as he could reach.

But that message at the very top had to wait a couple of weeks, Woolsoncroft said, until he felt strong enough to climb the ladder himself. He did in early July, hauling up 10 gallons of paint to cover the 8-foot letters.

Carver was OK with the delay. His office is willing to work with property owners who show a good faith effort in resolving complaints quickly, he said. And Woolsoncroft has always been responsive and compliant, and has tried to make the property more secure.

For example, he added covered windows and doorways with steel bars and grates, Carver said.

But Woolsoncroft has his neighbor -- TMCO -- to thank for that. The two used to have a relationship: Hed let TMCO employees park on his property, and the manufacturing company would help keep it secure, and help keep an eye on it.

Woolsoncroft ended that deal after TMCO moved some boulders from his property, he said.

Diane Temme, CEO of TMCO, wont say anything directly critical of the elevator across the street. But shell talk about her own property, and its role in the historic South Salt Creek area near Park Middle School and Cooper Park.

Its our responsibility to be good neighbors, she said. Theres pride of ownership. Theres pride in the history. So upkeep as well as safety is just a really important issue for us, and I think its a really important issue for the neighborhood.

But the area still has needs, she said. Housing. Literacy. Child care. Workforce training. Imagine if the land beneath the empty elevator was put to better use, she said.

Its in a really cool location. It would be amazing if we would see that -- or any property around there -- be developed into a community center.

Instead, she and her employees have a front-row seat to a building that is becoming more noticeable as the area around it loses its industrial edge.

Its been really unfortunate. It seems like graffiti goes up and it gets covered up and then it appears again. Its ongoing.

The elevator is an example of a property that has fallen through cracks in city policy, said Shawn Ryba, executive director of the South of Downtown Community Development Organization.

Commercial buildings arent governed by the same codes as residential properties. So city inspectors cant take the action they could on, say, a rundown home.

Theres no code, theres nothing they can do, Ryba said. Its still there. It continues to be dangerous. People continue to break in.

Thats partially true, said Chad Blahak, the citys building and safety director.

The city can declare any building -- residential or commercial -- dangerous, if the structure is found to be unsafe and unsound.

But it cant condemn a vacant commercial property as uninhabitable, for not having plumbing or electricity, for example, as it can a residential property.

And it cant enforce its property maintenance code on commercial buildings. So inspectors can require homeowners to replace paint, siding and windows, but it cant make similar demands to commercial property owners.

We have the authority. We can write a notice that you need to get this repainted so its compliant with paint coverage. We could not do that on a commercial building, Blahak said.

Efforts to add those powers have failed in the past, for a couple of reasons, he said. First, it would be costly; he would need to hire more inspectors to handle the sudden increase in buildings and responsibilities.

And commercial real estate operators have traditionally, and heavily, resisted the change, he said.

Officially worthless

Last year, Woolsoncroft received a notice from the county assessors office.

The county had valued the elevator at zero dollars for the second year in a row; in 2018, the assessed value was $40,900. But the land beneath it was now worth more than ever: $184,500, up from $63,000 the year before.

Woolsoncroft argued the land should be deemed worthless, too. The only value the land would have is if the concrete silos were removed, he wrote to the property valuation referee. It would cost more to remove them than the land is worth.

Six weeks later, he learned the county agreed with him.

Thats rare, said Rob Ogden, the county assessor. He couldnt think of any other commercial building-and-land combination in Lincoln with no taxable value, though he knew of a couple parking lots assessed at zero.

That grain elevator needs to be torn down to make that land worth anything, Ogden said. And the cost of tearing down the concrete monster comes up to more than what the value of the land is.

But the land clearly has some value. A similar but slightly larger lot next door was assessed at $322,000, even though its primary building, a steel shed, was valued at zero. The old ice warehouse to the north is sitting on a larger lot valued at more than $450,000.

Ogden agreed. And if his office could, it would assign a negative value to the elevator, to reflect its cost of demolition, and a positive value to the lot. Even if they canceled each other out -- even if the combined assessment still fell to zero -- it would be more accurate.

But his offices system wont allow that, he said.

Woolsoncroft wouldnt even try to estimate the cost of tearing down the elevator and its 7-inch concrete walls. But any talk of demolition is misguided, he said.

Everybody thinks I need to get rid of it and tear it down. Why? You got a structure there thats stronger than all get out.

Woolsoncroft can look past the steel grates, the graffiti left by others and his own spray-painted Keep Out messages, and see potential.

He asks: Have you ever heard of the hotel in Akron, Ohio, that used to be a grain elevator?

He stayed in that Hilton once, now an Akron University residence hall. It was converted from an old 36-silo Quaker Oats elevator into nearly 200 round rooms, with windows and balconies cut through its thick concrete walls.

He has a similar but smaller vision for Sixth and G: He can see his silos holding 72 condos or hotel rooms. Years ago, he even paid an architect in Minneapolis thousands of dollars to draw up the plans, he said. He talked to city officials, he said, though he recalled they kind of laughed at his plan.

He hasnt given up on the idea. He doesnt have the millions it would cost to convert the building, or to buy additional nearby property hed need, so money is a problem. But confidence isnt.

Ive been thinking about this ever since I bought it.

Neighbors worry about Park Middle School renovation's impact on Cooper Park Although LPS already owns a portion of the parkland, when residents found out the plan to transfer 1.6 additional acres, it set off alarm bells.
The woman told police that she was sitting in her silver 2003 Pontiac when a man with his face covered opened her car door, assaulted her and stole the car, valued around $3,000, Spilker said.

Police are requesting video from nearby businesses and are still searching for the Pontiac. The theft comes a week after an assault and theft in Antelope Park centered around a 2008 Grand Prix. Spilker said police are investigating whether the incidents are related.

Man dies in fatal semi incident

A 54-year-old man from Benkelman died Sunday after he was pinned between two semitrailer trucks in Wauneta, according to the Nebraska State Patrol.

Brian Stute had parked his semi at a grain elevator near an intersection to unload a trailer full of grain, State Patrol spokesman Cody Thomas wrote in an email.

He was at the rear of the trailer unrolling a tarp when the driver of another semi, a 40-year-old Wauneta woman, parked behind his trailer, according to the patrol.
Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha announced Tuesday that he will seek the 2022 Democratic nomination for metropolitan Omaha's 2nd District House seat now held by Republican Rep. Don Bacon.

Vargas, a former public school teacher and former member of the Omaha Public Schools Board, was re-elected to a second term in the Legislature in 2020 and serves on its budget-writing Appropriations Committee.

"Nebraskans deserve affordable, quality health care," Vargas said.

"They deserve jobs with living wages that support a family and allow each generation to have a little bit more.

"And they deserve a world-class education no matter where they're born because, as my family can attest firsthand, education is the key to improving your life."

In a telephone interview following his announcement, Vargas said he would focus on meeting the needs of working families as a member of the House.

"That has been important to me as a member of the Legislature," he said.

Vargas said he would support legislation to improve the nation's infrastructure if he was a member of Congress now.
Carver was OK with the delay. His office is willing to work with property owners who show a good faith effort in resolving complaints quickly, he said. And Woolsoncroft has always been responsive and compliant, and has tried to make the property more secure.

For example, he added covered windows and doorways with steel bars and grates, Carver said.

But Woolsoncroft has his neighbor -- TMCO -- to thank for that. The two used to have a relationship: Hed let TMCO employees park on his property, and the manufacturing company would help keep it secure, and help keep an eye on it.

Woolsoncroft ended that deal after TMCO moved some boulders from his property, he said.

Diane Temme, CEO of TMCO, wont say anything directly critical of the elevator across the street. But shell talk about her own property, and its role in the historic South Salt Creek area near Park Middle School and Cooper Park.

Its our responsibility to be good neighbors, she said. Theres pride of ownership. Theres pride in the history. So upkeep as well as safety is just a really important issue for us, and I think its a really important issue for the neighborhood.
Daydn Ginther headed to Lincoln on Friday, looking to spend a few days as a tourist before setting up shop at the trade show that's part of the National High School Finals Rodeo.

But after arriving Saturday morning, and looking at the storm-swept Lancaster Event Center, Ginther has rarely left the grounds, assisting in a monumental cleanup effort that is up against a Thursday deadline of the first of 1,600 competitors checking in.

"When I pulled in, it was carnage," said Ginther, a 56-year-old vendor. "It was actual twisted metal. It was very scary."

With less than 72 hours before staffers will begin to welcome contestants and horses alike for the rodeo that starts Sunday, it's all hands on deck at the event center, where high winds early Saturday morning destroyed at least one camper, ripped apart tents and left hundreds of outdoor horse stalls in varying degrees of disarray.

Since the storm hit, Hoyt Kraeger, the event center's business development manager, said it's taken a communitywide effort to help ensure the rodeo goes off without a hitch, with dozens of volunteers showing up Saturday, Sunday and Monday to help with both recovery efforts and clerical tasks that still have to be completed before check-in opens at noon Thursday.
Under the bill Ducey allowed to become law without his signature Monday, rural lawmakers will get the federal winter per diem rate for Phoenix during session, which is $207 a day  $151 a day for lodging and $56 for meals.

Proponents of the legislation called it long overdue, noting that there had not been a change in the rate lawmakers receive for expenses since 1984.

When the Senate debated the increase in May, Republican Sen. David Gowan of Sierra Vista noted he has to maintain a residence in Phoenix during the monthslong legislative session.

The issue here is about being able to do the travel, being able to pay for the living expenses that incurs while were here, said Gowan, who sponsored the measure.

Democrats also backed the change, with Rep. Lisa Otondo of Yuma saying that forcing lawmakers to absorb the cost of serving means only the well-off can afford to seek election to the Legislature.

This is a per diem increase so that candidates from either party can have access and run for this office and not lose money, she said.

The bill initially also gave lawmakers in Maricopa County an increase in daily expense pay, but it was amended Wednesday to remain at $35 a day.
Faulconer said his state of emergency would make it easier to complete all projects by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection as well as local projects.

State law already requires people who live in certain high-risk areas to create at least 100 feet (30 meters) of defensible space" around their homes to protect against flying embers and encroaching blazes. Homeowners who refuse to do so can be fined, though the law is enforced unevenly.

Faulconer said he would encourage people to clear their property by offering a tax credit of up to $10,000.

Faulconer also wants to create the California Department of Wildfire Prevention, which would take fire prevention duties away from Cal Fire and other agencies and put them all in one place. He said he wants to keep Cal Fire focused on fighting blazes, while the new state department would work on preventing them.

His plan didn't touch on regulating utilities, whose equipment has sparked some of the state's deadliest and most destructive wildfires, or climate change, which experts say is making fires more intense.

Faulconer said climate change plays a role" but that the state needs to immediately focus on clearing more fuel and brush.

California voters will be asked two questions in the recall: Should Newsom be removed from office, and who should replace him? Votes on the second question will only be counted if more than 50% of people say yes on the first.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
Videos drive perception, Scott said. When you see people getting robbed, when we see elderly victims in our city getting robbed, and those videos go viral, you think, Oh, my goodness. Things are out of control.

The chief used the news conference to push for more officers amid a national movement to cut police funding in the wake of the George Floyd killing. He said the San Francisco Police Department has a shortage of 400 officers.

Scott said research shows robberies go down when more officers are in the streets because people are less likely to rob people when they see officers nearby.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed promised last summer to reallocate $120 million from law enforcement to the Black community. But the budget agreement reached between the mayor and the Board of Supervisors on June 30 increases the police budget over the next two years to account for salary increases, hires to maintain staffing levels and new equipment, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

On Monday, Breed did not address the issue of police funding, but praised officers for their work.
The Washington Post sent reporter Paul Hendrickson who interviewed me in the Cornhusker Hotel bar and asked me to speak Latin to him. What is Randall J. Moodys crime, he wrote, his awful sin? Did he go haywire and ball-peen religious statues, curse the Holy Father in a public place, torch a cathedral? No, he belongs to Planned Parenthood.

There was no confrontation at the altar when I took communion after the bishops deadline. He had decreed that a self-imposed excommunication would take effect. I do not believe the bishop has the authority to issue a class-action excommunication, I responded.

Priests will not refuse communion to anyone who goes forward during Mass, the bishops spokesman said. If a parishioner is known to have belonged to one of the groups does take communion, the assumption will be that the person has repented, and has dropped the affiliation. Twenty-five years later I still belong to Planned Parenthood.
In the wake of former President Donald Trump being banned or indefinitely suspended from major social-media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, a Wisconsin state senator has proposed a bill that would impose fines of up to $250,000 for platforms that prevent elected officials from using them.

Take advantage of this limited-time offer Just $1 gives you full access for 3 months to exclusive content from The Journal Times and journaltimes.com.

State Sen. Julian Bradleys bill would require social-media companies to allow users to opt out of the algorithms the platforms use to decide what tweets/posts are more likely to be shown to others and which are more likely to go unseen. Users that opt out would then be able to view posts and content sequentially or chronologically.

Such changes, should they ever be put into place, would drastically change the shape of how people interact with social media. The bill also would only have an effect in Wisconsin, and not elsewhere, putting an expensive and cumbersome onus on social-media companies to have different systems for different states. It would also set a precedent that private-enterprise companies would be required to release information about their proprietary algorithms.

Its unclear, however, if such a bill would be constitutional. An equitable Florida bill was blocked by a federal judge this week. The judge wrote in his decision that such a move limiting private companies likely would violate the First Amendment.

Twitter, Facebook and Google are all private companies, and users must agree to their terms of service to use their products. Under Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, social media platforms are allowed to moderate their services by removing posts that, for instance, are obscene or violate the services own standards, so long as they are acting in good faith. The law also generally exempts internet companies from liability for the material that users post.

The bill is being brought forward by Bradley, a first-term Republican from Franklin whose district includes Waterford and the surrounding area to the north and west in Racine County. Other Republicans supporting the bill include state Rep. Steve Nass, whose district includes part of southwestern Racine County; and state Reps. Cody Horlacher of Mukwonago and Calvin Callahan of Tomahawk.

Big tech is silencing the things I say, Bradley said to Jay Weber of WISN (1130 AM) on Monday morning. They are silencing and shadow banning, theyre blocking any information that I am putting out ...

Its time to ensure that Mark Zuckerberg (Facebooks founder) and his Silicon Valley liberal allies cannot restrict Wisconsinites political speech, Bradley said. Free expression is one of the most vital components of our democratic republic. We must ensure our citizens can engage in political speech unfiltered and uncensored by Big Tech. Its time for Facebook and Twitter to consistently and fairly enforce their own rules.

If passed, the bill would allow someone who is banned to bring a private cause of action against a social media platform if the platform violates the requirements or prohibitions of the bill.

Under the bill, courts could then award damages to the social media user affected of up to:

$250,000 for each proven claim involving statewide candidates and elected officials.

$200,000 for each proven claim involving other candidates and elected officials.

$100,000 for each proven claim involving other users.

An analysis of the proposal by the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau states that The bill also prohibits a social media platform from knowingly censoring, deplatforming (deleting or banning from the social media platform for more than 60 days), or shadow banning (limiting or eliminating the exposure of a user, or content posted by a user, to other users of the social media platform) a candidate for state or local office or an elected official who holds a state, local, or national office.

This prohibition applies only to official pages, accounts, profiles, or handles relating to a candidates campaign or an elected officials office and does not apply to any personal pages, accounts, profiles, or handles.

A caveat within the bill says that censorship would still be allowed if posts are obscene or include a credible threat to another person.

Evers vetoes bill aimed at stopping private money used to run elections Gov. Tony Evers on Wednesday vetoed an election-related bill passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature to control the influx of private money to run elections.

Silencing

There remains little data to show which political ideologies are more likely to be quieted on social media. Many conservative voices retain the strongest voices on the platforms.

According to a tracker of the top 10 posts on Facebook each day, created by The New York Times Kevin Roose, leaders over the past week in Facebook engagement have included conservative pundit Ben Shapiro, evangelist Franklin Graham (son of Billy Graham and a Trump supporter) and the conservative talk show Diamond and Silk.

Bradley pointed out, according to The Center Square, that judges in Wisconsin have said that elected officials cannot block others from commenting on their posts, no matter how crass the language may be.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, has repeatedly limited who can interact with him on social media; in 2019, a federal judge found such blocking was unconstitutional since Vos is a public figure and social media platforms are effectively public forums in a virtual space.

The courts have ruled, essentially, that social media is the new public town hall and some online speech is protected, The Center Square reported.

Bradley said he is using this same logic to say that social media platforms shouldnt be able to ban elected officials, no matter the language they use.

Trumps situation

Trump is currently banned from Facebook, Twitter, Twitch and YouTube. In June 2020, the pro-Trump Reddit page The_Donald was banned for allegedly failing to act against hate speech.

Last week, the former president announced legal action against Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, seeking to overturn the suspensions. Trump called the suspensions illegal, shameful censorship of the American people.

Supporters of the so-called Big Tech companies argue that the private companies can do as they please with their platforms, and that they have a duty to censor speech that could bring harm. Trump was banned after his speech riled up the crowd of thousands before the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol that left five dead, saying things like We fight like hell. And if you dont fight like hell, youre not going to have a country anymore.

After Trump was banned, Twitter Inc. published a Jan. 8 blog post that stated: After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them  specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter  we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.

In the context of horrific events this week, we made it clear on Wednesday that additional violations of the Twitter Rules would potentially result in this very course of action. Our public interest framework exists to enable the public to hear from elected officials and world leaders directly. It is built on a principle that the people have a right to hold power to account in the open.

The tweets that Twitter referenced were Trumps inaccurate claims that he won the 2020 election. Many of Trumps tweets had been censored by Twitter prior to his outright ban.

Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0

Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
KANSASVILLE  Kids put on firefighter hats, climbed into first responder vehicles and even saw a helicopter touch down Sunday morning in Kansasville.

The Kansasville Fire and Rescue Department held its annual Pancake Breakfast and Safety Day again at its station, 23730 Durand Avenue, after last years event was canceled due to the pandemic.

Take advantage of this limited-time offer Just $1 gives you full access for 3 months to exclusive content from The Journal Times and journaltimes.com.

Hundreds of community members got a chance to increase their emergency preparedness at demonstrations arranged by the department and, of course, eat pancakes.

Quote "Call for help, know what to do, have a designated meeting spot." Kansasville Fire Chief Ron Molnar, on what families should have planned in case of an emergency

Critical education

Take advantage of this limited-time offer Just $1 gives you full access for 3 months to exclusive content from The Journal Times and journaltimes.com.

There were opportunities for children to extinguish a controlled fire and use a fire hose, guided by Kansasvilles crew of firefighters. A huge firefighters ladder towered over the parking lot, and a Flight for Life helicopter landed near the building.

There were also demonstrations of how to rescue someone who is stuck in a grain bin, which hasnt happened in the last decade in Racine County but is still something first responders should know  and something families should be aware of.

Kansasville Fire Chief Ron Molnar said teaching families and individuals about emergency preparedness is so critical.

We have a strong, strong emphasis on community and public safety and education, Molnar said.

Families also learned about EDITH  the fire safety acronym standing for Exit Drills In The Home.

Molnar said the department taught families how to call for help, know what to do, have a designated meeting spot.

Its important for all families, especially those in the rural area of Racine County, to have these skills on hand because many people dont realize there are no fire hydrants in the rural area.

No available fire hydrants means the Kansasville FD and surrounding fire departments have to haul water from a source to the fire.

Relatives Lori Rowntree and Jennifer Muskopf, of Kenosha, said they have brought their family to previous safety days.

Its so our kids learn about safety, Rowntree said.

And how helpful emergency responders are, Muskopf said.

Training

Other than hosting Safety Day, the Kansasville department is also a training ground for first responders attending Gateway Technical College and a field trip spot for local schools.

Volunteerism in any capacity has diminished over the last couple of decades, Molnar said.

As reported in 2018, high school and college students are less likely to volunteer or give to charity than they were 15 years ago. According to a study by the University of Maryland, 25% of teenagers volunteered in 2015, down from 28% in 2005.

Along with that decline, there has also been a decline in volunteer first responders. In 2019, it was reported that two-thirds of Americas 30,000 fire departments were volunteer-run. Since 2015, the number of volunteers have fallen from approximately 810,000 to 680,000.

Were always recruiting volunteers, Molnar said. We provide all the training, pay for schooling through Gateway  Its a career path.

Kansasville FD also invites schools in the county to spend a whole day at the station to learn more than what was shown on Safety Day.

Were trying to get people interested in becoming involved in emergency services, whether it be as a firefighter as an EMT, or the law enforcement community. We all work together to make sure that our communities are safe, Molnar said.

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0

Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
1. Yes. They are not doing their duty as lawmakers; they should face consequences.

2. Yes. The Democrats may have a point, but they should be required to return to work.

3. No. With no filibuster option available, Democrats would be unable to stop a bad bill.

4. No. Most Texas voters oppose the GOPs voting measures, so they had to be stalled.

5. Unsure. Abbott wants to take a stand, but jailing lawmakers may be too harsh.

Vote

View Results
KEARNEY  Stan Staabs mother helped him pay for his first car in 1963.

I was 16 years old and I paid $50 for the car, he said of the 1936 Ford Model 68 five-window coupe, also called a business mans coupe. She bankrolled me; I didnt have 50 bucks so I had to borrow a few bucks from her.

Staabs father never liked the vehicle.

I dont know why, Staab said, who grew up in Ansley. He graduated from high school in 1936. It was the Depression-era and all of those sorts of things. It sat out behind the shed for years and it was an eyesore. I was off at college in Kearney and one day he just sold it. When I came home, I asked, Hey, Dad, wheres the car? Well, its gone. I sold it.

That should be the end of the story except for one twist.

In some mysterious, strange way, we kept the title for it in a safe deposit box, Staab said. We just forgot about it. For 40 years.

A collector in Kearney bought the car from an individual in Sumner who used it in parades.
A 34-year-old Brookfield man was arrested in Holmen on July 10 and charged with attempting to meet a 15-year-old girl.

Christopher A. Lemke faces felony charges of attempted second-degree sexual assault of a child and use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime. He faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted of both charges.

According to the criminal complaint, a Holmen Police Department investigator was acting undercover online when she joined an online group geared toward singles. She advised the group she was 18 but adopted a persona of 15-year-girl once she started exchanging messages.

The complaint says the officer first made online contact with Lemke Feb. 1. She told him she was 15 years old and sent an age-regressed photo of someone appearing that age. Lemke reportedly replied, Quite alright by me, and sent photos with lingerie he wanted to see the girl wear.

The complaint says he later mentioned he lived three hours from Holmen and sent explicit photos and explicit descriptions about the kind of sex he prefers.

After a period of limited messages in March, April and May, the complaint says communication resumed June 14 with Lemke sending more explicit photos and inquiring about a meeting time.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Medicare on Monday launched a formal process to decide whether to cover Aduhelm, the new Alzheimer's drug whose $56,000-a-year price tag and unproven benefits have prompted widespread criticism and a congressional investigation.

A final decision isn't likely until next spring, said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, although an initial ruling could come in six months. Currently Medicare is making case-by-case determinations on whether to cover the medication, which is administered intravenously in a doctor's office.

Medicare's announcement came on the same day that Democratic leaders of two House committees asked drugmaker Biogen to turn over reams of documents on how it developed and priced the drug, and on its dealings with government officials at the Food and Drug Administration.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP)  Gov. Kim Reynolds said Monday that Iowa will cover the cost of troopers sent to Texas to fight crime along the U.S. border with Mexico, confirming the state would fund the mission after the release of agreements showing the effort would come at no cost to Texas."

Since Reynolds announced June 24 that she would join other Republican governors in sending forces to the border, her administration has argued Texas could later reimburse Iowa for expenses under a multi-state compact. However, Iowa's assistance agreements released to The Associated Press on Monday stated that Texas and Arizona asked other states to absorb the associated costs with this mission for the good of the country.

Iowa is donating this resource, according to the agreements, signed by the director of Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management on July 2 and released by the department under the open records law.

Later Monday, Reynolds was asked at a news conference in Nebraska who would pay for the deployment, and she acknowledged the costs would fall to her state.
The identity of the man implicated by the two witnesses hasnt been revealed. But Judge Joel Yates granted a defense motion for one of them  an inmate at an Iowa prison  to testify at Bahena Rivera's sentencing hearing Thursday at the Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma, which is in central Iowa about halfway between Des Moines and Iowa City.

Prosecutors remain confident in Bahena Riveras guilt and they plan to respond to the defense claims this week, according to state attorney generals office spokesman Lynn Hicks.

The prisoner who will testify Thursday says that when he was housed at a county jail, another inmate told him that Tibbetts had been kidnapped by associates and held at a trap house for sex trafficking, where she was bound and gagged, the defense motion says. He says that this other inmate said that he and another person killed Tibbetts after the publicity surrounding her disappearance got too big and that they dumped her body near a Hispanic male in order to make it appear that the Hispanic male committed the crime, the filing states.

The witness told prison officials and investigators that he thought the story was bluster until he heard Bahena Riveras testimony, the motion says.
Schmaling said he had watched video of the initial shooting. Though he described the shooting as an execution, he gave no indication of what preceded the attack.

Schmaling did not provide the names of the shooter or his victims, but did say the gunman was from Hartland and the man he shot and killed was from Elkhorn.

One witness to the aftermath of the shooting at the Pilot, just off Interstate 94 about 22 miles (35 kilometers) south of Milwaukee, described a sea of people fleeing from inside the station.

A trucker who declined to give her name, citing fears for her safety, told The Associated Press she had just pulled into the Pilot to fuel up when a man ran out of the store. She said she then saw a truck ahead of her back up and make a U-turn to leave.

Then, everybody starts running out of the Pilot, it's truckers just running, sea of people, this one guy is yelling, Run! Run,' and I'm like, Oh my God," the woman said. She said she asked one of the people what was going on.

He said that somebody's in there shooting, the woman said. She said she did not witness any shooting or see anyone hurt.
Vaccines that have met WHOs threshold should be accepted. Otherwise it looks like theres an element of racism here, he said.

WHO urged countries to recognize all of the vaccines it has authorized, including two Chinese-made ones. Countries that decline to do so are undermining confidence in lifesaving vaccines that have already been shown to be safe and effective, affecting uptake of vaccines and potentially putting billions of people at risk, the U.N. health agency said in a statement this month.

In June, the Serum Institute of Indias CEO, Adar Poonawalla, tweeted that he was concerned about vaccinated Indians facing problems traveling to the EU and said he was raising the problem at the highest levels with regulators and countries.

Stefan De Keersmaeker, a spokesman for the EU's executive arm, said last week that regulators were obligated to check the production process at the Indian factory.

"We are not trying to create any doubts about this vaccine, he said.

AstraZeneca said it only recently submitted the paperwork on the Indian factory to the EU drug regulatory agency. It didn't say why it didn't do so earlier, before the agency made its original decision in January.
A Lancaster County farmer is balking at a $250,000 fine federal prosecutors are proposing after he was found in contempt of court for violating a 2020 consent decree.

Amos Miller, who owns Millers Organic Farm in Upper Leacock Township, wants to pay $25,000, or 10% of the proposed fine. And he wants 60 days, rather than the 30 days the government is proposing, to pay the fine and $14,436 the government is seeking to cover its enforcement costs.

A $250,000 fine would complicate Millers efforts to come into compliance with federal regulations, his attorney, Steven Lafuente of Dallas, Texas, wrote earlier this month in a court filing in which Miller and the farm objected to other proposed sanctions.

Those sanctions concern conducting an inventory of meat and poultry at the farm, how that meat and poultry can be sold or destroyed, and record keeping.

Miller was found in contempt of the consent decree because he was selling meat from animals he slaughtered at his farm, which isnt federally approved as a slaughterhouse.

Miller wants to seek a custom exemption that would allow him to operate a slaughterhouse, and he suggested in the filing that he should essentially be granted the exemption so he can show that hed be operating as required.

The best way to execute a plan is to set it in motion, Lafuente wrote in the filing.

Miller also took issue with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Services requirements for record-keeping.

It is not Millers choice, but rather, Millers religion that prohibits the use of computers that would facilitate the creation of records as FSIS requires, Lafuente wrote. The implementation of the sort of records sought by FSIS is very difficult for an Amish farmer.

In their filing last month, federal prosecutors said the FSIS has successfully worked with other Amish farmers.

FSIS has not singled out Millers or denied it any accommodation that FSIS has extended to similarly situated farmers. Other Pennsylvania Amish/Mennonite meat and poultry farmers and sellers routinely submit to FSIS inspection and other statutory and regulatory requirements, the government wrote.

Prosecutors also noted that they could have sought fines well over $1 million, depending on how Millers violations of the consent decree were calculated.

U.S. District Judge Edward G. Smith has scheduled a July 19 hearing on the governments proposed sanctions and Millers objections to them.

Millers came to the attention of federal authorities in 2016, when the Food and Drug Administration said it identified Listeria in samples of Millers raw milk and found it to be genetically similar to the bacteria in two people who developed listeriosis  one of whom died  after consuming raw milk.

That led to the FSIS investigating and suing Millers over the meat and poultry issue in 2019, leading to the 2020 consent decree.
Lancaster earned a spot on U.S. News & World Reports 2021-22 Best Places to Live in the U.S. list. The Red Rose City came in at No. 74. (According to CBS Philly, last year Lancaster was No. 67.)

Boulder, Colorado, earned the nations top ranking. Harrisburg beat out Lancaster by several spots, landing at No. 61.

U.S. News analyzed 150 metro areas in the United States for factors like quality of life, job markets and value to determine its rankings.

Lancaster scored especially high in a few select categories. The county was ranked third in Best Places to Live in Pennsylvania (behind Harrisburg and Pittsburgh), fifth in Places to Retire, 17th in Safest Places to Live and 22nd in Quality of Life.

Affordability played a key factor in the rankings. Lancaster scored well in that category too, with its average 2020 housing costs coming in at $226,550  well below the national average of $315,743.

U.S. News cited Lancasters balance between natural and commercial spaces  from farmland to suburbs to the historic downtown  as being particularly appealing to residents. The pleasant climate played a factor in the rankings as well. Downtowns First Friday events were mentioned, as well as Buchanan Park and the countys parks and hiking trails. The local food industry was also highlighted.

Read the full report and see the rest of the rankings here.
Lancaster police

ASSAULT

LANCASTER: Imir Rashon Williams, 32, of Lancaster, was charged with two counts of simple assault, theft by unlawful taking and defiant trespass after punching and slapping a woman in the head and hands during a domestic dispute in the first block of Cedar Acres Drive at 10:49 a.m. on July 11, police said. Williams, who had previously been given a no trespassing notice by the property management, also threw a bag at the woman, striking the womans daughter in the head, and threw a show at the girls face while she was in a baby seat, police said.

Manheim Township police

ASSAULT

LANCASTER TWP.: An unknown man struck a homeless woman on the back of the head as she was using the river to wash herself along Conestoga Drive sometime between 8:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. on July 8, police said. The man then fled after the attack, police said.

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF

MANHEIM TWP.: An unknown vandal smashed the rear drivers side window of a vehicle in the 1000 block of Lititz Avenue, causing $300 in damage, at 11:15 p.m. on July 9, police said.

DISORDERLY CONDUCT

LANCASTER TWP.: Keyshia Andujar-Gray, 20, and Lonney Jones-Anderson, 30, both of Lancaster, were each charged with disorderly conduct after engaging in physical combat with each other during a domestic dispute at a Planet Fitness at 1319 Millersville Pike, alarming others in the area, at 6:47 p.m. on July 9, police said. Andujar-Gray also broke the door handle of a vehicle in the parking lot, police said.

MANHEIM TWP.: Dimitris Hatzivasilis, 51, of Lancaster, was charged with disorderly conduct after he played music at a volume that could be heard from more than three houses away in the 1700 block of Longview Drive at 12:31 p.m. on July 10, police said. Hatzivasilis told officers he played the music loud on purpose to annoy people at the Lancaster Bible College, police said.

DUI

MANHEIM TWP.: Alyssa Taylor Chastain, 26, of Lancaster, was charged with driving under the influence after crashing in the 900 block of North Queen Street at 3:06 a.m. on June 22, police said. Chastain exhibited signs of impairment but refused chemical testing, police said.

MANHEIM TWP.: Brandon Michael Nixdorf, 24, of Lancaster, was charged with driving under the influence after crashing in the 2100 block of Coventry Road at 11:39 p.m. on July 3, police said. Nixdorf exhibited signs of impairment but refused chemical testing, police said.

FORGERY

MANHEIM TWP.: An unknown person passed nine counterfeit $20 bills at Good Life Ice Cream & Treats at 2088 Fruitville Pike at 5:45 p.m. on July 9, police said.

HARASSMENT

MANHEIM TWP.: Justice W. Mann, 27, of Conestoga, was charged with harassment after pushing another person against a way and placed them into a headlock on Michelle Drive at 2:50 a.m. on July 1, police said.

MANHEIM TWP.: Qianna Sole Myers-Gray, 20, of Lancaster, was charged with harassment and disorderly conduct after repeatedly punching another person and causing unreasonable noise while doing so at Hammock Hotel Lancaster at 1492 Lititz Pike at 1:18 a.m. on July 10, police said. Others in the area were alarmed and called 911, police said.

MANHEIM TWP.: Anthony N. Lee, 35, of Rockaway, New York, was charged with harassment and disorderly conduct after striking a person multiple times outside a vehicle along northbound Route 222 near mile marker 30.9, an act which was witnessed by numerous motorists in the area, at 8:26 p.m. on July 10, police said. The vehicle pulled over to the side of the road where Lee and the person exited, police said.

LANCASTER TWP.: Corrie D. Collins, 38, of Lancaster, was charged with harassment after slapping another person in the face during a domestic dispute at a residence in the 100 block of Westmore Way at 11:46 p.m. on July 11, police said.

THEFT

MANHEIM TWP.: Linda Sue Lawrence, 72, of Mount Joy, was charged with seven counts of retail theft after stealing $268.43 worth of merchandise from a Target at 1589 Fruitville Pike between May 10 and June 5, police said. Lawrence used a $1 spatula price tag to conceal the true price of more expensive merchandise, police said.

LANCASTER TWP.: An unknown scammer convinced a resident of the 100 block of Pennshire Drive that they won a sweepstakes, then instructed them to purchase $5,000 in gift cards and provide their bank account information sometime between June 26 and July 8, police said.

MANHEIM TWP.: An unknown thief stole a $3,000 unlocked 2007 Jeep Liberty as it sat in the parking lot of the Community Services Center at 630 Janet Avenue sometime between 12 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on July 7, police said. The vehicle was later recovered nearby, police said.

LANCASTER TWP.: An unknown thief stole $325 worth of personal property from an unlocked vehicle in the 100 block of Atkins Avenue sometime during the night of July 8-9, police said.

VANDALISM

LANCASTER TWP.: Rudra B. Khadka, 32, who is homeless, was charged with two counts of institutional vandalism, defiant trespass and public drunkenness after he was seen speaking with children and wandering around the backyard of a residence in the first block of Cold Stream Drive at 1:25 p.m. on July 11, police said. Khadka then spit inside a police vehicle and on the floor of a prison cell at the Manheim Township police station, police said.

Northern Lancaster County Regional police

CRIMINAL CONTEMPT

CLAY TWP.: William Lee Dobell, 57, of Akron, was charged with indirect criminal contempt after calling and texting a resident of the 100 block of Lilly Drive in violation of a protection from abuse order at 8:15 a.m. on July 12, police said.

DUI

WARWICK TWP.: Randall Hoerdt Cluss, 41, of Lititz, was charged with two counts of driving under the influence after crashing with another vehicle at Main Street and Brian Drive at 7:30 a.m. on July 12, police said. Cluss was later found to have a BAC of 0.273%, more than three times the legal limit, police said.

HARASSMENT

WARWICK TWP.: Stephen Michael Charles, 43, of Elizabethtown, was charged with harassment after repeatedly calling a resident of the 300 block of Cardinal Road after being directed not to by authorities at 9 a.m. on July 12, police said.

Strasburg Borough police

ASSAULT

STRASBURG: Carl Wayne Weaver, 47, of Youngstown, Ohio, was charged with simple assault after punching a 4-year-old boy in the face at Strasburg Laundromat at 260 North Decatur Street at 12:47 p.m. on July 11, police said. Officers arrived to find a woman screaming at Weaver not to touch her son, police said. Witnesses told officers they saw Weaver wind his arm and then hit the child, who later told authorities that he punched me in the face, police said.
YORK  Advocacy groups are lauding a recent decision by the York Country Prison to stop housing immigration detainees after Aug. 12.

CASA For All, an immigrants rights organization, tweeted about the recent change, calling it a Major victory for the immigrant community in York. The group also shared the "victory" on its Facebook page.

Negotiations with ICE were unsuccessful and warranted an end to the organizations contract. York County Vice President Commissioner Doug Hoke told the York Dily Record that with a dwindling detainee population, a change in administration and the COVID-19 pandemic, it no longer seemed cost effective for the facility to adapt to new, required federal standards. Fewer detainees means less funding from the federal government.

In an internal memo, obtained by the York Daily Record, Warden Adam Ogle said U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement was a true partner and the law enforcement agency will truly be missed.

Juntos, a community-led Latinx immigration rights organization in Philadelphia, recently released a report detailing the inhumane conditions faced by detainees at the York County Prison. Erika Guadalupe Nunez, executive director of Juntos, told the York Daily Record that ICE leaving York doesnt mean prisoners will be released.

She said her concern is that the immigrants will lose access to their support networks, including lawyers and attorneys, if theyre transferred to another facility.

York Immigration Court will also close.
When are the likes of President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama and others going to stop pandering to minorities and telling them they cannot make it without the help of the government?

President Biden said last month that young Black entrepreneurs are just as capable of succeeding as white entrepreneurs, but they dont have lawyers or accountants.

But some have made it and have become very rich doing it. Who helped them? In my view, Biden and the others are all race provocateurs.

It is time for those minorities represented by the Democratic Party (the historic party of Jim Crow laws) to ask people like U.S. Reps. Maxine Waters and Sheila Jackson Lee and former President Obama who helped them.

On the other side of the coin they could ask people such as Candace Owens, Carol Swain, Larry Elder, Ben Carson and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas  just to name a few  who helped them.

I wonder what Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver would have had to say about President Bidens comments. They made it without the help of the government, and during a time when we really had systemic racism.

Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem  Ronald Reagan.

Thomas Cusick

East Lampeter Township
Power Authorities Acknowledge U.S. Baseload Electricity Is No Longer Adequate To Prevent Blackouts

July 12, 2021 (EIRNS)The Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) warns that baseline generation reliability west of the Mississippi River is no longer adequate to prevent blackouts. The WECC is the responsible overview agency for liaison among generator and transmission entities in the multi-state region, and in multiple reports over recent months has stated its warning, though in polite terms. For example, the WECC said on March 19, 2021: The resource mix in the Western Interconnection is changing as more coal-fired base load thermal generating units are retiring and being replaced by variable generation like wind and solar. This quote is from a March WECC study which focused on the specific causes of the California blackouts a year ago August. (Title: August 2020 Heatwave Event Analysis Report)

In December 2020, the WECC released its Western Assessment of Resource Adequacy, whose conclusion was that it can no longer be assumed that peak needs in one state can be met by importing electricity from another.

Other parts of the nation have the same problem. A map of all U.S. areas now at elevated risk for blackouts was posted June 30, on the website of the Energy Information Agency, from a report, 2021 Summer Reliability Assessment by North American Electric Reliability Corporation. The EIA posting stated, Electric supply shortages may occur in the western United States, Texas, New England, and parts of the Midwest.

On July 6, Coal Age, the coal-lobbying publication, published a roundup, titled, Here Come the Blackouts! It stated, WECC now notes that not a single one of its subregions generates enough power to provide sufficient supply during periods of high demand; every single region relies on imports to fill the gaps and avoid blackouts.

The WECC has identified in its worst case scenario, according to a May 12 round-up by the anti-coal Bloomberg news service, that without imports, Nevada, Utah and Colorado could be short of power during hundreds of hours this year, or the equivalent of 34 days. Arizona and New Mexico could be short for enough hours to total 17 days. Jordan White, Vice President of Strategic Engagement for WECC, told Bloomberg, Its no longer necessarily a California problem or a Phoenix problem.... Everyone is chasing the same number of megawatts.




American President Joe Biden asked Cuban leaders to listen to the people after thousands marched to protest food shortage and high prices during the pandemic.

In a statement, Biden said: We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom. Biden also called on the Cuban government to hear their people and serve their needs.

On Sunday, thousands of Cubans marched in the capital city of Havana saying Freedom, Enough and Unite. The protests came as people complain about food supply, financial problems and a lack of access to a COVID-19 vaccine.

The Associated Press said one man, who did not want to be named because he was worried about being arrested, said we are fed up with the lack of supplies and the constant waiting in line for basic services.

Experts who follow Cuba say the protests were the biggest in about 30 years.

Cuba is in the middle of its worst crisis in many years due to the combination of restrictions from the international health crisis and economic penalties  known as sanctions - imposed by the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Cuban government blamed the protests on the U.S. economic sanctions and said a U.S.-based social media campaign stirred up the emotions of its people. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador also asked the U.S. on Monday to end its economic restrictions to help the Cuban people.

The largest protest in years

On Sunday, thousands of Cubans marched on Galeano Avenue in Havana as police tried to move the crowd by using tear gas. People living alongside the street watched and cheered the protesters.

A group of about 300 pro-government protesters also arrived, making statements in support of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution of the 1950s.

The Cuban government shut down the internet on Sunday to prevent people from sending live videos with their mobile phones.

After about two-and-a-half hours, some people pulled stones from the streets and threw them at the police. At that point, the Associated Press reports about 20 people were taken away by police.

Jorge Luis Gil is a Roman Catholic priest who watched the protest.

The people came out to express themselves freely and they are repressing and beating them, he said.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel denounced the behavior of people who threw stones at police and government-run shops. He said pro-government supporters restored order after they received instructions to fight back and "defend the revolution.

Those critical of Cuban leaders said the countrys problems continue because it follows a Soviet Union-style government system.

I'm Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on reports by the Associated Press and Reuters. Susan Shand was the editor.

What would you do if you lived in Cuba right now? Would you try to leave? Tell us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

clarion  adj. - loud and clear

complain  v. to say or write that you are unhappy, sick, uncomfortable, etc., or that you do not like something

access  n. a way of being able to use or get something

constant  adj.  happening all the time or very often over a period of time

fed up  phrasal verb - angry about something that has continued for a long time

impose  v. to cause (something, such as a tax, fine, rule, or punishment) to affect someone or something by using your authority

mobile  adj. able to move from one place to another

stir up  v. to cause an emotion or reaction

shop  n. a store

restore  v.  to return (something) to an earlier or original condition by repairing it, cleaning it, etc.

instruction  n. an order or command


Kurth Reis of San Francisco, California, has been through many hard times in his life.

Lately, however, he says he just wants to make people happy by making bubbles.

You can watch him perform his bubble art for hours at a time around the citys streets and in its parks. Sometimes he puts out a glass container called a tip jar. People who watch his show can drop money into it if they want.

The 48-year old Reis served in the military as a young man. Later in life he was found guilty of a crime and served time in prison. That left him with few close human connections.

Then, in 2018, Reis had a serious motorcycle accident and spent time in a hospital. The accident affected him deeply, body and spirit.

He had several medical operations. Reis said he felt like he was reborn each time he woke after an operation. Following 88 days in the hospital, Reis was released and felt ready to change his ways, he said.

The bubble performances make him happy.

Its peaceful. I mean, I cant really explain it, you know what I mean? Whether I had my tip jar out or not, I just, I can make bubbles. I could make em until, you know, until I couldn't make them anymore, it seems like."

Bo Smokoska recently watched Reis making bubbles in the part of San Francisco called The Embarcadero.

Hes bringing joy to so many people, he said.

If the weather is good for bubbles, Reis makes a special mixture that can make bubbles the size of small car.

The mixture contains mostly water and soap. He also adds two other substances that thicken the liquid. Then, he is ready to perform.

Humidity, or the amount of water in the air, is good for bubbles. So, he does not perform on very dry days. To make his large bubble, he puts a small rope hanging from two long sticks into the bubble mixture. As he removes it, he opens his arms wide and the bubbles begin to form. Once enough air is inside the bubble he moves his arms back together to set the bubble free. Some people feel it looks like a bubble ballet, a kind of dance.

Sometimes Reis performs on Alcatrez island near San Francisco. The site holds the famous former prison and sees many visitors each year. Reis has found as much as $150 in his tip jar after a day of performances there.

While Reis may seem like a bubble-making expert, he only got started in April 2020.

His girlfriend, Kelly Sullivan, gave him a bubble-making gun that would make many small bubbles at once. Reis took the gun and made it even better, so it could make 1,000 bubbles per minute. However, that was not enough, so he started trying to make larger bubbles.

Its science, but its also an art. You know? People have told me, Im like, an artist. Yeah, OK. Im just a guy who makes bubbles.

Reis has been able to support himself with donations from crowds that watch him perform. But, money is not what stirs him to make bubbles. He feels his art is useful in more important ways. Not long ago, a woman spoke to Reis after a performance, he said. She told him that his bubbles had lifted her spirit when her dad died.

Reis can see smiles rise from under the face covers worn by those watching him perform. Children cheer and clap their hands.

Reis said such reactions make him feel like an essential worker whose job is to spread joy during the health crisis. He seems to have made peace with his past.

"I don't ever look back," Reis said. "I can't save the world. I'm not trying to. Just trying to put a smile on somebody's face by doing some bubbles."

Im Caty Weaver.

Jeffrey Dastin wrote this story for Reuters. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.

What would you say in English if you saw one of the large bubbles? Tell us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. __________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

bubble  n. a very light ball of air inside a thin layer of soap

joy  n. a source or cause of great happiness : something or someone that gives joy to someone

soap  n. a substance that is used for washing something

essential  adj. extremely important and necessary


China says on Monday it drove a United States Navy ship out of a disputed area of the South China Sea.

The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) said it sent ships and planes to the area around the Paracel Islands, a group of small islands and reefs.

The PLA said it acted after the U.S.S. Benfold destroyer ship entered the waters. Chinese forces warned them and drove them away, the PLA said in a statement posted on social media.

China has controlled all the Paracel Islands since 1974. But the island group is also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam.

The Paracel Islands are Chinas inherent territory, the PLA said. It added that the actions of the U.S. military have seriously violated Chinas sovereignty and security.

China claims large parts of the South China Sea. Other claimants include Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan. China says its claims come from historical usage of the waters. Trillions of dollars of trade flow through the waters each year.

The U.S. Navy rejected the Chinese statement. In its own statement, the Navy did not provide details about the incident involving Chinese forces. But it said the U.S.S. Benfold entered the waters in accordance with international law. The ship then continued on to conduct normal operations in international waters, the statement said.

The U.S. Navy said the Chinese statement was the latest in a long string of (Chinese) actions to misrepresent lawful U.S. maritime operations

The U.S. does not claim any part of the South China Sea. But it sends ships to the area to carry out freedom of navigation exercises. Such operations are meant to show military force and support free movement of shipping in international waters.

China has angered other claimants in recent years by creating small man-made islands in some disputed areas of the sea and building military equipment on some of the land.

In 2016, an international court ruled in favor of the Philippines in a case that disputed China's historical claims to large areas of the sea. China rejects the ruling, which it has called a sham.

On Sunday, the administration of President Joe Biden confirmed its support for the 2016 ruling. In a statement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused China of threatening international freedom of movement activities in the waterway.

Blinken also warned that an attack by Chinese forces on Philippine ships or aircraft would invoke existing defense agreements between the U.S. and the Philippines. A 1951 treaty binds the two nations to come to each others aid in case of an attack.

Im Bryan Lynn.

The Associated Press reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

____________________________________________

Words in This Story

reef  n. a line of rocks or sand near the surface of the sea

inherent  adj. existing as a natural and basic part of something

sovereignty  n. the power of a country to control its own government

accordance  n. agreement; conformity

conduct  v. to organize or do something

string  n. a series of things arranged in or as if in a line

maritime  adj. of or relating to the sea

navigation  n. moving a boat or ship over an area of water

sham  n. something that is not what it seems to be and is intended to deceive people

invoke  v. to use a law, rule, etc. to support what you are saying or doing

bind  v. to force someone to keep a promise




Taiwan's Foxconn and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) said on Monday they had agreed to buy 10 million doses of Germany's BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The total cost of the deal is reported to be about $350 million.

Taiwan's government has tried for months to buy the vaccine directly from BioNTech. The government of Taiwan has blamed mainland China for barring an agreement it was supposed to sign with the company earlier this year.

China denies that it blocked the vaccine sale. Mainland China claims the self-ruled island as its own territory.

BioNTechs sales agent in mainland China, Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group, said Sunday that an agreement had been signed. But it did not give details of when the vaccines would be provided.

Terry Gou is the chairman of Foxconn. Gou wrote on his Facebook page that he was thankful the deal had been completed. Foxconn and TSMC will each buy 5 million doses. Foxconn will buy its vaccines through the YongLin Foundation. The doses will be donated to the government which will then supply them to medical services.

Gou said, "But we can't relax, because we will continue to work hard to push for the delivery time and quantity."

Taiwans government agreed to permit the technology companies to negotiate for the vaccines because of public pressure about its vaccine program.

Taiwan's Cabinet said the vaccines would be donated at no cost to the government.

Cabinet spokesperson Lo Ping-cheng said BioNTech signed the contract on Sunday. He said that the government was already looking to buy more from both AstraZeneca and Moderna. Taiwan wants to buy 15 million "next generation" vaccines from Moderna for 2022 and 2023.

The United States and Japan have together donated almost 5 million doses to the island to help speed up vaccinations.



Vaccine drama in Taiwan

The issue of BioNTech vaccines has caught the interest of people and the media in Taiwan. The coronavirus outbreak in Taiwan is largely under control. But only about one tenth of its 23.5 million people have received at least one shot of a two-shot vaccine.

TSMC and Foxconn are both major suppliers for the American computer company Apple. The Taiwanese companies said in a joint statement that they do not think the first BioNTech vaccines will arrive before late September. They will come directly from Germany.

Gou said the government in Beijing did not affect the talks.

BioNTech also confirmed the deal but used the term "Taiwan region," using the wording called for by China's government. That wording does not suggest the island is a separate country.

A person who knows about the talks told Reuters the involvement of TSMC and the unconditional U.S. and Japanese vaccine donations made it hard for China to stop the deal.

Im Jill Robbins.

Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee wrote this story for Reuters. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

dose  n. the amount of a medicine, drug, or vitamin that is taken at one time

relax v. to permit something to become weaker, to reduce attention

delivery n. the act of taking something to a person or place

shot  n. an act of putting something (such as medicine or vaccine) into the body with a needle

What do you think of this action by the tech companies? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.
Sanon is a Haitian-born doctor, pastor and businessman and longtime U.S. resident who has been detained as a suspect in the assassination plot. He has said he has done charitable work in Haiti, where he has also owned several businesses,. In a 2011 video on YouTube, he expressed a desire to be president of the country and accused its leaders of corruption. Following his arrest, Haitis national police chief, Leon Charles, said Sanon flew to Haiti in June on a private jet with a private security team with the intention of taking over as Haiti's president. Charles said that after Moise was killed, one suspect phoned Sanon, who then contacted two people believed to be the masterminds of the plot. The chief did not identify them or say if police know who they are. Friends of Sanon have expressed skepticism that he would have been involved in a violent plot. It does not appear that Sanon, who has run a string of failed businesses in the U.S., filed for bankruptcy in 2013 and was largely unknown in Haitian political circles, would have the resources or political backing for the operation.
Biden called efforts to curtail voting accessibility un-American and un-democratic and launched a broadside against his predecessor, Donald Trump, who baselessly alleged misconduct in the 2020 election after his defeat. More than a dozen states this year have already passed tougher election laws, but only in Texas have Democrats put up this kind of fight.

Back in Texas, Republicans in the unusually skeletal state Capitol authorized finding and bringing back more than 50 lawmakers under warrant of arrest if necessary. However, because state troopers have no jurisdiction beyond Texas, the move has little practical effect in the short term.

Abbott has already threatened Democrats with arrest once they come back home, which may not be until the current 30-day special session ends in August. Though that would successfully stymie the GOP's current effort, Abbott has vowed to keep trying until the 2022 elections if necessary.

We think things have been delayed, not denied," said state Rep. Jim Murphy, the House GOP caucus leader.

In the state Senate, where nine Democrats didnt show up  not enough to also deny quorum  Republicans passed their version of a voting bill even though that is now as far as it can go.
Gwyneth Paltrow has surprised her long-time assistant with a spectacular home makeover.

The Oscar-winning actress teamed up with Drew and Jonathan Scott for the latest episode of 'Celebrity IOU', in which she surprises her assistant Kevin with an eye-catching makeover of his condo in California.

In the episode, the 48-year-old movie star shared: "Kevin has been an incredible constant in my life and I trust him with everything. Hes my right-hand man. Hes such a good person and hes always taking care of other people."

Gwyneth helps to overhaul Kevin's kitchen, living area, and loft space in the show, as she joins forces with the Scott brothers to turn Kevin's dreams into a reality.

The Hollywood star is thrilled that she's able to give something back to Kevin, having relied on his support for so many years.

She said: "Words truly cannot express how much I love Kevin. Hes my family. He has done so much for me over the past decade-plus and I just am so excited to be able to do something for him."

The Scott brothers relished the experience of working with the acclaimed actress.
The process for realigning Idahos political map with a decades worth of population expansion finds itself in roughly the same spot as it was 10 years ago  under pressure to get the job done without any time to spare.
Not at all.

A little but not enough to alter my schedule.

Enough that I try to stay inside as much as possible.

It's really done a number on me.

Vote

View Results
The first day of a trial for five alleged MS-13 gang members accused of murder-related charges kicked off Monday in Santa Maria with a judge hearing arguments over the inclusion of autopsy-related testimony and foundational evidence.

Defendants Tranquilino Robles Morales, Juan Carlos Lozano Membreno, Juan Carlos Urbina Serrano, Marcos Manuel Sanchez Torres and Luis German Mejia Orellana are each accused of at least a dozen charges, including murder, murder conspiracy and street gang enhancements connected to 10 homicides that occurred in the Santa Maria Valley between 2013 and 2016.

Dressed in collared shirts and sitting next to each of their attorneys, all five sat grouped together at the front and to the right, in between the defendant's table, court administrators and the judge's bench, wearing headphones to communicate with their Spanish-English interpreters, who sat in the jury box on the opposite side of the Department 8 courtroom.

Everyone was required to wear masks due to COVID-19 protocols.

Mondays hearing began with Judge John McGregor approving media coverage of the trial, on the condition that only still photographs are taken and that they do not show the defendants in shackles or anything depicting their custody status.

The court moved into motions in limine, which seek to either include or exclude testimony or evidence for trial.

McGregor heard prosecution arguments regarding a request to allow testimony from Sheriff-Coroner Dr. Manuel Montez on a report prepared by another official who conducted an autopsy, even though Montez was present during the examination.

After objections from defense attorneys on the credibility of Montez reading someone else's report, McGregor ruled to limit the amount of time allowed to cross-examine Montez.

Prosecution then moved into introducing foundational evidence for the trial, although a July 2016 order sealing the grand jury transcript prohibited officials from referring to specific facts in the case.

Instead, the prosecution team generally described exhibit numbers for evidence that allegedly connects defendants to certain cellphone numbers using social media accounts, voice identification and other methods.

After a request by Senior Deputy District Attorney Ann Bramsen, McGregor ruled on the trial moving into closed session to sort out the facts before reopening the court to the public to hear foundational evidence motions.

The closed session hearings are expected to last between seven to 10 days, according to Bramsen. Jury selection is expected to begin Aug. 2, she added, and the trial is expected to last a year.

With the exception of the closed session hearings, the court is expected to hold a public hearing on firearms expert testimony starting at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday at Superior Court in Santa Maria.

The five defendants are a part of a larger group of 15 who were arrested March 2016 as part of Operation Matador, which investigated the alleged MS-13 killings. A total of 18 members were indicted in July 2016.

Of those, 10 are being tried for murder, while others have pleaded out, sentenced to prison or are being tried for lesser crimes.

In December 2019, McGregor split the group of 10 into two trial groups after finding their constitutional rights would be violated due to the lack of space inside the courtroom.
A teenage male was arrested Monday after turning himself in to sheriff's detectives in connection to an alleged attempted murder Saturday on Second Street in Buellton.

The incident occurred around 9:45 p.m., when Santa Barbara County sheriff's deputies responded to the 100 block of Second Street, where a fight occurred and a victim was stabbed, according to spokeswoman Raquel Zick. The suspect fled the scene after the incident.

Upon arrival, deputies located an adult male victim who was injured with a life-threatening knife wound to his neck and was airlifted to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, according to Zick. He now is in stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery, she added.

The Sheriff's Office responded to the incident with air patrol and K-9 units to search for the suspect, who was described as a white male wearing a black and blue "Thrasher" T-shirt with back jeans and black backpack with roses on the straps.

A mass notification was sent to area residents, asking the public to call 911 if they spotted the suspect, but he was not located at that time.

Upon turning himself in, the teenage suspect was booked into Santa Maria Juvenile Hall on suspicion of attempted murder. He is not being identified because he is under 18 years old.

Anyone with further information about this incident, or video surveillance footage that may have captured portions of the incident or the suspect, is asked to contact the Sheriffs Office Criminal Investigations Bureau at 805-681-4150. People who want to leave an anonymous tip can call the tip line at 805-681-4171, or submit information online at sbsheriff.org/home/anonymous-tip.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., arrives at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, July 12, 2021, as the Senate resumes work after the Independence Day recess. Schumer said Friday that he wants his chamber to vote on pivotal budget and infrastructure legislation before lawmakers break for their August recess, and warned he may delay that summer break to allow more time for work on President Joe Biden's top domestic goals.
Rough Crossing isnt notably one of Stoppards most beloved works, but Brown brings a lot of care to the shows conceit. The simple romance-centered plot about the making of a not-so-simple play doesnt chart unfounded territory, but Stoppards comedy and buoyant wit gives actors plenty of maritime mayhem to dive into.

Ridge realizes Turais wry demeanor exceptionally well, and James as the ever-glutted Gal brings an impressive demonstration of Stoppards written jest. Gal is constantly eating, whether it's chomping into a sandwich in one scene or picking at a smorgasbord of ambrosian meats in another. Gal even runs offstage to a lifeboat with a multi-tiered platter of confections for the road later in the shows second act. Gal makes most of these moments and then some.

David Daniel as the bumbling cabin steward Dvornichek is an easy treat. A recurring gag concerning Dvornichek mistakenly throwing Turais ordered cognac down the hatch could grow tiresome under less capable hands, but manages to delight every time; Daniels physical comedy just soars.

But its Natasha and Ivors love-hate relationship that gleams brightest in Browns production. Theres a playful chemistry between the actors and they play off one another with exceptional ease.
But the $100 million in federal funding will break down to an estimated $120-130 per pupil across the state, according to an email from Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback. If MMSD enrollment hits the districts projections of 25,952, that would mean an extra $3.1 million, at least, though the final allocation wont be determined until enrollment counts are final in the fall.

MMSD spokesperson Tim LeMonds called the funding an historic effort to invest in meeting the needs of all Wisconsin students, especially our most vulnerable students impacted by the pandemic.

Although Gov. Evers indicated there will be no restrictions on how the funds could be spent, it is important to note these are indeed one-time federal funds and will be used for infrastructure updates, expanded mental health needs, online learning, expanded wireless connectivity, innovative learning spaces, classroom redesign needs and other pandemic related costs, LeMonds wrote in an email. Using these funds for operational expenses would establish a funding cliff for future years when this one-time funding disappears."

It adds to the tens of millions of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief funding going to districts in the coming years. Republicans pointed to that money in justifying the zero revenue limit increase.
The editors would do well to read Zinns writings, which celebrate the struggles of working-class people of all races and backgrounds against elites who would create a society where the balance is invariably tipped in favor of the wealthy and powerful. Zinns books arent about indoctrination but liberation. They argue that knowing the full history of the United States, the good and the bad, the tragic and the inspiring, will free people to forge a more economically, socially and racially just and democratic United States.

Thats what the critics of teaching about systemic racism, who decry critical race theory, fear the most. They know that voters who want justice and democracy are unlikely to empower the likes of Donald Trump and Ron Johnson. So the right is trying to cancel those who dare to suggest that America is a work in progress that benefits most from a rich understanding of its full history  and of its full potential to address the inequities that extend from that history.

Teaching the truth is not radical or wrong, says Weingarten. Distorting history and threatening educators for teaching the truth is what is truly radical and wrong.

John Nichols is associate editor of The Capital Times. jnichols@madison.com and @NicholsUprising. Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctvoice@madison.com. Include your full name, hometown and phone number. Your name and town will be published. The phone number is for verification purposes only. Please keep your letter to 250 words or less.
Expanding school choice would not only benefit urban children. According to a study the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty put out last summer, 44,000 rural students in Wisconsin do not live within 10 miles of a high-quality school. By vetoing this bill, Evers has not only failed inner-city Black children, but children in rural Wisconsin.

Evers rationale for the veto was that expansion of the choice program would necessarily take funds away from the public school system. This argument has been debunked a myriad of times. In fact, after a student leaves a district, the public school still receives funds for the student for a rolling period of three years. The real question is, why give a school that is continuing to fail children even more taxpayer money? Outside of government, employees must improve their skills and productivity to merit being paid more money by their employer, and our schools should be no different.

Further, in Milwaukee we have seen that the choice program does well at helping students succeed. For example, according to a recent study by School Choice Wisconsin, on average, students in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program received a 17.2 composite score on the ACT in 2018, compared to the average score of 16.1 in the Milwaukee Public Schools.
We are so fortunate that our state and nation contain such a wealth of amazing natural resources. However, with any great blessing comes great responsibility. We have an obligation to protect our remaining natural lands for future generations.

Spencer Black served for 26 years in the state Legislature. He was chair of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee and the Assembly Democratic leader. Since leaving the Legislature, Black has been vice president for conservation for the national Sierra Club and adjunct professor of planning at UW-Madison.

Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctvoice@madison.com. Include your full name, hometown and phone number. Your name and town will be published. The phone number is for verification purposes only. Please keep your letter to 250 words or less.
Grand Forks County prosecutor Carmell Mattison said Pendleton prepared for the confrontation by stocking up on ammunition for his semiautomatic rifle. She said Pendleton fired a minimum of 48 rounds using a high velocity weapon with full metal jacket bullets.

During the first exchange, Pendleton shot 20 rounds blindly through the bedroom wall, not knowing who was on the other side, Mattison said. Ballistics tests showed that one of those bullets killed his mother.

The only person who was prepared on May 27, 2020, was the defendant, Mattison said. Pendleton was waiting for law enforcement to open that door so he could pull the trigger, she said.

Mottinger suggested that manslaughter charges would be more appropriate for Pendleton, who faces life without parole if he's convicted of murder.

He was a mess. That doesnt excuse his conduct, but it sure goes a long, long way to explaining it, doesnt it? Mottinger told the jury.

Jurors could convict Pendleton of manslaughter or negligent homicide charges if they dont believe he is guilty of murder. Prosecutors are also required to prove that Pendleton did not act in self-defense, in which case he could be found not guilty in either of the killings.
In the wake of former President Donald Trump being banned or indefinitely suspended from major social-media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, a Wisconsin state senator has proposed a bill that would impose fines of up to $250,000 for platforms that prevent elected officials from using them.

State Sen. Julian Bradley's bill would require social-media companies to allow users to "opt out" of the algorithms the platforms use to decide what tweets/posts are more likely to be shown to others and which are more likely to go unseen. Users that opt out would then be able "to view posts and content sequentially or chronologically."

Such changes, should they ever be put into place, would drastically change the shape of how people interact with social media. The bill also would only have an effect in Wisconsin, and not elsewhere, putting an expensive and cumbersome onus on social-media companies to have different systems for different states. It would also set a precedent that private-enterprise companies would be required to release information about their proprietary algorithms.
A western Wisconsin man was arrested Tuesday for participating in the siege on the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6.

Joshua Munn, who is from the small village of Melrose about 45 minutes northeast of La Crosse in Jackson County, has been charged for several offenses, including knowingly entering a restricted building unlawfully, when he allegedly stormed the U.S. Capitol with members of his family.

Munn appeared in federal court before Magistrate Judge Peter Oppeneer in Madison Tuesday. Munn was released with conditions he must follow before his next court date, which was set for July 21 in D.C. His case will now be handled in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The Federal Defenders Office, which represented Munn in the hearing, said they have no comment on the case.

The FBI said it found evidence that Josh Munn, Kristi Munn, Thomas Munn, Dawn Munn and Kayli Munn were unlawfully inside the U.S. Capitol during the insurrection. They traveled to Washington, D.C., from Texas, but the Department of Justice said Josh now lives in Wisconsin.

The other four Munns  Kristi, Thomas, Dawn and Kayli  were arrested Tuesday in Borger, Texas, according to records in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The one-time funds will be provided in addition to the $2.3 billion Wisconsin schools are expected to receive through Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER, and will be distributed to districts through one payment by the end of the year. Unlike ESSER, there isnt an expiration date regarding use of the additional funds.

Districts will be able to use the $100 million for non-pandemic-related expenses but, as LeMonds said, because the funds are a one-time distribution, they would likely and wisely not use (the funds) for recurring expenses.

Earlier this month, the Department of Public Instruction released a report that showed 140 school districts across the state, including Madison, could see a decrease in state general aid under the biennial budget. The report outlined that, under the spending plan, Madison could expect an estimated 13% decrease, or $5.1 million less, in general school aid. That estimate could change based on data and enrollment numbers at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year.

Madison already anticipates increasing property taxes by 3.83% on the upcoming December tax bill. The district plans to raise wages 3.23% next year, but has been in dispute with the teachers union over cementing those raises in contracts because of uncertainty about the state budget.
OTHER IDAHOANS CHARGED AFTER JAN. 6

Since Colts arrest, three other Idahoans have been charged in federal court in connection with the Capitol riot. Two reside in the Treasure Valley.

The other, Sandpoint resident Michael Pope, was the second Idahoan arrested. Pope was arrested on several federal charges: obstructing or impeding an official proceeding; civil disorder; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds. Popes next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 23.

The third to be arrested and charged was Yvonne St Cyr, a Boise resident. St Cyr was arrested in March for her involvement at the Capitol, which included her live streaming on Facebook multiple times throughout the day. One video posted on St Cyrs page shows the mob of people on the Capitol steps, as others inside the building are calling for glasses and gas masks.

Super sad that this is America, and Americans are being beaten for wanting to save their country, St Cyr said on the live stream. The next court hearing for St Cyr, who was also arrested at a Central District Health meeting last December, is set for Nov. 5.
These numbers were based on research Buchanan obtained from some sources in the industry along with some numbers based on recent grants and expansions in the state of North Carolina.

Madalyn Gaito, director of development at McDowell Technical Community College, presented the commissioners with a map of McDowell County showing the need for more broadband here.

This digital map is from the U.S. Department of Commerces National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The areas on the map that are in green indicate places in McDowell where the reported speeds meet the current FCC guidelines for fixed broadband service of 25 megabits per second download and 3 megabits per second upload. That area is roughly Marion to Lake James. The rest of the county is shaded in red and these are areas in need for broadband services.

Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

Commission Chairman Tony Brown said he lives in a red area of McDowell that is in dire need of expanded broadband service.

This map speaks volumes to me, said Gaito to the board. This map shows the need in McDowell County. It is a need. We have to make sure McDowell County doesnt fall behind other counties in the state.
Last year, Chen addressed the Republican National Convention, where he called on other countries to support President Donald Trump in leading a coalition to stop China's aggression."

Chen, 49, a visiting fellow at Catholic University of America, said he hopes America will stand by the Chinese people" against the Communist Party.

The human rights situation is getting worse and worse," he said. As people in China are more aware of their rights as they get more information online, and have more demand for their rights, the Communist Party is becoming more and more worried about losing their control and power, and that results in them using more and more force to suppress the people to protect the control of the power."

A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.

Chen also said the United States needed to take a harder line with the Communist Party, or the CPC, and give up on the appeasement policy.

If we only negotiate with the CPC, they will not be afraid. The CPC has always been unreasonable and arbitrary.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Chair and professor of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health Department of Health Policy and Management. Credit: University of Pittsburgh

Substantially more people in the U.S. with opioid use disorder are receiving evidence-based treatment for the disease, but there are still considerable gaps in care along racial lines, according to the largest analysis to date of opioid use disorder among Medicaid recipients.

The results, published today in JAMA, provide insights that policymakers and medical providers can act on to improve access to quality care for opioid use disorder, one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. The analysis was possible because of a unique network that partnered academic institutes with state Medicaid programs to overcome barriers to data sharing between states.

"Medicaid plays an incredibly important role in our health system, and the population it serves overlaps with those most likely to have opioid use disorder. But Medicaid is 50-plus separate programs that can't easily share data," said co-author Julie Donohue, Ph.D., chair and professor of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health Department of Health Policy and Management. "For the first time, we've pooled a large part of that data, enabling us to draw powerful conclusions that could better enable our country to address the opioid epidemic, which has only grown more intense during the COVID-19 pandemic."

Medicaid is the largest payor of medical and health-related services supplying health insurance to almost 80 million people, nearly a quarter of all Americans. To qualify for Medicaid, people must have low incomes. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) expanded Medicaid by incentivizing states to allow access to people with incomes slightly above the federal poverty level, which 39 states, including the District of Columbia, adopted.

The Medicaid Outcomes Distributed Research Network (MODRN), which Donohue leads, obtained de-identified, standardized data from 11 states, including Pennsylvania and five other states that rank among the highest for opioid overdose deaths, accounting for 16.3 million people aged 12 through 64, or 22% of Medicaid's enrollees.

"The impact these timely, multi-state findings can have on Medicaid policy decision making, and ultimately the lives of millions of Medicaid enrollees, is immeasurable," said Susan Kennedy, M.P.P., M.S.W., director of the Evidence-Informed State Health Policy Institute at AcademyHealth, which supports MODRN. "MODRN's collaborative involvement with Medicaid policymakers extended beyond the review of utilization and outcomes results and cultivated rich discussions on state policy differences that may influence outcomes, helping to bridge states together in their individual efforts to address the opioid epidemic."

The prevalence of opioid use disorder increased from 3.3% of enrollees in 2014 to 5% in 2018. Notably, the share of enrollees with opioid use disorder enrolled in Medicaid due to the ACA expansion grew from 27.3% to 50.7% in the same time period.

"This demonstrates that state Medicaid expansion provided access to care for a population that needed to be engaged in the health care system," said Donohue. "Opioid use disorder can be treated, just like any other disease, but treatment is most successful when the patient has regular, unimpeded access to trained clinicians who can not only treat the disorder, but also oversee the rest of their health care."

There are several medicationsbuprenorphine, methadone and naltrexoneto treat opioid use disorder. These medications work best when taken continuously, so the MODRN team looked at several indicators of quality of care, including at least one period of 180 days of continuous medication, at least one order for a urine drug test and at least one claim for behavioral health counseling. They also looked into whether people with opioid use disorder were being prescribed other controlled substances associated with increased risk of overdose, such as benzodiazepines, which would indicate a clinician hadn't adequately reviewed their medical history.

The team found that Black enrollees were considerably less likely than white enrollees to be treated with medications for their opioid use disorder and were less likely to have continuity of such treatment. In contrast, pregnant women with opioid use disorder were far more likely than the average person with opioid use disorder to receive continuous medication-assisted treatment. This is likely because the women were actively engaged in care due to their pregnancy and motivated to continue treatment.

There was great variability across states in the quality measures of behavioral health counseling, urine testing and controlled substance prescribing. The MODRN team shared information with each state's Medicaid managers.

"State Medicaid officials were very engaged in determining measures on which they were performing particularly well, as well as areas where they could improve," Donohue said. "And not only could they see where improvement was possible, but they also could talk with other state officials and learn about successful programs and practices. Improved understanding of factors driving increased use of medications for opioid use disorder is crucial to closing remaining treatment gaps."

Explore further More access to opioid treatment programs needed in Southeast, says study
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

While attending a conference at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico in Mexico City several years ago, Sharon Borja was struck by the story of a young man who, as a child, joined his parents repatriating to their native country of Mexico. Like millions of Mexican immigrants, the family had called the United States home for years, and having been born in the U.S., he was an American citizen. Walking one day in his newfound urban Mexican neighborhood, a couple carrying a wooden stick approached him on the street and encouraged him to do the same, Borja recalled the man sharing.

"The stick was for protection against all the stray dogs," said Borja, an assistant professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work. "He grew up in America and was in a new country for the first time and didn't understand the various challenges. His story sparked my interest in investigating other hurdles U.S. citizen migrant children face when accompanying their parents back to Mexico, including lack of adequate health insurance."

More than a million Mexican nationals and their families that returned to Mexico from the United States in 2015 fueled in part by the Great Recession limiting job opportunities and increased deportation. Among them were 550,000 U.S.-born minors.

An analysis of more than 36,000 of those minors, published in the peer reviewed journal Health Affairs, found that nearly 54% were underinsured. The situation was even more stark in urban settings, where 80% of U.S. citizen migrant children had limited, inadequate insurance. Among the children who lived in Mexican states near the U.S. border, 65% suffered the same fate.

For the study, "underinsured" was defined as those who reported having no insurance or received coverage through public health services or private insurance, which offer narrower coverage, limited access to high-quality care, and modest protection from catastrophic health expenses compared to employment-based programs through Mexico's Social Security Institute.

"We believe health care is a human right. It's a travesty that these U.S. citizen children are vulnerable to financial risk and delays in care and treatment. Many don't even think about this subgroup of at-risk kids, yet they are U.S. citizens who moved to another country, likely not by their choice," said Borja, lead author of the research paper. "These circumstances elevate their risk for lifelong disparities in health and productivity compared with their counterparts who stayed in the U.S."

The study also revealed that parents' level of education and living with an employed mother were associated with a higher likelihood of having the superior employment-based coverage. In addition, the likelihood of having such coverage is reduced by 59% for U.S. citizen migrant children in border states compared with those in other areas.

Although Mexico established a form of universal health care in 2020 called Instituto de Salud para el Bienestar (INSABI), or the Institute of Health for Well-being in English, it faces insufficient funding and does not cover all health conditions, according to the researchers. Regardless, access is guaranteed only for those with proof of citizenship or legal residency. Fewer than half of U.S. citizen migrant children in Mexico in 2015 reported having Mexican citizenship, further putting them at risk for delayed medical care, particularly when there is no alternative to prove eligibility.

The findings underscore the need for transborder health policies that address the growing place-based inequity in health coverage, according to the study authors. They recommend the following solutions:

Reintegration policies, including assistance to revalidate education and training obtained abroad, to help ease the transition of returning migrants and their families to Mexico.

Expedited dual-citizenship application process to facilitate receipt of health and social protection programs; a U.S.-Mexico bilateral agreement to recognize birth certificates from either country as proof of dual citizenship could further simplify the registration of U.S. citizen migrant children in programs such as INSABI, as these documents already bear their parents' nationalities.

Exempting U.S. citizen migrant children who reside in the 80 Mexican municipalities within approximately 60 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border from automatic suspensions of Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) benefits to ensure uninterrupted care via telemedicine and in-person consultation with U.S. health care providers.

Creation of a workgroup within the Comision de Salud Fronteriza Mexico-Estados Unidos (U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission) to help monitor the health status and needs of U.S. citizen migrant children.

Other authors of the research paper include Jodi Berger Cardoso, University of Houston; Pedro Isnardo De La Cruz, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico; Krista Perreira, University of North Carolina; Natalia Giraldo-Santiago, University of Houston Ph.D. candidate; Martha Virginia Jasso Oyervides, Universidad Autonoma de Coahuila.

The researchers acknowledge that the evolving geopolitical landscape of U.S.-Mexico migration and the recent implementation of INSABI could present a different picture now, six years after their data was collected. But with increased deportations during the Trump Administration, the numbers of U.S. citizen migrant children lacking adequate health insurance is likely even higher today.

"We recognize that the implementation of cross-border health initiatives could be costly. But the long-term societal savings of investing in early childhood and ensuring timely access to high quality preventive care far outweigh the cost," wrote the researchers. "Sustained political will and consistent commitment to invest in U.S. citizen migrant children, who are often an ignored segment of the population, are needed so that they do not become 'out of sight and out of mind'."

Explore further Health safety net for undocumented kids works, study finds

More information: Sharon Borja et al, Health Insurance Access Among US Citizen Children In Mexico: National And Transborder Policy Implications, Health Affairs (2021). Journal information: Health Affairs Sharon Borja et al, Health Insurance Access Among US Citizen Children In Mexico: National And Transborder Policy Implications,(2021). DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2021.00087
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

According to a survey following doctors over 20 years, nearly four out of ten doctors have been the target of threats from a patient during the first four years after graduation and one in seven doctors have been physically assaulted.

Male doctors are more likely to experience threats and violence than female doctors. Those working in psychiatry more often report such experiences, even when the statistics are adjusted to take account of other factors.

These are some of the results of the NORDOC study carried out at the Department of Behavioural Medicine at the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo.

More experience leads to less violence

In contrast to younger doctors, the proportion of those exposed to threats or violence was nearly halved amongst older doctors, when the latter were asked about their experiences during the previous five years. And in the older age group, there was no longer such a big difference between male and female doctors.

"Contributing factors here are that the older doctors have gained more experience, are better at communicating and have more medical competency. Younger doctors are also more pressed for time and experience more stress in their working day and this can affect communication with patients," says medical student and researcher Sara Tellefsen Nland.

She and the co-authors including professor Reidar Tyssen have studied the working life of two cohorts of medical students from all four Schools of Medicine in Norway. The first of the cohorts was fully qualified in 1994, the second in 1999, and the doctors have participated in the survey once every five years over a period of 20 years.

The study was recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open, Analysis of Career Stage, Gender, and Personality and Workplace Violence in a 20-Year Nationwide Cohort of Physicians in Norway

Personality traits

A particular feature of this study is that the researchers looked at the doctors' personality traits, in addition to factors relating to gender and working experience. The doctors who ended up in the 'high vulnerability' category experienced fewer threats, regardless of gender. This can be equated to high neuroticisma personality trait that is associated with worrying, low self-esteem and a high degree of self-criticism.

"These doctors are perhaps more careful how they communicate with patients. The opposite is also the case: the study shows that doctors with a low level of vulnerability experienced more threats. Perhaps these doctors do not pay enough attention when a situation is getting out of hand, or it could be that they behave in a more confrontational manner," says Nland.

Fewer incidents of violence in psychiatric medicine

The lead author of the study also reveals that there appears to have been a reduction in the number of violent incidents within psychiatric medicine.

"There has been more focus on security and on training doctors to manage potentially violent situations."

There is some conjecture as to whether the higher proportion of women doctors may have affected the figures.

"We have in the analysis controlled for gender, and the study still indicates that the decline is completely independent of gender. But another Norwegian study has found that fewer incidents of violence occur when there are more female employees in a psychiatric ward," says Nland.

According to Nland, one explanation can be that some patients feel more threatened by male members of staff who appear as more physically authoritarian. Scientists call this 'intermale aggression'.

GPs are not more exposed to threats and violence

The study did not find that general practitioners were more exposed to threats and violence than other types of doctors. This surprised the researchers somewhat, since GPs are responsible for accident and emergency services in most municipalities in Norway.

According to Nland, violent patients are more frequently linked to certain variables, which doctors should be aware of.

"These are variables such as 'man,' 'young,' 'personality disorder' and 'drug abuse'," the researcher says

Explore further Emergency physician residents and health care workers at high risk of physical or verbal assault, new analysis shows

More information: Sara Tellefsen Nland et al, Analysis of Career Stage, Gender, and Personality and Workplace Violence in a 20-Year Nationwide Cohort of Physicians in Norway, JAMA Network Open (2021). Journal information: JAMA Network Open Sara Tellefsen Nland et al, Analysis of Career Stage, Gender, and Personality and Workplace Violence in a 20-Year Nationwide Cohort of Physicians in Norway,(2021). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.14749
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

When a parent takes an infant to the Children's Health Center in San Francisco for a routine checkup, a pediatrician will check the baby's vitals and ask how the child is doing at home.

Then Janelle Bercun, a licensed clinical social worker, who is also in the room, will look at Mom or Dad and pipe up: What is this like for you? Your frustrations? Joys? Challenges? And she stays to work with the parent long after the pediatrician has left.

The facility's team-based treatment is a pilot project, funded by philanthropies. Yet the approach, which California may soon incorporate on a large scale, could hold the key to fostering a healthy home environment where children thrive, child development experts say. Incorporating therapy for the parents, they say, can lower a child's risk of future mental disorders stemming from family trauma and adversity.

Pediatricians' offices generally don't offer formal counseling or guidance to a child's guardian because they can't bill insurance for these services. That could soon change for the roughly 5.4 million children on Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program for low-income residents, and their parents.

The 2021-22 state budget, which Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to sign by Monday, dedicates $800 million, half of it in federal funds, to this new behavioral health benefit over four years. Experts say it would make California the first state to pay for "dyadic care," treating parents and children simultaneously.

"A baby is not showing up by themselves to the pediatrician's office. The caregiver is coming in with their own strengths and stressors," said Dr. Kathryn Margolis, a pediatric psychologist who launched the initiative at the Children's Health Center at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.

"Without a healthy caregiver, we can't have a healthy baby," Margolis added. "It is the most obvious thing in the world. It is unbelievable it has taken this long to pay for this service."

The new program is among a suite of behavioral health initiatives included in the nearly $263 billion state budget negotiated between Democratic lawmakers and Newsom, who has made mental health services a signature issue.

The state will spend the next year drafting guidelines for the services that could be covered and working with insurance providers on new billing codes for the new benefit. Beginning July 1, 2022, caregivers who enter a clinic or pediatrician's office with a child up to age 21 for routine well visits will be matched with a social worker or behavioral health specialist. They may be screened for depression, treated for tobacco and alcohol use, or offered family therapy, said Jim Kooler, assistant deputy director of behavioral health at the California Department of Health Care Services. New mothers will get postpartum care; parents could also get help obtaining food vouchers, housing or other help.

"It's a pretty amazing array of services that will be available," Kooler said. "It's things we wouldn't necessarily think about right away, but the health of the young person is impacted."

States including New York and Colorado fund programs that offer holistic care to parents and children together. But California will be the first to offer the service as part of Medicaid pediatric care, said Jennifer Tracey, senior director of growth and sustainability for Zero to Three. The nonprofit organization runs HealthySteps, a program that supports babies and toddlers with integrated care in 24 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Getting the benefit funded in the nation's most populous state was a "groundbreaking" win for children's advocacy groups, Tracey said.

"We haven't seen any other state make this kind of investment," she said. "I hope we'll see other states following California."

Newsom and lawmakers this year had a $76 billion budget surplus and $27 billion in federal aid to fund an array of new programs, but they won't come cheap. New outlays include up to $1.3 billion a year to expand health care to undocumented immigrants age 50 and older; $12 billion for homeless programs over the next two years; $4.4 billion in behavioral mental health for people up to age 25 over five years; and $300 million to bolster the state's public health system beginning next July.

Critics say the spending commits Californians to programs that could be hard to fund in the future. And while offering a new Medi-Cal benefit might be worthwhile, California lawmakers would be better off fixing flaws in the government insurance program, said Susan Shelley, vice president of communications for the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

For example, the state pays physicians who participate in Medi-Cal among the lowest rates in the nation, she said. And a January 2020 report by the California State Auditor found that just under 48% of children enrolled in Medi-Cal went to the doctor for a preventive visit in 2016-17.

"It's unwise to commit taxpayers to this," Shelley said. "All these little kids are going to grow up and have one huge tax bill."

Offering caregivers preventive behavioral treatment has proven to save money by avoiding bigger health problems down the road, according to legislative budget documents. An analysis by HealthySteps of its sites in New York, Colorado, Arizona and Kentucky showed average annual savings to Medicaid of 204% for patients enrolled in their program. The group reports that children were eight times more likely to receive developmental screenings and twice as likely to go to well visits when their parents participated in the HealthySteps program.

"It's a realization that it's not just about providing services today, but it's about thinking about the services that will help defer costs down the road by doing the right things today," Kooler said.

Making a visit to the pediatrician's office more welcoming to parents, and getting mothers screened for depression and other behavioral issues, could improve California's dismal rate of child developmental screenings, said Sarah Crow, managing director of First 5 Center for Children's Policy.

"California, if it really wants to prioritize children's health, then we really need to pull out all the stops and start thinking of new, culturally relevant ways to serve our families," Crow said.

At the clinic in San Francisco, Bercun, the social worker, visits with caregivers for as long as they need, usually about half an hour but sometimes up to an hour. She counsels a mom about a job loss, shows a dad how to soothe his crying infant and guides another mom to lovingly say no to a toddler on the verge of a tantrum. She has helped caregivers develop safety plans if there is violence in the home and has connected them to community resources.

And then there's the pandemic: She talks families through the isolation so many have felt.

"It's working through these moments and feeling less alone and building confidence," Bercun said. "It's about holding space to explore feelings. My hope is that one day all families could benefit."

Explore further Health safety net for undocumented kids works, study finds

2021 Kaiser Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Credit: Asociacion RUVID

A study on 149 healthcare professionals in Spain and Mexico reveals that, during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, 57.8% of them suffered from mental disorders such as anxiety, acute stress and depression.

This is stated in the doctoral thesis of Ivan Echeverria, a doctoral student at CEU Cardenal Herrera University, whose research has just been published in the scientific journal International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. The results indicate that the moral courage shown by healthcare professionals to face the first wave was one of the factors that increased the risk of suffering from mental illness.

Echeverria's thesis has been carried out at the CEU Cardenal Herrera University, under the direction of Dr. Gonzalo Haro, professor of Mental Health in the Medicine degree and principal investigator of the TXP Group, and Ana Benito, a member of the same group. This thesis studies the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of healthcare workers, as well as the role of factors such as moral courage and purpose in life in preventing the appearance of mental disorders in these professionals. The study was carried out on a sample of 149 health professionals: doctors, nurses, psychologists, assistant nursing care technicians, hospital porters, and also administrative, security or kitchen staff. It compares the results between 90 Spanish professionals, belonging to the Castellon Health Department, and 59 professionals from the Psychiatric Hospital of Campeche, in Mexico.

The research shows that 57.8% of the Spanish healthcare professionals in the first wave presented anxiety, depression or acute stress, while only 39% of their Mexican counterparts suffered from one of these disorders, who were still at the beginning of the pandemic. "We have been surprised that this psychopathology is not related so much to occupational exposure to the COVID-19 virus, but is mainly due to the exposure of friends and family to this virus," says professor Gonzalo Haro. Among the referred mental illnesses, Spanish professionals have suffered mainly from anxiety disorder, in 43.7%; followed by acute stress disorder, in 32.6%; and, to a lesser extent, major depressive disorder, in 21.3% of the cases.

Healthcare kamikazes: Moral courage and mental health

The idea for the study came to Ivan Echeverria when he was confined, waiting to join as a resident doctor, and read an article published in the New York Times about "healthcare kamikazes," referring to the courage of Spanish healthcare workers in the first wave of the pandemic. "Moral courage," defined as the set of moral values that gives these professionals the determination to go to work for their patients despite the danger of contagion, was a risk factor for their mental health. "This phenomenon is explained by the concept of "moral distress," which occurs when the professional cannot act according to their values due to external factors that prevent it, as happened in the first wave of the pandemic due to the lack of personal or personal protective equipment (PPE)", adds Dr. Ana Benito.

Another factor that has influenced the appearance of these disorders is the purpose in life, which is defined as the perception that a person has about the goal and value of their life. In this first article of his doctoral thesis, Ivan Echeverria highlights that "a high purpose in life behaves as a protective factor against anxiety, depression and acute stress. In the same way, a low purpose can favor the appearance of these disorders."

From the waves of infections, to the flood in mental health

The three researchers emphasize the relevance of these results at a time when Spain is facing a fifth wave, with its healthcare professionals physically and mentally exhausted. "The mental health problems of healthcare professionals and workers from other essential areas, as well as of the world population, will not be like waves with a visible peak due to the increase of infections, hospital admissions and deaths, but will be reflected in the form of a flood, with a slow but lasting rise. A flood of emotional suffering and mental disorders for which we are not prepared in the health sector, nor in the social sphere" says Gonzalo Haro, Professor of Mental Health in the Degree in Medicine at CEU UCH.

Explore further One in four adults with depression or anxiety lacked mental health support during pandemic

More information: Ivan Echeverria et al, "Healthcare Kamikazes" during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Purpose in Life and Moral Courage as Mediators of Psychopathology, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2021). Journal information: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Ivan Echeverria et al, "Healthcare Kamikazes" during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Purpose in Life and Moral Courage as Mediators of Psychopathology,(2021). DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18147235
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Increasing social mixing gradually rather than abruptly would delay the peak and reduce the size of the third wave of COVID-19 in England.

This is according to a new analysis by the Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team. They say that there is uncertainty around the potential magnitude of the third wave, which will also depend on factors including how effective the vaccine proves against the Delta variant, and levels of vaccine coverage.

The team estimate that if social mixing only gradually increases after the government's step 4, between 19th July1st September, the third wave will be both delayed and reduced in size compared with a scenario where social contacts increase abruptly following step 4.

The report, along with work from the University of Warwick and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), is informing England's 'roadmap' out of lockdown, has been reviewed by SPI-M and SAGE, but not yet by a peer-reviewed journal.

With the Delta variant now dominant across all regions of England, the researchers explored the impact of three different scenarios, including a sudden increase in contact rates on 19th July, a more gradual increase over a six-week period, and step 4 being delayed until 16th August. The analysis also accounted for the uncertainty in key parameters, notably the effectiveness of vaccines against the Delta variant.

Across all scenarios explored, the team estimated that lifting restrictions on 19th July in the context of Delta could lead to a significant but highly uncertain third wave of hospitalisations and death with the total number of deaths ranging from 9,400 (estimate range: 4,600 to 19,800) in the most optimistic, to 115,800 (estimate range: 81,700 to 143,600) deaths in the most pessimistic scenario.

They found that the scenario where contact rates increase gradually after step 4 on 19 July led to substantially lower numbers of hospitalisations and deaths than the other scenarios examined.

Projections not predictions

The results in the report highlight that it is not possible to make precise predictions of the trajectory of the epidemic in the next 2 months. There is considerable uncertainty regarding the levels of cross protection prior infection gives against infection with Delta, the precise level of vaccine effectiveness against Delta, vaccination coverage and the waning of immunity. The ongoing impact of Track, Trace, Isolate (TTI), mask wearing, and hand hygiene is also difficult to quantify.

Professor Neil Ferguson, from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, said: "The lifting of mandatory restrictions on 19th July is a calculated risk. If individuals remain cautious in the face of rising levels of infection, our analysis suggests that the third wave will be substantially smaller than if contacts immediately revert to pre-pandemic levels. However, a large third wave of infections is inevitable if mandatory restrictions are lifted. It is much harder to predict what this will translate into in terms of hospitalisations and deaths. The link between cases and hospitalisations has been weakened but not severed."

Dr. Anne Cori, also from Imperial's School of Public Health, said: "Our results suggest that step 4 of the roadmap will lead to a third wave of infections in England. But its magnitude, and that of the corresponding wave of hospitalisations and deaths, remain highly uncertain. A number of factors are at play: vaccine coverage and effectiveness, persistence of immunity over time, but also voluntary adoption of measures such as working from home or mask wearing which will no longer be mandatory after 19th July. Increases in any of these will help reduce the epidemic burden."

Dr. Marc Baguelin, from Imperial's School of Public Health, said: "We explored the impact of lifting current restrictions on July 19th in light of the emergence of Delta variants and following the success of the UK vaccination program. The UK is likely to face a major wave of infections with a surge in hospitalisations and deaths. There remains considerable uncertainty on the final burden of this wave, but our analysis indicates clearly that a gradual change with keeping some cautious behaviors will be critical in mitigating its extent."

Dr. Pablo Perez-Guzman, from Imperial's School of Public Health, said: "Since the start of the pandemic, we have analyzed a large number of national and regional real-time data streams, including numbers of cases in the community, hospital admissions, occupancy and deaths. Our modeling work is based on a deep understanding of how these data, viral transmission dynamics, the effects of the national vaccination program, the adoption and lifting of non-pharmaceutical interventions and the introduction of new variants like Delta interplay in shaping the national COVID epidemic. Going forward, we aim to further account for new challenges in the national COVID response, like rolling out booster vaccination campaigns and the potential emergence of new variants."

Explore further Delta variant could cause significant third wave in the U.K.

More information: Imperial College London: Evaluating the roadmap out of lockdown for England: modelling the delayed Step 4 of the roadmap in the context of the Delta variant, 7 July 2021: Imperial College London: Evaluating the roadmap out of lockdown for England: modelling the delayed Step 4 of the roadmap in the context of the Delta variant, 7 July 2021: assets.publishing.service.gov.  _7_July_2021__1_.pdf
Assistant professor, Department of Health Policy and Management, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health . Credit: University of Pittsburgh

States that legalize recreational marijuana experience a short-term decline in opioid-related emergency department visits, particularly among 25- to 44-year-olds and men, according to an analysis led by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.

Published today in the journal Health Economics, the study shows that even after the temporary decline wears off, recreational cannabis laws are not associated with increases in opioid-related emergency department visits.

"This isn't triviala decline in opioid-related emergency department visits, even if only for six months, is a welcome public health development," said lead author Coleman Drake, Ph.D., assistant professor in Pitt Public Health's Department of Health Policy and Management. "But that being said, while cannabis liberalization may offer some help in curbing the opioid epidemic, it's likely not a panacea."

The opioid epidemic in the U.S. has accelerated in recent years, with more than 81,000 drug overdose deaths between June 2019 and May 2020the highest ever recorded in a one-year period, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So far, 19 states have legalized recreational cannabis, meaning that nearly half of the U.S. population lives in a state with a recreational cannabis law.

Drake and his colleagues analyzed data on emergency department visits involving opioids from 29 states between 2011 and 2017. The study included four states that legalized recreational marijuana during that time frame: California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada. The remaining 25 states acted as controls.

The four states with recreational cannabis laws experienced a 7.6% reduction in opioid-related emergency department visits for six months after the law went into effect, compared to the states that didn't implement such laws. On closer inspection, the team found that men and adults aged 25 through 44 primarily drove the reduction. Because previous studies have shown that men and young adults account for the majority of people using cannabis, it makes sense that they'd be the ones most affected by the recreational laws, the researchers say.

Although the downturn in emergency department visits for opioids doesn't persist past six months, Drake said that it is encouraging that visits also don't increase above baseline after recreational marijuana laws are adopted. This indicates that recreational marijuana is not serving as a "gateway" to opioids.

"We can't definitively conclude from the data why these laws are associated with a temporary downturn in opioid-related emergency department visits but, based on our findings and previous literature, we suspect that people who use opioids for pain relief are substituting with cannabis, at least temporarily," Drake said. "Cannabis can provide pain relief for persons using opioids, but cannabis ultimately is not a treatment for opioid use disorder. Still, this is good news for state policymakers. States can fight the opioid epidemic by expanding access to opioid use disorder treatment and by decreasing opioid use with recreational cannabis laws. These policies aren't mutually exclusive; rather, they're both a step in the right direction."

Explore further Legal cannabis stores linked to fewer opioid deaths in the United States

More information: Coleman Drake et al, Recreational cannabis laws and opioidrelated emergency department visit rates, Health Economics (2021). Journal information: Health Economics Coleman Drake et al, Recreational cannabis laws and opioidrelated emergency department visit rates,(2021). DOI: 10.1002/hec.4377
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Jens Spahn, Federal Minister of Health, and Lothar Wieler, President of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), from right, prepare for a picture in front of the entrance to the RKI in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, July 13, 2021. Merkel visited the health ministry's leading institute in the Corona pandemic at the invitation of Health Minister Spahn. Credit: Michael Kappeler/Pool via AP

Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday urged Germany's residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19, saying the more people get shots "the more free we will be again."

Vaccination rates in Germany have slowed in recent weeks. About 58.7% of the population has received at least one shot and 43% is fully vaccinated, according to official figures.

The country's disease control agency said last week that the country should aim to vaccinate 85% of people ages 12-59 and 90% of people over 60 to prevent the delta variant from causing a resurgence of coronavirus cases this fall and winter.

Merkel, who has received both shots, called on people to get vaccinated to protect themselves and others from serious illness as a result of a coronavirus infection. She linked higher immunization rates with the further easing of pandemic restrictions.

"The more people are vaccinated, the more free we will be again, the more freely we will be able to live again," she told reporters during a visit to the Robert Koch Institute, the government run disease control agency.

Germany has relaxed many restrictions on social gatherings in recent months, but people are still required to show negative test results or vaccine certificates to dine indoors and attend indoor events where capacity is limited. Masks are still required in most stores.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, center, stands next to Jens Spahn, Federal Minister of Health, and Lothar Wieler, President of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), left, for a picture in front of the entrance to the RKI in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, July 13, 2021. Merkel visited the health ministry's leading institute in the Corona pandemic at the invitation of Health Minister Spahn. Credit: Michael Kappeler/Pool via AP

German Chancellor Angela Merkel stands up with mask after the press conference following her visit to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, July 13, 2021. Merkel visited the health ministry's leading institute in the Corona pandemic at the invitation of Health Minister Spahn. Credit: Michael Kappeler/Pool via AP

German Chancellor Angela Merkel leaves a press conference following her visit to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, July 13, 2021. Merkel visited the health ministry's leading institute in the Corona pandemic at the invitation of Health Minister Spahn. Credit: Michael Kappeler/Pool via AP

Asked whether Germany might introduce compulsory vaccinations for certain professions, as France is doing for health workers, Merkel suggested that it wouldn't be effective but didn't rule out the possibility.

"I'm not ruling out that this might be talked about differently in a few months either," she said. "But at the moment we have said we don't want compulsory vaccinations, we want to promote vaccinations."

Lother Wieler, the head of the Robert Koch Institute, said studies show more than 90% of people in Germany are willing to get vaccinated.

Authorities are increasingly trying to offer shots in churches, mosques, supermarket parking lots and sports facilities to reach people who have so far hesitated to go to doctors' offices or special vaccine centers.

Merkel warned that rising case numbers would increase the risk of new, more aggressive variants developing. She called on Germans to continue wearing masks, maintaining social distance, getting tested when indicated and agreeing to other "very low-level interventions that we strongly advocate so that other encroachments on freedoms don't have to happen."

The chancellor noted that the Dutch government recently acknowledged it had relaxed its remaining pandemic restrictions too soon only to see infections skyrocket in the Netherlands.

Explore further French rush to get vaccinated after president's warning

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Credit: Colorado State University

When a hurricane threatens to make landfall, forecasters offer a barrage of informational tools to communicate the risk of it coming through coastal and inland communities, so residents can prepare for its impact. Chief among these tools is the "cone of uncertainty"a visual depiction of the storm's potential path.

But is the cone doing its job? Studies show that people often misinterpret this popular weather graphic. They don't understand the information it's conveying: the likely path of a storm, and its likelihood to deviate from that path based on historical data. The graphic is cone-shaped because the farther we try to look into the future, the more uncertain the forecast. But because the cone draws a line around a specific area, many people assume that locations outside the cone will not be affected by the storm.

Researchers in Colorado State University's Department of Psychology are working on an easily understood, science-backed way to visually represent hurricane danger to the general public. They contend that the cone of uncertainty creates a false sense of security for people who live outside the boundary of the cone and that there are better ways to signal likely impacts.

The research team includes psychology professors Jessica Witt, who studies the human visual system, and Benjamin Clegg, who studies human factors in the design of new technologies. Together, they created experiments to test whether hurricane projections could be better understood by average viewers through dynamic graphics the researchers have christened 'zoomies'. Their results are detailed in Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied.

Summarizing information

According to Witt, the human visual system excels at something called ensemble perception. When your eyes see a group of objects, your brain quickly extracts a summary of those objects. Looking at a patch of grass, your brain makes a snap judgment about its average greenness. When you look at a tree, your brain automatically estimates the average size of the leaves.

The cone of uncertainty is what researchers call a summary statistic. The average, projected track of the hurricane goes up the middle, and that track is surrounded by varying degrees of uncertainty.

When the cone gets bigger, people think that means the storm will be getting worse or increasing in severity. But the cone's size is only communicating increasing uncertainty around the forecast. The cone also lends itself to what researchers call a containment heuristic.

"People like categories, and to be able to put things in these binary buckets  [at] risk, not at risk," Witt said. "The cone basically encourages that. It has this well-defined boundary, and people treat things within a boundary as qualitatively different than what's outside the boundary."

Clegg points to Hurricane Katrina that devastated New Orleans and surrounding areas in 2005. "It's a good example of a storm that shifted its path just before landfall, heading outside the previously forecast cone of uncertainty," Clegg said. People who lived outside earlier forecast cone boundaries might have assumed they weren't at great risk, he said.

The researchers wondered if instead of the summary statistic of the cone, a better graphic would take advantage of what the visual system is already good atsynthesizing and summarizing. "Rather than visualize the summary, let's give them raw data, and let the visual system do the summary instead," Witt said.

'Zoomies'

Their new and improved graphic is more like a track ensemble, or a spaghetti plot. But track ensembles also have their issues. If a town is located on a track, then people perceive it to be at higher risk than one located off a track, even if the latter one is located closer to the storm's center.

So Witt and Clegg came up with the idea of "zoomies," which are sets of dots that each represent a different projected hurricane path and move accordingly. "The idea is that by getting rid of the defined boundary, we do not have this yes-or-no binary risk distinction, but rather a more gradual, more probabilistic understanding of risk," Witt said.

Lots of zoomies following paths close to the most likely path convey the higher risk there. But even a few zoomies showing more extreme deviations illustrate that there is still some risk for those areas, the researchers said.

Their hypothesis was borne out in a series of experiments with CSU students who, the researchers noted in their paper, are typically not very experienced with hurricanes. In the experiment, they tasked participants with deciding whether to evacuate a town on a map, based on seeing either a traditional cone of uncertainty or the experimental zoomies.

The cone of uncertainty had a distinct containment effect: Study participants chose to evacuate the town located within the cone at high rates, and the town beyond the cone at low rates. The cutoff was sharp and happened over a very short geographical distancedefined by the boundary of the forecast cone.

When the participants assessed hurricane risk using the zoomies, however, researchers saw a gradual decrease in evacuation rates. As the town got further from the center of the projected path, evacuation rates decreased graduallymore in line with what should be done in real life.

"This showed that the participants understood there is risk beyond where the cone ends," Witt said. "There is risk in these peripheral areas."

The researchers repeated the experiments with university students in Floridawho are notably more experienced with actual hurricaneswith collaborators Amelia Warden, a CSU graduate student, and Lisa Blalock, a psychology faculty member at University of West Florida. The results were strikingly similar to the study conducted in Fort Collins. This parity indicates that the visual impression from the cone of uncertainty is so strong that it overcomes even prior knowledge of how hurricane forecasts work.

"It's hard to resist that visual impression," Witt said.

The experimental results with the Florida students are accepted as a conference paper at the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society meeting in October, where Witt and Clegg will present their findings.

The researchers think their findings could not only help decisionmakers and the public better prepare for hurricane landfalls, but also help improve trust in forecasting.

Explore further Interpreting hurricane forecast displays can be difficult for general public

More information: Witt, J. K. et al, Dynamic ensemble visualizations to support understanding for uncertain trajectories. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied (2021). Journal information: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied Witt, J. K. et al, Dynamic ensemble visualizations to support understanding for uncertain trajectories.(2021). DOI: 10.1037/xap0000370
A medical worker administers a shot of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine at a vaccination center in Gostinny Dvor, a huge exhibition place in Moscow, Russia, Monday, July 12, 2021. Russia has been facing a sharp rise of contagions in recent weeks, with daily new infections increasing from around 9,000 in early June to over 25,000 on Friday. Credit: AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin

Russia's sovereign fund on Tuesday announced a deal with a top Indian vaccine manufacturer to produce the Russia-designed Sputnik V vaccine.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund, or RDIF, said its deal with the Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, envisions annual production of more than 300 million doses of the vaccine in India starting in September.

"This strategic partnership is a major step to substantially increase our production capabilities demonstrating a perfect example of joining forces and expertise to save lives both in India and around the world," RDIF chief executive Kirill Dmitriev said in a statement.

The RDIF, which bankrolled Sputnik V and markets it abroad, has previously negotiated Sputnik V production deals with manufacturers in several countries, including India, South Korea, Brazil, China, Turkey, as well as Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Russia gave Sputnik V regulatory approval in August 2020, raising criticism at home and abroad because it had only been tested on a few dozen people at the time. However, the criticism was blunted by a report in the British medical journal The Lancet earlier this year that said large-scale testing showed it to be safe, with an efficacy rate of 91%.

People wait in line for a COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Gostinny Dvora huge exhibition place in Moscow, Russia, Monday, July 12, 2021, the banner, center, reads "Let's win COVID-19 together!". Russia has been facing a sharp rise of contagions in recent weeks, with daily new infections increasing from around 9,000 in early June to over 25,000 on Friday. Credit: AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin

President Vladimir Putin revealed last month that he had received the Sputnik V vaccine earlier this year.

"With high efficacy and a good safety profile, it is critical that the Sputnik vaccine is accessible in full measure for people across India and the world," said Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of the Serum Institute of India.

Dmitriev said that Sputnik V vaccines manufactured by the Serum Institute of India will be supplied to the Indian market and also be exported to more than 60 countries that have registered for the Russian vaccine.

The announcement came as coronavirus deaths in Russia hit another daily record Tuesday with authorities reporting 780 more fatalities amid a continuing surge in infections.

Russia's coronavirus task force reported 24,702 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday. The daily tally of confirmed infections has soared from around 9,000 in early June to over 23,000 in early July.

A medical worker administers a shot of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine at a vaccination center in Gostinny Dvor, a huge exhibition place in Moscow, Russia, Monday, July 12, 2021. Russia has been facing a sharp rise of contagions in recent weeks, with daily new infections increasing from around 9,000 in early June to over 25,000 on Friday. Credit: AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin

A man, center left, holds his arm after receiving a shot of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine at a vaccination center in Gostinny Dvor, a huge exhibition place in Moscow, Russia, Monday, July 12, 2021. Russia has been facing a sharp rise of contagions in recent weeks, with daily new infections increasing from around 9,000 in early June to over 25,000 on Friday. Credit: AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin

A man holds his arm after receiving a shot of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine at a vaccination center in Gostinny Dvor, a huge exhibition place in Moscow, Russia, Monday, July 12, 2021. Russia has been facing a sharp rise of contagions in recent weeks, with daily new infections increasing from around 9,000 in early June to over 25,000 on Friday. Credit: AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin

A couple fill documents before receiving a shot of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine at a vaccination center in Gostinny Dvor, a huge exhibition place in Moscow, Russia, Monday, July 12, 2021. Russia has been facing a sharp rise of contagions in recent weeks, with daily new infections increasing from around 9,000 in early June to over 25,000 on Friday. Credit: AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin

People wait in line for a COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Gostinny Dvor, a huge exhibition place in Moscow, Russia, Monday, July 12, 2021. Russia has been facing a sharp rise of contagions in recent weeks, with daily new infections increasing from around 9,000 in early June to over 25,000 on Friday. Credit: AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin

A medical worker prepares to give an injection of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine at a vaccination center in Gostinny Dvor, a huge exhibition place in Moscow, Russia, Monday, July 12, 2021. Russia has been facing a sharp rise of contagions in recent weeks, with daily new infections increasing from around 9,000 in early June to over 25,000 on Friday. Credit: AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin

Officials have attributed a steady rise in infections and an increase in mortality on Russians' lax attitude toward taking precautions, the growing prevalence of the more contagious delta variant and vaccination reluctance.

Authorities have sought to boost vaccinations which have remained at a lower rate than in many Western countries.

As of Tuesday, about 27 million Russians, or just 18.5% of the 146 million strong population, have received at least one shot of a vaccine, and 18.5 million, or 12.6%, have been fully vaccinated.

Explore further Indian firm to make 200 mn doses of Russia's Sputnik V

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Scotland will partially ease some of its coronavirus restrictions from next week, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Tuesday, but unlike in England, insisted face coverings should remain for the foreseeable future.

The decision of the devolved parliament in Edinburgh to go slower than the UK government in London, which sets health policy in England, creates different rules north and south of the border.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Health Secretary Sajid Javid have announced that all coronavirus curbs will be removed on Monday, but scientists have warned the move is too fast, and could see infection rates spiral.

Scottish National Party leader Sturgeon in particular was critical of Johnson's plan to end mandatory mask-wearing, which has become a political issue and stoked anger within his own party.

"If government believes measures like this matterand this government doeswe should say so, we should do what is necessary to ensure compliance," she told lawmakers.

"And we should be prepared to take any resulting flak from those who disagree.

"We shouldn't lift important restrictions to make our lives easier and then expect the public to take responsibility for doing the right thing."

Johnson has appealed for "common sense" on what some British media have dubbed "freedom day", shifting the onus from government "diktat" to personal responsibility.

Javid has conceded infection rates could surge to 100,000 a day in the coming months but is putting his faith in increasing vaccination rates to prevent that translating into more hospital admissionsand deaths.

Sturgeon said the mandatory wearing of face coverings "will remain in place, not just now but in all likelihood for some time to come" to help protect the most vulnerable.

"This is a time for continued caution," she added.

Under the new rules in Scotland, indoor gathering restrictions in homes will be relaxed from Monday and up to 10 individuals from four households will be able to meet in public indoor spaces like pubs and restaurants.

However, plans for workers to return to offices will be postponed until August 9, when all legally required COVID restrictions are expected to be finally scrapped.

Nightclubs will remain closed under the Level 0 restrictions and pubs operating indoors will have to close at midnightan hour later than currently.

Johnson has been criticised for reacting too slowly to the outbreak last year, of repeatedly hesitating in imposing lockdown restrictions and lifting curbs too early.

Explore further Johnson: England to lift last virus restrictions on July 19

 2021 AFP
This graphical abstract shows antibody responses to Sputnik V vaccine in Argentina. On the top, schematic representation of the two-component adenovirus based vaccine (rAD26 and rAD5) Sputnik V. Bottom, IgG antibody levels measured by International Units and SARS CoV-2 Neutralizing Titers in vaccinated naive (seronegative, blue) and previously infected (seropositive, red) volunteers. There is a high seroconversion rate following the first dose in naive individuals. In previously infected participants, a single dose of Sputnik V elicits a fast and robust antibody response without apparent benefit from a second dose. Credit: Rossi and Ojeda et al./Cell Reports Medicine

A single dose of the Sputnik V vaccine may elicit significant antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2, finds a study published July 13 in the journal Cell Reports Medicine.

"Due to limited vaccine supply and uneven vaccine distribution in many regions of the world, health authorities urgently need data on the immune response to vaccines to optimize vaccination strategies," says senior author Andrea Gamarnik of the Fundacion Instituto Leloir-CONICET in Buenos Aires, Argentina. "The peer-reviewed data we present provide information for guiding public health decisions in light of the current global health emergency."

Past research has shown that two doses of Sputnik V results in 92% efficacy against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by SARS-CoV-2. An important question is whether a single dose would achieve greater public health benefit than two doses by allowing protection of a larger population more quickly.

Evidence from other vaccines offers support for the one-shot approach. The AstraZeneca vaccine shows 76% efficacy after a single dose, and the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines may induce sufficient immunity in previously infected individuals after one dose, with no apparent benefit of an additional dose.

In the Cell Reports Medicine study, Gamarnik and her colleagues compared the effects of one and two shots of Sputnik V on SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody responses in 289 healthcare workers in Argentina. Three weeks after the second dose, all volunteers with no prior infection generated virus-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodiesthe most common type of antibody found in blood.

But even within three weeks of receiving the first dose, 94% of these participants developed IgG antibodies against the virus, and 90% showed evidence of neutralizing antibodies, which interfere with the ability of viruses to infect cells.

Additional results showed that IgG and neutralizing antibody levels in previously infected participants were significantly higher after one dose than those in fully vaccinated volunteers with no history of infection. A second dose did not increase the production of neutralizing antibodies in previously infected volunteers.

"This highlights the robust response to vaccination of previously infected individuals, suggesting that naturally acquired immunity might be enhanced sufficiently by a single dose, in agreement with recent studies using mRNA vaccines," Gamarnik says.

Further studies are needed to evaluate the duration of the immune response and to assess how antibody levels relate to vaccine protection against COVID-19. "Evidence based on quantitative information will guide vaccine deployment strategies in the face of worldwide vaccine supply restriction," Gamarnik says.

Explore further One vaccine dose enough for COVID-19 survivors

More information: Andres H. Rossi et al, Sputnik V Vaccine Elicits Seroconversion and Neutralizing Capacity to SARS CoV-2 after a Single Dose, Cell Reports Medicine (2021). Journal information: Cell Reports Medicine Andres H. Rossi et al, Sputnik V Vaccine Elicits Seroconversion and Neutralizing Capacity to SARS CoV-2 after a Single Dose,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2021.100359
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Early in Dr. Michael McKee's career, one of his patients, who was deaf, died from a heart attack. It led him to study how to prevent it from happening to others.

That tragic event might not have happened, he said, if there had been "accessible community health education programs to allow for deaf individuals to learn ways to improve their health and to recognize common danger signs of serious health conditions."

So, in 2008, he led a small study to pinpoint how to best improve cardiovascular disease education in the deaf community. Published a few years later in Disability and Health Journal, the research found significant gaps in knowledge about cardiovascular health, from a lack of awareness about stroke to confusion about medications.

"Unfortunately, little (research) has focused on deaf individuals, notably signers," said McKee, a family medicine physician at the Deaf Health Clinic at the University of Michigan's Dexter Health Center.

Because of communication and language barriers, experts say research continues to be scant about cardiovascular health knowledge in the deaf community. And health professionals lack cultural awareness or familiarity with the unique needs of this underserved community.

But technology has been a great equalizer.

Dr. Gary Kaufman, medical director of Sinai Chicago's Deaf Health and Sinai Medical Group's Antillas Health Center, said the internet has "dramatically improved the interface between deaf individuals and the health system." They're able to access text and American Sign Language, or ASL, videos for valuable health information.

For example, researchers at the University of Michigan are working on a music video in which members of the deaf community perform a song about how to recognize the classic signs of a strokeface drooping, arm weakness and speech difficulty. The initial work appeared last fall in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Video calls on smartphones have enabled people to access an ASL interpreter. It's a big improvement over a telecommunications device for the deaf, or TDD. That device looked like a typewriter with a small readout for communicating over the phone, which proved tedious because of the lagging responses from both parties. McKee said it also forced people who are deaf to communicate in writing, which some may struggle with, rather than in sign language.

Kaufman, who also has researched cardiovascular disease knowledge in the deaf community, said people who are deaf can fall victim to misinformation that's further spread by "less access to casual relations," meaning the deaf community doesn't have easy access to medical information either actively by talking or passively by overhearing a conversation.

In other words, someone who can hear has easy access to information via TV, the internet and family and friends. Someone who is deaf, on the other hand, is limited to their insular social group.

This can be "analogous to an echo chamber," Kaufman said.

That results in lower health literacy, McKee said, which is a major barrier to good heart health. He led a 2015 study published in the Journal of Health Communication that found people who are deaf are seven times more likely to have inadequate health literacy compared to people who can hear.

Improving the deaf community's access to heart and brain health information should start at the doctor's office, Kaufman said. That starts with making health platforms accessible to the deaf community. And health care professionals can help close the knowledge gaps by becoming more comfortable with, and taking advantage of, technology.

For example, doctors' offices could offer patients who are deaf an online or text option to book appointments, request prescription refills or get test results, according to tips published by researchers in the British Journal of General Practice. During appointments, doctors should ensure interpreter services to ASL users as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act; use visual props and drawings; and face the patient when speaking. Health care providers also could benefit from deaf culture sensitivity training.

"Clinicians who embrace technology realize they will be more efficient and accurate in managing the patient's needs by using technology tools," Kaufman said.

Free community health programs for the deaf community can help bridge the remaining gaps, McKee said. For example, his university hosts Deaf Health Talks, a monthly livestream series conducted in ASL. And the nonprofit Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Losses has a COVID-19 resource page specifically for the deaf community.

Additionally, he said, health care information should be geared not just to hearing people but also to the deaf community.

"There are precious few health information videos in sign language," McKee said. "There needs to be better support from our health care systems and government to provide funding and effort to create these resources."

Explore further New education 'hubs' for Deaf children needed to replace social spaces lost when specialist schools close
Mean predicted deaths due to the 10 Vaccine Impact Modelling Consortium (VIMC) pathogens per 100,000 population per country for years 2000 - 2019 under the no vaccination and with vaccination (routine immunisations; RI only) scenarios. Countries are arranged by World Health Organization (WHO) African (AFRO), Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO), European (EURO), Pan American (PAHO), South- East Asian (SEARO) and Western Pacific (WPRO) regions. Credit: Imperial College London

Vaccinations given in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in the last 20 years will prevent 50 million deaths from infectious diseases.

New research, led by the Vaccine Impact Modelling Consortium, including researchers at Imperial College London, assessed the impact of vaccination activities against 10 infectious diseases across 112 countries.

The team say that success is expected to continue, with a further 47 million deaths predicted to be prevented by vaccination given between 2020 and 2030, if progress is sustained.

This would mean 97 million deaths in LMICs would be prevented by vaccination occurring between 2000 and 2030.

The majority (52 million) of deaths averted would be children under the age of five.

However, the researchers warn that COVID-19 has disrupted vaccine activities and could lead to a decline in coverage.

The study, published in eLife, is the largest assessment of vaccine impact before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the impact caused by the COVID-19 is difficult to assess so far, the researchers say that there are likely to be delays to vaccine activities as health services are disrupted.

Vaccine impact on 10 deadly diseases

The diseases the researchers looked at included measles, hepatitis B, human papillomavirus (HPV), yellow fever, Haemophilus influenzae type b, Streptococcus pneumoniae, rubella, rotavirus, Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A, and Japanese encephalitis.

If vaccination efforts continue as planned until 2030, the team estimate that 47 million deaths from measles would be averted. The next highest was hepatitis B with 29 million deaths averted and HPV was third with 6.6 million deaths averted.

The study builds on previous work and the team have used new and updated models to better understand the uncertainty ranges for many of the pathogens.

The result of this is that future impact has reduced for measles and hepatitis B and impact in general has reduced for yellow fever. In terms of HPV, the impact has increased when the researchers examined impact by birth cohort as the coverage scenario used by the consortium for this publication is more optimistic than its predecessor.

The Vaccine Impact Modelling Consortium is funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Long-term benefits of vaccination activities

Professor Neil Ferguson says that "vaccine programs are making an extraordinary impact in low- and middle-income countries around the world. Millions of lives have been saved already, with the majority being children under the age of five. This research shows that we have the opportunity to protect many more people over the next decade from deadly diseases. This should encourage global efforts to support immunization programs and not leave populations vulnerable to infectious diseases in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic."

Dr. Katy Gaythorpe says that their "study demonstrates the staggering effect of immunization before the pandemic and the long-term benefits of vaccination activities. We also show what the benefits could have been in a world without SARS-CoV-2. It is critical that we continue vaccine efforts against infectious diseases whilst tackling the ongoing threat of COVID-19."

Dr. Jaspreet Toor says that "prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, our study shows the immense progress vaccination activities have had with 50 million lives saved by vaccinations given between 2000-2019. Without COVID-19, millions more were projected to be saved over the next decade. This highlights the importance of sustaining and improving vaccination coverage as we continue to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic globally."

More information: Jaspreet Toor et al, Lives saved with vaccination for 10 pathogens across 112 countries in a pre-COVID-19 world, eLife (2021). Journal information: eLife Jaspreet Toor et al, Lives saved with vaccination for 10 pathogens across 112 countries in a pre-COVID-19 world,(2021). DOI: 10.7554/eLife.67635
Study author Xuan Lin, a PhD student in civil engineering is holding a frozen wastewater RNA sample that is used for sequencing. Credit: Paul Joseph

Wastewater testing can accurately and rapidly identify levels of COVID-19 infections in the community, including the rise of variants of concern, suggests new research led by UBC professor Dr. Ryan Ziels.

Ziels and his colleagues analyzed sewage samples from five municipal wastewater plants in the Metro Vancouver region during a period of increased COVID-19 case counts, from February to April 2021.

The results, described online in preprint at medrxiv, showed that viral concentrations in wastewater collected from the Vancouver region closely tracked the numbers of clinical cases in the region.

The researchers, which included Ph.D. civil engineering student Xuan Lin, also found that the frequency of mutations associated with variants of concern in wastewater strongly correlated with trends in clinically diagnosed cases in the community.

In this Q&A, Dr. Ziels, an environmental engineering researcher who studies microbial ecology, discusses the research findingsand how genomics testing of wastewater can inform disease surveillance and management strategies.

How did you become involved in this research?

I have been researching genomics sequencing of wastewater for several years and when the pandemic broke, I decided to apply this knowledge to understanding the SARS-CoV-2 virus in collaboration with other researchers. Our team includes environmental microbiologists, engineers, and epidemiologists (at UBC and BC CDC), and we were fortunate to collaborate with Metro Vancouver for our work.

Like many other diseases, the SARS-CoV-2 virus is shed in feces during infection, and viral genome fragments can be detected in municipal wastewater.

The big question was how we can detect these fragments rapidly and accurately in order to provide additional inputs into the public health toolkit?

What methods did you use to measure and monitor variants of concern in Metro Vancouver wastewater?

I'd previously developed a fast and accurate sequencing technique using handheld DNA sequencers, and with some modifications my team and I applied this platform to measure coronavirus genome fragments in wastewater samples from the Vancouver region.

What we're doing is similar to the work being by CanCOGeN, the Canadian COVID Genomics Networka consortium of Canadian federal, provincial and regional public health authorities, which is sequencing up to 150,000 viral genomes across Canada. But here, instead of sequencing patient samples, we are sequencing wastewater samples that collect input from entire populations within a region.

What were your key findings?

In terms of quantifying the amount of coronavirus genome fragments, we found a bit of an early signal compared to changes in hospitalizations or case numbers. This suggested that wastewater testing can provide some form of early warning.

With genome sequencing of wastewater, we can detect increases in mutations associated with variants of concern, and we provide this information to our health authorities as an additional aid in their public health strategies.

We are able to adapt our method to look for emerging variants and really get a snapshot of the entire region in one sample. Genome sequencing also allowed us to determine which sewer-sheds in Metro Vancouver the variants were becoming more dominant in.

Rapid sequencing of viral information allows us to provide very fast turnaroundwe provide reports to update our medical health officers in as little as three to four days from sample collection.

What are the implications for future pandemic testing and management?

There is growing research that wastewater sampling can be useful in understanding the extent of COVID-19 infections in communities. Our goal is to supplement, not replace, other testing epidemiology methods. Wastewater testing can be useful when clinical testing is difficult or lacking at a municipal scale.

We are also cooperating with the Canadian Water Network to establish a national working group that is sharing knowledge on wastewater monitoring. Such a national network can lead to reliable data as we advance towards re-opening of our economy.

Explore further Sequencing of wastewater can help monitor SARS-COV-2 variants

More information: Xuan Lin et al, Assessing multiplex tiling PCR sequencing approaches for detecting genomic variants of SARS-CoV-2 in municipal wastewater, medrxiv (2021). Xuan Lin et al, Assessing multiplex tiling PCR sequencing approaches for detecting genomic variants of SARS-CoV-2 in municipal wastewater,(2021). DOI: 10.1101/2021.05.26.21257861
Ambassador of Belarus A.Rzheussky meets the Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India

On July 9, 2021, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the Republic of India Andrei Rzheussky met with the Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India Reenat Sandhu.

During the meeting, the parties discussed the current state and prospects for the development of Belarusian-Indian relations in the political, trade and scientific-technical spheres, as well as the schedule of Belarusian-Indian contacts this year.

The interaction of the two countries within the framework of international organizations was considered separately.

The interlocutors expressed mutual satisfaction with the friendly and constructive nature of the Belarusian-Indian cooperation and noted their commitment to further expanding interaction on all issues of the bilateral agenda.

print version
Land managers across western Montana raised their fire danger ratings to extreme on Tuesday as hot, dry weather patterns entrenched over the border with Idaho.

Fire agencies in Missoula, Mineral and Ravalli counties have already confronted 227 wildfires this summer, three-quarters of which were human-caused. At least 45 have started in the past week.

With conditions already so dry and with no reprieve in sight, in addition to much needed resources already getting stretched thin with the local and national fire situation, it is critical that the public exercise caution while recreating outdoors, said Ashleigh Burwick, fire management officer for the Missoula Unit of the Department of Natural Resources & Conservations Southwestern Land Office.

The light breezes that cleared smoke Monday night out of the Missoula Valley may complicate matters for firefighters. Lolo National Forest officials have combined two multiple-fire efforts into a single complex covering the Montana-Idaho border between Lolo Pass and Thompson Falls. The Granite Pass Complex has burned about 1,100 acres and has grown by about 200 acres since Monday.
A Texas man was arrested Sunday as he checked in to a flight departing from Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport and charged with sexual assault of a minor on a flight from Austin to Bozeman on July 8.
A rise in shootings as New York City began to emerge from the pandemic helped propel a late charge for Adams, a black former police captain who rejects defund-the-police talk. Adams also says he would bring back a contentious plainclothes anti-crime unit that focused on getting guns off the streets, a unit that was disbanded amid charges that it used excessive force.

Adams beat more-liberal candidates, but his lifetime of speaking out against police misconduct and his blunt, working-class style make it difficult to pigeonhole him. He spoke frequently on the campaign trail of being beaten by police officers as a teenager and joining the force to reform it from within. And Adams, who appears to face only token Republican opposition this fall, was a founder of a group called 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care that fought against racial profiling and advocated for the hiring of more officers of color.

My request of the president was number one, to make sure that we use the money that has been allocated to deal with underlying causes, said Adams after Monday's meeting. "But he must have a plan thats prevention and intervention.

Adams, the current Brooklyn Borough president, said, "Other communities are waking up to an alarm clock while minority communities are waking up to gunshots, and this president said This is not good.
Its well known and scientifically documented that bull trout, Montanas largest native salmonid, require clean, cold and connected rivers and streams to survive. Thats why, in the midst of a record-breaking hot and dry summer, Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Friends of the Wild Swan and Save the Bull Trout are challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services inadequate Bull Trout Recovery Plan in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Bull Trout Recovery Plan would allow the federal government to remove bull trout from Endangered Species Act protections as long as only 147 individual populations go extinct out of 611 total populations. Yes, thats right. Even though bull trout had already lost 60% of their range when listed under the Endangered Species Act 20 years ago, the plan is to allow another 147 populations to go extinct. As the National Park Service noted in public comments against the plan, "Bull trout are a species that has already lost 60% of its historic range. Delisting after losing up to another 10% of that range is not a recovery plan. Instead, it is an extinction plan.
Outside the big cities, Missouri is very much Trump country. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that only 35% of the people in counties that voted for Donald Trump are vaccinated, versus nearly 47% in counties that went for Joe Biden. (Its thus not surprising that Staten Island, the only New York City borough to vote for Trump, has some of the highest infection rates in the city.)

And the Biden county vaccination numbers would be undoubtedly higher had they not included large Black and immigrant populations that are hesitant (the polite term) to take the vaccine. In parts of Central Brooklyn, for example, where many Caribbean immigrants worry  without scientific evidence  that the vaccine will hurt fertility, only one-third have gotten all their shots.

There is a habit among woke journalists to attribute the higher sickness rates to racism, but the reality is more complicated. In truth, rural whites in Trump Country have joined many poor people of color in fear of the vaccine or simple resistance to following informed advice.
The Butte School District experienced ripple effects from a massive ransomware attack on Florida-based software company Kaseya in early July but local consequences were limited, the district said.

We didnt have a high impact to the district, said Judy Jonart, school superintendent.

She said there were fewer people using computers when the attack unfolded July 2 because it was summer and also a holiday weekend. Most employees whose computer use was affected were back online by the end of last week, she said.

Jonart said it appears that none of the districts databases, including accounting data and student data, were compromised during the ransomware attack.

McAfee sent a patch immediately that we put on our servers, she said, referencing the software security firm.

Following our protocols, were in the process of doing an audit, she said, of computer systems, data and cybersecurity protections.

Jonart said the audit could cost $10,000 or so but said the district has cybersecurity insurance to help cover the cost.
Hed had surgery on his back once before in 2007 for a herniated disc.

One of the true advantages of the robotic navigation unit is in patients who require revision surgery, said Russo. A lot of times in the primary surgery, a lot of the anatomy that is utilized to help guide placement of hardware into the spine, is disrupted. It was disrupted in the first surgery for a reason, but now its no longer a reliable guide.

The robotic navigation unit gives Russo and his team an extra perspective to be able see the patients spines beyond the surface anatomy. Russo says it makes it significantly easier, less risky and quicker. A quicker surgery is safer and easier to recover from.

Gelling can attest to the smooth recovery. In addition to his walks, hes also been camping and riding ATVs since his surgery. Hell show you pictures of a snowdrift thats still 10 feet tall  even in June, and another one of a wolf track next to an elk track from the day he saw six wolves. He loves Butte for its proximity to the outdoors and its friendly people.

He knows the importance of prevention and learning how to move in a way that is safe for your body.
Over the last year, Neumann said, Montanans have struggled with the health, economic and social fallout form the pandemic. She said she understands those struggles, after her father died in a lumber mill accident when she was a baby and her stepfather had to commute all across the state as a union carpenter to support the family.

"In Congress, I will fight for good jobs and wages," Neumann said. "I think between my experience and my work on the frontlines, working with rural and Native families and communities, together with my own personal story of understanding what it's like to lose your parent, to have your parent have to drive across the state, and leave your beloved hometown ... Montanans know struggle but they also know how to overcome."

If elected, Neumann said she would work to bring a bipartisan approach to the job. She said she would fight to make sure the state is well-represented in things like the infrastructure bill now in the U.S. Senate.

"That is something that has the capacity to create really good jobs and bring good wages to Montana families," Neumann said. " ... My goal is to do as much as I can for my home state and I have the skills and background to really work across the aisle to get things done."
The June 25 suicide is the first since lawmakers overhauled the system and gave regulatory oversight to DPHHS in 2019, although it is the second suicide under the watch of program director Michele "Mickey" Manning, who was the principal at the now-shuttered Spring Creek Lodge in Thompson Falls when a 16-year-old girl killed herself at that program in 2004.

Manning declined to comment for this story. A group text among staff shared with the Montana State News Bureau shows Reflections Academy is cooperating with the investigation by speaking with representatives from child protective services.

The 17-year-old who died June 25 was an older sister and could barely speak English when her mother adopted the siblings from Russia. She had shown a natural skill for art and a love for animals during her time at Reflections Academy, according to those who spoke during her memorial at Community Congregational Church in Thompson Falls on July 1.

A long line of tearful teenage girls hugged and grieved with the girls mother at the memorial before filling the front and center chairs of the church. Manning sat near the back.

Another investigation
A key element of the Better Care Better Jobs Act is that it would allow elderly people and people with disabilities to maintain their independence at home, and not receive care at a live-in facility.

We saw the worst of this pandemic and how important it was to allow people to stay in their homes as opposed to them living in a facility where the virus often spreads really rapidly, Camarillo said.

Caregivers like Camarillo often lost hours and pay when apartment buildings for their clients were shut down due to COVID-19 outbreaks. As a result, her patients were unable to receive care.

(The Better Care Better Jobs Act) will not only provide for our most valuable population to be safe and have compassionate care, but its also going to create a lot of new jobs and improve the current ones that weve got, Camarillo said.

The impacts of homecare providers allows people with disabilities, like Jim Gibson of Missoula, to find jobs and maintain independence.

Gibson has worked with the University of Montana Dining Services for nearly two decades.
Support for BCSA

In 2017, Montanas outdoor recreation economy generated 7.1 billion dollars. Two years later, Montana Senator Jon Tester introduced the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act (BCSA), a piece of federal legislation to bolster Montanas economy by protecting 80,000 acres of land for conservation, recreation, and restoration. 98% of Montanans believe that outdoor recreation is important to Montanas economic future. With thousands of acres dedicated to snowmobiling, mountain biking, hiking, and fishing, the BCSA is a tangible step toward further sustaining this valuable resource.

If passed by the US Senate, the BCSA would support a 15 year coalition of ranchers, loggers, conservationists, outfitters, timber companies, local citizens, businesses, and outdoor enthusiasts. Given the current state of political polarization, this range of supporters is almost unprecedented. The impetus behind this nonpartisan support are the BCSAs multifaceted components, including development of Montanas National Forest System land, additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System, and recreation land designation. It will also permanently protect the Blackfoot Rivers important tributaries and amplify forest restoration and sustainable timber harvesting.
MUSCATINE  A longtime Muscatine resident has recently finished his first book promising that any problem can be eliminated within a week.

Leonard C. Sloat, a longtime consultant with a variety of businesses worldwide, as well as a previous 40-year resident of Muscatine, has recently self-published the book "Now & Then." He said it is about problem solving for mid-sized to large corporations. He said it is a system for business results and success. He said the idea is to determine the problem, eliminate the root of the problem, and sustain the elimination once it is in place.

This system will help any corporation and even carry over to personal issues within families, he said.

Years of experience with corporations, including HON Industries, was the inspiration for Sloat to write the book. He left HON to work as a consultant for many corporations in the U.S., Europe and Japan.

Sloat said he had pursued a consulting career because it is an extension of engineering. He said that he hoped to take the elements of productivity and culture change into larger corporations to help them make a difference. He said everything he did was top-down driven.
Many Democrats have expressed frustration with the lack of a greater White House push to change the filibuster, with civil rights activists stressing that Biden was elected with broad support from Black people whose votes are often put at risk by voting restrictions.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who attended Bidens address, called it a good speech, but also said, I told him that I was going to stay on him about the filibuster." He described Biden as noncommittal on the issue.

Biden, himself a veteran of the Senate, has offered some support for filibuster changes. But he has not put his full political weight behind the issue, believing it counterproductive in both the legislative and political fights over voting. He and Harris met last week with some of the civil rights leaders, who made clear that they expected a legislative solution.

Our backs are against the wall. This is the moment. We have no more time, said Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, after the meeting. I told the president: We will not be able to litigate our way out of this threat to Black citizenship.
We were so convinced about what we were doing to go free Cuba that nobody complained, Diaz Arguelles remembered.

He said Mora, a radio operator in the brigade's Battalion 3, was lively and popular and always talking about every subject you can think of.

When training ended in April 1961 and the fighters headed to Cuba, they realized they werent getting the help theyd been promised by the U.S. military, including aerial support and a navy armada, Diaz Arguelles said. Roughly 1,400 men were transported from a Nicaraguan port in rusty merchant cargo ships to the Bay of Pigs on Cubas southern coast, then had to climb down ropes in the dark to board 18-foot aluminum boats from Sears and reach the beach  while under fire, because Castro had learned of the invasion in advance.

There was no time to get scared, said Diaz Arguelles, whose boat sank after hitting a reef, forcing him to swim ashore with a mortar tube and two boxes of ammo.

President John F. Kennedy, who authorized the mission barely three months into his term, had canceled a second planned airstrike after U.S. support for the April 17, 1961, invasion became known, according to the JFK Library.
Various industry representative bodies have warned that the food security of South Africa is at risk if the looting and violence in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng are not stopped.

Among those sounding the alarm are the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA), Agri SA, and the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Looters are targeting retail shops including liquor stores and have stolen merchandise which includes foodstuffs, electrical products and clothing, the CGCSA said in a statement.

CGCSA is particularly concerned about the potential impact of the disruptions on food security in the country and various supply chain issues. This is because factories will not be able to produce, resulting in food shortages, which will affect the most vulnerable and poor most.

The Consumer Goods Council said it is also concerned that small and independent retailers are being targeted.

Where will people in townships get food when everything is destroyed? the industry body said.

The loss to retailers, including the cost of damage to property and delivery vehicles, runs into millions of rand and has already severely affected their operations. The potential impact on business viability and job security is also a serious cause for concern.

CGCSA said that although the ability to protest peacefully is a constitutional right, when it degenerates into violence, destruction of property, and business disruption, it should be firmly dealt with by the law enforcement agencies.

It welcomed the strong condemnation of the violence by President Ramaphosa and the decision by the government to deploy the South Africa National Defence Force (SANDF) in the affected areas to assist the police.

This will send a clear message that lawlessness will not be tolerated neither will be any attempt to disrupt economic and social life through violence and looting, the CGCSA stated.

CGCSA said it is worried that the disruption to business activity and destruction of commercial property will further delay the economys recovery from successive Covid-19 lockdown restrictions and affect the already fragile investor and business confidence in South Africa.

The fact that the government has extended the lockdown for another 14 days, with liquor sales remaining banned, is not helping the situation and will worsen the financial crisis facing liquor retailers and those in the value chain, it warned.

Agri SA further warned that the violence and looting were affecting agriculture amidst the peak citrus production season. Large volumes of citrus to the value of approximately R592 million have to be transported weekly to the Durban harbour, the organisation said.

Any disruption could lead to financial losses for producers and will prevent the products from reaching international markets on time, said Agri SA president Pierre Vercueil.

Vercueil said that Agri SA has also received reports that sugarcane fields and other crops have been set alight in KwaZulu-Natal. Producers are unable to extinguish the fires as they fear for their lives.

The situation has also affected livestock farmers whose feedstocks have been set alight, while various sawmills have also been closed, the organisation stated.

Further reports indicate that the police cannot provide producers with the necessary protection and in some instances do not know how to deal with the situation, said Vercueil.

Vercueil said that the situation in South Africa no longer has anything to do with peaceful protest but is being exploited to destroy the countrys infrastructure and threaten the lives of ordinary citizens.

Agri SA appealed to the Presidency to declare a national state of emergency to bring an end to the riots.

The looting of shops, stoning of cars, blocking of roads, burning of trucks and crops as well as theft of livestock are posing a serious threat to food security in the country, said Christo van der Rheede, executive director of Agri SA.

South Africa runs the risk of people not being able to buy or access food. This will lead to hunger and starvation on a national scale, which in turn will fuel even more social unrest and mayhem.

Van der Rheede said it is clear that criminals have no regard for law and order and that they will loot, destroy and steal non-stop until there is nothing left.

Nigel Ward, president of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, echoed the sentiment but called for President Ramaphosa to declare the province a state of disaster rather than a national state of emergency.

This disruptive activity is damaging to the economic infrastructure. The threat to food security should be taken very seriously, Ward said.

Producers of essential foods have now decided to temporarily shut down. Their onsite factories have had to stop production, due to the non-movement of stock, from Friday. This has had an impact on job security and livelihoods; as workers will have to stay home, be placed on short time or even retrenched.

Ward said that this is a national crisis.

No food means more poverty in our country  we are already dealing with the poverty that has been caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the job security threat will increase the numbers of crime statistics.

Ward said that the logistics sector as it stands had been hit severely.

The number of trucks that have been burnt over the past two days have caused other business owners in the industry to decide to ground their trucks for the safety of their employees and the protection of their businesses.

Main image credit: Masego Mafata, GroundUp, CC BY-ND 4.0
This is a situation every bit as serious as a pandemic, Ellsworth said. We all have to work together.

Penalties range from $10 to $250 per hundred cubic feet, depending on how much a customer exceeds their ration.

Of the 900 accounts that exceeded their rations, 337 faced penalties of $100 or less. However, 290 customers incurred more than $10,000 in penalties. Just two customers racked up a combined $421,023 in penalties. The city hasn't identified any of the accounts.

Water leaks account for 136 of the customers who exceeded their rations and more than $1 million in penalties. The citys Water Advisory Board could reduce some of those leak-related penalties on a case-by-case basis.

A few members of the public criticized the council's forgiveness program for being too lenient, especially toward commercial customers who exceeded their rations.

"This is a slap in the face to all the people in our city who have tried to recognize how important this issue is," said Tom Belt.

Nancy Dervin said it would be "unconscionable" to "reward water abusers."
In the fall of 2015, Park Ranger Sandy Jones was hesitant about allowing a wedding to take place at the old Bale Grist Mill, in Bothe-Napa State Park. In preparation, the large water wheel was chained so it wouldnt turn, preventing the temptation for children to climb on it.

All was going well until the overhead flume, which carries water to the wheel, broke with a tremendous crash.

Little did Jones know that the unfortunate event would lead to a long, skillful, and loving restoration of the 175-year-old Napa Valley landmark. And, reflecting the community hub it originally served as for early settlers, the mill on July 10 was once again a gathering place for the community to celebrate the mills anniversary and the restoration of its water wheel.

To put things in perspective, the Upvalley mill was completed before California was granted statehood, and is one of only two that are operational in the U.S.

This is the jewel in the crown of Napa Valley, said District Director Tracy Krumpen, standing in for Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry and Rep. Mike Thompson. Krumpen also said the mill will be honored with a place in the Congressional Record.
Assemblyman Mark Stone, D-Scotts Valley, introduced the law in 2019, citing California's lawsuit.

"California will keep pushing increased consumer protections because we understand that student loans not only affect the lives of borrowers, but have radiating negative effects throughout the economy," Stone said in a statement when he introduced the law.

What will this law mean for borrowers?

The law requires providers to act in the best interest of the borrowers. That means if you paid more than what you were supposed to on your loan, that overpayment should go toward reducing your principal debt  not toward the interests on your next loan payment.

Providers also have to minimize their fees.

For instance, you may have four loans, each with a monthly repayment of $100, for a total of $400. You may decide only to pay $200 on time this month.

Previously, providers could spread $200 across your four loans, charging late fees on all of them. Now, they are required to apply those $200 to pay off two of your loans, meaning you're only charged late fees on the two you didn't pay on time.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  Hundreds of volunteers and officials using drones, aircraft, and off-road vehicles searched Tuesday for a man who went for a run in the San Francisco Bay Area and didn't return home.

Philip Kreycik, 37, left his Berkeley home Saturday morning and drove to the Pleasanton hills to go for a one-hour run. When he didnt return home by the afternoon, his wife called the authorities.

Kreyciks cellphone and ID were found inside his vehicle parked in a lot off Moller Ranch Drive. He is known to wear a smartwatch but the device only has GPS capability when near his phone.

Crews were on their fourth day of searching and officials again used airplanes equipped with infrared technology to detect Kreycik from above to no avail.

When you look at the different contingencies, the assessment of the entire operation of the last four days, we have come to two conclusions; he's either incapacitated within the search zone and we can't find him or he is not here, he is somewhere else, said Sgt. Ray Kelly, a spokesman with the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, one of the many agencies searching for Kreycik.
Diana Holcomb and her dog, Bunny, had just set out for a walk when a coyote attacked a few feet from the front door of her California home

"It was waiting for us," Holcomb told The Mercury News. "We were ambushed. My little dog  I always told her I would protect her. I couldn't protect her. I couldn't do anything."

The coyote snapped Bunny's neck, killing her. It's one of at least 10 attacks on dogs by coyotes at The Villages, a 55+ community in Silicon Valley, according to the publication.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. Special offer: $1 for your first 3 months!

Some residents are arming themselves when they take their dogs out, KNTV reported in November.

"We've got the dogs on a short leash in this hand and the bat in this hand," resident Karen Peters told the station. Others said they don't let their dogs outside anymore.

"Living under fear, or with fear, in your own home is horrible. Really horrible," resident Darlene Frick told The Mercury News.

Tim Sutherland, general manager of The Villages, called it an "ongoing co-existence battle," KGO reported. He said the coyotes have lost their fear of humans.
Kreyche noted that the 127 sets of remains found during the first half of this year are far higher than the 96 bodies recovered during the same period last year. This year's six-month recovery toll also is higher than that of all of 2017, when 123 sets of remains were found near Arizona's border with Mexico.

Exposure is the most commonly listed cause of death.

Texas officials say they also have seen an increase in migrant deaths this year.

The Brooks County Sheriff's Department in southern Texas last month reported 36 migrant deaths in the first five months of 2021, more than all of last year.

The growing number of recovered bodies comes as border officials warn of increased dangers as temperatures soar this summer.

Although most migrants now cross through Texas, decades of enforcement there and in California pushes many others into hostile areas of Arizona where water and food is unavailable.

The U.S. Border Patrol's Yuma Sector gathered reporters this month just feet from the U.S.-Mexico border at the Colorado River to emphasize the risks migrants take crossing the Sonoran Desert.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  The California Department of Public Health has updated its coronavirus rules for public schools.

The new rules apply recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with some modifications.

MASKS STILL REQUIRED, BUT NOT DISTANCING

All teachers and students must wear masks while indoors. But they don't have to stay at least 3 feet (0.9 meters) away from each other.

The rules' stated goal is to make sure as many students can attend full-time, in-person instruction as possible. State officials worried some schools would have had trouble accommodating all of their students with the physical distancing rule. So they got rid of it, in exchange for everyone wearing a mask.

Initially, the state said school districts should send students home if they refused to wear a mask. But Monday evening, the department posted a tweet saying it would clarify its rules so school districts could make their own decisions about enforcing the mask rules.
Whats the equitable way to resolve this? Heres one suggestion: Lower the excess power price paid to new rooftop owners, but not enough to remove the incentive to install. Dont mess with what current rooftop owners are paid  that would be breaking promises made to them by the state.

This kind of compromise would save other consumers a bit on their rates, while also not forcing them to subsidize as many new transmission lines and the huge profits they bring the utilities.

Will anyone listen to this kind of reasoning?

Probably not. For the labor union and utility lobbyists pushing for less rooftop energy and more new transmission lines want to remove all incentive to install panels. They usually dont have to work very hard to get their way with the PUC.

And if thats the inclination of the PUCs five commissioners, there wont be much consumers can do about it. Many of those consumers successfully lobbied legislators to kill AB 1139, but the PUC is not subject to the same tactic because its members serve fixed six-year terms and are all but impossible to remove.

Which means the death of the latest inept Gonzalez bill was likely only a Pyrrhic victory for consumers  they won the immediate battle but are quite likely to ultimately lose this war.

Thomas D. Elias writes the syndicated California Focus column. He is author of the book, The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Governments Campaign to Squelch It.
The article stated, that no complaints have been filed, but due to the anonymous tip, the Planning Division is now planning to contact the property owner about complying with Napas city sign codes.

The article went into great detail describing the location of the home, the signs that were posted in March of 2019 on Google Street view, and the name of the homeowner and the caller ID listing. It was almost as though, the Register wanted to incite violence against this homeowner, by printing all of this information on the front page of the paper?

The end of the article went onto say that the Register contacted the homeowner, at which time the homeowner defended his free speech rights. At one point, the homeowner withdrew his permission to be quoted, however, the journalist said that he never made such promises and quoted him anyway. I realize that news organizations do not need anyones permission to quote them, however, in this instance I find this type of journalism to be very shady and unprofessional.

The Register was treating this law-abiding citizen like a criminal. The United States of America is a republic with a constitution with freedoms, including freedom of speech and the right to bear arms.

Sergio Novak

Napa
The Greek society is outraged that their country's ambassador to Azerbaijan has joined an Azerbaijani propaganda tour in the occupied regions of historically Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), Greek City Times reported.

Greek Ambassador to Baku Nikos Piperigos joined a propaganda tour for over 40 diplomats organised by the Azerbaijani regime to recently captured areas of historically-demographically Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh.

It is recalled that only last year during the ceremony of handing over the Ambassadors credentials, Azerbaijani dictator Ilham Aliyev said: I can tell you, and it is no secret, that Turkey is not only our friend and partner, but also a brotherly country for us. Without any hesitation whatsoever, we support Turkey and will support it under any circumstances. We support them [Turkey] in all issues, including the issue in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Yet, despite Ambassador Piperigos being told blatantly by the Azerbaijani dictator that his country will blindly support Turkey in their attempts to steal Greek maritime rights in the Eastern Mediterranean, he still joined the propaganda tour on the weekend.

However, the Greek public are now outraged that Ambassador Piperigos joined the propaganda tour organised by the Azerbaijani regime, especially since the U.S., Russian and French Ambassadors refused to join.

The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Pakistan issued a joint declaration in January following the Second Round of Trilateral Dialogue of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, which was held in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. In the joint declaration they reaffirmed to support each others territorial ambitions against Greece, Armenia and India.

Although Azerbaijan does not recognise the illegal entity known by Turkey as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, its Nakhichevan autonomous region does in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 541 and UN Security Council Resolution 550.

Decisionmakers in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku for now have not officially recognised the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus out of fear that Greece and Cyprus can retaliate by recognising Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent republic.

It then begs the question why Ambassador Piperigos joined a propaganda tour of the captured areas of Nagorno-Karabakh, especially when his American, Russian and French counterparts refused to do so.

Ambassador Piperigos has not responded to any requests for answers made by social media users.

The Greek Foreign Ministry did not respond to questions sent by Greek City Times at the time of publication, Greek City Times wrote, in particular.
Funeral of Karabakh hero Artur Aghasyan held in Martuni

Armenia's newly elected parliament to hold first session on July 26

Armenia acting PM hosts CEO of Flagship Pioneering and Moderna Therapeutics Noubar Afeyan

37-year-old citizen of Armenia parks car and jumps off bridge

Armenian analyst on Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem's pressure on Armenia and Russia's and Turkey's presence

168.am reports on the judges of Armenia Constitutional Court who supported or were against decision on elections

5.1 magnitude earthquake hits California's north coast

Armenian human rights activist on the opposition and the Constitutional Court's decision on snap elections

Araghchi: Vienna talks have to wait until next Iranian government takes charge

Florida man hits live alligator and tries to throw it onto buildings roof

132 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Three-headed baby born in India

Opposition party to appeal Armenia Constitutional Court's decision on snap elections in ECHR

One nation, 3 states: Azerbaijan delegation in Northern Cyprus for first time

Assad inauguration held in Syria

POWs who returned to Armenia from Azerbaijan are questioned

Two more members of opposition Armenia bloc apprehended

Pashinyan: Strengthening the Armenia southern regions resistance is one of EU 2.6bn assistance programs

Armenia acting PM: We are ready to start negotiations according to OSCE Minsk Groups co-chairs statement

Germany floods death toll rises to more than 130

Charles Michel: Useful to be able to withdraw Armenian, Azerbaijani armed forces from disputed territories

Adjacent areas closed off before European Council President leaves Armenia government building

Armenia Police: 16 people apprehended today from outside government building

Acting premier: Azerbaijan refuses to provide corridor to Armenia

Pashinyan: Armenia-EU contacts have never been so intense

Netherlands Armenian organizations demand explanation from their MFA over Dutch ambassador's visit to Shushi

Tight surveillance outside Armenia government building, several people apprehended

Five new cases of coronavirus reported in Karabakh

European Council President visits Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan

911 motorcycles to serve on Yerevan streets

Police apprehend opposition Armenia bloc member

Armenia President condoles with Germany colleague

Taliban stepping up attacks in Afghanistan, says US intelligence

187 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Captain Artur Aghasyan posthumously awarded highest title of Hero of Artsakh

California physician charged with selling fake Covid immunization pellets

Biden to meet with Iraq PM

Armenia citizens can enter Georgia through 2 checkpoints

Armenia soldier, 20, dies

Newspaper: Armenia opposition blocs holding their breath awaiting Constitutional Court decision of today

Newspaper: Armenia ex-President Kocharyan is Yerevan mayor Marutyan's 'lifebuoy'

Eiffel Tower reopens to visitors after nearly 9 months

'Bloodthirsty vampire' arrested in Kenya

There are 21615 people or 5,448 families displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh

Lavrov says US mission in Afghanistan failed

Azeri parliamentary group in occupied Northern Cyprus to commemorate 47th anniversary of Turkish troops' landing

Vietnam calls on Washington to lift Cuba embargo

Germany declares regime of military catastrophe due to flooding

Armenia Ambassador, Russia Deputy FM discuss provision of international humanitarian aid to Karabakh

Sputnik Armenia: 2 missing Armenian servicemen find themselves in territory under control of Azerbaijan Armed Forces

Karabakh Ombudsman: People of Artsakh have never lived and can never live in peace with Azerbaijan

Remains of former Armenian footballer found

Armenia acting PM introduced to businessman's newly opened brandy factory

Armenia ex-deputy MOD: If Pashinyan is still in power after November 9, 2020, it means he has unfinished business

Armenia Chamber of Advocates holds 3rd meeting to provide legal aid to Armenian captives in Azerbaijan

European Council President Charles Michel arrives in Armenia

Yerevan court to announce decision on pre-trial measure against Sisian mayor tomorrow

Alexander Lapshin on Yerkir.am's article about his talks with journalist, Armenia acting PM and ex-spokesperson

Young members of ARF-D protesting against EU representative's visit to Armenia

Lukashevich at OSCE: Assistance in future solution to Nagorno-Karabakh issue in South Caucasus is required

Digest: Azerbaijan opens fire near Armenia border, EU to lift restrictions for Armenian citizens?

Opposition 'Armenia' bloc member: Law-enforcement authorities need to explore disclosure of Lapshin-Karapetyan talk

Armenia acting PM receives Deputy Chief of General Staff of Russia Armed Forces

Armenias Karahunj village head testified against Goris city mayor, says lawyer

Armenian National Committee addresses letter to Belgian FM condemning Ambassadors visit to Shushi

Dollar goes down again Armenia

Azerbaijan starts construction of tunnels in Karabakh occupied territories

Armenia Prosecutor General's Office charges head of Lori Province's Jrashen village with abuse of official powers

Armenia ambassador to Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore is recalled

At least 70 people die in Germany and Belgium due to floods

Armenia ambassador to US to now serve as envoy to UK

France and US urge Lebanese politicians to form cabinet

Armenia funeral commission set up in connection with Djivan Gasparyan's passing

Mayor of Armenias Goris to be arrested

European Council chief's Armenia visit agenda is announced

Beijing urges WHO to investigate theory that COVID-19 was imported to Wuhan

2022 US federal budget envisages $950K for Glendale Armenian museum, says Congressman Schiff

Condition of newborn left at Yerevan building entrance continues to stabilize

Azerbaijan setting up new military unit in occupied Aghdam of Artsakh

1,200 apartments to be built in capital Stepanakert, 20 new districts to be constructed in Karabakh villages

Reuters photojournalist killed in Afghanistan

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Fear, uncertainty not respected in international relations

About 20,000 translators from Afghanistan in US apply for evacuation

MOD: Azerbaijan army opened fire on Armenia positions

Turks open fire at Cyprus Coast Guard ship

162 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

US State Department responds to questions related to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Situation in Cuba calm after riots

Biden says US not planning on sending troops to Haiti after assassination of its president

US considering possibility of restoring internet access in Cuba, Biden says

Biden: Russia must not be allowed to use energy as a weapon

Newspaper: New developments occur in case on dishonoring of Armenian soldiers' remains

Newspaper: Armenias European agenda

Erdogan wants to do the same with Afghanistan as with Artsakh

US senators call on Biden to put pressure on Turkeys Erdogan over Cyprus

Karabakh Ombudsman: Azerbaijani side briefly fired gunshots from rifles 4-5 times in direction of Shushi

Ukraine citizens organize disco party near Internal Affairs Ministry building for Avakov's resignation

European Council calls on EU member states to lift travel restrictions for Armenia citizens

Opposition 'Armenia' bloc member: Syunik Province is being attacked by Baku and Yerevan

Armenia President grants high state award to merited architect Sashur Kalashyan
The current US administration, headed by President Joe Biden, should support the protesters in Cuba and put pressure on the leadership of the island state, said former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the air of Fox News.

According to him, this is an important opportunity for Cubans. Americans need to stand shoulder to shoulder with them. We can do a lot for them to achieve the freedom that they demand on the streets.

Pompeo noted that the administration of the 45th US President, Donald Trump, exerted the strongest pressure on the Cuban leadership.

On July 11, the state television of Cuba reported that riots had taken place in several cities of the republic, the participants of which ransacked a number of shops. Mass demonstrations began in the city of San Antonio de los Banos, located 24 km south of Havana. President of the republic went there. He called on the defenders of the Cuban revolution to take to the streets to prevent provocations against the authorities.
YEREVAN.  Issues related to the state borders of Armenia are developing in a completely wrong direction. The Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan, stated this at a press conference on Tuesday.

According to him, all these issues are included in the military and political components, whereas human rights issues are completely ignored.

Tatoyan stressed that one of the key issues when determining the national borders of a country is the degree of protection of the residents of its border settlements, as well as the existence of guarantees for the protection of their rights.

"In our [i.e., Armenia] case, the state has put itself in some restrictive framework because of the military and political component. It turns out that for this reason, a dangerous thesis has begun to develop that human rights and security are in conflict [with each other]. Yes, the rights of citizens living on our borders are being violated by Azerbaijani servicemen, but Armenia is obligated to protect them, as it has obligations to them," Tatoyan explained.

According to Armenias ombudsman, an appropriate policy should be organized within the state, and which should be implemented by state bodies.

Also, Tatoyan expressed a view that it is convenient for Azerbaijan to discuss border issues by being guided only by the military and political component, not taking into account human rights, as the Armenian side has an expanded base which contains many facts of respective violations.

"Armenia is a member of the UN Human Rights Council. We [i.e., Armenia] must take all necessary steps so that the situation on Armenias border is put to a discussion in that organization, so that special rapporteurs will be appointed there, who will get familiarized with the situation on the spot, and prepare all the necessary documents," said the country's top human rights defender.

He again suggested applying to the European Court of Human Rights to drive the Azerbaijani servicemen out of the sovereign territory of Armenia.

Tatoyan stressed that as a result of the incursion of the sovereign territory of Armenia by the units of the Azerbaijan armed forces of, the rights of the residents of the border communities in Syunik and Gegharkunik Provinces of Armenia have been violated for several months already. In particular, according to him, their rights to property, movement, inviolability of life, use of water resources, and many other rights are violated.
YEREVAN.  The delimitation and demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border under the current conditions actually legalizes the violation of the rights of the residents of the communities of the Syunik and Gegharkunik Provinces of Armenia. The Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan, stated this at a press conference on Tuesday.

According to him, in the current conditions, it is simply impossible to delimit and demarcate these border, as it may lead to further aggravation of the situation, especially in terms of violation of the rights of residents of Armenias border villages.

"Their rights must be restored. The mentioned processes must be carried out in parallel with the withdrawal of the Azerbaijani armed forces from the territory of Armenia," the ombudsman emphasized.

Tatoyan said he is not against the deciding of the borders, but, in his opinion, this process should be carried out correctly, without violating the rights of the residents of Armenias border communities.

Thus, according to him, the delimitation and demarcation of Armenian-Azerbaijani border is impossible as long as the Azerbaijani military continues to be illegally in the sovereign territory of Armenia.
The interdepartmental working group on economic and transport unblocking between Armenia and Azerbaijan has not met since April. The series of meetings was interrupted due to border tensions. It is unclear when the next meeting will take place. Let us remind that the format is three-sided, the third party is Russia. Acting Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mher Grigoryan, who heads the Armenian delegation of this interdepartmental working group, informed Hraparak.am about this.

And what did you have as of April? Where did you get to?

As of April, we were still discussing the legal regulations at the expert level, within the framework of the CIS normative acts, and the technical possibilities of the international conventions and agreements to which Armenia is a party, as well as the infrastructure. That was it.

When will the next meeting take place?

Meetings and dates will be clear after the formation of the [new Armenian] government.

How do you see the development of all this, as [Azerbaijani President Ilham] Aliyev had talked, before and after the [snap parliamentary] elections [in Armenia], about providing a corridor [to Azerbaijan] through Syunik [Province of Armenia], and not only.

I would like to take this opportunity to reassure and state that I have never discussed the issue of a corridor logic, I do not discuss it, and I will not discuss it, it is simply out of the question.

Sorry, what does it mean corridor logic? What is that?

Corridor logic assumes that I exclude any issue that would relate to the unblocking arrangements or possibilities and that would assume any additional sovereign rights or encumbrances. We are talking about our sovereign infrastructure.

If we interpret what you said more simply, it will mean that if some road is given [to Azerbaijan], it will not be under the direct control of anyone; no one will have dominance in that road issue. Do I understand correctly?

Definitely. And not of control or not only of control, but also of any privileged or any special status.

That is, a road can be given, but only with the right of equal use by both sides?

And also to other neighboring countries.

But, in any case, the issue of the road can be discussed or is being discussed.

The issue of unblocking, yes, we are discussing, and that is normal, and we have such a goal, yes.

That is, the [Armenian] government aims to open road which will be subject for use by Armenia, Azerbaijan, maybe also by Iran and Turkey. Do I understand correctly?

I did not say anything about Turkey; it is a separate matter of discussion. But those neighboring countries which today have the opportunity to pass through our territory in terms of cargo transportation, in particular, yes, that opportunity is also taken into account.

With which area? Syunik? And especially which part of Syunik? The Meghri [city] part?

That will already depend on the physical capabilities and efficiency of the infrastructure.

I want to understand whether the provision of that road, for example, can be painful for the Armenian people.

I do not think so. And I do not think that there is a subject of discussion on the agenda, which is not beneficial or will not be beneficial for Armenia.

Do you think that any process, be it the handing over of territories, exchange, provision of roads, will all that be mutually beneficial for Armenia?

I did not say anything about handing over or exchanging territories, and there is no such thing on my agenda. The issues of transport unblocking are discussed on our platform, and we must do everything to make it beneficial, and we are sure that it will be beneficial.

As for Tavush Province, too, is there a discussion on transport unblocking?

There is a possibility of potential railway and motor link there. Accordingly, yes, it is on the agenda, but I cannot say anything more detailed now.
YEREVAN.  Over the next eight years, $18.7 million will be invested in Armenia to establish new forest areas on the country, the Ministry of Environment informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Armenia, which is extremely vulnerable to climate change, has begun to expand its forested areas and reduce carbon footprint from its forests.

This work is planned through the Forestry Program of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the first large-scale project funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in Europe and Central Asia.

This GCF eight-year program, whose total budget is $18.7 million, will be based on funding and technical skills provided by the Armenian government, the Austrian Development Agency, the Autonomous Province Bolzano-South Tyrol, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Armenia Office, and FAO.

Within the framework of this program, an agreement was signed on June 15 by Deputy Minister of Environment Anna Mazmanyan and FAO Representative in Armenia, Raimund Jehle.

And the WWF Armenia Office and FAO on Monday signed a $ 200,000 co-funding agreement as an in-kind investment.

This is the first large-scale FAO project in Europe and Central Asia supported by the GCF, and the first funding proposal for Armenia's forestry.
The presidents of Israel and Turkey, Isaac Herzog and Recep Erdogan, said that the ties between the two countries are of great importance for security and stability in the Middle East.

During the phone talks, the parties noted that there is great potential for cooperation between the countries in many areas, in particular, in the field of energy, tourism, and technology.

Herzog and Erdogan noted that the great importance of maintaining contacts and continuous dialogue, despite differences of opinion to take positive steps towards resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which will also contribute to improving the situation and Israeli-Turkish relations.

According to Walla News, the conversation between the two leaders lasted about 40 minutes, and Herzog notified Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid about it in advance.

For more than a decade, relations between Israel and Turkey have remained uneasy, and relations have deteriorated significantly over the past few years. But despite Erdogan's public denunciations of Israel, Ankara continued to maintain open ties with the Jewish state, including in tourism and trade.
It was the Azerbaijani-Turkish troops that destroyed the Russian church in Shushi in 1920. This is what Foreign Minister of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Davit Babayan told Armenian News-NEWS.am, commenting on the fact that Azerbaijan is turning the Armenian Green Church in Shushi into an Orthodox church.

It is important to closely follow all the actions of Azerbaijan and understand why they are taking those actions. Here everything is clear. First, Armenophobia has been, is and will be the main value system of the Azerbaijani state. In this context, the Azerbaijanis are destroying everything Armenian. Everything Armenian has been destroyed in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan since nobody can monitor. Churches and monuments are a different story. They cant destroy them since they are very well-known around the world. Among those churches are Dadivank Monastery and Ghazanchetsots Cathedral, as well as Green Church, which is actually the Armenian John the Baptist Church and is named Ghazanchetsots. When the Armenian meliks established Shushi, it was established as the future capital of Armenia.

The Green Church is one of the oldest Armenian churches of Shushi and the second name of the city. And Karabaghtsots means that those born in Karabakh lived in that territory. To conceal this, Azerbaijan is destroying those monuments.

Our priests are captives there. They cant leave since they wont be allowed to come back. At the same time, the Azerbaijanis cant say that the church in Shushi is Albanian since there has never been an Albanian ethnos.

Why is Azerbaijan destroying everything Armenian? First, they are concealing the history. They want to show that the Green Church is a Russian church. We see what Turkey is going to split the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine. Currently, Turkey and Azerbaijan are leading religious policy around the world, and this is nothing but split of Christians.

Baku is leading a multilateral policy, and we Armenians need to show the world what is happening and tell about Azerbaijans real goals.

Whereas the Azerbaijanis destroyed all Armenian monuments in Nakhchivan, they wont be able to do this in Artsakh since there are Russian peacekeepers, and this makes things complicated. However, there is no doubt that the same thing that happened in Nakhchivan is happening in the occupied sector of Artsakh, he said.
Lawyer Alexander Kochubayev today submitted a report on crime to the Prosecutor General of Armenia. Kochubayev wrote the following on his Facebook page:

Today I submitted a report on crime to the Prosecutor General of Armenia in regard to embezzlement of the funds donated to Hayastan All-Armenian Fund. I would like to remind that out of the funds donated to the Fund, $105,000,000 has been transferred to the Government of Armenia, and various officials have cashed and embezzled the funds.

Besides being unlawful, this is also extremely immoral. The funds donated by Armenians of the Diaspora needed to be used to build houses, schools and kindergartens, but we still dont know what the money was spent on.

We will be consistent, and all those who donated to the Fund can be rest assured that the embezzled funds will be returned and will be spent for the designated purposes, and the people who embezzled the funds will be brought to justice.
On April 28, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia transmitted to the General Department of Public Safety Protection of the Police the letter submitted by the Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs of the National Assembly.

As reported the Police of Armenia, the letter stated that a little boy of Armenian descent, whose mother died in January of this year and whose father is detained, is located at one of the orphanages in Tula region of Russia.

Necessary documents were obtained through the combined efforts of the Department for Prevention of Juvenile Crimes and Domestic Violence of the General Department and organizations dealing with the return of the little child. The cooperation with the relevant structures of the Russian Federation and the Embassy of Armenia in Russia was also fruitful. On July 10, an officer of the specialized unit of the Police of Armenia brought the 1-year-old Armenian boy to Armenia via the Moscow-Yerevan flight. The boy has been delivered to his grandmother to be under her guardianship.
During his meeting with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexei Overchuk discussed the organizing of a Russian business mission in Azerbaijan.

During his visit, Overchuk was received by Aliyev, with whom he discussed issues on strengthening of trade and economic interaction, including cooperation in the sectors of transport, agriculture, etc.

To ensure economic ties, the parties discussed the organizing of a Russian business mission in Azerbaijan. What is of particular interest is the cooperation in the sectors of renewable energy, nature protection, use of water resources, construction and development of transport infrastructures, the press service of the Government of the Russian Federation reported.

In addition, they considered the prospects for development of the North-South international transport corridor and improvement of the operation of Russian-Azerbaijani border checkpoints.

The parties also discussed issues related to the activities of the trilateral task force co-chaired by the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, the acting Prime Minister of Armenia and the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.
Leyna Stemle, a biology Ph.D. student working with postdoctoral researcher, Arianne Messerman, and assistant professor Christopher Searcy, is visiting the central California coast this summer to study an endangered amphibian species called the Santa Cruz long-toed salamander. These four-to-six-inch salamanders are estimated occur in only 23 breeding ponds, a figure that has likely declined since the species was initially described in 1954. The enigmatic species has long puzzled researchers, as it inhabits a small enclave of coastal habitat over 100 miles from its nearest relatives, which are all found in snow-fed ponds high in the Sierra Nevada and Cascades Mountains.

Leyna Stemle holds a Santa Cruz long-toed salamander.

Stemle addressed some questions and shared some thoughts about the experience.

Where are you conducting your field research?

In Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, which are in central California along its western coast. Dr. Messerman and I are living in Monterey County near the Santa Cruz border for the summer, but we are not camping on-site because it is mostly government-owned protected land. We sampled 27 ponds across the salamanders entire range in early June, but we are now focusing on nine of the ponds.

What species were you studying? Why?

We are studying the Santa Cruz long-toed salamander. This is an endangered salamander, and has been since 1967, when it was a member of the inaugural class of endangered species listed in the United States. They only breed in about 23 ponds worldwide, so we are studying them to understand their habitat requirements in order to know how to conserve them. Due to sea level rise, almost all of the ponds they breed in within Monterey County will likely be inundated with salt water from the Pacific Ocean by around 2060. This will cause the ponds to be uninhabitable. Therefore, we must understand their pond requirements to be able to create artificial ponds that will sustain the species.

What is their typical habitat?

Younger long-toed salamanders typically live in seasonal ponds formed from rainwater or groundwater, in Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties in central California. Once the young emerge from ponds, we do not know much about their preferred habitat. But from previous work by environmental consultants, we think they prefer slightly forested areas and spend the majority of their adult life underground in small mammal burrows.

Why are they such an important species?

This species can be thought of as a canary in a coal mine. If the habitat they live in is unhealthy, they are likely one of the first species to disappear or decline, which can be a sign to humans that something is wrong. They are no longer found in about 25 percent of the ponds where they were discovered in past research. These losses are likely due to issues related to climate change (drought, sea level rise) and urbanization (loss of habitat). We hope to be able to help better quantify the decline through our long-term work on the salamanders.

What types of specimens/data were you collecting?

At each pond, we gather water chemistry data (pH, salinity, nitrates, depth, etc.), as well as information on what food is available for the salamanders in the pond and what predators there are in the region that may be eating them. Of course, we also count the young salamanders that are in the pond. We caught around 600 young salamanders during pond sampling and measured and weighed them before release (this can be a good indicator of how healthy they are). Later on, I will use computer software to see if urbanization and agriculture surrounding the ponds impact how many young salamanders there are in each pond. This land-use data is important since adult and juvenile salamanders live in the areas adjacent to the ponds.

How is this useful?

We hope to find patterns that we can use to help guide environmental management decisions on what a healthy salamander pond should look like. This information can then be used to determine the best ponds in which to release captive-bred individuals (raised in tanks at the University of California, Santa Cruz), as well as to guide future pond creation (the actual construction of artificial ponds) to help support the species.

What is the goal of the research?

We hope that by studying the Santa Cruz long-toed salamander, we can better understand their ecology and how they have evolved to persist in their unique habitat. We also want to provide data that could be used by government wildlife agencies to help prevent the extinction of the species.

Can this knowledge be applied to understand other ecosystems?

Understanding the degree of synchronyor how much populations fluctuate together and independentlyacross the salamanders range is an important part of modeling their population dynamics. This will likely allow us to predict their probability of persisting into the future. And by monitoring populations across the entire range of this species, we hope that our estimates will help inform population models not only of this species, but of other imperiled amphibian species as well.
Cuban president blames US for mass protests

Riot police walk the streets after a demonstration against the government of President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Arroyo Naranjo Municipality, Havana on July 12. Photo: AFP

Havana has blamed a US "policy of economic suffocation" for unprecedented protests against Cuba's communist government, as Washington pointed the finger at "decades of repression" in the one-party state.



The longtime foes traded barbs a day after thousands of Cubans took to the streets chanting: "Down with the dictatorship" in protests dispersed by police who arrested dozens.



The anti-government rallies erupted spontaneously in several cities as the country endures its worst economic crisis in 30 years, with chronic shortages of electricity, food and medicine and a recent worsening of the coronavirus epidemic.



The only authorised gatherings in Cuba are usually events of the ruling Communist Party, but according to the data journalism site Inventario, a total of 40 demonstrations took place on Sunday.



President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Monday blamed the discontent on the United States pursuing a "policy of economic suffocation to provoke social unrest in the country."



Cuba has been under US sanctions since 1962.



"What do they want? To provoke social unrest" with a view to "regime change," he said in an address broadcast on public television and radio.



In a statement from Washington, US President Joe Biden expressed support for the protesters' demand for relief "from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba's authoritarian regime."



Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it would be a "grievous mistake" for Cuba to blame Washington for protests he said could be traced to the communist leadership's "mismanagement" of the economy and Covid-19.



US-Cuba relations have been particularly fraught since then-president Donald Trump reinforced sanctions following an historic but temporary easing of tensions under Barack Obama between 2014 and 2016.



The tougher measures, left unchanged by Biden, and the collapse of tourism due to the global pandemic, contributed to Cuba's economy declining 11 percent in 2020. (AFP)
Protests in Iraq over deadly fire at Covid hospital

Protests in Iraq over deadly fire at Covid hospital

The death toll in a fire that spread through a coronavirus hospital in southern Iraq rose to 66, health officials said on Tuesday, as an angry crowd blaming local authorities for negligence gathered near the city's morgue.



More than 100 others were injured in Monday night's fire in the city of Nassiriya, which an initial investigation showed began when sparks from faulty wiring spread to an oxygen tank that then exploded, local police and civil defence authorities said.



In April, a similar explosion at Baghdad Covid-19 hospital killed at least 82 and injured 110. The head of Iraq's semi-official Human Rights Commission said Monday's blast showed how ineffective safety measures in a health system crippled by war and sanctions still were.



"To have such a tragic incident repeated few months later means that still no (sufficient) measures have been taken to prevent them," Ali Bayati said.



Anger spread among people gathered at Nassiriya's morgue as they waited to receive relatives' bodies.



"No quick response to the fire, not enough firefighters. Sick people burned to death. It's a disaster," said Mohammed Fadhil, who was waiting there to receive his bother's body.



Two health officials said the dead from Monday's fire included 21 charred bodies that were still unidentified.



The blaze trapped many patients inside the hospital's coronavirus ward, who rescue teams struggled to reach, a health worker told Reuters on Monday before entering the burning building.



Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi had ordered the suspension and arrest of health and civil defence managers in Nassiriya on Monday, as well as the al-Hussain hospital's manager, his office said. (Reuters)
WASHINGTON, July 13 (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and her British counterpart Liz Truss agreed to continue working to strengthen bilateral ties in a meeting in Washington on Tuesday, Tai's office said in a statement.

Tai and Truss agreed that their recent truce in a long-running trade dispute over aid for planemakers Airbus and Boeing creates a platform for "future collaboration on shared challenges, including those posed by the anti-competitive practices of China and other non-market economies."

They also stressed the importance of fair competition in the global economy, and agreed to work together to enhance the international trading system and address forced labor issues.

Truss said the two discussed working together to tackle unfair trade practices, making progress on cooperation on large civil aircraft, and boosting the 196 billion pound ($270.75 billion) trading relationship. "Trade = growth = jobs," she wrote on Twitter.

During a five-day visit to the United States, Truss will also travel to the West Coast to promote Britain as a destination for tech investment.

Britain and the United States started talks on a post-Brexit free trade deal when Donald Trump was president but failed to reach an accord before Joe Biden took office in January.

The Biden administration has put all new trade deals on hold while it reviews the trade policies of the Trump administration. ($1 = 0.7239 pounds) (Reporting by Andrea Shalal Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

(Adds Truss tweet)
People who experience sex discrimination, race discrimination and other forms of discrimination at work arent getting much protection from the laws designed to shield them from it.

Thats our main finding after analyzing the outcomes of 683,419 discrimination cases filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from 2012 to 2016  the most recent data available. We focused on workplace complaints filed related to race, sex, disability, age and national origin. Those are the five most common categories.

We found that at least 63% of workers who filed a complaint eventually lost their job. That number was even higher for workers who filed a disability-related claim, at 67%. And about 40% of workers reporting experiencing employer retaliation, such as verbal abuse or being passed over for work opportunities like training or promotion, for filing a claim. At 46%, employer retaliation was most common for sex discrimination cases.

Moreover, the complaints themselves rarely led to a successful outcome for the workers who filed them. Our analysis found that legal redress in the form of negotiated or mandated changes in workplace practices occurred in only 7% of all cases. Workers received monetary awards in 12% of the cases  with a median payout of only US$8,500.

These patterns may explain why only a fraction of people who believe that they have experienced discrimination at work actually file a complaint. Legal standards to prove discrimination to the EEOC or in court are quite high, and the burden of proof falls largely on the employee.

Low rates of discrimination claim filing may also suggest that people see the legal route as dangerous with low chances of success. Enduring discrimination on the job and proving it in court or to the government are quite different things.

Lawmakers have been debating measures to beef up protections for workers for years, such as the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill aimed at wage discrimination, or paying workers doing the same job differently based on their sex, race or national origin. Besides increasing pay transparency, the bill would shift more of the burden of proof to the employer.

Story continues

While we believe passage of this legislation would be a good step to encourage more workers to report discrimination, our research shows that increased protections should be applied to all types of discrimination. But giving workers the protection from discrimination that we feel they deserve likely will require stronger enforcement efforts and stiffer penalties for employers who break the law.

[Like what youve read? Want more? Sign up for The Conversations daily newsletter.]

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Donald T. Tomaskovic-Devey, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Carly McCann, University of Massachusetts Amherst, and J.D. Swerzenski, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Read more:



Donald T. Tomaskovic-Devey receives funding from the W.K.Kellog Foundation.

Carly McCann is affiliated with the Center for Employment Equity at UMass-Amherst.

JD Swerzenski is affiliated with the Center for Employment Equity at UMass-Amherst.
Moka Fang. (PHOTO: Moka Fang's Weibo screenshot)

Chinese model Moka Fang, who's also known as Mrs Aaron Kwok, recently posted a short vlog on her Weibo account on 11 July, documenting her latest flight from Hong Kong to Shanghai, this time with her two daughters. It appears that Fang and her daughters were taking the economy-class flight in her video, gaining praises from netizens for her down-to-earth choice.

It is believed that the trio took the trip to visit Kwok, who is currently filming his latest movie, The White Storm 3, in Yunnan province in China.

The post with the video was captioned: Mokas mini vlog. Documenting the two babies first flight. We will begin quarantine when we arrive in Shanghai. So in the near future, we will share the everyday occurrences, both happy and tiring, quarantine diaries.

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

Fang, who was rumoured to have joined a Chinese training camp that taught ladies how to attract megastars, was touted as a gold-digger by netizens. The model posts expensive goods that she uses daily, branded goods featured in her #OOTDs, and upscale dining meals on her social media platforms regularly, cementing her luxurious image in netizens minds.

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

In recent months, however, Fangs social media platform has taken a turn away from her usual branded goods; there are now more photos of family outings and daily interactions with her daughters.

Asking her eldest daughter in the video, You are finally taking a flight, right?, Fangs daughter replied with an innocent voice, Yes, and also the bus!, tickling netizens watching the vlog.

Keen-eyed netizens also noticed in her recent vlog that Fang and her daughters were seated in the economy section of their flight to Shanghai based on the seats that appeared in the video. Many were surprised with her choice, sharing comments such as You are flying economy? Wow!, Going low-profile? I am applauding your choice, and Your daughter sounded adorable. I hope they have a safe flight!

Some netizens were unfazed by Fangs choice, stating that the flight between Hong Kong and Shanghai is very short. Taking the economy class is nothing for people to be raving about. Regardless of opinions, many netizens also commented that they would be looking forward to Fangs quarantine vlogs with her daughters in the upcoming days.

Story continues

READ MORE:

Dad shocked to find S$6,000 bill after his son, 6, spends all the money on in-app game purchases

Model Samantha Ko chanced upon Chow Yun-fat while hiking

Bella Hadid's risque dress for Cannes

Vera Wang wows fans in slinky yellow dress celebrating 72nd birthday

Watch more Lifestyle videos on Yahoo TV:
Abortion advocacy groups filed a lawsuit against Texas's attorney general and others in an effort to block a law allowing citizens to sue abortion providers.

Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and several others filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division, seeking a declaratory judgment that Texas's Senate Bill 8 is invalid and cannot be enforced by any defendant named in the lawsuit.

If abortion providers offer abortions in violation of S.B. 8, "they and their staff could be forced to defend dozens if not hundreds of simultaneous S.B. 8 lawsuits scattered across the state," according to the lawsuit.

OPINION: TEXAS DEMOCRATS ADMIT THEIR FAILURE AS AN OPPOSITION PARTY

The plaintiffs argue the enforcement of S.B. 8, which "flagrantly violates the constitutional rights of Texans seeking abortion and upends the rule of law in service of an anti-abortion agenda," will lead to "vigilante enforcement lawsuits" if providers continue performing abortions.

"Moreover, a steady stream of random strangers could seek injunctive relief preventing the abortion providers from performing prohibited abortions going forward  and do so in any of hundreds of state courts of their choosing," they continue.

A sticking point for the pro-abortion groups was the law's ban on abortions for any pregnancy past the six-week mark.

"The law bans abortion as early as six weeks of pregnancy, ... [but] many people do not realize they are pregnant until after six weeks," Planned Parenthood said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. "Approximately 85-90% of people who obtain abortions in Texas are at least six weeks into pregnancy, meaning this law would prohibit nearly all abortions in the state."

S.B. 8, the Texas Heartbeat Act, comfortably passed Texas's GOP-led House and Senate and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in May. The law provides for "private civil actions" to enforce the legislation's Subchapter H requirement that "a physician may not knowingly perform or induce an abortion on a pregnant woman unless the physician has determined, in accordance with this section, whether the woman's unborn child has a detectable fetal heartbeat."

Story continues

"The commission shall enforce this chapter except for Subchapter H, which shall be enforced exclusively through the private civil enforcement actions described by Section 171.208 and may not be enforced by the commission," the law states.

Although the landmark 1973 Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade legalized abortions nationwide, some states have argued the procedure is subject to some restrictions at the local level, and many right-leaning states, such as South Carolina, have attempted to impose restrictions banning abortions in cases in which fetal heartbeats are detected. These efforts have been largely shot down by federal courts.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The plaintiffs are also seeking a preliminary injunction to stop S.B. 8 from taking effect on Sept. 1.

The Washington Examiner reached out to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office for comment.

Washington Examiner Videos

Tags: News, Texas, Abortion, Class-action lawsuits, Planned Parenthood

Original Author: Carly Roman

Original Location: Abortion advocacy groups file lawsuit to block Texas law allowing citizens to sue providers
WASHINGTON  The Air Force has approved the Boeing KC-46 tanker to move into limited operations with its centerline drogue system, allowing the aircraft to be tasked for everyday refueling missions that meet certain criteria.

Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost, the head of Air Mobility Command, signed off on the decision July 9, the Air Force said in a news release on Monday.

The last six months of operational use and programmatic evaluation indicate conditions have been met for (interim capability release) declaration of the Centerline Drogue System mission set, Van Ovost said. This decision reflects a risk-informed, data-driven, constraint-analyzed approach to releasing KC-46A operational capabilities to the joint force.

Ongoing testing has proven that the KC-46 can safely and reliably be used for probe and drogue refueling operations, the service stated in its news release. However, boom air refueling missions continue to be restricted to training, exercises and familiarization flights due to unresolved technical deficiencies that impact the boom and its associated systems.

Van Ovost told reporters in February that AMC would consider permitting the KC-46 to be tasked to U.S. Transportation Command for limited mission sets.

At the time, Brig. Gen. Ryan Samuelson, leader of the Air Forces KC-46 cross-functional team, said that the tanker would not be approved for TRANSCOM operations in the Middle East, Asia-Pacific or Europe, and that it would also not be allowed to refuel stealth aircraft like the F-35 joint strike fighter.

However, the services announcement Monday did not clarify whether those restrictions would remain in place for centerline probe and drogue missions.

The Air Force intends to buy at least 179 KC-46s to replace its KC-10s and some of its legacy KC-135 fleet. Afterward, the service will either continue buying KC-46s or begin procuring another non-developmental refueling aircraft  likely the Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport  as the remainder of its KC-135s reach the end of their service lives.

The Air Force plans to declare full operational capability only after its six critical deficiencies are resolved. At earliest, this will occur in 2023 when Boeing begins delivering KC-46s equipped with a new remote vision system, which provides visual imagery to boom operators during a refueling.
Associated Press

Tony Stewart was like everyone else in U.S. motorsports this week, frequently checking social media to see Paul Tracy's latest theatrics in a one-sided war against NASCAR golden girl Hailie Deegan. Tracy has been furious  or could he just be playing the heel in a made-for-TV racing league?  because 19-year-old Deegan had the audacity to spin him at Slinger Speedway in Wisconsin last week in the fifth round of the Superstar Racing Experience.
Joe Raedle/ Getty Images

Another Florida apartment building has reportedly been ordered to evacuate as a result of structural concerns.

Miami Beach officials posted a notice of evacuation at the 6881 Indian Creek Drive on Monday, NBC 6 reported.

Inspectors found evidence of concrete deterioration at the two-story building.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Another Florida apartment building has reportedly been ordered to evacuate as a result of structural concerns following the deadly condo collapse in the Sunshine State.

City officials posted a notice of evacuation at the two-story, 30-unit building at 6881 Indian Creek Drive in Miami Beach on Monday, NBC 6 reported.

Inspectors found evidence of concrete deterioration, the news outlet reported. The property must now be vacated by July 19.

Manny Vadillo, an attorney who represents the owners of the Indian Creek Drive building, told NBC 6 that the building was already set to be demolished in December.

"Since May the tenancy has been reduced from 28 to now 14 of which 7 are not paying rent and 5 are presently in the process of vacating," Vadillo told the news site.

"We were notified that the city will be posting a notice to vacate the property today. I understand the city will give the tenants a week to find alternate locations to reside," he said.

Vadillo explained, "The demolition of the building will take place in December and a new townhouse project is in the process of being planned for the site."

Several evacuations of Florida residential buildings have been ordered in the wake of last month's partial condo collapse in Surfside that left at least 95 people confirmed dead.

The northeast wing of the Champlain Towers South suddenly came crashing down at around 1:30 a.m. on June 24 as many residents inside slept.

In the aftermath of the collapse, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava ordered an audit of all residential buildings five stories or higher that are more than 40-years-old.

Story continues

The cause of the collapse remains under investigation, but since the tragedy numerous warning signs preceding the disaster have been revealed.

In 2018, an engineering consultant found signs of "major structural damage" and evidence of "abundant" cracking and fragmentation of the columns, beams, and walls in the garage under the Champlain Towers South, according to an inspection report.

Read the original article on Insider
The group began arriving at 4:30 p.m. at the marina on the 79th Street Causeway on Monday, drawn by a mysterious post on Instagram that said there would be a flotilla of boats headed for Cuba. Soon, dozens had shown up to support the mission with bottled water, flashlights and boxes of canned Chef Boyardee pasta.

Were going to Havana. If we have to intervene, if we have to stay, well do what we have to do, said Santiago Rivero, a local Cuban-American personality who has a following of over 93,000 on Instagram in his account, @santyogbetua. The [U.S.] president has done nothing, supposedly. At a minimum, we want to stand at the border of what are the Havana limits.

The group is one of several in Miami who have been moved to support Sundays massive demonstrations in Cuba by claiming they will go there themselves. The protests throughout the island drew thousands of people to demonstrate against the Cuban government and calling for the end of the communist regime, sparked by recent shortages in food, medicine and vaccines driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. Several videos have since surfaced showing repression of peaceful protesters from special forces on the island. Dozens have been arrested or gone missing.

In response, Cuban influencers and other social media personalities in Miami posted on Monday that they would make the 10-hour boat ride across the Florida Straits to Cuba to show their support, maybe bring some aid  and guns, just in case. Most importantly, people should offer up their boats, they said.

Rivero himself shared the post to his followers asking them to show up on Monday evening. And for several hours, the group that had proposed leaving the Pelican Harbor Marina in North Bay Village and showing up near Cuba unannounced to see what happens seemingly had everything  a crowd eager to send them off, ham and cheese sandwiches, speakers blasting the viral protest song Patria y Vida.

Everything, that is, except a boat.

Story continues

Were not going with weapons, Rivero said, contradicting what some posts on social media promised. This is not some political problem or anything. Simply and plainly, its for whatever the police is doing in Cuba, to do it to us instead.

Eventually, the group of about 10 committed men managed to secure an open fishing boat without a cabin, much to the glee of the crowd that had gathered, including several young children and a woman wearing hospital scrubs. And by 8:30 p.m., the leaders had confirmed several other vessels planned to go as well. The group of men, some dressed in Michael Jordan sneakers and Adidas sweatpants, would make the journey historically made in reverse by Cuban refugees for decades, into the uncertainty of the sea to seemingly confront the government some of them had fled. They used the TV cameras to spread the message and swear to their friends over text messages that the trip was serious.

The gathering attracted the attention of authorities, who showed up at one point at the parking lot of the 79th Street marina in patrol cars, a helicopter and a boat. Rivero, who had become the informal emcee of the hyped-up audience, told the cops it would be a peaceful gathering. In fact, if they managed to get on the water, for Rivero and a few others whove left family behind on the island, it would be a homecoming.

Close to 9 p.m., rain poured and lightning flashed. Some of the volunteers who had brought cases of water and other supplies helped move them quickly onto the dock. A few in the group who had been intent on saving their countrymen from communism ran back to their cars. Its unclear if the rest boarded the boat. The rain blurred the horizon.

An hour or so later, Rivero broadcast the journey live on Instagram. But when he panned the horizon it was clear they were still close to the Miami coastline.
Jul. 13MORGANTOWN  Print copies of your resume and make plans to attend a job fair hosted by West Virginia's newest tech company.

Just over a month after announcing a partnership with West Virginia University, the state of West Virginia and the West Virginia State Auditor's office, artificial intelligence firm DataRobot is looking for talent.

On Tuesday, DataRobot will host a public job fair from 3-7 p.m. at WVU's Erickson Alumni Center.

On June 9, the company announced it had opened a new office at Vantage Ventures' Morgantown headquarters. The company plans to bring new jobs in the fast growing technology sector to West Virginia through expanded hiring in software engineering, professional services and customer support.

"In terms of the skills that we'll need, we really need people who  more than anything  have a passion for solving hard problems with data. Anybody can do it. We have the ability to educate folks quickly so that they can get trained and start using the platform and solving problems and then that creates a flywheel where you want to do more," DataRobot CEO Dan Wright told the Times West Virginian in June.

Sally Embrey, DataRobot's vice president of public health and medical technologies, said she is looking forward to a long-term presence in the Mountain State.

"Last month's announcement of DataRobot's new Morgantown office has created significant interest in our company both locally and throughout West Virginia. We hope that Tuesday's job fair will help build upon the momentum created by the announcement and showcase the talent available to support technology jobs in the state," Embrey said in a press release.

The partnership announced in June is a culmination of months of interactions that State Auditor JB McCuskey had with Wright when the state auditor's office was searching for tools to enhance McCuskey's transparency initiative relating to the American Rescue Plan and how the state's municipalities use those funds.

Story continues

"The thing that Dan and I share in common is that we understand that AI is the way that you solve big problems," McCuskey said in June.

McCuskey said AI is going to transform the way government works in West Virginia.

"It's going to give us new windows into our own data. It's going to allow us to understand 'How can we harness the power of taxpayer dollars in the most efficient way possible to generate the outcomes that the government is supposed to be creating? How can we feed children? How can we make sure daycares stay open? How can we make sure pandemics are responded to and roads are paved? And none of these things are possible if you don't know what's coming," McCuskey said.

The Erickson Alumni Center is located at 1 Alumni Drive in Morgantown. Job seekers may register online here.

Reach Eric Cravey at 304-367-2523.
HANOI(Reuters) -Vietnam will offer the coronavirus vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech as a second dose option for people first inoculated with the AstraZeneca vaccine, the government said on Tuesday.

Vietnam's mass inoculation campaign is in its early stages, with fewer than 300,000 people fully vaccinated so far. It has so far used AstraZeneca's viral vector vaccine and last week took delivery of 97,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA shot.

"Pfizer vaccines will be prioritised for people who were given first shot of AstraZeneca 8-12 weeks before," the government said in a statement.

Several countries, including Canada, Spain and South Korea, have already approved such dose-mixing mainly due to concerns about rare and potentially fatal blood clots linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine.

A Spanish study found the Pfizer-AstraZeneca combination was highly safe and effective, according to preliminary results.

But the World Health Organization's chief scientist advised on Monday against mixing and matching COVID-19 vaccines, calling it a "dangerous trend" since there was little data available about the health impact.

The Vietnamese government in a separate statement said its health ministry was in talks with India to secure 15 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin.

The country has so far received around 8 million doses of vaccines from multiple sources, including international COVAX scheme, donations and its own purchases.

Vietnam has been trying to expedite its vaccination campaign as the pace of infections grow, having hit daily records eight times this month. It reported 2,031 new infections on Tuesday, most of those in the epicentre Ho Chi Minh City.

Prior to May 2021, it had recorded less than 3,000 coronavirus cases in total. Its caseload is now 34,500, with 130 deaths.

Vietnam said on Tuesday it would soon receive 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine donated by Australia and an additional batch of one million doses of the vaccine from Japan this week.

(Editing by Ed Davies and Martin Petty)
The Bank of England said new rules were needed to govern the use of cloud computing services such as Amazon Web Services (AWS). Photo: Dycj - Imaginechina/Sipa USA/PA

The Bank of England is worried about the growing power of cloud computing in finance, calling for new regulations to govern the use of services like Amazon (AMZN) Web Services and Microsoft (MSFT) Azure in fields like banking and insurance.

The central bank flagged the growth of cloud computing as a key area of concern in its bi-annual Financial Stability Report, which looks at risks to the UK's financial stability and how prepared firms. Members of the Financial Policy Committee said: "Additional policy measures to mitigate financial stability risks in this area are needed."

"Cloud service providers are an increasingly integral part of the infrastructure of the financial system," Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey told journalists. "There's many good reasons for that  it is a model that works. But as they become more integral, obviously the risks to the system increase, the systemic risks increase, and it becomes much more an area of focus."

Read more: Bank of England: UK banks in good shape despite increase in risk taking

Bailey said the Bank of England was concerned about the security of new cloud systems, many of which are guarded by secrecy.

"The model has been developed in quite an opaque and closed fashion," he said. "I understand part of the reason for that  obviously, we don't want people publishing how this thing works in great detail so hackers get the guidebook as it were. But as regulators, as people interested in financial stability, we have to get more assurance that they are meeting the levels of resilience that we need."

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey. Photo: Stefan Rousseau/AFP via Getty Images

Policymakers also have concerns about the relative lack of competition in the market.

"As the market becomes more concentrated on a small number of suppliers, those suppliers can exercise market power, not only in price but also of the terms," Bailey said. "That is where we do have a concern and do have to look carefully because that concentrated power on terms can manifest itself in the form of secrecy, opacity, not providing customers with the information they need to be able to monitor the risk in the service. We have seen some of that going on. Frankly we'll have to roll some of that back."

Story continues

Bailey and his colleagues did not call out any companies by name but concerns are likely to focus around Amazon, Microsoft, and Google (GOOGL). The three companies' cloud services  AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud  control almost 60% of the global cloud computing market, according to recent estimates.

Read more: Bank shares rally as Bank of England abandons payout controls

The Bank of England declined to give specific figures on usage of cloud computing in the UK financial sector but Sam Woods, deputy governor and head of the Prudential Regulation Authority, said important systems were increasingly being put on the cloud.

"This is no longer, as it was a few years ago, something happening around the periphery of banks' systems  a less important HR system versus a core ledger," he said. "What we now have moving are things that are much more integral.

"It is not our view that this is a bad thing  it may indeed be a good thing. But we just need to make sure as it's done that our statutory duties are being reflected. While we've got some tools, we've got to the point of thinking we may need some more."

Watch: What are negative interest rates?
Federal laws imposing a minimum age of 21 to purchase handguns from licensed dealers violate the Second Amendment, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

Why it matters: The ruling could have implications for efforts to restrict gun sales nationally in the future, the Washington Post reports.

Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.

The big picture: A three-judge panel of the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the restrictions unconstitutional, with the opinion stating that 18-year-olds possess a Second Amendment right to gun ownership.

Judges Julius N. Richardson and G. Steven Agee noted that they were required at the time of the Founding to serve in the militia and furnish their own weapons."

Despite the weighty interest in reducing crime and violence, we refuse to relegate either the Second Amendment or 18-to-20-year-olds to a second-class status, Richardson wrote.

Judge James A. Wynn Jr. Courts wrote a dissent and said the majoritys decision to grant the gun lobby a victory in a fight it lost on Capitol Hill more than 50 years ago is not compelled by law.

The other side: Eric Tirschwell, managing director for Everytown Law, called the ruling an outlier and said the full 4th Circuit should reverse it.

We think its wrong on the history, wrong in the way it goes about its Second Amendment analysis and equally wrong for public safety at a time when were experiencing an epidemic with gun violence across the country," Tirschwell said, per The Post. "The last thing we need is for more guns to be in the hands of young people.

More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free
Josh Adams

On March 7, Oprah Winfrey's interview of Prince Harry and his wife, Duchess Meghan Markle, dropped. It was a bombshell, one that sent the royal family into crisis mode. It shone a whole new light on the source of the strife between the Sussexes and the Windsors.

Why did the family fall out? Why did Harry and Markle flee with their child to America? What really happened that broke up the most famous family in the world?

Here are the two sides of that story.











More from Insider Comics:

Read the original article on Insider
What does it mean to be Nigerian?

In a country of 210 million inhabitants with more than 500 native languages and hundreds of ethnicities that was colonised by the Portuguese and the British, identity can be a daunting question.

But using the power of social media, two activists have decided to take it on through a forum called The New Nigerian.

Hosted on the platform Clubhouse, the group's 45,000 members can join chatrooms on languages and culture, politics and citizenship, pop culture, technology and well-being.

Its creators say the goal is to help subscribers "relearn to be Nigerian".

"Like in a lot of 'Black countries', many people don't know their history and their culture," says Lola Adele-Oso who co-founded the forum with Eniola Mafe.

A former activist with the movement to release schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram, Adele-Oso runs a lifestyle brand that promotes everything from apparel to small-group travel.

"Who are we? Who are our heroes?" she says. "As citizens, we can't become a better version of ourselves if we dont know where we come from."

- 'Indifference not an option' -

The inspiration for The New Nigerian came during last October's #EndSARS protest movement against brutality by the country's SARS -- or Special Anti-Robbery Squad.

The protests that followed broadened to a larger call for reform and were the largest in modern Nigerian history before security forces cracked down on demonstrators.

A former activist, Mafe's work in technology and sustainability requires her to travel between Geneva and Lagos.

"I was in Geneva at the time, my eyes on Twitter, my ears on Clubhouse," says Mafe, "Within the diaspora, we were trying to know whats going on, debunking fake news, organise donations."

"It became soon evident that we could use this platform as a tool. We decided to keep the momentum."

The "Lekki killing" of October 20, 2020, when the army opened fire on protesters, marked a brutal end to popular #EndSARS protests in the streets and also on the Internet.

Story continues

But for Mafe and Adele-Oso, it also became the moment to start awakening consciences with civic and political engagement.

"Being politically indifferent is not an option anymore," Mafe says.

Within days of being created, The New Nigerian gathered thousands of subscribers, becoming one of the fastest growing communities on Clubhouse.

A platform for live audio content that reports some 10 million weekly active users, Clubhouse lets people create, participate in or just listen to discussions on all kinds of topics.

The New Nigerian's subscribers log on to discuss current affairs and life in Africa's most populous country.

But the group's chatrooms also host courses on history, Nigeria's different languages, local philosophers and debates on myths from Yoruba culture.

While many of the participants are from the south of Nigeria, the founders say the platform promotes a sense of unity in a country where ethnic and separatist tensions always simmer close to the surface.

Some hardliners in southern states have been calling for more independence or even a breakaway for their regions.

Mafe describes a "New Nigerian" who is able to embody diverse points of view.

"They are very progressive in terms of gender or sexual orientation," says Mafe.

"We want to include everyone and we will never be tribalistic. Never."

- 'Hungry for knowledge' -

Basil Abia is a 26-year-old political researcher and New Nigerian member who organises four weekly chatrooms on current affairs topics and Nigerian history.

With fellow researchers or invited specialists, they discuss the slave trade and decolonisation, but also the heritage of the great Edo kingdoms or the Sultans of Sokoto.

The talks draw up to 200 listeners from Nigeria and around the world.

"Nigerians are hungry for this knowledge. Sometimes we start at 11pm until 7am! But I have to say... I love talking!" he says.

Abia says he was beaten by police during last October's protests. Like Mafe and Adele-Oso, he also identifies the #EndSARS movement as a turning point he says pushed people to take an interest in politics.

"You have to understand the political establishment, the social contract, the principle of justice and human rights, to know who you want as a leader," he says.

Since the protests, and with the country's economy hit hard by the pandemic and spiralling inflation, Abia says some middle and upper-class Nigerians have left to live in Dubai, Ghana, Great Britain, the US or Canada.

President Muhammadu Buhari's recent Twitter ban dealt a serious blow to freedom of expression and access to information, further discouraging Nigeria's hyper-connected youth.

But Abia has decided to stay and help build the new Nigeria of which he dreams and discusses daily.

"I dedicated my life, my skills, my education to this country," he says. "I will stay here till I die."

spb/pma/nrh
Norfolk, Virginia, home to the Port of Virginia, one of the states key assets that won it the honour of best state for business in 2021 (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

In spite of all of the challenges and changes that 2020 presented, the US state ranked as best for business is a repeat winner seen as best positioned to succeed as the threat of the coronavirus pandemic recedes.

Virginia took the top spot in CNBCs 2021 survey  the fifth time it has done so since the business news network began comparing the competitiveness of the states back in 2007.

It is also the first time that a state has won a back-to-back victory, with the commonwealth also taking the top spot in 2019. CNBC did not publish a ranking in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The network cites the states greatest strength as being its ability to nurture and retain talent through a well-performing public school system and reliably funded world-class higher education.

Virginia has one of the best-educated workforces in the country, with almost 39 per cent of workers having a bachelors degree or higher, according to the US Census Bureau.

US Bureau of Labor Statistics data also shows the state as having the nations third-highest concentration of science, technology, engineering, and maths workers.

The Port of Virginia in Norfolk is also named as a major factor in the economic success of the state with May 2021 seeing an all-time record for traffic.

Currently in the middle of a 10-year, $1.5bn expansion, Democratic Governor Ralph Northam says that the port is a tremendous asset for our economy.

States are scored in 10 categories with a total of 2,500 points up for grabs. Virginia came top with 1,587 points.

The categories are the cost of doing business; infrastructure; life, health, and inclusion; workforce; economy; business friendliness, access to capital; technology and innovation; education; and cost of living.

In second place to Virginia is North Carolina, followed by Utah, Texas, and Tennessee. At the bottom of the pack is Alaska. The greatest improver was Maryland which leaped 31 places from its 2019 position to finish 12th.

Story continues

Governor Northam welcomed the news as a testament to Virginias workers, our education system, our commitment to diversity, and our strong business climate.

CNBCs best states for business 2021

1. Virginia

2. North Carolina

3. Utah

4. Texas

5. Tennessee

6. Georgia

7. Minnesota

8. Colorado

9. Washington

10. Ohio

11. Michigan

12. Maryland

13. Nebraska

14. Massachusetts

15. Illinois

16. Idaho

17. Florida

18. North Dakota

19. Indiana

20. Iowa

He cited recent investments in internet connectivity, increased teacher pay, expanded early childhood education, community colleges, and green energy as factors in keeping the state in the top spot.

Virginia is proving that when you treat people right, its good for everything, and its also good for business, Mr Northam said.

Our path forward could not be more clear: We have to keep up these policies we know are working that support business and the economy, and that are open and welcoming to everyone.

Announcing the award, CNBCs Scott Cohn said: This years study was always going to be a verdict on which states were best poised to succeed coming out of the pandemic, and Virginia is a clear winner on that score.

He added: Not only does it have the talent that companies are craving, it has also taken major steps in the area of inclusiveness, which is especially important this year.

Read More

Jeff Bezos would run up 14 flights of stairs instead of using elevator at Amazon HQ

UAE rebuffs plan by OPEC, allies to extend production pact

More than 100 activists held by government or missing in Cuba say campaigners
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said Tuesday that the Biden administration has not been sold on COVID-19 booster shots, following a meeting between top administration health officials and Pfizer.

I want to make clear that the data from Pfizer is one part of a much larger puzzle, if you will, and we look at data from multiple sources, Murthy said on Tuesday. What we're really looking for is clear evidence that immunity is waning.  If boosters are required, we will have the supply to provide it to the public.

PFIZER TO BRIEF BIDEN HEALTH OFFICIALS ON COVID-19 VACCINE BOOSTER SHOT POSSIBILITY

Murthy was present in closed-door talks Monday between Pfizer representatives and federal health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Bidens chief medical adviser, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky, to discuss the companys findings to support the need for a third dose of vaccine. While Murthy said the group had a good conversation with Pfizer, the administration has not publicized other details of the meeting.

The findings that Pfizer researchers presented to administration officials have also not been made public despite the companys announcement last week that it would make the case to federal regulators for extended authorization to administer the third dose. The company said that early data from the booster study suggested that peoples antibody levels jumped fivefold to tenfold after a third dose compared to those levels after receiving the second dose months earlier.

We don't have a clear timeline yet because it's driven in part by the data  and as soon as this signal pops that tells us that there is a decrease in immunity  at that point, we'll go forth and make the recommendation, Murthy said.

IT IS ABSOLUTELY OUR BUSINESS' TO KNOW WHO GETS VACCINATED, BIDEN HEALTH SECRETARY SAYS

Murthys comments following the meeting come shortly after Fauci said Sunday that health officials do not believe vaccine boosters are needed right now, adding that the majority of new hospitalizations due to COVID-19 were primarily among unvaccinated populations.

Story continues

Washington Examiner Videos

Tags: Healthcare, News, CDC, FDA, Vaccination, Coronavirus, Biden Administration, Vivek Murthy, Pfizer

Original Author: Cassidy Morrison

Original Location: Biden administration unconvinced on COVID-19 booster shots after Pfizer talks
Jeff Flake, the former Republican senator from Arizona, is President Joe Biden's pick to be the U.S. ambassador to Turkey.

"Given the strategic importance of the United States' relationship with our long-time NATO Ally, the Republic of Turkey, I am honored and humbled by the trust President Biden has placed in me with this ambassadorial nomination. This is a pivotal post at an important time for both of our countries," Flake wrote Tuesday in a post on Medium.

A Biden administration official confirmed that Biden plans to nominate Flake.

Flake, a frequent critic and target of former President Donald Trump when he was in office, endorsed Biden last year ahead of the Republican National Convention. At the time, he cited Trump's insistence that the only way he would lose the election would be if it were rigged as a reason for his decision.

"What kind of president talks like that?" Flake said then. "What kind of American leader undermines confidence in the elections in his own country?"

In his post Tuesday, Flake said Biden's intention to nominate him "reaffirms the best tradition of American foreign policy and diplomacy: the credo that partisan politics should stop at the water's edge."

"U.S. foreign policy can and should be bipartisan," he wrote. "That is my belief as well, and my commitment."

Flake is the second Arizona Republican whom Biden has nominated to a prestigious post. Biden nominated Cindy McCain, the widow of Sen. John McCain, to be the U.S. representative to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. Like Flake, Cindy McCain crossed party lines to endorse Biden.

The White House also plans to nominate Kent Logsdon, a career member of the senior foreign service, to be the ambassador to Moldova, the Biden official said.
By Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday nominated writer, surgeon and public health expert Atul Gawande to lead global health development at the U.S. Agency for International Development, including for COVID-19, the White House said.

Gawande, author of four New York Times best-selling books and a professor at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, would serve as the assistant administrator of USAID's Bureau for Global Health, if confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

His role at USAID will focus on efforts to prevent child and maternal deaths, control the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and combat infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, a White House official said.

Gawande appears to be taking his own advice. Last month, he told advanced degree graduates at Stanford University to be "open to trying stuff  to saying yes" to new opportunities.

On Tuesday, he said he was honored to be tapped for the job. "With more COVID deaths worldwide in the first half of 2021 than in all of 2020, I'm grateful for the chance to help end this crisis and to re-strengthen public health systems worldwide," he wrote on Twitter.

Gawande, an outspoken critic of his industry's practices, was hired in 2018 by Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Amazon.com Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co to lead Haven, a joint healthcare company aimed at cutting costs for U.S. employees.

But the Boston-based venture was short-lived and shut down in February.

Gawande's 2014 book, "Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End" explores the limitations and failures of the medical profession in grappling with the realities of aging and death.

Gawande, a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1998 and the winner of a MacArthur Fellowship, is also founder and chair of Ariadne Labs, a center for health systems innovation, and of Lifebox, a nonprofit organization aimed at making surgery safer globally.

Story continues

During the pandemic, Gawande co-founded CIC Health, which operates COVID-19 testing and vaccination nationally, and served on Biden transition's advisory board on COVID-19.

He served as a senior adviser in the Department of Health and Human Services during the administration of former President Bill Clinton.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; additional reporting by Caroline Humer; editing by Sonya Hepinstall and Richard Pullin)
(Reuters) -The U.S. government will this week warn companies of increasing risks of operating in Hong Kong and also update a previously issued warning on Xinjiang, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

The report said that U.S. companies face threats including the Chinese government's ability to gain access to data that foreign companies store in Hong Kong.

The risks also included the new law that allows Beijing to impose sanctions against individuals or entities involved in making or implementing discriminatory measures against Chinese citizens or entities, the FT said https://on.ft.com/2UK19Sw, citing three people familiar with the matter.

On Tuesday, the United States will update a warning that former President Donald Trump's administration issued on Xinjiang last year, FT said, adding that it will stress on the legal risks that companies face unless they ensure that their supply chains are not implicated in forced labour in Xinjiang.

This warning is "typical political manipulation and double standards" by Washington, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.

He said the rights of foreign investors in Hong Kong are clearly protected by Hong Kong's laws, including the Basic Law, its mini constitution.

The FT report also said that the United States will impose more sanctions this week in response to China's crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

China dismisses accusations of genocide and forced labor in Xinjiang and says its policies are necessary to stamp out separatists and religious extremists who plotted attacks and stirred up tension between mostly Muslim ethnic Uyghurs and Han, China's largest ethnic group.

(Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar and Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Yew Lun Tian in Beijing; editing by Louise Heavens)
California school district will decide how to deal with students who don't follow state rules that require masks on campus. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The complications of managing COVID-era education took a dramatic turn Monday, when state officials issued a rule barring unmasked students from campuses, and then, hours later, rescinded that rule  while keeping in place a mask mandate for all at K-12 schools.

Instead, the latest revision allows local school officials to decide how to deal with students who refuse to wear masks, a spokesman for Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday night.

The statewide policy that prohibited unmasked students from campus had been intended to provide helpful clarity for local educators as they work to provide a safe environment for staff and students.

The original language, which became official at 3 p.m., stated, Schools must exclude students from campus if they are not exempt from wearing a face covering under California Dept. of Public Health guidelines and refuse to wear one provided by the school.

In addition, the guidance stated that schools should offer alternative educational opportunities for students who are excluded from campus because they will not wear a face covering.

But the rule was almost immediately reconsidered.

At 7:25 p.m., the California Department of Public Health tweeted out a change of direction: "Californias school guidance will be clarified regarding masking enforcement, recognizing local schools experience in keeping students and educators safe while ensuring schools fully reopen for in-person instruction."

A spokesman for the governor's office then confirmed that the phrasing about excluding students would be dropped. Instead, local officials would have discretion about how to enforce the mask mandate, just as they had during the school year just concluded, said Alex Stack.

Even with mask enforcement left to schools, the state's COVID-19 safeguards rank among the most stringent in the nation. California health and education officials are acutely concerned with cases of the Delta variant on the rise as the new academic year approaches.

Story continues

Newsom and state public health Director Mark Ghaly have emphasized that the state is operating within guidelines released Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which provide schools ample flexibility and prioritize the full reopening of campuses. Under the CDC guidelines, for instance, school officials could choose not to require masks for vaccinated students. Unvaccinated students, however, should be masked and separated by at least three feet  part of multiple layers of available safety measures, including good ventilation, campus sanitizing and frequent handwashing.

The digital platform Burbio, which earlier tracked school reopenings, has added a tracker on mask mandates. California is one of nine states it lists as requiring masks. Others include Washington, New Mexico, North Carolina and New York.

Some states have defined their own rules outside of CDC guidance. Arizona lawmakers have prohibited masks requirements in schools, which some public health experts have decried as foolhardy, with more contagious and possibly more virulent COVID variants on the rise. Others among the eight states that ban mask mandates include Texas, Arizona, Vermont and South Carolina, according to Burbio.

Three states  Illinois, Michigan and West Virginia  make mask-wearing contingent on vaccination status. Other states offer varying degrees of local flexibility.

Only children 12 and older are currently eligible to be vaccinated, but many, although eligible, have not been inoculated.

Requiring masks "seems to be a safe course for ensuring that every student can come back to school in the fall," said state Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, who has reviewed the state health rules. "I certainly see the logic of it."

For the most part, the rules released Monday expand on what state officials indicated Friday  that masks would continue to be required even as other aspects of schooling, such as the length of the school day, returned to normal.

Some parents said the new rules were overcautious and counterproductive.

"There are 50k maskless Dodger fans drinking, eating and shouting: no testing, masking, screening or vaccination mandate. But schools arent safe?" said Christie Pesicka, an elementary school parent in Los Angeles and a leader of the local parents group California Students United. "Maybe if we rename school: church, band, concert, play structure, amusement park... sporting event? The hypocrisy is mind-blowing!"

But the mask mandate could prove reassuring to many parents, said Katie Braude, chief executive of the local advocacy group Speak Up.

"Given the hesitancy of many families to send their kids back to school, especially in low-income communities of color, masks remain an important safety measure for now," Braude said. "This is especially true as the Delta variant spreads, and cases start to increase again in Los Angeles, which prompted the Health Department to urge fully vaccinated people to wear masks indoors."

Ilan Shapiro, a fellow at the American Academy of Pediatrics, which called for schools to reopen more quickly, said the state guidelines, including the mask mandate, align with the organization's recommendations.

"Its a good time to reflect on how we can protect our kids" as well as school community members, Shapiro said, "Its the teacher that has diabetes, the administrative people doing day-to-day work. Theres a lot of other people around schools. Its not just kids, per se. Its the community around."

Students may not be sent home if they forget a mask or lose a mask. Schools must provide masks as needed. Staff also must wear masks when in contact with students, regardless of vaccination status.

The state and the CDC also want to limit potential disruptions caused by overaggressive quarantine policies. They have updated rules to limit when and how long students must remain isolated from classmates.

For example, when an infected student and an unvaccinated close contact are both wearing masks, the contact may continue to attend school if that student is asymptomatic, continues to mask and undergoes at least twice-weekly testing during a 10-day period.

A close contact would be a person exposed to an infected masked individual for more than 15 minutes over a 24-hour period within 6 feet indoors.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Fires have been raging across large parts of the western US

As fires rage across large parts of the western United States, a unique kind of large storm cloud has been forming in the skies above. Firefighters and scientists are reporting huge, smoky clouds towering a mile (1.6km) rising over the blaze in California and surrounding states.

These pyrocumulonimbus clouds - dubbed "fire clouds" - can produce hurricanes and lightning, which can generate even more fires.

These are giant, fast-moving blazes so powerful they create their own weather systems akin to thunderstorms.

And due to their ferocity, they are largely impossible to fight.

Why do fire clouds form?

With certain ground and atmospheric conditions, wildfires can rip through a large area with so much energy that they generate a pyrocumulonimbus, or "fire storm cloud".

Nasa calls pyrocumulonimbus "the fire-breathing dragon of clouds", because they funnel smoke like a chimney into the Earth's atmosphere, while hurling thunderbolts, wind and rain.

Pyrocumulonimbus clouds tend to form when the fire is at its hottest

Ordinarily, wildfires are driven along by the wind but a massive blaze can carry so much power that its smoke is not pushed to the side. Instead, it forms a plume that rises up to 15km (nine miles) into the sky.

Because the plume contains heat and moisture, when it hits the stratosphere it can condense and form clouds.

Pyrocumulonimbus clouds tend to form in the afternoon when the fire is at its hottest. On Friday, Death Valley National Park in California recorded a staggering high of 54.4C (130F) - smashing the record as the hottest temperature recorded there since 1913.

What can they do?

When they form above fires, pyrocumulonimbus clouds can make the blaze spread even faster. Sometimes they can also create their own lightning, which can spark more fires. But in some cases, they can also cause rain.

When the weather cools into the evening, the clouds can pose a danger as they fall to the ground.

"Later in the afternoon, that cloud will collapse and create a downdraft of heavy smoke, embers, things like that, and it can actually create additional fire behaviour," Lisa Cox, information officer for the western California fires told the Los Angeles Times.

Story continues

That can fling sparks miles ahead of the main fire, while the smoke reduces visibility, grounding firefighting aircraft, she said.

On Friday afternoon, strikes along the eastern side of the fire, produced by a pyrocumulonimbus cloud, were recorded by the National Weather Service in Reno, Nevada.

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

Can you fight such fires?

"It is very difficult to tackle such extreme fires", said Martin Wooster, Professor of Earth Observation at King's College London.

"Air attack (water bombing) is the method which is usually attempted, but fighting such fires effectively often needs a change in the weather that is driving such extreme fire activity," he told the BBC.

In California, the erratic behaviour and extreme heat of such fires, bolstered by the fire clouds, has made it dangerous for fire crews in California to fight them directly.

"It's too dangerous, at least during the day," Ms Cox told the Los Angeles Times. "At night they can try to get around spot fires that form. It just really depends."

Are they becoming more common?

According to Yale360, there are an average of 25 fire clouds in western North America each year.

But Mr Wooster said that while there appears to be more reports of fire clouds, global fire activity overall has decreased since 2000. Although before that, it had been increasing for several decades.

He said what feels like an increase could be a result of people taking more notice and better data from ground-based radar and satellites.

"In some well publicised areas, fire activity seems perhaps to be getting more extreme," he said.

Mr Wooster added that factors driving these changes include the different ways humans are now using and managing land, for example in places like the Amazon.

However climate change is very likely also having effects in some areas, Mr Wooster said.

In parts of Australia and North America "satellite data suggests that fire activity seems to have become more extreme over recent decades".

"This may be related to climate change and more extreme fires can lead to more of these types of fire cloud," Mr Wooster said.

Scientists have predicted that climate change is likely to increase the chances of such events.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP)  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his heart breaks after the discovery of more unmarked graves on the grounds of an Indigenous residential school in the southern Gulf Islands off the British Columbia coast.

The Penelakut Tribe says more than 160 undocumented and unmarked graves have been found on the site of the former Kuper Island Indian Industrial School.

I recognize these findings only deepen the pain that families, survivors and all Indigenous peoples and communities are already feeling as they reaffirm truth that they have long known, Trudeau said during a news conference Tuesday in Ottawa.

To members of the Penelakut Tribe we are here for you. We cannot bring back those who are lost but we can and will continue to tell the truth, Trudeau said.

The Penelakut Tribe have issued a letter saying the graves were found on the grounds of the former residential school on what is now known as Penelakut Island between Vancouver Island and mainland B.C., about 78 miles (126 kilometers) southwest of Vancouver.

We understand that many of our brothers and sisters from our neighboring communities attended the Kuper Island Industrial School, said the letter from Chief Joan Brown. We also recognize with a tremendous amount of grief and loss, that too many did not return home.

The Kuper Island Indian Industrial School was operated by the Roman Catholic Church from 1890 until 1969, when the federal government took it over. The school was closed in 1975 and the building was demolished in the 1980s.

Trudeau said the federal government will work with Indigenous people to fight discrimination and systemic racism.

Close to 1,000 unmarked graves have been discovered at former residential school sites in British Columbia and Saskatchewan over the last several months.

In July, ground-penetrating radar found 182 human remains close to a former residential school in Cranbrook, B.C., 524 miles (843 kilometers) east of Vancouver.

Story continues

Just a week earlier, the Cowessess First Nation, located about 85 miles (135 kilometers) east of the Saskatchewan capital of Regina said investigators found at least 600 unmarked graves at the site of a former Marieval Indian Residential School.

In May, the remains of 215 children, some as young as 3 years old, were found buried on the site of what was once Canadas largest Indigenous residential school near Kamloops, B.C., 220 miles (354 kilometers) east of Vancouver.

From the 19th century until the 1970s, more than 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend state-funded Christian schools, the majority of them run by Roman Catholic missionary congregations, in a campaign to assimilate them into Canadian society.

The Canadian government has admitted that physical and sexual abuse was rampant in the schools, with students beaten for speaking their native languages.

Two New Democratic Party Members of Parliament have demanded the federal government investigate allegations of crimes against humanity in residential schools.
The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture of the Riverside Art Museum has named Maria Esther Fernandez as its artistic director, the center's top post and the person who will steer the curatorial and programming visions for the project under development in the former Riverside Public Library.

The Cheech, as its referred to, is scheduled to open May 8. It will feature Marins personal collection of about 700 items along with works on loan from artists, collectors and other institutions. It will also present traveling exhibitions.

The center is a public-private partnership between the city of Riverside, the Riverside Art Museum and Marin, the third-generation Mexican American and film and TV actor whos been collecting Chicanx art for four decades.

In the Tuesday announcement, Marin said Fernandez brings a wealth of experience and expertise in Chicano art history that aligns well with the Cheech.

Fernandez comes to the Cheech from the Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara, Calif., where she worked for 16 years and most recently served as chief curator and deputy director. She received a 2018 California Arts Council grant to research how curatorial practices impact representation and access for the Chicanx community in contemporary art museums. Shes co-curating a retrospective of work by Amalia Mesa-Bains that will premiere at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive in spring 2023.

A top priority at the Cheech, Fernandez said, is to expand the narrative of Chicanx art.

We have an opportunity to leverage this great collection and museum resources in a focused way, she said, in the development of innovative community programming, in the development of scholarship, addressing gaps in American art history and gaps in the collection  expanding the collection  to really create critical dialogue around what Chicanx art is and can be.

Fernandez's vision for the museum is intricately tied to her background. The daughter of immigrants, she was born in Chicago and grew up in Inglewood in the late 80s and 90s. It was a time, she said, where there was rampant anti-immigrant sentiment, the L.A. uprising after the Rodney King verdicts, and all of those experiences were formative. And many of those issues were still dealing with today.

Story continues

Those experiences led Fernandez to major in Chicanx and ethnic studies at UC Berkeley, where she was mentored by artists such as Celia Herrera Rodriguez and Yolanda Lopez, whose work is informed by the Chicano movement. She later received a master's degree in visual and critical studies from California College of the Arts in San Francisco. Her academic studies, she said, led to a deeper understanding of the marginalization of Chicanx art in the greater art world.

So Im looking at developing programs and curating exhibitions that speak to those gaps, she said. And thinking about how museum practices can perpetuate marginalization and seeing a critical need to develop equitable practices.

The Cheech will exhibit paintings, drawings and prints as well as sculpture, photography, installations, mixed media works and video art. The National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago and the Mexican Museum in San Francisco, among others, have collections of Chicanx art, but Marin has been at the forefront of collecting in the genre, Fernandez said.

This is a very large collection, she said. I cant say its the largest, because there are collectors in Texas and California, but it has been the most traveled and written about. There have been many, many exhibitions on it, it has toured throughout the country, so in that regard, it is very important.

The Cheech will open with an installation of selected works from Marins collection. The inaugural temporary exhibition will be by Mexican-born artists the De La Torre brothers. "Collidoscope: A De La Torre Brothers Retro-Perspective" was organized by the Riverside Art Museum in partnership with the Smithsonian Latino Center.

Fernandez hopes the exhibits will spark conversation.

The whole purpose of the curatorial program for me, the whole goal, would be that it really complicate our discussions around Chicanx art, she said.

A lot of people think of Chicanx art as art that came out of the movement  and that is the foundation, the grounding for the work, Fernandez said. But over the decades, the work has evolved.

"Theres a lot of dialogue to have," she said. "Hopefully the collection and the center will be a catalyst for that, a place where those conversations can take place.

Fernandez assumes her position in August.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Superintendent David Brown used Londre Sylvester, a local rapper, as his latest example for why he believes the court system needs to increase its bond threshold.

Sylvester was ambushed and gunned down, with at least 59 shell casings found after the shootout, Saturday night down the street from the Cook County Jail, where he was just released on electronic monitoring.

If not for his lifestyle choices, Londre Sylvesters death would surely endanger everyone around him, Brown said.

Brown noted Sylvester had the words kill to survive tattooed on him. And, according to his mug shot, the words shoot to kill were also tattooed.

Sylvesters tattoo says, Kill to survive above a black target, police spokesman Don Terry said based on preliminary information, and Shoot to kill underneath, as seen in his mug shot. Nevertheless, Brown has continued to double down on his talking point, blaming the courts for Chicagos violence, diverting the blame from police. Despite Sylvester being the victim of the shooting, Brown listed off the 31-year-olds criminal record.

His long criminal record didnt keep him there long, Brown said. Its incredible that he was eligible for electronic monitoring. Its madness. Its making us all less safe.

Brown pointed to the two women who were injured in the shooting as people who were endangered due to Sylvesters release, and said it was a miracle they werent also killed. One was a 60-year-old woman who was with Sylvester and shot in the knee, and the other was a 30-year-old woman who was walking in the area at the time and suffered a graze wound to her mouth, according to a police report.

Sylvester who was murdered, these two women who were shot, theyre victims, Brown said. And law enforcement, all of us standing here before you, are sworn to be advocates for victims.

Brown said he has had multiple meetings with Chief Judge Timothy Evans and States Attorney Kim Foxx/, but it shouldnt be a backroom discussion.

Story continues

The topic is something that Brown said was brought up to President Joe Biden on Monday at the White House. The meeting with the president went an hour over the allotted time, Brown said. The president and other police leaders discussed short- and long-term solutions to crime deduction, including how to reduce the flow of illegal guns into the city. Brown said he also was able to talk one on one with Attorney General Merrick Garland and plans to have follow-up meetings with him.

Brown said he wouldnt speak for what Biden said on bail reform or anything else during the meeting, directing those questions to the White House, but the president did a lot of listening. I know it seems like a trivial thing, but he really listened.

Brown also discussed the rollout of the U.S. Department of Justices strike force, which includes the Chicago Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The strike force will help get all law enforcement on the same page, Brown said, and help identify and trace the flow of illegal guns. Brown declined to give further details on what the strike force would look like, saying more details will be released soon.

This new strike force differs from previous attempts, Brown said, because its more than that, its money and support from the whole government for the public safety ecosystem.

The announcement of federal agents boosting their efforts to stem the flow of illegal guns in big U.S. cities like Chicago is nothing new. And Chicago officials wouldnt specify how the new strike forces would differ from past efforts in the city

Last year, under President Donald Trumps administration, Chicago and other cities received a surge of federal agents to fight violence as part of Operation Legend, named in honor of 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was shot and killed in Kansas City, Missouri. In Chicago, the operation involved a few hundred federal agents from the ATF, Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Whats more, Chicago police and other big-city police departments routinely work with federal law enforcement on criminal investigations. Such partnerships over the years have included Project Exile, aimed at shifting more gun prosecutions to federal court for tougher penalties, and Project Safe Neighborhoods, designed to better coordinate federal resources and local intelligence on crime.

pfry@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @paigexfry
Reuters Videos

Surveillance video shows the 5-year-old child walking ahead of his mother and siblings in Queens on Thursday (July 15) evening.A man is seen getting out of a car, running to the child, snatching him off the sidewalk and putting him in the backseat of a parked car. The child's mother is seen pulling her son through the car's front passenger seat window.The child was not hurt.The mother, identified by local media as 45-year-old Dolores Diaz, said she did not know why someone would try to take her child and said her neighborhood is safe.Late Friday, police arrested 24-year-old James McGonagle. He has been charged with attempted kidnapping as well as other counts.Police said they are looking for a second suspect.
Several suspects exited two separate vehicles and all began to shoot.

Chicago rapper KTS Dre was fatally shot over the weekend after reportedly being ambushed by multiple gunmen following his release from the Cook County Jail.

The shooting occurred on Saturday and 31-year-old KTS Dre (born Londre Sylvester) suffered as many as 64 bullet wounds to his head and other parts of his body, police said, per NBC Chicago.

The rising hip-hop artist had just been released from jail and was walking to a vehicle when several suspects exited two separate vehicles and all began to shoot in Sylvesters direction, striking him numerous times, the police report said.

KTS Dre was one of at least 40 people who was shot in the city over the weekend; 10 of the victims died from their injuries. Police believe the local rap star was targeted, Fox 32 reports. He was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

A 60-year-old woman who was walking with him at the time of the attack took a bullet to the knee. She is reportedly listed in good condition at Stroger Hospital. A 30-year-old woman who was walking by as shots rang out suffered a graze wound to her mouth, and is also listed in good condition at Mount Sinai Hospital, per the report.

KTS Dre was out on bail for charges related to an April 2020 arrest for being a felon in possession of a weapon and resisting police. He posted the required $5,000 of a $50,000 bail and was fitted with an ankle monitor before he was killed. According to CWB Chicago, KTS stands for Kill To Survive.

Londre Sylvester (Credit: Cook County Jail)

His death comes days after aspiring rapper Indian Red Boy was shot and killed while live streaming on Instagram last week in Hawthorne, California.

Indian Red Boy, born Dijon Rivera, was reportedly live-streaming with fellow gang member Kapone on Thursday, July 8, when he was shot 12 times.

The graphic video shows him getting shot in his left eye, his neck, and upper torso. He can be heard begging Kapone to get help.

Story continues

One Twitter user described the video as brutal, adding, One minute you laughing it up, next minute you gasping for breath begging for help.

Kapone shared the tragic news on a now-deleted Instagram. He posted a video of Indian Red Boy dancing and captioned the clip: LLINDIANREDD. I LOVE YOU GANKG

According to Hawthorne police Lt. Ti Goetz, the gunman fled the scene after the killing.

It appears to have been a walk-up shooting and he appears to have been targeted, Goetz told Daily Breeze.

The rapper may have been targeted after he reportedly vandalized a Nipsey Hussle mural. Several Twitter users seemed convinced that Kapone betrayed his friend by setting him up to be taken out for good.

Authorities are still searching for the suspect who shot Indian Red Boy, and police in Chicago have reportedly made no arrests in the killing of KTS Dre.

Have you subscribed to theGrios Dear Culture podcast? Download our newest episodes now!

TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku. Download theGrio.com today!

The post Chicago rapper KTS Dre shot at least 64 times, killed after jail release appeared first on TheGrio.
BEIJING (AP)  China on Tuesday denounced an appeal by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for a U.S.-European unified front against Chinese unfair economic practices and human rights abuses.

China strongly deplores and rejects Treasury Secretary Yellens remarks, said a Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian.

Yellen issued the appeal Tuesday during a meeting with European Union officials in Brussels. President Joe Biden is trying to revive traditional alliances following the America First policies of his predecessor, Donald Trump.

Together, we need to counter threats to the principles of openness, fair competition, transparency and accountability, Yellen said, according to a text released by her department.

These challenges include Chinas unfair economic practices, malign behavior and human rights abuses, Yellen said. The more we confront these threats with a unified front, the more successful we will be.

Zhao rejected the criticism, saying Beijing always firmly supported the multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization.

The ruling Communist Party denies accusations that it steals or pressures U.S., European and other foreign companies to hand over technology and shields its fledgling technology and other industries from competition in violation of its WTO commitments.

European governments also are frustrated that their companies are barred from acquiring most assets in China while Chinese companies, sometimes financed by state banks, have spent billions of dollars to acquire foreign technology and brands.

Beijing also rejects accusations of abuses against predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region in China's northwest. The Biden administration renewed genocide allegations Monday against China in an annual State Department report to Congress.

The U.S. is obsessed with playing up and churning out Xinjiang-related lies, Zhao said. He added that the U.S. is in no position to judge the human rights situation in other countries and should make more effort in solving its own human rights problems.

Story continues

Washington and the European Union have imposed travel and financial sanctions on Chinese officials blamed for human rights abuses.

We do not bully and impose sanctions at every turn, nor do we exercise long-arm jurisdiction against other countries enterprises, Zhao said, referring to U.S. sanctions.

Biden has said he wants better relations with Beijing but has yet to say whether he will roll back tariff hikes on Chinese goods and other sanctions imposed by Trump in a fight with Beijing over its technology ambitions and trade surplus.
BEIJING (AP)  Tech experts in China who find a weakness in computer security would be required to tell the government and couldnt sell that knowledge under rules further tightening the Communist Partys control over information.

The rules would ban private sector experts who find zero day, or previously unknown security weaknesses, and sell the information to police, spy agencies or companies. Such vulnerabilities have been a feature of major hacking attacks including one this month blamed on a Russian-linked group that infected thousands of companies in at least 17 countries.

Beijing is increasingly sensitive about control over information about its people and economy. Companies are barred from storing data about Chinese customers outside China. Companies including ride-hailing service Didi Global Inc., which recently made its U.S. stock market debut, have been publicly warned to tighten data security.

Under the new rules, anyone in China who finds a vulnerability must tell the government, which will decide what repairs to make. No information can be given to overseas organizations or individuals other than the product's manufacturer.

No one may collect, sell or publish information on network product security vulnerabilities, say the rules issued by the Cyberspace Administration of China and the police and industry ministries. They take effect Sept. 1.

The ruling partys military wing, the Peoples Liberation Army, is a leader along with the United States and Russia in cyber warfare technology. PLA officers have been charged by U.S. prosecutors with hacking American companies to steal technology and trade secrets.

Consultants that find zero day weaknesses say their work is legitimate because they serve police or intelligence agencies. Some have been accused of aiding governments accused of human rights abuses or groups that spy on activists.

There is no indication such private sector researchers work in China, but the decision to ban the field suggests Beijing sees it as a potential threat.

China has steadily tightened control over information and computer security over the past two decades.

Banks and other entities that are deemed sensitive are required to use only Chinese-made security products wherever possible. Foreign vendors that sell routers and some other network products in China are required to disclose to regulators how any encryption features work.
(Correct value in paragraph 2)

SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd will anchor a fund for startups in China's Greater Bay Area, the company announced on Tuesday via its Alibaba Entrepreneur Fund.

The fund will have a targeted size of HK$2 billion ($258 million) and is expected to close in the second half of 2022, the company added.

($1 = 7.7657 Hong Kong dollars)

(Reporting by Josh Horwitz; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Louise Heavens)
The Haitian doctor who was arrested in connection with last weeks assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise has longtime ties to South Florida.

Christian Emmanuel Sanon  who police say planned to install himself as Haitis president  has lived and owned businesses on Floridas southeast and west coasts on and off for over two decades.

He has a number of close ties to South Florida, including multiple homes and businesses over the past two decades in communities such as Dania Beach, Wilton Manors and Boynton Beach, public records show.

Police officials in Haiti say Sanon played a critical role recruiting a Miami-based security company to carry out the assassination, the Miami Herald reported.

The Haitian National Police said they arrested Sanon and have evidence that ties him to the assassination in a statement they posted on Facebook late Sunday.

That statement, posted in Creole and translated to English, says that Sanon organized the operation that killed Moise, that he tried to have himself installed as president and that he was the first person whom two of the other suspects called after they were arrested.

Born in the southeast Haitian commune of Marigot, Sanon recently traveled to Haiti by private plane, the national police said.

While investigators are still trying to piece together much of the connections between people alleged to be involved in Moises assassination, Haiti National Police Chief Leon Charles said Sanon recruited that company who recruited people to carry out the killing, the Herald reported.

Sanon, 62, has lived in Dania Beach, Margate, Pompano Beach, Tampa and, most recently, Boynton Beach, among other places in Florida, New York and elsewhere, records show. One traffic ticket he received in Margate dates back to 1998.

He has also started businesses throughout South Florida. Many are no longer active, but a realty group registered to his home address in Boynton Beach and therapy company registered in West Palm Beach are both active, state records show.

Story continues

Sanon does not have a license to practice medicine in Florida, according to Florida Department of Health records.

A YouTube account named DrChristianSanon that appears to belong to him has three videos from 2011 in which he appears to promote himself as a leader for Haiti.

In one of those videos, he decries unnamed Haitian and international leaders, saying they enjoy relative peace and prosperity in Haiti while many Haitians live in poverty.

They cannot take it anymore, Sanon says in the video. They have no more hope in anybody. They have no hope in the international community.

They see the international leaders come in and out, he continues. Theyre flying in and out, theyre on the plane to Haiti, nobody knows what theyre doing. They see the leadership, all they do is drive beautiful cars. ... They enjoy life in Haiti. They go to the beach, they have all the beautiful houses, they have funds. So what happens to the rest of the people living in poverty? Theyre discouraged. They have no hope.

In that 2011 video, he says he will bring hope and change to Haitians. He said he travels to the Dominican Republic often and sees many fellow Haitians getting passports to travel to and eventually try moving there, to the U.S., Canada or France.

A Twitter account with the username @ChristianSanon, which also appears to belong to Sanon, describes him as a Medical Doctor and Christian Minister who is providing Leadership for Haiti through a life of positive action and absolute integrity. That account has not made a post since 2011.

The last tweet from the account says, I am on my way to Haiti for a very important meeting. I will keep you informed of the process

Records show he filed for bankruptcy in 2013.

Austen Erblat can be reached at aerblat@sunsentinel.com, 954-599-8709 or on Twitter @AustenErblat.

Brooke Baitinger can be reached at: bbaitinger@sunsentinel.com, 954-422-0857 or Twitter: @bybbaitinger
(Refiles to correct spelling of soldiers in headline)

By Julia Symmes Cobb

BOGOTA (Reuters) -An ex-soldier recruited to join a group of Colombians accused of involvement in last week's assassination of Haiti's president added his voice to a chorus of family and colleagues who say the men were contracted to provide security, not to kill.

Haitian authorities said President Jovenel Moise was murdered early on Wednesday by foreign, trained assassins: 26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans. Eighteen of the men have been captured, while three others were killed.

Matias Gutierrez, a retired special forces sniper and father of four, would have traveled to Haiti with the group last month if he had not tested positive for COVID-19.

"If I had traveled, I would possibly be involved in the same thing that the commandos there are, unfortunately," Gutierrez told Reuters late on Monday.

Gutierrez, who now works as a security guard, said he knows the men were not involved in Moise's killing because they are honorable and also well-trained in how to assault a target and then pull back if that had been their actual mission.

"It wasn't our commandos. There has to have been a conspiracy," said Gutierrez. "Their extraction was total chaos. Why? Because they weren't going on an assault, they went in support of a request by the security forces of the president."

Multiple relatives and colleagues of the Colombians have raised doubts over the Haitian authorities' report, saying the men were hired as bodyguards.

Gutierrez showed Reuters the Whatsapp chat where he says discussions about the job took place.

The men were to earn $2,700 a month to help protect Moise, he said, and were assured they would work in concert with Haitian authorities.

That is a princely sum for ex-soldiers like Gutierrez, who spent 21 years in the army, 14 of them in special forces, before retiring in 2015. His retirement payments are just 960,000 pesos (about $250) per month, he said.

Story continues

"You leave with the hope that you're retired and you can live off the pension, enjoy your family like you couldn't do for 20 years," Gutierrez said.

He and his wife had their fourth child just nine months ago, hoping Gutierrez could finally be the father he longed to be for his older children.

"I didn't see my kids grow up," he added. "They never saw me at home because I was always out in the country, in the combat area."

Gutierrez said he chatted to some of the men when they first arrived in Haiti. They told him things were going well and they were staying in a house close to the presidential palace.

(Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by David Gregorio)
You sometimes hear the term "in camera" when referring to happenings in a judges private chambers. The public and press corps generally dont learn what unfolded behind closed doors.

Its a lot different than "on camera."

And thats precisely what could happen in the U.S. Supreme Court if a coalition of bipartisan senators has its way.

The High Court bars cameras. But theres been a push for decades to open up the Supreme Court and beam its proceedings into everyones living room and directly onto your iPhone.

The Supreme Court is a secretive institution: only seats for 50 visitors, no cameras. Reporters only scribble with pens and notebooks inside.

And when the justices announce their decisions, the world learns about the rulings in a very old-school way.

SHAPIRO QUESTIONS HIGH HOPES FOR MARKEDLY UNAMBITIOUS BARRETT AND KAVANAUGH AS SCOTUS TERM ENDS

Its a Washington ritual dubbed "The Running of the Interns." Breathless couriers for news organizations  often interns  don tennis shoes and sprint the decisions to awaiting news cameras and reporters outside the building.

But, its possible Congress could convert the Supreme Court sanctum into a modified version of a Hollywood soundstage.

For the first time in history, a Senate panel voted to approve a bill which would require the High Court televise its oral arguments.

Almost no one has pushed this harder and longer than Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, former chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

"I've been years trying to get it done. And I hope now the time has arrived," said Grassley. "I do believe that better understanding of all the three branches of government is very, very important. And the only one that people know least about is the judicial branch."

In an op-ed which appeared in USA Today, Grassley wrote that televising the trial of convicted Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin made it easier for people to grasp the verdict.

Story continues

"I think when you have greater transparency, you have more accountability," said Grassley.

But the plan has its opponents.

"There's an interest in the American people having access to and being able to see the workings of our branches of government," said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who clerked for the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist. However, Cruz worries that cameras could "overly politicize" the High Court. He suggested that "you would see the lawyers for both sides behaving differently."

ABC NEWS DECLARES SCOTUS RULING DELIVERS A BLOW TO ELECTION RIGHTS

"There is a reason that virtually every Supreme Court justice opposes this. And I would point out that that view is not a partisan view. It's not the Republican nominees oppose this," added Cruz, arguing that televised proceedings would "mis-educate the American people."

Supreme Court Justices generally oppose the idea of cameras. Justices dont often make public statements. However, the issue of cameras in the Supreme Court surfaced at a March, 1996 House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on funding for the federal courts with former Associate Supreme Court Justices Anthony Kennedy and David Souter.

The country was fresh off the wall-to-wall, televised murder trial of OJ Simpson in the summer and fall of 1995. People were concerned whether the presence of cameras influenced Judge Lance Ito, who presided over the trial, to say nothing of the attorneys.

"What about the lawyers? Do they ever perform for the cameras?" asked then subcommittee chairman and former local prosecutor Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky.

"Oh no!" smirked Kennedy, drawing laughter from the crowd. "Of course they do. When you have this frenzy of the press, this is a marriage made in heaven. Attorneys love it."

"Trial lawyers are by nature, actors," counters former Connecticut Attorney General and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. "I've been a trial lawyer. It's a form of acting, in some ways. And, the trial is a form of playing. But the camera doesn't make it more so. I think that it simply enlightens the public."

Concern about "theatrics" in the courtroom has long bedeviled those who wish to televise court proceedings. Especially the Supreme Court.

"One of the (arguments against cameras) has been the idea of grandstanding. That youve have these sort of My Cousin Vinny-style monologues in which lawyers would be performing, not for the judge or making their arguments to the justices. But instead, looking for sound bytes that would be picked up for the evening news," said longtime Supreme Court observer Amy Howe of SCOTUSblog.

ARIZONA AG ON SUPREME COURT UPHOLDING STATE'S VOTER PROTECTIONS: WE WON

Howe observed that justices would not look fondly on those who play to the camera before the High Court.

"They may well chastise a lawyer who tried to do that," said Howe. "Thats going to be something that would carry with a lawyer and have a kind of reputational sanction. That might make it harder for someone to get hired for future Supreme Court cases."

The Supreme Court has provided audio of its oral arguments to news organizations since the mid-1990s.

The High Court periodically releases same-day audio for "big" cases. The Supreme Court allowed live audio of oral arguments - via phone - during the pandemic.

The DC Circuit Court of Appeals has also provided live audio. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said it will continue with live audio feeds of arguments post-pandemic. And the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has provided live video for years.

"The sky has not yet fallen," said Howe when speaking about televised proceedings from the Ninth Circuit.

At a December, 2014 House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on cameras in the courtroom, C-SPAN co-CEO Susan Swain testified about what she characterized as a "patchwork" of systems in the federal courts when it comes to providing video and audio. When a court offers audio, C-SPAN and other news organizations simply supplement the audio with pictures of those speaking. The same with cases argued before the Supreme Court, via telephone, during the pandemic.

At the time, Swain posed the following question: "Why not simply permit the cameras?"

In her testimony, Swain argued that "an open judicial system is fundamental for our democracy" and that judges were "public employees."

But Cruz isnt convinced.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"Every single one of us behaves dramatically differently when the C-SPAN cameras are on. When the cameras are off and were in a classified briefing, suddenly people have their jackets off," said Cruz. "They actually have conversations."

Passage of the bill in committee with bipartisan support strokes optimism that the full Senate could approve the plan to televise Supreme Court oral arguments.

Of course, introducing TV cameras into the Supreme Court could propel the institution into the 20th Century. But, perhaps not yet, the 21st.
Conservative radio host Larry Elder said on Monday that he would enter the California gubernatorial recall election.

I am hereby announcing that I will run for governor of California in this recall election, Elder told listeners of his show.

Elder said was initially reluctant to run for office in California, in part because of widespread control of the state government by Democrats. However, he eventually decided to make the attempt, in part after encouragement by supporters including fellow radio host Dennis Prager.

I have common sense. I have good judgment. Im born and raised here. I think I understand the state, Elder told the Associated Press. I know its a long shot, but Elder said he had a fire in the belly to see if I can do something . . . to move the needle in the right direction.

A recall petition against current Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, gained steam during the coronavirus pandemic. Newsom faced backlash from parents frustrated over the states inability to reopen public schools, and his popularity has fallen amid business closures. In November 2020, Newsom was photographed dining at a Napa Valley restaurant without observing the states mitigation guidelines.

The recall election, scheduled for September 14, already has a crowded field of Republican candidates, including former San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer and former Olympian and reality-TV star Caitlyn Jenner.

More from National Review
Conservative radio host Larry Elder has entered the California gubernatorial recall race against Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Elder, 69, an attorney who is a frequent Fox News guest, announced his candidacy on Monday. On his newly created campaign website, Elder declared that he's running "because the decline of California isn't the fault of its people," rather, he put that blame on "our government."

GAVIN NEWSOM RECALL EFFORT MOVES FORWARD AFTER ENOUGH VERIFIED SIGNATURES SURVIVE WITHDRAWAL PROCESS

He also discussed it on his radio program, which is heard in all 50 states on more than 300 stations, and revealed he was originally reluctant to enter the race because of how overwhelmingly blue the state is in statewide elections.

"Months ago, I was approached to run for governor by Dennis Prager because people asked him to ask me, they know how much I respect Dennis and how influential Dennis has been in my life and my career, and I said Dennis, thank you for that. But, hell no. I said, 'I think this state is ungovernable,'" he said. "The Democrats enjoy supermajorities in the Senate, supermajorities in the Assembly, so Republicans need not show up for work."

I think this is a race between Gavin Newsom and me. I dont think about the other candidates, Elder told the Associated Press, adding, I know its a long shot."

In early July, Democratic Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis announced voters can decide whether or not to oust Newsom on Sept. 14 after state authorities made the determination that recall organizers obtained enough valid signatures. Days earlier, Secretary of State Shirley Weber's office confirmed that there were 1,719,900 verified signers, well above the roughly 1.5 million needed to move forward with the recount.

The recall campaign began in June 2020 in response to Newsom's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Story continues

The field of Republican candidates vying to boot Newsom out of Sacramento is growing. Republican state Rep. Kevin Kiley announced his bid for governor this week, pitting him against Caitlyn Jenner, former gubernatorial candidate John Cox, and San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer.

Newsom will not be listed as a Democrat on the recall ballot after he failed to meet a deadline to register his party affiliation, a judge ruled on Monday.

Washington Examiner Videos

Tags: News, California, gubernatorial races, Gavin Newsom, recall, Larry Elder, Caitlyn Jenner, California recall

Original Author: Mike Brest

Original Location: Conservative radio host Larry Elder enters California Newsom recall race
The Coral Springs Police Departments new Community Ambassador Program is looking for residents eager to engage and serve in the initiative.

The Community Ambassador Program will provide Coral Springs residents an opportunity to learn more about the police department, discuss timely and controversial topics, increase direct interactions with residents, review police work and examine the departments use of force incidents.

Recognizing situations in which there is a misunderstanding or lack of knowledge regarding how the public perceives policing, the program will assist in building a stronger foundation, develop greater understanding and improve transparency, according to the department.

Weve always had an open and transparent philosophy here at the police department, Coral Springs Police Department Deputy Chief Brad McKeone said. Obviously, last year with the George Floyd incident, that caused national conversations and national discussions around things like defund the police or reimagining policing.

We had a community engagement event with some people that our commissioner set up, he said. There were some good conversations. Some topics that we got into, we werent expecting. Some were just sharing stories. But, from that, I got the idea we shouldnt really wait for something to happen to have these conversations. We should be having them ongoing and have these connections in our community so if something happens...theres an outlet or a way for us to immediately connect with our community.

With 16 open positions to join the program, individuals must be a resident or owner of a business operating in the city of Coral Springs.

They must commit to serve as an ambassador for two years and regularly attend bi-monthly meetings at the police department during evening hours. Ambassadors are required to attend four of the six yearly meetings.

High school students and city commissioners are also eligible to join but will be limited to serve only one year.

Story continues

We settled on 16 [participants], McKeone said. Its not hard set in stone. We have close to 50 to 60 applicants so far. ...Theres a short couple questions theyll need to answer. They have to be residents of the city or a business owner of the city or have some connection to the city.

When you read through it, you have everything from some people are 100% I love the police. I support the police department. This is wrong whats happening to the police need improvement. We need to reimagine policing. Were looking for a balance of all those different perspectives. Ideally, wed like to have some people who are for law enforcement and some people who are not so favorable. And some people in between, saying theyve had good and bad experiences. Id like to come and learn more.

Visit forms.coralsprings.org/211474113330946.
A vehicle drives through Death Valley, California, on 11 July. (Frederic J Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

A nightmarish heatwave roasting America has seen Death Valley in California record what could be the highest reliably recorded temperature in history.

This year has seen heatwaves envelop areas including Canada, America and Siberia, and experts warn that computer modelling may have underestimated the impact of climate change.

In Death Valley, the US National Weather Service recorded a temperature at Furnace Creek of 54.4C, the Guardian reported.

If confirmed, this would equal a record set last year  and come close to rival figures from over a century ago, when measuring was less reliable.

Richard Rader of Scottsdale, Arizona, who said he had ridden his bike 10 miles across Death Valley on Sunday, told Reuters: "I just came up here to see how hot it gets.

Read more: A 1988 warning about climate change was mostly right

Most tourists left their air-conditioned cars only long enough to pose for pictures with the thermometer.

The National Weather Service issued excessive heat warnings across much of the region and cautioned residents that the high temperatures could be hazardous to their health, especially that of small children and the elderly.

The sweltering heat, which has extended across much of the Pacific Northwest, has pressured power grids and fueled major wildfires, including a blaze burning in southern Oregon that threatened 1,200 homes and other structures.

The Bootleg Fire, which broke out on Tuesday, had blackened 144,000 acres, or 224 square miles in and around the Fremont-Winema National Forest as of Sunday afternoon with no containment.

Read more: Why economists worry that reversing climate change is hopeless

Conditions at the blaze were so severe that the 926 firefighters working the lines were forced in some cases to "disengage and move to predetermined safety zones", managers said. No fatalities had been reported.

The flames were burning along a high voltage power corridor connecting Oregons power grid with Californias, worrying officials in both states that electricity to thousands of homes and businesses could be knocked out.

Story continues

Residents in hundreds of homes were already under mandatory evacuation orders and the Klamath County Sheriffs Department said it would make arrests if necessary to keep people out of those areas.

Residents in additional parts of southern Oregon were under "Go now" orders on Sunday, while still more were told to "get set".

Watch: Extreme heat brings people to Death Valley
The chaotic aftermath of the Haitian presidents assassination  with at least four people claiming to hold power  has put the spotlight on the Caribbean countrys failing democracy.

The big picture: But there are signs of deterioration even in countries with deeper democratic foundations.

Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.

Driving the news: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is already issuing warnings that he might not accept the results of next years election if they arent tabulated with paper ballots, echoing Donald Trump and past Latin American leaders.

That scenario is already playing out in Peru, where right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori has filed a flurry of legal challenges to stop her socialist opponent Pedro Castillo from being declared the winner of last months vote.

Castillo won by just 44,263 votes, and Fujimori is insisting without evidence that at least 200,000 Castillo votes were fraudulent.

Many of Fujimoris supporters have rallied behind her stop the steal effort, making this a particularly combustible situation in a country with fragile democratic institutions.

Nicaraguas democracy has been deteriorating for some time, but the dictatorial trajectory of the Central American country is now more overt than ever.

President Daniel Ortegas regime has been rounding up critics of all stripes ahead of elections in November, many of them on treason charges.

Some fear El Salvador could be heading in the same direction. Nayib Bukele, the populist president, has already marched troops into congress to pressure lawmakers and orchestrated the firing of top judges. After a landslide election victory in Februarys legislative elections, he could push further still.

The democratic trends arent encouraging in neighboring Guatemala and Honduras either.

Democracy and authoritarianism have tended to come in waves in Latin America, and its clear what direction the tide is heading in at the moment.

Story continues

The most recent Latinobarometro survey, from 2018, found that almost half of all Latin Americans are unsatisfied with democracy in their countries.

However in Cuba, the largest anti-government protests in decades erupted over the weekend, with protesters chanting for freedom in a display of dissent that was almost unthinkable on an island that has been under Communist control for six decades.

What to watch: Global democracy has been in decline for 15 consecutive years according to Freedom House, and President Biden has made reversing that trend a top foreign policy objective. There is plenty to keep him busy in the Americas.

More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free
Kyle Massey, a former child star on the Disney Channel, has had a warrant issued for his arrest in Washington State after the 29-year-old failed to appear for an arraignment stemming from a charge of "immoral" communication with a minor, Fox News confirmed on Monday.

The "Thats So Raven" actor skipped a court date in King County where he was to face a judge in a Seattle courthouse on the felony count and enter in a plea  but was absent in the matter so the judge signed off on a $100,000 warrant for his arrest, state prosecutors said.

Massey had missed his initial court date on June 28 and the court pushed the hearing to Monday.

Masseys lawyer, Lee Hutton, told TMZ that Masseys legal team has made several phone calls to the King County District Attorneys office but claims they have not received any response.

FORMER DISNEY STAR KYLE MASSEY VEHEMENTLY DENIES SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS

Hutton added that Massey has yet to be served and said his legal team is "concerned with the misrepresentations made in court. Indeed, we will move forward to defend these allegations but also determine why due process has not been followed."

Prosecutors disputed the claim that the DAs office has been uncooperative in a statement to Fox News on Monday.

'THAT'S SO RAVEN' ALUM KYLE MASSEY CHARGED WITH FELONY FOR IMMORAL COMMUNICATION WITH A MINOR

"The prosecutor of record does not have any correspondences from any attorney claiming to represent Mr. Massey, which are passed along by the front office when received," the memorandum reads. "That prosecutor is listed in the public court documents. Further, Mr. Massey, nor any representatives of him, have filed anything in the Court docket."

The statement continues: "It is possible that Mr. Masseys attorney is calling the wrong office. It also worth noting that Mr. Massey previously acknowledged the filing of the case in past media articles since the first arraignment date, which also included todays new arraignment date."

Story continues

"Theres no misrepresentation here," concluded prosecutors. "Quite simply, Mr. Massey did not appear in court."

According to court documents obtained by Fox News, Massey is accused of engaging in "immoral" contact with a minor back in December 2018 when he was 27 and the alleged victim was 13 years old.

DISNEY CHANNEL ALUM KYLE MASSEY CALLS FELONY CHARGE 'EXTORTIVE'

Prosecutors allege Massey targeted the girl with sexually explicit material via Snapchat.

The alleged victims mother alerted authorities on Feb. 19, 2020, that her daughter had received the supposed explicit material from Massey and that the actor knew the girl was underage.

The mother pressed that Massey had allegedly known the girl since she was four years old.

Massey previously denied the claims and went as far as to allege he was the target of extortion.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

He said in a statement through his attorney at the time, "No child should ever be exposed to sexually explicit materials and I unequivocally and categorically deny any alleged misconduct," per the Daily Mail.

Hutton did not immediately respond to Fox News request for comment.
Cuban officials on Tuesday confirmed the death of a 36-year-old man during anti-government demonstrations that were triggered by food and medicine shortages.

Driving the news: The government said Diubis Laurencio Tejeda died in Havana on Monday amid clashes between police and protesters during which an undisclosed number of people were arrested, per AP.

Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.

The big picture: Over 200 demonstrators have been detained or disappeared since protests began Sunday, according to the exiled Cubalex human rights group.

Cuba's government has limited access to some social media and messaging apps in response to the unrest, which President Miguel Diaz-Canel has blamed on U.S. sanctions

Amnesty International said it has received reports of "internet blackouts, arbitrary arrests" and "excessive use of force  including police firing on demonstrators."

What they're saying: Julie Chung, Acting Assistant Secretary for the State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, in a statement Tuesday called for "the immediate release of those detained or missing for demanding freedom by exercising universal rights to free assembly [and] expression."

Go deeper... DHS chief tells Cubans, Haitians: "If you take to the sea, you will not come" to U.S.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
Its clear there is an enormous and growing appetite amongst consumers to switch to products and services which address some of the biggest issues of our era, whether it be climate change or problems with society. As such, weve seen the rise of ethical investing apps, or ways to reduce our carbon footprint, or shop more ethically. So it follows that VC should come up with funds to invest in these consumer spaces.

Thats been the focus of U.K.-based Eka Ventures since it started investing in April 2020.

Its now reached a final close on its $95 million (68 million) fund, and claims to be the largest impact-driven early-stage venture capital fund focused on the UK, although TechCrunch was unable to verify that claim.

Investors in the fund include British Business Bank, BSC, Isomer, Guy's and St Thomas' Foundation, Planet First Partners, Draper Esprit, Snowball and others. Its also backed, it says, by 24 entrepreneurs, 12 of whom are founders the Eka partners have previously backed either at fund or individual level.

Ekas aim will be to invest in consumer technology companies focused on sustainable consumption, consumer healthcare, and the "inclusive economy". The fund will focus on the U.K. at between 500,000 and 3 million per deal.

Founders Jon Coker, Camilla Dolan and Andrew Richardson have previous experience in venture, where they were involved in VC deals for Gousto, Bloom & Wild, Peak and Elder. Coker was previously with London-focused VC MMC Ventures.

Jon Coker, general partner of Eka, told me: We only invest in companies where we see a clear impact directly connected to the product or service that they sell. So as they grow, the impact grows with the company. We won't invest in companies where we don't see that. Weve said to all of our investors that we will only invest in companies where that is delivered. When we're assessing companies we look for founder alignment, so understanding how the founders are thinking about building their company and the impact that's delivered through the products and services. Once we've gone through that process of alignment and assessment we then measure that impact over time. We will also co-invest with investors that don't have a specific impact focus on their fund.

Story continues

I asked him how they expect to measure the impact of their investments: We use a framework called the Impact Management Project framework, which is trying to create an industry standard around the measurement of impact in venture. It looks at different dimensions to identify the specific impact that the company you're investing in is creating. When you're backing really early-stage companies, you can measure the impact that their product is currently having but you also want to measure progress against projects that will deliver future impact. We have a number of impact-focused LPs in the fund who have done a lot of work with us actually on helping us think about this framework.

Camilla Dolan, general partner of Eka, said: One of our first investments was Urban Jungle insurance. This is an example where we think about it as being inclusive, as they saw a big opportunity to try and serve the segment that has historically been underserved. They do that through underwriting using behavioral characteristics rather than demographic characteristics, which is how the incumbent industry does it. This excludes a lot of the customers. They're now launching a social housing-specific product because they had so many testimonials from social housing.

She added: When it comes to working with companies, we are clear in our desire for scale, and we will do everything in our power to help the founders we work with achieve their ambitious goals. We are looking for entrepreneurs who set the bar for impact-driven innovation high and who are focused on fundamentally changing or creating a category, in the same way Tesla has single-handedly propelled the electric vehicle industry forward. We set Eka up to back companies with that level of ambition.

Timo Boldt, founder of Gousto said: Jon and Camilla are two of the best investors a founder could possibly hope for. They supported Gousto with our Series A back in 2013 and have been cheerleaders ever since. Their new venture, Eka, is tightly aligned with our own philosophy because of their focus on sustainability. Much like them, we believe in the power of people to drive change.

Ken Cooper, managing director, Venture Solutions, British Business Bank said: The Banks Enterprise Capital Funds programme is a key tool in helping to develop and maintain an effective venture capital provision in the U.K., lowering the barriers to entry for emerging fund managers and for those targeting less well-served areas of the market. Our commitment of 36 million to Eka Ventures will enable them to support new and growing sustainable consumer technology businesses in the U.K.
Eric Trump at a campaign event in Monroe, North Carolina, on October 8. Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Eric Trump yelled at campaign data analysts as results came in on election night, a new book says.

He had predicted the night before that his father would win with 322 electoral votes, the book says.

"We pay you to do this," he reportedly yelled at staffers. "How can this be happening?"

See more stories on Insider's business page.

Eric Trump, the former president's son, "flipped out" and yelled at his father's campaign data analysts at the White House as results came in on election night, an excerpt from a new book by the Washington Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker said.

He had predicted to friends the night before that his father would win reelection with 322 electoral votes, and he was upset that campaign staffers were reporting otherwise, the excerpt from "I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year" said.

"We pay you to do this," he reportedly yelled at staffers in the White House's Map Room, which had been transformed into a Trump campaign war room. "How can this be happening?"

The excerpt suggested he was confused about how votes could continue to be counted through election night as states processed an unprecedented number of absentee ballots, work that some state legislatures had delayed until Election Day.

Read more: Where is Trump's White House staff now? We created a searchable database of more than 327 top staffers to show where they all landed

"The election is being stolen," Eric was quoted as saying. "Where are these votes coming from? How is this legit?"

Joe Biden ultimately won with 306 electoral votes to Trump's 232. He trounced Trump in the popular vote by more than 7 million votes.

The journalist Michael Wolff also reported in his new book, "Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency," out on Tuesday, that Eric "grilled" staffers after Fox News called Arizona for Biden before the other networks had. "Where are these votes in Arizona coming from? How is this happening?" he was quoted as saying. "You said we were good."

Story continues

The ex-president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., was just as confident that his dad would win reelection and assured others on election night that "there's no way we lose" to Biden, Leonnig and Rucker wrote.

The president similarly yelled at staffers as his leads in key states like Pennsylvania shrank throughout the night, Leonnig and Rucker reported.

"Why are they still counting votes?" Trump said to his deputy campaign manager, Justin Clark, according to the excerpt. "The election's closed. Are they counting ballots that came in afterward? What the hell is going on?"

Spokespeople for Trump and Eric denied yelling at staffers, Leonnig and Rucker wrote.

In a speech from the White House on election night, Trump falsely claimed that the election had been rigged and that he'd won states including Georgia, Michigan, and Pennsylvania that were then too close to call.

"This is a fraud on the American public," Trump said, beginning months of lies about the election results. "This is an embarrassment to our country. We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this election."

Read the original article on Business Insider
ROME (Reuters) - European Union Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton said the bloc aims to increase its production of chips to 20% of global supply, from the current 10%, over the next ten years, according to comments released by Italy's industry minister after a meeting.

In May Breton had said the EU would commit significant funding to expand semiconductor manufacturing.

(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, writing by Giulia Segreti, editing by Cristina Carlevaro)
A former Houston police officer accused of assaulting a fleeing, handcuffed man  and who was seen in a video yelling for another officer to shoot his a--  has been indicted on aggravated assault charges, authorities said.

Lucas Vieira faces a first-degree felony charge, which carries a possible prison term of 99, in an incident that began with a traffic violation on July 7, 2019. The man who was allegedly assaulted, Aundre Howard, 34, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging excessive force in April.

Houston Police Officer Lucas Vieira. (Houston Police Officer's Union)

In a statement Sunday on Twitter, the Houston Police Department said that a new chief, Troy Finner, placed Vieria, 31, on indefinite suspension April 16 after taking over the departments top position.

KPRC reported that a Houston police spokesperson said that Vieira is no longer an HPD employee and that he is appealing the decision.

We respect the grand jurys decision, the department said. This case is now in the hands of the courts.

According to the lawsuit, the incident occurred after Howard, 34, was driving with an expired registration in Houston. Vieria ordered Howard out of his car and handcuffed him, the suit says, adding that he complied and no weapons were found but was still placed in a squad car.

Before a second officer could perform what the suit described as a body cavity search, Howard fled.

He grew frightened of the officers, Kallinen said in an interview. Thats why he took off running.

An account of the incident provided by Vierias lawyer, James Siscoe, said that the officers detained Howard after they saw marijuana in his car.

After Howard darted across a freeway service road, the officers were nearly struck by oncoming traffic, according to Siscoe's account. When they caught up with him, the account says, the officers struggled to keep Howard from pulling both of them into freeway traffic.

In brief body camera video released by Kallinen, Vieria can be seen chasing Howard while shouting: Shoot his a-- to a second officer, Thomas Serrano. After Serrano detained Howard, Vieria can be seen striking Howard in the head.

Story continues

According to the suit, Vieria used his handcuffs like brass knuckles, hitting him at least three times.

The suit says Howard was so terrified, he defecated. It also alleged that Vieria, Serrano and a third officer pulled Howards pants down and made fun of him.

According to Vierias lawyer, the officer struck Howard in the shoulder area three times and once in the head. The account added that Lucas, who sprained his ankle, probably saved both Howards life and possibly that of other motorists.

Howard was initially charged with evading arrest and possession of more than 4 grams of cocaine, though those charges were later dismissed, Houston Public Media reported.

Efforts to reach Serrano were unsuccessful Monday. A lawyer for the city of Houston, which is also named in the suit, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Online court records show that the former officer was released from jail on $10,000 bond.

Kallinen said Howard felt safer after the indictment was announced.

It shows the authorities  the district attorneys office  will take these kinds of cases seriously, and that the officer will have to suffer the consequences if a jury finds him guilty, Kallinen said.
Terrelle Pryor wants Ohio State to reinstate his records now that college athletes can make money off their own image rights.

Pryor was one of five Ohio State players suspended in 2010 after they sold team gear and received discounted tattoos. The players were suspended for five games in 2011 and the scandal led to the end of the Jim Tressel era at Ohio State. It also ultimately caused Ohio State to have to vacate wins from the 2010 season and receive a bowl ban in 2012 along with other penalties.

The 12 vacated wins from a 12-1 campaign in 2010 mean the statistics accumulated in them don't officially exist. Pryor wants those stats reinstated on behalf of the players who were sanctioned over a decade ago. He posted a statement to Twitter on Tuesday asking for their records to be officially recognized again.

The affirmation of NCAA athletes rights to make a living from their name, image and likeness is a huge step in the right direction. Armed with the correct resources and support, we know theyll show what we felt to be true all along  not letting athletes capitalize on what ultimately is their hard work was unjust and unnecessary.

Now that fundamental right has been granted to a new generation of athletes. Now that they finally have the freedom to share in some of the millions of dollars in revenue they generate for their coaches, their institutions, their conferences and the NCAA as a whole, we would like to see our hard won accomplishments reinstated.

Here's the statement in full. Its signed by Pryor, DeVier Posey, Solomon Thomas, Mike Adams and Daniel Herron. The players played in Ohio State's Sugar Bowl win over Arkansas after the punishments were announced and Pryor went to the NFL after the 2010 season. He was a third-round pick of the Oakland Raiders in the 2011 supplemental draft.

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

Ohio State's new name, image, and likeness rules prohibit selling of team gear

While you can understand why Pryor wants the team's records to be reinstated now that athletes can legally take sponsor money, it's hard to see how Ohio State and the NCAA are going to be willing to officially recognize the team's accomplishments again even if you think it's the right thing to do.

Story continues

Like many schools across the country located in states that do not have name, image, and likeness laws in effect, Ohio State created its own NIL rules so that players can make money. And selling team gear is prohibited under its new rules. What the players did in 2010 would not be allowed in 2021.

According to the official rules document on Ohio States site, athletes "may not sell your team-issued equipment and apparel (i.e., shoes, jersey, helmet, sticks/bats, warm-ups, etc.) until your eligibility is exhausted." Since the players were current students at the time, what they did would be prohibited by the current rules.

And we're guessing that as long as the current rule is in place at Ohio State then the players are going to be out of luck.

Reggie Bush made similar request

The Ohio State players' request comes after Reggie Bush also asked for his records at USC to be reinstated. USC was forced to vacate wins and Bush returned his Heisman Trophy after an investigation found that Bush and his family received benefits from an agent during Bush's time at USC.

The Heisman Trust said in a statement on July 2 that it would recognize Bush as the 2005 Heisman winner once the NCAA officially reinstated his statistics  something the NCAA has shown no signs of doing anytime soon. Bush is the only player to have his Heisman officially listed as "vacated" and recently was welcomed back at USC after a 10-year disassociation period as part of the NCAA's discipline of the school.

Ohio State's 2011 season was coached by current Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell after Tressel resigned that spring because of the scandal. An investigation found that Tressel knew about the arrangement for the players. Fickell became the team's interim coach after Tressel officially retired from his head coaching job and Ohio State hired Urban Meyer ahead of the 2012 season.

More from Yahoo Sports:
Jul. 13AUGUSTA, Maine  The number of lawyers taking cases under Maine's system for providing legal defense to low-income people accused of crimes has plunged in recent months, leading some to worry that cases may not be covered if the trend continues.

Maine is the only state without a public defender system. Instead the state contracts with private lawyers to provide legal representation for people who cannot afford it. The Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services has been under heavy scrutiny since 2019, when a state report that highlighted a lack of financial oversight was followed by more critical reporting on the system led by the Maine Monitor, a nonprofit news outlet.

It led the Legislature to pass partial reforms this year, including a raise for lawyers. But that is not seen as a panacea. The COVID-19 pandemic already caused court delays and further ones

may leave the state more open to long-threatened lawsuits claiming inadequate counsel. One dispute between a lawyer and the commission led her to leave nearly 200 cases.

The system is not at a crisis point and lawyers have been provided to all clients this year, said Justin Andrus, the commission's interim executive director. But he said the declining rosters were "a trend worth getting ahead of" and issued a warning.

"So far, we have successfully staffed every case that has been presented to us," he said. "If lawyers continue to withdraw, it is possible we will reach a day when we're not able to do that."

As of June's end, there were 306 lawyers actively accepting cases, Andrus said. That is down 28 percent from a high point within the past year, he said, when more than 420 lawyers were available. Caseloads have also increased markedly over the past year, with a record 28,687 cases in the 2021 fiscal year. In June alone, the commission saw more than 2,500 cases, suggesting the pace is still accelerating as courts emerge from pandemic backlogs.

Story continues

The two-year state budget passed earlier this month contained $18.6 million in new funding for the commission, including a rate increase from $60 per hour to $80 per hour, staffing and enhanced financial oversight. Andrus said the increase would be "instrumental" to help lawyers continue to work in the system.

But both he and defense attorneys said the problems are more complicated. They run the gamut from low pay, high workloads, no reimbursements for overhead costs or support staff and negative attention to the system, Tina Nadeau, a defense attorney and executive director of the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said.

Most current lawyers simply did not have time for more cases, regardless of pay, and the increase is not high enough to compete with what criminal defense attorneys could make in private practice, said Robert Ruffner, a Portland lawyer who has worked indigent cases for much of his career but stopped accepting new cases earlier this year.

"Even with that news coming, there have been attorneys still pausing taking cases," he said.

All of it comes amid a dispute between the commission and Lyman-based Amy Fairfield, who was suspended from the roster last month  along with an associate  after not complying with a request related to an investigation of her billing practices, the Maine Monitor reported. Fairfield, who was long the top-billing lawyer in the system, accused Andrus of "a targeted campaign" against her in filings to withdraw from nearly 200 cases. Andrus said Fairfield's filings "don't fully reflect my experience" but he could not comment on investigative proceedings.

Policymakers have not been able to fully agree on solutions for the system's problems. The commission proposed $35.4 million in increased funding for the system late last year, but Gov. Janet Mills left virtually all of it out of her budget proposal before lawmakers added roughly half of it back themselves in the eventual deal signed by the Democratic governor recently.

The portion lawmakers added in included a raise half as big as the commission wanted and more than $3 million to pilot a public-defender office in Kennebec County. Former Gov. Paul LePage, a Republican running against Mills in 2022, pushed for a statewide public defender system.

The defense bar has always been wary. Maine "has a pretty good system all the way around except for the fact that the state probably doesn't do enough for the people doing it," said William Ashe, an Ellsworth lawyer who recently dropped off the roster. He argued public defenders would likely be overburdened and low-paid with the state assuming more costs.

But advocacy groups including the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine have touted the idea as part of a solution to the problem, with Zach Heiden, the group's chief counsel, saying the partial legislative progress amid a shrinking roster has not been enough to assuage his concerns that Maine is violating defendants' constitutional rights to a speedy trial.

"I think it's going to be necessary for there to be litigation because nothing else has worked," Heiden said.
The claim: Democrats sued to demand signature matching in California and to stop it in Arizona

As unfounded fears of election fraud continue to linger more than half a year after the 2020 election, some are claiming that Democrats across the country are hypocritical about which election protocols they support.

A post made on Facebook July 4 asserts that in California, Democrats have gone to court to demand exact signature matches on petitions to recall the states governor, Gavin Newsom. But Democrats in Arizona, the post claims, have filed suit to stop the use of signature matching in the 2020 Presidential election audit, which likely refers to an audit currently being conducted by a Florida-based company of the votes from Arizonas Maricopa County.

Fact check: Post falsely claims Pelosi is blocking Capitol Police officers from testifying

Funny how a line in the desert can change Democrats beliefs, the post reads. The creator of the post did not respond to USA TODAYs request for comment.

This claim strays from the truth on several points.

Californias signature match use vs. Arizonas

While California does require signature matches for petition signers, its not because Democrats recently went to court to demand it; the requirement is already part of the state's regulations.

California law requires that both petition and mail-in ballot signatures must be checked against signatures already on file in voter registration records, USA TODAY previously reported. The matches do not have to be exact matches, as the claim alleges, but they must retain similar characteristics, like the signatures slant, spacing and letter formations, according to the regulations. Party preference, race and ethnicity cannot be considered by election officials in comparing signatures.

The state's Democratic-controlled Legislature is considering making signature matching rules more lax, which would make it more challenging for election officials to reject ballots because a signature doesn't exactly match voter registration records, according to the Associated Press.

Story continues

Fact check: Claim that California did not verify signatures on mail-in ballots is false

Arizona Democrats, on the other hand, did file a lawsuit aiming to stop an audit of the votes from Maricopa County  but it has little to do with exact signature matching.

The Arizona Democratic Party and Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo filed the complaint in April claiming that a Republican-led audit of Maricopa Countys votes violates state election law and asking a judge to stop it. The lawsuit alleges the audit does not provide enough security to protect ballots, voting machines and voter information, The Arizona Republic reported.

The complaint filed against the Arizona Senate, which commissioned the audit, and Florida-based Cyber Ninjas, the company hired to manage the process, was settled in May. Part of that settlement ruled out signature matching from being included in the audit. The deal does leave open the possibility for the Senates contractors to do that work if notice is provided, according to the Republic.

Fact check: Adam Schiff latest politician targeted in QAnon arrest hoax

Our rating: False

We rate FALSE the claim that Democrats sued to demand signature matching in California and to stop it in Arizona, because it was not supported by our research. Californias signature match process for petitions and mail-in ballots is already required by the state's regulations and does not require exact match signatures. There is no lawsuit demanding exact matching. Arizona Democrats did sue to stop a Republican-led audit of Maricopa Countys votes, but because they claimed it was unlawful, not to stop signature matching.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Post comparing Calif., Arizona signature matching is false
The claim: A photo shows a giant tortoise named Jonathan that is the oldest, knownterrestrial animal

On the remote British island of St. Helena, a tortoise named Jonathan resides as the oldest, known living land animal. His story has gained a lot of attention online.

Say hello to Jonathan. He was born in 1832 and is 189 years old," claims a July 6 Facebook post, alongside a picture of a tortoise. "He was 30 during the Civil War. He is the oldest known living terrestrial animal in the world."

Other Facebook users shared the same image and claim.

But there's just one problem. The image in the post isn't actually that tortoise.

Fact check: Facebook users mistake toy for newborn polar bear cub

USA TODAY reached out to several accounts for comment.

Photo shows another tortoise named Hugo

The photo shows a Galapagos tortoise named Hugo who lives at the Australian Reptile Park. Hugo is 70 years old and the oldest animal at the park.

In an email to USA TODAY, a spokesperson for the park confirmed the tortoise in the photo is Hugo.

The photo makes the rounds on reddit every couple of months or so, claiming to be Jonathan! wrote Caitlin Vine. "Jonathan is a real tortoise but hes actually a Seychelles giant tortoise, a subspecies of the Aldabra giant tortoise."

Fact check: Fact check: Image shows art exhibition in Thailand, not giant skeleton

Zookeeper Dan Rumsey confirmed to USA TODAY that he took the photo of Hugo that's misidentified in social media posts. On Dec. 16, 2019, Rumsey posted the image on Instagram.

The park and Rumsey frequently post photos of Hugo.

Jonathan is the oldest living terrestrial animal

Jonathan, roughly 189 years old, lives on the Atlantic island of St. Helena on the grounds of the historic Plantation House with other tortoises and St. Helena's governor.

In February 2019, Guinness World Records named Jonathan the worlds oldest animal on land. Experts estimate Jonathan was born in 1832. He has resided on St. Helena since he was brought to the island in 1882 and gifted to then-Gov. William Grey-Wilson.

Story continues

Jonathan (left) with another giant tortoise in 1886

Kimberley Peters, a digital media officer for the St. Helena government, told USA TODAY the photo does not show Jonathan.

Just to confirm this is definitely not Jonathan the tortoise from St. Helena, she said.

Fact-checkers have previously debunked other posts that misrepresented images of other tortoises as Jonathan.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that a photo shows a giant tortoise named Jonathan that is the oldest, known living land animal. Jonathan is a Seychelles giant tortoise living in St. Helena and the oldest known living terrestrial animal, however, he is not the tortoise in the image. The Australian Reptile Park confirmed the image shows its Galapagos tortoise, Hugo.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Viral photo doesn't show oldest known animal
(Reuters) - Big Tech platforms Alphabet Inc's Google and Facebook were hit with a series of antitrust lawsuits by the U.S. federal government and states on charges they are operating monopolies and abusing their power.

Below is the status of the cases, as well as government probes of Apple and Amazon.com.

Two lawsuits against Facebook:

In a stunning defeat, Judge James Boasberg said the Federal Trade Commission - which had sued Facebook in December asking that Facebook be forced to sell WhatsApp and Instagram - failed to show that Facebook had monopoly power in the social-networking market, among other problems. He said, however, the FTC could file a new complaint by July 29.

He threw out a related state lawsuit entirely, saying that the attorneys general had waited too long. They are looking at their options.

Four lawsuits against Google

The U.S. Justice Department sued Google in October, accusing the $1 trillion company of illegally using its market muscle to hobble rivals. A trial date was set for Sept. 12, 2023.

A lawsuit by 38 U.S. states and territories accuses Google of abusing its market power to try to make its search engine as dominant inside cars, TVs and speakers as it is in phones. This was consolidated with the federal lawsuit for purposes of discovery.

Texas, backed by other states, filed a separate lawsuit against Google, accusing it of breaking antitrust law in how it runs its online advertising business.

Dozens of state attorneys general sued Google on July 7, alleging that it bought off competitors and used restrictive contracts to unlawfully maintain a monopoly for its app store on Android phones.

Justice Department investigates Apple:

This probe, revealed in June 2019, appears to focus on Apple Inc's app store. Some app developers have accused Apple of introducing new products very similar to existing apps created by other developers and sold in the Apple Store, and then trying to banish the older apps from the store because they compete with Apple's new product. Apple says it seeks to have only the highest-quality apps in the app store.

Story continues

Justice Department probing Facebook and Amazon:

In July 2019, the Justice Department said it was expanding its Big Tech probes to include "search, social media, and some retail services online" - an apparent reference to Facebook and Amazon.com Inc.

Federal Trade Commission on Amazon:

In its investigation of Amazon, the FTC is likely looking at the inherent conflict of interest of Amazon competing with small sellers on its marketplace platform, including allegations that it used information from sellers on its platform to decide what products it would introduce.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz in Washington; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Matthew Lewis)
A Universal Orlando Resort employee was previously fired in connection to an incident (USA Today)

Two families have filed lawsuits against Universal Orlando after an actor dressed as a Despicable Me character Gru allegedly made a racist hand gesture when posing with young children, a report has said.

WKMG reported that the families of two young girls, who are biracial, have filed civil rights lawsuits on their behalf following two separate incidents in 2019.

A Universal Orlando Resort employee was previously fired in connection to one of the incidents after parents spotted a fancy dress actor appearing to make the white supremacy OK symbol while posing with their six-year-old daughter when looking back at footage of their interaction.

According to WKMG, the lawsuit made reference to an episode in March 2019 during a character-themed breakfast at the Universal-owned Loews Royal Pacific Resort.

Tiffiney Zinger told USA Today at the time that months after the familys trip they realised the employee can be seen making an upside-down OK symbol with his hand on her daughters shoulder.

The lawsuit also claims that in February 2019, a person dressed as Gru did the same thing to another five-year-old girl.

The Anti-Defamation League lists the OK hand gesture as a racist hand sign when used in certain contexts. The leading anti-hate organisation says that, as of 2019, white supremacists began using the symbol as a sincere expression of white power.

The employee made the apparent symbol only a week after a shooter in New Zealand made the gesture during a court appearance after killing 51 people in two mosques.

We never want our guests to experience what this family did, the spokesperson said in a 2019 statement to The Independent confirming the employee had been fired.

They added: This is not acceptable and we are sorry  and we are taking steps to make sure nothing like this happens again. The name of the employee involved has not been named.

Both families have claimed the girls suffered mental anguish, loss of dignity, humiliation, embarrassment and other emotional distress and are asking for $30,000 in damages.

Story continues

We just wanted to take them to see the minions, Ms Zinger said in 2019. Do something special for our family and this person ruined that special warm feeling.

The lawsuit claims Universal Orlando violated the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992.

Read More

Universal employee fired after making white supremacy hand gesture in family photo

American lawyer causes stir by buying Princess Dianas bike for $80k for white supremacy exhibition

Tucker Carlson rant claims cat cafes are worse for America than white supremacy

Sacha Baron Cohen urges Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey to take action on racism against England footballers
Getty

The FBI and federal prosecutors are investigating a New Hampshire company for allegedly supplying lab equipment to Russias weapons of mass destruction programs, according to court documents obtained by The Daily Beast.

Warrants unsealed in federal court allege that officials at Intertech Corporation, a firm founded by Matthew Grodowski in 1990, intentionally falsified shipping documents, avoided and circumvented export compliance regulations, and obfuscated end-users as they sent scientific instruments to recipients in Russia. Moscows domestic intelligence and security agency, the Federal Security Service (FSB), was reportedly among the recipients of Intertechs shipments, according to a search warrant application.

The firm is linked to a Russian company, Intertech Instruments, sanctioned by the Biden administration for its alleged role in allegedly supplying Russias weapons of mass destruction programs.

Prosecutors have not charged Intertech Corporation, Intertech Instruments, or company employees and officials with a crime. But in a search warrant application, federal agents claim that Intertech used a front company to disguise shipments to its Moscow-based subsidiary, Intertech Instruments. (Intertech did not respond to requests for comment from The Daily Beast. Federal prosecutors in New Hampshire declined to comment, citing a policy not to comment on investigations.)

Its unclear what specific goods federal agents believe Intertech shipped to Russia but previous export restrictions placed on an alleged Russian subsidiary point to concerns over diversion to the Russian governments chemical and biological weapons programs.

In March 2021, the Commerce Department added Intertech Instruments to the Bureau of Industry and Securitys entity list, which restricts exports from companies at risk of supplying nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs, alongside nine Russian, three German, and one Swiss firm, because of their proliferation activities in support of Russias weapons of mass destruction programs. The department also included the 27th Scientific Center of the Russian Ministry of Defense, which the U.S. has alleged is involved with Russian chemical weapons research and testing activities, in its enforcement action.

Story continues

The move came two days after Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the Treasury Department announced sanctions on senior Russian government officials and a Russian state research institute for their involvement in the poisoning of [Alexei] Navalny, a Russian dissident and anti-corruption activist currently imprisoned in Russia for what are widely criticized as politically motivated charges.

Navalny, a long time anti-corruption activist and critic of Vladimir Putins government, fell gravely ill after he was poisoned with Novichok, a top secret nerve agent developed by the Soviet Union and used in assassination attempts against enemies of the Kremlin.

Russian business registration records reviewed by The Daily Beast show the Moscow-based Intertech Instruments added to the Commerce Departments entity list shares the same website and employee email addresses as the New Hampshire-based Intertech Corporation accused of violating export laws in a search warrant application.

Intertech allegedly enjoyed a long and prosperous business relationship with Russias FSB. One of Intertechs Moscow employees, Tatiana Kimstach, had even worked in an FSB lab many years ago, maintains some of those connections, and works closely with the FSB for her current sales, according to court documents.

Federal agents claim that Intertech officials allegedly failed to accurately identify the FSB as the ultimate end user in five shipments sent between March 2015 and September 2016. Among the alleged recipients of the companys shipments was the FSBs Criminalistics Institute, which provides the FSB criminal investigative arm with forensic and scientific support.

But the open source research outlet Bellingcat has also identified Criminalistics Institute as the cover for an altogether more sinister activity: poisoning Kremlin enemies with chemical weapons. A December 2020 Bellingcat investigation labeled the Institute as the center of operations for the current FSB poisoning program which has targeted dissidents like Navalny and state enemies like Sergei Skripal, a Russian military intelligence officer recruited by British intelligence and poisoned by Russian operatives in 2018. Bellingcat reporters used mobile device location data to trace a dozen operatives working as part of the clandestine sub-unit of the FSB Criminalistics Institute to the poisoning of Navalny.

In September 2018, FBI and Commerce Department officials sent Intertech a letter informing the company that it would need a license to ship laboratory equipment to Intertech Instruments in Moscow because of the risk that scientific equipment sent there could be diverted to chemical or biological end uses.

After the 2018 letter, federal agents allege that Intertech changed its business practices to circumvent and evade the new licensing and export requirements. Transcripts of phone conversations and emails between Intertech employees detailed in court documents appear to show the company setting up a separate company, Laboratory Systems & Technology, as a cutout for continued shipments to Intertech Instruments for the purposes of circumventing the licensing requirements, according to federal law enforcement.

The search warrants were originally filed in January 2020. The Department of Justice requested, and received two extensions to keep the court records sealed, which expired on Tuesday.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!

Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
The Walmart-backed company says it will use the money to expand its operations

Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart has raised another $3.6bn (2.6bn) ahead of an expected stock market debut.

The Walmart-backed company said it will use the money to expand its operations and invest further in its grocery, fashion and delivery service.

The latest round of fund-raising increased the firm's value to $37.6bn.

The new valuation is more than double the amount the American retail chain paid for a majority stake in Flipkart three years ago.

Flipkart's chief executive Kalyan Krishnamurthy said the new funds would support the company's expansion plans: "As we serve our consumers, we will focus on accelerating growth for millions of small and medium Indian businesses."

"We will continue to invest in new categories and leverage made-in-India technology to transform consumer experiences and develop a world-class supply chain," Mr Krishnamurthy added in a company statement.

The new round of funding was led by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Japan's SoftBank and Walmart.

The deal marks the return of SoftBank, which sold its stake of around 20% of Flipkart to Walmart as part of the 2018 deal.

Other investors included sovereign wealth funds from Malaysia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

The fund-raising came as the Bengaluru-based company is expected to make its stock market debut as early this year.

In 2018, Walmart paid $16bn for a 77% stake in Flipkart and said later said that it could take the company public within four years.

In September, the Reuters news agency reported that Flipkart was preparing for an initial public offering outside of India as early as this year, in a move which could value it at as much as $50bn.

Since the Walmart deal the company has added many more items to its online store, including groceries and furniture.

Flipkart has also increased its warehouse capacity as it battles competition from Amazon's Indian operation and local rival Reliance Industries, which is owned by Asia's richest person Mukesh Ambani.

Story continues

India has seen huge growth in online start-ups, selling everything from groceries to holidays, which has been driven by the rapid adoption of smartphones and cheap mobile data deals.

Several of the country's biggest digital start-ups are already on track to sell shares on the stock market.

India's biggest food delivery app Zomato is due to make its debut this month, while payments service PayTM is expected to launch its initial public offering by the end of the year.

You may also be interested in:
France's competition watchdog on Tuesday slapped Google with a 500-million-euro ($593-million) fine for failing to negotiate "in good faith" with media companies over the use of their content under EU copyright rules.

It is "the biggest ever fine" imposed by the Competition Authority for a company's failure to adhere to one of its rulings, the agency's chief Isabelle De Silva told reporters, saying the decision was intended to "reflect the gravity" of Google's shortcomings.

The regulator also ordered Google to present media publishers with "an offer of renumeration for the current use of their copyrighted content", or risk paying additional damages of up to 900,000 euros a day.

A Google spokesperson said in a statement to AFP that the company was "very disappointed" by the decision.

"We have acted in good faith during the entire negotiation period. This fine does not reflect the efforts put in place, nor the reality of the use of news content on our platform," the company insisted.

"This decision is mainly about negotiations that took place between May and September 2020. Since then, we have continued to work with publishers and news agencies to find common ground."

The long-running legal battle has centred on claims that Google has been showing articles, pictures and videos produced by media outlets when displaying search results without adequate compensation, despite the seismic shift of global advertising revenues towards the search giant.

In April 2020, the French competition authority ordered Google to negotiate "in good faith" with media groups after it refused to comply with a 2019 EU law governing digital copyright.

The so-called "neighbouring rights" aim to ensure that news publishers are compensated when their work is shown on websites, search engines and social media platforms.

But last September, French news publishers including Agence France-Presse (AFP) filed a complaint with regulators, saying Google was refusing to move forward on paying to display content in web searches.

Story continues

- 'Systematic lack of respect' -

While Google insists it has made progress, the French regulator said the company's behaviour "indicates a deliberate, elaborate and systematic lack of respect" for its order to negotiate in good faith.

The Competition Authority rebuked Google for failing to "have a specific discussion" with media companies about neighbouring rights during negotiations over its Google Showcase news service, which launched late last year.

Tuesday's ruling had been keenly anticipated by news outlets across Europe, as the first decision of its kind by a regulator over the EU's neighbouring rights policy.

News outlets struggling with dwindling print subscriptions have long seethed at Google's refusal to give them a cut of the millions of euros it makes from ads displayed alongside news search results.

Google initially refused to pay media outlets for the snippets of news stories, photos and videos that appear in the search results, arguing that the traffic these searches send to their websites was payment enough.

The internet giant has since softened its stance, and announced in November that it had signed "some individual agreements" on copyright payments with French newspapers and magazines, including top dailies Le Monde and Le Figaro.

Google and AFP are "close to an agreement" on the issue, the news agency's chief executive Fabrice Fries and Google's France director Sebastien Missoffe said in a joint statement Tuesday.

It aims at a "global permit for using different AFP content" on Google and the renumeration for AFP news publications, Missoffe said.

Fries hailed the "unambiguous" decision of the news agencies rights to compensation when their work is shown.

The Authority "clearly stated that the agencies' content are covered by neighbouring rights and therefore must be renumerated," he said.

"It confirmed that news items published by AFP and reproduced by editors must be the object of a specific renumeration," Fries said, adding:

The SEPM union of French magazine editors also hailed what it called a "historic decision on neighbouring rights".

Google has further defended itself against claims that it is contributing to the demise of traditional media by pointing to its support for news outlets in other ways, including emergency funding during the Covid-19 crisis.

But the company is coming under increasing pressure from regulators around the world as concerns grow that media outlets will find it increasingly difficult to hold those in power to account faced with such chronic underfunding.

Australia has taken one of the most aggressive positions, demanding that Google and Facebook pay media organisations when their platforms host their content or face millions of dollars in fines.

The landmark legislation resulted in Google and Facebook signing deals worth millions of dollars to Australian media companies.

lby-fs/ach/pvh
PARIS (AP)  More than 1 million people in France made vaccine appointments in less than a day, according to figures released Tuesday, after the president cranked up pressure on everyone to get vaccinated to save the summer vacation season and the French economy.

Some bristled at President Emmanuel Macrons admonition to get vaccinated! immediately, but many people signed up for shots, accepting that getting injected was the only way to return to some semblance of pre-pandemic life.

French government spokesman Gabriel Attal, noting the latest virus surges from South Africa to South Korea, and vaccine shortages in many poorer countries, appealed to his compatriots Tuesday to look at what's happening in the world."

Macron also announced that special COVID-19 passes will be required starting in early August to enter restaurants and shopping malls and to get on trains and planes. The announcement raised questions and worries among foreign tourists and as residents of France planning vacations.

An app that centralizes Frances vaccine appointments, Doctolib, said Tuesday that 1.3 million people signed up for injections after Macron gave a televised address Monday night. It was a daily record since France rolled out coronavirus vaccines in December. People under age 35 made up most of the new appointments, Doctolib said.

Macron said vaccination would be obligatory for all health care workers by Sept. 15, and he held out the possibility of extending the requirement to others. Around 41% of the French population has been fully vaccinated, though the pace of shots being delivered has waned as summer vacations approached.

Government spokesman Attal insisted the vaccine mandate wasnt meant to stigmatize reluctant health workers but to limit risks to the vulnerable populations they care for.

Some residents said the governments vaccine push makes them feel safer. At a vaccine center Tuesday in Versailles, finance worker Thibault Razafinarivo, 26, said, I have a newborn baby at home, and we dont want to take any risks. A 23-year-old who works in radiology said she wants to protect her family and her patients.

Story continues

Others, though, expressed frustration at the idea of mandatory vaccines or needing passes to go to a cafe.

Im getting vaccinated because I want to have a social life and go on holidays, law student Marius Chavenon, 22, said, adding: I dont think vaccination should be compulsory. We live in France, we should be able to do what we want.

In Paris, nurse Solene Manable said, There are many health workers who dont want to get vaccinated because we dont know much about the vaccines. But she said she understood "many people who are getting vaccinated to be able to go back to restaurants,...to be able to have a normal life again.

Some people said theyre now getting vaccinated because Macron also announced that France will start charging money for some virus tests, which up to now have all been free for anyone in French territory.

To get the COVID pass that will soon be required in all restaurants, people must have proof of vaccination or recent virus infection, or a negative test from the last 48 hours.

Restaurant and bar unions demanded a delay for the passes, and government officials were meeting with industry representatives Tuesday. Restaurant workers expressed concern with enforcing the requirement and fear it could scare customers away after all French eating establishments stayed shuttered for nine months from the pandemic's onset.

Health Minister Olivier Veran defended the new rule, saying, The question is: It's lockdown or the health pass.

He also welcomed the renewed vaccine interest, saying on BFM television Tuesday: Thats thousands of lives saved.

More than 111,000 people with the virus have died in France.

___

Nicolas Garriga in Paris contributed.

___

Follow APs pandemic coverage at:

https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
PARIS (AP)  France on Tuesday urged all its citizens to leave Afghanistan immediately given growing security risks, and is arranging a special weekend evacuation flight.

The French Embassy in Kabul published a message urging the entire French community in Afghanistan to leave, citing the evolution of the security situation in the country and the short-term prospects for Afghanistan. It didn't elaborate.

The message said that France can no longer guarantee safe evacuation after Saturdays government-chartered flight to Paris.

The announcement comes as the U.S. is winding up its 20-year war in Afghanistan and with other NATO troops having already left.

Taliban fighters are taking control of large swaths of the country, surging through district after district.

The outgoing U.S. commander warned that increasing violence is seriously hurting Afghanistans chances of finding a peaceful end to decades of war.
Axios

This may be hard for some of you to stomach, but it's worth grappling with  it captures a rising dynamic in American politics. What they're saying: Andrew Sullivan, once influential but now on an island, writes in his Substack newsletter, "The Weekly Dish," of a "sudden, rapid, stunning shift in the belief system of the American elites"  a "moral panic," he calls it. Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeDemocrats, this Trump oppone
Jul. 13The Greensburg YMCA, which reopened on June 14 after having been closed since September, plans to provide its members and general public with an update on its operations during two town hall meetings on July 27.

The YMCA staff, board members and directors will offer insight into its plans for the future at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. July 27, at its building at 101 S. Maple St.

"This is a time for honest communication," the YMCA said in a statement.

Suzanne Printz, YMCA executive director, was not available for comment.

For more information, call the YMCA at 724-834-0150 or send a direct message through the YMCA's Facebook event link.

Joe Napsha is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe at 724-836-5252, jnapsha@triblive.com or via Twitter .
The Entomological Society of America, an organization that oversees bug naming, has dropped the term gypsy moth, considered an ethnic slur to the Romani people.

This move is the first two for the organizations Better Common Names Project, which seeks to replace names that contain derogative terms, inappropriate geographic references and for those that disregard what native communities called the species. The other insect it renamed was called the "gypsy ant," a lesser-known insect species that moves frequently.

As the committee seeks to find a new name for this moth, it encouraged people to use the insect's scientific name, Lymantria dispar, or L. dispar.

Meanwhile, several states are facing historic outbreaks of these moths this year. In Vermont, dry weather and drought this summer contributed to the worst outbreak of the moths the Burlington area has seen in 30 years.

In New York, swarms of caterpillars ravaged most of Jed Metzger's trees at his seasonal home and hobby farm in recent weeks, including pines and other evergreens that may never recover.

If you go outside, they fall on you and its gross, Metzger told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Its not just the devastation of trees. They eat 24 hours a day and they poop everywhere, he said. Its like a biblical thing ... Its like a wildfire, only they eat everything.

More: Gypsy moth caterpillars are ravaging upstate New York trees, raining down feces

There are ways to address the caterpillar and moth's damage to trees. Here's what to know.

What are the moths?

A gypsy moth caterpillar walks along partially eaten leaves of a tree.

The moths are an invasive species that cause defoliation, or the removal of leaves from trees. These leaf-eaters caused widespread defoliation across Michigan in the 1980s and '90s.

The life cycle of these insects is one generation per year. The egg stage lasts from July of one year until May of the next, University of Vermont research professor and extension entomologist Margaret Skinner told the Burlington Free Press.

Story continues

This is why the caterpillars won't appear again until next spring. They typically hatch early or mid-May, depending on the weather.

What do they look like?

The caterpillars are about 2 inches long, hairy and have a pattern of dark red and blue spots.

As for adults, male moths are dark in color and can fly; female moths are white with wavy black marks and are unable to fly.

Are my trees in danger?

This year, the moths' feeding frenzy began June 25 in northern Michigan, Up North Live reported.

The moths feed on more than 300 species of trees, but red and white oaks are their favorites. Healthier trees can better handle the onslaught of these moths than weak trees.

Trees suffering from drought, old age or root damage are at high risk, said James Wieferich, the agencys forest health specialist. These types of moths rarely kill trees, he said.

The good news, Up North Live reported, is that feeding season is almost over in Michigan.

What can I do to prevent my trees from getting damaged?

Skinner told the Burlington Free Press the moths like to lay eggs under flaps of tree bark, so wrapping trees in burlap is a good way to ambush them. After egg masses have been laid between the burlap flaps, simply remove burlap bands and scrape them out. Finish them off by depositing the egg masses in soapy water.

Promote tree health by watering regularly, avoiding damage to the roots and bark, and removing dead and dying trees.

That goes a long way in helping trees fend off the effects of defoliation, Wieferich said.

What should I do if my trees are infected?

Homeowners experiencing an outbreak should buy a spray that contains Bacillus thuringiensis var. Kurstaki (Btk), a bacterium that is lethal to the moths.

In New York, the Department of Environmental Conservation encourages residents to protect their own trees from moth outbreaks. Beyond spraying pesticides, the department instructs smaller property owners to kill off caterpillars by squishing and scraping them during the early stages of outbreaks.

Another option is to spray tree trunks with dish soap and water or scrape the caterpillars into a bucket of soap and water.

Contributing: Ella Ruehsen, Burlington Free Press; David Robinson, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.

Contact Minnah Arshad of the Detroit Free Press on Twitter: @minnaharshad.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Gypsy moth name change over slur: What to know about bug outbreak
The Daily Beast

Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Photos Courtesy Jenny GrosvenorOn the morning of Tuesday, June 14, 1994, my husband, the father of our four children under the age of 5, kissed me goodbye. I sensed heightened anxiety as we stood at the top of the stairs in our Vermont home. He leaned toward me, our lips meeting one last time above the 2-month-old nestled in the folds of my white cotton nightgown, buttons between milky breasts left undone.I have an early morning meeting, Peter said.I wat
Jul. 12An Aberdeen man who allegedly sold vape pens to underage students was ordered to be held without bail in connection to the fatal stabbing of a 17-year-old in Bel Air last week.

Frank George Hudson III, 19, was charged with second-degree murder in connection to the fatal stabbing of Christopher Jacob Kerfoot on Athens Court early Thursday morning. A Harford County District Court judge on Monday ordered Hudson to continue to be held without bail at the Harford County Detention Center.

Assistant public defender Brad Clark argued at the hearing that Hudson was very young and had no convictions or failures to appear before the court. Clark recognized that the charges were serious but said that there were conditions on which Hudson could be released to guarantee the community's safety, like imposing a reasonable bond or releasing Hudson on home detention.

Clark said Hudson could stay with his mother, though she planned to close on a new home and move soon. Clark was not able to say where that new address would be.

Clark also pointed out that Hudson "may have been defending himself," which would matter in Judge Mimi Cooper's determination of his potential threat to the community.

"I do believe it is relevant," Clark said.

Assistant state's attorney Mark Meehan said that Hudson had sold vape pens to underage students and knew Kerfoot before the alleged incident because he had sold vapes to him before. The two of them had a falling out, according to Meehan.

Meehan also pointed out that Hudson admitted to stabbing Kerfoot and that police had recovered the bloody knife allegedly used in the incident from a dumpster. It will be taken for DNA testing, Meehan said.

"The state considers him a danger to the community," Meehan said.

Ultimately, Cooper agreed with the state and ordered the 19-year-old to be held, pending a preliminary hearing, which is scheduled for Aug. 5, according to electronic records.

Story continues

"I don't believe I could impose pretrial conditions that would protect the community," she said.

Harford County Sheriff's deputies responded to the 1200 block of Athens Court at approximately 5 a.m. July 8 for the report of a stabbing and found Kerfoot in his home suffering from two stab wounds to the chest, according to charging documents filed in Harford County District Court. He was pronounced dead shortly after.

Deputies found Kerfoot in the basement of the house where he lived with his mother, stepfather and brother, with a trail of blood leading to the shopping center behind Kerfoot's house, the documents state.

Kerfoot's brother told deputies that he woke up around 5 a.m. to the sound of the 17-year-old banging on the sliding glass door to the home's basement. The relative "stated that the victim was bent over and kept saying 'Frank did it,'" the documents state.

The police investigation led police to Hudson, who Kerfoot's brother identified as 'Frank' from a photo, according to charging documents. Investigators also found a Snapchat message Kerfoot sent to Hudson around 4:15 a.m. Thursday with a map location of the shopping center behind his residence.

Hudson allegedly replied to the message at 4:46 a.m., saying he was still waiting in his car because he knew Kerfoot had to "sneak out," documents state.

In an interview with detectives, Hudson admitted to stabbing Kerfoot in the chest, saying Kerfoot came up to his car and started punching, choking and grabbing him, according to court documents.

Hudson told police that he managed to grab his pocketknife from the car as he was being pulled out and was able to open it. He said he feared he would be attacked again and that Kerfoot was going to steal his belongings, the documents state, so he stabbed Kerfoot in the chest and chased him away from the car.
Texas Democrats. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The Texas House walkout escalated dramatically on Tuesday, when state Republicans voted "overwhelmingly" to find, return and, if necessary, arrest absent Democrats, The Wall Street Journal and Texas Tribune report. Vice President Harris is meeting with the lawmakers taking refuge in the nation's capital, where they are lobbying with Congress to pass a federal bill that renders Texas' legislation moot.

"I think they have shown great courage, and certainly great conviction and commitment," said Harris of the lonestar Democrats.

On Monday, over 50 House Democrats fled to Washington, D.C. in an attempt to break quorum and block a vote on restrictive voting rights legislation. In response, House Republicans voted on Tuesday to allow "law enforcement to track down absentee lawmakers  arresting them if necessary and forcing them to return to the chamber," the Journal reports. However, the procedural move "carries little apparent weight," since "Texas law enforcement lacks jurisdiction" out of state, the Tribune adds.

All in all, it remains to be seen whether Democrats' ambitious gambit will pay off  Gov. Greg Abbott (R) could just call another special session to pass the contentious voting bill, or simply add it to the agenda when the House meets later this summer. It appears the "only long-term solution" is federal legislation, the Journal writes.

"We can't stay here indefinitely," said Rep. Rhetta Bowers (D-Texas). "Texas Democrats will use everything in our power to fight back. But we need Congress to act now."

You may also like

Florida-based doctor arrested, accused of playing leading role in assassination of Haiti's president

Fox News host Tucker Carlson seems scandalized reporters are investigating his NSA spying claims

Fox is launching a weather streaming service, and it's already feuding with The Weather Channel
High-stakes talks on Hill security funding looked grim Monday with the Capitol Police close to running out of money for salaries after the Senates top Democratic appropriator offered a $3.7 billion plan  nearly double the size of a House-passed bill the GOP has spurned as too big.

Appropriations Chair Patrick Leahy released his own massive proposal to cover the financial fallout from the Jan. 6 Capitol attack after Republicans countered Friday with a $632.9 million bill that scraps hundreds of millions of dollars for Democratic priorities to secure the Capitol complex. Leahys offer, which doesnt attempt to bridge a widening partisan divide, would also patch the Capitol Police and National Guard budget shortfall amid growing urgency to assist both forces as they run short of cash and resources for salaries and training.

The Capitol Police in particular is expected to get hit with a funding pinch as soon as next month, with no fix in sight. Leahys offer of help is much more generous than the $1.9 billion bill the House approved in May, which barely passed after progressives objected and later stalled in the Senate amid Republican objections.

Leahy argued the Senate needed to forge ahead and quickly pass the legislation to cover shortfalls and plug security gaps six months after the deadly Capitol insurrection.

Capitol Police equipment purchases, the rollout of a new mental health wellness program, training and more "have been put on the back burner," Leahy said Monday on the Senate floor. "Officers stood with us on that horrible day. Shouldn't we stand with them now and pass an emergency appropriation to address these shortfalls?"

Leahys expansive proposal covers far more than the Senate Republican bill, which would have largely funded the shortfall faced by the Capitol Police and National Guard and nothing else. The Senate Democrat's bill would provide $525 million for the Architect of the Capitol, which maintains the complex; $13.7 million for the Library of Congress; $66.76 million to reimburse the District of Columbia for security costs; $16.5 million to protect lawmakers; and $1.3 billion for the Department of Defense to address Covid-related costs.

Story continues

Even if the Senate managed to resolve billions of dollars in differences and strike a security funding deal, the compromise could face strong headwinds in the House, where progressives have demanded more police accountability and provisions to address the root causes of the pro-Trump insurrection on Jan. 6. Meanwhile, the legislative calendar is already crowded with bipartisan infrastructure plans and Democratic spending ambitions, not to mention approaching deadlines on government funding and the debt ceiling.

Leahy's bill would also fund body cameras for the Capitol Police and bar permanent fencing around the Capitol, though it allocated funds to study future options like retractable fencing. In addition, he proposed tens of millions in new dollars for congressional efforts to stave off the coronavirus, including funds for cleaning, protective equipment, telework services, contact tracing, vaccine boosters and more.

Instead of the quick-reaction National Guard force created in the House-passed bill, Leahy proposed $27 million to create a "Capitol Protection task force" composed of law enforcement officers that the Capitol Police Chief could authorize to respond to emergencies.

The Vermont Democrat said Congress needed to support other staff around the Capitol besides law enforcement.

"We cannot turn our backs on the dedicated public servants who had to process the trauma of that day as they boarded up shattered windows and broken doors. A trauma that came on the heels of a yearlong pandemic, he said.

Leahys bill also includes $100 million in additional funding to assist Afghan refugees, and nearly doubles the number of visas allocated for Afghan nationals who aided the U.S. war effort in their nation for the past two decades, serving critical roles as translators and interpreters for American troops.

Republicans and Democrats have joined forces in recent weeks to urge the Biden administration to speed up the visa approval process, noting that the Afghan applicants are in grave danger as the Taliban is continuing to take over parts of the country amid the U.S. withdrawal.

There is no dispute about the urgency and importance of standing with our Afghan allies, but regrettably the Republican proposal fails to address this matter, Leahy said on the Senate floor.

But a GOP aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, countered that the committee has received no indication from the State Department that this funding is needed.

Indeed, the funding exists for the State Department to process the visa applications, and the House will soon consider legislation to streamline the vetting process by eliminating some of the steps. Moreover, the U.S. embassy in Kabul announced earlier Monday that it had resumed interviews with Afghan applicants.

Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, the top Republican appropriator in the upper chamber, reiterated on Monday that Congress should move fast on helping the Capitol Police and the National Guard  two areas where theres bipartisan agreement.

He said it was absolutely the wrong direction to increase the overall cost of the legislation to $3.7 billion and that he opposed the inclusion of the Afghan visas in the bill. We need to fund the police, and we need to fund the guard and move on, he said.

The Capitol Police indicated last week that they might be able to maintain operations even without additional funding, saying they were working to secure the complex within our funded levels.

But six months after the pro-Trump insurrection, the force is still grappling with an enormous amount of uncertainty. Dozens of officers have left or retired since Jan. 6, equipment purchases have been delayed following unanticipated costs and mental health has been put on the back burner, Leahy noted in June.

The insurrection wounded scores of responders and played a role in one's death. A second officer was also killed in an unrelated car attack in April.

In a joint statement last week, House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), who oversees spending on the Capitol, said its the Senates turn to act after the House passed its $1.9 billion bill in May.

It is time for the Senate to come to the table, honor the sacrifice of the Capitol Police, and swiftly pass the emergency supplemental, they said.

Andrew Desiderio contributed to this report.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the destination of $100 million in funding the bill. The $100 million would be directed towards Afghan refugee assistance.
Holly Willoughby's plans to extend her family home have been refused. (Getty Images)

Holly Willoughby's plans to build a first-floor extension to her family home have been rejected after neighbours objected.

The 40-year-old This Morning presenter lives in west London in a five-bedroom house with her TV production company boss husband Dan Baldwin and their three children.

The couple had submitted plans to add a sixth bedroom with en-suite bathroom, walk-in wardrobe and balcony, as well as a second study, to the first floor of their home  a folly that dates back to the 1800s and has its own tower, complete with flagpole.

Read more: Ed Sheeran appeals for neighbours to 'mind their own business' after planning row

But the local council planning authority has refused permission for the extensive extension.

Watch: Holly Willoughby makes hilarious gardening slip-up on This Morning

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

Neighbours had opposed the planning application to the local authority, complaining the building works will cause noise and disruption and have a negative impact on the local wildlife and greenery, and that the proposal's purpose is purely for "luxury living".

Local resident Liliana Velez wrote: "Due to COVID I work from home... My workspace is right by the project.. Having the noise all week all day for so many months is not the standard of living in such an expensive area to live. I do not pay taxes to get this level of disruption, it is not quality of life."

And Barnaby Martin complained: "As the proposed works are purely cosmetic, and not essential, I dont see them as being worth the overwhelmingly negative effect on the lives and work of the people who live here."

Holly Willoughby and Dan Baldwin bought the house in 2011. (Getty Images)

Willoughby and Baldwin still have a previous planning application being considered  requesting just to slightly extend one of the first floor bedrooms.

The couple  whose three children are Harry, 12, Belle, 10, and Chester, six  purchased the property in 2011 and the following year carried out extensive renovations to the ground floor, including extending the kitchen and living area and installing a bar.

Story continues

They have since built a swimming pool and pool house, installed a super basement and felled several trees in the sizeable grounds.

Holly Willoughby at Wimbledon with This Morning co-host Phillip Schofield. (Getty Images)

The Sun reported that neighbours objected to Willoughby flying a Union Jack from the tower of the property.

Read more: Holly Willoughby's embarrassing confession about her gardening blunder

And MailOnline reported that in 2013 a local resident sent an anonymous letter to the house accusing them of disturbing neighbours at night with their "drunken behaviour".

Baldwin responded by emailing 50 residents, saying: "The letter was extremely rude and overly aggressive (I'll save you the gory details).

"It wrongly accused us of keeping the whole neighbourhood up last night with drunken behaviour."

Watch: Holly Willoughby reveals she goes to bed commando
By Huw Jones

LONDON (Reuters) - Financial firms may need to bolster their defences in the face of rocketing cyber attacks after employees began working from home, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) said on Tuesday.

The FSB, which coordinates financial rules for the G20 group of nations, said remote working since economies went into lockdown to fight COVID-19 opened up new possibilities for cyber attacks. Working from home (WFH) is expected to stay in some form across the financial services industry and beyond.

"Most cyber frameworks did not envisage a scenario of near-universal remote working and the exploitation of such a situation by cyber threat actors," the FSB said in a report to G20 ministers and central banks.

The report is a first take on lessons learned from the pandemic's impact on financial stability.

COVID-19 was the first major test of tougher financial rules put in place after the 2008 global financial crisis and most parts of the system coped well, the FSB said.

Lockdown restrictions are easing but financial firms have told employees they will be allowed to work from home several days a week permanently, and the rest of the time in the office.

Cyber activities such as phishing, malware and ransomware grew from fewer than 5,000 per week in February 2020 to more than 200,000 per week in late April 2021, the FSB said.

"Financial institutions have generally been resilient but they may need to consider adjustments to cyber risk management processes, cyber incident reporting, response and recovery activities, as well as management of critical third-party service providers, for example cloud services," the FSB said.

The FSB, chaired by Federal Reserve Vice Chair Randal Quarles and comprising regulators and central banks from leading financial centres, will publish a final report in October setting out its next steps.

It has already made proposals for strengthening the resilience of money market funds which suffered severed stresses during last year's market turmoil.

FSB WFH Graphic - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/qzjpqxlknvx/FSBWFH%20Graphic.PNG

(Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Catherine Evans)
Jul. 12In an effort to get more people vaccinated before school commences, Hood College will be administering free vaccines during its Back to School COVID Vaccine Clinic.

The clinics will be on July 17 and Aug. 7 (both Saturdays) from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hood College Whitaker Campus Center for people aged 12 through 26. No pre-registration or appointment is required.

In partnership with the Frederick Center and the Frederick County Health Department, the clinics will offer both Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer vaccines. Pfizer will be distributed to those 12 and older, while Johnson & Johnson will be distributed to those 18 and up.

Hood College, like Mount St. Mary's University and all University System of Maryland universities, will be requiring students to get the COVID-19 vaccine if they wish to return to campus for the fall semester, although the institutions have religious and medical exemptions.

Follow Clara Niel on Twitter: @clarasniel
ROME (AP)  Pope Francis visited young cancer patients at the Rome hospital where he is recovering from intestinal surgery before his release, which the Vatican said Tuesday would take place as soon as possible."

A smiling and standing pope patted the children on their heads as their parents held them, according to photos of the encounter released by the Vatican. The visit to the Gemelli Polyclinic's pediatric cancer ward, located on the same 10th floor as the pope's suite, took place Tuesday afternoon.

The Vatican, in its daily medical update, didnt provide a target date for the pope's release from the hospital. It repeated that the 84-year-old Francis was continuing his planned course of treatment and rehabilitation.

Francis had half of his colon removed for a severe narrowing of his large intestine on July 4, his first major surgery since he became pope in 2013.

The Vatican had originally said Francis could be released from Romes Gemelli Polyclinic by the weekend, but said he was staying a few days longer.

The 84-year-old appeared for the first time in public since the surgery on Sunday, looking in good form as he delivered his weekly prayer from the 10th floor hospital balcony, surrounded by young cancer patients. He used the occasion to call for free health care for all.

Francis was later seen greeting older patients in the hospital corridor, using a wheelchair.

The Vatican said Francis was praying especially for people who are bedridden and cannot return home.

May they live this time as an opportunity, even if experienced in pain, to open themselves with tenderness to their sick brother or sister in the next bed, with whom they share the same human frailty, the Vatican said in its Tuesday statement.

The Argentine pope had part of one lung removed when he was a young man but has otherwise enjoyed relatively robust health.
Illinois has become the first state to mandate that Asian American history be part of its public school curriculum.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill Friday that requires elementary and high schools to teach a unit of Asian American history beginning in the 2022-23 school year. The historic legislation, which passed after an aggressive campaign led in part by the nonprofit group Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Chicago, is scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1.

Sociology professor Natasha Warikoo, a scholar of racial and ethnic inequality in education at Tufts University, said that the legislation is no doubt a win but that it is likely to be up to the educators and the community to determine how heavily schools will emphasize the teachings.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed HB 376 (Office of Governor J.B. Pritzker)

"A lot of the legislation around these kinds of curricular decisions are often symbolic. They are signals by legislators of priorities and where they stand and about what's important to the state," Warikoo said. "What really happens on the ground is going to vary tremendously," depending on "local politics, depending on the staff and the feelings of capacity on who the student body is."

The legislation mandates that schools teach "the contributions of Asian American communities to the economic, cultural, social, and political development of the United States" in addition to Asian American civil rights advancements, among other aspects of history. While it says the state superintendent of education may provide materials that can be used as guidelines for the curriculum, the law allows each school board to determine the minimum amount of time required to qualify as a unit of instruction.

Warikoo said that schools often aim to ensure that material is taught to a specific standard by including questions about the topics in standardized testing but that the tactic doesn't necessarily account for the depth of instruction.

"Some teachers might take it upon themselves to do all this reading in the summer, to pull together materials, to write new curricular content, but for the most part we can't really expect that. And that's not really part of the job," Warikoo said. "If there is training and resources provided, I think that is the best way to ensure that it actually has an impact."

Story continues

Warikoo said including Asian American history in the curriculum is critical to change discriminatory perceptions.

"There's research on Asian Americans, and it shows that a majority of people are more likely to see Asians as foreign. You see an Asian face, you assume they're foreign. And I think that's in part because we don't know the history of Asians in the United States," she said. "I think that it can attenuate those kinds of biases towards Asian Americans by making them part of U.S. history."

Debate over critical race theory, the academic study of the impact of racism, has caused an uproar among educators, legislators and other groups. Warikoo said it's difficult to determine whether the law, which inevitably touches on race, could move the conversation forward, particularly because many who oppose such academic study haven't been clear about precisely what element they oppose. However, she said, she suspects that the bill was able to generate support with little opposition because of how it has been described.

"The Asian American history legislation is palatable because it can be framed as a diversity thing, not as 'we're talking about racism,'" Warikoo said. "Whites feel extremely hurt by that accusation  that either they are racist or that they've benefited from racism. ... The phrase 'white supremacy' is also triggering in a way that 'Asian American history' is not."
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the Teaching Equitable Asian American History Act

Office of Governor J.B. Pritzker Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signing the Teaching Equitable Asian American History Act into law

Illinois is taking a big step to ensure its students learn about the "rich contributions and traditions of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community."

On Friday, Gov. JB Pritzker signed HB 376, the Teaching Equitable Asian American History Act, into law, requiring Asian American history to be taught in public schools, according to a press release from the state.

With the new legislation, Illinois becomes the first state in the U.S. to require teachings about the Asian American and Pacific Islander community in public classrooms.

"Today, we are reaffirming our commitment to creating more inclusive school environments," Pritzker said in a statement. "We're making Illinois the first state in the nation to require that Asian American history will be taught in public schools, including a unit about the Asian American experience."

"We are setting a new standard for what it means to truly reckon with our history," Pritzker added. "It's a new standard that helps us understand one another, and, ultimately, to move ourselves closer to the nation of our ideals."

RELATED: Violence Against Asian Americans Continues: How You Can Help the AAPI Community

According to the state's press release, the act will be added Illinois School Code and goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2022. It will be enforced at the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year for every public elementary school and high school.

Instruction must cover the "rich contributions and traditions of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community," as well as the history of Asian Americans particularly in Illinois and the Midwest, the press release stated.

However, the state will not mandate a specific curriculum for school districts or a minimal amount of instructional time, per the release.

Story continues

RELATED VIDEO: 'I Belong Here': Sandra Oh Protests in Solidarity, Condemning Violence Against Asian Americans

The new act comes after a rise in hate crimes against the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities were reported across the country since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A report released by Stop AAPI Hate revealed that there were at least 6,603 hate incidents targeting the AAPI community from March 19, 2020, to March 31, 2021. More than 2,400 of those incidences occurred in 2021.

Per Illinois' press release, state officials hope the new legislation will "help combat false stereotypes" after the "recent rise in acts of violence and bigotry against the Asian American community."

The law is Pritzker's latest measure to create "more inclusive school environments and curriculums," according to the release.

He previously signed a bill requiring Illinois schools to include the contributions of LGBTQ+ individuals in history lessons, created the Affirming and Inclusive Schools Task Force to encourage inclusivity and prevent discrimination, and expanded Black history education requirements.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP)  Prosecutors in May dismissed a defendants testimony that he was framed by two masked men for the kidnapping and killing of an Iowa college student, calling it a figment of his imagination.

Jurors agreed, convicting Cristhian Bahena Rivera of first-degree murder in the July 2018 stabbing death of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts in one of the states most high-profile cases in years.

But to two listeners outside the courtroom, Bahena Riveras shocking story rang at least partially true. They separately came forward recounting conversations in which another man bragged about his role in killing Tibbetts and blaming the crime on a Hispanic man.

Both witnesses are unknown to each other, yet independently identified the same suspect to authorities after Bahena Rivera testified in his own defense May 26, his lawyers revealed in seeking a new trial for the 27-year-old Mexican national who came to the U.S. illegally as a teenager.

The identity of the man implicated by the two witnesses hasnt been revealed. But Judge Joel Yates granted a defense motion for one of them  an inmate at an Iowa prison  to testify at Bahena Rivera's sentencing hearing Thursday at the Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma, which is in central Iowa about halfway between Des Moines and Iowa City.

Prosecutors remain confident in Bahena Riveras guilt and they plan to respond to the defense claims this week, according to state attorney generals office spokesman Lynn Hicks.

The prisoner who will testify Thursday says that when he was housed at a county jail, another inmate told him that Tibbetts had been kidnapped by associates and held at a trap house for sex trafficking, where she was bound and gagged, the defense motion says. He says that this other inmate said that he and another person killed Tibbetts after the publicity surrounding her disappearance got too big and that they dumped her body near a Hispanic male in order to make it appear that the Hispanic male committed the crime, the filing states.

Story continues

The witness told prison officials and investigators that he thought the story was bluster until he heard Bahena Riveras testimony, the motion says.

The second new witness came forward to a local sheriffs office, claiming she was in a car with the same man a month earlier when he pulled a pistol and said, That Mexican shouldnt be in jail for killing Mollie Tibbetts because I raped her and killed her, the motion states.

The second witness was described as emotional and likely intoxicated, and at least one investigator dismissed the information as not credible. But both accounts were forwarded to Bahena Riveras prosecutors, who promptly notified his lawyers near the end of trial.

Defense lawyers say they continued with the trial because they had rested their case and didn't get more detailed information until after the verdict.

Prosecutors built their case on surveillance video showing Bahena Rivera driving in the vicinity of where Tibbetts disappeared while she was jogging in her hometown of Brooklyn and on DNA evidence showing that her blood was found in its trunk. Bahena Rivera also gave a partial confession and led investigators to a remote cornfield where her body was found a month after she disappeared.

Defense lawyers concede the new witnesses' claims don't exactly match the version of events shared by their client.

Testifying in his defense through a Spanish language interpreter, Bahena Rivera said that two masked men showed up at his trailer near the dairy farm where he worked, kidnapped him at gunpoint and ordered him to drive. On a rural road where Tibbetts was jogging, he said they had him stop the car as one of them got out, stabbed her to death and put her body in his trunk.

They then ordered him to drive to a cornfield, instructed him to dispose of the body and not to tell anyone about what happened or else they would kill his ex-girlfriend and their young daughter, Bahena Rivera said.

Afterward, defense lawyers said Bahena Rivera never wavered from that story from the moment they began representing him in 2018. In their motion for a new trial, they noted that testing of blood found in his trunk showed DNA from people other than Tibbetts who haven't been identified.

While perhaps not every bit of the account fits neatly into defendants account of the events, enough of the facts fit to certainly question whether the state would have been able to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt had this information been known and presented to a jury, they wrote.
(Reinstates dropped word 'to' in para 11)

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander urged Iraqi Shi'ite militias to step up attacks on U.S. targets during a meeting in Baghdad last week, three militia sources and two Iraqi security sources familiar with the gathering said.

American forces in Iraq and Syria were attacked several times following the visit by an Iranian delegation led by Revolutionary Guards intelligence chief Hossein Taeb, which came after deadly U.S. air strikes against Iran-backed militias at the Syrian-Iraqi border on June 27.

While encouraging retaliation, the Iranians advised the Iraqis not to go too far to avoid a big escalation, three militia sources briefed on the meeting said.

The Iranians did, however, advise them to widen their attacks by retaliating against U.S. forces in Syria, according to one of the three militia sources, a senior local militia commander briefed on the meeting.

The flare-up comes as significant differences cloud diplomatic efforts to revive the Iranian 2015 nuclear agreement, which was abandoned by former U.S. President Donald Trump but which Iran wants reinstated to allow it to resume key exports of oil.

A senior official in the region, who was briefed by Iranian authorities on Taeb's visit, said that Taeb met several Iraqi militia leaders during the trip and conveyed "the supreme leaders message to them about keeping up pressure on U.S. forces in Iraq until they leave the region".

Since the U.S. air strikes, attacks on U.S. troops and personnel or bases where they operate have intensified in Iraq and widened to eastern Syria.

Iran's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters for this article, and officials at the Revolutionary Guards public relations office were not immediately available for comment.

Iran's U.N. envoy this month denied U.S. accusations that Tehran supported attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria, and condemned U.S. airstrikes on Iranian-backed militants there.

Story continues

There was no immediate response from the Iraqi government or the prime minister's office to questions about the meeting.

The sources to whom Reuters spoke did so on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject.

U.S.-IRANIAN RIVALRY

The Arab world's biggest Shi'ite majority country, Iraq has been a theatre of U.S.-Iranian rivalry since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Sunni leader Saddam Hussein in 2003.

The Shi'ite militias have been waging a sustained and increasingly sophisticated campaign against U.S. forces which, after withdrawing in 2011, returned to Iraq in 2014 at the head of a coalition to fight the Islamic State group.

But the attacks, including explosives-laden drones, have gone up a gear since the U.S. air strikes, which Iran-aligned militias say killed four of their members.

The two Iraqi security sources close to the activities and operations of the groups said the Iranians handed their Iraqi allies aerial maps of U.S. positions in eastern Syria at the July 5 meeting.

The Pentagon said it was deeply concerned about the attacks, including a July 7 rocket barrage on the Ain al-Asad air base in which two American service members were wounded.

A senior Guards figure, Taeb is a mid-ranking Shi'ite cleric seen by insiders and analysts of Iranian politics as close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The senior official in the region said Khamenei had sent Taeb to Iraq after visits there by Brigadier General Esmail Ghaani, appointed last year as head of the Guards' expeditionary branch, the Quds Force, had failed to yield an escalation.

An Iraqi government official said it appeared Iran was seeking to use its allies in Iraq to apply pressure for a return to the nuclear deal, under which harsh U.S. sanctions would be lifted in return for curbs on Iran's atomic activities.

A senior Iranian diplomat said Taeb's visit to Baghdad indicated that Khamenei was getting directly involved in Iraq affairs after the killing of General Qassem Soleimani, a previous Quds Force head, in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq early last year.

A spokesman for one of the Iranian-backed militia groups hit by the U.S. air strike last month confirmed that the recent attacks were carried out by the Iraqi Islamic Resistance, a reference to the Shi'ite Iran-backed groups.

"The military escalation against the American forces will continue until all their combatant forces leave Iraq," Kadhim al-Fartousi, the spokesman for the Kataib Sayyed al-Shuhada faction, told Reuters.

Saad al-Saadi, a senior official in the political office of the Iranian-backed group of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, said if the Americans continued to strike at militias, then more effective attacks on U.S. forces could be expected anywhere in Iraq and Syria.

The meeting was held in Baghdad's upscale Jadiriya neighbourhood in a villa just across the river Tigris from the U.S. embassy, two of the local militia commanders said.

Iran and the United States began indirect negotiations in Vienna in early April to restore the nuclear deal. No date has been set for further talks, which adjourned on June 20.

Some Western and Iranian officials have said the talks are a long way from a conclusion, as disagreements on which U.S. sanctions should be lifted and on the nuclear commitments that Iran has to make and when still remain in place.

(Reporting by Baghdad newsroom; Editing by William Maclean)
TOKYO (Reuters) -Alphabet's Google has agreed to buy payments business Pring from backers including fintech firm Metaps Inc as the U.S. tech giant pushes into Japan's rapidly growing market for cashless services.

The startup's three top shareholders - Metaps, software company Miroku Jyoho Service Co Ltd and Nippon Gas Co - announced on Tuesday they would sell their combined 87% holding in Pring to Google.

Metaps said it is selling its 45% stake for 4.9 billion yen ($44 million).

Google has operated its smartphone payments business - now called Google Pay - in Japan since 2016. Tech companies such as SoftBank Group Corp and Rakuten Group Inc as well as financial firms are encouraging Japanese consumers to move away from a deep-seated preference for cash.

($1 = 110.3300 yen)

(Reporting by Tokyo Newsroom; Editing by Kim Coghill and Edwina Gibbs)
The White House on Tuesday said First Lady Jill Biden will lead the US delegation to the Tokyo Olympics, which President Joe Biden is skipping due to Japan's Covid lockdown.

"First Lady Jill Biden will travel to the Opening Ceremony of the 2021 Olympic Summer Games," the White House said. The ceremony takes place July 23.

The president is not going, in recognition of the extraordinary health precautions around the Tokyo Games, with fans banned from stadiums and athletes not allowed on public transport.

sms/mdo
Tom Girardi, Erika Girardi, former LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and former Sheriff Lee Baca. (Los Angeles Times)

As an investigator for the State Bar of California, Tom Layton was responsible for policing the legal profession for rogue attorneys.

But while collecting a salary as a watchdog for the public, Layton spent work hours advancing the interests and political connections of a lawyer with a long record of misconduct complaints: the now-disgraced trial attorney Tom Girardi, emails obtained by the Los Angeles Times show.

During years when clients accused the attorney of stealing from them, Layton, the most high-profile investigator at the agency, was arranging dinner dates for Girardi with civic elites, such as then-Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck and billionaire developer Ed Roski, and otherwise acting as his personal assistant, political operative and, at times, chauffeur, according to the emails.

Ill CC Tom Layton so he can arrange to transport you all to the Chiefs Office, Becks aide wrote to Girardis secretary in advance of a 2014 photo op for Girardi, his wife, Erika  a Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star  and a police running team they sponsored. The aide added, Confirm, the 3rd is Mr. Girardis birthday, yes?

The emails, provided to The Times by the bar in response to a public records request, shed further light on how the bars oversight of Girardi, one of the nations most prominent civil attorneys, failed.

A Times investigation previously revealed that Girardi treated Layton and other bar officials to private plane rides and fancy dinners and employed their children at his firm. In the wake of the story, the bar conducted an internal review of past investigations of Girardi and found mistakes made. The agencys board of trustees has refused to release detailed information about the nature of the errors, or whether they were related to Girardis close ties with agency personnel.

Layton did not return messages seeking comment.

Tom Girardi is being investigated after a judge found he misappropriated at least $2 million in client funds that were due to the families of those killed in the crash of a Boeing jet in Indonesia. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Girardi is the subject of a federal criminal investigation stemming from his misappropriation of millions of dollars in settlement money from Indonesians widowed and orphaned in a 2018 plane crash. Following the collapse last year of his firm, Girardi Keese, the 82-year-old was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and was in a court-ordered conservatorship with his brother acting as his legal guardian.

Story continues

Girardi and Layton, who is 20 years younger, have run in the same political circles for decades and have been close since at least the early 2000s. Layton started at the bar in 1999 after his career in the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department was cut short by injury. Though he never rose beyond the rank of deputy, he was active in the unions political endorsements and became close with former Sheriff Lee Baca and eventually other high-level law enforcement officials throughout the state. During a 2016 episode of "Real Housewives," Girardi and his wife were greeted at the Palm steakhouse by Beck, who told them, "Just having lunch with Layton."

Girardi was an influential campaign donor, and the men were often seen together at Mortons Steakhouse in downtown L.A., Madeo in Beverly Hills and political fundraisers.

Layton made as little as $42,000 a year at the bar, where he was one of about 40 investigators who looked into complaints against lawyers by clients, judges and others. The emails suggest that, in the eyes of the city's power players, Layton had a different role as a proxy for Girardi.

The week before a police charity gala in 2013, Layton sent a message to an assistant for L.A. Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey, inviting her to sit at a table with Girardi at the swanky benefit.

By that time, scores of clients had sued Girardi, accusing him of skimming settlement money, and he had been reported to the bar on at least one occasion. It's unclear how much Layton knew about the allegations.

Girardi's problems do not appear to have given Layton pause. Writing from his government email account on a weekday afternoon, he told the D.A.s assistant that he had arranged a powerful set to dine with them: Baca, U.S. Atty. Andre Birotte, Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Glendale) and a justice of the state appellate court. Roski, the developer and a classmate of Girardi at Loyola High School who had paid for the table, would be there, and additional VIPs might join as well, Layton told her.

I am waiting on the FBI and a few others, he wrote.

Lacey declined the invitation, and Gatto said in an interview that he did not attend either.

Others did accept Laytons offers of meals with Girardi. When Beck traveled to Las Vegas in March 2014, his aide alerted colleagues to block off time for a meal at Michaels Gourmet Room at the South Point Casino.

Tom Girardi and Tom Layton have invited COP (and two security aides) to dinner, the aide wrote, using the abbreviation for chief of police.

Later that year, Roskis secretary at Majestic Realty made plans for Girardi to eat with the developer, Beck and the recently appointed president of the Los Angeles Police Commission.

Tom Layton has asked me to coordinate a dinner with the boys which will include Steve Soboroff, Roskis secretary wrote in October 2014.

After Becks aide said the chief was too busy to attend, Layton replied, Lets meet anyway and set up a follow up meeting when Charlie is available.

Soboroff said in an interview that the dinner, at Mortons, was the only time he ever met Girardi.

When Ed Roski calls me and says I want to go to dinner, I never say no, he said, adding that he left early and was unclear about why he was included. I didnt know what it was about before dinner, and I didnt know what it was about afterward.

When one of Girardis top deputies, attorney James OCallahan, wanted to book Beck to speak at the 2014 black-tie dinner of the local chapter of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, an organization that promotes Irish culture, he approached Layton.

Isnt it great to be deputized to be the go-between, joked OCallahan, who died in 2019. Layton forwarded the message to Becks aide, and the chief accepted the invitation.

Layton sought other favors for Girardi. In July 2014, Becks aide reached out to a lieutenant in the commercial crimes division about a financial dispute Girardi was having related to the management of his private jet.

Mr. Girardi wanted to talk to you about pursuing criminal charges on the airplane caretaker embezzlement case, the aide said. The lieutenant responded that his detectives had already talked to an attorney at Girardis firm, Amy Solomon.

We are going to take a courtesy report, the lieutenant wrote, noting that the alleged incident hadnt even occurred in LAPD jurisdiction. Becks aide forwarded the exchange to Layton, who shot back, Have someone call Tom re the embezzlement.

No charges were filed.

LAPD Chief Michel Moore, left, and attorney Tom Girardi in 2019. (Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)

The next month, Erika Girardis son, Thomas Zizzo, was graduating from the Los Angeles Police Academy. Beck invited the couple and Layton, described in an email as a family friend, to park in a VIP section and sit with him during the ceremony, according to emails.

Might have a retired supreme court justice coming, Layton told Becks aide. I will let you know.

Although the emails do not give a full portrait of how Layton spent his workdays, they show that he often used his official email to ingratiate himself with those in potentially useful positions  delivering a chocolate cake to an LAPD secretary, tracking down a textbook for an L.A. County prosecutor  and to trade gossip.

Among those he dished political intrigue with was Justice Paul Turner, an appellate court judge who died in 2017. As individuals jockeyed to replace Baca in 2014, Turner used his judicial email account to strategize ways to help his preferred candidate, Jim McDonnell, whom he called Jimmy.

For what it is worth, my sense is it would be helpful if [former LAPD Chief Bill] Bratton endorsed, spoke highly of, or otherwise indicated Jimmy would help reform the department, Turner told Layton. You, me and Bratton know that reform means arrest a lot more people but people like [former L.A. County Supervisor] Zev [Yaroslavsky] think that refers to dogooder blather.

Layton then forwarded the judges comments to Beck.

Lee Baca, in an undated photo, was among high-level law enforcement officials with whom Tom Layton developed a relationship. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Girardi had a reputation around the state as a judge-maker, thanks to his close relationships with governors who made bench appointments, including Gavin Newsom and Jerry Brown. In these efforts, Layton was often by Girardi's side.

The investigator seemed like an extension of Girardi and did his bidding, recalled Kathleen Tuttle, a veteran prosecutor who dealt with both men while unsuccessfully seeking a judgeship.

After Tuttle sought Girardis help at a meeting at the Jonathan Club, he told her he would talk to Layton about it. The emails show the investigator agreed to a dinner meeting in 2014, but backed out at the last minute.

That is just how it was. Those were the channels you worked through, and everyone knew that, Tuttle said.

On at least two occasions, Beck, the LAPD chief, turned to Layton for advice about whether to endorse judicial candidates. After a deputy public defender requested a recommendation in 2013, Becks aide asked Layton for advice.

I am checking on him now, he replied. The man did not receive an appointment, though its unclear whether Layton provided any information about him.

In 2014, then-Superior Court Commissioner Debra Losnick sought the chiefs help for her campaign for judge.

Can you review and give me a recommendation on this lady, Becks assistant asked Layton.

Let me check, Layton responded. After the assistant noted that Losnick was a bit rude on the phone, he responded, Forget her then.

Losnick did not get Becks endorsement and lost the election. She was appointed to the bench by Brown in 2018. In an interview, she said she did not know Layton and was mystified by the aides comment: Im probably the nicest person you would ever meet.

The emails also indicate the doors Girardi opened for Layton, who often traveled with the attorney, including on at least one trip to Washington, D.C. When an LAPD captain sent Layton an article about a Supreme Court decision affecting policing, he boasted, I had dinner with [Antonin] Scalia 7 months ago. Girardi talked publicly about striking up a friendship with the late justice after one of his cases was argued at the Supreme Court.

Some inside the bar had concerns about Laytons relationship with Girardi and what he was doing during work hours. He was often absent from the Figueroa Street office, kept odd hours when he was there and had multiple business cards bearing different titles. After his supervisor complained, he was moved to the office of Joe Dunn, then executive director and another friend of Girardi. Dunn was fired in November 2014, and Layton was placed on administrative leave and ultimately shown the door.

With Girardi as one of his lawyers, Layton sued the state bar and ultimately reached a $400,000 settlement. Even after he left the premises, he continued to get emails from LAPD brass.

Michel Moore, then an assistant chief, reached out in 2015, as he gathered support for a new department initiative.

Id like to arrange a conference call with you, wrote Moore, now LAPD chief.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
LONOKE, Ark. (AP)  A western Arkansas prosecutor was chosen Monday to decide whether to prosecute a central Arkansas deputy for the fatal shooting of a teenager.

A Lonoke County circuit court judge chose Jeff Phillips to handle the case of t he death of Hunter Brittain, 17, by Lonoke County sheriff's Sgt. Michael Davis. Brittain and Davis were both white, but Davis was fired for not activating his body camera before approaching the youth.

Brittains family has said Brittain was unarmed at the time of the shooting and held a jug of antifreeze. Lonoke County Prosecuting Attorney Chuck Graham had requested a special prosecutor.

Phillips is the prosecuting attorney for the 5th Judicial District of Arkansas, which comprises Franklin, Johnson and Pope counties.
Jul. 12MOULTON  A Lawrence County man is accused of raping and sodomizing a 4-year-old girl, and his wife is charged with sodomy in the same case, according to the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office.

On Thursday afternoon, Lawrence County deputies arrested Joshua Edward Priest, 31, of Lawrence County 370 in the Caddo community and charged him with first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy, the Sheriff's Office said. Sara Paden Priest, 25, was present at the time of the alleged assault and was charged with first-degree sodomy, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The charges are a result of an investigation involving a victim known to the defendants, the Sheriff's Office said.

The complaint filed in district court said the alleged incident occurred prior to Jan. 1.

Records show the Priests were booked at the county jail about 9 p.m. Thursday and remain in jail after a bond revocation was issued on previous charges.

 mike.wetzel@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442. Twitter @DD_Wetzel.
The third-largest cruise company in the world asked a federal judge Tuesday to overturn a new Florida law that bars companies from requiring cruise passengers provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination, escalating the industrys battle with Governor Ron DeSantis.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is suing Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, arguing that the law prevents the company from operating safely by unnecessarily putting cruise passengers and crew members at risk of contracting the virus. The company plans to restart cruises on its ships from Florida ports on Aug. 15 and require all passengers be vaccinated.

The company asked the judge to lift the ban by Aug. 6 and called its ability to require proof of vaccination from passengers a matter of life and death. The Florida law allows the state to fine businesses $5,000 each time they require a patron to provide COVID-19 vaccination information.

The lawsuit is an escalation in the ongoing feud between DeSantis and the powerful cruise industry. Previously, when DeSantis said he would not create an exception to the new law for cruise companies, Norwegian CEO Frank Del Rio threatened to move his cruise ships out of Florida. The company reiterated that stance in Tuesdays court filing: The only way NCLH could maintain its protocols and operations as currently planned is by abandoning Florida altogether.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is parent to cruise brands Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas. Miami-Dade County spent $263 million on a new terminal for Norwegian at PortMiami that was completed last year. In the legal filing, Del Rio said the company plans to restart cruises from Florida ports on 15 ships through the fall and winter.

Passenger live streams removal from cruise ship after she claims COVID mix-up

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all cruise passengers be vaccinated, but does not require it. Under the agencys regulations, ships that dont have at least 95% of passengers and crew vaccinated have to first perform two-day test cruises.

Story continues

Last month, a federal judge in Tampa ruled that the CDCs cruise regulations cannot remain in place after Sunday in a case brought by DeSantis. The CDCs appeal is pending with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. In new court filings Tuesday, Norwegian voiced its support for the CDCs appeal with the 11th Circuit.

Ironically, the only impediment to NCLH safely sailing as planned is currently posed by Florida, not CDC, the company said in its brief.

Christina Pushaw, press secretary for the governors office, said in an email that Norwegian and the CDC are discriminating against children and others who cannot or choose not to get vaccinated. The Federal Drug Administration has only approved COVID-19 vaccine use for children 12 years old and older.

Florida already fought and won its case so that Norwegian and all other cruise lines can invite and serve all Americans on its vessels, she said. But apparently Norwegian prefers the shackles of the CDC to the freedom offered by Florida.

Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises have already restarted cruises from Florida ports this summer with varying vaccine policies. Spokespeople for Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean Group, parent company of Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
PHILADELPHIA (AP)  President Joe Biden declared preserving voting rights an urgent national "test of our time on Tuesday but offered few concrete proposals to meet it. Texas Democrats took their own dramatic action to stymie Republican efforts to tighten ballot restrictions in their state.

Biden, who has proclaimed protecting ballot access the central cause of his presidency, has faced sharp criticism from allies for not doing more, though political headwinds and stubborn Senate math have limited his ability to act. Despite his ringing words Tuesday, he avoided any mention of trying to alter the Senate filibuster rule that stands in the path of federal legislation.

Speaking at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Biden called state efforts to curtail voting accessibility un-American and un-democratic" and launched a broadside against his predecessor, Donald Trump, who baselessly alleged misconduct in the 2020 election after his defeat. Biden called passage of congressional proposals to override new state voting restrictions and to restore parts of the Voting Rights Act that were curbed in recent years by the Supreme Court a national imperative."

Yet, instead of raising the possibility of fighting the filibuster, he appeared to tacitly acknowledge the fading hopes for the bills, saying he would launch a nationwide campaign to arm voters with information on rule changes and restrictions ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

We have to prepare now, the president said.

Biden's sharp rhetoric drew praise from progressive groups in his party but did little to assuage the mounting pressure on him to throw his weight behind replacing the filibuster. The president believes that we have to make the filibuster work the way it used to," said White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who added Biden has not changed his opposition to eliminating it altogether.

Biden's remarks came a day after Texas Democrats decamped for Washington in an effort to deny their GOP-controlled Legislature the necessary quorum to pass a bill placing new restrictions on voting in the state.

Story continues

The lawmakers, who arrived in the nation's capital Monday night, said they were prepared to stay in Washington  out of the reach of Texas law enforcement  until a special legislative session concludes early next month. Their action marks a dramatic new showdown over voting in America.

Standing near the steps of the U.S. Capitol for a news conference ahead of a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the Democrats promised to stay out and kill this bill.

However, state Rep. Chris Turner, the leader of the Texas Legislatures House Democrats, said their efforts would ultimately be futile unless congressional Democrats take bolder action to overcome a Senate Republican blockade of the sweeping federal voting bill. The legislation, known as the For the People Act, would create national standards for voting that could roll back some of the restrictions that have been approved or are advancing in Republican-led states, including Texas.

We cant hold this tide back forever. Were buying some time. We need Congress and all of our federal leaders to use that time wisely, Turner said.

Several states have enacted new voting restrictions, and others are debating them, as the GOP has seized on Trumps false claim of massive voter fraud in the 2020 election as a rationale for curtailing ballot access.

No other election has ever been held under such scrutiny, such high standards, Biden said of the 2020 race.

Some GOP-led states have worked to roll back the vote-by-mail expansion that was put in place in the past presidential election due to COVID-19 fears. Others have tried to strengthen voter identification requirements and curtail hours and locations for early voting and ballot drop-offs.

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said he would keep calling special sessions through next year if necessary to pass his state's legislation, and raised the possibility of Democrats facing arrest upon returning home.

Asked whether Biden thinks the Texas legislators are doing the right thing by leaving the state, Jean-Pierre said he applauds their courage." She said that in the administration's view, the Texas bill is an assault on democracy.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who is leading the administrations efforts on voting rights, praised the Texas legislators during a meeting with them in Washington.

Defending the right of the American people to vote is as American as apple pie, she told the lawmakers, comparing their actions to women's suffrage and civil rights marches.

Democrats on Capitol Hill have tried to respond with a sweeping federal voting and elections bill that Senate Republicans have united to block. Most Republicans have similarly dismissed a separate bill, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore sections of the Voting Rights Act that the Supreme Court has weakened.

Those roadblocks have increased focus on Senate filibuster rules, which, if left in place, would seem to provide an insurmountable roadblock, requiring 60 votes in the evenly split, 100-member chamber to even bring up controversial legislation.

Moderate Democrats including Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona also have so far expressed reluctance to changing the Senate rules.

Many Democrats have expressed frustration with the lack of a greater White House push to change the filibuster, with civil rights activists stressing that Biden was elected with broad support from Black people whose votes are often put at risk by voting restrictions.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who attended Bidens address, called it a good speech, but also said, I told him that I was going to stay on him about the filibuster." He described Biden as noncommittal on the issue.

Biden, himself a veteran of the Senate, has offered some support for filibuster changes. But he has not put his full political weight behind the issue, believing it counterproductive in both the legislative and political fights over voting. He and Harris met last week with some of the civil rights leaders, who made clear that they expected a legislative solution.

Our backs are against the wall. This is the moment. We have no more time, said Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, after the meeting. I told the president: We will not be able to litigate our way out of this threat to Black citizenship.

Administrative action, litigation, and organizing are critical to combat this, but these tactics are not a substitute for congressional action on the For the People Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, Karen Hobert Flynn, president of the group Common Cause, said Tuesday. As the president ramps up his use of the bully pulpit and engages with senators, we urge him to make clear that the Senate minoritys use of the filibustera Jim Crow relic, in the words of former President Obamamust never stand in the way of the freedom to vote.

Although not abandoning hope of legislative action, the West Wing has been shifting focus to other measures to protect voting, including legal remedies pursued by the Justice Department and action in individual states, according to officials. There also will be an emphasis on boosting voter turnout, with aides pointing to success Democrats had in getting out votes last year during the height of the pandemic.

Officials concede, though, that turning out voters is always harder in a nonpresidential election year.

-

AP writer Darlene Superville contributed from Washington.
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP)  A bill that that aimed to eliminate Maines privately owned electric utilities by buying them out and replacing them with a consumer-owned utility was vetoed Tuesday by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, likely spelling the end of the proposal this legislative session.

Mills acknowledged that performance of Central Maine Power and Versant Power has been abysmal" but said the proposal to send them packing  with voters getting the final say  was deeply flawed and hastily drafted and hastily amended.

I certainly agree that change is necessary. No question about that. And I remain open to considering alternative proposals, she said.

The bills chief sponsor, Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, disputed the governors characterization of the proposal, arguing that it was thoroughly vetted over the past three years.

And it isn't going away. A coalition will be launching a referendum drive to put the proposal before voters anyway next year, instead of this fall.

Supporters said its time to replace Central Maine Power and Versant Power, which are owned by corporations in Spain and Canada, with an entity that works in the interest of Mainers instead of shareholders.

The new entity, Pine Tree Power, would keep rates low, respond faster to outages and support clean energy projects, they said.

Critics accused the bills supporters of underestimating the cost of buying the utility companies and said ratepayers would be saddled with billions of dollars of debt from the purchase and litigation.

The bill came at a time of frustration with CMP, the states largest electric utility, over a botched rollout of a billing system, slow response to storm damage and power outages, and a controversial utility corridor that would serve as a conduit for Canadian hydropower.

The bill won bipartisan support in the Maine Legislature, but Berry acknowledged there's little hope of reaching a two-thirds majority necessary to override the governor's veto.

Story continues

The veto came a day after an independent audit conducted for the Maine Public Utilities Commission found that CMP is making improvements and isnt irredeemably flawed.

But the report also said it remains prudent to question the sustainability of the positive changes that have occurred.

Berry said modest improvements cited in the report were in response to the bill that aimed to replace the utilities, and that those improvements will go away as soon as this bill goes away."

The veto was not a surprise. Mills previously called the proposal a rosy solution to a very complicated series of problems.

On Tuesday, she reiterated her concerns about the bill, calling it "a patchwork of political promises rather than a methodical reformation of Maines complicated electrical transmission and distribution system.

She said she had a number of concerns including who'd operate the grid, the potential loss of property taxes for several communities, and the bill's language that could affect the tax-exempt status of bonds.

She said she wasnt closing the door on a takeover of the utilities but said she wants more time and effort to go into the vetting.

In the meantime, she said the state should step up its regulatory efforts through the Public Utilities Commission, look at performance-based incentives like those used in Hawaii and consider beefing up the state's divestiture law.

William Dunn from Our Power, which will lead the referendum drive to put the proposal before voters next year, dismissed the idea that regulators can solve the utilities' problems.

Maine regulators cannot fix this problem any more than a mouse can tame a cat," Dunn said.
Jul. 13The Maine Supreme Judicial Court will convene in person this week at the Penobscot Judicial Center in Bangor for the first time since 2017 to hear oral arguments in a variety of appeals.

It will be the first time Chief Justice Valerie Stanfill will sit through a full schedule Tuesday and Wednesday since being sworn in on June 17.

Stanfill replaced Leigh I. Saufley, who stepped down as chief justice in April 2020 to become dean of the University of Maine School of Law, after nearly 20 years as head of Maine's judiciary.

Stanfill and her fellow six justices convened in person on June 30 for the first time since the pandemic began to consider a request to push back reapportionment deadlines set out in the Maine Constitution because information from the U.S. Census Bureau won't be available until they have passed. The release of the information was delayed until August because of the pandemic. The court has not yet ruled in that case.

On Wednesday, justices will consider the appeal of a North Carolina man serving a life sentence in connection with a 2017 home invasion that left a Millinocket businessman dead and his wife seriously wounded.

Christopher Murray, 41, of Red Springs, North Carolina, was convicted of murder, elevated aggravated assault and robbery by a jury on Feb. 1, 2019, following a four-day trial.

He was one of three people charged with robbing and shooting Wayne Lapierre, 59, and his wife, Diem (pronounced Yem) Lapierre, now 37, in the basement of their Massachusetts Avenue home on Dec. 19, 2017. Murray, who is incarcerated in his home state, maintains that he did not shoot the couple.

He argues in his appeal that his trial attorneys should have been able to present evidence showing he took part in the crimes under duress. Murray also argues that the surviving victim misidentified him as the man who shot her and the judge should have allowed expert testimony on how such a traumatic event can impact a victim's memory.

Other cases Maine's high court will consider include matters concerning divorce, parental rights, landlord liability and a personal injury.

Between March 2020 and May 2021, Maine's high court considered cases on briefs alone or held oral arguments remotely. Justices convened in person last month at the Cumberland County Courthouse for the first time in more than a year.
A prolific, Russian-speaking ransomware gang has suddenly disappeared from the internet months after executing some of the most high-profile cyberattacks on U.S. targets.

It is unclear why the group's online footprint, including its blog and payment-processing infrastructure, have gone offline, but its absence has prompted questions about whether the U.S. took action just days after President Joe Biden promised consequences for a string of cyberattacks. But ransomware gangs have also been known to voluntarily disband, only to return under a different name.

The group, REvil, is one of the most prolific cybercriminal organizations in the world. It hacked more than 360 U.S. targets in 2021 alone, part of an extortion spree that locks up victims' computers, leading to demands of payment in exchange for a decryptor program and a promise to not leak sensitive files.

The group disappeared from the dark web early Tuesday morning without leaving any known indication why, and the timing is noteworthy. Biden has repeatedly insisted he plans to take some action against ransomware hackers, many of whom are believed to reside in Russia. On Friday, Biden told reporters the U.S. may attack the "servers" used to carry out attacks, but he didn't give specifics.

In May, REvil hacked major meat supplier JBS, encrypting its computers and convincing the company to pay $11 million in exchange for a promise to not leak its files to an extortion blog it kept on the dark web. Over the Fourth of July weekend, the group hacked the software company Kaseya, using its connectivity to the larger internet ecosystem to infect more than 1,500 organizations around the world.

REvil's blog site, as well as other REvil sites used to host decryptor programs and payment processing, were all offline as of around 1 a.m. ET, said Allan Liska, who tracks ransomware groups for the cybersecurity company Recorded Future.

There was no immediate indication of why REvil's sites were taken down. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of active ransomware groups. As members of organized cybercrime, ransomware hackers arent always in the same location or even the same country. Sometimes they voluntarily disband, potentially to reorganize under a different name.

Story continues

U.S. Cyber Command, the arm of the Pentagon in charge of offensive cyberattacks, has in the past reportedly conducted operations to disrupt Russia-affiliated cybercrime, and one of its top lawyers recently wrote an open call for it to turn its aim on ransomware gangs. Spokespeople for both Cyber Command and the White House National Security Council declined to comment on REvil's disappearance.

Biden made addressing ransomware one of his top priorities when meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva in June, and he reiterated in his call last week that he wanted Russia to take law enforcement action against cybercriminals that operate there. Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to request for comment.

In a rare interview in March, a de facto spokesperson for REvil who goes by the pseudonym Unknown claimed they would never voluntarily quit ransomware.

Even if the U.S. was able to successfully either knock REvil offline or convince Putin to crack down on it, other ransomware groups are still active, and not all ransomware hackers are in Russia.

In a call Friday afternoon with reporters, a senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the White House's official position is that tackling the problem of Russia harboring ransomware hackers could take at least six months.

"This is more than just a conversation taking place between the two leaders," the official said. "This is a broad campaign, and it won't have an immediate on-off effect, like a light switch."
Rather than paying a bag fee he adamantly disagreed with, a Canadian man told an airline employee at the Fort Lauderdale airport in Florida Saturday there was a bomb in his luggage, officials said.

Wegal Rosens comment Saturday morning prompted authorities to evacuate three terminals and halt all operations at the Fort-Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport for hours, the Broward Sheriffs Office said in public records.

Rosen, 74, was arrested and charged with making a false report concerning planting a bomb, explosive or weapon of mass destruction, police said.

Rosen was at the Air Canada counter on his way to Toronto when he engaged in a heated verbal argument with an airline employee over additional charges for baggage and the airline's no cash policy, according to a complaint from the Broward Sheriffs office.

The employee then told Rosen he needed to walk from terminal 2 to terminal 3 to purchase a Visa credit card for his carry-on fee, the complaint said. Rosen then walked away without his luggage, and when the employee told him he needed to take it, Mr. Rosen responded by telling the employee there was a bomb in the bag, according to the complaint.

Rosens comment caused the evacuations of terminals 2, 3 and 4, and a complete shut down of airport operations for over 4 hours, per the complaint.

The report from the sheriffs office listed Rosens permanent residence as Toronto. The sheriffs office also listed for Rosen a part-time residence in Deerfield Beach in South Florida.

Rosen could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. Records from the Broward Sheriffs Office showed he remained in jail early Tuesday afternoon on $20,000 bond. Rosens attorney, Jason Weiss, could not be immediately reached for comment.

On Monday Rosen attended a magistrate hearing, according to the Broward Clerk of Courts. In addition to having a bond set, he was told he could not return to the Fort Lauderdale airport and he could not possess weapons or ammo, per the clerks office.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Rosen faces up to 15 years in prison. The newspaper also said that during the magistrate hearing, Rosens attorney, who the publication did not name, said his client said the magic words you do not say.

Rosens lawyer also said Rosen was headed home to Toronto to see a cardiologist. The judge in the hearing told Rosen he could fly to Canada, but said hell have to travel through other airports in Florida, according to the Sun Sentinel.
A Chinese man has been reunited with his son after a 24-year search that saw him travel over 500,000km (310,000 mi) on a motorbike across the country.

Guo Gangtang's son had been snatched aged two by human traffickers in front of their home in the province of Shandong.

His son's disappearance actually inspired a movie in 2015, which starred Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau.

Child abductions are a big problem in China, with thousands taken every year.

According to China's Ministry of Public Security, the police were able to trace the son's identity using DNA testing. Two suspects were later tracked down and arrested, said a Global Times report.

The suspects, who were dating at the time, had planned to kidnap a child with the intention of selling him for money, said a report by China News.

After spotting Mr Guo's son playing alone outside his home, the female suspect identified only by her surname Tang grabbed him and took him to the bus station, where her partner, named as Hu, was waiting.

The couple then took an intercity coach to neighbouring Henan province and sold the child there.

Local media reports say Mr Guo's son was found still living in the province.

Mr Guo and his wife cried and hugged their son when they were reunited in Liaocheng, Shandong, on Sunday, state media CCTV reported.

"My baby, you came back!" said the mother, whose name was not released, in a video of the reunion.

"Now that the child has been found, everything can only be happy from now on," Mr Guo told reporters.

Mr Lau, who got to know Mr Guo while preparing to play him in the film Lost and Love, congratulated him.

"I'd like to say to Brother Guo that I admire your persistence," he said, according to the South China Morning Post.

After his son was abducted in 1997, Mr Guo reportedly travelled to more than 20 provinces around the country on the back of a motorbike chasing tip-offs.

In the process, he broke bones in traffic accidents and even encountered highway robbers. Ten motorbikes were also damaged.

Story continues

Carrying around banners with his son's picture on them, he is said to have spent his life savings on his mission, sleeping under bridges and begging for money when he ran out of cash.

He also became a prominent member of missing-persons organisations in China, and helped at least seven other parents reunite with their abducted children.

In China, the abduction and trafficking of babies has been a problem for decades.

In 2015, it was estimated that 20,000 children were being abducted each year in China. Many of them are sold into adoption, both domestically and overseas.

Both heart-breaking and heart-warming

Analysis box by Stephen McDonell, China correspondent

Child trafficking has been an enormous social problem in China with tens of thousands of unsolved cases remaining.

It appears to be so widespread that a few years ago, when the police introduced a phone app to report crime, "child abduction" had its own front-page category along with the likes of theft, drug dealing and murder.

It has clearly caused massive pain in the community, not the least of which because - in some cases - there appear to have been "insiders" like relatives or village neighbours who have assisted in the abductions.

In one particularly distressing example, children were kidnapped and made to work in a brick factory in a neighbouring province.

This year's big DNA drive by the police seems to be working in terms of finding some of those taken quite a while ago. But it would be hard to solve more recent cases in this way because the strategy relies on people coming forward for blood tests and children (who may not even know they had been abducted and sold to their current parents) are hardly going to be presenting themselves for blood tests.

Either way, given the bleak nature of the situation and the desperate sadness of many who've lost their children, seeing Guo Gangtang reunited with his son after decades of perseverance has been both heart-breaking and heart-warming at the same time.

Click here to see the BBC interactive
Jul. 13Every month, Jessie Rivera has replaced the "Missing Person" signs around Las Vegas, N.M., continuing to raise awareness of his daughter, Cindy "Tig" Rivera, who was 19 when she disappeared years ago from a home on Peggy Lane.

Authorities long have believed the young mother of two was abducted and killed in the early morning hours of June 30, 2012. But her body was never recovered, and no one was charged in the case.

That changed Friday, when New Mexico State Police, following a nine-year investigation, obtained an arrest warrant for a man suspected of being an accomplice in her death.

State police believe 37-year-old Anselmo "Chemo" Richard Ortiz helped Cindy Rivera's ex-husband, the father of her oldest child, kidnap and kill her, according an arrest warrant affidavit filed in San Miguel County Magistrate Court. Ortiz is charged with kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.

The ex-husband, Christopher Trujillo, took his own life in La Cienega in May, the document says, adding he left incriminating evidence on his phone.

Officer Dusty Francisco, a state police spokesman, wrote in an email Monday, "Based on the totality of the evidence, including statements made by Christopher Trujillo, Cindy Rivera is deceased and was killed by Christopher Trujillo. Her remains have not been located."

As of Monday, Ortiz had not been arrested.

Rivera left behind two sons. Jason, now 12, is in the custody of Trujillo's mother. The younger boy, 10-year-old Cortez, is being raised by her family.

The last nine years were "not a happy place" for the Rivera family, Cindy Rivera's sister said in an interview Monday. Holidays and her birthday, Feb. 23, have been the most difficult to bear.

"For me and my family, it's been terrible," Angela Rivera said. "[Cindy] was the heart of our family. I can't even put it into words. Life will never be the same."

Story continues

She was not surprised state police have named Trujillo and Ortiz as the suspects in her sister's disappearance and death.

"Back in 2012, when they took her, we knew it was them," Angela Rivera said.

Cindy Rivera had been staying at the Peggy Lane home, where she and her mother were live-in caretakers for an ailing man. She had been there just two or three days before she went missing, Angela Rivera said.

Her sister reported her disappearance to Las Vegas police after their mother, who had been staying at her boyfriend's home, received a concerning phone call the night before. Cindy Rivera had called around 1 a.m. June 30 and said Trujillo was outside the Peggy Lane house and intoxicated.

By 2 a.m., the man in her and mother's care, Pedro Martinez, heard Cindy Rivera's infant son, Cortez, crying in a locked bathroom.

Rivera was gone.

By analyzing phone records for Trujillo, Ortiz and Rivera, state and local investigators learned the two men were near her in Las Vegas between 12:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. that day.

Trujillo's family members told police they saw the men that afternoon "only wearing pants and shirtless," with scratches and bite marks on their chests.

Ortiz's ex-wife told investigators he appeared at one point with a Walmart bag full of bloody clothing.

The woman's mother said they "were dirty, and she could see blood on their clothing," according to the affidavit. She also saw blood on Ortiz's neck and Trujillo's face. The bags of bloody clothing were burned in a fireplace, she added.

Ortiz was convicted of drug-trafficking charges after Cindy Rivera's disappearance and was imprisoned from 2013 to 2019. After his release, he began working for Trujillo at All American Towing in Las Vegas. But their relationship began to deteriorate, the affidavit says.

Ortiz was accused of using company credit cards for personal charges. Later, Trujillo accused Ortiz of revealing an affair to his wife and threatened to harm Ortiz's son.

In January, Ortiz was in police custody again on suspicion of drunken driving. In April, he wanted to speak with investigators to discuss Rivera's disappearance. And on April 30, he reached out to her family members on Facebook.

"I can honestly say I didn't have anything to do with it but there's a chance I could be wrong about location or he has done something else," one Facebook message read, according to the affidavit.

As Ortiz considered discussing the case with police, Trujillo was struggling.

Trujillo's wife approached state police May 2 with concerns that he "wanted to kill himself and Anselmo Ortiz," the affidavit says.

Two days later, Santa Fe County deputies responded to Trujillo's suicide in La Cienega. Investigators searching Trujillo's phone for evidence in the Rivera case found numerous recorded conversations, one of which was particularly incriminating.

"I killed my ex-wife, Cindy Rivera, and buried her in the national forest. I'm going to tell them Chemo killed her and buried her," Trujillo said in one conversation, according to the affidavit.

Amber Trujillo, his wife, told police the two had argued before he killed himself. Trujillo was accusing her of having an affair with Ortiz, she said, according to a Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office report on the suicide.

Angela Rivera confirmed Ortiz had contacted the family in the weeks before Trujillo's death. She said he was attempting to get full immunity and the $50,000 reward the family was offering to anyone who could help find Cindy Rivera's body.

"It never went any further because obviously we're not going to give him the reward nor full immunity," she said.

The Rivera family now hopes someone will come forward with information leading to Ortiz's arrest.

They are seeking justice and accountability, they said, but most of all they want to find Cindy Rivera's body so they can lay to rest their daughter, sister and mother.
The city of Miami ordered residents of an area apartment building to evacuate on Monday due to concrete deterioration concerns, NBC News reports.

Why it matters: The evacuation notice comes just weeks after Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava ordered an audit of all buildings over 40 years old in the area, following the deadly collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida.

Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free

The big picture: The 82-year-old Indian Creek Drive apartment building has been slowly evacuating residents since May, when the owners decided the building would be demolished this December, per NBC News.

Manny Vadillo, a lawyer for the building owners, told NBC News that 14 people remain in the building and have until the end of the week to move out.

Of note: The apartment building is "at least the fourth" in Florida to be evacuated or partially evacuated in the wake of the Surfside collapse, according to NBC News.

Earlier this month, city authorities ordered the evacuation of the 156-unit Crestview Towers over structural safety concerns.

What they're saying: "My clients are extremely sensitive to safety and, in fact, visited the property several times since last week to speak with tenants when communications started with the city to ensure tenants were not caught by surprise," Vadillo told NBC News. "Some tenants have been there many years."

More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free
More than a year ago, a Missouri appeals court allowed a constitutional amendment expanding Medicaid eligibility to be placed on the statewide ballot.

The three-judge panel of the Western District Court of Appeals last June rejected arguments by conservative groups seeking to strike the proposed amendment from the ballot, ruling that it was constitutionally sound because that it did not seek to appropriate funds.

Voters approved it last August with a 53% majority. It was expected to go into effect twelve days ago.

Yet its the Missouri Supreme Court that will now decide the future of state health coverage for 275,000 low-income Missourians  and whether the amendment was valid at all.

Judges heard oral arguments Tuesday in the lawsuit brought by expansion proponents against the state after Gov. Mike Parson scuttled the plan in May. He said he lacked the authority to move forward after the Republican-dominated legislature blocked funding.

It was a rare case of a Missouri court reviewing the legitimacy of a policy change after its approval in an election.



And it renewed questions from last years court case over whether the power to create costly government programs lies with voters or lawmakers.

What thats arguing to do is overturning an election, Chuck Hatfield, attorney for the expansion advocates, told reporters after the hearing.

This years case originated in Cole County Circuit Court, where Judge Jon Beetem ruled last month that Parsons administration had the right to deny coverage to the newly eligible.

In the circuit court, Hatfield represented three low-income Missouri women who would have qualified for Medicaid under the constitutional amendment. He and state Solicitor General Dean John Sauer sparred over whether the state had the obligation or authority to extend coverage to the newly eligible, without lawmakers approving extra funds specifically for that purpose.

Beetem ruled in favor of the state, but based his decision largely on an argument the state didnt make. He said the amendment violated a section of the constitution which prohibits ballot initiatives from being used to authorize government spending. The amendment was never validly enacted, he wrote.

Story continues

That ruling brought Hatfield and Sauer to the Supreme Court Tuesday, where the seven judges considered the validity of the constitutional amendment itself. They asked few questions during the half-hour hearing.

During the legislative session this year, lawmakers argued that because they alone have the power to appropriate money, the decision to expand still lay with them. They repeatedly rejected proposals to spend $130 million extra -- and $1.6 billion in federal funds -- on the Medicaid program for new enrollees.

Proponents have argued the state must enroll all who are eligible regardless of specific funding for the expansion population.

Sauer said Tuesday that the cost of new enrollees, and previous court rulings preventing legislators from dictating Medicaid eligibility policy in budget bills, makes the constitutional amendment effectively an appropriation of money. He challenged whether the ballot measure met the criteria for getting into the constitution in the first place.

Judge W. Brent Powell questioned whether the court should have the power to decide that.

Amendment 2 is passed, he said. The amendment is in the books. How is it that we can now look back at an election, on an amendment that is passed, and decide that it was invalidly passed?

Sauer said it was easier to review the issue after the election and determine whether the ballot measure by practical necessity was requiring funding.

You can do post-amendment challenges, he said.

Parsons decision to cancel the expansion plan has sparked fury from voters and advocates, who protested in Jefferson City this month on the day it was expected to go into effect.

If the court rules against the state, his administration will likely run out of money for the program with new enrollees included, and faces calling lawmakers back to the capitol for a second special session on Medicaid funding.
(Reuters) - Netflix Inc and Comcast Corp's Universal Pictures are extending a multi-year exclusive rights deal in the United States for animated film franchises such as "Minions" and "Puss in Boots", the streaming giant said on Tuesday.

Netflix's rights to stream these popular movies, which are made by Universal's DreamWorks Animation studios, will begin after a four-month window on Peacock, Comcast's in-house streaming service.

Netflix currently streams movies including "Despicable Me" and "The Grinch" from Universal's Illumination studios.

The streaming company added it would license the rights to Universal's full-animated and live-action slate of films about four years after their release as well as the rights to other select titles.

The deal should help Netflix keep the kids subscriber base hooked and comes at a time when studios such as Disney are holding back on selling rights to streamers to boost their own platforms.

Comcast last week said that Universal's new movies would exclusively go to Peacock no later than four months after they debut in theaters.

(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)
By Chijioke Ohuocha

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria expects to receive nearly 8 million additional doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of August, including from a U.S. government donation, the head of its primary care agency said on Tuesday.

Faisal Shuaib, head of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), said Nigeria exhausted its initial supply of nearly 4 million shots last week and aims to resume vaccinations within weeks, when the new doses arrive.

Nigeria expects delivery of 3.924 million doses of Oxford/AstraZeneca shots from global vaccine-sharing scheme COVAX by the end of July or early August, Shuaib said, and an additional 3.93 million doses of either Pfizer/Biotech or Moderna, donated by the U.S. government via COVAX, in August.

The White House last month outlined a plan to share 55 million U.S. COVID-19 vaccine doses globally via COVAX.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, recently detected the highly contagious Delta variant, while the governor of its commercial centre, Lagos state, warned that it was on the verge of a third wave of infections.

The 3.92 million Oxford/AstraZeneca doses Nigeria received in March from COVAX covered a small fraction of its 200 million citizens, and Shuaib, in an Abuja press briefing, urged citizens to abide by "non-pharmaceutical" measures, such as mask wearing and social distancing, to stem the spread of the virus until fresh doses arrived.

He said Nigeria expects another 3.577 million doses of Pfizer/Biotech or Moderna from COVAX in the third quarter, as well as 29.85 million Johnson & Johnson shots purchased via the African Union, though he did not say when these would arrive.

Shuaib said Nigeria recorded 14,550 of mild to moderate adverse reactions to the vaccines but no fatalities linked to the shots.

(Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha, editing by Libby George and Steve Orlofsky)
An emir kidnapped in northern Nigeria's Kaduna state has been freed while 13 other family members remained in captivity, his son said Tuesday.

The attackers, known locally as bandits, stormed the palace of 83-year-old Alhassan Adamu, the emir of Kajuru outside the state capital of Kaduna early on Sunday, and seized victims, including women and children.

Emirs are revered in predominantly Muslim northern Nigeria as custodians of Islam and tradition. They have no constitutional role, but wield influence and act as a link between the people and government.

"His Highness was released yesterday and he is now in the palace," said Musa Alassan Adamu, the emir's eldest son.

"He was dropped by his captors outside the town from where he walked to the palace," Adamu told AFP.

He said the monarch was taken to hospital for medical checks where he was certified to be in good health.

"The bandits are still holding 13 members of the family," the son said.

Twelve family members were initially thought to have been abducted with the emir.

A video clip seen by AFP shows the emir addressing his followers, who came to sympathise with him after his release.

He broke down in tears as soon as he began his address.

A source in the palace said the kidnappers had contacted the palace for ransom for the release of the other hostages.

Police in Kaduna have not yet commented on the incident.

Kaduna has recently become a target for kidnapping-for-ransom gangs, seizing students and travellers on highways, but the abduction of the emir marked the first time such a high-profile victim had been seized.

Northwest and central Nigeria have in recent years been terrorised by gangs of cattle thieves and kidnappers who raid villages, killing and abducting residents as well as stealing livestock after looting and burning homes.

The gangs have lately been attacking schools and abducting students to squeeze ransom from parents.

Around 1,000 students have been kidnapped since December.

On July 5, more than 100 students were kidnapped from a boarding school in Kaduna state, in the latest mass abduction targeting schools.

abu/joa/pma
Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley is calling on "every governor" in the United States to "ban" the funding of critical race theory instruction in public schools.

Haley, a Republican who previously served as South Carolina governor, argued critical race theory has "lasting effects" on children and that it should not be taught in grade school, as it is already taught at the collegiate level.

"Every governor in the country needs to ban funding for critical race theory. Governors can decide this. They decide what money they take from the Department of Education. Don't take this money," Haley told Fox News on Monday.

ARIZONA GOVERNOR SIGNS BILL TO STOP CRITICAL RACE THEORY TRAINING IN GOVERNMENT

Haley's call to action for U.S. governors to ban the controversial philosophy comes as seven states have already passed legislation banning public schools from teaching the theory, which maintains racism is systemic within U.S. institutions.

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

The former U.N ambassador said she was "teased" as a child by her peers in rural South Carolina for being Indian, recalling advice her mother told her when she was young.

"My mom would say, 'Your job is to show them how you're similar and not how you're different,'" Haley said.

Haley previously took to Twitter on July 7 to criticize the theory that is being debated by parents and school board officials across the country, saying, "America should be united around shared values, not divided by different shades of color."

At least 26 states have introduced bills or taken steps to restrict the teaching of critical race theory, with numerous conservative leaders across the country fighting to implement anti-CRT legislation.

Former President Donald Trump has also raised alarm bells regarding the academic theory, saying, "We will defeat the radical leftist, socialist Marxists, and the critical race theorists," during a Sunday speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

Story continues

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Those on the Left have defended the theory. After a weekslong battle, Nikole Hannah-Jones, whose work has contributed to critical race theory, was granted tenure at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a decision celebrated by the White House.

"I have not spoken with the president about the decision on tenure by the institution in North Carolina. I will say that the students at Howard are quite lucky to have her as a professor in their family," said White House press secretary Jen Psaki Tuesday, referencing Hannah-Jones's work as Howard University's Knight chairwoman.

Washington Examiner Videos

Tags: News, Nikki Haley, Critical Race Theory, Republican, Conservative, Education, Education Department

Original Author: Kaelan Deese

Original Location: Nikki Haley calls on 'every governor' in US to ban funding for critical race theory in public schools
CHICAGO (AP)  After Donald Trump supporters stormed Capitol Hill on Jan. 6 in a bid to halt the certification of Joe Bidens election, many described their actions as seditious or even treasonous.

Some scholars say key figures in the attacks would qualify for sedition conspiracy under U.S. statutes, though its less clear any would meet the criteria for treason.

Sedition and treason cases are rare, especially in the modern era. According to the FBI, the U.S. government has successfully convicted fewer than 12 Americans for treason in the nation's history.

Some notable treason and sedition cases:

AARON BURR

Former Vice President Aaron Burr was tried in 1807 for treason for allegedly plotting to urge some states to leave the Union as part of military adventures to seize land from Spain and Mexico.

His trial was an early test of treason as defined in the Constitution, which says it consists only in levying war against the U.S. or giving enemies aid and comfort. Jurors acquitted Burr after instructions that prosecutors had to show not just that Burr made plans to go to war but actually went to war against the United States.

The name Benedict Arnold, an American military officer who crossed lines to join the British during the Revolutionary War, became synonymous with treason. But he was never captured or tried for it.

___

CHRISTIANA RESISTANCE

Escaped slaves in Christiana, Pennsylvania, and several white people who aided them were charged with treason in 1851 for resisting U.S. marshals seeking to capture the escaped slaves. Following acquittals at an initial trial, in which lawyers argued the resistance was not akin to levying war, charges were dropped against the around 40 others indicted.

___

JEFFERSON DAVIS

The president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis was charged with treason but his prosecution was later abandoned, in part, as an effort at reconciliation following the Civil War. While scholars say they clearly fit the criteria of treason, no Confederate generals or statesmen faced the charge.

Story continues

___

TOKYO ROSE

Among the last convictions for treason was American-born Iva Toguri DAquino, known as Tokyo Rose during World War II for her anti-American broadcasts. She was convicted in 1949 of giving aid and comfort to Japan. She served more than six years of a 10-year sentence before her release. President Gerald Ford pardoned her after reports U.S. authorities pressured some witnesses to lie. Some former prisoners of war in Japan also came forward to confirm that DAquino had smuggled food and medicine to them during their capture.

Several other Americans of Japanese and German descent were convicted of treason for giving aid and comfort to Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany. Some also later received pardons or had sentences commuted.

___

ADAM GADAHN

The only American charged with treason against the U.S. since the World II era was Adam Gadahn, also known as Azzam the American. His 2006 federal indictment said he gave al-Qaida "aid and comfort ... with intent to betray the United States. Before he could be put on trial, Gadahn was killed by a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan.

___

SHEIKH OMAR ABDEL-RAHMAN

Seditious conspiracy law was last successfully used in the 1990s in the prosecution of Islamic militants who plotted to bomb New York City landmarks. An Egyptian cleric, Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, and nine followers were convicted in 1995 of seditious conspiracy and other charges in a plot to blow up the United Nations, the FBIs building, and two tunnels and a bridge linking New York and New Jersey. Abdel-Rahman, known as the Blind Sheikh, argued on appeal that he was never involved in planning actual attacks against the U.S. and his hostile rhetoric was protected free speech. He died in federal prison in 2017.

___

PUERTO RICAN NATIONALISTS

Seditious conspiracy charges were successfully brought in another, now largely forgotten storming of the Capitol building in 1954. Four pro-independence Puerto Rican activists rushed the building and opened fire on the House floor, wounding several representatives. They and more than a dozen others who assisted in the attack were convicted of seditious conspiracy.

Oscar Lopez Rivera, a former leader of a Puerto Rican independence group that orchestrated a bombing campaign that left dozens of people dead or maimed in the 1970s and 1980s, spent 35 years in prison for seditious conspiracy before President Barack Obama commuted his sentence in 2017.

___

HUTAREE MILITIA

The last time U.S. prosecutors brought such a case was in 2010 in an alleged Michigan plot by members of the Hutaree militia to incite an uprising against the government. But a judge ordered acquittals on the sedition conspiracy charges at a 2012 trial, saying prosecutors relied too much on hateful diatribes protected by the First Amendment and didnt, as required, prove the accused ever had detailed plans for a rebellion. Three members of the militia pleaded guilty to weapons charges.
Two assisted living workers are accused of stealing prescriptions from their vulnerable patients in South Carolina, officials said.

Bryanna Marie Govin, 24, and Kelly Michelle Morgan  also known as Kelly Morgan-Cardinale, 36  were indicted on charges in the Greenville County drug case, the S.C. Attorney Generals office said Monday in a news release.

Officials said the women used their jobs at the Quillen Manor Independent & Assisted Living center to get access to drugs that werent prescribed to them, mostly between October 2019 and June 2020.

The defendants are alleged to have unlawfully possessed controlled substances that were prescribed for the vulnerable adults residing at the facility in Fountain Inn, southeast of Greenville, the attorney generals office said.

A Quillen Manor representative and a Facebook user believed to be Govin didnt didnt immediately respond to McClatchy News requests for comment Tuesday. The news release didnt list attorney information for Morgan.

In addition to the accusations about stolen drugs, Morgan is alleged to have trafficked controlled substances, neglected vulnerable adults by failing to provide supervision or medical care, and for practicing nursing for a period of time without authorization, officials said. No additional details about those cases were shared in the news release.

Govin is facing five counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance. Morgan is facing one count of the same charge as well as other charges, including neglect of a vulnerable adult and trafficking in illegal drugs.

The attorney generals office said it worked with the Fountain Inn Police Department and S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control to investigate the case.

Man hides in Walgreens, then tunnels through wall to get opioids, Tennessee cops say

Pharmacy dispensed thousands of opioids to one family in North Carolina, feds say
SANAA, Yemen (AP)  Fighting raged between Yemen's government forces and Houthi rebels, killing 320 fighters from both sides in central Bayda province since the weekend, health and security officials said Tuesday.

Earlier this month, the Yemeni government backed by a Saudi-led coalition launched a military operation to reclaim Bayda from the Iran-backed Houthis.

Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war since 2014, when the Houthis swept across much of the north and seized the capital, Sanaa, forcing the internationally recognized government into exile. The Saudi-led coalition entered the war the following year on the side of the government.

Bodies were still lying in mountainous areas of Bayda and inside armored vehicles that were hit by airstrikes. The International Red Cross was expected to pull them out for burial, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Fighting in Bayda came as the Houthis attempt to break through government defenses in the strategic city of Marib, also located in central Yemen . The rebels have been attempting since February to capture it from the internationally recognized government, which would complete their control over the northern part of Yemen.

The government has been sending reinforcements to Bayda since losing to the Houthis some of the districts it had reclaimed earlier, the officials said. However, most of the casualties belonged to the Houthi camp, said tribal leaders who also asked not to be named for fear of reprisal.

Both sides have claimed making significant gains but there was no way to verify the claims on the ground independently.

In a televised statement, Yahia Sarei, a military spokesman for the Houthis, claimed the rebels could stop their rivals from advancing in the province in three days.
(Reuters) - Britain's heptathlon world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson said she is fully fit after recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon and is ready to compete at the Tokyo Olympics.

Johnson-Thompson, who sustained the injury in training at the end of last year, emerged as one of Britain's top gold medal prospects for Tokyo after winning the 2019 world title in Doha ahead of Rio Olympics champion Nafi Thiam of Belgium.

The 28-year-old will compete in the long jump at the Diamond League meeting in Gateshead later on Tuesday as she continues her preparations for the July 23-Aug. 8 Games.

"I'm fully fit and ready to go," Johnson-Thompson told British media.

"I was devastated and at one point it could have gone one of two ways but I'm glad it went in the best direction for me where I'm able to compete at my third Olympics.

"I ruptured my jumping leg but I high jumped off it last week, which is a very good sign. And I'm long jumping off the same leg too. Everything has healed. My left leg is now stronger than my right because of it. I'm in a good place."

Johnson-Thompson said she now needs competition to get an idea of where her performance levels are.

"I'm obviously missing competition practice but that's why I'm here," she said. "Im 100% in my body. In the coming weeks I'll see where I'm at performance wise in the coming competition I'm going to compete in."

(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about voting rights at the National Constitution Center on July 13, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Biden and Congressional Democrats are set to make another push for sweeping voting rights legislation as Republican state legislatures across the country continue to pass controversial and restrictive voting access laws. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

It's another busy day on voting rights, OnPolitics readers.

The background: President Joe Biden was in Philadelphia Tuesday using his bully pulpit to warn that right to vote is under assault. This comes one day after more than 50 Texas House Democrats fled their home state to prevent a vote on legislation they say curbs voting rights.

Vice President Kamala Harris this week will meet with the Texas lawmakers, White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday.

It's Mabinty, with the news of the day.

Voting rights a top priority for Biden

In what he described as the "most significant test of our democracy since the Civil War," Biden in Philadelphia warned Americans that there is an "assault" on democracy and urged them to fight efforts in Republican-led states to pass laws that restrict voting access.

"The 21st century Jim Crow assault is real," he said during his speech at the National Constitution Center to roughly 300 people. "It's unrelenting."

Biden called on Congress to pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, saying it's a "national imperative." Bidens remarks come as at least 14 states have enacted laws that restrict voting access following last years presidential election and as former President Donald Trump continues to spread baseless claims that his loss to Biden was the result of widespread voter fraud.

Biden has said that voting rights will be a priority for his administration and has tasked Harris with leading the administrations efforts to protect ballot access.

So, how well did it go over? While Biden's speech Tuesday received praise from some activists, they also urged the president and vice president to do everything in their power  even making changes to the filibuster  to have Congress pass the bills that will protect voters.

Real quick: Stories you need to read

Team Trump member says bye to the GOP

Story continues

A lawyer who worked on Donald Trump's election challenges says she is leaving the Republican Party in the wake of reports that an RNC official described her election fraud claims as "a joke."

"The Republican Party has failed Donald Trump and true conservatives under swamp leadership," attorney Jenna Ellis tweeted Monday about the latest dispute between Trump loyalists and GOP leadership, particularly the Republican National Committee.

In a November email, RNC chief counsel Justin Riemer said Ellis and fellow Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani were pushing nonsensical conspiracy theories about election procedures in President Joe Biden's victory, according to a new book by author Michael Wolff.

Ellis, who discussed her decision to leave the GOP on media outlets Real America's Voice and Newsmax, said the Riemer email proves that Republican Party officials did not fight hard enough for Trump.

Shout out to 'The Crown' for its 24 Emmy nominations today!  Mabinty

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: President Joe Biden presses for voting rights legislation
Hotel tax revenue, a key indicator of the tourism industrys health, continued to show improvement in May, the most recent month for which collection data is available.

We continue to have had a good rebound from last April when we hit rock bottom, said Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond, who tracks the receipts. But we are still below fiscal year 2019. Were still below where we really ought to be.

But May also was the first month since the start of the pandemic that the county didnt dip into financial reserves to pay bills, he said.

Our reserves actually increased by about $30,000, which is a nice change from what weve seen over the past year and a half where we have used $145 million, Diamond said Monday during Orange Countys weekly briefing on the coronavirus pandemic.

The countys hotel tax, also known as a bed tax or tourist development tax, is a 6.5% levy on hotel rooms and other short-term lodgings.

Use of the revenue is restricted by ordinance but has helped pay for the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, renovations to Camping World Stadium and expansion of Orange County Convention Center. The money also funds Visit Orlando, the regions tourism marketing arm.

The tax generated $16.8 million in May, a huge increase over May 2020, which was the second-worst month on record.

But Mays collections were down $142,100 from April and $5.7 million off from pre-pandemic May 2019.

In fact, this amount is less than we have collected in any pre-pandemic May month since 2014, Diamond said.

Nonetheless, others monitoring the industry see rosier signs.

The slight drop from April follows a typical season pattern where visitation slows after Spring Break until Memorial Day weekend, which kicks off the summer travel season, said Daryl Cronk, senior director of market research and insights for Visit Orlando.

He also said Memorial Day weekend was a positive sign for where the regions tourism industry is heading with hotel occupancy reaching 90% on the Saturday night of the holiday weekend. The rate was the highest daily occupancy since the first weekend of March 2020  just before theme parks shut down because of the pandemic.

Story continues

Kronk said demand should meet or exceed current levels through summer.

Speaking at the most recent meeting of the Tourist Development Council, Visit Orlando President and CEO Casandra Matej said 90% of American travelers plan to take a trip in the next six months and many are focused on Orlando and theme-park experiences as their preferred destination.

No doubt during COVID, a lot of our partners in beach communities, they fared very well, she said. But now travelers are ready to experience other things and so I think were definitely ready for that.

The Orange County Convention Center, which lost 20 shows to the pandemic this year, has 68 conventions and events booked through the remainder of the calendar year, said Mark Tester, director of the complex.

I think everyone in our community is incredibly thankful and grateful for how quickly the economy is recovering, he said.

While convention centers elsewhere in the U.S. are just beginning to re-open their doors, the center on International Drive has been operating for more than a year, hosting nearly 100 conventions, trade shows and other gatherings

In the past year, several shows relocated from rival convention centers to Orange Countys complex, which follows safety guidelines approved by the state health department. The facility also earned accreditation from the Global Biorisk Advisory Council for its cleaning and disinfection standards.

shudak@orlandosentinel.com
Jul. 13After bouncing back from a 1-0 deficit in their series against Houston last week, the Enid Outlaws are moving on to the semifinals of The Basketball League playoffs, where they will play the San Diego Guardians in a three-game series.

The semifinals will be on a slightly different schedule than the two previous rounds.

Game 1 will be played on Friday at 7:30 p.m. with games 2 and 3 being played at the same time on Sunday and Monday.All three games will be played at the Stride Bank Center.

Coming into the playoffs with the league's best record, Enid played a road game followed by two home games in their two previous playoff series this postseason.

The Guardians won the Western Conference over the California Sea-Kings last week 2-1 after dropping the first game of the series. The Guardians play in a four-team conference, which gave them an extra week's break between the end of the regular season and the championship series.

They finished the regular season with the conference's best record at 13-7. The Outlaws, led by Coach of the Year Ed Corporal, come into their first non-conference game of the season boasting the league's top record at 26-3 overall and broke the league's record for wins in a season with 22, which tied the Houston Push.

Enid is second in the league in scoring this season at 124.1 points per game. They've shot 56.6% from the field on the season which ranks first and 40.7% from behind the arc which ranks second.

The Guardians aren't far behind at 117.6 points per game (fourth in the league), 53.3% shooting from the field (fourth in the league), but are fairly average from behind the 3-point line at 37.3% (13th in the league).

Nigel Jones leads San Diego offensively with 25.6 points per game, which ranks sixth in the league and seven rebounds per game. Meanwhile, the Outlaws are led by the league's leading scorer and MVP, Chance Comanche, who averages 27.7 points per game and 12.6 rebounds per game which is second overall. Comanche has scored over 30 points in each of the last two games, a mark he's reached 12 times this season.

Story continues

In the other semifinal game, the Indy Express will face off against the Syracuse Stallions starting on Tuesday.

Tickets for the series can be purchased now starting at $10. You can get them by going to the box office on the second floor of the Stride Bank Center, by calling (580) 616-7380 or by going online to StrideBankCenter.com

Masri is sports editor for the Enid News & Eagle.

Have a question about this story? Do you see something we missed? Do you have a story idea for Tarik? Send an email to tmasri@enidnews.com.
State lawmakers from the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus announced recently that the Pennsylvania Legislature has allocated $30 million dollars for community violence prevention programs.

The funding will support local efforts to take preventive measures to stop growing gun violence that is occurring across the state.

The block grants allocated for the new state budget and will be managed by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

Earlier in the year, PLBC chair Rep. Donna Bullock, D-Philadelphia, with Reps. Morgan Cephas and Amen Brown, both D-Philadelphia, introduced House Bill 696 which included a similar grant program to address gun violence.

The families of loved ones who have lost their lives to gun violence have rallied with us and asked us as legislators to do something, Bullock said in a news release. "This money is an investment to be used toward that next step in the work for which the PLBC has been laying the groundwork for years. This investment will finally help us move forward to begin investing in programs that we know will work and are led by people in our communities with boots on the ground."

Data has shown a surge of community gun violence in Pennsylvania with Philadelphia surpassing 250 homicides and Pittsburgh at a 90% increase in shootings this year. The year 2020 marked Harrisburgs deadliest year for violence in the city in the past three decades.

Washington Examiner Videos

Tags: News, Philadelphia, Gun Violence, State

Original Author: Natalie Kapustik, The Center Square contributor

Original Location: Philadelphia lawmakers laud inclusion of funds to fight gun violence in cities
Philippine police have won a battle for the bulge after the force temporarily suspended a requirement for officers seeking promotion to meet body fat targets, an official document showed Tuesday.

Expanding waistlines have been a hefty problem among police in the Southeast Asian country for years. A 2019 study showed almost 35 percent of personnel were overweight and nearly 10 percent obese.

Rules introduced at the start of the pandemic by former police chief Debold Sinas -- who has publicly acknowledged his own efforts to shed kilos through diet and exercise -- made it compulsory for the 220,000 members of the force to work out daily and submit monthly body mass index (BMI) readings.

Officers seeking to rise up the ranks were blocked if they failed to meet BMI targets, said personnel head Major General Rolando Hinanay.

In a memo to his recently appointed boss, the reed-thin police chief General Guillermo Eleazar, Hinanay called for the rule to be suspended.

He argued Covid-19 restrictions had made it difficult for officers to work out and lose weight.

"As a result, many personnel were disqualified for promotion," Hinanay said.

Eleazar confirmed to reporters Tuesday he had approved the request.

"Thousands of our personnel need sympathy and understanding as they go about their task enforcing minimum public health safety protocol 24 hours (a day) amid this pandemic," said Eleazar.

"But the suspension is only temporary and it will be enforced again once we start getting back to normal."

Officers are supposed to have a BMI of between 18.5 and 27, depending on their age, to qualify for service. Generally a BMI of between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered a "healthy weight".

A petition filed by disgruntled officers had argued the policy was "detrimental" and "a form of discrimination to personnel who are above normal BMI".

In the past officers have been sent to training camps or assigned to less desirable posts to shame them into losing weight.

str-cgm/amj/reb/axn
By Alan Charlish and Pawel Florkiewicz

WARSAW (Reuters) -A top Polish court postponed a ruling on whether the constitution takes precedence over EU treaties on Tuesday, in a case that could bring Warsaw's conflict with Brussels over the rule of law to a head.

The Constitutional Tribunal adjourned proceedings and will resume on Thursday.

Warsaw aims to hit back at what it says is unjustified interference in its internal affairs by the European Commission, but critics say that questioning the primacy of EU law undermines the functioning of the bloc and jeopardises Poland's continued membership.

"The constitution occupies the highest position in the hierarchy of legal acts," Krzysztof Szczucki of the Government Legislation Centre told the court. "It was not possible to delegate to an authority external to the state the competence to issue decisions that undermine the constitution."

Poland is embroiled in a long-running dispute with the EU over judicial reforms which critics say undermine the independence of the judiciary, but which the ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party says are needed to make courts function more effectively and remove a residue of communist influence.

PiS says the EU is interfering in Poland's right to make its own laws by challenging the reforms, and in March Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki asked the Constitutional Tribunal to rule on whether Poland's constitution should take precedence.

"PLAYING WITH FIRE"

The European Commission has asked Poland not to question the primacy of EU law, expressing concern that it is contesting the bloc's fundamental principles.

Human Rights Ombudsman Adam Bodnar, a vocal government critic, warned the court that choosing not to follow EU law could have serious consequences.

"If the Constitutional Tribunal follows this path it will be playing with fire... fire that sooner or later will lead to Poland's removal from the EU," he said.

Story continues

As part of proceedings initiated by Brussels against Poland, the EU Court of Justice told Warsaw last year to suspend a panel created to discipline judges.

The panel - the Supreme Court's disciplinary chamber - asked the Constitutional Tribunal whether such a suspension was constitutional. The tribunal will rule on this on Wednesday.

Government critics say the Constitutional Tribunal itself has become politicised as a result of PiS's reforms, an accusation the government denies.

The tribunal's head, Julia Przylebska, was described by PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski as a "close friend".

The European Court of Human Rights ruled in May that a Polish company had been denied its right to a proper hearing in the Constitutional Tribunal due to the illegal appointment of a judge.

(Reporting by Alan Charlish, additional reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Michael Perry and Nick Macfie)
A Burger King sign has gone viral after employees at a Lincoln, Nebraska location used it to announce they were "all" quitting.

One of the former employees from the location told TODAY Food that the sign came after months of short staffing, managerial turnover and "hectic" work conditions.

"We had just got really tired of upper management and them not coming to help and not caring about the employees," said Rachael Flores, the former general manager of the Havelock Avenue location, who told TODAY that she had put in her two weeks' notice alongside several other employees at the end of June.

Flores said she began working at the restaurant in August 2020, after losing her job as a representative for Capitol One at the beginning of the pandemic. She said she had worked in restaurants before, including other Burger King locations, and was prepared for the job, but was surprised by the behavior of upper management.

Related: We are closed because I am quitting and I hate this job," the sign reads.

"It was pretty hectic. They were already short-staffed (in August) and the general manager was pretty loud and crazy, very argumentative," said Flores, who was promoted to general manager in January after that employee left. "As I became general manager, it got more crazy. I had multiple different bosses."

Flores said, at times, shifts that were meant to have five or seven employees working only had two or three. She also recounted one incident where she was hospitalized and several other employees felt ill due to the lack of air conditioning in the establishment's kitchen.

"In the beginning of the summer when it was extremely hot, it would be extremely hot in the kitchen because the AC wasn't working and temperatures were reaching the mid-90s most days," said Flores. "It was causing a lot of issues with employees, they were getting dehydrated.  That took three or four weeks to get fixed. One of the days I was extremely delirious, I was very dehydrated."

Story continues

Flores said she left work at the urging of other employees, which led to her missing a managers meeting.

Related: Restaurant workers have dealt with increasing levels of bad behavior from customers amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"When I was two minutes late, my boss called me and when I told him what was going on, he told me I was being a baby and I was making excuses and that I needed to do my job," she said. "I ended up going to the hospital that night for dehydration. I had to get IV fluids and everything. I had called my boss' boss and I told him how I was treated, how my boss hung up on me and everything he said to me, and he said I was lying, that he never said that."

Over the weekend, Flores said she was fired for her role in putting up the sign, days before she was supposed to leave her position. At least six other employees also left the establishment at the same time, and according to the location's website, they are hiring for roles including a cook, an hourly shift coordinator and a general manager, the same position Flores held.

The Havelock location declined to respond to TODAY's request for comment. A spokesperson for Burger King told TODAY that they were aware of the situation.

"The work experience described at this location is not in line with our brand values," said the spokesperson. "Our franchisee is looking into this situation to ensure this doesnt happen in the future."

Related: A Florida McDonald's is actually paying potential employees to come in and interview.

Flores said that some of the sign's language was also meant to be an apology to customers who relied on the restaurant's staff.

"We also wanted to give a genuine apology to the customers because quite a few people have worked there for years," she said. "One was there for 18, one was there for eight and another was there for seven, so they have been seeing a lot of the same customers for years. Part of it was a genuine apology for customers and the We all quit was to upper management."

Many restaurants have struggled to maintain enough staff to operate during the pandemic. Flores said she doesn't want diners to see herself and her coworkers as lazy or unmotivated, noting that she was surprised by the response on social media.

"It was a lot more positive than I expected, because there are a lot more people that think that we quit because we werent making enough money or because flipping a burger was a little bit too hard. It was nothing like that. It was upper management being crappy," she said. "To see the amount of support that we employees actually got was actually really nice, to know that we are inspiring people to reevaluate their self-worth when it comes to a job actually feels pretty great.

Related:
By Raphael Satter

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Websites run by the ransomware gang REvil suddenly became unreachable on Tuesday, sparking widespread speculation that the group had been knocked offline.

The Russia-linked cybercrime ring has collected tens of millions of dollars in ransom payments in return for restoring computer systems it has hacked. In recent weeks it claimed responsibility for a sprawling ransomware outbreak that affected https://www.reuters.com/technology/hackers-demand-70-million-liberate-data-held-by-companies-hit-mass-cyberattack-2021-07-05 an estimated 800 to 1,500 businesses worldwide.

Ransomware sites can be unreliable, and it was unclear whether the site's disappearance was a momentary fluke or whether the hackers had downed tools or been removed from the internet by someone else. Both the group's payment portal and its blog, which named and shamed their victims who refused to pay the ransoms they demanded, were unreachable.

The White House declined comment. An attempt to reach REvil, one of whose representatives briefly spoke with Reuters last week, was unsuccessful.

The disappearance is not necessarily significant.

Vanishing acts are common in the ransomware world, where gangs tend to disappear and rebrand when they begin attracting too much heat.

REvil was already drawing top-level U.S. government attention, and pressure has been mounting on Washington to take more decisive action against REvil and groups like it.

The United States has been hit by a string of high-profile hacks by ransom-seeking cybercriminals, including an intrusion into Colonial Pipeline which disrupted gasoline deliveries across the East Coast.

President Joe Biden hinted on Friday the United States could take more aggressive action soon where ransomware was concerned.

Asked https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-biden-putin-idAFKCN2EF1XN by a Reuters correspondent on Friday whether it would make sense to attack the Russian servers used in such intrusions, Biden paused, smiled and said: "Yes."

Story continues

For the head of one cybersecurity company, the possibility that someone - the U.S. government or otherwise - knocked the group offline raised some concerns.

"If this was an organized cyber offensive, I am hopeful that collateral damage was a consideration," said Kurtis Minder, the founder of threat intelligence firm GroupSense.

Ransomware-seeking criminals and their victims are in some ways co-dependent, with the bad actors holding the keys to their victims' encrypted data. Should those keys have been lost or destroyed in a cyberattack "many companies, individuals are going to have a tough time recovering," he said.

Wrecking a cybercriminal server or two was not sustainable in the long run, he added.

"REvil is one of dozens of major ransomware operators," he said. "Are we going to attack all of them?"

(Reporting by Raphael Satter; Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Howard Goller)
Jul. 13RED SPRINGS  Police here are offering a reward for information that leads to the capture of the person who robbed the Internet Cafe today.

The robbery took place about 2:24 a.m. at the business located at 1006 W. Third Ave., according to the Red Springs Police Department. The amount of the award is not being disclosed.

The suspect is described as a light-skinned male standing about 5 feet 9 inches or 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 160 pounds, according to RSPD. The man was wearing a black ski mask, black hoodie, black and white striped Adidas gym pants, and black shoes. He was carrying a black Nike backpack.

"The suspect was seen leaving the area on foot traveling towards Milk Diary Road," an RSPD news release reads in part. "All information received concerning this incident will be considered as an Anonymous Source of information."

Anyone with information about the suspect's identity can contact Red Springs police Lt. Chris McManus at 910-843-3454 or 910-580-2483.
Jul. 13Rep. Joe Neguse is proposing two bills meant to remove bureaucracy and expand affordable housing opportunities in Boulder and across the United States.

The Affordable House Act, the first of two pieces of legislation the Lafayette Democrat introduced in late June, would remove the current rule that prohibits property acquisition for affordable housing use in the first 10 years after a change in the property's ownership. According to the congressman, it's crucial to increase affordable housing availability and preserve properties in need of rehabilitation and affordability regardless of when they were placed in service.

This legislation, in particular, is a concern regularly expressed by Boulder Housing Partners and other area housing authorities, Neguse said. It's one that would have a direct impact on Boulder's ability to create affordable housing options in the city, Boulder Housing Partners Executive Director Jeremy Durham said.

"There have been apartment buildings that we would have purchased and converted to permanently affordable in the city of Boulder had the Affordable House Act been in place five years ago," he said.

As the tax code currently reads, in order to get a low-income housing tax credit on a building, a developer must show that the building has not been placed in service within the last 10 years. The challenge, according to Durham, is that the definition of "placed in service" includes any change in ownership.

"The mere fact that it's changed ownership in the past 10 years becomes a deciding factor," he said. "Really, when you think about it, that's pretty arbitrary."

In Durham's view, there are other more important factors when determining whether a building can be built and preserved for affordable housing, including its adjacency to transit and other amenities and its cost.

Additionally, Neguse is sponsoring the Save Affordable Housing Act, which protects the 30-year affordability commitment of housing financed by the low-income housing tax credit. According to Neguse, owners currently can pursue a qualified contract, which can result in the properties being converted to market rate after 15 years.

Story continues

While Durham said Boulder Housing Partners was less involved with this piece of legislation, he can see the importance, particularly on a national scale.

"Otherwise we're spending taxpayer dollars to secure affordability that isn't sustained," he said. "That's obviously not the outcome we're looking for."

The Save Affordable Housing Act was cosponsored by Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia.

On a tour of his district in May, Neguse heard constituent after constituent recount the "record-breaking housing market that we are currently experiencing."

"You have families that are feeling the squeeze by virtue of these incredibly high prices," Neguse said.

The problem, which the congressman said "really is a crisis," has reached an inflection point. In Boulder, the median home sale price is $915,000, according to Realtor.com.

"Housing stock is limited and locals are being displaced and workers can't find affordable rental properties," he said.

"It's critical that we try to find some creative solutions," Neguse added.

He is hopeful that the legislation, which is to be incorporated into the federal infrastructure bill, will offer a few policy fixes to make affordable housing more readily available throughout Boulder County.

The congressman also is planning a housing summit in August, similar to the wildfire prevention summit he hosted in February.
Jul. 13A 42-year-old Rochester man was not injured after another man allegedly tried to attack him with a knife Monday night.

The 48-year-old alleged assailant, identified by Rochester police as Ruben Barraza-Diaz, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault and terroristic threats. He had not been formally charged in Olmsted County District Court as of 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Rochester police were called to Parkside Mobile Home Park, 2315 Park Lane SE, for a report of an attempted assault. A 42-year-old man told police someone knocked on his door about 8:30 p.m. When he answered the door, Barraza-Diaz on the other side and wanted to fight the man over allegations of infidelity, according to Rochester police Capt. Casey Moilanen.

Barraza-Diaz raised his fist, but then pulled a knife from his pants pocket and attempted to stab the other man "several times," Moilanen said. The man was able to avoid injury and eventually picked up a brick and told Barraza-Diaz not to come near him anymore.

Barraza-Diaz left the mobile home park in his truck. He is being held at the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center.
MOSCOW (AP)  Russia on Tuesday repatriated the remains of one of Napoleon's most trusted generals after their discovery in the country two years ago.

The coffin with the skeleton of Charles-Etienne Gudin, one of Napoleon's closest allies, was brought to the entrance of the Moscow Vnukovo airport building on a horse-drawn cart accompanied by men in 19th century French military uniform.

Gudin died in 1812 during the French warrior-emperor's invasion of Russia. The 44-year-old general was hit by a cannonball near Smolensk, a city 370 kilometers (229 miles) west of Moscow. He died of gangrene three days after his leg was amputated.

The general's remains were found in Smolensk in July 2019 by a team of French and Russian archaeologists, according to Pierre Malinowski, president of the Foundation for the Development of Russian-French Historical Initiatives.

Gudin represents a reconciliation between France and Russia, because Gudin was a Russian enemy in 1812. He came to attack Russia. Now, when Russia honours him and gives (the remains) to France, its the biggest symbol of reconciliation between our two countries," Malinowski told reporters at the ceremony at the Vnukovo airport.
Airlines are standing firm on mask policy. Photo: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP via Getty Images

Major airlines are holding firm on their policy to continue mask wearing on flights, as the UK relaxes its official social distancing and mask guidelines on 19 July.

British Airways (IAG.L), Ryanair (RYA.L), Wizz Air (WIZZ.L), and Easyjet (EZJ.L) all said they would continue enforcing wearing masks as a requirement for travel.

Last week, the government said quarantine-free travel is set to resume on 19 July for fully vaccinated passengers returning from amber list countries.

The advice states that arrivals who have been fully vaccinated with an NHS administered vaccine in the UK (plus 14 days), or are on a formally approved UK vaccine clinical trial, returning to England from amber list countries will no longer need to quarantine.

Passengers will need to provide proof of their vaccination status to carriers in advance of travel.

Watch: Javid warns unlocking is not the end of the road

Health secretary Sajid Javid also said on Monday that although legal requirements on face coverings were being lifted, they were "expected and recommended" in crowded indoor areas

The current wave of UK coronavirus infections is not expected to peak before mid-August, and could mean between 1,000 and 2,000 hospital admissions a day, government scientists said.

"While we keep our policies under constant review, the safety of our customers and colleagues is always our priority, and we have no immediate plans to change our mask policy," a BA spokesperson said. "We will continue to take advice and guidance from all the appropriate authorities."

Read more: BoE: UK banks in good shape despite increase in risk taking

"Wizz Air confirms that face masks will remain mandatory onboard its aircraft for the full duration of its flights. The safety, health and wellbeing of passengers and crew is the airlines number one priority, a spokesperson said.

"In line with EASA/ECDC guidelines and in order to protect the health of our customers and crew, the use of face masks will still be mandatory across all Ryanair flights, regardless of the departing/destination country," said a Ryanair spokesperson.

Story continues

Last week, EasyJet also confirmed that masks would continue to be a requirement.

EasyJet told the Evening Standard: "At present there are no changes to EasyJets onboard mask policy and we will continue to keep this under review."

We continue to be guided by our inhouse medical adviser and a number of key industry governing bodies that airlines follow including the WHO (World Health Organisation), Icao (International Civil Aviation Organisation), Easa (European Union Aviation Safety Agency), the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and public health authorities across Europe, and at present their guidance around the wearing of masks onboard remains unchanged.

Yahoo Finance UK contacted EasyJet and Heathrow Airport for confirmation of any updates to policy.

Watch: Passengers at Heathrow Airport stuck in long queues as security staff are told to self-isolate
WASHINGTON (AP)  Emerging from a private meeting at the White House, Sen. Bernie Sanders said Monday that he and President Joe Biden are on the same page as Democrats draft a transformative infrastructure package unleashing more than $3.5 trillion in domestic investments on par with the New Deal of the 1930s.

Sanders, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and Democrats on his panel also huddled privately at the Capitol for two hours late Monday with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and key White House advisers during a consequential time for Biden's top priority. Congress is racing to put together a sweeping proposal financing infrastructure, family assistance and other programs for initial votes later this month.

Sanders, I-Vt., said he had a very good discussion" with Biden .

He knows and I know that were seeing an economy where the very, very rich are getting richer while working families are struggling, Sanders told reporters.

Sanders said he and the president did not discuss a topline figure, but the Vermont senator mentioned his own more far-reaching $6 trillion proposal, which includes expanding Medicare for older adults. Later at the Capitol, he told reporters that the Democrats' package would be bigger than $3.5 trillion, an amount floated as in line with Biden's initial proposal.

"The end of the day were going to accomplish something very significant," Sanders said.

After Democrats' evening meeting at the Capitol, Sanders said lawmakers were still discussing overall spending and other figures.

What we're trying to do is a multitrillion-dollar bill which is going to address long neglected problems of the working families in this country and the problem of climate change, he told reporters.

Other lawmakers said senators would meet again Tuesday.

Biden's big infrastructure proposals are moving through Congress on various tracks  each potentially complementing or torpedoing the other.

Story continues

A bipartisan group of 10 senators unveiled a nearly $1 trillion package of traditional infrastructure for roads, bridges, broadband and some climate change investments in electric vehicles and resiliency for extreme weather conditions.

Senators in the bipartisan group are struggling to draft their proposal into legislation but hope to have a bill ready as soon as this week. Disagreements are emerging over how to pay for it.

Pay-fors are still up in the air, said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D.

The rest of Biden's ideas are being collected into the much broader multitrillion-dollar package that could be approved by Democrats on their own under a special budget reconciliation process that allows passage with 51 votes in the Senate, rather than the typical 60-vote threshold that's needed to overcome a Senate filibuster.

Sanders, as chair of the Budget Committee, has been leading his colleagues in a series of private conversations. A one-time Biden rival for the presidency, Sanders now holds an influential position shaping the president's top priority.

My job is to do everything I can to see that the Senate comes forward with the strongest possible legislation to protect the needs of the working families of this country, Sanders said at the White House.

___

Associated Press reporters Alan Fram and Kevin Freking in Washington contributed to this report.
covid vaccine

Chip Somodevilla/Getty COVID-19 vaccine

A chief scientist from the World Health Organization is speaking out against mixing and matching different COVID-19 vaccine doses, saying more research has to be done about the method.

During a press conference Monday, WHO's Soumya Swaminathan said that supplementing different COVID-19 vaccines in the series of doses is "a little bit of a dangerous trend" since there isn't sufficient data yet.

"I really want to caution folks, because there is a tendency now for people in countries with enough availability of vaccines to voluntarily start thinking about an additional dose. There are people who are thinking about mixing and matching," said Swaminathan. "We receive a lot of queries from people who say they've taken one and planning to take another one."

"It's a little bit of a dangerous trend," Swaminathan continued. "We're in a data-free, evidence-free zone as far as mix-and-match. There is limited data on mix-and-match. There are studies going on; we need to wait for that. Maybe it will be a very good approach. But at the moment we only have data on the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine followed by Pfizer. It will be a chaotic situation in countries if citizens start deciding when and who will be taking a second, or a third and or a fourth dose."

In a tweet later on Monday, Swaminathan clarified that "individuals should not decide for themselves" to mix and match, "public health agencies can, based on available data. Data from mix and match studies of different vaccines are awaited - immunogenicity and safety both need to be evaluated."

RELATED: CDC Warns of 'Small Possible Risk' of Rare Nerve Disorder from Johnson & Johnson Vaccine

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Story continues

Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunizations has said, according to Canadian news outlet CP24, that Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines can be swapped and used with each other when a matching second dose isn't available.

A spokesperson for Health Minister Christine Elliott said in a statement, per CP24, that "Ontario continues to follow the advice of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) which recommends that it is safe to mix vaccines based on studies from the U.K., Spain and Germany that have found that mixing vaccines is safe and produces a strong immune response."

In the United States, however, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still state that "COVID-19 vaccines are not interchangeable." According to the CDC, "The safety and efficacy of a mixed-product series have not been evaluated. Both doses of the series should be completed with the same product."

The CDC added that in "exceptional situations" where the same vaccine used for a first dose is no longer available, any approved "available mRNA COVID-19 vaccine may be administered." But, they said in scenarios where the same vaccine is only temporarily unavailable, "it is preferable to delay the second dose (up to 6 weeks) to receive the same product than to receive a mixed series using a different product."

As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from the CDC, WHO and local public health departments. PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMe to raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, click here.
Senate Democrats plan to offset some of their soft infrastructure spending by using dynamic scoring  a budgetary practice many of them called a gimmick just a few years ago.

Why it matters: The total size of the Democrat-only reconciliation bill will depend in large part on how much of it can be offset with new revenues. Using budgetary smoke and mirrors shows how hard Democrats are working to pass a big bill.

Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free

Negotiators can get some breathing room by relying on traditional deficit spending.

They also can use dynamic scoring, a term of art for assuming that new programs will be so beneficial for the economy, they'll produce future tax windfalls.

What they are saying: Dynamic scoring has been used before, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), told Axios, referencing the 2017 Trump tax cuts. So, sure, I mean there's going to be some dynamic (scoring).

Dynamic scoring is both a mixed blessing and an unknown factor, said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.). The extent to which it can be abused is significant. The extent to which it's also useful and accurate is also significant.

"It's a brave new world."

The big picture: Republicans have long used dynamic scoring to make the total cost of tax cuts appear smaller.

Now, Democrats are arguing billions of new dollars for programs like universal preschool and free community college will cause productivity gains that, in turn, spur economic growth.

The $579 billion bipartisan infrastructure package that would accompany the reconciliation bill also includes approximately $60 billion in new dynamic scoring savings.

It assumes "hard" infrastructure like new roads and bridges will benefit the entire economy.

Flashback: In 2015, House Republicans required the Congressional Budget Office to score proposals by factoring in their overall macroeconomic effect.

Democrats, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), then the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, howled.

The Republicans have hatched a plan to force the CBO to cook the books and paint a rosy picture of the benefits of trickle-down economics," Sanders said.

They call it dynamic scoring," he added. In fact, its a gimmick to help justify more tax cuts for the wealthy and profitable corporations.

Between the lines: Some conservative economists welcome the Democrats' newfound religion.

They argue budget experts can  and should  factor in the productivity gains from more education or better health care on the overall economy.

Some also caution against estimating precise dollar figures.

They are never as big as the proponents think they are going to be, said Doug Holz-Eakin, who was the first Congressional Budget Office director to try to use dynamic scoring during the debate about the cost of President George W. Bushs tax cuts.

Dynamic scoring lives to excite and disappoint simultaneously.

More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free
Cuba protest social media. Illustrated | Getty Images, iStock

Internet traffic to Cuba plummeted to zero several times on Sunday, when citizens in multiple cities protested in the streets against their communist government and the severe economic hardship that has hit the country in recent months.

The likely explanation for the outages is regime censorship. Public protest is very rare under the Cuban police state, but that state may have made a self-sabotaging miscalculation two years ago: After years of strict limits on public internet access that only slowly liberalized, Havana permitted 3G mobile phone service on the island.

Since then, Cubans have been able to access social media as well as encrypted communication applications like Telegram far more easily, and their use of these services has exploded. Sunday's protests were in part the fruit of that change, as demonstrators organized themselves online and used social media to share images of the gatherings, including police brutality against their peers. That publication of the regime's "repressive response" is "a public-relations nightmare for an authoritarian state sensitive about its international reputation," The Washington Post notes, making it impossible for officials to do their usual blame-shifting to the United States.

My take on social media, particularly as it relates to politics, tends to be quite negative. I've argued that Facebook is "unfixable," because it "runs on human emotion, and its single most efficient fuel" is political rage. I've made the case that needlessly publicizing our every political perspective can make us unjustifiably dogmatic and "unreachable by persuasion." I am very wary of allowing my children on social media once they are old enough to navigate it.

But when I think about what life is like under Cuba's communist government  or similarly oppressive states in North Korea, Venezuela, Iran, and elsewhere  I think my perspective on social media might well be different there. If I lived under a regime so authoritarian, so grossly and consistently abusive of its power, I suspect I'd be thrilled to gain access to Twitter or Telegram.

Story continues

And that has me mulling a hypothesis: Maybe social media is good (or, at least, a net political positive) in places with very bad governance and bad (a net political negative) in places with good governance. Maybe social media is like an effective medicine for a specific illness with bad side effects: Sometimes it's the fix you need  but if you don't have that illness already, it will make you sick.

Turkish sociologist Zeynep Tufekci, who has watched "dissidents use digital tools to challenge government after government," has written on the net-positive effect social media can have in repressed societies. Social media can have a "role in breaking down what social scientists call 'pluralistic ignorance'  the belief that one is alone in one's views when in reality everyone has been collectively silenced," she explained at MIT Technology Review. It can foment rebellion if "people who were previously isolated in their dissent [find] and [draw] strength from one another."

But what happens when you have a good (or comparatively good) government? What if you have a reasonably free and functional country? For all its problems  and I assure you I'm aware of them, as it's literally my job to point them out  I'd place the United States in that category. Our government's treatment of its people, though unlawful and/or unethical often enough, is in a wholly different realm from the behavior of brutal regimes like Kim Jong Un's North Korea, still-communist China with its horrific abuses of Muslim minorities, or, yes, Cuba, where the gross national income per capita is about $9,000 per the most recent figures I found and journalists and critics of the state are subjected to political imprisonment as well as "beatings, public shaming, travel restrictions, and termination of employment."

When people like us take our politics to social media, it still tends to foster public anger and conflict. It still encourages division and discontent. But all those effects are much less needful here (and when they are most needful, as with, e.g., our government's facilitation of war crimes in Yemen, it is too commonly the case that hardly anyone pays enough attention to be angry). Is it, perhaps, like taking that harsh medicine for an illness you don't have?

The Tufekci quote above recounts her views from about a decade ago. She goes on in the same essay to argue that, with time, bad governments learn to subvert or even eliminate the net-positive effect social media can have for oppressed people in that initial moment of access Cubans presently enjoy.

States learn to use social media for their own propaganda, to censor more subtly than shutting down the entire national internet (so that some illusion of freedom remains), to spread misinformation and divide would-be dissidents, to engage in mass surveillance and arrest protesters before the protest even begins. Thus did Facebook help "Philippine strongman Rodrigo Duterte with his election strategy," Tufekci writes, and the social network "was even cited in a [United Nations] report as having contributed to the ethnic-cleansing campaign against the Rohingya minority in Myanmar."

If the hypothesis I'm considering here  that social media can be a net political positive in some worst-case scenarios of governance  is right, that devolution Tufekci describes means it's only right temporarily, whatever the outcome of protests like those in Cuba. If demonstrators succeed in getting the freedom they want, their relationship to social media will become more like ours, conducive to unjustified rancor. If they don't succeed, their still-oppressive government will learn to use social media for its own ends.

Maybe sometimes social media can be medicine, but maybe its sick-making side effects are a matter not of "if" but "when."

You may also like

Fox News host Tucker Carlson seems scandalized reporters are investigating his NSA spying claims

Fox is launching a weather streaming service, and it's already feuding with The Weather Channel

'How did we miss this?': The day Mark Zuckerberg learned of Russian interference
By Sisipho Skweyiya

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - At an emergency COVID-19 ward run by a charity in southern Johannesburg, medics wheel gasping patients to their beds, rush from room to room with oxygen cylinders and pat the back of someone in the grip of a coughing fit.

The scenes in the converted community hall are a reminder of how badly South Africa has been hit by its third and most debilitating COVID-19 wave yet, as the infectious Delta variant surges through a mostly unvaccinated population.

"The Delta variant has caused enormous strain on the resources ... Every hospital is getting strained, every healthcare worker is getting strained," said Fatimah Lambat, the doctor in charge of the ward set up by Gift of the Givers, a Muslim charity, to ease overloaded public hospitals.

"It's very draining ... patients are still phoning me from the community for help. And when we're full here, we still need to help them," she said. "We don't want them to be lost."

With South Africa recording an average of about 20,000 cases a day and nursing active cases, cumulatively, of more than 10 times that, Africa's most economically advanced nation has also been its worst hit by the virus, with 64,000 deaths.

A vaccination campaign has been slow, with just 4.2 million doses administered to a population of 60 million. Officials aim to reach a vaccination rate of 300,000 a day by the end of August.

Doctors say they have never had to deal with so many COVID-19 infections all at once. Hospitals in the largest city Johannesburg, where the latest wave started, are full.

For 79-year-old Catherine Naidoo, the most terrifying thing about falling gravely ill was knowing that so many had died.

"You don't know what lies ahead. You look at the news and see how people are passing away," the recovered COVID-19 patient said, lying on her back and adjusting her mask. "It was the most frightening experience."

Story continues

Behind another curtain, medics covered head to toe in protective gear adjusted the drip of a sleeping patient, while in another, a medic was getting a patient to do some exercises before getting her to blow into a tube to test her lungs.

President Cyril Ramaphosa extended COVID-19 restrictions on Sunday for another 14 days, including a ban on gatherings, a curfew from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. and a nationwide ban on the sale of alcohol.

(Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
DURBAN (Reuters) - Looters ransacked warehouses and supermarkets in the South African port city of Durban on Tuesday despite the efforts of heavily outnumbered police.

A Reuters cameraman saw hundreds of people raiding a warehouse belonging to the retailer Game, which sells items including groceries and home appliances. People took everything they could lay their hands on, and some drove off with stolen goods in pick-up trucks with covered number plates.

Vandals also trashed a Makro supermarket and shops in the city centre. Police were overwhelmed and unable to control the rioters.

Aerial footage shot from a helicopter by the local television channel eNCA showed black smoke rising from several warehouses and surrounding roads strewn with debris.

Durban has one of the busiest shipping terminals on the African continent, is home to dozens of industrial parks and is a hub for imports and exports into and out of southern Africa.

The violence was triggered by the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma as his supporters took to the streets last week, but the situation has evolved into an outpouring of anger over persistent poverty and inequality, 27 years after the end of apartheid.

Rioters also set fire to a chemical plant close to Umhlanga, a town north of Durban, emergency services said. Firefighters were on the scene trying to prevent the fire spreading to an adjacent clothing factory.

(Reporting by Siyabonga Sishi in Durban and Wendell Roelf in Cape Town; Writing by Alexander Winning in Johannesburg; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Washington Post

In 2014, psychologists at the University of Virginia conducted a simple experiment to showcase the power of the human mind. They placed subjects in a room by themselves with no distractions for roughly 10 minutes, letting them be alone with their thoughts. Given the infinite possibilities that our imaginations hold, it aimed to promote the sheer pleasures we can derive from just thinking. "We thought this would be great. People are so busy that it would give them a chance to slow down, sit quiet
Small businesses in Virginia and other parts of the country have faced staffing shortages in recent months, which are now causing losses in sales, according to a report from the National Federation of Independent Business.

After the commonwealth's COVID-19 restrictions were eased and mostly eliminated, small businesses struggled to fill open positions they needed to keep up with an increased demand for services. The continued shortage has caused a disruption in businesses providing services and a disruption in the supply chain, which is negatively affecting sales, according to the NFIB.

The NFIB, which is the largest small business association in the country, surveyed its members nationwide about the staffing shortage. It found that 22% of businesses owners who responded are experiencing significant staffing shortages and another 18% are experiencing moderate staffing shortages. Nearly half of respondents are receiving fewer job applications than one month ago and about 39% have stayed flat.

Of the employers who are suffering from staffing shortages, 19% have reported significant losses in sales opportunities and 30% have reported a moderate loss of sales opportunities.

About 30% of business owners who responded reported they needed to adjust their hours and nearly one-third of businesses reported the disruption in the supply chain has a significant impact on their business. More than half said the supply chain disruption is worse than it was three months ago.

About 12% of businesses responded they could only operate in the current economic climate for another six months or less and another 15% said they could only continue for between seven and 12 months.

Twelve percent reported they will only be able to continue business operations for six months or less under current economic conditions and another 15% for 7-12 months.

The national trends have been similar to what Virginia businesses are reporting, NFIB Virginia Director Nicole Riley told The Center Square. Businesses have been forced to reduce operating hours, which causes them to miss out on sales, and some have lost sales because of supply chain shortages, such as the crab shortage.

Story continues

Riley said the economy was starting to improve when the pandemic restrictions were eased, but that staffing shortages are slowing down the recovery.

Unemployed Virginians still receive an additional $300 per week in pandemic unemployment benefits, which Riley said is incentivizing people to stay home, rather than work. Although Gov. Ralph Northam introduced a return-to-work bonus for certain small businesses, Riley said she has not gotten feedback from businesses that this program even made a dent in staffing shortages.

Northams Return to Earn Grant Program provides bonuses up to $500 for certain workers if the bonus is matched by the employer. However, the bonus is only available for jobs that pay at least $15 per hour, which Riley said rules out a lot of struggling businesses.

Washington Examiner Videos

Tags: News, Virginia, State

Original Author: Tyler Arnold, The Center Square

Original Location: Staffing shortages causing sales losses for Virginia small businesses
Plenty of stars are honored for TV and on the baseball diamond. President Joe Biden hits back at restrictive voting laws. And what you need to know about a third COVID-19 shot.

 It's Julius, and let's get to Tuesday's news, shall we?

But first, an incredibly smol cow.  Meet Rani, who at 20 inches tall, might be the world's tiniest cow.

The Short List is a snappy USA TODAY news roundup. Subscribe to the newsletter here or text messages here.

'The Mandalorian' and 'The Crown' lead Emmys pack

Disney's "The Mandalorian" and Netflix's "The Crown" continued their successful runs Tuesday, each earning 24 Emmy Awards nominations,, tied for the most in this year's field. Not far behind was another show on Disney+, Marvel's "WandaVision," which nabbed 23 nominations. And in an acting category, history was made with Mj Rodriguez becoming the first trans performer nominated for a lead acting Emmy. The most tightly contested race this year may be for Best Limited Series, which features beloved shows "I May Destroy You," "Mare of Easttown," "The Underground Railroad," "The Queen's Gambit" and "WandaVision." The 2021 Emmys will air Sept. 19 on CBS (8 EDT/PDT), with host Cedric the Entertainer.

"The Crown" and "The Mandalorian" each earned 24 Emmy nominations Tuesday.

'21st century Jim Crow assault'

President Joe Biden was in Philadelphia on Tuesday to advocate for voting rights and to warn Americans of an "assault" on democracy. "The 21st century Jim Crow assault is real," Biden said during comments on voting. "It's unrelenting." The president also turned his attention to lawmakers, calling on Congress to pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The president's remarks came as at least 14 states have enacted laws that restrict voting access following last years presidential election. Voting rights have been a point of emphasis for the Biden administration, with Vice President Kamala Harris announcing last week a $25 million expansion of a Democratic National Committee initiative to bolster voter education, voter protection, targeted voter registration and deployment of new technology to increase voter access.

Story continues

Texas Democrats have descended on the U.S. Capitol to lobby lawmakers on voting rights legislation.

Vice President Harris will meet with Texas lawmakers who left state to block GOP voting bill.

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about voting rights at the National Constitution Center on July 13, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Biden and Congressional Democrats are set to make another push for sweeping voting rights legislation as Republican state legislatures across the country continue to pass controversial and restrictive voting access laws. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

What everyones talking about

Thousands of homes threatened as heat wave, wildfire rages

Major wildfires continue to rage across the West on Tuesday as an unrelenting heat wave and historic drought turned a wide swath of the nation into tinder. The 67 blazes had consumed 1,434 square miles of mostly timber and brush, but an undetermined number of homes have burned and thousands were threatened. The Bootleg Fire, the largest blaze in the country, has raced through 240 square miles, burned seven homes and 40 additional buildings. Looking ahead, heat will only make things worse for fire crews as high temperatures remain above average through the week, with widespread readings in the 90s and 100s, AccuWeather said. Temperatures will only increase over the weekend and into next week, forecasters said.

Do you need a booster shot for COVID-19? Here's what to know.

Although vaccine companies are studying the effectiveness of a third COVID-19 shot, the U.S. government has said boosters aren't needed  at least for now. A third shot hasn't been proven safe or effective yet, and there are many vulnerable people across the world who haven't yet had the first dose of a vaccine. Notably, more than 99% of those being treated in hospitals for COVID-19 are unvaccinated. Studies have also shown the three vaccines available in the United States  Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson  remain effective against all the common variants, including delta, studies have shown. What's unknown is how long protection will last. However, Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said that if vaccines weren't protecting against the variant, many more vaccinated people would be falling seriously ill. "I'm not worried yet," he said.

Real quick

It's 'Shotime' at MLB All-Star Game

MLB's midsummer classic takes place tonight, when the National League All-Stars host the American League All-Stars at Coors Field in Colorado. Although there are plenty of marquee names on both sides, much of the focus will be on Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani, who will be the starting pitcher and leadoff hitter for the American League. Ohtani, who is also coming off a brief but exciting showing at last night's Home Run Derby, is the first player in MLB history to be voted as an All-Star pitcher and position player. However, the National League will hope to slow Ohtani down and end their seven-game All-Star losing skid. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

A break from the news

This is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. Want this news roundup in your inbox every night? Sign up for The Short List newsletter here.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Emmys nominations, Wildfires, MLB All-Star Game. It's Tuesday's news.
Pride Month may be over, but were not done talking about one of the biggest stories that came up this year: IKEAs weird LGBTQ+ themed couches. The retailer invited artists from the community to design wink-wink-nudge-nudge love seats representing different identities like pansexual, transgender, lesbian, asexual, nonbinary, two-spirit, and gender fluid, as well as a design based on the Progress flag, an updated pride flag incorporating colors that highlight transgender and Black and Brown queer communities. Presented in the form of slipcovers, the collection went on display at IKEA Canada stores and quickly spread across the internet. Reactions weremixed.

IKEA's controversial Pride-month inspired LGBTQ+ loveseats.

The

On Twitter, some people loved the couches and expressed disappointment that they werent actually for sale  and its true, some of them truly arent bad. The Lesbian couch looks like standard IKEA fare, and the 2Spirit couch is kind of cool, with a rainbow pillow emerging from black velvet. Two-spirit is a term used by some Native people to describe identifying as having both a feminine and masculine spirit, honoring a third-gender role thats traditional in many indigenous communities.

Other designs, like the flower-covered Progress couch, are clearly not for actual use. But none have elicited quite so much controversy as the Bisexual couch, designed by artist Charlotte Carbone and inspired by poet Brian Lanigan. The line printed on the couch, When you change or to and, nobody believes you, is from one of Lanigans poems and refers to the skepticism many bisexual people face from others when they come out. The theme and inspiration arent really the problem here. What people dont like is all the creepy hands.

Lanigan, for one, has taken it in stride, changing his Twitter name to bIKEA couch guy.

Whatever you may personally think of it, its clear that this design was always meant to be an art piece rather than a sofa youd casually go buy at your local store. One thing is for sure: Carbone and Lanigan have netted IKEA quite a bit of media coverage with this design, for better or worse.

Story continues

The publics reaction seems to have prompted IKEA to remove all traces of the couches from its website, replacing the page with new content about building a world where everyone can feel at home. To be fair, its decent content explaining why pronouns are important, how to ask questions respectfully, and why IKEA has adopted the Progress flag in place of the outdated rainbow flag. But scroll to the bottom of the page, and youll find two shopping bags for sale emblazoned with the old rainbow flag print.

The

The colorful

Listen. As an elder millennial member of the LGBTQ+ community, this writer is torn between feeling a sort of dazed wonder that its suddenly cool for huge companies to declare their support, and disgust at meaningless money-grubbing displays of rainbow capitalism. At least IKEA hired (and hopefully paid) three queer artists to participate in the project, including Carbone, Madison Van Rijn, and Bianca Daniela Nachtman, though another designer, Ali Haider, was listed as an LGBTQ+ ally, which doesnt do much for community representation.

IKEA's controversial Pride-month inspired LGBTQ+ loveseats.

But honestly, wake us up when companies are taking actual concrete supportive action year-round for our communitys most vulnerable members, like black trans women, instead of just paying lip support for a single month out of the year. For the record, transphobia-motivated murders of transgender people are trending upward even as all these corporations make big public displays for Pride.
A city in Minnesota wants residents to give their pet goldfish to a "responsible friend" instead of throwing it in a waterway.

The city of Burnsville tweeted that it recently found large groups of goldfish at Keller Lake, and suspects residents could be the cause.

"Please don't release your pet goldfish into ponds and lakes! They grow bigger than you think and contribute to poor water quality by mucking up the bottom sediments and uprooting plants," the city said in a tweet.

The city has partnered with the city of Apple Valley and Carp Solutions to conduct a fish survey on Keller Lake to assess populations of invasive goldfish and other fish in the lake.

"Instead of releasing your pet goldfish in a local lake or pond, please consider other options for finding them a new home like asking a responsible friend or neighbor to care for it." the city of Burnsville said in a Facebook post.

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

Daryl Jacobson, natural resources manager for the city of Burnsville, told USA TODAY the city had received reports about goldfish being in Keller Lake before conducting an initial fish survey.

"We expected to get goldfish, but were surprised how big they were," he said.

Goldfish tend to match their environments and that's why they can be small in a home aquarium and larger in natural waterways, according to Jacobson.

"They are a tough species. They can survive under ice, with low oxygen and in unclear water," he said.

Related video: Diver rescues banjo shark snagged on a hook

In the past, other cities have brought up concerns about the "giant" fish and its effects on ecosystems.

In 2013, biologists were worried that Lake Tahoe's blue water may be affected by the large goldfish population, after they believed people were disposing of the pets in the lake.

'Djoongari': This Australian mouse was declared extinct. It turns out, the species has been surviving on an island.

Story continues

Goldfish reintroduced to the environment are considered an invasive species, an organism that is not indigenous, or native, to a particular area that can cause great economic and environmental harm.

Last year, a man fishing in South Carolina caught what appeared to be a 9-pound goldfish, though the fish wasn't native to the area.

"It reminded me of when I was a little kid, my mom was a teacher and she brought a goldfish that was in a small fishbowl home," Ty Houck, Director of Greenways, Natural and Historic Resources for Greenville County's Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, told USA TODAY. "We put it in a bigger aquarium and we both were surprised (at) how big it grew."

.oembed-frame {width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;border:0;}

In Burnsville, Jacobson said he believes there are probably more goldfish in the lake but due to preliminary findings, isn't sure if they are or will become a big problem.

For residents who decide they don't want them, he urges for them to find an alternative than throwing them in a waterway.

"You may think it's a humane thing to do, but these fish are not meant to be in our natural system in large numbers," Jacobson said.

'We have to get rid of it': Missouri mom says after kids find invasive hammerhead worm

What to know about poison hemlock:One of the 'deadliest plants in North America'

Follow reporter Asha Gilbert @Coastalasha. Email: agilbert@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Giant pet goldfish in Minnesota lake?Invasive species causing harm
FILE PHOTO: A pedestrian walks past death penalty protesters before the formal sentencing of convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev at the federal courthouse in Boston Reuters

The Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case asking for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's death sentence to be reinstated on October 13.

Tsarnaev's death sentence was overturned last year by a lower court.

The Justice Department wants the Supreme Court to review the case.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

The Supreme Court has scheduled arguments in a case asking for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's death sentence to be reinstated.

Arguments will be heard in the case on October 13, according to the Supreme Court's term calendar.

Tsarnaev was sentenced to death in 2015 after he was convicted of planting pressure-cooker bombs at the 2013 Boston Marathon that killed three people and injured hundreds of others.

His death sentence was overturned last year by a lower court that said there were concerns over errors at his trial.

The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to review the case and reinstate the death penalty.

Read the original article on Insider
Michelle Fiskin is shown here speaking to the WMCA network in a report on her firing as Tennessee's top vaccine official. WMCA

A Tennessee health official was fired after trying to get teens vaccinated against COVID-19.

Dr. Michelle Fiscus was criticized by GOP lawmakers who wanted to restrict teens from getting the shots.

The Delta variant of the coronavirus is currently rapidly spreading through the state.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

Dr. Michelle Fiscus says she was fired as Tennessee's top vaccine official to appease Republicans who opposed her bid to allow teenagers to choose whether to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Fiscus, in a searing op-ed published in The Tennessean newspaper, attacked lawmakers in her state whom she blamed for her ouster.

She said no clear explanation was given when she was fired as medical director for vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization programs at the Tennessee Department of Health.

She provided a copy of her termination letter to the publication, which stated no reason for the firing.

Fiscus said she believed political controversy around the vaccine whipped up by state Republican lawmakers was the reason for her losing her job.

"It was my job to provide evidence-based education and vaccine access so that Tennesseans could protect themselves against COVID-19," Fiscus said in the op-ed. "I have now been terminated for doing exactly that."

"I have been terminated for doing my job because some of our politicians have bought into the anti-vaccine misinformation campaign rather than taking the time to speak with the medical experts.

"They believe what they choose to believe rather than what is factual and evidence-based. And it is the people of Tennessee who will suffer the consequences of the actions of the very people they put into power."

Insider has reached out to the Tennessee Republican Party for comment.

The move comes with the Delta variant spreading rapidly in Tennessee, and the state lagging behind much of the rest of the US in its vaccination rates.

Story continues

A particular concern of teachers is that the variant could spread in schools, prompting a push by health officials to get teenagers protected against the illness.

Fiscus led the state's efforts to vaccinate teenagers against the disease, but in doing so became the target of criticism from state GOP lawmakers.

Teens have been eligible for vaccination since the FDA in May allowed those between 12 and 16 to receive jabs after studies proved it was safe and effective. Older teens had already been eligible.

Fiscus had pushed to expand access to some teens whose parents prefer that they not get the shot.

She said that under Tennessee "mature minor" law, teenagers older then 14 could be vaccinated without requiring the consent of their parents or guardian, reported the Tennessee Star.

Some state Republicans were so enraged by the push to vaccinate teenagers using the rule that in June they called for the entire state health department to be dissolved.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Dozens of Texas Democratic lawmakers held a press conference in D.C. on Tuesday to urge Congress to pass federal voting rights legislation, one day after they fled Texas to block the Republican-led legislature from passing restrictive new voting laws.

The latest: The Texas House of Representatives voted Tuesday to track down and force the Democrats to return to the legislature "under warrant of arrest if necessary," though it's unclear how that could be accomplished since Texas law enforcement lacks jurisdiction in D.C., according to the Texas Tribune.

Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.

Driving the news: The Democratic lawmakers acknowledged Tuesday that the gambit to prevent the Texas House from achieving quorum is only a temporary solution, noting they "are living right now on borrowed time in Texas."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said on Monday that the lawmakers who left the state will be arrested upon their return to the state. He added that he will continue to call for special sessions until voting legislation is passed.

57 Democratic lawmakers who fled Texas have asked the state House clerk to lock their voting machines in their absence.

What they're saying: "Our intent is to stay out and kill this bill, this session, and use the intervening time  I think 24, 25 days now  before the end of this session to implore [Congress] to pass federal voting rights legislation to protect voters in Texas and across the country," Texas State Rep. Chris Turner said at the conference.

"We can't hold this tide back forever. We're buying some time, we need Congress and all of our federal leaders to use that time wisely," Turner added.

Turner said that he hopes President Biden  who is delivering a major speech on voting rights on Tuesday afternoon  will give a "clear plan of action" on how to break gridlock in the Senate to pass voting rights legislation this summer.

The big picture: Senate Republicans last month filibustered the "For The People Act," a sweeping federal elections overhaul that would create national standards for early voting and voter registration, end partisan gerrymandering, reform campaign finance and ethics laws, and more.

Story continues

There is no virtually no chance of the bill earning the 60 votes it needs in the Senate to overcome a filibuster. Even if Democrats moved to abolish the filibuster, which is also highly unlikely, moderate Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has expressed opposition to the bill.

The Texas voting bills are part of a wave of proposals to restrict access to the ballot box being considered in GOP-led state legislatures in the wake of the 2020 election.

What to watch: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would be meeting with the Texas Democrats later today "to plot out strategy and to praise them for what they are doing," per CNN.

More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free
The Wrap

The ever-controversial Republican Representatives Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene decided to show up in southern California on Saturday for a free speech rally despite the third cancellation of their America First rally earlier in the day, this time by the city of Anaheim. According to a local newspaper report, Gaetz and Green dropped by Riverside City Hall to hold a free speech rally Saturday evening. The rally was originally scheduled to take place at the Pacific Hills Banquet and
Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas. Eric Gay/AP

Gov. Greg Abbott said Democratic lawmakers who fled Texas in a walkout would be arrested.

Democrats left en masse on Monday to block conservative bills in a legislative special session.

Two-thirds of lawmakers must be present for legislative business to proceed in Texas.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

Gov. Greg Abbott promised that Democratic lawmakers who staged a walkout in Texas would be arrested.

Speaking to KVUE on Monday, the two-term Republican criticized Democratic lawmakers who fled en masse to block several conservative bills from passing in a legislative special session.

"As soon as they come back in the state of Texas, they will be arrested, they will be cabined inside the Texas Capitol until they get their job done," he said.

Democratic leaders in the Texas House said on Monday that they had flown to Washington, DC, to "refuse to let the Republican-led legislature force through dangerous legislation that would trample on Texans' freedom to vote."

Under Texas law, two-thirds of lawmakers must be present for legislative business to proceed.

Abbott convened the special session earlier this month to pass a litany of conservative priorities, including legislation targeting voting, abortion access, transgender rights, and critical race theory.

The marquee issue is a restrictive voting bill that Republican lawmakers have sought largely in response to President Donald Trump's loss to Joe Biden.

The bill would modify early-voting hours, curb the 24/7 voting centers that were popular with shift workers in Democratic-leaning Harris County in last year's presidential election, and scrap straight-ticket voting, among other measures.

Democratic state senators on Friday introduced a bill called the Barbara Jordan Fair Elections Act, named after the revered Black senator, designed to expand access to voting, allowing for online and same-day voter registration, among other measures, according to The Dallas Morning News.

Story continues

However, the GOP-dominated Legislature is unlikely to take up that bill.

While no Democratic state senators had accompanied their House counterparts to the nation's capital as of Tuesday, a Democratic official said several senators might travel there, according to The New York Times.

Abbott told KVUE that he would not relent from carrying out his legislative objectives.

The governor said he would "continue to call special session after special session" until Democratic lawmakers are present.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Texas Democratic lawmakers are trying to amp up pressure on their party counterparts in Congress to push through legislation that would override changes made by Republicans at the state level.

On Monday, the on-the-lam lawmakers, who fled a special session in Austin, Texas, to prevent Republicans from passing a bill changing state voting measures, were at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday with House members from Texas.

With its Democratic majority, both want the Senate to scrap the filibuster, which requires 60 votes to pass the chamber. Senate Republicans recently blocked consideration of Democrats' key voting bill, S. 1.

TEXAS DEMOCRATS LEAVE STATE IN BID TO STONEWALL VOTING BILLS

I just want to offer that at the outset of this legislative session, the process was poisoned, and it was poisoned by a governor who defunded the legislative branch in violation of both our state constitution, which has very specific language about separation of powers, Texas state Rep. Chris Turner, the Democratic Caucus chairman, the told reporters on Capitol Hill.

We as Democrats, we were united. We said, 'We are going to kill any undemocratic efforts in the state legislature.' And if that meant leaving the state, we were going to do it. Now, we have, probably, to look long and hard at the legislation that has been offered, he said.

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott called a special session starting on Thursday for the state legislature to pass the voting legislation, among other issues. The session expires on Aug. 7, and Abbott promised that the state's lawmakers would be arrested upon return. If legislation still needs to be dealt with, the governor can call another special session.

At least 51 legislators in the state's House of Representatives left Austin in an effort to deny a quorum, which is the minimum number of members necessary in the chamber to conduct business.

The lawmakers flew into Washington, D.C., on a private plane to meet with other Texas lawmakers to plan to lobby in favor of the For the People Act, the Democratic election overhaul legislation, and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.

Story continues

The enactment of these bills would supersede measures proposed in Republican-led state legislatures, including the Texas bill that the state Democrats are presently avoiding.

Turner told the Washington Examiner that the Democrats who left the state are willing to stay away for as long as necessary throughout the current special session despite Abbotts ability to call another legislative session.

We know that's exactly what he was going to do. We went into this eyes wide open. We know exactly what, what will happen, Turner said.

The task will be an uphill battle. The Texas House of Representatives is composed of 83 Republicans and 67 Democrats, while Republicans hold 18 seats to Democrats' 13 seats in the 31-member Senate  a far cry from the slim majority that Democrats hold in Washington.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Turner brushed off the contrast, however.

I think the parallel is that Republicans in Texas are intent on passing their legislation with no bipartisan input. There is no interest in a bipartisan bill that would improve voter actions, he said. And so, Republican arguments about bipartisanship on Capitol Hill to prevent federal action are disingenuous.

Washington Examiner Videos

Tags: News, Texas, Elections, Congress, Voting, Democratic Party, Greg Abbott

Original Author: Kerry Picket

Original Location: Texas lawmakers who fled try to pressure Senate Democrats on voting bills
The Texas Senate will honor Opal Lee, the Fort Worth educator and civil rights icon behind the federal Juneteenth holiday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Sen. Beverly Powell announced Tuesday. The ceremony is scheduled for July 22.

Sen. Powell and I have been working on a ceremony to honor Opal Lee since before the Special Session convened. We have assigned Senate Resolution #19 especially for the event, Patrick said in a statement. We want to honor this amazing Texan for her perseverance in making Juneteenth not just a Texas holiday but also a federal holiday.

Bowell, of Burleson, said in the statement: Having Miss Opal in my district is such an honor and I am so proud to host her at the Texas Capitol. Although we were not able to host Opal Lee today, there was never any doubt that we were moving forward with it. I look forward to introducing my famous constituent and our national treasure to my colleagues and presenting Senate Resolution #19 to honor her lifetime of work.
Leonardo DiCaprio starred in the 2010 film "Inception." Warner Bros.; Steve Granitz/Getty Images

Christopher Nolan's film "Inception" was released 11 years ago.

Many of the cast members have joined other projects spearheaded by the filmmaker.

Here's what the "Inception" actors have been working on since the movie's 2010 premiere.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Leonardo DiCaprio starred as Dominick Cobb, a man that infiltrates his targets' dreams to collect information.

Leonardo DiCaprio is an actor. Warner Bros. Pictures

The Los Angeles-born actor grew up on the screen and became a global sensation after playing Jack Dawson in 'Titanic" (1997). He then appeared in films like "Catch Me If You Can" (2002), "The Aviator" (2004), and "Shutter Island" (2010).

Actors like Brad Pitt and Will Smith were reportedly offered the role of Dominick Cobb before DiCaprio was cast as the "Inception" lead.

He's an Academy Award-winning actor that's played the lead in several box-office hits.

Leonardo DiCaprio is an actor. Daniele Venturelli/WireImage

After his role in "Inception," DiCaprio took on ambitious Hollywood projects like "Django Unchained" (2012), "The Great Gatsby" (2013), and "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013).

In 2015, he became the face of the intense adventure film "The Revenant," winning his first Academy Award for his performance as a frontiersman navigating brutal conditions in the wild.

More recently, he's gained attention for playing a Western actor named Rick Dalton in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" (2019).

Joseph Gordon-Levitt played Arthur, Cobb's right-hand man.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is an actor. Warner Bros.

The actor appeared on a television series called "3rd Rock From the Sun" as a child before moving into films. As an adult, Gordon-Levitt has matured into challenging projects like "Latter Days" (2003) and "The Lookout" (2007).

His performance as a heartbroken romantic in the indie hit "500 Days of Summer" (2009) gained attention from critics, and he also played The Doctor/Rex in "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" (2009) before working on Nolan's film.

Story continues

He's appeared in numerous critically acclaimed films in addition to proving his ability behind the camera.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is an actor. Faye Sadou/MediaPunch /IPX/AP

He worked with Nolan again as Blake in "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012). Gordon-Levitt also appeared in Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" (2012) and played Edward Snowden in "Snowden" (2016).

As for his upcoming projects, he's set to appear in Netflix's science fiction film "Project Power," which is scheduled to be released in August 2020.

Since "Inception," he's also stepped behind the camera in addition to acting. "Don Jon," a 2013 film about a porn addict that falls in love with a woman named Barbara (Scarlett Johansson), marked Gordon-Levitt's directorial debut.

Marion Cotillard played Mal, Cobb's late wife that attempts to sabotage his missions.

Marion Cotillard landed the role as Mal in "Inception." Warner Bros.

Prior to playing Cobb's late wife Mal in "Inception," the French actress had small roles on television and film before snagging screen time in the 1998 hit "Taxi."

Soon after, Cotillard gave a critically acclaimed performance as Sophie in romance film "Love Me If You Dare" (2003) and successfully transitioned to Hollywood with her role as Josephine Bloom in the fantasy movie "Big Fish" (2003).

In 2007, Cotillard gained global attention  and awards including an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA  for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in "La Vie en Rose."

She also appeared in "Public Enemies" (2009) and "Nine" (2009) before landing her role as the femme fatale in "Inception."

The French actress worked with Nolan again after "Inception" and continues to appear in international films.

Marion Cotillard is an actress. Francois Durand / Getty Images

After "Inception" wrapped, Cotillard appeared in Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012) as Miranda Tate, an executive of Wayne Enterprises.

In more recent years, she's played roles in "Rock'n Roll" (2017), "Ismael's Ghosts" (2017), and "Dolittle" (2020). Cotillard also costarred across Adam Driver in "Annette," a 2021 musical that kicked off Cannes Film Festival.

Outside of filming, she's been the face of luxury advertising campaigns for brands like Dior and Chanel. Cotillard has also used her platform for environmental activism, serving as a longtime spokesperson for non-governmental organization Greenpeace.

Cillian Murphy played Robert Fischer, the heir to a multi-billion dollar fortune.

Cillian Murphy played Robert Fischer in "Inception." Warner Bros.

Before taking on the role of Robert Fischer in "Inception," the Irish actor caught his big on-screen break in the post-apocalyptic film "28 Days Later" (2002).

His other early credits included "Intermission" (2003), "Red Eye" (2005), and "Breakfast on Pluto" (2005).

Murphy worked with Nolan for the first time as Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow in "Batman Begins" (2005). He continued the role in Nolan's film "Dark Knight" (2008) before appearing as the target of Cobb's corporate espionage in "Inception."

He's become well-known for his lead role on "Peaky Blinders."

Cillian Murphy is an actor. Arturo Holmes / Getty Images

After "Inception," Murphy appeared in a number of Nolan's films, including "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012), "Transcendence" (2014), " and "Dunkirk" (2017).

He's become known for his television role as Thomas Shelby on the historical crime show "Peaky Blinders."

Murphy was also cast alongside Emily Blunt in "A Quiet Place Part II," which premiered in 2021 following a string of pandemic-induced delays.

Elliot Page played Ariadne, an architecture student tasked with designing dreams.

Elliot Page appeared in "Inception." Warner Bros. Picture -  2010 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Page appeared in a series of television shows like "Pit Pony," "Trailer Park Boys," and "ReGenesis" before his breakthrough role as a pregnant teenager in the romantic comedy "Juno" (2007).

He also had parts in "Smart People" (20018) and "Whip It" (2009) before being cast as an intelligent, curious architecture student in "Inception," which was his first time working with Nolan.

He's played a wide range of characters and is a cast member on Netflix's "The Umbrella Academy."

Elliot Page is known for starring in the Oscar-winning film "Juno" and Netflix's "The Umbrella Academy." Rich Polk/Getty Images for IMDb

Page has proven his on-screen versatility since filming "Inception" in 2010.

He's appeared in films like the romantic satire "To Rome With Love" (2012), the action-packed "X-Men: Days of Future Past" (2014), and the drama "Tallulah" (2016).

Most recently, he starred on Netflix's "The Umbrella Academy," a series based on Gerard Way's comic book series of the same name.

At the tail end of 2020, Page came out as transgender and said he uses both he/him and they/them pronouns.

Michael Caine played professor Stephen Miles, the protagonist's father-in-law and mentor.

Michael Caine appeared in "Inception." Stephen Vaughan -  2010 Warner Bros. Entertainment

Long before he played Cobb's father-in-law, the British actor was an icon in the film industry.

Caine began acting in the '50s and gained attention for breakthrough performances in films like "Alfie" (1966) and "The Italian Job" (1969).

The Oscar-winning actor has since been in over 100 movies, working with Nolan for the first time as Alfred Pennyworth in "Batman Begins" (2005).

The actor had a role in Nolan's 2020 film "Tenet."

Michael Cane is an actor. John Phillips/Getty Images

Caine has established a strong partnership with Nolan since their first collaboration in 2005 and has since been cast in eight of the filmmaker's projects  including "Interstellar" (2014), "Dunkirk" (2017), and "Tenet" (2020).

The actor has also stayed busy with roles in a variety of other films, such as "Twist," an adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel "Oliver Twist," and "Now You See Me 3," the third installment of the popular heist franchise.

Ken Watanabe was cast as Saito, a wealthy business mogul that hires Cobb to plant an idea in his rival's subconscious.

Ken Watanabe appeared in "Inception." Melissa Moseley SMPSP -  2010 Warner Bros. Entertainment.

Watanabe had a long film career in Japan before many Western audiences were introduced to him in "The Last Samurai" (2003).

Two years later, he worked with Nolan for the first time as Ra's al Ghul in "Batman Begins."

Nolan had such a positive experience working with Watanabe that he wrote the character of Saito with the actor in mind.

"I wrote the part specifically for Ken because I wanted to work with him again. I enjoyed directing him so much on 'Batman Begins,' but his role was smaller and we didn't have a lot of time together," Nolan told Warner Bros.

"This time I made sure he had a bigger part. Ken is an extremely charismatic performer, a true movie star. He is a consummate actor who knows how to get the most out of every scene. It's just a pleasure to watch him work," he added.

He's been in several major blockbuster films and landed a role in the upcoming show "Tokyo Vice."

Ken Watanabe is an actor. Arnold Jerocki / Getty Images

After "Inception," Watanabe appeared in major productions including "Transformers: Age of Extinction" (2014) and "Godzilla" (2014).

More recently, he's appeared in "Pokemon Detective Pikachu" (2019) and "Godzilla: King of Monsters" (2019).

Watanabe is also slotted to appear as a detective in the Tokyo Police Department on HBO Max's upcoming series "Tokyo Vice," which is inspired by American journalist Jake Adelstein's 2009 memoir.

The show's production was halted in Japan due to the pandemic, however.

Dileep Rao appeared as Yusuf, a man that concocts the drugs needed to enter the dream state.

Dileep Rao appeared in "Inception." Warner Bros.

Before playing Yusuf in "Inception," Rao starred in the supernatural horror film "Drag Me to Hell" (2009) and also appeared in the science-fiction hit "Avatar" (2009).

He secured roles in upcoming projects "Avatar 2" and "Avatar 3."

Dileep Rao is an actor. Greg Doherty / Getty Images

Following his role in Nolan's film, Rao made appearances on several TV series like "Z Nation," "Con Man," and "Mr. Robot."

He's also set to appear in the upcoming additions to the Avatar franchise, "Avatar 2" (2022) and "Avatar 3" (2024).

Tom Hardy played Eames, who can transform into different people while inside of dreams.

Tom Hardy appeared in "Inception." Warner Bros.

Before he played the master impersonator in "Inception," Hardy was introduced to audiences as Twombly in his first film, "Black Hawk Down" (2001).

The British actor also landed roles in "Star Trek: Nemesis" (2002) and "RocknRolla" (2008).

"Inception" marked Hardy's first collaboration with Nolan.

He continued to work with Nolan and joined the Mad Max franchise.

Tom Hardy is an actor. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

The relationships that the British actor formed while filming "Inception" carried over after the film wrapped.

After landing roles in Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012) and "Dunkirk" (2017), Hardy has been in three of the filmmaker's projects to date.

He also appeared alongside "Inception" costar Cillian Murphy on the series "Peaky Blinders."

In 2015, Hardy joined the Mad Max franchise as Max Rockatansky in "Mad Max: Fury Road." He'll revive the role in the upcoming film "Max Mad: Wasteland," though production has been delayed.

Read the original article on Insider
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Rebels in Ethiopia's Tigray region said on Tuesday they had recaptured a main town from rival forces and were pushing to take back more territory.

Reuters was unable to independently confirm the claim because communication links to the region are down.

War broke out last November between Tigray's ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), and Ethiopian federal forces.

The government declared victory three weeks later when it seized the regional capital Mekelle, but the TPLF kept fighting. It recaptured Mekelle last month and now controls most of Tigray.

But some parts in the west and south are also claimed by neighbouring Amhara region, which has sent fighters to the contested areas.

TPLF spokesperson Getachew Reda said on Tuesday that Tigrayan forces seized control of Alamata, the major town in southern part of Tigray, on Monday night.

"The Amhara forces were routed in the highlands north of Alamata and to the east of Alamata as well as the federal forces. Our forces cleared Alamata last night from enemy forces," he said, adding that he had just arrived in the town.

Ethiopian military spokesman Colonel Getnet Adane declined to comment. The Amhara regional spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.

Getachew said that Tigrayan forces were "closing in" on the western town of Mai Tsebri and that they intended to push beyond there to drive out Amhara fighters from all areas they took control of during the war.

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the head of the government's task force on Tigray did not respond to requests for comment.

TPLF leaders have said they will push to retake the fertile fields of western and southern Tigray, which were included in Tigray's borders in a constitution adopted in 1995.

But neighbouring Amhara region claims the land and its forces, along with Ethiopian troops and allies from neighbouring Eritrea, are stationed in the territory.

Also on Tuesday, the United Nations World Food Programme said a convoy that arrived in Tigray a day earlier was carrying 900 metric tonnes of food, only enough to cover the most basic needs of 200,000 people for a week, a fraction of the 4 million people estimated to need food aid.

(Reporting by Maggie Fick, Additional reporting by Emma Thomasson, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
Jul. 12A proposal to change the city's charter so the municipal primary election is held in May instead of September is finally gaining momentum.

City council on Tuesday will discuss a proposed ordinance that would put the amendment before voters in November's election.

It's the first step in advancing an issue that's long been on the back burner and curing a perennial headache for the Lucas County Board of Elections.

Toledo City Council President Matt Cherry has told The Blade he wanted to get the charter change on the ballot in November, 2021.

Toledo is one of the only municipalities in the state that's held on to its lateseason primary, deviating from the secretary of state's election calendar. Local elections officials say the September primary costs the city unnecessary money, runs up against state and federal deadlines, and could disenfranchise overseas voters.

"Finally," elections board chairman Dave Karmol said. "I'm surprised and delighted. We've been asking them for years to do this ... Around the state we're down to very few jurisdictions with a primary as late as Toledo's, so moving the primary will be a huge, huge plus for us."

Maumee, Oregon, and Toledo are the only cities left in Lucas County with September primaries. Holland and Sylvania used to have fall primaries, but last year voted to scrap their primaries altogether. Ottawa Hills also canceled its municipal primary, while Whitehouse still holds one in October.

Politically, a nonpartisan primary two months before the election only shaves off a few bottomtier candidates. A spring election would give the candidates who emerge from the primary more time to prepare for the general election, potentially creating more competition for incumbents.

This year, dozens of candidates are interested in running for six atlarge city council seats, creating what's expected to be a crowded primary in September. Friday is the deadline to submit the signatures needed to get on the ballot.

Story continues

If council members vote to put the charter amendment to a referendum, it wouldn't go into effect until 2023, based on the current language of the ordinance.

Tim Monaco, deputy director of the Lucas County Board of Elections, said voters in other municipalities have generally strongly supported switching from September to May elections when it's gone up for a vote.

"With a September primary, that puts us awful close," said Mr. Monaco, about the quick turnaround for certifying results and putting together a ballot.

"Any sort of tie or recount automatically puts us in violation of federal law" when it comes to sending out military and overseas ballots, he said.

Any change wouldn't impact this year's primary on Sept. 14.
Trump threatened to withdraw from Nato, according to new book (AFP via Getty Images)

Donald Trump was considering pulling out of Nato and cutting the USs alliance with South Korea if he won the 2020 election, according to an account of his private meetings with top aides.

I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J Trumps Catastrophic Final Year is a behind-the-scenes account of Mr Trumps last year in the White House, authored by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters Phil Rucker and Carol Leonnig.

In an excerpt published in the Washington Post, Mr Trump is said to have lost the confidence of Defense Secretary Mark Esper. According to the book, Mr Esper confided in colleagues that he was rooting for Joe Biden to win the election because he believed he cared about national security.

Esper couldnt say the same about Trump. In fact, Trump had privately indicated that he would seek to withdraw from Nato and to blow up the US alliance with South Korea, should he win reelection. When those alliances had come up in meetings with Esper and other top aides, some advisers warned Trump that shredding them before the election would be politically dangerous.

Yeah, the second term, Trump had said. Well do it in the second term.

According to the excerpt, episodes recounted in the book are based on interviews with senior Trump administration officials, friends and advisers to the president.

White House scenes from election night are described in detail, including Mr Trumps reaction to seeing Arizona called for Mr Biden on Fox News.

Trump, who had been watching Fox, was livid. He could not fathom that the conservative news network he had long considered an extension of his campaign was the first news organization to call Arizona for Biden. This was a betrayal. His top advisers, who had been in the Map Room at the time, rushed upstairs to see the president.

What the f--- is Fox doing? Trump screamed. Then he barked orders to Kushner: Call Rupert! Call James and Lachlan! And to Jason Miller: Get Sammon. Get Hemmer. Theyve got to reverse this. The president was referring to Fox owner Rupert Murdoch and his sons, James and Lachlan, as well as Bill Sammon, a top news executive at Fox.

Story continues

Trumps tirade continued. What the f---? he bellowed.

I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J Trumps Catastrophic Final Year is published on 20 July by Penguin Press.

Read More

Texas Democrats dig in after exodus; GOP threatens arrest

Judge agrees to free QAnon believer charged in Capitol riot

Trump lashed out at totally disgraced Kavanaugh after Court refused to hear election fraud case
Protesters hold placards in Lafayette Park, across from the White House to protest against police brutality and US President Donald Trump's 74th birthday on June 14, 2020 in Washington, DC (AFP via Getty Images)

Former President Donald Trump reportedly said he wanted to "execute" the leaker who revealed he went to hide in a bunker during the George Floyd protests that took place outside the White House.

The Wall Street Journal's Michael Bender makes the claim in his new book, Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost.

According to Bender, the former president called a meeting where he tasked his high-ranking officials to find the leaker.

"Trump boiled over about the bunker story as soon as they arrived and shouted at them to smoke out whoever had leaked it. It was the most upset some aides had ever seen the president," Bender writes.

During the tense meeting, Mr Trump reportedly called for the leaker to be put to death.

"Whoever did that, they should be charged with treason!" Mr Trump is reported to have said. "They should be executed!"

Mark Meadows, the White House Chief of Staff, reportedly tried to calm Mr Trump, assuring him they would seek out the leaker.

"I'm on it. We're going to find out who did it," Mr Meadows is reported to have said.

Bender describes the former president's staff as being nervous and avoiding eye contact with Mr Trump during the tirade.

Finding the leaker apparently became an obsession for Mr Trump in the days following the incident. Bender writes that the then-president repeatedly asked Mr Meadows if there had been any success finding the individual who leaked the information.

At the time, Mr Trump tried to downplay his retreat to the bunker by claiming he was "inspecting" it, which is not a task that would normally fall to the President of the United States.

Social media users predictably blew up at the revelation, with one describing the former president's reaction as something "crazy dictators do."

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

Read More

Trump was planning to withdraw US from Nato and ditch South Korea alliance, according to new book

Texas Democrats dig in after exodus; GOP threatens arrest

Judge agrees to free QAnon believer charged in Capitol riot
A federal security employee at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport already in trouble for taking video of a young boy riding a luggage carousel is also accused of taking dozens photos of young females during preflight screening.

The discovery was made during an investigation into an incident involving a 9-year-old boy taking an unauthorized ride on a baggage conveyor belt on May 1. That investigation led to Bjorn R. Broms, 37, of Savage, being charged Monday in Hennepin County District Court with violation of government data practices, a misdemeanor.

Broms was charged in connection with the conveyor belt allegation and awaits his first court date. Reached by phone Tuesday, Broms declined to comment about the allegations.

The criminal complaint alleges that the 42 photos of females taken by the Transportation Security Administration agent show them on the close-circuit monitor in various forms of dress such as shorts, tight pants and tank tops.

In reference to the conveyor belt incident, the complaint says that Broms recorded videos from closed-circuit imagery of the boy climbing onto a baggage conveyor belt behind a Delta ticket counter and going for a brief ride. Airport police found the youngster unharmed.

Broms then sent video footage of the boy's unauthorized excursion to Minnesota Public Radio, which posted the imagery on its website, the complaint continued.

A fellow TSA agent told an airport detective that she heard Broms say, " 'I should sell this to the news. I would make quite a bit of money,' " the charging document read.

A statement from TSA said the veteran employee has been put on administrative leave as the investigation continues.

Paul Walsh  612-673-4482
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nine Democratic U.S. lawmakers on Monday urged Germany to drop its "blockade" of a COVID-19 related waiver of intellectual property rights under global trade rules, and asked Chancellor Angela Merkel to meet with them during her visit to Washington.

Representative Jan Schakowsky, part of the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives; Representative Earl Blumenauer, who leads the trade subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee; and the other lawmakers said they were troubled that Germany was leading EU opposition to a proposed waiver being discussed at the World Trade Organization.

"The United States and almost every other WTO member seeks to enact a COVID emergency temporary TRIPS waiver as quickly as possible," they wrote in a letter to German Ambassador Emily Haber, adding that production of COVID-19 vaccines must be increased to save millions of lives.

"Thanks to IP barriers, it is the U.S. and German firms that have the only approved COVID-19 mRNA vaccines that hold the monopoly power to decide if this scale-up will occur," they wrote.

The German embassy had no immediate comment.

Biden administration officials say the waiver will help boost global production of coronavirus vaccines. German officials and pharmaceutical companies have argued that companies invested their own funds to develop vaccines and that waiving their IP rights would undermine such work in the future.

Merkel will meet with President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday for a wide-ranging discussion that will touch on the global response to the pandemic and the proposed waiver of IP rights, a senior administration official said on Monday.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday said that the president was a "strong proponent" of the waiver, but that it was just one of several tools that could be used to boost COVID-19 vaccination rates around the world.

Supporters of the waiver plan various protests during Merkel's visit to Washington, including a "die-in" near the White House and a giant Merkel puppet on Thursday, organizers said.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has lowered its travel advisory for Germany, Austria and several other European countries on Tuesday, advising Americans to exercise increased caution due to COVID-19, the State Department said on Tuesday.

In an updated advisory dated Monday, the department lowered Germany and Austria from Level 3 "Reconsider Travel" to Level 2 "Exercise Increased Caution." Advisories for Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Serbia were also lowered, as well as Armenia.

The risk of COVID-19 infection may be lower if someone is fully vaccinated, according to the advisory. However, the department also calls for practicing increased caution in Germany due to terrorism.

(Reporting by Merdie Nzanga; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States sent a small number of personnel to shore up security at its embassy in Haiti after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, three U.S. officials said on Tuesday.

The killing of Moise on July 7 by a squad of gunmen at his home in Port-au-Prince pitched Haiti deeper into an already fraught political crisis.

While it is not uncommon for the United States to send additional security forces, include Marines, to its embassies around the world during times of crises, the deployment highlights the level of uncertainty in the aftermath of Moise's killing.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said fewer than a dozen personnel were deployed in the days after the killing and it was not immediately clear how many had since returned to the United States.

Haiti has also requested the deployment of U.S. troops in the country to help secure key infrastructure after the assassination.

A letter from the office of Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph to the U.S. embassy in Haiti, dated Wednesday and reviewed by Reuters, requested the dispatch of troops to support the national police in reestablishing security and protecting crucial infrastructure.

While the request is still under review, officials said the Pentagon does not currently see the need for deploying military personnel to Haiti.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali, additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Rosalba O'Brien)
The State Department and five other federal agencies issued an updated advisory on Tuesday warning that businesses with supply chains and investments in the Chinese region of Xinjiang run a "high risk" of violating U.S. laws on forced labor.

Why it matters: The Biden administration is moving aggressively to ensure that American businesses, many of which use supply chains deeply intertwined with the Chinese economy, are not complicit in the genocide of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities.

Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free

Driving the news: The State Department, Treasury Department, Commerce Department, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Trade Representative and Labor Department are calling on businesses to engage in "heightened due diligence" with respect to four primary categories of dealings in Xinjiang.

Assisting or investing in the development of surveillance tools, including tools related to genetic collection and analysis. Sourcing labor or goods from Xinjiang or other regions connected to the use of forced labor in Xinjiang. Supplying U.S.-origin commodities, software and technology to entities involved in surveillance or forced labor. Aiding in the construction and operation of internment camps or manufacturing facilities that subject minority groups to forced labor.

Zoom in: Elements of at least 20 industries have been identified as using forced labor in Xinjiang, including agriculture, cell phones, cleaning supplies, construction, cotton, electronics, extractives, hair accessories and wigs, food processing factories, footwear, gloves, hospitality services, metallurgical grade silicon, noodles, printing products, renewable energy, stevia, sugar, textiles and toys.

Between the lines: The advisory warns that companies doing business in China are likely to face "obstacles" when attempting to conduct due diligence, including government controls, lack of government and corporate transparency, threats against auditors, and a "police state" atmosphere in Xinjiang.

Story continues

Axios has previously reported on the State Department's concerns that auditors have been "detained, threatened, harassed and subjected to constant surveillance" while tracking supply chains in China.

The Chinese government has condemned U.S. efforts to raise awareness of the abuses in Xinjiang as "interference in internal affairs," and has denied all allegations of genocide, forced labor or repression.

What they're saying: "Given the severity and extent of these abuses, including widespread, state-sponsored forced labor and intrusive surveillance taking place amid ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, businesses and individuals that do not exit supply chains, ventures, and/or investments connected to Xinjiang could run a high risk of violating U.S. law," the advisory says.

Go deeper: Read the full advisory

Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will go ahead with a temporary cut to its foreign aid budget after Prime Minister Boris Johnson defeated a rebellion in parliament on Tuesday by lawmakers in his Conservative Party.

The government won a vote by 333 to 298 on its proposal to cut the minimum spend on overseas development to 0.5% of economic output. The cut was first announced in November as a measure to help pay for the COVID-19 pandemic.

The victory comes after the government persuaded a sufficient number of party members to back the plan despite early signs that a high-profile rebellion could inflict an embarrassing defeat.

Several potential rebels were won over by a promise to restore aid to the 0.7% level once Britain no longer needed to borrow to fund day-to-day needs, and once an underlying measure of public debt was falling.

Opponents included Johnson's predecessor Theresa May.

They expressed scepticism that the conditions for restoring the spending would ever be met, and argued that the relatively small budget saving was outweighed by the negative impact it would have on aid recipients and on Britain's global standing.

The government's conditions for returning to 0.7% aid spending would not be met before 2024, according to analysis by the House of Commons library, which provides independent research to lawmakers. Their research was based on budget forecasts produced in March.

(Reporting by William James, editing by Elizabeth Piper)
CANNES, France (AP)  Celebrated Russian filmmaker Kirill Serebrennikov is banned from leaving his home country, so he is attending the Cannes Film Festival virtually. Serebrennikov phoned into the red-carpet premiere of his film, Petrov's Flu, by FaceTime and spoke to the media on Tuesday by Zoom.

A seat was left open for the 51-year-old director when Petrov's Flu premiered Monday in Cannes. It wasn't the first time Serebrennikov was forced to miss a Cannes premiere. In 2018, he was under house arrest when his film Leto debuted at the festival.

Serebrennikov is no longer under house arrest in Russia, but he's unable to travel outside the country. He was convicted of fraud in 2020 and sentenced to probation and fined for embezzlement.

The verdict was seen as a success for artistic freedom in Russia - prosecutors had sought a six-year sentence in a penal colony - and concluded a high-profile, years-long legal battle for Serebrennikov, one of Russia's most prominent theater and film directors. The case against him was protested widely throughout the Russian artistic community and internationally.

On Tuesday, Serebrennikov joined the middle of the news conference for Petrov's Flu remotely while actors and producers appearing in person flanked the monitor. He joked that during the pandemic, everyone has gotten to experience a version of his isolation.

My situation has much improved, Serebrennikov said. Last time, three years ago, there was no television. I was not with you, so it's much better today. Everyone is getting used to this trend. I have become a Zoom personality. You are used to Zoom and I am, too.

Serebrennikov wrote Petrov's Flu" while under house arrest, basing it on the 2018 novel by Alexei Salnikov about a flu epidemic in Russia. The film, which is in competition for Cannes' top honor, the Palme d'Or, received glowing reviews at the festival.

On the Cannes red carpet, cast members and producers wore badges with the directors photo and initials.

Yesterday was a double celebration for us. We had at once the premiere in Cannes with the red carpet," Serebrennikov said. "But I'm also shooting my next film in the studio. Where we are shooting, we set up a red carpet in order to be able to support the actors and team who are in Cannes.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP)  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will issue an order this week about how migrant children are treated under a public health order that has prevented people from seeking asylum at the nation's borders, a Justice Department attorney said Tuesday.

The comment by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Stoltz at a court hearing in Fort Worth, Texas, comes as the Biden administration faces pressure from pro-immigration allies to lift the last major Trump-era restrictions on asylum at the border.

Stoltz told a federal judge that the CDC will release a new order on the subject of the children by the end of the week. It will revise a Biden administration policy announced in February that exempts children crossing alone from the ban on asylum.

Stoltz did not offer additional details on the changes during a hearing on a lawsuit that Texas brought to compel enforcement of the public health order that former President Donald Trump's administration used to quickly expel people from the country during the coronavirus pandemic.

The government attorney said the CDC order this week will largely render Texas' arguments moot. He did not elaborate, and CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said the agency had nothing more to add right now.

The CDC, in a three-paragraph order signed by its director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, on Feb. 11, exempted unaccompanied children from being expelled to Mexico until a forthcoming public health reassessment, which has yet to be published. Texas argues in its lawsuit that the administration's justification was insufficient.

Higher COVID-19 vaccination rates have brought increasing pressure on the Biden administration to lift the public health order that was always intended as a temporary measure during the pandemic. While the administration has exempted unaccompanied children, some families and nearly all adults traveling alone are expelled from the United States  often to Mexico within two hours  without a chance to seek asylum.

Story continues

The Associated Press reported last year that then-Vice President Mike Pence directed the CDC to use emergency powers to effectively seal America's borders, overruling agency scientists who said there was no evidence the action would slow COVID-19.

Lifting the ban could encourage more people to come to the border to seek asylum at a time when the U.S. is under mounting strain. The U.N. refugee agency reported last month that the U.S. was once again the top destination for asylum-seekers in 2020, with about 250,000 new claims filed, more than twice as high as second-place Germany.

Texas, which has the busiest corridor for illegal border crossings, is seeking a court order forcing the federal government to cease what state Deputy Attorney General Aaron Reitz called de facto non-enforcement" of the asylum ban. Reitz argued that the Biden administrations posture threatens the health and safety of all Texans.

U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, a Trump appointee, questioned Stoltz about the timing of the new order and asked that the government inform him as soon as it is issued. Pittman did not rule on the request for an injunction but said he will put out a decision as quickly as I can.

___

Spagat reported from San Diego.
The United States on Tuesday urged Venezuela to free an opposition lawmaker immediately, saying the arrest cast a shadow over leftist leader Nicolas Maduro's stated openness to talk with the opposition.

The State Department condemned Monday's arrest of Freddy Guevara, who prosecutors say will be charged with terrorism and treason, and what it called continued harassment of his ally Juan Guaido, the opposition leader considered interim president by Washington.

"These reprehensible acts are incompatible with efforts to create conditions for comprehensive negotiations between the Venezuelan opposition and the Nicolas Maduro regime to resolve Venezuela's crisis," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.

"We call for the immediate release of Congressman Guevara and urge the international community to join us in condemning his detention in the strongest terms," Price said.

Kevin O'Reilly, a senior State Department official who handles Venezuela, separately said that the arrest made him "somewhat skeptical" whether there was goodwill to set up new, inclusive elections, which the United States is urging.

The arrest "certainly makes it harder to demonstrate that Maduro and his supporters are going to allow this to be a level playing field," O'Reilly said at the Atlantic Council think tank.

The United States, along with most European and Latin American nations, consider Maduro to be illegitimate after wide reports of irregularities in his 2018 election.

Maduro said Monday that Mexico was willing to host talks with the opposition but he insisted that he will take part only if international sanctions are lifted.

Former president Donald Trump imposed sweeping sanctions aimed at toppling Maduro, who presides over a crumbling economy that has sent millions fleeing.

President Joe Biden has kept the same stance on Maduro but his administration has called for fine-tuning the strategy to include more involvement by allies.

ad-sct/dw
Carbon tracking is very much the new hot thing in tech, and weve previously covered more generalist startups doing this at scale for companies, such as Plan A Earth out of Berlin.

But theres clearly an opportunity to get deep into a vertical sector and tailor solutions to it.

Thats the plan of Vaayu, a carbon tracking platform aimed specifically at retailers. It has now raised $1.57 million in pre-seed funding in a round led by CapitalT. Several angels also took part, including Atomicos Angel Program, Planet Positive LP, Saarbrucker 21, Expedite Ventures and NP-Hard Ventures.

Carbon tracking for the retail fashion industry, in particular, is urgently needed. Unfortunately, the fashion industry remains responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions, which ads up to more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined.

Vaayu says it integrates with various point-of-sale systems, such as Shopify and Webflow. It then pulls in data on logistics, operations and packaging to monitor, measure and reduce their carbon emissions. Normally, retailers calculate emissions once a year, which is obviously far less accurate.

Vaayu was founded in 2020 by Namrata Sandhu (CEO), former head of Sustainability at fashion retailer Zalando, as well as Anita Daminov (CPO) and Luca Schmid (CTO). Vaayu currently has 25 global brand customers, including Missoma, Armed Angels and Organic Basics.

Commenting on the fundraise, Sandhu said: "We have only nine short years left to achieve the UNs goal of reducing carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 and as the third-largest contributor to global emissions, retailers need to take action -- and fast. Vaayu is here to help retailers measure, monitor, and reduce their carbon footprint at scale across the entire supply chain -- something that I know from my own experience can be complex and expensive."

Story continues

Speaking to me over a call, Sandhu told me: Putting the focus on retail basically allows us to automate the calculation, which means in three clicks you can get your carbon footprint right away. That then allows us to really get accurate data, and with that, we can basically do reductions specific to the business but using software, rather than any kind of manual intervention or a kind of intermediate state where you need to put together an Excel sheet. Because we focus on retail we can automate the entire process and also automate the reductions.

We are delighted to be backed by female-led CapitalT who understood us and our vision right from the start. We look forward to developing Vaayu further in the coming months so we can reach as many retailers as possible and help put the brakes on the impending climate crisis, she added.

Janneke Niessen, founding partner, CapitalT commented: We are very excited to join Vaayu on their mission to reduce carbon emission for retailers worldwide. The Vaayu product is very scalable and its quick and easy implementation allows for fast adoption. We are confident that with this experienced team, Vaayu will soon be one of the fastest-growing climate tech companies in Europe and the world.
By Supantha Mukherjee

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Verizon Business on Tuesday signed a deal with Mastercard Inc to use 5G and wireless technology for contactless payments and provide an autonomous checkout service for retail stores.

Telecoms operators such as Verizon are seeking to expand into new businesses ranging from robotics to fintech companies that they think will benefit from the growing adoption of 5G technology.

The Verizon Business tie up with Mastercard aims to utilise 5G smartphones and near-field communication (NFC) technology for merchants to accept customer payments without the need for point-of-sale (POS) terminals.

The companies are also planning to use computer vision technology and cloud computing to provide automatic checkout at unattended retail stores, similar to what Amazon did with Go stores.

The Go concept has not been widely adopted, with only 29 stores so far, which Verizon Business revenue chief Sowmyanarayan Sampath attributes to the high costs involved in deploying the necessary tyechnology.

Verizon Business, however, aims to achieve a significant reduction in such costs, Sampath says, with the company also working with retail technology specialist AiFi to use computer vision and artificial intelligence to create autonomous shopping experiences.

"Between MasterCard, AiFi and us, we have everything we need," Sampath said without disclosing any financial details.

He did not indicate when the technology will be available to merchants but said that "most of the action will be in North America".

(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee, European Technology & Telecoms Correspondent, based in Stockholm; Editing by David Goodman)
Jul. 13Veterans working to raise funds to build a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial are asking state lawmakers to help them raise the last $50,000 needed to get the job done.

Fundraising efforts for the project were going well in 2019 and 2020, Jerry Martinez, vice-president of the Vietnam Veterans of America Northern New Mexico Chapter 996, told members of the Legislature's interim Military and Veterans Affairs Committee Monday.

"We were doing fine, until the pandemic hit," said Martinez, a Marine veteran.

Martinez told lawmakers the wall is ready and awaiting assembly. But his group needs another $50,000 to pay for installing the name panels on the wall. The replica would be placed at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park in Angel Fire.

"It's going to be something fabulous," he said of the wall.

New Mexico veterans have been working on the project, based on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. since at least 2019. That's when leaders of Chapter 996 and officials of the state Department of Veterans Services signed an agreement to designate a place at the Angel Fire site to place the wall after it is built.

The original monument in D.C., which was dedicated in 1982 and features the names of more than 58,000 Americans who perished in the Vietnam War including 398 from New Mexico and 17 from Santa Fe  attracts millions of visitors each year.

Edward Mendez, who oversees the Angel Fire facilities for the New Mexico Department of Veterans Services, told lawmakers the addition of a memorial wall at that site will draw more visitors.

Mendez said about 50,000 visitors come to the Angel Fire memorial every year. The state recently opened the Angel Fire State Veterans Cemetery near the Angel Fire memorial.

But as empathetic as many members of the committee were to the group's plight, there is little they can do to appropriate money until the next legislative session, slated to begin in mid-January.

Story continues

"Obviously in the interim we have no way of moving money," Sen. Craig Brandt, R-Rio Rancho and a U.S. Air Force veteran, told Martinez.

"We get these requests from everyone for every project and they're all good projects," Brandt added. "I know COVID hit everyone. It hit all of us, too."

He urged Martinez to continue fundraising efforts and to approach Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's administration for the money, which, he said, could be pulled from incoming federal relief dollars for the state.

Martinez said he will be meeting with Sonya Smith, the secretary of the state Department of Veteran Services, about the issue later this week.

Organizers originally hoped the wall would be up and ready for visitors by the end of 2021. Now, they say, it's more likely to be 2022, or even 2023, before it's ready.
Parents in Rockingham County, Virginia, decried supporters of the state's transgender bathroom policy during a school board meeting Monday night.

The Virginia Department of Education is set to require updated educational guidelines pertaining to transgender students following approval from the commonwealth's Legislature in 2020. The policies, which begin at schools in the fall, mandate that administrators allow students to use the name and gender pronouns that align with their identity "without any substantiating evidence."

The order directs that transgender students must be allowed to use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their preferred gender.

Biologically, scientifically  when a child is born a male, he never, ever, will biologically or scientifically be female," a man told the Rockingham County Public Schools Board. "Thats the facts. When a girl is born a girl, she can never biologically or scientifically become a boy. ... You can argue it. You can yell about it. You can fuss about it. You can do anything you want about it, but those are the facts.

VIRGINIA PARENTS DECRY 'MARXIST' CRITICAL RACE THEORY, SAY IT'S 'FIGHTING DISCRIMINATION WITH MORE DISCRIMINATION'

"In order to help people, youve got to tell them the truth," he added.

Another woman, who identified herself as a parent of a student in the district, said she will home-school her child if the Department of Education's orders are adopted, she said.

My son will not be attending Rockingham County schools," she said. "I will choose to home-school him if this policy is adopted. It will not be easy to home-school as Im sure it will be very financially tough, but I will stand for what is right.

A third parent circulated a petition to oppose the policy at the beginning of July that has garnered more than 1,400 signatures from residents, she said.

We, the citizens of Rockingham County, say no to the Virginia Department of Educations recommendations regarding bathroom utilization," the petition read in part, the woman said. "We stand adamantly against abolishing sex-based facilities and giving gender-confused individuals access to private spaces for members of the opposite sex, including but not limited to restrooms and locker rooms.

Story continues

A grandparent criticized school board members who, she said, would be "held accountable to God almighty" if they were to adopt the state's guidelines.

Every male that goes into a females bathroom is not a transgender. ... And he could be after one of my granddaughters, and I assure you, people that pass these policies will be held not only accountable with me, theyre going to be held accountable to God almighty.

The proposed changes also had supporters as one mother, who said her son was transgender, said attacks by residents on the "boogeyman" in bathroom stalls were misdirected.

While were all declaring that the boogeyman is hiding in bathroom stalls, waiting to assault children, we are missing an opportunity to see that this rhetoric has real-world consequences to the students who are just trying to get an education that they have a right to get without being scared or discriminated against," she said.

Virginia has become a center for school board debates on public school policy.

In Loudoun County, a school appealed a preliminary injunction that reinstated a middle school physical education teacher who refused to refer to students using pronouns other than their biological gender.

Byron Tanner Cross was suspended from his role in May and sued the school system through his counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian pro-free speech group.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Albemarle County Public Schools in Virginia introduced a curriculum, Courageous Conversations About Race, between May and June for all grades at Henley Middle School. The guidance, which district leaders approved in February 2019, includes talks about race, white privilege, bias, and transgender issues.

"What I see now really, truly scares me  what's going on in tax-supported schools here in Albemarle County," David Wallace, who noted he is an Army veteran and teacher at a private school, told a school board on July 8. "CRT is a Marxist program that is hell-bent on isolating, dividing, and diminishing our ability to work together as a community, and if you bring forth this policy, it will destroy our community even more and fragment it even more than it is right now."

Washington Examiner Videos

Tags: News, Virginia, Transgender Issues, Transgender, Bathroom, Schools, Public Schools, Education, Parenting

Original Author: Jake Dima

Original Location: Virginia parents say supporters of transgender bathroom policy reject 'biological' facts
Jul. 13The group of eight Waldo County residents accused by a Belfast mother and daughter of spreading rumors that the duo runs a brothel are seeking to have a judge dismiss the lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed in May by April Walker and her mother, R. M. Woodford, against Belfast City Councilors Mike Hurley and Neal Harkness, as well as Cheryl Fuller, Mandy Marriner-Everett, Anne Saggese, Joshua Ard, Erik Klausmeyer and Allison Ames Goscinski. The women have accused the group of publicly spreading false statements about them. The eight defendants have denied the accusations made in the lawsuit and claim that the Facebook comments provided as evidence have been fabricated.

The motion to dismiss the lawsuit was filed Monday afternoon in Waldo County Court by the group's attorney, Chris MacLean, after the women did not dismiss the lawsuit voluntarily last month. MacLean said the lawsuit should be dismissed because it violates Maine's anti-SLAPP statute, which was enacted to give the courts a way to quickly dismiss meritless or frivolous lawsuits that seek to silence or harass those who speak out on issues of public interest. SLAPP stands for "strategic lawsuits against public participation."

"It was a very poor and reckless decision to file a lawsuit against my clients with fabricated documents that anyone can see are not actually Facebook postings. The exhibits were amateurishly created on a home computer and I am frankly astonished that this lawsuit was ever filed," the defendants' attorney, Chris McLean said Monday. "The motion to dismiss is just the beginning of a process to address a gross abuse of court process. It will not end until clients are fully compensated for the harm done to them."

In their lawsuit, Walker and Woodford have accused the eight defendants of spreading rumors on Facebook about the women after they expressed their opposition to a proposal for a former school to be converted into rental properties more than two years ago.

Story continues

Some of the alleged comments included statements regarding Walker and Woodford running a brothel at their home on Church Street and hosting sex parties there. One Facebook comment included as evidence in the lawsuit insinuated that Jeffrey Epstein had visited the house.

The defendants deny ever making any of the statements alleged by Walker and Woodford. However, they did engage in conversations regarding the Peirce School proposal on Facebook and some made public statements of support for the project, according to Monday's court filing.

Ultimately, the developer behind the proposal withdrew the application and the project never came to fruition.

In the motion filed Monday, MacLean argues that the lawsuit should be dismissed because it was filed in an attempt to discourage his clients from participating in public conversations regarding local issues.

"It is clear that the plaintiffs remain upset by the public discourse that took place concerning the Peirce School, and have filed this fictitious lawsuit to quell any further public participation that may be contrary to the interests of the plaintiffs by any of the eight named defendants," according to MacLean's motion.

The attorney representing Woodford and Walker, David Walker, said he expects the court to reject MacLean's motion to dismiss the lawsuit. David Walker said Maine's anti-SLAPP law "does not protect statements such as those that appear" in the lawsuit.

"My clients vehemently deny having fabricated anything, nor is there any conceivable motive for doing so," David Walker said.
Disney Channel actor Kyle Massey, who is accused in court documents of sending pornographic material to a 13-year-old girl, missed a court hearing in Washington state Monday, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

"The defendant failed to appear and a warrant was issued. No further court dates have been set at this time," said a spokesperson for the King County Superior Court clerk's office. A judge issued a $100,000 bench warrant.

Massey's attorney, Lee Hutton, said that Massey has not been served and that they are "concerned with the misrepresentations made in court."

"Indeed, we will move forward to defend these allegations but also determine why due process has not been followed," Hutton said. He said his legal team has made several phone calls to the King County district attorney's office but has not gotten a response.

Massey, 29, who starred in "That's So Raven" and other Disney Channel shows, also failed to appear for his arraignment when he was charged with one count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes in late June. Hutton said in a statement this month that Massey learned that the allegations had resurfaced only on June 30 through media reports of last month's arraignment and that he was never properly notified by the court.

Prosecutors allege that the crime happened between December 2018 and January 2019 over the Snapchat social media platform.

The girl's mother gave police a flash drive, according to court documents seen by NBC News. In some videos, the documents allege, a man who appears to be Massey exposes himself, while others include explicit content.

The girl, who is not being named because of her age, sued Massey for $1.5 million in 2019, alleging that he sent "numerous sexually explicit text messages, images and videos" to her on Snapchat. The suit was dismissed for failure to prosecute.

Hutton said the actor maintains that the suit and the charges are "extortive."

Story continues

"The statements made to the police regarding the accuser's own counsel's advice seem peculiar, tearing away the veracity from the stale allegations. The accusers in no hidden agenda attempt to use the Washington courts as a platform for revenge after losing the civil matter," Hutton said.

Hutton said Massey will "aggressively" defend himself and seek civil damages "from those that refuse to hear the facts."

Massey is best known for having played Cory Baxter in "That's So Raven" on the Disney Channel from 2003 to 2007. He went on to star in the spinoff series "Cory in the House" until 2008. Massey was also in the Disney Channel movie "Life Is Ruff."

In 2010, he came in second with his partner, Lacey Schwimmer, on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars."
Washington warned Haitians and Cubans Tuesday against trying to flee to the United States as they endure domestic unrest, saying the trip is dangerous and they would be repatriated.

"The time is never right to attempt migration by sea," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said. "This risk is not worth taking."

"Allow me to be clear. If you take the sea, you will not come to the United States."

Mayorkas made the remarks as political turmoil struck both Caribbean countries.

Haitian President Jovenel Moise was assassinated last week, leaving the country's leadership in disarray. And Cuba experienced broad and unprecedented protests over economic and social conditions over the weekend.

Mayorkas said there is not yet evidence of an increase in attempts to cross into the United States by boat from the two countries south of Florida.

But he said that the Coast Guard is patrolling the seas backed by aircraft of the southeast state and will interdict any migrant vessels.

"Any migrant intercepted at sea, regardless of their nationality, will not be permitted to enter the United States," Mayorkas said.

He said the trip across the straits of Florida was especially dangerous in the ongoing hurricane season, and that 20 people had died in recent weeks trying to reach the US.

The United States is continuing to help Haiti investigate the assassination and has Coast Guard ships just off its coast.

"We are committed to supporting the Haitian government, as it seeks justice in this case, and we affirm the United States support for the people of Haiti," he said.

"We also stand in solidarity with the Cuban people, and their call for freedom from the repression and economic suffering that Cuba's authoritarian regime is causing," he said.

pmh/dw
Under the night sky, dancers leaped on the wooden stage floating on an illuminated swimming pool, a fairytale experience from Milan's La Scala as it seeks to reach a wider audience.

The lights reflected in the turquoise water of the enormous net-covered pool of the Bagni Misteriosi, an iconic 1930s venue transformed into a theatre.

"It's magical. It's the first time I've been to a performance by La Scala," said Federica Smaldino, a 47-year-old office worker, watching the show on Monday night.

A ballet fan, she has promised herself she will visit the theatre itself soon.

The programme included contemporary pieces including Sentieri by Philippe Kratz or Movements to Stravinsky by Andras Lukacs, as well as classics such as Swan Lake and Don Quixote, choreographed by the legendary Rudolf Nureyev.

"We wanted to present as many different pieces as possible to show the range of La Scala ballet," ballet director Manuel Legris told AFP.

"It's a particular pleasure because here we are meeting a new public, who do not necessarily have the chance to go to La Scala."

Like the spectators, by the end of the performance he had fallen under the spell of the baths.

"It's an area where you can dream, and it transports the dance into a truly fairytale world," he said with a smile.

- Message of hope -

The performance was one of a series of concerts staged by La Scala for free, ranging from jazz to Vivaldi and Donizetti, passing via Brahms, Bach and Rachmaninov.

Retired Milan resident Rita Tornari, 67, was among the rapt audience and expressed her delight at the initiative.

"It gives people like me, who do not have a season ticket to La Scala, the chance to attend such a prestigious performance," she told AFP.

Moving sometimes fast, sometimes slowly, embracing fleetingly before separating, Emanuela Montanari and Massimo Garon performed a moving interpretation of Arbakkinn by Simone Valastro, to a poignant tune by Iceland's Olafur Arnalds.

Story continues

Then it was the turn of Swan Lake, with a duo by Vittoria Valerio and Claudio Coviello who seemed at times to be like feathers suspended above the waves.

With the water around them, "you have to be doubly attentive on this slightly wobbly stage and take care not to slip," admitted Valerio, La Scala's soloist.

She cherished the return of a live audience after a season marked by coronavirus closures.

Spectators "give us adrenaline, passion and a desire to dance", she said.

Coviello, her partner, said such a performance provides "a message of hope after the pandemic", which hit Italy hard and remains ever-present, with most of the audience wearing face masks.

- Culture for everyone -

With the free concerts La Scala director Dominique Meyer, who took over last year, wanted to recreate the spirit of the 1970s, when one of his predecessors, Paolo Grassi, opened up the mythical stage to the wider public.

"Many people have never stepped through the door of a theatre, but culture is for everyone, music is for everyone," he told AFP, rejecting the idea that it was "reserved for an elite".

Residents in buildings overlooking the baths were also given a free show on Monday night, watching out of windows a performance that closed with a piece from Don Quixote that mixed classical dance and flamenco.

The grand pas de deux was performed to a frantic rhythm by the soloists, and drew a thunderous applause.

As if hypnotised, the spectators moved slowly to get out of their seats at the end, waiting in vain for more, before easing back into real life.

bh/ar
Supporters gather on the street as Democrats from the Texas Legislature arrive by bus to board a private plane headed for Washington, D.C., Monday, July 12, 2021, in Austin, Texas. AP Photo/Eric Gay

Democrats in the Texas legislature left the state to stop two voting bills in a special session.

House Bill 3 and Senate Bill 1 limit the ways that local officials expanded voting in 2020.

They also include new regulations for absentee voting and protections for poll watchers.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

On Monday, dozens of Democratic lawmakers in the Texas state House boarded two chartered planes and left the state altogether to head to Washington, DC to deny the quorum necessary to pass a slew of legislation in Texas' ongoing special legislative session.

The stated purpose of their walkout is specifically to block two proposed omnibus election bills, House Bill 3 and Senate Bill 1, that are part of an ambitious list of conservative priorities that Gov. Greg Abbott is trying to pass.

State House Democrats previously walked out at the end of the last legislative session in May in order to deny a quorum and run out the clock to pass Senate Bill 7, a bill that included new restrictions on voting and criminal penalties for election officials.

After the first walkout, Republicans dropped two of SB 7's controversial provisions from the new bills: one that would have limited early voting hours on Sundays to began after 1 pm and a measure that would have made it easier for losing candidates to overturn election results.

But many lawmakers say their bold action isn't as much about the specific provisions of the bills themselves than the overall principle of Republicans aiming to pass legislation that tightens voting rules in the wake of the 2020 election, - in addition to Abbott vetoing funding for the legislative branch in response to the previous walkout.

Texas already has strict voting rules, with no online, automatic, or same-day voter registration; requiring an excuse to vote absentee for those under 65; and mandating a photo ID to vote.

Biggest highlights of HB 3 and SB 1:

New early voting hours. Both bills require counties to hold at least nine hours of voting during the early voting period that can start as early as 6 am and end as late as 9 pm in SB 1 and 10 pm in SB 1. The bills set a more specific set of hours than current law, which just requires early voting to be held at a county or city clerk's office during "regular business hours."

Both bills also require early voting to be held for 12 hours a day during the last week of early voting in larger counties and allow small counties with less than 1,000 voters to hold fewer hours. The new hours for early voting, however, would ban local officials from offering early voting overnight 24 hours a day, as Harris County did in 2020 during the pandemic.

Bans on drive-thru voting. Both bills prohibit officials from offering early voting in a "moveable structure" after officials in heavily Democratic Harris County offered it as a COVID-19-specific measure, prompting several unsuccessful last-minute lawsuits against the practice.

ID information needed to vote absentee. Texas, which already uses signature matching to verify absentee ballots, will now require voters to provide the number on their driver's license, other state ID, or the last four digits of their Social Security number on the outer envelope when requesting an absentee ballot.

More restrictions on absentee applications. Both laws make it a state jail felony for election officials to send out absentee ballot applications unsolicited to voters both eligible and not eligible to vote absentee.

More protections and access for partisan poll watchers.

Enhanced criminal penalties for paid ballot collection, sometimes called ballot or vote harvesting, on behalf of a candidate or party.

More rules for people assisting voters, including requiring assistors to fill out a form stating their relationship to the voter.

The option for voters to "cure" or fix issues with their absentee ballots. In a move advocated by Democrats, both bills include a new provision that will require officials to notify voters if their absentee ballot is missing a signature on the outer envelope or has a mismatched signature, and give them an opportunity to fix the problem.

In another provision sought by Democrats, HB 3 protects against a person being convicted of a crime for voting a provisional ballot while unknowingly ineligible, a response to the prosecution of Crystal Mason, who was sentenced to five years in prison for trying to vote on supervised release.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The Daily Beast

Tyrone Siu/ReutersEver wondered where World War III might break out?A clear and troubling consensus has emerged in the American national security community that the Taiwan Strait is the most likely place for a major war to erupt between the United States and China; that it might start soon, and that such a conflict might quickly escalate into a nuclear confrontation.In March, the leading foreign policy organization in the United States, the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, issued a repo
Citizens take part in a protest near the police station of Petion Ville after Haitian president Jovenel Moise was murdered on July 08, 2021 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Richard Pierrin/Getty Images

Gang leaders in Haiti are calling for a country-wide uprising in opposition to political leaders.

Haitian activists say gangs typically exploit political instability or influence local elections.

Some warn that, unchecked, a coalition of gangs could stifle any transition in government.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

The murky details surrounding Haitian President Jovenel Moise's assassination left a vacuum of conspiracy theories and speculations.

Prime Minister Claude Joseph says it was "a highly coordinated attack by a highly trained and heavily armed group."

At least 28 people are suspected in the killing, of which 26 are Colombian, and two are US citizens of Haitian descent. So far, 20 of those suspects have been detained while five remained at large, and three have been killed.

A Florida-based Haitian doctor was arrested in connection to the president's assassination, although his family now claims he's being framed. Still, the murder of the divisive political figure left even more uncertainty, political instability and empowered gang alliances behind.

Days after the announcement of Moise's murder, one of Haiti's most influential and protected gang leaders, Jimmy Cherizier - known locally as "Barbecue" - called for a violent uprising for justice and reparations from elite politicians.

"It is your money which is in banks, stores, supermarkets and dealerships, so go and get what is rightfully yours," he told supporters last month, - shortly after the former police officer turned leader of the "G9" gang announced he was launching a revolution against the country's bourgeoisie.

G9 is a federation of nine gangs that include former police officers and community members. Last year, it was formed as a "revolutionary" force that claims to be not against the government, but its opposition. Business men, political elites, and former Haitian president, Michel Martelly, are known targets.

Story continues

Many of G9's victims, as well as activists, have revealed that members have, "looted and burned down shacks and stalls, systematically raped women, killed at random, and dismembered or torched bodies" and is one of at least 30 gangs that control nearly half of Port-Au-Prince.

Anti-government corruption activists in the country and throughout its diaspora say it's no surprise foreign leaders would exploit Haiti's political instability now.

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

"Whenever a movement seems to be starting, the [gang] violence resurges," activist Olrich Jean Pierre told Woy Magazine. "Today it is more dire because the government has used the federation of gangs to create panic, and to stop people from mobilizing."

According to Le Centre d'Analyse et de Recherche en droits, more than 150 assassinations and nearly 200 kidnappings have been recorded in Haiti since June, including feminist activist Antoinette "Netty" Duclair and journalist Diego Charles.

The number of abductions that targeted poor and working-class communities also increased by 150% compared to the year prior.

"This is the first time we have gangs with such a large power," Rosy Auguste Ducena, program manager at Reseau National de Defense des Droits Humains, told Insider.

"The gangs are impacting life in Haiti. Today, there are several areas where we don't go because of the gangs," Ducena explained.

"If we have an election in September, for instance, the candidates will not be able to campaign in some areas, even in Port-au-Prince," she added.

Like many of the country's gang leaders, Barbecue's power and influence are financed by political elite, including Moise's right-wing political party.

In 2019 US Congressional testimony, the director of Haiti's National Human Rights Defense Network, Pierre Esperance, confirmed that the gangs "regularly receive money and automatic firearms [from executive and legislative powers], and they never run out of ammunition."

Ducena adds that instead of reinforcing the police institution, President Jovenel Moise invested in gangs. In return, his government had earned allies who implemented a strategy to gain political support and repress the opposition, spiking insecurity.

Activists say throughout the Moise regime, the government relied on gangs to control territories and protect their party. But mismanagement, foreign interference, and lack of accountability further pushed locals into armed groups, making them more powerful over time.

"The government used the federation to remain in power and to establish a climate of fear in the country. They succeeded," said Ducena.

Opponents take it a step further, suggesting that Moise was never fully in control of Haiti once gangs and foreign parties became involved. Instead, it launched a state of fear.

As for what is to come next, Ducena would like to see "a government of transition with a clear mandate but not only a transitional government for elections."

"What we also need is to find the answers to our problems without foreign intervention of any type," she said. Or the exploitation of meddling, politically connected gangs.

Read the original article on Insider
The wives of Chicago twins who cooperated against Sinaloa cartel kingpin Joaquin El Chapo Guzman pleaded not guilty Tuesday to money laundering charges alleging they helped hide and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars of their husbands drug proceeds over more than a decade.

Vivianna Lopez, 40, also known as Mia Flores, and Valerie Gaytan, 45, also known as Olivia Flores, entered their pleas during a telephone hearing before U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly.

Both Lopez and Gaytan are on free on bond in secret locations after their arrests last month in separate areas of the country. They spoke only briefly during the hearing Tuesday, confirming their identities and agreeing to proceed with the arraignment by phone.

Prosecutors said they have agreed with defense counsel for both women not to file anything in the public record that could disclose their locations.

Kennelly set a trial date for June 6.

An indictment unsealed last month accused the women and three others with conspiring to launder illicit drug proceeds in Chicago between 2008 and 2020 earned by their husbands, Pedro and Margarito Flores.

Also charged in the money laundering conspiracy were the twins older brother, Armando Flores, 52, of Round Rock, Texas; Laura Lopez, 58, of Chicago; and Bianca Finnigan, 32, of Sycamore, Illinois, who is the sister of Vivianna Lopez.

Finnigan and Laura Lopez previously pleaded not guilty to the charges. Armando Flores was arrested in Texas and is awaiting extradition to Chicago, his lawyer said.

The Flores twins were West Side drug traffickers whose decision to cooperate with federal authorities in 2008 led to arguably the biggest drug case ever brought in Chicago, with charges against El Chapo himself as well as many of his top underbosses.

The twins were sentenced in 2015 to 14 years in prison and were released late last year into witness protection.

In December 2018, Pedro Flores testified in the landmark trial against Guzman in New York, where prosecutors played phone calls recorded by the twins that were crucial in the federal effort against the drug lord. On one call, jurors heard Guzmans own voice greeting Flores with Amigo! and discussing a price break on a shipment of heroin destined for Chicago.

Story continues

Guzman was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

According to the nine-count indictment made public last month, the Flores wives maintained portions of their husbands drug proceeds at multiple locations over the course of more than 12 years, including Laura Lopezs residence in Chicago and Armando Flores residence in Texas, and used the money for the benefit of themselves, the incarcerated husbands and others.

The conspirators allegedly laundered the money through currency exchanges, credit cards, money orders, gift cards, and the U.S. mail, according to the U.S. attorneys office.

The charges allege the wives spent more than $165,000 in drug money on private school tuition for their children, $100,000 in international and domestic travel, $80,000 for Vivianna Lopezs rent and $11,000 in child support for one of their husbands kids.

One of the wives also spent $31,000 of laundered drug money on her laundry business, the indictment alleged.

The indictment seeks forfeiture from Vivianna Lopez and Gaytan in the amount of $504,858.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
While the division offered in-person learning through the entire 2020-21 school year, students in Bedford  and across the nation  suffered loss to learning this year, Johnson said. Getting middle and high schoolers back to school on a traditional, full-day schedule five days per week is key, Johnson said, to addressing learning gaps.

District 4 representative Hill announced at the November 2020 school board meeting that he would not seek reelection to the board at the end of his current term. However, following that announcement, Hill said he received an overwhelming response from constituents in his district and across the county who wanted him to reconsider.

Hill said he was met with positivity and confirmation from the community that have appreciated his voice on the board during his first term and wanted him to serve again.

It was the right thing for me to do to seek another term, Hill said.

Hill was first elected in 2017 and seeks a second term on the board. The District 4 seat represents the Forest zone.

He is married has four children, two of which are graduates of Jefferson Forest High School and two will begin their junior and senior years there this fall.
Following that, he said he tried to organize boycotts of Centras methodology with other doctors to no avail, and spoke with former Centra CEO E. W. Tibbs about the issue in the fall of 2016. That discussion resulted in Tibbs shaking up administrative assignments, including removal of Oldham as director for medical oncology.

Centra banned Oldham from its facilities for threatening behavior on Nov. 28, 2017, two days after he was at the oncology office reviewing files in order to file complaints about Centras practices, court documents state. While there, he told a member of the clinics management staff that he was preparing the complaints.

In his lawsuit, he claimed the threatening behavior was a pretext for banning him while the true reason  was his stated intention of reporting Centras fraudulent activities. Hes demanding Centra reinstate his contracted employment, along with unspecified monetary damages.

In Centras request for the case to be dismissed, it insisted Oldham was banned for disruptive behavior regarding a Centra administrator. Oldham admitted he made unkind remarks the administrator when served with an HR complaint in August 2017, court documents state, and he later received a letter of reprimand about it.
Why do these court challenges appear to have a higher political purpose? There must be flower shops in Washington State and bakeries in Colorado that cater to same-sex weddings. Why pick on the ones that dont? Is this part of a larger goal to destroy what remains of what used to be known as traditional values?

Basic pillars that have supported America have included religious faith and the military and have been reflected in the stories and characters created by the iconic Walt Disney. These and many others are now under attack.

The Walt Disney Company has announced a change in its welcoming messages at all properties from Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, to Good evening dreamers of all ages. A company spokesperson (notice my avoidance of gender specificity) said the decision is in alignment with Disneys inclusion and diversity policy.

Why is it that inclusion and diversity always seem to exclude people who believe differently? Such people are now viewed as criminals in some states if they seek to apply their faith to their businesses and in the public square.
Japan is a country where ancient traditions meet modern life. Now, witnessing this fusion of centuries-old cultures and cutting-edge technology is easier than ever thanks to an accessible visa policy.

Who needs a visa to enter Japan?

Citizens of 68 countries including the USA, UK, Australia, and all EU Member States dont require a visa when traveling roundtrip and with a valid passport. Upon arrival at the airport, they are simply granted permission for a short-term stay.

To help travelers determine whether or not they need a visa to visit the country, websites have compiled information on the ins and outs of entry requirements. This page offers a comprehensive look at what travel authorisation is required to visit Japan, including information on visa-free countries and the possibility of applying for the new eVisa once it launches.

What is the Japan eVisa?

When launched, this document will allow eligible nationals to apply for their single-entry permit entirely online.

Other types of Japan visas

Visitors from countries that do require a visa have a variety to choose from depending on the purpose of their visit and length of stay. Here are some of the most common:

Tourist visa for travelers visiting for sightseeing or to attend a meeting or conference.

Working visa a long-term document reserved for highly skilled professionals in select fields.

Non-working visa this can cover university students on non-paid internships as well as the spouses and children of professionals staying under a work visa.

Family-related visa Spouses and children of Japanese nationals and permanent residents.

What are the Japan visa requirements?

The exact documents depend on the type of entry permit required. However, in general, applicants need the following:

A valid passport with at least 6 months remaining and 2 blank pages.

A completed application form.

A recent, color passport photo.

A certified copy of their birth certificate.

A marriage certificate (if issued within the last year).

Proof of their intention to leave the country at the end of their stay.

Proof of financial means (this can be a certificate stating their financial situation over the past 6 months issued by the bank).

An income tax return.

If applying without a sponsor, a copy of a COE (Certificate of Employment).

An itinerary for the trip.

How do I apply for a visa to Japan?

All applicants must make an appointment at the embassy or consulate in their country of residence. After submitting the documents mentioned above, the processing period is about 5 business days.

If approved, applicants will pay a fee of 3,000 Yen (26 USD) for a Single-entry permit and 6,000 (53 USD) for a Double or Multiple-entry pass. All fees are collected in the local currency and no payment is required if the visa is not issued.*

*Please note that fees may change depending on the visitors nationality and the purpose of the visit.

How do I apply for a work visa for Japan?

Work permission must be requested in conjunction with an inviting person or company in Japan. This individual or company must apply for a Certificate of Eligibility at their corresponding Regional Immigration Bureau. Once approved, this will be sent to the applicant outside Japan who must compile the following:

A valid passport.

The completed application form.

A color, passport-size photograph

Other necessary documents, as indicated by the embassy.

The traveler will then apply at their nearest Japanese embassy or consulate where their case will be examined.

Can I get a working holiday visa to Japan?

Visitors interested in spending more time exploring the country may apply for a working holiday visa. This scheme is based on bilateral agreements between the partner country and Japan, making it possible for the youth of both nations to enjoy wider cultural opportunities.

On a working holiday, visitors may undertake limited work to supplement their travel funds. Travelers can apply for an initial 6-month stay with the possibility of requesting 2 additional 6-month extensions. Participants must be between 18 and 30 years old to participate and should be a national of one of the following countries:

ArgentinaAustraliaAustriaCanadaChileCzech RepublicDenmarkEstoniaFranceGermanyHong KongHungaryIcelandIrelandLithuaniaNetherlandsNew ZealandNorwayPolandPortugalThe Republic of KoreaSlovakiaSpainSwedenTaiwanThe UK

What do US citizens need to travel here?

US passport holders may visit the Land of the Rising Sun for up to 90 days visa-free. To do so, visitors must hold a passport valid for their entire period of stay and with 1 blank page.

There is no need to fill any forms beforehand; simply showing proof of an onward ticket and sufficient financial means will be enough to request the entry permit.

How long can I stay in Japan?

For nationals of the 68 visa-exempt countries, length of stay is broken down into 3 categories as follows:

Stays of up to 15 days: Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand

Stays of up to 30 days: United Arab Emirates

Stays of up to 90 days: other countries and regions

For travelers applying through an embassy, Single-entry passes are valid for up to 90 days and Multiple-entry permits between 1-5 years, depending on the nationality.

Can I extend my stay in Japan?

Citizens of Austria, Germany, Ireland, Lichtenstein, Mexico, Switzerland, and the UK who enter under the visa-free scheme may extend their stay for up to 90 days. This can be done at the nearest Japan Immigration Bureau for a small fee. All other visitors should speak to their nearest embassy for long-term visit options.

What else should I know before traveling to this country?

Japanese law requires that all short-term foreign visitors show proof of onward travel. This can be either a return ticket or a flight and entry permit to a third country. All travelers are photographed and fingerprinted upon arrival before being granted landing permission  a seal of verification affixed in their passports.

This landing permission immediately becomes the legal basis for staying in Japan and visitors must carry their passports with them at all times when in the country.
In an annual Defense Ministry paper adopted on Tuesday by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's Cabinet, Japan's government expressed alarm about China and its growing military assertiveness in the region.

The paper, detailing the most pressing military threats to the country, singled out to the tussle over Taiwan in more direct terms than ever before.

''Stabilizing the Taiwan situation is important for Japan's national security and stability of the international community,'' the Japanese government said. ''We need to pay close attention with a sense of crisis more than ever before.''

China considers Taiwan part of its territory, and in recent years it has ramped up diplomatic, military and economic pressure on the self-governed island. It all comes as Beijing has also exerted pressure on Hong Kong and increased its presence on the South China Sea.

"The overall military balance between China and Taiwan is tilting to China's favor, and the gap appears to be growing year by year," the Japanese document said.

Japan eyes China-US rivalry

Japan, like the US and most major nations, does not formally recognize Taiwan as a state  China does not deal with countries who do  but does engage with and support the island's leadership through nongovernmental channels.

But, as Chinese economic and military power increases, particularly at sea, questions about how long the US and its allies can prop up the rival government in Taipei have gathered volume.

The US has increased its military support for Taiwan recently, including dispatching warships to the Taiwan Strait and arms sales.

The Japanese government paper said the shifting balance between the US and China could unsettle the region.

''As China rapidly enhances its military power, changes in the military power balance between the United states and China may possibly affect the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region,'' the report said. ''It is necessary to pay greater attention to the military trends of the two countries in areas such as the South China Sea and Taiwan."
Japan's government is planning to cancel its request for liquor vendors to stop supplying bars and restaurants that continue to serve alcohol even under a coronavirus state of emergency or focused restrictions.

The government on Tuesday told the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito that it is planning to withdraw the request.

Some drinking establishments in areas under a coronavirus state of emergency or focused restrictions do not comply with calls to stop serving alcohol. The government has asked liquor vendors to stop dealing with such businesses.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsunobu told reporters on Tuesday that even if liquor vendors do not follow the government's request, they will suffer no disadvantage, or disruption of their freedom to do business.

The request to liquor dealers has drawn criticism from various quarters.

Representatives of a liquor dealership association visited LDP policy chief Shimomura Hakubun on Monday to convey their worries.

During Tuesday's meeting with the government, many LDP lawmakers said liquor dealers are in serious financial trouble.

The Constitutional Democratic Party and other opposition groups criticized the government for putting pressure on bars and restaurants that have no choice but to try to continue in business, despite insufficient government support.

The parties are also demanding the resignation of Economic Revitalization Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi.

Last week, Nishimura indicated that he would ask financial institutions to urge noncompliant bars and restaurants to follow the government's request to suspend alcohol sales. The government dismissed that plan after his remarks drew widespread criticism.
Overall, the bar for proving sedition isnt as high as it is for the related charge of treason. Still, sedition charges have been rare.

The last time U.S. prosecutors brought such a case was in 2010 in an alleged Michigan plot by members of the Hutaree militia to incite an uprising against the government. But a judge ordered acquittals on the sedition conspiracy charges at a 2012 trial, saying prosecutors relied too much on hateful diatribes protected by the First Amendment and didnt, as required, prove the accused ever had detailed plans for a rebellion.

Among the last successful convictions for seditious conspiracy stemmed from another, now largely forgotten storming of the Capitol in 1954 when four Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire on the House floor, wounding five representatives.

Treason is one of the few crimes specifically defined in the Constitution. Its defined as levying war against the U.S. or giving aid and comfort to its enemies. Legal scholars say the Founding Fathers, who were themselves accused of treason by the British, sought to clearly articulate it because they knew the potential to misapply it to legitimate dissent.
A message left Friday with Schumers Washington office has not been returned.

Its stalled and we absolutely need it to take action, Medea-Peters said. We need them to do something. We need them to take action now so that in two years we are not in a worse position. ... If the VOCA Fix Act does not go through, it will be absolutely catastrophic for programs across the state of Iowa. Theres no way around that.

Grassley and other senators sent a June 23 letter to members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations urging support for funding of programs offered by the Violence Against Women Act in the Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations process to ensure that crimes collection money allocated for the Crime Victims Fund will be devoted exclusively to assisting victims of crime to keep programs running in the meantime.

Meanwhile, programs like DVIP are scrambling to secure other means of funding.

Just more than half of DVIPs funding comes from state and federal money. The rest comes from private grants and donations from individuals and businesses.

In addition to closing offices to meet the shortfall, DVIP has expanded its community engagement in an effort to reach more donors and explore additional grant opportunities.
With his signature gruffness, Grassley acknowledges his age is one of the reasons that Ive put off making the decision until later on.

Who knows? I could die tomorrow, he told The Associated Press as he visited tiny Ida Grove in northwest Iowa last week. If I announce Im running, Im planning on living to be 95. But I might not live that long.

His health habits suggest otherwise. The pushups arent just for show, but part of his daily routine, he says. He also runs 12 miles (19 kilometers) per week, though he chuckles calling it a shuffle. He wakes up at 4 a.m. and is in his Washington office by 6 a.m.

Despite the pace, and his activity on Twitter, theres no hiding Grassley has decades on most of his voters.

At events, Grassley references his hearing aid, sometimes as a joke, but he also relies on a staffer to repeat what he misses. He often illustrates his points with creaky references and examples that predate his listeners.

Meeting with a group of young professionals in Sioux City last week, Grassley fielded a question about same-sex marriage by noting that it reminded him of some constitutional research he did in college in 1953.
SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Nebraska  The tri-state region's governors touted programs and initiatives their respective states have launched in an effort to train, attract and develop skilled labor while acknowledging that more can be done to help businesses find qualified workers to fill vacant jobs.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem all said that workforce development is a top issue in the three states, which all have unemployment rates among the lowest in the nation and have more available jobs than unemployed workers.

"We want to partner with you. We are taking a look at all the programs we have in place. We are re-evaluating them," Reynolds told Siouxland business leaders during Monday's 17th Tri-State Governors' Conference at the South Sioux City Marriott Riverfront.

The governors of the three adjoining states have met almost every other year since 1988 to address and hear of topics of regional importance during the event, coordinated by the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce. This year, as in years past, the main topic was jobs and how companies can find workers to fill them.
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP)  A veteran politician was appointed Nepal's prime minister for the fifth time on Tuesday, a day after the Supreme Court reinstated the House of Representatives and upheld his claim to be the new leader.

President Bidhya Devi Bhandari's office said Sher Bahadur Deuba, who leads the Nepali Congress party, was appointed the new prime minister.

Deuba will lead the Himalayan nation as it struggles with political divisions and the coronavirus.

The court on Monday ordered that Khadga Prasad Oli, who had been running a caretaker government until planned elections, be replaced by Deuba.

It also ordered the reinstatement of the House of Representatives, which was dissolved by Oli in May, and said the lawmakers must meet within seven days. Deuba will have to prove in a vote that he has the support of more than half the House members to continue in office.

Deuba was previously appointed prime minister in 1995, 2001, 2004 and 2017, but has never served a full term. This time as well, he is to serve only until parliamentary elections are held by 2022.

He is likely to bring Nepal back closer to India after Oli favored ties with its other giant neighbor, China.
Both Pfizer and Moderna have agreed to supply small amounts of their vaccines to COVAX, but the vast majority of their doses have been reserved by rich countries. The U.N.-backed effort has faltered badly in recent months, with nearly 60 poor countries stalled in their vaccination efforts and their biggest vaccine supplier unable to share any doses until the end of the year.

Pfizer met with top U.S. officials on Monday to discuss its plans to seek authorization for a third dose. Last week, the company said the booster could dramatically ramp up immunity and perhaps help ward off worrisome variants  even as U.S. health authorities stressed that fully vaccinated Americans are strongly protected and don't need boosters yet.

Both Pfizer and the U.S. government share a sense of urgency in staying ahead of the virus that causes COVID-19, and we also agree that the scientific data will dictate next steps, the company said in a statement late Monday.

It's not unusual for manufacturers to brief regulators before filing new data, and a U.S. government spokesperson said the information is just one piece of evidence authorities will use in deciding if, when and for whom a booster might be necessary.
In my first book, Playing with the Enemy, I wrote a story about my father and in my fathers honor. To me, Playing with the Enemy was more than a best-selling book. For years, it has been a dream of mine that somebody would make it into a movie  and I still pray it comes to pass.

But thats not why I wrote it. I didnt even write it for fame or glory or to eventually make my way into becoming a syndicated columnist. Instead, I wrote Playing with the Enemy because my fathers life impacted me so profoundly and I wanted my children to know, embrace, love and celebrate his legacy. Playing with the Enemy is about passing down family legacies and family traditions. I can only hope that my childrens children, and their children and their children, and their children will know the story of Gene Moore because of Playing with the Enemy.
First it was the National Basketball Association and China. Now it is the Major League Baseball and China. Both have mixed politics with sports and taken questionable stances that seem to be contradictory. Both leagues are led by commissioners who could be described as panderers  claiming t
We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription.
Lavetta C. Langdon is headed to prison for eight to 10 years for killing her husband, who she said mentally and physically abused her for three decades.

Judge David W. Urbom sentenced the 80-year-old woman Monday in Red Willow District Court.

Langdon pleaded no contest to an amended count of manslaughter June 1 in the death of 79-year-old Larry Langdon. She was initially charged with first-degree murder and use of a firearm to commit a felony. The latter charge was dismissed.

She was credited with 125 days served.

Manslaughter is a Class 2A felony in Nebraska and carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

According to court records, law enforcement officers responded at 9:22 a.m. Aug. 20, 2020, to a report of a physical altercation at a residence on the 900 block of East Third Street in McCook.

A man was found in the bedroom with a gunshot wound to his chest.

Langdon admitted to officers that she had shot him. She said her husband had abused her for 30 years.

She told officers that her husband had hit her in the face on both cheeks earlier that morning. She said she had told him before that if he ever hit her again, she would kill him.
A 46-year-old North Platte man was sentenced Monday to two to five years in prison for possession of 40 grams of methamphetamine in February.

In Lincoln County District Court, Kevin Taylor said he was remorseful for his actions, and Pastor Doug Lee testified that he has seen a change in him as well.

Lee, who has counseled Taylor in the detention center, said Taylor has embraced religion and even expressed an interest in entering the seminary.

Deputy County Attorney Angela Franz pointed to Taylors criminal history and what she said was his reluctance to address his substance abuse.

Franz added that the methamphetamine found in Taylors possession was beyond personal use and instead indicated an addict selling drugs to feed his own habit.

Franz asked for a six- to 10-year sentence. Judge Richard Birch said before sentencing that Taylor has shown some efforts to make a change but added it wasnt complete.

Taylor was credited with 140 days served.

Also Monday, Amber M. Araujo, 34, pleaded no contest to an amended charge of obstructing a police officer.
Writer Beer & Society

There is nothing that cannot be discussed and worked out over a beer. Join me as I explore local beer, breweries and how they can civilize us.
The Bootleg Fire in Oregon. Photo: Oregon State Fire Marshall

Two weeks after a heat wave killed hundreds across the Pacific Northwest and western Canada, extreme temperatures have returned to a region already parched after an exceptionally dry winter.

In Death Valley, temperatures soared to 130 degrees over the weekend, marking the hottest 24 hours ever recorded on earth. Absurd heat is being felt in more temperate locales as well: With a heat dome camped over much of the West, on Saturday it reached 117 degrees in Las Vegas, 117 in St. George, Utah, and 113 degrees in Sacramento. As of Monday afternoon, over 13 million Americans were facing an excessive-heat warning, according to the National Weather Service.

Farmworkers bore the brunt of the weather, toiling at night in the Pacific Northwest to harvest wheat and fruit as the heat cut some yields by as much as 80 percent. Last week, Washington and Oregon joined California in granting heat rights to outdoor laborers to protect them from temperatures made more dangerous by climate change.

The heat also took a horrific toll on marine animals in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia, where marine biologist Christopher Harley estimated that over 1 billion small animals, ranging from crustaceans to sea cucumbers and hermit crabs, died. It just feels like one of those postapocalyptic movies, Harley told the New York Times. In the Sacramento River, experts fear almost all the juvenile chinook salmon could be killed from the overheated river. The weather isnt abating either. A fourth heat wave in five weeks is expected this weekend, bringing 100-degree temperatures to 100 million people in the West and Canada and particularly extreme heat expected in the Rocky Mountain states.

Where theres heat, theres fire. So far this wildfire season in California, twice as many acres have burned compared with last year, the worst in the states history. The River Fire south of Yosemite grew rapidly on Sunday, forcing evacuations; as of Monday morning, it was estimated at 4,000 acres and just 5 percent contained, according to Cal Fire. A pyrovortex has been observed in the Beckwourth Complex Fire northwest of Lake Tahoe, which, at almost 90,000 acres, is the largest system recorded in California this year. As of Monday morning, it was 23 percent contained.

The largest wildfire currently raging in the West is the Bootleg Fire in Oregon, which sparked in the Fremont-Winema National Forest in the south of the state. Now on its eighth day, it has grown to over 212,000 acres and is threatening a power-line corridor connecting Oregon and California. To prepare for potential outages, California governor Gavin Newsom signed executive orders over the weekend clearing the use of backup generators  including the emergency use of ship engines  to ease any strains on the grid that Bootleg may cause. With the fire at five percent containment as of Tuesday, officials arent sure how long it will burn, though smoke from the fire itself slowed its growth mid-week. We dont see any rain in the forecast anytime soon, meteorologist Brian MacMillan told the Times. It is already the eighth largest wildfire in state history.

Sign Up for the Intelligencer Newsletter Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Terms & Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us.
An Opelika man caught something he didnt expect when he went fishing at his regular spot Monday: a 5-foot long pregnant watersnake.

Willie Barsh, 57, said he had been going to the same fishing spot for over 25 years near Frederick Road and South Long Street in Opelika, and when he came to check on his line he found the snake on the end of his hook, and it was dead.

I had set out some fishing line  and when I came back to check this morning, there was a big snake on there, Barsh said. A snake cant really live underwater for more than two hours, so I just pulled him up. I saw how big she was, so I took her up to the store to see what kind of snake it was. I havent seen one that big around here.

Barsh said he was told the snake was a cottonmouth, a semiaquaic viper native to the United States and also known as a water moccasin.

In actuality, the snake Barsh caught at the end of his fishing hook was no cottonmouth, but a type of nonvenomous watersnake which, like a cottonmouth, is also semiamphibious and native to the region.
The president of Guatemala vowed Monday to crack down on demonstrators complaining of mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic and protesting delays in shipments of Russias Sputnik vaccine.

A crowd of about 300 protesters gathered Saturday in the main square of the capital to demand the resignation of President Alejandro Giammattei for his failure to obtain enough vaccine.

On Monday, banners appeared on several streets in Guatemala City demanding Giammattei resign.

Referring to the protests, Giammattei said: We are going to limit this type of thing. I think this is enough already.

These people are spreading the virus and causing more problems, that is what they want and they are spreading it through a series of illegal demonstrations, he added.

Giammattei signed a deal for 16 million doses of the two-dose Russian vaccine, and paid 50%, or almost $80 million, up front. But only about 550,000 Sputnik doses have arrived so far.

About 1.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine have been donated by the United States. But with just over 2 million doses, Guatemala doesn't have nearly enough for its 17 million people.


Thank you for Reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Ocean Exploration Fiscal Year 2021 Funding Opportunity Awards

Through the Ocean Exploration Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Funding Opportunity, NOAA Ocean Exploration selected eight projects for financial support totaling approximately $3.5 million. For the FY21 competition, we solicited proposals to map, explore, and characterize deep waters of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone to improve understanding of the vast ocean resources of the nation and to advance economic, health, security, and environmental interests. Priorities were focused on interdisciplinary baseline characterizations of unknown or poorly known deep-ocean areas, processes, and resources; technological innovation or novel application to advance deep-ocean exploration objectives; and discovery and initial characterization of underwater cultural heritage.

The supported projects are described below.

Accelerating Ocean Exploration Through Cloud-Native Processing of Active Ocean Sonar Data

Principal Investigator: Wu-Jung Lee, Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington

Scientists commonly use active sonar systems to collect data about mid-trophic level animals like zooplankton and small fish, which play an important role in the marine ecosystems. Echosounders, or fish-finders, are high-frequency sonar systems that emit pulses of sound and record the reflections from animals, the seabed, and other objects. These instruments have been proven to be more efficient and effective for collecting data over a large survey area or a long time period than many other sampling methods, such as underwater imaging and net trawls. This technology has been widely adopted by the ocean science and commercial fishing communities and more recently has been integrated with autonomous vehicles, resulting in a massive amount of data. However, these datasets can be difficult to analyze and are often underutilized. This team will address this issue by developing data standards, a streamlined data processing workflow, and software tools that capitalize on recent advancements in cloud computing technologies to efficiently transform large quantities of ocean sonar data into information that is useful for exploring, monitoring, and managing living marine resources.

Field Validation of Novel Low-Cost Underwater Robot for Deepwater Exploration and Characterization

Principal Investigator: Matthew Johnson-Roberson, University of Michigan

Deep-sea corals provide habitat for a wide variety of marine life. Despite their importance to the environment, little is known about them and the threats to their survival. Deep-sea data collection is expensive, and annotation and analysis of underwater imagery is time consuming. To help advance the protection of deep-sea coral ecosystems, this team will improve and validate a new, low-cost, open-source, autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and develop automatic annotation software. They will test the AUV and collect data at a site in Hawaiian waters that is known for its high diversity and density of corals. Data collected will be used to generate photometric 3D reconstructions of the seafloor and for the development of the software. This project will benefit the scientific community in two key ways: It will make deep-sea exploration more accessible to the larger scientific community and will increase the speed of data analysis and availability.

Illuminating Pelagic and Benthic Biodiversity in Deep Waters of Puerto Rico

Principal Investigator: Andrea Quattrini, Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History

Deepwater habitats off the coast of Puerto Rico, including submarine canyons, ridges, and banks, are likely home to a wide variety of marine life, including commercially important species and species new to science. Yet, these habitats remain some of the least explored areas of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. To better understand the biodiversity from the surface to the seafloor and what shapes it, this research team will use new technologies for water sampling, soft-bodied animal collection, low-light imaging, and 3D/virtual reality imaging to explore and characterize Puerto Ricos deep sea. Data collected will serve as a baseline to detect and address future changes to better preserve the long-term health of the regions vulnerable marine ecosystems and fisheries.

Machine Learning for Automated Detection of Shipwreck Sites From Large Area Robotic Surveys

Principal Investigator: Katherine A. Skinner, University of Michigan

Shipwrecks can help us better understand our past, but finding and exploring them is time consuming, labor intensive, and expensive, so most of their tales remain untold. This team aims to increase the efficiency and decrease the costs associated with such exploration efforts (and ocean exploration in general) by advancing the autonomous capabilities of underwater vehicles to search for and survey shipwreck sites. To limit the need for human input, they will develop machine learning methods to detect shipwreck sites from sonar data and develop capabilities that enable underwater vehicles to automatically adapt their routes while exploring sites of interest. To test these approaches, the team will use an autonomous underwater vehicle to search for and survey known and potential shipwreck sites in the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Huron. Data collected will inform the management and conservation of these important sanctuary resources.

Marine Archaeological Investigation and Mapping of the Paleo-Suwannee River, Eastern Gulf of Mexico

Principal Investigator: Vincent Lecours, University of Florida

Humans have lived in Florida for at least 14,550 years. By studying sites once occupied by the Paleoindians  the first people to enter and inhabit the Americas  we can improve our understanding of how they got here, how they survived, and how they adapted to environmental changes like sea-level rise. However, much remains to be learned, and these sites are difficult to identify and access. By combining approaches from remote sensing, archaeology, and seafloor mapping to explore the Paleo-Suwannee River channel off Floridas Gulf of Mexico Coast, this team aims to identify and characterize areas of high archaeological significance to inform their future management and conservation. In addition, they will use innovative marine habitat mapping approaches and test new remote sensing methods to improve the discovery and characterization of archaeological sites.

Microbial Ecosystem Services on Seamounts Around Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument

Principal Investigator: Beth N. Orcutt, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences

Polymetallic ferromanganese crusts found on seamounts frequently include critical minerals that are used in consumer electronics, defense, renewable energy industries, and more. As demand for these resources increases, so does interest in mining them. Yet, little is known about the characteristics of these crusts and the microorganisms that live on and within them. To better understand how these resources interact and their associated ecosystems, this team will explore and characterize mineral and microbial resources of seamounts within the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument that are expected to have high critical mineral content. This project will result in important baseline information regarding the mineral resource potential as well as the parallel living resources of these seamounts and will be used to inform their sustainable use and conservation. This project will be done in partnership with Ocean Exploration Trust.

Multi-Tiered Autonomous Vehicle-Based Survey of New and Proposed Great Lakes National Marine Sanctuaries

Principal Investigator: Russ Green, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries

Marine transport on the Great Lakes played a central role in the exploration, settlement, economic expansion, and industrialization of the nation. The estimated 6,000 shipwrecks across the five Great Lakes can help us better understand that role. Many of these shipwrecks have yet to be discovered and explored. This team will use an uncrewed aerial vehicle, an autonomous surface vehicle, and an autonomous underwater vehicle to search for shipwrecks at sites within the boundaries of the new Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast (Lake Michigan) and proposed Lake Ontario national marine sanctuaries. Their work, which could include discovery of nationally significant historic sites, such as 18th and 19th century shipwrecks and War of 1812 artifacts, will add to our knowledge of Americas past maritime-based economic activities in the Great Lakes and generate valuable new data products to support resource management efforts, including the establishment and management of national marine sanctuaries.

Our Submerged Past: Exploring Inundated Late Pleistocene Caves in Southeast Alaska with SUNFISH

Principal Investigator: Kristof Richmond, Sunfish, Inc.

Evidence suggests that humans have made the northwest coast of North America their home for at least 17,000 years. The land these First Peoples inhabited is now underwater. Tangible evidence of their presence should be preserved in submerged caves and rock shelters, but these features are difficult to access and have not been formally explored. To learn more about how and when people migrated to the Americas, this team will search for evidence of human occupation on the continental shelf of southeast Alaska in an area that has not been accessible to humans for over 10,000 years. Using the SUNFISH autonomous underwater vehicle, which is designed to operate in complex 3D undersea environments, the team will explore, map, and collect sediment samples from submerged caves and rock shelters. They will then analyze the data and samples collected to further inform our understanding of the past, both human and environmental.
I saw this on my fyp

Reply

Thread

Link

nice

Reply

Thread

Link

correct me if I'm wrong but isn't she a conservative?



Either way, minding your OWN DAMN BUSINESS is free! Not every trend is for you white people! and if you can't hang JUST SAY THAT

Reply

Thread

Link

I hate when people cry on social media, reality tv (like competition shows and stuff), etc. It's such a pet peeve of mine lmfao like stop.

Reply

Thread

Link

It's intentional. They won't stop. White women have used this for centuries as a tactic to play damsel in distress and play the victim.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

In the apology video, shes balling her eyes out and like cry yells IM SORRY IF I OFFENDED YOU. I literally typed LOL and sent it to her, haha. Omg.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

this woman tried to befriend my wife online last year and several times sent selfies of herself crying. which she also posted on twitter. just what the hell, who does that?

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

it's giving inner cry tbh





Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I don't mind it on reality tv bc I know the producers egg these people on until they break.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Omg yes. I hate it so much. Like i get you want to pull the audience in, be relatable, etc.



I can't watch masterchef australia because of this. Like i don't care about how difficult your life is, and whose life is worse off and the waterworks start. I don't care about your sob story, i want to see you fucking cook.



It is no longer organic, it's a ploy to garner pity points especially when it is in EVERY SINGLE EPISODE.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

i remember liking her in the 10 things tv spinoff, but it could be nostalgia. i'm sick of seeing white tears followed by "i'm learning" 

Reply

Thread

Link

That and make it or break it were the hidden gems of abc family

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I really liked the 10 Things show. But that nostalgia isn't enough to for me to gaf about her white woman tears after she basically decided to go online and be messy for no reason.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Right? Im learning in plain 2021??? I dont buy it

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

lol I loved that show too - was the first time I was endeared by Nicholas Braun aka Cousin Greg



I'm embarrassed for her on this

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

lol

Reply

Thread

Link

yeah this isn't the kind of post you can make when you're a public figure, but the people sending her death threats for not liking a tiktok are psychotic.

Reply

Thread

Link

Its not just the video, people are calling her a racist mostly for the things she said and the responses she liked in the comments section.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Wow pic.twitter.com/6qzKG86OAl  Or Maybe We Can Just Be Silent... (@killafran) July 12, 2021



bad day for "crying" white women bad day for "crying" white women

Reply

Thread

Link

what in the everloving fuck

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

This shit was unhinged and then the VS manager not even calling security?!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

That's what pisses me off. They just let her cry it out like a baby. Like, security, take her the fuck out or ban her. Stupid customers telling the victim to leave when the white girl should have gotten her ass kicked out. And VS just letting it all happen in a matter of minutes when we all know white girl could have gotten kicked out in seconds. I hope the recorder made a complaint or the store got shit for not handling this at all

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Because shes white. Thats why. Shes causing a scene and making everyone uncomfortable and attacked a woman and youre just allowing her to behave that way?!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

yeah that was sketchy I kept waiting for that and yet....

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

They called security, they just took a long time to come (and did nothing when they did show up). idk if I can blame them for not stepping in between that, they're not trained for that.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

uh

what

fuck off



how tf she retained composure is beyond me

i'd be in jail

cracker'd be toast

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

of course that middle aged mom tried to get involved at the end of the first video when she had no clue what was going on! I feel bad for the mall employees who have to physically put them selves in between that lady and the woman recording her. This is the best example of how white women can be so dangerous.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

And that fucking white lady telling the Black woman to get away from her. Disgusting.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

demonic tbh

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Not the woman yelling "get her away from me!" while walking *towards* the person recording.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Jfc

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

"Get her away from me" as she aggressively rushes towards the woman holding the camera and none of that is enough to call security?

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Over there vibrating like a fucking child having a temper tantrum and then screaming get away as she chased the woman. Shes got some divine patience because I would be really giving that woman something to cry about

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

The fucking people not saying shit and then nobody calling security!! Oh my fucking god! If this had been anyone that isnt white, you best believe theyd call security the nanosecond shit happened! Fuck!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Not the fellow white demon telling the recorder to get away from the exorcist. White people are proof of hell is real and seeping into the world.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

that racist demon shouldve been removed from the store the moment she hit the floor screaming? thats what happens to the children who start pulling that shit in store

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Whew I saw this on my fyp a while ago and was at loss for words. A couple of things!



If this lady wasnt white you know security would have sprinted there and had her contained and the cops would most definitely be called. The fact that nobody really reacted to the woman literally screaming like a child is insane to me, its like suddenly people become polite and mind their business when its a white person acting horrible. And to that mom who inserted herself and told the victim to walk awhile when the Karen is literally standing right next to her hyperventilating wow just wow.



I bet the womans family is going to come out with a statement saying the women suffers from mental illness and accuse the woman recording of taking advantage of someone in a bad state of mine. 





Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

What is even the protocol for dealing with someone like that as the employee?

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Was the calm voice telling her to stop recording in the second video from the black staff member? Jesus. This is disgusting. An unhinged white person can be the aggressor and still draw sympathy because black people are supposed to be dangerous or something? Fuck the people at this store and whatever kind of company culture they have that says they need to cater to white people at all costs.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

OH MY GOD FKJDSKLFJ

this cannot be real but i'm not surprised lmfao unhinged creatures

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I don't understand why no one tries to help. I can't imagine not at least telling this woman to fuck off.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

ummm WTF. when i worked in retail we kicked people out for way less than this woman, and if they didnt leave then it was a police call. her outburst makes her a danger to society, house arrest tbh.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

If she wasnt recording her, that yt woman would have attacked her and it blamed the whole thing on her. I bet if the Black woman would have started it, they would have called security. 



Let that racist trash scream and cry on the floor, they should have called security. And fuck that other yt woman too, telling her to leave her alone.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I feel like a video like this should be enough to bar you from being allowed to vote or having a licence even tbh. Adults throwing tantrums and writhing around on the floor in public is just some next level batshittery that should not be tolerated. Like wtf is wrong with people?

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

then right after does this. pic.twitter.com/TKpEWrYnBT  amanda (@amndclng) July 13, 2021



She called the police, man fuck this POS. She called the police, man fuck this POS.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Did yall see the cops came and told THE BLACK WOMAN that she needed to leave. That queen said she wasnt leaving, she was attacked and she still had two more stores to go to. I know thats right!

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

HOLYYYYYY

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

white women are dangerous

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

omfg it's like bingo

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

what in the fuck is wrong with these people

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

this is one of the most insane things i've ever seen

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

GET HER AWAY FROM ME she shrieks as she literally chases the woman in question lmao

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

So fucking unreal omg. Lmaooo

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Wtf? People like this should be forced to stay at home. Screeching "keep her away from me" while chasing the same person through the entire store while no one does anything to help the situation.





Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

gofundme from the woman who was assaulted - https://t.co/SffpVKpqMq   (@doomerboyfriend) July 13, 2021



the woman who was harassed is trying to set up funds to get a lawyer the woman who was harassed is trying to set up funds to get a lawyer

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Abigail Elphick is her name. Curse her!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Twitter and TikTok are on it. Abigail Elphick from NJ, she's a TA and her mother is a cop.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

there's more videos on YouTube (username: mama africa muslimah)



in the police report all that woman cared about was not being filmed because she didnt wanna lose her job and apartment. enjoy unemployment!



the cops show up and all of a sudden have absolutely no jurisdiction inside of a mall...like wtf kinda lie



then the lady attacked goes down to the police station to file a complaint against the officers who didn't wanna help her and the cop in charge is being hostile to her.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

jesus christ!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

this one is truly insane

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

jfc this is unhinged

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

what the actual fuck? this is insane

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Apparently she also made some video mocking Asian people and didnt apologize when called out BUT shes LEARNING EVERYDAY, OKAY?!?! 



Sorry ass heffa

Reply

Thread

Link

WE DON'T ALLOW ROOM FOR WHITE PEOPLE TO LEARN TO NOT BE RACIST IN THE EXPENSE OF BLACK AND POC'S FEELINGS.



Girl bye.

Reply

Thread

Link

The first 3 seconds already told me shes stuck in a part of 2013 where "omg wtf are those n-words doing xDDD" was peak humour and cultural commentary, i think im good



I dont even remember her character's name...Moze?

Reply

Thread

Link

Lmao it's always after some racist bullshit that people need to take a break, huh? Nevermind the actual poc that you're naming and shaming in your little reply



Also, gotta love the classic "I'm sorry if you were offended"

Reply

Thread

Link

who has an apology bingo card?



anyway I think tiktok algorithm still hasn't calibrated for me yet. it's annoying af but it didn't show me this so I guess it's learning too

Reply

Thread

Link

Like, what was the point of this? What did she think was going to happen?

Reply

Thread

Link
UNDER THE JAIL FOR HIM

Reply

Thread

Link

Cory in the Big House coming soon to Disney plus! (sorry someone had to say it)



But seriously I loved thats so raven as a kid and I already struggle to rewatch with Orlando brown being  that. This wont help



Edited at 2021-07-13 04:12 am (UTC)

Reply

Thread

Link

Disgusting. He ought be in jail by now

Reply

Thread

Link

Does he think he won't have to deal with this if he doesn't go to court? That's how you make it soooo much worse.



And in this case that's fine with me.

Reply

Thread

Link

He didn't think this through. Better surrender to the authorities because this makes it worse

Reply

Thread

Link

Dude, you cannot run forever. And the longer you wait before turning yourself in, the worse it'll be.

Reply

Thread

Link

13 years old??? A monster.

Reply

Thread

Link

He met her when she was 4 and has been communicating with her that whole time because she was interested in acting. At one point he tried to get her to move in with him and his girlfriend. It's horrifying.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

He and Drake Bell both have such a sinister look to them. Hope they rot!

Reply

Thread

Link

wtf? why are they using a childhood photo of him in the tweet? that's sick



Reply

Thread

Link

What the fuck? Whats his endgame here? Dont he know the cops will shoot his ass?

Reply

Thread

Link

His lawyer must be pissed.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Oh for sure. Id say hes an idiot but. Well.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

holy shit

Reply

Thread

Link

This is exactly how my coworker and manager got arrested. They're probably gonna undercover cop arrest him. What a low life, him and Drake.



Edited at 2021-07-13 05:33 am (UTC)

Reply

Thread

Link

Wtf is he doing in my county???

Reply

Thread

Link

Sick fuck

Reply

Thread

Link

Unless hes fleeing (or already fled) the country how exactly does he think this will play out well for him?

Reply

Thread

Link

trash

Reply

Thread

Link

not even death is enough for anyone who preys on children

Reply

Thread

Link

EW WHY ugh hes terrible and disgusting

Reply

Thread

Link
Isn't MGK a racist?

Reply

Thread

Link

Yes, but we're supposed to be blinded by Megan's beauty/cool girl image and pretend it's not an issue 

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Isn't Megan herself one of those messy "I'm 1/257 Cherokee" type of person. Remember when her insta name was Native Tiger or whatever...

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Yup and has a black daughter

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I'm too afraid to mess with that shit. Did she take them before getting with him? It'd certainly explain her being attracted to that lab specimen with legs.

Reply

Thread

Link

Your man is a racist pos 

Reply

Thread

Link

About 10 years ago my friend used to take ayahuasca a couple of times a year and it was very helpful for her, but she made me promise that I'd never take it. I'm not sure if she didn't think that I was mentally fit for it or that I was just too young (I was in my late 20s and she was in her early 40s). But I never did it and I'm fine with that.



However, I will be doing mushrooms for the first time in years soon. My cousin grows them and I trust him. I've never had a bad mushroom trip, so hopefully, the streak will continue.

Reply

Thread

Link

I really want to try shrooms but have horrible anxiety so I'm too nervous to!

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Mushrooms are great!!! They taste like crap though.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

the nice thing about mushrooms is you can take a small amount to test the waters

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

If you do try them just make sure you take them someplace where you feel comfortable. Like I'll take them at home or a friend's place but I wouldn't take them and go to a bar or something.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I looooove mushrooms. I also have anxiety disorder and they make me feel so good. Just make sure you're in an environment where you feel completely safe and that should put you in the right headspace.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Just try to steer your thoughts when you notice them taking a sharp left. Also, I dont know if you watch broad city but they do an episode on that and wanda Sykes tells them to remember "this too shall pass" and I kept remembering that and it helps haha. Music also helps a lot.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Have some pepto bismol on hand cause they can give you a stomachache. I have to say, I've tried shrooms a few times and every time I feel so fucking calm and at peace with the universe. It's absolutely amazing and I wish I felt like that more often.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I would try it. All the people I know that have tried have said that it was a very difficult and intense trip but that it gave them insight on their lives.

Ive tried shrooms and acid, they were fun. I kinda want to have some sometime near now



Edited at 2021-07-13 04:12 pm (UTC)

Reply

Thread

Link

same. I wouldn't expect it to be easy but I would love the insight of the experience.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I think the risks are too high there is a religious center that offers it in my city and some people died, became schizophrenic and one dude even killed his own mom :(

It was a native Brazilian ritual, but now it became a practice in Christian religions . Recently women came forward with stories about how it was used by religious leaders for sexual assault.



Edited at 2021-07-14 04:35 pm (UTC)

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

The fact that she divulges that MGK had never been in a relationship before... the man is 31 years old...



I die at the fact that she turns off her IG comments on every post with him.



Edited at 2021-07-13 04:13 pm (UTC)

Reply

Thread

Link

REALLY? They were at the McGreggor UFC fight and were shown on screen-- it was one of the first times I've seen them together in video and I would have sworn he is like 23 yrs old. That's nuts!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

there's nothing wrong with never having been in a relationship into your 30s



- signed, a 32 y.o who's never been in a relationship

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Are you a woman?

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Im willing to bet that your reason for never having been in a relationship is 100% not the same reason hes avoided relationships.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I totally agree for straight women and gay men, because of how exhausting men are, but a straight man who regularly has sex with women but has never had a relationship is a red flag imo.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

he has a kid

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

The fact that she divulges that MGK had never been in a relationship before... the man is 31 years old...



Yeah, it's the type of thing that when said about a woman I just shrug and assume she has standards, but if it's about a man it's like he's either a major fuckboy and/or not a single woman was desperate enough to put up with his bullshit.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Didnt he date amber rose for awhile tho

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Hasnt she only just called out that fucked up Kimmel interview, regarding Bay sexualising her when she was 15?



Shes back on his show?

Reply

Thread

Link

"So it's your own version of hell, and I was definitely there."



and the upside is.....

Reply

Thread

Link

mte, like, no thank you then!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Yeah, nope. Never. Not even once.



I just know I will have a psychotic break and never return.



I tried salvia once and hated that shit. Also jimson weed tea. Fuck that even more.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

the upside is the intense insight you may bring back from any trip, whether negative or positive. similar to many psychedelics

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

And despite all that, it still didn't give her enough clarity to leave MGK



I think I might consider it if I feel so stuck as to not be able to function or if I really felt like I needed a serious change. It scares me a lot though, not having full control of my mind, so I would have to be desperate to even consider it.

Reply

Thread

Link

She's having fun. If she marries him then it's no bueno. But fucking some dumb dick? Eh. Treat yourself.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Lmaooo all these downvotes!! Like ontders havent talked about their toxic fwb relationships smh!!

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I tried acid once and it was overall okay but there was about 2 hours where I felt so stuck and that time was not passing. I had a hard time with that. Cant imagine being stuck in hell.

Reply

Thread

Link

Yeah I've been down to try stronger hallucinogenics but this scares me. I had a really bad time once with a super high dose of edibles and I started to freak out thinking it would never end. That's such a bad feeling.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

she and her violently racist pos bf can remain in hell for eternity

Reply

Thread

Link

That's a stone cold bummer of a trip, doooood.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Can't say this description compels me to try it.

Reply

Thread

Link

ok, megan.



i'd like to try psychedelics (mushrooms and acid). but i am a boring and wouldn't even know how to procure it. i've heard about ego death a bunch and i want it.

Reply

Thread

Link

are you in the US? states are starting to legalize mushrooms and you can buy them legally. maybe one day you could do that

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Try microdosing

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link
In celebration of Kelly Clarkson's new daytime talkshow success, and her defeat of Evil Degenerate starting in 2022, it's time to take a deep dive into all of her best "Kellyoke" covers starting with the 1960's!Starting with none other than the great Tinta Turnter's debut single, Kelly puts her own soul into "A Fool In Love" and sets the stage on fire. The single peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot R&B Sides, and peaked at No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100. The record became Tina's first million-seller. Women supporting women! We love to see it.Kelly puts her own jazzy spin on this Elvis hit, melting your ears with her velvet voice. The melody is based on "Plaisir d'amour", a popular French love song composed in 1784 by Jean-Paul-Egide Martini. The song was initially written from the perspective of a woman. Give up it to Kelly for taking it back for the girls (and the gays)!One of the Miracles' most covered tunes, this million-selling song received a 1998 Grammy Hall of Fame Award. It has also been selected as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. Only a superstar million-seller like Kelly should be allowed to cover such a beast of a hit!Are you Redd-ing for another amazing cover from Kelly? "These Arms of Mine" peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard R&B singles chart and sold over 800,000 copies. The song was included on several soundtracks, including The Boat That Rocked, Perfect Stranger, in the Lost episode "S.O.S.", Glory Road, EDtv, Road House, The Sapphires and Dirty Dancing. Get that money, Ottis!There's just something about Kelly covering country, and there's something extra special when it's Patsy Cline. "She's Got You" immediately went to No. 1 on the Hot C&W Sides country chart, and to No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. I wouldn't mind a full album of Patsy covers from Kelly! How about you?Written by the amazing Carole King, "One Fine Day" became a popular hit in the summer of 1963 and reached the top five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The track has made numerous soundtrack appearances including Desperately Seeking Susan (the song's classic piano riff opens the film). You know what I'm desperately seeking? More incredible covers from Kelly!Arguably Kelly'scover that pushed her to the top of the American Idol heap, this is one of Aretha's most recognizable masterpieces. Another hit written by Carole King, the song peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard 100. The track has since been covered by Peggy Lee, Rod Stewart (huh?), and Celine Dion, but this is Kelly's time! Naturally.Transformed from a 60's rock anthem, to a soulful ballad in the midst of Covid, Kelly soothes us with only a piano and her silky voice. The song is an appeal for peace and brotherhood, presenting the polarity of love versus fear, and the choice to be made between them. The perfect cover for the perfect time. Well done, Kelly.A beautiful tribute to Martin Luther King Jr., Kelly takes us up to the mountain in honor of black lives. This song wasn't released in the 60's, but it didn't feel right not to include it in this list full of incredible black artists that paved the way for so many more. The song touches upon emotions surrounding MLK's famous 1968 "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech, given the day before his assassination.An appropriate ending to Kelly's journey through the 60's, "My Way" is set to the music of the French song "Comme d'habitude". The song was a success for many other performers like Jocelyne, Elvis Presley, and Sid Vicious. Sinatra's version spent 75 weeks in the UK Top 40, making it 2nd place in the all-time ranking. Thanks for doing things your way, Kelly! Source: 1
"The professionalization of the biomass industry is a problem that needs attention."--Bas Eickhout, Dutch politician and member of the European Parliament.

When it comes to the global shift to low-carbon energy sources, Europe has traditionally been viewed as the world leader while the United States has frequently been regarded as an important, albeit grudging, participant. Over the past half-decade, China has also improved its stock in the fast-growing market through a plethora of heavy investments, especially in solar and wind.

For the most part, those views appear merited: Renewables rose to generate 38% of Europe's electricity in 2020 (compared to 34.6% in 2019), marking the first time renewables overtook fossil-fired generation, which fell to 37%. In contrast, the IEA estimates that natural gas and coal generated a combined 61% of electricity in the United States in 2020, with renewables accounting for just 20%.

Earlier this year, the EU earned extra bragging rights after renewable energy surpassed the use of fossil fuels on the continent for the first time in history.

In contrast, the United States' standing in the energy transition cycle took a significant hit after former president Donald Trump fulfilled a key campaign pledge by withdrawing the United States from the Paris climate agreement, joining the likes of Syria and Nicaragua as the only countries not party to the agreement.

But maybe Europe is not as clean as it has made the world believeand the United States is not as dirty.

In 2009, the European Union issued a Renewable Energy Directive (RED), pledging to curb greenhouse gas emissions and urging its member states to shift from fossil fuels to renewables. But the fine print provided a major loophole: the EU classified biomass as a renewable energy source, on par with wind and solar power.

Following the directive, EU governments have been incentivizing energy providers to burn biomass instead of coal, driving up huge demand for wood.

In fact, the EU has been importing so much biomass from the American South that it has emerged as Europe's primary source of biomass imports.

It turns out that for more than a decade, European power plants have merely been reducing their carbon footprint on paper by outsourcing their footprint to the United States.

United Nations Loophole

Back in 1996, the United Nations (UN) devised a method to measure global carbon emissions. In a bid to simplify the process and avoid double counting, UN scientists suggested that biomass emissions should be calculated where the trees are cut down, not where the wood pellets are burned.

The UN adopted this methodology in its Renewable Energy Directive, allowing energy companies to burn biomass produced in the United States without having to report the emissions.

The UN was clearly more concerned about the amount of carbon we are putting out into the atmosphere regardless of the source. This source-agnostic approach has, however, been creating a lot of controversy amongst policymakers, advocates, and scientistsand now the investment community.

"I can't think of anything that harms nature more than cutting down trees and burning them," William Moomaw, professor emeritus of international environmental policy at Tufts University, has told CNN.

"It doesn't change the physical reality. A law designed to reduce emissions that in reality encourages an increase in emissions  has to be flawed," Tim Searchinger, senior research scholar at Princeton University, has told CNN, referring to Europe's directive.

According to Bas Eickhout, Dutch politician and member of the European Parliament, "The idea was to curb our addiction to fossil fuels. Biomass was an attractive option for EU countries at the time, he explained, because it was much cheaper than solar or wind power and could be "mixed in" when burning coal. But the production of biomass has become an industrial process which means something has gone fundamentally wrong. The professionalization of the biomass industry is a problem that needs attention."

Eickhout says European decision-makers "were too naive" and didn't fully consider the repercussions of importing biomass.

Following the EU loophole, 164 acres of North Carolina's state's forests are cut down by the biomass industry every day. North Carolina's Clean Energy Plan acknowledges that most of the wood pellets produced in the state are exported to Europe but does nothing to advance the state's clean energy economy. Prominent players in the trade are Drax and Enviva, which have acquired and are developing wood pellet plants in the American South.

Luckily for investors, the US clean energy landscape has just gotten a lot more competitive.

Just months after president Biden rejoined the Paris Climate accord, global energy market navel-gazer IHS Markit has ranked the United States as the most attractive market for renewable energy investments in the world.

The United States has claimed the top spot on the latest IHS Markit Global Renewables Markets Attractiveness Rankings mainly on account of sound market fundamentals and the availability of an attractivealthough phasing downsupport scheme. The survey tracks attractiveness for investment for non-hydro renewables such as solar PV, offshore wind, and onshore wind. The ranking evaluates each country on the basis of seven subcategories that include market fundamentals, current policy framework, infrastructure readiness, investor friendliness, revenue risks, and return expectations, easiness to compete, and the overall opportunity size for each market.

As expected, Europe dominates the top echelons, with Germany coming in at #2, France #4, Spain #5, and the Netherlands at #9. China has been ranked the third-best market for renewable energy investors, while India is #6, Australia #7, Japan #8, and Brazil #10.

Wind and solar power capacity expanded rapidly in 2020, with BP Plc. (NYSE:BP) reporting in its annual Statistical Review of World Energy that the two sectors recorded a colossal 238 GW increase in installed capacity last year mostly at the expense of coal-fired generation, which fell 4.4%, easily one of its largest annual declines on record. However, BP warns that the impressive growth could merely be transitory due to the effects of the pandemic and says the world still needs "tangible, concrete differences" to meet climate targets.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
When last year BP vowed to reduce its oil and gas output by 40 percent by 2030 as it shifts to renewable energy, it came as a shock to many, pushing the company's share prices down sharply. Yet since then, pressure on Big Oil to stop doing what it does has only been growing. And Big Oil is responding.

The Houston Chronicle's Paul Takahashi in a recent article detailed supermajors positioning to effectively move away from their core business and into low-carbon energy. Takahashi noted several examples of Big Oil partnering with majors from other industries to effectively reduce these other industries' consumption of Big Oil's principal products: fuels.

One such example was Totalrecently renamed TotalEnergiespartnering with BP and Uber to speed up the adoption of electric vehicles. TotalEnergies already has a growing footprint in EV charging infrastructure, as does BP. And they have a solid reason for doing so: European governments are dead set on achieving their net-zero goals.

Just last week, the European Commission said that it planned to propose that internal combustion engine cars be phased out beginning 2035 EU-wide. Before that, the EC plan envisages a reduction in vehicle emissions by 65 percent by 2030.

"There's no way around it, reaching net-zero by 2050 means phasing out combustion vehicle sales by 2035 at the latest," Bloomberg quoted Colin McKerracher, BloombergNEF's head of advance transport research, as saying.

This would mean Big Oil would lose a solid chunk of its biggest marketthat for fuels, meaning, in turn, they would need to find a replacement. EVs are one logical replacement for fuel sales, so no wonder Europe's Big Oil majors have been quite active in building a presence in charging infrastructure.

Pressure is not coming only from governments. Asset managers are getting increasingly restless about emissions and ESG investments.

Earlier this month, asset management firms worth a combined $6 trillion in client assets called for a global carbon price as a way of accelerating the energy transition. They did not stop there, either. The group, which calls itself The Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance, also said the cost of carbon emissions needed to treble by 2030 if we are to reach global climate change targets.

What this effectively means for Big Oil is that their client pool will shrink considerably over the next couple of decades, assuming the transition drive continues. If carbon costs rise, more and more companies will opt for low-carbon energy alternatives to fossil fuels, especially with governments subsidizing these. With the timeframes cited by various energy transition proponents, Big Oil doesn't really have much time. So it is moving away from being Big Oil and into Big Energy territory.

Some are venturing into alternative fuels. The Chron's Takahashi noted Chevron's partnership with Toyota in developing transport and storage systems for hydrogen-powered cars. The partnership, according to the two companies' press release, aimed to "catalyze and lead the development of commercially viable, large-scale businesses in hydrogen, with the goal to advance a functional, thriving global hydrogen economy."

These partnerships and shifts come not a moment too soon. Reuters reported last week that even central banks are joining the ESG investment chorus. Citing a survey by Invesco, the report said a third of central banks and sovereign wealth funds have started paying more attention to environmental, social, and governance investment priorities during the past year. More than half had specific ESG policies, up from 44 percent a year earlier.

Related: Natural Gas Prices Still Have Room To Run

Then, of course, there was the unprecedented ruling of a Dutch court against Shell, which obliged the company to reduce its carbon emissions by 45 percent within ten years. This will effectively force the supermajor to move from Big Oil to Big Energy. More court cases like that are not out of the question, either.

Some see this shift as an opportunity for the industry, however. An Oilman magazine article penned by Benjamin Beberness listed the opportunities that the energy transition is opening up to oil and gas companies, and they are taking advantage of this. These include entering solar and wind power through state acquisitions in already existing businesses and hydrogen production and distribution. Power utilities are also fair game for oil and gas companies that want to survive in a shifting energy world.

Be that as it may, Big Oil will hardly give up on the business that gave it its name entirely, even in 2050.

"As people understand we're going to be in the hydrocarbons business for decades to come, that concern has gone away a little bit," BP's Bernard Looney said in response to investor criticism the company might miss on the oil price rally because of its production cut plans.

"We want to run the best hydrocarbons business possible. We don't want to run the biggest hydrocarbons business possible," Looney clarified, as quoted by Reuters last month. Chances are that if the green transition drive continues at current rates, this business will by 2050 be only a small portion of BP's overall business. The same might be true for its peers.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
An area of thawing permafrost is threatening a stretch of a major Alaskan pipeline as the structure experiences damages from the changing weather.

An 810-foot section of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline is under threat as the braces of the structure have begun to tilt and bend as the slope above it is slowly thawing. The Alaska Department of Natural Resources is responding to the hazard by installing 100 thermosyphon tubes over 120 days to pull heat out of permafrost and reenforce the slope to hopefully avoid major damage.

This is the first instance of slope creep threatening the huge pipeline since its construction in 1977, according to local records.

The permafrost found beneath around 85 percent of Alaska has begun to melt in recent years because of rising temperatures in the region due to climate change. This will keep happening as temperatures are expected to continue to rise, meaning this will become a common threat to several different types of infrastructure in the state. Since the mid-20th Century Alaska has been warming twice as quickly as the global average, meaning energy and construction companies will have to take the threat seriously.

This is no new worry, as experts have been warning about building in permafrost prone areas for a long time. In China, we are seeing roads form large cracks as permafrost thaws. According to recent studies, steel, concrete and tarmac structures could be under significant threat over the next hundred years as temperatures rise and thawing permafrost becomes commonplace.

As well as roads and buildings affecting living conditions in these regions, pipelines in areas of permafrost pose a much larger threat due to the potential for oil spills. Thawing frozen ground under Russia, Canada, China and the United States has been highlighted as a likely challenge to oil and gas infrastructure for around the last decade.

In 2012, the UNEP released a report on the threat, highlighting the 1994 Vozei pipeline failure in Northern Russia, which resulted in the spilling of 160,000 tonnes of oil. In addition, the thawing of large areas of permafrost could mean the release of substantial amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, further adding to the threat of climate change.

Related: Huge Dividend Cripples Worlds Largest Oil Company



Heading forward, oil and gas companies planning to construct or continue operations in permafrost regions must plan for the thawing upon construction, putting safeguards in place to ensure the structure remains stable.

However, when it comes to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, the companies involved are adamant that the giant tube was well-prepared for permafrost upon its construction. Michelle Egan, a spokeswoman for Alyeska, an association of oil companies stated, permafrost changes were anticipated during the original design. The construction mode and method of pipe support are designed to maintain the integrity of the pipeline and minimize impacts to the environment.

There are currently 124,000 thermosyphons dispersed along the pipeline, as a precaution, aimed at keeping the ground frozen and the structures supports safe. However, the new thermosyphons installation will be the first against a looming threat rather than a safeguard, demonstrating to firms whether this is a reliable response method or not over the coming months and years.

So as Alaska battles with its permafrost, acting quickly to avoid disaster, firms across these regions must consider how to act in advance of climate change to protect major infrastructure from changes in the environment.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Chinas crude oil imports fell to some 9.77 million barrels daily last month, down 2 percent on May and the lowest monthly level since the start of the year, Reuters reported, citing customs data.

Over the first half of the year, China imported 260.66 million tons of crude, down 3 percent on the first half of 2020. The first-half figure was boosted by increased imports by independent refiners, commonly called teapots.

Since the first quarter, however, Beijing has begun cracking down on the teapots, as production of fuels both at independent refiners and state-owned majors was rising faster than demand, undermining refining margins and creating a glut.

Beijing intervened, asking state-owned oil majors to stop trading their crude oil import quotas with private refiners. The government also reduced the second batch of crude oil import quotas for private refiners by as much as 35 percent last month, to a total of 35.24 million tons.

This intervention suggests that imports may remain subdued in the next few months as well, all the more likely because of higher prices. China seems to have enough oil in storage to draw from, according to an earlier report by OilX. The energy analytics firm said that based on satellite data, crude oil in storage in China has fallen from 436 million tons in April to 414 million barrels as of the end of June.

The news about falling imports, however, will have its own effect on prices, likely negative, especially as worry about the latest variant of the coronavirus appears to be rising and weighing on oil prices.

On the flip side, OPEC+ is still trying to reach an agreement on production adjustments, and this is intensifying the price volatility. This volatility could remain heightened until last month, JP Morgan said earlier this week, while the cartel struggles to bring the UAE back in line.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Growing uncertainty over the OPEC+ agreement and warnings from the IEA of another oil price war has caused volatility in oil markets to spike.

Chart of the Week

- Rystad Energy sees U.S. crude production closing this year at 11.62 mbpd, with September-October output dropping back from the summer months.

- Despite the overall beneficial pricing environment, 2021 production is hindered by the fact that some 35-40% of shale operators have hedged their output, i.e. producing more would trigger financial losses.

- US oil production, boosted by robust drilling from Texas and New Mexico, is expected to surpass the 12mbpd mark by October 2022.

Market Movers

- Albermarle (NYSE:ALB) rose to an all-time high this week, surging past $185 per share, with other lithium producers and ETFs joining the upward trend despite there being no immediate news on the company or the broader sector.

- Saudi Aramco dropped Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) as an adviser for the sale of its gas pipeline system across Saudi Arabia, picking JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) for the role instead.

- Chinese ride-sharing firm DiDi Global (NYSE:DIDI) has continued its downfall, seeing its market cap shrink to $53 billion on Tuesday as Chinas cyberspace administration compelled domestic app stores to remove DiDis apps.

Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Growing uncertainty over the OPEC+ agreement and warnings from the IEA of another oil price war has caused volatility in oil markets to spike. Oil prices were up on Tuesday morning, however, with several analysts expecting Saudi Arabia to get its way eventually in its stand-off with the UAE.

Prospect of Saudi-UAE Deal Still Distant. Despite Russia stepping up its efforts as a diplomatic intermediary, Saudi Aramco and the UAE are still far from finding common ground on the future of OPEC+ production cuts. In its current form, this months OPEC+ production quota would get rolled into the next month unchanged, leaving markets even tighter than originally expected.

Saudi Aramco Refuses to Grant Above Term Volumes. According to Reuters reports, Saudi Aramco will supply full-term commitments to at least 5 Asian buyers in August 2021 but it will not supply any incremental volumes beyond that despite being asked to. This news would suggest that fears of OPEC countries starting another price war may be overblown.

Lull in Chinese Crude Buying Continues in June. Chinas customs data indicate another meager month of crude buying this June, with purchases averaging 9.8mbpd. Against high outright prices, Chinese refiners have opted to run down stocks built up over 2020 whilst independents had their purchasing activity hindered by import quota allowances running out.

Natural Gas Prices Forecast to Stay Elevated. All leading commodity-dealing banks have revised their US annual average gas prices upwards over the course of the year. Bank of America was the latest to do so, assuming a 3.10 $/mmBtu price for this year and $2.80/mmBtu for 2022. The US EIA still leads the bullish pack with its $3.34/mmBtu estimate.

EU to Issue 2030 Green Policy Set. The European Union will publish its first set of climate actions this Wednesday, aimed at speeding up the blocs emission-cutting efforts. Reuters reports that the first draft will propose 12 policies across four areas (energy, industry, transport and heating), including a soon-to-be-introduced jet fuel tax and a nudge to utilize more low-carbon aviation fuels.

Related: A Contrarian Investors Approach To OPECs Oil Spat

Kuwait Sees Power Demand Hit All-Time High. Kuwait became the hottest place on earth this year and it continues to record ever-higher daily power demand numbers (the latest record is 15.35 GW on the 12th of July). With associated gas not enough to cover domestic demand as OPEC+ capped output, Kuwait has been increasingly turning towards burning crude.

Guyana Reissues Tender to Market Government Crude. Guyanas government relaunched its tender to market the governments share of crude, amending the criteria so that companies like Hess Corp (NYSE:HES) or Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A), i.e. participants in the countrys upstream sector or active buyers of Liza cargoes, would not be automatically disqualified. The submission deadline is August 03.

The Pandemic Has Reined In International Piracy. The International Maritime Bureau reported that H1 2021 has seen the lowest level of piracy incidents since 1994, with 68 reported incidents over the past six months. The Gulf of Guinea continues to be the most dangerous area on earth for shippers, with 50 kidnappings and one crew fatality so far this year.

Coal Prices Spiral Out Of Control On Distorted Supply. Asian coal prices have risen to 10-year highs, with Australias 6700kc GAD Newcastle coal trading just south of the $140 per metric ton mark. Chinas continuing ban on Australian goods has compelled local producers like Glencore and BHP Billiton to fight for other Asia Pacific markets like South Korea and Japan, whilst Beijing is forced to buy increasing amounts of lower-quality Indonesian coal volumes.

US Allows LPG Exports into Venezuela. The US Treasury allowed exports of LPG into Venezuela, the first sign of sanctions easing under the Biden Administration. Venezuela used to be self-sufficient in LPG but decrepit infrastructure and declining production rates have pushed its own supplies into the ground, despite the nation still relying on it for cooking. Trading company Trafigura used to be the leading LPG supplier for Venezuela before November 2018.

Commodity Surge Triggers Shipbuilding Boom. South Koreas Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy reported that Korean shipbuilders recorded the highest number of new orders in 13 years during H1 2021, at 10.88 million compensated gross tons. The 100-LNG-vessel order from Qatar Petroleum is likely one of the largest drivers. Related: Natural Gas Prices Still Have Room To Run

Copper Refuses To Drop On Chinas State Reserve Release. Sticking to its promise of conducting a more science-guided commodities policy, China will release some of its copper stocks (20,000 mt) to ensure market stability. Yet even as several Chinese smelters have seen seasonal maintenance curbing their demand, copper prices remain elevated above $4300 per pound.

Chinese LNG Buyers Might Be Triggering An Oil Index Return. Malaysias Petronas and Chinas CNOOC have signed a 10-year supply deal which would see the former providing 2.2 mtpa LNG over a decade. The covenant accounts for the usual Asia-sourced LNG as well as potential volumes from the prospective LNG Canada project. Furthering the Brent-indexation of Malaysian LNG, all the non-Canadian LNG volumes will be pegged to the global crude benchmark.

By Josh Owens for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The share of the oil and gas industry in Russias economy declined to 15 percent in 2020, down from 19.2 percent in 2019, according to a first such assessment published by the Russian statistics agency Rosstat.

Back in 2018, this share was even higher than in 2019, at 21.1 percent, according to the statistics, which analysts say is generally in line with what they were estimating before the publication of the official Rosstat data this week.

In 2020, oil and gas generated US$219 billion (16.3 trillion Russian rubles) of Russias gross domestic product, according to estimates by Russian outlet RBC based on Russian GDP data for last year.

The Russian oil and gas industrys share of the overall GDP is generally in line with the average 15-20 percent estimate for other major oil producers, Ekaterina Grushevenko, expert at the Skolkovo energy center in Russia, told RBC.

For example, the share of oil and gas makes 8 percent of U.S. GDP, a massive 50 percent of Saudi GDP, 14 percent of Norways GDP, 13.3 percent of Kazakhstans GDP, 30 percent of the GDP of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and less than 10 percent in Canada, according to the expert.

The data published by the Russian statistics office about the share of oil and gas in Russian GDP is fully in line with our estimates, Alex Isakov, Chief Economist at VTB Capital, told the RBC outlet.

The perception in Russia is that oil and gas makes up around half of Russias GDP, but this is more likely due to the fact that fossil fuel exports account for around 50-60 percent of all Russian exports, Oleg Shibanov, finance professor at the New Economic School in Russia, told RBC.

At the end of last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the country is successfully weaning itself off oil revenues.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) launched on Tuesday the construction of the first onshore small nuclear reactor in the world, in its efforts to gain a leading position in the modular reactors market.

Construction began on the demonstration project at the Changjiang Nuclear Power Plant in the Hainan province in southern China, local publication Global Times reports.

The start of the construction for the Linglong One small nuclear reactor comes four years later than initially planned, due to delays in regulatory clearances, Reuters notes.

The small reactor was originally planned to see the start of the construction phase in 2017.

A year earlier, the Linglong One small reactor had become the first to pass a safety review from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Once completed and commissioned, the small nuclear reactor is expected to meet the annual power needs of around 526,000 households, Global Times reports, without giving a timeline for the completion.

CNNC has been developing small reactor technology for the past ten years, the outlet says.



Related: Permian To Drive U.S. Shale Production Increase In August

According to the World Nuclear Association, interest is growing in small and simpler technology to generate nuclear power, due to lower costs and the desire to provide power away from large grid systems.

Overall SMR research and development in China is very active, with vigorous competition among companies encouraging innovation, the association says, noting that the U.S., the UK, and Canada also develop and support their respective domestic small reactor technology.

In the United States, Advanced Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are a key part of the Department of Energys goal to develop safe, clean, and affordable nuclear power options, DOE says. The Department has provided support to the development of light water-cooled SMRs, which are under licensing review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and will likely be deployed in the late 2020s to early 2030s.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Local

OPPD beefs up crews; City of Omaha announces new plans to pick up large debris at curb

CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD A tree branch hangs in wires after extremely high winds hit Omaha early Saturday.

Tuesday update: The City of Omaha will begin curbside collection of large debris on Friday and continuing through July 23. Mayor Jean Stothert's office announced Tuesday morning that large limbs cut to a maximum of 6 feet in length and stacked at the curb will be collected. The city will only collect debris and not provide other assistance to property owners.

***

Frustration is growing for people heading into their fourth day without electricity and feeling overwhelmed by the jumbled logs, tree trunks and branches in their yards.

At the Omaha Public Power District, the CEO said he understands the frustration.

Javier Fernandez said OPPD is dealing with its largest power outage on record but is also restoring power at a record pace in its largest response ever to an outage.

Thirty more tree crews  about 100 people  were brought in Monday, supplementing the almost 700 people already working on the outage, he said.

We know this feels very frustrating, no doubt about it, Fernandez said, acknowledging that people have medication and food going bad for lack of refrigeration.

As of Monday, the citys plan to limit curbside collection of storm debris to one week had not changed. Officials said they had no plans to follow Omahas 1997 playbook and provide curbside pickup of large limbs and trunks. But starting Monday, the city did begin providing curbside pickup of small tree debris.

For this week only, residents can supplement their trash carts with yard waste bags and bundles of small limbs for pickup. People should expect the work to delay overall trash pickup.

Hurricane-force winds caused more Omaha-area power outages than any storm in recent decades The 188,000 Omaha Public Power District customers who lost power this weekend topped the 156,000 who were left without electricity after a 2008 storm. As of 7 a.m., 40,000 still did not have power.

At Al Veys Park on Monday, Todd Frans scoffed at the citys curbside pickup offer, as branches must be bundled into 4-feet sections that weigh no more than 40 pounds or gathered into paper sacks or trash bins.

People dont have help, he said. So I dont know how theyre gonna (fare) without the citys more involvement. The city did it once before. ... They come by and pick up the big stuff. They should have this the same way.

At OPPD, Fernandez said downed tree limbs and difficult access slowed work Monday. He said by the end of the day, the utility was likely to complete repairs for about 90% of the 188,000 customers who lost power. The goal had been 95% restoration.

OPPD still hopes to approach its goal of restoring 99% of outages by midnight Tuesday, he said.

About 2,000 customers will take longer, in part because some of those customers will need to arrange for a private electrician to make repairs before OPPD can connect power lines.

As of 10 p.m. Monday, about 28,500 customers remained without power.

Fernandez said the utility is documenting its work so that it can submit claims as part of an effort to earn disaster aid. Additionally, he said he has asked staff at OPPD to look for savings to lessen the financial hit from this outage.

MUD suspends disconnections for two weeks after Omaha windstorm Customers are still responsible for the gas and water they use, but MUD will work with customers on payment options.

Meanwhile, Jim Theiler, Omahas assistant director for environmental services in the Public Works Department, said the city will review later this week whether to extend yard waste pickup.

Were going to assess as the week goes on if theres a need to go further than one week, he said.

Many residents have tree trunks sitting in their driveways and yards that are larger than the city-imposed size limit for what FCC Environmental Services will collect. Some people have said they dont have the ability to haul such debris to a drop-off site, nor to pay a company to do so.

Theiler and Matt Kalcevich, the citys director of parks, recreation and public property, provided updates Monday at a press conference.

Mayor Jean Stothert had a prior commitment, according to her spokeswoman.

The city is asking people to put as much debris into their 96-gallon carts as possible before setting items at the curb. The automated arms on FCCs trucks that pick up trash and recycling carts each week arent designed for other items, so FCC employees are manually loading brown bags and bundles into carts before lifting them into the truck. That extra work, and the extra material making its way into garbage trucks, is what may cause collection delays this week, the city said.

Storm debris, food pantry resources available as Omahans continue recovery from weekend storm The Salvation Army-Omaha is providing emergency food pantry assistance to those affected by the storms.

Workers from the citys Street Maintenance Division were expected to assist FCC employees starting Tuesday, Theiler said.

Were trying to get these things done efficiently, he said.

Any debris thats being set at the curb or placed in carts is going to the landfill, Theiler said. Debris at the drop-off sites will be mulched, Kalcevich said.

Elmwood Park and its large, older trees likely sustained the worst damage of any city park, Kalcevich said. It remained closed to the public Monday. Kalcevich said it could be weeks before the city completes an assessment of the park and takes action to put things in the best spot possible.

Other parks and facilities might be closed temporarily if city crews cant address problems quickly enough. Those decisions will be made with the safety of park guests in mind, Kalcevich said.

Elmwood among numerous Omaha parks hit with extensive tree damage Elmwood Park is closed because of tree damage. Omaha Parks Director Matt Kalcevich said the city is assessing other parks to determine how bad the damage is and if it needs to close parts of them.

He encouraged people to check local news sources and the citys website and social media accounts for updated information.

With as many parks as we have, its going to take a while to reach all of them to ensure that weve taken care of any of the immediate danger issues, Kalcevich said.

World-Herald Staff Writer Alia Conley contributed to this report.

2 Omaha debris drop-off sites to close Monday; 4 sites to remain open through Saturday Two of Omaha's storm debris drop-off sites are at full capacity and will close at 2 p.m. Monday. The remaining four sites have plenty of capacity and will remain open through Saturday, the city said.

Photos: Storms leave swath of damage across Omaha Close

Related
The Omaha Community Playhouse is making a major change when it launches its 97th season in August: Performers and full-time backstage crew members will be paid for their work.

The theater has traditionally relied on volunteer talent for its plays and musicals, which often are as polished as shows featuring professionals. Now cast and crew will be compensated as independent contractors, Playhouse Executive Director Katie Broman said.

The amount will vary depending on whether youre an actor or crew member, and the number of performances for each show. Actors will be paid $725 for one upcoming play, for example. People younger than 19 wont be eligible.

A recent focus on inclusion and diversity in the theater world was among the factors that prompted the move, which has been on the table for some time.

We have been discussing it for a while, but I will say that diversity and pay equity moved up the list of reasons in the past year or so, Broman said. I have always thought that theater at its core is a very inclusive art form. But really, the only way anybody can participate is if they can afford to participate.

Compensation could make it easier to afford transportation, babysitting or other expenses involved in auditioning for and performing in plays and musicals.
Some 65.6% of Nebraskans 18 or older have received at least one shot of vaccine, according to CDC data. But the pace of vaccination has slowed significantly. The state ranks about average nationally based on its one-shot rate.

In Douglas County, 51.1% of all residents are fully vaccinated, and 64.7% of those 18 and older are fully immunized. Almost 47.3% of residents in the Sarpy/Cass Health Departments jurisdiction are fully vaccinated.

Rupp said all the data hes seen indicate that the vaccines do a good job of protecting against infection with the delta variant and are very effective at preventing hospitalization and death.

For those who have been hesitant in the past, Rupp said, now is a good time to reconsider.

You are up against a virus now that is faster and fitter, and its going to find those pockets in our population that have forgone vaccine, he said.

That includes those who are young and healthy. While theyre still less likely to have severe disease, he said, any hospitalizations that do occur among that group now are essentially preventable, he said.
His visit served the larger purpose of stoking cultural appreciation  and the ongoing effort by local Italian-American groups to establish a sister city connection with the Sicilian town of Carlentini.

Carlentini is the place from which the majority of Omahas Italians came. Its about 50 miles from the mountain town of Limina, where Cavalieris grandfather, Agatino Alibrandi, emigrated from in 1921 on his way to New York.

The movies narrative, scenery, family and cultural connections resonated with the locals, many of whom were in tears as they watched the main character set off to Limina to fulfill his dying mothers wish to be buried alongside her father.

The journey and movie-making stirred emotions and led to discoveries that changed Cavalieris own life and career. He became so invested and engaged with the people and characters in his movie that he is writing a related TV series and continues to return to his ancestral land and pursue projects about his heritage.

My message is clear: Never forget your roots, where you came from and the struggles of your ancestors, Cavalieri said.
How is it that we can now look back at an election on an amendment that has passed and decide that it was invalid? Judge Brent Powell said.

Hatfield has said lawmakers only option to block Medicaid expansion is to defund the entire Medicaid program.

The Attorney General's Office in court documents urged Supreme Court judges to overturn a decision issued just last year that forced the state to pay Planned Parenthood as a way to justify lawmakers' ability to limit Medicaid funding to only some of those who are eligible.

In the 2020 decision, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that lawmakers overstepped their authority by using a budget bill to try to strip all government funding from Planned Parenthood. Judges said Missouri's Constitution prohibits lawmakers from using the budget to create policy.

Undoing that decision would clear the way for lawmakers to block Medicaid expansion without sacrificing the entire Medicaid program, the Attorney General's Office wrote in court filings.
Today is Monday, July 12, 2021. Let's get caught up.

Here's what you should know today: Pfizer will meet with U.S. officials today to discuss authorization of a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine; California, West broil and burn in relentless heat and drought; the Milwaukee Bucks dominated Game 3 to cut the Phoenix Suns' series lead to 2-1.

Keep scrolling for today's top stories, this date in history and celebrity birthdays.

TOP STORIES

Pfizer to discuss COVID-19 vaccine booster with US officials

WASHINGTON (AP)  Pfizer says it plans to meet with top U.S. health officials Monday to discuss the drugmakers request for federal authorization of a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine as President Joe Bidens chief medical adviser acknowledged that "it is entirely conceivable, maybe likely that booster shots will be needed.

The company said it was scheduled to have the meeting with the Food and Drug Administration and other officials Monday, days after Pfizer asserted that booster shots would be needed within 12 months.
ROME (AP)  Declaring Venice's waterways a national monument, Italy is banning mammoth cruise liners from sailing into the lagoon city, which risked being declared an imperiled world heritage site by the United Nations within days.

Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said the ban was urgently adopted at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday and will take effect Aug. 1. It applies to the lagoon basin near St. Marks Square and the Giudecca Canal, which is a major marine artery in Venice.

Franceschini said the government decided to act fast to avoid the concrete risk that the U.N. culture agency UNESCO would add Venice to its list of world heritage in danger after it meets later this week in Beijing.

The Cabinet decree also "establishes an unbreakable principle, by declaring the urban waterways of St. Mark's Basin, St. Mark's Canal and the Giudecca Canal a national monument,'' the minister added.

Before the coronavirus pandemic severely curtailed international travel, cruise ships discharging thousands of day-trippers overwhelmed Venice and its delicate marine environment. Environmentalists and cultural heritage have battled for decades with business interests, since the cruise industry is a major source of revenue for the city.
In a sign of hard times for traditional free speech values, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch has added his voice to that of Justice Clarence Thomas in calling for a re-examination of the landmark 1964 precedent of New York Times v. Sullivan  the case that makes it extremely difficult for public figures to win libel suits.

Thomas view, first expressed in 2019, was that the press protections established by Sullivan violated the original intent of the First Amendment. It was inconsistent with his own free speech jurisprudence, and was therefore unlikely to garner support from other justices.

Gorsuchs recent opinion, in contrast, focused on the up-to-the-minute problem of misinformation in the age of social media. Gorsuchs concerns arent trivial or ideological. He quoted a 28-year-old essay in support of them written by his Supreme Court colleague Elena Kagan when she was a law professor.

Gorsuchs opinion raises at least the possibility that other justices might be open to rethinking the question of public figure libel.
UNO demonstrates impressive academic ambition and achievement, as shown by nationally respected programs such as public administration, criminology, biomechanics and, recently, counterterrorism. The university has made community engagement one of its central priorities. UNO partners with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in providing innovative engineering/technology programs at the Peter Kiewit Institute, so its important to keep relations with UNL at PKI on a positive, efficient track.

Li is a native of Hong Kong who expresses strong gratitude for the educational opportunities our country provided her. As the dean and a professor of finance at the College of Business at Florida International University in Miami, she showed strong leadership on issues of importance to UNO:

The colleges four-year graduation rate improved significantly. When Li became dean in 2017, the rate was 29%. This past academic year, the rate was 71%. Boosting the retention and graduation rates is a central challenge for UNO and all NU undergraduate institutions.

The college increased its hiring of minority and female staff. Competition among higher-education institutions in this regard is intense. Progress on this score is vital for UNO.

The college achieved financial stability, and Li proved a successful fundraiser.
I am OMI | Events | People | Places | Participate

Lake Merced to OMI

The short drive from the Pacific Ocean to City College will take one from the uniformity of the Parkmerced apartment towers and Stonestown to the grand cultural mix of the "OMI" (Ocean View-Merced Heights-Ingleside) neighborhood.

The far southwest corner of the city has played host to famous horse races, horse tracks, and infamous gun duels.

Near the shoreline of Lake Merced on September 13, 1859, chief justice of the California Supreme Court, David Terry, shot United States senator David Broderick. Their duel revolved around personal grievances and North/South politics.

Three days later Broderick was dead.

This one small patch of San Francisco, so distant from downtown, is the city's center of higher public education with San Francisco State University and City College of San Francisco as its bookends. Land use issues and changing demographics make the area a constant subject of political discussion.

Geographically, Ingleside Terraces dips into this slice of the western neighborhoods, but the Terraces development is more typical of the adjoining West of Twin Peaks neighborhood.

Read more on the neighborhood: The El Rey theater on Ocean Avenue; the giant sundial in Ingleside Terraces; the San Francisco Zoo; the Ingleside branch library; the missing Ocean View Park development; and the Stoneson Brothers.

Most importantly, read about our "I am OMI" project!

Images: 1) Parkmerced apartment village, August 2001. WNP photo. 2) Ocean Avenue at Miramar - 1920s. Courtesy of Greg Gaar.

Contribute your own stories about the OMI!

This project is made possible by a grant from the CALIFORNIA COUNCIL FOR THE HUMANITIES with generous support from the San Francisco Foundation, as part of the Council's statewide California Stories Initiative. The COUNCIL is an independent non-profit organization and a state affiliate of the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES. For more information on the Council and the California Stories Initiative, visit www.californiastories.org.
A Motor rider, who with two alleged accomplices, now at large, robbed a man and his family at gunpoint at Oshiyie, near Accra, has been sentenced to 22 years imprisonment by an Accra Circuit Court.



This was after the court had found Romeo Mensah, aka Kwame and Amenye, guilty on the charge of conspiracy to rob and robbery at the end of a three-year trial.



With Michael Nii Cato, aka Mikay and Kweku Ahale, aka Kwame America, he robbed the complainant of his Honda Pilot vehicle, with registration number GW 7371- 17 valued $56,000.



Other items taken away by Mensah from Abdul- Basit Munagah, were an iPhone 7 plus, One iPod, Apple wristwatch, a gold chain valued at $3,500 and other personal effects.



The Court, presided over by Mrs Afia Owusuaa Appiah, also sentenced Alhassan Yussif and Aminu Bawa to 18 years imprisonment each on the charge of dishonestly receiving.



The court ordered that Yussif, an ex-convict serving 25 years since the year 2018 on a similar charge of robbery, to serve his serve his sentences consecutively.



This means that Yussif, after serving the 25-year jail term handed down by the Kasoa Ofaakor Court, would serve his 18-year jail term imposed by the Circuit Court in Accra.



Before sentences were passed, the Prosecution, led by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sylvester Asare, prayed the court to hand down a harsh sentence to serve as a deterrent and like-minded people.



ASP Asare suggested to the Court to keep the accused away from the good people living within the community.



Narrating the facts during the proceedings, ASP Asare said in November 2017, the Police had information that a gang of robbers had attacked and robbed Mr Munagah, an information technologist, residing at Oshiyie, near Kokrobite, in the Greater Accra Region.



The prosecutor said Amenye and his accomplices were members of a gang robbery based in both Accra and Tamale.



He said when they decided to rob Mr Manugah, Mensah trailed him to his house and planted an AK 47 rifle and locally made pistols in a nearby bush.



On November 25, 2017, Ahale, Courage Mishio Dodzi, aka Chi, and another, laid ambush around the Mr Manugahs house, near the spot where Mensah had hidden the weapons.



The Prosecution said at about 1930 hours, when Mr Manugah and his wife returned home, Cato and Ahale entered the house, attacked his security man and overpowered him.



He said Dodzi, who was masked and armed with the AK 47 rifle; and Ahale who was also masked and armed with the locally manufactured pistol, ordered Mr Manugah to surrender his vehicle and all other personal effects.



However, his resistance infuriated Dodzi, who opened fire at him but missed the fire.



Ahale also gave warning shots to scare the victim and the others around.



In the process, the robbers took away the vehicle and other items.



The Prosecution said Mensah, who had parked his motorbike at a junction, alighted and rode it, thereby leading his accomplices.



Investigations led to the arrest of the culprits and Mr Manugahs Apple watch and spectacles were retrieved from Dodzi's hide out.



The Prosecutor said Alhassan Yussif was arrested on December 31, 2017, while in possession of a stolen Toyota RAV4.



Yussif, it said, confessed that Aminu Bawa instructed him to bring the complainant's Honda Pilot to Tamale after a successful robbery operation.



On January 22, 2018, the Prosecution said, Aminu was arrested at Agbogboloshie and during interrogation, he confirmed that Yussif brought the vehicle to him in Tamale and he (Aminu) led the Police to retrieve the vehicle in his house.



In the case of Mensah, the Prosecution said, on October 2, 2018, investigations led to his arrest at Adawso in the Eastern Region, where he had gone to sell another vehicle related to a crime.



Mensah, the Prosecution said, admitted to taking part in the robbery during the interrogation, but denied the confession in his caution statement.



ASP Asare said the vehicle had since been retrieved and handed over to him.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Tunisia's government has appealed for help from citizens abroad after the authorities declared the countrys health system had "collapsed", amid a rapid surge of the Delta variant which has led to an increase in hospitalisation.



"Donate money, medical and paramedical equipment," the Tunisian embassy in France said in a post on Facebook.



A spokesperson for the Tunisian Ministry of health described the situation in hospitals as "catastrophic" - with an acute shortage of hospital beds and oxygen, as well as exhausted medical staff.



The army has been deployed to enforce a new lockdown in some parts of the country that has vaccinated only 12% of its population.



Tunisians based in Canada gathered last week in front of the parliament in Ottawa to urge the government to send coronavirus vaccines to Tunisia

Source: BBC









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The head of the World Health Organization has urged wealthy nations to focus on providing coronavirus vaccines to poorer countries, rather than booster shots for their own populations.



Tedros Adhanom Ghrebreyesus said the distribution of vaccines was still "hugely uneven", at a time when the Delta variant was threatening to cause health systems to collapse.



Dr Mike Ryan, WHO director of health emergencies, complained that rich countries were behaving selfishly - wanting to "have our cake and eat it, then make some more cake and eat that as well".

Source: BBC









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Ghanaians will soon be able to use the Ghana Card as a passport for travelling across the globe, the National Identification Authority (NIA) has said.



The NIA has begun talks with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Information Technology Agency (NITA) to get two separate certifications to make the move to the Ghana Card a reality.



Professor Kenneth Agyemang Attafuah, the executive secretary of the NIA, who announced this move during an interview with Asaase FM Monday (12 July), said: We had a beautiful meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last Friday. We are talking about the modalities for getting two things done.



One is the onboarding of the passport, data integration with the Passport Office and also even how you get to use the Ghana Card to travel. I indicated that the Ghana Card is a powerful tool. It already has an electronic passport on it which is valid for travel within West Africa.



Attafuah added: The conversation we had with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and NITA is to get the appropriate certification and International Standardisation Organisation certification and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) certification, so that the Ghana Card itself can be a valid passport for travel to Europe, the American countries.



He also revealed that his authority is poised to begin registration of Ghanaians abroad for the Ghana Card. There are about 55  Ghanaian missions abroad. We are going to work with the missions to register through the ministry to register Ghanaians abroad.



We are going to do so using staff, as we are required by the laws of these missions.



So we will train them, provide the equipment, and they will carry on with the business of registering Ghanaians abroad, Attafuah said.







Source: asaaseradio.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The Tema Regional Command of the Motor Transport and Traffic Department (MTTD) has initiated investigation into the cause of Mondays accident at the Tema Toll Booth, which claimed one life and injured four persons.



Meanwhile the suspected driver, Isaac Osei, is in police custody and the accident vehicles impounded.



According to preliminary investigations conducted by the MTTD, at about 0630 hours, Osei, 37-years, from Kasoa was driving a Howo Sino Truck with registration number GG 3564-20 loaded with gravels from Dawhenya towards Accra.



A Police Report issued by the Tema Regional MTTD Commander, Chief Superintendent William Asante, made available to the Ghana News Agency, explained that at the Toll Both the truck driver knocked down Isaac Koomson, aged 53, a cleaner at booth No. 2.



The truck also crashed the said booth, in which was Ernest Antwi, the attendant, injuring him in the process.



The report said the truck subsequently ran into the rear portion of a Nissan Saloon car, with registration number GG 5401-15 driven by Emmanuel Arthur, with two female passengers on board.



The concrete booth fell on a Mercedes Benz Actros Truck, with registration number GE7873-18, driven by Emmanuel Agyei, who had stopped to pay the toll.



The three vehicles suffered various degrees of damages with the four persons who sustained injuries rushed to the Tema General Hospital for treatment.



However, Isaac Koomson, the cleaner at the Tollbooth, died two hours later while receiving treatment at the Hospital. The body has been deposited at the mortuary pending autopsy.



As part of the preliminary investigations, police visited the injured persons at the Accident Centre of the Tema General Hospital.



The injured are: Rebecca Woode, 33, Mary Eduah, 22, who were on board the saloon car, Ernest Antwi, the attendant, and one other person whose name was not readily available.



Meanwhile Mr Kwesi Amoako-Attah, Minister of Roads and Highways, who visited the scene, expressed shock at the nature of the accident as the Tollbooth had a solid embankment to protect the staff.



The Minister, who later visited the victims at the Tema General Hospital, gave the assurance that government would stand by the families and take care of all the medical bills of the injured as well as the burial expenses of the deceased.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The Minister for Tourism, Creative Arts Culture, Hon. Mohammed Awal has appealed to hoteliers to continue to observe all COVID protocols.



According to him, the continuous observation of the COVID-19 protocols will prevent the hotels from becoming the breeding grounds for the pandemic.



Hon. Mohammed Awal made this appeal at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel Ten Years Anniversary Media Launch in Accra.



"The Coronavirus pandemic has greatly affected the hotel industry due to low patronage but as we are bouncing back, I will like to urge all hotel management to continue to observe the COVID protocols. Life and business must go on but we ought to protect ourselves against the deadly virus".



Adding her voice, the Managing Director for Movenpick Ambassador Hotel, Deborah Lee-Ann Sivertsen, noted that the hotel will continue to explore the peaceful nature of Ghana to enhance the progress of the hotel.



"Ghana is famed for its genuine and warm hospitality. Being my first time in Ghana, Ive witnessed and experienced the undeniable authenticity through the personalities of our staff, our HEARTISTS. These values are what define the Movenpick brand; demonstrating quality, reliability, care for guests, partners and fellow HEARTISTS, and doing it all with a personal touch ", she noted.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo has "decided not to accept any monies that have been allocated to be paid to her pursuant to the recommendations of the Ntiamoa-Badu Committee, as approved by Parliament".



The committee had recommended that the First Lady be paid a salary equivalent to 80% as a cabinet minister who is also a member of Parliament.



Meanwhile, Parliament has approved that the wives of the President and Vice President should receive salaries.



This recommendation has, however, generated fury and an avalanche of criticism against the ruling government.



Mahama's take



In an article on his Facebook page, former President John Mahama described as 'problematic' "an attempt to sneak the First and Second Ladies into the article 71 office holders group"



According to him, the challenge is that the spouses of the President and Vice President are not captured among Article 71 Office Holders and, therefore, there is no legal or constitutional basis for it.



"It should be noted that the recommended salaries for the Spouses in the Ntiamoa-Baidu report are captured as part of the emoluments of the President and the Vice President. This seems like an attempt to sneak the First and Second Ladies into the article 71 office holders group. This is clearly problematic".



1st Lady's decision to refund



In a statement dated 12th July 2021, the 1st Lady described the extremely negative opinions from critics which is seeking to portray her as a self-serving and self-centered woman as "distasteful.



In view of this, she "in consultation with the President of the Republic, has decided to refund all monies paid to her as allowances from the date of the Presidents assumption of office, i.e., from January 2017 to date, amounting to GH899,097.84.



"She is doing this as a purely personal decision, without prejudice to the rights of others, and not to undermine the propriety of the process undertaken by Parliament" the statement added.



Read the full statement below







Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Former Special Prosecutor Martin Alamisi Burnes Kaiser Amidu has launched fresh attacks on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, calling his public statements on the fight against corruption as highfalutin.



In his latest epistle issued on Monday, July 12, Mr Amidu drew the attention of all and sundry to the expiry of the three-year mandate of the governing board of the Office of Special Prosecutor (OSP) and asked civil society to be particularly alert in the selection of their representative.



At the time President Akufo-Addo was making his highfalutin statements he knew that he had collaborated with his dual nationality citizen friends populating a particular Civil Society Organization to rig the nomination and electoral process for selecting the representative of the Anti-Corruption Civil Society Organizations, he wrote.



The paradox is that the Anti-Corruption Civil Society Organizations knew this and had no courage to ensure that the sanctity of the nomination process of their representative was not raped.



Their attempt to rent a press to speak for them did not work because of the hypocrisy involved and the unthinkability that members of Anti-Corruption Civil Society Organizations would be afraid to fight this form of corruption themselves.



The former Attorney General stressed that he is making the facts known this time around in order to ensure that the Office performs its role without partiality.



The Office of the Special Prosecutor needs to be operationalized and established as a specialized independent anti-corruption agency and not an adjunct of the Presidency as it has been for the past eight months.



The Office will be of no use to the taxpayer if it is going to be another law enforcement and intelligence agency like the police service and other so called independent accountability agencies who every reasonable and rational Ghanaian knows are tied to the apron strings of the rhetorical President Nana Akufo Addo and The Family.









Source: 3news.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The Second Lady of the Republic, Samira Bawumia is set to refund a total amount of eight hundred and eighty-seven thousand, four hundred and eighty-two (GHc 887,482) she has thus far received as allowances from January 2017 to March 2021.



The Second Ladys move follows a similar step by the First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, who has also decided to refund to the State a total of eight hundred and ninety-nine thousand and ninety-seven Ghana cedis (GHc 899,097.00).



The decision of the two leading ladies of the Republic to refund their allowances is motivated by recent public backlash that has characterized the recommendation made by the Presidential Committee on Emoluments for Article 71 office holders for the First and Second Ladies to be paid allowance as part of the benefits of the President and Vice President.



In a statement issued on Monday 12 July 2021, the Office of the First Lady said:  the public discussion has been laced with some extremely negative opinions, in some cases, which she finds distasteful, seeking to portray her as a venal, self-serving and self-centered woman, who does not care about the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian.



In view of this, the First Lady, in consultation with the President of the Republic, has decided to refund all monies paid to her as allowances from the date of the Presidents assumption of office, ie, from January 2017 to date, amounting to GHC899,097.84.



The First Lady has also decided not to accept any monies that have been allocated to be paid to her pursuant to the recommendations of the Ntiamoa-Baidu Committee, as approved by Parliament, the statement signed by Korkor Bleboo, Director of Communications in the Office of the First Lady, said.



A similar statement is expected to be issued by the office of the Second Lady to officially communicate the decision of the Second Lady, Samira Bawumia.



Prof. Ntiamoa-Baidu Committee



The Professor Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu Committee report dated the 18th of June 2020, submitted its recommendations to President Akufo-Addo in fulfilment of the Article 71 provision of the 1992 Constitution which enjoins every sitting President before the end of his four (4) year mandate, to set up a committee to make recommendations on the emoluments for Article 71 office holders.



As part of the five (5) member committees report, they recommended the payment of a salary equivalent to a Cabinet Minister who is a Member of Parliament (MP) to the First Lady while her husband is in office and the payment of a salary equivalent to 80% of salary of a Minister of State who is a Member of Parliament (MP) if the spouse served one full term as President or 100% of salary of a Minister of State who is a Member of Parliament (MP) if the spouse served two or more full terms as President.



With the Second Lady, the committees report, recommended the payment of a salary equivalent to a Cabinet Minister who is not a Member of Parliament (MP) to the Second Lady while her husband is in office and the payment of a salary equivalent to 80% of salary of a Minister of State who is not a Member of Parliament (MP) if the spouse served one full term as President or 100% of salary of a Minister of State who is a Member of Parliament (MP) if the spouse served two or more full terms as Vice President.



Public Discourse



Some sections of the Ghanaian public have taken to social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, to register their displeasure with the Committee s recommendation. The Minority in Parliament and the former President of the republic, John Dramani Mahama, have also joined in the calls for the policy to be relooked at.



The Trade Union Congress (TUC) in a recent statement also recommended that since the First and Second Ladies of the Republic are not allotted defined roles by the 1992 Constitution, government should take another look at the report and recommendations of the Professor Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu-led committee.









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The Bono Regional Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Baffoe, popularly known as Abronye DC says he will force former first lady, Lordina Mahama to refund all allowances she received from the state.



He has vowed to legally battle the former first family to repay the state after the NDC openly criticized allowances given to the incumbent first and second ladies.



Whatever has been given to any former first lady must be declared by the Supreme Court as null and void, he said in an interview with NEAT FMs morning show Ghana Montie.



Listen to interview





Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The wild elephant herd has traveled over 500 kilometres from its home nature reserve in one of the longest such migrations of its kind in China.

A heavily injured baby elephant left behind by a migrating wild herd in southwest China has been rescued, state media reported Tuesday, the latest twist in a chaotic odyssey.

The herd of Asian elephants has spent months roaming across Yunnan province, travelling more than 500 kilometres (310 miles) from their home nature reserve in one of the longest ever animal migrations of its kind in China.

Since setting off last year, the meandering mammals have stolen villagers' food and trampled crops worth over $1 million, with thousands of residents evacuated from their path.

Locals sighted the baby elephantweighing 180 kilograms and born on the lumbering trekalone on a tea plantation Saturday morning, struggling with an infected injury on its leg.

The elephant's wound could have been life-threatening if authorities hadn't arrived and given treatment, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

"We gave it anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory drugs, because its wound still looks pretty bad," Bao Mingwei, director of the Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center, told CCTV, adding that with a longer period of care it should be able to fully recover.

"It's possible that something like rattan spines pricked it and the injuries slowly became infected."

State media footage showed around a dozen rescuers and police surrounding the animal in a rainforest clearing, as they tied its thrashing limbs with rope and loaded it into a van.

The elephant was then driven 100 kilometres to a rescue centre.

Last week, a 10-year-old male elephant who broke away from the herd a month ago was captured and returned to a nature reserve.

Scientists are still baffled by what prompted the elephants to leave their home at the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve, on the border with Laos.

But their mammoth trek has helped highlight habitat loss and conservation challenges in one of the few places in the world where wild elephant numbers are on the rise.

China's wild elephant population has doubled to over 300 in the past three decadesbut their habitats have shrunk by nearly two-thirds over the same period.

Explore further Chinese rogue elephant herd's breakaway male sent home

 2021 AFP
A family of desert-dwelling elephants makes their way toward a waterhole along the Hoanib River in northwestern Namibia. Credit: Theresa Laverty/CSU

Theresa Laverty had a lot of flexibility in deciding what she would study for her doctoral dissertation when she arrived at Colorado State University, thanks to a graduate research fellowship from the National Science Foundation. After many conversations with her advisor, Professor Joel Berger, she decided to look at the effects of herbivoresor animals that eat plantson other levels of the food web in the Namib Desert in southwestern Africa.

Laverty knew that these animals, specifically the "mega" herbivoreselephants, giraffe and rhinocerosesimpact bodies of water in desert ecosystems. But what other levels of the food web are impacted by these large mammals?

Now a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology at CSU, Laverty found that these large mammals may indirectly benefit desert bat diversity and activity.

A new paper from her research, "Indirect effects of African megaherbivore conservation on bat diversity in the world's oldest desert," was recently published in Conservation Biology. Berger is a co-author of the paper.

Laverty recently spoke with SOURCE about her interest in these animals and what it was like to conduct research in the middle of the night with some of the world's largest mammals.

Q: How did you decide to focus on bats in this research?

Laverty: Conservation efforts are usually dedicated toward big charismatic species. The Namib Desert is unique in that it is home for a full suite of megaherbivores and carnivores. While these species are well studied, we know so little about bats in Namibia and most of Africa.

On the positive side, the conservation of megaherbivores may be indirectly benefiting bats, but we do not know if this will be true in the long-term. It took more effort than I care to admit uncovering new information about these bat species, and to see how these large mammals may benefit small, often overlooked bats.

Q: What are some things about bats that people might not know?

Laverty: Bats are extremely diverse. While most bats feed on insects, where they forage can differ. For instance, free-tailed bats in the Namib feed above vegetation. They almost look like whales, flying fast with their mouths open. Other bats that are more maneuverable will pick insects off vegetation. We even capturedand releasedtwo species of fruit bats in the Namib Desert at sites with fruiting fig trees or date palms.

Q: How did you study these animals and insects in the desert?

Laverty: I observed bats using acoustic detectors over waterholes and mist netting, using a net that is nearly invisible to flying bats. For my dissertation work, I was able to track which bats were present over 25 waterholes in the Namib Desert over 1.5 years that I was in the field.

During some of those months, I created transects or paths, moving away from bodies of water. I would remove all the dung from megaherbivores in those belts and identify it, getting an index of how much herbivore activity was present each month. That told us how much these animals were depending upon these bodies of water.

Q: What were your key findings?

In the dry season, when all the wildlife is concentrated around these permanent bodies of water, we found an indirect, positive relationship between megaherbivores on bats. These large herbivores may have been stimulating plant growth through their browsing, which positively affected vegetation productivity.

In turn, this had a positive effect on bat diversity and activity, particularly that of less maneuverable, open-air foraging bats. We think this may be due to elephants restructuring vegetation by pulling down branches near waterholes, providing more access for these bat species.

In the wet season, when wildlife are released from the need to concentrate around these permanent bodies of water, there is more vegetation and ephemeral water available to herbivores. We did not find any significant effects or impacts of megaherbivores on bats.

Q: What else would you like to highlight about this research?

Laverty: Many Africans are poor and do not always choose to live among elephants and other large wildlife. The elephants occasionally break water pipes and destroy small-scale agriculture projects, threaten humans and livestock.

Conservation efforts for these large species must continue but it is not always easy when you are living as a shepherd or someone who raises livestock for a living in these small communities in a desert. As another part of my dissertation work, I interviewed local pastoralists in this region and found them to be relatively tolerant of living with megaherbivores.

At least for now, it appears that the conservation of megaherbivores may be indirectly benefiting bats in this ecosystem. If these conservation efforts recognize the need for human and livestock safety, this appears to be a short-term solution for protecting the Namib's batsat least until more bat research is conducted in this region.

Q: Where will your research take you next?

Laverty: I just completed a two-year postdoctoral position at CSU focused on the population ecology of migratory, nectarivorous long-nosed bats at the northern extent of their range in New Mexico. We were specifically interested in how the peak of the bat migration compared to local food availability of Agave nectar for these species, which are well-known for pollinating the plants that give us tequila and mezcal.

During my time off this summer, I am hiking the Colorado Trail. This fall, I will begin a postdoctoral position at the University of Chicago where I will be working with a team of disease ecologists on the conservation of bat communities in Madagascar.

Explore further What did the katydids do when picking up bat sounds?

More information: Theresa M. Laverty et al, Indirect effects of African megaherbivore conservation on bat diversity in the world's oldest desert, Conservation Biology (2021). Journal information: Conservation Biology Theresa M. Laverty et al, Indirect effects of African megaherbivore conservation on bat diversity in the world's oldest desert,(2021). DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13780
Industrial fishing trawlers stocking up on unsustainable quantities of fish. Credit: Shutterstock

Global fish catches are fluctuating near the highest levels ever reported, while the fraction of fish stocks that are sustainable has never been lower. Nevertheless, governments spent US$22 billion of public money on harmful fisheries subsidies in 2018.

These harmful subsidies fund the construction of new fishing vessels or reduce the cost of fuel, for example. They increase fishing capacity by reducing costs, which heightens the risk of overfishing. In short, they limit our ability to sustainably manage our fisheries.

Their scale and impact means that international reform of fishing subsidies is now a necessity, and may be the single greatest global action we can take to ensure an abundant ocean. Later this month, the World Trade Organization (WTO) will continue its negotiations on fisheries subsidies. These negotiations began in 2001, and are intended to incorporate the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

As a fisheries researcher I believe establishing international rules on fisheries subsidies would be a significant step towards rebuilding an abundant ocean. It would reduce inequity in international fish tradeand help stop overfishing.

Why do harmful fisheries subsidies exist?

Historically, subsidies were seen as good things that let governments implement new policies. Each subsidy was introduced for a specific reason, whether to benefit a subset of individuals or society as a whole.

Three broad arguments support subsidies: to address social equity issues and conservation concerns, and to incentivize economic growth.

Subsidies to support economic growth were once important for ensuring food security, and powered the post-war expansion of fisheries and the recent industrialization of developing nations' fisheries.

However, fears of food shortages in many nations have largely receded, and 90 percent of global fish stocks are either fully exploited or overfished, meaning they have been fished to the maximumor beyond. As such, economic growth arguments no longer exist, at least not for developed nations.

Some conservation-focused subsidies may still be beneficial. For example, subsidies may be used to restore depleted stocks by releasing cultured fish or to finance the adoption of more benign fishing methods.

But research has provided a greater understanding of the overall impact and effectiveness of fisheries subsidies. Most are now considered to be harmful, and the majority exist for political reasons: to lower fishing costs and delay the inevitable economic and social impacts of overfishing.

Small-scale fisheries in Bangladesh. Credit: Worldfish, 2001/flickr, CC BY-SA

How do fisheries subsidies relate to other SDGs?

Concerns over fisheries subsidies are not new. In 1776, Adam Smith wrote about British herring fishing subsidies that were provided proportionally to the length of vessels. Their intention was to promote exports. Instead they led to larger vessels, raised local food prices and decimated Scottish small-scale fisheries.

Little has changed in 250 years. The largest vessels still receive the greatest share of the spoils. Many of these vessels originate from rich countries but fish in the waters of poorer countries, transferring the risk of overfishing to those that can least afford it. Our latest study estimates that a third of the subsidies provided by the largest fishing nations go towards fishing in other countries' waters.

The UN SDGs were set up to address many of these global issues and achieve a more sustainable future. But fisheries subsidies makes the SDGs on ocean sustainability, poverty and hunger, difficult, if not impossible, to achieve.

Harmful fisheries subsidies damage fish stocks, undermine the economic viability of small-scale producers and jeopardize the livelihoods and food security of coastal communities. It is vital that the WTO negotiations succeed.

What's the state of play of the WTO negotiations?

The negotiations began in 2001, with vague aims of "clarifying and improving" existing rules on subsidies. However, no meaningful progress was madeexcept on defining fisheries subsidiesuntil efforts were reinvigorated in 2015, when the SDGs specifically targeted the elimination of harmful subsidies, through the conclusion of the WTO negotiations.

Six years later, encouraged by the new WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, an agreement is within reach. On May 11, 2021, a draft agreement was made publicthe first since 2007. However, the text remains negotiable and must be agreed to by all 164 ministers at talks on July 15.

What are the key points of draft text and upcoming talks?

The draft essentially proposes three categories of prohibited subsidies, those that support illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing (Article 3.1); affect overfished stocks (Article 4.1); or lead to overcapacity and overfishing (Article 5.1).

This may sound simple. But the diverse political, economic, cultural and practical complexities pose real challenges. How are harmful practices determined, and who determines them?

The article addressing IUU lacks impact. IUU activities are secretive and obscure. Removing subsidies to known IUU fishers would eliminate only a small portion of the total and will likely have no impact on sustainability.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing threatens the sustainable management of marine resources, and represents about 20 per cent of annual catches. Credit: UN Food and Agriculture Organization

The article dealing with overfished stocks may have a greater impact, but debates continue over who decides if a stock is overfished. The status of surprisingly few stocks is knownin the central Mediterranean, for example, less than two percent of landings come from assessed stocks. Stock assessments are technically demanding and costly.

The article covering overcapacity and overfishing could truly end harmful fisheries subsidies. It is, however, the least developed. In its current state it includes a promising list of subsidy types to be prohibited.

But it also includes a loophole that allows subsidies if measures are in place to keep stocks sustainable. It is unclear what measures would qualify or where the burden of proof would lie. This loophole could remove the teeth from the only rule that might bite!

What are the possible outcomes?

The WTO talks require a precarious balance between appeasing the diverse interests of members and ensuring rules are effective and practical. I am cautiously optimistic an agreement will be reached, particularly for the articles on IUU and overfished stocks. I remain concerned, however, that loopholes will render the article on overcapacity and overfishing ineffective. We require all three articles to achieve sustainable fisheries globally.

While we do not want to see the inclusion of blanket loopholes, any agreement will contain special treatment for developing nations.

This issue is sensitive and complex. I believe that long-term sustainability is only achievable if all nations have autonomy over their resources. Currently many developing nations enter unfavourable agreements where rich nations catch fish that host nations are unable to. Subsidies may be necessary for some nations to develop their fisheries.

However, such exemptions must not be perpetual or extended to include industrial fisheries. And as even small subsidies can be harmful, developing nations must fund fleet development in ways that don't undermine sustainability.

The reality of history, however, suggests that no final outcome will be achieved in July. Further talks will be required to finalize Article 5, and therefore the agreement itself.

Is any agreement better than no agreement?

Any agreement is a positive outcome if it reduces the global provision of harmful fisheries subsidies. Even a watered-down agreement provides a platform for more progressive future rules. Research shows that reducing fishing capacity inline with resource availability could lead to more fish, support more jobs and lift millions of people from hunger.

Yet adherence to new rules must be monitored and enforced, particularly as subsidies are highly complex and their reporting often vague or green-washed. Future battles will revolve around issues of transparent reporting and the measured effectiveness of the agreement.

What is important is that the WTO is able to reach consensus and we can take an important stepno matter how smalltowards rebuilding fish stocks for the communities that rely on them.

Explore further 12 nations to take aim at fishing subsidies at WTO

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Credit: Shutterstock

Tasmanian devil populations have been devastated over the past 25 years due to devil facial tumor disease, an infectious cancer. But the Tasmanian government does not support relocating uninfected wild devil populations to the Australian mainland.

Wildlife vigilantes have, however, already illegally moved Tasmanian devils off the islandan illegal practice known as "covert rewilding." They may well might try again.

My recent research has examined this possibility. It found a covert devil population could remain undetected on the Australian mainland for years, by which time it may be too large and widely distributed to be eradicated.

In fact, it's possible such rewilding has already occurred, and the calls of covert devils may already be echoing across the Australian Alps or Victoria's Highlands.

What is covert rewilding?

Rewilding is the movement of a species back to a location it once existed in, either to maintain ecosystem functioning or prevent the extinction of that species.

In most countries, rewilding decisions rest with public servants in regulatory agencies, who are generally risk-averse. Rewilding proposals are generally denied, for reasons such as the need to protect other vulnerable species or prevent human-wildlife conflicts.

The overwhelming majority of conservationists operate strictly within the law. But in some cases, guerrilla conservationists take matters into their own hands.

Covert rewilders released beavers to a Devon river. Credit: Shutterstock

Conclusive evidence of covert rewilding is hard to come by, for obvious reasons. But examples exist.

At Devon in the United Kingdom, beavers were discovered in 2007 in a river catchment, after an official application to reintroduce the species was resisted by government and farmers. Multiple sources believed the reappearance was the result of covert rewilding by so-called "beaver bombers."

Similarly in the early 2000s, conservationists in Belgium illegally released beavers at two locations, where the animals subsequently formed permanent populations.

Guerrilla conservationists have also covertly relocated populations of polecats in Scotland and the Eurasian lynx in Switzerland and France.

And in Australia in 1996, unknown people covertly released Tasmanian devils onto Badger Island in Bass Strait. The devils were brought to the island by ferry and plane, and once there quickly multiplied. Their descendants were later taken back to Tasmania by officials.

Cancer-free devils have been released into wildlife refuges on the mainland under sanctioned programs, but not into the wild.

Tasmanian devils were once found in the wild across mainland Australia. Three devils were found in Victoria between 1912 and 1991, raising the possibility they were taken from Tasmania and deliberately released.

Cancer-free Tasmanian devils have been released into mainland wildlife refuges, but not the wild. Credit: Cristian Prieto/WildArk

Devils are easy to catch in traps, and can tolerate captivity and transport. The Badger Island population, for example, was trapped from wild populations then taken to the island by ferry and plane. And the Australian mainland contains an abundance of suitable devil habitat.

Introducing species to ecosystemsor reintroducing species that once lived therecarries substantial ecological risks. I do not advocate for or against covert rewilding. But the practice is likely to continue, and it's important to gain a better understanding of it.

In particular, if authorities wish to halt covert rewilding before it gets out of control, it's important to identify and monitor the most attractive release locations.

Spreading across the landscape

A key goal of a covert rewilding is to establish a population that, by the time it is discovered, is too large to eradicate.

My modeling involved the hypothetical release of 40 devils at a wide range of locations across Victoria and New South Wales. I modeled how the covert population began to grow, how long it would take to be detected, and how governments could and would respond.

I calculated the annual probability of detection based on the density of the road network and the presence of towns, which affects the chance of the animals being spotted by motorists or hikers.

Yellow represents ideal covert rewilding sites for Tasmanian devils on the Australian mainland. Author provided

According to the model's forecasts, a well-planned covert rewilding of Tasmanian devils could remain hidden for more than a decade. By the time it was noticed, the population would have increased to more than 3,000.

Three remote locations emerged as best suited to covert rewilding: two in Victoria's Alpine National Park and one in Wollemi National Park in New South Wales. These areas had the best combination of suitable habitat, rapid spread rates and low detectability.

For example, following a release in Alpine National Park, the model predicted discovery by humans after 26 years, by which time the devil population would number 2,200 individuals, spread across 2,800 square kilometers. An earlier detection could easily occur, but there was a 95% chance the population would remain undetected for at least six yearsreaching 100 individuals spread across 700 square kilometers.

Once two decades pass before discovery, removal would be expensive and challenging (both logistically and politically).

The lengthy detection lags identified in the research have been borne out by real-world precedents involving covert rewilding. That means if devils have been illegally reintroduced to the Australian mainland in the past two decades, we probably wouldn't even know it.

Playing devil's advocate

Additional regulation and enforcement might not dissuade guerrilla conservationists. Very few cases involving the illegal movement of wildlife in Australia lead to convictions. And some guerrilla conservationists are not deterred by fines.

Tasmanian devils may be roaming the mainland undetected. Credit: Shutterstock

From a legal perspective, covert rewilding is hard to stop because Australia's regulatory framework is full of gaps. For example, the federal government considers species regulation to be a problem for the states, while the states consider the regulation of cross-border species relocations to be a federal problem. Rewilding, and particularly covert rewilding, falls between the cracks.

Covert rewildings typically come after official permission is denied. Often, it's done without sufficient knowledge of the environment, species interactions and local interests.

It's worth considering, then, if a more permissive attitude to official rewilding is needed. To quote a British beaver conservationist: "If we don't do an official reintroduction, it'll happen anyway."

Explore further Tasmanian devils born on Australian mainland in rewilding push

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Courtship in the lab: A male fly tethered to a spherical treadmill (left) starts walking towards a fictive female fly while showing wing extensions characteristic of courtship song (right). Credit: Rockefeller University

Fruit flies have evolved an elaborate courtship ritual. Upon recognizing a suitable mate in his vicinity, a male fruit fly transforms into a dogged suitor, sometimes chasing the female for more than 26 yards, or nine miles in human terms, singing to her all the while by vibrating his wings.

For the male fruit fly to recognize a mate and begin pursuit, however, he needs to be aroused. Otherwise, he acts as if he's blind to the female's presence.

In a new study, Rockefeller's Vanessa Ruta and colleagues investigate how a fruit fly's brain in the state of arousal converts a female from an indifferent visual object to a target of desire. Their findings, published in Nature, describe a sort of neural switchboard in the fruit fly's brain that reroutes sensory information to produce different responses. "This is a fundamental question in neuroscience," Ruta says. "How are brains able to switch the way that they react to the same stimulus?"

A neural gate

Recently scientists have found that a small cluster of about 20 neurons, known as P1 neurons, triggers a male fruit fly's transition from being blind to a female to vigorously chasing her. "P1 neurons act like a switch that puts the fruit fly into a state of sexual arousal," says Ruta, the Gabrielle H. Reem and Herbert J. Kayden Associate Professor and head of the Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Behavior. Indeed, several teams have been able to kick-start courtship behavior in a male fruit fly by artificially activating his P1 neurons, inducing him to chase even inanimate objects.

To take a closer look at what these neurons are doing, the team prepared a fly-size virtual reality setup: A male fruit fly is tethered to a little foam ball floating atop a stream of air. In front of him, on a curved screen that covers his entire field of view, researchers project a moving dot as a stand-in for a female fruit fly. When the male begins walking towards the fictive female, spinning the foam ball in the process, a camera tracks his movement and an overhead microscope records his brain activity.

Like many animals, fruit flies use pheromone signals to identify suitable mates. But Ruta and colleagues found that visual cues alone are enough to initiate courtship. When the researchers projected a dot moving simply back and forth on the screen the fly remained indifferent, but when the dot started to mimic the natural motion of a female fly, moving closer and further away, the male fell for it. P1 neurons lit up and the fruit fly began running towards the dot and flapping its wings. "The sight of something moving about like a female is sufficient to generate the state of arousal and cause a male fruit fly to spring into action," says graduate student Tom Hindmarsh Sten, first author of the study.

Next, the team found that P1 neurons establish a link between vision and action.

During P1 activation, visual neurons communicate with the fly's motor system, enabling him to follow his target. Without P1 activation, however, the connection is broken and the fly ceases to use this visual-motor pathway entirely. He is, for all intents and purposes, blind to the existence of the female fly. "It essentially activates a visuomotor circuit that otherwise lies dormant," Ruta says.

The question of how flies become aroused in the first placekicking off a visuomotor cascade in the brain and allowing them to see and pursue a materemains to be explored. Researchers suspect that the P1 neurons determine on a moment-to-moment basis whether it is an appropriate time to be aroused, or stay aroused, by integrating signals from the environment, and perhaps even the fruit fly's own internal physiological state such as hunger or tiredness.

"This design ensures that the fruit fly doesn't engage in courtship all the time, but only under the right conditions," Ruta says. "In this way, a behavior like courtship, which is genetically programmed, can be at once robust and flexible."

Explore further Choosy female fruit flies reproduce anyway

More information: Tom Hindmarsh Sten et al, Sexual arousal gates visual processing during Drosophila courtship, Nature (2021). Journal information: Nature Tom Hindmarsh Sten et al, Sexual arousal gates visual processing during Drosophila courtship,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03714-w
NASA's Terra spacecraft shows filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam along the Blue Nile River is well under way near the Ethiopia-Sudan border. Credit: /NASA-JPL

Rapid filling of a giant dam at the headwaters of the Nile Riverthe world's biggest waterway that supports millions of peoplecould reduce water supplies to downstream Egypt by more than one-third, new USC research shows.

A water deficit of that magnitude, if unmitigated, could potentially destabilize a politically volatile part of the world by reducing arable land in Egypt by up to 72%. The study projects that economic losses to agriculture would reach $51 billion. The gross domestic product loss would push unemployment to 24%, displacing lots of people and disrupting economies.

"Our study forecasts dire water supply impacts downstream, causing what would be the largest water stress dispute in modern human history," said Essam Heggy, a research scientist at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and lead author of the study. "Averaging losses from all of the announced filling scenarios, these water shortages could nearly double Egypt's present water supply deficit and will have dire consequences for Egypt's economy, employment, migration and food supply."

The study was published July 1 in Environmental Research Letters.

Despite the risks, the study offers policy solutions for sustainability that could potentially minimize the downstream impacts and reduce tensions in the Nile River region. For example, the impacts could be partially offset by adjusting operations at the Aswan Dam downstream in southern Egypt, pumping more groundwater, cultivating different kinds of crops and improving irrigation systems.

So far, despite international negotiations, there's been little progress in the decade-long dispute.

The crux of the controversy is Ethiopia's $5 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam nearing completion at the Nile headwaters. Now in the second phase of filling, it will be the largest hydropower project in Africa and would create a reservoir containing 74 billion cubic meters of watermore than twice the operational capacity of Lake Mead on the Colorado River.

It's so vast that it will take years to fill, and depending on how long it takes, the water diversions could have devastating impacts downstream. Egypt and Sudan have water rights to the Nile, while Ethiopia was not allocated a quantifiable share. But as water and energy demand grows in the Nile River basin, Ethiopia is asserting its needs for hydropower and irrigated agriculture to promote development.

Some 280 million people in 11 countries in the basin depend on the waterwaya primary source of irrigation for more than 5,000 years. Egypt relies on the Nile for more than 90% of its water. The region's population could increase by 25% in 30 years, increasing demand at a time when Egypt would expect less water from the Nile. Water rights along the Nile have been in dispute since 1959; today, the conflict threatens to escalate into a war.

The USC study examined various dam filling scenarios and water shortage impacts for Egypt. Based on the short-term filling strategies of 3 to 5 years, presently favored by Ethiopia, the water deficit downstream in Egypt could almost double; 83% of the additional water loss would be due to dam restraining flow and evaporation and 17% lost due to seepage into rocks and sand.

The study helps fill a gap in the dispute by reducing ambiguities about how dam filling scenarios would impact the water budget deficit in Egypt, as well as offering a feasibility index to the different potential solutions. As global warming and aridification accelerates, it underscores the need for more water research in arid lands, which is the core mission of the Arid Climates and Water Research Center at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.

"There is a real need for sound science to resolve the ambiguity surrounding this controversy," Heggy said. "Our analysis doesn't point fingers, yet it shows a dire water situation that will result downstream, which is forecasted as the largest water stress dispute in human history. It can be avoided if proper support is made to the water, energy and environment research in the Nile basin."

The study comes amidst a 10-year dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over water supply on the Nile River. The parties seek an international solution, yet talks led by the U.S. State Departmentand joined by the European Union and the United Nationshave resulted in little agreement after four years.

Meanwhile, tensions run high as negotiators try to avert armed conflict. Egypt has vowed not to allow the dam to impede its water supply, and it held joint military maneuvers with Sudan in May. Sudan has since petitioned the United Nations Security Council to hold an emergency session as soon as possible.

The dispute is emblematic of wider disputes over water scarcity as climate change affects developing countries experiencing rapid growth. Disputes along the Mekong, Zambezi and Euphrates-Tigris rivers, among others, show the potential for political instability and conflict.

Heggy said it's possible a win-win solution may yet be found for the Nile River, based on policy options the study identifies. Progress has been impeded, though, due to a lack of credible information about downstream water supply and economic impacts. Getting an agreement will likely require better data and forecasts on impacts to human society as well as ecological effects along the Nile River.

More information: Essam Heggy et al, Egypt's water budget deficit and suggested mitigation policies for the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam filling scenarios, Environmental Research Letters (2021). Journal information: Environmental Research Letters Essam Heggy et al, Egypt's water budget deficit and suggested mitigation policies for the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam filling scenarios,(2021). DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ac0ac9
European airlines claim that an unprecedented EU tax on jet fuel would ground them and benefit rivals from outside the 27-nation bloc.

The European Commission will propose a raft of measures to slash EU aviation emissions when it unveils a bumper package of legislation Wednesday aimed at reaching its climate goals.

But the push, including an unprecedented tax on highly polluting jet fuel, is facing strong headwinds from airlines in the bloc, who fear they will have their wings clipped.

Brussels argues that a new levy on kerosene for flights inside the EU is a must if the 27-nation bloc is serious about reaching its ambitious target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent compared with 1990 levels by 2030.

The aviation sectorwhich makes up about three percent of current EU emissionsinsists the tax would make it unable to compete with rivals from outside the bloc.

And the proposal is set to be one of the thorniest issues when European lawmakers, EU member states, lobbyists and green activists start what is expected to be months of furious haggling to shape the final laws.

The proposed legislation, seen by AFP, lays out the strategy envisioned by the EU executive.

The taxto be introduced gradually over a decadewould be based on how energy efficient and environmentally friendly different types of kerosenes are.

The aim is to convince carriers to switch to more "sustainable" mixes that contain some biofuels. These would not be taxed.

Due to international legal constraints, private jets and cargo planes would remain exempt from the new levy.

The commission also plans to issue a separate directive aimed at boosting thestill very modestuse of "sustainable fuels".

Cheap fuel havens?

Some member states have already come out in favour of the plan.

Belgium, Luxembourg and Austria wrote an open letter calling for a kerosene tax to be applied "without delay" in the EUand pushing for the same measure to be adopted internationally.

Meanwhile, the EU's airline sector has hit back with its own concerns.

A group of eleven major companies including Air France-KLM and Lufthansa warned that the moves would "significantly increase the competitive advantage of non-EU airlines and non-EU hub airports compared to their EU counterparts".

The carriers, struggling to overcome the huge hit to business from the coronavirus pandemic, cautioned the plan could spur so-called "carbon leakage"including seeing airliners fill up in countries on the EU's fringes like Turkey or Britain to avoid the charge.

"Climate policy regulation in the form of taxes is ecologically and economically counterproductive," complained Laurent Donceel, from the lobby group Airlines for Europe.

"It reduces the aviation industry's capacity to invest and innovate whilst potentially shifting CO2 emissions to other regions, an effect known as carbon leakage."

European Parliament member Dominique Riquet, from the liberal Renew Europe bloc, said there would be a big debate among lawmakers "if competitiveness is not preserved" for EU carriers.

Any knock-on effect that might see ticket prices go up for travellers would "not be very popular", he warned.

'Hypocrisy'

But environmental groups are already worried that the commission's proposal is too weakand fear any further push to water it down could be disastrous.

"A low tax rate, a delayed implementation, and a series of exemptions, including for private trips, air cargo and business aviation, could gut new measures of any real impact in this crucial decade," Greenpeace said.

The group said more radical plans were needed to wean people off air travel all together including banning short haul flights when there were convenient alternatives.

Aviation remains heavily dependent on kerosene to get its planes in the airand biofuels are blamed for adding to other problems like deforestation.

The development of hydrogen-fuelled planes is believed to be 15 years away at best and aircraft powered by electricity remain limited by the performance of current batteries.

"Betting on false solutions, like unrealistic 'green' planes powered by unsustainable biofuels, and encouraging a return to pre-pandemic levels of flying, as foreseen by the sector, would only expose the hypocrisy of European governments when it comes to climate action," Greenpeace said.

Explore further Brussels sets stage for battle over emissions cuts

 2021 AFP
A group of Bigg's killer whales near the coast of Washington State, USA. Typically, groups consist of a female and 2-3 of her offspring. Credit: Center for Whale Research

Scientists have found new evidence of menopause in killer whalesraising fascinating questions about how and why it evolved.

Most animals breed throughout their lives. Only humans and four whale species are known to experience menopause, and scientists have long been puzzled about why this occurs.

Killer whales are a diverse species made up of multiple separate ecotypes (different types within a species) across the world's oceans that differ in their prey specialization and patterns of social behavior.

Previous studies have found menopause in an ecotype called 'resident' killer whales whose social structure appears to favor 'grandmothering' (females using their energy and knowledge to help their offspring and grand-offspring, rather than competing to breed themselves).

The new study looked at an ecotype of killer whales with a different social structure, where offspring are more likely to leave their motherand the evolutionary benefits of grandmothering are therefore reduced.

However, menopause was found to be strikingly similar in both killer whale ecotypes.

The research was carried out by the University of Exeter, DFO Canada, the Center for Whale Research, the University of Cambridge and the University of York.

"Previous research on the evolution of menopause has focussed on resident killer whales, where both males and females usually stay in the social group into which they were born," said lead author Mia Lybkr Kronborg Nielsen, of the University of Exeter.

"As a result, females become increasingly genetically related to the other members of the group as they age."

"At birth, their father is not in their family group and their relatedness to males in the group is comparatively low, but by later life, many of the group members are their children or grandchildren, increasing their average relatedness to the group."

"The new study looks at Bigg's killer whales, which may leave their birth group around the time of maturity."

Resident killer whales near the coast of Washington State, USA. Often the oldest female leads the group between hunting grounds. Credit: Center for Whale Research

"Some sons and daughters stay with their mother, but overall we predict a weaker pattern of increased relatedness to fellow group members as a whale ages."

"We expected this to be important in terms of menopause because weaker relatedness would appear to give females a weaker evolutionary reason to cease reproduction."

Using more than 40 years of data on Bigg's and resident whales, the researchers found a similar pattern of post-reproductive life for femalesaccounting for more than 30% of adult years.

"These different whale populations both show increased female relatedness with age, butas this is stronger in resident than Bigg's killer whalesit's not immediately clear why the age at menopause and the length of the post-reproductive lifespan seems to be the same in both," said Professor Darren Croft, of the University of Exeter.

"Based on theory, we would expect the effect to be stronger in resident killer whales."

"Further research using drones to study how grandmother killer whales help their offspring and grand-offspring in the different populations will allow us to investigate this, and in doing so learn more about how menopause evolved in whales and humans."

Thomas Doniol-Valcroze and Jared Towers, of DFO Canada, says that "this study highlights the value of long-term population studies in which individuals are documented throughout their lives."

"Not only do the results contribute to a better understanding of animal evolution, they have significant implications for conservation by shedding light on the importance of social structure for the recovery of these populations."

Despite living in overlapping waters in the northeast Pacific, these whale populations do not inter-breed.

The differing social structures are probably caused by prey availability.

Resident whales feed on salmon, which have historically been plentiful (though human activities have changed this), allowing the whales to live in larger groups.

Bigg's whales hunt mammals such as seals, and generally disperse into smaller groups to reduce competitionthere are only so many mouths that a seal kill will feed.

Explore further Drone footage reveals social secrets of killer whales

More information: Mia Lybkr Kronborg Nielsen et al, A long postreproductive life span is a shared trait among genetically distinct killer whale populations, Ecology and Evolution (2021). Journal information: Ecology and Evolution Mia Lybkr Kronborg Nielsen et al, A long postreproductive life span is a shared trait among genetically distinct killer whale populations,(2021). DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7756
UMass Lowell Prof. Daniel Obrist, chair of the Department of Environmental, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, climbs an observation tower in Harvard Forest in Petersham, Mass., to service instrumentation measuring mercury deposition at the site. Credit: Daniel Obrist.

Researchers led by a UMass Lowell environmental science professor say mercury measurements in a Massachusetts forest indicate the toxic element is deposited in forests across the globe in much greater quantities than previously understood.

The team's results underscore concern for the health and well-being of people, wildlife and waterways, according to Prof. Daniel Obrist, as mercury accumulating in forests ultimately runs off into streams and rivers, ending up in lakes and oceans.

Mercury is a highly toxic pollutant that threatens fish, birds, mammals and humans. Hundreds of tons of it are released into the atmosphere each year by coal-burning power plants, as well as through gold mining and other industrial processes, and the pollutant is distributed by winds and currents across the globe. Long-term exposure to mercury, or consuming food containing high levels of the pollutant, can lead to reproductive, immune, neurological and cardiovascular problems, according to Obrist, chair of UMass Lowell's Department of Environmental, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.

Forests constitute the world's most abundant, productive and widespread ecosystems on land, according to Obrist, who said the study is the first that examines a full picture of how mercury in the atmosphere is deposited at any rural forest in the world, including the deposition of mercury in its gaseous form, which most previous studies do not address.

"Trees take up gaseous mercury from the atmosphere through their leaves and as plants shed their leaves or die off, they basically transfer that atmospheric mercury to the ecosystems," he said.

The results of the project were published today in an issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. UMass Lowell student Eric Roy, a double-major in meteorology and mathematics from Lowell, is among the study's co-authors.

For the past 16 months, the team has measured how mercury in the atmosphere gets deposited at Harvard Forest in Petersham, a nearly 4,000-acre site that includes hardwood deciduous broadleaf trees such as red oak and red maple that shed their leaves every year. A set of measurement systems placed at various heights on the forest's 100-foot-tall research tower assessed the site's gaseous mercury deposition from the tree canopy to the forest floor.

"Seventy-six percent of the mercury deposition at this forest comes from gaseous atmospheric mercury. It's five times greater than mercury deposited by rain and snow and three times greater than mercury that gets deposited through litterfall, which is mercury transferred by leaves falling to the ground and which has previously been used by other researchers as a proxy for estimating gaseous mercury deposition in forests," Obrist said.

"Our study suggests that mercury loading in forests has been underestimated by a factor of about two and that forests worldwide may be a much larger global absorber and collector of gaseous mercury than currently assumed. This larger-than-anticipated accumulation may explain surprisingly high mercury levels observed in soils across rural forests," he said.

Plants seem to dominate as a source of mercury on land, accounting for 54 to 94 percent of the deposits in soils across North America. The total global amount of mercury deposited to land currently is estimated at about 1,500 to 1,800 metric tons per year, but it may be more than double if other forests show similar levels of deposition, according to Obrist.

The researchers are continuing their work at a second forest in Howland in northern Maine. Howland Forest, a nearly 600-acre research site full of evergreens that retain their leaves year-round, offers a distinctly different habitat than the deciduous forest in Petersham. Assessing both forests will allow researchers to examine differences in mercury accumulation between different forest types, Obrist said.

The work is providing a hands-on research experience for Roy, a UMass Lowell Honors College student who was invited to become a member of the university's Immersive Scholar program in 2019. The initiative enables first-year students with outstanding academic credentials to participate in lab work and research right from the start of their academic studies.

"It's really exciting to be a co-author," Roy said. "This study allowed us to quantify how much mercury is being accumulated in this type of forest. Modelers can use these results to improve their understanding of how mercury cycles through the environment on a global scale and how that might change in the future."

Roy helped analyze the data collected in the field.

"Eric's contributions to the study are tremendous. It's not very common for an undergrad to play such an important role in a major, federally funded research project," Obrist said. "His work is really impressive and he has become more and more active in data analysis and doing complex flux calculations and data processing. He really earned himself second author position in the paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."

Explore further Plants play leading role in cycling toxic mercury through the environment, researchers say

More information: Daniel Obrist el al., "Previously unaccounted atmospheric mercury deposition in a midlatitude deciduous forest," PNAS (2021). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Daniel Obrist el al., "Previously unaccounted atmospheric mercury deposition in a midlatitude deciduous forest,"(2021). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2105477118
An artists depiction of a hiccup in the magnetic field of a magnetar  a highly magnetized neutron star  that produces a powerful gamma ray burst visible from across the galaxy. UC Berkeley physicists have found an unusual pattern to these bursts that could help pin down the precise mechanism triggering the hiccups and generating the soft gamma bursts. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Smith, USRA/GESTAR

Magnetars are bizarre objectsmassive, spinning neutron stars with magnetic fields among the most powerful known, capable of shooting off brief bursts of radio waves so bright they're visible across the universe.

A team of astrophysicists has now found another peculiarity of magnetars: They can emit bursts of low energy gamma rays in a pattern never before seen in any other astronomical object.

It's unclear why this should be, but magnetars themselves are poorly understood, with dozens of theories about how they produce radio and gamma ray bursts. The recognition of this unusual pattern of gamma ray activity could help theorists figure out the mechanisms involved.

"Magnetars, which are connected with fast radio bursts and soft gamma repeaters, have something periodic going on, on top of randomness," said astrophysicist Bruce Grossan, an astrophysicist at the University of California, Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL). "This is another mystery on top of the mystery of how the bursts are produced."

The researchersGrossan and theoretical physicist and cosmologist Eric Linder from SSL and the Berkeley Center for Cosmological Physics and postdoctoral fellow Mikhail Denissenya from Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstandiscovered the pattern last year in bursts from a soft gamma repeater, SGR1935+2154, that is a magnetar, a prolific source of soft or lower energy gamma ray bursts and the only known source of fast radio bursts within our Milky Way galaxy. They found that the object emits bursts randomly, but only within regular four-month windows of time, each active window separated by three months of inactivity.

On March 19, the team uploaded a preprint claiming "periodic windowed behavior" in soft gamma bursts from SGR1935+2154 and predicted that these bursts would start up again after June 1following a three month hiatusand could occur throughout a four-month window ending Oct. 7.

On June 24, three weeks into the window of activity, the first new burst from SGR1935+2154 was observed after the predicted three month gap, and nearly a dozen more bursts have been observed since, including one on July 6, the day the paper was published online in the journal Physical Review D.

"These new bursts within this window means that our prediction is dead on," said Grossan, who studies high energy astronomical transients. "Probably more important is that no bursts were detected between the windows since we first published our preprint."

Linder likens the non-detection of bursts in three-month windows to a key cluethe "curious incident" that a guard dog did not bark in the nighttimethat allowed Sherlock Holmes to solve a murder in the short story "The Adventure of Silver Blaze".

"Missing or occasional data is a nightmare for any scientist," noted Denissenya, the first author of the paper and a member of the Energetic Cosmos Laboratory at Nazarbayev University that was founded several years ago by Grossan, Linder and UC Berkeley cosmologist and Nobel laureate George Smoot. "In our case, it was crucial to realize that missing bursts or no bursts at all carry information."

The confirmation of their prediction startled and thrilled the researchers, who think this may be a novel example of a phenomenonperiodic windowed behaviorthat could characterize emissions from other astronomical objects.

Since 2014, a magnetar in our galaxy (SGR1935+2154) has been emitting bursts of soft gamma rays (black stars). UC Berkeley scientists concluded that they occurred only within certain windows of time (green stripes) but were somehow blocked during intervening windows (red). They used this pattern to predict renewed bursts starting after June 1, 2021 (stripes outlined in blue at right), and since June 24, more than a dozen have been detected (blue stars): right on schedule. Credit: Mikhail Denissenya

Mining data from 27-year-old satellite

Within the last year, researchers suggested that the emission of fast radio burstswhich typically last a few thousandths of a secondfrom distant galaxies might be clustered in a periodic windowed pattern. But the data were intermittent, and the statistical and computational tools to firmly establish such a claim with sparse data were not well developed.

Grossan convinced Linder to explore whether advanced techniques and tools could be used to demonstrate that periodically windowedbut random, as well, within an activity windowbehavior was present in the soft gamma ray burst data of the SGR1935+2154 magnetar. The Konus instrument aboard the WIND spacecraft, launched in 1994, has recorded soft gamma ray bursts from that objectwhich also exhibits fast radio burstssince 2014 and likely never missed a bright one.

Linder, a member of the Supernova Cosmology Project based at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, had used advanced statistical techniques to study the clustering in space of galaxies in the universe, and he and Denissenya adapted these techniques to analyze the clustering of bursts in time. Their analysis, the first to use such techniques for repeated events, showed an unusual windowed periodicity distinct from the very precise repetition produced by bodies rotating or in orbit, which most astronomers think of when they think of periodic behavior.

"So far, we have observed bursts over 10 windowed periods since 2014, and the probability is 3 in 10,000 that while we think it is periodic windowed, it is actually random," he said, meaning there's a 99.97% chance they're right. He noted that a Monte Carlo simulation indicated that the chance they're seeing a pattern that isn't really there is likely well under 1 in a billion.

The recent observation of five bursts within their predicted window, seen by WIND and other spacecraft monitoring gamma ray bursts, adds to their confidence. However, a single future burst observed outside the window would disprove the whole theory, or cause them to redo their analysis completely.

"The most intriguing and fun part for me was to make predictions that could be tested in the sky. We then ran simulations against real and random patterns and found it really did tell us about the bursts," Denissenya said.

As for what causes this pattern, Grossan and Linder can only guess. Soft gamma ray bursts from magnetars are thought to involve starquakes, perhaps triggered by interactions between the neutron star's crust and its intense magnetic field. Magnetars rotate once every few seconds, and if the rotation is accompanied by a precessiona wobble in the rotationthat might make the source of burst emission point to Earth only within a certain window. Another possibility, Grossan said, is that a dense, rotating cloud of obscuring material surrounds the magnetar but has a hole that only periodically allows bursts to come out and reach Earth.

"At this stage of our knowledge of these sources, we can't really say which it is," Grossan said. "This is a rich phenomenon that will likely be studied for some time."

Linder agrees and points out that the advances were made by the cross-pollination of techniques from high energy astrophysics observations and theoretical cosmology.

"UC Berkeley is a great place where diverse scientists can come together," he said. "They will continue to watch and learn and even 'listen' with their instruments for more dogs in the night."

More information: Mikhail Denissenya et al, Distinguishing time clustering of astrophysical bursts, Physical Review D (2021). Journal information: Physical Review D Mikhail Denissenya et al, Distinguishing time clustering of astrophysical bursts,(2021). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.104.023007
Justin Whitehill photographs a Sitka spruce tree. Credit: North Carolina State University

Recent research into a group of giant evergreens is helping scientists better understand why some trees are able to survive in the face of insect pests, and could help foresters breed trees with the resistance necessary to survive in the face of new and emerging challenges to forest health.

At issue is a cluster of Sitka spruce treescoastal giants that can live for hundreds of years and grow to be 300 feet tall on the West Coast from California into Alaska. Most Sitka trees are susceptible to a hungry pest called the spruce weevil that can stunt the trees' growth, cause deformities, and ultimately kill the trees.

However, foresters discovered a small group of Sitka trees with natural resistance to the pest. In a new analysis, a researcher from North Carolina State University led a study to identify patterns in how genes are expressed in resistant trees that might allow them to fight back against the spruce weevil. The findings, published in the journal Plant-Environment Interactions, could help researchers breed resistance.

The Abstract (TA) spoke with the study's lead author, Justin Whitehill, assistant professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at NC State, about the findings. Whitehill also leads the NC State Christmas Tree Genetics Program, which is working to identify genes and traits that can be used to breed genetically improved Christmas trees in North Carolina.

TA: How common is natural resistance to this pest in the Sitka spruce?

Whitehill: Sitka spruce can live hundreds of years on the coast out West to become giant trees. Some of the largest spruce are over 300 feet tall and nearly 1,000 years old. Because they have such long generation times, it's hard for them to quickly develop resistance to pests and diseases.

In terms of resistance, forest geneticists working in British Columbia, Canada, noticed a small population of Sitka spruce that were growing pretty well, even if they were in areas with high levels of weevil infestations. The geneticists worked to integrate those trees with their breeding program to develop resistant varieties. This work has been ongoing for decades. Only recently have we begun to understand how the trees are able to resist attack from this pest.

TA: What's already known about natural resistance in these trees?

Whitehill: In the early 2010s, a specialized cell type called stone cells were first recognized to be a contributing factor to resistance against spruce weevil. If you've ever eaten a pear, the gritty texture is due to the presence of stone cells. In Sitka spruce, they're highly lignified, meaning they are very similar to wood cells, making them rigid or hard. One of the first clues that some people noticed when trying to propagate the trees was that these trees were much harder to cut. As a result, their knives were worn down more quickly than on the susceptible trees. The areas people were cutting happened to be the same place where the weevil tends to hang out and complete its life cycle. Ultimately, that area was filled with stone cells.

TA: What did the genetic analysis show about resistance?

Whitehill: The big story is that the resistant tree is already well defended against the weevil long before an attack even takes place. It seems that the genes are already turned into the "on" position so the defenses are always present, and the primary defense is the presence of a lot of stone cells.

Another interesting finding was that we identified a set of genes belonging to fungi that were consistently present in resistant trees and susceptible trees actively being attacked by the weevil. We think this means resistant trees and susceptible trees being attacked by weevil harbor a natural fungal community. This previously unexplored interaction could have negative impacts on the weevils' survival.

It's possible there are additional complex ecological interactions that need to be explored further. Thanks to the use of new molecular tools, we are now starting to paint a more complete picture of this complex system.

TA: Was there anything about the Sitka spruce genome that made these trees challenging to study?

Whitehill: One of the challenges of studying the genomes of spruce, or any conifer, is that their genome is about seven to eight times the size of the human genome, on average, with about 21 to 22 billion base pairs of genetic code. Not only do conifers have huge genomes, but they also have these extremely long pieces of genetic code that are repeated many times throughout the genome. That makes it difficult to sequence the gene segments.

The gene space is also not well evaluated and defined in conifers. If you think of the human genome, the Human Genome Project was initiated in 1990, and cost billions to complete before a finalized draft of the human genome was published in 2003. In the case of Sitka spruce, we had to base our findings on the next best studied organism to figure out what the genes were potentially doing. Most of the genes in plants that have been functionally validated are in a small mustard plant called Arabidopsis. We base conifer gene function on Arabidopsis genes.

TA: Why is it important to study this particular spruce?

Whitehill: Sitka spruce is a coastal species found mainly in the pacific northwest of Canada down through the northern part of California and throughout coastal Alaska. From an economic standpoint, it has been planted as a wood source throughout coastal British Columbia, but because of this pest, its use in planting has been reduced for the last 30 years or more.

The tree that I used in my study comes from a population of trees that are very susceptible to the weevil. However, those trees grow very quickly and have a very good wood quality. Because of their fast growth and good quality wood, those trees were taken back to England in the 1800s, and now form the foundation of England's forestry industry.

The ultimate goal of this project, and my plan for the NC State Christmas Tree Genetics program moving forward, is to apply advanced genomic techniques and tools to understand how trees tolerate stress, to identify the underlying mechanisms that support resistance, and ultimately use new genomic approaches to rapidly develop pest-resistant trees and ensure their long-term survival in the face of increasing forest health challenges.

Explore further Tree species diversity is no protection against bark beetle infestation

More information: Justin G. A. Whitehill et al, Constitutive and insectinduced transcriptomes of weevilresistant and susceptible Sitka spruce, Plant-Environment Interactions (2021). Justin G. A. Whitehill et al, Constitutive and insectinduced transcriptomes of weevilresistant and susceptible Sitka spruce,(2021). DOI: 10.1002/pei3.10053
A global study, conducted by OIST researcher, Dr. Payal Shah, estimated protected area effectiveness by country, ranging from least effective (red) to most effective (dark green). Credit: OIST

Scientists have published a global study on the effectiveness of protected areas in preventing deforestation.

The study, published recently in Environmental Research Letters, explored the success of country-level protected areas at reducing forest loss, and used machine learning to uncover some of the factors that contribute to differences in effectiveness.

"Protected areas are a key conservation tool that are essential for stemming the tide of biodiversity and habitat loss across the Earth," said first author, Dr. Payal Shah, a research scientist at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), who specializes in applying economic theory to conservation.

She added that "scientists are calling for 30% of land and ocean to be protected by 2030. But as more and more land is placed under protection, it's increasingly important to measure how well each protected area is working, so policy makers can make more informed decisions about future conservation efforts."

For the study, the research team used satellite data of forest cover between the years 2000-2012, focusing on protected areas that had been established during this timeframe. Countries that had not placed a large enough area of land into protection were removed from the analysis.

For the 81 countries that remained in the analysis, 3.2 million square kilometers of land had been placed into protection. The research team then estimated how effective these protected areas were by comparing changes in forest cover between protected and statistically matched unprotected areas. The areas of land were matched using a wide range of factors that are important predictors of deforestation, including their distance to cities, their elevation from sea level and the slope of the land.

"The aim was to try and understand how much deforestation would have occurred in an alternative scenarioif an area had not been placed under protection," explained Dr. Shah.

The researchers found that overall, around 34,000 square kilometers of forest was lost within newly established protected areas between 2000 and 2012an area larger than the size of Belgium. However, they estimated that if these protected areas had not been put into place, an additional 86,062 square kilometers of forest would have also been lost. This would have meant that an area of land totaling around 120,000 square kilometersthe size of North Koreawould have been deforested.

"This means that protected areas on the whole reduced deforestation by 72%, which is great news," said Dr. Shah. "But when you start breaking down the data by country, the results are more mixed."

The scientists saw that protected areas in some countries performed significantly better than other countries within their region. Leading the way were South Africa, Cambodia, Latvia, Guatemala, Uruguay, Brazil and New Zealand, for the regions of Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South American and Oceania, respectively.

The research team estimated that if all the other countries' protected areas had been as successful as the best performing country in their region, then an additional 33,020 square kilometers of forests would have been saved, which would have reduced deforestation within the newly established protected areas to roughly 1000 square kilometers only.

"The countries in each region are battling against similar key drivers of deforestation, such as timber logging or wildfires, so theoretically, every country has the potential to do equally well," said Dr. Shah. "But we are seeing these huge disparities in the effectiveness of their protected areas. So of course, we then want to understand the underlying factors."

One main factor found was based on the strictness of the protected areas. Strictness categories are based on the degree of human activity or use of natural resources allowed on the land. In most countries, more strictly protected areas were more effective than less strictly protected areas.

Next, the researchers fed data on the demographics, agriculture, economy and politics of each country into a machine learning algorithm, which then identified which factors were most strongly linked to the effectiveness of the country's protected area network.

Countries with high levels of economic growth were associated with higher levels of effectiveness for protected areas.

Meanwhile, countries with higher levels of agricultural activity tended to have less effective protected areas, particularly in countries that had a lower quality of governance and growing rural populations.

"This was expected as agriculture and deforestation often go hand in hand," explained Dr. Shah. "Land is a limited resource so in countries with high agricultural activity, there may be a large deforestation pressures within protected areas in countries that lack proper governance."

However, the researchers emphasized that more in-depth research needs to be done on a country-by-country basis to confirm the reasons underlying these associations.

"As a global analysis, this study allows us to pinpoint which countries are doing well, and which are doing less well," said Dr. Shah. "We can then carry out more targeted research in these countries to help support more effective conservation strategies."

Explore further Protected areas see continued deforestation but at a reduced rate, research shows

More information: Payal Shah et al, What determines the effectiveness of national protected area networks?, Environmental Research Letters (2021). Journal information: Environmental Research Letters Payal Shah et al, What determines the effectiveness of national protected area networks?,(2021). DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ac05ed
A shingleback lizard seized at Perth airport by Western Australia's Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. Credit: Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Western Australia.

Australian reptiles face serious conservation threats from illegal poaching fueled by international demand and the exotic pet trade.

In a new study in Animal Conservation, researchers from the University of Adelaide and the Monitor Conservation Research Society (Monitor) investigated the extent of illegal trade in a well-known Australian lizard: the shingleback, also known as the bobtail or sleepy lizard.

Using government records, media reports, and online advertisements, the researchers found clear evidence that many shinglebacks have been illegally poached from the wild and are smuggled overseas to be traded as pets.

Author and Ph.D. Candidate Adam Toomes from the University of Adelaide says that "while shinglebacks are a protected species in Australia, and can only be exported legally under a federal permit, there is little to no regulation of international trade once the animals have been smuggled out of the country."

"Not only are our findings concerning from a conservation and animal welfare perspective, but they also highlight a major loophole in our legislation which is being exploited."

While under Australian law it is illegal to export native live species, the import to many countries is not, along with trade once the animals have entered the country. It is left to each importing country to address the issue on an individual basis, such as changing their legislation to regulate both the trade and import of species native to other countries.

In the study, the researchers found all four subspecies of shingleback lizard are in trade across Asia, Europe and North America. This includes the threatened Tiliqua rugosa konowi subspecies, only found in the wild on Rottnest Island, Western Australia.

The lifestyle and characteristics of the shingleback makes them particularly vulnerable to poaching.

"They don't tend to travel far from where they live and their defenses, which include a slow retreat when approached and opening their mouth and sticking their tongue out, are not all that daunting. So they can be easily captured even by unskilled people," Toomes said.

Examining seizure data from 2015 to 2018 from the Australian Government's Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment, and additional seizure data from 2009 to 2020, the study shows more than 260 shinglebacks were destined for illegal exportation to countries including Hong Kong, China, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Sweden.

A further 236 shinglebacks were seized in Western Australia but it was uncertain as to whether they were destined for international or domestic trade.

To protect Australian shinglebacks and curtail global trade, the researchers recommend they be listed in Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which provides other countries with the legal means to confiscate illegally exported species.

CITES Appendix III lists species that are protected in their native country for which the country has requested assistance from others to regulate trade. New species can be added to the lists by notifying the CITES secretariat.

Co-author, Phill Cassey, with the University of Adelaide's School of Biological Sciences says that "surprisingly, this piece of legislation is seldom used in comparison to other Appendices in CITES, and yet it could contribute to substantially reducing international trade of threatened reptiles, providing other countries with a legal basis to seize illegally imported species."

"While stronger international regulations and improved legislation are urgently needed to curb the illegal wildlife trade globally, until such legislation exists, CITES Appendix III is a legal tool that can help us protect at-risk native species, like the shingleback, right away."

Explore further Australia's wish list of exotic pets

More information: S. Heinrich et al, Strengthening protection of endemic wildlife threatened by the international pet trade: The case of the Australian shingleback lizard, Animal Conservation (2021). S. Heinrich et al, Strengthening protection of endemic wildlife threatened by the international pet trade: The case of the Australian shingleback lizard,(2021). DOI: 10.1111/acv.12721
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Amore diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace doesn't have to be a dream. A new report from Wharton shows how companies can make it a reality with the help of middle managers, who ultimately shape the environment and daily experiences of employees.

"Improving Workplace Culture Through Evidence-based Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Practices" is one of the most encompassing studies of its kind, drawing on surveys and interviews with hundreds of employees across 15 different industries in the U.S. to gauge their perceptions about where they work. The report examines the complex relationship between DEI practices and outcomes, and it fills in the gaps with recommendations to help companies address their shortcomings. The authors said they want business leaders to use the information to create a culture where everyone thrives.

"We're playing at the intersection of not just acknowledging that people feel negatively or positively, but [identifying] what strategies shift that experience," says Wharton management professor Stephanie Creary, a diversity and identity scholar who is lead author of the report. "These practices, when put in place, are positively shaping the outcomes for everyone. The caveat is that they are even more helpful for people in the minority. [Implementing them] lifts all boats, but it especially lifts the boats of people of color because it tells you that non-DEI related practices currently in place aren't sufficient to lift their boats."

Wharton management professor Nancy Rothbard, who co-authored the report, said the specific recommendations for managerssuch as highlighting the accomplishments of all team members and not just their favoritesare meant to uncover implicit bias and "make visible the invisible" at work.

"The goal was to find actionable processes that help people in organizations," says Rothbard, who like Creary has spent years studying effective workplace policies. "A lot of my research in the diversity space is documenting what the issues are, but this is really focused on solutions."

"The goal was to find actionable processes that help people in organizations," said Rothbard, who like Creary has spent years studying effective workplace policies. "A lot of my research in the diversity space is documenting what the issues are, but this is really focused on solutions."

Wharton doctoral candidate Jared Scruggs is the third author of the report, which was produced with support from Moody's Corporation and DiversityInc.

Middle managers are the "lynchpin'

The recommendations target middle managers because the bulk of DEI work falls on their shoulders, the authors said. Middle managers are responsible for the daily operation of the enterprise and are tasked with carrying out policies that directly affect the lives of employees. That discretion over policy, along with their close interaction with employees, gives them great power in dictating workplace culture.

"They're certainly not the only managers who should be doing this work, but they are the lynchpin in that relationship," Creary said, noting the importance of buy-in from senior managers who must initiate DEI policies at the executive level.

Rothbard agreed, adding that middle managers were the common denominator in DEI outcomes studied in the report. Employees who didn't have support from their middle managers reported feeling a decreased sense of belonging, respect, and commitment.

The scholars measured seven DEI categories (e.g., recruiting, mentoring, training) and 12 outcomes (e.g., helping behavior, inclusive climate, job satisfaction). They then offered science-based recommendations for managers to improve each outcome. Here's a sample of the recommendations:

Advocate for spaces where employees can discuss non-work topics.

Familiarize yourself with programs and policies, even if you don't personally use them.

Create a buddy system of mentorship, then ensure both mentors and sponsors have access to resources.

Use inclusive language.

Be transparent about hiring policies.

Reinforce a zero-tolerance policy for disrespectful behavior.

"It's good management, but it's good management plus a focus on inclusion and the value of diversity," Rothbard said. "You have to believe in the value of diversity, and that has to come through to your employees. That's what the middle management piece is doing[showing] that you're not paying lip service to it, and it's authentic. It's seen as creating an environment that is going to be better for all."

The recommendations may seem intuitive, the professors said, but intuition isn't always enough to improve the culture.

"The last time I checked, just telling people bias exists doesn't change behavior," Creary said. "Those in organizations who implement DEI initiatives can get so caught up in the naming, the practice, and the branding of things that they lose the ability to step back and say, "What am I trying to accomplish?'"

The analysis found a few differences based on demographics. On average, people of color who participated in the survey reported greater awareness and access to DEI resources than white employees. And women and people of color more strongly agreed that they engage in DEI behavior at work, such as speaking out against bias.

The professors said those results hint at the gaps between perception and reality in the workplace, where equity and inclusivity are subjective.

"Underrepresented groups are more aware of [DEI practices], paying more attention to it, and it matters. It's on their radar," Rothbard said. "I think the non-underrepresented groups see it in one bucket. "We have it or we don't." And that was really the difference."

DEI as a business imperative

The report, which was released in May, couldn't be timelier. After more than a year of laser-focused attention on issues of systemic racism and social justice, and the profound changes wrought by a global pandemic, businesses and organizations have a renewed sense of urgency around diversity, equity, and inclusion. Leaders have begun reframing DEI as a "business imperative," the report stated.

Still, these issues are nothing new. Change has been slow because the issues are so deeply embedded in society, Rothbard said.

"There are a lot of cultural and societal norms that are tied up in this problem. That's one reason we haven't made more progress quickly," she said. "The social change and the organizational change go hand in hand. You can't look at organizations in isolation, and my hope is we're going to start to see more rapid change given the really substantial social change we've seen over the last couple of years."

Creary said the barriers to progress are obvious: "If not enough people are doing enough work, the numbers are not going to move." Organizations need a "critical mass" of commitment to change, she said. But even some organizations that have been committed to DEI for decades haven't been able to measure any real change.

"The [key] here is to get people who are in positions of power to advocate for those who aren't, and there's a whole lot of baggage attached to that," Creary said, pointing to the historic lack of opportunity for underrepresented groups.

In addition to the survey analysis, the report also concludes with three studies the scholars conducted with participating companies on their DEI practices. The insights yield valuable information for other companies engaged in similar practices or that want to shore up their policies. Creary and Rothbard noted they will be following up the report with several research articles based on the findings.

Explore further The relationship between diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace
NASAs Ingenuity Mars Helicopter captured this image of tracks made by the Perseverance rover during its ninth flight, on July 5. A portion of the helicopters landing gear can be seen at top left. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Images snapped on July 5 by NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter on its ambitious ninth flight have offered scientists and engineers working with the agency's Perseverance Mars rover an unprecedented opportunity to scout out the road ahead. Ingenuity provided new insight into where different rock layers begin and end, each layer serving as a time capsule for how conditions in the ancient climate changed at this location. The flight also revealed obstacles the rover may have to drive around as it explores Jezero Crater.

During the flightdesigned to test the helicopter's ability to serve as an aerial scoutIngenuity soared over a dune field nicknamed "Seitah." Perseverance is making a detour south around those dunes, which would be too risky for the six-wheeled rover to try crossing.

The color images from Ingenuity, taken from a height of around 33 feet (10 meters), offer the rover team much greater detail than they get from the orbiter images they typically use for route planning. While a camera like HiRISE (the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter can resolve rocks about 3 feet (1 meter) in diameter, missions usually rely on rover images to see smaller rocks or terrain features.

"Once a rover gets close enough to a location, we get ground-scale images that we can compare to orbital images," said Perseverance Deputy Project Scientist Ken Williford of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. "With Ingenuity, we now have this intermediate-scale imagery that nicely fills the gap in resolution."

Below are a few of Ingenuity's images, which completed the long journey back to Earth on July 8.

NASAs Ingenuity Mars Helicopter spotted this location, nicknamed Raised Ridges, during its ninth flight, on July 5. Scientists hope to visit Raised Ridges with the Perseverance rover in the future. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Raised ridges

Ingenuity (its shadow is visible at the bottom of this image) offered a high-resolution glimpse of rock features nicknamed "Raised Ridges." They belong to a fracture system, which often serve as pathways for fluid to flow underground.

Here in Jezero Crater, a lake existed billions of years ago. Spying the ridges in images from Mars orbiters, scientists have wondered whether water might have flowed through these fractures at some point, dissolving minerals that could help feed ancient microbial colonies. That would make them a prime location to look for signs of ancient lifeand perhaps to drill a sample.

The samples Perseverance takes will eventually be deposited on Mars for a future mission that would take them to Earth for in-depth analysis.

"Our current plan is to visit Raised Ridges and investigate it close up," Williford said. "The helicopter's images are by far better in resolution than the orbital ones we were using. Studying these will allow us to ensure that visiting these ridges is important to the team."

NASAs Ingenuity Mars Helicopter flew over this dune field in a region of Jezero Crater nicknamed Seitah during its ninth flight, on July 5, 2021. A portion of the helicopters landing gear can be seen at top left. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Dunes

Sand dunes like the ones in this image keep rover drivers like JPL's Olivier Toupet awake at night: Knee- or waist-high, they could easily cause the two-ton rover to get stuck. After landing in February, Perseverance scientists asked whether it was possible to make a beeline across this terrain; Toupet's answer was a hard no.

"Sand is a big concern," said Toupet, who leads the team of mobility experts that plans Perseverance's drives. "If we drive downhill into a dune, we could embed ourselves into it and not be able to get back out."

Toupet is also the lead for Perseverance's newly tested AutoNav feature, which uses artificial intelligence algorithms to drive the rover autonomously over greater distances than could be achieved otherwise. While good at avoiding rocks and other hazards, AutoNav can't detect sand, so human drivers still need to define "keep-out zones" around areas that could entrap the rover.

NASAs Ingenuity Mars Helicopter flew over these sand dunes and rocks during its ninth flight, on July 5, 2021. While the agencys Perseverance Mars cant risk getting stuck in this sand, scientists are still able to learn about this region by studying it from Ingenuitys images. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Bedrock

Without Ingenuity, visible in silhouette at the bottom of this next image, Perseverance's scientists would never get to see this section of Seitah so clearly: It's too sandy for Perseverance to visit. The unique view offers enough detail to inspect these rocks and get a better understanding of this area of Jezero Crater.

As the rover works its way around the dune field, it may make what the team calls a "toe dip" into some scientifically compelling spots with interesting bedrock. While Toupet and his team wouldn't attempt a toe dip here, the recent images from Ingenuity will allow them to plan potential toe-dip paths in other regions along the route of Perseverance's first science campaign.

"The helicopter is an extremely valuable asset for rover planning because it provides high-resolution imagery of the terrain we want to drive through," said Toupet. "We can better assess the size of the dunes and where bedrock is poking out. That's great information for us; it helps identify which areas may be traversable by the rover and whether certain high-value science targets are reachable."

Explore further NASA's Perseverance rover begins its first science campaign on Mars
Schematic illustration of the HMNCs for targeted MRI, responsive drug release, NIR-II-induced photothermal treatment and chemodynamic therapy. Credit: Wang Hui

As a minimally-invasive method for cancer therapy at precise locations, NIR-induced photothermal therapy (PTT) has drawn extensively attention. The therapeutic mechanism is the use of photothermal agents (PTAs) in the treatment of tumors,and its therapeutic effect happens only at the tumor site where both light-absorbent and localized laser radiation coexist.

The development of PTAs with NIR-II absorbance, ranging from 1000nm to 1700 nm, can efficiently improve their penetrating ability and therapeutic effects because of their high penetration depth in the body. Howerever, several disadvantages are associated with these NIR-II responsive PTAs for their use in biomedical areas. Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), which boast strong absorption effect in NIR-II, can meet this demand. It has attracted much attention for biomedical applications with its noninvasive imaging function and magnetic-induced targeted ability.

Recently, a research team led by Prof. Wang Hui and Prof. Lin Wenchu of High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) reported a new type of NIR-II responsive hollow magnetite nanoclusters (HMNCs), which is made of composed of Fe 3 O 4 , mesoporous shell and hollow cavity for targeted imaging-guided combined therapy of cancer.

"HMNC absorbed NIR-II laser and converted it into local heat," said Prof. Wang, "therefore we successfully accelerated combination of drug release and chemo-photothermal therapy."

In a one-step solvothermal method, they prepared HMNCs with NIR-II absorption at 1066 nm under an external magnetic field (0.5T), which provided photothermal effect on tumor. Besides, as Fe 3 O 4 dissolved in the acid environment, they can convert H 2 O 2 into toxic Hydroxyl radicals, which add chemodynamic effect. What's more, the hollow cavities in HMNCs are good loading places for drug, which also acted as a targeted contrast agent for tumor magnetic resonance imaging.

Further in vivo experiments proved that the combined effect of photothermal, chemo-therapy and chemodynamic therapy of HMNCs has a significant inhibitory effect on mouse tumor growth.

This experiment showed a kind of multifunctional nanocarriers based on NIR-II responsive HMNCs for trimodal cancer therapy.

Explore further Lighting hydrogels via nanomaterials

More information: Xingyu Wang et al, NIRII Responsive Hollow Magnetite Nanoclusters for Targeted Magnetic Resonance ImagingGuided Photothermal/ChemoTherapy and Chemodynamic Therapy, Small (2021). Journal information: Small Xingyu Wang et al, NIRII Responsive Hollow Magnetite Nanoclusters for Targeted Magnetic Resonance ImagingGuided Photothermal/ChemoTherapy and Chemodynamic Therapy,(2021). DOI: 10.1002/smll.202100794
Reactor Operator Nicholas Thompson of Los Alamos National Laboratory helps to set up the neutron clustering measurements at the Walthousen Reactor Critical Facility at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Schenectady, NY. Credit: Los Alamos National Laboratory

For the first time, the long-theorized neutron-clustering effect in nuclear reactors has been demonstrated, which could improve reactor safety and create more accurate simulations, according to a new study recently published in the journal Nature Communications Physics.

"The neutron-clustering phenomenon had been theorized for years, but it had never been analyzed in a working reactor," said Nicholas Thompson, an engineer with the Los Alamos Advanced Nuclear Technology Group. "The findings indicate that, as neutrons fission and create more neutrons, some go on to form large lineages of clusters while others quickly die off, resulting in so-called 'power tilts,' or asymmetrical energy production."

Understanding these clustering fluctuations is especially important for safety and simulation accuracy, particularly as nuclear reactors first begin to power up. The study was a collaboration with the Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) and the Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), both located in France.

"We were able to model the life of each neutron in the nuclear reactor, basically building a family tree for each," said Thompson. "What we saw is that even if the reactor is perfectly critical, so the number of fissions from one generation to the next is even, there can be bursts of clusters that form and others that quickly die off."

This clustering phenomenon became important to understand because of a statistical concept known as the gambler's ruin, believed to have been derived by Blaise Pascal. In a betting analogy, the concept says that even if the chances of a gambler winning or losing each individual bet are 50 percent, over the course of enough bets the statistical certainty that the gambler will go bankrupt is 100 percent.

In nuclear reactors, from generation to generation, each neutron can be said to have a similar 50 percent chance of dying or fissioning to create more neutrons. According to the gambler's ruin concept, the neutrons in a reactor might then have a statistical chance of dying off completely at some future generation, even though the system is at critical.

This concept had been studied widely in other scientific fields, such as biology and epidemiology, where this generational clustering phenomenon is also present. By drawing on this related statistical math, the research team was able to analyze whether the gambler's ruin concept would hold true for neutrons in nuclear reactors.

"You would expect this theory to hold true," says Jesson Hutchinson, who works with the Laboratory's Advanced Nuclear Technology Group. "You should have a critical system that, while the neutron population is varying between generations, runs some chance of becoming subcritical and losing all neutrons. But that's not what happens."

To understand why the gambler's ruin concept didn't hold true, researchers used a low-power nuclear reactor located at the Walthousen Reactor Critical Facility in New York. A low-power reactor was essential for tracking the lifespans of individual neutrons because large-scale reactors can have trillions of interactions at any moment. The team used three different neutron detectors, including the Los Alamos-developed Neutron Multiplicity 3He Array Detector (NoMAD), to trace every interaction inside the reactor.

The team found that while generations of neutrons would cluster in large family trees and others died out, a complete die-off was avoided in the small reactor because of spontaneous fission, or the non-induced nuclear splitting of radioactive material inside reactors, which creates more neutrons. That balance of fission and spontaneous fission prevented the neutron population from dying out completely, and it also tended to smooth out the energy bursts created by clustering neutrons.

"Commercial-sized nuclear reactors don't depend on the neutron population alone to reach criticality, because they have other interventions like temperature and control rod settings," Hutchinson said. "But this test was interested in answering fundamental questions about neutron behavior in reactors, and the results will have an impact on the math we use to simulate reactors and could even affect future design and safety procedures."

Explore further Software to simulate commercial nuclear reactors

More information: Eric Dumonteil et al, Patchy nuclear chain reactions, Communications Physics (2021). Journal information: Communications Physics Eric Dumonteil et al, Patchy nuclear chain reactions,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s42005-021-00654-9
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Four newly discovered planets could help scientists learn more about how the Earth and our solar system developed during their 'teenage' years. The exoplanets reside around 130 light years away and orbit two known stars, TOI 2076 and TOI 1807, which can be found in the constellations of Bootes and Canes Venatici, respectively.

Both are K-type dwarf stars, more orange than our own sun, and are believed to have been born in the same gas cloud around 200 million years ago.

Astronomers are interested in the four new worldseach either two, three or four times the size of the Earthas they are in the early stages of creation and could reveal more about how young planets and planetary systems evolve.

They were discovered by researchers from Loughborough University and over 25 other institutes around the world. The project has been led by NASA using data from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).

"The planets in both systems are in a transitional, or teenage, phase of their life cycle," said Christina Hedges, an astronomer at the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute in Moffett Field, in California, and NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley.

"They're not newborns, but they're also not settled down. Learning more about planets in this teen stage will ultimately help us understand older planets in other systems."

Loughborough student Alex Hughes first brought TOI 2076 to astronomers' attention in 2019, while working on an undergraduate project looking for light curveshe has since graduated with a bachelor's degree in physics.

Using the TESS data, he found that light from the star dipped periodicallypossibly indicating the presence of exoplanets.

After contacting Dr. Hedges to highlight the find, a multinational collaboration of scientists and astronomers discovered three worlds orbiting the star.

The innermost planet, TOI 2076b, is about three times Earth's size and circles its star every 10 days.

Outer worlds, TOI 2076c and d, are a little over four times larger than Earth, with orbits exceeding 17 days.

The second star, TOI 1807, hosts only one known planet, TOI 1807 b, which was first detected by NASA in 2020. It is about twice Earth's size and orbits the star in just 13 hours.

Alex, who is now studying for a Masters in physics at UCL, said: "Discovering a planetary system that exists in this transitional 'teenage' period gives us a chance to test our models of this early evolution period and probe some of the questions we still have.

"I believe that TOI 2076 and TOI 1807 will help us better understand early formation and evolution processes, such that we can understand how our own solar system came to be."

Dr. Shaun Atherton, of Loughborough's School of Science, was also involved in the identification and was Alex's project supervisor.

He added: "This discovery is important for two reasons. One is the age of the two stars. Investigating both the stars and their planets at this stage of evolution will give insights into our own solar system's early evolution. Second is the common origin of the two stars. Born in the same gas cloud, but having since moved apart, we can learn about how these two star systems have developed separately."

Scientists are currently working to measure the planets' masses, but interference from the hyperactive young stars could make this challenging.

According to theoretical models, planets initially have thick atmospheres left over from their formation in disks of gas and dust around infant stars. In some cases, planets lose their initial atmospheres due to stellar radiation, leaving behind rocky cores. Some of those worlds go on to develop secondary atmospheres through planetary processes like volcanic activity. The ages of the TOI 2076 and TOI 1807 systems suggest that their planets may be somewhere in the middle of this atmospheric evolution.

TOI 2076b receives 400 times more UV light from its star than Earth does from our own sunand TOI 1807b gets around 22,000 times more. If scientists can discover the planets' masses, the information could help them determine if missions like NASA's Hubble and upcoming James Webb space telescopes can study the planets' atmospheresif they have them.

A paper describing the findings has been published in the Astronomical Journal.

Explore further Astronomers uncover evidence that there could be many more Earth-sized planets than previously thought

More information: Christina Hedges et al, TOI-2076 and TOI-1807: Two Young, Comoving Planetary Systems within 50 pc Identified by TESS that are Ideal Candidates for Further Follow Up, The Astronomical Journal (2021). Journal information: Astronomical Journal Christina Hedges et al, TOI-2076 and TOI-1807: Two Young, Comoving Planetary Systems within 50 pc Identified by TESS that are Ideal Candidates for Further Follow Up,(2021). DOI: 10.3847/1538-3881/ac06cd
In this May 13, 2004, file photo, a foreman watches workers pick fruit in an orchard in Arvin, Calif. On Monday, July 12, 2021 lawsuits were filed in four California counties seeking potential class-action damages from Dow Chemical and its successor company over a widely used bug killer containing Chlorpyrifos that has been linked to brain damage in children. Chlorpyrifos is approved for use on more than 80 food crops, including oranges, berries, grapes, soybeans almonds and walnuts, though California banned the sales of the pesticide last year and ended spraying this year.Credit: AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File

Lawsuits filed Monday in California seek potential class-action damages from Dow Chemical and its successor company over a widely used bug killer linked to brain damage in children.

Chlorpyrifos is approved for use on more than 80 crops, including oranges, berries, grapes, soybeans, almonds and walnuts, though California banned sales of the pesticide last year and spraying of it this year. Some other states, including New York, have moved to ban it.

Stuart Calwell, lead attorney in the lawsuits, argued that its effects linger in Central Valley agricultural communities contaminated by chlorpyrifos during decades of use, with measurable levels still found in his clients' homes.

Lawyers project that at least 100,000 homes in the nation's largest agricultural state may need to dispose of most of their belongings because they are contaminated with the pesticide.

"We have found it in the houses, we have found it in carpet, in upholstered furniture, we found it in a teddy bear, and we found it on the walls and surfaces," Calwell said. "Then a little child picks up a teddy bear and holds on to it."

All that needs to be cleaned up, he says, because "it's not going away on its own."

State records show 61 million pounds of the pesticide were applied from 1974 through 2017 in four counties where the lawsuits were filed, Calwell said.

In this Friday June 21, 2019 file photo, the sun peaks past almonds growing on the branches of an almond tree in Modesto, Calif. On Monday, July 12, 2021 lawsuits were filed in four California counties seeking potential class-action damages from Dow Chemical and its successor company over a widely used bug killer containing Chlorpyrifos that has been linked to brain damage in children. Chlorpyrifos is approved for use on more than 80 food crops, including oranges, berries, grapes, soybeans almonds and walnuts, though California banned the sales of the pesticide last year and ended spraying this year. Credit: AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File

Officials with Dow and its affiliated Corteva Inc. did not immediately respond to telephone and email requests seeking comment.

Corteva stopped producing the pesticide last year. The Delaware-based company was created after a merger of Dow Chemical and Dupont and had been the world's largest manufacturer of chlorpyrifos. The company has said it believes the product is safe and said it stopped production because of declining sales.

Scientific studies have shown that chlorpyrifos damages the brains of fetuses and children. It was first used in 1965 but was banned for household use in 2001.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is weighing whether to ban the product or declare it safe, including for infants and children. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in April ordered the EPA to make a decision after studying the product for more than a decade. The Trump administration had halted the rule-making process.

The lawsuits were filed on behalf of people in Fresno, Kings, Madera and Tulare counties, though Calwell said they are a precursor to seeking class-action status. Aside from Dow-related companies, they name various farming companies they say applied the chemical near the plaintiffs' homes.

In each case, the plaintiffs are parents suing on behalf of children who suffer from severe neurological injuries that the lawsuits blame on their exposure to the chemical while they were in the womb or when they were very young.

In this Friday, Aug. 29, 2014 file photo, Pinot Noir grapes just picked are shown in a bin in Napa, Calif. On Monday, July 12, 2021 lawsuits were filed in four California counties seeking potential class-action damages from Dow Chemical and its successor company over a widely used bug killer containing Chlorpyrifos that has been linked to brain damage in children. Chlorpyrifos is approved for use on more than 80 food crops, including oranges, berries, grapes, soybeans almonds and walnuts, though California banned the sales of the pesticide last year and ended spraying this year. Credit: AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File

Aside from nearby spraying, the lawsuits say the parent, relatives or others in frequent contact with the child worked in the fields or packing plants and became contaminated with the chemical that they passed on to the child.

Calwell filed related lawsuits last fall on behalf of farmworkers who his firm said "spent years marinating in the pesticide."

The first of those related lawsuits blames chlorpyrifos for causing autism, cognitive and intellectual disabilities in a now-teenager born in 2003.

The teen's father worked spraying pesticides on farm fields and his mother packed what the lawsuit says was chlorpyrifos-covered produce in a facility surrounded by fields treated with the pesticide, often applied by aerial spraying.

Calwell similarly sued Monsanto for damages he alleged it caused to homes in Nitro, West Virginia, with its use of dioxin to make the defoliant known during the Vietnam War era as Agent Orange.

That case settled for $93 million, with Monsanto paying to decontaminate 4,500 homes, a fraction of those that he alleges in California will require more extensive decontamination followed by medical monitoring.

Explore further California to ban pesticide said to harm child development

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
New study reveals the brain mechanism that makes rats feel empathy for other rats, yet refrain from helping rats they deem to be outsiders. Credit: Inbal Ben-Ami Bartal

A decade after scientists discovered that lab rats will rescue a fellow rat in distress, but not a rat they consider an outsider, new UC Berkeley research pinpoints the brain regions that drive rats to prioritize their nearest and dearest in times of crisis. It also suggests humans may share the same neural bias.

The findings, to be published today, Tuesday, July 13, in the journal eLife, suggest that altruism, whether in rodents or humans, is motivated by social bonding and familiarity rather than sympathy or guilt.

"We have found that the group identity of the distressed rat dramatically influences the neural response and decision to help, revealing the biological mechanism of ingroup bias," said study senior author Daniela Kaufer, a professor of neuroscience and integrative biology at UC Berkeley.

With nativism and conflicts between religious, ethnic and racial groups on the rise globally, the results suggest that social integration, rather than segregation, may boost cooperation among humans.

"Priming a common group membership may be a more powerful driver for inducing pro-social motivation than increasing empathy," said study lead author Inbal Ben-Ami Bartal, an assistant professor of psychobiology at Tel-Aviv University in Israel.

Bartal launched the study in 2014 as a postdoctoral Miller fellow in Kaufer's laboratory at UC Berkeley. Bartal, Kaufer and UC Berkeley psychology professor Dacher Keltner led a research team that sought to identify the brain networks activated in rats in response to empathy, and whether they are mirrored in humans. The results suggest they are.

Inbal Ben-Ami Bartal. Credit: University of Chicago

"The finding of a similar neural network involved in empathic helping in rats, as in humans, provides new evidence that caring for others is based on a shared neurobiological mechanism across mammals," Bartal said.

Using fiber photometry, immunohistochemistry, calcium imaging and other diagnostic tools, researchers found that all the rats they studied experienced empathy in response to another rat's signs of distress.

However, to act on that empathy, the helper rat's neural reward circuitry had to be triggered, and that only occurred if the trapped rat was of the same type as the helper rat, or member of its ingroup.

"Surprisingly, we found that the network associated with empathy is activated when you see a distressed peer, whether they are in the ingroup or not," Kaufer said. "In contrast, the network associated with reward signaling was active only for ingroup members and correlated with helping behavior."

Specifically, the rats' empathy correlated with the brain's sensory and orbitofrontal regions, as well as with the anterior insula. Meanwhile, the rodents' decision to help was linked to activity in the nucleus accumbens, a reward center with neurotransmitters that include dopamine and serotonin.

The empathy network in the human brain, left, is similar to the empathy network in the rat brain, right. Credit: Inbal Ben-Ami Bartal

How they conducted the study

For the study, more than 60 pairs of caged rats were monitored over the course of two weeks. Some of the pairs were of the same strain or genetic tribe while others were not. In each trial, one rat would be trapped inside a transparent cylinder while the other roamed free in a larger enclosure surrounding the cylinder.

While unconstrained rats consistently signaled empathy in response to the plight of trapped rats, they only worked to free those that were part of their ingroup, in which case they would lean or butt their heads against the cage door to release the rat.

Indeed, in reviewing the results of multiple measures to understand the neural roots of that bias, the research team found that while all the rodents in the trials sensed their cage partner's distress, their brains' reward circuitry was only activated when they came to the rescue of a member of their ingroup.

Moreover, humans and other mammals share virtually the same empathy and reward regions in the brain, implying that we may have similar biases toward our ingroup when it comes to helping others, Bartal noted.

"Overall, the findings suggest that empathy alone doesn't predict helping behavior, and that's really a crucial point," she said. "So, if you want to motivate people to help others who are suffering, it may be that you have to increase their feeling of belonging and group membership, and work toward a common identity."

"Encouragingly," she added, "we find that this mechanism is very flexible and determined primarily by social experience. We will now try to understand how pro-social motivation shifts when rats become friends, and how that is reflected in their brain activity."

Explore further Study shows that rats will try to save members of their own species from drowning

More information: Inbal Ben-Ami Bartal et al, Neural correlates of ingroup bias for prosociality in rats, eLife (2021). Journal information: eLife Inbal Ben-Ami Bartal et al, Neural correlates of ingroup bias for prosociality in rats,(2021). DOI: 10.7554/eLife.65582
Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson waves to school children while heading to board the rocket plane that will fly him to space from Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, Sunday, July 11, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Andres Leighton

With Virgin Galactic making its highest profile test flight to date with boss Richard Branson aboard, it's only a matter of time before paying customers get their chance and New Mexico realizes a dream that has been decades in the making.

Former Gov. Bill Richardson is among those who have been watching the progress of the space tourism company, ever since he and his team recruited the British billionaire to New Mexico. The two shook hands on a promiseBranson would build the world's first commercial spaceline for tourists, and New Mexico would build the spaceport.

To naysayers who thought it was a boondoggle and a waste of taxpayer money, Richardson said: "You were dead wrong. You have to have a vision for the future, and it's going to happen, and it's going to be great."

The two-term governor was among those who were elated to see Branson and his crewmates rocket to the edge of space on Sunday. About 500 guestsincluding celebrities, Virgin Galactic customers, politicians and a group of studentswatched from just outside the terminal at Spaceport America, while others across New Mexico held watch parties and people around the world tuned in to a livestream.

Rick Homans, the state economic development secretary who led early negotiations with Virgin Galactic, was among those in attendance. He acknowledged it has been a long and difficult road that started with many unknowns for both the state and the space tourism company.

Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson, left, sprays champagne to his crew members while celebrating their flight to space from Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, N.M., Sunday, July 11, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Andres Leighton

Was it worth it? Undoubtedly, he said.

"Look around here," he said Sunday. "The attention of the entire globe is on Spaceport America now and on the industry that could grow here. And I think where we are right now is at the very beginning of something so much bigger, and so that investment is going to pay off in the decades to come."

Residents of Truth or Consequences, an eclectic desert community about 30 miles (48 kilometers) away, are excited to be on the map again. The city first gained notary in 1950 when it agreed to change its name from Hot Springs to Truth or Consequences as part of a publicity stunt put on by a radio show of the same name.

Still, many residents are tempering their optimism as the space tourism venture has taken nearly two decades to get off the ground and it's unclear how often Virgin Galactic will be flying paying customers to the edge of space and whether any spending related to those brief up-and-down trips will trickle down to shopkeepers and other businesses in town.

Richard Branson answers students' questions during a news conference at Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, N.M., on Sunday, July 11, 2021. Branson and five crewmates from his Virgin Galactic space tourism company reached an altitude of about 53 miles (88 kilometers) over the New Mexico desert before safely gliding back home to a runway landing at Spaceport America. Credit: AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan

They also questioned how many space fans and other spectators would be drawn to the area since security is high at the spaceport and guided tours are considered pricy by some.

Others have mixed feelings about having paid extra taxes to help bankroll the spaceport, saying their community is still in dire need of infrastructure improvements, namely a better drinking water system. There's also a lack of housing for residents, much less adequate accommodations for tourists.

"Our tax dollars are paying for the roads to go out there and everything so it would be nice if we could actually benefit from that," said Patty Lane, who helps run a gift shop in the town of roughly 5,900 people. "We're a small community. We need that."

Lane said it's clear that developing a viable commercial spaceline has become a competition, and she's hopeful that will drive more innovation and more aerospace companies to consider moving to the state. Only then, with more private investment, can the industry really take off in New Mexico, she said.

Guests watch as the Virgin Galactic rocket plane, with founder Richard Branson on board, takes off from Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, Sunday, July 11, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Andres Leighton

Top state officials are looking for the same thing. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Economic Development Secretary Alicia J. Keyes said the next step will be a push to get Virgin Galactic to relocate its manufacturing operations to New Mexico as more rocket planes will be needed for the future.

While Sunday's flight helped to promote Virgin Galactic, state officials said it also gave millions of people around the world a look at New Mexico.

Lujan Grisham claimed there are potentially billions of dollars at stake as the space industry growsfrom science and technology investments to tourism spending.

"We absolutely want more companies identifying New Mexico as their corporate headquarters," she said, adding that the space industry could help to stabilize the state's economy.

That's a battle many governors have faced in states where the oil and gas industry is a key economic driver and makes up a significant source of revenue for education and other government programs. Richardson said one of his objectives during his term was to create another industry, and that's why he went after Branson and Virgin Galactic.

This July 11, 2021, image shows Rick Homans, former New Mexico Economic Development secretary, greeting reporters during Virgin Galactic's flight from Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. Homans led negotiations to recruit the space tourism company to New Mexico nearly two decades ago. Credit: AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan

This July 11, 2021 image shows one of Virgin Galactic's customers watching as the space tourism company's rocket plane taxis down the runway after a key test flight at Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. Residents are hopeful there will be economic benefits for the desert community once commercial flights begin. Credit: AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan

Members of Richard Branson's family and friends watch as the Virgin Galactic mothership and rocket plane gain speed as it moves down the runway of Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, on July 11, 2021. Branson and five crewmates reached an altitude of about 53 miles (88 kilometers) over the New Mexico desertenough to experience three to four minutes of weightlessness and see the curvature of the Earth. Credit: AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan

A toy rocket is on display at the visitor center in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, on Monday, July 12, 2021. Residents of the eclectic desert community are hopeful that more economic benefits will begin to trickle down to local businesses following Richard Branson's flight with his Virgin Galactic crew mates from nearby Spaceport America. Credit: AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan

This July 12, 2021 image shows the entrance to the visitor center in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. Residents of the eclectic desert community are hopeful that more economic benefits will begin to trickle down to local businesses following Richard Branson's flight with his Virgin Galactic crew mates from nearby Spaceport America. Credit: AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan

Shopkeeper Patty Lane, right, helps customers at gift shop along the main street in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, on Monday, July 12, 2021. Lane is among the residents who are hopeful that more economic benefits will begin to trickle down to local businesses following Richard Branson's flight with his Virgin Galactic crewmates from nearby Spaceport America. Credit: AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan

Jeffre Dukatt holds up one of the spaceport-related T-shirts his business sells in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, on Monday, July 12, 2021. Dukatt is among those who have been waiting years for Virgin Galactic to get closer to launching paying customers to the edge of space. Credit: AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan

LaRene Miller was busy Monday getting visitors to sign the guest book at the T or C visitor center, where a wing of the building is dedicated to Spaceport America. About half of the 15 visitors over the last day included those who were passing through town to see the spaceport or catch a glimpse of Branson's flight.

One group bought souvenirs. Another woman asked about the drive to the site.

They all had either watched the launch via the livestream or stepped outside to see the contrails.

Jeffre Dukatt, who runs a T-shirt shop in Truth or Consequences, is among the many residents who have been waiting years for the promise of the spaceport.

"I got to see it in real life," he said, describing his view from town of the ascending rocket plane. "It was like the moon walk to me."

With two test flights remaining, Dukatt and others are hopeful they won't have to wait as long for the next step.

Explore further Branson mum on when he'll launch to space on Virgin Galactic

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A team of researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in the U.S., Brazil and Argentina has found that land dedicated to growing soybeans in South America has doubled over the past 20 years. In their paper published in the journal Nature Sustainability, the group describes their approach to measuring soy growing areas in South America and what they learned about its impact on land use on the continent.

Soybean plants are a species of legume native to East Asia, but they are now grown as crops around the world. The beans are used for a variety of purposes, from animal feed to oil and tofu. In recent years, demand for the beans has grown steadily, as beef cattle production has increased dramatically in Asian markets. The increased demand has led to the need for land on which to grow the crops. South American farmers have taken advantage of that need by dedicating more land to growing the crop. This growth has worried climate scientists because prior research has suggested much of that new land comes from tearing down or burning rainforest. In this new effort, the researchers wondered just how much land has been dedicated to growing soy in South America as demand has grown. To find out, they conducted two kinds of studies.

The first study involved analyzing satellite images taken of the region from 2000 to 2019. The second involved traveling to areas they had identified in the satellite images to make sure they really were soy fields.

The researchers found that land areas dedicated to growing soy in South America had more than doubled over the past two decadesfrom 264,000 square kilometers to 551,000. It now covers an area larger than the state of California or the Iberian Peninsula. The researchers also found that most of the land encroachment for soy has been through taking over pasture previously used for raising cattle. As the pasture is depleted, ranchers move to new areas, which means taking down rainforest. They also found that the largest expansion of soy came in Brazilthe country saw an increase in land dedicated to the crop grow by 160%.

Explore further Growing food with air and solar power: More efficient than planting crops

More information: Xiao-Peng Song et al, Massive soybean expansion in South America since 2000 and implications for conservation, Nature Sustainability (2021). Journal information: Nature Sustainability Xiao-Peng Song et al, Massive soybean expansion in South America since 2000 and implications for conservation,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41893-021-00729-z

 2021 Science X Network
Wildland firefighters watch and take video with their cellphones as a plane drops fire retardant on Harlow Ridge above the Lick Creek Fire, southwest of Asotin, Wash., Monday, July 12, 2021. The fire, which started last Wednesday, has now burned over 50,000 acres of land between Asotin County and Garfield County in southeast Washington state. Credit: Pete Caster/Lewiston Tribune via AP

Wildfires that torched homes and forced thousands to evacuate burned across 10 parched Western states on Tuesday, and the largest, in Oregon, threatened a portion of California's power supply.

Nearly 60 wildfires tore through bone-dry timber and brush from Alaska to Wyoming, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Arizona, Idaho and Montana accounted for more than half of the large active fires.

The fires erupted as the West was in the grip of the second bout of dangerously high temperatures in just a few weeks. A climate change-fueled megadrought also is contributing to conditions that make fires even more dangerous, scientists say.

The National Weather Service said the heat wave had peaked in many areas, and remaining excessive heat warnings were expected to expire by Tuesday night.

"While we are eagerly anticipating a cooling trend over the next few days, we still have another hot day to get through," the Medford, Oregon, weather office said.

The largest fire in the United States was burning in rural southwestern Oregon. The Bootleg Firewhich has ravaged about 316 square miles (818 square kilometers), an area more than twice the size of Portlandthreatened some 2,000 homes, state fire officials said. It had burned about 21 homes homes as well as other minor structures, fire spokesman Daniel Omdal said Tuesday.

Plumes of smoke from the Bootleg Fire rise over a playground, Monday, July 12, 2021, near Bly, Ore. Credit: AP Photo/Nathan Howard

Firefighters were struggling to build containment lines and hadn't managed to surround any of the fire burning in the Fremont-Winema National Forest, near the Klamath County town of Sprague River.

"We are under extreme weather conditions. The humidity is low, the fuels are highly flammable and all those provide conditions for significant fire activity," Omdal said.

The fire disrupted service on three transmission lines providing up to 5,500 megawatts of electricity to California, and that state's power grid operator asked for voluntary power conservation Monday evening. The operator reported that more than 44,500 megawatts were available Tuesday.

In Northern California, a combined pair of lightning-ignited blazes dubbed the Beckwourth Complex was 26% surrounded after days of battling flames in windy, hot and dry weather that sapped moisture from vegetation. Evacuation orders were in place for more than 3,000 residents of remote northern areas and neighboring Nevada.

Shane Durant watches the Bootleg Fire smoke plume while walking his dog, Monday, July 12, 2021, near Bly, Ore. Credit: AP Photo/Nathan Howard

Shane Durant watches the Bootleg Fire smoke plume while walking his dog, Monday, July 12, 2021, near Bly, Ore. Credit: AP Photo/Nathan Howard

This photo provided by the Oregon Department of Forestry shows a firefighting tanker making a retardant drop over the Grandview Fire near Sisters, Ore., Sunday, July 11, 2021. The wildfire doubled in size to 6.2 square miles (16 square kilometers) Monday, forcing evacuations in the area, while the state's biggest fire continued to burn out of control, with containment not expected until November. Credit: Oregon Department of Forestry via AP

The Bootleg Fire smoke plume rises over power lines, Monday, July 12, 2021, near Klamath Falls, Ore. Credit: AP Photo/Nathan Howard

A Klamath County Sheriff's vehicle drives toward smoke from the Bootleg Fire, Monday, July 12, 2021, near Klamath Falls, Ore. Credit: AP Photo/Nathan Howard

A firefighting helicopter lands at a fire staging area near the Bootleg Fire, Monday, July 12, 2021, in Chiloquin, Ore. Credit: AP Photo/Nathan Howard

A sign thanking firefighters and first responders hangs near the Bootleg Fire, Monday, July 12, 2021, in Chiloquin, Ore. Credit: AP Photo/Nathan Howard

This photo provided by the Oregon Department of Forestry shows active fire along a ridge at the Grandview Fire near Sisters, Ore., Sunday, July 11, 2021. The wildfire doubled in size to 6.2 square miles (16 square kilometers) Monday, forcing evacuations in the area, while the state's biggest fire continued to burn out of control, with containment not expected until November. Credit: Oregon Department of Forestry via AP

After lighting a fire line to burn up fuel for the Lick Creek Fire, a crew of wildland firefighters begin to put out the flames, Monday, July 12, 2021, south of Asotin, Wash. Credit: Pete Caster/Lewiston Tribune via AP

Wildland firefighters spray water onto a tree that caught fire as they were building a fire line for the Lick Creek Fire, Monday, July 12, 2021, south of Asotin, Wash. Credit: Pete Caster/Lewiston Tribune via AP

A scoop plane drops water onto a burning ridge where a fire line had been created by crews of wildland firefighters, Monday, July 12, 2021, at the Lick Creek Fire, south of Asotin, Wash. Credit: Pete Caster/Lewiston Tribune via AP

A wildland fire crew looks on after setting a fire line on Harlow Ridge above the Lick Creek Fire, Monday, July 12, 2021, south of Asotin, Wash. Credit: Pete Caster/Lewiston Tribune via AP

There were reports of burned homes, but damage was still being tallied. The blaze had scorched more than 145 square miles (375 square kilometers) of land, including in Plumas National Forest, and containment jumped to 46%.

A fire that began Sunday in the Sierra Nevada south of Yosemite National Park grew to nearly 15 square miles (39 square kilometers) but containment increased to 15%. Four unspecified buildings were destroyed.

Elsewhere, a forest fire started during lightning storms in southeast Washington grew to 86 square miles (223 square kilometers). It was 20% contained Monday.

Another fire west of Winthrop closed the scenic North Cascades Highway, the most northern route through the Cascade Range. The road provides access to North Cascades National Park and the Ross Lake National Recreation Area.

In Idaho, Gov. Brad Little mobilized the National Guard to help fight twin lightning-sparked fires that have together charred nearly 24 square miles (62 square kilometers) of dry timber in the remote, drought-stricken region.

Explore further Giant sequoia still smoldering from 2020 California wildfire

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Credit: University of Cambridge

New research shows the gender gap in the teaching and study of economics is still dramatic and actually getting worse. Economists argue that this is not just a problem for the discipline, but for society as a whole.

Women are underrepresented "at almost every level" within the discipline of economics in UK universities, according to a new report co-authored by a Cambridge economist.

In fact, Dr. Victoria Bateman says the new report for Royal Economics Society (RES) reveals signs of "stagnation and retreat" in the closing of gender gaps across the study of economicswith female intake (relative to male) actually falling at both undergraduate and master's levels over the last two decades.

Published today, the report, "Gender Imbalance in UK Economics," marks 25 years since the establishment of the RES Women's Committee, which was set up to monitor and advance the representation of women in UK economics.

"The economy affects everyone, and economists need to represent us all," said Bateman, an Economics Fellow at Gonville and Caius College. "If they don't, that's a major barrier to building a solid understanding of the economy."

"Across all students, from undergraduate to Ph.D., there are twice as many men studying economics as there are women in UK universities. While in many respects the discipline of economics has come a long way in the 21st century, the gender gap is clearly still real, persistent and in some ways getting worse."

Bateman and colleagues argue that attracting, retaining and promoting female economists is a "particular problem" within UK academia when compared to areas of government and third sector organizations such as think tanks.

Only a quarter (26%) of economists working in UK academia are female, and only 15% of economics professors are women, compared to 38% of the economists at the UK Treasury and 44% of researchers at economic think tanks.

Credit: University of Cambridge

Among UK students entering the discipline, the gender gap has actually widened since 2002, when 31% of economics undergraduates and 37% of master's students were women. By 2018, this had fallen to 27% and 31% respectively. Bateman says these statistics show that the closure of the gender gap in economics "isn't simply a matter of time".

"Only a third of economics lecturers in the UK are women, and just fifteen percent of economics professors," said report co-author Dr. Erin Hengel, who received her Ph.D. in economics from Cambridge before going on to lecture at the University of Liverpool.

"While these figures are better than they were twenty-five years ago, the improving trend has leveled off. It appears that progress is starting to slow far before we reach any kind of gender parity."

When the report's authors factored in ethnicity, the percentage of female students was higher. In 2018, a third (33%) of Black economics undergraduates and 31% of Asian ethnicity undergraduates were women, compared to a quarter (25%) of White students.

However, women from ethnic minority backgrounds are not staying in academic economics. The report also found that at Ph.D. level, the proportion of women is ten percentage points lower among minority candidates than white candidates.

Perhaps startlingly, the report found that between 2012 and 2018 there was not a single Black woman employed as a professor of economics anywhere in the UK.

Bateman says she hopes the new report will serve as a "call to arms" for the discipline of economics. "We are calling on universities to ask themselves why so few UK women are attracted to studying and researching the economy and why, even when they are, they do not stay," she said.

Bateman's 2019 book The Sex Factor showed how the status and freedom of women are central to prosperity, and that "gender blindness" in economics has left the discipline wide of the mark on everything from poverty and inequality to understanding cycles of boom and bust.

"Unless economists are diverse, we cannot hope to build a complete understanding of the economy, and, with it, formulate the right kinds of policies," Bateman added.

Explore further Mind the gap: New study examines pay and job rank among academic economists
At the brewery, Murnane said his business has increased 75% each month compared to last year, which has made the lack of workers even more difficult to navigate.

Were slammed, he said.

He offers a competitive wage in line with businesses in the area, he said, and an applicants salary is based on their prior experience.

Still, Murnane said he has heard from some workers who would rather collect the enhanced federal unemployment benefits, which Congress extended through September earlier this year as part of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.

I cant prevent them from doing it, but we offer a very competitive salary for the area, Murnane said. We see what everyone else is paying, and to be quite honest, I think we try to do a little better.

He plans to brew another batch of Help Wanted in hopes of finding the workers he needs.

Were going to keep producing it at a mass quantity until maybe the situation is over or maybe until September, he said. I dont know if this will extend. Theres some fear that the work shortage can extend a little longer, but were trying to figure that out.

Chad Arnold is a reporter for The Post-Star covering the city of Glens Falls and the town and village of Lake George and Washington County government. Follow him on Twitter @ChadGArnold.

Love 4 Funny 2 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0

Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
WHITEHALL  The family of a local firefighter who died in the line of duty was awarded workers compensation and death benefits on Tuesday.

James Brooks, who was second assistant chief of the Whitehall Volunteer Fire Company, suffered a torn aorta when responding to a fire in Dresden on May 2, 2020.

He spent months recovering at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, Vermont. He was confined to a wheelchair and had the use of only his right arm after three strokes. He died on Sept. 17.

His workers compensation claim was denied by Benetech Adjustments, because the insurer claimed the injury was a preexisting condition.

His sister, Kathleen Brooks, said the family won an appeal before the Workers Compensation Board. The judge ruled the injury was caused by his fire department service.

We are overjoyed and were really happy that all the work and time and effort that we put in will be beneficial to others  not just my family, she said.

Kathleen Brooks said the decision means the family will not be on the hook for about $1 million in medical expenses, including $640,000 for the extended stay at Rutland Regional Medical Center and a month at Sunnyview Rehabilitation Center.
FORT EDWARD  A local man with a lengthy criminal record has been sentenced to 8 years in prison for possessing weapons.

Golla Camp-Potter, 28, pleaded guilty in Washington County in May to felony third-degree criminal possession of an assault weapon.

Camp-Potter was arrested back in November. Police had responded to the Fort Edward Motel, looking for a parolee, when they received reports from other residents about a man who had been displaying weapons and accusing other people of stealing his things.

Investigating, police found two weapons, including a .45-caliber Ruger revolver and a .22-caliber semi-automatic rifle with a pistol grip, silencer and a detachable magazine, court documents showed.

In addition, they found a crack pipe, digital scales with powdered residue that was determined to be heroin and bottles containing marijuana.

Camp-Potter is prohibited from owning firearms because of previous felony convictions.

He was released from prison in October 2019 after serving a little more than 3 years. He was convicted in Warren County Court for criminal possession of a controlled substance, after being arrested in 2015 for possessing marijuana and heroin.
LAKE GEORGE  A total of 40 sets of remains of Revolutionary War-era soldiers were uncovered from the site on Courtland Street, according to a Lake George official.

The remains were first discovered in 2019 during digging for an apartment project at the intersection of Courtland and Mohican streets.

Dan Barusch, the towns director of planning and zoning, said a committee is determining how the remains will be reinterred and eyeing a dedication ceremony for sometime in 2023.

It is the largest historic find in modern history in Lake George and so we are treating it that way, he said at Mondays Town Board meeting.

Barusch said officials at the New York State Museum have spent much time and effort on cataloging the various fragments of remains.

Officials believe it was a gravesite, since at least 18 of the bodies were buried in a geometric pattern in deep shafts. It is believed to date back to the Revolutionary War because buttons that were found are associated with uniforms worn by the First Pennsylvania Battalion. This regiment was present in the Lake George area during that time and part of a field invasion of Quebec.
As long as they complete everything necessary under the competitive civil service (process) under New York state, they would be eligible for hire, LaFarr said.

For a non-civil service position, the application would have to go to the county Board of Supervisors or the county Ethics Board for a review and determination.

LaFarr said Tanner will not be reporting to him. Other administrators will supervise his work and review his performance.

LaFarr said the department publicizes the civil service tests the best it can.

We want to do everything in our power to ensure that we recruit every good candidate, he said.

When asked if he thought the increased scrutiny of police departments nationwide was a factor in the lack of applicants, LaFarr said he was not sure.

He pointed out he is not just having trouble finding uniformed officers.

For example, he has been working since January to get the communications center staff up to full strength and has been unable to do so. Typically, that department has had low turnover.
The county also reported that a person who was infectious and did not wear a mask was at the Sagamore Resort in Bolton Landing on July 6 at La Bella Vita from 8 a.m. to noon and Mr. Browns Pub from 4 to 11 p.m.

Last Friday, the infected person was at a banquet in the main ballroom/conference center from 3 to 11 p.m. On Saturday, the person was at the onsite tent and wedding from 12:30 to 11 p.m.

Anyone who was present at these locations on those days during the specified time periods should monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 and quarantine and seek a COVID test if feeling ill.

Warren County reported three new infections for a total of 13 active cases. Twelve people have mild illness and one person is in the hospital in serious condition.

Warren County Health Services Director Ginelle Jones urged residents to get vaccinated as COVID cases around the state and nation have increased in recent days.

Overall, the COVID-19 vaccines have been remarkably effective in preventing serious illness among our residents. We continue to urge our residents to get vaccinated if they have not, as the vaccine is the best weapon we have to protect ourselves from this virus, Jones said in a news release.
Brian has been an integral part of the YMCA and will be missed, said Brian Corcoran, board chairman of the Family YMCA of Glens Falls. Even though he is leaving our organization, we are excited for him to be joining the Tri-County United Way and continue to be an influential and important member of the Glens Falls community. He has given so much to the organization and leaves the Y well positioned for the future.

Corcoran said the YMCA will conduct a national search for a successor.

The YMCA was hurt by the pandemic, losing 55% of its membership.

Bearor said it has been a privilege to serve the organization and said hell miss the volunteers and staff but is excited about the new opportunity.

I am thrilled to join the United Way family and to have the opportunity to work with such passionate staff and volunteers, he said. I believe in the power of the United Way to be a force for good in the communities we serve and will work diligently to expand the mission and impact of the Tri-County United Way.
LinkedIn profiles for Sutherland and Wong list them as retired. Blackie went on to become CEO of another Miami-based provider of remote-control software, Pilixo, where he was joined by McMullen. Pilixo didn't return a request for comment.

New vulnerabilities affecting Kaseya's VSA  including the one exploited by the REvil ransomware gang  were discovered this year by a Dutch cybersecurity research group that says it confidentially warned Kaseya in early April. "In the wrong hands, these vulnerabilities could lead to the compromise of large numbers of computers managed by Kaseya VSA, the Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure said in a blog post last week explaining the timeline of its actions.

Some of those Kaseya fixed by May, including another SQL injection flaw, but the Dutch group said others were still unpatched when ransomware started hitting hundreds of businesses in early July. Kaseya has said up to 1,500 businesses have been compromised as a result of the attack. Kaseya on Sunday rolled out patches to the vulnerabilities used in the REvil attack.

With Kaseya in the spotlight, a cybersecurity responder assisting clients stricken by the July 2 ransomware attack discovered what he called a glaring Kaseya security omission: a vulnerability in a public-facing customer portal that had been identified in 2015 but left unpatched.
Racists invoke that fallacy all the time: Young Black men are convicted of a disproportionate fraction of violent crime, for example, so any young Black man must be a violent criminal. But anti-racists can fall victim to the same poor logic: A racist practice occurred in the past, so it is also happening now.

On drugs, alas, our racist history is all too clear. The first panic over cocaine dates to the early 20th century, when rumors spread that African American men were using the drug and assaulting white women. Marijuana was tabooed in the 1930s when it became associated with Mexican Americans, who supposedly went on homicidal sprees while under the influence of locoweed.

For many years crack cocaine brought more severe jail sentences than the powdered kind, because crack was more often used by Black people. And even when different races consume a drug in similar amounts, minorities are penalized more harshly for it. Black people are nearly four times more likely than white people to be arrested for marijuana, although the two races have roughly equal usage rates.

But none of that means ShaCarri Richardsons suspension was itself racist. To demonstrate that, youd have to show that she was somehow treated differently because she is Black. And we have no evidence  none  of any discrimination along those lines.
Don Plotz, a Navy sailor, immediately wrote to Benchley: I couldnt put it down until I had finished it. For I have rather a personal interest in sharks.

In vivid detail, Plotz recounted his experiences on a search and rescue mission in the Bahamas, where a hurricane had sunk the USS Warrington on Sept. 13, 1944. Of the original crew of 321, only 73 survived.

We picked up two survivors who had been in the water twenty-four hours, and fighting off sharks, Plotz wrote. Then we spent all day picking up the carcasses of those we could find, identifying them and burying. Sometime only rib cages  an arm or leg or a hip. Sharks were all around the ship.

Benchleys novel paid little attention to World War II, but the war anchored one of the movies most memorable moments. In the haunting, penultimate scene, one of the shark hunters, Quint, quietly reveals that he is a survivor of the USS Indianapolis disaster.
HAMMONTON  The longest-running Italian festival in the U.S. will go on for another year. The 146th edition of the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel festival will take place from Thursday through Tuesday.

The festivals highlight, the religious Feast Day, will be Friday. The day includes a procession of the Blessed Virgin of Mt. Carmel through the streets. The statue represents the virgin Mary, mother of Jesus.

Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

The festival will take place on Mt. Carmel Avenue. On the Feast Day, there will be Masses at 8 a.m., 10 a.m. (in Italian), noon (in Spanish), 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., with the procession beginning at 4 p.m. from Third and French streets. Fireworks will launch at 10 p.m.

Last year, COVID-19 meant a scaled-down version of the festival, with no carnival, social distancing at tables and increased sanitation. Live music was limited to Thursday. This year, there are no limitations on the carnival or any other aspect of the procession and festival.

For more details, visit mountcarmelsociety.org.

Contact Joe Martucci: 609-272-7247 jmartucci@pressofac.com Twitter @acpressmartucci

Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
The thing is, the rules are a little complicated, and unfamiliar to many beachgoers.

There are few private beaches along the ocean in South Jersey. In Diamond Beach, the beachfront runs a little over 3/10ths of a mile, most of which is owned privately and operated as beach clubs, with use restricted to members, guests of the individual properties or others  someone buying a beverage at one of the beach bars, for example.

But under whats known as the public trust doctrine, members of the public have a right to access to the beach where tidal waters flow.

Its an ancient common law doctrine. I believe it goes all the way back to the Romans, said Frank Corrado, an attorney representing Icona owner Eustice Mita.

According to background on the doctrine posted by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, it goes back to Emperor Justinian around the year 500. From there, it entered English Common Law and was adopted in the 13 colonies.

In New Jersey, the ownership of tidal lands was held by the king, which passed to the public in the American Revolution. All that boils down to the principle that people have a right to access to the ocean, and private landowners cannot legally keep them out.
The good news is, now were going to get representation for that district, Parker said after the decision. Still, he said he would have preferred the election take place sooner.

Republicans had sought to hold the election in September. Democrats said that would be more expensive  costing an estimated $100,000  and would see a lower voter turnout.

The turnout would be about 10%, and the Republicans would have won, said Michael Suleiman, the Atlantic County Democratic leader. While Parker argues the seat should be filled as soon as possible, Suleiman accused the GOP of voter suppression to improve their chances.

Parker has been critical of county Clerk Ed McGettigan and the mistake that prevented hundreds of residents from voting. But he said he was happy to have a decision.

Its been an unfortunate process, he said. Weve all got to move on.

Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

The timing added another complication: Parker had already filed to run for reelection to his seat on the Township Committee. Under state law, he would not be able to serve in both positions, but he could have remained on the ballot for both the special election and the township seat.
JOHN CENA'S PEACEMAKER WRAPS PRODUCTION IN CANADA, SERIES TO HIT HBO MAX THIS DECEMBER

Writer and Director James Gunn announced that filming has wrapped on John Cena's first-ever TV series Peacemaker, which will hit HBO Max this December:

And thats a wrap on Day 131 & Season One of #Peacemaker. Less than a year ago I pitched a vague pitch to @HBOMax - here we are 11 months later with 8 astounding episodes in the can. Cast & crew: I love you all. Thank you for putting your hearts & souls into this project.  James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 13, 2021

The Peacemaker series is a spinoff of the forthcoming film The Suicide Squad film. That film is slated for a August 6, 2021 release and is the second Squad film, based on the DC Comics series with the premise being the United States government is forcing incarcerated super-villains to go on suicide missions under threat of death.

John Cena's interation of Peacemaker will be the first ever live action incarnation of the character, a soldier and super-hero who loves peace so much he is willing to kill for it. The character was originally created by Charlton Comics but acquired by DC in the mid-80s. In promotional material for the film, Cena has described this take on Peacemaker as a "douchey Captain America."

In September 2020, HBO Max ordered an eight-episode first season for the series as a spinoff for the forthcoming Suicide Squad film starring Cena with James Gunn, the writer and director of Squad and Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy returning to write and direct the series. The series will explore Peacemaker's background before the Suicide Squad film.

Cena last appeared for WWE, as a competitor, at Wrestlemania 36, facing Bray Wyatt in the Firefly Funhouse Match, a bout where Cena literally disappeared from WWE storylines. He was unable to appear at Wrestlemania 37 due to quarantine requirements that would force the shut down of the series' production. It was the first Mania since 2002 that Cena did not actively participate in.

In advance of the series and film, the Peacemaker character will be positioned stronger in DC Comics' Suicide Squad comic series and will be getting an official Hallmark ornament for the holiday season:

If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
A Chicago man was being held without bond following his arrest for the alleged sexual assault of a patient inside a Park Ridge nursing and rehabilitation facility last week.

According to Park Ridge police, a nurse at Avantara Park Ridge, 1601 N. Western Ave., reported that she entered the room of a female patient on the morning of July 9 and saw a male nursing assistant sexually assaulting the 62-year-old woman.

The nursing assistant left the facility prior to the arrival of police, who were called about 30 minutes after the alleged incident, Park Ridge police said.

The patient was taken to the hospital for treatment, police said.

Police identified the employee as Norwood G. Banks, 60, of the 400 block of East 113th Street in Chicago's West Roseland neighborhood.

Detectives took Banks into custody at his home and charged him with aggravated criminal sexual assault of a handicapped victim, police said Monday. He was being held without bond this week in Cook County Jail, according to the Cook County Sheriff's Department.

A message left with Avantara Park Ridge Administrator Erin Levy was not immediately returned.
I-74 exit to 6th Avenue in Moline to open Wednesday

Drivers will be able to take a new exit on the Illinois side of the I-74 bridge to 6th Avenue in Moline beginning Wednesday.

According to an emailed construction update from the I-74 Mississippi River Bridge project leaders, drivers should watch for traffic signs and orange barrels guiding to the newly completed section of I-74. The exit ramp will be off of the right lane.

The $1 billion bridge project, which began construction in 2017, is expected to open fully to traffic by the end of 2021. Currently the Iowa-bound lanes are open to both directions of traffic, with construction expected to be completed on the Illinois-bound bridge by the end of the year.

Rock Island road closure; Middle Road resurfacing

The city of Rock Island reports that 25th Street between 9th to 14th avenues will be closed beginning today for right-of-way maintenance.

The road closure is necessary for the safety of crews performing the work as well as the motoring public.

Pending favorable weather this closure is expected to last about two days and should be reopened on Thursday.
Belmont was a few blocks from the jail on California Avenue when a white SUV pulled up to his car, and someone from the SUV opened fire, striking Belmont several times and killing him, police have said.

Belmont had been held in the jail on murder and robbery charges after, authorities contend, he shot a man during a robbery in 2015 and robbed someone else a few hours later. The man who authorities believed Belmont shot died weeks later.

But Cook County prosecutors dropped the murder charges at the end of January 2017 after allowing too much time to elapse under the states speedy trial statute, according to court records and Belmonts lawyer. The robbery charges remained, however.

Two weeks after Belmont was killed, a 21-year-old man suffered six gunshot wounds to the groin area on March 20, 2017, as he was walking to the Leighton Criminal Court Building, which is next to the jail. Someone from a white van opened fire. The 21-year-old was struck by gunfire, and he was taken to Mount Sinai in critical condition.

The man who was shot in the groin had a history of misdemeanor arrests but oddly wasnt due in court the day he was shot. At the time, his lawyer said she didnt know why he was going to the courthouse that day.
There were some excellent reporters in Peshawar with long and deep knowledge of Pashtun affairs. But their conviction, vindicated by later events, that the U.S. had no real choice but to negotiate with the Taliban on steadily worsening terms was barely heard at the time.

In my own writing for U.S. periodicals, I felt myself under pressure not to depart too much from the national consensus (to which even left-leaning magazines such as the Nation initially subscribed) that the invasion of Afghanistan was just, righteous and necessary, aimed at advancing democracy and liberating Afghans, especially women, from cruel oppressors.

It is why the war in Afghanistan today seems, above all, a massive intellectual failure: a failure even to acknowledge, let alone to grapple with, complex reality; a failure that seeded all other failures  diplomatic, military and political  in Iraq as well as in Afghanistan.

Its probably too optimistic to imagine that these appallingly costly fiascos could have been avoided by a less conformist climate of opinion and an openness to contrary viewpoints, including, most crucially, of Afghans themselves.

Nevertheless, one lesson is clear from the long-expected U.S. defeat in Afghanistan: Intellectual diversity, lately presented as a moral imperative and a mode of racial justice, is also a practical necessity  especially if the U.S. seeks to avoid more destructive international entanglements in the future.

Pankaj Mishra is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist.

Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0
Rock Island Mayor Mike Thoms is giving serious consideration to running for the 36th District seat in the Illinois state Senate.

The seat is held by State Sen. Neil Anderson, R-Andalusia. Anderson was drawn out of the 36th District during the Democratic majority-led remapping process and must run in Senate District 47 if he runs for re-election.

Thoms, a Republican, was re-elected to a second term as mayor in the April 6 municipal election. If he chooses to run for state Senate, he would be allowed to remain mayor.

"After (lawmakers) redrew the district, they left it with no incumbent," Thoms said Monday. "I've always had some frustrations with the state."

Thoms said he wasn't happy with House Bill 3653, the Police and Criminal Justice Reform Bill, passed by lawmakers in January and signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in February.
According to an emailed construction update from the I-74 Mississippi River Bridge project leaders, drivers should watch for traffic signs and orange barrels guiding to the newly completed section of I-74. The exit ramp will be off of the right lane.

The $1 billion bridge project, which began construction in 2017, is expected to open fully to traffic by the end of 2021. Currently the Iowa-bound lanes are open to both directions of traffic, with construction expected to be completed on the Illinois-bound bridge by the end of the year.

3. Rock Island road closure; Middle Road resurfacing

The city of Rock Island reports that 25th Street between 9th to 14th avenues will be closed beginning today for right-of-way maintenance.

The road closure is necessary for the safety of crews performing the work as well as the motoring public.

Pending favorable weather this closure is expected to last about two days and should be reopened on Thursday.

Travel delays can be expected at or near this location. Please follow all posted signs for detour directions when needed and watch for trucks entering and leaving the area.
During the three-week trial, prosecutors gave jurors proof that Calk played a pivotal role in getting approval for a $9.5 million real estate construction loan and another $6.5 million so Manafort could finish construction on a Brooklyn condominium and avoid foreclosure.

Defense lawyers argued that Calk could not win approval for the loans without the bank's loan committee and underwriters agreeing to the terms. And they noted that the loans were obtained at a time when Manafort was considered wealthy and successful and had not yet been criminally charged.

Early in the trial, Anthony Scaramucci testified that he never would have enabled Calk to get the interview for the administration post if he had know that Calk was helping Manafort to get millions of dollars in loans for his real estate ventures.

Scaramucci had testified that Manafort, who served as Trump's campaign manager for a key stretch from June to early August 2016, reached out to him in mid-to-late December 2016 to encourage him to consider Calk for an important position.

At the time, Scaramucci was working on Trump's presidential transition team.

Although Calk had hoped to become Secretary of the Army, he eventually interviewed for other positions because that post had already been filled, Scaramucci said.
ORLANDO, Fla.  Facing criticism from small cities like Rapid City that feared losing status and funding, the federal government said Tuesday that it won't raise the population threshold for what qualifies as a metro area.

The Office of Budget and Management said it will keep the minimum population needed in a community's core city at 50,000 residents in order to be designated a "metropolitan statistical area."

The federal government had been considering doubling that threshold to 100,000 people. Under that earlier proposal, 144 cities with core populations of 50,000 to 99,000 were at risk of becoming "micropolitan statistical areas" instead.

Leaders of metro areas like Rapid City, Bismarck, N.D., Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Auburn, Alabama, had worried the change would cause real harm, preventing urban areas from getting designated federal funding and making them less attractive for economic development.

Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

Sens. John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, and Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona, introduced legislation in June that would have stopped the Office of Budget and Management from making the change.
The first quarter 2021 mortality data does not include information from the Indian Health Service, which did not respond to a data request for this story. Historically, however, the suicide rate for Native American residents of South Dakota is estimated to be about 2.5 times higher than the rate for Caucasians, according to the Department of Health.

Suicide prevention specialists say they saw a recent rise in attempts and deaths by suicide among people in their 20s and 30s. In Pennington County alone, 12 of the 34 people who died by suicide last year were in the 20-39 age group, according to the Front Porch Coalition, a suicide prevention and support group in Pennington County.

While specific age data for the last year was not yet available, advocates say theyve seen more children with suicidal thoughts over the past year. Multiple new programs aimed at youth suicide prevention and training for youth on how to detect warning signs have started across the state in response.

The Helpline Center recently started mental health training for students in grades 10-12 to learn about suicide warning signs. The Front Porch Coalition and Rapid City Police Department started a program in the fall that works with children who are considered at high risk for suicide or with those who know someone who died by suicide.
WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden will host New York City's Democratic mayoral candidate and other city and law enforcement leaders from around the country to talk about reducing crime.

Eric Adams, Brooklyn borough president and the likely next mayor of New York, plus Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser and San Jose, California, Mayor Sam Liccardo are expected to attend the meeting Monday, according to two people familiar with the plans. They were not authorized to speak publicly about the meeting and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Biden will also host Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis, Chief David Brown of Chicago and Lt. Anthony Lima of the Newark, New Jersey, police.

Shootings and killings are up around the nation, with local politicians and police struggling to manage the violence that has ballooned since the coronavirus pandemic. But there is a continued push for police reform, revived nationwide with the death of George Floyd, and Biden is trying to work on both simultaneously.
As for what the future of the 2021 fire season holds, western Montanans can expect this is just the beginning, Coefield said. And if it seems early, thats because it is.

This does seem to be the earliest weve had an impact from wildfire smoke, she said. Theres going to continue to be smoke. Some fires will be put out, others might burn until it snows.

Unfortunately, it's so dry and it's so hot. And the forecast is calling for more dry and more hot, she continued. Theres every potential for fires to get big and send us a lot of smoke. It's still early. The fires that got us in 2017, they all started middle to end of July. So theres still time for new fires to start and current fires to get bigger.

Its important to enjoy the nicer days when we have them, Coefield said. Since the smoke is wind-driven and thus comes and goes with more irregularity, some days will be much nicer than others.

When we do have better days, take advantage of them, she said. And as we go into this season, pay attention to how your bodys reacting to the smoke. As the season moves on, it's going to have more wear and tear on your body.

Montanans curious about air quality level can visit the states Department of Environmental Quality website at svc.mt.gov/deq/todaysair/.

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
Were particularly sensitive to existing tenants, Franco said. So were definitely eager and open to discussing opportunities for Buz and Neds to come back into the new building or even relocate to another section of the project, perhaps the North end retail, which will be repositioned.

Buz Grossberg, the owner of Buz and Neds, could not be reached for comment.

The two other parcels the developers bought  at 1207 and 1209 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd.  would be kept.

The building at 1207 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd. is leased to Cort Furniture, which operates a furniture rental and clearance center, and to Tilt Creative + Production, a Richmond-based branding agency that operates studios there. Both tenants will remain.

Stacy Murphy, Tilt Creatives chief operating officer and executive producer, said she has known of plans for the apartment complex for a few months and is happy new life is coming to that area. Tilt has leased space at this location since 2015, she said.

Were thrilled that theyre going to be adding to the beautification of the Boulevard, she said, which I think could definitely use it, and so were excited to have a few good neighbors on the street.
I guess it all depends on whose free speech is being gored.

In April, decorated journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones was appointed to a distinguished chair in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hills school of journalism and media  a post that in the recent past had come with tenure. But Hannah-Jones role as the progenitor of The New York Times Magazines 1619 Project made her a target of the right wing, including conservatives on the schools Board of Trustees.

Her tenure twisted in the wind just long enough for Hannah-Jones to opt out of teaching at her alma mater in favor of Howard University.

I missed the lamentations from the right about Hannah-Jones being canceled for writing what should be incontrovertible: that this nation was built on a foundation of Black enslavement and resistance.

And now, a right-wing free speech group is defending the right of a campus club, Turning Point USA at Virginia Tech, to engage in group chats that the university characterized as homophobic, racist, ableist, and misognynistic.
The award provided an opportunity for Northam and General Assembly Democrats to claim vindication for increasing Virginias minimum wage and achieving other progressive legislative goals, despite warnings from Republican opponents that the economy would be put at risk and the states business reputation damaged.

COVID, racial justice

The COVID-19 pandemic and a push for racial justice reshaped the competition for the top business state honors. The cost of doing business carried the most weight of the 10 categories, but CNBC said it had placed a new focus on health care and inclusiveness.

The pandemic has changed the way we view health care, the network said last week as a preview of the new rankings, And the new, national focus on racial and social justice has led to unprecedented demands from corporations for inclusiveness in the locations where they choose to do business.

In Virginia, 11,450 people died of COVID-19 during a nearly 16-month state of emergency that Northam declared on March 12, 2020, and ended last month. But he did not, like governors in 25 states, end temporary federal unemployment benefits, despite pressure from businesses and political opponents who say the aid has hampered employers from hiring in a tight labor market.
Russia and Belarus have a union agreement that envisages close political, economic and military ties but stops short of a full merger. Russia has pumped billions of dollars into shoring up the Soviet-style, state-controlled economy of Belarus with cheap energy supplies and loans.

Before last year's election and protests, Lukashenko often accused the Kremlin of trying to force him to relinquish control of prized economic assets and eventually abandon his countrys independence. Faced now with tougher economic sanctions, the Belarusian leader emphasized a need to jointly counter Western pressure.

We will deal with terrorism and all that, but the economy is the most important thing, Lukashenko said, voicing hope that we will resist that economic blow together with Russia and adding that the West will not succeed in trying to monopolize the international agenda and put pressure on us.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the presidents agreed during their five hours of talks that Belarus would receive Russia's natural gas next year at this year's prices, the Interfax news agency reported. The two also discussed terms for new Russian loans and steps to increase cooperation in energy, taxes and customs.



Associated Press writer Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv, Ukraine contributed to this report.
Party affiliation aside,

free speech guaranteed

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

When discussing problems with politics, there always is a risk of being discounted as a partisan. Regardless of our allegiance, what we accuse the other party of doing our own party also might do in the future.

A recent article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch told the story of the Virginia Republican Party's criticism of an apparent university ethics violation when a professor displayed bitter partisanship in tweets about a past U.S. president. The same president  with the White House as his backdrop, leading his followers to believe they were getting instructions that provoked a riot  had his speech ruled as protected by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Why, then, is the professor's protected speech a concern of Virginias Republican Party? It cant legally silence him. The past president already proved that. Only bullies use force, intimidation and threats because they dont like what someone is saying.

Just as I was giving up the whole thing as simply too confusing, one of those cartoon light bulbs lit up over my head. I had to reread the article and yes, nowhere does anyone suggest that the professors comments were not accurate.
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.
Toss in Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge), a lonely single who wants to scatter her mothers ashes, and you see these are people with emotional issues money cant resolve.

The fun, though, is in Armonds effort. As played by Murray Bartlett, hes an ever-smiling wreck, exuding confidence while hiding contempt.

Unfolding over the course of a week, the limited series shows just how miserable life can be no matter what the setting. Shane harps on the accommodations; Nicole questions her husbands fidelity; Tanya gives a spa worker false hope.

Even though much of the action takes place in restaurants and rooms, theres plenty to savor. The Mossbachers daughter, Olivia (Sydney Sweeney), is about as obnoxious as college sophomores get. She toys with her friend (Brittany OGrady), who doesnt share her lifestyle, and thwarts her oh-so-successful mom every time she tries to pretend life is great. She scores with simple looks and makes you feel sorry for her brother, Quinn (Fred Hechinger), whos enjoying the stay more than anyone.

White uses sly humor throughout the series and gets his best results from Bartlett, who unravels in unusual ways. He captures the managers approach beautifully and has plenty of fun getting even.
Each also carries another 23 years in suspended time, with five years of probation, and must be on good behavior for 30 years after their release.

Tuesdays resolutions came after two significant points in the process. In April, prosecutors had asked Judge Tim Allen to join the cases of four of the six men  Brooks, Manns, Mitchell and Schwallenberg  so that they would be tried at the same time, as co-defendants. Allen agreed to take that request under advisement, but at a hearing Monday, Assistant Commonwealths Attorney Sandra Workman narrowed her previous motion to link just two: Manns and Mitchell.

Although Allen approved her request, Tuesdays plea agreements mean the remaining four will stand trial as individual defendants.

Rather than present an oral summary of the prosecutions case  customary at most plea hearings  Workman instead submitted a seven-page synopsis of the evidence, which stated that the Commonwealths evidence largely arises from eye-witnesses, some which having given statements against their penal interest (and without any consideration, promises or plea agreements from the Commonwealth).

Although the evidence described in the stipulation has yet to be presented in court, neither Mitchell nor Schwallenberg objected to it.
ROCKY MOUNT  The line to speak at Mondays Franklin County School Board meeting extended past the edge of the parking lot.

As has happened in Botetourt, Bedford, and other Virginia counties, most had come to decry a perceived agenda that they described as pro-Marxist and anti-Christian, including face masks in schools, new state regulations about how schools deal with transgender students and the potential exposure of students to critical race theory.

More than four hours into the meeting, led by Schools Superintendent Bernice Cobbs, the staff essentially gave those who were still watching a history lesson in Franklin County schools policies and programs. These presentations were elicited by Boone District representative Donna Cosmato, who in June successfully lobbied the board to officially address the controversial transgender and critical race topics at Mondays meeting.

Cobbs explained that the district has been adjusting its policies to accommodate transgender students for at least 15 years  so there is no need for the school system to adopt any new proposals from the state regarding that issue. She also emphasized again that critical race theory is not being taught in Franklin County schools.
You never know who needs blood. It could be a friend or family member, or it could be you one day, Grant said. You want that blood to be available for you when you need it, if you or a loved one needs that.

Nationwide, Red Cross needs more than 1,000 additional daily blood donations to meet demands, the organization said in a news release. Starting Friday and lasting through July, there are blood drives happening in communities across Southwest Virginia and throughout the state.

I would encourage people to get up, make that appointment, have a good breakfast, take a lot of iron and vitamin C try to look away from the needle, and recognize that they are saving a life, Grant said if people are hesitant or frightened of donating.

Most donations are life-altering for the recipient, and many are even life-saving, she said.

That is so important to put it in perspective, that you are making a difference  youre really saving up to three people, because your one donation can help multiple people, Grant said. If you keep that in your mind, and dont look at the needle, it only takes about 10 minutes of the actual donation.
The Supreme Court of Virginia has agreed to hear the case of a former Liberty University professor who was convicted of soliciting sex from a minor  in actuality, an undercover cop posing as a teenager.
Though Republicans are looking ahead to next year's midterm elections as they try to craft an effective line of attack against a popular President and his administration. But there was no issue more dominant at the CPAC gathering in Dallas than Trump's false claim that the 2020 election was fraudulent, even though there is no evidence of widespread voting fraud in last year's contest.

Trump accused Democrats of using the law and the powers of government to silence "their political opponents" and advance "the radical agenda of their party." He alluded to the fact that his former personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has now had his law license suspended in Washington, DC, and also temporarily lost his license in New York after advancing election lies.

"The radical left Democrats are turning the law itself into a weapon for partisan persecution," Trump said. "Look at what they're doing to incredible people like Rudy Giuliani."

"There are now two sets of laws in this country -- one for the left wing mob, the rioters and the rampagers ... who can do whatever the hell they want to whomever they want to do it. And there is another set of rules for law-abiding conservative Americans who happen to be Republicans, who simply want to speak their minds and exercise their rights to talk about the election," he said.
FROM THE VINE The pandemic is finally fading out, and thanks to our creative vintners who struggled to survive it, they are coming up with some fantastic ideas for their tasting rooms!
DARLINGTON, S.C.  A group of community leaders will hold a rally to address the violence breaking out across the Pee Dee.

New Alpha Community Development Corporation, the development arm of the Kingdom Living Temple; the Whitney M. Slater Foundation; the Florence Democracy Center; Nubian Brothers; and Ceasefire USA will host a rally called Reclaim Our Communities Stop Killing Your Own from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday at Keitt Barbershop, located at 1115 Main St. in Darlington.

Rev. Leo Woodberry, the pastor the Kingdom Living Temple, said that the goal of the rally is to encourage communities to establish cease fire zones around parks and clubs, because those places are where innocent people are more likely to be.

Woodberry added that Saturdays rally will be the first in a series to help communities afflicted by violence to show that they care and to work to find solutions to the problems that cause the violence.

Woodberry said it was absolutely important for him as a pastor to work to prevent violence in the Pee Dee.

As a pastor, I always prefer visiting my members, and theyre not sick or not injured, Woodberry said. If they are sick and injured, Id rather visit them in the hospital than [to] conduct a funeral.
As Californias attorney general for the previous four years, Becerra led a coalition of Democratic state officials that defended the 2010 health law in that case from efforts by Republican state officials and the Trump administration to have it declared unconstitutional.

Now were playing offense, he said. Weve got the ball and weve got to march it down the field, and we intend to because there are many Americans who still need good coverage.

Among the top priorities for the ACA, he said, is maintaining the covid relief laws temporary increases in subsidies for people who purchase coverage on the health laws marketplaces. Those new subsidies, he said, have made it possible for countless American families to stay on those affordable health plans.

HHS is ready to engage in the fight over prescription drug prices, according to Becerra. The president has been pretty explicit, he said. He is supportive of negotiation of drug prices, so when we get a price for our tens of millions of Medicare recipients and our tens of millions of Medicaid recipients, [we know] that its the best price we could have bargained for. At the same time, Becerra said, Biden has supported efforts to import the same drug that cost too much here from another country if it costs less, if we can do it safely.
Gausman, who has 28 years of experience as a school administrator, has led the Sioux City district, the state's third largest, since 2008.

At its June 28 meeting, the board voted, 4-3, to affirm Gausman's contract automatically rolled over from one year to the next.

Board member Dan Greenwell, a frequent Gausman critic, had argued district policy required board approval before the renewal of multi-year contracts.

At Monday's meeting, Greenwell asked Alarcon-Flory why there was not an item on Gausman's contract on the regular meeting agenda, even though the she had indicated at the previous meeting it would be discussed in open session.

Alarcon-Flory responded that because there was no change to the contract, an agenda item and vote were unnecessary.

Greenwell, a businessman, has repeatedly asked Alarcon-Flory to schedule a public discussion on various provisions of the superintendent's contract, while stopping short of a review of his performance. In particular, Greenwell has taken issue with a so-called "golden parachute" that would guarantee Gausman the remaining money in the contract in the event he is lawfully discharged or he and the district agree to part ways before his contract expires on June 30, 2023.

Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 2
SIOUX CITY -- A handful of residents implored Sioux City Council members again Monday to restore peace in the neighborhoods by banning fireworks within city limits before July Fourth 2022.

"The hope that this year would not be as bad as last year did not pan out. It was worse," said resident Mark Solheim, who compared the fireworks that were sold to the mortars used in combat. "Both Sioux City hospitals this past weekend have treated fireworks injuries. Fireworks cause harm to many innocent people. Let us not wait until another dies or until a house burns down."

Councilman Alex Watters said he "battles back and forth" about what can be done regarding the discharge of fireworks. He said he isn't certain that an all-out ban would do anything and thinks talking to the Iowa Legislature about increasing cities' control of fireworks sales could be "a fool's errand."

"What do you do? You drive five minutes to South Dakota and you go buy them there," he said. "I think we're in a very precarious situation as a border community, and I think it's very frustrating."

Watters floated the idea of having "fireworks zones" located in large parking lots. He said each family could be assigned an area in the parking lot in which to light their fireworks and that firefighters could be standing by.

Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}
SOUTH SIOUX CITY -- The tri-state region's governors touted programs and initiatives their respective states have launched in an effort to train, attract and develop skilled labor while acknowledging that more can be done to help businesses find qualified workers to fill vacant jobs.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem all said that workforce development is a top issue in the three states, which all have unemployment rates among the lowest in the nation and have more available jobs than unemployed workers.

"We want to partner with you. We are taking a look at all the programs we have in place. We are re-evaluating them," Reynolds told Siouxland business leaders during Monday's 17th Tri-State Governors' Conference at the South Sioux City Marriott Riverfront.

The governors of the three adjoining states have met almost every other year since 1988 to address and hear of topics of regional importance during the event, coordinated by the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce. This year, as in years past, the main topic was jobs and how companies can find workers to fill them.
Standing near the steps of the U.S. Capitol for a news conference ahead of a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the Democrats promised to "stay out and kill this bill."

However, state Rep. Chris Turner, the leader of the Texas Legislature's House Democrats, predicted that their efforts would ultimately be futile unless congressional Democrats take bolder action to overcome a Senate Republican blockade of the sweeping federal voting bill. The legislation, known as the For the People Act, would create national standards for voting that could roll back some of the restrictions that have been approved or are advancing in the Republican-led states, including Texas.

"We can't hold this tide back forever. We're buying some time. We need Congress and all of our federal leaders to use that time wisely," Turner said.

Several states have enacted new voting restrictions, and others are debating them, as the GOP has seized on Trump's false claim of massive voter fraud in the 2020 election as a rationale for curtailing ballot access.

"No other election has ever been held under such scrutiny, such high standards," Biden said of the 2020 race.
BOISE, Idaho (AP)  Idaho residents and visitors need to help prevent wildfires in what could be a challenging season with continued high temperatures and most of the state in drought, Gov. Brad Little said.

The Republican governor said Tuesday that there's a potential for multiple giant wildfires in Idaho that use up firefighting resources and leave some areas unprotected. He spoke at an outdoor news conference hazy with smoke from wildfires from nearby states.

My fear is that we will have some of these great big mega-fires that start creating their own weather, like the one that is over in Oregon, where I think a lot of this smoke is coming from, that basically endanger communities, they endanger firefighters, they endanger precious wildlife and watershed capacity, he said.

Climate change has made the West much warmer and drier in the past 30 years, and scientists have long warned that the weather will get wilder as the world warms. Special calculations are needed to determine how much global warming is to blame, if at all, for a single extreme weather event.

Little has already tapped the Idaho National Guard in what could be the worst wildfire season in the state in years. That includes the use of helicopters that can fight fires, transport firefighters or deliver supplies.
The mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states in the initiative  stretching from Virginia to Maine  limit emissions from plants that generate energy using coal and other fossil fuels. The group places an annual mandatory cap on emissions. Power companies then purchase at auction the right to produce the pollution. States use auction proceeds in part toward other clean and renewable energy. The cap-and-trade program allows utilities to bank emissions credits and to sell them to other entities.

The multi-state initiative is an option that is available to the state to help achieve the goals that the governor set, Commission Chairman Stan Meiburg said during the meeting. I would like ... to have the state make as much progress in carbon reductions that it practically can, as fast as possible.

The top air-quality regulator in Cooper's Department of Environmental Quality backed the petition's concept when questioned during Tuesday's meeting.

EMC members who voted no said there were too many unanswered questions, including the monetary costs of entering into the framework for the state and for the utilities, which in turn would affect their customers.

This is probably a good tool but not a tool that we will need, to reach pollution reduction goals, member J.D. Solomon said.
The indictment accuses the officer of unlawfully, knowingly and recklessly causing physical injury to Jacobs on Aug. 18. Jacobs alleges Budworth bashed her in the face with his baton after he knocked her to the ground, according to court records.

A video shared on Twitter shows the officer running and hitting the back of a womans head with his baton after police had declared an unlawful assembly and ordered a crowd to disperse. That knocked the woman down and then he struck her in the head with the baton again while she was down, according to the video.

Budworths next court appearance, set to be by phone, is scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 20 to determine trial readiness.

Budworth joined the Police Bureau six years ago. He was placed on paid leave last month.

Jacobs filed a civil rights and battery suit against the city of Portland stemming from the police push and baton strike. The city this spring agreed to pay her $50,000, plus $11,000 in attorney fees, to settle the case, according to court records.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)  Ohio will announce a second coronavirus vaccine incentive program within the next few days in a new attempt to boost the state's vaccination rate, Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday.

DeWine did not provide details but hinted it could include smaller amounts of money meant to spread out the odds so more people win. He said he's concerned about the continued spread of the so-called delta variant of COVID-19, as well as the fact that some parts of Ohio still have low vaccination rates.

The highly contagious delta variant, first identified in India and now spreading in more than 90 other countries, will be dominant in Ohio by month's end, DeWine said. The governor also noted that 99% of Ohioans hospitalized with the coronavirus are unvaccinated.

Anybody who's not been vaccinated is just very vulnerable with this delta variant on the loose, the Republican governor said. That's the real challenge.

The governor said some people are motivated by big prizes, while others are motivated by smaller but still significant amounts of money with better odds, according to experts.
TORONTO  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday Canada could start allowing fully vaccinated Americans into Canada as of mid-August for non-essential travel and should be in a position to welcome fully vaccinated travelers from all countries by early September.
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP)  A bill that that aimed to eliminate Maines privately owned electric utilities by buying them out and replacing them with a consumer-owned utility was vetoed Tuesday by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, likely spelling the end of the proposal this legislative session.

Mills acknowledged that performance of Central Maine Power and Versant Power has been abysmal" but said the proposal to send them packing  with voters getting the final say  was deeply flawed and hastily drafted and hastily amended.

I certainly agree that change is necessary. No question about that. And I remain open to considering alternative proposals, she said.

The bills chief sponsor, Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, disputed the governors characterization of the proposal, arguing that it was thoroughly vetted over the past three years.

And it isn't going away. A coalition will be launching a referendum drive to put the proposal before voters anyway next year, instead of this fall.

Supporters said its time to replace Central Maine Power and Versant Power, which are owned by corporations in Spain and Canada, with an entity that works in the interest of Mainers instead of shareholders.
Cuba is known for mammoth, officially sanctioned gatherings to celebrate the anniversary of the Cuban Revolution and May Day, while even very much smaller anti-government demonstrations like those Sunday are very rare on the tightly controlled island.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a fellow Republican, called on Beck to resign a day after his indictment. Beck voluntarily suspended himself from office the next day, saying he was innocent of the charges and it would be inappropriate for him to resign. Beck has continued to collect his state salary even as the state has also been paying John King, who was appointed by Kemp to serve as commissioner during Beck's suspension and who has announced a 2022 run to keep the job.

GUA was created to provide high-risk property insurance to Georgia homeowners. Beck was elected general manager by the association's board of directors and served in that position from January 2012 until he was sworn in as insurance commissioner on Jan. 14, 2019.

At the same time, Beck also had controlling financial interests in two businesses, Creative Consultants and the Georgia Christian Coalition, the indictment says.

Beck ran a scheme to embezzle money from GUA from February 2013 through August 2018, the indictment says.

He used the money for personal expenses and to fund personal investment, retirement and savings accounts, as well as his statewide election campaign, the indictment says. It also says he used the funds to buy and improve personal rental property and for personal state and federal income taxes.
Morrisey, a Republican, had previously said he opposed the proposal on separate grounds. He reiterated Tuesday that the allocation formula fails to recognize the disproportionate harm caused by opioids in our state.

In a statement emailed Tuesday, the Sackler family said, This resolution to the mediation is an important step toward providing substantial resources for people and communities in need. The Sackler family hopes these funds will help achieve that goal.

For years, West Virginia has had the nations highest fatal opioid overdose rate.

I look forward to arguing our case in court this August, Morrisey added. Following next month's hearing, a federal bankruptcy judge will decide whether to confirm the deal.

Purdue sought bankruptcy protection in 2019 as a way to settle about 3,000 lawsuits it faced from state and local governments and other entities. They claimed the companys continued marketing of its powerful prescription painkiller contributed to a crisis that has been linked to nearly 500,000 deaths in the U.S. over the last two decades.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
LONDON (AP)  After Dr. Ifeanyi Nsofor and his wife received two doses of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine in Nigeria, they assumed they would be free to travel this summer to a European destination of their choice. They were wrong.
Much of that can be tied to long-term contracts major meatpacking companies require livestock producers to sign that fix prices  a trend many farmers who criticize the status quo say leaves their returns at levels so low they cant be profitable.

Offering farmers and ranchers additional legal recourse by lowering the bar  which court rulings previously held producers to prove harm to the entire industry, rather than just individuals, the Associated Press notes  gives them another arrow in the quiver to fight practices they perceive as unfair or harmful.

As a southwest Missouri farmer told the AP: We need more competition. Capitalism works well with competition. But when you start consolidating everything and taking away the competition, then the capitalism doesnt work good for the smaller guys.

Another potential benefit comes from the proposed expansion of local and regional markets. Again, offering more options in an arena dominated by the major meatpackers should produce the win-win by raising prices for producers while pressuring the industry giants to stay competitive.

Just as concentration and consolidation of land ownership have squeezed the family farmer at home, so, too, have the same effects spilled over to the market.

Rather than the taxpayer-funded impact payments of the Trump administration  a short-term Band-Aid that did little to address long-standing structural inequalities and shortcomings  Bidens push offers real potential for the family farmers in Nebraska and elsewhere.

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
Ian Ziering and Tara Reid travelled through shark-infested waters for a new documentary, 'The Real Sharknado', which examines the likelihood of events depicted in their 'Sharknado' movies actually happening.
Zac Efron "busted" his grandfather out of his nursing home.

The 33-year-old actor shared a funny video of he and his brother Dylan arriving at the retirement home to take their elderly relative out for the day and joked they'd had to sneak him out past the staff.

In the Instagram video, the 'Mission: Impossible' theme played in the background as Zac said: "Time to bust grandpa outta here."

In a black face mask, the 'High School Musical' actor sneaked through to the room and his grandfather added: "Let's get outta here."

They got him out to the car where he had a drink of Coca-Cola and told his grandsons to "hit it" before making their escape.

They then arrived back at the Efron residence, where they settled in to watch the Euro 2020 final between Italy and England.

Towards the end of the clip, Zac joked his grandfather is "better at acting than I am".

Meanwhile, the 'Baywatch' star called time on his romance with Vanessa Valladares earlier this year after 10 months together, and a source said their romance came to an end when Zac decided things didnt feel right anymore.
Slate has relationships with various online retailers. If you buy something through our links, Slate may earn an affiliate commission. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. All prices were up to date at the time of publication.

Once, the novel of midlife crisis seemed exclusively concerned with white male professors lusting after their studentsPhilip Roths David Kepesh books, including The Professor of Desire and The Dying Animal, are the quintessential specimens of the breed. Thats a premise of limited potential, even if you can get past its predatory selfishness, and its tended to produce work of blinkered insight about midlife, which is a time of enormous transformation. Midlife is interesting not because of a sudden interest in younger bodies. Its interesting because its the point where you switch your focus from what you want to make of your life to what you can rescue from the mess youve made of it so far. Its humbling and disorienting and, for women in particular, a slightly surreal experience, plagued by the unpredictable special effects of a body gone haywire, from hot flashes and insomnia to weirder stuff. (In my case, my sense of smell became so acute that I could suddenly tell, from the sofa in my own apartment, when my next-door neighbors kitchen garbage needed to be taken out. You do not want to be living in New York City if this happens to you.)

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Sam Raymond, the main character in Dana Spiottas Wayward, is going through all that. Her restlessness manifests itself in a familiar wayshe makes an improvident purchase and leaves her husband of twentysome years, but instead of buying a convertible, Sam buys a house. Its an abandoned Arts and Craftsera bungalow with excellent bones under all the decay, but still an unloved, forgotten house overlooking the unloved, forgotten city of Syracuse, New York. Sams extremely patient husband expects her to return at any moment, but her 16-year-old daughter, Ally, is enraged by her mothers departurewhich is strange, given that Ally, who is going through the equally rocky stage of adolescence, usually resents her mothers smothering attention.

Advertisement

Sign up for the Slate Culture Newsletter The best of movies, TV, books, music, and more, delivered to your inbox. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time.

Syracuse, once a prosperous hub on the Erie Canal, is full of handsome 19th-century buildings fallen on hard times, available for a relative pittance. I know this because before Id ever heard of Wayward, I followed the @syracusehistory account on TikTok. Ogling Belle Epoqueera mosaics and stained-glass landing windows set into walls of peeling paint is apparently a common fascination among women of a certain age, for reasons all too easy to deduce. Houses are such a long-standing literary metaphor for a womans psyche that its no wonder that moving into a new one feels like migrating into a new self, or at least a new stage in life. For me, it was the leap from a tiny New York apartment where the neighbors garbage suddenly felt too close to an old shipbuilders house on the coast of Maine, from the citys anonymity to a small town where everyone I meet seems to have heard all about me already. I couldnt tell you the name of the person who owned my apartment before me, but now I live next door to a cemetery where I can visit the graves of some of the people who once lived in my house.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Sam, who wants to purge herself of the unthinking comforts of the suburbs, lives in monkish austerity, sleeping on a twin bed and lovingly deep-cleaning her houses original detailing by day: What was wrong with her, feeling so happy about cleaning old wood? she wonders. (Its startling how much you can love an alcove under the stairs or a window ledge when it belongs to you and you alone.) She rubs the molding until it glows and looks up the history of the house at the county historical association.

At night, Sam does what most of us do when we cant figure out what we want to do: She browses boutique identities online. On Facebook, Sam explores subcultures founded on eccentric forms of self-comfort, pursuits that flourished during the Trump administration, when this novel takes place. There are aesthetic fundamentalists who engage in extreme pie making with stunt designs made of dough, Moravian-style wax star folding, and concocting traditional poultices and potions by grinding seeds and oils by hand with a mortar. Sam dips into communities of anti-tech homesteaders dedicated to living as if it were no later than some specific date in the past, although, Sam observes, somehow living as a 1912 woman or as an 1860 woman involved being on Facebook a lot. The core of Waywards charm lies in what good company Sam is. She dissects many flavors of contemporary delusion and distraction with consummate precision and yet never comes across as waspish or savage. She observes her own desire to imagine herself as subtly different from everyone else, enjoying the tension and mystique of being ordinary on the surface but with a radical, original interior life with a cool, easy tolerance but zero vanity.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Sam has a part-time job at Clara Loomis House, a museum devoted to an (apparently fictional) 19th-century Syracuse medical doctor and feminist who helped provide women with birth control and performed abortions but also advocated sketchy ideas about controlled genetics. Sam cant quite sort out her feelings on this complex woman, who seems to combine the admirable and deplorable in equal measures. So when a high school student attending one of her tours accuses Loomis of being into Nazi bullshit, Sams defense of Clara is by necessity halfhearted. Yet that doesnt mean shes prepared to abandon Clara Loomis, either.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Simmering under Spiottas deceptively breezy, fluid description of everyday life in 2017 Syracuse are large and perplexing questions about the eternal interplay of idealism and pragmatism, of the longing for a better world and the reality of human frailty. In past novels, Spiottas characters often try to construct alternate realities for themselves, a doomed endeavor that can nevertheless dazzle the reader with its creative ingenuity and vigor. The heroine of 2011s Stone Arabia (titled after another town in upstate New York) discovers that her late brother had invented and documented an entire Dylan-esque music career for himself, complete with fictional bands, LPs, interviews in music magazines, and top-100 charts. But Sam lives resolutely in the real world, with the consequences of all the mistakes shes made, especially the mistakes shes made with Ally, and with a cleareyed awareness of her own equivocations. One thing the novel makes clear is that certaintyin thoughtful people, at leasttends to erode as one grows older.

Advertisement

In a world increasingly populated by absolutists, Sams behavior may seem as wayward as the novels title suggests, but an equally fitting title for the book would be Salvage. How, Wayward asks, can people make a better world without, in their fervor, summarily jettisoning everything of value from the past? Which relationships are worth preserving despite the shortcomings and misdeeds of the people we share them with? Part of the novel is given over to Allys point of view as she gradually realizes that the older lover she once found so thrilling is in fact someone she neither likes nor respects, a man in the process of converting an old convent into condos and workspaces for tech bros, complete with Edison lightbulb fixtures and barn doors. There is something fake in the apartments, Ally concludes, in how they are not really well made. The key is to appear well made. It is a prosthesis for actually making something beautiful. She has a lot more of her architecture-obsessed mother in her than she realizes. And as exasperated as Ally is with Saman exasperation that, the novel makes clear, is justifiedshe will surely find that, on balance, theirs is a relationship worth preserving.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

While presenting her tour of the Loomis house to that gaggle of distracted and judgmental teenagers, Sam finds herself seized by a desire to scream Menopause! Menopause! Menopause! at the girls, but settles for simply saying the word, because she wasnt a total psycho, not yet. Wayward is full of the familiar complaints of women at this life stagenamely, that they feel suddenly invisible, a quality that, in a rather superfluous narrative twist, enables Sam to serve as a witness to a police shooting. But what Sam feels the urge to shout at the kids is less an assertion of her own presence than a reminder of something they wont fully understand until they reach her age: mortality, the impending end of things, of which menopause is a harbinger. I think of it every time I walk past the graves of the Duym family and wonder if I, too, will end up in the Seaside Cemetery and pique the curiosity of some future owner of my house. Death is both lifes greatest flaw and the inevitability that perfects it. Clearing enough space in yourself to accept this paradox is midlifes great project, and the impetus behind Sams most waywardand inspiredacts.
The Senate returned Monday for a few more weeks of work before its annual August hiatus, with only a couple of items left on its to-do list. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wants to pass the bipartisan infrastructure deal negotiators reached in late June. He also wants to pass a budget that will allow Democrats to use the reconciliation processyou know it by nowto later pass the remainder of their spending agenda on child care, health care, climate mitigation, and other party-line priorities. This does not mean passing the reconciliation bill itselfthats something Democrats would do when they returned in the fall. This is just the first step.

Advertisement

So one vote on a bill with popular items like building roads and bridges on which theres already a bipartisan deal, and another vote just to set up a process for the fall. How difficult could it be?

Advertisement

Advertisement

Extremely difficult, running right up to the edge of impossibility.

You may recall a few weeks ago when a group of 10 senatorsfive Republicans and five Democratscelebrated with President Joe Biden the infrastructure deal they had just reached, and which the president had just blessed. If you dont remember that, its because the celebration was premature, and by later that afternoon Republicans were running from it. The proximate cause of this turnaround was statements from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Biden in which they said they wouldnt act on the Senates bipartisan infrastructure deal until they also had in hand a reconciliation bill, pledges they made to shore up support among progressives who didnt feel the bipartisan deal accomplished enough. Though it was no surprise that Democrats always intended to pursue a reconciliation bill for their partisan priorities, the linkage between the two made Republicans feel like pawns in a broader Democratic scheme.

Advertisement

Subscribe to the Slatest Newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time.

Biden walked back his statement and has been eagerly touting the bipartisan deal ever since, and Republicans are insisting Pelosi do the same. (They might be waiting a while.) But as senators and their staff work to draft the deal into legislative language, there are some fairly predictable policy issues arising that threaten to blow up the whole thing.

Advertisement

The deal was touted by its negotiators as fully paid fori.e., it wont increase the deficit. Each dollar spent is matched by a dollar saved. But  what if thats not the case? Negotiators are working with the Congressional Budget Office this week to score the proposal, and members are getting a sinking feeling that the ledger may not balance. If it doesnt, and negotiators cant agree on adequate changes, there wont be enough Republican support to pass the bill. In the more conspiratorial realm, meanwhile, conservative outside groups (and their pals in the United States Senate) believe that one major funding source in the billbetter IRS enforcement to capture unpaid taxeswill lead to the Biden administration targeting conservatives. Its not just that the funding sources may not add up. Its that one of the biggest ones has earned Republican antipathy.

Advertisement

In short, there isnt really a bipartisan deal yet, the votes for the deal arent there yet, and it will take at least the rest of the week for these problems to be solved, which is valuable time down the tube.

A lot of these deals die a thousand deaths before they actually get through, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, a Democratic moderate, tried to reassure reporters about the viability of the proposal Tuesday.

Advertisement

A reporter asked him if he was saying the deal was dying.

No! he said. Im not saying that at all.

And then theres the budget. Both chambers have to pass a budget resolution by a simple majority that allows for reconciliation, the process through which the party in power can bypass the filibuster to pass legislation that meets certain conditions (mainly that its strictly focused on tax and spending matters). The budget resolution would allot a total amount of money available under reconciliation and delegate which committees handle which pieces and for which purposes. Its boring, but it allows the more exciting work to come.

Advertisement

Passing a budget resolution wasnt a problem the last time Democrats tried it, during the COVID relief package debate in the dog days of winter. Biden asked for a $1.9 trillion bill, Democrats were mainly united on what was needed, and so they passed a budget resolution allowing for a $1.9 trillion reconciliation bill.

This time, though, theres much broader difference of opinion. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Budget Committee chairman, has proposed a sweeping $6 trillion plan. That, obviously, nauseates moderates, whod prefer something thats either half of that or lower. Some Democrats would be OK financing the whole package through debt; West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin wants the entire thing paid for; others are in the middle. Some want to leave space within the budget for addressing immigration, expanding Medicare, and everything else on Democrats agendathis is, after all, likely their last big shot at enacting their agenda before their brains transition to midterm election mode. Others would like to steer clear of more controversial topics. All of this makes it much harder to reach an agreement even on the scope of the bill, which may end up being the largest bill Congress has ever passed, if they pass it.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Democrats believe they could reach a framework for a deal, however, in the coming days. But as weve seen with the bipartisan infrastructure talks, a framework for a deal is not a deal. And even if Democrats do reach an agreement on this framework allowing for, say, a $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, does that seem like a development that would help with the bipartisan infrastructure talks, or send Republicans running (faster) for the hills, knowing that they wont be able to trim Democrats ambitions?

What Schumer does controland its not a small thingis the clock. He has raised the horrifying specter of extra days, nights, and potentially even weeks of work if thats what it takes to untangle and pass these bills. There may be no bigger focusing mechanism in Congress than the prospect of missed vacation time.
Lawrence Carter works at Greenpeace U.K. as an investigative journalist for its outlet Unearthed. His latest reporting consisted of a sting operation on Exxon Mobil Corp., one of the largest oil companies in the world. Carter wanted to zero in on Exxon in particular because the corporation uses trade associations to cloak the way it operates in Washington. That means there isnt much on the record about what the company has been advocating for, besides a few press releases. Carter wanted to know what the company stood for behind the scenes, and get Exxon employees to talk about the ways theyve twisted science and politics in order to stay in business.

Advertisement

Posing as a recruitment consultant, Carter lured two men whod worked as Big Oil lobbyists into Zoom meetings. Then he pressed record. Its eerie to see the footage Lawrence obtained. We see these lobbyists admit to political maneuverings both basic and shocking: Did we aggressively fight against some of the science? Yes. Over hours of conversation, the lobbyists reveal that even a position that seems environmentally friendlylike Exxons support of a carbon taxmight be nothing more than a stalling tactic; as Carter puts it, In this way, Exxon can claim to be for action on climate change while opposing regulations proposed by the Biden administration that would actually achieve near-term cuts to greenhouse gases.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

On Tuesdays episode of What Next, I spoke with Carter about his investigation, what we should understand about Exxon and oil lobbyists, and what all this means for our energy future. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Mary Harris: If what these lobbyists told you is expected behavior in American politics, or at least predictable, I wonder why you think it was worth uncovering it anyway and going to such lengths to do it.

Lawrence Carter: The key thing is that these companies continue to deny that theyre lobbying against climate action. So we felt that it would be a powerful thing that would be in the public interest to go undercover and see what lobbyists for the company actually said when they didnt think they were speaking in public. If it had been possible to submit a bunch of Freedom of Information Act requests, go through the regulatory filings, speak to the usual sources I talk to, and get to the bottom of the companys lobbying on climate policy, we would have done that because thats a lot more straightforward, a lot less resource-intensive. But what we found was that they were not leaving that usual trace of its lobbying activity.

Advertisement

Advertisement

My editor actually had the idea of posing as a recruitment consultant, because he thought that would be a way you could approach individuals within a company who would be willing to talk to you. We set up the online presence to make it look convincing, and then we approached some senior people at Exxon. We called up Keith McCoy, a senior lobbyist for Exxonhe has generally focused on Capitol Hill. We asked him for a meeting, and we also phoned up Dan Easley, who was Exxons top White House lobbyist throughout the Trump administration for a meeting.

What did these folks think they were talking to you about?

The pitch was basically that we were a D.C.-based lobbying firm with a client, an oil and gas fund based in the Middle East. That enabled us to ask a lot of questions about their approach to lobbying.

Advertisement

Can we go in point by point and talk about some of the things your investigation revealed? Going into these calls, you already knew a fair bit about Exxon and its approach to climate change: In the 1990s and 2000s, the company spent a lot of money sowing uncertainty about the connection between fossil fuels and climate change. Then in recent years, Exxon had said it was supporting a carbon tax. But how did your conversations flesh out what you already knew?

Advertisement

The most interesting thing to me was the admission that day regarding Exxons battle against early climate science, because thats something that the company to this day continues to deny. What a lot of groups have been accusing Exxon of is doing all this early climate research that concluded climate change was a significant threat, and Exxon was contributing that quietly behind the scenes in academic circles. But then in public, it was sowing doubts about climate science. Exxons always been keen to shift the debate away from those accusations and just say, Look, we didnt bury our science, we didnt hide our science, see, we published it in this journal, heres us speaking publicly about it.

Advertisement

But the actual accusation is that Exxon misled the public on climate science. And the lobbyists reiterated the fact that theyve done that through shadow groupswe believe hes referring to this vast network of think tanks and other pressure groups 

Places like the Heritage Foundation.

Exactly. Or the Heartland Institute. They really helped shift the whole debate in the U.S. on climate change to a very bad place. Exxon played a leading role in that, spending at least $30 million on these networks, according to investigations.

Advertisement

Keith McCoy really lays out a strategy for Exxon: Get the company itself away from anything like congressional testimony, send in a trade group or third party whos going to represent your interests instead, dont associate them whatevers going on with the brand itself, and then use these shadow groups to support Exxons stances they have. But he never really fully articulated what those groups are.

Advertisement

I think what Exxon does now is work through groups like the American Petroleum Institute or American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers or the American Chemistry Council. It does that for a few reasons. The first, as Mr. McCoy says, is to send in the whipping boy. So if a progressive Congress member wants to pull the CEO, Darron Woods, in front of a congressional inquiry, what Exxon tries to do instead is send in the whipping boy to take the beating. That is someone from the American Petroleum Institute.

Exxons been working with the American Petroleum Institute and the American Chemistry Council to try to kick the can down the road in terms of the efforts to legislate. McCoy boasts that they had the idea of requesting a study into forever chemicals so that there would be a delay until actual regulations came in into force. And he said that they won that.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

So instead of actually regulating the chemicals, theyre just going to study them for a little bit of time. And that buys the company a moment to figure out what they do next, which is probably just continue to do what theyre doing now. But they have a couple more years to do it.

Yeah. You see this a lot in the pesticides industry, where the company will fight tooth and nail against a product being regulated and just buying timebecause every day its not regulated or banned, theyre making more money and making a return on their investment while developing the project.

For Exxon, this isnt just about fighting climate change or the scienceits about money. Dan Easley talked about how the Trump administration was a huge win for Exxon. But the biggest win of all wasnt anything environmental: It was the cut to the corporate tax rate. So you realize how much these things are intertwined, where Exxon is such a massive company that that cut to the corporate tax rate was huge for them, allows them to keep doing what theyre doing. Its not just about climate change.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Yeah, the infrastructure package ordeal was just as much about making sure that Exxon didnt have to pay for any of this climate stuff as it was about the threat that that stuff, like subsidies for electric vehicles, was opposed to its business interests. Exxon had a very strong incentive to make sure the bill was as small as possible.

McCoy in particular is really transparent about how theyre doing that, which is just going to senators they think are moderate or may be influenceable, especially West Virginia Sens. Joe Manchin or Shelley Capito. McCoy even says hes speaking to their offices once a week, which seems like a lot.

Yeah, and he also talks about how theyd set up a meeting between Bidens close friend Sen. Chris Coons with the Exxon CEO so that they could get through to the president via his friend. I think some of the senators have said McCoys exaggerated his access to them, but you can see what the strategy is and you can also see what the result has been in terms of that infrastructure package, out of which the vast majority of climate spending has been stripped. There could have been other forces at play, but it seems Exxon has gotten what it wants.

Advertisement

Advertisement

There was a moment a couple weeks back when President Joe Biden got in front of cameras and said, We have a deal, on infrastructure. Joe Manchin was there. But I wonder if you saw that tape and thought of it a little bit differently, knowing what might have gone into that deal.

I certainly did. I kind of saw that this is exactly the deal Exxon wanted. And looking at the statement that was made, seeing many of the senators McCoy boasts of having spoken to, looking at how these compromise packages come to beits quite depressing stuff, to be honest.

Exxon has responded to your sting. CEO Darren Woods said the comments of former Exxon lobbyist Dan Easley and current Exxon lobbyist Keith McCoy are entirely inconsistent with the oil giants work. McCoy issued his own mea culpa on LinkedIn, saying he was embarrassed by his comments and that they dont represent Exxons positions.

Advertisement

I think Exxons ability to continue to maintain that its good-faith actor on climate change is going to be very difficult. The company should be thinking about how it can reflect on the happenings over the past few months, whether thats this story or the activism by its shareholders.

I do think that theres a possibility that companies like Exxon will shift. Personally, I think thats pretty important. Its a $300 billion dollar. Its very influential and global. If it were to become more of a good-faith actor on these issues, that could be helpful to efforts to tackle climate change. But Im not naive. This is just one small development id a much longer story about kind of how we tackle the climate crisis. But to tackle a big problem like climate change, you need lots of small things to happen.

Subscribe to What Next on Apple Podcasts

Get more news from Mary Harris every weekday.
On Friday, President Joe Biden fired Andrew Saul, the Donald Trump nominee leading the Social Security Administration. Sauls removal marked the latest chapter in Bidens ongoing efforts to expel Trump holdovers from leadership positions in the executive branch. Beginning on Jan. 20, the new president has sacked Trump appointees from agencies both powerful and obscure, preventing the dead hand of the previous administration from governing the current one.

The conservative legal movement has long advocated for the presidents power to fire executive officials at will. This theory of the unitary executive has gathered widespread support on the right and scorn from the left. But it is Biden who has first reaped its rewards, exploiting the theorys ascendence at the Supreme Court to de-Trumpify the government. The radical nature of Trumps nominees, combined with the Supreme Courts conservative tilt, have allowed Biden to become the first unitary executive. An idea promoted by conservatives has created a windfall for Democrats.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

If Trump had put regular, competent Republicans in charge of the government, Biden might have put up with them until their terms ran out. But Trump put arsonists in charge of the firehouse, nominating extreme partisans eager to sabotage the agency they led. For instance, Peter Robb, Trumps general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, relentlessly sought to undermine unions. Michael Pack, whom Trump placed at the head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, tried to turn Voice of America and its sister networks into pro-Trump propaganda machines. And Kathleen Kraninger, Trumps director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, authorized predatory lending and abusive debt collection practices.

By tradition, a new president allows these officials to serve out their terms. But Biden did not wait for them to burn down the firehouse. He fired all three on Jan. 20.

Advertisement

Other Trump holdovers ousted by Biden follow a similar pattern. Sharon Gustafson, Trumps general counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, was supposed to fight workplace discrimination; instead, she tried to dismantle class actions, defend discriminatory employers, and ignore anti-LGBTQ bias. Mark Calabria, Trumps director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, tried to deregulate the mortgage giants he was tasked with regulating. Andrew Saul, Trumps commissioner of the Social Security Administration, subverted his agencys mission by slashing disability benefits and delaying stimulus checks.

Biden has fired them all.

Biden can clean house without fear of judicial pushback.

Trump stacked more obscure federal boards with administrative arsonists, as well. He filled the Federal Service Impasses Panel, a powerful labor relations board, with anti-union activists who gummed up collective bargaining; Biden removed them, all at once, two weeks into his term. He packed the Administrative Conference of the United States, which influences regulations across the government, with anti-regulatory zealots; Biden dismissed the worst of the bunch in February.

Advertisement

Many fired holdovers were appointed in the final weeks of Trumps term, as the outgoing president fought to overturn the 2020 election. Some were reappointed to new terms just before Trump left office in an effort to extend their service under Biden. Others served on arcane agencies with limited power, but nonetheless jeopardized the new presidents agenda. For example, Biden removed Trump holdovers from the National Capital Planning Commission, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the Commission of Fine Arts. These boards exercise control over the District of Columbias city planning; theyre usually staffed with technocrats, but under Trumps influence, they threatened to derail efforts to make D.C. a greener, more equitable place.

Advertisement

Ironically, it was Trumps own Supreme Court nominees who empowered Biden to purge so many Republican holdovers. For the better part of a century, the Supreme Court upheld limitations on the presidents ability to fire executive officials. A solid five-justice majority in favor of the unitary executive did not emerge until Justice Brett Kavanaugh replaced Justice Anthony Kennedy in 2018. (The confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett makes that a six-justice supermajority.) Moreover, only in 2020s Seila Law v. CFPB did the Supreme Court expand the presidents power to fire executive officials who are protected from removal by law. In Seila Law, the court struck down a statute that protected the CFPB director from termination. A year later, in Collins v. Yellen, the court extended its reasoning to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, or FHFA, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mack.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Seila Law allowed Biden to fire Trumps CFPB holdover on Day One. Collins let him fire Trumps FHFA holdover in June. And the Department of Justices Office of Legal Counsel promptly concluded that these Supreme Courts decisions also allow the president to fire the Social Security commissioner. Hours later, Biden did just that, axing Andrew Saul. (He also fired deputy commissioner David Black, another Trump nominee.) If Biden hadnt taken action, Saul wouldve served through Jan. 19, 2025.

The logic of Seila Law plainly emboldened Biden to fire other executive officials whose legal status is ambiguous. For instance, he fired Robb, Trumps NLRB general counsel, before Robbs term expired. There are (weak) arguments that Congress intended to protect the general counsel from such a fate. And a previous Supreme Court might have shielded Robb from removal. But its clear that this Supreme Court has no interest in stopping a president from sacking his own subordinates. Biden can clean house without fear of judicial pushback.

Advertisement

Finally, its worth noting the conservative attorneys who spearheaded Seila Law and Yellen did not intend this result. Their goal was to abolish the CFPB by judicial fiat and dislodge $124 billion from the U.S. Treasury. But SCOTUS declined these radical remedies, instead merely severing the directors job protections. This minimalist solution worked out beautifully for Biden.

Advertisement

In the long run, there are downsides to the ascent of the unitary executive. The next Republican president will surely follow this example and remove Bidens own appointees from office. But does anyone seriously think that the next Republican president would have let Bidens people remain in office either way? Does anyone believe that the party of insurrection, more radicalized than ever before, would fail to take advantage of the new legal landscape? It seems doubtful that a President Ron DeSantis or Josh Hawley or Tucker Carlson would permit Bidens appointees to retain control over executive agencies. For better or worse, that era is over.

The Supreme Courts embrace of the unitary executive left Biden with two options: unilateral disarmament or hardball politics. By choosing the latter, he accelerated the de-Trumpification of the executive branch. Progressives might not like SCOTUSs embrace of a conservative legal theory, but the unintended consequences give them a lot to love.
For several months now, American generals and admirals have been pushing hard on two big themes: the need to counter Chinas growing military power and, separately, the need to modernize the U.S. nuclear arsenali.e., to build new missiles, bombers, and submarines as replacements and upgrades for the existing, aging models.

Now comes a development that seems to bolster both arguments: satellite imagery revealing that China has built 120 missile silos in the desert near the northwestern city of Yumenwith what seems to be a launch control center connecting each group of 10a perfect fit for its DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Advertisement

Adm. Charles Richard, the head of U.S. Strategic Command, calls the move a breathtaking expansion of Chinese nuclear forces. Others have cited the silos as another rationale for Washington to move quickly on its own nuclear modernization planwhich some in Congress have opposed on strategic and economic grounds. (The price tag exceeds $1 trillion over the next 30 years.)

Advertisement

Advertisement

Subscribe to the Slatest Newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time.

The siloswhich, if they are filled with missiles, would roughly double the number of Chinas ICBMsamount to an impressive construction project, completed at rapid speed. However, it is not at all clear that they pose a new threator even a change in Chinas nuclear strategy. More likely, the extra silos are responses to what Chinese officials see as a growing nuclear threat from the United States.

Advertisement

This may seem implausible. After all, the U.S. has been reducing its nuclear arsenal; the notion that an American president would launch a nuclear first strike against China is preposterous to most Americans. But it isnt to many Chinese.

First, the United States has 14 Ohio-class submarines, each carrying 24 Trident II submarine-launched ballistic missiles, each of those carrying about eight nuclear warheads. So that adds up to roughly 2,600 warheads.* In May, the Navy gave Lockheed Martin $500 million to build more Trident IIs, so they can be loaded onto new Columbia-class submarines, which are coming online. The key thing is that each of those warheads has the explosive power and accuracy to destroy a blast-hardened ICBM silo. In other words, it can reasonably be seen as a first-strike weapon.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Second, the United States has also been continuing to develop ballistic missile defenses. The defenses have performed poorly in tests, but military chiefs tend to be conservative about an adversarys weapons, so Chinese (and Russian) chiefs would assume that our defenses would perform well. If they think they need 1,000 nuclear weapons to survive a U.S. first strike in order to deter the Americans from launching a first strike to begin with, and if they think our missile defenses will shoot down 500 of those weapons, then they might think they really need 1,500 weapons. (These numbers are purely illustrative; the point is that if you think the other side can shoot down some of your missiles, you can easily convince yourself to build more missiles to compensate.)

Advertisement

Third, even with 120 extra ICBMs, Chinas nuclear arsenal is still dwarfed by Americas (and Russias). Adding up ICBMs, bombers, and submarines, China right now has about 300 nuclear weapons that could hit the United States. By comparison, the U.S. has more than 2,000 that could hit China. In other words, Chinas extra 120 silos, even if theyre all stuffed with missiles, wouldnt alter the military balance.

Advertisement

So why is China doing this? Again, the most likely answer is theyre doing it to maintain the ability to strike us with about 300 weapons if the U.S. strikes them first. Most nuclear experts, even those who are hawks, have long thought that China has a minimum deterrence strategyi.e., a strategy of possessing just enough nuclear weapons to deter an adversary from attacking. It could be that the Chinese have simply recalculated how many weapons they need to possess in order to keep deterring the United States under changing circumstances.

Advertisement

But why are they planning to put their extra missiles in silos? The DF-41 was originally designed as a mobile missile. The advantage of mobile missiles is that the enemy doesnt know where they are and, therefore, would have a hard time attacking them. The disadvantage of silo-based missiles is that their locations are fixed; the enemy knows exactly where they are and can attack them fairly easily, especially with Trident IIs.

However, mobile missiles also have drawbacks. Theyre expensive to maintain, and theyre not as accurate as a fixed missile; theyd have a poorer chance of hitting the target.

Advertisement

It could be that the Chinese have taken their cue from the United States. Many years ago, silo-based missiles, such as our current Minuteman III, were the only U.S. nuclear weapons that had the explosive power, speed, and accuracy to destroy enemy missile silos. However, when the Trident IIs came along in the 1990s, submarine-launched missiles could do that just as well. In fact, at the moment, land-based ICBMs are no longer needed to hit any of the targets in the U.S. nuclear war plan. Their only rationale is to complicate an enemy first strike. Senior officers have openly referred to the sponge theory of enhancing our deterrent.

Advertisement

The argument goes as follows: Without land-based ICBMs, an enemy would only have to hit about six targets in the continental U.S. to score a pretty devastating blow against our nuclear infrastructuretwo submarine ports, a few bomber bases, and the national command authority (euphemism for Washington). The damage would be so minor an American president might not retaliateknowing that if he did, the Russians would fire back with more nukes still. By contrast, if we kept the 400 ICBMs, the enemy would have to attack thoseprobably with two warheads for each target (because the first warhead might be a dud). Firing 800 nuclear warheads at the U.S. homeland would clearly constitute a major attack; the American president would have to retaliate; therefore, the enemy president wouldnt launch the first strike to begin with.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

This is a bizarre argument. First, nuking those six targets would kill hundreds of thousands of American civiliansmillions if Washington is one of the targets. It would be a crazy gamble for someone to assume the American president might not shoot back. Second, hitting those six targets would hardly be a knockout blow; the U.S. would still have a dozen or so submarines out at sea; together, they could fire back with thousands of warheads.

But lets stipulate that theres some logic to the idea of creating more targets, so that the enemy doesnt think he can call nuclear checkmate by firing a handful of missiles. This may be what China is doingimitating the American generals (again) by enacting its own sponge theory. If the Americans think some extra missile silossome more targets on the homelandwould further deter the Russians or Chinese from launching a nuclear attack, then maybe 120 extra silos on Chinese soil would deter those same Americans from launching a nuclear attack as well.

Advertisement

None of this is to deny that China is engaging in some aggressive actions, especially across the Taiwan Strait and in the South China Sea. But theres nothing to suggest that theyre planning, or remotely capable of launching, a nuclear first strike against the United Statesor that their nuclear expansion requires us to expand our arsenal. We already have more than enough nukes to deter any adversary from that sort of adventurismand, if someone gets crazy anyway, we have more than enough to hit every target that any general thinks we need to hit.

Senior U.S. officials, who have access to the most highly classified intelligence data, should considerand researchthe possibility that Chinas silo spree is a response to our own activities (as the Chinese interpret them). They should do that before both countries plunge into a spiraling new arms race.
In the past couple of weeks, Donald Trump has reemerged from his Mar-a-Lago bunker with his trademark anti-immigrant, close-the-border, build-the-wall nastiness. He gave a speech at the Lorain County Fairgrounds, where he slammed President Joe Biden on immigration and the border. Then he traveled to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, where he held a press conference with Gov. Greg Abbott and supported Abbotts plan to finish Trumps wall. Later in the day, Trump and Abbott visited the border together, then participated in a border-themed town hall moderated by Sean Hannity.

Advertisement

In one sense, Trump is playing the hitsreturning to the theme that defined his first presidential campaign. But this time he has the full weight of the Republican Party behind him. Democrats shouldnt discount the possibility that Republicans know what theyre doing.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Six months into Bidens presidency, Republicans seem to be winning the debate over immigration, if its a fight that is at least in part about theatricality and energizing voters. This doesnt mean that Republicans are telling the truth about immigration, or that the policies they advocate are better. It also doesnt mean that Biden isnt fulfilling his immigration-related campaign promises to undo the damage caused by Trump, of which theres a lot. It does mean, though, that Republicans are better than Democrats at border theater, utilizing immigration to cudgel their opponents, and setting the terms of the debate.

Advertisement

Trump and Abbott have become the spokesmen for everything Republicans want you to believe about the border. At their events, they told us that the number of immigrants apprehended between May 2020 (during Trumps presidency) and May 2021 (during Bidens) shot up 800 percent. Migrants dont only come from Latin America, but from 150 different countries, including terrorist-sponsoring countries like Yemen. Fentanyl made in China is being smuggled through Mexico, and a couple of milligrams can be fatal. Mexican cartels function like a well-organized military intent on destroying the United States. The crimes committed at the border move from there to communities across the United States, so we should all care even if we live far from Mexico.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Moreover, they want us to believe that only Republicans can solve problems at the border. In fact, Trump had largely fixed everything, and now the Biden administration is undoing all of his accomplishments.

Republicans cherry-pick facts that are devoid of context because there is much that they dont want you to know. First and foremost, they dont want you to know that, if you were to examine any single 2,000 mile stretch anywhere in the United States, you would inevitably find both citizens and noncitizens committing heinous crimes. They wont mention that, according to FBI statistics from the Trump years, border cities are some of the safest cities in the United States; safer than Memphis, Dallas, Kansas City, or St. Petersburg, Florida, which are all in states Trump won. Still, they want you to focus on the border rather than any other community in the United States because it allows them to talk about some of their favorite subjects: national security, the rule of law, and, whether they acknowledge it or not, xenophobic dog whistles that appeal to their base and may be close to their hearts as well.

Advertisement

Subscribe to the Slatest Newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time.

Even if its true that unauthorized migrants come from all over the world, probably even some dangerous places, Republicans dont tell us that the vast majority come from Latin America. Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, and Venezuela are all included in the top 10 list of sending countries, along with Asian and South Asian countries such as India, China, and the Philippines. There isnt a single Middle Eastern country on this list. As Republicans have done for a long time, they want us to believe that their efforts to secure the border could be saving us from the next terrorist attack. Rick Perry said it after 9/11; Abbott says it today.

Advertisement

Heres more that Republicans dont tell us: About half of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. today didnt cross the U.S.-Mexico border but entered through other ports such as marinas and airports; an exceedingly small number of migrants are members of MS-13, while most are workers who build our homes and fix our cars; and the United States is by far the largest producer of carbon in the Americas, responsible for at least some degree of the desiccation in Latin America that has forced, and will increasingly force, Latin Americans to leave their home countries.

Advertisement

Republicans hide these truths about the border and immigration because it works for them. The Biden administration is right that we wont get a handle on immigration until we address root causes in Latin America, like corruption, political turmoil, or economic and environmental devastation. But its hard to get Americans to pay attention to those, when we dont even want to see the migrants tucked away in the kitchens of restaurants, preparing our food and washing the dishes we eat off of, or the drivers who delivered our food throughout the pandemic. We dont wonder about why the price of our apples may be rising but is still relatively inexpensive, or why our T-shirts still cost only $10. Unless we demand that our elected leadersRepublicans and Democratstalk about the immigrant labor that makes so many of our comforts possible, they wont.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Democrats may be reassured by polls suggesting that nativist appeals wont work. A strong majority of eligible voters favor a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants including farmworkers and essential workers. Support for DACA enjoys the support of an even greater majority of eligible voters, even from most Republicans. To the extent that immigration is an issue that Latino voters care about, Latino political scientists have argued that its a golden opportunity for Democrats because four-fifths of Latino voters support the whole suite of Bidens immigration proposals: the American Dream and Promise Act, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, and a more humane process for migrants seeking asylum. But when Democrats are confronted by Republican attacks, or they have to contend with difficult issues such as migrant surges at the border, they retreat from prioritizing the progressive immigration reforms that Democratic voters increasingly say they want.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, much of the news about the border and immigration hasnt gone well for Democrats, either because of facts on the ground or Republican efforts to spin them. Competing polls conducted in June disagree over whether a narrow majority of Americans approves of Bidens handling of immigration or whether a narrow majority of Americans disapproves. A strong majority of Americans thinks that unauthorized entry is a serious problem, and that Biden is making it worse. When Vice President Kamala Harris visited Guatemala, Mexico, and the U.S.-Mexico border to address the topic, liberal and conservative media alike described the trips as failures. The negative coverage of them shows both how Republicans have set the terms of the debate and how Democrats often get cowed into behaving like immigration hawks because theyre afraid of political blowback if they do not.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

So what should Democrats do? The truth is that they are in a difficult position, and Republicans are all-too-eager to exploit the fix theyre in. From the center to the left, all agree that Trumps policies were disastrous for immigrants, but different factions in the Democratic coalition disagree over whether simply rolling them back is enough. Its not as though the years before Trump were a golden age for immigrants. Many on the leftand many on the right who try to score points by noting the oppositions shortcomings while ignoring their own partys hostility to immigrantspoint out Bidens complicity with President Barack Obamas deportation policies. They want Biden to go farther than Obama did.

Advertisement

While Democrats claim that no credible politician supports open borders, a position that Republicans decry as the preferred outcome of the Democratic mainstream, many on the left do, in fact, argue for open borders, the immediate closing of migrant detention centers, and abolishing ICE. Cecilia Munoz, an Obama administration official who has been a punching bag of the left for defending her former bosss immigration policies, was recently chided for expressing frustration that some of her friends in the immigrant-advocacy community are unable or unwilling to name any category of migrants who should ever be returned.

Advertisement

But following Obamas own thinking that politics is the art of the possible, Democrats like Munoz may be right that, short of including immigration in a budget reconciliation bill, which may or may not be permissible, the best option right now is a proven-to-be-ineffective, Frankenstein-like compromise such as comprehensive immigration reform: a combination of enforcement, naturalization, and adjustments to the number of available visas, in which everybody gets some of what they want, but nobody gets everything.

Advertisement

The problem with comprehensive reform, and compromise on immigration in general, is that it comes with a high human cost. Every time the idea comes up, it sounds like a holy grail that will overhaul the current system and provide relief, but past efforts at reform left us with a regime that continues to exploit workers with limited rights, allows the owners of private prisons to reap massive profits, deports asylum-seekers who have credible fears of return, all while the number of unauthorized entrants continues to rise.

Critics on the left arent wrong that Democrats calling for reform havent done all they could to distinguish themselves from their Republican counterparts, and that a greater sense of urgency is required because of the suffering the current arrangement allows. But however naive I may sound, I believe that Democrats will still do better by immigrants than Republicans will, in part because they recognize that supporting immigrants and making our country better are not mutually exclusive. Bidens critics on the left should take note of the progress he is making even as they continue to push for more. Biden is not everything, but he and Trump are hardly the same.

Advertisement

Advertisement

By focusing our attention on immigration and the border, its possible that Republicans are making a losing bet, though its one I cant blame them for making. Along with voting restrictions and gerrymandering, immigration and build-the-wall thinking may be their best chance to reclaim power. The sharp lines Republicans draw between citizens and immigrants, and between Americans and the rest of the world, may be moves made out of desperation. Abbott may lose his reelection bid. Republicans may lose their bid to take back the House and the Senate. But I wouldnt bet on it, because I cant sell short the appeal of a message that interprets world and national politics as a zero-sum game where we lose if they win.

It is understandable for us to look inward and be motivated by fear when so much around us seems uncertain, from the future of our democracy to even more existential threats like a burning planet. But we should do our best to accurately diagnose our sickness, even if that meansas I believe it does for immigrationdemonstrating curiosity about the complexities of the situation rather than grasping for the simplest, most often wrong, answers. Republican and Democratic voters alike should demand from their leaders the whole truth about immigration, even if it doesnt support their partys line.
On their first morning in Washington, almost all the Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives walked up Capitol Hill just before 10 a.m. Some had arrived in D.C. on Monday evening; others were fresh off the plane. As the members passed a small crowd of reporters and Texan Hill staffers, Rep. Ramon Romero of Fort Worth raised his hand in a fist.

Theyd come to D.C. to take the last (and most dramatic) action available to them to stop their home state of Texas from passing sweeping restrictions on voting rights. The Republican-controlled Texas Legislature is ready to pass the bill, so more than 50 Democrats in the Texas House fled to D.C. to withhold the quorum required to pass a bill. They must stay out of the state for the rest of the 30-day special legislative session called by Gov. Greg Abbott. Their plan for their first day included a short press conference, then lobbying senators and members of Congress to pass federal voting rights legislation that would supersede what the Republicans in the Texas Legislature are trying to pass.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Subscribe to the Slatest Newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time.

Before the Democrats could get to their first meetings on the Hill, their Republican colleagues in Austin voted to authorize warrants for their arrest.

I was lightheaded yesterday, and before I even went to bed, I was thinking, you know, this is a lot that were risking, said first-term Rep. Claudia Ordaz Perez, who wore cowboy boots embossed with her name and the seal of El Paso. So Im putting it in perspective, and I do my prayers every night, and I just recognize how important this is.

Rep. Rhetta Bowers of Dallas said shed been thinking of her children, both of whom are now registered voters. If this isnt standing up and working hard for your constituents, I dont know what is, she said. To make a sacrifice like this, with uncertainty, and have to truly walk by faith and not by sight, to just truly put your heart out there and say we wont stand for this.

Advertisement

If they return to Texas in the next month, they risk arrest and a mandated return to the House, at which point Republicans could push the legislation through.

Members who spoke at the press conference urged Senate Democrats to suspend the filibuster on the single issue of voting rights, which would allow the passage of the For the People Act, the federal voting rights bill that died by Republican filibuster in June. Rep. Rafael Anchia of Dallas, the chairman of the Texas Houses Mexican American caucus, told Slate that hes prepared to do whatever it takes to urge his fellow Democrats to make a bold move: either reauthorizing the parts of the Voting Rights Act that the Supreme Court struck down, as the John Lewis Voting Rights Act would do, or passing the broader For the People Act. We cant go back unless Congress acts. Thats the bottom line, Anchia said. We came to Washington to really beg them to act. We need their help.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Anchia, who wore jeans and a sport coat, was set to meet with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer later in the day. But first, he planned to run a few errands. I need to go to Marshalls and buy some clothes, he said. I literally just flew in. I dont have a proper suit. So I need to go buy a tie, a shirt, and a suit. When pressed on whether that would be enough for a full month in D.C., he conceded, OK, fine, underwear and socks.

No matter how dapper Anchia looks at his meetings, the two Democratic senators standing in the way of suspending the filibusterSens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinemaare unlikely to change their minds. But the Texans frame their efforts as a way to buy time for their D.C. counterparts to figure out a way forward, given that Manchin and Sinema nominally support the legislation at hand, if not the means required to pass it. Anchia hopes these Senate Democrats could assume the role of the civil rights heroes they claim to idolize.

Advertisement

As they engage in a kind of civil disobedience to forestall one of the worst of the sets of voting restrictions that have popped up in Republican-controlled legislatures around the country, the Texas Democrats intend to situate their fight in the long history of civil rights battles for the ballot. At their press conference on Tuesday, the members were visibly moved by the statement of Rep. Senfronia Thompson of Houston, whos served in the Texas House since 1973. She spoke of seeing the new-to-her African American history museum in D.C., which called to mind the struggle of my people to secure the franchise. These Republicans in this Legislature may have changed the messiah from Jesus to Trump, but I havent, she said. And Im gonna make sure that I do everything I can do so that my constituents rights will not be stripped from them.

Advertisement

Advertisement

As the press conference wrapped up, Thompson led the members in a rendition of We Shall Overcome. (The song has become a hallmark of the groups press appearances.) We will overcome, Thompson told Slate. It is an inspirational song that we sing to reignite, and to keep the hope within us. In her 25 terms in the Texas House, Thompson has seen the same efforts to curtail womens rights and voting rights arise over and over again. New classes of Republican legislators come into office, but the attempts never cease. Its a bit repulsive, Thompson said, of bearing witness to nearly five decades of Republicans attempting to prevent communities of color from voting. Why should I always have to struggle for my rights?

The emotional appeal may be the only route left for Thompson, her colleagues, and other Democrats who see this moment as a turning point for U.S. democracy. Manchin and Sinema already have all the facts. Theyve shown no willingness to budge. Now, theyll have to tell a crowd of fugitive Texan legislators singing a civil rights protest song that their extreme measures to protect the franchise will be for naught.
Democrats in the Texas state legislature abruptly left the state en masse Monday, boarding planes to Washington, D.C., in a dramatic last-ditch effort to disrupt Texas Republicans effort to pass a host of restrictive voter laws that have been shown to disproportionately impact minority voters. More than 50 Texas lawmakers fled the Texas state capitol in Austin in order to keep Republicans from attaining a quorum, which requires two-thirds of the chamber to be present to conduct legislative business. Fifty-one of 67 State House Democrats have reportedly decamped for Washington.

Advertisement

ON PLANE TO DC: Texas Democratic lawmakers are leaving state to break quorum to stop Republican voting bill. Veteran Capitol observers say this is unchartered territory. Photo from Democrat on the plane. https://t.co/YOuOMb0A2m pic.twitter.com/abWoARvFIC  ScottGordonNBC5 (@ScottGordonNBC5) July 12, 2021

Advertisement

Advertisement

The move temporarily halts the GOPs restrictions on voting from progressing for the second time this year. In May, Democrats staged a walkout of the legislature on the final day of the session, forcing Republicans to adjourn as they faced a midnight deadline to ram through the voting changes. Texass normal legislative session ran from Jan. 12 to May 31 of this year and, this being Texas, where functional governance is highly discouraged, the state legislature only sits for a handful of months every other year. Texass Republican governor, Greg Abbott, responded by calling a special month-long legislative session that began on July 8 and runs through August 6.

Advertisement

Subscribe to the Slatest newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time.

Republican-led states across the U.S. have been actively trying to pass measures to make it harder to vote in the name of election security prompted by outlandish voter fraud claims by former President Donald Trump and those around him. [T]he bill in Texas is among the most expansive and sweeping efforts to restrict voting in a state that already ranks as one of the most difficult in the country to cast a ballot, the New York Times notes. Among other provisions, the latest Republican proposal would ban 24-hour voting and drive-through voting; add new voter identification requirements for voting by mail; increase the criminal penalties for election workers who run afoul of regulations; and greatly expand the authority and autonomy of partisan poll watchers.

Advertisement

Advertisement

By Texas state law, the Democratic legislators need to stay literally out of the state for the entirety of the remaining session in order to maintain their filibuster. The Texas delegation has vowed to do just that, travelling to Washington in order to gain attention, press Democratic leaders on stalled federal voting rights legislation and rally national support for its cause ahead of President Joe Bidens address on the issue of voting rights Tuesday in Philadelphia. Under the Texas Constitution, NPR notes, if lawmakers are anywhere in the state while the special session is ongoing, they can be arrested and physically brought back to the Capitol to provide a quorum. The exodus is only a short-term solution to a long-term problem however, as the Texas governor can simply call another special session later in the year.
This story was originally published by the Guardian and has been republished here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

Authorities in Minnesota have appealed to aquarium owners to stop releasing pet fish into waterways, after several huge goldfish were pulled from a local lake.

Officials in Burnsville, about 15 miles south of Minneapolis, said released goldfish can grow to several times their normal size and wreak havoc on indigenous species.

Please dont release your pet goldfish into ponds and lakes! the city tweeted on Friday. They grow bigger than you think and contribute to poor water quality by mucking up the bottom sediments and uprooting plants.

Advertisement

Last November, officials in nearby Carver County removed as many as 50,000 goldfish from local waters. The county water management manager, Paul Moline, said goldfish are an understudied species with a high potential to negatively impact the water quality of lakes.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Like carp, goldfish can easily reproduce and survive through low levels of oxygen during the Minnesota winter.

A few goldfish might seem to some like a harmless addition to the local water bodybut theyre not, the Minnesota department of natural resources advised.

Please don't release your pet goldfish into ponds and lakes! They grow bigger than you think and contribute to poor water quality by mucking up the bottom sediments and uprooting plants.

Groups of these large goldfish were recently found in Keller Lake. pic.twitter.com/Zmya2Ql1E2  City of Burnsville (@BurnsvilleMN) July 9, 2021

Advertisement

Ecological destruction wrought by released aquarium pets is not new. Carnivorous lionfish, native to the Indo-Pacific but believed to have been released by Florida pet owners after Hurricane Andrew in 1982, have killed off dozens of Caribbean species, allowing seaweed to overtake the reefs.

Goldfish have received less attention than other invasive species, including Asian carp and zebra mussels, but warnings have been issued in Virginia and Washington as well as Australia and Canada.

Advertisement

In 2013, Scientific American reported that researchers trawling Lake Tahoe netted a goldfish that was nearly 1.5 feet long and weighed 4.2 pounds. The author of a report on Californias aquarium trade said, Globally, the aquarium trade has contributed a third of the worlds worst aquatic and invasive species.

Advertisement

Wildlife officials in Virginia warned recently that pet owners should never release their aquatic organisms into the wild after an angler caught a 16-inch goldfish.

The costs of rehabilitating waterways infested with goldfish is substantial. Carver County in Minnesota signed an $88,000 contract with a consulting firm to study how to eradicate shoals.

The Washington Post reported that, in 2018, Washington state officials said they would spend $150,000 rehabilitating a lake near Spokane. In Alberta, Canada, an invasive-species expert called a goldfish problem scary.

It is estimated that as many as 200 million goldfish are bred each year, most ending up on domestic display.
Pandemic-era questions about the irrelevance of the office are inching toward a resolution. Some bosses are calling employees back. Others are telling them they dont have to come back at all. And that has profound implications for downtown buildings, for the cities that depend on their property taxes, for the small businesses that depend on their traffic, for the service workers who maintain them, and for the trains and buses that make a big downtown of office buildings possible. But perhaps most of all, it has implications for the workers themselves.

Advertisement

On Fridays episode of What Next: TBD, I spoke with Brigid Schultedirector of the Better Life Lab at New Americaabout how to make the new era of the office work for officer workers.

Henry Grabar: J.P. Morgan brought back workers on Tuesday. Goldman brought them back earlier this month. Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook will allow all employees to keep working from home. It seems like at white collar offices, this is the moment to either consolidate these changes or reverse them.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Brigid Schulte: This really is a critical moment. What comes next in the next three to six months could be the start of defining what happens in the next 10 to 20 years, or the next generation. And I have to say were all over the place. Youve kind of got those workplaces on one sideeverybody back in the office!and then on the other side, youve got Zuckerberg saying, Hey, I kind of liked having more time at home. I liked not having to fight the commute. So Im going to have more of a hybrid. I have to tell you, Im confused. Therell be one survey thatll say companies are embracing remote or hybrid work and theyll cut down all these real estate costs. This is going to be great! And then a few days later, a new survey: CEOs want people back into the office. So I think that were in real flux.

Advertisement

Right. And you dont think that we should go back to normaland not just because youre calling in from the beach?



I dont think that we should go back to the way it was. Work defined our lives before the pandemic, and it didnt really work. If you were a professional with a college degree or more, or you worked on Wall Street, well, maybe it paid you a whole lot, but it also ate you alive. It cost health. It cost relationships. If you were an essential workerwhat we used to call low-wage workers, hourly workersyou didnt have enough hours. You didnt have enough money. You were scrambling to find other jobs to make ends meet. Work was the dominant force in our lives before the pandemic. Its so tied with identity and meaning, and its very complicated in the United States. Its how we value each other; what we do is who we are. But it wasnt even giving us the basics in some cases.

Advertisement

Advertisement

One thing that gets trotted out a lot is the idea of work-life balance, that the commute really just took up so much time. So on the one hand, you have this promise of more time spent at home, spent with family. And on the other, maybe that commuting time is actually going toward working more, and that without the office as a place to concentrate your work tasks, those responsibilities end up encroaching on your life at home.

I would say that the responsibilities at work were already encroaching on life at home. If you look at work hours pre-pandemic, there was already this phenomenon called spillover. Work spilling over into family and home life, creating a lot of work-life conflict, work-life tension, work-family tension. And very little spillover the other wayspillover of family or home demands into work or taking us away from work. So the phenomenon of work already expanding into our lives was already in effect before the pandemic. And I do feel like thats part of why so many people who were able to work remotely at home mightve felt a sense of relief. Honestly, I think the pandemic sort of reminded people just how much of their own lives they were missing.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Remote work has sometimes been viewed as a mixed blessingthe idea that it might even reinforce hierarchies about who shows up, who puts in face time. And that might translate into advantages for people who continue to show up. In that way, I think theres a fear that remote work might exacerbate some of the inequalities that characterize life at the office.

Absolutely right. In most office cultures, in the United States in particular, we have whats called face-time bias. Managers and CEOs, bosses, people in powerthats the way they work, so they turn around and reward people who work like they do. In the office, I can see you. Youre always here, you come in early, you stay late. I dont know what youre doing, but I have this sense that youre dedicated. What that does is that equates presence and long hours with productivity and commitment. And thats not necessarily true at all. And it disadvantaged people who needed to work flexibly, who needed to (or wanted to) work remotely.

Advertisement

Typically, before the pandemic, [those people] tended to be women and caregivers. So its not surprising that that face-time bias then just reproduced those kinds of patriarchal hierarchies of largely white men in power promoting more white men into positions of power. There were surveys before the pandemic that asked CEOs around the world who is the ideal worker, and more than three-fourths said somebody with no caregiving responsibilities, somebody whos always here. Well, thats never going to be a mother. We saw women just completely hammered by all the care giving responsibilities that they had to take on through the pandemic.

Advertisement

Are you speaking from personal experience here?

Absolutely. I remember I did go down to a four-day workweek for a while after my daughter was born. And I remember editors calling me and saying, Youre going to ruin your career. Dont do this.

Advertisement

One symbol of remote work during the pandemic has been these digital nomads, people roaming around the country in their vans, getting Wi-Fi to send a bunch of emails in the morning, and then going for hikes in the afternoon. And it sounds like that is sort of a red herring. Those people do not represent where were going as a society.

I think its too early to say that digital nomads are a red herring. I think its just really going to depend on the cultures that develop and what they allow, what they value, and ultimately what they end up rewarding. Because if youre a digital nomad, but you keep missing promotions and youre not getting pay bonuses and youre not valued, well, I can imagine youre going to get the message that even though the policy says you can do it, if its not working out in practice, youre going to run right back to the office. This is why were at this kind of very fragile, gelatinous moment where a lot of managers and CEOs who already have a lot of power will have a lot of power to figure out how work is going to shape peoples lives next.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

I think its important that we recognize how limited this conversation is to a certain elite sector of worker. If white collar workers get to work from home, that may help them with their child care needs, but it does nothing for everybody else.

I would argue that working from home doesnt help white collar workers with their child care needs because working from home means that you have to work and do child care andin the last yearhomeschooling. Thats just unworkable. But I think you raise a really important point that we need to see work as part of this bigger picture. And work only works when it has all of the supporting infrastructure that actually makes it work. That means care for children, for schools, for aftercare. It means care for disabled family members and the elderly. And we have no care infrastructure in this country. Its abominable.

Advertisement

We are the only country that doesnt have paid maternity leave. Were one of six advanced countries that doesnt have paid paternity leave. We have no investment in a child care infrastructure in the way that our advanced peer economies do. And so if were really going to talk about how to make work work, then we need to talk about how to make all those systems around it work.

If white collar workers are able to claw back some of their leisure time and flexibility through advocating for hybrid work, that gives them more time to do the things they want to do. How do we extend those gains to be societywide and not just to workers who have the privilege of being able to not go into the office every day?

Advertisement

Yeah, thats critical. Lets rememberIm saying this with clenched teeth, and Im trying not to swearthat the latest data shows that about 20,000 child care centers still are closed. Weve lost one in nine child care workers. We do not have the system that people can actually go back to work yet. We havent invested in figuring out how to build that system.

All of this talk about going back to the office is so disingenuous in some ways, because, yes we have roads and bridges and public transportation, but we dont have the care infrastructure that would enable everybody who can and wants to come back to work. And thats not just for the office workers. Work may not change dramatically in the next six months to a year, but its going to in the next 10 to 20 years. And so why not begin having these larger, harder conversations right now?

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
One of the most demanding and spectacular day hikes inside Big Bend National Park in Texas is a trail called Marufo Vega. The 14-mile loop, rated strenuous, requires always moving in order to ensure being back at your car at sundown. Its exhausting, scenic, and very satisfying, not least because I have never encountered another human on it.

I have always, however, encountered a few horses. As you near the Rio Grande, which is also the border with Mexicothough youd never know it, since this is one of the parks most remote and beautiful vistasyou can usually spot at least one horse, silently grazing on the mountainsides and watching from a safe distance.

Advertisement

I first thought the horses were mustangs, since truly wild horses live in habitats that look much like this all throughout the intermountain West. According to Raymond Skiles, who worked as the parks wildlife biologist for 31 years, visitors generally report being happy to see loose horses on their backcountry hikes, often because they take them to be wild. But these are domestic horses belonging to the vaquerosSpanish for cowboyswho live just on the other side of the border. They are actively herded across the river on a regular basis, and have been for decades. The lush, arid grasslands of the Chihuahuan Desert, which the park restores and protects, naturally make for the best grazing for hundreds of miles around. Both the grazing and the cross-border herding, which requires the vaqueros to enter the U.S., are against U.S. law.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Most trespass livestock, as they are called, wear indicators of their status as farm animalsear tags, horseshoes, bellslike the cows I encountered driving down the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, one of the parks highlights. In recent decades, aerial counts have shown a minimum of about 100 farm animals inside the park on any given day. All have been found to come from ejidos, unfenced community lands in Mexico, or from larger private Mexican ranches.

The damage that illegal grazing is causing is among the most significant and intractable threats to the parks natural and cultural resources, according to park superintendent Bob Krumenaker. In 2018, Skiles coordinated an extensive management plan to address what is effectively a low-grade, continuous emergency.

Advertisement

Big Bend is not only home to threatened native plants like the Guadalupe fescue, a perennial grass on the endangered species list, but it is also a critical habitat for the yellow-billed cuckoo and home to other endangered native animal species, like the Rio Grande silvery minnow and the Mexican long-nosed bat. As they trample inside these habitats, the trespassing farm animals damage soil crusts and cause erosion. In some spots they create networks of trails, called terracettes, in which soil conditions are highly altered and plants are killed off. Other animal trails pass through historic and archaeological sites and end up destroying ancient structures. The livestock also carry the seeds of invasive species in their feces, including the extremely invasive buffelgrass, which has the potential to turn biodiverse deserts into grass monocultures.

Advertisement

So why does illegal grazing continue? How hard can it be to apprehend a cow or a farm horse, after all? How could such extensive damage be going unchecked in a place as carefully managed and studied as a national park, in an area as heavily policed as the southern border?

Advertisement

The difficulties cannot simply be chalked up to ever-shrinking National Park Service budgets, on which the public loves to blame all park-related problems. Chief ranger Rick Gupman explains that authorities on both sides of the border have been working on the trespass livestock problem for decades, with zero long-term success. (He and the other park service employees mentioned in this article are speaking for themselves and not for the NPS.) And as with all things border-related, the answer to the question Why isnt it working? depends in large part on whom you ask.

Advertisement

Control measures to round up the cows, horses, and burros herded across the river from Boquillas and Santa Elena, the tiny villages on the south side of the river, have been pretty effective in the short term. These involve flyovers and aerial counts to aid in routine roundups by park rangers and U.S. Department of Agriculture agents on both foot and horseback. Under USDA regulations, the confiscated animals are quarantined and undergo veterinary inspection to meet health and disease certification requirements. All healthy cattle are sold for slaughter (unless claimed by an owner, for a fine), while healthy horses and burros are sold at auction. All sick animals are either euthanized or sold for slaughter. None of them are returned to their owners.

Advertisement

But the cost of losing entire individual herds once in a while is smaller than the gain that grazing on park grass brings to whole communities in the long term. In other words, despite the financial losses, herding their cattle into the U.S. is still worth it for the vaqueros. And as long as this is the case, illegal grazing stands no chance of being eliminated. New livestock will continue to show up, regardless of how many are confiscated.

Is this scenario beginning to sound familiar?

Advertisement

Introducing more severe legal or financial consequences for the vaqueros is also not the solution. Its not hard to move cattle back and forth across the water. Residents of Boquillas, directly across the river from some of the parks most beloved exhibits, do so daily in order to make U.S. dollars from tourists willing to pay for a photo of a horse or the privilege of getting on one. They themselves also cross multiple times a day in order to sell trinkets to tourists or to sing for money. All of these activities are against the law, but this is how the villagers have been making their living for quite some time. And Border Patrol officials have bigger fish to fry. Their job is to deal with drug and human trafficking, cartel-related border crossings that pass through border communities, into the park, and head north through the desert in hopes of reaching Interstate 10. Its the park law enforcement rangers who are tasked with addressing both the local trinket industry and cartel-related activities. According to Gupman, they end up unable to enforce all of the laws consistently.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

But this is not just because there arent enough rangers to do the job. Success in fighting the cartel depends in large part on maintaining good relations with the border villages and Mexican authorities. Indeed, Big Bend is an example of excellent cross-border relations, over the course of the last few decades of border upheaval and policy changes. Such good relations are key to the sustainability of small, old border-region communities. While more intense policing of Mexican farmers and more consistent roundups may seem like the best answer, a trespass livestock crackdown would be a challenge to implement, given what there is to lose. Park authorities are continuously faced with walking the delicate tightrope between protecting the resource and protecting their longtime, hard-won cross-border relationships. While they cannot sacrifice law enforcement for the sake of getting along, they must at the same time continue to get along.

Advertisement

The border is not only internationalit is also profoundly local. And in places like Big Bend, it functions as a border not only thanks to how it restricts what people can do, but also thanks to goodwill, cooperation, and communication across the boundary, over generations.

Eliminating illegal grazing is more difficult than simply tightening security. It requires creating incentives to keep Mexican cattle at home. According to Krumenaker, the key is to identify what conditions would make illegal grazing no longer worth it for the vaqueros, and devote aid to implementing those conditionsbut neither of these falls under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service.

The only way to keep livestock out of this protected ecosystem is to ensure their better lives in their home environments. Exactly what such improvements would look like no one yet knows, but as long as policymakers continue to pump resources solely into militarizing the border, well never find out. And extensive damage to one of Americas greatest environmental treasures is certain to continue, as if it were unpreventable.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
Drone smuggling drugs from Morocco to Malaga seized by police



A criminal group was using the drone to transport hashish and marihuana from Morocco to Malaga, with the intention of selling the narcotics in France

The Policia Nacional have seized a 4.35 metre drone, which was being used to transport drugs between Morocco and Spain, and officers have also arrested four people in connection to the drug trafficking scheme.

The drone, which was seized from a property in Almachar, was a professional grade device with a wingspan of more than four metres and an autonomous flying time of seven hours. The criminal group, operating from the Malaga coast, was using the drone to smuggle drugs into Spain from Morocco.

After receiving the drugs in Spain, the group then transported the shipments of hashish and marihuana to France using different methods, where it was distributed and sold by other members of the organization.

As the group was operating on an international level, the Spanish national police were assisted in their investigation by the French authorities.

Officers in Spain carried out a raid in a property in Almachar, located in the Axarquia area of Malaga, where several items including computer equipment and tools used in the handling, preparation and shipment of narcotics were seized, as well as the modified drone.

Meanwhile, in France, officers seized 12 kilos of hashish and arrested three members of the group, who were French citizens of Moroccan origin.

Another member of the organization, who was the owner of the property in Almachar, was detained in the province of Malaga and a European Arrest Warrant has since been issued in his name.

All four of the criminals are to be charged with drug trafficking and belonging to a criminal organization.
Bratislava desperately lack tourists, tourism industry calls for help

The capital has seen an 80-percent drop in tourism.

Bratislava has experienced a significant decrease in tourists, which was not expected ahead of summer. The tourism industry was ready for at least a partial revival, but the current situation is unstable.

The Bratislava Tourist Board said this at a press conference about tourism in Bratislava, the TASR newswire reported.

Extreme decreases

The reasons for the drop in tourism are not only the constantly changing decisions of the state but also the slow and poorly directed financial assistance. The industry is therefore requesting a solution.

13. Jul 2021 at 11:53 | Compiled by Spectator staff
The state has two different statistics on vaccination-related deaths. Large-capacity vaccination centres will start walk-in vaccinations. People wait for their cars longer.

Font size: A - | A +

Good evening. The Tuesday, July 13, 2021 edition of Today in Slovakia is ready with the main news of the day in less than five minutes. We wish you a pleasant read.

Most foreigners want to stay

Foreigners coming to Slovakia are dissatisfied with lengthy and bureaucratic immigration process. (Source: SITA)

Though Slovakia does not belong among first-choice countries of foreign migrant workers, most of them want to stay here.

This stems from a recent online survey carried out by the International Organisation of Migration (IOM). The survey addressed foreigners who came to work in Slovakia from countries outside the EU and the EEA.

More than 57 percent of respondents said that Slovakia was not among the countries they originally wanted to come and work in. However, foreign workers appreciate that the country is safe and belongs to the EU. Most of the respondents even said that they want to stay here in the future.

Another finding of the survey is that the majority of respondents do not work in the field in which they studied. They are willing to accept a job that does not correspond with their qualification or does not even require a specific qualification.

Two different statistics on vaccination-related deaths

Only four deaths resulting from the Covid-19 vaccine have been confirmed in Slovakia. (Source: TASR)

Even if in most cases there often is little proof that the death of a vaccinated person was a direct result of the vaccine, it is not uncommon for people to claim a connection between deaths and the Covid-19 vaccine. They also say that state controllers are not revealing the real number of victims who died after vaccination. In their opinion, the actual number is much higher

The State Institute for Drug Control (SUKL), the countrys medicines authority, has two statistics for these kinds of deaths  one for Slovakia with fewer victims, and the second for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) with more victims, the Sme daily reported.

SUKL has not properly explained why it reports different data on deaths related to vaccination.

More Covid and vaccination developments

The large-capacity vaccination centre in Bratislava (Source: TASR)

28 people out of 6,528 tested with PCR tests were diagnosed with Covid in Slovakia on July 12; out of 7,133 new antigen tests, 13 were positive. One more person died of Covid.

people out of 6,528 tested with PCR tests were diagnosed with Covid in Slovakia on July 12; out of 7,133 new antigen tests, were positive. more person died of Covid. All vaccination centres run by the self-governing regions will start with walk-in vaccinations in the coming days , meaning that they will also administer vaccines to people without an official invitation. The service has already been provided in several large-capacity vaccination centres.

run by the self-governing regions will start with , meaning that they will also administer vaccines to people without an official invitation. The service has already been provided in several large-capacity vaccination centres. The combination of vaccines from two different producers will be possible soon, said Health Minister Vladimir Lengvarsky (OLaNO nominee). Currently, it is possible to administer two different vaccines only based on the recommendation of a doctor, but the ministry wants to make it possible for people to choose whether they want to be inoculated with two different shots.

from two different producers will be possible soon, said Health Minister Vladimir Lengvarsky (OLaNO nominee). Currently, it is possible to administer two different vaccines only based on the recommendation of a doctor, but the ministry wants to whether they want to be inoculated with two different shots. Given the spread of the Delta variant, there is no discussion about relaxing current border restrictions. Lengvarsky stated so in reaction to the demands of tourism sector representatives.

If you like what we are doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription. Thank you.

Picture of the day

A pilot in-field vaccination project for pupils by mobile vaccination teams in marginalised communities was launched in the village of Kecerovce in eastern Slovakia. The Education Ministry wants to administer the vaccine to children older than 12 years in order to secure the safe reopening of schools in September.

Feature story for today

It seems that it is finally a chance to defeat Viktor Orban, said Miklos Haraszti, a former Hungarian politician, writer and dissident on the upcoming election in Hungary. The unprecedented fellowship of the oppositionists who connected against him from the right and the left political spectrum, disproportionate election rights in Hungary, and an almost American type of election from both sides, changes it mathematically.

Haraszti talked to the Sme daily about the Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V, the real state of democracy in Hungary, and how is Orban using the pandemic to push through local propaganda, among other topics.

Hungarian dissident Haraszti: Union was not ready for such a wave of antidemocracy Read more

In other news

The trial involving ex-special prosecutor Dusan Kovacik continued on July 13, with the testimonies of his former subordinates . They described some practices at the Special Prosecutors Office, including how Kovacik distributed files.

continued on July 13, with the . They described some practices at the Special Prosecutors Office, including how Kovacik distributed files. Seven parties would make it to the parliament if the general elections were held in the first half of July, according to a poll by the AKO agency . While most coalition parties reported a slight drop compared to the previous month, the popularity of Robert Ficos Smer increased a bit.

would make it to the parliament if the general elections were held in the first half of July, according to a . While most coalition parties reported a slight drop compared to the previous month, the popularity of Robert Ficos Smer increased a bit. EU finance ministers have approved the first 12 recovery plans, including the Slovak one. As a result, the countries will be able to sign agreements with the European Commission on receiving the first financial package.

The microchip shortage is already impacting the periods that customers need to wait for their new car . Some waiting periods have more than doubled.

is already impacting the . Some waiting periods have more than doubled. The Administration of State Material Reserves (SSHR) breached a law in the case of three orders for the purchase of Covid-19 tests, worth roughly 50 million , the Public Procurement Office (UVO) decided. The decision is not valid yet as SSHR appealed it.

in the case of worth roughly , the Public Procurement Office (UVO) decided. The decision is not valid yet as SSHR appealed it. The Agriculture Ministry is working on a package of measures to stop African swine fever from spreading, including the shooting of wild boars in the districts where the disease has not been confirmed. Costs are expected to amount to 12 million .

from spreading, including the shooting of wild boars in the districts where the disease has not been confirmed. Costs are expected to amount to . Cyclist Peter Sagan will not represent Slovakia at the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo due to health reasons. The country will be represented by Juraj Sagan and Lukas Kubis.

More on Spectator.sk today:

Bratislava desperately lack tourists, tourism industry calls for help Read more

Ochtinska Aragonite Cave is unique not only in Slovakia but also in the world Read more

Cage of shame installed in Krupina. A witchs heart to be next Read more

If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.

13. Jul 2021 at 18:02 | Radka Minarechova
Woodbine Mohawk Park would like to inform horsepeople that schoolers will be offered following Tuesday mornings (July 13) qualifiers.

A total of 20 slots for two-year-olds and 10 slots for three-year-olds and up are available at first come, first serve. To sign up, click here.

(Woodbine Communications)
Travis Alexander won the 2020 MGM Springfield Stakes final for two-year-old male pacers with American Courage, who set a stakes record with his 1:53.3 effort, and the trainer is back for this years $150,000 renewal on Friday night (July 16) at Yonkers Raceway with Pleaseletmeknow, who captured his elimination one week earlier in 1:54.1, the fastest of the trio of elims contested.

Trainer Jenn Bongiorno finished second to American Courage in last years MGM Springfield with Town Gossip, and she will give it another go in Friday nights final with Letmecallyouback, who won his elimination in 1:55.3.

The third elimination was won by Gone Before Dawn, who was victorious in 1:56 for trainer Andrew Harris, who did not have a starter in last years MGM Springfield but finished second in the 2019 renewal (when the race was known as the Lawrence B. Sheppard) with Save Me A Dance.

With an open draw for the rich final (race eight), the three elim winners all drew posts on the right side of the gate, with Letmecallyouback, who will be driven by Joe Bongiorno, faring best with post five. Pleaseletmeknow, who will be driven by Matt Kakaley, and Gone Before Dawn, who will directed by Jason Bartlett, will leave from posts seven and eight, respectively. They will be joined in the final by the three elim runners-up as well as two of the three third-place finishers.

While Pleaseletmeknow and Letmecallyouback each had a pari-mutuel start under their belt coming into the MGM Springfield elims, Gone Before Dawn was making his pari-mutuel debut. A son of Huntsville-One Last Kiss, Gone Before Dawns large stature (hes already nearly 17 hands tall) had both trainer Harris and driver Bartlett concerned that his size could be a detriment on the half-mile oval at Yonkers.

You always have a concern when you go from a big track to a small track, but I did train him a lot on the half-mile track at Gaitway so its not like he didnt have half-mile track experience, said Harris. I had a couple others that did struggle but this horse didnt. I still think Ill make a few changes on him but Ill have him ready for the race.

Huntsville was a big boy too and he got around a half, and the Huntsvilles are such good-gaited animals.

Gone Before Dawn finished fourth in his qualifying race debut at Gaitway Farm on June 14 and then with Bartlett in the sulky for the first time in a June 26 qualifier at The Meadowlands, the colt finished second by a length, race-timed in 1:53.4.

He was pretty good in the qualifier and the horse that beat him (JK Victory) is one of Nancys (Takter) better colts, said Bartlett. I thought hed be pretty good but I didnt know how it would translate to the half-mile track.

For a big horse he got around Yonkers pretty well and I was pretty happy with the way he went. Hes big gaited too so I didnt know how hed handle the half. But I scored him down and it seemed like hed handle the turns pretty good, so we took our shot.

In the MGM Springfield elim, Barlett left from post three with Gone Before Dawn and settled in third, but then made a quarter-pole move to the lead and never looked back to score by a neck over Thebizness Bluechip.

I settled him in the first turn and then the front end slowed up so I just moved him, said Bartlett. He has a really good brush so it was pretty easy to get to the front. He got a little steppy in the last turn but with a few changes hell be good for that.

Gone Before Dawn was purchased privately from breeder Steve Jones by Harriss A Harris Racing and Doug Overhisers Bowie Racing. He is out of the Artsplace mare One Last Kiss, who sprung a 20-1 upset in capturing the $200,000 New Jersey Sires Stakes final for two-year-old filly pacers in 2009, with his second dam being world champion Juliets Fate, who won the 1998 Breeders Crown final for two-year-old filly pacers.

We bought two privately before the sales from Steve Jones, remembered Harris. We were targeting Gone Before Dawn because we had the sister (Kiss The Captain) and knew the sister was nice. Unfortunately she suffered a little bit of a breathing issue...but we were really high on her and knew what kind of speed she had.

Gone Before Dawn was a colt I had my eye on and I hoped hed be that type of a horse. Ive been high on him all along. Hes a little bit green on the front but hes 10 times the horse when he has a little bit of a helmet. If he is sitting close on a helmet hes got a wicked motor on him.

As for Pleaseletmeknow, the gelded son of American Ideal-I Said Please had a fifth and first in his pair of qualifying races at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, and he then finished second in his pari-mutuel debut in a New York Sires Stakes split on June 30 at Buffalo Raceway. That led into his MGM Springfield win where he parlayed a two-hole trip from Kakaley into the victory, downing runner-up Silverstone by 1-1/2 lengths.

Hes getting better and better. Hes come a long way, said Alexander, who trains Pleaseletmeknow for Mark Wassermans Fiddlers Creek Stables. He has surprised me quite a bit because he was never one you would talk about all winter.

He was way too studdy. Hes not a very big horse but he thought he was King Kong. He was going to hurt somebody, Alexander added about gelding the colt. It took time for him to get over his castration so it set him behind. (Mark) Wasserman never saw him train because I always hid him from him. The first time Mark actually saw him go was at Buffalo.

Alexander believes Pleaseletmeknow will only get better as he continues racing.

Hes a game horse and likes to race, said Alexander. He only does what hes asked but he likes to win though, I will say that. Now that hes figured it out, he does like to win.

Jenn Bongiorno said Letmecallyouback captured her eye early on.

Hes always been one of my favorites of the babies we had, said Bongiorno, who trains the son of Huntsville-Ravishnmasterpiece for owners Joseph Di Scala Jr., Pit Bull Stable and Patrick OBrien. In his first qualifier (fourth at Gaitway) he was good but we made some changes and definitely happier with the second qualifier (third at Gaitway).

In Letmecallyoubacks pari-mutuel debut in a June 30 overnight at Harrahs Philadelphia, Joe Bongiorno moved his charge from fifth to first in the :27.4 third quarter and then settled for a third-place finish.

In his MGM Springfield elim, Letmecallyouback moved first-over from fourth at the half to clear the lead at the top of the stretch before holding on by a neck over Wolftrax. While his counterparts each won their elims at odds of 2-1, Letmecallyouback rewarded his backers at odds of 7-1.

The line doesnt look that good in his first start, admitted Jenn Bongiorno. He got to the front and was a little lost and confused. I was really happy to see last week and that he learned from that. I just think hes a gelding that is going to keep getting better. Hes learning more and more every start and every time he trains. Hes a horse that is majorly on the improve every week.

As seems to be the norm, Yonkers half-mile track gave trainer Bongiorno cause for concern, and Letmecallyouback displayed some greenness when he went a bit wide in the final turn while on fast forward for the lead.

Once he got to the front and cleared he was good, said Bongiorno. He held off horses so Im not afraid for him to be on the front, and Im certainly not afraid for him to come from off the pace because he has that really big move.

To be honest, getting around a half was a question mark for us, she added. When Joe warmed him up I was very happy to see he was handling it. He wasnt 100 percent perfect but were happy that he can handle the half. Being a New York horse hes going to have to get around half-mile tracks. He handled it as well as possible. He has a really nice solid big move to him. I think that will hopefully be to our advantage.

The MGM Springfield Stakes final will go as race eight on Friday nights 12-race program, which gets underway at 7:15 p.m. The full field with listed drivers and trainers is as follows:

1. American Artist K (Jason Bartlett / Aaron Lambert)

2. Te Amo Blue Chip (Jim Marohn Jr. / John Berger)

3. Thebiznes Bluechip (Jordan Stratton / Jeff Gillis)

4. Wolftrax (Scott Zeron / Paula Wellwood)

5. Letmecallyouback (Joe Bongiorno / Jennifer Bongiorno)

6. Silverstone (George Brennan / Ron Burke)

7. Pleaseletmeknow (Matt Kakaley / Travis Alexander)

8. Gone Before Dawn (Jason Bartlett / Andrew Harris)

AE. Hurrikane Chuck (Tyler Buter / John McDermott)

(USTA)
As Ontario prepares to enter Step 3 of its Roadmap to Reopen on Friday (July 16), a number of the province's expanded gaming facilities located at racetracks will reopen to the public.

Further to the announcement on July 9, 2021 from the Ontario provincial government that certain businesses can reopen, such as casinos, Great Canadian Gaming Corporation will be undertaking the required steps to reopen the following Ontario properties on Friday, July 16, 2021:

Casino Woodbine

Great Blue Heron Casino

Casino Ajax

Elements Casino Mohawk

Elements Casino Flamboro

Elements Casino Brantford

Elements Casino Grand River

Shorelines Casino Belleville

Shorelines Casino Peterborough

Shorelines Casino Thousand Islands

Shorelines Slots at Kawartha Downs

Great Canadian is also planning to open the casino at the Pickering Casino Resort in the near future, with the remainder of the resort opening at a later date in 2022.

Under the Provinces current health and safety framework, Great Canadian's Ontario properties will reopen with reduced gaming capacity to reflect physical distancing requirements. The company will continue to work cooperatively with industry stakeholders and regulatory agencies on the easing of these restrictions in a safe and responsible manner.

Im very excited that the province has reached this milestone, and that Great Canadian is in a position to have thousands of team members return to work, stated Terrance Doyle, the Companys Interim Chief Executive Officer. I want to thank our entire team for their resilience and patience the last 17 months, and I look forward to working with our team and welcoming our guests back to our Ontario properties. As we move into the current stage of the provincial plan to reopen the economy, Im eager to continue working with key stakeholders on the next phase of reopening when it is deemed safe to do so.

Gateway Casinos will also reopen its Ontario casinos on Friday. All casinos will be permitted to reopen at 50 percent capacity. However, Casino Rama Resort will reopen on July 29.

The health and safety of all employees, customers and community remains the highest priority at Gateway and all properties will continue to work with local and provincial governments; public health authorities and regulators to collaboratively prevent the spread of COVID-19. All Gateway Casinos will continue to apply the protocols recommended by the government, the Ministry of Health and local public health officials. These include PPE for staff, mandatory masking for guests, hand sanitation stations on the gaming floor, plexiglass barriers and social distancing.

We are excited to finally re-open casinos and community gaming centres across the province, and welcome back our employees and valued customers into a very safe environment for gaming and dining. As always, the health and safety of our employees and customers are paramount, said Tony Santo, CEO at Gateway Casinos. We look forward to a safe and steady restart and the return to full operations as soon as possible.

On Friday, all Gateway casinos in Ontario will resume operations. Gateway Casinos London, Woodstock and Innisfil will open their doors at 12:01 a.m. Clinton, Hanover, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Sarnia and Thunder Bay will open at 9:00 a.m. and Chatham, Point Edward and Sudbury will open at 10:00 a.m. Casino Rama will reopen on July 29 at 10:00 a.m.

We operate in one of the most highly regulated business environments in the province with more rigorous oversight and controls than any other business in the hospitality sector, continued Santo. At Gateway, we have developed extensive health and safety plans that have been independently reviewed by a health and safety subject matter expert.

(with files from Great Canadian and Gateway)
Last month, a prominent Richmond-area continuing care residential facility allowed an unvaccinated health care provider to continue to work at the facility.

When she tested positive for COVID-19, the facility announced in late June that all health care residents had to be quarantined for 14 days, even those who were vaccinated. Residents planning to leave the facility to see family over the July 4 weekend or to visit with loved ones at the facility were denied that opportunity because of the decision of this health care worker to not be vaccinated and the policy of the facility to not mandate vaccinations.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, unvaccinated employees can be excluded from the workplace, even those who cannot be vaccinated due to a medical condition, if their presence poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others and cannot be eliminated or reduced with reasonable accommodation.

The ADA direct threat requirement is a high standard. The employer must show that an employee poses a significant risk of substantial harm to the individual or others.
The committee is accepting reservations. Previous tours have focused on Where Irrigation Water Comes From on a two-day tour that provides an understanding on how Western Nebraska receives their irrigation water. Previously, highlights included visits to dams and reservoirs in Wyoming and the Bureau of Reclamation in Mills, which operates many of these dams.

This year, members of the tour are not able to tour the Mills Center or the Fremont Power Plant. The committee decided to create a different tour that would focus on Where the Water Goes to share the full story of the impact the water system has for all of Nebraska. This years tour will feature agricultural businesses and how they utilize water. Highlights include Walther Farms Potato Facility, Lake McConaughy Water Interpretive Center, Hydro Facility at Kingsley Dam, Lodgepole Creek, South Platte Basin, Liley Fish Farm, Coulter Ranch, Farmers Irrigation Diversion Dam and Wild Cat Hills Nature Center. Not only is this tour educational, it is also one of the fundraising events the Agribusiness Committee does each year to generate funds to provide scholarships to students pursuing ag-related careers.
Mike Dallas, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, cooked the top chili at the 34th annual Nebraska State Champion CASI Chili Cook-Off on Saturday.

With a score of 112 out of a possible 150 points, Dallas held his position as the Oregon Trail Days chili champion after winning the 2019 OT Days cook-off. He also repeated as green chili champion and came fourth in the bean dish category.

The cook-off was not held during last years festivities.

This year, there were 15 entries in the chili competition, 13 bean competitors, 11 for green chili, and five apiece for the second-year salsa category and the inaugural barbeque category.

Its a little lower, actually, to tell you the truth. Normally we get 20 (chili entries), 22 beans...I dont know why, its hard to say, cook-off chairman Bill Schlaepfer said.

Around two dozen individual cooks participated, with most of them cooking in multiple categories.

Were missing a lot of faces, but weve got a few new faces, too, Scottsbluff resident Scott Harris said.

Harris has been cooking chili competitively for more than 20 years.
You must be logged in to react.

Click any reaction to login.

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
BLACKSBURG  Floyd Countys Mary Reed was named Virginia Queen by TOPS Club Inc. in May for losing more weight than any other female club member across the state during 2020 by shedding more than 70 pounds.

TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) is a nonprofit, physician-oriented international weight loss support group in which each members physicians set their goals. There are chapters nationwide, and in Canada, including the Blacksburg chapter of which Reed is a part.

I am very proud and grateful of my accomplishment. If it werent for my TOPS VA 0464 Blacksburg familys support, this would not have been possible, Reed said, noting that her weight loss has enhanced her quality of life, mobility and health.

Reed was introduced to TOPS while living in Fort Myers, Fla., where she was a member for four years before moving to Virginia with her new husband. The move presented a challenge to Reed, TOPS said, as its easy to regain weight youve lost after routine and lifestyle changes. While working at Mountain Lake Hotel, after settling in and meeting Suzie Jones, Reed joined the Blacksburg TOPS chapter and has been a member since, holding titles such as leader, co-leader, secretary and weight recorder.
Editors note: Information is provided by the Cowlitz County Corrections Department and local law enforcement agencies. Each individual named in this report is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Theft  Longview police Saturday arrested Haley Jean Bornstedt, 37, of Kelso, on suspicion of second-degree theft and third-degree theft.

Fugitive  Longview police Saturday arrested Scott Wilson Flinn, 54, of St. Helens, Ore., on suspicion of being a fugitive from justice.

Theft  Longview police Saturday arrested Jeremy Dean Layton, 40, of Kelso, on suspicion of possession of stolen property and third-degree theft.

Assault  Cowlitz County sheriffs deputies Sunday arrested David Matthew Gipson, 38, of Rainier, on suspicion of violating a protection order with assault and fourth-degree assault.

Trafficking stolen property  Longview police Sunday arrested Bobby Leon McSkimming, 31, of Longview, on suspicion of first-degree trafficking stolen property.
Longviews resolution does have an exemption clause if the apprenticeships conflict with state or federal demands.

Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

Public Works Director Ken Hash said while he has cited that clause as the reason, he isnt entirely sure what federal rules are causing the issue. He said he has been following directives from the Department of Transportation, which helps cities obtain federal project funding.

I have nothing in writing, Hash said. The DOT has just told me to take this out or you dont get your construction money.

Organizers outside Longview also have struggled to determine how the local ordinance would create conflict. Seattle-based labor lawyer Kristina Detwiler wrote to Hash in June 2020 after being contacted by Bridges. In her letter, Detwiler argued there was no evidence the apprentice use requirement posed an issue for Equal Employment Opportunity laws or a federal highway rule on the minimum number of trainees.

Hash said dropping the apprenticeship requirement likely went against the spirit of the resolution and the similar program used by Washington DOT, even if it was the right financial call. He added that his kids all came up through training or apprentice programs, so he appreciates their importance.
Louisiana spent more than $38 million last year providing $250 payments to more than 152,000 frontline workers earning less than $50,000 annually, according to state data provided to the AP. Health care workers received the largest share of the money, followed by grocery store workers and law enforcement personnel. But payments also went to gas station workers, child-care providers, janitors, bus drivers and others.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, used $50 million in federal aid for grants to over 600 businesses to provide a temporary $3 hourly boost to employees earning less than $20 an hour. Health care providers got most of the money, followed by the food industry, according to state data provided to the AP. But millions of dollars also went to cleaning companies and private security firms.

By contrast, South Dakota limited hazard pay to state workers and only for the time they were potentially exposed to COVID-19. One therapy assistant got an extra 40 cents, a pharmacist received $1.80 and a maintenance supervisor got $4, according to state data provided to the AP.

In some states, the cost of hazard pay programs far exceeded initial expectations.
Credit: 24K-Production/Shutterstock

The cryptocurrency bitcoin now uses up more electricity a year than the whole of Argentina, according to recent estimates from the University of Cambridge. That's because the creation of a bitcoin, in a process called mining, is achieved by powerful computers that work night and day to decode and solve complex mathematical problems.

The energy these computers consume is unusually high. Police in the UK recently raided what they believed to be an extensive indoor marijuana-growing operation, only to discover that the huge electricity usage that had aroused their suspicions was actually coming from a bitcoin-mining setup.

Thousands of similar setups, around 70% of which are currently based in China, continue to demand more and more energy to mine bitcoins. This has understandably prompted environmental concerns, with Elon Musk tweeting in May 2021 that Tesla would no longer accept bitcoin as payment for its vehicles on account of its poor green credentials.

But there are thousands of other forms of cryptocurrency, collectively termed "altcoins", which are far greener than bitcoinand to which investors are now turning. Many of them are attempting to use less environmentally damaging technology to produce each coin, which may ultimately herald a greener future for cryptocurrencies.

Altcoins

Of the thousands of "altcoins" in the market, ethereum, solarcoin, cardano, and litecoin have shown promising potential as greener alternatives to bitcoin. Let us take the example of litecoin as an example of how they're doing it.

Litecoins are very similar to bitcoins, except that they reportedly only require a quarter of the time to produce. Where sophisticated and powerful hardware with a colossal energy demand is needed to mine bitcoins, litecoins can be mined with standard computer hardware which requires far less electricity to run.

Other alternatives, such as solarcoin, aim to encourage real-world green behaviors. One solarcoin is allocated for every megawatt hour that's generated from solar technology, rewarding those who've invested in renewable energy.

Different cryptocurrencies also use different processes to complete transactions. Bitcoin uses what's called a "proof-of-work" protocol to validate transactions, which requires a network of miners to compete to solve mathematical problems (the "work"). The winnerand the person who mints a new bitcoinis usually the competitor with the most computing power.

While proof-of-work is credited for being relatively secure, making it difficult and costly to attack and destabilize, it's incredibly power-hungry. The way it forces bitcoin miners to compete with an ever-expanding arsenal of high-tech computers means it has inevitably come to demand more and more electrical power.

But there are alternatives to this form of mining. Ethereum, which is the world's second largest cryptocurrency behind bitcoin, now uses a different protocol, called "proof-of-stake". This protocol was specifically designed to address environmental concerns about the proof-of-work system, and it does this by eliminating competition between miners. Without the competition, there's no computing power arms race for miners to participate in.

Given the increasing environmental scrutiny that cryptocurrency is now facing, it's likely that any new altcoins will adopt ethereum's system over bitcoin's. Investors will likewise look to the green credentials of altcoins when deciding which cryptocurrency they'll convert their bitcoin into.

Bitcoin can be traded for any of the thousands of altcoins in the cryptocurrency market. Credit: lucadp/Shutterstock

Still the future of finance?

Despite the criticisms leveled against bitcoin for its shocking energy inefficiencies, the traditional financial system is far from green itself.

In the five years since the Paris Agreement on climate change, for instance, it's reported that 60 of the world's biggest banks have provided $3.8 trillion (2.7 trillion) to fossil fuel companiesnot very planet-friendly. One report found that 49% of financial institutions don't conduct any analysis of how their portfolio impacts the climate.

Then there's the sector's electricity use. Where cryptocurrencies have the potential to run without the oversight of large financial institutions, the banking sector is built upon a huge amount of infrastructure which naturally burns through a great deal of electricity.

Banks themselves use plenty of computers and servers, as well as thousands of air-conditioned offices and fuel-guzzling vehicles. It's difficult to estimate exactly how much energy is required to support all this activity, but one recent report found that the banking system consumes more than twice the electricity that bitcoin does.

So while bitcoin is rightly getting a battering for its outrageous energy consumption, there's ultimately a need for all our financial systems to be green and sustainable. Banks can do this by reconsidering their portfolios and working towards net zero carbon emissions. But cryptocurrencies offer a different path to greener financeand the altcoins that concentrate on their environmental credentials may well clean up the technology's reputation for excessive energy use.

Explore further Chinese pressure pushes bitcoin below $30,000

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Broadcom Inc., one of the world's largest chipmakers, is in talks to acquire closely held software company SAS Institute Inc., according to a person familiar with the matter.

A deal, which would value the software maker at $15 billion to $20 billion, may be reached in the coming weeks, said the person, who asked to not be identified because the matter isn't public. No final decision has been made and the talks could end without a purchase, the person said.

Representatives of Broadcom and SAS declined to comment. The talks were reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal.

The purchase of SAS would extend Broadcom Chief Executive Officer Hock Tan's expansion into software. Tan, who already made his company one of the biggest semiconductor makers by market value via a string of deals, surprised investors with the acquisition of CA Technologies for $19 billion in 2018 then followed up with the purchase of Symantec Corp.'s enterprise security business for $10.7 billion in 2019. SAS, based in Cary, N.C., sells business analytics and management software.

In its most recent quarter, software provided Broadcom with 27% of revenue. Acquisitions, which were initially disliked by investors, have lessened the company's dependence on the semiconductor market for its sales.

Broadcom's wireless connectivity chips are used in Apple Inc.'s iPhone and other smartphones. Its switch silicon and custom designs are essential parts of data centers owned by cloud computing giants such as Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Amazon.com Inc.'s AWS. Broadcom is also a major provider of silicon used in set-top boxes and home-networking gear.

Broadcom gained 1.2% to close at $485.75 in New York. The stock has gained 11% this year, trailing a 19% advance by the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index.

Investors initially reacted negatively to Tan's move into software. The chip industry veteran has subsequently spent time convincing his stakeholders that his newer acquisitions fit with his successful model of acquiring business that are "franchises"ones that hold a strong market position and can be made more profitable without pouring in huge investments.

SAS Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Jim Goodnight is also its largest shareholder. That stake is part of assets he owns making him one of the top 50 wealthiest people in the U.S., according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Prior to the pandemic, the company had been profitable for 44 years. SAS provides analytic platforms that are used by more than 83,000 businesses, governments and universities.

Goodnight, 78, started SAS in 1976 while a statistics professor at North Carolina State University and still owns about two-thirds of it. The remainder of SASit originally stood for statistical analysis software when the company was foundedis held by co-founder John Sall.

Explore further Broadcom to buy Symantec enterprise unit for $10.7 bn

2021 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The 500-million-euro fine was the biggest ever imposed by France's competition authority.

France's competition watchdog on Tuesday slapped Google with a 500-million-euro ($593-million) fine for failing to negotiate "in good faith" with media companies over the use of their content under EU copyright rules.

It is "the biggest ever fine" imposed by the Competition Authority for a company's failure to adhere to one of its rulings, the agency's chief Isabelle De Silva told reporters, saying the decision was intended to "reflect the gravity" of Google's shortcomings.

The regulator also ordered Google to present media publishers with "an offer of renumeration for the current use of their copyrighted content", or risk paying additional damages of up to 900,000 euros a day.

A Google spokesperson said in a statement to AFP that the company was "very disappointed" by the decision.

"We have acted in good faith during the entire negotiation period. This fine does not reflect the efforts put in place, nor the reality of the use of news content on our platform," the company insisted.

"This decision is mainly about negotiations that took place between May and September 2020. Since then, we have continued to work with publishers and news agencies to find common ground."

The long-running legal battle has centred on claims that Google has been showing articles, pictures and videos produced by media outlets when displaying search results without adequate compensation, despite the seismic shift of global advertising revenues towards the search giant.

In April 2020, the French competition authority ordered Google to negotiate "in good faith" with media groups after it refused to comply with a 2019 EU law governing digital copyright.

The so-called "neighbouring rights" aim to ensure that news publishers are compensated when their work is shown on websites, search engines and social media platforms.

But last September, French news publishers including Agence France-Presse (AFP) filed a complaint with regulators, saying Google was refusing to move forward on paying to display content in web searches.

'Systematic lack of respect'

While Google insists it has made progress, the French regulator said the company's behaviour "indicates a deliberate, elaborate and systematic lack of respect" for its order to negotiate in good faith.

The Competition Authority rebuked Google for failing to "have a specific discussion" with media companies about neighbouring rights during negotiations over its Google Showcase news service, which launched late last year.

Faced with dwindling print subscriptions, media outlets argue that Google should be giving them a bigger cut of advertising revenues from search results that display their content.

Tuesday's ruling had been keenly anticipated by news outlets across Europe, as the first decision of its kind by a regulator over the EU's neighbouring rights policy.

News outlets struggling with dwindling print subscriptions have long seethed at Google's refusal to give them a cut of the millions of euros it makes from ads displayed alongside news search results.

Google initially refused to pay media outlets for the snippets of news stories, photos and videos that appear in the search results, arguing that the traffic these searches send to their websites was payment enough.

The internet giant has since softened its stance, and announced in November that it had signed "some individual agreements" on copyright payments with French newspapers and magazines, including top dailies Le Monde and Le Figaro.

Google and AFP are "close to an agreement" on the issue, the news agency's chief executive Fabrice Fries and Google's France director Sebastien Missoffe said in a joint statement Tuesday.

It aims at a "global permit for using different AFP content" on Google and the renumeration for AFP news publications, Missoffe said.

Fries hailed the "unambiguous" decision of the news agencies rights to compensation when their work is shown.

The Authority "clearly stated that the agencies' content are covered by neighbouring rights and therefore must be renumerated," he said.

"It confirmed that news items published by AFP and reproduced by editors must be the object of a specific renumeration," Fries said, adding:

The SEPM union of French magazine editors also hailed what it called a "historic decision on neighbouring rights".

Google has further defended itself against claims that it is contributing to the demise of traditional media by pointing to its support for news outlets in other ways, including emergency funding during the Covid-19 crisis.

But the company is coming under increasing pressure from regulators around the world as concerns grow that media outlets will find it increasingly difficult to hold those in power to account faced with such chronic underfunding.

Australia has taken one of the most aggressive positions, demanding that Google and Facebook pay media organisations when their platforms host their content or face millions of dollars in fines.

The landmark legislation resulted in Google and Facebook signing deals worth millions of dollars to Australian media companies.

Explore further Google faces French ruling on copyright row with media groups

 2021 AFP
Takatoshi Ishikawa, executive vice president of FUJIFILM Holdings Corp., poses for a photo after an interview with The Associated Press at the company's office in Tokyo on June 11, 2021. Fujifilm outlived the decline of traditional photography and has logged record profits after diversifying into a wide range of businesses, from drugs and cosmetics to advanced materials, cameras and other types of imaging machines. Credit: AP Photo/Hiro Komae

Scores of Japanese manufacturers less well known than Toyota and Sony are linchpins in world supply chains and innovation.

One such company is Fujifilm. It outlived the decline of traditional photography and has logged record profits after diversifying into a wide range of businesses, from drugs and cosmetics to advanced materials, cameras and other types of imaging machines.

Leading those efforts was Shigetaka Komori, who stepped aside last month after 20 years to become an executive adviser to Fujifilm. He focused the 87-year-old company on leveraging its film making technology, boosted by strategic acquisitions, to become a leader in biopharmaceuticals.

That paid off when the pandemic struck.

"People on the outside may even wonder what Fujifilm is doing with all these businesses, but from the inside view, they are actually connected in many ways in basic technology," Takatoshi Ishikawa, a senior executive vice president at Fujifilm, told The Associated Press in a recent interview.

Fujifilm has made the most of its "analog strengths," such as expertise in materials, he said.

Komori left on a high note. Despite a dent in sales due to the pandemic, the company reported a record 181.2 billion yen ($1.6 billion) in net profit in the fiscal year that ended in March, up 45% from a year earlier.

Fujifilm's technology is used to make the antigen for the COVID-19 Novavax vaccine, though it has yet to be approved in Japan. It also specializes in a nanotechnology used in mRNA vaccines, such as those from Pfizer and Moderna.

In this May 14, 2018, file photo, a man walks in front of Nishiazabu headquarters of Fujifilm Holdings Corporation in Tokyo. Scores of Japanese manufacturers less well known than companies like Toyota and Sony are linchpins in world supply chains and innovation. Fujifilm is one. It outlived the decline of traditional photography and has logged record profits after diversifying into a wide range of businesses, from drugs and cosmetics to advanced materials, cameras and other types of imaging machines. Credit: AP Photo/Koji Sasahara

The Tokyo-based company developed a PCR test for the coronavirus that delivers results in 75 minutes. Older methods require several hours. In March, it developed a detection kit for several variants of COVID-19. Meanwhile, its influenza drug Avigan is in clinical tests for treating the coronavirus.

Kenshu Kikuzawa, a professor of business administration at Tokyo's Keio University, says the company has "dynamic capability," a capacity to go beyond cost-cutting and other conventional methods to recreate itself. It's something Japanese companies should stick to: doing what they're good at, such as fine-tuned manufacturing and materials.

"Dynamic capability isn't about building out of zero. It's the ability to build on the assets, resources, knowledge and technology that already exist in a company, to reorganize, reuse and reposition them," Kikuzawa said.

Many experts attribute Kodak's struggles after film photography was supplanted by digital image making to a failure to be nimble enough to shift gears and diversify effectively. Kodak did make a tentative move into pharmaceuticals, acquiring Sterling Drug in 1988, but it sold it in 1994. The company reported a net loss of $541 million in 2020.

Fujifilm got a leg up in its rivalry with Kodak when it won a sponsorship for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Times have changed: neither company has a sponsorship at the upcoming Tokyo Games, which were postponed due to the pandemic and are slated to open on July 23.

While American businesses often excel in innovation and entrepreneurship, corporate strategies focused on the short term can mean they are relatively short-lived, with an average lifespan of less than 20 years for publicly listed companies. Japanese companies still tend to set long-term horizons. The average age of turnover on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, according to Tokyo Shoko Research, is nearly 90 years.

In reinventing itself, FUJIFILM Holdings Corp. applied micron-level skills used to make color film in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, gradually expanding into advanced medical technology, which it made its strategic focus.

It was building on expertise developed over decades.

Takatoshi Ishikawa, executive vice president of FUJIFILM Holdings Corp., speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the company's office in Tokyo on June 11, 2021. Fujifilm outlived the decline of traditional photography and has logged record profits after diversifying into a wide range of businesses, from drugs and cosmetics to advanced materials, cameras and other types of imaging machines.Credit: AP Photo/Hiro Komae

The chief ingredient in film, gelatin that is derived from collagen, is what helps give human skin its sheen and elasticity. The oxidation that ages skin also is what makes photos fade, a process long researched by Fujifilm. The technologies used in processing film also are useful for enhancing absorption of cosmetics by the skin.

Komori became Fujifilm's president in 2000, just as global demand for photographic film peaked and then went into a freefall. He slashed costs and then guided an acquisition drive that helped the company build up its technological prowess and manufacturing capacity.

Fujifilm bought U.S. ultrasound device maker SonoSite, health care technology companies Irvine Scientific and Cellular Dynamics, a leader in the research and manufacturing of iPSC, key in cell therapies. In 2011, it acquired two leading contract manufacturers of biopharmaceuticals from Merck & Co. It's now the No. 2 manufacturer in that field, after Lonza of Switzerland.

In Japan, Fujifilm acquired Toyama Chemical Co. in 2008. Earlier this year, it purchased Hitachi's Diagnostic Imaging-related business, a medical systems unit.

Komori's 2015 book, "Innovating Out of a Crisis," reads a bit like master swordsman Musashi Miyamoto's "The Book of Five Rings," in doling out zen-like advice: Life means battling rivals, time, destiny, hardship, tradition and personal weakness, he says.

"While problems remain, I am firm in my belief that Japanese companies have great potential. The ultimate strength of corporate Japan is technology," he wrote. "This technology is sustained by hardworking, loyal employees, who are always striving to make something better, something new."

More recently, in making way for a new generation of leadership, Komori said he was departing with confidence about where the company was headed, especially given its performance amid the pandemic.

"We will be OK. My job is done," he said.

"Thank you. And sayonara."

Explore further Fujifilm takes control of Fuji Xerox, ending joint venture

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
A hackeer group said to be behind this month's massive ransomware attack has disappeared from the "dark web"

A Russian-based hacker group blamed for a massive ransomware attack went offline Tuesday, sparking speculation about whether the move was the result of a government-led action.

The "dark web" page of the group known as REvil disappeared some two weeks after an attack which crippled networks of hundreds of companies worldwide and prompted a ransom demand of $70 million.

"REvil has seemingly vanished from the dark web, as its website has gone offline," tweeted Allan Liska, a security researcher with the firm Recorded Future, who noted that the site had been unresponsive from around 0500 GMT.

The news comes after US President Joe Biden repeated a warning to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin late last week about harboring cybercriminals while suggesting Washington could take action in the face of growing ransomware attacks.

Analysts in the past have suggested that the US military's Cyber Command has the capability to strike back at hackers in the face of threats to national security, but there was no official word on any such action.

"The situation is still unfolding, but evidence suggests REvil has suffered a planned, concurrent takedown of their infrastructure, either by the operators themselves or via industry or law enforcement action," John Hultquist of Mandiant Threat Intelligence said in an emailed statement.

"If this was a disruption operation of some kind, full details may never come to light."

Brett Callow of the security firm Emsisoft also pointed to unanswered questions.

"Whether the outage is the result of action taken by law enforcement is unclear," Callow said.

"If law enforcement has managed to disrupt the gang's operations, that would obviously be a good thing, but could create problems for any companies whose data is currently encrypted. They'd not have the option of paying REvil for the key needed to decrypt their data."

James Lewis, head of technology and public policy at the Washington-based Center for Strategic & International Studies, said the site may be down for a number of reasons including pressure from Russian authorities.

"I don't think it was us," he said.

Liska noted that the site's ownership had not been changed, making a domain seizure less likely. "This could suggest these are self-directed takedowns (too early to tell)," he said.

The unprecedented attack targeting the US software firm Kaseya affected an estimated 1,500 businesses.

The Kaseya attack, which was reported July 2, shut down a major Swedish supermarket chain and ricocheted around the world, impacting businesses in at least 17 countries, from pharmacies to gas stations, as well as dozens of New Zealand kindergartens.

Explore further US software firm moves to restart after huge ransomware attack

 2021 AFP
Credit: European Space Agency

Satellite-enabled drones have accelerated the provision of life-saving medical supplies at NHS hospitals in Scotland, boosting the country's efforts to combat COVID-19.

The fleet took to the skies to ferry coronavirus tests and samples, medicines, and other much-needed equipment between medical practices in Argyll and Bute, a region of western Scotland which encompasses thousands of kilometers of coastline and several islands.

Drone delivery cut the average transport time in these sparsely populated remote communities from 21 hours using the existing road-based system to 60 minutes, enabling healthcare teams to provide COVID-19 diagnoses more speedily, which helped to ease pressure on overstretched NHS services.

Completed by London-based air mobility company Skyports in collaboration with the NHS, the demonstration could pave the way for a permanent unmanned aerial delivery network as early as 2022.

The projectwhich took place between June 2020 and May this yearwas supported by ESA and the UK Space Agency as part of an initiative to accelerate the development of space-based solutions to COVID-19 and other pandemics.

It was carried out in partnership with the Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP), the NHS organization that oversees the area's healthcare.

During the project, drones crisscrossed the region's skies supported by space data.

The drones flew pre-programmed flight paths based on coordinates and altitude levels provided by a global space-based navigation system, while telecommunications satellites enabled operators on the ground to constantly monitor aerial progress and take control if required; Earth observation data was used for topographical analysis and mission planning.

An online booking management systemdeveloped by IT company and project partner Deloitteenabled NHS staff to quickly request pick-ups.

Drones were dispatched from a hospital on the mainland to collect patient samples from three smaller medical facilities so they could be returned for analysis. Outbound journeys were used to deliver medicines, sample tubes, and test kits.

Alex Brown, head of operations at Skyports, said: "During the project, our drones flew over 14 000 km beyond the visual line of sight, saving over 11 000 hours in time spent waiting for samples. This demonstrates the reliability and robustness of our service, and the huge potential it has to improve healthcare outcomes in remote communities. With the support of ESA and the UK Space Agency, we look forward to further developing our technology to create a service that is commercially available within the next year."

Stephen Whiston, head of strategic planning, performance and technology at Argyll and Bute HSCP, said: "Argyll and Bute HSCP is delighted to be at the forefront of using this innovative technology to demonstrate how unmanned drones can enhance logistics operations and improve services for patients and clinicians in some of our most remote and island communities.

"Removing distance as a barrier to obtain faster results improved the quality and speed of service to patients, it also supported our doctors and nurses by providing faster results to aid and inform their decisions on care and treatment of their patients in our hospitals."

Emily Gravestock, head of applications strategy at the UK Space Agency, said: "The UK space industry has some of the brightest minds in the country and this is a fantastic example of the efforts the sector has made to overcome the biggest threat we have faced for decades.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how challenging logistics in healthcare can be. By harnessing space technology, these drones are meeting those challenges and taking the pressure off our hardworking NHS staffdelivering tests and samples, medicines, and other vital equipment."

The project was supported by ESA's Directorate of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications through its ESA Space Solutions program, which helps European businesses to develop space-based ideas that improve everyday life.

Arnaud Runge, ESA medical engineer and technical officer for the Skyports project, said: "This project provides more evidence of the fantastic potential space has for the health sector. Being also a commercial pilot, I am well aware of the challenges and regulatory implications of sharing a common airspace between drones and other aircraft. This makes the project achievements from Skyports even more impressive and it opens the door to a new range of medical drone-based services."

Explore further UK Space Agency backs medical drone delivery project
At the Salvation Army on Union Street, its almost as if whoever is in charge of flooding said, Uh oh. Missed a spot, and sent Tropical Storm last week to finish the job.
Carlisle said his hope is that attendees, while in College Station, are able to hear and understand the problems facing the countrys military, build relationships and networks, and know who to call in the future.

Robert Sno Soderholm, representing Lockheed Martin, said he is looking forward to hearing from the military representatives during the classified sessions.

Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

Its a good engagements time, he said. Those active duty folks are the customers who were trying to make the products for and trying to bridge that gap in between what their requirements are and what are the capabilities and challenges.

Gen. Mark Welsh, dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service, said the symposium represents the three groups needed to determine the process of establishing a Joint All-Domain Command and Control for the country.

Its a journey that the Department of Defense is now on in trying to help define the milestones along that journey, and where the limits are and where you can go and what you can try and whats possible, he said. And this is a group that can actually do that because it represents all the major and minor defense players in the country.
When Marrs first saw photos of the Florida collapse, he said, the images were reminiscent of the destruction at the federal building after a truck filled with explosives was detonated outside. The blast killed 168 people.

In the aftermath, the shells of both buildings were still standing, or teetering, above mounds of broken concrete and twisted metal, with the interiors exposed.

The confirmed death toll from the tragedy in South Florida stood Saturday at 86, with another 43 people still missing. Authorities concluded that there was "no chance of life" in the remaining rubble, but the pressure has not waned for the crews to find victims so families can lay their loved ones to rest.

Recalling his own experience, Marrs was sure the Florida crews would be just as respectful in searching for the dead as they had been in looking for the living.

"They're certainly not going in there with bulldozers and moving that stuff out, you know, not caring about whether they run across a body or not  that's not something that's even considered," Marrs said.

The shift from a rescue mission to a recovery effort does not ease the urgency, Marrs said.
IOWA CITY, Iowa  Gov. Kim Reynolds said Monday that Iowa will cover the cost of troopers sent to Texas to fight crime along the U.S. border with Mexico, confirming the state would fund the mission after the release of agreements showing the effort would come at "no cost to Texas."

Since Reynolds announced June 24 that she would join other Republican governors in sending forces to the border, her administration has argued Texas could later reimburse Iowa for expenses under a multi-state compact. However, Iowa's assistance agreements released to The Associated Press on Monday stated that Texas and Arizona asked other states to "absorb the associated costs with this mission" for the good of the country.

"Iowa is donating this resource," according to the agreements, signed by the director of Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management on July 2 and released by the department under the open records law.

Later Monday, Reynolds was asked at a news conference in Nebraska who would pay for the deployment, and she acknowledged the costs would fall to her state.
Gov. Greg Abbott, meanwhile, panned Democrats over the move, saying it inflicts harm on the very Texans who elected them to serve.

As they fly across the country on cushy private planes, they leave undone issues that can help their districts and our state, Abbott said in a statement Monday afternoon. The Democrats must put aside partisan political games and get back to the job they were elected to do.

According to House rules adopted at the beginning of the regular session, two-thirds of the 150-member chamber must be present to conduct business. When the House is in session, legislators can vote to lock chamber doors to prevent colleagues from leaving and can order law enforcement to track down lawmakers who have already fled.

If a quorum is not present when the House convenes Tuesday, any House member can move to make whats known as a call of the House to to secure and maintain a quorum to consider a certain piece of legislation, resolution or motion, under chamber rules. That motion must be seconded by 15 members and ordered by a majority vote. If that happens, the missing Democrats will become legislative fugitives.
Goodwill Industries of Greater Nebraska Inc., along with Hornady Manufacturing, is hosting the 28th annual Platte River Charity Shoot on Saturday at Heartland Shooting Park.

All money raised from the event stays in central and western Nebraska to benefit the programs and services Goodwill Industries of Greater Nebraska provides for individuals experiencing a developmental disability, mental health condition, substance use disorder, acquired brain injury or face barriers such as poverty or involvement in the legal system.

The shoot features a three-person team (corporate competition) with prizes for the top three teams and team plaques; adult individual competition with prizes for six places in four Lewis Class Divisions (24 prizes total); and the youth/adult team competition that has college scholarships totaling $5,000 awarded to the top four youth shooters in each of the two Lewis Class Divisions (eight scholarships total).

Shooters may preregister on the events website at PlatteRiverCharityShoot.com or by calling 308-384-7896 or stopping by the Goodwill administrative offices at 1804 S. Eddy St. in Grand Island. Registration is also available the day of the event for an extra $10, beginning at 7:30 a.m. First squad out is at 8 and the awards will be announced at 4:30 p.m.
Miles said a fifth person soon will be added.

Wilsons attorney, Erin Urbom, subpoenaed all of the boards meeting minutes and records since January 2020. Not all of the meeting minutes were received, Hitch said. The last minutes received came from a meeting on Dec. 21, 2020.

Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

Wilson, who has kept a detailed diary of events, has found discrepancies in the minutes, Hitch said. At one meeting, minutes show a woman seconding a motion who was not actually present.

Miles said Regency provided all of the records that were requested.

Because they do not have complete records at their disposal, the two Wilson supporters believe Regencys annual meeting has been discontinued.

Miles said the most recent annual meeting was not open because of COVID restrictions, but it will be open in the future.

Hitch is a member of the United Veterans Club Honor Guard. In May of this year, Hitch and the commander of the honor guard attempted to visit the veterans at Regency to make sure theyre familiar with all the benefits and services available to them.

Hitch said they werent allowed to go to the veterans units. They were told they could meet with them elsewhere in the building or somewhere else.
Texas Republicans have launched an all-out assault on voter rights and civil liberties, Merritt said in a statement.

Merritt has forged a national profile as an advocate for people killed in interactions with law enforcement, including Botham Jean, a Dallas man fatally shot by an off-duty police officer in his own apartment, and Atatiana Jefferson, a Fort Worth woman who died after an officer shot her through a window in her home.

The decision to run for AG was a decision about going further up the proverbial river and in looking more toward the source of some of the problems Ive had to deal with as a civil rights attorney, and as a Texan, Merritt told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

A Democrat hasnt won statewide office in Texas in over 25 years, but Merritt said hes seeing a desire for change in even rural areas across the state. He said he made the decision to run around the time of a deadly winter blackout in Texas that left millions without power.

Paxton also faces an investigation by the Texas bar association into whether his failed efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election based on bogus claims of fraud amounted to professional misconduct.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
We did a few things early on in the summer that we normally dont do, Mogul said. We scheduled a walkthrough with the scheduler so they could see the things we do. Other than that, there was not a heartbeat missed.

Mogul said they received mostly positive feedback from visitors, and that there was a constant aerial display that people wanted. Most of the feedback received was for the execution behind-the scenes.

We get different feedback on things, Mogul said. Our concessions people get feedback from year to year. This year, they chose to do tents in various location rather than just roaming concessions.

The Chamber works with the York Public Works Department and the York Police Department each year to make the events more efficient and friendly for the public.

I love seeing the smiling faces and seeing the families enjoy something as a part of the community, Mogul said. This is part of why we are here. We have a great community and events like this celebrate that.

This weekend, the Chamber is hosting balloon days and the annual sidewalk sales for the merchants. There will also be a water balloon fight at the end of the weekend.
And the president pledged to start relocation flights this month for translators who worked for the military.

But events are moving so fast in Afghanistan that they appear to be outrunning whatever plans the administration has (or hasnt) made for after our military exit.

The Biden administration is ignoring the realities on the ground, says Bill Roggio, who closely tracks the Talibans advance as a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Clearly the situation is dire, but the administration is telling us that what we see happening isnt real.

Roggio says the Taliban has nearly tripled the number of districts it controls in Afghanistan  to 203 out of 407  since Biden announced a Sept. 11 exit date (now moved up to Aug. 30). An intelligence report (rebuffed by Biden) hypothesized that the Afghan government could collapse as soon as six months after the withdrawal.

I get that Biden wants to end Americas longest war after 20 years.
Unlike the Trump administrations mixed messages on the virus and its efforts to proclaim premature victory, Biden kept the focus on the need for protection, in part by setting public goals for Americans to do so.

The administration easily met its initial target of 100 million shots in its first 100 days. Its more recent one, protection of 70% of adult Americans with at least one of the two required vaccination shots by July 4, fell narrowly short, in part because of the resistance in certain areas.

But it came close. CDC statistics show 67% have gotten at least one dose, and 56% two doses. The virus is on the run, Biden said Tuesday. But the vaccination numbers are lower for younger Americans and in many southern and mountain states.

Still, theres no way Biden and his administration are losers because their effort fell short. The White House still hopes to reach those goals by getting vaccines to as many holdouts as possible via primary care doctors, local pharmacies and mobile units at work sites and special events.

The losers will be those Americans who, for whatever reason, choose not to get the shots. As a result, they are increasing the likelihood they and those around them will suffer from the virus  or die from it  when most of the country is living a COVID-free future.

Carl P. Leubsdorf is the former Washington bureau chief of the Dallas Morning News. Readers may write to him via email at carl.p.leubsdorf@gmail.com.
Paris, TX (75460)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 91F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Variably cloudy with scattered thunderstorms. Low 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Paris, TX (75460)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 91F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms. Low 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
National

AP

Officials flag 'small' J&J vaccine risk

MATT ROURKE, ASSOCIATED PRESS A member of the Philadelphia Fire Department prepares a dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination site March 26 in Philadelphia.

WASHINGTON  Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine may pose a small possible risk of a rare but potentially dangerous neurological reaction, U.S. health officials said Monday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement it has received reports of 100 people who got the shot developing Guillain-Barre syndrome, an immune system disorder that can cause muscle weakness and occasionally paralysis.

That number represents a tiny fraction of the nearly 13 million Americans who have received the one-dose vaccine. Most cases of the side effect were reported in men  many 50 years old and up  and usually about two weeks after vaccination.

The CDC said it would ask its panel of outside vaccine experts to review the issue at an upcoming meeting. J&J didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

The government said the vaccines most used in the U.S., made by Pfizer and Moderna, show no risk of the disorder after more than 320 million doses have been administered.

Guillain-Barre syndrome occurs when the bodys immune system mistakenly attacks some of its nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis that typically is temporary. An estimated 3,000 to 6,000 people develop the syndrome each year, according to the CDC.

Vaccines historically provide broad protection with little risk but come with occasional side effects just like other drugs and medical therapies. The three COVID-19 vaccines used in the U.S. were tested in tens of thousands of people, but even such huge studies cant rule out extremely rare side effects.

Also on Monday, top officials at the World Health Organization appealed for the vaccines to be shared with poor countries that have yet to immunize their people instead of being used by rich countries as boosters, saying there's not enough evidence to show that third doses of coronavirus vaccines are needed.

At a press briefing, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the world's grotesque vaccine disparity was driven by greed, as he called on drugmakers to prioritize supplying their COVID-19 vaccines to poor countries instead of lobbying rich countries to use even more doses. His plea comes just as pharmaceutical companies are seeking authorization for third doses to be used as boosters in some Western countries, including the U.S.

We are making conscious choices right now not to protect those in need, Tedros said, adding the immediate priority must be to vaccinate people who have yet to receive a single dose.

He called on Pfizer and Moderna to go all out to supply COVAX, the Africa Vaccine Acquisition Task Team and low and middle-income countries with very little coverage, referring to the U.N.-backed initiative to distribute vaccines globally.

After a 10-week drop in global coronavirus deaths, Tedros said the number of COVID-19 patients dying daily is again beginning to climb and that the extremely infectious delta variant is driving catastrophic waves of cases.

Both Pfizer and Moderna have agreed to supply small amounts of their vaccines to COVAX, but the vast majority of their doses have been reserved by rich countries. The U.N.-backed effort has faltered badly in recent months, with nearly 60 poor countries stalled in their vaccination efforts and their biggest vaccine supplier unable to share any doses until the end of the year.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has seen a string of COVID-19 outbreaks tied to summer camps in recent weeks in places such as Texas, Illinois, Florida, Missouri and Kansas, in what some fear could be a preview of the upcoming school year.

In some cases the outbreaks have spread from the camp to the broader community.

The clusters have come as the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the U.S. has reversed course, surging more than 60% over the past two weeks from an average of about 12,000 a day to about 19,500, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The increase in many places has been blamed on too many unvaccinated people and the highly contagious delta variant.

Gwen Ford, a 43-year-old science teacher from Adrian, Missouri, was cautiously optimistic when she eyed the dropping case numbers in the spring and signed up her 12-year-old daughter for the West Central Christian Service Camp in Missouri.

But one day after her daughter got home from a week of playing in the camp pool, worshipping with friends and bunking in a dormitory, Ford got an email about an outbreak and then learned that her daughter's camp buddy was infected.

And we were like, Oh, my gosh. This was someone you were around quite a bit,'" she recalled, adding that her daughter ultimately tested negative. Ford said she definitely plans to get her daughter vaccinated. It was very nerve-wracking. It kind of seems like we finally felt comfortable and it happened.

A note posted on the camps Facebook page showed that the camp nurse and several faculty and volunteers were among those infected. Staff members at the camp did not return a call for comment.

In other news:

 French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday ordered all French health care workers to get virus vaccine shots by Sept. 15 and urged all of his compatriots to get vaccinated as soon as possible, to fight resurgent infections that are threatening the countrys economic recovery.

 All remaining lockdown restrictions in England will be lifted in a week despite a sharp rise in coronavirus cases, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed Monday. He said it was the right moment to proceed as schools close for summer vacation but urged people to proceed with caution.
The areas having increases in hospitalizations and admissions definitely correlate with the percentage of people who are fully vaccinated.

Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

With the Delta variant spreading so rapidly across Missouri and of course the Delta variant having no regard for our state borders, we are trying to encourage the Metro-East residents with really the same message we have had all along. We need to get vaccinated and we need to get vaccinated as soon as possible, Ezike said.

While the majority of people in Illinois have been vaccinated, those numbers fall to 20 or 30 percent when you get into the southernmost region of the state. Ezike added that Southern Illinois has the lowest vaccination rates for all ages groups, whether its seniors, kids or adults.

We have clear facts that this vaccine is safe and effective and protects people against severe infection and hospitalization. At this point with the vaccine so readily available, whether its from your local health department or a nearby pharmacy or doctors office, it is a choice that is not a good choice in terms of the safety of ones health to not have the protection afforded by the vaccine, Ezike said.

Going into the new school year, Ezike said it is important for youth ages 12 to 17 get vaccinated.
The complaint also alleges that Greenberg, in her capacity as general manager of Longbranch, worked some employees longer than 40 hours in a work week without properly compensating for overtime pay  typically time and a half.

Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

In March, Longbranch and Ramseyer, through their attorney Shari Rhode, declined comment on the suit.

On behalf of her clients, Rhode again declined comment Monday regarding the award.

Just before the event Sunday, which was to honor all the award winners from the previous year, WSIU posted an update to the top of its news story online.

After closer review, and in consultation with SIU Administration, Longbranch Cafe will not be recognized at todays awards ceremony and will not be in attendance. We want to ensure todays award ceremony highlights the many individuals, businesses, and youth whove gone above and beyond to demonstrate kindness and compassion over the past year, the update reads.

The Southern followed up with the station on Monday. WSIUs interim director Jak Tichenor sent a prepared statement regarding the decision to remove Longbranch from its program:

+2 Podcast explores US parks with Indigenous voices SANTA FE, N.M.  In the first minutes of the first episode of a new podcast called Parks, Shane Doyle speaks of being largely unaware of his family's sprawling roots in the area known today as Yellowstone National Park while he was growing up in the small town of Crow Agency, Montana.
For those downstate Illinois residents who want to breakaway from Chicagoland and form their own state, two Southern Illinois University Carbondale researchers have an emphatic caution: do not do it.

In a whitepaper released earlier this year by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, a think tank at the university, political scientists John Foster and John Jackson said analysis of Illinois state revenue and budgeting over recent years shows downstate Illinoisans would be worse off without Chicago than they are with their northeastern neighbors.
He said the researchers are left with more questions than answers.

"We don't understand how physical barriers like dams and locks play a role, if at all, or what may motivate the sharks to move upstream," Shell said. "We can answer what, when, and where that sharks did this, but not how or why."

They said bull sharks appear to exhibit cryptic behavior such as swimming along the bottom during the daytime. They also noted water visibility is generally poor along much of the Mississippi River. Locks don't seem to halt similarly sized fish such as gars or sturgeons from moving up the Mississippi River, they said, and bull sharks seem to navigate locks just fine elsewhere in the world.

"It's easy to dismiss these cases as one-off events," Shell said. "But that ignores the interesting question of how these animals evaded detection and got so far upstream in the first place."

The researchers also also reviewed archaeological and fossil records, but didn't find much evidence.

"Often the archaeological reports of shark teeth don't provide useful sketches or photographs, if any at all, and effort is not made to identify them convincingly to the species level," Shell said.
Finnigan and Laura Lopez previously pleaded not guilty to the charges. Armando Flores was arrested in Texas and is awaiting extradition to Chicago, his lawyer said.

The Flores twins were West Side drug traffickers whose decision to cooperate with federal authorities in 2008 led to arguably the biggest drug case ever brought in Chicago, with charges against El Chapo himself as well as many of his top underbosses.

The twins were sentenced in 2015 to 14 years in prison and were released late last year into witness protection.

In December 2018, Pedro Flores testified in the landmark trial against Guzman in New York, where prosecutors played phone calls recorded by the twins that were crucial in the federal effort against the drug lord. On one call, jurors heard Guzmans own voice greeting Flores with Amigo! and discussing a price break on a shipment of heroin destined for Chicago.

Guzman was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Cobb-Hunter said, "My perspective is that of a budget subcommittee member who has been watching this university for the last almost 30 years go through president after president.

"When the legislature stepped in and got rid of the old board, there were tremendous issues at the university, particularly fiscal issues. From my perspective as a budget writer, what President Clark and his team did to bring some fiscal soundness, policies and procedures to that university were long overdue."

Cobb-Hunter continued, "Our subcommittee showed our confidence in the progress that the university had made through the budget appropriations we did this session. We were very generous with them because it appeared to us that the university was on stable financial footing and that there was some stability there.

"I just hope that they have thought this through. I'm concerned, for example, about this project with Savannah River and who will step in as far as that project is concerned. A lot of these things are built on relationships."

Sen. Vernon Stephens, D-Bowman, said, "I respect the board's decision. They're there, they understand the intricacies of what's going on with the university. They have a vision for the university. If that vision was not the same as the vision of the current president, then I respect them for making a move."
MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (AP)  Joe Cunningham  the former one-term Democratic congressman now running to unseat South Carolina Republican Gov. Henry McMaster  is pushing for medicinal and recreational legalization of marijuana, changes he says would offer health care options and spin off millions in tax revenue for state coffers.

This is going to be a game changer in South Carolina, Cunningham told The Associated Press last week, several days ahead of Monday's official rollout of his marijuana plan. There are so many reasons why we need to do this, and the time is now.

To Cunningham, legalization solves multiple problems: freeing up police to focus on violent criminals, providing a treatment alternative for those who are terminally or chronically ill, and generating millions for a state he says is dead last in areas where funding has been a struggle, like education and health care.

He would also expunge criminal records for low-level marijuana-related crimes, giving a second chance to people whose lives have been ruined over a bag of marijuana, Cunningham said.
The code of ethics for North Carolina educators is clear about the need for objectivity and fairness in all classroom activities. As part of their commitment to the profession, all North Carolina educators are required to acknowledge the diverse views of students, parents and legal guardians, and colleagues as they work collaboratively to shape educational goals, policies, and decisions. In addition, educators are told to not proselytize for personal viewpoints that are outside the scope of professional practice. Despite these prohibitions on injecting personal bias into the classroom, the practice has become uncomfortably common in public schools in North Carolina and across the nation.

Teachers want to be respected as professionals, and they should be. But its a two-way street. Exacerbating the problem is the current structure of curriculum adoption and implementation. Parents mistakenly assume that instruction is uniform across public school classrooms, schools, and districts. But despite the imposition of very general content standards and annual testing, school districts and state education agencies do not offer a day-to-day curriculum with prepackaged lessons and materials. Perhaps they should.
This subscription will allow existing subscribers of The World to access all of our online content, including the E-Editions area.

NOTE: To claim your access to the site, you will need to enter the Last Name and First Name that is tied to your subscription in this format: SMITH, JOHN

If you need help with exactly how your specific name needs be entered, please email us at admin@countrymedia.net or call us at 1-541 266 6047.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community.

Let us know what's going on!

Submit Here
National

AP

JOHNSON & JOHNSON

Officials flag 'small' J&J vaccine risk

MATT ROURKE, ASSOCIATED PRESS A member of the Philadelphia Fire Department prepares a dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination site March 26 in Philadelphia.

WASHINGTON  Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine may pose a small possible risk of a rare but potentially dangerous neurological reaction, U.S. health officials said Monday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement it has received reports of 100 people who got the shot developing Guillain-Barre syndrome, an immune system disorder that can cause muscle weakness and occasionally paralysis.

That number represents a tiny fraction of the nearly 13 million Americans who have received the one-dose vaccine. Most cases of the side effect were reported in men  many 50 years old and up  and usually about two weeks after vaccination.

The CDC said it would ask its panel of outside vaccine experts to review the issue at an upcoming meeting. J&J didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

The government said the vaccines most used in the U.S., made by Pfizer and Moderna, show no risk of the disorder after more than 320 million doses have been administered.

Guillain-Barre syndrome occurs when the bodys immune system mistakenly attacks some of its nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis that typically is temporary. An estimated 3,000 to 6,000 people develop the syndrome each year, according to the CDC.

Vaccines historically provide broad protection with little risk but come with occasional side effects just like other drugs and medical therapies. The three COVID-19 vaccines used in the U.S. were tested in tens of thousands of people, but even such huge studies cant rule out extremely rare side effects.

Also on Monday, top officials at the World Health Organization appealed for the vaccines to be shared with poor countries that have yet to immunize their people instead of being used by rich countries as boosters, saying theres not enough evidence to show that third doses of coronavirus vaccines are needed.

At a press briefing, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the worlds grotesque vaccine disparity was driven by greed, as he called on drugmakers to prioritize supplying their COVID-19 vaccines to poor countries instead of lobbying rich countries to use even more doses. His plea comes just as pharmaceutical companies are seeking authorization for third doses to be used as boosters in some Western countries, including the U.S.

We are making conscious choices right now not to protect those in need, Tedros said, adding the immediate priority must be to vaccinate people who have yet to receive a single dose.

He called on Pfizer and Moderna to go all out to supply COVAX, the Africa Vaccine Acquisition Task Team and low and middle-income countries with very little coverage, referring to the U.N.-backed initiative to distribute vaccines globally.

After a 10-week drop in global coronavirus deaths, Tedros said the number of COVID-19 patients dying daily is again beginning to climb and that the extremely infectious delta variant is driving catastrophic waves of cases.

Both Pfizer and Moderna have agreed to supply small amounts of their vaccines to COVAX, but the vast majority of their doses have been reserved by rich countries. The U.N.-backed effort has faltered badly in recent months, with nearly 60 poor countries stalled in their vaccination efforts and their biggest vaccine supplier unable to share any doses until the end of the year.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has seen a string of COVID-19 outbreaks tied to summer camps in recent weeks in places such as Texas, Illinois, Florida, Missouri and Kansas, in what some fear could be a preview of the upcoming school year.

In some cases the outbreaks have spread from the camp to the broader community.

The clusters have come as the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the U.S. has reversed course, surging more than 60% over the past two weeks from an average of about 12,000 a day to about 19,500, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The increase in many places has been blamed on too many unvaccinated people and the highly contagious delta variant.

Gwen Ford, a 43-year-old science teacher from Adrian, Missouri, was cautiously optimistic when she eyed the dropping case numbers in the spring and signed up her 12-year-old daughter for the West Central Christian Service Camp in Missouri.

But one day after her daughter got home from a week of playing in the camp pool, worshipping with friends and bunking in a dormitory, Ford got an email about an outbreak and then learned that her daughters camp buddy was infected.

And we were like, Oh, my gosh. This was someone you were around quite a bit, she recalled, adding that her daughter ultimately tested negative. Ford said she definitely plans to get her daughter vaccinated. It was very nerve-wracking. It kind of seems like we finally felt comfortable and it happened.

A note posted on the camps Facebook page showed that the camp nurse and several faculty and volunteers were among those infected. Staff members at the camp did not return a call for comment.

In other news:
Parade Day is a momentous occasion every year for hundreds of families across Casper. Its a major event that brings the community together, and its absence last year was felt across the town. Tuesday, the streets seemed as packed as ever, with children waving their arms for candy and parents nearby taking pictures. Some floats handed out popsicles, some blew bubbles into the crowd, and others played music.

Tracey Kegler, a Natrona County School District teacher, attended the parade this year with her family, which included her two children and their great grandparents, Sharon and Dave Taylor, all of whom are lifelong Casper residents.

Ive been coming to the parade for 32 years, so my entire life. Every year except for COVID last year, Kegler said. The Taylors noted that they had both been coming for even longer, adding that they remembered attending some of Caspers earliest, modern Parade Days.

Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

The whole family admitted to being heartbroken to miss the parade last year, and that the effects of a canceled parade were felt all the way in Texas where extended family lives, but comes to visit every year for the event. Kegler said that it was a big deal for the kids to miss out on such precious family time.

I think it messed with several peoples lives, Sharon Taylor added.
After more than a year of cancelled plans and rescheduled events, communities are returning to a state of normality, with most of the activities that were put on hold last summer returning. The Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo is no exception.

The scene on Saturday looked the same as any other year  food stands, carnival games with stuffed animals prizes, and rides that played music that echoed across the venue.

For fair regulars, this years event brought back the feeling of a normal summer.

For our kids, the fair is a big deal, said Deanna Corey. They really were disappointed that they couldnt come last year.

Coreys two young children, Jaxon and Peyton, agreed that they were sad to miss the carnival after it was canceled last year due to the pandemic. Peyton said she was really happy to come back this year and enjoy the rides again, especially the starship one.

Of course, its not just families who look forward to the fair each year. With teenagers often congregating at the fair in the summer and small children easily lost in big crowds, it can be important to establish boundaries and talk safety with your kids before attending the fair.
Liz Cheney is standing up for the Constitution, for conservative values, and for the rule of law. As these fundraising numbers make clear, she has robust support in this fight, Kevin Seifert, a Cheney political adviser, said in a statement to the Star-Tribune. Liz is demonstrating the type of effective, principled leadership that Wyoming deserves from its Representative. She will continue to fight the Biden Administrations overreach and articulate how Republicans can offer a better way forward for the nation. Its encouraging to have so many join her effort.

Cheney outraised her conference chair replacement, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, however. The New York representatives campaign raised nearly $1.5 million in the second quarter.

These preliminary fundraising numbers also indicate the weighty implications Cheneys 2022 campaign carries. In 2020, the last election cycle, Cheney raised $3 million over the entire course of the election. Since the beginning of 2021, the campaign has already brought in close to $3.5 million.

Cheney has also been actively campaigning over the last quarter.
Susan Gore, a wealthy conservative donor and founder of the Wyoming Liberty Group, broke her silence Monday regarding accusations she funded a political spying operation, stating the allegations amounted to disinformation.

This is much ado about nothing  like a hamburger that makes your mouth water, but when you pick it up for a bite, you discover that the bun is empty, she wrote in a statement. Its a nothingburger.

In late June, The New York Times reported that two conservative operatives, Sofia LaRocca and Beau Maier, posed as progressive donors to infiltrate Wyomings liberal and moderate Republican circles and gather information. The article stated Gore, an heiress to the Gore-Tex fortune, funded the effort.

After the New York Times article was published, two state lawmakers and one former representative told the Star-Tribune they were subjects of the spying operation.

Gore did not comment to the New York Times. But on Monday, she released a statement titled New York Journalists Sow DISINFORMATION in Wyoming.
That will change the look of Jackson Lake, especially northern reaches that are almost all influenced by the impoundment.

Generally, its also bad news for boaters. The surface of a totally full Jackson Lake is 6,759 feet above sea level. The end of the boat ramp near the Colter Bay Marina is at 6,753 feet, and at the current rate of decline just three weeks remain before the 60 boats anchored there for the summer will need to be trailered away. Notices have already been emailed out.

Its probably going to be by the end of the month, Colter Bay Marina Supervisor Delaney Hunt said.

Hunt was hopeful that the public boat ramp would be operational for a bit longer.

Because their boat ramps are at lower elevations over deeper water, Signal Mountain (6,737 feet) and Leeks Marina (6,735 feet) are less susceptible to an abbreviated season.

Signal Mountain, well probably see impacts late August, early September, Dalling said. If we were to encroach at Leeks Marina that would be mid-September.

Palisades is low, American Falls is low, everything is going to be low, he added. There are going to be impacts.
Also driving the conversation was concern that Wyoming is missing out on business opportunities because of the lack of robust hate crime legislation in the state.

Dale Steenbergen, president and CEO of the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce, testified that he heard that some businesses do not want to move to Wyoming because it is believed that the state does not have a hate crime law at all.

Companies are more socially aware than they ever have been, Steenbergen said.

Chairman of the committee, Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, echoed that concern.

I do not feel the committee fully realizes how other Americans continue to see Wyoming, and by not having some kind of a bias motivated crimes statute, it continues that perception, he told the Star-Tribune following the meeting.

That image dates back decades and was solidified in many peoples minds after the 1998 murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard.

Wyoming has had 22 years to pass Hate Crime legislation and every year our legislators parrot the line that the Equality State doesnt need this law, said Judy Shepard, Matthews mother and board president of the Matthew Shepard Foundation. It is time for Wyoming to face reality and recognize that we are losing our youth, our economic potential and our soul. The time to take a stand is now, not after another family loses their child.

Follow state politics reporter Victoria Eavis on Twitter @Victoria_Eavis

Love 14 Funny 6 Wow 2 Sad 3 Angry 39

Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
THE University of the West Indies (The UWI) has started planning for a new financial culture under Covid-19s harsh economic climate.

The university stated in a release on Wednesday that its executive management team embarked on a planning retreat in order to roll out a new operational plan to deal with the financial challenges facing the institution, as a result of shortfalls in expected revenues.
Eight more people have died of the Covid-19 virus.

They have taken T&Ts death toll to 990.

The Ministry of Health reported the new deaths in its daily update yesterday.

The ministry said the deceased patients were:

 Three elderly men with co-morbidities
Almost 700 Venezuelans voluntarily left Trinidad and Tobago early yesterday on a repatriation trip from the Port of Port of Spain.

The trip was organised by the Venezuelan Embassy in Port of Spain for citizens of that country who wanted to return home.

The Venezuelan nationals assembled outside the Cruise Ship Complex from as early as 6 a.m.
After 16 long months, Trinidad and Tobagos borders officially reopen this morning.

The borders were closed on March 22, 2020, days after the country recorded its first case of Covid-19. Initially, the borders were closed to all travellers, including T&T nationals, and all commercial flights had been suspended.

The measure was eventually relaxed somewhat to allow nationals to return after applying for exemptions.
Do you have a news tip?

Want to share good news story, or do you have information that should see the light of day? Then we want to hear from you.

More here
Many lives and our economic survival depend on the availability of vaccines in sufficient numbers to vaccinate 70 per cent or greater of the adult population.

We are reopening for business before the 70 per cent target is achieved and before more is known about the Delta variant, described as relentless. That is a significant risk, but I do acknowledge movement in a safer direction with the reported arrival last week of enough doses of Sinopharm vaccine for 400,000 people and the Prime Minister being pictured taking it.
The CATS-D Tonometer Prisms advanced technology, coupled with an intuitive ergonomic design, provides clinical ease of use while helping protect patients and staff from transferrable infections such as COVID-19, which can occur with an uncleaned or improperly cleaned reusable tonometer prism.

As the only U.S. tonometer prism manufacturer, we believe the CATS Tonometer Prism, available in both reusable and disposable options, will quickly supplant a 60-year-old prism technology and become the new standard of care for IOP measurement for eye care clinicians (ophthalmology and optometry) and all patient populations, said CATS Tonometer CEO Sean McCafferty, MD.

The CATS Tonometer Prism is designed to deliver more accurate IOPs, because it compensates for corneal biomechanics, stated Dr. John Berdahl, ophthalmologist surgeon with Vance Thompson Vision.
"Love is patient," it reads. "Love is kind."

After looking into some other options, Colossians 3:12-14, seemed like a good fit, closing with, "... over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

I compiled my notes into a Google doc, made a print and packed it in a red folder for my flight to South Florida.

When I arrived at the Postcard Inn Beach Resort and Marina in Islamorada, where the wedding was to take place on the beach, I got even more excited. And nervous. I was confident I would do OK, but I wanted to crush it and validate the faith Ryan and Nat had placed in me.

The wedding planner, Elizabeth Seligman, gave me some valuable tips, such as when to ask everyone to rise and when to sit.

"When you say, 'You may now kiss the bride,' get out of the way so you're not in the picture," she said.

Got it.

I hope.

I feared forgetting to walk away and spoiling the image.

As Ryan and Natalie gathered with a little more than 100 family members and friends on a sun-splashed afternoon, I prayed that my preparation matched the magnitude of the moment.
The remains of 43 migrants who died while crossing the border in Southern Arizona were found last month as 2021 develops into another deadly year for migrants.

The total for June was three times higher than the 14 sets of remains found in June 2020 and the highest monthly total since July 2010, according to records compiled by the Pima County Medical Examiner and Mike Kreyche of the border-aid group Humane Borders.

This year is on pace to be even deadlier than last year. The remains of 226 migrants were found in 2020, more than any year since the crisis of migrant deaths began two decades ago. So far this year, the remains of 127 migrants have been found in Southern Arizona, compared with 96 during the same period last year.

Dont make trek, officials plead

Heat was the most common cause of death for the migrants whose remains were found in June. Authorities identified four of the migrants and were able to determine 28 were male and six were female. They were unable to determine the gender for nine others.
NEW YORK (AP)  A Manhattan jury on Tuesday convicted a Chicago banker of criminal charges for enabling Paul Manafort to get $16 million in loans before the former campaign manager for ex-President Donald Trump helped him get an interview for a job in the Trump administration.

The jury returned its verdict in federal court, convicting Stephen Calk of financial institution bribery and conspiracy charges. Calks lawyers had maintained their client did nothing illegal in the weeks after Trump won the presidential election in November 2016.

But prosecutors said Calk cleared the path for Manafort to receive loans he was not entitled to in the hopes that Calk could secure a high-level post with the Trump administration. Although Calk eventually got an interview at Trump Tower, he was not hired.

Sentencing was set for Jan. 10 for Calk, who was the former chief executive of The Federal Savings Bank.

During the trial, Anthony Scaramucci testified that he never would have enabled Calk to get the interview for the administration post if he had know that Calk was helping Manafort to get millions of dollars in loans for his real estate ventures.
What is Creative Consultants?" Sneed said. "Its just a bank account controlled by the Becks.

Sneed said investigators have concluded that business expenses Beck claimed also were faked.

You will hear from the IRS that it is impossible that the defendant could have clamed the business expenses he did, Sneed said.

Instead prosecutors allege Beck spent the money on himself, on investments, on taxes and his insurance commissioner campaign.

Even the defendant had to keep a flowchart to keep it straight," Sneed said.

But defense attorneys questioned how Beck could have been stealing from GUA when he turned it from losses to profits, saying he turned around a money-losing outfit, cutting losses by improving the process of underwriting insurance and cutting expenses by lowering the amount GUA paid others for reinsurance. That's a way of getting other insurers to shoulder some risks.

The truth is, he modernized the company with innovative business solutions, defense lawyer Randy Chartash told jurors. He saved them money; he made them money.

Chartash said prosecutors must prove Beck intended to harm GUA, not just that some of his methods might have been underhanded.
Early hailed Arguelles ruling, saying: He followed the law, and thats all we can ask for. No one is above the law, and this ruling makes clear that includes Gavin Newsom.

Newsom campaign spokesman Nathan Click did not respond directly to the ruling, saying in a text that Newsom will defeat the recall, which he termed a Republican power grab."

Previous recall targets werent allowed to list their political party, but Democrats who control the state Legislature changed that in 2019 after a state senator from their party was recalled. They argued it gives voters important information.

Last month, Newsom signed a law that again changes the recall rules, this time to speed up the election. Democrats believe the state's reopened economy and low coronavirus case numbers put Newsom in a better position than when the recall gained momentum during the pandemic's darkest days last winter.

The recall was fueled by frustration over Newsom's coronavirus shutdown orders and anger after it was learned the governor attended a party with lobbyist friends at a posh restaurant last fall when he was telling Californians to stay home.

The election is set for Sept. 14, though ballots will be mailed to voters earlier. The two-part ballot will first ask voters if they want to remove Newsom from office and, if so, who should replace him. The answers to the second question are only counted if more than 50% of people say yes to the first.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
LAS VEGAS (AP)  A prosecutor raised questions Tuesday about the mental competency of a 57-year-old woman who is jailed on racial bias charges and other allegations after being accused of making anti-Asian comments and striking a shoppers young son on the Las Vegas Strip.

The woman, Shelly Ann Hill, told a judge that she didnt understand how she could be charged with a hate crime, asked to be released from jail without bail, then moments later pleaded no contest in a separate misdemeanor trespassing case for which she was sentenced to time served.

Am I going home? she asked the judge.

Justice of the Peace Harmony Letizia told Deputy Clark County District Attorney Leah Beverly that it will be up to Hills public defenders to seek an evaluation of whether Hill understands the charges against her.

Hill also faces felony child abuse and misdemeanor battery charges of striking the 6-year-old boy, who is Asian, on July 5 on a pedestrian walkway just outside an upscale mall, according to Misael Parra, a police spokesman. The boy did not suffer any visible injuries, police said. Hill was arrested five days later.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian called the report extremely erroneous and irresponsible."

We will never allow any country to interfere with the Taiwan issue in any way. China must and will surely be reunified, and it is in the best interest of regional peace and stability for China to achieve complete reunification," Zhao said at a daily briefing.

Taiwan was a Japanese colony for 50 years until 1945 and connections between the two remain strong.

China has expanded its military capability over the past 20 years, with its defense spending at least 16 times that of Taiwan, with the gap increasing each year, the paper said. Chinas military budget of $181.6 billion is four times that of Japan, it said.

China has also increased Taiwans diplomatic isolation, leaving it with just over a dozen formal diplomatic allies. Taiwan still operates a network of trade offices that act as de facto embassies, including in the United States, Japan and most other major nations.

Japan is increasingly worried about Taiwans security implications amid rising tension between Beijing and Washington. The United States, Japan's most important ally, has increased its military support for Taiwan, including dispatching warships to the Taiwan Strait and arms sales.
OPINION: The new Name Image Likeness (NIL) and the impacts it will have on the PAC-12 is one subject in Letters to the Editor. What are your thoughts on NIL? Submit a Letter to the Editor at tucson.com/opinion.
OPINION: "To answer the question about Tucsons water, especially in my Ward and the South side: It is safe and we get our water from the CAP facility in Avra Valley," writes Richard Fimbres, who represents Ward 5 on the Tucson City Council.
While it is extremely rare, it's a statistical certainty that some of the nearly 540,000 people fully vaccinated in Pima County will get COVID-19, and that a tiny fraction of them could die from the disease.
To get around the state-action problem, Trumps lawyers allege that Democratic lawmakers coerced Twitter to ban Trump, specifically by threatening to revoke the famous Section 230. That is the law giving legal immunity to providers of computer services, including social media platforms, for any action voluntarily taken in good faith to restrict access to or availability of material that the provider or user considers to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing or otherwise objectionable.

The same law also says the platforms wont be treated as publishers of posts made by third parties. That means that if someone libels you on Twitter, you can sue the person who posted the defamatory and false material, but you cant sue Twitter.

There is no question that Section 230 has been advantageous to the platforms. If it were revoked by Congress, the platforms would have to find a way to remove potentially libelous material or else face lawsuits from people who have been defamed on their services. And although some eventual reform of Section 230 seems likely, the way that revision is undertaken will affect the platforms, which therefore care a lot about the laws future.
A Tulsa man admitted Tuesday to two counts of child neglect in connection with the heat-related deaths of his two children who died after being trapped in a hot pickup last summer while he was passed out after using cocaine.

A plea agreement with prosecutors, which still requires judicial approval, calls for Dustin Lee Dennis, 32, to serve three to six years in federal prison followed by five years of post-custody supervision.

I failed my children, Dennis told the court. I didnt do what I was supposed to do, and because of that they died.

Dennis was initially arrested by Tulsa police on two counts of second-degree murder after his children Tegan, 4, and Ryan, 3, died June 13, 2020, after getting into their fathers pickup while unsupervised just after noon that day in the 1700 block of East 61st Street.

Dennis told police he found his children in his locked pickup after having been passed out for about four to five hours in his home and waking up to find them gone.

Dennis state charges were dismissed after it was learned that one of the children was a member of the Cherokee Nation and the other was eligible to become a member, qualifying the case for federal prosecution due to the U.S. Supreme Courts McGirt decision.
Gov. Kevin Stitts secretary of education has joined two Oklahoma school district leaders in the 2022 election to succeed State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister, who is term-limited.

Republican Ryan Walters was appointed secretary of public education in September. He works as chief executive officer at Every Kid Counts Oklahoma, an education reform outfit, and currently teaches Advanced Placement U.S. history at Millwood High School and McAlester High School.

Oklahoma is the best place to live, work, and raise a family in the nation but Oklahoma will only continue to thrive if we have an educated workforce to support our growing economy, Walters said in a Monday afternoon press release. As an educator myself, I have enjoyed following my students and seeing how their education in my classroom and countless others directly contributed to their personal success.

I will not stop until every Oklahoma student is given the educational opportunities to succeed to their highest potential. That is what is driving my run for State Superintendent.

Walters previously served as executive director of Oklahoma Achieves, an initiative of the State Chamber of Oklahoma. He taught history for a majority of his teaching career at McAlester High, where he was a finalist in the 2016 Oklahoma State Teacher of the Year contest.
Nicole McAfee, director of advocacy and policy for ACLU Oklahoma, said the organization is always concerned when CCTV is proposed as a policing tool.

I think there needs to be a clear understanding how invasive it is, that in discussion around CCTV, it has often been discussed as more invasive than a wiretap or a phone tap, McAfee said. I think there needs to be a clear understanding of how susceptible it is to sort of be hacked and have that video not protected, and how much it just puts people in a vulnerable position where they are sort of giving up their privacy without any say in it based on wherever people decide to ultimately place these cameras.

Wollmershauser said the Police Department would establish policies and procedures to govern the use of the cameras.

The safeguard is working with the community to roll out the new technology, he said.

City Councilor Lori Decter Wright said she knows little about the proposal but believes it is important to have a detailed public discussion of the issue before taking any action.

We need a lot more information, she said. What cities do it? What do they use it for? What are the outcomes? Is crime reduced, and are communities safer when 24/7 video surveillance is used?
For the week, roughly 25 state averages grew at least 2 cents, with a few seeing a jump of 9 cents or more. State averages range from as low as $2.76 in Mississippi to as expensive as $4.31 in California.

Oklahomans are paying on average $2.87 a gallon, the ninth lowest price in the nation. That is nearly a dollar a gallon more than during the pandemic one year ago.

Four other states with the lowest gasoline prices touch Oklahoma: Texas ($2.82), Missouri ($2.82), Arkansas ($2.84) and Kansas ($2.86).

Oklahoma and Tulsa are generally places that have some of the cheapest prices in the country, DeHaan said. You have good access to refineries. You have the infrastructure pipeline that supplies gasoline and a lot of good old-fashioned competition combined with low gasoline taxes.

Gasoline prices could stabilize in early July or early August, DeHaan said. But going forward, how much people pay will depend on many variables, including how the delta variant of COVID-19 affects the country.

More offices are reopening, DeHaan said. Schools are reopening. That may usher in a return, in some form, of the U.S. commute. That could have an impact on demand, too. There are just a lot of wild cards at play.
OKLAHOMA CITY  Several Oklahomans are taking the state to court, alleging that Gov. Kevin Stitt doesnt have the authority to terminate coronavirus-related unemployment assistance programs.

The lawsuit follows a similar court filing in Tulsa County - click here to read the filing. If successful, the lawsuits could restore weekly cash payments for tens of thousands of Oklahomans who remain unemployed.
Russia and Belarus have a union agreement that envisages close political, economic and military ties but stops short of a full merger. Russia has pumped billions of dollars into shoring up the Soviet-style, state-controlled economy of Belarus with cheap energy supplies and loans.

Before last year's election and protests, Lukashenko often accused the Kremlin of trying to force him to relinquish control of prized economic assets and eventually abandon his countrys independence. Faced now with tougher economic sanctions, the Belarusian leader emphasized a need to jointly counter Western pressure.

We will deal with terrorism and all that, but the economy is the most important thing, Lukashenko said, voicing hope that we will resist that economic blow together with Russia and adding that the West will not succeed in trying to monopolize the international agenda and put pressure on us.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the presidents agreed during their five hours of talks that Belarus would receive Russia's natural gas next year at this year's prices, the Interfax news agency reported. The two also discussed terms for new Russian loans and steps to increase cooperation in energy, taxes and customs.



Associated Press writer Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv, Ukraine contributed to this report.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Thai renewable energy firm BCPG Pcl on Tuesday said that its consortium had signed a 25-year agreement to deliver wind energy from a 600-megawatt project in Laos to Vietnam.

An agreement between Vietnam's electricity firm EVN and Impact Energy Asia Development (IEAD), of which BCPG holds a 45% stake, will supply electricity through a 500-kilovolt transmission line from Laos to Quang Nam Province in Vietnam.

Impact Wind Investment, backed by Japans Mitsubishi Corporation, holds a 55% stake in IEAD.

Construction on the Monsoon Wind Project will commence in 2022 with commercial operations targeted for 2025.

It would be the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' largest wind farm, BCPG said in a statement.
National carrier Vietnam Airlines has warned customers of a scam regarding purchasing tickets for charter flights from foreign countries to Vietnam.

The airline said that its staff recently received many requests from customers to verify the authenticity of charter flights to Vietnam.

The carrier found that many of the flights in question did not actually exist, but were falsely advertised by some organizations or individuals to financially take advantage of customers.

Vietnam Airlines has advised that customers learn carefully about the ticket seller before making a transaction and only buy air tickets from reputable sellers or agents officially authorized by the airline to avoid fake or inflated tickets.

In case of problems after transactions at unofficial ticketing units, customers should contact Vietnam Airlines and authorities for support.

Customers can look up the list of official agents of Vietnam Airlines at the address www.vietnamairlines.com/vn/en/agency.

To verify information related to international charter flights to Vietnam, customers can call Vietnam Airlines Customer Care Center at 1900 1100 (for domestic callers) or +84 243 8320320 (for international callers), leave messages at the airlines verified Facebook page at www.facebook.com/VietnamAirlines or contact relevant agencies.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Hundreds of thousands of people in France rushed to set up appointments to get vaccinated against the coronavirus after the president warned that the unvaccinated would face restrictions aimed at curbing the quick spread of the Delta variant.

Unveiling sweeping measures to combat a surge in infections, Emmanuel Macron said on Monday night that vaccination would not be compulsory for the general public for now but stressed that restrictions would focus on those who are not vaccinated.

The president said health workers had to get vaccinated by Sept. 15 or face consequences.

Stanislas Niox-Chateau, who heads Doctolib, one of the country's biggest online websites used to book vaccine appointments, told RMC radio there were record numbers seeking vaccines after the president's announcement.

"Almost a million vaccine appointments have been booked, which means thousands of lives have been saved", Health Minister Olivier Veran said on BFM TV.

Macron said on Monday that a health pass required to attend large-scale events would now be used much more widely, including to enter restaurants, cinemas and theatres.

It will also be required to board long-distance trains and planes from the beginning of August, giving a further incentive for people to get the shot as the summer holiday season kicks in.

A slowdown in vaccination rates and a sharp upturn in new infections due to the highly contagious, now dominant, Delta variant, have forced the government to rethink its strategy.

"September 15 is too late, the virus is doubling every five days. We are talking about low figures which quickly become high. What we want is to avoid an epidemic wave and (get) protection for everyone. We're not taking this decision lightly."

After falling from more than 42,000 per day in mid-April to less than 2,000 per day in late June, the average number of new infections per day in France has crept back up again, standing now at nearly 4,000 per day.

Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire warned on Franceinfo radio that the only obstacle to France achieving 6% economic growth in 2021 would be an uptick in COVID-19 due to the Delta variant.
A total of 275 COVID-19 cases have been detected via rapid testing at a major export processing zone in Ho Chi Minh City.

The cases were detected at Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone in District 7, Nguyen Hoai Nam, deputy director of the municipal Department of Health, said at a press meeting on Monday afternoon.

Dr. Nguyen Hong Tam, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control (HCDC), assessed that the infection cluster at the export processing zone may worsen.

The HCDC thus advised authorities in District 7 to temporarily suspend operations at the venue to prevent the spread of the virus.

Competent authorities have initiated contact tracing and other pandemic prevention and control measures.

Covering 300 hectares, Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone houses about 250 companies with approximately 40,000 workers.

Since the fourth COVID-19 outbreak broke out in Vietnam on April 27, Ho Chi Minh City has registered 15,141 cases in the community and is the largest epicenter in the country.

The city imposed intensified social distancing measures, namely banning public gatherings of more than two people, suspending public transport, and requiring residents to stay home, from Friday last week.

Vietnam had documented 32,665 COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday morning, with 9,331 recoveries and 125 deaths.

The country has recorded 29,154 local infections in 58 provinces and cities since April 27.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Here are todays leading news stories:

Politics

-- Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had an online talk with his Israeli counterpart Naftali Bennett on Monday to discuss measures to boost bilateral trade and investment, toward sustainable recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

COVID-19 Updates

-- The Ministry of Health confirmed 466 local COVID-19 infections, including 365 cases in Ho Chi Minh City, on Tuesday morning, raising the national tally to 32,665, with 9,331 recoveries and 125 deaths.

-- The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health said on Monday afternoon that rapid antigen tests had detected 275 COVID-19 cases at Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone in District 7.

-- Police in Hanoi are expected to establish 22 COVID-19 checkpoints at all city entrances to medically inspect people and vehicles entering and exiting the capital from Wednesday.

-- Authorities in the southern beach city of Vung Tau have decided to implement extensive social distancing measures under the prime ministers Directive No. 16 from 0:00 on Wednesday.

-- The Ministry of Health announced on Monday that people who travel from Ho Chi Minh City to other provinces and cities in Vietnam have to undergo self-quarantine for 14 days.

Society

-- Fifty-three men and women have been fined a combined VND96 million (US$4,170) after they were caught gathering for a birthday party at a beer restaurant amid the COVID-19 pandemic in southern Binh Phuoc Province.

-- Police in the north-central province of Quang Binh confirmed on Monday they had arrested a 33-year-old man for allegedly murdering his mother-in-law after he had hidden in a local forest for seven days.

Business

-- Vietnams export turnover in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries reached $24.23 billion in the first half of 2021, up 28.2 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Two hoteliers in Ho Chi Minh City have offered to house the needy as well as frontline workers in their joint venture Ambassador Hotel as a gesture of support for the citys uphill battle against the coronavirus.

Located in the downtown neighborhood of District 1, Ambassador Hotel is dedicating its whole lodging area  with 61 double-bed units  to disadvantaged working-class people, as well as doctors, police officers, reporters, soldiers, and volunteers who are combating COVID-19 on the frontline.

Dubbed the community hotel,' the charitable initiative was started by Nguyen Tuan Khoi, 38, and Dinh Quoc Huy, 35, the co-owners of the hotel, who wish to do their part in the citys common effort to push back the epidemic.

A household name in the philanthropist community, Khoi has launched many efforts over the past years to encourage blood donation, sell fresh produce for vulnerable farmers, and distribute food to the needy.

Discussing with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, Khoi revealed that he has organized community fridges to take care of the coronavirus-hit people in Ho Chi Minh City since the epidemics impact in Vietnam starts to take a toll in early 2020.

As the world starts to put up a fight with the disease, Khoi noticed the emergence of the community hotel model in the United States, where local authorities rent out hotels and provide them as free lodgings to the homeless as a tactic to reduce transmission risks in the community.

He saw a possibility to replicate the model in Ho Chi Minh City, as many frontliners and philanthropists, including himself, find it hard to return home after being exposed to high infection risks while doing medical tasks or charity work.

There are times that I shy away from my apartment after finding symptoms of coughing and fever on myself, he said.

"My colleagues are also put in a tough position, as they also face considerable risk of infection after coming into contact with me.

Considering the situation, he decided to repurpose his hotel as a gratis apartment building for frontline workers and volunteers in Ho Chi Minh City.

Ambassador Hotel in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tien Vu / Tuoi Tre

Over the past months, the COVID-19 situation in Ho Chi Minh City has gone for the worse, with case counts climbing steeply and having reached over 15,000 as of Tuesday.

Acknowledging the immense threats, Khois community hotel has been upholding strict safety policy, which includes mandatory medical declaration and adherence to epidemic prevention guidelines from the Ministry of Health.

All entrants are required to present their IDs, while tenants are encouraged to sign up for vaccination as early as possible.

The premises are also housing foreigners who are stranded in Vietnam due to the border closure mandate that was introduced in March 2020.

Huy, Khois business partner, pointed to the story of a Thai businessman who has been staying at Ambassador Hotel for free since last year after his ventures in Vietnam went sour due to the pandemic.

Huy has also been working to support the Thai citizen, as well as other struggling people at the community hotel after being asked to help with Khois charitable cause.

Khoi has inspired me to pursue philanthropy work for the community, he stated.

A supplied photo shows Nguyen Tuan Khoi, a philanthropist and entrepreneur who supports coronavirus-hit communities in Ho Chi Minh City.

The pandemic also had him struggling, but as Huy sees it, anyone in the hospitality sector is going through the same conundrum or worse.

At this point, I only focus on helping the community in whatever aspects Im able to, he said.

As an entrepreneur, I sure want to prioritize profits.

However, I am a citizen of Saigon as well.

"If the city caves in, I would not be able to do business anymore.

He looks forward to scaling the model to other locales in Vietnam.

Of late, hotels in Vietnam have been left vacant en masse due to low travel demand, and to leave them that way is such a waste, he said.

The community hotel initiative would tie these resources and demands together to help us go through these tough times.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Vietnam is expected to receive another batch containing one million COVID-19 vaccine shots donated by Japan later this week.

Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi has announced the donation of an additional one million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Vietnam, the Ministry of Health confirmed on Tuesday.

The jabs, which are AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in Japan, will arrive at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday morning.

Japan had already supplied Vietnam with nearly two million doses, which arrived on June 16, July 2, and July 9.

Vietnam has so far received more than eight million COVID-19 vaccine shots, including nearly 5.6 million doses of AstraZeneca via the COVAX scheme, purchase, and donations from Japan; 2,000 doses of Sputnik V donated by the Russian government; 500,000 doses of Vero-Cell by Sinopharm gifted by the Chinese government; 97,000 doses of Pfizer/BioNTech through direct purchase; and two million jabs of Moderna donated by the U.S. via COVAX.

More than four million vaccine doses have been administered in Vietnam since inoculation began on March 8, with 280,367 people fully vaccinated.

The government sets a target of immunizing two-thirds of a population of nearly 98 million people against COVID-19 by the first quarter of next year.

Vietnam had documented 33,648 COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday afternoon, with 9,331 recoveries and 130 deaths.

The country has recorded 30,136 local infections in 58 provinces and cities since the fourth wave broke out on April 27.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Authorities in Da Nang City have investigated a real estate director from Ho Chi Minh City for avoiding COVID-19 quarantine in the central Vietnamese city by covering his original departure location with two flights to and from Hanoi.

Da Nang authorities said on Monday afternoon that four of 17 new COVID-19 cases detected locally in the previous 24 hours were related to another patient in neighboring Quang Nam Province.

The patient is N.T.D., 49, hailing from the Bong Sao residential area in District 8, Ho Chi Minh City and working as a real estate project manager.

D. took flight VN0128 from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang at 12:45 pm on July 4.

At Da Nang International Airport, functional forces informed D. that he would be sent to a concentrated isolation facility as per the regulations for arrivals from virus-hit localities.

With the excuse that he would return to Ho Chi Minh City the next morning, the man asked to be isolated for one night instead.

D. was then taken to a hotel at 150 Vo Nguyen Giap Street for isolation.

On the morning of July 5, D. actually did not return to Ho Chi Minh City but took flight QH104 to Hanoi at 10:35 am instead.

On July 6, he then took flight VN171 from Hanoi back to Da Nang at 1:25 pm.

As an arrival from the capital, which was not classified as a virus-stricken locality at that time, D. was able to skip the quarantine in Da Nang before traveling to Hoi An City in Quang Nam and staying at a villa that his company had rented in Tan An Ward in advance.

Tan An Ward authorities made D. perform a medical declaration and not leave the villa for 14 days.

The director developed a fever on July 7, followed by fatigue, a stuffy nose, and headache on July 10.

He contacted the local medical authorities and was taken to Vinh Duc General Hospital in Dien Ban Town to test for COVID-19.

His result returned positive for the coronavirus.

Four members of a family in Da Nang traveling on flight VN171 with D. also tested positive for the pathogen, according to Phan Van Son, deputy chief of the office of the Peoples Committee of Da Nang. They have been quarantined at a hotel in the city.

Meanwhile, 112 other contacts of D. tested negative for the virus.

The municipal authorities have assigned the local police to collaborate with police in Quang Nam to investigate and strictly handle this case before the law for declaring and taking a roundabout route, causing COVID-19 spread, Son said.

Son added that in order to avoid similar dishonest acts, the local authorities will turn away any arrivals who refuse to follow the requirement of 21-day quarantine and not allow them to stay over as in D.s case.

Vietnam has been battling a new outbreak with 29,154 local infections recorded in 58 out of 63 provinces and cities since April 27.

Da Nang has reported 270 infections while Quang Nam has logged five patients in this round.

Ho Chi Minh City is currently suffering the worst with 15,141 cases.

The country has confirmed an accumulation of 32,665 infections, including 30,724 community cases, since the pathogen first hit it early last year, according to the health ministrys data.

Recoveries have risen to 9,331 whereas the death toll has reached 125.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
People who travel from Ho Chi Minh City to other Vietnamese provinces and cities are now required to undergo home quarantine for 14 days to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Ministry of Health on Monday sent a document to administrations in all 63 provinces and cities regarding the new quarantine regulation for travelers from Ho Chi Minh City.

All arrivals from the southern city, which is now the countrys largest coronavirus epicenter, have to quarantine at home for 14 days instead of seven days according to the previous regulation announced by the ministry on July 7.

During the 14-day period, the quarantined person has to be tested for COVID-19 three times on the first, seventh, and 13th days.

The decision came after the number of infections originating from Ho Chi Minh City increased rapidly in many areas of Vietnam.

Those participating in inspection and supervision teams in Ho Chi Minh City are not required to self-quarantine.

However, they have to monitor their health for 14 days after returning to their places of residence and avoid coming into contact with others or participating in crowded activities.

Vietnam had documented 33,648 COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday afternoon, with 9,331 recoveries and 125 deaths.

The country has recorded 30,136 local infections in 58 provinces and cities, including 16,027 cases in Ho Chi Minh City, since the fourth wave broke out on April 27.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
The Vietnamese tourism authority is pushing for the trial reopening of Phu Quoc Island off southern Kien Giang Province to fully vaccinated foreign tourists in October.

A draft reopening plan devised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, which expects to welcome foreign tourists back to Phu Quoc Island by October, has recently been sent to relevant agencies for their revisions.

According to the plan, the trial reopening will last six months and be divided into two phases.

The first, which lasts three months from October, will welcome some 2,000-3,000 visitors per month.

During this phase, tourists can only reach the island on charter flights and stay in sequestered areas of selected resorts or destinations of a large size, who have proven their capacity of ensuring safety for tourists.

Starting from the fourth month of the plan, the island may be able to take in 5,000-10,000 visits per month, as regular international flights to and from the local Phu Quoc Airport will have been reconnected, while more travel locations will be made available to foreign travelers.

The culture ministry anticipates to welcome 25,000-40,000 visitors to Phu Quoc during the six month trial.

Eligible visitors must present proof that they have received sufficient doses of one among the Vietnamese government-approved COVID-19 vaccines.

The two doses must be spaced at least 14 days apart, and both must be taken within 12 months from their visits.

They are required to present certificates proving their negative test results within three days before their flights and comply with Vietnams coronavirus quarantine rules upon arrival.

Patients who have recovered from COVID-19 within 12 months time from their arrival to Phu Quoc must prepare proof of their hospital discharge, as issued by an institution that Vietnam recognizes.

Visitors also have to purchase one of the tour packages approved by the authorities in order to reach the island.

Central-level and Kien Giang Province leaders are looking at areas that found success in containing the epidemic, including Northeast Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia, as the target markets for the proposed Phu Quoc reopening.

The plan recommends mainland China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, and France as potential customer bases that can come to Phu Quoc during the trial.

A vaccination campaign is slated for July to September to reach at least 70 percent of Phu Quoc Island's population and helps the community reach herd immunity.

The national government is hastening the rollout of a new visa policy on Phu Quoc, which would make it easier for international tourists and Vietnamese repatriates with COVID-19 vaccination certificates to come to the island.

Vietnam began denying entrance to foreign nationals in March 2020 and currently only allows arrivals who are diplomats, investors, experts, skilled workers, and business managers. All have to follow strict quarantine rules upon entry.

In the past months, tourism heavyweights have been petitioning for the reopening of secluded locations in Vietnam to foreign, vaccinated tourists.

Phu Quoc Island off southern Kien Giang Province, with low population concentration, adequate isolation from the mainland, sufficient infrastructure, hotel and service quality, and an established reputation in tourism, ticked all the boxes as the ideal location to launch the plan.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
A Vietnamese conglomerate, T&T Group, will negotiate with a Russian agency to purchase 40 million doses of Sputnik V vaccine, following approval from the Vietnamese government.

The government on Monday issued a resolution agreeing to the Ministry of Healths proposal to introduce T&T Group, which engages in various business lines, to discuss a vaccine deal with the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

The group, led by CEO Do Quang Hien, will buy the vaccine with legal funds mobilized by itself, not with funding from the state budget or the Vietnam COVID-19 Vaccine Fund, the government stated in its resolution.

All these Russian-made vaccine doses will be administered to people free of charge, the resolution says.

The government also agreed to the signing of a disclaimer of responsibility for the use of the Sputnik vaccine, at the request of the vaccine manufacturer.

The contents of the agreement will be the same as those previously signed by the health minister when Vietnam Vaccine Joint Stock Company clinched deals to buy COVID-19 jabs from Pfizer and AstraZeneca.

The government also asked the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Transport to assist the health ministry in diplomatic procedures and vaccine transport.

Vietnam has so far granted conditional approval for five vaccines, including Sputnik V, Sinopharm, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Moderna.

Early last month, the health ministry said that Russia had agreed to provide it with 20 million doses of Sputnik V vaccine this year, as the Southeast Asian country races to secure supplies to expedite mass vaccination.

More than four million Vietnamese have been inoculated against COVID-19 so far, of whom over 280,000 people have got two full doses, health authorities reported.

The country needs to acquire 150 million doses of vaccine this year to immunize two-thirds of the 98 million-strong population to reach herd immunity soon amid the increasing coronavirus spread, the health ministry said.

In a report issued at noon on Tuesday, the ministry confirmed 982 new domestic cases and one imported infections, which have taken the countrys total patient number to 33,648, including 9,331 recoveries and 125 deaths.

Among the latest cases, 886 were detected in Ho Chi Minh City, which has documented over 15,000 infections since late April.

Since April 27, when the pandemics fourth wave began in Vietnam, the country has recorded 30,136 patients.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Virginia Trioli will guest host Q+A this week from Melbourne.

Sydneys lockdown is set to be extended after an alarming increase in daily recorded cases, with some health experts tipping it could go on for another four weeks. The NSW and federal governments will announce support payments to businesses struggling to survive in lockdown. The situation is deteriorating rapidly, with more than 60 patients in hospital, and growing numbers in ICU, many of whom are young people.

South West Sydney is being targeted by the NSW government and police, as the area records the most new cases, but many locals say the focus is unfair and discriminatory.

Victoria is also on high alert after three positive cases were identified in a family returning from NSW. Separately, two removalists from Sydney have also tested positive, sending an apartment block in Melbournes north-west into immediate quarantine. Meanwhile Queenslanders and Territorians in NSW are being advised to go home as soon as possible.

In a major change to the vaccine rollout in NSW, Astra Zeneca will now be offered to anyone aged over 40, and the Government has released a dramatic new ad depicting a young woman with Covid, on a ventilator struggling to breathe, in an effort to encourage people to get vaccinated.

Meanwhile, Former PM Kevin Rudd says he contacted the Pfizer boss in America, to ramp up arrival of vaccine supplies, and while the Government disagrees, there is growing frustration with their problematic vaccine procurement strategy.

Joining Virginia on the panel:

Marylouise McLaws, Epidemiologist

Steve Price, Radio broadcaster

Mukesh Haikerwal, GP and former President of the AMA

Meshel Laurie, Podcaster and author

Alison Pennington, Economist with The Centre for Future Work

8:30pm Thursday on ABC.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
At least 44 people were killed and over 67 injured in a fire likely caused by an oxygen tank explosion at a coronavirus hospital in Iraqs southern city of Nassiriya, health officials and police said on Monday.

As rescuers combed the smoke-charred building in search of more bodies, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi held urgent meetings with senior ministers and ordered the suspension and arrest of health and civil defense managers in Nassiriya, his office said in a statement.

The manager of the hospital was also suspended and ordered to be arrested, the statement added.

Already decimated by war and sanctions, Iraqs healthcare system has struggled to cope with the coronavirus crisis, which has killed 17,592 people and infected more than 1.4 million.

Health crews carried charred bodies out of the burning hospital while many patients were coughing from the rising smoke, a Reuters reporter at the site of the fire said.

Health officials at Nassiriya said search operations at the al-Hussain coronavirus hospital were continuing after the fire was brought under control, but thick smoke was making it difficult to enter some of the burnt wards.

Raging fires have trapped many patients inside the coronavirus ward and rescue teams are struggling to reach them, a health worker told Reuters before entering the burning building.

Initial police reports suggested that an oxygen tank explosion inside the hospitals COVID-19 wards was the likely cause of the fire, a policeman at the scene of the fire said.

I heard a big explosion inside the coronavirus wards and then fire had erupted very quickly, said Ali Muhsin, a hospital guard who was helping carrying wounded patients away from fires.

In April, a fire caused by an oxygen tank explosion at a COVID-19 hospital in Baghdad killed at least 82 people and injured 110 others.

Health sources said earlier the death toll from Mondays fire could rise as many patients were still missing. Two health workers were among the dead, they said.

Story continues

Angry relatives gathered in front of the hospital and clashed with police, setting fire to two police vehicles, a Reuters witness said.

Weary of political violence, Iraqis also suffer frequent accidents due to under-investment, corruption and wrecked infrastructure. During the coronavirus crisis, hospitals have struggled with an influx of patients and short supplies.

Corrupt officials must be held accountable for the fire and killing innocent patients. Where is my fathers body, said one young man as he searched among charred bodies wrapped in blankets in the hospitals yard.

(REUTERS)
A further 22 people have died during unrest raging in South Africa, a provincial official said on Tuesday, taking the national death toll from days of violence to 32. The toll in KwaZulu-Natal province now stands at 26, premier Sihle Zikalala told a news conference on Tuesday, a day after officials confirmed six deaths in Gauteng province.

"These were people killed during stampedes as protesters ran riot," he said, without specifying which parts of the province.

The violence continued after President Cyril Ramaphosas 30 minute speech to South Africans last night. The address was made against the backdrop of the continued looting of a shopping mall in Durban. He says he was speaking with an heavy heart having observed acts of violence rarely seen in the nations history

There has been property vandalized and destroyed, shops looted, people threatened and intimidated, he says

Workers are scared they may not be able to return to their jobs. People have died. Families are in deep mourning.

We have seen public violence, destruction of property and looting of a kind rarely seen in our democracy.

Ramaphosa says there have been 166 arrests in Kwazulu/Natal and 320 in Gauteng.

Many have sought to agitate along ethnic lines. They have used the chaos as a cover for looting and theft, he says.

No grievance can justify this.

"South Africans have historically fought for and laid down their lives for free expression and for the protection of the poor and vulnerable.

They have fought for a society to develop the interests of all the people of South Africa."

'This is not us'

"Nothing can justify the .poor and marginalized bearing the brunt of destruction," he said.

We cannot tolerate a situation where the sick cannot get medication, there is no food on the shelves and health workers cannot do their jobs.

We face food and education insecurity and a disruption of our vaccination programme in the middle of a pandemic. This is not who we are. This is not us.

Story continues

This is why I have mobilized all available resources to restore order.

As commander in chief of the national defence force I have authorized defence personnel to support the police service in restoring order.

We will will take action to protect the people against violence, theft and looting.

We will arrest and prosecute those who perpetrate these and ensure they face the full might of the law.

Ramaphosa says hell meet with community leaders and leaders of political parties to benefit from their wisdom and restore stability in South Africa.

What began as an expression of righteous anger at the jailing of ex-President Jacob Zuma last Wednesday has become an anarchic orgy of looting.

Police are reduced to playing spectators to the thousands of looters so troops have been deployed on the streets of Johannesburg, South Africas commercial capital, and the KwaZulu/Natal cities of Durban and Pietermartizburg.

They too have not stopped the lawlessness.

Retail operations paralyzed

The nations commercial operation which centre largely on giant shopping malls is paralyzed.

Deliveries have stopped as trucks have been set alight and used to block inter-city highways.

Four dozen of the giant vehicles have been destroyed in this way since last Thursday.

The malls closed early in the afternoon as the looters stormed in.

Television stations filmed the giant Jabulani Mall in Soweto and the prestigious Maponya Mall being overrun as looters emerged carrying expensive electronic goods

Viewers watched as looters moved previously stolen goods from the boots of their vehicles to make room for the giant television screens.

Some of the stores in both Gauteng and KwaZylu/Natal were torched after being looted.

A social media wag noted that Ramaphosa was guaranteed a good audience when he spoke because everyone now has a television.

Ramaphosa, who has condemned what he calls ethnic mobilization issued a statement hours before his broadcast warning people of the consequences of being caught in possession of looted goods.

Under-equipped police, who say they have run out of teargas and other equipment to enforce public order, maintain they were fired on by looters.

Fears of vigilantism

Some business owners have armed themselves to protect their property giving rise to fears of vigilantism. Six deaths of looters have been reported.

The anarchy occurred as Zuma sought to have the Constitutional Court rescind its ruling late last month to sentencing him to 15 months imprisonment for contempt of court. Zuma failed to obey a court order to appear before a commission into state corruption presided over by deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.

The full bench of the apex court has reserved judgment in the matter
Holiday destinations Spain and Greece have moved to tighten Covid restrictions after experiencing an increase in Delta variant infections.

Both countries are among those expected to see an influx of British sun-seekers this summer but have been forced to reimpose coronavirus rules to tackle the spike in cases.

Spain and Greece are on the UKs amber list with quarantine-free travel coming into force for double-jabbed holidaymakers on July 19.

Night curfews have been reintroduced in more than 30 towns in the Mediterranean region of Valencia, including in the city of Valencia and popular coastal destination of Benicassim.

Spain has seen its case rate triple in just two weeks, prompting social gatherings of more than 10 people to also be banned.

The data are more than worrying, they are frankly very, very bad, Catalonias public health secretary Josep Maria Argimon said.

Authorities in Greece blamed soaring infection numbers on people not coming forward to be vaccinated.

After a year and a half, no one can claim ignorance about the coronavirus anymore, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.

The country will not shut down again due to attitude adopted by certain people... Its not Greece thats a danger, but unvaccinated Greeks.

Watch: Balearics to go amber and Croatia green in changes to coronavirus travel lists

Unvaccinated people will be banned from bars, cinemas and theatres, after authorities . Restrictions will apply nationwide including on the Greek islands.

It comes as Italy, Germany and Poland were understood to be among the destinations most likely to be added to the Governments green travel list, according to an analyst.

Robert Boyle, former director of strategy at British Airways parent company IAG predicted that 12 countries could be put in the low-risk tier this week.

He said this includes nine European countries which are all strong candidates, consisting of Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Switzerland.

Story continues

The travel lists are expected to be updated on Thursday. People arriving in the UK from green list destinations are not required to self-isolate.

Mr Boyle described Canada as his top prediction for moving into the green tier, as it has low rates of coronavirus cases and test positivity, and its vaccine rollout programme is catching up fast to the UKs.

He wrote in The Telegraph: It is hard to see a better candidate for the green list. The Canadian authorities continue to bar entry to Canada to British nationals.

But so do Australia and New Zealand and they are on the green list. It may be a matter of timing though, as Im sure politicians would prefer to announce a simultaneous relaxation of travel restrictions.

Watch: Airline refunds - What are your rights as a consumer?'

Read More

Workers worried about return to office next week, study suggests

Masks to remain compulsory on London transport

Freedom Day delay cost hospitality sector 3 billion, UKH chief says
Jason Koon Wins PokerGO Cup Event #6: $25K NLHE ($324,000); Imsirovic Leads Third Final Table

July 13 2021 Jason Glatzer

Jason Koon defeated his final four opponents including Thomas Winters in heads-up play on Monday evening to win the PokerGO Cup Event #6: $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em at the PokerGO Studio at the ARIA Resort & Casino for $324,000.

Koon has managed plenty of success over the years with nearly $32 million in live tournament earnings according to The Hendon Mob. One thing that has eluded the partypoker Ambassador was winning the event at the plush PokerGO Studio, although there were a couple of times Koon came close to getting that monkey off his back earlier this year before Monday evening's victory.

Back in June, Koon took third place in the U.S. Poker Open Event #12: $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em for $336,000 with another podium finish coming this festival when he finished runner-up in the PokerGO Cup Event #2: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em for $122,000.

Event #6: $25K NLHE Final Table Results

Place Name Country Payout PokerGO Tour Points 1 Jason Koon United States $324,000 240 2 Thomas Winters United States $216,000 158 3 John Riordan United States $144,000 105 4 Anuj Agarwal United States $99,000 75 5 Cary Katz United States $72,000 60 6 Steve Zolotow United States $45,000 45

The PokerGO Cup Event #6: $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em attracted 36 entries generating a healthy $900,000 prize pool. The final table, which took place at the PokerGO Studio at the ARIA Resort & Casino, was broadcasted to poker fans around the world at the subscription-based PokerGO.

Remember, an annual subscription to PokerGO costs $99.99, but you can save $20 off by using promo code "CUP2021" at checkout. Sign up by going here.

Final Table Action

John Riordan entered the six-player official final table with a commanding chip lead with 113 big blinds, while eventual champion Koon near the bottom of the back with some room to maneuver with 26 big blinds.

Steve Zolotow was the only player to enter the final table with fewer chips than Koon and was the first player eliminated at the final table in sixth place for $45,000 after he called off nine big blinds with king-queen and whiffed the board against Riordan's ace-ten suited.

Koon then snagged the chip lead while delivered a brutal bad beat with a two-outer against Cary Katz. Katz limped preflop with cowboys from the small blind and Koon checked back from the big blind with king-jack. Katz led out for four big blinds on a jack-high flop. Koon jammed and Katz called off for 14 big blinds and was looking good to double. Fortunes quickly turned after a second jack spiked the turn and Katz was sent packing in fifth place for $72,000 after he was unable to get back into things with a one-outer on the river.

Koon Takes Control for Good

Riordan regained the chip lead before Koon regained control and never looked back after a massive three-way pot that sent Anuj Agarwal to the rail in fourth place for $99,000. Agarwal jammed the button for four big blinds with jack-nine suited. Koon three-bet to about seven big blinds with rockets from the small blind before Riordan four-bet jammed with king-ten suited from the big blind covering the 40 big blind stack of Koon. Koon made the easy call and was in command with nearly three-quarters of the chips in place after his aces held strong.

It didn't take long for the rest of the event to finish from there. First Koon ousted Riordan in third place for $144,000 after queen-nine got there against ace-ten suited.

Koon began heads-up play against Koon with a nearly 10:1 chip advantage and limped preflop during the final hand with nines. Winters jammed for 10 big blinds with king-six suited. Koon called and Winters had to settle for the healthy runner-up prize of $216,000 after the board didn't improve his hand.

Ali Imsirovic Leads Final 5 in the PokerGO Cup Event #7: $50K NLHE

Ali Imsirovic leads final 5 players in Event #7

The hotbed of high-stakes poker activity continues at the PokerGO Studio at the ARIA Resort and Casino with the stakes doubling from $25,000 to $50,000 for the PokerGO Cup Event #7: $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em.

The event attracted 35 entries to create a $1,750,000 prize pool, nearly double the previous record of a $900,000 prize pool featured in both the PokerGO Cup Event #5: $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em and the PokerGO Cup Event #6: $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em.

Ali Imsirovic once again finds himself in a familiar spot as the overnight chip leader at Tuesday's five-player official final table with 1,835,000 in chips for nearly double that of Event #1 champion Alex Foxen with 1,010,000 in chips.

The Bosnian poker sensation has done it time and time again this year with his eight victories giving him a solid hold on the 2021 PokerGO Tour Leaderboard. Earlier this festival, Imsirovic also bagged the overnight chip lead in Event #2 and Event #4 and went on to win them both. He hopes to repeat the same pattern tonight to win his third PokerGO Cup event and pad his lead on the PokerGO Cup Leaderboard.

Meanwhile, GGPoker Ambassador Daniel Negreanu is in the middle of the pack with 975,000 in chips with Sergi Reixach just behind with 755,000 in chips. David Coleman continues to impress and will aim to spin up his short stack of 675,000.

PokerGO Cup Event #7 Final Table Seat Draw

Seat Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds 1 Daniel Negreanu Canada 975,000 39 2 Alex Foxen United States 1,010,000 40 3 Sergi Reixach Spain 755,000 30 4 David Coleman United States 675,000 27 5 Ali Imsirovic Bosnia and Herzegovina 1,835,000 73 Total 5,250,000 210 Average 1,050,000 42

Where to Watch the Final Table?

The final five players will return to the PokerGo Studio on Tuesday, July 13 with the action expected to begin at 3 p.m. EDT. PokerGO will live stream what promises to be some of the most exciting poker action of the year beginning at 4 p.m. EDT.

Remember, an annual subscription to PokerGO costs $99.99, but you can save $20 off by using promo code "CUP2021" at checkout. Sign up by going here.

Final Table Payouts

All returning players are guaranteed at least a $122,500 payout with the eventual winner slated to take home a huge $700,000 top prize.

Place Prize 1 $700,000 2 $455,000 3 $280,000 4 $192,500 5 $122,500 6 $45,000

2021 PokerGO Cup Standings

Ali Imsirovic leads the PokerGO Cup Leaderboard after four events

PokerGO Tour Leaderboard captain Ali Imsirovic has also been on top of the PokerGO Cup Leaderboard for three straight days after winning both Event #2 and Event #4.

Imsirovic is in an amazing spot to pad his lead and perhaps clinch the inaugural PokerGO title as he leads the final six players in the PokerGO Cup Event #7: $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em. There is still some hope for two others in the top five to take the captain's seat on the leaderboard with Event #1 champion Alex Foxen and David Coleman still alive in Event #7.

Meanwhile, Koon's victory in Event #6 catapulted him into second place on the leaderboard with David Coleman sitting just behind in third place.

Rank Name Country Earnings Points 1 Ali Imsirovic Bosnia and Herzegovina $423,000 423 2 Jason Koon United States $446,000 316 3 Dylan Linde United States $255,000 255 4 Alex Foxen United States $253,200 253 5 David Coleman United States $255,000 197 6 Jake Schindler United States $324,000 194 7 Daniel Weinand Canada $181,900 182 8 Sam Soverel United States $168,200 168 9 Jordan Cristos United States $157,800 158 10 David Peters United States $235,800 150

2021 PokerGO Schedule and Results

Date Event Entries Prize Pool Winner Country Prize July 6-7 Event #1: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em 66 $660,000 Alex Foxen United States $178,200 July 7-8 Event #2: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em 61 $610,000 Ali Imsirovic Bosnia and Herzegovina $183,000 July 8-9 Event #3: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em 53 $530,000 Dylan Linde United States $169,600 July 9-10 Event #4: $15,000 No-Limit Hold'em 50 $750,000 Ali Imsirovic Bosnia and Herzegovina $240,000 July 10-11 Event #5: $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em 36 $900,000 Jake Schindler United States $324,000 July 11-12 Event #6: $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em 36 $900,000 Jason Koon United States $324,000 July 12-13 Event #7: $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em 35 $1,750,000 $700,000 July 13-14 Event #8: $100,000 No-Limit Hold'em
WSOP Europe Schedule Released; Nearly 12M Guaranteed Across 15 Bracelets

July 13 2021 Jason Glatzer

After a two-year hiatus, the World Series of Poker Europe will return to King's Resort, located on the German border in Rozvadov, Czech Republic.

The festival will feature 15 WSOP gold bracelet events with 11,550,000 in guaranteed prizes from Nov. 19 to Dec. 8 with buy-ins ranging from 350 to 50,000.

This is not all, as King's Resort has also announced the return of the WSOP Circuit with the festival boasting 17 WSOP gold ring events with 3,640,000 in guaranteed prizes from Aug. 12 to Sept. 14. This means that King's Resort will award at least a guaranteed 15,190,000 between the two festivals combined.

In addition to that, the WSOP is already awarding online bracelets with 33 WSOP Online Series bracelets on tap at WSOP.com from July 1-31 for players located in Nevada and New Jersey with another 33 bracelet events scheduled for the rest of the world at GGPoker from Aug. 1-31, which will overlap the WSOP Circuit at King's Resort.

This is all on top of the 88 gold bracelets for the traditional World Series of Poker at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas from Sept. 30 to Nov. 23.

King's Resort couldn't be any more thrilled about the return of the WSOP to Rozvadov.

"After the difficult year 2020, we are excited to give the players what they deserve and have been waiting for, the biggest tournament series in Europe with the biggest guarantees," said Kings Resort owner Leon Tsoukernik in a press release. "We are looking forward to giving top service and hospitality for all poker players as per Kings Resort standards."

The WSOP is also thrilled about the WSOP Europe returning to King's Resort for the fourth time.

"We cant wait to return to Kings Resort for the 2021 WSOP Europe and bringing bracelets back to Europe," said WSOP Director Gregory Chochon. "Kings Resort has become the center of the poker world in Europe and its the best place for a poker reunion all players can celebrate."

Leon Tsoukernik thrilled about King's Resort hosting the WSOP Europe for the fourth time

Check out the PokerNews WSOP 2021 hub The latest news, satellites, and more can be found here. Bookmark it now! CLICK HERE

WSOP Europe Main Event Guarantees 5 Million

The highlight of the WSOP Europe is easily the WSOPE NLH 10,350 Main Event boasting a mouth-watering 5 million guarantee from Dec. 3-8.

The WSOP Europe Main Event was last hosted in 2019 when 541 entries created a 5,139,500 prize pool to surpass the 5 million guarantee. Alexandros Kolonias defeated Claas Segebrecht in heads-up play to win the coveted WSOP gold bracelet along with a massive 1,133,678 top prize.

Read More: Alexandros Kolonias Wins the 2019 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event (1,133,678)

Alexandros Kolonias Wins the 2019 WSOPE Main Event

Other WSOP Europe Highlights

In addition to the Main Event, three other WSOP Europe events also boast seven-figure guarantees including one that should be on the mind of every value hunter in the WSOPE NLH Colossus, which boasts a 1 million guarantee for just a 550 buy-in on Nov. 24-30.

The high-stakes poker community will be pleased to learn that two events with bigger buy-ins than the Main Event in the WSOPE 25K NLH Platinum High Roller featuring a 1 million guarantee on Nov. 29-30 and the WSOPE 50K NLH Diamond High Roller with a 2,000,000 guarantee on Dec. 2-3.

In addition, the first event on the schedule also should turn some heads with the WSOPE 2021 NLHE Opener offering up a generous 400,000 guarantee for a 350 buy-in on Nov. 19-22, while the WSOPE 1,350 Mini Main Event also will witness a huge prize pool thanks to a 600,000 guarantee.

While most of the schedule does incorporate no-limit hold'em, there are also events in pot-limit Omaha, short deck hold'em, and 8-game.

2021 WSOP Europe Schedule

Date Event # Event Buy-in Starting Stack Guarantee Nov. 19-22 1 WSOPE 2021 NLHE Opener 350 20,000 300,000 Nov. 20-23 2 WSOPE Pot Limit Omaha 8-Max 550 25,000 200,000 Nov. 21-25 3 WSOPE Mini Main Event 1,350 100,000 600,000 Nov. 24-25 4 WSOPE 2K Pot Limit Omaha 2,000 50,000 200,000 Nov. 24-30 5 WSOPE NLH Colossus 550 25,000 1,000,000 Nov. 25 6 WSOPE NLH Classic Freezeout 1,000 30,000 150,000 Nov. 25-26 7 WSOPE PLO/NLH Mixed 1,650 40,000 200,000 Nov. 26-27 8 WSOPE Short Deck 2,500 50,000 200,000 Nov. 27-28 9 WSOPE 5K Pot Limit Omaha 5,000 100,000 150,000 Nov. 29 10 WSOPE NLH Bounty Hunter 1,100 30,000 200,000 Nov. 29-30 11 WSOPE 25K NLH Platinum High Roller 25,000 500,000 1,000,000 Nov. 30 12 WSOPE NLH 6-Max 1,650 40,000 200,000 Dec. 1-2 13 WSOPE 8-Game Mix 2,000 50,000 150,000 Dec. 2-3 14 WSOPE 50K NLH Diamond High Roller 50,000 1,000,000 2,000,000 Dec. 3-8 15 WSOP NLH Main Event 10,350 100,000 5,000,000

WSOP Circuit Event Highlights

One might think of the WSOP Circuit as a summer warm-up of things to come in the autumn, but the schedule is impressive in its own right.

The WSOP Circuit NLH 1,700 Main Event on Sept. 10-14 will be one of the biggest live poker events over the summer with a tasty 1 million guarantee and plenty of satellites in the plans for players to get in much cheaper than the 1,700 buy-in.

The WSOP Circuit 250 Mini Main Event on Aug. 25-30 could turn out to be the highest value tournament of the summer with 500,000 guaranteed for just a 250 buy-in, while the WSOP Circuit NLH 550 MonsterStack also boasts a 500,000 guarantee on Sept. 2-6.

Meanwhile, the WSOP Circuit 330 NLH KENTA Bounty Hunter is a new tournament on the schedule and serves up a 400,000 guarantee.

Those over 50 years of age will be allowed to play the 20,000 guaranteed WSOP Circuit 250 NLH Seniors Event 50+ on Aug. 24, while the following day will feature the 10,000 guaranteed WSOP Circuit 250 NLH Ladies Event on Aug. 25.

2021 WSOP Circuit King's Resort Schedule

Date Event # Event Buy-in Starting Stack Guarantee Aug. 12-16 1 WSOP Circuit NLH 2021 King's Opener 200 25,000 300,000 Aug. 17-18 2 WSOP Circuit NLH 6-Max 440 40,000 50,000 Aug. 18-23 3 WSOP Circuit NLH KENTA Bounty Hunter 330 30,000 400,000 Aug. 24 4 WSOP Circuit NLH Seniors Event 50+ 250 25,000 20,000 Aug. 25 5 WSOP Circuit NLH Ladies Event 250 25,000 10,000 Aug. 25-30 6 WSOP Circuit NLH Mini Main Event 250 50,000 500,000 Aug. 29-30 7 WSOP Circuit NLH FiftyStack 660 50,000 100,000 Aug. 30 8 WSOP Circuit PLO Bounty Hunter 550 40,000 50,000 Aug. 31 - Sept. 1 9 WSOP Circuit Mixed NLH/PLO 550 40,000 50,000 Sept. 1-2 10 WSOP Circuit Omaha Hi/Lo Pot Limit 440 40,000 50,000 Sept. 2-6 11 WSOP Circuit NLH MonsterStack 550 100,000 500,000 Sept. 5 12 WSOP Circuit 7-Card Stud Limit 440 30,000 10,000 Sept. 6-7 13 WSOP Circuit PLO 6-Max 440 40,000 50,000 Sept. 7 14 WSOP Circuit 5-Card PLO 1,100 50,000 50,000 Sept. 7-8 15 WSOP Circuit PLO 2K 8-Max 2,000 100,000 200,000 Sept. 8-9 16 WSOP Circuit NLH 3K 8-Max 3,000 200,000 300,000 Sept. 10-14 17 WSOP Circuit NLH Main Event 1,700 50,000 1,000,000
The coronavirus pandemic hit the global oil industry hard. As countries imposed severe restrictions on domestic and international travel and transportation, the global oil demand drastically declined and oil prices collapsed, Daily Sabah reports.

Indeed in April 2020, Saudi Arabia, Russia and other oil producers, collectively known as OPEC+, met and agreed to a massive cut in oil production. Though it was not necessarily to appease the U.S. president. The deal involved cutting oil production by 9.7 million barrels per day in May and June of 2020. For the rest of that year, 7.7 million barrels per day were cut, and from January 2021 to April 2022, 5.8 million barrels per day were due to be cut. For this historic cut, Trump tweeted thank yous to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and King Salman of Saudi Arabia.

OPEC+ successfully pursued this plan and helped oil prices recover back to their pre-coronavirus levels by March 2021, almost a year later. As oil prices have further increased, two giants of OPEC+, Saudi Arabia and Russia, agreed to increase oil production by 2 million barrels per day but kept the rest of the production cut in place until the end of 2022, not April 2022. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), a mid-size oil producer, rejected this proposal. The news shocked many Gulf analysts and observers, for the UAE has proven to be Saudi Arabias staunchest ally in the world.

What does the UAE oppose?

The UAE, in fact, only partially rejected the proposal, agreeing to increase in oil production but objecting to extending the production cuts beyond April 2022. The UAEs concern is that it is sacrificing more than other oil producers, and even more than Saudi Arabia. The UAE argues that its own share in the total OPEC+ production cut was determined in April 2020 according to the countrys daily production capacity in October 2018, which was around 3.1 million barrels per day. Since April 2020, the UAE has produced on average 2.55 million barrels per day to abide by the agreement. As a result, it has sacrificed around 18% of its total production capacity. Yet, in the meantime, the UAE claims, it has invested in its production capacity, expanding it to 3.9 million barrels per day.

Thus, the UAE claims that if it continues to produce at the same daily production level, it will sacrifice around 35% of its production capacity. Therefore, extending the production cuts until the end of 2022 will be unfair to the UAE, plain and simple. In fact, that is how UAEs Energy and Industry Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei exactly put it: Totally unfair. The minister also said, For us, it wasnt a good deal in the first place. He added, We knew that the UAE position in that agreement was the worst in terms of comparing our current capacity with the level of production. But, the UAE has abided by the agreement and now demands a correction.

The future of the alliance

This public spat has led many commentators and Gulf analysts to question the future viability of the Saudi-UAE alliance. The title of a piece written by Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a well-known academic and commentator, is exemplary: The Saudi-UAE alliance is fracturing. Many other commentators and analysts shared the same sentiment. The alliance was in trouble and, in fact, has been crumbling from within for quite some time. There is no question that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are not identical twins. On various regional and international issues, enumerated by Gulf commentators and analysts, the two hold different opinions and even pursue different policies. For example, the UAE is less eager than Saudi Arabia to reconcile with Qatar and is more open to developing relations with Israel.

The two countries also supported different groups in Yemen and Syria. Yet, despite various issues such as these, Saudi Arabia and the UAE could still have forged a strong alliance. The said differences did not harm the alliance, in large part because none of them have caused the two countries to directly and fundamentally oppose each other. The last oil spat is no different. It is hard to imagine that the UAEs demand is totally unacceptable or anathema to Saudi Arabia.

More critically, the regional and global geopolitical context Saudi Arabia and the UAE have to operate in is fast changing. It has already become highly uncertain, increasingly complex and visibly hostile: the U.S.  the Gulfs traditional security partner  has become less reliable, China and Russia seek to expand their global status, Turkey has become more assertive and militarily powerful, Iran continues its policy of expanding its sphere of influence and the Middle East still harbors popular grass-root movements ... The Middle East is literally a ticking time bomb.

Having a similar vision for the region and facing similar geopolitical challenges, Saudi Arabia and the UAE need each other. And, to put it bluntly, they can not find an ally more reliable than one another. No other regional countries, even Egypt, can serve in that role. The future will tell. However, the forces that brought about the Saudi-UAE alliance are still solid. The alliance will most likely sustain itself in the foreseeable future.
Police in Haiti say they have arrested a doctor they believe is a key suspect in organising last week's assassination of President Jovenel Moise. BBC reports that Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a 63-year-old Haitian national, flew into the country on a private jet in early June with "political motives". Mr Moise, 53, was killed at his residence on 7 July, by 28 foreign mercenaries, the police said earlier. His wife was injured in the attack, and then flown to the US for treatment.

Martine Moise later described the moment assassins "riddled" her husband with bullets after bursting into their home in the middle of the night. She said the attack happened so quickly, her husband Jovenel was unable to "say a single word".

Change of mission

The arrest of Mr Sanon was announced at a police briefing late on Sunday in the capital Port-au-Prince. "This is an individual who entered Haiti on a private plane with political objectives," said Haiti's police chief Leon Charles. He said the initial plan had been to arrest President Moise, but "the mission then changed". He did not elaborate. "When we, the police, blocked the progress of these bandits after they committed their crime, the first person that one of the assailants called was Christian Emmanuel Sanon," said Mr Charles. "He contacted two other people that we consider to be the masterminds of the assassination of President Jovenel Moise." The police chief did not say who the other two people were.

American support

A delegation of senior US security and justice officials on Sunday arrived in Haiti to assess the security situation. The team will also meet three Haitian politicians. each of whom is claiming to be the country's legitimate leader. After the attack, Haiti's authorities asked the US and the UN to send troops to the country to protect key infrastructure. President Joe Biden's administration initially rejected the request - but has now decided to have a closer look at the situation.

Mr Moise had been president of Haiti, the poorest nation in the Americas, since 2017. His time in office was rocky as he faced accusations of corruption and there were widespread demonstrations in the capital and other cities earlier this year.

Parliamentary elections should have been held in October 2019 but disputes have delayed them, meaning Mr Moise had been ruling by decree. He had planned to hold a referendum on the proposed constitutional changes this September.

In February this year, on the day the opposition wanted him to leave office, Mr Moise said an attempt to kill him and overthrow the government had been foiled. It is still unclear who organised last week's attack and with what motive. A number of questions remain unanswered, including how the alleged assassins were able to enter the property. Mr Moise's bodyguards are due to be questioned later this week.

One prominent opposition figure has openly expressed scepticism over the current version of events. Former Haitian senator Steven Benoit told local station Magik9 radio on Friday it was "not Colombians who killed him", but did not provide evidence to back up his claims. Haitian police have said the majority of the mercenaries was Colombian, while two were joint US nationals.

Who is in charge of Haiti?

The constitution says the National Assembly should choose another president. But disputes meant that elections scheduled for October 2019 did not take place - and Mr Moise had been ruling by decree amid widespread protests. Amendments to the constitution - not accepted by everyone - suggest the prime minister should take over. But Haiti has both an interim prime minister, Claude Joseph, and a new appointee, Ariel Henry, who has yet to be sworn in.

Both are claiming to be in charge. On Friday, a group of political parties signed a resolution proclaiming a new president - Joseph Lambert - with Mr Henry acting as his PM. The situation is doing little to resolve the political and economic instability that has long plagued the nation.


President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, according to the Azerbaijani presidential press service.

They have discussed the work of the trilateral working group chaired by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian deputy prime ministers.

The meeting that took place between Aliyev and Overchuk in Baku on July 13 also focused on Azerbaijani-Russian bilateral relations, an increase in the trade turnover and exports of agricultural products from Azerbaijan to Russia.

The two men discussed efforts to further improve the operation of border checkpoints on the Azerbaijani-Russian border. They underlined the very active increase of transit through the North-South corridor. The sides exchanged views on prospects for cooperation in trade, economy, transport, and other fields.

Overchuk is the Russian co-chairman of the trilateral working group to deal with unblocking economic and transport links in the region.
Columnist for Bloomberg Opinion Andreas Kluth believes that German Chancellor Angela Merkel's unwillingness to abandon the Nord Stream 2 pipeline alienates both the U.S. and European partners.



According to the columnist, "Merkel has snubbed Biden twice". "The first affront occurred in December, just weeks before Biden was to take his oath of office, when she pushed a Chinese-European investment deal into its next phase  without even consulting Bidens team. Instead of helping Washington to constrain Beijing, Merkel wants Europe to keep its options open," the article reads.



"The second and worse snub was her refusal to move even an inch toward bipartisan American demands regarding a controversial gas pipeline being built from Russia to Germany," Kluth stressed.
At least 58 people were killed by a fire at an Iraqi coronavirus hospital on Monday, a health official said.

The fire raged through late Monday at al-Hussein Teaching Hospital in Nasiriya, about 200 miles south of Baghdad. Crowds gathered in a nearby street, where bodies covered in sheets were pushed through as crews battled the fire. After part of the fire was extinguished near the street, some used flashlights on their cellphones to illuminate the way for people carrying bodies.

Police said that an oxygen tank explosion was likely the cause of the fire, Reuters reported.

Firefighters worked to prevent Mondays fire from spreading from the ward through to the main hospital building, the Interior Ministry in Baghdad said in a Facebook post.

The isolation ward was constructed from flammable materials and could have easily caught fire, Maj. Gen. Khalid Bohan, head of Iraqs civil defense, told reporters. Rescue teams were struggling to reach patients trapped inside the ward by the fire.

Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi held an emergency meeting with ministers, officials and security leaders about the fire, his office said in a tweet. He ordered the suspension, arrest and investigation of the hospitals director, as well as local health and civil defense leaders.

People wounded in the fire and in critical condition would be sent for treatment outside the country, the prime ministers office said.
Moscow does not believe that the Russian-U.S. summit in Geneva allowed to significantly improve bilateral relations, and a crucial agreement was the decision to launch comprehensive dialogue, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said in his speech at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

Speaking on the outcome of the Geneva summit, Antonov noted: "Contrary to the negative mood fueled by U.S. media outlets in the run-up to the summit, the talks at the highest level were held in a calm, business-like and in general constructive environment. With all remaining contradictions, the two countries leaders agreed there is the need to bring closer positions and reduce confrontation in Russian-U.S. relations."

"We dont cherish illusions on pivotal breakthroughs," Antonov said, according to a statement published on the Facebook page of the Russian Embassy in the U.S.

"Over the past years, too many mutual claims and contradictions have accumulated, which cannot be resolved in a single jerk. However, there are opportunities for positive dynamics. They are opened by achieving the understanding about the advisability of restoring systemic contacts on key issues of the bilateral and international agenda," he noted.

"The most important agreement at the summit, confirmed in a joint statement on strategic stability, was a decision to launch comprehensive dialogue. Along with extending New START early this year, this is another step of Washington in the direction of common sense and greater responsibility in international affairs," Antonov stressed.

Russia expects to hold a meeting at the level of deputy foreign policy chiefs on strategic stability, Russian Ambassador to the United States said.

"We expect in the coming weeks to hold a kick-off meeting between delegations of agencies led by deputy foreign ministers. The point of departure could be a review of the current concerns in strategic field, which both sides have," Antonov said.

Moscow believes that strategic dialogue should be aimed at developing a new "security equation" taking into account all important factors. "This equation should cover all offensive and defensive nuclear and non-nuclear weapons, which can solve strategic tasks," the ambassador noted.

Moscow believes cooperation with Washington in ensuring security in cyber space is one of priorities, Antonov said.
The Georgian health official warn of a potential fourth wave of coronavirus in the country if individuals refuse to receive the vaccine and act in line with recommendations.

According to head of Georgia's National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Amiran Gamkrelidze, Georgia is facing 'a very difficult situation'.

"There is a high chance that we may enter a difficult, fourth wave", Gamkrelidze said today.

Gamkrelidze stated that the epidemic situation in the country is deteriorating and the NCDC had submitted three recommendations to the coordinating council, which includes further intensification of vaccinations, further expansion of testing and full compliance with existing recommendations and restrictions.

"The coronavirus recognises neither position nor opposition, it infects everyone and claims too many lives, unfortunately. Therefore, we call on everyone to show more solidarity and more attention, to somehow stop the infection together and get through it", Gamkrelidze said.

Gamkrelidze added that he had proposed all conferences and meetings be open to only fully vaccinated people, or those who have tested negative in the last 72 hours.

He also said that it is also being discussed to have the concept of 'safe schools and universities', meaning that all students, professors and teachers be allowed into schools and the universities if fully vaccinated, Agenda.ge reported.
Georgia's Deputy Health Minister Tamar Gabunia said there is an increased COVID-19 infection rate among children.

She said that within the past two or three days 'we had to mobilise additional pediatric beds'.

"About 200 pediatric beds in Tbilisi, which were practically unloaded, have already been overcrowded and we had to mobilise additional beds for pediatric patients. The risks in terms of spreading the infection are increasing and in this case the main solution again is vaccination", Gabunia said.

She said that the number of Covid-19 cases is on rise in Georgia, reaching 1,862 as of today and with the circulation of new strains, especially the Delta strain. "I mean the 72 cases which have been confirmed in Georgia, the risks of infection in children will increase," she warned.

"Today there are already one million doses of Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines available in our country. In the coming days we will receive the Pfizer vaccine and people in Georgia will have the opportunity to be vaccinated with their favourable vaccine", Agebnda.ge cited her as saying.

Gabunia added that only 0.3% of fully vaccinated people were infected with Covid-19 in Georgia and no deaths were reported.
The negotiations between Iran and the United States over exchanging prisoners are underway, the Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei said, adding that more information will be released after achieving results.

While speaking in his weekly presser on Tuesday, the Iranian government spokesman spoke about Washington's claims over releasing all Iranian prisoners in this country and other countries.

"Negotiations are underway in this regard, and more information will be released after achieving results," Mehr News agency cited Rabiei as saying.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko will come to St. Petersburg on a working visit on Tuesday to meet with his Russian colleague Vladimir Putin, the Belarusian leaders press service informs.

"A meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin will take place in St. Petersburg. During the meeting, the heads of state will discuss the development of cooperation in various spheres, as well as international issues," the message says.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Tuesday that the meeting will take place, TASS reported.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, will start production of the Russian coronavirus vaccine at the company's facilities in September, the fund said in a press release.

"The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russias sovereign wealth fund), and Serum Institute of India (SII), the worlds largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, today announced cooperation to produce the Russian Sputnik vaccine against coronavirus," according to the press release.

RDIF does not specify if it concerns the production of Sputnik V or Sputnik Light vaccine.

It is planned that the first batch of Sputnik vaccine will be produced at SIIs facilities in September. The parties intend to produce over 300 million doses of the vaccine in India per year.

"As part of the technical transfer process, SII has already received cell and vector samples from the Gamaleya Center. With their import approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), the cultivation process has begun," RDIF says.

India is the leading production hub for the production of Sputnik vaccine. RDIF had earlier reached agreements with a number of pharmaceutical companies in India (Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma, Virchow Biotech, and Morepen) for the production of the Russian vaccine.

SII is the worlds largest company in terms of COVID vaccines production with over 500 million doses manufactured. Through several strategic associations, SII has been front running Indias fight against the pandemic. In addition to developing its own vaccine, it
The protest at the headquarters of the ruling Georgian Dream party which moved from downtown Tbilisi demanding Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvilis resignation has ended.

"Twelve protesters were detained for 'exceeded the limits allowed by the law on freedom of assembly and expression," the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported.

The Georgian Public Broadcaster journalist Irakli Absandze is among the detainees.

The protest moved from Rustaveli Avenue to the ruling party HQ after the interior ministry provided more details to support its claim that TV Pirveli cameraman Lekso Lashkarava, who was beaten severely at the July 5 Tbilisi rally, died due to a drug overdose.

The protesters threw eggs and painted the walls of the headquarter with the red paint, Agenda.ge reported.

Journalists, civil activists and opposition politicians claim that the attack of the right-wing groups against various media representatives on July 5 were planned by the government of Georgia.
Putin emphasizes present-day Ukraine is brainchild of Soviet era

Ukraine in its present-day borders is wholly and fully a brainchild of the Soviet era largely created at the expense of historical Russian lands, Russias President Vladimir Putin wrote in an article, On the Historical Unity of the Russians and Ukrainians, posted on the Kremlins website on Monday.

Putin recalled the policy of Ukrainization carried out by the Bolsheviks in the 1920s and 1930s, and the inclusion of western lands and the Trans-Carpathian region in the structure of Soviet Ukraine.

"Therefore, present-day Ukraine is wholly and fully a brainchild of the Soviet epoch. We know and remember that it was largely created at the expense of historical Russia. It is enough to compare, which lands reunited with the Russian state in the 17th century, and which territories were within the UkrSSR, when it seceded from the Soviet Union," the Russian leader pointed out.

Putin said that Russia did everything possible to stop the fratricide in Donbass. "The state coup and the ensuing actions by the Ukrainian authorities inevitably provoked confrontation and a civil war," the Russian leader said.

Putin cited the data of the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, which suggested that "the victims related to the conflict in Donbass exceeded 13,000 people, including the elderly and children". "Terrible and unrecoverable losses," the head of state stressed.

"Russia did everything to stop the fratricide," Putin pointed out, adding that "the Minsk accords were signed for settling the Donbass conflict peacefully".

Putin stated his intention to write an article on the history of the Russian people and its links with Ukraine during the Direct Line with President Vladimir Putin on June 30. The Russian leader expressed the hope that residents of both counties would get acquainted with the article. Putins previous article, Being Open, Despite the Past, was published in the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit on June 22, and was timed for the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Soviet Unions 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany.
From July 9, Ho Chi Minh City entered 15 days of social distancing under Directive 16 of the Prime Minister. This is a valuable time for Vietnams largest metropolis to find new strategies to 'live together' with the Covid-19 epidemic.

Thousands of people gathered at Phu Tho Gymnasium in District 11, Ho Chi Minh City to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

At 9am on July 5, at the wholesale market of Binh Dien in District 8, HCM City, dozens of people who surrounded two employees of the market management board wearing protective clothing. They began fighting for the Covid-19 test registration sheets.

The rules on epidemic prevention and control were being broken. The scene was very chaotic. People shouted and tried to get the papers, which are considered 'passports' to enter the market.

"Please give me one sheet. Ive been waiting for an hour, I can't stand it anymore...", a woman shouted angrily. Meanwhile, two employees looked confused in the tight circle of dozens of people.

Earlier, people were surprised seeing photos featuring thousands of people queuing and jostling at Phu Tho Gymnasium in District 11 when HCM City just launched a campaign to vaccinate more than 800,000 people.

On June 24-25, thousands of people flocked to Phu Tho Gymnasium to be vaccinated. Although the chaos was solved the next day, the bad news caused the people who came to the stadium to be very afraid. A person from District 4 who tested positive for nCoV had been vaccinated at Phu Tho Gymnasium on June 24.

In fact, the failure to ensure social distance at the vaccination site at Phu Tho Stadium posed a high risk of spreading the disease.

There was also a mess in the campaign to collect samples for nCoV testing for more than 5 million people in the city. Thousands of people in Binh Tan and District 8 lined up on the street, stood very close to each other, inching up for an hour to get to the sample collecting sites.

People complained on social networks about the slow return of test results. They said the results were only available after 2-3 days and during these days, if someone carried the virus, they would have already spread it to others.

In addition, the measure to strictly control people who get in and out the city requires people to have a certificate of negative test results for the virus. Accordingly, thousands of people jostled at hospitals and health centers in the city to get quick tests, while no one knew which of them were carrying the virus. At Hospital 175 alone, 54 positive cases in two days were detected through the Covid-19 testing service.

Poor organization

These actions all went against the social distancing regulations under Directive 10 of Ho Chi Minh City.

In fact, the city made some decisions that placed pressure on the city's own epidemic prevention and control goals.

For example, the decision to ask people to have certificate for a negative test to get in and get out the city put pressure on people. It is possible to blame the people's poor awareness, but the local government gave a hand in making such chaos. At Binh Dien Market, after only two days of distributing test sheets, the market was forced to close.

The scene of thousands of people flocking to the vaccination site at Phu Tho Gymnasium also showed the poor organization of the authorities.

Previously, when Go Vap district implemented social distancing under Directive 16, chaos occurred at checkpoints.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam at a recent meeting raised many questions about the problem of testing and tracing of virus carriers in Ho Chi Minh City.

He said that the city issued Directive 10 on social distancing measures to fight the epidemic, but in fact it created chaos and gatherings. The city must immediately adjust the work of taking samples for testing and organizing vaccinations.

New thinking needed

Social distancing is reasonable and also the best solution for HCM City besides vaccines. However, after social distancing, if there is no change, another outbreak will return, even more serious than before.

What solution does Ho Chi Minh City need to control the epidemic and 'live with' it?

Dr. Le Minh Khoi from the HCM City University of Medicine and Pharmacy said that it is necessary to conduct quick tests in an organized way at home instead of organizing large-scale and massive tests.

To avoid overload at hospitals, the city can authorize local administrations to manage F1 cases and allow F0 cases who have no symptoms or mild symptoms to be quarantined at home, depending on their economic conditions.

Field hospitals will treat patients with average symptoms. Hospitals will cure patients with serious illnesses. The elderly and/or those with underlying medical conditions (cardiovascular disease, diabetes, renal failure) are protected by restricting exposure at home and prioritizing vaccination for them.

The 5K message and vaccinations will be implemented at the same time. Therefore, HCM City needs to vaccinate the people as quickly as possible, and move towards herd immunity.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam recommended that HCM City apply information technology to speed up testing in order to trace and detect Covid-19 infected cases quickly.

For people who have a need to travel, the city must have a plan to make rapid tests and return test results as soon as possible in the form of a QR code.

In order to support HCM City, the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Health are working urgently to provide specific instructions on integrating people's test and vaccination results into personal QR codes, creating favorable conditions for monitoring people from getting in and out epidemic-hit areas.

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Huy Dung said that in terms of technology, all people have QR codes through applications such as Bluezone and NCOVI or the medical declaration app. People only need to scan the QR code on their phones when passing through checkpoints.

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung has proposed that HCM City and other localities should apply technology in epidemic control. These technological solutions are not only applicable to Covid-19 prevention and control, but also can be used for infectious pandemics that may occur in the future.

The Minister proposed fighting the epidemic by "5K message + vaccines + technology".

It was described as such:

Earlier: detecting infected people through proactive testing, screening.

Faster: faster tracing of infected cases through technology. Instead of taking a week, it will be in several hours.

More precise: accurately detecting the people who have close contacts (F1) with infected cases by technology, which can reduce the number of F1 cases by dozens of times.

More radical: each virus carrier can create a network of infected people, and many infected people have no symptoms but they can still infect others. However, the application of technology will uncover the entire network involved.

More normal: When technology is applied in Covid-19 prevention and control, those who are infected will be treated, those who have close contact with infected people will be isolated, and the rest will still go to work, live a normal life with the implementation of the 5k messages + vaccines and technology.

Longer term: vaccinations.

* 5k message: Khau trang (facemask)- (Khu khuan) disinfection- (Khoang cach) distance- (Khong tu tap) no gathering  (Khai bao y te) health declaration.

Ho Van - Tuan Kiet

Zero Covid and the new quarantine strategy The Prime Ministers approval to pilot home quarantine for F1 cases instead of concentrated quarantine is considered a turning point in Covid-19 prevention in Vietnam.
At 3.30 pm July 8, the time for the English exam, the last exam for the 2021 high school finals ended, and the exam organizers felt relieved.

The first phase of the high school finals has wrapped up to the relief of millions of families. Parents feel relieved not only because their children have finished general education, but also because the children stayed safe in the midst of the pandemic.

In March 2003, when giving birth to a daughter, Thuy Linh in District 2, HCM City and her family members felt happy because the girl was born in the Year of the Golden Goat, but the SARS epidemic was ravaging. The deadly disease had a reported mortality rate of 9.6 percent.

When the girl turned 18 years old and needed to attend the most important exam in her life, her family once again faced a new challenge  the Covid-19 pandemic, similar to the disease they once faced years ago.

HCM City decided to organize the high school finals in early July. Linh, like tens of thousands of parents, wondered if municipal authorities should organize the national exam at this moment because of the pandemic.

But finally, on July 6 morning, she brought her daughter to the exam room at Tran Dai Nghia High School.

Whether to attend the exam or not was decided by her and I need to respect her decision, Linh said.

At noon July 6, when hearing that an examinee at the examination site located at Le Quy Don High School was found positive for nCoV, Linh and many other parents panicked. A friend of her daughter, who was an examinee in the same exam room with the F0, had to stay at the school at night.

I shed tears as I felt sorry for the students who had to attend the exam in such a severe moment. They already had to experience tough academic years with long online studying, she said.

During the two-day high school finals in HCM City, many students were found related to Covid-19 and tens of students were put under quarantine. This was the only locality which retained examinees overnight as they were in the same exam room with F0, and discovered the highest number of suspected infections and F1s.

Also, 404 examinees in two examination sites in Nha Trang City, 257 examinees in one examination site in Dong Thap, 472 in one examination site in Bac Giang and two examination sites in Phu Yen had to stop the exam before the beginning or during the exam time after nCoV infected examinees were found.

Before the exam took place, a lot of teachers and students in Bac Ninh and Bac Giang unexpectedly had to spend quarantine while they were reviewing for the exam.

Great efforts under pressure

The first phase of the high school finals has wrapped up to the relief of millions of families. Parents feel relieved not only because their children have finished general education, but also because the children stayed safe in the midst of the pandemic.

At 3.30 pm July 8, the time for the English exam, the last exam for the 2021 high school finals ended, and the exam organizers felt relieved.

Deciding to organize the high school finals in the first phase, HCM City, which is currently the COVID epicenter, was put under pressure. However, efforts were made to ensure a safe exam with the strongest determination. More than 100,000 examinees, teachers and officers had samples taken for testing, just two days before the exam began.

On July 8 evening, at the press conference held after the high school finals finished, Nguyen Van Hieu, Deputy Director of the HCM City Education and Training Department, said the exam took place under an extremely tense situation, but it succeeded.

According to Hieu, a survey of 85,000 parents was conducted, which found that the wishes of students varied. More than 63 percent of parents agreed to let their children attend the first phase of the exam, but only 29.97 percent of these parents felt secure.

When asked students if they wanted to attend high school finals in the second phase, to be held some days later, most of them said they wanted to attend the first phase. Finally, 95.26 percent of students registered to attend the first phase.

As the exam organizers, we want to satisfy students wishes, he said.

One hour before the press conference in HCM City, a press conference was held in Hanoi by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET). Mai Van Tinh, Director of the Quality Assurance Department, affirmed that the exam "basically achieved the goal of ensuring safety for students".

The most serious incident occurred during the math exam on July 7 afternoon. Information spread on social networks that the exam questions had leaked out. The police found an examinee who brought a smartphone into the exam room at Le Thuy High School in Quang Binh province.

To prepare for the high school finals, MOET released a series of decisions to respond to the complicated developments of Covid-19.

The decision near the exam day was permission to organize exam for F1 and F2 students on July 7-8 if students wanted it. Local authorities would be responsible for ensuring safe conditions for the exam.

On July 5, MOET released a dispatch on changing the exam councils for students because of Covid-19.

Phuong Chi - Phuong Thu

High school graduation exam to start on July 7 The high school graduation exam will begin on July 7 morning for millions of students, with strict COVID-19 measures in place as the fourth wave of infections has seen complicated developments.
Vietnam is struggling with the 4th wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The number of infections has spiked and is now at the highest level since the virus appeared in Vietnam early last year.

Japanese Ambassador Yamada Takio conveys a message from Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide to Vietnamese PM Pham Minh Chinh about the Japanese Government's decision to provide Vietnam with 1 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine.

Experience from other countries shows that social distancing and lockdown bring temporary benefits as they can help stamp out the epidemic for a certain period of time or in certain areas.

Although the effectiveness of vaccines is not 100%, according to experts, this is still the most effective weapon to help prevent Covid-19 and create herd immunity. While the "Made in Vietnam" vaccine is under the trial process, "vaccine diplomacy" is a solution to help the country have access to vaccines.

The Politburo, the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee, and the Government forecasted and issued directions on epidemic prevention and control, including the implementation of the vaccine strategy: accessing vaccine sources from outside, strengthening international cooperation in technology transfer and vaccine production, and locally producing vaccines, ensuring safe and effective vaccination for Vietnamese people.

The Party General Secretary, the President, the Prime Minister, and the National Assembly Chairman have paid great attention to, directed and participated in drastic way, in both bilateral to multilateral diplomacy, from telephone talks to writing letters to leaders of other countries to seek all available sources of vaccines. In hundreds of phone calls and meetings at home and abroad, Vietnamese leaders have talked about cooperation on vaccines.

At the virtual summit of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and world political parties on July 6, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong emphasized that the current urgent task is to protect the people's happiness, and to stamp out the epidemic. In order to effectively carry out this task, the efforts and consensus of governments, political parties, organizations and people are key factors, but effective international cooperation has very important implications, including ensuring supply, and equal and timely access to vaccines.

In a letter to US President Joe Biden on May 30, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc assessed that COVAX Facility is a valuable support that has helped Vietnam and many developing countries in handling the epidemic when international vaccine supply is scarce. He hoped the US would continue to support Vietnam and other countries in vaccine supply, and suggested the two sides strengthen cooperation in vaccine research, production and technology transfer.

During a phone call with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on June 4, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested the two sides strengthen cooperation in the prevention and control of the Covid-19 epidemic, and he looked forward to finding appropriate and effective solutions for cooperation between two sides in the implementation of the vaccine strategy.

During a conversation with Australian House of Representatives Speaker Tony Smith on June 7, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue suggested the two countries continue to support equal access to vaccines and the transfer of vaccine production technology for Vietnam.

Since mid-2020, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and related ministries and agencies have had dozens of talks, meetings to negotiate with vaccine manufacturers as well as health agencies, diplomatic representatives of vaccine producing countries to take advantage of all possibilities and resources to have the vaccines as soon as possible.

The spokesperson of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang said at a press conference on July 8 that Vietnam welcomes, appreciates and wishes that countries and international organizations uphold the spirit of solidarity and responsibility, and strengthen the sharing of information, technology, finance, and healthcare, especially vaccines.

So far, the implementation of vaccine diplomacy has yielded some positive results. Vietnam has received nearly 5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines of all kinds. COVAX has provided 2.5 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine; The Japanese government aided 1.4 million doses of vaccines; the Chinese government provided 500,000 doses; more than 400,000 doses were provided via VNVC, a local vaccine distributor; and more than 97,000 doses of Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine were received.

According to the Ministry of Health, Vietnam needs about 150 million doses to vaccinate 70% of the population aged 18 and over.

Many experts believe that, in addition to promoting "vaccine diplomacy" to get as many vaccines as possible, the production of locally-made vaccines is very important for Vietnam to control Covid-19.

Tuan Minh
At 2,913 meters above sea level, Lung Cung peak in Mu Cang Chai District, Yen Bai Province, is a compelling destination for young mountaineers.

A majestic view from the Lung Cung Peak.  Photos: Hai Duong

The two-day trekking tour of Lung Cung Mountain departs from Nam Co Commune, Mu Cang Chai District, and is often led by a Mong ethnic tour guide who is very familiar with the local terrain. Mountaineers, who expect to visit the land of lush vegetation, may sometimes be caught in a tropical rain in the vast forest. As anticipated, the local climate and the route are big challenges for most of trekkers, but in return, they are treated by some unmatched natural scenes which can be found nowhere else. At the final destination, Lung Cung peak, rewards for successful mountaineers are spectacular views where mountain ranges are in harmony with seas of white clouds.

A group of mountaineers start their tour of Lung Cung Mountain from Nam Co Commune, Mu Cang Chai District.

The monument on top of Lung Cung.

Taking a rest on the way.

Old trees covered by moss.

Mountaineers walking through the forest blanketed by fog.

Source: SGT

Conquering Lung Cung Mountain in Yen Bai With an altitude of more than 2,900m, Lung Cung is in one of the most beautiful mountains in Vietnam. The top of the mountain is covered by clouds year-round, which tourists love to snap photos of.
When the colorful, controversial CEO of SpaceX began tweeting over the weekend that he would place a rocket-building plant next to his rocket-testing plant in McGregor, some locals thought it was simply Elon Musk being Elon Musk.

McGregor and McLennan County officials said they began to hear more rumblings than usual from SpaceX about six months ago.

Musk reportedly had more big plans for McGregor as he laid the groundwork for spaceflights to Mars. The buzz went silent until Saturday, when Musk launched his Twitter barrage.

I am surprised that Elon tweeted, said Andrew Smith, executive director of the McGregor Economic Development Corp. I was informed when those tweets hit that our mayor, Jim Hering, would be handling our response. SpaceX is pretty tight-lipped, but they are literally moving crazy fast on several fronts. And Elon does what Elon does.

What Musk said he will do is place a second SpaceX plant within the 4,300 acres it leases from McGregor, acreage that has served military uses since it was founded in 1942 as the Bluebonnet Ordnance Plant.

Hering said Monday he wouldnt be surprised if SpaceX begins turning dirt within a week, if the weather clears, and may begin churning out rockets by years end.
We are not familiar with a Jellystone project in Waco, said Bobby Horner, who spoke for the city of Wacos inspection services department in an email recently. This project, as we understand it, is more of a very nice RV resort area, with several amenities for the users or members who have their RVs there, not open to the public. 

Horner likened the Northgate property in Waco to a scaled-down Camp Fimfo in New Braunfels, also a Northgate property. According to Woodalls Campground Magazine, which reports on the RV industry, Camp Fimfo combines family fun with Millennial-aged allure.

While kids revel in the interactive playground, take on the four waterslides, and take part in the scheduled activities and workshops, parents and bigger kids can enjoy the water park from a private cabana with comfortable seating, a mini-fridge, and a fan for extra comfort, said the trade magazine.

Heiser Hollow within the camp is where everyone can come together to play yard games, grab a bite at the food and coffee truck, or access the river. Even more alluring is the mysterious creature known as Squirrely, who leaves hidden messages throughout the property. Guests are encouraged to bring binoculars and keep an eye out for a potential sighting.
NEW YORK (AP)  A New York judge was sympathetic Monday to horse trainer Bob Bafferts claims that his May suspension by the New York Racing Association  after Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit failed a postrace drug test  was unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon at a Brooklyn hearing repeatedly pressed a lawyer for the racing association to explain why the suspension was issued before Baffert was given a chance to defend himself.

Henry Greenberg, arguing on behalf of the racing association, said Baffert will get a hearing after the association announces the length of his suspension by Aug. 11.

Isn't that a little too late?" the judge asked, noting that the duration will be announced months after he was suspended. The problem I have, counsel, is that he was suspended and it's up in the air.

She said the racing association attacked his credibility as it issued the suspension, but never gave him the chance to speak on his own behalf about what happened.

How does that comply with due process? the judge asked.
After the smoke cleared and the dead and injured were removed from the scene, 192 bikers were arrested on identical first-degree felony charges of engaging in organized criminal activity. All but 37 of the bikers were indicted by a McLennan County grand jury.

Only one case was tried, and that ended in a hung jury and a mistrial. That case and those remaining later were dismissed, most of them after Reyna was defeated and left office, leaving no one held criminally accountable for the bloody public melee.

About 134 bikers filed civil suits, alleging they were wrongfully arrested in violation of their civil rights. Since then, the lawsuits from those bikers who were indicted have been dismissed, with Albright ruling that the grand jurys decision to indict them amounts to probable cause.

Some of the bikers stayed in jail for weeks and months, with some losing their jobs and others being crippled financially.

The attorneys involved in the case have had oral arguments in front of the 5th Circuit panel at least twice. More appeals of pretrial rulings are pending in the 5th Circuit and more likely will be filed.
Watercolor Society meeting

The Central Texas Watercolor Society will meet from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, 1624 Wooded Acres Drive.

Richardson artist Sharon Serrago will present an abstract watercolor demonstration. For membership information, email jvtexas66@gmail.com.

Matter of Balance class forming

The Area Agency on Aging of the Heart of Texas will start a new fall prevention class, A Matter of Balance, on Thursday. The class will meet from 10 a.m. to noon for eight weeks at Emerald Cottages of Waco, 2412 Marketplace Drive. It is free. The program is available to people who have fallen or have a fear of falling. It emphasizes practical strategies to manage falls.

For more information, call 254-292-1857.

Alzheimers fundraiser

The Alzheimers Association of Waco will have a hot dog fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday at Living Springs Village Memory Care, 8601 Old McGregor Road.

Food plates are $5.

Faith Walk barbecue dinner
Freeman-Caddy recommended that the board first establish a finding for the violation of the permit, similar to the way the planning commission did on May 19 before making the recommendation to revoke the permit with certain conditions.

These conditions are related to remediation of the site going forward. Freeman-Caddy cited a concern discussed at the planning commission meeting that if the permit would be revoked then AltEn would be unable to use equipment and process on site for clean-up.

Local Mead residents Jody Weible and John Schnell both also spoke in support of revoking the permit.

Weible said she had gotten about 230 signatures for a petition related to the revocation and mentioned large pools of filtered water now standing above ground. She expressed concern over potential pesticides evaporating into the air.

According to information supplied by Weible after the meeting these tanks are temporary and are used as part of the water treatment. There will be nine total tanks constructed.

Youve got to have some kind of contingency plan thats going to be safe for our community and a giant swimming pool on top of the ground isnt safe for our community, Weible said at the meeting.
STUART, Fla. (AP)  More manatees have died already this year than in any other year in Florida's recorded history, primarily from starvation due to the loss of seagrass beds, state officials said.

The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission reported that 841 manatee deaths were recorded between Jan. 1 and July 2, breaking the previous record of 830 that died in 2013 because of an outbreak of toxic red tide.

The TCPalm website reports that more than half the deaths have died in the Indian River Lagoon and its surrounding areas in Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin counties. The overwhelming majority of deaths have been in Brevard, where 312 manatees have perished.

Some biologists believe water pollution is killing the seagrass beds in the area.

"Unprecedented manatee mortality due to starvation was documented on the Atlantic coast this past winter and spring," Florida's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute wrote as it announced the record Friday. "Most deaths occurred during the colder months when manatees migrated to and through the Indian River Lagoon, where the majority of seagrass has died off."

Boat strikes are also a major cause of manatee deaths, killing at least 63 this year.
Crime-and-courts

breaking top story

Court papers: Inmate admits killing Tibbetts

Charlie Neibergall, Associated Press Cristhian Bahena Rivera reacts after the verdict is announced in his trial Friday at the Scott County Courthouse in Davenport. A jury found Bahena Rivera guilty of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Mollie Tibbetts, a University of Iowa student who vanished while out for a run in 2018. Tibbetts Bahena Rivera

Citing information that started coming to light before their client was convicted May 28 of the murder of Mollie Tibbetts, defense lawyers say new witnesses can bolster claims that sex traffickers killed the former University of Iowa student and are asking for a new trial.

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 26, is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday for first-degree murder. A jury found he killed the 20-year-old in July 2018 while she was out for a jog in Brooklyn, Iowa.

At trial, prosecutors presented home surveillance video showing a Chevrolet Malibu traced to Bahena Rivera driving by Tibbetts as she jogged that night. Police recounted how he had told them during questioning that he had approached her, but could not remember what happened next. Her DNA was found in the trunk of his car, and he led authorities to a cornfield where her body was found.

At trial, though, Bahena Rivera took the stand in his own defense. In a surprising twist, he testified he was kidnapped by two masked men who forced him to drive to where Tibbetts was jogging. One of them killed her, he said, and put her body in the Malibus trunk.

A prosecutor argued Bahena Riveras account was a figment of his imagination. The jury deliberated seven hours over two days before convicting Bahena Rivera, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, of the murder.

In the new court filing, defense lawyers Jennifer and Chad Frese assert there are witnesses who can support Bahena Riveras version of events  that others were responsible.

The motion asserts that two different people who do not know each other told law enforcement in two different cities that the same person  who is not named in the motion  was involved in the killing.

This evidence would certainly have made a difference in the verdict. The defendant chose to testify and spoke of two individuals who were involved in the abduction and killing of Mollie Tibbetts, the defense motion states. The DNA from defendants trunk identified other individuals who were contributors to the blood mixture. It also helps explain the relative scarcity of blood in defendants trunk. While perhaps not every bit of the account fits neatly into defendants account of the events, enough of the facts fit to certainly question whether the state would have been able to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt had this information been known and presented to a jury.

The motion details the accounts of two individuals who are not named in the document.

The first came to light May 26  the same day the defense rested but before the jury reached a verdict. According to the motion, an inmate who had seen TV coverage of the case approached a prison chaplain to say he once shared a cell with another inmate who spoke of the case.

This second inmate  called Inmate 2 in the court papers  detailed that he and another individual whom he identifies by name, were staying in a trap house owned by an approximately 50-year-old male involved in the sex trafficking trade. Inmate 2 discussed his relationship with this approximately 50-year-old male and then stated that on one occasion he went to a second trap house owned by the male. Inmate 2 then advised the inmate that at the second trap house he and the second individual saw Mollie Tibbetts bound and gagged.

The motion asserts that the 50-year-old man devised a plan for them to stab Mollie Tibbetts and dump her body near a Hispanic male in order to make it appear that the Hispanic male committed the crime.

In a separate episode, the motion states, a different person told the Poweshiek County Sheriffs Office of an encounter with an man who had pulled a gun on the individual. The person told authorities the gunman had stated that Mexican shouldnt be in jail for killing Mollie Tibbetts because I raped her and killed her.

Authorities said this person was very emotional and likely under the influence. However, the defense lawyers said this person named the same person as did the inmate as the person responsible for Tibbetts murder.

Though the defense motion did not name any of the potential new witnesses, a separate motion in the same case asks that a Mount Pleasant Correctional Institution prisoner named Arne Maki be brought to court.

A judge granted the request, ordering Maki to be transported to a hearing Thursday, the same day as the scheduled sentencing. Court records show a man named Arne Maki of Keokuk County reached a plea deal in a domestic violence case in October and was sentenced to two years in prison.

State prosecutors said they learned about the alleged confession during the trial and do not believe it is credible.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said the confession is not credible and they firmly believe Bahena Rivera is solely responsible for Tibbetts death.

Related

$3 for 3 months to support local journalism Support local journalism that you can't find anywhere else. For less than a stop at the coffee shop, you can buy a digital subscription -- $3  Covid-19 vaccination info Head here to find out how and when to get your COVID-19 vaccination and review the latest local trends on how the virus is spreading.
In the new court filing, defense lawyers Jennifer and Chad Frese assert there are witnesses who can support Bahena Riveras version of events  that others were responsible.

The motion asserts that two different people who do not know each other told law enforcement in two different cities that the same person  who is not named in the motion  was involved in the killing.

This evidence would certainly have made a difference in the verdict. The defendant chose to testify and spoke of two individuals who were involved in the abduction and killing of Mollie Tibbetts, the defense motion states. The DNA from defendants trunk identified other individuals who were contributors to the blood mixture. It also helps explain the relative scarcity of blood in defendants trunk. While perhaps not every bit of the account fits neatly into defendants account of the events, enough of the facts fit to certainly question whether the state would have been able to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt had this information been known and presented to a jury.

Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

The motion details the accounts of two individuals who are not named in the document.
Typically, open enrollment is something that has to be applied for and completed by March 1st every year for the upcoming school year, Cedar Falls Superintendent Andy Pattee told the board before a vote on the recommendations, explaining why the district doesnt usually receive requests in the summer.

Iowa Code allows districts with open enrollment requests to either accept or deny those, he added. If you deny those, you have to have specific reasons or purposes to deny those. We have two that are listed in Iowa Code as well as our board policy.

Those include capacity limits and programmatic needs.

It could be grade level, it could be whole buildings, it could be multiple different areas, said Pattee, when looking at capacity. The second reason applies if you have a program that is either full or cant support the needs of a student that might be looking to open enroll in. Or a district doesnt have the program that best allows the student to reach their abilities.

Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

Of the 44 requests received from Waterloo Schools families, were recommending approval of 29, he noted. Those include elementary school students plus several at the high school level.
One such Life magazine article shows a photo of U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Great Britain with Capt. Swenson standing in the background. Swenson commanded the destroyer escort when the world leaders met at sea in early 1942.

The Juneau was quite a ship and already heroic in battles before it went down, Knute Swensen said. He is particularly proud to loan the Grout his grandfathers captain shoulder board for display. Those are the most important pieces to me, and few of the letters, including a letter written by someone to my dad about my grandfather.

Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

At 49, Swenson took command of the light cruiser USS Juneau on Dec. 18 1941, while it was still under construction. His son, Lyman Jr., was a student at the Naval Academy when his dad paid a visit to Annapolis, Md., and talked about leaving for war in the Pacific.

He told my dad that once he went to the Pacific, he didnt think he would return. The Juneau was a thin-skinned cruiser, and he knew the dangers they would be confronting, Knute Swensen said, citing his dads recollections.
Wells said the aging baby boomer population has begun to retire in large numbers, a lower percentage of working-age people are participating in the workforce and fewer children are being born to replace retiring workers.

We have too few working-age people for all the work that needs to be done, Wells said.

As a result, companies are offering bonuses, flexible work schedules, higher wages and other enticements to attract workers.

Ricketts listed a number of scholarship and job training programs his state his implemented to help young people graduate from college and obtain work experience. He said lifting the pandemic-related added unemployment benefits, a move also made by Iowa and South Dakota, would give more people an incentive to look for work. Ricketts said 45% of Nebraskans who were getting the added benefit were making more money being unemployed than by working.

I think we all believe that was a disincentive for people to go back to work, he said. Weve got to get people back involved in the work force.

The governors agreed that government should not be involved in raising wages, which they said is a private-market issue.
Two women who were on their way to work rescued five baby ducklings that were trapped in a storm drain on a busy street in Waterloo, Iowa, Wednesday, July 7, 2021..

Gov. Kim Reynolds said Monday that Iowa will cover the cost of troopers sent to Texas to fight crime along the U.S. border with Mexico, confirming the state would fund the mission after the release of agreements showing the effort would come at no cost to Texas.

Since Reynolds announced June 24 that she would join other Republican governors in sending forces to the border, her administration has argued Texas could later reimburse Iowa for expenses under a multi-state compact. However, Iowas assistance agreements released to The Associated Press on Monday stated that Texas and Arizona asked other states to absorb the associated costs with this mission for the good of the country.

Iowa is donating this resource, according to the agreements, signed by the director of Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management on July 2 and released by the department under the open records law.

Later Monday, Reynolds was asked at a news conference in Nebraska who would pay for the deployment, and she acknowledged the costs would fall to her state.
Willamette Law is pleased to announce a new addition to its adjunct faculty. Dustin Buehler 00, a Willamette University alumnus, will begin teaching 1L Civil Procedure in the fall.

Buehler is general counsel for the Office of Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and a pro tem instructor for the University of Oregon School of Laws Portland Program. From 2010 to 2015, he was a tenured law professor on the faculty at the University of Arkansas School of Law with now-Willamette Law Dean Brian Gallini.

To say that Im thrilled to have Professor Buehler teaching at Willamette would be a dramatic understatement, Gallini says. He is a gifted teacher, a brilliant scholar, and his ability to connect with students is unmatched. He was voted Professor of the Year by the students at the University of Arkansas in three consecutive years  I am certain our talented Willamette students will enjoy his classes.

In Arkansas, Buehler and Gallinis offices were next door. Buehler holds a high degree of respect for the dean, and when he was asked to join Willamette Law as an adjunct, he said yes without hesitation.

I cannot wait to jump back in [to teaching], Buehler says. First-year students are so eager to learn, and they bring so much raw passion and an already well-developed sense of what is fair and what is unfair. It is such an honor to harness that energy, and to serve as one of their guides during their first year of law school.

Buehler attended the University of Washington School of Law, graduating in 2007. Prior to joining the governors office, he clerked for Judge Alfred T. Goodwin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Pasadena, Calif., worked as an attorney for Davis Wright Tremaine in Seattle, and served as an assistant attorney general for the Oregon Department of Justice.

Buehlers varied experience and scholarship will bring depth to his instruction in Civil Procedure, which typically covers an introduction to the rules controlling the litigation of civil cases. He says the course has an unfair reputation for being dry and overly technical, but he disagrees.

The class is extremely interesting because it is fundamentally about fairness  how do we ensure that litigants get their day in court, and, at the end of the day, how do we ensure that parties accept and obey the courts ruling? he says. Experienced the right way, the facts and law of Civil Procedure are fascinating, exhilarating and (dare I say?) even fun.
During the recent Direct Line, when I was asked about Russian-Ukrainian relations, I said that Russians and Ukrainians were one people  a single whole. These words were not driven by some short-term considerations or prompted by the current political context. It is what I have said on numerous occasions and what I firmly believe. I therefore feel it necessary to explain my position in detail and share my assessments of todays situation.

First of all, I would like to emphasize that the wall that has emerged in recent years between Russia and Ukraine, between the parts of what is essentially the same historical and spiritual space, to my mind is our great common misfortune and tragedy. These are, first and foremost, the consequences of our own mistakes made at different periods of time. But these are also the result of deliberate efforts by those forces that have always sought to undermine our unity. The formula they apply has been known from time immemorial  divide and rule. There is nothing new here. Hence the attempts to play on the national question and sow discord among people, the overarching goal being to divide and then to pit the parts of a single people against one another.

To have a better understanding of the present and look into the future, we need to turn to history. Certainly, it is impossible to cover in this article all the developments that have taken place over more than a thousand years. But I will focus on the key, pivotal moments that are important for us to remember, both in Russia and Ukraine.

Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians are all descendants of Ancient Rus, which was the largest state in Europe. Slavic and other tribes across the vast territory  from Ladoga, Novgorod, and Pskov to Kiev and Chernigov  were bound together by one language (which we now refer to as Old Russian), economic ties, the rule of the princes of the Rurik dynasty, and  after the baptism of Rus  the Orthodox faith. The spiritual choice made by St. Vladimir, who was both Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Kiev, still largely determines our affinity today.

The throne of Kiev held a dominant position in Ancient Rus. This had been the custom since the late 9th century. The Tale of Bygone Years captured for posterity the words of Oleg the Prophet about Kiev, Let it be the mother of all Russian cities.

Later, like other European states of that time, Ancient Rus faced a decline of central rule and fragmentation. At the same time, both the nobility and the common people perceived Rus as a common territory, as their homeland.

The fragmentation intensified after Batu Khans devastating invasion, which ravaged many cities, including Kiev. The northeastern part of Rus fell under the control of the Golden Horde but retained limited sovereignty. The southern and western Russian lands largely became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which  most significantly  was referred to in historical records as the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia.

Members of the princely and boyar clans would change service from one prince to another, feuding with each other but also making friendships and alliances. Voivode Bobrok of Volyn and the sons of Grand Duke of Lithuania Algirdas  Andrey of Polotsk and Dmitry of Bryansk  fought next to Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich of Moscow on the Kulikovo field. At the same time, Grand Duke of Lithuania Jogaila  son of the Princess of Tver  led his troops to join with Mamai. These are all pages of our shared history, reflecting its complex and multi-dimensional nature.

Most importantly, people both in the western and eastern Russian lands spoke the same language. Their faith was Orthodox. Up to the middle of the 15th century, the unified church government remained in place.

At a new stage of historical development, both Lithuanian Rus and Moscow Rus could have become the points of attraction and consolidation of the territories of Ancient Rus. It so happened that Moscow became the center of reunification, continuing the tradition of ancient Russian statehood. Moscow princes  the descendants of Prince Alexander Nevsky  cast off the foreign yoke and began gathering the Russian lands.

In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, other processes were unfolding. In the 14th century, Lithuanias ruling elite converted to Catholicism. In the 16th century, it signed the Union of Lublin with the Kingdom of Poland to form the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth. The Polish Catholic nobility received considerable land holdings and privileges in the territory of Rus. In accordance with the 1596 Union of Brest, part of the western Russian Orthodox clergy submitted to the authority of the Pope. The process of Polonization and Latinization began, ousting Orthodoxy.

As a consequence, in the 1617th centuries, the liberation movement of the Orthodox population was gaining strength in the Dnieper region. The events during the times of Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky became a turning point. His supporters struggled for autonomy from the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth.

In its 1649 appeal to the king of the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth, the Zaporizhian Host demanded that the rights of the Russian Orthodox population be respected, that the voivode of Kiev be Russian and of Greek faith, and that the persecution of the churches of God be stopped. But the Cossacks were not heard.

Bohdan Khmelnytsky then made appeals to Moscow, which were considered by the Zemsky Sobor. On 1 October 1653, members of the supreme representative body of the Russian state decided to support their brothers in faith and take them under patronage. In January 1654, the Pereyaslav Council confirmed that decision. Subsequently, the ambassadors of Bohdan Khmelnytsky and Moscow visited dozens of cities, including Kiev, whose populations swore allegiance to the Russian tsar. Incidentally, nothing of the kind happened at the conclusion of the Union of Lublin.

In a letter to Moscow in 1654, Bohdan Khmelnytsky thanked Tsar Aleksey Mikhaylovich for taking the whole Zaporizhian Host and the whole Russian Orthodox world under the strong and high hand of the Tsar. It means that, in their appeals to both the Polish king and the Russian tsar, the Cossacks referred to and defined themselves as Russian Orthodox people.

Over the course of the protracted war between the Russian state and the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth, some of the hetmans, successors of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, would detach themselves from Moscow or seek support from Sweden, Poland, or Turkey. But, again, for the people, that was a war of liberation. It ended with the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667. The final outcome was sealed by the Treaty of Perpetual Peace in 1686. The Russian state incorporated the city of Kiev and the lands on the left bank of the Dnieper River, including Poltava region, Chernigov region, and Zaporozhye. Their inhabitants were reunited with the main part of the Russian Orthodox people. These territories were referred to as Malorossia (Little Russia).

The name Ukraine was used more often in the meaning of the Old Russian word okraina (periphery), which is found in written sources from the 12th century, referring to various border territories. And the word Ukrainian, judging by archival documents, originally referred to frontier guards who protected the external borders.

On the right bank, which remained under the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth, the old orders were restored, and social and religious oppression intensified. On the contrary, the lands on the left bank, taken under the protection of the unified state, saw rapid development. People from the other bank of the Dnieper moved here en masse. They sought support from people who spoke the same language and had the same faith.

During the Great Northern War with Sweden, the people in Malorossia were not faced with a choice of whom to side with. Only a small portion of the Cossacks supported Mazepas rebellion. People of all orders and degrees considered themselves Russian and Orthodox.

Cossack senior officers belonging to the nobility would reach the heights of political, diplomatic, and military careers in Russia. Graduates of Kiev-Mohyla Academy played a leading role in church life. This was also the case during the Hetmanate  an essentially autonomous state formation with a special internal structure  and later in the Russian Empire. Malorussians in many ways helped build a big common country  its statehood, culture, and science. They participated in the exploration and development of the Urals, Siberia, the Caucasus, and the Far East. Incidentally, during the Soviet period, natives of Ukraine held major, including the highest, posts in the leadership of the unified state. Suffice it to say that Nikita Khrushchev and Leonid Brezhnev, whose party biography was most closely associated with Ukraine, led the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) for almost 30 years.

In the second half of the 18th century, following the wars with the Ottoman Empire, Russia incorporated Crimea and the lands of the Black Sea region, which became known as Novorossiya. They were populated by people from all of the Russian provinces. After the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Russian Empire regained the western Old Russian lands, with the exception of Galicia and Transcarpathia, which became part of the Austrian  and later Austro-Hungarian  Empire.

The incorporation of the western Russian lands into the single state was not merely the result of political and diplomatic decisions. It was underlain by the common faith, shared cultural traditions, and  I would like to emphasize it once again  language similarity. Thus, as early as the beginning of the 17th century, one of the hierarchs of the Uniate Church, Joseph Rutsky, communicated to Rome that people in Moscovia called Russians from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth their brothers, that their written language was absolutely identical, and differences in the vernacular were insignificant. He drew an analogy with the residents of Rome and Bergamo. These are, as we know, the center and the north of modern Italy.

Many centuries of fragmentation and living within different states naturally brought about regional language peculiarities, resulting in the emergence of dialects. The vernacular enriched the literary language. Ivan Kotlyarevsky, Grigory Skovoroda, and Taras Shevchenko played a huge role here. Their works are our common literary and cultural heritage. Taras Shevchenko wrote poetry in the Ukrainian language, and prose mainly in Russian. The books of Nikolay Gogol, a Russian patriot and native of Poltavshchyna, are written in Russian, bristling with Malorussian folk sayings and motifs. How can this heritage be divided between Russia and Ukraine? And why do it?

The south-western lands of the Russian Empire, Malorussia and Novorossiya, and the Crimea developed as ethnically and religiously diverse entities. Crimean Tatars, Armenians, Greeks, Jews, Karaites, Krymchaks, Bulgarians, Poles, Serbs, Germans, and other peoples lived here. They all preserved their faith, traditions, and customs.

I am not going to idealise anything. We do know there were the Valuev Circular of 1863 an then the Ems Ukaz of 1876, which restricted the publication and importation of religious and socio-political literature in the Ukrainian language. But it is important to be mindful of the historical context. These decisions were taken against the backdrop of dramatic events in Poland and the desire of the leaders of the Polish national movement to exploit the Ukrainian issue to their own advantage. I should add that works of fiction, books of Ukrainian poetry and folk songs continued to be published. There is objective evidence that the Russian Empire was witnessing an active process of development of the Malorussian cultural identity within the greater Russian nation, which united the Velikorussians, the Malorussians and the Belorussians.

At the same time, the idea of Ukrainian people as a nation separate from the Russians started to form and gain ground among the Polish elite and a part of the Malorussian intelligentsia. Since there was no historical basis  and could not have been any, conclusions were substantiated by all sorts of concoctions, which went as far as to claim that the Ukrainians are the true Slavs and the Russians, the Muscovites, are not. Such hypotheses became increasingly used for political purposes as a tool of rivalry between European states.

Since the late 19th century, the Austro-Hungarian authorities had latched onto this narrative, using it as a counterbalance to the Polish national movement and pro-Muscovite sentiments in Galicia. During World War I, Vienna played a role in the formation of the so-called Legion of Ukrainian Sich Riflemen. Galicians suspected of sympathies with Orthodox Christianity and Russia were subjected to brutal repression and thrown into the concentration camps of Thalerhof and Terezin.

Further developments had to do with the collapse of European empires, the fierce civil war that broke out across the vast territory of the former Russian Empire, and foreign intervention.

After the February Revolution, in March 1917, the Central Rada was established in Kiev, intended to become the organ of supreme power. In November 1917, in its Third Universal, it declared the creation of the Ukrainian Peoples Republic (UPR) as part of Russia.

In December 1917, UPR representatives arrived in Brest-Litovsk, where Soviet Russia was negotiating with Germany and its allies. At a meeting on 10 January 1918, the head of the Ukrainian delegation read out a note proclaiming the independence of Ukraine. Subsequently, the Central Rada proclaimed Ukraine independent in its Fourth Universal.

The declared sovereignty did not last long. Just a few weeks later, Rada delegates signed a separate treaty with the German bloc countries. Germany and Austria-Hungary were at the time in a dire situation and needed Ukrainian bread and raw materials. In order to secure large-scale supplies, they obtained consent for sending their troops and technical staff to the UPR. In fact, this was used as a pretext for occupation.

For those who have today given up the full control of Ukraine to external forces, it would be instructive to remember that, back in 1918, such a decision proved fatal for the ruling regime in Kiev. With the direct involvement of the occupying forces, the Central Rada was overthrown and Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi was brought to power, proclaiming instead of the UPR the Ukrainian State, which was essentially under German protectorate.

In November 1918  following the revolutionary events in Germany and Austria-Hungary  Pavlo Skoropadskyi, who had lost the support of German bayonets, took a different course, declaring that Ukraine is to take the lead in the formation of an All-Russian Federation. However, the regime was soon changed again. It was now the time of the so-called Directorate.

In autumn 1918, Ukrainian nationalists proclaimed the West Ukrainian Peoples Republic (WUPR) and, in January 1919, announced its unification with the Ukrainian Peoples Republic. In July 1919, Ukrainian forces were crushed by Polish troops, and the territory of the former WUPR came under the Polish rule.

In April 1920, Symon Petliura (portrayed as one of the heroes in todays Ukraine) concluded secret conventions on behalf of the UPR Directorate, giving up  in exchange for military support  Galicia and Western Volhynia lands to Poland. In May 1920, Petliurites entered Kiev in a convoy of Polish military units. But not for long. As early as November 1920, following a truce between Poland and Soviet Russia, the remnants of Petliuras forces surrendered to those same Poles.

The example of the UPR shows that different kinds of quasi-state formations that emerged across the former Russian Empire at the time of the Civil War and turbulence were inherently unstable. Nationalists sought to create their own independent states, while leaders of the White movement advocated indivisible Russia. Many of the republics established by the Bolsheviks supporters did not see themselves outside Russia either. Nevertheless, Bolshevik Party leaders sometimes basically drove them out of Soviet Russia for various reasons.

Thus, in early 1918, the Donetsk-Krivoy Rog Soviet Republic was proclaimed and asked Moscow to incorporate it into Soviet Russia. This was met with a refusal. During a meeting with the republics leaders, Vladimir Lenin insisted that they act as part of Soviet Ukraine. On 15 March 1918, the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) directly ordered that delegates be sent to the Ukrainian Congress of Soviets, including from the Donetsk Basin, and that one government for all of Ukraine be created at the congress. The territories of the Donetsk-Krivoy Rog Soviet Republic later formed most of the regions of south-eastern Ukraine.

Under the 1921 Treaty of Riga, concluded between the Russian SFSR, the Ukrainian SSR and Poland, the western lands of the former Russian Empire were ceded to Poland. In the interwar period, the Polish government pursued an active resettlement policy, seeking to change the ethnic composition of the Eastern Borderlands  the Polish name for what is now Western Ukraine, Western Belarus and parts of Lithuania. The areas were subjected to harsh Polonisation, local culture and traditions suppressed. Later, during World War II, radical groups of Ukrainian nationalists used this as a pretext for terror not only against Polish, but also against Jewish and Russian populations.

In 1922, when the USSR was created, with the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic becoming one of its founders, a rather fierce debate among the Bolshevik leaders resulted in the implementation of Lenins plan to form a union state as a federation of equal republics. The right for the republics to freely secede from the Union was included in the text of the Declaration on the Creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and, subsequently, in the 1924 USSR Constitution. By doing so, the authors planted in the foundation of our statehood the most dangerous time bomb, which exploded the moment the safety mechanism provided by the leading role of the CPSU was gone, the party itself collapsing from within. A parade of sovereignties followed. On 8 December 1991, the so-called Belovezh Agreement on the Creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States was signed, stating that the USSR as a subject of international law and a geopolitical reality no longer existed. By the way, Ukraine never signed or ratified the CIS Charter adopted back in 1993.

In the 1920s-1930s, the Bolsheviks actively promoted the localization policy, which took the form of Ukrainization in the Ukrainian SSR. Symbolically, as part of this policy and with consent of the Soviet authorities, Mikhail Grushevskiy, former chairman of Central Rada, one of the ideologists of Ukrainian nationalism, who at a certain period of time had been supported by Austria-Hungary, was returned to the USSR and was elected member of the Academy of Sciences.

The localization policy undoubtedly played a major role in the development and consolidation of the Ukrainian culture, language and identity. At the same time, under the guise of combating the so-called Russian great-power chauvinism, Ukrainization was often imposed on those who did not see themselves as Ukrainians. This Soviet national policy secured at the state level the provision on three separate Slavic peoples: Russian, Ukrainian and Belorussian, instead of the large Russian nation, a triune people comprising Velikorussians, Malorussians and Belorussians.

In 1939, the USSR regained the lands earlier seized by Poland. A major portion of these became part of the Soviet Ukraine. In 1940, the Ukrainian SSR incorporated part of Bessarabia, which had been occupied by Romania since 1918, as well as Northern Bukovina. In 1948, Zmeyiniy Island (Snake Island) in the Black Sea became part of Ukraine. In 1954, the Crimean Region of the RSFSR was given to the Ukrainian SSR, in gross violation of legal norms that were in force at the time.

I would like to dwell on the destiny of Carpathian Ruthenia, which became part of Czechoslovakia following the breakup of Austria-Hungary. Rusins made up a considerable share of local population. While this is hardly mentioned any longer, after the liberation of Transcarpathia by Soviet troops the congress of the Orthodox population of the region voted for the inclusion of Carpathian Ruthenia in the RSFSR or, as a separate Carpathian republic, in the USSR proper. Yet the choice of people was ignored. In summer 1945, the historical act of the reunification of Carpathian Ukraine with its ancient motherland, Ukraine  as The Pravda newspaper put it  was announced.

Therefore, modern Ukraine is entirely the product of the Soviet era. We know and remember well that it was shaped  for a significant part  on the lands of historical Russia. To make sure of that, it is enough to look at the boundaries of the lands reunited with the Russian state in the 17th century and the territory of the Ukrainian SSR when it left the Soviet Union.

The Bolsheviks treated the Russian people as inexhaustible material for their social experiments. They dreamt of a world revolution that would wipe out national states. That is why they were so generous in drawing borders and bestowing territorial gifts. It is no longer important what exactly the idea of the Bolshevik leaders who were chopping the country into pieces was. We can disagree about minor details, background and logics behind certain decisions. One fact is crystal clear: Russia was robbed, indeed.

When working on this article, I relied on open-source documents that contain well-known facts rather than on some secret records. The leaders of modern Ukraine and their external patrons prefer to overlook these facts. They do not miss a chance, however, both inside the country and abroad, to condemn the crimes of the Soviet regime, listing among them events with which neither the CPSU, nor the USSR, let alone modern Russia, have anything to do. At the same time, the Bolsheviks efforts to detach from Russia its historical territories are not considered a crime. And we know why: if they brought about the weakening of Russia, our ill-wishes are happy with that.

Of course, inside the USSR, borders between republics were never seen as state borders; they were nominal within a single country, which, while featuring all the attributes of a federation, was highly centralized  this, again, was secured by the CPSUs leading role. But in 1991, all those territories, and, which is more important, people, found themselves abroad overnight, taken away, this time indeed, from their historical motherland.

What can be said to this? Things change: countries and communities are no exception. Of course, some part of a people in the process of its development, influenced by a number of reasons and historical circumstances, can become aware of itself as a separate nation at a certain moment. How should we treat that? There is only one answer: with respect!

You want to establish a state of your own: you are welcome! But what are the terms? I will recall the assessment given by one of the most prominent political figures of new Russia, first mayor of Saint Petersburg Anatoly Sobchak. As a legal expert who believed that every decision must be legitimate, in 1992, he shared the following opinion: the republics that were founders of the Union, having denounced the 1922 Union Treaty, must return to the boundaries they had had before joining the Soviet Union. All other territorial acquisitions are subject to discussion, negotiations, given that the ground has been revoked.

In other words, when you leave, take what you brought with you. This logic is hard to refute. I will just say that the Bolsheviks had embarked on reshaping boundaries even before the Soviet Union, manipulating with territories to their liking, in disregard of peoples views.

The Russian Federation recognized the new geopolitical realities: and not only recognized, but, indeed, did a lot for Ukraine to establish itself as an independent country. Throughout the difficult 1990s and in the new millennium, we have provided considerable support to Ukraine. Whatever political arithmetic of its own Kiev may wish to apply, in 19912013, Ukraines budget savings amounted to more than USD 82 billion, while today, it holds on to the mere USD 1.5 billion of Russian payments for gas transit to Europe. If economic ties between our countries had been retained, Ukraine would enjoy the benefit of tens of billions of dollars.

Ukraine and Russia have developed as a single economic system over decades and centuries. The profound cooperation we had 30 years ago is an example for the European Union to look up to. We are natural complementary economic partners. Such a close relationship can strengthen competitive advantages, increasing the potential of both countries.

Ukraine used to possess great potential, which included powerful infrastructure, gas transportation system, advanced shipbuilding, aviation, rocket and instrument engineering industries, as well as world-class scientific, design and engineering schools. Taking over this legacy and declaring independence, Ukrainian leaders promised that the Ukrainian economy would be one of the leading ones and the standard of living would be among the best in Europe.

Today, high-tech industrial giants that were once the pride of Ukraine and the entire Union, are sinking. Engineering output has dropped by 42 per cent over ten years. The scale of deindustrialization and overall economic degradation is visible in Ukraines electricity production, which has seen a nearly two-time decrease in 30 years. Finally, according to IMF reports, in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic broke out, Ukraines GDP per capita had been below USD 4 thousand. This is less than in the Republic of Albania, the Republic of Moldova, or unrecognized Kosovo. Nowadays, Ukraine is Europes poorest country.

Who is to blame for this? Is it the people of Ukraines fault? Certainly not. It was the Ukrainian authorities who waisted and frittered away the achievements of many generations. We know how hardworking and talented the people of Ukraine are. They can achieve success and outstanding results with perseverance and determination. And these qualities, as well as their openness, innate optimism and hospitality have not gone. The feelings of millions of people who treat Russia not just well but with great affection, just as we feel about Ukraine, remain the same.

Until 2014, hundreds of agreements and joint projects were aimed at developing our economies, business and cultural ties, strengthening security, and solving common social and environmental problems. They brought tangible benefits to people  both in Russia and Ukraine. This is what we believed to be most important. And that is why we had a fruitful interaction with all, I emphasize, with all the leaders of Ukraine.

Even after the events in Kiev of 2014, I charged the Russian government to elaborate options for preserving and maintaining our economic ties within relevant ministries and agencies. However, there was and is still no mutual will to do the same. Nevertheless, Russia is still one of Ukraines top three trading partners, and hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are coming to us to work, and they find a welcome reception and support. So that what the aggressor state is.

When the USSR collapsed, many people in Russia and Ukraine sincerely believed and assumed that our close cultural, spiritual and economic ties would certainly last, as would the commonality of our people, who had always had a sense of unity at their core. However, events  at first gradually, and then more rapidly  started to move in a different direction.

In essence, Ukraines ruling circles decided to justify their countrys independence through the denial of its past, however, except for border issues. They began to mythologize and rewrite history, edit out everything that united us, and refer to the period when Ukraine was part of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union as an occupation. The common tragedy of collectivization and famine of the early 1930s was portrayed as the genocide of the Ukrainian people.

Radicals and neo-Nazis were open and more and more insolent about their ambitions. They were indulged by both the official authorities and local oligarchs, who robbed the people of Ukraine and kept their stolen money in Western banks, ready to sell their motherland for the sake of preserving their capital. To this should be added the persistent weakness of state institutions and the position of a willing hostage to someone elses geopolitical will.

I recall that long ago, well before 2014, the U.S. and EU countries systematically and consistently pushed Ukraine to curtail and limit economic cooperation with Russia. We, as the largest trade and economic partner of Ukraine, suggested discussing the emerging problems in the Ukraine-Russia-EU format. But every time we were told that Russia had nothing to do with it and that the issue concerned only the EU and Ukraine. De facto Western countries rejected Russias repeated calls for dialogue.

Step by step, Ukraine was dragged into a dangerous geopolitical game aimed at turning Ukraine into a barrier between Europe and Russia, a springboard against Russia. Inevitably, there came a time when the concept of Ukraine is not Russia was no longer an option. There was a need for the anti-Russia concept which we will never accept.

The owners of this project took as a basis the old groundwork of the Polish-Austrian ideologists to create an anti-Moscow Russia. And there is no need to deceive anyone that this is being done in the interests of the people of Ukraine. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth never needed Ukrainian culture, much less Cossack autonomy. In Austria-Hungary, historical Russian lands were mercilessly exploited and remained the poorest. The Nazis, abetted by collaborators from the OUN-UPA, did not need Ukraine, but a living space and slaves for Aryan overlords.

Nor were the interests of the Ukrainian people thought of in February 2014. The legitimate public discontent, caused by acute socio-economic problems, mistakes, and inconsistent actions of the authorities of the time, was simply cynically exploited. Western countries directly interfered in Ukraines internal affairs and supported the coup. Radical nationalist groups served as its battering ram. Their slogans, ideology, and blatant aggressive Russophobia have to a large extent become defining elements of state policy in Ukraine.

All the things that united us and bring us together so far came under attack. First and foremost, the Russian language. Let me remind you that the new Maidan authorities first tried to repeal the law on state language policy. Then there was the law on the purification of power, the law on education that virtually cut the Russian language out of the educational process.

Lastly, as early as May of this year, the current president introduced a bill on indigenous peoples to the Rada. Only those who constitute an ethnic minority and do not have their own state entity outside Ukraine are recognized as indigenous. The law has been passed. New seeds of discord have been sown. And this is happening in a country, as I have already noted, that is very complex in terms of its territorial, national and linguistic composition, and its history of formation.

There may be an argument: if you are talking about a single large nation, a triune nation, then what difference does it make who people consider themselves to be  Russians, Ukrainians, or Belarusians. I completely agree with this. Especially since the determination of nationality, particularly in mixed families, is the right of every individual, free to make his or her own choice.

But the fact is that the situation in Ukraine today is completely different because it involves a forced change of identity. And the most despicable thing is that the Russians in Ukraine are being forced not only to deny their roots, generations of their ancestors but also to believe that Russia is their enemy. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the path of forced assimilation, the formation of an ethnically pure Ukrainian state, aggressive towards Russia, is comparable in its consequences to the use of weapons of mass destruction against us. As a result of such a harsh and artificial division of Russians and Ukrainians, the Russian people in all may decrease by hundreds of thousands or even millions.

Our spiritual unity has also been attacked. As in the days of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a new ecclesiastical has been initiated. The secular authorities, making no secret of their political aims, have blatantly interfered in church life and brought things to a split, to the seizure of churches, the beating of priests and monks. Even extensive autonomy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church while maintaining spiritual unity with the Moscow Patriarchate strongly displeases them. They have to destroy this prominent and centuries-old symbol of our kinship at all costs.

I think it is also natural that the representatives of Ukraine over and over again vote against the UN General Assembly resolution condemning the glorification of Nazism. Marches and torchlit processions in honor of remaining war criminals from the SS units take place under the protection of the official authorities. Mazepa, who betrayed everyone, Petliura, who paid for Polish patronage with Ukrainian lands, and Bandera, who collaborated with the Nazis, are ranked as national heroes. Everything is being done to erase from the memory of young generations the names of genuine patriots and victors, who have always been the pride of Ukraine.

For the Ukrainians who fought in the Red Army, in partisan units, the Great Patriotic War was indeed a patriotic war because they were defending their home, their great common Motherland. Over two thousand soldiers became Heroes of the Soviet Union. Among them are legendary pilot Ivan Kozhedub, fearless sniper, defender of Odessa and Sevastopol Lyudmila Pavlichenko, valiant guerrilla commander Sidor Kovpak. This indomitable generation fought, those people gave their lives for our future, for us. To forget their feat is to betray our grandfathers, mothers and fathers.

The anti-Russia project has been rejected by millions of Ukrainians. The people of Crimea and residents of Sevastopol made their historic choice. And people in the southeast peacefully tried to defend their stance. Yet, all of them, including children, were labeled as separatists and terrorists. They were threatened with ethnic cleansing and the use of military force. And the residents of Donetsk and Lugansk took up arms to defend their home, their language and their lives. Were they left any other choice after the riots that swept through the cities of Ukraine, after the horror and tragedy of 2 May 2014 in Odessa where Ukrainian neo-Nazis burned people alive making a new Khatyn out of it? The same massacre was ready to be carried out by the followers of Bandera in Crimea, Sevastopol, Donetsk and Lugansk. Even now they do not abandon such plans. They are biding their time. But their time will not come.

The coup detat and the subsequent actions of the Kiev authorities inevitably provoked confrontation and civil war. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights estimates that the total number of victims in the conflict in Donbas has exceeded 13,000. Among them are the elderly and children. These are terrible, irreparable losses.

Russia has done everything to stop fratricide. The Minsk agreements aimed at a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Donbas have been concluded. I am convinced that they still have no alternative. In any case, no one has withdrawn their signatures from the Minsk Package of Measures or from the relevant statements by the leaders of the Normandy format countries. No one has initiated a review of the United Nations Security Council resolution of 17 February 2015.

During official negotiations, especially after being reined in by Western partners, Ukraines representatives regularly declare their full adherence to the Minsk agreements, but are in fact guided by a position of unacceptability. They do not intend to seriously discuss either the special status of Donbas or safeguards for the people living there. They prefer to exploit the image of the victim of external aggression and peddle Russophobia. They arrange bloody provocations in Donbas. In short, they attract the attention of external patrons and masters by all means.

Apparently, and I am becoming more and more convinced of this: Kiev simply does not need Donbas. Why? Because, firstly, the inhabitants of these regions will never accept the order that they have tried and are trying to impose by force, blockade and threats. And secondly, the outcome of both Minsk1 and Minsk2 which give a real chance to peacefully restore the territorial integrity of Ukraine by coming to an agreement directly with the DPR and LPR with Russia, Germany and France as mediators, contradicts the entire logic of the anti-Russia project. And it can only be sustained by the constant cultivation of the image of an internal and external enemy. And I would add  under the protection and control of the Western powers.

This is what is actually happening. First of all, we are facing the creation of a climate of fear in Ukrainian society, aggressive rhetoric, indulging neo-Nazis and militarising the country. Along with that we are witnessing not just complete dependence but direct external control, including the supervision of the Ukrainian authorities, security services and armed forces by foreign advisers, military development of the territory of Ukraine and deployment of NATO infrastructure. It is no coincidence that the aforementioned flagrant law on indigenous peoples was adopted under the cover of large-scale NATO exercises in Ukraine.

This is also a disguise for the takeover of the rest of the Ukrainian economy and the exploitation of its natural resources. The sale of agricultural land is not far off, and it is obvious who will buy it up. From time to time, Ukraine is indeed given financial resources and loans, but under their own conditions and pursuing their own interests, with preferences and benefits for Western companies. By the way, who will pay these debts back? Apparently, it is assumed that this will have to be done not only by todays generation of Ukrainians but also by their children, grandchildren and probably great-grandchildren.

The Western authors of the anti-Russia project set up the Ukrainian political system in such a way that presidents, members of parliament and ministers would change but the attitude of separation from and enmity with Russia would remain. Reaching peace was the main election slogan of the incumbent president. He came to power with this. The promises turned out to be lies. Nothing has changed. And in some ways the situation in Ukraine and around Donbas has even degenerated.

In the anti-Russia project, there is no place either for a sovereign Ukraine or for the political forces that are trying to defend its real independence. Those who talk about reconciliation in Ukrainian society, about dialogue, about finding a way out of the current impasse are labelled as pro-Russian agents.

Again, for many people in Ukraine, the anti-Russia project is simply unacceptable. And there are millions of such people. But they are not allowed to raise their heads. They have had their legal opportunity to defend their point of view in fact taken away from them. They are intimidated, driven underground. Not only are they persecuted for their convictions, for the spoken word, for the open expression of their position, but they are also killed. Murderers, as a rule, go unpunished.

Today, the right patriot of Ukraine is only the one who hates Russia. Moreover, the entire Ukrainian statehood, as we understand it, is proposed to be further built exclusively on this idea. Hate and anger, as world history has repeatedly proved this, are a very shaky foundation for sovereignty, fraught with many serious risks and dire consequences.

All the subterfuges associated with the anti-Russia project are clear to us. And we will never allow our historical territories and people close to us living there to be used against Russia. And to those who will undertake such an attempt, I would like to say that this way they will destroy their own country.

The incumbent authorities in Ukraine like to refer to Western experience, seeing it as a model to follow. Just have a look at how Austria and Germany, the USA and Canada live next to each other. Close in ethnic composition, culture, in fact sharing one language, they remain sovereign states with their own interests, with their own foreign policy. But this does not prevent them from the closest integration or allied relations. They have very conditional, transparent borders. And when crossing them the citizens feel at home. They create families, study, work, do business. Incidentally, so do millions of those born in Ukraine who now live in Russia. We see them as our own close people.

Russia is open to dialogue with Ukraine and ready to discuss the most complex issues. But it is important for us to understand that our partner is defending its national interests but not serving someone elses, and is not a tool in someone elses hands to fight against us.

We respect the Ukrainian language and traditions. We respect Ukrainians desire to see their country free, safe and prosperous.

I am confident that true sovereignty of Ukraine is possible only in partnership with Russia. Our spiritual, human and civilizational ties formed for centuries and have their origins in the same sources, they have been hardened by common trials, achievements and victories. Our kinship has been transmitted from generation to generation. It is in the hearts and the memory of people living in modern Russia and Ukraine, in the blood ties that unite millions of our families. Together we have always been and will be many times stronger and more successful. For we are one people.

Today, these words may be perceived by some people with hostility. They can be interpreted in many possible ways. Yet, many people will hear me. And I will say one thing  Russia has never been and will never be anti-Ukraine. And what Ukraine will be  it is up to its citizens to decide.
Siberia sounds good greasing wheel bearings on the box cars in the winter wearing his Stars and Stripes

Parker Wilson is his name

MOSCOW, July 12. /TASS/. A US embassy employee stole a railroad sign in Russias Tver Region in spring 2021, endangering the lives of train passengers, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova disclosed in her Telegram channel Monday. What is not funny is the danger that the US citizen put the lives and health of train passengers in. The Ostashkov hub is a rather busy part of the railroad. A railroad is a high danger area. If the missing sign was not discovered promptly, a tragedy could have happened, she said.According to Zakharova, this story became known due to police pre-investigation actions. Police officers determined that an unidentified man stole the switch sign and put it in the trunk of a car with red (diplomatic) license plates. The very same day, a car with the same license plate was pulled by traffic police in the Tver region for a traffic rules violation. The car was driven by an employee of the American embassy who fit the description, the diplomat said. She added that the embassy employee retained his diplomatic immunity but had to return to the US.

Source: US diplomat steals railroad sign in Russia, endangering passengers  Foreign Ministry  Russian Politics & Diplomacy  TASS

He even looks around to see if he is watched. ~~ Oh look something for my garage back home.who cares if it might kill someone, they are just Russians. ~~

WtR
There are five legislative special general elections on Tuesday. The most competitive interparty contest is a runoff for a Georgia State House seat in suburban Atlanta.

State Senate

Alabama District 14

There are 35 State Senate districts in Alabama. Currently, the chamber has 26 Republicans and 8 Democrats. The next regularly scheduled election is in 2022.

District 14 is a largely rural area in the central part of the state. The vacancy there was created when Republican Cam Ward was appointed Director of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles last December. In 2018, Ward was reelected with about 73% of the vote.

The major party nominees are former State Rep. April Weaver (R) and attorney Virginia Applebaum (D). Polls close at 8:00 PM Eastern Time.

State House

Alabama District 73

There are 105 State House districts in Alabama. The chamber is comprised of 76 Republicans and 27 Democrats. Alabama is one of only five states with four-year terms for the lower body in the state legislature. The next regularly scheduled election is in 2022.

District 73 is located in Shelby County, in the central part of the state. It is largely within the boundaries of Senate District 14 discussed above. The seat became vacant last December after Republican Matt Fridy was elected to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. In 2018, Fridy was reelected with about 69% of the vote.

The Republican nominee is Kenneth Paschal, who narrowly won the primary runoff on April 27. Sheridan Black is the Democratic nominee. Polls close at 8:00 PM Eastern Time.

Georgia (runoffs)

There are 180 State House districts in Georgia. Currently, the chamber has 101 Republicans and 77 Democrats. The next regularly scheduled elections are in 2022.

Under Georgia special election law, both these seats were contested in all-party primaries on June 15. Neither primary saw a candidate get a majority of the vote, necessitating Tuesday's top two runoffs. Polls close at 7:00 PM Eastern Time.

District 34

The suburban Atlanta District 34 vacancy was created by the resignation of Republican Bert Reeves on April 30. Reeves was in his fourth term. He had most recently won reelection by a 56%-44% margin over Democrat Priscilla Smith, who is on the ballot again Tuesday.

Republican Devan Seabaugh led the five-person June primary. He received 47% of the vote, narrowly missing an outright win. Priscilla Smith finished second with just under 25%. In total, Republicans on the ballot received 59% of the vote to 40% for Democrats.

This is the most competitive of Tuesday's elections that include nominees from both major parties.

District 156

District 156 is in the southeastern part of the state, including Vidalia. The vacancy was created by the resignation of Republican Greg Morris on April 13. Morris was first elected to the legislature in 1999. He had represented District 156 since 2012, running unopposed in the general election each time.

As befits this conservative area, Republicans took both spots in the runoff. Leesa Hagan and Wally Sapp combined for 85% of the vote. However, the two were separated by just 37 votes, with Hagan leading by 43% to 42% over Sapp.

Given that primary result, it is possible that this ends up being the closest race of the day in terms of voting totals while, at the same time, being the only race 100% guaranteed to be won by one of the parties before a single vote is counted.

Wisconsin Assembly District 37

The Wisconsin State House is called the State Assembly

There are 99 Assembly districts in Wisconsin. Currently, the chamber has 60 Republicans and 38 Democrats. The next regularly scheduled elections are in 2022.

Located northeast of Madison, the District 37 vacancy was created with the resignation of Republican John Jagler in April. He had won a special election for a vacant State Senate seat earlier that month. Jagler had represented the district since first being elected in 2012, most recently being reelected by a 56% to 41% margin in 2020.

The Democratic nominee is Pete Adams. The Republican nominee is William Penterman, who narrowly won the June 15 party primary. Although Penterman received only about 20% of the vote in a crowded eight-person field that day, he is the favorite in this GOP leaning district. Polls close at 9:00 PM Eastern Time.

Upcoming July 27
Unexpected no-shows happen all the time, say eldercare experts. They strongly advise families to prepare for them in advance to avoid having to scramble at the last minute to fill gaps in caregiving.

Review an agency's backup plan

If they're hiring through an agency, families should review with the agency its ability to provide substitutes for employees who unexpectedly need to take time off, says Sam Tatel, president of Companions for Seniors, a home care agency in Chicago that employs 35 trained, bonded and insured caregivers.

"We have backup caregivers ready to go, people who we would say are on call, Tatel says. His backup personnel get plenty of work filling in for caregivers who have personal emergencies or simply need a break from a demanding assignment.

Hire more than one caregiver

Preparing for gaps in paid caregiving is especially important for families that hire caregivers directly  through word of mouth, for example  and do not have an agency to rely on. Amy Goyer, AARP's family and caregiving expert, suggests that such families consider hiring two caregivers to split the weekly hours.

"That way there is always another person as a backup that you can contact, if they are available, and that person is familiar with the loved one's routine, says Goyer.

Tap into caregiver networks

Sara Sadin, a New York-based geriatric care manager who consults with corporations and families across the country, advises families that hire directly to discuss backup plans during the interview. Many applicants will say they have a cousin or friend who can fill in. Sadin recommends not stopping there. Ask for more information and perhaps conduct an interview, even if it's by phone, she says.

Sadin also suggests that families reach out in advance to neighbors who employ caregivers. For example, the lady across the street has a caregiver. Maybe that caregiver can give you two hours in her day  in an emergency, and perhaps the family's caregiver can do the same for the neighbor, says Sadin.

Substitutes do not have to be professionals, says Goyer, author of Juggling Life, Work, and Caregiving. She recommends asking willing neighbors and family members to divide up a list of tasks  from doing laundry to preparing dinner  in case the paid caregiver has to miss a shift.

Post backup plan and instructions

The backup plan is in place. A network of substitutes has been created. Now what?

Both Goyer and Sadin strongly recommend that families find a visible place to post contact information for the people who can be called to cover for a missing caregiver, along with instructions about medicines and meals and other care. These can be tacked to the kitchen and bedroom walls or kept in a binder on the kitchen counter.

It is crucial that everyone involved knows what to do when the caregiver for the next shift cannot show up, and that substitutes who have never previously worked in the home understand what must be done, they say.

The power of kindness

Nancy Schulman employs four caregivers through an agency to provide round-the-clock care for her 96-year-old mother, Blanche Benjamin, who has Lewy body dementia and lives in her apartment about a mile from Schulman in Manhattan. Several of the caregivers have worked for Benjamin for years. If one needs to skip a shift, another will cover.

"They will work it out amongst themselves, says Schulman. The caregivers stay if they can't get help. It's an amazing operation."

Schulman has only one recommendation for other families. Take the best care that you can of [caregivers]. Be kind, be generous, be loving to them, Schulman says. It is a very difficult job being responsible for somebody else's physical well-being."
Getty Images

About 48 million people in the U.S. have some degree of hearing loss, but many of them struggle with acknowledging it. People are often embarrassed or ashamed about losing their hearing, because they see it as a sign that they're old, so they ignore it and pretend it isn't happening, says Alison Grimes, director of audiology at UCLA Health in Los Angeles.

They also might be worried about the cost of hearing aids, or the way the technology looks or functions. As a result, the average time it takes to seek help is seven years, according to the Hearing Loss Association of America. But untreated hearing loss can be dangerous, even deadly. Here are nine truths that will help you drop the denial  or encourage a loved one to  so you can get the help you need.

1. Getting a hearing aid is as natural as wearing reading glasses

Chances are you already own a pair or two of fashionable readers and don't feel embarrassed about wearing them. Presbyopia, the age-related loss of the eye's ability to focus on nearby objects, is the visual version of presbycusis, or age-related hearing loss, Grimes says. Hearing aids may not yet count as a trendy accessory, but they're far more discreet than the big beige bananas of old  and plenty of glamorous people rely on them, including Halle Berry, Jodie Foster, Robert Redford and Rob Lowe. That's a club most of us wouldn't mind joining.

2. Even mild hearing loss changes your brain

"The ear sends information to the brain, so when hearing begins to diminish, the brain changes, too, says Anu Sharma, a professor in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder. For instance, as hearing wanes, the visual and sensory processing parts of the brain start using parts of the auditory cortex to understand sounds, a shift that results in less stimulation  and, as a result, deterioration  of the auditory cortex over time, according to research by Sharma and her colleagues.

3. Uncorrected hearing takes a toll on your memory and other cognitive abilities

When you're struggling to hear people talk in a crowded restaurant, say, your frontal and prefrontal cortexes  the parts of the brain that help you think, focus, concentrate and remember things for brief periods (known as working memory)  become more active. Because you're using these parts of the brain to listen, you can't use them as effectively to understand the meaning of what's being said, so your comprehension declines, Sharma says. Research has confirmed that those with hearing loss have deficits in the brain's processing speed and executive function, she adds  and has even linked hearing loss with dementia. But an international analysis published in 2017 in The Lancet called hearing loss one of the largest modifiable risks for developing dementia. The idea that it's modifiable is hopeful, Sharma says. Our research has shown that a well-fitting hearing aid can turn cognitive problems around.

4. It's safer to be able to hear well

People with hearing loss may not hear smoke alarms or doorbells or sirens that signal severe weather, says Jackie Clark, a clinical professor at the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at the University of Texas in Dallas, and past president of the American Academy of Audiology. One of my patients didn't hear a man who broke into her home and knocked over a dish hutch, Clark says. She was unharmed physically, but the realization that she wasn't aware of her surroundings took an emotional toll and prompted her to get hearing aids. What's more, researchers at Johns Hopkins University and the National Institute on Aging found that people with mild hearing loss are three times as likely to fall as people with normal hearing.
iStock / Getty Images

Time is running short for renters to pay up, seek assistance or move as the national eviction moratorium comes to an end.

About 8.1 million renters were behind on their payments in mid-June, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Another 4.5 million said they thought they faced eviction. Not all will be evicted, but the end of the moratorium July 31 means that as many as 4.2 million adults are at risk of eviction in July and August, according to an estimate by the Urban Institute.

Congress appropriated about $46 billion in rental assistance in coronavirus relief packages. Here's what renters can and can't do to stay in their homes as the moratorium ends.

The eviction moratorium

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ordered the eviction moratorium to slow the spread of COVID-19, under the assumption that a rash of evictions during the pandemic-induced economic shutdown would further spread the disease. Courts have upheld the order, which has been extended four times. The order was first issued Sept. 4, and the CDC issued its final extension June 24.

Renters can only take advantage of the moratorium if they can prove they are unable to pay rent because of the pandemic, either because they lost their jobs or have extraordinary out-of-pocket medical expenses. They may also take advantage of the moratorium if they felt that losing their home will result in homelessness or placement in a homeless shelter. In addition, the eviction moratorium covers only those who expect to earn no more than $99,000 in 2021 (or $198,000 if married and filing jointly).

The moratorium does not keep rent from accruing, nor does it prevent landlords from evicting tenants for other reasons, such as damaging property or fighting with neighbors. Those who take advantage of the order must prove that they are making their best efforts to make timely partial payments.

What relief is available?

Some states and cities have extended the eviction moratorium. California, for example, has extended the ban through Sept. 30. Hawaii's ban extends to Aug. 6, and New York's lasts through Aug. 31. Maryland and the District of Columbia base their extension through the end of the national emergency period, and New Jersey's lasts for two months after the end of the emergency period.

The largest chunk of aid comes from the federal government, which approved $25 billion in emergency rental assistance (ERA) through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, enacted in December. Another $21.55 billion came from the American Rescue Plan Act, enacted in March 2021, which also allowed funds to be used for moving and other expenses. The money is disbursed according to a state's share of the national population. The assistance can last 12 months, with the possibility of one three-month extension.

State and local agencies are distributing the money, and many of these agencies, the Treasury Department says, are just getting up and running. While some state and local programs are increasingly reaching households in need, others lag far behind, and many programs have just launched in recent weeks, Treasury said in a July 2 statement. As of May 31, only $1.5 billion had been paid out, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC).


Further High-Grade Gold Mineralisation at Mulgabbie

Perth, July 13, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - OzAurum Resources Ltd ( ASX:OZM ) is pleased to announce further results from the Company's large-scale 20,000 meter (m) Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling campaign, which has so far identified significant wide zones of gold mineralisation. The current RC results include 16 holes for 2,414m of drilling at the Mulgabbie North Project, situated North East of Kalgoorlie.Highlights- Significant high grade gold mineralisation intersected, with mineralisation open along strike and at depth.- RC holes that intersected significant gold mineralisation include:o 10m @ 2.8 g/t gold (Au) -(from 17m) including 1m @ 21.6 g/t Au MNORC 074o 11m @ 2.14 g/t Au - (from 27m) including 1m @ 19.75 g/t Au MNORC 065o 2m @ 7.30 g/t Au -(from 19m) MNORC 075o 9m @ 1.89 g/t Au - (from 73m within 20m @ 1.22 g/t Au) MNORC 079o 5m @ 3.20 g/t Au-(from 72m within 19m @ 1.1 g/t Au and including 1m @ 6.30 g/t Au) MNORC 76o 4m @ 3.14 g/t Au - (from 133m within 14m @ 1.26 g/t Au) MNORC 079- Assays pending for RC holes that have intersected a new fault with associated quartz veining and sulphide mineralisation- Drone magnetometer survey being completed over Mulgabbie North area to assist with current interpretation of cross cutting faults along the Relief Shear- New exciting targets identified- located 1km north and south of current RC drilling along Relief Shear to be tested with future RC drillingMulgabbie North RC Drilling ResultsThe 16 holes that were drilled for 2,414m at the Mulgabbie North Project are a continuation of OzAurum's 20,000m RC drilling campaign that commenced in February this year. To date, a total of 104 RC holes have been drilled at Mulgabbie North for 15,811m.The current RC drill campaign has identified further high-grade gold mineralisation at Mulgabbie. Most notably, RC holes MNORC 074 intersected 10m @ 2.80 g/t Au from 27m including 1m @ 21.60 g/t Au and MNORC 065 intersected 11m @ 2.14 g/t Au from 17m including 1m @ 19.75 g/t Au.Numerous RC drill holes intersected higher grade gold mineralisation within wide lower grade intervals- indicating Mulgabbie North is situated within a large mineralised gold system. Gold Mineralisation at Mulgabbie North is currently open at depth and along strike at both the Ben and James Prospects.These excellent RC results, combined with recently announced aircore (AC) results defining new zones of mineralisation (see ASX announcement on 21 June 2021), further highlight the potential of Mulgabbie North to be a significant gold project.A further 24 RC holes for 3,160m have been drilled with assays still pending at the labs. The aim of these drill holes was to test Mulgabbie North's previously discovered AC gold anomalies and the southern extension of the Ben Prospect. Some of these holes have intersected wide zones of quartz veining with associated pyrite and arsenopyrite mineralisation. At the Ben prospect a significant fault has also been intersected in 4 RC holes that have associated quartz veining and mineralisation. The Company is eagerly awaiting the results from these holes.Recent drilling at Mulgabbie North has discovered wide zones of weak to moderate hematite alteration in some RC holes. Specifically, the hematite alteration indicates oxidised fluids from an intrusive complex suggesting proximity to the mineralising centre - likely to be within OzAurum's 100% owned Mulgabbie North tenure.Upcoming RC drilling and Planned Exploration Activities:The additional planned RC drilling at Mulgabbie North will further test strike and depth extensions of gold mineralisation at the James and Ben Prospects that are situated on the Relief Shear, as well as, western air core gold anomalies and associated mineralisation. In addition, two new exciting targets on the Relief Shear are located 1km north and south of current RC drilling and will be tested with upcoming RC drilling.A drone magnetometer survey is currently being completed at the Mulgabbie North area that will assist with the current interpretation of cross cutting faults along the Relief Shear.Gold mineralisation at these prospects is hosted in the intermediate-felsic volcaniclastic units. The RC drilling program at Mulgabbie North will further scope out the extent of known mineralisation aimed at making a significant gold discovery.Utilising best practice RC drilling, sampling and assay protocols will allow for a potential future JORC 2012 compliant resource to be estimated with confidence at Mulgabbie North. Systematic RC drilling is being undertaken on a 20m x 20m and 40m x 100m spacings.Due to the current high demand on assay laboratories, the Company is experiencing long delays with receiving assay results, with up to an 8-week turnaround time.RC is being undertaken on a 3 week on 3 week off campaign basis due to long delays in receiving assay results from the assay laboratory.OzAurum's Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Pumphrey, said:"The additional high-grade gold intercepts achieved through the current RC drilling campaign are very encouraging and provide us with even greater confidence in the Mulgabbie Project. We believe that these results, and the many results still pending in the assay labs, have the potential to unlock a significant gold project at Mulgabbie. We look forward to updating the market on additional results as they become available."To view tables and figures, please visit:About OzAurum Resources Limited

OzAurum Resources Ltd (ASX:OZM) is a Western Australian gold explorer with two advanced gold projects located 130 km north east of Kalgoorlie. The Company's main objective is to make a significant gold discovery that can be brought to production.
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

He lost everything.

James Lawing is a world traveler, moving about the globe both during his military service and afterward. As he tells me his story, he is happily ensconced in Central America.

About 16 years ago, he scooted around the United States in a motor home. Lawing, a gregarious man who can talk endlessly to anybody with ease, was headed to Los Angeles to spend time with a friend when he stopped in El Paso.

He was chatting in a restaurant with a few new buddies when he looked out the window and realized that his motor home was no longer parked outside.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

My entire life was gone, he said.

That motor home was not just his transportation, but his home, and inside was almost all of his belongings  family photos, childhood mementos, clothing, weapons, tools, items from his aged father, identification documents, military records, his blue Air Force service dress coat replete with bars and medals, and the five-striped sleeve chevron depicting the rank of technical sergeant.

Yes, that Air Force coat.

If you read this column last Wednesday, you know that it was found some eight to 10 years ago in a bedroom closet in the South Valley. Albuquerque resident Debbie Garcia had picked it up at a yard sale at the house and had held onto it all these years, hoping someday to return it to its rightful owner.

That someday is soon.

Im just so happy about this, Garcia said.

So is Lawing, though perhaps hes also a little more surprised.

I dont know how she found it, he said. I dont know how you found me.

After the theft, which occurred around 2005, Lawing searched for his things. Credit cards left in the motor home were tracked to Albuquerque, where they were used at several Walmart stores and gas stations.

Lawing visited each one, hoping to track down his items. He also went to swap meets in Albuquerque searching for his things. But nothing was ever recovered.

Years later, Garcia stumbled upon the yard sale. She cant remember the exact location other than it was somewhere off Barcelona SW and that the people holding the yard sale were getting rid of all the items left in the home, apparently by former renters who had left suddenly, to prepare the house for sale.

She didnt think much about it then, but among the vehicles parked at the home was a motor home.

She got the jacket, which also had numerous identification cards and medals stuffed in the pocket, for free. She had a name and the information listed on all the IDs, but her efforts to find Lawing went nowhere.

Still, she refused to throw the jacket away because she said the uniform honored the symbol of a mans service and thats something to honor, not haul away to the dump.

So she asked me to find him. My search led to a condo in Florida, but repeated calls went immediately to voicemail. A message left at the condo complex for him went unanswered.

Enter Purple Hearts Reunited, a nonprofit whose mission is to return lost, stolen and misplaced military medals of valor to veterans or their families. In the past decade, the organization has returned more than 850 military items. A reader sent the column to the organization and operations director Erin Faith Allen offered to help search for Lawing.

Within an hour after we spoke Wednesday, she had contacted a niece, who then contacted her mother, who then contacted her brother, who is James Lawing.

He contacted me Wednesday evening. And, now, he is contacting Garcia.

Arrangements will be made shortly to return his possessions to him. It cannot replace everything he lost in that 2005 theft, but maybe it will give him some comfort, not just in having his jacket returned, but also in knowing how much it mattered to an Albuquerque woman  and to those of you who helped spread the word  to honor the service of a stranger.

UpFront is a front-page news and opinion column. Reach Joline at 730-2793 or jkrueger@abqjournal.com.
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

A jury in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque last week delivered a $27 million verdict against a California service shop that had worked on the tires that flew off a tractor-trailer and killed a Pennsylvania woman in New Mexico.

A Dart Trans Inc. truck was driving on Interstate 40 in Torrance County the evening of July 28, 2019, when two tires detached from the rear of the drivers side of the vehicle. One of the tires crossed the median and struck Barbara Granger, who was driving west on a motorcycle on a cross-country trip with Scott Granger, her husband of 27 years.

The collision pushed Granger, a 48-year-old mother of three, to the outside lane where she hit a Goodwill Trucking tractor-trailer. She was pulled under the large vehicle and dragged nearly half a mile. She died at the scene, according to the complaint.

After reaching confidential settlements with Dart Trans, Goodwill Trucking and the drivers for those two companies, the case went to trial last Tuesday against Sunrise Tire and Lube Service Inc., and its owner Sukhdev Singh Dhaliwal, who also goes by other iterations of his name.

Sunrise, a California tire shop, had done work on the tires that detached from the Dart Trans truck, according to a complaint for personal injury, wrongful death and loss of consortium.

Rattan Dev Singh Dhaliwal, the attorney for the tire shop and Singh Dhaliwal, couldnt be reached for comment on Monday.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

Mark Baker, an attorney for the Granger family, said Singh Dhaliwal and attorneys for Sunrise didnt show up for trial, so the plaintiffs were the only side that presented evidence to the jury. The jury awarded $17 million in compensatory damages, which is what the plaintiffs requested, and $10 million in punitive damages.

Grangers children and husband attended the two-day trial, which was presided over by U.S. District Judge James Browning.

Barbara Grangers family takes some comfort in the jurys clear acknowledgment that this shouldnt have happened, and the recognition that Sunrise Tire and its owner took someone special from the world, Baker said in an email. The trial was hard for the family, and I know it was hard for the jurors to have to so closely consider such a tragedy. We thank the jury for their service. Now, well be following up to make sure these defendants honor the verdict.
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

The sky is the limit for Albuquerque student Patrick Baca.

Baca, who will graduate this fall from College and Career High School, is one of four students in the nation to earn a Future STEM Leaders Scholarship from The Aerospace Corp.

The engineering and technology laboratory supports federal space and nuclear initiatives, and has a large facility in the Uptown area of Albuquerque.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

My first biology class in middle school really sparked my interest in science, Baca said. It was a challenge, but I like that, with science and math, theres a prospect of helping people.

Baca will receive a $5,000 award once he is accepted into a four-year college. Five Aerospace employees will serve as mentors for the next year.

The 17-year-old already has earned associate degrees in liberal arts and sociology from Central New Mexico Community College. And he will graduate high school with an associate degree in biology under his belt.

Baca said he is thinking about careers in developing chemical and biological defense systems, or forensic science.

Im excited about learning from people who are already in the industry who can help me with my college and career goals, Baca said.

Baca serves on a student government group, and plays the bassoon and flute in band. He wants to attend either New Mexico Tech or the University of New Mexico.

Outreach program

Scholarship winners will attend an eight-day virtual Aerospace camp this summer.

The outreach programs aim to introduce more students to science careers, especially aspiring first-generation college students, said Ricardo Espindola, Aerospaces associate principal director of the Space Innovation Directorate.

Espindola grew up in Laguna Pueblo and received a physics degree at New Mexico Tech before working at Kirtland Air Force Base and joining Aerospace.

Its important for us to be able to reach out to high school juniors and younger students to share these opportunities, he said. As a kid, little did I know that, 20 miles away from our pueblo, was the Air Force base where I would get to do some really exciting projects with astronauts and with NASA.

Baca was selected for the scholarship based on his grades, science interests, service to his school community, an essay and a counselor recommendation.

Other recipients hail from Alexandria, Virginia; Huntsville, Alabama; and Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Aerospace also encourages students to voice their ideas for research and technologies.

Theres a lot of smart kids out there, Espindola said. And its always good for them to have someone whos been in their shoes that they can kind of follow along, and learn from our mistakes and our successes.
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

Patrick Juares new camp at Lower Tansill Dam is surrounded by piles of trash and debris collected by Carlsbad cleaning crews  remnants of the flood waters which swept through the area south of the dam last week and destroyed the encampment he once called home.

We have nowhere else to go, Jaure said. Juare is without a permanent home. He was among the elderly people, veterans and a pregnant woman who fled the encampment ahead of the June 29 flood.

What used to be makeshift shelters and old fire pits remained surrounded by water and one-foot-deep mud. Some residents of the encampment returned days later to wade through the mire and scavenge for lost belongings.

The flooding affected more than just the Lower Tansill Dam as it led to road closures throughout Eddy County.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

A neighborhood near the dam was evacuated, with some residents rescued by helicopter after being boxed in by the flood. Infrastructure like the San Jose bridge was overcome by rushing water and one man died after driving past a blockade and into the flood waters.

Carlsbad Police Chief Shane Skinner said he sent officers to the encampment at Lower Tansill as soon as he heard heavy rainfall was imminent. Multiple officers arrived within minutes to warn people of the coming danger by talking to them directly and using bullhorns, Skinner said.

Mayor Dale Janway said those in the encampment were believed to be at greatest risk and were the first to be evacuated, about an hour and a half before the flood waters arrived via Dark Canyon Arroyo.

But Adolfo Olivas, a counselor and pastor for the Carlsbad Community of Hope Center, said many of the homeless people he spoke to did not get enough time to gather their belongings.

He said that most escaped the flood with just the clothes on their backs, some even losing their pets. Flooding was a consistent issue for residents of the encampment, and many said they were used to the area collecting water but not on the scale seen during the recent floods.

Residents of the camp which house those without permanent homes expressed frustration over what they said was a failure to provide proper warning.

Paul Alen Newman had lived in the encampment for about a month, becoming stranded in southeast New Mexico when his truck broke down. He said those in the camp did not know what was happening or why they were being asked to leave on the day of the evacuation. Jaure said some thought they were simply being kicked out.

They did let us know, but not in the right way, Newman said.

Olivas said the people living in the camp often hide from unfamiliar visitors, which may have made the evacuation difficult.

Olivas visited the area often before the flood as part of the Hope Centers outreach program. He said many of the residents began to recognize his truck and know he was there to help, but have been known to ignore others offering similar assistance.

I do know that some may have been little hesitant to leave because thats where they stay, Skinner added. Maybe if theyve never experienced it before, they may not have realized how much water may come into the area and just how much danger they could be in.

Olivas said he is still concerned about the many residents of the tent city who were displaced.

Friday, we went driving around and looking for them, Olivas said. The ones Ive talked to so far say everyone is accounted for.

Skinner said with more rain on the way and the beginning of the monsoon season, police were prepared to take action if necessary.

Public safety is our No. 1 priority. We want to make sure that everybody is safe, Skinner said. We want to get word to everybody out there that may be in harms way.
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

LONDON  After Dr. Ifeanyi Nsofor and his wife received two doses of AstraZenecas coronavirus vaccine in Nigeria, they assumed they would be free to travel this summer to a European destination of their choice. They were wrong.

The couple  and millions of other people vaccinated through a U.N.-backed effort  could find themselves barred from entering many European and other countries because those nations dont recognize the Indian-made version of the vaccine for travel.

Although AstraZeneca vaccine produced in Europe has been authorized by the continents drug regulatory agency, the same shot manufactured in India hasnt been given the green light.

EU regulators said AstraZeneca hasnt completed the necessary paperwork on the Indian factory, including details on its production practices and quality control standards.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

But some experts describe the EU move as discriminatory and unscientific, pointing out that the World Health Organization has inspected and approved the factory. Health officials say the situation will not only complicate travel and frustrate fragile economies but also undermine vaccine confidence by appearing to label some shots substandard.

As vaccination coverage rises across Europe and other rich countries, authorities anxious to salvage the summer tourism season are increasingly relaxing coronavirus border restrictions.

Earlier this month, the European Union introduced its digital COVID-19 certificate, which allows EU residents to move freely in the 27-nation bloc as long as they have been vaccinated with one of the four shots authorized by the European Medicines Agency, have a fresh negative test, or have proof they recently recovered from the virus.

While the U.S. and Britain remain largely closed to outside visitors, the EU certificate is seen as a potential model for travel in the COVID-19 era and a way to boost economies.

The officially EU-endorsed vaccines also include those made by Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. They dont include the AstraZeneca shot made in India or many other vaccines used in developing countries, including those manufactured in China and Russia.

Individual EU countries are free to apply their own rules for travelers from inside and outside the bloc, and their rules vary widely, creating further confusion for tourists. Several EU countries, including Belgium, Germany and Switzerland, allow people to enter if they have had non-EU-endorsed vaccines; several others, including France and Italy, dont.

For Nsofor, the realization he could be barred was a rude awakening. After a tough year of working during the pandemic in Abuja, Nsofor and his wife were looking forward to a European vacation with their two young daughters, perhaps admiring the Eiffel Tower in Paris or touring Salzburg in Austria.

Nsofor noted that the Indian-made vaccine he received had been authorized by WHO for emergency use and had been supplied through COVAX, the U.N.-backed program to provide shots to poor corners of the world. WHOs approval included a visit to the Serum Institute of India factory to ensure that it had good manufacturing practices and that quality control standards were met.

Were grateful to the EU that they funded COVAX, but now they are essentially discriminating against a vaccine that they actively funded and promoted, Nsofor said. This will just give room to all kinds of conspiracy theories that the vaccines were getting in Africa are not as good as the ones they have for themselves in the West.

Ivo Vlaev, a professor at Britains University of Warwick who advises the government on behavioral science during COVID-19, agreed that Western countries refusal to recognize vaccines used in poor countries could fuel mistrust.

People who were already suspicious of vaccines will become even more suspicious, Vlaev said. They could also lose trust in public health messages from governments and be less willing to comply with COVID rules.

Dr. Mesfin Teklu Tessema, director of health for the International Rescue Committee, said countries that have declined to recognize vaccines cleared by WHO are acting against the scientific evidence.

Vaccines that have met WHOs threshold should be accepted. Otherwise it looks like theres an element of racism here, he said.

WHO urged countries to recognize all of the vaccines it has authorized, including two Chinese-made ones. Countries that decline to do so are undermining confidence in lifesaving vaccines that have already been shown to be safe and effective, affecting uptake of vaccines and potentially putting billions of people at risk, the U.N. health agency said in a statement this month.

In June, the Serum Institute of Indias CEO, Adar Poonawalla, tweeted that he was concerned about vaccinated Indians facing problems traveling to the EU and said he was raising the problem at the highest levels with regulators and countries.

Stefan De Keersmaeker, a spokesman for the EUs executive arm, said last week that regulators were obligated to check the production process at the Indian factory.

We are not trying to create any doubts about this vaccine, he said.

AstraZeneca said it only recently submitted the paperwork on the Indian factory to the EU drug regulatory agency. It didnt say why it didnt do so earlier, before the agency made its original decision in January.

The refusal of some national authorities to recognize vaccines manufactured outside the EU is also frustrating some Europeans immunized elsewhere, including the U.S.

Gerard Araud, a former French ambassador to Israel, the U.S. and the U.N., tweeted this week that Frances COVID-19 pass is a disaster for people vaccinated outside the country.

Public health experts warned that countries that decline to recognize vaccines backed by WHO are complicating global efforts to safely restart travel.

You cant just cut off countries from the rest of the world indefinitely, said Dr. Raghib Ali of the University of Cambridge. To exclude some people from certain countries because of the vaccine theyve received is wholly inconsistent because we know that these approved vaccines are extremely protective.

Nsofor said he and his wife are still deciding where to take their summer vacation and are leaning toward Singapore or East Africa.

I didnt realize there were so many layers to vaccine inequity, he said.

___

Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Angela Charlton and Lori Hinnant in Paris, and Lorne Cook in Brussels, contributed to this report.

___

Follow APs pandemic coverage at:

https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
WENN/FayesVision Celebrity

The 'Grown Ups' star reminds everyone that 'there must be no exceptions' to diversity as he has been voicing his reservations about the vaccine on social media.

Jul 13, 2021

AceShowbiz - Rob Schneider isn't going to back down despite backlash over his stance on COVID-19 vaccine. The actor/comedian has defended his controversial opinion under the right to free speech after voicing his reservations about the vaccine on social media.

Taking to Twitter on Monday, July 12, the 57-year-old posted a quote that read, "The right to free speech is more important that the content of the speech." Along with it, he reminded everyone that "there must be no exceptions" to diversity.

"When you hear people say they want diversity...," he wrote in the caption. "Remember there must be no exceptions. Their diversity must include; Diversity of thought, diversity of ideas & especially a diversity of opinion." He went on noting, "Otherwise the defining principle of their 'diversity' is intolerance."

Rob Schneider defended his anti-vaccine stance.

Rob's latest tweet arrives after he has been using the blue-bird app to voice his stance on the COVID-19 vaccine. "Just say no... And keep saying no... Over Half of the US population is continuing to say no to this unapproved experimental gene therapy!" so he posted on Friday, July 9. Adding, " 'My body, my choice!' #2ndAmendmentIsForThis."

Rob, who previously compared California public schools' in-person coronavirus safety measures to a "new kind of child abuse," added in a series of tweets that "our Government has told us they plan on going to OUR FRONT DOOR with this. They have lied, had a 2 year fear campaign and lockdown, destroyed middle class household incomes, bankrupted untold thousands of businesses and are now putting children's lives at risk."

He went on claiming, "We should never abandon our liberal principles and international stance on body autonomy, free informed choice and human rights, and support unprecedented coercion of professional health workers, patients and people to have experimental treatments with limited safety data."

"This and the policies that go with it are more of a danger to our society than anything we have faced during this last year," he argued.

Responding to Rob's vaccine take, one person tweeted, "Is comedic actor Rob Schneider suggesting Americans shoot COVID-19 with guns rather than simply get the safe and effective vaccines developed to help protect themselves and their communities."

Another spoke against Rob and his stance, "Just went through his Twitter and it's ridiculous. He retweets other anti-vaxxers to prove his point but none of them are doctors, scientists... No real evidence. Such is the anti-vaxx narrative."

Actress Selma Blair has also weighed in on it. Met by TMZ while grabbing coffee on Saturday in Los Angeles, the "Cruel Intentions" star said she respects Rob's opinion, but she still supports COVID vaccine.

"I'm fine - I'm fine with whatever people say," said Selma, who still undergoes chemotherapy for her MS, had undergone a bone marrow transplant, and has an immune system problem. "We appropriate everything, so I'm not great with the cancel culture mentality...I have respect for everything."

The 47-year-old mom of one added, "I don't mind what he says at all, but at the same time it's hard when everyone is hurting from something that's so oppressive...these shutdowns and businesses." She noted, "...But I never went anti-vax - not that I mind - i totally understand, but I think we're in a really tricky spot in the world. Those that can have a responsibility, but I have nothing bad to say about what anyone's saying."
WENN/FayesVision Celebrity

Jay-Z's former business partner has been ordered to pay up the damages sum to author E.W. Brooks after she successfully sued him for a 2015 book-to-film deal gone wrong.

Jul 13, 2021

AceShowbiz - A U.S. judge has upheld a $300,000 (216,000) copyright infringement ruling against embattled hip-hop mogul Damon Dash.

Jay-Z's former business partner was originally ordered to pay up the damages sum to author E.W. Brooks last year (2020), after she successfully sued him for a 2015 book-to-film deal gone wrong.

The writer claimed they planned to adapt her "Mafietta" book series for the screen, with Dash signing on as director, but Brooks fired him from the gig amid allegations suggesting he had wasted production time and money on other projects.

Despite losing the job, Dash was accused of continuing to make claims about his involvement in the movie and subsequently sold it online - all without Brooks' approval.

Dash appealed the 2020 ruling, but officials at the U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit found his case was "without merit" last week (ends July 9), and declared the businessman must pay up.

Brooks' attorney, Chris Brown, told the New York Post's Page Six, "Damon Dash can no longer run from his scandalous and malicious treatment of E.W. Brooks."

"At this point, four federal judges have told Mr. Dash he is dead wrong. It's time Mr. Dash pays Ms. Brooks the $300,000 he owes her and close the chapter."

But Dash, who has struggled with financial issues for several years, is refusing to go down without a fight.

Dash's attorney, Natraj Bhushan, told the New York Post's Page Six, "We respectfully disagree with the Second Circuit's summary order. In particular, we think that this court should not have affirmed the speculative damages awarded to Ms. Brooks and, for that reason, we are evaluating other appellate remedies at this time."
Instagram Celebrity

An arrest warrant for the former star of 'That's So Raven', who has been charged with one count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes, has been issued following his court absence.

Jul 13, 2021

AceShowbiz - A warrant has been issued for former Disney star Kyle Massey after he failed to show for an arraignment hearing in his immoral communication with a minor case.

The actor was scheduled to appear in a King County, Washington court on Monday morning, July 12, and when the former child star never arrived, the judge signed a warrant for his arrest.

Massey also missed his arraignment in late June.

The "That's So Raven" and "Cory in the House" star has been charged with one count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes after prosecutors claimed Massey sent pornographic material to a 13-year-old girl.

He is threatening legal action against his accuser after denying any misconduct and claiming he was being extorted.

His attorney, Lee A. Hutton, revealed his client was a no-show for an arraignment hearing on June 28 because he was not properly notified of the charge.

In a statement issued to TMZ, Hutton wrote, "[Massey] intends to aggressively defend these accusations again and will seek civil damages from those that refuse to hear the facts. We plan to seek an early dismissal [of the charge], finally putting this bad behavior to rest."

A representative for King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office has since responded to Hutton's statement. "It is possible that Mr. Massey's attorney is calling the wrong office. It's also worth noting that Mr. Massey previously acknowledged the filing of the case in past media articles since the first arraignment date, which also included today's new arraignment date," the rep told TMZ.

The representative further insisted, "There's no misrepresentation here. Quite simply, Mr. Massey did not appear in court."
Instagram Movie

The Ariel depicter shares her appreciation for everyone who has worked with her in the movie, including Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy and Awkwafina.

Jul 13, 2021

AceShowbiz - It's officially a wrap for "The Little Mermaid (2022)". After working on the project for months, Halle Bailey took to social media to share her emotional tribute on the final day of filming the upcoming live-action movie of the Disney classic.

On Monday, July 12, the 21-year-old shared on Instagram a picture of herself sitting on the seashore with her feet dipped in the water against the sunset. She kicked off her lengthy post by stating, "And just like that..that's a wrap. After auditioning for this film when i was 18 just about to turn 19 , to now finishing filming through a pandemic when i turned 21 ..we have finally made it."

"I feel so grateful to have experienced this film in all of its glory," the Ariel depicter added. "It has been the toughest experience being away from everything and everyone i've ever known, to feeling self doubt/ loneliness, but also feeling such freedom and perseverance as i've reached the end. this experience has made me so much stronger than i ever thought i could be."

Halle went on to share her appreciation for her co-stars and crew. "I'm so grateful to have such lovely and talented people in the cast like [Jonah Hauer-King] that will be my friend for infinite lifetimes, [Jacob Tremblay] who i'm so proud of and legends like [Javier Bardem] [Melissa McCarthy, [Awkwafina], [Daveed Diggs] who are masters of their craft but are so welcoming and open to little old me.. as well as to the rest of the beautiful cast and crew," she noted.

"I cannot wait for time to speed up so you all can watch this film because it was made with so much love (plus blood sweat and tears) lol," the younger sister of Chloe Bailey concluded her message. "Thank you sardinia for a wonderful ending!!! xoxo."

The movie's director Rob Marshall announced in July 2019 that Halle's casting came after an "extensive search" for the role of Ariel. Rob continued, "It was abundantly clear that Halle possesses that rare combination of spirit, heart, youth, innocence, and substance - plus a glorious singing voice - all intrinsic qualities necessary to play this iconic role."

Walt Disney Pictures has yet to reveal a release date for "The Little Mermaid (2022)".
Facebook Music

The Chino Moreno-fronted band, which originally planned to kick off its first full U.S. summer tour since 2017 in Portland, Oregon in July 2020, explain that it was a decision they felt necessary.

Jul 13, 2021

AceShowbiz - Rockers the Deftones have decided to delay their tour plans for a second time in an effort to ensure they can "make every date with confidence."

The band, fronted by Chino Moreno, had originally planned to kick off its first full U.S. summer tour since 2017 in Portland, Oregon in July 2020, but the COVID crisis forced the group to postpone the North American trek until this year (2021).

Now, due to continued uncertainty regarding the pandemic, the "Minerva" stars have announced they won't be hitting the road as planned in 2021, instead rescheduling the dates for April 2022.

"This is not an easy decision, but one we felt necessary," the Deftones members wrote in a statement. "Giving this tour a little more breathing room will give space to, and help ensure we can make every date with confidence.We can't thank you enough for your patience so far, and keeping with it just a bit longer [sic]."

In an additional statement they posted on Instagram, the band noted, "Thank you all for your patience and understanding. If you bought tickets for one of the 2021 shows and cannot make the rescheduled show, you will receive an email directly allowing you to request a refund."

"For more details, visit Livenation.com/refund (link in bio). Please hold on to existing tickets, as they will be honored for the 2022 dates," they continued in the caption of the post. "Tickets for the added dates (Las Vegas, Cincinnati, Nashville) go on sale Friday, 7/16 @ 10AM local at Deftones.com."

The Deftones will be supported by Gojira when they finally get to perform live for fans.
WENN/Joseph Marzullo Celebrity

The 'Uptown Funk' hitmaker takes the daughter of Meryl Streep to the Gucci and the Saltzman Family's Summer Celebration event in East Hampton, New York, which is hosted by Elizabeth Saltzman.

Jul 13, 2021

AceShowbiz - Mark Ronson and Grace Gummer have finally made their first appearance as an official couple. A few weeks after they got engaged, the "Uptown Funk" hitmaker and the "Mr. Robot" actress were spotted attending a public event together in New York.

On Saturday, July 10, the pair were in attendance at Gucci and the Saltzman Family's Summer Celebration event, which was hosted by stylist Elizabeth Saltzman. At the party, the DJ played his first show in over two years. He closed the night by playing "Toxic" as a tribute to Britney Spears.

At the bash, Mark and Grace also took some pictures with fellow celebrities such as Jeremy O. Harris and Derek Blasberg. Drew Barrymore, Lindsey Vonn and Kiki Layne were among other stars who attended the celebration.

Mark and Grace both wore Gucci for their outfit. The musician donned an Ouverture navy blue fine cotton canvas jacket, matching pants and sneakers. His fiancee, on the other hand, sported red ensemble.

The outing came more than a month after the 45-year-old musician confirmed his engagement to Meryl Streep's daughter. When speaking to Tame Impala's Kevin Parker on his "The Fader Uncovered" podcast, he said, "I got engaged last weekend... And I remember our first kiss... (Tame Impala album) 'InnerSpeaker' was playing in the background. We go home, we went to dinner."

Just days afterwards, Mark gushed over Grace in an interview with Rich Kleiman on the latter's "Boardroom: Out of Office" podcast. "I'm grateful because the person I'm with now is just so fantastic," he raved. "Whatever had to happen to me to get to this point in life, I'm okay with of course."

Mark was previously married to French actress Josephine de La Baume from 2011 to 2017. Grace, meanwhile, wed keyboardist Tay Strathair in 2020. Their marriage, however, lasted for only 42 days.
Instagram Movie

'Tutankhamun: The Last Exhibition' will revisit the archaeological history of the child king's tomb, starting with its discovery in 1922 to the preparation of its 2019 successful touring exhibition.

Jul 13, 2021

AceShowbiz - Rocker Iggy Pop is taking fans on a journey through history by narrating a new documentary all about Egypt's King Tutankhamun.

The "Lust for Life" star has lent his voice to "Tutankhamun: The Last Exhibition", which will revisit the archaeological history of the child king's tomb, starting with its discovery in 1922 and running through to the preparation involved ahead of the hugely successful touring exhibition, which opened in Los Angeles in 2019.

The original Italian version of the film has been narrated by musician Manuel Agnelli, but for the English release, producers at Laboratoriorosso and Nexo Digital decided Pop had the best voice for the job.

Nexo Digital's Rosella Gioffre told Variety, "We were looking for somebody that could give a different appeal to the narration of the movie, and we thought of [Pop] and he accepted."

Antiquities photographer and Laboratoriorosso chief Sandro Vannini added, "When we heard his voice for the first time we said, 'This is the voice. This is what we need for this film.' The voice of Iggy Pop is simply incredible."

"When he read the story what he was going to narrate he was immediately keen to work with us [sic]," Vannini went on sharing.

The making of the documentary was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the timing has actually worked out in producers' favor as they prepare for a 2022 release. "We're more than happy because we're going to hit the centenary of the discovery," shared Gioffre.

Pop's signing as the documentary's narrator came just a few months after he was cast for a dark comedy titled "Blue Iguana". In it, he will portray a wealthy patriarch whose death kicks off a chain of unfortunate events for his son.
Instagram Celebrity

The British actor has passed away at the age of 48 at his home alone after his condition deteriorated following his return from the Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.

Jul 14, 2021

AceShowbiz - "Peaky Blinders" actor Toby Kirkup died after medics sent him home from the hospital with chest pain, a court in England has heard.

The 48 year old was admitted to the Huddersfield Royal Infirmary last August (20) with chest pains and a tingling sensation in his arms. He died alone at his home.

Lawmakers heard he was diagnosed with gastritis - inflammation in his stomach lining - and discharged. He suffered cardiac arrest and vomiting and died.

A post-mortem determined Kirkup died of natural causes after his family asked the coroner to examine his body.

Another hearing is scheduled for 30 September (21).

Kirkup played a police sergeant in "Peaky Blinders".

His obituary has been published.

"On the 29th August 2020 Toby died suddenly at home in Huddersfield aged 48," it read.

"Beloved son of Philip and Pamela younger brother of Dominic and Sammy. Much loved father to Isabella and dear friend to many."

"Private service at Church of St Thomas, Thurstonland on Monday 21st of September followed by private committal at Huddersfield Crematorium."

"Family flowers only please. Donation in lieu of ACA UK."

Tributes and prayers poured in for the late star and his family. A former friend at university stated, "RIP Toby, you were a real character at uni & often made lectures much more interesting, sorry it ended this way."
BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. - Scorching temperatures and a Southern Oregon wildfire has prompted Cal-ISO to issue a flex alert for a fourth straight evening.

So what really is the likelihood of rolling blackouts if electricity demand runs too high?

Cal-ISO said power lines are strained.

The hours between 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. are when the most amount of energy is being used.

Power providers said they are ready to do their part if necessary.

"We operate our generation plant at full capacity when called upon to do so," said Shawn Avery, Program Supervisor for Redding Electric Utility,

"But that doesn't relieve us from having issues," he said. "Of course, if there are resource issues, right now we have procured an adequate amount for our community."

PG&E said they're helping relieve some of the strain the state has felt from the Bootleg Fire that has threatened power lines leading to California.

PG&E has been asked to help supply power to the state.

"Cal-ISO has asked for us to not do any maintenance, to turn off power lines or not generate power at generating facilities," said PG&E Spokesman Paul Moreno.

PG&E calls the power dams along the Hwy 70 corridor, "The Stairway of Power", and those buildings are hydroelectric dams that feed power into the area.

The electric company said they'll ramp up power production at the powerhouses if they get called upon to do so from Cal-ISO.

Power providers are suggesting people at home lessen the strain on the power grid.

"We can conserve a little, hopefully, prevent those outages that could occur because of the California, [and] Oregon fires that are going on right now," said Avery. "And the heatwave we're going through right now."

"We are projecting possible power shortfalls today," and that's why the flex alert went into effect from early Monday evening, Cal-ISO said in a statement.

Power providers suggest you keep your A/C at 78 degrees or higher, and they recommend using a washer or dryer before or after 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Check their website HERE which shows the flow of demand for power throughout the state.
SHASTA COUNTY, Calif. - Emiliano Carlos Zapata was arraigned on Monday as he is charged with battery and disturbing the peace by fighting, Shasta County District Attorney Office said.

Zapata entered a plea of not guilty and requested trial dates in mid-August.

He is one of the leaders of the Red, White and Blueprint, a group supporting the recall of the three Shasta County supervisors.

His next court date is on Aug. 9.
GLENN COUNTY, Calif. - A series of bottled water distributions events will be hosted for people who have dry wells as a result of the drought in Glenn County, the Sheriffs Office said.

The bottled water was donated by Amazon with the assistance of Assemblyman James Gallagher as it will be coordinated by the Glenn County Sheriffs Office, deputies said.

The first event will be on Wednesday as the second will be on July 21. Both events will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Orland Fire Department.

There are some requirements like people must be a resident of Glenn County, must complete a Glenn County Dry Well report and there is 10 case limit per household.

To report a dry well, click here.

The sheriffs office said it cannot accept donations so they are asking people to not drop off donations.
REDDING, Calif. - The Redding Fire Department responded to a reported structure fire off Lake Blvd. at approximately 2 p.m. on Monday, according to the Redding Fire Department.

There were exterior flames and smoke coming from the attic of the building.

Initial reports suggested that a person might still be inside of the building.

The first crew that arrived at the scene searched the building and found that everyone had made it out.

One person had minor burns to the arms and was transported to the hospital, the Redding Fire Department said.

Firefighters said the cause of the fire was determined to be started from smoking.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A man was sentenced to five years in prison for conspiracy to manufacture marijuana, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

28-year-old Pedro Alvarez-Alcazar of Mexico was the sixth defendant sentenced for growing marijuana in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

Court documents showed on Aug. 21, 2018, law enforcement raided a marijuana cultivation site in the area of Shiell Gulch.

Alvarez-Alcazar was at the site and attempted to draw a knife while struggling with officers who were trying to arrest him.

Fidencio Palacios-Riano, 22, and Romualdo Palacios-Hernandez, 38, of Mexico were also arrested at the site.

Jesus Manzo Canela, Jose Jesus Suarez Villa, Joseph William Manzo and Francisco Jesus Maldonado were arrested in a vehicle after they just visited the site, the DOJ said.

When at the site, the DOJ said officers saw bags being loaded into the trunk. They later found 84 pounds of marijuana in garbage bags.

Officers also found 6,544 growing marijuana plants and seized 500 pounds of processed marijuana at the site, according to the DOJ.

Of seven defendants, Alvarez-Alcazar is the sixth to be sentenced.
We are proud to inform you all that we, at Integrated Centre for Consultancy Pvt. Ltd (ICCPL) have bagged Public Relations & Media Account of Setup Services India, a pre-eminent financial advisory firm collaborating with Industry pioneers in all its service domains.

GAMEXX Awards 2021 Early Bird Discount Extended Last Date - Wednesday, June 30, 2021 - ENTER NOW

SSI helps both foreign as well as Indian companies in the identification of strategic advantages and incentive schemes in the Indian commercial ecosystem before incorporating their businesses. It, then, proceeds with the registration of Formal entities for clients and helps them find an impression on paper.

It also creates a boutique service portfolio for each Industrial domain and helping individual clients in raising capital, managing their international taxation, planning remittances, and drafting legal agreements. SSI further helps its clients sustain the ease of doing business by taking care of their compliances, accounting & financial record maintenance activities.

ICCPL is now PR & Communication partner for Setup Services India and will be managing all the media activities. Along with that, we will also be initiating innovative ideas/events/activities to help the brand grow. We request you all to send your queries/questions/updates regarding the brand to us.
Kellogg South Asia today announced the launch of its Employee Value Proposition, extending its promise as an employer to existing and potential talent. With an overarching EVP statement NOURISH YOUR GRRREAT, Kellogg South Asia promises to help its employees realize true potential by providing opportunities to thrive. The EVP will come to life through three strategic pillars, namely, Be the Real You, Make a Mark, and Do a World of Good and will be shared with all employees across corporate, retail, and the shop-floor in an engaging format, and simultaneously reflect in the companys external communications across all its major platforms moving forward.

The EVP will give shape to Kelloggs fundamental ethos, which is being a people first organization. This has already reflected in myriad ways in recent years where the workforce required greater attention. Established programs around COVID emergency response preparedness such as Kare, ensuring the holistic growth of employees without physical limitations, 80% of employees covered in training programmes in the last one year, and serving 1.1 million meals to people in need amidst the lockdown, all stand testament to this fact. The EVP will reiterate Kelloggs commitment to give employees numerous opportunities to make their mark, leverage a culture where they can be themselves, and do a world of good to the consumer and community around them.

Kellogg South Asias EVP came together authentically through the work of a cross functional team with representatives from different departments of the organization to provide the most holistic perspective. Over the course of one year, close to 850 interactions within the company and the FMCG sector were studied via deep-dive interviews and surveys, to ensure the EVP was rooted in what employees and external partners felt about the organization. The team also scanned social and third-party platforms to gauge general consensus in the talent market about Kellogg as an employer.

Commenting on the launch of Kelloggs EVP, Mohit Anand, Managing Director, Kellogg South Asia, said The launch of our EVP is a celebration of everything Kellogg stands for. While the core principles of our EVP were always ingrained in our organization, the external articulation of our EVP will help us recruit, onboard and engage the brightest minds in the industry. Our goal for EVP is to attract and retain people who know would be valued, supported with compassion, and where the culture aligns with their own beliefs and purpose.

Also commenting on the launch of EVP, Nimisha Das, Director HR, Kellogg South Asia said, Kellogg is a strong consumer brand that has made its way to the hearts of many consumers, and our EVP gives us a chance to tell our story as an employer and give the brand a new identity. This is the most significant step towards nurturing and building an exceptionally strong talent pool. We are certain that the principles which form the bedrock of our EVP will not only help us attract the best talent but will also allow us to celebrate and build pride in the organization for our existing employees.

Vinay Thakker, Founder, CEO, Oddinary said, "Creating the Employee Value Proposition for Kellogg's was an emotional journey for us. It involved multiple rounds of discussion and a deep dive into the culture that makes the company what it is today. The pride and love for the company was palpable even as the team briefed us. The K family is one big unit dedicated to moving ahead together, supporting each other at every step of the way. There is constant effort to work towards the betterment of consumers, employees, the community and the planet. Once this understanding and brief sunk in with us, the campaign practically wrote itself."
Kerala High Court has grated relief to All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF), the apex body of Multi-System Operators (MSOs) in India, in its order wherein it set aside regulation 18 (4)  LCN for perpetuity. However, the High Court upheld the other regulations of TRAIs NTO (new tariff order) 2.0.

In its order, the Kerala HC noted that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has misconstrued placement as interconnection, therefore Register of Interconnect regulation is rejected.

The AIDCF had filed a writ petition, wherein it had sought stay the regulations pertaining to Register of Interconnection Agreements, capping of carriage fee for SD channels at Rs 4 lakh and for HD channels at Rs 8 lakh, limiting the target market for MSOs to a state or a Union Territory, and considering 5% as the threshold for discontinuing a TV channel.

Barring Register of Interconnection Agreements, all the other regulations were upheld by the Kerala High Court.
Tinder, the worlds most popular app for sparking connections with new people, is partnering with Netflix as the official casting partner for its first ever Indian dating reality show, IRL: In Real Love. In tune with fan favourites like Indian Matchmaking, Love is Blind, and Too Hot to Handle, IRL: In Real Love, produced by Monozygotic, is set to sweep this generation off its feet with a true to its time dating format.

GAMEXX Awards 2021 Early Bird Discount Extended Last Date - Wednesday, June 30, 2021 - ENTER NOW

This July, singles on Tinder can apply for IRL: In Real Love by just making one Swipe Right in-app. Swipe Cards will appear in between Tinder members' stack of potential matches - so all they need to do is Swipe Right on the in-app casting callout and they will be redirected to a registration page*.

Interested? Sounds like a good time for members to also get those bios spruced up!

LET YOUR BIO PAINT THE REAL YOU Dont shy away from showing-off the different shades of your personality. ALL EYES (should be) ON YOU Show us what youve got with some of your amazing single shots on Tinder. Were affirmative that you can win hearts, let your profile picture too. THERES NO OTHER WAY THAN BEING SINGLE, FOR REAL To be on IRL youve got to be single. Get actively looking for sparks on Tinder!

Tinder is thrilled to partner with Netflix to offer this generations hopeful romantics a chance to go after a flame that cant be put out. Right from the casting process to its distinctive dating format, this show brings to the table, an opportunity to experience new connections, some heartbreaks, unmatched chemistry and a whole lot of fun. With Tinders diverse community of young singletons actively looking for real sparks, this show will provide them with exactly that and more. Its a perfect match!, said Taru Kapoor, GM, Tinder and Match Group, India.

Tanya Bami, Director, International Originals, Netflix India, said, IRL: In Real Love is an indigenous dating format and the association with Tinder will help us keep it as real as the times today. Authenticity is key to any reality series and Tinder will help us find a cast whose preferences and choices will enable us to understand the everyday dating conundrums. We cant wait for the Tinder members to swipe right for IRL: In Real Love on Netflix!
UNIBIC Foods, one of Indias fastest growing FMCG companies announced the appointment of Naveen Pandey as its Chief Executive Officer. Naveen will be responsible for leading the strategic direction and growth journey of the Company.

Naveen commands over two decades of senior management experience in the Indian FMCG space. An alumnus of Indian Institute of Management, Indore, Naveen has had successful stints with corporate giants such as PepsiCo and Asian Paints. His last assignment before joining UNIBIC was as the Head of Maricos New Foods Business Unit, where he led the start-up team to launch category defining products such as Saffola Honey, Saffola Mealmaker and Immuniveda.

Commenting on the development, Sandeep Reddy, Chairman of Board of Directors, UNIBIC, said, We believe that the experience Naveen brings to the table would bolster UNIBICs already impressive track record of delivering innovative products and help drive the company into a linear growth trajectory. His extensive background in FMCG should help UNIBIC gain further ground in the dynamic Indian foods industry and drive the organisation towards higher profitability. He will contribute to develop strategic alliances and expand UNIBICs presence in India and in international markets.

Speaking on the occasion, Naveen Pandey, CEO, UNIBIC, said, I am very excited to have joined the UNIBIC team. With a prolific number of unique and successful chapters, UNIBIC has carved a niche for itself while staying away from the beaten path, something that I strongly believe in. Given the dynamic of the foods business industry, UNIBICs modus operandi and strategy is sure to attract new consumers, strengthen the existing customer base and dial up business growth.

Having kicked off in collaboration with UNIBIC Australia in 2004, the company became a 100% independent Indian entity in 2012, backed by investments from Peepul Capital. UNIBIC was the first to introduce wire-cut cookies in India. The company has a state-of-the art manufacturing facility in Bengaluru which is the largest wire-cut cookie manufacturer in India. UNIBIC also undertakes private label manufacturing for notable brands such as Cafe Coffee Day, Indigo Airlines etc. with Indian and international flavours catering to the Indian taste. It exports its products to 25 countries and is looking to expand its global footprint and make its products available in more than a million outlets soon. Having positioned its offerings in the premium cookie segment, UNIBICs philosophy has been great taste and indulgence at affordable prices.
Alton, IL (62002)

Today

Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 84F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mainly clear. Low near 65F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
FERGUS FALLS, Minn.  Reading the weather outside is sometimes more accurate than reading the forecast.

After many years of farming, Paul Freeman had a pretty good idea the forecast wasnt right on the day he needed to spray.

The internet said 90 percent chance of rain, so I said, That great of a chance of rain  it wont rain, and I went out and sprayed, he said.

Radar was a little more accurate. The green for rain was splitting around Pauls area and going north and south.

So, he completed his spraying successfully.

There may need to be some more weed control, though  because of the drought.

The drought-stressed lambsquarters and ragweed looked sick before they were sprayed. These tough weeds didnt take up the herbicide, so there was some escape.

Im debating if its worth taking a cultivator out there or not, he said. I have to balance that with the increased moisture loss if I stir it up.

In this case, hell wait and see if it does rain. A little less than half an inch of rain fell on the morning of July 6, with more rain in the forecast.

Paul talked with his Centrol agronomist, Brent Werven, on the morning of July 5.

There was good news despite the drought.

The agronomist pulled soil samples the last week of June and found moisture six inches down. Some farmers have found corn roots as deep as the plants were tall. On average, the roots were about two feet deep ahead of pollination.

It is amazing, Paul added, to think that the number of corn rows around the ear has already been determined. The length of the ear will depend on pollination, as well as the energy and water available to the plant after tasseling.
PAGE, N.D.  Producers often have ag camera systems on their semi-trailers so they can check on their grain as it gravity feeds or the auger l
SUTHERLAND, Iowa  Paul Mugge steps into a field of triticale on his organic farm in northwest Iowa.

The triticale is part of a crop rotation he is always tweaking, always experimenting with. In a way, that is the same thing happening across the organic agriculture industry. Farmers and regulators and industry leaders are continually tweaking and, in many cases, arguing over the best way forward.

Consumer demand for organic food continues to grow, according to Laura Batcha, CEO and executive director of the Organic Trade Association.

I think the consumer interest in organic food and fiber products has never been higher than it is today, Batcha says.

In 2020, the market grew by about 12%, its highest rate since 2008, and it accounted for nearly $62 billion, or about 6% of food sales in the United States. That means more farmers are going into organic production as well, Batcha says.

But that growth in the organic industry brings with it some inescapable conflicts.

One of those is that organic traditionally was identified with small and local production, but the certification has nothing to do with size. As it becomes a larger industry, there have been issues regarding imports.

Thats a hot issue, Mugge says.

He says there has been concern in the past several years that USDA was not updating and enforcing standards in regards to imports. The United States imports about 80% of its organic grain, and 70% of its organic soybean meal comes from India. Many Midwestern farmers question whether all of that imported grain meets organic guidelines.
Although it too is dry, the U.S. northern durum crop area in North Dakota and Montana has benefited from a few more rains than the spring wheat region, and because of that it is not as attached to other wheat markets.

With durum, the market is a little more isolated than the other wheat markets, maybe a little less connection to corn, said Jim Peterson, market director for the North Dakota Wheat Commission. This growing season, for the most part, where most of the durum is grown (that region) has benefitted from some rain. Although the region is still dry and has had some hot temperatures, the crop was planted a little later and theyve been a little more favored with some of the June rains.

Nonetheless, as we hit the end of June, we are starting to see a little more buyer concern with some hot, dry conditions moving into the Canadian crop, as well as hot temperatures in the North Dakota and Montana durum crops and a little setback in crop condition ratings, he added.

On top of that, USDA came out with updated planted acreage estimates the end of June for both Canada and the U.S. Peterson felt it was a bit surprising to end users that acres went down from March intentions.

End users felt that $7-$7.50 was an attractive price for producers, but it certainly paled in comparison to what they could get in other markets, he said. The lack of really strong new crop bids probably discouraged additional durum plantings.

According to the planted acreage report, total U.S. durum plantings were down 60,000 acres from the March estimate and now stand at 1.48 million acres, a decline of 12 percent from a year ago. Where the decline took place was in Montana where they were expected to plant 710,000 acres in March, which would have been slightly higher than the 2020 crop of 690,000. Instead, only 650,000 acres were planted this year.
A friend of agriculture, a pioneer of cooperative development, and a leader in regenerative agricultural practices, Jeff Lakner of Wessington, South Dakota was honored at the 2021 South Dakota Governors Ag Summit as the Ag Ambassador of the year.

Lakner, who has been CEO of Lakner Farms since 1981, has served on co-op boards for much of his professional career. A board member of South Dakota Wheat Growers Association  now Agtegra  and Land OLakes helped shape his career into that of a leader. But as a pioneer in ag promotion, Lakner said that South Dakota is unique in that everyone is usually seen working together to better the state.

There is a large number of individuals in our state, both men and women, that have worked for so many years to promote our state, Lakner said a few days before his award presentation on July 9. The things they do for local communities, economic development.

Lakner Farms LLC, which is a 4,500 acre diversified crop and livestock farm in Wessington, implements many regenerative practices, and Lakner said both the states producers and the co-ops have helped shape the operation. With the ability to work closely with so many producers, Lakner credited his time on co-op boards with helping shape his perspective.

Over the last few months, Lakner has closely worked with South Dakota Ag Secretary Hunter Roberts on the new Dakota Events Complex at the state fairgrounds in Huron. After 40 years in the business, Lakner said he was still floored when Roberts gave him a call one afternoon to persuade him to take a trip down to Sioux Falls to receive his award.
Immediately following July 4, the wheat market saw some sell-offs, which brought prices lower.

We hit the Fourth of July fireworks in terms of volatility, not necessarily moving markets to the high side, said Jim Peterson, market director for the North Dakota Wheat Commission.

For the spring wheat market prior to the Fourth of July, the major concern in the market was obviously the extended period of hot temperatures and lack of rain and really the poor condition of the spring wheat crop, he continued. We saw September futures approach the $8.50 level, which was up from $7.50 in mid-June, but right after July 4 weve seen some pretty major sell-offs in the market. We were down 50 cents on the Minneapolis futures.

Whats driving it is the fact the region did pick up some rains and some of the nearby forecasts were calling for more seasonal temperatures.

In my mind the question is: Is it more of a reaction to the benefit this is going to have for corn and soybeans and the overall commodity market as opposed to really benefiting the spring wheat crop? Time will tell, he said.

The reality, according to Peterson, is that a lot of the spring wheat crop is in tough shape and yield improvement is non-existent, especially for the early portion of the crop and probably even some of the mid-portion of the crop.

Its really only the later planted crop that can benefit in terms of yield enhancement from a cooler July and more rains, he said. But I think overall theres more of the crop that pretty much has its yields set. The benefit from rain and cooler temps would be better kernel fill, which we certainly need to maintain some quality in a lower yielding crop.
Drought is lingering in South Dakota and it looks like it will hang on with us for a while longer.

The unfortunate news for South Dakotas producers comes from South Dakota State Universitys ongoing Drought Hour webinar hosted several times a month. Laura Edwards, the SDSU Extension state climatologist, shared the troubling news and some more tips during the presentation on June 28.

Edwards said that in 2021, places like Aberdeen, South Dakota have seen four days (as of early June) of over 100-degree temperatures. Before 2021, there were only nine days recorded over 100 degrees in the area since 2009.

Were starting to see the heat take its toll, she said.

The typical precipitation in South Dakota averages out to about one inch per week in the month of June, with slightly lower totals in July. For all of June, half of the counties in South Dakota have only received half an inch of rain total.

Luckily for the area, she said, South Dakota has been able to tread water with scattered rain events in much of the eastern side of the state, but it is not a sustainable water source. The most drastic change the state has seen since April and May has been soil moisture, as it is now at critically low levels.

The northwestern part of South Dakota has actually improved due to May rainfalls.

A lot of the change is due to May precipitation. It was below average but it was still close enough to meet a threshold, she said.

The south central part of the state has entered into a D3 designation of drought, while the north central part of South Dakota has recorded its first official setback as the drought has dramatically limited wheat production.
Canadian cattle exports for the first half of 2021 are down 23% compared to 2020 and 26% lower than the 5-year average, says Jason Wood, livestock market analyst with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. Year-to-date, Canadian cattle exports in 2021 are the lowest in about 15 years.

Wood says the decline in cattle exports has been influenced by a number of factors. These include expansion of the U.S. cattle herd over a 6-year period starting in 2014. The US beef cow inventory increased by over 2.6 million head, reducing the need for imported live cattle. Since 2014, the Canadian beef cow herd has declined by 297,000 head, reducing the available supply of cattle for export. Canadian cattle processing capacity and plant utilization levels have also increased, supporting growth in the Canadian cattle feeding industry and demand for cattle.

Image 1. Canadian total live cattle exports to the United States

In 2020, live Canadian cattle exports were 669,670 head, down 7% from 2019 and 6% lower than the 5-year average. Canadian live cattle exports to the U.S. have been trending lower, with 2020 being 46% lower than 2014. Feeder cattle exports for 2020 were down 36% from 2019 and 73% below 2014.

Slaughter capacity

Weekly federally inspected Canadian cattle slaughter capacity is approximately 66,860 head. In the west, federally inspected cattle slaughter capacity is just over 51,000 head or 76% of Canadian capacity.

The national federally inspected beef plant utilization rate was 92% in 2019. Western Canada federally inspected cattle slaughter plants had an average utilization rate of 93.4% in 2019. For 2020, the western Canada utilization rate averaged 89.6%, including 6 weeks in April and May when weekly utilization rates were below 70% due to COVID-19 plant disruptions.

Removing the 6-week disruption period increases the utilization rate for western Canada beef slaughter plants to 96.3% in 2020. The utilization rates indicate plants are running near capacity and significantly higher than the 5-year average of 83%.

Cattle imports

The demand for cattle has turned Canada into a net importer of feeder cattle in recent years, explains Wood. For the January to April 2021 period, 134,660 head have been imported from the U.S., an increase of 95% from 2020 and more than double 2019. Alberta cattle imports from the U.S. are 88,870 head for the January to April period, an increase of 165% from 2019.

In 2021, Alberta cattle imports accounted for 66% of total Canadian cattle imports, compared to an average of 44% over the last 5 years. For the January to April 2021 period, Canadas net cattle imports are about 100,000 head, up significantly from a year ago.

Image 2. Live cattle imports from the United States

Contact

For more information, connect with Jason Wood:

Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)

Phone: 780-422-3122

Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)

Email: [email protected]

For media inquiries about this article, call Alberta Agriculture and Forestrys media line:

Phone: 780-422-1005
Alexander City, AL (35010)

Today

Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High 82F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms this evening giving way to periods of light rain late. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
Jerusalem | Al-Quds University's proposed doctorate program in Public Health, the first of its kind in Palestine, recently received accreditation from the Palestinian Ministry of Higher Education Quality Assurance Commission.

The program aims to improve the health situation in Palestine and build healthy communities by graduating highly-qualified public professionals and independent researchers who can think critically to reach innovative solutions and contribute new knowledge in the field of public health. To be offered in the beginning of the academic year 2021/2022, this promising Ph.D. program will be a further contribution by the university to the Palestinian health sector, particularly in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Dean of the Faculty of Public Health, Dr. Asma Al-Imam, emphasizes this program was prepared based on the relentless efforts by the Faculty of Public Health at Al-Quds University to become a regional and global center for excellence in the contribution of knowledge, learning, research, and innovation, in line with the pioneering role of Al-Quds University in supporting research and promoting health sciences in Palestine.

The program includes theoretical and applied courses, with 30 credit hours as courses and a doctoral dissertation of 18 credit hours. The teaching and supervision processes of the program will be undertaken by specialized professors. The first cohort of enrolled students will be accepted at the beginning of the next academic year based on the procedures that will be announced on the AQU website.

As designed, the program has the capacity to enable its graduates to assume leadership and advisory positions in the field of public health and work as evaluators, researchers, and academics in health programs. The program will also support students with the tools to become experts in epidemiology and work in various settings such as universities, hospitals and primary healthcare in governmental, non-governmental, and international organizations.

It is worth noting that the Public Health program was catalyzed following the excellence and innovation demonstrated by graduates of the masters program in Public Health at Al-Quds University, which highlights to the excellence of the universitys graduates and their endeavors to spread its humanitarian and scientific message on the various levels.
Lake Charles, Louisiana (70615)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms, especially during the morning. High 89F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 77F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
Lake Charles, Louisiana (70615)

Today

Mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 89F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 77F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
Lake Charles, Louisiana (70615)

Today

Thunderstorms during the morning will give way to mostly cloudy skies this afternoon. High around 90F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 77F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
On Independence Day the Black Lives Matter (BLM) chapter located in Utah posted on social media that the American flag is now a hate symbol.

The post, which went viral of course, caused somewhat of an uproar. Some Americans found the post ridiculous while some came out in full-throated defense of it.

Yet, less than a week after issuing its infamous post about the American flag, BLM Utah is back at it again.

And this time, the BLM Utah chapter didnt hold anything back as it doubled down on its anti-American flag propaganda.

The post begins, Now I have started a huge controversy. The media now has a hold of it. The controversy stems from me calling the American flag a symbol of hate. I stand by my words.

It continues, If you see that every person that hates you is carrying an American flag how would you feel about that flag? If every message of hate that you receive comes from a person flying that flag, how would you feel when you see that flag. I feel fear. That is not up for debate. I feel like the person flying it is racist, because every racist that I have come in contact with is either wearing that flag or flying that flag. I feel as if I should avoid that person because they may be dangerous.

One thing that immediately struck me is the emphasis on I feel. This person may feel these things to be true, but he or she lacks any evidence to prove that what he or she feels is tethered to any facts or reality.

Another thing that must be addressed is the sheer embellishment of that nonsensical rant. It is patently absurd to associate the American flag with racism. The American flag is the symbol for a nation that has bent over backward to ensure that all citizens have equal rights.

From 1861 to 1865, that flag was carried by hundreds of thousands of white (and black) soldiers who fought to end slavery in the bloodiest war this nation has ever participated in. Whats more, that glorious flag has become the archetype of freedom throughout the world over the past century or more.

The post concludes with this ludicrous line, I came to tell you the truth and the truth is not always popular. When I see that flag, I see hate. We have never seen outrage from republicans when literal Nazis fly the flag, that must mean that they are ok with it, they must support it, they must like it. If you ignore the hate, do not ask me to because I won't. Do not use a symbol for hate and ask us not to see it as such. Our eyes are open even if yours are closed.

Apart from the absurd idea that Republicans support the flag and thereby Nazism, I am even more struck with the narcissism on display here.

Just because this author has a vendetta against the American flag does not mean that any and all Americans who proudly wave it are evil racists. Just because the author chooses to see hate when the flag is flown does not make the United States a racist nation.

Those feelings are within the author, not within American society at large.

In fact, according to a 2021 YouGov/NBCLX poll, About seven in 10 (72%) Americans say the American flag makes them feel proud. Whats more, 59 percent of black Americans said the American flag makes them feel proud, too.

Furthermore, When asked which terms they would use to describe people who display an American flag on their home or vehicle, the most common responses were patriotic (62%), proud (53%), and normal (38%). Far fewer chose the words obnoxious (10%), racist (7%), or ignorant (6%).

Interestingly, according to the poll, the group of Americans that was least proud of the American flag are Americans under the age of 35 (56 percent). Thanks, public schools.

So, more than 70 percent of all Americans are proud of the flag. Almost 60 percent of black Americans are proud of the flag. And only 7 percent associate the flag with racism.

Put another way, 93 percent of Americans do not believe the American flag is racist. Perhaps the BLM Utah chapter should reconsider its stance on the American flag. For it seems that the vast majority of Americans, including blacks, think otherwise about the stars and stripes.

Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is senior editor at The Heartland Institute.

Image: National Archives

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
The Communist Party of China runs a theocracy. Founded 100 years ago, it has followed a trajectory away from Western Marxism toward the religious precepts of China two-and-a-half millennia ago. Under Xi Jinpings leadership, the Chinese Communist Party has robustly revived the Chinese Imperial structure, which was first institutionalized in 221 BCE, whereby Chinese life experiences were directed by the authorities towards discipline and order. Mohism is the theocratic justification for totalitarian control of culture, society, politics, and the economy proposed by the ancient political philosopher Mozi (470-391 BCE) that undergirded the Imperial structure.

Mozi (public domain image)

That Imperial system, what I have called the Huangdi Dao, or the Way of the Emperor, was created by the founder of the Qin Dynasty in 221 BCE. The system was then perpetuated over the millennia by the Han, Sui, Tang, Sung, Yuan, Ming, and Qing family dynasties. Whenever one dynasty collapsed, the system was restored by its successor immediately after recovery from chaos. Two dynasties, the Yuan and the Qing were founded and managed by foreign invaders, first the Mongols and then the Manchus. But each of those dynasties assiduously restored the Huangdi Dao as used by their Chinese predecessors.

The Huangdi Dao only suffered a serious but interim rejection upon encounter with Western modernity during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. But now it has reappeared with vigor under Xi Jinping.

Emperor Xi

In December 2019, the Chinese Communist Party Politburo elevated Xi Jinping with a new title renmin lingxiu or Peoples Leader, providing him personally with a status akin to that of the Emperor under the dynasties.

Accordingly, the Chinese people are obligated to learn Xi Jinping thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a new era. Such thought includes the China Dream, the four confidences, the four-pronged comprehensive strategy, and the five-sphere integrated plan. Andrew Nathan has recently noted the Partys presentation of Xi as the all-knowing, benevolent, serenely smiling sage who guides China unerringly 6oward inevitable historic greatness.

The Chinese neo-imperial order is, in modern terms, a discourse regime with its core legitimating narrative composed by Mozi in the late Bronze Age. This discourse could be described as a story explaining natural law  a realization that what is must be so. The story tells us that our role in the what is is to accept and not to challenge; to accommodate ourselves to the happenings which flow around us.

The Partys diktat now disciplines religions and education, the formative structures by which the Chinese people learn to use words and, therefore, to think and assess reality. In order to control the very foundations of thought and being, no other comprehensive understanding of humanitys place in the universe can be tolerated. The repression of Uyghur adherence to Islam reveals the Partys anathema to rival theologies. A similar ethnicized colonialism has been imposed on the Tibetans and their form of Buddhism. The Party calls this transformation Sinicisation

The same theocratic insistence on autocratic Party control of religious expressions drives Beijings opposition to the Vaticans discretion in selecting bishops for its churches in China. New regulations on the selection of bishops give that privilege to the Chinese state alone.

A third normative institution besides religion and education  public opinion -- has also been brought under Party supervision. Media, both traditional and social, is monitored by the Party through its administrative state for conformity to opinions that are approved by the Party. Other statements - normative and factual  inconsistent with that orthodoxy are prohibited and such speakers are punished for thinking and speaking wrongly.

The road map for the retrogression of China from political convergence with the other advanced nations back to an earlier form of state practice was set forth in the 1980s under Deng Xiaopings leadership with the vision of a socialism with Chinese characteristics.

For a time, this program of national development was seen both in China and the West primarily as an opening of the Chinese economy to market forces and private power, free from State management. What was overlooked, however, was the deep and pervasive orientation of Chinese characteristics as having sustained the Huangdi Dao for the prior 2,000 years. Han chauvinism is now triumphantly proclaimed as the basis for the ruling caste of cadres. So, an apt Western translation of Xi Jinpings new title of renmin lingxiu could be der Fuhrer.

This theocratic discourse was not personified with stories about a deity. Rather, its vision of theism saw a creative force, rather mystical and later to be called by many the Dao; a way which was the ultimate architect of all living realities and which disposed of all things in Heaven and Earth.

The name given by the ancient Chinese to the source of such comprehensive causation was Tian, or what we would call Heaven. The Huangdi Dao as it was formulated by the first dynasty proposed this formula: Tian set the standards; a Tianzi or Son of Heaven learned the standards of Tian and organized a state to ensure that the Tianxia or All-Under-heaven followed those standards with exactitude in every punctilio of thought and behavior. There was to be no deviation from the Will of Heaven.

One might consider this ancient Chinese natural philosophy a righteousness code of propriety and correctness applicable to every aspect of our lives, a code sent down to us by the power which created the Universe.

This is the formula being used today by Chinas Communist Party. The Party is Tian; Xi Jinping is the Tianzi and the entire world is the Tianxia (all-under-heaven).

Thus, arises the current Chinese claim of the right to bring their system to every country and every person in our world. From their theocratic point of view, each nation and each of us is part of the Tianxia under the authority of the Tianzi. Xi describes this role for the Chinese as working to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Mozis recipe for totalitarianism

Like Thomas Hobbes, Mozi saw humanity as dysfunctional and tending toward social discord. He said:

As we look back to the time when there was yet no ruler, it seems the custom was "everybody in the world according to his own ethic." Accordingly, each man had his own ethic, ten men had ten different ethics, a hundred men had a hundred different ethics - the more people the more ethics. And everybody approved of his own view and disapproved those of others, and so arose mutual disapproval. Even father and son and brothers became enemies, since they were unable to reach any agreement. Surplus energy was not employed for mutual help; excellent teachings (Dao) were kept secret; surplus goods were allowed to rot without sharing. The disorder in the (human) world could be compared with that among birds and beasts. (Identification with the Superior II)

Mozis remedy for the dire conditions inevitably brought about by humans following their nature  egocentric and each with his or her own standard of right and wrong  was theocracy -- the lordship of the Will of Heaven.

First, Mozi insisted that all should look to Tian (Heaven) for direction in all things. From Heaven came down the correct ethic for all to follow:

Knowing the cause of the confusion to be in the absence of a ruler who could unify the standards in the world, (Heaven) chose the virtuous, sagacious, and wise in the world and crowned him emperor, charging him with the duty of unifying the wills in the empire.

To bring order to the people, the State would set all norms of right thinking and conduct.

Moreover, righteousness is the standard. A standard is not to be given by the subordinates to the superior but by the superior to the subordinates.  The emperor may not make the standard at will (either). There is Heaven to give him the standard. That the emperor gives the standard to the high dukes, to the feudal lords, to the scholars, and to the common people, the gentlemen in the world clearly understand. But that Heaven gives the standard to the emperor. (Will of Heaven I, 3)

Second, to further secure the theocracy, Mozi proposed for individuals a faith in the virtue of self-effacement. The disposition to care for others deeply and sincerely, called jian ai, would turn individuals away from ego-centricity towards ego-irrelevance, from self-seeking to service of the collective, from individualism to theocratic regimentation.

If everyone in the world will love universally; states not attacking one another; houses not disturbing one another; thieves and robbers becoming extinct; emperor and ministers, fathers and sons, all being affectionate and filial -- if all this comes to pass the world will be orderly. (Universal Love, I, 5)

Third, necessary for the functioning of such an Emperor-centered theocracy for Mozi was Heavens Dao for human persons.

When I do what Heaven desires, Heaven will also do what I desire. Now, what do I desire and what do I abominate? I desire blessings and emoluments, and abominate calamities and misfortunes. When I do not do what Heaven desires, neither will Heaven do what I desire. (Will of Heaven I, 2)

When the emperor practices virtue Heaven rewards, when the emperor does evil Heaven punishes. (Will of Heaven II, 2)

Mozi said:

If all the people in the world believed that the spirits are able to reward virtue and punish vice, how could the world be in chaos? (On Ghosts, III, 1)

[I]f it could be proclaimed to the whole country and to all the people it would really be a source of orderliness in the country and blessing to the people. The corruption of the officials in their public charges and the immorality among men and women will all be seen by ghosts and spirits.  all these will be no more. And the world will have order. (On Ghosts, III, 16)

In Xi Jinpings China, the role Mozi gave to ghosts has been given to the government in the form of the social credit system of surveillance whereby individual Chinese are rewarded with points for good behavior and punished with a deduction of points from their obedience account ledger kept up to date in government servers.

In todays China, there is a small underground of intellectuals who challenge the legitimacy of Xis autocracy. Some of them base their arguments on the observation that Heaven itself has not provided public proof that it approves of Xis policies. The theocratic premise which Xi implicitly uses to promote his regime is thus denied.

Steven B. Young is Global Executive Director, The Caux Round Table for Moral Capitalism

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
I took a look at my recent AT articles and I apologize. I have been dancing around the elephant in the room. The only thing that matters in America right now is that liberals got everything wrong. And they cant believe it. They wont believe it. They dare not believe it.

When was the last time a New York Times writer said that the trouble with the labor and pro-union legislation of the 1930s is that it led directly to the overpriced manufacturing union labor of the 1970s? In the long run, it Made Things Worse for the white working-class that, experts agree, is now dying of despair.

When was the last time a New York Times writer said that the trouble with Social Security is that it has shoveled boatloads of money at okay Boomers like me? It has Made Things Worse for todays workers who are now, some experts agree, saddled with cruel taxes as far as the eye can see.

When was the last time a New York Times writer said that the trouble with the Civil Rights Act was that it could never compensate for the fact that blacks score a whole standard deviation lower on IQ than whites So all the programs and quotas and diversities and inclusions and race cards of the last 50 years, experts dare not agree, have actually Made Things Worse for blacks.

And so on.

Liberals believe that they were sent into the world by Gaia to bring justice and equality to the oppressed. That is their religion, their faith; that is their meaning of life. It cannot be; it cannot be that their sacred task doesnt make a blind bit of difference. No, the idea that their ideas Make Things Worse is racism-sexism-homophobia and white supremacy and systemic racism and hate. It must be so.

The fundamental thing to understand about todays politics -- and to keep yourself sane -- is to understand that liberals cannot believe, refuse to believe will destroy America rather than begin to consider that their brilliant ideas that were going to change the world, have not, will not, never would, never could change the world for the better. And worse, their ideas, their legislation, their political power, their cultural hegemony have Made Things Worse.

Look, a few days ago I backed the car out of the driveway and into a car parked on the other side of the street: Total damage at least $1,000. I was consumed with guilt, wondering if I might just escape from responsibility because, after all, the damage to the other car was barely perceptible. But I overruled the coward within and called the insurance company and left a note on the cars windshield. I am still thinking: what if I

Imagine what liberals would feel if they even began to allow themselves to think about the trillions of dollars thrown down the drain, the millions of lives wrecked, the hate and the division that their policies have caused. And suppose they allowed a teensy-weensy soupcon of guilt to invade their consciousness. Not on your life.

Instead, the lefties ask Andrew Sullivan: What Happened to You?

Then there are the millions of lives that, while not wrecked, have Been Made Worse. Heres an English prof that went to university back when a teacher was allowed to teach:

I think of one in particular, an English teacher to whom Id brought a piece of freshman writing Id ginned up only minutes before a mandatory conference. I knew it was junk when I carried it to his desk. He stared me, growling, You get the hell out of this office. And dont come back until you respect yourself and me enough to do serious work.

Today this poor prof has to worry about whether the Good Little Girl student in the front row will burst into tears or the tall, wiry black student in the back row will become angry and hostile when I [offer] critical comments on his papers. Because sexism, because racism. And why?

Its not because liberals wont admit they were wrong. Its not because liberals cant bring themselves to admit they were wrong. It is not because of rivers in Egypt and jokey stuff like that.

It is because deep down in their unconscious minds, at a visceral level, liberals keep their heads down praying the Woke rosary, venerating their progressive Idols, chanting the ancient Responses, casting out the Satans of patriarchy and white supremacy. Anything but confront the truth.

Because if liberals allowed into their conscious minds even a smidgeon of doubt about the Glorious Truth of their Sacred Destiny and their True Faith in the Arc of History...

Well, it would feel almost as bad as backing into the car across the street.

Christopher Chantrill @chrischantrill runs the go-to site on US government finances, usgovernmentspending.com. Also, get his American Manifesto and his Road to the Middle Class.

Image: Derrick Tyson

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
We at the Conference of Jewish Affairs, though not sponsors of the "No Fear" rally held Sunday, July 11 in D.C., did wish for its success inasmuch as a rally against anti-Semitism from well-meaning people has many pluses. We were not active sponsors of the rally, since four decades of experience in Jewish organizational life have taught us some unassailable lessons and the need to beware. One of these lessons is that establishment Jewish organizations often use the legitimate concerns of the Jewish grassroots and turn them into public showcases that deny the true sources of anti-Semitism and focus on liberal-leftist goals more than the actual defense of Jews. Too often, instead of tackling anti-Semitism as a standalone evil, these events become platforms against "hate in general," thereby inoculating from criticism the very perpetrators and groups directly attacking the Jewish people. You see, criticizing the anti-Semitism coming from "intersectional" minority groups is now called "hate speech."

While the rally featured some inspiring young people whose dedication to the Jewish people was heart-warming, and while many of the speakers certainly had their heart in the right place and displayed a passion for Israel and Jewry, there were many high-profile speakers who predictably exploited the goodwill of those in attendance by promoting left-wing themes and pronouncing falsehoods, refusing to put the blame for many of the attacks, and the rhetoric behind the attacks, where it belongs.

Rabbi David Saperstein, from the Reform Religious Action Center, exploited his podium by pointing at the Capitol and proclaiming that on January 6, white extremism and anti-Semitism coalesced. But January 6 was not about anti-Semitism, nor about threats to Jews, though Nancy Pelosi and the Democrat Party keep trying to convince us it was.

We knew there would be "progressive" speakers who would use the occasion to speak about their personal identification with the "Palestinian" struggle and quest for self-determination. We knew there would be people, though officially supportive of Israel, who would cry out about the "occupation." Elisha Wiesel, son of Eli Wiesel, the representative of the JCRC of Washington, D.C., and David Saperstein did their part in making our prediction come true. One need not travel all the way to D.C. to hear the pathetic dribble characteristic of CNN reporters.

There were so many speakers who continually referenced Charlottesville as the source of anti-Semitism in America while ignoring the countless physical attacks against Jews (something that did not happen in Charlottesville) by Islamists in our major cities and attacks against Jews on campus by Islamist groups and Students for Justice in Palestine. The representative from the Biden administration, Erika Moritsugu, echoed what other "big machers" repeatedly talked about: white supremacy, Charlottesville, systemic racism, and January 6, disregarding the vile hatred coming from much of the mainstream political left and from within the Democrat party.

While David Saperstein told us that America's "systemic racism" (yet again blaming American society) is the cause for hate, we heard nothing from him about Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who are founts of incendiary anti-Jewish and anti-Israel rhetoric. The representative from the Biden administration thought we would be soothed and comforted by new hate crime laws routinely used to silence pro-Jewish and pro-Israel conservatives who accurately criticize and spotlight some of the Islamist sources behind the attacks happening today against Jews in Brooklyn, Miami, and Los Angeles, and in every borough (except Staten Island) in New York City. She repeated all the false talking points geared to make us believe that Jan. 6 rally attendees and white supremacists are behind every attack on Jews in our streets and campuses. The bulk of attacks against Jews in Brooklyn is coming not from white supremacists, but from minorities from contiguous neighborhoods. Predictably, these attacks remain beyond criticism.

As much as Elisha Wiesel pontificated that love will solve many of our problems, we know we have enemies who will not be placated by our gestures of love and must be pointed to for the hate in their hearts, coming through their hands. Neo-Nazis are atrocious, but presently, their sway, their numbers, and their ability to cancel out Jews in America are minuscule compared to the power and influence found among the "progressive" left.

There was no reason to stand in the sun for so many hours or to travel with high hopes born of devotion to the Jewish people, just to hear the tired and misleading charge of white supremacy being the major threat to the future existence of American Jewry. It's not so much about Nazis and Charlottesville, as many of the high-profile speakers would have us believe. Outside the synagogues in Poway and Tree of Life, most actual physical attacks on Jews at restaurants and on urban streets, as well as intimidation of Jewish students on campus, are coming from Arab, Muslim, and left-wing sources. American professors, including many leftist Jewish professors, are leading the charge against and demonizing Israel. None of this evil is a consequence of "systemic racism" or the January 6 mayhem at the Capitol that Rabbi David Saperstein and the Biden rep portrayed as the root of current American anti-Semitism.

Nor do I believe, as posted by the rally organizers, that "anti-Semitism cannot be stopped until we also defeat Islamophobia, transphobia, racism [which today seems to include almost everything], classism, and homophobia." Anti-Semitism pre-dates all these isms and so-called phobias and is a separate category. In fact, there seems to be far more movement in the political left in defeating these phobias at the very same time anti-Semitism is growing within the ranks of the left. Evidently, they are de-linked phenomena.

While we applaud the hard work of those who organized the "No Fear" rally, and while we admire those Jews willing to travel and stand in the hot summer D.C. sun so as to give voice to their sense of peoplehood, and while we admire so many of the young and not so famous speakers who spoke with pride of being Jewish and their unwillingness to hide their Jewishness or capitulate to the marauders, I'm afraid the feel-good "Barney" themes (I love you, you love me) of Sunday's rally will dominate and that the narrative will be exactly as the "progressives" and the ADL wanted  namely, that it is white, conservative, patriotic, "systemic racist" America whose attitudes foment anti-Semitism, and it's those people who must be quelled. Yet the truth is precisely the opposite. A majority of the attacks against individual Jews walking on the streets are coming from minority communities contiguous to Jewish neighborhoods.

Thus, this rally, while well-intentioned, was not one we could actively sponsor. Five decades of fighting anti-Semitism convince me that the same old tired, liberal organizational themes will never rescue us. Many want these tepid and often deliberately misleading proclamations and themes to be American Jewry's official position. But we at the Conference of Jewish Affairs know that unless the real truth is spoken, nothing will change, nor will an end solution be realized. For us, these templates cannot be labeled or sanctified as the "official" position for those genuinely wanting to thwart anti-Semitic activity.

I'm always uplifted by Jews who still care about their Jewishness and who try to do something. I loved seeing the young people, the Chabadniks, and those from other ethnicities who demonstrated their support. But along the way, something was co-opted, and undeniable truth suffered. The Deep State had its way.

Rabbi Aryeh Spero is president of the Conference of Jewish Affairs and author of Push Back: The Battle to Save America's Judeo-Christian Heritage.

Image: Martin Vorel via Libreshot.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
Some of the worlds wealthiest and most powerful masterminds have seized upon climate change and the COVID pandemic to engineer a financial reset, or what they like to call the Going Direct Reset, as defined in a nutshell by Catherine Austin Fitts:

The Going Direct Reset is about the reengineering of our financial system. The U.S. dollar reserve currency system is aging, and plans are underway for a new global financial system aimed at increasing centralized global control through the use of digital technology and telecommunications and the end of liquid currencies as we know them.

Ms. Fitts goes into the weeds, so to speak, with an interview with John Titus on this Going Direct Reset. Lets just say its a labyrinth.

This reset coincides nicely with the ongoing, massive transfer of $68 trillion in wealth from the rapidly aging and dying baby boomers to the millennials. The millennial population, ever comfortable in a digital world, has been conditioned to accept their impending financial enslavement without question.

The major players are the U.S. (the Biden administration, Federal Reserve, IRS, major banks and financial institutions), the World Economic Forum, World Bank, and sundry European corporate and governmental conglomerates. Most notable in this drama is BlackRock -- the puppet master pulling the strings and arranging the pieces.

A journalist named Corey Lynn has written an interesting article for the Silver Bear Cafe (some of the articles I reference herein are from links provided in the timeline towards the end of Ms. Lynns article). She starts out by noticing how her bank had started to categorize her expenses into groups such as income, health & fitness, food & dining, travel, business services, pet supplies, and so on. She discovered that her bank had contracted a company named Yodlee to aggregate her financial data (turns out Yodlee was selling her data, too). From there it gets more interesting: Yodlee was acquired in 2015 by a company called Envestnet.

Envestnet works with 17 of the top 20 banks along with 5,200 other banks, financial institutions, and companies. They serve $4.8 trillion in assets, manage $229 billion in assets, and power more than 2 million financial plans a quarter. Envestnet services 500 million aggregated accounts each day. Three years later, in 2018, BlackRock, the worlds largest investment manager, bought an equity stake in Envestnet and partnered with them to integrate their technology with Envestnets.

BlackRock manages $7.8 trillion in assets and has been in the news lately for snatching up huge swaths of American homes.

BlackRock was the designer and bandleader of the Going Direct Reset at the 2019 G7 meeting in Jackson Hole, Wy.

The Federal Reserve tapped BlackRock to manage major bond purchases.

Lynn describes a revolving door of highly placed BlackRock personnel serving the Clinton, Obama, and now Biden administrations (Brian Deese, Wally Adeyemo, and Michael Pyle are three ex-BlackRock executives in Bidens administration). She writes:

Under the guise of financial wellness and climate-related financial risk, they [BlackRock] have shifted the financial industry to streamline and surveil everyones financial data so that they can control it through a social score system, tell you how and where to spend your money, and siphon what they deem should go to the IRS.

BlackRocks CEO is on the World Economic Forum Board of Trustees. His name is Larry Fink, and he is one big, bad woke capitalist. He reportedly helped strongarm 450 of the worlds top banks to promise to align their financial decisions with the Paris Climate Agreement. He threatens and pounds on corporations to embrace diversity, equity, and all things green. Breitbart quotes Larry at length; heres a sample:

In 2020, we identified 244 companies that were making insufficient progress integrating climate risk into their business models or disclosures. Of these companies, we took voting action against 53, or 22%. We have put the remaining 191 companies on watch. Those that do not make significant progress risk voting action against management in 2021.

Nationalism, or what some call the territorial imperative, is an instinctive part of the human condition, and those impulses are incompatible with grandiose globalist aspirations. Thats why Donald Trump was so dangerous -- his contagion was starting to spread to other countries.

The globalists require a functioning international banking system for their plans to succeed, and the current financial system is in trouble. Our betters think they can fix it. They likely cannot, but their efforts along the way will cause massive dislocations, as surveillance and control are required to force compliance (Biden and his Obama acolytes want to add 87,000 agents to the enforcement arm of the IRS).

Well need to give up our guns, cars, and eventually most of our private property. Biden has made no secret of his desire for the federal government to own 30% of all U.S. land and water by 2030, and 50% by 2050. Its a start.

Sustainable development is a pet phrase of the U.N.s Agenda 2030. The stated goals sound laudable enough in the abstract but, in tangible terms, they involve massive global wealth distribution and a drastically reduced standard of living for the developed world, among other things. As stimulus payments morph into permanent Universal Basic Income (UBI), well have to learn to like being herded into cramped, high-density housing and owning next to nothing. In the end, climate change, sustainable development, and the like are for we (the people), but not for thee.

Image: Max Pixel

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
While browsing through the articles yesterday on WND, I read a piece by Chuck Norris in which he praised movie icon Harrison Ford, touching on his early struggles and the traditional work ethic that helped him survive the lean years. He also wished him a happy 79th birthday, the lead-in for the article.

Norris, renowned martial artist and action movie star, is a staunch conservative and a devoutly religious man, having published numerous Christian-themed books. He is a regular columnist for WND, touching on everything from the Founding Fathers to Big Tech tyranny. But his piece on Ford is totally non-political, focusing on the values and work ethic of a young man striving to become a successful actor. As Norris notes, Ford used his skills as a carpenter to support his wife and their two sons, all the while waiting for the "big break." That break came in 1977, when the relatively unknown Ford garnered the role of Han Solo in Star Wars. The rest, as they say, is history.

While Norris points to some similarities in their upbringings, their career paths, and their work in the action movie genre, the two are quite different in many ways, especially from a political standpoint. As previously noted, Chuck Norris is an outspoken Christian conservative. At the other end of the spectrum, Harrison Ford is the archetypal Hollywood liberal, who likely never saw a Progressive cause he was unwilling to jump into with both feet. A lifelong Democrat, you can count on Ford to be near the front of the line for a myriad of left-wing causes, from gun control to climate change to removing the Hetch Hetchy Dam. From a political perspective, Chuck Norris and Harrison Ford are polar opposites.

After finishing the article, I scanned the comments posted at the end of the piece. Some readers thanked Norris for a positive, feel-good article; others were mildly disgruntled that he had nice things to say about an uber-liberal activist.

"I like his and Tom Hanks films but both are liberal progressives," one reader posted. "I would much rather see you do a story about Tom Selleck, one of the few remaining conservatives in Hollywood."

"You are kidding  Harrison Ford?" another reader queried. "Slow news day [at] WND?"

"Ford is a woke fool," another bluntly opined.

I understand how some readers of a conservative online magazine might be a bit puzzled at Chuck Norris's flattering birthday card to an arch-lefty like Harrison Ford. But consider this: Norris might be a staunch conservative, but he's also a devout Christian activist and author. He admires Harrison Ford not only for his success in a difficult business, but, first and foremost, for his hard work and resilience in struggling to reach the pinnacle of his trade. Chuck Norris is not judging Harrison Ford based on their political differences; he's putting that aside and admiring him for certain values they share. I'm not an overly religious man, but I'd say Chuck Norris is being a good Christian. We could use a little more of that nowadays, to put it mildly.

Chuck Norris should be praised for writing an article that showcases his Christian values in these bitterly partisan times. He's a man of principle. If I ever stumble across the writings of a liberal pundit who sings the praise of an outspoken conservative, I'll let you know...but don't hold your breath.

Image: Tio Pops via YouTube.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
Well, that was fast.

Seems the Biden administration canard that COVID mismanagement from Cuban authorities is behind the massive protests engulfing all of Cuba didn't go over very well.

Everyone saw the pictures of thousands of starving-thin Cubans clad in rags crying "libertad!" and waving the American flag  a flag they had been taught from birth was evil incarnate. What we saw was effectively a slave revolt, given that these people have absolutely no freedoms, and the uprising was leaderless and spontaneous. It could easily devolve into Ceausescu stuff, given that nothing will change communists otherwise.

So Joe Biden, or whoever writes his press releases, released a semi-choate statement about the protests in Cuba that tried to recognize reality, but still failed to grasp the problem:

We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba's authoritarian regime. The Cuban people are bravely asserting fundamental and universal rights. Those rights, including the right of peaceful protest and the right to freely determine their own future, must be respected. The United States calls on the Cuban regime to hear their people and serve their needs at this vital moment rather than enriching themselves.

Biden's still sticking to his story on COVID, but now he's got "freedom" in there somewhere. He's now calling the protests a "universal" right rather than a Cuban right because Cubans generally go to jail after protests  just ask the Ladies in White.

Though it was an improvement over previous statements, his claim that Cuba is an "authoritarian" rather than "totalitarian" dictatorship remained disgusting. If 62 years of iron-grip one-party power with total control over every aspect of human life isn't textbook "totalitarian," nothing is.

Biden also writes in a right for Cubans to "freely determine their future" as if any communist totalitarian state would ever allow that  their dungeons are full of political prisoners, the latest crop being artistic community people, such as artists and rappers, who've seen numerous arrests in recent weeks for committing...art.

Worse still, Biden seems to think the Cubans need "services" for their "needs" rather than just chucking the whole evil dictatorship out, which is what they want. Apparently, Biden thinks that throwing money at the problem works as well in Cuba as it does here. His "enriching themselves" line, in an implicit reference to the Castroite oligarchy's wealth, is a good one, but coming from him, it sounds funny: guess he would know about "enriching," what with his junkie son selling his paintings for $500,000.

Over at the State Department, assistant secretary Julie Chung, who earlier blamed the whole crisis on COVID and apparently praised Cuba's white-coat slavery program of sending doctors abroad, has backtracked a little, too. I wrote about her yesterday here.

It goes to show that COVID seems to be fading a bit as the official Biden party line on Cuba, and now the empty statements of "support" are coming out.

But the Bidenites still can't bring themselves to utter the "c" word  communism  as being at the root of the uprising, which would require calling for an end to the hellish, hateful regime that has left the country a sump of poverty, oppression, and unusually cruel inequality.

Out on the left, it's worth noting that Biden's leftist base is heavily pressuring him to give Cuba's communist oppressors the things they want, which is to say blaming the U.S. embargo for the protests, and calling on him to end it. The problem isn't communism, you see; it's the embargo, an argument the Castroites have been making since the 1960s.

The nonsense started at the top from the catbird seat of the socialist hellhole itself.

Here's what Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuba's frontman for the ruling communist oligarchy, says he thinks he's entitled to, now that millions of Cubans are marching in the streets against his government, waving the U.S. flag, burning portraits of Fidel Castro, and calling for his ouster.

According to the Miami Herald:

"All this discontent, these feelings of dissatisfaction, what is the ultimate cause of all that? It's the blockade," Diaz-Canel said during a press conference that was broadcast live on Cuban TV and live-streamed on YouTube on Monday. "This is part of the U.S. playbook to destabilize us, to generate chaos, to break our will and spirit." He said social media has allowed the U.S. to amplify its "genocidal" campaign against Cuba.

This is pretty comical, coming from a guy who can shut down the Internet at the flip of a dictator's baton, and already has.

The embargo, the embargo, the embargo  it's always the embargo. And Jen Psaki, in a rare stopped-clock moment, did speak the truth about what that U.S. embargo actually amounts to in her presser yesterday:

Q You hinted at this, but the President of Cuba did directly accuse the United States of basically fomenting these protests because of the embargo and that leading to a lack of medicine and the other things. Do you have a specific response to him? MS. PSAKI: Well, I'd first say that the U.S. embargo allows humanitarian goods to reach Cuba. We exidite [sic]  expedite any request to export humanitarian or med-  medical supplies to Cuba. That continues to be the case. And the United States regularly authorizes the export of agricultural products, medicine, medical equipment, and humanitarian goods to Cuba  and, since 1992, has authorized the export of billions of dollars of those goods to Cuba. So that's simply inaccurate in terms of the facts that are stated.

Biden's leftist base, which loves Castro, though is aping the call.

Ben Burgis, a radical left-wing professor on the far-left Jacobin website, writes:

If the US government truly wanted to help the Cuban people, there's an easy and obvious way: end the sanctions. Every single one of the shortages that protesters are talking about has at least been worsened by the US embargo. The answer isn't more intervention. It's less.

Memo to Burgis: Embargos are about trade. You can have trade only with companies. Who owns the companies in Cuba? Bingo: the Cuban oligarchs. Lifting the embargo lets them steal from and exploit Cuba's workers just a little longer.

Biden's own Twitter feed, where he released his statement, is brimming with comments from radical leftists blaming the U.S. embargo for the protests and calling on Biden to end what little is left of it, same as the tyrants the Cubans are protesting want, too.

We stand with the Cuban people as they bravely assert their fundamental and universal rights, and as they all call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and from the decades of repression and economic suffering. https://t.co/KGY3MFfsw0  President Biden (@POTUS) July 12, 2021

It's not communism, you see  it's the embargo.

Ben Rhodes, crafter of the Obama opening to Cuba several years ago, where Obama did "the wave" for the cameras at some ball game in Havana with now-retired communist dictator Raul Castro, clearly promulgates this Castroite line, too, having a stake in seeing the U.S. continue its Democrat love-fest with the dictatorship.

Rhodes told Politico:

The administration should "figure out ways to engage the Cuban people, which necessitate taking off some sanctions both to improve their lives and [deal with] things like Covid," Rhodes said. "I think ultimately that engaging Cubans is more empowering than thinking you can keep them in this pressure cooker."

Pay no attention to the fact that the Cuban military owns all the companies, the better to spy on and beat up freedom-loving Cubans, and more money would help with that mission.

Meanwhile, Jen Psaki let the cat of the bag on the Biden administration's inability to pin the problem on communism, as the Cubans are trying to tell them, deciding to outdo COVID-obsessed Chung on the stupidity front:

Q Thank you. And then on Cuba: You're talking today about how some of these protests are inspired by people exhausted with the government. Why is it that yesterday the State Department was saying that this was all happening out of concern about rising COVID cases? MS. PSAKI: Well, I would say first that the protests were just happening yesterday. We're still assessing what is motivating and, of course, is driving all of the individuals who came to the streets. But we know that when I  we say "exhaustion," the  the manner by which the people of Cuba are governed, that can cover a range of issues, whether it's economic suppression; media suppression; lack of access to health and medical supplies, including vaccines. There are a range of reasons and voices we're hearing from people on the ground who are protesting. Q So when these protesters are yelling "freedom" and "enough," there are people within the administration who think they're saying, "freedom from rising COVID cases"? MS. PSAKI: Again, I would say that when people are out there in the streets protesting and complaining about the lack of access  to economic prosperity, to the medical supplies they need, to a life they deserve to live  that can take on a range of meanings. There's a global pandemic right now. Most people in that country don't have access to vaccines. That certainly is something we'd love to help with.

They're still trying to assess "the motive" behind the protests.

And shipping Cuba some COVID vaccines should fix the problem. Ship 'em some free COVID vaccines, and everyone will go away happy.

Sound like an administration that knows what it's doing? Like the Obamatons, who were unable to mouth the words "Islamist" or "terrorists," these Bidenites can't say the word "communism." The Cubans themselves are trying to tell them and they can't listen. What's more, the problem will never be resolved until the problem is identified and called by its rightful name. They can't do that, and that's the root of their pathetic response. Maybe that's all because they have too many lefties in their camp who are still in love with the Castroite dream.

Image: Twitter screen shot.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
Maybe Cuban kids in the future will remember this weekend's marches as the beginning of a new chapter in the island's history. We certainly hope so. It looks from here that the government has few options. They can fight back or do nothing. Either way, the marches will go on.

We've had a lot of debate up here about the U.S. flag. So it was fascinating to read about a certain flag carried by protesters in Cuba.

This is the story:

Protesters in America: Burn the US Flag, a symbol of freedom, liberty, & justiceideals that EVERY American possesses but so often ignore. vs. Protestors in Cuba: Fly the American Flag & are willing to die for the freedom, liberty, & justice thats synonymous with the USA.

I don't know if the wokes, or their indoctrinators at U.S. colleges, understand what this means, but it happened. It reminded me of Lady Liberty marching in Hong Kong not long ago.

It's amazing. On one hand, immature U.S. citizens, spoiled by prosperity and freedom they don't appreciate, won't respect the U.S. flag.

On the other hand, people brought up in a communist state with no freedom sure know what flag represents their aspirations of freedom.

As someone said, a teachable moment if the wokes are smart enough to see it.

What happens next in Cuba? It's easy to sit up here and call for more marches. I live in a free country, and the people on the island don't. However, freedom is difficult to put back in the bottle.

At times like these, or just about any time that I think about Cuba, my late parents come into view. They suffered under this terrible regime and know what all of this social justice stuff is really all about. They saw their beautiful country torn apart by a communist dictator.

My guess is that Mom and Dad are smiling from heaven knowing that the end for that inhumane regime is near.

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).

Image: Twitter screen shot.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
President Biden recently signed an executive order, claiming he wants to reduce the power of the powerful and help the little guy. He claims that his actions will also increase competition. It would be nice if the media analyzed Biden's proposed policies and actions to see if he and the Democrats really mean that, but since they won't, I will.

Reuters:

Biden signs order to tackle corporate abuses across U.S. economy President Joe Biden signed a sweeping executive order on Friday to promote more competition in the U.S. economy

For the past seventeen months, politicians, led by Democrats, have intentionally destroyed small businesses with punitive policies, blaming a virus. During these seventeen months, the powerful, including Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Google, Twitter, and other giants, have become much wealthier and more powerful. The longer the shutdowns continued, the weaker small businesses became, and the more powerful the large companies became.

Then when states like Texas and Mississippi wanted to get rid of their mask mandate and completely open, they were chastised as wanting people to die.

As the economy opened, the Democrats made it harder and more expensive for everyone to hire people, with their generous tax-free $300 unemployment supplement. The large companies, in most cases, already paid at least that high a wage, so it hurt them much less. These forced increased wages, caused because of government interference, are not transitory. They will cause stagflation and will destroy more small companies. The powerful will survive and thrive and are more able to automate.

Biden and the Democrats further support a high national minimum wage, which will further destroy small businesses and communities and make the powerful richer. That will reduce competition.

Biden and other Democrats also support prevailing wage laws, where the original intent was to keep minorities from taking white workers' jobs, which makes all government jobs cost more than they should and reduces competition.

Biden and other Democrats also support the PPRO Act, where they take freedom of choice away from workers and get rid of right-to-work states. This also increases costs, reduces competition, and makes the powerful unions more powerful. After all, the Democrats' main goal is power for themselves, and the more money that can be funneled to unions, the more money they get.

Labor's Litany of Dangerous Ideas: The PRO Act 2021 Update In 2019, the U.S. Chamber released a report discussing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, a bill in Congress that amounted to nothing more than a litany of organized labor's policy preferences.

Presidents Biden and Obama took away freedom of choice for the poor by getting rid of school vouchers, and Biden wants to cut off funding for-profit charter schools as he caters to his powerful political supporters instead of the students.

This also reduces competition.

Biden seeks to destroy the oil and coal industries, which reduces competition for solar and wind; massively punishes the poor, middle class, and small companies; and makes OPEC countries and Russia wealthier and more powerful. The increased stagflation costs are not transitory.

Obama's D.C. Voucher Snub The education blob gets a $3.6 billion raise. Poor kids get cut off. President Obama spares no taxpayer expense on education spending  with one exception: the hundreds of poor kids in Washington D.C. queuing for private-school scholarships. The President's budget levels off funding for D.C. Opportunity Scholarships at $20 million for fiscal 2016, which is when the program's authorization expires. No future funds are provided. The Education Department gets a $3.6 billion, or 5.4%, spending increase.

Biden and Democrats always target for-profit colleges, but they never hold not-for-profit or public colleges to the same standards. This also reduces competition and makes the powerful wealthier. The Biden administration won't even go after the very wealthy Harvard and other Ivy League schools as they intentionally discriminate against people "of color" (Asians).

For-Profit Colleges Brace For The Biden Administration President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to stop for-profit colleges from "profiteering off of students" and has promised to enact policies that hold these colleges accountable.

Biden and the Democrats strive for expanding Obamacare or some other government-run health care. The Democrats continually lied that Obamacare would maintain freedom of choice and substantially reduce costs. Instead, costs skyrocketed, and competition disappeared. Trump and Republicans stabilized costs and gave back freedom of choice when they got rid of the individual mandate.

Biden and the Democrats' policies would destroy competition and especially smaller health insurance companies and move toward a government monopoly.

President Biden wants to bring back net neutrality, which he claims would help the little guy. The companies it helps the most are the very wealthy and powerful Netflix, Google, YouTube, Amazon, Facebook, and Twitter, which are the biggest users of internet bandwidth.

Why shouldn't these companies pay for the infrastructure they use?

Why did Netflix pay the Obamas over $50 million when they had no product and no experience?

Why did Michelle Obama get a $200,000 raise after Illinois senator Obama secured a $1-million grant for her employer?

Why did so many companies and countries pay Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea high speech fees? Why did the price go down substantially after Hillary lost in 2016?

Why did so many countries and companies donate huge amounts of money to the Clinton Foundation when Hillary was in power or running for president? Why did those donations mostly dry up after Hillary lost in 2016?

Why did Russia, Ukraine, China, and others line the pockets of Hunter while Daddy was V.P. and running for president?

Why would anyone pay up to $500,000 for paintings? Why are the names of the buyers being withheld from the public?

The answer to all the above questions is that the payers of the graft are seeking access or favors. In Russia's case, they got U.S. uranium.

Isn't it appalling that so many politicians and their families get so wealthy as they pretend they are there to serve the public?

Isn't it more appalling that most of the media look the other way on the kickbacks and intentionally hide the corruption of Democrats as they campaign for them?

Almost every policy of Biden and other Democrats I see makes D.C. and powerful companies richer and reduces the freedom, money, and power of the little guy whom they pretend to care about.

There are demonstrations in Cuba advocating for freedom and where they are waving the American flag. So far, I have not seen Biden, Harris, Pelosi, Obama, Schumer, and others support this movement any more than they supported the freedom of people in Iran.

It is a shame that in the U.S. we are seeing protests from Democrats to reduce freedom and disparage the American flag and our country as systemically racist as our kids are indoctrinated.

Here is a headline we will not see in the media: "Biden signs order to tackle government abuses across U.S. economy."

Caricature by Donkey Hotey, CC BY 2.0 license.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
It's no secret that Google aggressively censors anything and everything that contradicts the left's narrative. Most, for example, know  or should know  that Google search results yield only what it wants you to see, not what best answers your query (which may go against the woke narrative). But there are more subtle ways that Google manipulates its users that few are aware of.

Enter "Google Translate," which, according to Google, "instantly translates words, phrases, and web pages between English and over 100 other languages." It too is in the censoring business: if you translate something that has a phrase or few sentences that Google doesn't want you to know or read, it simply omits them from its translation.

I know this only because I've been on the receiving end of Google Translation's malfeasance (as with YouTube earlier).

On June 17, 2021, I wrote about an Arabic-language article that appears on Al Jazeera. Written by a Palestinian professor, it is about how Palestinians find inspiration in the jihads of history, "prominent among them," he wrote, "the raid of Badr, the opening of Mecca, the opening of al-Andalus, and the battle of the pavement of martyrs [the Battle of Tours]."

Because all of these battles were unjustified and dealt with Muslims attacking and slaughtering non-Muslims simply to steal their land and impose Islam on them, the point of my article was to ask: "Why are the Palestinians  who, when speaking to and seeking sympathy from the international community, present themselves as an oppressed people whose land is unjustly occupied  finding inspiration in and seeking to emulate those who oppress and steal the lands of others?" The answer I gave was that right and wrong for most Muslims, including Palestinians, consists of who is Muslim (and therefore in the right no matter what) and who is non-Muslim (and therefore in the wrong).

Before long, I was contacted by some readers who were concerned that I had mistranslated the Al Jazeera article. They referenced the following comment on my article as it appears at FrontPage Magazine, by one "Dan Foster":

An honest reader would be forgiven if they thought Ibrahim were actually talking about the Al Jazeera at the beginning of this piece. He's not of course. He seems to have forgotten that while google translate isn't 100% reliable it: a. Exists and b. translates webpages. So I was actually able to read the article he linked. It doesn't reference the Battle of Tours or raids and conquests of the past. The title gives you a clue what it actually is about: "This is how the Palestinian resistance made Ramadan a season of operations and victories" The bulk of the article is about different attacks carried about over the course of 20 odd years. So to all FPMers how does it feel to be lied to yet again?

So I decided to use Google Translate for myself, and, as it turned out, Foster was right: that sentence I had translated from the Al Jazeera article  about "the raid of Badr, the opening of Mecca, the opening of al-Andalus, and the battle of the pavement of martyrs [the Battle of Tours]"  is nowhere to be found in Google Translate's English translation. But when I went back to the original Arabic, it was still there. For those who can read Arabic, a screenshot of the excerpt in question follows:

Now, I don't know if Google Translate omitted that damning reference because it obviously provokes the question I raised  why are oppressed Palestinians inspired by the land-grabbing oppressors of history?  before or after I cast the spotlight on it in my article.

Either way, now you can add Google Translate to all of the other nefarious ways that Google and other Big Tech giants censor and manipulate information.

As for commenter Dan Foster's smug query  "So to all FPMers how does it feel to be lied to yet again?"  clearly, that question is better directed at himself and anyone else who trusts, but is being deceived by, Google.

Raymond Ibrahim, author most recently of Sword and Scimitar, is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, a Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum, and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute.

Google phone image via Pxhere.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
As angry parents coast to coast continue to rebel against leftist indoctrination of their children at school, the nation's largest teachers' unions have let it be known that they will support Marxist and socialist teachers who are teaching Critical Race Theory anyway.

In other words, "Ha, ha, parents, we have your children, we are going to indoctrinate them as we wish, and what are you going to do about it?"

What some irate parents have done about it is to appear at school board meetings. The discourse has been raucous. Some have filed lawsuits. Others have initiated recalls of leftist school board members. In some states like Florida, Texas, Idaho, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Tennessee, legislatures have banned the teaching of Critical Race Theory. Similar bills banning the teaching of CRT and the bogus 1619 Project are pending in 17 other states.

Against this tide of parental and legislative antipathy, the National Education Association, in a pique of enmity, voted over the weekend to support teaching Critical Race Theory in K12 schools, approving a "New Business Item" that, among other things, establishes a task force for developing a curriculum focusing more deeply on Critical Race Theory.

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), another national teachers union, has promised legal action against parents and school boards who refuse to allow CRT to be taught.

Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT, vowed recently to file as many lawsuits as it takes to keep shoving CRT down the throats of vulnerable children.

Take that, parents!

So just what exactly is Critical Race Theory? Well, first, it is just that  a theory, and a flawed and unscientific one at that.

CRT and its equally specious partner, the 1619 Project, evolved during the past few years as academic disciplines that declare that the United States was founded not in 1776, as most of us have learned. Instead, America was founded in 1619 to preserve slavery, racism, oppression, and white supremacy  and these forces are still at the root of our systemically racist society.

Supporters of Critical Race Theory maintain that it is merely a "lens," arguing that "race is a social construct" and that racism is "systemic," not individual.

However, that argument is a strategic departure that fails to grapple with some of the theory's more controversial concepts.

Critical Race Theory reformulates the old Marxist dialectic of oppressor and oppressed, replacing the class categories of bourgeoisie and proletariat with white and black identity categories. But the basic conclusion is the same: to liberate black and brown people, society must be fundamentally transformed through moral, economic, and political revolution.

The way to do that, CRT proponents say, is to "teach" (read: "indoctrinate") children to view themselves and the world through the ambiguous and tarnished lens of race. CRT teachings reduce individual students to the racial categories of "white," "Black," and "people of color," which are then loaded with value connotations  "white" students are labeled "oppressors." In contrast, "Black" students are labeled "oppressed."

Oppressed by whom? The millions of white people who voted twice for a black president and then voted for a black woman as vice president? Those oppressors? Oh, I see.

CRT is, in fact, a form of race-based Marxism borrowed from the neo-Marxist idea of critical theory  and it is as antithetical to the American republic as are communism and Nazism.

None of this seems to bother socialists like Randi Weingarten, who apparently are relishing a fight with the nation's anti-CRT parents. Weingarten boasted that the AFT is preparing for litigation to counter laws banning the teaching of CRT and has already created a legal defense fund.

"These culture warriors are bullying teachers and trying to stop us from teaching students accurate history," she asserted.

Accurate history? That's absurd. Most reputable historians see CRT for what it is: an attempt to teach white children that they bear responsibility for and are the beneficiaries of historical crimes committed by individuals who shared the same skin color and that consequently, they must atone for their "white privilege."

Critical race theorists in practice sometimes refer to this as "internalized racial superiority" within white people.

Critical Race Theory is without a doubt the most destructive, dangerous Marxist propaganda ever unleashed on our nation's schools, universities, government employees, and even the military. It has one purpose and one purpose only: to promote state-sanctioned racism that will, in effect, drag the country back into the ugly politics of racial separation and segregation.

Most of all, it forsakes Martin Luther King's praiseworthy assertion that "children should be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

Sadly, MLK's inspirational notion is falling on the deaf ears of America's loopy "woke" mob.

Ronald E. Yates is a U.S. Army veteran, author, former Chicago Tribune foreign correspondent, and professor and dean emeritus of journalism at the University of Illinois. His website: http://www.ronaldyatesbooks.com.

Image: jarmoluk via Pixabay, Pixabay License.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
In what looks like a confluence from hell, the Democratic National Committee plans to police your SMS messages for "misinformation" about COVID vaccines. It sounds like a bad joke, or a right-wing conspiracy theory. But nope, it's right there in Politico:

The White House has decided to hit back harder on misinformation and scare tactics after Republican lawmakers and conservative activists pledged to fight the administrations stated plans to go door-to-door to increase vaccination rates. The pushback will include directly calling out social media platforms and conservative news shows that promote such tactics.

...and...

Biden allied groups, including the Democratic National Committee, are also planning to engage fact-checkers more aggressively and work with SMS carriers to dispel misinformation about vaccines that is sent over social media and text messages. The goal is to ensure that people who may have difficulty getting a vaccination because of issues like transportation see those barriers lessened or removed entirely.

That last detail is a doozy.

So just as Johnson & Johnson announced another dangerous side effect from taking its version of the COVID vaccine, the DNC, the same political operatives who bought and paid for the fraudulent fictitious Steele dossier, now plan to "work with" social media companies to make sure anything written and transmitted by anyone on an SMS text message is entirely their version of "true."

Even if it weren't utterly outrageous that anyone is snooping into your SMS texts, do the Robby Mooks, Robert Creamers, John Podestas, Neera Tandens, and other sleazy operatives of the Democratic National Committee sound like the right guys for this task?

Nope. But they sound like the likeliest guys, given their love for lies and state coercion.

What they're really planning is far more likely to be data-mining and database creation for a permanent surveillance operation as well as various political "nudges" in the future. Think any of them might just use the surveillance afterward to force some votes for Democrats? Cass Sunstein, who is married to Biden administration fixture and famous unmasker Samantha Power, famously specializes in these "nudges" and now serves as a Department of Homeland Security advisor. You can just imagine the rest.

And who are these other groups who will help with this Stasi-style "policing"? The little gray men opening mail, and the old woman spying on and snitching on her neighbor in the film "The Lives of Others" spring to mind.

Meanwhile, the Biden White House, which is also involved with this scheme, claims there's nothing nefarious here, just a bid to get the "truth" out with these DNC operatives and other informants "serving" as Our Guardians.

Get a load of this:

We are steadfastly committed to keeping politics out of the effort to get every American vaccinated so that we can save lives and help our economy further recover, White House spokesperson Kevin Munoz said. When we see deliberate efforts to spread misinformation, we view that as an impediment to the country's public health and will not shy away from calling that out.

Keeping politics out? With the DNC doing the dirty work of spying on private citizens' emails whether they like it or not? The DNC is an entity whose actual job is to elect Democrats to public office. But as far as Team Biden is concerned, nosirree, there's no politics involved, nothing to see here, move along.

It's insane. Just as oen police state move comes out of them, such as that door-to-door vaccine harassment by what they call "trusted" community shills,(trusted by whom?) and then doesn't go over well, they come up with something worse. It's as if East Germany is their dream model on this front, just as surely as their crime onslaught comes from their using Venezuela as a model, and their intimidating Antifa mobs are surely from Cuba. There's nothing in communist countries that they consider baleful. Now this citizen spying plan, using the tech barons as proxies, shows that they've got all kinds of bad intentions using COVID as their window to enacting total state power. It must be nipped in the bud.

Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License
One of the most powerful movies that I've ever seen was The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen), about a Stasi (secret police) agent in East Berlin, in 1984, surveilling a writer and his lover. In many ways, it's an uplifting story about how humanity can survive even in the most oppressive environments, but it's also a deeply depressing story showing how an unchecked government has complete power over people, especially through the government's access to electronic surveillance.

In 2021 America, rather than 1984 East Germany, it's become painfully clear that the Democrat party that controls our federal government revels in the power it now possesses. We see that with the January 6 protesters, who did no more than what Democrat protesters have done for at least 20 years, but who now find themselves indefinitely imprisoned, deprived of the ability to obtain material necessary for their defense, and bullied in Maoist struggle sessions to confess their sins in exchange for shadowy liberty.

We also see that with the FBI's latest initiative, which is to try to get family members to turn in their "extremist" relatives:

This is the kind of thing that was common currency in Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and East Germany. It's still done in North Korea and other totalitarian countries. Totalitarian spy agencies know that their best weapon is a teenager who is angry at a parent or a spouse in an ugly divorce or custody battle. Others have recognized the pattern:

There are limits, though, to what an American government can do, and even the Democrat party recognizes that. Fortunately, it's got corporate America  especially the technology sector of corporate America  to step in and do what it cannot.

The latest alliance of the federal government and Democrat-run technology companies comes in the form of a Democrat National Committee request to SMS companies (i.e., text message companies) to police texts for "misinformation" about vaccines. In other words, the Biden government, acting through the DNC, has concluded it's not enough for Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to censor people's non-government-approved content or for Google to delete non-approved material from its search engine.

Politico broke the story as part of a longer article about the Biden administration's push to force Americans to get vaccinated:

Biden allied groups, including the Democratic National Committee, are also planning to engage fact-checkers more aggressively and work with SMS carriers to dispel misinformation about vaccines that is sent over social media and text messages. The goal is to ensure that people who may have difficulty getting a vaccination because of issues like transportation see those barriers lessened or removed entirely.

Here's how it will work: when you try to send your college-aged daughter a text message telling her that the vaccine might impair her future fertility, the SMS company will either refuse to send that message or will send it along with the company's assurance to your daughter that you don't know what you're talking about.

What's striking about all this is that we're not talking about the Black Death, which killed a third to a half of people in varying parts of Asia and Europe during the 14th century. Nor are we talking about smallpox and other familiar European diseases that, once they entered the New World, killed up to 90% of the indigenous people because their immune systems were completely unprepared for scourges that had long been endemic in Europe.

Instead, we are talking about a virus that has a mortality rate that's lower than 2%, with the bulk of the people in that 2% being the extremely elderly  almost all of whom have gotten their vaccinations. Other Americans, when they're able to get information past the censors, have made their own decisions about the risk of the vaccine versus the risk of COVID. In this regard, it's worthwhile to remember that life is never without risk. Every time we get behind the wheel of a car, we're making a risk-benefit analysis.

What we have here is the coming together of technology companies that occupy every area of our lives and a government that is working through non-government agencies. Their alliance has one purpose: to force you to take a vaccine of dubious efficacy and relatively high risk (for some) in order to protect you from a disease that has an infinitesimally small chance of killing most of us.

As anyone who knows history should be, I'm a very pro-vaccine person. What's happening now, though, strikes me as both suspicious and terrifying. And thinking back to that movie about East Germany's secret police, when I look at our government and see that we're being run by the Demo-stasi party, I feel very nervous.

Image: Textoter by DaraDaraDara. CC BY-SA 4.0.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
Democrats are beyond hysterical that some people choose not to be vaccinated. They are irrationally crazed about the January 6th set-up of an "insurrection." When compared to the summer of riots that they wholly supported and even encouraged, what occurred that day was a non-event. But they are silent about the crime waves that are making N.Y., S.F., Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Louis, and other Democrat-run cities unlivable killing fields.

Oh, they disingenuously rage on and on about how more gun control is needed, but they know damn well that those doing the shooting don't obey any laws, let alone gun regulations. They don't want to hear about the gang war in the Bronx that is killing teens or the thousands that have been killed in Chicago.

After a year of demanding that police be defunded, Jen Psaki, the Baghdad Bob of the current W.H., tried to blame the enormous spike in violent crime on Republicans; she said they were behind the defund the police campaign. No one is buying that lie. Nor will they buy Andrew Cuomo's bill to make gun manufacturers liable.

And now Biden wants to "investigate" those who rationally purchased guns during the riots that wrought destruction in so many cities. And to add insult to injury, now this administration is going to monitor all text messages for "COVID misinformation." How totalitarian is that? Completely.

One of the Chinese propagandists on CNN, Leana Wen, is so enraged that some folks have not submitted to these entirely experimental vaccines. She says, "Life must be hard for the unvaccinated ... they should have to be tested twice weekly." Sure, they'll all go along with that. Tens of thousands of migrants are pouring over the southern border. They are not being tested or vaccinated, but Americans must be?

Just who are Biden, Fauci, and the rest of those disseminating panic porn accountable to that they've forgotten the first rule of the Nuremberg Code in the section entitled "Permissible Medical Experiments"? The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential. And then there is the HIPAA Privacy Rule. And yet the left intends to mandate the vaccines for everyone, including children who are at little risk of getting COVID and at virtually no risk of dying of it. One has to question why.

If the vaccines are effective, then the vaccinated are protected, as are those who have had COVID and recovered. Why are they so alarmingly determined to vax every single human on the planet? COVID has a survival rate of nearly 99%, the fatalities due to co-morbidities.

What is in those jabs that they are so maniacal about getting it into each and every one of us? Why do they care so much?



Photo credit: U.S. Secretary of Defense, CC BY 2.0, license.

And why do they not care about the thousands who are being assaulted or are dying on city streets each week? Nor do they care about the millions of dollars the cartels are raking in thanks to Biden's open border policy or the rampant sex-trafficking of girls and women those policies have engendered. The left's priorities are upside-down and thoroughly immoral.

The hopelessly ill-qualified secretary of HHS, Xavier Becerra, claims that it is "absolutely the government's business to know which Americans haven't been vaccinated." Really? Where in the Constitution does it say that, Secretary Becerra? Nowhere. Chances are he's never read the Constitution or, like the rest of the left, dismisses it as old and irrelevant.

The administration is frantically politicizing the unvaccinated as right-wingers while assuring us they are not politicizing the issue. In fact, it is principally young people who are choosing not to be vaxxed, not exclusively Republican men, as they would have us believe. It is not at all political to those who have done their homework and sought out the information that Big Tech and the MSM have censored and so don't want the jab, but their "hesitancy" has been thoroughly politicized, most especially by egomaniac Tony Fauci.

Fauci seems unable to handle the fact that not all Americans see him as their savior. He is more closely aligned to the Grim Reaper. His fingerprints are all over this genetically engineered flu, thanks to his ideological and financial support for the gain-of-function development of the virus. It seems as if he and the rest of the mandate-the-vax crowd are owned by some entity that has them on the vax train. Is it China? Big Pharma? Have they all been bought? There simply has to be an explanation for the left's frenzied campaign to see every citizen vaccinated. COVID is not smallpox or polio. Most people who get it survive. And there are other therapeutics. A vaccine was never necessary.

There is something insidious going on, something that has made guinea pigs of all who chose and may still choose to be vaccinated. "Tis a mystery while the catastrophic rise in gun violence is no mystery at all. Defund the police, institute no-bail, do not charge rioters, looters, and arsonists with the crimes they've committed, release criminals onto the streets over and over again, make car break-ins effectively legal as they have in S.F., elect DAs who are advocates for criminals, and you have a perfect storm of crime. Yes, the crime surge is as easily explained as day follows night. But the Fauci-ists are for some reason scared to death of the vaccine-resistant while the nonstop murders making our major cities so dangerous does not bother them one bit. Sure, Biden had a little sit-down today, most notably with Eric Adams, the probably soon to be mayor of N.Y. who calls himself the Biden of the Bronx, but it is doubtful that anything came of it beyond note card Biden's suggestion that COVID funds be used to hire police! How about that?

The thousands of doctors, biologists, virologists who have tried to warn against the vaccines, especially for young people and pregnant women, have been deplatformed with the cold and calculated determination of any communist regime. That includes the suppression of any discussion of treatments other than the vaccines.

Someone needs to find out why and let us all in on the secret. Whatever it is, it is bound to be nefarious and rooted in corruption. The American left is now overwhelmingly anti-American. They seem bound and determined to destroy this nation as founded, to pit Americans against one another, to institutionalize vote fraud, to transform the country into some sort of globalist enclave for refugees from all over the world. All and all, trouble ahead.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
The United States Capitol Police force is Congress's private security force. It is not subject to any of the constraints that govern all other police forces in America. It is not required to turn over evidence. Also, as we learned with the case of the officer who murdered Ashli Babbitt, it can conduct its reviews under cover of darkness, hide people's identities, and clear itself of wrongdoing, all without having to answer to the public. In this regard, as is the case with so many things Congress has voted for itself, it is profoundly un-American. But here's some fun news: The Capitol Police blew all their capital on pretending January 6 was an insurrection, and they are going broke.

According to a story in Politico, the super-secretive Capitol Police, who have 2,200 police officers just to protect the fewer than 550 elected officials in Congress, soon won't have enough money to pay those officers their salaries:

High-stakes talks on Hill security funding looked grim Monday with the Capitol Police close to running out of money for salaries after the Senate's top Democratic appropriator offered a $3.7 billion plan  nearly double the size of a House-passed bill the GOP has spurned as too big. Appropriations Chair Patrick Leahy released his own massive proposal to cover the financial fallout from the Jan. 6 Capitol attack after Republicans countered Friday with a $632.9 million bill that scraps hundreds of millions of dollars for Democratic priorities to secure the Capitol complex. Leahy's offer, which doesn't attempt to bridge a widening partisan divide, would also patch the Capitol Police and National Guard budget shortfall amid growing urgency to assist both forces as they run short of cash and resources for salaries and training.

The police officers are working stiffs, so I don't wish them ill. I completely disrespect them for closing ranks and keeping silent about what happened on January 6, but I understand why they did: mortgages.

Not all of them have mortgages. For me, that word is shorthand for the fact that government and corporate employees, even when they see heinous wrongdoing going on in the places that employ them, say nothing.

If it's a battle between principles and making mortgage payments, keeping work-based health insurance, and putting money in the kids' college funds, principles will go out the window every single time. Again, I get it. Keeping a toehold in the middle class is an expensive and nerve-wracking process, and one can never stop scrambling to stay there. If it were I in their shoes, I can't say that I'd make a different decision.

What's so ironic here is that the Capitol Police, after having sold their souls for their jobs (and, again, I get it), now stand on the brink of losing their jobs. We know they're never going to cross that brink. That's because congressional Democrats need to buy their silence.

For congressional Democrats, January 6 is the most powerful weapon in their arsenal. They've elevated it into something that they claim is bigger than the Civil War, Pearl Harbor, and 9/11 put together.

The people rotting in D.C. prisons are poor shlubs whose lives the Democrats destroyed in 2020 with their COVID madness  no more mortgages for those poor people, hence their willingness to put it all on the line. The same people were then driven to despair watching unconstitutional voting changes pave the way for massive election fraud. So they acted  and the Democrats have weaponized them as grim examples of what happens to anyone who dares cross the Democrats. Their plight is the modern equivalent of the rotting heads of traitors with which medieval British rulers decorated London Bridge.

Given January 6's usefulness, the Democrats don't dare allow the Capitol Police to become as desperate as the January 6 protesters. While the protesters could do nothing more than walk through Congress and gawk, the Capitol Police can talk. They can explain exactly what happened on that day and tell what's on the 14,000 hours of video that the FBI and other Democrat operatives refuse to release.

So, while one can enjoy the thought of Democrats in Congress panicking at the thought of losing both their physical security and the Capitol Police's continued silence about January 6, the reality is that Democrats will find the money for the police if it's the last thing they do. And, shamefully, the Republicans will help them.

I won't pad out this post with more discussion, but I do want to say that almost every congressional Republican has been shamefully silent about the desperate, broken Americans unconstitutionally locked away in D.C. We are led by the most craven of poltroons. Worse, expect these cowards to pay lip service to the brave Cubans (and the Cubans are brave) even as they turn their backs on their own citizens. Feh!

Image: A United States Capitol Police officer in 2010 by David Maiolo. CC BY-SA 3.0.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
A few weeks ago, the Supreme Court handed down a significant victory for religious freedom in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia. In this case, Catholic Social Services (CSS) sued the City of Philadelphia after the city shut down its foster care services. CSS had been providing foster services to the Philadelphia community for longer than even Philadelphia had.

Despite this, CSS was shut down for its beliefs that marriage is between a man and a woman and because it would certify only foster families who had a married man-and-woman family unit. City officials told CSS that "things have changed since 100 years ago" and "it would be great if we followed the teachings of Pope Francis, the voice of the Catholic Church." Fortunately, the Supreme Court held that his type of religious animus violates the First Amendment.

Some saw Fulton as an opportunity to either overturn or replace Employment Division v. Smith, a precedent that has caused many frustrations for religious freedom advocates. The Smith ruling allowed a law to stand so long as it is "neutral and generally applicable." Put simply, this means that a law that does not target religion and applies to religious activity and nonreligious activity alike does not violate the First Amendment, even if it prohibits religious activity.

The problem with this test is that "neutral" and "generally applicable" laws can still significantly impact religious practice. In a concurring opinion in Fulton, Justice Alito pointed out how this is a problematic test. This test would allow a law banning alcohol to apply to sacramental wine; a law preventing inhumane slaughter of animals to apply to kosher and halal food; and a law preventing headwear in courthouses to apply to Jewish, Sikh, and Muslim people who wish to observe their religious mandates.

Advocates of religious freedom were rightly disappointed that this test remains. Just this past week, the Supreme Court issued a blow to religious freedom when it refused to take up Arlene's Flowers' petition. In this case, florist Barronelle Stutzman sought to overturn a ruling that her flower shop discriminated against a same-sex couple by not providing flowers for what the couple called a wedding. The State of Washington pursued fines and a court order requiring the florist to serve same-sex couples in this particular way in the future. The Washington courts used Smith to conclude that these punishments do not violate the First Amendment. By denying Arlene's Flowers' petition, the Supreme Court let that decision stand.

Despite Fulton not impacting as much as once hoped, it still provides opportunity for the next wedding services provider  namely, Masterpiece Cakeshop, which is again being targeted by a government agency for "discrimination." Fulton was decided upon a rarely used portion of Smith, which creates an exception to the "neutral and generally applicable" test. Where the government has a "system of individualized exemptions," it cannot apply that system in cases of "religious hardship." In other words, when a government has the authority to review a situation and decide for or against a religious person or entity, it cannot do so unless it has a compelling reason.

In Philadelphia, the government had the right not to reject CSS's foster license. The city's own policies allow for "an exception ... granted by the Commissioner." In CSS's case, the commissioner stated that it "has no intention of granting an exception." This is despite the city officials being fully aware of CSS's religious concerns. Additionally, the court also found that discrimination is not so compelling a justification that the city cannot ever provide exceptions.

The laws that are being used to attack wedding servicesproviders similarly give government discretion as to whether or not to pursue a claim. These "public accommodation" laws require a citizen to file a complaint with a state agency (often called something like a "Human Rights Commission"). That agency will then review the matter and itself decide whether to take legal action. This can create the exact inconsistent treatment that should be prevented under this exception to Smith.

In Colorado, for example, the government does not require a cake deemed "anti-gay" to be baked, while a cake for a same-sex "wedding" is required. This demonstrates that discretion can be abused in such a way as to apply the law one way against religious objectors and another way for non-religious objectors.

According to Fulton, this system requires a compelling justification. And Fulton also established that "discrimination" is not compelling enough to maintain a system whereby no religious exceptions can be allowed. If this theory is applied to Masterpiece Cakeshop, or any other wedding serviceprovider, a different outcome could be possible.

Religious freedom advocates should all be glad for this and find hope in the ongoing battle to preserve religious liberty.

Image via supremecourt.gov.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
This page contains all of The Anchorage Press coverage of the novel coronavirus outbreak, and the illness it causes, called COVID-19.

Because this outbreak impacts public health, our coverage of the coronavirus is available to all readers. Our journalists are working hard to bring you the verified information below. Please consider supporting important local journalism with a subscription. (Click Here)

Are you an Anchorage resident whos been affected by the illness? Send us an email: matt.hickman@anchoragepress.com.




Have any questions? Please give us a call at 907-561-7737
Huawei and Verizon have agreed to settle their patent dispute. The two companies were embroiled in a couple of lawsuits alleging patent infringement since early last year. However, they no longer want to fight in the court and have filed joint motions to dismiss both cases on Sunday, Reuters reports.

The origin of the dispute dates back to 2019. Huawei had approached Verizon asking for more than $1 billion in patent licensing fees for technologies that the latter used in its networking equipment. The Chinese conglomerate said the American wireless carrier used more than 230 Huawei patents.

Of course, Verizon doesnt use Huawei equipment in its network infrastructure. However, the carrier did use technologies covered by Huawei patents. As such, the Chinese company wanted it to pay licensing fees. Huawei said it was simply asking that Verizon respect Huaweis investment in research and development by either paying for the use of our patents or refraining from using them.

Advertisement

The talks though failed and the company took the court way. It filed lawsuits accusing Verizon of using patents without authorization in two US courts in Texas in February 2020. The lawsuits claimed that the American carrier used a dozen Huawei patents in areas such as computer networking, download security, and video communications without proper authorization. They sought an unspecified amount of compensation and royalty payments.

Verizon counterclaimed but has now reached a settlement with Huawei

Verizon expectedly dismissed Huaweis allegations saying it was a PR stunt from the Chinese conglomerate. The company also filed counterclaims alleging it of violating Verizon patents. The trial of one of the two lawsuits began last week. But days into it, the two companies have settled the dispute. It is a confidential agreement, so neither party disclosed the terms of the settlement.

Verizon is happy with the settlement reached with Huawei involving patent lawsuits, the company said in a statement. Our team did an outstanding job bringing this protracted matter to a close. Huawei also echoed the sentiment saying its pleased to reach an agreement that ends the companies patent litigation.

Advertisement

Huawei reportedly holds more than 100,000 active patents worldwide. Around 10,000 of those are in the US. However, the growing tensions between the US and China have hit the Chinese conglomerate hard. The US government has put it on an economic blacklist, cutting off its access to American technologies. As such, it is struggling to keep its smartphone business afloat. The company might now be looking to make money on licensing fees of patents. Whether Huawei manages to make a successful return to the global smartphone market, only time will tell.
Anniston, AL (36206)

Today

Cloudy skies this morning followed by thunderstorms during the afternoon. High 81F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms this evening followed by occasional showers overnight. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.
Purchase an online subscription to our website for $7.99 a month with automatic renewal. Each online subscription gives you full access to all of our newspaper websites and mobile applications. To cancel you may contact Customer Service @ 256-235-9253 or email JPAYNE@ANNISTONSTAR.COM



For a limited time, for NEW SUBSCRIBERS ONLY a NEW ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION is just $59.99 for the first year. Existing customers do not qualify for the specials!



After the first year, well automatically renew your subscription to continue your access at the regular price of $69.99 per year. Please note *Your Subscription will Automatically Renew unless you contact Customer Service To Cancel*


(ANSA) - GENOA, JUL 13 - Italian customs police on Tuesday seized 10,000 unsafe Chinese-made COVID face masks at the port of La Spezia near Genoa, local sources said.

The mask did not comply with safety regulations, police said.

(ANSA).


Migrants: NGOs to protest against renewing mission in Libya At Montecitorio with blindfolds, 'they don't want to see'

(ANSAmed) - ROME, JULY 13 - Over 100 associations will protest on Wednesday at 5 pm in front of the Lower House of Parliament in Rome on the occasion of the vote to renew Italy's international missions, including the one in Libya, to "denounce the Italian authorities' responsibility in the continuous slaughters of migrants in the central Mediterranean and the cycle of violence, exploitation and human rights violations that migrants and refugees in Libya are systematically subjected to".



The NGOs, from Mediterranea Saving Humans and Amnesty International to Arci and Open Arms, said the requests by civil society are clear: "stop the renewal of the mission in Libya and the continuation of cooperation with Libyan authorities without concrete guarantees on the protection of migrant and refugee human rights; no to support and partnership with the Libyan Coast Guard aimed at forced pushbacks in Libya; yes to building a plan that foresees the immediate evacuation of people locked up in Libyan detention centres and to the extension of legal entry channels for migrants and refugees; yes to restoring an institutional system of search and rescue in the Mediterranean and to the recognition of the essential role carried out by NGOs for the safeguarding of lives at sea".



During the protest there will be speeches by those who have directly suffered violence at the hands of Libyan guards; stories told through the voices of Sonia Bergamasco and Valentina Carnelutti; speeches by, among others, Ascanio Celestini, Nello Scavo, and Khalifa Abo Kraisse; and statements by MPs who will take turns at the microphone.



Protesters will take to the square wearing blindfolds as a "symbol of those authorities who refuse to see, and who bend voluntarily to the barbarity and the cancellation of human rights".(ANSAmed).




NAPLES - Climate change and the health of the ecosystem are the main topics on the big screen this summer in Sicily, where on Monday the three finalists were announced for the IFAD/COPEAM Award at the Sicilymovie film festival in Agrigento.



Screenings at the film festival include short films, documentaries, video clips and short animations of all types.



The finalists are: "Wrapped in Plastic", directed by Rocco Muraro, a short documentary which exposes the issue of plastic waste generated by intensive agricultural practices in southern Spain; "Beyond the Glaciers" directed by David Rodriguez Munoz, a short film from Kazakhstan that analyses the impact of climate change and human activity on fishing communities on the Aral Sea; and "Los ojos de la Tierra" directed by Marcos Altuve, which highlights how tortoises are an indicator for ecosystem health in Morocco.



The award was created by the UN's International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) with the Union of Mediterranean Broadcasters (COPEAM), to celebrate the best short documentary films that focus on food security and issues that affect rural communities in the Mediterranean and Near East, North Africa, Europe and Central Asia regions.
Migrants: 7 boats with 104 people in just hours on Lampedusa 283 transferred from hotspot, 750 still at facility

(ANSAmed) - LAMPEDUSA, JULY 13 - Seven different boats carrying a total of 104 Tunisian migrants arrived on the island of Lampedusa starting Monday night.



Following an independent landing on Guitgia beach that took place around 11 pm, rescues continued throughout the night.



At 1:10 am, two miles off the coast, Italian finance police blocked a five-metre boat with 14 Tunisians aboard.



At 4:50 am, another finance police patrol boat intercepted a seven-metre boat with 16 men aboard and escorted it to the Favaloro pier.



At 5:40 am, at the entrance to the port, a boat with 16 Tunisians aboard was blocked.



At 6:10 am, a fiberglass boat with 15 people aboard, including one minor, was stopped.



Rescues and landings continued throughout Tuesday morning.



At 7:40 am 15 Tunisians arrived, and just a few minutes later 14 others were brought to port by the patrol boat Cp3302.



The five-metre boat was left adrift.



Just prior to 8 am, Carabinieri police and finance police intercepted 14 people in San Fratello contrada, including a woman and two minors.



The group was heading on foot to the town centre after having independently reached the beach of Isola dei Conigli, where the boat was recovered.



Those in the group of 14 said they had fled from Mali, Ivory Coast and Tunisia.



On Tuesday morning, 283 migrants were transferred from the migrant hotspot in Imbriacola contrada.



Of those, 110 were boarded on a commercial ferry that will reach Porto Empedocle on Tuesday evening, while 173 others were board on the quarantine ship anchored at Cala Pisana.



There are currently still 750 people remaining at the hotspot, which has a capacity of 250.(ANSAmed).




A teenage boy has been arrested and released after a seven-year-old girl was sexually assaulted near a playpark in Tayside.

The incident occurred on Saturday between 5pm and 6.30pm near to the Castle Green Playpark in Broughty Ferry.

Police in Tayside say a 14-year-old boy was arrested, but he has been released pending further investigation.

Officers are also reassuring local residents that the investigation so far suggests it was an isolated incident with inquiries ongoing.

Detective Inspector Gail Hill previously said: This was a distressing incident for the child involved and her family.

We are thoroughly investigating to establish the full circumstances and the public can expect to see an increased police presence in the area.

If you were at or near the playpark on Saturday afternoon and took any family photos or videos, these could prove a great help to our inquiries.

Otherwise, if you believe you have any information, please come forward.

You can contact police on 101, quoting incident 2958 of 10 July. Alternatively, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, if you wish to remain anonymous.
Schools and colleges are expecting a huge number of appeals this summer as some parents have already threatened to get lawyers involved over grades, the leader of a headteachers union has warned.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said some families are placing pressure on teachers to ensure their child secures the grades needed for university.

He told MPs that the school leaders union is giving legal advice to members on how to cope with parents who say they have a lawyer ready to challenge grades that they do not agree with.

Teachers in England have finalised decisions on their pupils GCSE and A-level grades after this summers exams were cancelled for the second year in a row.

Schools and college teachers have drawn on a range of evidence when determining grades, including mock exams, coursework, and in-class assessments using questions by exam boards.

Next month, students will find out what grades they have been awarded after 14 months of disruption to learning amid the pandemic.

Addressing the Education Select Committee, Mr Barton said: I think we will see a huge number of appeals beyond the priority appeals.

And again we are already seeing examples of some parents exerting some pressure on some people, saying my daughter needs certain grades to get to university, if they dont get them Ive got a lawyer lined up.

Thats not a caricature, we have got that, we are giving legal advice to our members.

Pupils who want to appeal against their grade must first request that their school or college reviews whether an administrative or procedural error was made.

If the school or college rules no error was made, then students can escalate the appeal to the exam boards.

Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), is concerned about huge workload implications for staff over the summer.

He told MPs: I was talking to a secondary head only last week, who only last week had received an email from one of the exam boards asking would the headteacher be available for every day of the summer holiday so they can talk to them about the appeals process.

And if they arent going to be available for every day, can they give them the telephone number of another member of senior staff who will be available for every day of the summer holidays.

Mr Courtney also expressed concerns about teachers being criticised if the proportion of top grades awarded this summer increases again.

He said: Our worry is that politicians might then criticise teachers for an increase in grades, which would be completely inappropriate if that happens.
The director of the latest Indiana Jones instalment has been pictured visiting Glasgow ahead of filming in the city centre.

Parts of the Scottish city have been transformed into the United States for what is thought to be the fifth movie in the franchise starring Harrison Ford.

Flags with the stars and stripes adorned some streets along with signs saying Welcome to New York Astronauts! and other references to Apollo 11  suggesting part of the film could be set in 1969.

Glasgow city centre filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones movie starring Harrison Ford (Andrew Milligan/PA)

A number of shop fronts had also been created, with traffic lights changed to the traditional yellow colour seen in American streets.

At a Govan car park near Ibrox Stadium, rehearsals were taking place with a parade of vehicles  again featuring Apollo 11 references.

Vintage American cars could be seen alongside floats, with a moon-like object on one and a beauty pageant on another.

Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene (Andrew Milligan/PA)

It is not yet known when or if the movies main actors will come to Scotland, with filming thought to include several hundred extras.

James Mangold  director of Logan, The Greatest Showman and the currently untitled fifth Indiana Jones film  was pictured in Glasgow on Tuesday alongside other crew members.

While some set features started appearing a week ago, filming could take place for another few weeks with a range of road closures listed on Glasgow City Councils website.

Members of the public take a seat on the set in Glasgow (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Cochrane Street by Glasgow City Chambers will be closed on various days at various times until July 31 with the prohibition of pedestrian movements during action' in some cases.

Vehicles will not be able to wait, load or unload  or even move  on other dates along St Vincent Street, Hope Street, West Nile Street and Wellington Street among others.

Filming will move along to the Trongate, Montrose Street, Bothwell Street and Blythswood Street as the month goes on.

Traffic lights have been changed to the traditional yellow colour seen in American streets (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Vehicles will not allowed to move along the M8 Kingston Bridge off ramp to Bothwell Street from 8pm to 10pm between July 26 and 28.

A full list of streets and timings can be found on the Glasgow City Council website: https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/article/19741/Event-Road-Restrictions.

Other productions to have filmed in Glasgow in recent years include Fast And Furious: Hobbs And Shaw, The Batman, Tetris and 1917.
JLS star Aston Merrygold said he has developed a thick skin after being subjected to abuse on social media.

He told the BBCs Morning Live it has been very difficult to deal with.

He was speaking after England players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were racially abused on social media after missing penalties during the Euro 2020 final on Sunday.

Aston Merrygold (Victoria Jones/PA)

When asked about social media abuse, Merrygold told the programme: Its very difficult and for me personally, Ive experienced things like this since I was a young boy and its given me tough, thick skin coming into this industry.

Especially an all-black boy band as well, it was never going to be easy for us, and it hasnt been, but we kept strong.

He added: For me, I can brush it off, I can, I suppose, succeed, thats the best way to kind of silence people.

Last year Merrygold revealed his son, then aged two, was targeted by racist trolls online.

He told Morning Live: When my son is subjected to that, I was never ready for that in my head.

Amber Davies (Lia Toby/PA)

Love Islands Amber Davies also discussed her experience of being online after starring in the programme.

She told Morning Live social media wasnt half as big as it is now when she went on the show in 2017.

I didnt struggle but it was a huge eye-opener when I stepped out of that villa, so I can only imagine what it would be like now, she said.

I just think, as long as these contestants have a really good support system, then they should be OK.

At the end of the day, no-one should have to deal with this.
A judge in London has begun overseeing litigation after a container ship got wedged in the Suez Canal in Egypt.

Master Richard Davison oversaw an online High Court hearing on Tuesday, more than three months after the Ever Given got stuck while sailing from Malaysia to Rotterdam.

The judge heard from lawyers representing companies which own the ship, and a company chartering the ship, at a preliminary hearing in the specialist Admiralty Court, which is part of the High Court.

He was told that lawyers had reached agreement on a preliminary issue.

A digger being used to free the Ever Given (Suez Canal Authority)

Owners Luster Maritime SA and Higaki Sangyo Kaisha had made a limitation claim against charterers Evergreen Marine Corporation (Taiwan) and all other persons claiming or being entitled to claim damages

Barrister Stewart Buckingham QC, who represented ships owners, told the judge that the charterers had admitted the owners right to limit their liability.

He told the judge that potentially there could be many thousands of claims by individual cargo owners.

Mr Buckingham said the owners position was that they were not liable for the grounding incident or its consequences.

As was reported widely in the national and international press, on 23 March 2021, while en route to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, the vessel grounded along the bank of the Suez Canal, Egypt, he said, in a written case outline.

At the time of the incident the vessel was under pilotage by a Suez Canal pilot (a second Suez Canal pilot also being on board), who had earlier taken over from the harbour pilot, who had piloted the vessel from the Suez anchorage into the canal.

It is understood that there was some damage to the bow of the vessel as a result of the Incident.

However, no injuries, deaths or pollution are understood to have occurred.

He said after several attempts the ship had been refloated on March 29.
One in five high street workers are self-isolating due to Government pandemic tracing rules, and the situation could worsen, hospitality and retail bosses have warned MPs.

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade group UKHospitality, told MPs on the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy committee that firms have forecast that a third of staff could soon be isolating.

She said this comes on top of a wider labour shortage following the impact of lockdown measures and people moving out of the sector to find employment.

Ms Nicholls told the committee on Tuesday: We have one in five hospitality staff in isolation, and we have particular concerns as around 60% of our staff are under 30.

The changes to allow double-vaccinated people to avoid isolation wont kick in in a material way until September because the workforce wont have been able to have their second jabs until then.

We believe we need to have a test-to-release policy to help them work.

For many of our small businesses, if you lose one or two of your workers you dont have enough people to open at all, and obviously that has huge ramifications.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said there was a similar proportion of shop worker absences due to isolation rules.

We are seeing some vacancy rates of around 20%, she told MPs.

And only some of that is directly people with Covid  a lot is the indirect consequence of having to isolate, irrespective of tests or whether one has had two vaccines.

I think it is an immediate issue that comes with the lifting of restrictions.

The comments were made during the latest business committee regarding the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ms Nicholls added that hospitality firms have around a tenth of jobs currently unfilled, with some workers switching to other careers during the enforced closure of large parts of the sector.

She said: We are short of 200,000 workers and actively trying to recruit for those.

You have a hot and tighter labour market than might have been anticipated.

Ghislaine Halpenny, director of strategy and external affairs at the British Property Federation, also told the committee that about 6.4 billion in rent debt had accrued since the start of the pandemic.

Last month, the Government extended the ban on commercial evictions until March 2022 in a bid to help firms affected by the pandemic.

Ms Halpenny said most landlords and tenants have reached agreements over rents or made payments.

She added that current proposals for an arbitration system to deal with rent disputes looks like a blunt instrument.

The proposed arbitration scheme feels like a bit of a sledgehammer to crack a nut, she said.

It will be large, complicated and expensive to put together and potentially waste taxpayer money.

We dont see why the courts, with some additional guidance, shouldnt be used for that backstop process.
A sailor has died aboard a Royal Navy frigate travelling to the Far East as part of the carrier strike group.

The MoD has confirmed that an investigation is under way into the death of the crew member of Type 23 frigate HMS Kent and their next of kin had been informed.

To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here to do so.

A MoD spokeswoman said: It is with deep sadness that the Ministry of Defence can confirm that a Royal Navy sailor from HMS Kent died on July 10 2021.

The Royal Navy Type 23 frigate HMS Kent, part of the Carrier Strike Group 21 mission, left Portsmouth Naval Base in Hampshire on May 1 2021 (Andrew Matthews/PA)

The Ministry of Defence offers its condolences to the individuals family and friends.

The ships company of HMS Kent are in our thoughts during this difficult time.

The individuals next of kin have been informed and have requested privacy at this difficult time.

An investigation is under way and it would be inappropriate to comment any further while that is ongoing.

It is understood the death will not affect the deployment of the carrier strike group.

Portsmouth-based HMS Kent is currently deployed along with the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth as part of the carrier strike group which has been travelling through the Mediterranean before heading to the Indo-Pacific region.

To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here to do so.

The frigate recently visited Greece where senior figures from the Greek navy visited and the crew had a chance to tour a classic Greek warship.
Susanna Reid and Ranvir Singh were in tears as they discussed the racism directed at Marcus Rashford following Englands Euro 2020 final defeat.

The footballer was targeted with racist abuse after he missed a penalty during a shootout in the loss to Italy and a mural of him was defaced in Manchester.

During ITVs Good Morning Britain, presenter Reid labelled a post on social media by Rashford, in which he said he will never apologise for who he is, incredibly moving.

To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here to do so.

Along with co-presenter Singh, she became tearful after reading out a letter sent to Rashford, who has campaigned to prevent child hunger, by a nine-year-old called Dexter in which he said he had been inspired by the footballer to help those less fortunate.

The letter said: I hope you wont be sad for too long because you are such a good person.

Last year you inspired me to help people less fortunate. Then last night you inspired me again, to always be brave.

Im proud of you, you will always be a hero.

To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here to do so.

Reid said she hopes Rashford feels everything thats coming through from this letter and all the messages of support.

Singh said: Thats England. Dexters England, right.

She added: The thing is, it goes to the heart of what we want for our children.

My son, going to school, he has talked about racism that hes faced. Hes going to be nine.

Ranvir Singh (Ian West/PA)

But you think about it all the time and you are privileged if you dont have to think about it and the only time you have to think about it is when one of your heroes is suffering.

Reid said she hopes the team realise how many people love them, are proud of them and how many people they have inspired.

She added we all have to talk to our children about racism.

To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here to do so.

Following the incident, Reid and Singhs Good Morning Britain colleague Alex Beresford said it is not easy talking about this stuff.

In a tweet, he added: As @ranvir01 said, as she embraced her hurt; there isnt the privilege of choice.

Ranvir is one of the strongest people I know and we should not underestimate the strength it took to not fight back those tears.
Calling all taco connoisseurs McCormick & Company (MKC) is hiring a "director of taco relations" for a short-term stint, and it comes with a pretty hefty paycheck.

On this taco Tuesday, the food company known for its spices officially announced the new, four-month contract position, which pays $100,000 (or $25,000 per month). Applicants must be 21 years of age, a U.S. resident, be available to sign a contract by the end of August and work up to 20 hours a week from September 2021 to December 2021.

The incumbent should have a pretty hearty appetite as well, addressing hard-hitting questions like "Which are better, soft or hard shell tacos? according to the release.

Daily responsibilities include keeping up to date on taco trends, "trolling TikTok", developing content for a "Taco Tuesday" social media series and lots of taste tests to encourage taco lovers alike to crave the latest creations.

Friends home taco party.

The job advertisement  coming in the midst of a widely chronicled staffing shortage that's squeezing the restaurant industry  appears to be a shameless plug for taco seasoning, one of McCormick's hottest products. In the past year the company says the item flew off of grocery shelves at a rate of more than 200 packets per a minute.

While taco trends continue to change and evolve, our seasoning has remained the first choice for countless families across the country," Jill Pratt, McCormick's Chief Marketing Officer, said in the release.

The taco czar "will ultimately honor and support the millions of Americans that rely on our taco seasoning everyday while keeping McCormick at the forefront of the tacos of tomorrow," Pratt added.

The role will require the ability to work remotely and attend virtual meetings, while 10% of the role will require the newly-named director to travel across the nation to visit "famous taco restaurants and chefs," and McCormick's headquarters in Maryland.

In order to apply, taco lovers must submit a two minute or less video highlighting their favorite recipes, taco tips and tricks, favorite taco themed-trivia and fun facts, taco experiences, go-to topping. In short, McCormick wants applicants to describe why the role is "your dream gig."

Applications close next Tuesday, July 20 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

Brooke DiPalma is a producer and reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma@yahoofinance.com. Check out her latest:
Stay in the area.

Move away.

Volunteer around the community.

Find a cause to dedicate your time to.

Travel the world.

Take a breath and relax.

Yell at the kids to "stay off my lawn!"

Other.

Vote

View Results
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga.  Forsyth County is joining the ranks of other Metro Atlanta counties in matters of regional planning, severing ties to its North Georgia neighbors after nearly 60 years.

Forsyth County became the 11th member of the Atlanta Regional Commission July 1, a move that could have major ramifications for its future growth and forge connections between Forsyth and counties surrounding Atlanta.

County officials began talks of leaving the Georgia Mountain Regional Commission in 2019. Its transition into the ARC was made official earlier this month after legislation allowing the switch was signed by Gov. Brian Kemp.

The ARC is a regional planning agency that includes Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale counties. The organization includes a 41-member board with representatives from all 11 counties, which guides policies and strategies on regional issues, including transportation, workforce and business initiatives, natural resources and growth.

Forsyth County is one of the most dynamic and important parts of metro Atlanta, ARC Chairman Kerry Armstrong said. In many ways, the countys fast-growing and evolving population reflects the future of our region. This growth also brings ever-increasing challenges in long-range planning. We look forward to having Forsyth join our efforts in improving the quality of life for everyone in the Atlanta region.

Forsyth County Commission Chairwoman Cindy Jones Mills said the move will give Forsyth County a seat at the table for guiding regional policies and plans that will impact residents. Mills and Cumming Mayor Troy Brumbalow will serve on the ARC board.

The transition to the Atlanta Regional Commission will give Forsyth residents a stronger voice about our future in key areas, including transportation planning and water quality, Mills said.

Interim Director of Communications Russell Brown said the county will be able to apply for the ARCs Community Development Assistance Program, which focuses on creative development, green infrastructure, historic preservation and other initiatives. It will also have access to the ARCs research and analytics programs to delve into specific demographics of the area and to help guide policies.

Those resources will likely by mined to help guide the countys future growth, one of the catalysts for the switch to the ARC as it continues to transition from a rural area to an expansion of the Metro Atlanta metropolitan area. Brown said the county will be able to learn about various strategies for managing growth from its neighbors, both what has worked and what hasnt, as the county continues to grow.

Forsyth Countys population, and its number of businesses, has soared over the past 20 years. Census figures show the countys population was just below 100,000 in 2000. While official 2020 census figures have yet to be released, estimates put the current population closer to 250,000.

The move still gives the county authority to make the decisions that are in the best interest of Forsyth County and does not change the identity of Forsyth County, Brown said. However, with a growing population, the transition to the ARC gives the county the ability to put together more comprehensive planning and gives the county availability to resources that will help plan for infrastructure growth with a growing population.

An ARC study predicts Forsyth Countys population will exceed 400,000 residents by 2050, and it will gain more than 35,000 area jobs over the next 30 years, mostly along Ga. 400.

Forsyth Countys move to the ARC ends its longstanding membership with the Georgia Mountains Regional Commission, dating back to 1962. The GMRC includes more rural counties in the northeast portion of the state.




Have any questions? Please give us a call at 541-889-5387
Lifeways is a behavioral health and addiction treatment provider. Citizens can submit questions for the column to editor@argusobserver.com with safety in the subject line or by calling them in to (541) 823-4818. The opinions and views expressed in this column are not necessarily those of the Argus Observer.
He was imprisoned denied bail in the Bhima Koregaon case

Stan Swamy, who died around a week ago after being denied bail in the Bhima Koregaon case, was a Tamil priest who spent decades working with adivasis in Jharkhand. Before that he was director of the Indian Social Institute in Bengaluru. Why was he in jail for an event in Pune? The Bhima Koregaon case is five separate and unrelated things. The first was an event called Elgar (or Yalgar, meaning battle cry) Parishad on December 31, 2017 in Pune. The speakers there included former high court judge B.G. Kolse-Patil and P.B. Sawant, a former Supreme Court judge. Jignesh Mewani, Independent MLA from Gujarat, and JNU activist Umar Khalid also spoke. Members of Kabir Kala Manch, who are artists-activists, participated too.

The second event was next day, January 1, 2018. This was the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon Bhima, a Pune suburb on Bhima river, where on January 1, 1818, the British defeated the remnants of the Maratha empire. The British side had many dalit Mahar soldiers who overpowered a larger army led by the Brahmin Peshwa.

Since 1927 when B.R. Ambedkar visited the village to speak of the victory, hundreds of thousands of dalits came to Koregaon Bhima each year to gather at the obelisk raised to mark the battle. But in 2018, there had been tension due to events in the neighbouring village of Vadhu Budruk. This had to do with who had cremated Sambhaji, Shivajis son, who was executed by Aurangzeb in 1689 near Koregaon Bhima. The Mahars claimed it was one of them, Gopal Govind, who cremated the Maratha in defiance of Aurangzebs orders. This offended the Marathas, who claimed two of their community had performed the rituals. Govinds tomb in Vadhu Budruk was in the same village square as Sambhajis. On December 28, a board was placed over Govinds tomb, claiming the feat of his cremation of Sambhaji. The next day Govinds tomb was desecrated  the board was removed and the umbrella structure over the tomb was damaged. A complaint was filed by dalits under the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act. The Koregaon Bhima panchayat asked its residents to boycott the January 1 event and called for shops to remain shut. That morning violence erupted between dalits, who said they were attacked by a group carrying saffron flags, and the local Marathas, who said they were attacked by dalits. One Maratha was killed. The violence spread to other towns in western Maharashtra and 300 dalits, including children, were held by the Mumbai police.

The third event was a police complaint, filed a few days later, by a man who said the Elgar Parishads agenda was to mislead the dalit community, to convert them to Maoist thought and adopt the path of violence, and that through their publications, books and speeches, they wanted to increase enmity in society. The man who filed the complaint, Tushar Damgude, said he followed a simple rule for his Hindutva: We should keep things which are helpful for Hindus; the rest should be abandoned.

It was on the basis of this complaint that the police began arresting the activists, many of whom had nothing to do with, and werent present in Bhima Koregaon. The fourth event was a report produced by an RSS outfit called the Forum for Integrated National Security, whose secretary general, Seshadri Chari, was on the BJPs national executive committee. This report said there was a Maoist strategy to lure people into joining mass organisations concerned about issues like caste, justice and equality, which would then help the Maoists recruit for the final armed struggle against the State. This report was released on March 9, 2018.

Another report by the same author was submitted to Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in April. In May, the UAPA law was added to the Bhima Koregaon case. On June 6, the Maharashtra police arrested five people including Dhawale of the Republican Panthers, lawyer and dalit activist Surendra Gadling, scholar Mahesh Raut, who worked on adivasi rights, assistant professor of English at Nagpur University Shoma Sen and Rona Wilson of JNU, who worked with the Committee to Release Political Prisoners. They were described by the police as the top brass of the urban Maoists.

The police claimed it found a letter in Wilsons house dated July 2017 which said: Comrade Kisan and few other senior comrades have proposed concrete steps to end Modi Raj. We are thinking along the lines of another Rajiv Gandhi-type incident.

On the basis of this, the police arrested Sudha Bharadwaj, who studied mathematics at IIT Kanpur and gave up her US citizenship at age 18; Gautam Navlakha, who also wrote for Economic and Political Weekly; Anand Teltumbde, assistant professor at Goa Institute of Management and married to a granddaughter of Ambedkar; Arun Ferreira, a lawyer defending the accused in this case; Vernon Gonsalves, a professor of business management and economics at Ruparel College and HR College of Commerce and Economics; Varavara Rao, an author and poet who was a lecturer on Telugu literature; Hany Babu, a professor of linguistics at Delhi University. Three members of the Kabir Kala Manch  Sagar Gorkhe, Jyoti Jagtap and Ramesh Gaichor  were arrested, and Father Stan Swamy, 83-year-old Jesuit and theologian.

None of them had anything to do with the Bhima Koregaon violence, and werent even present there. The case is said to be sensitive because of the assassination plot allegation, but the trial hasnt started.

Last year, the BBC carried a report on Stan Swamy headlined: The oldest person to be accused of terrorism in India.
The steep, rocky terrain that burned in the Grizzly Creek fire is erosion-prone. This shot shows an area in the No Name creek drainage that was part of the June 26 debris flows.
You are the owner of this article.
ICE

CVT

AWD

FWD

Hyundai and Kia are mere shadows of their former selves, as the brands have slowly  but steadily  risen the ranks. Now theyre mature, tech-savvy, and (above all) extremely stylish. One can imagine that something had to be sacrificed. Well, as far as the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz is concerned, the first-ever four-door Korean pickup truck to be sold in North America, its the affordable pricing strategy.The Times They Are a-Changin' says Bob Dylan, and we couldnt agree more. After all, its not every day that you see a Hyundai get undercut by a large margin in terms of pricing by the Blue Oval. But the reality is that Fords 2022 Maverick kicks off at an MSRP of $19,995 for the base XL version equipped with the 2.5-liter hybrid engine. Meanwhile, the highly anticipated Santa Cruz Sport Adventure Vehicle will deliver an attractive entry point for target buyers at $23,990, according to Hyundai.Theres a rather hefty difference, but things might get complicated by the standard configurations and the optional goodies. The starting point for the Santa Cruz is the SE version with a 2.5-liter four-pot and we can already see the powertrain differences:and 8 speed auto for the Hyundai, FHEV andfor the Ford. Besides, the Maverick cant be had withalongside the base engine, unlike the Santa Cruz  which kicks off the SE AWD at $25,490.More trims can be had with the Santa Cruz: SE, SEL ($27,190/ $28,690 AWD) and SEL Activity ($30,460 FWD / $31,960 AWD) just for the base 2.5-liter. Then, when it comes to switching to the 2.5-liter turbo, the Santa Cruz jumps directly to the AWD-only $35,680 SEL Premium and $39,720 Limited, both equipped with an eight-speed dual-clutch. Meanwhile, the 2022 Maverick Lariat with the 2.0-liter EcoBoost is $26,575, but it has less power (250 to 275 hp) and comes with a regular auto box.One final note that might tip the scales one way or the other. Unlike Ford, which has a bad track record with eagerly anticipated model introductions (2021 Bronco is chief among them ), we don't expect any hiccups for Hyundai. And the South Koreans are going to send the Santa Cruz to dealerships a bit faster, starting late July.
HP

Unveiled last month and set to arrive at dealers nationwide this fall, the 2022 Lexus NX is based on a new platform, featuring turbocharged and electrified powertrains, like the new 2.5-liter four-pot and NX 450h+ plug-in hybrid variant in certain regions.The crossover is offered with 20-inch wheels, panoramic moonroof, new infotainment system, and the Lexus Safety System+ 3.0 bundle of safety gear. Drivers will be assisted by the updated pre-collision with oncoming vehicle detection, risk avoidance emergency steer assist, road sign assist, lane assist, dynamic radar cruise control with curve speed management, and others.Limited to 500 cars, the 2022 Lexus IS 500 Performance Launch Edition is the companys first model in the F Sport Performance Line. It boasts the standard BBS 19-inch alloy wheels from the Dynamic Handling Package, and will be sold exclusively in the Incognito exterior paint finish, a new color in the brands palette.Setting the interior apart from the rest of the family are the two-tone black and gray Ultrasuede upholstery for the seats, center console, and door cards, joined by an individually numbered plaque, and a lot of amenities.The icing on the cake is the naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8 engine that develops 472at 7,100 rpm and 395 lb-ft (536 Nm) of torque at 4,800 rpm, hooked up to an eight-speed automatic transmission. Toyotas luxury car brand states that the sedan can hit 60 mph (96 kph) in 4.5 seconds from a standstill.A modified Lexus LX , with custom wrapping, 24-inch wheels, side exit exhaust, and bespoke upholstery inside, will be on display as well, supporting Cals All-Star Angel Foundation, a pediatric cancer organization that raises awareness, funds research, and grants wishes to kids fighting cancer.
kilowatt

kWh

EV

From the brand-new touchscreen infotainment system to over-the-air software and map updates, JBL high-fidelity audio, and wireless phone charging, the 2022 Toyota Tundra has them all. A massive dual-pane moonroof has also been confirmed, along with a proper unveiling this fall.Based on the size of the rear doors, the pictured truck is the no-nonsense CrewMax with the 5.5-foot (1.67m) bed. On closer inspection, youll further notice a rear window that slides wholly in a compartment located between the cargo box and cabin. The back window is very nice on its own because an eight-foot 2x4 wont fit in the bed unless you drive with the tailgate open.Four more teaser photos will be published before Toyota spills the beans on the all-new Tundra, which is targeting the Big Three in Detroit instead of the Nissan Titan. Taking a cue from the 2021 Ford F-150, the iForce MAX twin-turbo V6 powerplant is expected with some kind of hybrid assistance.In the PowerBoost, for example, the Blue Oval has integrated a 35-electric motor inside the case of the 10-speed automatic transmission. The said motor takes its mojo from a 1.5-battery mounted underneath the truck as to not sacrifice any bed or cab space. The Ram 1500 eTorque, by comparison, is a mild-hybrid system that consists of a starter/generator unit.GM still doesnt offer mild- or full-hybrid trucks in the half-ton segment, which isnt exactly a missed opportunity because all-electric trucks are in the offing. Just like the F-150 Lightning and 2024 Ram 1500, the Silverado and Sierra will go electric thanks to the Hummers BT1 platform.Toyota hasnt made a move in this regard, which is a little worrying because the Big Three in Detroit will be joined by two more companies. On the one hand, we have Rivian and the R1T quad-motor pickup. But more importantly, Teslas Cybertruck has more than 1 million reservations under its belt.
FWD

At the end of the day, it all comes down to the platform on which these are built, with the former using the 3 Series ' underpinnings as a starting point, whereas the latter look to the 1 Series for support. Needless to say, even though BMW has proven it can do engagingcars with its MINI range, the one you actually want if driving pleasure ranks somewhat high on your list of priorities is the RWD one.But with hands tied behind your back when the number of doors becomes important, you might be forced to end up with a front-wheel-drive 2 Series Gran Coupe . Don't worry, BMW is at least offering the option of having it specced with the company's xDrive all-wheel-drive system, which kind of puts things to rest. We say "kind of" because it's still an FWD-based system with a bias toward the front axle, but it's the best you can get.Well, if only you hadn't had kids, then you could be driving something like the Abarth 124 Spider . The roadster is the Italians' take on the critically acclaimed Mazda MX-5/Miata, and even though most people will probably prefer the Japanese model's design, they might be swayed toward the Abarth thanks to its turbocharger.Indeed, having forced induction not only brings a slight increase in the power output but also changes the way that power is delivered. The Abarth 124 Spider gets 170 hp to the Miata's 160 hp, but the real bonus is in the torque. Here, the increase is more substantial with the Italian roadster having 184 lb-ft (250 Nm) of maximum twist power, compared to the 148 lb-ft (200 Nm) the Mazda gets. Not only that, but the turbocharger also makes sure the peak output is reached way earlier in the rev range - 2,500 rpm for the Fiat, 4,600 rpm for the Miata.Finally, there's one more advantage the turbocharger brings, and that's increasing the tuning capacity of the entire setup. This particular Abarth 124 Spider took advantage of that by having a phase 2 tune from EuroCompulsion as well as a host of other mods, and it's a good thing it did because it now has roughly the same power output as the BMW , making this race a lot more even and, therefore, interesting.Despite having a BMW and a tuned Fiat, we're still looking at a 220 hp drag race, so don't expect any records to fall. Or any jaws to drop, for that matter. Still, the dynamic of each of the three runs is interesting since we're dealing with such fine margins. Oh, and the 124 has a very sweet sound, something Abarth products have always been pretty good at.
The team thats promising to help you get out and see more sights is none other than Bundutec. If youve never heard of Bundutec, not a problem. This team hit the market back in 2013 when retired president of Northstar Campers, Rory Willett, felt he couldnt give up on the industry just like that. Tracing Willetts history back to Northstar, a team thats been around since 1961, you can imagine the level of knowledge Bundutec has behind them.As for the camper I'll be bringing to your attention today, its known as the RoadRunner. Once you get to know it, youll understand the name and even agree its a perfect fit. If you check out the manufacturers website , there isnt any clear information as to what size truck youll be able to use for this camper. However, the images show a Ram 3500 as the turtle for this shell. I tried giving the team a call, but theyre rather the morning folk, and with us writers (nigh owls), rarely will they cross paths.Just to get things out of the way, the starting price for one of these puppies is $33,706, definitely not too cheap. But in that price hides a camper that may keep you moving for years to come. Overall, the RoadRunner comes in with a dry weight of 2,400 pounds (1,088 kg), hence the Ram. An overall length of 193 in (490 cm), floor width of 49 in (124 cm), and interior height of 76 in (190 cm), make up the living space youll be relaxing in.It would seem that Bundutec is quite secretive about what they use to build their campers. Instead, were told of an array of features aimed at offering a comfortable and enjoyable outdoor experience. The only details that exist regarding construction are the insulated windows and skylight, aluminum siding, and fiberglass nose.Not only does the camper include four corner jacks, meaning you can leave it behind and explore with just the truck, but while its sitting there waiting for your return, an array of electric systems keep things running how you want it. 45-amp lithium charging converter, portable solar connection, 30-amp cord with protector, and battery tray are all standard. If youve got the cash for more, the RoadRunner can be equipped with 340-watt or 170-watt solar package, larger batteries, and a 3K inverter with switch.Other necessary comforts are to be covered by a MaxxAir roof fan, Truma Combi eco water heater and furnace, pressurized water system, and gravity water fill. For water, 34 gallons (128 liters) of freshwater are available, and so are another 20 gallons (75.7 liters) of gray water.Inside, the floorplan reveals space for all features normally found in a camper of this style , and then a bit more as well. At the rear, a wardrobe, followed by the kitchen, lines the western wall, while the bath and dinette along the eastern wall. The kitchen is equipped with two-burner stove, compressor fridge, and faucet with cover.Over the cab, the bedroom is found, waiting for you to rest on a queen size memory foam mattress. Ample wardrobes, hampers, storage space are available too. Two guests can fit here, while another one or two can squeeze in on the dinette below. An exterior shower, 20-pound LP tank, locking exterior storage, and countless other features adorn the camper.Speaking of extras, electric jacks, roof AC, tiedown setup, and even TV antenna can all be vouched for. But, as is the case with most extras, youll have to dish out a little extra cash. You can even get an awning, and shower enclosure for a homier feel.Sure, you may hit the $35,000 and up mark getting yourself a camper to your liking, but your RoadRunner will come across as being ready to handle whatever your truck can.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

NHTSA

On June 1st, Porsche identified a faulty screw connection on the steering column of the Cayenne, prompting an evaluation of screw data to better understand the problem. Fast forward to June 23rd, and the quality boffins have determined that the threaded connections are outside of specification.Porsche couldnt rule out the potential loss of steering in the event of a detached column, a condition that can easily result in bodily injuries, death, and lawsuits. Therefore, the Stuttgart-based automaker decided to recall the aforementioned 27 units to tighten the screw connection at the proper spec.The production dates for the affected population ranges from May 23rd to June 23rd, and Porsche describes the cause for this blunder as a process error in production. You would expect a little more attention to detail from the makers of the 911 and the financial might of the Volkswagen Group, but still, cost-cutting occurs at every single level of the automotive industry.Dealers and owners will be informed of the recall on August 29th according to documents filed with the. Porsche Cars North America also told the safety watchdog that the process error has been corrected by raising awareness, further instruction of the production employees, a cable connection instead of Bluetooth for the torque controlled screwdriver, and an automatic stop of the assembly line in the event of an incorrectly tightened screw connection.The company doesnt mention what versions of the Cayenne are recalled, which is why owners have to check with their local dealerships for extra peace of mind. Alternatively, theoffers a vehicle safety hotline (1-888-327-4236) as well as a VIN search tool on the federal agencys website.In related news, Porsche has recently spruced up the Cayenne family with the coupe-only Turbo GT flagship. Rated at 631 horsepower and 626 pound-feet (849 Nm) of torque, this variant hits 60 mph (97 kph) in merely 3.1 seconds and retails from $180,800 excluding freight charge and options.
ICE

AWD

EV

But little did he know that some of us are a special breed: given the chance, we would drive the wheels off of any car . I can't think of any cars that I've driven, that I've never tried pushing beyond their limits. At least for a little while. I've even found myself going too hard behind the wheel of a rather large van. So, when I saw that someone decided to take their Mustang Mach-E out on the track, I was really happy to follow up on the story.Terrance over at Signature Wheel is no stranger to the track. He owns several interesting cars, including a 2020 Shelby GT500 , a 2017 Shelby GT350R, and a Porsche 991.1 GT3 as well. He took delivery of the Mach-E a few months ago, and he just recently took it out for a spin over at Sonoma Raceway! So it seems only fitting that he's referring to the Mach-E as the Track-E instead. Trouble is, how much track abuse can this take before it needs to be recharged?The original tires and wheels were ditched in favor of something a bit more interesting. The car was fitted with 20x9.5 Square Signature Wheels , the Track Series SV502 version to be more specific. That means that instead of the OEM Michelin 225s, this car now has extra-added grip thanks to a new set of Yokohama 275/45/20 tires. The wheels were finished in Matte Bronze, and the color combination seems like a nice match.As Terrance is based in Sacramento, the drive down to Sonoma Raceway was a rather short one, at just 70 miles (112 km). This was his third time ever on the race track, but the first time out in the Mach-E . Leaving his house, the car was 96% charged. As he arrived at the track, that figure went down to 59%. His worst fears came true when he discovered that there are no fast chargers on site.Describing the experience of having to charge at 110 volts he noted that it felt like "drinking through a coffee straw". As the Mach-E made the trip over on its wheels, it would also have to do the same on the return trip. And that meant Terrance could only use up about 30% of the remaining energy to have fun out on the track. It's a good thing that his goal wasn't to set the fastest lap, but to simply experience the car for what it is, and also extract some data from the whole experience.It just so happens that this was the first time for a Mach-E to be out on Sonoma Raceway. All I can think about when re-reading this is that one day, Sonoma Raceway - and every other track in the world - will have one lastcar on it before banning them for good. The track is 2.52 miles (4.06 km) long, and it has a total of 12 turns. As Terrance describes it, this is more of a technical track.As it turns out, the Mach-E felt quite stable in most of the turns, and the new wheel and tire setup probably played an important role in that. For a car this size, with a weight of about 4,400 lbs (1,995 kg), you would expect plenty of body roll, but the owner mentioned that this is not "as sloppy as one would think". He praises thesystem on the car and even notes that he managed to focus more on his driving lines, as this car is slower than a GT500 for example.What's even more interesting is the fact that after 17 minutes of driving, there was no brake fade, and that's good to know for anyone looking to track their Mach-E. Even so, Terrance acknowledges the limitations of this vehicle, at least in its current trim as he added that "What I will say is the Mach-E is not a drivers car in this trim. There are no ways that I know of for you to disengage any of the nannies that make the car safe, but anger your inner Hoonigan".It looks like the car topped out at 88 mph (141 kph), no matter how hard he'd push it around the track. It's a good thing he didn't go back to the future, given the circumstances. While you would expect to get an impressive throttle response out of an electric vehicle , that was not the case. According to Terrance, the power does not come on immediately as you're pushing the throttle, and the traction control sounds like a real buzz-kill to me.After 17 minutes of fun, he pulled the car over, as the remaining 29% would have to be enough for the trip back home. As this is still a rare sight on public roads, other drivers that were on location came in to get all the details, and even though this is no GT500, Terrance seems to be happy with the way it handled itself:"For an SUV the damn thing is pretty good".We are all aware of the fact that the Mach-E was never intended for the track. The GT version may be a bit more capable, but I don't think we should be expecting any miracles. Also, an important lesson to keep in mind is that you should always check if the venue you're going to has charging options for your, otherwise you might end being stuck at the track.Someone mentioned "Shelby Mach-E" in the discussion at one point, and although I wouldn't be surprised to see a toned-down version of the Mach-E 1400, I feel that it's going to take at least two more years until that moniker becomes reality. Terrance ultimately compared the experience to a wine and cheese tasting, whereas the GT500 felt like a frat house kegger.The Track-E will be going to some autocross events soon, and it looks like we're going to see some videos of it in action as well. That being said, remember, it does help to have proper tires on the car if you're going to engage in these kinds of activities!
The new limited-edition of the Khaki Field is the result of a collaboration between Hamilton and the fashion brand N.Hoolywood. With Hamilton having a long tradition in manufacturing watches for the U.S. troops, which began during WWII, it was only natural that it would be the ideal partner for the Japanese brands military-inspired FW21 collection.Its not the first time that designer Daisuke Obana included a limited-edition Khaki Field watch in his collection but, after more than 10 years, an ever more creative new model had to come to life.The most striking feature of the new Khaki Field is its monochrome design, both minimalistic and refined. Black inspires responsibility, precision and accuracy, in Obanas view. It also highlights this timepiece s stealth character. On the downside, the black-on-black could affect legibility, but the contrasting Super-LumiNova-coated hands and markers help balance that out. A sturdy, NATO-style textile strap, in the same unapologetic black, completes the look.The new Hamilton automatic watch is powered by the brands H-10 movement, and comes with an 80-hour power reserve, plus a 10 bar (100 m)/145 psi (328 feet) water resistance. The 40 mm (1.57-inch) case is made of black PVD stainless steel, extending the monochrome theme and adding to the watch s overall durability.Only 300 of these sleek, all-black timepieces were created , each inscribed with the Watch, wrist: General Design by N.HOOLYWOOD/Hamilton text. But the limited number is not even the worst news. Unfortunately, the new Khaki Field is only available in Japan, Korea and Taiwan, as part of the N.Hoolywood brands upcoming collection.
kilowatt

kWh

EV

The Guinness World Record weve achieved in an electric car has stimulated a lot of debate here. Thats great: its both proper journalism and a scrutinised. achievement. Job done. Of course Id prefer critics to be more courteous and base remarks on facts. pic.twitter.com/ATU6R2jzoe  Paul Clifton (@PaulCliftonBBC) July 10, 2021

Paul Clifton, Fergal McGrath, and Kevin Brooker set off from John O Groats on July 3rd, and 27 hours later, they arrived at Lands End with just 45 minutes of charging under their belts. The e-crossover that Ford produces in Mexico averaged 31 miles per hour (50 kilometers per hour), the kind of speed that favors EVs because of the very low aerodynamic resistance.Paul, Fergal, Kevin, and the Mustang Mach-E averaged 6.54 miles per-hour, a feat worthy of a Guinness World Record for efficiency in an electric vehicle. This record is about demonstrating that electric cars are now viable for everyone, the team told Autocar , but Im not sure of that.Viable means a lot of things to just as many people, but 41,330 or $57,100 for a brand-new Mustang Mach-E isnt viable for most British motorists. Compare that price to a Kuga (a.k.a. Escape in the United States), and youll understand where Im coming from.The charging network isnt viable either, especially when compared to the UKs motorway services. While on the subject of charging and refueling, care to guess which is the more viable option for people who need to go places at any given moment in the day?As much as I love EVs, I also wish that people involved in promoting EVs would tone down the lyrical waxing. Also worthy of note, we shouldnt forget that Mission Motorsport has recently hypermiled a Renault Zoe to 9.14 miles perat 19 mph (30.5 kph) on specialtires developed by Enso.
The second attempt to reach the moon was announced by the Israeli company in 2020, but it took until now to secure the funds for the costly endeavor. Now SpaceIL reports that its managed to secure $70 million of the necessary $100 million, which represents the total cost of the mission.If everything goes well and the company manages to raise the rest of the money, the Beresheet 2 mission is scheduled for launch in 2024. It will consist of a record-breaking double landing on the Moon at the same time, with two small landing craft, among the smallest ever, to be launched in space within the same mission. Each spacecraft weighs 265 pounds (120 kg) with fuel representing half of the weight.Both mini-spacecraft will detach from the mothership and one of them aims to end on the far side of the Moon. This would be a major accomplishment for Israel, as only China has managed to do that so far. SpaceIL plans to leave the mothership in space for five years for educational and scientific purposes so that students all over the world can connect to it remotely.The Beresheet 1 mission (also called Genesis 1) was the first attempt of SpaceIL to reach the Moon and it took place in April 2019. It spent over two weeks in space approaching the Moon and everything fell apart right at the end, when the spacecraft started to suffer several failures. SpaceIL concluded that the cascading failures were triggered by a manual command.
.@VWGroup is upgrading for this time and positioning itself to future-proof individual mobility: mobility for generations to come. We are focusing on the three major global markets: the #USA, #China and #Europe. That's where the car is being reinvented first.  Herbert Diess (@Herbert_Diess) July 13, 2021

Before anything else, it is essential to notice that the only map with that peculiarity is the one referring to the U.S. When Volkswagen wanted to represent China, it showed that country in the image. The only controversial bit about it is that Taiwan appeared as part of China. Volkswagens map for Europe seems to be spot on.Admitting that it was not a mistake, few hypotheses can explain it. The map could be a way to represent how Volkswagen organizes the North American market. However, that interpretation does not stand because such a map should have included Canada. After all, Donald Trump may have changed NAFTA, but USMCA is still in full force.If its not the North American market, another possibility for the map to include Mexico and Central America would be that Volkswagen has factories in Mexico and the U.S., which sell their vehicles to all those countries presented on the map. The problem with that possibility is that such representation would have to include some South American countries to be correct.What also comes to mind is that the open borders policy of the Joe Biden government made Volkswagen consider all countries sending migrants to the U.S. as part of that market. Nonetheless, if that were the case, we would see a much larger U.S. on Volkswagens maps. At this point, the idea of a mistake may be the most suitable one. Well ask the German carmaker about what it intended to show with its unusual cartography.
Palmdale, CA (93550)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 99F. SW winds at less than 5 mph, increasing to 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 75F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph.
Former President Donald Trump, in a book out Tuesday by Michael Wolff, says he is "very disappointed" in votes by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, his own hard-won nominee, and that he "hasnt had the courage you need to be a great justice."

Driving the news: "There were so many others I could have appointed, and everyone wanted me to," Trump told Wolff in an interview for the cheekily titled "Landslide."

"Where would he be without me? I saved his life. He wouldn't even be in a law firm. Who would have had him? Nobody. Totally disgraced. Only I saved him."

Between the lines: After the election, as Axios' Jonathan Swan reported in his "Off the Rails" series, Trump saved his worst venom for people who he believed owed him because he got them their jobs.

He would rant endlessly about the treachery of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, reminding people of how he shot up in the primary polls after Trump endorsed him.

about the treachery of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, reminding people of how he shot up in the primary polls after Trump endorsed him. Over lunches in the private dining room adjoining the Oval Office, Trump used to reminisce about how he saved Kavanaugh by sticking by him.

in the private dining room adjoining the Oval Office, Trump used to reminisce about how he saved Kavanaugh by sticking by him. For Kavanaugh to not do Trumps bidding on the matter of ultimate importance  overturning the election  was, in Trump's mind, a betrayal of the highest order.

Wolff writes that Trump feels betrayed by all three justices he put on the court, including Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, but "reserved particular bile for Kavanaugh."

Recalling the brutal confirmation fight , Trump said: "Practically every senator called me ... and said, 'Cut him loose, sir, cut him loose. Hes killing us, Kavanaugh.' ... I said, 'I cant do that.'"

, Trump said: "Practically every senator called me ... and said, 'Cut him loose, sir, cut him loose. Hes killing us, Kavanaugh.' ... I said, 'I cant do that.'" "I had plenty of time to pick somebody else," Trump continued. "I went through that thing and fought like hell for Kavanaugh  and I saved his life, and I saved his career. At great expense to myself ... okay? I fought for that guy and kept him."

"I dont want anything ... but I am very disappointed in him, in his rulings," Trump said.

"I cant even believe what's happening. I'm very disappointed in Kavanaugh. I just told you something I havent told a lot of people. In retrospect, he just hasn't had the courage you need to be a great justice. Im basing this on more than just the election."

Wolff gives an entertaining account of what it was like for the book authors who were given Trump interviews at Mar-a-Lago:

It's called the Living Room, but it's in fact the Mar-a-Lago lobby, a vaulted-ceiling rococo grand entrance, part hunting lodge, part Renaissance palazzo. But it is really the throne room. ... He sits, in regulation dark suit and shiny baby-blue or fire-red tie, on a low chair in the center of the room, his legs almost daintily curled to the side, seeing a lineup of supplicants or chatting on the phone, all public conversations.

And why would Trump talk to Wolff, who wrote two earlier bestsellers with devastating accounts of Trump dysfunction?
Papikian said the promised grants and loans would be used for rebuilding roads in Armenias mountainous Syunik province leading to neighboring Iran.

The transport project is one of the European Commissions five flagship initiatives for the South Caucasus country announced last week. They are worth a combined 1.6 billion euros and need to be approved by the EUs 27 member states.

The EU will use various instruments to support the implementation of this flagship in cooperation with the [international finance institutions]: grants, loans, guarantees, blending, EUs executive body said in a statement. It gave no details of the project.

Papikian said the money would be used for the planned reconstruction of Syunik highways stretching about 200 kilometers towards the Iranian border. The roadwork involving the construction of several mountain tunnels and bridges would cost an estimated $1.5 billion in funding, he told reporters.

The European Union has promised the assistance and we now need to understand how, through what mechanisms and channels [it will be provided] before proceeding accordingly, Papikian went on.

The minister stressed that the Armenian government, whose annual budget is worth less than $4 billion, would press ahead with the ambitious project with or without EU funding.

We must do everything to call an international tender in August, he said. Now our task is to ascertain the financing sources so that the process can be accelerated.

Iran has also expressed readiness to help upgrade the Syunik roads. Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami discussed the matter with Papikian and other Armenian officials when he visited Yerevan in May.

The two sides agreed to set up a joint working group that will explore Iranian companies possible participation in the planned roadwork. The group held its first session in Tehran late last month and is scheduled to meet in Yerevan on August 15.

Syunik borders not only Iran but also Azerbaijan and its Nakhichevan exclave. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev threatened earlier this year to forcibly open a corridor connecting Nakhichevan to the rest of Azerbaijan. Yerevan strongly condemned the threat.

Visiting Yerevan later in May, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif reiterated that the territorial integrity of Armenia and other regional states is a red line for the Islamic Republic.
They are keen to get free shots offered to not only Armenian citizens and residents but also foreign visitors. The mostly young people say that in Iran priority is given to elderly citizens and that they have to wait for inoculation for weeks and even months.

The influx began about two weeks, resulting in long lines at state policlinics and other vaccination centers across the Armenian capital. This led the Armenian Ministry of Health to restrict non-resident foreigners access to those facilities on July 8.

Foreigners who do not have Armenian residency permits have since been able to get vaccinated only at mobile sites set up in shopping malls and two major streets in downtown Yerevan. Each of those sites is allowed to inoculate no more than 50 foreign visitors a day.

Another restriction that will take effect on Thursday will make only those foreigners who have spent at least 10 days in Armenia eligible for a coronavirus vaccine.

The queues have been particularly long outside one such facility opened on Northern Avenue, the citys main pedestrian boulevard. Hundreds of Iranian nationals have spent several nights there.

Most of them refused to be interviewed on camera on Tuesday. Those who agreed to talk to RFE/RLs Armenian Service criticized the restrictions imposed by the Armenian authorities.

The Armenian government had promised that all tourists can be vaccinated here, complained one woman who identified herself as Shohre. Im now having a serious problem: they vaccinate no more than 50 people a day and I dont know when it will be my turn.

We have been registered and Im 400th on the waiting list, she said. I suffer from a heart disease and the coronavirus could be fatal for me. I will try to spend another night here. Maybe I will get my turn.

An Iranian man, who has spent two nights on the street, worried that he may not make it to the front of the line by Tuesday evening despite being 20th on the list. If I dont get a vaccine today it will mean that they pay bribes to cut the line, claimed the 30-year-old Puya, who arrived in Armenia with five other compatriots.

Armenian Health Minister Anahit Avanesian visited the Northern Avenue site later in the day. This demonstrates just how desirable and important the vaccination is, she said, pointing to the long queue contrasting with many Armenians mistrust of coronavirus jabs.

According to the Ministry of Health, only about 112,000 people in Armenia making up less than 4 percent of the countrys population received one or two doses of vaccines as of Tuesday morning. The ministry did not specify how many of them are non-resident foreigners.

In the last 20 days we have had a sharp increase in the daily number of inoculations, Avanesian told reporters. Im talking about figures relating to our citizens.

Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian controversially touted the influx of Iranians over the weekend, saying that Armenia should cash in on this and other forms of medical tourism. Critics countered that the number of vaccine doses acquired by the Armenian government so far is enough to vaccinate only a small percentage of the countrys own population.

Avanesian insisted in this regard that the government is not using its vaccination campaign to attract more tourists.
Senior members of the bloc dismissed as politically motivated criminal charges brought against the officials running towns and villages in Armenias southeastern Syunik province.

Two of those mayors, Manvel Paramazian and Mkhitar Zakarian, were elected to the parliament on the Hayastan ticket in the snap elections held on June 20.

Paramazian, who runs the industrial town of Kajaran, was arrested last week on charges of vote buying and fraud while Zakarian is accused of illegally arranging the privatization of a plot of land in his community comprising two other Syunik towns and surrounding villages. Zakarian resigned as community head three days before being taken into custody on Monday.

The two other arrested persons ran villages close to the town of Goris. Law-enforcement authorities claim that financial aid allocated by them to local residents amounted to vote bribes.

All four officials deny the accusations. Armenias human rights ombudsman, Arman Tatoyan, said on Tuesday that he has sent a fact-finding team to Syunik to look into allegations that law-enforcement bodies are using threats to clinch false incriminating testimonies against the village chiefs.

We believe that this is political persecution, political repression and political terror, said Vahe Hakobian, a former Syunik governor whose Resurgent Armenia party set up the Hayastan bloc together with Kocharian and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun).

Political persecutions are continuing and we will fight against them by all means to prevent them from breaking up our peoples resistance and isolating our supporters with trumped-up accusations, Dashnaktsutyuns Ishkhan Saghatelian said for his part.

If it were up to Nikol [Pashinian] he would arrest all 270,000 citizens who voted for us, Saghatelian told a joint news conference with Hakobian. Its evident that they will try to continue the repressions but  they dont realize that this will not subdue us or stop our struggle.

During the election campaign Pashinian pledged to wage political vendettas against village and town mayors supporting the opposition.

One of the prime ministers close associates, Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Suren Papikian, denied on Tuesday that the accusations leveled against the arrested Syunik officials are politically motivated.

Papikian, who oversee local administrations, also said: There can be no repressions because only the people can carry out repressions, make decisions. The people made their decision on June 20.
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Some Arizona mayors are in support of Amtrak building a new passenger rail line service between Tucson and Phoenix, making it easier to Arizonans to travel back and forth. The new service would help build up the economy through the region, increase travel options, and help to reduce the carbon footprint.

A letter was sent to Arizona Congressional Delegates, including Kyrsten Sinema, Raul M Grijalva, Andy Biggs, Ruben Gallego, Mark Kelly, Debbie Lesko, Greg Stanton, and more. Along with Romero, mayors from Phoenix, Goodyear, Mesa, Glendale, Avondale, Chandler, Oro Valley, South Tucson, Marana, and Sahuarita signed the letter.

"We have not had passenger rail service between Tucson and Phoenix since the mid-90s. This new service will yield important economic benefits throughout the region, increase travel options for millions of Arizonans, and help us reduce our carbon footprint," says Tucson Mayor Regina Romero. She says the funding for this project is part of the proposed bi-partisan infrastructure bill that will allow Arizona to have a rail service like other states.

The trip between Phoenix to Tucson, according to Amtrak, would be about 2.5 hours. Between Tucson-Phoenix-Buckeye, there would be three daily trips offered and the service alone would create $77.7 million a year, along with $1.9 billion in economic activity. In addition to Tucson and Phoenix, the Amtrak service will create a direct connection between Los Angeles and Tucson. A trip between Los Angeles and Phoenix would be about 7.43 hours. Los Angeles to Tucson would be about ten hours.

"This new corridor links the rapidly growing Phoenix and Tucson areas with daily multi-frequency service between downtown Tucson through Phoenix to the western suburb of Buckeye. It also links Phoenix and Tucson to Los Angeles with increased daily service. Visit the Amtrak Connects US website for more details on Amtrak's vision to improve transportation across America," according to Amtrak.

New proposed stations include - Tucson, Marana, Coolidge, Queen Creek, Tempe, Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, Phoenix Downtown, Goodyear-Avondale, and Buckeye. More details and information can be found on Amtrak's website here.
SCOTTSDALE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) - A Scottsdale woman has been indicted for allegedly signing her dead mother's name on an early voting ballot envelope in the 2020 election.

On Monday, Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced that a state Grand Jury had indicted Tracey Kay McKee on one felony count of illegal voting and one felony count of perjury.

Brnovich says McKee signed the name of her mother on an early ballot envelope after her mother's death. McKee's mother died on October 5, 2020, and McKee is accused of signing her name sometime between Oct. 7 and Nov. 3, 2020.

McKees is set to appear in court August 11.

Arizona election audit enters new phase as ballot count ends Technology consultants hired by Arizona Senate Republicans to probe the 2020 election have finished counting and photographing nearly 2.1 million ballots from Maricopa County.

The GOP-led Senate ordered an election audit after Trump backers claimed without evidence that fraud led to his loss in Arizona and other battleground states. The Republican-dominated Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has repeatedly said the election was fair and free of any problems.
Bakersfield, CA (93308)

Today

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 102F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 79F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
Most of us have heard the phrase looking at the world through rose-colored glasses. Most of the time, it simply means that we have chosen to view something in a positive light. And in fact, I think we very often do choose to view the world in which we live with certain preconceived ideas. I 
Stay up to date on COVID-19

Get Breaking News

Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox.
Bluefield, WV (24701)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 76F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 62F. Winds light and variable.
FILE - In this Wednesday, March 3, 2021 file photo, Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak speaks during a press conference following the 2021 Budget, in 10 Downing Street, London. British lawmakers are voting Tuesday, July 13, 2021 on whether to overturn a big cut to the countrys foreign aid budget. Aid groups say the decision has slashed billions from programs that help some of the worlds poorest people. Prime Minister Boris Johnsons Conservative government announced in November that it would cut the share of national income set aside for foreign aid from 0.7 percent to 0.5 percent, citing the blow to Britains economy from the coronavirus pandemic.


Looking to log in? Click the person icon (at the very top of the site, on the right) to login or register.

Not getting your Beacon editions in your e-mail when they come out? Log in, click here, click "Email lists" and make sure "e-Edition subscribers" is selected
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP)  Pressure is mounting on the man who claims to be Haiti's leader in the aftermath of the president's assassination, with at least two other officials claiming to be the legitimate head of government amid a race to fill the political power vacuum.

Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph, who is ruling Haiti with the backing of lean police and military forces, has pledged to work with the opposition and allies of President Jovenel Moise, who was killed Wednesday at his private residence.

He faces two rivals: Ariel Henry, whom Moise designated as prime minister a day before he was killed, and Joseph Lambert, the head of Haitis dismantled Senate, who was recently chosen by a group of well-known politicians to be provisional president.

Meanwhile, a coalition of main opposition parties called the Democratic and Popular Sector presented its own proposal Tuesday for the creation of what it called the Independent Moral Authority. It would be made up of human rights activists, religious leaders, academics and others who would be charged with reviewing and merging all proposals.

Also on Tuesday, members of Haitis civil society announced that they were working on a proposal for a smooth transition and declined to say whether it supports a specific person to lead Haiti.

We dont want them to reduce us to who should do what, said Magalie Georges, a teacher and union leader.

Lambert was supposed to be sworn in Sunday as a symbolic act, but the event was canceled at the last minute because he said not all his supporters could be present.

Joseph, Henry and Lambert met Sunday with a U.S. delegation that included representatives from the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security who flew to Haiti to encourage dialogue "to reach a political accord that can enable the country to hold free and fair elections, the White House's National Security Council said.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the delegation received a request for additional assistance, but she did not provide details. Haiti's request for U.S. military help remains under review," she said. Psaki suggested that political uncertainty on the ground was a complicating factor as the administration weighs how to help.

What was clear from their trip is that there is a lack of clarity about the future of political leadership, Psaki said.

Haiti is also seeking security assistance from the United Nations. The U.N. has been involved in Haiti on and off since 1990, but the last U.N. military peacekeepers left the country in 2017.

Few details of the meeting between the U.S. delegation and the three men have emerged, although Lambert said he was urged to work together with other actors whom he did not identify.

I am not looking for personal glory. We have the country first in mind, he told Radio Television Caraibes.

The deepening political instability comes as Haitian authorities continue to probe the assassination with help from Colombia's government. Twenty-six former Colombian soldiers are suspected in the killing, and 23 have been arrested, along with three Haitians. Leon Charles, head of Haiti's National Police, said five suspects are still at large and at least three have been killed.

Police on Tuesday identified three of the five fugitives, describing them as armed and dangerous. One is former Sen. John Joel Joseph, a well-known Haitian politician who is an opponent to the Tet Kale party that Moise belonged to. Another is Rodolphe Jaar, who uses the alias Whiskey and was indicted in 2013 with two other men in federal court in South Florida on charges of conspiring to smuggle cocaine from Colombia and Venezuela through Haiti to the U.S. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nearly four years in prison, according to court records.

At his 2015 sentencing hearing, Jaars attorney told the court that Jaar had been a confidential source for the U.S. government for several years before his indictment. He also agreed to cooperate with federal authorities.

In June 2000, Jaar filed a civil suit against the U.S. government seeking the return of a large amount of cash taken from him along with his passport and tourist visa when he was stopped in a rental car by customs agents. He was not arrested at the time, but Jaar said he learned that he was under investigation for money laundering.

Jaar described himself in court papers as the owner of a successful import business in Haiti. He said his family has operated the enterprise since 1944.

The third man was identified as Joseph Felix Badio, who once worked for Haitis Ministry of Justice and joined the governments anti-corruption unit in 2013. The agency issued a statement saying Badio was fired in May following serious breaches of unspecified ethical rules, adding that it filed a complaint against him.

Haitian police also have arrested a man considered a key suspect: Christian Emmanuel Sanon, 62, a Haitian physician, church pastor and Florida businessman who once expressed a desire to lead his country in a YouTube video and has denounced the country's leaders as corrupt.

Charles said Sanon was working with those who plotted the assassination and that Moises killers were protecting him. He said officers who raided Sanon's house in Haiti found a hat with a DEA logo, 20 boxes of bullets, gun parts, four license plates from the Dominican Republic, two cars and correspondence.

But a business associate and a pastor in Florida who knew Sanon told the AP that he was religious and that they do not believe he was involved in violence. The associate, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, said he believes Sanon was duped and described him as "completely gullible.

Sanon told him he was approached by people claiming to represent the U.S. State and Justice departments who wanted to install him as president. He said the plan was only for Moise to be arrested, and Sanon would not have participated if he knew Moise would be killed.

___

Associated Press writers Terry Spencer in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; Ben Fox in Washington; Manuel Rueda in Bogota, Colombia; and Evens Sanon in Port-au-Prince contributed to this report.
Reservoir levels are dropping throughout the West, as the drought tightens its grip on the region and intense summer heat further stresses both water supply and the surrounding landscape. Many reservoirs are at or approaching historic low levels due to lackluster rainy seasons combined with increasing temperatures due to climate change.

The drought crisis is perhaps most apparent in the Colorado River basin, which saw one of its driest years on record, following two decades of less-than-adequate flows. The nation's largest reservoir, Lake Mead near Las Vegas, is at its lowest level since the lake filled after the construction of the Hoover dam in the 1930s; it currently sits at 1,069 feet above sea level, or 35% of its total capacity. It supplies water to Arizona, Nevada, California and Mexico.

Further upstream, Lake Powell, which feeds Lake Mead, is at only 34% of its total capacity. By next spring, Lake Powell is projected to hit its lowest level since it was filled in 1964, possibly jeopardizing its ability to generate power.

California's two largest reservoirs, Lake Shasta and Lake Oroville, are on track for potential record lows this summer, now at 37% and 31% of their total capacities, respectively.

Amid a warm spring and early-season heat, mountain snowpack never made it into rivers and reservoirs - it simply seeped into bone-dry soils or sublimated directly into the atmosphere. This kind of reduced runoff "efficiency" is expected in a warming climate, and it contributed to the quickly intensifying drought this year in California and other states.

"The reservoir levels in the second year of this drought are what they were during the third or fourth year of the previous drought," said Jay Lund, a professor and water resources expert at the University of California at Davis.

As the summer progresses, the levels will continue their decline.

"Certainly, many reservoirs in the state will see levels lower than they've seen since 1976-77, maybe even lower," said Lund, referring to California's driest water year on record.

Lund said to expect a wide range of impacts from low reservoirs this summer, including reduced hydropower production and reduced water deliveries to agriculture, fish and urban areas downstream.

The Western United States entered a months-long dry season already in severe drought, and then extraordinary heat bore down on the region in June, meaning reservoirs, soils and plants are losing even more water through evaporation. With climate change pushing heat to new and more frequent extremes, it's a safe bet coming months will feature more of the same. In fact, another major heat wave is descending upon California and the West this weekend.

Both the drought and its effects are intensifying at a rapid pace. While these were felt first and most acutely by ranchers who rely on nonirrigated pastures, they have quickly expanded to other sectors as reservoir operators curtail water releases.

The term "shortage" is now both a projection from government agencies and a reality for communities, farmers and ranchers.

In August, a shortage probably will be declared for Lake Mead, which will trigger substantial cuts in water deliveries to Arizona, Nevada and Mexico next year to slow further losses.

California's vast reservoir network, the State Water Project, is delivering only 5% of requested supplies to its 40,000 water rights holders, which is sending reverberations throughout the state. In June, the City of San Jose became the largest urban area to impose water restrictions so far this year, with Santa Clara County declaring a water shortage emergency.

The drastically reduced deliveries from the state have also directly affected farmers, and by extension, smaller communities that rely on well water. Shallow wells are drying up as farms draw more heavily on groundwater; one Central Valley community has already run dry and is importing bottled water for basic needs, Cal Matters reports.

On Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom, D, expanded drought emergency status to 50 of the state's 58 counties. He asked Californians to voluntarily cut water use by 15 percent but did not issue mandatory statewide restrictions.

Faith Kearns, a scientist at the California Institute of Water Resources, said many communities face chronic water supply issues that are exacerbated by drought and groundwater withdrawal.

"My biggest concern is always with ensuring that people have affordable clean water at the household level, and that ecosystems and the life they support can manage," she wrote in an email. "It's already a struggle that will continue to worsen throughout the dry season."

In the Klamath River watershed on the Oregon-California border, record low inflows are threatening fish both in reservoirs and downstream, while reduced reservoir releases are cutting off water to farmers. The region is already seeing fish die-offs from low stream levels and warm water temperatures.

Some parts of the West, such as Southern California, are better prepared than others, having boosted backup water sources and enacted conservation measures during the last drought that are paying dividends today. But that doesn't mean the state has solved its water woes.

"We are still facing many of the same issues we have been for a long time, including dwindling fish populations and drying wells," Kearns wrote. "That to me indicates that we still have a long way to go."

Even after this summer, rains may not arrive as hoped, and it will probably take more than one good wet season to replenish water lost through missed precipitation and increased evaporation.

"After having been through many more drought years than not over the last decade, I am starting to wonder if we should even be using the term drought," Kearns said.

Over the last 20 years, human-caused warming has intensified what would have been an ordinary dry period in the Southwest into a potential "megadrought" - in some ways the driest such period in 1,200 years.

On the Colorado River, Lake Powell and Lake Mead have supported the rapid expansion of population and agriculture in the Southwest. The river supplies about 25 percent of the water used in metropolitan Southern California.

"There haven't been high enough flows to fill them, by any means, for a long time," Lund said. "We are asking a lot more out of that river than water is flowing into it."

This raises the question of whether Western states should be doing more to conserve water for next year and beyond.

"There have been some mandatory water restrictions in some parts of the state, but there is concern from a lot of folks in the water management community that those restrictions should be statewide," Kearns wrote, referring to California.

Lund said it may be wise to accept smaller shortages this year to help stave off major shortages in the future.

"We are not sure when the drought is going to end," he said. "You want to make sure you have enough water for next year."

- - -

About this story: Daily reservoir storage data from California Department of Water Resources and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Satellite images of Lake Shasta via ESA Sentinel 2 satellite. Precipitation anomaly data via WestWideDroughtTracker.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP)  A Springfield, Missouri, hospital has opened its sixth COVID-19 ward as the delta virus variant rages in the states southwest region, and St. Louis County and Kansas City health officials also are warning about a sharp increase in cases.

Mercy Hospital in Springfield announced Sunday that it had opened its sixth COVID-19 ward, after the hospital needed only five wards during the height of the pandemic last year, Kansas City Star reported.

Chief Administrative Officer Erik Frederick said the hospital was treating 133 virus patients as of Sunday.

Many local rural communities dont have high vaccination rates, Frederick wrote. They also dont have a hospital. Get sick, come to Springfield. I think thats getting left out of the narrative.

On Monday, the St. Louis County Health Department issued a public health advisory after a 63% increase  1,461 cases  in new COVID-19 cases in the last two weeks. The county is currently averaging 100 newly diagnosed cases per day, St. Louis Public Radio reported.

County Executive Sam Page attributed the rise in cases to the delta variant, which is more contagious than previous variants. He predicted an increase in hospitalizations and deaths in coming weeks and urged residents to be vaccinated.

In the Kansas City area, doctors at the University of Kansas Health System, said health officials need to begin considering possible measures to respond to a rise in cases in the metro area, The Kansas City Star reported.

Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer at the health system, didn't suggest requiring masks in indoor spaces again but said it could become a possibility because of the large number of people who aren't vaccinated in the region, combined with people socializing more often.

The city of Independence issued a public health advisory on Friday in response to increasing COVID-19 cases.
There wont be a lot of good news coming out of the special session of the Texas Legislature that began Thursday, but Gov. Greg Abbott and GOP leaders like House Speaker Dade Phelan can still try to make it as productive as possible. If they pass legislation that federal judges later strike down as unconstitutional, all the effort that went into that item will have been in vain. And while most Republican lawmakers dont care what their Democratic colleagues do in response, the GOP majority should at least try to prevent another Democratic walkout that would disrupt their plans and the states larger political structure.

Texans should understand that most of the 11 topics put on the agenda by Abbott are not front-burner state problems  like the wobbly ERCOT power grid that is already buckling as the summer begins. They are partisan issues designed to appease hard-right voters  and insulate Abbott against attacks by two hardline GOP primary challengers that he isnt conservative enough. Most of these issues failed in the regular legislative session because they were so edgy or unnecessary.

As gloomy as the outlook appears to be for the special session, the door to logic isnt completely slammed shut. Last week Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick pleasantly surprised more moderate lawmakers in both parties by backing away from two contentious voting measures he had been pushing in the regular session in the larger bill designed to eliminate voter fraud  a serious threat, of course, but one that is thankfully rare in Texas.

Patrick said he would not push for changes to polling hours on Sunday  when many Black churchgoers cast their ballot  or wording that would have made it easier for judges to overturn an election. Democrats still wont like the rest of legislation designed to promote election integrity, the term that Republicans favor now, but these two provisions were particularly offensive. By withdrawing them, Patrick is at least showing some respect for his Democratic colleagues, and gestures like that are rare from one of the most conservative Republican officials in Austin.

As welcome as Patricks change of heart was, however, it might not be enough to avoid another Democratic walkout to prevent a quorum from voting, a dramatic move that both sides should try to avoid. Walkouts have been used before in Texas politics, most notably at the end of the regular session in May, but they are not good for either party. They dont succeed in the long run and they deepen the partisan divide in Austin, which is stark enough right now.

Yet some Democrats like State Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Carrollton, are already hinting that another walkout could occur. She said House Democrats are united, adding, Were ready to fight in whatever means necessary to make sure that we have a fair elections bill for the people of Texas.

Another factor that House and Senate Republicans should consider is the possibility that any excessive measures they pass in this session could be struck down later by a federal judge. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has already warned states like Texas and Georgia that if they pass laws which unnecessarily restrict voting rights, the Justice Department will file a lawsuit against them and seek an injunction.

If Republicans in Texas give in to their worst instincts and pass any laws that go too far, a court ruling could reverse weeks of work in the special session. For practical reasons alone, they should be aware of this possibility and show some restraint  as Patrick did on the two points noted earlier.

But again, prospects for a meaningful special session are not strong. Texans might have to hope that its disruptions are as minimal as possible and dont interfere with the larger mission of state government.

Speaker Phelan, who would prefer some Democratic support to retain his job in a chamber with a narrow GOP majority, can play a key role here. He can urge House Republicans to work with their Democratic colleagues as much as possible to make the best of this situation. Thats not much to hope for, but it might be the most that Texans can expect out of this divisive special session.
Bedford, PA (15522)

Today

Cloudy. High 81F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 61F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
People board an overcrowded ferry to get home to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, after the government imposed restrictions on long-route public transport due to a rise in COVID-19 cases, in Munshiganj, Bangladesh, May 10, 2021.

Bangladesh on Wednesday will lift strict nationwide COVID-19 curbs for nine days to accommodate Eid-ul-Adha celebrations, the government announced Tuesday, a decision that an expert from a state-run institute warned against amid soaring infections from the highly contagious Delta variant.

People from the Muslim-majority South Asian nation traditionally travel to their home villages to join their families in celebrating Eid-ul-Adha. Bangladesh on July 21 will observe the second biggest holiday on the Islamic calendar. The strict lockdown will resume for two weeks, starting July 23, according to a notice circulated by the government.

But Dr. Mohammad Mushtuq Husain, chief consultant at the governments Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), urged the cabinet to rethink its decision.

Given the gravity of the pandemic, there is no scientific ground to relax the ongoing lockdown. This relaxation for nine days would cause a spike in COVID-19 cases, Husain told BenarNews.

The hospitals are full with no spare ICUs. So, I would urge the government not to lift the lockdown.

Bangladesh recorded 12,198 new coronavirus cases in on Tuesday, the second highest single-day mark since the pandemic began. In addition, the country reported 203 virus-related deaths during the same period. Nearly 17,000 people have died of COVID-19 in Bangladesh, which on Friday surpassed the 1 million mark for cumulative cases.

The Delta variant, which was first detected in India, is causing havoc in Southeast Asian nations as well, where daily new infections and virus-related deaths are breaching previous highs and have pushed nations health systems to the brink.

Since early June, coronavirus cases have exploded in Indonesia, Southeast Asias most populous country. On Tuesday, it recorded its highest daily rise in new cases with 47,899 infections, which was double that on July 1. Exactly a month earlier, daily new cases were at 4,824 nationwide.

Neighboring Malaysia also reported a new high in daily infections, which, at more than 11,000 on Tuesday, was close to double that recorded on July 1. And Thailands daily infections rose to 8,658 cases, data showed  a three-fold increase since a month ago.

Sinovac couldnt create sufficient immunity

In Thailand, Dr. Yong Poovorawan, a leading virologist who serves on the governments coronavirus task force, defended a move to administer a mix of coronavirus vaccines, after a WHO scientist had raised concerns about blending shots.

Thailand plans to give AstraZeneca jabs to those who have received the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine as their first jab, after unconfirmed reports about the low efficacy of Sinovac  an inactivated vaccine  and the weekend death of a nurse who was given both shots of the Chinese jab.

Frontline workers who have received both Sinovac jabs, will be given a third jab from an mRNA, or Messenger RNA vaccine.

Currently, a little more than 12.9 million people in Thailand have been inoculated with at least one jab of either Sinovac, or Sinopharm, or AstraZeneca, statistics from the task force showed. Of them, just over 3 million have received two jabs of one of the three vaccines.

Dr. Yong said that lab tests done on 42 recipients, who had received a booster shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine on top of a shot of Sinovac, showed they were more immune to the virus.

When we used two jabs of Sinovac  an inactivated vaccine  they couldnt create sufficient immunity to the Delta variants, Yong told BenarNews.

But when we inoculated [them] with one Sinovac shot and followed it with an AstraZeneca jab as a second shot the immunity grew rapidly in six weeks time, though not as high as [in those with] two AstraZeneca shots.

On Monday, Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at the World Health Organization in Geneva, responded to reporters questions about whether it was safe to mix jabs of vaccine.

We are in a data-free, evidence-free zone as far as mix-and-match is concerned, she told a press briefing. So we really want to caution folks.

Last week, a Thai association of doctors petitioned the government to acquire at least 100 million doses of mRNA or Messenger RNA coronavirus vaccines which, they said, provided greater immunity.

The Thai government last week agreed to order 20 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine developed by U.S.-based Pfizer but maintained another order of nearly 11 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine.

Going to be a shortage of isolation beds

Like Thailand, Indonesia plans to give a third vaccination to many of the 1.47 million medical workers inoculated with Sinovac, using a jab developed by Moderna  another American drug firm  to protect them from the Delta strain.

An Indonesian volunteer group that keeps tabs on pandemic data, LaporCOVID-19, said more than 1,100 health workers had succumbed to the virus since the start of the pandemic. At least 85 had died this month although some had been fully vaccinated with Sinovac.

Indonesia so far has received 115 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine.

On Sunday, Indonesia took delivery of 3 million doses of the Moderna vaccine, which were shipped there as part of 4.5 million doses pledged to the country by Washington.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin told a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday that if COVID-19 cases kept climbing, hospitals in Jakarta and Yogyakarta would be overwhelmed because their bed occupancy rates were currently at over 90 percent.

Theres going to be a shortage of isolation beds and ICUs, Budi said.

In Yogyakarta, the government plans to convert wards for general patients into those for coronavirus patients only, while in Jakarta, large hospitals could be designated to treat COVID-19 patients exclusively, Budi said.

Ahmad Arif, an initiator of LaporCOVID-19, said hospitals in parts of Java had effectively collapsed, an assertion that Ministry of Health spokeswoman Siti Nadia Tarmizi denied.

They are not collapsed. Yes, hospitals are strained, which has forced doctors and nurses to work extra, Siti said.

More than 36.3 million Indonesians have received at least the first dose of a vaccine.

Cases expected to rise in Malaysia

In Malaysia on Tuesday, the authorities temporarily shut a COVID-19 vaccination center in Selangor state after 200 staff tested positive for the virus.

Khairy Jamaluddin, the minister in charge of vaccinations, said he had ordered mass testing at that center after receiving a report that two volunteers had tested positive.

The mass testing was done on July 10 on all of them and to date 204 of them [out of 433] are positive, Khairy said. He also said that 400 of the workers there had been vaccinated, but he did not say which jabs they had received.

Health Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah, meanwhile, said he anticipated that coronavirus cases would rise for another week or two before stabilizing.

Hospitals already are operating at capacity in the greater Kuala Lumpur area. In preparation for a potential rise in infections, the authorities are increasing the number of beds in hospitals, Health Minister Adham Baba said.

Eleven percent of Malaysias population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while around 25 percent have received a first jab.

Jesmin Papri in Dhaka, Nontarat Phaicharoen in Bangkok, Ronna Nirmala in Jakarta, and Hadi Azmi and Noah Lee in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this report.
Greg Sukiennik has worked at all three Vermont News & Media newspapers and was their managing editor from 2017-19. He previously worked for ESPN.com, for the AP in Boston, and at The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass.
If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us

We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom.
Community News Editor / Librarian

Jeannie Maschino is community news editor and librarian for The Berkshire Eagle. She has worked for the newspaper in various capacities since 1982 and joined the newsroom in 1989.
Clarence Fanto can be reached at cfanto@yahoo.com, on Twitter @BE_cfanto or at

413-637-2551.
Kelly Marion, CEO of the Gladys Allen Brigham Community Center in Pittsfield, said that her organization and other child care providers in Berkshire County offered care to children whose parents could not stay home during the coronavirus pandemic.
Investigations editor

Larry Parnass, investigations editor, joined The Eagle in 2016 from the Daily Hampshire Gazette, where he was editor in chief. His freelance work has appeared in the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Hartford Courant and CommonWealth Magazine.
DALTON  When state highway officials propose roundabouts in cities and towns, they pause early on to ask for public comment.

Not for permission, though.

Believing that most Dalton residents question the need for a roundabout at Main and South streets, town leaders decided Monday to convene a listening session in September wholly apart from steps taken by the state Department of Transportation.

The goal: Find any means possible to tell the DOT what Dalton thinks of the plan.

Folks in town just dont want it, said Joe Diver, chair of the Select Board.

Diver used a public records request to obtain details on what Dalton residents told the DOT about the project, in an early comment period that closed last month. The project would remake the first intersection travelers encounter coming east on Routes 8 and 9 from Pittsfield.

Diver said those DOT records show that of the 45 people who commented through a DOT online portal, 53.3 percent said they were not in favor of the project and an additional 15.6 percent said they were less in favor.

On the favorable side, 8.9 percent said they liked the venture and 6.7 percent said they were leaning in favor. About 15 percent were neutral.

The Select Board voted unanimously Monday to back Divers call to invite residents to a public meeting in September, at a date to be set, and give each person two minutes to comment. The board will discuss those views at a later meeting and decide what position the town wants to take on the roundabout, pro or con; it then would communicate that to the DOT.

I think this is a great idea, said member Marc Strout. The more input we can get from residents, the better. This is a great opportunity for the town to come out and speak their mind on this.

Vice chair Robert W. Bishop Jr. suggested that Daltons Traffic Commission be invited to the session, to be held at the regional high school or middle school.

Board member Dan Esko said that since the project was floated during the pandemic, he backed the idea of providing another means for in-person discussion of the proposal.

I feel like with COVID, its down, he said of public comment.

Diver said in an interview that he decided to propose the session after attending last weeks DOT hearing on a separate Pittsfield roundabout project and realizing that the department considers issues with a roundabouts design, not its desirability.

Hopefully, this will give us another view of the landscape about what people are thinking, Diver said. Just to make sure that everybody has the right information and engagement with it.

This year, residents tried to bring a change.org petition against the roundabout to the Select Board. Though the town declined to accept the petition, since its process couldnt be verified, the document claimed to represent the views of 300 people, Diver said.

Town Manager Thomas Hutcheson suggested Monday that the DOT be allowed to respond to questions raised during the meeting, if it chooses to do so.

The DOT met this spring with the Select Board to provide an update on the project, first outlined last year. The approximately $2.1 million conversion would not begin until 2024.

Information about the Dalton roundabout can be found at tiny.cc/DaltonIntersection.

This spring, a DOT official said the department wants to hear from people.

Your input is highly valued and will be strongly considered when MassDOT selects a preferred alternative, Jonathan Freeman, the DOTs project manager, said in a statement on Daltons homepage. All views and comments submitted in response to the informational website will be reviewed and considered to the maximum extent possible.

The area is a key travel artery. Average vehicles per day top 15,500 on Main Street west of the intersection, with more than 6,000 daily trips on South Street and nearly 5,000 on West Housatonic Street, according to the DOT.

Though a roundabout is proposed, the DOT says an alternative plan would keep use of traffic signals at Main and South streets and at the nearby junction of Main and West Housatonic streets, but with better pavement markings and improved intersection geometry. If a roundabout is constructed, traffic lights still would be used at Main and West Housatonic.

The DOT says changes are needed because the intersection is in the top 5 percent of crash clusters in the region. From 2016 to 2019, there were 16 collisions in the area, including 10 with injuries.
Then-President Donald Trump speaks in September 2019, with a portrait of President Abraham Lincoln behind him, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. C-SPAN recently came up with a survey of presidential historians that put the Lincoln as the best president, and Trump fourth from the bottom.
The Hawthorne Police Department is investigating the fatal shooting Thursday (July 8) of a 21-year-old man who was reportedly identified as the California rapper Indian Red Boy, whose real name is Zerail Dijon Rivera.

The Daily Breeze reported that the victim was Rivera, which the Los Angeles County Medical Examiners website also confirmed under case number 2021-07982.

RELATED: Louisiana Hip-Hop Group Members Arrested For Killing Rival Rapper

Officers said they discovered Rivera slumped in the front seat of a vehicle parked at an apartment complex with multiple gunshot wounds at about 4:10 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

It appears to have been a walk-up shooting, and he appears to have been targeted, Lt. Ti Goetz stated, according to Daily Breeze.

According to Hip-Hop Lately, the shooting happened on IG Live with a friend. A graphic video, which appears to show the shooting, is circulating on social media.

Hip-Hop Lately said there are rumors that the shooting may have stemmed from disrespect shown to a Nipsey Hussle mural.

The investigators urged anyone with information about the shooting to come forward.
Travis Scott is trying his hand in the cannabis business after partnering with Connected Cannabis to launch his own line, Cactus Farms.

The line has already made its way into dispensaries that sell Connected Cannabis products in California and from Harvest dispensaries in Arizona over the July 10th weekend. According to Connected Cannabis, the indica-leaning strain features a dense, purple bud that releases a pungent, funky-sweet gas aroma rounded out by a unique berry twist, NME reports.

RELATED: Travis Scott Says He Loves "Wifey" Kylie Jenner At Parsons Benefit Gala

The fresh collaborations comes right off the heels of Scotts new Dior fashion collection which honors the late Brooklyn rapper, Pop Smoke who was shot and killed during a home invasion in California in February 2020.

U CANT SAY POP AND FORGET THE SMOKE. NOW U IN ALL THE STORES 4 EVER, Scott captioned a post on his Instagram.
Thousands of Cubans participated in demonstrations Sunday (July 11), protesting food shortages and high prices amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The protestors marched on Havanas Malecon promenade and other locations on the island in one of the countrys largest anti-government protests in decades.

The Associated Press reports that many young people took part in the afternoon protest in Havana, which disrupted traffic as protestors marched through the streets chanting Freedom, Enough and Unite. The demonstration grew to a few thousand marchers as they made their way down the main street in the Centro Habana neighborhood. People standing on balconies along the main street applauded the protestors, while others joined the march.

Cuba is currently going through its worst economic crisis in decades as well as a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. The country is still suffering the consequences of U.S. sanctions imposed by the Trump administration, according to AP.

RELATED: Castro Steps Down as Cubas Leader

A middle-aged protestor, who did not identify himself for fear of being arrested later, told the AP, We are fed up with the queues, the shortages. Thats why Im here.

Police initially trailed behind the protestors. After two and a half hours, some protestors allegedly pulled up cobblestones and threw them at the police, at which point officers began arresting people. According to the AP, at least 20 people were seen being taken away by police cars or people in civilian clothes.

The people came out to express themselves freely, and they are repressing and beating them, Rev. Jorge Luis Gil, a Roman Catholic priest, said to the AP. While police broke up the march, about 300 people close to the government arrived at the scene with a large Cuban flag, shouting chants in favor of the late President Fidel Castro.

In a nationally-televised speech Sunday, Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel, who also leads the Communist party, blamed social media campaigns orchestrated by the U.S. for the unrest, according to NBC News. He also warned that further provocations would not be tolerated.

President Biden released a statement in support of the Cuban protests Monday morning (July 12).

We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba's authoritarian regime. The Cuban people are bravely asserting fundamental and universal rights. Those rights, including the right of peaceful protest and the right to freely determine their own future, must be respected. The United States calls on the Cuban regime to hear their people and serve their needs at this vital moment rather than enriching themselves, the statement reads.
Haitian authorities announced Sunday (July 11) that they have arrested a Haitian man who is suspected of playing a lead role in the assassination of President Jovenel Moise.

Police said Chrisitan Emmanuel Sanon, 63, planned to assume the presidency after Moises death. The Washington Post reports that Sanon is reportedly a doctor in Florida with more than a dozen businesses in the state.

RELATED: Jovenel Moise, President of Haiti, Assassinated; Wife Wounded In Overnight Attack

Authorities said that Sanon allegedly recruited some of the men who participated in the assassination by telling them they would be his bodyguards. He also allegedly planned to hire some of the men as his security team after he became president.

Haitian National Police Chief Leon Charles said Sanon landed in Haiti on a private plane in early June with political objectives. He said Sanon recruited a team of men through a Venezuelan security firm based in the United States. Charles said one member of Sanons team was presented with an arrest warrant for Moise.



Officials said a raid at Sanons house turned up a D.E.A. cap, (a video posted by Haitian media shows one of the individuals involved in the assault identifying themselves as D.E.A. agents), holsters, bullets, shooting targets and four Dominican Republic license plates, according to The New York Times.
Eric Adams, who won the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City will meet with President Biden at the White House on Monday (July 12) to discuss solutions for the nationwide surge in gun violence.

Adams is set to join a meeting Biden is holding with Attorney General Merrick Garland and other law enforcement and municipal leaders, CBS News reports. He is attending in his capacity as Brooklyn borough president, according to White House Officials.

Adams, a former New York police captain, took the Democratic primary last week by focusing his campaign on his law enforcement background and his plans to combat New York Citys recent surge in gun violence.



In an appearance on ABCs This Week, Adams told host George Stephanopoulos said the federal and local governments should work together to crack down on illegal guns in New York.



"We feed crime in America and in New York. We need to stop the feeders of crime. And then we must have an immediate response. We should create something like a JTTF  Joint Terrorism Task Force. This is what we did to fight terrorism," he said.
A Michigan man has been sentenced to five years in prison for smashing a Black teenagers face with a bike chain at a beach. He also allegedly told him Black Lives Dont Matter, before striking him, knocking several teeth out..

According to the Detroit Free Press, 43-year-old Lee Mouat pleaded guilty to a hate crime for willfully causing bodily injury to an 18-year-old because of his race.

On March 30, Mouat admitted in federal court to pummeling the teen after pleading guilty to the racist crime before U.S. District Judge Stephen J. Murphy, III.

The June 6, 2020 incident happened at Sterling State Park near Monroe, Mich., where Mouat confronted a group of Black teens, including 18-year-old Devin Freelon Jr. Court records reveal that before Mouat pulled out the weapon, he told Freelon that Blacks were not welcome at the beach and that Black lives dont matter.

Court records and police statements show that around 7:45 p.m. Freelon heard a man yelling a racial slur at two of his friends in the beach parking lot. Then, Mouat started walking toward Freelon, pulled out a bike lock, and struck him in the face with it.

RELATED: Michigan Man Pleads Guilty To Racist Bike Lock Assault On Black Teen

According to the Free Press, one witness said they heard Mouat say, "I wish someone would say something to me so I can beat them."

In his plea agreement, Mouat admitted that he repeatedly hurled racial slurs at the group while claiming that Black people had no right to use the public beach. He also admitted to attempting to assault another Black teen with the lock, but missing.

The defendant brutally attacked teenagers at a public beach because these young people are Black, said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division, according to the Free Press. Hate-fueled violent crimes like this have no place in our communities. Protecting Americans from hate crimes is a top priority of the Justice Department and we will use every tool available to bring perpetrators to justice.

Our office is committed to protecting the rights of all citizens, and prosecuting hate crimes is a top priority, Acting U.S. Attorney Saima Mohsin for the Eastern District of Michigan added. The cowardly and unprovoked attack on this young victim is terribly disturbing. Every individual citizen has the right to not live in fear of violence or attack based on the color of their skin.

In addition to prison time, Judge Stephen Murphy ordered Mouat to serve three years of supervised release.
Call ahead to confirm events. Due to COVID-19, many events have been canceled but hosting organizations might not have updated their entries.

Email Blast Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Daily News Headlines & Events Email Blast Would you like to receive a digest of each day's headlines & events from The Daily News by email? Signup today! The Amplifier Headlines & Events Email Blast Would you like to receive a weekly digest of headlines & events from The Amplifier by email? Signup today! Daily News Hosted Events The Daily News is a proud host of community enrichment events. Join our Daily News Events mailing list to learn about the next event we are planning. Sign up now. Manage your lists
Spearfish, SD (57783)

Today

Mostly sunny. High 94F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Mostly clear. Low 67F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
How Did Apollos Help Grow the Church?

After the mentoring, Apollos traveled to Achaia with a letter of recommendation to the disciples there. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed (Acts 18:27).

Apollos became an effective, powerful apologist for the Gospel, refuting the objections of the Jews in public, and explaining that Jesus was indeed the Christ, the Messiah.

He eventually ended up in Corinth (Acts 19:1). Paul described Apollos role and ministry in 1 Corinthians 3:6: I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. Paul was the founder of the Corinthian churchplanting the precious seed of the Gospeland Apollos was the instructor who watered that seed, following-up and building up the church. But God alone, Paul said, brought the spiritual fruit.

What Happened to Apollos?

Unfortunately, Apolloswho had many natural gifts and strengthsattracted a following in Corinth. Admiration for his leadership and eloquent preaching fueled carnal divisiveness in the church. Though Apollos likely didnt want it to happen, some in Corinth claimed him as their spiritual teacher and mentorexcluding the leadership of Paul and Peter.

Apollos teaching differed from Pauls because they had different giftings and roles; but they were on the same page. They had the same goals for the church community. Paul had to deal with the growing factions in the church. He addressed the problem in the first four chapters of Corinthians. He reminded Christians that Christ is not divided, and only Jesus was crucified for them. Not wanting them to be puffed up in being a follower of one leader over another, Paul urged the believers to focus on truth, not personalities (1 Corinthians 4:6).

Paul strongly urged Apollos to go to Corinth, but he was not willing at that time (1 Corinthians 16:12), saying he would go at a later opportunity. The fourth century historian and theologian Jerome said Apollos was so upset by the division in the Corinthian church, he retired to Crete with Zenas, a lawyer who was probably a converted Jewish scribe.

The New Testament leaves Apollos in Create as a traveling preacher. Paul wrote to Titus in Crete: Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need (Titus 3:13). Paul considered his friend a worthy co-laborer in spreading the Gospel.

Some believe Apollos finished his ministry in the Ephesus church, but the Bible does not verify that. Martin Luther believed he was the unknown author of Hebrews, but again, though he may have had some input in its writing, theres no biblical confirmation of that.

Photo credit: Getty Images/Gajus
BOISE - After a year-long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Be Outside, Idaho has announced the opening of its 2021-2022 grant cycle. Be Outside, Idaho grants, funded by IRTI partners, are awarded to Idaho schools, government entities, and non-profit organizations that encourage youth and their families to get outdoors, including projects that focus on outdoor recreation and natural resource education.

About Be Outside, Idaho

Be Outside, Idaho is a program connecting Idahos youth to the outdoors. Applications will be accepted for projects that support the organizations mission to To connect children with nature in Idaho, from backyards to mountaintops.

Be Outside Idaho is a project of the Idaho Recreation and Tourism Initiative (IRTI). This coalition of state and federal agencies and non-profit organizations collaborate and share resources to encourage youth, their families, and schools to get outdoors, through projects that focus on outdoor recreation and natural resource education. The grants, funded by initiative partners, are awarded to Idaho schools, government entities and non-profit organizations that demonstrate support of the Be Outside, Idaho mission and meet the grant program criteria.

Important Dates

Interested applicants should visit beoutsideidaho.gov for program information and application details. Applications can be found on the BeOutsideIdaho.gov website and submitted to victoria.runnoe@idfg.idaho.gov by the deadline of October 1, 2021.

Grant recipients will be notified November 1, 2021. Projects must be completed by May 1, 2022. Grant reports are due June 1, 2022. Project funding will be issued upon project completion and submission of the grant report, showing how the project met the grant requirements.

Be Outside Idaho has helped fund projects in the past, such as:
Three wildfires burning around Lolo Pass were consolidated Monday into one incident command managing crews along the Montana-Idaho border.

The fires may contribute to worsening air quality conditions in the Missoula Valley this week. Smoke inversions hit the unhealthy level overnight Sunday for the Missoula city vicinity and unhealthy for sensitive groups in Frenchtown. At unhealthy, people with heart or lung disease, children and the elderly should limit time spent outdoors or heavy exertion.

Over the past week, seven incident management teams have mobilized in and around the Lolo National Forest. The Northern Rocky Mountains region has become the nations highest priority for firefighting resources due to the surge of new blazes.

Two fire complexes are burning in the northern Bitterroot Mountains. The Granite Pass Complex includes the Lolo Creek Fire (60 acres), BM Hill Fire (837 acres) and Shotgun Fire (50 acres). The Missoula County Sheriffs Office has an evacuation warning posted for the sparsely populated area between Lolo Pass and Lolo Hot Springs along Highway 12. Motorists traveling the highway are asked not to stop and view fire activity, as it can hinder fire crews and cause safety hazards.

The West Lolo Complex encompasses the Sunset, Thompson and Deep Lookout fires in the Superior Ranger District of the Lolo National Forest between St. Regis and Superior. It also includes the Siegel, Quinns, Sheep Creek and Winniemuck/Thorne Creek/Deep Creek fires between Quinns Hot Springs and Thompson Falls in the Plains/Thompson Falls Ranger District. All these fires are relatively small, but have the potential to grow together.

East of Missoula, the Brewster Fire near Rock Creek appears close to control as fire crews reported good progress containing its spread on Sunday. It has burned about 156 acres.

The Alder Creek Fire on federal Bureau of Land Management property west of Wise River has closed parts of the surrounding forest along Highway 43. It had grown to 282 acres by Monday morning.
*Most current information as of 9:00am on Monday, July 12*

LELAND, ID - More than 150 personnel continue their firefighting efforts on the Pine Creek Fire and Sand Mountain Fires, otherwise known as the Leland Complex. A Type 3 North Idaho Incident Management Team is managing the fires. The Pine Creek Fire is located near Leland, ID, approximately 2.5 miles east of Juliaetta, ID. The Sand Mountain Fire is located 2.5 miles east of Laird Park, in Latah County.

Sand Mountain Fire

As of 9:00am on Monday, July 12, the Sand Mountain Fire, located 2.5 miles east of Laird Park in Latah County, was estimated at 850 acres with 0% containment.

Yesterday fire officials were able to conduct a reconnaissance flight to get a better size up of the fire and to determine the safest points to directly engage ground forces. Not only is safety important, but the probability of success determines how resources are applied in this time of resource scarcity. Resource availability will continue to be problematic as the Northern Rockies is in Preparedness Level 5 (PL5).

The fire is burning on US Forest Service and State Endowment lands. No structures are threatened. An area closure is in place for firefighter and public safety.

Pine Creek Fire

With minimal fire activity including creeping and smoldering, the fire has entered the mop up, monitor and patrol stage. Fire crews have been able to establish a fireline around the fire, which is estimated at 560 acres, with 50% containment. The Pine Creek Fire is estimated at Interior pockets of fuels are still producing some smoke. Backhaul of unnecessary equipment and supplies has begun allowing for resources to shift to Sand Mountain. Patrol and monitoring will continue by the incident management team until the fire is declared out.

Fire managers are aware of the recreation value of the Sand Mountain area and the private property on the areas lease lots. As conditions moderate, and is safe to do so, officials will work to open access to lessees.

Evacuations and Closures

Firefighter and public safety remain the number one priority. The public is asked to comply with all restrictions in place. The Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests Palouse Ranger District has issued a forest closure order for the area around the Sand Mountain Fire- including Laird Park. Details of trail, road, and campground closures can be found here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/.../nezperceclearwater/notices/.

Upper Palouse Area of the Palouse Ranger District is Closed to public use. All publicly managed lands, roads and trails within the area described is closed to all use. (See Attached Map for Area Closure)

Hwy 6/ Ruby Creek Junction (Point A) to Hwy 6 junction with 377 Rd. (point B) Everything to the east of Hwy 6 is closed

Hwy6/ FSR #377 (Point B) to Cougar Meadows (Point C) is closed to all use.

Cougar Meadows (Point C) to Moose Creek (Point D) is closed to all use.

Moose Creek RD (Point D) to Trail #8201 (Point E) is closed to all use.

Trail #8201 to Hwy 6/ Ruby Creek Junction (Point A) is closed to all use.

Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR)

There is a TFR in place for air space over the Leland Complex fires. Remember that temporary flight restrictions also apply to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or drones. If you Fly, We Cant!

Cooperating Agencies

Idaho Dept of Lands , Nez Perce Tribe, U.S. Forest Service - Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests, Latah County Sheriff's Office, Nez Perce County Sheriff's Office, Nez Perce County FD, Potlatch VFD, Troy VFD, Deary VFD, Moscow VFD, Juilaetta VFD, Kendrick VFD, Genesee VFD, South Idaho Timber Protection Association.
KOOSKIA - At around 3:00pm on Monday, July 12, the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) released updated information on the TooKush 2 and Big Horse Fires, burning in the area of Kooskia, ID.

Too Kush 2  IDL Maggie Creek Forest Protective District

This fire is located about 2 miles east of Kooskia, and has grown to 1,150 acres, and fire officials say growth is due to burnout acres within containment lines. Throughout Monday, the fire is expected to increase to approximately 1300 acres when the burnout on the east flank is completed. The plan is to keep the fire to 1300 acres and mop-up the perimeter for 100 feet. Fire crews are mopping up along the top and down the west flank to secure the fire edge.

The fire is being managed by a Type 3 Incident Commander with 58 people working on the fire including: 2-Type 1 helicopters, 2 dozers, 6-Type 6 engines, 2 -Type 4 engine and a water tender. Eastern Gold Type 2 IMT will take the fire over Tuesday morning.

Big Horse Fire  IDL Maggie Creek Forest Protective District

The Big Horse Fire has been held at about 40 acres and crews continue to mop-up and hold the fire edge. This fire is now being managed by a Type 4 Incident Commander. Eastern Gold Type 2 IMT will also manage this fire.

The Big Horse Fire is burning at the top end of Big Horse Canyon near Kooskia, on very steep terrain in timber on the edge of agricultural land. There are currently 43 personnel working on the fire which includes hand crews.
BIG RAPIDS  The tradition of College of Engineering Technology students succeeding in state-level SkillsUSA competition, then further representing Ferris State University in the national finals, continued in 2021.

Thanks to a first-place medal from Michigan SkillsUSA, in Diesel Equipment Technology, Brandon Baker earned his place in that history.

Baker joined other higher education institution students at the state event in the Grand Rapids area in April, where he showcased his shop practices, measurements, electrical systems, engine fundamentals, and general leadership abilities.

Bakers state victory was his ticket to the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference, a virtual offering in June, which included continuing competitions canceled in 2020 because of COVID-19.

A written test was a major component of this years national competition, where I was one of 18 participants, Baker said. I was asked to identify components and demonstrate my knowledge in that examination, followed by an interactive Zoom session on diagnostics.

Brandon said he participated in an interactive exercise with a technician, who had a camera on their safety glasses. Bakers verbal commands directed the response on a Cummins Diesel engine.

The camera allowed me to see what we were working on, though I could only view portions of the engine at any one time, Baker said. It was unusual to speak out my intentions as I was supposed to verbally lead the on-site technicians appropriate actions based on what was presented to me visually.

Baker said he also had to direct a vehicle inspection on a semi-hauler, like those required for certification by a Department of Transportation at the state or federal level.

It was unusual being virtual because I could only see what appeared on the screen before me, rather than gaining information through overall observation, Baker said. I was not able to earn a medal in the Nationals, but was proud to have finished fourth among all competitors in Diesel Equipment Technology.

Baker graduated in May 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Heavy Equipment Service Engineering Technology and has returned to the Newaygo area to work as a fleet manager in his familys business, Jerrys Towing and Recovery, Inc.

I am glad I did this. I learned some very helpful techniques because of the competition, which also showed me some skills I may need to review to be the best I can as a professional, Brandon said. I understand I missed out on some of the camaraderie and networking that a typical National Leadership and Skills Conference could have offered me, but I was proud to represent Ferris and myself in SkillsUSA this year.
The Taliban fighter had a big grin on his face when he told me: We are glad that all the German and international troops are finally leaving the country.

The Taliban are glad.

It is painful for all of us to hear this. Because one thing is clear: the winners of the Afghanistan war are not the moderate forces who we have supported for 20 years  but the Islamist terrorists we have fought against. And now they are becoming even stronger because of the US weapons that have been left behind.

And what do German politicians have to say about this? They block out reality and pretend that the withdrawal of the German armed forces is a success. While Afghanistan is being taken over by the Taliban, the German Minister of Defense, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, argues with parliament over where the ceremony for the Afghanistan veterans will take place.

What is needed right now is a strong minister. AKK should immediately support the Afghan women who are forced once more to live in terrible fear of the Taliban. She should increase pressure so that the many locally hired employees  who previously worked for Germany and have now been left behind, becoming targets for the Taliban  will finally receive their visas.

Out of pure self-interest alone Germany must help to secure the safe living of the people of Afghanistan. If the Taliban were to march up to Kabul, we would see the start of another refugee movement like that of Syria in 2015.

The German government should therefore support President Ashraf Ghani, the Afghan army, and all moderate forces in the country much more decisively  with money, military training, with anything we have.

Auch Interessant



You can find the latest reporting on this topic here.
The trek to the Taliban leads over dusty hills, streets destroyed by bombs, and deserted villages. It is just past eight on Monday morning when we take off from Kabul, the chaotic Afghan metropolis populated by millions, and drive towards the province of Wardak. Our destination is the city of Chek, approximately three hours away by car.

Here we will meet the Taliban fighters who are willing to talk to us.

For weeks, we have negotiated with them. In the end, the chief military committee of the Taliban has given us permission to enter their territory. But can we really trust them?

In Afghanistan, danger lurks everywhere, even without a war: suicide attacks, kidnapping, shootings. Since so many shooting commandos were using motorbikes, the Afghan government has banned the riding of motorbikes in some cities.

Amanullah (29) and Naim (45) pose for a photo at the frontline area of Parwan Province Foto: Giorgos Moutafis

Travelling to the frontline these days means that one could end up in a new static battle at any time. Theres always a frontline in this endless war. There could always be a new Taliban offensive anywhere.

They often attack without warning  and very successfully. Since the withdrawal of the international troops, they have captured at least 85 percent.

Lesen Sie auch After the 20-year mission This Taliban judge orders stoning and hanging BILD managed to meet a Taliban judge in the borderlands between areas controlled by the Afghan government and the Taliban.

There is no actual border between the Taliban areas and the places that are still controlled by the Afghan government. Everything is fluid. In some villages, government tanks can be seen at daytime and Taliban fighters at night.

Taliban fighters captured weapons from the US-bases Foto: GIORGOS MOUTAFIS

On the Afghan side, we pass four checkpoints. The soldiers simply allow us to continue and dont even ask where we want to go.

Along our journey, we can see traces of heavy fighting everywhere. Holes made by suicide attackers, destroyed Afghan military bases, broken houses. It seems ghostly, since hardly any civilians can be seen.

The only sign that we have reached the Taliban area is a flag. Plus the fact that there are even fewer people on the streets. Taliban with motorbikes and Humvees patrol them. Next to the roads, we keep seeing graves with flags.

The flag shows: We are in Taliban territory Foto: GIORGOS MOUTAFIS

Our Taliban contact has asked us to meet him near a German hospital that was once built by a German when the area was still under the Afghan armys control. She is now allegedly living in Kabul.

When we meet the fighters, each of them greets us with a handshake, in a friendly manner: Theres no corona here, they say.

We stay in their city for the whole day. In the late afternoon, we take off towards Kabul again. We decline the invitation to stay in their area overnight. The drive back to Kabul is quiet, there is no fighting today. Our Taliban contact told us that all fighters are informed about which roads we would take and that there wont be any attacks at this time. We are unable to verify this information. But we are relived once we reach the government area again.

The question that we ask ourselves is: for how long will there be areas WITHOUT Taliban at all?
You look like one of the American teachers we once kidnapped

In Berlin, they could pass as hipsters. They laugh a lot, drink tea  But when it comes to the radical Islamic Sharia law and its violent implementation, these young men know no mercy.

BILD reporters have managed to meet Taliban fighters at their frontline positions and talk about their aims  while they are currently pretty much taking over Afghanistan.

You look like one of the American teachers we once kidnapped, says one of the men when we meet the fighters in a house in Chek at noon.

All of the fighters are laughing. I try to laugh as well.

Lesen Sie auch After the 20-year mission This Taliban judge orders stoning and hanging BILD managed to meet a Taliban judge in the borderlands between areas controlled by the Afghan government and the Taliban.

The reference is to the case of two US professors who were kidnapped by the Taliban in 2019 in order to exchange them for imprisoned high-ranking Taliban fighters.

In the house, bread, green beans, eggs, milk and, finally, tea are passed around. After our meal, the fighters take a carpet and pray in the room in which we are also talking.

Abu Dazanha (27) wears a turban and looks a bit like the German actor Numan Acar, who plays the terrorist in Homeland.

Taliban fighter Abu Dazanha (27) is seen in Wardak province Foto: GIORGOS MOUTAFIS

Abu Dazanha says: Dont worry, we only had a problem with your army, but never with civilians. We are glad that your army left the country without resistance, just like the Americans and all the others. The West should stay out of the country. If they try to come back, well defend ourselves.

Auch Interessant



Paul Ronzheimer and Giorgos Mutafis managed to meet Taliban fighters at their frontline positions. Inside the house, they are offered bread, green beans, egg, milk, and tea in the end  rifles always within reach Foto: GIORGOS MOUTAFIS

Abu Dazanha carries an American rifle with him. Over the past several weeks, there were several reports of the Taliban looting US bases once the soldiers had left the country. The Taliban were often quicker than the Afghan army.

Its true, we have captured many weapons, and also tanks and other military equipment, says Abu Dazanha. But we want to be slow in our offensive, so that victims can be avoided, and the big beautiful cities arent destroyed.

Several local residents are in the room with the Taliban fighters. They tell horror stories about the Afghan army  which cannot be verified. People were allegedly treated very badly.

Taliban fighters partly got their equipment from abandoned US army bases Foto: GIORGOS MOUTAFIS

At the same time, what else can the civilians say if they are sitting next to the Taliban fighters who control the area?

One thing is clear, though: in the embattled areas, the attitude towards the army has further worsened over the past few years. Reasons include the fact that the government didnt keep its promises. For example, there is a serious lack of water. Moreover, theres anger over the corruption among the Afghan armys officials. The Taliban have immensely benefitted from this mood.

We hardly see any civilians on the streets and almost no women. Taliban law tells them to stay in their houses. They must only leave with permission, for instance for shopping or going to the doctor.

Lesen Sie auch One day in Chek How did BILD manage to meet the Taliban? For weeks, we have negotiated with them. In the end, the chief military committee of the Taliban has given us permission to enter their territory.

According to the Taliban, there are schools for both girls and boys here. We have separate schools, says Abu Dazanha. Schools for girls and schools for boys. It is not possible to verify this.

The Taliban fighters are proud of having conquered so many cities and regions over the past few weeks. They show us a former Afghan army base that they captured two weeks ago.

The house is half-destroyed with bullet holes everywhere.

This Afghan army base has been captured by the Taliban. From now on judges and police are meant to move in. A square for executions is also planned to be built Foto: GIORGOS MOUTAFIS

Here they want to set up judges and the police for the region, and possibly also establish a place for executions. Abu Dazanha: It has yet to be decided where the stoning and hanging will take place. Its possible that stoning will be carried out at this very spot.

He adds: The reason why we have fought is that we want our Sharia law across the entire country.

There are no women to be seen in the streets of Chek Foto: GIORGOS MOUTAFIS

When these young men talk about gruesome executions, one automatically wonders how this can possibly fit with their friendly demeanor, their laughter, their seemingly relaxed attitude towards us. But no matter who we talk to  they all say they want things to be like they were in 1996, when the Taliban eventually conquered Kabul and carried out executions in Ghazi Stadion.

On the street in front of the house, more Taliban have gathered and have brought heavy weapons with them. From here, they move on in order to capture new villages and towns. They mostly employ a guerilla strategy: individual attacks on further military positions, suicide attacks  and then thousands of fighters advance.

They see themselves as those who are freeing the people of Afghanistan  soon, they want to rule Kabul again as well Foto: GIORGOS MOUTAFIS

One of the commanders stands proudly before his fighters: We have liberated the people who were suffering under the Afghan army. We are glad that the international troops have gone, and we are hopeful that Kabul will soon fall. When the time has come, and we control the entire country, we hope to develop good diplomatic relations with the West.

The government has banned riding motorcycles because of repeated muggings  without effect Foto: GIORGOS MOUTAFIS

Our visit to the Taliban has primarily shown one thing. They are willing to do anything. The hope of some western diplomats that things will be less radical than they were in the 1990s once the Taliban come into power seems completely naive.
The MN Park portfolio will receive investment from Ivanhoe Cambridge and Lighthouse Canton in an 80:20 ratio, respectively

Ivanhoe Cambridge, a global real estate subsidiary of the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, one of Canadas leading institutional fund managers, has announced its investment in a 0.85M sf (Swiss franc) life science R&D office-labs portfolio in Genome Valley, Hyderabad.

The portfolio will be acquired alongside Lighthouse Canton, the existing asset manager with a track record of managing the portfolio with an experienced on-the-ground management team.

The MN Park portfolio will receive investment from Ivanhoe Cambridge and Lighthouse Canton in an 80:20 ratio, respectively. The initial focus will be on consolidating the portfolio with select value accretive acquisitions in relevant life science R&D clusters in India. The transaction also includes the completion of development on identified land options within the portfolio to cater to tenant expansion requirements.

This new investment in MN Park allows us to reinforce our conviction in life science real estate, a key focus area of our diversification strategy into high growth, innovation-focused sectors, commented Chanakya Chakravarti, Managing Director, India, at Ivanhoe Cambridge.

MN Park is Indias largest privately owned portfolio of leased life sciences R&D office labs. It offers fully fitted lab spaces, incubation and R&D facilities, storage spaces, office spaces, large open recreational spaces, and a host of amenities occupied by global and domestic credit tenants operating strategic R&D facilities engaged in mission critical, core innovation focused healthcare research.
Opinion | 16 July 2021 | Views

We have tied up with a few solution providers to accommodate vaccine storage at -70 degrees

How are you currently working with the vaccine manufacturers for effective distribution? We are worki...Read more
In 'the year that changed everything', understanding creative trends is key to planning success.

Get the inside scoop on whats really cutting through with audiences, as well as whats steering the direction for local and global creative communities.  Cannes Lions

2pm: Welcome by MC Neo Mashigo, presents Creative Circle rankings



2.20pm: Ann Nurock The year that changed everything trends presentation



3.203.30pm: Q&A



3.30pm: Break, awards-winning reels



3.40pm: Panel discussions:

Brett Morris (Film Lions juror)

Steph van Niekerk (Industry Craft Lions)

Lufuno Mavhungu (Radio and Audio Lions juror)

4.15pm: Break, award-winning reels



4.35pm: Neo Mashigo hosts panellists:

Nkgabiseng Motau (Print & Publishing Lions juror)

Tanya Schreuder (Media Lions juror)

Bryan Habana (Entertainment Lions for Sport jurors)

6pm: Event to conclude

Save the date and book now:

22 July 2021 | 2pm | R150 per ticket

Secure your ticket by email: moc.rokenikrets@sklatdnertsennac

Ster-Kinekor, the official Cannes Lions representative in South Africa, along with, online media partner to Ster-Kinekor, and The Creative Circle, invite you to book now for Cannes Trend Talks 2021 presented by Ann Nurock.This year, Cannes Lions went online for the first time and Ann Nurock and some of SAs leading creatives, who were all category judges at this years festival, watched the talks by global thought leaders, analysed award-winning campaigns and identified key themes, to bring you their insights at Cannes Lions Trends Talks 2021 taking place online Thursday, 22 July.Find out about the 42% of consumers who make up the global Accenture study who said they would switch brands from providers who did not have relevant societal impact, and curated examples of the award-winning work with analysis. Ann Nurock presents her annual case studies, which show how creativity continues to be a driver in identifying and addressing some of the world's most urgent problems.The work this year was really fresh, not because it was new, but because it was more human. Work that solved problems delivered a better ROI,Book out 2pm-6pm 22 July 2021 in your calendar for this immersion session virtually together with your peers with Q&A sessions after each speaker. Book now for this annual industry highlight proudly brought to you by Ster-Kinekor, official SA Cannes Lions representatives, Creative Circle and(supported by the Loeries).
South Africans rely on mobile phones to stay connected, making this a critical channel for businesses looking for effective ways to communicate with customers and staff. To successfully leverage mobile marketing, businesses need to build trust from the beginning of the customer relationship, particularly as phishing and identity fraud becomes commonplace.

Building trust through SMS solutions

Customer communication is always vital, Covid-19 makes it even more so As the world starts to emerge from under the shadow of Covid-19 and economic activity resumes at a meaningful level, a few things will set the companies apart that survive and go on to thrive from those that don't...

How to build consumer trust

First party data: For customers to trust the marketing content they receive via SMS, it is essential for businesses to only contact customers who have opted in to receive this information. Not only is the part of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), but customers will trust business SMSs more when they are familiar with the brand and expecting communications from the company. As such, businesses and the SMS marketing services they use should only use first party data and never purchase databases.



Data encryption: When using SMS as a way of business marketing or customer engagement, enterprises must be sure that they are using text message marketing software that ensures all the customers personal information is safe. This can be done through encryption technology.



Personalisation: This makes all the difference in building trust. Rich media content personalisation allows customers to see the value in offers and deals that are curated to suit their individual buying habits or preferences. In addition, the in-depth understanding of customer habits and requirements underpins the relationship and adds a second layer of authentication in the communication transaction.

Recent statistics from Datareportal show that just under two-thirds of South Africans (64%) have access to the internet, while mobile connections are equivalent to 168.5% of the total population. Consumers have also shifted their habits and are increasingly relying on mobile devices to manage their online experiences  from shopping to managing bills to investing.For example, online shopping has boomed in South Africa as a result of the pandemic, with a 66% rise in sales last year according to World Wide Worx , and has doubled since 2018 to reach more than R30bn. With an estimated 38 million consumers able to access the internet, over 36 million people also use their mobile devices to connect.Despite the growth in multiple digital channels and social media platforms, SMS marketing remains the best way to communicate with customers, as SMS delivery has a reliable broad and data-free reach. However, with phishing on the rise, consumers and businesses alike are also increasingly wary of cybercrimes and will not act on a message that appears unsafe.People are concerned about the quality and safety of links sent to their mobile devices, about spam messaging, and are often unsure how a company got their details. This has had an impact on the individual threshold for responding to corporate messaging and marketing over the past year.Businesses must ensure that their messages are trusted, this can be achieved by using reputable SMS platforms, sending trustworthy, branded links and personalised SMS messages that create safe digital spaces for payment and engagement. This allows companies to create ecosystems that thrive thanks to simple, seamless and effective communication.This trend is reflected in extensive research released this year, that found personalised text messaging to be the preferred way for brands to connect to customers  and a preferred method for customers  as it allows for two-way conversations, share offers and rewards, and provides customer support.Personalised text messaging is convenient, with consumers able to initiate and respond to chats on their schedule, and brands who use it show that they value their customers and respect their time. Businesses are able to customise offers based on consumer preference, while those on the receiving end appreciate a more tailored experience and greater intimacy with a brand who knows their name.Here are some pointers to consider for enterprises who want to build consumer trust and achieve a good return on investment via SMS solutions:Enterprises that want to communicate across multiple audiences and demographics in South Africa and reach their target audience via digital communications need to leverage the accessibility of SMS. But to do this effectively, they have to cut through the digital noise by using safe, trustworthy text messaging marketing services. Doing so will help to build engagement and repeat business.
Looting and protests from the weekend continued in Alexandra, Johannesburg, on Monday. Reports initially linked the protests to calls for the release from prison of former President Jacob Zuma.

Children stand at the door of a looted shop in Alexandra, Johannesburg. Photos: Masego Mafata

Ales Gedigano stands inside Sayabo Wodimus shop. He said he had been there since the morning to make sure that what remained after the looting was safe.

An overturned car blocks the road in Alexandra, Johannesburg.

Spaza shop owner Sayabo Wodimu lost all his stock and some of his equipment. I dont know what I did to deserve this. My shop is the only shop on this road that was looted. There are two on the corner and they were left untouched, said Wodimu.He said his shop has been operating from this location for the last five years. The shop was looted at around 8am on Sunday morning as unrest broke out in parts of Alexandra and other areas in Johannesburg.I know the people in this community, I help them where I can, so I dont understand why they destroyed my shop. They took clothes, groceries and even the engines for my refrigerators, he said.Wodimu said it will cost him about R60,000 to replace the stolen stock and equipment. I dont know where I will get that money because I have nothing, he said. Asspoke with Wodimu, a group of boys carrying wooden planks ran past us, shouting that CashBuild was open for looting.Larger stores in Alex Plaza were looted on Sunday, and smaller shops nearby were targeted on Monday.saw people carrying away bags of mielie meal, cooking oil and cooldrinks.A community member who asked not to be named said she was concerned that shop owners were being targeted.A receptionist at a dentistry in Alex Mall who also declined to be named said that patients had stayed at home due to the unrest. She said some people were scared to leave their houses. Its difficult to move around because the protests have disrupted things. I had to wait much longer for a taxi this morning, when I was coming to work, she said.Many shops in the Alex Mall did not open on Monday morning, and the entire mall was closed by about midday.The Gauteng provincial government has expressed concern at the impact of the unrest on people going to workplaces due to limited access to services, and services being disrupted across the province.Some provincial government services, including vaccination sites in the affected areas, have had to temporarily close due to safety concerns by both the staff and members of the public. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) teams are equally experiencing difficulty in responding to distress calls in communities due to limited access, said Vuyo Mhaga, spokesperson for Gauteng Premier David Makhura.Other key services have been shut down, with the City of Johannesburg announcing that the Rea Vaya bus service was suspended until further notice, and Sassa announcing that no cash points will be serviced by the cash-in-transit industry.96 people have been arrested and four people have died in the unrest in Gauteng, according to a statement released by the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NatJoints) on Monday morning.According to NatJoints, police arrested 18 suspects in Alexandra. Of the 18 suspects, 16 were arrested for public violence, and two suspects were arrested for possession of suspected stolen property and malicious damage to property.
At an emergency Covid-19 ward run by a charity in southern Johannesburg, medics wheel gasping patients to their beds, rush from room to room with oxygen cylinders and pat the back of someone in the grip of a coughing fit.

A healthcare worker assists a patient being treated at a makeshift hospital run by charity organisation The Gift of the Givers, during the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak in Johannesburg, South Africa, July 11, 2021. Reuters/ Sumaya Hisham

Active cases

It was the most frightening experience.

The scenes in the converted community hall are a reminder of how badly South Africa has been hit by its third and most debilitating Covid-19 wave yet, as the infectious Delta variant surges through a mostly unvaccinated population."The Delta variant has caused enormous strain on the resources... Every hospital is getting strained, every healthcare worker is getting strained," said Fatimah Lambat, the doctor in charge of the ward set up by Gift of the Givers, a Muslim charity, to ease overloaded public hospitals."It's very draining... Patients are still phoning me from the community for help. And when we're full here, we still need to help them," she said. "We don't want them to be lost."With South Africa recording an average of about 20,000 cases a day and nursing active cases, cumulatively, of more than 10 times that, Africa's most economically advanced nation has also been its worst hit by the virus, with 64,000 deaths.A vaccination campaign has been slow, with just 4.2-million doses administered to a population of 60 million. Officials aim to reach a vaccination rate of 300,000 a day by the end of August.Doctors say they have never had to deal with so many Covid-19 infections all at once. Hospitals in the largest city Johannesburg, where the latest wave started, are full.For 79-year-old Catherine Naidoo, the most terrifying thing about falling gravely ill was knowing that so many had died."You don't know what lies ahead. You look at the news and see how people are passing away," the recovered Covid-19 patient said, lying on her back and adjusting her mask.Behind another curtain, medics covered head to toe in protective gear adjusted the drip of a sleeping patient, while in another, a medic was getting a patient to do some exercises before getting her to blow into a tube to test her lungs.President Cyril Ramaphosa extended Covid-19 restrictions on Sunday for another 14 days, including a ban on gatherings, a curfew from 9pm to 4am and a nationwide ban on the sale of alcohol.
Magazine Graphic Designer

Remuneration: R24000 - R30000 per month basic salary Location: Johannesburg Education level: Diploma Job level: Mid Type: Permanent Reference: #YG#C_GraphicDesigner Company: Cardilogix

Job description

A copy of your CV.

A copy of your portfolio.

A link to your online portfolio or links showcasing your work.

To conceptualise and through creative thinking using your imaginary design skills, produce outstanding creative work within the scope of the brand and creative brief supplied and present to client.

The responsibility vests in the attitude, behaviour, determination and accountability to pursue all avenues in order to ensure that the end product/design craft is of a high standard.

By taking ownership, pride and the use of all available resources, the end product/design craft should project a keen attention to detail.

Exceptionally fast conceptual skills.

A portfolio that demonstrates these skills beyond a shadow of doubt and the results of the activities to prove it.

Finely honed design skills and latest techniques  graphic designer.

Capability to take on campaigns with multi-element tasks which require a concept and a thought through process

Requirements

Must be fully computer literate on Mac in Freehand and Adobe: Photoshop, InDesign etc.

Must have strong conceptual skills

Raw design talent must be evident

Strong on running and meeting tight deadlines

You must really, really have a good given design talent

Must have a diploma/degree in fine arts/design or similar

Previous agency experience essential

Preference would be given to candidates with branding agency experience

Portfolio imperative to showcase your work

Min three to five+ years' experience essential

Able to do design, conceptualisation, etc.

A creative studio is seeking to hire a talentedto join their team as soon as possible. Full time.Non remote.Based in Bryanston.The search is on in finding the perfect candidate who combines conceptual and creative excellence with experience in design.This is a key role within the agency. You will be a key graphic designer across a number of extremely high profile accounts and will constantly champion excellent creative standards throughout the company.Please only apply if you have the relevant experience as per our job ad. Our client does not have the capacity to train anyone  you need to hit the ground running.Your application will be passed to our team of recruitment consultants and should your skills and experience match the recruitment needs of our client, we will be in touch within a 96 hour turn-around time.Should you not hear from us, please treat your application for this job as unsuccessful. Posted on 13 Jul 08:54
Search match: All words Any word Exact phrase Date posted: All Last day Last 3 days Last 7 days Last 14 days Last 30 days Last 60 days Highest qualification: All Not Applicable Matric Diploma Degree Honours Masters Doctorate Experience level: All Student Junior Junior/Mid Mid Mid/Senior Senior Management (Jnr - Mid, 1-4 yrs) Management (Snr - Executive, 5+ yrs) Remuneration: All salaries GreaterThan5000 GreaterThan10000 GreaterThan15000 GreaterThan20000 GreaterThan30000 GreaterThan40000 GreaterThan50000 Position type: All Permanent Contract Temp BEE policy: N/A BEE Salary specified jobs only:
Cuba blamed historic protests that took place over the weekend on U.S. "economic asphyxiation" and detained some of the highest profile activists, while the Biden administration said it supported the Cuban people's right to demonstrate.

The streets of Havana were quiet on Monday, although there was a heavy police presence and the capitol building, where more than a thousand had congregated the day before, was cordoned off. Outages in mobile internet - the only way many Cubans have of accessing the web - were frequent.

Thousands of Cubans joined street protests from Havana to Santiago on Sunday in the biggest anti-government demonstrations on the Communist-run island in decades. They were protesting against the country's dire economic crisis and handling of the pandemic, but many went further, calling for an end to communism and chanting "freedom."

At least 100 protesters, activists, and independent journalists had been detained nationwide since Sunday, according to exiled rights group Cubalex - some at the protests but others as they tried to leave their homes.




"A spreadsheet of the MPD database shared internally the next month included a supposed gang member who was less than 1 year old, as well as 2, 3, 5, and 6-year-olds. The 2,575 names in the spreadsheet also included children as young as 14."

As the video explains, RICs are entering shooting victims names into their gang databases. Law enforcement uses "hazy criteria" to justify entering the 1 to 14 year-olds names.

"Documents reviewed by The Intercept, show how the MPD identifies supposed gang members by using hazy criteria typical of other gang databases in the United States and how the department pushes officers to frequently add names to the database. The emails also reveal that the MPD shares information from the database  including full spreadsheets of its contents  with outside agencies and larger regional gang databases and that the department uses it to inform its aggressive policing initiatives."

For the past eleven years, all the Metropolitan police officers had to do to justify entering juvenile names into their gang database was to use the term "reasonable suspicion."

"Officers can add a gang member if they have a reasonable suspicion that the person checks two of seven boxes, including associating with validated gang members, being identified as a gang member by an unproven informant, and having been arrested in a gang area for an offense that is part of the gangs criminal enterprise. Officers can forgo the two-criteria requirement if someone credibly admits to being in a gang  a workaround other departments have been shown to falsify or abuse  or if a reliable informant pegs them as a gang member."

This is almost the same gang database system that the BPD's Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC) uses.

A BPD "Gang Assessment Database" document released to the public is nearly an exact duplicate of the MPD's gang database.

BRICs "Point-Based Verification System" allows police officers to put suspicious people in their gang database simply because they are wearing the wrong color clothing or are frequenting a specific area. (Sec. 4.1)

It only takes 10 points to place person in BRICs gang database.

"The BRIC will analyze the validity of the supporting documentation for each individual criteria used to verify an associate and maintain the discretion to decline to use the information towards any criterion. The BRIC will maintain the discretion to decline to enter individuals into the database who meet the 10 point criteria but are determined to not be engaged in gang-related criminal activity."

The following list of items or activities may result in an individuals verification for entry into the Gang Assessment Database (Sec.5):

Contact with Known Gang Associate (FIO) (2 points per interaction) FIOs shall not be used as the sole verification criteria for any individual.

Court and Investigative Documents (9 points)

Documented Association (Police Incident Report) (4 points per interaction)

Group Related Photograph (2 points) Information Developed During Investigation and/or Surveillance (5 points)

Information from Anonymous Informant or Tipster (1 point)

Information from Reliable, Confidential Informant (5 points)

Known Group Tattoo or Marking (8 points)

Membership Documents (9 points)

Named in Documents as a Associate / Member(8 points)

Participation in Publications (8 points)

Possession of Documents (8 points if not in custody or incarcerated; 3 points if in custody or incarcerated)

Possession of Gang Publications (2 points)

Prior Validation by a Law Enforcement Agency (9 points) The Law Enforcement Agencies validation process must be at least as rigorous as that used by the Boston Police Department.

Published News Accounts (1 point)

Self Admission (8 points)

Use and or Possession of Group Paraphernalia or Identifiers (4 points)

Victim/Target Affiliated with Associate of Rival Group (8 points if not in custody or incarcerated; 3 points if in custody or incarcerated)

All it takes to put a person in the gang database is for an RIC analyst or the Commander, or the Commander of the Youth Violence Strike Force or their designees to sign off on it.

"Authorized Users will be able to submit an individual for consideration for admission into the Gang Assessment Database. All submissions for verification shall include documentation to support the individuals entry into the Gang Assessment Database using the Point-Based Verification System. Submissions can be made to the Commander of the BRIC or his/her designee or the Commander of the Youth Violence Strike Force or his/her designee. All submissions for verification will be manually reviewed by a BRIC analyst and supervisor to determine compliance with this rule prior to entry into the database."

In Springfield, Massachusetts the school committee allows their Real Time Crime Center to monitor students live. Across the country, RICs use private security officers, hotel workers, mall employees, teachers, trash collectors, ministers, priests, rabbi's and even counselors to secretly report people to fusion centers. Maine's fusion center secretly collects information on political activists, anti-government groups, gun owners and alleged domestic extremists.

Fusion centers are also giving our homes color-coded risk assessments based on food deliveries.

"The database goes through all public information for the calls location  from arrest records to pizza deliveries  and gives the address a rating. Green means minimal threat, yellow a possible threat and red a major threat. This is all done in a few seconds."

The futility of fusion center gang databases can best be explained by Boston Police spokesperson Sgt. Det. John Boyle who said in the video, "the majority of firearms violence in Boston is driven by gang dynamics, with a small number of people causing a disproportionate amount of violent episodes."

If only a few people are responsible for gun violence, why do we have secret fusion center gang databases? If only a few thousand people stormed the White House why do we have a secret, RIC "red book" and "red flag" system for domestic terrorists?

Why do we have secret No-Fly lists when only a few people drove planes into the World Trade Center? Why are there 8,000 innocent Americans on a secret terror watch list? Why does the FBI and DHS want Americans to report family members suspected of extremism? And finally, why does the White House want the NCTC to target people's belief's and ideologies?
Submit your letter to the editor for publication in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Letters should be no more than 300 words and must include the writer's first and last name (no initials), home address and daytime phone number.

Submit
What's Included

With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 814-368-3173 or email nfinnerty@oleantimesherald.com.
A woman who pointed a knife at a loss prevention officer during a shoplifting attempt was given 10-month conditional sentence on Monday morning.

Advertisement Advertise With Us

A woman who pointed a knife at a loss prevention officer during a shoplifting attempt was given 10-month conditional sentence on Monday morning.

Katherine Brunet, 30, pleaded guilty to charges from multiple incidents in Brandon provincial court.

On Dec. 19, 2019 a loss prevention officer at Real Canadian Superstore reported a woman tried to steal various items from the store, according to Brunets pre-sentence report.

The loss prevention officer showed police surveillance video of Brunet in the store gathering items. She put items in a blue tote bag and grocery bags and put the bags in the bottom of her cart, the report reads.

She went to the cashier and paid for some items, but not the ones in the bottom of her cart.

According to the report, two loss prevention officers followed her outside the store to explain she didnt pay for everything, but she became aggressive. At the time, she was with a man who was trying to calm her down.

Brunet told the loss prevention officers "Get out of my way," and "Im not going to deal with the cops again," the report says. She then pulled a knife from her jacket pocket and pointed it at one of the store security guards, who backed off.

She then left with an unknown amount of items from the store.

Police patrolled the area but werent able to find her until later, according to the report.

Brunet also pleaded guilty to another shoplifting incident from December 2019 and giving police a fake name and date of birth in May 2020.

Crown attorney Brett Rach said he believes Brunet was caught in a cycle at the time of addiction and bad mental health, but has since improved.

"Shes a vulnerable individual that ended up in this cycle because she was not managing her mental health  using illicit substances which makes the cycle terrible," he told the court.

Rach suggested a 15-month conditional sentence order for all the charges, which is a jail sentence served in the community.

Defence lawyer Kaitlynn Porath said Brunet had a tough childhood and trauma was a big obstacle in her life.

She acknowledged Brunet did use drugs to help cope, but has turned her life around through more stable housing and counselling.

Porath asked for a nine-month conditional sentence, saying it would be a deterrent while also not setting her back in her accomplishments.

Speaking to the court, Brunet apologized to the people she hurt and said she wasnt in the right state of mind at the time. She said she has goals and knows she needs to follow through with them to be a better person.

Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta said she was most concerned Brunet pointed a knife at the loss prevention officer and appeared to be operating in "crisis mode" at the time. Despite this, she has made positive changes motivated by her children.

"With the strides shes taken recently I think shes demonstrated the court can take a chance on her at this point in time and try a conditional sentence order," Hewitt-Michta said.

Hewitt-Michta said Brunet has the skills she needs to succeed in life and in the community, but warned her of "swift and harsh" consequences if she doesnt follow the rules of the sentence.

 dmay@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @DrewMay_
OTTAWA - Conservatives are plotting their next steps on how to probe payments the offices of Liberal MPs made to a company founded by a friend to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, while the clock ticks down to a possible election that would bring any parliamentary investigation to a halt.

Scott Goodstein (from left), CEO of Revolution Messaging, which is leading the digital efforts for Bernie Sanders' 2016 Presidential campaign, Teddy Goff, Chief Tech and Digital Strategist for Hillary Clinton's 2016 Presidential Campaign and Tom Pitfield, Chief Digital Strategist for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's successful 2015 federal election campaign speak at the 2016 Liberal Biennial Convention in Winnipeg on Friday, May 27, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

OTTAWA - Conservatives are plotting their next steps on how to probe payments the offices of Liberal MPs made to a company founded by a friend to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, while the clock ticks down to a possible election that would bring any parliamentary investigation to a halt.

The party's push to get a parliamentary ethics committee to study why members had contracted Data Sciences Inc., and hear from its founder went nowhere after about five hours of debate on Monday.

"It's important for Canadians to know, before we have an election, what their taxpayer money has been going to," Conservative ethics critic Michael Barrett said Tuesday.

The Globe and Mail reported last month that MPs' expenditure reports showed most of the Liberal caucus had paid money through their office budgets to the company founded by Tom Pitfield. He is a close childhood friend of Trudeau's and also served as chief digital strategist for the Liberals in the 2015 and 2019 election campaigns.

Conservatives say the payments from Liberal MPs' offices to Data Sciences smacks of nepotism funded by taxpayers. They also point out the Liberal Party of Canada has a relationship with the company, which had been hired to provide digital services and support for its voter database.

Trudeau has said his members use Data Sciences for constituency casework and there is "a complete separation between political and parliamentary work."

"We have always ensured that all rules are followed," he told the House of Commons June 23.

Messages sent to the Montreal-based office of Data Sciences did not get an immediate reply.

A spokesperson for the Liberal Party of Canada confirms it continues to work with the company on "a wide variety of innovative digital engagement" as it has during the past two election campaigns.

"The Liberal Party of Canadas use of (voter database) Liberalist is not associated with the parliamentary work of Liberal MPs, and information from parliamentary offices isn't shared with the party," Braeden Caley said in an email Tuesday.

During Monday's debate, Liberal MP Brenda Shanahan, who is vice-chair of the committee, brushed off the Conservatives' concerns as a "witch hunt" and a "fake scandal."

She told the committee her office relies on the company for technical support and because it's a Canadian firm, it can offer services in both French and English.

Barrett said Tuesday that the Conservatives are speaking with other opposition parties about other ways to push the issue forward.

"They were supportive of getting some answers on this," he said.

He stopped short of saying Liberal MPs should no longer pay Pitfield's company and believes the first priority is to get more details on the contract.

The House of Commons is on its summer break and is set to resume sitting September, but it is widely believed that Canadians will head to the polls before then.

The Conservative party used the Liberals' ties to Data Sciences in a recent email seeking donations ahead of a possible federal vote, saying its leader Erin O'Toole will "clean up the mess in Ottawa" and is the only ethical choice for prime minister.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2021.
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - From the time Newfoundland and Labrador's pandemic travel ban began on May 4, 2020 to the day it ended almost 14 months later, nearly 5,000 people were denied entry to the province, new figures show.

Newfoundland and Labrador's provincial flag flies on a flag pole in Ottawa on July 3, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - From the time Newfoundland and Labrador's pandemic travel ban began on May 4, 2020 to the day it ended almost 14 months later, nearly 5,000 people were denied entry to the province, new figures show.

For lawyer Cara Zwibel, a program director with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, that could mean nearly 5,000 people had their civil liberties infringed upon.

"I think it's really significant, not just in terms of the number of people who were affected ... but in terms of how basic this right is and how much we really take it for granted," Zwibel said in an interview Tuesday. "As a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, you move around the country, that went without saying. And then all of a sudden we had this shift."

Newfoundland and Labrador's travel ban restricted access to the province for all but essential travellers, such as health-care workers, returning rotational workers and residents themselves. Anyone wanting to enter the province had to fill out a form and get clearance from public health officials.

The ban was deeply controversial, and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association helped take it to provincial Supreme Court after Kim Taylor, a Halifax woman, was denied entry to the province in May for her mother's funeral. Justice Donald Burrage upheld the ban, ruling that while it does violate mobility rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, that violation was justified.

The association is appealing that decision, and Zwibel said she expects all the appropriate paperwork will be filed by the fall.

The province logged 516,390 visitors between May 4, 2020 and June 31, 2021, the final day the ban was in effect, according to numbers provided to The Canadian Press by the provincial Health Department, though the number includes repeat visitors like rotational workers, essential workers and residents.

Each of those visits required the completion of a form and approval or rejection from a public health official, a department representative said. Of those, 4,986 were denied and another 841 would-be visitors were rejected at the border, the department said. It notes some of the denied requests may have been reconsidered and subsequently approved by the province's chief medical officer of health.

In a normal year before the pandemic, the province typically received more than 500,000 out-of-province tourists.

Amy Hurford, an associate professor of mathematics and biology at Memorial University in St. John's, said modelling a year ago by her and her colleagues projected that the travel ban would dramatically reduce the size of possible COVID-19 outbreaks. Their research, published last month in the Royal Society Open Science journal, found a direct relationship between the travel ban and the province's COVID-19 caseload, she said: if travel was reduced by a certain percentage, the number of possible COVID-19 cases in the province was also reduced by that number.

The model also showed that without the travel ban, there was a "substantial risk of very large outbreaks," she said in an interview Monday.

Some studies claimed travel restrictions would only "delay the inevitable" arrival and spread of the virus, she acknowledged. But the conditions in Newfoundland and Labrador  low caseloads and few areas of significant urban density  were just favourable enough that vaccination was able to kick in before the inevitable occurred, she said.

In another city or province, with closer quarters, higher starting caseloads and ongoing community outbreaks, a travel ban might not have worked like it did in Newfoundland and Labrador.

"A place that sees a lot of commerce, like Toronto, they could have put in travel restrictions and it would have delayed the inevitable but maybe not enough," Hurford said. "Being remote is something that helped."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2021.
HALIFAX - Nova Scotia has become the second province to sign on to a federal program that would fund thousands of subsidized daycare spots, in a deal that plays into the prime minister's and premier's potential election platforms.

Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin helps out with drawing at Mount Saint Vincent University's Child Study Centre in Halifax on Tuesday, July 13, 2021. The federal and provincial governments are pledging that in five years, child care in the province will cost an average of $10 per day. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

HALIFAX - Nova Scotia has become the second province to sign on to a federal program that would fund thousands of subsidized daycare spots, in a deal that plays into the prime minister's and premier's potential election platforms.

Neither Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin nor Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have announced a campaign date, but there's been speculation calls could come within weeks or even days.

During Tuesday's announcement at a Halifax child-care centre, Trudeau appeared via video link and said the $605-million deal would halve the average child-care fees in the province by the end of next year, to $20 a day per child. The program, he added, would gradually lower them over five years to $10 a day.

Trudeau also said the agreement with Nova Scotia will create 4,000 new, regulated early learning and child-care spaces within two years and a total of 9,500 spaces by the 2025-26 fiscal year.

Nova Scotia joins British Columbia in signing a child-care deal with Ottawa. The federal government's recent budget included more than $27.2 billion on child care for the provinces, provided they agree to targets on affordability, quality of care and training of early childhood educators.

Morna Ballantyne, executive director of the group Child Care Now, said in an interview the deal adds momentum to the federal program and sets up a scenario where women voters would react poorly to political parties that oppose or threaten not to honour the deals.

Ballantyne, an advocate for publicly funded daycare, said she doesn't think the deals are going to be cancelled  unlike what happened after Liberal prime minister Paul Martin in 2005 signed a series of child-care agreements-in-principle with the provinces. Stephen Harper's Conservative government ended the deals after taking power in 2006, pursuing an alternative path that included monthly payments to parents to assist them with child-care costs.

"It's going to be very difficult to roll back the kind of commitments being made in these agreements as they resonate with a lot of voters and sectors in the Canadian economy," Ballantyne said.

Corey Tochor, the federal Conservative critic for families, children and social development, referred to the Trudeau government's plan in a May news release as "an 'Ottawa-knows-best' government approach to child care that takes away choice and ensures that only publicly funded operators will survive, leaving behind small businesses, women, and families."

"Canada's Conservatives believe parents know what is best for their children, not the government, and parents should have the choice in determining who will care for their children within their communities."

He declined a request for an interview.

Meanwhile, Rankin said the child-care agreement is a result of the close partnership his government enjoys with the federal government, as he prepares for a potential election campaign. The 38-year-old premier, who will become a new father in November, said he had been eager to start discussions with Ottawa's Liberals since the budget announcement on child care, adding that he wanted to deliver the program in his province.

"This announcement will become a strong foundation of our economic plan as we emerge from this pandemic," Rankin said. "We know that every dollar invested in this sector returns six dollars to the economy  It means more women can enter the workforce or go back to school.

"What we've announced today is a major transformation of our child-care sector."

Nova Scotia currently invests $132.6 million in early learning and child care annually, including $54 million for pre-primary and more than $75 million for the child-care sector.

In a news release, the province said it will contribute $40 million over the five-year agreement on top of current annual funding to the child-care sector. The provincial government will also create a new organization to manage the operations of all regulated child care in the province, with oversight remaining with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

An additional $22.5 million in federal funding was also announced, with $11.6 million to extend the Canada-Nova Scotia Early Learning and Child Care Agreement and a one-time $10.9-million investment to pay higher wages to early childhood educators and provide free tuition, books and bursaries.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2021.
The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada (all times eastern):

People wear face masks as they line up for a COVID-19 vaccine shot at an outdoor clinic in Montreal, Saturday, July 10 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Canada and around the world. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada (all times eastern):

5:45 p.m.

Alberta is reporting 35 new cases of COVID-19 and three more deaths.

The province says there are 112 people in hospital due to the virus, including 33 in intensive care.

There are 599 active cases in the province, with 351 of those being one of the more contagious variants of concern.

Albertas death toll since the pandemic began is 2,310.

5:30 p.m.

More than 80 per cent of eligible adults in B.C. have received their first shot of COVID-19 vaccine, while 49.1 per cent have had their second shot.

The B.C. Health Ministry says in a news release that the number falls slightly to 79.1 per cent of all people 12 and older in B.C. for their first shot.

B.C. is reporting 33 new cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths.

There are 66 people in hospital, 14 of whom are in intensive care.

3:35 p.m.

Saskatchewan is reporting 27 new cases of COVID-19 today, and no new deaths.

Forty-seven more people have recovered, leaving the province with 375 active cases.

The province is also reporting 57 people in hospital, including 10 in intensive care.

Provincewide, 73 per cent of those aged 12 and older have now received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Fifty-five per cent of those 12 and older are fully vaccinated.

2:30 p.m.

Nova Scotia is reporting one new case of COVID-19 today.

Health officials say there are 31 active infections in the province.

The government is moving the province into Phase 4 of its reopening plan Thursday.

Under the new rules, retail stores can operate at full capacity, churches and other venues can operate at half capacity or with a maximum of 150 people, and up to 50 people can attend outdoor family gatherings.

1:35 p.m.

Manitoba is reporting 25 new cases of COVID-19 and one death.

However, two earlier cases have been removed due to data correction, leaving a net increase of 23.

The five-day test positivity rate is 4.5 per cent provincially and four per cent in Winnipeg.

12:30 p.m.

New Brunswick says 52 per cent of residents over 12 are fully vaccinated and 80 per cent have received at least one dose.

Chief medical officer of health Dr. Jennifer Russell is encouraging people to get their second shots in an effort to reach a target of fully vaccinating 75 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers.

Health officials are reporting no new cases of COVID-19 today.

New Brunswick has four active reported cases and no one in hospital with the disease.

11 a.m.

Quebec is reporting 54 new cases of COVID-19 today and no additional deaths linked to the novel coronavirus.

The Health Department says hospitalizations dropped by three, to 85, and 25 people were in intensive care, unchanged from the prior day.

Authorities say 86,640 doses of vaccine were administered in the past 24 hours.

Officials say there are currently 35 COVID-19 outbreaks in Quebec and five of them involve six or more cases.

10:30 a.m.

Ontario reports there are 146 new cases of COVID-19 in the province and seven more deaths linked to the virus.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says there are 43 new cases in Toronto, 36 in the Region of Waterloo, and 13 in Peel Region.

The Ministry of Health reports that 192 people are in intensive care due to the virus and 123 people are on a ventilator.

Elliott says nearly 177,000 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine were administered since Monday's report for a total of more than 17.2 million doses.

9:45 a.m.

Canada has passed the halfway point in vaccinations.

As of Monday, more than 50 per cent of eligible Canadians  at least 12 years old  have had their second shot.

That means 16.9 million Canadians now have had both required doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

More than 10 million of them received their second dose at least 14 days ago, the time period after which the immune system has reacted enough so you are considered to be fully vaccinated.

Provinces logged almost 450,000 second doses Monday, though that number includes second doses in some provinces given over the weekend.

Canada is also edging closer to hitting 80 per cent of eligible people at least partially vaccinated, with 79.11 per cent of people over 12 now having received at least one dose.

Manitoba, at 58 per cent, leads the way on second doses given to eligible people.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2021.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said 26.3 million Canadians have received both required doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. It also said more than 20 million of them received their second dose at least 14 days ago.
OTTAWA - There are ways to improve Canada's early pandemic alert and response systems, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says, but he also insists the country's top public health officials did start building a national response to COVID-19 very early on.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during an announcement and news conference at Lafarge Lake Park, in Coquitlam, B.C., on Thursday, July 8, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

OTTAWA - There are ways to improve Canada's early pandemic alert and response systems, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says, but he also insists the country's top public health officials did start building a national response to COVID-19 very early on.

Trudeau said he welcomed a report the government commissioned reviewing Canada's Global Public Health Intelligence Network, known as GPHIN, which was published Monday.

"We're going to look very carefully at how we can move forward, not just in regards to that particular department or agency, but indeed, across the government to make sure we are better prepared for any future pandemics," Trudeau said Tuesday.

Health Minister Patty Hajdu ordered the review of GPHIN last year after some Public Health Agency of Canada scientists said their early warnings of COVID-19 were ignored.

The review was done over six months by a three-member team led by Margaret Bloodworth, national security adviser to former prime minister Stephen Harper.

The panel concluded the surveillance model that sees GPHIN scour the internet daily for signs of public health threats could use better staffing and technology, and more defined policies for how its surveillance is used.

The idea for GPHIN came in 1994, following an outbreak of pneumonic plague in India. It came to life in 1999 as a network of analysts who search the globe for media articles, rumours, and other sources of information that could identify the possibility of public health threats.

More than 7,000 articles a day are pulled from the internet. About half of them are ultimately filtered out, and the rest analyzed by GPHIN staff to determine if they should be included in a daily report that is sent to about 500 public health and government officials in Canada.

It has helped identify early warnings of outbreaks and pandemics such as SARS, MERS, H1N1 and Ebola. Its first report connected to the COVID-19 pandemic came on Dec. 30, 2019 at 10:30 p.m. The network is staffed from 6 a.m. to midnight.

The review says the GPHIN analyst on duty noted a signal of a strange pneumonia affecting more than two dozen patients in Wuhan, China. Two articles on the matter were included in the daily report on Dec. 31, 2019.

By Jan. 1, the review team says the president of the Public Health Agency of Canada and chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam both "took action", including by notifying the ministers of health, foreign affairs and public safety.

"The panel has seen no evidence suggesting that earlier identification by GPHIN of the outbreak would have been possible," the report says.

It noted that other well-known public health surveillance systems identified the outbreak the same day.

But they found there is room to improve how the public health agency and other government departments use that information to get the ready the country for what might be on the way.

It recommended a stand-alone risk assessment office that can take both surveillance from GPHIN and information from Canada's security and intelligence communities and quickly decide the level of risk and what can and should be done about it.

It also said GPHIN might benefit from private partnerships to improve its technology, noting governments aren't often the best at keeping pace with developments on that front.

Conservative health critic Michelle Rempel Garner called the findings a "scathing report" that "shows once again the Liberal government was unprepared for the COVID-19 pandemic."

"These failures lead to lost lives and the countless consequences of the pandemic," she said in an emailed statement.

Trudeau says there are "always things we could have, should have done better."

"We'll have lots more lessons that we're going to draw on as we move forward, but I will remind you that as early as the beginning of January, Theresa Tam was meeting with her counterparts across the provinces to talk about concerns on this, this new novel coronavirus that was appearing in Wuhan," he said. "So we have been active on it."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2021.
Marc Johnson, professor at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, is one of the many people working on the Coronavirus Sewershed Surveillance Project.
Want to praise someone or get something off your chest? Darts and Pats is the place to do it.
National Australia Bank is in talks with Citi over the potential purchase of the US banking giants Australian consumer banking division.

Citi, a leading local player in credit cards, put its Australian retail operations on the auction block in April this year, saying it was ending its presence of more than three decades in the sector to focus on businesses with more growth potential.

NAB says it is in discussions with Citi about potentially buying its Australian retail banking business. Credit:Fairfax Media

NAB, which is keen to expand its share in the lucrative retail market, confirmed the discussions to the ASX on Tuesday night in response to reporting in The Australian.



Following media speculation, NAB confirms it is in discussions with Citigroup about the potential acquisition of its Australian Consumer business, the bank said.
And for all that Branson marked his flights apogee with an exhortation to the next generation of dreamers: if we can do this, just imagine what you can do, the first American suborbital flight, lasting about as long as Bransons, was achieved by the baby boom generation. That flight, carrying Shepard, took place in 1961, or 60 years ago. Virgin Galactic is competing with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos Blue Origin and Elon Musks SpaceX for a foothold in the space tourism market, for whatever thats worth. Blue Origin and SpaceX are also in an intense battle with each other and United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, for government space flight contracts. (Blue Origin is also producing rocket engines for ULA.) Artemis isnt the only government program issuing contracts to private space flight companies; theres also competition for satellite launches and for carrying crew and payloads to the International Space Station. But the moon program is NASAs most ambitious and the one most likely to attract public attention to the contractors. As a result, Artemis is also the program most racked by intercorporate hostility and intrigue.

Most of the conflict has involved SpaceX and Blue Origin. Virgin Galactic hasnt been a bidder on the moon project, though it was awarded part of a $US45-million NASA contract to carry test payloads on its commercial flights. A sister company in Bransons corporate empire, Virgin Orbit, completed its first commercial mission June 30. In that flight a Virgin Orbit craft placed seven satellites in low Earth orbit for three customers, including the US Defence Department, which awarded the company a $US35-million contract in 2017. Loading The rivalry for government contracts among the other companies isnt hard to fathom. The contracts are absolutely crucial because developing space flight isnt cheap, says Michael Listner of the consulting firm Space Law & Policy Solutions. Otherwise theyd have to raise that money on their own, and thats probably not going to happen. So they need these government contracts to actually survive. One problem all the moonshot rivals face is that Artemis is, at this moment, rather half-baked. Originally conceived in 2017 with the goal of placing a crew on the moon by 2028, its deadline was moved up to 2024 by the Trump White House only two years after the program was established. Thats a timeline that most experts say is unattainable.

The Government Accountability Office reported in May that the accelerated schedule made it less likely that a lunar landing could happen in 2024, in part because many project components wont be ready. Most of the lunar projects are still early in development and some are relying on immature technology, the GAO found. Among other issues, the Gateway, a moon-orbiting outpost from which surface missions will be staged, would rely on power and propulsion technology that has never before been used, GAO said, adding that contractors are behind schedule developing the needed technology. The Biden administration, which supports the Artemis program, hasnt taken an explicit position on the deadline, though many believe that the administration will treat 2024 as an aspirational goal while redirecting the program toward a later landing. Squabbling among the contractors and between them and NASA hasnt helped. Nor have the conflicts been confined to the NASA program. In 2018, Musk clashed with the Defence Department over contracts totaling more than $US2.2 billion for a series of military rocket launches starting in 2022. The contracts were divided up among ULA, Northrop Grumman and Blue Origin, with SpaceX completely shut out. SpaceX filed a lawsuit asserting that the awards were the product of prejudicial unequal treatment by the Air Force. The case was thrown out last year by a federal judge in Los Angeles.

Wrangling between Blue Origin and SpaceX, possibly animated by personal hostility between Bezos and Musk, has become almost a permanent feature of spaceflight contracting. As long ago as 2015, the two billionaires, who are among the richest individuals on Earth, battled each other over a patent awarded to Blue Origin for landing reusable rockets on a barge in the ocean. SpaceX challenged the patent as unoriginal and won a split decision. The holy grail of these endeavours is NASAs plan to return crewed spacecraft to the moon. Credit:NASA In April, after NASA awarded a $US2.9-billion contract for a lunar lander to SpaceX, Blue Origin filed a protest that has prevented NASA from finalising the award. (A final decision is expected next month.) With this perspective, it seems evident that the race to shoot tourists into space is all about public relations. The main effect of the Branson flight, Logsdon says, was all the free publicity it got for an emerging business through wall-to-wall television coverage and front-page newspaper articles. Bezos, reduced to an also-ran in the billionaire-in-space rivalry, is trying to seize centre stage by including Wally Funk, one of 13 women selected as the nations first female astronauts for Project Mercury, as a crewmate. None of the 13 ever made it into space.

Loading The unasked question is how much value lies in crewed exploration of the moon beyond PR. The seven scientific priorities of Artemis as set forth by NASA  such as observing the universe in a unique location and conducting experimental science in the lunar environment  are almost all achievable by robots and other technology, at less cost and far greater safety than placing crews on the surface. The exception is investigating and mitigating exploration risks to humans, which obviously wouldnt be necessary if humans were not on hand to be exposed to those risks. The reality of space programs turns an old astronauts proverb (popularised by Tom Wolfes book The Right Stuff) on its head. The original version, alluding to a comic book space hero of yore, was No bucks, no Buck Rogers, meaning that without lavish infusions of money, there would be no heroism to celebrate. What Branson and Bezos are counting on is the opposite  the need to celebrate individuals in space to acquire funding in the first place. In other words, No Buck Rogers, no bucks. The Los Angeles Times
They are now urging people in outbreak areas such as Sydney to receive their second dose between four and eight weeks after their first. This a change from previous guidance urging people to wait up to 12 weeks for their second dose of AstraZeneca. People living in outbreak areas who do not have immediate access to a Pfizer vaccine are also being encouraged to consider being immunised with AstraZeneca instead. Since Prime Minister Scott Morrison encouraged under 60s late last month to go and have that discussion with your GP if they wish to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine, almost 20,800 Australians under the age of 40 have had their first shot. All up, almost 140,000 people under 40 have received an AstraZeneca jab. Victorian GP Umair Masood spoke to a 19-year-old man on Tuesday morning who had requested the AstraZeneca vaccine to protect himself and his family. Like many young people I have seen, he chose to go ahead with it, Dr Masood said. Young people had increasingly arrived at his Macedon Ranges clinic in recent days, alarmed by news of a 16-year-old in intensive care in NSW.

Each day we prescribe medication to people based on their medical issues after weighing up the risks and benefits, Dr Masood said. This is no different. Not all doctors feel the same. Melbourne GP Ines Rio has so far declined to administer the AstraZeneca dose to otherwise healthy patients under 40. She said that without clear detail from the federal government on when Pfizer will be available to Australians under 40, she was unable to give her patients the full picture. An informed discussion with a patient means knowing when they will be able to get Pfizer to be able to give them guidance on whether they should have AstraZeneca now, she said.

Opinions among infectious disease experts also differ. Whenever University of Sydney vaccine and infectious diseases pediatrician Professor Robert Booy is asked about AstraZeneca by someone under 40, he tells them: It is safe and it is effective. Full stop. I recommend to my family, nearest and dearest, young people, my own nieces and nephews, to have vaccination. I also tell them its perfectly reasonable to have AstraZeneca if they choose to. The director of Melbournes Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Professor Sharon Lewin, is often asked the same question, including by her children, aged 23 and 27. She has advised them follow the advice of Australias expert advisory panel and wait for Pfizer. When I weigh up the risk and benefit knowing that we will have either vaccines before the end of the year, I have advised my children to have the Pfizer vaccine. However, Professor Lewin, 58, encouraged her 86-year-old mother to get the AstraZeneca vaccine and will soon have her second shot of the same vaccine.

It is a really reasonable thing to want AstraZeneca as a young person and your risk of developing a very rare complication is about one in 300,000 and early detection means the are outcomes are now much better, Professor Lewin said. So the risk of death is very, very small. Elsternwick man Jesse Mansfield got his first AstraZeneca dose last week after becoming fed up waiting for Pfizer to be available for his age group. The 24-year-old, who has mild asthma, was told by a doctor he did not fit the eligibility criteria for the first phase of the vaccine rollout. Jesse Mansfield got fed up waiting for a Pfizer jab. Credit:Eddie Jim The prospect of having no protection and an elevated risk meant of course I was going to get the vaccine earlier if I can, Mr Mansfield said. It was just obvious to me. I could be waiting months for Pfizer and I didnt want to risk that with that outbreak unfolding in NSW.

Professor Greg Dore, an infectious diseases physician at St Vincents Hospital in Sydney, believes mixed messages around AstraZeneca have left younger Australians with little capacity to evaluate the realistic risk of the vaccine. The epidemiologist at the Kirby Institute suspects changing advice around AstraZeneca, conflicting views in the medical community and media coverage highlighting the risks were all partly to blame for frightening a lot of people about the vaccine. Loading If people are concerned about dying from a severe clot of AstraZeneca with a one-in-a-million risk then they are not really gauging the risk of all sorts of other things we do, because its such an exceedingly low risk. We need to realise the option of waiting for Pfizer is not zero risk at all. Its just harder to define because we dont know what lies ahead.
The countrys senior immunisation advisers have changed their advice on the gap between the first and second doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and are now urging people who live in areas where there are coronavirus outbreaks to fast-track their second shot.

The latest advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), released on Wednesday, urged people in outbreak settings such as Sydney to receive their second dose between four and eight weeks after their first.

A rare but serious clotting disorder has been linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine. Credit:AP

This a change from previous clinical guidance urging people to wait up to 12 weeks for their second dose of AstraZeneca.

In outbreak settings, such as that currently occurring in Sydney, the benefits of vaccination are greater, the advisory group said in a statement.
A southern Sydney man who was shot in an ambush last year runs a legitimate business and does not know why he was targeted, police said after arresting the alleged shooter in a dawn raid on Tuesday.

Mohammed Saab, 37, was wounded and required emergency surgery after the attack outside his home in Turrella in August. Police say Mr Saab is lucky to be alive after the gunman fired over a dozen rounds but only managed to hit his target a few times.

Abdul Fawaz, 21, was arrested and charged for his alleged involvement in the shooting of Mohammed Saab. Credit:NSW Police

Following coordinated raids on Tuesday morning in relation to three investigations, NSW Police criminal groups squad detectives arrested Abdul Fawaz, 21, at his home in Prestons.

Shortly after the arrest at 6.30am, detectives executed a firearms prohibition order search at a business at Punchbowl and seized 235 extendable batons.
For our free coronavirus pandemic coverage, learn more here.

Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size One in three people in the states hospitals with COVID-19 is in intensive care, as Sydneys health system becomes the first in the country to confront the latest wave of highly transmissible Delta-variant cases. We are seeing a more diverse group of patients this time, with a disproportionate number of younger patients in ICU, said Dr Paul Preisz, medical director of the emergency department at St Vincents Hospital in Darlinghurst. It just seems like nobody is safe. Last year we saw older patients with high blood pressure and other existing conditions but this time they are younger, with no medical problems. We are seeing a broader range of ages. But despite an influx of patients, Dr Preisz said the system was now better at managing the disease through life-saving treatments including the inexpensive steroid dexamethasone, oxygen management and the antiviral remdesivir. We are more experienced this time, hundreds of people are now being monitored at home and there is more data out there on how to manage it. We have a more mature system, said Dr Preisz. Intensive care staff at St Vincents Hospital looking after a patient with COVID-19 on Tuesday. Credit:Kate Geraghty During the peak of the first wave of COVID-19 in April last year NSW recorded about 250 cases in hospital in a single day, of which 40 were in ICU.

Advertisement

There are currently 65 cases in Sydneys hospitals, including 21 in ICU with four who are ventilated. The rise in hospitalisations comes as about 1.3 million people in NSW, almost half the population aged over 50, are yet to receive their first dose of the vaccine. Dr Preisz said there had been a dramatic change in hospital management, with double the number of doctors in their dedicated emergency department red zone, an area blocked off for suspected COVID-19 cases. A green zone is allocated for all other patients. All patients suspected of having the virus are given rapid diagnostic tests that return results within an hour, he said. The numbers are getting higher so weve increased staff to the red zone, we have opened up beds on the ward for COVID-19 positive patients and ICU has expanded to take over other spaces so they can manage. Surgery has been cut back. General and vascular surgeon at St Vincents Dr Anthony Grabs said the rise in cases is now posing a threat to people needing elective surgery, with beds being carefully monitored every 12 hours to make sure elective surgeries are prioritised based on need. We are not stopping elective surgery by any means but patients are voting with their own feet. Some waiting on hip or knee replacements have decided to cancel because the risk is too high, he said.

Advertisement

There is only a finite capacity within the system. We have to have the staff. It is all good and well to have operating theatres, but we need the staff. NSWs elective surgery waiting list blew out to more than 100,000 patients in mid-2020 after national cabinet declared a moratorium on non-urgent operations during the first months of the pandemic. St Vincents Hospital is currently caring for about 30 COVID-19 patients via a hospital at home or telehealth program as well as another 12 hospital inpatients of which six are in ICU. Senior ICU Registered Nurse Gabby McLoughlin (right) cares for a COVID-19 positive patient. Credit:Kate Geraghty But our protocols, treatment and management of patients have matured a lot, said Dr Preisz. And were much more aware of treatments than we were a year ago. The steroid dexamethasone is the stand-out, shown to bring down the risk of death by a third for COVID patients on ventilators. All NSW hospitals have COVID 19 surge plans, but St Vincents, Liverpool and Westmead are supporting RPA in their central role, as we have the infrastructure and specialties to do the heavy-lifting, he said.

Advertisement

Loading Although there are more patients in ICU compared to the first wave there arent necessarily more on ventilation and many, many more are monitored at home. Of the 767 cases in NSW many are managed via virtual hospitals, by specialists with daily checkups, talking to the patients and examining them over telehealth. Alan Waitsman tested positive to COVID-19 in late June and was looked after through St Vincents virtual care program. His daughter Claudia, 25, contracted the virus at the Joh Bailey salon in Double Bay on June 20. I mostly had no symptoms but my daughter had a loss of taste, smell and was short of breath. The hospital managed both of us at home by calling us every day to check on us and we had to report our blood oxygen levels using a finger clip and our blood pressure. A second death linked to the outbreak was announced on Monday. It is unclear if the eastern suburbs man, aged in his 70s, was vaccinated. Dr Kerry Chant urged anyone over the age of 60 to book a vaccination immediately.

Advertisement
The peak irrigation body in NSW has endorsed a crackdown on irrigators who are breaking the rules, but claimed that only a handful of companies or individuals are at fault.

Nearly half of the biggest water users have not made any efforts to install compliant meters on the pumps that they use to draw water from the river system, according to figures released on Tuesday by the Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR), and less than a quarter are fully compliant six months after they became mandatory.

The junction of the Murray and Darling rivers, which have been depleted by years of over-extraction. Credit:Justin McManus

The meters, which relay information to a central database, are designed to measure how much individual irrigators are taking and protect against water theft.

But NSW Irrigators Council chief executive Claire Miller said the non-compliant group included irrigators that had belatedly ordered new meters that had not yet arrived and only 10 to 12 individual farmers or companies  who owned a combined 14 per cent of the inspected works  were still sitting on their hands.
Essential workers from Fairfield who are employed outside the area will be allowed to work as normal until Saturday after a last-minute decision by the NSW government to allow a grace period before the introduction of strict new COVID-19 testing rules.

Workers who move between Greater Sydney and regional NSW are now required to get a weekly COVID-19 test, even if they do not have symptoms. In addition, Fairfield local government area residents who work elsewhere in the city must get a COVID-19 test every three days.

Testing at Fairfield Showgrounds. Credit:Kate Geraghty

The testing rules are part of a new public health order signed off on Tuesday which also directs close contacts of close contacts in the citys growing outbreak to self-isolate to contain the highly transmissible Delta variant.

The change of policy was used by Victorian authorities in last years outbreak and NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant warned that it was inevitable that a person who tested positive had already passed it on to their household.
A former chief executive of a multimillion-dollar technology company could have put everyone at risk after he sailed from a Sydney hotspot and lied on his border pass to enter Queensland from locked-down Sydney.

Melbourne businessman Jeromy Young, the co-founder of Atomos, a video technology company, was one of four people on board who were fined $5000 each by authorities in Queensland and NSW.

Atomos chief executive Jeromy Young started the company in 2010.

Mr Young  who was chief executive of Atomos until February 2021 when he stepped down from the role  had travelled on 34.5-metre super yacht Dreamtime, which charters for $70,000 a week.

The group boarded the vessel at a Pittwater yacht club, about 40 kilometres north of the Sydney CBD, on Monday, July 5, NSW Police said in a statement issued late on Wednesday.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has called for urgent talks with the federal government over ways to keep the Great Barrier Reef off the in danger list of World Heritage sites  only days before a United Nations convention is due to make its decision.

Ms Palaszczuk wrote to Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday morning urging new and united action requiring more than $2 billion in immediate announcements from the Commonwealth to safeguard tens of thousands of jobs that rely on the reefs health and international reputation.

Global experts are backing UNESCOs draft in danger rating for the Great Barrier Reef. Credit:iStock

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee will meet online for a two-week convention from Friday. The most consequential decision for Australia, expected to fall between July 21 and 23, will be a vote on last months draft decision that the reef should be reclassified as World Heritage in Danger.

Despite many positive achievements ... progress has been insufficient in meeting key targets of the Reef 2050 Plan, according to the UNESCO draft decision, released on June 21.
Theres nothing like having the big guns in the government on your side, is there?

On Tuesday, CBD revealed Prime Minister Scott Morrison had signed on as a patron of a foundation for social cohesion called Together for Humanity.

CBD pointed out the foundation is chaired by the Liberal Partys former president, Chris McDiven. No doubt a difficult request to turn down.

But as it turns out, the burghers inside the Department of Education also found it hard to refuse the foundation. A pre-budget submission put forward by Together for Humanity requested $8.1 million over four years from Budget 2021.

The pitch? To expand the charitys cultural awareness programs, which boost understanding in schools with students from diverse backgrounds, and reach more than 100 schools and 15,000 students. An online component would extend the programs reach by another 40,000 students and teachers. Also, the foundation proposed to match every $2 of government funding with $1 from the community.
Ignoring public health orders to isolate and get tested within 48 hours of a venue being listed as an exposure site is punishable by 12 months imprisonment or a fine up to $50,000.

Health authorities conceded the return to normal came as 65 people, or 2.3 per cent of those identified as casual contacts of a positive case, had failed to come forward for testing as of Friday.

After two million West Australians were plunged into lockdown over a northern suburbs outbreak, health authorities are yet to track down 65 casual contacts for testing. Credit:Marta Pascual Juanola

Sunday marked 14 days  or one full incubation period  since a known coronavirus case was in the community, leading the state government to relax restrictions back to pre-lockdown life.

Up to 65 people who potentially came into contact with a COVID-positive case in Perths northern suburbs in late June are yet to present for testing despite being in breach of the law.

However, Public Health Emergency Operations Centre head Ben Scalley, said the remaining untested casual contacts were in the lowest risk sub-category, with some not having had any direct contact with a positive case.

Essentially we normally know these people are not in the higher risk category of people who have had a bit of interaction or who have been near an infected person, theyre normally someone who has just sort of been in the vicinity and they may not have even been there at the exact same time as the person, he said.

We would normally do things like ring them a few times and try and find them, we look for other contact information in case weve got the phone number wrong, we might look for next of kin, we might send them a text message, or if its through a workplace, we try and go through their workplace to get hold of them - so theres lots of different ways we try still but as we are less worried about them, we dont push through legal mechanisms to make them get tested.

The Mindarie cluster, first detected on June 27, uncovered six cases  two being casual contacts who caught the virus through fleeting contact at a brewery and gym.

Dr Scalley said CCTV from the brewery had failed to find the moment when the clusters initial case, a woman who returned from Sydney, likely infected a man also at the venue having dinner.
La Trobe University vice-chancellor John Dewar said while figures such as 250 students a fortnight were modest compared with the tens of thousands wanting to enter or re-enter Australia, reopening a path into Victoria would send a crucial message to the international student community. It would encourage them to stay enrolled or contemplate enrolling and show them that there is a way back, he said. The signal is important. National cabinets recent decision to halve the number of Australians allowed to return via hotel quarantine has added a layer of complication, particularly because Premier Daniel Andrews led calls for the number to be cut in a state that endured a long second wave last year following hotel quarantine failures. Victoria will receive 500 people per week as of Wednesday under the new cap. Nonetheless, the South Australian government intends to proceed with its plan to fly in its first batch of students by September. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian revealed on Tuesday that her states plan will be delayed until Sydneys lockdown ends.

Yet NSW health and police authorities have already approved student accommodation buildings as suitable alternatives to hotels for quarantining students when the program begins. Loading Craig Carracher leads a purpose-built student accommodation industry group that liaised with the NSW government prior to it submitting its plan to the Commonwealth. South Australia also spoke with the industry group before deciding on cabins, while the Australian Capital Territory is using student lodging to quarantine diplomats among others. Mr Carracher said on Tuesday that the Victorian government had not contacted the 25 operators in the industry group this year. Victoria is the only state that has gone dark on any discussions with the purpose-built student accommodation sector, said Mr Carracher, who is also co-founder of Scape, the countrys biggest provider of student living.

Mr Carracher said Scape buildings were newer than most hotels and constructed with up-to-date ventilation systems that could prevent instances of airborne infection, such as the one in Adelaide hotel quarantine that went on to spark Victorias lockdown last month. If student accommodation is good enough for NSW, I dont see why it shouldnt be good enough for Victoria, at least as a consideration. Mr Carracher questioned the basis on which the government formed its view given no one had engaged with the providers or inspected the new buildings, which were built to COVID compliance standards and offered to the Victorian government without any response. Victorian universities have been deeply scarred by the loss of revenue after more than 80,000 international students left the state last year, with institutions repeatedly cutting courses and jobs over the past 18 months and further cuts expected. Belle Lim, president of the Council of International Students Australia, said many were now unable to finish their degrees without returning to the country.

Students who are in the last year of their medical degree, for example, cannot finish their study offshore and states will prioritise those cases. Its an equity question, she said. For new enrolments, Victoria is lagging significantly behind Canada, the United Kingdom and even the United States now. The sector should send a signal that Australia is taking steps to bring students back. Council of International Students president Belle Lim says many students must return to finish their degrees. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui Phil Honeywood, chief executive of the International Education Association of Australia, said Victoria had dragged its heels on international education since a plan was put forward by universities and student accommodation providers in December to fly in students. He accused the government of smoke and mirrors by mentioning a draft plan without releasing any details.

Loading It leaves the sector on tenterhooks. The government can talk about negotiations and consultations but we are a long way off a detailed plan in Victoria, he said. A federal government spokeswoman said Canberra had provided feedback to Victorian authorities on a working draft submitted in June but questions on its content should be directed to the state government. [The Education Department] will continue to work with Victoria as it develops its plan, she said. City of Melbourne lord mayor Sally Capp, whose council hosts a majority of international students and accommodation buildings in the CBD and Carlton, said she had been advocating for months for a trial quarantine program.
Singapore: Japan holds grave concerns about Chinas military build-up and warns countries in the region must pay urgent attention to the situation in the Taiwan Strait.

For the first time in its annual defence white paper, the Japanese Defence Ministry has made a direct reference to Taiwan after Japans cabinet signed off on it on Tuesday morning.

US, Australian, Canadian and Japanese defence forces conduct exercises in 2019. Credit:USS Ronald Reagan

Stabilising the situation surrounding Taiwan is important for Japans security and the stability of the international community, the white paper said. Therefore, it is necessary that we pay close attention to the situation with a sense of crisis more than ever before.

The white paper revealed Japan is falling further behind China in its military capability. China now has 1146 fourth and fifth-generation fighter jets to Japans 313. It also has 71 modern navy destroyers and frigates to Japans 47 and 52 modern submarines to Japans 21.
Nassiriya, Iraq: The death toll from a fire that tore through a coronavirus hospital in southern Iraq rose to 92, health officials said on Tuesday, as authorities faced accusations of negligence from grieving relatives and a doctor who works there.

More than 100 people were injured in the blaze on Monday night in Nassiriya, officials said.

Workers search for bodies after a catastrophic blaze destroyed a COVID-19 ward at a hospital in Nassiriya, Iraq. Credit:AP

An investigation showed the fire began when sparks from faulty wiring spread to an oxygen tank that then exploded, police and civil defence authorities said.

It was Iraqs second such tragedy in three months, and the countrys President on Tuesday blamed corruption for both. A statement from the Prime Ministers office called for national mourning.
Charles said officers found a hat with the logo of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, 20 boxes of bullets, gun parts, four licence plates from the Dominican Republic, two cars and correspondence, among other things, in Sanons house in Haiti. Loading Twenty-six former Colombian soldiers are suspected in the killing and 23 have been arrested, along with three Haitians. Charles said five suspects are still at large and at least three have been killed. They are dangerous individuals, Charles said. Im talking commando, specialised commando. A US Drug Enforcement Administration official said one of the suspects in Moises assassination was at times a confidential source to the agency, and that the suspect reached out to his contacts at the DEA after the killing and was urged to surrender. The official said the DEA and a US State Department official provided information to Haitis government that led to the surrender and arrest of one suspect and one other individual, whom it didnt identify.

Meanwhile, Colombias national police chief, General Jorge Luis Vargas, said that a Florida-based enterprise, CTU Security, used its company credit card to buy 19 plane tickets from Bogota to Santo Domingo for the Colombian suspects. Most arrived in the Dominican Republic in June and moved into Haiti within weeks, Vargas said. He said that Dimitri Herard, head of general security at Haitis National Palace, flew to Colombia, Ecuador and Panama in the months before the assassination, and Colombian police are investigating whether he had any role in recruiting the mercenaries. In Haiti, prosecutors are seeking to interrogate Herard over the assassination. Charles said Sanon was in contact with CTU Security and that the company recruited the suspects in the killing. He said Sanon flew into Haiti in June on a private jet accompanied by several of the alleged gunmen. The suspects initial mission was to protect Sanon, but they later received a new order: to arrest the president, Charles said. The operation started from there, he said, adding that 22 additional suspects joined the group.

Charles said that after Moise was killed, one suspect phoned Sanon, who got in touch with two people believed to be masterminds of the plot. He did not identify them or say if police know who they are. Loading Sanons associate said he attended a recent meeting in Florida with Sanon and about a dozen other people, including Antonio Enmanuel Intriago Valera, a Venezuelan emigre to Miami who runs CTU Security. He said a presentation was made for rebuilding the country, including its water system, converting trash into energy and fixing roads. He said Sanon asked why the security team accompanying him to Haiti were all Colombians. Sanon was told Haitians couldnt be trusted and that the system is corrupt, the associate said. He said Sanon called him from Haiti a few days before the assassination and said the Colombians had disappeared. Im all by myself. Who are these people? I dont know what they are doing, the associate quoted Sanon as saying.

Sanon is completely gullible, the associate added. He thinks God is going to save everything. Sanon has lived in Broward County in Florida, as well as in Hillsborough County on the Gulf Coast. Records also show he resided in Kansas City, Missouri. He filed for bankruptcy in Florida in 2013 and identified himself as a medical doctor in a video on YouTube titled Leadership for Haiti. However, records show Sanon has never been licensed to practice medicine or any other occupation covered by Floridas Department of Health. Sanon said in court papers filed in a 2013 bankruptcy case in Florida that he was a physician and a pastor at the Tabarre Evangelical Tabernacle in Haiti. He said he had stakes in enterprises including the Organisation of Rome Haiti, which he identified as a non-governmental organisation, a radio station in Haiti and medical facilities in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. At the time of his bankruptcy, he and his wife reported income of $US5000 per month, and a home in Brandon, Florida, valued at about $US143,000, with a mortgage of more than $US367,000. A federal bankruptcy trustee later determined they hid ownership of about 14 hectates in Haiti from creditors.

Florida records show Sanon started about a dozen businesses over the last 20 years, all of which failed, including ones that appeared related to medical imaging, physical therapy, fossil fuel trading, real estate and veganism. In a 2011 YouTube video, Sanon denounced Haitis leadership as corrupt, accusing them of stripping the country of its resources, saying: They dont care about the country, they dont care about the people. He falsely claimed that Haiti has uranium, oil and other resources that have been taken by government officials. Nine million people cant be in poverty when we have so much resources in the country. Its impossible, he said. We need new leadership that will change the way of life. Sanons arrest comes as a growing number of politicians have challenged interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph, who is currently in charge of Haiti with backing from police and the military.

US officials, including representatives from the US Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, met Sunday with Joseph, designated Prime Minister Ariel Henry and Joseph Lambert, the head of Haitis dismantled Senate, whom supporters have named as provisional president in a challenge to Joseph, according to the White House National Security Council. The delegation also met with Haitis National Police and reviewed the security of critical infrastructure, it said. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the delegation received a request for additional assistance. She said a potential deployment of US troops remained under review, but also suggested that Haitis political uncertainty was a complicating factor. What was clear from their trip is that there is a lack of clarity about the future of political leadership, Psaki said. US President Joe Biden said he was closely following developments, adding: The people of Haiti deserve peace and security, and Haitis political leaders need to come together for the good of their country.
The team was pleased to have survived the financial challenges of COVID-19 without having to dip into its rainy-day corporate reserve fund (which now stands at $511 million) and having lost $38.8 million from operations during the fiscal year.
EV manufacturers body SMEV on Tuesday said the added subsidies from the government on batteries and overall vehicles in its new EV policy will aid to the growing interest among investors and companies looking to make an entry into the manufacturing of parts for the segment.

The government policy grants us the privilege to reach out to our potential customer base in the state. With the amendment of FAME 2 by the central government and now the individual state policies like this one have only encouraged the adoption of in India, said Sohinder Gill, CEO Hero Electric & Director General,



Society of Manufacturers of (SMEV).

Earlier in the day, government unveiled its new EV policy with an aim of making such vehicles achieve 10 per cent share of total registrations by 2025, among others.

The added subsidies from the government on batteries and overall vehicles apart from encouraging battery makers to invest in the state will only aid to the growing interest among investors and companies looking to make an entry into the manufacturing of parts for the segment, Gill said in a statement.

The company is looking forward to this new phase of electric mobility that will be driven with the states and the consumers who are looking up to a green, clean mode of transport, he added.

Stating that the incentives offered in the new policy for both the demand and supply side will accelerate the adoption and the manufacturing of EVs in the country, Ather Energy Co-founder and CEO Tarun Mehta said that new policy is extremely comprehensive and has taken into account the entire EV ecosystem.

In addition to demand incentives, the policy also incentivises buy-back and vehicle scrappage. Early bird incentive is a great mechanism to jump start things, as well as to drive festive sales, Mehta said.

Ather Energy is geared to cater to the rising demand in Maharashtra through its retail outlets in key cities like Mumbai, Pune and plans to expand to Nashik and Nagpur soon, he said, adding such progressive policies introduced by the state governments have the potential to drive faster adoption of in the country.

The new policy, which has updated the one announced in 2018, was released by Additional Chief Secretary (Transport) Ashish Singh and state environment minister Aaditya Thackeray and others here.

"The policy has some ambitious targets. Electric vehicles must comprise at least 10 per cent of total vehicles registered by 2025. We also want to achieve 25 per cent EV share in public transport in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad and Nashik. It includes converting 15 per cent of the MSRTC fleet into EVs by 2025, said Singh while announcing the new policy on Tuesday.

We also intend to make Maharashtra the top producer of battery driven EVs in India in terms of annual production capability," Singh said, adding another target laid down in the new policy was to establish one gigawatt of battery manufacturing capability in the state.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
AdmitKard, an ed-tech platform that simplifies accessing higher education abroad raised Rs 10 crore in pre-Series A round. The round witnessed participation from the founders of renowned ed-tech start-up-like -Vamsi Krishna & Pulkit Jain of Vedantu, Mayank Kumar of upGrad, Gaurav Munjal, Roman Saini & Sumit Jain of Unacademy, Tanushree Nagori, Aditya Shankar & Ravi Sekhar of DoubtNut, Akshay Saxena of Avanti, and other prominent investors including Pankaj Chaddah (ex-Zomato), Suhail Sameer & Dhruv Dhanraj Bahl of BharatPe,Vijay Arisetty (MyGate), Anand Chandrasekaran (ex-Snapdeal, Facebook), Sameer Guglani of Morpheus Gang, BCG Partners, MD of JPMorgan and others.

The pandemic certainly wreaked havoc on the start-up industry, however, ed-tech has been one of the sectors to witness growth in traction.

During the pandemic, we realised that students were not able to travel abroad due to the closed international borders. Hence we doubled down our effort on ensuring the students experience in our long drawn funnel gets better. To enable that we realized the guidance to the students needs to be product-driven instead of being dependent on humans. We sought guidance from our mentors from other ed-tech and de-skilled the entire counselling process, solving a major problem of counsellors in this industry, said Rachit Agrawal  co-founder, AdmitKard.

Including the current round, the startup has raised a total of Rs 17 crore. It has created a strong community of international students and students looking to study abroad. They have already served students from 26 states in India through their platform and have also served few students from other countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Vietnam. The company is scaling at a fast pace, having counselled over 25,000 students, processing around 12,000 applications, and boasting a strong portfolio of over 2,300 universities across the globe.

I have been a mentor to Rachit & Piyush for a long time now and have seen the journey of AdmitKard. Their focus on productizing student guidance and de-skilling the role of a counselor is a big win as it solves a very fundamental problem of talent quality and standardization at scale. I am happy to be a part of their growth journey said Vamsi Krishna  co-founder, Vedantu.

According to the founders, AdmitKard has witnessed a 1100 per cent hike in the number of queries pouring in. The company has touched an annual revenue runrate of $2 million in the month of June 2021, and is on track to hit ARR of $8 million by March 2022. "We have seen spectacular growth and kudos to our automation, we were able to handle them well. Now the focus is on growth and hence we would be raising a bigger round. This is more like a mentors and well-wishers round. We are fortunate to have credible names from ed-tech sector itself and other marquee angels backing us today, said Piyush Bhartiya- founder & CEO, AdmitKard.

AdmitKard has chosen the right category that has been waiting to be disrupted and addressing it with great service, unlocking desired value for students. The team is well placed to disrupt the space which is unorganized and dominated by offline players with a great PMF and strong plans to scale and hence have decided to back it said Ravi Shekhar KV, co-founder, DoubtNut

As someone who has studied abroad extensively and understands the challenges one faces from discovering the right programme to arriving on campus, I am excited about what AdmitKard is building. Their product-first approach to democratising access to global education is what our youth need today said Dhruv Dhanraj Bahl  COO, BharatPe.
ASK Property Investment Advisors (ASK PIA), the private equity arm of the ASK group, on Tuesday said it is announcing a new real estate-focused called - "ASK Special Opportunities  IV".

The is targeting a corpus of Rs 1,000 crore and an additional Rs 1,500 crore via a green shoe option. ASK PIA is looking to the raise funds via a mix of offshore and domestic investors.

The fund is in line with ASKs focus on the affordable & mid segment residential and mix land use projects. The fund will focus on job growth corridors across the top 6 cities of India (MMR, Delhi-NCR, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, and Hyderabad). It will also identify projects of reputed developers and provide funding to ensure financial closure for seamless execution and timely completion, ASK PIA said.

Amit Bhagat, CEO & MD, ASK PIA, said This funds strategy is a mirror image of our fully deployed previous fund. We will provide early, mid, and last mile funding for fully approved projects by customer-centric developers with an established delivery track-record. We intend to announce the initial close of the fund at Rs. 750 crores by September. We currently have a strong pipeline of over Rs 500 crore of investments pre-identified for deployment. We have deployed over Rs. 400 crores during the quarter ending Mar-2021.

The sector has been facing a paucity of capital since the NBFC crisis in 2018 which has been heightened, since last year, due to the ongoing pandemic. On the contrary, sales in the sector have been witnessing green-shoots of revival since H2-FY2021. We foresee a steady uptick in demand on the back of historically low home loan rates coupled with stamp duty incentives in states like Maharashtra and discounts offered by several developers. Demand has been predominantly towards completed and nearing completion inventory. Sales have been driven by first time home buyers and end users seeking to upgrade to larger homes to accommodate working from home. Our fund will leverage on the shortage of capital and rising demand to deliver superior risk adjusted returns, said Sunil Rohokale, MD & CEO, ASK Group.
(AWS) on Tuesday announced the launch of AWS Public Sector Startup Ramp in India, a new programme that is designed to help early-stage technology startups to build solutions for the public sector using its platform.

India is the first country where the programme is being rolled out.

"Our experience in India has shown that public sector organisations are increasingly keen to experiment with new ideas and technologies to advance their missions at speed and scale. Startups bring disruptive innovative solutions that create broad impact, and can pivot quickly to meet society's changing needs," Rahul Sharma, President, Public Sector AISPL, AWS India and South Asia told reporters in a virtual briefing.

AWS is doubling down on its focus to serve the public sector, and empower startups with the new AWS Startup Ramp programme, he added.

Sharma said AWS is engaged with the government in various areas, including health, agriculture, smart cities, digital services, transportation and others.

AWS Regional Public Sector Startup Lead (Asia Pacific and Japan) Sam Harris said the programme is a commitment by AWS to engage, onboard, nurture and grow public-sector focused startups in the very early stages of their inception.

"...whether it's space-tech, agri-tech, non-profit organisations, health-tech, we're really excited to work with that community and welcome as many partners as we can over the years," he added.

AWS Startup Ramp is an acceleration programme for startups that are building innovative solutions for public sector customers worldwide, including but not limited to customers in national and local government, space and defense, and healthcare.

Startups in their early stage growth can apply to join the AWS Startup Ramp in one of two tiers: pre-revenue startups can apply to the Innovator tier, and post-revenue startups (with up to Rs 100 crore in revenue) can apply to the 'Member' tier.

Startups meeting all qualifying application criteria will be reviewed and evaluated for participation based on their potential contributions to public sector customers.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a shot in the arm for yoga guru Ramdev-run group, the has extended tax deductions on made to Research Foundation Trust for five years.

Businesses making to Research Foundation Trust during 2021-22 to 2026-27 can claim tax deduction on such contributions, according to a Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) notification.

Patanjali Group, which sells products ranging from toothpaste to instant noodles and toilet cleaner, is among the fastest growing consumer goods in the country.

The exact linkage between Patanjali Research Foundation Trust and Patanjali Ayurved Ltd - the multibillion dollar corporation - is not known.

"... the Central Government hereby approves M/s Patanjali Research Foundation Trust, Haridwar under the category Research Association for Scientific Research for the purposes of clauses (ii) of sub-section (1) of section 35 of the Income-tax Act, 1961...," the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a notification.

This shall be applicable for Assessment Year(s) 2022-23 to 2027-28, it added.

Under Income Tax rules, in computing the income under head business and profession, a taxpayer is permitted to deduct therefrom, any amount paid to an 'approved scientific research association' for undertaking scientific research.

Patanjali Research Foundation Trust, Haridwar, has been notified as the 'approved research association', accordingly, a business entity that pays any amount to the Foundation for scientific research shall be eligible to claim the said expense as deduction from business income under section 35 of the Income Tax Act, thereby reducing their tax outgo.

Nangia Andersen LLP Director Neha Malhotra said India understands that investment in research and development is the key to economic growth and a step towards self-reliance. Therefore, in addition to increasing government funding on research associations, the government wants to encourage the private sector participation in R&D spending as well.

"Tax breaks in the form of deduction of expenses incurred for specified purposes, channelizes the funds of the taxpayers in the desired area of investment, that is scientific research in this case. Such provisions serve as tax incentive for the taxpayer spending on scientific research and source of funds for the research association," Malhotra added.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Singaporean investment giant Holdings and the arm IFC have infused an additional Rs 220 crore or $29.5 million into leading online education platform Upgrad focused on up-skilling/reskilling professionals by buying out employees equity holdings through Esops.

In the maiden external fund raising, Upgrad had in the last week of April got $120 million from the Singaporean investment giant Holdings and $40 million from the International Finance Corporation, wherein the promoters divested 25 per cent of their equity.

and IFC infused an additional $29.5 million or Rs 220 crore into the company by buying out the Esops (employee stock option scheme) from around 37 employees, Upgrad co-founder and chairman Ronnie Screwvala told PTI on Tuesday.

The recent fund-raise from Temasek and IFC has triggered a small secondary deal for the early and long-term team members at the company. The founder group still owns over 70 per cent in the company and has created a large Esop pool of close to 13 per cent of the enlarged equity base, he explained.

The Esop scheme has benefited over 600 of employees.

The two quick rounds of equity infusion of $160 million had valued the the Mumbai-based startup, co-founded by ex-media baron Screwvala, Phalgun Kompalli, Mayank Kumar and Ravijot Chugh in 2015 by investing over Rs 170 crore, to over $850 million.

On the equity dilution through the two funding rounds, Screwvala had earlier told PTI that the three promoters (excluding Ravijot Chugh) still retained almost 75 per cent, of which he owned 60 per cent, and the other two co-promoters would hold almost 15 per cent.

But today, the refused to share how much each investor has picked and exactly how much their holding has gone up.

Upgrad had last week said the company would grow by acquisitions and had created a $250 million war chest for the same and the first two deals would be closed over the next two months.

After closing FY21 with a revenue run rate of over Rs 1,200 crore (up from Rs 230 crore in FY20), thanks to pandemic created work-from-home culture, the company has set a target of more than doubling the revenue run rate to Rs 2,400 crore this fiscal.

The higher topline numbers are because it could more than double the student base to over 1 million in the very first nine months of the pandemic which has boosted by the pandemic-induced work-from-home that has made professionals seek a lot of re-skilling and up-skilling to meet the changed demand from work.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has set aside NCLT's direction to liquidate Three C Homes and ordered that other options be considered for resolution of the debt-ridden realty firm.

While remanding back the matter to NCLT, the appellate tribunal said should be the last resort for insolvency resolution process of any residential project and asked to review its direction.

On February 8, 2021, the New Delhi bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had rejected the resolution plan of Ace Infracity Developers for Three C Homes and directed its resolution professional (RP) Gaurav Katiyar to initiate the process by filing an application before it.

said though a resolution plan will generally provide a higher value than value, in case of real estate projects it may not be always feasible.

The homebuyers are in dire need of their homes, it added.

"Liquidation is the last resort and this programme of homebuyers needs some calibration and proper evaluation," said

The appellate tribunal said that in this case certain reconciliations are required like what is the actual realisable value that the homebuyers are getting and whether it is below liquidation value or above that.

It also observed that there is a need for impleading Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) to ascertain the status of the dispute with farmers and its consequential impact, if any, on this project.

"We are remanding back the matter to the Adjudicating Authority and setting aside their liquidation order with a direction to review the programme in full along with the relevant provisions of the Code and Regulations," said

The two-member NCLAT bench comprising Justice Jarat Kumar Jain and Ashok Kumar Mishra also said is free to pass appropriate order as they think fit and proper in accordance with the law.

The NCLAT order came over a batch of three petitions filed by the stakeholders and its resolution professional Gaurav Katiyar, sucessful resolution applicant (bidder) Ace Infracity Developers and Lotus City Plot Buyers Welfare Association.

had observed that the liquidation value of Three C Homes was Rs 480.70 crore, while the resolution plan of Ace Infracity Developers involves infusion of only Rs 95 crore by the bidder and that too over a period of two years.

It "does not have any potential" to fulfil the dreams of homebuyers which is at just 19.77 per cent of the liquidation value, NCLT had said.

According to the appellants, the resolution plan had been approved with 62.9 per cent voting share.

Moreover, the resolution plan approved by the Committee of Creditors (CoC) is not in compliant with the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and the CIRP regulations, which came into force on August 7, 2020, NCLT added.

However, the petitioners contended that NCLT has not considered the impact of calculations such as Rs 211 crore, the quantum of debt due to allottees as after giving the possession of plots to allottees, Rs 50.70 crore to be paid by Resolution Applicant to ex-management and Rs 38.75 crore waived in satisfaction of interest due to the allottees.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
of India (SII) will start production of Sputnik vaccine at the company's facilities in September, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said on Tuesday.

As per the agreement between RDIF and SII, the parties intend to produce over 300 million doses of the vaccine in India per year.

"The first batch of Sputnik vaccine is expected to be produced at SII's facilities in September," RDIF said in a statement.

As part of the technical transfer process, SII has already received cell and vector samples from the Gamaleya Center. With their import approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), the cultivation process has begun, it added.

RDIF has earlier reached agreements with a number of pharmaceutical in India such as Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma, Virchow Biotech and Morepen for the production of the Russian vaccine, the statement said.

India is the leading production hub for production of Sputnik vaccine, it added.

RDIF is delighted to cooperate with of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer. This strategic partnership is a major step to substantially increase our production capabilities demonstrating a perfect example of joining forces and expertise to save lives both in India and around the world," RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said.

With technology transfer underway, "we expect the first batches of the vaccine to be produced jointly with SII in coming months," he added.

As of now Sputnik V vaccine has been registered in 67 countries globally, RDIF said.

"We hope to make millions of doses in the coming months with trial batches starting in the month of September," of India CEO Adar Poonawalla said.

With high efficacy and a good safety profile, it is critical that the Sputnik vaccine is accessible in full measure for people across India and the world, he added.

India is the leading production hub for production of Sputnik vaccine.

Efficacy of Sputnik V is 97.6 per cent based on the analysis of data on the coronavirus infection rate among those in Russia vaccinated with both components of Sputnik V from December 5, 2020, to March 31, 2021, RDIF said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
based Global Power Synergy Public Company Limited (GPSP) has bought 41.6 per cent shareholding in Energy Private Limited at an enterprise value of THB 14,825 million.

The acquisition has been made through Global Renewable Synergy Company Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the GPSP, said the company in a public statement issued on the Stock Exchange of

has a total committed capacity of approximately 3,744 megawatts, of which approximately 1,392 Mw is operational and balance capacity is under construction with expected commercial operations by 2021  2022, said the company.

"The investment in this platform aligns with the Companys growth strategy in renewable energy business internationally and enhances the Companys expertise in the solar power generation as well as the business collaboration in the area of the Companys renewable energy business in the future," GPSP said in its statement.
It is rare for cabinet ministers to tick off state-owned publicly, yet that was what then petroleum and natural gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan did for



Speaking at an event on June 29, Pradhan said he has asked Indias premier exploration company to find fresh oil acreages fast. Do it yourself through some joint venture (or) through a new business model. But the government cannot permit you to hold resources for an indefinite time.

The reason for this stricture is Indias rising dependence on imported Or, to put it another way, falling domestic production (see chart: Crude truth), especially from ONGC, which faces a simple problem. A reply in Parliament shows ONGCs share of domestic natural gas production is less than 80 per cent, that of oil is far lower at 66.3 per cent. Analysts peg the per barrel cost at well-head at $50, which is incredibly high by global standards, which is less than $20.

It can still plod on thanks to high global prices  ranging above $70 a barrel (Brent crude), if not gas. In June this year, S&P Global Ratings assigned an improved earnings outlook for the next 12-18 months for the company (BBB-/Stable) on this account.

Way before Pradhan waded into the debate publicly, the ministry had advised to sell stakes in oil fields such as the Ratna R-Series as part of efforts to monetise infrastructure to raise cash flows. These are medium-sized offshore fields in the south-west of Mumbai. They cost about Rs 472 crore for ONGC to develop in 1983 but production stopped in 1994 because it became uneconomic. There was an in-principle decision made at that time to auction them but has never got done. In a letter written in April this year and signed by Amar Nath, additional secretary in the petroleum and natural gas ministry, the company was advised to hive off its drilling and other services into a separate firm.

Nath sits on the ONGCs board as one of two government nominees, representing its 60.56 per cent shareholding. That he had to send such a mail means the company board is unable to take decisions. The board still lacks a full-time chairman. Subhash Kumar, director (finance), is holding additional charge as chairman and managing director. The Public Enterprises Selection Board has tried for over a year. In the latest beauty parade of nine contestants it found no suitable candidate. So ONGC will remain headless until the board puts up a fresh advertisement for the post.





Thus, ONGC is a company without a clear road map for the future despite its board adopting Energy Strategy 2040 two years ago. It wants to move up the value chain to concentrate on areas where the expected risk-reward payoff offers better growth opportunities, such as aromatic petrochemicals, gas-based power plants and, finally, into renewables. Except in the first, the company is not a leader in any of the sectors nor does it occupy the number two slot. At the current scale of expansion, it does not seem to have the ambition to be so. The ministry itself is, therefore, not sold on this strategy.

The company was born before the high noon of oil sector nationalisation in West Asia, and became Indias flag bearer for energy security. Mumbai High Field (formerly Bombay High) was its best strike in 1974. Since then, India has become the worlds third-largest oil consumer and the demand-supply equation has changed.

The company is caught in a low flying orbit. As S&P notes, ONGC will maintain prudent capital investments over fiscal 2022, to invest in existing well and a new discovery in Ashoknagar off the Bengal coast, largely funded with operating cash flows and an encouraging rate of return of 9 per cent, higher than most global peers. But those numbers are modest at about Rs 43,000 crore in FY21, down from close to Rs 55,000 crore the previous year. It was making the same sort of investments in FY16. For comparison, Sinopec China has an exploration budget more than four times of ONGCs (see table: Off the map). The S&P Platts table shows in the league of global exploration ranked by assets the company is fairly puny. RIL, too, is three times ONGCs size.

The company does not have the money to blow up in high-risk wells. But all of Indias new finds are high risk. The Indian subcontinent is not only geologically dry for both oil and gas, it makes the little pockets of discoveries impossibly costly, when the world is sitting on massive un-utilised reserves. ONGCs future as an explorer is unclear if it does not have the money to explore. It is one of the reasons its share price languishes.

The company has declared 10 discoveries in its operating averages in FY21. Its best recent find, the Ashoknagar well in the Bengal basin, discovered in 2018, will take years of investment before it reaches commercial production. Meanwhile, for each find, it has to figure out offsetting ways to reduce its carbon footprint, according to the ministrys latest guidelines, to be completely sustainable and carbon neutral.





When it comes to gas, even here, the company, despite a promising start a few decades ago, has lost leadership. It is constrained by low administered prices and acknowledges this problem publicly. In a note to the stock exchanges, it says: Despite uneconomical gas prices, ONGC has been aggressively pursuing its deep-water projects in East Coast and a couple of shallow water projects in West CoastThere are certain issues around structure where decisive steps can be evaluated only once the industry is completely under GST regime. Though it is unlikely that the Centre will accede to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarmas request to consider transferring all the assets of ONGC in the Northeastern region to Oil India, the sense of loss of direction is clear.

It might be better if the company were to just import gas or even oil. Its subsidiary ONGC Videsh already has a product pipeline that is 32.34 per cent of ONGCs domestic production in FY19. ONGC as a trading company could realise more value than digging up dry wells.
Indias current rate of spawning unicorns, or startups with at least a billion dollars in valuation, is almost three per month. But all that action is in private markets; practically nothing of the digital economy trades publicly. Which explains the nervous excitement over this weeks initial public offering by one of the countrys two dominant online food-delivery services.

As China cracks down on data-heavy businesses from finance to ride-hailing, Ltd., backed by Jack Mas Ant Group Co., is beefing up its IPO in the Indian market to Rs 93.75 billion ($1.3 billion) because of high demand.

At the top of the indicated price range, the app will have a market value of almost $8 billion, or 45% more than Jubilant Foodworks Ltd., which owns the South Asia franchise of Dominos Pizza Inc. While Jubilant packs roughly a quarter of its revenue into earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, Zomatos operations regularly bleed cash.

Naysayers may worry about paying so much for an unprofitable business. To the optimists, though, the losses at are reminiscent of Meituans decade-long journey to dominance. Chinas third-largest publicly traded tech firm had started out as a Groupon clone, offering deals and discounts. It later added layers of Uber Eats-type online food delivery and Yelp-style restaurant reviews to become an all-purpose platform for services: a super-app. Zomato, which acquired Uber Eats India business before the pandemic--giving the U.S. ride-hailing firm a near-10% stake in return--is obviously looking to borrow from Meituans playbook.





ALSO READ: Zomato IPO: Subscribe for listing gains, suggest brokerages

But is it too late for that? Enterprises like Ant, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Didi Global Inc., built around large-scale processing of consumer data, are suddenly under a regulatory cloud in Beijing. Meituan is also facing a monopoly probe. Whats the risk that New Delhi, too, will go the same way, upsetting calculations that Indias smartphone revolution would offer investors a refuge from the U.S.-China tech cold war?

Worrying signs are already evident. From Amazon.com Inc. to Facebook Inc.s WhatsApp and Twitter Inc., Western tech firms are finding it hard to keep the market of 1.4 billion consumers open and attractive. New Delhi has weaponized its information technology and consumer protection legislation to target them. A law on personal data protection, and another on use of non-personal information, may be up next. That could be important for

Compliance costs for handling online data are bound to rise. Even offline business practices could come under greater scrutiny. A restaurant association has asked Indias competition regulator to probe Zomato and rival Swiggy for allegedly charging exorbitant commissions and coaxing dining venues to offer discounts to maintain listings on their apps. Earlier this year, a restaurateur took to Twitter to complain about Zomatos policy to punish food joints for cancellation of orders. Amid high unemployment, its possible that the government will want to push the cost of gig-economy workers social security to platforms that dont directly employ them. (Zomato had nearly 170,000 delivery partners in March.)

The final shape of the countrys emerging digital economy is still unclear. Odds are that two or three large super-app contenders will emerge. One may be powered by Mukesh Ambani, Indias richest man, in partnership with Facebook and Alphabet Inc.s Google. The other hopeful may be the Tata Group, a conglomerate that sells everything from Tetley tea to Jaguar Land Rover cars. For Zomato to place itself in the third place, it has to find partners to expand beyond food and health supplements into other services, such as payments and finance. Indonesias GoTo, the recently announced combination of e-commerce website PT Tokopedia with ride-hailing and delivery firm Gojek, offers a convincing model.

The timing for the share sale is opportunistic. After an initial wobble, Zomato proved its utility during the pandemic, when diners were stuck at home. At the same time, extraordinary liquidity support from the central bank has the equity market awash in cash. Info Edge India Ltd., the largest investor, will get a handsome partial exit as a reward for writing the fledgling firm a $1 million check in 2010.



ALSO READ: Zomato IPO: How do Indian food delivery players match up to global peers?

What matters now is a path to profitability. At $137 million, the operational cash burn last financial year was less than half the annual rate just before Covid-19, and more than covered by private investors. From here on, though, the heavy lifting will have to be done by public shareholders. They would like to see Zomato pull off smart acquisitions that bring in both scale and cash flows. Dominance of consumer data alone wont build a sustainable moat, as Chinas harsh regulatory action has amply shown.

To its credit, Zomatos pricey meal has arrived hot, beating other Indian unicorns. For sheer fear of missing out, investors have to dig in. For the less intrepid, theres always Dominos pizza.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister will visit today to take stock of preparations ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proposed visit on July 15.

Adityanath will reach at around 12 noon and will overlook preparations for a public meeting venue and stage at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU). He will also visit the Rudraksh International Convention Centre at Sigra, which PM Modi is scheduled to inaugurate.

Chief Minister will reach at 12 noon today and will oversee preparations for a public meeting venue and stage at BHU.

A final call will also be taken on the number of attendees and other arrangements at the new convention centre, that was made with Japan's help.

After examining all these preparations in about two hours, he is scheduled to go to Gorakhpur.

The Convention Centre will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister along with the Ambassador of Japan to India, post which a video message of Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will be broadcasted there, sources informed.

In view of the security arrangements, the Special Protection Group (SPG) will reach Varanasi by today evening and will prepare a blueprint for the security of the venue.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With the discovery of the Delta plus variant and the threat of a third Covid-19 wave looming, junior in government medical colleges, forced into the forefront of India's battle against the pandemic, are worried that they will have to return to an exhausting, stressful, unhealthy and insecure work environment, IndiaSpend learnt through extensive interviews.

If they have to be put on Covid-19 duty again, the junior said they would like to be paid better and on-time salaries, allowed time to pursue their specialisation, and provided necessary medical infrastructure and mental health support at work. Junior [JD], also called junior residents [JR], are postgraduate medical students pursuing an area of specialisation under senior doctors at

To understand their grievances, IndiaSpend spoke to junior and senior doctors, hospital administrators and government representatives in state-run medical colleges in Madhya Pradesh, where 3,000 junior residents of six such colleges had collectively resigned from their jobs in protest on June 3. They were supported by junior doctors from 76 other government medical colleges in the state after the MP High Court order declared the strike that began on May 31 illegal. The doctors joined duty after the state government agreed to their demands on June 7 and raised their salary by 17%.

Young doctors and medical staff have had to protest during the pandemic for even basic rights: salaries, protection from assaults by patients' families, better staffing, poor quality hospital equipment and medical help. Some graduates have also resigned from their jobs in frustration.

Junior doctors at government medical colleges who were officially assigned Covid-19 work complain that their three-year postgraduate studies have been disrupted, putting a question mark over their career progression. For those who started their postgraduate studies just before the pandemic, two of the three years will have been spent on Covid-19 work. "This won't be useful for them," said Parag Sharma, associate professor of respiratory medicine at Gandhi Medical College (GMC), Bhopal.

At the GMC, for instance, every one of the 400 or so junior doctors was put on Covid-19 duty over the last two waves, we found. This included those who signed up for specialisations such as surgery, orthopaedics and ophthalmology with no links to Covid-19 treatment, doctors said.

Junior doctors also complained that their Covid-19 tasks were largely manual in nature. "A doctor's work is to prescribe and monitor a patient whereas we have worked like technicians, monitoring equipment, dragging ventilators across wards, and manually pumping the many ventilators that came through PMCARES but didn't work," said Mohit Pancholi, 24, who is doing his first year in a master of surgery (MS) course at the GMC in Bhopal. (The central government had placed orders for 60,000 ventilators worth roughly Rs 2,350 crore in March and April 2020 partially under the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PMCARES), a privately audited fund chaired by PM Narendra Modi and created on March 27, 2020).

'Forced into crisis with no preparation'

Junior doctors--along with nursing staff--are vital in the everyday running of because they are typically the most numerous. "In any medical college, the biggest section of people is JRs. A lot depends on them," said Sharma.

However, even established systems at India's health facilities collapsed during the pandemic and with acute staff shortage, high rate of infection among doctors and quarantine requirements, junior doctors were pulled into unfamiliar roles, leading to widespread discontent.

As many as 1,492 doctors have died of Covid-19 since the first wave, with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) flagging 800 deaths in the second wave alone. All doctors were asked to go above and beyond their duty during Covid-19 surges, working extended hours in uncomfortable protective gear and putting themselves and their families at risk of an infectious disease that has killed at least 408,792 in India as of July 11.

By June 25, 38 practitioners from Madhya Pradesh died while on Covid-19 duty (the list includes interns, junior residents, general practitioners and senior resident doctors at both private and government facilities), IMA data show. Hareesh Pathak, a junior resident at GMC, Bhopal and the regional president of the MP Junior Doctors' Association, estimated that during the second wave alone, there have been 173 casualties on Covid-19 duty among the MP medical community (allopathic doctors, nurses, AYUSH doctors).

"We were forced into this without any preparation, stipend honours, or securities from the Madhya Pradesh government. Unlike Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh where doctors' stipends were raised, we haven't even received our Rs 10,000 Covid-duty honorariums which CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan promised to us," said Pathak.

The usual trajectory for medical aspirants in India looks like this: Once they clear the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) and qualify, they join a 4.5-year undergraduate (MBBS) course followed by a one-year stint as interns at a rural facility or at an urban public hospital. They can then go in for post-graduate studies to qualify as doctor of medicine (MD) or master of surgery (MS).

Postgraduate years are crucial for the medical community. After this, students spread out into different clinical and non-clinical practices in rural India for a year-long bonded engagement. Thereafter, they may choose to work or seek further specialisation.





Collective protest

Roughly two months after the peak of the second surge, on June 3, 2021, nearly 3,000 junior residents of six state medical colleges under the umbrella of the Junior Doctors' Association of Madhya Pradesh (JUDA-MP) collectively resigned from their jobs, as we said earlier. They had the support of nearly 3,500 senior doctors, said Pathak.

For six months, junior residents at Madhya Pradesh's government-run medical colleges had been asking for security in the face of possible assault by grieving families, a 6% annual increment in their salaries pending since 2018, a 24% stipend hike, reservation of Covid-19 beds for members of the medical community, reduction of college fees and dissolution of the mandatory year-long rural posting at the end of their studies. They were given various verbal assurances by the state medical education minister Vishvas Sarang but when these did not translate into anything concrete, junior doctors said they offered their collective resignation.

"We were forced into mass resignation," said Pathak of GMC, recalling what he called a "day of horror". He said the police visited his home and even tried to persuade or threaten his parents into convincing Pathak to call off the strike. "But we didn't budge Doctors' [demands] were not given priority in the pandemic," Pathak said.

Madhya Pradesh's first Covid-19 patient landed up in a Jabalpur hospital in March 2020, and ever since, the state's junior residents and interns have been routinely transferred to emergency duty.

The state's post-graduate students, along with undergraduate interns, had gone on strike earlier on May 6 but had resumed their duties after a few hours when the government issued various assurances. But all through this troubled period--marked by a chain of protests, strikes and resignations for over six months--junior doctors pointed out that they had not let patients suffer. They set up parallel outpatient departments outside hospital premises under tents, started blood donation drives after filing their resignations, and set up food distribution networks to show their "commitment" to their work, said Pathak.

Warnings of shortages ignored: doctors

Despite warnings from doctors, both waves of the pandemic caught India's healthcare governance unawares. There was an acute oxygen and staff shortage at hospitals, as we said earlier.

For example, hospital beds in Madhya Pradesh were completely occupied by July-August 2020, nearly two months before the first wave peaked. Observing this, doctors in the state had indicated to the government the need for better medical infrastructure and improved work conditions in January 2021, Pathak said, roughly three months before the second wave peaked. The suggestions were not heeded, doctors said.

The shortage of doctors too could have been anticipated, said experts. As per the World Health Organization's recommendations for India, the ideal doctor-population ratio is 1:1,000. India has just over 1 million allopathic doctors (considering 80% availability), the health ministry told the Lok Sabha in March. This translates to a doctor-population ratio of 1:1,308. In Madhya Pradesh, this dips to one doctor per 2,630 people, IndiaSpend calculations show.

Thus during the second wave, with highly transmissible variants, found their human resources stretched beyond all limits.

Demands justified, not strike: Dean

Mohit Pancholi at GMC recalled the questions junior doctors were asked when they declared their intent to strike. "Why are you on a strike?" "Are you fighting at the borders like soldiers?" Young doctors, he pointed out, should not have been pitched into this unprecedented medical crisis, often described as a "war", and forced to take on responsibilities they were not ready for.

"They were wrong to assign us JRs to Covid duty. We did fulfil them, but they took us for granted," said Pancholi.

The new dean at GMC, Jiten Shukla, said he agreed with the grievances of junior doctors but these still did not warrant a strike. "Things have been going wrong since 2020 because all [medical] branches [at the hospital] were doing Covid-19 work. They (JRs) were not getting exposure to the branches they were specialising in, for example, surgeries, orthopaedics, even ENT. But the strike cannot be justified in any case," he said.

Doctors were working under tremendous pressure during the two waves and this may have added to their resentment over low stipends, Shukla said.

Shukla also pointed out that the government had conceded to the demands of junior doctors and increased their salaries by 17% as per the JUDA's demand. Orders on other demands would be released soon, and doctors have been assured that their requirements would be met at the earliest, he said, since "government procedures take a long time".

The second wave, which started subsiding last month, has left Bhopal's medical services in shambles. "The setup is clearly overburdened. Even in moments of crisis, we have to look to patients and their families to run [and get] basic things like medical gloves and injections. It is heartbreaking," said Pancholi.

Himank Agrawal, an intern posted in the casualty ward at Hamidia Hospital, the GMC's tertiary care centre, said that they only had 22 non-Covid-19 beds (as of June 20, 2021) because general wards have not been reassigned elsewhere. "Now, non-Covid patients are dying for lack of resources like oxygen because everything got used up during the second wave," he said.

Undergraduate medical students too supported the agitation. Aniket Pamecha, 22, an MBBS student at GMC, said they were frustrated with the state of medical education in Madhya Pradesh. "In the past 3-4 years alone, so many new medical colleges have mushroomed in the state. They should focus on building medical infrastructure in old established colleges, rather than race to open a medical college building with no hi-tech infrastructure in your constituency," said Pamecha. "Vidisha is just one hour away from Bhopal, but it is Shivraj Singh Chouhan's constituency, so he opened a college there." Since 2011, at least seven new medical colleges have been established in MP.



Up until last year, GMC's annual fees for MS students was Rs 66,000 but this was hiked to Rs 1.18 lakh early this year--this too was a concern for JUDA, which says a government college should not be this expensive. During the protests, the fee was reduced to Rs 84,000 (including a refundable deposit of Rs 14,000).

Little time for specialisation

The Covid-19 crisis has kept junior doctors busy across the country but it has also been a setback for their careers. In a month, they were assigned to Covid-19 duties for 14 days--seven days in the ward followed by seven days of quarantine. They could spend the remaining days on their specialisation. But once the second wave got out of hand, they were directed to skip the weekly quarantine.

With fewer non-Covid-19 patients visiting hospitals, this also meant that junior doctors were getting very little exposure to their areas of specialisation. Pancholi, for example, said that with surgeries down he had hardly any engagement with his chosen field. This problem applies across medical fields, even to those who do not attend to patients directly--medical biochemistry (M.Sc) for example.

"It has been a sheer waste of my time. Had I wanted to learn medicine, I would have chosen MD. Of course, we have learnt some new things in Covid but it is not my specialisation," said Pancholi.

Parag Sharma, associate professor at GMC, said that the time spent in Covid-19 wards is a setback to JR education. "That's the biggest fear we now have, that the batch which is currently doing their post-graduation will not be as learned in their respective fields [as earlier batches]," he said.

Students preparing for the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2021 for medicine are in the dark about their future. There are chances that the exam might get postponed again with the third wave estimated to arrive between July and October. Pancholi joined his course after a delay of two months in the NEET 2020 counselling process (used to decide colleges and departments on the basis of scores). Final exams in the postgraduate and undergraduate courses were halted along with clinical postings.

Anger has been growing in the medical profession over the government's attempts to treat ayurveda on par with allopathy, which doctors said would lead to "mixopathy". The Indian Medicine Central Council (Post Graduate Ayurveda Education) Amendment Regulations, 2020 authorise post-graduate practitioners in specified streams of ayurveda to perform general surgical procedures.

Trauma and its aftermath

All the JRs at GMC, around 400 of them, have tended to Covid-19 emergencies over the two waves, as we said. Most complained of exhaustion and emotional numbness at seeing one-two deaths every day. "We got used to it. I was emotional initially. But what can one do apart from numbing yourself to it? Even before you could recover from the last trauma, the next death would hit," said Pancholi.

Junior doctors were exposed to immense stress prematurely, said therapists.

"During the Kargil war, the Indian Military Academy graduated cadets earlier than usual to increase the strength of the army. [Similarly] JRs are being put to the job before they are ready to handle it. And a lot of these are ophthalmology students, skin doctors, who wouldn't have seen [much] death otherwise," said Aditi Saxena, a psychotherapist and psychologist who runs Adds to Life and Coffeeshop Counseling, both Bhopal-based organisations specialising in cognitive behavioural therapy and life skills training.

Her doctor patients, said Saxena, recounted witnessing extremely disturbing scenes at work during the pandemic. "They have seen very unfortunate deaths like pregnant women dying in their third trimester and piles of dead bodies in wards, which has put them in a state of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)," she said. PTSD is often seen as a failure to get over a crisis even though it is a normal reaction to abnormal events, the therapist said.

At its peak between April 24-30, the infection claimed an average of 97 lives a day in Bhopal.

In the absence of any kind of therapy during the darkest days of the surge, Pancholi recalled the effort he and his colleagues made to cheer themselves up by exchanging stories about patient recovery. "It was always about bringing a patient back to life such as '65% saturation pe tha, hum 99 pe le aaye (their oxygen saturation level was at 65% and we brought it up to 99%)'," he said.

The pressure to constantly report numbers, monitor every minute change in parameters such as oxygen saturation levels in patients, the pressure to save lives and the burden of self-doubt can all turn into quick triggers for anxiety, said Barkha Bajaj, a trauma specialist and clinical director at Unalome Therapy, Pune.

"Doctors need to be trained to be in touch with their feelings and you can't do that when you're on autopilot," said Saxena. "The motivation levels are really low in such war-like situations, and everyone in the medical stream being highly underpaid presently also adds to that."

Both specialists contended that the medical community lacks an understanding of and empathy for mental health issues. "It is like, if I am a doctor, I know I cannot take an hour off for therapy. Their technical knowledge of the human mind and anatomy affects their appreciation of psychotherapy, almost as if their training of medicine comes in the way of their understanding of how talking helps," said Saxena. "They would rather take an anti-anxiety pill than talk about it."

Bajaj also suggested that hospitals should hire more trauma specialists and set up 'critical incident stress debriefing' groups--facilitator-led groups to mitigate the aftermath of a traumatic event.
The Commission (AHRC), taking suo moto cognisance, has served notice to the state government inquiring into the circumstances leading to the gunning down of 12 accused in the state in two months, officials said on Tuesday.

An AHRC official said that Commission member Naba Kamal Bora has issued notice to the Principal Secretary, Home and Political Department, to undertake an inquiry into the facts and circumstances leading to the death and injuries of alleged accused persons and submit a report thereof by August 7.

The AHRC notice, which is available with IANS, said that it is reported that six suspected Dimasa Liberation Army (DNLA) militants and two alleged insurgents of United People's Revolutionary Front (UPRF) were killed in two separate encounters with police in Karbi Anglong District.

Four other suspected criminals were killed by police in different encounters, the AHRC said, quoting media reports.

In another incident, accused Sayed Ali alias Patha was injured in police firing at Morigaon while he tried to escape from police custody, according to police.

Earlier, Delhi-based lawyer from Assam, Arif Jwadder, had filed a complaint with the Commission (NHRC) against the Police' series of encounters that have taken place since Himanta Biswa Sarma took over as Chief Minister on May 10.

In his July 10 complaint, Jwadder alleged that petty criminals were being shot and the reason mentioned for such "fake encounters" is that they tried to "flee from police custody, snatching pistols".

More than 20 such "encounters" have taken place in the past two months and most of the persons at the receiving end were alleged drug dealers and cattle lifters with a few having died on the spot, he said.

"Recently, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who also holds the Home Department, said in a police conference that police should shoot at alleged criminals at legs which is permitted by law. After such a statement by the Chief Minister, now police are staging fake encounters with impunity," Jwadder said.

He had urged the NHRC to take note of these incidents and call for an inquiry.

Justifying the encounters, Sarma had on July 5 said that shooting at criminals "should be the pattern" if they attempt to escape from custody or try to snatch guns from the police to fire at them.

Opposition Congress and other parties have, however, strongly condemned the recent incidents of "encounters". State Congress President Ripun Bora said Sarma's remark that firing upon criminals in custody by the police or while in chase should be a "pattern" has dangerous ramifications of turning Assam into a police state and making the security personnel trigger-happy, thus setting a dangerous trend of disregarding concerns.

"Sarma should be aware that the Supreme Court and the high courts have ruled that no matter how dreaded a criminal may be, he should be apprehended alive.

"The police have no right to fire at criminals at will. They can open fire only for self-defence and that too below the knee," Bora, a Rajya Sabha member, told the media.

--IANS

sc/vd

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A delegation of the Bar Association of Kohima Bench of Gauhati on Tuesday requested Chief Justice of India Justice N V Ramana to help set up a separate for

An apex court official said the six-member delegation, led by advocate Timikha Koza, called on the Chief Justice of India and felicitated him with a traditional Naga shawl. It also put forth the request for a separate high court.

Notably, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio had called on Ramana with a similar request on June 29, following which the top court judge had assured him that he will extend all possible help.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
announced its decision to donate 17.7 million doses of the to low- and middle-income countries.

While addressing a press conference on Monday, Procurement Minister Anita Anand said that the vaccine doses are a part of the Canadian government's advance purchase agreement with the company and would be distributed through COVAX, reports Xinhua news agency.

COVAX is a global vaccine-sharing initiative jointly co-ordinated by the World Health Organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

"This donation is a result of our proactive approach to securing hundreds of millions of Covid-19 vaccines in our initial contracts. With close to 55 million vaccines in Canada, and with the demands of the provinces and territories for this vaccine being met, we are now in a position to donate these excess doses," Anand said.

The government also announced it's partnering with Unicef on a donation-matching fundraising campaign to encourage Canadians to donate vaccine doses by contributing C$10.

All donations by Canadians will be matched by the federal government, up to a maximum of C$10 million).

The campaign runs until September 6.

Anand said that if the Unicef campaign is maxed out, it will provide enough money to vaccinate 4 million people in countries where inoculation campaigns are struggling to meet demand.

She said that the doses are coming from the advance purchase agreement the government struck with the company and that these doses, which will be manufactured in the United States, will start being delivered to COVAX in the coming weeks.

The Public Health Agency of and the National Advisory Committee on Immunization have "recommended" mRNA vaccines such as Moderna or Pfizer over AstraZeneca's product.

The recommendation was made in the wake of evidence suggesting that, in rare cases, the vaccine could cause potentially fatal blood clots in some people.

--IANS

ksk/

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Girls who received free meals in primary of India as part of the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) programme have been found to give birth to who have better growth, a new study has found.

The study, published recently in the journal Nature Communications, is titled 'Intergenerational nutrition benefits of Indias school feeding program'. It has been co-authored by University of Washingtons Suman Chakrabarti and IFPRIs Samuel Scott, Harold Alderman, Purnima Menon and Daniel Gilligan.

The study used nationally representative data on mothers and their spanning 1993 to 2016 to assess whether MDM supports intergenerational improvements in child linear growth.

The MDM scheme was launched by the central government in 1995 to provide free cooked meal to in government and government-assisted primary (classes IV; ages 610 years).

Though it was intended to cover all government under the Programme of Nutritional Support for Primary Education, only a few states scaled up the programme immediately due to institutional challenges.

NSS-CES data from 1999 show that only six per cent of all girls aged 610 years received mid-day meals in school. However, between 1999 and 2004, programme coverage increased in many states, largely due to a Supreme Court order directing state governments to provide cooked mid-day meals in primary schools.

In 2004, some 32 per cent of Indian girls aged 610 years were covered by the programme, which rose to 46 per cent by 2011, as substantial sums of money were allocated for the same. Coverage among boys was similar throughout this period.

The study also found that the 14 states which rolled out MDM in the late-1990s experienced improvements in child height earlier than the rest of the nation, which scaled up MDM in the 2000s after the Supreme Court mandate.

"Our findings suggest that intervening during the primary school years can make important contributions to reducing future child stunting, particularly given the cumulative exposure that is possible through school feeding programmes," said study co-author Suman Chakrabarti from the University of Washington in the US.

The findings also show that school meals may contribute to education, later fertility decisions, and access to health care, reducing the risk of undernutrition in the next generation, the researchers said.

"School feeding programmes such as India's MDM scheme have the potential for stimulating population-level stunting reduction as they are implemented at scale and target multiple underlying determinants of undernutrition in vulnerable groups," said study co-author Samuel Scott from IFPRI.

Study co-author, Harold Alderman from IFPRI, noted that findings from previous evaluations of India's MDM scheme have shown a positive association with beneficiaries' school attendance, learning achievement, hunger and protein-energy malnutrition, and resilience to health shocks such as drought.

All of these may have carryover benefits to children born to mothers who participated in the programme, he said.

Further research is required to understand whether improving the quality or quantity of meals provided and extending the programme beyond primary school might further enhance its benefits, the researchers added.
A group of citizens working towards COVID-19 vaccination of the underprivileged people has now extended its reach to the transgender community in Maharashtra's city.

As part of the 'VaxAll Initiative', 169 were vaccinated at a private hospital here on Monday, an official from the medical facility said.

The volunteers' group has set up an exclusive vaccination centre at the Sancheti Hospital here for the transgender community from July 12 to 15.

An outreach programme is in place to spread awareness among the transgender community members and ensure most of them get vaccinated via this camp, the group said in a statement.

"Rapid vaccination is the only hope to control COVID-19, and we as citizens decided to support the wonderful work already being done by the Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the government," VaxAll Initiative founder Raj Hajela said.

He said their mission is to ensure "vaccination for all".

He thanked PMC Additional Commissioner Rubal Agarwal, Nyati Builders, Sancheti Hospital, Robin Hood Army (social organisation) and transgender activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi for their help in making this happen.

Tripathi lauded the initiative to support one of the most challenging sections of society.

Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of Serum Institute of India, who was present at the vaccination drive for started at the Sancheti Hospital, tweeted, "I have always believed that healthcare and dignity should be fundamental human rights. I look forward to collaborating with @ImLaxmiNarayan in providing equal opportunities to the transgender community in India."



The hospital's chairman, Dr Parag Sancheti, said 169 were vaccinated at the medical facility on the first day of the drive on Monday.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chief Minister on



Tuesday asked officials to launch a massive plantation drive on all vacant government land on a mission mode. The chief minister who announced that 1.5 crore tree saplings would be planted in this year, also urged people to come forward to assist the afforestation drive taking advantage of various government schemes.

Soren said there is a need to strike a balance between nature and commercial activities to preserve the rich legacy of "Jal, Jungle aur Jameen" (water, forest and land) left by tribal elders of

"There are huge chunks of vacant government land in the state that should be brought under plantation on a mission mode," Soren said launching the 72nd Van Mahotsav at Getalsud Dam.

He said of the 1.5 crore saplings to be planted by the Forest department this year, five lakh saplings would be planted on various government land including one lakh in Ranchi alone.

Warning officials that the drive should not be on paper alone, Soren said instead of huge promises actual implementation should be visible on ground as derives its identity from its rich forest cover.

Urging people to plant saplings at their homes, he said he advocated gifting a sapling instead of a bouquet



At the same time he urged villagers to come forward to take advantage of various government schemes for afforestation including Mukhyamantri Van Jan Yojna under which 75 per cent subsidy is granted for besides benefits under MNREGA.

"This could be a source of income for you," he said.

Pointing towards global warming, drying of rivers, jungle fire and melting of glaciers in different parts of the globe, he urged people to come forward for protection of forests and rivers.

Concrete jungles are coming up fast everywhere either in the name of setting up big industries or creating infrastructure, he said adding that a balance is needed with environmental mitigation work being taken up..

The state has a total recorded forest area of 23,605 square km, which accounts for 29.61% of the geographical area of the state.

Of the total recorded forest area, Reserved Forests constitute 18.58 per cent, Protected Forests 81.28 per cent, and Unclassed Forests 0.14 per cent.

The total forest and tree cover put together, constitutes about 33.21 per cent of the geographical area of the state.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
notes worth Rs 5 lakh were stolen from the Note Press (CNP) at in Maharashtra over the last five months by unidentified persons, police said on Tuesday.

Note Press, prints high-quality banknotes for the Government of India.

Unidentified persons had stolen worth Rs 5 lakh of Rs 500 denomination between February 12 and July 12, 2021, a police official said quoting the FIR lodged by the manager of the India Security Press.

India Security Press is one of the oldest units of SPMCIL dealing with the printing of diverse security products. It is the only organization in India that prints passports and other travel documents for the Government of India. It is engaged in the production and printing of various security products including postage stamps, post cards, inland letters, envelopes, non-postal adhesives, non-judicial stamps , revenue stamps etc.

"The management of the press had initiated an internal inquiry when they realised that the went missing during the last five months and approached police," he said.

An FIR was registered under sections 380 (Theft in dwelling house, etc), 454 (Lurking house-trespass or house-breaking in order to commit offence punishable with imprisonment) and 457 of the Indian Penal Code on Tuesday evening, he said, adding that the investigation is underway.

The CNP has high levels of security and the incident of notes going missing has left the press officials as well as the police shocked.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India on Tuesday reported a net reduction of 18,121 in active cases to take its count to 432,778. Indias share of global active cases now stands at 3.6 per cent (one in 27). The country is fifth among the most affected countries by active cases. On Monday, it added 32,906 cases to take its total caseload to 30,907,282 from 30,874,376  an increase of 0.1%. And, with 2,020 new fatalities, its Covid-19 reached 410,784, or 1.33 per cent of total confirmed infections.

With 4,065,862 more Covid-19 vaccine doses being administered on Monday, Indias total count of vaccine shots so far reached 381,467,646. The count of recovered cases across India, meanwhile, reached 30,063,720  or 97.27 per cent of total caseload  with 49,007 new cured cases being reported on Tuesday.

Now the fifth-most-affected country by active cases, third by deaths, second by total cases, and first by recoveries, India has added 287,350 cases in the past 7 days.

India now accounts for 3.6% of all active cases globally (one in every 27 active cases), and 10.13% of all deaths (one in every 10 deaths).

India has so far administered 381,467,646 vaccine doses. That is 1234.23 per cent of its total caseload, and 27.36 per cent of its population.

Among Indian states, the top 5 in terms of number of vaccine shots administered are Uttar Pradesh (42552720), Maharashtra (41719807), Gujarat (32076737), Rajasthan (31212158), and Karnataka (28729410).

Among states with more than 10 million population, the top 5 in number of vaccine shots per one million population are Delhi (532950), Kerala (518357), Gujarat (502200), Uttarakhand (488774), and J&K (430126).

Backwards from here, the last 1 million cases for India have come in 23 days.

The count of active cases across India on Tuesday saw a net reduction of 18,121, compared with 3,219 on Monday. States and UTs hat have seen the biggest daily net increase in active cases are Mizoram (332), Manipur (285), Arunachal Pradesh (200), and Tripura (145).

With 49,007 new daily recoveries, Indias recovery rate stands at 97.27%, while fatality rate increased to 1.33%.

The Indian states and UTs with the worst case fatality rates at present are Punjab (2.71%), Uttarakhand (2.15%), and Maharashtra (2.04%). The rate in as many as 18 is higher than the national average.

Indias new daily closed cases stand at 51,027  2,020 deaths and 49,007 recoveries. The share of deaths in total closed cases stands at 3.95%.

Indias 5-day moving average of daily rate of addition to total cases stands at 0.1%.

Indias doubling time for total cases stands at 650.7 days, and for deaths at 140.6 days.

Overall, five states with the biggest 24-hour jump in total cases are Kerala (7798), Maharashtra (7603), Tamil Nadu (2652), Assam (2575), and Odisha (1993).

Among states with more than 100,000 cases, the five with worst recovery rates at present are Kerala (95.89%) and Maharashtra (96.15%).

India on Monday conducted 1,740,325 to take the total count of tests conducted so far in the country to 434,058,138. The test positivity rate recorded was 1.9%.

Five states with the highest test positivity rate (TPR)  percentage of tested people turning out to be positive for Covid-19 infection (by cumulative data for tests and cases  are Goa (17.33%), Dadra & Nagar Haveli-Daman & Diu (14.62%), Maharashtra (13.94%), Sikkim (12.6%), and Kerala (12.57%).

Five states with the highest TPR by daily numbers for tests and cases added  are, Sikkim (27.11%), Manipur (13.65%), Nagaland (11.24%), Meghalaya (10.37%), and Arunachal Pradesh (9.22%).

Among states and UTs with more than 10 million population, five that have carried out the highest number of tests (per million population) are Delhi (1194646), J&K (784466), Kerala (684644), Karnataka (533485), and Uttarakhand (518714).

The five most affected states by total cases are Maharashtra (6165402), Kerala (3073134), Karnataka (2872684), Tamil Nadu (2521438), and Andhra Pradesh (1924421).

Maharashtra, the most affected state overall, has reported 7603 new cases to take its tally to 6165402.

Kerala, the second-most-affected state by total tally, has added 7798 cases to take its tally to 3073134.

Karnataka, the third-most-affected state, has reported 1386 cases to take its tally to 2872684.

Tamil Nadu has added 2652 cases to take its tally to 2521438.

Andhra Pradesh has seen its tally going up by 1578 to 1924421.

Uttar Pradesh has added 96 cases to take its tally to 1707446.

Delhi has added 45 cases to take its tally to 1435128.
The Delhi High Court Tuesday fixed August 6 to hear pleas filed by former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain seeking bail in two cases lodged by Delhi Police against him in connection with the Northeast Delhi riots of 2020.

The FIRs were registered at police station Dayalpur in connection with two cases of gunshot injuries sustained by two men during the widespread riots in the city's northeast area in February last year.

Hussain has been booked for offences under the Indian Penal Code, including attempt to murder and rioting, and Arms Act.

His first plea came up before Justice Yogesh Khanna who issued notice and sought status report from the police.

The second plea was listed before Justice Subramonium Prasad who tagged it along with the bail plea heard by Justice Khanna.

In the plea before Justice Khanna, he sought bail on the ground that he has been in jail for long.

I seek a date as short as possible. I've been in custody for 14-15 months., Senior advocate Mohit Mathur for Hussain submitted.

On May 15, a trial court had dismissed the bail applications moved by Hussain in the two cases.

The cases were registered on separate complaints filed by one Ajay Kumar Jha and Prince Bansal who claimed that they sustained injuries after a riotous mob, which was pelting stones, throwing petrol bombs and firing gunshots from the terrace of Hussain's house, fired upon them on February 25.

While rejecting the bail applications, the trial court had said that the former AAP councillor used his muscle power and political clout to act as a kingpin in planning and instigating the communal conflagration.

The trial court had said that Hussain did not use his hands and fists but rioters as human weapons who on his instigation could have killed anybody, and denied him relief citing the gravity of the offence and his influence in the locality.

It was also observed that Hussain permitted his house to be used by rioters to play havoc upon the persons of other community and indulged in terror funding.

The trial court also opined that there was enough material on record to presume that Hussain was very well present at the spot of crime and was exhorting the rioters of a particular community.

His counsel Rizwan had told the trial court that his client had been falsely implicated and the allegations were nothing but a political blame-game to malign his image.

Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after violence between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and around 700 injured.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The told the on Tuesday that the Centre suo motu (on its own) decided to transfer the probe into the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case from Pune police to the central agency as it had implications on security.

The Investigation Agency (NIA) also said its credibility is being questioned, while it is fighting for the prevention of unlawful and terrorist activities in the country, in which "Naxal plague" has caused destruction at many levels.

It further claimed that while considerable autonomy and functional prerogatives have been accorded to state governments, greater powers and prerogatives over a complex range of all-encompassing subjects are vested with the Union government.

The central agency submitted its affidavit in the HC in response to a petition filed by human rights lawyer Surendra Gadling and activist Surendra Dhawale, arrested in the case, challenging the January 2020 decision of the Union government to transfer the probe into the case from the Pune police in Maharashtra to the

The petition, filed through advocate S B Talekar in 2020, alleged that the case was transferred by the central government after the BJP lost power in Maharashtra and hence, the decision was politically motivated.

On Tuesday, Talekar told a division bench of Justices S S Shinde and N J Jamadar that the probe into the case was transferred to the two years after the FIR was registered.

He submitted to the court that the NIA had filed an affidavit in the case, but the Centre and the Maharashtra government were yet to file their affidavits.

However, NIA's counsel Sandesh Patil said he was not aware of the affidavit filed by the probe agency.

The earlier advocate appearing for the NIA must have filed it. I will have to check.

Give me a week's time to put our house in order, Patil said.

The bench then posted the petition for further hearing on July 19.

The NIA in its affidavit said considering the gravity of the offence and its "inter-state link and implications on security", the Centre suo motu directed the NIA to take up the investigation into the case.

The present petition is malafide and vexatious as it is a desperate attempt by the petitioner to thwart the investigation into the case related to the Elgar Parishad, the affidavit said.

It further said the petitioners were questioning the credibility of the agency which is fighting towards prevention of unlawful and terrorist activities in the country, in which the Naxal plague has caused destruction at many levels.

The affidavit said the NIA was probing the case against the petitioners and other co-accused in a responsible and impartial manner and it had no personal agenda against them.

After the NIA took over the probe into the case, a Pune court transferred the case to the special NIA court in Mumbai, it added.

The NIA in its affidavit also said the continuous preservation and promotion of is the first and final sovereign function of a country".

It claimed that while considerable autonomy and functional prerogatives have been accorded to state governments, greater powers and prerogatives over a complex range of all-encompassing subjects are vested with the Union government.

A contextual construction of the provisions of the Constitution of India would show that the sovereign function of maintenance of is squarely vested with the Union (government), it said.

The affidavit further said the primary objective to establish the NIA was to better tackle cross-border crimes with inter-state and international originations and ramifications.

Apart from Gadling and Dhawale, several other activists Varavara Rao, Gautam Navlakha, Sudha Bharadwaj, Anand Teltumbde, Shoma Sen - have been arrested in the case.

They are accused of being active members of the CPI (Maoist) and propagating Maoist ideology and inciting violence.

The activists have been booked under provisions of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), apart from various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy was also arrested in the case. The 84-year-old tribal rights activist died in a Mumbai hospital last week in the middle of his fight for bail on health grounds.

The Elgar Parishad case is related to inflammatory speeches made at a conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which, the police claimed, triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.

The police had claimed the conclave was organised by people with alleged Maoist links.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The has released 16,000 cusecs of water in the Yamuna from the Hathnikund Barrage in Yamuna Nagar district and the crisis in the capital will be resolved now, Delhi Jal Board vice chairman said on Tuesday.

He said Haryana released Delhi's legitimate share of water after the DJB moved the Supreme Court and held several rounds of talks with the officials of the neighbouring state.

In 1996, the apex court had told the and other states to share Yamuna's water to ensure that there was no shortage of drinking water in Delhi.

The water utility had on Sunday moved the SC seeking directions to the to release Delhi's share of water.

"The Haryana government on Tuesday released 16,000 cusecs of water which will reach Delhi in three to four days. After this, the water crisis in the capital will resolve and people will get clean drinking water," Chadha said. Cusec is a unit of flow (especially of water) equal to one cubic foot per second.

"We tried to build pressure on the Haryana government. We even filed a petition in the SC and held several rounds of talks with the officials of the neighbouring state," he added.

Chadha had earlier said Haryana had been withholding 120 MGD (million gallons per day) water belonging to Delhi, which led to a water crisis in the Union Territory.

He had said the water level at the Wazirabad pond had hit the lowest mark since 1965 and the river had dried up because of Haryana not releasing water.

DJB officials said the level at Wazirabad pond had come down from a normal level of 674.5 feet to 667 feet.

The water from Wazirabad pond is drawn for treatment at Wazirabad, Okhla and Chandrawal treatment plants. The treated water is then supplied to central, south and west Delhi.

The DJB supplies 935 MGD of water to city residents against the demand of 1,150 MGD.

At present, the capital has been receiving 479 MGD against 609 MGD from Haryana. Besides, it draws 90 MGD groundwater and receives 250 MGD from the Upper Ganga Canal.

Chadha had earlier said that with Haryana withholding 120 MGD water, the river has completely dried up and the operational capacity at various treatment plants has reduced by 40 to 50 per cent.

Water supply had been hit in central Delhi, south Delhi, west Delhi and the NDMC area where important institutions, including Rashtrapati Bhavan, Supreme Court, Prime Minister's Residence, embassies are located, he had said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Tuesday referred a fresh plea challenging the Delhi government's new Excise Policy 2021-22 to a bench which is already hearing another petition on the issue.

The fresh petition has challenged the policy on the ground that grant of 32 zonal licences for sale of Indian and foreign liquor was illegal and arbitrary.

When the matter came up for hearing, a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh said a similar plea was being heard by the bench headed by the Chief Justice which had declined to grant any interim relief at this stage and propriety demands that this bench should not hear the petition.

On the request of the counsel for the petitioner, the court listed the matter before the bench headed by the Chief Justice for Wednesday.

The court was hearing a petition by Ashiana Towers and Promoters Pvt Ltd, seeking to quash the June 28 e-tender notice of Delhi government, prescribing the procedure to be followed for inviting zone wise electronic bids for grant of 32 zonal licences of retail vends of liquor for supply of Indian and foreign liquor brands in the capital.

The plea challenged the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 alleging that it was illegal, unfair, arbitrary and violative of the Delhi Excise Act, 2009.

The was represented through standing counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi.

On Monday, a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh had refused to stay the new Excise Policy which, according to retail shop owners, will lead to cartelisation.

The court had issued notice to the on the petition and stay application and asked the authorities to respond to it while listing the plea for August 9.

The plea was filed by Readymade Plaza India Pvt Ltd, a group of retail liquor vendors who said they were running retail liquor vends in Delhi for the past 15 years.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the petitioner, had said by the new Excise Policy, Delhi will be divided into 32 zones and a person can bid for two zones and the policy will lead to complete monopoly of the few big players.

All small retail vendors are left out. The entire thing is monopolised by the for big people. This is the complete exclusion of small people who were having licences for the last various years.

Cartelisation is eminent here, he had argued.

The counsel had said the minimum reserved price for one zone licence is around Rs 200 crore due to which the existing retail vendors are completely out of competition.

The plea had said the respondents divided Delhi in 32 zones, having 9-10 wards in each zone, for the purposes of issuance of liquor licence. Respondents have also introduced a new category of zonal licence, L-7Z, whereby holders of these licences shall run the retail vends. The scheme of the impugned Excise Policy is such that one L-7Z licence for each zone shall be granted and licence holder has to mandatorily run 18 retail vends.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The (IAF) is likely to operationalise its second squadron of the combat aircraft by the end of July and it will be based in Hasimara air base in West Bengal, officials said on Tuesday.

The first squadron of the jets is stationed at Ambala Air Force station in Haryana. The first batch of five jets arrived in India on July 29, 2020, nearly four years after India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to procure 36 of the aircraft at a cost of around Rs 59,000 crore.

Currently, the IAF has around 25 Rafale jets and the remaining ordered aircraft are expected to be delivered by 2022.

The first squadron will look after Pakistan border on western frontier and the northern frontier. The second squadron will look after the eastern frontier of India, the officials mentioned.

The formal induction ceremony of the Rafale fleet had taken place at Ambala on September 10 last year. Later on, other batches of the fighter jet also arrived in India.

The IAF officials said the second Rafale squadron would be operationalised at the next main operating base at Hasimara by July-end.

A squadron comprises around 18 aircraft.

The Rafale jets are India's first major acquisition of fighter planes in 23 years after the Sukhoi jets were imported from Russia.

The Rafale jets are capable of carrying a range of potent weapons. European missile maker MBDA's Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missile, Scalp cruise missile and MICA weapons system will be the mainstay of the weapons package of the Rafale jets.

The IAF is also procuring a new generation medium-range modular air-to-ground weapon system Hammer to integrate with the Rafale jets.

Hammer (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range) is a precision-guided missile developed by French defence major Safran.

The missile was originally designed and manufactured for the French Air Force and Navy.

Meteor is the next generation of BVR air-to-air missile designed to revolutionise air-to-air combat. The weapon has been developed by MBDA to combat common threats facing the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Sweden.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday predicted thunderstorms with light to moderate intensity rain over parts of Delhi and its adjoining areas.

"Thunderstorm with light to moderate intensity rain and winds with speed of 20-40 Km per hour would occur over and adjoining areas of few places of South-West Delhi, South Delhi, NCR ( Gurugram, Manesar, Ballabhgarh), Rohtak, Meham, Jhajjar, Farukhnagar, Nuh, Sohana, Palwal in Haryana and Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh during next 2 hours," the tweeted.

Meanwhile, K Jenamani, a senior scientist at India Meteorological Department had informed that the weather conditions continue to remain favourable for the arrival of monsoon in the national capital.

After the previous prediction about the monsoon proved to be wrong, the did not announce any further date for the arrival of monsoon in Delhi.

"Monsoon has covered most parts of Rajasthan and some parts of Punjab. For Delhi, conditions continue to remain favourable and we are monitoring the situation. Monsoon is active in Peninsular India, parts of North India," said the senior scientist of

The senior scientist at IMD also clarified that predictions are not 100 per cent accurate, and the Meteorological Department is monitoring the conditions.

He said that IMD will study why the arrival of was delayed in Delhi despite favourable conditions.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Days after a major reshuffle of the Modi ministry, the government reconstituted the powerful cabinet committees, bringing in Union ministers Smriti Irani, Bhupender Yadav and as the new members of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs headed by the prime minister.

Union ministers Arjun Munda, Virendra Kumar, Kiren Rijiju and Anurag Thakur have been included in the rejigged Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, according to a notification issued by the Cabinet Secretariat last night.

However, there has been no change in the composition of the country's highest decision-making body on security affairs -- the Cabinet Committee on Security -- and the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, which takes call on all important government appointments in the rank of joint secretary and above.

The members of the Cabinet Committee on Security are Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

The two-member Appointments Committee of the Cabinet comprises the prime minister and the home minister.

The reconstituted Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs comprises the prime minister, and Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Narendra Singh Tomar, Smriti Irani, Piyush Goyal, Pralhad Joshi, Sarbananda Sonowal, Giriraj Singh, Mansukh Mandaviya and Bhupender Yadav.

Irani, Sonowal, Giriraj Singh, Mandaviya and Yadav are the additions while former ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Harsh Vardhan are no longer part of it following their exclusion from the ministry.





The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has nine members: PM Modi, Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Narendra Singh Tomar, S Jaishankar, Piyush Goyal and Dharmendra Pradhan, according to the notification.

Earlier, former ministers D V Sadananda Gowda and Ravi Shankar Prasad were also part of this committee.

The members of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs are: Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, Narendra Singh Tomar, Arjun Munda, Pralhad Joshi, Virendra Kumar, Kiren Rijiju and Anurag Thakur.

Union Ministers of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal and V Muraleedharan are special invitees to the committe.

Earlier, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Prakash Javadekar were also part of it.

The rejigged Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth comprises PM Modi, Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Narayan Rane, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Rane, Scindia and Vaishnaw are the new members.

The members of the Cabinet Committee on Employment and Skill Development are: PM Modi, Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, Narendra Singh Tomar, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Hardeep Singh Puri and Bhupender Yadav.

The special invitees in this committee are: Nitin Gadkari, RCP Singh and G Kishan Reddy.

Ashwini Vaishnaw and Bhupender Yadav are the new members while RCP Singh and G Kishan Reddy are new special invitees.

Earlier, former union ministers Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' and Santosh Kumar Gangwar and union minister Mahendra Nath Pandey were members of this committee while and Prahalad Singh Patel were special invitees.

The members of the Cabinet Committee on Accommodation are Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal and Hardeep Singh Puri while Jitendra Singh is a special invitee.

Earlier, Puri was a special invitee.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The High Court,



which is hearing India managing director Manish Maheshwari's plea against the notice issued by the Uttar Pradesh police to appear before them in person, said on Tuesday that it will dictate its order on July 20.

During the hearing today, Justice G Narendar said he would dictate the order next Tuesday.

The judge said he would go through the citations in detail with regard to the territorial jurisdiction of police.

The Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) police issued the notice under Section 41-A of the CrPC on June 21 asking him to report at the Loni Border police station at 10.30am on June 24.

Maheshwari had moved the High Court as he lives in Bengaluru in

On June 24, the High Court, in an interim order, restrained the Ghaziabad police from initiating any coercive action against him.

Justice Narendar had also maintained that if the police wanted to examine him, they could do so through virtual mode.

The Ghaziabad police, on June 15, booked Inc, Communications India Pvt.Ltd.(Twitter India), news website The Wire, journalists Mohammed Zubair and Rana Ayyub, besides Congress leaders Salman Nizami, Maskoor Usmani, Shama Mohamed and writer Saba Naqvi.

They were booked over the circulation of a video in which an elderly man, Abdul Shamad Saifi, alleges he was thrashed by some young men who also asked him to chant ''Jai Shri Ram'' on June 5.

According to police, the video was shared to cause communal unrest.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The has told the US digital forensics firm Arsenal Consulting, that claimed evidence had been 'planted' on electronic devices of some accused persons in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, had no "locus standi" to give its opinion without a court order.

The made the submission in an affidavit filed in the HC on July 1 which was taken on record on Tuesday. The affidavit was filed opposing a writ petition of activist Rona Wilson, one of the accused persons, seeking that the FIR and the chargesheet against him in the case be quashed. Wilson is one of the accused persons, on whose computer, an incriminating letter was "planted", as per an Arsenal report released earlier this year. In its affidavit, the state government has said that while conducting raids at the homes of Wilson and other accused in 2018, the Pune police, the then prosecuting agency in the case (which was later handed over to the NIA), had followed due process.

The state government said that Wilson had not been singled out or targeted by the police. It further said Wilson had claimed in his plea that someone had hacked into his computer and planted incriminating material.

It was, therefore, for Wilson to show the court who was behind the alleged act of tampering with evidence, the affidavit said. "The contentions raised in the petition (of Wilson) are all based on the report of Arsenal Consulting. This report does not form part of the chargesheets filed by the or the present respondent (Pune police)," the state said in the affidavit. It further said since the Arsenal report was not part of the chargesheets, it could not be relied upon by the HC. "When trial is pending and the matter is sub-judice, Arsenal has no locus standi (right or ability to bring legal action to a court) to give such opinion without permission of the honourable court," the affidavit said. The state government urged the HC to dismiss Wilson's plea, saying it was based entirely on "disputed questions of fact." Wilson and his co-accused, professor Shoma Sen, filed two pleas earlier this year through senior counsels Indira Jaising and Anand Grover, citing the Arsenal report and seeking that the charges against them be quashed.

Their pleas were listed for hearing in the HC on Monday but was adjourned to July 26 by a bench of Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar since the petitioners' lawyers were yet to submit copies of the compilations and judgements they wished the court to go through. Earlier this year, the had filed two similar affidavits opposing the pleas filed by Wilson and Sen.

The is yet to file its reply to Sen's plea. Over a dozen activists and academicians have been named as accused in the case that relates to the Elgar Parishad conclave organised in Pune on December 31, 2017.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Maharashtra Congress president has alleged that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government is keeping an eye on his activities.

Patole also claimed that MVA allies and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) feel their ground is slipping from beneath their feet due to Congress' growing influence in Maharashtra.

Speaking at a meeting of party workers on July 10, the Maharashtra Congress chief said, "A few days back, I raised the issue of my phone tapping in Assembly. The investigation is ordered. They are not letting me live happily, they would not let me live happily. They have the home ministry with them, they have chief minister post as well."

"Report on my activities (from phone tapping) goes directly to CM Uddhav Thackeray and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar. Now I am here, this report will go to the CM and the Home Minister at 9 am in the morning. They get a report every morning as to where all meetings are happening where protests are taking place, they have all the information," he said.

Without naming any of MVA allies, Patole said some people are stabbing them in the back.

"When I became state congress president and I went to Delhi, I met Sonia Gandhi she told me Maharashtra belongs to Congress you have to bring it back," he said.

"The ground beneath their feet is slipping as the Congress is resurrecting itself. They will do all this, they will try to put us in a cage somewhere. We are also in alliance with Maha Vikas Aghadi government but some people are stabbing us in the back," he added.

The has constituted a three-member committee headed by DGP Maharashtra to inquire into allegations of phone tapping by Congress leader

The committee set up on Friday and headed by Director General of Police Sanjay Pandey has been asked to investigate the matter and submit its report within three months.

Patole had earlier alleged that phones of several politicians and bureaucrats were tapped between 2014-2019 during the BJP-led government in the state.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Indian Fugitive jeweller Mehul Choksi, who is wanted in India in Rs 13,500 crore Punjab Bank (PNB) fraud case, was allowed to travel back to Antigua and Barbuda after he was granted bail by a Dominica High Court.

The latest court order comes as a setback for Indian agencies that had moved court in Dominica to get Choksi repatriated to India.

Choksi's lawyer Vijay Aggarwal, told IANS, "Yes, Choksi has been granted bail on medical grounds."

He said, "Dominica courts finally upheld the rule of law and rights of a human to be treated in the medical facilities of his choice. And all attempts by various agencies did not bear fruits. There is a solace in saying that all clever foxes end up as fur coats."

The court has asked Choksi to deposit Eastern Caribbean dollars 10,000 (around Rs 2.75 lakh) as surety for the bail.

His legal team approached the Dominica high court last week seeking relief on the ground that his health was deteriorating and he needed urgent medical attention.

Justice Abroad's Director and London-based international barrister Michael Polak is acting for Choksi as part of his legal team said, "The High Court of Dominica granted Choksi bail so that he can return to Antigua for medical treatment and adjourned his judicial review application and the criminal proceedings against him for unlawful entry."

He said that Choksi is suffering from a number of ailments including cerebrovascular disease, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, and blood dyscrasias. He is also suffering from a subdural haematoma, the collection of blood between the skull and the surface of the brain.

"Dominican doctors expressed concern that Choksi's current health problems are serious and reported that he is in need of the urgent medical assistance of a Neurologist and Neurosurgical Consultant and that this care is not available in Dominica," Polak said.

Polak said, "We are very pleased that the Dominican Court has made the principled and humanitarian decision to release Mr Choksi so that he can access specialist medical care in Antigua."

He stated that Choksi has been through a very difficult few weeks and has been subject to an ordeal which has had a detrimental effect on him physically. "It is the right outcome that he be able to return to Antigua, where he can access the medical attention that he requires and be with his family," he added.

Choksi's bail plea was supposed to be heard on July 23 but was heard on July 12 on medical grounds. His lawyers had moved the court pleading that he was suffering from a neurological disorder for which he needed treatment in Antigua.

The bail order comes amid allegations from Choksi's family and lawyers that the jeweller was abducted from Jolly Harbour area of Antigua by agents of Indian agencies and forcibly taken to Dominica on May 23.

Choksi is facing a case of extradition in Antigua on India's request.

Choksi had gone missing on May 23 from Antigua and Barbuda, sparking a massive manhunt. He was later captured in Dominica where he faced charges of entering the country illegally.

Choksi had filed a case in the high court of Dominica, seeking to quash the proceedings against him alleging that his arrest was "dictated" by representatives of the Indian government.

The case was filed against the Immigration Minister of the Caribbean nation, its police chief and the investigating officer of the case.

Choksi pleaded that the decision to charge him for illegal entry violated the law and, accordingly, was null and void.

Choksi's lawyer had alleged that their client was kidnapped and forcibly taken to Dominica.

Choksi is wanted in India by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate.

--IANS

aks/skp/

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Diamantaire will "only" return to Dominica to face trial for illegal entry into that country when a doctor "certifies" that he is fit to stand trial, the media there reported citing conditions laid down by the Dominica High Court while granting him bail.

In a major setback to Indian efforts to bring him from the Caribbean country, Dominica High Court Judge Bernie Stephenson allowed the businessman to return to Antigua and Barbuda, where he has been living as a citizen since 2018 after leaving India, to seek medical advice from neurologist Hayden Osborne at the Mount St. John's Medical Centre, Dominica News Online reported.

Choksi is having a clot in brain besides other health issues such as diabetes and hypertension, his legal team has submitted.

The High Court also ordered that Choksi must intimate the court in the case of any change of specialist and his address in Antigua where he was going to stay.

The judge said Choksi will only return to Dominica when a doctor certifies that he is fit to stand trial, the news website reported.

Choksi has sought a judicial review of case of illegal entry into Dominica brought upon him by the local police and decision of a minister there to declare him a prohibited immigrant.

The matter has now been deferred till January 26, 2022.

His trial for illegal entry before a magistrate has also been stayed.

The High Court also ordered he must notify the court of his address in Dominica once he returns and his bail will be reviewed within 48 hours.

The hearing of bail was held as lawyers intimated the court of his worsening health.

The doctors recommend an urgent review of his medical condition by a neurologist and a neurosurgical consultant.

"The services are not currently available on the island. All courtesies extended to him would be greatly appreciated," the CT scan report dated June 29 signed by doctors Yerandy Galle Gutierrez and Rene Gilbert Veranes of Princess Margaret Hospital of Dominica said.

The High Court order has come as a major jolt to Indian efforts to bring back Choksi, wanted in Rs 13,500 crore scam in Punjab Bank, from Dominica where he was held for illegal entry after his mysterious disappearance from Antigua and Barbuda.

His lawyers had alleged that he was abducted from Antigua and Barbuda in an elaborate plot hatched by men of Indian origin and a mystery woman, named Barbara Jabarica, who had befriended him during last six months.

After news of Choksi being held in Dominica surfaced, India rushed a team of officials led by CBI DIG Sharda Raut to make every effort to bring him back on the basis of Interpol Red Notice against him.

His lawyer in London Michael Polak who filed a complaint with Scotland Yard said Choksi was removed from Antigua and Barbuda, where as a citizen he enjoys rights to approach the British Queen's Privy Council as last resort in cases on his citizenship and extradition, to Dominica where these rights are not available to him.

The effort was unsuccessful as an army of Choksi's top lawyers moved with an unprecedented agility to file a Habeas Corpus petition before the Dominica High Court which was admitted for hearing.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The long-awaited arrived in the national capital on Tuesday bringing with it waterlogged roads, traffic snarls in parts of the city and the familiar sight of snaking lines of vehicles stuck for interminable minutes.

Many officer-goers reported late for office and several people posted their plight through videos and photographs on social media, some seeking help from police.

There was heavy traffic at Dhaula Kuan with one commuter complaining he was stuck for almost 90 minutes (and counting), Azadpur and at the Cantt and Kalindi Kunj flyovers among other places.

"Azadpur was totally blocked. I was stuck there for 50 minutes while I was going to meet a client regarding a case. I somehow managed to make my way," said Rahul Tomar, an advocate who was going from Shahdara in east to the Rohini court.

Mukesh Shrivastav, who commutes from Laxmi Nagar in east to ITO, also reached office late.

I was coming from Laxmi Nagar to ITO. Generally, it takes around 15 minutes to reach my destination. Today, it took me double the time. The same thing happened to my colleague, said Shrivastava.

The southwest brought respite from the scorching heat with weather officials saying it was 16 days behind the usual date, making it the most delayed in 19 years.

Normally, the reaches Delhi by June 27 and covers the entire country by July 8. Last year, the wind system had reached the capital on June 25 and covered the entire country by June 29.

The had earlier said the monsoon would hit Delhi on June 15, which would have been 12 days early, but the wind system entered a "break" phase.
The health department has added a 'backlog' of 1,478 COVID-19 deaths, raising the fatality toll due to the viral infection in the state to 10,506.

While the BJP-led MP government said the fresh data release on Monday showed it was functioning in a "transparent" manner, the opposition Congress said this has vindicated its claim about the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government "hiding" the COVID-19 death figures.

The Congress also demanded resignation of state Home Minister Narottam Mishra.

The MP health department in a bulletin on Monday said according to information collected from various districts as on July 12, the COVID-19 death count in the state has reached 10,506 after adding 1,478 "backlog" fatalities.

It said 208 of these deaths were reported among patients kept under home isolation, 762 deaths in private hospitals and 508 people who died at places other than their native districts.

Earlier, these deaths were not reported in the proper format, the bulletin said.

State Medical Education Minister Vishvas Sarang on Tuesday told reporters that the release of fresh data shows the "transparency of our government".

When the pandemic was at its peak, the fatalities occurred in private hospitals and the numbers of those who died in places other than their native districts were not reported. Besides, the deaths in home isolation were not reported. So, the data has been reconciled with these 1,478 deaths, Sarang said.

However, state Congress media cell vice president Bhupendra Gupta said the release of fresh death figures has proved his party's allegation of the state government "hiding" the data.

MP Congress chief Kamal Nath had alleged that the state government was hiding the death figures of victims. These death figures are more than the fatalities declared during the second wave of the pandemic in March, April and May, he said.

Gupta sought resignation of state Home Minister Narottam Mishra, claiming the BJP leader had said he would step down if the allegations of Congress were found correct.

On the other hand, Sarang refuted all the allegations, saying the Congress was sensing something "fishy in everything" because it believed in hiding the facts.

"Our government's functioning is transparent," the BJP leader asserted.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
More than one crore eligible beneficiaries have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in till date, Health Minister said on Tuesday.

The minister also congratulated the health department and 'corona warriors' for the "big achievement".

So far, over 4.14 lakh healthcare workers and more than 3.79 lakh frontline workers have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in Haryana, Vij told reporters here.

"Similarly, more than 26.68 lakh people above 60 years, over 27 lakh people between 45 years and 60 years and more than 38.91 lakh people in 18-44 age group have been vaccinated," he said.

"Thus, so far, over one crore beneficiaries have been vaccinated (in the state)," he said.

Vij said this is a "big achievement" for the state government and the vaccination programme will continue till all the eligible beneficiaries have been vaccinated.

According to health department data, out of the total beneficiaries vaccinated, nearly 26 lakh were from Gurugram and Faridabad, both of which fall in the National Capital Region.

While 15,89,653 people have been vaccinated in Gurugram, 9,91,752 have been vaccinated in Faridabad, the data showed.

In Vij's home district Ambala, 6,96,546 beneficiaries, the third-highest after Gurugram and Faridabad, have been vaccinated so far.

In response to a query about the possibility of a third wave of the pandemic, Vij said the state has made all necessary preparations for it and a monitoring committee at the state and district level has been constituted.

"The state has issued instructions to set up oxygen plants in all civil hospitals and private hospitals with a capacity of more than 50 beds. Similarly, instructions have also been issued for the augmentation of manpower by filling up posts of doctors and nurses etc. so that in case a third wave Covid comes, it can be dealt with efficiently," he said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister will interact with the chief ministers of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Maharashtra and Kerala on July 16 to discuss the COVID-19 situation in these states.

These are among the states where the Covid infection numbers have seen an increase in several districts or have not in general seen a dip like they have in most other states.

Modi on Tuesday interacted with the chief ministers of eight North-Eastern states, another region of concern, through video conferencing, and said the vaccination drive needs to be continuously ramped up to deal with the pandemic.

He also said that it is a matter of concern that big crowds are thronging hill stations and market areas without masks and social distancing.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
has not received COVID-19



vaccines proportionate to its population, resulting in its acute shortage, Chief Minister told Prime Minister on Tuesday and sought a special allocation of one crore vaccine doses to correct the 'imbalance.'



Till July 8, 2021, received only 29,18,110 vaccine doses from the Centre for people in the 18-44 years category and 1,30,08,440 for the above 45 years category.

As the allocation of vaccines is very inadequate, the state is finding it extremely difficult to meet the huge demand for vaccination throughout Tamil Nadu, Stalin said in a letter to Modi.

"The success of my government's efforts to eliminate vaccine hesitancy and make the vaccination drive a mass movement now squarely rests on the doses made available to us."



The union health ministry apprised the Supreme Court that states have been allocated vaccines in proportion to the population between 18 and 44 years of age to ensure equitable distribution, he said.

However, has not received vaccines proportionate to its population size, resulting in the current acute shortage of vaccines, he said.

"The number of vaccine doses provided to our state is only 302 per thousand eligible population.

This is very low when compared to the vaccine doses made available to comparable states like Gujarat, Karnataka and Rajasthan, which are at 533, 493 and 446 respectively."



Requesting the Prime Minister's immediate personal intervention to correct the 'imbalance' in vaccine allocation for Tamil Nadu, he sought a "special allocation of one crore vaccine doses, so that we are able to vaccinate the targeted population in the shortest possible time.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Tuesday refused to entertain the plea of NIA seeking cancellation of bail granted to 12 accused by the in the sensational smuggling case in which 30 kg of 24 carat gold worth Rs 14.82 crore were seized at Thiruvananthapuram airport on July 5, last year by Customs department.

However, the apex court agreed to examine the legal question arising out of the high court's verdict in which it was held that the offence of gold smuggling, simplicitor, is covered under the Customs Act and will not fall within the definition of terrorist act under section 15 (1) (a) (iiia) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

They (accused) all are employees of the government. We will not enter into bail cancellation aspect. If you want then we can leave the legal question open, a bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and justices A S Bopanna and Hrishikesh Roy said.

Additional Solicitor General K M Natraj, appearing for NIA, said besides the grant of bail, the high court has interpreted the definition of terrorist act in relation to smuggling and this aspect needed to be considered by the top court.

The law officer said one appeal on the issue is also pending adjudication in the top court.

Why should we issue notice on another SLP (special leave petition) when we are already examining it (legal question), the bench said.

However, the top court then issued notice to the 12 accused, who have been granted bail in the case, and agreed to examine the legal aspect with regard to interpretation of terrorist act under UAPA.

The NIA, probing the terror angle in the through diplomatic channel, had initially named Sarith, Swapna Suresh, Sandeep Nair and Fazil Fareed as the accused in the case which relates to the seizure of 30 kg of 24 carat gold worth Rs 14.82 crore at Thiruvananthapuram international airport on July 5, last year by the Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate, Kochi.

The consignment was camouflaged as a diplomatic baggage sent from United Arab Emirates (UAE), the agency had alleged.

During the course of the investigation, NIA has arraigned at least 30 others as accused and arrested many of them.

Besides NIA, the Customs and Enforcement Directorate are also probing the case of smuggling of gold through diplomatic baggage addressed to the UAE consulate at Thiruvananthapuram since November, 2019.

A special NIA court had granted conditional bail to accused in the case, observing that there was no prima facie material to show that they had any links with terror outfits.

The NIA went in appeal before the which, on February 18, dismissed the pleas, saying, We are ...of the view that the trial Judge is right in holding that the materials presented before the court at the time of considering the bail application did not reveal prima facie that the accused persons released on bail are involved in a terrorist act, as defined under Section 15 of the UA(P) Act.

The high court dealt in details the facts of the case and the definition of terrorist acts under the UAPA.

Sum and substance of the ... discussion is that by applying the above mentioned well known rules of interpretation of statutes, we are unable to hold that smuggling of gold simplicitor will fall within section 15 (1) (a) (iiia) of UAPA.

In other words, clearly covered by the provisions of the Customs Act will not fall within the definition of terrorist act and Section 15 of UA(P) Act unless evidence is brought out to show that it is done with the intent to threaten or it is likely to threaten the economic security or monetary stability of India, the high court had held.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Tuesday asked the Centre to share in a sealed cover its office memorandum pertaining to the deportation of from

Justice Rekha Palli passed the order after she was informed by central government counsel Dev Prakash Bhardwaj that the document was confidential in nature.

What is so confidential? Just because you appear for the Union you have the habit of saying confidential, the court remarked.

Bhardwaj then submitted that the document could be shared with the court in a sealed cover, although he himself had not seen it.

The court was hearing a petition by three people claiming to be Bangladeshi nationals who seek to be repatriated to their country.

The three, one of whom is a minor, assert that it is unclear as to how they reached here and were presently residing in a night shelter.

Advocate Kamlesh Kumar Mishra, representing them, submitted that his clients may be allowed leave and the petition be disposed of.

The court, however, responded, This is not so easy. I can't pass such a simple order.

Bhardwaj said that there was a procedure to be followed in such cases and they have to first get an exit permit from the Embassy of

In its affidavit filed in response to the petition, the Home Ministry and Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO), Delhi, stated that since the foreign nationals here do not possess any travel documents such as visa or any document to prove their identity, they were who could be repatriated to their home country only after their nationality is confirmed.

The affidavit further informs that task of detection and identification of from in the capital was assigned to Delhi Police.

Explaining the procedure for deportation, the affidavit submits that after receiving such Bangladeshi nationals, their movement is restricted and once arrangement for repatriation is made, they are sent to West Bengal where they are handed over to Indian Border Security Force for their passage through the immigration borders.

It is also stated that since India shares a porous border with Bangladesh, there is an influx of illegal migrants from there and the procedure adopted for their repatriation is different and simpler from that of illegal migrants of other nationalities.

FRRO, Delhi being the civil authority has been repatriating illegal migrants of Bangladesh as per instructions issued by Ministry of Home Affairs... The above mentioned memorandums are secret in nature and can be produced in a sealed cover whenever ordered/required.., the affidavit reads.

On an earlier occasion, Delhi Police had informed the court that the three persons in question in the petition were not found to be involved in any criminal or other case.

The court allowed Mishra to file a short response to centre's affidavit. The matter would be heard next on August 2.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The covered the entire country on Tuesday after a delay of five days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The usually covers the entire country on July 8.

The monsoon covered its last outposts - the desert town of Jaisalmer and Ganganagar in Rajasthan - on Monday but evaded Delhi.

On Tuesday, several parts of the NCR received following which the IMD declared monsoon's arrival in Delhi.

In association with the continued prevalence of moist easterly winds from the Bay of Bengal in the lower levels since past four days, enhanced cloud cover and scattered to fairly widespread rainfall, the has further advanced into remaining parts of the country including Delhi, remaining parts of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan," the IMD said.

The Southwest Monsoon has covered entire country on July 13, against the normal date of July 8, the IMD said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A surge of 28 new Covid cases in Sitapur district and 20 new cases in Sultanpur have become a cause of worry for the government, especially since Covid cases in all other districts are showing an appreciable downtrend.

The cases were recorded on Monday.

A team of experts has been sent to these two districts to assess the reasons for the surge in cases.

Health teams from the surveillance unit have reached Sitapur and Sultanpur to collect details. Samples of patients will also be sent for genome sequencing.

Nodal officer Sitapur Dr P.K. Singh said, "The patients belong to three different areas. None of them has a travel history. Each of the 28 cases was asymptomatic. In fact, some of them were attendants of patients brought to the health facility. Strangely, they tested negative."

In Sultanpur, 25 cases have surfaced in two days.

Chief Medical Officer Dr D.K. Tripathi said 10 of these 25 belong to the same family while others are scattered over five villages.

"The source of infection in the family of 10 is a youth who returned from Kolhapur while the others belong to other villages. Containment and contact activities were carried out in all places," he said.

Meanwhile, 96 new cases were reported from 33 districts till Monday night while 42 districts recorded zero cases.

The new cases took the total to 17,07,446 of which 16,83,170 (or 98.6 per cent) have recovered. The state recorded two Covid deaths taking the total loss of lives to 22,700.

There are 1,576 active cases now with three districts having zero active cases and another three having more than 100 active cases.

--IANS

amita/dpb

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Japanese electric vehicle maker Terra Motors Corporation on Tuesday said it has joined hands with FCC Corporation to collaborate on the development of futuristic for global markets while utilising Indian operations as the base for the activity.

Japan-based FCC is a global market leader in motorcycle clutches, with 22 production facilities spread across various countries.

In building a business foundation in Asia, we will provide two customer values: EV bodies that are more economical than gasoline vehicles and brand value that evokes a new lifestyle.

To this end, we aim to increase new business value through co-creation with services and businesses, such as the advancement of vehicle technology, the improvement of convenience through innovative Internet of Things (IoT), and shared mobility," Terra Motors India CEO Akihiro Ueda said in a statement.

The company is aiming to increase new business value through co-creation with services and businesses, such as shared mobility, he added.

For Terra Motors R&D is topmost priority especially for emerging markets like India where it has a stronghold in the three-wheeler (3Ws) EVs, the company stated.

With the government aggressively implementing measures to expand the use of EVs to address social issues such as air pollution as well as to promote economic growth, the light-mobility market is experiencing rapid EV expansion.

The collaboration with FCC comes in the light of Terra Motors' active work towards building the foundation for a sustainable mobility industry globally.

Christened as Terra Motors Next - the focus of the brand is to build an ecosystem for e-mobility in India and globally for greater good of the society.

Commenting on the tie up, FCC President Yoshitaka Saito said both the companies can contribute by combining their individual strengths.

The partners would look at the development of an electric power unit suitable for the market to accelerate the commercialisation of light mobility options and to respond to the future shift to EVs in the Asian region, he added.

Tokyo-headquartered Terra Motors is the leader in electric two and three-wheelers in Japan. It also has presence in various Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam and the Philippines.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The on Tuesday said the third wave prediction needs to be taken seriously and not treated as some casual weather update since its prevention lies in the hands of people.

It is not like we can go for a vacation before monsoons. This is a continuous fight between the virus and the human being. What we fail to understand is that adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour or lack of it is what will prevent or cause any future waves, said Lav Agarwal, joint secretary,

The government, while sharing visuals of crowding in market places and tourist hotspots in Delhi, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra, said a third wave may be caused by such behaviour. Fifty-five districts in India are reporting more than 10 per cent positivity for the week ended July 13 while 73 are reporting over 100 cases.

Nationally, the curve has declined to around 31,400 daily cases as of Tuesday morning, globally the pandemic seems far from over. From a peak of over 900,000 on April 29, the global case trajectory is seeing another upsurge to around 400,000 daily cases. A third wave can be seen in the world...The wave is at 40 per cent of the last peak and we have to protect our country from the next wave, said V K Paul, chairman of the Covid task force and member-health, NITI Aayog.

Meanwhile, government on Tuesday cancelled the Kanwar Yatra for the second year in a row, sources said.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has urged that only a minimum number of people should participate in the annual Kanwar Yatra yatra and directed strict implementation of the COVID-19 protocol, an official spokesman said here on Tuesday.

The state government, which has allowed the yatra from July 25 despite concerns raised in various quarters over the risk posed by such events in triggering a possible third wave of the pandemic, said a negative RT-PCR test report can be made compulsory for pilgrims, if required.

Every year, tens of thousands of 'Kanwariyas' (devotees of Lord Shiva) from northern states travel on foot or by other means to collect water from River Ganga at Haridwar to offer at Shiva temples in their areas as part of the yatra.

The traditional Kanwar Yatra will be taken out as per the COVID protocol, the official spokesman said.

"The RT-PCR negative report could also be made necessary for the yatra, if required, the spokesman said.

In view of the COVID-19 situation, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed that Kanwar Sanghs should be requested for the participation of a minimum number of people in the yatra, the spokesman said.

He also said that necessary guidelines should be issued for travel by holding a dialogue with the states of Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttarakhand.

In a meeting with all the divisional commissioners of the state and senior officers of police zones last week, the chief minister had reviewed the preparations and security arrangements for the yatra and directed the officials to reach out to Kanwar Sanghs to ensure that there is no unnecessary crowding.

"Complete adherence to the COVID protocol should be ensured. There should not be any hesitation regarding the safe and successful operation of Kanwar yatra," the UP CM had said



He said special attention needs to be paid regarding cleanliness and proper lighting in all Shiv temples, shivalayas and travel routes.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
FDA warns of potential rare nerve complication with Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine

The US Food and Drug Administration updated the label on Johnson & Johnson's Monday to warn of the possible increased risk of a rare neurological complication called Guillain-Barre syndrome. While the FDA said it had not established the vaccine could cause the syndrome, it noted an increase in reports of the sometimes paralyzing condition. Read more

Let's look at the global statistics

Global infections: 187,355,083

Global deaths: 4,041,027

Vaccine doses administered: 3,479,804,410

Nations with most cases: US (33,890,833), India (30,874,376), Brazil (19,106,971), France (5,875,987), Russia (5,762,211).

Source: John Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center(https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html)

Chinese vaccine producers sign COVAX agreements

Chinese vaccine producers Sinovac and Sinopharm have signed on to global vaccine sharing scheme Covax, which aims to distribute vaccines to poorer countries. The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (Gavi) said it would make 110 million doses of the vaccines available as part of the scheme. Covax has agreements with the manufacturers of 11 vaccines and plans to provide 2 billion doses across the world by early 2022. Read more

Sydney's Covid cases ease but lockdown extension still looms

Australian authorities reported a slight slowdown in new Covid-19 cases in on Tuesday, but may still extend a lockdown in the country's largest city to contain the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. Read more

Doctors warn of devastating consequences of lifting Covid rules in England

Senior doctors have warned of potentially devastating consequences after Boris Johnson confirmed on Monday that he would press ahead with lifting most remaining Covid restrictions in England on 19 July. The prime minister urged extreme caution for the final step of the roadmap, which will mean nightclubs can reopen, social distancing rules will be abandoned and mask-wearing will no longer be legally enforceable. Read more
The BHIM- platform has stood out as an effective payment instrument during the lockdown, facilitating 22 billion transactions in 2020-21, Finance Minister said at the launch of the home-grown platform in

Transactions totaling Rs 41 trillion were undertaken seamlessly during the Covid-19 lockdown on BHIM-UPI, Sitharaman added.

Particularly the pandemic year has been the strong point for BHIM-UPI, Sitharaman said. In the five years since its launch in India, more than 100 million QR codes have been deployed, she added.

UPI-based transactions hit an all time high of 2.81 billion transactions in June amounting to Rs 5.47 trillion, over 11 per cent higher than May 2021, and witnessing an 88 per cent jump from June 2020.

Earlier today, National Payment Corporation of India announced that its international arm, NPCI International Payments Ltd, has partnered with the Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) of for implementing BHIM QR-based payments in the neighboring country.

It is a proud moment for India that we are sharing (the platform) with Bhutan, and will be very happy that it comes of help to tourists and others, Sitharaman said.

The Royal Monetary Authority of (RMA), the neighboring nations central bank, will ensure the participating NPCI mobile application through QR transactions is accepted at all RMA acquired merchants in the country. Bhutan will also become the only country to both issue and accept RuPay cards, said a statement by NPCI.

The launch will benefit more than 200,000 tourists from India who travel to Bhutan each year. With this launch, Bhutan will become the first country to adopt Unified Payment Interface (UPI) standards for its QR deployment. Bhutan will also become the only country to both issue and accept RuPay cards. India and Bhutan have already enabled inter-operability in acceptance of Rupay cards in both countries in two phases. The first includes acceptance of Rupay cards issued in India at Bhutan-based terminals, and acceptance of cards issued in Bhuran at Indian terminals in the second phase.

Launched in 2016, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is an instant real-time payment system that allows users to transfer money across multiple bank accounts without sharing details such as account number.

In April 2020, NPCI International Payments was launched to expand the homegrown UPI platform, and card payment network Rupay in other countries.
External Affairs Minister on Tuesday met his Afghan counterpart Mohammad Haneef Atmar here and discussed the situation in the war-torn country.

Jaishankar arrived in the Tajik capital on Tuesday for a two-day visit to attend the meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council of Foreign Ministers and the SCO Contact Group on

"Began my Dushanbe visit by meeting with Afghan FM @MHaneefAtmar. Appreciate his update on recent developments. Looking forward to the meeting of the SCO Contact Group on tomorrow," Jaishankar tweeted.

The SCO contact group meeting on assumes significance as it comes amidst growing global concerns over Taliban fighters rapidly seizing control of a large number of areas in Afghanistan.

India has evacuated around 50 diplomats and security personnel from its consulate in Kandahar in a military aircraft in the wake of intense fighting between Afghan forces and Taliban militants.

Afghanistan has witnessed a series of terror attacks in the last few weeks as the US looked to complete the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan by August-end, ending a nearly two-decade of its military presence in the war-ravaged country.

India has been a major stakeholder in the peace and stability of Afghanistan. It has already invested nearly USD 3 billion in aid and reconstruction activities in the country.

India has been supporting a national peace and reconciliation process which is Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The government is likely to appoint a National Coordinator to ensure cohesive and quicker decision making among multiple organisations that are handling maritime issues in India, officials said on Tuesday.

China's approach to the Indo-Pacific region during the last couple of years has become a major talking point among leading global powers. India and China have also been locked in a military standoff at multiple friction points in eastern Ladakh since May last year.

Officials said a retired or serving Vice Admiral of the Indian Navy may be selected for the position of the coordinator.

The security coordinator will head the National Maritime Commission (NMC) -- which will coordinate with all organisations such as the Indian Navy, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), the ports and the shipping ministries -- and is likely to report to the National Security Advisor (NSA), they said.

The Kargil Review Committee, which was formed after the 1999 Kargil war, had recommended formation of an apex body that would manage country's maritime affairs by enforcing linkages between the Indian Navy, the ICG and other ministries and departments of the state governments or the central government.

The Indian Ocean, considered the backyard of the Indian Navy, is critical for India's strategic interests. China has been making concerted efforts to increase its presence in the region.

The Indian Navy has been ramping up its presence in the Indian Ocean to keep a hawk-eyed vigil over Chinese activities. It established the Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) in 2018 to effectively keep track of the shipping traffic as well as other critical developments in the region under a collaborative framework with like-minded countries.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The government is planning to liberalise the Market Development Assistance (MDA) policy to promote the use of alternative fertilizers, Fertiliser Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Tuesday



The MDA policy was earlier limited to city compost only, he said.

At present, the government gives MDA of Rs 1,500 per tonne in the form of subsidy for scaling up production and consumption of city compost made out from city waste.

"There were demands to expand this policy by incorporating organic waste like Biogas, Green Manure, organic compost of rural areas, solid/liquid slurry, etc," an official statement quoted Mandaviya as saying in a review meeting with ministry officials here.

The government is planning to liberalise MDA Policy to promote the use of alternative fertilizers. The expansion of this policy will fully complement the government's 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan,' he added.

In the meeting, the minister was apprised that Matix Plant in Durgapur, West Bengal having capacity of 12.7 lakh tonne will commence soon.

Mandaviya said the commencement of Ramagundam plant in Telangana has added 12.7 lakh tonne of indigenous urea production and this will help realize the vision of the Prime Minister to make India self-reliant in urea production.

The project should not only improve the availability of fertilizer to farmers but also give a boost to the economy in the region including development of infrastructure like roads, railways, ancillary industry etc. besides ensuring food security to the nation, he added.

Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Shri Bhagwanth Khuba and Fertiliser Secretary R K Chaturvedi were among other senior ministry officials present in the meeting.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
in will attract financial incentives ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20 lakh and housing societies will earn rebates in property tax for setting up charging stations as part of government's big e-mobility push.

The state government announced its electric vehicle policy on Tuesday offering sops for fresh purchases, scrappage and manufacturing of e-vehicles, components and batteries.

The state hopes EVs will make up 10 per cent of all new vehicle registrations by 2025. Separate targets have been laid down for two-wheelers (10 per cent), four-wheelers (5 per cent) in the electric segment. Fifteen per cent of state transport buses will be converted to electric by 2025.

With its new measures joins other states including Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in encouraging e-mobility.

"We have studied the EV policies of other states and countries before deciding our policy," state environment minister Aditya Thackeray said.





Sohinder Gill, Director General, Society of Manufacturers of (SMEV) said the government announcement is not only encouraging for the EV industry but also solidifies India's vision of becoming a global EV hub.

According to him, these much-awaited measures offer to bridge the chasm between awareness and consumer sentiment towards e-mobility.

We hold steadfast optimism towards states announcing a revised policy with a special focus on demand creation. An inclusive and pragmatic approach to E-mobility and charging infrastructure is imperative to boost innovation and increase uptake among consumers, said Gill.

All EVs in the state will be exempt from road tax and registration charges under the scheme. Electric two-wheelers and cars would get maximum incentive of Rs 10,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh, respectively while buses would be eligible for Rs 20 lakh. The number of vehicles getting incentives will be capped.

The government will encourage urban local bodies to give rebate in property tax to housing societies setting up charging stations and promote the manufacturing of vehicle batteries under the of central government.

"We want Maharashtra to become the leading destination of EV ecosystem through demand and supply side incentives," said Ashish Kumar Singh, additional chief secretary, Maharashtra government.



Tarun Mehta, CEO and Co-founder, Ather Energy also lauded the policy. The Maharashtra government's new EV Policy is extremely comprehensive and has taken into account the entire EV ecosystem. Early-bird incentive is a great mechanism to jump start things, as well as to drive festive sales."

In Maharashstra, Ather Energy has its retail outlets in key cities like Mumbai, Pune and plans to expand to Nashik and Nagpur soon. Such progressive policies introduced by the state governments have the potential to drive faster adoption of in the country, Mehta said.
Kutch region in Gujarat, the largest salt desert in the country and host to two of Indias largest coal-fired power plants, will now add another feather to its cap.

The countrys largest power generator, NTPC, through its arm, will construct what would be Indias largest single local solar power park of 4.75 Gigawatt (Gw) in Kutch. (NTPC-REL) has received the approval of the nodal ministry of new and renewable energy, said a companys statement.

NTPC-REL plans to use this project for production of green hydrogen, too. Hydrogen produced from renewable sources is called green hydrogen.

NTPC-REL was given the go-ahead under Mode 8 (Ultra Mega Power Park) of Solar Park Scheme, the company said in a release. As part of its green energy portfolio augmentation, NTPC, Indias largest energy integrated company, aims to build 60 GW Renewable Energy Capacity by 2032, it said. There are five operational solar power parks in the country, of which Bhadla in Rajasthan (2.2 Gw) and Pavgada in Karnataka (2.05 Gw) are among the worlds largest single location solar plants. Indias first solar power park of 0.75 Gw was fully commissioned in 2019 in Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh.

The current total installed generation capacity of stands at 66 Gw. Out of this, thermal (coal+gas) is 61 Gw, hydro 3.7 Gw, solar is 1 Gw and the balance is wind. incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary for its renewable energy projects in October 2020, which Gurdeep Singh, chairman and managing director of the company, said would be listed soon.

We should not focus on one way of raising funds. We want to soon go public for raising funds, he said, adding the company would add 7-8 GW renewable every year. Apart from solar and wind power projects, NTPC is looking to invest in green hydrogen and green methanol  cleaner fuels that are manufactured at units powered by renewable energy.

The ministry announced a solar power park scheme in 2014-15 when it targeted 20 Gw of capacity under solar parks/ultra mega by 2020. The target year was increased this year to another five years.





Five solar parks in India

Under the scheme, the ministry provides Central Financial Assistance to private project developers.

The solar parks offer suitable developed land with all clearances, transmission system, water access, road connectivity, communication network, etc. The scheme facilitates and speeds up installation of grid connected for electricity generation on a large scale. SECI is the designated authority for solar power park development.

NTPC currently puts up renewable generation capacity through two routes  sets up the project itself or awards the capacity to private players. It would develop the Kutch park itself while awarding capacity to different players who would put up generation units. NTPC already has a 0.65 Gw solar power park in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. The capacity was awarded to several leading private project developers and was declared commissioned in 2017.

The Gujarat government has identified the Kutch region for setting up 40 Gw of hybrid renewable energy projects in the region and has earmarked 60,000 hectares for the same. There are, however, environmental concerns for the region, as it is a prime spot of several bird species.

Rajasthan is facing a similar issue with power lines of solar plants allegedly causing the death of Great Indian Bustard. Several ecology experts have said the region is not wasteland, as pointed out by state and Central governments.
Prime Minister will virtually inaugurate a newly-built five-star hotel atop the redeveloped railway station and a host of other big-ticket projects on July 16, said the Gujarat government on Tuesday.

The redevelopment of the existing railway station in and construction of the five-star hotel on top of the station started in January 2017 after Modi performed their groundbreaking. Now, the new-look station as well as the hotel are ready and will be inaugurated by the PM at 4 pm on July 16 through video conference, said a Gujarat government release. The luxury hotel, having 318 rooms and to be operated by a private entity, is spread across 7,400 square meters and has been built at a cost of Rs 790 crore, said the release. The hotel would host national and international guests who would come to attend seminars and conferences at Mahatma Mandir, a convention centre situated just opposite the property, it said. While Union Home Minister Amit Shah would also attend the inauguration virtually, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani and other dignitaries would remain present at a function in Gandhinagar, the release said. Later, the PM will virtually inaugurate three new attractions at the Science City in Ahmedabad. These attractions are - an aquatic gallery, a robotic gallery and a nature park, it said. As per the government release, the aquatic gallery, built at a cost of Rs 264 crore in the Science City, is India's largest aquarium having 68 large tanks to display marine life, including sharks. In all, the aquarium has around 11,600 fishes and marine animals of 188 different species, it said. The gallery also has a 28-meter-long underwater walkway tunnel for watching the marine species, said the release, adding the gallery also has a 5D theatre. Another attraction is robotic gallery, built at a cost of Rs 127 crore and spread across 11,000 square meters. It has over 200 robots of 79 different types, including humanoid robots having human-like bodies and machines which can interact with human beings, said the release. The nature park, built at a cost of Rs 14 crore, is spread across 20 acres and has life-size statues of animals, said the release. During the virtual event, PM Modi would also flag off Gandhinagar-Varanasi weekly superfast train and Gandhinagar-Varetha MEMU train. He will also dedicate the newly electrified Mehsana-Varetha broad gauge rail line, which passes through Vadnagar (PM's hometown), and a 266km stretch between Surendranagar and Pipavav station, said the release.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Over 800 have completed the TESOL Language Certification Programme conducted in collaboration with the US Embassy, Deputy Chief Minister said on Tuesday.

The in collaboration with the Regional Language Office (RELO), US Embassy, launched the programme in 2017. With the onset of COVID-19, the training shifted online.

"Through the TESOL programme, more than 800 have received quality training. When I interacted with who completed this course, they told me how this programme helped them understand how intelligently can be learned as a language, and not only as a subject.

"We all have been deeply concerned about what the future brings for our students, with the ongoing pandemic but I am rest assured that programmes like these will train our students who will impact lakhs of students and reassure them that they deserve quality education, no matter what it takes. This programme has solidified every teacher's command over the English language and I am certain our students will benefit plenty from this," Sisodia said.

Delhi's Director of Udit Prakash Rai said, "Our teachers have continuously praised this programme. This is not just a mere training programme, it has in fact given teachers a space to think in English and it has a deep impact on children. You stop growing when you stop learning. We live with this motto that learning should be engaging and this particular training has been engaging. Many teachers have benefitted from this training and imbibed English learning capabilities".

The Delhi government, in collaboration with the US Embassy, has also launched the TESOL "Training for Trainers Course Certificate" for teachers, which will include components of delivering engaging workshops, design development plan and overall drive pedagogical change.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India formally set up a bad bank as part of the nations ongoing efforts to remove one of the worlds largest piles of soured debt from the balance sheet of financiers and accelerate lending.



The firm was registered as the National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd. on July 7 with Padmakumar Madhavan Nair as the managing director, according to filings with the Registrar of Companies, where firms must register before becoming operational.

NARCLs paid-up capital is Rs 74.6 crore ($10 million), according to the filing. Nair previously worked at the State Bank of India where he handled stressed assets resolution.

Sunil Mehta, chief executive officer of the Indian Banks Association, will be a director, while SBIs Salee Sukumaran Nair and Canara Banks Ajit Krishnan Nair are nominee directors on the board, according to the filing.

The bad bank will provide a much-needed relief to Indian lenders struggling to bring down their massive bad loan pile that has eroded profit and constrained their ability to lend. Its intended as a fillip to Prime Minister Narendra Modis attempts to boost credit flow to pump up the South Asian economy that has shrunk the most in nearly seven decades as a fallout of the pandemic.

The governments decision to start the bad bank comes after an overhauled bankruptcy process rolled out in 2016 saw only muted success.

The bad bank will be owned by government-run and private sector lenders and will allow financiers to transfer as much as 2 trillion rupees of soured loans and effectively free them from years of carrying and providing for these loss-making assets. The announcement of such an entity was first made by Indias Minister in her budget speech in February.

Investors will be watching whether the bad bank manages to actually resolve the assets rather than keeping them like a warehouse, and whether its team includes appropriate industry and turnaround experts.
By Julie Zhu and Josh Horwitz

HONG KONG/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Group Holding Ltd and Chinese state-backed firms are weighing bids for a stake in Unisplendour Corp, a infrastructure firm, that could fetch as much as $7.7 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

Chip conglomerate Tsinghua Unigroup, which is saddled with some $31 billion in debt, is looking to divest its 46.45% stake in Shenzhen-listed Unisplendour as more of its bond payments are coming due, they said.

Potential suitors include Wuxi Industry Development Group, a firm owned by the government of the eastern Chinese city of Wuxi, Beijing government-owned Beijing Electronics Holdings and state-backed semiconductor investment fund JAC Capital, said the people. They were not authorised to speak on the matter and declined to be identified.

If submits an offer due by the July 20 deadline for binding bids, it will team up with a firm owned by a local government, said two of the people. They did not disclose the name of the potential partner.

A successful transaction for the e-commerce giant would be the first since Chinese regulators began to clamp down on the tech sector, beginning with the scuppering of affiliate Ant Financial's mega listing late last year. itself was hit with a record $2.8 billion fine in April for antimonopoly violations.

The Unisplendour stake is likely to be valued at between 40 billion yuan and 50 billion yuan ($6.2 billion-$7.7 billion), said two of the people. That would represent a premium of 34%-68% to the stock's average price over the past month of 22.4 yuan, according to Reuters calculations.

Tsinghua Unigroup, which just last week was notified that its creditors have called for its restructuring, said in a statement to Reuters that to mitigate debt risks, it had "approached several investors under the guidance of a brought-in special working team".

"Tsinghua Unigroup will make an overall arrangement for bringing in strategic investors if it enters a judicial restructuring," it added.

Unisplendour, Alibaba, Wuxi Industry Development Group, Beijing Electronics and JAC Capital did not respond to requests for comment.

Shares in Unisplendour erased losses after Reuters reported news of the potential suitors to be up 1% on Tuesday afternoon. They jumped 10% on Monday after Tsinghua Unigroup said it had been told of the creditors' call for restructuring.

SERVER BOXES

Potential bidders for the Unisplendour stake are primarily attracted to the company's controlling stake in H3C, which makes server boxes for centres, two of the sources said. Unisplendour purchased a 51% stake in H3C https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hp-m-a-tsinghuaunigroup-idUSKBN0O703V20150522 in 2015 from Hewlett-Packard for $2.3 billion.

Unisplendour generated 59.7 billion yuan in sales in 2020, a 10.4% increase from a year earlier and had net income of 1.9 billion yuan, up 2.8%.

H3C would be a valuable asset to players in China's fast-growing sector including Alibaba, which leads the domestic market in cloud computing, experts say.

Alibaba's cloud computing division recently announced it had become profitable. The unit, which has a market share of some 40% according to research firm Canalys, is looking to go public in the next few years, said one of the sources.

Alibaba also did not respond to requests for comment on plans for its cloud computing unit.

Tsinghua Unigroup, which is 51% owned by the prestigious Tsinghua University and led by former real estate magnate Zhao Weiguo, became a prolific investor in chip firms over the last decade, aligning itself with a government push to boost China's chip industry.

But few of its investments have led to sizeable profits. It defaulted or cross-defaulted on onshore and offshore bonds worth about $3.6 billion as of end-2020 and as of June last year, the group had just $8 billion in cash and cash equivalents compared to its $31 billion in debt, filings show.

Other key units include Yangtze Memory Technology Company, an up-and-coming player in flash memory and Unisoc, a maker of mobile phone processors.

(Reporting by Julie Zhu and Josh Horwitz; Additional reporting by Kane Wu in Hong Kong and Andrew Galbraith in Shanghai; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Edwina Gibbs)

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
on Tuesday denounced an appeal by Treasury Secretary for a US-European unified front against Chinese unfair economic practices and human rights abuses.

strongly deplores and rejects Treasury Secretary Yellen's remarks, said a foreign ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian.

Yellen issued the appeal Tuesday during a meeting with officials in Brussels. President Joe Biden is trying to revive traditional alliances following the America First policies of his predecessor, Donald Trump.

Together, we need to counter threats to the principles of openness, fair competition, transparency and accountability, Yellen said, according to a text released by her department.

These challenges include China's unfair economic practices, malign behavior and human rights abuses, Yellen said. The more we confront these threats with a unified front, the more successful we will be.

Zhao rejected the criticism, saying Beijing always firmly supported the multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization.

The ruling Communist Party denies accusations that it steals or pressures U.S., European and other foreign companies to hand over technology and shields its fledgling technology and other industries from competition in violation of its WTO commitments.

European governments also are frustrated that their companies are barred from acquiring most assets in while Chinese companies, sometimes financed by state banks, have spent billions of dollars to acquire foreign technology and brands.

Beijing also rejects accusations of abuses against predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in China's northwest. Washington and the have imposed travel and financial sanctions on Chinese officials blamed for abuses.

We do not bully and impose sanctions at every turn, nor do we exercise long-arm jurisdiction against other countries' enterprises, Zhao said, referring to US sanctions.

Biden has said he wants better relations with Beijing but has yet to say whether he will roll back tariff hikes on Chinese goods and other sanctions imposed by Trump in a fight with Beijing over its technology ambitions and trade surplus.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sher Bahadur Deuba, who assumed office for a record fifth time as Nepal's Prime Minister, has the immediate task of ending the unprecedented political crisis in the country that saw the controversial dissolution of the House of Representatives and its reinstatement by the apex court twice within six months.

The 75-year-old Nepali Congress President and Opposition leader's appointment came after the Supreme Court on Monday ruled in his favour following a month-long hearing on the dissolution of the House of Representatives by President Bidya Devi Bhandari in May.

The veteran leader, who received the support of the Opposition parties in his legal fight in the apex court against incumbent Prime Minister and President Bhandari, is required to seek a vote of confidence within 30 days to remain in power at a time when the Himalayan nation is combating the COVID-19 pandemic while facing a severe shortage of vaccines.

Deuba earlier served as Nepal's Prime Minister on four occasions: from September 1995March 1997, July 2001October 2002, June 2004February 2005 and June 2017February 2018. However, he never completed his tenure.

In his first foreign trip after he assumed office in June 2017, Deuba visited India in August 2017 and held bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Deuba had earlier paid three visits to India as prime minister, in 1996, 2004 and 2005.

Born on June 13, 1946 in a remote village in Dadeldhura district of far-western Nepal, Deuba started his political career as a student leader. He was a founder member and President of the Students Union, the student political wing of the Nepali Congress, from 1971 to 1980.

During the national referendum in 1980, he was actively promoting multi-party democracy in the country which was ruled by a monarch. He was the Police In Charge of Nepali Congress in the Far Western region in 1991.

Deuba was elected Member of Parliament from Dadeldhura district from 1991 to November 1994. He served as Home Minister in the Nepali Congress government led by Girija Prasad Koirala from December 1991 to September 1994.

He was elected parliamentary party leader of the Nepali Congress after the midterm elections in 1994.

Deuba was appointed Prime Minister for the first time in 1995 and led a coalition government. However, his government collapsed in March 1997.

Following a power struggle within the party, Deuba formed a separate Nepali Congress Democratic party and served as its President from September 2002 to January 2006.

In May 2006, he was unanimously re-elected President of the Nepali Congress Democratic. However, Deuba dissolved his splinter party and rejoined the Nepali Congress in September 2007.

He served as the Head of the High Level Recommendation Committee for the Resolution of Maoist Problem from December 1999 to October 2000. He also served as the Vice-President of the Socialist a worldwide organisation of social democratic, socialist and labour parties - from June 2008 to 2012.

He was elected the President of the Nepali Congress on March 7, 2016.

Deuba is one of the few political leaders of who spent several years in jail intermittently for political beliefs from 1966 to 2005.

He holds a Bachelor's in Law and a Master's in Political Science. He was conferred with an honorary doctorate by the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi in November 2016 for his contribution in strengthening democracy.

He is married to Arzu Rana and is a father of a son.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted unanimously on Tuesday to finalize a $1.9 billion program to reimburse U.S. carriers for removing equipment from telecommunications networks from deemed national security threats like and ZTE Corp.

Last year, the FCC designated and ZTE as national security threats to communications networks - a declaration that barred U.S. firms from tapping an $8.3 billion government fund to purchase equipment from the The FCC in December adopted rules requiring carriers with ZTE or equipment to "rip and replace" that equipment.

"There is a serious risk that this equipment may be manipulated, disrupted or controlled by foreign actors," Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said. "We will evaluate network after network, base station after base station and router after router until we have rooted out our equipment that could undermine national security. It's a daunting task."

The issue a big one for rural carriers that face high costs and difficulty finding workers to remove equipment.

The FCC's final order expands the eligible for reimbursement from those with 2 million or fewer customers to those with 10 million or fewer customers.

The FCC in September 2020 estimated it would cost $1.837 billion to remove and replace Huawei and ZTE equipment from networks.

Last month, the FCC voted to advance a plan to ban approvals for equipment in U.S. telecommunications networks from deemed national security threats like Huawei and ZTE. The FCC could also revoke prior equipment authorizations issued to

In March, the FCC designated five Chinese companies as posing a threat to national security under a 2019 law aimed at protecting U.S. communications networks.

The affected companies included the previously designated Huawei and ZTE, as well as Hytera Communications Corp, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co.

In August 2020, the U.S. government barred federal agencies from buying goods or services from any of the five Chinese companies.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
was fined 500 million euros ($593 million) in after the search giant failed to follow an order to thrash out a fair deal with publishers to use their news content on its platform.

The unit ignored a 2020 decision to negotiate in good faith for displaying snippets of articles on its News service, the Autorite de la concurrence said Tuesday. The fine is the second-biggest antitrust penalty in for a single company.

isnt alone in trying to hold tech giants to account over their use of news. Australia earlier this year required digital firms like Facebook and to pay local publishers for news. Google has been increasingly paying publishers but on its own terms, with a $1 billion Showcase to point readers to news content.

The company is facing a global onslaught as regulators across the world sharpen scrutiny of the worlds largest tech firms, looking at its advertising business, apps and search. In Russia Google is seeking an out-of-court settlement after a court ruling it must unblock the YouTube account of a TV channel owned by a U.S.-sanctioned backer of President Vladimir Putin.

The sanction of 500 million euros takes into account the exceptional seriousness of the breaches observed, said Isabelle de Silva, president of the French agency.

Google is very disappointed with the decision and considers it acted in good faith throughout the entire process, a spokesperson said. Google added that its about to reach an agreement with Agence France-Presse that included a global licensing agreement. Google can appeal Tuesdays penalty announcement.

The confrontation between Google and newspaper owners and wire services has been a long time coming. European publishers have been pushing regulators for over a decade to tackle the power of Google, which has lured away billions of euros in advertising revenue. Complaints were lodged in France in 2019 by groupings representing newspapers and magazines as well as Agence France-Presse.

Tuesdays fine is the latest show of strength by the French regulator as it vies with its EU and German counterparts to be the regions toughest watchdog of US tech firms. In recent years, the authority has tended to order behavioural changes before the end of probes, which can drag on for years. While this has spurred other antitrust agencies to emulate the tactic, Googles defiance risked jeopardising it.

Earlier this year, Google reached a deal to remunerate a grouping of French newspapers  Alliance de la Presse dInformation Generale. There have also been talks with magazine owners and AFP.

But de Silva said that regulators dismissed the remuneration offered by Google as negligible. She criticised the tech giant for offering to pay the same amount for press content than it did for dictionary listings or weather information.



Google fails to strike

* Fine is the second biggest French antitrust penalty so far

* Regulator says company violated orders to negotiate with publishers for right to show snippets of content in search results

* Google has two months to come up with fresh ideas for compensating news publishers or risks further fines of up to 900,000 euros, about $1.065 million, per day, the French authorities said

* The Competition Authority also ordered Google to present media publishers with "an offer of remuneration for the current use of their copyrighted content"

* Google was ordered to present an offer of remuneration to publishers within two months, or risk facing fines of up to 900,000 euros per day
The US will warn American companies this week of the increasing risks of operating in Hong Kong, the Financial Times reported, as Washington seeks to ramp up pressure over Beijings crackdown on the financial center.

The risks include the Chinese governments ability to gain access to data that foreign companies store in Hong Kong, the FT said Tuesday, citing three people familiar with the matter it didnt identify.

A new law that allows Beijing to retaliate against anyone complying with anti-China sanctions is also among the US concerns, the newspaper said. The decision was driven in part by the view that companies werent taking the issue seriously enough, the FT said.
plans to hold an interagency meeting with the at the level of deputy foreign ministers in the coming weeks, Russian Ambassador to the Anatoly Antonov has said.

"In the coming weeks, we intend to have a kick-off meeting between interagency delegations headed by deputy foreign affairs chiefs. We could start with a review of both sides' strategic concerns," Antonov told Russian-speaking students of the Middlebury Institute of Studies at Monterey.

The ambassador added that Moscow has "no illusions about breakthroughs" in the bilateral relations after the June 16 summit, as there have been too many complaints and disagreements between the sides, which cannot be resolved in one fell swoop.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nepal's Opposition leader Sher Bahadur Deuba is set to form a small Cabinet on Tuesday, a day after the directed President Bidya Devi Bhandari to appoint the Nepali chief as the country's new prime minister.

According to a Nepali (NC) leader, 74-year-old Deuba will form a small Cabinet comprising the NC and the Communist Party of (Maoist Centre) representatives among others on Tuesday afternoon, when he takes the oath of office and secrecy from President Bhandari.

In the first phase, some five- to seven-member Cabinet will be formed under the leadership of Deuba, senior leader of CPN-Maoist Centre Ganesh Shah told PTI.

Later, the Upendra Yadav-led faction of the Janata Samajwadi Party will join the government, he indicated.

Deuba is required to seek a vote of confidence from the House within 30 days of his appointment as the Prime Minister, as per the constitutional provisions.

It is not certain whether the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) will join the Deuba government.

With the Madhav Kumar faction of the CPN-UML deciding to sever ties with the Opposition alliance, Deuba may face a tough time winning the vote of confidence, sources said.

Last month, 23 CPN-UML lawmakers led by dissident leader Madhav Kumar had backed Deuba as prime minister and even provided signatures to his petition against the House dissolution.

The on Monday overturned Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli's May 21 decision to dissolve the House of Representatives and ordered the appointment of Deuba as prime minister.

The five-member Constitutional Bench led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana said that Oli's claim to the post of prime minister was unconstitutional.

Reinstating the House yet again -- the court had restored the House earlier on February 23 after Oli dissolved it on December 20 -- the bench has ordered to make arrangements for holding the House meeting by 5 PM on July 18.

In its order, the constitutional bench said President Bhandari's decision to reject Deuba's claim to form a new government was unconstitutional.

Although the apex court's order has paved the way for Deuba to become a new prime minister, for now, Deuba will have to secure majority votes in Parliament to survive as the prime minister for the remaining term of the 275-member House.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Oli called on President Bhandari at her official residence Sheetal Niwas on Monday after the apex court rendered their move to dissolve the House of Representatives, unconstitutional.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
will receive over a million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from at a time when the country is facing a severe shortage of the jabs.

The Japanese Embassy here in a statement said Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu on Tuesday announced that the government will donate about 1.6 million doses of Japanese-made COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine for as a grant through COVAX facility, the global COVID vaccine equity scheme.

"The exact shipping schedule will be confirmed once the procurement arrangement will be finalised by the organisation which is in charge of the matter," it said.

started its vaccination drive with the 1 million doses of Covishield, the AstraZeneca type vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, which were gifted to Nepal by the Indian government.

Of the 2 million doses Nepal bought from the Serum Institute, only 1 million doses were shipped.

Japan's announcement has brought much needed respite to senior Nepali citizens who, following months of uncertainty, have now been assured of receiving the second booster dose, The Himalayan Times newspaper reported.

Close to 1.30 million Nepalis above the age of 65 who had received the first dose of Covishield in March are yet to receive the second dose owing to India's ban on export of Covid vaccines (following the rise in the coronavirus cases in that country), the report said.

As many as 1.6 million doses of the Japan-made vaccines will be delivered to Nepal between mid July and the end of August, it said.

According to the Japanese Embassy statement, the vaccine being provided by the country will "effectively assist the second injection of elderly people who already had the first vaccination of Covisheld".

"They would be also useful to proceed the vaccination campaign for the young generations who are not yet vaccinated," it said.

Meanwhile, Nepal's coronavirus caseload reached 658,778 on Tuesday with 1,639 more people testing positive for the infection in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said.

The countrywide Covid-19 mortality toll rose to 9,412 with 12 more fatalities, it said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nepal's caretaker Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli supporters on Monday protested against the Supreme Court's order to reinstate the dissolved House of Representatives (HoR).

A large number of Oli supporters gathered and shouted slogans against the SC's verdict.

A total of 30 writ petitions had been filed against the dissolution. As many as 146 lawmakers of the House of Representatives including Sher Bahadur Deuba of Nepali Congress (NC) had filed writ petitions demanding the reinstatement of the House and appointment of Deuba as the Prime Minister of

Chief Justice Rana formed a five-member constitutional bench to hear the petition. The other judges on the bench include Justices Deepak Kumar Karki, Meera Khadka, Ishwor Prasad Khatiwada and Dr Aananda Mohan Bhattarai.

on Monday reinstated the dissolved lower house of Parliament and issued a mandamus ordering the appointment of Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba as Prime Minister within two days.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By Olesya Astakhova and Alex Lawler

MOSCOW/LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC+ is yet to make progress closing divisions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that last week prevented a deal to raise oil output, making another policy meeting this week less likely, OPEC+ sources said.

Russia has been working behind the scenes to bring Riyadh and Abu Dhabi back to the table to find a path to agreement, sources told Reuters. But a Russian source said on Monday a meeting this week was not expected.

A dispute between the two Gulf allies was exposed last week, scuppering for now a deal that would have boosted output from August. Oil prices, already near their highest since 2018 due to a tightening market, rose further on the lack of a deal.

The spat forced the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers, known as OPEC+, to abandon talks on boosting production after days of negotiations.

The White House said last week the United States was monitoring talks among and its partners.

The Kremlin said on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden did not discuss OPEC+ or oil prices during a call on Friday.

In a joint statement on Monday, Saudi Arabia and Oman called for continued cooperation between and its allies.

OPEC+ agreed last year to record cuts of almost 10 million barrels per day (bpd), or about 10% of world output, as the pandemic hit demand. The curbs have been gradually relaxed and currently stand at about 5.8 million bpd.

(Reporting by Alex Lawler; Editing by Edmund Blair)

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amid alarming growth in Pakistan, experts have warned that soaring headcount poses a greater threat and the country may not be able to meet the needs of its rapidly increasing

Pakistan's struggles with keeping its national headcount at sustainable levels continues, said experts, reported The Express Tribune.

While the growth rate, they said, is not the root cause of all problems, it certainly exacerbates the pressures on livelihoods, natural resources, and provision of certain services, especially health and education.

"We missed the boat on integrating this growth into development planning that was done in the 60s, and up to the 90s. Since about 2000, we have largely ignored population in economic planning," cautioned Dr Zeba Sathar, who heads the Population Council's office in Islamabad.

According to research conducted by several reputed organizations, including the UN Population Division, would require more than 117 million jobs, 19 million houses, and 85,000 primary schools in the next two decades to meet the demands of its rapidly increasing citizen count, reported The Express Tribune.

Echoing Dr Sathar's concerns, Dr Shahzad Ali, Vice-Chancellor of Health Services Academy, Islamabad said that unchecked population growth is a disaster for any country. "When we allow the unchecked increase in population, it becomes a burden on all resources," he explained.

Nearly three decades since the first global population awareness day, which is celebrated on July 11 as World Population Day every year to create awareness about the worldwide population issues, Pakistan's population growth is alarming.

The globally accepted theory on population growth is fairly simple. Given that there is a fixed quantity of land, an increase in the population will eventually reduce the number of resources that each individual can consume and access, ultimately resulting in disease, starvation, and even conflict in some cases, reported The Express Tribune.

While is not at that stage, there is a strong chance that high birth rates and rapid population growth will eventually place a drag on economic development, said the experts.

According to experts, if the numbers continue to grow at the same rate, the population of Punjab, which already holds the title of the most populous province, will be equal to the current national headcount by the time marks its centennial.

Another reason for Punjab's population crisis is the increase in the number of underage marriages. According to Shahid Nusrat, who serves as Additional Secretary, Technical Welfare, 30 per cent of girls get married between the ages of 16 and 22.

"That is a major reason for having more children in addition, the desire for a son is also a reason for an increase in the number of children," said Nusrat.

While Punjab struggles with a rapid increase in its rural population, urban areas in Sindh are under continuous pressure of population growth due to the non-stop migration of people from rural areas and the heavy influx of people from other parts of the country.

According to Dr Talib Lashari, Technical Advisor of Population Welfare Department, Sindh and Costed Implementation Plan (CIP), the majority of the populace living in Sindh's and Karachi's unplanned localities or katchi-abadis either does not believe in the concept of smaller population or it has remained out of reach for implementing family planning programmes.

According to data collected through various sources, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's (K-P) headcount is also rapidly increasing, reported The Express Tribune.

Experts from the province pointed out that the fast-rising population is degrading economic and agricultural resiliency in the province.

"Residential areas are expanding and land for agriculture is shrinking in the province. You can blame the increase in population for this trend," said Dr Muhammad Rafique, who represents the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in K-P.

In Pakistan's population crisis, Balochistan bagged the title of the province that has the highest growth rate.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Secretary Population Welfare Department, Balochistan Manzoor Ahmed Zehri said that the situation is alarming when it comes to Balochistan where the annual population growth rate is 3.7, much higher than the national average.

For Pakistan's population conundrum, experts presented a simple and uncomplicated solution.

The country, they said, needs efficient family planning services and a clearly laid out media campaign.

"The basic problem in the provision of family planning services- a large bulk of married couples need these services but do not have access. The rich get these services, the poor do not-that is a simple truth," said Population Council's Dr Zeba Sathar.

The best option, according to experts, is to integrate health and population so that family planning services are available in health centres at all levels, to avoid any taboo or stigma, to seek planning advice and contraceptives, reported The Express Tribune.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Tuesday said that against 350 people accused of burning down a temple last year will be withdrawn, claiming that the minority Hindu community has pardoned them.

According to the interior department sources of the province, members of the Hindu community decided to pardon the accused persons in a jirga constituted by the government to settle the matter. A jirga is a traditional assembly of elders to make decisions by consensus.

They said that the government had constituted the jirga which amicably resolved all the issues that created an unrest between the local Muslim and Hindu communities in the area.

However, the Hindus maintained that despite assurances by the government, the construction of a resting area adjacent to the temple is being unnecessarily delayed, creating unrest among the minority community.

Haroon Sarab Diyal, a Religious Scholar Hinduism-Minority and Human Rights Activist of the province, said: We are not against peace and interfaith harmony but the way adopted for withdrawal of cases is quite against the jirga culture of the soil.

He complained that the local Hindu community has not been taken into confidence except Tehreek-e-Insaf Member of the National Assembly and Chairman of the Hindu Council Dr Ramesh K Vankwani.

The sources said that the interior department of the province had also written an official letter to the Anti-Terrorist Court, informing them of the decision of the jirga.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had named 350 accused in the FIR for their alleged involvement in setting on fire the Samadhi of Prem Hans and an adjacent temple in Teri Karak district last year.

As many as 109 people involved in the attack were arrested while 92 police officials, including the superintendent of police and deputy superintendent of police who were on duty at the time, were suspended.

The Supreme Court had taken a suo moto notice of the case and directed the provincial government to reconstruct the Samadhi and the temple.

The local Hindu community members in Teri Karak district said that a house adjacent to the temple was purchased by the Hindus for the worshippers visiting the temple from far flung areas to take rest.

The move gave a wrong message to the local community who feared that the Hindus wanted to live there. Therefore, a local mob first burnt the under-construction house and then attacked the adjacent temple and burnt the Samadhi.

The Samadhi of Shri Paramhans Ji Maharaj is considered sacred by the Hindu community. It was built where he died in 1919 in Teri village of Karak.

Hindus form the biggest minority community in

According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in Pakistan. However, according to the community, over 90 lakh Hindus are living in the country.

The majority of Pakistan's Hindu population is settled in Sindh province where they share culture, traditions and language with Muslim residents. They often complain of harassment by the extremists.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
South African President has announced plans to quell the rampant and looting in major South African cities for the past three days.

In a national address on Monday evening, Ramaphosa said the army has been called in to assist and all leave of police personnel has been cancelled as all available resources and capabilities are mobilised to restore order.

"As the Commander-in-Chief of the South African Defence Force, I have today authorised the deployment of Defence Force personnel in support of the operations of the South African Police Service.

"The South African Police Service is putting measures in place to call up operational members from leave and rest-days to increase the presence of law enforcement personnel on the ground," Ramaphosa said.

Describing the looting as "acts of public of a kind rarely seen in the history of our democracy," Ramaphosa had a strong message to the thousands of looters who had stripped dozens of shopping centres bare in defiance of poorly resourced police services in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces.

"Let me be clear: we will take action to protect every person in this country against the threat of violence, intimidation, theft and looting.

"We will not hesitate to arrest and prosecute those who perpetrate these actions and will ensure that they face the full might of our law, he said.

The President added that the National Security Council, which he chairs, would meet twice daily during the crisis to coordinate all measures necessary to restore stability.

"In addition to greater visibility and an intelligence-driven presence in potential hotspots, we will be prioritising the prosecution of suspects alleged to be involved in this

We will restore calm and order so that we can get on with the task of rebuilding this country and creating a better life for its people, Ramaphosa said.

The President also made a plea again to people to avoid incitement through social media and sharing of false information, which caused unnecessary panic.

He conceded that the violence and looting had been sparked by issues other than the protests against the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma last week.

Zuma started a 15-month sentence last Wednesday after the country's apex court found him guilty of contempt of court because he refused to return to the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, where he has been repeatedly accused of involvement in corruption by witnesses.

The violence has been condemned across the board by government, opposition parties and civil society organisations. They say that these looters are engaging in criminal action in the name of protests about the jailing of Zuma.

"This moment has thrown into stark relief what we already knew: that the level of unemployment, poverty and inequality in our society is unsustainable.

"We cannot expect a lasting and durable peace if we do not create jobs and build a more just and equitable society in which all South Africans can participate freely and equally. We must therefore commit ourselves not only to peace, but to greater economic opportunity for all," Ramaphosa said.

With residents in a number of cities and towns rallying on Monday evening through social media, some of them armed, to protect their properties against looters, Ramaphosa called for calm and for people not to take the law into their own hands.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba on Tuesday formally became the country's Prime Minister for a record fifth time after the Supreme Court's intervention.

The 75-year-old veteran politician took the oath of office and secrecy from President Bidya Devi Bhandari during a swearing-in ceremony here.

The ceremony, initially set to be held at 6:00 pm (17:45 IST), was delayed after Deuba said he would not take the oath of office until the President revises the notice of his appointment.

A five-member Constitutional Bench led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana, in its order, had said that Deuba must be appointed the Prime Minister in line with Article 76 (5) of the Constitution.

However, the president's office has failed to disclose the article under which Deuba is being made the prime minister in the notice, The Himalayan Times reported.

After receiving some legal counsel, Deuba sent across a message to President Bhandari that he will not take the oath until the error is rectified, the paper said.

Deuba took oath of office two hours later than scheduled after the president's office issued a revised notice.

This is the fifth time that Deuba is returning to power as the Prime Minister of

He has replaced incumbent 69-year-old K P Sharma Oli, who has accused the apex court of "deliberately" passing the verdict in favour of the Opposition parties.

Earlier in the day, Bhesh Raj Adhikary, personal secretary of President Bhandari, told reporters that "In line with the apex court's verdict, President Bhandari named Deuba as the Prime Minister.

Previously, Deuba served as Nepal's Prime Minister four times from June 2017February 2018, June 2004February 2005, July 2001October 2002 and September 1995March 1997.

Deuba is required to seek a vote of confidence from the House of Representatives within 30 days of his appointment as the Prime Minister, as per the constitutional provisions.

The Supreme Court on Monday overturned Prime Minister Oli's May 21 decision to dissolve the House of Representatives and ordered the appointment of Deuba as prime minister.

It said that Oli's claim to the post of prime minister was unconstitutional.

Reinstating the House yet again -- the court had restored the House earlier on February 23 after Oli dissolved it on December 20 -- the bench ordered to make arrangements for holding the House meeting by 5 PM on July 18.

In its order, the constitutional bench said President Bhandari's decision to reject Deuba's claim to form a new government was unconstitutional.

Oli, who was heading a minority government after losing a trust vote in the House, has repeatedly defended his move to dissolve the House of Representatives, saying some leaders of his party were attempting to form a "parallel government".

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sri Lanka's Catholic church on Tuesday demanded that action be taken against former president Maithripala Sirisena and ex-prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for their failures to prevent the 2019 Easter Sunday suicide bombings that killed 270 people, including 11 Indians.

Nine suicide bombers, belonging to local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaat (NTJ) linked to ISIS, carried out a series of blasts that tore through three churches and as many luxury hotels in Sri Lanka, killing over 270 people and injuring more than 500 people on April 21, 2019.

The local Catholic church has reiterated its demand for justice in the attack, asserting that no action has been taken against Sirisena and Wickremesinghe despite a commission of inquiry finding both of them culpable for their failures to prevent the attack.

In a 10-page letter to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the church reminded that the commission of inquiry had recommended that criminal proceedings be initiated against Sirisena for the failure of his responsibilities.

The church stressed that it had been five months since the inquiry report came out, yet no action had been taken against Sirisena.

On Wickremesinghe, the church held that the inquiry had concluded that the former prime minister was found lax in his attitude towards the rising Islamist extremism and it was one of the reasons for the failure on the part of the previous government to stop the attack despite the availability of intelligence on impending attacks.

We have always believed that investigations on the Easter Sunday attacks were not happening in any satisfactory manner, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo and the head of the local Catholic Church, told reporters.

The attack happened when the current Opposition was in government. So, why this unsatisfactory nature of investigations? Father Cyril Gamini asked.

The church said if truth and justice cannot be assured by ending the present lethargic and slow process, it will be forced to agitate through alternative means.

The government denies any lethargy in investigations and says nearly 700 people have been arrested and the due legal procedures are in place.

The blasts targeted St Anthony's Church in Colombo, St Sebastian's Church in the western coastal town of Negombo and a church in the eastern town of Batticaloa when the Easter Sunday mass was in progress.

Three explosions were reported from three five-star hotels - the Shangri-La, the Cinnamon Grand and the Kingsbury in Colombo.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
fighters have executed 22 Afghan commandos. Several videos have surfaced, apparently of the incident, CNN reported.

In a clear but unsteady video, the words ring out: Surrender, commandos, surrender. Several men emerge from a building; they are clearly unarmed. Gunfire erupts. At least a dozen men are seen shot to death amid cries of Allahu Akhbar  God is Great.

According to CNN, the summary killings took place on June 16 in the town of Dawlat Abad in Faryab province, close to Afghanistan's border with Turkmenistan. CNN obtained and verified several videos of the incident and has spoken with witnesses. The Red Cross confirmed the bodies of 22 commandos were retrieved.

The told CNN the videos showing the commandos being shot were fake and government propaganda to encourage people not to surrender.

A spokesman said they were still holding 24 commandos who had been captured in Faryab province but provided no evidence. The Afghan Ministry of Defense denied the Taliban was holding the commandos and told CNN they were killed.

The killing of the soldiers stands in stark contrast to the Taliban's efforts to show it is accepting the surrender of soldiers and, in some instances, paying them to go home as it makes territorial gains across

According to several witnesses interviewed by CNN in Dawlat Abad, the commandos were shot in cold blood.

The Taliban does not want to engage in fighting inside Afghanistans cities, a senior leader of the group has said, as thousands of families flee their homes, fearful of living under their rule.

Now that the fighting from mountains and deserts has reached the doors of the cities, Mujahiddin dont want fighting inside the city, Amir Khan Muttaqi said in a message tweeted by a Taliban spokesman on Tuesday, said a report by Al Jazeera. In the last 15 days, Taliban advances have driven more than 5,600 families from their homes, most of them in the northern reaches of the country, according to the government's Refugee and Repatriations Ministry.
Shares of rose 5 per cent to Rs 117.15 on the BSE in intra-day trade on Tuesday after the company said it has received letter of acceptance (LOA) from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for the development of Memmadpur (Ambala) - Banur (IT City Chowk) - Kharar (Chandigarh) Corridor for a bid price of Rs 726 crore.

The stock of the roads and highways construction company was trading close to its 52-week high of Rs 118.65 touched on February 17, 2021. At 09:41 am, the scrip was quoting at Rs 114.80, up 3 per cent on the BSE, as compared to a 0.41 per cent gain in the S&P BSE Sensex. A combined 2.4 million equity shares had changed hands on the counter on the NSE and BSE at the time of writing this report.

In the past three months, has outperformed the market by surging nearly 30 per cent as against a 8.5 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.

As on March 31, 2021, total order book of the company stood at Rs 8,167 crore, excluding orders worth Rs 1,949 crore which includes LOA received for Maldives EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) project, G-RIDE project and L-1 for Punjab EPC road project. Of the total order book, contribution from roads HAM (hybrid annuity model) and roads EPC is Rs 3,471 crore and Rs 2,712 crore, respectively; power T&D and others is at Rs 1,376 crore, railways at Rs 537 crore and CGD contributes the rest.

 has guided revenue to increase by 20 per cent year on year (YoY) in FY22E, as labour efficiency has increased to ~90-95 per cent in Q1FY22. Order book at Rs 101 billion (3x TTM revenue) provides revenue visibility and incremental order inflow is expected at Rs 70 billion in FY22E. ACL asset monetization has gathered pace and the company plans to sell road assets on a piecemeal basis. Though this could take time, we believe this could see monetisation of ACL portfolio, analysts at IDBI Capital said in the March quarter result update.
State-run (BoM) on Tuesday said the board has fixed floor price of Rs 24.89 per share for the proposed Rs 2,000 crore qualified institutional placement (QIP).

The committee of board has approved floor price of Rs 24.89 per share, BoM said in a regulatory filing.

The bank may at its discretion offer a discount of not more than 5 per cent on the floor price so calculated for the issue, it said.

In April this year, the Pune-based lender had received board approval to raise Rs 5,000 crore by way of QIP/rights issue/ preferential issue or by issuing Basel III bonds.

Last month, the bank's Managing Director and CEO, A S Rajeev, had said the base size of the issue would be Rs 1,000 crore with green-shoe option of another Rs 1,000 crore.

Following this equity raise, the government's holding in the bank will reduce to below 85 per cent from 94 per cent currently, and the capital adequacy ratio will improve to 17-18 per cent from around 14.49 per cent as of March 31, 2021, he had said.

This fund will be deployed for expansion of the loan book, which the bank is looking to grow by 16-18 per cent to around Rs 1.25 lakh crore in this fiscal from Rs 1.08 lakh crore as of March 31, 2021, he said.

The Pune-based bank has managed to bring its gross non-performing assets to 7.23 per cent as of March 31, 2021, from 18.64 per cent in September 2018, when it was under PCA. Net NPAs stood at 2.48 per cent as of March 31, 2021.

At present, market capitalisation of the bank stands at Rs 17,500 crore against Rs 3,948 crore as of March 2019, he said.

In FY22, the bank is targeting to bring down gross NPA to below 6 per cent and net NPA to below 2 per cent. Net interest margins (NIM) will remain above 3 per cent in this fiscal, he had said.

It has set a recovery and upgradation target of Rs 2,500-2,600 crore during the current year. The lender is also expecting Rs 500 crore recovery from written-off accounts in this fiscal, Rajeev had said.

The lender is looking at opening 200 banking outlets with a hub and spoke model in this fiscal.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By Yuka Obayashi

TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil rose on Tuesday, recovering from the previous day's drop, as expectations of further declines in U.S. crude inventories outweighed fears that spreading COVID-19 variants could derail a global economic recovery.

Brent crude for September climbed 25 cents, or 0.3%, to $75.41 a barrel by 0036 GMT, after losing 0.5% on Monday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for August was at $74.33 a barrel, up 23 cents, or 0.3%, having fallen 0.6% the previous day.

"Optimism about tight supply and declining U.S. crude stockpiles lent support," said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at commodities broker Fujitomi Co, adding that bullish global equities also helped boost risk appetite among investors.

"Still, growing concerns over a spike in COVID-19 infection cases worldwide and uncertainty over production plans by OPEC+ will likely limit gains," he added.

U.S. crude inventories were expected to fall for an eighth consecutive week, while gasoline stocks also declined, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday.

Crude stockpiles have declined steadily for several weeks, with U.S. inventories falling to the lowest since February 2020 in the week to July 2.

Underpinning market sentiment, a gauge of global stocks closed at a record on Monday as investors looked for signs on whether the Delta variant of the COVID-19 could hamper economic growth.

Still, reports from around the globe of surging infections kept some investors cautious.

The World Health Organization warned the Delta variant was becoming dominant and many countries had yet to receive enough doses of vaccine to secure their health workers.

Meanwhile, OPEC+ is yet to make progress closing divisions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that last week prevented a deal to raise oil output, making another policy meeting this week less likely, OPEC+ sources said.

(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; editing by Richard Pullin)

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Integrated steel company Shri Bajrang Power and Ispat Ltd has filed preliminary papers with capital regulator to raise Rs 700 crore through an initial share-sale.

The initial public offer (IPO) consists of issue of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 700 crore, according to draft red herring prospectus (DRHP).

Proceeds from the issue would be utilised towards repayment or pre-payment, of certain borrowings of the company, funding incremental working capital requirements and for general corporate purposes.

Shri Bajrang Power and Ispat Ltd (SBPIL) is one of the leading integrated steel companies based out of central India and a key player in the country in terms of capacity for iron ore pellets, iron ore beneficiation and sponge iron.

SBPIL utilises its captive iron mine (with an approval to mine 1.2 MTPA), and manganese ore mines to manufacture intermediate and long steel products, such as, TMT Bars, ERW pipes manufactured through tubular section mill, wire rods, HB wires including binding wires, ferro alloys, steel billets, iron pellets and sponge iron.

The Raipur-based firm has a consistent track record of delivering operating profitability, and since fiscal 2005, has remained profitable in each of the financial year.

It currently operates three manufacturing units located in Raipur. Further, the company intends to set up a 50MW solar power plant at Raipur.

Equirus Capital Private Limited and SBI Capital Limited have been appointed as merchant bankers to advice the company on the IPO.

The equity shares of the company will be listed on BSE and NSE.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 133.50 points higher at 15,821.50 around 8 am, indicating a gap-up start for the benchmark indices on Tuesday.

Here are the top stocks to track in today's session:

Earnings Today: Mindtree, Tata Metaliks, Deccan Health Care, Shree Ganesh Remedies and WS Industries are among eight companies that will release quarterly earnings today.

RIL, Airtel, Voda Idea: Shares of telecom companies will be in focus after latest TRAI data showed Reliance Jio lead the market in mobile subscriber additions as it gained 4.7 million users in April even as troubled lost 1.8 million customers during the same period. Bharti Airtel added just 0.51 million mobile subscribers in April.

Sunteck Realty: The company's pre-sales grew 74 per cent YoY in Q1FY22 to Rs 176 crore and collections grew by 165 per cent YoY to Rs 172 crore.

PNB Housing Finance: The market regulator Sebi has no jurisdiction to direct a listed company to adhere to its articles of association, PNB Housing Finance told the Securities Appellate Tribunal on Monday. The company said appointing a registered valuer to determine the price for its proposed preferential allotment will be in violation of company law provisions. READ HERE

FDC: The company has launched India's first oral suspension of Favipiravir  Favenza oral suspension, used to treat mild to moderate cases of Covid-19.

Vedanta: An arbitral tribunal has in a partial final award ruled that Zambia's ZCCM has breached dispute resolution provisions provided in Vedanta Resources' Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) shareholder agreements, the mining group said on Monday.

Shipping Corp: Disinvestment-bound Shipping Corporation of India on Monday said it has opened the virtual data room for potential bidders. Virtual data room access will allow the bidders to obtain detailed financial information about the company as well as scrutinise financial liabilities, contracts and other relevant material for making a financial bid.

ONGC: Fair trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Monday approved the acquisition of 23.5 per cent stake in ONGC Tripura Power Company Ltd by Summit India (Tripura).

Hero MotoCorp: The two-wheeler maker remains bullish on growth prospects in both domestic and international going ahead as it looks to enhance its presence in the premium two-wheeler segment and develop competencies in the electric vehicle space going ahead, as per the company's Annual Report for 2020-21.

HFCL: Domestic telecom gear maker HFCL reported over threefold jump in its consolidated profit after tax to Rs 90.69 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2021.

Reliance Industries: The company has invested Rs 1,00,000 in cash in 10,000 equity shares of Rs 10 each of 'Reliance New Energy Solar' (RNESL), a newly incorporated wholly owned subsidiary. RNESL is incorporated to undertake activities relating to solar energy. RNESL is yet to commence its business operations.

Ashoka Buildcon: The company has received letter of acceptance from National Highways Authority of India for development of Memmadpur (Ambala) - Banur (IT City Chowk) - Kharar (Chandigarh) Corridor for a bid price of Rs 726 crore.

Shilpa Medicare: The company board approved the transfer of API business consisting of Unit-1 and Unit-2 situated at Raichur, Karnataka by way of slump sale to a wholly owned subsidiary of the company.

IDBI Bank: Moodys has upgraded baseline credit assessment (BCA) of IDBI to b1 from b2. IDBI's local and foreign-currency bank deposit ratings are two notches above its Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) and Adjusted BCA of b1.
Keeping in view the COVID0-19 pandemic, the Government on Tuesday has decided to cancel Kanwar Yatra this year.

Kanwar Yatra is an annual pilgrimage of devotees of Lord Shiva to Hindu pilgrimage sites of Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in and Sultanganj in Bihar to fetch holy waters of River Ganga. Later, the holy water is dispensed as offerings to Lord Shiva in temples.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, at a high-level meeting, decided that like last year, this year too, there will be no Kanwar Yatra to combat coronavirus, officials said.

After considering expert opinions and an in-depth discussion on the finding of the Delta Plus variant of COVID and its effects in the country and abroad, the state government, giving top priority to the protection of human life, decided to postpone the upcoming Kanwar Yatra, they added.

Dhami has directed the Secretary of Home and Director General of Police (DGP) to take appropriate action. He also instructed them to coordinate with the officials of the neighbouring states and to request them for effective action to tackle the pandemic.



"We discussed with higher officials and with officials from neighbouring states and decided that we will not hold Kanwar Yatra at this time. A variant has been found in Gadarpur so we don't want to make Haridwar the center of Covid," said Dhami

Earlier, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) had written to Uttarakhand Chief Minister to disallow the Kanwar Yatra this year in light of the possible third COVID-19 wave.

In the letter, IMA Uttarakhand State Secretary Dr Ajay Khanna expressed concerns about the crowds that may gather for the annual pilgrimage and urged Dhami not to allow devotees from outside to enter the state for the Yatra.

Khanna further said that the yatra is a matter of Shraddha (reverence) and Aastha (faith), and God would not like anyone to die.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
FDC announced the launch of India's first oral suspension of Favipiravir - Favenza Oral Suspension, used to treat mild to moderate cases of COVID-19. This prescription-only solution is currently available at all retail medical outlets and hospital pharmacies across the country.

Sunteck Realty in its Q1 FY22 operational updates said the company's pre-sales grew by 74% YoY in Q1FY22 to Rs 176 crore, and collections grew by 165% YoY in Q1FY22 to Rs 172 crore.

Ashoka Buildcon has received Letter of Acceptance from National Highways Authority of India ('NHAI') for development of Memmadpur (Ambala) - Banur (IT City Chowk) - Kharar (Chandigarh) Corridor for a bid price of Rs 726 crore.

Reliance Industries (RIL) informed that the company has invested Rs. 1,00,000 in cash in 10,000 equity shares of Rs. 10 each of 'Reliance New Energy Solar Limited' (RNESL), a newly incorporated wholly owned subsidiary. RNESL is incorporated to undertake activities relating to solar energy. RNESL is yet to commence its business operations.

Shilpa Medicare said that the board of directors, approved the transfer of API Business of the company consisting of Unit-1 and Unit-2 situated at Raichur, Karnataka by way of slump sale to a wholly owned subsidiary of the company (to be incorporated).

Xelpmoc Design and Tech said its board of directors would meet on July 15 to consider a proposal of fund raising by issuance of equity shares or any other securities.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Japan stock market finished higher for second session in row on Tuesday, 13 July 2021, as risk sentiments encouraged by tracking gains on Wall Street overnight and on optimism over corporate earnings growth.

At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average advanced 149.22 points, or 0.52%, to 28,718.24. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange added 14.31 points, or 0.73%, to 1,967.64.

Trading volume turnover in the 1st section decreased to 957 million shares from 1,035 million shares in previous session.

Trading value turnover decreased to 2,180.12 billion yen from 3,380.31 billion yen in previous session.

Total 29 of 33 sectors sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange ended higher, with top performers were Mining (up 3.2%), Other Financial Business (up 2%), Insurance (2%), Metal Products (up 2%), Glass & Ceramics Products (up 1.8%), Marine Transportation (up 1.8%), Electric Power & Gas (up 1.8%), Banks (up 1.5%), and Securities & Commodities Futures (up 1.5%) issues, while Land Transportation (down 0.5%) issue was worst performer.

Shares of drugstore chain operator Cosmos Pharmaceutical jumped 9.3% and home Builder Tama Home surged 17.6% after posting upbeat earnings.

Shares of liquor store company Kakuyasu tumbled 3.3% as it withdrew its earnings outlook for the current year through March 2022.

CURRENCY NEWS: The U. S. dollar stayed firm in the lower 110 yen range on Tuesday. The Japanese yen traded at 110.34 per dollar, still weaker than levels below 110 seen against the greenback last week.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The board of NMDC on Tuesday, 13 July 2021, approved the demerger of NMDC Steel from the company.

The scheme is subject to necessary statutory and regulatory approvals including the approval of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), stock exchanges, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India and respective shareholders and creditors, if any, of each of the companies involved in the scheme.

NMDC Steel, a wholly owned subsidiary of NMDC, currently does not have any business operations. It is authorized by its memorandum of association to carry on the business of, amongst others, manufacturing, prospecting, raising, operating, buying, selling, importing, ex.porting or otherwise dealing in various categories of steel and iron ore.

The Government of India has charted a road map to augment India's steel production to 300 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) by 2025. To fulfill this vision, green-field steel plants are being promoted through Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) in mineral rich states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kamataka and Odisha. It has been envisaged that the SPV being set up at these states would act as a facilitator and developer for the steel plant. It would acquire the required land, obtain statutory clearances for setting up the plant, organize water & power allocation for the site, along with dedicated raw material supply agreement. On completion of the above activities, the SPV would invite for suitable investor/s, who would construct, develop and operate the steel plant.

NMDC is setting up a 3 MTPA capacity greenfield integrated steel plant i.e. NISP (NMDC Iron & Steel Plant) at Nagamar, located 16 km from Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh state. The decision to construct the NISP was taken keeping in view with linkage with iron ore reserves and availability of investable surplus.

NISP has progressed significantly further than the other steel SPVs. The only difference is that NISP is being developed and constructed within NMDC as opposed to being developed in an SPV. NMDC has specifically stated that its role would be that of a developer for steel plants and at suitable time invite investors to commission and operate the plants.

NMDC is therefore considering proposed scheme to add more value to company's stakeholders by demerging NISP into separate company and subsequently inviting an investor.

In October 2020, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its 'in-principle' approval to the demerger of NISP from NMDC and strategic disinvestment of the NMDC Steel by selling entire Government of India stake in the NMDC Steel to a strategic buyer.

There is no cash consideration involved in the scheme. As consideration for transfer and vesting of the demerged undertaking into NMDC Steel, it shall issue and allot 293,06,05,850 equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each as consideration to each equity shareholder of NMDC, whose name is recorded in the register of members of NMDC as on record date.

On a consolidated basis, NMDC's net profit surged 717.15% to Rs 2,835.54 crore on 114.83% jump in revenue from operations to Rs 6,847.57 crore in Q4 March 2021 over Q4 March 2020.

NMDC is India's single largest iron ore producer, presently producing about 35 million tonnes of iron ore from 3 fully mechanized mines, two located in Chhattisgarh and one in Karnataka.

Shares of NMDC rallied 3.80% to close at Rs 172.05 on BSE. As on 31 March 2021, the Government of India held 68.29% stake in the company.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
According the India Meteorological Department (IMD) weather bulletin issued today the Southwest Monsoon has further advanced into remaining parts of the country including Delhi, remaining parts of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.

Thus, the Southwest Monsoon has covered entirecountryon13th July, against the normal date of 08th July. The continued prevalence of moist easterly winds from the Bay of Bengal in the lower levels for the last four days resulted in enhanced cloud cover and scattered to fairly wide spread rainfall.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A delegation of Delhi leaders on Tuesday lodged a complaint with the chief vigilance commissioner (CVC), demanding a detailed probe into the DTC bus procurement and maintenance contract issue.

Delhi president Anil Kumar, who led the delegation, claimed that the assured of action on the complaint against the purchase and maintenance deal of 1,000 low-floor buses for the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC).

"A Delhi delegation met Chief Vigilance Commissioner Suresh Patel at his office and submitted a letter on behalf of the people of Delhi, demanding a detailed probe into the Rs 4,288 crore scam in the purchase and maintenance contracts of 1,000 low-floor buses," the Delhi Congress said in a statement.

In the letter, Kumar alleged that the purchase of buses for the DTC involved "big corruption", which was a "gross misuse" of public money. He further alleged that the Rs 3,413 crore tender for the Annual Maintenance Contract was a "clear case of corruption", the statement added.

A three-member committee appointed by Lt Governor Anil Baijal has said in its report that there was no "infirmity" in bus procurement although the AMC suffered from "procedural lapses". The committee has recommended floating fresh bids for maintenance.

Citing the report, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had said last week that the panel gave a "clean chit" to the Arvind Kejriwal government in the issue.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
leaders on Monday met and discussed the name for the new legislature party (CLP) leader in the state.

The meeting was attended by in charge of Devender Yadav. Harish Rawat, Navprabhat, and Karan Mahara also attended the meeting.

The post fell vacant after Indira Hridayesh, who was the CLP leader in the state Assembly, passed away due to heart attack in June.

According to the sources, discussions over the selection of a new CLP leader took place.

Speaking to the media after the meeting with Rahul Gandhi, Devender Yadav said that the discussions were held regarding Assembly polls which are scheduled to be held in 2022.

"Also, Congress will be announcing the name for the new CLP leader in the state soon," Yadav said.

Uttarakhand Congress Chief Pritam Singh said, "I am ready to take the responsibilities given by the high command."

The leaders, according to sources, have discussed regional balance in the state which has dominant two regions -- Kumaon and Garhwal.

According to the sources, the names of Govind Singh Kunjwal, Pritam Singh and Karan Mahara are being discussed for the post of CLP leader.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In the year-long crackdown on tax evasion, the authorities have unearthed over Rs 35,000 crore of tax fraud committed by misuse of input tax credit provision under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.

During the 2020-21 financial year, the CGST zones and the Directorate General of Intelligence (DGGI) booked about 8,000 cases involving fake ITC of over Rs 35,000 crore, a statement from CBIC said.

Under the regime, at the time of paying tax on output, entities can reduce the tax they have already paid on inputs.

Some have, however, misused the provision by creating fake invoices on inputs.

"Misuse of the beneficial provision of ITC under the GST regime is the most common modus of evasion under the GST law," the statement said.

"The field formations of the Central Board of Indirect taxes and Customs (CBIC) have been regularly detecting such cases from the very beginning of the GST regime."



During 2020-21 (April 2020 to March 2021), 426 persons, including 14 professionals such as CAs, lawyers and directors, were arrested.

"Considering the high proportion of fake ITC availment and utilisation, a nationwide special drive against the fake GST invoice was launched with effect from November 9, 2020 which is still continuing," it said.

"However due to the serious Covid pandemic spread during the past two three months and related safety concerns, the drive slowed down but with gradual lifting of lockdown and improved Covid-19 situation in different parts of the country, the department has resumed the drive in coordinated action at national level," the statement said.

The crack-down by Directorate General of GST Intelligence and all the Central GST formations against the fraudsters responsible for causing loss to the government exchequer has gained momentum during this month.

In the nationwide drive, Directorate General of GST Intelligence and CGST Zones under CBIC have during the current financial year detected more than 500 cases involving 1,200 entities and arresting 24 persons.

The number of arrests made by officers of CBIC is one of the highest in recent times, the statement said.

CBIC officers are using the latest IT tools, digital evidence and also collecting information from other government departments to catch the fraudsters.

"Along with legislative and procedural changes in the law, the nationwide drive has contributed to better compliance and revenue collection. During the drive, cases of fake ITC availment against some well-known companies were also booked," the statement said.

Some of the notable cases booked recently include a case by DGGI Nagpur Zonal Unit against three firms involved in passing on fraudulent ITC to the tune of Rs 214 crore and claiming refund of accumulated ITC in fraudulent manner. These firms had submitted fake rental agreements and fake electricity bills and they existed only on paper without any business activities having taken place from their registered place of business.

These firms were showing exports of a common product i.e. smoking mixtures for pipes and cigarettes attracting GST at the rate of 28 per cent and Compensation Cess of 290 per cent.

In another instance, DGGI Chandigarh Zonal Unit booked and apprehended a mastermind, who was operating fake firms for passing on illegal ITC to the tune of Rs 115 crore.

On information that fictitious/bogus firms were used to pass inadmissible ITC to various iron and steel units based in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, searches were conducted at multiple premises in Himachal Pradesh (Baddi) and Punjab where incriminating evidences in the form of laptop containing incriminating emails, pen drives, mobile phones evidencing fraudulent transactions were resumed.

Similarly a case of fraudulent ITC was also booked by DGGI SuratZonal Unit in which non-existent firms were found to be engaged in supply of invoices and passing on illegal ITC to the tune of Rs 300 crore.

CGST Jaipur Zone detected a case involving multiple fake firms for availment/ passing on fraudulent ITC of more than Rs 100 crore in which three persons were arrested.

In another case of ITC fraud, CGST Delhi Zone busted a network of 23 entities involved in creation of fake invoices worth Rs 551 crore and passing on fraudulent ITC worth Rs 91 crore. These fake entities were issuing invoices of bituminous mixtures, base metals, furniture and doors. Three key persons involved in this fake invoice racket have been arrested.

In another instance, CGST Ahmedabad Zone booked a case of ITC fraud of Rs 38 crore against thirteen fake entities which were created to pass on fraudulent ITC by way of issuing bogus invoices of iron and steel.

"The enforcement drive against the fake invoice fraudsters and other GST evaders is likely to intensify with an objective to catch and book unscrupulous elements engaged in illegal activities to defraud the government exchequer," the statement said.

Apart from cases of fake ITC the DGGI and other CGST formations have also detected GST evasion involving misclassification, undervaluation and clandestine supplies of goods and services, it said but did not give details.
As 5G technology slowly but steadily spreads across the world, smartphone brand OPPO on Tuesday released its 6G strategy, saying that (AI) will act as a new dimension to the next generation of communication networks, helping 6G networks self-optimise and dynamically administrate themselves.

The 6G technology will fundamentally revolutionise how AI infers, learns, interacts, and is applied, making the technology and its benefits available to all, according to a 6G white paper released by the OPPO Research Institute.

Mobile communication technology evolves in decade-long periods, and standardisation of the next generation of communication technology is expected to begin in 2025, with commercial implementation following in around 2035," said Henry Tang, OPPO's Chief 5G Scientist.

"Looking towards 2035, OPPO expects the number of intelligent agents in the world to far exceed the number of humans. Therefore, the next generation of communication technology, 6G, should be able to serve the needs not only of people but of all forms of intelligence and their various interactions," he elaborated.

OPPO has established a pre-research team to conduct preliminary research on 6G service and technology requirements, key technologies and system features.

Empowered by 6G, smart devices will become important participants and users of AI, downloading and deploying AI algorithms at different application levels to create new immersive experiences while also constantly collecting data to feed more advanced AI models.

For example, in the case of autonomous vehicles, 6G networks will be able to assign the most appropriate AI algorithm and the optimal communication connection based on the location of the vehicle and the current physical environment.

The vehicle will be able to immediately download and run AI algorithms that have been trained by countless other vehicles and devices, allowing the vehicle to provide the safest and most comfortable journey for the passenger.

Under the proposed network, 6G devices will be allocated to an AI domain-based on the location and requirements of the device.

This AI domain will then issue the most suitable AI algorithm and task needed to deliver the desired services while providing the most optimal communication connection to carry out the relevant tasks.

"Unlike 4G and 5G networks, the AI used for inferring and decision making in 6G networks will be organically integrated on the device side and the network side, with the device assuming a more important role," the OPPO research team said.

--IANS

na/

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
on Tuesday released a new automotive image sensor as the tech giant eyes to expand its presence beyond the mobile sector.

The ISOCELL Auto 4AC will be used for rear-view cameras and surround-view monitors of a vehicle and offer high-definition resolution images. Samsung's latest image sensor comes in an optical format of 1/3.7-inch with 1.2 million 3.0-micrometer pixels.

Samsung said it applied CornerPixel technology for the first time, which will help reduce blind areas even in extreme conditions, reports Yonhap news agency.

Its pixel designing technology embeds two photodiodes in a single pixel area, with one 3.0-micrometer pixel for low light images and a 1.0-micrometer pixel for a brighter environment.

It offers advanced 120-decibel high dynamic range with minimal motion blur, which will enable smoother transitions between dark and brighter areas, according to Samsung.

The new image sensor also features LED flicker mitigation solutions to deliver more accurate images. Samsung said the smaller photodiode's exposure time can be extended to minimise LED flickering that may come from LED headlamps of road signage, such as street lamps and traffic lights.

"Starting with the ISOCELL Auto 4AC, we plan to expand our automotive sensor lineup to areas such as camera monitor systems, autonomous driving and in-cabin monitoring," said Chang Duck-hyun, executive vice president of sensor business at Samsung.

--IANS

na/

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], July 13 (ANI/PRNewswire): Tanla Platforms Limited, India's largest CPaaS provider, today announced that it will release unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended June 30, 2021, following the close of market on Thursday, July 22, 2021.

Tanla will host a conference call and live webcast to discuss the financial results.

Conference call details:

The conference call will begin at 5.30 PM IST on July 22, 2021. Interested parties may listen to the call by dialing +91 22 6280 1141 / +91 22 7115 8042, or if outside India, by dialing toll free number UK 08081011573, USA 18667462133, Hong Kong 800964448, and Singapore 8001012045. The live audio webcast link would be available on Tanla website.

In order to express login, pre-registration link is as below: https://services.choruscall.in/DiamondPassRegistration/register?confirmationNumber=7080494 & linkSecurityString=196dd15dae

An audio replay of the conference call will be upload on Tanla website by 9.00 AM on July 23, 2021, and the transcript will be uploaded subsequently. To hear replay, the interested parties may go to the investors section of Tanla website.

This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PRNewswire)

DISCLAIMER

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Air bp, the international aviation fuel products and service supplier, has announced its first sale of ISCC PLUS certified sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Spain, one of the largest global aviation markets.

Air bps key business aviation customer, NetJets Europe became the first to purchase the fuel starting from the beginning of July.

') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write(' ') } // --> ') } else if (width >= 425) { console.log ('largescreen'); document.write('') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write('') } // -->

The SAF is supplied locally from bps Castellon refinery and available across the Air bp network in Spain. Waste based sustainable feedstocks is procured by the refinery and co-processed (together with fossil fuel), producing synthetic low carbon fuel.

SAF can then be certified using International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS procedures. Co-processing is a key step in replacing fossil fuel with renewable feedstock within refineries and helping to advance the decarbonization of transport including aviation.

The ISCC PLUS certified SAF has an attributed saving of around 80% carbon emissions over its lifecycle compared with conventional jet fuel it replaces. This is the first time that Air bp has sold SAF using the ISCC PLUS certified method.

Christian Luwisch, NetJets Europe, executive director said, We are proud to collaborate with Air bp to supply SAF for NetJets aircraft in Europe. This new partnership is an important next step in our ongoing commitment to reduce the environmental footprint of our company. Our owners will now benefit from this supply of SAF which we expect to be in the region of 325,000 USG during the first 12 months.

Martin Thomsen, CEO, Air bp said, We are excited to announce our first sale of SAF in Spain, which opens up new supply opportunities in an important aviation market. We are also delighted to have the support of our customer, NetJets Europe, which demonstrates their willingness to invest in SAF to help reduce carbon emissions. We hope this announcement will encourage more customers to purchase SAF in Spain. We believe SAF is one of the aviation industrys key routes to reducing carbon emissions, and ISCC PLUS certified SAF is the first step towards developing new refining and commercial solutions, including those that achieve CORSIA certification, to keep decarbonizing our offers for our aviation customers.

Air bp was involved in fuelling the first SAF flight by an airline in February 2008 and since then has been enabling ground-breaking test flights and investing in sustainable alternative fuels. To date Air bp has supplied sustainable aviation fuel to over 20 airports.
A recent Supreme Court ruling has given some immigrants renewed hope that they can have their deportation cancelled because they didnt receive proper notice of the court proceedings
When silver carp feel threatened, they can jump several feet in the air. At the sound of the engine, these carp jumped into our boat.
In todays Caixin energy news wrap: Global electric-car makers face widening shortage of batteries, report says, while China is pushing construction of battery swapping centers. Chinas carbon market is expected to hit $25.9 billion this year, and more Chinese solar companies are returning to the domestic capital market.

China speeds up policymaking for energy storage

Chinas energy industry regulator is formulating a series of new rules and regulations to guide development of the power storage industry, Xu Ziming, a senior official of the National Energy Administration, said Sunday in Beijing at an industry summit. At the same event, Xu Wenli, an official at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said the ministry is also studying industries related to solar power, energy storage and key energy devices in a bid to set up related industry policies.

Electric-car industry faces widening battery shortage, report says

Global electric-car makers demand for batteries to power their vehicles will rise to 406 gigawatts in 2023, while supply totals 335 gigawatts, representing a shortfall of nearly 18%, energy market research institute SNE Research said in a report. The gap will further widen to 40% by 2025, according to SNE.

China juices up drive into EV battery swapping centers

China is embarking on a building spree for battery swapping centers as Beijing pushes electric vehicle (EV) makers and others to build out infrastructure to support its aggressive drive into clean vehicles. The nations network of battery swapping centers totaled 716 at the end of June, nearly three times the number at the end of last year, according to the China Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance. Leading EV maker Nio said last week it aimed to have as many as 700 of its own battery swapping stations nationwide by the end of this year  more than double its total midway through the year.

Chinas carbon market to reach $25.9 billion this year, Citic says

The average price for carbon trading in China this year is expected to be about 30 yuan per ton ($4.60), giving the market a total value of 168 billion yuan ($25.9 billion), Citic Securities said in a research note. The prediction is in line with that of local carbon trading pilot programs but is far below the average European Union price of 42 euros ($49.40) per ton. Over the next few years, Chinas carbon market price is expected to rise modestly, the broker said. On July 7, the State Council said the national carbon emission trading for the power generation industry would be launched this month.

Two more overseas-traded Chinese solar companies seek home listing

The Shanghai Stock Exchange accepted applications June 28 from JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. and Canadian Solar Inc. for initial public offerings on the tech-savvy STAR Market. Both Chinese companies shares trade in the U.S. They are seeking to debut on Chinas domestic market through restructuring. JinkoSolar plans to raise 6 billion yuan ($925.9 million) while Canadian Solar eyes 4 billion yuan. JinkoSolar and Canadian Solar are among Chinas four largest photovoltaic manufacturing enterprises which are moving toward domestic share sales amid concerns over low valuations in the U.S. market.

Zijin Minings Congo copper mine starts first-phase operation

The Kamoa-Kakula copper mine jointly developed by Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd. (601899.SH) and Canadas Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. in the Democratic Republic of the Congo started full-scale operation of its first-phase project. The mine has proven reserves of more than 43.6 million tons of copper ore, equivalent to 37% of Chinas total reserves. The project is set to produce 80,00095,000 tons of copper concentrate this year.

Chinas maritime trade totaled 3.46 billion tons in 2020

Chinas maritime imports and exports reached 3.46 billion tons in 2020, accounting for 30% of total global maritime trade. About 95% of Chinas international commodities trade was delivered via sea transport. In 2020, the proportion of sea transport increased from 85% to 86% of global trade. Chinas sea imports and exports were up by 6.7% to 3.46 billion tons in 2020, and the proportion of global total increased from 27.1% to 30%.

Contact editors Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and Bob Simison (bobsimison@caixin.com)

Download our app to receive breaking news alerts and read the news on the go.

Follow the Chinese markets in real time with Caixin Globals new stock database.
Two state-owned firms are looking to sell off nearly 99% of the equity of Dajia, the company created to take over the assets of the scandal-plagued Chinese insurer
Here you'll find our latest collection of Caledonian-Record reports on the coronavirus outbreak and local response, from the beginning of April. Our January, February and March stories are here: https://www.caledonianrecord.com/news/local/our-coronavirus-coverage/collection_5885178c-692e-11e
Become A Subscriber

A subscription opens up access to all our online content, including: our interactive E-Edition, a full archive of modern stories, exclusive and expanded online offerings, photo galleries from Caledonian-Record journalists, video reports from our media partners, extensive international, national and regional reporting by the Associated Press, and a wide variety of feature content.


remaining of

Thank you for reading! This is your last free article before you will be asked to subscribe.

Already have a paid subscription? Sign in
* Username This is the name that will be used to identify you within the system. Choose wisely!

* First name

* Last name Your real name will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more!

* Email Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. We won't share it with anyone else.

* Password Create a password that only you will remember. If you forget it, you'll be able to recover it using your email address.
Thank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and consider subscribing for only $7 per month to get access to more articles and news as it happens.
More than 43 years after debuting on Japanese tv, Hayao Miyazakis influential series Future Boy Conan is finally coming to North America. GKIDS will release the series in late 2021 with a new 4k restoration and English dub, as well as a subtitled version. The distributor has confirmed that the show will get a Blu-ray.

Future Boy Conan is the only series Miyazaki has directed in its entirety, and the last of his major works to receive a North American release. Based on American author Alexander Keys novel The Incredible Tide, it tells the story of a young boy, raised on a remote island in a post-apocalyptic world, who embarks on an adventure in search of an abducted girl.

The 26-episode series, which was produced by Nippon Animation, aired in Japan in 1978  the year before the release of Miyazakis feature directorial debut, The Castle of Cagliostro. It has been cited as an inspiration by many artists and filmmakers, both in and outside Japan. Confirmed fans include Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar, Parasite director Bong Joon-Ho, and Enrico Casarosa, who has spoken of the shows influence on his recent Pixar feature Luca.
Tokyo studio Mappa has issued a statement in response to recent criticism, stating that it has never paid unfairly low wages.

Earlier this month, animator Ippei Ichii claimed on Twitter that Mappa were paying artists as little as 3,800 (USD$34) per cut  a rock-bottom rate for tv anime  on a production for Netflix. Ichii, who served as an animation director on Mappas Zombie Land Saga Revenge, blamed the streaming giant for ordering shows on such low budgets. His comments prompted commentary on social media about working conditions at Mappa and in the anime industry in general.

According to Mappa, the online discourse has distorted facts about its practices, though the studio did not deny the low rates that Ichii mentioned in his tweets. The studio, which does not mention Ichii by name, notes that the show in question was not ordered by a major platform: it is a new, as-yet-unannounced work in a tv series produced and planned by Mappa, then sold for distribution to the platform. The sale price determined the budget. The studio says its pay to creators (i.e. artists working across animation production) is always fairly determined in relation to the budget.
INBTWN Animation Fest, an event partner of Cartoon Brew, recently spoke to Enrico Casarosa, director of Pixars latest feature Luca.

Drawing on the directors own upbringing, the film focuses on the friendship between two Italian boys, Luca and Alberto, who lead parallel lives as sea monsters. Cartoon Brews reviewer called it easily the best Pixar movie since 2017s Coco.

Lucas story has been interpreted as a statement on everything from gay love to the experience of refugees. Addressing these views, Casarosa takes us through the narrative development, explaining how they worked backward from the ending. He talks about his recent reunion with the real-life Alberto and the inspiration for Machiavelli, the films crabby cat.
Photo: The Canadian Press Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe speaks at a press conference at the Legislative Building in Regina, Thursday, March 25, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Michael Bell

Premier Scott Moe says Ottawa has rejected Saskatchewan's plan for replacing the federal carbon price with one of its own, while the Liberal government is saying any proposed changes simply have to wait.

Moe announced that the province would submit a plan for approval after the Supreme Court of Canada in March ruled the Liberal governments price on carbon was constitutional.

People in Saskatchewan have been paying the federal carbon price on fuel, but Moe's government had rejected that as being a punishing tax that made the province less competitive for business.

He said that Saskatchewan would introduce a carbon price similar to New Brunswicks that would "provide an immediate rebate right at the pump."

In a letter sent to his provincial counterpart, federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says the federal government is updating its benchmark criteria for carbon pricing.

"Canada has committed to updating its approach to carbon pricing to make it more fair and rigorous," reads the letter, which was shared with The Canadian Press.

"In the coming months, all provinces and territories will have the opportunity to propose, for the 2023-2030 period, carbon-pricing systems that meet these updated stringency criteria."

The letter says one of the key changes will be a requirement for governments not to weaken a carbon price on fuel by providing upfront rebates or reducing fuel taxes to offset the price.

"As we are currently updating the benchmark to ensure fairness and consistency across Canada, and to provide certainty and stability for residents and businesses, at this stage the earliest any new or expanded system will be able to replace the backstop will be in January 2023," Moira Kelly, Wilkinson's press secretary, said in a statement.

"We are pleased to see Saskatchewan's interest in developing a made-in-Saskatchewan pollution pricing plan, and remain open to conversations with Saskatchewan about what their system could look like going forward."

Moe said in a statement that it's an "arbitrary and political decision from Ottawa." He said Saskatchewan's plan is similar to "other provincial programs previously accepted."

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney offered his support to Saskatchewan on Twitter.

"Saskatchewan has been denied the same policy framework that Ottawa has accepted for East Coast provinces," he said. "The federal government's approach is arbitrary, and is penalizing western Canadian resource producing provinces."

Conservative MPs Dan Albas and Joel Godin also criticized the government's response to Saskatchewan's proposed plan, and said the Conservative party plans to bring the provinces together to talk about the next steps in climate action.

"Instead of working with Saskatchewan on a plan that works for their province, the Liberal government has rejected their plan and set an arbitrary date of two years for another plan," they said in a statement. "These actions from the Trudeau Liberals show they are more interested in politics than working together to tackle the issue of climate change."

Saskatchewan and Ottawa have disagreed for some years over the Liberal government's approach to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change.

Saskatchewan Opposition Leader Ryan Meili said Moe has failed to bring in carbon pricing that works for the province and "wont even show his work."

"The Sask. Partys failure to present a credible climate change plan has left Saskatchewan people subject to the federal carbon tax for the last three years," the NDP leader said in a statement. "Now, because of the premier's political games, we will be stuck with Prime Minister Trudeau's plan for a further two years."

The Liberals recently adopted legislation that commits Canada to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and are supporting that goal with more aggressive policies to cut carbon-related pollution in transportation.

The government has also submitted plans to the United Nations ahead of an international climate summit to be held later this year promising that Canada will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.

It says it is on track to exceed the current target of 30 per cent under current measures.
Photo: Jon Manchester

A North Vancouver man is calling for change after his mother was forced to lie injured on the street for more than five hours before paramedics arrived.

Its the latest in a series of public cases that show BC Emergency Health Services falling behind amid a paramedic shortage and spike in demand.

Mathieu Leclerc said his mom fell from her bicycle about 7:30 p.m. Friday.

She fell on her leg and from that point, she wasn't able to move anymore, he said.

His dad called 911 to request an ambulance. Leclerc arrived 40 minutes later, surprised to see his mother still on the ground with no first responders in sight.

It was another 45 minutes before members of West Vancouver Fire Rescue, who had only just been tasked, arrived on the scene. They provided some measures to comfort Leclerc's mom, including nitrous oxide, but fire crews in B.C. are not cleared to transport patients to hospital and so they too were forced to wait.

Leclerc said they tried to move his mom into his vehicle so he could do the job himself, but even the slightest movement was excruciating for his mom. Everyone at the scene felt helpless, Leclerc said, although there were some very compassionate bystanders who helped his mom so she would be comfortable.

You wouldn't expect random people to do this, but they were just so helpful, he said

By the time an ambulance arrived, it was 12:45 a.m.  more than five hours since they called for help.

While his mom understood that calls for life-threatening illness and injury must take priority, Leclerc said the system is clearly broken.

She shouldn't have been on the ground for five hours in a populated area, in such a developed nation, he said. I'd like to know that help is available when you call 911. If you are in a serious situation, and you can't get that help, I think that's the most devastating thing that could happen to a person.

North Vancouver-Seymour MLA Susie Chant, a registered nurse outside of politics, was shocked to hear about Leclercs mothers wait.

That is terribly distressing, she said. I have waited with my mom for an ambulance and its the longest [wait] of your life.

Chant said the province has been hiring more paramedics but it will still be some time before they are fully deployed, and demand for services remains extremely high.

BC Emergency Health Services has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Photo: Glacier Media

A pit stop by the federal leader of the opposition in Richmond Monday seemed to be part of a pre-election campaign tour.

Erin OToole had just finished a tour of Alberta and is next heading to Vancouver Island and the Okanagan.

Speaking to a business audience, OToole outlined a five-point recovery plan that a Conservative government would implement as Canada emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, including creating a million jobs for Canadians within a year.

His speech included pointed criticism of Justin Trudeau - as well as the NDP and Greens  calling the prime ministers approach to China naive.

OToole said Canadians need to be clear-eyed realists with communist China.

We have to be crystal clear that our criticism is with the Chinese communist regime, not with the Chinese people or the country of China itself, he added.

OTooles recovery plan included a mental-health action plan, noting the high number of opioid-related deaths in B.C.

When asked whether a Conservative government would support decriminalization of small amounts of illicit drugs, something supported by chiefs of police across Canada to keep those struggling with addiction out of the court system, OToole said its something he would be willing to have a conversation about.

While the Conservatives have big concerns with the legalization of drugs, O'Toole said, if someone is struggling with an addiction, they should be dealt with compassionately and, if in the court system, their addiction should be a sentencing consideration.

For discretion to remove a criminal penalty or sanction from somebody with an addiction, we are open to those discussions, OToole said.

But, he added, there would be a focus on harm reduction and a commitment from a Conservative government to treatment for addicts.

Further criticism was of the rollout of federal support to individuals and businesses during the pandemic as well as how slow the federal government has announced infrastructure spending that is supposed to stimulate the economy after the COVID-19-related downturn.

OToole said the fifth pillar of the Conservative recovery plan is to get back to a balance within a decade to ensure things like old age security and health care are secure.

Trudeau is putting all at risk  he has doubled the national debt, he said.
Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription, or activate your access, to continue reading.
Dangote acquires 20,000 vehicles to improve distribution

13 July 2021

Nigerias Dangote Cement has acquired 20,000 additional vehicles to improve the distribution of its products across the country. The vehicles, made up of trucks, trailers and tippers, represent an investment of US$150m.



"These assets would meet the expected increase in demand for transportation of cement to every part of the country and create employment for over 4000 people in Nigeria," said Dangote spokesperson Tony Chiejine.

"We have acquired the new trucks in line with our new expansion capacity in Obajana, Ibese, Gboko and the new cement plant coming up on stream at Okpella, Edo State, in few weeks time," said Mr Chiejine.

The company has also obtained the approval of its board for medium-term debt funding under its NGN300bn (US$730m) bond programme. It intends to issue its maiden series of bonds (series 1 bonds), subject to obtaining regulatory approvals and favourable market conditions.

The bonds will be used to refinance short-term debt used for cement expansion projects, working capital and corporate purposes.

Published under
Buena Vista, CO (81211)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 82F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Some passing clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 52F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact The Chanute Tribune office at 620-431-4100 if you have any questions
Chatham, VA (24531)

Today

Cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 85F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with more showers at times. Low 67F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
There is a great tape circulating on the Internet where a black father, articulate, poised and educated, addresses a school board - presumably in a Michigan township - to say, The Critical Race Theory is teaching that white people are bad. That's not true. That would teach my daughter that her mother is evil."

It's actually taught in the collegiate atmosphere - and, more importantly, the legal portion of the collegiate atmosphere to see different laws through the lens of race ... from an ethical standpoint - not for grade schoolers and high schoolers." Thats right. Ian Rice is married to a white woman and, according to theBlaze.com, Ian lashed out at the school board, saying, This board and this school district is failing," Rice told the assemblage. "(Critical race theory) was never meant to be brought into grade schools, high schools - at all.It's actually taught in the collegiate atmosphere - and, more importantly, the legal portion of the collegiate atmosphere to see different laws through the lens of race ... from an ethical standpoint - not for grade schoolers and high schoolers."

He added that "the problem with bringing it to the high school and grade school level is we don't have the educators to properly teach these kids. Instead, they're using it as their own agenda to indoctrinate the kids to hate each other."

Rice also said he has two children in the district schools and  again from The Blaze, To make matters worse, Rice told the school board that at one point a staff member pulled his daughter aside and said, 'Well, you're a minority, so you know better than to engage in certain things.'

The assertion drew some gasps from meeting attendees - but not as pointedly as when he added that when the incident was brought to the school's attention, nothing was done to the educator - but instead his daughter was "ridiculed."

"What is your criteria to educate the educators?" Rice asked the board. "And who are you to educate my children - or any of our children - in life issues? That's our job. Your job is to teach them math and science. Our job is to teach them about life."

He added that although there's still "a long way to go," racism and issues surrounding it are "nowhere near what they used to be decades ago."

"But I believe the people here don't look at me as a black man; they look at me as a man standing in front of you addressing the issue that we all are very passionate about," Rice said in conclusion, after which applause broke out in the room.

* * *

HEY LEFTIES: WHY ISNT CRT BEING TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS?

Popular radio host and columnist Larry OConnor recently penned a piece on Townhall.com on July 9, 2021, that echoed my sentiments exactly:

By Larry OConnor, writing for Townhall.com:

Have we finally found an important cultural issue that the Left and Right in America agree on? Can we all agree critical race theory has no business in our schools? It appears we agree on this...

I mean, unless the American Left is collectively lying through their teeth about it. The organized Left in academia, government employee unions, corporate-owned propaganda media and Kurt Schlichter's favorite "Cruise Ship Conservatives" are all bending over backward to vehemently deny that Critical Race Theory (CRT) has in any way influenced the curricula in America's government-run schools.

Here's the leader of the powerful teachers union flat-out denying CRT is taught in American schools: CRT is not taught in K-12 schools. The rights culture warriors are labeling any discussion of race, racism, or discrimination as such to try to make it toxic. Theyre bullying teachers to try and keep them from teaching the truth.Randi Weingarten.

Here's MSNBC's Joy Reid claiming that CRT is only taught in law schools. My favorite part is when she assures her viewers that CRT couldn't possibly be taught in public schools because "NBC has looked into everywhere." I mean, if you can't trust the brilliant and diligent reporters at NBC, who can you trust?

To be fair to the Cruise Shippers, they aren't necessarily denying CRT is in our school curricula; they just don't want you to do anything about it unless it involves hiring a lawyer (many of them are lawyers, you see how that works out for them?) and waiting many years until a court finally decides if that thing your child learned over the past several years should have been there or not.

Of course, the same people who are denying that CRT is part of our government schools are also using our tax dollars to hire race-baiters like Ibram X. Kendi to influence teachers about systemic racism, the inherent evil of whiteness, and well... what's the word for it? Oh yeah, Critical Race Theory.

So that kind of thing tends to undermine all of that crack reporting at NBC that Joy Reid vouches for.

But let's step back for a minute. I think there's a more important question that needs to be addressed by Joy and Randi and Ibram and the rest of them.

You see, we don't need to continue wasting our time proving that this insidious ideology is permeating the reading lists and curricula of our schools. It's obvious that it is. Just look at Chris Rufo's latest discovery:

- -

SCOOP: At least 25 public school districts in 12 states are now teaching "Not My Idea," a book that claims "whiteness" is the devil, luring children with the promise of "stolen land (and) stolen riches." says Rufo, a writer and film maker. Critical race theory is driving public education - and must be stopped.

A book that depicts the devil (isn't that a religious figure, what's he doing in a public school?) making a bargain with white people to give them privilege and benefits in exchange for their whiteness. The message is not so subtle: Being white is evil since it is a gift from the devil.

- -

And, oh yeah, this book is recommended for second graders.

No, we don't need to prove this point anymore.

So, let's get to that more important point. Because I'd really like to hear Joy Reid and her team of reporters who can't find CRT in our schools answer a simple question.

Here's the question: Why aren't we teaching critical race theory in our schools?

I mean, all these denials suggest that liberals actually agree that it would be a bad thing for CRT to be part of our 5-year-old Kindergarten classes, right?

Why go out of your way denying (and spend all those NBC investigative resources looking for) CRT in our schools if you didn't agree that CRT is poison?

So, can we get Ms. Weingarten or Ms. Reid or all our pals on the Lido Deck to tell us if they even think there's something wrong with CRT or not?

Hey, Joy Reid, if one of your amazing NBC investigators found CRT in a curriculum for 5th graders in Manhattan, would that be a bad thing? Is there anything wrong with CRT? Should teachers not be influenced by CRT when they influence our 7-year-olds all day without any real accountability, or any alternate viewpoints allowed in their classrooms?

I'd love to hear an answer to those questions, wouldn't you?

* * *



Larry O'Connor hosts The Larry O'Connor Show, the politics/pop-culture and lifestyle talk show heard daily from 3-6 p.m. on WMAL FM in Washington DC and from 10 a.m.-noon on KABC in Los Angeles. He appears regularly on Fox News on Tucker Carlson Tonight, Fox News at Night with Shannon Bream, Varney and Company and was a regular on the cult hit Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld. His writing has appeared on Hot Air, The Federalist, Washington Free Beacon, IJ Review and Andrew Breitbart's original websites Big Hollywood, Big Government & BreitbartTV.
A man on Gunbarrel Road called police to say he received a call to his room phone where the person on the other end was just breathing heavily. He just wanted to report it as suspicious.

* * *

A woman working at the Holiday Inn on Chestnut Street said a man wearing a green shirt and khaki pants came in and asked for help. When she asked what she could help with, the man began cursing and flipping her off and attempted to set off the fire alarm. He was not there when police arrived and the employee said she didn't want to press charges but that she wanted the incident documented.

* * *

Police responded to an alarm at 1200 Bailey Ave. where they found a man visiting the grave of his late wife.

* * *

An officer saw a dark vehicle park in the back parking of Orchard Knob Middle School at 500 North Highland Park Ave. Since it was a Sunday night and school is out for the summer, the officer found this peculiar and got out to speak with the occupants. There was a woman in the driver's seat and a man in the passenger seat. He said they had parked here to spend some time together, as he lived just a few blocks away. Both provided valid ID when the officer asked for it, and neither showed any warrants. The officer explained that since the school was not posted as "no trespassing", they were not currently engaged in illegal behavior, but they appeared suspicious enough that they would probably continue to meet law enforcement this way. The officer returned their IDs and told them they were free to go, and they indicated they would be headed home shortly.

* * *



A woman on 6th Avenue showed police her car, a black Nissan, which had been egged and had dog poop wiped on the door handle. The front door to her residence had also been egged. She said that it had to have been someone she named, but did not see it happen. Since December, the woman said she has had confrontations with three neighbors. At this time, police are not able to determine who egged her property.

* * *

Police were called to West 38th Street on a disorder call. Police checked the entire perimeter of the complex without locating anyone or any signs of criminal activity. Police received a call earlier at this same address, where a woman said a man was on her back porch refusing to leave. She told dispatch that she would not speak with police and simply wanted him gone. The man was gone before police arrived. Shortly after police cleared the scene, an anonymous person called in saying the man was back and a verbal disorder ensued. The caller once again refused to speak with police or give her name to dispatch. The officer tried to speak with her at her door, without success. The officer didn't hear any active disorder or observe any signs of distress.

* * *

An employee at Conditionaire on Hickory Valley Road said someone had stolen the catalytic

converter off of the company Ford F-150 truck parked beside the building. There may be suspect information at a later time, however the surveillance was not available.

* * *

A man at the Volkswagen warehouse on Lee Highway said there were three catalytic converters stolen off new vehicles (SUVs) parked on the lot. He said there were two holes cut out of the chain link perimeter fence. There is no surveillance of the area and at this time there is no other information available. There were two broken saw blades that were left behind and neither had prints.

* * *

Police went to Greenbrook Lane where there was a 911 hang up call with two men yelling in the background. The officer found the men calmly sitting on an outside couch, and they waved him over. They explained there was a disorder about following the house rules. They were a father and son. The son is staying there after being released from jail. He was not following the rules about having women in the home. The officer chatted with the men for a bit and all were fine.
Third District Democratic candidate Nathaniel Doss III said he is committed to registering 28,000 voters by next July.

He said, From the start of this campaign, we have been committed to knocking on every door, to meet each person where they are, to educate them on the power of the vote, while we mobilize each individual to the polls for the upcoming elections.

He noted that last Saturday, the Tennessee Democratic Party met with the Hamilton County Democratic Party at the Kingdom Center for its state tour. During this gathering, officials said there is a need "to register 28,000 new voters to make the impact that is needed to ensure every person in Hamilton County has the opportunity to exercise their constitutional rights."

Megan McClain, president of Chattanooga Young Democrats, said, When more people vote, more Democrats win. I think any initiative to register more voters in Hamilton County is amazing, and I would love to see other candidates prioritize their effort as well. This is how we move Hamilton County forward  by activating and mobilizing the Democratic voting base that already exists here.
The town of Signal Mountain has been reviewing its municipal landscape ordinance. Some discussion has been about how the towns tree board can participate in the care of trees and shrubs in private developments and on property owned by the town. Revisions have been made which need the councils approval.

At the council meeting Monday night, the members objected to a change that required the town manager to get approval from an arborist or forester in addition to the tree board before reducing the tree canopy. That meant technically, that without consulting a third party, the city manager would be unable to have branches trimmed off of a structure, or remove a tree if it posed a danger. That would end up being a significant process, said Town Manager Boyd Veal.

The current process for tree maintenance on town owned rights of way is for Public Works Director Loretta Hopper to notify Mr. Veal if there are problematic trees. If they are deemed to be dead or dangerous, he puts the work out to bid.

The council has recommended that the town manager shall proceed with that process only after consultation and recommendation of the tree board, if it involves the reduction of the tree canopy on town owned property, but not an arborist. The amendment will be given to the tree board to make sure it meets their intention. A vote will be at the next council meeting.

A survey about parking around Rainbow Lake and use of the park is now available online. The survey will remain active for four weeks and residents are encouraged to participate.

The city is applying for and receiving grants to help pay for needed equipment. The only restrictions for a direct appropriations grant from the state of Tennessee worth $109,157 is that it not be spent for recurring expenses. Last year that grant was used to buy the fire and police radios, said Mr. Veal. An application was authorized Monday night by the council to apply for another grant - the Public Entity Partners loss control matching grant program. The town regularly receives this grant that will be used for buying safety equipment.

The purchase of two Chevrolet Silverado work trucks was authorized for $28,751 each. They will be used by the public works department. Three 2021 Ford Interceptor SUVs will also be bought for $33,531 each for the police department. The town is transitioning from sedans to SUVs so the cost is a little more than had been budgeted, said Mr. Veal, but some of the difference can be made up with the auction of the old vehicles.

A contract to purchase asphalt for repairing and reconstruction of Arden Way was approved for $39,420 which was the lowest and best of two bids received. A contingency amount of $3,942 for the project was also approved. This road work is related to a water main break.

The council agreed with the personnel committee which recommended revising a policy about overtime pay for the police department. Police can be required to work 43 hours per week, but previously were not paid overtime rates for the extra three hours over 40. The council approved the recommendation that will pay overtime for those hours. Firefighters will receive overtime pay for work in excess of 106 hours in a 14-day period.

Discussion took place about the format of council meetings when Council Member Andrew Gardner suggested returning to the schedule the council used in the past of having one work session and one voting session each month. That would allow the council longer to discuss an issue before having to vote on it, thereby reducing pressure on the council, he said. It would also give the council members an idea of what would be coming down the road. More discussion of the matter will be at the next meeting, but before then, the council was asked to listen to recordings of past meetings when it was decided to have two voting sessions each month.

The town is currently operating on a continuation budget because the 2021-2022 budget has not yet been passed. The final budget must be passed by the end of August and it will require two readings. The council scheduled a budget meeting for the end of July which will allow time for a first reading of the new budget on Aug. 9 and a second and final reading on Aug. 23. The next regularly scheduled town council meeting will be on July 26.

There also will be a special called meeting on Tuesday, July 13, at 6 p.m. to discuss the future management of the Mountain Arts Community Center. The discussion will include the lease to and Memo of Understanding with the Signal Mountain Elementary Preservation Fund. That meeting will be held at the MACC at 809 Kentucky Ave., Signal Mountain.
Ruby Abbott Cagle was only 17 when she went to work as a verbal courier for Admiral Chester Nimitz. The Admiral was in charge of the Pacific Fleet during World War II.

Chattanoogan Ben Cagle told his mothers story to a group of submarine veterans who meet once a month in Chattanooga. Alan Syler, president of the Carbonero Base Submarine veterans local chapter, said Mr. Cagle has a story about his family that all Americans should hear.

Mr. Cagle said when he was in middle school the class started studying Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt, Admiral Chester Nimitz, General Douglas MacArthur, Winston Churchill and others connected with the war. He said he asked his mother about those leaders and she replied, "I knew them all." It was then he realized the importance of his moms role in the war.

Mr. Cagles grandfather was stationed in Hawaii so his wife and young daughter joined him as volunteers. Ruby Abbott was in a secretarial pool and applied for the verbal couriers position. She made a perfect score on the test administered by a general and was a finalist in the position in the Admirals office. Mr. Cagle said his mother made another perfect score and Admiral Nimitz was so impressed with her performance he chose her almost immediately while canceling the other interviews.

Mr. Cagle said he remembers his mother's photographic memory growing up. My brothers and I couldnt put anything past her.

One memory his mother would share with the family was the day Admiral Nimitz found out she was underage. Mrs. Cagle said his orders were short and sweet, saying, "That doesnt need to be talked about, understood?"

Mr. Cagle told about his mother getting Admiral Nimitz's mail every day. He related the day of her meeting first lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Mr. Cagle also said Prime Minister Winston Churchill came to see the Admiral, who was on the phone with the President. She told Mr. Churchill, Have a seat, the admiral is on the phone and will be with you shortly.

Mr. Cagle said his parents said many times the U.S. could have lost the war and didnt consider themselves heroes. His mom said, The real heroes were the ones who died. She called her familys coming home icing on the cake.

The speaker said his father reminded the family often how he helped pull our men out of harbor waters and said the images would remain with him until his death.

Mr. Cagles mother kept a diary and saved a lot of memorabilia from her Hawaii experiences. He cherishes a small model bomber plane that was on Admiral Nimitz desk while his mother was his secretary. Mr. Cagle said one day the Admiral picked up the small model and told Ruby he wanted her to have it.

Mr. Cagle said his mother told him working for Admiral Nimitz was almost like a father-daughter relationship. She said the Admiral took her under his wing and made sure she and her mother had the best of everything.

Ruby Cagle told her family, Admiral Nimitz had a temper. When he got mad hed kick the trash can.

Full of emotion, the retired broadcast executive said the pain of my mother and dads stories will never go away.

Mr. Cagle said his mother never considered herself privileged being in the inner circle. She would say, "I was only serving my Country, the Admiral and doing my job."

The young secretary met her husband, Burton Cagle, in Hawaii. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor and they got married there.

Although Mrs. Cagle was a native of Maine, after the war she and her family moved back to her husbands home of Jasper, Tn.

The Chattanooga Chapter of Freedoms Foundation and Third District Congressman Chuck Fleischmann honored Mrs. Cagle for her service. She passed away Nov. 18, 2018.

Hamilton County Historian Linda Moss Mines listened intently as Mr. Cagle related his mothers experiences. Mrs. Mines said, This is a fascinating glimpse into history we cannot forget.
Palmer Elementary School in Grundy County will be closed for the upcoming school year.

School officials said, "In light of Tuesday's (July 6) BOE special-called meeting, Palmer Elementary will be closed for the 2021-22 school year. Swiss Memorial and Palmer Elementary will be consolidated for the 2021-22 school year.

Meetings have been held with employees from both schools, and almost all employees have been reassigned. Most of the relocated employees have been placed at Swiss Memorial.

"With this, GCS administration is working diligently to create plans centered around the relocation of teacher assets and the development of transportation plans to ensure students receive the bus services they are entitled to. Palmer Elementary students will be enrolled in Swiss Memorial School.

"Parents may take part in GCS Open Enrollment, but this requested reassignment is dependent upon availability at each individual school. Open Enrollment will be July 15th and 22nd at GCHS (9:00 am -12:00 pm)."
In this season of 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After?, Jovi Dufren has been mostly absent from the cameras due to his job. While Jovis been away for work, his new wife, Yara Zaya, is stuck taking care of their baby daughter, Mylah, all alone.

Jovi on 90 Day Fiance | TLC

Jovi leaves Yara and Mylah for months at a time on 90 Day Fiance

On 90 Day Fiance Season 8, Jovi revealed that thanks to his job, he met Yara. During his time off, he met up with Yara in Budapest, Hungary, where they fell in love. Years later, Jovi brought Yara from Ukraine to the United States on a K-1 (fiance) visa to get married. Just weeks after Yara arrived in New Orleans, Louisiana, Jovi had to leave the country for his job. Upon returning, Yara told Jovi that shes expecting before he had to leave again. At the end of season 8, the couple welcomed their daughter Mylah.

In the current season of 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After?, Jovi has been forced to leave his wife and his infant daughter again for work. While Jovi was gone, Yara had to be a single mom to her infant daughter. On top of that, she had to endure a New Orleans hurricane, move homes, all while battling coronavirus (COVID-19). Jovi being gone for work has proven to be one of the biggest obstacles for this 90 Day Fiance couple.

What does Jovi do for work?

Jovi has been working as an ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicles) Supervisor for Schilling UHD for the last 10 years. He revealed to TLC cameras that growing up in Louisiana on shrimp boats helped pique his interest in underwater robotics. He said, I guess just being on a boat is in my blood. So we go down, we do maintenance on pipelines for oil production. I actually love my job; we do a lot of cool stuff, we see all kinds of animals. But my favorite thing about my job is the travel.

While on the boat, Jovis job as an ROV Supervisor means hes operating an ROV, or car-sized robot, underwater at around 12,000 feet below the surface. Thats where they perform maintenance on the submerged oil pipelines. As the supervisor, hes leading a team of people to maintain and operate the ROVs.

How much money does Jovi make for his underwater robotics job?

Since Yara cannot work while she waits for her work visa to arrive, shes completely reliant on Jovi financially. How much does the 90 Day Fiance star make a year at his job? According to Glassdoor, $97,421 a year is the average salary for an ROV supervisor in 2021.

While its proven to be a hard job that requires spending months on a boat, Jovi can come home for 4 weeks at a time and spend time with Yara and Mylah. Also, Jovis underwater robotic career has allowed him to travel to over 25 countries. The 90 Day Fiance star has explained that his job requires him to stay on the boat for over 28 days in a row. However, during the coronavirus pandemic, he was stuck on the boat for many extra months.

Yara moved to New Orleans, away from her family and friends in Ukraine, so she could be closer to Jovi, which makes him leaving for work understandably difficult on her. While Yara is pushing Jovi to find a new career, it seems he is currently still going back and forth for work on the boat.

RELATED: 90 Day Fiance: Yara and Jovis Mom Poke Fun at Natalie With Cooker vs. Hooker Joke
Former NCIS star Zoe McLellan left Hollywood a couple of years ago, and no one has seen her since. After playing the lead role of Kendra Daynes in season 2 of Designated Survivor, McLellan has vanished with her son in the wake of a nasty divorce and claims of abuse. According to her ex-husband, shes now wanted for kidnapping.

CCH Pounder as Dr. Loretta Wade, Zoe McLellan as Special Agent Meredith Merri Brody, and Scott Bakula as Special Agent Dwayne Pride on NCIS: New Orleans | Skip Bolen/CBS via Getty Images

Zoe McLellan appeared in NCIS and NCIS: New Orleans

McLellan began her acting career in the mid-1990s with small roles in films like Mr. Hollands Opus and Inventing the Abbotts. She found more success on television, beginning with Star Trek: Voyager before she moved on to JAG.

McLellan played Petty Officer Jennifer Coates, which was a recurring role during seasons 7 through 9, before becoming a series regular in the 10th and final season. She then landed a lead role on the short-lived ABC drama Dirty Sexy Money. But shes mostly known for her portrayal of Agent Meredith Brody on NCIS and NCIS: New Orleans.

Her last role was in Designated Survivor

McLellan played Agent Brody in the NOLA backdoor pilot, which was an episode of NCIS titled Crescent City. She then moved on to the spinoff, where she was a major player during seasons 1 and 2.

She didnt return for season 3, though. After her run on NCIS: New Orleans, McLellan appeared in Law & Order: SVU and Suits before scoring the part of Kendra on Designated Survivor in 2017. But when she moved to Toronto to film the series, things took a nasty turn in her personal life.

The NCIS stars ex claims shes wanted for kidnapping

McLellan was married to a man named J.P. Gillian from 2012 to 2016, and during that time they welcomed a son named Sebastian. When they split, the former couple began a custody war that still hasnt been resolved.

According to TMZ, Gillian claims that McLellan took Sebastian with her to Toronto without his permission or consent. He says that he hasnt seen his son or heard from McLellan since April 2019.

Ex-'NCIS' Star Zoe McLellan Wanted for Kidnapping, Virtually Vanished https://t.co/jgdkVXtxl3  TMZ (@TMZ) July 10, 2021

His attorney, Lawrence Markey, says that the child is missing, and they believe he is with McLellan somewhere near New Orleans. Gillian posted a Wanted poster for McLellan in December 2020 that read, Please share and reach out if you know anything about where this person is! Shes abducted my son.

Court records show an outstanding warrant

According to the court records, there was an arrest warrant issued for McLellan out of LA County in May of 2021. The outstanding charges attached to the warrant include kidnapping, child custody deprivation, and child stealing for an issue dating back to 2017.

Theres no record from the LA County Sheriffs office of McLellan being arrested, and it appears that shes completely disappeared. Sources say that the actor has gone completely off the grid with her now 8-year-old son.

The NCIS stars ex has his own legal problems

According to The Daily Mail, there may have been a good reason for McLellans disappearance. In January 2020, Gillian was booked into a Louisiana prison for charges of first-degree rape and aggravated crime against nature. It appears that the actor accused her ex-husband of abusing their son, and that could be the reason she disappeared.

Theres no script Ive ever read thats been as awful as this, McLellan said via phone at the time. However, I always tell my son that we are warriors, not worriers, and we are fighting for him and that I will be able to keep him safe.

The NCIS star added that her ex-husband had other victims, and she was hopeful they would come forward

There are other victims, she said. I am hopeful that they will step forward, that they will have the courage to step forward because there are other victims.

RELATED: NCIS Fans Fear Season 19 Will Be the Beginning of the End
Its hard to believe that Legally Blonde is celebrating its 20th anniversary on July 13. It feels like just yesterday that the world was introduced to Elle Woods, the smart, beautiful sorority girl who goes to law school where she battles and overcomes all of the stereotypes about blondes.

The film starred Reese Witherspoon, who went to great lengths to ensure that she fully embodied the true essence of Elle Woods. But tapping into her inner sorority girl wasnt an easy process, as the actor previously called the role a jump for her.

A still of Reese Witherspoon in a scene from Legally Blonde | Tracy Bennett/MGM Pictures

Reese Witherspoon took on the role of Elle Woods because it sounded interesting to her

Although it seems like the part of Elle Woods was made for Witherspoon, it turns out that she wasnt excited about the role in the beginning.

Witherspoon initially thought the character would be similar to Cher Horowitz in the 1995 comedy, Clueless. However, Marc Platt, who optioned the book rights for Legally Blonde, swore to the actor that that wasnt the case.

I literally said to her, I want Elle to be a role model,' Platt told The Hollywood Reporter in 2019. I wanted my daughters to watch her and think that they can live in a world where they can do anything.

After several actors turned down the opportunity to play the films leading lady, Witherspoon was brought in to audition for the part.

During an interview with ScreenSlam, the actor revealed why she had a change of heart, sharing that she went after the role because she wanted to explore the stereotypes and preconceived notions people have of beautiful women.

RELATED: Legally Blonde: Elle Woods Committed a Huge Ethical Violation That Wouldve Ended Her Law Career in Real Life

I decided to do this movie because I read the script and I thought it was really funny. Also, Ive had a lot of these perceptions, she said. You see so many beautiful people in this world, especially in the world that I live in. A lot of your first instinct is to discount women who put a lot of effort into their looks as maybe not serious about their job or maybe not serious about their relationship. I think theres that impetus in everyone.

Witherspoon continued, Everyone naturally jumps to those conclusions. I was really interested in exploring the idea of the difference between the way someone looks and how people perceive them.

Reese Witherspoon said that it was tough portraying such an energetic character

Since Elle is known for her California-girl mannerisms, Witherspoon, who is from Louisiana, put in a lot of work to make her portrayal believable.

Not only did she spend time in Beverly Hills to familiarize herself with the Southern Califonia lifestyle, but she also hung out with sorority girls to get a better idea of how to act in the role.

RELATED: Legally Blonde: Reese Witherspoon Got to Keep Elle Woods Wardrobe Including 77 Pairs of Jimmy Choo Shoes

During her interview with ScreenSlam, Witherspoon admitted that playing Elle was a jump for her, as she doesnt consider herself to be naturally cheery or high-spirited.

Its definitely been a jump for me. Im not necessarily like perky and bubbly all the time, she explained. Its really been a lot of effort to stay up. You know, the amount of care and energy [Elle] puts into a lot of things. I think thats been really a challenge for me. Trying to convey lightness all the time is hard work.

Still, Reese Witherspoon loved playing Elle Woods

Although it was challenging for her to play such an energetic character, Witherspoon succeeded at bringing the pink-loving law student to life. Now, Elle Woods remains one of the most enduring, well-known characters in movie history.

In 2016, Witherspoon opened up about starring as Elle in Legally Blonde, sharing that she loved playing the bubbly character.

I loved making Legally Blonde because I love pink! It was really fun, she said during a Facebook Live session, per E! News. I got to wear all the amazing costumes. I also got to work with a dog every day Im obsessed with dogs. I love dogs!

Four years later, the actor looked back on her time playing the iconic character, sharing that the world needs more people like Elle Woods.

I think she just inspired people to believe in themselves, Witherspoon said during the Legally Blonde virtual reunion in October 2020. She just has a true sense of herself and she always wants to see the best in others.

The actor continued, Shes inspired me to really keep an open mind and always be an advocate for myself and for other people in this world and I think her spirit is something that we could all use a little bit more of right now.
Ayahuasca is trending today after Megan Fox went on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and detailed her unique experience with the hallucinogenic and psychoactive brew to guest host, Arsenio Hall. Of course, Fox is hardly the first celebrity to experiment with this powerful substance. Many wealthy people and celebrities have traveled to South America for the sole purpose of trying ayahuasca. Miley Cyrus even admitted to having an extreme trip while utilizing it.

Megan Fox | RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

But why are so many people interested in taking ayahuasca? The brew has been used for centuries for a myriad of purposes. Some people use it recreationally, while others use it for medicinal or shamanic purposes. In Foxs case, she flew out to Costa Rica to experience ayahuasca in an authentic setting. The actor believed that she was going to have a luxurious experience, but she soon realized that her expectations were off base from the reality of the situation.

Megan Fox and her boyfriend recently went to Costa Rica to do ayahuasca

I was thinking it was like glamping, like it was gonna be some kind of five-star experience, Fox confessed to Hall. But you get there and you really are in the middle of the jungle, and you dont get to eat after like 1 p.m. You have to walk a very far distance to get your water, and you cant shower because theyre in a drought. There was nothing glamourous about it, and its all a part of making you vulnerable, so you sort of surrender to the experience.

According to the Jennifers Body alum, part of the experience was drinking lemongrass tea in small groups until you involuntarily vomit. You have to vomit a certain amount until they let you get back with everyone else, so youre like cheering on everyone as they throw up, she shared. Continuing on, Fox shared that the second night she took ayahuasca was particularly difficult for her.

The Transformers alum saying the second night of taking the brew was hell

Everybodys journey is different, but on the second night I went to Hell for eternity, she shared. Just knowing its eternity is torture in itself, because theres no beginning, middle, or end. So you have a real ego death. But despite a rough night, the actor still insisted that the experience was helpful to her and even helped her in ways that traditional talk therapy could not. It just goes straight into your soul, and it takes you to the psychological prison that you hold yourself in.

Fox isnt the only celebrity to have an intense trip while taking ayahuasca. Cyrus has shared that her experience with the brew changed her life. However, she has also shared that she doesnt think she would ever do it again. In an interview with Rolling Stone, the Plastic Hearts artist revealed that her trip was particularly unusual, especially for someone who was taking ayahuasca for the very first time.

Miley Cyrus also had an intense trip while taking ayahuasca

Ayahuasca was definitely one of my favorite drugs Ive ever done, the Hannah Montana alum shared. When I did it, I asked everyone else in the room, Did your entire life just change? Are you a new person? They all looked at me and said, No. And theyre like, Youre so extreme. Of course, you have to have the most extreme trip of all. Actually, the shaman said people take ayahuasca three, four times, sometimes 30 times before they have the kind of trip I had. Clearly, Fox and Cryus had wildly different, yet intense, experiences with ayahuasca. Were sure its only a matter of time before we hear about another celebrity experiencing the powerful brew.

RELATED: Miley Cyrus Reveals She Says Goodbye to Herself Every Single Night
Ree Drummond, the host of The Pioneer Woman, is here with a simple Strawberry Ice Cream recipe. The Food Network star uses only a few ingredients to make homemade ice cream and her family cant get enough of it.

Ree Drummonds homemade Strawberry Ice Cream is a hit with her family

Ree Drummond | Monica Schipper/Getty Images for The Pioneer Woman Magazine

Making her recipe for Strawberry Ice Cream on a season 10 episode of The Pioneer Woman, Drummond explained just how much she loves it.

I love ice cream, she said, standing in the kitchen of her ranch in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. Ive never met an ice cream flavor I didnt like. Strawberry ice cream happens to be one of my favorites.

The cookbook author continued, saying shes not the only one in the Drummond house who loves the stuff. The Pioneer Woman said her husband, Ladd, and their four Drummond children, enjoy it too.

Now Ladd and the kids love ice cream just as much as I do of course. Any time I have a carton of the homemade stuff in the freezer it disappears like that. Tasting the finished product, Drummond asked viewers for a favor. Dont tell my kids this is in the freezer. Lets just keep it between us.

Not only does Drummonds Strawberry Ice Cream go quickly in her house but her recipe is incredibly simple. The Pioneer Woman uses, according to Food Network, just six ingredients to make it.

The Pioneer Womans homemade ice cream always includes vanilla bean

RELATED: The Pioneer Woman: Ree Drummond Calls Her Chicken Taco Salad a 16-Minute Meal  Its Really, Really Fast

Ever make a Pioneer Woman recipe with ice cream? Chances are the ingredient list will include a vanilla bean. Its a must-have for Drummond.

Vanilla bean is something I always add to homemade ice cream, she said on The Pioneer Woman while scraping the seeds out of a vanilla bean pod. It adds just amazing flavor. It is one of my go-to ingredients.

So when making Drummonds Strawberry Ice Cream, or any of her ice cream recipes for that matter, dont forget about the vanilla bean. Like the cookbook author said it gives the ice cream amazing flavor.

Dont have vanilla bean at home? Substitute vanilla extract.

Drummonds Strawberry Ice Cream recipe has 5 stars on Food Networks website

Ree Drummond and her family | Monica Schipper/Getty Images for The Pioneer Woman Magazine

RELATED: The Pioneer Woman: Ree Drummonds Secret to Pinwheels Couldnt Be Any Easier

Turns out its not just the Pioneer Womans family who cant get enough of her Strawberry Ice Cream. Drummonds recipe has five stars on Food Networks website at the time of publication.

I need more stars, one reviewer wrote. This is the best ice cream recipe I have ever tried.

Another described it as perfectly sweet, and absolutely delicious! Others called it perfect for summer, and oh so good.

To get what one reviewer called extremely smooth, silky, ice cream, Drummond put the strawberries in a blender. Fans of chunky strawberry ice cream can skip this step and use diced strawberries instead. Smooth or chunky, between the number of ingredients and Drummonds simple instructions, the Strawberry Ice Cream should be an easy summer treat to make at home.
HBOs new limited series, The White Lotus, premiered on July 11, 2021, with episode 1, Arrivals. The ensemble cast came together for a memorable first installment full of hilarious scenes and many uncomfortable moments. Plus, theres already an intriguing mystery to solve  who died while on vacation?

[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from The White Lotus Episode 1, Arrivals]

The White Lotus: Connie Britton, Brittany OGrady, Sydney Sweeney, Jolene Purdy, and Alexandra Daddario | Amy Sussman/WireImage

The White Lotus begins at the end

When The White Lotus opens, Shane Patton (Jake Lacy) looks rather unhappy in an airport. Fellow travelers ask him what resort he stayed at, and when he responds that it was White Lotus, they become concerned.

Someone was killed there, the wife says.

Shane confirms that the body remains are heading home from Hawaii on the plane they are about to board. However, viewers do not find out who died. When asked where Shanes wife is, he becomes irate.

Then the episode flashes back to one week prior.

The White Lotus Episode 1: The arrival boat

Next, The White Lotus travelers head to their tropical island resort on a fancy boat. Two of the guests, Oliva Mossbacher (Sydney Sweeney) and Paula (Brittany OGrady), create background stories about the other VIP passengers aboard the boat. They guess that Rachel (Alexandra Daddario) and Shane Patton (Jake Lacy) met on Raya, a celebrity dating app.

RELATED: Where Was HBOs The White Lotus Filmed? Is It a Real Resort?

When the VIP guests arrive at the resort, hotel manager Armond (Murray Bartlett), trainee Lani (Jolene Purdy), and spa director Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) help the new guests settle into the resort.

Tanya McQuoid and Belinda

Belinda finds herself wrapped up in Tanya McQuoids (Jennifer Coolidge) life rather quickly. Tanya wanted a massage very severely, but there were no openings. Instead, Belinda offers her a Reiki massage. Tanya opens up to the director that her mother died in June and that she has attachment issues. Then Belinda holds Tanyas head in her palms while chanting motivational, encouraging words that she instructs Tanya to repeat. Later, the single vacationer begs Armond to switch her next massage to Belinda.

The White Lotus Episode 1: The honeymooners

Honeymooners Shane and Rachel immediately begin their vacation with a conflict because Shane believes they do not have the correct suite. So, he heads to Armond to argue about the virtual tour he saw online. The hotel manager thinks he accidentally double-booked the Pineapple room, but he doesnt tell the guests.

Aloha means hello and goodbye, and at #TheWhiteLotus, thats completely right.



Tune in tonight for the premiere of The White Lotus, streaming on @hbomax. pic.twitter.com/hxpvbDV7lz  HBO (@HBO) July 11, 2021

Later, viewers find out that Rachel and Shane met recently and got married very quickly. Olivia and Paula grill Rachel by the pool with 20 questions. It turns out that she is a journalist and graduated from Suny Potsdam (State University of New York Potsdam). They find out that Shanes family is very wealthy. When Rachel begins to ask questions back, the girls get quiet. However, they do admit that Olivias mother is the CEO of Poof.

Lani, the trainee, is having a baby

Meanwhile, the newbie, Lani, is pregnant and hasnt told anyone at the resort because its her first day. She worries that shes going into labor, and then her water breaks on the lobby floor. Armond finds out that she is pregnant during the lobster bake and having the baby in his office.

The White Lotus Episode 1: The Mossbachers

Nicole Mossbacher (Connie Britton) yells at her daughter, Olivia, and her friend, Paula, for forcing Olivias brother to sleep in the small kitchen. However, Olivia retorts that he needs privacy to continue fapping, which is a term for male masturbation.

Meanwhile, Nicoles husband, Mark Mossbacher (Steve Zahn), has a severe health crisis. He worries that he might have testicular cancer because of his enlarged testicles. Marks father died of cancer at age 46, so hes convinced the same thing might happen to him. He decides to spend time with his son, Quinn (Fred Hechinger) and pulls the teenager out of the small kitchenette area.

RELATED: The White Lotus: How Many Episodes is the HBO Series?

When Mark and Quinn head to Armond to find something to do. After numerous ideas that the hotel manager shoots down, they settle on snorkeling. However, Mark is too preoccupied with his private area to snorkel with his son. Later, he tries to have a heart-to-heart with his son, but its pretty awkward. By the end of The White Lotus Episode 1, Mark finally gets a call from his doctor, but the show ends without telling viewers whether he has cancer.

The Lobster Bake

Shane mentions the room issue during the lobster bake again, although he promised Rachel he wouldnt. Later, Rachel worries that they might become an old couple with too much baggage. However, Shane reassures her that they will always be happy. The White Lotus Episode 1 ends with the newlyweds making out. However, its a creepy angle that might indicate someone watching through the windows.

Who died in The White Lotus?

The first guess is that Rachel somehow died on vacation since shes not in the opening scene of The White Lotus Episode 1. However, another theory is that Marks unknown testicular issue takes a turn, and he died while at the resort. With the evidence viewers have so far, it could be any of the guests. At least the staff of the White Lotus resort seems to be ruled out.

HBO returns with the next installment of The White Lotus on July 18, 2021.
The White Lotus is the latest comedic satire to hit HBO; how many episodes there will be? The miniseries features an ensemble cast with stars such as Sydney Sweeney, Connie Britton, Jennifer Coolidge, and Alexandra Daddario.

Each episode follows the vacation of several hotel guests as they relax at an exclusive Hawaiian resort. However, with each passing day, more complexities come to light among the travelers. So, how many episodes of The White Lotus will viewers get in total?

The White Lotus (L-R) Fred Hechinger, Connie Britton, Sydney Sweeney, and Steve Zahn | Kevin Winter/Getty Images

How many episodes is The White Lotus?

The White Lotus will air with a total of six episodes. The miniseries premiered on HBO on July 11 and will continue through the summer. Fans can expect the finale to air Sunday, Aug. 15. Finally, here is a breakdown of the episode titles and air dates:

Episode 1  Arrivals (July 11)

Episode 2  New Day (July 18)

Episode 3  Mysterious Monkeys (July 25)

Episode 4  Recentering (Aug. 1)

Episode 5  The Lotus-Eaters (Aug. 8)

Episode 6  Departures (Aug. 15)

What is The White Lotus about?

The White Lotus episodes follow the story of several different groups of people on a week-long vacation in Hawaii. They inexplicably cross paths at the extravagant resort and things begin to take a turn. When the miniseries opens, hotel manager, Armond (Murray Bartlett) and spa director, Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) help the new guests settle in to the resort. Belinda finds herself wrapped up in Tanya McQuoids (Jennifer Coolidge) life rather quickly.

RELATED: The White Lotus Cast on HBO: Why You Recognize Every 1 of Them

Meanwhile, Armond tries to smooth things over with Shane Patton (Jake Lacy) who isnt pleased by anything. However, things get worse his wife, Rachel (Alexandra Daddario), finds her mother-in-law, Kitty (Molly Shannon), flew down for their honeymoon.

Later, family of four  The Mossbachers  deal with a serious yet comedic health scare. Mark Mossbacher (Steve Zahn) worries that he might have cancer as his wife, Nicole (Connie Britton) gapes at how swollen his private parts are. At first, he attempts to distract himself by hanging out with their son, Quinn Mossbacher (Fred Hechinger). Meanwhile, their daughter, Olivia (Sydney Sweeney) and her friend, Paula (Brittany OGrady) refer to Marks health problem as swole balls.

Director Mike White aimed to touch on gender, race, and class with the HBO limited series

As viewers get hooked on the comedic satire of the HBO miniseries, they realize that The White Lotus episodes become more than a comedy. Director Mike White explained in a behind the scenes interview from HBO that he wanted to produce a contemporary show that also touched on inequalities.

White Lotus is about the problems that people think that they have in comparison to real problems in the world, Daddario said in the HBO interview.

May I interest you in a towelette for the premiere of The White Lotus tonight? Not sure why, but you never know when you'll need one. pic.twitter.com/XOjx1Wg51w  HBO Max (@hbomax) July 11, 2021

Additionally, the series delves into the behind-the-scenes feelings of the staff at the resort. They watch the upper-class mostly white people indulge, relax, and complain about their life at the same time. Finally, Olivias friend, Paula, begins to get annoyed with the Mossbachers ignorance about their status and privilege. The White Lotus is hilarious, yet uncomfortable, and real.
The new HBO miniseries, The White Lotus, revolves around the guests at a tropical resort but where was it filmed? After watching Armond (Murray Bartlett) say Aloha to greet the guests, its easy to assume that its set in Hawaii. However, is it really filmed there? Could viewers of the new HBO miniseries visit the resort in real life? Connie Britton, Jennifer Coolidge, Sydney Sweeney, Alexandra Daddario, and The White Lotus cast jet-setted to this tropical island for filming.

HBOs The White Lotus: Jolene Purdy, Murray Bartlett, Alexandra Daddario, and Jake Lacy | Mario Perez/HBO

Where is The White Lotus filmed?

Similar to Mare of Easttown, the new HBO miniseries, The White Lotus is true to its location. Like Kate Winslet flew to suburban Philadelphia, the cast of The White Lotus filmed in Maui, Hawaii. The six-part series, which premiered on Jun 11, 2021, took over the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea. According to Maui News, director Mike White filmed for eight weeks in Wailea, Maui, from late October to mid-December 2020.

HBO Sets Tropical Resort Limited Series White Lotus, Production to Begin This Month https://t.co/ETHqTIoFhn pic.twitter.com/sUVQQKOHiF  Variety_TV (@Variety_TV) October 19, 2020

Its beyond exciting to return to HBO with this project and such an incredible cast, White told Variety. I am very grateful to everyone who has made it possible for us to bring our little bubble to Hawaii, a place I am proud to think of as a second home.

Maui News also reported that The White Lotus team hired 200 residents as extras and 100 residents to the crew.

Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea

The title of the HBO miniseries, The White Lotus, was created for TV, so it is not an actual resort. However, viewers could visit the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea. After comparing The White Lotus trailer to the Four Seasons website, viewers notice the crew did not bring in the vast cabanas, and chaise lounges for filming. Additionally, the resort boasts 81 cabanas, 22 oceanfront sanctuaries, and one of the largest golden sand beaches on the island.

RELATED: Mare of Easttown Guy Pearce Explains How His Role Was Quite Integral to the Plot

The price for a week-long stay like The White Lotus guests reserved have a wide range. The rate begins around $1,110 for a mountain front room to $13,000 for the Club Oceanfront Prime one-bedroom suite. The luxury cabanas near the adult-only serenity pool featured in the HBO miniseries are available to reserve at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea.

The cast of The White Lotus on HBO

The White Lotus cast includes huge names such as Connie Britton as Nicole and the head of the Mossbacher family. Jennifer Coolidge continues to make viewers laugh as the single traveler searching for love, Tanya McQuoid. Former SNL writer Natasha Rothwell portrays the spa manager, Belinda, who ends up wrapped in Tanyas life.

The White Lotus: Molly Shannon, Jennifer Coolidge, Connie Britton, Brittany OGrady, Sydney Sweeney, Jolene Purdy and Alexandra Daddario attend the Los Angeles premiere of the new HBO Limited Series | Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

Also, Alexandra Daddario (well-known from All My Children, San Andreas and Baywatch) joined the cast of The White Lotus as newlywed Rachel. The Office cast alum, Jake Lacy, plays Alexandra Daddarios on-screen husband, Shane Patton.

Saving Silvermans Steve Zahn plays Nicoles husband, Mark Mossbacher, who has a serious, but hysterical health crisis. Fear Street trilogy Fred Hechinger plays Quinn, Mark and Nicoles teenage son. Sydney Sweeney plays the last member of the Mossbacher family  Olivia. You might recognize Sweeney from The Handmaids Tale, Sharp Objects, or Euphoria.

Brittany OGrady plays Olivias friend from college, Paula, who you might know from CWs The Messengers or Apple TV+s series Little Voice. Saturday Night Live alum Molly Shannon arrives as Kitty when she joins her son and new daughter-in-law on their honeymoon.
Is there lead in water? Thousands of schools, day cares havent found out
When the Evangelical Alliance of the United Kingdom wrote Prime Minister Boris Johnson about the countrys push to ban conversion therapy, its first request was that lawmakers define the term.

Conversion therapy has become a vague catchall that can refer to abusive and even violent efforts to change someones sexual orientation but also can be construed to mean any religious act that doesnt affirm LGBT identities. In addition to proposals in the UK and Canada, bans have been enacted in Malta, Germany, Spain, Ecuador, Brazil, Taiwan, Australia, and 20 US statessome carefully defining conversion therapy, some not.

The term often evokes the most extreme attempts to eliminate unwanted same-sex attraction: shock therapy, exorcisms, forced heterosexual marriages, and even rape. More commonly, conversion therapy ministries have promised that people could overcome their desires through prayer, discipleship, and counseling.

In the past decade, however, even that kind of conversion therapy has mostly disappeared. Exodus International, evangelicalisms flagship ex-gay ministry, shut down in 2013 after former leader Alan Chambers said it had caused pain and harm to too many people and that more than 99 percent of those whod sought help there hadnt actually experienced an orientation change. No major organization has emerged to take its place, and conversion therapy has fallen out of practice.

Psychologist Mark Yarhouse, director of Wheaton Colleges Sexual and Gender Identity Institute, said that while some smaller organizations persist in prayer ministries aimed at changing peoples sexual orientation, hes not aware of any major groups, mainstream evangelical ministries, ...

1

You have reached the end of this Article Preview You have reached the end of this Article Preview To continue reading, subscribe now. Subscribers have full digital access.

Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here.
Petertidethe days around the feast of St. Peter on June 29is traditionally one of the most joyful seasons for the Church of England, a time for ordination of new priests and deacons. But this years Petertide has been marred by what many have interpreted as an attack on the future of Anglican priesthood itself.

As Britains national church prepared to gather for its General Synod, which began last Friday and runs through Tuesday, one of its most senior clerics submitted a paper for discussion arguing that the future lies not with clergy in the pulpit, but with worshiping communities led by lay people.

Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrellsecond only in the hierarchy to the archbishop of Canterburyfirst floated his ideas last year in a report from a Vision and Strategy committee that Cottrell heads. But its publication last month, just before the laity, bishops and other clergy attended the Synod sessions online, has caused an outcry.

Cottrells latest reflections include not only a proposal for 10,000 lay-led communities within the next decade but a focus on young people: It urges a doubling of the number of children attending church and what he calls active young disciples by 2030.

The Church of England, he maintains, has to become a church of missionary disciples, to become younger and more diverse, and to become a church where a mixed ecology is the normreferring to a mix of digital and lay-led services.

Cottrells plan does not include dismantling the ancient parish system, but his criticism of itcalling it ineffective in the networks of contemporary lifehas caused fear that this will signal a major change in the way the church is structured, leading to church closures and cuts to clergy numbers. It also points to the growing influence of American-style evangelism in historically more staid Anglicanism.

The parish system is part of the warp and weft of England, especially in rural life. Englands more than 16,000 Anglican churches still dominate the countrys landscape, and the vicar and his role in village life pepper English culture and art, from the works of Jane Austen to the crime novels of Agatha Christie.

But attendance at those churches has been in decline for many years. Despite being the established church to which every citizen theoretically belongs, only an estimated 750,000 people out of an English population of 56 million attend regularly.

An internal church report, Perspectives on People, Money and Buildings, published earlier this year, showed that church attendance has declined 40 percent in 30 years and warned that stipendiary clergy positionsfilled by priests and deacons supported by the churchwould have to be pruned. In ChelmsfordCottrells diocese before moving to York61 stipendiary posts are being cut by the end of this year.

The biggest financial issue for the Church of England, however, may be its buildings. Three-quarters of its churches are officially listed as historic and demand costly maintenance. Some of those costs are covered by tourism and charitable grants, but the greatest burden falls on the church and each parishs membership. If lay-led communities meeting in peoples houses are the future, many fear that more of these treasures will be closed.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which led to churches being locked, collections not taken and services moved online, caused an 8.1 percent fall in the churchs income as of November 2020.

But one of the most vocal Anglican priests, the Rev. Marcus Walker, vicar of Londons oldest parish church, the 900-year-old St. Bartholomew the Great, has warned that the bishops plan envisages the death of the parish and argues that this must be fought.

In Walkers view, the parish system has survived hundreds of years precisely because it works so well. The parish system works because the parish is local. It responds to local needs, he says.

What has particularly alarmed Walker and his fellow priests is that publication of Cottrells paper coincided with another given at a conference on church planting supported by Cottrell and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, which goes much further in its critique of parishes. Critics believe this second paper lifts the lid on the thinking of an increasingly influential evangelical strand of Anglicanism.

Canon John McGinley, a priest in the Diocese of Leicester and a leader in New Wine, a church planting and renewal organization that is part of an evangelical surge in the Church of England, argued at a recent conference that lay-led communities release the church from key limiting factors, such as buildings and clergy pay and training. He envisages a new Anglican lay structure based on groups of 2030 people meeting in peoples homes.

Archbishop Welby told the same audience at Multiply X 2021 that church planting would be a new discipline for Anglicans: We are not meant to leave Jesus inside the church when we go out, and pick him up again when we come back in the following Sunday but to go with him, said Welby.

Anglicanism has always performed a balancing act between a sacramental approach that puts the Eucharist at the center of the life of a worshiping community, requiring a priest to celebrate the sacramentand an evangelical idea of church focused more on Scripture and lay leadership. Influenced by American evangelism, the latter has gained momentum in recent years.

The Rev. Andrew Lightbown, rector of Winslow, Buckinghamshire, said: Within the reformed Catholic tradition of the Church of England we are a sacramental church. And it is also incredibly important that at the end of every service people are blessed and sent out to do Gods work. You dont do that with a lay-led church. This plan could be rolling back hundreds of years of theology and changing the Church of England.

Lightbown also pointed out that a lay-led group of 20 would not have the same inclusiveness and sense of service to the whole community. The parish church is not limited to the worshiping community. It is there for everyone. Will these new lay-led groups carry out baptisms, weddings and funerals?

The Rev. Barnaby Perkins, of St. Peter and Paul in West Clandon, southwest of London, offers another difficult question in Cottrells proposal: Will lay people be diligent keepers of the faith? There has been a change in the way the hierarchy views the clergy, but there is a need for them to teach the faith and order the life of the church, he said.
If theres one overarching conclusion that comes from studying survey data of American religion over the last several decades, it is that fewer people identify with an established religious tradition every year. The ranks of religiously unaffiliated, also called the nones, have grown from just about 5 percent in the early 1970s to at least 30 percent in 2020.

Religious demography is a zero-sum game. If one group grows larger that means that other groups must be shrinking in size. So that rise in the nones is bad news for churches, pretty much across traditions. When you sort Christians by denomination, mainline Protestants are continuing to show significant decline.

By their own membership tallies, mainline denominations are showing drops of 15 percent, 25 percent, and even 40 percent over the span of the last decade. There is little room for triumph on the evangelical side; their numbers are slipping too.

Examining these two traditions, though, shows us two different stories about how their churches are losing members and could offer a trajectory for what the American religious landscape will look like in the future.

First, its important to point out that mainline Protestantsthe grouping scholars use for denominations like the United Methodist Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Presbyterian Church (USA)used to outnumber evangelicals by a significant margin in the 1970s. In 1975, just over 30 percent of Americans were mainline, while about 21 percent were evangelicals. However, those lines began to converge quickly, and by 1983 there were more evangelicals in the United States than mainliners.

This rapid shift in American religion was driven primarily by evangelicals becoming more prominent in American culture. The rise of televangelists like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson coincided with the Religious Right beginning to assert itself in electoral politics. Because the nones were relatively small at this point, theres ample reason to believe that significant numbers of mainline Protestants became evangelicals through the 1980s.

By the late 1980s, evangelicals had become 2527 percent of the population, and the mainline population was stuck around 20 percent. In 1993, evangelicals hit their peak in the data at just under 30 percent and have since gone into a slow and steady decline over time.

Between 2000 and 2018, the decline among evangelicals has been relatively modestjust about two percentage points. The mainline also declined three times as fast during this same time period, dropping from 16 percent in 2000 to just over 10 percent in 2018.

When you look at where both traditions started in 1972, evangelicals are slightly up, while the mainline is significantly smaller.

Its clear that both the mainline and evangelical traditions have gotten smaller over the past few years, but how did that happen? There are two primary ways for religions to shrink. The first is through death without replacement. When older members die, the tradition gets smaller unless young people are raised up in the church to offset those losses. The other way a tradition decreases in size is through defection. That means people leave the religion in which they were raised for another faith group.

The General Social Survey asks respondents about the denomination in which they were raised as well as their current denomination. Using this data, its possible to get a sense of just how the decline in these two traditions can be chalked up to defection and where those defectors ended up.

For instance, if everyone who was raised evangelical stayed in that tradition, how large would it be? In 1973, about 20 percent of Americans were currently evangelicals, while another 4 percent were former evangelicals. In 2018, those numbers arent that much different: 22 percent are currently evangelicals, while another 4 percent were former evangelicals. In essence, defection was basically the same.

For mainliners in 1973, 28 percent were current adherents while another 7 percent had left the tradition. In 2018, only 11 percent were currently mainline Protestants but another 6 percent had grown up mainline and left. In the most recent data, for every two mainline Protestants, there was another that had left.

In the most recent waves of the GSS data, theres clearly a bigger retention problem for people who were raised mainlinejust over half (55%) stayed mainline as adults. Nearly half the people left the mainline ended up being religiously unaffiliated, while another significant portion became evangelical.

For evangelicals, retention is much higher at 70 percent, but the same basic pattern of religious switching exists. A significant portion of evangelical defectors go on to claim no religious affiliation. The second most likely landing spot for people leaving the evangelical tradition is the mainline.

But its twice as likely for a mainline Protestant to become an evangelical these days than for an evangelical to leave for a mainline tradition. In raw numbers, for every two evangelicals who became a mainline Protestant, about three mainline Protestants became evangelical.

Its fair to say that both the mainline and evangelical traditions in the United States are losing members. But that seems to be happening a bit asymmetrically. Evangelicalism is undoubtedly down from its peak in the early 1990s. But its reached a bit of a stasis in recent years, being buoyed by some inflows from the mainline tradition and enough younger families to offset some of the losses through death.

The decline of the mainline has also slowed somewhat recently. However, there are plenty of reasons to conclude that their numbers will dip again. As they continue to fight defections from the tradition, the average age of the membership increases, and traditional denominations hemorrhage members, it seems apparent that there are more causes for concern among mainline Protestants than evangelicals.

Thus, evangelicalism is still making gains by taking in former mainline Protestants, but that stream of new members is going to continue to diminish as the overall numbers of mainline Protestants gets even smaller over time.

As the middle of American religion continues to hollow out, evangelicals will only have two strategies going forward: Keep the young people raised in the church or try to evangelize the growing number of unaffiliated Americans. Recently, both have been a challenge for evangelical churches. For example, only half of kids raised in the Southern Baptist traditionthe biggest Protestant denomination in the USstay Southern Baptist as adults.

The entire nature of church growth will need to shift in the future, and churches needed to be ready to face a religious landscape they have never seen before.

Ryan P. Burge is an assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University. His research appears on the site Religion in Public, and he tweets at @ryanburge.
Billy Graham's family home up for sale to help pay for granddaughters medical treatments

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

The original home of the late evangelist Billy Graham and his wife, Ruth, is now for sale as their daughter is raising funds to pay for her daughters medical treatments.

The original home of the Grahams, a wooden cottage, is on the market for the first time. The house is listed at $599,000. The cottage, still owned by the family, was where the renowned minister lived with his wife and children while Graham traveled to share the Gospel in the most pivotal years of his ministry.

The charming cottage has a storied history  it was the familys residence during the time the evangelist became a household name," a press statement reads. "Located at 198 Mississippi Road, the four-bedroom, two-bath home is being marketed exclusively by Brian Etheridge of Premier Sothebys International Realtys Asheville office."

The couple's daughter Ruth said her parents purchased the home in the late 1940s.

It was selected because it was right across the street from my grandparents, the younger Ruth Graham said in a statement shared with The Christian Post. I was born during the time my family lived in the house. The Los Angeles Crusades and [my fathers] tour of England happened during those years.  it is where it all began.

The Grahams moved from the house in 1957 but remained in Montreat, Ruth Graham told the Ashville Citizen-Times. She said she is selling the home to help pay for her daughters medical costs as she suffers from Lymphangioleiomyomatosis.

The multisystem disorder affects different areas of the body, such as lungs, kidneys and the lymphatic system.

My youngest daughter was diagnosed with a very rare disease that attacks women of childbearing age and there will be some significant medical bills in her future," she said, according to WCNC Charolette. I am so grateful that I have this provision that I can make like any mother who would move Heaven and earth when your child needs you.

The third of the reverend's five children revealed that her daughter had the diagnosis for about three or four years."

"And they say from that time forward, you have six to eight years," she explained. "So the time is growing close."

Ruth Graham, who owns the home, reportedly notified her siblings of the sale and asked them first if they wanted to buy the house. She did not speak with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. But a spokesman for the organization told The Citizen-Times that the Graham siblings love each other deeply and support each other.

The home has been used as a vacation rental in recent years. Guests of the home were given access to experience the Grahams' young family life through the cottages original furnishings, books, photos and mementos. The two-story home is still in pristine condition and is surrounded by several picturesque walking trails and streams.

Several offers have already been received.
Cornel West resigns from Harvard U over 'spiritual rot,' blasts 'superficial diversity'

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Notable academic and progressive African American philosophy professor Cornel West has announced his resignation from his position at Harvard University in Massachusetts, citing what he called spiritual rot.

West posted a copy of his letter of resignation to his official Twitter account on Monday, getting 70,000 likes and more than 13,000 retweets as of Tuesday morning.

This is my candid letter of resignation to my Harvard Dean. I try to tell the unvarnished truth about the decadence in our market-driven universities! Let us bear witness against this spiritual rot, tweeted West, the grandson of a Baptist minister and democratic socialist civil rights activist.

In the June 30 letter, West cited numerous issues he had with Harvard Divinity School. Those include the disarray of a scattered curriculum, the disenchantment of talented yet deferential faculty, and the disorientation of students.

With a few glorious and glaring exceptions, the shadow of Jim Crow was cast in its new glittering form expressed in the language of superficial diversity, he wrote.

West also cited alleged anti-Palestinian bias, a dispute over whether to give him tenure and an inadequate response from the Ivy League institution to the passing of his mother.

His comments about the disrespect for the pro-Palestinian movement likely stem from a recent report by The Harvard Crimson that the school invests approximately $200 million in companies said to be tied to Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory.

In March, West had already openly expressed his plans to leave Harvard for Union Theological Seminary of New York City due to the dispute over granting him tenure.

There are wonderful people at Harvard; we know that, West told The Boycott Times in an interview at the time. But I discovered that I can only take so much hypocrisy. I can only take so much dishonesty.

Harvard has actually done very well in terms of bringing different peoples of different colors and gender at a high level into the administration. But it does not yet translate on the ground in terms of faculty.

West was previously a tenured professor at Harvard but left the school in 2002 and returned to a non-tenured position with Harvard in 2017.

A prolific author and philosopher, West is known for his public debates and dialogue with conservative Catholic political philosopher and Princeton University law professor Robert P. George. The two are an "ideological odd couple" that have teamed up to promote tolerance in an increasingly divided America. They have spoken out against efforts to silence free speech on college campuses.

Last November, the two spoke during a Museum of the Bible event in Washington, D.C., centered on the issue of showing honesty and civility, even during times of intense political polarization.

During his remarks, given virtually, West discussed the importance of loving enemies, noting that even the biggest gangsters among us know to show tender loving care for their loved ones.

I try to remind people of that in terms of brother [Donald] Trump himself, said West. What looks like so often he just doesnt have this love, and he doesnt have this empathy, doesnt have this concern, doesnt have this sensitivity.

Yes, I believe there is a lot of evidence for that. Thats why I have called him a gangster. But I was a gangster before I met Jesus," West continued. "And now I am a redeemed sinner with gangster proclivities. Because he, like me, made in the image of the same God and therefore has the possibility of going another way.
Critics fear Biden plan to extend public education by 4 years could be 'developmentally damaging' Biden plan would add 2 years of preschool, 2 years of community college

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

President Joe Biden announced his Build Back Better plan, which would guarantee four additional years of free public education, fulfilling his campaigns platform to begin investing in American children from birth.

However, conservatives fear the initiative promotes more government control while overstepping the role of the family.

The plan extends two years of "universal, high quality" preschool for children as young as 3 and two years of free community college.

The fact is 12 years of education is no longer enough to compete in the 21st Century, Biden tweeted.

Thats why my Build Back Better Agenda will guarantee four additional years of public education for every person in America  two years of pre-school and two years of free community college.

The fact is 12 years of education is no longer enough to compete in the 21st Century.



Thats why my Build Back Better Agenda will guarantee four additional years of public education for every person in America  two years of pre-school and two years of free community college.  President Biden (@POTUS) July 7, 2021

Many conservatives fear the plan would expand the federal governments influence and involvement in public school education while undermining the family's influence.

Rebecca Friedrichs, former public school teacher and founder of For Kids and Country, an organization seeking to restore the education system to the excellence, morality and patriotism intended by the Founding Fathers, sent an email statement to The Christian Post comparing Bidens Build Back Better education plan to socialism.

"The Biden-Harris administration's 'Build Back Better' plan is a pleasant-sounding cover for their socialist agenda for our children, Friedrichs wrote.

Guaranteeing two years of 'universal, high-quality' free preschool and two years of free community college equates to four more years of indoctrination, a scheme to promote more government control over our children's lives while undercutting the family structure, she continued. 'Free' education is nothing more than a power grab to get more families dependent on the government."

Friedrichs was the lead plaintiff in a 2016 Supreme Court case, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, seeking to free public sector employees from paying annual union dues.

Max Eden, a research fellow who focuses on education reform at the nonpartisan think tank often associated with conservativism American Enterprise Institute believes this program could do more harm than good.

"The Biden administration is seeking to turn Americas K-12 [public] education system into a standardized pre-K-14 system," Eden wrote to CP.

"At the higher education level, the investment is somewhat redundant as community college is already largely free for low income students," he continued. "For the earlier years, though, this proposal runs a very serious risk of building out a public pre-k system that could, in balance, prove more developmentally damaging than supportive."

Biden campaigned on the Build Back Better platform, seeking to reimagine and rebuild the American economy. One of the policies areas of the plan focuses on education.

First lady Jill Biden worked in education for over 30 years, making education essential to the Biden policy agenda.

In order to maintain our competitiveness, our current system of kindergarten through 12th grade education is essential but no longer sufficient, Bidens education platform states.

"Roughly 6 out of 10 jobs in the United States require education beyond a high school diploma. And, too many parents dont have access to the resources and support they need to support and ensure their children are developing healthily."

The Biden campaigns education platform also promises to build an education system that begins investing in our children at birth to help all students receive "some education past a diploma.

The campaign promised that as president, Biden would work with states to offer high-quality, universal pre-kindergarten for all three- and four-year-olds.

This investment will ease the burden on our families, help close the achievement gap, promote the labor participation of parents who want to work, and lift our critical early childhood education workforce out of poverty, the platform states.

In 2019, then-Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., proposed a bill that would extend the school day at hundreds of schools to 10 hours a day, keeping children in school until 6 p.m. to help parents with childcare.

Called the Family Friendly Schools Act, the bill's goal was to align the school day with the work day."

About 44 states already offer some form of public preschool, but their policies vary, according to the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University. Six states do not offer state funding for preschool.

Biden's plan seeks to provide prekindergarten to all 3 and 4-year-olds. Under the proposal, the federal government will provide states with funding to create programs that expand the pre-K offerings, according to The Wall Street Journal. Additionally, states would have to put up some of their own funding and meet standards.

Among critics of the plan are Republican politicians, including Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey. A spokeswoman for Ivey told the newspaper that the governor opposes the universal pre-K proposal, calling it "a top-down approach [that] would simply not be beneficial to us.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, warned that the proposal sounds like an attempt to "hijack the state and local governments entirely and operate everything out of Washington, D.C."

"I would be very skeptical of that," he said, according to WSJ.

Democrat politicians, on the other hand, are more supportive of the proposal.

This [is an] issue that families and employers alike are clamoring for additional support on, and so I do suspect that we would be able to find common ground, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said, according to WSJ. And I can tell you I would be motivated to lead those efforts.

The U.S. public education system has been the subject of a lot of contention lately due to parents standing up to critical race theory and sex education being taught in classrooms in various localities and states. Parents and teachers have also objected to the push to affirm transgender identities in some school districts.
New Mexico church clears nearly $1.4M in medical debt for 782 households

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Some 782 families in New Mexico and Arizona are now free from medical debt after a church in Santa Fe cleared their bills totaling nearly $1.4 million.

With a grant of $15,000 the St. Bedes Episcopal Church was able to clear $1,380,119.87 in medical debt for the 782 families who live in New Mexico and parts of Arizona, the Episcopal News Service reported.

I dont know if this parish has ever funded a program with such a great impact. We were able to do it because every week we set aside 10% of donations to the church for outreach. Prioritizing service to others is our gospel imperative, the Rev. Catherine Volland told ENS.

The church worked with a New York-based organization called RIP Medical Debt which uses donor funds to eliminate medical debt for some of Americas neediest families by purchasing that debt at a fraction of the actual cost. A gift of $500 to the organization, for example, can relieve $50,000 worth of medical debt.

Once weve pinpointed the portfolios for those in or near the poverty level, we buy up their debt and relieve it. Then we send relief notices to the benefiting families, and subsequently help the recipients repair their credit reports  renewing their access to opportunities and resources that will allow them to rebuild and recover, the organization explains on their website.

The Survey of Income and Program Participation shows that in 2017, 19% of U.S. households carried medical debt which is defined as medical costs people were unable to pay upfront or when they received care, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Among households with medical debt, the median amount owed was $2,000, meaning half had more and half had less. As of 2020, there were 128.45 million households in the U.S., which means that well over 24 million households in the U.S. are burdened by medical debt.

Census Bureau data on debt for households in 2017, further show that medical debt is distributed disproportionately across groups based on socioeconomic status, demographic characteristics as well as health status of household members.

Some 27.9% of black households were shown to have medical debt compared to 17.2% of white households and 9.7% of Asian households. Some 21.7% of Hispanic households held medical debt.

Though it was not always the case in the data, the more educated members of the households were less likely to carry medical debt. The 26.2% of households found most likely to carry medical debt were those in which the highest level of education of any of the members was some college but no degree.

Only 15.5% of households where the highest level of education of any member was a bachelors degree had medical debt, while only 10.9% of households where the highest level of education of any member was a graduate or professional degree had medical debt.
Pastor begs God for mercy as COVID-19 sweeps megachurch: Lord we didnt want to be in the news

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Pastor Bruce Wesley of the multi-campus Clear Creek Community Church in Texas, which recently made headlines as some 125 youth and adults got infected with what officials suspect is the COVID-19 Delta variant after attending a church-sponsored student ministry camp, publicly prayed for Gods mercy as his church was forced to shutter for a second week.

Lord, we didnt want to be in the news, at least not for this, maybe for serving or some extreme generosity, but not this," Wesley prayed in an online message delivered to his congregants.

"So we ask for your mercy. We ask for your healing for all of those who became sick with this virus and for their families whove been caring for them as well. We pray for complete recovery so that people dont have any lingering effects, and we pray that there would be a stop, you would put a stop to the spread of this virus."

Wesley did not share how many more people are now infected with the virus. But the church revealed in a statement last Wednesday that the congregation is facing a second wave of infections among the families of the infected campers.

The number of people at camp who became ill has increased since my first communication. In some cases, entire families are sick. While some have had difficult symptoms, we are not aware of any hospitalizations," he said in the Wednesday statement after announcing further service cancellations.

Clear Creek Community Church will cancel services again on Sunday, July 11, and Wednesday, July 14 at all campuses. In addition, there will be no Revive and Restore Forum on July 11. Other gatherings for the week have been canceled or postponed."

More than 450 people participated in the camp designed for middle school and high school-aged kids. In a letter to congregants, Wesley previously explained that in consultation with the Galveston County Health District, the church canceled services for July 4 and again on July 7. They hoped to reopen for in-person services this past Sunday, but the virus cases were too many.

Our pastor, staff and volunteers, have contacted all of the 450 plus campers by phone or email this last week and weve receive a report on how everyone is doing, the church said in the statement.

On Sunday, Wesley prayed for all the families that have been impacted by the virus outbreak.

We ask also Lord for those whose lives were impacted by this virus. I know for some its been a financial impact. We pray you provide for them, he said.

He noted that some members had to rearrange their lives because of the mass infections, including those forced to miss a mission trip to the Dominican Republic or their planned vacation.

We just ask Lord that our whole community will be comforted by your presence, rest in your goodness in spite of this outbreak, he prayed.

Wesley also prayed for wisdom for churches taking their kids to camp this summer.

Inci Yildirim, a Yale Medicine pediatric infectious diseases specialist and vaccinologist, said in a recent report that the Delta variant of COVID-19 has been shown to spread more among the younger population.

A recent study from the United Kingdom showed that children and adults under 50 were 2.5 times more likely to become infected with Delta, Yildirim told Yale Medicine.

As older age groups get vaccinated, those who are younger and unvaccinated will be at higher risk of getting COVID-19 with any variant, but Delta seems to be impacting younger age groups more than previous variants, she added.

Dr. Phillip Keiser, Galveston County Health District Authority, told KHOU that because of how rapidly the virus has spread among the campers, they suspect it might be the Delta variant.

Were testing it for the Delta variant to see if thats the cause for it spreading so rapidly among that group, Keiser said.
'Trans Mission' docu exposes 'unconscionable' rush to transition gender dysphoric kids

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

A few years ago, filmmaker and former pediatric nurse Jennifer Lahl noticed a disturbing uptick in the push to allow children to medically and surgically transition.

I was always very interested in medicine and the care and treatment of children, Lahl, who also serves as the founder and president of The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network, told The Christian Post.

I thought, we really need to make a film focused on whether we should allow children to do this very experimental treatment that has significant short and long term consequences to their heath.

Lahls new documentary, Trans Mission: Whats the Rush To Reassign Gender? examines the motives behind the push to transition children through life-altering medical and surgical procedures, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and elective cosmetic surgeries, such as double mastectomies and the removal of testicles.

The documentary features interviews with parents, medical professionals and activists concerned by what they believe is the exploitation of children, teens and young adults  many of them special needs, struggling with gender dysphoria or dealing with family trauma.

Contrary to the ideas presented by proponents of gender identity affirmation on children, Lahl stressed that gender dysphoria  which she defined as the state of confusion where, I dont feel comfortable in my body, I dont like whats happening to my body and the change as I enter puberty'"  is not a new phenomenon, nor does mean a child is born in the wrong body.

We need to provide children that are experiencing gender dysphoria with a whole host of therapies to try to get an understanding of, what's going on in the home, what's going on in the community and what's going on at school? Is this a child being bullied? Is this child on the spectrum?" she said.

"To offer medical and surgical transition is not appropriate therapy for these kinds of feelings," Lahl stressed.

The transitioning of children is an issue that crosses political lines, with even members of the LGBT community speaking out against the phenomenon. But those who publicly disagree with the push to affirm gender identity in children are often silenced by the mainstream media or banned from social platforms.

The kids that are struggling with gender dysphoria are not Christian or secular or Republican or liberal. This is affecting children from all kinds of families in the United States and certainly around the world as well, Lahl said.

A recent study from the United Kingdom found a 5,000% increase among teenage girls going to gender clinics seeking help with the incongruence they experience between their internal sense of self and their biological sex.

While many factors are contributing to this surge, one clear reason behind it, Lahl said, is social contagion fueled by celebrities and social media. This idea is corroborated by a 2019 study from Brown University that found parents of children experiencing gender dysphoria saw their children experience pressure to fit in with their friend group.

Kids are spending a lot of time on the internet or on Tik Tok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube  you just have to follow the hashtag transition' or 'transgender' and its everywhere. Its being popularized by celebrities who come out as nonbinary, gender fluid, whatever, Lahl explained.

It seems to be more and more young girls that are hopping on this new fad. They think, This will solve boys whistling at me if I don't look like a girl and I don't look pretty or have a nice shape, she added.

Trans Mission also exposes the fear-mongering tactics used by some doctors: One mother shares how a medical professional scared her into thinking her teenage daughter would die by suicide unless she let them put her child on puberty blockers.

As Dr. Andre Van Mol, one of the physicians who scrutinizes transgender medical practices in the film, explains, it is often manipulatively posed to parents of trans-identifying children: Would you rather have a live son or a dead daughter?" It is said in such bracing terms because if they do not allow their children to undergo the experimental practices they will likely die by suicide, despite no evidence for such a claim.

Parents opposed to their childrens desire to transition are also unable to rely on schools for support. One mother shared how, unbeknownst to her, her childs teachers and school counselor socially transitioned her child by using her daughter's preferred pronouns.

Lahl called such methods unconscionable and manipulative, adding: I have incredible sympathy for these parents because they feel like no one's in their corner. They feel like doctors are against them. The schools are against them and saying, You should allow your child to change their pronouns.

In one particularly disturbing testimony, a de-transitioner recounts how a money-hungry doctor pushed him to undergo an unwanted gender-affirming surgery.

These de-transitioners believed that fully medically and surgically transitioning to the opposite sex would fix their problems, when in fact they're left with bodies that have been mutilated and they have to live with these consequences forever, Lahl said. Theyre left with realizing that it didn't fix anything.

Through the documentary, Lahl says she hopes to provide parents with the tools necessary to combat the rush to transition children through life-altering experimental drugs and surgeries that remove their breasts and mutilate their genitals.

When a doctor is rushing you to put your child on a path to medically and surgically transition or block puberty, parents need to be courageous and say, No. We're not going to do that. Let's look at what other things we can do to help our child. We're going to find some other way to help our son or daughter. We're going to look at a really good assessment of what's going on in the family, how much time is spent on the internet, what's going on in school, what's going on in the community, what's going on with church or whatever it is.'

By raising awareness about the push to transition children through experimental medical procedures, Lahl said she believes its possible to end what she believes is little more than the exploitation of young people struggling with gender dysphoria.

There's a lot of really vulnerable people out there that don't even know that this is happening to children or they dont know the level and frequency at which its happening, she said. But I believe this battle is totally winnable because most people are incredibly reasonable. When they watch this film and hear these stories, they will hopefully say, This is not good, this is not proper, and were not going to do this.

Trans Mission is now available on Vimeo or YouTube.
Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Lately, Christianity has been experiencing one of the worse periods of persecution in recent memory. The degree of persecution may vary, but a close look will expose latent intimidation, harassment, or suppression of Christians.

The desire of Christ is that Christians all over the world should be knitted together in service to God and humanity. After all, Jesus left us with the instruction that we should always strive to be unified (John 17:21). Unfortunately, denominationalism, racism, ethnicism, and other ideologies, have been slowly dividing the body of Christ. Ive been shocked to discover that even in the local assembly of the same denomination in Nigeria, we are divided along ethnic lines. Worshippers seem to be more comfortable relating and doing things with people that are of the same ethnic group.

Denominational barriers have built walls that have caused so much division that many have started asking if Christ is divided. These denominational frictions and divisions are so egregious that some churches are now known as living and dead churches.

We are equally divided along geographical lines. When northern Christians are attacked, the southern Christians go about their normal businesses as if nothing happened. I recently met a pastor of southern extraction to discuss evangelism strategies in Nigeria. He agreed to support our missionaries but advised us to avoid the northern part of the country. According to him, "the Gospel of Christ is not for the northerners". If a custodian of the Gospel could say this, what do we expect from members of the Pews?

The unity that we should desire among Christians should not be passive, but active. I am not just talking about absence of frictions and divisions among us; I am talking about deliberate effort to maintain unity, care for one another, speak the same language, and bear one anothers burdens.

The Spirit of one accord offers powerful protection. As Proverbs 11:14 says: "Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety. Our coming together will ensure that no part of us will lack counsel in times of need. If we can stand side by side with one purpose, we will be able to resist the devil and bring the Gospel to the lost.

The early church understood the secret of standing fast in one spirit and striving together with one mind (Acts 4:32). We stand the chance of experiencing a reawakening and mighty global revival if all Christians should come together in one spirit and one accord and uphold one another in prayers and Intercessions. The time has come for the philosophy that holds one denomination, one race, or one ethnic group superior over the other, to be eliminated in the body of Christ worldwide.

The Indivisible unity of Christians worldwide is a sure defense against all the terroristic onslaughts of the devil. If we are all partakers of the Spirit of Christ, then we need to stand fast in the same Spirit. When one Christian is murdered in Africa, the entire global Christian community should feel the pain. The Persecution of an American Christian baker should give all Christians a new reason to pray. When a preacher on the streets of Europe is arrested, Christians all over the world should feel chained. If we want to see the hand of God in our dark times, we must come together and strive to maintain the unity of Gods Kingdom.
In Pennsylvania, forgotten forts and George Washington

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Tucked away in southwestern Pennsylvania are two forts from an almost entirely forgotten war.

About 90 minutes by car from Pittsburgh and near the Pennsylvania border with West Virginia and Maryland in the picturesque Laurel Highlands are the reconstructed earthworks and makeshift circular palisade at Fort Necessity National Battlefield.

This was where the first battle in the French and Indian War, as the North American theater of the Seven Years War is called, occurred. The wars official name is actually a misnomer. Not only did armed conflict last longer than seven years  1754 to 1763  but the first world war as most of Europe was entangled on one side or the other in military engagements spanning five continents.

The battle at Fort Necessity on July 3, 1754, ended in disaster for 22-year-old George Washington, who as a lieutenant colonel in the royal colony of Virginias armed forces commanded just under 400 British regulars and colonials. This was actually the first of two consecutive disasters for Washington  disasters that derailed his long sought-after military career until the cause of American independence some 21 years later.

Fort Necessity itself was a reaction to a skirmish that occurred about six weeks earlier at what is today called Jumonville Glen.

It was here where Washingtons colonials and Indian allies surprised the French, who were camped below a rocky cliff in a naturally indefensible location. Just what transpired next remains debatable today, although the death of the commanding French officer, Joseph Coulon de Villiers de Jumonville, was considered an assassination by France.

Word of the skirmish made it back to the French at their stronghold of Fort Duquesne (pronounced doo-kayn) in present-day Pittsburgh. Soon, de Jumonvilles half-brother led a force against Washington. While the skirmish was not enough to cause a world war, the later battle in a no mans land claimed by both France and Great Britain was more than enough to revive centuries-old hostilities.

Fort Necessity was hopeless from the start.

Washington never cleared the tree line surrounding what was called the Great Meadows. This gave a considerable advantage to the French, who shed conventional tactics for the guerilla warfare of their Indian allies. Combined with bad weather, a lack of useable supplies and mounting casualties, Washington surrendered for the first and only time in his career.

Washingtons second disaster, which admittedly was actually that of commanding officer Maj. Gen. Edward Braddock, came about a year later. This time, he was merely an aide.

The 60-year-old Braddock marched more than 2,000 soldiers on a 12-foot-wide road his troops blazed through forests and over mountains toward Fort Duquesne. The expedition turned into a disaster on July 9, 1755, when the outnumbered French and Indians surprised the British and Americans after they crossed the Monongahela River some 10 miles from the fort.

With around 900 casualties among approximately 1,400 regulars, the battle was one of the worst-ever defeats for the British Army. The major general himself was shot and later died during the retreat. After reading the burial service from the Church of Englands 1662 Book of Common Prayer, Washington had Braddock buried in the middle of his road to avoid the bodys discovering and desecration by Indians. Today, a monument stands at this location, about a mile from the Necessity battlefield at the Great Meadows.

Britains war effort improved by 1758, when a new army under Brig. Gen. John Forbes moved west from Philadelphia toward Duquesne.

His force, which numbered more than 6,000 and included Washington in command of a Virginia-raised regiment, was so overwhelming that the beleaguered French destroyed their fortress the day before a brigade led by Washington arrived on Nov. 25, 1758.

Parts of their route, called the Forbes Road, included the earlier Braddock Road. Along the way, they erected several temporary forts that were basically the equivalent of truck stops and rest areas. One such fort was Fort Ligonier, which was named after the field marshal of the British Army.

A full reconstruction stands at the original location in Ligonier, a charming small town in Westmoreland County. Besides the reconstructed fort there is the museums spectacular collection of objects and artifacts, including original art from the era  the kind of art generally only found in a big-city museum. This is without a doubt the best museum dedicated to the French & Indian War anywhere.

While the forts actual role in the war was minor compared to Jumonville Glen or Fort Necessity, it is the best place to discover this important chapter of American history.

If you go

Admission to the National Park Service-operated Fort Necessity National Battlefield, including the visitor center and museum, is free. This includes Jumonville Glen.

Tickets for Fort Ligonier range from $8 for children to $15 for adults. Consider booking a private sunset tour for $35 per person. Fort Ligonier Days, an annual reenactment, takes place Oct. 8-10.

I stayed at the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott in Somerset, one of the closest towns of any significant size. It was a perfectly fine chain hotel. However, I wish I had stayed at either the Historic Summit Inn, near Fort Necessity, or in Ligonier at Thistledown.

Getting here by car is especially easy as Pennsylvanias Laurel Highlands is within driving distance for many Americans. If you wanted to fly, the Pittsburgh airport is the closest airport with significant service from commercial airlines.

Follow @dennislennox on Instagram and Twitter.
10 survivors who shared horrors of persecution at State Dept. ministerial

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

WASHINGTON  Last weeks State Department ministerial to advance religious freedom worldwide was historic not only for the fact that its said to be the largest event of its kind ever held, but also because it united a diverse group of people from across the world who've been persecuted for their faith and culture.

Nearly 30 survivors of religious persecution attended the second State Department Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, an event that the Trump administration had promised would be a much larger version of the inaugural ministerial held last July.

Coming from the Middle East, Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and even one person from the U.S. (Pittsburgh synagogue shooting survivor), the diversity of the survivors who attended was evidence that religious persecution affects people of many different religions and ethnicities worldwide.

In the following pages are 10 survivors of religious persecution who participated in the ministerial and last Wednesdays White House meeting with President Donald Trump.
Andrew Brunson's Daughter Shares Emotional Testimony at Religious Freedom Ministerial Family Members and Victims Highlight Their Persecution Stories at First-Ever State Dept. Event

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

WASHINGTON  The daughter of imprisoned American pastor Andrew Brunson gave an impassioned speech during the first-ever State Department Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, choking up a bit as she shared how her father feels "blessed" to suffer for his faith in Christ.

Jacqueline (Brunson) Furnari was among the family members of persecuted believers who shared the stories of persecution that their respective loved ones have faced at the State Department headquarters Tuesday, kicking off a much anticipated three-day conference on international religious freedom that the federal government has never hosted before.

"I know my dad's character as only a daughter can, and I know the charges against him are absolutely absurd and false," she told the hundreds gathered at the Harry S. Truman Building, asking them for prayers for her father's release. "He is not an armed terrorist trying to overthrow any government. He is a pastor who went to Wheaton College and on to seminary and got a Ph.D. in New Testament."

For the past two decades, the North Carolina native has served the Turkish people as a church leader in Izmir. But on Oct. 7, 2016, Brunson was arrested and held for over a year before finally being charged with having connections to Kurdish militants and the Islamic Gulen movement that the government accuses of staging the July 2016 coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government.

The pastor has maintained his innocence and pressure from the U.S. continues to build as prominent lawmakers have said that the prosecution lacks credible evidence and have long called for his release.

Last week, Brunson appeared in court for his third hearing. Despite hopes that the court would release Brunson, he was again remanded back to prison until his next hearing in September.

"It is important to note that during these three [hearing] dates, there has not been one prosecution witness that has been able to provide one shred of evidence that support their ridiculous testimony  a fact that my father pointed out during the May 7 trial date and a fact that none of the judges on the panel seem to care about," Furnari said. "The head judge personally told my father that all the prosecution's witness testimony is simply being taken as truth therefore there is no need for any evidence."

As the testimonies of the prosecution's secret witnesses appear to be based off of second and third-hand information, United States senators have equated Brunson's imprisonment to an attempt by the fellow NATO member nation at hostage diplomacy.

Erdogan has even suggested himself that Brunson's fate is tied to United States-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Furnari, who grew up in Turkey and graduated from the University of North Carolina, told the crowd that her father has missed two of the most important days of her life because the Turkish government has decided to use her dad as a political pawn.

Furnari got married in civil court in February 2017, despite the fact that she had picked out a wedding dress and was excited to have the wedding of her dreams. But because of her dad's imprisonment, she and her husband have decided to hold off on having a big church wedding until her father is able to come home and walk her down the aisle.

"I got married and neither of my parents were present. I will never get that moment back," she explained. "For those of you that have daughters, I know that you understand how important and special it is for both you and your daughter to walk her down the aisle at her wedding. My father didn't get to do that. I am still waiting for my wedding and I am still waiting to wear the wedding dress that I got more than two years ago. I am still waiting for my dad to walk me down the aisle and I am still waiting for my father-daughter dance."

Last December, Furnari graduated from college.

"One of the ways that my father has shown his love to my brothers and I is that he has invested so much in helping us plan out our futures and our career paths. He missed seeing me achieve yet another life milestone," she added. "My brother is graduating from college this coming December as well. He would love to be at least at that one."

Furnari explained that although her dad has lost at least 50 pounds in jail and looked to be a shell of his former self, he has explained in letters that the thing that has pained him the most about his imprisonment is missing out on spending time with his family.

Furnari added that Brunson has missed out being there for her older brother to help him make career choices and seeing his accomplishments at Cornell University.

Brunson has also missed out on being there for his younger son, who is in his senior year of high school.

"These are the things that pain my dad the most  not being able to be with us and missing out on life with his family," she said.

Furnari has been able to visit her father in prison just once in August 2017. She was shocked to see her dad in such a poor condition. Suffering from anxiety and depression, she stressed that her dad has lost hope.

"[He] has been permanently changed by this experience," Furnari asserted. "Even when this ordeal is over, he will never be the same person that he was."

Furnari was emotionally choked up as she said her father has handled his false imprisonment in a manner that has displayed "Christ's love" to the world.

"In his trial last week, my father forgave the witnesses who falsely testified against him, saying, 'My faith teaches me to forgive, so I forgive those who testified against me.' He went on to say, 'It is a privilege to suffer for the sake of Christ,'" Furnari said as she again choked up with emotion.

After encouragement from the crowd, Furnari continued by quoting her father's testimony from last week's court hearing.

"'Blessed am I as I suffer for Him. Blessed am I as I am slandered. Blessed am I as I am lied about. And Blessed am I as I am imprisoned. Blessed am I to share His suffering,'" she cited.

Pam Pryor, the State Department's senior adviser to the undersecretary of civilian security, democracy and human rights who introduced Furnari at the ministerial, vowed that officials at the State Department are "focused" on Brunson's case.

"I have worked here at State and I know how focused everyone is on Andrew Brunson. We get weekly updates and this administration is truly working on ways to make sure that this innocent American and others wrongfully detained are released," she stressed. "Just like we saw this administration bring home a young man from Utah imprisoned in Venezuela recently and three Americans forcefully detained in North Korea as we watched them deplane in the middle of the night at Andrews Air Force Base, one day soon, we all want to be at your father's arrival ceremony on U.S. soil."

Also speaking at the ministerial was Jamie Powell, the wife of imprisoned Chinese pastor and missionary John Cao. Cao is serving a seven-year prison sentence in China.

Cao helped build 16 schools for the Wa people in the Shan state of Myanmar. However, authorities in China detained him while he was doing humanitarian work along the Myanmar-China border in March 2017 and convicted him on charges of organizing illegal border crossings. Such a charge is usually given to human traffickers.

"It appears to me that John was set up for his arrest because of his faith-driven work," Powell told the ministerial Tuesday morning.

"Since his detainment, my husband has suffered a rapid decline in his health. He has lost 50 pounds. He has not been able to communicate with me and my children. My sons and I traveled there  10,000 miles  and we were not allowed to see him," she added. "The seven years he has unjustly received now becomes a matter of health and survival."

Peter Bhatti, the brother of slain Pakistani Christian politician Shahbaz Bhatti, also spoke at the ministerial.

Bhatti was murdered in 2011 over his advocacy for reforming the nation's strict blasphemy laws, which are often used by majority Muslims to settle personal disputes with religious minorities and is a large reason why Pakistan is ranked as the fifth-worst nation in the world when it comes to Christian persecution by Open Doors USA.

Bhatti assured the crowd that his brother's death was not in vain.

Firsthand victims of persecution also spoke Tuesday.

Tahrir Hamut, a prominent Uighur poet, recalled how he was sentenced to three years in a labor camp in China in 1996. He warned that today, there are over 1 million Uighur Muslims in concentration camps in China. He fears they could one day face Nazi-style mass killings.
Can a generation of boys be saved from becoming unproductive narcissists?

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

America is in danger of raising a generation of boys who are unproductive narcissists, and Trail Life USA CEO Mark Hancock says his organization is prepared to step in and neutralize the threat.

For the last eight years since pulling his sons away from the embattled Boy Scouts of America, Hancock has been promoting his "unapologetically Christian" alternative to the iconic youth organization, which he argues has lost some 2 million members since 2013 because it abandoned its laser focus on boys.

And his message has been gaining traction among Christian parents and churches worried about the threat of a mainstream culture that is becoming increasingly hostile to raising their sons as traditional men.

Its as if boyhood is some kind of social disease that needs to be eradicated, Hancock, a trained mental health expert and father of two boys, told The Christian Post in a recent interview. We dont celebrate boys like we used to. We dont recognize their strengths and their impulsivity and their risk and their attraction to competition as positive things anymore, and they used to be accepted. Those were strengths that were being tested in a boy that would serve him in manhood.

When you look at the history of the country, its winning and focused men who took chances, who took risks, who made the difficult decisions, who sometimes made unpopular decisions that really led us to be one of the greatest countries in the world," he said. "And if were not still instilling those same things in boys, letting them know that risk and competition are not bad words, letting them know that they can get outside and exercise their strength, their masculinity, in a godly way is not a bad thing, then I think its not going serve us well going forward as a society thats going to require that we have men do things like go to war. Like stand up and defend our rights, stand up to defend the weak, to be strong, to have convictions, to be bold about certain things. And if we arent instilling that in our boys, were certainly not going to have it in our men.

Trail Life USA was launched in 2014 in the wake of the Boy Scouts lifting their ban on gay youth. The Boy Scouts have since made more changes that conflict with traditional Christian values, such as allowing openly gay scout leaders in 2015. It also expanded membership to include girls in 2019, which led to a lawsuit from the Girl Scouts of the United States of America.

In just nine months after it launched, Trail Life USA attracted more than 14,000 members. It recently reported some 30,000 members and has continued growing even during the pandemic. And in the last month alone interest has remained high.

Weve seen tremendous growth. Just the past month or so weve seen over 300 people reach out to us and just say, How do I start a troop? How do I get a Trail Life troop in my community? I need this focus. My son needs this.

"I really believe that families are scrambling in search of an organization that will help them make godly men from the stuff of boys, and we believe that Trail Life is that organization, Hancock said. Thats why our numbers are exploding. Were seeing people that are responding to messages like boys and girls are different.

He said even though people of faith are finding it more difficult today to find organizations that align with their values, many are still not willing to compromise.

In 2013, Hancock said he had to personally respond to that dilemma.

For me personally, it was in 2013 my sons and I were active in Boy Scouts, and when they began making decisions that I saw were contrary to what I believe. I had a choice to make as a father. We were part of a troop in the organization that we truly loved, but it was a difficult thing to sit down with my sons and tell them that we could no longer do that. The alternative was to sit down with my sons and say, listen, we dont agree with whats going on, but were gonna do it anyway. And I just could not imagine myself instilling that sort of thought in my sons that its OK to align yourself with something that doesnt align with your own values, Hancock said.

As the BSA watched their numbers dwindle to just 762,000 this year, Trail Life USA is now on a mission to guide generations of courageous young men to honor God, lead with integrity, serve others, and experience outdoor adventure.

Ive seen a lot of reporting trying to explain why their numbers are declining, and I just felt like I needed to take issue with that because Trail Life USA, in that same period of time, has seen explosive growth.  I really believe that the reason they are seeing this decline is the changes and decisions theyve made at a national level to fundamentally change the focus of the organization, he said.

And Christian parents arent the only parents worried about how institutions, including churches, have been serving their sons. Data from the 2020 American Family Survey show that parents, in general, are concerned.

A striking minority, just 36%, of parents believe churches are serving their sons well, the survey shows. This share is almost equal to the 33% who say the same about how the criminal justice system is serving their sons. A minority of parents also believe churches are serving their daughters well, but that number is 5 percentage points higher at 41%.

Unproductive narcissists

Hancock says mainstream culture appears to be serving girls better today, but that progress is coming at the expense of boys.

Girls are incredibly strong; girls are incredibly gifted in so many areas. They excel in every single academic category. There are more girls graduating from college at every level all the way up to the doctoral degree than there are males. They succeed much better academically. In so many different ways girls are excelling. And its wonderful to see. But somehow, in the process of helping girls, weve dismissed boys. And I think that parents and leaders are starting to recognize that. Parents, in particular, are saying, I need a place where my sons strengths are celebrated. And theres just fewer and fewer places. Toxic masculinity paints with a broad brush that every boy is somehow dangerous, Hancock added.

There are dangerous men and there are dangerous boys, but not every boy is dangerous. And not every man is dangerous, he continued. I think we are in danger of raising a whole generation of unproductive narcissists. Theyre unproductive because we havent really challenged them, and they are narcissists because we havent let them fail.

"In Trail Life USA, we challenge boys with things they havent done before. Whether its a difficult hike, planning an event or to work with a team of boys toward a certain objective. And then we help them to understand failure. Sometimes they dont win. What that means is you try harder. You go back and you practice and you get better at it.  Thats what weve understood in the past. And it seems like we go overboard now in affirming qualities and dismissing the fact that boys need to be encouraged when they fail  everybody doesnt get a trophy.

While Hancock continues to promote his message of building an unapologetically Christian alternative to the BSA, he does not ignore the nearly 90,000 claims of sexual abuse against the organization that occurred well before the changes that scared away many Christian members.

He assures parents that Trail Life USA is committed to keeping their sons safe and policies are already in place to handle concerns transparently.

We were forged in the fire of this difficult reality and we knew that we needed to structure ourselves in such a way that the safety of our boys was paramount. We knew that parents would want that. We knew that it would fall to us to do a better job than prior organizations in keeping boys safe. So we have policies and procedures in place. We are dead set in carrying the gold standard for child safety and youth protection, Hancock said.

To keep troopers safe, every adult leader in Trail Life USA has to pass a background check. They also must complete child safety youth protection training every two years and present a personal reference from a church representative.

In every troop, there is also a position called the Troop Ministry Liaison.

That persons number one job is to know the adults hes laboring in that troop with and to sign off to say, these are men or women of good character, and I personally can account for them, Hancock said.

Child safety policies in the organization also dictate that there is no one-on-one contact between men and boys and that there is always another adult within eyesight or earshot for safety.

Troopers also never travel alone; they are always in groups of three with peers of the same age since older boys can also abuse younger troopers.

He said if those safeguards fail, the organization plans to be very transparent with cases and will allow law enforcement to handle abuse allegations.

Our unapologetically Christian stance puts on us a great deal of responsibility for boys, he said. We take seriously the ministry we do for boys, he added, noting that their policy is to always protect the trooper, not the organization.
'Depraved': Advocates slam Chicago for making condoms accessible to elementary schoolers

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Conservative advocacy groups are speaking out against a new policy in Chicago Public Schools requiring that condoms be made accessible to kids as young as a fifth grade at nearly all 600 public schools at the start of the school year next month.

The new policy, which was passed by the Chicago Board of Education in December, requires schools that teach fifth grade and up must make condoms available as part of sexual education requirements. According to The Chicago Sun-Times, the new policy means that all but a dozen of the over 600 CPS schools must provide condoms.

Advocacy organizations that encourage kids to avoid engaging in adolescent sex believe that giving condoms to children in any state, city or country could potentially lead to a bigger issue worldwide of sexualizing children.

Children at 11 need a parent intervention, not a piece of latex, said Maryanne Mosaz, a representative from Ascend, a Washington D.C.-based organization with a mission to empower youth globally to avoid potential risks of sexual activity. Some people think that children should be able to sexually explore, but children are not cognitively, emotionally or physically ready to handle these kinds of acts.

Representatives from the Washington-based social conservative organization Family Research Council told CP that they believe the best context for sexual activity is in marriage between a man and a woman and children should not be encouraged to engage.

Children at 10 or 11 should not be sexually active and any policy that would reinforce such an idea is depraved and benefits those who would seek to sexually exploit children, said Meg Kilgannon, FRC's senior fellow for education studies. Children do not have a right to have sex. Children are not sex objects and can never meaningfully consent to sexual acts. Adults cannot claim these false rights for children.

Family Research Council is a Christian nonprofit research and educational organization dedicated to articulating and advancing a family-centered philosophy of public life. The nonprofit also does policy research and analysis for the legislative, executive and judicial branches of the federal government.

Family Research Council opposes exposing children to explicit material, encouraging children in any way to have sex or commit sexual acts, and creating a hypersexualized culture that will certainly have damaging long-term consequences for children, agreed Mary Szoch, who is the director of FRC's Center for Life and Human Dignity.

Despite some organizations opposing the policy, studies confirm that a small minority of children below 13 are, in fact, having sex.

According to a 2018 article from U.S. News & World Report, data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that 3% of children 13 years or younger have reported having had sexual intercourse at some point in their lives.

In two other national surveys released in 2019, CBS News reported, that investigators found between 4% and 8% of boys reported engaging in sex before age 13. The outlet notes that black males were most likely to have had sex before 13, followed by Hispanic boys.

Although CDC data also shows that nearly half of teens reported having sexual intercourse before age 18, scholars stress that the percentage of kids having sex before age 13 is decreasing.

The average age that teens initiate sex is around 17 and that number hasn't really changed in years," Dr. David Bell, associate professor at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, told CBS News at the time.

The percentage of youths having early sex initiation before 13 has been decreasing for more than a decade."

Bell believes that it is important to "make sure our young people are better prepared and better educated around sex."

Researchers have warned that "early sexual onset has been associated with increased prevalence of negative physical and mental health outcomes," such as sexually transmitted diseases.

Ascend's Mosaz, who lobbies for sex education policies that stress the importance of children abstaining from sex entirely to avoid the risks that sexual exposure brings, recommends that parents talk to their school-aged children if they are having sex.

They are acting out behaviors they have seen and they need to know what appropriate behaviors are," she stressed. Instead of having sex, Mosaz said, children should be focused on achieving life goals.

Although she opposes children having sex, Mosaz said that does not stop her from viewing sex as a wonderful part of life.

Sexual intimacy is definitely a great and natural part of human development, but it is also an activity that could put people in situations where they become parents or contract a sexually transmitted disease, Mosaz added. Having sex is not just like riding a bike.  It can actually create babies.  It can change your life. Having sex requires thought and its not just physical, but there are many emotional components of sexuality that need to be considered.
Has the medical industry become a "den of thieves"?

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Few families in the U.S. can afford healthcare insurance. The average premiums for family coverage is about $15,000 per year, about the same as a mortgage in Oklahoma. Then why do most Americans have healthcare insurance? Because their employers pay up to two thirds of the cost.

Those without employer subsidized insurance must be content with catastrophic insurance and high deductibles. And by the way, healthcare insurance companies arent getting rich. Their average profit is 3%.

One way to reduce insurance premiums would be to cut medical costs because on average 85% of premiums go to pay doctor and hospital bills. A hospital in Oklahoma City has done that for decades and its chief opponents are other hospitals and doctors.

Dr. Keith Smith created the Surgery Center of Oklahoma with a team of 11 other doctors. In a recent speech, he provided an example of the savings his hospital offers:

One that sticks out is the patient from Georgia who required a urologic procedure, and who had received a quote of $40,000, just for the facility charge. A friend had told him about our facility and after he confirmed that our all-inclusive price was $4,000, he informed his urologist he was traveling to Oklahoma City. Having lost another patient to us the previous month, the urologist contacted the hospital and told them something had to be done, as their price quotes were causing him to lose patients. The hospital matched our price and the patient stayed in Georgia.

According to Smith, the Center began 24 years ago with a simple mission:

Our mission was the opposite mission of the hospitals where we had previously worked. Then, as now, hospitals are focused almost exclusively on revenue, many times inflicting surprise and bankrupting bills on their victims. As physicians working in these hospital systems, we were unwitting accessories to these crimes. We intended to operate our facility differently, intending to serve as both medical and financial advocates for our patients.

Canadians were the first patients to take advantage of the Centers value.

The most common story then as now for the Canadians was a patient waiting two years to see a gynecologist for a hysterectomy to stop their bleeding, bleeding usually so severe that intermittent transfusions were required. For $8,000, which covers the facility, surgeon, anesthesia, pathology, and an overnight stay at the surgery center, Canadians can end their nightmare.

The first question a Canadian asks when they call us is how long theyll have to wait. Our answer that there is no waiting time is met with disbelief. A Canadian friend of mine has told me the old joke that no Canadian is truly content unless standing in line.

In spite of the high quality of care and charges equal to 10% of what other hospitals charged, insurance companies would not contract with the Center. Established hospitals immediately began to attack them through state law makers they owned who created a trauma task force. Of course, the task force of politicians declared that their work benefited the health and welfare of Oklahomans, but its real purpose was to close physician owned hospitals such as the Surgical Center. Sympathetic Democrat politicians shut down the task force while Republican law makers continued to battle for their large campaign contributors in establishment hospitals.

Next, hospitals tried to pass a law requiring all hospitals to receive at least 30% of their revenue from Medicare, Medicaid, or uncompensated care. The Center accepted no money from governmental agencies so the law would close them. Smith said, Once again, a Democrat, Representative Fred Stanley, used his muscle to ensure that this legislation went nowhere.

In another attack, the hospitals persuaded the state department of health to demand all the medical records of patients the Center had treated. The Center refused and the department attempted to invalidate its operating license. Smith sued and forced the department to back down.

Attacks on the Surgical Center will continue as long as established hospitals can buy politicians. For example, the American Hospital Association endorsed the Affordable Care Act only after it banned the construction or expansion of physician-owned hospitals.

Such behavior by doctors and hospitals wouldnt surprise readers if they understood the history of the American Medical Association, a union for doctors that Dr. Smith and his colleagues refuse to join. The U.S. enjoyed relatively inexpensive healthcare in the first quarter of the 20th century due to competition within the industry. But the AMA was able to purchase enough Congressmen to give itself a monopoly on the supply of medical care in the country and prices began to soar, as happens with most monopolies.

When Jesus drove the money changers and sellers of livestock from the Temple in Jerusalem, he accused them of turning it into a den of robbers. How did they rob the people? Corrupt high priests had made their shekel the only money that could be given to the Temple, so people with Greek and Roman coins had to exchange their coins for the shekel and having a monopoly, the money changers charged high prices for their service.

Jerry Bowyer wrote in The Makers versus the Takers: What Jesus Really Said About Social Justice and Economics, This means there was a 100 percent premium on switching from the currency held by the typical Israelite to the required temple currency. As a result, worshippers paid double to participate in the system. Bowyer documents many other corrupt practices in the Jerusalem Temple by the religious authorities that made them rich. Jesus threatened their wealth.

What the AMA and established hospitals are doing to healthcare in the U.S. is hardly different from the robbery by the Jerusalem Temple money changers and livestock sellers. Those who claim they care about the poor will want to end their monopoly on healthcare and force them to charge a just price in a free market.
Biden, Trump officials headline bipartisan religious freedom summit 2021: 'Fundamental human right' Asia Bibi, Andrew Brunson, Mariam Ibraheem among other confirmed speakers

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

A bipartisan three-day summit of persecuted religious minorities, advocates and politicians kicks off Tuesday in Washington, D.C., seeking to continue the momentum established by the U.S. State Department's two ministerials promoting religious freedom worldwide.

Co-chaired by former Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom and former Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, the gathering will bring together individuals from over 30 faith traditions and increase the public awareness and political strength for the international religious freedom movement.

Featuring dozens of plenary speakers, the conference will be held at the historic Omni Shoreham Hotel and has a virtual option for participation.

Among the notable speakers slated to provide remarks and special messages are House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the Dalai Lama, USAID Administrator Samantha Power, White House Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Executive Director Melissa Rogers, and USAID faith-based office director Adam Phillips.

Other confirmed speakers include Pakistani Christian mother Asia Bibi, who spent nearly a decade on death row for blasphemy in Pakistan; Mariam Ibraheem, a Sudanese Christian sentenced to death for apostasy in Sudan; civil rights activist Chen Guangcheng, who was placed under house arrest in China for his activism; and Christian Boko Haram survivor Joy Bishara.

Once again, the energy around religious freedom has far exceeded our expectations, said Brownback. This freedom is a fundamental, universal human right that is essential to personal and societal flourishing. Were amazed and humbled by the incredible commitment of people from all over the world who will join us  many of whom are risking their lives by doing so  to advocate for religious freedom for everyone, everywhere, all the time.

Brownback told The Christian Post in an interview that the summit aims to widen the set of relationships that people have in pushing religious freedom and to bring more visibility and support to the topic.

Its better for a Muslim to stand up for religious freedom in the Middle East, where they are in the majority. He stressed that we need Christians standing up in places where theyre a majority and Jewish people to stand up for religious freedom where theyre in a majority.

The former U.S. senator and Trump State Department official expressed a desire to establish more of those cross-religion relationships standing up for each others religious freedom, describing that goal as a key piece of what this summit will try to pursue.

A summit charter titled "A Charter of Religious Freedom" was released ahead of the summit declaring that "every government, every religious community, and every political and civil society organization in the world should strive toward the goal of achieving freedom of religion and conscience, for everyone, everywhere  protected by law and valued by culture."

Im doing this because I think we need to have civil society-led religious freedom summits here and around the world, Brownback told CP. I think we need to do these where theyre not dependent on whos in authority in the government. The civil society groups support religious freedom year in, year out, regardless of  who holds the presidency, and we need that consistency of effort and message by civil society and religious groups.

Brownback warned that if we dont get religious freedom for everybody, we will see a clash of civilizations."

"And well see it increasingly in the world, he said.

The summit follows in the footsteps of the Trump State Department's ministerials advancing religious freedom in 2018 and 2019. The events were touted as the largest religious freedom summits in world history. They took place as Brownback served as head of the State Department's International Religious Freedom Office, which he stepped down from when President Joe Biden took office.

I didnt think it [was] appropriate for me to stay  and I wasnt offered to stay. So  I wasnt going to stay, and I wasnt asked to stay, he recalled.

He praised the Biden administration for continuing to deem the treatment of the Uyghurs genocide in China while expressing hope that the administration appoints someone to serve in his former role soon.

Brownback touted the 2021 International Religious Freedom Summit as the first of an annual International Religious Freedom Summit led by society. He explained that the event is "sold out on tickets."

Considering coronavirus restrictions, he said that the capacity of the place was right above 800, indicating that hundreds of people will likely convene for the summit.

In addition to co-chairs Katrina Lantos Swett and Brownback, a bipartisan group of lawmakers serve as honorary co-chairs of the summit.

Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and James Lankford, R-Okla., are the honorary Senate co-chairs, while Reps. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, hold the roles of honorary House co-chairs.

According to summits schedule, Tuesday will serve as congressional advocacy day, and Wednesday will feature several plenary sessions and side events.

Wednesday will begin with remarks from Asia Bibi, who was acquitted from Pakistan's death row in 2018. She will share her testimony of persecution and triumph at a breakfast sponsored by the Barnabas Fund.

Pelosi will give a video address at a panel discussing Big Surveillance and the Rise of Technology in Persecution. Pompeo and Power will serve as keynote speakers in a panel titled Addressing Genocide: Preventing and Recovering from Religious Cleansing.

Other speakers at that event will include Rep. Smith and former Congressman and religious freedom advocate Frank Wolf, the namesake of the 2016 Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act.

Wednesday mornings events will conclude with a panel on refugee protection, which will feature a keynote address from Biden White House official Rogers. The afternoon plenary session will include a discussion highlighting the founders of the international religious freedom movement. David Curry, CEO of Open Doors USA, is among the speakers for that panel.

Another panel for Wednesdays afternoon plenary session will address the legal structures of persecution and religious discrimination, which will include testimony from Bibi. The day will wrap up with a dinner hosted by the Alliance Defending Freedom, focusing on the rising persecution in Nigeria.

Thursdays morning plenary session will include a speech from Andrew Brunson, a pastor imprisoned in Turkey, about the rising tide of religious nationalism. The panel discussion will include remarks from Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.

The final afternoon of the summit will consist of several breakout sessions with events hosted by groups including Barnabas Aid, In Defense of Christians, the Hudson Institute and ADF International. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Catholic archbishop of New York, will headline the closing dinner as the keynote speaker, where IRF Hero Awards will be distributed.
Retired general reacts to US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, raises concerns for women

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Army Gen. Scott Miller, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, stepped down from his post in Kabul on Monday, another sign of the military's departure from the country after nearly 20 years. Many foreign policy experts have raised concerns, however, about the threat of the Taliban's expansion and what the future for Afghan women will look like if the government falls.

When President Joe Biden announced his plans to remove U.S. troops from Afghanistan, a move former President Donald Trump also planned to make, foreign policy experts and top military commanders warned the decision to pull out and not leave 2,500 soldiers could compromise the country's security.

Biden initially planned to remove all troops from Afghanistan by Sep. 11, the 20-year anniversary of 9/11, but he said on Thursday that all U.S. troops should be withdrawn by Aug. 31, minus the number of soldiers needed to secure the U.S. Embassy.

Biden said the Afghan people will have to decide their own future instead of relying on the U.S., which has aided the government for nearly two decades, Reuters reported.

As U.S. troops vacate the region, the Taliban has been posting propaganda videos, one of which shows its men stationed at a U.S.-built border crossing between Afghanistan and Tajikistan. The Muslim insurgent group also claims it's now occupying more territory than the Afghan government, led by President Ashraf Ghani.

A Taliban official recently said that "85% of the territory of Afghanistan has come under the control of the Taliban," according to Reuters. Others have estimated that the Taliban now has control of one-third of all districts in the country, and that number could increase if Afghan security forces continue to surrender without putting up a fight.

Last month, U.S. intelligence agencies revised their prospects for the country, saying it's possible the Afghan government could fall to the Taliban as early as six months after U.S. troops leave.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Jerry Boykin, one of the original members of the U.S. Army's Delta Force, said the U.S. presence in Afghanistan is essential to keep the Taliban in check and protect women.

He does not, however, believe the U.S. should maintain a presence of combat troops.

I believe we should have pulled our front-line combat troops out right after Osama bin Laden was killed [who was killed in 2011] , said Boykin, who's also the former commander of the Army's Green Berets and executive vice president of the Family Research Council.

So I think that what we should be doing now is rather than pulling everybody out is keeping a robust military advisory group to train and work with the Afghans. A security apparatus to protect the embassy and a multi-agency intelligence capability to provide us with early warning if there is going to be another attack coming out of that part of the world.

With the absence of a substantial U.S. military presence, Boykin, like former President George W. Bush, said he expects to see the Taliban regain control of virtually the whole country.

So what does that mean for the people? It means theyre going to go back to Sharia, Islamic law, he stressed. It means theyre going to discriminate against women. Theyre not going to let any more women be educated even though they have made a pledge that they would treat women well, according to their laws and customs.

While women continue to have limited rights in Afghanistan, the presence of U.S. and allied troops since 2001 has enabled a generation of women" to obtain an education and have successful careers.

It wont come immediately, but it will come when we lose our focus on Afghanistan and the rest of the world is focused on something else, he told CP on Friday. Youre going to see those same laws that were in place in 2001, youre going to see those same laws re-implemented, and its going to be very bad for women.

Boykin does, however, believe there will be more pushback on the Taliban this time since more women have been educated in the last two decades.

The good news is, because of the 20 years weve been there, weve got a generation of women that have been educated in Afghanistan because of the U.S. presence, because we built schools, because we insisted on allowing them to be educated. And Ill tell you, I believe thats a force the Taliban has probably not thought about. But I think this is a force thats going to be a major obstacle for the Taliban , he explained.

Even though Afghan women are not liberated in the same sense as women living in the U.S. and other Western countries, the fact that they now have more rights will prove to be a major obstacle to the Taliban, he reiterated.

I think they now feel that they have more power because theyre educated women, so thats a positive in this whole thing, he continued. I think that theyre going to have to reckon with them.

Afghan women face a reversal of the rights gained in the last two decades and restricted education once the U.S. decreases its presence and the Taliban expands control, some experts warn.

I think theres going to be more of a pushback, and I think ... the women are going to be the primary leaders of that, and I think the Talibans not prepared to deal with it, he said.  I think you are going to see the women pushing back and the Taliban not knowing exactly how to deal with it, other than just start killing people."

Afghan women have already taken to the streets with guns in northern and central Afghanistan to show defiance as the Taliban makes gains across the country, The Guardian reported.

The Taliban is known for enforcing restrictions on women's education, clothing and freedom of movement.

In a scathing op-ed in The Telegraph last week, Shabnam Nasimi, a British-Afghan social activist and director of Conservative Friends of Afghanistan, also highlighted the monumental gains many Afghan women have experienced due to the U.S. government's intervention.

"... Millions of girls are now in school. There are women at the top of politics  with a combined 28 percent representation in the House of the People and the House of the Elders, Afghanistan has a higher proportion of national parliament seats held by women than the United States. In the major cities, for the first time in decades, it has been possible for women to live largely independent lives."

But, Nasumi warned, all of the progress made by Afghan women could be lost if the Taliban regains control. "The West isnt just squandering 20 years of blood and treasure by leaving Afghanistan. Its betraying millions of ordinary Afghanistanis, particularly women, who had been led to believe they would have a better life following the toppling of the Taliban in 2001."

Bush also warned back in April that the U.S. troop withdrawal would empower the brutal Taliban and endanger girls' lives during an interview on NBC's "Today" show.

"A lot of gains have been made, and so I'm deeply concerned about the plight of women and girls in that country," Bush said at the time.

Boykin said it would be best to maintain a military advisory, a security force for the U.S. Embassy and a robust intelligence capability to have a perfect, sustainable U.S. presence there that could go on indefinitely.

Boykin also predicts that China will have a huge impact in Afghanistan following the U.S. departure.

China is already trying to fill the void of the United States pulling out of there, he added.
Trump wins CPAC Dallas straw poll by landslide, DeSantis comes in second

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Former President Donald Trump continues to be the GOP's presidential frontrunner for 2024 after winning a straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference hosted by the American Conservative Union in Dallas, Texas, over the weekend.

Trump held the lead with 70% of CPAC attendees saying they'd vote for him if the Republican Primary were held today and he was running.

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida was the runner-up in the poll, lagging behind the former president with just 21% of the vote among attendees at CPAC in Dallas. However, the poll also asked attendees who they'd vote for if Trump wasn't in the race and DeSantis led the pack with 68% of the vote.

The 19 other contenders, including Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Vice President Mike Pence each received 1% or less of the vote.

With Trump hypothetically out of the race, the other contenders received more votes in the straw poll. Pompeo received 5%, Donald Trump Jr. and Cruz both garnered 4%, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem received 3%, and all other candidates had less than 2%.

The conference, which is usually held annually near Washington, D.C., is considered the largest and most influential gathering of conservatives in the world." This year the event was also held in Orlando, Florida.

Trump performed better in the CPAC Dallas straw poll than CPAC Orlando back in February where he won less of a majority.

At CPAC Orlando, 55% of respondents said they would support Trump as the Republican nominee, 21% said they would support DeSantis, and 4% expressed support for Noem.

DeSantis is a former congressman and U.S. Navy JAG officer who has gained national attention for not mandating ongoing lockdown restrictions in response to COVID-19, thus keeping Florida's economy open.

His Democratic opponent in the 2019 gubernatorial race, Andrew Gillum, who many had expected to win the election, later came out as bisexual following a drug and sex scandal in which he was found passed out in a Miami Beach hotel room with two other men and three bags of methamphetamines months after he lost.

In a separate poll at the Western Conservative Summit last month, DeSantis received more votes than Trump. In that poll, 74% percent of attendants at the Centennial Institute, Colorado Christian Universitys public policy think tank, approved of DeSantis as a 2024 presidential candidate, while 71% said they preferred Trump over dozens of the other top contenders, both Republican and Democrat.

The other top candidates, in order of most approval to least, included Sen. Ted Cruz (43%), Mike Pompeo (39%) and Sen. Tim Scott (36%).

Trump, who has flirted with the possibility of another presidential run, addressed a friendly crowd at CPAC Dallas that chanted USA! USA! as he took the stage on Sunday.

He began his speech shortly after the results of the 2024 presidential election straw poll were released.

"With the help of everyone here today, we will defeat the radical left, the socialists, Marxists and the critical race theorists," Trump said in his 90-minute speech. "We will secure our borders, we will stop Left-wing cancel culture, we will restore free speech and free elections and we will make America great again."

His speech also hinted at a 2024 presidential run, addressed his recent lawsuits against Big Tech companies, 2020 election fraud, and attacked President Joe Biden and Republicans who have not been loyal to him.

"I love my Republicans, but we're really kicking their a--, too," Trump said, referring to party members who might run against him for president. But we love them. But we like it because they're friends of ours, right? So it's OK. I think we can say that affectionately."

Though Trump has not announced whether he will run in 2024, he told Fox News opinion host Sean Hannity he has already made up his mind about whether he's running or not.

On Fox News Sunday Morning Futures, Trump told host Maria Bartiromo: I do know my answer, but I cant reveal it yet, because that has to do with campaign financing and everything else.

Trump has also assured Republicans that he will not start a new political party.
Ken Hams Ark Encounter to build expansion featuring Tower of Babel

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

On the fifth anniversary of the Ark Encounter, which features a 510-foot-long wooden Noahs ark, founder Ken Ham has announced the expansion of the Bible-themed attraction in Kentucky by building a Tower of Babel attraction on the parks grounds.

Next year, we will start fundraising for a Tower of Babel attraction that we hope to open in three or four years, where among other things we will help people understand what genetics research and the Bible say about the origin of all the people groups around the world, Ham, the CEO and founder of the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum, says on the website of the Answers in Genesis ministry.

I can assure you: it will be a fascinating, eye-opening attraction, he continues.

Ham says the expansion of the theme parks grounds in Northern Kentucky will also include an exceptionally well-done scale model of what Jerusalem may have looked like at the time of Christ, which should be ready sometime in 2022.

He adds, Also, for children well create a themed carousel for them to ride, hopefully to open by next summer. These are just a few of the things we will be adding to our 800-acre property.

The $100 million Ark Encounter is seeing record crowds. The attendance is returning to pre-pandemic levels with up to 7,000 visitors on Saturdays.

Our research shows that over 92% of those who visit our attractions are coming from outside Kentucky, Ham shared. These guests of ours are bringing dollars that would not normally be spent in this state. What an opportunity for local businesses to capitalize on this phenomenon.

Previously, the Ark Encounter said on its website that it would use Babel to explain the origin of the different languages and people groups.

We will have an excellent teaching tool in the form of a very detailed Babel diorama. All of these figures and designs were meticulously designed, 3D printed, and hand-painted in order to present a realistic view of what it might have looked like as these people went about ignoring Gods command and building a tower that reached into the heavens, it said.

The impact of their rebellion can be seen all around us today and we can use this historical event to teach the truth about humanity  that we are all related and are descended from Noah, as described in Genesis, it added.

In June 2019, Answers in Genesis announced they would add new facilities, partly in response to a growth in annual attendance at the time.

This included the creation of a 2,500-seat auditorium with a 70-foot-long LED screen, expanding the size of the Ararat Ridge Zoo, and opening a larger family play space.

Built by Playground Equipment Services, this family play area is accessible by all children and adults, said Answers in Genesis at the time. Parents and grandparents are encouraged to have fun with their kids as a family activity. This cutting-edge playground has been specially designed for children of all abilities.
DC to pay $220K for restricting Baptist church's in-person worship during pandemic

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

The District of Columbia and Mayor Muriel Bowser have agreed to pay $220,000 as part of a legal settlement with a local Baptist church that sued the city over in-person worship restrictions during the pandemic.

Last September, Capitol Hill Baptist Church sued the district over the governments ban on outdoor worship services that had more than 100 people in attendance.

In a settlement agreement and release approved on Thursday, the city agreed to pay $220,000 to the counsels representing the church, which broke down to $210,000 for the law firm WilmerHale and $10,000 for the national legal nonprofit First Liberty Institute.

As explained in the settlement, the district has lifted earlier meeting restrictions so that Capitol Hill Baptist can gather indoors for worship services.

The District agrees that it will not enforce any current or future COVID-19 restrictions to prohibit CHBC from gathering as one congregation in the District of Columbia, explained the settlement.

The District further agrees that, should it decide that new restrictions on religious gatherings are necessary during the current, or any future, COVID-19 (or variant thereof) public health emergency, it will not impose restrictions on CHBC that are more restrictive than the restrictions on comparable secular activities, as defined by the Supreme Court.

Hiram Sasser, executive general counsel for the First Liberty Institute, said in a statement that Capitol Hill Baptist is relieved and grateful that this ordeal is behind them.

All Capitol Hill Baptist Church ever asked is for equal treatment under the law so they could meet together safely as a church, stated Sasser. "Government officials need to know that illegal restrictions on First Amendment rights are intolerable and costly.

In March 2020, as part of the effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Mayor Bowser issued an executive order restricting the capacity for religious services of 10 or more people. The restriction was eventually expanded to no more than 100 people or 50% of the building capacity.

The 850-member Capitol Hill Baptist filed its lawsuit last September, arguing that the restrictions unfairly burdened houses of worship compared to comparable secular entities.

U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, granted an injunction in favor of the church last October, arguing that the current restrictions substantially burden the Churchs exercise of religion.

 the District has failed to offer evidence at this stage showing that it has a compelling interest in preventing the Church from meeting outdoors with appropriate precautions, or that this prohibition is the least-restrictive means to achieve its interest, wrote McFadden.

Soon after, the church held its first outdoor service since the litigation began, meeting at Anacostia Park in Southeast D.C. on a Sunday morning.

The attendees wore face masks and maintained social distancing in keeping with the official public health recommendations at that time.

"It is absolutely appropriate to take stock, to give thanks, to give honor to whom honor is due, to recognize the many blessings that our government continually secures and provides for us," Associate Pastor Bobby Jamieson preached at the October 2020 service.

"The only conditions that justify disobedience to legitimate government authority, legitimate earthly authority are when they either command something God forbids or forbid something God commands."
San Francisco Gay Mens Chorus faces backlash after releasing were coming for your children video

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

The San Francisco Gay Mens Chorus has faced intense backlash after releasing a song that many believe is intent on pushing the LGBT agenda on children.

In the song, which was released earlier this month but made private Thursday following immense public criticism, the choir sings such phrases as, well convert your children and were coming for your children, which was viewed as an overt threat to parents.

"You think we're sinful. You fight against our rights, one choir member sings in a solo at the beginning of the song. You say we all lead lives you can't respect. But you're just frightened.

You think that well corrupt your kids if our agenda goes unchecked, he continues. Funny, just this once, youre correct. Well convert your children. Happens bit by bit. Quietly and subtly. And you will barely notice it.

You can keep them from disco, the full chorus sings. Warn about San Francisco. Make em wear pleated pants. We dont care. Well convert your children. Well make them tolerant and fair ... The gay agenda is coming home."

The Were Coming For Your Children song went viral, and after being slammed on social media, the choir released a statement on Twitter regarding the backlash.

The far-right conservative media found [our video] and have taken it as their cause, the choir said in a statement released Thursday. This has all happened in the past 24 hours and it continues to pick up steam. They have taken the lyrics out of context to support a narrative that suits their intolerant and hateful needs. It is obvious this tongue-in-cheek humor is lost on many.

An Important Message to the Chorus Family. ?? pic.twitter.com/XBpSY6r4j7  SF Gay Men's Chorus (@SFGMC) July 8, 2021

The choir said it made the video private to keep members of the chorus in the video safe due to vitriolic threats of harm and comments that became increasingly alarming. The choir added that it's in contact with local and national law enforcement regarding the threats and will take legal steps.

The video, titled A Message From the Gay Community, reportedly received 88 likes and 5,000 dislikes before it was made private, according to The Post Millennial.

The song was written by Rosser and Sohne, the duo that previously apologized for writing music endorsing Afghan child sex abuse, according to Andy Ngo, editor-at-large for The Post Millennial.

Conservative podcast host Ben Shapiro, editor emeritus for The Daily Wire, reacted to the video by saying he doubts the song was actually a tongue-and-cheek parody, as the choir said in its statement.

The left has a very different vision of what America ought to be and the way theyre going to achieve this is by changing how your kids are taught, Shapiro said.

And if you push back on them, then this, of course, makes you the true threat to the kids. , he continued. If you want to separate the country, this is how you are going to separate the country. As I say, Im going to educate my kids how I want to educate my kids. Frankly, I am not interested in what the San Francisco Gay Mens Choir thinks my kids should learn.

Multiple pastors and Christian leaders expressed their disapproval of the LGBT agenda that's promoted in the video.

Arizona-based pastor and apologist James White tweeted about the song, saying, Reason #1,462,908 to homeschool and communicate a passionate, deep Christian worldview that explains how men are to be men, women to be women, and all are to be thankful for the gifts and roles God has given.

Reason #1,462,908 to homeschool and communicate a passionate, deep Christian worldview that explains how men are to be men, women to be women, and all are to be thankful for the gifts and roles God has given. https://t.co/838GX7FFya  James White (@DrOakley1689) July 7, 2021

Similarly, Andrew T. Walker of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary quipped, But remember, everyone, it's the religious conservatives who spend their day plotting the next chapter of the culture war.

In its statement, the choir added that it was working to control the narrative and is dedicated to being role models, teaching and spreading the message of love, tolerance and celebration through our music.

After decades of our children being indoctrinated and taught intolerance for anyone who is other, from using Bible as a weapon to reparative therapy, its our turn, the choirs statement continued.

Although the choir sings about teaching children not to hate, the chorus repeats the phrases, Were coming for them. Were coming for your children.

The song ends with the choir singing, no escaping it, and once the children are converted, they will start converting you.

"Your children will care about fairness and justice for others, the song continues. Your children will work to convert all their sisters and brothers. Then soon were almost certain, your kids will start converting you!"

"We'll make an ally of you yet. The gay agenda is coming home, the choir sings. The gay agenda is here! But you don't have to worry because there's nothing wrong with standing by our side."

The Christian Post reached out to the San Francisco Gay Mens Chorus but did not receive a response by press time.
Overwhelming majority of US voters support teaching 'traditional values' of Western civilization in schools

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

More than three-quarters of likely U.S. voters believe it's important for schools to teach traditional values associated with Western civilization, according to a new Rasmussen Reports survey.

Rasmussen noted that 78% of likely U.S. voters believe that it's, at the least, somewhat important for schools to teach the traditional values of Western civilization, including 52% that list it as very important, the polling organization said Thursday.

By contrast, 14% of respondents said they didn't believe it was important to teach traditional Western civilization values, while 4% said it was not at all important.

There was some political party difference as well, as Republicans were more likely than Democrats to say that it was important (86% versus 73%) and more likely to say it was very important (66% versus 42%).

According to Rasmussen, the percentage of support for traditional values in schools is virtually unchanged from four years ago, and in line with surveys dating back to 2013.

Only 29% of voters think most public schools do a good job of teaching the traditional values of Western civilization, though thats up two points from 2017 and the highest finding in surveying since 2013, Rasmussen added.

For the report, Rasmussen drew from a survey of 1,000 U.S. adults who were likely voters, conducted on Tuesday and with a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.

The findings of the poll come amid renewed debate over whether public schools should teach controversial ideas like critical race theory, which argues in part that racism is a fundamental aspect of American history and institutions.

Proponents of CRT have argued that it is necessary to better understand how racism continues to be a problem in the United States, while critics claim that the movement teaches bad history, exacerbates racial tensions and is founded on Marxist ideology.

Many states have considered pursuing bans on CRT in public schools, with the Florida State Board of Education unanimously voting to do so in June.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis expressed support for the ban, stating that the woke class wants to teach kids to hate each other, rather than teaching them how to read, but we will not let them bring nonsense ideology into Floridas schools.

As the Governor of Florida, I love this state, and I love my country. I find it unthinkable that there are other people in positions of leadership in the federal government who believe that we should teach kids to hate our country, DeSantis said last month.

We will not stand for it here in Florida. Im proud that we are taking action today to ensure our state continues to have the greatest educational system in the nation.

The National Education Association, a 3 million-member labor union, recently expressed their opposition to such bans, pledging to set aside over $120,000 to promote CRT in schools.

We must continuously do the work to challenge ourselves and others to dismantle the racist interconnected systems, and the economic injustices that have perpetuated systemic inequities, stated NEA President Becky Pringle at the unions annual meeting last week.
Biden wont send US troops to Haiti despite interim leaders request Widow of slain Haitian leader Jovenel Moise thanks God for her survival

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

The Biden administration has declined the request of Haitis Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph for U.S. troops as the impoverished nation struggles in the social and political aftermath of the assassination of President Jouvenal Moise.

The U.S. will only send security officials to assess the situation, senior officials said Saturday, The Wall Street Journal reported, adding that the interim leader has imposed a two-week state of emergency and had requested the U.S. to deploy troops to protect infrastructure ahead of elections that had been scheduled for September.

Officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security were to arrive in Haiti on Sunday.

We need U.S. troops to help us provide security to the population, to efficiently confront the COVID-19 pandemic and to assist in the investigation of Mr. Moises assassination, a spokesman for Joseph was quoted as saying.

The interim leadership of Joseph, who was an ally of the president, is being challenged by some Haitian politicians. He took charge after the killing of Moise on Wednesday, which occurred the day after the president appointed a new prime minister, neurosurgeon Ariel Henry. President Moise was also accused of corruption, having ties to criminal gangs, and overstaying his tenure.

The slain presidents wife, Martine Moise, was also critically wounded in Wednesdays attack by an armed commando of 28 men, 26 of whom were Colombians and two were Haitian-Americans. She addressed the nation on social media on Saturday.

I am alive, thanks to God, she said in an audio message posted on Twitter, France 24 reported. I am alive but I have lost my husband Jovenel.  In the blink of an eye, the mercenaries entered my home and riddled my husband with bullets ... without even giving him a chance to say a word. I am crying, it is true, but we cannot let the country lose its way. We cannot let his blood ... have been spilled in vain.

Meanwhile, the AP reports that James Solages, an American arrested in relation to the killing of Moise, worked alongside Hollywood actor Sean Penn to rebuild the country after the 2010 earthquake that killed at least 300,000 people.

Until 2011, Solages worked as a driver and in a security capacity for Penns J/P Haitian Relief Organization, according to three anonymous sources who are familiar with the actors relief work in Haiti.

Solages, 35, studied in Florida and started a charity in 2019 to help residents of his hometown of Jacmel, along Haitis southern coast.

Haiti has seen an increase in crime since last year.

The United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti stated in a February report that there were 234 kidnappings in the previous 12 months, an increase of 200% from the previous year.

Authorities in Haiti reported 1,380 killings in 2020.

According to the watchdog group Fondasyon Je Klere, over 150 gangs operate in Haiti.
Pakistan high court forces 13-y-o Christian girl to return to captors home as his wife

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

A court in Pakistans Punjab Province has granted custody of a 13-year Christian girl to a Muslim man who has three wives and allegedly abducted her and forced her to marry him and convert to Islam.

Shahid Gill, the Catholic father of the girl, Nayab Gill, pleaded that his daughter was underage and could not legally marry or change her religion on her own, but the Lahore High Court upheld a ruling of a lower court, giving custody to the Muslim man, identified as 30-year-old Saddam Hayat, Morning Star News reported.

Justice Shahram Sarwar Chaudhry last week rejected the girls official birth documents showing she was 13, while siding with Hayat who claimed she had converted to Islam of her own free will on May 20.

Hayat, who has three wives and four children, brought 12 of his supporters along with him to the courtroom, Pakistan Christian Post said.

The girl told the court she had married Hayat and converted to Islam voluntarily.

When the judge asked Nayab about her age, she said she was 19 years old and reiterated her claim that she had converted to Islam and married Hayat of her free will, the father was quoted as saying.

The attorney representing the girls family told the judge, Her claim of converting to Islam and marrying Hayat could be due to coercion since she has been living with the accused and his family for over a month and a half.

The judge also rejected the lawyers citation of a 2019 Lahore High Court ruling that children younger than 15 lacked the mental capacity to change their religion.

The girls father indicated that he was disappointed with the lawyer.

When Nayab claimed that she was 19 years old, I nudged the advocate to demand evidence in support of her claim, but he kept quiet, Gill told Morning Star News. He also did not demand medical tests of my child to determine her exact age.

Church of Pakistan President Bishop Azad Marshall was quoted as saying that attorney Saif Ul Malook, who represented Asia Bibi, was initially supposed to fight Nayabs case, but a group pressured her parents not to hire him.

Intercourse with a girl younger than 16 is considered rape in Pakistan, but men in many such instances produce fake conversion and Islamic marriage certificates to defend themselves.

A 2014 study by The Movement for Solidarity and Peace Pakistan estimated that about 1,000 women and girls from Pakistans Hindu and Christian communities were abducted, forcibly married to their captor, and forcibly converted to Islam every year.

The issue of religion is also often injected into cases of sexual assault to place religious minority victims at a disadvantage, the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern has previously said, adding that perpetrators play upon religious biases to cover up and justify their crimes by introducing an element of religion.

International persecution watchdog group Open Doors USA ranks Pakistan No. 5 on its 2021 World Watch List of countries where Christians face the most severe persecution due to an extreme level of Islamic oppression. Pakistan is also listed by the U.S. State Department as a country of particular concern for tolerating in or engaging in egregious violations of religious freedom.
Religious freedom commission demands Biden hold India accountable for priests death

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has urged the Biden administration to hold the Indian government accountable for the death of 84-year-old Jesuit priest and human rights defender Fr. Stan Swamy.

Condemning in the strongest terms the deliberate neglect and targeting by the government of India that led to the death of the priest, USCIRF Chair Nadine Maenza urged the United States to hold the Indian government accountable and to raise religious freedom concerns in the U.S.-India bilateral relationship.

Swamy died Monday, days after suffering a cardiac arrest at Tajola Central Prison in May. He was later put on a ventilator at a private hospital in western Mumbai city due to his deteriorating health.

The priest was suffering from Parkinsons disease and had contracted COVID-19 in pre-trial detention.

Despite international concern and urgent pleas for bail on medical grounds, Indian officials and the courts denied Swamy bail and timely medical care, USCIRF said.

He was arrested last October and charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA, for suspicion of ties to organizations accused of instigating violence in Maharashtra state in 2018. Officials used UAPA and other statutes to detain advocates, the media, and academics, including religious minorities.

Fr. Jerome Stanislaus Dsouza, the president of Jesuits in India, issued a statement.

Stan worked to light the world and do away with injustice. The government may have succeeded in snuffing his life out, but his spirit will continue to inspire, Dsouza said, according to The Washington Post.

Swamy had cited the inhumane treatment he was receiving in prison, including being denied a sipper to drink water, in the several letters he wrote.

His arrest by the NIA, without proper evidence, his bail pleas that were repeatedly denied despite his deteriorating health, and the inhumane treatment he received while in prison are all reminders of the shocking violations of basic human rights that remain a regular occurrence in India, Scot Bower, chief executive of the U.K.-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said in a statement.

CSW quoted Fr. Cedric Prakash, a Jesuit priest and human rights activist in India, as saying that Swamy championed the cause of the indigenous people.

He did all he could to ensure that the natural resources (water, forest and land) which are rightly theirs, which are being exploited by the powerful, the rich and the mining mafias, were not illegally snatched away from them," said Prakash. "Because of this, he paid the price. I personally believe that Father Stan will never die. He has finished his pilgrimage here on Earth, but he will continue to live in the hearts of thousands of people and we will see many more Father Stans springing up for the sake of India.

The Washington Post noted that Indias anti-terror law, amended in 2019, allows the government to designate an individual as a terrorist and detain people for up to six months without producing any evidence. Further, the accused can subsequently be imprisoned for up to seven years. Critics have called the law draconian, and accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modis government of using it to mute dissent.

Church groups and civil society leaders in India protested against the Jesuit priest's arrest on charges of being a Maoist or extreme Marxist. The Catholic Church in India said he was being punished for protecting the rights of aboriginal people.

Two days before his arrest, Swamy had said in a video message posted on YouTube that he feared he would be arrested because he fought against the government's indiscriminate arrest of thousands of young aboriginal people and local settlers who question big business projects that take away their land.

During the past three decades I have tried to identify myself with the Adivasi (aboriginal) people and their struggle for a life of dignity and self-respect, Swamy said. As a writer, I have tried to analyze the different issues they are faced with. In this process, I have clearly expressed dissent with several policies, laws enacted by the government in light of the Constitution.

The Indian government is increasingly being seen as heavy-handed.

Last June, New Delhi denied entry visas to representatives of the USCIRF who had planned to investigate reports of persecution of Muslims and Christians following the release of its report that designated India as a Country of Particular Concern.
CANBERRA, Australia (AP)  Australian government officials on Tuesday announced added financial support for businesses and households as Sydney appeared increasingly likely to enter a fourth week of lockdown due to coronavirus clusters.

New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she would announce on Wednesday whether Sydneys 5 million residents would remain locked down beyond the three-week mark on Friday.

She had said the 24-hour record of 122 new cases recorded on Sunday made lifting the lockdown on Friday almost impossible.

No one knew how long the lockdown would last, Berejiklian said.

What we do know is that we have the financial support there so that individuals and families and businesses dont have to stress and they know that for the duration of the lockdown, the support will be there, she told reporters.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the presence in Sydney of the delta variant, which is thought to be more contagious, had escalated the pandemic danger.

The New South Wales outbreak has proved to be more severe, more dangerous, and its in the national interest that we now put in place an upgraded set of arrangements for cooperation with the states and territories, Morrison said of the disaster funding deal.

The daily infection tally in New South Wales dropped to 89 on Tuesday, but authorities remain concerned that 21 of those infected with the delta variant had been in the community while contagious.

Australia has recorded three COVID-19 deaths this year. A man, aged in his 70s, died on Monday in Sydneys eastern suburbs where the current cluster began last month, officials said.

A woman in her 90s from southwest Sydney died in a Sydney hospital on Saturday, a day after testing positive for COVID-19.

Before her, Australia last reported a COVID-19 death on April 12. An 80-year-old old man who had become infected in the Philippines and was diagnosed while in hotel quarantine.

Australia has been relatively successful in containing COVD-19 clusters and there have only been 912 deaths since the pandemic began. But the country's vaccine rollout has been slow, which experts say has left the population particularly vulnerable to the delta variant. Fewer than 12% of the population older than 16 had been fully vaccinated by Tuesday.

Australian-manufactured AstraZeneca had been recommended for all adults in Australia until a 48-year-old died of rare blood clots blamed on the vaccine in April. The clots are more common in younger people.

AstraZeneca was then recommended for adults over 50 years until a 52-year-old died of blood clots blamed on the vaccine in May.

The vaccine is now recommended for adults over 60. The only alternative registered in Australia is imported Pfizer which is in short supply. Most Australians under 40-years-old cant get Pfizer.
NOTE: This is an excerpt from "I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year."

- - -

Finally, Election Day had arrived. The morning of Nov. 3, 2020, President Trump was upbeat. The mood in the West Wing was good. Some aides talked giddily of a landslide. Several women who worked in the White House arrived wearing red sweaters in a show of optimism, while some Secret Service agents on the president's detail sported red ties for the occasion. Trump's voice was hoarse from his mad dash of rallies, but he thought his exhausting final sprint had sealed the deal. He considered Joe Biden to be a lot of things, but a winner most definitely was not one of them. "I can't lose to this f------ guy," Trump told aides.

Around noon, his detail whisked Trump across the Potomac River to visit his campaign headquarters in Arlington, where campaign manager Bill Stepien and the senior leadership briefed Trump in the conference room. Stepien outlined what to expect that night - when polls closed in each battleground state, how quickly votes should be tallied and which states would probably have the first projected winners. He explained that because of the huge number of mail-in ballots in many states, it might take long into the night for votes to be counted. Patience was in order.

Stepien explained to Trump that in many battleground states, the first votes to be recorded were expected to be in-person Election Day votes, which could lean Trump, while mail-in votes, which were likely to heavily favor Biden, would be added to the tally later as those ballots were processed. This meant that the early vote totals could well show Trump ahead by solid margins.

"It's going to be good early," Stepien told the boss. But, as he cautioned the president, those numbers would be incomplete and the margins probably would tighten later in the evening.

Courtesy of Penguin Press

Trump then stepped out of the conference room and into the big open floor of cubicles to give a brief pep talk to scores of assembled staffers, who greeted him with raucous applause. A pool of journalists stood nearby to cover his remarks, and a reporter asked whether he had prepared an acceptance speech or a concession speech to deliver that evening.

"No, I'm not thinking about concession speech or acceptance speech yet," Trump said. "Hopefully, we'll be only doing one of those two. And, you know, winning is easy. Losing is never easy. Not for me it's not."

As Trump thought about winning or losing, the Pentagon brass was focused on keeping the peace. That morning, Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper; Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and other defense officials were briefed about security concerns around the nation. If Trump won, officials expected large crowds of protesters to assemble in Washington, perhaps as many as 10,000 or 15,000 people. Law enforcement officials were monitoring cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, Norfolk, Philadelphia and San Diego, for likely protests.

Meanwhile, White House cooks and ushers were busy preparing to receive hundreds of guests for an election night viewing party. Trump's original plan had been to stage his "victory" party at the Trump International Hotel a few blocks away on Pennsylvania Avenue. But that plan had been scotched a few days earlier, as the president's wishes for a celebration at his luxury hotel ran headlong into the District's public health regulations for the coronavirus. No more than 50 people could gather at an indoor venue in the city.

Trump's campaign and his White House political team had nearly 400 people they wanted to invite for election night, so they moved the party to the White House, which is on federal property and therefore not subject to local ordinances. The choice of location broke with a solemn tradition of never using the White House for overt political purposes, a norm Trump had already tossed aside in August by delivering his Republican National Convention acceptance speech from the South Lawn.

Trump also used the White House to house his political operation, setting up two "war rooms" with computers, large-screen televisions and other equipment where campaign staffers would monitor election returns. The larger of the two war rooms was in government office space in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is next to the West Wing and part of the White House campus, where roughly 60 staffers would have work stations from which to receive up-to-the-minute information from battleground states and track precinct data. The smaller war room was in the Map Room, on the ground level of the White House residence. Steeped in history, the Map Room took its name from World War II, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt turned it into a situation room with maps to track troop movements and to receive classified information on the war's progress. Trump's most senior aides planned to work through the night in the Map Room, now transformed into the campaign's command center, where Stepien and his top deputies could analyze data and stay close to the president to brief him in person as needed.

This and other episodes recounted in this book are based on hundreds of hours of interviews with more than 140 people, including the most senior Trump administration officials, friends and outside advisers to the 45th president. Most of the people interviewed agreed to speak candidly only on the condition of anonymity. Scenes were reconstructed based on firsthand accounts and, whenever possible, corroborated by multiple sources and buttressed by a review of calendars, diary entries, internal memos and other correspondence among principals.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had been working toward this night for four years. For her, election night in 2016 had been a nightmare, and she was determined not to allow a repeat in 2020. "That night was like getting kicked in the back by a mule over and over again," she said in an interview. The California Democrat recalled thinking that night about Trump's surprise victory: "It can't be true. It can't be happening to our country."

Pelosi added: "You understand that this is not a person of sound mind. You understand that. You know that. He's not of sound mind . . . When he first got elected, I was devastated because I thought Hillary Clinton was one of the best prepared people to be president - better than her husband, better than [Barack] Obama, better than George W. Bush. Maybe not better than George Herbert Walker Bush, because he had been a vice president. I don't think any of the people I just mentioned would deny that she was better qualified, experienced, all the rest of it. So, the idea that he would get elected was shocking. It was shocking."

Mitt Romney had been less shocked by Trump's election - he had watched firsthand as the Republican Party was radicalized by the far right - but was just as determined to prevent a second Trump term. The senator from Utah said in an interview that he watched the election returns in California with his wife, Ann, son Craig and other family members, and felt a pit in his stomach. The early numbers looked surprisingly good for Trump. Biden was struggling in the quadrennial bellwether of Florida, even in Democrat-rich Miami-Dade County.

"I think he's going to win," Romney recalled telling his family. "Those polls were way off. I think he's going to pull it out."

At the White House, people liked what they were seeing. There was a party atmosphere. Staff hung out in West Wing offices chatting at least until 9 p.m. National Security Council officials celebrated in the Roosevelt Room. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows served beer and food in his corner office. Another group of aides lingered outside White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany's office, known as Upper Press. In the residence, scores of guests - Cabinet secretaries, members of Congress, television stars and other dignitaries - were drinking and milling around, mostly without masks save for Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, who kept his on. After a few too many swigs of wine and beer, some guests became rather animated as the night progressed.

Upstairs in the first family's private quarters, Trump was glued to the television. He alternated between watching from his bedroom alone and from a family room with Melania, other family members and some of his most trusted aides, including Hope Hicks. Senior advisers including Stepien, Meadows, McEnany, Jason Miller, Stephen Miller and Ronna McDaniel were in the Map Room. Members of the president's family - Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Eric Trump and his wife, Lara, who worked on the campaign - came in and out much of the night, as did a pair of special party guests, Fox News stars Laura Ingraham and Jeanine Pirro.

They all turned to Matt Oczkowski for updates, sometimes as often as every few minutes. As the campaign's top data cruncher, Oczkowski sat in front of a computer and performed real-time analysis of precinct data to stay ahead of state calls and to spot any trouble on the horizon. He liked what he saw early on. Florida offered the first good indicators. Trump was overperforming with Blacks and Latinos, especially among Cuban Americans in South Florida. Miami-Dade was going gangbusters for Trump. And turnout among the president's base of rural Whites was high. Meadows, meanwhile, paid close attention to precinct returns out of North Carolina, which he had represented in Congress, and he felt confident about Trump's chances there. And early returns out of Pennsylvania were encouraging.

At this point in the evening, Stepien tried to temper Trump's optimism and keep the president's mind from racing too far ahead of reality. "Stay calm," the campaign manager told him. "We won't know for some period of time."

One Trump confidant who mostly stayed out of the Map Room was Rudolph W. Giuliani. That's because the president's personal attorney had set up his own command center upstairs on the party floor. Giuliani sat at a table in the Red Room with his son, Andrew, who worked at the White House in the Office of Public Liaison, staring intensely at a laptop watching vote tallies. The Giulianis made for an odd scene, as partygoers swirled around them. After a while, Rudy Giuliani started to cause a commotion. He was telling other guests that he had come up with a strategy for Trump and was trying to get into the president's private quarters to tell him about it. Some people thought Giuliani may have been drinking too much and suggested to Stepien that he go talk to the former New York mayor. Stepien, Meadows and Jason Miller took Giuliani down to a room just off the Map Room to hear him out.

Giuliani went state by state asking Stepien, Meadows and Miller what they were seeing and what their plan was.

"What's happening in Michigan?" he asked.

They said it was too early to tell, votes were still being counted and they couldn't say.

"Just say we won," Giuliani told them.

Same thing in Pennsylvania. "Just say we won Pennsylvania," Giuliani said.

Giuliani's grand plan was to just say Trump won, state after state, based on nothing. Stepien, Miller and Meadows thought his argument was both incoherent and irresponsible.

"We can't do that," Meadows said, raising his voice. "We can't."

Some competitive races were falling into place for Republicans. In South Carolina, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham faced a tough challenge from Democrat Jaime Harrison, an impressive candidate who had garnered national attention and raised a record-shattering $109 million. But South Carolina, long a bastion of Republicanism, stayed true to form. The race was called early, with Graham winning 54% to Harrison's 44%.

Trump was watching TV as news networks projected Graham's victory, and within minutes he called his friend.

"You got yours," Trump told Graham. "I've got a fight on my hands."

"Well, Mr. President, hang in there," Graham said. "It's looking pretty good for you."

As the night wore on, some of Trump's advisers began to worry. Public polls, as well as the Trump campaign's internal surveys, had long projected that the race was Biden's to lose, and that prediction was bearing out as more precincts reported votes from battleground states. Alyssa Farah, the White House communications director, stepped away from the party in the East Room and saw McDaniel pacing in the hallway.

"Ronna, good to see you!" Farah said to the Republican National Committee chairwoman.

"Hey, good to see you," McDaniel said. Then, as she turned away, McDaniel said, "Things are not looking good."

William P. Barr had the same feeling. The attorney general had shown up for Trump's election night party, even though he had thought for months that Trump was destined to become a one-term president. Trump didn't seem able to get out of his own way and deliver a disciplined message. Barr hung around the party for a bit, but a little after 10 p.m. decided to call it a night. He went home to get some sleep.

The Pentagon's top two leaders stayed away from Trump's party, still hypervigilant about avoiding any suggestion that they were politicizing the military. Esper and Milley had learned that lesson back on June 1 in Lafayette Square. Milley watched the returns on TV from his home at Fort Myer in Arlington. A history buff, Milley memorialized the night by keeping his own scorecard of states in his journal. Around 10:30 p.m., with results from most key states still far too close to call, Milley received an interesting call from a retired military buddy who reminded him of his apolitical role as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"You are an island unto yourself right now," the friend said, according to the account Milley shared with aides. "You are not tethered. Your loyalty is to the Constitution. You represent the stability of this republic."

Milley's friend added: "There's fourth-rate people at the Pentagon. And you have fifth-rate people at the White House. You're surrounded by total incompetence. Hang in there. Hang tough."

Esper was at home in Northern Virginia feeling at peace that he had survived this long without getting fired and without having acquiesced to Trump's wishes to order troops to break up domestic protests. The defense secretary had had a target on his back all fall, but Trump had not axed him.

Esper had a scare the night before, Nov. 2, when NBC's Courtney Kube planned to report that he was preparing to be fired the day after the election, had updated his resignation letter and was quietly advising members of Congress about renaming Army bases named for Confederate generals as a sort of mic drop to fortify his legacy. Esper believed that if NBC published the story, it would signal that he was on the verge of resigning and prompt his premature firing - so he raced to stop it. He directed his aides to try to convince Kube that her information could be overhyped. It was true that Esper had been consulting with Congressional committees about renaming the bases. It also was true that he had prepared a resignation letter, as many Trump appointees had, but he had no imminent plans to submit it. In truth, Esper expected that Trump would fire him after the election, but was hoping to hold on if he could, at least for a few days after the election. He was worried about what Trump might try to do with the military if he were not at the helm. Esper warned Kube that publishing her story could result in a more compliant acting secretary of defense, which could have worrisome repercussions. The story was held as they tussled back and forth.

Esper was a lifelong Republican and had worked at the conservative Heritage Foundation as well as for Republican senators Bill Frist and Chuck Hagel. But he told his closest colleagues that as he watched TV news anchors cover the election results, he found himself rooting for the Democrat. Esper had worked with Biden and his secretary of state in waiting, Antony Blinken, when he was a senior staffer on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He had confidence that they were serious, stable people who cared deeply about shoring up national security. Esper couldn't say the same about Trump. In fact, Trump had privately indicated that he would seek to withdraw from NATO and to blow up the U.S. alliance with South Korea, should he win reelection. When those alliances had come up in meetings with Esper and other top aides, some advisers warned Trump that shredding them before the election would be politically dangerous.

"Yeah, the second term," Trump had said. "We'll do it in the second term."

Esper had known that Trump had wanted to fire him ever since their June 3 argument over the Insurrection Act, but had heard that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, campaign officials and other advisers had talked the president out of doing so before the election. They had argued that he couldn't afford to rupture his relationship with a second defense secretary, not after Jim Mattis's rocky departure and the sharp public criticism he later leveled at Trump.

Esper had lived through the strain of the 2000 recounts and the Bush v. Gore case. He had repeatedly told his deputies that he wanted this election to be "clean and clear," as in free of any suggestion of corruption and indisputably clear who had won. He had feared that anything less might give Trump some shred of a reason to call out troops. Later in the evening, as returns posted in Biden's favor, Esper told a friend, "It looks good." The defense secretary went to bed comforted by signs that the country would get a divided and stable government - a Democratic president and, he hoped, a Republican Senate.

At 11:20 p.m. on Fox News, Bill Hemmer was standing before his giant touch screen in the network's Studio F in New York, guiding viewers through electoral college scenarios when Arizona turned blue on his map. The sudden change in color caught Hemmer off guard. "What is this happening here? Why is Arizona blue? Did we just call it? Did we just make a call in Arizona? Let's see," he said.

Co-anchor Martha MacCallum said that indeed Fox had called Arizona, a hotly contested battleground state with 11 electoral college votes.

Co-anchor Bret Baier chimed in. "Time out," he said. "This is a big development. Fox News's decision desk is calling Arizona for Joe Biden." Baier added, "Biden picking up Arizona changes the math."

Trump, who had been watching Fox, was livid. He could not fathom that the conservative news network he had long considered an extension of his campaign was the first news organization to call Arizona for Biden. This was a betrayal. His top advisers, who had been in the Map Room at the time, rushed upstairs to see the president. Giuliani followed them.

"They're calling it way too early," Oczkowski told Trump. "This thing is close. We still think we'll win narrowly - and not just us. Doug Ducey's modeling people show us winning." Ducey, Arizona's Republican governor, and his political team had kept in close contact with Trump's aides.

That hardly reassured the president. "What the f--- is Fox doing?" Trump screamed. Then he barked orders to Kushner: "Call Rupert! Call James and Lachlan!" And to Jason Miller: "Get Sammon. Get Hemmer. They've got to reverse this." The president was referring to Fox owner Rupert Murdoch and his sons, James and Lachlan, as well as Bill Sammon, a top news executive at Fox.

Trump's tirade continued. "What the f---?" he bellowed. "What the f--- are these guys doing? How could they call this this early?"

Oczkowski again tried to soothe the president. "They're calling this way too early," he said. "This is unbelievable."

Giuliani pushed the president to forget about the Arizona call and just say he won - to step into the East Room and deliver a victory speech. Never mind that Meadows had earlier snapped at Giuliani and said the president couldn't just declare himself the winner.

"Just go declare victory right now," Giuliani told Trump. "You've got to go declare victory now."

Giuliani's interjection of his "just-say-you-won" strategy infuriated Trump's campaign advisers.

"It's hard to be the responsible parent when there's a cool uncle around taking the kid to the movies and driving him around in a Corvette," one of these advisers recalled. "When we say the president can't say that, being responsible is not the easiest place to be when you've got people telling the president what he wants to hear. It's hard to tell the president no. It's not an enviable place to be."

Once they got away from the president, Kushner called Rupert Murdoch. Jason Miller tried Sammon but couldn't reach him. Other Trump aides pitched in, too. Counselor Kellyanne Conway reached out to Baier and MacCallum, who were on the air. Hicks, who had worked under Lachlan Murdoch at the Fox Corp. between her White House stints, reached out to Fox Corp. Senior Vice President Raj Shah, a former Trump spokesman, to track down a number for Jay Wallace, the president of Fox News.

Conway talked to Brian Seitchik, a longtime Trump adviser based in Arizona, who assured her: "This is irresponsible. Here in Arizona, we just have way too many votes left to count."

Ducey called the Trump team and was put on speakerphone. The governor told them that the Fox call was premature and that, according to his analysis, Trump still had a chance to win because so many votes remained to be counted.

Typically, most news organizations call states around the same time because they tend to have similar standards for when it is safe to project winners and losers. But with Arizona, other major news organizations held back on joining Fox's call. In fact, Jason Miller received text messages from contacts at other networks. "I can't believe Fox is doing you guys dirty," one of them wrote.

Trump and his family became apoplectic as the night ticked on and his early leads over Biden in Pennsylvania and other states kept shrinking. As additional votes were being counted, Biden inched closer to Trump. Pennsylvania was too close to call, as was Georgia. Trump decided to deliver remarks to his viewing party and came down into the Map Room, where he yelled at Justin Clark, the deputy campaign manager.

"Why are they still counting votes?" Trump asked. "The election's closed. Are they counting ballots that came in afterward? What the hell is going on?" Trump, through a spokesman, denied saying this.

The president told Conway that he thought something nefarious was at play.

"They're stealing this from us," Trump said. "We have this thing won. I won in a landslide and they're taking it back."

Of course, nobody was taking anything. Election officials were simply doing their duty, counting ballots. But Trump didn't see it that way. He seemed to truly believe he had been winning. As one Trump adviser later explained, "The psychological impact of, he's going to win, people were calling him saying he's going to win, and then somehow these votes just keep showing up."

Eric Trump, who the night before had predicted to friends that his father would win with 322 electoral college votes, flipped out in the Map Room.

"The election is being stolen," the president's 36-year-old son said. "Where are these votes coming from? How is this legit?"

He yelled at the campaign's data analysts, as if it were their fault that his father's early leads over Biden were shrinking. ""We pay you to do this," he said. "How can this be happening?

Eric Trump, through a spokesperson, insisted that he did not berate campaign staff, as described by witnesses.

Donald Trump Jr. said, "There's no way we lose to this guy," referring to Biden.

Shortly after 2 a.m. on Nov. 4, "Hail to the Chief" played at the East Room party. Out walked Trump, followed by Melania Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Karen Pence. Stephen Miller and the speechwriting team had prepared remarks for Trump to deliver, but the president veered from his teleprompter script to instead deliver stream-of-consciousness thoughts.

"We were winning everything and all of a sudden it was just called off," Trump said. He added, "Literally, we were just all set to get outside and just celebrate something that was so beautiful, so good."

Trump rattled off states he had won - Florida! Ohio! Texas! - and then claimed that he had already won states that were too close to call, including Georgia and North Carolina. He bragged about his leads in some states - "Think of this: We're up 690,000 votes in Pennsylvania. Six hundred ninety thousand!" - and falsely claimed to be winning Michigan and Wisconsin.

Neither Trump nor Biden was declared the overall winner because Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania remained too close to call. Yet Trump insisted that he was the actual winner, and that his sweet victory had been somehow snatched from him.

"This is a fraud on the American public," the president said. "This is an embarrassment to our country. We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this election. We did win this election. So our goal now is to ensure the integrity for the good of this nation. This is a very big moment. This is a major fraud in our nation. We want the law to be used in a proper manner. So we'll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court. We want all voting to stop. We don't want them to find any ballots at four o'clock in the morning and add them to the list, okay? It's a very sad moment. To me, this is a very sad moment, and we will win this. And as far as I'm concerned, we already have won it."

This was an extraordinary accusation for any political candidate to make about any election, much less for a sitting president to make about the country's most consequential election. Trump was telling the 74 million people who voted for him not to trust the results.

Watching from California, Romney was heartsick. "We're in a global battle for the survival of liberal democracy in the face of autocracy and autocratic regimes attempting to dominate the world," he recalled in the interview. "So saying something and doing things that would suggest that in the free nation of the United States of America and the model of democracy for the world, that we can't have a free and fair election would have a destructive effect on democracy around the world, not just to mention here."

Pelosi watched Trump's speech in horror. "It was just a complete, total manifestation [of] insanity," she recalled in the interview.

"It was clear over that four-year period that this was not a person who was on the level - on the level intellectually, on the level mentally, on the level emotionally and certainly not on the level patriotically," she said. "So for him to say what he said, I wouldn't say was [as] surprising as it might have been if we hadn't seen the instability all along."

Following his speech, Trump hung around the Green Room next door to the East Room talking to some advisers and VIP guests, asking them what they thought. Ingraham, whose prime-time show was off the air that night because of Fox's election coverage, was overheard giving the president some advice. She expressed general doubt that the outcome would change in the days ahead, given the historical reluctance of federal courts to intervene in elections, a contrast to what she considered unrealistic scenarios being painted by some others around the president.

"Give up on Arizona," Ingraham told him, apparently confident in her network's decision to project Biden the winner there.

Giving up wasn't in Trump's repertoire. "Fox shouldn't have called it," he told her.

Karl Rove, the former George W. Bush strategist and Fox commentator, had just come off the air when he got a call from a Trump adviser. "He's in a meltdown," the adviser told Rove. "Can you call him and tell him that all is not lost?"

Rove phoned the president and tried to give him a pep talk.

"Hang in there," he told Trump. "There's a lot of ballots to be counted and it's not going to be done for some time. You fought a good fight . . . You're not out yet."

Rove and Trump briefly discussed the state of the race in Arizona. "I know premature calls," he said, reminding the president of the fiasco on election night in 2000, when some networks projected Al Gore would win Florida only to have to retract their call a couple of hours later. "Hang in there. You gave it your all. You came down to the end. You upset them in 2016. You can do it again. Just hold on."

Trump then retreated to the Map Room to talk to his campaign team. He stayed up until 4 a.m. chewing over the incoming results. The president was fixated on Pennsylvania, where Biden kept cutting into his lead. There were enough votes still to be counted in Philadelphia, which were sure to favor the Democrat, for Biden to overtake Trump. And indeed, Democrats were optimistic that once all the votes were in, Biden would win the state.

Conway and Meadows both preached patience.

"Mr. President, you're ahead in Pennsylvania by 700,000 votes," Conway told him. "We won Pennsylvania by 44,000 votes last time. Just let them count the votes. Let them get through the votes."

Meadows said: "Just count the votes, Mr. President. You probably have enough to keep those leads."

Trump wasn't having any of it. He thought Democrats were rigging the vote totals.

"If I wake up in the morning and they say Trump is ahead by 100,000, they'll find 100,001 votes in the backyard," the president said.

"Mr. President, it stings," Conway said. "It just hurts to have lost Pennsylvania."

"Honey, we didn't lose Pennsylvania," Trump replied. "We won Pennsylvania."

Conway, who often was quick with a rejoinder to lighten the mood at tense moments, invoked the security cameras that some homeowners install at their front doors to monitor for stolen packages or unwanted visitors. "Then your campaign should've invested in Ring and Nest cameras," she quipped.

- - -

Copyright 2021 by Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker. Reprinted with permission from Penguin Press. All rights reserved.
Click here to read the full article.

President Biden met with local mayors and law enforcement leadership to discuss violent crime and urged them to make use of federal funds available through Covid-19 relief to help combat crime in their cities.

Our strategy provides including funding for law enforcement through the American Rescue Plan for states, cities and to be able to hire police and pay them overtime, in order to advance community policing, Biden said.

In attendance were mayors and law enforcement leaders from major cities  including D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot  as well as Eric Adams, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, who blamed violent crimes on the wide availability of handguns.

A former cop and moderate Democrat, Adams ran on a tough-on-crime platform and did not endorse a model of defunding the police as some of the more progressive candidates in the mayoral race did. Even so, Adams said he doesnt believe putting more money into policing will reduce violent crimes.

We spend too much time looking at the role police play, Adams told reporters gathered at the White House after the meeting with Biden. We cant continue to respond to symptoms. Its time to respond to the underlying causes of violence in our city.

Adams added, This president is making it clear, hes going to redefine the ecosystem of public safety. And that includes identifying the role of police, schools, families, resources, employment. This is where we need to go as a country.

Adams encouraged the president to use Covid-19 relief money to fund education, mental health initiatives and job training programs, instead of giving more funds to the police. Biden did say that he supported funding of programs that encourage youth to pick up a paycheck instead of a pistol.

Crime in select cities has been rising, with many seeing elevated murder rates compared to last year. A New York Times study of crime data across 37 cities found that rates in the first few months of 2021 were 18 percent higher than the same period of time last year but noted that the FBI also made changes this year to the sources from which it collects data. Still, its important context that the country and many cities have experienced a long-term downward trend in violent crime rates over the past three decades. And the nationwide murder rate is still approximately half as high as it was in the early 90s when it peaked.

In a CNN interview over the weekend, Adams also said he thinks America became too focused on assault rifles used in mass shootings rather than handguns. It is extremely important that  just as we became energetic after we saw mass shootings with assault rifles in the suburban parts of our country, which we should have  we should have also focused on the handgun, Adams said.

He added, The numbers of those who are killed with handguns are astronomical, and if we dont start having real federal legislation matched with states and cities were never going to get this crisis under control.

According to FBI statistics from 2019, handguns were the most common murder weapon in the U.S., followed by firearms of unknown type.

Biden has taken some executive action on guns during his administration. He signed executive orders asking the Department of Justice to regulate ghost guns that can be assembled from kits and tightened regulations on pistol-stabilizing braces. And on Monday, the DOJ announced it is launching five firearms trafficking strike forces in the next month to help reduce violent crime.
Happy 713 Day, Houston. Unfortunately, 713 Day falls in the middle of the week this year and your callous employer doesnt recognize it as a holiday, so youre just going to have to sit there at work and daydream about how you would celebrate this made-up Houston holiday if your boss was a little more understanding.

Heres how we would make 713 Day the most Houston day we possibly could.

We would start at 

Nick de la Torre / Houston Chronicle

You might have heard theres a line to get in. Yeah, thats because its delicious. And, in Houston, well wait in line for the right reasons. Plus, the line is a good place to commiserate with your fellow Houstonians, and everyones in a good mood because they know theyre about to start their day off right. I say you go with the Katfish and Grits, but you cant go wrong with the wings and waffle either.

Mark Mulligan/Staff photographer

Pictures at Graffiti Park

Now, your stomach is full and youre already near downtown, so head two miles east to the ever-changing graffiti park before it gets too hot. Walk around, take your picture in front of a few of the murals. Post them to Instagram. Let everyone know exactly how Houston you are. Yeah, its kind of a touristy thing to do. So what?

Gary Fountain, Houston Chronicle / Contributor

Museum of Fine Arts

From there, head three miles southwest to the Museum of Fine Arts. Houston has some of the best museums in the country, but you probably dont go enough. 713 Day is a time to change that. The museum currently has an immersive exhibit by Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto, which allows you to walk inside a sculptural work that includes a labyrinth of interactive pathways, all while suspended in mid-air.

Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer

Hermann Park Trail

Since youre already in the area, you might as well walk over to Hermann Park for a little fresh air. We get it, its also 90 degrees outside today, so maybe you skip this part, but youre going to need to work up an appetite for lunch.

Roegels Barbecue Co. / Roegels Barbecue Co.

If youre from Houston, you probably already have your favorite barbecue spot. As a proud born and bred member of the Alief community, Im partial to Blood Bros. BBQ, but theyre closed on Tuesdays. Roegels is one of Houstons finest and its just 10 miles down 59 from the museum and Hermann Park. Get some brisket, its some of the tastiest the city has to offer.

Pat Sullivan, STF / Associated Press

Beer Can House

Whats more Houston than a house covered in discarded beer cans right outside the elegant River Oaks neighborhood? Unfortunately, you can only take tours of the Beer Can House on the weekends, but its still worth a quick stop on 713 Day.

Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Get stuck in traffic

Theres nothing more Houston than getting stuck in traffic, and theres no better spot for that than 610 near the Galleria. Youre already in the area, so head to 610, pick out your favorite Houston musical artist and zone out  I mean, still pay attention to the road, but just let the Houston traffic and music take over. Youre going to need to be on 610 anyway for your next stop.

Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle

Screwed Up Records

Heres another spot youre going to want to do for the Gram. Nothings more Houston than a photo outside the famous Screwed Up Records & Tapes on West Fuqua. They open at 2 p.m., so this is will be perfect timing.

Karen Warren, Staff / Houston Chronicle

More food

Sure, youve already eaten a ton. You had catfish and grits, then brisket, but this is Houston, and we like to eat, so head to the Southwest side to explore all the Asian restaurants centered around Bellaire Blvd. There, youll have your choice of just about any Asian food you can possibly imagine, but nothing says Houston quite like Viet-Cajun crawfish. It combines the citys Asian influences with its Cajun side and produces the perfect rendition of crawfish. My personal choice for this H-Town delicacy would be Crawfish & Noodles. Order a few beers, dig in on some crawfish and enjoy yourselves. Your day is almost done.

Diane Humes/Texas Parks and Wildlife

Bats at Waugh Street Bridge

Hopefully, that last food excursion got you close to sunset, because thats the timing we need for the last Houston spot. Head over to the Waugh Street Bridge and try to get there about 30 minutes before sunset, because youre in for a treat. As the sun sets, Mexican free-tailed bats emerge nightly  year-round  from the bridge and stretch their wings. Its quite a sight.

That's it. You'll notice this perfect Houston day didn't lead you anywhere on the north side of town. That's an Alief kid's way of repping for the Southside no matter what.
MIDDLETOWN  State officials said Monday there is no current hazard in the Connecticut River following reports of a gas- or oil-like odor and the appearance of a sheen on the water following heavy rains that flooded parts of the city last week.

When Tropical Storm Elsa passed through Middletown Friday morning, it caused residual oil from the Providence and Worcester Railroad Bridge, a swing truss structure, to leak into the river, state officials said.

The trestle bridge is located south of the Arrigoni Bridge, which spans the river, connecting Middletown and Portland.

Mayor Ben Florsheim said he received a number of notifications from people who saw a substance on the water flowing near Harbor Park.

He alerted the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, whose agents tried to examine the area late Friday, but the water was moving so fast they couldnt get at it, according to DEEP spokesperson Meghan Bard. By Saturday morning, there was no more to test.

The DEEP determined there was no current hazard, she said. We dont know precisely what it was.

The amount was so small, it was gone by the next day, according to Bard, who emphasized the incident was not a spill.

Florsheim warned people to avoid the area in a Facebook post Friday.

The first thought was it could be leaking from somewhere, the mayor said. The second was there could have been a tank or something that got dislodged and wound up in the river, near the river, somebody jarred it  any number of things.

The DEEP has completed its investigation, Bard said Monday afternoon.

While flooding was reported throughout the city, one section, in the western area, received so much rain in such a short period of time that it washed out that portion of Mile Lane, and compromised the bridge about a half-block from Ridgewood Road, near Talias Trail.

There was permanent damage there, Florsheim said. City crews patched over the street with fill, but thats a temporary fix, according to the mayor, who is asking residents and business owners who suffered property damage, as well as effects from any other flooding, to reach out to his office for two reasons.

One is to gauge the extent, and type, of flooding in affected areas to allow the city to determine priorities for the future.

We do have a lot of water and sewer needs, the mayor said. A lot of our infrastructure is aging. There are some engineering and design elements that, looking at them today, are a little bit head scratching in terms of why it was set up that way.

A portion of the approximately $12 million in American Rescue Act funding that came to the city is actually designed to fill such needs. That was already part of our plan, Florsheim said.

Another problem is Randolph Road, near Millbrook Road, has had a persistent flooding issue for many years, Florsheim said. In fact, council members voted earlier this month to authorize a remediation study to assess what can be done to help mitigate the problem.

He is also looking for information that would potentially allow Middletown to apply for a FEMA disaster declaration in the form of reimbursement, but, after speaking with U.S. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the mayor said he suspects the damage may not meet the agencys standards.

Im hoping to share, with the federal delegation, and the state folks, peoples experiences, and let them know the cost, the impact, this had. As much as we didnt have too much long-term damage to city infrastructure, its peoples homes who get impacted in these types of events, Florsheim said.

We want to make sure we know where those are, and we are doing everything we can to get the resources that people are going to need as they come out from underneath it, he added.

Anyone experienced damage as a result of the storm is asked to email Florsheim at mayor@middletownct.gov.
"Perfection" is the only way to describe this $899,999 Houston home.

The Montrose Tudor is ready for occupants, boasting two bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms, per Tim Grimes of Martha Turner Sotheby's International Realty.

READY TO RELOCATE? Reside in one of 'America's best places to live' for only $749K

The home was expertly reimagined in 2017, per Grimes, with renovations meeting modern-day standards and style while staying true to its timeless charm. The layout is so beautiful, it's almost impossible not to imagine yourself prancing from room to room.

Martha Turner Sotheby's International Realty

Marble counters, custom cabinets and designer finishes can be found spread across the island kitchen, which opens directly to the living room.

The owner's suite can be found on the first floor, featuring a beautiful bathroom with dual vanities and a custom closet.

Martha Turner Sotheby's International Realty

Three glass French doors open to a spacious privacy-fenced backyard, bringing the outdoors inward.

BREAKING THE 'NET: Not-so-rich Texans go crazy for Southlake castle on 'Zillow Gone Wild'

Step into the backyard and you'll see a space that's perfect for entertaining  and a pool.

Martha Turner Sotheby's International Realty

And if 1608 West Main Street gives you "Lord of the Rings" vibes, you're not alone. Think "modern-day hobbit holerefined."
WASHINGTON  Shortly after landing in Washington D.C. in an effort to deny the Texas House a quorum to block a voting restrictions bill, House Democrats indicated they plan to remain out of state until the end of the special legislative session that ends Aug. 6.

Democrats Monday departure from the state upends the Legislature's ability to turn any bills into law just days into a 30-day session that was called largely to advance GOP-backed legislation that would enact new restrictions on voting.

ICYMI: Texas House Democrats flee the state in move that could block voting restrictions bill

Asked by a reporter what the caucus planned to do if Gov. Greg Abbott called another special session for the next day, state Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, suggested that was the reason behind why they had decamped to the capital.

Thats our message to Congress, said Turner, the Fort Worth Democrat who chairs the House Democratic caucus. We need them to act now.

At least 51 of the 67 Democratic members of the Texas House  the number needed to break quorum  fled the state on Monday, most of them boarding two chartered planes that landed in D.C. around 7 p.m. Central time.

Last month, a delegation of Democratic state representatives and senators traveled to the U.S. Capital to advocate for a pair of federal bills. The first would preempt significant portions of the Texas bills and set new federal standards for elections like same-day and automatic voter registration. The second would restore sweeping safeguards for voters of color by reinstating federal oversight of elections in states like Texas with troubling records of discriminating against voters of color.

This time the group was much larger  at least two buses full of members as of Tuesday night  and state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, referred to the expanded numbers as reinforcements.

The state legislation currently under consideration resembles the the GOP priority voting bill from the regular legislative session that first prompted Democrats to walk out and break quorum in late May. Republicans bills would ban drive-thru and 24-hour voting options, enhance access for partisan poll watchers and prohibit local election officials from proactively distributing applications to request mail-in ballots. They also include language to further restrict the states voting-by-mail rules, including new ID requirements for absentee voters.

READ MORE: Gov. Greg Abbott issues scathing response to Texas Dems dramatic block on voting bills

Since the news broke that Democrats were leaving the state, Republicans pounced to characterize them as abandoning their jobs.

"Texas Democrats decision to break a quorum of the Texas Legislature and abandon the Texas State Capitol inflicts harm on the very Texans who elected them to serve, Abbott said in a statement earlier in the day. As they fly across the country on cushy private planes, they leave undone issues that can help their districts and our state.

Fellow Republicans from all over the state and the country joined in the criticism.

Nothing could be further from the truth, said Turner. We are doing our job. We were elected to represent our constituents and fight for our constituents' interests. We arent going to sit in Austin in the house chamber and watch the Republican majority steamroll the voting rights of our constituents.

Democratic state Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins of San Antonio said in an interview that she was definitely prepared to be out of the state for three weeks as well and packed light.

It wasnt even about clothes, it was about lets do what we need to do to protect our right to vote, she said. We cant go back to the days of old... think about our forefathers who died for us to have the opportunity to vote.

What I did, I went into my clothes, and I got all those things that are washable, she added, when asked how she prepared for such an uncertain trip.

There was a sense Tuesday in this group that Abbotts threat to cut the salaries of legislative staffers could become reality.

I told my staff to get ready for unemployment, said Gervin-Hawkins OK? Think about it. If you are released from a job beyond your control, you qualify for unemployment.

We hope that doesnt happen, she added.

State Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, called the bill toxic piece of legislation.

Were here to fight, Moody said, referring to Congress. We just hope were not alone.

The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans  and engages with them  about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden called protests in Cuba remarkable" and a clarion call for freedom, praising thousands of Cubans who took the streets to protest food shortages and high prices amid the coronavirus crisis  one of the island's biggest antigovernment demonstrations in recent memory.

The Cuban people are demanding their freedom from an authoritarian regime. I dont think weve seen anything like this protest in a long long time, if, quite frankly, ever, Biden said Monday in a brief exchange with reporters at the start of a meeting with mayors and law enforcement officials to discuss gun violence in the U.S.

The comments marked a notable change in tone from Biden's old boss, Barack Obama, who as president sought to ease decades of tensions between Washington and Havana while loosening U.S. imposed economic sanctions. It was an effort that was reversed by Republican President Donald Trump, who partially rolled back Obama's rapprochement, limiting U.S. travel to the island, banning American financial transactions with dozens of enterprises, and more.

We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cubas authoritarian regime, Biden said in an earlier statement Monday. The Cuban people are bravely asserting fundamental and universal rights.

Julie Chung, the acting assistant secretary for the departments Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, on Sunday suggested that the protests were driven by Cuban people exercising "their right to peaceful assembly to express concern about rising COVID case/deaths & medicine shortage. We commend the numerous efforts of the Cuban people mobilizing donations to help neighbors.

But White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday sought to frame the protests being driven by far broader frustration, calling the demonstrations spontaneous expressions of people who are exhausted with the Cuban governments economic mismanagement and repression.

Psaki added that the U.S. remains ready to assist Cuba in its COVID-19 vaccination effort, but the Cuban governments decision not to participate in COVAX  a worldwide initiative aimed at distributing vaccines to poorer nations  complicated the effort.

We certainly recognize and understand that access to vaccines is one of the issues that a number of individuals on the streets is voicing concern about, but we have to determine what the mechanism would be to work with the Cuban people to get vaccines to them, Psaki said.

The scene of demonstrators on Havanas Malecon promenade and elsewhere on the island was an unusual scene as the communist leadership has historically shown little tolerance for criticism. Police initially trailed behind as protesters chanted Freedom, Enough and Unite. One motorcyclist pulled out a U.S. flag, but it was snatched from him by others.

About 2 1/2 hours into the march, some protesters pulled up cobblestones and threw them at police, at which point officers began arresting people and the marchers dispersed. AP journalists counted at least 20 people who were taken away in police cars or by individuals in civilian clothes.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., lashed out at Biden for taking a full day to acknowledge the protesters, noting on Twitter that Biden's statement did not describe the Cuba government as  socialist and communist.

The protests in #Cuba began over 24 hours ago And you forgot something, Rubio said.

Biden said on the campaign trail that he would largely reverse Trump's Cuba policy and return to Obama-era policies. But Biden has largely kept Trump's policies in the place in the early going.

Rubio in a letter Monday called on the president to take a series of steps in support of the protesters, including making free satellite internet access available on the island; rallying Western Hemisphere and European Union leaders to condemn the Cuban government's efforts to stifle the voice of protesters; and making a clear and unambiguous statement that the current U.S. policies towards the regime implemented by the Trump Administration will remain in place."

Administration officials said their review of Cuba policy is ongoing.

Were looking carefully and closely at what has just happened, what indeed is happening, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. "And as we stated many times, at the heart of the review and at the heart of the policy that would result are democracy and human rights. Thats core to our efforts. That will be reflected in the policy.
CHICAGO (AP)  Rising COVID-19 infections in other states have prompted Chicago to restart a travel order after several weeks without travel restrictions, city officials announced Tuesday.

The Chicago Department of Public Health said starting Friday unvaccinated travelers from Missouri and Arkansas have to either quarantine for 10 days or have a negative COVID-19 test.
BEIJING (AP)  China on Tuesday denounced an appeal by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for a U.S.-European unified front against Chinese unfair economic practices and human rights abuses.

China strongly deplores and rejects Treasury Secretary Yellens remarks, said a Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian.

Yellen issued the appeal Tuesday during a meeting with European Union officials in Brussels. President Joe Biden is trying to revive traditional alliances following the America First policies of his predecessor, Donald Trump.

Together, we need to counter threats to the principles of openness, fair competition, transparency and accountability, Yellen said, according to a text released by her department.

These challenges include Chinas unfair economic practices, malign behavior and human rights abuses, Yellen said. The more we confront these threats with a unified front, the more successful we will be.

Zhao rejected the criticism, saying Beijing always firmly supported the multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization.

The ruling Communist Party denies accusations that it steals or pressures U.S., European and other foreign companies to hand over technology and shields its fledgling technology and other industries from competition in violation of its WTO commitments.

European governments also are frustrated that their companies are barred from acquiring most assets in China while Chinese companies, sometimes financed by state banks, have spent billions of dollars to acquire foreign technology and brands.

Beijing also rejects accusations of abuses against predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region in China's northwest. The Biden administration renewed genocide allegations Monday against China in an annual State Department report to Congress.

The U.S. is obsessed with playing up and churning out Xinjiang-related lies, Zhao said. He added that the U.S. is in no position to judge the human rights situation in other countries and should make more effort in solving its own human rights problems.

Washington and the European Union have imposed travel and financial sanctions on Chinese officials blamed for human rights abuses.

We do not bully and impose sanctions at every turn, nor do we exercise long-arm jurisdiction against other countries enterprises, Zhao said, referring to U.S. sanctions.

Biden has said he wants better relations with Beijing but has yet to say whether he will roll back tariff hikes on Chinese goods and other sanctions imposed by Trump in a fight with Beijing over its technology ambitions and trade surplus.
PHILADELPHIA (AP)  The lead prosecutor in Bill Cosbys sex assault case believes the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overstepped its power in reversing the comedians conviction and added fuel on the fire" when the chief justice gave a weekend television interview  and appeared to misstate the key issue in the appeal.

Chief Justice Max Baer accused prosecutors of a reprehensible bait and switch in arresting Cosby in 2015 despite what he called the certain existence of a 2005 non-prosecution agreement.

There was no controversy whatsoever that the deal was made. It was memorialized in emails, it was memorialized in news conferences, Baer told WHTM-TV in Harrisburg.

However, the existence of the agreement has been hotly debated, both before and after the two criminal trials that ended with Cosbys conviction in 2018. And there was no mention of it in writing until 2015.

The ex-prosecutor who said he made the promise in 2005, Bruce Castor, waited until the case was reopened a decade later to tell the victim or anyone in his office about it, according to their testimony. By then, the defense lawyer to whom Castor said he made the promise had died.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said this week he is reviewing the Supreme Court decision to see if he might challenge it. He believes the state's high court revisited the facts of the case, which he called the job of the trial judge. The appellate courts are tasked with reviewing legal rulings.

One potential path is to seek review at the U.S. Supreme Court, although that is often a long shot. Cosby, who turned 84 on Monday, served nearly three years in prison before his release. Sex assault victims, and many Cosby accusers, have sharply criticized the June 30 decision.

Despite the extensive investigation we conducted, we found no credible evidence that Castor had given Cosby immunity, Steele said in a statement issued late Sunday, in response to Baers unusual television comments about the decision.

There has been a tremendous amount of misinformation about what actually took place in this criminal prosecution. Throwing further fuel on the fire was a televised interview airing this weekend by now Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Baer," Steele said.

Steele challenged the courts finding that Cosby relied on a promise when he gave a deposition in the accusers lawsuit, rather than assert his Fifth Amendment right not to testify. And he said the trial judge agreed with him.

His office has argued over the years that Cosby made a strategic decision to sit for the deposition in accuser Andrea Constands lawsuit, rather than have a jury learn that he had invoked his right not to incriminate himself. And, they noted, Cosby by that time had given a voluntary police statement and spoken to a tabloid about the encounter.

Shortly after that 2006 deposition, Cosby paid Constand $3.4 million to settle the case. The testimony remained sealed until 2015, when a federal judge made parts of it public at the request of The Associated Press, calling his admissions perhaps criminal.

Castors successor, now-Judge Risa Vetri Ferman, took that cue and reopened the investigation. Only then  in September 2015  did Castor send the first email suggesting he had made a binding agreement to Cosbys lawyer, according to evidence in the case.

He had never told Ferman about it, even though she was his top deputy and the person leading the Cosby investigation in 2005, according to her testimony.

Instead, he issued a February 2005 news release that said he would not prosecute Cosby, hoped the parties would work it out in civil court and said he would not have any further comment.

Ferman, later asked under oath if she thought the news release amounted to a non-prosecution or immunity agreement, said, No of course not.

Castor, as he campaigned to return to the District Attorneys Office in 2015, insisted the decision not to prosecute Cosby was meant to be binding.

Montgomery County Judge Steven ONeill found Castor not credible after a two-day hearing in February 2016, and sent the case to trial. He ultimately sentenced Cosby to three to 10 years in prison after a jury convicted him in a 2018 retrial of drugging and molesting Constand in 2004.

The Associated Press does not typically identify sexual assault victims without their permission, which Constand has granted.

The Supreme Court, in its majority opinion, said the record supports ONeills finding that Castor made a charging decision, not a formal immunity agreement, but said his 2015 attempts to explain or characterize his actions are largely immaterial.

Instead, the four-person majority found indisputable evidence that Castor hoped to induce Cosby to testify in the civil suit in the hope it would help Constand. And they found it reasonable that Cosby and his experienced lawyers relied on an unwritten promise.

Some fear the decision creates the potential for prosecutorial abuse if it's allowed to stand. A pair of state lawmakers want to require immunity agreements to be put in writing, lest a rogue prosecutor be given the power to effectively pardon people before ever charging them.

The Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association said the decision potentially grants unprecedented pardons power to each and every district attorney, and every one of his or her assistants in perpetuity, on their successors, and without having to be in writing.

That issue might interest the U.S. Supreme Court if Steele decides to appeal.

However, the twists and turns of the case make it one in a million, and one the high court might therefore choose to skip, according to David Rudovsky, a University of Pennsylvania law professor.

He believes the Pennsylvania court's opinion sends a warning to prosecutors that a defendant caught up in a prosecutors ambiguous decisions should not be harmed by them.

Steele does not see any ambiguity.

To be very clear, prosecutors in this case did not believe there was an agreement not to prosecute or immunity for the defendant at the time we moved forward on the case," he said, and we do not believe it now.

___ Follow Maryclaire Dale on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Maryclairedale.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Congressional Democrats and immigration advocates are staring at their best chance in years to overcome Republican opposition and give millions of people in the U.S. without legal authorization a way to become citizens.

Their goal is to stuff the language into a huge measure this fall financing many of President Joe Bidens priorities that would be shielded from a Republican Senate filibuster. That bill-killing procedure requires a virtually impossible 60 votes to overcome, but erasing that danger with a Democrat in the White House means they could score an immigration triumph by themselves after years of Republican blockades.

This is the chance to finally get it done, said Kerri Talbot, deputy director of the Immigration Hub, a pro-immigration strategy group.

Yet Democrats prospects, while tantalizing, remain murky because of two major hurdles.

Democrats in the narrowly divided Congress will need virtual unanimity to approve the sweeping legislation, which could include Biden's proposed tax boosts on the wealthy and other proposals likely to cause political heartburn. On immigration alone, the party will need solid support from vulnerable swing-district Democrats and moderates, whom Republicans are certain to accuse of favoring amnesty and open borders in next years elections for congressional control.

Immigration advocates point to polls showing public support for opening the citizenship doorway and studies showing immigration spurs economic growth.

But Republicans and conservative groups sense a favorable political environment for themselves. They cite large numbers of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border recently and growing public concern with crime, which the GOP often links to immigration.

It would be a harder fight for our side if the administration were actually controlling the border, said Rosemary Jenks, government relations director for NumbersUSA, which favors limiting immigration. It doesnt seem like a great way to go into the midterms for Democrats.

Yet perhaps Democrats biggest hurdle is the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, who determines whether legislative language follows the chambers rules. MacDonough, 55, is a respected impartial arbiter, but Democrats havent forgotten that she ruled against including another coveted progressive priority, a minimum wage increase, in their COVID-19 relief package months ago, essentially dooming the provision.

In a crucial first step in this process, Congress must approve a budget resolution. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has been trying to win Democratic support for one he hopes to unveil soon.

The budget will be pivotal in two ways. First, it will contain language preventing Republicans from filibustering the subsequent bill funding Bidens priorities. By law, the budget resolution itself cannot be filibustered.

Second, the budget will set overall spending and revenue limits for that forthcoming spending bill, expected to be several trillion dollars. It will also assign congressional committees specific amounts to spend or raise in revenue as they write language bolstering climate, family support and other priorities.

In an early budget draft, Sanders proposed creating multiyear pathways to legal permanent residency, and potentially citizenship, for four groups of immigrants without legal status. These are people brought illegally to the U.S. as children, called Dreamers; others who fled violence or disasters in certain countries; essential workers and farmworkers.

Sanders said in a brief interview late Monday that his budget will include the immigration language if I have anything to say about it.

Because some immigrants fit into multiple groups, it's hard to say exactly how many people Sanders proposal would help. The liberal Center for American Progress estimates it would affect 6 million people  barely over half the 11 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally whom Biden wants to assist, but still huge.

In the whole scheme of immigration reform, it does not go far enough, Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said of Sanders' plan. "But we are strategically tailoring the groups that would most likely fit into a budgetary framework so it would survive the parliamentarian perusal.

Under Senate rules, provisions in a bill immune from filibusters must affect spending or revenue in a way that isn't merely incidental to that provision's overall policy. That call will be up to MacDonough, the parliamentarian, to make.

Democrats are pinning their hopes on a 2005 ruling by an earlier Senate parliamentarian that gave the green light to a narrower immigration proposal, though that provision never cleared Congress.

Sanders' early budget proposal also called for $126 billion for processing immigrants for legal status, and $24 billion to strengthen border security.

Border security money is especially critical for Democrats facing close 2022 reelections so they can argue they're being tough, not just swinging doors open to immigrants. This could be important for moderates like Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and House lawmakers from closely divided or border-area districts.

Also being watched closely, though not facing imminent reelection, are Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, one of Congress' most conservative Democrats, and hard-to-predict centrist Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz.

Sanders' security proposal shows one of the most progressive members of the Senate is saying, Weve got to pay attention to border security, said Ali Noorani, president of the National Immigration Forum, which supports immigration. It shows hes taking the politics of this seriously.

Immigration advocates are already applying pressure.

Rep. Jesus Chuy Garcia, D-Ill., told The Hill publication hed oppose the sweeping spending bill unless it has a citizenship pathway. We Are Home, a coalition of pro-immigration groups, and other organizations have announced a $50 million campaign to prod lawmakers to back the push.

People are fed up with empty promises, said Lorella Praeli, co-president of the progressive group Community Change Action and a We Are Home leader. Focus on the people who elected you.

Democrats have no votes to spare in the 50-50 Senate, and this autumn will be able to lose no more than three House votes.

The House approved two bills in March creating pathways to citizenship for many Dreamers, refugees from troubled countries and agricultural workers. While bipartisan talks have continued, the measures have gone nowhere in the Senate, largely due to GOP opposition.

If we use every tool and every ounce of our power, then we can legalize millions this year, said Frank Sharry, executive director of the pro-immigrant group America's Voice.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP)  Coronavirus infections in the Netherlands skyrocketed by more than 500% over the last week, the country's public health institute reported Tuesday. The surge follows the scrapping of almost all remaining lockdown restrictions and the reopening of night clubs in late June.

The weekly update showing that nearly 52,000 people in the Netherlands tested positive for COVID-19 over the past week came a day after caretaker Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte apologized for the June 26 lockdown relaxation and called it an error of judgment.

Rutte backtracked Friday and reintroduced some restrictions in an attempt to rein in the soaring infection rate. Bars again have to close at midnight, while discotheques and clubs were shuttered again until at least Aug. 13.

The Netherlands, along with other European nations, is facing a rise in infections fueled by the more contagious delta variant just as governments hoped to greatly ease or eliminate remaining pandemic restrictions during the summer holiday season.

With infections rising around France, President Emmanuel Macron on Monday cranked up pressure on people to get vaccinated and said special COVID passes would be required to go into restaurants and shopping malls starting next month.

The Dutch public health institute said that of the infections that could be traced to their source, 37% happened in a hospitality venue such as a bar or club. Infections among people ages 18-24 surged by 262%, followed by a 191% rise in 25-29 year-olds.

Despite the alarming rise in confirmed cases, hospital admissions increased by a modest 11%, or 60 COVID-19 patients, over the week, the institute said. Twelve of the admissions were to intensive care units.

More than 46% of the Netherlands adult population is fully vaccinated, and more than 77% of the country's adults have had at least one shot. Health authorities said more than 1.3 million people would receive their first or second doses this week.

Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said Monday that the late June loosening of restrictions combined with a lack of social distancing and the delta variant has had, of course, an accelerating effect. You can unfortunately see that with hindsight.

Other countries in Europe are scrambling to accelerate coronavirus vaccinations in the hope of outpacing the spread of the more infectious delta variant.

___

Follow all AP stories on the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
MOSCOW (AP)  A top European human rights court issued a ruling Tuesday urging Russia to recognize same-sex unions, but the Kremlin was quick to respond that same-sex marriage was not allowed in Russia in accordance with constitutional amendments adopted last year.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled in a case that three Russian same-sex couples filed after Russian officials rejected their attempts to get married. The court found that Russia violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which outlines a right to respect for private and family life.

Russia had an obligation to ensure respect for the applicants private and family life by providing a legal framework allowing them to have their relationships acknowledged, the court stated.

The court rejected the Russian government's argument about widespread public disapproval of same-sex unions. saying that access to rights for a minority could not be dependent on the acceptance of the majority.

Commenting on the ruling Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said same-sex marriages in Russia were according to our constitution, not allowed.

Amendments to the Russian Constitution that were adopted last year emphasized the primacy of Russian law over international norms and stipulated that the institution of marriage is a union between a man and a woman," thereby explicitly outlawing same-sex marriages. The amendments also allowed President Vladimir Putin to stay in power for two more six-year terms after 2024.

In Tuesday's ruling, however, the European Court of Human Rights said that Russia could give same-sex couples access to formal acknowledgment of their couples status in a form other than marriage" which would not conflict with the traditional understanding on marriage that prevails in Russia.

Natalia Zviagina, director of Amnesty Internationals office in Moscow, said the court's landmark decision underlines that the Russian government is on the wrong side of history, supporting and enabling homophobia, and depriving LGBTI people of their basic human rights."
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  Republican candidate for governor Kevin Faulconer says he'd declare a state of emergency over California wildfires on his first day in office as he works to put the state on war footing" to prevent worsening blazes.

Faulconer released his one-page wildfire plan Tuesday amid days of scorching temperatures and fires across the U.S. West.

What I really want to do is put us on a war footing when it comes to preventing wildfires, and that's what this plan is all about," Faulconer said in a Monday interview with The Associated Press.

The former mayor of San Diego is running in the Sept. 14 recall election of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. Faulconer has steadily rolled out policy proposals and tried to craft himself as the serious-minded Republican with the governing track record California needs.

His Republican rivals include state Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner and businessman John Cox, who lost to Newsom in 2018. On Monday, conservative talk radio host Larry Elder entered the race.

As drought grips California and the rest of the West, wildfires are top of mind. Newsom made fire prevention a key focus of his first year in office, spending his first full day on the job calling for a greater focus on clearing brush and dead trees in high-risk areas.

But he's recently faced criticism for his approach after a Capital Public Radio investigation found his administration cleared just a fraction of the acres he had touted. This year's state budget sets aside $1.5 billion over two years to address fires.

Faulconer's brief plan is light on details but highlights four areas of focus: spending $1 billion annually on wildfire prevention, declaring a state of emergency to streamline environmental rules around clearing dead vegetation, creating a new state department, and providing tax credits for homeowners who make their properties more fire resistant.

The $1 billion would be an ongoing secure source of funding year after year that demonstrates how important this truly is because this is about saving the lives," he said.

Newsom declared a state of emergency in 2019 that eliminated some environmental rules and other regulations for 35 fuel-clearing projects. Beyond those projects, the state is combining various regulatory permits for fuel reduction projects, Newsom's office said.

Faulconer said his state of emergency would make it easier to complete all projects by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection as well as local projects.

State law already requires people who live in certain high-risk areas to create at least 100 feet (30 meters) of defensible space" around their homes to protect against flying embers and encroaching blazes. Homeowners who refuse to do so can be fined, though the law is enforced unevenly.

Faulconer said he would encourage people to clear their property by offering a tax credit of up to $10,000.

Faulconer also wants to create the California Department of Wildfire Prevention, which would take fire prevention duties away from Cal Fire and other agencies and put them all in one place. He said he wants to keep Cal Fire focused on fighting blazes, while the new state department would work on preventing them.

His plan didn't touch on regulating utilities, whose equipment has sparked some of the state's deadliest and most destructive wildfires, or climate change, which experts say is making fires more intense.

Faulconer said climate change plays a role" but that the state needs to immediately focus on clearing more fuel and brush.

California voters will be asked two questions in the recall: Should Newsom be removed from office, and who should replace him? Votes on the second question will only be counted if more than 50% of people say yes on the first.
PARIS (AP)  France on Tuesday urged all its citizens to leave Afghanistan immediately given growing security risks, and is arranging a special weekend evacuation flight.

The French Embassy in Kabul published a message urging the entire French community in Afghanistan to leave, citing the evolution of the security situation in the country and the short-term prospects for Afghanistan. It didn't elaborate.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP)  A Republican lawmaker questioned Tuesday whether Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's administration made unemployment fraud worse by not conducting adequate background checks on hundreds of people hired to help with a surge of claims during the pandemic.

Sen. Caryn Tyson, of Parker, raised the issue as the state prepared to launch a new investigation of unemployment fraud. Tyson serves on a new council created by the GOP-controlled Legislature to oversee a modernization of the Kansas Department of Labor's aged computer system and to audit fraud and its effects.

Kansas and other states saw a flood of fraudulent claims when the federal government expanded benefits in response to economic problems tied to COVID-19 and efforts to check its spread. The state Department of Labor estimated that fraudulent claims last year totaled $290 million, but a report by the Legislature's auditing arm estimated $600 million.

The council on Tuesday discussed the scope of its audit so the state can take bids from private firms for the work, with a preliminary report due May 1, 2022. The final report is expected by September next year. The council expects to set the audit's scope next week, but Tyson said auditors should examine possible holes or flaws in the human side" of computer security, particularly given the big expansion of the department's workforce.

Did they have policies and practices when hiring? she said. We brought on so many people for that call center so quickly. What kinds of checks were in place?

Tyson's comments and the council's discussion came hours before Kelly issued an executive order forming a Cybersecurity Task Force to develop better security for state and local governments.

Deputy Labor Secretary Peter Brady said his department would benefit from an examination of possible issues in the unemployment system. But he also said the federal government requires background checks of anyone who has access to sensitive data, general tax information and Social Security data.

The department has said it had 20 people answering calls about unemployment when the pandemic reached Kansas in March 2020 and by February 2021 it had 450 people assisting jobless workers.

Several lawmakers on the council worried that Tyson's suggestions could balloon the cost of the audit.

And Rep. Stephanie Clayton, an Overland Park Democrat and another council member, said the Department of Labor expanded staffing quickly because legislators complained that people were having trouble getting benefits.

Hello? We, the legislators, we asked for that," Clayton said in an interview. We clamored and said, You need to do this right away.

___

Follow John Hanna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apjdhanna
Exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, doctor burnout continues to increase globally, prompting a call from the world's four leading cardiovascular organizations for better efforts to support cardiologists' mental health.

The joint statement cited recent survey data finding more than one-fourth of U.S. cardiologists and fellows-in-training were feeling burned out and nearly half reported feeling stressed. The problem was even more pronounced in women than men.

The statement was issued Tuesday by the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, European Society of Cardiology and World Heart Federation. It was published simultaneously in each organization's flagship journal, including the AHA's journal Circulation.

"Over the last several decades, there have been significant changes in health care with the expansion of technology, regulatory burden and clerical task loads. These developments have come at a cost to the well-being and work-life integration of clinicians," Dr. Athena Poppas, immediate past president of ACC and co-author of the joint opinion, said in a news release.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has caused additional strain on clinicians through increased patient mortality, personal and family safety concerns, fear of the unknown and increased work demands," she said.

The report describes clinician well-being as feeling satisfied and engaged with work, having a feeling of professional fulfillment and a sense of meaning. Burnout occurs when doctors feel emotionally exhausted and have a low sense of personal accomplishment in a stressful work environment. It may be accompanied by anxiety and depression. Drivers of burnout include not having enough control over workload, a hectic work environment, misaligned values and not enough time to do paperwork.

Women, who are underrepresented in cardiology, may have added stressors such as not getting deserved promotions, being paid less and not getting as much mentoring as men in the same positions.

"These stressors compound over time, and collectively, they diminish our abilities to provide high-quality patient care and to strengthen and diversify our workforce. In addition, stigma related to mental health care must be eradicated," Dr. Mitchell Elkind, immediate past president of the AHA, said in the release.

"As clinicians, we continuously strive for the improved health of our patients and at the same time recognize our own welfare is paramount to them receiving optimal care," the report's lead author, Dr. Laxmi Mehta, said in the release. Mehta is section director of preventive cardiology and women's cardiovascular health, and vice chair of wellness in the department of internal medicine at The Ohio State University Wexler Medical Center.

On the job, clinical burnout can lead to more medical errors, lower-quality care, decreased patient satisfaction and loss of professionalism. Among doctors, it also may contribute to higher rates of alcohol abuse, substance use, dysfunctional relationships, depression and suicide.

The joint statement urges health care organizations and medical specialty societies to provide doctors and other health care workers with greater access to mental health resources, to reduce the stigma of using those resources and to create a confidential means of reporting mistreatment. It also encourages creating more diverse and inclusive work environments so all employees feel valued.

"Our organizations are joined together in this report to ensure that we create a strong and supportive clinician environment  for our personal well-being and for our families, loved ones and patients," Elkind said. "Well-being is essential to achieving personal fulfilment and satisfaction in our work."

If you have questions or comments about this story, please email editor@heart.org.

Copyright is owned or held by the American Heart Association, Inc., and all rights are reserved. Permission is granted, at no cost and without need for further request, for individuals, media outlets, and non-commercial education and awareness efforts to link to, quote, excerpt or reprint from these stories in any medium as long as no text is altered and proper attribution is made to American Heart Association News.

Other uses, including educational products or services sold for profit, must comply with the American Heart Associations Copyright Permission Guidelines. See full terms of use. These stories may not be used to promote or endorse a commercial product or service.

HEALTH CARE DISCLAIMER: This site and its services do not constitute the practice of medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always talk to your health care provider for diagnosis and treatment, including your specific medical needs. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem or condition, please contact a qualified health care professional immediately. If you are in the United States and experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or call for emergency medical help immediately.
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP)  A Connecticut judge on Tuesday delayed a review of the $20 million bond set for a man accused of killing a Yale graduate student, citing a state Supreme Court order to another judge to explain why the bail is so high.

A bail hearing for Qinxuan Pan was scheduled for Tuesday in New Haven Superior Court, but Judge Gerald Harmon pushed it back to July 28. At the request of Pan's lawyer, the Supreme Court on June 29 ordered Judge Brian Fischer to explain by this Thursday why he set bail at $20 million.

Pan, who was a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MIT graduate, is charged with murder in the shooting death of Kevin Jiang on a New Haven street on Feb. 6.

Pan's lawyer, William Gerace, has called the bail amount a record in the state that has the same effect as an order denying bail. He has said bail of about $1 million would be appropriate.

Prosecutors had asked for bail to be set at $50 million, saying Pan's family is wealthy and he is a flight risk. Pan eluded authorities for three months before being arrested in Alabama with $19,000 in cash, his father's passport and several cellphones, police said.

Jiang, 26, an Army veteran who grew up in Chicago and was engaged to be married, was a graduate student at Yale's School of the Environment. He was shot multiple times at close range shortly after leaving the apartment of his fiancee, Zion Perry.

Police have not disclosed a motive for the shooting.

Perry and Pan had met while they both attended MIT, but Perry told authorities they never had a romantic or sexual relationship, according to court documents. Perry said she and Pan were just friends, but she believed Pan was interested in her romantically, the documents say.
HONG KONG (AP)  Hong Kongs leader said Tuesday that remaining elected district councilors will still need to take an oath pledging allegiance to the city despite the resignation of dozens of their peers who are refusing to do so.

Some 170 district councilors, most of them supporters of the semiautonomous Chinese territorys beleaguered pro-democracy movement have resigned in the past week rather than take the oath, according to a tally by a local news site. The resignations follow media reports that councilors may have to repay their wages if they are later disqualified from office.

The government has not confirmed or denied those reports.

The requirement that the citys more than 400 district councilors take the oath was introduced this year. Previously, only lawmakers and government officials were required to take the oath and pledge allegiance to Hong Kong and the government.

The requirement is seen as part of a broader crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in the former British colony, which has seen an erosion of the freedoms it was promised it could maintain after being handed to Chinese control in 1997.

A national security law imposed by Beijing last year has led to the arrest of many of the citys prominent pro-democracy figures, including Joshua Wong and media tycoon Jimmy Lai. A majority of such activists are currently behind bars or have fled abroad.

Hong Kongs district councilors largely take care of municipal matters such as organizing construction projects and ensuring that public facilities are in order. Their election took on symbolic importance, however, after Hong Kong was rocked by pro-democracy protests for much of 2019.

In elections that year, many pro-democracy candidates unseated incumbent councilors seen as loyal to Beijing.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said at a regular news conference Tuesday that she is sure that given the security law, each district councilor will gauge their past behavior to check if they have crossed a line.

Individual incumbent district councilors of their own accord took some actions after seeing that there are certain legal requirements, that is, legal liabilities will have to be borne if they have violated certain rules and regulations, Lam said. They decided to resign. This is out of our control.

Lam said that despite the exodus of district councilors, authorities will press on with the oath-taking for the remaining councilors.

She also brushed off concerns about whether the resignation of the councilors would affect the operations of the District Council.

That factor is not to be considered by us, because we have to implement the law," she said. "Should there be any outcome, any consequences, we will deal with them.

Among the councilors to resign over the oath is Democratic Party chairman Lo Kin-hei, who has been a district councilor since 2012.

Lo said the District Council is the most democratic platform in the city because people can directly choose their own representatives.

"With the result of the 2019 election, it is clearly shown that Hong Kong people support the pro-democracy camp, Lo said.

He accused the government of seeking to disqualify councilors and then go after their finances in efforts that could bankrupt people.

That is a risk that people dont want to take," he said.
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP)  Israel refused to let a prominent jailed Palestinian lawmaker attend her daughter's funeral on Tuesday, despite a campaign by activists and human rights groups for her to be released on humanitarian grounds.

Khalida Jarrar, 58, a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, has been in and out of Israeli prison in recent years. A military court sentenced her to two years in March for being a member of an outlawed group. With time served, she is set to be released in October.

The PFLP has an armed wing and is considered a terrorist group by Israel and Western countries, but Jarrar has not been implicated in attacks. The Israeli military acknowledged in March that she "did not deal with organizational or military aspects of the organization.

Jarrar was sentenced to 15 months in 2015 on charges of incitement and membership in the PFLP. She has also been held for months at a time in what's known as administrative detention, under which Israel detains Palestinian suspects for lengthy periods without charge.

Her 30-year-old daughter Suha, who worked on issues related to gender and climate change for the Al-Haq human rights group, was found dead on Sunday in her home in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, the group said. It did not give a cause of death.

Al-Haq launched a campaign calling for Jarrar's immediate and unconditional release on humanitarian grounds, and said it had appealed to other countries as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Entreaties poured in from other activists and rights groups in an online campaign under the hashtag #freekhalidajarrar. An online petition drew more than 11,500 signatures.

Natan Dublin, a spokesman for Israel's public security minister, said the request could not be approved by the prison service because Jarrar is considered a security prisoner. The daughter's funeral was held without her.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch said Jarrar's repeated arrests are part of Israel's wider crackdown on non-violent political opposition to its half-century military occupation of lands the Palestinians want for a future state.

Detaining Khalida over her political activism violates her freedom of association, said Omar Shakir, the group's director for Israel and the Palestinian territories. Having repeatedly detained Khalida in violation of her rights, Israeli authorities should at minimum allow her to say goodbye to her daughter.
TEL AVIV - Israel's Ministry of Health on Monday began offering a third dose of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to severely immunocompromised adults in what health experts say could be the first phase of an experiment to provide coronavirus booster shots for older people and the most vulnerable.

The recommendation, published Sunday by the ministry, said the goal of the new program was to raise antibody levels among immunocompromised citizens, including cancer patients, recipients of liver transplants, and others who have recently exhibited weakened vaccine protection, according to data. It said that it had still not made a decision on administering third shots for the general adult population.

Globally, the push to introduce booster shots has prompted pushback from the World Health Organization (WHO) and rights groups, who say the focus should remain on getting first doses to the world's most vulnerable.

The decision to offer some people third doses comes as Israel, which was among the fastest countries to vaccinate in the winter and then among the first to begin reopening in the spring, is experiencing a surge in new cases, spurred by the prevalence of the highly transmissible delta variant, first identified in India. Over the past month, infection rates in Israel have spiked from single digits to more than 400 a day.

And on the same day, Pfizer officials met with top U.S. federal health officials to make their case for administering some Americans - particularly the elderly and the immunocompromised - a third dose six to 12 months after receiving the companies' two-shot regimen.

That meeting came after the Department of Health and Human Services publicly rebuked Pfizer when it and the German company BioNTech announced last week they planned to seek an emergency use authorization for its booster shot. HHS said that fully vaccinated Americans do not need a booster for now.

During the meeting on Monday, Pfizer officials provided U.S. health officials a similar briefing to one they gave the Europeans this month. The White House meeting was largely focused on the science and data Pfizer presented. The company cited data from Israel showing a rise in infections among the vaccinated population, as well as interim data from the company's trial of its booster shot showing a third dose stimulates a much stronger antibody response that is five to 10 times the level seen after the second dose of its vaccine.

There were no decisions made about how to proceed, and officials acknowledged there is still a significant amount of data that has yet to be evaluated, according to a person with knowledge of the meeting.

It remained unclear on Monday where U.S. officials stood on the need for a third shot for vulnerable Americans. While several senior officials believe it will be appropriate to recommend boosters for the elderly and immunocompromised, Pfizer still must receive emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for its third dose and a CDC advisory panel must decide whether and to whom to recommend boosters. That process could take several weeks or months.

Pfizer officials and some U.S. health officials are worried that if the U.S. government takes too long to make a decision on whether to begin administering another dose of the vaccine, the delta variant will cause another surge of the virus this fall among the unvaccinated and could infect the vulnerable who are vaccinated.

An HHS spokesperson who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share information on an internal meeting said health officials are briefed routinely by manufacturers and others on the latest data on coronavirus vaccines. The spokesperson also reiterated that, "at this time, fully vaccinated Americans do not need a booster shot," but added that the administration is prepared for booster doses "if and when the science demonstrates that they are needed."

But the discussion of booster shots has also raised concerns about the impact it could have on vaccine hesitancy, as well as questions about the ethics of providing fully vaccinated residents of wealthy countries a third shot when the majority of the world has yet to receive a single dose.

The director general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a statement Monday admonished vaccine manufacturers for seeking to push booster doses to wealthy countries when many places still do not have access to doses.

"The global gap in vaccine supply is hugely uneven and inequitable," he said at a news briefing.

In recent months, as a small number of relatively wealthy countries have pressed ahead with vaccination campaigns, the U.N. health agency, public health experts and advocates have warned of a widening global vaccine gap and urged governments to do more to share doses and increase supply.

They argue that unequal distribution of doses is not only unethical but also could extend the pandemic by prolonging shutdowns and giving the virus room to spread and mutate in unvaccinated populations.

"We will look back in anger, and we will look back in shame if countries use precious doses on booster shots, at a time when vulnerable people are still dying without vaccines elsewhere," Mike Ryan, head of the WHO's emergency program, said Monday.

But Pfizer officials have pointed to worrisome data in Israel as a case study. Just weeks after lifting most covid restrictions, the government has reinstated the mask mandate for indoor spaces and public transportation. It is expected to introduce stricter quarantines for travelers returning from abroad and rapid testing stations for students, and to revive the recently retired "green pass" system granting vaccinated people broader access to such public events as concerts and movie showings.

Pfizer and its partner BioNTech last year sold Israel millions of doses, which were delivered on cargo planes that were greeted with fanfare by then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ben Gurion Airport. Pfizer views Israel - with its small size, heterogenous population and meticulously digitized national health care system, which serves as the basis for a data-sharing agreement signed by the Israeli government and the pharmaceutical giant - as a test case for vaccine rollouts in the rest of the world.

Recent studies show that the Pfizer vaccine remains effective against the delta variant in preventing hospitalizations and serious illness, though it also has shown declining effectiveness at preventing milder cases. The company expects to publish data from the current study on booster shots provided to at-risk adults in Israel. It said Thursday that it will ask U.S. and European regulators within weeks to authorize booster shots.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced that he has coordinated a fast-tracked delivery of the next batch of Pfizer doses to arrive Aug. 1, to allow the country to replenish its dwindling supplies and continue its campaign to inoculate 12-to-15-year-olds.
TOKYO (AP)  Japan believes rising tension surrounding Taiwan requires its attention with a sense of crisis as China intensifies military activities in the area and the United States steps up support for the self-governing island.

Japan's concerns about Taiwan, Beijings growing rivalry with the United States and Chinas increasingly assertive military actions in the region were added to an annual Defense Ministry paper that was adopted Tuesday by Prime Minister Yoshihide Sugas Cabinet.

Stabilizing the Taiwan situation is important for Japans national security and stability of the international community, the paper said. We need to pay close attention with a sense of crisis more than ever before.

As China flexes its muscle in the Taiwan Strait and the Asia-Pacific region, Taiwan has become a regional flashpoint, as Japan, the United States and other democracies develop closer ties with the self-ruled island that Beijing regards as a renegade territory to be united by force if necessary.

As China rapidly enhances its military power, changes in the military power balance between the United states and China may possibly affect the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region, the report said. It is necessary to pay greater attention to the military trends of the two countries in areas such as the South China Sea and Taiwan.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian called the report extremely erroneous and irresponsible."

We will never allow any country to interfere with the Taiwan issue in any way. China must and will surely be reunified, and it is in the best interest of regional peace and stability for China to achieve complete reunification," Zhao said at a daily briefing.

Taiwan was a Japanese colony for 50 years until 1945 and connections between the two remain strong.

China has expanded its military capability over the past 20 years, with its defense spending at least 16 times that of Taiwan, with the gap increasing each year, the paper said. Chinas military budget of $181.6 billion is four times that of Japan, it said.

China has also increased Taiwans diplomatic isolation, leaving it with just over a dozen formal diplomatic allies. Taiwan still operates a network of trade offices that act as de facto embassies, including in the United States, Japan and most other major nations.

Japan is increasingly worried about Taiwans security implications amid rising tension between Beijing and Washington. The United States, Japan's most important ally, has increased its military support for Taiwan, including dispatching warships to the Taiwan Strait and arms sales.

Chinas increased military capability and the lack of clarity to its defense spending have become a matter of grave concern to the region including Japan and the international community, the paper said.

It also criticized China over its relentless attempts to unilaterally change the status quo of disputed Japanese-controlled East China Sea islands called Senkaku, which China also claims and calls Diaoyu, calling it a violation of international law.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said Chinese vessels have remained just outside Japanese territorial waters around Senkaku for 150 straight days as of Monday, describing it as an extremely grave situation.

China also claims almost all of the South China Sea, has built military bases on artificial islands in the disputed area and routinely objects to any action by the U.S. military in the region. The United States has no claims itself to the waters but has deployed warships and aircraft for decades to patrol and promote freedom of navigation and overflight in the busy waterway.
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP)  The staff at a Georgia restaurant got a surprise to-go order from a VIP customer when first lady Jill Biden unexpectedly walked through the door.

Biden visited Savannah last Thursday to promote vaccinations against the COVID-19. Before she left, the first lady stopped by Green Truck Neighborhood Pub, a farm-to-table burger joint popular with locals but well outside the tourist traffic of Savannahs downtown historic district.
A federal judge agreed on Tuesday to free an Iowa man from jail more than six months after his videotaped confrontation of a police officer inside the U.S. Capitol became one of the most menacing images of the Jan. 6 riots.

Douglas Jensen, 41, was wearing a T-shirt bearing the letter Q, a symbol of the QAnon conspiracy theory, when he joined the mob that approached Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman inside the building and followed the officer up two flights of stairs.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly said deciding whether to free Jensen from jail pending trial was a "close case," but he ultimately agreed to release the Des Moines resident on house arrest with electronic location monitoring. The judge also barred him from accessing the internet on any electronic devices.

The judge said Jensen's actions during his confrontation of Goodman were deeply concerning and quite serious. But he noted that Jensen is not accused of toppling any barricades, damaging any property or fighting with anybody at the Capitol.

That said, he clearly disobeyed Officer Goodman and other officers, and he did position himself near the front of a mob as he ran up the stairs toward Officer Goodman," the judge said. That may be some leadership, but only in the narrowest sense."

Kelly noted that a video captured Jensen referring to the Capitol building as the White House. The judge said he didnt believe that Jensen could have coordinated with others or planned an attack in advance when he had no basic understanding of where he even was that day."

Prosecutors said Jensen is a self-proclaimed digital soldier and religious adherent of QAnon, the conspiracy theory that has centered on the baseless belief that former President Donald Trump was secretly waging a campaign against a Satan-worshipping, child sex trafficking cabal of "deep state" enemies, Hollywood elites and Democratic foes.

Jensen traveled to Washington because he was all about a revolution and succeeded in his mission to become the poster boy for the events at the Capitol that day, prosecutors wrote in court papers. They argued that he poses a danger to the public and must remain jailed.

Defense attorney Christopher Davis said his client went to the Capitol to observe what QAnon promoters have prophesized as The Storm," the day when Trump's enemies would be rounded up and executed.

He was in front of everyone for the now disclosed silly reason to get Q recognized for The Storm that was about to take place, Davis wrote in a court filing.

Jensen's lawyer said his client became a victim of numerous conspiracy theories that were being fed to him over the internet by a number of very clever people, who were uniquely equipped with slight, if any, moral or social consciousness.

Six months later, languishing in a DC Jail cell, locked down most of the time, he feels deceived, recognizing that he bought into a pack of lies, Davis wrote.

Jensen faces charges including civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding a law enforcement officer.

Davis said he tried to book a plane ticket for Jensen but wasnt able to, leading him to believe that his client is on a no-fly list.

Few of the more than 500 people charged in the Capitol riot remain locked up while they fight the charges.

An appeals court ruling in March that led to the release of a mother and son charged in the riot set standards for how judges should weigh whether to keep Jan. 6 defendants locked up awaiting trial.

The appeals court found that the judge who ordered Eric Munchel and his mother Lisa Eisenhart detained failed to show how they could be a threat to the community, noting that they didnt assault anyone or destroy anything on Jan. 6.

Judges have since cited that ruling in several decisions releasing defendants.

But the appeals court also said last week that people could still be found to be a danger to the public and kept in jail even if they didnt commit violence on Jan. 6.

That came in an opinion upholding the pretrial detention of an Army reservist whose co-workers told authorities was a known Nazi sympathizer who wore a Hitler mustache. The judge who ordered Timothy Hale-Cusanelli locked up pointed to his violent rhetoric and found him to be a threat to a government informant.

____

Kunzelman reported from College Park, Maryland. Associated Press reporter Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report from Boston.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  California Gov. Gavin Newsom cant put his Democratic Party affiliation on the ballot voters see when they decide whether to remove him, a judge ruled Monday.

Newsoms campaign missed a deadline to submit his affiliation to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber for the Sept. 14 recall election. Newsoms campaign said it was inadvertent and asked Weber, who was appointed by Newsom, to allow the affiliation to appear.

She said the issue needed to go to a judge, so Newsom filed a lawsuit. Newsoms Republican opponents criticized the move as an attempt to change rules everyone else must follow.

Newsoms elections attorney, Thomas Willis, and an attorney for Weber both argued during an hourlong hearing Friday that Newsom merely missed an arbitrary, harmless filing deadline and that it is in the voters interest to know his party preference.

Adding that information now wouldnt cause a procedural problem because elections officials still have enough time to ensure Newsoms party preference appears on the ballot along with those seeking to replace him, Weber said in a court filing.

At base this comes down to whether the governor of California has to follow the unambiguous law  and it just so happens, a law that he signed, countered attorney Eric Early, representing recall supporters including lead proponents Orrin Heatlie and Mike Netter and the California Patriot Coalition.

Sacramento County Superior Court Judge James Arguelles said his decision Monday came down to whether there are reasons to look beyond the Newsom-approved law that required the governor to submit his party affiliation to the states top election official by February 2020.

He determined that the law unambiguously precludes party information from appearing on a recall ballot where the elected officer fails timely to make the designation.

It's unclear if the lack of a party designation will have any practical impact. Newsom is well known, having held statewide office for a decade first as lieutenant governor and now as governor, and previously was San Francisco's mayor for six years.

The arcane legal debate took on a celebrity sheen when one of Newsoms Republican challengers, reality TV personality and former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner, went to Sacramento and held the first news conference of her campaign to announce she was intervening in the lawsuit.

She tweeted after the ruling that she is thrilled that the rule of law prevailed and that her joining the lawsuit was the first step of finally breaking down politics-as-usual in Sacramento where special interests and political cronies are placed above the good of the people.

Early hailed Arguelles ruling, saying: He followed the law, and thats all we can ask for. No one is above the law, and this ruling makes clear that includes Gavin Newsom.

Newsom campaign spokesman Nathan Click did not respond directly to the ruling, saying in a text that Newsom will defeat the recall, which he termed a Republican power grab."

Previous recall targets werent allowed to list their political party, but Democrats who control the state Legislature changed that in 2019 after a state senator from their party was recalled. They argued it gives voters important information.

Last month, Newsom signed a law that again changes the recall rules, this time to speed up the election. Democrats believe the state's reopened economy and low coronavirus case numbers put Newsom in a better position than when the recall gained momentum during the pandemic's darkest days last winter.

The recall was fueled by frustration over Newsom's coronavirus shutdown orders and anger after it was learned the governor attended a party with lobbyist friends at a posh restaurant last fall when he was telling Californians to stay home.

The election is set for Sept. 14, though ballots will be mailed to voters earlier. The two-part ballot will first ask voters if they want to remove Newsom from office and, if so, who should replace him. The answers to the second question are only counted if more than 50% of people say yes to the first.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  The Minnesota judge who oversaw the trial of Derek Chauvin is denying prosecutors' request to rewrite his sentencing order as it relates to the four girls who saw George Floyds death, saying Tuesday that they may have been emotionally traumatized but that the state failed to prove it.

Attorney General Keith Ellison wrote last week that he wasn't seeking to change Chauvin's 22 1/2-year sentence, but he asked Judge Peter Cahill to modify his sentencing order to remove suggestions that the teens and young girl were not traumatized. He cited research showing children process trauma differently from adults, and that adults tend to discount the impact of trauma on Black girls.

Cahill denied that request Tuesday, saying Ellison's mischaracterization of his sentencing order and the tone and substance of Ellison's request necessitated a response. Cahill wrote that he never said the four girls were not traumatized, but instead said evidence at trial did not present any objective indicia of trauma.

It is certainly possible that the witnesses experienced some level of emotional trauma from this incident, but the State failed to prove it," Cahill wrote. He also said that while Ellison pointed to research that shows adults view Black girls as less innocent and less in need of protection, no evidence of that was presented prior to Chauvin's sentencing.

Be that as it may, it is the State that is injecting supposed racial presumptions in this case, not this Court, Cahill wrote. He said his sentencing order never mentions the race or ethnicity of the girls. He said the youngest, who was 9 years old at the time, and her then-17-year-old cousin are Black, but the other two teenagers, who are now 18, are white.

Whether adultification of Black girls is, as the State insists, common in American society, including in the criminal justice system, this Court emphatically rejects the implication that it played any part in the Courts sentencing decision," Cahill wrote.

He also said that while Ellison complains that the court did not hold a separate sentencing hearing, prosecutors had a right to request one but did not.

Ellison's office said Tuesday that it is reviewing the judge's order.

As part of his sentencing order, Cahill noted he had previously found aggravating factors that allowed him to sentence Chauvin to 10 years above the penalty presumed under state sentencing guidelines. He wrote that two of those factors justified a higher sentence: Chauvins abuse of his position of trust or authority as an officer, and his particularly cruel treatment of Floyd.

Cahill also found the presence of children at the scene was an aggravating factor, but didnt justify a longer sentence. He agreed with the defense that the girls were free to leave at any time, and said the prosecutions evidence didnt establish that they had been traumatized. He noted that two were seen smiling and laughing as officers kept Floyd pinned down.

But Ellison wrote that Darnella Frazier, who shot a widely seen social media video of Floyds restraint, broke down crying on the stand while Alyssa Funari testified she had been unable to return to the scene since.

This evidence supports a commonsense conclusion: After they witnessed a brutal, minuteslong murder committed by police officers, the children suffered trauma, Ellison wrote last week.

Cahill said the court is constrained in ways the media, the pundit class, and prosecutors are not. He wrote that he can't act on personal opinion, assumptions or presumptions, but has a duty to apply the law to the evidence and facts in the case and impose a sentence that is rational and just, helps to promote public safety and is proportional to the severity of the offense.

He said that during sentencing, he explicitly said Chauvin's sentence was not intended to send a message." He added the presence of the four underage girls was not a substantial and compelling reason for a longer sentence.

___

Find APs full coverage of the death of George Floyd at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd
A coalition of abortion providers and advocates filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging a Texas law that would allow private citizens to sue anyone for helping a woman get an abortion.

In addition to asking the U.S. district court in Austin to overturn the law, the plaintiffs asked for an injunction that would stop it from taking effect in September.

The law would ban abortion in the nation's second-biggest state after six weeks of pregnancy, which is before many women even know they are pregnant, and ask private citizens to enforce the ban by suing doctors or anyone who helps a woman get an abortion. Among other situations, that would include anyone who drives a woman to a clinic to get an abortion. Under the law, anyone who successfully sues another person would be entitled to at least $10,000.

The plaintiffs include clergy, physicians and clinics. They are represented by Planned Parenthood and the Center for Reproductive Rights, among others, who say the law could saddle abortion providers with lawsuits that consume their time and resources and ultimately force them to shut down.

Texas has put a bounty on the head of anyone who so much as gives a patient money for an abortion after six weeks, Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement.

Opponents of the law also say its enforcement scheme makes it particularly difficult to challenge in court. In other states, six-week abortion bans are enforced by government officials, allowing plaintiffs to sue state officials responsible for enforcing the law.

Defendants in the lawsuit include every state court trial judge and county clerk in Texas, the Texas Medical Board, the Texas Board of Nursing, the Texas Board of Pharmacy, the state attorney general, and the director of Right to Life East Texas, Mark Lee Dickson, who has already called for people to sue their local abortion providers under the law.

The only thing more ridiculous than this lawsuit is the fact that we have people, right here in Texas, who are fighting to end the lives of innocent unborn children, Dickson wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday. Right to Life East Texas did not immediately reply to a phone message seeking comment about the lawsuit.

The law signed by Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in May put Texas in line with more than a dozen other states that have laws that would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which is typically around the sixth week. But federal courts have mostly blocked states from enforcing such measures.

The Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision established a nationwide right to abortion at any point before a fetus can survive outside the womb, roughly 24 weeks. But the Supreme Court has agreed to consider allowing the enforcement of a Mississippi law that would ban abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, which could dramatically alter nearly 50 years of court precedent on abortion rights.

The case is about whether states can ban abortions before a fetus could viably survive outside the womb, and abortion rights activists worry that a ruling favorable to the state could lay the groundwork for allowing even more restrictions, including so-called fetal heartbeat bills.

___

Iris Samuels is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP)  Lithuanias parliament on Tuesday passed new legislation aimed at curbing an influx of migrants crossing its borders that it accused neighboring Belarus of orchestrating.

In an 84-1 vote with 58 abstentions, the 141-seat Seimas passed the amendments that include a fast-track procedure enabling the speedier deportation of migrants and slashing the processing time of asylum applications from as many as several months to 10 days.

The amendments, which also prevent the free movement of migrants and restrict their rights were strongly criticized by human rights groups.

Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said these migrants aren't fleeing either war plague or famine but are students in Belarus with long-term visas in completely safe conditions."

They are being sent on a compulsory basis as a weapon against us. We must repel the attack, Landsbergis said before leaving for Turkey and Iraq for talks on repatriation.

Interior minister Agne Bilotaite said much larger flows of migrants are very likely."

Our response in dealing with this crisis must be swift, dissuasive and united, she told parliament.

In a joint statement, non-governmental organizations expressed concern that the amendments would violate human rights, permit detentions for an undetermined period of time without a court ruling and restrict NGO access to detention centers.

Bilotaite said the amendments had been vetted by jurists while Laurynas Kasciunas, a lawmaker with the government coalition, said they would help dissuade migrants from crossing into Lithuania.

This is not a rose-strewn path, and you will have many obstacles, Kasciunas said addressing potential migrants.

Relations between Lithuania and Belarus are tense following the August 2020 elections in Belarus, which were won by long-time President Alexander Lukashenko but have been widely condemned by the West as rigged. The vote results triggered months of protests and a harsh crackdown on the opposition by Lukashenkos authoritarian regime.

Lithuania, which has granted refuge to Belarus opposition figures, has accused Belarusian authorities of organizing border crossings of people mainly from Iraq, other Middle Eastern nations, and Africa. The European Unions border agency has pledged to step up its support to Lithuania to help stem the tide of migrants.

Tensions between the EU and Belarus have escalated further after Belarus diverted a passenger jet on May 23 to arrest an opposition journalist.

Lukashenko has said his country will halt cooperation with the 27-nation bloc on stemming migration, in retaliation for bruising economic sanctions the EU slapped on Belarus over the passenger jet diversion.

Lithuania, a country of 2.8 million people has already set up tent camps to accommodate the migrants and has begun erecting a fence along its border with Belarus to deter them from entering.

More than 1.700 people have been detained at Lithuanias border with Belarus this year so far, more than a twenty-fold increase compared to all of 2020.

___

Follow all AP stories on global migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
BOSTON (AP)  A Massachusetts man who recieved child pornography via a messaging app has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, federal prosecutors said.

Garry Bienvenue, 59, of Attleboro, was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court after pleading guilty in March to receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office in Boston.
MEXICO CITY (AP)  A Mexican appeals court has overturned the acquittal of 1990s drug lord Hector El Guero Palma, prosecutors said Tuesday, a development that staved off an international embarrassment had he walked free.

A lower court ordered Palma freed in April. But prosecutors appealed, arguing the lower court improperly applied the double jeopardy rule. The appeals court threw out the acquittal, ruling the organized crime case against Palma was not equivalent to trying him twice for the same offense.

Palma was taken to Mexicos maximum security Altiplano prison after the ruling. In May, a judge had ordered Palma held for 40 more days in non-prison custody pending investigation, as a last-ditch measure to keep him from walking free.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Palmas release could affect Mexicos international reputation.

Almost eight years ago, another drug lord, Rafael Caro Quintero, walked out of a Mexican prison late at night with an improperly ordered his release from a 40-year sentence for the torture-murder of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique Kiki Camarena in 1985. He has since returned to drug trafficking and unleashed bloody turf battles in the northern Mexico border state of Sonora.

The issue is a sensitive one. Mexicos government is beginning to earn a reputation as one that, under Lopez Obrador, has released more drug lords than it has captured, part of the presidents stated policy of no longer detaining drug lords to avoid violence.

Lopez Obrador has acknowledged that he overrode the initial advice of his own advisers who suggested after Palma's acquittal that there was nothing more the government could do to keep him in custody.

When they told me (about the release order), the first thing I said is wait, look for some legal mechanism, Lopez Obrador said.

Look for it, the president said he added, because this is not just a matter of a judge or the judicial branch or the government, this is a matter of national interest. The Mexican government cannot be denigrated, weakened.

Known as El Guero, or Blondie, Palma was a founder and leader of the Sinaloa cartel, along with imprisoned drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman. He and Guzman drew unwanted attention in 1993 when a Roman Catholic cardinal was killed in a shootout between Sinaloa gunmen and the rival Arellano Felix gang at an airport in Guadalajara. The gunmen apparently mistook the cardinals luxury car for that of a rival.

Palma was arrested in Mexico in 1995, and served 12 years in Mexico on bribery and weapons charges before he was extradited to the United States in 2007, where he served nine years of a 16-year sentence for cocaine trafficking. He was sent back to Mexico, where he was held for trial on the charges that the lower court acquitted him on.
MEXICO CITY (AP)  The Mexican government said Monday that 68 human rights and environmental activists have been killed during the current administration, and 43 journalists have been murdered.

The issue came to a head in late May and early June, when in the space of a month, three activists were gunned down in separate incidents.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)  Missouri Gov. Mike Parson suggested Tuesday that some southwest Missouri health officials who are publicly discussing a marked increase in COVID-19 cases are trying to find someone to blame and want to scare people into getting vaccinated.

Health officials should try to encourage people to get vaccinated but should not resort to "trying to force people to take a vaccine or literally just scare them into taking a vaccine because we know that doesnt work, Parson said during a stop in Kansas City.

Springfield health officials have been warning their hospitals are being overrun by new cases fueled by the delta variant. Last week, the Mercy health system announced it would require employees at its more than 40 hospitals  including one in Springfield  to be vaccinated by late September.

"We just need to make sure that people are not scared thinking theyre doing something wrong going to a hospital. And I think the message youre seeing out of southwest Missouri is more people just trying to blame somebody for this virus. The virus itself is to blame, Parson said.

On Monday, Mercy in Springfield was treating 134 COVID-19 patients, while CoxHealth, Springfields other major hospital, had 125. Greene County, where Springfield is located, increased its 7-day rolling average of new daily cases from 79 to 165.

Springfield hospital officials have noted that people from across the region who are diagnosed with COVID-19 come to the city's hospitals for treatment. About 34.3% of Greene County residents had completed vaccinations as of Tuesday, and several surrounding counties had even lower numbers.

This surge in the spread of the virus has placed extreme strain on our health care system, Katie Towns, acting director of the Springfield-Greene County Health Department told the city council on Monday.

Spokeswoman for Cox and Mercy hospitals in Springfield did not immediately respond for request for comment about Parson's remarks.

The surge prompted Springfield officials to cancel the popular Birthplace of Route 66 Festival scheduled for late August, citing the increasing number of cases and hospitalizations, along with the region's low rate of vaccinations, The Kansas City Star reported.

Springfield Mayor Ken McClure told reporters Monday it would be impossible to enforce a new mask mandate or lockdown in Springfield. Instead, local political, public health and church leaders held a news conference to encourage vaccinations, the Springfield News-Leader reported.

Parson noted that 55% of Missourians have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, although that includes only people 18 and older. In total, 45.4% of the overall population has initiated vaccination and 39.8% has completed it.

The governor said counting children in the vaccination figures is what some of them will do to just give you lower numbers to make the situation sound worse than it really is.

___

This story was first published on July 13. It was updated on July 15 to make clear that as of Monday, Mercy Hospital in Springfield was treating 134 cases of COVID-19, not 130. The original story listed both figures.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP)  Lawyers arguing over the implementation of Medicaid expansion on Tuesday told Missouri Supreme Court judges that the voter-approved constitutional amendment should stand.

Judges are considering a circuit judge's decision last month to overturn the constitutional amendment to expand eligibility for the state's Medicaid program. Voters approved the amendment last year, but Republican Gov. Mike Parson refused to implement it after the GOP-led Legislature didn't provide any new funding.

Solicitor General John Sauer urged judges to let the amendment stand and interpret it as mandating eligibility expansion "but without requiring the Legislature to fund it, to preserve the Legislature's traditional authority over the budget.

Chuck Hatfield, a lawyer for three newly eligible women who sued Parson for not implementing Medicaid expansion, called Sauer's argument absurd.

What thats arguing to do is to overturn an election," Hatfield said. "And thats pretty serious business that I dont think this court is going to engage in.

One judge questioned the Supreme Court's authority to invalidate the amendment.

How is it that we can now look back at an election on an amendment that has passed and decide that it was invalid? Judge Brent Powell said.

Hatfield has said lawmakers only option to block Medicaid expansion is to defund the entire Medicaid program.

The Attorney General's Office in court documents urged Supreme Court judges to overturn a decision issued just last year that forced the state to pay Planned Parenthood as a way to justify lawmakers' ability to limit Medicaid funding to only some of those who are eligible.

In the 2020 decision, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that lawmakers overstepped their authority by using a budget bill to try to strip all government funding from Planned Parenthood. Judges said Missouri's Constitution prohibits lawmakers from using the budget to create policy.

Undoing that decision would clear the way for lawmakers to block Medicaid expansion without sacrificing the entire Medicaid program, the Attorney General's Office wrote in court filings.

Without that ruling, Amendment 2 merely creates an eligibility category for Medicaid, and leaves the Legislature with unfettered discretion to fund or not fund services for the newly eligible category, lawyers for the office wrote. This includes the authority to do what the Legislature did here appropriate funds for the pre-Expansion population, but not the Expansion population, while leaving the constitutional provision creating eligibility fully intact.

The Supreme Court did not indicate when judges might rule.
MADISON, Wis. (AP)  The Wisconsin Department of Justice has received more than 100 reports of abuse by clergy and faith leaders across the state since announcing a statewide investigation in April, the law enforcement agency said Tuesday.

The reports received by the agency to date include allegations of abuse and also relate to how churches and religious organizations responded to abuse, the justice department said.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP)  Former state Rep. Ernie Chambers is known for seeking the censure of Nebraska judges he believes have acted outside the bounds of fairness. Now, Chambers is targeting a judge in the states northeastern corner who saw the Nebraska Supreme Court overturn his denial of an adoption petition to a same-sex couple.

In a complaint filed last week with the Nebraska Judicial Qualifications Commission, Chambers accuses Dixon County Judge Douglas Luebe of violating state law requiring judges perform their duties fairly and impartially and without bias, the Omaha World-Herald reported.
TENAFLY, N.J. (AP)  A New Jersey elementary school teacher will resign and a principal will be reinstated following a school board investigation into an incident involving a student who wrote an essay in Adolf Hitler's point of view and later dressed as Hitler for an assignment.

On Monday at a school board meeting, the board voted to accept the teacher's resignation after the unnamed teacher was on leave of absence since May. The board also reinstated Principal Jennifer Ferrara to Maugham Elementary School, reported NorthJersey.com.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)  An attorney for a Portland police officer has entered a not guilty plea on the officers behalf to a fourth-degree assault charge involving his alleged actions during a protest last year.

Corey Budworth waived his appearance at arraignment Monday in Multnomah County Circuit Court, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.

A grand jury last month indicted Budworth on the misdemeanor charge, accusing him of striking a woman in the head with a baton. It was the first time a Portland police officer has faced prosecution over striking or firing at someone during a protest.

A team of 50 police officers who served on a specialized crowd-control unit in Oregon and had responded to Portlands ongoing, often violent protests against racial injustice and police brutality last year resigned en masse after Budworth's indictment.

The officers, detectives and sergeants on the Rapid Response Team voted to resign because of a perceived lack of support from City Hall and from the district attorney in the past year, according to the mayors office and officers.

Senior Multnomah County Circuit Judge Marilyn Litzenberger on Monday ordered that Budworth have no contact with Teri Jacobs, an independent photographer and the alleged victim.

The indictment accuses the officer of unlawfully, knowingly and recklessly causing physical injury to Jacobs on Aug. 18. Jacobs alleges Budworth bashed her in the face with his baton after he knocked her to the ground, according to court records.

A video shared on Twitter shows the officer running and hitting the back of a womans head with his baton after police had declared an unlawful assembly and ordered a crowd to disperse. That knocked the woman down and then he struck her in the head with the baton again while she was down, according to the video.

Budworths next court appearance, set to be by phone, is scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 20 to determine trial readiness.

Budworth joined the Police Bureau six years ago. He was placed on paid leave last month.

Jacobs filed a civil rights and battery suit against the city of Portland stemming from the police push and baton strike. The city this spring agreed to pay her $50,000, plus $11,000 in attorney fees, to settle the case, according to court records.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP)  A high-powered Afghan government delegation, which will include the head of the countrys reconciliation council, is to meet the Taliban in Doha to jump-start a long-stalled peace process, an Afghan official said Tuesday.

The Taliban were expected to bring their senior leaders to the table when the two sides meet, possibly on Friday, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters. The Taliban maintain a political office in the Qatari capital of Doha.

The renewed push to reach a peace deal comes as the U.S winds down its military presence in Afghanistan. Outgoing U.S. commander Gen. Scott Miller recently warned that increasing violence seriously hurts Afghanistan's chances of finding a peaceful end to decades of war.

At the same time, Taliban fighters have taken control of large swaths of the country. Although the exact number of districts now under Taliban control is not known, it is believed they now rule in more than a third of Afghanistan's 421 districts and district centers.

Several of the districts are strategic, bordering Iran, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The surge has also exposed weaknesses in the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces. Many districts fell without a fight and more than 1,000 soldiers fled to Tajikistan. There have been repeated reports of troops not being resupplied or being left without reinforcements. They are often outgunned and outnumbered by their Taliban adversaries.

The Doha talks will be led by senior government official Abdullah Abdullah, who heads Afghanistan's reconciliation council.

Former President Hamid Karzai is also expected to be among the delegates. The negotiations are aimed at ending the violence that has steadily increased since the U.S. signed a deal with the insurgent movement in February last year.

Karzai called on the government not to miss the opportunity and press ahead toward peace.

He also expressed hope that one day Afghanistan would have a woman as president, and urged women to stay in their jobs and continue their education.

This country has everything, youths, educated people," he said. I call on the young generation to not leave your country, stay here. ... You must trust in your country, peace will come.

Thousands of Afghans are trying to leave the country amid growing anxiety about the future.

In a new sign of concern about what lies ahead, France urged its citizens to leave Afghanistan and announced it was arranging a special flight Saturday to evacuate them from Kabul. There was no indication the French Embassy would be closed.

Australia has closed its embassy. While the U.S. has downsized its embassy staff, it says it has no plans to evacuate and announced its visa section had reopened after temporarily closing due to a COVID-19 outbreak.

Also Tuesday, an explosion rocked the capital of Kabul on Tuesday, killing four people and wounding 11 others, according to police spokesman Ferdaws Faramaz.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The Taliban and government accuse each other of carrying out attacks in the capital, while the Islamic State group often is the only one to claim an attack.

___

Associated Press writers Rahim Faiez in Kabul and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP)  A state lawmaker from Omaha has announced he will run in the Democratic primary for Nebraskas 2nd Congressional District.

Sen. Tony Vargas said in an announcement Tuesday that he will seek the partys nomination to challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, a three-term Republican in the district that includes Omaha and parts of its suburbs.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)  People in Oregon struggled to get rides to cooling centers during the recent heat wave that is believed to have killed hundreds across the Pacific Northwest, officials said Monday, and staffing shortages prevented callers from reaching operators at an information line.

State authorities are examining their response to scorching temperatures that broke all-time records across the region late last month as the American West struggles with a historic drought and climate change makes extreme weather more common and intense. Oregon blamed 116 deaths on the heat, Washington state reported at least 91 and officials in British Columbia say hundreds of sudden and unexpected deaths are likely due to the soaring temperatures.

"One of the heartbreaking things about this heat wave is that there were resources that were available to communities, whether it was cooling centers or transportation, and folks couldnt access those resources to protect themselves, Andrew Phelps, director of the Oregon Office of Emergency Management, said at a news conference.

In the week leading up to the late June heat wave, Oregon officials contacted providers, set up cooling centers and connected with vulnerable populations, including the thousands of homeless people who live on the streets of Portland and in low-income communities.

One major complaint from community members was not knowing where to go to cool down and a struggle to find that information.

For days, officials urged people to call a helpline that can connect them with health and social service organizations to learn about cooling centers and transportation. But as temperatures started rising, people said they couldn't get through to an operator.

We found out that 211 was not staffed during the weekend, so we asked what it would take to staff the center so people could get information they needed," and Fariborz Pakseresht, director of Oregons Department of Human Services. They told us they needed additional funding to staff the center. We then provided the funding and staffed the phone lines during the heat wave."

However, staffing was still limited, and people said there were long waits before they were connected to an operator. The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that hundreds of Multnomah County residents who called couldnt get through, leaving ailing people stranded in the heat or forcing them to call 911.

Cara Kangas, the helpline's partnerships director, told the newspaper that 80 callers got through on June 26  the start of the heat wave  and 15 were offered rides to cooling centers. More than 750 calls were abandoned, she said, although its unknown how many were seeking cooling information.

The problem didnt get fixed until Sunday afternoon.

Another major challenge, officials said, was getting residents, many of whom do not have air conditioning and are used to mild early summers, to comprehend the danger of the extreme heat.

There have been historically few places in Oregon that experience a substantial number of days over 90 degrees, said Patrick Allen, director of the Oregon Health Authority. Yet, due to climate change, nearly the entire state will need to prepare for steady increases and extreme heat over the next few decades.

Temperatures reached as high as 116 degrees Fahrenheit (47 Celsius) in Portland.

State officials say as heat waves become more common, they are adapting to climate change and updating their response to extreme weather, including having more conversations with cities and counties on what they need to help residents.

Democratic Gov. Kate Brown directed agencies last week to study how Oregon can improve its response to heat emergencies and enacted emergency rules to protect workers from extreme heat after a farmworker died.

The review of the state's actions will look at the number and location of cooling centers, the speed and frequency with which health data is provided for emergency management, and how agencies communicate and think about risk, said Phelps, the head of the emergency management agency.

Phelps said officials also will look at specifics on cooling centers  how big they are, where they are located, how many there are per capita and how close they are to vulnerable populations.

The extreme heat conditions we experienced in Oregon last month seemed otherworldly. Oregon has experienced triple digits before, but the notion that cities like Portland and Salem could get above 110 degrees, much less surpass 115 degrees and do so only in late June, seems unthinkable, said Allen, the health authority director. But the reality is that such excessive and deadly conditions may be here to stay.

___

Cline is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)  A 16-year-old girl has been arrested in the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old girl in Columbus, according to police.

Police officials say Jayce ONeal was found shot in the head around 7:30 p.m. Monday. The 16-year-old was arrested Tuesday morning.
WOODLAWN, Md. (AP)  Two Baltimore city police detectives were shot and a homicide suspect was killed as a U.S. Marshals task force attempted to serve a warrant outside a shopping mall Tuesday morning, authorities said.

Members of the warrant apprehension task force were looking for a vehicle and suspect wanted in a June 19 homicide in Baltimore and spotted them in the parking lot of Security Square Mall in suburban Woodlawn, Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said at a news conference.

When officers tried to approach the vehicle, the suspect got out and fired multiple rounds, striking two detectives, he said. Officers returned fire, striking the suspect, a 32-year-old man they had been pursuing, Harrison said. The man, identified as Justin Powell of Baltimore, was taken to a hospital, where he died. Harrison said Powell was wanted on a homicide and handgun warrant.

The wounded detectives were taken to the University of Maryland Medical Centers shock trauma unit, where the physician-in-chief, Thomas Scalea, said both were seriously ill when they arrived.

We were able to get them stabilized, he said. Both will require some therapy. ... We expect both of them to survive.

Mayor Brandon Scott said he's thankful the officers were alert and upbeat and wished them a speedy recovery. Building a safer city requires holding violent offenders accountable and that's what the officers were doing Tuesday, he said.

The WATF will continue to aggressively track down those who commit violence on our streets and they will continue to send a clear message as they do each and every day, that we will not allow folks to think theyre going to get away with harming people on the streets of Baltimore, Scott said.

It was not immediately clear if the detectives wore body cameras at the time of the shooting.

The wounded officers are city detectives who are deputized U.S. marshals, part of Baltimores Warrant Apprehension Task Force, which handles high-risk warrants. Members of the task force can make arrests outside their police agency's immediate jurisdiction, allowing them to track fugitives in the region.

Tracking homicide suspects and serving arrest warrants is one of the most dangerous things law enforcement officers can do, Harrison said.

What we saw today was exactly what officers go through; these are the most dangerous situations imaginable, but they did their jobs with bravery, with courage and with professionalism, Harrison added.

A section of the Baltimore County mall parking lot was cordoned off with crime tape as officers collected evidence surrounding a pickup truck, which had bullet holes in the drivers side window and windshield. Some two dozen police officers, paramedics and other officials gathered at an entrance to the mall complex, and a police helicopter hovered above the area.

One police official could be seen carrying pieces of cardboard and other items and storing them in a police vehicle. Numerous homicide detectives gathered outside of a mall entrance.

The rest of the sprawling shopping mall complex was largely open to the public late Tuesday morning. Students at a trade school at the rear of the mall complex were working with their instructors, paying scant attention to the large police presence on the other side of the plaza.

In Baltimore, Harrison said the criminal investigation is being handled by police in Baltimore County, a collection of suburban communities that ring the mid-Atlantic city and where Tuesday's shooting took place. The city's special investigations response team will also probe the shooting, he said.

An official who monitors Baltimore's court-enforceable agreement to reform its police department stood alongside Harrison and the mayor at Tuesday's news conference. The monitor will report details of the shooting to a U.S. judge who oversees Baltimore's federal consent decree, which began in January 2017 after the U.S. Justice Department discovered longstanding patterns of excessive force, unlawful arrests and discriminatory police practices.

In February, a deputy U.S. Marshal was shot and wounded, and a suspect was killed, during a shootout as law enforcement officials tried to arrest the man, wanted for attempted murder and robbery, in Baltimore.

___

Associated Press writers Sarah Brumfield in Silver Spring, Michael Kunzelman in College Park and Mike Balsamo in Washington, D.C. contributed to this story.
PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP)  The mayor of a municipality in western Kosovo declared a state of emergency Tuesday after hundreds of residents experienced vomiting and diarrhea in recent days.

More than 1,500 residents of Decan have sought emergency medical assistance since Saturday and reported fearing they were poisoned by something in the local water supply, according to Selmon Berisha, the municipality's health director.
JOHANNESBURG (AP)  The death toll climbed to 72 from rioting in South Africa on Tuesday, with many people trampled to death during looting at stores, as police and the military fired stun grenades and rubber bullets to try to halt the unrest set off by the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma.

More than 1,200 people have been arrested in the lawlessness that has raged in poor areas of two provinces, where a community radio station was ransacked and forced off the air Tuesday and some COVID-19 vaccination centers were closed, disrupting urgently needed inoculations.

Many of the deaths in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces occurred in chaotic stampedes as thousands of people stole food, electric appliances, liquor and clothing from stores, police Maj. Gen. Mathapelo Peters said in a statement Tuesday night.

He said 27 deaths were being investigated in KwaZulu-Natal province and 45 in Gauteng province. In addition to the people crushed, he said police were investigating deaths caused by explosions when people tried to break into ATM machines, as well as other fatalities caused by shootings.

The violence broke out after Zuma began serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court on Thursday. He had refused to comply with a court order to testify at a state-backed inquiry investigating allegations of corruption while he was president from 2009 to 2018.

The unrest spiraled into a spree of looting in township areas of the two provinces, although it has not spread to South Africas other seven provinces, where police are on alert.

The criminal element has hijacked this situation, said Premier David Makhura of Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg.

More than half of South Africa's 60 million people are living in poverty, with an unemployment rate of 32%, according to official statistics. The pandemic, with job layoffs and an economic downturn, has increased the hunger and desperation that helped propel the protests triggered by Zuma's arrest into wider rioting.

We understand that those unemployed have inadequate food. We understand that the situation has been made worse by the pandemic, an emotional Makhura said on the state South African Broadcasting Corp. But this looting is undermining our businesses here (in Soweto). It is undermining our economy, our community. It is undermining everything.

As he spoke, the broadcast showed police trying to bring order to the Ndofaya shopping mall, where 10 people were crushed to death in a looting stampede. Gunshots could be heard in the background.

Makhura appealed for leaders of political, religious and community organizations to urge people to halt the unrest.

The deployment of 2,500 soldiers to support the South African police has so far failed to stop the rampant looting, although arrests were being made in some areas in Johannesburg, including Vosloorus in the eastern part of the city.

At least 1,234 people were arrested in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, authorities said, but the situation was far from under control.

Looting continued Tuesday in shopping malls in Johannesburg township areas, including Jabulani Mall and Dobsonville Mall in Soweto. There also were reports of looting in KwaZulu-Natal.

In Daveyton township, east of Johannesburg, more than 100 people, including women, children and older citizens, were arrested for stealing from shops inside the Mayfair Square mall.

Some of those arrested were bleeding from shattered glass on floors slippery from spilled milk, liquor, yogurt and cleaning liquids that had been stolen from shops.

Running battles carried on as security and the police fired stun grenades and rubber bullets to push back rioters, who were entering the shops by going through delivery entrances, emergency exits and climbing on roofs.

Bongani Mokoena, an employee at an auto supply store, said the rioters had taken everything from the shop, including batteries and shock absorbers.

By late afternoon the police managed to secure the mall, but rioters remained outside, throwing stones at the police and shouting for the release of those arrested. As evening fell, more rioters gathered around the mall and police set up barricades to try to keep them away.

In Soweto, the Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital reported that the number of injured people coming to the emergency ward had tripled from the daily average. The unrest forced the government to close some COVID-19 vaccination centers, disrupting urgently needed efforts to inoculate thousands of those aged 50 and older per day.

In Johannesburg's Alexandra township, the Pan Africa shopping center continued to be ransacked and was set on fire on Tuesday.

The Alex FM radio station, which has served the Alexandra community for 27 years, was broken into at 2 a.m. Tuesday and thieves stole equipment worth 5 million rand ($350,000), forcing the station off the air, station manager Takalane Nemangowe said.

Our on-air presenter and security guards got out safely through the back door," Nemangowe told The Associated Press. But the looters cleaned out our offices. They took all our broadcasting equipment, computers, laptops, microphones, everything.

Nemangowe said that no police or army had been patrolling the area. The Alex FM station is community-funded and runs a training program for young residents, he said. We were the voice of the voiceless here in Alexandra. And now we are silent. It is really sad.

But Nemangowe had not given up hope. By Tuesday afternoon he and other staff had been offered facilities at a radio station in the nearby affluent Sandton suburb where they were trying to start beaming back to the Alexandra community.

Authorities have repeatedly warned people, including Zuma supporters and relatives, against using social media to encourage the riots. Police minister Bheki Cele said Tuesday that about a dozen people have been identified as having instigated the riots.

The Constitutional Court, the countrys highest, heard Zumas application to have his sentence rescinded on Monday. Zumas lawyer argued that the top court made errors when sentencing Zuma to prison. After 10 hours of testimony, the judges said they would announce their decision at a later date.
From Texas Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville:

On July 4, 1845 the Convention of 1845 was called to meet in Austin to consider the joint resolution of the US Congress proposing to annex the Republic of Texas. By a vote of 55 to 1, the delegates formally accepted the annexation offer from the US Congress. Texas was formally admitted to the United States later that year on December 29.

Here are five things happening around your state:

1. Agenda for special session called by Governor Abbott released

This week, Governor Abbott released eleven agenda items for the Legislature to cover when we reconvene for our first called special session. Those topics include: bail reform, election integrity, border security, social media censorship, Article X funding, family violence prevention, protecting youth sports, regulating abortion-inducing drugs, delivering a thirteenth check to our retired teachers, curbing critical race theory in public schools, and appropriating additional available general revenue for property tax relief, improving the foster care system, and shoring up cybersecurity efforts for the state. We have a lot to do in the coming weeks, but we are prepared to finish this important work. I look forward to working with my Senate colleagues and our House counterparts to pass this important legislation.

2. Limitations of special session

Now that the Governor has called us back to the Capitol for a special session, it's important to outline what the rules are for a special session. Importantly, a special session is not like a regular session. The Governor may call a special session at any time and for any reason, but he must state his reasons in a proclamation. There is no limit on the number of topics the Governor can include to be covered in a special, but the Legislature can only consider legislation on subjects included in the proclamation. So, we can only consider legislation on those eleven agenda items mentioned earlier in this article. Special sessions only last a maximum of 30 days, but there is no minimum for how long they last. For example, the first called session of the 38th Legislature met for only an hour before they adjourned. The Governor can call as many specials as he would like and can call them at any time, even back-to-back if he wishes.

3. Comptroller releases revised revenue estimate

Comptroller Glenn Hager released his revenue estimate for the first called session this week. In his estimate, he projected that the state has an ending balance of approximately $7.85 billion for the 2022-2023 fiscal year. He said this estimate is based on increased revenue collections, savings from state agency budget reductions, and replacing eligible general revenue funds with federal relief funds. This update indicates the state is doing remarkably well recovering from the economic downturn from the pandemic. During special session, the Legislature may appropriate some of those funds, but just because we have it doesnt mean we have to spend it. I look forward to working on how this money is allocated with the Senate Finance Committee and our Chair Senator Jane Nelson.

4. Texas' plan for American Rescue Plan funds approved

The US Department of Education announced this week that Texas is one of seven states that will receive the last round of federal stimulus money after the state's plan for spending those funds was approved. The funding includes another $4.1 billion to address post-pandemic needs of public school students. The Texas Education Agency's plan put an emphasis on mitigating learning loss experienced during the pandemic. Other priorities include meeting student and staff mental health needs, expanding tutoring opportunities, enhancing high-quality instructional materials, and job-embedded learning. School districts and charter schools now have until July 27 to submit their own individual plans to TEA.

5. STAAR test results reveal weaknesses of virtual learning

Last month, the Texas Education Agency released the results of the STAAR test conducted in spring of 2021. The results indicated a significant increase from the 2019 test in students not meeting grade level across all subject areas and grade levels. STAAR testing was not conducted in 2020 due to the pandemic. The largest decreases in proficiency were in math across all grades. Statewide, students not meeting grade level in reading increased 4 percent and students not meeting grade level in math increased 16 percent. TEA said that districts with a higher percentage of students learning virtually experienced larger learning declines in all grades and subjects. Its apparent from these statistics that virtual learning is not the best option for most of our students and getting children back in the classroom is the best option for recovering from the pandemic.
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP)  Two staffers for Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak are leaving the Democrat's administration.

Sisolak's office announced Tuesday that his Chief of Staff Michelle White will be leaving at the end of the summer after her replacement is found.

She joined Sisolak's team when he won the governor's office in 2018, first leading his transition team and then as his chief of staff when he took office.

Before that White served as the Nevada director of left-leaning super PAC For Our Future pushing to elect Democrats in 2018. She also worked for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign in Nevada and for Democrats in the state Senate.

Sisolak is also losing senior advisor Scott Gilles, whose last day is Friday.

Gilles was the lobbyist for the city of Reno and deputy secretary of state for elections before joining the governor's team.

White and Gilles did not announce their next moves but both released statements saying it had been an honor to work for the governor.
Ismael Francisco/AP

Cuba is known for mammoth, officially sanctioned gatherings to celebrate the anniversary of the Cuban Revolution and May Day, while even very much smaller anti-government demonstrations like those Sunday are very rare on the tightly controlled island.

Some of the most significant protests:
BERLIN (AP)  Heavy summer storms caused widespread damage and flooding Tuesday in Germany and Switzerland, where an airport hangar partially collapsed in the southern town of Magadino.

Swiss police said several planes were damaged but nobody was hurt when the hangar roof gave way amid heavy rain and strong winds overnight.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP)  Texas Democrats who hurriedly took off to Washington to block sweeping new election laws urged Congress on Tuesday to quickly pass legislation protecting voting rights, while Republican Gov. Greg Abbott threatened them with arrest the moment they return.

Speaking to reporters outside the Capitol, the Democrats were realistic about the limits of their gambit, noting they can hold up the GOP-backed proposals at home for only so long and arguing that only federal legislation would prevent some of the new restrictions from becoming law. In Austin, House Republicans authorized state troopers to find and corral missing legislators, while a depleted but still-working state Senate passed new voting restrictions in a show of GOP resolve.

We cant hold this tide back forever. Were buying some time. We need Congress and all of our federal leaders to use that time wisely, Democratic state Rep. Chris Turner said, gathered with his fellow quorum-breakers outside the U.S. Capitol.

The Democrats' dramatic exodus was in part aimed at rallying their voters on what they see as a priority issue ahead of the 2022 midterms, and at pressuring President Joe Biden to act as federal voting legislation has stalled for months in the Senate. But just as they began getting settled in Washington, Biden appeared to tacitly acknowledge the fading hopes for the bills during a speech in Philadelphia.

Biden called efforts to curtail voting accessibility un-American and un-democratic and launched a broadside against his predecessor, Donald Trump, who baselessly alleged misconduct in the 2020 election after his defeat. More than a dozen states this year have already passed tougher election laws, but only in Texas have Democrats put up this kind of fight.

Back in Texas, Republicans in the unusually skeletal state Capitol authorized finding and bringing back more than 50 lawmakers under warrant of arrest if necessary. However, because state troopers have no jurisdiction beyond Texas, the move has little practical effect in the short term.

Abbott has already threatened Democrats with arrest once they come back home, which may not be until the current 30-day special session ends in August. Though that would successfully stymie the GOP's current effort, Abbott has vowed to keep trying until the 2022 elections if necessary.

We think things have been delayed, not denied," said state Rep. Jim Murphy, the House GOP caucus leader.

In the state Senate, where nine Democrats didnt show up  not enough to also deny quorum  Republicans passed their version of a voting bill even though that is now as far as it can go.

After House Republicans authorized sending out troopers, a sergeant-at-arms locked the chamber doors. Four Democrats who did not go to Washington were among the lawmakers still inside, while the voting mechanisms on the desks of absent Democrats were locked. A spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, which oversees state troopers and the Texas Rangers, did not comment about what measures might be taken.

The move was expected after Democrats boarded private planes Monday to deny them the quorum necessary to conduct business  namely, passing one of America's most restrictive voting measures. Other lighting-rod conservative issues that Abbott put on the agenda  including how race is taught in schools and new abortion restrictions  also were shelved with the Legislature now at a standstill.

State Rep. Eddie Morales, one of the Democrats who stayed behind, said it was his understanding that troopers would not leave Texas.

I was told they will go to your home back in your district, they will go to your place of work, they will got to your apartment in Austin or wherever you live close by when you're in session. And also family and friends that they may know of," he said.

Abbott has said Republicans will not be deterred.

As soon as they come back in the state of Texas, they will be arrested, they will be cabined inside the Texas Capitol until they get their job done, Abbott told Austin television station KVUE.

It was the second time that Democratic lawmakers have staged a walkout over the voting overhaul, which they say will make it harder for young people, people of color and people with disabilities to vote. The legislation would outlaw 24-hour polling places, ban drop boxes for mail ballots and empower partisan poll watchers. Republicans say the measures are needed to fight fraud. Democrats counter that fraud is very rare and the bills target their supporters.

Texas has a history of attention-getting political tactics. Democrats, shut out of power in the Texas Capitol for decades, last left the state in 2003 in an ultimately failed effort to thwart a redistricting plan. That year, troopers went to Ardmore, Oklahoma, and asked them to come home. But they were unable to arrest the lawmakers without a warrant issued by Oklahoma authorities, and the lawmakers refused the troopers request.

One of the first meetings Texas Democrats had on their first full day in Washington was with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. For Democrats, the Senate filibuster rule stands in the path of sweeping federal legislation that would create national standards for voting and could roll back some restrictions that have been approved or are advancing in Republican-led states.

These folks are going to be remembered on the right side of history, the New York Democrat told reporters. The governor and the Republican legislators will be remembered on the dark and wrong side of history.

___

Slodysko reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Jim Vertuno contributed to this report.
NEW BERN, N.C. (AP)  Three North Carolina men have been arrested in connection with a nearly year-old murder case, police in North Carolina said.

New Bern police, with help from the U.S. Marshals Carolinas Fugitive Task Force, arrested Jarvis Everett, Jamelle Everett and Tarvis Everett over two days last week, news outlets reported. Each man is 25 years old and are from Greenville. They're accused in the August 2020 murder of 29-year-old Matthew Small of New Bern.
LONDON (AP)  British lawmakers voted on Tuesday to support a contentious cut to the U.K.s foreign aid budget, a move that has slashed billions from programs helping some of the worlds poorest people.

The decision came in a 333-298 House of Commons vote that saw two dozen members of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party join with the opposition against the government.

Johnsons government announced in November that it would cut the share of national income set aside for foreign aid from 0.7% to 0.5%, citing the blow to Britain's economy from the coronavirus pandemic.

High-profile Conservatives, including former Prime Minister Theresa May, joined opposition politicians, United Nations agencies and aid groups in criticizing the budget cut. They say it will lead to hundreds of thousands of avoidable deaths in developing nations and that it damages Britains reputation just as it is trying to bolster its international influence in the wake of Brexit.

Facing growing criticism over the cut, which took effect in January, the government announced late Monday that Parliament would get a vote on a government motion to endorse the change.

Johnson told lawmakers in the House of Commons that Britain had experienced an economic hurricane because of the pandemic, with lockdowns shuttering large tracts of the economy and the government spending billions to support businesses and employees.

The government has been compelled to take wrenching decisions," he said.

He said the reduction, which amounts to about 4 billion pounds ($5.5 billion) this year, is temporary and aid would be restored to 0.7% of national income as soon as circumstances allow.

Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition Labour Party, said Britain is the only member of the Group of Seven wealthy nations club that is cutting its aid budget.

That is not the vision of global Britain that we want to see," he said.

Had the government lost Tuesday's vote, the 0.7% budget share would have been restored next year.

Treasury chief Rishi Sunak said the government still planned to reverse the cut  but only when Britain is not borrowing to finance day-to-day spending and when its debt is falling. Critics fear the economic damage inflicted by the pandemic means those conditions are unlikely to be met for years.

Danny Sriskandarajah, chief executive of aid group Oxfam GB, called the result of the vote a disaster for the worlds poorest people.

These cuts wont balance the books; the government is putting politics above the lives of worlds most vulnerable communities," he said.

On most votes, the 80-seat Conservative majority in the House of Commons guarantees government easy victory. But the aid cut has caused disquiet among normally loyal lawmakers.

Conservative former Prime Minister David Cameron called the spending cut a grave mistake." Conservative legislator Andrew Mitchell, a former international development secretary, said it had left an unpleasant odor wafting out from under my partys front door."

May, Johnsons predecessor as prime minister, said she would rebel against her party on a major vote for the first time in 25 years.

This isnt about palaces for dictators and vanity projects, she said. Its about what cuts to funding mean: that fewer girls will be educated, more girls and boys will become slaves, more children will go hungry and more of the poorest people in the world will die.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP)  West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said he will oppose OxyContin maker Purdue Pharmas bankruptcy plan, arguing that his state, one of the hardest hit by the opioid epidemic, would get shorted in settlement money.

I remain vigorously opposed to a proposed allocation formula that would distribute settlement funds largely based on a state or local governments population  not intensity of the problem, Morrisey said Tuesday.

Purdues plan to reorganize into a new entity that helps combat the U.S. opioid epidemic got a big boost last week as 15 states that had previously opposed the new business model gave their support.

The agreement from multiple state attorneys general, including those who had most aggressively opposed Purdues original settlement proposal, was disclosed last Wednesday in a filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, New York. It followed weeks of intense mediation that resulted in changes to Purdues original exit plan.

But nine states and the District of Columbia did not sign onto the proposal. Some criticize it for not demanding more from members of the wealthy Sackler family who own the company and have not accepted any blame.

Morrisey, a Republican, had previously said he opposed the proposal on separate grounds. He reiterated Tuesday that the allocation formula fails to recognize the disproportionate harm caused by opioids in our state.

In a statement emailed Tuesday, the Sackler family said, This resolution to the mediation is an important step toward providing substantial resources for people and communities in need. The Sackler family hopes these funds will help achieve that goal.

For years, West Virginia has had the nations highest fatal opioid overdose rate.

I look forward to arguing our case in court this August, Morrisey added. Following next month's hearing, a federal bankruptcy judge will decide whether to confirm the deal.

Purdue sought bankruptcy protection in 2019 as a way to settle about 3,000 lawsuits it faced from state and local governments and other entities. They claimed the companys continued marketing of its powerful prescription painkiller contributed to a crisis that has been linked to nearly 500,000 deaths in the U.S. over the last two decades.
My journey at Midland College actually started in the mid-1990s through dual enrollment while I was in high school, Angel Sowers recalled. There were many detours and roadblocks along the way. I started and stopped continuing my education multiple times as life happened.

Then, in summer 2019, Sowers decided that she was ready to once again return to school and get that degree she had wanted and tried to obtain since graduating from Midland High School in 1996.

I enrolled in an oil and gas law course to wet my feet and get back into the routine of studying and juggling life and schoolwork, Sowers explained. When I enrolled, I didnt tell family and friends. I decided that I would just add studying to my plate without taking away from any of my other responsibilities. I quietly studied and finished my summer class, and I knew I could handle it.

When it was time to register for the fall semester, I decided to take three more courses. I told my family, FYI - Mom is going to be in school.

Fortunately for Sowers, her husband and children (son, Derek, 21, and daughter Danielle, 18) were very supportive. However, family support was not always something Sowers had throughout her life.

In 1996, Sowers graduated from Midland High School, and just one month after her high school graduation, she got married.

I had always thought I would go to college right after high school, and looking back on it, I should have opted for college rather than marriage, Sowers said. My husband would not allow me to work or go to school. We moved to Abilene and then Alamogordo [New Mexico]. In September 2007, we divorced, and I and came back to Midland with my children and disabled mother who lives with me.

Sowers began to work in the Eligibility Department at Midland Memorial Hospital; however, she was laid off in 2009, so she decided to finally pursue higher education. She enrolled in Midland College. Then, in 2010, she remarried and obtained a job as a program director for Girl Scouts. She stopped going to school in order to care for her family, which she said is her number one priority.

She obtained her current job as a supply chain associate at EOG Resources in March 2018, and Sowers said that even though she is on call 24/7, the flexible hours gave her the opportunity to return to Midland College.

After the fall 2019 semester, I was making progress toward a long-time goal, she said. I could even see the light at the end of the tunnel! I met with my advisor, communicated with my primary instructor and set a game plan for finally finishing my degree.

In spring 2020, she decided to take four more classes.

When I enrolled for the Spring of 2020, I knew it was going to be a challenge. My game plan was to go hard, give it my all and get it done!

Like so many others, by the middle of March 2020 when COVID hit, my life was full of uncertainty. My husband, who also worked in the energy industry, was laid off. All of my classes went to strictly online, including those general education courses that I had been taking in a traditional classroom setting. While online classes have been a benefit to me being able to finish my degree, some of the courses I was taking were not set up to be online, so there were some learning curves and added bumps in the road. Our office shut down; we were strictly working from home. I no longer had a work/life balance; everything was so interconnected and lacking clear definition and separation.

Anxiety of the unknown was at an all-time high  with school, with work and with life in general. I made the conscious effort to use the time to really get focused and work on me  personal growth was my new 2020 goal, which included finishing this decade-long degree plan. I reviewed my degree plan again and found a way to be able to graduate in December 2020. That meant taking advantage of any non-traditional terms I could. I enrolled in a fifth course for the May 2020 mini semester. I knew I could take courses in the summer and fall and complete my requirements. I had my eye on the prize! There was nothing that was going to derail me at this point. I carried the load  work, school and home-life. While it wasnt always pretty, it was manageable, and I got it done.

In December 2020just 18 months after she took that first oil and gas law course, Sowers completed an Associate of Applied Science degree in Paralegal Studies.

Midland College allowed me the flexibility I needed to complete a degree that sat unfinished for so many years, she stated. With courses being offered at various times and through various methods, I was able to complete my degree while maintaining full-time employment.

While I am considerably older than the average community college student, I believe that it is never too late to pursue your dreams, Sowers said. Hard work and perseverance are key to personal success; however, everyones success does not look the same. Success is a personal journey, and one has to be willing to put in the work and really grow in order to reach goals.

Sowers excelled during the time she was at Midland College. Because of her dedication and recommendations from instructors, she was awarded two scholarship while attending Midland Collegethe Marian & Jan K. Jones and the Fasken Scholarship. She was inducted into two honor societiesPhi Theta Kappa and Sigma Kappa Delta. In March, the UT System and Texas Association of Community Colleges honored Sowers as a member of the All-Texas Academic Team. She was also recognized on the Presidents List, the Deans list and graduated with Honors.

Keeping up with her goal of personal growth, Sowers is now studying to take the Texas Real Estate license exam. Another goal she set for herself is to become a better public speaker. This past May, Sowers was one of the two keynote speakers at Midland Colleges graduation ceremony.

In all honesty, I hesitated applying to speak because of my age; I briefly felt like I am too old to relate to the younger graduates, she said. However, I was prompted and encouraged by one of my professors and mentors, Charity Rohlfs. Her recommendation does not come lightly, and I know that, so I had to really take the time to consider her words and suggestion to apply. She informed me that she, as well as another instructor, recommended me. The recognition from those whom I am seeking knowledge encouraged me to take the leap and apply for commencement speaker.

My professional goals include aligning my career in a manner more matched with my educational background. I have a strong desire to help both people and animals, and I plan to pursue avenues that allow me to do that. I have plans to get involved with CASA [Court Appointed Special Advocates]. There are so many children without a voice, and I would like to help them.

Im a late bloomer when it comes to getting started with my education and professional career, but I am carving my own way and seeking my version of happiness and success. Midland College has certainly played a key part in my journey.

--

Rebecca Bell is the executive director of Institutional Advancement at Midland College
CANNES, France (AP)  A year after it was first to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch" finally rolled into the French Riviera festival on Monday.

Anderson and the large cast arrived on the Cannes red carpet in a bus, with a grinning Bill Murray sitting shotgun. The film, Anderson's elaborate and fanciful ode to The New Yorker, is perhaps the starriest ensemble playing at the festival this year. At the premiere with Murray were Tilda Swinton, Benicio Del Toro, Owen Wilson and  in his first Cannes red carpet  Timothee Chalamet.
Its tempting to be encouraged by symbolic acts, like the removal from public spaces of statues honoring leaders of the Confederacy or the dismantling of fencing around the U.S. Capitol. But we should not let such welcome developments obscure the very concrete threats to the foundations of our democracy going on right now.

This past Saturday, the statues of two Confederal generals, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, were removed from parks in Charlottesville, Va., where theyd stood since the 1920s. The city also took down a statue featuring explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and Sacagawea, a Lemhi Shoshone girl who helped them explore the Louisiana Territory. The statue depicted her in a submissive posture.

The removal, to the cheers of some 200 residents, stood in stark contrast to the bitter, deadly Unite the Right protest by white supremacists and neo-Nazis against the removal of Confederate statues in 2017.

Charlottesvilles action followed another encouraging sign: On June 29, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to rid the U.S. Capitol of statutes honoring Confederate figures as well as a bust of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney, author of the 1857 Dred Scott decision that said enslaved people were not citizens and did not have the right to sue. All 120 of those voting no were Republican, among them Rep. Elise Stefanik of Schuylerville, who seems to have decided that fundraising off the trope of cancel culture was more important to her than the ongoing dishonor those tributes to treason represent to the estimated 39,000 New Yorkers who gave their lives defending the United States in the Civil War.

Also at the U.S. Capitol, one of the most prominent reminders of a modern day insurrection  the fencing that has surrounded the building since just after the Jan. 6 attack by supporters of former President Donald Trump  came down this past weekend.

Heartening as these developments are, we should be clear what they have in common: threats to the nation by those who refused to accept outcomes of democracy and representative government, whether it was the elimination of the inhumane practice of slavery or the resounding defeat of their preferred candidate.

Thats why this moment is both uplifting and sobering. We cannot ignore the fact that so many representatives opposed removing statues of traitors from the Capitol. That so many of them still endorse Mr. Trumps Big Lie of a stolen election. That some downplay the deadly Jan. 6 attack, and join Mr. Trump in painting an insurrectionist killed in the riot as some sort of martyr. That they oppose strengthening voting rights even as Texas, the second largest state, is poised to enact draconian election rules aimed at disenfranchising Black voters.

It leaves us dubious of their grasp of reality, history, and the meaning and gravity of their oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. It drives home that even as the reminders of past conflicts large and small are carted away, the battle for civil rights, justice and equality must be as engaged as ever.
In 2021, almost one-third of the Canadian workforce is working remotely, compared with only four per cent before the pandemic, says Statistics Canada.
A. Asking isn't enough and neither is the current level of enforcement.

B. Entrance into Three Sisters Springs needs to be staggered.

C. Human entry into Three Sisters Springs should be limited to only the boardwalk - no swimming or paddlecraft.

D. The current levels of erosion are acceptable and can be addressed with additional rock installation.

Vote

View Results
The Bermuda Monetary Authority has approved license for a new high-yield product.

Fremont, CA: Circle Yield, a well-regulated crypto yield and treasury solution for companies and corporate treasury leaders was launched today by Circle, a global financial technology firm. Its approach, regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA), builds on Bermuda's long history of leadership and reputation in the organization of institutional capital.The expansion of BMA oversight to cover the newly announced high yield offering under Circle's Class F ("Full") DABA license, issued in 2019, represents a significant expansion of Circle's offerings, as well as the forms of institutional capital formation currently allowed in Bermuda.

Circle offers a well-regulated alternative yield market for institutional investors and corporate treasurers domiciled in the United States and Switzerland. Bermuda is home to one of the world's most important and innovative risk capital markets for the insurance, reinsurance, and captive industries, with more than 100 billion dollars in risk capital regulated in Bermuda.Circle's high yield solution, which the BMA holds, offers institutional investors an early access opportunity to leverage yield-generating opportunities in a secure, sound, and compliant manner in supporting high-growth digital assets and crypto markets.

Circle Yield's early access period will be limited to companies and institutional investors based in the United States or Switzerland. The company plans to work with the BMA and the Bermuda government to ensure that responsible financial services innovation serves institutional customers from such a competitive Bermuda regulatory platform.

"Circle was the world's first fintech company to receive the BMA's Class F ("Full") DABA license and ever since we have maintained a deep commitment to Bermuda and building the future of money and payments on the Internet, with Bermuda being an important part of our global operational platform. With the launch of Circle Yield, together with our recent strategic capital raise, we look forward to building our operations in Bermuda to support substantial corporate treasury demand for crypto assets and yield, while at the same time supporting Circle's overall market expansion strategy," said Jeremy Allaire, Circle's co-founder, and CEO.

"Circle is a true pioneer in the blockchain-based economy. Their selection of Bermuda to launch the world's first regulated institutional yield product is a testament to the attractiveness of Bermuda's regulatory framework and our regulator the Bermuda Monetary Authority. It showcases how key players like Circle are leveraging Bermuda's long standing reputation as one of the world's most innovative financial services hubs to power a revolution in the Internet of value. Circle has been a key driver of this movement and we are honored that Circle calls Bermuda home and continues to invest in the island," said Bermuda's Premier, the Honorable David Burt.

See Also : Top Healthcare Consulting/Service Companies
Wilkes-Barre, PA (18701)

Today

Cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 72F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 61F. Winds light and variable.
Background

Electoral support and capacity development are part of UNDPs democratic governance assistance worldwide, through which UNDP helps nations build democratic frameworks to improve representation, accountability, and transparency for the benefit of citizens.

UNDP has a long-standing partnership with the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) aiming at advancing the democratic electoral processes in Moldova by consolidating the transparency and efficiency of elections management, modernization of electoral IT solutions and enhancing the inclusiveness and participation of voters.

During 2012  2017, UNDP offered support to the CEC in the areas of gender equality and human rights, institutional capacity development, strategic development of the Center for Continuous Electoral Training to deliver professional training to electoral officials, political party finance legislation implementation and transparent electoral reform process. Moreover, substantial steps were undertaken in addressing crucial vulnerabilities related to the data quality and data exchange among key registers owned by other stakeholder institutions. Thus, the Civil Status Service, the State Enterprise Cadastru as well as the e-Government Centre received UNDP support in the revision or development of needed strategic and legal frameworks to create an interoperable environment among the population registration institutions and services, that in the long run will affect positively, not only the electoral process, but a wider Government e-Transformation Agenda.

Since 2017, the Project "Enhancing democracy in Moldova through inclusive and transparent elections supports the Central Electoral Commission to enhance the transparency and inclusiveness of the electoral process in Moldova by ensuring a more independent and credible electoral administration and better informed and pro-active citizens.

With the continuous UNDP assistance, the CEC demonstrated a high capacity of carrying out transparent, safe and well-administered elections (as attested by OSCE/ODIHR Observation Mission) throughout challenging electoral cycles, including the 2020 Presidential Elections, organized in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Building on the sustainable results achieved during its first phase of implementation (2017  2020), the objectives of the current Project phase (2020  2023) are:

- Enhance the inclusiveness of the electoral process by increasing the functional and technical capacities of the State Automated Information System Elections (SAISE);

- Improve the legal and regulatory framework to respond to the EOM recommendations;

- Strengthen the capacity for effective and coherent oversight and monitoring on political party financing;

- Enhance the political participation of citizens by setting up and implementing the voters information and civic education programs.

To achieve the objectives and ensure the sustainability of results, the Project will further enhance strategic partnerships and will engage with key stakeholders, including public institutions, civil society organizations and the donor community. Moreover, the Project will facilitate a constructive dialogue amongst the relevant national and international stakeholders on electoral processes by providing the secretariat and co-charing the Elections Partners Platform, established with UNDP support.

The Projects interventions will have systematic and significant implications at policy/legislation, coordination, institutional and electoral service provision levels, with a sustainable impact at the national level. Thematic interventions will be implemented in the field of elections and democracy, focusing on strengthening the citizens ability to understand electoral processes, form an independent opinion and hold the relevant stakeholders to account.



Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the UNDP Effective Governance Cluster Leader and in close coordination with the International Electoral Advisor, the incumbent provides effective and efficient coordination of all components under the Project through a range of actions contributing to the design, planning, implementation, management, monitoring and reporting of the corresponding activities in line with the Project Document and the Multi-Year Work Plan. The Project Manager applies and promotes the principles of results-based management (RBM), as well as client-oriented approach consistent with UNDP rules and regulations. He/she is responsible and accountable to the Project Steering Committee for the Projects results.

The Project Manager works in close collaboration with the Programme, Operations, Communications and other teams in the UNDP Country Office (CO) for effective achievement of results, anticipating and contributing to resolving complex project-related issues and information delivery. He/she also collaborates with other UN projects and other development partners in supporting the Central Electoral Commission, Center for Continuous Electoral Training, Civil Status Service, SE Cadastru, e-Government Center and other national stakeholders. The incumbent is expected to exercise full compliance with UNDP programming, financial, procurement and administrative rules, regulations, policies and strategies, as well as implementation of the effective internal control systems.

The Project Manager, under the guidance and supervision of UNDP Effective Governance Cluster Leader, will ensure the provision of development services and products (commensurate with the scope of the Project) of the highest quality and standards to national counterparts and clients through applying HRBA and gender equality (GE) approaches. More specifically, the Project Manager will perform the following tasks:

Project Management and Coordination

Ensure sound management of the Project from the planning to implementation and evaluation stages;

Coordinate and ensure the timely and efficient delivery of Project outputs and products leading to the achievement of expected results;

Ensure overall coordination of the activities of the Project and their coordination with other relevant UNDP Projects;

Within the strategic framework concerted with the national counterparts, prepare work-plans reflecting the scope of activities, timing, sequencing, costs and other inputs for the implementation of the Project activities;

Be responsible for the coordination of the overall Project Work Plan per indicators for achieving planned results, as well as for the overall management of the Project in accordance to prevailing UNDP rules, regulations and procedures;

Liaise with the Project Board, national counterparts, donors and UNDP Country Office to ensure that Project results are achieved and resources are managed efficiently and effectively;

Ensure the effective management and supervision of human resources pertaining to the Project, including both staff, consultants and short-term experts; conduct periodic performance appraisals; build, lead and motivate a solid team of professionals; draft and validate terms of reference for international and national consultants;

Ensure the efficient use of financial resources of the Project, including budgeting and budget revisions, as well as expenditure tracking and reporting;

Continuously record and maintain relevant Project activities, issues, risks, etc. as per existing rules and procedures;

Lead and coordinate the organization of meetings, workshops, conferences and related activities relevant to the overall implementation of the Project;

Ensure high quality information and visibility of the Project activities to the mass media and stakeholders;

Perform any other duties connected directly with the implementation of the Project as required.

Monitoring and Reporting

Monitor Project implementation and activities versus set targets and indicators;

Ensure timely and quality delivery of baseline, monitoring, evaluation plans and reports (ad-hoc, progress and final);

Identify key performance indicators as well as develop and maintain a monitoring system to ensure effective information sharing, provision of feedback and elaboration of top quality progress reports;

Present periodic narrative progress reports and expenditures status reports to the Steering Committee and UNDP, based on inputs provided by the Project team;

Monitor overall allocation and disbursement of Project funds, ensuring funds are properly allocated and appropriate actions are taken to optimize their use;

Contribute to UNDP corporate reporting by providing inputs based on Project activities and results.

Knowledge Management and Sharing

Ensure timely and proper documentation of the Project implementation process and products developed in accordance with the UNDP guides;

Facilitate the development of a shared approach to human rights and gender equality in all beneficiary institutions;

Document and analyze lessons learnt that might be useful to UN system at large and UNDP in particular;

Advise UNDP on strategies and approaches aiming at further improvement of the electoral systems and processes based on the lessons learnt and contribute to the COs programming in the Effective Governance area;

Contribute to the codification and exchange of information and knowledge products within the programme and outside.

Partnership and advocacy

Facilitate partnership building among Central Electoral Commission, Center for Continuous Electoral Training, Civil Status Service, SE Cadastru, e-Government Center, civil society organizations, political parties, media and the communities on the implementation of the Project;

Ensure the facilitation and the secretariat of the Elections Partners Platform;

Ensure effective partnership, networking and coordination with other relevant UNDP Projects and activities in the country for a more holistic and coherent approach to the Project implementation.

Key Results:

The position has a direct impact on the overall effectiveness and success of UNDP interventions and activities in the assigned sectorial/thematic area of promoting democratic governance. By helping ensure effective design, planning, implementation, and M&E of assigned sectorial/thematic area and building networks and helping mobilize resources for these areas, the Project Manager enhances the organizations capacity and credibility in implementation of highly effective programmes with strong impact on democratic frameworks to become representative, accountable and transparent for the benefit of citizens.



Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UNs values and ethical standard;

Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;

Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, and age sensitivity and adaptability;

Treats peers fairly by maintaining consistent values inspiring trust and confidence through personal credibility;

Accepts responsibility and accountability for the quality of the outcome of his/her decisions;

Treats all people fairly without favouritism.

Functional Competencies:

Leadership and self-management

Proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives;

Focuses on impact and results and responds positively to feedback;

Focuses on tasks/activities which have a strategic impact on Project and capacity development activities;

Ability to establish priorities for self and others, achieve results and meet strict deadlines in an effective manner, maintaining a high-quality standard throughout;

Tolerates conditions of stress, uncertainty or ambiguity and continues to maintain a positive outlook and to work productively;

Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;

Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors;

Remains calm, in control and good humour even under pressure.

Knowledge Management and Learning

Shares knowledge and experience;

Promotes a supportive environment to enhance partnerships, leverages resources and build support for UNDPs strategic initiatives;

Collaborates with regional, national and local partners to create and apply knowledge and concepts that will help partners achieve UNDPs development objectives within the country and regional context;

Actively works towards continuing personal learning, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills.

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise / In-depth knowledge of the Subject-matter

Understands more advanced aspects of primary area of specialization as well as the fundamental concepts of related disciplines;

Serves as internal consultant in his/her area of expertise and shares knowledge with staff;

Continues to seek new and improved methods and systems for accomplishing the work of the unit;

Keeps abreast of new developments in area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself professionally;

Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;

Sound knowledge of the political context in the Republic of Moldova and of the governance institutions, population registration institutions and their structure;

Strong knowledge of the electoral systems and processes;

Strong analytical, drafting and communication skills;

Development and Operational Effectiveness

Ability to perform a variety of specialized tasks related to Results-Based Management, including support to design, planning and implementation of Project, managing data, reporting;

Ability to provide input to business processes, re-engineering, implementation of new system, including new IT based systems;

Ability to engage with various partners and stakeholders at various levels, to establish and maintain contacts with senior-level officials of the host government and represent UNDP in national and regional fora;

Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, is required to obtain, evaluate and interpret factual data and to prepare accurate and complete reports and other documents;

Capacity to implement the strategic vision and programmatic goals as laid down in the Project Document;

Proven performance in organizing and coordinating major initiatives, events or challenging inter-organizational activities;

Adapts flexibly to changing situations, overcomes obstacles and recovers quickly from setbacks.



Required Skills and Experience

Min. Academic Education:

Masters Degree in international relations, political science, law, public administration or equivalent.

Additional training or certification in project management would be an advantage.

Min. years of relevant work experience:

At least 7 (seven) years of progressive working experience in the design, management and implementation of project-based activities, preferably related to democratic governance, strategic advice, strengthening electoral systems and processes, and/or working in a relevant position to this post;

Previous experience in development assistance or related work for a donor or development organization;

Proven experience in working with governmental institutions, NGOs and international organizations, successful experience working with UNDP will be a very strong advantage;

Previous experience of work in the elections fields is a very strong advantage;

Experience in managing a multidisciplinary team or coordination between different teams.

Required Language(s) (at working level)

Fluency in spoken and written English, Romanian and Russian.

Working knowledge of one or more additional languages relevant for Moldova, including Bulgarian, Gagauzian, Romani, Ukrainian or sign language would be an asset.

Disqualifications:

This position requires working closely with the independent Central Electoral Commission. This post is therefore only available to applicants who are, and are seen to be, politically neutral.



Disclaimer



Important applicant information



All posts in the SC categories are subject to local recruitment.



This is a local position, therefore only citizens of the Republic of Moldova or others legally authorized to work in the country are eligible to apply.



UNDP is an employer committed to gender equity and to providing equal opportunities to both male and female.



UNDP is committed to workforce diversity. Women, persons with disabilities, Roma and other ethnic or religious minorities, persons living with HIV, as well as refugees and other non-citizens legally entitled to work in the Republic of Moldova, are particularly encouraged to apply.



Please note that only applicants who are short-listed will be contacted.



Applicant information about UNDP rosters



Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience, and educational requirements.



Scam warning



The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names, and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.



Online applications can be submitted by registered users only. Self-registration link is available at the next page and requires candidates to provide a valid email address.



Please note that the person selected for this position will be offered a contract with UNDP under its National Personnel Services Agreement (N-PSA) modality. The UNDP Service Contract modality is phasing out over the coming year. More information about the N-PSA is available here https://bit.ly/341OFXC

Vacancy end date: 27 July 2021

For more details - please access: https://bit.ly/3wzvY9z
A week ago, Peter R. de Vries, a star journalist in the Netherlands, was leaving a studio where hed just appeared as a guest on a TV program, RTL Boulevard, when a gunman shot him five times, including in the head. De Vries has covered the criminal underworld dating back to the eighties and nineties, when he tracked down a man who helped kidnap Freddy Heineken, the beer tycoon; recently, de Vries had been acting as a confidant and spokesperson for a gang informant in a high-profile case against an alleged high-level crime boss. On Saturday, RTL Boulevard canceled a planned broadcast and evacuated its studio, citing what it characterized as a serious threat from organized crime; police wouldnt go into specifics, but a Dutch newspaper reported that they had learned of a possible attack by rocket launcher. (This would not have been unprecedented in the Netherlandsin 2018, an anti-tank rocket was fired at the offices of a newspaper publisher.) De Vries is still fighting for his life. On its latest World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked the Netherlands sixth out of one hundred and eighty countries globallymaking it, theoretically at least, one of the safest places in the world to practice journalism.

The day after de Vries was shot in Amsterdam, three men attacked Erk Acarer, a Turkish journalist, at his home in Berlin, where he has lived in exile since 2017. Acarer, who writes for the independent Turkish newspaper BirGun and works for a broadcaster established by other Turkish emigres, has been critical of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the countrys authoritarian president; last year, Turkish authorities sought to prosecute Acarer and several other journalists on national-security grounds after they reported on the death of an intelligence officer. After the attack, Acarer said on social media that his assailants told him to stop writing, beat him with fists and knives, and left him in need of hospital treatment. I know the attackers, he said. I will never surrender to fascism. Can Dundar, a prominent Turkish journalist who also lives in Germany, called the attack a direct message to Germany from Erdogan: I have a long arm. We can attack a dissident journalist even in Berlin.  Reporters Without Borders ranks Germany thirteenth on its index.

Podcast: Nikole Hannah-Jones on the use of power

On Sunday, the mother of Alexander Lashkarava, a cameraman at TV Pirveli, in the country of Georgia, found her son dead at home. He was thirty-seven. Less than a week earlier, Lashkarava was among a group of more than fifty journalists that was attacked by rioters who set out to derail a planned LGBT+ march in Tbilisi, the capital. (The march was canceled.) According to a colleague, a mob of around thirty people broke in to a building where Lashkarava was filming march organizers and beat him up. He had surgery on his resulting facial injuries and was discharged from the hospital on Thursday. The cause of his death has not been officially confirmed; officials have suggested that he may have overdosed on drugs, but his colleagues dismiss such claims. (One has alleged that officials took away Lashkaravas body without his familys permission.) Since Sunday, hundreds of protesters have been in the streets demanding that Georgias government resign, accusing senior officials of stoking hate and failing to protect marchers and journalists from the mob. The prime minister has characterized such claims as part of a conspiracy against the state. Yesterday, journalists tried to enter Parliament to talk to pro-government lawmakers, and violence ensued. Reporters Without Borders ranks Georgia sixtieth on its index, higher than countries including Japan, Argentina, and Israel.

Taken together, the events of the past week paint a troubling picture of the state of press freedom in Europe, which has typically been seen as a bastion of media protections. Europe, of course, is a big and diverse place, not to mention a contested political and historical concept. Some geographical definitions would place Georgia in Asia. Germany is at the heart of Europe, but attacks on journalists there often seem to involve their work in or about countries that lie beyond the continents borders (or straddle them, in Turkeys case); last year, for instance, it was discovered that a government press staffer with access to information about exiled Egyptian journalists had been spying on behalf of Egypts government. The Netherlands, for its part, has a range of geographical, institutional, and socioeconomic conditions that have long made the country fertile ground for drug traffickersand de Vries may very well have been targeted for his unusual involvement with a court case, and not for his journalism, per se. Still, a general trend seems clear: there are bad people who would hurt journalists everywhere, and, in an increasingly globalized world, reporters arent completely safe anywherenot in their TV studios, not at their homes, and certainly not while theyre out reporting on the street.

In recent years, a string of murders has rocked the European press: Daphne Caruana Galizia, whose car was blown up in Malta, in 2017; Jan Kuciak, who was shot alongside his fiancee in Slovakia, in 2018; Giorgos Karaivaz, who was shot outside his home in Greece, earlier this year. Karaivaz, like de Vries, was a longtime crime reporter; both Kuciak and Caruana Galizia investigated the nexus of organized crime and state corruption; the latters murder eventually brought down Maltas government. These high-profile cases have unfolded against a backdrop of worsening relations between politicians and the press across the continent. Recently, another Reporters Without Borders metric, its gallery of press freedom predators, made room for a European leader for the first time, adding Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister who has systematically eroded the countrys independent media. (Presidents Vladimir Putin, of Russia, and Alexander Lukashenko, of Belaruslong-term fixtures of the gallery, bothlead countries that are at least partially in Europe geographically, if not politically. Even in those countries, attacks on the press have recently become more brazen.) Janez Jansa, an Orban ally who serves as prime minister of Slovenia, has explicitly declared war on media presstitutes. This month, Slovenia assumed the rotating presidency of the European Unions council, and, with it, significant agenda-setting power within the bloc. When officials and journalists traveled to Slovenia for the handover, Jansa forced them to watch a sixteen-minute video demonizing reporters as biased.

Sign up for CJR 's daily email

By contrast, top officials in the Netherlands said all the right things after de Vries was shot last week. Mark Rutte, the prime minister, decried a shocking and incomprehensible attack, not only on a courageous journalist but also the free press that is so critical to our democracy. Femke Halsema, the mayor of Amsterdam, hailed de Vries as a national hero; even the monarchy put out a supportive statement. Officials would not comment on whether de Vries, who has received threats before, had recently been offered police protection. What is clear is that well-intentioned words about press freedom didnt prevent his being shot near a busy street in broad daylight. And they wont have any bearing, now, on whether he lives or dies. Lets pray that he lives.

Below, more on press freedom around the world:



Other notable stories:

ICYMI: Richard Branson, the press, and the space in between

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Jon Allsop is a freelance journalist. He writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Find him on Twitter @Jon_Allsop.
The attorneys general of 17 states and the District of Columbia on Tuesday urged the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to adopt long-delayed side-impact standards for child car seats.

Congress first asked the agency to set the standards two decades ago. The states, led by New York and Connecticut, in a letter also urged the U.S. auto safety regulator to mandate that all car seat labels include guidance that every child should remain in car seats until exceeding maximum height or weight standards set by NHTSA.

As a result of NHTSAs inaction, there currently is no government standard for side-impact testing in the United States for any child restraint system, the state attorneys general wrote.

Asked for its reaction to the letter, NHTSA did not immediately provide comment.

The agency has a responsibility to adopt clear safety standards for child car seats, and, today, we are making clear that failure to act is unacceptable, said New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Most manufacturers conduct their own side-impact testing.

In 2000, Congress directed NHTSA to start writing rules to improve the safety of child restraints, including minimizing head injuries from side-impact collisions but the agency did not issue new rules. In 2012, Congress gave NHTSA two years to adopt a final rule to improve the protection of children seated in child restraint systems during side impact crashes.

A final rule for side-impact standards still has not been issued. President Joe Bidens administration said in a document it expects it to be finalized before the end of this year.

The agency last September proposed revising recommendations to increase the number of children age 1 or younger who are transported in rear-facing car seats.

NHTSA proposed recommending that all children 26.5 pounds (12 kg) or less be transported in rear-facing car seats rather than the existing recommendation for children 20 pounds (9 kg) or less.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Will Dunham and Chizu Nomiyama)
Across Florida, people living in the thousands of condominiums rising above the states 1,350 miles of coastline wonder if the building collapse in Surfside could happen to their home as state and local officials discuss what they can do to make sure it doesnt.

Although building collapses are rare, local governments are looking at whether they need to adopt new inspection policies  the vast majority of counties dont require reinspection of a building once its completed.

We inspect bridges every two years and yet a high-rise can go up right on the coast and its inspected at the time its built and never again, said Volusia County Chair Jeff Brower, who said residents have sent photos of damaged buildings. Its kind of a wake-up call, and some of the pictures I have seen of our own structures are scary.

Hes in contact with the governors office on the issue but thinks acting locally will be quicker. One idea is reinspecting new buildings after 10 years and, depending on whats found, inspecting again another decade later.

Miami-Dade County, where the 40-year-old Champlain Towers South partially collapsed last month, requires buildings to be recertified as safe every 40 years and every 10 years after that.

We definitely have to have inspection of the infrastructure of these buildings, Brower said. Theyre not falling all over the place, but we dont want even one more like the tragedy at Surfside.

The collapse prompted the county _ as well as cities and towns within it _ to take a closer look at the recertification rules already in place. One municipality, North Miami Beach has evacuated the nearly 50-year-old Crestview Towers and wont allow residents back in until required repairs have been completed. The county announced late Friday that the 28-story Miami-Dade County Courthouse will begin undergoing repairs immediately because of safety concerns found during a review prompted by the deadly collapse of a nearby condominium building

Floridas beachfront high-rises take a beating from storms, saltwater and sea air, which can wear down concrete and rust rebar. There isnt a mile of Floridas coastline that hasnt been affected in one way or another by hurricanes and tropical storms in the past 40 years _ with some areas taking multiple hits.

Although construction standards improved when statewide building codes were strengthened in the 1980s, the quality before then was often questionable, said Brett Turner, a project manager in southwest Florida who has been in the construction industry for 45 years.

Up until the late 80s, there virtually were no inspections. Our codes were horrible. So any building or house that was built prior to 1986 is suspect, Turner said. It was the Wild West  whatever you could get away with if you were making a buck.

Turner, who previously specialized in repairing older buildings, said hes seen very dangerous damage in Florida buildings. Im surprised that (Surfside) is the first one that Ive seen this happen to, he said. Im not surprised it happened; Im surprised its the first one.

In Boca Raton, officials are working quickly to establish a recertification process for older buildings, Councilman Andy Thomson said.

We have a number of high-rise condos on the beach, particularly. And I think thats what causes the most heartburn for people because of the potential of corrosion due to saltwater, Thomson said.

Steven Rogers lives at the Chalfonte condominiums in Boca Raton, where neither the city nor Palm Beach County requires building recertification. But Rogers, who was elected the condominium association president, said theyre not waiting for either to set a policy.

The association hired engineers two years ago to inspect the two 22-story towers built in the late 1970s on the Atlantic Ocean. Rogers said he called engineers again after the Surfside collapse and told them he wants an inspection policy thats more stringent than Miami-Dades. The association is now making repairs with plans to do so every year.

Do inspections that you feel are necessary, not what the city or the state feels is necessary, Rogers said. Its going to take time for the city or the state to come out with new laws, and in that time, we have to move. We have to do the right things now.

How the state will act could depend a lot on whats learned about the Surfside collapse, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference.

We want to be able to identify, why did this happen? Is this something that was unique to this building? DeSantis said. Is it something that buildings of that age that would have implications beyond that, whether southern Florida or the entire state of Florida? I think we need to get those definitive answers.

Democratic state Sen. Jason Pizzo, who represents Surfside, has indicated hell seek legislation to address condominium inspections when lawmakers return to Tallahassee in January.

Were going to be pushing for a few new provisions in FL condo law (like we have for the last three years). In the interim, condo associations must comply with existing laws and serious structural deficiencies, so our residents are not uprooted and forced to sleep in shelters, Pizzo recently tweeted.

Escambia County, which includes Pensacola Beach, has no recertification program for older high-rises, and Building Services Director Tim Tolbert said the area will probably wait to see if a statewide code is enacted.

I think it will be more enforceable that way, Tolbert said. Even if thats a requirement and an association refuses to do anything, what do you do? If you go to condemn the building, youre talking about major lawsuits. Its just going to be tough to enforce even if its a state requirement.

Top Photo: A crane works at the site of the Champlain Towers South Condo building, Saturday, June 26, 2021, in the Surfside area of Miami. The apartment building partially collapsed on Thursday. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Poland is awash in antisemitism, and it is the government in Warsaw that is setting the hateful tone amid the worst breakdown in Polish-Jewish relations since the fall of communism more than 30 years ago.

I take no pleasure in making that observation, which has been a long time in coming. It is the inevitable consequence of the decision of the Polish parliament, which is dominated by the ruling Law and Justice Party and its ultranationalist allies, to pass a law earlier this month effectively closing off the restitution claims of Holocaust victims and their immediate descendants.

It is ironic that a party named Law and Justice should be so wedded to outright theft and discrimination, but that is the present-day reality in Poland. Three years after instituting a law that encourages civil prosecutions against historians who falsely claim that some Poles collaborated with the occupying Nazis in hunting down and slaughtering Jews  as thousands of them verifiably did  the PiS government is once more adjusting its official narrative of the Holocaust in Poland, from where 3 million of the 6 million Jewish victims of the Nazis originated.

(Here, incidentally, is as good a place as any to stress that these were Jewish victims; women, men and children exterminated solely because they were Jews, and not because they were Polish citizens of Jewish origin, a phrase some unscrupulous nationalist politicians have been deploying in order to depict the Holocaust as ultimately a Polish tragedy, and not a Jewish one.

The underlying purpose of the new law is to assert, against the historical record, that neither Poland nor the Poles themselves bear any responsibility whatsoever for the fate of the Jews, who are hypocritically remembered by the same nationalists as our compatriots, as though the brutal history of Polish antisemitism that long predated the German occupation never happened. Murdered Jews? Blame Germany alone. Synagogues burned to a cinder? Blame Germany alone. Stolen Jewish property? Blame Germany alone.

In getting that message across, senior Polish leaders from Prime Minister Mateusz Marowiecki downwards have played an extraordinarily dishonest game. For all its anti-Communist fervor, the PiS government finds it inconvenient to recognize that what is at issue here is not the German occupation, but the fact that the post-war Soviet-backed regime engaged in a second round of theft by nationalizing the property of the Jews murdered by the Nazis. According to an Israeli government-appointed experts commission in 2007, heirless property taken over by the Communists in Poland had a combined value of about $30 billion, encompassing more than 1 million individual properties.

The rhetoric that has accompanied Polands abandonment of its obligations under the 2009 Terezin Declaration, which commits Warsaw and 46 other governments in moral terms to Holocaust property restitution, has been soaked in antisemitic tropes. We received an early taste of what this venom involved last year, when the Trump administrations ambassador to Poland, Georgette Mosbacher (who is not Jewish), was subjected to vile antisemitic and sexist abuse after she urged the Marowiecki government to respect the Terezin Declaration.

Over the last fortnight, Marowiecki has deliberately played to the popular notion that Holocaust survivors are driven by typically Jewish financial greed. Poland will certainly not pay for German crimes: Neither zloty, nor euro, nor dollar, the prime minister vowed, shortly before his deputy foreign minister, Marcin Przydacz, appeared on live TV to assure Poles that the military protection afforded them by the United States in the face of the Russian threat was not at risk, despite the presence of a large and Influential Jewish community in America.

In a separate interview, another PiS functionary  Ryszard Legutko, an archconservative Catholic academic and member of the European Parliament  helpfully elaborated on Marowieckis outburst. It is definitely about money, that is obvious, Legutko told the news outlet wPolityce. For the property of Polish citizens of Jewish origintheres that phrasewho died in the Holocaust, for the seizure of this property, compensation for that property, but also for venting these anti-Polish phobias, which are very strong in some Jewish communities.

This antisemitic poison is already manifesting itself on the streets, in a country where just 8,000 Jews still live, but which has readily used its rich Jewish heritage to enhance its international reputation. Recently, supporters of the far-right, antisemitic All-Polish Youth (MW) dumped a pile of bricks outside the Israeli Embassy in Warsaw together with a handwritten sign that read, Here is your property. On its Facebook page, the MW gave this explanation of its rapier wit: Just to be clear  they do not deserve anything, not even a brick. But we decided to present all the claims they could pursue by dumping a ton of rubble at the Israeli embassy. We slightly exceeded the value of what was left after the warHere is your property!

In substantive terms, there is no daylight between the position on Jewish property of the MW, a neo-fascist organization, and the PiS government, whose representatives are still greeted respectfully in Brussels, Washington, D.C., and other capitals. One is simply ruder and more provocative than the other. Both deserve the same contemptuous response from Israel and from the Jewish world.

Gratifyingly, neither Israel nor the Jewish advocacy organizations are taking these Polish insults lying down, while the U.S. government has also made its displeasure with the legislation crystal clear. Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, who has clashed with Warsaw in the past over its Holocaust revisionism, slammed the Polish parliaments decision as a horrific injustice and disgrace that harms the rights of Holocaust survivors, their heirs, and members of the Jewish communities that existed in Poland for hundreds of years. Recently, outgoing Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, who contrastingly was a good friend to the Polish government both personally and politically, told his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda, in a letter, I have decided to appeal to you that your esteemed government consider the consequences of such legislation (my emphasis).

Ronald S. Lauder, the president of the World Jewish Congress who has faced some criticism in the past for approaching the Polish government with kid gloves, regretfully stated his conclusion that the time has come for the international Jewish community to reevaluate our relationship with a government that is behaving with unimaginable callousness and is emulating the worst traditions in Polish history, rather than the best and most uplifting ones.

Negotiating with the Polish government has proven to be as frustrating as negotiating with the Palestinian Authority: Whatever short-term understandings might occasionally be achieved, real progress is always held back by deeply held ideological and historical grievances that are bolstered in turn by popular antisemitic beliefs. Yet the day-to-day security issues that necessitate a relationship with the PA do not exist in the Polish case. Sure, many supporters of the Polish government like to argue that were it not for Warsaws presence in the EU, Brussels would treat Israel even more shabbily, but that claim is a conceit and nothing more. As the recent conflict between Hamas and Israel demonstrated, governments and political leaders in Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom and other European nations did not require the intervention of the Polish government to express their understanding of Israels predicament with an empathy that would have been hard to imagine 20 years ago.

The passage of the restitution law, therefore, necessitates at least a temporary break in ties between the current Polish government and the State of Israel and Jewish groups worldwide. Poland has delivered yet another hurtful wound to the Jewish people; we should not dignify its authors by treating them as honest interlocutors, and certainly not as partners in the ongoing commemoration of the Holocaust.

Ben Cohen is a New York City-based journalist and author who writes a weekly column on Jewish and international affairs for JNS.
As the 2020-21 school year came to a close, students and families embraced the many opportunities to celebrate with more traditional milestone events. Some of the events were rethought and refreshed in light of the pandemic. The focus was on bringing on as many people together as possible to
SHOREWOOD [mdash] Robert J. Horan, age 85, of Shorewood, IL, formerly of Preston, IA, passed away Monday, July 12, 2021 at Salud Wellness Nursing Home, in Joliet, IL. A graveside funeral service will be held at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery, in Preston, IA on Saturday, July 17, 2021 at 2pm. A
Sandhill cranes loaf in the south marsh at Goose Lake Wildlife Area in Clinton County. Goose Lake is a permanent nesting site for sandhill cranes and for trumpeter swans, two iconic restoration species, and their numbers here are growing.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 12)  Malacanang confirms that President Rodrigo Duterte has received the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

In a message Monday, Presidential Harry Roque said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III administered the shot.

"I confirm that PRRD (President Rodrigo Roa Duterte) had his second dose of Sinopharm tonight before his meeting with select members of the IATF. Sec. Duque administered the jab to the President," said Roque.

In his weekly address to the nation, Duterte appealed to the public to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

"I reiterate my appeal: please get vaccinated as soon as possible. The life you are saving is not only your own, but also your loved ones and the people around you," he said.

Senator Bong Go shared photos of the moment on his Facebook page.

Duterte received his first dose of Sinopharm on May 3, also administered by Duque.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 12) -- Heavy traffic greeted motorists on Monday as the toll collection at the Skyway Stage 3 started.

Skyway O&M Corporation President Manuel Bonoan said motorists are still getting familiar with the collection, explaining the traffic build up.

The buildup as I said, this is the first day, it will take time for our motorists to be acquainted with toll collection procedure and processes, and a lot of inquiries, he told CNN Philippines Traffic Center.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority warned motorists on the possible traffic on the first day of toll collection in the expressway. It also instructed some local government units to clear the Mabuhay Lanes in their respective areas.

Bonoan also said some motorists had problems with their RFID stickers, which contributed to the traffic situation.

Most of the problems we encountered there is actually mainly of our RFID users (who) dont have enough load. We have to attend to them and install their loads, he added.

Once motorists get acquainted with the new system in the Skyway Stage 3, Bonoan said traffic in the expressway would ease up.

These are birth pains you know, first day of the toll collection system along Skyway Stage 3, he said. In the meantime, anyway, we are fielding all our personnel to attend to any problems in any of the toll plazas that we have.

After nearly seven months of free use, motorists can spend as much as 792 in using the expressway. The San Miguel Corporation earlier said the government can generate significant income from Skyway 3, as a 12% VAT will be imposed on all toll fees.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13) - The Bureau of Immigration warned foreign vloggers they could be deported if they use their platforms to sell or promote products while in the country.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said accepting local endorsements, selling products, and engaging in activities for profit while holding a temporary visitors' visa is a "deportable offense."

"If found guilty, violators can face deportation and blacklisting from the Philippines," Morente added.

While vloggers can help boost the country's tourism, Morente reminded them that their visas have limitations.

"Vloggers should not overstep their boundaries and perform actions only within the activities allowed in their visas," he said.

The bureau cited the case of a social media influencer who was charged early this year for doing business in the country without the necessary permit or visa.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines)  Emerging coronavirus variants are among the culprits in the second spike of COVID-19 cases in the country back in March.

The Philippines is one of the countries with the highest number of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta. Theta, a variant that is local in the Philippines, was also reported in January. These variants are either more infectious and/or could reduce the vaccines effectiveness.

Less than 1% of the total cases went through genome sequencing to determine the variant that caused COVID-19 infection.

So far, 15% of the 7,878 cases subjected to genome sequencing are Alpha, or the variant first discovered in the United Kingdom. But there are even more Beta cases, or the variant first discovered in South Africa, accounting for 17.5% of the samples checked. These were found among incoming travelers, and on samples from areas with clustering of cases.

In the past weeks, the government has also been raising concerns over the possible entry of the Delta variant, first discovered in India which is said to be 60% more transmissible than any of the known variants. So far, all of the 19 Delta cases in the country involve overseas Filipino workers who returned to the Philippines.

Border control

Health experts lament that the government has always been late in sealing its borders. Philippine College of Physician president Dr. Maricar Limpin says this is evident from the time China first reported its first novel coronavirus case back in 2020 and yet again when more transmissible variants were observed in other countries.

Noong start pa lang ng pandemic, we were slow in closing our bordersVery, very fast in opening borders tapos mabagal naman magsara kapag kakailanganin. Kaya pumapasok sa atin ang ibat ibang variants and we all know with the presence of variants in the country, mas transmissible ang sakit, mas mabilis, mas exponential ang transmission ng sakit, kaya mabilis ang ano, pagpeak ng may sakit dito sa ating bansa nitong March, she says.

[Translation: Even at the start of the pandemic, we were slow in closing our borders. We are very, very fast in opening our borders but laggard when it comes to closing our borders when it is urgent. That is why variants enter our country. These variants are more transmissible, increase faster exponentially. This caused the peaks of the virus in the country last March.]

Former National Task Force special adviser Dr. Tony Leachon criticizes Health Secretary Francisco Duque III for failing to show concern about the now-feared Delta variant, which is blamed for the deadly surge in India.

Yun India, nagsurge yan early part ng April. Dapat nagtravel ban na nun. In-interview si Secretary Duque noon, hindi pa mag-ban sa India kasi wala pang nakikita. Ang problema kung nakapasok sa atin early on. I will not be surprised later on kung may (local case of) Indian variant tayo kasi hindi tayo proactive about it, at ang genomic surveillance ay kokonti," he says.

[Translation: When India had a surge during the early part of April, we should have imposed a travel ban then. They interviewed Secretary Duque and he said we would not ban travel from India as the virus had not been noted. The problem is if the variant had already entered the country. I will not be surprised if later on, we would have local transmission of the Indian variant because we are not proactive and genomic surveillance is minimal.]

Health experts also note the need to upgrade the genomic sequencing capacity, citing the very low percentage of samples being checked for the variants. The Philippine Genome Center and the UP-National Institutes for Health are processing about 750 samples every week. Last May, infectious diseases expert Dr. Rontgene Solante said more sequencing tests are needed to know the "real picture," so experts can say if the variants are driving the transmission.

But Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire says a travel ban is not the only way to control the variants entry. She says the government has enough safeguards, such as improved testing and quarantine protocols for incoming travelers, to prevent the variant from reaching the country and spreading in the community.

Border regulations, testing rules, and quarantine protocols are also constantly changing, some haphazardly, resulting to public confusion. The government recently implemented a green lane or mandatory 7-day quarantine and testing on the fifth day for fully vaccinated international travelers. Meanwhile, individuals who have not received complete COVID-19 doses are required to undergo 10 days of facility-based quarantine and four days of home-quarantine, with an RT-PCR testing on the seventh day.

Despite criticisms, the World Health Organization says the Philippines has done a good job in handling the pandemic.

Pre-pandemic healthcare

Aside from being the biggest health crisis to hit the country in this century, Health Professionals Alliance Against COVID-19 (HPAAC) steering committee member Dr. Aileen Espina says the Philippines had a hard time responding to COVID-19 because the countrys healthcare system was already in a sorry state even before the pandemic.

In 2019, there was only one doctor for every 33,000 Filipinos, much less than the average 1:6,600 ratio. There was only one hospital bed for every 1,121 people.

We had very limited capacity to respond, yung healthcare system natin. We dont have the ideal bed-to-population ratio to begin with. Yung ating health human resource hindi rin ganun karami, which is quite an irony because we are a country known all over the world to be one of the top exporters of health human resource. And yet in our country, and statistics will show, that even before Covid-19, six out of 10 deaths in the Philippines were not medically attended to, Dr. Espina says.

[Translation: We had very limited capacity to respond with our healthcare system. We dont have the ideal bed-to-population ratio to begin with. We lack health human resources which is ironic as our country is known all over the world as among the top exporters of health human resources. And yet in our country, statistics will show that even before COVID-19, six out of 10 deaths in the Philippines were not medically attended to.]

She also noted that many healthcare facilities are not properly equipped.

President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Universal Health Care Law in February 2019. This aims to provide all Filipinos affordable access to healthcare. But, the pandemic hit the country before it was fully implemented.

With major public health emergency at hand, the government had to fast-track the execution of the UHC Law, and has so far put up a hospital referral system, the One Hospital Command Center, digitized the health data collection, and is still working on integrating the health response from barangay to national level.

President Duterte only has a year left in power. With the looming threat of more variants, health and political experts say, the improvement of the COVID-19 situation in the country will depend on how the government will act in the next 12 months.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13)  President Rodrigo Duterte is hoping that the next administration will be more competent and productive when it comes to addressing the challenges being faced by the country.

I hope that the next administration will be more competent than us now, brighter than us now, and more productive than us now, Duterte said during his weekly address after he recognized the World Banks apology over its Philippine education report.

In the said report, the foreign body noted how the countrys education system is lagging behind, leaving 80% of students to perform poorly in their studies.

Duterte then pointed out if only that the Philippines had enough money, then the government could improve public services.

We are third-world country, classified as one. Ang mahirap lagi sa atin is the constraint of money (is always a challenge for us). Eh kung may pera lang talaga sana tayo, kung maganda lang ang ating ekonomiya (If we only have money, if we have a better economy) and we are earning just this much, we could have improved on the governance of all departments, the chief executive explained.

Kung may pera sana na marami (If we have lots of money) then we could have upgraded everything to compete or reach in parity with the other first-class countries, he also said.

Earlier, Education Secretary Leonor Briones demanded an apology from the World Bank for its controversial report, which the president commended.

Duterte said he hopes for a more accurate report as the Education Department submits data that will better show the true and accurate situation in the Philippines.

I hope a more accurate report based on the latest data will be made. I am sure that the Department of Education is working on a new set of data to be submitted to them (World Bank) so that they can correct their figures and data inputs, he said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13)  The Department of Health on Tuesday stressed that the risk of developing a rare neurological disorder after receiving Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine remains very low.

In a statement, Health Spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said current data still show that the benefits of getting vaccinated outweigh the possibility of experiencing adverse reactions, such as the very rare Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS).

She made the comment after the United States Food and Drug Administration warned Janssen vaccine recipients of an increased risk of GBS during the 42 days following inoculation.

It described the syndrome as a disorder in which the bodys immune system damages nerve cells, causing weakness and sometimes paralysis. Symptoms include weakness or tingling in the arms and legs; difficulty walking, speaking, chewing or swallowing; double vision; and bowel or bladder control problems.

We call on all patients to report to their local vaccine operations center for any cases of GBS or immediately contact a healthcare provider if they feel any symptoms, Vergeire said.

She added the medical community should immediately report such suspected reactions to epidemiology and surveillance units for proper investigation and assessment.

The country is set to receive next week 3.2 million Janssen doses donated by the US government. This is the first batch of single-shot vaccines to be delivered to the Philippines. A health official said senior citizens and adults with comorbidities will be prioritized.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13)  The governments goal of inoculating 70 million Filipinos against COVID-19 by year-end is still on track despite the countrys official population surpassing authorities initial estimate, the National Economic and Development Authority said.

In a virtual briefing on Tuesday, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua noted the small disparity between the Philippines official 109.03 million population as of May 2020 and the governments 108.77 million prior estimate.

We are just higher by 263,000 out of the 70 million we want to inoculate," said the NEDA chief. "So we are broadly on track.

The deviation is not even 1% [of the total population]," he explained. "We are well able to fund this additional [figure].

The Philippines is currently vaccinating health workers, elderlies, people with comorbidities, economic frontliners, and indigents against the highly contagious disease.

Approximately 13.19 million doses have already been administered as of July 11, according to latest government data. About 9.67 million have received their first dose, while 3.52 million have gotten both shots.

Chua, along with his fellow economic managers, has been pushing for a speedier, more efficient vaccine rollout coupled with the implementation of the governments recovery package and efforts to gradually and safely open the economy further to help fast-track recovery.

The economy remains in recession this year as it logged a milder 4.2% contraction from January to March.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13)  The regional party of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte said Tuesday that she does not want a Duterte-Duterte tandem in next year's elections, and she will just seek reelection should her father pursue his vice presidential bid.

"We already know that Mayor Sara is not agreeable to a Duterte-Duterte tandem. Once ma-finalize na ni President Digong (Rodrigo Duterte) na tatakbo siyang vice president in 2022, we are almost 100% sure that Mayor Sara will seek reelection for Davao City mayor," Hugpong ng Pagbabago Secretary General Antonio del Rosario told CNN Philippines' The Source on Tuesday.

[Translation: Once President Rodrigo Duterte finalizes his decision to run for vice president in 2022, we are almost 100% sure that Mayor Sara will seek reelection for Davao City mayor.]

Del Rosario also said that if the President decides to run for the second highest post in the land and endorses another candidate as his successor, his daughter and HNP "will support whoever he endorses."

But will President Duterte really run for vice president? In his public address on Monday night, he said he is just using some scare tactics against political opponents and will not push through "if it does not contribute anything to our Republic."

He also advised his daughter to seek the presidency some other time to spare her "from the vagaries of politics."

READ: Duterte says floating VP bid part of his scare tactics

Mayor Duterte already said in a chance interview that she is open to running for president. Del Rosario noted that there is "more than 50%" chance of her pushing through, and HNP will wait for her final decision by the end of the month.

READ: Sara Duterte now 'open' to run for president in 2022

Five political parties have also sought to renew their alliance with HNP to gear up for next year's polls. These parties are Lakas-CMD, National Unity Party, Nacionalista Party, Pwersa ng Masa Pilipino, and People's Reform Party.

Del Rosario said the HNP is still finalizing an agreement where all parties would be in favor of whoever HNP endorses for president, vice president, and senators.

The Commission on Elections has set the filing of candidacies for the 2022 elections on October 1 to 8.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13) Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte and her father President Rodrigo Duterte topped a survey of possible presidential and vice presidential bets for the 2022 general election, according to results released by Pulse Asia on Tuesday.

The nationwide Ulat ng Bayan survey  conducted from June 7 to 16  showed 28% would vote for the presidential daughter if elections were held on the day the poll was conducted.

Rounding up the top five for the presidential choices are Manila Mayor Isko Moreno (14%), former senator Bongbong Marcos (13%), Senator Grace Poe (10%), and Senator Manny Pacquiao (8%).

Meanwhile, President Duterte led the pack for the potential vice presidential bets with 18% of respondents saying they would vote for the countrys current leader.

He is in a tight race with Moreno (14%), Senate President Tito Sotto (10%), Marcos (10%), and Pacquiao (9%).

While she has yet to reveal definite plans for next years elections, Mayor Duterte told Cebu-based journalists in an impromptu interview last week that she was open to running for president.

An official from her regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago, however, noted that she does not want a Duterte-Duterte tandem for the polls, and would just seek reelection should the older Duterte shoot for the vice presidential seat.

READ: Duterte says floating VP bid part of his scare tactics
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 14)  Health experts are set to meet on July 15 to tackle the implementation of trials to mix and match COVID-19 vaccines, a government official said.

Undersecretary Rowena Guevarra of the Depatment of Science and Technology disclosed the scheduled meeting between the DOST, the Department of Health and the Philippine Society of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology when asked about updates on the subject amid tight vaccine supply.

Mula po noong June nagsimula na preparasyon para sa implementation nitong mix and match vaccine trials, she told the Laging Handa briefing. Nakatakdang magpulong ang DOST, DOH at ang PSAAI sa ika-15 ng Hulyo upang mapag-usapan nang lubusan ang implementation ng ating mix and match vaccine trials.

[Translation: Since June, preparation to start the implementation of mix and match vaccine trials has started. The DOST, DOH and PSAAI are set to meet on July 15 to discuss the implementation of our mix and match vaccine trials.]

Vaccines to be used in the study are those being used in the country, namely AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, Sputnik, and Sinovac, she shared.

Guevarra said they are eyeing 3,000 unvaccinated individuals from Manila, Pasig City, Antipolo City, Marikina City, Makati City, Pasay City, Quezon City, Muntinlupa City, Cebu City and Davao City to be part of the trials.

Participants will still be examined based on the inclusion and exclusion of the study, she added.

In May, the DOST said it will study how Chinas Sinovac works with other vaccine brands. It aims to find the safety and immunogenicity of mixing-and-matching different COVID-19 shots.

On July 3, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said it is prudent for our government to delay mixing and matching as they wait for more evidence to support this approach.

Other countries, like Germany, recommend combining two different vaccines after seeing that a mixed dose vaccination resulted in a clearly superior immune response.

Trials were initially scheduled from June 2021 to November 2022, but the Food and Drug Administration and the Philippine Health Research Ethics Board have yet to give their go-signal.

RELATED: FDA: Mix-and-match technique with Sinovac vaccine still up in the air
The Coastal Point is a local newspaper published each Friday and distributed in the Bethany Beach, South Bethany, Fenwick Island, Ocean View, Millville, Dagsboro, Frankford, Selbyville, Millsboro, Long Neck and Georgetown, Delaware areas.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board announced Tuesday it will hold a public hearing on the SC Gaming Op Co., LLCs proposal to open a casino at the Nittany Mall.

To be hosted at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, the hearing will take place at 4 p.m. August 16 for the purpose of acquiring testimony for and against the proposed casino, according to a PGCB release.

The hearing will be free to the public with in-person and online options for attendees. It will also be livestreamed from the PGCBs website.

Those wishing to attend or speak at the hearing must register by noon on August 12, according to the release. Registration will open July 21.

All who register to speak will have their names publicly displayed on the PGCBs website, the release said.

PGCB spokesperson Douglas Harbach said he believes hearing testimony from those directly impacted by the project will be integral in the PGCBs decision-making process.

After the initial hearing in August, a second hearing will be held at a yet unspecified time in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to provide final evidence and arguments for or against the casinos construction, according to the release.

MORE BOROUGH COVERAGE

State Colleges Lila Yoga pivots to fully virtual format after closing its doors After more than a year since the beginning of the pandemic, many local businesses in State C
After more than a year since the beginning of the pandemic, many local businesses in State College have been left with no choice but to shut their doors permanently.

Lila Yoga, a yoga studio and meditation center in downtown State College, closed its doors last August after more than 10 years of business and has continued solely online.

Erica Kaufman, owner of Lila Yoga, said she made the decision to close her studio because she could not practice yoga with customers in a safe environment at the time.

The studio itself actually had to close its doors first because [Gov. Tom Wolf] ordered all such businesses [to] close, Kaufman said. But even after it became legal for me to open, there was no real business.

She then decided to pivot to an all-online format for the studios offerings.

People werent flocking to come indoors, and it didnt seem like a good idea to get together and breathe [heavily] indoors together, Kaufman said.

Through Zoom and Facebook, Kaufman has continued to offer free yoga classes, and she said it has helped foster a continuous sense of community [by] holding each others hands through the difficulty.

Clare Belmonte, who used to practice yoga at Kaufmans studio, said she has continued to practice yoga throughout the pandemic online and is planning to complete the studios teacher training this fall.

MORE BOROUGH COVERAGE

Erica took Lila Yoga studio to the next level when she began teaching classes for free online, Belmonte said. I feel so strongly aligned with the way she leads her classes and connects people. I am training with her for her fall 2021 Lila Yoga Teacher Training.

Chris Valez, a Penn State doctoral candidate, has taught with Kaufman at the studio and practiced lila yoga throughout the pandemic.

For the online classes, Im excited to be able to continue to share the beautiful practice that is lila yoga with folks from the comfort of their homes, Valez (doctorate-human development and family studies) said. Erica had been offering yoga online during the pandemic for community healing through these times, so it will be nice to continue to have access to the practice.

However, Kaufman said the revitalization efforts  now permanently online  havent stopped her from practicing old traditions.

As a studio owner, I always offered free classes during the first week of school and also free classes during finals. I'm ready to do that again, Kaufman said. It will probably be online, but I will offer it to the students.

Kaufman said her main hope is for the community to recognize they have a resource for healthy yoga.

Im extending my hands and offering skills that enable each person to feel grounded, connected and healthy, Kaufman said. My greatest wish is to really reach out to the community again to join hands with these kinds of skills that will elevate our health and our wellness.
A State College man has come under fire recently after he accidentally left a comment on the wrong Facebook post.

Bob Johnson, 42, thought he was commenting on a column from The Daily Collegian but did not realize he was actually posting on the obituary of his friends grandmother.

Johnsons comment reads as follows: I am sick and tired of these woke libtards taking over my great alma mater! I remember when The Daily Collegian actually posted news and not this woke left bulls---! There whats wrong with this great country!

Geremiah Hassle, the original poster of the obituary, was shocked to see someone comment a completely irrelevant statement on what was meant to be a tribute to a loved one.

Im not sure whats more disturbing, the fact that [Johnson] commented something so angry, or that a 42-year-old doesnt know how to use the proper version of theyre, Hassle said.

Johnson said he stands by his comments and does not plan on changing his habit of not reading articles before commenting.

Why would I spend five minutes reading something when I can just comment right away? Johnson said. Its not like Im going to learn anything from reading it.

After doing a deep dive into Johnsons Facebook, it is clear this is not a first-time event for him. He recently accused another columnist with the Collegian of being antisemitic. The only issue with his statement is that the writer is in fact Jewish and even prefaced that in the third line of the column.

Once again, Johnson stood by his comment and has doubled down on the writer being antisemitic.

I dont care that he says hes Jewish, Johnson said. Hes probably a member of antifa anyway, so who cares what he is. He could be white, black, brown, purple, it doesnt matter  anyone apart of that terrorist group hates everyone.

It is worth noting that according to Chris Wray, director of the FBI, antifa is in fact not an organization, but an ideology. Johnson said he does not believe this and only trusts real news sources.

Unless Tucker Carlson or Geraldo Rivera says it, its bulls---, Johnson said.

While going through his Facebook, it was found that Johnson had commented on five occasions that he was going to block The Daily Collegian site. He still has yet to even unfollow it.

Im gonna do it one of these days, Johnson said. Its more or less a threat at this point to [the Collegian] so that theyll start posting some real news.

Because the interview was conducted via phone, the Collegian is unsure of what Johnson even looks like, as his Facebook profile picture is a bald eagle flying in front of an American flag.

Hassle said Johnsons posting has become progressively more political since becoming friends with him on the site.

It wasnt always so bad, Hassle said. For the longest time he would just post random pictures of nature and then out of nowhere he started posting conspiracy theories about how people like Nancy Pelosi are actually lizards.

Johnson said he switched over to the conservative site Parler for a bit but eventually returned to Facebook.

I didnt like everyone agreeing with me, Johnson said. I get more joy in getting mad at others who have a slightly different opinion than me. If I cant be happy in life, then no one can.

Hassle removed Johnsons comment and then received an outpouring of hate from friends of Johnson who began commenting things like snowflake and sheeple.

I dont know where they even came from, Hassle said. I was just trying to commemorate my grandmother and next thing you know, a bunch of profiles with American flag pictures started commenting the snowflake emoji.

Johnsons friends even started a #FreeBob hashtag, despite Johnson not even being banned or reprimanded in any way by Facebook.

Im tired of being oppressed, Johnson said. If I cant comment on things I dont know about, whats the point of living in this country? This is Bidens America for you.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge during a Tuesday stop in Denver warned the affordable housing crisis is bigger than people want to admit but praised efforts to revamp public housing in Colorado.

After touring a public housing complex currently under construction in Denvers Sun Valley neighborhood along with her Democratic former congressional colleague Diana DeGette and Mayor Michael Hancock, Fudge laid out for reporters the dire state of housing in America.

We are short about 11 million places for people to live, she said. As we talk about things like getting homeless people off the street, right now we're at a point where we can do things like put them in hotels and motels, but it's not enough.

DeGette added Denver ranked 42nd in the country in terms of available affordable housing units, according to a report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

We can all see that when we drive downtown by the city and county building and see homeless encampments, the Denver Democrat said. But it's not just the homeless encampments, it's the ability to get affordable housing for families and for individuals, almost all of whom have jobs, some of them have two or three jobs.

Thats where Hancock hopes the new Gateway South and Gateway North Denver Housing Authority units come into play.

Denver Housing Authority has been one of the leaders in building seamless public housing so that no one recognizes that this is public housing, Hancock said. I want you just to take stock of this area: this is typically what we see around the country  areas that become gentrified because of the development.

The tour through the Gateway South complex included a stop in a unit as well as the complexs gym and an attached supermarket still under construction, which drew praise from Fudge.

When I talk with the president ... I'm going to say to him, When somebody wants to see an example of what works, meet me in Sun Valley, she said. This is something that I've not seen and I traveled an awful lot.

Fudge also touted the $2 trillion American Jobs Plan legislation backed by the Biden administration that is currently before Congress. Thats the infrastructure package proposed by Biden during his early days in the Oval Office.

The president understands very, very clearly how important housing is and that's why he is requesting of Congress $300 billion to build new housing, housing like this. she said. Homelessness is an issue that the president is honing in on and we're going to be addressing.

The Biden administration in June announced support for a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package negotiated by federal lawmakers. That package does not explicitly contain funding for housing and Biden indicated he would only sign it if lawmakers also passed a bill directing money to "human infrastructure" programs.

The president really does understand very clearly housing is infrastructure, Fudge said. We are in the richest nation in the world, no one should sleep on the street in a tent, under a bridge, on a bench.
This year our dine and drink business locations throughout the Gorge have suffered with closures. You can help support your favorites by purchasing take out and gift cards. Many of these business will offer curb-side delivery and some will deliver to your home. Lets keep the Gorge going strong!
Thank you for reading!

Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue.
If You Go

What: "Give 'em Hell, Harry!"

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Friday and 1 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Capital City Productions, 719 Wicker Lane, Jefferson City.

Tickets: $34 per person. To purchase tickets go to the Capital City Productions website at https://ccpjc.org/give-em-hell-harry/

Contact information: 573-681-9612 or email info@ccpjc.org.

Details: "Give 'em Hell, Harry!" is a one-man show depicting key moments in the life of President Harry S. Truman. His oldest grandson, Clifton Daniel Jr., portrays the 33rd president.
The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form
DANVILLE - Jane Thurston Hahne, of Danville, passed in her home surrounded by loved ones on July 3, 2021 at the age of 92. Jane was born on March 11, 1929 in Boston, Massachusetts. Jane will forever be known for the diehard Boston Red Sox and Ohio State fan she was. Along with raising her se
If your business uses Apple products, its very likely you also make use of its mobile device management (MDM) protocols to manage your fleet. Be forwarned, there are big changes coming with iOS 15.

Putting your device in control

Apple announced changes to its MDM system at WWDC 2021, introducing a new approach it calls "declarative management." It's designed to give each device more power and more responsibility, and replaces the server-heavy reactive MDM approach in use today (where a device is enrolled, profiles are downloaded, and appropriate action happens once the device confirms its status).

IT admins know that reactive MDM systems can strain management servers at certain times. With its autonomy, Apples approach helps reduce that workload and increases performance and scalability; it should make a particular difference when managing large fleets of Apple products.

As a result, the device becomes more autonomous and proactive, policing itself to ensure it maintains your companys security and device policies. Under this model, the device doesnt need to interrogate the MDM server for everything.

Check your MDM vendor for support

One thing it does require is that your MDM system supports Apples new approach. Most MDM solutions vendors have begun working with Apples new technologies and I anticipate many will be ready to roll with support for declarative management on the day the new operating systems are released.

Individual devices are still constrained by the MDM security policy, but can better assess some states rather than seeking help from the server. The devices will also proactively send updated information to servers as required.

A little on how it works

Explaining the system at WWDC, Apple described three main components. Developers and IT admins will want to go in depth with the feature on their developer channel, but a deeply simplified description of what is available follows:

Declarations: These JSON objects define policy and how the device should be configured. They manage device configuration, reference data, activations, and management functions. Your permission to request a new login password is set on the device, for example.

Status: This core tells the MDM server when a device changes, such as when iOS is updated. This module will let your system know once the device has updated that login password.

Extensibility: Both server and device tell each other when new capabilities are available, such as when an operating system upgrade is available and once it is installed.

Apple is still rolling out the different component declarations. Account, passcode and profile configurations are available now, as are two asset declarations for user ID and passwords.

Apple is also asking developers to think about how declarative management can best work with their solutions, or for their particular customer groups. Its easy to see, for example, how device fleets in some industries might benefit from more powerful on-device autonomous MDM: shipping, exploration, underground, for example.

Not yet available for Macs

MDM developers, including Jamf, are already working with declarative management and will likely have something to introduce once iOS 15/iPadOS 15 appear.

One important thing to note is that Apple hasnt yet made declarative management available for Macs. I think thats only a step or so away, but might be reliant on use of systems with Apple processors (I dont know for sure)  but it surely makes sense to add this kind of protection to Apples popular macOS devices.

Two additional improvements in MDM for Apple users in the enterprise will include Apple Configurator for iPhone, which lets you set up Macs for your MDM, and the capacity to erase all content and settings on Macs from within System Preferences. These enhancements will ship with the operating systems this fall.

Please follow me on Twitter, or join me in the AppleHolics bar & grill and Apple Discussions groups on MeWe.
Microsoft's once-vaunted Windows-as-a-Service (WaaS) is in tatters. Windows 11's introduction last month  and more importantly its proposed servicing and maintenance scheme  did that.

The fact that Microsoft bent to the seemingly inevitable should be credited, even if the company took years to reach a cadence that many customers had pleaded for almost immediately. But the failure of the Windows-as-a-service model likely also has a downside, chief among them the tainting of that strategy  perhaps to the point where it's no longer an option through the foreseeable future.

Pluses and minuses, then, as usual. But which is which?

Just a reminder about WaaS

Microsoft had big plans for Windows 10. Enormous plans. The operating system would not be the next upgrade from Windows 7 but would be the final version for the rest of time. Rather than replace Windows 7 with another edition that would eventually age out of support and be supplanted in turn by Windows 10+x, Windows 10 would be constantly refreshed, with new features and functionality added to major updates released first three, then two times a year.

Even now, the company trumpets Windows-as-a-service with the same language it did when it unveiled the model, as well it should; Windows 10 will continue until late 2025.

Although the following is lengthy, it's important in its entirety because it best explains how Windows 10 was different from everything that came before. In fact, it also spells out why Windows 10 was a radicalized reimagining of what an OS should be.

"Prior to Windows 10, Microsoft released new versions of Windows every few years," the company stated in a crucial support document. "This traditional deployment schedule imposed a training burden on users because the feature revisions were often significant. That schedule also meant waiting long periods without new features  a scenario that doesn't work in today's rapidly changing world, a world in which new security, management, and deployment capabilities are necessary to address challenges. Windows as a service will deliver smaller feature updates two times per year, around March and September, to help address these issues."

Without the change in release cadence, Windows 10 would have been just an improved Windows 7.

Yep, that's dead

With Windows 11 moving to a once-a-year release tempo, Windows-as-a-service is clearly in retreat. After all, other operating systems  macOS on the desktop, Android and iOS on mobile  refresh annually, and their makers don't tout them as being a service.

Expect Microsoft to drop the WaaS concept, conceding defeat. (If it doesn't, we can't wait for the spin on this one.)

Okay, annual it is then

The fast pace Microsoft set for Windows 10  initially that three-times-a-year release schedule  suffered pushback from the get-go. The servicing change was simply too great for most commercial customers to wrap their heads around, much less adopt ASAP.

Analysts kept saying that Microsoft was finding its way to policies that both it and customers would accept as the months, then years, ticked by. Those analysts also predicted that Microsoft would eventually reach an annual cadence.

And they were right. So credit goes to Redmond for adapting to a slower release tempo. It doesn't matter whether Microsoft did so to address customer complaints or for its own, unknown purposes; the bottom line  annual feature upgrades  is what's important.

Cumulative updates remain

Nearly forgotten now, another change in how Microsoft updated Windows 10 devices once raised as loud a ruckus as the too-often feature upgrades. Concurrent with the launch of Windows 10, Microsoft said that quality updates, its name for the monthly security fixes issued for the OS, would henceforth be cumulative. "This means new feature upgrades and servicing updates will contain the payloads of all previous releases and installing the release on a device will bring it completely up to date," Microsoft said in August 2015.

That was a huge departure from decades of practice, which let customers pick and choose which individual patches they would install or decline.

Users and IT admins howled, saying that they would no longer be able to skip some patches; those that had been proven to cripple an application or even PCs were cited most often. "Enterprises will lose the control that they have had," said one patch expert at the time. "They won't be able to handle exceptions anymore."

Griping about cumulative updates has virtually subsided, proving that some of Windows 10's changes were ultimately accepted. Not surprisingly, perhaps, Microsoft will continue the cumulative approach with Windows 11.

Whether those cumulative updates accomplish what Microsoft set for them  to make sure "customers' devices are more closely aligned with the testing done at Microsoft, reducing unexpected issues resulting from patching"  is unclear. (Like many of Microsoft's decisions regarding Windows, any benefits delivered to customers may have been more incidental than intentional.)

That Microsoft plans to continue the practice should, in the absence of other evidence, signal that cumulative updates have realized the company's goals.

Microsoft assumed responsibility for Home and unmanaged Pro PCs

Another win for Microsoft, and in reality, the Windows ecosystem as well, was the you-will-be-patched mentality that suffused Windows 10.

With Windows 10, Microsoft took it upon itself to upgrade Home devices and those Pro machines that were not managed by IT. Initially, Microsoft made all the decisions about which systems were upgraded, when and in which order. Subsequently, it bent to popular demand (we think) and allowed those users to decide when a feature upgrade was installed. But it retained final say, announcing that it would auto-upgrade PCs as they neared the end of support for their current Windows 10 edition. (The interval before retirement became approximately four months.)

Because the feature upgrades were also cumulative, installing one meant that all prior security fixes were also applied; it was not possible, then, for Home and unmanaged Pro systems to go unpatched forever. That possibility was always a Microsoft bugaboo.

Unpatched PCs, of course, are a threat not only to themselves to also to the general Windows ecosystem; if compromised, they can be used by criminals to attack other devices or spread malware within corporate networks' guarded perimeters.

Windows 11 will retain these rules of the road. In one support document, Microsoft said, "Home edition does not support the deferral of feature updates and will therefore typically receives a new version of Windows 11 prior to the end-of-servicing date shown."

How do you keep them on the farm when they've seen the big city?

The retreat from multiple yearly upgrades makes it hard to believe Microsoft can effectively pitch the concept of service going forward when refreshes occur only once every 12 months. Once a year is not a service, it's a subscription. (But then, some people will believe anything.)

The more the post-Windows 10 world resembles the pre-Windows 10 world, the more difficult WaaS will be to sustain. Just as importantly, the failure to pull off the intended rapid release cadence will make it very difficult, if not impossible, for Microsoft to resurrect it at some later moment.

Once browsers went free, for instance, shifting from, believe it or not, a paid model, charging for one became non-negotiable. If, say five years down the line, Microsoft attempts to restore a service-esque cadence of twice yearly upgrades, customers will simply shake their heads and say, aloud or not, "It failed before. How's it supposed to work now?"
Funeral service for William Arthur Martin, 74, of Palestine, TX. Viewing will be on Friday, July 16, 2021 at Emanuel Funeral Home of Palestine from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Funeral will be held on Saturday, July 17, 2021 at Grace Temple C.O.G.I.C, with burial to follow in Price Cemetery, Palestine.
Trade group Beautycare Brazil has defined the 19 countries that will comprise its focus between 2022 and 2023 for finished products, ingredients, and packaging, services and accessories.

Previously: Beautycare Brazil Continues Reach to the Middle East

The markets selected for the sectoral project include Australia, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States.

To arrive at the list, a study of 43 countries across five continents previously identified as being of common interest to the trade group members was carried out by Apex-Brasils Market Intelligence group.

Apex-Brasil also presented sector-specific analyses, evaluating the same countries but from other perspectives such as information on product launches, sector agreements, mapping of regulatory barriers for the cosmetic, toiletry and fragrance industrys products, and business opportunity for Brazilian companies.

This market prioritization work is what defines the projects strategy and performance for the next two years (2022 and 2023)," said Gueisa Silverio of Beautycare Brazil. "The complete study as it was carried out is essential for us to find the best way to support companies and define project guidelines and events that will be held."
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Submit Community News
Weather Alert

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 PM CDT THIS AFTERNOON... The National Weather Service in Little Rock has issued a * Flash Flood Watch for portions of central Arkansas, eastern Arkansas, north central Arkansas, southeast Arkansas, southwest Arkansas and western Arkansas, including the following areas, in central Arkansas, Conway, Faulkner, Garland, Grant, Lonoke, Perry, Pope, Prairie, Pulaski, Saline, White and Yell. In eastern Arkansas, Jackson, Monroe and Woodruff. In north central Arkansas, Cleburne, Newton and Van Buren. In southeast Arkansas, Arkansas, Cleveland, Desha, Drew, Jefferson and Lincoln. In southwest Arkansas, Clark, Dallas, Hot Spring and Pike. In western Arkansas, Johnson, Logan, Montgomery, Polk and Scott. * Until 3 PM CDT this afternoon. * Scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms are expected today. The storms will be efficient rainfall producers, with amounts of one inch or higher possible in a very short term. Storms will be slow-moving and are likely to form and move over areas that have already seen heavy rainfall. * Localized flash flooding is possible. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... You should monitor later forecasts and be prepared to take action should Flash Flood Warnings be issued. &&
Reader, are you tired? Do you spend your nights tossing and turning, struggling to catch even a wink of sleep? Are you guilty of telling yourself the eternal lie of one more TikTok and then I'll head to bed" only to watch approximately 100 more videos of people badly attempting to dance to Renegade before finally putting your phone down? Have you tried everything, popping melatonin pills like Tic Tacs, dousing your pillows in lavender spray, making the heartbreaking switch to decaf coffee, and hell, even counting herd after herd of fictitious sheep, to no avail?

Well, before you set your bed ablaze, chuck your pillows out the window, and begrudgingly come to terms with a life defined by sleepless nights and cranky mornings, it seems there may still be hope  enter Matt Groening's classic animated series, Futurama.

Yep, over the past almost decade, a strong community of Futurama Sleepers" has materialized online, with its several thousand members detailing not only their love for the show, but also just how effective watching the intergalactic adventures of Fry, Leela, and Bender has proven to be at helping them catch some much-needed z's.

Back whenever it was on Netflix I say there wasn't a single night I fell asleep without Futurama for years, and now I know I wasn't the only one, wrote one user, a self-described Long time Futurama sleeper" on Reddit.

I've been using Futurama to go to sleep for probably a decade now and always look crazy when I tell people that I do, added another user on a recent post entitled This is so surreal!. "You can watch the episodes while your eyes are closed and still know everything that's happening and who is talking. Nothing is ever jarringly loud to keep you up, and that sweet sweet opening theme is almost a lullaby for me now. So cool to find a community that feels the same way! Onward to restful nights with the best show ever keeping us calm!"

Continue Reading Below Advertisement

Although this phenomenon has existed for some time, with r/FuturamaSleepers, which boasts more than 20,000 followers, dating back to 2012, the trend recently gained more attention thanks to a viral TikTok posted earlier this week discussing the concept of dozing off to the beloved animated series.

A lot of these people will insist that Futurama is the only thing that helps them fall asleep," explained TikTok user kothtok in her video, which has garnered more than 500,000 views in roughly one day. that they had insomnia until they discovered it."
Not every cryptid can be as cool as Bigfoot or Nessie. If local lore is lacking and someone catches a shadow at the wrong time, the results could be the discovery of the lamest mythical creature possible. This is what happened in Loveland, Ohio, home of the Loveland Frog.

Standing at an impressive four feet tall, the Loveland Frog is said to resemble a frog in appearance, but it walks on its back legs. Those who have encountered the Loveland Frog claim that areas where it has been smell of almonds and alfalfa  so, like every vegan grocery store.

Tim Bertelink They also suffer from permanent caught looking at porn face, apparently.

The first Loveland Frog sighting comes from 1955, and accounts of the encounter vary. The general lore of this encounter is that a salesman driving at night encountered three creatures near the Little Miami River. Each of these was a Loveland Frog, and the encounter ended when one of them held up a wand that shot sparks into the air. Reasonably, the salesman quickly got away after the sight of wand-wielding, bipedal frogs.

After making their debut, the Loveland Frogs disappointingly disappeared for 17 years before gracing us with their presence again. In 1972, the Loveland police had two separate encounters with the mysterious Frogman. On March 3, an officer saw a large creature that resembled the Loveland frog from the 1955 setting. Before he could take action, though, the creature ran away (or hopped, maybe).

Captain Jammers As Ohioan frogs famously weren't given driver's licenses until 1973.

Continue Reading Below Advertisement

The next encounter happened only two weeks later, and this encounter would give us some answers. This Loveland Frog encounter involved another police officer, who saw a mysterious creature around the same spot as the first officer. Unlike the first officer, though, this one was prepared. With the swiftness of an American cop, he drew his revolver and shot the thing dead. The people of Loveland would get to see the face of their semi-famous cryptid  a long, tailless iguana. It is assumed that the March 3 cop also encountered an iguana instead of a mythic frog.

Still, though, the legend of the Loveland Frog persists, in part because the big iguana does not give an explanation for the bizarre 1955 sighting. The 1972 cops might have just found an abnormal iguana, but the salesman reported three Loveland Frogs who talked and used magic wands. This award-winning documentary sheds more light on what he may have encountered:

Continue Reading Below Advertisement

Either he was imagining certain parts of that evening, or there was more to the story. We may know what was going on in Ohio in 1972, but it seems like well have to speculate on the events of 1955. Lucky for cryptid enthusiasts, who want to experience more of Ohios favorite monsters, they can visit Cincinnati to catch the musical Hot Damn! Its the Loveland Frog! Everyone else can laugh about the visual of a gigantic frog vibing in Ohio and talking trash about those weeb turtles in NYC.

Top Image: Tim Bertelink
Kathleen Marie Gilley, 71, was born to Clark and Laura Wilder Gilley on Oct. 3, 1949, in East Moline, IL, and passed away in Crossville on July 14, 2021. She was a homemaker supporting her husband in his endeavors and enjoyed raising her family. She is survived by her partner of 30 years, Ca
It should come as no surprise that the Bible is the most widely read book in the world. It should also come as no surprise then that many of the phrases we use on a daily basis actually have Biblical origins.

Before the printing press made mass production of the printed word possible, most families only owned one book: the Bible. Because of this, it was common for people to memorize Scriptural verses. Eventually, many of those verses became part of our everyday manner of speaking.

Below are several popular phrases that originated in the Bible. While you may recognize some as coming from the Word, others may surprise you as having Scriptural beginnings. No matter the case, youre invited to open your Bible and learn the deeper context of these common expressions.

Here are 7 phrases that originated as part of the inspired Word of God, and where in the Bible you can find each.

1. At the Eleventh Hour (Matthew 20:1-16)

When you do something at the eleventh hour, you do it just in the nick of time. This phrase comes from a parable in the Gospel of Matthew.

There, we read the story of a landowner who hired laborers to work in his vineyard for the daily rate of a silver coin. The workers are hired at different times so that the last workers hired come onto the job eleven hours after the work has begun and ended up working for only one hour. Despite this, the owner of the vineyard paid those who were hired last a silver coin just as he paid those who had worked the entire day a silver coin. When questioned by the workers who had worked all day, the vineyard owner replies that each of the workers had agreed to work for the same reward.

In a Biblical context, this parable signifies that people who come to Christianity in the last moments of their life will still receive the same reward as those who have been lifelong practicing Christiansnamely, entry into the Kingdom of Heaven. Just as the vineyard owner was free to pay his workers as he saw fit, God is not beholden to anyone in how He dispenses His grace and salvation.

2. By the Skin of Your Teeth (Job 19:20)

This colorful saying comes from the Book of Job. In this Old Testament book examining the meaning of human suffering, were introduced to the tormented protagonist Job. Job is a blameless man who undergoes profound suffering after Satans accusation that Jobs piety hinges solely on Jobs wealth and well-being (Job 1:1-12).

After losing his family, property, and health, Job laments that he is so afflicted that he has escaped death only by the skin of [his] teeth (Job 19:20). The meaning here is that Job has escaped death by the slightest of margins, so minuscule that he likens them to the non-existent skin on his teeth.

Like its Biblical origin, when you get out of a predicament by the skin of your teeth, youve made it through by the narrowest of margins. Whether its getting somewhere just in time or leveling up despite numerous setbacks, youve escaped defeat against all odds.

3. Rise and Shine (Isaiah 60:1)

The earliest known reference to this traditional morning greeting is found in the Book of Isaiah. There, the prophet Isaiah tells believers to, Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you (Isaiah 60:1).

In this verse, Isaiah doesnt merely ask believers to wake up from their slumber. Rather, the prophet calls the faithful to action. Isaiah instructs believers to stand in their faith and allow the light of God to shine through in their words and actions. By doing so, Isaiah promises that entire nations will be drawn to the brightness of a believers light and, thereby, be drawn closer to God.

In more modern times, rise and shine became a wake-up call to soldiers. The word rise refers to preparing yourself for the day, and shine is believed to refer to the fact that soldiers were expected to shine their boots daily. As in its Biblical context, rise and shine means to get up, get ready, and be the best version of yourself possible.

4. Wash Your Hands of a Matter (Matthew 27:24)

When you wash your hands of a matter, you remove yourself from a problematic situation with which you disagree and proclaim that you wont be held accountable for any bad outcome that ensues. This vivid expression is based on Pontius Pilates literal hand washing before Jesus was sentenced to death by the mob before him.

More specifically, Scripture tells us that Pilate saw no reason for Jesus to be killed. When the crowd threatened an uproar in disagreement, Pilate gave in to public pressure and washed his hands in front of them, proclaiming himself innocent of Jesuss blood before handing Him over to be crucified (Matthew 27:22-26).

This expression has expanded over time to include people and situations with whom we want nothing to do with regardless of whether we believe the person to be innocent or guilty of wrongdoing.

5. A Wolf in Sheeps Clothing (Matthew 7:15)

When we speak of someone as a wolf in sheeps clothing, we mean that the person seems benevolent but actually has underhanded intentions. People who manipulate others for their own self-serving ends fall into this category.

This expression is part of Jesuss Sermon on the Mount. In that sage collection of teachings, our Savior warns us to watch out for false prophets who arrive dressed in sheeps clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves (Matthew 7:15).

Aside from this warning, Jesus tells us how to recognize such wolves, instructing us that we will know them by their fruit. This means that we will know how to separate the false prophets from the true followers of Christ by looking at how they live their lives and assessing whether their actions line up with their words (Matthew 7:16-20).

6. Flowing with Milk and Honey (Exodus 3:8)

This idiom comes from the Book of Exodus. In Exodus, we read about Israelites escape from over 400 years of slavery in Egypt and, thereafter, how they wandered the Sinai desert for 40 years. During their time in the wilderness, God sustained the Israelites with manna, quail, and water.

God promised the Israelites that there would be an end to their wandering and that, as descendants of Abraham, theyd possess the land of Canaan as their own. Canaan was described as a Promised Land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8).

In Biblical times, milk was used figuratively to signify abundance, and honey signified luxury and splendid things. Similarly, today the phrase flowing with milk and honey means an abundance of things that are good and that make life sweeter. Much like its Biblical context, the term is commonly used to mean that you are leaving one place or situation and entering a better place or situation.

7. To Cast Pearls before Swine (Matthew 7:6)

This saying refers to giving something valuable to someone who isnt able to appreciate its value. This phrase comes from Jesuss command on how believers are and are not to spread the Good News.

As part of His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us to share the Gospel with those who are open to receiving it. We are to avoid profaning the Gospel by not giving to dogs what is sacred and by not throwing pearls to pigs (Matthew 7:6). The dogs and pigs are those who persist in ridiculing Scripture or twisting its words to lead others astray.

Its important to note here that Jesus is not discouraging us from sharing the Word with everyone we meet. What Hes telling us is that, after weve made sincere efforts to bring someone to Christ, we are to stop evangelizing that person if he or she persistently disrespects Scripture. In that case, were to move on and focus on people who are ready and willing to receive Gods message of salvation.

Related Resource! Listen to our FREE Bible podcast, The Bible Never Said That. All of our episodes are available at LifeAudio.com. You can listen to an episode right now by pressing the play button below;

Photo Credit: Sparrowstock

Dolores Smyth is a nationally published faith and parenting writer. She draws inspiration for her writing from everyday life. Connect with her over Twitter @byDoloresSmyth.
When and where you need it! 786 Hwy. 7
Yes, it should be raised a little bit.

It should be increased significantly.

No, it should not be raised.

Vote

View Results
Letter to the Editor: Reflections on July 4 and COVID-19 vaccinations in Colorado
Senior police officials from 167 countries have endorsed proposals set out by The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) to enhance international police cooperation to combat transnational cyber-related crime and corruption. The measures seek to boost the role of National Central Bureaus (NCBs) as a gateway between INTERPOL and frontline police, including increasing operational and investigative support and extending INTERPOLs I-24/7 secure communications network to national police and border control agencies.

Cyberthreats evolving in line with COVID-19 pandemic

At INTERPOLs 16th annual conference for NCBs last week, some 300 senior police officials heard how cyberthreats are changing in lockstep with the COVID-19 pandemic, with Chainalysis data indicating that ransomware activities generated $350 million in 2020, a 311% increase compared to 2019.

INTERPOL secretary general Jurgen Stock said, A global strategy in response to the threat of ransomware is critical  one where we successfully build trust, see effective exchange of data, and maximize rapid operational assistance to law enforcement agencies. In spite of the pandemic, the number of records entrusted to INTERPOL by NCBs over the past year has increased by 10% to reach a record 115 million, demonstrating their role at the heart of our global early warning system.

On July 12, INTERPOL members met with key public and private partners at the INTERPOL High-level Forum on Ransomware to discuss ongoing approaches for mitigating ransomware threats. Commenting ahead of the meeting, head of the Jamaican NCB and police superintendent Paulette Green spoke of the vital need for transnational efforts to address global cyberthreats. Law enforcement agencies must understand that globally there will always be new ways and means of committing crime using cyberspace and that they should continually develop strategies to properly deal with these issues. Cyber-related evidence is time-sensitive and when investigating any crime law enforcement must be able to capitalize on such opportunities as soon as possible.

The metropolitan (Met) polices seizure of 180 million worth of cryptocurrency linked to international money laundering in London this week serves as a timely reminder of the importance of effective policing against global cyber-criminal activity. The seizure was made following intelligence received by the Mets economic crime command about the transfer of criminal assets. It is the largest seizure of its kind in the UK, beating the previous record set when the Met confiscated 114 million of cryptocurrency last month. The investigation is ongoing.

Addressing global cyberthreats through international law enforcement

Speaking to CSO, cybersecurity expert and founder of the UK Cyber Security Association Lisa Ventura reflects on the significance of INTERPOLs intention to strengthen coordinated, transnational policing efforts to combat modern cybercrime. With the rise in cyber criminality  including high-profile ransomware campaigns over the last year and the growth of phishing email attempts since the pandemic hit  an international, coordinated response to policing is crucial to staying one step ahead of cyber-criminals. The lines between nation-states and criminal groups are becoming increasingly blurred, and therefore cybercrime attribution is often difficult. Cybercrime has become a global threat and the more groups of all kinds that can work together to help combat it, the better.

Evolving global cyberthreats such as attacks on critical infrastructure, electronic espionage, bulk data interception, and offensive operations intended to project power by the application of force in and through cyberspace only emphasize the need for multinational, preventative policing efforts moving forward, Ventura adds. Emerging cyberthreats will precipitate massive economic and societal damage, and international efforts need to be recalibrated to account for this new reality, she explains. The more collaboration there is globally, the better the chances of combatting cybercrime worldwide.
BEIJING (AP)  Chinas exports surged in June while import growth slowed to a still-robust level as its economic rebound from the coronavirus leveled off.

Exports rose 32.2% from a year earlier to $281.4 billion, accelerating from Mays 28% growth, customs data showed Tuesday. Imports grew 36.7% to $229.9 billion, but that was down from the previous months explosive 51% rise.

China led the global recovery from the pandemic but domestic consumer spending and other activity is weaker than expected. Exporters face disruptions in the global flow of industrial components including processor chips and controls imposed by some governments on travel and business to fight the viruss more contagious delta variant.

Trade still faces many uncertain and unstable factors, said a spokesman for the customs agency, Li Kuiwen.

Trade growth may slow down in the second half, but is expected to remain relatively fast, Li said at a news conference.

Chinese exporters benefited from the relatively early reopening of the economy while competitors still faced anti-virus shutdowns.

The boom is forecast to soften as entertainment and other global service industries reopen and consumer spending habits return to normal. However, Junes strong figures suggest this dampening trend may occur later than previously expected, David Chao of Invesco said in a report.

Exports to the United States rose 17.8% over a year ago to $46.9 billion while imports of American goods grew 37.6% to $14.3 billion despite tariff hikes still in place in a lingering trade war.

Chinas global trade surplus swelled 11% over a year earlier to $51.5 billion while the politically sensitive surplus with the United States expanded 10.9% to $32.6 billion.

President Joe Biden, who took office in January, says he wants better relations with Beijing but has yet to indicate whether he will roll back tariff hikes imposed on Chinese goods by his predecessor, Donald Trump, in a fight over Beijings technology ambitions.

Biden's trade envoys have talked with Chinese officials by video link but have set no date for negotiations.

June exports to the 27-nation European Union rose 27% to $43.1 billion while imports of French, German and other European goods climbed 34.1% to $27.7 billion. The Chinese trade surplus with the EU widened by 16.7% over a year earlier to $15.4 billion.

June trade appeared to shrug off the disruption from a month-long disruption at the world's fourth-busiest port, Yantian in the southern city of Shenzhen, after a coronavirus infection was found there in late May.

Activity at the port was cut to 30% of normal levels. It returned to normal in late June, but managers said it would take time to clear a backlog of thousands of shipping containers.

Customs officials launched an emergency response plan to cut processing time for paperwork and speed up transfers of ships to other ports, said Li, the agency spokesman.

Chinese economic growth soared to 18.3% over a year earlier in the first three months of 2021 as consumer and business activity revived. However, growth compared with the previous quarter at the end of 2020 was just 0.6%, showing the rebound was leveling off abruptly.

Consumer activity has lagged the revival of manufacturing. Retail spending rose 12.4% in May over a year earlier but fell short of forecasts.

Economic growth is expected to cool to about 7% over a year earlier in the three months ending in June and further through next year. To shore up activity, the central bank last week cut the amount of reserves commercial banks are required to hold, freeing up an additional 1 trillion yuan ($160 billion) for lending.

Some forecasters warn a Chinese recovery still isnt certain because global demand is weak as some governments re-impose anti-disease curbs that are disrupting business and trade.

___

General Administration of Customs of China (in Chinese): www.customs.gov.cn
State utility regulators have tentatively rejected a request by Connecticut Water to raise customer rates by 20 percent.

Instead, members of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority voted Monday to allow the Clinton-based utility to raise rates by 0.74 percent. Connecticut Water serves more than 360,000 customers in 60 towns.

The PURA ruling in the Connecticut Water case was a draft decision. The final ruling in the case is scheduled for July 28. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said following Mondays ruling by PURA that he supports the agencys decision.

Connecticut consumers have shouldered the burden of relentless rate increases over the past eight years, Tong said in a statement. We pay way too much for utilities and I thank PURA for digging deep to find savings for Connecticut families and consumers who cannot absorb further increases to their cost of living,

Connecticut Water has not sought a general rate increase since 2010.

Dan Meaney, a Connecticut Water spokesman, said officials at the utility are reviewing the PURA draft decision on its rate application.

The company has no comment on the draft at this time , Meaney said. Customers can be assured that the 200+ employees of Connecticut Water are committed to the companys vital public health and safety mission: delivering a reliable supply of safe drinking water to families and communities across the state, ensuring fire hydrants have a robust water supply, and being good stewards of the environment.

In legal briefs filed with PURA in May, Tong said Connecticut Waters request for a rate increase contains multiple unnecessary and excessive costs that could be removed or reduced to entirely eliminate the need for any rate increase.

Connecticut Water is seeking a 10.4 percent return on equity for its shareholders as part of the rate increase request, according to Tong. He said if such a rate of return were granted, it would be higher than any other regulated utility statewide.

PURA reduced the rate of return, or profit, to 9 percent, which Tong said is in line with other regulated utilities. That change, if approved in PURAs final ruling, would save ratepayers almost $6 million, he said.

Tongs brief also opposed use of ratepayer funds for executive bonuses, lobbying costs, consultant fees, and other costs traditionally partially or fully covered by shareholder funds.

luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com
MIAMI (AP)  Demonstrators expressing solidarity with the thousands of Cubans who waged a rare weekend of protests around their island nation shut down a stretch of a major South Florida expressway Tuesday.

The large group gathered at a busy Miami intersection chanting support for the Cubans, who had taken to the streets in the communist nation Sunday to air grievances about poor economic conditions and other complaints.

A few miles (kilometers) away, hundreds of supporters gathered for hours Tuesday evening at a park. The peaceful crowd waved flags and cheered on the efforts of island protesters.

Flavia Perez, 16, was brought to the U.S. at age 1. She joined the rally at Tamiami Park, saying, Im here to support young Cubans on the island so they have the same opportunities as I have in the U.S."

South Florida is home to the largest U.S. population of Cuban Americans.

News helicopter footage from broadcaster WTVJ showed demonstrators earlier Tuesday marching to Miami's Palmetto Expressway, where many blocked traffic in the afternoon.

Elsewhere, Florida's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis held a round table with elected officials, including members of Congress. The gathering at Miami's American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora was closed to reporters, but the governor later asserted that protests in Cuba were more than just about shortages of vaccines, food and other basic items.

They are revolting against a corrupt communist dictatorship that has ruled that island with an iron fist for over 60 years, that is responsible for death and destruction, not just on the island of Cuba but really throughout the Western Hemisphere, DeSantis said at a news conference.

He said the demonstrators desire a free society."

Nationwide protests last year under the Black Lives Matter movement drew attention to racial injustice in the U.S. after the killings of Black people by police. Earlier this year, DeSantis signed into Florida law a measure that enhances penalties against protestors who turn violent and allows criminal penalties against those who organize protests that turn violent. DeSantis dismissed similarities between Black Lives Matter and Tuesday's demonstrators.

These are people that are rebelling against a communist dictatorship, the governor said. He said the demonstrations in Miami were fundamentally different than what we saw last summer.

DeSantis, who is said to be considering a run for the White House in 2024, declined a direct response when asked how Democratic President Joe Biden's administration should handle Cuba policy. But he said federal officials shouldn't be satisfied with small Cuban government accommodations designed to quell demonstrations.

Republican U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, the daughter of Cuban exiles, said the community needs to speak with one voice urging the Biden administration to stand tough against the Cuban government.

We cannot negotiate with the regime at this hour, Salazar said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard in Miami has been monitoring for any unsafe and illegal crossings between Florida and Cuba in response to rare street protests on the island.

Rear Adm. Eric C. Jones issued a warning statement Monday night as groups of Cuban immigrants said they planned to travel in boats filled with supplies to Cuba to show support for the Cuban protesters.

In Miami, Cuban social media personalities posted Monday that they would make the 10-hour boat ride to Cuba to show support after rare street protests broke out over the weekend, the Miami Herald reported. The influencers said they would bring aid  and guns  and urged people in Miami to offer up their boats.

One group gathered Monday night at a marina and people brought cases of bottled water, flashlights and boxes of canned pasta, the newspaper reported. Water, food, medicine, whatever we can take to Cuba. Whatever we can take to help is good, organizer Dennis Suayero told WSVN.

The group didn't get very far Monday night. A message posted on organizer Santiago Rivera's Instagram account early Tuesday said the Coast Guard stopped his group from traveling.

Over the weekend, thousands of Cuban Americans gathered in Miami's Little Havana in support of Cuban street marches against high prices and food shortages on the island. Such unsanctioned protests are extremely rare, and Cuban police were out in force Monday to control them.

The last such demonstrations in Havana took place in 1994. President Miguel Diaz-Canel accused Cuban Americans of using social media to egg them on.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, a Cuban American, tweeted that he has never felt such raw emotion from the people of Miami desperate for intervention by the government and by themselves on behalf of Cuba."

Miami wasnt the only Florida city where demonstrators gathered. For a second day, Cuban-Americans in Tampa gathered Tuesday at an intersection, blocking traffic and waving Cuban flags. Like the group in South Florida, Tampa demonstrators attempted to gain access to Interstate 275, but police held them back. Television images showed dozens of protesters in a city that traces its Cuban heritage back generations. Orlando also had hundreds of protestors blocking a busy street for about an hour Tuesday evening.
OLD SAYBROOK  Take the Andrews Sisters, swap the big band for three fiddles, add a Texas twang, and you have The Quebe Sisters.

The Dallas-based group will bring their fiddles and three-part harmonies to The Kate Tuesday, July 20, with a stripped-down Americana blend of Western swing that breathes new life into seasoned sounds once found in Texas dance halls and honky-tonks.

It all began in 1998, when Hulda Quebe, Sophia Quebe, and Grace Quebe (pronounced KWAY-bee)  at the time, 7, 10, and 12, respectivelyattended their first local fiddle competition at a state fair in Denton, Texas. They were transfixed.

Our mom had us taking classical violin lessons, but this was different, said Sophia Quebe in a telephone interview from the Sisters tour van at a rest stop in Kentucky. There were kids our age doing it. It looked fun. It was infectious. We wanted to try it.

They signed on with national fiddle champions Joey and Sherry McKenzie, who introduced them to the music of Western swing greats Bob Wills and Spade Cooley. They progressed quickly. Before long, theyd graduated from busking and private events to Texas dance halls and state fairs, all the while prevailing in state and national fiddle competitions.

In 2003, the legendary bluegrass picker and 15-time Grammy Award winner Ricky Skaggs happened to hear the sisters Texas-style fiddling backstage at a venue in Fort Worth. He invited the three to join him onstage during his show and then to perform on the Grand Ole Opry.

Sure, they were talented, but more importantly, they were determined and studious, Sherry McKenzie told the Washington Post before the Quebe Sisters took the stage at the Kennedy Center with Texas swing band Asleep at the Wheel. They arent prodigies. They just work really hard.

That industry didnt end with fiddling, it seems. Quebe recalled Skaggs suggesting that the sisters add singing to their act.

He said Hey, you girls need to open your mouths and sing, she said. We werent convinced but then we thought about it afterwards and realized there arent a lot of really successful instrumental bands.

Among the influences were the Mills Brothers, the jazz and traditional pop vocal quartet.

Still to this day, theyre our all-time favorite vocal group, Quebe said. Just the feel they had when they sang together, theyre all musically in perfect synergy, and they sound so warm, their arrangements are so inventive, but it still sounds like its so easy for them.

Theyve kept pushing the boundaries of their music, creating a Progressive Western Swing that incorporates the feel and groove of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Billie Holiday, the gypsy jazz of Django Reinhardt, and the mellow stylings of Willie Nelson.

We listen to everything, and its usually one of us saying I heard this really cool song, lets try it, she said. Thats the beauty of preserving the tradition of Western swing. Its always been about innovation.

Their unique style has caught on, it seems. Over the last decade-and-a-half, the Quebe Sisters have performed on the Prairie Home Companion, NPRs Mountain Stage, and at the Lincoln Center; recorded albums at the Hendersonville, TN Cash Cabin Studio at the invitation of the Cash family; and played for Warren Buffett at a shareholder meeting, with Buffett on the ukulele.

Theyve shared the stage with a veritable all-star lineup from Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and Marty Stuart, and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, to Kacey Musgraves and Amos Lee, and toured concert halls and festivals across North America, Europe, and Russia.

Weve found that its kind of embraced everywhere we go, and I think thats because the music has a contagious spirit to it, said Quebe, who promised the band will perform a mix of originals and standards.

Thats the coolest part, that it speaks to everyone, she added. And we get to share the same music that won us over when we first heard it.

The Quebe Sisters will perform Tuesday, July 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, 300 Main St., Old Saybrook. For tickets and information, visit katharinehepburntheater.org, call 800-503-1286, or thequebesisters.com.
99 cent introductory offer

Includes everything we offer online for 24-7 news. This option allows you to read unlimited stories at ctnewsonline.com, and access our e-Edition (digital replicate of the daily newspaper). $7.99 per month after the introductory offer.

This service comes with a complimentary CT Select Card allowing for local discounts.

Rates are subject to change.
IRVINGTON, N.Y. (AP)  This time, the weather gods were smiling on Kerby Jean-Raymond and his label, Pyer Moss. So too were the fashion gods.

Two days after torrential rains and lightning sent guests fleeing for cover and forced Jean-Raymond to postpone unveiling his hotly awaited first couture collection, the sun came out Saturday and the crowds came back. They were rewarded with a hugely imaginative, visually audacious show that blurred the lines between fashion and art as it paid tribute to the ingenuity of Black inventors often overlooked by history.

And so, there was the peanut butter dress  literally, a huge, soft sculpted jar of the stuff. There was a stunning hot roller cape  which was what it sounds like, hot rollers from head to toe. There was an ice cream cone with chaps for the cone. There was an air-conditioning unit, an old-fashioned mobile phone, a kitchen mop.

There was a pastel pink lampshade dress, with beaded fringes. There was a chess board, and a white metal folding chair, and a bottlecap  each costume a sophisticated work of sculpture. There was also a refrigerator with colorful letter magnets spelling out the phrase: But who invented Black trauma?

There were also dancers, a rap musician, a string section, and a history lesson from Elaine Brown  activist, writer and a former leader in the Black Panther Party.

Jean-Raymond, whose shows always entwine his ideas about fashion with those about culture, race and society, said in an interview after the show that his goal was to highlight inventions by Black people and show them in a nontraditional way, involving 3D construction and sculpture.

All Pyer Moss shows attract intense interest, but this show had even more buzz because Jean-Raymond was the first Black American designer invited by Frances Chambre Syndicale to show a collection during Paris Couture Week -- the event was livestreamed, with officials in Paris extending the length of Couture Week to accommodate the rescheduled show.

And the setting was deeply significant: Villa Lewaro, an early 20th-century mansion in leafy Irvington, N.Y., about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from New York City built by Madam C.J. Walker, the daughter of enslaved parents who became a hair-care magnate and a self-made millionaire.

Madam C.J. Walkers wealth was more than money, Jean-Raymond wrote in the show notes. Black prosperity begins in the mind, in the spirit and in each other. She knew that no dollar amount could ever satisfy the price tag of freedom  that green sheets of paper & copper coins could never mend souls, heal hearts or undo the evil weve endured.

Chartered shuttle buses ferried guests from Manhattan and Brooklyn, and the rescheduled show Saturday included a contingent from the public, adding to the excitement in the air.

It began with a speech by Brown, who gave a history lesson of sorts of the Black struggle for justice in America and asked the crowd, Where do we go from here? Where does the freedom movement go from here? She urged the crowd to look past differences and get back on the freedom train.

Then came the dancers  men in white, who slowly shed their jackets and eventually their shirts as they accompanied rapper 22Gz performing several numbers, including Sniper Gang Freestyle and King of NY, while the models walked the circular runway.

Jean-Raymond said he and his team had gone through an exacting and exhaustive process to meet the demands of a couture collection.

We went through rounds and rounds of design, he said. We started with a completely different concept. Then the team went out to Joshua Tree and did ayahuasca together. And then we came back with this concept.

So it wasnt just couture in the traditional sense where were sewing up garments, he said. There was welding involved and and fiberglass molding. And we made shoes.

The hair curler outfit alone, he said, took months because it was just people sitting there and curling real weaves onto hair rollers. You know, the bottle-cap took two months. Every time we made something, we we sat back, we thought, How can we make it better? And every time the construction got more complicated.

Jean-Raymond was relieved to not have to contend with freak weather again on Saturday.

Its been a long, long process to get this where we are right now, he said. But Im very happy with the results and that the audience gave us a second chance, after that monsoon on Thursday almost wiped us out.

-

Associated Press video journalist Ted Shaffrey contributed to this report.
The state has shut down a federally-funded mobile vaccination unit that administered more than 12,500 doses of COVID-19 vaccine in some of Connecticuts most vulnerable communities.

On Monday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the State of Connecticut announced they had closed down the clinic, which launched March 29 at Connecticuts Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport. The program officially closed on Sunday.

The unit was designed to reach those who had limited access to healthcare facilities or pharmacies that provided the coronavirus vaccine and wanted one, according to a news release from FEMA and the state.

However, a representative of at least one area health system said the closure of the unit doesnt mean Connecticut health care providers have abandoned the idea of getting vaccines to those who need it most.

That was one tool in the toolkit, said David Santoro, vice president of business operations for Hartford HealthCare Integrated Care Partners. Santoro said, even though the FEMA unit had shut down, HHC was operating its own mobile units, which will travel to areas through the health systems footprint.

There are seven hospitals within the Hartford HealthCare system, including Hartford Hospital and St. Vincents Medical Center in Bridgeport. Santoro said each region will have a unit serving it, which will be able to go to a different location each day. By contrast, the FEMA unit was often in the same location for days at a time.

The mobile work being done now is really a targeted endeavor, Santoro said.

In addition to the zoo, the FEMA unit traveled to other locations in Bridgeport, as well as New Haven, Danbury, East Hartford, Hartford, Norwalk, Stamford, Waterbury and other communities. Sites were chosen based on the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Social Vulnerability Index, the U.S. Census Bureaus Community Resilience Estimates, low vaccine coverage, metrics and other barriers to vaccine access.

The program was the first mobile vaccination unit rolled out nationally and, as of July 9, 12,533 doses of vaccine had been doled out through the program. A second mobile vaccination unit from FEMA also began administering vaccines in Connecticut on May 7 and completed its mission in mid-June after administering 4,057 vaccines.

Connecticut has been cited nationally as doing well with vaccinations. About 80 percent of the states adult residents have been fully vaccinated, said Christopher Boyle, spokesman for the state Department of Public Health.

But some communities, including those targeted by the mobile vaccine units, are lagging behind in vaccination rates. As of July 7, the state reported that just 51.83 percent of people living in priority zip codes  in other words, areas deemed especially vulnerable and in need of assistance  had gotten at least one COVID shot and 46.32 percent were fully vaccinated.

Compare that to other zip codes in the state, where 64.15 percent of residents received at least one shot and 59.64 percent were fully vaccinated.

Boyle confirmed that vaccination coverage is not equally distributed across the state. Our larger cities, such as Bridgeport, Hartford and New Haven, currently have lower vaccination rates, and our public health response is focused on ensuring that we continue to do everything we can to increase coverage in these locations.

He echoed Santoros statement that the FEMA unit, while effective, was only ever one tool in our broader set of activities to increase access to COVID vaccines.

Boyle said there are more than 300 COVID vaccine locations throughout the state, including retail pharmacies, local health departments, federally qualified health centers and doctors offices. Additionally, he said, there are dozens of mobile vaccine clinics throughout the state which are a collaboration between DPH and Derby-based Griffin Health.

And while access to vaccines is a problem, getting people to get vaccinated is another challenge, he said.

The upside of the vaccine far outweighs any side effects and we need to gain the confidence of numerous populations who do not trust state government or public health, Boyle said.

For more information on Summer on Us, visit portal.ct.gov/vaccine-portal/summer and ct.gov/RockTheShot.
NEW HAVEN  The state judicial system is considering what could be an appropriate bail amount for Qinxuan Pan, accused of the slaying of Yale graduate student Kevin Jiang.

Pans bail initially was set to be considered in New Haven Judicial District Court Tuesday, but that process was postponed, as the court awaits guidance from the Connecticut Supreme Court.

William Gerace, Pans defense attorney, filed a motion last month with the state Supreme Court seeking to compel Judge Brian Fischer to explain his rationale for initially setting Pans bail at $20 million. The court granted the order June 29 and ordered Fischer to either articulate the facts it found and the factors it considered in setting the $20 million bail or hold a hearing to establish such facts and apply such statutory factors; a response to the order must be submitted no later than Thursday.

(Such a high bail is) tantamount to no bond at all, said Gerace.

Judge Gerald Harmon said Tuesday it would be premature for Pans bond to be considered at this level while the Supreme Court process was pending.

Pans case was continued to July 28.

The court also was expected to consider whether to schedule a probable cause hearing in the case. That was put off, as well, as discovery in the case has not yet been completed.

Gerace said he had met with Pan for hours and hours and hours in recent weeks, but had not discussed the question of his innocence with him or come to a strategy for his defense.

Instead, Gerace said, the two had focused on the discovery process and Pans potential bond.

He said he had been in contact with Pans parents, noting that Pans mother, Hong Huang, had expressed her sorrow at Jiangs passing, as well as her son.

Theyre very decent people, said Gerace.

Gerace saidhe at a later date may contest some of the points raised at Pans arraignment, saying there was a laundry list of potential falsehoods.

He declined Tuesday to specify what he believed was erroneous, again noting the ongoing discovery process.

Pan was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Montgomery, Ala., in May and extradited to Connecticut after a monthslong manhunt.

Affidavit: The guns, cars and DNA that led police to arrest Qinxuan Pan in slaying of Yale grad student.

His bail was set at $20 million on May 20 as he was arraigned on a charge of murder.

Prosecutor Stacey Miranda alleged at Pans May 20 arraignment that he had been renting an apartment in Alabama under a false name and was found to have been in possession of seven cellphones, seven SIM cards and his fathers passport.

She argued then that Pan is a flight risk after having fled the state and engaged a nationwide manhunt that involved various federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

Miranda said Pans parents have very substantial financial effects and bid on a home in North Carolina.

Pan has also been charged with second-degree larceny by North Haven police, according to state judicial records.

A warrant released Wednesday indicates Pan was charged in connection with the SUV he was driving on the night of his arrest, which he allegedly took from a Mansfield, Mass., dealership.

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
Marion Albright Slatsky grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. At a young age, she strived to learn everything she could...read everything she could. vBooks were her pathway to new adventures and knowledge, carving a path forward over the years to come. After graduating with a bachelor's degree, sh
Broken Bow, NE (68822)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 84F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening. Scattered thunderstorms developing after midnight. Low 64F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Biden Warns Putin The US Will React To Attacks

Following an Executive Order in May requiring US Companies to change the ways they report serious data breaches, President Biden indicated that he and President Vladimir Putin of Russian had established a more direct means of communication.

Now, during an hour-long phone call, Biden has told Putin that the US will take "any necessary action" to stop cyber attacks from Russia.

This phone call between Putin and Biden took place following their face to face meeting in Geneva in June and took place amid an increase in attacks, including a sophisticated supply chain attack that that disabled hundreds of US companies and spilled over to Europe.

Speaking to reporters after the phone call, President Biden said "I made it very clear to him that the United States expects when a ransomware operation is coming from his soil, even though it's not sponsored by the state, we expect them to act if we give them enough information to act on who that is... And, secondly, that we have set up a means of communications now, on a regular basis, to be able to communicate to one another when each of us thinks something is happening in another country that affects the home country," he continued. "And so, it (the phone conversation) went well. Im optimistic."

When asked whether the US could attack the servers used by the hackers, the US President replied "Yes"

Despite readiness from the Russian side to jointly address international online criminal activity, Russian government sources say that "no requests have been received from the relevant US departments." This is in contradiction to US government sources, which claim that Biden administration had made "multiple, specific requests for action".

Damaging large scale Ransomware attacks have grown over the last two years and according to the US, many of the worst attackers originate in Russia, often with the tacit knowledge and approval, from the Russian government security services.

Mr Biden said that the call with Putin came as part of a new, "more direct means of communication". The new connection, Mr Biden said, allows each side to "communicate to one another when each of us thinks something's happening in the other country. "It affects the home country. And so it went well. I'm optimistic."

The message Mr Biden said he had delivered recently to Putin was similar to the message that he brought when the two leaders held their first in Switzerland. Since then, the Russian based REvil hacking group unleashed a massive attack that caused outages across the globe.

A Kremlin statement released recently indicated that the two leaders discussed "the need for substantive and constructive cooperation" between Russia and the United States on matters relating to cyber security. But the statement also suggested the US had not made any formal appeals to Russia regarding recent cyber-attacks. "In the context of recent reports about a series of cyber-attacks allegedly committed from the territory of Russia, Vladimir Putin noted that, despite the readiness of the Russian side to jointly suppress criminal manifestations in the information space, no appeals on these issues have been made by the competent US agencies over the past month," the statement said.

Reuters: AlJazeera: BBC: CNN: Tasnim News: The Times:

You Might Also Read:

Russia Wants A Deal With The US On Cyber Security:
Kankakee, IL (60901)

Today

Mostly cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 81F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mainly clear skies. Low 61F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
Local

Defacing of BLM mural probed: Horton: Suspect driving pickup

cday / Chris Day/The Daily Advance Local artist Michael Little looks at the tire tracks a vehicle driven by an unknown motorist left on top of the Black Lives Matter mural on Colonial Avenue in Elizabeth City, Monday. Little spent about two weeks finishing the mural, which was unveiled during a ceremony Saturday morning. City officials said the mural was defaced by the unknown motorist several hours later. cday / Chris Day/The Daily Advance Tire tracks caused by someone in their vehicle are seen covering the Black Lives Matter mural on Colonial Avenue, Monday. The Elizabeth City Police Department is investigating. cday / Darius J. Horton/Facebook This image from the Facebook page of City Councilman Darius J. Horton purports to show a pickup truck leaving tire tracks across the citys new Black Lives Matter street mural Saturday on Colonial Avenue. Horton said the image was captured by city-owned traffic cameras. jeure / City of Elizabeth City This image captured by a city-owned camera shows a pickup truck leaving tire tracks across the citys new Black Lives Matter street mural Saturday on Colonial Avenue.

Elizabeth City police are investigating after someone used their vehicle to leave tire tracks across a portion of the Black Lives Matter mural on Colonial Avenue.

Facing east on Colonial Avenue, the tire tracks begin just after the letter C of the word Black and continue through the letters A, L and B, before ending in the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Colonial Avenue.

City Manager Montre Freeman said Monday the tire tracks were not caused by a vehicle accident. He also said the incident occurred in broad daylight at around 2:26 p.m. Saturday.

We just opened the road at noon, Freeman said.

Colonial Avenue had been closed for about two weeks to allow local artist Michael Little to complete the mural. Saturday at 9 a.m., city officials gathered for a ceremony to officially unveil the mural, which spans almost the whole width of Colonial and stretches about 700 feet from MLK Jr. Drive to Elliott Street. Colonial Avenue was reopened to traffic at noon following the unveiling ceremony.

Police are investigating the incident, said Eddie Graham, a detective with the Elizabeth City Police Department.

Fourth Ward City Councilman Darius J. Horton posted several photos of what he described as the suspect vehicle to his Facebook page at around 3:30 p.m. Monday.

Silly rabbit, tricks are for kids, Horton commented on Facebook. Do you think we would invest in a mural and not have adequate surveillance? You sir are going down.

Reached by phone, Horton said the images were captured by city-owned cameras.

According to the photos, the vehicle suspected of leaving the tire tracks is an all-black Dodge Ram extended cab pickup truck with the word Ram in red. In one photo, smoke is seen coming up from behind the truck as it enters MLK Drive. The photos track the vehicle as its driver heads east on Colonial Avenue toward Water Street. The final photo shows the truck headed south and passing Museum of the Albemarle at Water and Ehringhaus streets.

Little was at Colonial Avenue late Monday morning looking at the tire tracks across the mural. He said he was surprised that the mural was vandalized so soon after its completion. However, he wasnt letting the incident discourage him.

Little, who is 27 and a graphic artist, said the mural was a learning opportunity for him. He said he got to learn from fellow local artists Ulysses Edwards and Richard Delain, who assisted him with the project. Also, the mural will get fixed eventually, he said.

Freeman said the mural will be repaired to cover up the tire tracks.

We want to get this done as quickly as possible, he said.

At issue is a scarcity of paint, said Freeman, who added the paint used to complete the mural was provided by donations. Freeman said he doesnt think community members will be discouraged by the murals defacing.

I dont think so, he said.

The incident allows city and community leaders to identify and address shortcomings in race relations and provides another opportunity to grow, Freeman said.

City Council approved the mural following the shooting death of Andrew Brown Jr. by Pasquotank County sheriffs deputies on Wednesday, April 21. More than 1,000 people voted to decide the winning mural out of four artists submissions.

Littles submission included the words Black Lives Matter being painted gray. In his final mural, the letters are painted in a yellow that is similar to the paint used for the double lines on a roadway. Freeman said because the asphalt on Colonial Avenue is already a dull gray, Little used the yellow paint instead so the words would be more visible.
Elizabeth City, NC (27909)

Today

Scattered showers and thunderstorms. High around 90F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with still a chance of showers. Low 72F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Elizabeth City, NC (27909)

Today

Scattered showers and thunderstorms. High around 90F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with still a chance of showers. Low 72F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Dutchess County

Voters will weigh in on reducing size of Legislature
The dam at the city of Kingston's Cooper Lake reservoir in the town of Woodstock is shown on Tuesday, July 13, 2021.
Election 2022

Van De Water says he'll run for Congress again
The aerial photo, taken in June 2019, shows cranes, other vehicles and equipment stored at a former quarry at 850 state Route 28 in the town of Kingston, N.Y.
Sunbury, PA (17801)

Today

Overcast. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High around 75F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low near 60F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Please let us know what's going on!

Go to form
The daughter of a Holocaust survivor who hid for three months in a coal cellar has revealed how precious objects from her mother's time on the run from the Nazis are set to go on display in Manchester's reopened Jewish Museum.

Judith Werheimer, 71 from Manchester, told Femail about her mother Helen Taichner's amazing story of survival.

Helen, then in her 20s, spent several years hiding in Poland, spending three months in a coal cellar and pretending to be a catholic, hiding in churches and cemeteries from 1941 to 1945, before moving to Manchester in 1946.

Helen's story is celebrated alongside other Jewish people who lived in Manchester in a new exhibition to mark the city's Jewish Museum reopening on July 2, after a two-year refurbishment costing 6 million.

Speaking of her mother, Judith, who donated the belongings Helen managed to keep with her during and after the war to the museum on a permanent basis, said she wanted to carrying on her mother's story of surviving.

Judith Wertheimer, 71, shared how her mother Helen Taichner, pictured right, evaded the Nazi for several years during WWII by living in hiding and pretending to be catholic. Judith has given the artifacts her mother managed to keep with her during the war, including the prayer book she used to pretend she was Christian, to the Manchester Jewish Museum ahead of its reopening on July 2

Pictured: Helemn with her husband Henry on the day of their wedding in Manchester in 1948. Both lost a spouse and a child during the war

Helen grew up near Warsaw in Poland, and when the Germans invaded in 1939, she started moving around with her husband Bronek Guttman, who she'd married the year before, in the hope of avoiding trouble.

They would move from place to place to avoid arrest by the Gestapo, and would leave when the situation would get worst for Jews in the area.

In 1939, 25-year-old Helen's 18-month-old child died of malnutrition while the couple lived in hiding.

Helen pictured as a teenager aged 14 before the war. She was just 25 when she lost her 18-months-baby due to malnutrition in 1939

Pictured: the prayer book Helen used to pretend she was a Christian during the war, which is now on show on a permanent basis at Manchester Jewish Museum

In 1943, the couple decided to go into different directions to maximize their chances of surviving.

Helen never saw Bronek again, and it is believed he died at the end of the war. Alone and grief-stricken, Helen had to go one hiding to save her own life.

Even after emigrating to England and remarrying, Judith said her mother always had a sense of sorrow.

Judith explained her grandfather died at the beginning of the war after he was hit with shrapnel, and her grandmother also had passed away.

'You could understand the horror of losing a husband whom she loved dearly and a child and to be left,' she said. 'You could sense sorrow.'

Judith's father Henry Taichner also lost his wife and child during the war. The couple, also from Poland, split in 1939.

Helen pictured aged 30 after the war. She moved to Manchester where she had family, and rebuilt her life with Henry

The mother-of-one, who passed away in 1993, pictured with the dress and other artifacts she lent to the museum in the 1980s

Henry was arrested by the Nazis and sent to a hard labour camp in Russia, where he remained until 1943.

His wife and child were set to the Warsaw Ghetto, never to be seen again.

Later in 1943, Helen was taken in by a Christian family who taught her how to pray and behave in church, and gave her a prayer book.

This book would prove central to Helen's survival for the remainder of the war, and she remained in contact with the family until her passing in 1993.

'The christian people who helped her they helped her no matter what, she went to visit them,' Judith said.

Judith revealed her mother would send money and anything she could to the family to show them gratitude after the war, even though she and her husband didn't have much.

In order to survive, Helen stayed on the move. After leaving the family's home, she slept in churchyards, pretending to be praying, and kept the prayer book to prove she was a Christian.

She was later taken in by a maid who worked for a judge and who hid her in her employer's toilet. The judge never found out.

The maid would bring her food and water, but would never talk to her in case they would be found out.

After that, Helen hid for three months in a coal cellar, where she survived only on bread and water.

'My mother would tell me "I don't know where I got the strength to do that,' Judith said.

After the war, finding there was nothing left for her in Poland, Helen moved to the UK where she had family in 1946.

Judith, a mother-of-three, said it wouldn't have been fair to make one of her children responsible for their grandmother's items from the war, and so donated them to the museum instead

Her husband Henry moved to the UK in 1947, and there pair were married in 1948, with Judith being born in 1949.

Speaking little English, they found adapting to the UK difficult, and stayed close to the Jewish community of Manchester.

Judith, an only child, said her family was 'loving,' but admitted her upbringing was strict, especially from her dad's side.

'Life was very unusual for me growing up,' Judith said. 'My parents were very strict, amazingly strict; it was difficult, they only lived with Polish people, my father couldn't speak very much English,' she said.

'My mother could speak English, they made a life for themselves, they didn't tell me anything about what had happened, at all, it was just a very strict upbringing, very tense.'

Helen and Henry 'repressed' their memories from the war for more than 30 years, their daughter revealed.

She said the collective memory of the Holocaust was suppressed by survivors and was not talked about until big names like Steven Spielberg started interviewing them to bring their story to light.

The director, who filmed the critically acclaimed movie The Schindler's List, which was released in 1994, spent an incredible amount of time recording the testimonies of Holocaust survivors.

'Because there were so many Holocaust deniers out there, he needed to take the testimonies of all these people,' Judith added.

Before the movie was made, in the UK, and in the 1980s, Bill Williams, the founder and Life president of the Manchester Jewish Museum, was trying to accomplish the same task, by contacting and talking to survivors in his city.

That is how he came to contact Helen, and got her to share her remarkable story of survival with him.

Finally, Helen started, through a meticulous interview process, to open up about her experience of the Holocaust.

Williams convinced Helen to lend some items she had managed to keep with her after the war, including her prayer book, to the museum for an exhibition in the 1980s.

Pictured: Helen before her death in 1993. The Holocaust survivor told her daughter she didn't know how she found the strength to live in hiding for so long during the war

Pictured: a dress Helen wore while living in hiding. The garment is one of several items that Judith has donated to the museum in Manchester ahead of its reopening

'With her opening up to him she was able then to open up to me, and to my family,' Judith said. 'We started to hear the full length of her story, not just the little bits she had mentioned.'

Judith said she had known her mother had been married and had had a child before the war, but the issue wasn't discussed often and her mother never talked about she felt about her time during the war.

Holidays were spent visiting concentration camps or trying to find relatives who had likely died.

Judith referred to the 'burden' of being the daughter of Holocaust survivor, however, Helen scarcely went into details about her trauma with her.

Now a mother-of-three, Judith said she donated her mother's artifacts to the Jewish Museum, who will reopen on July 2 after a 6 million refurbishment.

'My children know everything and they've also got a transcript of all the interviews,' Judith said.

'I didn't want one of them to be responsible for the items that I've donated, I don't think it would have been fair on them, because its my responsibility, I've looked after them all these years, after she passed away,

'I didn't want one of them to have that worry and when I offered them to the museum, they were thrilled,' she added.

'I just want it to be carried on, the people she helped, the life she had, she was a survivor.'

She also said that Bill Williams, the man who brought Helen's story to light, had always said her story was 'unique.'

This sentiment is echoed by the museum's current curator Alex Cropper, who said she was 'honoured' Judith had chosen the museum to be custodians of Helen's belongings.

Helen's story will feature in one of the museum's new galleries celebrating the journeys of Jewish people who have come to Manchester for diverse reasons.

'It's such a remarkable story as soon as you hear it, it stays in your head, you don't forget about her very quickly,' Alex said.

'For Helen, because she comes to us in 1946, she's kind of escaping the aftermaths of the war, what's left of her community and her life in Poland post-war and so she escaped that, coming to Manchester, where she has got some family.

Torn woolen socks Helen wore during her time during the war, which will also be on show in the museum;s Journey section

'When we started to talk about the new development and we started to talk about what the new gallery would be, we spoke to Judith about whether she would be willing to donate the objects on a permanent basis on the understanding that there would really be showcased in this new gallery in a way that we couldn't do previously because of the restrictions of her old gallery.

'They've done an entire showcase for Helen's story so we're very excited about it,' she added.'

Alex added that from a curator's perspective, it was incredible to be able to showcase items from the Holocaust, because survivors usually left their possessions behind.

'We don't have a lot of physical objects, for obvious reasons, they didn't have much, because they been through the camp system or they'd been in hiding.

'So things like the dress and the prayer book are so incredible and so powerful and objects you can tell these stories with

'I feel very honoured that we got them and I'm very privileged and very excited that this is going to get this story brought to life by these physical objects.

The museum is reopening after a two-year hiatus and a 6 million refurbishment.

The institution, which was founded by Bill Williams in 1984 to celebrate Jewish life in Manchester.

It cares for 31,000 objects, some of them going on display for the first time upon the museum's reopening.

Linked to the Manchester Synagogue, the new extension will house an exhibition following three main themes: journey, identity and community, which are universal themes anyone can relate to, Alex said.

The new museum also will include a cafe and a learning kitchen where people will be able to male and eat traditional Jewish dishes.

Wooden shoe stretchers Helen kept with her. For months, she hid in a cellar and only survived on bread and water
Thrill-seekers who are hoping to turn their next vacation into a heart-pounding adventure need look no further than Airbnb's latest quirky listing: a glass pod that is located at the crux of a French volcano and can be rented for just 1 a night.

The unique residence is located in the center of the 1,500 square-mile Chaine des Puys national park in Auvergne, which is the site of the famous Chaine des Puys- Limagne fault tectonic area.

Chaine des Puys encompasses a line of more than 80 volcanoes, which run in a 28-mile-long range from north to south, and includes the dormant volcano where water brand Volvic filters its product though six layers of volcanic rock.

Hot spot: Airbnb has unveiled a glass dome that is located at the crux of a dormant volcano in France - where one lucky person will get to spend a night in September

Views: The pod, which was launched in collaboration with water brand Volvic, is located alongside the 28-mile-long Chaine des Puys volcano range in Auvergne

Middle of nowhere: All of the volcanoes in the range are dormant, meaning that they haven't erupted in thousands of years - however there is still a chance that they could reawaken

The pod itself can accommodate two guests and comes complete with every amenity that a volcano-scaling adventurer might desire, including an en suite bathroom, a queen-sized bed, and - the piece de resistance - a unique circular window that makes up one full side of the circular lodging.

But while the glass pod offers panoramic views of the lush green park, the one thing it cannot offer is a glimpse at an active volcano; the volcano has been dormant for thousands of years and now serves as a popular attraction for local hikers who wish to scale its grassy inclines.

Chaine des Puys' volcanic range was formed over 95,000 years ago and the last known eruption occurred close to 10,000 years ago, according to GoNomad.

However, the volcanoes within the range are still classified as dormant and not extinct, meaning that there is still a chance that they could erupt again one day.

Extinct volcanoes are considered 'dead' and are usually classified as such only after they have gone more than 10,000 years without an eruption, while dormant volcanoes are seen as 'sleeping' and still have the possibility of one day reawakening.

Anyone who gets the chance to stay in the pod - which is available to book from July 19 and will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis to one lucky winner for the night of September 18 - will be given a guided tour of the surrounding sites by record-breaking mountain athlete Kilian Jornet.

Tasty treat: The one-night stay in the volcano pod will be sold off for just 1 - and the trip includes a meal prepared by Michelin-starred chef Adrien Descouls

Views: One of the most exciting aspects of the venue is its panoramic views of the volcano range, which was formed 95,000 years ago

History: The last known eruption in the Chaine des Puys range occurred around 10,000 years ago - however the volcanoes have yet to be classified as extinct

The stay also includes a dinner prepared by Michelin-starred chef Adrien Descouls and a private yoga session in the morning - complete with sunrise views over the volcano's peak.

'Visitors will wake up in immersive Lumi Pod accommodations, witness breathtaking views over the volcanos peak, spend an afternoon in a hot air balloon and explore the beautiful surroundings on a volcanic hike created by Kilian Jornet,' a statement from Volvic described.

According to the brand, the aim of the volcanic-themed getaway is to reignite people's love of the great outdoors after months of being forced to remain indoors amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

'It has been difficult to reconnect with nature after a year of staying inside,' Volvic's global marketing VP, Shweta Harit, noted.

'Many of us are itching for the opportunity to reset and recharge and what better way to do so than by unplugging, breaking out of your routine in the stunning area of Volvic where our water is born.

'We are excited to bring a bucket-list experience to nature-loving consumers via our partnership with Airbnb. We can only hope travelers will feel refreshed from this experience as they see just how much strength nature can truly provide.'
A Brazilian woman who killed and dismembered her cheating husband nearly a decade ago has recounted the crime in her first interview since her incarceration, saying she still has dreams of his bloody severed head talking to her.

Elize Ramos Kitano Matsunaga, 47, is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of Marcos Kitano Matsunaga  CEO and heir to the food company Yoki  on May 19, 2012.

The former nurse shot her 42-year-old husband multiple times in their penthouse apartment in Sao Paulo and later dismembered the body. She placed his severed remains in plastic bags and scattered them 20 miles away from their home.

In the new Netflix docuseries Elize Matsunaga: Once Upon a Crime, the convicted murderer gave a firsthand account of the crime, admitting she still doesn't know 'what kind of emotion' led her to pull the trigger.

Scroll down for video

In her words: Elize Ramos Kitano Matsunaga, 47, is the subject of the new Netflix docuseries Elize Matsunaga: Once Upon a Crime, which features her first ever interview

Crime: The Brazilian mother of one is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of her 42-year-old husband Marcos Kitano Matsunaga, heir to the food company Yoki

Elize was interviewed for four-episode series while on furlough from prison in 2019. The mother of one said she wanted to participate in the documentary so her daughter would know her version of events.

'I respect people's opinions, first of all. I know there are people who understand what happened, and I know there are people who despise me. I know there are people who judge me. And that's fine. It's their opinion,' she said.

'But, because I've spent all these years away from my daughter, I was scared I wouldn't meet her again. So I wanted to have the opportunity to tell her what really happened.

'Look, darling, I tried to be different,' she told the camera, addressing her daughter. 'I tried not to make a mistake, but I couldn't.'

There is no mystery behind the murder; Elize had already confessed to the gruesome crimes. Instead, the documentary features her first interview since she was incarcerated in 2016 and explores how her account differs from the evidence that was laid out by the prosecution at her trial.

Elize's family members and colleagues were interviewed, as were journalists, defense and prosecution lawyers, and other experts who covered the case.

Looking back: Elize met Marcos while working as a high-end-escort. He was still married to his first wife when they started their affair

The true crime series also looks into her tumultuous upbringing. She grew up poor in Chopinzinho, Parana, and was abandoned by her father when she was just three years old. Her mother left her in care of her grandparents and aunt until she was 10.

Elize's reunion with her mother and new stepfather was brief. She said she ran away at age 15 because her stepfather was abusing her.

'What I went through with my stepfather, I don't wish that on any woman. I don't wish that on any person,' she said in the series.

Elize started training to become a nurse in her early 20s, but she changed her mind and decided she wanted to become a lawyer instead. In order to pay for college, she moved to Sao Paulo and became a high-end escort.

Marcos was married to his first wife when he met Elize through an escort website. The couple lived together for three years before his divorce was finalized.

After they got married, Elize said she learned he was unfaithful and planned to divorce him, but then she found out she was pregnant with their daughter, Helena.

Early days: Elize and Marcos lived together for three years before his divorce was finalized, and they got married

Fairytale wedding: Marrying Marcos seemed like a dream come true for Elize, who grew up poor and ran away from home at age 15

'When I broke the news, he cried, apologizing to me. He knelt down, apologized, and said he would never do that again,' she recalled.

Elize later suspected Marcos was still cheating and hired a private investigator who caught him at a restaurant with his mistress.

On May 19, 2012, Marcos picked up Elize after she and Helene spent three days visiting her sick grandmother. The family and their nanny were seen arriving at their apartment building together.

The last CCTV images of Marcos alive show him kicking the elevator in apparent frustration when he went to pick up pizza in the lobby that night.

The only person who knows for sure what happened to him in his final moments is Elize. According to her, they got into a fight because she confronted him about his mistress, revealing that she had hired a private investigator to follow him.

Hard: After they got married, Elize (pictured in Venice, Italy) said she learned he was unfaithful and planned to divorce him, but then she found out she was pregnant with their daughter

Murder: Elize shot Marcos multiple times in their penthouse apartment in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on May 19, 2012, after allegedly fighting over his infidelity

Elize claimed that he was furious and slapped her, threatening to take her daughter away from her if she left him. She insisted she was afraid of him when she went to get the gun they kept in a cabinet.

'My reaction was to leave the room and get the gun because I was scared of what he would do to me,' she said.

However, one of Marcos' friends claimed in the docuseries that the business wasn't violent and wasn't the type to lose his cool.

Elize said she was about to put the gun back, but then she heard Marcos coming toward her. She alleged that he taunted her and called her names as she pointed the gun at him, saying she didn't have the guts to pull the trigger.

'I still can't tell you what kind of emotion made me pull that trigger. I can't describe it to you. I felt that, then I pulled the trigger,' she said. 'I can't even tell you what I felt because I saw him collapsing, and at that moment it seemed the world that stopped.'

She recalled seeing her husband in 'a pool of blood' and realizing that she killed him, saying: 'I felt like jumping, screaming, and pulling my hair out. I didn't know what to do.'

Evidence: The last CCTV images of Marcos alive show him kicking the elevator in apparent frustration when he went to pick up pizza in the lobby on the night he was killed

Gruesome crime: Elize is later seen getting into the elevator with three suitcases  which contained her husband's remains

Horrific: The former nurse cut the body into seven pieces and put them in plastic bags before scattering them on the side of the road 20 miles away from their home

Elize, who participated in a reenactment of the murder that was featured in the series, estimated she was roughly six feet away from him when she shot him.

However, the autopsy report concluded Marcos was shot at close range because of the burn marks on his skin.

Elize didn't just shoot her husband; she dragged his body to a guest room and chopped it up into seven parts  the head, two arms, torso, groin, and two legs  and put them in plastic bags over the course of hours.

'I could only think about hiding it. I have to get him out of here, but how am I going to do it? So, I had the unfortunate idea of dismembering him,' admitted Elize, who used to hunt with Marcos.

The autopsy report said that Marcos was still alive when his body was cut, but Elize insisted he was dead when she dismembered him.

'If I had been able to think straight, for just one second there, I would've never done it,' she said of the gruesome act. 'There isn't a single moment, a single day, that I don't think about it. It's always there, stored in my head. I've even dreamed about his head talking to me...his head covered in blood, talking to me.'

Trouble: On June 4, 2012, Elize was arrested after phone records placed her at the exact location Marcus' remains were found

Guilty: Elize confessed to fatally shooting her husband and cutting up his body to dispose of it

Claims: Elize (pictured at her trial) said she still doesn't know 'what kind of emotion' led her to pull the trigger, but she insisted the murder wasn't premeditated

The security footage in their building shows Elize getting into the elevator with three suitcases  which contained her husband's remains.

She tossed his body parts alongside a road outside of Sao Paulo. Some body parts were never recovered. She then cleaned up their apartment with disinfectant.

When Marcos' family started to worry following his disappearance, she claimed he had run off with his mistress. However, nine days after his murder, his head and other body parts were discovered, which led to him being identified.

On June 4, 2012, Elize was arrested after phone records placed her at the exact location Marcus' remains were found. She confessed to fatally shooting him and cutting up his body to dispose of it.

Her trial began in May 2016, with the defense and prosecution painting two wildly different pictures. While Elize's lawyers argued it was a crime of passion, prosecutors claimed the murder was premeditated.

In the series, Elize denied that the murder was premeditated, saying if she were planning on killing her husband, she would have shot him during a trip to Mato Grosso.

Who to believe? Elize's trial began in May 2016, with the defense and prosecution painting two wildly different pictures. Her lawyers argued it was a crime of passion

Live in prison: Elize was sentenced to 19 years in prison and is serving out her sentence at Tremembe Women's Penitentiary

Final take: 'There are crimes that are way more barbaric than mine, way more shocking than mine, but nobody mentions them,' Elize said at the end of the series. 'Nobody talks about them because the victim wasn't wealthy

'We went hunting there several times. I would've shot him with a .12 gauge in the middle of an indigenous village. I doubt anyone would find him,' she said. 'If I had premeditated it, I would have never done it in my own house.'

Elize was sentenced to 19 years in prison and is serving out her sentence at Tremembe Women's Penitentiary.

'There are some secrets I'll take to my grave,' she said of the mystery of what happened between her and her husband that night.

At the end of the series, Elize suggested the murder only made headlines because her husband was rich.

'The types of crimes I learned about in prison, there are crimes that are way more barbaric than mine, way more shocking than mine, but nobody mentions them,' she said. 'Nobody talks about them because the victim wasn't wealthy. The victim was an ordinary person. Someone poor.

'If it had been the opposite, for example, if I had lost my life in this situation, not Marcos, would he be here talking about it?' she asked. 'Would there be spotlights on him and people eager to know, "What about the victim, Elize?" Who would I be?'
Frances Loch, the daughter of former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, has given birth to a baby boy.

Her husband Sam Loch announced the birth of their first child Ernest Loch who was born on Sunday, July 11.

'Ernest Loch... Tipping the scales at an even 9lb [4kg]. Brought into existence by his mum with nothing but breathing, coconut water and heart,' Sam wrote on Instagram.

The accompanying picture showed the 30-year-old new mum smiling as she cradled their newborn son in her hospital bed.

After returning home from hospital, the yoga instructor shared a sweet picture of her son sleeping in a baby capsule with the caption: 'Welcome home Ernie.'

Frances Loch, daughter of former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, has given birth to a baby boy - Ernest Loch (pictured)

After returning home from hospital, the yoga instructor shared a sweet picture of her son sleeping in a baby capsule with the caption: 'Welcome home Ernie'

Her husband Sam Loch announced the birth of their first child together (pictured together on their wedding day)

The exciting baby news comes just months after the yoga instructor revealed the couple were keeping the sex of their baby a 'surprise'.

Ernest, often shortened to Ernie, was a popular boys name early in the 20th century, ranking in the top 50 in Australia up until the 1930s.

Earlier this year, Frances announced her pregnancy on Instagram, saying: 'Big little baby Loch. Joining the party Summer '21.'

The pair have been enjoying living a quiet life after moving from Sydney to the US.

The couple tied the knot in a surprise wedding ceremony on Valentine's Day 2018 just three months after she met the bodybuilder in November 2017 - and got engaged two weeks later.

'Two weeks was all it took to know that forever with you was a mighty fine idea,' she wrote in an Instagram post at the time of their shock engagement.

Frances said the proposal happened in the kitchen when Sam, a former Olympic rower, popped the question as she was putting peas in the freezer.

Frances (pictured) shared a rare picture of her blossoming baby bump at 33 weeks

Earlier this year, Frances shared a candid picture of herself cradling her burgeoning bump

Frances tied the knot in a surprise wedding with Sam on Valentine's Day 2018 - three months after they met (pictured showing off their wedding bands after getting married)

Frances with her dad, former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott

During the proposal, Sam had a bottle of champagne in his hands and cleverly convinced her to ask him why.

When she obliged, he replied that he brought it to drink after he asked her to marry him.

That was two weeks after they first met, and the couple waited another two weeks before telling the world about their whirlwind romance.

Former PM Tony Abbott also congratulated the couple at the time, tweeting: 'Really thrilled at the news of Francie and Sam's engagement. We are very proud of her and the Abbotts are looking forward to welcoming Sam into the family.'

Despite concerns the couple were moving too fast, Frances previously revealed her family, including her dad, were very supportive of their engagement.

'I think meeting Tones [Tony] can be quite intimidating for anyone, but that's what I love about Sam,' Frances said.

'He's so grounded, and so settled in his own skin, it felt totally natural. There was no change in voice, no sitting upright. Dad liked him.'

The couple moved from Sydney to the US to start a new life together after getting married

Frances met Sam, an ex-Olympic rower, in November 2017 - and got engaged two weeks later

Frances said Sam asked her to marry him as she was putting peas into the freezer

As for her mother Margie, she was just as surprised as everyone when her middle daughter told her of Sam's proposal.

'Mum was like, "Frances, you are quite impulsive",' Frances recalled.

The pair were legally married at a registry in February 2018 - but waited to celebrate with their nearest and dearest at Sydney's exclusive Palm Beach in April.

'The celebratory component isn't for a couple of months, but we made it official in the eyes of the law,' Sam wrote on Instagram, alongside a picture of the pair showing off their wedding bands.

'We're the motherf***ing Mighty Morphin Power Rangers of love.'
A Sydney fashion blogger has revealed the affordable beauty products she purchases on a budget rather than spending hundreds of dollars on makeup and skincare products.

Dani, who posts on social media as 'Luxe and Lemonade', praised the inexpensive products in a short TikTok video.

The beauty products range from $3 to $36 and can all be purchased from Coles supermarkets.

Scroll down for video

Dani, who posts on social media as 'Luxe and Lemonade', praised the inexpensive products in a short TikTok video

The Sydney blogger is known for sharing fashion advice and styling tips on social media

The cheapest product was the Mitchum deodorant priced at $3 (left). Dani said her go-to mascara for adding length to her lashes is always the $20 McoBeauty LashXtend tubular mascara (right)

The cheapest product was the Mitchum deodorant priced at $3 while the most expensive was the Avene SPF50 cream compact, which Dani said provides 'excellent coverage' that's 'perfect for touch-ups'.

Dani said her go-to mascara for adding length to her lashes is always the $20 McoBeauty LashXtend tubular mascara.

According to the product description, the unique tubular formula creates water-resistant 'tubes' around each lash for maximum length, definition and hold.

The most expensive was the Avene SPF50 cream compact, which Dani said provides 'excellent coverage' that's 'perfect for touch-ups'

To keep her skin fresh Dani opts to use the Neutrogena Oil-free moisturiser - a 'cheap and cheerful' buy priced at only $15.

After moisturising and putting on her makeup, Dani completes her everyday look with the $13 e.l.f. acne fighting foundation.

She added how the foundation provides 'great coverage while working to treat blemishes'.

To keep her skin fresh Dani opts to use the Neutrogena Oil-free moisturiser (left), while the $13 e.l.f. acne fighting foundation is ideal to use everyday (right)

What products does Dani buy on a budget? Mitchum deodorant - $3 McoBeauty LashXtend mascara - $20 Neutrogena Oil-free moisturiser - $15 e.l.f. acne fighting foundation - $13 Avene Thermal Water spray - $26 Avene SPF50 cream compact - $36 Natio blush and highlighter in Rosy Glow - $16 All products can be bought from Coles supermarkets Advertisement

In the short video she also praised the $26 Avene Thermal Water spray and said it's 'great for setting makeup' in place or to use before serums and moisturisers.

The final product she bought was the Natio blush and highlighter in Rosy Glow, which offers a gorgeous selection of soft pink and gold tones.

In total, buying one of each of the products would cost $129.

In the short video she also praised the $26 Avene Thermal Water spray and Natio blush and highlighter in Rosy Glow

The clip has since been viewed more than the 7,000 times and other TikTok users who have used the products previously agree they are 'great buys'.

'That mascara is the ONLY mascara that doesn't smudge and give me raccoon eyes! I'm obsessed,' one woman wrote.

'The best deodorant ever!' another added.
The multi-millionaire vitamin queen behind a celebrity-loved range of 'miracle' hair and skin supplements has added a new product to her line - and it's designed to improve your vaginal health.

Jessica Sepel, 32, from Sydney, is the creator of JSHealth: a 'miracle' range of vitamins that sells somewhere in the world every 27 seconds and is the second most popular brand in Australian pharmacies.

The new 'Vaginal Probiotic +' formula ($74.99) has been specifically designed to support vaginal flora and vaginal health, as well as urinary tract health, gastrointestinal health and general well-being in females.

The multi-millionaire vitamin queen behind a celebrity-loved range of 'miracle' hair and skin supplements added a new product to her line for your vaginal health (Jessica Sepel pictured)

The new 'Vaginal Probiotic +' formula ($74.99; pictured) has been specifically designed to support vaginal flora and vaginal health, as well as urinary tract health, gastrointestinal health

As the most expensive supplement in Jessica's range, users can expect a host of benefits, from fewer urinary tract infections to improved inner health and less chance of discomfort down there.

Ingredients including the probiotics Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus reuteri have been included to support vaginal flora and general vaginal health.

Cranberry also helps to support urinary tract health and reduce the occurrence of medically-diagnosed cystitis, while all of the ingredients help to maintain and support general health and well-being in females in general.

Jessica Sepel (pictured with her products), 32, from Sydney, is the creator of JSHealth: a 'miracle' range of vitamins that sells somewhere in the world every 27 seconds

'As a female founder and nutritionist, I am so fortunate to be in touch with a community of women who are constantly relaying what they are struggling with in terms of their health,' Jessica said in a statement.

'Yeast infections and UTIs are in the top five complaints that we receive and our customers have been very open about their wish for a natural vitamin solution to help with those intimate issues.'

Jessica continued to explain that it took her and her team a year to source 'very specific probiotics from Denmark' that have been proven to support vaginal health and vaginal microflora.

'We then added in cranberry extract at a therapeutic dose to support urinary tract health,' Jessica said.

'This Vaginal Probiotic+ yields 20 billion CFU, which is a therapeutic dose of probiotics designed for optimal results.'

Jessica (pictured) said that it took her and her team a year to source 'very specific probiotics from Denmark' that have been proven to support vaginal health and vaginal microflora

JSHealth advise that if you're taking the supplements, you take one or two capsules with water daily, or as directed by your healthcare professional.

It is a vegan formula without artificial colouring, flavours or sweeteners.

While the product is too new to have any reviews on the JSHealth website, there are more than 25,000 independent glowing reviews for the other 16 individual research-backed vitamin formulas.

Every vitamin from the brand is TGA-approved and filled with proven ingredients that treat various ailments, like iodine and zinc for hair and energy levels and turmeric for stress.

Every vitamin from the brand is TGA-approved and filled with proven ingredients that treat various ailments, like iodine and zinc for hair and energy levels and turmeric for stress (some of Jessica's vitamins pictured)

Jessica previously told FEMAIL that despite her incredible success, she hasn't let herself get carried away with wealth.

Never in this whole journey have I been like "let's sit down and launch a range of vitamins",' Jessica told Daily Mail Australia.

She still answers all of her messages on Instagram, and listens to her community and what they want and need.

'Never in this whole journey have I been like "let's sit down and launch a range of vitamins",' Jessica said.

'Every single product has come about through an issue that's been raised within the community. I've always been more gratified by customer reviews and personal stories more than by hitting KPIs and making millions.

'While it's obviously great to financially reach a certain level of success, I'm more interested in empowering women and creating a safe space for women to learn more about nutrition and health.'

For more information about the new supplement, please visit the JSHealth website here.
Advertisement

Five million Sydneysiders may be stuck in lockdown and restricted from going more than 10 kilometres from home, but that doesn't mean they can't dine in style from the comfort of their own living rooms.

Dozens of the Harbour City's swankiest restaurants are now offering lavish takeaway menus for pick-up and delivery as the shutdown looks set to continue well beyond its expected July 16 end date, after the New South Wales Covid outbreak on Tuesday grew by another 89 cases bringing the state's total to 745 active infections.

Of that figure, 65 (8.7 percent) are in hospital with 21 (2.8 percent) in intensive care and four on ventilators.

Australians households and businesses have amassed more than $2billion (AUD) in savings since the start of the pandemic, Treasury figures show, which means many are in a position to splash out on extravagant meals.

Standout deals include $555 lobster boxes packed with oysters, prawns and cured salmon from upscale waterfront eatery Catalina in Rose Bay, and three courses of gourmet French cuisine from wine bar Monopole that you can assemble at home for $140.

Scroll down for video

Dozens of Sydney's swankiest restaurants are now offering lavish takeaway menus for pick-up and delivery, including these $555 lobster boxes from upmarket waterfront restaurant, Catalina, in Rose Bay

Iconic Asian restaurant chain Chin Chin is also serving a takeaway menu of its most popular dishes (pictured)

Billionaire playboy Justin Hemmes' Merivale empire is selling decadent kits of champagne and caviar from $165, while the iconic Star Casino in Pyrmont is serving food and cocktails from its award-winning steakhouses and sushi bars in takeaway form.

Elegant seafront Italian Ormeggio in Mosman on Tuesday announced the launch of $250 dinner boxes big enough to feed the entire family, packed with iconic dishes including bolognese arancini, homemade seafood pasta and chef's special tiramisu.

Iconic Asian restaurant chain Chin Chin is also serving a takeaway menu of its most popular dishes, giving fans the chance to indulge in a three-course meal of favourites such as prime beef short rib and stir fried prawns from as little as $76 per person.



For a seafood extravaganza - Catalina, Rose Bay

Upmarket waterfront venue Catalina, which promises to the 'best romantic fine dining experience in Sydney', is giving housebound Sydneysiders the chance to dine in luxury with takeaway lobster boxes from $425.

The box contains everything you need for a sumptuous night-in, including a 1kg Sydney Rock lobster - poached, dressed and seasoned - 12 freshly shucked oysters, eight peeled King Prawns and a serving of Catalina's famous cured salmon.

Those looking to splash out can add 1kg of mud crab to the lobster box for an extra $130, or $555 in total.

More affordable options include a half lobster box for $215 and a $260 mud crab packed with 1kg of hand-picked mud crab, 12 oysters, eight King Prawns and cured salmon.

Online reviews stand testament to the quality of the food, with one diner calling it 'utterly stupendous, beautifully presented and very good value'.

Mid-week orders from Monday to Thursday should be placed 24 hours in advance, according to a note on the restaurant's website.

Upmarket waterfront venue Catalina, which promises to the 'best romantic fine dining experience in Sydney', is giving housebound Sydneysiders the chance to dine in luxury with takeaway lobster boxes from $425

For a taste tour of France - Monopole, Potts Point

French wine bar Monopole in Potts Point has created a special Bastille Day menu in honour of the July 14 holiday that promises to take diners on a tour of France from the comfort of their own home.

The menu, made up of 'almost-ready' dishes that are simple enough for cooks of all skill levels to assemble, includes starters of potato and leek soup and trout baguettes, a main course of confit duck cassoulet and a layered chocolate cake slathered in raspberry sauce for dessert.

The three-course deal costs $140 and feeds two, with an option to add six Sydney Rock oysters for an extra $25.

It will be available for collection from Wednesday, July 14, until Sunday, July 18, alongside a two-person vegan menu for $110 that features Jerusalem artichokes in a mustard dressing, vegan lasagne with eggplant and mushroom and a coconut pudding topped with rhubarb compote.

French wine bar Monopole in Potts Point has created a special $140 Bastille Day menu in honour of the July 14 holiday that promises to take diners on a tour of France from the comfort of their own home

For a hearty family dinner - Ormeggio, Mosman

Stylish seafront restaurant Ormeggio in Mosman on Tuesday announced the launch of its new $250 family dinner boxes, packed with hearty Italian classics that promise to satisfy the whole family.

The boxes, big enough to feed four to six people depending on appetites, feature the venue's signature focaccia topped with rosemary and creamy ricotta, arancini balls filled with bolognese, a dish of cold veal seasoned with capers and pine nuts and homemade seafood pasta, as well as braised lamb shoulder and chef's special tiramisu.

Customer reviews rave about the 'flawless food', with one diner writing: 'If I could give this 10 stars, I would.'

The restaurant has confirmed it will take pre-orders from Thursday, July 15, onwards.

Vouchers are also available online for anyone looking to gifts to lift loved ones spirits as the shutdown drags on.

Ormeggio's boxes, big enough to feed four to six people depending on appetites, feature the venue's signature foccacia topped with rosemary and creamy ricotta (left) and a dish of cold veal seasoned with capers and pine nuts (right)

Homemade pasta (pictured) and chef's special tiramisu are also available for takeout

For fine dining at home - The Star, Pyrmont

Australia's second largest casino the Star is home to some of the country's top chefs including Chase Kojima, Luke Nguyen and Dany Karam, who are cooking up a smorgasbord of 'table for two' takeaway menus at their respective restaurants from $65 to $120.

Gourmet dishes include miso-glazed toothfish from Japanese eatery Sokyo, short ribs from steakhouse Black Bar and Grill and seafood curry laksa from Asian fusion restaurant Fat Noodle.

Sokyo is also selling a 16-piece sushi box that contains fresh tuna, salmon, scallop and kingfish, with the option to add a cocktail such as negroni or margarita for $15.

Pick-up and delivery runs daily from midday until 10pm, with delivery available within five kilometres of the venue.

Australia's second largest casino the Star is home to some of the country's top chefs including Chase Kojima, Luke Nguyen and Dany Karam, who are cooking up a smorgasbord of 'table for two' takeaway menus at their respective restaurants

Gourmet dishes include miso-glazed toothfish from Japanese eatery Sokyo, short ribs from steakhouse Black Bar and Grill and seafood curry laksa from Asian fusion restaurant Fat Noodle

Sydney's most luxurious lockdown takeaway deals Catalina, Rose Bay - $555 lobster boxes with oysters, prawns and cured salmon Ormeggio, Mosman - $250 three-course family dinner boxes big enough for four to six people Monopole, Potts Point - $140 'almost ready' three-course meals to assemble at home Merivale, Sydney-wide - $165 champagne & caviar kits Chin Chin, Surry Hills - Three course dinners from as little as $76 per person The Star, Pyrmont - share boxes from award-winning steakhouses and sushi bars for $65 to $120 MILPA Collective, Bondi and Potts Point - Mexican fiesta packs from $100 to $340 Advertisement

For champagne and caviar - Merivale, various locations

The Merivale restaurant empire owned by billionaire playboy Justin Hemmes is cashing in on the takeaway business this time round by offering champagne and caviar kits from $165.

Other standout deals scattered across the Harbour City are the ever-popular wood-fired bread and lamb pappardelle from Totti's at Bondi, sweet and sour pork and salt 'n' pepper squid from Queen Chow Manly, and a Cantonese feast of honey-glazed pork, king crab rice and Peking duck pancakes from Mr Wong in the CBD.

All Merivale venues are offering online order and pick-up from 11.45am to 3pm, and 3.45pm to 8pm.

For a Mexican fiesta - MILPA Collective, Bondi and Potts Point

All four of MILPA's venues - Carbon, Calita, Taqiza and Sonora - have jumped on the takeaway train this lockdown with a 'fiesta' dinner for two to four that costs $100 or $200.

The packs contain everything you need for a Mexican feast, including tacos, fresh guacamole, quesadillas, charred corn and margaritas.

There's also a 'bottomless' option for $340 that includes 24 tacos, guacamole and five litres of margarita.

Orders for delivery can be placed online on all four MILPA Collective outlet websites.

The Merivale restaurant empire owned by billionaire playboy Justin Hemmes is cashing in on the takeaway business this time round by offering champagne and caviar kits for $165 (left) and $185 (right)

For an Italian feast in your living room - Enoteca 128, Neutral Bay

Over the bridge in Neutral Bay, Italian bistro Enoteca 128 is running spectacular deals on takeaway meals and wine.

A lavish spread for two can be ordered for under $150, with standout dishes such as a ragu bolognese gnocchi ($29), squid ink tagliolini with long neck clams and white wine sauce ($32), smoked provolone souffle with shimeji mushrooms and vermouth ($29) and a luscious tiramisu ($22) for dessert.

Customers have been raving about the meals on Facebook, with one man writing: 'So well packaged and bundled up for us with care. Highly recommend!'

A woman added: 'We chose to have a date night in with a takeaway from Enoteca 128 and it was an incredible Italian feast!'

Over the bridge in Neutral Bay, Italian bistro Enoteca 128 is running spectacular deals on takeaway meals and wine

A lavish spread for two can be ordered for under $150, with standout dishes such as a ragu bolognese gnocchi and smoked provolone souffle with shimeji mushrooms and vermouth

For Asian fusion - Chin Chin, Surry Hills

Iconic Asian fusion restaurant Chin Chin in Surry Hills is serving a takeaway menu of its most popular dishes from 4pm to 9pm, seven days a week.

Diners can choose from things like stir fried prawn with egg noodles tossed in garlic, chive and chilli oil ($35.50), massaman curry with braised beef, peanuts and kipfler potatoes ($31.50), beef short rib with coconut salad ($39.50) and a dessert of banana roti with cinnamon and condensed milk ($16.50) for afterwards.

In a gesture of solidarity to frontline workers, the restaurant is offering a 50 percent discount to all healthcare professionals ordering between 4pm and 6pm.

For an indulgent pastry breakfast - Marta's, Rushcutters Bay

Marta's Roman bakery in Rushcutters Bay is back with delicious pastries and sweet treats every Tuesday to Friday from 7.30am and 9am on weekends.

Best-sellers include Lariano-style sourdough, savoury pizzettas including a carbonara version toped with egg and guanciale, focaccias, warm doughnuts and cannoli.

When the sun goes down the restaurant also serves a takeaway dinner menu that features herb-stuffed porchetta ($33), rigatoni with beef ragu ($28) and hazelnut tartufo ($14).

Customers within 10km can order pick-up online from the venue's website while those further away can get dishes delivered to the door through UberEats or Deliveroo.

Marta's Roman bakery in Rushcutters Bay is back with delicious pastries (left and right) every Tuesday to Friday from 7.30am and 9am on weekends
The dashing son of the world's richest man tied the knot with his glamorous accessories designer fiancee over the weekend.

Alexandre Arnault, 29, the second oldest son of LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault, wed Geraldine Guyot, founder of French accessories brand DEstree, in Paris on Saturday.

The newlyweds, who announced their engagement at the start of the year, both shared photos of the intimate ceremony on social media, with Alexandre writing: 'It started in 1998 now it's oui pour vie [yes for life].'

Alexandre is the executive vice president of LVMH brand Tiffany & Co., having previously served as CEO of Rimowa. In May his father Bernard overtook Jeff Bezos to become the world's richest man after his net worth climbed to $186 billion.

Alexandre Arnault, 29, the second oldest son of LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard, wed Geraldine Guyot, founder of French accessories brand DEstree, in Paris on Saturday

The newlyweds, who announced their engagement at the start of the year, both shared photos of the intimate ceremony on social media, with Alexandre writing: 'It started in 1998 now it's oui pour vie [yes for life]'

Following the trend of low-key, high society weddings, the couple chose to keep the day out of the spotlight.

Geraldine, who was named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 list for retail and e-commerce last year, looked elegant in a simple, vintage-inspired dress by JW Anderson featuring a high collar, long sleeves, puffed shoulders, and subtle floral embroidery.

The bride changed into a second number for the evening reception, with Alexandre sharing a photo of their romantic first dance on Instagram.

The couple have been dating since at least August 2019 and became engaged shortly before Christmas after a romantic proposal in Paris.

Bernard Arnault, who has five children from two marriages, has given senior LVMH roles to his four oldest children. Youngest son Jean is still a student.

Geraldine, who was named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 list for retail and e-commerce last year, looked elegant in a simple, vintage-inspired dress by JW Anderson featuring a high collar, long sleeves, puffed shoulders, and subtle floral embroidery

The bride changed into a second number for the evening reception, with Alexandre sharing a photo of their romantic first dance on Instagram

Alexandre shared this touching caption alongside his wedding photos, saying it's 'yes for life'

Only daughter Delphine, 45, is director and executive vice president of Louis Vuitton; eldest son Antoine, 43, who married Russian supermodel Natalia Vodianova last year, is CEO of Berluti and oversees image, communications and the environment for LVMH; and third son Frederic, 26, is CEO of Tag Heuer.

Alexandre trained as an engineer, graduating from Frances Ecole Telecom ParisTech and Ecole Polytechnique. He held jobs at McKinsey & Company and KKR before joining the family business with a position at Fendi.

He was appointed to Rimowa in 2017 after he played a crucial role in LVMH's decision to buy an 80 percent stake in the high-tech luggage maker for 640 million euros ($716 million), its first acquisition in Germany.

Alexandre also shared a snap of his wedding ring on his finger in the days after the wedding

Front row seats: Alexandre, second from left, with his brother Frederic, father Bernard, sister Delphine and model Bella Hadid (left) at the Louis Vuitton Menswear F/W show in Paris in 2020

Under Alexandre's four-year tenure, Rimowa paired up with sportwear brand Supreme for a collaboration and made a big social media push to draw in younger, trendier shoppers and influencers.

Analysts expect Tiffany & Co. will be given a makeover in a bid to do similar, as well as attract Asian customers.

Alexandre will work under Michael Burke, chairman and CEO at Louis Vuitton, the group's biggest money spinner, who will now also chair Tiffany & Co. Anthony Ledru, head of Louis Vuitton in the US, will take over as CEO of the jeweller.

For her part, Geraldine studied at Central Saint Martins in London before returning to Paris in 2015 to found DESTREE, which creates 'high-end fashion accessories', including hats and jewellery.

Beyonce is among her celebrity fans and the brand is sold at 100 retailers around the world.

The couple announced their engagement on social media at the start of the year after this romantic Paris proposal shortly before Christmas

Jet-setters: The couple have been dating since at least August 2019, when Alexandre first shared a photo of Paris-based Geraldine on Instagram. Pictured, in Japan together
Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain has admitted there have been times when she 'wanted to bleach the brown out of her skin'.

Nadiya, 36, who was born in Luton to Bangladeshi parents, said 'life would have been so much easier if I wasn't brown, if I wasn't Bangladeshi', but that she has now learned to embrace both her 'Britishness' and her 'Bangladeshiness'.

The TV chef and baker shared her thoughts on BBC Three documentary Being British Bangladeshi, presented by comedian Ali Shahalom.

Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain has admitted there have been times when she 'wanted to bleach the brown out of her skin' in a new BBC Three documentary (pictured)

She said: 'I'm a firm believer that as a Bangladeshi and a British, I will take the good bits from this bit, and the good bits from that bit.

'I believe we live happily in that grey area. I'm proud to say that I mix up my "Britishness" and my "Bangledeshiness" in cookbooks that people actually really like.'

She continued: 'There are times when I've wanted to bleach the brown out of me - because life would have been so much easier if I wasn't brown, if I wasn't Bangladeshi, if I could just be like everybody else.

'But I come with all of those layers that I do represent and I understand the importance of that now.'

Nadiya, who won Great British Bake Off in 2015, said she has become more comfortable talking about representation in the years since she was catapulted into the spotlight.

'If you and me were talking five years ago, I would have said, "Let's talk about baking",' she said in the interview with Shahalom.

Nadiya, 36, who was born in Luton to Bangladeshi parents, said in a BBC Three documentary that 'life would have been so much easier if I wasn't brown, if I wasn't Bangladeshi', but that she has now learned to embrace both her 'Britishness' and her 'Bangladeshiness'

'Now, it's far more important for me to talk about representation, as much as it is about baking cakes.

'Even I, even on this platform, I forget sometimes that I'm actually quite good at what I do, and that's because we were raised to always be very humble.

'We were always raised to stay quiet, to be grateful. I remember my gran always saying "be grateful, you are in their country, be grateful". And to be honest, "do you what nan, I am grateful, but I can also be great. I can also be great".'

Speaking last year, Nadiya, who now lives in London with her husband and three children, revealed she's experienced more racism in the last five years working on TV than ever before in her life.

She took to Instagram and penned: 'Just because you dont experience racism, doesnt mean it doesnt exist, it does!

Speaking last year, Nadiya, who lives in London with her husband and three children, revealed she's experienced more racism in the last five years working on TV than ever before in her life

I have experienced more racism in 5 years working in the TV/Food industry than any other time of my life and its time to call it out!

Nadiya, one of six children born to Bangladeshi parents, shared the post with her 523,000 followers alongside the hashtag: #CallRacismOut.

In January 2018, Nadiya posted a passionate response defending herself against anti-Muslim comments on Twitter.

The television star said she felt like a 'punching bag' and was constantly having to 'take one for the team' after being attacked on the social media site.

In a string of emotive tweets, the British-born mother-of-three revealed her frustration at being told to 'go back' to 'Muslim countries', saying: 'Im getting fed up of being told to go home! For the millionth time, I AM HOME!'

She also implored her followers to realise that racism still exists, saying 'The world hasn't changed that much'.

And speaking on Desert Island Discs in August 2016, she said: Ive had things thrown at me and been pushed and jabbed. It sounds really silly because I feel that its just become a part of my life now.

I expect it. I absolutely expect to be shoved or pushed or verbally abused because it happens. Its been happening for years.
Dark detective drama Baptiste returns to screens this Sunday night for its much-anticipated second series.

The show, a spin-off of BBC drama The Missing, will see French actor Tcheky Karyo reprise the role of grizzled private detective Julien Baptiste, who has dedicated his life to finding missing persons.

The first series, which aired in 2019, saw Baptiste traipse across the Netherlands in search of a missing sex worker with ties to an Englishman named Edward Stratton (Tom Hollander).

This time Baptiste is called in to help British Ambassador Emma Chambers (played by Killing Eve and Fleabag's Fiona Shaw), pictured together, whose husband (Stuart Campbell) and two teenage sons disappear from their hotel room in Hungary

The show also jumps between two timelines - the start of Emma's case and 14 months afterwards. Glimpses of the future show Baptiste looking decidedly worse for wear (pictured)

It ended on a note of personal devastation for Baptiste after he discovered he had a secret son, who went on to kill his mother in the series finale.

This time Baptiste is called in to help British Ambassador Emma Chambers (played by Killing Eve and Fleabag's Fiona Shaw) whose husband (Adrian Rawlings) and two teenage sons disappear from their Hungarian hotel room.

Although the family initially appear to be a happy family unit, it soon becomes clear that they are anything but.

Meanwhile Baptiste is still reeling from the drama and loss of his previous case in the Netherlands and is found living in a dank hotel room, having pushed away his devoted life Celia.

Looking for something to distract him from his personal hell, Baptiste volunteers to help Emma after spotting her case in the news. 'I find people Mrs Chambers, I've done this all my life,' he says in the trailer.

There will be more action and twists as Baptiste sets about finding the ambassador's family

But the case is more complex than it first appears and Baptiste finds himself battling with a police force he doesn't trust, while standing in the glare of the media spotlight.

The show also jumps between two timelines - the start of Emma's case and 14 months afterwards.

Glimpses of Baptiste in the future suggests something dramatic happens that sparks a downwards turn, while Emma is using a future just over a year after the start of the case.

Although Baptiste was originally intended as a triology, writers Harry and Jack Williams confirmed this will be the last time the detective is seen on our screens.

The show, a spin-off of BBC drama The Missing, will see French actor Tcheky Karyo reprise the role of grizzled private detective Julien Baptiste, who has dedicated his life to finding missing persons

'I think we began to worry that it would become a formula,' Harry said. 'Do we suddenly make him just another cop?

'When we wrote it we started to realise that if we did this, we wouldnt get to do another one. Its about doing the right thing for the character and not going "Hey, well be back next year with more crazy adventures." Its something great, that we all love and were proud of.'

Baptiste premieres on Sunday at 9pm on BBC1, with all six episodes available immediately on iPlayer.
Prince Charles donned military dress to present new colours to the Parachute Regiment today.

Charles, 73, who has been Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment since 1977, looked smart in his tropical service dress and the regiment's maroon beret for the visit to Merville Barracks, Colchester, this morning.

The royal was on hand to present the regiment with new regimental flags, or 'colours', and inspected the troops during the visit.

Charles, 73, who has been Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment since 1977, donned his tropical service dress and the regiment's maroon beret for the visit to Merville Barracks, Colchester

To mark the occasion the Clarence House Instagram account shared photos from Prince Charles's first parachute drop at the age of 23

Whilst training as a jet pilot during a four-month attachment with the RAF in 1971, His Royal Highness made his first parachute drop from an Andover into Studland Bay, Dorset, pictured

Charles also watched a display by the Red Devils.

To mark the occasion the Clarence House Instagram account shared photos from Prince Charles's first parachute drop at the age of 23.

Whilst training as a jet pilot during a four-month attachment with the RAF in 1971, His Royal Highness made his first parachute drop from an Andover into Studland Bay, Dorset.

Photos show the young prince strapping himself in ahead of the flight.

During the visit Prince Charles watched a display by the Red Devils (pictured, watching)

Prince Charles looked up in awe as the Red Devils zoomed past overhead during the visit

Prince Charles presenting the Parachute Regiment with their new colours during the event

Prince Charles inspects the front rank of representatives from 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the Parachute Regiment

Prince Charles spoke to the Red Devils during the visit to Merville Barracks on Tuesday

Charles inspects the front rank of representatives from 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the Parachute Regiment

The Parachute Regiment Mascot, a Shetland pony named Pegasus, also took part in the event

Prince Charles delivered a speech during the ceremony thanking the regiment for their serivce

Prince Charles strode ahead in his military uniform as he inspected the front rank of troops

Upon his appointment as Colonel in Chief of The Parachute Regiment in 1977, The Prince requested to join a Parachute Training Course at RAF Brize Norton in 1978.

In the decades since Charles has regularly visits the Regiment and takes personal interest in supporting bereaved families and the wounded.

Earlier in the day, the Duchess of Cornwall was also out visiting a children's hospice in Oxford.

Earlier in the day, the Duchess of Cornwall was also out visiting a children's hospice in Oxford and was pictured chatting to staff outside

She met with one mother, Vaida Ali and her nine-year-old daughter Fatima, and held the little girls hand and admired her dress

Camilla also spoke to Kim O'Grady and her son Toby, seven, and was pictured waving at the young boy

Camilla, 73, looked lovely as she donned a black patterned frock and chatted to families at Helen and Douglas House.

The royal sported the dress which grazed just below her knee and featured a white collar detail, which she paired with some cream court heels.

She met with one mother, Vaida Ali and her nine-year-old daughter Fatima, and held the little girls hand and admired her dress as she chatted.

Appearing engaged in conversation with parents Lauren and David Pomeroy, she was seen smiling at their two-year-old son Finley

The royal, 73, sported a black patterned frock as she met with patients and parents, and held hands with one young boy

The royal sported the dress which grazed just below her knee and featured a white collar detail, which she paired with some cream court heels

Camilla also spoke to Kim O'Grady and her son Toby, seven, and was pictured waving and holding hands with the young boy.

Appearing engaged in conversation with parents Lauren and David Pomeroy, she was seen smiling at their two-year-old son Finley.

It comes after it was reported Prince Charles is refusing to give Prince Edward the title of Duke of Edinburgh following the death of Prince Philip despite his younger brother being tipped to inherit it more than 20 years ago.

Since being appointed to the role, His Royal Highness regularly visits the Regiment and takes personal interest in supporting bereaved families and the wounded. Pictured, Charles today

Prince Charles looked smart in his tropical military dress as he inspected the troops today

The royal, who takes a personal interest in the regiment, inspecting the troops at the barracks

Charles wore his military medals displayed proudly on his chest for the visit to the barracks

Prince Charles, 73, made the solo visit to Merville Barracks early on Tuesday morning

The dukedom was expected to be passed to Edward after Buckingham Palace announced in 1999 that he would succeed his father 'in due course' with both his parents' blessing.

He was instead granted the Earl of Wessex title by the Queen after his marriage to Sophie Rhys-Jones that same year.

But upon Prince Philip's death in April this year at age 99 the title immediately reverted to Philip's eldest son, Charles, in line with royal tradition set out in the Letters Patent issued when George VI gave Philip the title in 1947.

It is thought that Charles is now deciding whether to grant the title to Edward, another member of his family, or leave it in abeyance.

He is said to be considering breaking the 1999 pledge as he assesses his own future, The Sunday Times has said.

Prince Charles saluted the troops as they paraded past him during today's event
Princess Diana's niece Lady Kitty Spencer led the glamour at a lavish London hen party for society bride-to-be Lady Jemima Herbert.

Lady Jemima, 31, daughter of the late 17th Earl of Pembroke and Miranda, Countess of Pembroke, is set to marry her insurance broker beau Hugo Davies next month at Wilton House, Wiltshire, which has been the family seat for 450 years.

The couple, who were 'old friends' before becoming romantically involved, announced their engagement in January last year but have had to rearrange their wedding twice due to the pandemic.

Now the preparations are finally in full swing ahead of the nuptials, which are tipped to be 'quite the celebration' by society bible Tatler.

BFFs! Princess Diana's niece Lady Kitty Spencer led the glamour at a lavish London hen party for society bride-to-be Lady Jemima Herbert (pictured together)

Girls' day! Over the weekend Lady Jemima was joined by her nearest and dearest including sister Lady Alice and BFF Lady Kitty, the D&G model daughter of Earl Spencer, to say goodbye to her single life in style with a Legally Blonde-themed bash

Strike a pose: Lady Kitty (left) and party-goers celebrate at the five-star Ham Yard Hotel

Over the weekend Lady Jemima was joined by her nearest and dearest including sisters Lady Alice and Lady Katie, and BFF Lady Kitty, the D&G model daughter of Earl Spencer, to say goodbye to her single life in style with a Legally Blonde-themed bash.

The gaggle of glamorous society girls donned their best frou-frou dresses and hot pink accessories for the day out in London.

The group enjoyed rooftop drinks at a swanky bar and posed for photos at the five-star Ham Yard Hotel.

Lady Kitty - who is also engaged, to fashion tycoon Michael Lewis, 61 - shared a string of photos from the event on her Instagram account with the caption: 'When one of your favourite people in the world has a Legally Blonde-themed bachelorette party (swipe right to see how I was born ready and very eager for this theme thanks to @dolcegabbana)! Cannot wait to watch you get married Jemimz.'

Bride-to-be! Lady Jemima (pictured) and her future husband Hugo were 'old friends' before becoming romantically involved, announced their engagement in January last year but have had to rearrange their wedding twice due to the pandemic

By her side: Lady Kitty Spencer, who is also engaged, posed for a photo with Lady Jemima

Shining bright! Lady Kitty with the bride's younger sister, Lady Katie Herbert

The model, who is D&G's global brand ambassador, wore a figure-hugging pink frock for the occasion and added a pair of sparkly heels to complete the look.

Bride-to-be Jemima, who wore a pretty pastel purple number for the event, looked overjoyed to be celebrating with her closest friends.

Lady Jemima and Lady Alice are founders of luxury table setting rental company Lay London, which provides hosts with everything they need for an exceptionally stylish dinner party.

They provide china, table decor, textiles and glassware for besposke dinner parties, and can even come to the location to dress the table.

Cover girl: Lady Kitty, who is D&G's global brand ambassador, wore a figure-hugging pink frock for the occasion and added a pair of sparkly heels to complete the look

Which ones to choose? Lady Kitty showed followers the D&G shoes she was choosing between ahead of the event over the weekend

Decked out: Lady Kitty Spencer was dressed by D&G, for whom she is a global ambassador

The sisters are no strangers to lavish events, thanks to their upbringing at Wilton House where their father, late film director and producer Henry Herbert, used to host glitzy soirees.

The Palladian property has played host to figures such as Cecil Beaton and Keira Knightley, who has filmed at the stately home.

Jemima will be channelling her creative talents into her upcoming wedding, with Alice jokingly telling Tatler she will be 'laying the tables' herself.

Wilton House is currently home to Jemima and Alice's brother, William, 43, and his family.

The estates passed to William on the death of their father, Henry Herbert, who had seven children to two marriages: Lady Sophia, Lady Emma, Lady Flora and William, from his first marriage to wife Claire, and daughters Jemima, Alice and Katie to his second wife, Miranda.

Lady Jemima and Lady Alice are founders of luxury table setting rental company Lay London, which provides hosts with everything they need for an exceptionally stylish dinner party
Nine models have smashed a world record by painting their naked bodies to celebrate the upcoming Olympic Games.

The group of women  each of whom were contestants in the Brazilian Miss BumBum 2021 competition  took the task very seriously, spending 129 hours decorating their bodies.

Using the Olympic Games as artistic inspiration, they painted their bodies with the colors of the Brazilian flag as well as the tournament's iconic five ring symbols.

Ta-da! Nine models have smashed a world record by painting their naked bodies to celebrate the upcoming Olympic Games

Bummin' around: Each of whom were contestants in the Brazilian Miss BumBum 2021 competition

Record: All in all, artists spent 129 hours painting the women, with Miss BumBum entering the Guinness Book with the record for 'most hours in body painting for a sporting event'

Muses: Each of the women was painted with Olympic-themed art, including Brazilian flags and Olympic rings

Going pro: The nine women stripped down completely nude for their photoshoot, enlisting professional artists to paint them for the occasion

The nine women stripped down completely nude for their photoshoot, enlisting professional artists to paint them for the occasion.

Among the Miss BumBum contestants to go nude were this year's winner and Playboy model Lunna LeBlanc  who recently set tongues wagging by sending the Pope a copy of her Playboy cover to thank him for his blessings.

Lunna was painted with what looks at first glance like a revealing cocktail dress that's completely open on one side.

Playboy model Vanusa Freitas also posted for the project, and was painted by body paint artist Madison Araujo, who rendered the Olympic rings on Vanusa's backside and a flag across her front, which looks like fabric draped over her body.

Body art: The Miss BumBum competition celebrated its 10th birthday this year, with the winner of the title crowned in July

Feathered friend: Rosie Leites had a bird painted across her body (pictured)

Going all out: Some of the paintings offered a bit more coverage than others

Back to nature: Anandah, a contestant and dancer, poses outside in her body paint

Almost swimwear: Social media star Leila Dantas, who has 354,000 followers, also showed off in a painted-on swimsuit

A little extra: Ali Navratilova was painted with the Olympic flame, and dressed up with a few accessories

He also painted 20-year-old model Mari Valents with a barely-there Brazilian flag, as well as the Olympic rings on one leg and 'Tokyo 2021' on the other.

Social media star Leila Dantas, who has 354,000 followers, also showed off in a painted-on swimsuit, while Rosie Leites had a bird painted across her body.

Meanwhile, Deia Cavalheiro  a model and medical school student  was painted by Renata Sosa, and Suzana Simonet was painted by Elisangela Rott.

All in all, artists spent 129 hours painting the women, with Miss BumBum entering the Guinness Book with the record for 'most hours in body painting for a sporting event.'

The Miss BumBum competition celebrated its 10th birthday this year, with the winner of the title crowned in July.

Playboy model Vanusa Freitas also posted for the project, and was painted by body paint artist Madison Araujo

Dancin' around: Suzana Simonet was painted by Elisangela Rott for the project

Among the Miss BumBum contestants to go nude were this year's winner and Playboy model Lunna LeBlanc, who was painted with what looks at first glance like a revealing cocktail dress

Scandalous: Lunna (left) recently set tongues wagging by sending the Pope a copy of her Playboy cover to thank him for his blessing

The whole point: Ali Navratilova shows off the asset spotlighted in the competition

Showing off: Carla Jolia (left) and Leila Dantas (right) pose in their paint

Leticia Braganca wasn't completely nude for the shoot and can be seen with a swimsuit as well as paint

The Olympic Games will begin on July 23 this year and is being hosted by Tokyo.

In March, several of the contestants begged for coronavirus vaccines by drawing attention to their bums.

With COVID-19 units at or above 80 per cent capacity in in all but two of Brazils 27 states at the time, the women drew stamp outlines on their butt cheeks with the words 'vaccinate here' written underneath.

'We want our vaccine in the butt ... we want everyone to be vaccinated,' said one contestant, according to TMZ.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in which they laid bare their rift with the Royal Family has been nominated for an Emmy Award.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who welcomed their second child Lilibet Diana on 4 June, could take home a gong for their two-hour tell-all, which aired in March and sent shock waves through the Firm.

'Oprah with Meghan & Harry: A CBS Primetime Special' is nominated in the 'Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series Or Special category', it was confirmed today.

The winners will be announced at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards on September 19, with US-based Harry and Meghan up against Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy and My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey (pictured) in which they laid bare their rift with the Royal Family has been nominated for an Emmy Award

Harry and Meghan's interview sent shock waves around the world as the couple laid bare the extent of their rift with the Firm.

They accused an unnamed Royal Family member of racism, suggesting the relative had asked 'how dark' their son would be; said they had been driven out of Britain, in part, by racism; and accused the Palace machinery of failing to support a 'suicidal' Meghan.

Harry revealed an astonishing rift with his father, saying his family had cut him off financially while suggesting the Queen had been badly advised and had cancelled a meeting scheduled at Sandringham.

Meghan also accused her sister-in-law Kate of making her cry; suggested senior royals plotted to ensure Archie would never have a title or adequate security; and said officials had failed to stand up for the couple against 'racist' commentary, while lying to protect other royals.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who welcomed their second child Lilibet Diana on 4 June, could take home a gong for their two-hour tell-all, which aired in March and sent shock waves through the Firm. Pictured, Oprah

The nomination announcement comes after a royal historian claimed Prince Harry is ready to admit he's made mistakes out of 'sheer temper' since quitting as a frontline royal but Meghan is 'sticking to her guns' and Prince William believes he's done nothing wrong.

The Duke of Cambridge, 39, and the Duke of Sussex, 36, have been separated by a rift that began in March 2019 when William reportedly threw Harry and Meghan out of Kensington Palace over the alleged bullying of staff, with the Sussexes breaking up their joint foundation and setting up a new office at Buckingham Palace.

The claims emerged in Robert Lacey's book Battle of Brothers, published before Harry and Meghan went on Oprah to accuse the Royal Family of racism and claim they were abandoned when the Duchess of Sussex was suicidal and six months pregnant.

Speaking to Newsweek Mr Lacey said he believes that Harry is the only one who may be ready to admit mistakes and contrition for his behaviour over the past two years - but claims it may not be reciprocated because William and Kate may feel 'vindicated' in having doubts about Harry's relationship.

In the Oprah interview, Harry made reference to his relation with William (pictured together in March 2020) amid reports the brothers had fallen out in the wake of Megxit

He said: 'On one side we've got William who doesn't seem prepared to concede anything and on the other side friends have told me that Harry wouldn't mind reconciling and then it's Meghan who is sticking to her guns on this issue.

"It should surely be possible for both sides to say the past is in the past. It's very regrettable that Meghan doesn't withdraw just a little. Why can't she say it was the pressure? "I was getting used to this incredibly complicated system, I was just pregnant, I couldn't sleep"...."Perhaps in retrospect I went over the top about it".'

In the Oprah interview, Harry made reference to his relation with William amid reports the brothers had fallen out in the wake of Megxit.

Prince Harry told the talk show host: 'As I've said before, I love William to bits. He's my brother. We've been through hell together. I mean, we have a shared experience. But we're on different paths.'
Their mother is known for her stylish prowess, and Queen Letizia of Spain's daughters proved they were just as fashionable during a family appearance today.

Princesses Leonor, 15, and Sofia, 14, looked chic in vibrant patterned dresses as they joined their parents King Felipe and Letizia at a meeting with United World Colleges (UWC) at the Royal Palace in Madrid.

UWC is a global network of schools and educational programmes with the shared mission of 'making education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future'.

It has 18 schools and colleges on four continents, the majority of which focus exclusively on the 16-19 year-old age group, including UWC Atlantic College which Leonor will be attending for a two-year course this summer.

Following the footsteps of Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, the future Queen is going to study at the boarding school, based at the 12th-century St Donat's Castle dubbed the 'Hippie Hogwarts' in Wales.

Princesses Leonor and Sofia of Spain looked stylish in patterned dresses as they joined their parents King Felipe and Queen Letizia at a meeting with United World Colleges (pictured)

UWC is a global network of schools and educational programmes with the shared mission of 'making education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future'. Pictured, Leonor (left) and her parents (right)

Looking the epitome of elegance, Leonor sported a recycled khaki frock embellished with green leaf details from Mango, which she first debuted last summer during her holidays in Majorca.

She paired the look with some white espadrilles which laced around the ankles and left her hair in sleek lines.

Her sister's equally sophisticated dress, which had blue and orange patterns across it, featured stripes of white embroidery and bell sleeves.

It has 18 schools and colleges on four continents, the majority of which focus exclusively on the 16-19 year-old age group, including UWC Atlantic College which Leonor (pictured at the event with her family) will be attending for a two-year course this summer

Following the footsteps of Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, the future Queen (pictured centre) is going to study at the boarding school, based at the 12th-century St Donat's Castle dubbed the 'Hippie Hogwarts' in Wales

The royals met sponsors of scholarships and scholarship students who will study with the future queen for the next two years

Meanwhile, Queen Letizia, 48, looked typically chic in a white tailored suit and matching court heels.

The 12th-century Welsh castle dubbed the 'Hippie Hogwarts': Princess Leonor of Spain to attend UWC Atlantic College boarding school The United World College Movement includes 18 schools around the world, the website said. Princess Leonor of Spain is going to study at one of those schools based at a 12th-century Welsh castle. She will attend UWC Atlantic College, based at St Donat's Castle on the country's south coast. UWC was founded in 1962 by German educationalist Kurt Hahn, who believed his approach to education could lead to a quicker resolution of international conflict, an ethos that is still carried by the establishment which aims to 'promote mutual understanding'. It has also seen a growing list of international royals sitting on the benches of St Donat's Castle over the years. The most recent royal alumna was Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, 19, the daughter of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, who enrolled in 2018 but had to cut her time at the college short due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and continued her studies online from home. Advertisement

King Felipe VI, 53, also looked dapper as he donned a grey suit and royal blue tie for the occasion.

The family-of-four kept themselves protected by wearing face coverings as they met with members of the UWC, which is thought to have included some of Leonor's future boarding companions, as well as sponsors of scholarships.

UWC college students are selected in more than 150 countries, independently of their socioeconomic means.

During the event, Spain's future queen heard from former students from her future school, which she will join in the last week of August.

The future Queen is going to study at a 12th-century castle dubbed the 'Hippie Hogwarts' in Wales, the Spanish royal household announced.

Leonor will attend UWC Atlantic College, based at the 12th century St Donat's Castle on the country's south coast.

Princess Leonor, who turns 16 at the end of October, will begin her two-year course at the boarding school this summer.

Her parents will personally meet the cost of the 67,000 course.

The most recent royal alumna was Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, 19, the daughter of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, who enrolled in 2018 but had to cut her time at the college short due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and continued her studies online from home.

The school, for students aged 16 to 19, says it seeks to 'inspire changemakers' who want to work for the common good.

It looks for students who 'can navigate the complexity of life and (reach) beyond easy answers', the school's website said.

The royal household statement noted the school's 'open and critical approach'.

Princess Leonor obtained admission to the school anonymously, taking several tests before being accepted, the royal household said.

Leonor, who already speaks five languages, has become her illustrious father's 'hand-right girl,' taking to her royal duties with 'enormous eagerness,' according to Felipe.

Having grown up in the spotlight since her father inherited the throne from King Juan Carlos in 2014, she's learned to keep calm under pressure and has already adopted the polished style of her royal mother, Queen Letizia.
Anna Wintour's pregnant daughter Bee Shaffer has turned the streets of Portofino into her own maternity style runway, showcasing her growing baby bump in a series of pretty floral frocks while soaking up the sun with her husband Francesco Carrozzini.

The parents-to-be have been enjoying a romantic getaway in the seaside Italian town for the past week, clearly relishing their final few months as a family of two before their newest addition arrives.

In images taken on Monday, Bee, 33, is seen cuddling up to her husband of three years, massaging his shoulders while dining out at a local restaurant.

The mother-to-be looked relaxed and happy in a pretty floral-print dress, which featured short puff sleeves and elasticated smocking around the chest for added comfort in the hot weather.

Parents-to-be: Anna Wintour's daughter Bee Shaffer and her husband Francesco Carrozzini have been enjoying some down time in Italy before the arrival of their first child

Summer lovin': Bee, 33, and Francesco, 38, were seen with their arms around one another while dining at a local restaurant in Portofino on Monday

Style: The mother-to-be dressed her growing baby bump in a pretty floral dress

Comfy: The dress featured sweet puff sleeves and elasticated smocking around the chest

She paired the blue-and-orange-print design with some simple sandals, and allowed her long brunette locks to hang in a straight style around her shoulders.

That silhouette seems to be a firm vacation favorite for Bee, who was seen wearing a similar style on the previous day, this time opting for a sleeveless white design that was covered in dainty blue flowers.

Once again, the TV producer left her hair down around her shoulders, however she added a pair of shades to her look - which was completed with some orange sandals.

The duo strolled along the cobbled streets of picturesque Portofino, with Bee toting a straw beach bag, while Francesco was carrying a paper shopping bag from men's clothing store Sease, which specializes in 'high-performance' clothing.

Much like his wife, Francesco has also stuck with something of a capsule wardrobe during the trip, wearing patterned swim shorts and a T-shirt on almost every occasion that the couple has been pictured - although he shook things up in jeans when they were spotted out and about on Monday.

As well as enjoying several local restaurants, where Bee was seen laughing happily during their meals, the couple also spent some time out on the water - with Anna's only daughter doing a quick costume change before they climbed on-board their boat.

Bee, who was pictured yawning while sitting aboard the vessel with her husband, opted for another blue-and-white dress for their water-based outing, this time choosing a tunic-style silhouette.

Unsurprisingly, Bee and Francesco have looked very much at home in Portofino during their vacation; the latter spent much of his childhood in the area, splitting his time between the coastal spot and the city of Milan.

Shopping: The dress silhouette has been a firm favorite for Bee throughout her vacation, with the TV producer stepping out in a similar design just a few days ago

Alternative: On this occasion, she donned a white sleeveless design with dainty blue flowers all over it

Au natural: Bee went makeup-free and left her long brunette locks in a straight style around her shoulders

Taking a break: Pregnant Bee was seen relaxing on a bench in the town at one point, shielding her eyes against the bright sun with a pair of shades

What's next? The couple were pictured chatting, with Bee sitting alongside her straw bag and a paper shopping bag from local men's clothing store Sease

Easy going: Bee flashed her large engagement ring while enjoying a meal with her husband earlier in the day

The couple also hosted their second wedding celebration in the town back in 2018, having already tied the knot for the first time at 71-year-old Anna's beach house on Long Island.

For both ceremonies, Bee donned a white dress, although she chose a different design for each wedding location, wowing in a classic silhouette to say her first 'I do', then opting for a more summer-friendly Dolce & Gabbana alternative for her second time tying the knot.

Details of both weddings were kept very much under wraps - and Bee declined to publicize her nuptials in the pages of her mother's magazine, as so many other high-society brides have chosen to do in the past.

It is understood that the couple implemented a strict no-social media rule at their weddings, echoing the same regulations that Anna insists upon at the Met Gala - although those restrictions have become increasingly lax over the years.

Francesco and Bee have always tried to keep their personal lives very much under and the radar in the three years since their wedding the latter has shared just a few social media snaps of her husband - including a goofy photo of him hamming it up for the camera, which she posted on his 38th birthday last September.

Neither Bee nor Francesco have yet to address their baby news publicly.

Bee, who is a TV producer and previously worked on Late Night with Seth Meyers, is said to have known Francesco, who was born in Italy and grew up splitting his time between Milan and Portofino, since they were both children.

Out and about: Bee opted for a quick dress change before joining her husband out on the water for a relaxed boat ride

Late night? The expectant mother looked a bit tired and was seen yawning as she and Francesco sat on the deck of the boat

Right at home: Francesco spent much of his childhood living in Portofino and Milan - and the couple hosted their second wedding celebration in the coastal town back in 2018

Double whammy: Bee and Francesco first tied the knot in an intimate ceremony at Anna's beach house on Long Island

Milestone: News of the couple's pregnancy came just as they celebrated their third wedding anniversary

When it came to planning their weddings, the couple ensured that they incorporated both of their homes into the celebrations, hosting two ceremonies - the first at Anna's sprawling home on Long Island, and the second in a small local church in Portofino.

The couple's baby will be Anna's third grandchild; the Vogue editor-in-chief's doctor son Charlie, 36, and his wife Lizzy have two children together, daughters Caroline, four, and Ella, two.

Last month, pregnant Bee came together with her family to celebrate the christening of Charlie and Lizzy's younger child Ella, which took place at Anna's Long Island home.

Brood: Bee's baby will be 71-year-old Anna's third grandchild. The mother-and-daughter are seen together in November 2018

One guest shared an Instagram snap of Bee with close friends Derek Blasberg and Nick Brown in which she is seen showing off just a hint of a bump in a printed white, orange and blue maxi dress while sitting alongside the married couple.

In April of last year, Anna opened up about how much comfort she had found in her grandchildren during the early months of the pandemic, writing in a piece for Vogue that celebrating Caroline's third birthday over Zoom had been one of the highlights of her time in quarantine.

'What else am I grateful for? My granddaughter, who celebrated her third birthday through a virtual party the other day,' she wrote, while sharing an adorable photo of the youngster enjoying her birthday cake.

'A lot of people Zoomed in and it was just a joy seeing how happy that made her.'

Bee and Charlie are Anna's children from her marriage to first husband David Shaffer, a psychiatrist to whom she was wed for 15 years, from 1984 to 1999.

After her split from David, Anna was in a 20-year relationship with telecoms tycoon Shelby Bryan, however the couple are said to have gone their separate ways in October last year.

Celebration: Last month, Bee revealed just a hint of a bump while hosting a christening ceremony for her brother Charlie's younger daughter Ella, two

Long-term: Bee and Francesco were first linked in 2016, however they are said to have known each other since childhood; Anna was close friends with Francesco's late mother Franca (right)

New of Bee's pregnancy will likely have come as a welcome source of joy for 71-year-old Anna, who has endured a rocky year, during which she has faced repeated calls for her resignation amid accusations of racism and discrimination from former employees.

In June of last year, Anna admitted to allowing 'hurtful and intolerant' behavior during her decades-long reign at Vogue, as well as conceding that she had not done enough to champion black staffers and designers.

Brood: During the pandemic, Anna wrote a piece in Vogue in which she opened up about how much comfort she had found in her family and grandchildren (seen with their parents Charlie and Lizzy Shaffer)

The admissions were included in a company-wide memo Anna authored to her staff amid nationwide unrest and protests calling for racial equality, following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody on Memorial Day 2020.

'I want to start by acknowledging your feelings and expressing my empathy towards what so many of you are going through: sadness, hurt, and anger too,' Wintour began.

'I want to say this especially to the Black members of our team  I can only imagine what these days have been like. But I also know that the hurt, and violence, and injustice we're seeing and talking about have been around for a long time. Recognizing it and doing something about it is overdue.'

However the mea culpa memo did little to quell the controversy surrounding Anna's decision to remain in her role - and in October, a group of 18 black journalists who have worked with her over the years accused her of favoring employees who are thin, white, and from elite backgrounds in a piece published by the New York Times.

Eleven of them called for her resignation following offensive incidents involving her use of the word 'pickaninny', and other cultural appropriation controversies, including outrage over a 2017 Vogue shoot that featured Karlie Kloss posing in a geisha outfit, with her face in pale makeup and her hair dyed black.
Rates of ER visits for fevers among infants dropped dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study finds.

Montreal-based researchers conducted a study on rates of fever among babies 90 days or younger.

Their goal was to find whether the overall drop in cases of the flu across the world last year affected the youngest of society.

While they did find cases than expected, cases that did appear were more serious than in previous years.

The number of babies who were examined by ER doctors for fevers declined by 66 percent last year amid the pandemic.

But among infants who did visit the hospital for high temperatures, doctors found rates of serious bacterial infection (SBI) doubled from previous years.

The research matches a trend across all ages, where people were less likely to contract viruses that were not COVID last year due to masking and distancing reducing transmission.

While cases of fevers among babies fell during the pandemic, twice the amount of babies that did have a fever did so because of a serious bacterial infection

For the study, published in JAMA Network Open, the researchers looked at pediatric data from across Quebec, Canada.

The collected testing data for infants 90 days or younger from March 2018 to March 2020.

The first two years of the study were to be used as a control group, with the third taking place during the pandemic.

From March 2020 to 2021, only 324 cases of a fever caused babies to be sent to an emergency department.

In previous years, over 950 babies went to an emergency department with a fever - a 63 percent drop.

Cases of the fever that did cause emergency visits were more likely to be caused by SBI, though.

Only 10 percent of cases from the previous two years were an SBI, compared to 20 percent positive fever cases during the pandemic.

Researchers, who published their findings in JAMA on Tuesday, are not exactly sure what the reason for this jump is.

Babies, like people of all ages, were less likely to get sick during the pandemic last year

They also believe that the relatively limited sample size, only using data from one part of Canada, means this data may not be totally representative.

The most common cause of fevers in people of all ages is the flu, but the common respiratory condition all but disappeared last year.

Cases of the flu across all age groups fell dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, as masking and social distancing guidelines made it hard for the virus to spread.

Data from a hospital in Detroit finds that cases of Influenza A and B among both children and adults fell to near zero last year.

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin also found that cases of the flu in their hospital system fell by 99 percent.

Now with masking and social distancing being dropped, though, some experts fear that the flu may storm back this year, as people have not built immunities to the virus in over a year.
Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford have begun studying whether or not modifying their COVID-19 vaccines can reduce or eliminate the risk of rare, deadly blood clots.

First reported by The Wall Street Journal, sources say scientists are working to identify the causes behind the blood clots and potentially re-engineer the shots to be distributed by next year.

Both the J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines have been linked to clots along with a low platelet-count condition known as thrombocytopenia, which researchers have dubbed vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT).

A J&J spokesman told The Journal that the New Jersey-based company supports 'continued research and analysis as we work with medical experts and global health authorities' but did not answer specific questions about the early-stage research.

An AstraZeneca spokesperson elaborated and said the firm is 'actively working with the regulators and scientific community to understand these extremely rare blood-clotting events, including information to drive early diagnosis and intervention, and appropriate treatment.'

Although it's unknown if the vaccines can even be modified, it might lead to changes in either ownership rights or approval by regulators, the newspaper reported.

The news comes just one day after it was revealed that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is adding a new warning to the label of J&J's vaccine due the risk of a rare autoimmune disorder.

Johnson & Johnson (left) AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford (right) have begun studying whether their COVID-19 vaccines can be modified to lower the risk of blood clots along with a low platelet-count condition known as thrombocytopenia

Scientists hope to identify the causes behind the blood clots and maybe re-engineer the shots by next year

Both AstraZeneca's and J&J's immunization are known as viral vector vaccines.

They combine genetic material from the new virus with the genes of the adenovirus -which causes the common cold - to induce an immune response.

The shots were deemed game-changers because they do not need to be stored at freezing temperatures like the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.

What's more, because J&J's vaccine only requires one shot, it was expected to be used to inoculate hard-to-serve populations such as people living in rural areas and homebound seniors.

Being able to modify their vaccines to eliminate the risk of blood clots could increase confidence in the jabs.

In April. the J&J vaccine was paused by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and FDA for 10 days after six women under the age of 50 developed Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis (CVST), a rare blood clot that forms in the venous sinuses in the brain.

The women developed CVST in combination with thrombocytopenia.

In the U.S., J&J's vaccine has been linked to 0.3 cases of rare blood clots per 100,000 doses out of 12.8 million shots administered, and AstraZeneca's jab linked to 1-2 cases per 100,000

This figure was later updated to include 28 people, including one 45-year-old woman who died.

The pause was lifted and the FDA added a warning to J&J's coronavirus vaccine that rare blood clotting events might occur, primarily among women under age 50.

Data from the CDC suggest the rate of clotting is about 0.3 cases per 100,000 doses of the J&J vaccine.

Meanwhile, in April, the European Medicine Agency's safety committee determined that blood clots with low blood platelets should be listed as very rare side effect of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine.

According to data from the UK and Europe, the rate of blood clotting with the AstraZeneca vaccine is slightly higher at about one or two per 100,000 doses.

Several countries, including the UK, have recommended that people under age 60 be immunized with other vaccines because their risk of blood clotting is greater.

Earlier this year, German researchers at Goethe-University of Frankfurt and Ulm University, in Helmholtz, believe the the problem lies in the adenovirus vector, the common cold virus used so both vaccines can enter the body.

They believe that in some people, the immune system sees the vaccine as a threat and over-produces antibodies to fight it.

These lead to the formation of clumps in the blood, which can become deadly if the clots move towards vital organs and cut off supply.

'Progress is being rapidly pursued by the companies, and I think their desire to alter the vector or the vaccine is moving in parallel to explaining [the clots],' Dr Mortimer Poncz, chief of the pediatric-hematology division at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia told The Journal.

Recently both J&J's and AstraZeneca'a vaccine were linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare autoimmune condition in which the immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system, temporarily paralyzing parts of the body.

On Monday, The Washington Post reported that the FDA is add a warning to the J&J label about the condition.

The CDC said it has received about 100 preliminary reports of Guillain-Barre following the one-dose vaccine

Most the cases have occurred about two weeks after vaccination and mostly in men aged 50 and older - and that this has not been seen with either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines.

And a report from the American Neurological Association in June detailed 11 cases of patients who developed Guillain-Barre after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine.
New York City health officials are blaming the Indian 'Delta' variant and low vaccination rates in certain ZIP codes as COVID-19 cases spike in the Big Apple.

The city's test positivity increased to 1.28 percent as of July 11, marking a 47 percent jump from a 0.87 percent average over the previous month.

Staten Island has the highest spike with some ZIP codes in the borough recording positivity rates at five percent and only 49 percent of residents fully vaccinated.

This jump in cases suggests that even areas in the U.S. with higher overall vaccination rates are still vulnerable to the highly contagious Delta variant.

Cases are rising in New York City as the Delta variant spreads in under-vaccinated areas. Pictured: A nurse administers a Covid shot at a vaccination site in the Bronx

The city's test positivity rate is now rising after several weeks under one percent

In the last four weeks, the Delta variant has caused more than one in four new cases in NYC

Covid cases are rising in New York City, with spikes in under-vaccinated areas.

The city has seen an average of 326 new confirmed and probable cases a day as of July 12, city data show.

That's a 36 percent spike from the average of 239 new cases a day during the previous month.

New York City's test positivity rate - the share of PCR tests returning positive results - is also increasing.

The rate is at 1.28 percent as of July 11, up from a 0.87 percent average over the past month.

While 1.28 percent may still seem incredibly low, the rise is concerning for a city where over half of residents are vaccinated.

Hospitalization and death numbers in the city continue to be low, with averages of only 16 new patients and three new deaths each day.

In a press briefing on Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio cited these numbers as evidence that the vaccines are keeping New Yorkers out of the hospital.

Still, if cases continue to rise, city hospitals could see more patients in the coming weeks. Hospitalization numbers tend to rise with a lag, two to three weeks after cases do.

City officials attribute the rising case numbers to the super-contagious Delta variant - spreading rapidly in NYC as it is across the country.

The Delta variant - the red line rapidly increasing towards the right of this chart - is now causing half of new cases in NYC. It has outcompeted the Iota variant - in orange

According to NYC Health, the Delta variant has caused 26 percent of new cases in the city over the last four weeks and is poised to take over the Kent 'Alpha' variant as the dominant strain in the city.

The Delta variant caused 45 percent of new cases in the week of June 26 - though the true number may now be much higher.

It is also associated with more than half of new cases in the country, according to the CDC, and its prevalence is doubling every two weeks.

Delta has outcompeted other variants in NYC. The Iota variant - which was first identified in the city - dominated earlier in the spring, but now causes less than two percent of new cases.

'The spread of the Delta variant means that it is perhaps the most dangerous time to be unvaccinated,' said Dr Dave Chokshi, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Health, at a press briefing on Monday.

'And that's why we have ensured that our vaccination efforts are proceeding with as much urgency as possible to be able to extend the protection of vaccination to as many people as we can.'

Under-vaccinated parts of the city are especially vulnerable to the variant.

Manhattan has a higher vaccination rate than the outer boroughs, with the lowest rate in the Bronx

Overall, 53 percent of New Yorkers are fully vaccinated while an additional five percent has received at least one dose.

But numbers vary wildly by neighborhood. Some ZIP codes have vaccination rates below 40 percent.

Chokshi called out Staten Island as an example, saying that cases and test positivity rates have increased in the borough in recent weeks.

'That's because we have unvaccinated individuals, particularly younger people, who remain unvaccinated,' he said.

Staten Island is not the only part of the city at risk, though. The Bronx has the lowest vaccination rate of any borough - just 43 percent of residents are fully vaccinated.

Brooklyn and Queens also have lower rates compared to Manhattan, where 65 percent of residents are fully vaccinated.

NYC's vaccination campaign has plateaued in recent months, though the city is promoting shots through a lottery and other efforts

The NYC vaccination campaign is continuing to promote Covid shots.

The city's lottery will continue until the end of July with prizes including $2,500 in cash, Coney Island tickets, Citi Bike memberships, and more.

Meanwhile, NYC has made the vaccines more accessible through a door-to-door mobile unit and at-home appointments.

Any New Yorker over age 12 can sign up for an at-home appointment online or by calling 877-VAX-4NYC (877-829-4692).

NYC is also partnering with community organizations such as churches to increase trust in the shots.

'We've got to keep innovating,' de Blasio said, of the efforts to increase vaccinations. 'We've got to keep looking for every opportunity.'

Still, the rising cases in NYC indicate that even a city with overall high vaccination rates is vulnerable to Delta.

In other parts of the U.S. with vaccination rates under 40 percent, hospitals are filling up with patients infected by Delta.
Moderna Inc will soon start testing its COVID-19 vaccine on pregnant women.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company announced the trial on Monday, and it expected to begin on July 22.

Scientists will observe the potential side effects the vaccine will have on the pregnant women, the infants, and whether the vaccine could cause complications in pregnancy.

Pregnant women remain in a small group of people who the vaccine has not been fully verified to be safe for.

While pregnant women are eligible for COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S., they are not professionally recommended to take it or not, as there is little data on the vaccines effects on pregnant women.

Earlier this year, the World Health Organization recommended against pregnant women getting the vaccine, before later walking back that advice.

Moderna is currently conducting trials to see how their vaccines effect pregnant women, and their children after birth

The CDC does recommends that pregnant women decide individually with their doctor whether to get vaccinated. The NIH is conducting studies as to whether they develop the same level of antibodies as the average population

According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, Moderna has not yet began to recruit for the study.

They plan to enroll 1,000 women aged 18 or older who are currently pregnant.

The women all must have received a dose of the Moderna COVID vaccine within the 28 days before their last menstrual period before pregnancy.

Moderna is looking to find trends of pregnancy complications or negative pregnancy outcomes -such as a miscarriage or a stillbirth - among the women who received their vaccine.

The company will also monitor the infants born from the women in the study for one year to find any potential congenital malfunctions, or traits like low birth rate on any other diseases at a young age.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that pregnant women can protect themselves from COVID-19 by getting vaccinated, but they should make the decision on an individual basis after conversations with their doctor.

The agency reports that over 130,000 pregnant women have received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, with 9,000 having received the Moderna's.

Studies conducted using the vaccine on pregnant animals found no negative outcomes, per the CDC.

The agency also does not have a solid recommendation for women that are breastfeeding, though a study from April found that antibodies from the vaccine could pass through breastmilk.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) has also begun a study on women who have received the vaccine to see if they are developing normal levels of antibodies.

The NIH notes in their announcement of the study that pregnant women are more likely to suffer negative outcomes, including death, from the virus.

Some research also shows that women who contract COVID while pregnant are more likely to require a premature birth or a C-section delivery.

People who have other conditions that may leave them more vulnerable to the virus, like cancer, develop lower antibody levels from the vaccine than others do, according to other research.

The Moderna shots are the second most common vaccine used in the United States, having been distributed 135 million times.
The nation's top infectious disease expert says Americans fully vaccinated against COVID-19 do not need booster shots.

In an appearance on MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports on Tuesday, Dr Anthony Fauci discussed a potential federal authorization of a third dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine.

However, after Pfizer met with officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday, the agencies issued a joint statement saying immunized Americans don't need a third dose at the moment.

Fauci said he agreed with the federal health agencies because there is not enough evidence to suggest protection from two-dose vaccines fade.

'We're not there yet and that's what the CDC and FDA meant when they came out with their joint statement,' he said.

'They looked at the data in real time. So they'll be examining data as it comes in from other sources taking into account the Pfizer data.'

Dr Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday (above) that Americans fully vaccinated against COVID-19 do not need booster shots

Early data released last week showed Pfizer's third dose generated levels of neutralizing antibodies five to 10 times higher than the initial two doses, Pictured: A vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, July 2021

Last week, Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech announced that a booster shot of their COVID-19 vaccine extends protection against the virus.

Clinical trials found that the third dose, given six months after the second should, generated levels of neutralizing antibodies five to 10 times higher than the initial two doses.

What's more, the companies say they are planning to tweak the booster shot to target the Indian 'Delta' variant directly as it continues to spread across the U.S.

The companies said they plan to publish 'more definitive data' soon and submit it for approval to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

he companies said they believe their booster shot has the potential to offer the 'highest levels' of protection against all variants, including the Delta variant.

However, scientists are 'remaining vigilant' and are developing an updated version of the third dose.

Pfizer's CEO Albert Bourla has consistently stated that he believes Americans will need a third dose, and has even suggested the vaccine will become annual like the flu shot.

But Fauci explained that Pfizer officials are saying this because they are being proactive.

'They're looking at their data, they're looking at the data in Israel and they're saying we want to be prepared and we might even actually recommend that it's a good idea to get a third shot, namely a late booster compared to the prime boost that you get with the two-dose vaccine regimen,' he said.

'People need to understand that pharmaceutical companies don't make the decisions.

'This becomes a regulatory issue with the FDA and the public health recommendation with the CDC and their advisory committee on immunization practices.'

Fauci also addressed concerns that approval of a booster shot means COVID-19 vaccines are not effective.

He explained that a third dose just extends already strong antibody levels rather than boosting waning protection.

'When [people] hear you might need a boost, they might get the impression that the vaccine is not effective.

'The requirement or not for a boost, for a fully-vaccinated person has absolutely nothing at all to do with the effectiveness of the vaccine. It has to do with the durability of the effectiveness.

'So people are saying maybe the vaccines don't work if they're going to need a booster. No, not at all.'
Utah Governor Spencer Cox apologized on Monday for an error in his state's data that showed 70 percent of adults had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine before this benchmark was actually hit.

In a statement on Twitter, he said the true number of over-18s who have been given at least one shot is 67.07 percent.

The error occurred due to an issue with counting doses administered in Utah by federal agencies, including pharmacy partnerships and Indian Health Services.

'We screwed up. And I sincerely apologize,' he wrote in a statement attached to a tweet published on Monday afternoon.

'A couple days ago, we learned that there was a mistake in the way we had counted federal doses,' he wrote. 'It soon became clear that we had only reached 67.07%. While federal data sharing has been extremely difficult, this one is on us. Our data team is devastated and embarrassed. And so am I.'

Cox wrote that there is no evidence the miscalculation was due to an ethical issue and that it was 'a result of simple human error.'

Utah Governor Spencer Cox apologized for an error in his state's data showing 70% of adults had received at least one COVID-19 shot before the benchmark was actually hit

Utah's initial 70% vaccination announcement overestimated the doses administered by federal agencies. Pictured: Vaccination at a clinic in Springfield, Missouri

Cox said that the data team at Utah's Department of Health has 're-examined processes to prevent this type of error from happening again.'

Utah is working to increase vaccinations in the state through mobile vaccination sites, community partnerships, and education campaigns.

While many states did not hit Biden's 70 percent vaccination goal by July 4, the number is still considered an important benchmark on the path to herd immunity.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 20 states and the District of Columbia have met the goal, as of July 13 - vaccinating at least 70 percent of their adult populations with at least one dose.

Vermont has the highest vaccination rate, with 86 percent of adults in the state inoculated. Mississippi and Louisiana have the lowest rates, both under 50 percent.

While most vaccinations administered in the U.S. happen under the purview of state governments, some are the federal government's responsibility.

Many of these doses are given through a federal partnership with national pharmacy chains, including about eight million doses given to nursing home residents early in 2021.

Doses may also be administered through the Indian Health Service, Veterans Administration, Department of Defense, and Department of Corrections - all federal agencies.

According to the Utah Department of Health, about 2.9 million vaccine doses have been administered in the state as of July 12.

That includes about 53,000 doses administered by federal agencies.

When Cox's administration initially announced that Utah had vaccinated 70 percent of adults, the health agency staff had overestimated the number of doses administered by federal agencies.

Rather than announcing that Utah hit the benchmark when the data team first made this calculation, the team 'decided to wait a few days to double- and triple-check the numbers,' Cox said.

Still, the error was not caught until after a public announcement had been made.

Instead of reaching 70 percent of Utah adults vaccinated, Cox said, the true number is 67.07 percent.

Utah's vaccination rate has declined in recent months, with a current average of about 4,500 shots given each day

Utah seniors are vaccinated at much higher rates than young adults

The Utah Department of Health team is working to ensure that similar errors don't occur again, Cox wrote in his statement.

'While this miscalculation is inexcusable, they have re-examined processes to prevent this type of error from happening again.'

Meanwhile, Utah state leadership is working to improve vaccination rates through mobile vaccination sites, partnerships with community organizations, and educational campaigns such as a Vaccine Mythbusters video.

Residents can even request that the state send a mobile vaccination clinic to their community or workplace using an online form.

'We will continue to do everything possible to make vaccinations easier and more accessible,' Cox said.

Such campaigns are especially crucial for the state as the Indian 'Delta' variant spreads.

The variant is now causing about three-quarters of new cases in Utah and other Mountain West states, according to the CDC.
Just imagine an online world where you are totally anonymous. Every click, website visited and item ordered is hidden and can't be traced back to you.

Welcome to the 'Dark Web'  a criminal's paradise, where crooks can trade in drugs and weapons, stolen credit card details and counterfeit goods.

And because activity in this internet underground cannot be traced, they can operate undetected by the police.

Surfing the Dark Web: Reporter Amelia with independent cyber-security expert Chris Underhill

For years, experts have warned that fraudsters use the Dark Web to buy and sell our personal data, which they can then exploit to con victims out of their life savings.

So I've come to Devon to meet Chris Underhill, an independent cyber-security expert, to see for myself what is going on in this part of the internet.

It may surprise some but you don't need a complicated computer system and endless encrypted passwords to access the Dark Web. We are sitting in Mr Underhill's very civilised home office at his personal computer.

For obvious reasons, I won't say exactly how we did it  but after just a few seconds we are in. At first glance, nothing seems terribly amiss.

We are taken to a homepage, which aside from being purple, looks like any other search engine with a space to type in what you are looking for.

The only clue we are somewhere suspect is the strapline: 'Explore. Privately. You're ready for the world's most private browsing experience.'

The Dark Web was created in the 1990s by the U.S. Navy to keep defence plans private, Mr Underhill explains.

Believed to be 5 per cent of the total internet and around the same size as the surface web, the standard internet used to access sites such as Google and Amazon, it's not all bad.

Going cheap: A Dark Web marketplace offering credit card and Paypal account details for prices starting at under $8 US

'It was not built for evil purposes', he says. 'Legitimate organisations such as Facebook and the New York Times have versions of their sites for the Dark Web for users to avoid censorship and give a voice to those living in repressed regimes. But, like any city there are areas where criminals work.'

The problem is it's all too easy for criminals to access the bad parts.

Mr Underhill shows me the World Market website  which he likens to the eBay of illegal shopping.

Categories are listed on the side and include 12,711 drugs listings, 3,787 for fraud and 647 for counterfeit goods.

When we click on fraud we browse sub-categories such as stolen credit card information (including names, card numbers and addresses) starting at 12 and online banking details. There are also listings called 'dumps' and 'drops'.

'Dumps' is the fraudsters' word for the raw information stolen from a bank card's magnetic strip which is put onto a fake card, Mr Underhill says. 'Drops' is slang for physical addresses used to send illegal or stolen goods.

Users can also buy fake website templates for High Street banks for just 22. These are often used for 'phishing scams'.

This is where customers receive an email or text claiming to be from their bank telling them to log into their account and update their details.

Scammer supplies: Sets of 100 mobile numbers for NatWest customers on sale for 33. The seller claims they were collected from banking logs and other sources of stolen information

But the link takes them to a copycat website, where crooks then steal their details and money.

One seller advertised several kits including one listed as 'Santander UK 2021 Latest Scam Page'.

This turned out to be an almost identical template of Santander's online banking page, plus some of its customers' details, including bank and security information.

The same user also sold pages for Nationwide, HSBC, Halifax, Lloyds and Amazon for 36 each.

Sets of 100 mobile numbers for NatWest customers were on sale for $45 (33). The seller claimed they were from banking logs and other sources of stolen information.

Fraudsters who buy these numbers can target customers posing as NatWest. The extra information about customers then helps the crooks appear more legitimate.

One scam sees victims tricked into thinking their account is under threat, and told to transfer their cash to a 'safe account'.

The fraudster then runs off with the money as soon as it lands. These so-called 'impersonation scams' involving bogus police and bank staff accounted for 14 per cent of all bank transfer scams last year.

Around 96.6 million was stolen  a fifth of all money lost to bank scams, according to trade body UK Finance.

Just over half was refunded by banks in line with a new code of conduct that promises fairer treatment of victims  but thousands were not so lucky.

Money Mail has exposed how some banks are failing fraud victims by not reimbursing them, with the worst offenders fully refunding customers in just 1 per cent and 3 per cent of cases.

PayPal accounts with balances between 725 and 1,088 were on sale for 5, with one seller offering a 'buy two get two free' deal.

Counterfeit documents: A Dark Web site selling fake UK passports for 1,000 and UK bank accounts for 700 - which could be used to siphon stolen funds

Crooks could also snap up Equifax credit reports with a score of more than 800 at a cost of 22. These can aid fraudsters in identity theft, which involves taking out loans and credit cards in victims' names.

Mr Underhill says: 'The people selling stolen details on sites like these are unlikely to be big scale hackers.

'Those criminals would be trading privately as quickly as possible. The ones we see here are more likely to be a disgruntled worker from a bank or small credit reference agency.'

There were also websites claiming to sell access to computers belonging to firms and individuals.

If someone could log into your laptop or tablet, they could install software which tracks everything you type, including account passwords and online banking details. Or they could lock the system, demanding a ransom.

The services of 'Black Hat hackers', offering to access online accounts with malicious intent, were also available.

Another site called 'Stock Insiders' welcomed users to the 'dark side of Wall Street' and offered up to 18,029 for tips about secret company acquisitions to take advantage of low stock prices.

Others sold counterfeit cash, fake passports for 1,000 and UK bank accounts for 700  which could siphon stolen funds.

Most crooks advertising on the Dark Web request payments in cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin as this makes it harder to be tracked, with prices listed in U.S. dollars.

After a few hours, my head is spinning. It seems unfathomable that this information is so easily available.

The only thing that seemed to slow crooks was the internet speed. I'm told these sites run 50 per cent slower than typical websites because of the encryption needed to hide the user's location.

Government agencies are working to clampdown on criminal activity on the Dark Web but this is difficult as users are anonymous and hard to trace.

'It is like whack-a-mole. Once you take down one site another just pops up,' adds Mr Underhill.

Banks are believed to have teams of experts who trawl the Dark Web looking for suspect activity.

HSBC and Nationwide say they work with specialist third parties to prevent fraud, while NatWest has a range of security measures to protect customers.

Santander adds that it uses a variety of tools to monitor the Dark Web for anything criminals might use to target customers.

Lloyds says it proactively identifies and removes information being sold on the Dark Web.

And PayPal says its dedicated security teams closely monitor and take steps to stop malicious activity from occurring.

But for all their security measures, tougher action is clearly needed. Fraudsters cannot be allowed to trade our data with such impunity.

a.murray@dailymail.co.uk
Some 89 per cent of over-65s say they are confident in taking suspicious calls

The average Briton has received more than 180 suspicious calls since March last year, new research reveals.

Analysis by Santander found there has been a 189 per cent increase in scam calls during the pandemic. And 47 per cent of Britons are failing to hang up straight away, with one in five saying it would be impolite.

Criminals have taken advantage of the uncertainty of the pandemic. Only 38 per cent of 18-24 year olds surveyed by Santander feel able to deal with a cold-caller.

In contrast, 89 per cent of over-65s say they are confident in taking suspicious calls, with only 7 per centreporting that they have been scammed over the phone.

Dave Lowe, head of fraud at Santander, says: 'Our research shows just how persuasive scammers can be  nearly half of the people who have fallen victim to a cold-calling scam said they were tricked by someone who was friendly and polite.'

The bank is partnering with the Chelsea Pensioners to launch a scam awareness campaign, encouraging would-be victims to tell fraudsters to 'push off, politely' and not to be worried about appearing rude.

h.kelly@dailymail.co.uk
When Boris Johnson quietly ditched Britain's Industrial Strategy in March this year the event passed almost unnoticed.

The bitter truth is that more than two decades of overseas takeovers, many of them by predatory, private equity firms, has hollowed out the UK's command and control of its own economy.

Decisions about great swathes of industrial infrastructure from ports, airports and power production to water, steel and aerospace are made not in the national interest but on behalf of financially driven investors in far-off places.

A bridge too far?: Infrastructure champion John Laing, which managed the construction of the second Severn crossing (pictured), is now in private equity hands

No part of the economy has been unaffected and in the pandemic the private equity sharks have been buying key firms as if there were no tomorrow.

Among those in the wrong hands are the world's largest security company G4S, employing 533,000 people across the globe, and infrastructure champion John Laing, which managed the construction of the second Severn crossing, the Prince of Wales Bridge.

Most buyers are more interested in short-term returns, rather than 'Building Back Better' or 'levelling up'  the favourite mantras of the Government. There has also been private equity interest in the UK's depleted aerospace and engineering sector at engineer Senior and Ultra Electronics.

If you want to understand why there is so little consistency in the way Whitehall handles bids for British industrial and manufacturing gems, look no further than the grandiloquently named but universally deprecated Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

It has become a temporary resting place for rotated secretaries of state with four occupants in as many years. Greg Clark, Andrea Leadsom and Alok Sharma all left a trail of unfinished business.

The latest incumbent, Kwasi Kwarteng, came to office early in 2021 with a pledge to clean up capitalism.

His initiative of audit reform is struggling to find parliamentary time. Kwarteng also is distracted by the ruin of Sanjeev Gupta's Liberty Steel empire  employing 3,000 people in the UK  itself the product of unsafe private finance provided by disgraced financier Lex Greensill and non-existent accountability. Gupta's GFG Alliance is the subject of a Serious Fraud Office probe.

Rapacious investors with private equity models have been allowed to make huge inroads. Four years of Brexit uncertainty, when the eyes of the political class were elsewhere, drove down valuations for many quoted firms on the London stock market. It has been open season for predators looking for bargains.

Aerospace is a depressing example  one of the sectors where Britain with its tremendous innovative history has punched above its weight.

Fortunately, the giants at the core of the sector  defence manufacturer BAE Systems, home of the Tornado and Typhoon fighters; and Rolls-Royce, maker of the world's most sought-after aero engines  are guarded from takeover by a 'golden share' held by the Government.

But we have seen the rest of the sector decimated. UK-quoted engineer Melrose, which boasts a private equity model including extraordinary financial rewards for its founders, bought GKN  which made cannonballs used in the Napoleonic Wars and the Spitfire in the Second World War  for 8billion in 2018.

G4S - now in private equity hands - is hardly the UK's most popular firm yet it is the world's largest security and surveillance firm and guards nuclear facilities and runs prisons

Mayfair-based Melrose shut GKN's Midland HQ and in 2019 axed the Kings Norton factory. It closed with the loss of 170 jobs over a two-year period.

Dorset innovator Cobham was bought in 2020 by Boston private equity outfit Advent which has been busy dismantling the world's leading maker of flight refuelling equipment ever since. Some 2.7billion of assets have been sold and vital UK tech lost.

In 2019, communications satellite maker Inmarsat was sold to private equity firms Apax and Warburg Pincus for 2.6billion.

The sales of Cobham and Inmarsat fatally denuded UK space expertise as the UK looked to withdraw from Europe's Galileo platform, leaving the Government scrambling for alternatives.

In March this year private jet facilities group Signature Aviation was the subject of a break-up bid by three private equity firms, one controlled by Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

Another critical aerospace firm, Meggitt, which makes components for civilian and fighter aircraft, is being sized up by a debt-fuelled US competitor.

As a result, the UK's supply lines have been eroded and valuable avionics and space-age research and development diverted away into less safe hands. The threat to national security has been palpable yet most of these transactions were nodded through.

During the pandemic predators have taken advantage of corporate weakness. G4S is hardly the UK's most popular firm yet it is the world's largest security and surveillance firm and guards nuclear facilities and runs prisons. It was sold to US private-equity-backed Allied Universal for 3.8billion.

The narrative behind most of these calamitous deals, which also has seen leading chip maker Arm and famous engineers such as Laird and Aggreko fall into overseas hands, is similar. Funded with cheap debt, assets are bought at low prices and flipped to new buyers swiftly.

The buyers are aided by feeble directors because deals trigger big payouts. Melrose chief Simon Peckham and senior colleagues could reap tens if not hundreds of millions in bonuses if their 'buy, improve and sell' private equity model produces super-returns from the dismemberment of GKN.

Melrose is transparent, as a quoted company with a private equity model, so every move is properly and fully disclosed and accounted for. That is far from the case in most private equity deals  where owners operating behind closed doors escape opprobrium for their actions.

What I find most disturbing is the way in which Britain's industrial base and its knowledge-based economy are undermined.

The greatest frustration is that our politicians and policy makers don't seem to understand what is happening.

It is only when companies such as Liberty Steel, custodians of the UK's great traditions in speciality steels, are brought low that policy makers confront the reality. By then it is too often too late to save the skills, R&D, manufacturing capacity and jobs vital to global Britain.

In allowing the skills and R&D to pass into the uncaring hand of financial engineers we are betraying future generations.
Shops, restaurants and offices are battling landlords over 1.6billion of unpaid rent 16 months after the start of the pandemic, industry bosses revealed.

The coronavirus crisis has ripped through the High Street forcing businesses to chalk up around 7billion of rent debt owed to landlords.

The British Property Federation (BPF) has told MPs that its members are battling with tenants over 23 per cent of this sum  or 1.6billion.

The coronavirus crisis has ripped through the High Street forcing businesses to chalk up around 7bn of rent debt owed to landlords

Another 3.5billion or so has been paid back and 1.5billion is subject to agreements to reduce the debt, repay over a longer period or write it off completely.

Just a tenth of hospitality businesses have been able to pay their rent in full during the pandemic, while a quarter have paid part of their rent, often by taking on huge amounts of debt, UK Hospitality (UKH) said.

In retail, despite strong trading since shops reopened on April 12, between a tenth and 30 per cent of rent is still in dispute, says the British Retail Consortium. The enormous sums involved have sparked a fresh war of words.

Ghislaine Halpenny, director of strategy and external affairs at the BPF, told MPs on the Business Committee: There have been a number of well capitalised businesses who have not paid.

We know that has a severe impact as large companies are using their market power to abuse small landlords.

The group claims that one in seven commercial tenants have ignored approaches by their landlord to avoid entering talks to agree repayment plans, and believes the rent moratorium must be ended.

UKH has argued that negotiations have hit a stalemate because of landlords demanding unreasonable rent for periods when businesses were closed or trading was restricted.

Its chief executive Kate Nicholls said: The situation is improving, but there are still one in five, where there is a stalemate in negotiations.
The Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has intervened in the 1billion takeover of Vectura by cigarette giant Philip Morris.

New York-based Philip Morris, which makes Marlboro, shocked the City last week when it made an offer to buy the Wiltshire-based inhaler maker.

Kwarteng has asked officials to find out what plans Philip Morris has for FTSE 250-listed Vectura, with the Government uncomfortable a cigarette company would seek to profit from conditions such as asthma and lung disease.

Questions: Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng (pictured) has asked officials to find out what plans Philip Morris has for FTSE 250-listed Vectura

The deal has sparked outrage from anti-smoking groups including Cancer Research UK and Action on Smoking and Health.

Jon Ashworth, Labours health spokesman, and Ed Miliband, the Labour business spokesman, wrote to Kwarteng over the weekend, urging the Government, under the Enterprise Act 2002 to intervene to mitigate the effects of public health emergencies.

Vectura is one of the countrys premier respiratory disease companies.

It has been targeted by Philip Morris as the company tries to diversify its business away from harmful tobacco products.
On paper, it seemed like any new graduate's dream: waking up 20 minutes before work starts and answering emails all day in your pyjamas.

Gone were the lengthy commutes and interminable meetings replaced instead with longer lie-ins, more Netflix and low-pressure Zoom calls.

But as the Working From Home revolution shows no sign of ending  with some offices even shutting for good  young workers are starting to feel the strain.

Many are stuck in cramped bedrooms and have yet to meet their colleagues in real life.

Many young people who have been working from home throughout the pandemic are stuck in cramped bedrooms and have yet to meet their colleagues once in real life

And experts warn it will hinder their career prospects, restrict their money-making potential and lead to a critical shortage of soft skills in the workplace.

'When I first interviewed for my job, I was told we would be going back to the office and everybody was so excited to get back,' says one anonymous female professional working in the media.

'However just one month into the role we were told the office was closing for good. I was devastated. I was 23 years old and told to sit in my bedroom and work alone for eight hours a day.'

She is one of many young graduates who has never even met their colleagues in person, relying instead on video calls for social interaction.

Many had expected to return to their offices on so-called Freedom Day on July 19, but government messaging remains muddled.

Although the 'work from home' order will officially be lifted next week, the Prime Minister urged caution on Monday as he said: 'We don't expect that the whole country will return to their desk as one from Monday.'

Dr Eliza Filby, a social historian and workplace expert, warns that if young people are cut off from the office entirely it will hinder workplace productivity in years to come.

She says: 'We will have a generation of people who are over-educated, under-trained and under-experienced. This generation is less likely than their elders to have had Saturday jobs.

'They're not used to the workplace and they need to be around more experienced colleagues to learn the most basic etiquette.'

It's no surprise young people are leading the charge back into the office. Research from Nationwide and Ipsos MORI found that six out of ten employees in Generation Z (those born after 1997) say they need to spend time with their colleagues face-to-face in order to carry out their work effectively.

Some 50 per cent of Millennial workers (born between 1981 and 1996) said the same.

'I live alone and feel isolated working from home' Lauren Lockhead often goes a whole day without actually speaking to another human. The 27-year-old, from Newcastle, lives alone and has yet to meet her colleagues. Lauren Lockhead (pictured) often goes a whole day without actually speaking to another human Lauren, who works for a PR agency, says: 'I started my new job in January and while they allow hybrid working, no one is going into the office. 'There are days I go without speaking to anybody in person. It's very isolating. 'I find myself making conversation with people in the supermarket instead. 'My job pre-Covid involved networking and socialising. But now it's so email-based. 'I feel lucky that I'm not straight out of university. Those early days of my career were very important to establishing my career.'

Joanna Swash, CEO of communications company Moneypenny, which employs more than 850 staff members in the UK, says: 'When it comes to working in the office, it's definitely our younger employees who seem most keen to come in.

'Many are in cramped living conditions. It's clear they are craving the social side of the office, too.

'It's also face-to-face contact that will help you progress in your career. It's hard to do over Zoom.'

Noa Hoffman, 23, is among those desperate to get back into the office. She has worked for three different employers since the pandemic began  yet she hasn't met a single colleague.

The journalist, from London, says: 'I started out on a work placement in Leeds where I was living in a cramped flatshare and could only work in my room.

'Working in the same room you sleep in is so bad for your mental health. It's also embarrassing when you're video calling your boss with your bed behind you.

'I want to be meeting people and progressing my career.'

Dr Filby says: 'Offices are hugely important social spaces when you're young  it's where you make your friends, learn and it's where you often fall in love.'

Earlier this year Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon hit headlines after he called remote working an 'aberration' that needed to be 'corrected as soon as possible'.

But other businesses have taken different approaches.

Asda announced earlier this month it was adopting a 'hybrid' working model which would allow employees to choose how little or often they come into the office.

HSBC, KPMG and Deutsche Bank all made similar decisions.

There are fears the hybrid model will make some jobs redundant and lead to unemployment.

Reports recently revealed more than a quarter of Deloitte's UK secretarial staff face redundancy as bosses now do more of their administrative tasks online.

Experts also say Working From Home could lead to reduced salaries as bosses can argue employees save on commuting costs.

Personal finance analyst Sarah Coles, from Hargreaves Lansdown, says: 'Businesses now have a larger pool to select candidates from and aren't restricted to their geographical location.

'It means in London there will no longer be a pressure to offer London-weighted salaries as employees can choose not to live there.'

The result is the gap in salaries between professional and lower-skilled workers  in short supply after Brexit and less likely to work from home  could close.

Data from recruitment site Reed.co.uk found average salaries in 2021 have decreased by 4 per cent since 2020  when the job market was more volatile. It also found wages being advertised in the 0-25k salary tier increased by 14 per cent.

Average salaries in catering and hospitality rose by 7 per cent.

h.kelly@dailymail.co.uk
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has sounded the alarm over towering levels of corporate borrowing and warned that highly indebted companies may struggle to survive the year.

As the central bank published its latest financial stability report, he said businesses loaded with debt are 'much less resilient'.

The warning came amid a wave of takeovers of British companies by private equity firms well known for piling extra debt  or leverage  on to firms to reduce tax bills and increase profits.

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey (pictured) cautioned that businesses loaded with debt are 'much less resilient' and would be at risk of going under if another crisis hit

A string of companies have been targeted including supermarkets Asda and Morrisons and security giant G4S.

Addressing accusations of 'pandemic plundering' and fears that private equity deals could leave Britain's economy weaker, Bailey said: 'We don't take a view on private equity in and of itself.

'What I would say though, and I hope and think that Covid has illustrated this forcefully, is that it is really about the question of corporate leverage.

'Companies that increase their leverage beyond levels that are safe and sustainable are in a much less resilient position when a shock comes along  and we've had a very big one.

'The very clear message should be to companies  leverage matters. It matters to the resilience of your own financial position. Therefore you need to have regard to it.'

Crackdown on cloud Technology firms which provide cloud services to Britain's financial sector could be under the Bank of England's spotlight. Companies like Amazon Web Services support increasingly important parts of operations, the Bank says, and it wants to increase scrutiny of cloud providers as the small pool of tech firms can haggle over terms. Bailey said: 'That concentrated power can manifest itself in secrecy, opacity and not providing customers with information they need to be able to monitor the risk in the service. We have seen some of that going on.'

The Bank said companies could be squeezed as early as the autumn when government support during the pandemic begins to unwind.

The report from Threadneedle Street said repayments of deferred VAT, piled-up rent bills, and vast Covid loans would put 'additional pressure' on cash flow and could cause insolvencies to increase.

Bailey noted that debt levels had only increased 'modestly' since the pandemic began.

But he said this was disguising worrying levels of loans among struggling sectors such as hospitality and travel.

Private equity bidders are circling British firms to exploit low share prices on a stock market depressed by Covid.

Ministers are under increasing pressure to probe the surge in deals. Nick Hood, a senior adviser at Opus Restructuring, said: 'There has to be an inquiry, there has to be some hardheaded analysis of what's happened so far. It's up to the Government to find a mechanism to prevent these companies being buried in debt.'

Bailey has urged banks to keep lending and co-operate on repayments as the recovery continued.

He said: 'Covid has had an uneven effect on different sectors of the economy so it's important support remains in place.'

Officials have kept the level of cash buffers, which lenders must hold in good times to absorb losses when the economy turns sour, at 0 per cent until 2022.

This means lenders have an extra 190billion to lend to prop up the economy. Bailey played down risks that the housing boom would fuel unsustainable debt among borrowers.
The Church of England is planning a symbolic service to apologise for the medieval expulsion of Jews 800 years ago.

Anglican leaders announced the plans at a meeting of the General Synod - the legislative body for the Church of England - in a bid to address the recent and 'rapidly worsening anti-Semitism in the UK'.

Although the Church of England was not created until after the Reformation, leaders are planning a 'symbolic repentance' to sever ties with the historical role the English church played in fuelling anti-Semitism in the past.

The act of repentance will take place next year on the 800th anniversary of the church's Synod of Oxford in 1222 which saw the introduction of several anti-Semitic laws in England.

At a meeting of the General Synod, the Church of England announced plans to hold a service to apologise for the historic role played in the expulsion of Jews 800 years ago (file picture)

The role the Church played in the expulsion of Jews in 1290 Pictured: King Edward I expelled all Jews from England in 1290 after decades of increased hostility towards the community In 1290, the entire Jewish population of England (about 3,000 people) was expelled from the country on the orders of Edward I. The decision was partly the result of decades of increasing hostility sparked by changing attitudes of the Church. Jews had only been in England since the Norman Conquest and were initially under special protection of the King. But by the middle of the twelfth century, there was increasing antisemitism in England. In part, this was fuelled by something called the 'blood libel' - false allegations that Jews abducted and murdered Christian children for magical rituals. The official stance of the Church slowly shifted from tolerance of Jews to increasing hostility which influenced the views of ordinary people. Anti-Jewish feeling was also linked to the crusades, which began in 1096. Christians trying to reclaim the holy land increasingly saw Jews as 'Christ-killers', against whom violence could legitimately be used. In 1222, the Synod of Oxford was held which saw church leaders implement decrees that forced Jews to wear clothing to distinguish them from Christians. By the late 1200s, several laws had been passed that restricted the rights of Jewish people, culminating in the expulsion of all Jews from England in 1290. Jews did not return to England until the 1650s, when they were invited to resettle by Oliver Cromwell. Advertisement

The laws included requiring Jews to wear badges, banning them from building synagogues and banning them from working in certain professions and were considered a catalyst to the eventual expulsion of Jews in 1290.

Addressing what plans the Church had to make amends for this role played, the Bishop of Lichfield said a symbolic service had been proposed.

The Rt Rev Dr Michael Ipgrave said: 'The Archbishop's office has indeed received a letter proposing a service that might offer an act of repentance at the 800th anniversary of the Synod of Oxford and its anti-Semitic laws.

'We are exploring the idea of such a service to be planned in conjunction with the Council of Christians and Jews, as well as the potential for a liturgical resource that might be offered to local churches to model an appropriate symbolic repentance.'

The issue was raised by Jacob Vince, a member of General Synod from the Diocese of Chichester who raised the issue of the rise in anti-Semitism in the UK.

Last month, it was revealed the Community Security Trust (CST) recorded 351 anti-Semitic incidents between May 8 and 31, already surpassing the highest total for any single month since records began.

The spike has been linked to the escalation of violence in Israel and Gaza.

The CST said the rise was fuelled by anti-Semitic reactions to the conflict and called it 'utterly predictable and completely disgraceful'.

There are concerns the situation will only worsen as violence in the Middle East continues.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism cited physical beatings and vandalism, chants and placards at rallies, social media abuse and threats to Jewish children at schools and universities as examples of the hostility faced by the community.

'None of these should be features of life in Britain in 2021, but they are for Jewish people,' a spokesperson said.

Mr Vince asked the General Synod: 'In light of rapidly worsening anti-Semitism in the UK in recent months, might the 800th anniversary next year be an opportune moment for the Church of England to consider making a formal break with these historic prejudices as a gesture of solidarity with our Jewish neighbours, England's oldest ethnic minority?

'Has the Archbishop's office received a letter and research paper on the topic of this octocentenary, and are there any plans to appoint suitable individuals to investigate these matters further with a view to conducting a fitting service of corporate repentance?'

This would mark the first time the church has apologised for the expulsion of Jews.

Dave Rich, director of policy at the Community Security Trust, which monitors antisemitic incidents, said the repentance was 'better late than never'.

Anti-Semitic incidents are at record levels and have been linked to conflict in Israel and Gaza. Pictured: People gather for a demo organised by Campaign Against Anti-Semitism in 2018

'There is a long history of medieval anti-Judaism and antisemitism in this country that is largely unknown but is very important and still leaves a legacy today.

'It is always welcome that the church should recognise this. The most important part is the sense of solidarity it will give to the Jewish community at a time when antisemitism is rising.'

Earlier this year, the Archbishop of Canterbury tweeted his condemnation of anti-Semitism following an outbreak of incidents spurred by the escalation of the conflict between Palestine and Israel.

Justin Welby said: 'There can be no excuse for the appalling anti-Semitism we have seen in the UK.

'Such hatred here will not help bring the long overdue peace with justice in Israel and Palestine.

'As we continue to pray for the Holy Land we must reject violence, the threat of violence and anti-Semitism.'

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: 'The Church of England, inspired by decrees from Rome, was absolutely central to the horrific antisemitism suffered by English Jews in the Middle Ages, including religious propaganda, badges of shame, the invention of the blood libel, massacres and the first national expulsion of an entire Jewish community from a European country.

'There is much to repent for in this ignominious record.

'For the Church to confront its past is laudable, and we commend the Church of England for taking this historic step, which sends a powerful message not just about historic misdeeds but about how our faiths and society can better themselves today.'
Advertisement

Bernie Sanders has finally broken his silence on Cuba to demand the US end its embargo which 'has only hurt, not helped the Cuban people' and urged the communist nation's government to refrain from violence against the island's protesters and opposition.

'All people have the right to protest and to live in a democratic society,' Vermont Sen. Sanders tweeted. 'I call on the Cuban government to respect opposition rights and refrain from violence. It's also long past time to end the unilateral U.S. embargo on Cuba, which has only hurt, not helped, the Cuban people.'

The former presidential candidate tweeted after he and fellow 'Democratic Socialist' Bronx Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez came under fire for their lack of public response to anti-government protests that began in Cuba over the weekend.

Ocasio-Cortez remains entirely silent on social media.

In Miami, home to a large community of Cuban Americans, hundreds turned out in Little Havana to express solidarity and celebrate what they viewed as the beginning of the end. On Twitter, Miami mayor Francis Suarez implored the United States to 'take action.'

Cuban supporters waved flags and honked car horns in support of the Cuban people in Little Havana, Miami on Monday

The Liberty Rally took place outside the Miami Cuban restaurant Cafe Versailles, a community hub

A show of support continued Monday at Miami Cuban restaurant Cafe Versailles as supporters gathered for a 'liberty' rally

Cubans are seen outside Havana's Capitol during a demonstration against the government of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Havana, on Sunday

Thousands of Cubans took part in rare protests Sunday against the communist government, marching through a town chanting 'Down with the dictatorship' and 'We want liberty'

There remains tension in Cuba following the historic protests, while support grows in South Florida for the Cuban people

The protests in Cuba marked some of the biggest displays of antigovernment sentiment in the tightly controlled country in years.

Cuba is going through its worst economic crisis in decades, along with a resurgence of coronavirus cases, as it suffers the consequences of U.S. sanctions imposed by former President Donald Trump's administration.

Large contingents of Cuban police patrolled the capital, Havana, on Monday following rare protests around the island nation against food shortages and high prices amid the coronavirus crisis.

Cuba's president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, said the demonstrations were stirred up on social media by Cuban Americans in the United States.

Some Republican lawmakers, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, have praised the protests despite regularly villainizing protesters in their own states

'Florida supports the people of Cuba as they take to the streets against the tyrannical regime in Havana. The Cuban dictatorship has repressed the people of Cuba for decades & is now trying to silence those who have the courage to speak out against its disastrous policies,' DeSantis tweeted

Sen. Lindsey Graham encouraged the Biden administration to get involved, telling the White House not to be 'AWOL'

As the protests took place in Cuba, supporters flooded the streets of Miami's Little Havana neighborhood to show support

The show of support continued both on Sunday and Monday at Miami Cuban restaurant Cafe Versailles, where supporters gathered for a 'liberty' rally

Hundreds packed 8th Street on Monday in Miami in Little Havana as Cuban-Americans called for change

People on the island and in South Florida remain vocal and hopeful for progress

Cafe Versailles has been serving tasty Cuban cuisine and culture to the South Florida community and tourists from around the world for four decades and is a hub of the Little Havana community

Demonstrators are pictured on Monday evening in Little Havana. Another demonstration is expected Tuesday at 5pm

The White House responded to the accusation saying: 'That's simply inaccurate,'

'There's every indication that yesterday's protests were reactions of the people in Cuba to exhaustion of the governance of the leaders of the state,' White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday at her daily briefing.

Diaz-Canel denounced vandalism that took place during the demonstrations.

'They threw stones at foreign currency shops, they stole items... and at police forces, they turned over cars - a totally vulgar, indecent and delinquent behavior,' he said.

But the president said pro-government supporters had finally restored order after instructing them to fight back and 'defend the revolution' - orders that caused consternation among some Cubans.

In Miami, where many Cubans who opposed Fidel Castro's regime fled after the Cuban Revolution, opponents of the revolutionary leaders started marching in solidarity with protesters still on the island.

Some Republican lawmakers, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, have praised the protests despite regularly villainizing protesters in their own states.

Riot police walk the streets after a demonstration against the government of President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Arroyo Naranjo Municipality, Havana on on Monday

Cubans take part in a demonstration in support of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel's government in Arroyo Naranjo Municipality

Cuba on Monday blamed a 'policy of economic suffocation' of United States for unprecedented anti-government protests

Thousands of Cubans participated in Sunday's demonstrations, chanting 'Down with the dictatorship,' as President Miguel DAaz-Canel urged pro-government supporters, pictured, to confront the protesters

The protests are significant as critics face harsh punishment for dissent

The island's president called for his supporters, pictured, to 'fight' the protesters

The US - which has a decades-old history of hostilities with Cuba - has said it stands with Cubans, and called on those in government to refrain from violence and listen to its people. Pictured, Cubans take part in a demonstration in support of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel

Cuba's economy is struggling. Tourism, one of the most important sectors, has been devastated by the restrictions on travel during the Covid pandemic. Cubans take part in a demonstration in support of their president

With protesters live-streaming footage on social media sites, the government is now finding it hard to hide evidence of the discontent

A man is arrested during a demonstration against the government of President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Arroyo Naranjo Municipality, Havana

A man is arrested during a demonstration against the government of President Miguel Diaz-Canel. The fact that people are daring to do so in small towns where they can be easily identified by the Communist authorities shows the levels of anger fueling these protests

Shouting 'Freedom!' and 'Down with Communism!' may be considered tame in other parts of the world, but doing so on the tightly controlled Communist-run island can easily land you in jail

Riot police walk the streets after a demonstration against the government of President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Arroyo Naranjo

The significance of thousands of Cubans taking to the streets across the country can hardly be overstated. Riot police are pictured walking the streets after a demonstration against the government of President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Arroyo Naranjo

People wave Cuban flags during a protest against the Cuban government at Versailles Restaurant in Miami

People demonstrate, some holding Cuban and US flags, during a protest against the Cuban government at Cafe Versailles

A woman waves a US and a Cuban flag during a protest against the Cuban government

People wave US and Cuban flags during a protest against the Cuban government at Versailles Restaurant in Miami

People demonstrate, some holding Cuban and US flags, during a protest against the Cuban government

People demonstrate in Miami. Havana on Monday blamed a US 'policy of economic suffocation' for unprecedented protests against Cuba's communist government as Washington pointed the finger at 'decades of repression' in the one-party state

People demonstrate, some holding Cuban and US flags, as they chantted slogans on top of cars, during a protest

A woman drives past as people wave Cuban flags during a protest in Little Havana

People rally in front of Cafe Versailles, a Cuban restaurant in the Little Havana neighborhood, in support of the Cuban people

Protests in Little Havana took place on both Sunday and Monday evening

There was a optimistic atmosphere at the Little Havana protests both on Sunday and Monday nights

Hundreds of Cuban emigres gathered in the Little Havana section of Miami to stage a protest in solidarity with anti-government demonstrators on the island

Singer Yotuel Romero addresses protesters gathered in front of the Versailles restaurant in Miami as they show support for the people in Cuba who have taken to the streets to protest

Jorge Lieva (center) holds a sign calling on President Joe Biden to 'help Cuba' on Sunday

A protester holds the Cuban flag over his head during a demonstration in the Little Havana section of Miami

Cuban expats in Miami saw viral images circulating on social media showing protesters taking to the streets of Cuba on Sunday

Cuban expats in Miami rally against the Communist government in Havana on Sunday

One demonstrator in Miami holds a Cuban flag with the words 'Anti-Communist' written on it

Several of the protesters waved Cuban and American flags as well as signs calling on the US to send forces to the island

'Florida supports the people of Cuba as they take to the streets against the tyrannical regime in Havana. The Cuban dictatorship has repressed the people of Cuba for decades & is now trying to silence those who have the courage to speak out against its disastrous policies,' DeSantis tweeted.

'The Communist Cuban regime will be consigned to the dustbin of history. It has brutalized & denied freedom to generations of Cubans, and forced my family & so many others to flee. The American people stand squarely with the men & women of Cuba and their noble fight for liberty,' Senator Cruz tweeted.

In Miami, a group of Cuban exiles and local conservative activists from Venezuela, Colombia and Nicaragua called for people in the city to support Cuba and called for the Biden administration to intervene in the aftermath of massive protests on the island.

'The Cuban people are not on the streets asking for medicine, they're not on the streets asking for food. They're in the streets demanding freedom,' said Orlando Gutierrez-Boronat, a Cuban exile and member of the Assembly for Cuban Resistance, based in Miami.

Gutierrez-Boronat said he was supportive of young people on the island taking to the streets and would like to see the U.S. to intervene militarily.

'What they are saying is they don't want a tomorrow with the Communist Party in charge.'

A man is arrested during a demonstration against the government of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Havana, Sunday

Several people with Cuban flags remain outside the national headquarters of the Union of Young Communists (UJC), in Havana, Cuba, on Monday

A woman goes out to a balcony where a Cuban flag is hanging in Havana, Cuba on Monday

Jorge Luis Garcia Perez, a political prisoner from Cuba who was jailed for 17 years on the island, said it was important for the U.S. government to understand that the groups did not support calls for negotiations with Cuban leaders.

'We have to support those who are inside Cuba who are the real protagonists of this change,' said Garcia Perez told the Miami Herald. 'I, as a political prisoner, as an anti-Castro fighter, I am filled with hope to make a soon return to my homeland.

'Those people who are out on the streets are not asking for rafts. They're not asking for boats, they're not asking for planes or visas. They're asking for freedom', he said.

In Havana, many young people took part in the demonstrations. Protests were also held elsewhere on the island, including in the small town of San Antonio de los Banos, where people objected to power outages and were visited by President Miguel Diaz-Canel. He entered a few homes, where he took questions from residents.

Authorities appeared determined to put a stop to the demonstrations. More than a dozen protesters were detained, including a leading Cuban dissident who was arrested trying to attend a march in the city of Santiago, 550 miles east. The demonstrators disrupted traffic in the capital for several hours until some threw rocks and police moved in and broke them up.

Plainclothes police detain an anti-government protester during a protest in Havana, Cuba

Police scuffle and detain an anti-government demonstrator during a protest in Havana on Sunday

A woman shouts pro-government slogans as anti-government protesters march in Havana. Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in several cities in Cuba to protest against ongoing food shortages and high prices of foodstuffs

Plainclothes police detain an anti-government protester during a protest in Havana, Cuba on Sunday

Pro-Government supporters shout slogans as anti-government protesters march in Havana

A police vehicle patrols through Old Havana, Cuba, Monday, July 12, 2021, the day after protests against food shortages and high prices amid the coronavirus crisis

Cubans under the effects of tear gas take part in a demonstration against the government of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel in front of Havana's Capitol

Cubans in the town of San Antonio de los Banos gather to meet with the Cuban president on Sunday

Thousands are seen marching in the streets of the Cuban capital on Sunday

A pro-government protester is seen during a demonstration against the government of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Havana on Sunday

Security forces loyal to the government detain a protester in Havana, Cuba, on Sunday

A man is arrested during a demonstration against the government of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Havana on Sunday

Internet service was spotty, possibly indicating an effort to prevent protesters from communicating with each other.

Amnesty International said it had received with alarm reports of 'internet blackouts, arbitrary arrests, excessive use of force - including police firing on demonstrators.'

Network monitoring company Kentik said it had observed the entire country go offline for less than 30 minutes at around 4pm on Sunday, followed by several hours of intermittent outages.

'Until very recently, large internet outages were very rare,' said Doug Madory, Kentik's director of Internet analysis. 'Internet shutdowns are new to Cuba in 2021.'

Internet blockage observatory NetBlocks said there was partial disruption to social media and messaging platforms in Cuba on Monday, 'likely to limit the flow of information from Cuba.'

'We've seen how the campaign against Cuba was growing on social media in the past few weeks,'' Diaz-Canel said Monday in a nationally televised appearance in which his entire Cabinet was also present. 'That's the way it's done: Try to create inconformity, dissatisfaction by manipulating emotions and feelings.'

Cuba's President Miguel Diaz Canel walks with his followers after an anti-government protest in San Antonio de los Banos, Cuba, on Sunday

Police stand guard near the National Capitol building in Havana, Cuba

A Cuban flag hangs on Parque Central Hotel in Havana, Cuba, on Monday. Things were quieter in the Cuban capital

Police stand guard near the National Capitol building in Havana, Cuba, on Monday

President Joe Biden called the protesters 'remarkable' and made a brief statement on Cuban demonstrations on Monday from the Roosevelt Room

In a statement Monday, U.S. President Joe Biden said Cuban protesters were asserting their basic rights.

'We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba's authoritarian regime,' Biden said.

'The U.S. urges the Cuban government to serve their people rather than enriching themselves,'' Biden added.

'The Cuban people are demanding their freedom from an authoritarian regime. I don't think we've seen anything like these protests in a long long time if, quite frankly ever,' the president said.

'The US stands firmly with the people of Cuba as they assert their universal rights. And we call on the government of Cuba to refrain from violence in their attempt to silence the voices of the people of Cuba.'

U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq on Monday stressed the U.N. position 'on the need for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly to be respected fully, and we expect that that will be the case.'

The demonstrations were extremely unusual on an island where little dissent against the government is tolerated.

The last major public demonstration of discontent, over economic hardship, took place nearly 30 years in 1994.

Last year, there were small demonstrations by artists and other groups, but nothing as big or widespread as what erupted this past weekend.

People walk through Paseo del Prado in Havana, Cuba on a far quieter day compared to Sunday

Police stand guard near the National Capitol building in Havana, Cuba on Monday

Thousands of Cubans took part in rare protests Sunday against the Communist government, marching through a town chanting 'Down with the dictatorship' and 'We want liberty'. The image above shows Cubans in Havana on Sunday

Bicycle taxi drivers sit on their bikes as they wait for customers in Old Havana

A woman stands near an old car being worked on in Old Havana

In the Havana protest on Sunday, police initially trailed behind as protesters chanted, 'Freedom!' 'Enough!' and 'Unite!' One motorcyclist pulled out a U.S. flag, but it was snatched from him by others.

'We are fed up with the queues, the shortages. That's why I'm here,' one middle-age protester said.

Later, about 300 pro-government protesters arrived with a large Cuban flag, shouting slogans in favor of the late President Fidel Castro and the Cuban revolution. Some assaulted a video journalist with the AP, smashing his camera. Photojournalist Ramon Espinosa also of the AP was then beaten by a group of police officers in uniforms and civilian clothes; he suffered a broken nose and an eye injury.

The demonstration grew to a few thousand in the vicinity of Galeano Avenue and the marchers pressed on despite a few charges by police officers and tear gas barrages. People standing on many balconies along the central artery in the Centro Habana neighborhood applauded the protesters passing by. Others joined in the march.

About 2 1/2 hours into the march, some protesters pulled up cobblestones and threw them at police, at which point officers began arresting people and the marchers dispersed.

At least 20 people were taken away in police cars or by individuals in civilian clothes.

Although many people tried to take out their cellphones and broadcast the protest live, Cuban authorities shut down internet service throughout the afternoon Sunday.

On Monday, Cuban authorities were once again blocking Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram, said Alp Toker, director of Netblocks, a London-based internet monitoring firm confirmed.

'This does seem to be a response to social media-fueled protest,' he said. Twitter did not appear to be blocked, though Toker noted Cuba has the ability to cut it off if it wants to.
Attorney Lin Wood blamed former President Trump's lawyer Sidney Powell for adding his name to a lawsuit challenging the result of last year's election, during a Monday hearing to decide whether they should be punished for their role in pushing claims of fraud.

The pair unsuccessfully sued Michigan election officials as they tried to claim widespread rigging.

Now they face sanctions as state officials accused them of bringing a 'frivolous' lawsuit in bad faith.

In a hearing conducted by video link, Wood tried to distance himself from the action.

'I did not review any of the documents with respect to the complaint,' he told U.S. District Judge Linda Parker.

'My name was placed on there, but I had no involvement.'

Wood said he was not involved in drafting a complaint challenging the count in Michigan after last year's election. 'My name was placed on there, but I had no involvement,' he said.

Wood said: 'I would file the same complaints again.' The Trump campaign distanced itself from her after she alleged without evidence that millions of votes were switched to Biden by electronic voting systems

There is no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.

Yet figures loyal to Trump launched a string of lawsuits last year to overturn the results.

In Michigan, their complaints were dismissed by Judge Parker in December when she rejected their application for a temporary restraining order.

The fallout from the slew of cases has already cost Rudy Giuliani. Trump's personal lawyer has been barred from practising law in New York for making making false statements during the election battle.

Atlanta-based Wood tried to pass off the blame on Powell, saying 'he didn't do anything in Michigan.'

'I do not specifically recall being asked about the Michigan complaint, but I had generally indicated to Sidney Powell that if she needed a quote-unquote trial lawyer, I would certainly be willing or available help her,' he said.

'Would I have objected to being included by name? I dont believe so.'

The city of Detroit has asked for the attorneys to be referred to disciplinary authorities in their home states and to be barred from practicing in the district court.

The pair achieved notoriety last year when they took on Trump's cause.

Dallas-based Powell was ridiculed when she described the case she was mounting as a 'Kraken' that, once released, would destroy the case for Joe Biden having won the presidency.

But the Trump campaign distanced itself from her after she claimed at a chaotic news conference in November that electronic voting systems had switched millions of ballots to Biden.

Wood is known for pushing a string of conspiracy theories and in April insisted that former President Trump was still in the Oval Office, despite being replaced by Biden on Jan. 20.

Powell disputed Wood's version of events. She said she 'did specifically ask Mr. Wood for his permission,' she also admitted there may have been a 'misunderstanding.'

She took an uncompromising position, dismissing Monday's court proceedings as the sort of display that would leave the American people with no confidence in either the electoral of judicial systems

'I would file the same complaints again,' she said.

Parker, sitting in Detroit, suggested the pro-Trump lawyers should have investigated the Republican former president's voter fraud claims more carefully before suing.

'Should an attorney be sanctioned for his or her failure to withdraw allegations the attorney came to know were untrue?,' she said. 'Is that sanctionable behavior?'

She said she thought affidavits in the case had been submitted in 'bad faith.'

And she clashed frequently with the pair's lawyers, expressing incredulity at the affidavits they submitted with their claims of fraud and questioning why they had not done more to vet the allegations.

'If you have not asked even the minimal questions, I find that problematic,' she said.

When their attorney Donald Campbell tried to push back, he triggered a bad-tempered exchange.

'I caution you not to question my procedure,' she said.

'And I am not a potted plant,' Campbell replied.

Parker dismissed the Michigan lawsuit last December, saying in a written decision that Powell's voter fraud claims were 'nothing but speculation and conjecture' and that, in any event, Powell waited too long to file her lawsuit.

Parker did not rule in the hearing's initial hours whether she would impose judicial sanctions on Powell and her co-counsel, or refer them to a regulatory body for disbarment proceedings.

Starting in January, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and other government lawyers asked the judge to discipline the pro-Trump lawyers, saying they filed a frivolous lawsuit full of typos and factual errors and should be held accountable.

'What they filed was an embarrassment to the legal profession,' David Fink, a lawyer for the city of Detroit said during Monday's hearing. 'This was a sloppy and careless effort.'

Powell represented Trump's campaign when he tried to overturn last Nov. 3's presidential election in the courts. Trump's campaign distanced itself from Powell after she claimed without evidence at a Nov. 19 news conference that electronic voting systems had switched millions of ballots to Biden.

On Nov. 25, a team of lawyers led by Powell filed a lawsuit on behalf of Michigan Republicans alleging rampant voter fraud. The also sought to have Trump named the winner of the Midwestern state's election, giving him Michigan's votes in the U.S. Electoral College which selects the winner of presidential races.

During the hearing, Parker asked Powell and her co-counsel why they did not voluntarily dismiss their Michigan case on Dec. 14 when the Electoral College formally confirmed Biden's election victory.

'Why did the plaintiffs not recognize this lawsuit as moot and dismiss it on that date?' Parker asked.

Campbell replied that the election was 'fluid' and unpredictable and that the pro-Trump legal team believed its lawsuit was still viable after Dec. 14.
Chandler Halderson (pictured above) has been arrested on multiple counts in connection with his parents' disappearance and father's murder

A Wisconsin man has been arrested after he allegedly murdered and dismembered his father and authorities say the 23-year-old could also face charges in his mother's disappearance.

Chandler Halderson reported his parents Bart, 50, and Krista Halderson, 53, missing on Wednesday.

He was arrested Thursday on a charge of providing false information to investigators after officials in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin found remains belonging to Bart during a missing persons search. Krista still remains missing.

The Dane County Medical Examiner listed the cause of Bart's death as 'homicidal violence including firearm injury.'

On Monday, officials added three more tentative felony charges against Chandler, per jail records: first-degree intentional homicide, hiding a corpse and mutilating a corpse and providing false information on a kidnapping.

The Dane County District Attorney's Office told the Wisconsin State Journal they expect to formally charge Chandler on Thursday, if not sooner.

Deputy District Attorney William Brown called the investigation both 'complex' and 'very unique.'

'At this point we have an extremely complex investigation,' Brown told the newspaper. 'We have a defendant who had six days to hide evidence of his crime, and lied to police in the course of this missing persons investigation, which he instigated.

'He has lied dozens of times in the course of this investigation. He is now seen leaving the area in which the dismembered remains of his father were found with gunshot wounds.'

Police believe Chandler murdered and dismembered his father Bart (left). They also believe he has information about his the disappearance of his mother, Krista (right)

Chandler told police his parents planned to spend the Fourth of July weekend at their cabin in Langlade County with an unknown couple, but never returned home.

However, during interviews with investigators, the couple's family, friends and neighbors placed Chandler at the rural property where Bart's remains were found, Law & Crime reports.

Witnesses told police they saw Chandler park his vehicle on the property, saying he was seen entering and exiting the nearby woods.

The investigation remains ongoing. A search warrant has been executed for the rural property, as well as the couple's home in Windsor.

Officials conducted a missing persons search for Bart and Krista Halderson. Bart's remains were found on a rural property in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin while Krista remains missing

Authorities will continue to search the property where Bart's body was found and have also obtained a warrant to search the family home

The Dane County Sheriff's Office continues to search for Krista and has asked anyone with information regarding her whereabouts to contact officials at (608) 284-6900.

'No tip is too small, and we will investigate every tip and lead to the fullest of our capabilities,' Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said.

Chandler is being held at Dane County Jail on a $10,000 cash bond.

If he posts bond, officials say he will be required to wear a GPS monitoring device and cannot leave the county.

Chandler Halderson remains at the Dane County Jail on a $10,000 cash bond. The District Attorney's Office expects to formally charge him on Thursday

State prosecutors had argued for a $1 million bond, but the judge ruled for the lesser amount since Chandler has not yet been formally charged.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Dane County Sheriff's and District Attorney's offices for comment on the case and is waiting for response.
Advertisement

One of the Americans arrested over the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise was a DEA informant who handed over the warlord responsible for leading the last coup in the Caribbean nation, it has been revealed.

The DEA has admitted one of their 'confidential sources' was involved in the assassination, denied it orchestrated the plot and disclosed that he called them after the killing and they advised him to hand himself in.

Joseph Vincent, 55, has been named by sources to the Miami Herald as the DEA informant.

Vincent helped the DEA in 2017 to arrest Guy Philippe, who led a 2004 coup against then-President Jean Bertrand Aristide, on drugs trafficking charges, the sources said. Vincent was with Haitian Police when Philippe was handed over to the DEA at an airport. Philippe is now serving nine years in a US federal prison.

Vincent was one of three US citizens arrested last week on suspicion of being behind Wednesday's early morning deadly raid on the president's home. The two others are James Solages, 35, a maintenance worker, and Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a 63-year-old doctor and pastor, who is accused of being the mastermind. 23 Colombians are also under arrest.

A number of the arrested suspects are FBI informants, CNN reported.

Footage from the early Wednesday assassination shows an attacker with an American accent shouting in English 'this is a DEA operation' as the hit squad arrived at the president's mansion.

Haitian police also said they uncovered a hat with DEA emblazoned across it in the home of Sanon - along with a stash of weapons.

An associate of Sanon has suggested Washington backed the president's assassination, saying their friend had claimed the mission was supposed to 'save Haiti from hell, with support from the US government'.

Both US and Haitian authorities insisted in the hours after the assassination that the DEA was not involved.

James Solages, 35, (left) and Joseph Vincent, 55, (right) are seen Thursday following their arrests. It has emerged Vincent was a DEA informant who handed over the warlord responsible for leading the last coup in the Caribbean nation

Vincent helped the DEA in 2017 to arrest Guy Philippe (pictured left in 2004), who led a 2004 coup against then-President Jean Bertrand Aristide, on drugs trafficking charges, the sources said. Christian Emmanuel Sanon, 63, (right) was the third US citizen arrested in Haiti over the assassination. Haitian police said they uncovered a DEA hat in his home - along with weapons

The latest revelations come as:

A second wave of Colombian ex-soldiers was also headed for Haiti after being recruited for what they were told was a 'potentially dangerous security operation'

Christian Emanuel Sanon, who is suspected of being the mastermind of the plot, launched a website last month campaigning to replace Moise as president

Sanon claimed to have the backing of a key UN figure and wrote a letter to a State Department official saying he had been picked as interim leader

Dimitri Herard, head of the General Security Unit of the National Palace, allegedly flew to Colombia, Ecuador and Panama in the months before the assassination, it has emerged

He is being probed over whether he had any role in recruiting the mercenaries in Colombia with authorities planning to interrogate him and the president's other key security personnel this week

The US sent State Department, Justice Department, and Homeland officials to Port-au-Prince Sunday

The Haiti government is planning a state funeral for President Jovenel Moise

Haitian officials and residents voiced outrage over photos on social media purportedly of his corpse

A DEA official, speaking under condition of anonymity, confirmed Monday one Haitian-American man arrested in the assassination plot had worked as a US informant.

The suspect was not an active informant with the DEA at the time of the assassination, they said.

'At times, one of the suspects in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise was a confidential source to the DEA,' the DEA official said in an email, adding that the suspect had reached out to the DEA after the assassination.

The agency and the US State Department urged him to surrender and helped to arrange him being handed over to Haitian authorities, they said.

'Following the assassination of President Moise, the suspect reached out to his contacts at the DEA.

'A DEA official assigned to Haiti urged the suspect to surrender to local authorities and, along with a US State Department colleague, shared information with the Haitian government that assisted in the surrender and arrest of the suspect and one other individual.'

The official said the DEA was aware of reports that members of the hit squad had shouted that they were DEA agents during the raid and insisted 'these individuals were not acting on behalf of DEA.'

It is not clear when Vincent last worked with the DEA or for how long but the source close to the 55-year-old revealed he was first arrested over two decades ago for submitting fake information on a US passport application and went by the alias 'Oliver.'

The source told the Herald about Vincent's involvement in helping the US bring warlord Philippe to justice.

Philippe is currently behind bars in US federal prison after he was sentenced in 2017 to nine years for money laundering in connection to an international narcotics scheme that involved smuggling drugs into Miami and other parts of the US in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

He was a close ally of Moise. At Philippe's trial in Miami, Haitian opposition protesters waved photos of the two men campaigning together, along with the words 'Drug-dealing brothers in crime.'

Philippe had been a fugitive from US authorities for more than a decade after federal authorities in Miami charged him with drug trafficking back in 2005.

The former police commander used his position of power in Haiti to earn up to $3.5 million in bribes from drug traffickers who were distributing cocaine in the US.

Philippe was finally arrested on January 5 2017 while he was appearing live on a Haiti radio show. Vincent was on the tarmac with the Haitian National Police officers when they handed Philippe over to DEA agents who took him on a plane back to Miami to face trial in 2017, the source close to the operation said.

Haitian President Jovenel Moise and First Lady Martine are pictured together in 2017. Moise was riddled with 12 bullet holes and had his eye gouged out during the brutal July 7 attack that claimed his life and left his wife seriously injured

Colombian ex-soldiers, accused of involvement in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, stand in a courtyard in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, days before the deadly raid

His arrest came at a critical time as Philippe was about to be sworn in as senator on January 9 - four days later. This would have made him immune from prosecution and arrest for the duration of his six-year term. He initially argued he could not be charged by US authorities as an elected leader but this was rejected as he was not yet sworn in.

His arrest also came after a failed attempt to detain the ex-rebel leader 10 years earlier when DEA agents and agents with Haiti drug enforcement executed a dawn raid on his Haitian home.

He evaded capture and went under the protection of his paramilitary troops for years.

Philippe, who was trained by US Special Forces in Ecuador in the early 1990s, was the most high-profile arrest in the US's crackdown on drug trafficking through Haiti into the US in a years-long sting that swept up a security guard to the president, senior police officers and an ex-senator.

Ex-National Police chief Jean Nesly Lucien was sentenced to five years in 2005 for accepting drug money and ex-presidential security chief Oriel Jean was sentenced to three years after flipping to cooperate with authorities in their prosecution of one of the top drug traffickers.

Jean was assassinated a decade later in Haitis capital.

Philippe unsuccessfully ran for Haitian president in 2006 after he led a rebel army in a coup detat against Aristide in 2004.

The rebels ousted the president before marching to Prime Minister Yvon Neptune's home to arrest him.

The PM fled before the mob arrived, in fear for his life, while there were reports of executions in the area.

Philippe announced live on national radio: 'The country is in my hands.'

Three years before the coup, Philippe was also accused of a failed coup in 2001 as well as being the mastermind behind a deadly attack on the Haiti Police Academy.

Vincent's ties to the DEA have emerged as US law enforcement and intelligence agencies confirmed they are now probing why three US citizens may have taken part in Moise's assassination.

The US Justice Department said on Monday that it had been asked by Haiti to assist in the probe of Moise's murder, and was doing so.

'An initial assessment has been conducted in Haiti by senior US officials,' said spokesman Anthony Coley.

'The department will also investigate whether there were any violations of US criminal law in connection with this matter.'

Haitians in parts of the capital Port-au-Prince protest in support for former opposition Senators Youri Latortue and Steven Benoit as they made statements before prosecutor Bed-Ford Claude

Supporters of former Haitian opposition Senators Youri Latortue and Steven Benoit gathered around the Palace of Justice on Monday

Protesters built barricades and set them on fire near the Palace of Justice as prosecutor Bed-Ford Claude prepared to hear testimony from former Senators

Haitian soldiers guard the entrance to the Palace of Justice after former opposition senators Youri Latortue and Steven Benoit arrived to give statements on Monday

Tire fires were set outside the Palace of Justice on Monday as a hearing on the assassination of President Jovenel Moise resumed

Vincent and Solages allegedly confessed last week to being involved in the plot but claimed they were hired as translators in a plot to arrest the Haitian president but not to kill him.

They said the Colombian commando unit that had an arrest warrant for the president, but that when they arrived, they found him dead.

Vincent allegedly claimed the plot was orchestrated by a foreigner named 'Mike' who spoke English and Spanish, they planned to take Moise to the National Palace and the plot was devised over the course of a month in a hotel in the Petion-Ville area of the country.

Deputy justice of the peace Judge Clement Noel told Le Nouvelliste the two men, who both live in Florida, said 'the mission was to arrest President Jovenel Moise, within the framework of the execution of a mandate of an investigating judge and not to kill him.'

Solages said he 'found this job on the internet', Noel told the outlet.

It has now emerged a second wave of Colombian ex-soldiers were headed for Haiti after being recruited for what they were told was a 'potentially dangerous security operation.'

A dozen retired soldiers told the New York Times they were approached by fellow ex-soldier Duberney Capador with the offer of a security job in Haiti just before the assassination. They said they were supposed to be part of a second group headed for Haiti after the first group arrived in early June but never made it.

Capador, who was killed in the aftermath of the president's murder, had received a phone call from a security firm in April asking him to put together a group to protect people in the country, his sister said.

Authorities are now investigating if the plot was an inside job with the president's key security personnel facing interrogation.

Jean Laguel Civil, Moise's security coordinator and Dimitri Herard, head of the General Security Unit of the National Palace will be interrogated this week. The two men were among those most responsible for the safety and security of the president.

Herard flew to Colombia, Ecuador and Panama in the months before the assassination, and Colombian police are investigating whether he had any role in recruiting the mercenaries, authorities said.

He is currently under investigation by US officials over allegations he is involved in arms trafficking in Haiti, Haitian and US sources told CEPR.

Haitian Prosecutor Me Bed-Ford Claude last week said he had seen no casualties among the president's security detail following the assassination.

'They are responsible for the security of the president... I did not see any police victim except the president and his wife. If you are responsible for the security of the president where were you?'

Heavily armed Haitian police have increased patrols on the streets of the capital Port-au-Prince following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise

Protesters set tires alight outside the Palace of Justice on Monday as former Senators Youri Latortue and Steven Benoit testify in front of a judge

Supporters of former Haitian Senator Steven Benoit sit atop his car in Port-au-Prince as he leaves following a hearing at the Palace of Justice

Demonstrators enact a mock execution for the opposition to former Senator Steven Benoit outside the Palace of Justice on Monday

Haitians in parts of the capital Port-au-Prince planned protests this week against the interim prime minister and acting head of state Claude Joseph.

Joseph's right to lead the country has been challenged by other senior politicians, threatening to exacerbate the turmoil engulfing the poorest country in the Americas.

Many demonstrated in support of former opposition Senators Youri Latortue and Steven Benoit as they made statements before prosecutor Bed-Ford Claude at the Palace of Justice on Monday.

Sanon was arrested on Sunday by Haitian authorities, who accused him of being a mastermind of the attack.

Sanon - a physician, a church pastor, and a failed Florida businessman who filed for bankruptcy - is unknown in Haitian political circles, and associates suggested he was duped by those really behind the assassination of President Moise.

A Florida friend of Sanon told AP the suspect is an evangelical Christian pastor and also is a licensed physician in Haiti, but not in the U.S.

The associate, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of safety concerns, said Sanon told him he was approached by people claiming to represent the U.S. State and Justice departments who wanted to install him as president.

He said the plan was only for Moise to be arrested, and Sanon would not have participated if he knew Moise would be killed.

'I guarantee you that,' the associate said. 'This was supposed to be a mission to save Haiti from hell, with support from the U.S. government.'

Haiti's National Police chief, Leon Charles, said Moise's killers were protecting Sanon.

Charles said officers found a hat with the logo of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, 20 boxes of bullets, gun parts, four license plates from the Dominican Republic, two cars and correspondence, among other things, in Sanon's house in Haiti.

Suspects in the assassination of Haiti's President Jovenel Moise, among them Haitian-American citizens James Solages, left, and Joseph Vincent, second left, are shown to the media at the General Direction of the police in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, July 8, 2021

Suspects in the assassination of Haiti's President Jovenel Moise are shown to the media in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Thursday

Weaponry, mobile phones, passports and other items are being shown to the media along with suspects in the assassination

Meanwhile, Colombia's national police chief, Gen. Jorge Luis Vargas, said that a Florida-based enterprise, CTU Security, used its company credit card to buy 19 plane tickets from Bogota to Santo Domingo for Colombian suspects.

Most arrived in the Dominican Republic in June and moved into Haiti within weeks, Vargas said.

Charles said that Sanon was in contact with CTU Security and that the company recruited the suspects in the killing.

He said Sanon flew into Haiti in June on a private jet accompanied by several of the alleged gunmen.

The suspects were told their job was to protect Sanon, but they were later ordered to arrest the president, Charles said.

Charles said that after Moise was killed, one suspect called Sanon, who got in touch with two people believed to be masterminds of the plot. He did not identify the masterminds or say if police know who they are.

Sanon's associate said he attended a recent meeting in Florida with Sanon and about a dozen other people, including Antonio Enmanuel Intriago Valera, a Venezuelan emigre to Miami who runs CTU Security.

He said a presentation was made for rebuilding Haiti, including its water system, converting trash into energy and fixing roads.

Footage circulating online purportedly taken by a neighbor of the president shows men with rifles arriving outside the property

A car riddled with bullet holes outside the late president's home in the hills near Port-au-Prince on July 7

He said Sanon asked why the security team accompanying him to Haiti were all Colombians. Sanon was told that Haitians couldn't be trusted and that the system is corrupt, the associate said. He said Sanon called him from Haiti a few days before the assassination and said the Colombians had disappeared.

'I'm all by myself. Who are these people? I don't know what they are doing,' the associate quoted Sanon as saying.

Sanon 'is completely gullible,' the associate added. 'He thinks God is going to save everything.'

Sanon has lived in Florida, in Broward County and in Hillsborough County on the Gulf Coast. Records show he has also lived in Kansas City, Missouri.

He filed for bankruptcy in 2013 and identifies himself as a doctor in a video on YouTube titled 'Leadership for Haiti.'

In the video, he denounces the leaders of Haiti as corrupt, accusing them of stripping the country of its resources, saying that 'they don't care about the country, they don't care about the people.

He said: 'This is a country with resources. Nine million people can't be in poverty when we have so much resources in the country. It's impossible... The world has to stop doing what they are doing right now. We can't take it anymore. We need new leadership that will change the way of life.'

Solages described himself online as a 'certified diplomatic agent' and the former 'chief commander of bodyguards' for the Canadian Embassy in Haiti.

Those statements were made on the website of a charity he ran, which on Thursday removed them. Reuters reviewed an archived version that remains accessible.

The President of Haiti Jovenel Moise was shot dead in his home in the Pelerin 5 neighbourhood in the hills above Port-au-Prince

The Miami Herald quoted an unnamed government official as saying that a decade ago, Solages briefly worked for a company that provided security for the Canadian Embassy in Haiti.

'We are aware of allegations implicating an individual who was briefly employed as a reserve bodyguard by a security company hired by Global Affairs Canada in 2010,' the newspaper quoted the official as saying.

Florida records show Solages has held security officer and firearm licenses. He had no criminal history.

Schubert Dorisme, Solages' relative said: 'He never gets in trouble with anybody. He's a good guy'.

Dorisme added Solages had recently gained U.S. citizenship but still often travelled to Haiti, where he had hoped to become mayor of Jacmel, a port town on the southern coast.

He described Solages as critical of Moise's leadership and said he wanted the 'crazy' president to resign.

But Dorisme said he did not believe his relative capable of killing. 'I think somebody used him.'

Solages worked as the plant operations director for the assisted living facility at Carlisle Palm Beach, Lantana, but resigned in April, the Palm Beach Post reported.

He also ran a small economic empowerment charity and a business - EJS Maintenance & Repair LLC -, according to this LinkedIn profile, which has since been changed.

His former boss, Richard Tournesy, the site's executive director, said: 'The whole [Carlisle] community is shocked liked everyone else,

'He was a good employee. He never showed any signs of violence.'

He also said he did not remember Solages ever showing an interest in Haitian politics.

Tournesy said a full background check was conducted before Solages was hired and was not aware of any concerns raised during the process.

'Our job is to ensure our residents are safe, to protect everybody in the community. I don't know what happened with this young man and his outside life, but in the community, he was a good, standard employee', he added.

Few details have emerged about Vincent, but Haitian authorities claim he lives or at some time lived in Miami.

He reportedly told prosecutors a foreigner named 'Mike' masterminded the plan.
A mother-of-two who is locked inside a Sydney apartment complex after eight residents tested positive to Covid-19 says the children in the building are going 'crazy' - and she's not even allowed to take her garbage out.

Dozens of people living in the 29 units on Botany Street, Bondi in Sydney's eastern suburbs were plunged into isolation on Saturday after people across five households returned positive test results amid the city's outbreak, which grew by 89 on Tuesday.

One frustrated occupant who is now banned from leaving home for two weeks wrote a note on their window: 'Where is the vaccine?'

Another resident penned a note that read: 'Send beer.'

Chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said on Monday that the source of the infection has been identified and those with the virus have been evacuated to a medical facility so they don't spread it - but residents say they haven't been told.

A local mum who lives in the high-rise with her husband, toddler and newborn said she only found out how many people in the building had the Delta variant by watching the news - two days after they were all thrown into isolation.

'We were contacted by the building strata manager on Saturday to say there was a Covid case in one of the units, and not to leave the house,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

One frustrated resident who is banned from leaving the block for the next two weeks wrote 'where is the vaccine?' on their window

Pictured: A woman waves at photographers from inside her apartment. People from 29 units have been banned from leaving

Pictured: A note that reads 'send beer' in the window of a Bondi apartment block where eight Covid cases have emerged

Pictured: The apartment complex on Botany Street in Bondi, which has been completely locked down

Two more stern emails arrived over the next few hours instructing all residents not to leave the building under any circumstances - the last of which was from NSW Health letting them know nurses would be coming through and swabbing occupants.

Squads of nurses arrived at about 7.45pm on Sunday and started testing everyone. They will be tested again on Saturday.

'I spoke to someone from the Public Health Unit on Sunday and they told me there were multiple cases inside the building, but I found out how many cases there were by watching the news,' the mum explained.

Each floor of the complex has about four apartments each, which she said means the virus spread throughout multiple floors - probably through common areas, like the elevator.

But again, residents are frustrated because they say they haven't been given any information.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted NSW Health for comment.

Pictured: A health worker leaving the apartment complex, where eight residents tested positive to Covid-19

Police have been swarming the entrance to the apartment block, which occupants say is onimous

Pictured: A man wearing a face mask outside the apartment complex on Botany Street in Bondi

Elsie is 74 and has lived in the building since 2002, and is deeply concerned about contracting the Delta variant.

She is also worried the building was not locked down fast enough, and described the situation to Daily Mail Australia as 'awful'.

'We were told not to leave our homes on Sunday, but we could all still hear the elevator going - it was delivery people coming and going with food, before the place had been deep cleaned,' she said.

Elsie says she did manage to find out that someone with the virus entered the block and infected two people on July 6, but she doesn't know how it spread to multiple floors of the building.

'Who brought the infection in? Where do they work? Will they bring it back again? These are the things we need to know,' she said.

The woman called authorities to let them know people were coming and going - and suddenly police were stationed at all entrances.

Pictured: Police and health workers carrying equipment inside the Covid-addled apartment block

Police have been stationed outside the block to ensure no one leaves or goes inside

Chief health officer said residents who are considered close contacts were ordered to quarantine at home for 14 days

She also said there was a communication breakdown after the cases were confirmed, and not everyone knew the building had been locked down.

One Filipino woman cares for an elderly couple living in one of the units, and arrived at the building on Monday like she always does, only to be told she was not allowed to leave.

She is now stuck living with the elderly couple for two weeks before she can go home and phoned Elsie because she didn't know what else to do.

Meanwhile, the mum-of-two said the heavy police presence outside is 'a confronting sight'.

'Not everyone is happy about it, but I think it's necessary - one case in the building is one too many, but it's day three - we're going a bit crazy.'

Residents have been forced to leave piles of garbage on their balconies because they're not allowed to take them out to the communal bins.

When there is a food delivery, police leave it inside the entrance to the building and contact the recipient to collect it - ensuring only one person is in a communal area at one time.

On Monday, Dr Chant told reporters that residents who are considered close contacts were ordered to quarantine at home for 14 days.

Two runners exercise in Sydney's Centennial Park as the city endures its tough three-week Covid lockdown. In a glimmer of hope NSW could be turning the tide on its latest outbreak of the highly-contagious Delta variant, only 14 cases are unlinked to known clusters

A closer look at the demographics shows Fairfield - one of Sydney's hotspot local government areas - has a slightly lower median age of 36, compared with 38 in the rest of Australia

'This is a reminder of the risk that Covid poses and why we were requiring masks in indoor common property areas of residential premises and also discourage social gatherings or any gatherings across household groups in those apartment buildings as well,' she said.

'Even if you're going to get your waste disposal, other points of contact, please see that as a risk as well and please make sure you have got your mask affixed and you keep that social distancing.'

On Tuesday it was confirmed that a 70-year-old man from the eastern suburbs - the same area as the apartment complex - has died from Covid-19.

But in a glimmer of hope the state could be turning the tide on its latest outbreak of the highly-contagious Delta variant, only 14 cases are unlinked to known clusters - down from 48 mystery infections from Monday.

Police officers patrol the streets of the Fairfield local government area in Sydney's south-west

A woman wearing a face mask in Bankstown on Monday morning, where police have ramped-up patrols to enforce Covid-19 compliance

Of the new local cases, 30 were out in the community for either part of or their entire infectious period.

There are are still 21 patients in the state's intensive care units suffering from Covid-19; four are on ventilators.

'More than three quarters of all of those cases of community transmission were close family contacts,' Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

'It reinforces the message that every time you risk going outside and doing the wrong thing, you risk bringing the virus home to those you love the most.'

Ms Berejiklian on Tuesday also announced that workers who live in the Fairfield local government area in Sydney's south-west - a Covid-19 hotspot - must get tested for the virus every three days if they are leaving their home for work.

She said anyone moving from Greater Sydney into regional NSW for work should also get a weekly test, even if they don't have symptoms.
Women sharing DIY cosmetic procedures online have been slammed as 'dangerous, stupid' and 'a disaster waiting to happen' by an industry professional.

A Facebook group where women share videos of themselves performing Botox and filler injections, as well as more serious procedures such as facial threading, reveal a dangerous new trend.

Footage from the group allegedly showed a number of women illegally performing procedures on themselves.

One woman sticks a wire underneath her skin near her eye in a procedure known as facial threading, an alternative to a facelift.

Others are shown injecting Botox into their lips, neck and chest. One woman is shown with a forest of needles in her upper chest.

Numerous women were shown injecting themselves with fillers and Botox in their necks, lips, and chests

'Not only is it illegal, it's dangerous and downright stupid,' Mia Brankov from Perth's Bramis Facial Rejuvenation Clinic said in a Nine News report.

'It's a disaster waiting to happen.'

She warned that permanent nerve damage, blindness and necrosis leading to the loss of a person's lips or nose, were possible consequences of DIY procedures.

'Um, yeah, nah, registered nurses who hold a diploma in cosmetic injectables and doctors are the only ones that can be giving jabby jabs,' one woman who reposted the story on Facebook wrote.

'Who in their right mind would do this anyways?'

One woman who said her DIY videos were featured in the story defended her actions in a Facebook comment.

'I've been doing this for three years,' she posted. 'Botox, filler, threads, everything... saved thousands.

'I absolutely enjoy it and have never had anything go wrong. Keep in mind the same risks that apply to me apply to professionals too!'

Mia Brankov from Perth's Bramis Facial Rejuvenation Clinic said DIY cosmetic procedures were 'a disaster waiting to happen'

It's believed that many of the products used by the Australian women posting in the group had been sourced online and illegally imported.

Many cosmetic products are classed as therapeutic goods and importing them without a licence or approval from the Office of Drug Control is illegal.

Large fines and a jail sentence of up to five years can be handed to someone found to be illegally importing cosmetic injectables.

In December 2020 a woman from Melbourne was convicted on three charges of illegally importing cosmetic injectables, including dermal filler medical devices (pre-filled syringes containing hyaluronic acid) and hyaluronidase (enzymes that can be used to dissolve dermal fillers).

Last month, Victorian woman Aliaa Mohammed Elmetwally Ismaeli Sherif was convicted for falsely claiming to be a cosmetics doctor and injecting patients with dermal fillers and Botox.

One procedure she administered left one woman 'unable to speak properly'.

Sherif was fined $15,000.
Britain is set to enjoy even hotter weather tomorrow after sun-starved Britons flocked to beaches and parks on the warmest day of the year so far as temperatures hit 88F (31C), making parts of the UK warmer than the Caribbean. Northern Ireland saw its highest temperature on record today with Ballywatticock in County Down getting to 88.2F (31.2C) at 3.40pm, beating the previous high of 87.4F (30.8C) reached on both July 12, 1983 and June 30, 1976. The heat also meant today was the UK's hottest day of 2021 to date, above the previous 2021 high of 85.5F (29.7C) which had stood for more than a month after being set on June 14 in Teddington, South West London. Conditions could be even hotter tomorrow with the Met Office warning of 91F (33C) highs as the summer heatwave continues, with the warmest parts of England today being Yorkshire, the Midlands and Bristol. The balmy weather, driven by a blast of warm air coming in from the Azores in the North Atlantic, has prompted health officials to issue warnings about the dangers of extreme heat - especially to the elderly and vulnerable. The sunshine is due to last until so-called 'Freedom Day' on Monday, the day when the last of the Covid-19 restrictions are due to be lifted by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, when thunderstorms could arrive. Thousands of people have flocked to beaches across the country, with London and the South East seeing clear skies and highs of 84F (29C) today - with the mercury climbing to between 88F (30C) and 90F (32C) tomorrow. Pictured today: Weymouth in Dorset (top), Barry Island in South Wales (bottom left) and Bournemouth in Dorset (bottom right).
A best-selling author has shared the extraordinary response she got from a real-estate agent after asking about fridge space at an apartment inspection in Sydney.

Flex Mami relayed her inspection nightmare in a video uploaded to TikTok, where she claimed the kitchen of the $650 property didn't have space for a fridge.

'So my lease is up and I've been looking for a place to live and I've got T-minus no time to find it,' she said, filming from her car.

'So I've been going to house inspection, after house inspection, after inspection.'

Flex Mami claimed the real estate agent suggested putting the fridge in the living room could 'work really well'

'I went to go see an apartment that was $650 a week,' she continued.

'Why do I walk into the apartment and see no place for a fridge?'

Pointing out the design flaw to the real estate agent she asked what the previous tenants did to accommodate the layout.

Claiming the agent said the tenants 'never mentioned' their trouble finding a space for the fridge, she asked the realtor for her suggestions.

'She says, do you know what could work really well?' Claimed Flex Mami.

'Put the fridge in the living area.'

Flex Mami aka Lillian Ahenkan is a DJ, influencer, podcaster, best-selling author and a former Big Brother '21 contestant

She then looks into the camera where she pauses and laughs after recounting the experience.

Flex Mami, also known as Lillian Ahenkan, is as a DJ, influencer, podcaster and best-selling author of the book 'The Success Experiment'.

At the beginning of 2021 she completed a brief stint as a Big Brother contestant, being voted off the show after surviving only two episodes.
A former Green Beret has raised $35,000 to help an Afghan interpreter escape the country after trying for more than a decade to get the State Department to grant him a special visa to come to the United States.

Greg Adams, who served in Afghanistan as part of the US Army Special Forces, launched a GoFundMe to help Moneer, an Afghan who has helped American troops in the country, relocate to another country.

According to Adams, Moneer distinguished himself with every unit he served on over the years, especially Army Special Forces.

Our ability to communicate with locals in local Tribal leadership, Afghan government, and Security Forces were instrumental to mission success.

A former US Army Green Beret has raised some $35,000 on GoFundMe to help Moneer (right), an Afghan interpreter who risked his life to help American forces, flee his home country

Greg Adams, who served in Afghanistan as part of the US Army Special Forces, writes that since 2010, he has been in contact with members of Congress, nonprofit organizations, and attorneys in an effort to speed up Moneers special immigrant visa application, but to no avail

Adams is seen above on the far left. Moneer is seen third from right

According to Adams, Moneer distinguished himself with every unit he served on over the years, especially Army Special Forces. Our ability to communicate with locals in local Tribal leadership, Afghan government, and Security Forces were instrumental to mission success.

The image above from 2010 shows Moneer with members of US Special Forces in Afghanistan

Adams posted this image showing Moneer (right) and himself (left) speaking to village elders and recruits in Afghanistan

Adams added: 'We relied on his judgement and advice every day. He has been blown up by an IED (improvised explosive device), been in more firefights than many experienced soldiers, and served the US, NATO, and Afghanistan militaries for over a decade.

'Moneer receives threats on this life, has had his home and land stolen from him, and is vocal and active about sharing the loss of his fellow interpreters from extremists targeting those that helped the United States.'

'His efforts kept elite US service members alive on hundreds of dangerous missions and resulted in adversaries behind bars and more stable communities - at least for a time,' Adams wrote on GoFundMe.

'Despite this record and the moral obligation we have to protect these interpreters, the United States government has fallen flat on the promise of safety for Moneer and his wife.'

Adams writes that since 2010, he has been in contact with members of Congress, nonprofit organizations, and attorneys in an effort to speed up Moneers special immigrant visa application, but to no avail.

The $35,000 raised on GoFundMe will fund Moneers and his wifes evacuation to Turkey, where he would then apply for asylum with the United Nations Refugee Agency.

Last week, Adams wrote that Moneer and his wife were out of Afghanistan, though he had yet to reach the primary third country where they will stay while their application for a special immigrant visa is processed.

Were excited that Moneer and his wife are safe and thats what counts right now, Adams wrote.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the State Department seeking comment,.

According to Adams, Moneer is seen above at the airport in Kabul last week

The fate of Moneer and other local Afghans who helped American forces during their 20-year-long war in Afghanistan has become a key point of controversy for the Biden administration.

As Washington accelerates its planned withdrawal of US forces from the country, the administration says it is adding staff to hurry up the visa process for Afghans who worked for the US government and want to flee to avoid Taliban reprisals.

But for refugee advocates and members of Congress, the effort still isn't enough to ensure that Afghans who worked as US military translators, guides and in other roles aren't persecuted in large numbers in the months ahead.

Fighting has increased across Afghanistan ahead of the September 11 deadline for withdrawal, which will end a two-decade US-led NATO troop presence since the Taliban were forced from power in the wake of the 2001 attacks on the United States.

Afghans who worked for the US during America's longest war fear the insurgency will target them and their families, retribution for helping foreign forces.

Former Afghan interpreters who worked with US troops in Afghanistan demonstrate in front of the American embassy in Kabul on June 25, 2021. The Biden administration says legislation may be needed to speed up the process of granting special immigrant visas to Afghans who worked with US troops

With the final pullout expected as early as mid-July, there appears to be a mismatch between the expectations of refugee advocates and what the Biden administration says is realistic given the legal and practical requirements to process special immigrant visas.

The administration says it has already doubled the number of staff processing cases in Kabul and tripled personnel reviewing petitions at US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

It also plans a five-fold increase in the number of staff in the State Department working on the visas in Washington, a senior administration official told Reuters.

'All of these changes have resulted in, over the last couple of months, the largest number of cases processed in the history of the program in any 60-day period,' the official said, speaking about the plans on condition of anonymity.

The plan is to process at least 1,000-1,400 visa applications for Afghans who worked for the United States, not including their families, every month.

By contrast, the US government says, it issued only 237 such visas here in the last three months of 2020.

But even with the new effort, the administration says there's a limit to how fast a 14-step, multiple-agency process can move without changes to legislation.

If all goes well, a visa could be processed in nine to 12 months.

'Other than that, the "brute force" approach of just more bodies has gone about as far as it can,' a second US official said.

The administration supports legislation in Congress that would allow Afghans to do a medical check upon arriving in the United States, instead of in Afghanistan.

It is also supports legislation eliminating the requirement for a specific petition at the Department of Homeland Security.

'That would be another two months that we could shave off,' the first official said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken reassured Congress last month of his commitment to Afghans who worked with the United States, but also suggested any threats to their safety might not be immediate.

'I wouldn't necessarily equate the departure of our forces in July, August, or by early September with some kind of immediate deterioration in the situation,' Blinken said.

Blinken acknowledged there were 18,000 Afghans 'in the pipeline' for potential visas. Half of them have expressed interest but havent yet filled out the necessary forms, he said.

Senator Patrick Leahy, recalling the chaos in Vietnam after the fall of Saigon in 1975 when he was a junior senator, said the matter was urgent.

'They're going to have a target on their back,' Leahy said.
Testing rates in Sydney's south-west are the lowest in the city despite cases skyrocketing there - prompting fears the outbreak is worse than it seems.

Fairfield is ground zero for the latest coronavirus outbreak with 105 cases recorded over the past four weeks - but it has the second-lowest rate of testing in Sydney.

The council area has just 93 tests per 1,000 residents which could mean many cases are going undiagnosed and be spreading to family and passersby.

Testing rates in Sydney's south-west are the lowest in the city despite cases skyrocketing in the area - prompting fears the lockdown will extend into the foreseeable future

Fairfield has become ground zero for the latest coronavirus outbreak with 105 cases recorded over the past four weeks - however it has the second-lowest rate of testing in Greater Sydney

In the past four weeks in Waverley 625 people per 1,000 residents have been tested - helping officials get on top of the outbreak

With new cases breaking the 100 barrier on Monday for the first time since the start of the pandemic, with another 89 on Tuesday, the NSW Government pleaded for testing numbers to rise.

In Waverley, the eastern suburbs council where the Delta variant outbreak began, rates remain extremely high despite cases falling.

In the past four weeks, 625 people per 1,000 residents have been tested - helping officials get on top of the outbreak.

Neighbouring LGAs of Randwick and Woolahra also retain high testing rates, at 451 per 1,000 and 524 per 1,000 respectively.

Randwick Council has seen 451 tests per 1,000 people as the area took control of its latest coronavirus outbreak

Falling cases in Sydney's eastern surburbs have come as the result of high levels of testing

Attention has now turned to Sydney's west, where a high-visibility police operation is in place attempting to stop residents flouting the rules.

Fairfield's numbers are hugely concerning, as are neighbouring Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool - with fears the lack of testing will see the situation worsen.

Canterbury-Bankstown, despite 73 cases, has just 126 tests per 1,000 people. Liverpool has 37 cases and only 112 tests per 1,000 people.

Both are well below the Sydney LGA average of 195 tests per 1,000 residents.

The state's Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant singled out residents of the Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool LGAs in the Covid press conference on Monday, urging residents to come forward and get tested.

Fairfield's numbers are hugely concerning, as are neighbouring Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool - with fears the lack of community participation will see the situation worsen

'We are suggesting and recommending a lot more testing, particularly in the areas of concern, so we can flush out any unrecognised cases and block those chains of transmission,' she said.

Dr Chant specifically mentioned people in Fairfield, Fairfield West, Fairfield Heights, West Hoxton, Smithfield, Bossley Park, Wakelely, Glenfield and Bonnyrigg to seek tests.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian did hint at signs of improvement in the areas, with the four-day rates between July 7 and July 10 increasing in the three LGAs.

Fairfield saw a 43 per cent increase in testing over the period, while Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool saw 18 per cent increases.
Jamaica is planning to ask the United Kingdom for compensation for the Atlantic slave trade in the former British colony, a senior government official said.

The Caribbean island nation will file a petition that could seek billions of pounds in reparations, pending legal advice, according to Olivia Grange, Jamaica's minister of sports, youth and culture.

She said the country hoped for 'reparatory justice in all forms' to 'repair the damages that our ancestors experienced'.

The former British colonies of the Caribbean were all involved in the slave trade but it is Jamaica alone that will be asking for compensation.

It comes a decade after The Caribbean Community, a regional organisation, set out to ask for reparations from Britain, France and the Netherlands in 2013.

Olivia Grange, Jamaica's minister of sports, youth and culture, said the Caribbean island nation plans to seek reparations from the United Kingdom over slavery

The British Caribbean territories with history of slavery The Caribbean Community, a regional organisation, set out to ask for reparations from Britain, France and the Netherlands in 2013 but no island has yet received any payment. Here is a list of the islands affected by slavery: The Bahamas A population census of 1671 of the Bahamas colony counted 443 slaves. Barbados The birthplace of British slave society and the most ruthlessly colonised by Britain. It ended in 1834. The country was made independent from Britain in 1966. Between 1627 and 1807, approximately 387,000 enslaved Africans were sent to Barbados. Belize Slaves were imported to help cut logwood on the island. In 1820 there were 2,563 slaves in Belize. Bermuda There were never more than 6,000 slaves in Bermuda. The largest Bermudian slaveholder in 1663 owned only seventeen slaves. They were often known as indentures rather than slaves and contracts would run up to 20 years. British Leeward Islands Saint Kitts and Nevis The first census of Saint Kitts, in 1671, recorded 1,739 African slaves. Six years later this grew to 3,849. a year later 1,436 slaves were recorded in Nevis. Anguilla In 1819, there were 360 Europeans, 320 free Africans, and 2451 slaves. Antigua and Barbuda Most of the saves in Antigua and Barbuda disembarked from the Bight of Biafra (22,000 Africans) and the Gold Coast (16,000 Africans). British Virgin Islands Emancipation freed a total of 5,792 slaves in the Territory. Montserrat Number of slaves started out as 523 in 1672, and had risen to 10,000 in 1774. British Windward Islands Dominica Became a British colony in 1763 at the Peace of Paris which ended the Seven Years War with France. At that time the island had a population of 1,718 Frenchmen and 5,872 slaves working on coffee, cocoa and spice production. Grenada By the 1750s, there were 12,000 enslaved people in Grenada. Saint Lucia The 1730 census showed 463 occupants, including just 125 whites, 37 Caribs, 175 slaves, and the rest free blacks or mixed race. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines St Vincent and the Grenadines gained its independence from Britain in 1979. Cayman Islands At the time of abolition in 1834, there were more than 950 slaves owned by 116 Caymanian families. Guyana By the 1660s, the enslaved population numbered about 2,500. The British took over in 1796 and remained in possession, except for short intervals, until 1814, when they purchased Demerara, Berbice and Essequibo, which were united in 1831 as the colony of British Guiana. Jamaica The British Invasion of Jamaica took place in May 1655, during the 1654 to 1660 Anglo-Spanish War, when an English expeditionary force captured the Spanish colony. Oliver Cromwell increased the islands European population by sending indentured servants and prisoners. There were 300,000 slaves in Jamaica in 1831. Trinidad and Tobago When the island was surrendered to the British in 1797 the population had increased to 17,643: 2,086 whites, 4,466 free people of colour, 1,082 Amerindians, and 10,009 African slaves. Turks and Caicos Islands In 1822, the islands reported just more than 1,900 slaves. Advertisement

It was noted at the time that Britain paid 20m to British planters in the Caribbean, the equivalent of 200bn now, in reparations during emancipation in 1834. No compensation has ever been paid to the descendants of the victims of slavery.

Jamaica was a centre of the slave trade, with the Spanish, then the British, forcibly transporting Africans to work on plantations of sugar cane, bananas and other crops that created fortunes for many of their owners.

Britain was not the only European nation to take part in the transatlantic slave trade, with the Portuguese, Spanish, French, Dutch, and the Danish all involved.

An estimated 600,000 Africans were shipped to toil in Jamaica, according to the National Library of Jamaica.

Ms Grange added: 'Our African ancestors were forcibly removed from their home and suffered unparalleled atrocities in Africa to carry out forced labour to the benefit of the British Empire,' she said, adding: 'Redress is well overdue.'

Seized from Spain by the British in 1655, Jamaica was a British colony until it became independent in 1962. It is not clear whether Jamaica also intends to seek reparations from Spain.

The island was discovered as part of an expedition led by Italian explorer Christopher Columbus in 1492 and brought under Spanish control. Other West Indies islands were then used as outposts by English pirates and privateers involved in raiding Spanish treasure fleets.

Some 200 years later, in 1655, Jamaica was seized by the British and would go on to become integral in Britain's supply of sugar - a highly sought after commodity in the eighteen century.

The Caribbean countries of Jamaica, Antigua, St Kitts, Nevis and Barbados, which were under British control, connected Britain to Western Africa and the Americas and formed a key part of the triangular slave trade between the countries and Britain.

They grew in population from a few thousand in the mid-17th Century to 18,000 in the 1680s - with slaves making up more than half of the total.

The West Indian country of almost three million people is part of the Commonwealth and the British monarch remains head of state.

Britain prohibited trade in slaves in its empire in 1807 but did not formally abolish the practice of slavery until 1834.

To compensate slave owners, the British government took out a 20million loan - a very large sum at the time - and only finished paying off the ensuing interest payments in 2015.

The reparations petition is based on a private motion by Jamaican lawmaker Mike Henry, who said it was worth some 7.6 billion, a sum he estimated is roughly equivalent in today's terms to what Britain paid to the slaveholders.

'I am asking for the same amount of money to be paid to the slaves that was paid to the slave owners,' said Henry, a member of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party.

'I am doing this because I have fought against this all my life, against chattel slavery which has dehumanised human life.'

Grange herself declined to give a figure.

The petition, with approval from Jamaica's National Council on Reparations, will be filed pending advice from the attorney general and three legal teams, Grange said.

The attorney general will then send it to Queen Elizabeth, she added.

The initiative follows growing acknowledgement in some quarters of the role played by slavery in generating wealth in Britain, with businesses and seats of learning pledging financial contributions in compensation.

They include insurance market Lloyd's of London, pub owner Greene King and the University of Glasgow.

The petition also coincides with increasing efforts by some in Jamaica to sever formal ties with the United Kingdom.

Opposition lawmaker Mikael Phillips in December presented a motion to remove Queen Elizabeth as head of state.

More than 15 million people were shackled into the transatlantic slave trade, according to the United Nations.

The transatlantic slave trade was a triangular route from Europe to Africa, to the Americas and back to Europe.

Firstly, merchants exported goods to Africa in return for enslaved Africans, gold, ivory and spices. The ships then headed across to the American colonies where the slaves were sold for sugar, tobacco, cotton and other produce.

Once in the colonies the slaves worked on plantations and inside the homes of Europeans as cleaners, cooks or other household domestics.

The products were then brought back to Europe, benefiting British citizens and producing profit for businesses based in Britain.

Slaves were victim to an oppressive regime that exploited labour to make profit for wealthy landowners. They were bought and sold as property and often lived under horrendous conditions.

In 1672 the Royal Africa Company was formed and held the monopoly on the British slave trade. Jamaica became one of the busiest markets and African slaves soon outnumbered Europeans five to one.

The gold it supplied to the Royal Mint was named the guinea, after the West African country from which the gold was taken.

An estimated 600,000 Africans were shipped to toil in Jamaica, according to the National Library of Jamaica. Pictured: The Rose Hall Great House in Montego Bay, a former plantation house and popular tourist destination

More than 15 million people were shackled into the transatlantic slave trade, which included the Caribbean islands of The Bahamas as well as Barbados and Guyana

Britain prohibited trade in slaves in its empire in 1807 but did not formally abolish the practice of slavery until 1834. Pictured: A monument to national hero Samuel Sharpe - an enslaved man who led a rebellion against the British - in Montego Bay, Jamaica
A man from Louisiana who claims to have been bored while sitting in traffic jumped into the alligator-infested Atchafalaya River sparking an hours-long search and rescue effort.

Jimmy Ivan Jennings, 26, was fully clothed as he jumped into the river from the span which is part of interstate 10.

He now realizes how lucky he is to be alive.

Jimmy Ivan Jennings jumped from the Basin Bridge into the Atchafalaya River

The 26-year-old Louisiana man claimed he had been bored while sitting in traffic

Jennings took a running jump before bounding over the barrier of the bridge

'I started going under and almost drowned a few times. I really and truly thought it was the end of my time. I asked God for forgiveness. I forgave everyone in my life. It was hectic,' he told the Daily News.

Jennings explained how he had been caught in a traffic jam for more than two hours after a multi-car collision.

He came up with a plan: to jump from the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge and then swim quickly back to shore and jump right back into his friend's car.

'We were bored inside the truck... I looked down at the water, and it didn't seem too far. As soon as my fingertips came off that side, I was like, "Oh my god, this was the stupidest idea."'

There followed a drop of several seconds before Jennings his the surface of the water

Jennings grew smaller and smaller as he continued to fall down towards the river

Viral video of Jennings plummeting into the river sees him taking a running jump before hopping over the barrier and then crashing down into the water with an almighty splash.

But a rescue didn't come fast and he was forced to remain in the alligator-infested water for almost three hours.

'I was just high on life. Everything was going my way and I've seen people do it before only I remembered after I jumped that was in movies,' he wrote on Facebook.

'Once I hit the water, my mouth busted open and I hurt my left arm. I tried to swim to the shore, but the current was too strong.

'An hour and a half in, I was so tired of swimming. My left arm went out. I turned onto my back and would push with my right hand and my legs whenever I went under. I was praying the entire time.'

Upon splashing down into the alligator-infested river he found that he could not swim against the current

Eventually, Jennings was able to swim against the current and crawl back onto the shore of a small island.

He then had to use another board in order to reach the mainland where authorities found him and placed him in handcuffs.

'They got me with criminal mischief and some other charges. It was crazy to do what I did. But after the fact, after realizing it was a bad idea, everything else I did was in pure survival mode,' Jennings said.

The man from Lafayette has vowed never to something similar in the future.

'I don't even want to swim anymore,' he said.

Khory Vaughan, a friend of Jennings who was with him at the time of the stunt and recorded the video, told WBRZ, 'We are familiar with the water and the area, but I don't think he was prepared for what came with it.'

St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office said Jennings was cited for criminal mischief and criminal trespassing.

Jennings had an ordeal getting back to shore first landing on an island before finding a boat to get back to the mainland
Climate change is as much of an emergency as the Covid-19 pandemic and should be treated in the same way, says a report.

Governments should put out daily figures on how many deaths are being caused by adverse weather just like with Covid, researchers said.

The Glasgow Caledonian University study says that climate change, 'despite ultimately being more deadly than the virus', has 'failed to elicit the same level of urgency' among governments and civil society.

Climate change is as much of an emergency as the Covid-19 pandemic and should be treated in the same way, says a report (factory in Texas pictured)

Researchers said there is a need to integrate Covid-19 recovery with climate action.

The research consortium included the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) and academic partners in Africa.

Dr Mithika Mwenda, executive director of PACJA, said: We are now past the point where we can address the Covid-19 pandemic and the climate emergency as separate crises.

This report shows that the pandemic has not only forestalled urgently needed action to halt and begin reversing global warming, but it has also worsened existing vulnerabilities to climate change, weakened the adaptive capacities of communities and countries, especially in Africa, and raised the cost of future climate action.

Governments should put out daily figures on how many deaths are being caused by adverse weather just like with Covid, researchers said (pictured: dried up municipal dam in drought-stricken Graaff-Reinet, South Africa, in November 2019)

The research comes after a parliamentary report warned of a 'backlash' if the Government does not win over the public's trust for bringing in radical measures such as a ban on new gas boilers, petrol and diesel cars, eating less meat and reducing car journeys.

Failure to get the public on board about the need for measures to curb global warming could lead to unrest, said the Commons business committee.

The number of 'extremely hot days' each year in the UK could rise four-fold from ten to 37 if global warming is not curbed, the Met Office warned yesterday.

The increase in the number of days where temperatures exceed 25C (77F) could happen with a global average 4C rise, a study in the journal Climatic Change said.
Sydney's devastating coronavirus outbreak has finally seeped into the state's regions after a tradesman tested positive to the virus 200km from the city.

The infected man is reported to be an essential worker who travelled from Sydney's southern suburbs to Goulburn, a regional city in the state's Southern Tablelands.

The positive case had been working on a construction site at the new Goulburn Hospital.

Sydney's devastating coronavirus outbreak has finally seeped into the state's regions after a tradesman tested positive to the virus 200km from the city

The infected man is reported to be an essential worker who travelled from Sydney's south to Goulburn, and had been working on a construction site at the new Goulburn Hospital

The Southern Local Health District has responded by opening additional pop-up testing clinics in the regional city, the ABC reported.

Until now, the most recent coronavirus outbreak had been contained in Greater Sydney and its surrounding areas.

Health authorities have previously warned of alarming consequences if the virus was to seep into the state's regional areas.

Bob Kirk, the Major of the Goulburn Mulwaree Council said Goulburn was a particularly vulnerable are due to its location on a major highway.

Mr Kirk said he understood construction site at the new Goulburn Hospital had been closed down as a result of the new infection.

Goulburn has not been subjected to the three-week lockdown experienced by residents in Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour, due to the city being part of the Southern Highlands.

Outside of the lengthening lockdown, residents in these regional areas are still required to follow social distancing measures.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said her government would most likely consider Goulburn a hotspot with the case also coming as a concern to Canberra, with commuters regularly commuting to the city only an hours drive away.

It comes as a student who attends a school more than an hour's drive from Sydney's CBD has tested positive for Covid-19 after contracting the virus on holiday.

It comes as a student from Hawkesbury High School more than an hour's drive from Sydney's CBD has tested positive for Covid-19 after contracting the virus on holiday

The school principal Igor Maric, confirmed in a statement that a positive case had been identified in the community and said the student was currently in isolation

The infected student attends the Hawkesbury High School in Freemans Reach, 65km north-west of Sydney, and contracted coronavirus during school holidays.

The school principal Igor Maric, confirmed in a statement that a positive case had been identified in the community and said the student was currently in isolation.

There are currently no other cases of Covid-19 linked to the infected student.

'NSW Health have conducted contact tracing and all close contacts have been identified and tested', the statement read.

'The student in question will remain in isolation and he will not be attending school until he gets cleared by NSW Health.'

The principal said that while the school remains safe, parents should remain extra vigilant and get their children tested if they have even the mildest symptoms.

Mr Maric said that while the school remained open for students whose parents need it, he urged all parents to keep their children at home.

A spokeswoman from NSW Education said the department had been advised that a student at Hawkesbury High School had tested positive for Covid-19.

'As the student has not had any recent contact with the school, there is no risk to students and their families from school activities', she said.

We are working closely with NSW Health in responding to Covid- 19 cases, and act on the expert advice of NSW Health. Our priority is the safety and wellbeing of our staff and students at all times.'

Meanwhile Greater Sydney and surrounds could remain locked down for weeks as authorities battle to deal with a dramatic spike in Covid-19 cases in the city's southwest.

Meanwhile Greater Sydney and surrounds could remain locked down for weeks as authorities battle to deal with a dramatic spike in Covid-19 cases in the city's southwest

As five million people in Greater Sydney endure a third week of lockdown Deputy Premier John Barilaro said the situation would likely stretch out for weeks

Of the 112 new NSW cases reported on Monday, 84 emerged in southwest Sydney.

The area is now the epicentre of the outbreak and authorities are desperate to stop people going to work while unknowingly infectious.

Deputy Premier John Barilaro warned 'we haven't hit the peak, my sense is we'll see similar numbers to yesterday ... maybe a tad higher'.

As five million people in Greater Sydney endure a third week of lockdown he said the situation would likely stretch out for weeks.

'(I'm) not sure about longer than six weeks ... I think we're all certain it will extend beyond this week,' he told Nine Network on Tuesday.

'It's the roller-coaster ride we're on.'

Meanwhile, a joint NSW and federal government relief package to help people and businesses suffering financial hardship after three weeks of little or no income will be announced on Tuesday.

The federal government Covid disaster weekly payments will reportedly rise to $600 a week, up from $500, for those who have lost 20 hours of work or more.

The package will include JobKeeper-style increased cash flow payments for businesses to cover costs and wages, so long as no worker is sacked.

Meanwhile, school students start term three on Tuesday with pupils in Greater Sydney, including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour learning from home for at least this week, while children of essential workers will be supervised at school.

In good news for workers, the federal government Covid disaster weekly payments will reportedly rise to $600 a week, from $500, for those who have lost 20 hours of work or more

NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell (pictured) said both AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines would be available to school staff in three of southwest Sydney's local government areas

Around 12,000 teachers and school staff will be prioritised to get vaccinated at a mass hub at Fairfield show grounds from Friday.

NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said both AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines would be available to school staff in three of southwest Sydney's local government areas that are Covid hotspots.

She said she had been advocating that all teachers be vaccinated for nearly a year but had been rebuffed because of a lack of supplies.

'We've prioritised teachers in these areas ... and I think this is a good first step,' she told ABC Radio.

Ms Mitchell admitted it was challenging for teachers and parents to deal with home schooling but was unable to say how long hundreds of thousands of students would be learning from home - while flagging it was unlikely to end on Friday as originally anticipated.

'We want to give parents certainty. We've seen numbers go up significantly in the past two days and I think that has changed the settings,' she said.

'We anticipate we will be able to tell parents and teachers within the next day or two what next week will look like.'

NSW Health on Monday night flagged more than 20 new venues of concern and there are around 30 Sydney bus and train routes associated with confirmed cases of Covid19.

Anyone who attended six venues in Sydney's southwest - including Ware Street Medical Practice, iMedic iCare Medical Centre, Neeta City Shopping Centre and Westpac - all at Fairfield, as well as various shops and 99 Bikes at Bondi Junction, are considered close contacts and must get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result.

Pictured: A lone man walks in front of closed shops in Fairfield, after 84 of the new 112 cases recorded on Monday were identified in south-west Sydney suburbs

New South Wales has recorded 678 Covid-19 cases in the community since June 16, when the Bondi cluster first emerged

And about 150 rough sleepers will get Pfizer Covid-19 vaccinations at the Reverend Bill Crews Foundation at Ashfield in Sydney's west on Tuesday.

'It's taken me months to secure these vaccines for the homeless and rough sleepers who we care for,' Reverend Crew said.

NSW has recorded 678 Covid-19 cases in the community since June 16, when the Bondi cluster first emerged.

The AstraZeneca jab will be made available to all people aged over 40 at NSW mass vaccination clinics, and pharmacies will be able to administer it to that age group.

A new mass vaccination hub will also be established at Fairfield in southwest Sydney.
A joint NSW and federal government relief package has been hammered out to help people and businesses suffering under the Sydney lockdown.

The lockdown is expected continue beyond three weeks after a jump in Covid-19 cases in Sydney's southwest.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Monday warned there was virtually no hope of lockdown ending as scheduled on Friday as businesses and workers face the prospect of a fourth week with little to no income.

The state government has already committed $1.4 billion to help businesses and was reportedly keen to establish a NSW-funded JobKeeper-style program.

A joint NSW and federal government relief package has been hammered out to help people and businesses suffering under the Sydney lockdown. Pictured is a cafe in western Sydney that can only offer takeaway

The new financial assistance package is expected to be announced as early as Tuesday with the federal government Covid disaster weekly payments to rise to $600 a week, up from $500, for those who have lost 20 hours of work or more.

The joint package will include JobKeeper-style increased cash flow payments for businesses to cover costs and wages, so long as no worker is sacked.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Multicultural Affairs Minister Alex Hawke will have a virtual meeting with community leaders in southwest Sydney on Tuesday to consult on how to better communicate with the community about getting vaccinated and abiding by Covid-19 rules.

Of the 112 new NSW cases reported on Monday, 84 emerged in southwest Sydney with the area now the epicentre of the outbreak, with authorities desperate to stop people going to work while unknowingly infectious.

'The federal government is concerned about lower vaccination rates in culturally and linguistically diverse communities,' Mr Hawke told the Daily Telegraph on Tuesday.

'That's why the PM wants to hear from people in the communities and their leaders about what we can do to better communicate about the vaccination program and support on offer,' he said.

The joint package will include JobKeeper-style increased cash flow payments for businesses to cover costs and wages, so long as no worker is sacked

Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Monday warned there was virtually no hope of lockdown ending as scheduled on Friday

Meanwhile, Deputy Premier John Barilaro has warned the lockdown could continue for weeks.

'(I'm) not sure about longer than six weeks but we'll have to make a decision. I think we're all certain it will extend beyond this week,' he told Nine Network on Wednesday.

And he warned to brace for the number of new Covid cases to remain high.

'There's no reason to suspect anything less than the same numbers as yesterday, maybe a tad higher... it's a rollercoaster ride we're on,' he said.

NSW Health on Monday night flagged more than 20 new venues of concern and there are around 30 Sydney bus and train routes associated with confirmed cases of Covid19.

Anyone who attended six venues in Sydney's southwest - including Ware Street Medical Practice, iMedic iCare Medical Centre, Neeta City Shopping Centre and Westpac - all at Fairfield,

Also included were various shops and 99 Bikes at Bondi Junction, are considered close contacts and must get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result.

NSW Police conduct random checks on people outside in Sydney's eastern suburbs

Businesses and workers face the prospect of a fourth week with little to no income

Meanwhile, school students start term three on Tuesday with pupils in Sydney, including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour learning from home for at least this week, while children of essential workers will be supervised at school.

And about 150 rough sleepers will get Pfizer Covid-19 vaccinations at the Reverend Bill Crews Foundation at Ashfield in Sydney's west on Tuesday.

'It's taken me months to secure these vaccines for the homeless and rough sleepers who we care for,' Reverend Crew said.

NSW is ramping up its vaccination drive to respond to the outbreak, which now totals 678 cases, since it began on June 16.

The AstraZeneca jab will be made available to all people aged over 40 at NSW mass vaccination clinics, and pharmacies will be able to administer it to that age group.

A new mass vaccination hub will also be established at Fairfield in southwest Sydney.
A World Health Organization-led team studying the origins of Covid-19 have turned their attention to the case of a mystery Italian woman.

The 25-year-old visited a Milan hospital complaining of a sore throat and skin lesions in November 2019 - a month before Covid-19 would be identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

Research published in January this year found that a skin sample left by the woman yielded traces of the coronavirus when it was tested more than six months later.

Scientists say the woman's case suggests that the virus was circulating in China and elsewhere long before the first cluster exploded at Wuhan's Huanan seafood market in December 2019, and further study of her case could help to determine just how long.

The only problem is that no one knows the woman's identity.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the facilities that oversaw her case - Milan's Policlinico hospital and the University of Milan - say they do not have her details, while Raffaele Gianotti, the dermatologist who treated her, died in March just days before the WHO-led team requested more research into the patient.

The team has recommended searching for possible Covid-19 cases in other countries that predate the first confirmed Wuhan case.

A World Health Organization-led team studying the origins of Covid-19 have turned their attention to the case of a 25-year-old Italian woman whose identity is unknown. Pictured L-R: Researchers Giovanni Fellegara, Raffaele Gianotti and Massimo Barberis

Researchers say examining earlier suspected cases could help firm up a timeline of the early spread of the virus.

To do this, the team has asked blood banks in several countries to test samples from late 2019 for the presence of coronavirus antibodies.

Several studies have suggested that individuals were infected with Covid-19 before the first cases of the virus were reported in their areas but the Italian woman's case remains one of the most intriguing.

A blood test taken from the woman in June 2020 tested positive for coronavirus antibodies.

Months earlier, on November 10, 2019, a skin sample was taken from the woman by Dr. Gianotti.

When the pandemic hit Italy in early 2020, Dr. Gianotti looked back through archived skin samples searching for any trace of Covid-19, the Wall Street Journal reported.

He conducted two tests on the woman's skin sample, both of which found the spike protein and protein shell but the sample was too degraded to conduct a crucial third test.

Scientists say the mystery woman's case suggests that the virus was circulating in China and elsewhere long before the first cluster exploded at Wuhan's Huanan seafood market in December 2019, and further study of her case could help to determine just how long [Stock image]

This test would have allowed Dr. Gianotti to genetically sequence the virus, providing a more definitive confirmation that the woman had indeed had Covid-19 and potentially allowing researchers to compare it with cases from China.

'I was disappointed for only one thing. That we cannot confirm it with another, third technique,' Massimo Barberis, a co-author on Dr. Gianotti's research, told the Wall Street Journal.

Dr. Barberis pointed out that, while the woman's blood taken in mid-2020 tested positive for antibodies, Covid-19 had engulfed northern Italy by that time, creating the possibility that she might have been exposed to an asymptomatic infection some time after her November illness.

While the woman's identity remains a mystery, Dr. Barberis said he believes enthusiasm for figuring out how the pandemic began is fading among researchers as the virus fades in Europe.

'People are not interested,' he told the Wall Street Journal.

Despite the potentially dampening enthusiasm, research continues into the source of Covid-19.

Last week, a group of scientists who rejected the theory that the virus leaked from a Wuhan laboratory doubled down on their claim in a letter.

The international coalition of experts said there was still 'no scientifically validated evidence' to support the so-called 'lab leak theory'.

The mainstream school of thought is that the coronavirus first emerged in bats and jumped to a host species before finally being passed to humans. However some believe the virus leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (pictured), which denies this

Signatories include Dr Peter Daszak, the British president of EcoHealth Alliance, which funnelled money into research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and UK Government scientific adviser Sir Jeremy Farrar.

The letter, published in the Lancet, followed a piece in the same journal last February, which stated that the lab leak theory created 'fear' and 'prejudice'.

It has been heavily criticised in recent weeks after it emerged that at least one of the signatories had undisclosed financial ties to the Wuhan lab.

Twenty-four of the scientists who signed last year's letter have also put their name to the new edition, which said 'allegations are of no help' and that the 'strongest clue' about the origin of the virus points to it evolving in nature.

But three did not appear on the recent update, including Professor Peter Palese who previously told MailOnline a 'lot of disturbing information' had surfaced since the letter and he wanted 'to see answers covering all questions'.

The mainstream school of thought is that the coronavirus first emerged in bats and jumped to a host species before finally being passed to humans.

However some believe the virus leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which denies this.
The sister of a dad shot dead outside his home by four gunmen has promised to look after his children in a heartbreaking tribute.

Christopher Anderson, 36, was gunned down on Saturday after he chased the shooters out of his home in Gailes, near Ipswich in Queensland.

Family and friends posted eulogies for Mr Anderson to Facebook with his sister Lisa Conlon mourning the loss of the young dad.

'Rest in dreamtime little bro. I'm absolutely shattered beyond words. I'm sorry this has happened to you,' she wrote.

A Holden Commodore used in the shooting murder of Christopher Anderson could help police track down his killers - as tributes pour in for the father who had a 'heart of gold'

Family and friends posted eulogies for Mr Anderson to Facebook with his sister Lisa Conlon (pictured) mourning the loss of the young dad

'Putting your lil namesake to sleep last night just broke me knowing he's now going to grow up not knowing his father.

'I promise you that we will love your kids as our own and keep your memory alive.

'You had a heart of gold and would give the shirt off your back for anyone Hold your loved ones close as tomorrow is never promised.'

A silver 2000s model Holden Commodore with a black bonnet used as a getaway car in the murder could help police track down his killers.

A neigbour told the Courier Mail Mr Anderson was 'just trying to protect his family'.

'(Mr Anderson and his girlfriend) were a young couple very much in love and engaged,' another neighbour said.

'A family has been torn apart.'

'You had a heart of gold and would give the shirt off your back for anyoneHold your loved ones close as tomorrow is never promised,' Mr Anderson's sister wrote of the father

Ms Conlon promised to help look after his children in her heartbreaking tribute

Police believe four men arrived at the home in the car about 4pm on Saturday and approached Mr Anderson.

They went inside before an argument started and a single gunshot was heard.

Mr Anderson chased the four men out of the house towards the Holden. Another scuffle broke out before the father was shot in the chest.

The car was driven off and Mr Anderson died of a single gunshot wound not long after.

Detectives are appealing for anyone who has seen the car, which has black rims, not to approach but to contact them.
Two spearfishers have recorded the horrific moment they were caught in the middle of a shark feeding frenzy while diving off the coast of Western Australia.

Diving for mackerel off the coast of Dirk Hartog Island, aptly named Shark Bay World Heritage Area, Chris Hodgkinson and Nick Hoad found themselves in hot water.

In a video shared by Nine News, one diver is seen shooting a fish with his speargun, immediately attracting a hungry shark.

The predator is seen swimming off with the fish still attached to the end of Mr Hoad's shooting line, causing the wire to wrap around the diver's neck.

Struggling to release the tension and swim to the surface, a second shark appears, biting at the diver's ankles.

His diving partner Mr Hodgkinson tries to intervene while also fighting off a bull shark, as it sinks its teeth into the rubbers of his speargun.

Diver Nick Hoad had the line of his speargun wrapped around his neck while a shark nipped at his ankles

'They saw my fins, there was chum all through the water and they started turning on both of us,' Chris Hodgkinson told Nine.

Footage shows the shocked men eventually made it back to the surface, panting while they desperately climbed back onto their boat.

The predators are believed to be a mixture of tiger and bull sharks, which could have seriously injured both divers.

Chris Hodgkinson and Nick Hoad were diving off the coast of Dirk Hartog Island when they were caught in the middle of a shark feeding frenzy

A bull shark is seen biting into Mr Hodgkinson's spear gun after he struggles to help his diving partner fend off a shark attack

Veteran shark researcher Hugh Edwards told the news outlet that both men were lucky.

'Because they bite on the leg, that's where the arteries are, and the victim can bleed to death before he or she gets out of the water,' Mr Edwards said.

Escaping from the terrifying ordeal both divers agreed things could have been a lot worse.

'I guess things could've been a lot better as well,' Mr Hoad added.
She again urged Queenslanders to return from, even from NSW regions

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the border with NSW would remain open

One was in hotel quarantine and two in home quarantine linked to earlier cases

Three new cases announced in Queensland at Tuesday's Covid press conference

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced a jump of three new cases in the state on Tuesday but said she's not worried about them, and reiterated it was too early to decide on closing the border with NSW.

'The first one is an overseas acquired case detected in hotel quarantine,' the premier announced. 'And the other two cases are locally acquired but detected in home quarantine and linked to known cases.'

Chief Health Office Jeannette Young said one case had just returned from the UK via Singapore and tested positive on the first day in hotel quarantine.

Two further cases were linked to the Greek orthodox community centre cases identified two weeks ago and were in home quarantine.

Ms Palaszczuk said the state continued to monitor the Covid situation in NSW but would not as yet change its settings in regard to closing the border.

'I want to reassure Queenslanders that if it gets to the stage that we have to close, we will,' she said.

'But at this stage we are monitoring it every single day.'

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the state continued to monitor the Covid situation in NSW but would not as yet close the border

Restrictions are already in place for all visitors from Greater Sydney, who are required to do 14 days quarantine on arrival on Queensland.

The premier repeated her call for Queenslanders to return from NSW, even from regional areas.

'W e want Queenslanders to come home because the [situation] is unfolding each day in NSW,' she said.

'We are seeing more hospitalisations and we are monitoring whether it's spreading to other parts of NSW.

'So if we do see it spreading to other parts of NSW we won't hesitate to shut the border.'

She described it as 'disappointing' that a number of people would continue to try and avoid border restrictions in the wake of the four men who attended the rugby test in Brisbane after travelling to Queensland on a superyacht.

'We do not want people coming here breaking the law,' she said. 'Pure and simple. It is extremely disappointing to see that happen'.

The superyacht on which four men sailed to Queensland from NSW before attending last weekend's rugby test in Brisbane

Spectators during the 1st Test Match between the Australian Wallabies and France at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane

Maritime Safety Queensland said three vessels had illegally arrived in the state from Greater Sydney in the past two weeks.

Two were single-person yachts while another was a superyacht with four crew aboard.

Six people were each slapped with a $4100 fine and either told to return to NSW or ordered into 14 day hotel quarantine.

Meanwhile, Queenslanders are preparing for an easing of local restrictions that were introduced last month after simultaneous Covid-19 clusters emerged.

From 6am on Friday, masks will no longer be mandatory in the general community but will still have to be worn at airports and on planes.

Cafes and restaurants will be able to take in more patrons, dancing at nightclubs will return, and there'll be no restrictions on vaccinated people visiting hospitals, aged-care homes or residential disability care providers.

Queensland is preparing to host its third State of Origin match this series on Wednesday night, after the match was moved from Covid-stricken Sydney

The state will also host the third and final State of Origin match at CBUS Stadium on the Gold Coast this Wednesday night. The match was originally scheduled to be played in Sydney.

Queensland will also host NRL games, possibly until the end of the 2021 season, after the game's administrators made the decision to move 12 teams to the state's south-east this week.

Teams will be based in Brisbane, and on the Sunshine and Gold coasts, and play matches at either Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane or CBUS Stadium at Robina on the Gold Coast.
A potential lengthy lockdown and record levels of virus cases appear to not be enough to dent the mood of Sydneysiders for too long.

The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence index rose two per cent nationally, partially recovering the 3.9 per cent drop of the previous week.

Confidence in Sydney jumped 3.7 per cent.

ANZ head of Australian economics David Plank noted the overall positive result also came after Brisbane, Perth and Darwin emerged from their lockdowns.

The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence index rose 3.7 per cent in Sydney despite the lockdown as shoppers are unfazed

The positive result is good news for retailers and comes ahead of an expected additional support package from the federal and NSW governments to assist business and workers.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has warned it is unclear how long restrictions will remain in place when infections are growing, announcing a record 112 cases on Monday and 89 on Tuesday.

Economists estimate the lockdown in Australia's biggest city is costing about $1 billion a week and are already marking down their national growth forecasts for later this year.

A separate report suggests executives at Australia's top companies may not be so happy with their lot with pay outcomes for CEOs falling to their lowest levels in more than a decade.

Research by the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors found almost one third of chief executives among companies on the ASX 100 received no bonus in the past financial year, reflecting the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The positive result is good news for retailers and comes ahead of an expected additional support package from the federal and NSW governments to assist business and workers

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has warned it is unclear how long restrictions will remain in place when infections are growing, announcing a record 112 cases on Monday

'Newly appointed CEOs almost always now start on a salary base significantly lower than their predecessors and bonuses are becoming not just harder to achieve, but more often paid in equity rather than cash,' the council's Louise Davidson said.

National Australia Bank will release its monthly survey, which provides a broader look at the business community, in June.

In May, the business confidence index eased from the record high of the previous month, but conditions struck a peak for a second month in a row.

Aside from the latest impact of the virus, the survey will also assess the ramifications of staff shortages and rising material costs that are becoming evident across the economy.

Other recent reports have shown that employers in manufacturing, construction and services are finding it increasingly difficult to find appropriate staff, while the cost of doing business is increasing.
A dozen countries could be added to the quarantine-free travel list this week, according to an expert.

Germany, Italy and Bulgaria are among those with Covid data healthy enough to mean they could go green on Thursday when the list is due to be updated by ministers.

Other countries that could join them include Canada, Austria, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, according to analysis by Robert Boyle, a former BA strategist. This would increase the total on the green list from 27 to 39.

Heathrow chief John Holland-Kaye said: Ministers need to extend this policy to US and EU nationals if they want to kick-start the economy'

There is also speculation that the Balearics are at risk of going amber on Thursday because infection rates there have soared

Mr Boyles analysis assumes that countries with a new Covid case rate of or below 20 per 100,000 of the population will be added, along with a test positivity rate of 1.5 per cent and testing rate of one or more per 100,000.

As it stands, Israel, Gibraltar, Malta, the Portuguese island of Madeira and Spains Balearic Islands are the only viable holiday destinations on the green list, which is reviewed every three weeks.

Canada is considered one of the most likely to go green, according to the analysis, which has a rate of nine new cases per 100,000 over the past seven days.

This does not bode well for hotspots such as mainland Portugal, Greece and Spain, whose case rates are 183 per 100,000, 119 per 100,000 and 219 per 100,000 respectively.

Vaccination rates, prevalence of variants of concern and the ability to detect them are also taken into consideration.

There is also speculation that the Balearics are at risk of going amber on Thursday because infection rates there have soared.

Mr Boyles analysis also suggests Malta and Israel could turn back to amber from green. Under new rules coming in from Monday, double-vaccinated Britons will be able to visit amber countries without having to quarantine on return. They will, however, still be required to take tests before and after their return.

For a family of four this could add at least 400 to the cost of a holiday. The travel industry wants the fully vaccinated to be exempt from testing, a position backed by former prime minister Tony Blair in a report earlier this month.

As it stands, Israel, Gibraltar, Malta, the Portuguese island of Madeira and Spains Balearic Islands are the only viable holiday destinations on the green list, which is reviewed every three weeks. (Pictured, Comino, Malta)

Non-fully vaccinated people as well as visiting foreigners from amber countries will still have to quarantine for up to ten days on arrival. They can take a further test on day five and leave quarantine early if it comes back negative. Jab status will be checked by airlines at check-in. But border guards will also be expected to continue checking passenger locator forms and proof of post-arrival testing.

Calls to move the United States from amber to green were growing last night after it emerged transatlantic traffic is still at very low levels.

Passenger traffic from Heathrow to the US is around 80 per cent lower, whereas the EU, which has reopened unilaterally with the US, has seen traffic recover to only around 40 per cent down. Adding the US to the green list would increase visitor numbers and provide a boost to tourism.

Heathrow chief John Holland-Kaye said: Ministers need to extend this policy to US and EU nationals if they want to kick-start the economy. These changes will be critical for exporters who are losing out to EU rivals and families who have been separated from loved ones.

British tourists are currently banned from the US.
The sculpted buttock of a slave bears a fingerprint which could confirm the model was produced by Renaissance artist Michelangelo.

Experts at the Victoria and Albert Museum found a thumb and fingerprint on the small wax figure, A Slave, after it was moved to protect it from warm temperatures last spring.

The model, which experts have long believed was created by Michelangelo, was put into cold storage in the museum's basement before being examined.

It is thought the print appeared because a change in temperature or humidity altered the chemical composition of the wax.

The sculpted buttock of a slave bears a fingerprint which could confirm the model was produced by Renaissance artist Michelangelo. Experts at the Victoria and Albert Museum found a thumb and fingerprint on the small wax figure, A Slave, after it was moved to protect it from warm temperatures last spring

It is hoped that the discovery will help put to bed question marks over the authenticity of the model.

The find was made during filming for the BBC series Secrets of the Museum, which begins next week.

Peta Motture, a senior curator at the London-based museum told The Radio Times that the find was 'very exciting'.

'When you are dealing with malleable materials like wax and clay you quite often find fingerprints of the artist. It is like a direct connection with them,' she added.

The wax slave figure is believed to have been made by Michelangelo during work to produce a marble sculpture for the tomb of Pope Julius II, who died in 1513. The sculpture (pictured), Young Slave, was never finished and now stands in the Galleria dell'Accademia, in Florence, Italy

Another sculpture made by Michelangelo, which is held in Italy, also contains his thumb or fingerprint.

Motture said the experts would be taking a 'much closer look' at the new discovery to 'map exactly what is there'.

The wax slave figure is believed to have been made by Michelangelo during work to produce a marble sculpture for the tomb of Pope Julius II, who died in 1513.

The sculpture, Young Slave, was never finished and now stands in the Galleria dell'Accademia, in Florence, Italy.

Michelangelo is known to have destroyed many of his sketches and models, making the slave a rare survivor.

The artist died in in Rome in 1564 at the age of 88.
New South Wales' Covid-19 outbreak has grown by another 89 local cases as authorities confirmed a man in the state in his 70s has died after contracting the virus.

But in a glimmer of hope the state could be turning the tide on the outbreak of the highly-contagious Delta variant, only 14 of those cases were unlinked to known clusters - down from 48 mystery infections from Monday.

Of the new local cases, 30 were out in the community for either part of or all of their infectious period.

NSW Health said the man who died was from Sydney's eastern suburbs.

There are 745 active cases in New South Wales, with 65 (8.7 per cent) in hospital including 21 (2.8 per cent) in intensive care and four on ventilators.

'More than three quarters of all of those cases of community transmission were close family contacts,' Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

'It reinforces the message that every time you risk going outside and doing the wrong thing, you risk bringing the virus home to those you love the most.'

Ms Berejiklian said she would announce on Wednesday or Thursday whether Greater Sydney's three-week stay-at-home lockdown would be extended beyond July 16, but it appears certain as the premier said community transmission rates would have to be at or near zero before it was lifted.

The outbreak meanwhile has spread into regional NSW after an essential construction site worker who travelled from Sydney's south to Goulburn - 200km south-west of the city - tested positive to the virus.

The infected case, who is understood to be a painter, was working at a construction site at Goulburn hospital when he returned a positive result.

On Tuesday, Ms Berejiklian also announced that residents who live in the Fairfield local government area in Sydney's south-west - a Covid-19 hotspot - must get tested for the virus every three days if they are leaving the area for work.

She said anyone moving from Greater Sydney into regional NSW for work should also get a weekly test, even if they don't have symptoms.

Under the new 'surveillance testing' requirements, those workers do not need to self-isolate while waiting for their test results.

Two runners exercise in Sydney's Centennial Park as the city endures its tough three-week Covid lockdown. In a glimmer of hope NSW could be turning the tide on its latest outbreak of the highly-contagious Delta variant, only 14 cases are unlinked to known clusters

A woman wearing a face mask in Bankstown on Monday morning, where police have ramped-up patrols to enforce Covid-19 compliance

'We need to have health workers deliver health services, we need to have aged care workers care for our elderly,' NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said.

'We have to balance having no work force to do that against what is pragmatic.'

Dr Chant said there were some young patients in the state's ICU wards in their 20s and 40s who had no underlying health conditions but could not disclose whether the two people who have died over the past two days had such health problems or whether they were vaccinated.

'The key message for the community is young people can get ill and you do not need underlying health conditions,' she said.

Dr Chant said there was no reason anyone over the age of 60 should not be calling their GP and then booking in for the AstraZeneca vaccine.

'We know the AstraZeneca vaccine is just as good as Pfizer [at protecting against the virus].'

The 89 new Covid cases came from 49,055 tests - an infection rate of 0.18 per cent.

New South Wales' Covid-19 outbreak has grown by another 89 local cases on Tuesday, health officials confirmed

Overnight, 21 new exposure venues were listed by NSW Health in the coronavirus-ravaged south-west, including two Woolworths, a Coles, a Big W and Kmart as well as 12 bus routes and 17 trains.

Deputy Premier John Barilaro admitted 'we've lost control of the virus' and said more stringent lockdowns would be likely.

'We may have to go further or tighten restrictions in some local government areas, we accept that but what does that mean?' he told Sky News.

A closer look at the demographics shows Fairfield - one of Sydney's hotspot local government areas - has a slightly lower median age of 36, compared with 38 in the rest of Australia

A TIMELINE OF NSW COVID-19 OUTBREAK INCURSIONS INTO VICTORIA SANDRINGHAM DRY CLEANERS: June 19 - A Victorian man attends a party at his daughter's home in West Hoxton, Sydney. The party is later declared a super-spreader event, with 24 of the 30 attendees and many of their household contacts testing positive for COVID-19. June 20 - Man returns to Melbourne by plane. June 21-23 - Works three shifts at Sandringham Dry Cleaners. June 24 - Man tests positive for COVID-19. The owner of the dry cleaning business also tests positive. VIRGIN FLIGHT: June 25 - A Sydney-based Virgin Australia cabin crew member works on multiple services while potentially infectious, stays overnight in Melbourne. June 26 - Crew member leaves Melbourne for Sydney, tests positive for COVID-19. HUME FAMILY INCURSION: July 4 - Three family members who live in the local government area of Hume return from Sydney by plane on red zone permits, which require them to isolate at home for 14 days. July 6 - All three family members return negative test results. July 8 - A fourth family member returns home by car. July 10-11 - Two members of the family develop COVID-19 symptoms, get tested. July 12 - The duo return positive results. July 13 - Third family member also tests positive. REMOVALISTS: July 8 - Three removalists travel from NSW to Victoria on workers' permits. They deliver furniture to a family home in Craigieburn and do a pick-up at a Maribyrnong apartment. Both families of four are isolating. The removalists say they slept in their truck overnight. July 9 - The removalists leave Victoria and enter SA, where one is contacted by NSW Health and is told they are a primary close contact of a confirmed case. They return to NSW. July 11 - One of the men tests positive for COVID-19, Victorian authorities alerted. July 12 - Second removalist tests positive. Residents of the Maribyrnong apartment block they visited required to self-isolate for 14 days. Advertisement

'It means making sure there's less movement of people going into homes, going into construction sites, going into retail.

'I don't believe we will get to the state of curfews and radiuses around where you can go and how much time you can spend in the open air.'

Premier Gladys Berejiklian revealed the 'vast majority' of the 112 new community transmission in figures announced on Monday had occurred in the Fairfield local government area, 30km from the city's centre.

A closer look at the demographics shows Fairfield has a slightly lower median age of 36, compared with 38 in the rest of Australia.

Those in Fairfield are also more likely to live with more people, have more children and are less likely to have office jobs.

A pedestrian with a dog in Sydney on Monday. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she would announce on Wednesday or Thursday whether Greater Sydney's three-week stay-at-home lockdown would be extended beyond July 16

Among the bumper list of 21 new venues, mostly centered in the coronavirus-ravaged south-western suburbs, are two Woolworths, a Coles, a Big W and Kmart (pictured, the affected store in Bansktown)

Ethnically-diverse suburbs in Sydney's south-west with younger residents have become Australia's Covid epicentre (pictured, Fairfield), 30km from the city centre

Police officers patrol the streets of the Fairfield local government area in Sydney's south-west

The average house size of 3.3 people is much bigger than the national average of 2.6 but many more homes in this part of Sydney typically have five people living under one roof.

Demographer Mark McCrindle said the area also had relatively less office workers and therefore less option of working from home.

'Your mobility out and about in the community is what you get a lot more of,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant's call for people to only shop for groceries once a week was more difficult for people who had less money in the bank and more mouths to feed.

'Lower earnings and lower wealth, people don't have the ongoing money to stockpile the food or to get by for a few weeks of a lockdown,' Mr McCrindle said.

Nine suburbs - Fairfield (pictured), Smithfield, Bossley Park, Fairfield West, Wakeley, Bonnyrigg, Glenfield and West Hoxton - are at the heart of the outbreak

TOP FIVE JOBS IN FAIRFIELD - SYDNEY'S COVID EPICENTRE Technicians, trades: 15 per cent Labourers: 14.8 per cent Clerical, administrative: 14 per cent Professionals: 13.8 per cent Machinery operators and drivers: 12.2 per cent Source: Census data, Australian Bureau of Statistics Advertisement

'It's very much the culturally-diverse supermarket and so people are just going in every day or so and buying what they need - it's a different approach to grocery shopping that we find with a lot of these migrant communities.

'These areas are not the leafy suburbs that might be well-heeled to do the once-a-week trolley shop.'

In Fairfield, less than 25 per cent of people speak English-only at home, which means three-quarters of residents have English at least as a second language.

Vietnamese is the most spoken language with 20.4 per cent, followed by Arabic on 7.9 per cent.

'Residents in these areas are connecting through their community media, through their language media,' Mr McCrindle said.

This has made community leaders more important to communicate health messaging to a multicultural population.

'That's where a lot of people look to for their advice.'

Mr McCrindle said that meant fewer residents would have heard official Covid messages from the government through English-language news media.

Tradies, labourers and taxi drivers are also among the top five list for work, which makes working from home much less likely (pictured, a Covid testing site at Fairfield Showgrounds)

SYDNEY'S COVID-19 HOTSPOT SUBURBS Fairfield Smithfield Bossley Park Fairfield Heights Fairfield West Wakeley Bonnyrigg Glenfield West Hoxton Advertisement

Ms Berejiklian said health officials were also still seeing high levels of transmission in the nearby Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool council areas.

'The risk is everywhere in those areas,' she said.

'We have to be upfront with where the virus is circulating at the moment.'

There are parallels with Melbourne where the virus last year circulated among multicultural communities in the city's north-west with a higher proportion of people in service jobs who couldn't work from home.

The Victorian capital was locked down for 112 days from early August until late October.

Unfortunately for the Covid-weary city, Sydney's outbreak has already moved across state lines after an infected family and a group of removalists got exemptions to travel interstate.

The Ariele Apartments in Maribyrnong, 8km north-west of the city centre, has been put into lockdown after the infected removalists visited on July 8.

The complex has since been listed as a Tier 1 exposure site, which means anyone at the apartments from 1pm to 11.59pm on that day must get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the results.

Anyone who's even been to the block at any time between July 9 and 12 must also get tested and isolate until they test negative.

A Mobil service station, a McDonald's, a shopping centre, a Metro petrol station and a Coles are also on alert after the virus-infected family travelled from Sydney.

MELBOURNE'S NEW COVID EXPOSURE SITES Tier 1: Get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from exposure Ballan: Mobil Ballan (westbound) - 08/07/21, 5pm - 7pm Ballan: McDonald's Ballan (westbound) - 08/07/21, 5pm - 7pm Craigieburn: Coles in Craigieburn Central Shopping Centre - 10/07/21, 5.28pm - 6.38pm Maribyrnong: Ariele Apartments (anyone present) - 08/07/21, 1pm - 11.59pm Tier 2: Get tested urgently and isolate until you have a negative result Maribyrnong: Ariele Apartments - July 9, 10, 11 and 12, 12am - 11.59pm Broadmeadows: Metro Petroleum - 11/07/21, 1.19pm - 2.04pm Qantas flight QF1542: Launceston to Melbourne - 02/07/21, 10.15am - 11.20am Tier 3: Monitor for symptoms Craigieburn: Craigieburn Central Shopping Centre - 10/07/21, 5.28pm - 6.38pm Advertisement

NEW: USE DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA'S TRACKER TO FIND THE LATEST EXPOSURE SITES NEAR YOU

University of New South Wales Adjunct Professor Bill Bowtell, who spearheaded Australia's 1980s fight against HIV and AIDS, said Sydney would have to adopt a stricter, Stage Four lockdown like Melbourne did under Victoria's Labor government.

'It's disappointing we're not moving to Stage Four lockdowns - that means closing non-essential big retailers and construction sites,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'The longer we don't move to Stage Four lockdowns, the longer it will take to come out of it.'
Daniel Andrews has revealed he's planning for lockdowns to end from next year once the majority of the Australian population is fully vaccinated.

The Victorian Premier said while restrictions such as mask wearing would likely continue, he's hoping that from 2022 enough vaccines have been given to end harsh lockdowns around Australia.

'Our plan  not just in Victoria but across the country  is everybody who wants to get two shots gets them by the end of the year and we start 2022 with a very different set of rules,' he told 3AW on Tuesday morning.

Daniel Andrews says he's planning for lockdowns to end from next year once the majority of the Australian population is fully vaccinated

'This ends by everybody getting two jabs and then we're able to say we've all done our very best to protect everyone who needs to be protected.

'There'll then still be from time to time masks and things of that nature but not lockdowns.'

Mr Andrews said that 75 per cent of the population being vaccinated would put the country in a much stronger position to tackle the virus.

'If 75 per cent of Australians get two jabs  25 per cent haven't  that's still the equivalent of the state of Victoria not vaccinated. If it (the virus) runs through there and a percentage of people get really unwell, then that's your hospitals full,' he said.

His plan comes after it was revealed Victoria recorded two new locally-acquired coronavirus cases on Tuesday - just days after removalists infected with the highly contagious Delta strain entered the state from Covid-ravaged NSW.

The two new cases were previously announced on Monday afternoon as another local case acquired interstate took Victoria's tally of active Covid-19 cases to 20.

All three cases are members of the same Melbourne household who have been in isolation, having recently returned from NSW on red zone permits.

Meanwhile, an apartment complex in Melbourne is now in lockdown for 14 days after being visited by the infected removalists who travelled from Sydney.

Residents in the Ariele Apartments in Maribyrnong (pictured on Tuesday) cannot leave the building for two weeks after it was visited by infected removalists last week

Residents of the Ariele Apartments in Maribyrnong in Melbourne's north-west have been ordered not to leave the building after the infected group visited on July 8.

The complex is listed as a Tier 1 exposure site, which means anyone at the apartments from 1pm to 11.59pm on that day must get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result.

Residents cannot leave the buildings unless they getting Covid-19 test or in an emergency.

Anyone who visited been to the complex any time between July 9 and 12 must also get tested and isolate until they test negative.

Sydney residents are seen walking through a deserted street in the city's CBD amid lockdown

Three removalists, two of whom have tested positive, travelled from Sydney through Victoria to Adelaide last week.

The workers made a drop-off at a family home in Craigieburn and a pick-up at the Maribyrnong apartment last Thursday.

Both families of four are isolating and have been tested.

Victoria closed its borders to all of NSW and the ACT at midnight on Sunday, declaring them red zones under the travel permit system.

Previously both regional NSW and the ACT were listed as orange zones, allowing people from those areas to enter Victoria if they got tested and isolated until they returned a negative result.

After Sunday night's deadline, Victorian residents will still be able to return from red zones but must isolate at home for 14 days.

The 'bubble' arrangement along the Victorian-NSW border remains intact for local residents, though they must continue to travel with proof of address and not enter any red zones.
A mother-of-three has no regrets about lashing out at takeaway chicken shop staff who refused her service because she wasn't wearing a mask.

The mum, who only gave her first name Lulu, was told 'no mask, no service' when she tried to buy lunch from Frango charcoal chicken shop in Smithfield on Sunday.

The suburb is at the centre of south-west Sydney's Covid outbreak and has repeatedly been singled out as a hotspot by authorities over the past week.

A bystander filmed the mother launching into a tirade at staff and the video of her yelling 'you know what, you're being f***ing b****es' has since gone viral on TikTok.

Lulu admitted to Daily Mail Australia that she had 'cracked' it at the workers. But she said the video of the encounter had blown the incident out of proportion.

The mum insisted she had been 'quite polite and very helpful' in trying to show staff that she had a medical exemption from mask wearing, due to her asthma.

Mother of three Lulu was told 'no mask, no service' when she sought to be buy lunch from Frangos chicken shop in Smithfield on Sunday

Footage has captured the moment the mother-of-three lashed out at takeaway staff after they refused to serve her indoors because she was not wearing a face mask

The dramatic scene unfolded at Frango charcoal chicken shop (pictured) in Smithfield on Sunday

'There's no reason to refuse me service,' she said. 'I didn't think it was much of an issue because I had the exemption.

'Obviously I'm only human, to get treated like that, I'm going to lash out.

'I don't regret it. It's a build-up effect of what happened. A human can only take so much of being criticised.

Lulu said she wasn't anti-mask wearing and had tried face-coverings last year. However, 'I nearly passed out, I had a panic attack' due to her respiratory condition. She said she had sought an exemption from her GP.

'I understand there's a virus going on and people are scared but it doesn't give them the right to treat people like nothing and refuse them service for food,' she said.

'Businesses are struggling at the moment they should be grateful they're getting business, instead of turning it down.'

A nearby customer used their phone to record the mother launching into a vile tirade in front of her two children

Pictured: A sign at Frango charcoal chicken shop in Smithfield asking patrons to wear a mask

Viewers were divided over who was in the wrong in the clip. 'Why do people always think they are so special? They don't need to follow the rules?' one asked.

Said another: 'Whether or not she has an exemption she doesn't have an exemption to treat workers like this. How are they meant to know she can't wear one?'

A third spoke up on Lulu's behalf. 'If you have a medical exemption they have no reason to deny your service, embarrassing on their behalf.'

Greater Sydney is two-and-a-half weeks into an indefinite lockdown, with 89 Delta variant cases reported in New South Wales overnight and 112 on Monday.

The majority of those cases were in south-west Sydney.

Mask wearing is mandatory in indoor venues throughout the greater Sydney region.

A Frango staff member said managers had instructed them not to let mask-less customers into the store as a prudent safety measure. Pictured: A man behind the counter at the chicken shop

'We're trying not to let anyone come into the store without a face mask,' a staff member said. Shop pictured

However, people with a physical or mental health condition or disability aren't required to wear a mask.

A Frango staff member said managers had instructed them not to let mask-less customers into the store as a prudent safety measure.

'We're trying not to let anyone come into the store without a face mask.

'We have free disposable face masks for anyone who forgets their own.'

The staff member urged customers to be patient during what is a difficult time and recognise that staff were putting themselves at risk by working in a suburb with high rates of infections.

'We are people,' they said. 'We are in an area where Covid-19 cases are through the roof and we are still trying to work.'
A third man has been charged over the murder of a father who disappeared six weeks ago.

The alleged murderer, 49, was arrested on Monday afternoon when police raided his Melbourne home.

Forklift driver Brendon Farrell has not been seen since May 31 when he suspiciously disappeared from his home on Kidds Road in Doveton.

Brendon Farrell (pictured) disappeared in suspicious circumstances over a month ago with police arresting a Melbourne man on Monday who they have charged with his murder

The man will face the charges in Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

Another two men were arrested on Friday and charged with murder.

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Robert Hill admitted the case had been difficult and commended the work of detectives.

'It's been complex investigation conducted by detectives from the Missing Persons Squad and the outcome thus far is testament to their commitment,' he said.

'Our thoughts are with Brendon's family and loved ones following what has no doubt been a very difficult and traumatic few weeks.

Mr Farrell went missing over a month ago from his home in Kidds Road in the Melbourne suburb of Doveton

'The investigation remains ongoing and again we encourage anyone with information who hasn't already spoken to police to come forward.'

Mr Farrell's disappearance was reported by family members as being out of character.

Human remains found in bushland Noble Park are to be confirmed by the coroner as being that of Mr Farrell.
MSNBC host Joy Reid has compared Republicans in Texas to the Taliban for approving a new anti-abortion law that offers a $10,000 bounty to private citizens who can sue anyone violating the ban.

The left-leaning cable news anchor on Monday reacted on Twitter to a tweet by Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin, who slammed the new abortion law passed in Texas.

'So now Texas Republicans are putting bounties on pregnant women,' Reid tweeted on Monday.

'I almost hate to ask what this benighted party will think of next.'

In the same tweet thread, Reid wrote: 'This is Talibanism. Are Texas conservatives going to be spying on women of childbearing age and turning them in for the bounties?'

MSNBC host Joy Reid (left) sparked outrage online on Monday after she compared Republicans in Texas to the Taliban. Reid was commenting on a new abortion law signed in May by Governor Greg Abbott (right)

The left-leaning cable news anchor on Monday reacted on Twitter to a tweet by Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin, who slammed the new abortion law passed in Texas

'So now Texas Republicans are putting bounties on pregnant women,' Reid tweeted on Monday. 'I almost hate to ask what this benighted party will think of next.'

In the same tweet thread, Reid wrote: 'This is Talibanism. Are Texas conservatives going to be spying on women of childbearing age and turning them in for the bounties?'

Reid then wrote in another tweet: 'I mean, what's next, Texas? What's next, GOP...?'

She then included a gif showing images from the Hulu television series The Handmaid's Tale.

The series, which stars Elisabeth Moss, is based on the novel by Margaret Atwood. It tells the story of a totalitarian society in which women are treated as property of the state.

The tweet by Reid prompted agreement from her supporters, while her critics slammed her.

Did hackers write this? Because this is stupid even by Joy Reid standards, wrote one Twitter user.

The reference to hackers stems from a controversy that started in 2018, when 10-year-old tweets and blog posts by Reid surfaced in which she refers to homosexuals as rentboys and grimey closet-cases.

Reid went on the air and denied having written the posts, insisting that hackers were responsible. This has never been proven.

Did the FBI ever figure out who hacked your computer? tweeted another commenter on Monday.

Another Twitter commenter wrote: You have quite the imagination.

One of Reids detractors on Twitter compared the Texas law to the Biden administrations plan to go door to door to encourage Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19

Did the FBI ever figure out who hacked your computer? tweeted another commenter on Monday

Did hackers write this? Because this is stupid even by Joy Reid standards, wrote one Twitter user

Another Twitter commenter wrote: You really have issues with reality. Please seek help for your own safety

One Twitter user called Reid a hack for not calling out BLM demanding people dining quietly to raise their fists and antifa and the like burning federal buildings and toppling statues

Another Twitter user pointed out a tweet by the FBI encouraging the public to be on the lookout for homegrown violent extremism by observing family members and peers

One of Reids detractors on Twitter compared the Texas law to the Biden administrations plan to go door to door to encourage Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Another Twitter commenter wrote: You really have issues with reality. Please seek help for your own safety.

One Twitter user called Reid a hack for not calling out BLM demanding people dining quietly to raise their fists and antifa and the like burning federal buildings and toppling statues.

Another Twitter user pointed out a tweet by the FBI encouraging the public to be on the lookout for homegrown violent extremism by observing family members and peers.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, signed the law in May. It bans abortions in Texas before many women even know they are pregnant.

But the law differs singularly from similar efforts nationwide: leaving enforcement to private citizens, who can sue doctors or anyone who helps a woman get an abortion.

The law puts Texas in line with more than a dozen other states that ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, possibly as early as six weeks.

It would take effect in September, but federal courts have mostly blocked states from enforcing similar measures.

But with the Supreme Court this week agreeing to take up a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, abortion rights activists worry that a ruling favorable to the state could lay the groundwork for allowing even more restrictions, including so-called heartbeat bills.

'The life of every unborn child with a heartbeat will be saved from the ravages of abortion,' Abbott said in a bill signing at his office.

A controversial anti-abortion law in Texas allows private citizens to file lawsuits of up to $10,000 in damages against abortion providers who perform abortions on women who are pregnant for more than six weeks. The image above is a file photo of a women's health clinic in Fort Worth, Texas

Texas' version is unique in that it prohibits state officials from enforcing the ban.

Instead, it allows anyone - even someone outside Texas - to sue an abortion provider or anyone else who may have helped someone get an abortion after the limit, and seek financial damages of up to $10,000 per defendant.

Critics say that provision would allow abortion opponents to flood the courts with lawsuits to harass doctors, patients, nurses, domestic violence counselors, a friend who drove a woman to a clinic, or even a parent who paid for a procedure.

Before the bill reached Abbotts desk, abortion rights groups signaled they would challenge the law.

'The goal is clear: to relentlessly attack our reproductive rights until abortion is a right in name only. Passing these bills is not leadership, it is cruelty and extremism,' said Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

Texas law currently bans abortion after 20 weeks, with exceptions for a woman with a life-threatening medical condition or if the fetus has a severe abnormality.

More than 90 percent of abortions take place in the first 13 weeks of a woman's pregnancy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Supreme Court will probably hear the Mississippi case in the fall, with a decision likely in spring 2022.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian has ordered anyone living in Fairfield in Sydney's south-west must be tested every three days if leaving their home for work.

Ms Berejiklian announced in a press conference Tuesday morning workers who live in the Fairfield local government area in Sydney's south-west - a Covid-19 hotspot - must get tested for the virus every three days if they are leaving their home for work.

She said anyone moving from Greater Sydney into regional NSW for work should also get a weekly test, even if they don't have symptoms.

'The Health Minister and I did sign a new health order which will ask anybody who leaves the Fairfield local government area for work is tested every three days to demonstrate they are negative,' the NSW Premier said.

'If you happen to have people on your worksite or people overseeing work or any type of activity in your private residence or commercial premises, please ask where they live and if they live or come from that area, hotspot area, please ask when the last time was that they got tested.'

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian has ordered anyone living in Fairfield in Sydney's south-west must be tested every three days if leaving their home for work

Ms Berejiklian announced in a press conference Tuesday morning workers who live in the Fairfield local government area in Sydney's south-west - a Covid-19 hotspot - must get tested for the virus every three days if they are leaving their home for work

Police officers patrol the streets of the Fairfield local government area in Sydney's south-west

Ms Berejiklian also said there will be new mandates for people moving around Greater Sydney to work, with people being told they must be tested weekly if crossing over LGAs.

'It will also apply to people working in the regions. We will ask people working or moving between greater metropolitan Sydney and into the regions to get a weekly covert tests even if they don't have symptoms, just to make sure that they reduce the incidence of essential workers passing on the virus,' she said.

'We do appreciate that for many citizens, conducting essential work is what all of us rely on, but we just cannot afford to have the virus spread through that essential work and we need to make sure that people keep everybody else free.'

Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the move was a 'last measure' to attempt to stop the Delta variant spreading further.

'The requirements of the new public health orders are aimed to make people living in areas outside sure there is testing for people living in areas of Fairfield,' he said.

Mr Hazzard explained people in the entire Greater Sydney area will have to get a test weekly if moving into other LGAs and will have to have evidence of their tests to show police.

New South Wales' Covid-19 outbreak has grown by another 89 local cases on Tuesday, health officials confirmed

A woman wearing a face mask in Bankstown on Monday morning, where police have ramped-up patrols to enforce Covid-19 compliance

New South Wales' Covid-19 outbreak has grown by another 89 local cases as authorities confirmed a man in his 70s has died from the virus.

But in a glimmer of hope the state could be turning the tide on its latest outbreak of the highly-contagious Delta variant, only 14 cases are unlinked to known clusters - down from 48 mystery infections from Monday.

Of the new local cases, 30 were out in the community for either part of or their entire infectious period.

NSW Health said the man who died was from Sydney's eastern suburbs. There are are still 21 patients in the state's intensive care units suffering from Covid-19; four are on ventilators.

'More than three quarters of all of those cases of community transmission were close family contacts,' Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

'It reinforces the message that every time you risk going outside and doing the wrong thing, you risk bringing the virus home to those you love the most.'
Airlines have been forced to convert passenger planes into cargo only shipments into Australia after the government slashed the number of returned travellers allowed back into the country.

Two major airlines are preparing to accommodate freight only, with other companies set to follow.

From tomorrow Australia will drastically cut the number of travellers allowed to fly in per week, from 6,000 passengers down to a mere 3,000.

Airlines are converting passenger planes into cargo only flights into the country after Australia slashed its return passenger cap to 3,000

That's the lowest return travellers cap the country has seen since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thirty four thousand Australians have registered interest with authorities as wanting to return home from overseas, with only one per cent in hotel quarantine at a cost of $3,000 for 14 days.

American Airlines has confirmed with nine.com.au that eight previous flights and the next 12 have been converted into freight only shipments.

34,000 stranded Australians have registered their interest with authorities to fly home, additional repatriation flights have introduced but will not make up for the loss of commercial flight numbers

'On the following days in July and August, the Australian government has advised that we're not able to transport customers on the route due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic: July 12, 16, 17, 19, 22, 26, 28 and 31, August 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 19, 22, 24, 26 and 27,' said the airline.

'We're reaching out to customers scheduled to travel on the affected flights to offer alternate arrangements.'

Because of the new limits, Singapore Airlines also said it was going to convert some passenger flights to cargo only.

'Singapore Airlines continues to work closely with the Australian authorities to determine what impact the reduction in caps has on our operations to Australia,' the company told the news outlet.

It is understood that while Singapore airlines cancels flights for passengers booking the most recent tickets, the company considers people who are defined as vulnerable by the Australian government and who have had their tickets cancelled before priorities when deciding who can fly.

Emirates is also working on adapting to the changes telling Nine it 'will follow the Australian government's directive to restrict capacity on all inbound international flights'.

American airlines has confirmed with Nine News that it had converted eight passenger flights in the last month to cargo only and will convert a further 12

Flights into the country were already operating at a limited capacity with many desperate return travellers bumped off planes and ticket prices surging along with the demand.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the new restrictions will be reviewed at the end of August but could last all year.

Additional government repatriation flights, which are not free, won't compensate for the cut in commercial numbers.

Mr Morrison said the cut was in response to the more infectious Indian Delta variant.

'It's simple. The Indian Delta strain is more contagious, and so we're just seeking to take precautionary steps to overall reduce the risk,' he said.

'I mean infection rates in quarantine are one per cent.'

'We've had around 26 breaches some of which don't include hotel quarantine, a bit more than that, of which about half a dozen have resulted in community outbreaks.'

Currently under the travel ban only Australian citizens, permanent residents, and their dependants and spouses are allowed to fly into the country.
A handful of radical vegan activists have caused outrage after parading a dead lamb in a Coles supermarket.

Controversial animal rights activist Tash Peterson participated in the public stunt at Kew, in Melbourne's east, where other activists lectured shoppers about their meat purchases as well as blaring the sounds of dying animals through a loudspeaker.

Crudely placing the lamb in a shopping trolley, Ms Peterson, 27, said 'every single year 15 million lambs freeze to death in Australia.

'If you're not vegan, you are responsible for her death.'

Controversial vegan rights identity Tash Peterson participated in the public stunt at Kew, in Melbourne's east, where other activists lectured shoppers about their meat purchases

The vegan activists displayed a dead lamb in their in store stunt at a Coles supermarket in Melbourne's east

It later emerged some passionate activists discovered the baby lamb on a property outside of Melbourne which had frozen to death.

The primary aim of the graphic stunt was to educate shoppers about their food choices.

In the clip, stunned staff from Coles didn't formally approach the activists, but Victoria police were quickly on the scene.

Fellow vegan activist Bronte Elizabeth post the clip on her Instagram page, attracting a number of negative comments online.

'You are exactly what's wrong with people who promote they are vegan,' one wrote.

'Instead of attacking everyday people, why not them live their lives? No need to preach at them,' another said.

A third spoke for many when she said 'Poor innocent kids would have been so terrified seeing this.. do better.'

Before the stunt in Coles, Ms Peterson and her cohorts stormed into a KFC fast food restaurant, pouring fake blood all over the store before yelling at customers over what she labelled an animal 'holocaust'.

Fellow vegan activist also took part in the graphic demonstration where a dead lamb was on show in a Melbourne supermarket

Activists were seen lecturing shoppers about their meat purchases as well as blaring the sounds of dying animals through a loudspeaker in a recent stunt

'The largest and longest holocaust in history is happening right now in the meat, dairy and egg industries,' Ms Peterson yelled at customers through a megaphone from the outlet in Kew.

'70 billion land animals are brutally murdered each year...If you're not vegan, you are contributing to this holocaust and you are an animal abuser. KFC is responsible for this holocaust.'

Last month, Ms Peterson was banned from every pub in Western Australia after ambushing diners at a seafood restaurant and publicly chastising them about the 'fish holocaust'.

Known as Vegan Booty online - Ms Peterson has a long history of carrying out wild animal rights protests in public venues designed to shock meat-eaters.
A cat owner allegedly locked her pet in her home without food or water and left it to starve for weeks.

The RSPCA was contacted after police spotted the feline with protruding ribs, spine and sunken eyes through a window of a property in Langford, Perth.

A neighbour interviewed by an animal welfare worker confirmed the cat's owner had not been home for up to two weeks.

The Perth woman, 41, is accused of locking her cat in her house for weeks without food or water

A locksmith was organised in order to access the home.

The male ginger cat was found to be dehydrated, starving and locked in a bedroom.

'Once inside, the inspector found the cat had been locked in a bedroom where there was no food or water, apart from some dry instant noodles,' the RSPCA said.

An inspector took the feline to Baldivis Vet Hospital where it was later transferred to the RSPCA's Animal Care Centre in Malaga.

The RSPCA confirmed the cat has since recovered.

The owner has been charged with animal cruelty for failure to provide food and water to her pet.

Fremantle Magistrate's Court will hear the case on July 30.
Fox News stars Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham hit back at Senator Dick Durbin on Monday after the Democrat from Illinois blasted the highly rated cable news hosts as anti-vaxx quacks.

Carlson responded to Durbin by accusing the senator of seeking to 'divide the country further along partisan lines' and 'tar anyone who wants more information about a specific drug as a lunatic who's against all vaccines.'

Ingraham also responded to Durbin, calling him a fossil and a windbag.

We were right about the insanity of requiring COVID vaccinations of healthy young Americans, especially school-aged children, Ingraham said on her show on Monday.

Carlson said that he was in favor of vaccines, though he added that the public was not getting 'basic questions answered' about the jab.

Fox News stars Tucker Carlson (left) and Laura Ingraham (right) hit back at Senator Dick Durbin on Monday after the Democrat from Illinois blasted the highly rated cable news hosts as anti-vaxx quacks.

Carlson responded to Durbin by accusing the senator of seeking to 'divide the country further along partisan lines' and 'tar anyone who wants more information about a specific drug as a lunatic who's against all vaccines.'

'Many of the people like Dick Durbin, who are attacking anyone who has questions as partisan or racist, are the very same people who told us for decades they were very upset about the Tuskegee syphilis experiments, and they had right to be upset about those experiments,' Carlson said.

The Tuskegee syphilis experiments was a 40-year study in which the federal government allowed hundreds of black men who had contracted the sexually transmitted disease to go untreated in order to research the progression of the disease.

The men filed a lawsuit that resulted in a $9million settlement, and then-President Bill Clinton formally apologized years later.

Still, the chilling effects of the study linger to this day  its routinely cited as a reason some African-Americans are reluctant to participate in medical research, or even go to the doctor for routine check-ups.

Carlson accused public health experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci of doing 'damage' to the country. He also called on Republican politicians to 'stand up for Americans.'

The host also lashed out at Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, who said on Sunday that he and his administration are 'working hard' to overcome vaccine hesitancy.

Arkansas has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country. Just 35 percent of the population is fully vaccinated.

Carlson took aim at another Republican, House Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an anti-Trump lawmaker from Illinois. On Sunday, Kinzinger appeared on CNN and slammed those in the Republican Party for spreading anti-vaccine 'garbage.'

There is a greater sense of urgency to boost vaccination rates in Arkansas as COVID cases continue to rise in recent days, fueled by the delta variant.

'We're working very hard to go to that population through the employer, through trusted advisers, such as the clinics, making sure they have the information and overcoming the (vaccine) hesitancy or just the simply "we're-putting-it-off" approach,' Hutchinson told ABC News.

'We just have to answer it just like we have all through history, that you overcome skepticism and mistrust by truth,' the governor said.

'You overcome resistance and obstinance with saying it's important for our community, and it's important for the health of our state and nation.'

Carlson blasted Hutchinson as a 'mediocrity' for encouraging people in his state to get vaccinated.

The host took aim at another Republican, House Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an anti-Trump lawmaker from Illinois.

On Sunday, Kinzinger appeared on CNN and slammed those in the Republican Party for spreading anti-vaccine 'garbage.'

'This is outrage politics that is being played by my party and its going to get Americans killed,' Kinzinger said.

'Our party has been hijacked. My party has been hijacked.

'It is on its way to the ground, and for some people its a fun ride, right? We can put out this outrageous stuff on Twitter.'

Carlson lambasted Kingzinger, saying the congressman 'has a low IQ and can't be held fully responsible for most of the things that he says.'

Carlson said viewers want to know 'what is the harm rate from the vaccine.'

Speaking from the Senate floor on Monday, Durbin took the two Fox News stars to task for using their prime time shows to cast doubt on the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines.

'There are two hosts of programs on Fox prime time that can only be characterized as anti-vax quacks,' Durbin said on Monday.

'I'm referring of course to Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham.'

The senator added: 'They have been spreading what I consider to be irresponsible information about vaccines across America and about the effort of this nation to deal with them.'

'Here's the reality,' Durbin continued.

'We have millions who've died across the world by this [virus]. We may never have an accurate count.

'We have hundreds of thousands who have died in the United States, and now it is said repeatedly that those who had headed to the hospital with the most serious strains of COVID-19, 99.5 percent of them were not vaccinated.'

Durbin said he hoped that Fox would come to its senses.

'If there are things that can remove you from the air for being said on a program, I certainly hope that the management of the station will caution Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham with the statements they have made in opposition to vaccines,' he said.

Durbin referenced a New York Times story published on Sunday which noted that Fox News Chairman Rupert Murdoch received the COVID-19 vaccine.

The article listed several examples of Carlson and Ingraham expressing skepticism about the vaccine by accusing the media of downplaying side effects.

Carlson has hit out at the Biden administration after President Joe Biden said a door to door effort would be made to persuade those hesitant about vaccines to get the shot.

Ingraham said encouraging Americans to get the vaccine is 'anti-democratic, anti-freedom.'

She called the vaccine 'an experimental drug on Americans against their will  threatening them, threatening to deprive them of basic liberties, if they dont comply.'
A cafe worker has been stabbed inside his own house before collapsing in a pool of blood in an alleyway along a busy Sydney road.

Police were called to a unit on Bondi Road, in the city's eastern suburbs at about 10.20am on Tuesday after reports a man had been attacked.

The 52-year-old victim suffered multiple stab wounds to his torso and was rushed to hospital with a punctured lung in a serious but stable condition.

NSW Police say the man had been involved in an altercation with another person before he was attacked.

Police are seen outside The Three Steps Cafe after reports a man was stabbed in his home behind the eatery

The man works at the cafe in Bondi and was on his day off when he was stabbed

Police officers and detectives are seen outside the cafe on Tuesday following the incident

A neighbour told Daily Mail Australia the man worked at The Three Steps Cafe and lived in a house behind the eatery.

It was his day off when he was stabbed.

It's understood another neighbour saw the man collapse into an alleyway and phoned police.

It's unclear what motivated the attack, with the neighbour saying he had no idea why someone might try to harm him.

'We are very worried, he's our friend,' the resident said.

It's understood a neighbour phoned police after the man stumbled into an alleyway

Officers are seen on Bondi Road in Sydney's eastern suburbs on Tuesday as they investigate a reported stabbing

It's unclear what motivated the attack with the neighbour saying he had no idea why someone might try to harm him

Another Bondi local who works at a store nearby the cafe said he'd noticed police being called to the house during recent years.

A string of police officers and cars were seen outside the cafe on Tuesday.

Police are still investigating and anyone with information or who was on Bondi Road on Tuesday morning between 5am and 6am is urged to contact Eastern Suburbs Police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Police are seen at The Three Steps Cafe in Bondi on Tuesday following the attack

The 52-year-old victim was rushed to hospital in a stable but serious condition
Time is running out to reunite a baby orca calf with his lost pod after he was found beached and abandoned in New Zealand.

Hundreds of Kiwis have joined the massive search mission to track down the juvenile whale's mother and lost pod before it's too late.

The orca named Toa by locals is too young to survive alone in the wild and will die unless it's reunited with its pod.

The orca calf was found beached in a rockpool by two teens in Plimmerton in Wellington's north on Sunday, sparking a widespread rescue and search effort.

Volunteers are working around the clock to help care for a baby orca (pictured) which has lost his pod in Wellington

The Department of Conservation updated the public on the orca's condition on Tuesday afternoon as its efforts to save the orca calf ramp up.

'The animal has been provided electrolytes through a tube by veterinarians. This method does cause the animal some distress but is the best option to ensure the animal remains in reasonable condition at this time,' the department posted on Facebook.

'We're also working with veterinarians to gain valuable expert advice from scientists overseas.

'Ensuring the animal remains in reasonable condition and reuniting it with its pod remains our objective.

'We have a DOC vessel out at sea searching for the pod and a local pilot has also volunteered to support the search. So far he has made one flight today and will make a second flight this afternoon.'

Time is running out to reunite the orca calf with its lost pod. Pictured is the orca in Wellington on Tuesday

The Wellington community has rallied together and given up their time to support and help care for Toa with the help of the local council and Wellington Zoo.

Volunteers have been jumping in and out of the water on an hourly basis to check on the calf.

'We have hope,' Orca Research Trust founder Ingrid Visser told AAP.

'We put a man on the moon. Surely we can get a whale back to its family.'

Local Kate Godfree spent time in the water with Toa earlier on Tuesday and comforted him by tapping and stroking his dorsal fin to simulate interactions with his lost mother.

'I have an orca tattoo. I grew up watching Free Willy. It's a sh***y situation but this is amazing,' she said.

Dr Visser has been blown away by the public support.

'It's been a phenomenal effort. We've had donations of food and blankets. Heaters. So many volunteers,' she said.

'We are making him as comfortable as possible.'

Wellington locals have rallied together to keep a vigilant wye on baby orca Toa (pictured)

Wellington residents have responded en masse to Toa's plight, searching coastlines by foot, boat and plane in the hope of spotting the pointed dorsal fin of a relative.

'Orcas travel between 100 and 150 kilometres a day but they don't go in a straight line. They could turn around and come back here tomorrow. We just don't know,' Dr Visser said.

Reports have emerged of a possible sighting of a pod in the Marlborough Sounds at the north of South Island.

The roaming nature of the animal means if a pod is found, it's likely to be Toa's, however any pod may do.

Orca pods have been known to adopt lost children, so long as the mother is lactating and can support the youngster.

Dr Visser said they would most likely put a boat with the pod and then take Toa to it by road or boat.

'It's difficult to transport by helicopter. You don't want a 200-pound animal thrashing around inside a chopper,' she said.

New Zealand is home to up to 200 orcas, according to the Department of Conservation.

Orcas, also known as killer whales can be identified by their distinctive black and white markings and very tall, prominent dorsal fin.

Orca pods are known to venture into Wellington Harbour throughout the warmer months but rarely stick around.
Queensland's deputy police commissioner says there will be consequences for any officers who have done the wrong thing in a private Facebook group being investigated for sexist, racist and homophobic posts.

Only serving and former Queensland police officers are allowed to join the the Defend the Blue Facebook page, which has 3500 members, The Australian reports.

The page was created by a senior serving officer one year ago and has a number of posts criticising the Black Lives Matter movement and supporting Northern Territory Police Constable Zach Rolfe, who's on trial for the alleged murder of Indigenous man Kumanjayi Walker.

Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll (pictured) has ordered an investigation into a Facebook page for Queensland past and present officers called 'Defend the blue'

Some of the controversial posts also criticise Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and other state government MPs.

Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll has ordered an investigation into the page and urged "passive members" who have not posted to leave.

"The content brought to my attention is incredibly concerning, disappointing and definitely does not reflect the values of our organisation or the majority of our people,'' she wrote in an email reported by The Australian.

"Due to the nature and content of the posts, I must investigate and take any action appropriate to cease the continued publication of this highly inappropriate and offensive material."

Commissioner Carroll has urged those passive members who are yet to post to leave the group and said that action will be taken to cease the publication of this offensive material

Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said the force was disappointed "as an organisation" about the existence of the Facebook page.

He said any officers found to have done anything wrong would face the same consequences as any member of the public would.

"That matter is under investigation," Mr Gollschewski told reporters.

"But I'm happy to say here that we expect our police officers to be completely professional and appropriate at all times and anyone that has done the wrong thing can expect exactly what I say about the community: do the right thing, otherwise it's consequences."

Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said that officers who are found to have done something wrong will face consequences the same as any member of the public would

It's unclear whether the investigation's findings or any disciplinary action taken against the group's members will be made public as Queensland Police media has not responded to AAP's queries about the probe.

Mr Gollschewski wouldn't comment on whether the page reflected a deeper cultural issue for the Queensland Police Service's 12,000 officers.

"What it says is that like any organisation we have challenges with some of our employees from time to time, and we need to address them," he said.
A tense war of words has erupted between radio host Ray Hadley and his ex-colleague Alan Jones over the broadcaster's anti-lockdown stance and his claims Covid-19 is no worse than the flu.

Jones has repeatedly criticised New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian during Sydney's three-week coronavirus lockdown for enforcing strict public health orders to stop the spread of the virus.

Last week, he used his Sky News segment to call for the pay of Australia's 'contemptible' politicians to be scrapped until they stopped implementing lockdowns.

'We are being run by an ignorant rabble who don't do any homework,' he said in another rant directed at Ms Berejiklian on Monday.

Hadley - a 2GB breakfast host who worked with Jones until his move to Sky - accused Jones of taking a 'ridiculous stance' and doing the Australian public a 'great disservice'.

Scroll down for video

Broadcasters Ray Hadley and Alan Jones pictured left and right together while at 2GB. Hadley has hit out at his ex-colleague - who now hosts his own segment on Sky News - over his anti-lockdown stance

Pictured: A Covid-19 testing clinic at the Fairfield Showgrounds in Sydney on Monday. Hadley accused Jones of taking a 'ridiculous stance' and doing the Australian public a 'great disservice'

'According to him, theyve made mistake after mistake after mistake,' Hadley said on Tuesday morning.

'If you look at the figures worldwide, as opposed to our figures, even in the middle of this pandemic problem we have in Sydney at the moment, (we are at the) top of the world in terms of controlling the virus.'

Hadley also claimed Jones' Sky News stablemate Andrew Bolt was acting like his 'lapdog'.

'His disciple and lapdog, Andrew Bolt, will no doubt disagree. But Andrew, I couldnt care less what you think,' Hadley said.

Jones had argued the fact Sweden had a lower death rate than the UK despite using less strict social distancing restrictions for much of the pandemic proved it was possible to achieve 'herd immunity' against the virus.

He also claimed the number of influenza deaths are comparable to the Covid fatality rate - with 705 flu deaths in 2019 out of 300,000 cases, compared to 910 coronavirus fatalities stemming from 30,000 infections since the pandemic hit Australian shores in early 2020.

'Were there lockdowns, mandatory masks, border closures, businesses ruined, egotistical power hungry Premiers and a Prime Minister locking the country down and talking about how we wouldn't return to normal for years?' Jones said of the influenza figures.

'Stop hyperventilating over Covid cases and think about the people right now who are hyperventilating over how they are going to pay their mortgage, their bills, their wages, their kids' school fees.'

Ray Hadley arrives ahead of the 2019 NRL Hall of Fame at Carriageworks. Hadley said Jones' Sky News stablemate Andrew Bolt was acting like his 'lapdog'

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Tuesday announced her state had recorded another 89 cases of Covid-19, of which 30 were out in the community for part of, or the entire time, they were infectious.

Ms Berejiklian said she would announce on Wednesday or Thursday whether Greater Sydney's three-week stay-at-home lockdown would be extended beyond July 16, but it appears certain as the premier said community transmission rates would have to be at or near zero before it was lifted.

Busting the conspiracy theories anti-vaxxers use as 'proof' the Covid vaccine is unsafe

Australia's return to normal after Covid-19 depends on how quickly the nation gets vaccinated.

However, a small but noisy group of anti-vaxxers is trying to hold the country back by spreading myths about the vaccines.

They include concerns the jabs will alter DNA, cause infertility or even connect people to the internet.

Some also claim the vaccines are still on trial until 2023 - but actually it is normal for them to be monitored for a few years after approval.

Here Daily Mail Australia publishes official Department of Health advice to help you sift the fact from the fiction.

Are Covid-19 vaccines still on trial until 2023?

Both of Australia's vaccines currently in use - Pfizer and AstraZeneca - were approved by the country's regulator, the Theraputic Goods Administration, early this year after completing phase three trials.

No part of the assessment process was rushed and there was no emergency authorisation granted, meaning experts made a complete assessment of all the available data.

When a vaccine is approved and used in the population it is studied for a few years to monitor its effects.

Australia's return to normal after Covid-19 depends on how quickly the nation gets vaccinated

This stage is called 'Phase IV studies' and is different from the earlier trial stages which show the product meets the necessary efficacy and safety levels.

These studies are expected to be complete in early 2023 for both vaccines.

Oxford University's vaccine knowledge project says: 'After a vaccine is licenced it continues to be monitored as part of a post-licensure monitoring of vaccines.

'The manufacturer of the vaccine may continue to test for safety, efficacy, and other potential uses (called Phase IV Trials).'

Regulators also continue to monitor the vaccine to detect any possible signals of adverse events.

Can Covid-19 vaccines alter your DNA?

No, Covid-19 vaccines do not alter your DNA.

Sydney residents queue for the vaccine on Thursday

The Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine uses a fragment of messenger RNA (mRNA) to instruct your body to make an immune response against Covid-19.

There is a crucial difference between mRNA and DNA.

DNA, which makes up our genetic code, is larger, double stranded and very long.

The mRNA is a single stranded copy of a small part of the DNA, which is often released to send instructions to other parts of the cell.

DNA is stored in the protected centre of our cells  the nucleus. The mRNA is broken down quickly by the body.

It never enters the nucleus, and cannot affect or combine with our DNA in any way to change our genetic code.

Instead, Covid-19 mRNA vaccines teach the cell how to make a protein that triggers an immune response specific to Covid-19. The vaccines work with the bodys natural defences to develop immunity to disease.

Source: Department of Health

Can Covid-19 vaccines connect you to the internet?

Covid-19 vaccines do not  and cannot  connect you to the internet.

Some of the mRNA vaccines being developed include the use of a material called a hydrogel, which might help disperse the vaccine slowly into our cells.

Bioengineers have used similar hydrogels for many years in different ways. For instance, they've used them to help stem cells survive after being put inside our bodies.

Because of this, some people believe that hydrogels are needed for electronic implants, which can connect to the internet.

The Pfizer mRNA vaccine does not use hydrogels as a component.

The Pfizer mRNA vaccine contains a piece of mRNA which is coated in a lipid (fatty) droplet.

The lipid helps the vaccine enter our cells, as the membrane holding our cells together is also made mostly of lipid. The vaccine and the membrane can fuse easily, depositing the mRNA inside the cell.

Source: Department of Health

The numbers of mystery cases and new cases not in isolation will determine whether Sydney can get out of lockdown as planned on Friday. Pictured: Rushcutters Bay Park on Sunday

Do Covid-19 vaccines cause infertility?

There is no scientific evidence to support this.

The TGA will not approve a vaccine for use in Australia unless it is safe and effective. This includes impacts on fertility.

The theory that Covid-19 vaccines cause infertility is based on the disproven idea that one of the spike proteins in Covid-19 and the Syncytin-1 protein (which help placenta development) are the same. They are not.

The Covid-19 vaccine, like other vaccines, works by training our bodies to develop antibodies to fight against the virus that causes Covid-19, to prevent future illness.

Security guards are seen at the Meriton Suites in Waterloo, Sydney. An illegal party at the luxury complex on June 26 has led to three cases

There is currently no evidence that antibodies formed from Covid-19 vaccination cause any problems with pregnancy, including the development of the placenta.

In addition, there is no evidence suggesting that fertility problems are a side effect of any vaccine.

People who are trying to become pregnant now or who plan to try in the future may receive the Covid-19 vaccine when it becomes available to them.

Source: Department of Health

Can Covid-19 vaccines give you Covid-19?

None of the approved vaccines in Australia contain the live virus. This means they cannot give you Covid-19.

Some of the side effects from Covid-19 vaccinations, such as fever and fatigue can mimic the symptoms of Covid-19.

These symptoms are normal and are a sign that the body is building protection against the virus that causes Covid-19.

Source: Department of Health

If the vaccine is safe, why can't kids have it?

So far there are limited clinical trial results showing that the vaccines are effective and safe in children.

There are plans for clinical trials with children underway. To date there is no evidence to indicate that in the future children should not be able to receive both of these vaccines.

Source: Department of Health
The mother of murdered Victorian woman Celeste Manno has slammed her daughter's alleged killer's court no-show as a 'cowardly act'.

Luay Sako, 35, has been charged with the stabbing murder of Ms Manno, 23, in her family home at Mernda, in Melbourne's northeast, in November 2020.

Sako had allegedly been stalking Ms Manno, his former colleague, for a year before her death.

Aggie Di Mauro (pictured left), mother of Celeste Manno (pictured right) has slammed her daughter's accused killer after he refused to attend a court hearing, calling it a 'cowardly act'

The Roxburgh Park man was on Tuesday listed to attend a committal mention at Melbourne Magistrates Court via audio visual link.

Magistrate Donna Bakos adjourned the matter for 10 weeks due to delays in evidence before it was revealed the alleged killer had refused to attend the court hearing.

Ms Manno's mother, Aggie Di Mauro, asked Ms Bakos on the virtual hearing link how Sako could refuse to attend.

'You can imagine how I would see this as a cowardly act not to attend his own hearing,' Ms Di Mauro said to the magistrate.

Luay Sako (pictured), 35, allegedly stalked and stabbed Celeste Manno to death in her Mernda apartment, in November 2020

'I thought they cannot refuse to attend court. How come this is available?'

'You're correct - when they're charged with offences they don't have a choice,' Ms Bakos responded.

'But because this matter is being adjourned, and because he's represented, it's not in anyone's interest for him to be dragged in cuffs to the room to be told the matter is being adjourned.'

Chris Ridsdale, Ms Manno's former boyfriend, posted an emotional online tribute that featured a photo of the smiling couple days after her death.

Ms Manno's mother, Aggie Di Mauro, asked Ms Bakos on the virtual hearing link how Sako could refuse to attend

It was the first and final photo of the pair together to be uploaded on social media.

'For those who know me and know how little I use Facebook or Instagram, you know this was something I didn't really care much to do,' Mr Ridsdale wrote when republishing the picture.

'Now it seems like the best thing I can do for her.

'To show everyone how much she meant to me and how beautiful she was.'

Ms Manno was a university graduate, with family describing her as universally loved and intelligent.

Sako will next face court on September 20.
A Former MMA fighter was found dead in an Iowa jail, in what appears to be a suicide - one day after agreeing to plead guilty to child pornography charges.

On Saturday, Travis Fulton, 44, was discovered unresponsive in his Cedar Rapids jail cell, after a jail worker conducted a routine sweep a little before 4 a.m.

According to a news release from the Linn County Sheriff's Office, Fulton is believed to have hung himself.

On Saturday, former MMA fighter Travis Fulton, 44, (pictured) was discovered unresponsive in his Cedar Rapids jail cell, one day after agreeing to plead guilty to child pornography charges

According to a news release from the Linn County Sheriff's Office (pictured) Fulton is believed to have hung himself

After administering CPR failed, Fulton was transported to Mercy Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 5 a.m., according to LCSO.

Nicknamed 'The Ironman,' Fulton held the MMA record for career professional fights with 320 from 1996-2019.

In February, he was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service and had been held in the Linn County Jail since.

His original trail date was canceled by a federal judge, and was rescheduled as plea hearing on July 23.

Fulton was initially indicted on charges he enticed a girl under age 18, to engage in sexual behavior which he photographed over the span of several years, the Cedar Rapids Gazette reported.

In March, a federal grand jury expanded the indictment to add another victim, also a girl under 18.

According to records obtained by ESPN, Fulton allegedly possessed or attempted to possess pictures of a minor 12 years or younger engaged in sexually explicit conduct on a flash drive.

Nicknamed 'The Ironman,' Fulton (pictured) held the MMA record for career professional fights with 320 from 1996-2019

He faced three charges related to child pornography, including one count of sexual exploitation of a child, one count of possessing child pornography and one count of receiving child pornography.

He was also accused of receiving and attempting to receive child pornography via 'interstate and foreign commerce.' Fulton's camera and flash drive were purchased outside the state of Iowa, upgrading the case to an alleged federal crime.

Fulton was awaiting trial on willful injury in Black Hawk County, for a September 2019 incident which he was accused of repeatedly punching a woman in the head and back, leaving her with fractures to her jaw, nose, and palate.

'The victim was afraid to talk to police, but her family members reported she said the defendant punched her in the head and back repeatedly,' the criminal complaint stated.

'He threatened to kill the victim and her family if she ever talked to the police. The defendant is a self-proclaimed professional fighter, with a twenty-year career, and the ability to do serious bodily injury with his hands.'

If convicted, Fulton faced a maximum of 70 years in prison.
Former Google exec Eric Schmidt has a new love interest.

Schmidt, 66, who is a billionaire, was seen with 27-year-old Michelle Ritter, a Columbia Law graduate.

The couple were spotted in New Mexico this weekend as they went to watch Richard Branson blast off into space in his Virgin Galactic space ship, V.S.S. Unity.

Schmidt has long been touted as New York City's 'hottest bachelor', despite being married to his wife of more than 40 years, Wendy. The pair are said to have an open marriage.

Billionaire ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt, 66, has been spotted with a new flame

27-year-old Michelle Ritter is said to be a tech entrepreneur and is a graduate of Columbia Law School

Schmidt has a reported fortune of $21.4 billion. He was the CEO of Google from 2001 until 2011, before serving as executive chairman of the company from 2011 until 2018.

Forbes ranked him as the 84th-richest man in the world in its 2020 billionaires' listings.

He also has a philanthropic foundation called Schmidt Futures, which says it funds 'charitable, educational, and commercial efforts with a public purpose'.

His latest flame, Ritter, is also said to be an entrepreneur in the tech world having apparently set up financial trading platform together with her management company which also specializes in tech.

Schmidt has been married to his wife of 41 years, Wendy, with whom he has an open relationship

An online bio describes her as working as a cyber research associate at Stanford University.

She is also said to have worked for the Department of Homeland Security's Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and also worked in research for the Institute for State Effectiveness and for the Government of Afghanistan.

She has a BA in Economics, International Studies, and Political Science from Johns Hopkins University.

Known as something of a playboy, Page Six reports Schmidt's list of past girlfriends includes PR executive Marcy Simon, journalist Kate Bohner, Council on Foreign Relations communications VP Lisa Shields, pianist Cho-San Nguyen and socialite Ulla Parker.

Known as something of a playboy, Schmidt's list of past girlfriends includes PR Exec Marcy Simon, left, and Council on Foreign Relations communications VP Lisa Shields, right
A New York City public defender is suing Legal Aid Society for wrongful dismissal, claiming that she was forced from her job and 'discriminated against on the basis of race'.

Maud Maron worked for Legal Aid Society from 1998-2006, and then from 2017 until her departure. She is currently on sabbatical, but in court documents claims the group have made it impossible to return.

On Monday she sued Legal Aid Society, and her union, the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, in the Southern District of New York, accusing them of running a smear campaign to force her out for her views.

'None of this would have happened if I just said I loved books like White Fragility, and I'm a fan of Bill de Blasio's proposals for changing New York City public schools, and I planned to vote for Maya Wiley for mayor,' she told Bari Weiss for her Substack newsletter.

Maud Maron, who ran for City Council, on Monday sued Legal Aid Society and her union, claiming she had been discriminated against because she was white and held different views than others within the organization

Maron spoke to Bari Weiss (pictured) for her Substack newsletter on Monday

'The reason they went after me is because I have a different point of view.'

In late 2019 her boss, Tina Luongo, informed her she was being investigated following a complaint from members of the Black Attorneys of Legal Aid Caucus and Attorneys of Color of Legal Aid, Weiss wrote.

'I knew the accusations were baseless,' Maron told Weiss.

'It had everything to do with them deeming me an enemy of their politics and trying to go after me at work.'

A former colleague of Maron's said: 'It was McCarthyism. That is the only word to describe it.'

Maron was cleared in January 2020.

In July 2020 she wrote an op ed for The New York Post, entitled: 'Racial obsessions make it impossible for NYC schools to treat parents, kids as people.'

All four of Maron's children attended public schools. She was elected to the local Community Education Council - the equivalent of a school board - in 2017 and 2019.

She also ran for City Council. The final results are not yet in, but she looks unlikely to win her district.

Maron's husband Juan Pablo Pallordet and their children, in a photo from Father's Day

Yet Maron objected to the way that race was dealt with at the schools.

'I am very open about what I stand for,' Maron told Weiss.

'I am pro-integration. I am pro-diversity.

'And also I reject the narrative that white parents are to blame for the failures of our school system.

'I object to the mayor's proposal to get rid of specialized admissions tests to schools like Stuyvesant. And I believe that racial essentialism is racist and should not be taught in school.'

In her op ed, Maron wrote how, 'at a city Department of Education anti-bias training, I was instructed to refer to myself as a 'white woman'  as if my whole life reduces to my race.'

Maron, with her four children in a recent photo, objected to the teaching at their schools

Maron and her husband. She has sued her employer, claiming she was forced out of her job

She continued: 'Those who oppose this ideology are shunned and humiliated, even as it does nothing to actually improve our broken schools.

'Though facing severe budget cuts, the DOE has spent more than $6 million for the training, which defines qualities such as 'worship of the written word,' 'individualism' and 'objectivity' as 'white-supremacy culture.''

Maron's op ed was not well received at work, she told Weiss.

The Black Attorneys of Legal Aid Caucus said: 'Maud Maron has no business having a career in public defense, and we're ashamed that she works for the Legal Aid Society.'

They said: 'Maud is racist, and openly so,' describing her as a 'prominent opponent of equality' and a 'classic example of what 21st century racism looks like.'

They said: 'She pretends to favor integration while fighting against it and denying the existence of racism in education.

'We know for a fact that Maud's commitment to zealous representation of poor people of color is questionable at best.'

Four of Maron's colleagues wrote an article in Gotham Magazine accusing her of 'segregation activism'.

Maron left the job, on sabbatical, and is now suing.

She is seeking unspecified damages and for the judge to rule that the Legal Aid Society has violated her civil rights.

A Legal Aid spokesperson told DailyMail.com: 'We believe this lawsuit is a frivolous and misguided attempt to use litigation to harass a non-profit employer and its employees who have spent their careers advancing social justice causes.'
The gun violence that left three teens dead, including a 13-year-old, within five days is part of a major gang war that has been raging in the Bronx as frustrated cops say their hands are tied by a 'soft' criminal justice system that doesn't keep them in jail.

Just before midnight on Wednesday, 19-year-old Tyquill Daugherty was shot in the head in front of his home in the Crotona section of the Bronx.

Investigators believe Daugherty's killing was gang-related.

In retaliation, authorities say Jaryan 'Jay Ripp' Elliot, 13, was standing outside Angels Cafe with a friend on East 187th Street in the Bronx's Belmont neighborhood at around 3.15pm on Sunday when he was gunned down.

The gunman approached Elliot in a black vehicle, stepped out and began firing, hitting him once in the chest and once in the leg, police said.

He is believed to have been the intended target.

Tyquill Daugherty, 19, was shot and killed before midnight on Wednesday. He was shot in the head in front of his home in the Crotona section of the Bronx. Investigators believe it was a gang-related shooting

In retaliation, authorities say Jaryan 'Jay Ripp' Elliot (above), 13, was standing outside Angels Cafe with a friend on East 187th Street in the Bronx's Belmont neighborhood at around 3.15pm on Sunday when he was gunned down. The gunman approached Elliot in a black vehicle, stepped out and began firing, hitting him once in the chest and once in the leg, police said

The image above shows surveillance footage from inside the cafe on Sunday

Less than nine hours after Elliot was killed, gang-bangers took revenge for his murder by targeting Ramon Gil-Medrano (above), 16, about a mile away, according to the Post

Elliot, who was said to have been a member of the Crips, was taken to Barnabas Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The boy was believed to be at the scene when Daugherty was shot last week, though investigators do not believe he pulled the trigger.

'We can't keep them in [jail], and they're going after each other,' a police source told the New York Post.

A city prosecutor told the Post: 'They don't go to jail, so they do robberies, get in fights and carry guns.

'Life on the streets in 2021.'

Elliott, who just graduated from middle school, had a lengthy criminal record including charges of robbery and assault.

Less than nine hours after Elliot was killed, gang-bangers took revenge for his murder by targeting Ramon Gil-Medrano, 16, about a mile away, according to the Post.

Two males riding scooters pulled up near Gil-Medrano in the Mount Hope section of the Bronx and fatally shot him, according to investigators.

Gil-Medrano, who was linked to the 800 YGz (Young Gunnaz) gang, was at the scene of Elliots killing, though it is unclear if he pulled the trigger.

At the time Gil-Medrano was killed, he was wanted by police for an armed carjacking.

There were at least three open cases against Gil-Medrano in family court, according to police.

'What a joke,' a police source told the Post, accusing the criminal justice system of failing to keep dangerous criminals off the street.

'Any other time, he'd have been sitting in Rikers Island.'

The source added: 'It's just ridiculous. It just shows you how bad it is.'

Police are pictured at the scene of a shooting where 13-year-old Jaryan Elliot was killed in the Bronx on Sunday. It was one of six shootings reported around the city in the span of 14 hours

The gunman approached Jaryan in a black vehicle, stepped out and began firing, hitting him once in the chest and once in the leg, police said

An NYPD official examines the scene of the shooting outside Angels Cafe on East 187th Street in the Belmont neighborhood on Sunday

A New York City police officer took photos of the crime scene on Sunday

A police source told the Post that gangsters took revenge for Elliots death because he was crazy and admired by all the gang members, a modern-day Baby Face.

Baby Face is a reference to Lester Gillis Nelson, the 1930s-era gangster whose nickname stemmed from his youthful appearance.

'People on social media [were] vowing revenge for his murder,' a law enforcement official said of Elliot.

A Bronx-based police officer told the Post: There is a major gang war going on in The Bronx with three teenagers killed in less than a week.

Everybody is walking around with a gun because they are more afraid of getting shot than getting arrested.

The shootings come amid a citywide increase in crime, as more violent attacks occur in public places in the broad daylight.

Shooting and murder rates are up in New York City, according to the NYPD

Elliot's shooting took place within a 14-hour window that saw two other people killed and six others injured in six separate shootings around the Big Apple as the city's violent summer drags on.

Hours before Elliot was killed, an unnamed 19-year-old victim was fatally shot in Queens early Sunday morning.

Minutes after midnight, police responded to reports of shots fired on Quencer Road in St. Albans, where they discovered the victim with a bullet wound to the left thigh.

He was transferred to Jamaica Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

About an hour later, a triple shooting in Brooklyn left three male victims, between 33 and 58 years old, suffering various gunshot wounds to their lower extremities on Fulton Avenue around 1.10am.

The victims were taken to Kings County Hospital where they are currently in stable condition.

Police said they are searching for a male suspect in his late 30s in connection with that shooting.

On Sunday, Chief Rodney Harrison, chief of department of the New York Police Department, tweeted that Elliot was 'the intended target' of a gang-related shooting adding: 'Gang violence is plaguing #NYC and has to stop

New York City Democratic mayoral nominee also took to Twitter to comment on the shootings, referring to the incident as 'sickening.'

A fourth shooting took place in the Bronx at around 4am Sunday where a man and a woman were each shot in the arm on Jerome Avenue.

Eight hours later, a fifth shooting occurred in Harlem, where a 47-year-old man was shot in the groin by an unidentified male suspect.

Following that shooting, an individual was shot in the leg at Pitkin Avenue and Amboy Street. Police have not yet identified the victim's age, nor have they announced any arrests for either shootings.

NYPD Chief of Department Rodney Harrison took to Twitter to address Jaryan's shooting, saying he was the 'intended target' and adding: 'Gang violence is plaguing #NYC and has to stop.

New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Eric Adams also took to Twitter to comment on the shootings, referring to Jaryan's murder as 'sickening'.

'Ending gun violence must be our priority. Tonight we pray for his family. Tomorrow we must find his killer & get this gun off the street,' Adams added.

The recent shootings come a day before Adams, a retired NYPD captain, travels to Washington to meet with President Biden to discuss curbing gun violence.

As of July 4, there have been 765 shootings throughout the city since the year began, with 886 shooting victims, according to NYPD's crime statistics. Pictured is this photo, NYPD investigate the scene outside Angels Cafe where 13-year-old Jaryan Elliot was shot

Last week, New York became the first state in the nation to declare gun violence an emergency as Gov. Cuomo pointed the finger at the manufacturers of weapons as one of the main reasons behind the spate of shootings and killings that is at its highest level since the early 2000s

Crime rates have been rising throughout the city, with the NYPD reporting last week that crime rates in June rose 3.1 percent over the same month last year, with a 32.3 percent increase in grand larceny and a 16 percent increase in robberies.

So far this year there have been 765 shooting incidents - up 37.8 percent from last year's total of 555. There have been 886 shooting victims, up from 670 in 2020.

There have been 217 murders so far this year, up 8.5 percent from last year, according to NYPD's crime statistics.

In May, Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the rise in crime a 'major problem,' and said unless the NYPD gets a handle on it, the city would become undesirable.

'New Yorkers don't feel safe, and they don't feel safe because the crime rate is up,' he said. 'It's not that they're being neurotic or overly sensitive - they're right.'

However, critics have claimed it is 'political grandstanding' and that an increase in gun violence is caused by soft crime policies

Weapon manufacturers could face a lawsuit for harming the public by failing to take steps to prevent firearms from being sold unlawfully in New York, for instance. Pictured in this photo, NYPD investigate the scene outside Angels Cafe where 13-year-old Jaryan Elliot was shot Sunday afternoon

New York Police Department Commissioner Dermot Shea has previously blamed the surge in crime to the city council's decision last year to slash the police department's funding by $1 billion, and reallocate the money to education and social services.

Now, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the NYPD would boost payments for anonymous tips from $2,500 to $3,500 in an effort to combat the string of shootings and homicides.

And just last week, New York became the first state in the nation to declare gun violence an emergency as Gov. Cuomo pointed the finger at the manufacturers of weapons as one of the main reasons behind the spate of shootings and killings that is at its highest level since the early 2000s.

Cuomo targeted manufacturers of guns in a speech last Tuesday, with a bill allowing the New York Attorney General to sue them in some circumstances, and announced almost $139million in investment to reduce the rapidly-rising death toll.

Weapon manufacturers could face a lawsuit for harming the public by failing to take steps to prevent firearms from being sold unlawfully in New York, for instance.

The announcement comes ahead of next year's election, where he is expected to launch a reelection campaign to stay in office.
Advertisement

Wildfires that torched homes and forced thousands to evacuate burned across 10 parched Western states on Tuesday, and the largest, in Oregon, threatened California's power supply.

Nearly 60 wildfires tore through bone-dry timber and brush from Alaska to Wyoming, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Arizona, Idaho and Montana accounted for more than half of the large active fires.

The fires erupted as the West was in the grip of the second bout of dangerously high temperatures in just a few weeks. A climate change-fueled megadrought also is contributing to conditions that make fires even more dangerous, scientists say.

The National Weather Service says the heat wave appeared to have peaked in many areas, and excessive-heat warnings were largely expected to expire by Tuesday. However, they continued into Tuesday night in some California deserts, and many areas were still expected to see high in the 80s and 90s.

Wildland firefighters watch and take video with their cellphones as a plane drops fire retardant on Harlow Ridge above the Lick Creek Fire, southwest of Asotin, Washington on Monday

Fire consumes a home as the Sugar Fire, part of the Beckwourth Complex Fire, tears through Doyle, California this weekend

The western United States and Canada are in the grips of another dangerous heat wave

Another wave of dangerous heat is settling over the western half of the country with triple-digit temperatures as far north as Washington State and Idaho

Plumes of smoke from the Bootleg Fire in Oregon rise over a playground on Monday near Bly

Shane Durant watches the Bootleg Fire smoke plume in Oregon while walking his dog on Monday

Flames consume a vehicle as the Sugar Fire, part of the Beckwourth Complex Fire, tears through Doyle. Pushed by heavy winds amid a heat wave, the fire came out of the hills and destroyed multiple residences in central Doyle

Flames consume a home as the Sugar Fire, part of the Beckwourth Complex Fire. Pushed by heavy winds amid a heat wave, the fire came out of the hills and destroyed multiple residences in central Doyle

There appears to be no relief in sight as temperatures are likely to hover above 100 degrees for a large chunk of the Western United States throughout the week

Heat warnings and advisories have been issued by the National Weather Service affecting residents in California, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada

WeatherNation's forecast for Tuesday showed hot and dry weather continuing to sweep across the west coast Tuesday as 18million people are currently under severe heat advisories

The sweltering temperatures are being caused by a heat dome of static high-pressure hot air which traps the heat in one location

The 10-day outlook calls for temperatures in most of the western United States to remain above average

The latest data indicates that there are some three dozen fires raging across the Western half of the continental United States

A thermometer at Death Valley National Park in southeastern California shows temperatures soaring to 133 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday

In Northern California, a combined pair of lightning-ignited blazes dubbed the Beckwourth Complex was less than 25% surrounded after days of battling flames fueled by winds, hot weather and low humidity that sapped the moisture from vegetation. Evacuation orders were in place for more than 3,000 residents of remote northern areas and neighboring Nevada.

There were reports of burned homes, but damage was still being tallied. The blaze had consumed 140 square miles (362 square kilometers) of land, including in Plumas National Forest.

A fire that began Sunday in the Sierra Nevada south of Yosemite National Park exploded over 14 square miles (36 square kilometers) and was just 10% contained. A highway that leads to Yosemites southern entrance remained open.

The largest fire in the United States lay across the California border in southwestern Oregon. The Bootleg Fire - which doubled and doubled again over the weekend - threatened some 2,000 homes, state fire officials said. It had burned at least seven homes and more than 40 other buildings.

A scoop plane drops water onto a burning ridge where a fire line had been created by crews of wildland firefighters, Monday, at the Lick Creek Fire, south of Asotin, Washington

A wildland fire crew looks on after setting a fire line on Harlow Ridge above the Lick Creek Fire

After lighting a fire line to burn up fuel for the Lick Creek Fire, a crew of wildland firefighters begin to put out the flames

Embers blow across a field as the Sugar Fire, part of the Beckwourth Complex Fire in California

Firefighters from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's Placerville station battle the Sugar Fire

A man runs in a strong wind as smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Doyle, California in this screen grab obtained from a social media video

Flames and smoke rise as a wildfire burns in Doyle, California

Flames and smoke rise as a wildfire burns in Doyle, California

Debris fly over a fire truck as smoke billows from a wildfire in Doyle, California

The Bootleg Fire smoke plume rises over power lines near Klamath Falls, Oregon

A firefighting tanker makes a retardant drop over the Grandview Fire near Sisters, Oregon., Sunday, July 11, 2021. The wildfire doubled in size to 6.2 square miles (16 square kilometers) Monday, forcing evacuations in the area, while the state's biggest fire continued to burn out of control, with containment not expected until November. (Oregon Department of Forestry via AP)

A Klamath County Sheriff's vehicle drives toward smoke from the Bootleg Fire on Monday near Klamath Falls, Oregon

A firefighting helicopter lands at a fire staging area near the Bootleg Fire in Chiloquin, Oregon

Flames consume a vehicle as the Sugar Fire, part of the Beckwourth Complex Fire, tears through Doyle, California on Saturday

Over the weekend, the Klamath County Sheriffs Office warned that it would cite or even arrest people who ignored orders to 'go now' in certain areas immediately threatened by the blaze.

Tim McCarley told KPTV-TV that he and his family were ordered to flee their home on Friday with flames just minutes behind them.

'They told us to get the hell out cause if not, youre dead,' he said.

He described the blaze as 'like a firenado,' with flames leaping dozens of feet into the air and jumping around, catching trees 'and then just explosions, boom, boom, boom, boom.'

The fire was burning in the Fremont-Winema National Forest, near the Klamath County town of Sprague River. It had ravaged an area of about 240 square miles (621 square kilometers), or nearly twice the size of Portland.

Firefighters hadn't managed to surround any of it as they struggled to build containment lines.

The fire drastically disrupted service on three transmission lines providing up to 5,500 megawatts of electricity to California, and that state's California's power grid operator has repeatedly asked for voluntary power conservation during evening hours.

A sign thanking firefighters and first responders hangs near the Bootleg Fire in Chiloquin, Oregon

An active fire along a ridge at the Grandview Fire near Sisters, Oregon. The wildfire doubled in size to 6.2 square miles (16 square kilometers) Monday, forcing evacuations in the area, while the state's biggest fire continued to burn out of control, with containment not expected until November

After lighting a fire line to burn up fuel for the Lick Creek Fire, a crew of wildland firefighters begin to put out the flames, Monday, south of Asotin, Washington

Firefighters pass a burning home as the Sugar Fire, part of the Beckwourth Complex Fire, as it tears through Doyle

Fire burns along a power pole as the Sugar Fire, part of the Beckwourth Complex Fire

Scientists say a similar heatwave at the end of June 2021 would have been 'virtually impossible' without climate change

June 2021 was the hottest June on record in North America, according to data released by the European Union's climate monitoring service

Elsewhere, a forest fire started during lightning storms in southeast Washington grew to 86 square miles (223 square kilometers). It was 20% contained Monday.

Another fire west of Winthrop closed the scenic North Cascades Highway, the most northern route through the Cascade Range. The road provides access to North Cascades National Park and the Ross Lake National Recreation Area.

In Idaho, Gov. Brad Little mobilized the National Guard to help fight twin lightning-sparked fires that have together charred nearly 24 square miles (62 square kilometers) of dry timber in the remote, drought-stricken region.

The July heat wave follows an unusual June siege of broiling temperatures in the West, and comes amid worsening drought conditions throughout the region.

Scientists say human-caused climate change and decades of fire suppression that increases fuel loads have aggravated fire conditions across the region.

Wildland firefighters spray water onto a tree that caught fire as they were building a fire line for the Lick Creek Fire south of Asotin, Washington. The fire, which started last Wednesday, has now burned over 50,000 acres of land between Asotin County and Garfield County in southeast Washington state

A scoop plane drops water onto a burning ridge where a fire line had been created by crews of wildland firefighters, Monday

A wildland fire crew looks on after setting a fire line on Harlow Ridge above the Lick Creek Fire, on Monday

David Garfield clears a fire break around his home as the Sugar Fire, part of the Beckwourth Complex Fire, burns

David Garfield clears a fire break around his home

St. Aloysius Church on the campus of Gonzaga University in Washington State is blanketed in smoke from area wildfires

Smoke from area wildfires blankets downtown Spokane, Washington this past weekend

A study by a group of leading climate scientists found that the recent conditions would have been 'virtually impossible' without human-caused climate change.

The World Weather Attribution group said that global warming, caused by greenhouse gas emissions, made the June heat wave was at least 150 times more likely to happen.

The scorching conditions saw the all-time record daily temperature broken three days in a row in British Columbia.

Last month was the hottest June on record in North America, according to data released by the European Union's climate monitoring service.

Human activity has driven global temperatures up, stoking increasingly fierce storms, extreme heat waves, droughts and wildfires.

The World Meteorological Organization and Britain's Met Office said in May there was a 40 percent chance of the annual average global temperature temporarily surpassing 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial temperatures within the next five years.

The past six years, including 2020, have been the six warmest on record.
Alarming photos have captured a group of Sydneysiders failing to socially distance while standing outside a medical centre in one of the city's most Covid-struck areas.

Crowds of masked residents were seen outside the St Joseph's Medical Centre in Fairfield, in the city's southwest, on Tuesday while waiting for Covid-19 tests and vaccinations.

A large group of locals were seen spilling down the sidewalk in close proximity to one another while healthcare workers in PPE spoke to those waiting in line.

Police officers eventually arrived to break up the queue of residents and ensure those waiting outside the medical centre were keeping their distance.

'Police are conducting an operation to ensure compliance with the current Public Health Orders in the Fairfield area,' a NSW Police spokesperson said.

Crowds of masked residents were seen outside the St Joseph's Medical Centre in Fairfield, in the city's west on Tuesday while waiting for Covid-19 tests and vaccinations

Fairfield residents are seen outside the centre while awaiting Covid tests and vaccinations

A large crowd of people are seen waiting outside the medical centre in Fairfield

Police officers eventually arrived to break up the queue of residents and ensure those waiting outside the medical centre were keeping their distance

Fairfield is at the centre of the latest outbreak with more than 100 cases being recorded in the past four weeks.

Concerningly, the suburb also has the lowest testing rate with just 93 tests per 1,000 residents which could mean many cases are going undiagnosed and be spreading to family and passersby.

Nearby Canterbury-Bankstown, despite 73 cases, has just 126 tests per 1,000 people. Liverpool has 37 cases and only 112 tests per 1,000 people.

Both are well below the Sydney LGA average of 195 tests per 1,000 residents.

With more infections popping up in the city's west, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian has announced workers who live in the Fairfield local government area must get tested for the virus every three days if they are leaving the area for work.

A closer look at the demographics shows Fairfield has a slightly lower median age of 36, compared with 38 in the rest of Australia.

Police are seen speaking to health care workers at the St Joseph's Medical Centre in Fairfield on Tuesday

Fairfield is at the centre of the latest outbreak with more than 100 cases being recorded in the past four weeks

A healthcare worker in PPE is seen speaking to those waiting for Covid-19 tests and vaccinations

Those in Fairfield are also more likely to live with more people, have more children and are less likely to have office jobs.

The average house size of 3.3 people is much bigger than the national average of 2.6 but many more homes in this part of Sydney typically have five people living under one roof.

A total of 89 new cases were recorded across NSW on Tuesday as Greater Sydney remains locked down with the premier warning cases will need to reach zero before restrictions are lifted.

The medical centre was inundated with patients on Tuesday
A heroic surfer who revealed he was single in a viral interview on the Today Show in 2013 returned to the show this morning alongside his wife.

Angus McNicol from Byron Bay appeared on the breakfast show eight years ago after he and his friend Nick Chalmers bravely jumped into dangerous surf at Kirra to rescue a French couple who were caught in the wash near rocks.

The pair's interview went viral as Today Show host Karl Stefanovic burst into hysterical laughter at long-haired Angus's revelation that it felt 'really good' to rescue the female half of the couple.

Stefanovic later described McNicol as a 'woolly mammoth'.

Brooke and Angus McNichol appeared on the Today Show this morning to recall how the heroic bachelor became a married man

Angus during his first appearance on Today in 2013, after the video of his rescue of a French backpacker from wild surf at Kirra, Queensland, went viral

The interview ended with confirmation that McNicol was single and looking for a partner, with Stefanovic inviting female viewers to contact the show if they wanted to be put in touch with the single life saver.

This morning he reappeared on the show alongside his wife, Brooke McNicol Boyschau, who revealed she first spotted McNichol before she'd seen the famous rescue interview.

'I actually hadn't seen the segment prior to first witnessing Angus in his natural habitat,' she said.

'The first time I saw Angus was on the beach, he'd sort of emerged from the water [and] I thought, righto, calm down, who is this?'

Brooke revealed she had a drink with McNichol before a friend made her watch the viral segment featuring his brave feat and then urged her to track down the hairy hero, who she described as 'Aquaman'.

Karl Stefanovic made it something of a mission to find Angus a partner after he revealed during his interview that was single and looking

McNichol charmed the nation when he described the moment he rescued the female French backpacker eight years ago.

'I calmed her down and I asked her what her name was and she asked me what my name was,' he said. 'But then she said I was her angel, so I was pretty happy.'

'You don't get called "angel" every day.'

Stefanovic then made it something of a mission to find Angus a partner, later inviting him back on the show to detail what he was looking for in a wife.
A comedian has poked fun at the new 'no browsing' rule for residents leaving their house to go shopping during Sydney's lockdown.

Jon-Bernard Kairouz posted a video to TikTok on Friday after NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian asked that residents 'do not browse' while shopping.

The comedian is seen sprinting into the Clemton Park Coles and grabbing a trolley, before pushing it through the aisles at a breakneck speed.

A Sydney comedian has poked fun at the new 'no browsing rule' announced by the New South Wales Premier in a satirical skit

At one point in the skit Mr Kairouz slides across the ground to grab a bag of dog food in an effort to shave a couple seconds off the trip.

The comedian hardly pauses as he uses one arm to knock several bags of toilet paper into his trolley, before taking off again as fast as he can.

Locked-down residents were quick to share their thoughts in the viral video's comment section.

'You didn't browse at all bro, you must be exhausted,' one person replied, to which the comedian replied 'I'm buggered'.

'So panic shopping is allowed then?' another joked.

'Felt guilty as I walked through the chocolate aisle at Woolies today, stood there for about two minutes but still felt like I was a criminal on death row,' a third shared.

Mr Kairouz told Daily Mail Australia he was inspired to make the video after seeing the new restrictions announced on the news.

I saw Gladys said no browsing and I thought it was pretty ridiculous, he said.

That was just my interpretation of the new no browsing rule and how we need to shop now.

The 'no browsing' reminder was part of a string of new restrictions that came into effect on Friday and enforced at 5pm.

Jon-Bernard Kairouz posted the video to TikTok on Friday, the same day Gladys Berejiklian asked that residents 'do not browse' while shopping

Gladys Berejiklian announced that only one resident from each household could leave home to shop for essentials at supermarkets like Coles, Woolworths and Aldi.

She said that only under 'exceptional circumstances' or health reasons, should more than one household member leave home.

'Browsing is not allowed,' the premier said during a press conference.

'Browsing, killing time, is not a good enough reason to leave your house,' she reminded the millions of bored Australians currently in lockdown.

The premier said residents should ask themselves if their shopping could be done online and if the trip out of home was completely necessary.

'Getting an essential item, a baby product, getting bedding or heating, if you can, do it online. 'Do it virtually. There is no doubt that, that is our preference.'

Ms Berejiklian said the 'basic message' was that residents should not leave their homes unless it was absolutely necessary.

The 'no browsing' reminder was part of a string of new restrictions that came into effect on Friday and enforced at 5pm, including a cap on funerals and

The new rule came with a suite of other restrictions, including a cap on funerals and the number of people who can exercise outdoors.

Capacity for funerals has been reduced to ten people, which the premier described as a 'heartbreaking decision'.

'I apologise in advance to all those families going through such a difficult time but unfortunately, we have no option,' she said.

Outdoor exercise can only be done within ten kilometres of the home, with the cap on numbers reduced from ten to two.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT NEW RESTRICTIONS:

THE UPDATED RESTRICTIONS IN GREATER SYDNEY, BLUE MOUNTAINS, CENTRAL COAST, WOLLONGONG AND SHELLHARBOUR: - Outdoor public gatherings limited to two people (excluding members of the same household) - People must exercise within 10km of their home - No carpooling with members of other households - Browsing at shops is prohibited, and only one person per household per day may leave the home for shopping - Funerals limited to 10 people from July 11. THE FOUR REASONS TO LEAVE HOME UNDER LOCKDOWN: - Shopping for food or other essential goods and services (one person per household per day) - Medical care or compassionate needs (only one visitor can enter another residence in circumstances of compassionate needs) - Exercise with no more than one other person (unless members of the same household) - Essential work or education where you cannot work or study from home. Advertisement

The new restrictions comes as the state recorded 89 new local cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday, with only 14 mystery cases unlinked to known clusters.

Of the new local cases, 30 were out in the community for either part of or all of their infectious period.

The state has recorded its second Covid-19 death, a man in his 70s who resided in Sydney's eastern suburbs, following a woman in her 90s from South Australia.

There are 745 active cases in New South Wales, with 65 (8.7 per cent) in hospital including 21 (2.8 per cent) in intensive care and four on ventilators.

Ms Berejiklian said she would announce on Wednesday or Thursday whether Greater Sydney's three-week stay-at-home lockdown would be extended beyond July 16, but it appears certain as the premier said community transmission rates would have to be at or near zero before it was lifted.
Sydney workers can claim up to $600 a week and businesses will get 40 per cent of their wage bills covered under a major new support package announced on Tuesday.

As Australia's biggest city endures an extended lockdown, the Commonwealth has upgraded the Covid-19 disaster payment and announced a new business support policy to encourage bosses to retain staff.

The disaster payment has been increased to allow residents who lose 20 hours a week to claim $600, up from $500 and those who lose between eight and 20 hours to claim $375, up from $325.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Premier Gladys Berejiklian (pictured together) announced the support package on Tuesday

Pictured: A resident grabs a coffee in Elizabeth Bay in Sydney as the city endures lockdown

A new business support payment will be available to companies and charities with an annual turnover between $75,000 and $50million. Pictured: A barista in Sydney

The federal payment will become recurring during the lockdown, meaning workers do not need to apply every week.

From July 18 the payment will be available to NSW residents who live outside Greater Sydney, with the state government picking up the tab for those workers.

'We know this is not just focused on Sydney, there are many workers doing it tough outside the area and they will now be able to access that program as well,' NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said.

A new small and medium business support payment will be available to companies and charities with an annual turnover between $75,000 and $50million.

The payment will be 40 per cent of a company's weekly wage bill per week, up to a maximum of $10,000.

Companies must show their revenue is 30 per cent lower than an equivalent two week period in 2019 to qualify.

What are the main financial supports available in lockdown? Workers * Any states or territories in an extended lockdown will benefit from a new support package, with NSW being the first state entitled to it. * From week four of a lockdown because of a Commonwealth government declared hotspot, the COVID-19 Disaster Payment will increase to $600 if a person has lost 20 or more hours of work a week or $375 if a person has lost between eight and less than 20 hours of work a week. * The Commonwealth and NSW have also agreed that from July 18 the disaster payment will be available to those outside Commonwealth declared hotspots in NSW that meet the criteria for the payment. * The NSW government will fund any payments outside a Commonwealth declared hotspot, with the Commonwealth continuing to fund payments to recipients in a Commonwealth declared hotspot. Business * A new business support payment will also be available to entities with an annual turnover between $75,000 and $50 million who can demonstrate a 30 per cent decline in turnover. * To receive the payment, eligible entities will be required to maintain their full time, part time and long term casual staffing level as of July 13. * Eligible entities, which includes not-for-profits, will receive payments of between $1500 and $10,000 per week based on the level of their payroll. * For non-employing businesses, such as sole traders, the payment will be set at $1,000 per week. Advertisement

To receive the payment, companies must not sack any full time, part time and long-term staff who are currently employed.

For non-employing businesses, such as sole traders, the payment will be set at $1,000 per week.

The policy will cost half a billion dollars a week, equally funded by the state and federal governments.

Mr Morrison said the aim was to tide businesses over until the lockdown ends.

'I think the NSW economy will come roaring back,' he told radio 2GB after announcing the support.

The state government will also provide payroll tax waivers of 25 per cent for businesses with Australian wages of between $1.2 million and $10 million that have experienced a 30 per cent decline in turnover.

To help small companies, a new grants program for micro businesses with a turnover of between $30,000 and $75,000 which experience a decline in turnover of 30 per cent will be eligible for a $1,500 payment per fortnight of restrictions.

Landlords who are not required to pay land tax who reduce rent for tenants can apply for one-off $1,500 grants.

Commercial, retail and residential landlords who give rent reductions will have the amount shaved off their land tax bill.

Police in Fairfield on Tuesday as Sydney's outbreak worsened with 89 new cases

Residents in Sydney are only allowed to exercise in groups of two. Pictured: Elizabeth Bay in the city on Tuesday morning

What extra support is NSW providing during lockdown?  An extension to the previously announced business grants program. This means eligible businesses with Australian wages below $10 million can claim grants between $7,500 and $15,000 to cover the first three-weeks of restrictions, and takes the potential size of the program to $2.1 billion;  Payroll tax waivers of 25 per cent for businesses with Australian wages of between $1.2 million and $10 million that have experienced a 30 per cent decline in turnover, as well as payroll tax deferrals and interest free repayment plans;  A new grants program for micro businesses with a turnover of between $30,000 and $75,000 which experience a decline in turnover of 30 per cent. The businesses will be eligible for a $1500 payment per fortnight of restrictions.  A capped grant of up to $1,500 for residential landlords who are not liable to pay land tax who reduce rent for tenants estimated at $210 million;  Land tax relief equal to the value of rent reductions provided by commercial, retail and residential landlords to financially distressed tenants, up to 100 per cent of the 2021 land tax year liability;  Introduction of legislative amendments to ensure a short-term eviction moratorium for rental arrears where a residential tenant suffers loss of income of 25 per cent due to Covid-19 and meets a range of criteria.  No recovery of security bonds, or lockouts or evictions of impacted retail and commercial tenants prior to mediation;  Deferral of gaming tax assessments for clubs until 21 December 2021 and hotels until 21 January 2021;  A $75 million support package for the performing arts sector to be administered by Create NSW;  A support package for the accommodation sector worth $26 million;  $12 million in additional funding for temporary accommodation for those at risk of or experiencing homelessness, and  $5.1 million in NSW funding to support mental health. Advertisement

Both the state and federal governments are also providing a combined $17.35 million to support mental health services.

Mr Morrison said the new supports would be available to any state or territory that has a four-week lockdown.

'What I'm announcing today is an upgrading of the Commonwealth Government's national response.

'It is certainly our hope and ambition that we would not see lockdowns extending to other states and territories but Covid-19 will set those rules.'

He added: 'As lockdowns extend into another week in NSW, households and businesses need this assistance to get them through the lockdown to the other side, ready to reopen.'

Sydney's lockdown was due to end on Friday but Premier Gladys Berejiklian has said this is highly unlikely to happen.

New South Wales recorded 89 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, taking the latest outbreak of the highly infectious Delta strain to 767 cases.

A retail toy outlet is closed in the central business district in Sydney on Tuesday

Police are pictured in Fairfield, the centre of Sydney's outbreak, on Tuesday morning

Of the new local cases, 30 were out in the community for either part of or all of their infectious period.

There are 745 active cases in New South Wales, with 65 (8.7 per cent) in hospital including 21 (2.8 per cent) in intensive care and four on ventilators.

'More than three quarters of all of those cases of community transmission were close family contacts,' Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

'It reinforces the message that every time you risk going outside and doing the wrong thing, you risk bringing the virus home to those you love the most.'

The outbreak spread into regional NSW after an essential construction site worker who travelled from Sydney's south to Goulburn - 200km south-west of the city - tested positive to the virus.

How to claim the $600 lockdown payment if you lose work Sydney residents who lose more than 20 hours of work a week can claim a $600 disaster payment from the federal government, and those who lose less than 20 hours can claim $375. To claim the cash you'll need a Centrelink online account linked to your myGov. It's easy to set these up. Once you're logged in, you will be asked a few questions about your situation to see if you're eligible. Officials need to know if you lived or worked in a Covid-19 hotspot that's under lockdown or restricted movement. Once you've completed your claim, hit submit and officials will process it for you. You don't need to call them, they'll send you an SMS when you successfully submit your claim. If you are eligible, officials will make a payment into your bank account and send you a letter with the details. For more information click here Advertisement

The infected case, who is understood to be a painter, was working at a construction site at Goulburn hospital when he returned a positive result.

On Tuesday, Ms Berejiklian also announced that workers who live in the Fairfield local government area in Sydney's south-west - a Covid-19 hotspot - must get tested for the virus every three days if they are leaving the area for work.

She said anyone moving from Greater Sydney into regional NSW for work should also get a weekly test, even if they don't have symptoms.

Under the new 'surveillance testing' requirements, those workers do not need to self-isolate while waiting for their test results.
A British primary school teacher is languishing in a Kuwaiti prison despite being cleared of drug charges as her family urges the British government to secure her release.

Sara Assayed, 35, whose parents live in Barry, Wales, was jailed for ten years in March after drugs were allegedly found in her car in the Middle East country in 2019.

She successfully appealed the charges in June but remains in the 'overcrowded' and 'inhumane' prison in the middle of the desert.

Sara Assayed is languishing in a Kuwaiti prison despite being cleared of drug charges as her family urges the British government to secure her release

Ms Assayed's parents Ziad and Helen (pictured) say she is being kept in a solitary cell and said the situation is 'heartbreaking'

Ms Assayed's parents Ziad Assayed and Helen Conibear say she is being kept in a solitary cell and the situation is 'heartbreaking'.

Mr Assayed told BBC Wales: 'We're just worried and she's crying. She calls at night and she's crying.'

The teacher, who was born in Jordan and moved to Kuwait when she was 17, was arrested in March 2019 after police stopped her and another teacher in her car and claimed to have found drugs.

Mr Assayed says the drugs were planted.

After winning her appeal last month, Ms Assayed expected to be returned to the UK but she remains in prison

He said: 'From the beginning, we believe that the police investigation was all fabricated. They took her car, they put something in the car and then it came back.'

Possessing or using drugs can result in a jail sentence of up to ten years in Kuwait and suspects can stay in detention for months even if they are found not guilty.

Drug traffickers can face the death penalty in the Gulf country.

She was unable to leave the country while on bail before she was jailed in March this year.

Her parents say her trial lasted just five minutes during which she was not allowed to speak even though she has always claimed her innocence.

After winning her appeal last month, Ms Assayed expected to be returned to the UK but she remains in prison.

The judge allegedly said the evidence was insufficient and the police accusations did not match up.

The teacher, whose parents live in Barry, Wales, was jailed for ten years in March after drugs were allegedly found in her car in the Middle East country in 2019

The Foreign Office has confirmed it was assisting a British national.

But Mr Assayed has criticised their response and said they have spent 20,000 on legal fees.

He said: 'We just want them to accelerate her deportation...the worst feeling is the feeling of being helpless. She needs our help and we can't help her. She's there for the wrong reasons. It's unjust for her to be in prison when she's innocent.'

Ms Assayed was born in Jordan and her family moved to Kuwait in 2002 when she was 17.

She stayed in the Gulf country to continue her career while her parents returned to Barry.

Ms Assayed's sister Sheree Conibear told the South Wales Argus: 'She has no fans, no window, no blanket in her cell and it barely fits one person. Her mental health is struggling.

'Last time we talked to her she said there are women and children in here all in overcrowded rooms and the heat. She said it is not fit for animals.'

The family has launched an online petition calling for Ms Assayed's release, which currently has more than 600 signatures.
The NRL team whose stars broke biosecurity protocols to enjoy a barbecue with their team-mates will field a barely-recognisable team on Friday night as the players begin serving bans.

St George Illawarra Dragons will take the field against the Manly Sea Eagles without six players who were involved in the infamous house party on July 3 which was in breach of Sydney's lockdown restrictions.

A further seven Dragons players will miss a game sometime in the next month, as the NRL allowed the team to spread out the bans to reduce the impact on performance.

Fullback Matt Dufty (pictured), second-rower Tyrell Fuimaono, props Daniel Alvaro and Paul Vaughan will be missing on Friday against Manly from the Dragons side that beat the Warriors the day before the infamous barbecue. The players are serving one-match bans

Tyrell Fuimaono was one of 12 players fined by the NRL and NSW Police and banned for one match for their involvement in the illegal house party attended by Dragons players on July 3. He misses the Manly Sea Eagles match on Friday night

The host, prop Paul Vaughan, was sacked by the Dragons, and 12 other players handed one-match bans and a total of $255,000 in fines.

The players also received infringement notices and $1,000 fines issued by police for breaching a public health order.

Fullback Matt Dufty, second-rower Tyrell Fuimaono, props Daniel Alvaro and Paul Vaughan will be missing on Friday from the Dragons side that beat the Warriors the day before the infamous barbecue.

Dufty, Fuimaono and Kaide Ellis miss out against Manly because they are serving their one-match ban.

Vaughan, who hosted the barbecue, was banned by the NRL for eight games but will not play for St George again this season after the club tore up his $800,000 a year contract.

Alvaro and Zac Lomax both miss out against Manly because they refused to sign an NRL statement stating nobody from outside the team bubble was at the barbecue.

A further seven players, who must serve a ban sometime in the next month, have been named to play Manly.

They are: Jack Bird, Corey Norman, Gerard Beale, Blake Lawrie, Josh Kerr, Josh McGuire, and Jack de Belin who hid under a bed when police raided the party.

Controversial Dragons player Jack De Belin will miss a match later this month for his attendance at the illegal house party

Dragons prop Paul Vaughan lost his St George contract over the party he hosted

McGuire admitted the players thought they'd 'get away with' attending the party.

'We were in Shellharbour, a long way away from everything that was happening,' he said.

'We thought it wasnt going to be a drama, we wouldnt get caught.'

The Dragons' Origin stars Ben Hunt and Tariq Sims are named as back-ups but may not start as they will have played in the NSW-Queensland clash only two days before.

Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'landys was also furious the NRL competition was been put in jeopardy, calling the party a 'selfish act of stupidity'.

'The players have to understand that if they don't follow the protocols there will be no game,' he said.
Anti-vaxxer radicals have revealed plans to clog up doctors' waiting rooms and pester GPs with paperwork in a bizarre bid to foil Australia's vaccine rollout.

Reignite Democracy Australia wants its members to book appointments with their doctors and then confront them with anti-vaxx literature.

They also want the doctors to then fill out a lengthy questionnaire which aims to persuade them against vaccinating patients.

But doctors warned anyone wasting their time like this will be hit in the wallet.

The Australian Medical Association said members would charge protestors the full fee for their appointment - and it won't be eligible for any Medicare refund.

Anti-vaxxer radicals have revealed plans to clog up doctors' waiting rooms and pester GPs with paperwork in a bizarre bid to foil Australia's vaccine rollout. Seen here is a woman getting vaccinated against Covid-19

Reignite Democracy Australia (pictured, left) wants its members to book appointments with their doctors and then confront them with anti-vaxx literature. The campaign (right) also wants doctors to fill out a lengthy questionnaire to persuade them against vaccinating patients

The anti-government group has been campaigning online against vaccinations, QR codes, masks, lockdowns and border controls, and announced the latest stunt as a 'coming campaign'.

'We've been working really hard on this campaign because it is SO IMPORTANT,' the group said on their website. 'Informed consent is not a suggestion, it's your right!

The anti-government group has been campaigning online against vaccinations, QR codes, masks, lockdowns and border controls, and announced the latest stunt as a 'coming campaign (pictured above is a protestor at an anti-vaccine rally in Sydney last February)

'This campaign will include: A questionnaire for your GP (a print and online version will be available). These answers will enable you to make informed consent.

'Information to leave behind. A letter and a flyer from the Covid Medical Network. It's important they know there's other doctors offering early treatment and speaking out against the narrative.

'The questions are tailored to plant a seed so the GP might start to do more research.'

Australian Medical Association said members would charge protestors the full fee for their appointment which won't be eligible for any Medicare refund (pictured, vaccine preparation in Melbourne)

The website statement added: 'We plan to release all the instructions this week. Keep an eye out on the website or sign up on the homepage to make sure you're updated.'

The group claims the vaccines are 'experimental drugs' and branded the latest nationwide ad to encourage vaccinations as 'Government's horror ad LIE'.

They add: 'It's a shame they don't ever get censored for 'misinformation'. This ad is a lie and it extremely misleading [sic].'

On Tuesday, Australian Medical Association vice-president Chris Moy condemned the anti-vax stunt and said it would have no impact on Sydney doctors.

'GPs are well trained and would already have a good understanding of the value of vaccines,' he told news.com.au

'If individuals come for non-medical-related appointments they will be asked to pay for the entire consultation, as it wont be subsidised by Medicare.'

The campaign comes as ATAGI, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, tweaked the rules on vaccinations in the wake of the current Sydney outbreak.

New South Wales recorded 89 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, taking the latest outbreak of the highly infectious Delta strain to 767 cases.

Of the new local cases, 30 were out in the community for either part of or all of their infectious period.

The campaign comes as ATAGI, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, tweaked the rules on vaccinations in the wake of the current Sydney outbreak (pictured, a medical waiting room in Bondi Junction in Sydney)

The government's vaccine experts now officially recommend anyone in a Covid hotspot should bring forward their second dose of AstraZeneca from 12 weeks to between four and eight weeks after their first dose.

They also now urge anyone in a hotspot to get the AstraZeneca jab if they can't access the Pfizer vaccine, even if they are under the age of 60.

Previously the risk of a rare blood clot side effects had outweighed the possible benefits, but the escalating Sydney outbreak has forced a change in policy.

'In outbreak settings, such as that currently occurring in Sydney, the benefits of vaccination are greater,' an ATAGI statement said on Tuesday.

'Given the changes to the risk-benefit equation, ATAGI recommends adults under 60 years who do not have immediate access to Comirnaty (Pfizer) should re-assess the need for vaccination with AstraZeneca given these greater benefits.'
Tuesday should have been John Ghanem's fifth birthday.

Instead, it marked the second day of the inquest for the newborn, who died due to a catastrophic mix-up in a Sydney hospital.

He died less than an hour after delivery, when he was ventilated with nitrous oxide from a hospital gas outlet marked 'oxygen'.

The inquest into the death infant John Ghanem has heard laughing gas was administered to the newborn at the Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital due to a 'a mistake made that should have been picked up'. Photographed are baby John's grieving parents, Sonya and Youssef Ghanem.

'Already in a difficult week for John's family this will be an even more difficult day for that reason,' counsel assisting the inquest, Donna Ward, acknowledged on Tuesday.

The court heard that John's distraught parents were too affected by the first day of the inquest to observe Tuesday's proceedings in the NSW Coroners Court.

Just how the laughing gas outlet in Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital's Operating Theatre 8 came to be incorrectly labelled, and why the mistake was not discovered before John's death, were probed in the courtroom on Tuesday.

The piping bungle not only cost John Ghanem his life, but also caused severe brain damage in another newborn just weeks earlier.

Like John, Amelia Khan was ventilated with gas from the wall outlet shortly after being delivered in the same operating theatre.

Like John, she did not respond as expected to desperate efforts to resuscitate her. She was only revived when doctors removed the resuscitation machine from the oxygen panel in the wall.

She now has lasting and serious disabilities.

'A mistake was made, that mistake should have been picked up,' engineering consultant Stuart Clifton, who investigated the incident for the local health district, told the court on Tuesday.

Connecting the wrong pipes happens often enough that installers should be careful.

But the fundamental issue was the failure to test the gas and piping when the new panels were commissioned, he said.

'The simple fact is that had they done the tests then ... this investigation would not have been required,' he said.

The inquest has heard a piping mistake and incorrect labelling tragically lead to the death of one baby and severely brain damaging another

Gas fitter Christopher Turner was last year fined $100,000 by the NSW District Court over John's death, after pleading guilty to workplace safety breaches.

Turner did not adequately check for cross-connection despite signing documents to say he'd tested his work, the court found.

An engineer employed by the hospital also signed off as a witness to Turner's testing, despite not having been present.

In the end, the piping mistake was only discovered a year later, in the days after John's death.

A paediatrician who'd treated Amelia read about an incident in India where a child had been mistakenly given nitrous oxide from a port labelled 'oxygen'.

He raised his concerns with a nurse, who asked for the gas panel to be tested. The hospital took six days to action her urgent request.

The tests revealed that no oxygen at all was coming from the oxygen port in the operating theatre.

Investigations revealed that the seeds for the fatal mistake were sewn some two decades earlier when the hospital was first built and the original pipework in the ceiling was mislabelled.

Turner and other technicians spent two evenings in July 2015 connecting those gas pipes to new panels in the hospital's surgical theatres.

Working in a cramped and dark ceiling space, they did not notice that the pipes were incorrectly labelled.

Unlike the usual set-up, the four pipes running parallel in the ceiling did not change direction equally, changing the order they were in.

That would have led to the 'fundamental mistake' made 20 years earlier, said Mr Clifton.

But if the technicians had used the usual method for connecting pipes, the error probably would have been revealed, the court heard.

The inquest continues.
Anyone over the age of 18 living in Sydney's Covid-riddled south-western suburbs should consider getting the AstraZeneca jab as soon as possible, health officials have said.

The nations peak authority on vaccines, The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, issued the change in their recommendations on Tuesday.

For anyone who is not in a high risk area, the advice remains that people under 60 should try and get the Pfizer jab.

But with a delayed rollout, younger Australians may not be eligible to get the Pfizer vaccine for many more months, leading to the new call for them to get the AstraZeneca jab if they live in an infected suburb, such as Sydney's Fairfield.

Under 60s in Delta Covid outbreak areas should consider the AstraZeneca vaccine, Australia immunisation authority said (pictured: a Sydneysider gets vaccinated in July)

Australia's rollout started in late February, more than two months after the UK and the US, and was then thwarted by supply issues and health advice. Pictured: Scott Morrison at Melbourne's CSL factory in February

Prime Minister Scott Morrison previously said anyone over 18 can get the AZ vaccine, however, the green light included the clause that this wasn't in line with ATAGI's recommendations.

ATAGI said those in Indian Delta outbreak zones should 'reassess the benefits to them and their contacts from being vaccinated with Covid-19 vaccine AstraZeneca, versus the rare risk of a serious side effect'.

Sydney's south-west has seen a huge surge in cases, with a worrying outbreak growing exponentially in just a few days.

AstraZeneca, with its very rare chance of blood clots for younger people, was not recommended for those under 40, as the chance in Australia of getting Covid was so low.

But now that situation has changed in many outbreak areas, meaning the incredibly low chance of getting blood clots is even lower than the chance of getting Covid.

Health experts also added the interval between the first and second doses of the vaccine should be shortened in these zones from between four and 12 weeks down to between four and eight weeks.

'Therefore, people in an outbreak situation who received their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine AstraZeneca more than four weeks ago should contact their vaccine provider to arrange their second dose as soon as possible.'

Outside outbreak zones 12 weeks remained the preferred space between doses.

ATAGI said the interval between the first and second doses of the AZ vaccine should also be shortened in outbreak areas (pictured: a woman walks in Liverpool LGA in Sydney's lockdown)

What are the chances of dying from a blood clot after AstraZeneca? One in 1.9million people have died from a blood clot after AstraZeneca. By comparison, Aussies have a one in 33 chance of dying if they catch Covid-19, a one in 12,000 chance of being struck by lightning and a one in 55 chance of winning the Oz Lotto. Advertisement

The government's vaccine rollout has been been slow to gain momentum because of hesitancy around the extremely rare blood clotting side effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

ATAGI's advice for anyone over 60 is that the benefits of the vaccine greatly outweigh the risks.

However, those getting jab should be given enough information about the side effects to make an informed choice.

'They should be advised that if they experience any signs or symptoms consistent with TTS, they should seek immediate medical attention,' ATAGI said.

ATAGI said the cumulative risk of infection for Sydneysiders to July 11 was 10 per 100,000 and was increasing by two cases per 100,000 people each day.

The authority said this was in the same 'comparable' to Australia's first wave where there was a 29 in 100,000 risk.

However, they added in some parts of Sydney the rate is significantly higher.

Those under 60 in Delta outbreak areas are advised to talk to their doctor if they want to get the vaccine ATAGI said (pictured: Sydney on Monday)

'For example, in Fairfield Local Government Area, the cumulative risk to date is >100 per 100,000 and has increased by >10 cases per 100,000 per day in the past week.'

As vaccination demand increases, arrivals of Pfizer doses are set to rise to about one million a week from July 19 and 4.5 million are expected to be available over August.

Mr Morrison has flagged an advertising campaign to coincide with the boost.

Pfizer said the total number of doses the company was contracted to send to Australia had not changed from 40 million.

NSW recorded another 89 Covid cases on Tuesday.

A lockdown in place for Greater Sydney, The Blue Mountains, Woollongong, Central Coast and Shellharbour is expected to be extended, with the Premier expected to reveal for how long on Wendesday.
Britain's first testing 'mega-lab' opened today with the goal of processing hundreds of thousands of Covid swabs every day.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid claimed the massive facility in Leamington Spa would be the 'centrepiece' of the UK's pandemic response when lockdown is lifted.

The Rosalind Franklin Laboratory will also analyse positive samples for mutations to quickly spot new variants.

Operating as part of the NHS test and trace network, 'disease detectives' at the lab will aim to limit the spread of the virus through testing. The lab will create up to 1,500 jobs.

Between the two facilities, ministers hope to be able to carry out 600,000 extra tests per day, on top of the one million-plus being carried out already.

Many of the daily tests are done using lateral flow devices and so do not need to be sent to labs like the gold-standard PCR ones.

The new mega-lab is bigger than the Government's Lighthouse facilities which have done the bulk of PCR tests during the pandemic and can process more than 70,000 swabs every day.

The Rosalind Franklin Laboratory, which was opened today, will process up to 150,000 Covid tests a day, speedily detect new variants of concern and identify future disease threats

Up to 1,500 staff will work at the Rosalind Franklin Laboratory in an effort to process up to 150,000 tests every day, giving the UK a greater capacity to carry out surge testing

More than 200million coronavirus tests have been taken in the UK since the first two patients were diagnosed last January.

But demand for tests is expected to notch up to record levels in the coming weeks, with ministers bracing for up to 100,000 cases a day by August following Freedom Day on July 19.

The publicly-owned lab is named after Dr Rosalind Franklin, the English chemist who identified the structure of DNA and viruses. The Cambridge University-educated scientist died in 1958.

Dido Harding insists Test and Trace has been a success... despite SAGE saying 37billion scheme has FAILED to slow pandemic Baroness Dido Harding  the former head of NHS Test and Trace  today insisted the scheme has been a success, despite SAGE saying the scheme has failed to slow the pandemic. She told MPs she was 'proud' of the work done by the 37billion much maligned Covid contact tracing system. Facing a grilling on the scheme, Baroness Harding said the scheme had achieved its goal of helping break the chains of transmission. She said: 'I would actually argue  and I do appreciate that a lot of people listening to this will find this rather incredulous given some of the way its been reported  but I would actually argue that NHS Test and Trace has been a success.' Baroness Harding quoted a Government study suggesting the scheme has reduced transmission by '18 to 33 per cent'. Her comments come after the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) said the system had a 'marginal' impact on tackling the virus because it neither tests nor traces enough people. Test and Trace has been allocated a 37billion budget for two years  18.5billion-a-year  but has already burned through 23billion of that cash according to figures released earlier this month. Baroness Harding's tenure was criticised by former Treasury chief Lord Macpherson, who accused her of presiding over 'the most wasteful and inept public spending programme of all time'. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson urged the nation not to delete the NHS Covid-19 app, amid fears millions of Brits will be 'pinged' and told to self-isolate every week after 'Freedom Day'. He told the public to stick with it 'for a little bit longer', with people who have had both vaccinations forced to isolate until August 16  six weeks after all restrictions were supposed to end on July 19. Advertisement

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)  established in April to plan, prevent and response to health threats  will oversee the facility.

The Department of Health said the lab will 'play an indispensable role in responding to new variants of concern and future disease threats'.

As well as providing extra testing capacity to keep future outbreaks under control, the lab will also carry out genomic sequencing of positive samples.

It will use machines that can analyse the samples for mutations in just two days.

Mr Javid said: 'The UK Health Security Agency is going to put us at the forefront of the global battle against Covid and help us stay a step ahead of new and emerging future threats.

'Trailblazing technologies are going to be pivotal to delivering on this bold ambition and I'm delighted that today we are bolstering our capabilities in testing and genomic sequencing with the opening of the Rosalind Franklin Laboratory.

'This Laboratory will be one of the centrepieces of our efforts to manage this virus in the future, processing hundreds of thousands of positive Covid tests a day to help us stop cases becoming outbreaks.

'Testing has already been instrumental in helping us control the virus and it is going to be essential to continue to protect ourselves and our communities in the months ahead. I'd urge everyone to take up our offer of free, twice weekly rapid testing.'

Dr Jenny Harries, chief medical officer of UKHSA and one of the top advisers to the Government throughout the pandemic, said: 'Our mission at the UK Health Security Agency is to learn the lessons of this global pandemic and positively harness them in how we prepare and steel ourselves against future health threats.

'The pandemic has provided us with clear evidence, on a daily basis, that you can only challenge viruses of this kind with the right testing and genomics infrastructure in place.

'The Rosalind Franklin Laboratory is going to be a critical scientific addition to how we manage this virus in the months ahead, arming us with data and intelligence on the spread of variants that will inform decision-making and ultimately, save lives.'

Since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, the Government has built a network of diagnostic testing facilities.

This includes seven in the UK 'Lighthouse laboratories' that process Covid tests for NHS Test and Trace.

However, both the labs and the scheme  which was run by Baroness Dido Harding  have been criticised for their response to the pandemic.

SAGE said the 37billion Test and Trace programme only had a 'marginal' impact on tackling the virus because it neither tests nor traces enough people.

Separately, the Lighthouse lab in Milton Keynes rushed vital checks, discarded samples with missing barcodes and ignored leaking tubes in order to meet targets, BBC Panorama revealed in March.

Last September, genomics scientist and inventor Phil Robinson said the the labs were poorly managed, running out of staff and had failed to set up automatic processes.
Advertisement

Britain's rapid rise in Covid cases means it now beats almost all of the countries on its amber Covid travel list in terms of daily infections, MailOnline can reveal.

Only Cyprus and Fiji are currently suffering bigger outbreaks, surveillance data suggests.

All the other 145 countries on No10's amber list have lower infection rates than Britain, which has been battered by spiralling cases of the Indian Delta variant.

Data compiled by Oxford University-backed researchers also show only four nations on the red list (Mongolia, the Seychelles, Tunisia and Namibia) are being hit worse than the UK.

MPs told MailOnline the findings were 'deeply concerning'.

The data could be wielded by the travel industry as evidence that it would be safer to put dozens more countries on the green list. But other nations may see it as a sign that travel from Britain should be halted.

With the aim of getting holidays going again this summer with the pandemic still raging on, ministers adopted a traffic light travel policy saying the time had come to take advantage of being one of the world's most vaccinated countries.

Countries on the red list are considered to be the highest risk in terms of coronavirus, with Brits warned against travelling to them.

Britain has a higher Covid infection rate than all but two of the countries on the travel amber list. Graph shows: The UK's case rate compared to popular tourism destinations on the list

Only Cyprus and Fiji on No10's amber list are currently suffering bigger outbreaks, surveillance data suggests

Only Mongolia, the Seychelles, Tunisia and Namibia of the countries on Britain's travel red list are currently suffering bigger outbreaks than the UK, Our World in Data figures show

Anyone who does visit must quarantine in a Government-approved hotel for 10 days and pay hundreds of pounds for PCR tests.

Rules for nations are less strict for the amber list, which includes holiday destinations such as Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal and France.

Holidaymakers must self-isolate at home for 10 days and they must also pay for Covid tests.

However, amber quarantine rules will be dropped on July 19 for fully-vaccinated Brits, though they will still need to take two Covid tests, one before they depart for England and one shortly after they arrive.

Only 27 countries are currently on the green list, with travellers only having to quarantine on their return if their Covid test comes back positive.

However, many of them are either remote destinations like the Falkland Isles or have heavily restricted entry, such as Australia and New Zealand.

Holiday options for British sun-seekers are set to be widened this week amid speculation more countries will be added to the Government's quarantine-free 'green list'.

Daily cases numbers in the UK have increased meteorically since the end of June, doubling from just over 200 new cases per million people a day.

Statistics from Our World in Data  which tracks the state of the pandemic  show Britain recorded an average of 460 new cases for every million people in the week ending July 11.

As well as the four nations on the red list with bigger outbreaks, two amber list destinations also are faring worse than Britain currently. More than 1,000 new cases were spotted for every million people in Cyprus last week, while the figure was 693 in Fiji.

Mr Shapps' announcement means that for fully-vaccinated Britons the rules will be essentially the same for green and amber list countries

The current traffic light system has very few recognised holiday destinations on the 'green list' for Britons to visit

Namibia has the highest death rate per million people of the four countries on the red list with higher daily infections than Britain

Announcing the move in the Commons, Mr Shapps confirmed that from the so-called 'Freedom Day', double-jabbed people can visit amber-list destinations without having to quarantine on their return

How do ministers decide which countries go on the green list? Decisions on which countries appear on which travel list are taken after a risk assessment by the Joint Biosecurity Centre, which is part of the UK Health Security Agency. As a precautionary approach, countries are assumed to be amber unless there is specific evidence to suggest they are: Green  presenting (with confidence) a low public health risk to the UK from all Covid strains

Red  presenting a high public health risk to the UK from known variants of concern, known high-risk variants under investigation or as a result of very high in-country or territory prevalence of Covid Variants of concern are identified by Public Health England based on how transmissible they are and if they cause more severe disease. The Joint Biosecurity Centre then selects a list of countries to investigate. It considers infection rates, test positivity, evidence of variants of concern and also a country's ability to detect variants through genomic sequencing. Countries then go through a second risk assessment stage using data from other organisations including the WHO and GISAID before ministers decide what list a country should be on. Advertisement

If current infection trends continue, the UK may even overtake Mongolia and Namibia in the coming days.

Cases in both countries are already starting to decline, according to Our World in Data. Meanwhile, while the UK's outbreak is continuing to grow in size.

It is highly likely the UK is recording more cases because it is doing more testing than some nations.

Liberal Democrat MP and chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus Layla Moran said MailOnline's findings were worrying.

'It is deeply concerning that Covid case rates in the UK now appear to have overtaken those in countries on the government's own red list,' she said.

'The steep rise in cases we've seen in recent weeks was not inevitable. This was a direct result of the government's failure to keep out the Delta variant, combined with flaws in the test trace and isolate system.'

Ms Moran said the figures should act as a 'wake up call' to ministers who should take urgent action to both reduce case numbers and secure the UK's borders against new Covid variants.

A World Health Organization special envoy on Covid today said it was 'too early to be talking about massive relaxation or freedom' despite the UK's rollout of vaccines.

Dr David Nabarro told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the 'pandemic is advancing ferociously around the world' and that 'I don't think we've anywhere near got through the worst of it'.

Asked about the Government's switch to personal responsibility, he said: 'All this doesn't quite fit with the position that was taken by Britain, along with other nations, some months ago when there was a real effort to try to prevent large numbers of people getting the disease, partly because of the risk of death and partly because of the recognition of the risk of long Covid.

'It's necessary to be unequivocal on this particular challenge. What does urging caution mean? It's important that everybody knows the best possible advice on how to prevent themselves being infected.

'I accept that vaccination has changed the nature of the equation in the UK but quite honestly from any point of view it's too early to be talking about massive relaxation or freedom when the outbreak curve is on such a sharp ascent.

'Yes, relax, but don't have these mixed messages about what's going on. This dangerous virus hasn't gone away, it's variants are coming back and are threatening those who have already been vaccinated  we have to take it seriously.'

It comes as the English government prepares to abolish the amber portion of its travel list for those who have been fully vaccinated by the NHS.

The change, to take place on 'Freedom Day', means fully vaccinated UK citizens and residents will no longer have to quarantine upon their return to England after visiting anywhere on the amber list.

Fully vaccinated tourists will still be required to complete a Covid test before their arrival in England and two days after their arrival.

Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated people will have to quarantine for up to 10 days after they enter Britain, and in addition to the tests fully vaccinated travels have to complete they will also need to do a Covid test on the eight day after their return.

The change will come as a welcome relief to vaccinated Britons planning a holiday aboard with the amber portion of the list containing the favourite UK holiday destinations.

But double jabbed tourists will still need to ensure they meet the eligibility criteria of the country they are planning their escape to.

The formation of the red, amber, green traffic light list of countries is a devolved matter for each UK government, although the lists are almost identical.

It has not yet been confirmed if Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will follow Westminster's lead on reducing restrictions for double jabbed Britons.

While many in the UK may be looking forward to a holiday, there have been warnings of possible delays at airports due to demand.

Contingency plans are believed to be in the process of being put in place at Heathrow to keep passengers waiting in planes on runways if queues at border control exceed four hours.

Italy, Austria and Germany are among the potential destinations that appear to pose a low enough risk to be downgraded in a review due on Thursday.

The move could make life easier for Brits who are desperate to get away, but have yet to receive both doses.
Boris Johnson saw off a heavy Tory revolt over slashing foreign aid spending today despite backbenchers including predecessor Theresa May lining dup to accuse his Government of being heartless.

The Government won a vote on cutting the aid budget from 0.7 per cent of GDP to 0.5 per cent after a stormy debate in the Commons, 333 votes to 298, a majority of just 35.

In the end 24 Tory MPs rebelled, but their number included some big-hitter former ministers including Theresa May, Jeremy Hunt, David Davis and Tobias Ellwood.

Mr Johnson had earlier pledged that the rate would return but not until the public finances stabilise from pandemic damage.

The PM pointed out that the UK's liabilities are around 100 per cent of GDP and the next generation will have to foot the bill for the 'once in a century catastrophe' of Covid.

But Mrs May was among the Conservatives declaring they would vote against the government, something she has not done since leaving No10 in 2019.

She raged that Britain is 'turning its back on some of the poorest in the world', adding that 'more boys and girls will become slaves'.

Former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell had urged MPs not to be 'hoodwinked' by the government's compromise, and warned the 'unpleasant odour' from the policy was damaging his party.

Ministers have previously dodged putting the issue of the 4billion a year reduction in funding before the Commons, but in a surprise move designed to wrongfoot rebels a debate and vote was announced for today.

Boris Johnson was flanked by Rishi Sunak (left) as he defended the decision to cut the international development budget from 0.7 per cent to 0.5 per cent

Theresa May was among the Conservatives declaring they will vote against the government

The IFS has estimated that the reduction means more than 4billion less a year going on foreign aid

In the end 24 Tory MPs rebelled, but their number included some big-hitter former ministers including Theresa May, Jeremy Hunt, David Davis and Tobias Ellwood.

Mr Johnson told the House there was agreement across parties on the 0.7 per cent target.

'This is not an argument about principle, the only question is when we return to 0.7 per cent and my purpose today is to describe how we propose to achieve this shared goal in an affordable way.'

He added: 'Here we must face the harsh fact that the world is now enduring a catastrophe of a kind that happens only once a century.

'This pandemic has cast our country into its deepest recession on record, paralysing our national life, threatening the survival of entire sectors of the economy and causing the Chancellor to find over 407billion to safeguard jobs and livelihoods, to support businesses and public services across the UK.'

He added: 'Everyone will accept that when you're suddenly compelled to spend 407billion on sheltering our people from an economic hurricane never experienced in living memory, there must inevitably be consequences for other areas of public spending.'

Mr Johnson opening the session was a sign of his determination to face down the uprising. It was closedby Chancellor Rishi Sunak - who has been lobbying hard for support from MPs.

After the vote Mr Sunak told the Commons: 'Whilst not every member felt able to vote for the Government's compromise, the substantive matter of whether we remain committed to the 0.7 per cent target - not just now but for decades to come - is clearly a point of significant unity in this House.

'Today's vote has made that commitment more secure for the long-term whilst helping the Government to fix the problems with our public finances and continue to deliver for our constituents today.

'I want to commit to the House that both I and the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary will continue to work with all MPs on how we can continue to be a global leader helping the world's poorest, on how to improve our aid spending, target it most effectively and ensure that it is getting to those who need it most.

'Having now provided the House with an effective vote on this matter, the Government will move forward with its planned approach.'

But Danny Sriskandarajah, the Oxfam GB chief executive, said: 'The outcome of today's vote is a disaster for the world's poorest people.

'With more people in need of humanitarian assistance than at any time since World War II, aid is needed more than ever.

'The cuts to UK aid are having a direct impact on thousands of lives today and a delay in restoring aid will be felt for generations to come in parts of the world ravaged by conflict, climate change and Covid-19 pandemic.

'We are seeing a yawning gap between the rhetoric of 'Global Britain' and the reality of a Government breaking its promises to the world's poorest and further undermining the UK's credibility on the international stage.

'These cuts won't balance the books; the Government is putting politics above the lives of world's most vulnerable communities.'

Rebels had been hoping up to 50 Tories would line up against the proposals, with sources telling MailOnline beforehand it was 'all to play for'.

However, ministers were increasingly confident they could keep numbers down well below that level.

Mr Sunak has been trying to build support for his plan to keep the budget lower for four or five years, until government borrowing stabilises.

Tory backbencher Peter Bone was among those backing ministers, pointing out that the UK is still the third-largest donor in the world.

Mr Sunak's compromise plan involves a new Treasury framework that will allow international aid spending to return to 0.7 per cent of gross domestic product, from the new lower figure of 0.5 per cent, when it is deemed affordable.

However, there was clearly significant opposition in the chamber this afternoon.

Mr Mitchell said: 'Anyone who thinks this is not affecting our party's reputation is living in cloud cuckoo land.

'In Chesham and Amersham they have the biggest Christian Aid group in the country, there's an unpleasant odour wafting out under my party's front door.

'This is not who we are, this is not what global Britain is and I urge MPs tonight to vote against this motion.'

Mrs May also firmly placed herself in the rebel camp. 'This isn't about palaces for dictators and vanity projects, it's about what cuts to funding mean  that fewer girls will be educated, more girls and boys will become slaves, more children will go hungry and more of the poorest people in the world will die,' the former prime minister said.

Confirming Labour would oppose, Sir Keir Starmer said 'every living prime minister' bar Boris Johnson is against plans to cut the international aid budget.

If the government loses it has promised that spending will return to 0.7 per cent from January next year.

The UK has long been one of the few countries that sticks to the international target of committing 0.7 per cent of national income to aid spending.

The showdown remains a high-stakes gamble, but there is optimism in Government circles that Mr Sunak's charm offensive, coupled with the element of surprise, might be enough to head off a damaging defeat.

One-time rebel Huw Merriman said: 'I have looked at the Treasury's statement on a proposed compromise on UK aid. It's a sensible approach which respects the spirit of our 2019 manifesto in a more challenging 2021. I'll be voting for it tomorrow.'

The Treasury slashed the aid budget last year after the pandemic triggered a record Budget deficit of 400billion. Sources said the move was designed help avoid cuts to public services at home.

Opinion polls suggest the cut was supported by the public. But it has angered the aid sector, which has threatened legal action  a prospect that will recede if today's vote goes through.

At the weekend, billionaires led by Microsoft founder Bill Gates tried to shame the Government over the cut by announcing they would give 100million in emergency funding to save projects threatened by the reduction in UK aid this year.

Mr Sunak's compromise plan involves a new Treasury framework that will allow international aid spending to return to 0.7 per cent of gross domestic product, from the new lower figure of 0.5 per cent, when it is deemed affordable.

Under a proposed 'double lock', this will happen when the Office for Budget Responsibility watchdog considers the Government is no longer borrowing to fund day-to-day spending, and when debt is falling as a proportion of GDP. But it is unlikely that these conditions will be met any time soon.

Mr Mitchell said he would rebel, telling Times Radio: 'I think I've only rebelled against my own party and government about three times in the 34 years since I was first elected to the House of Commons, but I shall do so today with conviction and with enthusiasm, because I think it's the most terrible thing to break our promise.'

But Tory former Cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom, writing in the Daily Telegraph, backed the 'compromise' put forward by the Treasury.

'By working together to develop this compromise, I'm confident that we can move forward and focus on the overwhelmingly positive action we take in supporting the world's most vulnerable,' she said.

Treasury Chief Secretary Stephen Barclay told Today the economy was 'bouncing back better than previously forecast' in response to a suggestion it could be four or five years before the tests are met to allow the 0.7% target to be reinstated.

'This was a test that was met in 2018/19, so what we are saying is, this is a test that has been met in the past, this is a test that will be determined independently through the measures that the OBR set out, and that the direction of travel, the trajectory, is very positive,' he said.

A Government source said: 'We remain committed to overseas development and this sets out a pathway to returning to 0.7 per cent when economic circumstances allow.'

Ministers accept they will not win over committed rebels such as former Cabinet ministers Mr Mitchell and David Davis.

Mr Davis yesterday asked Mr Rees-Mogg: 'Are we going to have an impact assessment on the number of lives lost as a result of this policy?'

But Government sources believe they may be able to win over enough rebels to stave off defeat.

Mr Rees-Mogg said there would be a three-hour general debate on the issue. He warned: 'Votes have consequences. And if the motion were to be negative, that would be a significant consequence for our fiscal situation where I would remind the House over 400billion has had to be spent because of the coronavirus pandemic.'

Shadow international development secretary Preet Kaur Gill said: 'Labour opposes this shameful attempt by the Government to weasel out of their commitments to supporting the world's poorest and most vulnerable during a global pandemic.

'The Chancellor's proposal would lead to an indefinite cut to the aid budget and is not in our national interest.

'Cuts to international aid will leave the very poorest weaker in the fight against the threats of poverty, climate change and the current pandemic.

'In return this will have a negative impact on the Government's ability to keep our country safe and secure, and limit our ability to fight the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change.'
At least 92 people have died after a fire gutted a Covid ward at a hospital in southern Iraq, as authorities faced accusations of negligence from grieving relatives and a doctor who works there.

More than 100 were also injured in the blaze which broke out in a ward attached to the al-Hussein Teaching Hospital in the city of Nasiriyah late Monday.

An investigation showed the fire began when sparks from faulty wiring spread to an oxygen tank that then exploded, police and civil defence authorities said.

It comes less than three months after a similar fire caused by an exploding oxygen tank killed 82 and injured 110 at a hospital for Covid patients in Baghdad.

At least 92 people have been killed after a fire broke out in a ward for Covid patients in the city of Nasiriyah, southern Iraq, on Monday night

Hospital officials anonymously told journalists the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit and an exploding oxygen tank, without giving further details

Smoke could be seen billowing from the building - which only opened three months ago - before the roof caught fire and collapsed

Fire crews raced to put out the blaze, but it was still burning early Tuesday with distraught relatives gathering at the site for news of their loved ones

As day dawned on Tuesday the full extent of the damage to the building became clear, with the roof collapsed inwards

That fire prompted the resignation of the country's health minister and led to angry protests, which began afresh after Monday's blaze.

'The political parties have burned us,' demonstrators shouted while demanding 'revolution' and burning a police car outside the hospital.

Monday's fire broke out in a temporary ward set up alongside the al-Hussein hospital which was being used to treat severely ill Covid patients.

The ward had space for 70 beds and had opened just three months ago.

Video footage posted online shows thick smoke pouring from the building before the roof catches fire and collapses inwards.

Most of those killed were patients at the facility and either died of smoke inhalation or burns, rescue crews said.

The blaze continued to burn into the early hours of Tuesday morning before it was extinguished and rescue teams could move in.

The rescuers used a crane to remove the charred and melted remains of the hospital ward, as relatives gathered nearby.

A medic at the hospital, who declined to give his name and whose shift ended a few hours before the fire broke out, said the absence of basic safety measures meant it was an accident in the making.

'The hospital lacks a fire sprinkler system or even a simple fire alarm,' he told Reuters.

'We complained many times over the past three months that a tragedy could happen any moment from a cigarette stub but every time we get the same answer from health officials: 'we don't have enough money'.'

While some bodies were collected for burial, with mourners weeping and praying over the coffins, the remains of more than 20 badly charred corpses required DNA tests to identify them.

Medics carry the bodies of victims out of the burned ward, as officials said most were seriously ill Covid patients who died from burns or smoke inhalation

Bodies of victims are lined up outside the hospital amid fears the death toll could rise further with remains trapped inside the collapsed building

A man searches through the burned ruins of a patients' room at the hospital's Covid ward

The Covid ward only opened three months ago and had space for 70 patients, officials said, with at least 63 of those beds filled at the time the blaze started

Men search through the ruins of the Covid ward amid fears the death toll could rise further

There are fears the death toll could rise considerably once victims who were trapped inside the burning building are found.

Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi chaired an emergency meeting in the wake of the fire and ordered the suspension and arrest of the health director in Dhi Qar province, where Nasiriyah is located.

He also ordered the director of the hospital and the city's director of civil defense to be suspended, and launched a government investigation.

The investigators arrived in Nassiriya on Tuesday and their findings will be announced within a week, Kadhimi's office said.

A Nassiriya court said it had ordered the arrest of 13 local officials in connection with the fire.

An investigation launched after the last fire in Baghdad found widespread negligence and systemic mismanagement in Iraq's hospitals.

Doctors have decried lax safety rules, especially around storing oxygen cylinders.

At the time, the prime minister had ordered inspectors into other hospitals to check for fire risks, though it is unclear exactly what action was taken.

On Monday, Ammar al-Zamili, spokesman for the Dhi Qar health department, told local media that there were at least 63 patients inside the ward when the fire began.

Maj. Gen. Khalid Bohan, head of Iraq's civil defense, said in comments to the press that the building was constructed from flammable materials and prone to fire.

The head of Iraq's semi-official Human Rights Commission said Monday's blast showed how ineffective safety measures still were in a health system crippled by war and sanctions.

'To have such a tragic incident repeated few months later means that still no (sufficient) measures have been taken to prevent them,' Ali Bayati said.

The fact that the hospital had been built with lightweight panels separating the wards had made the fire spread faster, local civil defence authority head Salah Jabbar said.

People attend funeral ceremony of the victims at Imam Ali Holy Shrine in Najaf, Iraq on Tuesday

Rescuers look for bodies after the blaze tore through the ward for Covid-19 patients

President Barham Salih on Twitter said both fires were 'the result of endemic corruption and mismanagement that disregards the lives of Iraqis'.

At the city's morgue, anger spread among people gathered as they waited to receive their relatives' bodies.

'No quick response to the fire, not enough firefighters. Sick people burned to death. It's a disaster,' said Mohammed Fadhil, waiting to receive his bother's body.

The blaze trapped many patients inside the coronavirus ward who rescue teams struggled to reach, a health worker said on Monday before entering the burning building.

In Najaf, a holy Shi'ite city around 155 miles northwest of Nassiriya, an angry Imad Hashim sobbed after losing his mother, sister-in-law and niece.

'What should I say after losing my family,' the 46-year-old said. 'No point demanding anything from a failed government. Three days and this case will be forgotten like others.'

Iraq is in the midst of another severe COVID-19 wave. Daily coronavirus rates peaked last week at 9,000 new cases.

The entrance to the destroyed Covid ward is pictured the morning after the fire, with windows blown out from heat and smoke stains up the walls

A man searches through the ruins of the Covid ward following the devastating fire

A damaged wall is seen next to al-Hussein hospital's Covid unit, which was destroyed by fire
Dr Anthony Fauci admitted that a third booster Covid-19 vaccine may be needed in the future after a meeting with Pfizer bosses.

The nation's top infectious disease expert was among the US federal health officials who attended a virtual meeting on Monday evening which saw Pfizer present data on why they believe a third shot of its vaccine is needed amid a spike in the Delta variant.

Pfizer has claimed immunity given by its Covid vaccine is already waning  and it wants to dish out booster jabs for people to take six months after they have their second dose.

The US drug giant claims real-world data from Israel's world-beating drive has shown 'vaccine efficacy in preventing both infection and symptomatic disease has declined six months post-vaccination.'

In an appearance on CNN's Cuomo Prime Time after the meeting, Fauci said a third booster jab may be needed 'across the board' in the future, or just for those with underlying health conditions.

Americans may need get a vaccine booster in the future, but not now, says Dr. Anthony Fauci.



"Ifthere is a decision if and when to get boosters, then we will hear about it. But it will be based on a comprehensive study, not on the announcement from a pharmaceutical company." pic.twitter.com/PBgKY8Qcck  Cuomo Prime Time (@CuomoPrimeTime) July 13, 2021 Twitter Privacy Policy

Dr Anthony Fauci was among US health officials who attended a virtual meeting on Monday evening which saw Pfizer present data on why they believe a third shot of its jab is needed

But he insisted that based on the data they currently have, people don't need to get a booster jab yet, saying any changes to advice would be based off a comprehensive study, not the words of a pharmaceutical company.

Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said: 'The CDC [The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] said that based on the data we know right now, we don't need a booster, that doesn't mean that that won't change, and we might need, as a matter of fact, at some time to give boosters across the board or select groups, such as the elderly or those with underlying health conditions.'

Meanwhile, Israel said on Sunday it will begin offering a third dose of Pfizer's vaccine to adults with weak immune systems but was still weighing whether to make the booster available to the general public.

But the FDA and the CDC have pushed back against Pfizer's drive for a third booster shot, insisting that fully vaccinated Americans do not need to worry about getting a booster jab yet.

Backing up this standpoint, Fauci continued: 'If in fact, there's a decision if and when to get boosters, then we will hear about it.

'But it will be based on a comprehensive study, not on the announcement from a pharmaceutical company.'

Fauci insisted that 'nothing has really changed' following the meeting with Pfizer, but did not rule out the possibility of the US bringing in a third booster jab in the future.

Fauci tells Chris Cuomo that a third booster jab may be needed 'across the board' in the future or just for those with underlying health conditions

Pfizer has claimed immunity given by its Covid vaccine (pictured) is already waning  and it wants to dish out booster jabs to people six months after they received their second dose

Fauci acknowledged Israel's decision was correct for its citizens but insisted the US must take a wider view.

'I don't think Israel has anything wrong, just because they're looking at data that they had in their cohort, where it looks like they've had a diminution,' Fauci said. 'We need to look at the entire picture before you make the policy change for the United States.'

Israel will give a THIRD Covid shot to adults with weak immune systems Israel said on Sunday it will begin offering a third dose of Pfizer's vaccine to adults with weak immune systems but was still weighing whether to make the booster available to the general public. The rapid spread of the Delta variant has fueled a rise in the number of new Covid-19 infections from single digits last month to around 450 a day, and the country has moved to fast-track its next Pfizer shipment. Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said that effective immediately, adults with impaired immune systems who had received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine could get a booster shot, with a decision pending on wider distribution. It comes after Israeli health officials earlier this month claimed the Pfizer jab blocks 64 percent of infections, compared to 94 percent in May before the mutant strain took hold. Pfizer and partner BioNTech SE, the main suppliers in a swift Israeli vaccination rollout that began in December, said last Thursday they will ask US and European regulators within weeks to authorize booster shots. Advertisement

The health expert also claimed that the prospect of a booster jab does not mean that the Covid vaccine is not effective, adding that it is the 'durability' of the response that it is question, not the degree of the protection given by the jab.

Addressing concerns that the vaccine has not been approved, Fauci said emergency authorization is in place while the FDA 'dots all the I's and crosses all the T's, saying he was be shocked if the 'extraordinarily effective' vaccine is not approved.

His comments come after Pfizer' claim real-world data from Israel's world-beating drive has shown 'vaccine efficacy in preventing both infection and symptomatic disease has declined six months post-vaccination.'

Scientific trials of its booster jab show it can generate up to 10 times more neutralizing antibodies than just two doses, Pfizer and BioNTech say.

Attempting to downplay fears, the CDC said last week that fully-vaccinated Americans do not need a booster shot yet.

The CDC reported that 55.8 percent of Americans over the age of 12 are fully vaccinated, and therefore do not need to concern themselves with a booster yet.

'We are prepared for booster doses if and when the science demonstrates that they are needed', said the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a joint statement last Thursday.

But Pfizer's CEO Albert Bourla has consistently claimed that he believes people will need a third dose, and has even suggested the vaccine will become annual like the flu shot.

Clinical trials found that the third dose, given six months after the second should, generated levels of neutralizing antibodies five to 10 times higher than the initial two doses.

The companies said they believe their booster shot has the potential to offer the 'highest levels' of protection against all variants, including the Indian Delta variant.

However, scientists are 'remaining vigilant' and are developing an updated version of the third dose.

A statement referenced a study from Israel that showed a decrease in efficacy against variant six months after being fully vaccinated.

'As seen in real-world evidence released from the Israel Ministry of Health, vaccine efficacy has declined six months post-vaccination, at the same time that the Delta variant is becoming the dominate variant in the country,' the companies said in a written statement.

'These findings are consistent with an ongoing analysis from the companies' Phase 3 study.'

Data showed that the vaccine still offered significant protection against severe disease, but that efficacy against symptomatic disease declined due to variants.

The rapid spread of the Delta variant has fuelled a rise in the number of new Covid-19 infections in Israel from single digits last month to around 450 a day, and the country has moved to fast-track its next Pfizer shipment.

Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said that effective immediately, adults with impaired immune systems who had received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine could get a booster shot, with a decision pending on wider distribution.
A worrying new Covid exposure list has been revealed with an alert for 19 venues across Sydney including Coles, Woolworths, Dan Murphy's and an Aldi supermarket.

Shops in south-west Sydney suburbs including Fairfield, Fairfield East, Edensor Park, and Smithfield are confirmed exposure sites, as well as venues in Penrith, Jamisontown and Emu Plains further west.

Other venues in Bankstown, Granville and Greenacre have also been identified on the alert released on Tuesday night.

It comes as Sydney recorded 89 new cases of coronavirus, a slight drop from the 112 seen on Monday - but Gladys Berejiklian has warned against taking confidence from these numbers, and expects infections to spike again as the week goes on.

The high case numbers of the Indian Delta variant are causing authorities to consider extending a lockdown already in place for Greater Sydney and surrounding regions.

Anyone who was at the Condell Park IGA on Monday July 12 between 8.55am and 9.10am is considered a close contact and must immediately get tested, inform NSW Health, and isolate for 14 days regardless of the result.

Three venues at Westfield Penrith Plaza (pictured) in Sydney's west have been confirmed as Covid exposure sites by NSW Health

The same applies anyone who visited grocery store 'Fred's One-Stop Shop' on Friday July 9 between 2pm and 3pm.

Two bus routes have also been listed as close contact exposure sites, with passengers required to follow the same advice.

The 804 bus from Fairfield to Fairfield on Thursday July 8 between 10.58am and 11.03am in the morning and the 800 bus from Fairfield to Smithfield that evening between 6.15pm and 6.33pm.

A large number of casual contact exposure sites have been listed - with those visiting the following locations required to immediately get tested and isolate until a negative result is returned.

A list of COVID exposure sites was released by NSW Health on Tuesday night that includes bus routes, an Aldi and a Chemist warehouse in Fairfield (pictured: southwest Sydney on July 9)

The Health Save Pharmacy at Ramsgate on Wednesday July 7 between 5pm and 5.40pm and the Chemist Warehouse at Westfield Bondi Junction on Monday July 5 from 12.45pm to 1.15pm.

Fairfield's Aldi on Friday 9 July between 1.55pm and 2.15pm and the nearby Chemist Warehouse Wednesday 7 July between 2.45pm and 3.40pm.

And in Fairfield East, anyone who was in the BP service station at Carrington on Thursday 8 July between 4.45pm and 5pm.

A Covid infected person went on a shopping trip to the Penrith Westfield Plaza on Saturday July 10 between 12.30pm and 1.30pm.

They went to the Woolworths, the ground floor food court and Trim's Fruit Shop.

The McDonalds at neighbouring Emu Plains was also visited by a confirmed case on Thursday 8 July from 2pm to 2.30pm.

While on Friday around lunch a confirmed case visited Penrith Pies and Pastries on York Rd from 11.50am to 12.20pm.

The Greenacre Coles on Thursday 8 July from 6.10am to 6.40am and Granville's Woolworths the previous day from 6.15pm to 7pm have also had alerts issued.

A confirmed Covid case also visited Sydney Sand and Cement at Bankstown on Monday July 5 from 7am to 7.15am.

Aldi in Sydney's south-west at Fairfield was one of 19 exposure sites confirmed by NSW Health on Tuesday

NEW: USE DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA'S TRACKER TO FIND THE LATEST EXPOSURE SITES NEAR YOU

The T4 and T8 train lines are also exposure sites with passengers on board between the following intervals required to get tested and isolate until the get a negative result.

The T8 train from Green Square to Lidcombe on Sunday July 4 from 1.21pm to 12.36pm.

The T4 line from Hurstville to Miranda on July 7 from 11.49am to 12.17pm.

And the T4 line from Hurstville to Wynyard on July 8 from 5.44am to 6.18am and then the return trip between 8.34am and 9.05am.

In addition the whole of the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre on Friday July 9 between 6pm and 7pm is on alert.

People who were there then should monitor for symptoms and get tested and isolate should they appear until a negative result is returned.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai earned a 1.4million salary last year plus a 173million stock package

France has fined Google 425million for failing to negotiate 'in good faith' with media companies over the use of their content under EU copyright rules.

It is the biggest fine ever imposed by France's competition regulator for a company's failure to adhere to one of its rulings.

The long-running legal row focuses on claims Google has been showing articles, pictures and videos produced by media groups when displaying search results without adequate compensation.

The move comes amid a wider battle to force Google and online platforms to pay for news content following the seismic shift of advertising revenue online.

The Competition Authority also threatened fines of another 750,000 per day if Google doesn't come up with proposals within two months on how it will compensate publishers and news agencies for their content.

The watchdog's president Isabelle de Silva said: 'When the authority imposes injunctions on companies, they are required to apply them scrupulously, respecting their letter and their spirit. In the present case, this was unfortunately not the case.

'Google's negotiations with publishers and press agencies cannot be regarded as having been conducted in good faith.'

A Google spokesperson said in a statement to AFP that the company was 'very disappointed' by the decision.

It is 'the biggest ever fine' imposed by the Competition Authority for a company's failure to adhere to one of its rulings, the agency's chief Isabelle De Silva (pictured) said

'We have acted in good faith during the entire negotiation period. This fine does not reflect the efforts put in place, nor the reality of the use of news content on our platform,' the company insisted.

'This decision is mainly about negotiations that took place between May and September 2020. Since then, we have continued to work with publishers and news agencies to find common ground.'

In April 2020, the French competition authority ordered Google to negotiate 'in good faith' with media groups after it refused to comply with a new EU law governing digital copyright.

French watchdog's damning ruling In Tuesday's decision, the watchdog focused on a few specific violations of its orders by Google. It said: Google's negotiations with publishers and press agencies cannot be regarded as having been conducted in good faith;

The tech giant pushed news publishers to negotiate deals for Google News Showcase, which lets publishers package stories with panels and features like timelines, while excluding income from general search results;

Google told French news agencies including AFP they couldn't pursue payments if their content appeared on other news sites and came up in search results;

The US company must now come up with proposals within the next two months on how it would compensate news agencies and other publishers for the use of their news;

If it does not do that, the company would face additional fines of up to 900,000 per day. Advertisement

The so-called 'neighbouring rights' aim to ensure that news publishers are compensated when their work is shown on websites, search engines and social media platforms.

But last September, news publishers including Agence France-Presse (AFP) filed a complaint with regulators, saying Google was refusing to move forward on paying to display content in web searches.

In particular, the Competition Authority rebuked Google for having failed to 'have a specific discussion' with media companies about neighbouring rights while negotiating over the launch of its Google Showcase news service, which launched late last year.

News outlets struggling with dwindling print subscriptions have long seethed at Google's refusal to give them a cut of the millions of euros it makes from ads displayed alongside news search results.

The search giant counters that it encourages millions of people to click through to media sites, and it has also invested heavily in supporting media groups in other ways, including emergency funding during the Covid-19 crisis.

Google, whose CEO Sundar Pichai earned a 1.4million salary last year plus a 173million stock package, announced in November that it had signed 'some individual agreements' on copyright payments with French newspapers and magazines, including top dailies Le Monde and Le Figaro.

It comes as Google and other tech giants faces mounting pressure to pay news providers for their content amid the online shift.

In February, Australia and Facebook were engaged in a bitter row which saw the social media company block all news content to Australian users after the government tried to introduce a new law forcing it to pay for content.

Facebook was condemned by politicians and users around the world after it blocked 25million Australians from viewing and sharing news articles on February 18.

France has fined Google 425million for failing to negotiate 'in good faith' with media companies over the use of their content under EU copyright rules

The move - which also banned charity, health authority and emergency service pages - came after Australia's news media bargaining code passed the lower house of Parliament on February 17.

Following talks with Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg, the government made last-minute changes to the law which convinced him to revoke the ban.

The news code encourages tech giants and news companies to negotiate payments between themselves, and orders Facebook and Google to invest in local digital news.

If negotiations break down, an independent arbitrator can set the price the tech companies must pay to the media companies.

Some hoped the move would signal a sea change in how online platforms work with publishers.

But in the UK in May, Labour peer Lord Dubs stressed during a debate in the House of Lords that social media giants are 'paying nothing for news content'.

Lord Dubs (pictured) advocated for online platforms to 'pay news providers for the news'

He added that Google and Facebook took 80 per cent of the 14billion spent on digital advertising in 2019, but national and local newspapers took just 4 per cent.

The 88-year-old said 'the Australian Government have shown the way to do it; we should do likewise', following legislation there to make tech firms pay for using news.

Meanwhile Lord Black of Brentwood said that the pandemic has taught people of the need for 'reliable, verifiable' news from trusted sources, but warned that the threats against this are becoming 'existential' as revenues evaporate.

He noted that more than 260 local newspapers have disappeared since 2005, and that in the last year, there have been more than 2,000 job cuts in media in the UK.

Lord Black added that 'the situation is grave, particularly for the local and regional press, which are now in real peril.'

Earlier this year, Google agreed a licensing deal with more than 120 UK publications in a first deal of its kind in the UK.

Google News Showcase means publishers will be paid for excerpts of news articles that appear in search results, and users can then be directed to the full story on the publisher's website.

It was the first time Google started to pay for news content in the UK and is part of the tech giant's pledge to invest 750million in news worldwide.
Michael Gove has backed calls for the PM to be allowed to appoint private sector 'experts' as ministers, even if they are not MPs or peers.

The Cabinet Office minister added his weight to a report demanding an overhaul, criticising the current arrangements in Whitehall as like a 'medieval guild.'

'While there is much in the old-fashioned guild structure that has a certain romantic appeal, we need to move beyond it,' he said.

'So I think the principle that people can serve, by exception, as ministers and who are drawn for a period of time from different disciplines is absolutely right.'

Mr Gove was speaking at the launch of the report from the Commission for Smart Government, chaired by ex-minister Lord Herbert - who was an MP until 2019.

Michael Gove praised the report's recommendation of allowing private sector employees to serve as government ministers as 'absolutely right' while likening Whitehall's current operations to a 'medieval guild' (pictured here 14 June)

Former chairwoman of the vaccines taskforce Dame Kate Bingham performed 'heroically' in her role, Gove said (pictured 25 June)

'We can see a strong case for supplementing Parliamentary talent with appointees with specific expertise, to take responsibility for issues which would benefit particularly strongly from a minister with strong background,' the report states.

Gove cited two particular examples of non-MPs being appointed as ministers in times of crisis as positive examples that could lead to the reforms he is championing.

Former chairwoman of the vaccines taskforce Dame Kate Bingham performed 'heroically' in her role, he said.

Gove called the venture capitalist-turned-unpaid civil servant a 'testament to the need to bring people into Whitehall and make it into an open marketplace of ideas' in June ahead of the report's release.

He also cited Lord Beaverbrook, the 20th century newspaper mogul who Winston Churchill appointed to oversee aircraft production during World War II despite his lack of political experience, as someone who 'helped us win the War.'

Lord Beaverbrook (left), the 20th century newspaper mogul, was appointed by Winston Churchill to oversee aircraft production during World War II despite his lack of political experience

Lord Paul Deighton, who also spent his career in the private sector before being made a life peer in 2012, was appointed Commercial Secretary to the Treasury by David Cameron in 2013.

Lord Deighton was called back into action to serve as 'PPE Tsar' during the pandemic.

Other sections of the report also call for the expansion of outside expertise to Whitehall, including allowing each Secretary of State to appoint their own advisory councils as well as an 'in-house Crown headhunter to help bring in high calibre people from outside government.'

Other sections of the report also call for the expansion of outside expertise to Whitehall

It also recommends a radical overhaul of the power structure at Westminster, with a 'powerful new Prime Minister's department' to increase strategic strength and grouping all ministerial offices, including the PM's, into a single building.

Mr Gove maintained that some of the reforms would need to be looked at more closely, but said allowing private-sector employees into government was the 'absolutely right' direction.

In addition to Lord Hebert, Baroness Stuart and Lord Nash serve as members of the commission - both of whom are board members in Mr Gove's department.
Advertisement

More than 1,200 leading scientists are rebelling against No10's decision to push ahead with 'Freedom Day' on Monday, slamming the move as 'criminal' and branding the Government's return to pursuing herd immunity 'unethical'.

A coalition of experts and doctors signed a letter in the medical journal The Lancet critiquing Boris Johnson's 'unscientific' decision last night, amid soaring Covid infection numbers and rising hospitalisations and deaths.

The group  which includes four prominent SAGE experts  claimed millions more adults need to be double-vaccinated before restrictions can be eased to be safe.

It came as Britain today recorded 50 Covid deaths for the first time since April, while cases showed no sign of slowing down, jumping by a quarter in a week to another six-month high with 36,660 positive tests.

Among the signatories are David Cameron's former Chief Scientific Adviser Sir David King, as well as BMA council chair Dr Chaand Nagpaul and Professor Christina Pagel, a mathematician at University College London and Independent SAGE member.

The Prime Minister confirmed that all restrictions would be dropped next week. However, No10 has dropped all mention of the final stage of its roadmap being 'irreversible', with one minister today hinting that the drastic action could be adopted once again this winter.

SAGE modelling shows pushing the button next week could result in between 1,000 and 2,000 daily hospital admissions and 200 deaths. But worst-case projections show that hospitalisations could breach 25,000 and deaths 3,000  which would dwarf previous peaks.

It came amid a storm of anger at the Government, with Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus, described No10's approach as 'reckless' and Professor Adrian Hayday, an immunobiologist at Kings College London, told MPs in the group opening up on July 19 will cause 'unnecessary and inappropriate self-inflicted harm'.

And Dr Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of the Lancet, said he was shocked by No10's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty and chief scientific scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance for not 'being more public about their concerns'.

Dr Horton accused Professor Whitty of 'wilfully misrepresenting scientific opinion across the country'. Professor Whitty previously voiced his support for the July 19 date in order to prevent a larger winter wave.

Modelling by SAGE released yesterday suggests it is realistic to expect between 100 to 200 daily fatalities and 1,000 to 2,000 hospital admissions at the worst of the current outbreak this autumn, following the unlocking on July 19, with up to 4,800 daily admissions as an upper bracket predicted by one model (black shaded curve)

Imperial's modelling was based on low (light blue), high (dark blue) and central (blue) R rate changes after July 19. Left is optimistic vaccine efficacy, central is default and right is pessimistic. The team at Imperial said there could be more than 30,000 Covid deaths and 260,000 hospital admissions with the virus over the next year under its central assumption

DAILY HOSPITALISATIONS: SAGE expects there to be between 1,000 and 2,000 admissions at the peak this autumn, with its most central estimate shown in light blue. However, the group says its modelling is highly uncertain and depends on how fast people ditch personal precautions. For this reason the confidence intervals suggest there could be more than 3,000 daily admissions

COVID DEATHS: SAGE modelled five different scenarios after July based on how quickly people stop social distancing and following basic Covid measures. The worst-case scenario (in purple) would see people go back to pre-pandemic normal within a month and could lead to more than 500 deaths per day in October. A more gradual relaxation would see deaths remain in the 100 to 200 range at the peak (shown in light blue, dark blue and red)

WHO ARE THE MOST HIGH PROFILE SIGNATORIES? Sir David King Sir David King Former chief scientific adviser Sir David was the UK Governments most senior scientific adviser from October 2000 to 31 December 2007. He is the director of research at the Department of Chemistry at Cambridge University. Sir David also chairs the Independent SAGE group, unaffiliated to government, that publishes advice aimed toward the UK government regarding the Covid pandemic. Sir David and the group have been highly critical of the Government's handling of the crisis. Dr Chaand Nagpaul Dr Chaand Nagpaul Chairman of the British Medical Association (BMA) Council. Dr Nagpaul is a GP in Stanmore, North London, and was elected as chair of the influential trade union for doctors in July 2017. He previously slammed No10 for shortening the dosing gap between Covid vaccines. It later transpired that a longer dosing regimen provided better protection. Professor Susan Michie Professor Susan Michie SAGE member and professor of health psychology at University College London Professor Michie is a senior member of the SAGE behavioural subgroup SPI-B. She has been a fervent Communist since 1978 and has previously called for social distancing and wearing face masks should stay forever. Professor Stephen Reicher Professor Stephen Reicher SAGE member and social psychologist at the University of St Andrews Professor Reicher is another senior member of SPI-B. He has previously criticised the Government for allowing the Cummings row to undermine public trust. Professor Robert West Robert West SAGE member and health psychologist at University College London Professor West is also a Spi-B member and prominent psychologist in University College London's Institute of Epidemiology and Healthcare. He has previously criticised the Government for allowing 70,000 deaths a year from smoking. Professor Tolullah Oni SAGE member and urban epidemiologist Professor Oni is a Nigerian urban epidemiologist at the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge. She is a NextEinstein Forum Fellow and World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. Dr Richard Horton Dr Richard Horton Editor of The Lancet Dr Horton joined the prestigious medical journal in 1990 and was appointed editor-in-chief five years later. Since the pandemic began he has accused ministers and their advisers of failing to act properly or quickly enough. Advertisement

In another day of coronavirus chaos:

Researchers said Covid could one day be treated by 'chopping' the virus up using pioneering gene-editing technology;

Jacob Rees-Mogg said he will not be wearing a face covering at Parliament when the requirement is lifted, stating that people who have received both jabs of the vaccine have already done their 'societal bit';

Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford began studying whether or not modifying their vaccines can reduce or eliminate the risk of rare, deadly blood clots;

Fears mounted over a 'pingdemic' today as it emerged one in five hospitality workers are self-isolating and a record 830,000 children missed school for Covid-related reasons last week;

'Freedom Day' plans revealed the Test, Trace & Isolate system is set to stay until at least next year despite alarm over rising numbers of healthy people being doomed to house arrest;

Government data showed more than a quarter of extremely vulnerable people in England are still shielding despite official guidance to do so dropping in April;

Business called for urgent clarity over guidance on mask-wearing, social distancing, work from home and so-called vaccine passports before legal restrictions are axed on July 19.

Boris Johnson last night announced most Covid restrictions will be eased next Monday  but he also warned that restrictions could return as soon as September if new freedoms are abused.

Speaking at last night's Downing Street press conference, the Prime Minister dropped his claim that the unlocking would be 'irreversible' and called for continued mask-wearing in busy indoor settings such as trains, supermarkets and cinemas.

Modelling by SAGE yesterday suggested there could be up to 4,800 daily Covid admissions this summer if the UK rushed back to normality next week.

But the panel of leading scientists believes the nation will act cautiously, which would see daily fatalities peak this autumn at somewhere between the 100 and 200 mark and admissions stay in the region of 1,000 to 2,000.

Worst-case projections  based on a whole host of factors that could go wrong in the next few months  warn of more than 25,000 daily hospital admissions and 3,000 deaths.

The Lancet letter's 1,246 signatories said the Government's decision to open up before vaccinating children and choosing herd immunity via natural infection rather than through jabs is a 'terrible mistake'.

It came after a group of 120 scientists signed a similar letter in the same publication critiquing the Government's approach.

The groups statement today said: The Prime Ministers statement today leaves little doubt that the governments latest pandemic plan involves exposing millions of people to acute and long-term impacts of mass infection. We believe it is a terrible mistake.

It says that it will put intense pressure on struggling healthcare services and will lead to many avoidable deaths and long-term illness, placing at risk children and the clinically vulnerable and immunosuppressed.

The statement continued: A strategy that chooses mass infection in children and young people now as a way to protect the vulnerable in winter, instead of taking the time to vaccinate our young is unethical and unscientific.

The group includes the lead author of the Lancet memo, clinical epidemiologist Dr Deepti Gurdasani, a senior lecturer in machine learning at Queen Mary University, Professor Trish Greenhalgh of Oxford University, as well as Professor Christina Pagel of University College London and Professor Martin McKee of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, both of whom are members of Independent SAGE.

Dr Helen Salisbury, a GP, lecturer at Oxford University and columnist for the BMJ, said: I cannot understand why the government would opt to do herd immunity viral infection when they could do herd immunity by vaccination.

'I think it's criminal.

Profesor Pagel added: The government says it isn't [following a herd immunity strategy], but at the same time they've said they're willing to live with potentially a few more million infections just before autumn.

'I dont know why people arent talking about it more but its pretty clear thats what the decision is.

And Dr Gurdasani said: I think people are nervous about using the term herd immunity through infection because they feel unsure about the intentionality of the government, but if it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, it is a duck, and that they are going for herd immunity strategy is very clear from their modeling.

She added: I think we will look back and see this as perhaps the darkest day for UK science.

Meanwhile, Dr Horton slammed Professor Whitty for failing to represent the scientific community's viewpoint.

He said he was very shocked that the governments medical and scientific advisors are not being more public about their concerns'.

Dr Horton said: 'The faux deference that you saw from both of them to the prime minister in trying to shore up his decision making, I thought, was an abdication of their independent role as government advisors.

He also said the CMOs statement that there was widespread agreement across the scientific community was categorically untrue.

Dr Horton said: I'm afraid I have to conclude that the chief medical officer is wilfully misrepresenting scientific opinion across the country, and that is extraordinary to observe.

The Department of Health said: 'Herd immunity has never been part of our pandemic strategy.

'Our approach has always been to protect the NHS, save lives, and ensure as many people as possible are vaccinated and protected against this virus, as we learn to live with Covid.

'Thanks to the phenomenal success of the vaccine rollout in weakening the link between cases, hospitalisations and deaths we are seeking to move from an approach of rules and regulations to one of guidance and personal responsibility.'

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Steve Barclay (left) today said 'no one knows' how effective vaccines will be in the winter, meaning some restrictions could be put back in place. Professor Calum Semple (right), a paediatrician at the University of Liverpool and SAGE adviser, said the 'winter bump' will be a mixture of Covid and all the other 'respiratory viruses that we didn't experience in the last year or so'

Covid deaths jumped 35.1 per cent in a week today to their highest total since April 9, when 60 people died with the virus.

Some 36,660 cases were recorded today  a rise of 27.4 per cent on last Tuesday's figure and the highest daily total since January 22, at the tail end of the winter peak.

And hospitalisation jumped another 38.9 per cent in a week to 564 last Wednesday  the latest date data is available for.

But in another sign of the Government's changing tune on whether restrictions will be gone for good after next week, minister Steve Barclay said 'no one knows' how effective vaccines will be in the winter, meaning some measures may need to be reintroduced.

His comments came despite one of SAGE's own advisers admitted he doesn't see No10 needing to resort to drastic lockdowns again at the end of the year.

We've enough 'Freedom' ALREADY: Anxious Britons vow to avoid pubs and restaurants after July 19 People in England have admitted they are unwilling to enjoy the freedoms set to be restored next week, as new polling shows four in 10 adults support compulsory face masks in public indefinitely while a third of workers say they are 'uncomfortable' with returning to the office. A survey conducted by Ipsos Mori found that a quarter of people would like nightclubs and casinos to remain shut after the pandemic, while nearly a fifth support a permanent 10pm curfew. Around a third of the 1,025 adults aged 16-75 interviewed on July 2 and 3 also said they would support permanent social distancing in theatres, pubs and sports grounds, while 35 per cent said they would support mandatory 10-day quarantines for people returning from abroad forever. Thirty-six per cent of those polled said they would support compulsory QR scanning upon entering hospitality venues, while 40 per cent said they support mask mandates in shops and on public transport. More than 45 per cent of adults only the vaccinated to ever travel abroad again. Rail and bus companies have said coverings will not be compulsory when restrictions are lifted next week, with a spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group announcing that railway travel is 'low risk'. But the Confederation of Passenger Transport, which represents the bus and coach industry, has called for 'clear guidance for operators and customers', while Labour mayors Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham urged the Government to extend the mask mandate beyond July 19. A petition urging Sajid Javid to retain the mask mandate on public transport has already received more than 120,000 signatures from people who claim: 'Masks don't just protect the wearer, they protect the people nearby, so even if transport workers continue to wear masks and others don't it puts them at risk.' Advertisement

Professor Calum Semple, a paediatrician at Liverpool University, warned of a 'miserable winter' ahead because of the mix of Covid with flu and other 'respiratory viruses that we didn't experience in the last year or so'.

However, he confessed that he doesn't 'foresee the lockdowns or the school suspensions that we've seen' and that curbs including mask-wearing could be reintroduced in order to contain any winter wave

Chief secretary to the Treasury Mr Barclay hinted the lifting of restrictions next week could be reversed if the winter peak is as bad as some experts have suggested.

He told Sky News: 'We have been cautious in order to seek for [lockdown easing] to be irreversible. One never knows what [the situation] will be in the winter. The vaccine has provided that wall.

'An extra 7million vaccines have been delivered as a result of the extra four weeks [by delaying the original Freedom Day that was scheduled for June 21].

'And that is why we have taken that extra time but we need to learn to live with the virus, we need to get those businesses open.

'So it is right we get the economy moving in that way but our message throughout and our message has been consistent  that the vaccine is key.'

Meanwhile, Professor Semple told BBC Breakfast: 'We're going to have a miserable winter. I'm sorry, we're going to have a rough winter.'

Asked whether restrictions would come back, he said: 'Possibly, and it may just be about reinforcing some common sense.

'It may be bringing back some mask-wearing in certain environments, but I don't foresee the lockdowns or the school suspensions that we've seen.'

He also said there were some older people in hospital where the vaccine 'just can't help' them 'because they're older, and the immune system doesn't protect them'.

Professor Semple said he felt the biggest unlocking was May 17.

And he added it was 'quite realistic' that there could be up to 2,000 hospital admissions per day.

He added: 'My big message to people now is sure we've weakened the link between community cases and hospital cases, but that link is not broken and it's the people that are not vaccinated that are still coming to harm.'

Continuing in the cautious vein of Mr Johnson's press conference last night, Professor Semple said: 'There's no right time to unlock.'

He said the language in the announcement 'was subtly different  rather than being totally reversible, there was a few caveats being thrown in there, suggesting that come winter time some measures may have to come back'.

Professor Semple said he would continue to wear a face mask 'particularly in enclosed areas'.

He added if people proceed cautiously 'we probably won't see' some of the numbers suggested in 'reasonable worst case scenarios', such as 200 deaths per day or 100,000 cases per day.

Of the people currently going into hospital, he said 'they're nearly all unvaccinated, and what's surprising is that although they're not dying, they are suffering quite a lot of injuries, so we're seeing a lot of kidney injuries and lung injuries in these younger people.

'So my concern now is not so much about death, although every death is a tragedy.

'My concern now is about otherwise healthy people that would normally be economically important and working and going about their daily lives, they're going to get damaged, they're going to get lung scarring and kidney disease.

'This is actually different to long Covid, this is acute Covid injury.'

The coronavirus restrictions which will be removed from July 19

Meanwhile, Professor Graham Medley, chairman of the SAGE modelling subgroup Spi-M, said the summer peak of coronavirus could last six weeks and heap a 'considerable burden' on the NHS.

The chairman of the Sage modelling subgroup Spi-M told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'We've never seen a peak before that hasn't been controlled.

What Covid 'freedoms' will mean for YOU: Do I have to wear a mask at the supermarket? Can I order at the bar? Will I need two jabs to go to a nightclub? And what about WFH? With Freedom Day set to go ahead next Monday, businesses across England are preparing to wave farewell to most mandatory coronavirus restrictions. But the Prime Minister's cautious approach means the legal end to rules such as face masks and social distancing does not mean an immediate return to normality. For Britons are still expected to be asked by firms to wear masks in many walks of life such as while shopping in supermarkets and travelling on public transport. And venues such as nightclubs are being urged to require 'Covid certification' as a condition of entry, although some have already said they will not do this. The movement towards businesses deciding what is best for them will lead to a very different approach to the blanket rules the country has become used to. And Sage member Professor Graham Medley said mask-wearing 'probably won't do any good' when the Government ends the legal requirement for the protection. Here, MailOnline looks at what life will look like in England from next Monday: MASKS LAW: All laws mandating the wearing of masks will be scrapped ADVICE: The Prime Minister said people should continue to wear masks in confined spaces where they might meet people they would not ordinarily meet. Guidance published last night said: 'Government expects and recommends that people wear face coverings in crowded areas such as public transport.' SOCIAL DISTANCING LAW: The two-metre rule is officially being lifted on 19 July, as well as the rule of six which restricts how many can gather together ADVICE: In fact, people are now being strongly advised to 'minimise the number, proximity and duration of social contacts'. Chris Whitty even suggested that people should avoid 'unnecessary meetings' - and said everyone should continue to abide by 'hands, face, space'. SUPERMARKETS Sainsbury's - The chain told MailOnline it is 'working through the details of the government's announcement on the easing of restrictions and will keep our customers and colleagues updated'. Morrisons - The supermarket is believed to be waiting for the Government's plan and workplace guidance to be published, which will then reviewed in line with its own policies before any decision is made. Asda - The supermarket said on Twitter today that 'as per government guidance we will encourage shoppers to wear a mask, however this will be down to the individual as to whether or not they wish to wear a mask when shopping in store'. Co-op - The chain is yet to make a decision on masks, with a spokesman telling MailOnline it is 'reviewing our policy in light of the new Government announcement'. Iceland - An Iceland spokesman told MailOnline today that it was 'currently reviewing our policies in line with the latest updates from the Government on the easing of restrictions, and will continue to do so as further updates are provided'. It added: 'The safety of our customers and colleagues will continue to be our priority as restrictions are eased and we will update on any changes as we are able to do so.' Waitrose - The supermarket told MailOnline that bosses are 'awaiting Government guidance and we will work through that when we have it'. Nandos - The chain told MailOnline that masks 'will be worn at the discretion of staff and customers' and hand sanitiser 'will remain on offer at every restaurant'. It said the rule of six will no longer apply 'so larger tables will be allowed' and it will start accepting walk-ups again, but till safety screens and enhanced cleaning will remain. Mitchells & Butlers - A spokesman told MailOnline that it looks forward to 'trading again without restrictions and at full capacity, allowing our business to continue its recovery from the devastating impacts of the pandemic.' He added: 'As we progress to trading without legal restrictions guest and team member safety will remain our top priority. We will confirm what our policies will be from July 19 in due course.' McDonalds - The chain told MailOnline it was not yet able to share any updates. PUBS Star Pubs - Bosses are waiting on the detailed government workplace guidance which is expected later today, and it will then be up to staff and customers to make their own decisions on face masks and socially distancing. Most of Star Pubs are leased and tenanted, which means it will effectively be up to each pub to decide. Youngs - The chain told MailOnline today: 'We will no longer ask staff or customers to wear masks. We will leave it to them to decide for themselves to or not to wear masks. We will be lifting social distancing in pubs and operating in line with all the latest government guidance.' The pubs will also maintain additional cleaning protocols and other measures such as increased ventilation, with windows and doors open 'at every opportunity'. TRANSPORT Trains - The Rail Delivery Group, which represents UK train operators, such as Avanti West Coast, TransPennine Express and Southeastern, told MailOnline today that rail companies 'will ask people to follow the government guidance and, out of respect for others, wear face coverings if an indoor setting is busy'. A spokesman added that train travel is 'low risk, with the majority of carriages well ventilated by air conditioning systems or by doors and windows'. She added that as restrictions lift, they will continue carrying out extra cleaning and providing better information about how busy services are, so that 'passengers can travel with confidence'. Buses and coaches - The Confederation of Passenger Transport, which represents the bus and coach industry including National Express and Megabus, has called for clearer regulations from the Government but said in the absence of that, passengers' choices will be respected. A spokesman told MailOnline: 'We expect that many people, especially in busy places, will follow the Prime Minister's call to continue to wear a face covering as a courtesy to others.' But they added that passengers 'will find it difficult to understand why the Prime Minister has singled out public transport as somewhere to wear a face covering when a range of other activities share its characteristics'. A spokesman continued: 'We now need to see clear guidance for operators and customers but, in the absence of regulations, it is important that we respect everyone's right to choose whether to wear a face covering. The industry is doing everything it can to ensure people can travel with confidence. Operators will continue to deliver enhanced cleaning regimes, ensure buses are well ventilated and provide tools such as apps to allow customers to see how busy their bus is and help plan their journey in advance.' National Express - A spokesman told MailOnline: 'We are all responsible for keeping each other safe. We are advising customers to follow the guidance for the relevant country they are travelling in. We will ask them to continue to be considerate of others and respect their personal choices.' Transport for London - No decision announced yet for mask wearing on the Overground, Underground or bus services in London. TfL has not responded. Mayor Sadiq Khan has been considering a bid to force passengers to keep wearing masks. Free Now - A spokesman for the car ride-hailing app told MailOnline: 'We are working with regulators to understand if there will still be industry-wide requirements on mask-wearing from Jul 19. Whilst we await this, we will recommend face masks to customers and drivers but give them both the choice on what to do, leaving them with the freedom to agree what is comfortable for them during a ride.' Foreign travel - Cross-Channel train firm Eurostar and airlines such as British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair will continue to require passengers to wear face coverings from July 19. Advertisement

'The intention is not to introduce a lockdown for this peak. Then we are going to see a natural peak and that may well be long and disseminated.

'So even if we don't get up to very high numbers, the numbers that we get up to might last for several weeks, six weeks or so, in which case there's still a considerable burden on healthcare.

'So, although we might not get over 2,000 admissions a day, if that lasts six weeks then that's a lot of people.'

Speaking at the Downing Street press conference last night, Mr Johnson said: 'I cannot say this powerfully or emphatically enough  this pandemic is not over.

'This disease coronavirus continues to carry risks for you and for your family. We cannot simply revert instantly from Monday, July 19, to life as it was before Covid.'

Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said families should still 'avoid unnecessary meetings' with other households with normal life returning only 'very slowly'.

New Government guidance will say individuals are 'expected and recommended' to keep wearing masks in crowded places, while any return to offices this summer should only be 'gradual'.

Ministers are also 'encouraging' the continued use of Covid certification at major events, saying the 'need for caution and restraint is more important than ever'.

Questions have been raised about whether the rules will be tougher in reality  as the government admits that train companies might well make face coverings a 'condition of carriage' for travel.

Mr Johnson said July 19 is the right time to ease coronavirus restrictions because of the 'natural firebreak' of the school holidays.

The Prime Minister told the Downing Street press conference: 'We also know if we were to now delay this fourth step, for instance to September, or later, then we would be reopening as the weather gets colder and as the virus acquires a greater natural advantage and when schools are back.

'We think now is the right moment to proceed when we have the natural firebreak of the school holidays in the next few days.'

Professor Whitty said going slowly through the next step was 'essential' to reduce the impact of the 'exit wave'.

But Labour branded the unlocking, which was delayed from the original date of June 21 due to the emergence of the Delta variant, 'high risk'.

The Opposition pointed out that Israel  which also has a high rate of vaccination  was recently forced to row back on some of its reopening.

And the BMA warned of 'potentially devastating consequences' of opening up next week, calling the decision 'irresponsible and possibly perilous'.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, the BMA council chair, said that by going ahead on July 19, the Government was reneging on its promise to be led by the data and the impact on the NHS.

He said scrapping restrictions while a significant proportion of the population was still not fully vaccinated, would allow the virus to 'retighten its grip', driving up infections and hospitalisations and putting more lives at risk.

'It's irresponsible  and frankly perilous  that the Government has decided to press ahead with plans to lift the remaining Covid-19 restrictions on July 19,' he said.

'The BMA has repeatedly warned of the rapidly rising infection rate and the crippling impact that Covid-related hospitalisations continue to have on the NHS, not only pushing staff to the brink of collapse but also driving up already lengthy waiting times for elective care.

'The Prime Minister repeatedly emphasised the importance of a slow and cautious approach, but in reality the Government is throwing caution to the wind by scrapping all regulations in one fell swoop  with potentially devastating consequences.'

No10's announcement came after SAGE yesterday signed off on the plans to open up next week after estimating there will be 10 times fewer deaths and half as many hospital admissions in the third wave compared to previous peaks.

There is a tenfold lower risk of dying from Covid now than in the second wave and a fourfold lower risk of being admitted to hospital because of the 'vaccine effect' and the fact younger people now make up the bulk of cases.

For this reason the group  whose projections have guided No10 through the pandemic  expects the number of daily deaths to be 'considerably smaller' than the 1,200 recorded in January and anticipates hospital admissions will stay 'well below' the 4,000 in the winter.

The forecasts were revealed as part of a tranche of documents published today and submitted to ministers last week.

While the central modelling points towards a much smaller epidemic than previously seen, SAGE admitted its calculations were highly uncertain and warned that the crisis could quickly jump to record levels if people suddenly abandon all personal precautions on July 19.

SAGE said that the slower Britons return to normal life, the better, and have urged people to keep wearing masks in crowded areas, meet friends outside where possible and isolate if they feel ill or are 'pinged' by the NHS contact tracing app.

The advisory panel has also signed off on the July 19 date because delaying restrictions would only push the peak back into winter, when the NHS will be wrestling with seasonal pressures.

Exactly when the third peak will happen is still not known but the experts believe it will be sometime in August at the earliest. They are bracing for more than 100,000 daily infections - which would dwarf the peak of 60,000 in January - and are expecting cases to stay 'extremely high' all summer.

'The priority should be to avoid a very rapid return to pre-pandemic behaviour which could lead to a peak in hospitalisations similar to, or possibly even higher than, previous peaks,' SAGE concluded. Daily deaths could surpass 500 in this scenario.

Experts are calling on people to continue wearing masks in crowded spaces but Professor Medley said individuals choosing to do so 'probably won't do any good' when the Government ends the legal requirement for the protection.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'I personally will wear a mask to protect other people.

'I think it's quite a reasonable thing to do. It doesn't have a huge imposition in terms of economic impact or in terms of freedom, and I think there is evidence to suggest it does good, but only if everybody does it.

'So I think that, without the mandation, then we end up with a situation where even if the majority of people, let's say 70 per cent of people wear a mask, will that actually do any good because of the 30 per cent who don't? I think that is something which still needs to be determined and discussed.

'I understand the Government's reluctance to actually mandate it. On the other hand, if it's not mandated it probably won't do any good.'

Professor John Drury, social psychologist at the University of Sussex and a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviours (Spi-B), also told LBC radio of his concerns that the legal requirement to wear masks is being ended.

'To drop legal enforcement does send a very strong signal, because when it is legally enforced it tells us that it's very important,' he said.

'If you remember last year, it was around this time in the summer when masks were legally enforced, before that mask usage was going up and it shot up much more once it was legally enforced.'

Asked whether there could be public 'clashes' over mask-wearing, he added: 'There was a paper published on this last year predicting this, because when you've got a situation which is slightly ambiguous  should we do it? should we not?

'It's a personal choice, then you have got the possibility of people morally criticising others on each side.'

Elsewhere, a World Health Organization special envoy on Covid warned it was 'too early to be talking about massive relaxation or freedom' despite the UK's rollout of vaccines.

Regarding the Government's switch to personal responsibility, Dr David Nabarro told the Today programme: 'What does urging caution mean? It's important that everybody knows the best possible advice on how to prevent themselves being infected.

'I accept that vaccination has changed the nature of the equation in the UK, but quite honestly from any point of view it's too early to be talking about massive relaxation or freedom when the outbreak curve is on such a sharp ascent.

'Yes, relax, but don't have these mixed messages about what's going on. This dangerous virus hasn't gone away, its variants are coming back and are threatening those who have already been vaccinated  we have to take it seriously.'

Degrees of freedom: What the rules will say after July 19

Masks 'probably won't do any good' from July 19 because not enough people will wear them, top SAGE expert claims Wearing a mask after Freedom Day 'probably won't do any good', one of the Government's top scientific advisers claimed today. Professor Graham Medley accepted there was still a lack of evidence about how useful masks are but said is was his personal belief they only work when 'everybody' wears one. From July 19, people in England will no longer be legally required to wear a face covering on public transport or in shops, restaurants and other indoor spaces. But ministers and scientific advisers are still encouraging people to don a mask in crowded spaces where the risk of Covid is higher. Professor Medley told the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme: 'I understand the Government's reluctance to actually mandate it. 'But on the other hand, if it's not mandated it probably won't do any good.' Professor Medley is the chairman of SAGE's modelling group SPI-B, whose forecasts pointed towards a smaller wave this autumn and gave ministers the confidence to press ahead with the final unlocking. He added: 'I personally will wear a mask to protect other people. I think it's quite a reasonable thing to do. It doesn't have a huge imposition in terms of economic impact or in terms of freedom, and I think there is evidence to suggest it does good, but only if everybody does it.' 'So I think that, without the mandation, then we end up with a situation where even if the majority of people, let's say 70 per cent of people wear a mask, will that actually do any good because of the 30 per cent who don't? I think that is something which still needs to be determined and discussed.' There is enough evidence to show masks offer at least some protection against catching and spreading Covid but the extend of this protection is still unknown. Advertisement

SAGE warns hospital admissions could soar beyond 12,000 a day with 200 people dying if Brits abandon social distancing and pour back into offices

By CONNOR BOYD ASSISTANT HEALTH EDITOR AND LUKE ANDREW HEALTH REPORTER FOR MAILONLINE

SAGE has signed off on plans to end Covid restrictions in England next week after estimating there will be 10 times fewer deaths and half as many hospital admissions in the third wave compared to previous peaks.

Modelling by the expert group said it was realistic to expect between 100 to 200 daily fatalities and 1,000 to 2,000 hospital admissions at the worst of the current outbreak this autumn, following the unlocking on July 19.

There is a tenfold lower risk of dying from Covid now than in the second wave and a fourfold lower risk of being admitted to hospital because of the 'vaccine effect' and the fact younger people now make up the bulk of cases.

For this reason the group  whose projections have guided No10 through the pandemic  expects the number of daily deaths to be 'considerably smaller' than the 1,200 recorded in January and anticipates hospital admissions will stay 'well below' the 4,000 in the winter.

The forecasts were revealed as part of a tranche of documents published today and submitted to ministers last week. They will have given No10 the confidence to press ahead with Freedom Day next Monday.

While the central modelling points towards a much smaller epidemic than previously seen, SAGE admitted its calculations were highly uncertain and warned that the crisis could quickly spiral to record levels if people suddenly abandon all personal precautions on July 19.

This could lead to 4,800 admissions per day in a worst-case scenario. 'The priority should be to avoid a very rapid return to pre-pandemic behaviour which could lead to a peak in hospitalisations similar to, or possibly even higher than, previous peaks,' SAGE concluded. Daily deaths could surpass 500 in this scenario.

According to a model by Imperial College London  headed by 'Professor Lockdown' Neil Ferguson, who was instrumental in the initial shutdown last spring  there could be 12,000 daily admissions if immunity from vaccines and previous infection fades quicker than expected.

SAGE said that the slower Britons return to normal life, the better, and have urged people to keep wearing masks in crowded areas, meet friends outside where possible and isolate if they feel ill or are 'pinged' by the NHS contact tracing app.

The advisory panel has also signed off on the July 19 date because delaying restrictions would only push the peak back into winter, when the NHS will be wrestling with seasonal pressures.

Exactly when the third peak will happen is still not known but the experts believe it will be sometime in August at the earliest. They are bracing for more than 100,000 daily infections - which would dwarf the peak of 60,000 in January - and are expecting cases to stay 'extremely high' all summer.

The group is advising the Government puts 'contingency plans' in place so that restrictions can be quickly rolled back if the NHS starts to buckle under the pressure of an influx of admissions.

COVID BED OCCUPANCY: SAGE modelled five scenarios after July based on how quickly people stopped social distancing and dumped other Covid measures. They found under the more pessimistic model when people quickly reverted to pre-pandemic levels of socialising there could be around 18,000 Covid patients in hospitals by September (yellow and purple lines). But in more optimistic scenarios when people were more cautious about socialising, they surged to a high of between 10,000 and 8,000 beds occupied in September

The modelling, published by SAGE today but dated July 7, provides the first look at what letting Covid infect 100,000 people per day could look like after July 19.

New health secretary Sajid Javid warned last week that the Government was prepared for six-digit infection numbers on the back of the unlocking, but did not reveal how many of these cases would fall severely ill or die.

The scale of the third wave remains highly uncertain, SAGE said, because it remains to be seen how people will behave when curbs are lifted.

There are smaller uncertainties including how long vaccine immunity lasts and the true number of people who have not been for a jab yet - because population numbers are not yet available from the census earlier this year.

The central forecast of a maximum 200 daily deaths and 2,000 hospital admissions is based on people gradually edging back to normal over several months.

It also works on the assumption that people continue to stay at home if they're sick, keep social contacts limited, wear masks in crowded areas and return to offices in a phased manner.

SAGE concluded: 'The priority should be to avoid a very rapid return to pre-pandemic behaviour which could lead to a peak in hospitalisations similar to, or possibly even higher than, previous peaks.

'The mechanism by which this gradual change to more mixing is achieved is much less important than the fact it is gradual.'

The expert group called for ministers to put backup plans in place in case the NHS starts to become overwhelmed this winter. It said that it will become clear within the first few weeks after July 19 whether this will be likely.

Experts will be keeping an eye on ICU admissions, ventilator capacity and the length of hospital stay rather than solely on the number of admissions.

Speaking at tonight's Downing Street press conference, Professor Chris Whitty warned that the country will face an 'exit wave' of coronavirus infections whenever restrictions are lifted.

He said there is no 'ideal date' for ending lockdown and there will be an increase in hospital admissions and deaths when it happens. However Prof Whitty said it is essential to proceed 'steadily and cautiously' to reduce the numbers of people becoming seriously ill.

'There is extremely wide agreement that whenever we go through the next step, there is going to be what's called an exit wave  there will be a wave associated with that,' he said.

'The slower we take it, the fewer people will have Covid, the smaller the peak will be, and the smaller the number of people who go into hospital and die.'

Professor Whitty said there was 'no clear evidence' a further delay to lockdown lifting would make a difference to overall numbers.

'There is no such thing as an ideal date  all the possible dates have downsides,' he said. 'If we could go at this point in time, we go at a point when there are still some people being vaccinated, but we are not going at a point when schools are just coming back, and we're not going at a point where we're going into autumn and winter.

'The modelling studies that have been done on this largely show that all dates essentially tend to lead to broadly similar outcomes  different models come to very slightly different conclusions.'

SAGE's three modelling teams, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Imperial College London and Warwick University, looked at various ways the outbreak could change after next week.

They considered variables  such as how many people accept a vaccine, how quickly people return to normal and the number of infections at the peak  to come to best-case, worst-case and central scenarios.

The modelling showed:

Imperial College London: Hospital admissions on par with second peak but deaths 'substantially' lower

The team at Imperial said there could be more than 30,000 Covid deaths and 260,000 hospital admissions with the virus over the next year. For comparison, there were about 80,000 total deaths in the second wave and 300,000 admissions.

Imperial's central estimate assumes that people will continue to wear face coverings, self-isolate and keep good hand hygiene measures past the July 19 unlocking.

But the team, led by Professor Neil Ferguson, said it was possible the country could suffer 75,500 additional deaths and as many as 546,000 hospitalisations in a more pessimistic scenario.

In a worst-case scenario daily hospitalisations could soar beyond 12,000, according to modelling by Imperial College London, headed by 'Professor Lockdown' Neil Ferguson, who was instrumental in the initial shutdown last spring. This model assumed that people who are unvaccinated and were previously infected with the Kent variant are still susceptible to catching the Indian strain, which would scupper hopes that Britain can get to herd immunity through a combination of natural infections and vaccinations this winter

This assumed low vaccine uptake in younger populations and high numbers of 'reinfections', which would scupper hopes of achieving herd immunity this winter through vaccination in the elderly population and natural infection in the young.

In their most optimistic scenario, in which people were extremely prudent with their behaviour, Imperial said there would be just 14,000 more deaths from the virus by this time next year, and 112,500 hospitalisations.

But, like the other modelling teams, Imperial did not include the effect of the planned booster programme in autumn in their calculations, which has the potential to reduce the number of people falling severely ill.

Scientists are not yet clear how long immunity from vaccines lasts because the jabs have never been rolled out before, but early data suggests it lasts at least six months in the 'majority' of cases.

A booster vaccine programme has already been signed off by the Government's scientific advisers, who said a third shot may restore peak immunity.

LSHTM: Outbreak will be smaller than previous waves even in worst case

Britain's third wave will be smaller than previous peaks even in the most pessimistic scenarios, researchers at LSHTM suggested.

The models looked at a number of factors that could influence the outbreak, including vaccine uptake, duration of immunity and how long people take personal social precautions.

The team found that in all scenarios the third wave of infections will peak in August, but the degree to which hospital admissions and deaths follow depends on the above variables.

They warned that if people suddenly dropped all social distancing rules by 60 per cent and immunity started to fade within 12 months then there could be 600 deaths per day in winter and 3,500 admissions.

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine looked at two scenarios. In scenario 1 (red) it was assumed that medium levels of mobility changes occur after roadmap Step 4; a 20% reduction in self-protective measures; no waning of natural and vaccine induced immunity; and optimistic assumptions on vaccine effectiveness against the Delta variant. Scenario 2 (blue) considers: high levels of mobility changes occurring after roadmap Step 4; a 60% reduction in self-protective measures; 15% of individuals with natural and vaccine induced immunity waning after 1 year; and vaccines being 90-plus per cent effective at reducing hospitalisations from the Delta strain

In the team's most realistic scenario  where immunity from jabs does not wane but social contact rises gradually between groups  they suggest there could be fewer than 1,000 hospital admissions per day and fewer than 200 deaths.

Easings from previous lockdowns have shown mixing between Britons has only risen gradually, and not leaped upwards to pre-March 2020 levels.

Warwick University: 4,000 hospital admissions a day by August

Warwick University scientists found there could be 4,000 Covid hospitalisations a day this winter in a worst-case scenario, rising to potentially 7,000.

A more realistic scenario proposed by the modellers would see hospitalisations surge to 2,000 a day  a five-fold increase on the current level but half the more than 4,000 recorded during the second wave, and 500 daily deaths.

They say even this scenario would place a 'heavy burden' on the NHS which is battling through a backlog of patients.

In their most optimistic forecast, peak daily hospital admissions could peak at around 700 a day and deaths 100. But in order to achieve this, people would need to be very cautious with their social interactions for another five months.

Warwick University scientists advising SAGE predict there could be up to 7,000 Covid hospitalisations a day during the third wave, spiralling above the peak of the second wave (shown in the upper confidence interval in purple). A more realistic scenario proposed by the modellers would see hospitalisations surge to 2,000 a day  a five-fold increase on the current level but half the more than 4,000 recorded during the second wave. They say this would place a 'heavy burden' on the NHS which is battling through a backlog of patients

Warwick scientists also suggest there may be a fourth wave over the autumn and winter, as the start of the new school term drives up transmission and cases.

All three scenarios assumed that 33 per cent of Britons will still be susceptible to Covid by July 19, although this is expected to be an overestimate because of the vaccine rollout and natural immunity.

Official figures suggest 90 per cent of the population now have some immunity against Covid, based on the Office for National Statistics' antibody study.

The Warwick team concluded: 'Even if all controls are lifted on 19 July 2021, it is unlikely that the entire population will return to pre-Covid mixing patterns; many individuals are likely to still avoid crowds and limit their risky behaviours.

'Seasonality and slow decline could lead to a fourth wave in the winter of 2021 or early spring 2022. but very uncertain due to waning immunity, seasonality and possible boosters.'
Professor Graham Medley claimed that wearing a mask after Freedom Day 'probably won't do any good' because so few people will wear them

Wearing a mask after Freedom Day 'probably won't do any good', one of the Government's top scientific advisers claimed today.

Professor Graham Medley accepted there was still a lack of evidence about how useful masks are but said it was his personal belief they only work when 'everybody' wears one.

From July 19, people in England will no longer be legally required to wear a face covering on public transport or in shops, restaurants and other indoor spaces.

But ministers and scientific advisers are still encouraging people to don a mask in crowded spaces where the risk of Covid is higher.

Professor Medley told the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme: 'I understand the Government's reluctance to actually mandate it.

'But on the other hand, if it's not mandated it probably won't do any good.'

Professor Medley is the chairman of SAGE's modelling group SPI-M, whose forecasts pointed towards a smaller wave this autumn and gave ministers the confidence to press ahead with the final unlocking.

He added: 'I personally will wear a mask to protect other people. I think it's quite a reasonable thing to do.

'It doesn't have a huge imposition in terms of economic impact or in terms of freedom, and I think there is evidence to suggest it does good, but only if everybody does it.'

'So I think that, without the mandation, then we end up with a situation where even if the majority of people, let's say 70 per cent of people wear a mask, will that actually do any good because of the 30 per cent who don't? I think that is something which still needs to be determined and discussed.'

There is enough evidence to show masks offer at least some protection against catching and spreading Covid but the true extent of this protection is still unknown.

A lab study by Duke University in North Carolina showed that a variety of different face masks reduced the amount of viral droplets expelled into the air. The N95 and surgical masks were found to be much better than various cotton and other cloth coverings but every type was better than none. In the study, a mask wearer repeated the sentence 'Stay healthy, people' five times, after which and researchers used a thermal camera and thermal camera to monitor the amount of droplets released

A similar study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US looked at how efficient each type of covering was at blocking different sized droplets (shown along the bottom). Again, the high-grade N95 mask was shown to collect 100 per cent of droplets except the finest. Surgical masks (orange) and double-layered cloth masks (in lighter blue) performed second best. Gaiter 1-layer represents a single cloth mask

A laboratory experiment by the University of Edinburgh showed that even cotton masks (left) and face shields (right) reduced the distance Covid particles travel when exhaled by 90 per cent. Although handmade masks (left) stop breath flowing forwards, exhaled air leaks elsewhere, which meant that the risk of passing Covid to someone nearby was still higher than with a tight-fitting industrial mask. Full-face shields generated a strong downward jet (right)

WHAT DO STUDIES SAY ABOUT MASKS? Throughout the pandemic there has been fierce scientific debate about how well the guards work at reducing transmission, despite nearly every country in the world mandating or encouraging their use. Lab tests and observational studies have shown masks can block infected people from exhaling up to 80 per cent of the virus into the air and also protect wearers from inhaling up to 50 per cent of the particles. But real-world studies, which involve more scientific rigour, have produced mixed results, with some showing a huge impact on infection rates and others showing virtually none. Vaccines have been proven to reduce Covid transmission by at least 60 per cent after two doses, but studying the effect of masks is more difficult because there are more variables - including how often a person wears the mask, what type they use and if it fits properly. A retrospective US trial in Missouri last May looked at two hairdressers who had Covid and interacted with nearly 140 clients over the space of a week. Of the clients who wore masks during their appointment, none caught the virus. Another real-world study looked at 124 households with a confirmed case of Covid in Beijing last February. It found that, when masks were worn by everyone in communal rooms in the home, transmission was reduced by 79 per cent. A report published in the Lancet last June found the risk of catching Covid was as low as 3 per cent if people wore masks and properly social distanced from others. The findings were based on 172 studies in 16 countries. In a Thai study published in November, researchers found that of 1,000 patients contacted through test and trace systems, those who reported always wearing a mask in public were 70 per cent less likely to become infected than those who didn't. A laboratory experiment by the University of Edinburgh showed that even the most flimsy face coverings reduce the distance Covid particles travel when exhaled by 90 per cent. Despite the findings, scientists still cannot say for certain how effective masks really are. Professor Dingwall, who sits on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) which advises No10 on the Covid jab rollout, told MailOnline: 'The problem is we don't have many randomised studies. 'Instead we've got observational studies, modelling studies and laboratory studies where findings can be cherry-picked. The randomised trials we do have don't show much benefit [to wearing masks].' A randomised study known as the 'Danmask' trial, published by scientists at Copenhagen University over winter, found no statistical evidence that they offer any protection whatsoever. Experts recruited 6,000 volunteers in the spring  before masks were mandatory there  and split the them into two groups, with half wearing masks in public and half not. Results showed that, after one month, 1.8 per cent of the people wearing masks had been infected with the virus. By comparison, 2.1 per cent of the people in the unmasked group had tested positive for Covid. The difference between the two groups was not found to be statistically significant. However, the findings from the Danmask study came under scrutiny, with critics pointing out that less than half of participants actually wore masks when they were supposed to. It also only looked at the benefit of masks on protecting the wearer. Masks are thought to be much better at preventing infected people from passing the disease onto others, which the trial did not look at. The Copenhagen researchers noted this, writing: 'The findings, however, should not be used to conclude that a recommendation for everyone to wear masks in the community would not be effective in reducing SARS-CoV-2 infections, because the trial did not test the role of masks in source control of SARS-CoV-2 infection.' Two other real-world studies - in Guinea-Bissau and India - found no evidence that masks significantly reduce Covid transmission. Oxford University's Professor Carl Heneghan and Dr Tom Jefferson, from the prestigious Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, said following the Danmask study: 'Now we have properly rigorous scientific research we can rely on, the evidence shows wearing masks in the community does not significantly reduce the rates of infection.' In its recommendations, the World Health Organization concluded that the use of a mask alone 'is not sufficient to provide an adequate level of protection against COVID-19.' Advertisement

Another Government adviser, Professor Robert Dingwall, said that giving people the flexibility to choose to wear a face mask was 'sensible'.

The sociologist, who sits on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, claimed the benefit of mask-wearing had been exaggerated.

He told Sky News today: 'I think the only really sensible advice is to think carefully about whether your personal risk would lead you to think about using face coverings in very crowded situations.

'When I'm thinking of crowded situations, I think things like the London Tube at rush-hour.

'There is a huge difference between the London Underground at 8am and the London Underground at 8pm. And I think we now have the flexibility to adjust to that.

'When I go to the supermarket on a Friday evening or first thing on Saturday morning, it's relatively empty, I'm certainly not going to wear a mask in those situations.

'If it was Christmas Eve and the place was heaving, that might be something to think about. Although, frankly, the benefit of masks is much exaggerated.

'The way in which we focused on that is, I think, another signal of the levels of fear  we're clinging to something which is visible, but doesn't actually achieve very much.'

Throughout the pandemic there has been fierce scientific debate about how well the guards work at reducing transmission, despite nearly every country in the world mandating or encouraging their use.

Wearing a mask will become personal choice instead of a legal requirement when England finally comes out of lockdown on Monday, in a move that has sparked a fresh row about their effectiveness.

Experts told MailOnline they were confident there is 'some' benefit to wearing masks to prevent Covid from spreading  but they admitted to what degree remains unknown because there is a lack of quality evidence.

Cambridge University's Dr Raghib Ali, a clinical epidemiologist, added the vaccines are doing such a good job at reducing transmission that there is now little need for masks to be worn everywhere.

But he said they could still be beneficial in hospitals, care homes and in crowded and poorly ventilated areas like the Tube, adding that a high-grade FFP3 mask would be the best option over a surgical or cloth mask.

Lab tests and observational studies have shown masks can block infected people from exhaling up to 80 per cent of the virus into the air and also protect wearers from inhaling up to 50 per cent of the particles.

But real-world studies, which involve more scientific rigour, have produced mixed results, with some showing a huge impact on infection rates and others showing virtually none.

Boris Johnson last night confirmed most restrictions will be axed on Monday including making face masks mandatory.

But at a gloomy Downing Street press conference insisted caution was vital.

He added: 'I cannot say this powerfully or emphatically enough  this pandemic is not over. This disease coronavirus continues to carry risks for you and for your family. We cannot simply revert instantly from Monday, July 19, to life as it was before Covid.'

Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said families should still 'avoid unnecessary meetings' with other households with normal life returning only 'very slowly'.

Mr Johnson called for continued mask-wearing in busy indoor settings such as trains, supermarkets and cinemas.

And he urged firms not to order staff back to their desks despite the lifting of the formal 'work from home guidance'.

The Prime Minister also dropped his claim that the unlocking would be 'irreversible'. Asked whether restrictions could return, he said he hoped they would not but added: 'We must rule nothing out.'

Mark Harper, chairman of the Covid Recovery Group of Tory MPs, said even the limited taste of freedom could prove short-lived.

'Enjoy summer if you can,' he said. 'Winter is coming  and I fear that Covid restrictions will return.'

Mr Johnson said the vaccine programme made next week's unlocking possible by severely weakening the link between cases and deaths.

But he stressed it was vital not to 'tear the pants out of it', adding: 'Because the legal restrictions have come off, it should not be taken as an invitation by everybody to have a great jubilee and freedom from any kind of caution. We don't expect that the whole country will return to their desks as one from Monday

Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith warned that 'Freedom Day' was being watered down at the behest of nervous experts. In the Commons, Mr Javid acknowledged there were risks in reopening next week, but said delaying the measures could push cases into the autumn and winter, when the NHS would struggle to cope.

And he said ministers had to consider the costs of keeping restrictions in place, including those to the economy and mental health.

The remaining measures and guidance will be reviewed by September 30 at the latest.

SAGE warns hospital admissions could soar beyond 12,000 a day with 200 people dying if Brits abandon social distancing and pour back into offices

SAGE today signed off on plans to end Covid restrictions in England next week after estimating there will be 10 times fewer deaths and half as many hospital admissions in the third wave compared to previous peaks.

Modelling by the expert group said it was realistic to expect between 100 to 200 daily fatalities and 1,000 to 2,000 hospital admissions at the worst of the current outbreak this autumn, following the unlocking on July 19.

There is a ten-fold lower risk of dying from Covid now than in the second wave and a fourfold lower risk of being admitted to hospital because of the 'vaccine effect' and the fact younger people now make up the bulk of cases.

COVID DEATHS: SAGE modelled five different scenarios after July based on how quickly people stop social distancing and following basic Covid measures. The worst-case scenario (in purple) would see people go back to pre-pandemic normal within a month and could lead to more than 500 deaths per day in October. A more gradual relaxation would see deaths remain in the 100 to 200 range at the peak (shown in light blue, dark blue and red)

DAILY HOSPITALISATIONS: The group expects there to be between 1,000 and 2,000 admissions at the peak this autumn, with its most central estimate shown in light blue. However, the group says its modelling is highly uncertain and depends on how fast people ditch personal precautions. For this reason the confidence intervals suggest there could be more than 3,000 daily admissions

For this reason, the group  whose projections have guided No10 through the pandemic  expects the number of daily deaths to be 'considerably smaller' than the 1,200 recorded in January and anticipates hospital admissions will stay 'well below' the 4,000 in the winter.

The forecasts were revealed as part of a tranche of documents published today and submitted to ministers last week. They will have given No10 the confidence to press ahead with Freedom Day next Monday.

While the central modelling points towards a much smaller epidemic than previously seen, SAGE admitted its calculations were highly uncertain and warned that the crisis could quickly spiral to record levels if people suddenly abandon all personal precautions on July 19.

COVID BED OCCUPANCY: SAGE modelled five scenarios after July based on how quickly people stopped social distancing and dumped other Covid measures. They found under the more pessimistic model when people quickly reverted to pre-pandemic levels of socialising there could be around 18,000 Covid patients in hospitals by September (yellow and purple lines). But in more optimistic scenarios when people were more cautious about socialising, they surged to a high of between 10,000 and 8,000 beds occupied in September

In a worst-case scenario daily hospitalisations could soar beyond 12,000, according to modelling by Imperial College London, headed by 'Professor Lockdown' Neil Ferguson, who was instrumental in the initial shutdown last spring. This model assumed that people who are unvaccinated and were previously infected with the Kent variant are still susceptible to catching the Indian strain, which would scupper hopes that Britain can get to herd immunity through a combination of natural infections and vaccinations this winter

This could lead to 4,800 admissions per day in a worst-case scenario. 'The priority should be to avoid a very rapid return to pre-pandemic behaviour which could lead to a peak in hospitalisations similar to, or possibly even higher than, previous peaks,' SAGE concluded. Daily deaths could surpass 500 in this scenario.

According to a model by Imperial College London  headed by 'Professor Lockdown' Neil Ferguson, who was instrumental in the initial shutdown last spring  there could be 12,000 daily admissions if immunity from vaccines and previous infection fades quicker than expected.

His team's gloomiest predictions  based on a whole host of factors that could go wrong in the next few months  also warned of a peak of beyond 25,000 daily hospital admissions and 3,000 deaths.

SAGE said that the slower Britons return to normal life, the better, and have urged people to keep wearing masks in crowded areas, meet friends outside where possible and isolate if they feel ill or are 'pinged' by the NHS contact tracing app.

The advisory panel has also signed off on the July 19 date because delaying restrictions would only push the peak back into winter, when the NHS will be wrestling with seasonal pressures.

Exactly when the third peak will happen is still not known but the experts believe it will be sometime in August at the earliest. They are bracing for more than 100,000 daily infections - which would dwarf the peak of 60,000 in January - and are expecting cases to stay 'extremely high' all summer.

The group is advising the Government puts 'contingency plans' in place so that restrictions can be quickly rolled back if the NHS starts to buckle under the pressure of an influx of admissions.
Officials on the Isles of Scilly have built a 'safe space' for Wally The Walrus - a pontoon where he can relax undisturbed and cause less trouble.

Locals are also being advised to gently push the arctic walrus away from their vessels with an oar if he approaches.

It's hoped the advice and the newly constructed pontoon will encourage him to feel safe - and decrease his 'vandalism'.

It comes after officials said they hoped to deport the walrus back to its home in the Arctic over damage concerns from local fishermen.

The adventurous creature, thought to have floated across the Atlantic on an ice floe, has clocked up significant sea miles in recent months with visits to Ireland, Wales, France and Scilly.

Officials have worked with experts on the Isles of Scilly have built a 'safe space' for Wally the Walrus - a large pontoon where he can relax undisturbed and cause less trouble (pictured)

It is hoped the pontoon will make the walrus feel more safe and keep him away from boats

Wally the Walrus was pictured hitching a ride on a boat so he could sunbathe and rest

But the marine mammal has proven to be a bit of a vandal - causing thousands of pounds worth of damage to boats in St Mary's harbour.

Now BDMLR and the Harbour Authority have constructed a specific customised pontoon replicating his apparent need for physical contact.

Wally has also taken a liking to the Star of Life ambulance boat - but it's been agreed he can still climb on board in between times of emergency.

A spokesperson from the BDMLR, Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust, Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust and the St Mary's Harbour Team said: 'We have collectively decided, with the support of the Harbour Office of St Mary's, that when he hauls out onto the Star of Life ambulance boat, he can be left to rest.

'If there is a callout, he has been shown to get off the vessel, so not impacting the boat's ability to serve the community's emergency needs.

'Allowing him to remain on the Star of Life reduces potential damage to other vessels which is a key aim of our dynamic risk assessment procedures.

Wally has also taken a liking to the Star of Life ambulance boat (pictured) - but it's been agreed he can still climb on board in between times of emergency as he does not impeded its service

Wally the famous Arctic Walrus causing havoc for boat owners of the Isles of Scilly earlier this month after returning to the UK coast. Images show the walrus deflating rubber dinghies

Witnesses said Wally's tusks popped several dinghies that were attached to the back of yachts

'BDMLR and the Harbour Authority have constructed a specific customised pontoon replicating his apparent need for physical contact.

'His scent has been used on it to encourage him to feel safe. The aim is to test to see if he will use it and to encourage him to opt for this rather than the Star of Life (or any other vessel).

'It has been moored close to the Walrus' preferred haul out in the hope that he will choose this as a 'better option'.

'Since the pontoons deployment the Walrus has found it and has now returned to it on a number of occasions in between feeding excursions.

'The situation is being monitored and it may be possible to re-locate the pontoon outside the harbour area to reduce disturbance and enable him to rest more effectively.

'In the meantime all boats owners and water users have been asked to give the Walrus space and refrain from actively moving towards him, but the temptation has proved too strong for many.

The Walrus has been finding boats to nap on to build up his strength before returning north

'The Walrus is a highly protected species and disturbance of this nature is a criminal offence.

'Even a lift of the head means his rest has been interrupted. PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM HIM.

'We are aware that the pontoon is moored within an active and busy harbour and are not expecting people to not use their boats.

'For those moored near where the pontoon/Walrus is when accessing your boats please do so as efficiently as you can, leave your moorings by moving away from where the pontoon is and approach your moorings to pick-up by the same means.'

Experts say the new pontoon will not prevent Wally from eventually moving on from the Isles of Scilly - and that when he is ready, energy wise, he will move on.

It's also been reiterated an animal dart would not work on Wally, since for an animal his size, the drug would take too long to take effect, he would be off into the water and likely die.

Previous attempts at re-locating other mobile marine species have proved that this option does not work, as relocated animals simply swim the long distances back to where they want to be.

Animal welfare groups believe it initially came across the North Atlantic ocean from Greenland on an ice floe.

It was first seen in Ireland before taking up residence in Tenby, Pembrokeshire in March.
What does Level 0 mean for Scots? Requirement to wear face coverings will remain.

No plans for the return of nightclubs and adult entertainment.

Social distancing will be reduced to one metre inside public places.

Indoor gathering restrictions in homes will be lifted to allow up to eight people from up to four households to meet.

Ten people from four households can meet in a public indoor space - such as a pub or restaurant

Up to 15 people from up to 15 households can meet outdoors.

The 11pm closure time for pubs operating indoors will be changed to midnight - a change from original plans to scrap the limit entirely.

Planned 'gradual return to the office' postponed until August 9.

Quarantine for contacts of people with Covid also lifted on that date Advertisement

Nicola Sturgeon taunted Boris Johnson today as she announced she was modifying Scotland's escape from lockdown - but will free businesses from crippling staff quarantine rules before England.

The First Minister confirmed Scotland will move to Level 0 of its lockdown on Monday but with some key measures like masks and working from home remaining in law until August.

She used her virtual appearance at Holyrood to mock the PM over masks, the wearing of which will become voluntary from Monday in England despite pleases from medics and scientists.

She accused Mr Johnson of refusing to keep face coverings mandatory to make his 'life easier' with lockdown-sceptic Tory backbenchers who want restrictions to disappear immediately.

But her heaviest hit was over self-isolation for people 'pinged' by NHS test and trace and its Scottish equivalent. She revealed the double-jabbed will no longer have to quarantine from August 9.

That is a full week before the same easement is due to take place in England - with question marks today over whether it will remain in place after that.

Details of the 'Freedom Day' plans issued by the UK government overnight make clear that the regime will be 'necessary through the autumn and winter'.

The documents also say exemptions from isolation for the double-jabbed and children are only 'likely to come into effect later in the summer', despite Sajid Javid previously specifying August 16.

Ms Sturgeon's move is certain to lead to a clamor for the timing to be reciprocated south of the border, amid bitter complaints from firms who have been forced to close due to a lack of staff.

The SNP leader said rules on wearing masks indoors in Scotland would stay in place 'not just now but in all likelihood for some time to come'

The PM declared last night that 'Freedom Day' will go ahead in England on schedule next Monday, with almost all legal restrictions axed despite the surge caused by the Delta variant.

Test & Trace WON'T be scrapped until at least next year The Test, Trace & Isolate system is set to stay until at least next year despite alarm over rising numbers of healthy people being doomed to house arrest. Details of the 'Freedom Day' plans issued by the government overnight make clear that the regime will be 'necessary through the autumn and winter'. The documents also say exemptions from isolation for the double-jabbed and children are only 'likely to come into effect later in the summer', despite Sajid Javid previously specifying August 16. The timetable will fuel concerns about whether England is really heading back towards normality after the July 19 unlocking. Ministers have warned that daily cases could top 100,000 by next month - raising the prospect that millions of close contacts of the infected will be 'pinged' and ordered to isolate for up to 10 days. The hospitality industry has already been complaining that the level of staff absence risks making it impossible for some businesses to operate. Boris Johnson last night pulled the trigger on the legal unlocking, but warned Covid curbs could return in September if new freedoms are abused. Mr Johnson called for continued mask-wearing in busy indoor settings such as trains, supermarkets and cinemas. And he urged firms not to order staff back to their desks despite the lifting of the formal 'work from home guidance'. The Prime Minister also dropped his claim that the unlocking would be 'irreversible'. Asked whether restrictions could return, he said he hoped they would not but added: 'We must rule nothing out.' Advertisement

The SNP leader confirmed restrictions north of the border will be lowered to 'Level 0' from Monday as planned.

But in a virtual appearance at Holyrood she said her roadmap would include some modifications.

'This is intended to ensure that our pace of easing restrictions is sensible in light of the challenge we continue to face from the Delta variant,' she said.

'And I will confirm that certain mitigations - such as the mandatory wearing of face coverings - will remain in place, not just now but, in all likelihood, for some time to come.

'Measures like the continued wearing of face coverings are important, not just to give added protection to the population as a whole, but also to give protection and assurance to those amongst us who are particularly vulnerable and previously had to shield.'

The central belt of Scotland is currently in Level 2 of measures, with the rest of the mainland in Level 1 and most of the islands in Level 0.

The PM declared last night that 'Freedom Day' will go ahead in England on schedule next Monday, with almost all legal restrictions axed despite the surge caused by the Delta variant.

However, he did plead with people in England to be cautious, with guidance saying they are 'expected and recommended' to wear masks in crowded places.

In a veiled attack on Mr Johnson, Ms Sturgeon said added: 'It is my view that if government believes measures like this matter - and we do - we should say so, do what is necessary to ensure compliance, and take any resulting flak from those who disagree.

'We shouldn't lift important restrictions to make our lives easier and then expect the public to take responsibility for doing the right thing anyway.'

As well as masks the First Minister confirmed that a gradual end to working from home was being postponed until August 9 at the earliest.

The Scottish Government plans to drop the requirement to self-isolate for a close contact of a Covid-19 case when the country moves beyond Level 0 on that date, she added.

From Monday, weddings and funerals can go ahead with up to 200 guests, and pubs and restaurants will no longer be pre-book only.

There will still be some restrictions on other public gatherings, with eight people from up to four households indoors at home - 10 people from up to four households in pubs or restaurants and 15 people from up to 15 households outdoors.

Ms Sturgeon has already made clear that face coverings will continue, swiping at Boris Johnson 'throwing caution to the wind' by making them optional in England and insisting she will put safety above 'popularity'.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said: 'The public have done what was expected of them. Now it is time for this SNP Government to deliver and hold up their end of the bargain'

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said: 'It is welcome that Scotland will move to Level Zero next week with minor modifications, and that self-isolation rules for people travelling will be relaxed.

'However, while this statement provides some of the clarity and answers we expected, the challenges are still piling up for this SNP Government on multiple fronts.

'On Test and Protect, standards have dropped. Instead of restoring those high standards, the SNP have lowered the bar and weakened the criteria, as reports this week uncovered.

'On the vaccine rollout, which has happened at a phenomenal pace across the whole of the United Kingdom and allowed us to safely ease restrictions at a faster pace, progress here in Scotland has now slowed. Today's figures are the worst in three months.

'On NHS readiness, we have multiple health boards bordering on breaking point, declaring code black status.

'On Long Covid, an illness that has the potential to overwhelm our NHS if it is not tackled seriously, the SNP government have been slow to act, and are refusing to consider our proposals for a network of Long Covid clinics.

'And parents are still anxiously waiting to hear if their children will need to self-isolate after a year of disrupted learning.'

The PM declared last night that 'Freedom Day' will go ahead on schedule next Monday, with almost all legal restrictions axed despite the surge caused by the Delta variant

Earlier, a public health specialist urged the First Minister to keep the current restrictions in place for longer.

Professor Andrew Watterson, of Stirling University, said too few people currently had the protection of both vaccine doses.

He told the Times: 'For this to be irreversible, it's got to be cautious.

'We must rule nothing out and I've been very, very clear about that.

'We must protect the public and we will not hesitate to use the means that we have at our disposal.'
This is the terrifying moment two women plunged off the top of a 6,300ft cliff in Russia while playing on a swing that overhangs the precipice.

The pair were taking a ride on the swing over Sulak Canyon in the Russian Republic of Dagestan, on the Caspian Sea, when one of its chains snapped.

That caused the swing seat to tip over at the moment the two women were heading towards the cliff edge, ejecting them over the steep cliffs.

Fortunately, their lives were saved by a small wooden platform located just beyond the cliff edge which broke their fall.

Two girls were lucky to survive after a swing they were playing on snapped and threw them off the top of a 6,300ft cliff in Russia's Dagestan republic

Rather than plunging to their deaths, the pair sustained only bruises and scratches before their shocked relatives hauled them back to safety.

Police are now investigating the safety of several canyon swings which have been built near Zubutli village, where this accident took place.

'The girls got scared and sustained scratches, but neither of them suffered serious injuries, ' a source told the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper.

'It is chilling to imagine what could have happened if they slipped when the swings were at a maximum height.'

The local Kazbekovsky council is expected to demand such precipice swings be removed, said reports.

The Sulak gorge is deeper than the Grand Canyon in the US, and described as the deepest canyon in Europe.

The Ministry of Tourism in Dagestan said the swing 'did not meet safety standards'.

'As a result, the young women fell off the swing seat,' said their statement.

'Law enforcement agencies and other services are already conducting relevant checks to ensure that nothing threatens lives and health'.

The pair had been playing on a swing set that overhangs the Sulak Canyon when one of its chains snapped and sent them flying over the edge
David Cameron was paid the equivalent of almost 29,000 per day to advise a failed bank at the centre of a ministerial lobbying scandal.

Insiders said the former prime minister was paid more than 720,000 to work for Greensill Capital, in a role that sparked multiple investigations after his approaches to ministers and officials.

Appearing in front of MPs in May Mr Cameron was markedly coy about how much he had earned.

He said he had been paid 'a generous annual amount - far more than what I earned as prime minister'. But he refused to disclose the figure, describing it as a 'private matter'.

However the Financial Times revealed today that he was contracted to work 25 days a year, meaning he was on around 28,800 a day.

The figure would allow him to buy one of the 25,000 luxury shepherd's huts he purchased after quitting No10 every day he worked for the firm.

It came as Michael Gove came under fire for blocking a senior civil servant from giving evidence to a committee probing the access given to Greensill founder Lex Greensill in the corridors of power.

The Cabinet Office minister claimed it would be 'inappropriate' for Sue Gray to appear before the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee.

Insiders said the former prime minister was paid more than 720,000 to work for Greensill Capital, in a role that sparked multiple investigations after his approaches to ministers and officials.

It came as Michael Gove came under fire for blocking a senior civil servant from giving evidence to a committee probing the access given to Greensill founder Lex Greensill in the corridors of power.

The Cabinet Office minister claimed it would be 'inappropriate' for Sue Gray to appear before the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee.

The figure would allow him to buy one of the 25,000 luxury shepherd's huts he purchased after quitting No10 every day he worked for the firm.

Gove blocks civil servant's Greensill evidence Michael Gove has blocked a request for a senior civil servant and former ethics chief to face questions from MPs over the collapse of Greensill Capital. The Cabinet Office minister claimed it would be 'inappropriate' for Sue Gray to appear before the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee. Questions emerged earlier this year over Greensill's links with the Government, in light of lobbying for the financial firm by former Conservative prime minister David Cameron. Conservative William Wragg, who chairs the committee, had told the Commons: 'Many of our witnesses so far have prayed in aid of the advice given to them by Sue Gray, who at the time was director general of propriety and ethics at the Cabinet Office. 'She was invited to attend the committee on Tuesday and her office initially accepted that invitation - she has now, I'm told, declined that on the advice of those more senior at the Cabinet Office. 'It is vital that the committee is able to hear from Ms Gray given that she was mentioned so many times, so therefore can I ask (Mr Gove) to ensure she will attend as planned on Tuesday?' Mr Gove replied: 'There are rules and they stress that serving civil servants act only in accordance with the wishes of ministers, and therefore it's rarely appropriate for them to appear to be questioned in the way which he would like. 'So I'm ready, willing and able to appear in front of the committee but it is my view that it would be inappropriate for a serving civil servant to appear in the way that he requests.' Advertisement

Bill Crothers was a former Government chief commercial officer who became an adviser to Greensill Capital while still working as a civil servant.

Last month, he told MPs there was no conflict of interest and said Ms Gray, the Whitehall ethics chief at the time, advised that it would be more appropriate instead to become a part-time civil servant while taking on the Greensill role.

Mr Cameron joined Greensill in August 2018. The former politician went on a behind-the-scenes lobbying blitz at the start of the pandemic as the company sought access to a 200million state-backed Covid lending scheme.

Official records revealed that between March and June last year he sent 62 text messages and WhatsApps to Chancellor Rishi Sunak, former friend Michael Gove and other ministers as well as top civil servants and a deputy governor of the Bank of England.

But Mr Cameron insisted it had not been 'some giant fraud' and that Greensill had had a 'really good idea' for how the Government could help businesses in the pandemic.

Last week it emerged that taxpayers could lose 335million after Greensill Capital was given access to government-backed Covid loan schemes without proper checks being carried out.

A National Audit Office investigation found that officials at the British Business Bank took 'at face value' the figures provided by the company and started to carry out checks only after the now-collapsed lender had doled out huge sums.

When asked whether he had lucrative share options in Greensill, Mr Cameron told the select committee he had 'shares, not share options'.

He added that reports he had share options worth 60million were 'completely absurd'.

Although Mr Cameron repeatedly refused to reveal what his salary was at the firm, he denied that fear the company would go bust and he would lose out on his income was the reason for his lobbying blitz.

'That's not what I felt at the time and it's not what motivated me,' he told the Treasury committee.

'I can absolutely say to you that I really believed in the solution that we had and we were putting to government that I thought would make a difference.

'I did not believe in March or April, when I was doing this contact, that there was a risk of Greensill falling over.'

The lender went bust in March when its insurers pulled cover, leading to the loss of 1,000 jobs.

A spokesman for Mr Cameron declined to comment.
An actor who appeared in Peaky Blinders and Emmerdale died alone hours after being sent home from hospital complaining of chest pains, an inquest has heard.

Toby Kirkup was admitted to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary on August 29 but was diagnosed with gastritis, then discharged home on the same day.

The 48-year-old had reported feeling a tingling sensation in his arms and experiencing chest pains.

Doctors at the West Yorkshire hospital diagnosed Mr Kirkip with gastritis, an inflammation in the stomach lining, and he was discharged.

But when he returned home to Titanic Mills in Linthwaite his condition deteriorated, the inquest at Bradford Coroner's Court heard.

Toby Kirkup, 48, was admitted to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary on August 29 but was discharged and sent home on the same day where he later died

He began vomiting and suffered a cardiac arrest, with the post mortem concluding that he had died of natural causes.

Mr Kirkup appeared as a police sergeant in Peaky Blinders and also had a role in ITV's soap opera Emmerdale

But the actor had previously suffered drug and alcohol issues, coroners officer Catherine Toner told assistant coroner, Katy Dickinson, at the hearing.

His family also had concerns about his medical treatment and requested a coroner examine his death.

The hearing has been adjourned until September 30, reports Yorkshire Live.

Mr Kirkup appeared as a police sergeant in Peaky Blinders, which finished filming its sixth and final season in May.

Filming in January after the show was forced to shut down set last March due to the coronavirus crisis.

As well as his role in the BBC hit, Mr Kurkup also appeared in ITV's soap opera Emmerdale.

His previous performances also include a number of Shakesperean roles for a Manchester-based theatre, while his credits also include an appearance on Channel 4's The Mill.

HIs classical roles include parts in productions of Richard III and Henry V for Manchester's Ragged School Drama.

Paying tribute to the actor, friends and family described him as 'always lovely to speak to', according to Yorkshire Live

He studied drama at the University of Huddersfield and worked as a writer, stagehand, TV presenter and actor. He was also a keen skiier.

Mr Kirkup also had hopes of starting a masters degree in creative writing at Leeds University.

Paying tribute to the actor, friends and family described him as 'always lovely to speak to'.

Another said he was 'always pleasant, polite and friendly'.

His brother Dominic who runs a hotel in Torquay and who used to manage The Butcher's Arms in Hepworth declined to comment after the hearing.
Nikki Haley has called for every governor in America to ban funding for critical race theory in schools.

The former U.N. Ambassador on Monday that teaching the subject is 'harmful for the well-being of our children'.

It comes amid increasing anger among parents over CRT-themed subjects being taught in schools and workshops being offered to teachers and administrations.

New rules approved on Monday by the State Board of Education in Oklahoma meant public school teachers could have their teaching licences suspended for teaching certain concepts about race and racism.

Nikki Haley has called for every governor in America to ban the teaching of critical race theory, saying the subject is 'harmful for the well-being of our children'

Haley told Fox News: 'Think about a five-year-old that starts kindergarten and they don't know anything about color.

'If she's White, you're telling her she's bad. If she's Brown or Black, you're telling her she will never be enough and she's always a victim. That's harmful for the well-being of our children.'

The former South Carolina governor argued that teaching CRT will have 'long-lasting effect on children' and called on governors to not take money from the Department of Education to fund classes on critical race theory.

In a tweet earlier this month, she said: 'Critical race theory is going to hold back generations of young people. My parents always taught us to focus on what brings us together not sets us apart.

'America should be united around shared values, not divided by different shades of color.'

In a tweet earlier this month, the former U.N. ambassador said that the nation 'should be united around shared values, not divided by different shades of color'

Haley, whose parents immigrated to the US from India, recalled being 'teased' as a kid and that her mother told her to 'show them how you're similar', rather than different.

In Oklahoma, the State Board of Education approved emergency rules with just one opposing vote to comply with a bill approved by the Republican-led legislature this year that purports to ban so-called CRT.

The new law prohibits public school teachers of grades K-12 from teaching eight different concepts about race, including that an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.

It also prohibits teaching that any individual should feel discomfort or guilt on account of his or her race or sex.

Eight states have banned the critical race theory and several others are considering passing similar resolutions

The Republican authors of the bill said it targeted CRT, which is a way of thinking about America's history through a lens of racism, although there is no mention in the bill of CRT, which is not typically taught in K-12 schools.

Democrats in the Legislature who opposed the bill argued it was a waste of time and addressed a non-existent problem.

Carlisha Bradley, the only black member of the board, voted against adopting the rules, saying she believes the new law and the rules are doing a disservice to students and teachers.

'With these rules, we are robbing students of having a high-quality education,' she said.

Several current and former teachers addressed the board and said they support the new rules.
A wide-eyed and dishevelled Pete Evans has fended off questions about a controversial hippy commune he's promoting by calling a reporter 'fake news'.

The disgraced celebrity chef, 48, appeared in promotional videos for the land development scheme in northern New South Wales, which promises healing hubs, a 'sacred geometry pub' and solar-powered cabins.

But the Nightcap on Minjungbal venture at Mount Burrell near Nimbin in the Byron Bay Hinterland has raised eyebrows with a host of mum-and-dad investors who say they've been left thousands of dollars out of pocket by the same developer in a past venture.

Evans appeared gaunt and was noticeably shaking when confronted by a film crew from Channel Nine's A Current Affair over the bizarre development.

A wide-eyed and dishevelled Pete Evans (pictured) has fended off questions about a controversial hippy commune he's promoting by calling a reporter 'fake news'

But the anti-vaxxer and 5G conspiracy theorist quickly dismissed the accusations.

'Nightcap is a wonderful project that I'm looking forward to being a part of,' he told veteran reporter Steve Marshall.

'I didn't create it. You do understand that don't you. I'm not selling anything.

'You do promote fake news over and over.'

At the centre of controversy is that the shared-housing community is set to be built on the same site where a similar project recently failed - leaving creditors and would-be residents owed more than $2.5million dollars.

The Bhula Bhula Community Village, a colony where people paid up to $160,000 each to live off the grid in 'earthships' made from tyres crumbled in 2017, leaving a trail of legal clashes in its wake.

There is no suggestion of impropriety in the Nightcap development.

Adrian Brennock, the sole director of the company that owned the land, placed the firm into voluntary administration but now he's back marketing the 3,500 acre of land with the help of Evans.

Nightcap on Minjungbal (site pictured) is being developed at Mount Burrell near Nimbin

Developer Adrian Brennock said the area has unlimited water and sunlight for solar power

Mr Brennock in a promotional clip says the commune will act as a 'sanctuary' to protect residents from disasters that can take place in the outside world.

'If we do get locked down or there are food shortages, or whatever disasters befall us in the future, we are in a position here to be completely self-reliant,' he said.

Investors' funds are set to go towards a commercial development on the site, which will include businesses such as service stations and pubs that can generate income that will feed back into the community.

Community centres, a 'sacred geometry pub', medical centre and healing hubs are also being designed to be erected on the grounds, under the ethos of the sanctuary: 'do no harm'.

But as it stands the development project is yet to receive any council approval.

People can buy a block of land then build their own dwelling. Pictured is a blue print for a potential cabin

Despite this, fanatical fans of Evans can purchase a block of land at the Nightcap development for $290,000.

Tony McMurtry, Mr Brennock's brother, said: 'A lot of people seem to think he is responsible for what previously went wrong, which he isn't.'

But one investor who shelled out $80,000 for a plot of land at the previous site said he doesn't believe a word the developers and Evans say.

'We constantly get emails saying everything will be ready for you guys in another month and that has been going on for two years,' the investor said.

'I have zero faith in these people, trust is totally broken.'

Evans' land endorsement comes after a litany of controversies which have seen the My Kitchen Rules host slapped with fines and bans from social media platforms.

Fanatical fans of Evans (pictured) can purchase a block of land at the Nightcap development for $290,000

The website says: 'We are very open "alternative" style dwellings such as Earth-ships, Shipping Container Homes and so forth'. Pictured is an example of a cabin built by a designer who is working on the project

In a documentary, developers said there is ample wood from surrounding structures (pictured) that can be used for people to construct their own dwelling

The conspiracy enthusiast was hit with an almost $80,000 fine for allegedly trying to profit from fraudulent Covid-19 treatments online.

It's the second time he's run foul of authorities after previously being fined $25,000 for trying to sell his so-called BioCharger for $15,000 a pop on Facebook.

He insisted the light could cure Covid-19 and protect users from infection - but had no evidence to support the wild claims.

Despite the first fine, the craggy-faced conspiracy theorist continued to try to sell the light to the unwary, along with a string of other fake treatments.

In May, he was hit with another $79,920 in fines for advertising the BioCharger and several other unapproved and totally ineffective treatments.

The site was recently bought for $2million and was previously home to a similar project that collapsed, owing would-be-residents and creditors $2.5million, they claim (Mr Brennock pictured right)

A map of the building site where prospective residents can buy shares into the company that owns the land in exchange for an exclusive lot

He also advertised two oral medicines, static magnet products and hyperbaric chambers to breathe pure oxygen in a pressurised environment.

Evans falsely implied the products were endorsed by health professionals, but he has now been ordered to remove the posts, and to cease all adverts for them.

The former reality TV star has also been permanently booted off Facebook and Instagram for sharing misinformation and conspiracy theories.

He has repeatedly made posts opposing Covid-19 vaccines and masks, and falsely claimed in a podcast that the coronavirus is a hoax.

Evans was a judge on My Kitchen Rules between 2010 and 2020, and had more than one million Facebook followers until his forced exit.
Six shootings took place in Indianapolis, Indiana, starting Monday into early Tuesday, leaving three dead and seven injured in the span of eight hours.

The first death was reported in the 5800 block of Suburban Drive, where the Indianapolis Metro Police Department found a man shot at 8:14 p.m. on Monday.

The man was taken to a hospital in critical condition and he died shortly after arrival.

The other two deaths were reported at 3:05 a.m. Tuesday, as police believe a murder-suicide took place in the 8200 block of Gilmore Road.

Another shooting hours earlier left four people in critical condition and came after the city pledged more than $3 million to address violent crime and mental health.

IMPD officers found four males shot after 1 a.m. Tuesday in Lawrence, a suburb on the city's northeast side.

The victims are listed in critical condition, according to WTHR.

Six shootings took place Monday night and early Tuesday morning, around the same time Indianapolis leaders voted to fund police with an additional $1.5 million to fight violent crime

Police told the station that the shooting began inside a house and spilled out into the street, hitting two cars but sparing any nearby homes.

On Monday, the Indianapolis City-County Council voted to give the police department an additional $1.5 million to improve 'the efficiency of IMPD's response to potential violent crime through investments in technology and data analysis,' according to a statement from the city.

The plan was proposed by Democratic Mayor Joe Hogsett in response to rising violence.

It awards another $1.8M to the city's Office of Public Health and Safety to 'prioritize diversion over the arrest of those experiencing mental health or addiction crises.'

Between January and June, 113 people were killed in Indianapolis, up from 89 over the same span last year

'I'm not suggesting that tonight's fiscal will resolve every issue in gun violence that the city of Indianapolis has,' the mayor said in a statement according to WISH-TV.

'That will take time and, frankly, if we are to meaningfully change the trajectory of gun violence in our city, it's not going to be done by dollars alone.

'It's going to be done when every single person in Indianapolis does what he or she can to make our city a safer and more equitable city.'

From January to the end of June, 113 people were killed in Indianapolis, up from 89 victims over the same span in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

The Marion County Prosecutor's Office noted 317 non-fatal shootings from the beginning of this year through June 18, according to the Indianapolis Star.

Three of the shootings took place 39 minutes apart, starting at 7:35 p.m. and ending with the first fatality. A fourth shooting occurred at 10:30 p.m.

No arrests have been made in any of these shootings.
Mohammed Amin, 33, (pictured) was seated in economy on the Oman Air flight from Muscat to Manchester, while his parents were in business

A Muslim passenger who stormed the business class area of a flight and snatched alcohol from his father before abusing and threatening cabin crew has been jailed for 12 months

Mohammed Amin, 33, was seated in economy on the Oman Air flight from Muscat to Manchester, while his parents were in business.

After staff refused to serve him vodka - upon the instruction of his strict parents who cited 'health concerns' - Amin gatecrashed the business class area of the flight.

There, he snatched a drink from his father and harassed cabin crew for more.

When his requests were refused Amin hurled racist abuse at two female flight attendants before threatening to 'smash in' the face of a cabin manager called to intervene.

Eventually, several cabin crew and four male passengers were able to subdue him and the plane - carrying 246 passengers and 13 staff members - continued to Manchester.

Amin was jailed for 12 months after he admitted interfering with cabin crew and common assault. He denied being drunk during his appearance at Minshull Street Crown Court.

During his rampage in August, Amin ripped up a letter warning him about his conduct before squaring up to the manager and saying: 'Suck my d***. Wait until we get back to Manchester and you'll see what happens to you.'

When Amin's mother tried to calm her son down, he snapped: 'Go back b****'.

He then struggled violently with cabin crew as they tried to place him in restraints - before four male passengers stepped in and overpowered him.

One terrified mother on the 12-hour flight with her two children - aged just seven and five - described how Amin was 'thrashing around' as he was held against the exit door.

She said he violently banged against the side of the aircraft, and the mother hugged her children for the remainder of the flight with their ears held tightly against her chest to block out the noise.

The pilot considered diverting the plane but touched down at Manchester where police were waiting, Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester heard.

As Amin was escorted from the aircraft he tried to spit at one attendant and told the manager: 'I'm going to f*** you up bro'.

The rampage began shortly after the 2.30pm flight took off from Muscat, Oman, on august 19, 2019.

Miss Zoe Dawson prosecuting said: 'Just one hour into the flight the defendant who had been sat in economy class was refused an alcoholic drink from a member of cabin crew.

'This was in part due to the defendant's parents both sat in business class having instructed the crew not to serve the defendant alcohol due to health concerns.

'The defendant commented that this was not for his parents to decide, and he requested to go and speak with them in the Business Class Cabin.

'Crew members stated he could not do this but he pushed past them, took a seat in business class, forcibly snatched an alcoholic drink from his father, then took it back to the economy cabin.

'For the next 90 minutes he calmed down but then made a further request for vodka resulting in the cabin director Mr Ahmed Al-Rhabi saying if his behaviour continued to be acceptable then he would be served.

After staff refused to serve him vodka - upon the instruction of his parents who cited 'health concerns' - Amin gatecrashed the business class area of the flight. Pictured: File image of an Oman Air plane

'The defendant then repeatedly moved to and from his seat into the galley to harass crew members into serving him more alcohol, as well as attempting to purchase alcohol through the duty free items being sold onboard.

'When the lights in the cabin were dimmed to allow passengers a period of rest, the defendant refused to return to his seat and became visibly more agitated and was raising his voice.

'Crew members began to feel more and more uncomfortable given they were stood with him in a confined space.'

As he became increasingly agitated, Amin began shouting racial abuse at crew members - calling them 'African b****' and 'Chinese b****', the court heard.

Miss Dawson added: 'A number of other passengers requested he mind his language and behaviour given the large number of children present on the flight.

'Eventually the defendant returned to his seat, however Mr Al-Rhabi was again called and on reaching the back of the plane, the defendant began pushing Mr Al-Rhabi and threatening to "smash" his head in.

'The defendant's mother intervened and attempted to calm him down - but he simply shouted for her to "go back b****".'

As his behaviour escalated, crew deemed it necessary to apply their emergency restraints but - due to there being only one male crew member on board - four male passengers were requested to assist in restraining the defendant.

He was taken to the floor and the restraints were applied, but Amin still refused to sit still. The crew had to re-apply the restraints a further three times.

'He headbutted and kicked out a number of times at Mr Al-Rhabi and also shouted in such a way that spittle landed on his face', the prosecutor added.

'Upon restraints being applied, the defendant continued to kick out towards seats in front of him - and as a result a number of passengers were moved into business class, including children.

'One female cabin crew member said she was afraid to move through the area where he was seated as he was kicking out as people walked passed.'

A passenger said the situation filled her with 'terror' and dubbed it a 'brewing brawl'.

She said had never been more fearful for both her and her children's life.

Miss Dawson added: 'The pilot said it was only as a result of the crew and passengers successfully restraining the defendant, and the fact that this incident had escalated during the latter half of the flight, which allowed the flight to continue on to its destination.

'Had this incident occurred earlier he would have had no choice but to divert the aircraft.'

Amin had previous convictions for public order matters.

In mitigation, defence counsel Miss Erim Mushtaq said her client was born and brought up in the UK but his parents had moved back to their native Pakistan when he was 14.

She added: 'The defendant has a difficult relationship with his parents.

'Each and every time he has gone to Pakistan to visit them, they do not accept his lifestyle and they have responded out of misplaced well-meaning to try to "cure" the defendant and as a result have had him forcibly placed in rehabilitation units.

'The family equate drinking to be as bad as taking class A drugs and although he has controlled his drinking it's a lifestyle choice for him.

'The difficulty he has is they do not accept he should be able to exercise his free will to drink if he wants to.

'He is someone who believes that he should be able to exercise his rights, whereas his family want to impose on him what they consider for a good Muslim boy.

'It's clear the crew had listened to the parents who told staff not to give him alcohol.

'It was maybe misplaced anger that he felt at being being controlled and decided when he could drink and how he could drink.

'He then took that anger out on flight crew and others for which he is genuinely ashamed of himself.

'One passenger said said the defendant was drunk but he had one drink, which was taken from his father in business class and then demanded more drinks later.'

Sentencing the judge Mr Recorder Paul Taylor told Amin: 'One passenger said your behaviour frightened her and said she saw your eyes were glazed and pupils were small and you seemed intoxicated.

'She was critical of the way the crew handled the situation, but it's probably right to say she had no experience dealing with drunk, aggressive passengers.

'There was no excuse for you taking your anger out on others.'
A young woman who caught Covid while visiting Sydney's most high-profile hairdresser says she is still suffering from the symptoms weeks later, while her partially-vaccinated father had no idea he was infected.

Claudia Waitsman, 25, picked up the virus last month during a trip to Joh Bailey salon in Double Bay, which was one of the major transmission hotspots soon after the city's outbreak began on June 16.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Wednesday announced Sydney's lockdown would be extended by at least two weeks after a further 97 cases.

The state's Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant has repeatedly stressed young people should not think Covid only posed a risk to the elderly, and the government's disturbing new advertisements tried to emphasise that.

While only 58 of Australia's 912 Covid deaths had been in people aged under 70, the case of Ms Waitsman showed younger people can still develop serious symptoms.

Ms Waitsman was one of nine clients who contracted the virus while visiting the ritzy eastern suburbs salon after a hairdresser worked for several days while unknowingly infectious.

Four days after her appointment, the 25-year-old learnt the hairdresser was a venue of concern and immediately went into self-isolation in her bedroom at home (pictured, the salon being cleaned on June 24)

Four days after her appointment, she learned the hairdresser was a venue of concern and immediately went into self-isolation in her bedroom at home.

'I couldn't believe it was me. I was very shocked,' she told 9News.

Ms Waitsman said the symptoms crept up slowly, starting as mild before leaving her in agony, struggling to breathe and bedridden for a month.

Claudia Waitsman, 25, (pictured) was one of nine Sydneysiders who caught the virus from the famous Joh Bailey hair salon in Double Bay

Joh Bailey hair salon (pictured), in Double Bay, was one of the major transmission hotspots shortly after Sydney's Covid outbreak began on June 16

'Wednesday night I had a headache but there were no symptoms other than that. On the Saturday, I woke up with body aches and I went and got tested. That's when it came back positive,' she said.

'I was in bed, out of breath, I lost my taste. I've still lost my taste - I can't taste anything.'

Although the family house was immediately divided in an attempt to prevent cross-inflection, her father Alain, a successful real estate agent, still contracted the virus but her mother was unscathed.

'This virus travels under doors, between cracks, it seems to go everywhere,' Ms Waitsman said.

Her father returned four negative tests before returning a positive result but remained asymptomatic throughout the ordeal.

Doctors told him he did not fall ill because he had previously received his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

On top of the nine cases, a further five infections were linked to Joh Bailey's (pictured) salon, which boasts celebrities clients including the likes of Olivia Newton-John, Kylie Minogue, and Elle Macpherson

Ms Waitsman passed the virus onto her partially-vaccinated father Alain (pictured together), who fortunately did not experiencing any symptoms thanks to his jab

Ms Waitsman said she knows several other people aged in their 20s who have contracted the virus, with some extremely sick while others were not impacted at all.

On top of the nine cases, a further five infections were linked to Joh Bailey's salon, which boasts celebrities clients including the likes of Olivia Newton-John, Kylie Minogue, and Elle Macpherson.

More than 900 potential close contacts were identified as part of the hair salon cluster, sparked when a male employee worked while unknowingly infectious on June 15 and 16.

Despite a dip in cases on Tuesday to 89, down from 112 on Monday, Premier Berejiklian has warned against gaining confidence from the declining numbers, which she expects to spike again as the week goes on.

Sydney recorded 97 Covid-19 cases overnight.

Premier Berejiklian said 24 of those infections were out in the community while for the entire time they were contagious, but that there were 36 mystery cases still under investigation.

New South Wales recorded 89 new cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday, with Premier Gladys Berejiklian (pictured) warning the figures are expected to jump around over coming days

Police officers wearing face masks patrol in front of the Harbour Bridge on Tuesday (pictured) as authorities step up efforts to curb the fast-growing coronavirus outbreak

There are 71 Covid-19 patients in hospitals across the state, of which 20 are in the intensive care unit and four are on ventilation.

She said the city's strict lockdown - which includes Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, the Central Coast and Wollongong - would be extended until 11.59pm July 30.

Ms Berejiklian said the decision to extend the stay-at-home restrictions 'hurts' but that the health advice she was receiving gave her no over option.

'It always hurts to say this, but we need to extend the lockdown for at least another two weeks,' she said.

Kmart at Bondi Junction (pictured) was listed among 50 new Covid exposure sites across Sydney on Tuesday

Health authorities are considering extending the lockdown as they continue to grapple with an outbreak of the highly-infectious Indian Delta variant (pictured, women in Sydney's nearly empty CBD on Tuesday)

SYDNEY COVID EXPOSURE SITES ANNOUNCED TUESDAY NIGHT Anyone who visited the following venues is considered a close contact and should get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of result: Condell Park: IGA - Monday 12 July, 8.55am-9.10am Smithfield: G James Glass and Aluminium - Tuesday 6 July, Wednesday 7 July, Thursday 8 July, and Friday 9 July (all 7am -6pm) Punchbowl: Chubby Buns Burger - Wednesday 7 July, 7pm - 7.10pm Bankstown: Primary Health Care Medical and Dental Centre (pharmacy only) - Wednesday 7 July, 9.45pm - 10pm Greenacre: Sydney Wide Building Materials - Friday 9 July, 6.50am - 7.20am Yagoona: Kaffiene & Co - Saturday 10 July, 1.30pm- 2pm Lakemba: BHC Medical Centre - Monday 12 July, 8.35am -8.55am NSW Health also wishes to advise of additional times to previously announced venues. Anyone who attended these venues at the times listed is a close contact and must immediately get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result: Endensor Park: Fred's One Stop Shop - Friday 9 July, 2pm-3pm Anyone who travelled on the following bus routes at the times listed is a close contact and must immediately get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result: Fairfield to Fairfield: 804 Bus - From Hamilton Road to Fairfield Central, Thursday 8 July, departed 10.58am - arrived 11.03am Fairfield to Smithfield: 800 Bus - From Fairfield Station to Polding Street, Thursday 8 July, departed 6.15pm - arrived 6.33pm Anyone who attended the following venues at the times listed is a casual contact who must immediately get tested and isolate until a negative result is received: Ramsgate: Health Save Pharmacy - Wednesday 7 July, 5pm- 5.40pm Fairfield East: BP Carrington - Thursday 8 July, 4.45pm - 5pm Fairfield: Aldi - Friday 9 July, 1.55pm - 2.15pm Fairfield: Chemist Warehouse - Wednesday 7 July, 2.45pm - 3.40pm Penrith: Westfield (ground floor food court) - Saturday 10 July, 12.30pm -1.30pm Penrith: Woolworths - Westfield - Saturday 10 July, 12.30pm - 1.30pm Penrith: Trims Fruit Shop - Westfield - Saturday 10 July, 12.30pm - 1.30pm Emu Plains: Lennox Village - Friday 9 July, 3.40pm - 4.30pm Emu Plains: McDonalds (Old Bathurst Rd) - Thursday 8 July, 2pm - 2.30pm Jamisontown: Penrith Pies and Pastries - Friday 9 July, 11.50am - 12.20pm Greenacre: Coles Express - Thursday 8 July, 6.10am - 6.40am Guildford: Dan Murphy's - Wednesday 7 July, 6pm - 6.45pm Granville: Woolworths - Wednesday 7 July, 6.15pm - 7pm Bondi Junction: Chemist Warehouse - Monday 5 July, 12.45pm - 1.15pm Bankstown: Sydney Sand and Cement - Monday 5 July, 7am - 7.15am Punchbowl: Woolworths - Tuesday 6 July, 9.30am - 9.45am Smithfield: Sydney Tools - Wednesday 7 July, 12pm - 1.35pm Belrose: Bunnings - Thursday 8 July, 7pm - 7.45pm, and Sunday 11 July, 1.15pm - 2pm Belrose: Belrose Hotel Bottle Shop - Thursday 8 July, 7.20pm - 7.45pm and Sunday 11 July, 4.45pm to 5.15pm Hurstville: Adam's Kebabs and Pizza-Pide - Friday 9 July, 2pm -2.15pm St Ives: O'Loughlin's Medical Pharmacy - Friday 9 July, 6pm-6.30pm St Ives: Oscars Chargrill - Monday 12 July, 5.20pm - 5.45pm Fairfield: Aldi - Saturday 10 July, 10am - 10.15am Wetherill Park: Woolworths - Saturday 10 July, 1pm-2pm Wetherill Park: Chemistworks - Saturday 10 July, 2.45pm - 3.45pm Yagoona: Mina Bakery - Saturday 10 July, 1.30pm-2pm Frenchs Forest: Gyronimo's - Sunday 11 July, 1.30 - 2.15pm Frenchs Forest: Woolworths - Sunday 11 July, 1.30pm - 2.15pm Blacktown: Subway (Westpoint) - Monday 12 July, 12.20pm to 12.35pm Blacktown: Cotton On (Westpoint) - Monday 12 July, 1pm - 1.10pm Blacktown: Espresso Warriors (Westpoint) - Monday 12 July, 1.10pm - 1.15pm Blacktown: Cotton On Body (Westpoint) - Monday 12 July, 1.10pm - 1.20pm Blacktown: Factorie (Westpoint) - Monday 12 July, 1.20pm - 1.30pm NSW Health also wishes to advise of additional times to previously announced venues. Anyone who attended these venues at the times listed is a casual contact who must immediately get tested and isolate until a negative result is received: Pyrmont: Coles (Union St) - Monday 5 July, 1pm- 1.20pm and 6pm-6.15pm Anyone who travelled on the following train routes at the times listed is a casual contact and must immediately get tested and self-isolate until a negative result is received: T8 Line: From Green Square Station to Lidcombe Station - Sunday 4 July, departed 12.38pm, arrived 1.21pm T4 Line: From Hurstville Station to Miranda Station - Wednesday 7 July, departed 11.49am, arrived 12.17pm T4 Line: From Hurstville Station to Wynyard Station - Thursday 8 July, departed 5.44am, arrived 6.18am T4 Line: From Wynyard Station to Hurstville Station - Thursday 8 July, departed 8.34am, arrived 9.05am Anyone who attended the following venue at the times listed must monitor for symptoms and if they occur get tested immediately and self-isolate until a negative result is received: Bondi Junction: Westfield - Friday 9 July, 6pm - 7pm Haymarket: Tong Li Supermarket - Wednesday 7 July, 5.35pm- 5.50pm Haymarket: Pontip Thai Market - Saturday 10 July, 12.10pm - 12.20pm Bondi Junction: Kmart - Friday 9 July, 11.45am - 12.05pm St Ives: St Ives Shopping Village - Friday 9 July, 6pm - 7pm, and Monday 12 July, 5.20pm - 6pm Frenchs Forest: Forestway Shopping Centre - Sunday 11 July, 1.30pm - 2.15pm Blacktown: Westpoint - Monday 12 July, 12pm - 1.30pm Advertisement

Meanwhile, NSW Health announced 50 exposure sites on Tuesday night, including a Coles, Woolworths, Dan Murphy's and an Aldi supermarket.

Six of the venues are considered tier one sites, meaning anyone who visited at the listed times are considered a close contact and must get tested and isolate for 14 days regardless of the result.

The sites are situated across several suburbs in southwest Sydney, including Fairfield, Fairfield East, Edensor Park, Smithfield, Penrith, Jamisontown, Greenacre, Yagoona, Bankstown and Emu Plains further west.

Before this week, the state's previous highest daily count for locally acquired cases was 72 on April 1 last year (pictured, testing in Sydney's Rushcutters Bay on Tuesday)

The health advice applies to anyone who visited the Primary Health Care and Medical Dental Care pharmacy on Wednesday July 7 between 9.45pm to 10pm or Greenacre's Sydney Wide Building Materials on Friday July 9 from 6.50am to 7.20am.

A positive case also visited Condell Park IGA on Monday July 12 between 8.55am and 9.10am.

The new alert also includes G James Glass and Aluminium in Smithfield after an employee worked 11 hour shifts at the site for four days from July 6 to July 9 while infectious.

Ms Berejiklian has warned Sydney's lockdown (pictured on Tuesday) will remain in place until the number of cases infectious while in the community drastically decreases

The dozens of casual contact sites include three Woolworths, and four busy shopping plazas.

While the majority of the sites were concentrated in Sydney's southwest, a few venues of concern were listed in the northern suburbs of St Ives and Frenchs Forest, raising alarm the virus could be spreading in other parts of the city.

A man aged in his 70s from Sydney's eastern suburbs became the second death in the latest outbreak on Tuesday after a woman in her 90s died over the weekend, taking the national death toll to 912 since the pandemic began.

A construction worker who had the virus while working in Goulburn - about 200km from his home in Sydney - has prompted new restrictions for essential workers.

Anyone performing essential work who lives or works in the Fairfield local government area must be tested every three days, while anyone from Greater Sydney travelling to the regions for work must be tested weekly.

Workers must carry proof of their last negative test, such as an SMS.

Three venues at Westfield Penrith Plaza (pictured) in Sydney's west have been confirmed as Covid exposure sites by NSW Health

Dr Chant said health authorities were assessing whether restrictions would need to be tightened outside of Greater Sydney as a result.

'It does highlight why people cannot be complacent about the risk anywhere,' she said.

NSW Police continue to guard the perimeter of a Bondi Junction apartment block, where nine COVID cases have been identified across five different households.

Meanwhile, generous federal support package has been agreed for NSW businesses hit by Sydney's coronavirus outbreak.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Ms Berejiklian have announced JobKeeper-style payments that go above and beyond arrangements during Victoria's most recent lockdown.

The Bunnings at Belrose (pictured) is also an exposure site with two 45 minutes windows on Thursday July 8 between 7pm and 7.45 pm and on Sunday July 11 between 1.15pm and 2pm

'Clearly, here in NSW, the situation has taken a very different turn,' Mr Morrison said in Sydney.

'We think this gives people the encouragement to see it through.'

He said the support is in the national interest and will be offered to any other state or territory that experiences an extended lockdown.

From week four of a lockdown in a declared hotspot, the disaster payment will increase to $600 if a person has lost 20 or more hours of work a week, or $375 for between eight and less than 20 hours of work a week foregone.

A direct payment to businesses will go to those with an annual turnover between $75,000 and $50million who can demonstrate a 30 per cent decline in turnover.

Not-for-profit organisations will receive between $1,500 and $10,000 per week based on the level of their payroll.

For sole traders, the payment will be set at $1,000 per week.

'I'm grateful for the speed with which the Commonwealth has responded to the issues we raised,' Ms Berejiklian said.

Aldi in Sydney's south-west at Fairfield (pictured) was one of 50 exposure sites confirmed by NSW Health on Tuesday

Payments will be made available across NSW, with the costs shared 50/50 between the NSW and federal governments.

There is also a $17.35 million mental health support package for NSW including for services through Lifeline, headspace and Kid's Helpline.

Mr Morrison ruled out another early access to superannuation scheme.

The NSW government will separately offer rent relief for commercial and residential tenants and payroll tax deferrals for businesses.

Economists have estimated the cost of the lockdown at $1billion a week, even with many businesses still open.

The prime minister joined community leaders on a Zoom call as the outbreak spreads into Sydney's west where language barriers are feared to have prevented the stay at home message from getting through.

'Stay at home. Get vaccinated. That's it,' Mr Morrison said.
A Perth man has been jailed for seven months after brazenly flouting Covid isolation rules and even boasted he was breaking the rules to people he sold items to online.

Paul Andrew Murray, 53, flouted the self-isolation rules a staggering 15 times after he flew into Western Australia from Queensland on June 27.

He had been ordered to remain in isolation for 14 days at his home in Scarborough in Perth's north but flagrantly disregarded the regulations repeatedly.

Murray hired several tradespeople to work at his home while he was there during the isolation period, Perth Magistrates Court was told.

Paul Andrew Murray has been jailed for seven months after brazenly flouting covid isolation rules - and even boasted he was breaking the rules to people he sold items to online. Seen here are WA Police conducting a Covid border check

And WA Police also said he regularly left his house for hours at a time while potentially infected with Covid.

He came unstuck after selling several items online and then telling one of his customers that he was supposed to be self-isolating during the exchange of goods.

The buyer then tipped off police who swooped to arrest him the following day.

Paul Andrew Murray, 53, flouted the self-isolation rules a staggering 15 times after he flew into Perth (pictured) from Queensland on June 27

'A complaint was made to police after the man disclosed to a person attending his address that he was under self-quarantine,' police said in a statement on Tuesday.

Murray pleaded guilty to 15 charges of failing to comply with a direction and was sentenced to seven months in prison, with two months to be served immediately, reported 7News.

Five months were suspended for a year and the sentence was backdated to July 3.

Paul Murray had been ordered to remain in isolation for 14 days at his home but flagrantly disregarded the regulations repeatedly, Perth Magistrates Court (pictured) heard

Magistrate Edward De Vries branded Murray 'brazen' and 'breathtaking arrogant' as he sentenced him, saying he wanted to send a 'powerful message'.

He added: 'You put the whole state of Western Australia at risk.

'It has been some 15 months since this virus hit the scene and it has caused an immeasurable amount of misery to individuals and to businesses.

'Many people have died and it is mind-boggling that people can still flout the rules and put whole communities at risk.'
Video has emerged that purports to show the moment 22 Afghan commandos were massacred by the Taliban moments after they surrendered.

The footage appears to have been taken in Dawlat Abad, in northern Faryab province, on June 16 following a major battle between the Taliban and Afghan forces.

The government had sent an elite team of US-trained commandos - including the son of a retired general - into the town to recapture it, but they quickly became surrounded with air support and reinforcements failing to materialise.

Militants say the commandos were captured after running out of ammunition, but witness accounts from the time and the new footage suggests they were actually gunned down in cold blood.

It comes amid a major offensive by the Taliban across Afghanistan as US forces withdraw, which has seen the Islamists trying to persuade government troops to abandon their posts on the promise of safe passage back to their homes.

Disturbing footage has emerged purporting to show the moment 22 Afghan commandos were massacred in the town of Dawlat Abad on June 16 while surrendering to the Taliban

Footage shows unarmed soldiers with their arms raised being marched into the street before men with rifles open fire while shouting 'Allahu Akbar'

In the video, which was first shared with veterans network Funker530 last week, men holding weapons can be seen ushering a group of soldiers into a public square.

The soldiers are unarmed and many of them have their arms raised, as their captors yell at them and a couple are forced to kneel on the ground.

'Don't shoot them, don't shoot them, I beg you don't shoot them,' someone says in the local Pashto language, according to translation by CNN.

Moments later, to shouts of 'Allahu Akbar', the captors open fire - unleashing a volley of bullets that starts with two gunshots and ends in dozens of rounds being fired.

A second piece of footage then shows bodies strewn across the ground, as men holding rifles strip them of their equipment.

CNN claimed to have spoken to witnesses who said the commandos arrived in the town in armoured vehicles, sparking a two-hour firefight with the Taliban than ended only when they had run out of ammunition.

They received no air support and no reinforcements despite calling repeatedly for them, because supporting forces were afraid that details of their mission had been leaked to the Islamists and they would also be killed.

'The other forces betrayed the commandos,' an anonymous official told Stars and Stripes magazine at the time.

Among those killed in the fighting in Dawlat Abad was Sohrab Azimi, the son of a prominent retired general who was seen as key in the fightback against the Taliban

That account was backed up by a witness who spoke to CNN and said: 'The commandos were surrounded by the Taliban.

'Then they brought them into the middle of the street and shot them all.'

The Red Cross has confirmed that the bodies of 22 commandos were recovered after the fighting.

Among them was Sohrab Azimi, the son of retired Afghan army general Hazir Azimi - a prominent and well-respected Afghan fighter whose death was widely mourned.

However, the Taliban claim that 24 commandos were actually taken prisoner and are still being held by the group, though refused to provide CNN with any evidence.

The Taliban is attempting to portray itself as both a changed organisation and a responsible government-in-waiting in Afghanistan, as it fights to retake the country.

The group hopes to build diplomatic bridges with regional neighbours and avoid provoking a military response from the West which saw it toppled from power following the September 11 attacks.

It is also hoping to persuade Afghan government troops to surrender the posts left to them by retreating NATO and US forces rather than stand and fight.

The anonymous source which handed the video to Funker530 said they hoped the footage would persuade army units that surrender is not necessarily the 'safe' option.

The Taliban now claims to be in control of some 80 per cent of Afghanistan after retaking many rural areas from government forces.

However, observers say the extremist group is only in control of 30 per cent of the population because government forces have largely abandoned the countryside and concentrated their forces in urban centers.

An offensive to try and capture those towns and cities is expected later this year, with the result of those battles determining the future power balance of the country.

If government forces and the militias they have hired to boost their ranks prevail, then it is likely to bring the Taliban back to the negotiating table for currently-stalled peace talks aimed at hashing out a power-sharing deal.

Afghan government forces have taken over defence of the country following the retreat of US and NATO forces, but are struggling to retain control (file image)

The Taliban now claims to be in control of 80 per cent of Afghan territory, with a major offensive to retake towns and cities expected over the summer (pictured, Taliban spokesmen holding a news conference in Russia last week)

If the government capitulates and the Taliban seize control of major power centres, then it could return the country to their control for the first time since the Nineties and undo two decades of western intervention.

In perhaps the bleakest scenario, neither side is able to land a decisive blow and the country descends into a civil war which potentially drags in its regional neighbours - as happened in Afghanistan in the 1990s and more-recently in Syria.

As the violence grows, the UN warned on Tuesday that any major escalation will create a fresh refugee crisis as civilians flee their homes - either directly due to fighting or out of fear of what life will become if the Taliban retake control.

Already, there are reports of women trying to flee the country because they do not want to be subject to the Taliban's strict interpretation of Sharia.

Those living in areas which have fallen to the group say women have been banned from attending school or leaving their homes without their husband's permission.

A western coalition of troops, led by the US, invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 following September 11 with the aim of toppling the Taliban which had provided safe haven for Osama bin Laden - al-Qaeda leader and mastermind of the attacks.

The Taliban were quickly ousted, but the mission soon expanded and morphed into a nation-building exercise aimed at establishing democracy in the Middle East.

Now, after two decades and trillons of dollars spent, western forces have all-but departed Afghanistan after President Biden made good on a pledge by President Trump to withdraw.

They have handed control to the Afghan army, which is struggling to maintain control in the face of a lighting-fast Taliban offensive.

The U.S. general leading the war in Afghanistan, Austin Miller, relinquished command at a ceremony in the capital, Kabul, on Monday and quietly left the country, a symbolic end to America's longest conflict.

U.S. President Joe Biden has acknowledged that Afghanistan's future was far from certain but said the Afghan people must decide their own fate.
Advertisement

Zsa Zsa Gabor's ashes have been buried in her native Hungary almost five years after her death following a European tour alongside her widower.

The urn containing the ashes of the legendary actress, who was renowned for her diamond-studded glamour, witty quips and nine marriages, travelled in first class from Los Angeles via London and Berlin before arriving in Budapest.

Her last husband, Frederic Prinz von Anhalt, to whom she was married from 1986 until her death aged 99 in 2016, said she expressed in her will she wanted to end up in Hungary.

A funeral was held for the star in December 2016 in Beverly Hills during which von Anhalt gave a lengthy eulogy recounting their relationship and Gabor's desire for the spotlight, saying his life was 'empty' without her.

Her ashes were finally laid to rest in a prominent cemetery on Tuesday alongside other famous Hungarian actors, writers and poets, in a ceremony where a gypsy band played and her favourite yellow and pink roses were on display.

Zsa Zsa Gabor's ashes have been buried in her native Hungary almost five years after her death following a European tour alongside her widower Frederic Prinz von Anhalt (right)

The legendary actress's ninth husband holds a pillow with his late wife's face on it during the lavish ceremony on Tuesday

The urn containing the legendary actress, who was renowned for her diamond-studded glamour, witty quips and nine marriages, travelled in first class from Los Angeles via London and Berlin before arriving in Budapest

Her ashes were finally laid to rest in a prominent cemetery on Tuesday alongside other famous Hungarian actors, writers and poets

Gabor's extravagant lifestyle and desire to call everyone 'darling' in her thick Hungarian accent often made her a headline-grabber

A funeral was held in 2016 in Beverly Hills where von Anhalt gave a touching eulogy for his late wife but it would take another five years before she was fully laid to rest

Von Anhalt, who bought his royal title from an impoverished German aristocrat, carried an urn with three-quarters of Gabor's ashes from LA, where the other quarter remains, during a window of opportunity with Covid restrictions eased.

He said: 'She was first class, she had her own seat and she had her passport, everything there. It was her last trip, she always used to go first class, she had her champagne, caviar...'

'And then we arrived in Budapest... That's what she wanted and that's what she had in her last will. She definitely wanted to be in Budapest because her father is buried here too.'

Gabor's Hungarian cousin, Jozsef Gabor, who was close to her, said he had not been invited to Tuesday's ceremony.

Her last husband, Frederic Prinz von Anhalt, to whom she was married from 1986 until her death aged 99 in 2016, said she expressed in her will she wanted to end up in Hungary

The ashes were flown in first class from Los Angeles to London, then Berlin before arriving in Budapest after the worldwide tour

Von Anhalt, who bought his royal title from an impoverished German aristocrat, carried an urn with three-quarters of Gabor's ashes from LA (pictured together in 1990)

Gabor's Hungarian cousin, Jozsef Gabor, who was close to her, said he had not been invited to Tuesday's ceremony

Zsa Zsa died of a heart attack in December 2016 just two months shy of her 100th birthday after shying away from the public eye for her final years

Von Anhalt previously said he intended to carry his wife's gold urn around Europe in a Louis Vuitton designer dog carrier that she bought for her favourite pet

Born Sari Gabor into a wealthy Hungarian family, she was named Miss Hungary in the 1930s before she found fame and fortune in the US

Around 100 mourners gathered at the funeral in 2016 at a Beverly Hills church to pay their respects to the iconic actress

'Only immediate press are invited'... Self-mocking quips of the first It Girl I'm a marvellous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man, I keep his house. My next marriage will be a small affair. Only the immediate press will be invited. I never hated a man enough to give him his diamonds back. How many husbands have I had? You mean apart from my own? A girl must marry for love  and keep on marrying until she finds it. Getting divorced just because you don't love a man is almost as silly as getting married just because you do. A man is incomplete until he has married. Then he's finished. I want a man who's kind and understanding. Is that too much to ask of a millionaire? I know nothing about sex, because I was always married. My husband said it was him or the cat. I miss him sometimes. Diamonds are a girl's best friend and dogs are a man's best friend. Now you know which sex has more sense. Remember  the only place men want depth in their women is in her decolletage. There's nothing wrong with a woman encouraging a man's advances  as long as they are in cash. It's never as easy to keep your own spouse happy as it is to make someone else's spouse happy. Advertisement

For him, Zsa Zsa was a 'Hungarian girl' in the United States.

'She did a lot for Hungarians, be it for those who fled after the 1956 uprising, or during the polio epidemic, and she did not do those things because she wanted to get into the news,' he added.

Von Anhalt said Gabor wanted 'a celebration of life, not a funeral.'

Born Sari Gabor into a wealthy Hungarian family, she was named Miss Hungary in the 1930s.

As World War Two approached, she and her sisters headed for the United States, leaving behind her first husband, Burhan Belge, a Turkish diplomat.

She arrived in Hollywood with her mother, Jolie, and sisters, Eva and Magda, in 1941.

Gabor, one of the last stars of Hollywood's golden age, would address people as 'dah-link' in her thick Hungarian accent.

Along with her two sisters, she became a fixture on Hollywood's social circuit in her prime.

After a string of television work and odd parts in movies, her big break came with a starring role in Moulin Rouge in 1952 opposite Jose Ferrer, and Lili in 1953.

But she was arguably better-known for her string of marriages to wealthy men, her irrepressible personality and glamorous socialite lifestyle.

By the 1970s she began to reject smaller roles, saying: 'I may be a character but I do not want to be a character actress.'

She is widely credited with inventing modern celebrity and being the first of the 'famous-for-being-famous' stars.

The actress, whose husbands included hotel heir Conrad Hilton, actor George Sanders and investment banker Herbert Hunter, poked fun at her notorious love life with quips including: 'I am a marvellous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man, I keep his house.'

The Hungarian beauty was not seen in public in her final years after her leg was amputated in 2011 following an infection.

The outspoken Gabor first married Turkish diplomat Burhan Asaf Belge in 1937 and they divorced in 1941.

In 1942, she went on to marry Conrad Hilton, the hotel businessman and the great-grandfather of another 'famous for being famous' socialite Paris Hilton.

They stayed married for five years, and had a daughter, Francesca, together.

The actress, whose husbands included hotel heir Conrad Hilton, actor George Sanders and investment banker Herbert Hunter, poked fun at her notorious love life

After a string of television work and odd parts in movies, her big break came with a starring role in Moulin Rouge in 1952 opposite Jose Ferrer, and Lili in 1953 (pictured)

The Hungarian beauty was not seen in public in her final years after her leg was amputated in 2011 following an infection

As World War Two approached, she and her sisters headed for the United States, leaving behind her first husband, Burhan Belge, a Turkish diplomat

Gabor married von Anhalt in 1986, and this was her longest of her nine marriages. It garnered her the title Princess von Anhalt, Duchess of Saxony

Throughout Gabor's career, many critics said the sisters were famous for nothing, inviting modern comparisons tothe Kardashian family

The couple split in 1947 and in 1949, Gabor married Oscar-winning actor George Sanders, but that marriage ended in 1954.

Sanders went on later to marry Gabor's sister, Magda, but their marriage ended in divorce as well.

In 1962, the jet-setting socialite married Herbert Hutner, but they split four years later in 1966.

Gabor then married Joshua S. Cosden Jr. later that year in 1966, but they divorced a year later in 1967.

In 1975 she married Jack Ryan, but that marriage only lasted a year and they were divorced in 1976.

That same year, she went on to marry Michael O'Hara, as the couple split in 1983. Gabor then married Felipe de Alba not long after, but the marriage was annulled that same year in 1983.

The marriage to de Alba was annulled because her divorce from O'Hara was not final at the time of the wedding.

She once summed up her attitude toward marriage by saying: 'Getting divorced just because you don't love a man is almost as silly as getting married just because you do'

Von Anhalt had reportedly even asked Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for a state funeral for his late wife

Sisters Eva (center), Zsa Zsa (left) and Magda Gabor accumulated 19 husbands, hundreds of lovers and even a lady love between the three

Three years later, Gabor married von Anhalt in 1986, as this was her longest marriage of the nine. This marriage garnered her the title Princess von Anhalt, Duchess of Saxony.

Despite gracing countless magazine covers, one of the most recognised images of Gabor was a well-publicized mug shot.

It was taken on June 14, 1989, after Gabor was arrested for slapping police officer Paul Kramer in Beverly Hills who had stopped her car.

After a brief but costly trial costing more than $25,000, she was found guilty.

She served three days behind bars and was ordered to do 120 hours of community service.

Throughout Gabor's career, many critics said the sisters were famous for nothing, inviting modern comparisons tothe Kardashian family.

Gabor's extravagant lifestyle and desire to call everyone 'dahling' often made her a headline-grabber.

She once summed up her attitude toward marriage by saying: 'Getting divorced just because you don't love a man is almost as silly as getting married just because you do.'
A Fox News commentator has blasted Vice President Kamala Harris as 'politically very stupid' after she argued against voter ID laws, including those in some states that require a photocopy of ID to vote by mail.

Harris suggested people who live in rural areas are not able to make photocopies because they don't have a Kinkos or OfficeMax nearby, in an interview with BET News on Friday.

Brit Hume slammed Harris, telling viewers the VP was 'trying to label Republicans as people who want to suppress the vote'.

He admitted the issue of voter I.D. is 'tricky' but blasted Harris for trying to 'make the most' of a fragile argument against it.

'A number of the things that the Republicans want to do in the laws they are passing across the country are things that are popular', he said. 'Voter I.D. is very high on that list'.

In a final dig at Harris, Hume claimed President Joe Biden's aides were probably considering whether it would be effective to continue allowing the VP to take lead on controversial issues.

'There are obviously people in the Biden White House who kinda wonder whether having Kamala Harris out front on a lot of these issues has turned out to be a very good move. She seems at times lighter than air,' he said on Fox News.

Fox News commentator Brit Hume has blasted Vice President Kamala Harris as 'politically very stupid' after she argued against voter ID laws

Harris said in the interview: 'I don't think that we should underestimate what that [compromise on voter ID laws] could mean,

'Because in some people's mind, that means you're going to have to Xerox or photocopy your ID to send it in to prove who you are.

'Well, there are a whole lot of people, especially people who live in rural communities, who don't - there's no Kinkos, there's no OfficeMax near them,' she said.

'Of course people have to prove who they are,' Harris said, but 'not in a way that makes it almost impossible for them to prove who they are.'

The GOP has long been pro-voter ID, while Democrats have been against, over concerns it could burden poor or urban voters, who'd be less likely to have a driver's license.

Vice President Kamala Harris is facing criticism after suggesting that people who live in rural areas aren't able to make photocopies because they don't have a Kinkos or OfficeMax

Kamala Harris absurdly says its almost impossible for rural Americans to photocopy their ID pic.twitter.com/J94IuGBFLv  RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 10, 2021

The remarks drew mockery from some on Twitter, who said that they were able to make photocopies despite living in rural areas.

'I live on top of a mountain on the WV/VA border and I can photocopy my ID. I mean I do it while moonshining White Lightning while dueling banjos play in the background but I can still do it,' one person tweeted.

'I grew up in a rural community without an OfficeMax or a Kinkos and I managed to successfully make photocopies of things on many occasions,' another wrote.

Another critic called the claim 'insulting and untrue' and added, 'Bottom line: Kamala, you need to start forgetting all about 2024 before the Democrats do it for you.'

Others pointed out that the Kinkos brand has not existed for 17 years, since the chain merged with FedEx.

Harris' remarks come as Congress fiercely debates a proposal to pass a sweeping Democratic bill on elections, which would create universal mail-in voting and same-day registration in every state, among many other changes.

Congressional Democrats are facing renewed pressure to pass their bill after a Supreme Court ruling Thursday made it harder to challenge Republican states that pass election security laws that make it harder to vote.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the ruling an 'unprecedented assault' that 'greenlights the brutal, accelerating campaign of voter suppression.'

Speaking in Florida, President Joe Biden said he would have 'much more to say' soon, but largely sidestepped comment.

For their part, Republicans show no sign of willingness to engage with Democrats on the issue.

'The states created the federal government, and its not up to Chuck or Nancy or anyone else in Washington, D.C., to tell Arizona or anyone else how they should conduct an election,' Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, who was a party in the case, said on Fox News.

Hume also commented on the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) after former President Donald Trump won a straw poll of attendees of who they would like to see running for the White House in 2024.

Hume said Trump, who delivered a speech at the event, had continued support for his policies, but not as a personality.

'A majority of Republicans said they would like to win with his policies. A smaller number said they would like to win with him leading the way.

'I think a lot of rank and file Republicans.... wouldn't mind a bit if he went away. They could pick up his agenda and run on it [as] the Biden administration to date seems to have left them plenty of opportunities', he said.

'The president, the former president outlined a lot of them in his speech on all kinds of issues, crime, immigration and on down the list.

'The party feels it could be a in a strong position. They're afraid to buck him but they're afraid he will lead them to a defeat.'
No10's top scientists today defended grim modelling which warned of 25,000 Covid hospitalisations every day after lockdown restrictions are lifted.

Imperial College London experts claimed it was possible admissions this autumn are up to five times higher than levels seen during the devastating second wave, despite the hugely successful vaccine rollout.

The team, which includes 'Professor Lockdown' Neil Ferguson, who was instrumental in persuading ministers to go ahead with the UK's original shut down last spring, also warned of 3,000 daily Covid deaths by September.

Dr Anne Cori, one of the main researchers behind the terrifying model submitted to SAGE, admitted that it looked at a worst-case scenario but insisted the forecast was still 'plausible'.

The simulation assumed people will become quite reckless after July 19 Freedom Day and that immunity is on the weaker end of scientists' best estimates.

There were 4,000 daily Covid hospital admissions at the peak of the second wave in January and 1,200 deaths, for comparison, before the jab rollout gained momentum.

However, Imperial's best estimate for the third wave found daily admissions will peak at between 1,000 and 2,000 and deaths will remain below 200.

The models were published last night as part of a batch of documents used to justify the decision to end remaining lockdown curbs in England on July 19.

SAGE's mathematical models of the Covid crisis, used to guide No10's decision making, have repeatedly come under fire during various waves for being too bleak.

Imperial College London experts claimed it was possible admissions this autumn are up to five times higher than levels seen during the devastating second wave, despite the hugely successful vaccine rollout. The team also warned of 3,000 daily Covid deaths by September

Dr Anne Cori, one of the main researchers behind the terrifying model, admitted that it looked at a worst-case scenario but insisted the forecast was still 'plausible'

Third wave forecasts were also made by SAGE's other two expert modelling teams at Warwick University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

All three teams came to different conclusions about how deadly the third wave will be, which they said reflected how many unknowns there were.

Imperial's most realistic scenario projected there could be 'hospitalisation numbers comparable with, but deaths substantially lower than, the second wave'.

This presumed vaccines were extremely effective and that people will continue to wear masks and limit the number of friends they meet.

Dr Cori told a press briefing today: 'I can understand how people may be confused by these numbers, but we've not lived in a country without restrictions for the past 18 months.

'And the virus currently circulating is much more transmissible than the virus [spreading] last year or indeed at the start of the pandemic.

'In some scenarios, vaccine immunity is assumed to be on the lower end of plausible.'

She added that once the models assumed people would ditch most social precautions, stop wearing masks and start meeting friends then 'you can indeed get scenarios... which lead to very high numbers of hospitalisations'.

Confirming the July 19 unlocking last night, Boris Johnson and his top expert advisers were keen to call for caution.

The Prime Minister warned curbs may need to be rolled back if people abuse their new freedoms.

Dr Cori said that wearing a mask and working from home if you are able to would reduce the number of deaths and admissions, even though people will not be legally required to do so after next Monday.

Professor Matt Keeling, the lead modeller at Warwick University, said the reason the third wave predictions varied so wildly was because there are so many unknowns.

Professor Matt Keeling, the lead modeller at Warwick University, said that people's behaviour was going to be the biggest factor in deciding how the epidemic will change in the weeks after Freedom Day

COVID DEATHS: SAGE modelled five different scenarios after July based on how quickly people stop social distancing and following basic Covid measures. The worst-case scenario (in purple) would see people go back to pre-pandemic normal within a month and could lead to more than 500 deaths per day in October. A more gradual relaxation would see deaths remain in the 100 to 200 range at the peak (shown in light blue, dark blue and red)

DAILY HOSPITALISATIONS: The group expects there to be between 1,000 and 2,000 admissions at the peak this autumn, with its most central estimate shown in light blue. However, the group says its modelling is highly uncertain and depends on how fast people ditch personal precautions. For this reason the confidence intervals suggest there could be more than 3,000 daily admissions

Modelling by LSHTM released yesterday suggests it is realistic to expect between 100 to 200 daily fatalities and 1,000 to 2,000 hospital admissions at the worst of the current outbreak this autumn, following the unlocking on July 19, with up to 4,800 daily admissions as an upper bracket predicted by one model (black shaded curve)

A THIRD OF BRITS ARE STILL SUSCEPTIBLE TO COVID A third of the population in England is still susceptible to being infected with the Delta variant of Covid, according to a scientific adviser. Professor Matt Keeling, from the University of Warwick and a member of Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M), which informs ministers, said his team estimate that, by July 19, there will have been 15.3 million symptomatic and asymptomatic infections in the country. This means that 27.4 per cent of the English population will have been infected and therefore have natural immunity, leaving the rest either vaccinated or unvaccinated. When taking account of vaccines, which do not work perfectly, the modellers at Warwick calculated that 33 per cent of the population remains susceptible to the Delta variant, which was first identified in India. Prof Keeling told a briefing: 'There's still a large number of susceptibles out there and we expect infection, cases and hospital admissions to keep increasing between now and July 19th.' He said keeping hospital admissions low 'and below what we saw in January' really does rely on individual behaviour, as he backed calls for people to take it slowly when restrictions are released. He said experts do not know about drops in immunity in any great detail and 'any waning immunity' could alter the figures, pushing up cases. He added: 'You almost need to think of this like a spring-like system, and, if you suddenly release it, you get a much, much bigger wave than if you gradually let things change.' Professor Graham Medley, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), told the briefing he thinks the country will reach the herd immunity threshold 'one way or another'. At that point, the reproduction number (the R) will be around 1 and 'that is herd immunity', he added. Prof Medley said he agrees that UK will always experience a wave of infection when it releases restrictions 'because the vaccines are not perfect and we're not vaccinating everybody, so there is room for another wave of infection'. 'That's going to be the case for all countries, not just this one,' he added. Advertisement

He claimed that people's behaviour was going to be the biggest factor in deciding how severe the epidemic will become in the weeks after Freedom Day.

Another key question is the true number of people who are not vaccinated because population numbers are not yet available from the census earlier this year.

Professor Keeling added that small changes in the proportion of the population recently vaccinated can change the death and hospitalisation numbers 'quite dramatically'.

He warned that people's behaviours were still the most important factor because his team estimates a third of the population are not protected against Covid.

Warwick estimate that, by July 19, there will have been 15.3million symptomatic and asymptomatic infections in the country.

This means that 27.4 per cent of the English population will have been infected and therefore have natural immunity, leaving the rest either vaccinated or unvaccinated.

When taking account of vaccines, which do not work perfectly, the modellers at Warwick calculated that 33 per cent of the population remains susceptible to the Delta variant, which was first identified in India.

Professor Keeling told the briefing: 'There's still a large number of susceptibles out there and we expect infection, cases and hospital admissions to keep increasing between now and July 19th.'

He said keeping hospital admissions low 'and below what we saw in January' really does rely on individual behaviour, as he backed calls for people to take it slowly when restrictions are released.

He said experts do not know about drops in immunity in any great detail and 'any waning immunity' could alter the figures, pushing up cases.

He added: 'You almost need to think of this like a spring-like system, and, if you suddenly release it, you get a much, much bigger wave than if you gradually let things change.'

Professor Keeling's team at Warwick found there could be 4,000 Covid hospitalisations a day this winter in a worst-case scenario, rising to potentially 7,000.

A more realistic scenario proposed by the modellers would see hospitalisations surge to 2,000 a day  a five-fold increase on the current level but half the more than 4,000 recorded during the second wave, and 500 daily deaths.

They said even this scenario would place a 'heavy burden' on the NHS which is battling through a backlog of patients.

In their most optimistic forecast, peak daily hospital admissions could peak at around 700 a day and deaths 100.

But in order to achieve this, people would need to be very cautious with their social interactions for another five months.

There now appears to be some mixed messaging coming from the Government's scientific advisers, with senior members such as Professor Chris Whitty in favour of getting the 'big bang' of cases out of the way in summer to avoid pushing the peak back to winter.

Others, including Professor Keeling, are calling for a much more cautious approach and would prefer restrictions to be lifted more gradually.

Asked if he could send one message to the public, Professor Keeling said today: 'The pubic is going to control which trajectory we're on... [whether] we see very large wave or something much more flattened.'

Dr Cori said that the modellers will know about a month after the final unlocking which scenario the country is headed for.

SAGE's third modelling team at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine fond that Britain's third wave will be smaller than previous peaks even in the most pessimistic scenario.

SAGE's third modelling team at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine fond that Britain's third wave will be smaller than previous peaks even in the most pessimistic scenario. But they warned that if people suddenly dropped all social distancing rules by 60 per cent and immunity started to fade within a year then there could be 600 deaths per day in autumn and 3,500 admissions, rising to 4,800 in its upper confidence interval (shown top left)

The team found that in all scenarios the third wave of infections will peak in August.

But they warned that if people suddenly dropped all social distancing rules by 60 per cent and immunity started to fade within a year then there could be 600 deaths per day in autumn and 3,500 admissions, rising to 4,800 in its upper confidence interval.

In the team's most realistic scenario  where immunity from jabs does not wane but social contact rises gradually between groups  they suggest there could be fewer than 1,000 hospital admissions per day and fewer than 200 deaths.

Professor Graham Medley, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine who chairs SAGE's modelling subgroup SPI-B, told the briefing he thinks the country will reach the herd immunity threshold 'one way or another'.

At that point, the reproduction number (the R) will be around 1 and 'that is herd immunity', he added.

Prof Medley said he agrees that UK will always experience a wave of infection when it releases restrictions 'because the vaccines are not perfect and we're not vaccinating everybody, so there is room for another wave of infection'.

'That's going to be the case for all countries, not just this one,' he added.
Advertisement

Severe storms have lashed the Northeast with a 'supersoaker' downpour dumping up to ten inches of rain on parts of Philadelphia.

Dozens of residents were left stranded on roads and in their homes as torrential rain stalled cars and swamped their homes.

Around 45 residents were evacuated from the Lafayette condos in Bensalem, which received between seven and 10 inches of rain in a matter of hours.

Meanwhile New York City is on course to set the record for its wettest ever July after seeing 8.5inches of rain in the first ten days of the month.

Storms have lashed the entire north east as a 'supersoaker' storm dumped 10 inches of rain on Philadelphia, leaving dozens stranded. This was the scene in Bensalem, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where between six and 10 inches of rain fell in around three to four hours

Dozens of residents were left stranded on roads and in their homes as torrential rain stalled cars and invaded their homes and rescuers in rafts sailed along the roads which turned to rivers to help those in need. Pictured: Rescuers in Bensalem, Bucks County

In Bucks County, Pennsylvania, between six and 10 inches of rain fell in around three to four hours, 6ABC reported.

The downpour was so great it led to a so-called 100-year flood, which means the intensity of the flooding has a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. Theoretically, it could happen more than once during a short period of time, despite its name.

The weather service said: 'Widespread and life-threatening flash flooding is occurring. This is an extremely dangerous situation.

'Do not venture out unless it is an emergency or to move to higher ground.'

New Jersey was also hit by severe weather, with between two and four inches of rain falling on the state as of late on Monday.

Cars became trapped in water amid huge flooding on Route 23 in West Milford, while the Highland Lakes area received nearly two inches of rain in just 40 minutes, ABC7NY reported.

Drivers travelling home from work, including those going under the Route 13 bridge, became stranded by devastating flooding.

And the heavy rain is not over. Severe thunderstorms, producing damaging winds, flash flooding and even tornadoes, are forecast for the end of the week, according to Weather.com.

The frontal system produced the heavy rain which caused an unsettled pattern producing devastating flooding between Philadelphia and New Jersey.

Eastern Pennsylvania and western New York might see further storms bringing huge gusts of winds and maybe a brief tornado.

More rescuers can be seen helping people in boats, using oars to move them down the roads as they wade through the waters that came up to their knees (Pictured: Croydon, Pennsylvania)

Emergency services stand around a red raft, with water up to their knees, as they prepared a rescue mission for stranded citizens on Monday (Pictured: Croydon, Pennsylvania)

Dozens of residents were left stranded on roads and in their homes as torrential rain stalled cars and invaded their homes (pictured: Flooding in Pennsylvania)

In Bensalem, Vicky Pacheco tearfully told the station: 'I opened my door, I couldn't open it, and the next thing you know everything was flooded in my house, The water just started coming up.'

Marie Kelly said that every room in their house ended up covered in two to three inches of water after the water started coming in the front door.

In northeast Philadelphia, Mike Givens just spent $13,000 redoing his house, but the storm completely flooded his basement and ruined other parts of his home.

Stephanie Houser was driving home from work in Center City and said that she 'couldn't see anything'. Despite using her wipers as fast as they could, she said they weren't helping.

New York City is on flash flood watch until 10am on Tuesday after the storm on Monday which followed a rainstorm just four days ago which flooded subway stations and streets.

According to the National Weather Service, there is a chance of showers and thunderstorms in New York continuing tonight as well as on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Two residents are seen carrying their shoes as they walk through flooded roads following severe storms which caused flash flooding in Philadelphia on Monday (Pictured: Marie and Rich Kelly, who had every room in their house covered in two-three inches of water in Croydon, Pennsylvania)

National Weather Service Mount Holly tweated that a significant flash flood occurred on Monday afternoon and evening near the Delaware River in Bucks and Burlington Counties, explaining that the areas which saw the most rain received between six and ten inches in just three to four hours

Video sent in by Cortney Pitcher shows cars submerged in the rising water on Station Avenue near State Road in Bensalem Township. Do you have videos or photos of the flooding? If you can do so SAFELY, please share them with us here: https://t.co/mmKAPwe7VV pic.twitter.com/29tSVUAoYq  Action News on 6abc (@6abc) July 12, 2021

Citizens were told to move immediately to higher ground and to avoid walking or driving through flood waters as the flash flood emergency was declared until 9pm on Monday

A weather chart showing the areas where there is a chance or rain or where rain is likely on Tuesday 13 July

Krystal Klei, a meteorologist at NBC Philadelphia, shared the above chart, showing how the rain is weakening and shifting out of northeast Philadelphia, Bucks and Burlington

The meteorologist previously shared the above chart, saying how there were 'flooding reports all over the place' as they were in a 'dangerous situation'

A car can be seen stranded in flood waters as rescuers stand by, knee deep in water sparked by a 100-year flood (Pictured: Croydon, Pennsylvania)

A man holds his head in his hands as he is evacuated on a boat by rescuers who walk through the deep, devastating floods (Pictured: Croydon, Pennsylvania)

New Jersey was also hit by severe weather, with between two and four inches of rain falling on the state as of late on Monday. Cars became trapped in water amid huge flooding on Route 23 in West Milford, while the Highland Lakes area received nearly two inches of rain in just 40 minutes (Pictured: Flooding in New Jersey)

New York is heading to set the record for the wettest July in the city amid rainstorms. It is already the wettest start to July recorded in the city, following another heavy rainstorm forecast to hit yesterday

NYPD Strategic Response Group was deployed to rescue motorists whose vehicles stalled in deep water)

During the first 10 days of July, Central Park recorded 8.5 inches of rain which is the highest total recorded for the period for the city, NY Daily News reported.

It is currently expected that it will beat the record for the highest rainfall for July, which was 11.89 inches, set in 1889.

Last week, severe weather and flash flooding hit New York City, leaving motorists stranded in water and subway stations submerged, even as Tropical Storm Elsa prepared to pound the region.

As shocking videos emerged showing New Yorkers wading through filthy waist-deep water to catch a train, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez weighed in on Twitter to blame 'fossil fuel execs' and promote her Green New Deal as the solution to severe weather.

The thunderstorms that brought large hail to parts of New Jersey and spurred flash flooding in Manhattan are unrelated to Elsa, which hit the DC area on Thursday night as it heads towards NYC.

But the severe weather gave New Yorkers a taste of what could have been in store for them as Elsa was predicted to arrive there by Friday afternoon with tropical-force winds and heavy rain.

During the first 10 days of July, Central Park recorded 8.5 inches of rain which is the highest total recorded for the period for the city. It is currently expected that it will beat the record for the highest rainfall for July, which was 11.89 inches, set in 1889

On the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx, the NYPD Strategic Response Group was deployed to rescue motorists whose vehicles stalled in deep water. They rescued several stranded motorists near 179th street in the University Heights neighborhood.

Meanwhile, several Manhattan subway stations experienced severe flooding as well. In the Washington Heights neighborhood, the 1 Train station at 157th Street was seen submerged in deep water.

One shocking video circulating on social media showed a woman plunging into the squalid, trash-filled water to catch a train as it arrived in the station, holding shopping bags high above her head to keep them dry.
A U.S. tourist was among four travelers ordered to leave Indonesia's resort island of Bali on Monday after being accused of defying the country's mask mandates amid a devastating spike in Covid-19 cases.

The U.S. tourist, along with two others from Ireland and Russia, were apprehended by authorities last Thursday during a public raid to enforce health protocols and infections in the Kuta tourist area, said Jamaruli Manihuruk, who heads the Bali regional office for the Justice and Human Rights Ministry.

The three travelers were put into a detention room at an immigration office while waiting for their flights to their respective countries.

Checkpoints, like the one at the Bogor train station in West Java, have been place throughout Indonesia as the country battles a new surge of coronavirus infections

Bali accounts for 55,300 of the more than 2.5 million cases reported in Indonesia since the pandemic began. There have been more than 67,000 deaths in the nation due to Covid-19

A fourth tourist, from Russia, had tested positive for the coronavirus when she arrived in Bali last Thursday.

She was placed in mandatory isolation at a hotel, but managed to escape and was soon recaptured.

She is now in an isolation facility in Bali's capital, Denpasar, and will be deported as soon as she recovers from the virus, Bali officials said.

Indonesia has been hit hard by the virus after a deadly spike in travel during the Eid holiday season in May and the current spread of the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus first found in India.

Indonesian officers are enforcing the new emergency restrictions placed in Bali as the country deals with more than 40,000 new coronavirus cases on July 12, the largest number of reported cases in a single day in the South Asian nation

Strict regulations are in place in Bali and Java until July 20. Bali has reported more than 1,600 deaths so far

Officials hope that checkpoints and new regulations that demand foreign travelers wear masks at all time will curb the recent spike

Yesterday, Indonesia experienced a record-high number of reported cases, with a total of 40,427 new cases reported and nearly 900 deaths confirmed, according to John Hopkins University & Medicine's Coronavirus Resource Center.

Overall, the South Asian country has reported more than 2.5 million infections and more than 67,000 deaths from the coronavirus.

Bali has recorded more than 55,300 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, including 1,634 deaths.

Due to the surge, authorities passed new emergency measures in Bali to toughen its mask mandate by imposing a fine of $70 for foreigners who do not use masks properly and deporting those who do not wear masks at all.

Prior to the mandate, foreigners were fined for their first offense and then deported after a second offense.
Amazing dashcam footage of an alleged daring daylight jailbreak on the streets of Canberra has been revealed.

Kane Quinn, 28, was allegedly sprung from jail by a female friend in a Jeep Wrangler while he was being transferred from the Alexander Maconochie Centre jail in Hume.

The journey was only supposed to take 10 minutes while he was transported from the prison to hospital for routine treatment.

But as the Toyota Camry containing Quinn drove through the capital's suburbs, Lila Walto allegedly rammed the white Jeep into the back of the Corrective Services car, police allege.

Amazing dashcam footage of an alleged daring daylight jailbreak on the streets of Canberra has been revealed (pictured)

Kane Quinn, 28, was allegedly sprung from jail by a female friend in a Jeep Wrangler (pictured) while he was being transferred from the Alexander Maconochie Centre jail in Hume

The Jeep can then be seen following the battered car, its rear bumper hanging off and boot open, to allegedly ram it again and again, repeatedly circling round to line it up once more until it finally pulled over further up the road.

It's alleged handcuffed Quinn then leapt from from the grasp of his prison officers, out the Camry and into the Wrangler before driving off as stunned guards looked on.

The Jeep was found burnt out 40 minutes later in the nearby suburb of Forrest on Friday afternoon.

Police immediately launched a massive manhunt for the fugitive and his alleged accomplice.

As the Toyota Camry containing Quinn drove through the capital's suburbs, Lila Walto allegedly rammed the white Jeep into the back of the Corrective Services car, police say

Police immediately launched a massive manhunt for the fugitive and his alleged accomplice (pictured)

Quinn was described as having a distinctive rat's tail hairstyle while Walto, 28, was said to have worn a black mask during the outrageous alleged ramraid.

Five hours later police raided a home in Lyneham after a tip off and allegedly found Quinn hiding in the attic where he was arrested with Walto and a second woman.

'I've been a police officer for a long time here in Canberra, I can't recall anything like this,' said ACT Police's Detective Acting Inspector Shane Scott

'It's a little bit like a scene out of a Hollywood movie and it's certainly something that's of concern for us.

Five hours later police raided a home in Lyneham after a tip off and allegedly found Quinn hiding in the attic where he was arrested with Walto and a second woman. Seen here is the battered car that was carrying Quinn to hospital

'The transport vehicle was followed from Hindmarsh Drive, and the corrective services officers were taking evasive action for theirs and the detainee's safety.

'This was a brazen attack which could have had very serious consequences for the people in the both cars, and potentially other motorists.'

Witnesses described the bizarre scenes as they unfolded on the normally quiet roads of Canberra's Griffith suburb.

'I was heading home from work,' hospitality worker Annie di Silva told the ABC.

'I looked in my rearview mirror and saw this white Wrangler Jeep speeding up behind me, going way quicker than the 80km/h speed limit.

ACT Detective Acting Inspector Shane Scott said it was like a scene from a Hollywood movie

'I see it aggressively swerve and clip the back of the white Camry, and at this point the Camry span out onto the median strip.

'It then takes off in the other direction away from the hospital.'

Quinn faced ACT Magistrates Court on Saturday charged with escaping custody. Walto was charged with assaulting frontline staff, dangerous driving, car theft and property damage. The pair did not apply for bail.
'Skin snaps' and same day cancer tests will be rolled out across England to try to save lives, it was revealed today.

NHS bosses have pumped an extra 20million into pilot schemes aimed at speeding up the diagnosis of cancer.

Under one of the plans, medical photographers or GPs will take pictures of patients' moles  known as teledermatology, or a 'skin snap'.

Thousands of patients suspected to have tumours will also be able to get referred directly for MRI scans by nurses, rather than having to wait for an appointment with a consultant.

It comes as health chiefs today said more work is needed to reduce the cancer 'long waiters' list.

MPs were told thousands of patients who are suspected of having cancer have been waiting for more than two months to be seen by a specialist.

The pandemic had a huge knock-on effect on cancer treatment in the UK, with top medics fearing the disruption will impact survival rates.

MRI scans can be used to detect a tumour, its size and whether it has spread. The NHS plans to use some of the 20million package to speed up prostate cancer diagnosis by allowing nurses to refer patients for an MRI, rather than having to wait for a consultant to do so

More work needed to reduce cancer 'long waiters' list, MPs told More needs to be done to reduce the list of so-called 'long waiters' who are waiting to see a hospital specialist, with potential cancer symptoms, MPs have heard. In England, if a GP suspects a patient has cancer they are urgently referred to see a hospital specialist. The NHS aims for people to be seen within two weeks of when this referral was made. But about 16,000 people have been waiting for more than 62 days, the Health and Social Care Committee of MPs heard. The NHS estimates that about 12 per cent of these, almost 2,000 people, will have cancer. Meanwhile, officials have estimated that 36,000 fewer people than expected have sought care during the pandemic, either because they do not want to burden the NHS or because they are cautious about being in a health facility. But the impact the pandemic has had on cancer deaths will not become apparent until 2022, officials told MPs. Dame Cally Palmer, national cancer director for the NHS in England, said that the NHS had maintained cancer treatment at 91 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. But she said that this 'masks some variation in different tumour types'  for instance many fewer patients have sought care for lung cancer due to similarities with Covid-19 symptoms. On the cancer 'deficit', she added that there had been an increase in 'long-waiters'  those who have waited over 62 days after they have been referred for a diagnosis, and possibly for treatment, if the diagnosis is confirmed. Meanwhile Dame Cally said that the health service was 'concerned' about the number of people with symptoms of cancer who have not come forward for treatment. Meanwhile Professor Peter Johnson, national clinical director for cancer for the NHS in England, said that he was 'cautiously optimistic' that the NHS could achieve the aim of diagnosing three quarters of cancers at an early stage  a stage where potentially curative treatment might be possible  by 2028. He said: 'Now that's a very stretching objective, our current figure is just under 55% of people (diagnosed) at an early stage. 'But if we can achieve that then we will be up there with the best of our European comparators.' Asked if the goal was achievable, he replied: 'Clearly there was no anticipation of the huge disruption that coronavirus would cause to the health services as a whole when we set that ambition  I am cautiously optimistic. 'If they do what we hope they will do, then they will really give us a very rapid leg-up and something which I think will accelerate progress very markedly in the next few years.' Advertisement

The NHS hopes the new funding will help target more patients, helping cancer services manage with higher numbers of people referred.

Under the 'skin snap' plans, patients who are suspected to have cancer from a consultant's image analysis will need an appointment and a biopsy  which should happen within 28 days  to confirm cancer or rule it out.

Skin snaps are already used by NHS medics in Leeds, York and mid-Yorkshire.

People with skin cancer usually develop a new mole or see a change in an existing one.

Other plans include patients with suspected prostate cancer getting a diagnosis on the same day as their scan and a cancer symptom hotline.

It will also include a boost for nurse-led 'lumps and bumps clinics' that will offer examinations and same day ultrasounds.

An NHS England spokesperson said the new measures would be put in place 'as soon as possible'.

NHS chiefs are encouraging people to come forward for a check that they may have put off during the pandemic.

Dame Cally Palmer, the national cancer director at NHS England, said: 'The NHS has prioritised cancer treatment throughout the coronavirus pandemic and, alongside caring for 405,000 people with coronavirus in hospitals and delivering over 65million vaccines, more than 350,000 people have also started treatment for cancer since it began.

'We know that some patients did not come forward but, thanks to the huge efforts of our staff, we're seeing referral and treatment levels recover.

'From cancer symptom hotlines to skin snaps and rapid triage, NHS staff are once again going to great lengths to ensure that those who are coming forward for checks can continue to be seen quickly, so that cancer can be caught at an earlier stage.'

Professor Peter Johnson, national clinical director for cancer in England, said: 'We know that some people were reluctant to seek help during the pandemic so it is good news that we are now seeing higher numbers coming forward for checks.

'Cancer hasn't gone away during the pandemic and we would rather see you sooner with a cancer that can be easily treated, than later with one that may be more difficult.

'Our message remains the same  if you have a worrying symptom, please do get it checked  the NHS is ready for you.'

Speaking at a House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee on NHS cancer services, Dame Palmer said 1,960 people in England currently have cancer that have been waiting 62 days to be diagnosed.

Around 16,000 people have been waiting more than two months for a diagnosis, but 88 per cent of them will not have cancer, she said.

Dame Palmer said between March 2020 and May this year, cancer treatment was maintained at 91 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

But she said that this 'masks some variation in different tumour types'  for instance many fewer patients have sought care for lung cancer due to similarities with Covid-19 symptoms.

She said 36,000 fewer people than expected in England sought cancer care during the pandemic, either because they do not want to burden the NHS or because they are cautious about being in a health facility.

Doctors are seeing less patients with early-stage cancer and more with late-stage cancer, which is concerning and could indicate that some patients who have recently developed cancer are not coming forward, she said.

Dame Palmer said NHS England needs to improve its early diagnosis of cancer patients and removing treatment variation between different ethnic groups and geographies.
Advertisement

More than 7,400 migrants have made the dangerous Channel dash to reach the UK by small boat so far this year, with 825 arriving in the last three days alone, according to official figures.

The total number of migrants to have been detained by Border Force so far this year has reached 7,478, less than 1,000 short of the 8,410 who arrived last year. But the number is expected to rise with more warm weather forecast in the days and weeks ahead which will make crossings easier.

On Sunday 346 people were detained by Border Force Officers in 15 inflatables and ribs - the largest number to arrive in a single day so far this year. And on Monday a further 254 migrants were picked up in nine separate incidents.

A further 225 people were detained on Saturday. It takes the number of migrants detained by Border Force so far in July to 1,572. In 2019 there were 1,850 migrants who arrived on UK shores by small boat.

Among the arrivals on Monday was a young girl wearing a pink rain jacket over her life jacket. A woman, believed to be her mother, had her arm around her as they were brought into Dover Marina, Kent on a Border Force vessel.

She was sat next to a young boy who was holding the hand of a man wearing a face mask - believed to be his dad. Another younger girl aged around three with her hair tied up in a pink bow was also on board with around 20 migrants shortly before 12pm.

A group of migrants are brought into harbour on the beach at Dungeness, along the coast of Kent, by the Border Force officials

Migrants, including children and toddlers, were arrived to Dover Marina in Kent after crossing the English Channel

Migrants in life jackets are assisted by Border Force officers as they arrive to Dover Marina

Migrant boat crisis is hitting Tory support in Red Wall seats, Boris Johnson is warned Boris Johnson has been warned that the failure to tackle the migrant boats crisis is hitting Tory support in Red Wall seats won by the Conservatives at the last Election. An MP representing one of the constituencies gained from Labour by the Tories told The Mail on Sunday that the issue was 'starting to hit support'. In response to the crisis, the Government proposed a Nationality and Borders Bill in Parliament last week that will allow Border Force officials to use 'reasonable force' to detain would-be asylum seekers at sea and return vessels in the Channel back to safe countries. But the power to send boats back to France  where most migrant boats are launched  will require an agreement with the French, and talks on a deal have broken down. After the Bill was unveiled, the Crown Prosecution Service created a further headache by advising its lawyers not to prosecute migrants entering the country illegally. It told prosecutors to stop charging passengers arriving in small boats or lorries, claiming they were typically victims of exploitation or had no choice in how they travelled. It caused consternation among some Tory MPs who warned it represented a 'new low' for the CPS as the issue of illegal immigration continued to dent party support. The MP said: 'In the past few weeks it has become noticeable how much it is coming up on the doorstep, and Boris is being personally associated with it. That and Matt Hancock's resignation are the issues which are really cutting through with voters.' Advertisement

Around 50 migrants also successfully landed on the beach at Dungeness, Kent and were detained by Border Force with the assistance of police officers. A RNLI lifeboat crew was also in attendance.

They followed a group of around 20 men, mainly appearing to be aged in their 20s and Vietnamese, who were brought into harbour by Border Force cutter Speedwell around 10.30am.

It proved to be a long day for Border Force who used their latest vessel, named Hurricane, to bring in approximately 40 migrants around 2.30pm.

Around 10 boats are thought to have attempted the treacherous trip across the world's busiest shipping route on Monday as the number of vessels left eerily floating at the harbour in Dover continues to rise.

It follows a dramatic rescue on Sunday after two people fell off a rigid hulled inflatable boat and into the freezing cold sea. An RNLI inshore lifeboat had to be launch to save them. Fortunately they were both wearing lifejackets.

The voluntary crew of the Ramsgate lifeboat towed the drifting rib, packed with around 20 migrants, into Ramsgate harbour in Kent where Border Force officers were waiting for them.

An RNLI spokesman said: 'The Ramsgate inshore lifeboat launched at 10.10am this morning following reports that there were two people in the water. Two people, who were wearing lifejackets, were rescued from the water and the rib, from which the casualties had fallen, was towed into Ramsgate and the relevant authorities informed.'

In another incident, pictures posted on social media showed around 15-20 migrants apparently coming ashore near Folkestone, Kent after arriving on an inflatable.

Another 404 were stopped from trying to make the dangerous 21-mile crossing by French authorities in the same three day period.

On Saturday, a Border Force officer was seen carefully carrying a baby in his arms from a patrol boat to the quayside at Dover harbour as the child's parents walked close behind.

All three were wearing bright orange life jackets with the toddler's parents wearing facemasks. The group included a number of children and appeared to be mainly African and Middle Eastern.

It comes as Home Secretary Priti Patel is set to announce plans to make it a criminal offence for migrants to attempt to enter the UK without valid entry clearance.

The Borders Bill will attempt to deter illegal entry and crackdown on people smuggling gangs. It will be introduced next week after June saw more migrants cross the Channel by small boat than in any month ever before.

Border Force detained 2,179 people last month making the dangerous trip across the world's busiest shipping route in the world in 92 boats.

It smashed the previously monthly record set last September (2020) when 1,954 arrived on UK shores.

Clandestine Channel Threat Commander Dan O'Mahoney said: 'Dan O'Mahoney, Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, said: 'We are seeing an unacceptable rise in dangerous and unnecessary small boat crossings.

A group of migrants arrive to the Kent coast after crossing the world's busiest shipping route

Children were among those who were brought into harbour by emergency teams

A group of migrants arrive to Dover Marina in Kent after making the treacherous journey across the English Channel

The Home Office is yet to confirm exactly how many arrived on Sunday or how many have made the 21-mile crossing today

A Border Force officer carries a toddler from a migrant boat in Dover, Kent

Rescue teams escort migrants as they arrive to Dover in Kent

'That's why we continue to target the criminal gangs who are responsible for these illegal crossings at every level. We have doubled the number of police officers on the ground in France, leading to more interception and arrests of those behind this cruel trade.

'But there is more to do, that's why our new plan for immigration will break the business model of these criminal gangs whilst welcoming people through safe and legal routes.'

Boris Johnson has been warned that the failure to tackle the migrant boats crisis is hitting Tory support in Red Wall seats won by the Conservatives at the last Election.

An MP representing one of the constituencies gained from Labour by the Tories told The Mail on Sunday that the issue was 'starting to hit support'.

In response to the crisis, the Government proposed a Nationality and Borders Bill in Parliament last week that will allow Border Force officials to use 'reasonable force' to detain would-be asylum seekers at sea and return vessels in the Channel back to safe countries.

Migrants arrive to Dungeness in Kent after being brought by a RNLI Dungeness Lifeboat

Police officers at the scene as a group of migrants arrive to Dungeness after crossing the Channel

Migrants wear life jacket and rain coats as they arrive to Dover Marina

But the power to send boats back to France - where most migrant boats are launched - will require an agreement with the French, and talks on a deal have broken down.

After the Bill was unveiled, the Crown Prosecution Service created a further headache by advising its lawyers not to prosecute migrants entering the country illegally.

It told prosecutors to stop charging passengers arriving in small boats or lorries, claiming they were typically victims of exploitation or had no choice in how they travelled.

It caused consternation among some Tory MPs who warned it represented a 'new low' for the CPS as the issue of illegal immigration continued to dent party support.

The MP said: 'In the past few weeks it has become noticeable how much it is coming up on the doorstep, and Boris is being personally associated with it. That and Matt Hancock's resignation are the issues which are really cutting through with voters.'
A fresh twist has emerged in the case of a $160,000 Big Bird costume that was allegedly stolen from a Sesame Street-themed circus as police hunt for a third suspect.

Tasman Binder, 22 and Cody Alain Milne, 26, are currently before the courts accused of stealing the big yellow bird costume from the travelling show in Bonython Park, in Adelaide's north west, between Sunday April 18 and Monday 19 this year.

But investigators believe a woman may have also been involved in the alleged theft of the character, which was found abandoned at the circus days later with an apology letter - signed off by the 'Big Bird Bandits' - stuffed inside its beak.

South Australia Police on Wednesday released photos of a blonde woman - who looks remarkably like Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson - they would like to speak with in relation to the incident.

South Australia Police have released images of a woman (pictured) they would like to speak to in relation to the alleged theft of a $160,000 Big Bird costume from an Adelaide circus earlier this year

'Recent investigations have uncovered CCTV suggesting a previously unknown third suspect was involved,' SA Police said in a statement.

'Police have been so far unable to identify the woman and appeal for her to come forward.'

The woman, who has medium-length blonde hair, was captured on CCTV wearing a white tank-top, track pants, and sneakers.

Anyone who recognised the woman or has anything information that may help identify her are urged to contact Crime Stoppers.

South Australia police shared their appeal for assistance on Twitter, prompting several social media users to speculate over the mysterious woman's identity.

'Surely the DPP (Director of Public Prosecution) are not spending more on this. It's Courtney Love,' one person joked.

'I believe it is Scarlett Johansson,' another added, while a third said: '[She] stepped straight out of a spy movie.'

'Give her a beak... a break,' someone else chimed.

The new development comes as Milne and Binder were unmasked as mullet-sporting hipsters as they faced their first court appearance last month.

Cody Alain Milne, 26, (pictured left) from Norwood, and Tasman Binder, 22, (right) from Murray Bridge, faced Adelaide Magistrate Court last month - and put on quite a show

The duo, who have each been charged with an aggravated count of dishonestly taking property without consent, faced Adelaide Magistrates Court on June 30, where they were granted bail.

They wore their best outfits as they sashayed down the steps - being asked by reporters if they 'knew where Sesame Street is'.

The pair were then picked up by a moustache-sporting mate who referred to his old car as a 'limo'.

The hipsters - who both wore white turtle neck sweaters, a gold necklace, oval-lensed sunglasses, and blazers - put on quite a show as they departed the courthouse.

The outfits were remarkably similar to those worn by Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton in the action classic Bandits.

With a group of supporters and a vehicle waiting for them out front, the pair shot an in-sync glance at each other, slid on their glasses, then strutted to the car.

The Big Bird costume was found dumped at the circus (pictured) days after it went missing, with a note stuffed inside its beak

The driver, who appeared to be wearing a fake black moustache, ordered reporters to 'back away from the limo'.

As the pair jumped inside the vehicle, the driver, struggling to operate the manual vehicle, made a few botched attempts to reverse before finally speeding away.

Just hours later, Mr Milne and Mr Binder took to their Instagram accounts to joke about the media coverage they had attracted.

In his story, Mr Milne shared a photo of himself sitting in bed, covered in a tiger blanket with a big bird sleep mask wrapped around his head, and a mug in his hand.

In yellow font, he captioned the photo: 'Coming down with the bird flu'.

Other photos in his story showed snaps of him and his co-accused leaving court, and a clip of the pair laughing hysterically while watching a new report about themselves on television.

Mr Binder (pictured) and Mr Milne are each charged with an aggravated count of dishonestly taking property without consent

He also changed his Instagram bio to include 'Danger in the sheets, Sesame in the Streets.'

Meanwhile, Mr Binder shared a photo of the duo standing on the courthouse stairs, writing; 'Little photo shoot 'allegedly'.'

During the hearing, the prosecution supported changes to their bail conditions, including lifting a curfew and removing a ban on the friends from communicating with each other.

'They're friends. I don't think it's going to impede the case,' the prosecutor said, the Herald Sun reports.

Magistrate Karim Soetratma permitted the changes, however, said a clause banning the pair from the circus could remain as it is no longer in the state.

After the costume was allegedly taken, the circus was forced to pull the lovable yellow personality from his regular appearance during show intervals, leaving thousands of fans devastated.

Mr Milne shared a photo of himself sitting in bed, with a big bird sleep mask wrapped around his head and a mug in his hand hours after leaving court

On April 21, police found the missing Muppet dumped by an electricity box in the southwestern end of the circus, with a handwritten note inside its mouth.

'We are so sorry!!' The note read.

'We had no idea what we were doing or what our actions would cause.

'We were just having a rough time and were trying to cheer ourselves up.

'We had a great time with Mr Bird, he's a great guy and no harm came to our friend.

'So sorry to be such a big birden! Sincerely, the big bird bandits.'

The two men were arrested and charged two days later.

Mr Binder and Mr Milne are due to face court again in November.
A manhunt has been launched for two thugs who beat a police officer at a tube station hours after England's Euros 2020 loss on Sunday night.

The British Transport Police officer was providing 'urgent medical assistance' to a man who fell down an escalator in Camden Town Underground station just after 11pm.

He was approached by two men who punched him and struck him around the head.

The officer was rushed to hospital where he was treated for fractures to his face and serious injuries to his shoulder and upper body.

It came just hours after England lost Sunday night's Euro 2020 final against Italy on penalties.

A manhunt has been launched for two thugs who beat a police officer at a tube station hours after England's Euros 2020 loss on Sunday night. British Transport Police have released CCTV images of the two men - one wearing an England shirt - who they say 'may have information which could help their investigation'

British Transport Police have released CCTV images of the two men - one wearing an England shirt - who they say 'may have information which could help their investigation'.

Detective Inspector Gary Pinner said: 'This violent attack took place while one of our officers was helping a member of the public in need.

'As a result, he has suffered severe injuries.

'No officer should be subject to this while doing their job to keep passengers safe across the network.

'Violent and abusive behaviour of any kind will not be tolerated on the railway, whether directed towards the public, rail staff or our officers.'
Multiple people were killed when a crane attached to a high-rise under construction in Kelowna, British Columbia, collapsed on Monday.

Several workers were near the crane when it collapsed, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Inspector Adam MacIntosh said at a news conference following the collapse.

He gave no further details about the victims, saying that 'not all persons have been properly identified.' One person was unaccounted for, MacIntosh said.

It remains unclear how many people were killed and injured in the collapse.

But in a later news conference, Jon Friesen, the CEO of Mission Group, the construction company building the tower, said all of the deceased victims were employees of a subcontractor his company had hired to work at the site.

He said he was in a 'state of shock' by the accident, saying it 'is the most serious catastrophe' his company has had, as at least 100 men were on the site.

'We want them to go home at the end of the day, and that did not happen,' Friesen said, noting: 'It doesn't matter whose employees they were. They were on our site and as a result of their work they did lose their lives.'

A crane attached to a 25-story residential building under construction collapsed in Kelowna, British Columbia on Monday, resulting in multiple fatalities and injuries

As the crane fell, it hit an adjacent building and the roof of an 'old-age home'

MacIntosh said 911 calls about the collapse came in at around 11 a.m. on Monday, when the crane, which was attached to the 25-story Brooklyn at Bernard Block residential tower, fell and hit an adjacent professional building and the roof of an 'old-age home.'

It was being dismantled at the time, Friesen said.

Police and fire officials immediately responded to the scene, he said.

The extent of the damage to the buildings is unknown, according to MacIntosh, and 'the area remains unstable and unsafe.'

It has been evacuated as local officials declared a state of emergency, and a structural engineer has been brought in to secure the area.

Video from the collapse shows part of the crane broken off from the rest of its body, as the videographer says: 'The top of that crane is missing. Look at it.'

The video also shows a car with its hood smashed in from the attack, as the man says, 'It's like, dangerous to be where I am right now.'

Video taken by a bystander at the scene shows that a car's hood was damaged in the collapse

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Inspector Adam MacIntosh said the area remains unsafe

Harry Bains, the minister of labor in British Columbia, said he was 'deeply saddened' by the collapse.

'My thoughts are with the workers affected, and I send my sincere condolences to the families, friends and co-workers of the victims,' he said in a statement.

'All workers have the right to a safe and healthy workplace  even one injury or death is too many,' he continued. 'This is a heartbreaking reminder that we must strive to ensure the safety of all workers to prevent incidents like this from happening.'

The incident is now being investigated by WorkSafeBC, the British Columbia Coroners Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Royal Mounted Police, WorkSafe BC and the British Columbia Coroners Service is now investigating the incident

People were evacuated from the scene, as local officials declared a state of emergency

The latest tragedy comes just two days after a part of another crane collapsed on top of a building in Toronto.

A counterweight meant to prevent the crane from tipping was located on top of the 8 The Esplanade residential building after it fell approximately 20 feet, Toronto Fire District Chief Stephan Powell told CNN.

The crane was carrying about 20,000 pounds of counterweight, which shifted, resulting in the crane tipping over, Toronto Fire Platoon Chief told CTV News.

Fortunately, he said, the top six floors of the building were used for maintenance, so no residential units were damaged.
President Joe Biden will deliver his long-anticipated speech on voting rights in Philadelphia on Tuesday, making the 'moral case' for the right to vote.

His remarks, to be delivered at the National Constitution Center, are intended to ramp up public pressure on the issue as several Republican-led states pass legislation aimed at restricting voting rights.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki described the speech as 'one that he himself wanted to deliver.'

'He'll lay out the moral case for why denying the right to vote is a form of suppression and a form of silencing,' she said at her press briefing on Monday.

In his remarks, Biden will call the new state laws 'the most egregious attempts to harm the integrity of our democracy since the Civil War  while observing that the Confederates never breached the Capitol,' a White House official said.

He will also call for a new coalition  made up of advocates, activists, students, faith leaders, labor leaders, and business executives  to help voter turnout.

Democrats fear the new spate of voting rights laws will harm them at the voting booth in next year's midterm election, costing them control of the House and Senate.

Biden will warn that the new laws, 'which could allow partisans to throw out the votes of anyone for made up reasons  are the most significant threat today to the integrity of our elections, and to the security of the right to vote for people of all races and backgrounds,' the official said.

President Joe Biden will deliver his long-anticipated speech on voting rights in Philadelphia, making the 'morale case' for the right to vote

Biden, in his speech, will attack a series of new voting laws in states that critics say will make it harder for black Americans to vote; above people wait in line in Greenville, S.C., to vote in the 2020 election

When it comes to voting rights, Biden is fighting a two-prong battle: on the state level where Republican-controlled legislatures are passing restrictive measures and on a national level, where he doesn't have the numbers in the Senate to pass federal legislation.

As of June 21, 17 states enacted 28 new laws that restrict access to right to vote, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

Many of those states passed the measures after Biden's victory in the 2020 election, when former President Donald Trump falsely claimed he won and was the victim of voter fraud.

Psaki called the new voting laws 'the worst challenge to our democracy since the Civil War.'

The location of Biden's speech on Tuesday has deep symbolic meaning. The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were both signed at Independence Hall, just steps away from the National Constitution Center.

The center is also the location of where Barack Obama gave his famous 'A More Perfect Union' speech during his 2008 campaign, where he tackled the issue of race, America and a 'more perfect union.'

On voting rights, Biden is balancing his struggle with the states with his own limitations in passing legislation on a national level.

His administration is using other tools at its disposal. The Justice Department is suing Georgia for its new voting rights law, which critics say makes it harder for black people to vote. Attorney General Merrick Garland has hinted there may be more action to come.

House Democrats, meanwhile, passed a sweeping voting rights bill in June but it failed in the 50-50 Senate, where all Republicans united to block it from moving forward.

The massive election overhaul bill was aimed at protecting and expanding voting rights and reforming campaign finance laws.

That June failure increased focus on the Senate filibuster, which requires any legislation to have 60 votes in order to move forward. If left in place, odds of the Democrats' two voting rights measures - For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act - becoming law are slim.

Many Democrats, including some Biden allies, have expressed frustration with the lack of White House push to reform the filibuster.

And some Biden supporters point out he was elected with broad support from black voters, who are at most risk from the new state voting restrictions.

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, a longtime Biden ally, urged this week that the filibuster be modified for voting rights legislation.

Clyburn told Politico if the Democrats' two voting laws don't pass Congress: 'Democrats can kiss the majority goodbye.'

Biden met with civil rights activists at the White House last week but his focus has been on fighting the COVID pandemic, increasing the vaccination rate and passing a massive infrastructure bill.

Donald Trump continues to push the false claim he won the election and sow seeds of doubt about election integrity in the United States

Texas House Democrats are seen on Monday night at a news conference on the tarmac at Dulles airport in Washington DC after they fled Austin to keep the state legislature from passing new restrictive voting laws

In his remarks in Philadelphia, Psaki hinted President Biden may attack Trump, who continues to push false claims about the election. On Monday, Trump sowed doubts about Virginia's gubernatorial election, putting out a statement where he urged to 'watch the 'vote counters' in Virginia.'

It was the latest latest move in a wide-reaching campaign by the former president to undermine public trust in elections.

Trump also blasted Biden's Philadelphia trip in a bizarrely worded statement on Tuesday where he focused on an attempt by a lone Republican state lawmaker in Pennsylvania who is trying to audit the 2020 election.

'Philadelphia was a cesspool of corruption, which will soon be revealed by the audit. Why are they so concerned that a President, who never goes anywhere, would hop onto beautiful Air Force One and head to Philadelphia if it were an honest election?,' Trump said.

Multiple audits in multiple states have confirmed Biden's election victory and shown no evidence of voter fraud.

Psaki indicated Biden could fire back.

'He will redouble his commitment to using every tool at his disposal to continue to fight to protect the fundamental right of Americans to vote against the onslaught of voter suppression laws based on a dangerous and discredited conspiracy theory that culminated in assault on our Capitol,' she said on Monday, referring to the January 6th MAGA riot where Trump supporters tried to disrupt the certification of the 2020 election.

She then referred to the 'big lie' - a term Democrats have used to refer to the false election claims made by Trump and some other Republicans. The use of the phrase is a strike at Trump, who calls Biden's election victory 'The Big Lie.'

'He'll call out the greatest irony of 'the big lie' - that no election in our history has met such a high standard with over 80 judges, including those appointed by his predecessor, throwing out all challenges,' Psaki said. 'He'll also decry efforts to strip the right to vote as authoritarian and anti American and stand up against the notion that politicians should be allowed to choose their voters.'

While Biden pushing the issue in Philadelphia, the birthplace of democracy, he'll have help in his public pressure campaign from a group of Texas Democrats, who fled their state on private jets Monday to keep the state legislature from passing new restrictive voting laws.

The group of Texans will be on Capitol Hill to lobby for national voting legislation.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, demanded the Democrats show up to work and 'put aside partisan political games and get back to the job they were elected to do.'

'Texas Democrats' decision to break a quorum of the Texas Legislature and abandon the Texas State Capitol inflicts harm on the very Texans who elected them to serve,' he said in a Monday statement on them fleeing the state. 'As they fly across the country on cushy private planes, they leave undone issues that can help their districts and our state.'
A would-be drug smuggler found with a half a billion dollars worth of meth says he was only expecting to pick up a suitcase worth when he and another man cruised by the Mexican mothership off Norfolk Island.

Instead, UK-South African Sebastian Barnard, 35, and New Zealander Mark Bishell, 34, were handed 991kg of ice and instructed to smuggle it into Australia, a court heard.

But the voyage was anything but smooth sailing.

The pair were charged with importing a commercial quantity of drugs when their $250,000 vessel was intercepted by New South Wales Police in waters off Lake Macquarie in April last year.

While sailing the illegal cargo across the Tasman Sea, the duo hit a massive storm and were swamped by 15-metre-high waves that nearly sank their overloaded boat - the La Fayette.

Professional yachtsman Barnard told the court he was roped into smuggling the drugs after falling into debt with a crime kingpin, known only as The Principal, when he was living in Dubai.

Pictured: The $250,000 vessel is seen being towed though Sydney Harbour by a ship after it was stormed by police in Lake Macquarie

Sebastian Barnard, 35 (left), and Mark Bishell, 34 (right), can be seen being escorted off the boat and photographed by police in protective suits

Benard told the court he was only expecting to pick a suitcase worth, not 991kg of ice worth half a billion dollars (pictured)

'I couldn't have fathomed it would be that amount, it was flabbergasting,' Barnard said of the ice in Downing Centre District Court on Tuesday, The Daily Telegraph reported.

'It filled up both of our rooms and then some, it was an exorbitant amount you'd think maybe a large suitcase or something of that nature, but not that much  it was a ridiculous amount'.

He said it was the mysterious figure called The Principal who masterminded the complex drug importation.

But the court heard he had no idea just how much ice he was expected to pick up.

When it was revealed to Barnard just how much he was expected to load from the mothership, he told the court that at that time it was too late to pull out.

The pair were charged with importing a commercial quantity of drugs. Pictured: Bishell after being arrested

The court heard Bishell (pictured) was merely a deckhand who played a lesser role in the importation

'I was in fear for my life  who would mess with someone that can orchestrate a tonne of meth? I'm very sure I'd be dead within less than a week,' he said.

With their yacht under immense weight due to the illegal load, sailing became increasingly difficult.

When they reached waters off Australia a massive storm bringing huge winds and 15-metre waves rocked the vessel.

Barnard said it was the worst experience of his life and the biggest storm he had ever been in.

The men were caught after New Caledonian authorities flagged a suspicious vessel with Australian officials that had been in Mexico before entering Pacific waters.

A water policeman watched the La Fayette get towed into Sydney by a police ship on Saturday

The luxury yacht was packed with 991 kg of methamphetamine from Mexico (pictured)

The La Fayette (pictured) was towed all the way back to Balmain in Sydney after being intercpeted

From there Australian law enforcement tracked a second boat - the La Fayette.

NSW Police and Border Force personnel eventually intercepted the yacht and towed it through Sydney Harbour to a wharf in Balmain.

The two men have both pleaded guilty to importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug and face a maximum sentence of life behind bars.

The court heard Bishell was merely a deckhand who played a lesser role in the importation.

Judge Garry Neilson will sentence the pair on Wednesday.
California Governor Gavin Newsom will not be able to put his Democratic Party affiliation on the ballot in the state's recall race set for September 14, when voters will decide if they want to remove and replace him.

Newsom missed a deadline to submit his party affiliation and sued California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, who he appointed to the position, last month in an effort to add it to the ballot.

On Monday, Sacramento County Superior Court Judge James Arguelles ruled that Newsom would not be permitted to add his party affiliation because the deadline requirement was part of legislation that Newsom actually approved in 2019 during his tenure as governor.

Last month, Newsom filed a 25-page lawsuit to challenge that requirement, claiming that it is unnecessary to bar him from putting his party affiliation on the ballot.

'As long as the fundamental purposes underlying the applicable constitutional or statutory requirements have been fulfilled, there is compliance with the applicable statute,' the lawsuit reads.

California Governor Gavin Newsom will not be able to put his Democratic Party affiliation on the ballot in the state's recall race set for September 14

Newsom's campaign explained that they missed the deadline to submit his party affiliation to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and it was an inadvertent mistake

Newsom's elections attorney, Thomas Willis, and an attorney for Weber argued during an hour-long hearing on Friday that Newsom made a harmless mistake and it is in voter's best interest to know his party affiliation.

They added that election officials still have enough time to add Newsom's party to the ballot considering eligible candidates have until July 16 to enter the race. 'The court has sufficient time to act before the recall ballot is finalized,' the lawsuit reads.

Republicans slammed Newsom as trying to avert the rules everybody else has to follow.

'At base this comes down to whether the governor of California has to follow the unambiguous law  and it just so happens, a law that he signed,' said attorney Eric Early, who represents key leaders of the recall, such as Orrin Heatlie, Mike Netter and the California Patriot Coalition.

While not garnering much serious support in her bid to replace Newsom, reality TV personality and Olympian Caitlyn Jenner held the first news conference of her campaign to announce that she was joining a lawsuit against Newsom and called it her first step toward chipping away at the bureaucracy plaguing California politics.

Judge James Arguelles said Monday that there were no reasons to look beyond the law Newsom approved that required him to submit his party affiliation by a specified date.

He added that the law 'unambiguously precludes party information from appearing on a recall ballot where the elected officer fails timely to make the designation.'

Reality TV personality and Olympian Caitlyn Jenner, who is running against Newsom, joined the lawsuit to prevent him from adding his party preference to the ballot past the deadline to submit it

After the judge's decision was confirmed, Jenner tweeted 'I am thrilled that the rule of law prevailed. Joining this lawsuit was the first step of finally breaking down politics-as-usual in Sacramento where special interests and political cronies are placed above the good of the people. The end is near for Gavin Newsom!'

Early hailed Arguelles' ruling and said, 'He followed the law, and that's all we can ask for. No one is above the law, and this ruling makes clear that includes Gavin Newsom.'

Newsom campaign spokesman Nathan Click did not respond directly to the ruling, but said that Newsom would defeat the recall that he called a 'Republican power grab.'

Previous recall targets weren't allowed to list their political party, but Democrats who control the state Legislature changed that in 2019 after a state senator from their party was recalled. They argued it gives voters important information.

Last month, Newsom signed a law that changed the recall rules again to speed up the election.

Many voters already know Newsom from his 10-year career in California office, first as lieutenant governor and as governor in 2018 when he won against Cox. He served as San Francisco's mayor for the prior six years.

Democrats have said that Newsom is in a better position to defeat the recall now that the state's economy is open again and its coronavirus case numbers are low.

The recall gained momentum in the beginning of the pandemic when many disapproved of the governor's lockdown orders. Newsom drew even more ire from his opponents when he was seen at a party with lobbyist friends at a fancy restaurant despite the state being in lockdown.

The governor's standing also suffered from a multibillion-dollar fraud scandal at the state unemployment agency.

Bids for recall elections are not rare in California, though they don't often make it to the ballot. Only one governor was ousted in a recall, when Democrat Gray Davis was replaced by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003.

There are dozens of candidates expected and its possible that a candidate could win with only 20 to 30percent of the vote.

The most recent candidate to join the race is conservative radio talk show host Larry Edler

The talk show host added that he is passionate about California issues like its out-of-control homeless crisis, spiking crime rates, water shortages and power outages - in addition to the hit the economy took after Newsom's coronavirus lockdowns

The most recent candidate to join the race is conservative radio talk show host Larry Edler. He announced Monday that he would be joining the slate of candidates that also includes Caitlyn Jenner, former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, businessman John Cox, former Republican Doug Ose, billboard model Angelyne, Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Hewitt, Assemblyman Kevin Kiley and Ric Grenell, who served as former President Trump's acting director of national intelligence.

Elder, 69, told the Associated Press that he initially was reluctant to become a candidate in a state where Democrats hold a lopsided grip on power in Sacramento. But a number of his Republicans peers, including fellow conservative radio host Dennis Prager, encouraged him to run.

The talk show host added that he is passionate about California issues like its out-of-control homeless crisis, spiking crime rates, water shortages and power outages - in addition to the hit the economy took after Newsom's coronavirus lockdowns.

'I have common sense. I have good judgment. Im born and raised here. I think I understand the state,' he said.

Elder runs a nationally-syndicated talk show and is a regular guest on Fox News. His website dubs him as the 'sage from South Central,' referencing the area of Los Angeles where he grew up.

Elder, who is black, writes on his website that he is 'unafraid to take on liberals and the Black Lives Matter movement' and that his political beliefs include 'returning to the bedrock Constitutional principles of limited government and maximum personal responsibility.'

Some Newsom supporters claimed that the recall is being led by far-right extremists and white nationalists, to which Edler said, 'Do I look like a white nationalist?'

Compared to the other candidates, Elder said that his name recognition, outsider status and communication skills make him stand out. He is also a staunch advocate for school choice programs, drawing on his experience attending a disadvantaged high school in a historically black neighborhood.

In a statement, Newsom campaign spokesman Dan Newman called Elder 'another Trump supporter' attempting to appeal to the former president's fan base.

The election is set for Sept. 14, though voters will received ballots earlier by mail. The ballot had two parts, one that asks voters if they want to remove Newsom from office and the next asking which candidate should replace him. The votes for his replacement will only be counted if more than half of voters say 'yes' to the first question.
Vickie, a long-time educator, was beloved my students and colleagues

The Fourshees were staples in their community and will be missed by many

The couple's friends pulled them from the water and attempted to revive them, however they were unsuccessful

John slipped while trying to cross the Moyie River in Idaho, prompting Vickie to rush to his rescue

John, 70, and Vickie Fourshee, 69, passed away at the weekend while on a fly-fishing trip to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with a group of friends

A husband and wife have drowned during a fly-fishing trip to Idaho after the husband slipped while crossing a river and his wife tried to save him.

John, 70, and Vickie Fourshee, 69, of southern Kentucky, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this past weekend by taking a fly-fishing trip on Idaho's Moyie River.

Witnesses say the couple attempted to cross the river in their fishing waders around 9am Saturday when John slipped and lost his balance, prompting Vickie to rush to his rescue.

Investigators told WKRN that the couple's friends pulled them from the river and tried to revive them. Boundary County EMS director Andrew O'Neel says paramedics also attempted life-saving measures, unfortunately all efforts were unsuccessful.

Vickie (left) and John Fourshee (right) visited Idaho's Moyie River last weekend to celebrate their wedding anniversary. The couple died in a river crossing accident

The 69-year-old educator and her husband, 70, were loved by their community. Those who knew them say they were 'great people'

'It was a lot of people trying to help,' O'Neel told the Couer d'Alene - Post Falls Press. 'Sadly they were not successful.'

The Fourshees were respected members of the community and loved by many.

Vickie, who just retired in 2014, was a beloved instructional assistant at Trigg County Primary School.

'She was loved by all of her students and coworkers. She showed her love and support of her students every single day,' Trigg County Public Schools said in a statement issued to DailyMail.com. 'Our hearts and prayers are with John and Vickie's family during this tragedy.'

The couple, along with John's brothers, were part owners of Fourshee Building Supply.

The company posted a heartfelt tribute on social media saying the community will 'remember John as the HVAC installer and service man.'

John and his brothers acted as co-owner of a local building supply company. The organization announced his death on Facebook saying his death was an 'enormous tragedy'

The company says John's death is an 'enormous tragedy.' Fourshee Building Supply will be closed for his funeral, and possibly his wake, providing all those who knew the couple with time to mourn.

Calling hours are scheduled for Friday evening Goodwin Funeral Home located in the couple's hometown of Cadiz, Kentucky. Their funeral and burial will take place the next day.

Others who knew the couple have also taken to social media to offer their condolences to the family.

One referred to John as a 'very good man' and another said the entire Fourshee family is comprised of 'great people.'

Trigg County community members have taken to social media to share heartfelt tributes honoring the couple

The couple loved traveling and exploring nature.

One of Vickie's Facebook posts featured a photo of her holding a fish in her bare hand with a caption reading 'retirement wonderful!'

According to their obituary, John and Vickie were 'always in search of a new outdoors adventure.' They particularly loved fishing and canoeing.

Vickie Fourshee and her husband have taken numerous fishing trips. She is seen in a photo posted three years ago

The couple leaves behind three children and nine grandchildren.

Their family says the couple loved 'spending time with their children and grandchildren,' noting that they have been left with many 'cherished' memories.
A scathing new report commissioned by members of Congress has claimed that the Navy's surface warfare forces have systemic training and leadership issues, including a focus on diversity that overshadows basic readiness skills.

The report prepared by Marine Lt. Gen. Robert Schmidle and Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, both retired, came in response to recent Naval disasters, including the burning of the USS Bonhomme Richard in San Diego, two collisions involving Navy ships in the Pacific and the surrender of two small craft to Iran.

The authors conducted hour-long interviews with 77 current and retired Navy officers, offering them anonymity to identify issues they wouldn't feel comfortable raising in the chain of command.

The report found that a staggering 94 percent of the subjects believed the recent Naval disasters were 'part of a broader problem in Navy culture or leadership.'

'I guarantee you every unit in the Navy is up to speed on their diversity training. I'm sorry that I can't say the same of their ship handling training,' said one recently retired senior enlisted leader.

A report prepared by Marine Lt. Gen. Robert Schmidle (left) and Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery (right), both retired, came in response to recent Naval disasters

A fire is seen on board USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) at Naval Base San Diego, July 12, 2020 in San Diego. The $750 million ship had to be scrapped due to fire damage

The report focused on issues within the Navy's surface warfare forces, as opposed to submarine and aviation, and suggested that issues in the surface fleet could be unique due to better funding and training for submarine and aviation units.

One of the key issues raised by the officers interviewed for the report was a concern that Navy leaders spend more time focusing on diversity training than on developing warfighting capacity and key operational skills.

'Sometimes I think we care more about whether we have enough diversity officers than if we'll survive a fight with the Chinese navy,' lamented one lieutenant currently on active duty.

'It's criminal. They think my only value is as a black woman. But you cut our ship open with a missile and we'll all bleed the same color,' she added.

One recent destroyer captain said: 'where someone puts their time shows what their priorities are. And we've got so many messages about X, Y, Z appreciation month, or sexual assault prevention, or you name it. We don't even have close to that same level of emphasis on actual warfighting.'

'While programs to encourage diversity, human sex trafficking prevention, suicide prevention, sexual assault prevention, and others are appropriate, they come with a cost,' the report's authors wrote.

'The non-combat curricula consume Navy resources, clog inboxes, create administrative quagmires, and monopolize precious training time. By weighing down sailors with non-combat related training and administrative burdens, both Congress and Navy leaders risk sending them into battle less prepared and less focused than their opponents,' the report added.

The report found that a staggering 94 percent of the subjects believed the recent Naval disasters were 'part of a broader problem in Navy culture or leadership'

A majority of the officers interviewed believed there was a 'direct connection' between the recent disasters in the Navy's surface warfare units

Some of the respondents expressed concerns that when combat lethality and warfighting are emphasized, they are treated in a box-checking manner that can seem indistinguishable from non-combat related exercises.

'The Navy treats warfighting readiness as a compliance issue,' said one career commander. 'You might even use the term compliance-centered warfare as opposed to adversary-centered warfare or warfighter-centered warfare.'

One junior surface warfare officer, still on active duty, confessed: 'I don't think that the [surface community] see themselves as people who are engaged in a fight.'

Commander Bryan McGrath, a retired surface warfare officer who agreed to be interviewed on the record, notably dissented on the question of whether excess requirements were distracting sailors from their primary mission, argued that the main issue was was too few surface ships.

'[The ships] are very busy,' he said. 'I think there are too few of them for what is being asked,' he argued. 'The operational requirements squeeze out maintenance, they squeeze out some training.'

'When you're on the ship,' McGrath said, the 'sexual assault and victim stuff, all that stuff just seems like a burden. It just seems like it's never-ending[But] the further I get from it, the more I understand why it's important and why there does have to be very clear signals sent to deck plate sailors that they're, you know, that issues that are important to them are important to leadership.'

Report condemns Navy's 'paralyzing zero-defect mentality'

Another issue identified in the report is the overly-timid practice of treating certain errors with career termination and offering no opportunity for recovery.

Former Secretary of the Navy John Lehman made the startling claim that of the four key admirals who led the Navy to victory in World War II, none would make the rank of captain in today's fleet.

'Nimitz put his first command on the rocks,' Lehman said. 'And Halsey was constantly getting into trouble for bending the rules or drinking too muchErnie King was a womanizer and a heavy drinker'

'Admiral Leahy may be the only one that might have made it through, but he had quite a few blots on his record as well,' said Lehman.

'But in each case, there was a critical mass of leadership in the Navy that recognized that these were very, very promising junior officers,' he said of the WWII admirals.

The U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain is seen after a collision, in Singapore waters August 21, 2017

'And so, while they were punished for mistakes, they were kept in a career path. That's not the case today. It's just not done because it's too dangerous for anybody that tries to help someone who has made a mistake,' he added.

Officers interviewed for the report echoed Lehman's concerns that the practice of firing commanders for the smallest mistakes was a drag on retention, morale, and lethality.

'Commanders can no longer take risks in a way that they can have small failures, learn, and move forward,' said one sailor. 'Failures are terminal to people's careers.'

'These are guys that are totally zero-risk,' one former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense who served as a surface warfare officer said of the surface warfare community.

'Because they're like, 'Hey, I'm going to be the [commanding officer] for 15 months, why try to get [to] the battle? Why try to do really important boardings in the Middle East? I'm just going to make sure I'm talking to the admiral over the VTC (Video Tele-Conference) and [make] sure that he's for it?' And I just found that to be really sad.'

The report argues that the independence of command has been eroded and commanding officers fear risk due to its adverse impact upon their careers.

'The general unwillingness to rehabilitate one-off mistakes, the disinclination to weigh errors against the totality of a naval career, and the practice of discipline-by-paperwork, were broadly understood to be a drain on the Navy's retention efforts,' the report stated.

'Goldman Sachs, Amazon, Apple, Google, whatever. All of these institutions of high performance and high excellence do circus flips trying to figure out how to cultivate and retain talent,' said one former naval officer who is now a senior leader at a major hedge fund's philanthropic arm. 'The Navy all but chases it out the door.'

Navy leadership 'are paranoid about any negative press and cow to reporters'

Another issued identified in the report is a perceived fear among Navy leaders of any negative news articles.

'[Admirals] are supposed to lead us into battle but they hide in foxholes at the first sight of Military.com and the Military Times,' said one intelligence officer. 'The reporters are in charge, not us.'

'COs would be quite risk-adverse,' one officer said. 'They would have their senior department heads manning a lot of watches, especially on the bridge and things like that to make sure that nothing went wrong, because nobody wanted to end up in the media, and nobody wanted to end up on the cover of Navy Times.'

Interviewees described an undercurrent of fear that gripped the surface fleet, with commanders unwilling to delegate and senior ranks quick to hand down punishments in response to media pressure.

This picture shows damages on the guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald off the Shimoda coast after it collided with a Philippine-flagged container ship on June 17, 2017

The report noted that the rank-and-file felt that the disciplinary actions following the two collisions involving the USS McCain and USS Fitzgerald were in response to 'public and Congressional outcry rather than the concrete root causes of both unique incidents.'

This was noticed during the disciplinary actions following the USS McCain and USS Fitzgerald incidents, where perception was that the military administered discipline based on public and Congressional outcry rather than the concrete root causes of both unique incidents.

The report argued that Navy leaders placed too much emphasis on controversies that would quickly disappear from the news cycle.

'The military, not just the Navy, has been slow to acknowledge the realities of new media. Commanders do not appear to understand that stories come in a flash and disappear just as quickly,' the authors wrote.

'Many news outlets, including defense news outlets, have shifted to tabloid models where stories are sensationalized and short-lived. The Navy has forgotten how to differentiate between stories that are ignorable and stories that demand corrective measures,' it continued.

Report cites underinvestment in officer training and poorly resourced ship maintenance program

Two related issued raised by the report are poorly funded and constantly shifting officer training programs, and under-resourced ship maintenance.

At one point, the Navy even handed officers 23 compact discs with reading material for surface warfare wardroom training, replacing a five-month course at the Surface Warfare Officer School Division Officer's Course in Rhode Island.

A fire burns on the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard at Naval Base San Diego on July 12, 2020 in San Diego, California

'We gave ensigns boxes of CDs and told them to train themselves between watches, and that was a colossal failure,' one officer recalled.

One respondent recalled that he had informed his admiral: 'I've got people that I know for certain are not proficient in watch standing.' And you know what they [told] me? 'Qualify them anyway.'

Meanwhile, steaming days were cut down as another way to cut costs, resulting in underway training periods that became 'a series of back-to-back events that exist only to 'check the box' and not really learn anything,' one respondent said.

The report also slammed the 'inability or unwillingness of the Navy to properly fund the planning, conduct, and execution of the surface ship maintenance program.'

Report suggests Navy is ill-prepared for major conflict with China

The report suggested that since the end of the Cold War, the lack of a major adversary had caused the attention of Navy leaders to drift away from military readiness.

But it pointed out that China has been aggressively expanding its navy, and noted that the U.S. Navy has not zeroed in its focus on understanding China's forces the way they were trained on every class of Soviet ship and missile.

'What are the things the Chinese are concerned about? What are the things the Iranians are concerned about? [The] Intel folks know that, but like there's no general education about, 'What are the wars we could fight, and how do we understand the context of these so we get in combat,'' one respondent said.

'We can have both the cultural and political understanding as well as the warfighting implications. And to me, if we're focused on the front-line warfighting, we should know the worst we're going into and what the greater context is. There's none of that right now.'

The report concluded: 'A major peer-level conflict in the 21st Century will likely play out largely in the naval theaters of operations; unlike the surface Navy's last major war, which concluded 76 years ago, such a conflict will likely proceed swiftly and not permit significant time for organizational learning once it is underway.'

'Unless changes are made, the Navy risks losing the next major conflict.'
Advertisement

At least 75 people have been killed in South Africa as the country remains in the grip of its worst unrest since the end of apartheid following the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma.

Footage shared on social media on Tuesday night appeared to show the Lenmed Hospital in Durban in flames while other videos showed shopkeepers opening fire on a crowd of looters.

Ten people were trampled to death during a stampede at a looted shopping mall in Soweto, Johannesburg as police and military eventually responded to the chaos, firing stun grenades and rubber bullets to try to halt the unrest.

The riots, centred around KwaZulu-Natal and Guateng provinces, began last week and raged through the weekend after 79-year-old Zuma was jailed for failing to cooperate with a corruption probe.

Tuesday also saw a community radio station ransacked and forced off the air some COVID-19 vaccination centres forced to close, disrupting urgently needed inoculations.

Many of the deaths in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal occurred in chaotic stampedes as thousands of people stole food, electric appliances, liquor and clothing from stores, police Major General Mathapelo Peters said in a statement on Tuesday night.

He said 27 deaths were being investigated in KwaZulu-Natal province and 45 in Gauteng province.

In addition to the people crushed, Peters said police were investigating deaths caused by explosions when people tried to break into ATM machines, as well as other fatalities caused by shootings.

At least 75 people have been killed in South Africa as the country remains in the grip of its worst unrest since the end of apartheid following the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma. Pictured: South African police force suspected looters to lie down after apprehending them in Soweto on Tuesday

By Lenmed Hospital, building on fire pic.twitter.com/FVGvkXuIQP  Imraan Desai (@IDesai23) July 13, 2021

Pictured: Suspected looters who surrendered to armed private security officers are marched outside in a flooded mall in Vosloorus on Tuesday

Pictured: A fire engulfs Campsdrift Park, which houses Makro and China Mall in Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday

The deployment of 2,500 soldiers to support the South African police has so far failed to stop the rampant looting, although arrests were being made in some areas in Johannesburg, including Vosloorus in the eastern part of the city

Shopkeepers have been firing at looters. Pictured: A self-armed local looks for looters inside a supermarket in Durban

The army has been called in to help stem the unrest after fearful citizens began forming 'defence squads' to protect their homes and businesses amid warnings that food supplies could soon run short as supermarket owners shut up shop amid the widespread looting.

The deployment of 2,500 soldiers to support the South African police has so far failed to stop the rampant looting, although arrests were being made in some areas in Johannesburg, including Vosloorus in the eastern part of the city.

At least 1,234 people were arrested in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, authorities said, but the situation was far from under control.

The violence broke out after Zuma began serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court on Thursday.

He had refused to comply with a court order to testify at a state-backed inquiry investigating allegations of corruption while he was president from 2009 to 2018.

The unrest has since spiralled into a spree of looting in township areas of the two provinces, although it has not spread to South Africa's other seven provinces, where police are on alert.

'The criminal element has hijacked this situation,' said Premier David Makhura of Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg.

In Daveyton township, east of Johannesburg, more than 100 people, including women, children and older citizens, were arrested for stealing from shops inside the Mayfair Square mall.

Some of those arrested were bleeding from shattered glass on floors slippery from spilled milk, liquor, yogurt and cleaning liquids that had been stolen from shops.

Running battles carried on as security and the police fired stun grenades and rubber bullets to push back rioters, who were entering the shops by going through delivery entrances, emergency exits and climbing on roofs.

Bongani Mokoena, an employee at an auto supply store, said the rioters had taken everything from the shop, including batteries and shock absorbers.

By late afternoon the police managed to secure the mall, but rioters remained outside, throwing stones at the police and shouting for the release of those arrested. As evening fell, more rioters gathered around the mall and police set up barricades to try to keep them away.

Some Indian and White property owners resorted to firing to protect their shops from looting as chaos and looting is happening in many major cities of South Africa. pic.twitter.com/2ZCC58yPgv  Enemy Slayer (@EnemySlayer24_7) July 12, 2021 Twitter Privacy Policy

Pictured: A self-armed local looks for looters inside a supermarket in Durban amid waves of unrest following the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma

Empty shelves at a shopping mall in Durban, which has fallen victim to looting during the chaos following Zuma's arrest

Armed forces have been slow to respond to incidents of mass looting at shopping malls. Pictured: A mall in Durban

Shops have been damaged and ripped of their stock by crowds of looters as security guards looked on in horror. Pictured: A shoe shop at a mall in Durban

Video footage shared to Twitter on Monday showed people resorting to shooting at looters in a bid to protect their businesses as looting continues in the Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces

In the clip, a line of shop and property owners fired on the rioters from afar before running closer and continuing to shoot, while the crowds protected themselves behind road signs and ran off the road amid the chaos

A woman was filed dropping her toddler from the roof of a burning shopping mall in Durban after looters ransacked the shops below and then set fire to them, threatening the apartment block above

A crowd in the street could be seen catching the child and taking them to safety, leaving the mother to find another route out of the burning building

[WATCH] Toddler rescued from a fire. Looters started a fire after stealing everything from the shops on the ground floor. They then set fire to the building, affecting apartments upstairs. Neighbours caught the little girl #ShutdownKZN watch @BBCWorld for more pic.twitter.com/LTMTAa7WAz  Nomsa Maseko (@nomsa_maseko) July 13, 2021

A man suspected of looting from a store calls for medical attention for his brother after he was hit in the head by rubber bullets fired by security officers at the Jabulani Mall in Soweto

A man is seen injured in Gauteng province on Tuesday

South Africa entered the fifth day of rioting on Tuesday with the death toll rising to 32 as police and the military struggle to quell the looting (pictured: Jabulani Mall in Soweto) and violence in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces

A member of the South African Police Services (SAPS) fired rubber bullets at rioters looting the Jabulani Mall in Soweto on Monday

A police officer stands on the arm of a suspected looter while another man wields an iron bar during the violent scenes in Johannesburg on Tuesday

Angry locals launch rocks at police officers near the entrance of a looted shopping mall after the fifth day of ransacking in South Africa

A woman wrapped in a blanket in the colours of the ruling ANC party walks past the bodies of two young men who were fleeing the police when they fell into a sewage pit and drowned in Vlakfontein, Johannesburg on Tuesday

Metro police officers fire at protesters at Jabulani mall as the country deploys army to quell unrest linked to jailing of former President Jacob Zuma in Soweto on Monday

Police take to the streets in the Gauteng region on Tuesday

People throw stones at police as they attempt looting at Lesotho Shopping Centre in Katlehong, east of Johannesburg

Smoke rises from a Makro building set on fire overnight in Umhlanga, north of Durban

Men suspected of looting were detained by police on Tuesday in Vosloorus, Johannesburg

A South African soldier responds to looting at a shopping centre in Soweto on Tuesday

The violence has been centred around Zuma's home state of KwaZulu-Natal and the large coastal city of Durban, as well as Guateng province and the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria - particularly in the township of Soweto

Looters empty a Game store warehouse on an industrial park in the city of Durban, South Africa, amid widespread unrest

ATM at a Soweto shopping centre are trashed following the unrest sparked by Jacob Zuma's arrest

In Soweto, the Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital reported that the number of injured people coming to the emergency ward had tripled from the daily average. The unrest forced the government to close some COVID-19 vaccination centers, disrupting urgently needed efforts to inoculate thousands of those aged 50 and older per day.

In Johannesburg's Alexandra township, the Pan Africa shopping center continued to be ransacked and was set on fire on Tuesday.

The Alex FM radio station, which has served the Alexandra community for 27 years, was broken into at 2 a.m. Tuesday and thieves stole equipment worth 5 million rand ($350,000), forcing the station off the air, station manager Takalane Nemangowe said.

'Our on-air presenter and security guards got out safely through the back door,' Nemangowe told The Associated Press. 'But the looters cleaned out our offices. They took all our broadcasting equipment, computers, laptops, microphones, everything.'

How former president criminal Jacob Zuma's jail sentence sparked chaos The unrest started in Jacob Zuma's home province of KwaZulu-Natal on Thursday after the former president was jailed. The 'garden province', whose largest city is Durban, still has strong support for Zuma who remains popular among many poor South Africans, especially grassroots members of the ANC, who see him as a defender of the disadvantaged. The violence soon spread to Gauteng, the economic hub of South Africa that contains Johannesburg and the deprived township of Soweto, its name an abbreviation of South Western Townships. The country is in a deep economic malaise, with cripplingly high levels of unemployment exacerbated by the pandemic. Those hardest hit have been South Africa's poor and black populations. Soweto, where Nelson Mandela lived for 16 years, is made up of 99 per cent black people, whose most common first language is Zulu. The township was originally created to house black Africans who worked in white factories and houses, and the few businesses allowed in the area were heavily controlled by the apartheid state. Many in Soweto are still too poor to pay for electricity with more than half of people under 35 unemployed. Similarly, KwaZulu-Natal is a predominantly black and Zulu population with an estimated 3.2million people living in poverty out of a population of 10.5million. Nationally, the pandemic has worsened conditions with record levels of unemployment at 32.6 per cent, rising to 46.3 per cent among young people. Zuma's popularity among poor black Africans combined with their extreme poverty has proved a tinderbox for the country's latest violence. Advertisement

Nemangowe said that no police or army had been patrolling the area. The Alex FM station is community-funded and runs a training program for young residents, he said. 'We were the voice of the voiceless here in Alexandra. And now we are silent. It is really sad.'

But Nemangowe had not given up hope. By Tuesday afternoon he and other staff had been offered facilities at a radio station in the nearby affluent Sandton suburb where they were trying to start beaming back to the Alexandra community.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, who Zuma and his supporters accuse of carrying out a witch-hunt against him with the corruption probe, appealed for calm as mobs ransacked shopping malls on Monday night - saying the current unrest is the worst the country has seen since the end of white minority rule in the 1990s.

While the roots of the disturbances may be political, Ramaphosa said, peaceful demonstrations have now been hijacked by 'opportunistic criminals' who are 'instigating chaos merely as a cover for looting and theft'.

'Together, we will defeat those who seek to destabilise our country,' he said. 'We will stand as one people, united against violence, unanimous in our commitment to peace and to the rule of law.'

One clip posted to Twitter on Monday showed a group of men who were reported to be business owners facing off against a mob along a highway to the south of Durban, the largest city in Kwa-Zulu Natal province.

The mob - who had ripped down street signs to use as makeshift shields - hurled rocks and shouted at the store owners, who returned fire using rifles and shotguns before moving down the road towards them.

Wearing bulletproof vests, the men then formed a line in the middle of the street as the looters continued to hurl rocks and hold their ground.

More footage that appeared online Tuesday showed a woman dropping her young child from the top of a shopping mall after rioters ransacked the shops on the ground floor and set them alight - threatening the apartment building above.

A group of people gathered in the street catch the youngster before rushing him to safety, leaving the mother to try and find her own way down from the burning skyscraper.

Elsewhere in Durban on Tuesday, looters ransacked several retail parks including a large Game warehouse - a retailer which sells electronic goods.

Hundreds of people streamed into the building and removed virtually everything they could carry before jumping into pickup trucks with covered numberplates to make their getaways.

Vandals also trashed a Makro supermarket which was later seen streaming thick grey smoke after apparently being set alight.

Police and security guards attempted to keep the mob under control, but were largely outnumbered.

Meanwhile armoured personnel carriers of the South African army were seen rolling down the streets, but the presence of the troops was not immediately felt.

Looting (pictured) has been centered on Zuma's home prvince of KwaZulu-Natal - where a shopping centre was burned and looted on Monday - but have also spread into neighbouring Guateng state and its largest city, Johannesburg

The rioting continued on Tuesday as looters ransacked warehouses and supermarkets in South African cities despite the efforts of heavily outnumbered police

Groups of people have been looting supermarkets and warehouses in the Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces as the violence continued

The family of Sizwe Mahlangu, 21, grieve after seeing his body on Tuesday in Vlakfontein, Johannesburg

Hundreds of looters are seen ransacking a large industrial park near Durban, South Africa, amid widespread unrest

Durban's N2 motorway is blocked by looters and security forces trying to bring them under control

President Ramaphosa urged 'peaceful protest' during a speech on Sunday. Pictured: A metro police officers keeps guard at Jabulani mall on Tuesday

Suspected looters are pinned to the ground by an armed private security officer inside a flooded mall in Vosloorus on the fifth day of rioting

A member of the military keeps guard outside a McDonald's store on Tuesday as the country deploys army in two provinces amid looting and rioting

The military (pictured in Diepkloof Square area in Soweto, Johannesburg) has now been called in to help restore order in both provinces amid fears the violence could rapidly escalate

Amid the unrest, protesters have blockaded roads with burning tires, burned buildings, set off explosions and fired gunshots in townships across KwaZulu-Natal. Pictured: Person uses mobile phone in a looted shop

A South Africa National Defence Force (SANDF) soldier detains a suspected looter at Jabulani Mall in Soweto

Police and security guards stand over arrested looters in Johannesburg, South Africa

Looters lie on the ground after being arrested for stealing from department stores and shops in Johannesburg

Protests began on Friday last week, just hours after Zuma handed himself over to police to begin a 15-month jail sentence for contempt of court that he was given for refusing to cooperate with a corruption investigation.

The investigation centres on his relationship with three Indian-born businessmen and billionaires, and includes allegations that he allowed them to ransack government coffers and exert influence on public policy

He is also facing a separate trial over a 3billion arms deal he signed in 1999, when he was deputy president.

What began as political action by Zuma supporters in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal has quickly ballooned into general unrest over South Africa's entrenched poverty and deeply unequal society which is still largely divided along ethnic lines almost two decades after the first democratic government replaced apartheid.

Rape charge, 'Guptagate' and an arms deal: The scandals that led to the downfall of Jacob Zuma Jacob Zuma has been a dominant force in South African politics for decades. A leader in the resistance to white minority rule, Zuma has been a key figure in the ruling ANC party since the end of apartheid. The 79-year-old served as the country's deputy president, before eventually becoming president in 2007. He held the post for 10 years before his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa took over. His long political career has been beset by scandals, including a rape charge and multiple allegations of corruption, with his ability to weather political storms seeing him nicknamed the 'Teflon president'. In July 2021, he was jailed for failing to cooperate with a corruption probe in a move which prompted mass unrest sparked by his supporters. The corruption investigation centres on Zuma's relationship with the Guptas, three billionaire Indian-born businessmen - in a scandal that has been dubbed 'Guptagate'. Zuma is accused of allowing the brothers - Atul, Ajay and Rajesh - to plunder state resources and peddle influence over government policy during his time as president. On July 9, Zuma handed himself over to police to begin a 15-month jail sentence for contempt of court after defying a court ruling to give evidence before the inquiry. Zuma has decried the investigation as a 'witch hunt' led by Ramaphosa. The former president is also facing a separate trial over a 3billion arms deal signed in 1999 when he was deputy president. Zuma allegedly accepted bribes from international arms manufacturers to influence the choice of weaponry. But these scandals are only the most recent in a long list. Prior to Guptagate, Zuma was engulfed in a furore over so-called security upgrades to his rural Nkandla residence in KwaZulu-Natal province. The tax-payer-funded work, cost $24million (17.31million) and included a swimming pool - which was described as a fire-fighting facility - an amphitheatre and a visitors' centre. South Africa's graft watchdog in 2014 found that Zuma 'benefitted unduly' from the work. In 2006, the year before he became president, Ramaphosa was put on trial for rape. He claimed he had had consensual sex with a 31-year-old family friend and was acquitted. Beyond the alleged rape, South Africans were dismayed that Zuma, who headed the country's National AIDS Council at the time, admitted to having unprotected sex with his accuser, who was HIV-positive. He caused further anger by telling the court he had showered afterwards to avoid contracting HIV - This method does not prevent the spread of HIV and was a commonly repeated myth in South Africa at the time. More than a decade later, he is still mocked in newspaper cartoons, often being depicted with a shower nozzle sprouting from his head. Despite the slew of scandals, Zuma continues to enjoy support both among poor South Africans and the ANC . Advertisement

Harsh measures such as lockdowns, curfews, and bans on the sale of certain products including cigarettes and alcohol have exacerbated the anger many feel towards the government and institutions.

Growing joblessness has left people ever more desperate with unemployment standing at a new record high of 32.6 per cent in the first three months of 2021.

'We understand that those unemployed have inadequate food. We understand that the situation has been made worse by the pandemic,' an emotional Makhura said on the state South African Broadcasting Corp. 'But this looting is undermining our businesses here [in Soweto]. It is undermining our economy, our community. It is undermining everything.'

As he spoke, the broadcast showed police trying to bring order to the Ndofaya shopping mall, where 10 people were crushed to death in a looting stampede. Gunshots could be heard in the background.

Makhura appealed for leaders of political, religious and community organisations to urge people to halt the unrest.

Authorities have repeatedly warned people, including Zuma supporters and relatives, against using social media to encourage the riots. Police minister Bheki Cele said Tuesday that about a dozen people have been identified as having instigated the riots.

Meanwhile the country has also been hit hard by Covid-19, plagued by a vaccine-resistant strain of the virus that has seen its jab roll-out repeatedly stall.

Durban, which has one of the busiest shipping terminals on the African continent, is home to dozens of industrial parks and is a hub for imports and exports into and out of southern Africa.

Amid the unrest, protesters have blockaded roads with burning tires, burned buildings, set off explosions and fired gunshots in townships across KwaZulu-Natal.

Ramaphosa said on Monday the deadly unrest gripping the country is unprecedented in post-apartheid South Africa as he deployed troops to help police crush the violence and looting.

TV footage showed dozens of women, some wearing their dressing gowns, men and even children strolling into a butcher's cold store in Soweto, coming out balancing heavy boxes of frozen meat on their shoulders or heads.

A sole private security guard stood by helplessly, frantically trying to make calls.

Police showed up three hours later, and fired rubber bullets. They were followed much later by soldiers.

At least 757 people have been arrested, Police Minister Bheki Cele told a news conference.

Rioters set fire to a chemical plant close to Umhlanga, a town north of Durban, emergency services said.

Firefighters were on the scene trying to prevent the fire spreading to an adjacent clothing factory.

Many of the deaths have occurred in chaotic stampedes as scores of people looted food, electric appliances, liquor, and clothing from retail centers, KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala told the press on Tuesday morning.

'Yesterday's events brought a lot of sadness. The number of people who have died in KwaZulu-Natal alone stands at 26.

'Many of them died from being trampled on during a stampede while people were looting items,' said Zikalala.

Fighting has been centered on Zuma's home state of KwaZulu-Natal - where a shopping centre was burned and looted on Monday - but have also spread into neighbouring Guateng state and its largest city, Johannesburg.

In Gauteng, South Africa's most populous province which includes the largest city, Johannesburg, six people have died, said officials.

The military has now been called in to help restore order in both provinces amid fears the violence could rapidly escalate.

'The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has commenced with pre-deployment processes and procedures in line with a request for assistance,' the military said in a statement.

Ramaphosa urged 'peaceful protest' during a speech on Sunday.

Suhail Essa, a doctor in the city, described scenes at the weekend as 'a glimpse into hell' as his clinic was flooded with patients including a six-month-old girl who was shot in the head by a rubber bullet.

Dr Essa said the girl was being carried by her mother when she got caught up in the violence, before being stuck by the bullet.

He did not say whether she survived.

He told News24 of 'war-like' conditions inside his clinic, saying: 'We were listening to gunshots and screams, and then people were running in for help.'

Among other injuries he treated was a person shot in the eye by a rubber bullet, and multiple foreigners who were stabbed in what he called 'xenophobic' attacks.

The situation then descended further into chaos as people began fighting with doctors inside the clinic, before a mob turned up and tried to storm inside.

'It was a nightmare. There was no chance for us to keep up with the injured patients,' he added.

'We were in war mode, dealing with the sickest and helping those who could be saved.'

Looting continued Tuesday in Johannesburg shopping malls in township areas including Jabulani Mall and Dobsonville Mall in Soweto. There were also reports of continued looting in centers in KwaZulu-Natal.

The violence was sparked by a judicial investigation into Zuma, a veteran of South Africa's fight against apartheid and white minority rule, over his relationship with Indian-born businessmen and brothers known as 'the Guptas'.

Zuma has begun serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court, after he was convicted of defying a court order to testify before a state-backed inquiry probing allegations of corruption during his term as president from 2009 to 2018.

He is accused of allowing Atul, Ajay and Rajesh Gupta to plunder state resources and peddle influence over government policy.

A member of the military walks as he inspects the damage at the looted Jabulani mall on Monday as the country deploys army to quell unrest

The deployment of 2,500 soldiers (pictured) to support the South African police has not yet stopped the rampant looting although arrests are being made at some areas in Johannesburg, including Vosloorus in eastern Johannesburg

Suhail Essa, a doctor in the city, described scenes at the weekend as 'a glimpse into hell' as his clinic was flooded with patients. Pictured: General view of the aftermath after an ATM was looted in Soweto on the outskirts of Johannesburg

A road is barricaded in Soweto near Johannesburg, Tuesday July 13, 2021 as ongoing looting and violence continues

Many of the deaths have occurred in chaotic stampedes as scores of people looted food, electric appliances, liquor, and clothing from retail centers, KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala told the press on Tuesday morning

Looting continued Tuesday in Johannesburg shopping malls in township areas including Jabulani Mall and Dobsonville Mall in Soweto. There were also reports of continued looting in centers in KwaZulu-Natal. Pictured: Military in Soweto on Monday

Streets were left strewn with rubbish and debris after looters ransacked shops and other businesses, as rioting sparked by the jailing of ex-president ex-president Jacob Zuma continued

Water floods the floor outside a Game shop with broken doors as alleged shoplifters are rounded up by security guards in Vosloorus

The 79-year-old has refused to cooperate, describing the investigation as a witch-hunt by his successor Cyril Ramaphosa, and last week defied a court ruling to appear before the inquiry and give evidence.

A judge subsequently jailed him for 15 months for contempt of court, and he was taken to prison on Thursday last week after surrendering to police.

Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa's current president, has been accused of carrying out a witch-hunt against Zuma with the investigation.

The Constitutional Court, the country's highest court, heard Zuma's application to have his sentence rescinded on Monday.

Zuma's lawyer presented his arguments that the top court made errors when sentencing Zuma to prison.

After 10 hours of testimony on Monday, the court judges said they would study the arguments and announce their decision at a later date.

The crisis took a political twist on Tuesday as the largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, announced it would file criminal charges on Wednesday against Zuma's children and the leader of the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Julius Malema.

In a statement, the party accused them of using 'social media to express comments which appear to encourage and incite the violence and looting.'

His jailing sparked a wave of violent protest that began Friday and has continued ever since, centred around his home state of KwaZulu-Natal.

The sporadic pro-Zuma violence spiralled into a spree of criminal theft in poor, township areas of the two provinces, according to witnesses.

So far the lawlessness has not spread to South Africa's other nine provinces.

The sporadic pro-Zuma violence spiraled into a spree of criminal theft in poor, township areas of the two provinces, according to witnesses. So far the lawlessness has not spread to South Africa's other nine provinces

Looting continued Tuesday in Johannesburg shopping malls in township areas including Jabulani Mall and Dobsonville Mall in Soweto. There were also reports of continued looting in centers in KwaZulu-Natal

The police and the military are struggling to quell the looting and violence in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. Pictured: Members of the military look at damaged ATM machines outside a bank on Monday

Meanwhile, the bodies of ten people were found on Monday evening after people ransacked a shopping mall in Soweto, Gauteng, premier David Makhura confirmed on Tuesday. Pictured: Looting at the Jabulani Mall in Soweto on Monday

The Gold Spot Shopping Centre in Vosloorus, southeast of Johannesburg, was left completely trashed on Monday after it was ransacked by looters

A suspected looter is fired upon with rubber bullets by Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department officers inside a flooded mall

A department store emptied of goods after looters broke into the shop in Soweto, Johannesburg

Vehicles sit gridlocked on Queen Nandi Drive after widespread looting in a commercial hub of Durban

People queue to buy food at a supermarket with most stores staying closed amid widespread looting

An owner stands outside his shop while people clean the rubble at the Diepkloof Square area in Soweto, Johannesburg on Tuesday

South Africa's army said on July 13 it was deploying troops to two provinces, including its economic hub of Johannesburg, to help police tackle deadly violence and looting as unrest sparked by the jailing of ex-president Jacob Zuma continued

A group of armed private security officers walk back to base during an operation against a group of protesters in Jeppestown, Johannesburg, on Monday

Private armed security officers take position during a joint operation with undercover and uniformed South Africa Police Service (SAPS) members in Jeppestown, Johannesburg, amid clashes with residents of the Wolhuter Men's Hostel
Coca-Cola is changing the recipe and can design of it's Coca-Cola Zero Sugar beverage line for the second time in four years, the soft drink giant revealed on Tuesday - sparking outrage from fans.

The calorie-free drink will be reformulated to look and taste closer to regular full-sugar Coca-Cola, the company said.

Although they were not specific on what had changed, Coke said the new recipe should be 'more refreshing and delicious.'

And the can will also get a redesign, ditching the black-and-red background for a fully red can with black lettering - again to bring the brand closer in line with classic Coke.

The new formula is set to roll out in the US this month and Canada in September, and has already appeared in some international markets, CNN reports.

Coke Zero first launched in 2005 with a fully black can, but the company controversially tweaked the recipe in 2017 and relaunched it as Coca-Cola Zero Sugar.

And the reaction to Coke's latest change has provoked similar outrage from fans who have already tasted it.

'Awful,' one person described the changes on Twitter.

Coca-Cola is changing the recipe and can design of it's Coke Zero Sugar beverage line for the second time in four years, with fans lashing out once again

The idea behind the most recent flavor and design change is to get Coke Zero Sugar to look and taste as close to regular Coca-Cola as possible, according to company officials

'The new taste is so bad,' another tweeted of the drink update,

'Shoutout to coca cola for changing their coca cola zero sugar recipe bc you made me get ride of my addiction bc the taste is so bad.' a third opined, with many more following suit.

'What have you done to my favorite drink coke zero sugar?' one despondent fan tweeted.

'The new recipe is shocking. I won't be buying another can until you fix your mistake and bring back the old flavour.'

'I'm with you. I also will not be buying the new taste Coke Zero, despite being a loyal Coca Cola fan for 30 years,' another replied.

But despite the social media blowback, company officials have called recent taste tests of the drink 'very encouraging,' according to the news outlet.

'We pre-tested both the new recipe and the new look, with current Coca-Cola Zero Sugar consumers and non-consumers,' said Rafael Prandini, category lead of Coca-Cola Trademark in North America.

'And they really love it.

While the drink has become a popular alternative to regular Coca-Cola, it still makes up a fraction of the brand's overall business.

AdWeek reports that Coke Zero Sugar amounts to 7.9 percent of the overall cola market.

But that is still far more than rivals Pepsi Zero Sugar, which corners just 0.4 percent of the cola market.

And sales of Coke Zero Sugar appeared to be growing before the change, with the line increasing four percent by volume last year and eight percent by volume in first quarter of 2021.

Coca Cola Zero Sugar first launched as Coke Zero, with a black can design in 2005, but was rebranded with a new flavor in 2017

'Despite its enormous success, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar still represents a relatively small percentage,' of the Coke brand, CEO James Quincey said of the company's first quarter results in April.

'The improved recipe brings its taste even closer to that [of] the iconic Coca-Cola,' he added, saying that 'this was influenced by consumer insight and our focus on constant improvement.'

The outrage over the new recipe harkens back to changes Coca-Cola made to the Zero Sugar brand back in 2017, where changes to the drink's taste were met with widespread criticism from fans of the beverage.

'#CokeZeroSugar is gross' one fan of the beverage tweeted back in 2017.

'Bring back Coke Zero. The new recipe is weaker in carbonation and sweeter' they said of the 2017 recipe changes.
Shocking security camera footage shows the moment when a man tosses an unknown liquid over an unsuspecting victim in Midtown Manhattan causing second-degree burns, in the latest unprovoked attack in New York City.

In footage released by cops, the victim, a 57-year-old man, can be seen walking on the sidewalk near the corner of West 47 Street and 6 Avenue at 10.01pm on July 5.

Suddenly, the attacker, who is shirtless and wearing black shorts, runs up and tosses a cup of liquid on the back of the victim's head before running away.

Surprised, the victim spins around to face his attacker before falling to the ground.

Police said no words were exchanged between the two and the attack was unprovoked.

Police released video of a July 5 attack where a man threw an unknown liquid at a stranger in Midtown Manhattan causing second degree burns

He tosses a cup of an unknown substance onto the back of the 57-year-old's head before the victim falls to the ground

The next day, the victim went to the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center where he was treated for second-degree burns to his back.

Police did not say what liquid was thrown over the victim.

Officers described the attacker as an adult man, around 5-foot-7, 130 pounds, with a light complexion, brown hair and brown eyes.

Police are seeking information on the attacker, and request any tips be sent to NYPD Crime Stoppers at 1 (800) 577-8477 or by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com.

The unprovoked attack came as violent crime in the city has increased in recent months.

The NYPD has reported 11,033 felony assaults so far in 2021 - up 6% on the 10,407 in 2020 according to official crime statistics.

Homicides are also up, with 225 murders so far this year, up 4.7% from 215 last year.

Shootings have also surged 28.9%. So far this year there have been 803 shooting incidents - up from last year's total of 623. There have been 931 shooting victims, up from 762 in 2020.

Violent crimes in the city have increased in recent months, with shootings and murders up from the same period last year

The Manhattan attack was the latest in a string of unprovoked attacks which have rocked New York in recent months.

On June 18, a man was slashed on the head in a busy Times Square subway station during the evening rush hour, before the suspect fled.

The 35-year-old victim in that case was waiting for a 1/2/3 train just before 7pm before the brazen attack in the Big Apple's busiest station.

That slashing came after another man was stabbed five times on a platform at the 59th Street-Columbus Circle station on June 16, after he tried to break up a fight between a man and a woman.

On June 14, an unidentified man attacked two people with a rock after an argument became physical on a Brooklyn-bound subway.

One of the victims was rushed to the hospital with bruising to the head and knee, and the other victim was treated at the scene, according to police.

And in May, another woman was attacked in an unprovoked stabbing on the subway before a passing journalist jumped in to save her.

In that attack at Union Square station on Wednesday 19th May, 54-year-old Kelli Daley was jumped by a man identified as 22-year-old Joshua Nazario.

Police said Nazario slashed Daley across her left shoulder, collarbone, and upper chest while she was waiting on the southbound N, Q, R platform for the train around 10.10pm.

Gun crime is also on the rise in New York, and the last week has seen three teens shot dead, including a 13-year-old, within five days as part of a major gang war .

Just before midnight on Wednesday, 19-year-old Tyquill Daugherty was shot in the head in front of his home in the Crotona section of the Bronx.

Investigators believe Daugherty's killing was gang-related.

In retaliation, authorities say Jaryan 'Jay Ripp' Elliot, 13, was killed as he stood outside Angels Cafe with a friend on East 187th Street in the Bronx's Belmont neighborhood at around 3.15pm on Sunday.

The gunman approached Elliot in a black vehicle, stepped out and began firing, hitting him once in the chest and once in the leg, police said.

He is believed to have been the intended target.

Less than nine hours after Elliot was killed, gang-bangers took revenge for his murder by targeting Ramon Gil-Medrano, 16, about a mile away, according to the Post.

Tyquill Daugherty, left, was shot in the head in front of his home in the Crotona section of the Bronx. Ramon Gil-Medrano, right, was shot and killed in apparent revenge for the shooting of Jaryan 'Jay Ripp' Elliot

Jaryan 'Jay Ripp' Elliot, 13, was killed as he stood outside Angels Cafe with a friend on East 187th Street in the Bronx's Belmont neighborhood

Two males riding scooters pulled up near Gil-Medrano in the Mount Hope section of the Bronx and fatally shot him, according to investigators.

New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Eric Adams also took to Twitter to comment on the shootings, referring to Jaryan's murder as 'sickening'.

'Ending gun violence must be our priority. Tonight we pray for his family. Tomorrow we must find his killer & get this gun off the street,' Adams added.

The recent shootings come a day before Adams, a retired NYPD captain, travels to Washington to meet with President Biden to discuss curbing gun violence.

In May, Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the rise in crime a 'major problem,' and said unless the NYPD gets a handle on it, the city would become undesirable.

'New Yorkers don't feel safe, and they don't feel safe because the crime rate is up,' he said. 'It's not that they're being neurotic or overly sensitive - they're right.'

New York Police Department Commissioner Dermot Shea has previously blamed the surge in crime to the city council's decision last year to slash the police department's funding by $1 billion, and reallocate the money to education and social services.

Now, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the NYPD would boost payments for anonymous tips from $2,500 to $3,500 in an effort to combat the string of shootings and homicides.

He says crimes has soared because the world was 'turned on its head' with COVID. He has also blamed a backlog in the court system for it, saying it means criminals are on the streets longer than they might have been before.

However, critics have claimed it is 'political grandstanding' and that an increase in gun violence is caused by soft crime policies

And just last week, New York became the first state in the nation to declare gun violence an emergency as Gov. Cuomo pointed the finger at the manufacturers of weapons as one of the main reasons behind the spate of shootings and killings that is at its highest level since the early 2000s.

Cuomo targeted manufacturers of guns in a speech last Tuesday, with a bill allowing the New York Attorney General to sue them in some circumstances, and announced almost $139million in investment to reduce the rapidly-rising death toll.

Weapon manufacturers could face a lawsuit for harming the public by failing to take steps to prevent firearms from being sold unlawfully in New York, for instance.

The announcement comes ahead of next year's election, where he is expected to launch a reelection campaign to stay in office.
Advertisement

A 15-year-old Indonesian girl is set to inherit more than 400,000 from her estranged father including a semi-detached house in Kent, a 60ft boat and rare Chinese artefacts following a global hunt for his heir.

Alexander Thomson's mystery daughter will receive the proceeds from a treasure trove uncovered from his unassuming three-bedroom property in Ramsgate, which he bought in 2007 for 235,000.

Danny Curran, managing director of Finders International who is an expert used in the BBC show Heir Hunters, said items in the house included a highly-coveted vase, deeds to a 60ft boat and rare Chinese artefacts.

Mr Thomson, a former BBC World Service East Africa and Far East editor, died last September aged 71 from lung cancer. Unmarried and with no known next of kin or a will, detectives searched for any children he may have had.

And the researchers from London-based Finders International made a breakthrough when they discovered photographs of a 'younger Indonesian person' and evidence of a marriage ceremony in the Far East.

Documentation suggested a wedding ceremony of some kind in Indonesia, and the Finders International team then worked with experts in Indonesia and found Mr Thomson had a girl with a woman he wed in the country.

Investigators believe that the rest of Mr Thomson's family did not know about his Indonesian wife, whose age is not known, and their daughter  despite him having a picture in his home with the girl as a baby in his arms.

A photograph of Alexander Thomson with a baby girl who is believed to be his mystery daughter in Indonesia who is now 15

Alexander Thomson, a former BBC World Service East Africa and Far East editor who died last September aged 71 from cancer

Mr Thomson's unassuming three-bedroom property in Ramsgate, Kent which was bought in 2007 for 235,000

The heir hunters also found the deed title to 60ft boat dating back nearly a century which was moored nearby his home in Ramsgate. The vessel was restored by Mr Thomson and was thought to be the world's largest lifeboat when launched in 1923

Various rare and valuable pieces of art were also uncovered at the house, including a 19th century vase. Auction valuers said the vase has a six-character mark on it related to the Guangxu emperor, which made it so valuable, and it sold for 20,000

Speaking to BBC Radio Kent, Mr Curran said: 'We were able to get access to the property to do an investigation and we found, in a very innocent-looking, ordinary-looking house on South Eastern Road in Ramsgate...

'We had a look round, had a look at all the information and this guy it transpired was a former BBC World Service East Africa and Far East editor. So he had all these bizarre artefacts in his house.

What will the 15-year-old Indonesian girl inherit? Three-bedroom semi-detached house in Ramsgate, Kent, bought in 2007 for 235,000

19th-century Guangxu emperor vase worth 20,000

19th-century wedding footstool in Chinese Perenakan style, sold for 2,000 at auction

60ft boat which was thought to have been the world's largest lifeboat when launched in 1923 Advertisement

'We started to build up a picture of information about him from his possession and from asking around, and it transpired that he did have a niece and nephew who'd normally inherit.

'But we also found evidence of some kind of ceremony, potentially a marriage, in Indonesia, and there were photographs of what looked like a younger Indonesian person.

'So we thought OK, well we need to look into this aspect and see what's going on here, as if he does have estranged children, or children he'd not seen for many years, they would still be entitled under the intestacy laws.'

Various rare and valuable pieces of art were also uncovered at the house, including a 19th century vase and a Straits China wedding footstool measuring just 33cm x 28cm that fetched 2,200 at auction.

The vase, covered in dust and hidden from view, sold for 20,000. Auction valuers said the vase has a six-character mark on it related to the late 19th century Guangxu emperor, which made it so valuable.

The heir hunters also found the deed title to an boat dating back nearly a century which was moored nearby. The vessel was restored by Mr Thomson and was thought to be the world's largest lifeboat when launched in 1923.

Speaking about how they contacted the girl in Indonesia, Mr Curran added: 'So we got to this situation where there's evidence of a situation where there's evidence of a possible marriage, so we thought OK, well we're going to have to look into the Indonesian connection.

A Straits China wedding footstool measuring just 33cm x 28cm was also found in the house and fetched 2,200 at auction

Items in the house in Ramsgate included the highly-coveted vase, deeds to a 60ft boat and rare Chinese artefacts (above)

A portrait of Mr Thomson as a child, dated 1960. He was a former BBC World Service East Africa and Far East editor

'And we have agents all round the world that we worked with exclusively for many, many years - so we passed this one over, and it did transpire that there was a former partner and a daughter living out there.

'So we had to contact them and basically tell them the story that her estranged father had passed away.

Danny Curran, managing director of Finders International who is an expert used in the BBC show Heir Hunters, spoke about the range of unusual items in the house in Ramsgate

'The impression that we had was that the mother had told her that her father was English, and beyond that very little else. And of course they didn't leave their home country, so we don't really know what happened.

'Maybe the intention was for her to move to England at some point, but it appears never to have happened. We have to respect their privacy as well, but we also get more of a picture of what happened.

'It didn't seem like it was a bitter feud or anything like that. Just a simple estrangement, the years having passed between them.'

He said: 'The whole estate probable comes to over 400,000, so this is really pennies from heaven from her.'

Mr Curran told how many of the items in the house had an Asian influence and so they enlisted the help of Asian art expert Richard Harrison, of Dawsons Auctioneers and Valuers.

He said: 'Only one of Alexander's two sisters had children and at first glance the sizeable estate was destined to be inherited by his only niece and nephew.

'However, deeper and more forensic research by our team eventually revealed a young daughter in Asia.'

Mr Thomson, who was born in Singapore, had a religious marriage ceremony in Indonesia and, while this was not a legal marriage, that union resulted in a daughter born in 2006.

His estate, valued at 400,000, is set to be inherited by this mystery teenage girl who still lives in Indonesia.

Mr Curran added: 'As a leading heir hunter one part of our job is to find relatives entitled to inherit an estate when the deceased has died intestate, with no will and with no known next of kin.

'We are thrilled that we traced Alexander's daughter, who will rightly inherit his estate. We are sure that this is what Alexander would have wanted.'
Covid could one day be treated by 'chopping' the virus up using pioneering gene-editing technology, researchers say.

Scientists programmed the controversial CRISPR tool to recognise and latch on to SARS-CoV-2  the coronavirus behind the pandemic.

Laboratory tests revealed it could slice the virus up, stopping it from making copies of itself  which is how it causes disease in humans.

Results showed it was up to 98 per cent effective, and could also target variants that could be more transmissible or dodge vaccines.

Experts believe it could in the future be used to treat Covid patients when they are diagnosed, stopping them from falling seriously ill.

Human trials could be years away, however, with Australian academics now planning tests of the tool  which works like a pair of DNA scissors  in animals.

Scientists said they hoped CRISPR could be given as a pill to people who have recently tested positive for Covid. But warned the technology is still 'years away'

In the study scientists used the CRISPR tool to target a specific part of Covid DNA. They found it chopped this out (picture two) and replaced it with a separate strand (picture three). Scientists detected this using fluorescence, as the new specific part glows green

HOW DOES CRISPR DNA EDITING WORK? The CRISPR gene editing technique is being used an increasing amount in health research because it can change the building blocks of the body. At a basic level, CRISPR works as a DNA cutting-and-pasting operation. Technically called CRISPR-Cas9, the process involves sending new strands of DNA and enzymes into organisms to edit their genes. In humans, genes act as blueprints for many processes and characteristics in the body  they dictate everything from the colour of your eyes and hair to whether or not you have cancer. The components of CRISPR-Cas9  the DNA sequence and the enzymes needed to implant it  are often sent into the body on the back of a harmless virus so scientists can control where they go. Cas9 enzymes can then cut strands of DNA, effectively turning off a gene, or remove sections of DNA to be replaced with the CRISPRs, which are new sections sent in to change the gene and have an effect they have been pre-programmed to produce. But the process is controversial because it could be used to change babies in the womb  initially to treat diseases  but could lead to a rise in 'designer babies' as doctors offer ways to change embryos' DNA. Source: Broad Institute Advertisement

CRISPR has been both praised and bashed since it was invented in 2012.

Some scientists believe it could one day help to cure patients of cancer or HIV by allowing doctors to fix faulty genes.

The gene-editing tool is already being trialled for treating blindness sparked by a rare genetic disorder called Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA).

But others have raised concerns that medics could cross an ethical line and use the tool to create 'designer babies' in the womb.

Fury erupted last year after Chinese researchers said they had used the tool to develop the world's first gene-edited babies.

CRISPR is a technology in which tiny molecules can be trained to cut strands of DNA or RNA in order to remove or replace them.

Scientists trying to harness the therapy hope to one day use it in pills, creams and liquids.

But normally the tool is administered using a harmless virus to carry it to the right location.

Researchers at Melbourne University's Doherty Institute, which focuses on treating infectious diseases, re-programmed CRISPR to tackle Covid.

When viruses infect humans they can embed their genes into ours, or their DNA can simply be detected in the cells they are living in.

They used an enzyme, called Cas13b, which binds to relevant RNA sequences on the virus' spike protein  which it uses to invade cells.

Lead author Professor Sharon Lewin said: 'Once the virus is recognised, the CRISPR enzyme is activated and chops up the virus.

'We targeted several parts of the virus  the parts that are very stable and don't change and the parts that are highly changeable.'

The virologist  whose team tested the treatment on infected monkey and human cells  added: 'All worked very well in chopping up the virus.'

They found that CRISPR still chopped up the virus when one mutation was inserted into its DNA, and worked against the Kent 'Alpha' variant.

It could also have a knock-on effect in cutting transmission, because infected people will shed less virus and therefore be less likely to pass it on.

The researchers in Melbourne say their invention may be used as a future treatment for Covid to suppress the virus.

It could also be repurposed to target other viral diseases.

Professor Lewin added: 'We still need better treatments for people who are hospitalised with Covid.

'Our current choices here are limited and at best they reduce the risk of death by 30 per cent.'

She said the ideal treatment would be a simple oral antiviral that patients are given as soon as they test positive for Covid.

This would prevent them getting seriously ill, and in turn alleviate Covid pressure on hospitals and care systems.

Professor Lewin said: 'This approach would only be feasible if we have a cheap, oral and non-toxic antiviral.

'That's what we hope to achieve one day with this gene scissors approach.'

Several medicines have been found to help seriously ill Covid patients fight off the virus.

They include dexamethasone and tocilizumab, which can reduce inflammation triggered by the disease, and a cocktail of Covid-fighting antibodies.

The study was published in Nature Communications.
Amazon plans to hire 100,000 veterans and military spouses by 2024 with a starting wage of $15 per hour and benefits, the online retailer giant announced on Tuesday.

The company said it currently employs more than 40,000 veterans and military spouses in the US across its many businesses. As of March, Amazon had 1.3million workers on its payroll worldwide.

The news comes after months of negative PR for Amazon, which has faced a backlash for opposing unionization at some of its facilities and was sued earlier this year by New York State for allegedly failing to protect its employees during the coronavirus pandemic.

Scroll down for video

Amazon has announced a plan to hire 84,000 veterans and 16,000 military spouses with a starting wage of $15 per hour, plus benefits

Amazon currently employs more than 40,000 veterans and spouses in US

Amazon had 1.3million workers on its payroll worldwide as of March. Pictured: a delivery worker pulls a cart full of Amazon packages in New York on June 21

Amazon shares were slightly up in early Tuesday morning trading

Amazon expected to hire at least 84,000 veterans and 16,000 spouses in the next two-and-a-half years, after surpassing its 2016 pledge to hire 25,000 former service members and their families by 2021.

'Amazon is focused on recruiting and developing military talent with training programs specifically designed to help veterans transition into roles in the private sector,' stated John Quintas, Amazons director of global military affairs. 'We value the unique skills and experience that the military community bringsand our new hiring commitment will expand the impact that military members currently have on every single business across the company.'

Amazon said veterans and their spouses can take advantage of its many training programs for free, including the nine-month Amazon Technical Academy, which teaches workers skills that would allow them to transition into well-paying software engineering careers.

Amazon has faced negative publicity over its response to the coronavirus pandemic

Amazon's treatment of workers has been a hot-button issue in recent months, including heightened productivity requirements and injury rates

The company said all of its jobs pay a starting wage of at least $15 per hour - more than twice the federal minimum wage of $7.25 - and all full-time workers get health insurance, retirement benefits and 20 weeks of paid parental leave.

Amazon currently has more than 35,000 positions open in the US.

'Amazon has an important role to play when in ensuring that our military veterans have access to good jobs,' Quintas told Fox Business.

Recognizing veterans' leadership and technical skills, companies have been aggressively recruiting former service members in recent years, resulting in the unemployment rate among the 19 million veterans in the US to plummet from more than 6 per cent in 2013 to just over 3 per cent in 2019.

In 2011, JP Morgan Chase launched the Veterans Jobs Mission with an initial goal of hiring 100,000 veteran by the end of 200,000.

Over the past decade, hundreds of companies, including Amazon, have joined the initiative, hiring nearly 700,000 veterans.

In Forbes Magazine's 2020 list of America's Best Employers for Veterans, Amazon came in at No 91 out of 150.

Contract drivers for Amazon have complained about having to pee in bottles on the job and running stop signs to meet their daily quotas

Quintas has not commented on the timing of the veterans' hiring spree, but the announcement comes after months of unfavorable publicity for the e-commerce juggernaut.

In February, New York Attorney general Letitia James, the state's top prosecutor, accused Amazon of displaying a 'flagrant disregard' for health and safety laws in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company was also accused of retaliating against employees who spoke out about about unsafe working conditions by firing them.

Amazon attempted to block New York's lawsuit, arguing in court that James did not have the legal authority to sue the company.

Amazon's treatment of workers has been a hot-button issue in recent months, including heightened productivity requirements and injury rates.

Amazon's contract delivery drivers have described having to pee in bottles on the job due to lack of access to bathrooms, and running stop signs to meet their daily quotas.

The company responded to the complaints by saying it was not responsible for the actions of contractors.
Rudy Giuliani described the attack on the U.S. Capitol as an 'unfortunate trespass' in an interview on Monday, and claimed there was a plot behind the fatal shooting of Ashli Babbitt by a police officer.

The former mayor of New York echoed former President Trump and some senior Republicans in playing down the events of Jan. 6 and suggesting, without evidence, an effort to cover up the killing of Babbitt as she tried to force her way through a barricaded door.

In an interview with the right-wing Newsmax television station, he said: 'This was a completely phony operation.

'They tried to take this unfortunate trespass - which shouldn't have been done - and make it into an insurrection.

'Well, first of all, this is the only insurrection in which a shot wasn't fired.

'The only shot fired was the one shot by the police officer at an unarmed woman which they don't want to talk about. So there's a whole plot behind this.'

Rudy Giuliani played down the attack on the U.S. Capitol in an interview with Newsmax, describing it as an 'unfortunate trespass' and claiming that 'there's a while plot behind' the killing of Ashli Babbitt, who was shot dead during the riot

The Department of Justice decided there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the police officer who shot Babbitt, 35, a 14-year USAF veteran

Former President Trump has taken up the case of Babbitt's death. 'Who shot Ashli Babbitt? We all saw the hand. We saw the gun,' he said at his rally in Florida last weekend. 'You know, if that were on the other side, the person that did the shooting would be strung up and hung.'

Prosecutors have charged hundreds of people in 40 states with offenses related to the riot on Jan. 6, when Trump supporters marched on the U.S. Capitol

Giuliani, 77, remains one of Trump's most steadfast public supporters, even as a slew of books paints him in an unflattering light.

For his work pursuing unsuccessful lawsuits to overturn results of the 2020 election he has been suspended from practicing law in New York and Washington D.C.

He is among a string of Republicans which has tried to minimize what happened when Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building.

And they have repeatedly raised questions about why no further action was taken against the officer who shot Babbitt, 35.

Last week Trump himself described the attack as an 'unfortunate event.'

And in a weekend interview he also suggested there was more to Babbitt's killing than a rioter shot by police as they tried to stop an angry mob invading a restricted area of Congress.

'Who was the person who shot an innocent, wonderful, incredible woman?'

'I will tell you, they know who shot Ashley Babbitt,' Trump told Fox Business presenter Maria Bartiromo.

'They're protecting that person. I've heard also that it was the head of security for a certain high official - a Democrat.'

Video of the shooting showed Babbitt, a 14-year U.S. Air Force veteran, at the head of a crowd trying to force their way through a barricaded door leading to an area where members of Congress were being helped to safety.

She was shot as she tried to climb through a broken window.

An investigation by the Department of Justice concluded that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the officer responsible.

'Specifically, the investigation revealed no evidence to establish that, at the time the officer fired a single shot at Ms. Babbitt, the officer did not reasonably believe that it was necessary to do so in self-defense or in defense of the Members of Congress and others evacuating the House Chamber,' it said.

In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo violent rioters, loyal to President Donald Trump, storm the Capitol in Washington. The events led to Trump's second impeachment trial

A new book suggests Trump's aides believed Giuliani was frequently drunk and that he was on the verge of senility.

Michael Wolff's 'Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump' suggests he regularly showed 'focus issues, memory problems,' and 'simple logic failures.'

An excerpt from another book, published in the Washington Post, describes how he shocked other aides by urging them to simply claim victory on election night.

'He was telling other guests that he had come up with a strategy for Trump and was trying to get into the presidents private quarters to tell him about it,' according to Carol D. Leonnig and Philip Rucker in their forthcoming book 'I Alone Can Fix It.'

'Some people thought Giuliani may have been drinking too much and suggested to [campaign manager Bill] Stepien that he go talk to the former New York mayor.'

His lobbying activities are also under investigation.

Federal Bureau of Investigation agents seized electronic devices in a raid in April on his Manhattan home and office as part of an inquiry into whether he illegally lobbied on behalf of Ukrainian interests.

He has denied any wrongdoing.
More than a quarter of extremely vulnerable people in England are still shielding despite official guidance to do so dropping in April, Government data shows.

An Office for National Statistics (ONS) report published today found 29 per cent of immunosuppressed patients or those with severe underlying health conditions were still following stay at home orders by the end of June.

Strict shielding guidance was issued during the initial lockdown last spring and applied to nearly 4million people in England who were deemed most at risk of dying from Covid, including kidney disease and cancer patients.

The advice was dropped on April 1 when the second wave was flattened, infection levels were low and the vast majority of shielders had been invited for their Covid vaccines.

For comparison, 60 per cent of people highlighted as shielders said they followed the guidance in January at the peak of the second wave and half were still sticking to the rules by May.

No10 updated its guidance for clinically extremely vulnerable people last night to say they should wait three weeks after their second jab before being in 'close contact' with anyone.

The new advice was revealed as Boris Johnson confirmed that remaining lockdown restrictions will be lifted on July 19 'Freedom Day', despite soaring infections.

Charities said it was 'completely unacceptable' that measures were being scrapped in the face of a growing epidemic, leaving vulnerable people 'abandoned and unsafe'.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham dubbed the July 19 date 'Fear Day' for the clinically vulnerable.

More than 90 per cent of extremely clinically vulnerable people in England had received both vaccines last month - yet only a third of them felt safe enough to leave their home in the past week

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham dubbed the July 19 date 'Fear Day' for the clinically vulnerable

The ONS estimated that 65 per cent of shielders were taking personal precautions by the end of last month rather than following the strict shielding guidance issued last year.

A further six per cent were more liberal with their behaviours, according to the report which was based on surveys of more than 1,000 people.

Masks 'probably won't do any good' after July 19 because not enough people will wear them, top SAGE expert claims - but vulnerable should still use them Wearing a mask after Freedom Day 'probably won't do any good', one of the Government's top scientific advisers claimed today. Professor Graham Medley accepted there was still a lack of evidence about how useful masks are but said it was his personal belief they only work when 'everybody' wears one. From July 19, people in England will no longer be legally required to wear a face covering on public transport or in shops, restaurants and other indoor spaces. But ministers and scientific advisers are still encouraging people to don a mask in crowded spaces where the risk of Covid is higher - particularly if a person is vulnerable. Professor Medley told the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme: 'I understand the Government's reluctance to actually mandate it. 'But on the other hand, if it's not mandated it probably won't do any good.' Professor Medley is the chairman of SAGE's modelling group SPI-M, whose forecasts pointed towards a smaller wave this autumn and gave ministers the confidence to press ahead with the final unlocking. He added: 'I personally will wear a mask to protect other people. I think it's quite a reasonable thing to do. 'It doesn't have a huge imposition in terms of economic impact or in terms of freedom, and I think there is evidence to suggest it does good, but only if everybody does it.' 'So I think that, without the mandation, then we end up with a situation where even if the majority of people, let's say 70 per cent of people wear a mask, will that actually do any good because of the 30 per cent who don't? I think that is something which still needs to be determined and discussed.' There is enough evidence to show masks offer at least some protection against catching and spreading Covid but the true extent of this protection is still unknown. Another Government adviser, Professor Robert Dingwall, said that giving people the flexibility to choose to wear a face mask was 'sensible'. The sociologist, who sits on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, claimed the benefit of mask-wearing had been exaggerated. He told Sky News today: 'I think the only really sensible advice is to think carefully about whether your personal risk would lead you to think about using face coverings in very crowded situations. 'When I'm thinking of crowded situations, I think things like the London Tube at rush-hour. 'There is a huge difference between the London Underground at 8am and the London Underground at 8pm. And I think we now have the flexibility to adjust to that. 'When I go to the supermarket on a Friday evening or first thing on Saturday morning, it's relatively empty, I'm certainly not going to wear a mask in those situations. 'If it was Christmas Eve and the place was heaving, that might be something to think about. Although, frankly, the benefit of masks is much exaggerated. 'The way in which we focused on that is, I think, another signal of the levels of fear  we're clinging to something which is visible, but doesn't actually achieve very much.' Advertisement

It also found that 55 per cent of clinically vulnerable patients were uncomfortable going to hospitality businesses such as pubs and restaurants, cultural venues such as theatres or cinemas, education settings, and health facilities.

When asked what would help them feel more at ease, 75 per cent said mandated mask wearing at venues and regular cleaning and use of hand sanitiser would encourage them to venture out more.

Enforced social distancing was also a priority for at-risk Britons, with 69 per cent saying it would make them feel safer, with 60 per cent also wanting regular testing of those attending these public places.

But many of these measures, such as the requirement to wear a face masks in many areas of daily life such as public transport, are due to be phased out of law on 19 July, the so called 'Freedom Day'.

Ministers have admitted they are prepared to tolerate upwards of 100,000 Covid cases each day at the peak of the third wave in August and thousands of hospital admissions.

Mr Burnham said that the high levels of transmission and lack of social distancing was causing vulnerable people in Manchester a great deal of anxiety.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the Labour mayor said the test of easing restrictions should be viewing the situation through the eyes of those of the 3.8million who are most at risk from a Covid infection.

'Is expecting and recommending people to wear facemasks enough to give those people the confidence that they can go out and about on public transport safely?

'I don't think it is and that is why one person's freedom day is another person's fear day.'

The clinically vulnerable are instead being advised to wait three weeks after a second jab before meeting people in enclosed spaces, avoid getting close to unvaccinated people, ask friends and family to take lateral flow tests before visiting and do shopping online instead of in person.

MacMillan said the guidance left cancer patients fending for themselves at a time when they were 'desperately worried about how they will stay safe'.

Steven McIntosh, executive director of advocacy and communications at the charity, said: 'It is categorically unacceptable that people with cancer have been left to feel abandoned and unsafe, time and time again.

'The Government must put the most vulnerable people first and deliver clear advice. We know many people living with cancer are desperately worried about how they will stay safe. You are not alone. If you're worried please get in touch - Macmillan is here to support you.

'It's vital that the Government also ensures cancer care will be not be disrupted as it has been in previous peaks  the lessons of last winter cannot be ignored.

'The Government must promise people living with cancer that NHS cancer care will get any and every resource necessary to ensure we don't see any further increases to cancer backlogs or treatment waiting times.'

Rosemary Parker, from Southport, Merseyside, said the clinically extremely vulnerable had been abandoned by the Government and it will be 'survival of the fittest'.

Ms Parker, who lost her spleen and part of her pancreas due to pancreatic cancer and has chronic asthma, said she will have to 'play Russian roulette' every time she goes outside her door once restrictions are eased in England.

The 59-year-old added: 'It (the guidance) was what I was expecting, complete abandonment like they have done to us before.

'They put the fear of God in you and say you are extreme risk and now it's just 'there you go, see you, you're on your own now'.

'It's just nonsensical, I'm waiting for my X-ray spectacles so I know who has been vaccinated and who hasn't been.

'The guidance is just absolute nonsense. It's just survival of the fittest really, that's how I see it.

'Every time we go out the door now we are playing Russian roulette, and it's not just us, anyone can catch it.'

Disability gymnast Natasha Coates, 26, who has mast cell activation syndrome and autism, said she was 'really angry' and felt forgotten.

Ms Coates, from Nottinghamshire, added: 'I'm really angry at the new rules  or lack of rules  to be honest.

Vulnerable fear having to 'play Russian roulette' after restrictions ease A clinically extremely vulnerable person has said she will have to 'play Russian roulette' every time she goes outside her door once restrictions are eased in England. Rosemary Parker said the clinically extremely vulnerable had been abandoned by the Government and it will be 'survival of the fittest'. Her comments come after Government guidance advised those most at risk from coronavirus to avoid others who are unvaccinated, continue meeting outside where possible and ask friends and family to take lateral flow tests before visiting after all remaining restrictions are eased on Monday. The updated advice is aimed at the estimated 3.7 million in this group, which includes people with certain cancers and those with severe respiratory conditions. Ms Parker, from Southport, Merseyside, who lost her spleen and part of her pancreas due to pancreatic cancer and has chronic asthma, told the PA news agency she would need 'X-ray spectacles' so she could see who had and had not been vaccinated. The 59-year-old added: 'It (the guidance) was what I was expecting, complete abandonment like they have done to us before. 'They put the fear of God in you and say you are extreme risk and now it's just 'there you go, see you, you're on your own now'. 'It's just nonsensical, I'm waiting for my X-ray spectacles so I know who has been vaccinated and who hasn't been. 'The guidance is just absolute nonsense. It's just survival of the fittest really, that's how I see it. 'Every time we go out the door now we are playing Russian roulette, and it's not just us, anyone can catch it.' Disability gymnast Natasha Coates, 26, who has mast cell activation syndrome and autism, said she was 'really angry' and felt forgotten. Ms Coates, from Nottinghamshire, added: 'I'm really angry at the new rules  or lack of rules  to be honest. 'For people like me it's not freedom day, it's actually reducing our freedom. I didn't spend 14 months shielding to be put at great risk again just so people can have a bit of normality. What about my normality? 'Why are we, as disabled people, always the last to be thought of? We are treated as a statistic, as if we're disposable and don't contribute to society. 'Am I just supposed to shield forever? I feel so forgotten. 'Also, how am I supposed to know who is and isn't vaccinated? I have to trust people to be sensible which, looking at the current rises in Covid cases, doesn't fill me with confidence.' Ms Parker said that even though she had been double-jabbed she was going to start shielding again because people seeing her out and about will have no way of knowing she is vulnerable. She added: 'I just look normal, how do people know that I need space, how do I know they have been vaccinated? 'I just started to feel confident to go out, nothing drastic, going to have a coffee or whatever, and now I don't feel safe to go anywhere again. 'I am back into shielding mode. I have a wedding coming up and I don't know if I dare go. 'The rates are rising so rapidly I just don't feel safe out.' Ms Parker said the Government had not factored vulnerable people into its decision making. She added: 'Do we not feed into their plans for the economy? Do they not think we are valuable members of society? They make you feel like the dregs. 'I can't work because of my health but I think of all the shielders out there who have to work, who have to set foot out the door without any protection, all the safety nets have been taken away from them again. 'Why didn't they wait until we had vaccinated more people? It's just ridiculous and foolhardy and there's no protection for the vulnerable. 'For those people who work, they have got no legal right to stay at home, to work from home, they have to get on public transport with people. 'We all saw the crowds on Sunday  relying on people's sensibilities, it would be wonderful if we felt that was OK.' Advertisement

'For people like me it's not freedom day, it's actually reducing our freedom. I didn't spend 14 months shielding to be put at great risk again just so people can have a bit of normality. What about my normality?

'Why are we, as disabled people, always the last to be thought of? We are treated as a statistic, as if we're disposable and don't contribute to society.

'Am I just supposed to shield forever? I feel so forgotten.

'Also, how am I supposed to know who is and isn't vaccinated? I have to trust people to be sensible which, looking at the current rises in Covid cases, doesn't fill me with confidence.'

Ms Parker said that even though she had been double-jabbed she was going to start shielding again because people seeing her out and about will have no way of knowing she is vulnerable.

She added: 'I just look normal, how do people know that I need space, how do I know they have been vaccinated?

'I just started to feel confident to go out, nothing drastic, going to have a coffee or whatever, and now I don't feel safe to go anywhere again.

'I am back into shielding mode. I have a wedding coming up and I don't know if I dare go.

'The rates are rising so rapidly I just don't feel safe out.'

Ms Parker said the Government had not factored vulnerable people into its decision making.

She added: 'Do we not feed into their plans for the economy? Do they not think we are valuable members of society? They make you feel like the dregs.

'I can't work because of my health but I think of all the shielders out there who have to work, who have to set foot out the door without any protection, all the safety nets have been taken away from them again.

'Why didn't they wait until we had vaccinated more people? It's just ridiculous and foolhardy and there's no protection for the vulnerable.

'For those people who work, they have got no legal right to stay at home, to work from home, they have to get on public transport with people.

'We all saw the crowds on Sunday  relying on people's sensibilities, it would be wonderful if we felt that was OK.'

Disability equality charity Scope said the new guidance was an abdication of responsibility, leaving those most at risk relying on others to do the right thing.

Head of policy and campaigning Louise Rubin added: 'This guidance will make many clinically extremely vulnerable people feel they are on their own, having to rely on others taking responsibility, and without the support to keep themselves safe.

Ms Rubin also questioned why the Government was taking away vital support when Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the pandemic was not over.

'Those most at risk have no concrete or consistent protections at work. Supermarket priority slots have been taken away. Furlough is due to come to an end,' she said.

'This guidance is essentially asking people to shield, without offering even the minimal support which has been available throughout the pandemic.'

Charity Blood Cancer UK chief executive also condemned the new guidance. with its chief executive Gemma Peters stating the Government had let down 500,000 people in clinically extremely vulnerable group who have compromised immune systems and for whom Covid vaccines will not be as effective.

'If the Government thinks this constitutes adequate support for people with blood cancer at a time when many of them are hugely worried about the spread of the virus, I am afraid we can add it to the long list of times the Government has let them down,' she said.

'This guidance contains little by way of practical support for people with blood cancer as they try to keep safe over the difficult weeks ahead.'

Professor Adrian Hayday, an immunobiologist at King's College London, said reducing restrictions next week would create a 'prison of uncertainty' for the clinically vulnerable.

Speaking to MPs today, he said: 'I can't understand the decision. To go to so called 'Freedom Day' at a time of such extraordinary transmission rates  it's a de facto prison of uncertainty for millions of people.

'This isn't liberation at all. It's just going to impose more and more constrictions.

'You might actually provoke a winter wave by opening up now with such low vaccination rates, such are the uncertainties.

'It's not a shrewd gamble. In my view, it's an unnecessary and inappropriate, self-inflicted harm.'

Professor Hayday added: 'People who are clinically vulnerable should be encouraged to have the confidence to continue to wear masks when on a train when they're the only person doing so.

'They need to be given the confidence not to go down to the pub to celebrate Freedom Day and we in society need to have the empathy to give them the confidence to do that.'

Just over 1,000 clinically vulnerable people took part in the ONS survey, which asked them about their behaviours and wellbeing between 21 and 26 June.

The data is part of a series of surveys the ONS has conducted since the start of 2021 on how the pandemic has impacted the lives of those asked to shield.

Shortly after the pandemic reached the UK those deemed most at risk from Covid were asked to shield on numerous occasions as cases rose.

The first was in March 2020 when Public Health England first urged those at particular risk from the virus to stay home and only leave for essential reasons.

This advice was then paused in August as cases number began to fall before being reintroduced in November hours before the nation went into lockdown.

People shielding were then advised in January to continue to do until they had been fully vaccinated.
Two Baltimore city police officers were shot and a murder suspect was killed as a US Marshals' task force served a warrant outside a mall Tuesday morning, a Baltimore County police spokeswoman said.

Gunfire erupted at Security Square Mall in the Woodlawn section of Baltimore just before 8,30am.

The wounded police officers were taken to the University of Maryland Medical Center with injuries that aren't thought to be life-threatening, county police spokeswoman Joy Stewart said. She said the suspect, identified as 32-year-old Justin Powell, was hospitalized elsewhere, having suffered at least one gunshot wound.

Police tweeted shortly thereafter that the suspect has died.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison told reporters during a press briefing that the officers were looking for Powell in connection with a homicide that took place in Baltimore on June 19, leaving a 38-year-old man dead.

Powell, from Baltimore, had a warrant out for his arrest on murder and handgun charges.

A bullet-riddled pickup truck is seen outside Security Square Mall in Baltimore, where 32-year-old Justin Powell, a murder suspect, was shot and killed by the police after wounding two officers

Shattered glass is seen on a pickup's driver side door as investigators document the scene in a mall parking area where two Baltimore city police officers were shot and a suspect was killed as a U.S. Marshals' task force served a warrant on Tuesday morning

Law enforcement officials confer near a mall parking area where two Baltimore city police officers were shot and a suspect was killed as a U.S. Marshals' task force served a warrant

The officers on the US Marshals task force found the wanted man in the mall parking lot and attempted to approach him, prompting the suspect to open fire on them.

One officer was shot in the leg, and the other suffered wounds to the leg and arm.

Police returned fire, striking the gunman.

The injured officers were taken to University of Maryland Medical Centers shock trauma unit, where Thomas Scalea, the physician-in-chief, said 'both were seriously ill when they arrived.'

'We were able to get them stabilized,' he said. 'Both will require some therapy. ... We expect both of them to survive.'

Mayor Brandon Scott said hes thankful the officers were 'alert and upbeat' and wished them a speedy recovery. Building a safer city requires holding violent offenders accountable and thats what the officers were doing Tuesday, he said.

'What we saw today was exactly what officers go through. These are the most dangerous situations imaginable, but they did their job with bravery, with courage and with professionalism,' Harrison said.

A large section of the parking lot at the mall was cordoned off with crime tape as officers collected evidence surrounding a pickup truck, which had bullet holes in the driver's side window and windshield.

Some two dozen police officers, paramedics and other officials gathered at the entrance to the Tokyo Seafood Hibachi Grill & Sushi, and a police helicopter hovered above the area.

An overhead shot of the officer-involved shooting scene in the mall parking lot on Tuesday

A Baltimore police forensic service officer carries a bag in an area where two Baltimore city police officers were shot and a suspect was killed

The rest of the sprawling shopping mall complex was largely open to the public Tuesday morning.

Baltimores police commissioner went to the medical center's shock trauma unit, where the wounded officers were being treated. Both were said to be in a stable condition.

The wounded city officers have served on the US Marshals Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, which apprehends fugitives in the Washington DC and Baltimore area, generally for violent crimes.

'We are praying for the speedy recovery of the two Baltimore City police officers who were shot this morning while pursuing a homicide suspect,' tweeted Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. 'The Maryland State Police has offered its full support for the investigation.'

In February, a deputy US Marshal was shot and wounded, and a suspect was killed, during an exchange of gunfire as law enforcement officials tried to arrest the man, wanted for attempted murder and robbery, in Baltimore.

Baltimore police official offers an update on the fatal officer-involving shooting Tuesday
A heartbroken mother has claimed her baby girl was stillborn and she nearly died after staff at a London quarantine hotel refused to take her to hospital.

Amna Bibi, 31, was 34 weeks pregnant with her daughter Hafsa when she arrived at London's O2 Intercontinental hotel in Greenwich.

She flew to the UK from Pakistan with her husband and other family members on June 10, meaning they would have to quarantine at a special hotel facility for 10 days, according to Government red-list rules.

Pregnant women are advised not to travel after 36 weeks of pregnancy, but some airlines require a letter from a GP after week 28 to confirm the due date and that the woman is not at any risk of complications.

Mrs Bibi, from Bradford, said she was suffering with swelling, pain and breathlessness throughout her stay at the hotel, going backwards and forwards to hospital for check-ups. It is not known why she took the risky decision to fly to the UK while heavily pregnant.

But paramedics, employed by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), stopped her from attending hospital for a vital ultrasound scan, and later after a fall in her hotel room, because she had already been too many times.

Amna Bibi (pictured), 31, was 34 weeks pregnant with her daughter Hafsa when she arrived at London's O2 Intercontinental hotel in Greenwich

She told YorkshireLive the 'trauma and tragedy' of losing her baby on Friday, June 18, and spending four days in intensive care, would haunt her for the rest of her life.

Mrs Bibi has called on the Government to clarify the quarantine rules to allow people access to hospital when necessary.

She added: 'I want government guidelines for every patient, not only pregnant women, to make it better for them. If God gave me another life it would be fighting for other women not to be in my place.'

Mrs Bibi had an ultrasound scan booked for the morning of Tuesday, June 15 at 9am but she says the paramedic at the hotel refused to allow her to attend because they claimed she was only allowed to travel to hospital once under the rules and had already been twice.

To ease her swelling, Ms Bibi ran a bath but slipped twice and hurt herself to the point she 'could barely walk'.

She said the hotel paramedic assessed her but said she could not go to hospital and offered her painkillers instead.

On Friday morning she began to feel painful contractions and was sweating heavily.

She flew to the UK from Pakistan with her husband and other family members on June 10, meaning they would have to quarantine at a special hotel facility for 10 days, according to Government red-list rules. Pictured, the InterContinental hotel at the O2 in Greenwich

To ease her swelling, Ms Bibi ran a bath but slipped twice and hurt herself to the point she 'could barely walk'. Pictured, one of the hotel's rooms

She later blacked out in her husband's arms before she started bleeding. 'I got so scared,' she said.

Ms Bibi had to wait 45 minutes for the hotel staff to provide her with a wheelchair to take her to hospital.

'I was in such a state, I was crying and I asked them if my husband could come with me - they said, "No, sorry, your partner cannot go with you". The hotel security went with me.'

When she got to the hospital, the doctors searched for the baby's heartbeat but couldn't find it. 'They said to me that they were very sorry but I had lost the baby,' she added.

Mrs Bibi was taken in for an emergency C-section, had a blood transfusion and was transferred to an intensive care unit on a ventilator, where she stayed for four days.

'I was this close to dying,' she said, describing the experience as 'such a big shock'.

She added: 'For so many days I was trying to get into hospital and they wouldn't let me into hospital. I was not allowed to get my scan done.'

She said her doctor told her Hafsa would still be alive if she had been allowed to attend her scan.

Ms Bibi (pictured) had to wait 45 minutes for the hotel staff to provide her with a wheelchair to take her to hospital

In response, a DHSC spokesperson said it did not comment on individual cases.

'We recognise the impact restrictions have had on many people,' it added. 'The quarantine measures we have in place are minimising the risk of variants coming into the UK and in turn, safeguarding the hard-won progress of our vaccination programme.

'All decisions for quarantine exemptions are carefully considered on a case-by-case basis and we always balance the needs of the person applying with our top priority of ensuring the general public are as protected as possible.

'We are making every effort to ensure everyone's needs are met and we expect hotels to provide onsite medical assessments by fully qualified healthcare professionals to ensure guests receive any treatment they need.'

A spokesperson for IHG Hotels & Resorts said: 'The safety of our guests is always our highest priority. We are unable to comment on any matter relating to our guests due to confidentiality reasons, and the approach to and management of managed quarantine hotel facilities is a matter for the DHSC.'

Hotels selected for the Governments quarantine programme provide the space and facilities but the DHSC is responsible for the approach to quarantine and the management of the site itself.
President Joe Biden's administration is out of ideas on how to raise the stagnate COVID vaccination rate

The Biden administration is planning to ramp up efforts to combat vaccine misinformation in areas where vaccination rates are lagging and COVID cases are rising, according to a report.

The Democratic National Committee is considering working with SMS companies to vet texts and send messages directly to Americans to stop the spread of inaccurate information, Politico reported Monday.

The party organization is also reportedly considering employing 'aggressive' fact-checkers to monitor communications in a plan drawing furious pushback from conservatives.

'Biden allied groups, including the Democratic National Committee, are also planning to engage fact-checkers more aggressively and work with SMS carriers to dispel misinformation about vaccines that is sent over social media and text messages,'

The report did not specify how the DNC, an outside party organization, would work with companies that handle text messages.

Resistance to getting a shot in the arm has caused the vaccination rate to flatline despite an all-out effort by the White House to raise it. Biden, first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff have been on a nation-wide tour to urge vaccinations.

But administration officials are now looking at the next steps as 91 million people remain unvaccinated and 43 states are seeing an increase in COVID infections in the last week as the Delta variant causes cases to spike.

The report the Democrats would increase their intervention in the vaccine effort to 'dispel misinformation' drew immediate condemnation from conservatives and GOP lawmakers.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who is himself the recipient of administration pushback for his on-air criticism of vaccines, teed off Monday night on the line from the story, which came just as the White House is stressing its intention to keep politics out of the vaccine effort, without growing outbreaks in Missouri and southern states.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) tweeted it was an effort to 'force vaccine compliance and who knows what else'

Rep. Lauren Boebert, whose own comparisons of vaccinators to Nazis drew a rebuke Monday, blasted Democrats after the report

Carlson highlighted the line and called it outright government censorship. 'Nothing that questions official regime policy will reach you,' he told viewers. DailyMail.com has reached out to the DNC for comment.

'So now the Biden Administration wants to get into people's text messages  to force vaccine compliance and who knows what else,' tweeted Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).

Wrote Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.): 'Biden's regime has announced they'll be working with SMS providers to stop vaccine 'misinformation' spread via text messages. This is on the same day the White House said they support local officials who implement mandatory vaccines. No wonder they can't condemn Communism.'

Boebert has been contending with her own issues for her vaccine resistance. The Auschwitz Museum on Monday condemned Boebert's tweet that invoked the Holocaust when she said 'Biden has deployed his Needle Nazis to Mesa County.'

The effort comes as an effort that seeks to persuade and entice people into getting life-saving jabs is bumping into limitations, with COVID cases on the rise in states and counties where President Joe Biden's trust and approval ratings are lower than they are nationwide.

Administration scientists have taken pains to stress efforts to 'meet people where they are,' and got behind state-run efforts that used lotteries and other lures for vaccination. But some recent efforts show the imprint of a team accustomed to political battle after the 2020 race against President Trump.

'We are steadfastly committed to keeping politics out of the effort to get every American vaccinated so that we can save lives and help our economy further recover,' White House spokesperson Kevin Munoz told Politico.

'When we see deliberate efforts to spread misinformation, we view that as an impediment to the country's public health and will not shy away from calling that out,' he said.

Infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has become something of a lightning rod after tussles with Trump, called out Fox News, which has given considerable airtime to figures with vaccine skeptics, including prime time host Tucker Carlson. Carlson called the vaccine plan an effort to 'force people to take medicine they don't want or need.'

Said Fauci: 'The big misinterpretation that Fox News or whomever else is saying is that they are essentially envisioning a bunch of federal workers knocking on your door, telling you you've got to do something that you don't want to do,' Anthony Fauci, President Biden's chief medical adviser, said in an interview on Sunday.

'That's absolutely not the case, it's trusted messengers who are part of the community doing that  not government officials. So that's where I think the disconnect is.'

Centers for Disease Control head Rochelle Walensky has been warning about the risks of rising COVID cases in states that lag on vaccinations. She said last week: ' Simply put, in areas of low vaccination coverage, cases and hospitalizations are up.'

Officials are running out of ideas for jumpstarting the pace of coronavirus vaccinations, Politico reported.

'We are under no illusions that each person in this stage will take longer to reach,' a senior administration official said. 'The first 180 million were much easier than the next 5 million.'

White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended the administration's outreach program on vaccinations in her press briefing on Monday.

'We want to make sure we are lifting up some of the innovative innovative ways that Americans across the country are meeting their communities where they are with the vaccine,' she said.

'We all have a duty to continue making the cases of vaccine to our friends and family. Companies, media and individuals all can play a special role as trusted messengers to an unvaccinated person by sharing the fact that the vaccines are safe, effective, accessible and free across the country we're seeing Americans, step up,' she added.

Fauci said the spread of the Delta variant, which makes up more than half of all cases (above), is worrisome because it is more infectious and therefore will continue to spread in communities with low vaccination rates

The news outlet talked with more than a half-dozen federal and state officials working on the COVID response, who acknowledged that none of the administration's outreach efforts are likely to raise the vaccination rates - and that there are few remaining options to try.

In the US, 59% of adults are fully vaccinated while 68% have at least one shot, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. For the total population, 184 million have at least one shot while 159 million are fully vaccinated.

Less than half of all Americans - 48% - are fully vaccinated.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended the administration's efforts in one of her press briefings last week when she was asked about the declining vaccination rate.

'Our focus now is on doubling down on our efforts as we continue to vaccinate millions of people across the summer months,' she said on Tuesday.

'It is ultimately up to individuals to decide if they are going to get vaccinated,' she added. 'But, no, these programs will continue, and we're going to continue to press forward on approaches that we have seen work in the past.'

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said Monday that a large segment of the population is now left vulnerable to infection from the Delta variant.

'Given the number of people in the country who are not vaccinated, that really is the concern because the vaccines we have available...do very well against the Delta variant, particularly protecting against severe disease leading to hospitalization,' he told CBS' This Morning.

'We're concerned about those regions of the country, those states, those areas, those cities in which the level of vaccination is really quite low, hovering around 30 percent or so,' he said.

According to CDC data updated last week, the Delta variant, also known as B.1.617.2, makes up 51.7 percent of all new infections.

The Delta variant has been detected in all 50 states and accounts for more than 80 percent of new infections in Midwestern states such as Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, where vaccination rates are lagging.

Republicans have been pounding the administration's attempt to get more shots in arms, particularly it's 'door-to-door' program.

In the past three months, the vaccination rate among counties that voted for Donald Trump has dropped in greater numbers compared to counties that voted for Biden.

Three months ago, as of April 22, the average vaccination rate in counties that voted for Trump was 20.6% compared to 22.8% in Biden counties, according to a data analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. That was a 2.2% gap.

By May 11, the gap had increased to 6.5%. By July 6, the vaccination rate in Trump counties was 35% compared to 46.7% in Biden counties for a 11.7% gap.

COVID-19 cases have soared by 30% in one week in the U.S. from 4,739 infections recorded last Sunday to 6,164 new cases this Sunday

Conservatives viewed Biden's 'door-to-door' quote as government intrusion.

'How about don't knock on my door. You're not my parents. You're the government. Make the vaccine available, and let people be free to choose. Why is that concept so hard for the left?' tweeted Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Texas Republican.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, again tied the Biden's administration's coronavirus response to Nazi Germany.

'Biden pushing a vaccine that is NOT FDA approved shows covid is a political tool used to control people,' she tweeted Tuesday afternoon. 'People have a choice, they don't need your medical brown shirts showing up at their door ordering vaccinations.'

The term 'brown shirt' comes from the official uniform of the SA or Sturmabteilung, the Nazi party's paramilitary unit.

And Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado called the program 'needle Nazis.'

'Biden has deployed his Needle Nazis to Mesa County,' she wrote on Twitter. 'The people of my district are more than smart enough to make their own decisions about the experimental vaccine and don't need coercion by federal agents. Did I wake up in Communist China?'

The administration has defended its program.

'This is no time for politics. This is a public health issue. And viruses and public health don't know the difference between a Democrat, a Republican or an independent,' Fauci said Sunday on ABC's This Week.

'One of the ways to do that is to get trusted messengers without any political ideology differences out there -- that could be clergy, that could be trusted messengers in the community, that could be your family physician -- to get people to put aside this political issue and say, what am I going to be able to do for my own safety and for that of my family?,' he said.

'We have got to get away from the divisiveness that has really been a problem right from the very beginning with this outbreak,' he noted.

Covid cases are surging in almost every US state with seven in the South seeing infections DOUBLE in two weeks and outbreaks mostly hitting areas with low vaccination rates amid spread of Indian 'Delta' variant

The majority of U.S. states are seeing a spike in COVID-19 infections as variants of the virus continue to spread, driving up case numbers in areas with low vaccination rates.

A total of 43 states and the District of Columbia have documented an increase in average daily cases over the past two weeks, according to a DailyMail.com analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.

Of those states, at least 15, most of them in the South, have seen their numbers of infections at least double across a 14-day period.

Even states with high vaccination rates, such as California, Illinois, New York and Vermont are seeing cases rise.

The U.S. is now recording an average of 23,000 COVID-19 cases per day, which is the highest figure seen since late May, the analysis found.

Health experts warn that the worrying increase in cases is linked to the Indian 'Delta' variant, which accounts for as many 97 percent of infections in some states.

It comes as President Joe Biden's administration is reportedly out of ideas on how to raise the stagnate Covid vaccination rate - with only 68 percent of adults vaccinated - and is moving ahead with how to manage the pandemic.

A total of 43 states and the District of Columbia are seeing their numbers of COVID-19 infections increase, according to data from John Hopkins University

In Mississippi, with just 33.4% of residents fully vaccinated, COVID-19 infections have spiked by 57% from an average of 192 cases recorded on June 28 to an average of 303 per day on July 12

In many states cases have doubles such as Louisiana, where just 35.8% are fully vaccinated. Cases have increased by 115% from a seven-day rolling average of 389 per day on June 28 to 840 per day on July 12

In Mississippi, one of the state's with the lowest infection rates, COVID-19 infections have spiked by 57 percent from 192 cases recorded on June 28 to an average of 303 per day on July 12.

Additionally, the number of residents hospitalized with COVID-19 has increased 65percent between July 4 and Sunday, July 11, according to state data.

What's more, only 33.4 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, which is the second lowest rate in the country, CDC data show.

'We have a lot more vulnerability than we should,' said Mississippi State Health Officer Dr Thomas Dobbs during a livecast of the Mississippi State Medical Association on Friday, according to Mississippi Free Press.

'We are way undervaccinated as a state. We have a vast pool of unimmunized people who are a perfect breeding ground for Delta variant, and it's gonna kill folks. And it's already killing folks.'

Other Southern states including Arkansas, Louisiana, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and South Carolina have seen their cases more than double across the last two weeks.

In Louisiana, cases have increased by 115 percent from a seven-day rolling average of 389 per day on June 28 to 840 per day on July 12, according to Johns Hopkins data.

Just 35.8 percent of the state is fully vaccinated.

'I do think we're in it. We are seeing what is likely the beginning of increases,' Dr Joe Kanter, Louisiana state health officer, told The Advocate.
Advertisement

Fears are mounting over a 'pingdemic' today as it emerged one in five hospitality workers are self-isolating and a record 830,000 children missed school for Covid-related reasons last week.

The disastrous situation emerged amid pleas for the rules to be eased immediately to avoid sections of the economy and society effectively grinding to a halt as cases surge in the 'exit wave'.

In evidence to the Commons Business Committee today, retail and hospitality industry representatives warned they were being crippling by the sheer volume of quarantine edicts, coming on top of wider labour shortages caused by people getting other jobs during the pandemic.

They pointed out that most of their workers are too young to benefit from a potential exemption for the double-jabbed due to take effect next month.

Meanwhile official figures showed the proportion of state school pupils absent in connection with the virus has more than doubled in a fortnight, with 11.2 per cent of pupils off on July 8.

And there are claims that NHS trusts have started telling staff they do not need to obey 'pings' from the government app telling them they have to self-isolate due to contact with a positive case.

Nicola Sturgeon gazumped Boris Johnson again this afternoon by declaring that Scotland will let fully vaccinated individuals off quarantine rules from August 9, a week before it is due to happen in England.

But government documents on 'Freedom Day' released overnight cast doubt on even that timetable, saying the exemption is only 'likely to come into effect later in the summer'.

The details also lay out that the Test, Trace & Isolate system is set to stay in force until at least next year.

Ministers have warned that daily cases could top 100,000 by next month - raising the prospect that millions of close contacts of the infected will be 'pinged' and ordered to isolate for up to 10 days.

One in five hospitality and retail workers are self-isolating as surging cases spark a 'pingdemic' - and the problem is getting worse

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade group UKHospitality, told MPs 60 per cent of staff are under 30

The number of contact tracing alerts has been spiking as the Delta variant fuels an increase in cases

Covid-related absence in schools hits new high Covid-related pupil absence in England has hit a new record high since all students fully returned to class in March this year, with more than 830,000 children out of school last week, Government figures show. About one in nine (11.2 per cent) state school pupils did not attend class for Covid-19 related reasons on July 8, up from 8.5 per cent on July 1 and 5.1 per cent on June 24, according to Department for Education (DfE) statistics. These include approximately 747,000 children self-isolating due to a possible contact with a Covid-19 case, 35,000 pupils with a suspected case of coronavirus and 39,000 with a confirmed case of Covid-19. The latest figures come after Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced last week that the use of 'bubbles' in schools and colleges in England will come to an end as the country moves towards easing lockdown restrictions. Current rules say that children have to self-isolate for 10 days if another pupil in their bubble  which can be an entire year group at secondary school  tests positive for coronavirus. But Mr Williamson has said it will be up to individual schools and colleges as to whether they scrap the bubble system on Monday ahead of the summer holidays, following the move to Step 4 of the road map. Education union leaders have criticised the Government for simply 'hoping for the best' for the autumn term, as they warned that Covid-19 case numbers could get worse in schools and colleges without action. Advertisement

Boris Johnson last night pulled the trigger on the legal unlocking from July 19, but warned Covid curbs could return in September if new freedoms are abused.

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade group UKHospitality, told the MPs: 'We have one in five hospitality staff in isolation, and we have particular concerns as around 60 per cent of our staff are under 30.

'The changes to allow double-vaccinated people to avoid isolation won't kick in in a material way until September because the workforce won't have been able to have their second jabs until then.

'We believe we need to have a test-to-release policy to help them work.

'For many of our small businesses, if you lose one or two of your workers you don't have enough people to open at all, and obviously that has huge ramifications.'

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said there was a similar proportion of shop worker absences due to isolation rules.

'We are seeing some vacancy rates of around 20 per cent,' she told MPs.

'And only some of that is directly people with Covid  a lot is the indirect consequence of having to isolate, irrespective of tests or whether one has had two vaccines.

'I think it is an immediate issue that comes with the lifting of restrictions.'

The comments were made during the latest business committee regarding the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ms Nicholls added that hospitality firms have around a tenth of jobs currently unfilled, with some workers switching to other careers during the enforced closure of large parts of the sector.

She said: 'We are short of 200,000 workers and actively trying to recruit for those.

'You have a hot and tighter labour market than might have been anticipated.'

Ghislaine Halpenny, director of strategy and external affairs at the British Property Federation, also told the committee that about 6.4 billion in rent debt had accrued since the start of the pandemic.

Last month, the Government extended the ban on commercial evictions until March 2022 in a bid to help firms affected by the pandemic.

Ms Halpenny said most landlords and tenants have reached agreements over rents or made payments.

She added that current proposals for an arbitration system to deal with rent disputes looks like a 'blunt instrument'.

Schoolgirl faked positive Covid-19 to get out school A whole class was sent home after a pupil faked a positive Covid test result. It is thought she learned how from videos on the social media site TikTok. When the girl, from Plantsbrook School in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, reported a positive lateral flow test, her Year 7 classmates were told to self-isolate. Her parents alerted teachers after a PCR test was negative. But the children missed two days of school. Headteacher Jason Farr said the school had issued a sanction. Young people make mistakes and get it wrong. We deal with it and draw a line under it, he added. TikTok is now removing the posts for spreading medical misinformation. Advertisement

'The proposed arbitration scheme feels like a bit of a sledgehammer to crack a nut,' she said.

'It will be large, complicated and expensive to put together and potentially waste taxpayer money.

'We don't see why the courts, with some additional guidance, shouldn't be used for that backstop process.'

Timpson's shoe repairs said more than 100 of their staff had been forced to isolate.

Sir John Timpson, founder and owner of the chain, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'We are 140 people down... people who have got to be home to look after children or people forced to isolate due to the Test and Trace app.'

Health Secretary Sajid Javid previously announced that from August 16 fully-vaccinated individuals should be let off the quarantine requirement.

Those aged under 18 are also set to benefit from the change from the same date.

Fellow minister Nadhim Zahawi said at the weekend that the government is also considering replacing the isolation rule with daily testing more widely.

Meanwhile, officials are working on making the NHS app less sensitive so that fewer people are caught by the isolation order.

But after Mr Johnson struck a far more cautious tone last night, the guidance suggested that the exemptions are not a definite commitment.

'The Government intends to exempt people who have been fully vaccinated from the requirement to self-isolate if they are a contact of a positive case, with a similar exemption for under 18s.

'Anyone who tests positive will still need to self-isolate regardless of their vaccination status. Further details will be published in due course and the changes are likely to come into effect later in the summer.'

The documents also insisted Test & Trace will stay in place for many months to come.

'Test, Trace and Isolate has an important ongoing role in managing the virus and reduces the risk of potentially dangerous variants spreading,' the guidance said.

'The Government expects the Test, Trace and Isolate system will remain necessary through the autumn and winter.'

The coronavirus restrictions which will be removed from July 19

The legal enforcement rules and financial support for isolation will also be kept in place.

'Until at least the end of September, self-isolation enforcement and support will otherwise continue as it is now,' the government said.

Speaking at the Downing Street briefing last night, Mr Johnson said: 'I cannot say this powerfully or emphatically enough  this pandemic is not over. This disease coronavirus continues to carry risks for you and for your family. We cannot simply revert instantly from Monday, July 19, to life as it was before Covid.'

Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said families should still 'avoid unnecessary meetings' with other households with normal life returning only 'very slowly'.

Mark Harper, chairman of the Covid Recovery Group of Tory MPs, said even the limited taste of freedom could prove short-lived.

'Enjoy summer if you can,' he said. 'Winter is coming  and I fear that Covid restrictions will return.'
A Seattle doctor claims she was 'humiliated and 'belittled' by a flight attendant after she disposed of her young daughter's dirty diaper in the restroom trash can, and was later told she was placed on the 'no-fly' list for disposing of a 'biohazard.'

Farah Naz Khan, 34, was traveling on a United Airlines flight from Kalispell, Montana to Houston with her husband and her daughter, who is under the age of 2, on Friday.

About halfway through flight, which was operated by United's regional partner Mesa Airlines, Khan said she brought her daughter to a diaper changing station in the rear of the plane and threw out her daughter's dirty diaper in a scented bag, as she had done on previous flights.

On her way back to her seat, though, she claims, a white, male flight attendant in first class confronted her.

'When I walked back to the front holding my diaper wipes container, and like the pad that we use to change my daughter's diaper on, the flight attendant accosted me and said: "Did you dispose of a diaper back there? That's a biohazard,"' Khan recounted to NBC News.

She said she tried to explain her situation to the flight attendant and asked him whether he wanted her to retrieve the used diaper, and he said 'yes.'

Farah Naz Khan, a 34-year-old mother from Seattle, claims a flight attendant on a United Airlines flight accosted her after she threw away her young daughter's dirty diaper in the bathroom garbage

She said she wrapped the dirty diaper in a scented bag before disposing it, as she had done on other flights in the past. Pictured is what Khan carries with her on flights

So, she started fishing through the garage bin, making her feel 'humiliated' and 'belittled,' which turned to anger when she asked another flight attendant for a garbage bag to put the diaper in, and he told her she did not do anything wrong.

He told her that throwing away the dirty diaper is proper protocol, Khan wrote on Facebook.

Khan said she then tried to once again talk to the flight attendant who had accosted her, whose name she did not get, but 'he yelled at me again and said he didn't want to deal with me.'

Ultimately, Khan said, she disposed of the dirty diaper when she got off the flight in Houston, and promptly filed a formal complaint with United and the Federal Aviation Administration.

About three hours later, she said, she got a call from an unidentified 1-800 number, and when she picked up the phone, she realized it was the flight attendant on the line.

'I recognized the voice,' she said, adding that he told her "Due to a biohazard incident on the plane today, we've placed you on the no-fly list."

'This made me very angry because I suffered the humiliating experience,' she told NBC. 'I also didn't dispose of the diaper on the plane, even if it was considered a biohazard. I walked it off the plane and threw it away myself outside the flight.'

She said the phone call with the flight attendant then became 'scary,' as he started spewing profanities at her, and told her: "You people bring your children everywhere. Don't you know that some people just want a peaceful flight and don't want to listen to your effing children."

He allegedly also told her: "You people should just drive everywhere," according to KIRO News.

Khan, a Muslim American of South Asian descent, said she did not know what he meant by 'you people,' but thought it sounded derogatory.

She later put the phone call on speaker, as her daughter was talking, allegedly prompting the flight attendant to tell her, "I hear your obnoxious daughter in the background."

She hung up on him shortly thereafter.

A United Airlines representative told KOMO that Khan had not actually been placed on the no-fly list, and she was able to travel back to Seattle on Monday.

The airline said in a statement to the news channel: 'We have reached out to our customer and our regional partner Mesa Airlines, who operated this flight, to get a better understanding of what occurred.'

Representatives from Mesa, meanwhile, said in a statement: 'The details as described by our customer do not meet the high standards that Mesa sets for our flight attendants and we are reviewing the matter.'

Khan told KIRO News that the flight attendant later called her and told her "You people bring your children everywhere," and "You people should just drive"

The flight was operated by United Airlines' regional partner, Mesa Airlines

But as of Monday afternoon, Khan said no one from Mesa Airlines had contacted her.

She said she received two calls from United Airlines, both of which lasted less than 10 minutes as the airline would not tell her the flight attendant's name, how he got her cell phone number or whether he had been disciplined.

No one even offered her an apology, she claimed, and she is now considering suing the airline for the flight attendant's information so she can take out a restraining order against him.

'I'm legitimately worried about this person,' she said. 'Over a diaper, if he's able to call me and say those things, what else could he be capable of?'

'I don't know how to protect my family from somebody who seems clearly unhinged,' she added. 'So what do I do?'

She said she is also concerned that he was able to get her personal phone number.

'I'm a doctor,' she told KOMO News. 'Protection and privacy of information is sacred to me, and so the fear stems from what else he was able to access, what else he is willing to do, what else he is willing to act on.'

After posting about her ordeal on social media, several people expressed their support and tweeted to United Airlines to demand answers

Khan has since spoken out about the ordeal, sharing her story on her social media, and writing on Facebook, 'In defense of my toddler, she slept for two of the four hours of the flight and was really well-behaved for most of the rest of the flight.'

Soon after, responses started in from people offering Khan their support and demanding answers from United Airlines.

Arfah Shafquat, for example, tweeted: 'Flying with a toddler is daunting on its own let alone the added racism and pure indecency. Im shocked that United hasn't responded to this already.'

Farhan Abdullah, meanwhile, wrote: 'Im definitely never flying United with my family again and am going to spread the word to the rest of my friends and family after hearing what happened to [Farah.]

'How are we supposed to feel safe with a flight attendant who thinks were lesser than others?'

And another Twitter user, only identified as Joyce, wrote to United Airlines that the flight attendant 'is out of control' and his behavior is unacceptable.

'You need to respond and make this right,' she wrote. 'I want you to pull up this call made from YOUR corporate phone number and make it available.

'This is disgusting on so many levels,' she added.

Now, CAIR Washington, the Council for American-Islamic Relations, is calling on the airlines to investigate Khan's claims.

'Being a brown Muslim woman, one would think that maybe this is because of her skin tone or ethnic background, so it really raises a lot of questions for us, and we really call on United Airlines and Mesa Airlines to address this issue very quickly,' Imran Siddiq, executive director of CAIR Washington told KOMO.

'It violates every level of professionalism, but it's also a violation of this woman's privacy and her civil rights.'
The Met Police have seized a record 180million worth of Bitcoin linked to international money laundering in London, in what is thought to be one of the biggest crackdowns on cryptocurrency globally.

Detectives from Scotland Yard's Economic Crime Command made the seizure on Saturday, just weeks after the force's 114million confiscation.

One bitcoin is currently worth 23,500, having fallen from a peak of 47,126, meaning the sum confiscated may have been worth nearly double three months ago.

A 39-year-old woman was arrested on June 24 on suspicion of money laundering offences, the Met Police said. She was released on bail.

The same woman was interviewed under caution in relation to the discovery of the 180million on Saturday. She has been bailed to a date in late July.

A Met Police spokesman said the seizures were made on the back of intelligence received about the transfer of criminal assets and form part of an ongoing investigation into international money laundering.

The Met Police have seized a record 180million worth of Bitcoin linked to international money laundering in London, in what is thought to be one of the biggest crackdowns on cryptocurrency globally (stock)

What is Bitcoin and how does it work? Bitcoins are created through a complex process known as mining and then monitored by a network of computers across the world Unlike conventional currency, Bitcoin largely exists online. Bitcoins are created through a complex process known as mining and then monitored by a network of computers across the world. The cryptocurrency has proved popular with criminals to buy drugs and guns as it can be traded anonymously and is unregulated. In recent years, police seizures of cryptocurrency have been growing. The Met's Deputy Assistant Commissioner Graham McNulty said: 'Every single part of the Met is working to reduce violence on the streets of London as an absolute priority, this includes our financial investigators. 'There is an inherent link between money and violence.' Surrey Police were the first force in 2019 to capture more than 1.2million worth of Bitcoin from a senior member of an organised crime gang. Serejgs Teresko, was jailed for nine years for money laundering and drugs offences relating to a large cannabis factory in Virginia Water. Advertisement

In a statement released today, Detective Constable Joe Ryan said: 'Less than a month ago we successfully seized 114million in cryptocurrency. Our investigation since then has been complex and wide-ranging.

'We have worked hard to trace this money and identify the criminality it may be linked to. Today's seizure is another significant landmark in this investigation which will continue for months to come as we hone in on those at the centre of this suspected money laundering operation.'

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Graham McNulty said: 'Proceeds of crime are laundered in many different ways. While cash still remains king in the criminal word, as digital platforms develop we're increasingly seeing organised criminals using cryptocurrency to launder their dirty money.

'Whilst some years ago this was fairly unchartered territory, we now have highly trained officers and specialist units working hard in this space to remain one step ahead of those using it for illicit gain.

'The detectives on this case have worked tirelessly and meticulously to trace millions of pounds worth of cryptocurrency suspected of being linked to criminality and now being laundered to hide the trail.

'Those linked to this money are clearly working hard to hide it. Our investigation will stop at nothing to disrupt the transfer and identify those involved.'

The investigation continues.

Bitcoin is a an online type of money which is created using computer code. It was invented in 2009 by someone calling themselves Satoshi Nakamoto, a mysterious computer coder who has never been found or identified themselves.

Bitcoins are created without using middlemen, which means no banks take a fee when they are exchanged. They are stored in what are called virtual wallets known as blockchains which keep track of your money.

One of the selling points is that it can be used to buy things anonymously.

However, this has left the currency open to criticism and calls for tighter regulation as terrorists and criminals have used to it traffic drugs and guns.

Bitcoins are created through a process known as 'mining' which involves computers solving difficult maths problems with a 64-digit solution. Every time a new maths problem is solved a fresh Bitcoin is produced.

Some people create powerful computers for the sole purpose of creating Bitcoins, which can require a huge amount of energy to run.

But the number which can be produced are limited - meaning the currency should maintain a certain level of value.

Some people value Bitcoin because it is a form of currency which cuts out banking middlemen and the Government, a form of peer to peer currency exchange.

And all transactions are recorded publicly so it is very hard to counterfeit.

Detectives from Scotland Yard's Economic Crime Command made the seizure on Saturday, just weeks after the force's 114million confiscation (stock)

Its value surged in 2017, beating the 'tulip mania' of the 17th Century and the dot com boom of the early 2000s to be the biggest bubble in history.

But the bubble appeared to have burst, and questions arose over what market there is for it long-term. However, it has since boomed again, and in March 2021, surpassed the $60,000 mark for the first time.

The process of mining bitcoins is incredibly energy-intensive, meaning the electricity supply is likely to stem from the burning of fossil fuels. Incredibly, Bitcoin mining firms use more data than all the internet search giants combined.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates warned earlier this year that the cryptocurrency was 'not a great climate thing'.

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, the owner of electric car firm Tesla, said earlier this month that he was 'concerned' about the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining.

Mr Musk wrote in a Tweet: 'We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel.'

'Cryptocurrency is a good idea... but this cannot come at great cost to the environment.'

The firm then banned customers from using Bitcoin to buy its cars, after revealing in February it had bought 1billion of the world's biggest digital currency.
This is the shocking moment a Russian father dangled his screaming three-year-old son from a high-rise window ledge for more than two hours while threatening to drop him 150ft to his death to punish his wife for 'cheating'.

After a tense standoff with police and negotiations with his spouse, who claimed he had beaten her, Roman Terentyev, 34, freed his son Maksim and was detained by Russian national guards.

Maksim was 'on the brink of death' for two-and-a-half hours, said reports in the southern Russian city of Irkutsk.

The child was heard crying and telling his father on the 14th floor residential tower window ledge: 'I am scared, let me go.'

This is the shocking moment a Russian father dangled his screaming three-year-old son from a high-rise window ledge for more than two hours while threatening to drop him 150ft to his death to punish his wife for 'cheating'

The child was heard crying and telling his father on the 14th floor residential tower window ledge: 'I am scared, let me go'

Maksim, three, was held by his father on the balcony edge for more than two hours in a terrifying ordeal in Russia

Law enforcement psychologists were involved in the negotiations which followed Terentyev kidnapping the boy yesterday evening in a dispute with his wife.

Olga Terenteva, 40, had demanded a divorce and told police her husband had attacked her with a hammer.

Reports said Terentyev had become obsessed that she was cheating on him and installed hidden cameras in their apartment.

After kidnapping the boy, he sent her 'threatening messages' and said he would kill their son and take his own life.

Police were alerted today when neighbours at his rented flat saw him holding the boy at the open window of an enclosed balcony, say reports.

The footage went viral as the sickening drama unfolded. Eventually the man agreed to give up the child.

Soon afterwards Russian SOBR national guard special forces stormed the flat and detained the Terentyev.

He was seen in handcuffs being pushed into a detention vehicle.

Police were alerted today when neighbours at his rented flat saw Terentyev holding the boy at the open window of an enclosed balcony, say reports

Soon afterwards Russian SOBR national guard special forces stormed the flat and detained the Terentyev. He was seen in handcuffs being pushed into a detention vehicle

Terentyev had become obsessed that his wife was cheating on him and installed hidden cameras in their apartment

Terentyev has been held in custody on suspicion of 'preparing to murder a minor', and would face jail of up to ten years if convicted.

A picture of his wife Olga was released where she had dark bruises on her eyelids and below her eyes - with one eye appearing to be partially shut due to swelling.

Police also released an image of the boy after his safe release when he was reunited with his mother.

A picture of his wife Olga was released where she had dark bruises on her eyelids and below her eyes - with one eye appearing to be partially shut due to swelling (right). Pictured left: Olga normally

Terentyev is also accused of attacking his step son, 19, and tying him up for six hours at the weekend as a dispute developed with his wife.

In leaked testimony after his arrest, the suspect said: 'I did not want to do this.

'I wanted to influence my wife, so she paid attention to me, since I love her very much, sincerely.'
A daredevil hiker who loved posing for risky photographs plunged to her death while taking selfies at the edge of a waterfall in Hong Kong.

Sofia Cheung, 32, slipped and plummeted off the Tsing Dai stream in Tuen Mun, near the district of Yuen Long, at around 5pm on Saturday.

Earlier that day, Sofia, who was an active social media user, had set off with three of her friends for a day trip to the scenic nature area of Ha Pak Lai.

The group later visited the scenic stream and Sofia was taking selfies when she lost her footing and fell over the steep drop, tumbling into the 16ft deep pool below.

Sofia Cheung (pictured), 32, slipped and plummeted to her death off Tsing Dai stream in Tuen Mun, near the district of Yuen Long, at around 5pm on Saturday

Earlier that day, the kayaker (pictured), who was an active social media user, had set off three of her friends for a day trip to the scenic nature area of Ha Pak Lai

Her last Instagram post (pictured), which was posted on July 9 and showed her relaxing on the beach with a boogie board, was flooded with RIP messages by friends and followers

The group visited the stream (pictured: scenic spot in Tuen Mun) and Sofia was taking pictures when she lost her footing and fell over the steep drop, tumbling into the 16ft deep pool below

Her friends called the emergency services and first responders rushed to the scene.

Sofia was taken to the Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan in Hong Kong. She was pronounced dead on her arrival.

The area of Ha Pak Lai, situated near Pineapple Mountain, is a popular spot for hikers, especially at sunset as it has picturesque views.

Sofia was well-known among her social media followers for her risky adventures, and she would often share pictures of herself hanging off cliff edges and scaling mountaintops overlooking steep drops.

She enjoyed spending time outdoors and her Instagram page, which had more than 6,000 followers at the time of her death, lists her main passions as hiking, kayaking, exploring, outdoor activities and photography.

Her biography says that 'life should be fun not dumb', while her Instagram feed is jam-packed with daring snaps seemingly showing her standing over perilous drops.

Sofia was well-known among her social media followers for her adventures, while her Instagram feed is jam-packed with snaps seemingly showing her standing over perilous drops

Sofia (pictured) was taken to the Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan in Hong Kong. She was pronounced dead on her arrival

Her Instagram page, which had more than 6,000 followers at the time of her death, lists her main passions as hiking, kayaking, exploring, outdoor activities and photography

Sofia was a keen social media user and she would often share pictures of herself hanging off cliff edges and scaling mountaintops overlooking steep drops below

Her last photo, posted on July 9, was flooded with RIP messages by her friends and followers.

She accompanied a photograph of her kneeling on the shore with a yellow boogie board with the message: 'Better days are coming. They are called Saturday and Sunday!'

Instagram user 'Ellah_d_explorer' commented: 'I thought better days are coming with Saturday and Sunday?

'I will miss your chat every day. I love you always. Rest in peace my pretty Sofia.'

Another penned: 'Rip Sophie! I can't believe last week I still chat with you'

And a third said: 'Deepest condolences to your family and loved ones, RIP'
A nasal spray that claims to protect people against coronavirus has been pulled from shelves, it was revealed today.

Lloyds Pharmacy is no longer selling Viraleze, a 15 spray that its manufacturer bragged could inactivate 99.9 per cent of SARS-CoV-2 in lab studies.

Britain's drug regulator sent a letter to the pharmacy chain related to its promotional claims and it subsequently stopped selling the product three weeks ago.

But the move only emerged now after consumer watchdog Which? complained about the marketing of three different sprays available in Britain.

Taffix no longer appears to be available in the UK, while Virostop has now removed claims from its advertising, the Which? investigation found.

All three are designed to kill the virus behind Covid in the nasal passage before it is able to infect someone.

But their small print said the sprays should be used as an extra defence on top of face masks, social distancing and vaccinations, according to Which?.

Viraleze sold in Lloyds Pharmacy for 15 until three weeks ago, claimed to 'irreversibly inactivate' more than 99.9% of the coronavirus. Meanwhile, Virostop's website states Hungarian scientists trialled its spray on monkey kidney cells infected with Covid and found it stopped virus cells from multiplying 'and thus prevent infection of the airway'

Israeli firm Nasus Pharma, which makes Taffix, claims the spray blocks up to 97 per cent of viruses in the nasal cavity for five hours and 'completely blocks SARS-CoV-2'

Small lab-based studies show that the sprays have some benefit, but so far there is a lack of gold standard proof they work.

Scientists, including a team at Oxford University, are currently trialling sprays on people that could reduce transmission of the virus.

Viraleze claimed to 'irreversibly inactivate greater than 99.9 per cent of SARS-CoV-2 within one minute'.

But the study of the spray's effectiveness was commissioned by its manufacturer  Australian company Starpharma  was not peer-reviewed and based on a chemical reaction rather than human trials, according to Which?.

Starpharma announced last month it agreed with Lloyds Pharmacy to temporarily stop selling Viraleze in the UK.

It received a letter from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) about the claims.

Oxford University to trial giving AstraZeneca Covid vaccine as a nasal spray with the hope it will trigger a better and faster immune response in the lungs AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine will be administered as a nasal spray as part of a new trial. Oxford University scientists  who developed the jab  have been looking at injection-free ways to dish out the vaccine. It's thought that nasal sprays may better target immune cells in the lungs, throat and nose, making them even more effective at defending against Covid. Oxford will track 30 volunteers for four months to make sure it's safe as part of the initial trial. If successful, the phase one study will move on and tens or potentially hundreds more adults will be recruited to see if it can ward off the virus as well as a jab. Nasal spray vaccines would be great news for people who have a fear of needles and could alleviate supply issues that have hindered rollouts around the world. This method is already used to give out children's flu jabs. The university's study, involving adults over 40, is part of its partnership with AstraZeneca. Other scientists in the UK began testing a different nasal spray vaccine, known as COVI-VAC, on volunteers at the start of the year. The spray, made by New York-based company Codagenix, contains a genetically modified form of Covid and is being tested on 48 adults in London. The UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) green-lit the trial after positive safety data in animal studies. Advertisement

The company noted that the letter from the MHRA, which polices medical products in the UK, did not mention Viraleze's quality or safety.

Starpharma said it generated 'extensive data' which supports how the product is advertised.

Which? said: 'Results could differ significantly in clinical trials, so although technically the claim used to market this product was true, we felt the claim that the nasal spray was able to kill Covid was misleading and could give users a false sense of security.'

Taffix's advertising claims it blocks up to 97 per cent of viruses in the nasal cavity for five hours and 'completely blocks SARS-CoV-2'.

It is made by Israeli firm Nasus Pharma and is only available to buy in the UK on eBay for 51 for four sprays.

Its box says all over-12s can use the spray to protect against airborne viruses before entering public or 'high-risk environments', like shops and public transport.

Which? said Taffix no longer appears to be available in the UK but MailOnline found it can be bought on eBay.

ViroStop is made by Ealing-based Gyntima and costs 13.99.

The company's website claims the product creates a 'protective film on the mucous membrance of the oral and nasal cavity and thus protects the penetration of bacteria and viruses into the body'.

It said scientists at the Hungarian Complex Medical Centre Deli Clinic in Budapest trialled the spray on monkey kidney cells infected with Covid and protected the cells from multiplying 'and thus prevent infection of the airway'.

The nasal spray 'no longer makes claims around killing the coronavirus', according to Which?.

The consumer group said it flagged concerns about the products to the MHRA and Advertising Standards Agency (ASA).

Which? said: 'It's clear that the medicines regulator in the UK feels there isn't enough evidence to support these products' action against Covid right now, as there has since been a crackdown on these products and the way they are promoted.

'We may yet see these products return to the market once the MHRA has concluded its investigation.

'And it's possible once further clinical evidence is gathered, they could be approved as an extra line of defence against Covid.

'But it's important that manufacturers market their products responsibly, especially in the context of Covid, and that they can show sufficient clinical evidence to back up claims.'

MailOnline approached the companies for comment.

Lisa Barber, Which? home products and services editor, said: 'It is concerning that nasal sprays making bold and potentially misleading claims to stop Covid-19 in its tracks were on sale in the UK and it is good that these products and their ads have either been withdrawn or amended after Which? raised concerns with regulators.

'Nasal sprays may one day play a part in the fight against Covid-19, but until manufacturers and retailers can prove they actually work, they must ensure they do not promote products that could potentially mislead customers - and they should face action from regulators if they break the rules.'

The MHRA is not able to comment on ongoing investigations.

But a spokesperson for the agency said said: 'As the responsible regulator for medical devices, the MHRA investigate allegations of non-compliance to ensure that devices placed on the UK market meet the requirements in place, and this includes ensuring claims made regarding a product's use are supported with sufficient clinical evidence within the manufacturer's technical documentation.'

A spokesperson for ASA said the authority is unable to comment on a specific advert without assessing it as part of its formal process.

They said: 'However, what I can say is that we have a clear commitment to act quickly and robustly against ads that exploit people's health-related anxieties during the pandemic.

'We will not tolerate ads that make misleading health-related Covid claims or that grossly undermine public health advice. For example, we very recently banned an ad for an air purifier device for claiming that it could kill coronavirus.

'We encourage anyone who has a concern about an ad to get in touch with us by submitting a complaint via our online Covid quick report form.

'Please also note that our rules and guidance reflect those set at a statutory level by the MHRA. Advertisers are advised to follow MHRA guidance regarding the regulatory status of equipment being used to help tackle coronavirus before publishing ads.'
Two men have been sentenced to life in prison without parole for kidnapping a Minneapolis Realtor in 2019, torturing her in the back of a U-Haul truck while trying to find her rapper boyfriend, and then shooting her dead.

Cedric Berry and Berry Davis, both 42, were convicted for their involvement in an elaborate New Years Eve plot in which they lured realtor and mother of two Monique Baugh, 28, to a phony home showing in a Minneapolis suburb.

The pair then abducted her in a U-Haul truck and tortured her for three hours while they sought information about the whereabouts of her rapper boyfriend Jon Mitchell-Momoh, known by his stage name Momoh.

They then shot her in the head, heart and spine before dumping her in an alley.

Momoh, who had been accused of snitching on a former business associate, was later shot multiple times but survived, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.

Baugh was found gravely injured, and later died in a hospital.

Monique Baugh, 28, and her rapper boyfriend Jon Mitchell-Momoh. On New Years Eve, 2019, she was found gravely injured in an alley after she was kidnapped and shot in a plot that prosecutors say was intended to get at Mitchell-Momoh

Berry Davis (left) and Cedric Berry, both 42, were sentenced to life without parole for kidnapping and murdering Baugh. The two were also convicted in the attempted murder of Mitchell-Momoh. They appeared at their sentencing Monday

Prosecutors said the two held Baugh for three hours as they questioned her on the whereabouts of her boyfriend, and she suffered scratches, a chipped tooth, bruises and some of her acrylic fingernails were ripped off, the Tribune reports.

After Baugh's kidnapping, Berry is believed to have used her keys to enter the home where she and Momoh lived with their two daughters, aged 3 and 1, and shot him multiple times, wounding him.

Prosecutors said a former record label associate of Mitchell-Momoh's, Lyndon Wiggins, may have helped organize the killing, believing that Mitchell-Momoh had 'snitched' on him for drug dealing.

Momoh would later recover and testified at Davis and Berry's trial.

He said that Wiggins had accused him of stealing music after he left their record label. Wiggins has been charged for his involvement in the kidnapping and killing the Star Tribune also reported.

Prosecutors said the two held Baugh for three hours as they questioned her on the whereabouts of her boyfriend

Mitchell-Momoh, who goes by the stage name Momoh, was believed to have been the target of the kidnapping and killing after a falling out with an associate. He is pictured in May, 2019, six months before he was shot

Baugh's mother, Wanda Williams Baugh, gave a tearful witness testimony at Monday's sentencing

At the killers' sentencing, Baugh's mother Wanda Williams Baugh gave a tearful impact statement and said her daughter had faced evil that night

'I can only imagine what was being said to her  how many times she begged for her life,' she told the court. 'My baby was so precious. How dare they!'

'These defendants treated my daughter as if she was less than human,' she said. 'My daughter came face-to-face with evil that New Year's Eve.'

'Monique loved being a mother,' Baugh's mother said. 'I tell her girls that often.'

She said that her eldest granddaughter began asking difficult questions such as: 'How is God going to save us if he couldn't save Mommy?'

'That's a question a child should never have to ask,' she added.

Prosecutors said Davis shot Mitchell-Momoh multiple times at the house (pictured) he shared with Baugh and their two young daughters before fleeing. Mitchell-Momoh would survive

Elsa Segura, 29, who prosecutors say was romantically involved with Wiggins, allegedly lured Baugh to her death by setting up the phony house viewing. She too has been charged for her involvement.

Berry was arrested within a week of the killing, but Davis fled, and was arrested four months later in Chicago.

Prosecutors also charged Shante Davis - Berry Davis' sister and Cedric Berry's wife - with being an accomplice after the fact.

At their sentencing County District Judge Peter Cahill gave Berry 13 years for his kidnapping conviction, 20 for attempted murder an life without parole for murder, while Davis received 13 years for kidnapping, 20 for attempted murder and life without parole for murder.

Both still maintain their innocence.

'I didnt think Id be convicted of this,' Davis said during his sentencing. 'If yall watching the same show as me, didnt prove me wrong.'

'Id also just like to say sorry, something I thought Id never say,' Berry told the court. 'Yet here I sit, a condemned man, sitting in the same seat as Derek Chauvin and I am about to get life without parole for a few fingerprints that said they were mine and some cell phones, and Im considered a monster in the system.'

Wiggins, Segura and Shante Davis are still awaiting trial.
Law enforcement has confirmed that Paul Flores, 44, is set to have his murder charges amended to include two allegations of rape of unconscious women in the Los Angeles area.

Los Angeles Police Capt. Jonathan Tippett confirmed that San Luis Obispo County prosecutors are digging into two sexual assault cases that took place in the San Pedro area where Flores lived from 2013 to 2017.

The prosecution is looking to argue a motion on Wednesday to amend Flores' original charge of murder in the commission of a rape or attempted rape in the 1996 case of Kristin Smart.

In April, Flores was arrested and charged for Smart's murder. He had long been the top suspect in the case after being the last person to see her alive after a party during their freshman year at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.

Paul Flores, 44, was arrested in April for the murder of his former classmate Kristin Smart

Investigators search Flores' fathers house in February of 2020 and again in March 2021

Smart was officially declared dead in 2002 but her body has never been found

Prosecutors are hoping to utilize case law in which rape cases were attached to crimes in a different county to connect Flores to some of his alleged rapes.

On Monday, a judge said that several motions are set to be reviewed this week in preparation for the 12-day preliminary hearing scheduled on July 20 where the prosecution will reveal what they think happened to Smart after finding evidence on Flores' fathers property.

Ruben Flores, 80, has been charged with accessory after the fact with accusations of helping his son conceal Smart's body.

The younger Flores has been accused of sexual assault in three separate cases, including one in which his DNA matched a rape kit sample, in the years after the college student vanished.

In a Redondo Beach case, police were called to a hospital in January 2007 after a woman underwent a rape kit examination because she believed she had been assaulted.

Investigators had found 'biological evidence' that Smart's body had been buried at the home but had recently been moved

Ruben Flores has pleaded not guilty to a charge of accessory after the murder for hiding Smart's body

The woman told police she had been drinking at a bar with friends earlier that night but later woke up naked in a man's bed with no memory of what had happened.

The woman, who told police she believed she may have been drugged, said she left the man's home still feeling intoxicated.

The rape kit determined she had sex but there were no 'obvious indication of force or assaultive behavior'.

It also did not show any traces of a date rape drug.

A DNA sample collected as part of the examination was entered into a police database and four years later matched with Flores.

Redondo Beach Police launched a rape investigation and interviewed Flores, who told them he had no 'particular recollection' of the woman.

'He stated it was possible he had sex with her since he has had sex with many girls,' a police memo related to the case showed.

The alleged victim was unable to identify Flores from a police line up.

Smart's family have since filed a lawsuit in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court claiming her body was buried in Ruben's yard but he moved it 'under the cover of darkness'

A judge will review a number of motions will be reviewed this week ahead of a 12-day preliminary hearing scheduled for July 20

Prosecutors ultimately decided they couldn't prove Flores raped the woman and did not bring charges against him.

'The DNA hit only proves that there was some type of sexual contact but not what the nature of that contact was,' Los Angeles County deputy district attorney Christi Frey wrote in a memo at the time.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Police say Flores is suspected of sexually assaulting two women between 2013 and 2017 and while the details of those alleged assaults are unknown they will be revealed if the judge allows the San Luis Obispo County prosecution's amendments.

Separate from the sex assault allegations, Flores has at least five convictions for drunk driving in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.

He also has a conviction for being drunk in public.

Flores was arrested back in 1998 in Huntington Beach for assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm but was not prosecuted due to lack of evidence.

Flores has previously invoked his Fifth Amendment right to not answer questions before a grand jury and in a deposition for a lawsuit that was brought against him in relation to the investigation

In one of his probation reports that was unintentionally made public from a prior conviction, he was once described by a deputy district attorney as a 'serial rapist' based on allegations from dozens of women.

The report did not include specifics on those alleged assaults or if they had all been reported and investigated by police.

When Flores was arrested in April in Smart's murder, San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow revealed for the first time that investigators believed he killed the young woman during an attempted rape.

Dow said prosecutors intended to use Flores' history of alleged sex attacks in the murder case.

He specifically mentioned the two cases in Los Angeles.

Prosecutors may use the alleged assaults to try and prove Flores has a history of predatory behavior but much of the details surrounding Smart's case has been closely guarded by authorities throughout the investigation.
Advertisement

Furious education leaders have slammed the Government's self-isolation policy after official figures showed that 747,000 children in England were absent from school last week because they were forced to quarantine after coming into possible contact with a Covid-19 case.

More than 830,000 state school pupils did not attend class for coronavirus-related reasons on July 8, up from 8.5 per cent on July 1 and 5.1 per cent on June 24, according to Department for Education statistics published today.

These include approximately 747,000 children self-isolating due to a possible contact with a Covid-19 case, 35,000 pupils with a suspected case of coronavirus and 39,000 with a confirmed case.

The latest figures come after Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced last week that the use of 'bubbles' in schools and colleges in England will come to an end as the country moves towards easing lockdown restrictions.

Current rules say that children have to self-isolate for 10 days if another pupil in their bubble - which can be an entire year group at secondary school - tests positive for coronavirus. But Mr Williamson has said it will be up to individual schools and colleges as to whether they scrap the bubble system on Monday ahead of the summer holidays, following the move to Step 4 of the road map.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: 'This further large increase in Covid-related pupil absence is more evidence, if it were needed, of the crisis in schools and colleges caused directly by the rules requiring teachers to send home large numbers of children to self-isolate who do not necessarily have the virus.'

Chris McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, told MailOnline: 'Youngsters are at greater risk of harm in crossing the road than they are from the Covid virus and most parents and grandparents have been vaccinated and are not at risk. Sending home scores of pupils because one child may carry the virus is hugely damaging to the vast majority of pupils.

'School management is descending into madness. Only children who test positive and feel unwell, should be sent home. The others need to start catching up on all the learning they have missed out on during lockdown.'

As the coronavirus crisis enters its next crucial phase, it emerged:

Downing Street hinted there could be another lockdown to tackle coronavirus at the end of the year;

The Test, Trace & Isolate system is set to stay until at least next year despite alarm over rising numbers of healthy people being doomed to house arrest;

Britain's rise in cases means it beats almost all of the countries on its amber list in terms of daily infections;

Nicola Sturgeon defied Boris Johnson by keeping masks mandatory in Scotland even after lockdown ends;

Nightclubs, music venues, theatres and busy pubs will be encouraged to ask for Covid status;

More than two million vulnerable people will be advised to minimise social contact until the third wave stops;

Sajid Javid confirmed that fully vaccinated frontline NHS staff would be exempted from self-isolation rules;

Ministers prepared to push through regulations today requiring care home staff to have the Covid jab;

The Commons authorities faced criticism for suggesting staff will have to wear masks when MPs can opt out;

Tory politicians warned the economy would 'grind to a halt' unless self -isolation rules were scaled back.

Covid-related pupil absence in England has hit a new record high since all students fully returned to class in March this year, with more than 830,000 children out of school last week, Government figures show (stock)

About one in nine (11.2 per cent) state school pupils did not attend class for Covid-19 related reasons on July 8, up from 8.5 per cent on July 1 and 5.1 per cent on June 24, according to Department for Education statistics (stock)

The latest figures come after Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced last week that the use of 'bubbles' in schools and colleges in England will come to an end as the country moves towards easing lockdown restrictions

Quarter of vulnerable Brits are still shielding despite guidance dropping in APRIL as ministers say 3.8million at-risk adults in England should wait three weeks until after second Covid jab before meeting anyone More than a quarter of extremely vulnerable people in England are still shielding despite official guidance to do so dropping in April, Government data shows. An Office for National Statistics report published today found 29 per cent of immunosuppressed patients or those with severe underlying health conditions were still following stay at home orders by the end of June. Strict shielding guidance was issued during the initial lockdown last spring and applied to nearly 4million people in England who were deemed most at risk of dying from Covid, including cancer and heart disease patients. The advice was dropped on April 1 when the second wave was flattened, infection levels were low and the vast majority of shielders had been invited for their Covid vaccines. No10 updated its guidance for clinically extremely vulnerable people last night to say they should wait three weeks after their second jab before being in 'close contact' with anyone. Advertisement

The latest attendance figures, which have been adjusted to exclude those year 11-13 students not expected to attend because they are off-site, show that an estimated 80.4 per cent of state school pupils in England were in class on July 8, down from 83.4 per cent on July 1 and 87.4 per cent on June 24, the DfE said.

In secondary schools, only 73.6 per cent attended class, down from 76.9 per cent on the previous week, while 85.1 per cent of pupils attended primary school, down from 87.8 per cent on July 1.

The number of pupils self-isolating due to a potential contact with a Covid-19 case from inside the school rose in just one week from around 471,000 children on July 1 to 624,000 pupils on July 8.

A further 123,000 pupils were self-isolating due to a possible contact outside school, up from 90,000 the previous week.

Meanwhile, about 39,000 pupils were off after testing positive for Covid-19, up from 28,000, and 35,000 pupils were absent because they suspected they had Covid-19, up from 34,000.

About 0.3 per cent of pupils were absent on July 8 because their school was closed due to Covid-19 related reasons, compared with 0.2 per cent the previous week.

The Government has announced that from August 16, children in England will only need to self-isolate if they have tested positive for Covid-19.

A DfE spokesperson said: 'Our priority is for schools and colleges to deliver face-to-face, high quality education to all pupils as we know that being out of education causes significant harm to educational attainment, life chances, mental and physical health.

'The Government has balanced education and health considerations, and from 19 July schools will no longer need to operate a bubble system, while from 16 August pupils will not need to self-isolate should they come into contact with a positive case, in line with the position for wider society.

'We will continue to keep these measures under review, in partnership with health experts and informed by the latest scientific evidence and advice.'

Mr Barton added: 'The Government's decision to end this disruptive policy when the autumn term begins now heralds another huge set of challenges for education settings.

'They need substantial support, both financially and practically, in setting up on-site asymptomatic testing for students when they return in September, installing high-quality air ventilation systems and in having robust outbreak management plans ready.'

Nick Brook, deputy general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said the attendance figures 'made for grim reading' and he accused the Government of losing control of the situation.

He warned: 'Simply changing the rules around self-isolation is not a proper solution. The Government must take urgent action to drive down case numbers amongst school-aged children and implement alternative safety measures in key areas such as ventilation.

'A policy of doing nothing and hoping for the best next term not only fails to address the problem, it risks making things worse.'

Mr Brook added: 'The Government's wider narrative around relaxation of safety measures appears to be at complete odds with the reality in schools right now.'

Current rules say that children have to self-isolate for 10 days if another pupil in their bubble - which can be an entire year group at secondary school - tests positive for coronavirus (stock)

Britain today recorded 50 Covid deaths, while cases jumped by a quarter in a week to 36,660

Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said: 'Simply hoping for the best did not prevent the Delta variant breaching our borders, and hoping for the best will not be sufficient support for school and college leaders who need the backing of Government to stay open safely and sustainably when case counts rise.

'We can all hope for the best but we must plan for something that is less than the best.'

The Education Secretary previously announced it would be up to individual schools as to whether they scrap the bubble system before the summer holidays, following the expected move to Step 4 after July 19.

Updated Department for Education guidance says keeping children in consistent bubbles will not be needed for summer provision, or in the autumn.

In addition to ending bubbles, Mr Williamson said it will 'not be necessary to stagger start and finish times' at schools.

He told the Commons: 'We recognise that the system of bubbles and isolation is causing disruption to many children's education. That is why we'll be ending bubbles and transferring contact tracing to the NHS Test and Trace system for early years settings, schools and colleges.'

Mr Williamson added: 'I do not think it is acceptable that children should face greater restrictions over and above those of wider society, especially since they have given up so much to keep older generations safe during this pandemic.'

From July 19, schools will no longer be expected to undertake contact tracing and NHS Test and Trace will instead identify close contacts of positive cases. Face coverings will also no longer be advised for pupils, staff and visitors, either in classrooms or in communal areas.

But the Education Secretary said 'some protective measures' - such as enhanced hygiene and ventilation - will remain in place for the autumn term.

He told MPs: 'Secondary schools and colleges will be asked to provide two on-site tests to their students at the start of term, with regular home testing continuing until the end of September, when this will be reviewed.'

What Covid 'freedoms' will mean for YOU: Do I have to wear a mask at the supermarket? Can I order at the bar? Will I need two jabs to go to a nightclub? And what about WFH?

With Freedom Day set to go ahead next Monday, businesses across England are preparing to wave farewell to most mandatory coronavirus restrictions.

But the Prime Minister's cautious approach means the legal end to rules such as face masks and social distancing does not mean an immediate return to normality.

For Britons are still expected to be asked by firms to wear masks in many walks of life such as while shopping in supermarkets and travelling on public transport.

And venues such as nightclubs are being urged to require 'Covid certification' as a condition of entry, although some have already said they will not do this.

The movement towards businesses deciding what is best for them will lead to a very different approach to the blanket rules the country has become used to.

And Sage member Professor Graham Medley said mask-wearing 'probably won't do any good' when the Government ends the legal requirement for the protection.

Here, MailOnline looks at what life will look like in England from next Monday:

MASKS

LAW: All laws mandating the wearing of masks will be scrapped

ADVICE: The Prime Minister said people should continue to wear masks in confined spaces where they might meet people they would not ordinarily meet. Guidance published last night said: 'Government expects and recommends that people wear face coverings in crowded areas such as public transport.'

SOCIAL DISTANCING

LAW: The two-metre rule is officially being lifted on 19 July, as well as the rule of six which restricts how many can gather together

ADVICE: In fact, people are now being strongly advised to 'minimise the number, proximity and duration of social contacts'. Chris Whitty even suggested that people should avoid 'unnecessary meetings' - and said everyone should continue to abide by 'hands, face, space'.

SUPERMARKETS

Sainsbury's - The chain told MailOnline it is 'working through the details of the government's announcement on the easing of restrictions and will keep our customers and colleagues updated'.

Morrisons - The supermarket is believed to be waiting for the Government's plan and workplace guidance to be published, which will then reviewed in line with its own policies before any decision is made.

Asda - The supermarket said on Twitter today that 'as per government guidance we will encourage shoppers to wear a mask, however this will be down to the individual as to whether or not they wish to wear a mask when shopping in store'.

Co-op - The chain is yet to make a decision on masks, with a spokesman telling MailOnline it is 'reviewing our policy in light of the new Government announcement'.

Iceland - An Iceland spokesman told MailOnline today that it was 'currently reviewing our policies in line with the latest updates from the Government on the easing of restrictions, and will continue to do so as further updates are provided'. It added: 'The safety of our customers and colleagues will continue to be our priority as restrictions are eased and we will update on any changes as we are able to do so.'

Waitrose - The supermarket told MailOnline that bosses are 'awaiting Government guidance and we will work through that when we have it'.

Tesco - Not yet responded.

Aldi - Not yet responded.

Lidl - Not yet responded.

Marks & Spencer - Not yet responded.

RESTAURANTS AND CAFES

Nandos - The chain told MailOnline that masks 'will be worn at the discretion of staff and customers' and hand sanitiser 'will remain on offer at every restaurant'. It said the rule of six will no longer apply 'so larger tables will be allowed' and it will start accepting walk-ups again, but till safety screens and enhanced cleaning will remain.

Mitchells & Butlers - A spokesman told MailOnline that it looks forward to 'trading again without restrictions and at full capacity, allowing our business to continue its recovery from the devastating impacts of the pandemic.' He added: 'As we progress to trading without legal restrictions guest and team member safety will remain our top priority. We will confirm what our policies will be from July 19 in due course.'

McDonalds - The chain told MailOnline it was not yet able to share any updates.

KFC - Not yet responded.

Burger King - Not yet responded.

Pizza Express - Not yet responded.

Costa - Not yet responded.

Caffe Nero - Not yet responded.

Starbucks - Not yet responded.

Pret - Not yet responded.

Wagamama - Not yet responded.

PUBS

Star Pubs - Bosses are waiting on the detailed government workplace guidance which is expected later today, and it will then be up to staff and customers to make their own decisions on face masks and socially distancing. Most of Star Pubs are leased and tenanted, which means it will effectively be up to each pub to decide.

Youngs - The chain told MailOnline today: 'We will no longer ask staff or customers to wear masks. We will leave it to them to decide for themselves to or not to wear masks. We will be lifting social distancing in pubs and operating in line with all the latest government guidance.' The pubs will also maintain additional cleaning protocols and other measures such as increased ventilation, with windows and doors open 'at every opportunity'.

Wetherspoon - Not yet responded.

Greene King - Not yet responded.

Fullers - Not yet responded.

City Pubs - Not yet responded.

Stonegate - Not yet responded.

TRANSPORT

Trains - The Rail Delivery Group, which represents UK train operators, such as Avanti West Coast, TransPennine Express and Southeastern, told MailOnline today that rail companies 'will ask people to follow the government guidance and, out of respect for others, wear face coverings if an indoor setting is busy'. A spokesman added that train travel is 'low risk, with the majority of carriages well ventilated by air conditioning systems or by doors and windows'. She added that as restrictions lift, they will continue carrying out extra cleaning and providing better information about how busy services are, so that 'passengers can travel with confidence'.

Buses and coaches - The Confederation of Passenger Transport, which represents the bus and coach industry including National Express and Megabus, has called for clearer regulations from the Government but said in the absence of that, passengers' choices will be respected. A spokesman told MailOnline: 'We expect that many people, especially in busy places, will follow the Prime Minister's call to continue to wear a face covering as a courtesy to others.' But they added that passengers 'will find it difficult to understand why the Prime Minister has singled out public transport as somewhere to wear a face covering when a range of other activities share its characteristics'. A spokesman continued: 'We now need to see clear guidance for operators and customers but, in the absence of regulations, it is important that we respect everyone's right to choose whether to wear a face covering. The industry is doing everything it can to ensure people can travel with confidence. Operators will continue to deliver enhanced cleaning regimes, ensure buses are well ventilated and provide tools such as apps to allow customers to see how busy their bus is and help plan their journey in advance.'

National Express - A spokesman told MailOnline: 'We are all responsible for keeping each other safe. We are advising customers to follow the guidance for the relevant country they are travelling in. We will ask them to continue to be considerate of others and respect their personal choices.'

Transport for London - No decision announced yet for mask wearing on the Overground, Underground or bus services in London. TfL has not responded. Mayor Sadiq Khan has been considering a bid to force passengers to keep wearing masks.

Free Now - A spokesman for the car ride-hailing app told MailOnline: 'We are working with regulators to understand if there will still be industry-wide requirements on mask-wearing from Jul 19. Whilst we await this, we will recommend face masks to customers and drivers but give them both the choice on what to do, leaving them with the freedom to agree what is comfortable for them during a ride.'

Uber - Not yet responded.

Ola - Not yet responded.

Bolt - Not yet responded.

Licensed Taxi Drivers' Association - Not yet responded.

PERSONAL SERVICES

National Hair & Beauty Federation - Richard Lambert, chief executive of the NHBF, told MailOnline that the industry group supports the Government over it making the wearing of face masks will be recommended but not mandatory, for close contact services where a mask does not get in the way of the service being delivered. But he added: 'Everyone will still need to think about how to reduce the risk to themselves and to others. If salons or individual hair and beauty professionals prefer for clients to keep their masks on for some or all of their treatments, it's important that that they make this clear before their appointment to avoid any awkwardness. This could be through a notice on the website or social media, as well as telling them directly when they book.'

Toni & Guy - Not yet responded.

Rush Hair - Not yet responded.

HOLIDAYS AND HOTELS

Centre Parcs - Center Parcs chief executive Martin Dalby said today that staff and guests will be encouraged to wear masks at his resorts because public health is 'absolutely our number one priority'. However, he also told Radio 4's Today programme that he will not be 'policing' the advice, and no one will have to present vaccine passports. Mr Dalby added: 'We're not going to open up everything from next Monday, it's going to be gradual and we will keep it under constant review. The health and safety of both our employees and our guests is absolutely our number one priority. So there will still be limited numbers of activities, limited numbers in terms of restaurants and cafes, and we will take a gradual approach to this.'

Radisson - The hotel chain said 'local regulations' will be followed on measures such as wearing face masks, with a spokesman telling MailOnline: 'Specifically for the UK this means that, in accordance with the guidelines issued by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday July 12, Radisson Hotel Group will continue to recommend face masks for its employees in indoor situations.'

Butlins - Not yet responded.

Haven Holidays - Not yet responded.

Hilton - Not yet responded.

Marriott - Not yet responded.

Travelodge - Not yet responded.

Premier Inn - Not yet responded.

Holiday Inn - Not yet responded.

Novotel - Not yet responded.

Crowne Plaza - Not yet responded.

Ibis - Not yet responded.

Best Western - Not yet responded.

Mercure - Not yet responded.

WORKING FROM HOME

LAW: The long-standing government 'work from home' order is being officially scrapped.

ADVICE: The PM urged people not to rush back to the office, saying he did not expect the whole country to return on Monday. The guidance states: 'Whilst government is no longer instructing people to work from home if they can, government would expect and recommend a gradual return over the summer.'

NatWest - The bank told MailOnline it will 'be inviting a small number of colleagues in England to return to the office' from next Monday, and will 'encourage colleagues in England to continue wearing masks in our buildings and branches'. It will also 'maintain social distancing measures in our buildings and branches for colleagues at this time'. A NatWest Group spokesman said: 'Our current plan is to start to implement a phased return to the workplace, with our priority workers returning from 19 July, and to adapt to our new ways of working over the summer, with the majority of UK staff expected to be back in the office in September. This is dependent on government and public health advice, across the different jurisdictions in which we operate which we will continue to monitor closely.' The bank's 'priority workers' are defined as 'those who are key workers, in regulated roles, where there is a client need, and people who need to work in the office for wellbeing reasons'. It added: 'Under our new ways of working framework, we expect around 87 per cent of our colleagues to adopt a hybrid working pattern.'

London Stock Exchange - The LSE said it is not implementing any changes to its Covid-19 guidance from next Monday, although it does expect more people to return to its UK offices from September.

Amazon - Amazon is not implementing any changes to its working guidance from next Monday, although it does have return to office guidance for corporate employees which is set to come in from September. This states that its new baseline will be three days a week in the office, leaving flexibility to work remotely up to two days a week. Separately, corporate employees will have the choice to work up to four weeks per year fully remote from a domestic location, without the expectation that they will commute into an office during that time.

Vodafone - A Vodafone spokesman told MailOnline that the company intends to welcome its UK office-based teams back from September. She added: We will be taking a flexible approach, with a combination of home-working and time together in offices. We aim to work in a way which offers the best of both virtual and office-based working. The extent of virtual working will vary by role, and our offices will evolve to become places where we can come together when needed for connection, collaboration and creation. Our priority, of course, is to keep everyone safe, and we'll adapt our plans if we need to as circumstances change.'

Goldman Sachs - The company has not sent any new communication to staff since a memo at the start of May, in which the company said 60 per cent of its London staff had been into the office at least once in the previous month. Its offices at Plumtree Court have been open throughout the pandemic and since the lockdown has been lifted, it has seen a gradual uptick in numbers of staff returning. Now, the company is at roughly 40 to 45 per cent staff back in its London office, which works out at about 2,300 employees. It has also asked staff for their vaccination status.

British American Tobacco - A BAT spokesman told MailOnline: 'Our number one priority continues to be to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our employees and we are following UK Government workplace guidelines. Once the Health and Safety Executive has released its updated COVID secure workplace guidance, we will take some time to understand what is needed to ensure a safe return to site.'

Aviva - The insurance company told MailOnline that they 'look forward to welcoming our colleagues back into our offices', adding: 'We expect to see more of our people returning and will encourage them to remain aware of what they can do to reduce the risk of the virus spreading. Our focus continues to be on the safety and wellbeing of our people, customers and communities.' The company also said that the 'vast majority of people at Aviva want to work flexibly in future'. It continued: 'Our people need to work in ways that deliver the best outcomes for our business and our customers. That will involve some time in an office for most people, for example for team meetings and when work benefits from face-to-face collaboration. This will vary by role and we're supporting leaders to help their teams navigate this transition to smart working. We're reshaping our office space to reflect this, with more areas for breakouts and collaboration and less space dedicated to rows of desks.'

Santander - The bank has decided that its current working from home arrangements for non-branch roles will not change before September 6, but added: 'There will be more opportunities for colleagues to work from an office as restrictions are eased across the UK.' It is planning for a phased return in two months' time and will be maintaining safety measures such as hand sanitiser and temperature scanning.

Nationwide - The building society said that throughout the pandemic, it has kept its offices open for those that needed to come in. A spokesman told MailOnline: 'N ow that the message from the government has changed, we will slowly open more space and continue to monitor the guidelines. Back in March we announced our Work Anywhere approach that gives colleagues the flexibility to work in a way that's best for them. We know that just 6 per cent of colleagues want to work in an office full time and we'll continue to embrace this new way of working to ensure it works for both Nationwide and our colleagues.' The company added that it will 'monitor and review colleague feedback, office capacity and the guidance ensuring that people are given enough space and are able to respect peoples choices and ensure colleagues feel comfortable'. The spokesman also said: 'Colleagues in our offices can wear face coverings if they choose to.'

HSBC - Not yet responded.

Barclays - Not yet responded.

Lloyds - Not yet responded.

Standard Chartered - Not yet responded.

Facebook - Not yet responded.

Google - Not yet responded.

Apple - Not yet responded.

Unilever - Not yet responded.

Associated British Foods - Not yet responded.

GlaxoSmithKline - Not yet responded.

Reckitt Benckiser Group - Not yet responded.

Diageo - Not yet responded.

BT - Not yet responded.

O2 - Not yet responded.

EE - Not yet responded.

IAG - Not yet responded.

PWC - Not yet responded.

COVID PASSPORTS

LAW: The public had been told that Covid status certification would not be needed over the summer, but that they could be introduced over the autumn and winter

ADVICE: Owners of busy indoor venues such as nightclubs and busy city-centre bars have been told to consider bringing in the passports. The government will 'encourage' businesses and large events to use the NHS Covid Pass in 'high risk settings' - that is, where people are likely to be in 'close proximity to others outside their household'. Few details have been given, but the guidance could cover theatres, cinemas, indoor concerts and exhibitions. The government many consider mandating certification in certain venues at a later date.

Night Time Industries Association - Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, said the decision to go ahead with the reopening was 'the correct one', adding that the Government were 'right not to mandate the use of Covid status certification systems'. He continued: 'Much of the night-time economy relies on spontaneous consumers and by permitting businesses to opt out the Government have allowed for this trade to continue.'

Proud - Alex Proud, owner of Proud nightclubs, said the plan for Covid passports was 'deeply worrying and frustrating because it's discriminatory against younger people who are less likely to have been able to have the vaccinations.' He told the BBC: 'We emphasise that we've invested in sanitation and we feel these measures are adequate rather than overly authoritarian Covid passports.'

Pryzm, Bar&Beyond, Eden and Fiction - Peter Marks, chief executive of Rekom UK, which owns 42 nightclubs including chains Pryzm, Bar&Beyond, Eden and Fiction, said he was 'thrilled' to be able to reopen next Monday 'at full capacity and without any requirement for a negative Covid test, something we believe would create a barrier to both customer enjoyment and getting the industry back on its feet'. He said reopened nightclubs will operate as pubs are currently running.

Music festivals - Paul Reed, chief executive of the Association of Independent Festivals, said the body was working with the relevant Government departments on the publication of guidance to ensure that festivals can reopen safely this summer. He added: 'Organisers and local authorities alike can have confidence in their decision making and measures introduced  including Covid certification where considered appropriate. Ensuring the safety of audiences and risk mitigation has always been central to what festival organisers do each year and it will continue to be more so than ever as we begin to emerge from the pandemic.'

Live music events - Greg Parmley, chief executive of music industry trade body Live, said the live music industry had been 'devastated' by the pandemic, losing over 85 per cent of its income in 2020. He added: 'We are delighted to finally start to reopen on July 19. Being able to reopen safely has always been extremely important to us, which is why the industry has participated in and paid for, a number of Government pilot events. We are experts at managing risk and know that as restrictions ease, public health needs could also change at varying rates across the country. We were supportive of mandatory Covid certification for large events to allow us to reopen and now expect those large events, where organisers feel it is necessary, to move forward with certification to build customer confidence.' He also said that the industry needs a 'Government-backed insurance scheme to provide us with financial security' amid uncertainty over whether any restrictions will have to return.
Veterans who served in Northern Ireland are finally set to be freed from the threat of prosecution.

In a victory for the Daily Mail, a planned statute of limitations will today be announced covering all incidents during the Troubles.

The move by Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis is expected to bring justice for up to 200 British soldiers who served during 30 years of bloody conflict in the Province.

But, in a bitter blow, it will also give an effective amnesty to IRA terrorists who murdered and maimed thousands during the period.

Veterans who served in Northern Ireland are finally set to be freed from the threat of prosecution. Pictured: British soldiers in Belfast in 1976

But, in a bitter blow, it will also give an effective amnesty to IRA terrorists who murdered and maimed thousands during the period. Pictured: The Omagh Bombing in 1998

Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis, pictured, is expected to bring proposals to the House of Commons tomorrow to effectively grant amnesty to crimes committed during The Troubles

Amnesties from prosecution for crimes committed before the Good Friday Agreement will be granted to veterans involved in the bitter 30-year conflict. Pictured: Demonstrators protest against the prosecution of 'Soldier F'

The families of the 1971 Ballmurphy massacre (pictured together in 2019) in which 10 people were killed by British soldiers

Members of the Parachute Regiment were accused of murder after the Bloody Sunday massacre in Derry in January 1972 which saw 13 unarmed civilians shot dead during a civil rights march (Pictured the funeral procession of the 13 victims)

Seriously ill former Troubles soldier, 80, with only months to live could now avoid October trial Dennis Hutchings (pictured in 1978), 80, is accused of attempted murder in relation to the death of John Pat Cunningham in County Tyrone in 1974 A seriously ill former Troubles soldier set to stand trial in October over a disputed shooting could yet be saved by the Government's proposals, his lawyer suggested last night. Dennis Hutchings, 80, is accused of attempted murder in relation to the death of John Pat Cunningham in County Tyrone in 1974. Mr Cunningham, who had learning difficulties, was shot after failing to stop in response to soldiers' requests. Mr Hutchings is charged with attempted murder, rather than murder, as prosecutors cannot prove who fired the fatal shot. The former staff sergeant in the Life Guards has always maintained he fired warning shots into the air. It is understood the proposed statute of limitations will not assist those whose cases are currently before the courts as the Government will not interfere with the judiciary. As well as Mr Hutchings, another soldier has been charged with manslaughter in relation to a shooting in Northern Ireland in 1988. Convicted IRA member John Downey, named in a High Court ruling as participating in the 1982 Hyde Park bombing, has been charged with the murder of two soldiers in 1972. His case is also likely to proceed. But last night, Mr Hutchings' lawyer Philip Barden said his team would argue for a stay of proceedings for any legislation protecting veterans to come into effect. 'We would argue it would be unfair to continue to prosecute Mr Hutchings when a law comes in to bar other prosecutions and would invite the Public Prosecution Service [of Northern Ireland] to drop the prosecution in this case,' he said. Mr Hutchings has vowed to clear his name in court. Mr Cunningham's family have said he should face trial. The pensioner, of Cornwall, requires kidney dialysis three times each week and has heart problems. Doctors say he may only have months to live. Last night Mr Hutchings said: 'I was arrested six years ago and have been dragged over coals ever since. I was told there was new evidence but this has never, ever been produced. 'I think this legislation might have come too late for me but hopefully it will help the other ex-servicemen who have cases hanging over them. 'The Government have been spineless. We were sent to Northern Ireland to do a job then abandoned.' Advertisement

The plan could lead to the end of proceedings against a 65-year-old man who was arrested in Belfast last year in connection with the 1974 IRA pub bombings in Birmingham, in which 21 people were killed.

In a further blow, the move may come too late to halt the prosecution of two former soldiers which are already before the courts.

Ministers were advised that they would fall foul of human rights laws if the amnesty was applied on only one side.

A Government source said it would 'end the cycle of investigations against our veterans', which has been likened to a witch hunt.

Last night, the plan to end the harassment of former British soldiers was given a cautious welcome by veterans groups and some Conservative MPs.

But there were concerns about any perception of equivalence between terrorist killers and soldiers deployed to keep peace.

The decision to introduce a statute of limitations is likely to spark an angry reaction among Northern Ireland's main political parties. Earlier this year, Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill, Northern Ireland's deputy first minister, described it as a 'slap in the face' for victims.

The DUP has also opposed the idea, with MP Gavin Robinson saying: 'There should not be an amnesty, there should be no evaporation of justice for victims.' But ministers believe it is time to 'draw a line' under the conflict.

Today's package is likely to include a commitment to a South African-style 'peace and recollection' process designed to help the Province 'move on' from its dark past.

A Government source said: 'We want to give Northern Ireland society the best chance of moving forward as one  to do that we must confront the difficult and painful reality that the realistic prospect of prosecutions is vanishingly small, and while that prospect remains Northern Ireland will continue to be hamstrung by its past.

'Our legacy package will support Northern Ireland to move beyond an adversarial cycle that doesn't deliver information or reconciliation for victims and survivors, nor end the cycle of investigations against our veterans.'

Last night, the relatives of civilians shot dead by soldiers during a notorious Troubles flashpoint in Ballymurphy, west Belfast, in 1971, said so-called 'amnesty' plans amounted to the Government 'burying war crimes'.

Paul Young, a former Blues and Royals soldier now working with the Justice for Northern Ireland Veterans campaign group, said: 'Like everything else, the devil is in the detail. We have always resisted the equivalence or to be seen as the same as terrorists and that's the problem with this amnesty.

'Veterans will be overjoyed if the legislation is acceptable to us and ends the constant cycle of trauma with repeated investigations. But we have seen things before and they haven't been good  we welcome a chance to look at these proposals. We do believe the Government wants this to stop and is trying to find a way through, but it has to be the right way through.'

Tory MP Julian Lewis, former chairman of the Commons defence committee, said a statute of limitations on both sides, coupled with a truth and reconciliation process, was 'the only way' to draw a line under the 'tortuous cycle of reinvestigation'.

'There is no way that you can come up with a solution that will satisfy everybody,' he said. Dr Lewis said the IRA 'effectively already had a get-out-of-jail free card' as a result of concessions granted by Tony Blair as part of the Good Friday Agreement.

Former service personnel have been highly critical of the Government after several former members of the Parachute Regiment faced prosecution over alleged murders during the 1970s

Months before Bloody Sunday, the Parachute Regiment were involved in the shooting dead of 11 unarmed civilians in Ballymurphy, Belfast, pictured

The sentiment was echoed by former Tory chairman Norman Tebbit, whose late wife Margaret was severely injured in the IRA's 1984 bombing of Brighton's Grand Hotel.

Lord Tebbit said: 'It won't make much difference to the terrorists  Tony Blair gave the IRA a free pass years ago. But stopping the persecution of our soldiers would be a good thing  it has been completely unfair.' But former Tory veteran minister Johnny Mercer said the idea was simplistic.

Mr Mercer, who quit the Government over its failure to end the witch hunt against British veterans, said: 'A statute of limitations without qualification is an amnesty  something I have always opposed.

'We should not, in all conscience, cut off pathways to justice where evidence exists, simply because of time passed. It would be wrong to do so, and veterans who fought to keep the peace within the strict constraints of the law in Northern Ireland have never advocated this path.'

It is estimated that a total of 3,250 people lost their lives during the Troubles, which marked the longest continuous deployment of the Armed Forces in British military history.

An estimated 90 per cent of those were killed in paramilitary attacks. In contrast, the military were responsible for 301 deaths, with half being linked to terrorist groups, and the other half tragic casualties. More than 1,400 military personnel were killed.

Earlier this month, prosecutors in Northern Ireland dropped murder charges against two veterans following the collapse of the landmark trial of two ex-paratroopers accused of murdering an IRA leader.

The prosecutions of Soldier F, accused of the murder of two people during Bloody Sunday in January 1972, and a veteran known as Soldier B, accused of murdering a teenager in Londonderry six months later, were shelved after a judge ruled statements taken at the time were inadmissible.

Philip Barden, a partner at legal firm Devonshires, has represented a number of veterans in relation to incidents during the Troubles. He said drawing a line and stopping criminal prosecution of veterans 'can only be a good thing'.

Fury as MP unveils name of 'Solider F' despite anonymity order An MP was accused of 'deliberately misusing' parliamentary privilege to name a former soldier accused of murdering two men during Bloody Sunday in 1972. Social Democratic and Labour Party leader Colum Eastwood revealed the veteran in the Commons despite his anonymity being maintained in a 12-year inquiry. The trial of 'Soldier F' was dropped this month. Ex-veterans minister Johnny Mercer said the Irish nationalist MP naming him was 'unnecessary and dangerous'. Advertisement

I loathe the idea of terrorists going free but, reluctantly, this is the lesser of two evils, writes STEPHEN GLOVER

By Stephen Glover for the Daily Mail

Does today's announcement of what amounts to an amnesty in Northern Ireland represent a pragmatic drawing of the line under the Troubles after more than 50 years?

Or is it a sell-out by the Government, a dishonourable capitulation which spares former terrorist killers, and effectively wipes the slate clean of their terrible crimes?

I admit I am torn  dreadfully torn. There is no doubt that the settlement, which will be unveiled by Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis in the Commons this afternoon, establishes what to me is a repugnant moral equivalence between British Army veterans and erstwhile terrorists.

Dozens of veterans  no one can be sure of the precise number  will no longer face the threat of prosecution. The lives of many now elderly men have been blighted by police investigations and the prospect of lengthy trials. That is obviously a cruel way to treat men who have served Queen and country.

But it nevertheless sticks in the craw that suspected IRA and Loyalist killers will no longer have anything to fear for crimes committed before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. For example, one man has faced possible prosecution for the 1974 Birmingham bombings which killed 21 people. He can now sleep easy.

There is in truth no conceivable comparison between ex-soldiers and former terrorists, who were responsible for 90 per cent of killings in Northern Ireland. Soldiers were undeniably occasionally responsible for unlawful homicide  the official inquiry into 'Bloody Sunday' in 1972 showed as much  but they did not set out to kill and maim innocent people. Terrorists did  on a massive scale.

So it is impossible to welcome Mr Lewis's statement. But if it is the only way to spare former soldiers vexatious prosecutions, I am reluctantly prepared the accept the Government's proposals as the lesser of two evils.

As things stand, the veterans have more to fear from protracted trials than terrorists. The British Army on the whole kept excellent records. The terrorists did their dirty work under cover  and buried the evidence as soon as possible.

Besides, following the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, Tony Blair covertly authorised 'letters of comfort' which were sent to more than 200 suspected terrorists, guaranteeing them that they would not be prosecuted. This led, in 2014, to the collapse of the trial of John Downey, a suspect in the 1982 IRA bombing in Hyde Park which killed four soldiers, after it emerged that he had been sent one of these comfort letters.

In view of the freedom from prosecution granted to so many suspected killers by Mr Blair, as well as the long passage of time since their crimes were committed and a general lack of evidence, very few former terrorists had much to fear from the law.

The same cannot be said with such confidence of the veterans, though in May the trial in Belfast of Soldier A (aged 71) and Soldier C (70) collapsed for want of proper evidence. They had been charged with the 1972 murder of Joe McCann, a 24-year-old IRA killer and 'skilled gunman' who has been blamed for the deaths of 15 soldiers in Northern Ireland.

But one cannot be sure that the trials of other veterans would end the same way. In any case, even if a trial collapses the defendants are subjected to lengthy police examination. Dennis Hutchings  whose trial later this year at the age of 80 may still go ahead despite the amnesty  was interrogated by police on 25 separate occasions, ten of them on one day, despite having a debilitating kidney disease.

I loathe the idea of letting off any suspected terrorist. Such benighted creatures do not deserve an amnesty. But if it is the only way of sparing men who have bravely served their country the indignity of distressing investigations, so be it.
Norway has capped the number of electric scooters for hire in Oslo and banned them completely after 11pm - when users are more likely to be drunk - in a bid to curb accidents.

A convenience for some, a nuisance and potential hazard for other, the rise of electric scooters has become a divisive issue in many cities around the world.

The Norwegian capital has decided to cap the number of scooters available for hire, reducing the number from more than 20,000 to 8,000 as of September.

In addition, from August, there will be a ban on scooter rentals between 11pm and 5am, when people are more likely to be drunk.

Norway has capped the number of electric scooters for hire in Oslo and banned them completely after 11pm - when users are more likely to be drunk - in a bid to curb accidents (pictured, e-scooters in London)

Oslo has one of the highest scooter density rates in Europe, with 200 scooters per 10,000 residents, compared to only 125 in Stockholm and less than 50 in Berlin.

'It's been an untenable situation for many years in our city, especially for the blind, visually impaired, wheelchair users and the elderly,' city councillor Sirin Stav, who oversees the environment and transport, said in a statement.

The UK trials electric scooters in 30 areas More than 30 areas in the UK, including parts of London, are running electric scooter rental trials. E-scooters are otherwise illegal on UK roads. The trial, which started in the capital, on June 7, has been hailed as a key part of the city's sustainable future and post- pandemic recovery. E-scooters are currently available for hire in Ealing, Canary Wharf, Hammersmith and Fulham, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Richmond upon Thames. It costs 14-20p per minute as well as a 1 unlocking fee. The rental scooters can reach speeds of up to 15.5mph - less than the 68mph of some privately owned models. Users need a driving licence with a category Q entitlement. Advertisement

Norwegian doctors sounded the alarm last week as they noted an increase in the number of accidents involving electric scooters, with 856 injuries in Oslo since the beginning of the year, 57 percent of which occurred between 11 pm and 5 am.

They called for an overnight suspension, estimating it could prevent between 300 and 400 accidents during the summer alone.

'From the accident numbers we see that there is a higher risk for serious injuries when electric scooters are ridden at night,' Stav said.

Acting chief physician Angelina Sergeeva at Sunnaa's Rehabilitation Hospital told VG around a third of e-scooter patients suffered a head injury and that half were under the influence of alcohol.

The municipality will also set requirements on where the scooters can be used, he added.

Among the roughly dozen private operators active in Oslo, some already restrict night-time rentals.

Many introduced weekend curfews after it was revealed 30 per cent of all weekend A&E patients were involved in scooter accidents.

Voi has instead curbed the maximum speed during night hours and added a reaction test within their app to screen for potentially drunk riders.

The 8,000 scooter permits are to be distributed among operators that file applications.

The scooters will also have to be dropped off and collected from designated areas in the city, just as with bikes.
Former President Trump made his comments about Justice Brett Kavanaugh in Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency which will be published on July 27

Former President Donald Trump railed against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in an interview for a new book, saying he was 'very disappointed' in his voting record.

His anger was triggered by the Supreme Court's decision last year not to take up a Texas lawsuit challenging the 2020 election results.

And since then, the court has issued a series of decisions that have disappointed conservatives who thought Trump's nominees would steamroll liberal justices.

In an interview with Michael Wolff, for 'Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency,' the former president said he felt betrayed by all three of his Supreme Court nominees, including Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett.

But he reserved 'particular bile' for Kavanaugh.

'There were so many others I could have appointed, and everyone wanted me to,' he said, according to the book which has been obtained by DailyMail.com.

'Where would he be without me? I saved his life. He wouldn't even be in a law firm.

'Who would have had him? Nobody. Totally disgraced.

'Only I saved him.'

Former President Trump said he was disappointed in all three of his nominees for the Supreme Court, including Amy Coney Barrett (back row, far right) and Neil Gorsuch (back row, second right) but reserved 'particular bile' for Brett Kavanaugh (back row, far left) in an interview with Michael Wolff for his new book

Trump said he had stood by Kavanaugh during a turbulent confirmation process. 'Practically every senator called me, including Crazy Mitch, and said, "Cut him loose, sir, cut him loose. He's killing us, Kavanaugh"

The new book claims Trump's anger was triggered by the Supreme Court declining to take up a Texas lawsuit trying to overturn the 2020 election result. 'In retrospect, he just hasn't had the courage you need to be a great justice,' he said

Kavanaughs confirmation process was overtaken by scandal and controversy amid allegations of sexual assault.

Trump said he stood by Kavanaugh even as allies urged him to ditch his nominee.

'Practically every senator called me, including Crazy Mitch, and said, "Cut him loose, sir, cut him loose. He's killing us, Kavanaugh."

'I said, "We can't do that because it will destroy him - he won't be able to even go back to the second-highest court, right?"

'They used the expression "cut him loose," and I said, "I can't do that," and it was very derogatory, that expression, "cut him loose."

Trump claimed about half of Republican senators thought his nominee should be jettisoned.

'And I went through that thing and fought like hell for Kavanaugh - and I saved his life, and I saved his career. At great expense to myself,' he said.

Trump's elevation of three conservatives to the Supreme Court is frequently held up as one of the greatest triumphs of his presidency.

Supporters see it as a crucial battleground in America's culture wars, where the justices can hold back the advance of liberal values.

But if Trump thought nominating three conservative justices would mean he had loyalists in position to carry out his bidding then he was wrong.

This month, the court decided not to take up the case of a florist who said she had a constitutional right to refuse to supply flowers for a same-sex wedding. Of Trump's three nominees, only Gorsuch said he would have heard the case.

Disappointed conservatives accused Kavanaugh and Coney Barrett of selling out.

Even the court's 6-3 conservative majority was not even to unpick Obamacare. In June, justices voted 7-2 to uphold the Affordable Care Act, rejecting a GOP-led challenge to the individual mandate.

Kavanaugh sided with liberals in a 7-2 vote to uphold Obamacare in the face of a GOP challenge that the individual mandate was unconstitutional. He also voted not to hear the case of a florist who said her First Amendment rights were infringed when she was prosecuted by Washington state for refusing to supply a floral arrangement to a same-sex wedding

Again Kavanaugh and Coney-Barrett, along with conservative Justices John Roberts and Clarence Thomas, sided with liberals on the court.

Trump claimed he did not want anything in return from Kavanaugh, but made clear his disappointment in his decisions.

'I can't even believe what's happening. I'm very disappointed in Kavanaugh,' he said.

'I just told you something I haven't told a lot of people.

'In retrospect, he just hasn't had the courage you need to be a great justice. I'm basing this on more than just the election.

'And the others . . . Roberts? What's going on with Roberts? I have no idea, and nobody else does.

'But the Supreme Court has shown no courage and no strength, and they have been horrible for the United States of America.'

Kavanaugh's nomination was almost derailed in 2018 when Professor Christine Blasey Ford came forward to accuse him of sexually assaulting her in the early 1980s while the two were in high school.

Her intervention prompted two other women to come forward with allegations of misconduct.

Kavanaugh denied any wrongdoing and was eventually confirmed by a vote of 52-48, largely along party lines.

Trump has criticized Kavanaugh and Coney Barrett before, calling them out for their Obamacare ruling in particular.

'I am very disappointed. I fought very hard for them, but I was very disappointed with a number of their rulings,' he said in a June interview with Real America's Voice host David Brody.
A Cleveland hospital has admitted that a donor kidney was transplanted into the wrong patient earlier this month, and two employees have been suspended.

University Hospitals of Cleveland said the potentially fatal blunder happened on July 2 - but miraculously the patient who received the kidney was also a match for the organ and is expected to recover.

But the other patient's surgery is now delayed due to the error, according to hospital officials.

For a kidney transplant to be safe and successful, the patient and donor must match based on factors including their blood type.

If the blood types do not match, the organ could be rejected and cause serious complications.

Two medics - whose names and roles were not released by officials - have been placed on administrative leave.

'We are dismayed that an error recently occurred resulting in one patient receiving a kidney intended for another,' UHs Senior Media Relations Strategist said.

'The kidney is compatible and the patient is recovering as expected. Another patients transplant surgery has been delayed.'

The hospital conducted 95 kidney transplants so far this year, with 194 kidney transplants in 2020 and 2,761 kidney transplants overall since 1988, according to U.S. Department Health of Human Services Transplantation Network.

University Hospitals of Cleveland said the potentially fatal blunder happened on July 2 - but miraculously the patient who received the kidney was also a match for the organ

The University Hospitals of Cleveland acknowledged the grievous error in a statement released on Monday night.

'We have offered our sincerest apologies to these patients and their families,' the statement read.

'We recognize they entrusted us with their care. The situation is entirely inconsistent with our commitment to helping patients return to health and live life to the fullest.'

The hospital added that it will be 'carefully reviewing this situation to understand what led to the error and to ensure that such an event will never happen again.'

The hospital has notified the United Network for Organ Sharing, which manages the national transplant system.

But transplant patients from the hospital spoke of their outrage that more care wasn't being taken.

Courtney Hall donated one of her kidneys to husband Ben in February in surgery at the same hospital.

'We were really scared,' she told News 5 Cleveland. 'You don't know how many options there will be.'

'I like the idea that everyone checks in with each other, so the whole idea is that not one person is more important than the other,' she said.

'Which makes the University Hospitals announcement hard to imagine,' added her husband, Ben Hall, 42, a previous kidney transplant patient at University Hospitals.

'It is not an easy thing to go through.'

Courtney Hall gave up one of her kidneys after she learned her husband Ben needed a transplant back in February, with the two having the procedure done at University Hospitals

'The University Hospitals announcement (is) hard to imagine,' said Ben Hall (pictured), a 42-year-old previous kidney transplant patient at University Hospitals

Mark and Courtney had the same surgery done at the hospital that is now under scrutiny for transplanting a kidney into the wrong patient

It is not the first time such a blunder has taken place in the US.

Back in February 2011, Keck Hospital of USC in Los Angeles was forced to suspend all kidney transplants for several months following a similar incident, where a kidney was transplanted into the wrong person, the Los Angeles Times reported at the time.

In that case, a flaw in the system used to verify organs caused the mix-up, with Dr. Cynthia Herrington, medical director of the USC Transplant Institute, telling the news outlet that once the wrong organ identification number ended up on a key piece of paperwork in the operating room, there was no stopping surgeons from proceeding with the transplant.

They were only able to resume kidney transplants in April of that year, following an investigation into the error that supposedly lead transplant centers to 'reassess how they do things,' said Dr. John Roberts, chief of transplant surgery at UC San Francisco.

'Most transplant centers use similar procedures,' Dr. Roberts said in April 2011.

90,318 people are in need of a kidney transplant in the U.S., compared to just 11,845 for liver transplants and 3,576 for heart transplants, according to Newsweek.
An attorney for the shareholders suing Tesla has thrown up in court while Elon Musk testified, temporarily halting proceedings on the second day of the civil trial over the company's $2.6 billion merger with SolarCity.

The proceedings on Tuesday in Wilmington, Delaware were dramatically interrupted when an unidentified lawyer for the plaintiffs vomited in the jury box, which is being used by court officers during the bench trial.

The trial resumed after a roughly two-hour hiatus to clean and disinfect the courtroom, and Musk wrapped up his testimony in front of Vice Chancellor Joseph Slights, the judge who will decide if Musk is liable.

The lawsuit by union pension funds and asset managers alleges Musk strong-armed Tesla directors in 2016 into rescuing SolarCity from the brink of bankruptcy, benefiting Musk.

Musk at the time of the deal owned a 22 percent stake in both Tesla and SolarCity, which was founded by his cousins Peter and Lyndon Rive.

Wearing a dark suit, white shirt and black tie, Musk arrived at chancery court in a Tesla Model Y, flanked by private security, with the SpaceX Starship visible on his phone's lock screen.

Wearing a dark suit, white shirt and black tie, Musk arrived at chancery court in Wilmington, Delaware on Tuesday in a Tesla Model Y

The proceedings on Tuesday in Wilmington, Delaware were briefly interrupted when an unidentified lawyer (not pictured) vomited in the jury box. Food poisoning is suspected

For a second day, a pugnacious Musk sparred with Randall Baron, the plaintiffs' attorney who has been grilling him about his role in orchestrating the SolarCity deal

Taking the stand, Musk defended his handling of the SolarCity deal, denying claims that he dictated a price Tesla would pay for the ailing solar panel maker founded by his cousins

On Musk's phone lock screen, an image could be seen depicting SpaceX's Starship

The Tesla shareholders want Musk to be ordered to return the value of the deal to Tesla -- which would result in one of the largest personal judgements of all time if they are successful.

The two-week trial in the Court of Chancery in Wilmington, Delaware, kicked off Monday and will be decided by the Vice Chancellor rather than a jury.

Taking the stand on Tuesday, Musk defended his handling of the SolarCity deal, denying claims that he dictated a price the electric vehicle maker would pay for the ailing solar panel maker founded by his cousins.

For a second day, a pugnacious Musk sparred with Randall Baron, the plaintiffs' attorney who has been grilling him about his role in orchestrating the SolarCity deal.

'Your questions,' the billionaire CEO complained from the witness stand, 'are so deceptive.'

Under questioning by Baron, Musk acknowledged that he had recommended an acquisition price of $28.50 a share.

But he said this figure merely reflected what he called a standard practice of offering a 30 percent premium on a target company's average stock price over the previous four weeks.

Baron asked whether that conflicted with Musk's statement that he had fully recused himself from negotiations.

'I was making the obvious point that any offer, if not publicly defensible, will be rejected by SolarCity shareholders,' Musk said.

Musk is seen testifying in a court sketch from Monday. On Tuesday, the proceedings were dramatically interrupted when an unidentified lawyer vomited in court

Elon Musk arrives in a Model y to take the stand to defend Tesla Inc's 2016 deal for SolarCity, a renewable energy company that investors allege was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy

Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla, arrives at court during the SolarCity trial in Wilmington, Delaware on Tuesday

Musk took to a witness stand Monday to defend his company's 2016 acquisition of a troubled company called SolarCity against a shareholder lawsuit that claims he's to blame for a deal that was rife with conflicts of interest and never delivered the profits he had promised

Elon Musk arrives at New Castle County Courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware on Tuesday

The board ultimately decided to offer $26.50 to $28.50 a share. Musk observed that his suggestion was 'discarded by the board in favor of a lower price and quipped, 'They don't listen to me, obviously.''

Witness and lawyer clashed down to the meaning of the word 'cabal,' which Baron invoked to characterize the Tesla team that was updating Musk daily in July 2016 in the progress toward a SolarCity deal.

When Musk objected that 'cabal' sounded sinister, Baron countered that it typically meant a group of people working together toward a common purpose.

'Usually not in a good way,' Musk muttered.

Rejecting any notion that he pressed Tesla's board to pursue a takeover of SolarCity, Musk, who is well-known for his commanding management style, insisted he had 'no material role' in Tesla's board discussions about the deal.

Musk completed his testimony by fielding several questions from Vice Chancellor Slights about why the timing of the deal was beneficial to Tesla.

Musk said Tesla was struggling in 2016 to develop its Powerwall battery system because it was difficult to integrate with other solar power systems.

'If we have a whole bunch of third-party solar systems, it's a messy situation. We needed solar within Tesla,' he told the judge.

Elon Musk departs from the justice center after concluding his testimony on Tuesday

Testifying for a second day, Musk pushed back again Tuesday against a lawsuit that blames him for engineering Tesla's 2016 acquisition of a financially precarious company

Musk completed his testimony by fielding several questions from Vice Chancellor Slights about why the timing of the deal was beneficial to Tesla

Musk waves to his supporters after wrapping up his testimony in Delaware Chancery Court

Central to the case are claims that despite owning only 22 percent of Tesla, Musk was a controlling shareholder due to his ties to board members and domineering style.

Lawsuit claims Tesla deal was unfair to shareholders The lawsuit filed by union pension funds and asset managers alleges Musk strong-armed Tesla's board to buy SolarCity for $2.6 billion in 2016, just as it was about to run out of cash. Musk owned a 22 percent stake in SolarCity, which was founded by his cousins Peter and Lyndon Rive. Central to the case will be allegations that Musk, who also had a 22 percent stake in Tesla at the time of the deal, was nonetheless a controlling shareholder. Shareholders asked the court to order Musk, one of world's richest people, to repay to Telsa what it spent on the deal, which would represent one of the largest judgments ever against an individual. Advertisement

If plaintiffs can prove this, it increases the likelihood that the court will conclude the deal was unfair to shareholders.

The celebrity chief executive spent about six hours on the stand on Monday, mostly under heated cross-examination by Baron, insisting the Tesla board handled the SolarCity deal and said that he was not part of the committee that negotiated the terms.

His testimony Monday devolved into a tense back-and-forth with shareholder attorney Randy Baron, whom Musk called 'reprehensible' at a testy 2019 deposition, according to a transcript.

At the outset, Baron warned Musk that 'we plan to spend a lot of time with you. It's going to be a grind.'

Musk grimaced, poked at the six-inch thick binder exhibit and replied 'I can tell by the binder.'

When Baron pressed Musk in court on why he didn't like him, the CEO testily responded, 'I think you are a bad human being,' according to USA Today reporter Isabel Hughes.

'Some of your questions,' he told the opposing attorney, 'are really tricky and deceptive.'

Musk responded to Baron's yes-or-no questions with lengthy dissertations that seemed intended to frustrate the attorney, and at one point he accused Baron of being 'mentored by criminals.'

Baron asked if the board vetted his Technoking title, which he gave himself in March.

'It generated a whole bunch of free press and Tesla doesn't advertise and it's helpful to general sales,' he said. He called the title a joke, adding: 'I think I'm funny.'

In his testimony on Monday, Musk denied the deal was a bailout of SolarCity as Tesla shareholders have alleged.

'Since it was a stock-for-stock transaction and I owned almost exactly the same percentage of both there was no financial gain,' he said, responding to questions from his attorney.

Musk told the court that the Tesla board handled the SolarCity deal and he was not part of the board committee that negotiated the terms.

'I don't even know what happened,' he testified.

'I think you are a bad human being,' Elon Musk told shareholders' attorney Randy Baron in court on Monday. The cross-examination is depicted in the court sketch above

Musk's testimony devolved into a tense back-and-forth with shareholder attorney Randy Baron (above), whom Musk called 'reprehensible' at a testy 2019 deposition

Musk (center) is seen with his cousins, SolarCity founders Peter Rive (left) and Lyndon Rive (right). Tesla faces a lawsuit claiming the acquisition of SolarCity was irresponsible

Musk testified that for years before the SolarCity deal he saw the solar panel company as a natural part of the transition to sustainable energy.

He touted the deal at the time as central to his 'Master Plan, Part Deux,' which aims to reshape transportation by using sustainable energy to power fleets of self-driving electric vehicles.

Musk was initially questioned for about an hour by his attorney, Evan Chesler, who asked him to describe his relationship with the board.

'I'd say good,' Musk replied. 'They work hard and are competent. They provide good advice and are rigorous in acting on behalf of shareholders.'

He said he did not set pay for directors or have the ability to fire or hire them, and that they negotiated the SolarCity deal and its economic terms without his influence.

Legal experts said the judge will be looking for evidence that Musk threatened board members or that directors felt they could not stand up to him.

Board members and others involved in the 2016 deal will testify for the duration of the trial. Kimbal Musk took the stand on Tuesday afternoon, after his brother Elon completed his testimony.

The company's directors settled allegations from the same lawsuit last year for $60 million, paid by insurance, without admitting fault. Musk alone refused to settle, sending the case to court.
A 100-year-old great grandmother has just started claiming her state pension after decades of not realising she was eligible - but has missed out on 75,000.

Margaret Bradshaw, who was born in Croydon in 1921, was initially not entitled to a state pension when she turned 60 because she had lived and worked abroad for most of her life and had never made national insurance contributions.

But Ms Bradshaw did not realise she was entitled to a state pension after her 80th birthday in 2001 until her daughter Helen Cunningham, 78, read an article about people not claiming their pensions.

After investigating on her mother's behalf, Ms Cunningham discovered the great grandmother, who has dementia and lives in a care home, had been entitled to 82.45 a week since her 80th birthday.

Great grandmother Margaret Bradshaw, who was born in Croydon in 1921, did not realise she was entitled to a state pension after her 80th birthday in 2001

She immediately sought help from Sir Steve Webb, the former pensions minister, and as of June 30, Ms Bradshaw finally started to receive 82.45 per week.

The former nanny and hotel worker has also received backdated payments to the tune of 4,000, but won't get back the 75,000 she has missed.

Ms Cunningham, who lives in Egham, Surrey, said: 'I read this article about how thousands of people over 80 aren't claiming the pension, and it made me question if my mother should have been getting it.

'I had never even heard of an over 80 pension until a few weeks ago - we were never made aware of it when mother turned 80.

'I had been getting quite nervous about mother's financial situation for some time as care homes are very expensive, so I felt some relief learning she was entitled to more - even if she missed out for 20 years.

'But there might be hundreds of other people out there who don't realise what they're entitled to.'

The 100-year-old great grandmother (left on her 100th birthday and right when she was younger) was initially not entitled to a state pension when she turned 60 because she had lived and worked abroad for most of her life

Ms Bradshaw's daughter Helen (pictured with her mother on her 80th birthday) read an article about people not claiming their pensions and decided to investigate

Ms Bradshaw, a grandmother-of-nine was born in Croydon in 1921 and worked several jobs including in hotels and as a nanny, and spent nearly 30 years living in Canada.

Who is eligible to a state pension? You can claim the basic State Pension if you're: - a man born before 6 April 1951 -a woman born before 6 April 1953 Those who were born after these dates must claim the new State Pension instead. To receive the full basic State Pension you need a total of 30 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions or credits. If you have fewer than 30 qualifying years, your basic State Pension will be less than 137.60 per week but you might be able to top up by paying. In order to receive the new state pension you'll usually need at least 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record. The state pension age is currently set at 66. Source: Gov.uk Advertisement

After her husband died in the 1970s she returned to the UK in 1990.

She wasn't entitled to a state pension from the age of 60 as she had worked abroad and hadn't made any national insurance contributions in the UK.

But she had no idea she was entitled after her 80th birthday - and never claimed.

Ms Cunningham continued: 'I expected if something like that was available, we would have been notified, but it was never suggested.'

Ms Bradshaw, who is now living in a home in Addlestone, Surrey, had been living off a small pension from her work in Canada.

Sir Steve Webb, the former pensions minister, advised Helen the over 80s pension does not require national insurance contributions.

To be eligible, people must get either a basic state pension of less than 82.45 a week, or none at al.

As of June 30, Ms Bradshaw started finally receiving 82.45 per week.

Ms Cunningham said: 'I'm glad mother has it now, but it shouldn't have taken her getting to 100 to find out about it.

'75,000 is a lot to have missed out on and I'm sure we aren't the only ones that didn't know.

'I have no idea why it has been kept so quiet but I encourage people to look into it and find out what they might be entitled to.

'I'm so grateful to Steve Webb for helping us.'
An inebriated Rudy Giuliani advised now former President Donald Trump on election night to 'just say we won' when Michigan and Pennsylvania hadn't been called yet.

Washingoton Post reporters Carol D. Leonnig and Philip Rucker detailed the election night scene at the White House for their new book, I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year, with an excerpt released Tuesday.

Trump had invited nearly 400 people to the White House for an election night gathering - one that Melania Trump had wanted cancelled - and Giuliani, along with his son Andrew, a Trump aide, were set up on a laptop watching vote tallies in the Map Room.

Rudy Giuliani advised then President Donald Trump on election night to 'just say we won' when key states like Michigan and Pennsylvania hadn't been called yet - and later when Arizona was called for his rival, now President Joe Biden, a new book claims

The book I Alone Can Fix It details how Rudy Giuliani, pictured in New York in June, told Trump advisers and then Trump that the president should just say he won Michigan and Pennsylvania and later the entire election, once Arizona was called for Biden

Washingoton Post reporters Carol D. Leonnig and Philip Rucker detailed in a new excerpt of their forthcoming book how Rudy Giuliani told President Donald Trump to 'just say we won' before key states were called on election night

'After a while, Rudy Giuliani started to cause a commotion,' Leonnig and Rucker wrote. 'He was telling other guests that he had come up with a strategy for Trump and was trying to get into the president's private quarters to tell him about it.'

'Some people thought Giuliani may have been drinking too much,' the authors went on, adding that Trump's campaign manager Bill Stepien was pushed to go talk to the former New York City mayor.

Stepien, Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Trump spokesman Jason Miller took Giuliani to a room off the Map Room to hear the so-called strategy.

Giuliani then asked the state of play in certain swing states.

He asked about Michigan.

Trump's advisers said it was too early to tell.

'Just say we won,' Giuliani suggested.

The Trump lawyer then asked about Pennsylvania and got the same response.

'Just say we won Pennsylvania,' Giuliani said.

The strategy, the authors wrote, was just announcing that Trump had won states before they were called.

Meadows, Stepien and Miller pushed back.

'We can't do that,' said Meadows. 'We can't.'

After Arizona was called by Fox News in favor of now President Joe Biden - a move that produced shockwaves through the White House that night - Giuliani pushed Trump to take his advice.

'Just go declare victory right now,' Giuliani told the president. 'You've got to go declare victory now.'

Trump listened, telling the waiting crowd, 'Frankly, we did win this election. We did win this election,' while the actual results of the election, which Biden won, took days to tabulate.

Michigan and Pennsylvania both went blue for Biden.

The authors described Trump's campaign aides being 'infuriated' by Giuliani's advice.

'It's hard to be the responsible parent when there's a cool uncle around taking the kid to the movies and driving him around in a Corvette,' one said. 'When we say the president can't say that, being responsible is not the easiest place to be when you've got people telling the president what he wants to hear.'

'It's hard to tell the president no. It's not an enviable place to be,' the adviser added.

Especially because Trump believed in the run-up to election night that he would win a second term.

He had just come off a whirlwind tour of the swing states where he attracted large crowds, who had voyaged out to see the president despite the coronavirus risks.

Biden refused to hold large rallies due to the COVID-19 threat, so there was no apples-to-apples comparison.

Florida, Trump's adopted home state, and a place where the campaign had spent a lot of energy attracting Latino supporters, looked good early on - and Trump would win that swing state.

It was the midwest, Georgia and Arizona that were more problematic.

Trump had also ignored Stepien when he told the president 'it's going to be good early.'

Stepien had explained to Trump that he could be up after polls closed, but then see leads get whittled away as mail-in ballots, more likely being used by Democratic voters, were counted.

When Trump saw the numbers change, he suggested something was amiss.

'Why are they still counting votes?' Trump asked, according to the authors. 'The election's closed. Are they counting ballots that came in afterward? What the hell is going on?'

A spokesman denied that Trump ever said this.

Trump told adviser Kellyanne Conway that something 'nefarious was at play,' the authors wrote.

'They're stealing this from us,' Trump said. 'We have this thing won. I won in a landslide and they're taking it back.'

Trump's early proclamation of victory and his paranoia over ballots laid the groundwork for what would be called 'the big lie.'

The authors wrote that Trump 'seemed to truly believe he had been winning.'

Polls had long predicted that Biden would win the White House after Trump's disastrous response to the coronavirus crisis.

But Trump was reacting to, as one adviser put it, 'The psychological impact of, hes going to win, people were calling him saying hes going to win.'

'And then somehow these votes just keep showing up,' the aide told the authors.

Leonnig and Rucker's book is one of a handful of books about the end of the Trump's time in office that will arrive in bookstores in January.

Last week, Trump preemptively pushed back on the new books.

'It seems to me that meeting with authors of the ridiculous number of books being written about my very successful administration, or me, is a total waste of time,' said Trump in a statement sent by his political action committee.

'They write whatever they want to write anyway without sources, fact-checking, or asking whether or not an event is true or false.'
Wegal Rosen,74, was arrested after he shut down Fort Lauderdale Airport

A 74-year-old man shut down the Fort Lauderdale Airport on Saturday when he told an Air Canada agent he had a bomb in his bag after learning that he would have to pay for his carry-on item.

Wegal Rosen was arrested and released on a $20,000 bond in order to see his cardiologist in Toronto but faces up to 15 years in prison.

The bomb threat set off an hours-long shut down of Fort Lauderdale Airport Saturday morning. Three terminals were closed, with many flights canceled or delayed.

Police reports state that at 8.30am, Rosen, of Ontario, walked away from the ticket counter where he had been arguing with the Air Canada agent about paying for his carry-on baggage.

As he was walking from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3 to purchase a Visa card to make the payment, the agent called out that he left his carry-on bag there and he needed to come and get it.

An Instagram post shows first responders in Fort Lauderdale Airport

People waiting to let back into Fort Lauderdale Airport following a bomb threat Saturday morning

Rosen, the report said, told the agent there was a bomb in the bag causing deputies to search the airport for hours to check that the area was clear. The bag actually contained Rosens CPAP machine.

The elderly man was arrested and taken to jail. On Monday, he appeared before Judge Tabitha Blackmon who released him on bail in order to visit his cardiologist in Toronto.

While Rosen was set free to return to Canada while his case plays out, he was forbidden from flying out of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

As of 1:15pm, 80 outgoing flights were delayed and 72 inbound flights are delayed, according to the flight-tracking service FlightAware.

The airport issued a couple statements in a string of Tweets. At 12:29pm the department tweeted saying the incident had been cleared and the airport was reopening.

'#FLL security incident is cleared & travelers are advised to check with their airline for updated flight info before heading to FLL. Apologies for any inconvenience, & we appreciate your understanding while we work to get everyone safely on their way.'
The alleged American mastermind behind the assassination of Jovenel Moise believed he was sent by God to take over Haiti in a plot he claimed was backed by Washington DC, according to people close to him.

Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a 63-year-old Florida doctor and pastor, reportedly told Haitian professor Michel Plancher at a meeting last month it was God's 'mission' for him to replace Moise as the leader of the Caribbean country.

'He said he was sent by God. He was sent on a mission of God to replace Moise,' Plancher, a civil engineering professor at Quisqueya University in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, told the New York Times.

'He said the president would be resigning soon. He didn't say why.'

Plancher said he first met with Sanon on June 1 in a home in Port-au-Prince after receiving a call out of the blue. He was told Sanon was planning a political campaign and the two men met up again - this time with around eight other people - a day or two later.

Another associate of Sanon has suggested the US supported the plot for the Floridian to assume control of the country, saying the mission was supposed to 'save Haiti from hell, with support from the US government'.

The associate, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of safety concerns, said Sanon told him he was approached by people claiming to represent the US State and Justice departments who told him they wanted to install him as president.

The plan was only for Moise to be arrested, the associate said, insisting Sanon would not have participated if he knew Moise would be killed.

The alleged American mastermind behind the assassination of Jovenel Moise believed he was sent by God to take over Haiti in a plot he claimed was backed by Washington DC, according to people close to him. Christian Emmanuel Sanon above

Haitian authorities have accused Sanon of being one of the key players in Wednesday's deadly raid on the president's home - something that has sparked disbelief among many who know the 63-year-old.

Sanon - a physician, a church pastor, and a failed Florida businessman who filed for bankruptcy - is unknown in Haitian political circles.

Associates described him as 'gullible' and suggested Sanon may have duped by those really behind the assassination plot.

One associate told AP he attended a recent meeting in Florida with Sanon and about a dozen other people, including Antonio Enmanuel Intriago Valera, a Venezuelan emigre to Miami who runs CTU Security.

CTU Security is said to have recruited the hit squad of assassins which included at least three Haitian Americans and 26 Colombians - many of whom are ex-military.

The associate said the meeting included a presentation on rebuilding Haiti, including its water system, converting trash into energy and fixing roads.

He said Sanon asked why the security team accompanying him to Haiti were all Colombians and was told that Haitians couldn't be trusted and that the system is corrupt.

Moise is pictured in 2018. The president was assassinated at his mansion in Port-au-Prince in the early hours of Wednesday

Colombian ex-soldiers, accused of involvement in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, stand in a courtyard in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, days before the deadly raid

He said Sanon called him from Haiti a few days before the assassination and said the Colombians had disappeared.

'I'm all by myself. Who are these people? I don't know what they are doing,' the associate quoted Sanon as saying.

Sanon 'is completely gullible,' the associate added. 'He thinks God is going to save everything.'

Sanon's brother Jean Sanon, who also lives in Florida, told DailyMail.com outside his West Palm Beach home that his brother is innocent.

'It's obvious he's being framed,' he said.

Rev. Larry Caldwell, a Florida pastor who worked with Sanon setting up churches and medical clinics in Haiti between 2000 and 2010 also said he didn't believe he would be involved in a murder plot.

'I know the character of the man,' Caldwell said.

'You take a man like that and you're then going to say he participated in a brutal crime of murder, knowing that being associated with that would send him to the pits of hell?

'If there was one man who would be willing to stand in the breach to help his country, it would be Christian.'

Sanon (pictured), a 63-year-old Florida doctor and pastor, reportedly told Haitian professor Michel Plancher at a meeting last month it was God's 'mission' for him to replace Moise

However Haiti's National Police chief Leon Charles said Moise's killers were protecting Sanon, who he named as the mastermind of the assassination in a plot to install himself as the next president.

Haitian and Colombian police have said Florida-based company CTU Security recruited the hit squad of assassins responsible for the president's slaying.

Colombia's national police chief Gen. Jorge Luis Vargas said its company credit card was used to buy 19 plane tickets from Bogota to Santo Domingo for some of the Colombian suspects.

Most arrived in the Dominican Republic in June before entering Haiti within weeks, Vargas said.

Charles said Sanon flew into Haiti in June on a private jet accompanied by several of the alleged gunmen.

The suspects were told their job was to protect Sanon, but they were later ordered to arrest the president, Charles said.

Charles said that after Moise was killed, one of the suspected assassins contacted Sanon who then got in touch with two other people believed to be masterminds of the plot. He did not identify the masterminds or say if police know who they are.

Authorities are yet to present evidence of Sanon's involvement in the assassination plot.

Suspects in the assassination of Haiti's President Jovenel Moise are shown to the media in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Thursday

Weaponry, mobile phones, passports and other items are being shown to the media along with suspects in the assassination

Haitian police said officers found a hat emblazoned with the logo of the US Drug Enforcement Administration in Sanon's home in Haiti - along with an arsenal of weapons including 20 boxes of bullets, gun parts, four license plates from the Dominican Republic, two cars and correspondence.

Sanon launched a website last month campaigning to replace Moise as president in, DailyMail.com has revealed.

As part of the campaign he claimed to have the backing of a key UN figure and wrote a letter to a State Department official saying he had been picked as interim leader of the country.

His political ambitions appeared to at least date back to February 2011 when he launched a website entitled 'Dr Christian Sanon Leadership pour Haiti'.

The site has since vanished but archived web pages from 2011 to 2016 include a portal for donations, a 'plan for Haiti', and news updates on Sanon's efforts to build clinics in the aftermath of the devastating 2010 earthquake.

In a YouTube video for the campaign, he hits out at the nation's leaders for corruption.

Sanon has lived in the US since the 70s including Kansas City, Missouri and most recently Florida.

Footage circulating online purportedly taken by a neighbor of the president shows men with rifles arriving outside the property

Florida records show he started about a dozen businesses over the last 20 years, all of which failed, including ones that appeared related to medical imaging, physical therapy, fossil fuel trading, real estate and veganism.

In court papers filed in a 2013 bankruptcy case, he said he was a physician and a pastor at the Tabarre Evangelical Tabernacle in Haiti.

He also said he had stakes in enterprises including the Organization of Rome Haiti, which he identified as a non-governmental group, a radio station in Haiti and medical facilities in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Records show Sanon has never been licensed to practice medicine or any other occupation covered by Florida's Department of Health.

Sanon is one of three Haitian Americans arrested over the assassination plot. The two others are James Solages, 35, a maintenance worker and charity president, and Joseph Vincent, 55.

Vincent was a DEA informant who handed over the warlord responsible for leading the last coup in the Caribbean nation, it has been revealed.

The DEA has admitted one of their 'confidential sources' was involved in the assassination but denied it orchestrated the plot.

James Solages, 35, (left) and Joseph Vincent, 55, (right) are seen Thursday following their arrests. It has emerged Vincent was a DEA informant who handed over the warlord responsible for leading the last coup in the Caribbean nation

The agency was forced to reveal one of its informants was allegedly involved in the plot after the suspect called a DEA contact after the killing and they helped orchestrate his surrender to authorities.

While the DEA did not confirm the identity of its confidential source, Vincent was named by sources to the Miami Herald as the DEA informant.

Vincent helped the DEA in 2017 to arrest Guy Philippe, who led a 2004 coup against then-President Jean Bertrand Aristide, on drugs trafficking charges, the sources said. Vincent was with Haitian Police when Philippe was handed over to the DEA at an airport. Philippe is now serving nine years in a US federal prison.

A number of the arrested suspects are FBI informants, CNN reported.

Footage from the early Wednesday assassination shows an attacker with an American accent shouting in English 'this is a DEA operation' as the hit squad arrived at the president's mansion.

Both US and Haitian authorities insisted in the hours after the assassination that the DEA was not involved.
Drinking too much alcohol may be behind one in 25 new cancers around the world every year, a study has claimed.

An international team of experts estimate 741,300 diagnoses, or 4 per cent of new cancer cases in 2020, could be attributed to heavy and moderate drinking.

The analysis  which looked at alcohol sales and medical records in 240 countries  found the majority of cases linked to alcohol were cancers of the oesophagus, liver, and breast.

Britain ranked mid-table in the global analysis, with 4 per cent of cancer cases in the country linked to alcohol consumption (16,800).

The US performed slightly better, with around 3 per cent driven by excessive alcohol consumption (52,700 cases).

Both countries were well behind the likes of Mongolia, where consuming too much booze was linked to nearly one in ten cancers, and Moldova where it may have been behind one in twelve.

Kuwait, where all alcohol is banned, had the lowest number of cancer cases linked to alcohol consumption.

The authors admitted their study wasn't able to look at the impact of the pandemic on drinking rates. Numerous studies have shown alcohol consumption rates went up during lockdown and more cancers were missed.

Britain ranked mid-table in the global analysis, with 4 per cent of cancer cases in the country linked to alcohol consumption (16,800). The US performed slightly better, with around 3 per cent driven by excessive alcohol consumption (52,700 cases). Both countries were well behind the likes of Mongolia, where consuming too much booze was linked to nearly one in ten cancers, and Moldova where it may have been behind one in twelve

The analysis  which looked at alcohol sales and medical records in 240 countries  found the majority of cases linked to alcohol were cancers of the oesophagus, liver, and breast

The research, published in The Lancet Oncology, used alcohol sales data from 2010 and, assuming a 10 year latency period between consumption and diagnosis, then combined this with cancer incidence in 2020.

Researchers drew on data from the World Health Organization's Global Cancer Observatory, which measure cases of cancer across the world.

Globally, men were found to be more likely to get cancer as a result of drinking, accounting for an estimated 77 per cent of all the cases in the study, with women making up the remaining 23 per cent.

HOW MUCH ALCOHOL IS TOO MUCH? Adults are advised not to drink more than 14 units of alcohol a week on a regular basis. Half a pint of lower to mid strength beer, lager or cider (3.6 per cent strength) is one unit of alcohol while a small 125ml glass of wine is 1.5 units. If adults drink as much as 14 units a week they are advised to spread this evenly over three or more days. If you are concerned about your own or someone else's drinking the NHS advises you to contact your GP for advice. Some of signs include: - You often feel the need to have a drink ore think your drinking is causing you problems - You get in trouble because of your drinking - Other people warn you about how much you're drinking You can also contact a range of alcohol charities and support groups one of which is Alcoholics Anonymous on 08009177650. Advertisement

While risky and heavy drinking contributed to the majority of the global cancer cases, the authors found that even moderate drinking, the equivalent of about two glasses of wine or two pints of lager a day, accounted for 14 per cent of all cases, about 103,100 cases.

'Risky' drinking was defined as two to three pints of lager per day or two to five small glasses of red wine. Heavy drinking was more than four pints a day or more than five small glasses of wine.



The study authors called for greater public awareness of the link between alcohol and cancers and increased government interventions to reduce alcohol consumption.

Previous studies have linked alcohol consumption to a variety of cancers, including in the throat, liver, breast and colon.

Alcohol causes damage to the human body's DNA through increased production of harmful chemicals and also affects the body's hormone production which can contribute to cancer development.

Reacting to the research, Sir Ian Gilmore chair of the UK Alcohol Health Alliance, said the results were sadly unsurprising and urged people to limit their alcohol intake.

'It's safest not to drink alcohol but if you do, you should stick to the chief medical officers' low-risk guidelines which is to drink no more than 14 units a week on a regular basis.'

Sir Gilmore said the UK Government needed to improve public awareness of the relationship between alcohol consumption and cancer.

'Alcohol is causing great harm across this country every day - this past year saw a 20 per cent increase in deaths linked to alcohol in England and Wales,' he said.

'If the UK Government wants to demonstrate its commitment to turning this tragic trend around, it must urgently improve the public's understanding of the risks of alcohol through better labelling requirements for alcoholic drinks including cancer warnings.'

King's College London head of research at the institute of alcohol studies Dr Sadie Boniface agreed that more needed to be done to communicate the link between alcohol consumption and cancer.

'There is an increased risk of breast, oesophageal, mouth and throat cancer starting from low levels of alcohol consumption, and also an increased risk of liver and colorectal cancers at higher levels of drinking,' she said.

Dr Boniface said an upcoming UK government consolation on alcohol labelling could be an opportunity to change this.

'The forthcoming consultation on alcohol labelling will be a real opportunity to introduce independent health information on alcohol products, so consumers can make fully informed decisions about their drinking,' she said.

The authors of the Lancet study also note that they may have overestimated liver cancers that could have been caused by alcohol in some countries, including Mongolia, due a possible interaction with Hepatitis B and C virus infection.

They also add that cancer case records in some for low and middle-income countries could be of limited quality.
A Chicago banker was found guilty by a Manhattan jury on Tuesday of giving $16million in loans to Paul Manafort, former campaign manager for Donald Trump, in exchange for an interview for a leadership position in the former president's administration.

Stephen Calk, the founder and former CEO of The Federal Savings Bank, had his staff secure the loans starting in July 2016 under a quid pro quo that Manafort would get him an interview for different leadership roles in the Trump administration, the jury found. Calk was eventually interviewed for Secretary of the Army, but wasn't hired.

After a brief, two-day trial, Calk was convicted and charged with one count of financial institution bribery and one count of conspiracy to commit financial institution bribery. He could face up to 35 years in prison.

Stephen Calk, the founder and former CEO of The Federal Savings Bank, (left) was found guilty by a Manhattan jury on Tuesday of giving $16million in loans to Paul Manafort, former campaign manager for Donald Trump, in exchange for an interview for a leadership position in the former president's administration

Prosecutors said he deliberately had his employees secure loans for Paul Manafort, former campaign manager for Donald Trump, despite obvious risks

Prosecutors told the jury on Monday that Calk was so intent on getting a job in the Trump administration that he pushed his employees to approve several risky and unnecessary loans for Manafort, CNN reported.





Prosecutor Paul Monteleoni is quoted by CNN as saying, 'No matter how many problems the loans just would not die. Why not? Because Calk wanted them to close. That's the second of seven reasons why you know Calk had corrupt intent because he gave Manafort such special treatment. And he did it with both eyes open. So the idea that everyone else was moving alone forward and keeping things from Calk is 100percent backwards. Calk was deep in the weeds on this loan.'

Several of the 14 government witnesses were bank employees and board members who testified about their unsure feelings over the risky loans, one of who was Dennis Raico, a former loan officer from the Federal Savings Bank.

According to Raicos testimony, he introduced Manafort to Calk in the spring of 2016. Manafort and his son-in-law were looking for loans and Raico told Calk that they were powerful people with substantial assets. Manafort, who was then serving as the Trump campaign chairman, applied for a $5.7 million loan that July.

The bank agreed and Manafort invited Calk to join the the Economic Advisory Council for Trump's campaign, an unpaid role that allowed Calk to get his foot in the door of the Trump administration.

Shortly after the first loan, however, bank officials discovered that Manaforts credit score had plummeted, he had no income in 2016 and he faced $300,000 in credit card debt.

Prosecutors revealed a text exchange Calk had with Manafort on election night in 2016, in which Calk said his bank could grant Manafort a second loan despite what we called red flags in Manaforts financial records.

After securing the first loan for Manafort, Calk (left) was invited to join the Economic Advisory Council for Trump's campaign, an unpaid role that allowed Calk to get his foot in the door of the Trump administration. He is pictured with Trump in Chicago in an undated photograph

On January 10, 2017, ten days before Trump was to take office, Calk got the interview for Secretary of the Army. However, he wasn't hired

On January 10, 2017, ten days before Trump was to take office, Calk got the interview for Secretary of the Army. It was conducted by 'three representatives of the Presidential Transition Team at the transition team's Manhattan offices'  Trump Tower.

As the loans were in process, Manafort, identified as 'Borrower' in Calk's May 2019 indictment, contacted Trump's transition team's executive committee to ask to arrange an interview for Calk. He didn't disclose that Calk had 'caused' the bank to extend him a $9.5 million loan.

Some of his interventions showed compassion for Manafort's plight. 'We are working very hard to find solutions to help [the Borrower] out in his hour of need,' Calk wrote a Manafort lawyer around December 21, 2016.

Prosecutors said that while Manafort's loans were pending approval, Calk gave Manafort a ranked list of government positions he wanted, starting with Secretary of the Treasury, followed by Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of Defense, as well as 19 ambassadorships similarly ranked and starting with the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy.

Role revealed: According to trial evidence, Manafort passed along Calk's resume to Kushner in November 2016. Kushner responded: 'On it!'

According to trial evidence, Manafort passed along Calk's resume to Kushner in a Nov. 30, 2016, email, along with two other names of people he said 'should be a part of the Trump administration.'

Manafort wrote that the individuals would be 'totally reliable and responsive' to the Trump White House.

He also said Calk was 'strong in defense issues, management and finance.'

Kushner responded, 'On it!'

Nevertheless, Calk never got an administration post.

Calks lawyers claimed that their client's intentions were pure and he believed he was doing right by his bank, but Manafort manipulated him by lying about his wealth. The banker's defense also painted Raico as a liar who tried to defraud the bank with Manafort, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Calk decided not to testify in court and his defense put on a case that lasted less than a full day in court. CNN reported that Calk's attorney Paul Schoeman told the jury during closing arguments that Calk didnt know that what he was doing was wrong.

Schoeman said, "Yes, Steve Calk was personally involved in making loans to Paul Manafort, and yes, Steve Calk, got some help and advice from Paul Manafort applying for a government job that he did not get. But what the government didn't prove is that Mr. Calk thought at the time that he was doing these things that he was doing something wrong, something corrupt, something evil. They haven't shown you that he wasn't acting in good faith trying to make loans that he thought were great for his bank.

Schoeman added that Calk was qualified for top positions in the administration because of his background as an army reserve soldier and banker.

"What really matters to Donald Trump is how you do on TV and Mr. Calk did well on TV and maybe that would put him in a position, just like Mr. Scaramucci was good on TV and he got a White House position. And it's not like the Trump cabinet was full of all these you know, government, you know, longtime government people," he said.

During the trial, Anthony Scaramucci testified that he never would have enabled Calk to get the interview for the administration post if he had know that Calk was helping Manafort to get millions of dollars in loans for his real estate ventures.

Scaramucci had testified that Manafort reached out to him in mid-to-late December 2016 to encourage him to consider Calk for an important position. At the time, Scaramucci was working on Trump's presidential transition team and said he would often get referrals like Manafort's of Calk.

In August 2018, Manafort faced a 7 year sentence on charges he misled the government over his foreign lobbying work and encouraged witnesses to lie on his behalf. He also faced an indictment in New York charging him with state crimes, including a residential mortgage fraud scheme.

However, former President Donald Trump pardoned Manafort of the above crimes in December and he was not charged in the March indictment of Calk.

Calk and his legal team left the courthouse in Lower Manhattan this morning without commenting. He was not remanded into custody and his sentencing is scheduled in Manhattan federal court on January 10, 2022.
A Bill O'Reilly accuser who reached a $9 million settlement after accusing her Fox News boss of sexual harassment has claimed that he allegedly once told her he was 'going to make her play' even after she denied his advances.

In a lengthy interview with the Daily Beast on Tuesday, Andrea Mackris broke her years-long silence to speak for the first since signing an NDA and settling her sexual harassment lawsuit against O'Reilly back in October 2004.

Mackris, who worked as a producer on O'Reilly's show for four years, claims she was pressured into signing the NDA and that she has lost everything since she agreed to keep silent about her allegations.

In response to Mackris speaking out, O'Reilly's attorney Fredric S. Newman pointed to the public statement she issued in 2004 in which she said 'there was no wrongdoing whatsoever by Mr O'Reilly'.

Details of the alleged sexual harassment were made public when Mackris sued her boss in 2004, claiming he called her late at night masturbating and demanding phone sex.

Included in her lawsuit was recordings of calls he made to Mackris late at night in which he allegedly shared his sexual fantasies with her, including how he wanted to use a 'loofah thing' on her in the shower, which he mistakenly called a 'falafel'.

The now-50-year-old revealed that she first decided to take legal action after receiving one of those phone calls in which she claims O'Reilly told her she needed to forget that he was her boss.

Andrea Mackris broke her years-long silence to speak for the first since signing an NDA and settling her sexual harassment lawsuit against her Fox News boss Bill O'Reilly back in October 2004

'It's why I went to lawyers. I had to find protection. I wasn't safe at work,' she told the Daily Beast regarding the phone call.

'He was describing what I could expect next... He said I would masturbate facing him as he sat on the edge of the bed, naked and masturbating.

'He said that it wouldn't be sex because we wouldn't be touching. He said I needed to suspend the fact that he was my boss. He characterized this 'little fantasy outlet' as 'healthy' for me and simply 'blowing off steam.' He said it would keep me in traction for the next guy I dated. He made it sound as if he would be doing me a favor.

'He always wanted me to join him in masturbating on the phone. I never did. He mocked my lack of participation as 'hibernation' and 'celibacy.' Once again, like every other time, I asked him why he continued to do this when I only ever said 'No' and 'Please stop' and 'You're my boss.'

'I was trying to snap him out of it, I was thinking that it would click for him one of these times how wrong this was. I wanted very badly for him to stop and I made that abundantly clear.

'Instead, he said, 'I know, but I'm going to make you play.' Here was my boss, a man who held my career and future in his hands, acknowledging that he knew I'd never consented but he didn't care. And he said it with a low, dark growl, 'I know, but I'm going to make you play,' like a voice that comes from under the ground, a place that's red hot and full of hurt. That's what his words felt like as they landed in my body. The voice of the Devil, pacing and hungry for more of what is not his to take.

'I went to lawyers after that phone call. I stood up to Bill O'Reilly's sexual abuse in the workplace alone. And for that I lost everything I ever was and ever hoped to be.'

Mackris, who moved back to her native St. Louis, Missouri in the aftermath, says she is still alarmed by the experience, which was covered widely in the media at the time.

She said she felt pressured to sign the NDA as part of the settlement, which she claims allowed O'Reilly to paint her as a liar when he went on air declaring there was 'no wrongdoing in the case whatsoever by anyone'.

'By the end of it, I felt that my a** had been so thoroughly handed to me as a fat, unattractive, liar, opportunist sl*t and my profession had printed that everywhere,' she said of the media coverage of her lawsuit.

O'Reilly continued to work at Fox News until he was fired in 2017 when it was made public he had paid $13 million to five women for harassment allegations. He is pictured in New York in 2018

After the lawsuit was settled, O'Reilly continued to work at Fox News until he was fired in 2017.

He was ousted after it was made public that he had paid $13 million to five women, including Mackris, over the years regarding sexual harassment allegations.

'I may not get the past 17 years back but there is one way I can retrieve my power from this storm of lies, loss, greed and grief. It's the same thing I did back in 2004 before Fox, Bill O'Reilly and their teams of willing executioners bound me to a contract that promises to ruin whatever is left of me if I dare do it again. Tell the truth. Walk free,' Mackris said.

Mackris, who is now writing a novel, acknowledged that she may face legal action for breaking the terms of her NDA.

Details of her alleged harassment were played out at the time in depth in the lawsuit.

She claimed in the lawsuit that O'Reilly called her while he was masturbating, told her to buy a vibrator and described his sexual fantasies with her.

O'Reilly took Mackris out to dinner in May 2002 to discuss her future at the company and praised her work before announcing he was giving her a raise, according to the lawsuit.

Mackris alleged he also offered advice on how to meet men since the producer had recently broken up with her fiance.

'Suddenly, without provocation or warning, Defendant Bill O'Reilly said to Plaintiff Andrea Macrkis, 'And just use your vibrator to blow off steam,'' according to the lawsuit.

The conversation continued with O'Reilly saying he had phone sex with another woman at Fox before suggesting he do the same with her, Mackris claimed.

He ended the dinner by winking and telling her, 'Stick with me and I'll take care of you,' the lawsuit stated.

Mackris also accused O'Reilly of suggesting they have a menage-a-trois and regaling her with stories of his sexual encounters, before a telephone call in August 2004.

According to the lawsuit, he told Mackris to buy a vibrator before 'it became apparent that Defendant was masturbating as he spoke. After he climaxed, Defendant O'Reilly said to the Plaintiff: 'I appreciate the fun phone call....''

Less than a month later, O'Reilly called her from the Republican National Convention, said he was watching porn, and launched into a monologue about his sexual fantasies of her before he ejaculated, the lawsuit stated.

Mackris said a similar phone call occurred on September 21, 2004, during which he allegedly said: 'Next time you'll come up to my hotel room and we'll make this happen.'

The lawsuit also accused O'Reilly of threatening Mackris, saying any woman who complained about him would 'pay so dearly that she'll wish she'd never been born'.

He first accused her of trying to blackmail him for $60million in an preemptive campaign that enlisted a public relations firm to paint Mackris as a promiscuous gold-digger.

As part of the settlement, O'Reilly had to drop that lawsuit against Mackris.

FOX News issued a statement saying: 'The claims outlined in this report took place under the leadership of Roger Ailes, who along with Bill OReilly and the management referred to here, have been long gone from the network.

'Since the summer of 2016, FOX News has worked tirelessly to transform the company culture, including naming a new chief executive, tripling the size of our HR footprint, designating a new senior leadership team predominantly comprised of women and establishing a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council.

'We have also instituted mandatory in-person, live harassment prevention training, designated multiple avenues to report concerning behavior including an anonymous alert line, enhanced company-wide communication with quarterly company meetings and mentoring events, as well as implemented a zero tolerance policy regarding workplace misconduct of any kind for which we engage outside independent firms to handle all investigations.'
A federal judge agreed on Tuesday to release a QAnon supporter from jail on house detention six months after he stormed the US Capitol, which he mistook for the White House.

Douglas Jensen, 41, from Iowa, was wearing a T-shirt bearing the letter 'Q,' a symbol of the QAnon conspiracy theory, when he was videotaped in the Capitol.

He was seen confronting hero US Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman in one of the most menacing images of the January 6 insurrection.

Jensen followed Goodman up two flights of stairs as the officer singlehandedly diverted the mob chanting 'hang Mike Pence' away from the Senate Chamber while the vice president was still inside.

US District Judge Timothy Kelly said deciding whether to free Jensen from jail pending trial was a 'close case,' but he ultimately agreed to release the Des Moines resident on house arrest with electronic location monitoring. The judge also barred him from accessing the internet on any electronic devices.

Doug Jensen, a January 6 Capitol rioter, pictured in a QAnon shirt confronting hero police officer Eugene Goodwin, was ordered released on house arrest

Goodwin was praised for diverting the mob, led by Jensen, away from the Senate Chamber

The judge said Jensens actions during his confrontation of Goodman were 'deeply concerning and quite serious.' But he noted that Jensen is not accused of toppling any barricades, damaging any property or fighting with anybody at the Capitol.

'That said, he clearly disobeyed Officer Goodman and other officers, and he did position himself near the front of a mob as he ran up the stairs toward Officer Goodman,' the judge said. 'That may be some leadership, but only in the narrowest sense.'

Jensen, 41, from Iowa, faces charges including civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding a law enforcement officer

Kelly noted that cellphone video captured Jensen repeatedly referring to the Capitol building as the White House.

In one clip, Jensen is seen touching the wall of the Capitol building while saying; 'this is me, touching the f***ing White House.'

In another video, the Iowa man screams: 'storm the White House! That's what we do!'

The judge said he didnt believe that Jensen could have coordinated with others or planned an attack in advance 'when he had no basic understanding of where he even was that day.'

Prosecutors said Jensen is a self-proclaimed 'digital soldier' and 'religious' adherent of QAnon, the conspiracy theory that has centered on the baseless belief that former President Donald Trump was secretly waging a campaign against a Satan-worshipping, child sex trafficking cabal of 'deep state' enemies, Hollywood elites and Democratic foes.

Jensen's social media was full of the claims of the theory, which makes a hero of Mike Flynn, the first Trump national security advisor who was fired for lying to Pence, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, then got a pardon from Trump after reversing his guilty plea.

Jensen's attorney painted him as a victim who was fed various conspiracy theories and 'lies' by 'very clever people'

Jensen traveled to Washington because he was 'all about a revolution' and succeeded in his mission to become the 'poster boy' for the events at the Capitol that day, prosecutors wrote in court papers. They argued that he poses a danger to the public and must remain jailed.

Defense attorney Christopher Davis said his client went to the Capitol to observe what QAnon promoters have prophesized as 'The Storm,' the day when Trumps enemies would be rounded up and executed.

'He was in front of everyone for the now disclosed silly reason to get Q recognized for "The Storm" that was about to take place,' Davis wrote in a court filing.

Jensens lawyer said his client 'became a victim of numerous conspiracy theories that were being fed to him over the internet by a number of very clever people, who were uniquely equipped with slight, if any, moral or social consciousness.

'Six months later, languishing in a DC Jail cell, locked down most of the time, he feels deceived, recognizing that he bought into a pack of lies,' Davis wrote.

Jensen faces charges including civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding a law enforcement officer.

Davis said he tried to book a plane ticket for Jensen but wasnt able to, leading him to believe that his client is on a no-fly list.

Few of the more than 500 people charged in the Capitol riot remain locked up while they fight the charges.

An appeals court ruling in March that led to the release of a mother and son charged in the riot set standards for how judges should weigh whether to keep January 6 defendants locked up awaiting trial.

A federal judge said Jensen could not have coordinated the attack because 'he had no basic understanding of where he even was that day.' This screenshot comes from a video where Jensen refers to the US Capitol as 'the f***ing White House'

The appeals court found that the judge who ordered Eric Munchel and his mother Lisa Eisenhart detained failed to show how they could be a threat to the community, noting that they didnt assault anyone or destroy anything during the riots.

Judges have since cited that ruling in several decisions releasing defendants.

But the appeals court also said last week that people could still be found to be a danger to the public and kept in jail even if they didnt commit violence.

That came in an opinion upholding the pretrial detention of an Army reservist whose co-workers told authorities was a known Nazi sympathizer who wore a Hitler mustache. The judge who ordered Timothy Hale-Cusanelli locked up pointed to his violent rhetoric and found him to be a threat to a government informant.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed court papers supporting Britney Spears in her fight to free herself from what the popstar calls an 'abusive' conservatorship.

On Tuesday, the ACLU filed an amicus brief with the Superior Court of Los Angeles County calling for te court to allow Spears to choose her own attorney for her case, which she's prohibited from doing under her conservatorship.

Britney had been represented by court-appointed attorney Samuel D. Ingham III for most of her 13-year conservatorship until last week when Ingham resigned after Spears gave emotional testimony, pleading to end the conservatorship.

The petition, which was filed along with 25 civil and disability organizations, also calls for Spears to be given access to assistance and tools to make her selection for his replacement.

'Ms. Spears has indicated her desire to select her own attorney, and amici urge this Court to ensure that Ms. Spears has the right to make this selection herself, with access to adequate information, and with neutral supports, if she wants such supports,' the filing states.

Spears' next court hearing is set for Wednesday, July 14.

The ACLU filed an amicus brief Tuesday calling for Britney Spears to have the right to choose her own attorney for her case. Spears is prohibited from choosing her own attorney under her conservatorship

The brief, which was filed along with 25 civil and disability organizations, also calls for Spears to be given access to assistance and tools to make her selection for his replacement

Zoe Brennan-Krohn, attorney with the ACLU's Disability Rights Project, said in a statement Tuesday, 'Britney Spears has said that she wants to pick her own lawyer and the court should respect that wish.

'The court should ensure Spears has access to the tools she needs to make that choice meaningfully and to hire someone she trusts to advocate for her stated goal: to get out of her conservatorship. Spears's right to select an attorney is not only a basic tenet of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel, but also consistent with principles of personal autonomy and agency. The California Superior Court must recognize Spears's autonomy and the rights of people with disabilities to live independent, self-directed lives as active members of their communities.'

Britney Spears is pictured with her father Jamie. She has been fighting since last year to lift a conservatorship that he's presided over since 2008

The ACLU tweeted Tuesday about the brief, writing, 'Were urging the court to let Britney exercise her right to select her own attorney and ensure Britney has access to assistance and tools to make this choice, including supported decision-making.

'Britney is currently under a probate conservatorship, a court-ordered legal status that strips people with disabilities of their civil liberties and grants other people, called conservators, the legal right to make decisions for them.'

Last week Spears' mother wrote to the judge in her conservatorship case asking to allow her daughter to appoint her own attorney and end the legal framework she says is ruining her life, saying she can look after herself and has been able to for years.

In a court filing last week obtained by DailyMail.com, Lynne Spears asked Judge Brenda Penny to 'listen to the wishes of her daughter'.

Lynne's lawyer wrote: 'On June 23, 2021 in very courageous showing, Conservatee [Britney] appeared by phone and spoke for almost twentyfive minutes, baring her heart to the Court in an impassioned plea to be heard on several requests.

'Petitioner Lynne Spears, interested party and mother of the Conservatee, hereby petitions this Court to listen to the wishes of her daughter, and as first step, respectfully requests an Order granting permission to the Conservatee to hire her own private legal counsel.'

Lynne's attorney goes on to say Britney has 'quite literally earned hundreds of millions of dollars' as a celebrity and can care for herself.

'It is beyond dispute that this is a unique conservatorship. In the original petition for appointment, her given address was the UCLA Medical Center.

'That was over 13 years ago.

'Now and for the past many years, she is able to care for her person and in fact has, inside the parameters of this conservatorship, earned literally hundreds of millions of dollars as an international celerity.

'She should no longer be held to the same standard,' Lynne's attorney wrote.

The popstar was represented by Samuel D. Ingham III for most of her 13-year conservatorship until he resigned last week

A court sketch from inside the Los Angeles County Courthouse, with Judge Brenda Penny presiding

Spears shocked the world last month when she begged a Los Angeles judge to free her from the court-ordered conservatorship that has given her father Jamie control over her life and $60million fortune for the last 13 years.

'I want this conservatorship to end - I truly believe that this conservatorship is abusive,' the 39 year-old pop superstar pleaded in a passionate 25-minute appeal to Judge Brenda Penny.

'I want to be able to get married to my boyfriend and have a baby but the conservatorship told me I can't do that.

'I have an IUD (intrauterine device) inside me to prevent me from having a baby. I want to go to a doctor and take it out so I can have a baby but they (the conservatorship) told me no.

'I feel ganged up on and bullied and alone.'

The ACLU tweeted Tuesday about the brief, writing, 'Were urging the court to let Britney exercise her right to select her own attorney and ensure Britney has access to assistance and tools to make this choice, including supported decision-making

The judge overseeing Spears' case denied her request to remove her father's control days later.

Amanda Goad, the Audrey Irmas director of the LGBTQ, Gender & Reproductive Justice Project at the ACLU SoCal, said in a statement, 'Britney's superstardom and wealth make this an atypical case, but she has described serious infringements on her civil liberties and dignity that are all too typical for people living under conservatorships and guardianships.

'It's not just about Britney. We hope that offering supported decision-making to Britney Spears can serve as a model in other cases, because all people living with disabilities or under conservatorship deserve an opportunity to make their own informed choices.'
Passengers were left furious when a train that was so crowded that many were forced to stand close to each other unable to socially distance - only to see a whole area of seats marked as 'reserved for staff' but all empty.

The Northern Trains service on July 9 from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, to Manchester Airport was so crowded that even elderly passengers were forced to stand.

But when they tried to use the empty seats a conductor told them to get out and stand again - and if they didn't like it to get off the train.

Jill Bewsher-Mastroianni, 46, an ex-pat Brit who lives with her husband and son in Chicago but is in the UK visiting her parents and friends boarded at Grange-over-Sands and was immediately shocked by how crowded the train was.

Passengers onboard the Northern Trains service from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, to Manchester Airport described how the train became so crowded that they were forced to stand

Jill, who was on her way to see friends in Stratford-Upon-Avon told Mail Online: 'In times of Covid it was not safe at all. There was no room to distance and it was quite concerning. But then we saw a whole area of empty seats.'

Pictures the school administrator took show a sign designating the seats not for use. It read: 'This part of the train is out of use to allow the conductor to carry out their duties. Thank you.'

Jill went on: 'I decided to lead a bit of a revolt so I encouraged a few of the others who were around me to go and sit in the empty seats as it seemed ludicrous that we were in discomfort for no reason.

'But we had barely sat down when the conductor came along and insisted we weren't allowed to use them. He did let us leave our bags there. But he made us all go back to standing. It was ridiculous. And then he just stood in there on his own.'

She added: 'I can't believe someone could be so unhelpful.

A sign inside the train showed a section of the carriage was out of use to allow the conductor to carry out their duties

When those onboard the train tried to use the empty seats a conductor told them to get out and stand again

'We were even told that if we were uncomfortable with being so close to other passengers we should get off at the next stop. When I asked him why most of the carriage was maskless he replied it wasn't his job to police passengers. He refused to let us sit down and we were forced to stand cheek to cheek with other passengers.

'It's shocking and disgusting given the rising COVID cases.'

A spokesman for Northern Trains said: 'On behalf of Northern I certainly apologise to anyone who needed to stand for their journey.

'Regarding this case, I can report that, following discussions with our conductors, a new way of working has been introduced, which means entire carriages will no longer be cordoned-off.

'There may be circumstances in which the conductor will close a small section of one carriage to allow them to access the door controls, but customers should no longer have to experience the conditions where large areas of the train are out of use.

'Nonetheless I will pass the report on to the relevant people in the Region, in order for them to investigate and if necessary take action. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.'

Chris Jackson, Regional Director at Northern, said: 'I am extremely sorry that some of our customers experienced difficult travelling conditions on Friday. 'Like many industries, we continue to feel the impact of coronavirus and measures are still in place at our trains and stations to keep our customers and staff as safe as possible while travelling. 'From time to time, this may mean small sections of a carriages are blocked to allow our staff to carry out their duties. No carriage should be fully cordoned off however, and we are currently looking into what happened on this journey.'

Chris added: 'We are working hard to give our customers the confidence to return to the railway and have an enhanced cleaning plan in place, with more than 600 dedicated staff, focussing on touch points, toilets and removal of litter.'We're also reminding all our customers that, unless they have specific exemptions, they should, for the moment continue to wear a face covering on our trains and at our stations.'
Below is the text of President Joe Biden's speech on voting rights that he gave at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Tuesday:

Thank you. (Applause.) I see an awful lot of good friends out there. Please have a seat if you have one.

I -- let me begin by saying I used to be important. (Laughter.) I used to be the chairman of the board of this place. And Jeffrey Rosen allowed me to do that for a while.

But thank you all for being here. I truly appreciate it. Governor, it's above and beyond the call. Mr. Mayor, Id compli- -- I thought you were a great mayor -- still think you are -- but your judgment in fiancees is even stronger. And -- but -- but all of you. And a good friend, Bobby Brady. I see so many friends out. Al Sharpton -- Al, how are you, pal? It's great to see you. (Applause.)

And I'm -- I'm going to get in trouble here because I'm going to recognize my congresswoman from the state of Delaware, Lisa Blunt Rochester -- (applause) -- and her sister who used to run my office. Stand up. (Applause.)

Well, folks, good afternoon. There's a serious subject I'd like to talk about today. I'm here in Philadelphia at the National Constitution Center -- the city and the place where the story of "We the People" -- "We the People" began.

Its a story thats neither simple nor straightforward. Thats because the story is the sum of our parts, and all those parts are fundamentally human. And being human is to be imperfect, driven by appetite and ambition as much as by goodness and grace.

But some things in America should be simple and straightforward.

Perhaps the most important of those things -- the most fundamental of those things -- is the right to vote. The right to vote freely. (Applause) The right to vote freely, the right -- the right to vote fairly, the right to have your vote counted. The democratic threshold is liberty. With it, anything is possible. Without it, nothing -- nothing.

And for our democracy and the work -- and to deliver our work and [for] our people, its up to all of us to protect that right. This is a test of our time and what Im here to talk about today.

Just think about the past election.

A 102-year-old woman in Arkansas who voted for the first time on the very spot she once picked cotton.

A 94-year-old woman in Michigan who voted early and in person in her seventy-se- -- 72nd consecutive election. You know what she said? She said this election was, quote, the most important vote that we ever had.

The daughter who voted in the memory of her dad who died of COVID-19 so others wouldnt have the experience of pain and darkness and loss that she was going through. Patients out there.

And the parents -- the parents who voted for school their children will learn in.

Sons and daughters voted for the planet theyre going to live on.

Young people just turning 18 and everyone who, for the first time in their lives, thought they could truly make a difference.

America -- America and Americans of every background voted. They voted for good jobs and higher wages. They voted for racial equity and justice. They voted to make healthcare a right, not a privilege.

And the reason that Americans went to vote and the lengths they went to vote -- to be able to vote in this past election were absolutely extraordinary. In fact, the fact that so many election officials across the country made it easier and safer for them to be able to vote in the middle of a pandemic was remarkable.

As a result, in 2020, more people voted in America than ever -- ever in the history of America, in the middle of a once-in-a-century pandemic. (Applause.)

All told, more than 150 [million] Americans of every age, of every race, of every background exercised their right to vote.

They voted early. They voted absentee. They voted in person. They voted by mail. They voted by drop box. And then they got their families and friends to go out and vote.

Election officials, the entire electoral system, withstood unrelenting political attacks, physical threats, intimidation, and pressure. They did so with unyielding courage and

faith in our democracy.

With recount after recount after recount, court case after court case, the 2020 election was the most scrutinized election ever in American history. Challenge after challenge brought to local, state, and election officials; state legislatures; state and federal courts -- even to the United States Supreme Court not once, but twice.

More than 80 judges, including those appointed by my predecessor, heard the arguments. In every case, neither cause nor evidence was found to undermine the national achievement of administering this historic election in the face of such extraordinary challenges.

Audits, recounts were conducted in Arizona, in Wisconsin. In Georgia, it was recounted three times.

Its clear. For those who challenge the results and question the integrity of the election: No other election has ever been held under such scrutiny and such high standards.

The Big Lie is just that: a big lie. (Applause.)

The 2020 election -- its not hyperbole to suggest -- the most examined and the fullest expression of the will of the people in the history of this nation. This should be celebrated -- the example of America at its best. But instead, we continue to see an example of human nature at its worst -- something darker and more sinister.

In America, if you lose, you accept the results. You follow the Constitution. You try again. You dont call facts fake and then try to bring down the American experiment just because youre unhappy. Thats not statesmanship. (Applause.)

Thats not statesmanship; thats selfishness. Thats not democracy; its the denial of the right to vote. It suppresses. It subjugates.

The denial of full and free and fair elections is the most un-American thing that any of us can imagine, the most undemocratic, the most unpatriotic, and yet, sadly, not unprecedented.

From denying enslaved people fu- -- full citizenship until the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments after the Civil War; to denying women the right to vote until the 19th Amendment 100 years ago; to poll taxes and literacy tests, and the Ku Klux Klan campaigns of violence and terror that lasted into the 50s and 60s; to the Supreme Court decision in 2013 and then again just two weeks ago - a decision that weakened the landmark Voting Rights Act; to the willful attacks -- election attacks in 2020; and then to a whole other level of threat -- the violence and the deadly insurrection on the Capitol on January 6th.

I just got back from Europe, speaking to the G7 and to NATO. They wonder -- not a joke -- they wonder, Gov -- they ask me, Is it going to be okay? The citadel of democracy in the world, "Is it o- -- going to be okay?"

Time and again, weve weathered threats to the right to vote in free and fair elections. And each time, we found a way to overcome. And thats what we must do today.

Vice President Harris and I have spent our careers doing this work. And Ive asked her to lead, to bring people together to protect the right to vote and our democracy. And it starts with continuing the fight to pass H.R.1, the For the People Act. (Applause.)

That bill -- that bill would help end voter suppression in the states, get dark money out of politics, give voice to the people at the grassroots level, create a fairer district maps, and end partisan political gerrymandering.

Last month, Republicans opposed even debating, even considering For the People Act. Senate Democrats stood united to protect our democracy and the sanctity of the vote. We must pass the For the People Act. Its a national imperative.

We must also fight for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to restore and expand -- (applause) -- to restore and expand voting protections and prevent voter suppression. All the congresswomen and men here -- theres a bunch of you -- you knew John, many of you.

Just weeks ago, the Supreme Court yet again weakened the Voting Rights Act and upheld what Justice Kagan called, quote, a significant race-based disparity in voting opportunities.

The Courts decision, as harmful as is, does not limit the -- Congress ability to repair the damage done. Thats the important point. It puts the burden back on Congress to restore the Voting Rights Act to its intended strength.

As soon as Congress passes the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, I will sign it and let the whole world see it. (Applause.) That will be an important moment.

And the world is wondering -- the world is wondering -- and Dwight knows what Im talking about, for real. You know, the world is wondering, What is America going to do?

But we also have to clear-eyed about the obstruction we face. Legislation is one tool, but not the only tool. And its not the only measure of our obligation to defend democracy today.

For example, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the United States Department of Justice is going to be using its authorities to challenge the onslaught of state laws undermining voting rights in old and new ways. (Applause.)

The focus -- the focus will be on dismantling racially discriminatory laws, like the recent challenge to Georgias vicious anti-voting law.

The Department of Justice will do so with a voting rights division that -- at my request -- is doubling its size in enforcement staff. (Applause)

Civil rights groups -- civil rights groups and other organizations have announced their plans to stay vigilant and challenge these odious laws in the courts.

In Texas, for example, Republican-led state legislature wants to allow partisan poll watchers to intimidate voters and imperil impartial poll workers. They want voters to dive [drive] farther and be able to be in a position where they wonder whos watching them and intimidating them; to wait longer to vote. To drive a hell of lot lo- -- excuse me -- a long way -- (laughter) -- to get to vote. They want to make it so hard and inconvenient that they hope people dont vote at all. Thats what this is about.

This year alone, 17 states have enacted -- not just proposed, but enacted -- 28 new laws to make it harder for Americans to vote, not to mention -- and catch this -- nearly 400 additional bills Republican members of the state legislatures are trying to pass.

The 21st century Jim Crow assault is real. Its unrelenting, and were going to challenge it vigorously.

While -- (applause) -- while this broad assault against voting rights is not unprecedented, its taking on a new and, literally, pernicious forms.

Its no longer just about who gets to vote or making it easier for eligible voters to vote. Its about who gets to count the vote -- who gets to count whether or not your vote counted at all. Its about moving from independent election administrators who work for the people to polarized state legislatures and partisan actors who work for political parties.

To me, this is simple: This is election subversion. Its the most dangerous threat to voting and the integrity of free and fair elections in our history. Never before have they decided who gets to count -- count -- what votes count.

Some -- some legi- -- state legislatures want to make it harder for you to vote. And if you vote, they want to be able to tell you your vote doesnt count for any reason they make up.

They want the ability to reject the final count and ignore the will of the people if their preferred candidate loses.

And theyre trying -- not only targeting people of color, theyre targeting voters of all races and backgrounds. Its with a simple target: who did not vote for them. Thats the target.

Its unconscionable. I mean, really, I -- its hard to -- its hard to declare just how critical this is. Its simply unconscionable.

Weve got to shore up our election system and address the threats of election subversion, not just from abroad -- which I spent time with Putin talking about -- but from home. From home.

We must ask those who represent us at the federal, state, and local levels: Will you deny the will of the people? Will you ignore their voices?

We have to ask: Are you on the side of truth or lies; fact or fiction; justice or injustice; democracy or autocracy? That's what it's coming down to.

Which brings me to perhaps the most important thing we have to do: We have to for- -- forge a coalition of Americans of every background and political party -- the advocates, the students, the faith leaders, the labor leaders, the business executives -- and raise the urgency of this moment.

Because as much as people know they're screwing around with the election process, I don't think that most people think this is about who gets to count what vote counts -- literally, not figuratively. You vote for certain electors to vote for somebody for President. State legislator comes along -- under their proposal -- and they say, "No, we don't like those electors. We're going to appoint other electors who are going to vote for the other guy or other woman."

Because heres the deal: In 2020, democracy was put to a test -- first by the pandemic; then by a desperate attempt to deny the reality and the results of the election; and then by a violent and deadly insurrection on the Capitol, the citadel of our democracy.

I've been around a long time in public life. I thought I've seen it all or most of it all. But I never thought I'd see that, for real.

And in spite of what you see on television -- and you saw it -- you have senators saying it was just a day at the Capitol, just people visiting the Capitol.

Folks -- but we met the test. Because of the extraordinary courage of election officials -- many of them Republicans; our court system; and those brave Capitol police officers -- because of them, democracy held.

Look how close it came. I mean, for real, how close it came. We're going to face another test in 2022: a new wave of unprecedented voter suppression, and raw and sustained election subversion. We have to prepare now.

As Ive said time and again: No matter what, you can never stop the American people from voting. They will decide, and the power must always be with the people.

Thats why, just like we did in 2020, we have to prepare for 2022. We'll engage in an all-out effort to educate voters about the changing laws, register them to vote, and then get the vote out.

We'll encourage people to run for office themselves at every level.

We will be asking my Republican friends -- in Congress, in states, in cities, in counties -- to stand up, for God's sake, and help prevent this concerted effort to undermine our elections and the sacred right to vote. (Applause.) Have you no shame? (Applause.)

Whether its stopping foreign interference in our elections or the spread of disinformation from within, we have to work together.

Vice President Harris and I will be making it clear that theres real peril in making raw power, rather than the idea of liberty, the centerpiece of the common life.

The Founders understood this. The women of Seneca Falls understood this. The brave, heroic foot soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement understood this. So must we.

This isnt about Democrats and Republicans; its literally about who we are as Americans. It's that basic. Its about the kind of country we want today, the kind of country we want for our children and grandchildren tomorrow. And quite frankly, the whole world is watching. Folks -- (applause).

Im not being sentimental. Im not preaching to you. Im just giving it to you straight, as I promised I would always do -- lay things out on the line and honor your trust with trust [truth].

So hear me clearly: There is an unfolding assault taking place in America today -- an attempt to suppress and subvert the right to vote in fair and free elections, an assault on democracy, an assault on liberty, an assault on who we are -- who we are as Americans.

For, make no mistake, bullies and merchants of fear and peddlers of lies are threatening the very foundation of our country.

It gives me no pleasure to say this. I never thought in my entire career Id ever have to say it. But I swore an oath to you, to God -- to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. And thats an oath that forms a sacred trust to defend America against all threats both foreign and domestic. (Applause.)

The assault on free and fair elections is just such a threat, literally. I've said it before: We're are facing the most significant test of our democracy since the Civil War. That's not hyperbole. Since the Civil War. The Confederates back then never breached the Capitol as insurrectionists did on January the 6th.

Im not saying this to alarm you; Im saying this because you should be alarmed.

Im also saying this: Theres good news. It doesnt have to be this way. It doesn't have to be, for real. We have the means. We just need to show the will -- the will to save and strengthen our democracy.

We did it in 20- -- we did it in the 2020. The battle for the soul of America -- in that battle, the people voted. Democracy prevailed. Our Constitution held. We have to do it again.

My fellow Americans, it requires fair-mindedness; devotion to justice; corny as it sounds, a love of country. It requires us to unite in common purpose, to declare here and now: We, the people, will never give up. (Applause.) We will not give in. We will overcome. We will do it together. And guaranteeing the right to vote, ensuring every vote is counted has always been the most patriotic thing we can do. (Applause.)

Just remember, our late friend John Lewis said, "Freedom is not a state; it is an act." "Freedom is not a state; it is an act." And we must act, and we will act. For our cause is just, our vision is clear, and our hearts are full. (Applause.)

For "We the People," for our democracy, for America itself, we must act. (Applause.)

God bless you all. And may God protect our troops and all those stand watch over our democracy. (Applause.) But act. We've got to act. Thank you. (Applause.)
The Russia-based criminal syndicate behind a devastating series of recent ransomware attacks on US businesses is now mysteriously offline just days after President Biden urged Russian leader Vladimir Putin to take action.

REvil's dark web data-leak site and ransom-negotiating portals have both been unreachable since about 1am on Tuesday.

Cybersecurity experts, however, said that it was premature to speculate why and that there was no indication of a law enforcement takedown.

REvil, also known as 'Ransomware evil', was responsible for the Memorial Day ransomware attack on the meat processor JBS and the supply-chain attack this month targeting the Miami-based software company Kaseya that crippled well over 1,000 businesses globally.

The Russia-based criminal syndicate behind a devastating series of recent ransomware attacks on US businesses is now mysteriously offline just days after President Biden urged Russian leader Vladimir Putin to take action

Biden told Putin on a call Friday that he needed to rein in attacks from Russia-based groups and warned that the US had the right to defend its people and critical infrastructure from attacks.

There were no immediate or public signs that the government had anything to do with REvil appearing offline.

Vanishing acts are common in the ransomware world where gangs tend to disappear and rebrand when they begin attracting too much heat.

Threat researcher Ryan Sherstobitoff of SecurityScorecard said it was also possible that the group was laying low after the attack or switching methods 'as we did expose them'.

Sean Gallagher, a threat researcher at the cybersecurity firm Sophos, added: 'It could be that the server hardware failed, or that it was intentionally taken down, or that someone attacked their host.'

He noted that REvil's public ransom-negotiating site was also down last week.

Spokespeople for the White House and US CyberCommand, the Pentagon's cyber arm, declined to comment on Tuesday about REvil going dark.

REvil, also known as 'Ransomware evil', was responsible for the Memorial Day ransomware attack on the meat processor JBS

REvil: The Russian ransomware gang behind US attacks REvil, also known as Sodinokibi, is a group of hackers that recruits affiliates to distribute ransomware for them. As part of the deal, REvil and the affiliates split any ransoms obtained using the group's malware. Short for 'ransomware evil,' REvil refers to both the group and its software. Members are known to speak Russian, and the group operates with impunity from somewhere in Russia or Eastern Europe. The group is behind recent attacks on US businesses, including the JBS meat plant and Miami-based software firm Kaseya. Advertisement

'We have seen no indicators for either voluntary shutdown nor of any offensive steps from law enforcement,' said Alex Holden, founder and chief information security officer of Hold Security.

'Right now, perhaps, it is too early to speculate, especially as REvil was building up their strength over the recent months.

'There is always a glimmer of hope that Russia is finally doing something right.'

Ransomware variants have previously disappeared as the criminals behind them retooled and modified their malware before introducing it under a new guise.

That is what threat analysts believe happened with a precursor to the REvil ransomware-as-a-service software called Gandcrab.

It was the most successful variant over a 15-month run that began in January 2018.

REvil has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on US businesses this year alone.

The unprecedented attack targeting the Miami-based software firm Kaseya, which was reported July 2, affected an estimated 1,500 businesses globally.

The Kaseya attack shut down a major Swedish supermarket chain and ricocheted around the world, impacting businesses in at least 17 countries, from pharmacies to gas stations, as well as dozens of New Zealand kindergartens.

Meanwhile, the attack on JBS saw America's largest beef supplier end up paying an $11 million ransom in Bitcoin to the hackers who shut down its plants.

JBS learned of the attack early on May 30 after discovering 'irregularities' on its servers and a ransom note.

The hack threatened to disrupt meat supplies across the United States over Memorial Day weekend.
Facebook fired 52 workers between January 2014 and August 2015 for abusing their access to private user data including one man who tracked a woman to a hotel after a fight and another who found his date's location when she stopped answering his texts, according to a new book.

The shocking details are revealed in the explosive new book 'An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook's Battle for Domination', penned by journalists Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang and offering an inside look into the rise and fall of the social media giant.

In an excerpt of the book, shared by The Telegraph, the authors reveal that, on average, three employees every month were caught exploiting private data of Facebook users for their own personal gains, such as tracking the current location of users, accessing their private messages and viewing their deleted photos.

It is not known how many other staff members could also have abused the free reign afforded to them by Facebook but were never caught.

At the time, over 16,000 employees had access to private user data with the organization relying on the honesty and goodwill of its workforce not to invade the privacy of users or use it for malicious means.

One employee told the book's authors any tightening of restrictions would have been 'antithetical to Mark's DNA' - referring to CEO Zuckerberg.

Facebook fired 52 workers between January 2014 and August 2015 for abusing their access to user data, according to new book 'An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook's Battle for Domination' (above), penned by journalists Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang

In one shocking instance, a male engineer accessed the data of a woman he had gone on holiday with to track her location after she left the hotel room they were sharing after a fight, the book reveals.

The two had traveled together on a European holiday and gotten into a fight.

'The engineer tracked her to her new hotel after she left the room they had been sharing,' reads the book, adding that he had used the data to 'confront' her.

Another male engineer used his access to user data to track down and find information about a woman he had gone on a date with days earlier.

According to the book, the engineer had believed the date went well but the woman stopped answering his messages the following day.

After drinking beers at the end of a work day, he returned to the office and used his access to search for his date.

The spurned man gained access to a wealth of information on the woman within a matter of minutes, the book reveals.

Personal information included 'years of private conversations with friends over Facebook Messenger, events attended, photographs uploaded (including those she had deleted), and posts she had commented or clicked on.'

The engineer learned 'more information than the engineer could possibly have gotten over the course of a dozen dinners,' the book reveals.

In an excerpt of the book, the authors reveal that, on average, three employees every month were caught exploiting private data of Facebook users for their own personal gains

He also learned her location at that very moment in time because she had the Facebook app installed on her smartphone.

Other chilling incidents include another male engineer using Facebook data to learn the habits of a woman and then bump into her at a park in San Francisco she regularly visited.

The engineer and the woman had not even gone on a first date.

The majority of instances where employees abused their access to users' private data involved men looking up the Facebook profiles of women they were interested in, the authors reveal.

The issue only came to light in September 2015, just three months after then-Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos came on board vowing to carry out a detailed evaluation of Facebook's security.

Stamos delivered a presentation to Zuckerberg and other top executives in which he warned of a 'systemic problem' and told them that - other than firing offenders when they got caught - the social media giant was doing nothing to tackle the problem.

One employee told the book's authors any tightening of restrictions would have been 'antithetical to Mark's DNA' - referring to CEO Zuckerberg (above at Sun Valley last week)

Stamos told the execs that engineers were abusing their access and violating users' privacy 'nearly every month,' the book says.

'The cases Stamos highlighted were only the ones the company knew about. Hundreds more may have slipped under the radar, he warned,' the authors reveal.

The book reveals Zuckerberg was 'taken aback' and questioned why nothing had been done sooner, making changes 'a top priority'.

However, as the book reveals, data misuse had been made possible because the system was designed to be open to all employees in order 'to cut away the red tape that slowed down engineers and prevented them from producing fast, independent work.'

This openness was something instilled in the company from the start but, by 2015, the workforce had grown into several thousand.

One longtime employee told the authors changes to the use of data had been proposed in the past but to no avail.

The issue only came to light in September 2015, just three months after then-Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos (pictured in 2014 testifying before the Senate) came on board vowing to carry out a detailed evaluation of Facebook's security

'At various times in Facebook's history there were paths we could have taken, decisions we could have made, which would have limited, or even cut back on, the user data we were collecting,' the employee said.

'But that was antithetical to Mark's DNA. Even before we took those options to him, we knew it wasn't a path he would choose.'

Facebook told DailyMail.com it has a zero-tolerance approach to employees found to access user data for non-business purposes.

'We've always had zero tolerance for abuse and have fired every single employee ever found to be improperly accessing data,' a spokesperson said.

'Since 2015, we've continued to strengthen our employee training, abuse detection, and prevention protocols. We're also continuing to reduce the need for engineers to access some types of data as they work to build and support our services.'

Cecilia Kang (left) and Sheera Frankel (right), the book's authors, are pictured above

Frenkel and Kang are both journalists for the New York Times, covering cybersecurity, and technology and regulatory policy respectively.

The authors said they carried out more than 1,000 hours of interviews with execs, current and former employees, family members, friends, classmates, investors, advisers, and others with knowledge of the social media giant for the book.
A man has been arrested for murder a year after the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old man during last year's Black Lives Matter protests in Seattles temporary Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) zone.

Lorenzo 'Lil Renz' Anderson was shot dead on June 20, 2020 in the six-block area of Seattle that had been taken over by protesters following the police-related killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Police had identified Marcel Long, 19, as a suspect in the killing, but later learned he had fled the state, court documents filed in August said.

Seattle officers and US Marshals apprehended Long in the Seattle suburb of Des Moines on Monday.

He had been wanted on a $2million arrest warrant.

Marcel Long, 19 (left), was arrested by the US Marshals on a murder charge for the shooting death of 19-year-old Lorenzo Anderson (right) in Seattle in June 2020

Bodycam footage released by the Seattle Police Department shows several officers enter the CHOP zone to reach Anderson as protestors yell at them to put their guns down

Members of the US Marshals Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force recently determined Long was staying at a Des Moines apartment complex, the agency said in a news release.

Long was seen walking on a local street and was arrested after a brief foot chase. He was booked into the King County Jail on a murder charge, jail records reveal.

Casey McNerthney with the King County Prosecutors Office, described Long to KOMO News as a 'danger to the public.'

Anderson and Long had apparently been at odds since 2019, after they were involved in a fight that Anderson lost which was posted on YouTube, charging papers say.

Several people called 911 around 2.20am on June 20 last year to report the shooting.

But responding police officers were met by an angry crowd of protesters and left after someone yelled that the person shot had already been taken to Harborview Medical Center, the charges say.

Long, pictured in images released by Seattle officials during the search for him, was captured in Des Moines, Washington, after a brief foot chase

Protesters march through the area known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) in Seattle on June 24, 2020, at the height of the BLM protests

Anderson died at the hospital 33 minutes after the first 911 calls.

An autopsy report revealed that the 19-year-old suffered four gunshot wounds, to his knee, buttocks, hand and shoulder, raising the possibility that he could have been saved had he received medical attention earlier.

Anderson's parents have filed separate wrongful death lawsuits against the City of Seattle and its leadership for allowing the CHOP zone to exist, and for failing to aid the teen as he lay bleeding in the street.

Evan Oshan, an attorney for Anderson's estate and his father, released a statement addressing Long's arrest, reported The Seattle Times.

'We are grateful for the hard work of law-enforcement for finally bringing Marcel Long in,' he said. 'However the flawed political system which allowed the "CHOP" zone to exist and allow lawlessness to reign on Seattle are at the core of why Lorenzo, Black special needs teenager, bled out and died on June 20, 2020.

'This was a preventable and predictable death that occurred, we are holding city officials as well as the admin responsible. Including but not limited to, Mayor Jenny Durkan, various members of the Seattle city council, and others.'

Mark Lindquist, a lawyer representing Donnitta Sinclair, Anderson's mother, said: 'Donnitta is grateful to the police for not giving up and shes pleased about this step toward justice. The shooter should be held accountable and so should the city.'

Anderson's parents, Horace Anderson (left) and Donnitta Sinclair (right), have filed separate wrongful death lawsuits against the City of Seattle for allowing CHOP to exist

Although protesters kept detectives and crime-scene investigators out of the Capitol Hill Organized Protest zone, several people either contacted police or were interviewed by detectives in the 72 hours after the fatal shooting, the charges say.

One man photographed bloodstains on the pavement and turned shell casings into police, along with notes detailing where they were found, say charging papers. Anonymous tips also identified Long as the suspect.

A Capitol Hill business owner provided police with high-quality video-surveillance footage that showed Anderson and Long talking before Long pulled a gun and pointed it at Anderson, the charges say. Other people tried to detain Long as Anderson walked away, but he ran after Anderson.

When Long and several others caught up to Anderson, the footage captured a fistfight, then Long raised his arm and appeared to fire twice with his gun, the charges say.
A Spanish social media star could face 12 years in prison after bragging about tricking women into having sex without a condom.

Spain's equalities minister has asked prosecutors to investigate Naim Darrechi following the remarks made in a YouTube interview.

The 19-year-old is Spain's most popular TikTok user with 26.8million users on the app.

In the interview, Darrechi said he tricks sexual partners into having sex without a condom by telling them he is sterile.

The comment provoked outrage from girls and women, including minister Irene Montero, who noted that Darrechi's actions could constitute sexual abuse under current Spanish law.

Under a new law, such actions could be considered sexual assault under a new bill.

'Taking off a condom or ejaculating inside someone without consent is now sexual abuse and the #OnlyYesisYes law will recognise it as assault,' Montero wrote in a Twitter post referencing the bill.

'Bragging to 26million followers about something like this reflects the urgency of centering consent. We will inform the prosecutor's office.'

Darrechi later apologised on Instagram, writing: 'I'm really sorry... it's just crazy what I said.'

Spanish social media star Naim Darrechi could face 12 years in prison after bragging about tricking women into having sex without a condom

Spain's equalities minister has asked prosecutors to investigate Darrechi following remarks made in a YouTube interview

'I want to apologise, really. Sometimes I don't realise the responsibility that is mine...

'I made a comment that really is out of place and that is not right. Sometimes I say things and sometimes I exaggerate, but here it's just crazy what I said, I wish it had been cut at the edit and no one would ever have heard it.'

The comment came in an interview with Spanish YouTuber Mostopapi in which Darrechi stated: 'I find it difficult with a condom, so I never use one.'

He claimed that none of his sexual partners had gotten pregnant and said 'I started thinking that I had a problem.'

'So I tell them: "relax, I'm sterile." It's true,' Darrechi said, prompting a laugh from the interviewer.

TRANSLATION: 'Taking off a condom or ejaculating inside someone without consent is now sexual abuse and the #OnlyYesisYes law will recognise it as assault. Bragging to 26million followers about something like this reflects the urgency of centering consent. We will inform the prosecutor's office.'

Darrechi could face between one and 12 years in prison if convicted under the new bill, set to be debated by parliament in September, which reclassifies all non-consensual sex as rape. It does not come into effect until later this year.

The change to the criminal code followed intense public anger over light sentences given in a number of cases involving sexual crimes.

The most prominent example was the so-called 'Wolf Pack' case in which five men gang raped an 18-year-old woman in Pamplona in 2016.

Fury erupted after the men were first handed a lesser sentence for sexual abuse, rather than sexual assault.
Rep. Liz Cheney announced on Tuesday that her campaign raised almost $1.9 million in the second quarter of 2021, hundreds of thousands of dollars more than Rep. Elise Stefanik who replaced her in a Republican leadership role after she voted to impeach President Trump.

Her campaign said the $1.88 million raised from April to June was a record for the Wyoming Republican.

The duelling totals will be seen as a measure of pro and anti-Trump sentiment in the Republican party as it wrestles with the former president's legacy while preparing for next year's midterms and a chance to take back the House.

Cheney supporters will see it as vindication for daring to speak out against Trump's unfounded claims that he won the 2020 election.

She was the most high profile of 10 House Republicans who voted in January to impeach Trump.

Rep. Liz Cheney raised almost $1.9 million, more than the $1.7 million raised by Rep Elise Stefanik, who replaced her as chair of the House Republican Conference after Cheney spoke out against President Trump's election fraud claims

Trump addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas on Sunday. The fundraising hauls of Cheney and Stefanik will be seized on by their supporters as indicators of the relative strengths of Trump supporters and opponents in the Republican Party

But it came at a cost. Since then she has been ousted as chair of the House Republican Conference, the third-highest position in the House Republican leadership, and replaced by Stefanik.

And she faces pro-Trump primary challengers next year. State Senators Chuck Gray and Anthony Bouchard have already announced they will run against her.

Kevin Seifert, her political adviser, said it was encouraging to see so many back Cheney's stance on the constitution, conservative values and the rule of law.

'As these fundraising numbers make clear, she has robust support in this fight,' he said.

'Liz is demonstrating the type of effective, principled leadership that Wyoming deserves from its Representative.

'She will continue to fight the Biden Administrations overreach and articulate how Republicans can offer a better way forward for the nation.'

Stefanik's campaign also claimed a new record, saying its total of $1.467 million was a new high for the second quarter of a year without an election.

It said Elise for Congress now has more than $2.1 million on hand - ten times more than all her opponents combined.

'I continue to be humbled, grateful, and blown away by the unprecedented small-dollar financial support for Team Elise and our mission,' she said.

'Its clear that grassroots patriots across America are fired up, energized, and donating in historic numbers.'

Cheney was the only Republican named by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to sit on the newly established committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol

Although she lost her leadership to Stefanik, Cheney has made clear she does not regret her criticism of Trump.

'It became very clear that staying in leadership would require me to perpetuate the lie about the last election, perpetuate the big lie, perpetuate things that are dangerous,' she told the Wall Street Journal in a recent interview.

'Im not willing to do that. Elise is willing to do that.'

And she attracted fresh anger when, two weeks ago, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi named her as the only Republican on the newly created select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

'Congress is obligated to conduct a full investigation of the most serious attack on our Capitol since 1814,' she said.

'That day saw the most sacred space in our Republic overrun by an angry and violent mob attempting to stop the counting of electoral votes and threatening the peaceful transfer of power.'

Trump made his feelings clear when she was ousted from the leadership post.

'Liz Cheney is a bitter, horrible human being,' he said in a statement.

'I watched her yesterday and realized how bad she is for the Republican Party.

'She has no personality or anything good having to do with politics or our country.'
The lawyers for man who was convicted of murdering Mollie Tibbetts want a new trial as two informants claim he was framed and that they know the identity of the 'real killer'.

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, a 27-year-old Mexican national, was convicted earlier this year by a jury of first-degree murder in the July 2018 stabbing death of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts in Brooklyn, Iowa.

Rivera had testified that he was framed by two masked men for the kidnapping and killing of the Iowa college student - but prosecutors in May had dismissed his testimony and called it a 'figment of his imagination'.

However, two informants who do not know each other have separately come forward since Rivera's highly publicized trial - claiming the same person confessed to the crime to them.

One of the informants, a prisoner housed by the Iowa Department of Corrections, has been named as Arne Maki by Law and Crime.

The inmate is believed to be Maki because court documents filed for Rivera's sentencing hearing name Maki as a witness ordered to appear before the court on Thursday.

The name of the person has not been revealed.

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, a 27-year-old Mexican national, was convicted earlier this year by a jury of first-degree murder in the July 2018 stabbing death of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts

However, two informants who do not know each other have separately come forward since Rivera's highly publicized trial - claiming the same person confessed to the crime

The revelations came after Rivera's attorneys, Chad and Jennifer Frese, wrote a motion filed on Friday noting they received the information about the claims from prosecutors after the trial.

Now the husband-and-wife team are seeking a new trial for their client, who came to the United States illegally as a teenager.

Judge Joel Yates has granted a defense motion for Maki to testify at Rivera's sentencing hearing on Thursday at the Poweshiek County Courthouse.

Maki has been in prison on a first offense domestic abuse charge since October 19, 2020. He is currently housed in the Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility.

That informant had recounted a conversation with a second inmate - identified in court documents as 'Inmate 2' - to a prison chaplain, then to an associate warden and a corrections officer, according to Law and Crime.

The second inmate had allegedly confessed to Tibbetts' death while the two inmates were both incarcerated in Poweshiek County, Iowa, where Tibbetts was killed.

The informant said Inmate 2 told them his associates had kidnapped Tibbetts in a 'trap house' used for sex trafficking and that he had seen her 'bound and gagged' inside the trap house.

The second inmate allegedly confessed to killing Tibbetts with another person and searching for someone to frame for the murder when news of her disappearance started to spread.

Inmate Arne Maki is reported to be one of the informants who has come forward

Cristhian Bahena Rivera listens as Assistant Iowa Attorney General Scott Brown delivers his closing arguments in his trial, at the Scott County Courthouse in Davenport, Iowa

A poster for missing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts hangs in the window of a local business in Brooklyn, Iowa

The second inmate and their alleged accomplice - who allegedly devised the plan - dumped her body 'near a Hispanic male in order to make it appear that the Hispanic male committed the crime,' the informant claims.

He reportedly told prison officials and investigators that he thought the story 'was bluster' until he heard Rivera's testimony.

The second informant came forward to a local sheriffs office, claiming she was in a car with the same man a month earlier when he pulled a pistol to her head.

'That Mexican shouldnt be in jail for killing Mollie Tibbetts because I raped her and killed her,' the man allegedly told the informant, according to the new motion.

The second informant was described as emotional and likely intoxicated, and at least one investigator dismissed the information as not credible.

Defense lawyers concede the new witnesses' claims don't exactly match the version of events shared by their client.

'While perhaps not every bit of the account fits neatly into defendants account of the events, enough of the facts fit to certainly question whether the state would have been able to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt had this information been known and presented to a jury,' they wrote.

Rivera testified through a Spanish language interpreter in his own defense May 26 - claiming he was kidnapped at his trailer near the dairy farm where he worked by two armed masked men.

His stint on the witness stand came after homicide investigators testified that Rivera confessed to killing Tibbetts after he spotted her jogging and she rebuffed his advances.

Rivera claimed during his testimony that he didn't tell investigators about the masked men because they threatened to harm his former girlfriend, the mother of his daughter, if he did.

Prosecutors told jurors that an autopsy found that she had been stabbed seven to 12 times in the chest, ribs, neck, and skull, and that she died from sharp force injuries

A map shows the location from where Tibbets went missing on July 18 and where her body was eventually found on August 21

Photos of Mollie Tibbetts' partially naked and decomposing body that was dumped in an Iowa cornfield were shown to jurors on Friday as Cristhian Bahena Rivera stand trial. Pictured above is the crime scene tape around the cornstalks where her body was found in 2018

The armed men allegedly ordered him to drive his car on a rural road where Tibbetts was expected to be jogging.

He said they had him stop the car as one of them got out, stabbed her to death and put her body in his trunk.

The young woman's badly decomposed remains were discovered a month after she went missing.

Bahena Rivera insisted he is innocent

They then ordered him to drive to a cornfield, instructed him to dispose of the body and not to tell anyone about what happened or else they would kill his ex-girlfriend and their young daughter, Rivera said.

Defense lawyers said Bahena Rivera never wavered from that story from the moment they began representing him in 2018.

In their motion for a new trial, they noted that testing of blood found in his trunk showed DNA from people other than Tibbetts who haven't been identified.

Prosecutors remain confident in Bahena Riveras guilt and they plan to respond to the defense claims this week, according to state attorney generals office spokesman Lynn Hicks.

During the trial, prosecutors also presented surveillance video evidence showing Rivera's black Chevrolet Malibu circling the area Tibbetts was jogging in around the time she went missing on July 18, 2018.
Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy said Tuesday that Afghan interpreters could see a violent end if the U.S. doesn't move to get them evacuated amid the pull-out, as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warned that Afghanistan was 'unraveling.'

Leahy appeared on MSNBC Tuesday morning and talked about why he included funding to help Afghan refugees in a larger $3.7 billion emergency spending bill that also includes funding for the Capitol Police.

'If they're not given refugee status, we're going to see pictures of them lined up against the wall and machine-gunned,' the Vermont Democrat said, saying he feared violence at the hands of the Taliban. 'That's not an exaggeration.'

Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont, said he feared Afghan interpreters would be 'lined up against the wall and machine-gunned' by the Taliban

In the interview he noted 'both Donald Trump and Joe Biden wanted to withdraw from Afghanistan.'

'Now we're finally doing it,' he added.

Leahy explained to MSNBC's Hallie Jackson that he included money for Afghans in the bill because the clock was ticking.

'We can sit in the safety of the Senate chamber and talk back and forth. We're not the ones facing those bullets,' he said.

'If your life is in danger, you're going to be shot, you don't want to wait for parliamentary maneuvers in the U.S. Senate, you want to get it done,' Leahy added.

In a speech last Thursday and in previous public statements about Afghanistan, Biden partially justified the pull-out because Trump had already struck a withdrawal deal and he said he believed American troops would be targeted by the Taliban if he went back on it.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, seen speaking to reporters on Tuesday, said on the Senate floor that 'Afghanistan is unraveling'

But that hardly means the move has been given a bipartisan blessing.

McConnell, the chamber's top Republican, lambasted the move in a Tuesday Senate floor speech.

'Our reckless rush to the exits is becoming a global embarrassment,' the Kentucky Republican said. 'He's ignoring the truth unfolding before our very eyes: Afghanistan is unraveling.'

Some of the latest shocking images come from a video that emerged this week that purported to show 22 Afghan Special Forces soldiers gunned down by Taliban fighters.

CNN reported that the killings occurred on June 16 and that witnesses told the network the special forces arrived in armored vehicles, spent two hours in a gun-fight with the Taliban, and then ran out of ammunition.

They received no air support or back-up of any kind, despite calling for reinforcements.

'The other forces betrayed the commandos,' an anonymous official told Stars and Stripes magazine at the time.

In his Thursday address, Biden vowed that the U.S. would support Afghans who assisted the war effort.

Gruesome video shows Taliban fighters killing 22 Afghan Special Forces soldiers in a June incident that came to light this week. Footage shows unarmed soldiers with their arms raised being marched into the street before men with rifles open fire while shouting 'Allahu Akbar'

Disturbing footage has emerged purporting to show the moment 22 Afghan commandos were massacred in the town of Dawlat Abad on June 16 while surrendering to the Taliban

A body of an Afghan soldier lies on the ground after Taliban forces executed Afghan forces in June

'Were also going to continue to make sure that we take on the Afghan nationals who work side-by-side with U.S. forces, including interpreters and translators - since were no longer going to have military there after this; were not going to need them and they have no jobs - who are also going to be vital to our efforts so they - and theyve been very vital -- and so their families are not ex posed to danger as well,' Biden said.

'We've already dramatically accelerated the procedure time for Special Immigrant Visas to bring them to the United States,' he added.

Biden also expressed that he believed Afghan forces were superior fighters over the Taliban.

'The Afghan troops have 300,000 well-equipped - as well-equipped as any army in the world - and an air force, against something like 75,000 Taliban,' Biden said, saying it was 'not inevitable' that the Afghan government would fall to the Taliban.
A woman told police officers she was letting 'God take the wheel' as a test of her faith as she drove at 120mph last month, eventually crashing into two other cars, knocking down power lines and smashing into a house with her 11-year-old daughter in the car.

Traffic cameras caught the moment the woman sped through a red light at 120 mph as she headed south at a four-way intersection, where she slammed into a red car traveling west on June 15 shortly before midnight.

Parts of the hood and glass could be seen flying off the red car as the driver continued to speed by, but police told 19 News the driver was uninjured.

Traffic cameras caught the moment a woman sped through a red light at a four-way intersection at 120 miles per hour and hit a car traveling west, causing damage to parts of its hood. The driver, fortunately, was uninjured in the crash

The red car had been following traffic laws as it traveled west, traffic cameras revealed

The 31-year-old Parma driver, who has not been named, reportedly lost control of her car, which eventually crashed into a utility pole and another vehicle in the driveway of a Beachwood home, ultimately striking the house itself, according to News 10.

No one was inside the home, police said, and the house only appeared to have suffered cosmetic damage.

Police told 19 News the woman only stopped her joy ride after colliding with the house, and told them that she had intentionally drove through the red light 'to test her faith with God.'

Another view of the crash, which caused a 31-year-old Parma woman's car to spin out of control until it crashed into a utility pole and hit another vehicle in the driveway of a Beachwood home, ultimately striking the house itself

She reportedly said she had been going through 'trials and tribulations,' having been recently fired from her job, so she decided to 'let go and let God take the wheel.'

She believed she had done the right thing, News 10 reports, even though her 11-year-old daughter, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was taken to a local hospital with head injuries.

Police reportedly asked the woman if she had been drinking or did any drugs, to which she replied that she had one glass of wine nearly seven hours earlier.

Officers then began to suspect she suffered a mental health crisis, and had her taken to a local hospital, where they did not detect any signs of drugs of alcohol, according to Illinois News Today.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Beachwood Police Department for more information about the case.

Prosecutors are expected to present the case to a grand jury this week. She could face charges including felony assault, endangering a child, reckless operation and driving under suspension.
A seriously ill former Troubles soldier set to stand trial in October over a disputed shooting could yet be saved by the Government's proposals, his lawyer suggested last night.

Dennis Hutchings, 80, is accused of attempted murder in relation to the death of John Pat Cunningham in County Tyrone in 1974.

Mr Cunningham, who had learning difficulties, was shot after failing to stop in response to soldiers' requests.

Mr Hutchings is charged with attempted murder, rather than murder, as prosecutors cannot prove who fired the fatal shot.

The former staff sergeant in the Life Guards has always maintained he fired warning shots into the air.

Dennis Hutchings (pictured in 1978), 80, is accused of attempted murder in relation to the death of John Pat Cunningham in County Tyrone in 1974

Mr Cunningham, who had learning difficulties, was shot after failing to stop in response to soldiers' requests. Pictured: British soldiers and a armoured saracen vehicle patrol on the streets of Crossmaglen, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, in September 1981

It is understood the proposed statute of limitations will not assist those whose cases are currently before the courts as the Government will not interfere with the judiciary.

As well as Mr Hutchings, another soldier has been charged with manslaughter in relation to a shooting in Northern Ireland in 1988.

Convicted IRA member John Downey, named in a High Court ruling as participating in the 1982 Hyde Park bombing, has been charged with the murder of two soldiers in 1972. His case is also likely to proceed. But last night, Mr Hutchings' lawyer Philip Barden said his team would argue for a stay of proceedings for any legislation protecting veterans to come into effect.

'We would argue it would be unfair to continue to prosecute Mr Hutchings when a law comes in to bar other prosecutions and would invite the Public Prosecution Service [of Northern Ireland] to drop the prosecution in this case,' he said.

Mr Hutchings has vowed to clear his name in court. Mr Cunningham's family have said he should face trial.

British Army Troops deployed on the streets to combat rioting on the Falls Road, West Belfast, in 1976

Bomb damage in Market Street, Omagh, in 1998

Demonstrators walk past Downing Street in Whitehall, London as part of a 'Rolling Thunder' protest

The pensioner, of Cornwall, requires kidney dialysis three times each week and has heart problems. Doctors say he may only have months to live.

Last night Mr Hutchings said: 'I was arrested six years ago and have been dragged over coals ever since. I was told there was new evidence but this has never, ever been produced.

'I think this legislation might have come too late for me but hopefully it will help the other ex-servicemen who have cases hanging over them.

'The Government have been spineless. We were sent to Northern Ireland to do a job then abandoned.'
Does todays announcement of what amounts to an amnesty in Northern Ireland represent a pragmatic drawing of the line under the Troubles after more than 50 years?

Or is it a sell-out by the Government, a dishonourable capitulation which spares former terrorist killers, and effectively wipes the slate clean of their terrible crimes?

I admit I am torn  dreadfully torn. There is no doubt that the settlement, which will be unveiled by Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis in the Commons this afternoon, establishes what to me is a repugnant moral equivalence between British Army veterans and erstwhile terrorists.

Dozens of veterans  no one can be sure of the precise number  will no longer face the threat of prosecution. The lives of many now elderly men have been blighted by police investigations and the prospect of lengthy trials. That is obviously a cruel way to treat men who have served Queen and country.

Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis, pictured, is expected to bring proposals to the House of Commons tomorrow to effectively grant amnesty to crimes committed during The Troubles

But it nevertheless sticks in the craw that suspected IRA and Loyalist killers will no longer have anything to fear for crimes committed before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. For example, one man has faced possible prosecution for the 1974 Birmingham bombings which killed 21 people. He can now sleep easy.

There is in truth no conceivable comparison between ex-soldiers and former terrorists, who were responsible for 90 per cent of killings in Northern Ireland. Soldiers were undeniably occasionally responsible for unlawful homicide  the official inquiry into Bloody Sunday in 1972 showed as much  but they did not set out to kill and maim innocent people. Terrorists did  on a massive scale.

So it is impossible to welcome Mr Lewiss statement. But if it is the only way to spare former soldiers vexatious prosecutions, I am reluctantly prepared the accept the Governments proposals as the lesser of two evils.

Former service personnel have been highly critical of the Government after several former members of the Parachute Regiment faced prosecution over alleged murders during the 1970s

As things stand, the veterans have more to fear from protracted trials than terrorists. The British Army on the whole kept excellent records. The terrorists did their dirty work under cover  and buried the evidence as soon as possible.

Besides, following the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, Tony Blair covertly authorised letters of comfort which were sent to more than 200 suspected terrorists, guaranteeing them that they would not be prosecuted. This led, in 2014, to the collapse of the trial of John Downey, a suspect in the 1982 IRA bombing in Hyde Park which killed four soldiers, after it emerged that he had been sent one of these comfort letters.

In view of the freedom from prosecution granted to so many suspected killers by Mr Blair, as well as the long passage of time since their crimes were committed and a general lack of evidence, very few former terrorists had much to fear from the law.

The same cannot be said with such confidence of the veterans, though in May the trial in Belfast of Soldier A (aged 71) and Soldier C (70) collapsed for want of proper evidence. They had been charged with the 1972 murder of Joe McCann, a 24-year-old IRA killer and skilled gunman who has been blamed for the deaths of 15 soldiers in Northern Ireland.

But one cannot be sure that the trials of other veterans would end the same way. In any case, even if a trial collapses the defendants are subjected to lengthy police examination. Dennis Hutchings  whose trial later this year at the age of 80 may still go ahead despite the amnesty  was interrogated by police on 25 separate occasions, ten of them on one day, despite having a debilitating kidney disease.

I loathe the idea of letting off any suspected terrorist. Such benighted creatures do not deserve an amnesty. But if it is the only way of sparing men who have bravely served their country the indignity of distressing investigations, so be it.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday nominated Jeff Flake, a former Republican senator who crossed party lines to back his 2020 campaign for the White House, to serve as U.S. ambassador to Turkey.

Flake, 58, left the Senate at the end of his term 2019 after clashing repeatedly with President Donald Trump and saying he was out of step with the modern G.O.P.

While supporters said Flake had the skills to handle one of the most complicated U.S. alliances, other foreign policy experts said the job should have gone to a career diplomat.

For his part, Flake said he was 'humbled' and 'honored' at his nomination to a 'pivotal post.'

'With this nomination, the Biden administration reaffirms the best tradition of American foreign policy and diplomacy: the credo that partisan politics should stop at the waters edge,' he said in a statement.

'U.S. foreign policy can and should be bipartisan.

'That is my belief as well, and my commitment.'

Jeff Flake campaigned for Joe Biden last year and on Tuesday became the second Republican to be nominated for an ambassador post. He said he was 'humbled' and 'honored' to be selected to serve as ambassador to Turkey

Biden is slowly filling out the top ranks of the diplomatic service. Last week, the White House announced he would be nominating Los Angeles mayor and ally Eric Garcetti as envoy to India. But other key capitals remain without nominees, including London

Flake said he was grateful for a chance to serve. 'This is a pivotal post at an important time for both of our countries,' he said

Flake represented Arizona first as a representative in the U.S. House from 2001 to 2013, and then as a senator.

He becomes the second Republican nominated for an ambassadorial role after Cindy McCain, who has been selected to head United States Mission to the UN agencies of food and agriculture in Rome.

If confirmed, his posting will be tougher.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's authoritarian instincts have strained relations between Washington and Ankara in recent years.

During the 2020 campaign, Biden infuriated the Turkish government by describing Erdogan as an 'autocrat.'

They reached a low in April when Biden recognized the mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in the early Twentieth Century as a genocide.

Previous presidents avoided the term for fear of harming relations.

Last year the U.S. removed Turkey from its role in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program - replacing Turkish suppliers of 188 parts - and imposed sanctions for buying a Russian-made missile defense system.

Biden infuriated President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by describing him as an 'autocrat' during the election campaign. If confirmed, Flake will be walking into one of the trickiest U.S. alliances

Some foreign policy experts questioned why a political appointee had been selected for such a difficult and important posting rather than a career diplomat

Brett Bruen, White House global engagement director under President Obama, said Biden had made a mistake in picking a political appointee for such a high-stakes role.

'While I have great respect for Senator Flake, this is absolutely not the right choice,' he said.

'The challenges and complexities of our relations today with Turkey really demands someone with decades of diplomatic experience.'

One possible area of cooperation is Afghanistan. Turkey has offered to protect and operate Kabul airport after U.S. and NATO forces have left the country.

Flake is a former member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and his former colleagues were quick to say his longstanding interest in world affairs would make him a good fit.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, said Flake had the skills to build a better relationship with Turkey.

'Our relations with Turkeys government have been fraught in more recent years by tensions over security matters and human rights policies,' he said.

'Jeff is a perfect choice to work toward a more constructive relationship that would be good for both of our countries, for the region, and for the world.'
Two busy venues have been added to Melbourne's growing list of Covid-19 exposure sites.

Anyone who visited Caltex or Hungry Jack's in Kalkallo, north of the city, on July 8 between 9.07am and 10.06am is considered a Tier one contact, and must get tested and isolate for 14 days.

The venues are linked to two removalists who travelled from Sydney through Victoria to Adelaide last week, before testing positive.

Pictured: Caltex and Hungry Jack's in Kalkallo, in Melbourne's north, which are now Covid exposure sites

Pictured: Vic Health workers prepare to enter Ariele Apartments in Maribyrnong, Melbourne, on Tuesday

The workers made a drop-off at a family home in Craigieburn and a pick-up at the Maribyrnong apartment last Thursday.

Both families of four are isolating and have been tested.

The crew is believed to have immediately left Melbourne and arrived in Adelaide early Friday morning.

The infected cases have also put a Mobil service station and McDonald's in Ballan on alert, along with a Coles in Craigieburn.

Covid-19 Commander Jeroen Weimar said the removalists were not 'forthcoming' about their movements.

'I can understand there's a number of scenarios that might be going through their heads,' he told reporters on Tuesday.

'The only thing we care about is the information, so we can act upon it and put the public health response in place. Everything else is secondary.'

The infected cases have also put a Mobil service station, a McDonald's, a Metro petrol station and a Coles at Craigieburn Central Shopping Centre (pictured)

An infected case visited Ballan McDonald's (pictured) on July 8 between 5pm and 7pm

Removalists are permitted workers under Victoria's border permit system.

An apartment complex in Melbourne also in lockdown for 14 days after being visited by the infected removalists.

Residents of the Ariele Apartments in Maribyrnong in Melbourne's north-west have been ordered not to leave the building after the infected group visited on July 8.

The complex is listed as a Tier 1 exposure site, which means anyone at the apartments from 1pm to 11.59pm on that day must get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result.

Resident Craig McLean recalled walking directly past the removalists in the building foyer the day they were there.

Residents in the Ariele Apartments in Maribyrnong (pictured on Tuesday) cannot leave the building for two weeks after it was visited by infected removalists last week

'Obviously it's very, very frustrating as clearly rules haven't been followed,' Mr McLean told Sunrise from his first floor balcony on Tuesday.

'We now find ourselves in lockdown while the rest of Melbourne is out of that state, so it's very frustrating.'

He feared not all residents may be unaware they've been ordered to isolate for two weeks and may have left for work on Tuesday.

'I heard a bit of traffic outside so potentially that has happened,' he said.

'We could hear people in foyer moving around. Again, not ideal.'

Apartment resident Craig McLean will spend the next two weeks in lockdown. He's pictured speaking to Sunrise from second floor apartment on Tuesday

Mr McLean originally thought it was an Uber Eats driver who had the wrong unit when he got a knock at the door around 9pm on Monday night.

'We opened up the door and there was a letter there, so I contacted the hotline for further clarification, where they told me to gest tested and isolate for 14 days,' he said.

Health workers donning personal protective equipment were spotted entering the building on Tuesday as residents watched on from their balconies.

Another woman in the building told Sunrise she had no idea until she found a letter in her letterbox.

Resident Nicola Clement is holed up in her 10th lockdown or isolation period following stints in Western Australia and New Zealand since the pandemic.

'Of all the apartments in Melbourne, I couldn't believe it was mine,' she told the Herald Sun.

A resident in lockdown at the Ariele Apartments steps onto his balcony to get some fresh air

'One thing I'm grumpy about is it's a stricter lockdown than Sydney.'

Another resident only found out his apartment was an exposure site after checking the Health Department's website.

'I was going to work  realised we had the lockdown and came home,' he said

Residents cannot leave the buildings unless they getting Covid-19 test or in an emergency.

Anyone who visited been to the complex any time between July 9 and 12 must also get tested and isolate until they test negative.

Victoria's 12-day run of zero community cases has come to an end. Pictured are health workers entering the Ariele Apartments on Tuesday

Three members of the same Melbourne household have also tested positive and are in isolation, having recently returned from NSW on red zone permits.

Three of the four family members from the City of Hume arrived on July 4 by air and the other returned by car on July 8.

They all initially tested negative but two became symptomatic and were tested on Sunday, with the results coming back positive on Monday.

Neither the flight nor Melbourne Airport has been listed as exposure sites, as the family tested negative for the virus two days after their arrival and other passengers are already self-isolating as part of their red zone permit conditions.
Advertisement

Australia's northern neighbour Indonesia is being ravaged by another wave of Covid-19 as the number of cases passes 2.6million and 68,219 people have died.

The nation's Covid statistics are now the worst in south-east Asia, with the per capita death toll now higher than India's.

The highly contagious Delta variant combined with religious holiday travel and poor Covid controls and contact tracing outside the capital Jakarta are all blamed for the huge spike in cases.

Just this week the country's Covid-10 Taskforce announced 40,427 cases on Monday and 47,899 new cases on Tuesday.

Those figures are widely believed to be a vast undercount due to low testing and poor tracing measures.

Graveyard workers carry the coffin of a Covid-19 victim at the Keputih cemetery at Surabaya, East Java on July 9

Funeral workers bury a Covid-19 patient in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, Indonesia on July 10. More than 68,000 Indonesians had now died from the virus

Covid-19 patients receive treatment using oxygen tanks outside the emergency room of a hospital at Surabaya, East Java, on July 11

Family members visit a relative's grave at the Pedurenan Covid-19 public cemetery in Bekasi, West Java in this aerial picture taken on July 7, 2021

Indonesia's most populous island of Java and popular tourist destination of Bali have been in lockdown since July 3, with only essential workers allowed to travel.

Earlier this month The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Indonesia was 'teetering on the edge of a Covid-19 catastrophe'.

Trainee doctors and new medial graduates were being drafted in to deal with the crisis as the country's hospitals reached capacity and struggled to maintain oxygen supplies, the ABC reported.

The Indonesian Doctors Association also reported that at least 434 Indonesian doctors had died from Covid as of July 5, while the Indonesian Medical Association said 949 health workers had so far died from the virus.

'All my friends are falling down. All of us are sick, or were sick. Everybody who works along with us [are] collapsing,' Dr Lumanauw, a 29-year-old doctor, told the ABC.

Non-Covid patients are unable to get treatment at major hospitals due to the impact of the virus, The Jakarta Post reported.

It quoted Dewi Safitri, 17, who went to several hospitals in Jakarta to seek treatment for her mother who had injured her legs.

'We went to around five hospitals on June 26, all of which rejected my mother because they were at full capacity with COVID-19 patients.'

Specialist public safety officers take a break from preparing Covid victims for burial in Jakarta on July 13

Covid-19 patients receive treatment using oxygen tanks outside the emergency room of a hospital in Surabaya, East Java, on July 11

Public safety officers who specialise in preparing the bodies of Covid-19 victims for burial, place the body of a victim in a casket on July 13 in Jakarta

Muslims pack a mosque for Friday prayers in Lhokseumawe, Aceh, on July 9, despite nationwide Covid restrictions to halt the rapid spread of the virus in the country

The country is running out of oxygen supplies and seeking emergency supplies from other countries.

A shipment of more than 1,000 oxygen cylinders, concentrators, ventilators and other health devices arrived from Singapore on Friday, followed by another 1,000 ventilators from Australia, said Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the government minister in charge of Indonesias pandemic response.

Indonesian authorities had tried to curb the practice of 'mudik', where migrant workers travel back to their hometowns across the country's archipelago to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid with their families, to stop the spread of the virus.

But it was clear many people ignored the restrictions.

Indonesia had administered more than 50million vaccinations shots as of July 11, with only about 15million, or 5.5percent, of the country's 270 million people now fully vaccinated.

The country is attempting to get 1million shots into arms each day in its race to control the spread of the virus.
Eagle-eyed viewers spotted Karl Stefanovic sipping a green health drink while interviewing hospitality workers about 'doing it tough' during the latest coronavirus outbreak.

The Today host was speaking to the owner of the popular Chin Chin restaurant from Melbourne with viewers noticing Karl was conducting the interview with a green smoothie as well as a coffee.

The south-east Asian fusion restaurant are offering 500 meals to hospitality workers as the Greater Sydney area looks set to be locked down for the foreseeable future.

'We're trying to come together as Australians and it's up to us in business to put our arms around our fellow Aussies in Sydney. We've gone through these terrible lockdowns in Melbourne,' owner Chris Lucas said.

'It's such a terrible time for [hospitality workers], they're already doing it tough, they already don't receive much money they're just trying to make ends meet,' Karl replied with his health juice nearby.

Eagle-eyed viewers spotted Karl Stefanovic sipping a green health drink while interviewing hospitality workers about 'doing it tough' during the latest coronavirus outbreak

NSW recorded 89 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, taking the latest outbreak of the highly infectious Indian Delta strain to 767 cases - leaving Sydney's lockdown likely to be extended (pictured, a near empty George Street in the city's CBD on Tuesday)

The Chin Chin owner, who is dedicating the meals to hospitality workers across the Greater Sydney region, said the politicising of the pandemic from state premiers is a 'disgrace'.

'I'm very disappointed with the commentary from the last 24 hours, I think that's at the fundamental core of why we're in this poisiton at the moment,' he told Today.

'The politicisation and constant bickering by the state premiers and failing to act in the national good, it's a disgrace.'

With a community transfer breaking Melbourne's near two-week run without a public case and Greater Sydney set to find out how long its lockdown will be extended, Mr Lucas lamented the economic strain the restrictions are having.

'We're all over it, we know whey they're happening, we know why we need them, but we've got to stop this rubbish,' he said.

'People are breaking down, businesses are going broke, people are losing their livelihoods. Some states are locking down over a couple of cases.

All state premiers can do is bicker and undermine the national good and the prime minister. I think it's a disgrace, they should be reaching out and coming together to ask how can we come together as a nation, how can we get the country vaccinated.'

'It's such a terrible time for [hospitality workers], they're already doing it tough, they already don't receive much money they're just trying to make ends meet,' Karl replied with his health juice nearby

Sydney businesses (pictured in lockdown on Tuesday) are doing it tough with locals unable to venture out of their homes for anything but essential reasons

Earlier, Victorian Premier Dan Andrews accused the federal government of 'double standards' after a $1.5billion-a fortnight relief package for New South Wales businesses struggling in lockdown was announced.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the taxpayer funded package on Tuesday as Sydneysiders endure their third week of a harsh lockdown, with no end in sight and an extension likely to be brought in before Friday.

The announcement prompted a scathing reply from Dan Andrews who claimed Victorians were 'sick and tired' of having to beg the federal government for support.

But the government hit back saying Victoria received the same support for its most recent two week lockdown as NSW has had for the last fortnight, with the new policy also available to any state who experiences restrictions from now on.

'Everyone in Australia believes that people in Sydney and NSW deserve every possible support as they battle a second wave and a long lockdown,' Mr Andrews said in a statement.

'But Victorians are rightly sick and tired of having to beg for every scrap of support from the federal government.'

'It shouldn't take a crisis in Sydney for the Prime Minister to take action but we are seeing the same double standard, time and time again.'

Victorian Premier Dan Andrews (pictured) said a new funding package for NSW residents under lockdown was the federal government playing favourites

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the Victorian government was being 'childish and petulant' and Scott Morrison also dissmissed any suggestions of unfairness.

'The Victorian government has been strongly supported by the Commonwealth, particularly last year during those terrible lockdowns, and I have no doubt that people in Melbourne and across Victoria just want to ensure that Sydney can get through this,' he told Today.

'We were putting three-quarters of a billion dollars every single week into Victoria while they went through that lockdown.'

A government spokesman said Mr Andrews should spend more time trying to find solutions rather than 'politicising' the issue.

'The NSW government has worked constructively with the Commonwealth to support their households and businesses,' a government spokesman said.

'While the Victorian government's politicised approach has unfortunately been to issue decrees by media instead of picking up the phone to find solutions as a partnership.'
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley received a warning about what could be a bumpy transition from a retired military buddy on election night 2020 as returns were coming in.

The friend called and told Milley: 'You are an island unto yourself right now. You are not tethered. Your loyalty is to the Constitution. You represent the stability of the republic,' according to the book, I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year.

'There's fourth-rate people at the Pentagon. And you have fifth-rate people at the White House. Youre surrounded by total incompetence. Hang in there. Hang tough,' the friend said, Washington Post reporters Carol D. Leonnig and Philip Rucker wrote in their forthcoming tome.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley received a warning call from a military buddy on election night telling him that he was 'surrounded by total incompetence,' a new book said

Washingoton Post reporters Carol D. Leonnig and Philip Rucker detailed in a new excerpt of their forthcoming book how Rudy Giuliani told President Donald Trump to 'just say we won' before key states were called on election night

The two journalists released an excerpt of the book Tuesday focused on the major plot points of election night.

Milley was watching the election returns from his home at Fort Myer in Arlington, Virginia.

They wrote that he 'memorialized the night by keeping his own scorecard of states in his journal.'

And around 10:30 p.m. he received the call.

Earlier in the day, Milley, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and other officials were briefed about security concerns around the nation, including that if Trump won 10,000 to 15,000 Americans could take to the streets in Washington, D.C. to protest.

Esper - who had been on the chopping block with Trump since June when he refused to use the Insurrection Act on Black Lives Matter protesters - also viewed his potential firing as a security threat.

Leonnig and Rucker wrote in the book that Esper had NBCs Courtney Kube kill a story that said he was preparing to be fired by Trump the day after the election.

The story was to also detail Esper's efforts to help lawmakers on Capitol Hill rename Confederate-named military bases, something that Trump had campaigned against.

Esper feared if it was published before the election, it would trigger a premature firing.

'He was worried about what Trump might try to do with the military if he were not at the helm,' Rucker and Leonnig wrote. 'Esper warned Kube that publishing her story could result in a more compliant acting secretary of defense, which could have worrisome repercussions.'

The story was held.

The authors also detail what happened at the White House on election night.

For one, an inebriated Rudy Giuliani advised Trump to 'just say we won' when Michigan and Pennsylvania hadn't yet been called.

Trump had invited nearly 400 people to the White House for an election night gathering - one that Melania Trump had wanted cancelled - and Giuliani, along with his son Andrew, a Trump aide, were set up on a laptop watching vote tallies in the Map Room.

'After a while, Rudy Giuliani started to cause a commotion,' Leonnig and Rucker wrote. 'He was telling other guests that he had come up with a strategy for Trump and was trying to get into the president's private quarters to tell him about it.'

'Some people thought Giuliani may have been drinking too much,' the authors went on, adding that Trump's campaign manager Bill Stepien was pushed to go talk to the former New York City mayor.

Rudy Giuliani advised then President Donald Trump on election night to 'just say we won' when key states like Michigan and Pennsylvania hadn't been called yet - and later when Arizona was called for his rival, now President Joe Biden, a new book claims

The book I Alone Can Fix It details how Rudy Giuliani, pictured in New York in June, told Trump advisers and then Trump that the president should just say he won Michigan and Pennsylvania and later the entire election, once Arizona was called for Biden

Stepien, Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Trump spokesman Jason Miller took Giuliani to a room off the Map Room to hear the so-called strategy.

Giuliani then asked the state of play in certain swing states.

He asked about Michigan.

Trump's advisers said it was too early to tell.

'Just say we won,' Giuliani suggested.

The Trump lawyer then asked about Pennsylvania and got the same response.

'Just say we won Pennsylvania,' Giuliani said.

The strategy, the authors wrote, was just announcing that Trump had won states before they were called.

Meadows, Stepien and Miller pushed back.

'We can't do that,' said Meadows. 'We can't.'

After Arizona was called by Fox News in favor of now President Joe Biden - a move that produced shockwaves through the White House that night - Giuliani pushed Trump to take his advice.

'Just go declare victory right now,' Giuliani told the president. 'You've got to go declare victory now.'

Trump listened, telling the waiting crowd, 'Frankly, we did win this election. We did win this election,' while the actual results of the election, which Biden won, took days to tabulate.

Michigan and Pennsylvania both went blue for Biden.

The authors described Trump's campaign aides being 'infuriated' by Giuliani's advice.

'It's hard to be the responsible parent when there's a cool uncle around taking the kid to the movies and driving him around in a Corvette,' one said. 'When we say the president can't say that, being responsible is not the easiest place to be when you've got people telling the president what he wants to hear.'

'It's hard to tell the president no. It's not an enviable place to be,' the adviser added.

Especially because Trump believed in the run-up to election night that he would win a second term.

He had just come off a whirlwind tour of the swing states where he attracted large crowds, who had voyaged out to see the president despite the coronavirus risks.

Biden refused to hold large rallies due to the COVID-19 threat, so there was no apples-to-apples comparison.

Florida, Trump's adopted home state, and a place where the campaign had spent a lot of energy attracting Latino supporters, looked good early on - and Trump would win that swing state.

It was the midwest, Georgia and Arizona that were more problematic.

Trump had also ignored Stepien when he told the president 'it's going to be good early.'

Stepien had explained to Trump that he could be up after polls closed, but then see leads get whittled away as mail-in ballots, more likely being used by Democratic voters, were counted.

When Trump saw the numbers change, he suggested something was amiss.

'Why are they still counting votes?' Trump asked, according to the authors. 'The election's closed. Are they counting ballots that came in afterward? What the hell is going on?'

A spokesman denied that Trump ever said this.

Trump told adviser Kellyanne Conway that something 'nefarious was at play,' the authors wrote.

'They're stealing this from us,' Trump said. 'We have this thing won. I won in a landslide and they're taking it back.'

Trump's early proclamation of victory and his paranoia over ballots laid the groundwork for what would be called 'the big lie.'

The authors wrote that Trump 'seemed to truly believe he had been winning.'

Polls had long predicted that Biden would win the White House after Trump's disastrous response to the coronavirus crisis.

But Trump was reacting to, as one adviser put it, 'The psychological impact of, hes going to win, people were calling him saying hes going to win.'

'And then somehow these votes just keep showing up,' the aide told the authors.

Leonnig and Rucker's book is one of a handful of books about the end of the Trump's time in office that will arrive in bookstores in January.

Last week, Trump preemptively pushed back on the new books.

'It seems to me that meeting with authors of the ridiculous number of books being written about my very successful administration, or me, is a total waste of time,' said Trump in a statement sent by his political action committee.

'They write whatever they want to write anyway without sources, fact-checking, or asking whether or not an event is true or false.'
Former Chancellor Philip Hammond has taken up a job with Saudi Arabia's finance minister  despite the concerns of a parliamentary watchdog.

Amid fears that he could offer 'access and influence' to a foreign government, one of the scrutiny panel said he should not take up the role.

Following David Cameron's controversial lobbying for the finance firm Greensill, there is pressure for stricter rules to govern the work of former ministers and mandarins.

Mr Hammond, 65, lost the Tory whip after rebelling against Boris Johnson's Brexit plans, but was still given a peerage by the Prime Minister.

Former Chancellor Philip Hammond (pictured with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud) has taken up a job with Saudi Arabia's finance minister  despite the concerns of a parliamentary watchdog

Now Lord Hammond of Runnymede, he set up the consultancy Matrix Partners and has taken up more than a dozen commissions over the past year, including advising senior figures in Bahrain and Kuwait.

He also aided the Saudis as they prepared to host the presidency of the G20. A second role with the kingdom has now emerged. A letter published by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), which monitors the revolving door between politics and business, states Lord Hammond's consultancy 'has been asked to advise the minister of finance on delivery of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's medium-term financial plan' to 'modernise the financial system'.

He described his role as 'supporting the minister of finance and his team to be 'intelligent clients' of... consultancy firms and hold them to account'.

Acoba noted that as Chancellor Lord Hammond had 'multiple dealings' with Saudi ministers and made policy decisions that had implications for the state, meaning the job 'raises risks in relation to perception you may be offered this work as a result of your time in office'.

Now Lord Hammond of Runnymede, he set up the consultancy Matrix Partners and has taken up more than a dozen commissions over the past year, including advising senior figures in Bahrain and Kuwait

It added: 'There are risks associated with a former senior minister advising a foreign government, not least in terms of the perception you offer access and influence.'

Acoba asked departments 'whether this might be damaging to the integrity of government'. But the Treasury and Foreign Office said it was more than 18 months since he had been in office and so he was not 'privy to any live policy issues', while Saudi Arabia was considered to be an ally.

Lord Hammond, Chancellor under then PM Theresa May, was told by Acoba chairman Lord Pickles: 'Although the committee had concerns over aspects of the role, these were resolved by a majority view.'

However, he said Acoba member and Labour peer Lord Whitty 'wished to record his dissent from the majority'.

Acoba insisted that he limited the scope of his role with the Saudis. The letter added: 'The committee considered whether this appointment was unsuitable given your former role as Chancellor.

'The committee has advised that a number of conditions be imposed to mitigate the potential risks to the Government associated with this appointment under the rules, including a condition to ensure the role is strictly limited to the specific work you describe, and, further, is limited to advising the minister of finance.'

Lord Hammond said last night: 'I found this quite a strange decision to understand. I haven't sought to challenge it because the Acoba control period for me ends on July 24.'

Royal audience: Philip Hammond, then foreign secretary, meets Saudi King Salman in 2016

'There are risks in terms of influence'
Colombian aid worker Bibiana Villota was unequivocal in his denial that cocaine can be considered ethical.

He told the Mirror: 'I've never heard of woke coke but I can tell you, no one in Colombia produces cocaine "ethically".

'What you call fair trade cocaine is only going to bring more greed and bloodshed.'

That is because however the drug is produced, sourced and exported, it comes through an international supply chain marred with violence.

There are also climate concerns from the production of powder cocaine, including deforestation.

In Colombia, which remains the worlds largest supplier of cocaine to most countries including the UK, rival drug cartels are notorious in their violent tactics to control the supply and distribution of the drug.

The cartels also clash with government forces trying to control the supply and distribution of the illicit drugs.

Other harmful elements of the cocaine trade also cannot be avoided.

These include the destruction of forests to produce the drugs, while the hazardous chemicals used to make them are also dumped in water, making them harmeful to the environment.
The property market has been red hot in recent months as buyers rushed to complete their purchases ahead of the stamp duty holiday deadline at the end of last month.

It generated a market where some homes were being snapped up within hours of going on the market by buyers hungry to get the tax saving or simply secure a property.

But new research suggests that this panic-buying has led to some regrets among new homeowners.

Indeed, it claims that half of homebuyers who bought during the coronavirus pandemic regret how much they paid.

New research suggests that panic-buying has led to some regrets among new homeowners

Among other regrets were repairs costing more than expected, among 14 per cent of buyers, furniture or fittings covering up faults at 13 per cent, a tatty appearance or need for decoration at 12 per cent and poor insulation at 10 per cent.

The research by insurer Aviva was based on 2,200 homeowners - including 500 people who have agreed a sale since the start of the pandemic.

The study found that more than two-thirds of homebuyers - at 68 per cent - felt under pressure to buy quickly when purchasing their latest property, rising to 94 per cent who agreed sales during the pandemic.

In most cases, people made their decision to buy after looking at their prospective home for less than an hour.

The research claimed people spent just 40 minutes viewing their property before opting to buy - although this figure was slightly higher for those buying during the pandemic, typically taking around 46 minutes.

Perhaps most alarmingly, 15 per cent of viewers felt confident of their decision to buy the property after less than 20 minutes.

We came close to a big mistake Lucy Stewart and husband James Cissel moved out of their London flat in March Lucy Stewart, 31, and husband James Cissel, 38, moved out of their London flat in March, ready to move into the home they had purchased in South Oxfordshire. Unfortunately their seller pulled out at the last minute. The couple have been living with Lucy's parents for the last few months while they renewed they search. They soon became concerned that they may end up spending more than they intended to - and more than the home may be worth in the future. They also discovered there is a lot of pressure from agents to act quickly or risk losing out. They have just had an offer accepted on a home, but it hasn't been an easy route. Lucy said: 'It was a terrible market to be buying in and there was loads of pressure from estate agents. We kept seeing houses disappear from online sites in 24 hours, so put a lot of pressure on ourselves to move quickly. 'There were definitely occasions we came close to making a big mistake. We put a rush offer into one house in particular due to this. It just wouldn't have been right for us at all but we did it because we felt that moving super-fast was what we needed to do. Fortunately the offer was rejected.' Advertisement

Time pressures

The Aviva study also claimed that one in four buyers - at 26 per cent - felt one viewing was sufficient, although on the whole people usually viewed a property twice before making an offer. This was the case for 44 per cent of buyers.

Those who bought quickly did so for a number of reasons. A total of 34 per cent of people buying during lockdown did so due to the stamp duty holiday, although 32 per cent said they didn't want to miss out because properties were selling so quickly.

At the same time, 30 per cent said they had lost out on other properties because they hadn't made an offer quickly enough.

Buyers were most likely to feel the need to make a quick purchase in London, where 85 per cent of buyers said they felt under pressure.

It compares with only 52 per cent of people in the north east who said the same.

Did more than half of buyers really not view homes in person? The study also revealed that more than half of pandemic buyers claim not to have seen their new home 'in real life' before deciding they should buy it. When quizzed on this survey claim, Aviva said that it asked: 'How did you view your property before you purchased it?' With respondents given a number of boxes and asked to tick all that apply. Astonishingly, just 42 per cent said they viewed it in person from these options for the period between March 2020 and June 2021. Of the other options that chose video viewings at 33 per cent, photos at 36 per cent and written information at 36 per cent. That dramatic shift to choosing to buy without an in-person visit follows the housing market being temporarily closed at the beginning of the lockdown from late March 2020, with virtual viewings being heavily promoted thereafter. Online tours became a way of viewings taking place more safely. Despite this shift during the pandemic, the Aviva study suggested that the number of people seeing properties for sale in person was already beginning to fall. PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE WHO VIEWED HOME FOR SALE IN PERSON Date when sale was agreed Percentage of people who viewed their home in person 2020 March - June 2021 42% March 2019 - February 2020 42% March 2018 - February 2019 56% March 2017 - February 2018 63% March 2007 - February 2017 83% March 1997 - February 2007 84% February 1997 or before 87% Source: Aviva Advertisement

Homebuyer regrets

Half of those who agreed a sale between March 2020 and June this year say they regret how much they paid for their properties.

It compares to only 12 per cent of buyers who purchased their property before February 2017.

At the same time, 23 per cent who bought since March last year said that they agreed a figure above the asking price. It compares to only 8 per cent in the 12 months prior to March 2020.

In addition to financial regrets, seven out of 10 buyers found issues with their property that they didn't notice during their viewing. For those who bought during the pandemic, the figure rises to 92 per cent of buyers.

For example, 10 per cent found evidence of possible subsidence and a further 10 per cent had problems with insects or vermin.

People said they had to typically spend almost 10,000 to put right the problems they discovered after moving in - specifically 9,548 to the nearest pound on average. It increases to more than 20,000 for one buyer in 10.

Owen Morris, of Aviva, said: 'The housing market is moving at an incredible pace, with multiple buyers for properties in many parts of the country. This is inevitably influencing how much people are paying for their homes and how quickly they are making decisions.

'But our research reveals many people are finding problems with their properties only when it's too late. These range from more minor irritations, such as the need to decorate, to more worrying problems such as crumbling brickwork or a risk of flooding.

'It can be easy to fall in love with a home on first viewing, but we'd urge people to do their homework and proceed with caution when making one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives.'

REVEALED: THE MOST COMMON DISAPPOINTMENTS AMONG BUYERS Property problem discovered after purchase Percentage of all home-buyers finding this problem Percentage of home-buyers during pandemic finding this problem Repairs costing more than expected 11% 14% Furniture / fittings had covered up faults 11% 13% Tatty appearance / in need of decoration 10% 12% Poorly insulated home 10% 10% Poor plumbing 10% 9% Poor electrics 9% 8% Damp / mould 9% 10% Leaky / draughty windows or doors 9% 8% Noisy neighbours 8% 11% Busy traffic 7% 11% Source: Aviva

Separate research by property website OnTheMarket has revealed that the end of the stamp duty holiday has done little to dampen the enthusiasm of buyers.

In particular, it found that found that 75.5 per cent of buyers were confident that they would purchase a property within the next three months.

It also claimed that 84 per cent of sellers were confident that they would sell their property within the next three months.

And a total of 28.5 per cent of properties were Sold Subject to Contract within 30 days of first being advertised for sale, compared with 8 per cent in June 2020. The research was based on questions asked via its website.

Jason Tebb, of property website OnTheMarket, said: 'We believe that this ongoing momentum is the result of a perfect storm of long-term pent-up demand stemming from the lead up to the 2019 General Election and Brexit in early 2020, which due to the start of the Covid-19 pandemic last spring never had a chance to unwind as it would in a normally functioning market.

'This dynamic, together with the 'race for space' that we've observed as a direct result of successive lockdowns together with the market stimulus from the stamp duty holiday and record low mortgage rates, means that while the window for any major savings closed at the end of the month, buyer appetite hasn't as yet dissipated, with all signs pointing to the fact that the market will continue in the same direction of travel over the summer.'

Estate agents report that many of their properties have gone to 'best and final' bids

Trevor Abrahmsohn, of estate agents Glentree International in London, said: 'Buyers have been shrugging aside the state of the economy and budget deficit over the last few months and have continued to transact unabated in the Capital, across almost all price ranges.

'The end of the stamp duty savings window in June did nothing to dampen their enthusiasm. We received a raft of new applicants throughout the month, particularly in the 800,000 to 4million price bracket.'

And Mark Proctor, of estate agents Knight Frank in Devon, said: 'We've seen a huge amount of activity across the South West region in June, particularly in the price bracket up to 1million, which is understandable as this is where the stamp duty saving has had the most impact.

'Despite the fact that buyers registering over the last month have known that they wouldn't benefit from the main savings available as they wouldn't complete in time to meet the deadline, we've still had a significant volume of new applicants.

'This, together with the very limited amount of supply, has meant that many of our properties have gone to 'best and final' bids. What's been particularly interesting is seeing a few properties that were listed last year but didn't sell at the time that have now been successfully remarketed and sold in excess of asking price.'
Sir Richard Branson said building a hotel off the moon is something he has 'always dreamt of' as he looks to the future after his maiden flight with Virgin Galactic.

The space tourism pioneer and billionaire astronaut said future customers can expect 'a lot more spaceships,' from Virgin, eventually reducing the cost of a trip.

Currently it is thought a ticket to the edge of space with Virgin Galactic, replicating Branson's trip from Sunday, July 11, will cost about $250,000 (180,000).

Sir Richard said Virgin Galactic's flights may not be the end of his work in space, as the firm plans to build craft that can fly higher and for longer.

Speaking of other dreams he wanted to pursue, he said: 'Whether one day we will build a hotel off the moon, which is something that I've always dreamt of, or whether we'll leave that to my children to do, we'll have to see.

'But that's something which is yet another dream that, if I've got time in my life to do, that would be something I'd love to do one day.'

Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson, left, receives a Virgin Galactic made astronaut wings pin from Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield after his flight to space from Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences

Branson travelled 53.5 miles above the surface of the Earth, taking him and five crew mates to the edge of space where they experienced weightlessness, telling the Today show on NBC this morning: 'Once you're an astronaut, you're always an astronaut'

Earth rise from the moon taken by Apollo 11 astronauts in 1969. Sir Richard Branson hopes to one day offer space tourists the opportunity to see the Earth from the moon

THE CURRENT VIRGIN GALACTIC FLEET VMS Eve: The launch platform for the SpaceShipTwo and Spaceship III based Virgin Galactic vehicles. VMS stands for Virgin MotherShip and is named after Evette Branson, mother of founder Sir Richard Branson. So far only one has been built and it made its first flight in December 2008. VSS Unity: Based on the SpaceShip Two class of vehicle, it is a rocket powered glider. A replacement for the destroyed VSS Enterprise, Unity first flew to space in December 2018. It has reached an altitude of 50 miles, earning its pilots commercial astronaut wings for the first time in 2018. VSS Imagine: The first Spaceship III class of spaceplane, due to begin glide tests summer 2021. VSS Inspire: The second Spaceship III class of spaceplane currently under construction in California by the Spaceship Company. Advertisement

Branson hopes that following the 'landmark moment' that saw him launch from Spaceport America in New Mexico, the space tourism industry will grow at pace.

Amazon and Blue Origin found, Jeff Bezos, will become the second 'founder-billionaire' to go to space on his own firms vehicle on Tuesday, July 20.

The firm will then look to also offering short hops to the edge of space, similar to Virgin Galactic, for an estimated $200,000 (140,000) per seat.

Branson hopes that with more spaceplanes and rockets available, it will in time help bring down the cost of a trip to space.

This 'ramping up' was backed up by Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier, who said one day Virgin Galactic could be operating 400 flights per year from dozens of spaceports worldwide.

VSS Unity is a prototype, which will be replaced with VSS Imagine, a SpaceShip3 class of vehicle that will be easier to maintain and build.

They will also allow for quicker turnarounds between flights, and so allowing for more regular trips to space.

Future versions will be engineered with ease of manufacture in mind, he told MailOnline in an earlier interview.

The firm is selling new shares in the hope of raising $500 million (360 million) to fund future development of the fleet, including finding other spaceports around the world.

It isn't clear where those spaceports will be, but sister firm Virgin Orbit, has an agreement with Spaceport Cornwall.

With more than 600 people paying for the chance to go to space, and some waiting over 15 years for the opportunity, they'll need to ramp up quickly to meet demand.

There are another 1,000 people waiting int he wings who have each paid a $1,000 (721) deposit for a chance to travel, and are putting two seats up for grabs in a competition run by Omaze.

Sir Richard said the trip and the experience was 'more extreme than I'd have ever imagined' before hailing his first flight as 'glorious'.

Asked if he had come to terms with his first space flight, he said: 'I'm nearly back down to earth, but not quite.

He was joined in space by chief pilot David Mackay, a Scottish-born test pilot for the Royal Air Force who went on to fly for Sir Richard's Virgin Atlantic, and chief flight instructor Michael Masucci in the cockpit

Branson's flight, the first fully crewed trip to space for Virgin Galactic, was intended as a confidence-boosting plug for the firm, which plans to start taking paying customers on a short trip, allowing them to become astronauts, from 2022

'It was a lifetime dream. Dreams don't often turn into reality, and it was just wonderful  everything I could have possibly dreamt of happened.'

Take-off had been delayed by about 90 minutes on Sunday due to the weather overnight at Spaceport America in New Mexico.

But video streamed live online showed Virgin Galactic in the air at about 15.45 BST, and the spaceship had reached 40,000ft by 16:00 BST.

VSS Unity and its crew, was carried up into the atmosphere by its mothership, VMS Eve, before being released so it could power up to highs of 250,000ft.

Branson wears his astronaut's wings at a news conference, after flying with a crew in Virgin Galactic's passenger rocket plane VSS Unity

Sir Richard Branson's message to 'the next generation of dreamers' I have dreamt about this moment since I was a child, but nothing could have prepared me for the view of Earth from space. It was magical. I was honoured to test the incredible customer experience onboard Virgin Galactic's spaceship VSS Unity as part of this remarkable crew of mission specialists - and now astronauts. How you feel when you look down on Earth is impossible to put into words, it's just indescribable beauty. I can't wait for you all to get up there. My mission statement, which I wrote inside my spacesuit, is to turn the dream of space travel into a reality - for my grandchildren, for your grandchildren, for everyone. I said a message to all children while I was in space: I was once a child with a dream looking up to the stars. Now I'm an adult in a spaceship looking down to our beautiful Earth. To the next generation of dreamers: if we can do this, just imagine what you can do. Having flown to space, I can see even more clearly how Virgin Galactic is the spaceline for Earth. We are here to make space more accessible to all and turn the next generation of dreamers into the astronauts of today and tomorrow. Imagine a world where people of all ages and backgrounds, from anywhere, of any gender, of any ethnicity have equal access to space. They will in turn, inspire us all back here on Earth. If you've ever had a dream, now is the time to make it come true. Welcome to the dawn of a new space age. Advertisement

Describing the experience, Sir Richard said: 'It's as if time seems to slow down and everything is more extreme than one would expect.

'It's one extreme to the other  the spaceship releases and you're sitting back as the rocket fires and you're going from nought to three mach in seven or eight seconds.

'That's extreme, that's more extreme than I'd have ever imagined  but glorious.

'Then there's the sudden silence when you're drifting into space and you're still travelling at three mach with no noise from the rocket, drifting up and up and up.

'One of the most ridiculous moments is, having said a few words, just unbuckling and just drifting off one's feet, then floating on top of the roof and looking down at our beautiful Earth, and seeing other people floating past you and realising 'I'm an astronaut'.'

He was given his astronaut wings, something every Virgin Galactic passenger will receive, by veteran astronaut Chris Hadfield.

Asked when future customers could expect to have their chance to go to space, Sir Richard said work will begin on creating more spaceships.

'Off the back of the successful flight yesterday, we will be getting out and building a lot more spaceships and in time that will help bring the cost down, but it's not going to be immediate,' he said.

'Our next spaceship will go even higher than our current spaceship, and we'll be building spaceships with even greater capabilities as time goes by.'

Addressing whether he would go into space again, Sir Richard added: 'I think I've been spoiled as much as I should be spoiled in my lifetime.

'We have hundreds of people who have signed up to go to space and they will now be itching to get into the seat.

'Maybe one day, when we have 20 spaceships, they might find room for me again  maybe my 90th birthday or something, maybe they'll let me up for that. But we'll see how we go.'

He did say, in response to the news SpaceX founder Elon Musk had purchased a ticket with Virgin Galactic, that he may buy a ticket with SpaceX one day.

He will travel to space on VSS Unity on Sunday July 11, with a live stream of the event starting at 14:00 BST (09:00 ET) from Spaceport America in New Mexico

Unlike Virgin, SpaceX is currently operating orbital flights to the International Space Station in the Crew Dragon capsule.

So far just for space agencies but they are working to offer the first commercial flights with operator Axiom Space in 2022.

It is thought a ticket on a SpaceX Crew Dragon and ten days on the ISS will cost about $55 million, but that could come down in the future.

The Russian space agency Roscomos is currently developing a new space station, scheduled to launch in 2025, that will include a dedicated 'space hotel' module.

Axiom Space and others are also in discussions with NASA to expand the ISS to make it more compatible for tourist visits and Orbital Assembly Corporation (OAC) hope to have the first fully commercial 'space hotel' operational by 2027.
NASA's Lucy mission to the Trojan asteroids, a group of space rocks that share Jupiter's orbit around the sun, will bring some inspired words from some very famous people with it when it launches in October 2021.

And Carl Sagan, Albert Einstein, The Beatles, Martin Luther King Jr. and more will be among the group.

The US space agency announced late Monday that the upcoming mission, like the Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft before it, will bring a plaque that will act as a 'time-capsule featuring messages to our descendants.'

Scroll down for video

Named after the fossil skeleton of a human ancestor, the Lucy spacecraft was also inspired by the hit Beatle's song, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

NASA noted that these asteroids, which are beyond the main asteroid belt, are 'in many ways "fossils" from the formation and evolution of the planets.'

NASA's Lucy mission to the Trojan asteroids that orbit Jupiter will bring a plaque that will act as a 'time-capsule,' including quotes from Carl Sagan, Albert Einstein, The Beatles and more.

Quotes from Carl Sagan, Albert Einstein, The Beatles and more are on the plaque. It also has an image of the Solar System as depicted on the Oct. 16 launch date and the original trajectory of the craft

Among the quotes included on the plaque are:

'Above the fields, above the roofs of the village houses, the brilliance that made all life possible becomes the cold stars.

Lie still and watch: they give nothing but ask nothing.' - Albert Einstein

'And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make.' - Martin Luther King Jr.

'Who Wants to live Forever?  if love must die.' - John Lennon

'Im writing to you from a world youll have a hard time imagining, to a world I cant picture no matter how hard I try. Do you still have birds that wake you up in the morning with their singing and lovers who gaze at the stars trying to read in them the fate of their love? If you do, well recognize one another.' - Carl Sagan

Also included are the other members of the Beatles, Sir Ringo Starr, Sir Paul McCartney and George Harrison, as well as Yoko Ono, National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman and several other poets.

In addition to the quotes, the plaque has an image of the Solar System as depicted on the launch date of October 16, 2021 and the original trajectory of the craft.

The plaque was installed on the spacecraft on July 9 at Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado.

The messages are similar to the 'Golden Record' meant for aliens that NASA included as part of the Voyager missions in the 1970s.

Included in the Golden Records were maps, images, greetings in 54 languages and other depictions of life and culture on Earth.

The object of the Lucy mission is to study these ancient asteroids in an effort to learn more about the Solar System, as well as the origin of the planets.

Unlike the aforementioned Pioneer and Voyager missions, Lucy will not leave the Solar System and head into interstellar space, so the plaque will act as a reminder to future generations of what the mission's purpose was.

'After Lucy finishes visiting a record number of asteroids for a single mission in 2033 (8 asteroids on 6 independent orbits around the Sun) the Lucy spacecraft will continue to travel between the Trojan asteroids and the orbit of the Earth for at least hundreds of thousands, if not millions of years,' NASA wrote in the release.

The robotic spacecraft, which has a 12-year journey, will arrive at its first destination, a main belt asteroid, in 2025.
A massive pottery workshop that produced stunning ceramics of all shapes, sizes and colors during the Greco-Roman period has been unearthed in Egypt.

Archaeologists working in the area of Tel Kom Aziza in Al-Beheira Governorate, about 100 miles north of Cairo, discovered an intricate stone structure with separate spaces dedicated to different processes of making pottery.

The clay wedging and kneading area, the forming area, the drying area and the furnaces have all been unearthed so far, along with a trove of pottery that was fashioned thousands of years ago.

The workshop also consists of buildings that experts say date back between the third century BC and first century AD.

Mud brick tombs with complete skeletons were also discovered at the site, with some covered in a layer of silt and surrounded with pottery that likely came from the workshop.

A massive pottery workshop that produced stunning ceramics of all shapes, sizes and colors during the Greco-Roman period has been unearthed in Egypt. The shop consists of separate spaces dedicated to different processes of making pottery

The Greco-Roman period marks the end of Persian rule in Egypt, which came about in 332 BC, when Greek conqueror Alexander the Great occupied Egypt and named himself pharaoh.

Following Alexander the Great's death, his general Ptolemy acquired Egypt and established the Ptolemaic dynasty, which reigned for the next three hundred years.

However, the Romans began to move into Egypt and eventually conquered the nation in 30 BC.

Roman influence and culture were then adopted by ancient Egyptians until 395 AD.

Archaeologists discovered a trove of ceramics while digging at the site just north of Cairo

The clay wedging and kneading area, the forming area, the drying area and the furnaces have all been unearthed so far, along with a trove of pottery that was fashioned thousands of years ago. Pictured is a kiln found at the site

Archaeologists made the discovery while working in the area of Tel Kom Aziza in Al-Beheira Governorate, which is about about 100 miles north of Cairo

The pottery workshop is one of the few reminders of the Greco-Roman period, but it provides researchers with a window into the ancient world.

Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mustafa Waziri, who worked at the site, said in a statement that the wedging and kneading area was used to prepare clay before it was formed into pottery.

The clay was then formed and polished in the forming area, where archaeologists also uncovered metal tools, pieces of a potters wheel and clay pot fragments, Local 21 News reports.

The drying area is a sun-exposed spot where the premade pots were left to dry in natural sunlight before being taken to the kilns, thermally insulated chambers that produce temperatures sufficient to carry out processes such as hardening.

The pottery workshop is one of the few reminders of the Greco-Roman period, but provides researchers with a window into the ancient world

A residential settlement with houses made of mud bricks was also discovered in the area, which had pottery and other daily use instruments inside

Archaeologists also found mud-brick tombs in the surrounding settlement, which were covered in silt and some surrounded by pottery that likely came from the workshop

The head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Ayman Ashmawy, said the kilns have upper ventilation holes and are built of red brick surrounded by thick walls of mud bricks to withstand high temperatures during the burning process.

Gas pipes, discharge pipes that controlled the temperature inside ovens and unfinished pots were found in this area of the site.

Ibrahim Sobhy, head of the archeological team, said a residential settlement with houses made of mud bricks was also discovered in the area, which had pottery and other daily use instruments inside.

Archaeologists also found mud-brick tombs in the surrounding settlement, which were covered in silt and some surrounded by pottery that likely came from the workshop.
Two coins that are nearly 2,000 years old and feature markings of the Jewish uprising against their Roman conquerors have been uncovered in the Judean Desert.

The first coin was made during the Great Revolt, the first Jewish war against the Romans, and minted around 67 to 68 AD.

It features a vine leaf on one side and 'Freedom to Zion' inscribed on the other.

The other coin was minted around 134 to 135 AD and bears a palm branch surrounded by a wreath with the inscription LeHerut Yerushalayim, which means 'for the freedom of Jerusalem.'

The artifacts were found in the Binyamin region of the West Bank during an archaeological excavation conducted by Bar-Ilan University and the Binyamin Regional Council.

Scroll down for video

The first coin was made during the Great Revolt, the first Jewish uprising against the Romans, and minted around 67 to 68 AD. It features a vine leaf on one side and 'Freedom to Zion' inscribed on the other

The Jewish-Roman war began after Antipater the Idumaean began a cruel reign, a year after Romans took full control of the Syrian province in 63 AD.

The revolts initially started over religious restrictions imposed on the Jews, along with the Romans building a city on top of ruins in Jerusalem  including a pagan temple where a sacred Jewish temple once stood.

Three major wars were fought between the Jews and Romans over the course of 70 years.

The First Jewish-Roman War was from 66 to 70 AD, which was followed by the Kitos War in 115 through 117 AD and finally, the Bar Kokhba revolt that took place from 132 to 136 AD.

The other coin was minted around 134 to 135 AD and bears a palm branch surrounded by a wreath with the inscription LeHerut Yerushalayim, which means 'for the freedom of Jerusalem'

The artifacts were found in the Binyamin region of the West Bank during an archaeological excavation conducted by Bar-Ilan University and the Binyamin Regional Council. Pictured is an aerial view of the excavation site

The two coins were found in the same region, but about one mile apart.

The coin inscribed with Freedom to Zion was discovered at the Khirbat Jib'it archaeological site, just south of the West Bank town of Duma.

The other coin was found inside a cave on the Wadi Rashash cliffs, which dates to the Bar Kokhba revolt.

Dr. Dvir Raviv, who led the survey, told The Times of Israel: 'The Bar-Kokhba coin from Wadi Rashash indicates the presence of a Jewish population in the region up to 134/5 CE, in contrast to a previous claim that Jewish settlement in the highlands north of Jerusalem was destroyed during the Great Revolt and not inhabited afterward.

'This coin is also the first evidence that the Acrabatta region, the northernmost of the districts of Judea during the Roman period, was controlled by the Bar-Kokhba administration.'

The coin inscribed with Freedom to Zion was discovered at the Khirbat Jib'it archaeological site, just south of the West Bank town of Duma. The other coin was found inside a cave on the Wadi Rashash cliffs, which dates to the Bar Kokhba revolt

Pictured is a closer look inside the excavation site where the coins were recovered

Besides the coins, archaeologists have uncovered pottery shards and other evidcne that this area was used as a Jewish settlement for some time.

The caves in Wadi Rashash were much smaller than the ones in other areas of the Judean Desert, where Jewish refugees were known to have hidden.

'However, based on the amount of pottery, we can assume that dozens of people found shelter there,' Raviv told The Jerusalem Post.

The caves had the advantage of being very close to the spring and also to an ancient settlement that existed where the Arab village of Duma stands today.

'Therefore we can assume that these refugees found shelter very close to their houses,' Raviv said.
A species of freshwater algae collected from lakes in Japan has evolved to have three different sexes, all of which breed in pairs with each other.

The three sexes are male, female and bisexual, which researchers say is because the third sex can produce both male and female sex cells in a single genotype.

The team notes that this algae is different from a hermaphrodite because it developed its sex cells under a normal gene expression, while a hermaphroditic individual who can produce both the male and female sex cells usually exists due to unusual gene expression.

The Pleodornia starri (P. starrii) was discovered by the University of Tokyo and is the first case of algae or fungi to have three sexes.

Male colonies are recognized by the clear packets of sperm they release into the water.

The sperm packets swim until they hit a female colony, then split up into individual sperm cells that enter individual female cells and combine to produce a new generation.

And the 'bisexual factor' gene is located on a chromosome separate from the male and female sex cells.

Scroll down for video

A species of freshwater algae collected from lakes in Japan has evolved to have three different sexes, all of which breed in pairs with each other

University of Tokyo Associate Professor Hisayoshi Nozaki, who collected the algae samples, said in a statement: 'It seems very uncommon to find a species with three sexes, but in natural conditions, I think it may not be so rare.'

Nozaki and his colleagues collected algae samples from 2006 through 2010 from dam lakes along the Sagami River, Lake Sagami and Lake Tsukui, and have been analyzing the samples to hopefully understand how different sexes first evolved.

Researcher first identified a male specific gene in P. starrii in 2006, which they named OTOKOGI, the Japanese word for 'manly.'

Four years later, the team found a group of female genes in the algae and named them HIBOTAN, or 'scarlet peony,' after a 1960s film franchise where the lead female character had a red flower tattoo.

The 'bisexual factor' gene is located on a chromosome separate from the male and female sex cells and produces both male and female reproductive cells

A further genetic analysis and extensive mating trials revealed P. starri's bisexual factor gene that sits away from the other two sexes.

'Cells in genetically bisexual P. starrii possess both OTOKOGI and bisexual-factor genes, but they can produce normal male or female colonies when they reproduce sexually with other P. starrii colonies,' researchers shared in a statement.

'Genetically male P. starrii have only the OTOKOGI male-type gene and genetically female can have either only the female-type HIBOTAN genes or both HIBOTAN and the bisexual-factor genes.'

Researchers collected algae samples from 2006 through 2010 from dam lakes along the Sagami River, Lake Sagami and Lake Tsukui, and have been analyzing the samples to hopefully understand how different sexes first evolved

More experiments are needed to understand genes in more detail, but scientist believe the bisexual factor is only be active in the presence of the 'manly' OTOKOGI.

'This finding was possible because of our very long-term experience of going on field collection trips and our practice growing and studying algae, said Nozaki.

Continued, long-term studies are very important to unveil the true nature of species in the natural world.'
Tottenham want to bring in Southampton striker Danny Ings in a 20million deal this summer so the Saints forward can partner Harry Kane up front, according to reports.

It was reported last week that the 28-year-old striker, who scored 12 Premier League goals last season, turned down a four-year deal at St Mary's with a view to sealing a transfer to a top-six club.

Spurs are looking for a centre-forward after Carlos Vinicius failed to impress on a season-long loan last term, with no other recognised first-team forward at the club apart from Kane, who is being chased by Manchester City.

Tottenham want to bring in Southampton striker Danny Ings in a 20m deal, say reports

Spurs want to play two strikers up front which could see Ings (right) partner Harry Kane (left)

And according to The Telegraph, new Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo wants to change Tottenham's formation to two central strikers, with Ings being targeted as a partner for the England captain.

The report also claims that Daniel Levy has been a long-term admirer of Ings and tried to sign him in 2015 when he moved to Liverpool after his contract ended at Burnley, while the two Manchester clubs - City and United - have enquired about him in the last 12 months.

The striker, who will turn 29 before the start of the new season, has been an integral part of Southampton's side - scoring a quarter of the squad's goal tally last season.

Ings scored 12 goals for Southampton last season but reportedly turned down a new contract

Ings and Kane know each other from England duty, with the Southampton man replacing the latter to make his Three Lions debut under Roy Hodgson in October 2015.

The pair would next play together for England nearly five years later when Ings briefly partnered Kane up front when Gareth Southgate's side beat Iceland 1-0 in the Nations League last autumn.

One month later, Ings scored his first and only England goal to date by netting an overhead kick against Wales - a match which Kane was not involved in.

New Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo wants to keep hold of Kane and bolster his strike force

Meanwhile, Spurs are hoping to fight hard to keep star striker Kane, who finished top of the Premier League's goal and assist charts last season.

As revealed by Sportsmail last month, Manchester City launched a hefty 100million push to try and snap up Kane and the forward's preferred destination is understood to be the Etihad Stadium.

The England captain told Spurs in May that he wanted to seek a new challenge after the north London club failed to qualify for the Champions League or the Europa League last season.

Manchester City have bid 100million for Spurs star Kane, who has just finished at Euro 2020

But Tottenham owner Levy, who wants 150m for his star man, insisted that Kane may find it difficult to seek a move away from Spurs this summer.

Levy told the Spurs official website: 'All I will say is his frustrations in not winning are shared by me and all the fans and players. We all want to win.

'There is a market out there. What we want and what other clubs want is not always possible to achieve. We will do whatever is right for the club.'
Advertisement

'There's something about the sight of a white-tuxedoed barman serving drinks that gladdens the heart.'

So writes my chum in response to a picture I WhatsApp him of where I'm sitting  the gloriously frescoed Le Bar Josephine at Hotel Lutetia in Paris.

As the dapper chap hands me a splendid glass of Cotes de Provence Chateau Minuty rose, I consider his comment, and find that I absolutely concur.

Sante! The gloriously frescoed Le Bar Josephine at Hotel Lutetia in Paris, which underwent a 200-million-euro (177million) revamp in 2019

But this is not an isolated incident  every aspect of the Lutetia gladdens said heart.

Of course, the hotel underwent a 200-million-euro (177million/$245million) revamp in 2019 and carries the prestigious 'palace' rating from the French Government, so its excellence doesn't come as a surprise.

It's a hotel that oozes class throughout  and, for bonus points, has a fascinating history.

The name is a nod to the Roman city of Lutetia, Paris's predecessor, which was centred near the hotel's location in the chic Saint-Germain-des-Pres neighbourhood.

One of the star attractions of this area is Le Bon Marche - the first modern department store.

'The subterranean spa is truly magnificent,' writes Ted, 'like stepping into a Roman emperor's bathing house'

It was originally a novelty shop called Au Bon Marche, which opened in 1838, but it was transformed by Aristide Boucicaut and his wife, Marguerite, in 1852 into a store that would change how Parisians  and then the world - shopped.

The innovations included fixed prices, reduced margins, home delivery, exchange of articles, mail-order sales, white goods, sales, private concerts and a library corner.

In 1907, the board of Le Bon Marche turned its attention to hoteliery and decided to open a luxury hotel directly across from its famous store.

After all, it reasoned, it would be perfect for lodging customers and suppliers.

Hotel Lutetia was born. And it went on to become just as legendary as its department store sibling.

Charles and Yvonne de Gaulle chose it for their wedding night on April 7, 1921, and Nikita Khrushchev, George Pompidou, Francois Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac have all held meetings here.

Other famous names to cross the threshold include Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, Juliette Greco, Boris Vian, Jean Cocteau, Paul Morand, Albert Camus, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Hubert Nyssen (founder of the Actes Sud publishing house) and Jean-Paul Sartre.

When the hotel shut its doors in 2014 for the revamp it contained no less than 280 listed artworks.

To me, the hotel itself is a work of art  and luxurious down to the finest detail.

Pictured is Ted's room - a junior suite with 'eye-catching split-level floor-standing Art Deco lights, beautiful chaise longue and wonderfully comfortable king-size bed'

Breathtaking features abound, with perhaps the most striking being the marble bathrooms, which can be found in all 184 rooms.

And we're not talking marble flourishes  the floors are marble, the walls are marble, the (double) sinks are marble. And each one-ton bathtub has been carved from a single 1.9-ton block of marble.

This is a hotel singularly dedicated to wanton finery.

We're in a junior suite and after hauling our jaws up from the floor following a sweep of the be-marbled bathroom (with toiletries by Hermes, naturally) we discover that we also love the view of the Eiffel Tower, the liberal use of elegant blue Eucalyptus wood for statement panelling, doors and drawers, the eye-catching split-level floor-standing Art Deco lights, the beautiful chaise longue and the wonderfully comfortable king-size bed.

Every bedroom in Hotel Lutetia features an all-marble bathroom, complete with a one-ton marble bath

A window-facing view of Ted's junior suite, which affords him views of the Eiffel Tower

Ted says of his room, pictured: '[I love] the liberal use of elegant blue Eucalyptus wood for statement panelling, doors and drawers'

Every element in the room, and in fact throughout the hotel, works in perfect harmony to create a wonder-world of refinement.

Each area is ripe for a magazine cover shoot.

Even the corridors, which are beautiful.

They're covered in varnished wood with a mirror finish and brown and cream carpets.

It's a deliberate luxury liner vibe.

Jean-Michel Wilmotte, the architect in charge of the renovations, said: 'We carried through a strong wood theme to add warmth to the entire project - 1910 was the time of the big Transatlantic adventures. Our idea was to draw in some of the atmosphere from those big old yachts by using the varnished wood in every circulation pathway.'

The view from the Saint Germain Penthouse, which was designed by Oscar-winning director Francis Ford Coppola

Charles and Yvonne de Gaulle chose Hotel Lutetia for their wedding night on April 7, 1921, and Nikita Khrushchev, George Pompidou, Francois Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac have all held meetings there

The subterranean spa, meanwhile, is truly magnificent  like stepping into a Roman emperor's bathing house.

Huge pillars line a 17-metre pool and there's a great curved plunge pool in a room to the side with mini-waterfalls.

Our evening meal is also Wowsville.

We dine in Lutetia Brasserie, which is overseen by chef Gerald Passedat, owner of three-Michelin-star Le Petit Nice restaurant in Marseille.

He doesn't cook there  but he does visit regularly I'm told and is the creative force behind the menu.

The seafood is the establishment's forte.

I highly recommend the 'oyster tasting' platter, which comprises oysters from Veules-les-Roses, Utah Beach, and two fines de claire specimens (oysters cultivated in ponds connected to the sea known as 'claires').

And for mains, my turbot with meat juice and capers and mash is very good indeed.

The staff exude excitable bonhomie - as do most of the guests.

Ted and his family dine in Lutetia Brasserie, pictured, and enjoy an 'oyster tasting' platter

Breakfast  in the L'Orangerie  is far more subdued.

The atmosphere is hushed (aside from my two-year-old daughter giving a rousing rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) as we and our well-heeled fellow guests savour gourmet pain au chocolats and exquisitely cooked Eggs Benedict.

As we leave, the burly security guard in the lobby spots us struggling with our luggage paraphernalia (pram, multiple bags full of toddler toys and so forth) and instantly steps forward to assist.

Then offers to take our photograph on the steps outside after lifting it all into our waiting taxi.

Heart-gladdening to the very end.
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is ready to shakeup the DC Extended Universe after posting a behind-the-scenes glimpse of his Black Adam film set.

The 49-year-old actor and former pro wrestler showcased his ripped physique in a stylish black-and-white image shared with his 253 million Instagram followers.

The image showed off just how 'massive' the film's set was he bragged that Black Adam would change 'the hierarchy of power' among DC superheroes.

Dwayne was pictured from behind to show off his suit, which seemed to perfectly fit his body and was covered in intricate inscriptions.

Black Adam is traditionally depicted in a black costume that's similar to other superhero looks, though he usually has a lighting bolt over his chest and a black cape.

Johnson appeared to be standing on a platform with steps leading down to a long stone walkway, with sand and dirt to the side, plus bits of pulverized rocks.

People were seen down on the ground working on the set to give a sense of scale, and an enormous shattered ruin had been placed off to the right side.

The former WWE star faced an entranceway with hieroglyphics over the door, which was temporarily covered in scaffolding.

Behind the scenes: Dwayne 'The Rock Johnson, 49, shared to Instagram an impressive view of the Black Adam set on Monday, along with a closeup of his intricate costume; seen in 2019

Back in black: Black Adam is traditionally depicted in a black costume that's similar to other superhero looks, though he usually has a lighting bolt over his chest and a black cape

'On set. BLACK ADAM,' The Rock began his post.

'This image of Black Adam from behind gives you a tactile sense of the absolute massive scale and size of our movie.

'You also see a little of the intricate and beautiful textured detail of Black Adams body suit. (this is not your typical DC or Marvel padded muscle suit),' he clarified.

'And finally you get a glimpse of the enormous and appropriate destruction,' he wrote, suggesting that his character was responsible for the devastation created on set.

Johnson added that superheroes traditionally aren't out for blood and 'dont kill the bad guys.'

'But, Black Adam does,' he continued, adding that, 'The hierarchy of power in the DC UNIVERSE is changing.'

He concluded by calling Black Adam an 'Antihero,' a 'Man in black' and a 'Protector of his people.'

Edgy: Johnson described his character as an 'antihero' and said he departed from other DC heroes because he's not afraid to kill his foes

Last week, Johnson shared more behind-the-scenes images and revealed that he was already in the final week of production on the DC comics film.

Another black-and-white photo showed him looking incredibly chiseled as a makeup artist applied white dots to his body which would be used to help the visual effects team track and reproduce the movements of his body and muscles in post-production.

Another set photo he shared showed the muscle-bound actor screaming dramatically while a camera on a robotic arm was placed behind him.

The Fast & Furious franchise star was originally set to appear in the 2019 film Shazam! in the Black Adam role, with his character being the primary villain.

But after concerns from producers that Johnson might be wasted as a villain in that film, he was removed from it and given his own solo Black Adam film, and he and Shazam are now planned to meet in a future installment.

The character was first featured in 1945, but it wasn't until the early 1970s that DC Comics began using him regularly as a villain for Shazam.

However, starting this century, Black Adam was rewritten to be a tortured antihero, which is the version of the character Johnson is bringing to life.

Coming soon: On July 30, his Disney movie Jungle Cruise will be released, and his Netflix action thriller Red Notice  the streamer's most expensive ever  arrives in November; seen in 2019

The A-lister has plenty of high-profile projects coming up, including his Netflix action thriller Red Notice, which got a November release date from the streamer last week and was revealed to be its most-expensive original production to date with a reported budget of $200 million.

The production, which also stars Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds, seems to have been a good experience for the ex-wrestler, who was impressed with his costar Reynolds' talents and came to think he was the best actor he had worked with to date, according to We Got This Covered.

Johnson will also be back in theaters on July 30 with the release of his Emily Bluntcostarring Disney movie Jungle Cruise.
Former Married At First Sight bride Hayley Vernon has been hospitalised after a large tattoo on her buttocks became severely infected.

The 33-year-old began to feel seriously ill on Monday after discovering her inking had 'blistered' and 'opened up the tattoo wound'.

After suffering a fever and visiting her doctor, the OnlyFans model was told to go to hospital, where she was diagnosed with cellulitis.

Health scare: Former Married At First Sight bride Hayley Vernon has been hospitalised after a large tattoo on her buttocks became severely infected

'I have cellulitis which is an infection which has spread to my body. I'll most likely be in here another day. Feel terrible,' she wrote on Instagram on Tuesday morning.

Cellulitis is a bacterial skin infection that can be life-threatening without treatment.

Before her hospital dash, Hayley had documented her declining health in a series of worrying updates on Instagram Stories.

Nightmare: After suffering a fever and visiting her doctor, the OnlyFans model was told to go to hospital, where she was diagnosed with cellulitis

New ink: Hayley had filmed herself getting a new tattoo on the Gold Coast on July 6

'Tattoo update: It's infected to the point where yesterday I was having trouble sitting,' she wrote in one post.

'The second skin made me blister, opening up the tattoo wound. Last night I found myself shivering non stop then getting severe hot flushes.

'My body is aching and I feel beyond ill.'

Hayley added that she had received 'copious inboxes saying the same thing', before concluding: 'I'll never use this product again.'

It's unclear which product Hayley was referring to.

Horror: Before her hospital dash, Hayley had documented her declining health in a series of worrying updates on Instagram Stories

Panic: Within an hour, Hayley became increasingly worried - sharing another update confirming she'd rushed to the emergency room

She went on to say she'd been to her GP for an antibiotic drip, but her fever still wouldn't subside.

'If it's like this in the morning I've been told to go to the hospital as it's possible the infection could spread to my blood,' she said on Monday evening.

'Praying everything kicks in overnight. What a s**t show.'

Within an hour, Hayley became increasingly worried - sharing another update confirming she'd rushed to the emergency room.

Hospital: Hayley then shared another video of herself looking distressed as she sat in her hospital bed in the early hours of Tuesday morning

'Temp of 38.7. A few of you said you were in hospital for weeks, so I listened and came straight here,' she said.

Hayley then shared another video of herself looking distressed as she sat in her hospital bed in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The heavily tattooed reality star had filmed herself getting her latest tattoo - a floral design spread across both buttocks - on the Gold Coast on July 6.

'A full day in the chair... getting my butt tattooed today,' she said on Instagram.
Radio presenter Kyle Sandilands is fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

The KIIS FM star, who turned 50 last month, received his second Pfizer jab at Westmead Hospital in western Sydney on Tuesday.

He announced the news on The Kyle and Jackie O Show's official Instagram account, posting two photos of himself after getting the shot.

Too easy! Radio presenter Kyle Sandilands is fully vaccinated against Covid-19

Kyle said: 'We're vaccinated for everything when we're children and this is how we've lived a free, happy life and I thought, "If we're going to get locked down or vaccinated, there's no choice."'

He received his first vaccination at the same hospital last month.

'Kyle bit the bullet and got his first Covid-19 vaccination this arvo! Great work, King!' KIIS FM wrote on Instagram at the time.

Safe and effective: The KIIS FM star, who turned 50 last month, received his second Pfizer jab at Westmead Hospital in western Sydney on Tuesday

Two-step process: He received his first vaccination at the same hospital last month

The post was filled with supportive comments from listeners, with many saying Kyle's endorsement had encouraged them to get the vaccine too.

Kyle said he wanted to get the vaccine because he plans to holiday overseas at the end of the year.

'I just want to go to Hawaii, that's why I'm here, and if getting this vaccination means we're one step closer to it happening, that's a good thing,' he said.

Positive: Many Sydneysiders say Kyle's endorsement has encouraged them to get the vaccine

He added that it's 'in everyone's best interest to get the vaccine. I don't understand why anyone wouldn't get it.'

Kyle explained that he trusts doctors and scientists, and urged his fans to get the jab and not be 'one of those anti-vaxxing losers'.

Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD) chief executive Graeme Loy said he hopes Kyle's experience will mean more people will roll up their sleeves.
Martha Kalifatidis found fame on Married At First Sight's sixth season in 2019.

And in the two-and-a-half years since filming the show, the influencer has put on seven kilograms.

The 33-year-old opened up about her weight gain in an Instagram post on July 4.

Scroll down for video

Before and after: Married At First Sight's Martha Kalifatidis (left, in 2019) has revealed she's gained seven kilograms since filming the show (right, last month)

'I think part of it is getting older and metabolism changes,' she explained.

'But for the most part my job requires me to be stationary! I spend most of my waking hours staring into a screen.

'If I'm not making content, I'm editing it. Also the hours I work are actually gross and I have no balance... but I'm working on it.'

Comfortable: The 33-year-old wore oversized sweatpants and a jumper in Bondi back in June

Martha has been doing Pilates to strengthen her core and that her personal trainer boyfriend, Michael Brunelli, has been helping her exercise.

Last June, the social media star admitted she'd been snacking a lot during lockdown.

She revealed her favourite snack was Vegemite-flavoured Shapes chips.

Flashback: Martha models a skimpy swimsuit in an Instagram post from 2019

'I dont mind the Savoury flavour as well. The Vegemite ones... oh, done damage,' she said.

Martha opened up about body image in a powerful Instagram post last year.

She posted a photo of herself wearing nothing but a pair of white briefs, and said she was 'a few kilos heavier' than she used to be.

She made the empowering decision to post the photo after she had her own crisis of confidence when a troll labelled her 'chubby'.

'Two weeks ago some lady commented "chubby" on one of my posts... I normally shrug the trolls off but this one got to me,' she wrote.

'It turned into two weeks of stress, self-hatred and unhappiness.'

Snacks: Last June, the social media star admitted she'd been snacking a lot during lockdown

Martha went on to encourage her followers to feel comfortable in their own skin.

'My message to you, and the purpose of this post, is that if youre feeling bad about the snacks youve eaten, the workouts you havent done and the number on the scale... self loathing won't fix s**t, trust me!' she wrote.

'I'm not looking for sympathy or reassurance... I want you to know that putting on weight is not the end of the world, and if people on social media have something to say about your weight they best have a set of abs or they can f**k right off!'
Southern Charm alum Naomie Olindo and Metul Shah have broken things off.

Olindo's agent Paul Desisto, speaking with People on Monday, confirmed that 'Naomie and Metul are no longer together,' as 'she is back in Charleston and plans to stay there for the time being.'

On social media, Olindo, 28, had removed the majority of her Instagram photos alongside Shah earlier this month, and the one-time couple are no longer following one another.

The latest: Southern Charm alum Naomie Olindo, 28, and Metul Shah, 30, have broken things off, as her agent confirmed to People on Monday the pair are no longer dating

The fashion designer and anesthesiologist, 30, had recently moved to New York City after she parted ways last year with Southern Charm. Last year, he said on Instagram that he was continuing his career at New York's Weill Cornell Medical College with a fellowship.

Prior to their move to the Big Apple from South Carolina, the former couple had embarked on a yacht vacation with pals to Antigua and Barbuda.

Last month, Olindo's pal and one-time castmate Madison Simon bid adieu to Olindo and Metul Shah upon their move.

Simon wrote June 28, 'We tried to convince them not to go, but it didn't take so idk maybe we'll just join them. Miss you already.'

Details: The fashion designer and anesthesiologist had recently moved to New York City after she parted ways last year with Southern Charm

Beauty: The one-time Bravo star appeared on Watch What Happens Live in 2018

On July 1, Olindo shared with her followers updates of her time in New York City.

'Highlight from the last week: living in a beautiful and comfy @bluegroundhomes apt until we find a permanent place,' Olindo said. 'Lowlight: riding the subway all the way down the wrong line, twice.'

She subsequently headed back to Charleston to celebrate Simon's birthday, with Shah not visible in any social media excerpts from the excursion.

The French expat was in a relationship with her former costar Craig Conover, 32, for more than two years before their 2017 split.

Better times: She confirmed she was dating Shah in April 2018, telling People at the time that she was 'very, very happy' with the relationship

She confirmed she was dating Shah in April 2018, telling People at the time that she was 'very, very happy' with the relationship.

An insider last year told People that her relationship with Shah was a factor in her decision to leave the Bravo series.

'She's seen what reality television can do to relationships and isn't interested in exposing herself again to that kind of scrutiny,' the source said. 'She's got a great partner in Metul. They are very much in love and there's no reason to mess with that.'
Connor Brennan and Katie Thurston wept after she shockingly sent him home on Monday's episode of The Bachelorette on ABC.

Katie, 30, told the men at the final rose ceremony that she didn't have any time to waste and needed to concentrate her efforts on spending time with the men she knew she had connections with.

But before it even came to that pivotal moment, Katie had made the hard decision to send home Connor, 29, a math teacher from Nashville, Tennessee, after kissing him on their date and revealing to him that there just wasn't a spark.

Sent home: Connor Brennan openly wept after he was shockingly sent home by Katie Thurston on Monday's episode of The Bachelorette on ABC

Connor was so happy when he received his date card for the one-on-one that read 'Let's let your love shine bright.'

'My mind is blown,' he said later in a confessional. 'I'm so f***ing excited.'

Katie earlier said in a confessional that she felt that she was still in the 'friend zone' with Connor and wanted to see if they could get past that.

She surprised Connor by bringing Kaitlyn Bristowe, 36, and her fiance Jason Tartick, 32, another former Bachelorette contestant, on the date to help bring out that spark with Connor.

Tough decision: Katie, 30, made the hard decision to send home Connor, 29, a math teacher from Nashville, Tennessee, after kissing him on their date and revealing to him that there just wasn't a spark

Kaitlyn told Katie that she also started off as friends with Jason.

'Time is everything,' Kaitlyn told her. 'Kisses can change things.'

Kaitlyn said to the camera that this date was really make or break for Katie and Connor.

Double date: Kaitlyn Bristowe and her fiance Jason Tartick joined Katie on a date with Connor

The four played games and then Katie and Connor went to a couch to talk as Kaitlyn and Jason watched.

Eventually, Katie and Connor kissed.

Later when Connor was getting ready for the evening portion of the date, he gushed about how well the date was going.

Katie, though, hadn't changed for the evening and made her way to Connor's room in a sweatshirt and jeans.

Feeling optimistic: Later when Connor was getting ready for the evening portion of the date, he gushed about how well the date was going

Connor said to the camera, 'I want her to meet my family. I definitely see a future.'

Katie knocked on Connor's door. She was visibly upset and crying when she told him that he was a great man, but that she didn't feel that spark.

'You have done nothing wrong,' she said. 'When we kissed there was something missing in that kisssomething was missing.'

Something missing: 'You have done nothing wrong,' Katie said. 'When we kissed there was something missing in that kisssomething was missing'

Connor started crying and said, 'It's ok. It's worth it just to have met you.'

'Thank you for everything,' Katie told him.

The two hugged and Katie told him, 'I wish nothing but the best for you.'

Katie said to the camera, 'I just hope when he leaves here tonight he knows how worthy he is of finding love.'

Getting emotional: Connor started crying and said, 'It's ok. It's worth it just to have met you'

Connor said to the camera that the whole experience was heartbreaking especially starting off so strong.

'How bad of a kisser am I?' he said.

The men all hugged Connor when he returned to the house and told them that he was going home.

It sounded as if Connor continued to cry in the limo as it drove off.

No sparks: The two hugged and Katie told him, 'I wish nothing but the best for you'

Blake Moynes, 30, a wildlife manager, from Tayshia's season, used the opportunity to spend more time with Katie.

He blared a song from a boombox outside Katie's windows in Say Anything style until she noticed and Blake told her that he knew she could use some cheering up.

'Come up here,' Katie told him.

Boombox move: Blake Moynes, 30, a wildlife manager, from Tayshia's season, used the opportunity to spend more time with Katie and used a Say Anything move to get her attention

When they met in the hall, they immediately started making out.

Blake said he wanted to be supportive to Katie especially if they were going to continue to have a relationship.

'That was the greatest surprise ever,' Katie told him.

Fast move:: When they met in the hall, they immediately started making out

'When I'm with Blake I don't care about anything else except him and I,' she said to the camera. 'I'm in trouble.'

Blake told the camera 'It's impossible to deny that Katie and I are going to fall in love. And it's so exciting to think that's going to happen and that it's going to happen soon. I feel like Katie is going to be my fiance. ..I feel I am in my own love story and now I'm just ready to enjoy my own happy ending.'

Earlier in the show Kaitlyn explained to the man that Katie wanted the men to withhold 'self care down there' and dubbed it 'Operation Whoa Whoa.'

In trouble: 'When I'm with Blake I don't care about anything else except him and I,' Katie said to the camera. 'I'm in trouble'

'Stay off the lotion, stop running the showers,' Bristowe told them. 'Katie wants to see which one of you can hold out.'

When she asked if anyone was taking extra long showers that they needed to worry about, several of the guys pointed to Blake and everyone laughed.

Connor said in a confessional that 'this sucks. A lot is going to change. No more letting your freak flag fly.'

Kaitlyn then left them with a date card which turned out to be for Justin Glaze, 26, an investment sales consultant from Ellicott City, Maryland.

The hosts: Kaitlyn and Tayshia Adams served as co-hosts

'Justin, I can picture a future with you,' read the card.

The one-on-one date turned out to be a mock wedding. Their first activity was writing vows. Katie told him that she loved Justin's playful side.

Katie changed into a wedding dress and Justin changed into a tuxedo. He told her 'you are gorgeous' after she walked down their mock aisle.

Mock wedding: The one-on-one date turned out to be a mock wedding

'I promise to do everything to keep that infectious smile on your face,' said Justin in his vows to Katie.

Katie told him in her vow 'our marriage is a canvas so let's paint something beautiful.'

The two then posed for wedding pictures and shared a wedding cake.

Later that evening, Katie shared with Justin that the wedding was fun, but actually hard on her because her father was not around to walk her down the aisle. She told him that not only had her father died, but that she learned after his death that he was not her biological father.

Exchanged vows: Justin Glaze, 26, an investment sales consultant from Ellicott City, Maryland, exchanged vows with Katie

'My mom kept that a secret,' said Katie.

She then shared with Justin that her biological father wants to be in her life, but she didn't know how to build a relationship with him.

'How do I build a relationship with this man, I know nothing about,' Katie said.

Justin thanked her for sharing.

'When you are feeling down, I want to be that person who is there for you no matter what,' Justin told her.

At the end of the date, Katie gave Justin a rose. She said in a confessional that 'Justin is someone I can really see myself falling forand the beginning of what could be love.'

Good times: The two then posed for wedding pictures and shared a wedding cake

Back at the house Hunter Montgomery, 34, a software strategist from San Angelo, Texas, shared with Greg Grippo, 27, a marketing sales representative from Edison, NJ, that he had already decided who were Katie's top four picks.

Greg said later in a confessional, said that he thought Hunter was an avid Bachelor fan who was clearly into the strategy. When James Bonsall, 30, a software salesman from La Jolla, heard about Hunter's strategy plan, he shared it with the other guys in the house and told them he thought Hunter was this 'super fan.'

'He seems to know every detail of every episode of the show,' James said to Aaron Clancy, 26, an insurance agent from San Diego.

'A f***ing little sneakster,' said Aaron.

Top four: Hunter Montgomery, 34, a software strategist from San Angelo, Texas, shared with Greg Grippo, 27, a marketing sales representative from Edison, NJ, that he had already decided who were Katie's top four picks

The group date for the remaining men was dubbed 'Great Royal Group debate' date and was hosted by two drag queen all stars Monet X Change and Shea Coulee who taught the men 'the art of throwing shade.'

Each of the men were given a 'burn book' to write their quips. They then stood behind a podium and made their case to Katie as to why they are worthy but also why the others were not. Shea Coulee said the men needed to take their gloves off and asked who in the group did they think was not compatible with Katie.

Brendan Scanzano, 26, a firefighter trainee from Toronto, Canada, singled out Hunter and said, 'It's cute that you already have a top four list. Funny that you are in my bottom four.'

Hunter denied he had a top four list. When a few of the other contestants backed up Brendan and said they had also heard about Hunter's list, Katie responded by saying 'awkward.'

Group date: The group date for the remaining men was dubbed 'Great Royal Group debate' date and was hosted by two drag queen all stars Monet X Change and Shea Coulee who taught the men 'the art of throwing shade'

Monet X Change said 'this list has got me all hot and bothered.' She wanted to know what Hunter's feelings for Katie were and Hunter told her 'I'm falling in love, absolutely.'

When asked who the biggest 'try hard in the house' James seconded that noting that it was Hunter.

'You are a super fan,' James said to Hunter in front of the group. 'You are commenting on the bachelor on blogs and on forums.'

Super fan: 'You are a super fan,' James said to Hunter in front of the group. 'You are commenting on the bachelor on blogs and on forums'

Aaron jumped on the bash Hunter bandwagon and said, 'We all know that you are a leprechaun, dog. I know Katie has a heart of gold but you can't add Katie to your pot.'

When Monet X Change told Hunter it was his turn to roast the men, he said he didn't have any insults for the other men. He instead spoke directly to Katie and said 'when I find the woman, I want to spend the rest of my life with. I will never take advantage and I think that woman is you.'

Later that night, Katie said she wanted to get to know the men better as they get closer to the hometown visits.

Hunter said in a confessional that he knew that the other men were going to come for him, but that he wasn't afraid of 'their words.' He said 'they can talk, and talk and talk all they want.'

Hot seat: Hunter said in a confessional that he knew that the other men were going to come for him, but that he wasn't afraid of 'their words'

Greg and Katie both told each other they were falling for each other. She said in a confessional that her relationship with Greg 'excites me. It reassures me that this is working.'

Blake told Katie that he was trying to abstain from 'self care' and that he had so far for one day. Katie asked if that meant that they shouldn't kiss before the two started kissing.

James used his time with Katie to talk about Hunter. He told her that he thought Hunter's behavior was 'calculated.' Aaron, and Tre Cooper, 26, a software engineer from Covington, Georgia, also used their time with Katie to talk about their misgivings about Hunter.

Katie then pulled Hunter aside. He denied to her that he was being calculating. Katie told him after their talk that she didn't feel good. She said in her confessional that she was 'physically ill.' She ran to the bathroom and it sounded like she threw up.

Candid conversations: Tre Cooper, 26, a software engineer from Covington, Georgia, also used their time with Katie to talk about his misgivings about Hunter

When Hunter returned to the group, he told them he had the worst conversation with her. Katie returned to the group and told them she was going to 'call the night' and that she wasn't going to hand out a rose. She told them she would see them at the cocktail party.

At the cocktail rose ceremony, Katie said she was at the point where time with the men wasn't going to make a difference. She cancelled the cocktail party and told them she would see them at the rose ceremony.

There were only six roses, which meant that four of the men were going home. She called Hunter first and then called him outside to talk with a rose in her hand. Katie told him she was 'looking for clarity.' He told Katie he wrote her a love letter because he was 'on fire with emotion.'

No party: Katie cancelled the cocktail party and told them she would see them at the rose ceremony

When Hunter returned, he did not have a rose and Katie resumed the rose ceremony. She said she didn't have time for drama and was ready to 'find my person.'

She gave roses to Blake, Andrew, Gregg, Michael A., Mike P., and Brendan, sending Hunter, Aaron, James and Tre home.

As Hunter left, clearly mad, he said to the camera that it was going to take a while for him to get closure and added, 'I don't think she made the right decision.'

The Bachelorette will return next Monday on ABC.
Modern Family star Nolan Gould scored a date Monday on the latest episode of The Celebrity Dating Game on ABC.

The 22-year-old actor who is best known for playing Luke Dunphy on the popular sitcom, picked Rose Rosenfeld, a social media manager from Australia, to go out on a date with him.

Nolan was intrigued with Rose from the start when she told him she packed up and decided to move her life in Australia to Los Angeles in just one day.

TV star: Modern Family star Nolan Gould scored a date Monday on the latest episode of The Celebrity Dating Game on ABC

He told her that if they ended up dating that she was not allowed to own a suitcase.

Rose told her she didn't care what celebrity he was, but that she really wanted to meet him.

When Rose said her new hobby was scuba diving and she wanted to swim with whale sharks, Nolan was hooked.

'That's a really good pitch,' he told Zooey Deschanel, 41, the show's host. 'That's the reason I got into scuba diving to see my favorite animal in the world - the whale shark.'

The winner: Rose Rosenfeld, a social media manager from Australia, was picked by Nolan to go out on a date with him

Nolan got sidetracked for a moment when bachelorette number one, Amber Blu, a digital marketing specialist, told him about how she had a great time in Cancun despite not having any money.

She said she just went into a strip club and did 'a couple things to get some dollars to get back to the States.'

Nolan wanted a 'family friendly run down' as to what happened there and Amber said she got on stage and Cardi B was playing and 'something took over me and pesos were given.'

Cancun story: Nolan got sidetracked for a moment when bachelorette number one, Amber Blu, a digital marketing specialist, told him about how she had a great time in Cancun despite not having any money

The host: Zooey Deschanel hosted the one-hour show on ABC

Despite the fact that Michale Bolton, 68, sang out clues on Nolan's identity to the tune of 'What the World Needs Now is Love,' none of the women had any idea who he was.

In the second half of the show, comedian Gabriel Iglesias, 44, came out and said he was a standup guy but he was looking to settle down.

He started quizzing his potential dates and told bachelorette number two, Crystal Wenrick, an animal activist, that he was attracted to strong women and wanted to know what was the biggest piece of furniture she's moved.

Musical clues: Michale Bolton, 68, sang out clues to help identify the celebrities

'A couch,' she told him. 'It's all about leveraging angles.''

Alexandra Cristin, owner of a hair extension company, told him she liked her man to do all her heavy lifting. She also told him she didn't know his name, but that he was that 'shorter fluffier comedian. '

'I know the face and I can't wait to kiss it,' Alexandra said.

Funny guy: In the second half of the show, comedian Gabriel Iglesias, 44, came out and said he was a standup guy but he was looking to settle down

Quiz time: The comic quizzed Kimmy Burns, Crystal Wenrick and Alexandra Cristin before deciding

When he asked Kimmy Burns, an administrative assistant, about what business they would start if they moved to the woods and she mentioned making chocolate, Gabriel was intrigued. He also liked the fact that he said her best body feature was her back.

In the end, he decided to pick Kimmy to go on a date.

The Celebrity Dating Game will return next Monday on ABC.
Kate Mara just wrapped shooting on the 1960s-set drama Call Jane.

And the actress looked happy to have time to meet up with a friend for lunch at a restaurant in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles on Monday.

The House Of Cards alum, 38, kept it casual rocking classic blue jeans and a t-shirt, along with short platinum blonde tresses which she debuted around the time she started filming the film about the early women's rights movement.

Lunch date: Kate Mara, 38, enjoyed some downtime and met up with a friend for lunch at a restaurant in the Los Feliz of Los Angeles on Monday

The New York native appeared to be focused on her phone when she was spotted walking from her car to the restaurant entrance.

With the sun glaring down and the temperatures hovering in the mid to upper 80s Fahrenheit, Mara donned stylish dark sunglasses.

She rounded out her ensemble with a a pair of black leather slip-on shoes that she wore without any socks.

Style: The House Of Cards alum kept it casual in the fashion department in the classic blue jeans and t-shirt combination

Mara had seemingly pulled back on her workload since she was pregnant with her daughter in the summer of 2018.

Her first post-baby project was the 10-episode limited miniseries drama, A Teacher, which premiered on FX on Hulu in November 2020.

And just last month it was announced that she will be teaming with FX on Hulu again, this time for the sci-fi thriller, Class Of '09, alongside Brian Tyree Henry.

The series, spread out across three decades featuring three different timelines, is reportedly set in the near future, when the criminal justice system has been completely remade due to the use of artificial intelligence technology., according to Variety.

Family matters: Mara, 38, and husband Jamie Bell, 35, welcomed their first child together in May 2019; they will be celebrating their fourth wedding anniversary on Thursday, July 15

Mara and her husband Jamie Bell, 35, have been private about their daughter since announcing her arrival in May 2019 with a photo of her tiny feet.

'We had a baby a couple of weeks ago. Here are her feet,' she wrote in the caption.

The couple, who met on the set of 2015's Fantastic Four, will be celebrating their fourth wedding anniversary on Thursday, July 15.

Bell also has a eight-year-old son with his ex-wife, actress Rachel Evan Wood.
She managed to escape Sydney's harsh lockdown, jetting off to Broome to spend time with her new beau Aidan Walsh before the stay at home orders began and the borders closed.

And Jodi Gordon is lapping up the Western Australian sun.

The former Home and Away star showed off her incredible bikini body in a black swimsuit as she enjoyed a stroll on an idyllic beach on Monday.

Life's a beach! Jodi Gordon showed off her bikini body in a black swimsuit as spent time in Broome with her new beau Aidan Walsh this week

The makeup free beauty flaunted her bronzed complexion, but covered her face with a fashionable bucket hat.

The actress accessorised with a white Chanel handbag, a risky choice for the beach.

At the start of this month, Jodi proudly shared a string of photographs of her trip to her new boyfriend's pearl farm at Willie Creek in Broome, Western Australia.

The cosy pictures featured Jodi standing next to the Pearl Farm sign, while another showed her cuddling up to her boyfriend while sat on a sand bank.

Bronzed beauty: The makeup free beauty flaunted her bronzed complexion, but covered her face with a fashionable bucket hat

Getting serious! Earlier this month, Jodi proudly shared a string of photographs of her trip to her new boyfriend's pearl farm at Willie Creek in Broome, Western Australia

Couple goals: Jodi posted the series of snaps to her Instagram with her beau, including one where they cuddled up next to each other on a sand bank

'What an amazing experience it was exploring my boyfriend's @aidnwalsh old pearl farm at willie creek,' the former Neighbours star captioned the images.

A third picture showed Jodi getting off a boat, and the last shot displayed a scenic beachside view of the water.

Jodi then thanked Callee Walsh - who appears to be Aidan's relative - and her business Kimberly Concierge, which organised the couple's picturesque trip around the region.

The farm and tour itself is said to give visitors an insight into cultured pearl farming - from shell, to showroom.

Picturesque: The pictures featured Jodi standing next to the Pearl Farm sign, another with boyfriend Aidan on the sand bank, one of Jodi exiting a tour boat and the last snap displayed a scenic beachside view of the water

Out and about: The trip to Broome is the couple's second jaunt in a matter of weeks

The romantic tour is the couple's second jaunt in a matter of weeks.

Uploading a previous photo of herself and Aidan posing in front of a race track, Jodi wrote on Instagram: 'Broome, I love you.'

She also posted a video of Aidan at the beach, alongside a love heart.

Jodi and Aidan made their red carpet debut last month at a GQ event in Sydney.

Lovers' paradise: She posted a video of Aidan at the beach, alongside a love heart

Her new romance comes after she ended her fraught relationship with British-born investment portfolio manager Sebastian Blackler.

In November, Police took out an interim AVO to protect Jodi from Sebastian following an incident at her eastern suburbs home.

The incident came just one week after she went Instagram official with Sebastian on November 21, 2020.

According to Woman's Day, the AVO news surprised those close to Jodi as she had been 'head over heels' and 'beaming with joy' just days beforehand.

On the day of the incident, police were called to Jodi's house in Double Bay shortly after midnight after reports of a disturbance.

Police subsequently took out an interim AVO to prevent Sebastian from assaulting, threatening, stalking, harassing or intimidating Jodi.

Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Sebastian is alleged to have done any of those things, and police have laid no charges against him.

Sebastian consented to a one-year order when he appeared in Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on December 9, without making any admissions of wrongdoing.
Scarlett Johansson during a remote talk show appearance Monday revealed the first gift that she ever received from husband Colin Jost.

The 36-year-old actress discussed the gift-giving style of Colin, 39, while promoting her new movie Black Widow on Late Night With Seth Meyers on NBC.

'The first thing he ever got me was, I guess he went on some trip, ...when he did stand-up he goes all over the place and then he'll go to, like, these weird little antique malls and stuff and find haunting presents for people,' Scarlett told Seth, 47.

First gift: Scarlett Johansson during a remote talk show appearance Monday revealed the first gift that she ever received from husband Colin Jost

'And he got me a bullfrog, like, a taxidermy bullfrog playing I think like the banjo or something like that,' revealed Scarlett, who wore a white collared shirt, black jacket and dangling earrings for her remote appearance.

The actress said that Saturday Night Live star Colin just left the gift sitting on the floor for her along with a card that said 'Hi Scarlett'.

'Or something like that. It was just so creepy. And then I tried to get rid of it, but I felt bad throwing it away because it was the first present he got me,' she added.

Scarlett said that Colin then started moving it around her house and she would find it in a drawer while getting a glass for her six-year-old daughter Rose or in her closet.

Going strong: Scarlett and Colin, shown in September 2018 in Los Angeles, got engaged in May 2019 and were married in October 2020

Marvel movie: The 36-year-old actress discussed the gift-giving style of Colin, 39, while promoting her new movie Black Widow on Late Night With Seth Meyers on NBC

'It was awful, absolutely awful,' Scarlett admitted.

Scarlett and Colin got engaged in May 2019 and were married in October 2020.

It was reported earlier this month by the New York Post's Page Six that Scarlett and Colin were expecting their first child together, but they have not confirmed it.

Taxidermy bullfrog: 'And he got me a bullfrog, like, a taxidermy bullfrog playing I think like the banjo or something like that,' revealed Scarlett, who wore a white collared shirt, black jacket and dangling earrings for her remote appearance

She was neither asked about nor mentioned being pregnant during her remote appearance on the NBC talk show.

Scarlett was promoting Black Widow which premiered last week in theaters and on the Disney+ streaming service.

Black Widow also starring Florence Pugh, 25, was originally scheduled for release in May 2020, but it was delayed three times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pregnancy report: Scarlett was neither asked about nor mentioned being pregnant during her remote appearance on the NBC talk show
He's the down-to-earth groom who was paired with a high-maintenance bridezilla on this year's season of Married At First Sight.

And Chris Jensen has left fans swooning yet again after stripping down to his underwear for a sizzling Manscapes calendar shoot.

The FIFO worker and father of two, 32, showed off his chiseled physique and bulging muscles in photos exclusively obtained by Daily Mail Australia.

The groom stripped bare! Married At First Sight's Chris Jensen has left fans swooning yet again after stripping down to his underwear for a sizzling Manscapes calendar shoot

The pictures were taken by photographer John Bortolin, who previously shot MAFS grooms Cameron Merchant and Billy Vincent for a nude edition of the calendar.

The raunchy images show Chris posing in white Calvin Klein underwear and also wearing a vintage denim jacket.

Mr Bortolin told Daily Mail Australia the photos were from a test shoot.

Impressive: The FIFO worker and father of two, 32, showed off his chiseled physique and bulging muscles in photos exclusively obtained by Daily Mail Australia

Chris will strip completely nude for the upcoming Manscapes calendar, which raises money for men's health charity.

'Being nude can be a bit confronting, so I do test shoots first to get the models comfortable,' Mr Bortolin said.

Sharing a preview of the shoot on Instagram this week, Chris wrote: 'I'll leave the rest to your imagination.

For a good cause: The pictures were taken by photographer John Bortolin, who previously shot MAFS grooms Cameron Merchant and Billy Vincent for a nude edition of the calendar

He's the total package! The raunchy images show Chris posing in white Calvin Klein undies

What a comeback! Chris will strip completely nude for the upcoming Manscapes calendar, which raises money for men's health charity

'After taking a personal break from social media, there's no better reason to be back than to share this for a great cause: 2022 Manscapes nude calendar!'

Chris was trapped in a disastrous union with brand manager Jaimie Gardner on Married At First Sight.

He stormed out of the experiment soon after he and Jaimie checked into their suite.

Remember this? Chris was trapped in a disastrous union with brand manager Jaimie Gardner on Married At First Sight
They stunned their Married At First Sight co-stars this week when they announced they're engaged and expecting twins on the way.

And on Tuesday, Bryce Ruthven and his fiance Melissa Rawson revealed exciting new details about their upcoming nuptials on their podcast What Happens After...

When asked if any other MAFS stars would be invited to their big day, Bryce, 32, said: 'That's a no brainer  Jason [Engler] was on the list.

Who made the cut? Married At First Sight's newly-engaged couple Bryce Ruthven and Melissa Rawson revealed which cast members are on their wedding guest list

And it appears not many more have made the cut, as Melissa chimed in saying: 'That's it!'

However, the groom-to-be is still on the fence as he added: 'Maybe another couple We'd consider.'

Bryce and Melissa - who revealed their children are due in December this year - also said they'd put their wedding planning on hold at least until after they welcomed their babies.

'I think once the twins are born, then maybe we can start planning,' Melissa, also 32, added.

While they married in a farm barnyard on the Channel Nine show, the loved-up pair said their real union will be a little more low-key.

He's in! When asked if any other MAFS stars would be invited to their big day, Bryce, 32, said: 'That's a no brainer  Jason [Engler] was on the list

Shock news: The couple stunned their Married At First Sight co-stars this week when they announced they're engaged and expecting twins on the way

'Our wedding on the show was a farm barn, so we can rule that out,' said

'No not [a] huge [event] , I don't want to be inviting fifth and six cousins of distant relatives. I'd like to keep it close knit,' the bride-to-be said.

On Monday, Radio announcer Bryce told New Idea magazine the proposal and pregnancy 'all happened very fast'.

Bryce and Melissa's twins will be a world first for the Married At First Sight franchise.

'It's been a whirlwind but we're so incredibly happy,' said workplace trainer Melissa.

She added that getting married for real 'just felt like the next logical step' after exchanging vows in a non-legally binding ceremony on MAFS.

Bryce proposed to his girlfriend during a helicopter tour across Melbourne, after picking out a black diamond ring together.

He said choosing a ring together 'isn't traditional, but neither are we'.

Making headlines: Bryce told New Idea the proposal and pregnancy 'all happened very fast'

Perfect moment: Bryce proposed to his girlfriend during a helicopter tour across Melbourne, after picking out a black diamond ring together

Whirlwind: The couple are planning a 'low-key' wedding. Pictured filming MAFS last year

Melissa admitted she 'couldn't stop crying and said 'holy s**t' seven times' after the nurse told her she was pregnant with twins during her first ultrasound scan.

Bryce wasn't present for the scan due to Covid restrictions, but he's already thrown himself into preparing their Mornington Peninsula home for two little ones.

He said: 'This is all such a blessing to be able to bring two children into the world together. We're on cloud nine.'

Family first, wedding later: Bryce and Melissa won't be rushing into a 'shotgun wedding', with the expectant mother telling New Idea: 'I'll have two babies by the time I walk down the aisle'

Tears of joy: Melissa admitted she 'couldn't stop crying and said 'holy s**t' seven times' after the nurse told her she was pregnant with twins during her first ultrasound scan

Renovating: Bryce wasn't present for the scan due to Covid restrictions, but he's already thrown himself into preparing their Mornington Peninsula home for two little ones

Controversial: The couple's union on Married At First Sight was a flashpoint of controversy this year

The couple's union on Married At First Sight was a flashpoint of controversy this year.

Some viewers accused Bryce of 'domestic abuse' and gaslighting, but Melissa always maintained she didn't view their relationship as abusive.

A Change.org petition calling for Channel Nine to apologise for 'failing in its duty of care' towards Melissa gained thousands of signatures.

However, the campaign was dismissed by the network and show producers.

Divisive: Some viewers accused Bryce of 'domestic abuse' and gaslighting on Married At First Sight, but Melissa always maintained she didn't view their relationship as abusive
Queen bee AFL WAG Bec Judd proved she is in the best shape of her life on Tuesday when she posted a picture of herself in activewear from her own Jaggad line.

The 38-year-old looked phenomenal, flaunting her ripped abs, toned biceps and ample cleavage in a crop top and tiny shorts.

Bec revealed she had just finished one of her favourite HIIT workouts, which only took her 20 minutes.

She's ripped! Queen bee footy WAG Bec Judd proved she is in the best shape of her life on Tuesday when she posted a picture of herself in activewear from her own Jaggad line

The mother-of-four also showed off her flawless line-free visage by going makeup free and sported a bronzed glow.

Bec also turned heads on Instagram over the weekend when she modelled a J'Aton Couture backless gown.

The dazzling display even caught the eye of top models Jennifer Hawkins and Megan Gale, who commented favourably on her post.

All that glitters: Bec also turned heads on Instagram over the weekend when she modelled a J'Aton Couture backless gown

Referring to the city's recent lockdowns, she captioned the post, 'It's been a minute Melbourne,' before revealing she was on her way to a Bird In Hand event.

Megan Gale led the comments on the dress, calling it 'amazing,' while Nadia Bartel said that the backless garment was 'beyond hot'.

J'Aton Couture commented 'finally' on the post, after Bec revealed she was collaborating with the fashion house.

Night out: Referring to the city's recent lockdowns, Bec captioned the post, 'It's been a minute Melbourne,' before revealing she was on her way to a Bird In Hand event

High praise: The dazzling display even caught the eye of top models Jennifer Hawkins and Megan Gale, who commented favourably on her post

The glammed up images follow a Friday post in which Bec modelled a collection of unusual, futuristic winter coats from the brand along with her sons - Oscar, nine, and four-year-old twins Tom and Darcy.

The model donned a bizarre pink and white garment with puffer details, which created a curvy silhouette and a cinched waist line.

The former Postcards host was also joined by her beaming boys who modelled other versions of the spacesuit-inspired attire alongside her.

Fashion forward: On Friday, Rebecca flaunted her trim and toned figure as she modelled another garment by J'Aton

The doting mother captioned the sweet picture: 'Glow worms.'

In further photos, Bec posed in a long, white jacket, which she said was perfect for 'snow brides'.

One more image showed the model in a similar, space-themed coat with puffy sleeves, and scalloped edging.

Frozen: In further photos, Bec posed in a long, white jacket, which she said was perfect for 'snow brides'

UFO: One more image showed the model in a similar, space-themed coat with puffy sleeves, and scalloped edging

Lastly, she posed in a slightly less edgy puffer with a blue and black marbled design.

The garments are a collaboration between J'Aton and Italian brand KMpiumini.

Missing from the family photo session was Bec's husband, former AFL star Chris, and their seven-year-old daughter Billie.

Space cadets: The former Postcards host was also joined by her beaming boys who modelled other versions of the spacesuit-inspired attire alongside her. All pictured

A look: Lastly, she posed in a slightly less edgy puffer with a blue and black marbled design

It comes after Bec revelated she had purchased a candle worth an eye-watering $250.

The Jaggad creator shared a picture of Diptyque's three-wick Roses candle burning away in her kitchen, claiming 'just a whiff of it makes me happy'.

'Roses by Diptyque is my absolute fave. It's a sweet, zingy rose as opposed to an old lady rose and just a whiff of it makes me happy. I just bought this big one and it lives in my kitchen,' she captioned the image.

Love: Missing from the family photo session was Bec's husband, former AFL star Chris (pictured), and their seven-year-old daughter Billie

Bec and Chris, 37, have raked in the money with their many endeavours over the years.

Chris was at one point one of the highest paid AFL stars, earning about $1million-a-year at the height of his career.

Meanwhile, Bec co-owns activewear line Jaggad with her husband, has a slew of ambassador roles, and earns thousands of dollars a week sharing sponsored posts with her 816,000 Instagram followers.
Charlie Robinson, who became a regular on the hit comedy Night Court starting in its second season, has died at age 75.

The actor passed on Sunday at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center from cardiac arrest with multisystem organ failures due to septic shock and metastatic adenocarcinoma, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

He had a career spanning more than five decades that featured major roles in films and in the theater, though he was best known for his work in television.

Acclaimed actor: Charlie Robinson, a longtime main cast member on the NBC sitcom Night Court, died Sunday at 75 from cardiac arrest with multisystem organ failures, according to The Hollywood Reporter; seen in 2017

Robinson's best-known role was as the court clerk Macintosh 'Mac' Robinson on NBC's Night Court from 1985 until the show's final season in 1992.

His character replaced another clerk played by Karen Austin in the first season.

Mac was a Vietnam veteran and the most easy-going of the main cast, who had an instantly recognizable costume featuring some kind of plaid shirt paired with a cardigan and a knit tie.

The sitcom focused on the staff working the nightshift at a Manhattan court and also starred Harry Anderson and John Larroquette, among others.

Iconic: Robinson's best-known role was as the court clerk Macintosh 'Mac' Robinson on NBC's Night Court from 1985 until the show's final season in 1992

Main cast: Mac was a Vietnam veteran and the most easy-going of the main cast. The series focused on the nightshift of a Manhattan municipal courthouse

Robinson's first TV role was in 1971 with the legal drama Owen Marshall, Counselor At Law.

In the same year, he appeared in Jack Nicholson's underseen directorial debut Drive, He Said.

Some of his biggest television credits included Buffalo Bill, The Guestbook, Home Improvement, Hart Of Dixie, Love & War and NCIS.

He was also featured on seven episodes of the CBS sitcom Mom, with his final appearance in 2019.

His most recent television work included the 2021 Freeform miniseries Love In The Time of Corona.

In 2018, he appeared on stage in playwright James Anthony Tyler's Some Old Black Man opposite The Wire's Wendell Pierce, and a recording of the play was made available to stream earlier this year.

Small screen: Some of his biggest TV credits included Buffalo Bill, The Guestbook, Home Improvement, Hart Of Dixie, Love & War and NCIS. He was also featured on seven episodes of the CBS sitcom Mom, with his final appearance in 2019; seen with Allison Janney in Mom

Robinson was born in Houston, Texas, on November 9, 1945.

He began his stage and screen career in the 1960s with a stint at a Houston-based acting school.

He also enrolled in the Actors Studio in Manhattan, which fostered numerous legendary talents of the stage and screen, before he moved to Hollywood to court bigger roles.

Some of his big screen appearances included Antwone Fisher, Denzel Washington's feature directorial debut, and The House Bunny.

He would later reunite with its star Anna Faris for Mom, which also starred Allison Janney.

Swift rise: He began his acting career in the 1960s and was a student at the Actors Studio, before breaking out in the '70s; seen in 2013

Robinson was honored throughout his career with multiple awards, including a Best Actor honors from the Image Theatre Awards and the FRED Awards for playing Simon in The Whipping Man.

He also won a Best Actor Ovation Award for playing the lead in a 2008 production of August Wilson's classic play Fences.

He's survived by his wife Dolorita and his children Byron, Charlie, Christian and Luca, as well as grandchildren, great grandchildren and daughters-in-law, plus his beloved dog Nala.
Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox put on a very affectionate display after enjoying a romantic dinner date at Avra in Beverly Hills on Sunday night.

While strutting out of the restaurant, the lovebirds looked blissfully happy as they held hands and walked closely together back to their car.

For their night out, the 35-year-old Transformers star rocked a structured corset top with a deep scoop neckline to match a knee-length skirt.

Happy in love: Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox put on a very affectionate display after enjoying a romantic dinner date at Avra in Beverly Hills on Sunday night

She kept somewhat covered up with long sleeves and added inches to her petite frame with silver stilettos with straps wrapped around her calves.

Megan showed off her flawless complexion with pale pink cheeks and highlighted her lips with a bold red shade.

Her long, dark brown hair was parted down the middle and worn in loose curls with tendrils cascading down her shoulders.

Date night: While strutting out of the restaurant, the lovebirds looked blissfully happy as they held hands and walked closely together back to their car

Meanwhile, the Bad Things rapper, 31, wore a '27 Club Coffee' black t-shirt, from his coffee shop and lounge in Cleveland, Ohio.

He completed his look with a black Louis Vuitton beanie, black leather combat boots

Earlier in the afternoon, Fox made a solo appearance at Jimmy Kimmel Live! studios in the same outfit.

The actress radiated beauty wearing a grey bodycon dress after spending the weekend with her beau in Las Vegas to watch the UFC264 fight.

Picture perfect: Earlier in the day, Fox made a solo appearance at Jimmy Kimmel Live! studios in Hollywood

Beaming: The 35-year-old actress radiated beauty wearing a grey bodycon dress in Los Angeles after spending the weekend with her beau in Las Vegas to watch the UFC264 fight

Megan and her ex, Brian Austin Green, are reportedly in a 'peaceful place' with their co-parenting relationship for their three children: Noah, eight, Bodhi, seven, and Journey, four.

A source told E! News: 'Things have calmed down and are going a lot smoother. Brian has accepted it's over for good with Megan and has moved on. It's allowed for a much more peaceful co-parenting relationship.'

Both Brian, 47, and Megan have moved on to new relationships, with Megan dating MGK for more than one year, while Brian is loved up with Dancing With the Stars pro Sharna Burgess, 36.

Bold and beautiful: The Transformers star rocked a structured corset top with a deep scoop neckline to match a knee-length skirt

Accessories: She carried a small black purse and her iPhone in one hand while heading into the studio for an appearance

The insider added: 'They still have things that come up. However, he is very happy with his own life and his relationship, so that has helped.'

Megan and MGK's whirlwind relationship began last year while filming Randall Emmett's crime thriller, Midnight In The Switchgrass, with Bruce Willis, Emile Hirsch and Lukas Haas in Puerto Rico.

During an interview on Lala Kent's podcast, Megan said she 'knew right away that he was what I call a twin flame.'

She added: 'Instead of a soul mate, a twin flame is actually where a soul has ascended into a high enough level that it can be split into two different bodies at the same time. So we're actually two halves of the same soul, I think.'

Gorgeous: Megan showed off her flawless complexion with pale pink cheeks and highlighted her lips with a bold red shade

Glam: Her long, dark brown hair was parted down the middle and worn in loose curls with tendrils cascading down her shoulders

They made their red carpet debut at the American Music Awards where she revealed a new tattoo likely dedicated to her musician beau with the Spanish words 'el pistolero' scrawled across her collarbone, which roughly translates to 'the gunman.'

Kelly  who's real name is Colson Baker  revealed that he wears a vial of her blood on a necklace so that he wouldn't miss her when she went out of the country for a film role.

'This was really new in our relationship. I didn't have a passport either. So, she was going out to Bulgaria so I was kind of freaking out, like, "You're gonna leave and I can't even come see you,"' he recalled. 'Some people give, like, a handkerchief to their partner or whatever. She gave me her DNA.'
Sacha Baron Cohen filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts against a cannabis company called Solar Therapeutics for using his image on Monday.

Court documents showed that the comedian has claimed the company did not seek his permission to use his image or likeness for a billboard, which shows his Borat character flashing thumbs up and exclaiming: 'It's Nice.'

The legal team for Cohen, 49, said in court docs that in using the shot, the company falsely advertised his image, violated copyright infringement and misappropriated his right of publicity, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Cohen's attorney David Condon said in legal docs that Baron Cohen 'never has used cannabis in his life,' and 'never would participate in an advertising campaign for cannabis, for any amount of money.'

The latest: Sacha Baron Cohen, 49, on Monday filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts against a cannabis company called Solar Therapeutics for using his image on a billboard (pictured)

Cohen is well-known for his roles who has played roles as Ali G, Bruno and Admiral General Aladeen, yet Borat Sagdiyev - originally from his 2006 mockumentary film and more recently from a new movie last year - in arguably his most famous.

In the legal complaint against the company, officials continued: 'By use of the Billboard, the Defendants falsely have conveyed to the public that Mr. Baron Cohen has endorsed their products and is affiliated with their business.'

In the court filing, attorneys for Cohen noted that the performer has had 'countless opportunities' to embark on a corporate sponsorship, but has not, to protect his career in acting and activism.

The court docs noted that Cohen is not a proponent of cannabis usage.

His legal team stated that the cannabis company 'took a gamble' in using the actor's likeness under the assumption he would never see the advert.

His representatives pushed that Baron Cohen does not believe cannabis is a 'healthy choice' despite its legalisation in many US states.

Details: Cohen is well-known for his roles who has played roles as Ali G, Bruno and Admiral General Aladeen, yet Borat Sagdiyev - originally from his 2006 mockumentary film and more recently from a new movie last year - in arguably his most famous (pictured as Borat)

They pushed the value of his affiliation, citing an offer he previously received of $4m (2.9m) to advertise a car, which he turned down for fear of weakening 'his credibility as an actor and as a serious social activist'.

He said the star had never advertised any product in the UK or US over fears it would 'weaken his credibility as an actor and as a serious social activist'.

It says the actor's persona is 'of very significant commercial value' and that he had previously turned down $4m (2.9m) to appear in a car advert.

'With his Ali G character, portrayed by Mr. Baron Cohen in the HBO television series Da Ali G Show, Mr. Baron Cohen has spent much of his career making a mockery of 'stoner' culture - a culture which the Defendants' Billboard overtly celebrates,' his court filing read, also citing his religious beliefs.

Hitting back: He said the star had never advertised any product in the UK or US over fears it would 'weaken his credibility as an actor and as a serious social activist'

His court complaint stated: 'Baron Cohen was born into an Orthodox Jewish family; he is an Observant Jew; and he is proud of his cultural heritage...

'He does not wish to be involved in the heated controversy among the Orthodox Jewish community about whether cannabis can be used under Jewish traditions, customs, and rules.'

Baron Cohen's legal team had sent Solar Therapeutics a cease-and-desist letter upon discovering the billboard, after which it claimed it removed the display.

The company still has yet to pony up remuneration for the violation, Baron Cohen's legal team said, leading the actor to seek actual and punitive damages in its suit.
Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide star Lindsey Shaw says she is leaving social media for awhile in the wake of a racial controversy over a TikTok clip.

Shaw, 32, cried in a series of social media clips as she reacted to a slew of responses after users were upset after a previous clip in which she reacted to a group of Black dancers performing a dance move, then mimicking the move herself and saying, 'Hey, are we okay, what the f*** is this?'

She said that her intent with her commentary 'wasn't that serious,' adding she believed it was a 'millennials and Gen Z thing.'

The latest: Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide star Lindsey Shaw, 32, says she is leaving social media in the wake of a racial controversy over a TikTok clip that she says was misinterpreted

In her teary response, she struck back at people who she said misinterpreted her response to the initial clip.

'OK, I just have to say right now that the hate in my inbox is not OK,' she said. 'I did not mean anything in any kind of way, I am learning every day, as I think everybody is. And this kind of hate just needs to evaporate from the planet no matter who it's directed towards.'

She shot back at a user who implied that she'd been shedding 'crocodile tears,' exaggerating her emotion for sympathy following the controversy.

'This is my soul out there, if you know anything about what I stand for, what I believe in, you know that it's not this,' she said.

Explanation: She said that her intent with her commentary 'wasn't that serious,' adding she believed it was a 'millennials and Gen Z thing'

Mea culpa: Shaw said she was 'sorry' to those 'offended' by her action in the initial social media clip. She was snapped in LA at an event last month

Growth: Shaw said she's 'going to keep learning for my own mental health'

Shaw said she was 'sorry' to those 'offended' by her action in the initial social media clip.

'I know I'm going to keep learning for my own mental health,' Shaw said, adding that she was going 'to take a step back from social media,' adding, 'I'm not here to offend or belittle anybody, at all.'

She continued: 'I got to just go off of here for a little while, but I appreciate you, I love you, I'll be back and I hope that I know more and I hope that we all have a little more compassion and understanding.'

Shaw played Moze on Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide from 2004-2007, and has also been seen on shows including Aliens in America, 10 Things I Hate About You and Pretty Little Liars.
She's been living life to the fullest since partnering up with rapper Machine Gun Kelly last year.

And Megan Fox revealed Monday night on Jimmy Kimmel Live that her quest for new experiences included an ayahuasca trip in Costa Rica with her boyfriend that sent her to the depths of 'hell.'

Despite how horrifying her drug trip sounded, the 35-year-old Jennifer's Body star told guest host Arsenio Hall that it was actually therapeutic.

Taking a trip: Megan Fox, 35, admitted to guest host Arsenio Hall on Monday's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live that she had a hellacious yet therapeutic ayahuasca trip with boyfriend Machine Gun Kelly

'So we went to Costa Rico to do ayahuasca in an indigenous setting,' she shared, adding that it wasn't the glamorous 'five-star' experience she had been expecting.

'You don't get to eat after, like, 1:00 p.m.,' she shared. 'You have to walk a long distance. You can't shower because they're in a drought. You have to respect the rainforest. Nothing glamorous about it.'

She explained that the ceremonies began with 'vomitivo,' in which attendees drank a plant-based concoction that made them vomit.

Has its downsides: The Costa Rican trip wasn't glamorous, as they could barely shower and couldn't eat in the evenings, and they had to induce vomiting before their drug trips

Mandatory: 'So you have to vomit? There's no way out of that?' Arsenio asked. 'You can't get out of it,' she replied, but she found it helped prepare them

Celebrities who have tried ayahuasca... Sting: '[I felt] something coursing through every cell in my body  like an intelligence searching everything. And I am wired to the entire cosmos! I see a crack in the ground and inside I see a flower growing ... it's my brother  everything! And I realise for the first time this is the only genuine, religious experience Ive ever had!' Lindsay Lohan: 'I did ayahuasca, it changed my life ... [I let go of the] wreckage of my past.' Chelsea Handler: 'I had all these beautiful imageries of my childhood and me and my sister laughing on a kayak, and all these beautiful things with me and my sister. So [my experience] was very much about opening my mind to loving my sister, and not being so hard on her.' James Scott: 'I hallucinated for four to six hours ... It was truly the most important thing I have ever done. I came back a very different person.' Advertisement

'So you have to vomit? There's no way out of that?' Arsenio asked.

'You can't get out of it,' she replied to the audience's laughter. 'And you have to vomit a certain amount before they let you get back with everyone. So you're like cheering on everyone as they throw up,' she joked, adding that it was a good 'bonding experience.'

Megan said that the two took ayahuasca on three different nights, with a different 'trip' each time.

'Everybody's journey is different,' she explained. 'The second night I went to hell for eternity. And just knowing eternity is like torture in itself because there's no beginning, middle or end. So you have like a real ego death.'

But the Transformers star said the terrors of her mental hell were like a particularly potent kind of therapy.

'This is a medicine that goes  it surpasses anything you could do with talk therapy or hypnotherapy, any of those things,' she continued.

'It just goes straight into your soul and takes you into your psychological prison you hold yourself in. It's your own version of hell. And I was definitely there.'

The ayahuasca trip seems to have been a longtime goal for Megan, who shared with Us Weekly in 2019 that she wanted to try out the experience with her then-husband Brian Austin Green.

'Im really into Shamanism, so Im learning a lot about that.

'Ive read maybe 12 or 14 books on it now, so Im getting into that and Im nearing closer,' she explained.

'Im not someone who does hallucinogenics, but Im nearing closer [to] wanting to go on an Ayahuasca journey to meet myself, transcend, have the little death, come out the other side.

Trippy: 'Everybody's journey is different,' she explained. 'The second night I went to hell for eternity. And just knowing eternity is like torture in itself because there's no beginning, middle or end. So you have like a real ego death'

To hell and back: She said the drug 'surpasses anything you could do with talk therapy or hypnotherapy' and it 'goes straight into your soul and takes you into your psychological prison'

Unfortunately, Brian wasn't on board for a trip himself, or even to watch her do it.

Elsewhere in her appearance, Megan claimed that her boyfriend Machine Gun Kelly (given name: Colson Baker) had never had a serious relationship prior to coupling up with her.

'He's going to love how much I'm divulging all of his secrets,' she joked, before adding, 'but he's never been in a relationship before.'

First time: Megan also claimed her beau Machine Gun Kelly had never had a real relationship. 'He's going to love how much I'm divulging all of his secrets,' she joked, 'but he's never been in a relationship before'; seen June 19 in LA

Long story: While she was filming her movie Till Death in Bulgaria, he wanted to visit her, but he lost his passport because he put it in his sock while riding a motorcycle on the freeway because his pants were too tight

VOMITING THEN A TEN HOUR TRIP Ayahuasca, or yage, contains Dimethyltryptamine, known as DMT. Used in South America, especially in the Amazon basin, Ayahuasca is a drink produced from the stem bark of the vines Banisteriopsis caapi and B. inebrians. It is said to have healing properties and bring inner peace by purging toxins and can produce reactions including vomiting. Psychedelic experiences last six to 10 hours and are guided by experienced shamans in the South American countries where ayahuasca is legal to consume. Advertisement

Because her commitment to the rapper-turned-rocker was new, he got anxious when she went away to Bulgaria to film her new thriller Till Death and decided to come visit her on set.

'So he was really fearful of if I go away for six weeks, am I still going to come back and we're going to be okay,' she explained. 'He had lost his passport riding a motorcycle on the freeway because he wears these insane pants and he just puts them in  he'll put his passport like in his sock, and so it will fall out obviously. That's a stupid thing. Don't ever do that,' she said to the audience.

'And he lost the passport, and this was during Covid. So he couldn't just get a new passport. So he had to go through all of these hoops,' she continued. 'He went through Bernie Sanders finally to get a passport and he came to see me. But it was a lot of drama.'

By the time he had his passport, they only had three days together before she was finished with the film and had to go back home.

Short payout: By the time he had his passport, they only had three days together before she was finished with the film and had to go back home

Fighting fan: Megan was just in Vegas with MGK for a UFC fight. She recalled being in a 2018 fight between Conor McGregor and Khabibi Murmagomedov where a riot broke out.

Arsenio and Megan also chatted about how she's a fan of mixed martial arts fighting and had recently traveled to Las Vegas with MGK for a fight.

'I have UFC fight pass and I know all the fighters and their back stories and I've been into it for a few years,' she confessed. '[Machine Gun Kelly] likes it, but I'm definitely the one that's more obsessed with it.'

The actress admitting to being at a 2018 fight between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov in which a riot broke out among the audience.

'I saw a ring girl start running, like in their robes they're running. And I'm like, "I'd better run too if the ring girls are running,"' she recalled.

In the commotion, she saw her agent Carol get knocked down by someone in the crowd.

Should have guessed: She saw her agent Carol get knocked down by someone in the crowd. 'And I'm like, "Who just knocked Carol over?" It was Chris Pratt'

'And I'm like, "Who just knocked Carol over?" It was Chris Pratt.'

She said the Guardians Of The Galaxy star was just 'escaping for his life' with the rest of the crowd.

Earlier in the afternoon, Megan was seen looking glamorous on her way into the studio for Jimmy Kimmel Live taping.

The actress radiated beauty wearing a grey bodycon dress in Hollywood after spending the weekend with her beau in Las Vegas to watch the UFC264 fight.

Picture perfect: Megan made a show stopping solo appearance at Jimmy Kimmel Live! studios in Hollywood on Monday afternoon

The Transformers star rocked a structured corset top with a deep scoop neckline to match a knee-length skirt.

She kept somewhat covered up with long sleeves and added inches to her petite frame with silver stilettos with straps wrapped around her calves.

Megan showed off her flawless complexion with pale pink cheeks and highlighted her lips with a bold red shade.

Her long, dark brown hair was parted down the middle and worn in loose curls with tendrils cascading down her shoulders.

Beaming: The 35-year-old actress radiated beauty wearing a grey bodycon dress in Los Angeles after spending the weekend with her beau in Las Vegas to watch the UFC264 fight

Megan and her ex, Brian Austin Green, are reportedly in a 'peaceful place' with their co-parenting relationship for their three children: Noah, eight, Bodhi, seven, and Journey, four.

A source told E! News: 'Things have calmed down and are going a lot smoother. Brian has accepted it's over for good with Megan and has moved on. It's allowed for a much more peaceful co-parenting relationship.'

Both Brian, 47, and Megan have moved on to new relationships, with Megan dating MGK for more than one year, while Brian is loved up with Dancing With the Stars pro Sharna Burgess, 36.

Bold and beautiful: The Transformers star rocked a structured corset top with a deep scoop neckline to match a knee-length skirt

The insider added: 'They still have things that come up. However, he is very happy with his own life and his relationship, so that has helped.'

Megan and MGK's whirlwind relationship began last year while filming Randall Emmett's crime thriller, Midnight In The Switchgrass, with Bruce Willis, Emile Hirsch and Lukas Haas in Puerto Rico.

During an interview on Lala Kent's podcast, Megan said she 'knew right away that he was what I call a twin flame.'

She added: 'Instead of a soul mate, a twin flame is actually where a soul has ascended into a high enough level that it can be split into two different bodies at the same time. So we're actually two halves of the same soul, I think.'

They made their red carpet debut at the American Music Awards where she revealed a new tattoo likely dedicated to her musician beau with the Spanish words 'el pistolero' scrawled across her collarbone, which roughly translates to 'the gunman.'

Kelly  who's real name is Colson Baker  revealed that he wears a vial of her blood on a necklace so that he wouldn't miss her when she went out of the country for a film role.

'This was really new in our relationship. I didn't have a passport either. So, she was going out to Bulgaria so I was kind of freaking out, like, "You're gonna leave and I can't even come see you,"' he recalled. 'Some people give, like, a handkerchief to their partner or whatever. She gave me her DNA.'
Hospitality mogul Justin Hemmes recently purchased iconic Byron Bay dive bar Cheeky Monkey's for $13.5million.

And the Sydney businessman, 48, checked out the NSW coastal town on Sunday with his girlfriend, 24-year-old model Madeline Holtznagel.

The couple enjoyed an outdoor lunch at local cafe The Top Shop, accompanied by his children and another friend.

Getting to know the area! Justin Hemmes and his model girlfriend Madeline Holtznagel dined al fresco at a Byron Bay cafe on Sunday, after he bought dive bar Cheeky Monkey's for $13.5M

The pub baron was spotted carrying a tray of burgers as the group sat outside.

He dressed casually in a plain white T-shirt and black pants, and swept his dirty blond hair up in a man bun.

Madeline looked off-duty chic in a jumper and P.E Nation bike shorts, and accessorised with a pair of Prada sunglasses.

Al fresco dining: The couple enjoyed an outdoor lunch at local cafe The Top Shop, accompanied by his children and another friend (right)

Delish! The pub baron was spotted carrying a tray of burgers as the group sat outside

Low-key low: He dressed casually in a plain white T-shirt and black pants, and swept his dirty blond hair up in a man bun

Justin placed his meal on the hood of his car, which he used as a makeshift table.

After finishing his burger, he sat back down with his girlfriend and their companion as they shared a lively conversation.

His daughters, Alexa, four, and Saachi, three, whom he shares ex-partner Kate Fowler, kept themselves busy by playing nearby.

Chatting: After finishing his burger, he sat back down with his girlfriend and their companion as they shared a lively conversation

Business talks: The group appeared to be deep in conversation, perhaps discussing how to develop Cheeky Monkey's from a backpacker's haven into something more upmarket

Fun: Justin's daughters, Alexa, four, and Saachi, three, whom he shares ex-partner Kate Fowler, kept themselves busy by playing nearby

The group appeared to be deep in conversation, perhaps discussing how to develop Cheeky Monkey's from a backpacker's haven into something more upmarket.

Justin bought the legendary dive bar for at least $13.5million in May.

He told The Daily Telegraph: 'I've been going to Byron since I was 10 years old, so it has always been a place close to my heart. I can't wait to open our first venue on the North Coast and spend more time in the area. There's simply no place like it.'

Off she goes: Madeline reached over to pick up her red juice before leaving

Effortlessly stylish: Madeline looked off-duty chic in a jumper and P.E Nation bike shorts, and accessorised with a pair of Prada sunglasses

Relaunch: Justin bought legendary 'dive bar' Cheeky Monkey's for at least $13.5million in May

Cheeky Monkey's closed its doors on March 23 last year due to the Covid pandemic and has not been open since. Merivale took ownership of the pub on May 28.

The restaurant and bar, which also houses backpacker accommodation, is situated on Byron's popular Jonson Street.

Justin is said to be eyeing up another property closer to the ocean on the same street.

Hot spot! The Byron Bay property market has become a hotspot for rich investors in recent years, with many hoping to buy a slice of Australia's hottest holiday destination

Location: The restaurant and bar, which also houses backpacker accommodation, is situated on Byron's popular Jonson Street. Justin is also said to be eyeing up another property closer to the ocean on the same street

Expanding the empire: The purchase comes after Justin spent about $200million on venues in Sydney's Leichhardt, Melbourne, and Lorne in Victoria over the last six months

The Byron Bay property market has become a hotspot for rich investors in recent years, with many hoping to buy a slice of Australia's hottest holiday destination.

The purchase comes after Justin spent about $200million on venues in Sydney's Leichhardt, Melbourne, and Lorne in Victoria over the last six months.

Earlier in May, he confirmed he'd also bought Norton's Irish Pub in Leichhardt for $22million.

'This is simply a continuation of our growth strategy pre-Covid which was focused on acquiring great properties like The Royal and 3 Weeds, and creating new experiences in existing venues,' he said.

Nice digs: Earlier in May, Hemmes confirmed he'd also bought Norton's Irish Pub in Leichhardt for $22million

Justin also purchased The Whale Inn, a hotel and restaurant located in Narooma, on the south coast of New South Wales.

Pricing details have not been released, but the four-star hotel had changed hands for about $2.8million in 2010.

It's clear the Merivale Group is determined to expand out of Sydney with all of its recent purchases outside the Harbour City.

Interest: Justin also purchased The Whale Inn, a hotel and restaurant located in Narooma, on the south coast of New South Wales. Pricing details have not been released, but the four-star hotel had changed hands for about $2.8million in 2010

Justin also was revealed to have spent $38milion on the 145-year-old oceanfront Lorne Hotel in Victoria after buying Tomasetti House in Melbourne's Flinders Lane precinct for more than $40million.

He has since promised Melburnians he plans to 'embrace' what's on offer, rather than transplant his Merivale model into Victoria.

'We have to embrace what makes Melbourne special, not bring Sydney with us,' he told The Age.

'I love that the city is so different to Sydney; its an exciting challenge that we really want to get right.'

Iconic: Justin also was revealed to have spent $38milion on the 145-year-old oceanfront Lorne Hotel in Victoria

The Rich-Lister described Melbourne as a 'very special city, with a unique energy'.

'Its local hospitality industry is one of the best in the world... we are honoured to open our first venue in Melbourne, and cannot wait to work alongside so many local industry greats,' he said.

The billionaire acknowledged the 'terrible' sufferings of the Melbourne CBD last year due to Covid lockdowns and vowed to help turn things around for local businesses.

Expansion: He also bought Tomasetti House in Melbourne's Flinders Lane precinct for more than $40million

Helping hand: He has since promised Melburnians he plans to 'embrace' what was on offer, rather than transplant his Merivale model into Victoria. Hemmes acknowledged the 'terrible' sufferings of the Melbourne and vowed to help turn things around for local businesses

Justin's family fortune is worth about $1.06billion.

His property portfolio includes the Beresford Hotel in Surry Hills, the Queen Victoria Hotel in Enmore, and Bondi's Royal Hotel.

Justin also recently bought his ex-partner Kate Fowler a $7.5million mansion Dover Heights, which is one of Sydney's most exclusive suburbs.
Wendy Williams seen Monday in her native New York City amid a controversy linked to her remarks about at the death of TikTok star Swavy, whose family has demanded the talk show host apologize for her remarks.

In a Hot Topics segment earlier this month, Williams reported the news of the social media star's murder at the age of 19, saying, 'I have no idea who this person is... neither does one person in this building.'

Williams, 56, donned a varsity style New York Yankees jacket over a white top with dark blue denim shorts, rounding out the ensemble with white sneakers.

The latest: Wendy Williams, 56, was seen Monday in her native New York City amid a controversy linked to her remarks about at the death of TikTok star Swavy, whose family has demanded the talk show host apologize for her remarks

She wore her blonde mane down and parted, and a medical face mask as she stepped out amid the ongoing pandemic.

The TV host has dealt with backlash online over what viewers dubbed a 'classless' and 'hateful' segment about Swavy, whose real name was Matima Miller.

The rising influencer was only 19 when he died July 5 after he was fatally shot in Wilmington, Delaware.

His relatives called on the talk show host to apologize for her ill-received remarks about the late influencer.

Summer style: Williams donned a varsity style New York Yankees jacket over a white top with dark blue denim shorts

On the move: The media star wore her blonde mane down and parted, and a medical face mask as she stepped out amid the ongoing pandemic

Miller's mom Chanell Clark and older brother Rahkim Clark spoke to TMZ Sunday, expressing their hurt at how Williams dealt with the sensitive subject.

'As a black woman and as a black mother, you didn't have any empathy at all,' Rahkim said. He also hit out at the talk show host for not getting the facts right and painting Miller as a 'thug' and someone 'trying to be in the streets'.

Miller's mom Clark then talked about the harrowing experience of watching her son die and how it 'mentally messes you up.'

The mother and brother of Swavy - real name Matima Miller - have hit out at Wendy Williams after her 'hateful' reporting on his death last week

Miller's mom Chanell Clark and older brother Rahkim Clark spoke to TMZ, expressing their hurt about how Williams dealt with the sensitive subject

'Wendy Williams as a mother, how do you put a child out there like that. Nobody knew him like that.' Chanell said before demanding an apology from Wendy

She said, 'Wendy Williams as a mother, how do you put a child out there like that. Nobody knew him like that ... my son shouldn't have been shot down in the street like that for someone to recognize who he is... I deserve an apology.

'But at this point, I'm so pissed off... because you did him like like... I'm looking for an apology. I do want an apology. But at the same time, I'm pissed with Wendy.'

Williams discussed Miller's death on her Hot Topics segment last week, but before revealing he had died, said she had no idea who he was.

'Classless': It follows backlash online against the TV host for her 'classless' and 'hateful' segment during her show last week, mocking the rising influencer before talking about his murder

'I have no idea who this person is': Wendy Williams has sparked outrage after leading a segment discussing the death of TikTok star Matima Miller by insisting she had no idea who he was

Tragedy: Matima Miller, pictured, passed away at age 19 during a daylight shooting earlier this week

'I have no idea who this person is... neither does one person in this building,' Williams started off the segment, before asking the audience to clap if they knew who he was.

After just a small handful of people responded with applause, she continued: 'Well, he's a TikTok star. He's got more followers than me - 2.5 million!'

Her producer, Norman Baker clarified, 'On Tik Tok, but on Instagram you have more followers!' earning cheers and applause from the audience.

Williams said, 'Well, as my son Kevin would say, no one uses Instagram anymore. And as far as TikTok, I don't use that at all. I don't know what that is, I don't want to be involved.

She said, 'Here he is,' she said, presenting a photo of the late social media star on her screen.

'He's got more followers than me': Williams was surprised to see the 19-year-old had more TikTok followers than her

'You have more followers!' Producer Norman Baker stepped in to tell Wendy she had more followers on Instagram than Matima

Hateful: Williams was slammed online for treating the teen's death like 'funny gossip'

Outraged: Viewers took to Twitter to air their grievances with Wendy following her segment

After a pause and some laughter from the audience, she continued: 'He's 19, and he was murdered Monday morning,' to which the audience groaned in response to the news.

The manner of the reporting did not sit well with many fans, who took to Twitter to air their grievances with Wendy.

'She is so hateful. Like, she basically treated the announcement of his death like it was funny gossip. Why disparage him? Why even talk about him at all if you and your audience are that removed from even knowing who he is?' one person wrote.

'Did she really need to look him up and down like that before breaking the news that he was murdered? Like she's the only one who knew where this was going and she still chose to sprinkle a little nasty on it first,' @ClassActKelz tweeted.

'Lemme just say sum bc yall really out here being stupid, it is NEVER OKAY to joke about someone's death. You are just hurting people and being so disgusting and disrespectful more than you are making people laugh,' @poblibioxmulti tweeted.

'I'm still not over Wendy Williams horrible journalism like wow. Prayers up to the family of that young man!' @BG_THEGREAT tweeted.

'So, admittedly I've never heard of Swavy. But clearly he was well respected in the TikTok community & it sucks that his life was taken at such a young age. But Wendy Williams/crew starting off by saying how much more famous she is on Instagram & THEN following up on his death??' @ken10drawsstuff tweeted, along with a GIF from Orange Is The New Black with the line, 'That's mad disrespect right there.

Another user wrote: 'Y'all seen that video of wendy williams talking on that tiktok star wavy's death? it's so gross.'

The segment occurred just days after the death of social media sensation Matima, who went by Babyface.S on TikTok and posted dance videos and meme skits to his millions of followers.

Police were called to a shooting at the 700 block of Elbert Place in the Southbridge neighborhood of Wilmington at about 10:42 a.m. July 5. Miller was found with a gunshot wound and was rushed to hospital, where he died from his injuries.

The Wilmington Police Department says it remains to investigate the incident, People reported Monday.

Swavy's family said on Instagram they 'working diligently to get justice for' the late social media star.

The family has set a GoFundMe up for funeral expenses, having garnered more than $23,900 of its $30,000 goal.
Roxy Jacenko has '65,000 reasons' to comply with Covid restrictions as her businesses hemorrhage money during lockdown - so she is astonished that somebody seems intent on trying to dob her in to police.

The Sweaty Betty PR guru is at her wits' end after she received a letter in the mail from SafeWork on Tuesday informing her that she was being investigated for allegedly putting her staff at risk.

In the warning letter, she was informed that a complaint has been made suggesting 'workers or others may be at risk' and that an investigation was taking place into alleged 'inadequate controls from biological hazards'.

This is despite accommodating two earlier visits from her local police who were sent out to inspect the conditions in her office following complaints from an unknown source.

Jacenko is losing an estimated $65,000 every week that the city stays in lockdown, and says that she, like any other small business owner with their head screwed on, is doing everything she can to comply so Sydney recovers as soon as possible.

Roxy Jacenko is at her wits' end as she tries to keep her small business afloat during Sydney's Covid lockdown after receiving a letter from SafeWork questioning whether she is putting her staff at risk

She already had most of her 30-strong team working remotely when Premier Gladys Berejiklian told Sydneysiders to stay home unless absolutely necessary.

Ms Berejiklian said the current Covid threat is the most significant Sydney has ever faced, and, as a result, Jacenko sent the rest of her non-essential staff packing.

On any given day, Jacenko has no more than four staff in her office. They work reduced hours and perform essential duties like packing and shipping orders, which simply can't be done from home.

Official government signs directing staff to wear face masks and maintain social distancing are scattered throughout the office, and there are several unoccupied desks in between every employee to ensure compliance.

Jacenko told Daily Mail Australia that the officers who visited noted her exemplary compliance.

Roxy Jacenko (pictured left) said officers who visited noted her exemplary compliance. Official government signs directing staff to wear face masks and maintain social distancing are scattered throughout the office (pictured right)

Jacenko has no more than four staff in her office at any given time - and all are required for essential packing and shipping work. Pictured: Jacenko with some of her staff more than two weeks ago, already wearing masks in the office

And yet on Tuesday she received a letter urging her to 'conduct an assessment of the issues raised to determine whether you are meeting your work health and safety obligations'.

The SafeWork inquiry determined an inspector would not be required to visit the office, but Jacenko was warned she could face further investigations in the future.

The mother-of-two is questioning whether the complaint was made internally, but says it's more than likely come from an outsider with a vendetta.

'I'm not a fool, I realise I'm polarising. But tall poppy syndrome is rife and people in this beautiful country cannot cope with others who want to make a real go of things. There are always people wanting to tear me down,' Jacenko said.

There are several unoccupied desks in between every employee to ensure compliance, as seen above

The Sweaty Betty PR guru was sent a letter on Tuesday which informed her that an investigation was taking place into alleged 'inadequate controls from biological hazards'

After spending 16 years cultivating a dream team, the PR guru would like to think that nobody within her fold would be making false reports

After spending 16 years cultivating a dream team, the PR guru would like to think that nobody within her fold would be making false reports.

'There are people in this street that call the police if I'm even hosing down my car... Whoever it is, they need to realise they're wasting precious resources.'

SafeWork inquiry determined an inspector would not be required to visit the office at this time. Despite her compliance with regulations, Roxy Jacenko was warned she could face further investigations in the future. Seen above is one of the hand sanitisers and one of several government-sanctioned signs in her office

Jacenko pointed out that police making repeated trips to her office only to find a completely compliant business are the same officers who then miss someone down the road being robbed, or a domestic violence event unfolding down the street.

But, she said on her Instagram post detailing the ordeal, that she is still considering all avenues of who could be behind the targeted attacks.

Roxy Jacenko believes she may be the victim of a vendetta which sparked the investigation

'I wonder if I stopped paying the wages of these imbeciles who are making these reports of me apparently flouting the rules they might change their tune,' she said.

Jacenko told Daily Mail Australia that she, like all small business owners, is counting down the days until Sydney can return to normal.

Her offshoot business, Pixie's Fidgets, is haemorrhaging an estimated $65,000-a-week after closing six stores when lockdown was announced.

'The financial burden is absolutely huge. I'm all for this. I'm wearing my mask, I'm following the rules. The sooner we follow the rules and it all stops the better for everyone.'

Jacenko has had her office deep cleaned and says she has one message for whoever is making false complaints when asked on Tuesday: 'Stop wasting resources'

The pressures of lockdown and additional scrutiny from authorities has Jacenko even questioning whether running a business is worth it.

'There's only so much you can put up with as a business owner. We're trying to make a go of it and we're still getting bashed from left and right.'

She had one message for whoever is making false complaints when asked on Tuesday: 'Stop wasting resources.

'Put your personal issues to the side and stop this. I'm just trying to keep afloat.'


Married At First Sight's Tamara Joy has moved to London after being granted a work permit.

And on Monday, the Aussie reality star stripped down to show off her sensational bikini body as she lapped up the sunnier climes.

The 32-year-old, who starred in season six of the social experiment, shared a photo of herself at the pool of the Nyx Hotel in Holborn.

Stripped down! Married At First Sight's Tamara Joy put on a busty display in a tiny bikini as she went for a dip at the pool of the Nyx Hotel in Holborn, London on Monday

She flaunted her curvaceous figure in a tiny string two-piece that drew attention to her ample assets and tiny waist.

The brunette beauty appeared to be cautiously dipping her toe into the water, seemingly deciding on whether to jump in or not, with the caption: 'Cheeky little toe dip fresh.'

Tamara revealed to Daily Mail Australia last month that she was granted permission to travel overseas because of a work permit.

Revealed: Tamara revealed to Daily Mail Australia last month that she was granted permission to travel overseas because of a work permit

'I applied for an exemption as you can't get past the Australian borders without an exemption to leave, and it was granted quite quickly,' she said.

'I was approved for an existing working contract and left five weeks ago. What also helped was the fact I have no intention to return to Australia anytime soon and it's at my own risk.'

Tamara continued: 'I had to provide all correct documentation to support this and prove I could support myself being away from Australia for a certain period of time.'

Permit: The 32-year-old told Daily Mail Australia: 'I applied for an exemption as you can't get past the Australian borders without an exemption to leave, and it was granted quite quickly'

'I have gone through the correct channels and did a lot of research to find out how to make my situation work,' she concluded.

People can travel to and from other countries that are not low-risk if they receive exemptions.

These are not automatic exemptions; they have to be granted by the Commissioner of the Australian Border Force.

Travelling abroad: 'I was approved for an existing working contract and left five weeks ago. What also helped was the fact I have no intention to return to Australia anytime soon and it's at my own risk,' she said

Exemptions are granted if travel is part of the response to the Covid-19 outbreak, if travel is for your business or employer, to receive urgent medical treatment, if you're travelling on compassionate or compelling grounds, for urgent or unavoidable personal business or if travel is in the national interest.

If you want to leave Australia to travel on a return ticket, you may be able to go if your travel is for more than three months - if you have a 'compelling reason'.

Studying overseas is noted as acceptable evidence, as is travelling to provide care for a sick family member.
Bachelor Jimmy Nicholson is currently on the promotional trail ahead of the premiere.

And while the pilot has said he is happily in love with his chosen lady, he revealed that another woman has caught his attention.

The 32-year-old told News.com.au on Tuesday he has a crush on The Project's Carrie Bickmore.

'She's wife material': The Bachelor's Jimmy Nicholson has revealed who his celebrity crush is - and he is set to meet her very soon while on the promotional trail ahead of next week's premiere

He explained: 'I just think she looks like a really nice person and she's very beautiful. She's wife material.'

The reality TV hunk added that it was going to be 'interesting' meeting the TV and radio star - who has been with her partner Chris Walker for almost a decade - as he continues to do the promotional rounds for The Bachelor.

While he may have a harmless crush on the mother-of-three, Jimmy said there is in no doubt head over heels in love with his chosen woman.

He's got a crush! The 32-year-old told The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday his crush on The Project's Carrie Bickmore

Busy mum: Jimmy said of the mother-of-three: 'I just think she looks like a really nice person and she's very beautiful'. Pictured is Carrie with her partner Chris Walker, their daughters Evie (left) and Adelaide (right), and her son teenage Oliver from her marriage to Greg Lange

'She's amazing. We chat multiple times a day, a lot of Facetime at the moment, and I'm really happy, so it's good,' he told the publication.

Jimmy also revealed that he and his new girlfriend hope to start a family together in the not too distant future.

He told Now To Love on Tuesday: 'We're both realistic, we'll take it at a realistic pace. I'm 32 now so I'd like to have a family in the next five years.'

Meeting soon: The reality TV hunk added that it was going to be 'interesting' meeting the TV and radio star - who has been with her partner Chris Walker (pictured) for almost a decade - as he prepares to meet her soon doing while promo for The Bachelor

While that is some years away, Jimmy said they are excited about finally stepping out together in public.

'For now we're both really excited about hanging out with each other in public,' he shared.

Jimmy also said he was struck by his new love during their very first red carpet meeting.

'I'm really happy': However, Jimmy said he is no doubt head over heels in love with his chosen woman. He told the publication: 'She's amazing. We chat multiple times a day, a lot of Facetime at the moment'

'I definitely noticed her at the start and towards the end it became quite clear [it was her],' the reality TV hunk added.

The show was filmed earlier this year at a mansion in Sydney's west, which is now being used as the location for The Bachelorette.

The Bachelor premieres Wednesday, July 21 at 7:30pm on Channel 10
The thriller film Windfall, starring Lily Collins and directed by her fiance Charlie McDowell, has found a home with Netflix.

The streaming service giant acquired the movie, which was shot during the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, 'in a major 8-figure dollar deal,' according to Deadline.

The cast of the modern-day noir movie, described as a Hitchcockian thriller, also includes How I Met Your Mother actor Jason Segel and Breaking Bad star Jesse Plemons.

Done deal: The Hitchcockian thriller, Windfall, starring Lily Collins and directed by her fiance Charlie McDowell, has found a home with Netflix

The film follows a young couple who arrive at their vacation home only to find its being robbed.

McDowell and Segel developed the story, with Justin Lader and Andrew Kevin Walker penning the script.

'I was lucky enough to make a movie in my hometown (Ojai) during a pandemic with some of my best friends and collaborators,' McDowell, 38, shared in an Instagram post on Monday.

'I think we made something unique and completely outside the box and I'm so excited to share it with you all. Thanks @netflix for partnering with us and giving our film a home all over the world.'

Netflix acquired Windfall, which was shot during the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, 'in a major 8-figure dollar deal,' according to Deadline

'I think we made something unique and completely outside the box,' McDowell revealed after news of the Netflix deal was made public

Collins, 32, was equally excited to share some details about the film once word was made public that it was heading to Netflix.

'I'm so excited to finally be able to talk about a film that I had the privilege of making a few months ago with @charliemcdowell #JasonSegel and #JessePlemmons,' the actress wrote on Instagram.

'I've never been part of something so intimate, collaborative and freeing. This brilliant script by @justinlader and @andykevinwalker provided me the opportunity to take ownership over a completely different character than any I've ever played before.'

Coming clean: Collins, 32, was equally excited to share details about film on Instagram once word was made public about the Netflix deal

She went on to reveal that Windfall 'was imagined, created, and finished during quarantine', and that she 'couldn't be prouder of our incredible crew for all the countless hours of hard work, safety and determination to make this labor of love a reality.'

After thanking Netflix, the British-born star, who's the daughter of musician Phil Collins, revealed that the movie eventually turned into 'an incredible, bizarre piece of art' that she can't wait for everyone to see.

The Emily In Paris star announced her engagement to McDowell in late September 2020.
She is no stranger to working her angles for the camera after starting her career as a model aged 18.

And Victoria Silvstedt ensured all eyes were on her as she attended the World Influencers and Bloggers Awardsat at Hotel Martinez in Cannes, France on Monday.

The model, 46, looked incredible as she showcased her jaw-dropping figure in a nude sheer gown with a sequined embellishment.

Wow: Victoria Silvstedt ensured all eyes were on her as she attended the World Influencers and Bloggers Awardsat at Hotel Martinez in Cannes, France on Monday

The Swedish star struck a series of poses at the glitzy event where she styled her platinum blonde locks into loose waves.

Accentuating her natural beauty with a light pallet of makeup, Victoria added to her outfit with a diamond bracelet.

The model and her businessman beau Maurice Dabbah were also seen departing the Eden-Roc Hotel during the Cannes Film Festival.

Victoiria appeared in good spirits as she soaked up the summer sunshine on a boat trip.

Glamour: The model, 46, looked incredible as she showcased her jaw-dropping figure in a nude sheer gown with a sequined embellishment

Fun in the sun: The model and her businessman beau Maurice Dabbah were also seen departing the Eden-Roc Hotel during the Cannes Film Festival

Victoria looked radiant in a white midi dress with a pleated detail which she wore with a pair of sunglasses.

Victoria - who was previously married to Chris Wragge - has been dating Maurice since 2011 and the couple are often seen enjoying vacations on his yacht together.

She has enjoyed a lengthy stint in the spotlight after being chosen to represent her country in the Miss World pageant in 1993.

After her pageant days, the Scandinavian stunner was spotted by Hugh Hefner and went on to become a Playboy Playmate.

Beauty: Accentuating her natural beauty with a light pallet of makeup, Victoria added to her outfit with a diamond bracelet

Love life: Victoria - who was previously married to Chris Wragge - has been dating Maurice since 2011 and the couple are often seen enjoying vacations on his yacht together

Looking good: Victoria appeared in good spirits as she soaked up the summer sunshine on a boat trip

Outfit: Victoria looked radiant in a white midi dress with a pleated detail which she wore with a pair of sunglasses

Wow: Victoria was a vision in her gown that skimmed over her enviable figure

Making moves: Victoria was a vision of beauty as she descended the staircase to the boat

Since her career rocketed, Victoria has modelled for some of the world's most prestigious fashion houses, including Chanel, Dior and Valentino.

Despite the glamorous veneer to her lifestyle as a young model, she revealed there was a dark side in a recent interview with Female First.

Victoria said: 'I started very young to model in Paris when I was 18, I remember like starving myself to fit into the clothes and it was an amazing experience but you know I did shows for Valentino, Chanel, so it was really prestigious.'
Queen star Brian May's home has been flooded by sewage, destroying many of his belongings.

The musician, 73, took to Instagram to detail the disaster on Monday, returning to his West London property from a day at Royal Holloway University.

Brian discovered the lower floor of his home was mired in unsavoury-looking black water, and that it had damaged his carpets and rugs as well as his childhood photo albums. Wife Anita Dobson's keepsakes had also been ruined.

'We were have been invaded and desecrated!' Brian May has been left 'heartbroken and angry' after sewage flooded his West London home destroying his childhood memorabilia, carpets and furniture on Monday

The guitarist documented this on social media, branding the mess 'disgusting' and 'heartbreaking'.

He explained that his photo albums had been at another of his homes, which had recently been under threat of forest fires - yet they have now fallen victim to the flooding.

The rock star told his 2.8 million followers that the flood was the fault of the council, approving poorly-designed basements to be built in the London suburb with 'ineffective' drainage.

He penned: 'After a nice day at The Royal Holloway College, we came back to horror in our house.

Sludge: Brian discovered the lower floor of his home was mired in unsavory-looking black water, and that it had damaged his carpets and rugs as well as his childhood photo albums. Wife Anita Dobson's keepsakes had also been ruined

Ruined: The guitarist documented this on social media, branding the mess 'disgusting' and 'heartbreaking'

Fuming! In 2018, May said the leafy borough of Kensington [pictured] had become a 'hellhole' due to the amount of building work going on there

'The whole bottom floor had been inundated with a sewage overflow - which has covered our carpets, rugs and all kinds of precious things in a stinking sludge.

'It's disgusting, and actually quite heartbreaking. It feels like we were have been invaded, desecrated.

'Anita had a lifetime of memorabilia on the floor of our basement - and most of it is sodden and ruined.

'I had rescued all my most treasured childhood photo albums and scrapbooks from my studio house because it was threatened with a forest fire some months ago.

Aftermath: He explained that his photo albums had been at another of his homes, which had recently been under threat of forest fires - yet they have now fallen victim to the flooding

He posted: 'The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea council was warned years ago that sinking so many deep basement extensions would obstruct the aquifers underneath our living space and render the drainage system ineffective'

Fury! Brian took to Instagram to rant about the matter

Claims: He claimed it was the council's fault fir approving poorly-designed basements to be built in the London suburb with 'ineffective' drainage

'Where did I put it all for safety? In the basement here in Kensington. Irony. Today it turned into a sodden mess.

'I'm devastated - this stuff is only "things" - but it feels like Back To The Future when the photograph fades - feels like a lot of my past has been wiped out. I'm angry!

'Historically, for 150 years, Kensington has never flooded due to rainwater. Why did this happen? It's almost certainly the result of all the basement building that has been plaguing this area for the past 10 years.

'The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea council was warned years ago that sinking so many deep basement extensions would obstruct the aquifers underneath our living space and render the drainage system ineffective.'

Elsewhere, property expert Kirstie Allsopp, who lives in the same area as Brian, also experienced damage and documented this on social media.

'There's been biblical rain in London, homes flooded & rain in places in our home its certainly never been before,' she said of the unseasonal July weather. 'If you're away/at work and can get someone to check your basement/terrace/flat roof/chimney/French doors please do.

'In some areas water is coming up through toilets,' she tweeted.

A Kensington and Chelsea Council spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Our priority is to make sure residents who have been affected by last nights flooding have the help they need.

Lost property: Brian and wife Anita Dobson [pictured in 2016] have lost much of their memorabilia to the floods

Elsewhere: Property expert Kirstie Allsopp, who lives in the same area as Brian, also experienced damage and documented this on social media

'Overnight we have placed 120 residents in emergency hotel accommodation and are making emergency repairs this morning. We are making welfare calls to vulnerable residents and have set up a centre at The Curve in North Kensington where Council officers are on hand to support people affected.

'Flash floods have affected boroughs across London after sudden and torrential rainfall. This is causing damage and disruption across the city, not just here in just here in Kensington and Chelsea and is not linked to basement building.'

In 2018, Brian claimed he was being forced out of his London home after his neighbours' mega-basement plans turned his street into a 'hellhole'.

The musician hit out at residents in his plush neighbourhood for blighting the area with noise and causing 'unbearable disruption' to his quality of life.

Awful! 'In some areas water is coming up through toilets,' she tweeted

Jacqui Barber, 60, told MailOnline: I was in the house and there was a lot of rain and it was torrential coming over the top'

In an open letter to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, he wrote that over the past decade his 'oasis' had been shattered by the 'unreasonable' building schemes.

He says the use of piling rigs, massive removal of earth and deployment of huge machinery resulted in intolerable noise, dust, polluting fumes and a loss of privacy.

The guitarist highlighted examples of underground extensions in his street, and said he anticipated more proposals will follow.

A series of posts on his website detailed the 'misery' and 'stress' he and his wife Anita, along with their neighbours, had endured for almost a decade.

Disastrous: This home in Maida Vale and its glass door showed exactly how much water had fallen in the capital yesterday evening

Chaos! Cars are left abandoned in around 2ft of water after heavy rain falls on a road in South Hampstead, north London

River wild! Flood waters poured through the streets of Portobello Road in Notting Hill after nearly three inches of rain hit the capital in just 90 minutes

In a post called 'Basement Building Hell can Kill You' - an apparent play on the title of his solo release, Too Much Love Will Kill You - May said the renovations left 'anger inside me, frustration, feelings of being abused'.

'And although I've occasionally let out a cry of something like 'Basement Building B*******', mostly this feeling of powerlessness in the face of an enemy that hides behind planning permissions has been bottled up.'

The musician asked the council to refuse all future planning applications, adding: 'In the coming months, I will not be backing off an inch in the fight against the Basement Building Barbarians.

'I will be battling on, for Common Decency, and the quality of life of the remaining residents. But I may do it from a home where I don't wake up to being persecuted every day of the week.'

Drama! Rain battered the streets of London forcing cars to drive through inches of rain during thunderstorms in London

Brighter outlook: The weather is set to clear as the week goes on with higher temperatures expected into the weekend

May explained that after working hard to buy the home he dreamed of one day owning, he and his wife were planning to leave London, having reached 'breaking point'.

'Anticipating permission for these new basements to be constructed, we are now planning to sell up, quitting Kensington entirely, and to move out of London,' he said. 'Its a massive disruption, and one weve been trying for years to avoid, but were now at breaking point.'

May added: 'Kensington truly has become a Hellhole. You only have to walk around it to see. We will now be seeing more and more decent people quitting in disgust, in search of a decent place to live.'

Citing noise made by lorries in the area reversing, he continued: 'We have allowed our entire environment to become toxic  hazardous to our quality of life.'

Gross! In St John's Wood, one homeowner was left shocked as water began to splurge out of their overflowing toilet through their property

Wet wet wet! People sprint through the streets of Highgate in north London with their umbrellas to get out of the torrential downpours

Londoners in some of the city's wealthiest areas were waking up in emergency accommodation on Tuesday following the flash-floods.

Like Brian, many were left battling to save their treasured belongings after their homes were deluged with water and left without power.

Some families in West London had to shelter in a makeshift community centre after they were washed out of their multi-million-pound properties.

Tube and rail services were suspended after 'biblical' storms saw flooding rock the capital, leaving destruction across the city.

Flood waters poured through the streets of Portobello Road in Notting Hill after nearly three inches of rain hit the capital in just 90 minutes and in Raynes Park, south London, cars were left abandoned in around 2ft of water after torrential downpours caused travel chaos and left homes and businesses flooded.

Run for it! People are left drenched as torrential rain falls down on Turnpike Lane in north London, with the Met Office warning of floods and up to two inches of rain

Explosive scenes! Pipes begins to overflow on a road in Lancaster West Estate, near Grenfell, west London, after heavy rainfall hits the region

Over troubled water: A bridge is roped off after a road was flooded in south London, as heavy rain continues to fall across London and the south of England

Rinsed! A man gets absolutely soaked as he runs through the streets in Highgate, north London, as rain continued to pour down on the capital

Meanwhile in Turnpike Lane, north London, people were spotted wading through the water in the streets as the heavy rain pelted down and flooded the roads.

Writer Liz Brewer, who has penned two books on etiquette, was hit by floods of dark water in her home in Belgravia.

She told MailOnline: 'There were about 12 inches of water that hit my home. Fortunately I was out when it happened and I got the alert something was wrong.

'It is the basement of my house, which is where my office is located, so a lot of my files down there have been ruined. Fortunately I have a back up of most things on my computer.

'I am ringing the insurers this morning. My neighbours also had about the same amount of water come in. It was dark water, it's never happened before. I'm sure there is a lot of damage in the area, fortunately it seems to be mostly in basements.'

Drive-through! Flash flooding in Putney causes chaos on the roads while commuters try and get home in rush hour
She recently told Daily Mail Australia her Pixie's Fidgets business is losing an estimated $65,000 a week during Sydney's Covid lockdown.

And now it seems Roxy Jacenko is fighting business battles on multiple fronts, with the PR guru recently accused of making 'sad copies' of another company's candles.

The Instagram account @designwithincopy, who claim to document 'knock-offs in the design industry,' called out the 41-year-old's 'Blobbie' candles in a post last month.

Under siege: Roxy Jacenko is fighting business battles on multiple fronts, with the PR guru recently accused of making 'sad copies' of another company's candles

In the post, Roxy's XRJ Celebrations brand candles were compared side-by-side with New York design firm Talbot & Yoon's 'Goober' candles.

The post was captioned, 'Australian-based candle company @XRJCelebrations (@RoxyJacenko) makes sad copies of New York design firm @Talbot.Yoon's 'Goober Candle' series'

'Not to mention, charging 3x more for the copy than the original.'

'Goober > Blobbie,' they concluded the scathing post.

Takedown: The Instagram account @designwithincopy, who claim to document 'knock-offs in the design industry,' called out the 41-year-old's 'Blobbie' candles

Talking about the scandal with the Sydney Morning Herald over the weekend, the Sweaty Betty PR founder expressed skepticism that anyone could ''own' a blob of wax'.

'If anything, inspiration for some of the Blobbies shapes came from the incredible works of [sculptor] Carol Crawford,' the mother-of-two continued.

The situation blew up around the time Jacenko complained on social media about a letter she received in the mail from SafeWork.

On Tuesday, the government agency informed her that she was being investigated for allegedly putting her staff at risk.

Defiant: Talking about the scandal with the Sydney Morning Herald over the weekend, the Sweaty Betty PR founder expressed skepticism that anyone could ''own' a blob of wax'. One of Roxy's candles pictured above

In the warning letter, she was informed that a complaint has been made suggesting 'workers or others may be at risk' and that an investigation was taking place into alleged 'inadequate controls from biological hazards'.

This is despite accommodating two earlier visits from her local police who were sent out to inspect the conditions in her office following complaints from an unknown source.

Jacenko is losing an estimated $65,000 every week that the city stays in lockdown, and says that she, like any other small business owner with their head screwed on, is doing everything she can to comply so Sydney recovers as soon as possible.

Jacenko is at her wits' end as she tries to keep her small business afloat during Sydney's Covid lockdown after receiving a letter from SafeWork questioning whether she is putting her staff at risk

She already had most of her 30-strong team working remotely when Premier Gladys Berejiklian told Sydneysiders to stay home unless absolutely necessary.

Ms Berejiklian said the current Covid threat is the most significant Sydney has ever faced, and, as a result, Jacenko sent the rest of her non-essential staff packing.

On any given day, Jacenko has no more than four staff in her office. They work reduced hours and perform essential duties like packing and shipping orders, which simply can't be done from home.

Official government signs directing staff to wear face masks and maintain social distancing are scattered throughout the office, and there are several unoccupied desks in between every employee to ensure compliance.

Jacenko told Daily Mail Australia that the officers who visited noted her exemplary compliance.

Jacenko has no more than four staff in her office at any given time - and all are required for essential packing and shipping work. Pictured: Jacenko with some of her staff more than two weeks ago, already wearing masks in the office

And yet on Tuesday she received a letter urging her to 'conduct an assessment of the issues raised to determine whether you are meeting your work health and safety obligations'.

The SafeWork inquiry determined an inspector would not be required to visit the office, but Jacenko was warned she could face further investigations in the future.

The mother-of-two is questioning whether the complaint was made internally, but says it's more than likely come from an outsider with a vendetta.

'I'm not a fool, I realise I'm polarising. But tall poppy syndrome is rife and people in this beautiful country cannot cope with others who want to make a real go of things. There are always people wanting to tear me down,' Jacenko said.

The Sweaty Betty PR guru was sent a letter on Tuesday which informed her that an investigation was taking place into alleged 'inadequate controls from biological hazards'

After spending 16 years cultivating a dream team, the PR guru would like to think that nobody within her fold would be making false reports

After spending 16 years cultivating a dream team, the PR guru would like to think that nobody within her fold would be making false reports.

'There are people in this street that call the police if I'm even hosing down my car... Whoever it is, they need to realise they're wasting precious resources.'

Jacenko pointed out that police making repeated trips to her office only to find a completely compliant business are the same officers who then miss someone down the road being robbed, or a domestic violence event unfolding down the street.

But, she said on her Instagram post detailing the ordeal, that she is still considering all avenues of who could be behind the targeted attacks.

Jacenko told Daily Mail Australia that the officers who visited noted her exemplary compliance

'I wonder if I stopped paying the wages of these imbeciles who are making these reports of me apparently flouting the rules they might change their tune,' she said.

Jacenko told Daily Mail Australia that she, like all small business owners, is counting down the days until Sydney can return to normal.

Her offshoot business, Pixie's Fidgets, is hemorrhaging an estimated $65,000-a-week after closing six stores when lockdown was announced.

'The financial burden is absolutely huge. I'm all for this. I'm wearing my mask, I'm following the rules. The sooner we follow the rules and it all stops the better for everyone.'

Jacenko has had her office deep cleaned and says she has one message for whoever is making false complaints when asked on Tuesday: 'Stop wasting resources'

The pressures of lockdown and additional scrutiny from authorities has Jacenko even questioning whether running a business is worth it.

'There's only so much you can put up with as a business owner. We're trying to make a go of it and we're still getting bashed from left and right.'

She had one message for whoever is making false complaints when asked on Tuesday: 'Stop wasting resources.

'Put your personal issues to the side and stop this. I'm just trying to keep afloat.'


Scooter Braun reportedly checked into a 'spiritual retreat' in the months before he allegedly separated from his wife Yael Cohen.

The music mogul, 40, entered the seven-day Hoffman Process program in LA, last October, reports Page Six, before ending his seven year marriage with the South African mining heiress, 34.

According to its website, the 3,500 Hoffman Process 'is a seven-day residential course that helps you discover who you really are, freeing you to make conscious choices that will improve your relationships with the people around you.'

Trouble? Scooter Braun reportedly checked into a 'spiritual retreat' in the months before he allegedly 'separated' from his wife Yael Cohen; they are pictured last month at the Dave season two premiere in LA

Speaking about why he went on the retreat on the Jay Shetty's On Purpose podcast he said: 'My wife and I began to hear all kinds of rumors, like '[Scooter] has gone crazy.'

'But it wasn't that. It was just feeling like I wasn't present in my life, and [feeling] like the people around me who loved me, I felt their hurt.

'Because, one, we're all coming in with our own trauma, and weirdly our trauma was matching up, and  I couldn't fix it. And I'm a fixer. Since I was a kid, I was the guy who was going to make it OK for everybody. And I just couldn't fix things in this moment in time.'

Difficult: The music mogul, 40, entered the seven-day Hoffman Process program in LA, last October, reports Page Six , before ending his seven year marriage with the South African mining heiress, 34

He continued: 'A very dark thought came into my head  the ultimate 'I'm not enough;' the ultimate 'I shouldn't be here.' I immediately thought  what are you doing here? And I've never gone that dark. And I signed up for the Hoffman Project the next day.'

Later in the podcast, Braun said that he'd made plans to go to the Napa facility four times in the past and canceled each time, but he explained why he finally decided to go.

'You know what happened? My wife Yael, and my children,' he said. 'I learned I love someone more than me, and loving them made me go do the work.'

A representative for Scooter was contacted by MailOnline for a comment.

The Hoffman Process is popular with celebrities like Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato all attending courses.

Top of his game: Scooter represents a slew of top-flight pop stars including Justin Bieber whose career he helped launch and whom he is pictured with in January 2020

Scooter has allegedly separated from his wife Yael after seven years of marriage, it was reported last week.

A source told Page Six that although they are spending time away from the relationship 'They're friends' and do not intend to get divorced.

Meanwhile insiders informed TMZ that the pair may not even be living apart at the moment despite more than a month of marital trouble.

Scooter represents such top flight pop stars as Justin Bieber - whose career he helped launch - as well as Ariana Grande, J Balvin and Demi Lovato.

He and Yael, a mining heiress who hails from South Africa, share three children - Jagger, six, Levi, four, and Hart, two.

Longtime partnership: His clientele also includes Ariana Grande whom he is pictured with attending the MTV Video Music Awards back in 2014

According to sources who spoke to TMZ the couple are hoping to repair the rift in their relationship and avoid a permanent break.

Scooter, whose real name is Scott, posted a black-and-white snapshot from his and Yael's wedding to mark their wedding anniversary this Tuesday.

'If just for the kids you have given me everything. But thanks to you I have grown, I have been pushed to be the best version of myself and to continue growing and learning,' he gushed in his caption.

'That all happened because you came in to my life. 7 years. The adventure is just beginning. Thank you Yael. I love you . Happy anniversary.'

On last week's episode of The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills Erika Jayne denied rumors that she had an affair with Scooter.

She could be seen dismissing reports that she 'was seeing my old Dancing with the Stars partner [Gleb Savchenko], and then I was seeing Scooter Braun.'

Family matters: He and Yael, a mining heiress who hails from South Africa, share three children - Jagger, six, Levi, four, and Hart, two

Trying: According to sources who spoke to TMZ the couple are hoping to repair the rift in their relationship; they are pictured at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in 2020

Deriding the conjecture as being 'silly as f***' she insisted: 'I haven't seen either one of them in four-and-a-half, five years.'

Erika, 50, filed for divorce from her husband Tom Girardi, 82, last November and has claimed she did so without even warning him.

Tom has been facing mounting legal troubles - including a lawsuit claiming has not paid the settlement money he owes to families of victims of the 2018 Lion Air crash.

A bankruptcy trustee is investigating Tom's assets amid allegations that he and Erika jointly embezzled the settlement money.

'The adventure is just beginning': Scooter, whose real name is Scott, posted a black-and-white snapshot from his and Yael's wedding to mark their wedding anniversary this Tuesday

Last month People reported that Erika's financial records have been court-ordered from her divorce lawyer, landlord and accountant.

Meanwhile Scooter has been locked in a notorious feud with Taylor Swift after his company bought the label that owned the masters to her first six albums.

Over the course of the dispute Taylor slammed Scooter as a 'manipulative bully' and he accused her fans of sending death threats to his family.

His company is said to have sold off the masters for $300 million to an investment company, according to a report in Variety.

'Silly as f***': On last week's episode of The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills Erika Jayne denied rumors that she had an affair with Scooter

Embattled: Erika, 50, filed for divorce from her husband Tom Girardi, 82, last November and has claimed she did so without even warning him

In her latest broadside Taylor is moving to reacquire ownership of the songs on her first six albums by cutting new recordings of all of them.

Yael meanwhile is a co-founder of the organization F*** Cancer which was launched in 2009 and subsequently helped her meet her husband.

While attending an event for F*** Cancer with Yael in 2019 he told Hollywire that he first became aware of her when he saw her promoting the initiative.

Scooter shared that 'I saw a TED Talk of Yael talking about F*** Cancer and it made me wanna meet her so, you know, the whole experience - this organization got me married. I got babies because of this organization.'

Superstar: Meanwhile Scooter has lately been locked in a notorious feud with Taylor Swift who is pictured at the Brit Awards in London this May

The duo got married in Whistler, British Columbia at a celebrity-strewn affair where they walked down the aisle as Justin sang All You Need Is Love by the Beatles.

Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson were among the couple's famous wedding guests as was Sophia Bush, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

During an interview with British GQ last year Scooter compared his business affairs to his relationship in the sense that 'marriage is all about compromise.'

'The dashing tycoon said: 'If she's shutting down on me, then I did something to make her shut down. So we talk through it and we get through it.'

As seen at the 2018 Met Gala: Yael meanwhile is a co-founder of the organization F*** Cancer which was launched in 2009 and subsequently helped her meet her husband
Naomi Campbell showed off her age-defying figure in a new jaw-dropping Burberry campaign as she stripped down to swimwear.

The model, 51, said of Riccardo Tisci's TB Summer Monogram range: 'Riccardo continually manages to bring another facet out of me, pushing me to do things I don't think I can do. Working with Burberry is always such an honor.'

Naomi's latest phenomenal shoot comes weeks after she surprised fans with the news that she had welcomed a baby daughter, with sources later claiming the child was born with the help of a surrogate.

Amazing: Naomi Campbell showed off her age-defying figure in a new jaw-dropping Burberry campaign as she stripped down to swimwear

Naomi looked nothing short of sensational in the new Burberry campaign, which included nods to the brand's founder Thomas Burberry through its prints.

In the most striking shot, the stunner gave her fiercest gaze at the camera while sporting a sizzling strappy two-piece and masses of bling.

Another bikini-based look saw the stunner in a similarly strappy triangle bikini paired with matching trousers and a complementary bucket hat.

Naomi surprised fans with the news last month that she had welcomed a baby girl.

Breathtaking: The model, 51, said of Riccardo Tisci's TB Summer Monogram range: 'Riccardo continually manages to bring another facet out of me, pushing me to do things I don't think I can do. Working with Burberry is always such an honor'

She revealed that she has 'never felt so much love like I have over these past few weeks' in a sweet Instagram post.

The new mum looked radiant as she took to social media last month to thank fans for all their 'well wishes' while surrounded by dozens of stunning flowers.

Naomi penned: 'Never have I felt so much love like I have over these past few weeks, I am so thankful for the love that you've poured into me and my daughter.

Gorgeous: Naomi's latest phenomenal shoot comes weeks after she surprised fans with the news that she had welcomed a baby daughter, with sources later claiming the child was born with the help of a surrogate

'Thank you all for the Warm messages of support and birthday wishes. Despite the challenging year we've all had, there has been so many blessings that I am beyond grateful and thankful for.

'By Gods Grace we are almost at the light at the end of the tunnel, strength and perseverance Love, Naomi.'

Only recently, Naomi revealed she was listening to Bob Marley during the 'special moment' she became a mother for the first time.

The model shared the candid detail about her daughter's birth on her YouTube series No Filter, saying: 'Music is like... In my most special moments, you know I just became a mum, I had Bob Marley playing. That's my roots, you know? It's my roots.'

Oh my! She showed off her famous figure in a blue unitard

Last month, Naomi shared the news that she had become a mother for the first time after welcoming a baby girl.

Shortly after, the supermodel told fans she was 'honoured and humbled', amid claims she's set to raise her daughter with her 'secret American boyfriend'.

The model is said to have welcomed her baby via a surrogate, with unearthed pictures of the star taken three weeks before her baby's arrival showing her out in New York City - where she now lives.

Naomi spoke about motherhood as she interviewed fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, 74, on her YouTube show.

Interacting with fans as her YouTube recording aired, Naomi wrote on the live stream chat: 'Hello my darlings, thank you so much for the pre birthday wishes... and for my new chapter as a mother I'm honoured and humbled.'

Stylish: She wore a two-piece with a matching bucket hat and across body

A source previously told People that Naomi wanted to become a mother for over a decade, saying: 'She's wanted a baby for a long time, more than 10 years.'

The insider added: 'Anyone who's surprised Naomi is having a baby on her own, her own way, and on her own timetable doesn't know Naomi Campbell. Hasn't she redefined everything she's ever touched?'

Friends have also told The Daily Mail that they believe Naomi  who never knew her father and was raised largely by her grandmother  used a surrogate.

Sources close to the model added to The Sun that Naomi is in a 'wonderful place' and how it finally felt like the 'perfect time' to become a parent.

Stunning: Yet another look featured a bucket hat with a dress layered over trousers

The insider said: 'Naomi has really mellowed in the past year and is in a wonderful place in life. She has been living in America with her boyfriend and is really happy. It finally felt like the perfect time to become a mother and she is over the moon.

'The first lockdown allowed her to stop and take stock of the important things and she decided now was the time to properly look into starting a family.'

Naomi reportedly recently told her team that she wants to quit working over weekends, just weeks before making her baby announcement.

The star kept her baby news a secret from the public, but a handful of friends, family and fashion insiders were in the know.

Bold: The patterns were a nod to the brand's founder Thomas Burberry

Naomi announced the news on Instagram as she shared a picture of her newborn's feet alongside the caption: 'A beautiful little blessing has chosen me to be her mother.

'So honoured to have this gentle soul in my life there are no words to describe the lifelong bond that I now share with you, my angel. There is no greater love.'

Naomi was last in a relationship with rapper Skepta in 2018 but enjoyed a fling with Liam Payne the following year.

She has also enjoyed high-profile relationships with the likes of Diddy, Robert De Niro, Mike Tyson and Russian billionaire Vladislav Doronin over the years.

Although she is notoriously private about her love life, Naomi has previously stated she is 'on good terms' with her exes and was not believed to be dating anyone new when she announces the arrival of her daughter.
Kayla Itsines and her former fiance Tobi Pearce have sold their global health and fitness empire, Sweat, for $400million.

According to The Courier Mail on Tuesday, the company was bought by US software giant iFIT Health & Fitness Inc., just six years after the couple established the popular app which has been downloaded more than 30 million times.

In 2020, the Sweat app generated a staggering $99.5million in revenue, with the US market responsible for $53.7million.

Despite the sale, the young millionaires will continue to lead the brand from Adelaide, where the business will retain its headquarters.

Kayla, 30, reflected on Sweat's humble beginnings following the announcement.

Sold: Kayla Itsines and her former fiance Tobi Pearce have sold their global health and fitness empire, Sweat, for $400million. Both pictured

'I remember running one-on-one sessions in my parents' backyard and them growing into bigger group sessions in the local park here in Adelaide,' the fitness mogul wrote on Instagram.

'Those sessions kept growing and growing and slowly we built up a community and then in 2015, we launched the Sweat app.'

'I'm so excited to start the next chapter in Sweat's journey. As of today Sweat will be joining the iFit family of brands.'

Tobi, 28, was equally enthused by the beginning of chapter two in their business relationship.

'Kayla and I have had a very strong and long working relationship and this is the beginning of chapter two for both of us,' Tobi said of the sale.

'I'm very much looking forward to a bigger and better Sweat - our headquarters will remain in Adelaide and we have a second office in Melbourne and that will remain there as well.'

Cashing in: According to The Courier Mail on Tuesday, the company was bought by US giant iFIT Health & Fitness Inc., just six years after the couple established the popular app

Kayla confirmed her split from Tobi, who is the father of her two-year-old daughter, Arna Leia, in August last year.

The former couple, who were together for eight years, co-founded the Bikini Body Training Company after meeting in late 2012.

The popular brand went on to amass a following of more than 20 million fitness enthusiasts worldwide thanks to their workouts, app and ebooks.

'Those sessions kept growing and growing and slowly we built up a community and then in 2015, we launched the Sweat app,' Kayla said after the sale

They were named joint fifth on the Australian Financial Review's Young Rich List for 2018, making them the wealthiest self-made twenty-somethings in Australia.

That same year, Forbes estimated the then-couple's shared net worth to be $696million.

Their fitness programs help people transform their bodies and achieve dramatic weight loss at the gym or from home.

At the time of their separation, Kayla said in a statement that she and Tobi would remain friends and business partners.

Boss: Despite the sale, Kayla and Tobi will still lead the brand from Adelaide, where the business will retain its headquarters

'After eight years together, Tobi and I have come to the difficult decision to separate as a couple. We will always be family, and remain good friends and devoted parents to Arna,' she said at the time.

'We have grown up together in Adelaide, sharing a lifetime of experiences and special memories from moving into our first apartment and starting Sweat from our lounge room to becoming parents to our beautiful daughter.

'Our friendship remains strong as we parent Arna together and run Sweat as business partners. Thank you for your support and kindness during this time.'

Happier times: In February 2019, Tobi surprised Kayla with an engagement party
Malin Andersson has reportedly been left terrified after her violent ex recently broke his licence conditions meaning he has been sent back to prison.

Tom Kemp, 28, was jailed at Aylesbury Crown Court in September after admitting to actual bodily harm, which left the reality star 'black and blue' but was released three months later in January.

The Sun now reports that Tom - who was serving the remaining term on Home Detention Curfew - recently visited the area that the Love Island star, 28, lives in.

Scary: Malin Andersson has reportedly been left terrified after her violent ex recently broke his licence conditions meaning he has been sent back to prison (pictured together in 2019)

He was then reportedly sent back to prison after failing to comply with the rules he was set as he continued to serve part of his sentence in the community.

A source told the publication: 'Malin was really shocked when she heard he had been in her area.

'She had really hoped his prison sentence would mark the end of having to think about him ever again.

Awful: Tom Kemp, 28, was jailed at Aylesbury Crown Court in September after admitting to actual bodily harm, which left the reality star 'black and blue' but was released three months later in January (Malin pictured with her injuries - taken at the time)

'The whole thing has been incredibly stressful, but Malin is very strong and just hopes he's learnt his lesson now.'

A source also told MailOnline: 'Malin was glad to hear that Tom had been sent back to prison for breaching his license conditions, but to learn that he only returned for a week due to his sentence coming to an end concerns her.

'She feels that far too often the justice system fails survivors of domestic violence and ultimately believes that this contributes to the reason why perpetrators continue to abuse.'

Tom, was jailed at last year after following an attack in which he broke her hand.

TV star Malin previously accused the 'narcissist' of being abusive in Instagram posts in 2019 and shared pictures of herself with a cut cheek and bloodied nose.

But Tom, from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, denied the claims at the time, branding her a 'liar with mental health issues'.

Injuries: Tom left Malin with broken bones and bruises in a violent tirade

The former couple had an on-off romance, splitting briefly during her pregnancy, amid claims Tom had been unfaithful to her, but reconciling shortly before the birth.

Their baby daughter Consy was born seven weeks premature in December 2018 and was being treated at Great Ormond Street hospital, but sadly passed away aged four weeks on 22 January 2019.

In March they split again, with Malin admitting it was better to end things between them as she and her partner struggled with their grief.

In October, Malin told how she believes the physical abuse Tom subjected her to while she was pregnant was a factor behind her daughter's death at just one month old.

Shocking: Tom, was jailed at last year after following an attack in which he broke her hand (pictured are the injuries to her face)

She revealed Kemp 'slapped and punched' her while she was six months pregnant, causing her to fall on her back and her stomach to hit the side of a bed.

Speaking to The Sun, Malin said she is convinced the incident contributed to Consy's death as after a few days, she noticed she wasn't moving around as much.

A month later, the movements reduced again and Malin insisted Kemp drive her to the hospital where doctors discovered Consy's irregular heartbeat, leading her to have an emergency cesarean that day at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

She said: 'When Tom threw me about, I'd tense my stomach so much, I could feel her pausing inside me. The doctors didn't understand what happened to her, but I know in my heart.'

In June last year, Malin posted a lengthy Instagram post, captioned: 'The third and final lot, I am NOT a victim anymore.'

Calling their romance 'toxic and unhealthy', she said 'it has been an ongoing battle to emotionally let go as dealing with the grief from both my mum and daughter I've had him as my comforter.'

Accusing Kemp of emotional and physical abuse she said: 'Including being spat at, hit, pushed, kicked, scratched, spoken down to, controlled, manipulated, cheated and so much more I experienced the worst pain yet to come last night.'

Malin claimed she had received a phone call from a woman asking why the star had been texting her 'boyfriend.'

Heartbreaking: Malin previously said she believes the physical abuse her ex subjected her to while she was pregnant was a factor behind her daughter's death at just one month old

She wrote: 'After a calm and collected call with her we had finally came to the confirmation they have been speaking since January (when our daughter was in intensive care).'

'While I've been focusing on my mental health I've been receiving multiple emails, calls, texts from one extreme to the other (I'm a bad mum, my mum hates me I'm going to hell to the extreme of I love you I can't be without you etc.

'This ladies is a fine example of a narcissistic man.

'I will NOT be another victim to domestic violence, I will not be beaten mentally or physically when I've fought through so much worse than this.

Adding that she was 'exhausted, heartbroken and confused' she urged her followers to 'listen to your gut and learn to love yourself.'

If you are a victim of domestic abuse, call Refuge's freephone, 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247
Grant Denyer broke down in tears after learning about his family's dark history on Tuesday night's Who Do You Think You Are?

The 43-year-old TV presenter was horrified to discover that several generations ago, there was an instance of abuse between two of his ancestors.

A clearly emotional Denyer said he felt 'sick to his stomach' upon learning of the scandal on the SBS docuseries.

Shocked: Grant Denyer broke down in tears on Tuesday night after learning of his family's dark history on Who Do You Think You Are?

During the episode, an historian told Grant that his ancestor, Mary Ann Langley, was once imprisoned for having burned down the family farm in Adelaide.

While examining an old newspaper story that covered the trial, Grant learned that Mary's father, Grant's great, great, great grandfather Charles, had impregnated his eldest daughter and that the pair shared a six-year-old son.

Mary admitted at the time of her arrest to committing arson out of revenge for her father having 'ruined' her.

Hard to hear: The 43-year-old TV presenter was horrified to discover that several generations ago, there was an instance of abuse between two of his ancestors

Heartbroken: Breaking down, Grant said 'I guess I just hoped for more from my kind'

Grant was further taken aback when he learned Mary was sentenced to five years in prison for her crime, while her father got off scot-free.

'There no justice in it,' said Denyer. 'That makes me feel sick to my stomach.'

Reflecting later on his family's dark past, the TV presenter said, 'I feel angry towards Charles.'

Breaking down, Grant added 'I guess I just hoped for more from my kind'.

Tough news: He also didn't know how he would break the news to his 'proud family'. 'How do I tell my dad that story?' mused the emotional former race car driver

He also didn't know how he would break the news to his 'proud family'.

'How do I tell my dad that story?' mused the emotional former race car driver. 'That's not what he grew up knowing.'

In a subsequent interview, Grant admitted learning about the 'horrific' incident has led him to want to fiercely protect his wife and daughters.

'I'm so deeply aware that my whole purpose on earth is to make sure that they are safe and protected and they feel loved,' he told Yahoo on Monday.

Past: Grant Denyer revealed that a 'horrific' incident in his past has led him to want to fiercely protect his wife and daughters, which will feature in an upcoming episode of the SBS show Who Do You Think You Are? Pictured on the program

'You want to be proud of who you are and be proud of your lineage but when you find someone who's committed horrific acts, it makes it very hard to be proud of.

'It's very hard not to feel responsible in some way but you can't be responsible for the acts of your ancestors,' he added.

Grant and his wife Chezzi have three daughters, Sailor, 10, Scout, five, and Sunday, five months, and he becomes quite emotional in the SBS special, insisting that his girls are better than him in every way.

Emotional: The former game show host, 43, discovered a female relative had suffered 'harrowing, heartbreaking' domestic abuse, four generations back in his family

Protector: 'I'm so deeply aware that my whole purpose on earth is to make sure that they are safe and protected and they feel loved,' he told Yahoo on Monday. Pictured with his daughters

The TV star recently discussed his highly publicised painkiller addiction, which began after breaking his back during a freak monster truck accident in 2008.

On Tuesday, he revisited the traumatic period as he announced he's teamed up with the charity Carers Australia to help give advice to those who are caring for a loved one managing severe pain.

'I've been open in the past about how awfully embarrassed I am about the crazy things I did and said while trying to navigate [opioids],' Grant wrote in a post on Instagram.

Family: Grant and his wife Chezzi have three daughters, Sailor, 10, Scout, five, and Sunday, five months, and he becomes quite emotional in the SBS special, insisting that his girls are better than him in every way. All pictured

'We can laugh about it now but the things I said to my gorgeous wife [Chezzi Denyer], who was trying her best to help me through a dark period, still haunts me. I couldn't control my behaviour.

'Its tough on the patient and can be equally tough on the loved one caring for them. But with some good advice, she could make sense of things, even when I wasn't making sense.'

The monster truck crash left Grant with a vertebrae that was shattered in 11 pieces, and doctors feared he may never walk again.

However, the popular presenter made a remarkable recovery, triumphantly returning to TV screens and eventually winning a Gold Logie.
The Project's Carrie Bickmore was left blushing live on air on Tuesday night after a clip was played revealing new Bachelor Jimmy Nicholson has a 'crush' on her.

The mother-of-three, 40, appeared slightly embarrassed after co-host Peter Helliar pondered if she would be entering the mansion on the Channel 10 dating show.

'Hang on. Are you entering the Bachelor, the competition?' Peter asked, before Carrie snapped back, 'No!'

Crush: The Project's Carrie Bickmore [pictured] was left blushing live on air after Bachelor Jimmy Nicholson admitted he had a 'crush' on her during a segment on Tuesday night

Kate Langbroek observed that Jimmy was 'properly crushy' on her in the footage, even to the point of calling her 'wife material'.

'Is it a strange thing to say when you are about to date 20 women at once?' added Waleed Aly, before Carrie reminded him she had already found The One.

Earlier on Tuesday Jimmy told News.com.au he has a crush on Carrie.

'I just think she looks like a really nice person and she's very beautiful. She's wife material,' he explained.

Tease: The mother-of-three, 40, appeared slightly embarrassed after co-host Peter Helliar pondered if she would be entering the mansion on the Channel 10 dating show

The reality TV hunk added that it was going to be 'interesting' meeting the TV and radio star.

While he may have a harmless crush on Carrie, Jimmy said he's fallen head over heels with his chosen woman now that filming of the show is over.

'She's amazing. We chat multiple times a day, a lot of Facetime at the moment, and I'm really happy, so it's good,' he told the publication.

Puppy love: Earlier on Tuesday Jimmy told News.com.au he had a crush on Carrie. 'I just think she looks like a really nice person and she's very beautiful. She's wife material,' he explained

Ready to meet the ladies: The Bachelor premieres Wednesday, July 21 at 7:30pm on Channel 10

Jimmy also revealed he and his new girlfriend hope to start a family together in the not too distant future.

'We're both realistic, we'll take it at a realistic pace. I'm 32 now so I'd like to have a family in the next five years,' he told Now To Love on Tuesday.

Carrie is in a relationship with Chris Walker.

The couple are parents to two daughters, Evie and Adelaide, and her teenage son Oliver, from her marriage to Greg Lange.

The Bachelor premieres Wednesday, July 21 at 7:30pm on Channel 10
A betting plunge that seemed to hint at the eventual MasterChef winner has proven remarkably accurate.

Justin Narayan was crowned king of the MasterChef kitchen on Tuesday night, more than two months after he became a clear favourite in several betting markets.

The 27-year-old emerged as a favourite to win 'within a few hours' of the finale's filming on May 12, and has remained so ever since, according to a recent report by The Australian.

Open secret? Justin Narayan was crowned king of the MasterChef kitchen on Tuesday night, more than two months after he became a clear favourite in several betting markets

Recently, betting agency Sportsbet had Narayan listed as the most likely winner with odds of $1.28.

Kishwar Chowdhury was in second place at $5.50, followed in third place by Pete Campbell at $7.00.

The popularity of Narayan, who had not previously been a favourite to win, had raised some suspicions among fans when the May betting plunge occurred.

The Australian reported that 'within a few hours of the end of the filming' Justin emerged as a favourite to win, leading to rumours of a leak, with claims the production is 'attempting to get to the bottom of the unusual betting activity'.

Dropped: The 27-year-old emerged as a favourite to win 'within a few hours' of the finale's filming on May 12, according to a recent report by The Australian. Pictured: Runner-up Pete Campbell

A Sportsbet spokesman confirmed to the paper that there had been 'a lot of cash coming for Justin'.

While a spokesman for Channel Ten told the publication: 'All will be revealed when the 2021 MasterChef Australia winner is crowned during the finale on Tuesday night.'

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Sportsbet and Channel Ten for further comment.

Second favourite: Kishwar Chowdhury (pictured) was in second place in betting markets at $5.50, followed in third place by Pete Campbell at $7.00

The betting plunge proved to be prescient when Narayan won during the show's suspenseful finale on Tuesday.

Justin was elated after picking up the top prize, beating out fellow finalists Kishwar Chowdhury and Pete Campbell.

He took home a whopping $250,000 in prize money, along with the coveted MasterChef trophy.

Winner's grin: Narayan won the title of this year's MasterChef during the show's suspenseful finale on Tuesday

'I feel incredibly honoured and humbled to have that title and to be able to win this competition,' the stunned cook began.

'I'm genuinely going to take a week to process this and let it sink in, and then I'll, like, write you an email, let you know how I feel.'

A gracious Justin congratulated both Kishwar, 38, and Pete, praising them for making it through to the final.

First place: Justin was elated after picking up the top prize, beating out fellow finalists Kishwar Chowdhury and Pete Campbell

'First of all, I would like to commend Kish and Pete for being the most incredible people to cook with,' he began.

'Kish, you're an incredible cook and you should be so proud.'

Addressing Pete, 36, Justin said he thought of him as a 'big brother', after the two men formed a close friendship throughout the competition.

Grateful: An emotional Justin thanked his proud parents, and said he was 'very grateful for everything you guys have sacrificed and given to me to be here, to have these opportunities'

Oops: Awkwardly, Justin needed to be reminded by judge Jock Zonfrillo to thank his fiancee, Esther, who was standing right beside him

Runner-up: A gracious Justin congratulated both Kishwar Chowdhury and Pete Campbell (pictured), praising them for making it through to the final

'First of all, I would like to commend Kish and Pete for being the most incredible people to cook with,' he began. Pictured, finalist Kishwar Chowdhury

'Pete, I look up to you in so many ways, you're like my big brother. I definitely wouldn't be here today without your encouragement, without your support,' he added.

Although he didn't take out the top spot, Pete won $30,000 for coming in second, while Kishwar, who placed third in the competition, won $20,000.

An emotional Justin then turned and thanked his proud parents, and said he was 'very grateful for everything you guys have sacrificed and given to me to be here, to have these opportunities'.
She recently accepted his proposal.

And Mark Ronson and his new fiancee Grace Gummer looked the perfect match as they attended the opening of the Gucci East Hampton boutique in the Hamptons on Saturday.

The appearance marked the first time Mark, 45, and his ladylove, 35, had hit a red carpet together since becoming engaged several weeks ago.

Loved-up! Mark Ronson and his new fiancee Grace Gummer looked the perfect match as they attended the opening of the Gucci East Hampton boutique in the Hamptons on Saturday

Both clad in Gucci, the couple were the picture of style as they enjoyed a night out in the ritzy community.

Grace was a vision of sporty sophistication in a red tracksuit, metallic wheels, and exquisite leather handbag.

She wore her glossy brunette hair down and touched up her complexion with a dewy strike of makeup.

She rocked a glittering gold necklace, however her engagement ring remained out of view.

His and hers! Both clad in Gucci, the couple were the picture of style as they enjoyed a night out in the ritzy community

Mark was looking sharp in a blue jacket, matching jeans, and snazzy Gucci sneakers.

The hit-maker kept the party going throughout the night as he hit the DJ booth.

The party comes weeks after Mark confirmed his engagement to Grace, the daughter of Meryl Streep.

The couple first sparked betrothal rumors in May when Grace was seen wearing a dazzling diamond on her ring finger in London.

Man of style: The hit-maker exuded cool in a dark blue jacket, matching jeans, and Gucci sneakers

Confessing that he'd popped the question, Mark told The FADER Uncovered podcast last month: 'I got engaged last weekend.'

He went on to recall his first kiss with his fiancee, admitting it was a 'corny' experience.

Mark quipped: 'There's a plaque for that somewhere. There's a first kiss, very corny Hallmark first kiss plaque.

Rubbing elbows! The couple mingled about the bash with the likes of Robert Triefus, Gucci's EVP of brand and customer engagement

Party time! Ronson kept the party going as he hit the DJ booth

'But no, it was forever, it will be etched. It's still my record.'

It was first reported in March that Mark and Grace were in a relationship with the duo said to have been dating since last year.

Earlier this year, it was claimed that Mark and Grace were an item after they were first linked in September during a cosy dinner date in New York.
He recently enjoyed a fun-filled al fresco dinner with showbiz pals Amanda Holden, Alan Carr and David Walliams, as well as girlfriend Lauren Silverman.

But it was back to work for Simon Cowell on Friday as he chatted away to the CEO of ITV Carolyn McCall, 59, during an outdoor business meeting in West London.

The X Factor boss, 61, cut a casual figure as he strolled, donning a simple dark grey T-shirt and white shorts.

Back to work: Simon Cowell cut a very casual figure during an outdoor business meeting on Tuesday

Simon rounded off his chilled look with black trainers and socks, while he carried a black jacket in his hand should the weather take a turn for the worse.

Meanwhile, businesswoman Carolyn looked radiant in a checked shirt dress and white trainers.

The Britain's Got Talent star appeared in deep concentration with Carolyn, with a representative of Simon confirming to MailOnline that this meeting is among many Simon has been taking outdoors amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Chit chat: The X Factor boss chatted away to the CEO of ITV Carolyn McCall, 59, during the work-related stroll

It comes as the music mogul enjoyed a fun dinner with his pals on Saturday, with snaps of their night shared to Instagram by pal Amanda, 50.

The blonde beaut, shared a snap of her cuddling up to Simon and his partner Lauren while writing on Instagram: 'Fabulous to catch up with these two #outdoor supper.'

She shared a second snap of their antics on Instagram Stories, revealing 45-year-old Alan's husband Paul Drayton had also joined them. The group of six sat around a circular table dotted with plates of food and glasses of wine and all beamed.

Low-key look: Simon cut a casual figure as he strolled, donning a simple dark grey T-shirt and white shorts

Chilled: Simon rounded off his chilled look with black trainers and socks, while he carried a black jacket in his hand should the weather take a turn for the worse

Important chats: The Britain's Got Talent star appeared in deep concentration with Carolyn, with a representative of Simon confirming to MailOnline that this meeting is among many Simon has been taking outdoors amid the coronavirus pandemic

David, 49, also took to social media following their night out, posting a funny snap of himself cuddled up to his Britain's Got Talent co-star Simon. He cheekily captioned the photo: 'True love.'

Doting father Simon looked typically dapper in a black suit and white shirt, while Lauren, 43, donned a strapless black dress.

Last August, Simon was rushed to hospital to undergo six hours of surgery after injuring himself in an electric bike accident accident.

The accident happened just steps from his Malibu home in August, as he crashed in the courtyard of the estate.

'Simon has broken his back in a number of places' a spokesperson said after the fall.

Night out: It comes as the music mogul enjoyed a fun dinner with his pals and Lauren on Saturday, with snaps of their night shared to Instagram by pal Amanda, 50

'Amazing supper': The group of six sat around a circular table dotted with bowls of food and glasses of wine and all beamed from ear to ear

But the record executive has been determined to do everything he can to ensure he makes a full recovery, including walking for several hours a day and holding business meetings at 9AM so that he no longer lives like a 'vampire'.

Of his new fitness regime, a source told MailOnline: 'Simon said how he hasn't worn trainers as much as this in 20 years.

'He feels fitter than ever before and is keeping to a normal routine rather than being on the phone until into the early hours of the morning.'
Real Housewives Of Atlanta star Kim Zolciak, 43, has a swimsuit line called Salty K.

And her daughters Brielle, 24, and Ariana Biermann, 19, have been dutifully modeling the suits on social media to help drive sales.

This week all three ladies wore the exact same leopard print bikini while on the beach, landing them in another bikini face off.

Double the trouble! Kim Zolciak, 43, has a swim line called Salty K. And her daughters Brielle, 24, and Ariana Biermann, 19, have been dutifully modeling the suits on social media to help sales. This week all three ladies wore the exact same leopard print bikini landing them in another bikini face off

She did it too: Brielle tried on the same suit a few days later as she enjoyed a cold drink

Earlier this year all three reality TV stars wore a light pink two piece from Salty K.

Kim looked incredible in the suit which has a triangle top and tiny briefs. And her daughters proved the apple does not fall far from the tree as they also looked stunning in the little bathing suit.

This comes after Brielle wore a red bikini from Salty K.

The influencer looked stunning as she had a toned body with impressive abs and sculpted arms while in the tiny two piece. 'Craving the ocean per usual,' she said in her caption.

Salty daze: The mother and daughter duo held hands on the beach while pouting

Now on her own: The mama bear looking svelte in the sexy two piece while on the beach

Ask her anything! Ariana had the suit on here too when she revealed she didn't get a liposuction or tummy tuck as she took part in a Q&A over the weekend

In Brielle's new images she was on a fire engine red swing with a heart frame around her while at the Atlantis resort. The large hotel could be seen in the background.

The looker wore her hair down and had on pretty makeup as she posed away with three images making her Sunday post.

The star is best known for being on Real Housewives Of New Jersey and Don't Be Tardy. She was recently on the Bravo Kids special with Andy Cohen.

Meanwhile her younger sister Ariana Biermann hit back at eating disorder speculation with a lengthy message detailing how exactly she shed nearly 50 pounds over the last few years.

Red-y for fun on the shore: Brielle posed in a red bikini while on vacation this weekend

In a lengthy message posted to her Instagram Stories, Ariana slammed the speculation and insisted it took several years of hard work for her to gradually arrive at the weight that she is at today.

'I'm so over everyone acting like I lost 50 pounds overnight,' the 19-year-old wrote on Friday. 'I was 167 my sophmore year. 145ish my junior, started really working out, eating healthy etc. January of 2020. I am now 118 over a year and a half later. I was 125 last summer. Please stop. I do not have an eating disorder.'

'I worked my a** off to get to were I am today. I am not sick. This is ridiculous and awful to say to someone. Stop commenting on peoples bodies and worry about yourself.'

To achieve her weight loss goals, Ariana says she went on runs wearing a waist trainer in 90 degree heat, counted calories, and hit the gym.

'I wish I could give yall some insane secret to get skinny overnight but I can't. That's not what I did. I ran 3-5 miles a day with a waist trainer on in 90 degree weather. It was hell. I went to the gym, and worked out.

'I went into a caloric deficit. I did intermittent fasting. I counted my calories. I ate healthy. I stopped snacking. I didn't drink soda anymore... So it is a process. It takes time. But believe in yourself. Do it for you. You got this s**t!'

Family time: Kim and her husband with their kids, including Ariana

The posts included images of Ariana throughout her exercise journey, such as shots of the reality star posing in front of the mirror following one of her many workouts.

'It was not easy. But it was the best thing I ever did for myself and my body,' Ariana wrote in a photo of herself looking fresh from a workout.

'Change doesn't happen overnight,' she added in another mirror selfie snap.

And her self-confidence was evident.

'I'm so happy with myself. I've never felt so beautiful,' she described one photo of herself frolicking on the beach in her blue swimsuit.

The message comes just days after Ariana hosted a Q&A on her Instagram Stories, where she fielded questions about her weight and lips.

Asked if she had ever gotten liposuction or a tummy tuck, she replied: 'Nope just worked my a** off :)'

'I do not have an eating disorder': Ariana Biermann has hit back at eating disorder speculation with a lengthy message detailing how exactly she shed 50 pounds over the last few years

A few slides later, another question read, 'did you get your lips done'.

Ariana shared a selfie from the car with her pout front and center, with the caption 'Sure did :) and I f**king love them. Best thing I ever did'.

Another question from one of her 653K followers asked, 'do you have jaw filler?'

To this, Ariana provided a brief video selfie that showed her beautiful jawline as she reclined.

She wrote in the caption simply, 'LOL No'.
Kate Moss is the new face of Kim Kardashian's SKIMS underwear collection.

Taking to Instagram on Thursday, the KUWTK star, 40, shared incredibly striking images of the British fashion icon, 47, posing for line of shapewear while she also penned gushing captions about Kate.

The announcement comes just weeks after the duo were spotted at the Vatican together, where they stepped out with Kate's daughter Lila.

Wow: Kate Moss is the new face of Kim Kardashian's SKIMS underwear collection

Kate was showing just why she is one of the world's most iconic supermodels as she pulled her most stunning poses for the shots.

Going scantily clad in a just dark high-waisted control shorts, she protected her modesty with her arm while going topless in the shoot.

Another stunning shot saw Kate wear a matching white set.

Alongside the images, Kim penned: 'Introducing Kate Moss for SKIMS. I first met Kate in 2014 through Ricardo Tisci and was instantly struck by her cheeky sense of humour, authentic and classic beauty and we've been friend ever since!...

Oh my: Taking to Instagram on Thursday, the KUWTK star, 40, shared incredibly striking images of the British fashion icon, 47, posing for line of shapewear while she also penned gushing captions about Kate

'She is the fashion icon. Defining a whole generation of style and I am honoured to feature her as the new face of SKIMs this summer'.

The duo both attended Riccardo Tiscis 40th birthday party in Ibiza back in 2014, and were also seen at a Miami Dior fashion show in December 2019.

Kim previously revealed Kate is her 'icon' and has admitted to copying her style. Speaking exclusively to MailOnline back in 2014, Kim announced: 'I love Kate Moss.

Terrific trio: The announcement comes just weeks after the duo were spotted at the Vatican together, where they stepped out with Kate's daughter Lila

Plenty to talk about: Kim previously revealed that Kate is her 'icon' so she no doubt had plenty to say to the Vogue cover girl

Stepping out in style: Kate and Lila enjoyed the celebrity meet up, shortly before the news of her collaboration was annnounced

'I love how she wears her winged eyeliner and her messy hair and how it looks so effortless but still put together. It looks beachy and messy at the same time; I love her glamour.'

In 2018, Kim then copied one of Kate's iconic fashion looks, sporting the 'naked dress' that made headlines for Kate back in 1993.

Opting for an updated version of the sheer slip dress, Kim wowed in the leggy number, but sported a coat to protect her modesty.
Criss Angel and his partner Shaunyl Benson are expecting their third child together, a baby girl.

But the Australian actress said on social media on Monday that the pregnancy caught her by surprise as it was very 'unexpected.'

The magician, 53, and the beauty, 29, already have two sons together: Johnny Crisstopher, aged seven, and Xristos Yanni, age two.

A happy surprise: Criss Angel and his partner Shaunyl Benson are expecting their third child together, a baby girl. But the Australian actress said on social media on Monday that the pregnancy caught her by surprise as it was very 'unexpected.' Seen in 2019

The baby girl is due in December.

'Baby number 3 was absolutely unexpected, thanks to you tequila!. Here's how I told @crissangel and our family! Little girl - arriving December 2021,' she said on social media.

Her love Angel - whose real name is Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos - added, 'So happy for our little girl, you my love and our blessed family but I guess nothing is private I love you forever. .'

Baby bump: 'Baby number 3 was absolutely unexpected, thanks to you tequila!. Here's how I told @crissangel and our family! Little girl - arriving December 2021,' she said on social media

Angel first broke the news that his lady love was pregnant on Father's Day in June.

'+1=5 It's a [party] ... Happy Father's Day! May everyday be as special as today. @shaunylbenson .'

In June 2020 Angel talked about his son Johnny's incredible bravery as he battles pediatric cancer which he was diagnosed with in 2015.

In an exclusive interview with DailyMailTV, Angel became emotional discussing Johnny's courage as he attempts to beat cancer following a relapse last November 2019.

More to love: Angel first broke the news that his lady love was pregnant on Father's Day in June. '+1=5 It's a [party] ... Happy Father's Day! May everyday be as special as today. @shaunylbenson .' Seen in 2019

Johnny is undergoing chemotherapy and treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia at the Cure 4 The Kids Foundation in Vegas.

Choking back tears, he revealed how the kind-hearted boy cheered up a distraught fellow patient by handing him his toy car.

Recounting the moment he told DailyMailTV: 'Johnny Crisstopher is a very unique boy.

'He is selfless. This happened yesterday while he was here; I haven't told anybody this story, it's a true story. Johnny Crisstopher was here being treated. He was in a room, Shaunyl was with him, there was a little boy who was constantly crying. Johnny looked over to Shaunyl and said, ''Mommy, why is that boy crying?'' And Shaunyl said he's probably getting treated, he's probably scared and Johnny Crisstopher says, ''I want to give him a Hot Wheel car.''

Full house: The magician, 53, and the beauty, 29, already have two sons together: Johnny Crisstopher, aged seven, and Xristos Yanni, age two

'So the nurses cleaned it off, Johnny Crisstopher brought the Hot Wheel car to the little boy that was crying, and as soon as he saw Johnny Crisstopher, and Johnny Crisstopher gave him the Hot Wheel car, honest to God, he stopped crying.'

The TV illusionist said it's moments like that that help him feel 'positive' and retain his faith in his son's recovery.

'I truly believe with God anything is possible,' he said, adding: 'There is a greater purpose.'

Angel says the COVID-19 pandemic has made him even more determined to support other cancer victims, whose health is further at risk.

Their struggle: In June 2020 Angel talked about his son Johnny's incredible bravery as he battles pediatric cancer which he was diagnosed with in 2015. In an exclusive interview with DailyMailTV, Angel became emotional discussing Johnny's courage as he attempts to beat cancer following a relapse last November 2019; seen in 2020

And he insists his family's challenges have made him 'appreciate the moment you are in, even if it is during a crisis.'

'I cannot be anymore proud of a six-year-old boy who sees the world that way,' he says.

'These kids that get affected, it has a profound effect on them. They look at things differently.

'They don't take things for granted. They're in the moment and the moment is what we all have to be in and have to reflect on because we don't know if we're going to have the next moment.'

In May, Benson paid tribute to Johnny on Instagram, saying, "Our little superhero, loving life everyday. He's carefree and full of love. It's been a weird couple of months but Johnny takes it like a superstar. Yesterday we had a long clinic visit for an immunoglobulin infusion which cut our desert stay short. But life is beautiful. Everything we do, we do for our babies."
Timothee Chalamet appeared completely naked as he jumped out of the bathtub in a scene from the upcoming film, The French Dispatch.

The scene depicts student activist Zeffirelli (Timothee) asking journalist Lucinda Krementz (Frances McDormand) if she could look over his manifesto as he soaks in the bathtub.

After agreeing to look over his piece, Zeffirelli hops out of the tub completely naked, using his hands to protect his modesty.

In his birthday suit! Timothee Chalamet appeared completely naked as he jumped out of the bathtub in a scene from the upcoming Wes Anderson film, The French Dispatch

A cigarette dangles from his mouth as he hands over the manifesto he had been working on in the tub.

The only article of clothing he is wearing is the white towel wrapped around his head.

After handing over his booklet to Lucinda, he backs away and returns to the tub.

'It's a little damp,' Lucinda remarks.

Here you go! Chalamet quickly hands over his manifesto to Frances for proofreading

Back in a flash: The actor backed away as he returned to his tub

'It's a little damp': Frances, in character as journalist Lucinda, offers her feedback

'Physically or metaphorically?' Zeffirelli asks.

'Both. Based on the cover and the first four sentences,' Lucinda replies.

'Don't criticize my manifesto,' Zeffirelli shoots back.

'Oh, you don't want remarks?' Lucinda asks.

Splish splash: Lucinda approached Zeffirelli as he soaked in the tub

'Don't criticize my manifesto': Zeffirelli shoots back from his tub

Confident! 'I thought you'd be even more impressed by how good it already is,' the student activist told Lucinda

'I don't need remarks, do I?' Zeffirelli asks. 'I only asked you to proofread it 'cause I thought you'd be even more impressed by how good it already is.'

Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch follows a group of journalists and is based on the writings of The New Yorker.

Set in a fictional 20th-century French city, the anthology follows the development of a series of stories published in the titular magazine, and it opens with editor Arthur Howitzer Jr. (Bill Murray) on the paper's last day.

The film was originally set to premiere at the 2020 edition of the Cannes Film Festival, however due to the Covid-19 pandemic the event had to be postponed.

Directed by Wes Anderson, The French Dispatch is set for release on October 22, 2021.
Advertisement

Julianne Hough sizzled in flowing green dress as she joined other famous faces at the Naked Heart France Riviera Dinner 2021 on Tuesday night.

The star-studded event was held as part of the ongoing Cannes Film Festival and all the guests, including Lady Victoria Hervey, Jonathan Cheban and Anna Cleveland, donned their best outfits.

American actress Julianne, 32, turned heads as she posed up a storm in a show-stoppping dress which was blown up by the breeze on the French Riviera.

Beautiful: Julianne Hough sizzled in flowing green dress as she joined other famous faces at the Naked Heart France Riviera Dinner 2021 on Tuesday night

She flashed a glimpse of cleavage in the low-cut dress which pulled together at the waist with a cinching waistband.

The Footloose star's lacy skirt then flowed out from the waist band, falling to the ground and split down the middle showing off Julianne's slender legs.

Accessorising the mesmerising look, she donned a pair of nude strappy high heels, a chunky gold bracelet and large pendant earrings.

Another blonde beauty who was seen posing in front of the wall of flowers and dipping their toes in the sand was Rose Bertram.

Looking good: Julianne, pictured with Alisa Volskaya, Sasha Luss and Tamara Kalinic, flashed a glimpse of cleavage in the low-cut dress which pulled together at the waist with a cinching waistband

Gorgeous: Rose Bertram posed for pictures with Lebanese-British fashion entrepreneur Karen Wazen Bakhazi, styled her hair in a sleek bun with a combed over fringe section and donned a pair of exquisite pointed high heels

Sizzling: Rose wowed in a little silver dress while model Hanna Cross looked incredible in a little black dress

Simple but effective: Brooklyn Beckham's ex-girlfriend Hana Cross, 23, kept it simple for the star-studded event, wearing a black strapless mini dress while Rose looked radiant in silver

Chic: Joining the line-up of glamorous famous faces was Lady Victoria Hervey who wore a sheer dress which was adorned with glitzy tassels

The Belgian model, 26, put on a leggy display as she posed for pictures wearing a glitzy silver snake skin effect mini dress.

The ruched dress pulled together at the front, creating a cinching effect at the waist, and formed into a V-neck shape around her chest.

She showcased her svelte figure in the off-the-shoulder look which had large puffed sleeves and cut off high up her thigh.

Rose, who posed for pictures with Lebanese-British fashion entrepreneur Karen Wazen Bakhazi, styled her hair in a sleek bun with a combed over fringe section and donned a pair of exquisite pointed high heels.

Sexy: Model and artist Solange Smith, 24, wore an exquisite electric blue strappy dress which pulled her in at the waist and complemented her contrasting red lipstick

Glam: Fashion commentator Louis Pisano also went for a blue gown for the event, posing up a storm in the lacy frilled look and adding a pair of chunky black boots

Hunk: Spanish model and actor Jon Kortajarena, 36, showed he has a way with the ladies as he cosied up to several women at the event on Tuesday wearing pasting pink suit

Brooklyn Beckham's ex-girlfriend Hana Cross, 23, kept it simple for the star-studded event, wearing a black strapless mini dress.

She put on a busty display at the charity dinner and donned a pair of Christian Dior slingback pumps, retailing at 750.

Joining the line-up of glamorous famous faces was Lady Victoria Hervey who wore a sheer dress which was adorned with glitzy tassels.

She left little to the imagination in the skimpy dress which split at the leg to showcase her toned pins and svelte figure.

Cheeky: Anna Cleveland, an American model, was one of those to get up close and personal with the Spanish hunk

Animated: (L-R) Anna enjoyed a chat with Helena Gatsby, Nieves AIlvarez and Jon Kortajarena had a spin around the dancefloor and Lara Lieto and Santa Dimopulos posed up a storm for snaps together

Incredible: The 32-year-old beauty opted for a simple but effective look, donning a white backless dress which was covered in sequins

Revealing: Anna's V-neck dress left little to the imagination and clung to the model in all the right places, turning round to show her curvaceous bottom

Star-studded: The French Riviera has been filled with famous faces for the past week as stars descend on Cannes for this year's film festival. Pictured left to right: Solange Smith, Anna Cleveland, Alejandro Speitzer, Elisabetta Marra, Nieves AIlvarez and Helena Gatsby

Model and artist Solange Smith, 24, wore an exquisite electric blue strappy dress which pulled her in at the waist and complemented her contrasting red lipstick.

Meanwhile, fashion commentator Louis Pisano also went for a blue gown for the event, posing up a storm in the lacy frilled look and adding a pair of chunky black boots.

Fashion consultant and stylist Geraldine Boublil proved she knows a thing or two about glamour as she arrived at the charity dinner wearing a cream gown covered in lace and sheer layered detailing.

Spanish model and actor Jon Kortajarena, 36, showed he has a way with the ladies as he cosied up to several women at the event on Tuesday wearing pasting pink suit.

Stars: This year is the 75th Cannes Film Festival - an annual film festival which previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around the world. Pictured left to right: Xenia Adonts, Tamara Kalinic and Madison Headrick

Uh oh! Kim Kardashian's pal Jonathan Cheban, The Food God, was also invited to the charity event in Cannes, beaming from ear to ear as he posed for pictures in an all-black ensemble while looking a little windswept

Stand out: Ivy Getty and Erica Pelosini Leeman wore show-stopping black outfits covered in feathers

Glamorous: Glee star and singer Darren Criss donned a navy blue suit with white buttons as he posed for pictures with philanthropist Alisa Volskaya who wore a beautiful white sheer dress

Anna Cleveland, an American model, was one of those to get up close and personal with the Spanish hunk.

The 32-year-old beauty opted for a simple but effective look, donning a white backless dress which was covered in sequins.

The V-neck on the dress left little to the imagination and clung to the model in all the right places, turning round to show her curvaceous bottom.

Kim Kardashian's pal Jonathan Cheban, The Food God, was also invited to the charity event in Cannes, beaming from ear to ear as he posed for pictures in an all-black ensemble while looking a little windswept.

The French Riviera has been filled with famous faces for the past week as stars descend on Cannes for this year's film festival.

Chic: German photographer and director Ellen von Unwert posed up a storm while French model Alicia Aylies wowed in a satin cream slip dress

This year is the 75th Cannes Film Festival - an annual film festival which previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around the world.

As well as film screening and premieres, various charity events are hosted to help raise money for those in need.

Naked Heart France provides humanitarian support to families of children with special needs in Russia through the 'Every Child Deserves a Family' program.
She's been treating the streets of Cannes as her own personal runway.

And Kimberley Garner pulled another stunning look out of the bag on Tuesday as she enjoyed another day out at the Film Festival.

Looking effortlessly chic for the outing, the 30-year-old swimwear designer wowed in a white silk co-ord.

Wow: She's been treating the streets of Cannes as her own personal runway. And Kimberley Garner pulled another stunning look out of the bag on Tuesday as she enjoyed another day out

The former Made In Chelsea star flashed her abs in a skimpy crop top with ribbon detailing that hugged her taut torso.

She teamed the garment with a matching midi skirt that fell to mid calf to expose a pair of barely-there cream heels.

Keeping her accessories simple, Kimberley opted for just a pair of delicate stud earrings and a gold bangle.

Dressed to impress: Looking effortlessly chic for the outing, the 30-year-old swimwear designer wowed in a white silk co-ord

Kimberley has been enjoying the last few months travelling with her new man, after they were last linked in December. Kimberly is yet to reveal his identity.

They rang in Christmas in Barbados and spending the new year in Florida after flying to out Miami in late December.

It wasn't all carefree partying, however, as she took to Instagram to defend herself from backlash over her international travel.

Top of the crops: The former Made In Chelsea star flashed her abs in a skimpy crop top with ribbon detailing that hugged her taut torso

The former Made In Chelsea star said she jetted out of the UK on December 14  a week before London moved into Tier 4  to 'check on my apartment'.

The London native said at the time: 'I bought my place here this time two years ago. 'It was a massive achievement, still really can't believe it sometimes. I run a business - I'm not an influencer.

'I am here, but I am very very strict still. I see people in Tulum and all over going to parties and it doesn't feel right to me.'

Leggy lady! She teamed the garment with a matching midi skirt that fell to mid calf to expose a pair of barely-there cream heels

The influencer previously surprised fans when she revealed she cancelled a secret wedding and ended a long-term relationship last summer.

Speaking to MailOnline in September 2019, Kimberley confirmed she had called it quits with her former boyfriend.

The businesswoman said: 'I ended the relationship recently. It was a really wonderful three years and we are still good friends today.'
Don Cheadle poked fun at the Primetime Emmy nomination he received from a 98-second scene in Falcon And The Winter Soldier.

The 56-year-old actor was recognized in the outstanding guest actor in a drama series category for his brief work reprising his role as Colonel James Rupert 'Rhodey' Rhodes AKA War Machine in episode one of the Disney+ series.

Shortly after learning of the nod, Cheadle took to Twitter to hilariously post: 'thanks, well wishers. sorry, haters. agreed, [shrugging emoji]ers. i dont really get it either. buuuuuuuuuut on we go'

Scroll down for video

Making every second count! Don Cheadle poked fun at the Primetime Emmy nomination he received from a 98-second scene in Falcon And The Winter Soldier

Shortly after learning of the nod, the 56-year-old actor took to Twitter to hilariously post: 'thanks, well wishers. sorry, haters. agreed, [shrugging emoji]ers. i dont really get it either. buuuuuuuuuut on we go'

Twitter erupted with excited reactions to Cheadle's 11th Emmy nomination including one who wrote: 'Don Cheadle was in tfatws for like a minute and he got nominated for an emmy. king things.'

Another said: 'don cheadle being the only actor nominated for tfatws with two seconds of screentime is a power move.'

He starred in the scene opposite leading man Anthony Mackie who plays Sam Wilson AKA Falcon AKA Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but did not receive a nomination.

Squad goals: He starred in the scene opposite leading man Anthony Mackie who plays Sam Wilson AKA Falcon AKA Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but did not receive a nomination

'King things': Twitter erupted with excited reactions to Cheadle's 11th Emmy nomination

As Sebastian Stan stars as Bucky Barnes AKA Winter Soldier also didn't receive a nod either despite a leading role, some were quick to point out how the two stars of the show were left with nothing.

A Twitter user wrote: 'Don Cheadle getting an Emmy nom for Falcon and the Winter Soldier while Mackie and Sebastian got nothing has me screaming.'

Carl Lumbly, 69, starred as African-American Korean War veteran and super soldier imprisoned for 30 years, Isiah Bradley, over a few episodes and many fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe series were not pleased that his riveting performance was overlooked.

Dynamic duo: As Sebastian Stan stars as Bucky Barnes AKA Winter Soldier also didn't receive a nod either despite a leading role, some were quick to point out how the two stars of the show were left with nothing

A Twitter user wrote: 'Don Cheadle getting an Emmy nom for Falcon and the Winter Soldier while Mackie and Sebastian got nothing has me screaming'

Icon: Carl Lumbly, 69, starred as African-American Korean War veteran and super soldier imprisoned for 30 years, Isiah Bradley, over a few episodes and many fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe series were not pleased that his riveting performance was overlooked

Taking a stand: One user wrote: 'I love Don Cheadle, but if anyone deserved the guest actor nom for #TheFalconandtheWinterSoldier it was Carl Lumbly. Period'

Miscellaneous: Marvel Cinematic Universe fans had plenty to say about the nomination

One user wrote: 'I love Don Cheadle, but if anyone deserved the guest actor nom for #TheFalconandtheWinterSoldier it was Carl Lumbly. Period.'

Another said: 'Carl Lumbly was snubbed for Falcon and the Winter Soldier it was truly one of the best performances of the year [flower emoji]'

Cheadle has starred as Rhodes/War Machine since 2010's Iron Man 2 and reprised the role over 7 films in the MCU before his short stint on Falcon And The Winter Soldier.

Perhaps his less than two minute appearance could be his first win at the event as he has been nominated ten times previously including for his work on ER, House Of Lies, and most recently Black Monday.
Retired competitive swimmer Lisa Curry has been admitted to hospital for 'chest pains', less than a year after her daughter Jaimi's death at the age of 33.

The Olympian, 59, shared a previously unseen photo of Jaimi on Instagram on Wednesday, and revealed in the caption she'd spent the past five days in hospital.

While doctors are still doing tests to find out why she's in pain, Lisa hinted her physical symptoms were caused by grief, saying 'you can't test for heartache'.

Grief: Retired competitive swimmer Lisa Curry (left) has been admitted to hospital for 'chest pains', less than a year after her daughter Jaimi's (right) death at the age of 33

'It's day five after coming in with chest pain, a wide squeezing band around my chest and back. All my tests are good. Everyone is stumped,' Lisa wrote.

'But, you can't test for heartache.'

Jaimi had battled alcoholism and an eating disorder for years before she died at a Sunshine Coast hospital on September 14, 2020.

Lisa continued: 'For every beautiful photo of our girl, there are 10 sad ones. As I lie here thinking about our Jaimi, I wanted to show you how much she hurt too.

Hospitalised: The Olympian, 59, shared this previously unseen photo of Jaimi on Instagram on Wednesday, and revealed in the caption she'd spent the past five days in hospital

'Broken hearted by things that people said to her and did to her.

'Words and actions hurt people so deep that they store that trauma for such a long time. Some people can get through it.. some live with it, some just can't.'

Over the past few months, Lisa has shared several Instagram posts about how she's struggling to cope with the loss of her daughter.

She added: 'There are many people, like Jaimi, who are beautiful, soft, fragile, sensitive, and are taken advantage of, their trust misused and abused.

Heartache: Over the past few months, Lisa has shared several Instagram posts about how she's struggling to cope with the loss of her daughter

'There are some really questionable people who take advantage of others who are fragile, who go on to live their lives not having a clue the damage they've left.

'In the (written) stages of grief, there is shock and denial, pain and guilt, anger and bargaining, depression, the upward turn, reconstruction and working through, and, acceptance and hope.'

Lisa went on to say that those stages of grief 'overlap' and don't 'come and go easily'.

But she added that she is finding it easier to manage her tremendous sense of loss by writing down her feelings.

'I've found that writing things down is helping. People reaching out to me, although hard, is also helping because we're not alone,' she added.

Family: Lisa is pictured with her son Jett (left), surviving daughter Morgan (right) and her grandson Flynn

'You never know what will trigger the heartache, or the tears. It could be a word, a thought, a song, a photo, a memory, a hug from a stranger all we need is a hug and understanding. Nothing even needs to be said.'

She concluded with a message of support to those who are also grieving, hoping they can find 'beauty in the sadness'.

'Be not burdened with times of sorrow, I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow,' she wrote, before urging anyone experiencing chest pains to immediately call Triple 0.

Lisa, who won 15 gold medals during her swimming career, has suffered from several health issues in the past.

Reaching out: She concluded with a message of support to those who are also grieving, hoping they can find 'beauty in the sadness'

In 2008, she underwent heart surgery for a condition known as myocarditis which, if left unchecked, can result in cardiac arrest.

Seven years later, the sporting legend underwent heart surgery again to fix her cardioverter-defibrillator.

The implanted device can detect and deal with a dangerous, fast heart rhythm by delivering of an internal shock or applying a burst of pacing.

The defibrillator will stay with Lisa for the rest of her life.

Lisa and her ex-husband Grant Kenny, 57, are also parents to son Jett, 27, and daughter Morgan, 29.

For confidential support in Australia, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit www.lifeline.org.au. Alternatively, call Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800
Naomie Olindo reflected on her heart-wrenching split from boyfriend Metul Shah, one day after her agent Paul Desisto confirmed they called it quits.

While the 28-year-old Southern Charm alum did not elaborate in detail on the cause of their breakup, she alluded to her partner being unfaithful.

'Nothing will be worse than losing my dad but this is a close second,' she captioned a teary-eyed selfie of herself in bed with her beloved cat.

Emotional: Naomie Olindo reflected on her heart-wrenching split from boyfriend Metul Shah, one day after her agent Paul Desisto confirmed they called it quits

In her emotional Instagram post, on Monday night, she continued: 'Betrayal is never easy for anyone and Im just so sorry to anyone else that has stumbled across those terrible messages.'

'Im absolutely positive I will regret posting this tomorrow but so many of you have reached out saying youre feeling a similar pain. Im so so sorry,' she went on.

On Tuesday, the reality star urged her fans in a since-deleted Instagram Story, to stop 'please stop sending/saying hateful things to Metul.'

Heartbroken: While the 28-year-old Southern Charm alum did not elaborate in detail on the cause of their breakup, she alluded to her partner being unfaithful

Trying to move on: On Tuesday, the reality star urged her fans in a since-deleted Instagram Story, to stop 'please stop sending/saying hateful things to Metul'

'I have self-respect and will not be getting back together with him, but he is also in a terrible place dealing with the consequences of his actions,' she added.

Again, Olindo reiterated to followers not to 'be mean' to her ex, who 'is human' and that 'this situation is punishment enough' for him.

Speaking of her navigating the end of her three-year relationship, Olindo said she was 'so thankful for all of the support' she was receiving from her followers.

'I have self-respect and will not be getting back together with him, but he is also in a terrible place dealing with the consequences of his actions,' she added

'Trust me I need it. This is incredibly embarrassing and I feel so lost,' she confessed.

The former couple's parting comes not long after they moved together from South Carolina to New York City.

Her agent told People on Monday that they 'are no longer together,' and 'she is back in Charleston and plans to stay there for the time being.'

Her agent told People on Monday that they 'are no longer together,' and 'she is back in Charleston and plans to stay there for the time being'

On social media, Olindo had removed the majority of her Instagram photos alongside Shah earlier this month, and the one-time couple are no longer following one another.

The fashion designer and anesthesiologist, 30, had recently moved to New York City after she parted ways last year with Southern Charm. Last year, he said on Instagram that he was continuing his career at New York's Weill Cornell Medical College with a fellowship.

Prior to their move to the Big Apple from South Carolina, the former couple had embarked on a yacht vacation with pals to Antigua and Barbuda.
He abruptly quit Channel 10's The Project to join the ABC in 2014 because he felt working for the commercial network compromised his moral values.

But comedian Charlie Pickering told Yahoo Lifestyle on Tuesday he'd be willing to return to the current-affairs show for a proper send-off one day.

The 43-year-old explained he used to sign off each episode with a rather childish ritual that involved drawing a cartoon penis on his notepad - something he now isn't able to do on The Weekly with Charlie Pickering because he doesn't have a notepad.

Making a comeback? ABC star Charlie Pickering has hinted he could return to The Project, seven years after quitting the Channel 10 show because he felt his morals were compromised

He joked that he'd like to host one more episode of The Project just so he can draw another phallus for old times' sake.

'I don't have any paper notes for The Weekly. To be really honest, I was very sad when I realised I wasn't going to have notes so I won't have a pen and won't be able to sign off,' Charlie said.

'I do miss those days so who knows, maybe I'll go back to The Project one day just so I can sign off again,' he added.

Signature joke: Charlie explained he used to sign off each episode of The Project with a childish ritual that involved drawing a cartoon penis on his notepad - something he now isn't able to do on The Weekly because he doesn't have a notepad. He told Yahoo Lifestyle he'd like to host one more episode of The Project just so he can draw another phallus for old times' sake

Charlie unexpectedly announced his departure from The Project in 2014, ahead of the arrival of his first child.

He told The Daily Telegraph at the time he felt his morals were compromised when asked by producers to do an interview with radio DJ Mel Greig in the wake of the infamous royal prank call scandal that resulted in the death of a nurse in 2012.

He revealed that he and co-host Carrie Bickmore fought with producers about doing the sit-down chat that was offered by her former radio network 2DayFM.

Knowing at the time that Greig was not in a mentally stable place and struggling to cope with the gravity of what had happened, Charlie said he feared an interview with her would cause her to crack under pressure.

Quit: Charlie (left) unexpectedly announced his departure from The Project in 2014, ahead of the arrival of his first child. Pictured with Carrie Bickmore (centre) and Peter Helliar (right)

'I have lost friends to suicide,' he said.

'And I wasn't going to be complicit in a situation that could lead to further mental health issues. Carrie and I spent the entire day fighting it.'

Although the pair managed to 'win that fight' and the interview was scrapped, Charlie hinted the situation damaged his relationship with Channel 10.

He also said around this time he'd objected to The Project's coverage of the notorious 'St Kilda schoolgirl' footy sex scandal.

Charlie has been keeping busy however off TV screens, as he's now launched a new Audible Original podcast, titled The Time Travellers Guide To Not Dying.
Matt Damon has reflected on being 'broke' while he was living with good pal Ben Affleck and trying to make it in Hollywood.

The actor, 50, explained how they 'had nothing' and would show landlords in LA an article about their upcoming movie Good Will Hunting to try and find places to live.

Speaking at the 74th Cannes Film Festival, Matt also brushed off turning down a role in Avatar and missing out on 200m, joking his decision will 'go down in history'.

Candid: Matt Damon has reflected on being 'broke' while he was living with pal Ben Affleck and trying to make it in Hollywood (pictured during the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on Friday)

According to The Sun, Matt recalled how he and Ben ended up living together after the Gone Girl star broke up with his fiancee and slept on his couch in Los Angeles.

Detailing how Ben is 6ft 4in, Matt said that every morning he'd see his friend's legs 'dangling off the end' of the sofa and think 'this is just ridiculous'.

Things then seemed to pick up for the pals, who have known each other since their childhoods in Massachusetts, when the rights to Good Will Hunting were bought by a production company.

However they spent most of the money on 'matching Jeep Cherokees' and were left having to use an article to convince landlords they could afford to pay rent.

Tougher times: The actor, 50, explained how he and Affleck, 48, 'had nothing' and would show landlords an article about their upcoming movie Good Will Hunting to try and find places to live in LA (pictured with their Oscars for Best Original Screenplay in 1998)

Matt reminisced: 'We were so broke, we had no credit score, we had nothing. So people were like, "We can't rent to you".

'But what we had was the article in Daily Variety and we were on the cover, it said like, "These two idiots sell a screenplay".

'So we carried around Variety with us and we were like, "We're these guys! Look, we have money now, you can rent to us, we're going to pay you". And one landlord did.'

Good Will Hunting came out in 1997 and won numerous awards - including two Oscars - propelling the two actors to international fame.

Making it big: Good Will Hunting came out in 1997 and won numerous awards - including two Oscars - propelling the two actors to international fame (pictured in the film)

Still friends: The Jason Bourne star recalled how he and Ben ended up living together after the Gone Girl actor broke up with his fiancee and slept on his couch in LA (pictured in 2017)

Elsewhere, Matt reflected on the huge payday that was never to be as he discussed turning down a main role in James Cameron's huge hit film Avatar.

James was so keen to get Matt signed up for the movie that he offered the actor a massive 10 per cent of the 2009 film's takings, but Matt turned him down.

Avatar went on to become a major hit worldwide and the highest-grossing movie of all time, earning 2billion.

Matt explained: 'I was offered a little movie called Avatar. I will go down in history. You will never meet an actor who turned down more money than me.'

What could have been: Matt also brushed off turning down a role in Avatar and missing out on 200m (pictured Sam Worthington as Jake Sully and Zoe Saldana as Neytiri)

Eager: Director James Cameron was so keen to get Matt signed up for the movie that he offered the actor a whopping 10 per cent of the 2009 film's takings, but Matt turned him down

Actor Sam Worthington was eventually cast as Jake Sully in the 2009 blockbuster with Matt sticking with his extremely popular Bourne series.

Matt also discussed his potential role in Avatar with British GQ in 2019, recalling his first chat with director James about a role.

He said: 'When [Cameron] offered it to me, he goes, "Now, listen. I don't need anybody. I don't need a name for this, a named actor.

'If you don't take this, I'm going to find an unknown actor and give it to him, because the movie doesn't really need you. But if you take the part, I'll give you 10 percent".''

Matt is currently in Cannes promoting his new movie Stillwater, which received high praise from the critics following its debut at the film festival.

The star reportedly teared up during a five minute standing ovation following the premiere screening on Thursday night.

According to Twitter, Matt - an Oscar-winning writer as well as actor - became overwhelmed with emotion at the overwhelming positive reaction to the film.

He stars as a man who travels from Oklahoma to France to help his estranged daughter, who is in prison for a murder she says she didn't commit.

Camille plays the character Virginie, a French woman who aids him in his mission, while Abigail plays the role of Matt's daughter, Allison.

Stillwater is slated for release on August 6th 2021.
Support local journalism

Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Medicare on Monday launched a formal process to decide whether to cover Aduhelm, the new Alzheimer's drug whose $56,000-a-year price tag and unproven benefits have prompted widespread criticism and a congressional investigation.

A final decision isn't likely until next spring, said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, although an initial ruling could come in six months. Currently Medicare is making case-by-case determinations on whether to cover the medication, which is administered intravenously in a doctor's office.

Medicare's announcement came on the same day that Democratic leaders of two House committees asked drugmaker Biogen to turn over reams of documents on how it developed and priced the drug, and on its dealings with government officials at the Food and Drug Administration.

Although pricey drugs are now fairly commonplace, the recent approval of Aduhelm prompted an unusually intense backlash. The FDA went against the recommendation of its outside advisers in granting the approval, and the beleaguered agency has since curtailed the recommended use of the drug and requested an investigation by an independent watchdog into its dealings with Biogen. Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress are moving legislation authorizing Medicare to negotiate drug prices.

CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure signaled that neither politics nor cost will be part of Medicare's evaluation.

We want to consider Medicare coverage of new treatments very carefully in light of the evidence available," Brooks-LaSure said in a statement that acknowledged the toll of Alzheimer's disease on patients and their families. "Our process will include opportunities to hear from many stakeholders, including patient advocacy groups, medical experts, states, issuers, industry professionals, and family members and caregivers of those living with this disease.

A 30-day public comment period began Monday, followed by two hearings to solicit a range of views. The agency's decision will hinge on whether the evidence for Aduhelm meets a legal requirement that covered services, medical devices and medications be reasonable and necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of illness or injury.

Lawmakers, meanwhile, intensified their scrutiny of the drug's approval.

Two committees in the House asked Biogen to hand over documentation on a number of issues surrounding the development of Aduhelm, including unusual contacts between company executives and FDA regulators.

Biogen and the FDA reanalyzed Aduhelms data together after the companys studies suggested the drug was ineffective at slowing mental decline. The collaboration ultimately led to the FDA granting conditional approval for the drug, against the advice of its outside experts.

In particular, the lawmakers ask Biogen to turn over details about a company initiative dubbed Project Onyx, to persuade FDA to approve Aduhelm.

Last week, the FDA asked the governments independent watchdog to investigate unusual interactions between some FDA staffers and Biogen. That included reports of at least one off the books discussion between a Biogen executive and the FDAs top Alzheimers drug reviewer.

Meetings between drug industry representatives and the FDA are normally carefully scheduled and documented. The FDAs acting commissioner, Dr. Janet Woodock, asked the inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services to probe whether the agencys dealings with Biogen violated any government rules.

Another large part of the lawmakers' request involves documents detailing how Biogen arrived at the drugs price, pegged at roughly $56,000 for the typical patient. The drug requires monthly IVs and the dosage is based on a patients weight.

The committee chairs noted that a nonprofit think tank focused on drug pricing pegged the drugs actual value at between $3,000 and $8,400 per year, based on its unproven benefits.

While the company has claimed this price is fair and substantiated by the value it is expected to bring, an independent analysis determined that a fair price for Aduhelm would be a small fraction of Biogens price, said committee chairs Rep. Carolyn Maloney and Rep. Frank Pallone.

Maloney heads the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Pallone heads the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

The letter instructs Biogen to turn over the information by July 26.
Jarret Liotta / For Hearst Connecticut Media

DARIEN  Parking passes are sold out, but town officials are reminding residents that walk-ins are welcome at the fireworks Thursday.

Parks and Recreation Program Supervisor Jami Gore says gates open at Darien High School to vehicle and pedestrian traffic at 6:30 p.m. Live music begins at 7 p.m., with fireworks to begin around 9 p.m. The rain date will be July 22.
Thank you for reading!

Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription and are still unable to access our content, please link your digital account to your print subscription If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue.
A health worker holds a vial of the Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 while Charles Chaplin's movies are projected at the Lumiere movie theater, used as vaccination center, in Rosario, Santa Fe province, Argentina, on March 26, 2021. (Marcelo Manera / AFP)

Moscow: The first batch of Sputnik vaccine is expected to be produced at Serum Institute of India (SII)'s facilities in September, said Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the country's sovereign wealth fund on Tuesday.

In a statement, RDIF said that the Russian Direct Investment Fund and Serum Institute of India (SII)s intend to produce over 300 million doses of the vaccine in India per year.

"As part of the technical transfer process, SII has already received cell and vector samples from the Gamaleya Center. With their import approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), the cultivation process has begun," it said.

India is the leading production hub for the production of the Sputnik vaccine. RDIF had earlier reached agreements with a number of pharmaceutical companies in India (Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma, Virchow Biotech and Morepen) for the production of the Russian vaccine.

To date, the Russian Sputnik V vaccine has been registered in 67 countries globally with a total population of over 3.5 bn people. The data obtained by regulators of a number of countries during the vaccination of the population, including in Argentina, Serbia, Bahrain, Hungary, Mexico, San Marino, UAE and others, demonstrates that Sputnik V is one of the safest and most effective vaccines against coronavirus.

Meanwhile, on WHO concern over Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine issues with the filling of vials at one plant, the Pharmastanfar - UfaVITA said that the issues did not relate to the safety or efficacy of the vaccine itself, the plant is responsible only for pouring into vials doses of Sputnik V vaccine produced elsewhere.

WHO did not raise any questions about the safety and efficacy of the produced and finished vaccine as the "Sputnik V" vaccine undergoes strictest double quality output control of the Gamaleya Institute and the Russian health regulator (Federal Healthcare Service - Roszdravnadzor), said OJSC Pharmstandard-UfaVITA statement.

Moreover, the WHO interim inspection did not identify any critical issues with the actual vaccine's production, quality, clinical studies, possible side effects, nor with the double quality output control by both the Gamaleya Institute and the Russian health regulator. Instead, WHO inspectors' attention was focused on only 4 technical issues mostly related to one of the filling lines that have all been subsequently fully addressed, said the statement.

Further, OJSC Pharmstandard-UfaVITA invited WHO for another inspection.
The CESL will devise a suitable payment security mechanism, which will be facilitated by NREDCAP. (Representational image: Twitter)

New Delhi: State-run Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL) has entered into an agreement with New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP) for providing 25,000 electric two-wheelers to state employees.

According to statement, under this agreement with NREDCAP, these electric vehicles will be provided to state government employees of Andhra Pradesh and the number may increase as per requirements.

Andhra Pradesh's Energy Minister, Balineni Srinivasa Reddy said, Our vision, with the procurement of 25,000 two-wheeler electric vehicles, is to make Andhra Pradesh go electric. We have been effectively providing affordable and clean power and a fillip to e-mobility will make a further push towards clean energy adoption.

Electric two-wheelers for government employees will boost energy and financial savings and we hope more and more people will also make a shift to EVs, he added.

Under the agreement, CESL and NREDCAP will work to aggregate demand, deploy electric vehicles, and build charging infrastructure.

The CESL will devise a suitable payment security mechanism, which will be facilitated by NREDCAP.

Srikant Nagulapalli, Chairman, NREDCAP said, Apart from mitigating climate change, electric mobility is going to be a key economic growth driver and we are focused to build the e-mobility ecosystem in the state. We will encourage all government employees including cooperative societies, public sector undertakings, village, ward secretariat staff and others to opt for EVs. A bigger fleet of EVs in the government will encourage greater uptake among the masses.

The electric two-wheelers will be provided on a monthly lease inclusive of a comprehensive insurance that will be deducted as EMI from the volunteering government employee's account.

It will carry a standard warranty of three years against any manufacturing defect. Batteries too will carry warranty till three years or 60,000 kms whichever is earlier.

Mahua Acharya, MD and CEO, CESL said, Andhra Pradesh's decision to go electric will accelerate E-mobility adoption in the country, hopefully providing a blueprint for other states to adopt.

A 100 per cent owned subsidiary of EESL  Convergence Energy Services - is a new energy company is focused on delivering clean, affordable and reliable energy.
The taking-over of reservoirs and associated power plants by the Union Government would end disputes between states. (PTI)

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh would file a petition in the Supreme Court on the violation of rules by Telangana government in drawing water illegally from River Krishna without following KRMB directions.

According to reliable information, the AP government has prepared a petition on Telangana irregularities vis-a-vis sharing of Krishna water and violation of KRMB norms and would file the petition at the apex court in a day or two.

The AP government would plead that the projects on interstate rivers and associated power plants should be recognized as national projects.

According to officials, construction of new irrigation projects without any permission and using excess water by violating the water sharing agreement has turned into a big problem for AP. Hence the state government is seeking a permanent resolution in the Supreme Court.

The government said the Constitution of India gave responsibility of resolving water disputes to the Union Government. Hence, all projects on interstate rivers and associated power plants should be in the control of the central government.

According to the Bachawat Award, drinking water and irrigation are the first priority. Power generation can be done only when water is released for irrigation purposes, and water should not be released for power generation.

Further, the upper state (Telangana) cannot adamantly release water for power generation going waste into the sea without considering the necessities of the lower state (AP) and this is a violation of human rights.

Ever since the announcement of the Bachawat Award, all the states have been strictly following this protocol and this policy has legitimacy. Over time, tribunals and courts have ruled on a number of disputes, legitimizing the Bachawat policy.

AP is forced to knock at the Supreme Court doors as the upper state violates the water sharing agreements and KRMB direction without caring about the laws. The AP government is mentioning about the adverse impact of releasing of water for power generation by TS, on lakhs of farmers and cultivation activity.

Further, AP is highlighting the infringement of fundamental rights of water and food of AP people, which is allegedly done without any regard to KRMB directions.

The taking-over of reservoirs and associated power plants by the Union Government would end disputes between states.

A conditions of clashes between police and irrigation officials of AP and TS had been created, and AP lodged a complaint with KRMB, saying Telangana did not bother to consider the KRMB orders.

Apart from this, the AP state will also report to the apex court on the knee-jerk reaction to the finalization of the KRMB procedures, making it unsustainable, and the Centre's failure to take drastic action on issues such as the finalization of the procedures, officials said.

AP claimed that the responsibility of protection rights of farmers and people of the state is on the shoulders of the state government. Hence, it is knocking the doors of the apex court, seeking justice.

The AP government is seeking immediate finalization of the KRMB procedures and jurisdiction.

Further, AP is urging the Supreme Court to give orders to the central government to take over reservoirs and associated power projects in its control and distribute Krishna river water among Telangana and AP state according to the agreements of the duo states.
HYDERABAD: Online classes for the academic year 2021-22 are proving to be a huge challenge for teachers as students turn to be diverted, convinced that they will be promoted and under the impression that the situation is far from improving.

With this mindset, schoolteachers find that in a class of 25 students, only seven are attentive, 15 require to be reminded that they have to attend the classes and the remaining are not showing any interest.

Online classes for Class 1 to 12 have begun from July in SSC and CBSE schools and in the first month itself, the teachers have encountered several problems. With CBSE schools charting out an internal tests schedule which will evaluate the performance of children throughout the year, it has been noted that many are not taking it seriously.

Despite online counselling sessions for students and parents, the response is not as desired.

Dr Syed Shafiuddin Aijaz, a senior educationist, explains, "The students who have to appear in March 2022-23 are convinced that they do not need to prepare for exams as they shall be promoted like their seniors. Due to the ongoing pandemic, we find that there is hardly any motivation for the students and their focus from academics has shifted to social media. Many children are mesmerised by what they see on social media and exploring the world of the internet which gives them ideas far from reality."

Teachers say that they are facing umpteen challenges and often find that parents are not aware of the situation or they are not interested.

Take for example the case of CBSE schools where they had instructions to call on the parents whose children are not responding positively to online classes. Similarly, children have been taken in separate rooms and counselled online. In one such online session, there were children who revealed their hopelessness in times of Covid 19. A senior teacher and counsellor, on condition of anonymity, said, "There are bright students who do not require help from teachers, but are not able to communicate online.

These students complained about how they find it difficult to study in the prevailing conditions. Some of them believe that it will last for the next six years while others believe that it will not be over at all. These thoughts have got them confused and they are not sure if they must continue to put their efforts into studies."

These confusing thoughts got many educationists alarmed and the heads of different schools find that there is a need for students to take internal exams seriously. Despite guidelines from the CBSE, the children from Class 8 to 12 are yet to understand the importance of online studies.

Educationists are urging the students to be more proactive and alert about online classes and take each internal exam as seriously as offline exams.
Soon after Kaushiks press conference, TPCC issued a statement dismissing him from the party. (Photo: PTI)

Hyderabad: Padi Kaushik Reddy, the losing Congress MLA candidate from Huzurabad, had a dramatic day of fast-paced developments on Monday when a telephonic conversation with a follower, in which he spoke of spending money and offering allurements, besides making a claim that he was going to be the eventual candidate from the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), went viral.

After the conversation went viral, the Congress issued him a showcause notice, to which he responded by resigning from the party.

The conversation in the viral clip went thus:

Kaushik Reddy: Namaste, Vijender, how are you?

Vijender: Fine, anna (brother).

Kaushik: Where are you now?

Vijender: I am at home.

Kaushik: Tammudu (younger brother), you are no longer in touch with me.

Vijender: No anna, you are not taking my calls though I am calling.

Kaushik: OK. Leave all that now. I made this call to inform you that I was confirmed a TRS ticket. I know you are in TRS. Give me the list of all our youth leaders who are not with us (indicating the status of TRS youth leaders after Etala Rajendars exit from TRS). How many are there?

Vijender: There are around 50 to 80 members, which includes everyone (indicating both TRS supporters and Etalas supporters).

Kaushik: When can you give me the list?

Vijender: Anytime.

Kaushik: OK. Give me the list of all those names immediately. When can you set them (indication of arranging a meeting of those leaders with him).Tell me what I should give. I will take care. We will meet their expenses. Bring all of them into our fold within two days. I will take care of money. How much time will it take?

Vijender: Give me one hour or so?

Kaushik: OK. Give me the entire list of Madannapet within one-and-a-half hours with their names and phone numbers. Give them cash of Rs.3,000, Rs.4,000 or Rs.5,000 each. I will take care of you. You talk to them now and update me. Our mandal president Bollam Raji Reddy will be in touch with you. He will call you now.

Vijender: OK anna.

After the conversation went viral, the Congress partys disciplinary committee issued a showcause notice to him over the leaked audio clip. Following this, Kaushik Reddy convened a press conference in Hyderabad on Monday evening, in which he announced his resignation from the party. He also said that he will announce his future course of action in three days. He is all set to join the TRS.

Meanwhile, former TPCC chief N. Uttam Kumar Reddy strongly condemned Kaushiks allegations. He made baseless allegations against Manick Tagore and Revanth Reddy just to please TRS leaders. Congress will not tolerate such anti-party activities.

Soon after Kaushiks press conference, TPCC issued a statement dismissing him from the party for indulging in anti-party activities.
Xiaomi forayed into the Indian smartphone market in 2014 and within a few years, it became a top seller in the country. It has made huge inroads in the smart television segment too and has also reached the top of the chart.

To mark the company's seventh anniversary, the company is hosting the Mi Anniversary Sale this week. Like the previous times, Xiaomi is offering big discounts on top-selling phones, smart TVs, and accessories from Monday (July 12) to Friday (July 16) in India.

Here are some of the best deals on offer during the 2021 edition of the Mi Anniversary Sale:

-- The Mi 10T Cosmic Black (8GB+128GB) is available for Rs 34,999 against MRP Rs 42,999

-- The Mi 10T Pro Cosmic Black (8GB+128GB) is available for Rs 36,999 against MRP Rs 47,999

-- The Mi TV 4A 80cm (32-inch) Horizon Edition + Smart speaker (Rs 1,999) is available for Rs 15,999 against Rs 19,999. Also, the company is offering one year extended warranty for Rs 1

-- The Mi TV 4A 100cm (40-inch) + Smart speaker (Rs 1,999) is available for Rs 22,999 against Rs 24,999. Also, the company is offering one year extended warranty for Rs 1

-- The Mi TV 4A Pro 80cm (32-inch) black + Smart speaker (Rs 1,999) is available for Rs 15,999 against Rs 19,999. Also, the company is offering one year extended warranty for Rs 1

-- The Mi TV 4A 100cm (40-inch) Horizon Edition + Smart speaker (Rs 1,999) is available for Rs 22,999 against Rs 24,999. Also, the company is offering one year extended warranty for Rs 1

-- The Mi KN-95 Protective Mask (Pack of 8) White is available for Rs 549 against MRP Rs 2,000

-- The Beard Trimmer is available for Rs 1,399 against MRP Rs 1,799

-- The Redmi Earphones is available for Rs 379 against Rs 599

-- The Mi Portable Electric Air Compressor (Tyre Inflator) is available for Rs 2.399 against MRP 3.499

-- The Redmi Earbuds 2C is available for Rs 1,299 against Rs 1,999

-- The Mi Water TDS Tester White is available for Rs 299 against Rs 499

-- The Mi Notebook 14 Horizon i7 will be available for Rs 50,999 against Rs 59,999

Besides the aforementioned deals, Xiaomi will be hosting X99 Store sale daily at 4:00 pm (July 12-16). There, customers can try their luck in buying best selling devices such as Redmi Note 10S (6GB + 64GB) Frost White for Rs 999, Redmi 9A (2GB+32GB) Black for Rs 299, Redmi Earphones Red for Rs 99, Mi Home Security Camera Basic 1080p for Rs 99, Mi Smart Band 5 for Rs 99, Redmi 9 Prime (4GB+64GB) Mint Green for Rs 499.

Get the latest news on new launches, gadget reviews, apps, cybersecurity, and more on personal technology only on DH Tech.
Food and Civil Supplies Minister Umesh Katti has said that the chief minister in BJP will be from North Karnataka this time.

Speaking to media persons on Monday, Katti said he will not allow injustice to happen to the people of North Karnataka. If north Karnataka is neglected politically, the demand for separate Statehood would rise, he added.

Patting his own back, the minister said, he is an eight-time MLA and has experience of handling six departments as a minister. I have all the credentials to become the chief minister and there is no black mark in my political career or public life, he expressed.

After becoming chief minister, I dream of becoming prime minister also, he said, adding that there are many such political bigwigs in North Karnataka who aspire to climb up the political ladder. Dharwad MLA Arvind Bellad and Minister Murugesh Nirani too are in the race to become the next chief minister, he said.

Joshi reacts

Reacting to this, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi said, a leader from north Karnataka should become the chief minister but not in this term. There are chances in the next term, he added.

He said Minister Kattis statement should be read as the next chief minister from North Karnataka and not in this term.

On corruption charges, Joshi said, corruption and Congress are two faces of the same coin. They were the ones who sowed the seed of corruption. The BJP-led NDA government has been ruling the country for the last seven years and not even a single charge of corruption has been levelled against any of the central ministers, he said.
Janet Colliton, Esq. is a Certified Elder Law Attorney and limits her practice to elder law, retirement, life care, special needs, and estate planning and administration with offices at 790 East Market St., Suite. 250, West Chester, PA 19382, 610-436-6674 , colliton@collitonlaw.com. She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and, with Jeffrey Jones, CSA, co-founder of Life Transition Services, LLC, a service for families with long term care needs. Tune in to Radio Station WCHE 1520 A Plan Ahead, with Janet Colliton, Colliton Elder Law Associates, and Ron Ehman, Next Home Signature.
President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting on reducing gun violence, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Monday, July 12, 2021, in Washington. Biden on Tuesday will lay out the moral case voting rights, delivering a much anticipated speech as he faces growing pressure from civil rights activists and other Democrats that the White House to combat efforts by Republican-led state legislatures to restrict access to the ballot.
Police have launched a murder investigation after a woman was stabbed at a glamping park in the Limavady area yesterday evening.

A man in his 50s who also sustained injuries has been taken to hospital following the incident in the Sea Coast Road area.

Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell said: We received a report, just after 8.20pm, that a woman had been stabbed at a property in the Sea Coast Road area of Limavady.

Officers attended, along with colleagues from Northern Ireland Ambulance Service. Sadly, a woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

A man, aged in his 50s, was taken to hospital for treatment to his injuries.

Our enquiries are at any early stage. However, I would appeal to anyone with information, or who witnessed any suspicious activity in the area around that time, to contact us on 101 quoting reference number 2211 of 12/07/21.

Information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, which is 100% anonymous.
A County Derry historian is set to explore the area's links to Bastille Day after uncovering a wealth of previously unrecorded information.

Stephen McCracken, from Magilligan, will give a talk at St Joseph's Community Hub, Antrim, as part of Reclaim the Enlightenment's Bastille Day celebrations.

The historian said he was able to piece together what happened across north Derry using a number of modern books.

Many books give fleeting references to Bastille Day being celebrated in Newtown-Limavady and Derry, he told the County Derry Post.

The gathering of 600 for the French National Assembly was really all previous books every stated.

Using the more modern books 'The Presbytery of Limavady' and 'An Illustrated History of Limavady', with the newspaper archives I was able to form a greater understanding of what actually happened.

A depiction of Belfast during Bastille Day celebrations in 1792.

While no evidence was uncovered of Bastille Day being celebrated in Coleraine or Derry, there were many references to Limavady.

The Belfast`s Northern Star stated that, at a meeting in William Miller's house chaired by the Presbyterian Minister of Drumachose Rev Daniel Blair, the town would unanimously celebrate Bastille Day in 1792 and this would be an annual event.

Thomas Moore is also named as taking the Chair's position after the meeting was concluded. Rev Daniel Blair came from Ballymoney and was friendly with the Rev Tennant whom he would correspond with.

He started his Drumachose Ministry in 1788 and in 1797 when the authorities were clamping down on the United Irishmen he had fled Limavaday with a number of other respectable inhabitants, when he had heard a troop of 100 soldiers were on route to arrest them.

It is unknown how long he went into hiding for. He passed away in 1811 leaving a widow in Limavady.

During his research, Stephen discovered that a parade had been held in Limavady on July 14 1792, with the Northern Star describing it as follows:

Rev Blair presided and the evening was spent with great propriety, decorum and every demonination of real joy,-- patriotic fervour glowed in every countenance, and the flame of liberty sparkled in every eye.

That evening Limavady would go on to hold a number of toasts the first of around 20 being to the King and Prince of Wales, added Stephen.

However, within a few more toasts, these turned to freedom and independence for Ireland.

Bastille Day was not the only French celebration to be held in Ulster, but the consequences of celebrations held in September 1792 put a stop to any further celebration.

It is stated in 'History of Belfast' that the Battle of Valmy was celebrated across the country.

This celebrated the first major victory for the French National Assembly over a Prussian/Holy Roman Empire army which led to the newly assembled French National Convention to formally declare the end of monarchy, explained Stephen.

Valmy permitted the development of the Revolution and all its resultant ripple effects, and for that it is regarded by historians as one of the most significant battles in history.

From now on the British authorities would clamp down on subsequent Bastille days taking note of what had just happened at Valmy and its subsequent declarations.

The talk will take place at St Joseph's Church, Antrim on Wednesday July 14 at 1.30pm.

The event is free of charge but due to Covid-19 regulations it will be ticketed, with anyone interested asked to register via Eventbrite.
A number of Irish language groups within the Mid Ulster area are to receive a funding boost after a local council passed a development plan for the language.

Mid Ulster District Council's Irish Language Action Plan was approved at last week's Development Committee and will provide 17 groups in the area with a combined funding boost of 50,000.

The funding will enhance council plans to support local Irish language groups within the area with their events.

Sinn Fein councillor Cora Corry has welcomed the approval of the action plan, which has also fulfilled one of the council's organisational requirements.

I am delighted that the Irish Language Plan has passed at tonights Development Committee along with funding, she said.

With these now in place I hope we can continue to grow the language and to reach not only those who already speak the language but those who may be new to it.

Cllr Corry

The Irish language Community in Mid Ulster is thriving and continues to grow with a number of Gaelscoileanna as well as Irish language classes and programmes for adults and families in the area.

Groups like An Carn and Gaelscoil na Speirini provide a wide range of other activities including walks in the Sperrins, talks, music nights and An Croi coffee shop is a buzzing social hub for Irish speakers.

With ongoing Covid issues curtailing opportunities for local students to study at residential colleges in the Gaeltacht areas of Donegal, the council are focusing efforts on local schemes instead.

It is envisaged that key activities which have been identified will go ahead within guidelines at a local level to reduce the impact on local Irish language learners, said Cllr Corry.

Funding is instead being directed at a number of locally based schemes for both adults and children and young people such as Feis Charn Tochair online children's arts festival.

I would encourage anyone to take the opportunity to learn a cupla focal and check out some of the many growing Irish language groups in the area.
Cocktail turns 9: Deepika Padukone calls Veronica one of the most special characters she has played

The gorgeous Deepika Padukone, fondly known as the reigning queen of Bollywood, has portrayed various characters in her 15 year long career. While some made us laugh, others made us fall in love with her all over again. However, one of her most iconic on-screen characters ever is definitely Veronica from the super hit film Cocktail. Helmed by Homi Adajania, the romantic comedy drama co-stars Saif Ali Khan and Diana Penty in the lead. The film not only boasts of incredible performances, but also a fresh and intriguing story line.

The film completes 9 years today and it continues to be one Bollywoods must watch masterpieces. Talking about her feisty character in the film in a chat with Hindustan Times, Deepika shared, Veronica will always be one of my most special characters I've played; one that changed a lot for me professionally and impacted me personally. The actress also revealed that originally she was given Meeras script, the character which later marked Dianas debut. But writer Imtiaz Ali called her and asked her to re-read it with Veronica's bits. Its amazing how well things turned out for both the actresses!

Cocktail followed the story of Veronica, who takes Meera in after the latter has been stranded at the airport by her husband. They become the best of friends but things take an ugly turn when Gautam aka Saif enters their life. Initially he is in a casual relationship with Veronica. But while she falls in love with him, he begins to have feelings for Meera.

What is the one thing that makes Cocktail a must-watch according to you?
Ranbir Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor reach New Delhi to resume shoot for Luv Ranjan's rom-com

Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor are working together for the first time in Luv Ranjans next. The film which is a romantic comedy is ready to resume shoot in Delhi after the lockdown following the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The stars of the movie left for New Delhi this morning.

The project which is yet to get a title had earlier begun shoot in the national capital but like many other projects as it was halted due to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Ranbir Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, and Dimple Kapadia were seen arriving at the Mumbai airport separately on Tuesday morning.

Shraddha was dropped off at the airport by her father Shakti Kapoor and on their way, the actress had shared a cute boomerang video featuring the two of them in the car.

The actress donned a multi-colored slip dress while Ranbir kept it cool in a black Tee and jeans.

According to an ETimes report, the cast had begun the shoot in Noida in January and was supposed to shoot till March. They have now resumed work for a 15-day schedule in Delhi.

Ranbir Kapoor has been missing from the big screen since 2018 when his film Sanju was released. The actor has big-ticket projects Bramhastra and Shamshera lined up for release but the release dates of the projects are not yet set due to the pandemic.

Luv Ranjans film which is on the fun and lighter side was announced to release in March 2022 on Holi but seeing as they schedule for the project is already facing delays, it is uncertain if the project will meet its deadline even though it is still months away.
dVerse Labs is a timely startup, that uses modular UV based cleaning components to automaticaly sterlize common touchpoints such as elevators and handrails. The current deployment setup is specialized for hospitals, for cleaning hotpots such as reception desks and consulting rooms, after every patient visit. The UV sterilization tech uses innovative tech hidden away discreetly within handrails, with smart sensors embedded throughout. Additionally, the entire system has a modular design, which allows the purification systems to be setup similar to LEGO bricks. One of the first questions we had was the innovative development of a modular system, and its efficacy. UVfy is a sterilizer that consists of handrail modules that can be assembled onto confined spaces like elevators. It uses UV lights that turn on automatically after every patient visit. The metaphor of LEGO is being used with respect to the modularity of UV-light enabled handrail modules to suit confined spaces of varied dimensions. The effectiveness of UV light decreases with distance from the target to be disinfected. Most of the common touchpoints are within reach of the users near the handrail which is why we decided to integrate the lights seamlessly into handrails. This was also verified by the various simulations and testing with the UV meter.

The team was researching and designing low cost medical devices when the pandemic broke out and then came together to pool their expertise to address the new concerns raised by the outbreak, when the pandemic began, Krishna, Deepika, Shreyas and Vivek started collaborating together as designers and engineers since we were all driven by the passion to create impact. Krishna Thiruvengadam is an Impact Designer with a Masters in Product Design from TU Delft, Netherlands. He was awarded the James Dyson Award for Excelscope, a low-cost AI-based malaria diagnostic device and his work on developing a non-braille human computer interface that assists blind people coders has been published in Nature, the world's leading scientific journal. Deepika Gopalakrishnan, a recent product design graduate from PES University, Bangalore, has published a research paper on designing a healthcare monitoring device for pregnant women in Springer and presented her work in the International Conference on Research into Design 2021 (ICoRD). Vivek Devaraj, coming from a Masters in Automotive Technology from TU Eindhoven, Netherlands, has more than 7 years of work experience in product development and automotive engineering. Shreyas Prakash, also with a Masters in Integrated Product Design from TU Delft, Netherlands, had served international clients in the field of health-care related product design and was the recipient of iF Design Talent Award 2020, for Equarun, an assistive device for deafblind runners. Sameer Mallik who is an innovation expert whose core experience is in designing and implementing innovation programs for early-stage ventures has been guiding us as a business consultant. Having a prior background in developing award-winning low-cost medical technologies, we wanted to create technologies to tackle pandemic-related challenges in the healthcare sector. After talking to doctors across India, we identified the need for a portable sterilizer that addresses common touchpoints, preventing cross-contamination in COVID-19 isolation wards and ICUs. We developed Sterilo and got an opportunity to present our work to researchers across 11 Latin American countries. We emerged as winners of the healthcare track in the Massachusetts Institute of Technologys COVID-19 challenge. With the support of the MIT grant, we proceeded to develop UVfy, an AI-based sterilizer for elevators. Several studies indicated elevators to be a high-risk transmission point for hospital-acquired infections(HAIs) since they are confined spaces with a lack of adequate ventilation. More than half the medical staff we surveyed were worried about accessing elevators, especially during the pandemic. UVfy makes confined spaces like elevators safer to access for patients and the healthcare staff.

The device was developed, prototyped and manufactured during the pandemic, and the team would have to source the components through fragile distribution channels during uncertain times. The team used much of the tools that all of us did, for the initial few months, all of us founders were working from different locations- Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Netherlands and Delhi. Virtually collaborating to build a tangible product came with its own challenges. How do you communicate and discuss ideas through an audio call? In a physical space, a simple gesture might have done all the talking. How do you create a video or a 3D model or a prototype virtually? How do you build a sense of team in a virtual environment? While we are still on our quest of finding answers to these questions, we create virtual co-working spaces and use tools like Figma, Notion and Miro to collaborate and, Slack and Google Meet for communication. If youre building a tangible product, theres only so much you can do virtually. Despite the risk of getting COVID ourselves, eventually, we stepped out there taking all the precautions, sourced materials and built an MVP (minimum viable product). After multiple rounds of iterations and in-house testing, we conducted successful pilots at Aysha hospital, Hotel Cenneys Gateway and PES University. We also got the product certified at an ICMR-empanelled lab. We have installed the product in 5 hospitals across Tamil Nadu and are looking to reach more hospitals across India to create a greater impact. When asked if dVerse is taking the licensing route, they responded, yes. We are in talks with elevator manufacturers to help us reach the technology to more people, and are already in talks with major elevator companies like Kone, Johnson and Schindler.

When asked about the next steps for the startup, dVerse tells us, We are looking at tackling the problem of hospital-acquired infections from a system perspective by first tackling individual nodes within the hospital. We are an impact-focused company. With the rising oxygen crisis in the second wave, we are developing oxygen concentrators based on the open-source project, Oxikit at an affordable price using locally sourced components. Then, dVerse told us how the Nexus (a startup incubator) acceleration helped the startup, Nexus was a great learning experience and we feel much more confident as entrepreneurs. We had focused sessions on finance, marketing and great workshops from industry experts. Nexus creates a safe space for everyone to voice their opinions and doubts without the fear of being judged. It is definitely the best place for tech entrepreneurs to gain more practical knowledge about how to go about running a business.
Subscriber content preview

By PAN PYLAS

Associated Press

LONDON  All remaining lockdown restrictions in England will be lifted in a week despite a sharp rise in coronavirus cases, Britain's health secretary said Monday, adding it's the right time to allow Britons a chance to return to normal life.

Sajid Javid told Parliament that Britain's successful vaccine rollout means that nine out of 10 adults in the U.K. now have antibodies against the virus. The government is on track to meet its target of offering all adults a first vaccine dose by July 19, the day when all remaining lockdown restrictions, including mandatory mask-wearing, are set to be lifted.





. . .
Subscriber content preview

OMAHA, Neb. (AP)  Warren Buffett's company is abandoning its purchase of a natural gas pipeline from Dominion Energy because of uncertainty about whether the deal could get regulatory approval.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. will receive a $1.3 billion refund on the proposed purchase of Questar Pipelines that was also supposed to include $430 million of Dominion's debt when it was announced a year ago. The Richmond, Virginia-based energy company said it still plans to sell Questar and will work to find another buyer by the end of the year. Dominion also said the decision won't affect its financial outlook.





. . .
Subscriber content preview

POMEROY, Garfield County (AP)  A wildfire has closed the scenic North Cascades Highway, the most northern route through the Cascade Range in Washington state.

The state Department of Transportation on Monday morning closed State Route 20 west of the town of Winthrop, between mileposts 170 and 177.





. . .
Subscriber content preview

SEATTLE  An industrial property at 2500 W. Commodore Way sold for almost $11.4 million, according to King County records.

The seller was West Commodore LLC, which acquired the property in 2007 for $6.5 million.





. . .
Subscriber content preview

SEATTLE  A warehouse at 96 S. Alaska St. sold for $5.1 million, according to King County records.

The seller was Bloch Steel, which acquired the property in 1999 for $3 million.





. . .
Richard Branson flies into suborbital space on Virgin Galactic's `Unity 22'

British Billionaire Richard Branson and a crew of five on Sunday created history when they soared more than 80 kilimetres (50 miles) above the New Mexico desert aboard a Virgin Galactic rocket plane and safely returned in the vehicle, in the first fully crewed test flight to space.

Aeronautical engineer Sirisha Bandla also became the third Indian-origin woman to fly into space when she joined British billionaire Richard Branson on Virgin Galactic's first fully crewed suborbital test flight from New Mexico.Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity, as the spaceplane is called, took off for the 1.5-hour mission above New Mexico following a 90-minute delay due to bad weather.

Virgin Galactics Unity 22 also became the first fully crewed spaceflight with the crew carrying out investigations - a symbolic milestone for a venture that Branson started 17 years ago.

Sirisha Bandla, vice president of government affairs and research operations at Virgin Galactic, will operate the experiment on the Unity 22 flight on behalf of co-investigators Dr Robert Ferl and Dr Anna-Lisa Paul from the University of Florida in Gainesville. Bandla will activate three plant-filled tubes to release a preservative at critical data-collection stages during the flight: at 1 g before the rocket boost, just before entering microgravity, and after the conclusion of microgravity.

The spacecraft carried three Kennedy Space Center Fixation Tubes (KFTs) containing Arabidopsis thaliana plants. Virgin Galactics Sirisha Bandla activated the tubes to release a preservative that capture the plants biochemistry at specific points during transitions into and out of microgravity, while co-investigators from the University of Florida will conduct gene expression analyses on the plants in the weeks following the flight.

While the university researchers have flown similar experiments supported by NASA's Flight Opportunities programme on suborbital flights, data collected during the Unity 22 flight will provide a first look at human-tended payloads on SpaceShipTwo.

Branson and the 5 crew were honoured with wings of an astronaut after they landed back at the space port safely.

We want to turn the next generation of dreamers into the astronauts of today and tomorrow, Branson said after the flight. Honestly, nothing can prepare you for the view from space,  he added.

The Virgin Galactic CEO paid odes to Stephen Hawking, who named the spaceship 'Unity'. He also congratulated Virgin Galactic team from space.

Virgin Galactic Space flight is creating new history for mankind and future to reach in short period of time any corner of world. The space race that used to be between superpowers, is now between the super-rich and everyone else.

Last month, Jeff Bezos announced that soon after leaving behind the role of CEO of Amazon, hed be taking a short leave of the Earth, too.

Bezos will be taking a seat on his own space shuttle, New Shepard, on 20 July. He has already paid for it by starting the aerospace company, Blue Origin, that will bring him into outer space. Though hes set to achieve his boyhood dream, he wont be the first billionaire who has funded his own launch of a few fleeting moments in space.

Another billionaire waiting for his wings is Elon Musk who hopes to make it aboard his SpaceX Dragon.
ADA [ndash] Services for Patsy Ruth Blansett, 85, of Ada are 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Criswell Funeral Home Chapel. Rev. Tony Folger will officiate. Burial will follow at East Hill Cemetery. Mrs. Blansett died Tuesday, July 13, 2021, at a local assisted living center. She was born June 24, 1936
Two Dundalk breweries have been highlighted as part of an initiative to promote Irish craft breweries from around the country.

There are currently 60 breweries being highlighted by the initiative, with Pearse Lyons Brewery and Dundalk Bay Brewery and Distillery being shown off from Dundalk.

According to the organisers, the initiative is seeking to promote independent craft breweries around the country, to help with tourism and to generate local interest.

Pearse Lyons Brewery was originally set up by the late Dr Pearse Lyons in 1992.

Originally from Dundalk, Dr Lyons emigrated to the US where he set up an animal nutrition company in the 80s. He also started a brewery and distillery in Kentucky in 1999.

He later travelled back to Dundalk where he set up the Pearse Lyons Brewery, with craft beers like the Foxes Rock American Style IPA, Stout and Lager.

Dundalk Bay Brewery and Distillery is a more recent addition, having been established in 2015 by Tony and Faye Healy, a father and daughter who shared an interest in the Irish drinks industry.

Currently, the brewery is involved in multiple local projects through its work with Bord Bias Origin Green programme.

They work on a bi-annual beach clean around the area with Louth County Council and supply their spent grain to farmers for animal feed.

Some of their beers include the Brewmaster Lager, IPA and the Haus Party Pilsner.

The initiative is currently supported by the Independent Craft Brewers of Ireland as well as Bord Bia.

The map itself can be found on www.irishbeer.ie
SPAR is currently trialling an innovative digital Smart Poster collection solution in its Louth based stores that allows customers to donate to SPARs official charity partner Make-A-Wish Ireland via their mobile telephones.

Since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, many people dont carry cash anymore, which has had a devastating effect on the charity sector with in-person donations at an all-time low.

This is particularly significant for Make-A-Wish Ireland as the charity does not receive any government funding and is dependent on donations from the public and the support of partners like SPAR to continue granting wishes.

The new technology, Strike Pay, is a portable personal payment tech designed to make paying convenient, safe and easy for all.

Using this contactless technology, customers in SPAR stores across Ireland can now simply tap their smart phones on the special posters and a web page is opened on their device.

The customer can then choose to donate directly to Make-A-Wish using the Apple or Android Pay capability on their phone or input their debit/card details directly.

As part of this innovative initiative, SPAR will publicly campaign for people to openly embrace technology that facilitates cashless charitable giving, to safeguard the viability of critical charities across the country.

As a result of reduced in person charitable giving due to the Covid-19, it is estimated that Irish charities could have lost out on as much as 500m over the last 15 months.

Susan ODwyer, Chief Executive of Make-A-Wish Ireland, said: Covid-19 has had a significant impact on our wish-granting and fundraising activities.

"This has resulted in planned wishes having to be rescheduled and re-imagined and we currently have more than 200 seriously ill children waiting for their wishes to be granted.

"Now more than ever, these children need what Make-A-Wish can bring in the form of hope, strength, and joy.

"We are so grateful for the ongoing support of SPAR and by deploying this innovative Strike technology in their stores, hopefully the public will react positively and donate using the posters.

The initiative is designed to make it easier for people to donate money to worthy causes such as Make-A-Wish, while instilling confidence in those who still feel uncomfortable about handling cash and donating via the traditional bucket or in-store collection boxes. It is the latest sign of how Ireland is moving towards becoming a cashless society.

Colin Donnelly, SPAR Sales Director said: Over the last 15 months we have seen a big decline in the number of people carrying cash in our stores and this has impacted the charity sector particularly badly.

"As SPARs official Charity partner, we are passionate about supporting the Make-A-Wish mission and are delighted to trial this innovative technology in our stores, which is a great example of how technology is playing a role in helping society one tap at a time. "Helping make these sick childrens wishes come true is a way to give them hope and strength for their individual journeys and SPAR is proud to play whatever part we can.

Since adopting Make-A-Wish as SPARs official charity partner in 2019, SPAR Retailers have engaged in a number of initiatives designed to raise awareness and funds for the worthy charity and in the last two years have raised nearly 300,000.

SPAR has also announced that it is extending its partnership for a third year.

As well as the new in-store donation capability, SPAR will continue to make a contribution from the sale of selected SPAR Own Brand products and, Covid-19 restrictions allowing, a number of fundraising activities later this year and into 2022.
Over the decades it was as common as the Irish rain and morning cup of tea, but the daily AA Roadwatch daily traffic and travel reports that were familiar to listeners on a number of radio stations here, have become a thing of the past, as of the weekend gone.

It was part of the travel commute to and from work and was especially useful if you were a driver heading towards the capital or some of the country's larger towns.

In more recent years, roadworks and obstructions also became a more familiar part of the broadcasts.

And in that time it has also launched the careers of many broadcasters and presenters such as Conor Faughnan, Lorraine Keane, Louise Duffy, Doireann Garrihy, Nuala Carey and Louise Heraghty.

AA Ireland started broadcasting traffic reports on RTE Radio 1 in September of 1989.

Commenting on the cessation of the service, Managing Director of AA Insurance, Don Brennan said that as of yesterday, July 10, it would no longer provide AA Roadwatch broadcasts.

"The raft of new GPS technologies and traffic information sources means a wealth of detail is available to motorists from various sources," he said.

"We will focus our efforts on other areas of motoring advice and editorial to add a richer experience to our existing and future customers and members and become the primary source for motoring information with several new multimedia-rich features set to be added in the autumn," he added.
A 29-year-old woman who attempted to take the purse of a customer in a local Lidl store, left without paying for bottles of spirits after she was confronted by her victim, Dundalk district court heard last week.

Shanice Mulready with an address at Oldbridge, Toberona, Dundalk, pleaded guilty to two charges arising out of the incident on April 24th last.

The court heard a struggle had ensued after the defendant attempted to take a purse out of the other woman's handbag at the St. Helena store. At 4.27pm Gardai responded to a report of an altercation there.

The defendant left without paying for bottles of spirits worth 95.40. The alcohol was recovered by staff in the car-park and the 29 year old was subsequently located in nearby St Helena Park.

Judge John Brennan was told Ms. Mulready had 73 previous convictions and at the time had just been released from the Dochas Centre in Mountjoy Prison.

The Defence solicitor said that since then her client had received a six-month sentence, suspended for 12 months.

She had been homeless before getting a council house and while the solicitor said this was a foolish thing to do, she stressed that Shanice Mulready was abiding by the suspended sentence and dealing with Turas Counselling Service.

Judge Brennan said he was minded to impose a custodial sentence but was influenced by what the solicitor had said.

He was satisfied the accused should be given a chance to stay on the right road and imposed an eight month sentence, suspended for 12 months, on condition that the defendant attends the Probation Service and continues to engage with Turas.
A social worker does not know why over "a dozen gardai accompanied with sniffer dogs" forcibly entered and searched his home in Dundalk, the High Court has heard.

As a result of being left in the dark over the incident Ryan Moran has brought a High Court action seeking to be provided with the information used by Gardai to procure the warrant, and a copy of the warrant itself, to search his Dundalk home on April 21st last.

He has not been questioned nor charged with any offence by the Gardai, and the court heard that the search, which resulted in his home being damaged, may have been a case of 'mistaken identity.'

Mr Moran claims he has been left distraught over the search, and no longer feels safe in his own home.

He also claims his good reputation has been damaged and a cloud of suspicion has attached to him as a result of the search.

Mr Moran's counsel Mark Murphy Bl instructed by solicitor James MacGuill, told the High Court that his client received a call at 8.45pm on the night in question from a neighbour that Gardai intended to "raid" his home at Inniscrew Mews, Avenue Road, Dundalk Co Louth.

Officers entered his home, and searched the premises for approximately 25 minutes.

Mr Moran was working a night shift at the time, and could not leave his post to return home.

He returned home the following morning when his shift was completed.

On arrival he found the door "off its hinges" open, and his home was "in a complete state of disarray."

He sought information from the Gardai that day as to why his dwelling had been searched, but was not provided with any answers.

He tried to secure the property as best he could, but said that the door frame and lock were badly damaged. He left for work the night, April 22nd.

On his return from work on the morning of the 23rd April he discovered that 5,500 worth of items, including a laptop computer, TV and a guitar were taken from his property.

He reported the theft of these items to the Gardai.

In the following days and weeks, he made several more requests for a copy of the warrant and the information that grounded the decision to search his home from the Gardai.

He has not been provided with any of the material sought, which he says he is legally entitled to.

The court heard Mr Moran did get a phone call from a garda who allegedly initiated the search, telling him that the search was legitimate, and that the gardai are not obliged to hand over the information sought.

The Garda also told Mr Moran that he had spoken to his (Morans) solicitor and conveyed the relevant information to him.

Mr Moran's solicitors have not received any communication from the Garda about the search.

Counsel said that after several months his client still does not know why gardai entered his home, and believes that it may be a case of mistaken identity.

Civil proceedings may be taken by Mr Moran as a result of what happened, counsel said.

Counsel said that following the search has not been charged or questioned by Gardai.

Had that been the case, counsel said, then Mr Moran would be entitled to a copy of the warrant, counsel said.

In judicial review proceedings against the Garda Commissioner, Ireland and the Attorney General Mr Moran seeks an order that he be provided with a copy of the warrant and the information relied upon to search his home.

He also seeks various declarations including that the refusal to provide him with this material amounts to breach of his Constitutional and ECHR rights, including his rights to fair procedures, his reputation, the inviolability of his home and access to justice.

He further seeks damages for the breach of his rights.

The case came before Mr Justice Charles Meenan, who on an ex-parte basis, granted Mr Moran permission to bring his challenge.

The judge made the matter returnable to a date in November.
Readers Survey

As our valued readers, we want to hear from you. Please take a moment to fill out the survey below. - Thank you, Eastern Arizona Courier Click Here
In this Jan. 28, 2020, photo is the Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester. Attorneys for New Hampshires state-run youth detention center are suggesting that a man who claims he was physically and sexually assaulted by multiple counselors as a teen was partially responsible for at least some of the alleged abuse.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP)  Former Illinois football star Bobby Roundtree, who was paralyzed from the waist down in a swimming accident two years ago, died Friday, the university said. He was 23.
North Andover, MA (01845)

Today

Overcast with rain showers at times. High around 70F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Considerable cloudiness with occasional rain showers. Low 63F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
After nearly 20 years as a local prosecutor and district judge, Clovis native Matt Chandler said Monday hes retiring and moving to Texas for a new career in the law.

Chandler, 45, has been a fixture in Clovis-Portales criminal courtrooms since he joined the District Attorneys office in 2002. He was elected DA in 2004, held the job 10 years, then was appointed to the bench in 2015.

Serving the state of New Mexico  has been a dream come true, Chandler said. It truly has been an absolute honor and privilege.

Chandler said hes accepted a job in Lubbock for a corporation that provides legal representation for all 50 states. My primary focus will be New Mexico and West Texas, he said.

He declined to name the corporation, but said the job presents an opportunity to be near family as his parents are also moving to Lubbock.

God really opened my eyes to opportunities for my family and myself that I never knew existed. And this offer came along that I was really excited about, he said.

Chandler, a 1994 Clovis High graduate, earned an undergraduate degree from Eastern New Mexico University and a law degree from the University of Tulsa.

He ran for attorney general in 2010, with an unsuccessful bid to unseat incumbent Gary King. Gov. Susana Martinez appointed him to the judgeship in 2015.

As district attorney, Chandler prosecuted perpetrators of some of the region's most heinous crimes. The most memorable case, he said, was the 2005 murders of a Portales couple, Doris and Odis Newman, found in the trunk of their burned car.

Stanley Bedford was found guilty of their slayings by an Albuquerque jury after the case was moved there because of local publicity. Chandler sought the death penalty, but he and Newman family members said they were satisfied that Bedford would die in prison.

(W)e think 120 years - guilty on all the counts we presented - thats still justice, Chandler said after the jurys verdict. Were going back to eastern New Mexico, thanks to our neighbors in Albuquerque, with that justice that this family deserves.

As a judge, Chandler said civil matters and adoptions provided some of his more rewarding experiences. And he described working as the Roosevelt County drug court judge as incredible.  Seeing defendants truly rehabilitated and becoming a better parent, spouse or successful member of the community has to be at the top of the list.

He also said he cherished his time as chair of the New Mexico Rules of Criminal Procedure of State Courts. Working to adapt and improve our states rules has been a very rewarding endeavor. Im very grateful the Supreme Court afforded me that opportunity, he said.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will select Chandlers successor.

That process begins Aug. 25 when a Judicial Nominating Commission is slated to meet at 9 a.m. at the Curry County Courthouse to evaluate applicants.

The deadline for application is Aug. 6, according to a news release from Beverly Akin of the Judicial Selection Office.

Judge Chandler has been an instrumental part of the criminal justice system for nearly two decades, said Chief District Judge Drew Tatum. (H)is presence on the bench will be greatly missed.

Said New Mexico Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Vigil in a statement: Judge Matthew Chandlers retirement will not only be felt in the Ninth Judicial District but also statewide. Judge Chandler serves as Chair of the Supreme Courts Rules of Criminal Procedure Committee and has played an integral role in making court rules for criminal proceedings throughout the state.

Judge Chandler, who has lived in Clovis much of his life and served as a DA and an Assistant DA there, has demonstrated a high level of legal knowledge and excellent judicial temperament. Like his father, Caleb Chandler, a former state senator, Judge Chandler has served the State of New Mexico in multiple ways. The Judiciary will miss Judge Chandler and wishes him and his family all the best and much success in the future.
Capitol open to the public for first time in 16 months
If you're interested in submitting a Letter to the Editor, click here.

Submit
Mesa Police charged Stevie Jones with the citys 18th homicide of 2021. Mesa is on pace for a record number of murders.
In the week ending 9 July 2021 the net position of the Eurosystem in foreign currency (asset items 2 and 3 minus liability items 7, 8 and 9) decreased by EUR 0.1 billion to EUR 311.1 billion.

As a result of the Eurosystems open market operations and standing facilities, net lending to credit institutions (asset item 5 minus liability items 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5 and 4) fell by EUR 5.3 billion to EUR 1,423.4 billion.

Claims on non-euro area residents denominated in euro (asset item 4) decreased by EUR 2.4 billion to EUR 10.7 billion, mainly owing to Eurosystem operations providing euro liquidity to non-euro area central banks (further details can be found on the ECBs website under Central bank liquidity lines).

Base money (liability items 1, 2.1 and 2.2) increased by EUR 27.4 billion to EUR 5,951.9 billion.

The table below provides the detailed breakdown of securities held for monetary policy purposes (asset item 7.1) into the different portfolios. All portfolios are accounted for at amortised cost.
TONY Harpur, Cork County Councils inaugural historian-in-residence, says that if he was put on a beach in the Canary Islands for two weeks, he would possibly have to be put into a mental hospital at the end of it.

Such is his love of history that Tony has always used his holidays from work to follow up on historical projects or investigations, taking him to the U.S and Europe.

Now, his enthusiasm for the past is being acknowledged with his new role. The residency, funded by Creative Ireland, will enable Tony to creatively connect with communities in County Cork through research, discussions, events, activities and virtual gatherings.

The historian-in-residence, in consultation with the library, arts and heritage services, will create a research and engagement programme that will account for various aspects of social life, history and heritage in County Cork. The programme will be delivered online and in-person.

Tony, a native of Midleton, doesnt have a full academic background. For years, he worked for Dell in Limerick, ending up as production line lead. While in Limerick, he volunteered at the Hunt Museum in the city at the weekends, where he conducted guided tours of the permanent collection and of the summer exhibitions. He also facilitated museum workshops for schools and he gave public lectures.

When Dell decided to close down its operation in Limerick, I applied to UL (University of Limerick) to do a Masters. You could actually do an MA there if you had a bit of a background in a particular topic.

Tonys dissertation was on Bishop ODeas mitre and crozier. They are two of the greatest and least known medieval art treasures from Ireland. They belong to the diocese of Limerick and are on display in the Hunt Museum. They were made in 1418. I think I may know who the artist is but I need to do a bit more investigation. I did my dissertation on them because, basically, nobody had done a full academic study of this art treasure.

Tony Harpur. Picture: Denis Minihane.

Theres nothing Tony enjoys more than using his free time to trace the provenance of art works, travelling abroad to do so, if necessary. Thanks to this pioneering spirit, he was able to definitively prove that a piece art at the Hunt Museum was by Bernhard Strigel, a relatively minor German artist. But it was the bigger of his two paintings in Ireland.

At the Hunt Museum, Tony met a German art historian who suggested to him the name of the artist behind the work. Tony went to Germany to see if he could trace a link between the artist mentioned and the painting. Later, he came across an item in the Museum of Fine Art in Boston. It was a photograph of figures very similar to the figures in the art work concerned at the Hunt Museum.

This was too good to miss so I went back to Germany to find out what happened to Strigel.

Tonys curiosity led him to Switzerland where he met Dr Konrad, the German art historian again, having kept in touch with him. They did a tour together and came across the painting that Tony had seen in a book in the Boston museum. The painting was behind an iron grille, inside a chapel in a small town in Switzerland.

The priest there very kindly opened the chapel so I could see the piece close up.

Dr Konrad took Tony to a nuclear bunker.

The Swiss have all these nuclear bunkers in mountains which are like Swiss cheese. Inside one, I found another painting, a feature of which was exactly the same as what I found in the Hunt Museum.

After that, I visited the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrischschafen in Germany. There was a final detail in a painting there that absolutely nailed the painting in the Hunt Museum as being by Bernhard Strigel. That was my holiday! It was fun. I like investigating. One little discovery encourages me to go and follow up on it. Its very interesting.

Just before last Christmas, Tony was asked to give a lecture in the Hunt Museum about the Bernhard Strigel painting. But he wasnt going to give a dry academic talk.

I decided to tell people the detective story about what I did. I put (the painting) up on a screen but wouldnt point out the relevant detail in it. I let the audience figure it out themselves. The reaction was Oh my God, tell us the story. Thats what history is really about. Youre telling a story. And you have to analyse it.

Tony realises that as a historian, youre never going to have everything. With what you have, you decide how youre going to pitch it. I could write about what I know very academically but people would read it and say they didnt understand it. Thats a complaint Ive heard about some publications. I want to write at a level that everybody can understand.

Academic historians have their own language and, depending on the period, the language can be quite obscure to the ordinary man and woman on the street.

"I believe that popular history should be told in language that is clear, unambiguous and explains technical terms.

Tony is currently trying to pull together the history of Midleton into one book. He is involved in producing events for Midleton Heritage Week. He has also conducted tours of Midleton and has developed a Midleton Great Famine Tour.

In the autumn, he will be presenting a night course on the local history of East Cork at St Colmans College in Midleton. No doubt, this enthusiastic historian will unearth little known facts about his neck of the woods.

MORE ABOUT THE NEW POST

Tony is Cork County Councils first Historian in Residence. The new residency, funded by Creative Ireland, will enable history specialists to creatively connect with communities in Cork County through co-created research, discussions, events, activities and virtual gatherings. The Historian in Residence, in consultation with Library, Arts and Heritage services, will create a research and engagement programme that will account for various aspects of social life, history and heritage in County Cork. The programme will be delivered through online and in-person activities.
The great progressive advocacy group Progress Michigan has completed a thorough investigation into Republican County Parties in Michigan and has discovered that over 60% of them have pushed Donald Trumps Big Lie that the election was stolen from them. Even in the past two months eleven of these County Party groups have posted about it on social media.

Here are a few highlights from the report, titled Michigan Republicans and the Big Lie  How Michigan Republican County Parties are still hanging onto the myth of election fraud, which was based on an investigation of public comments and social media posts from November of 2020 to June of this year:

64 percent of county Republican Party Facebook pages have alluded to a stolen election, massive voter fraud, or the need for an election audit since November 3.

98 percent of active county Republican Party Facebook pagesthose that tend to post on at least a weekly basishave made posts alluding to the Big Lie.

The activity surrounding the Big Lie isnt limited to social media posts, as much of the content in the report includes calls for supporters of the Big Lie to participate in real-life events.

I spoke with Progress Michigan Acting Executive Director Sam Inglot and he told me that the numbers would have been even more shocking if they had included posts and comments from Michigan Republicans who werent party officials. The people at the top of the Republican Party claim that they have moved on, Inglot said. But its very clear from our analysis that the grassroots of the Party is still holding on to it. This is an issue that the Michigan Republican Party clearly needs to solve if they have any chance of remaining a legitimate political party in upcoming elections.

Much of the rhetoric has morphed more recently into calls for election integrity despite the fact that hundreds of audits in Michigan alone have shown that the 2020 election was safe, secure, and accurate.

In 2022, Michigan will have new legislative and Congressional maps, redrawn by an independent redistricting commission. With these more fair maps, Republicans will need to attract new voters who are likely less extreme than their current gerrymandered base. If they continue to cling to the Big Lie, they have little chance of swaying moderate conservatives to vote for them and will find themselves in an extremist hinterland, a small bubble of an echo chamber, endlessly claiming that what is true is not.

I firmly believe that our country is better when we have two legitimate political parties vying for leadership. That push and pull makes our republic stronger and more responsive to the electorate. We are so far from that right now that I am not optimistic it will happen in my lifetime.

In the meantime, the Michigan Republican Party is led by two extremists in their own right: insurrectionist Meshawn Maddock and multimillionaire Ron Weiser. The idea that these two will show the leadership needed to return their Party to legitimacy is almost laughable at this point.

Read the full report HERE.


B2B Lead Generation Service

Reach key decision makers with sales-ready leads that shorten your sales process. Move the needle by delivering funnel qualified leads to your sales team. Learn more.

That old adage about crime never pays could not be more false, at least when it comes to modern-day cybercriminals. For those bad actors using ransomware as their weapon, crime is paying more than ever.

Cybersecurity company Emisoft estimates that the true global cost of ransomware, including business interruption and ransom payments in 2020, was a minimum of US$42 billion and a maximum of nearly $170 billion.

A survey by Veritas Technologies found that 66 percent of victims admitted to paying part or all of the ransom, according to a report released Wednesday by managed detection and response firm eSentire.

The report, authored by eSentire's security research team it calls the Threat Response Unit (TRU), found that six ransomware gangs claimed at least 290 new victims fo far this year. The combined spoils tallied potentially $45 million for the hackers.

Company researchers from eSentire teamed up with dark web researcher Mike Mayes to track the Ryuk/Conti, Sodin/REvil, CLOP, and DoppelPaymer ransomware groups. They also tracked two emerging cybergangs known as DarkSide and Avaddon.

The DarkSide gang should ring some familiarity bells. It is the outfit responsible for the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack earlier this month.

Esentire's TRU and Hayes found that specific groups racked up hundreds of victims in 2020 and collectively compromised 292 new victim organizations between January 1 and April 30 of this year. Researchers estimated the average ransom organizations paid increased from $115,123 in 2019 to $312,493 in 2020, a 171 percent year-over-year increase.

"There are many more successful ransomware attacks which have compromised companies than the public has any idea about. There really is no type of industry/business that is not a potential target of these groups," Mark Sangster, vice president at eSentire, told TechNewsWorld.

Booming Business for Hackers

Ransomware attacks are frequent. Their payouts are often not disclosed by the victims due to embarrassment or loss of public trust. The hacker groups are not shy, however, about self-reporting of their successful exploits on their personal blog/leak sites.

The eSentire report noted three new attacks in the previous three months:

Tata Steel -- compromised by Sodin/REvil ransomware group in April. Tata Steel refused to pay the $4 million ransom.

Broward County School District -- compromised by the Ryuk/Conti gang in March. Threat actors demanded $40 million, and the district said they would not pay.

Quanta Computer -- maker of Apple's next-generation MacBooks, also attacked by Sodin/REvil. Hackers in April reportedly demanded $50 million, first from Quanta who said no to the extortion, and then from Apple.

But researchers noted that despite the increasing reports of ransomware attacks in the media, the victim organizations the media discloses are a drop in the bucket compared to the actual events.

One ransomware incident which occurred last month but never went public involved a small private U.S. company. The threat actors demanded $12 million, which that company paid, according to a high-ranking employee of the organization who asked not to be named.

With cyberattacks evolving at breakneck speed, cyberthreat intelligence (CTI) has become a critical component in cybersecurity programs. Without intelligence, organizations are flying blind through very stormy skies, offered Dov Lerner, Security Research Lead at Cybersixgill.

"On a strategic level, CTI will enable executives to understand the threat landscape and assess risks to their organizations. On a more tactical level, CTI is used to block malicious indicators of compromise and to detect compromised data," Lerner told TechNewsWorld.

As more daily business and activities become digitized, there is more opportunity for dark web actors to consume and exploit sensitive data posted to underground platforms, he added. The cybercrime underground is only continuing to grow, and pandemic and economic crisis may lead more threat actors to seek illicit financial activity and lately, radical political discourse.

No Doubt About Successes

Sangster said his researchers fully believe that the organizations these groups claim to have compromised are true for several reasons, which include:

Each of the ransomware groups the report details provide numerous examples of various files and documents that they claim to have stolen from the victim companies. Plus, they all look authentic.

Researchers have seen the threat groups post a victim on their leak site. Later on, perhaps weeks down the road, the target comes out publicly about suffering a ransomware attack.

It does not benefit these ransomware groups to lie about the victims they claim to have hacked. If they did post victims on their leak site that they had not compromised, then the word would spread very quickly, and no victim would pay them.

"Our security research team, TRU, and dark web researcher Mike Mayes went down into the dark web and spent a lot of time analyzing these six ransomware group's blog/leak sites, and we also analyzed the TTPs of these groups which we have gathered from tracking them since they began their crime spree," Sangster said.

Researchers just wrapped up all of their findings and are in the midst of sharing the details with the various law enforcement agencies, he added.

Expanded Attack List

Esentire and Mayes found that the six ransomware groups they tracked for this report are not only continuing to target the usual suspects -- state and local government, school districts, law firms, and hospital and healthcare organizations. They have expanded their hit list to include manufacturers, transportation/logistics companies, and construction firms in the U.S., Canada, South America, France, and the U.K.

Here is a summary of the new victims resulting from this expanded attack list:

Ryuk/Conti

The Ryuk/Conti ransomware group first appeared in August 2018. Their initial victims tended to be U.S.-based organizations. These included technology companies, healthcare providers, educational institutions, financial services providers, and numerous state and local government organizations.

The gang hit a total of 352 organizations, compromising 63 companies and private sector organizations this year alone. TRU examined 37 of Ryuk's 63 victims, and among them, 16 were manufacturers that produced everything from medical devices to industrial furnaces to electromagnetic radiation equipment to school administration software.

Ryuk reportedly compromised in 2021transportation/logistics companies, construction companies, and healthcare organizations.

Sodin/REvil

Sodin/REvil listed 161 new victims this year, with 52 being manufacturers, as well as a few healthcare organizations, transportation/logistic companies, and construction firms. In March, the group hit computer and electronics manufacturer Acer and demanded a $50 million ransom.

When Quanta Computer, which manufactures notebook computers for Apple, refused to negotiate, as mentioned above, the Sodin criminals reportedly turned to Apple for the ransom. Sodin hackers posted on their blog called "Happy Blog," a warning stating that if they did not get paid, they would publish what they claimed were technical details for current and future Apple hardware.

DoppelPaymer

The DoppelPaymer ransomware group emerged in 2019. The DoppelPaymer group's website claims they compromised 186 victims since making their debut with 59 in 2021 alone. The victims include numerous state and local government organizations, plus several educational institutions.

In December 2020, the FBI issued a warning that "Since late August 2019, unidentified actors have used DoppelPaymer ransomware to encrypt data from victims within critical industries worldwide such as healthcare, emergency services, and education, interrupting citizens' access to services."

Many of the SMBs the group claims as victims were never reported in the press, nor have many of the public sector entities. One of the exceptions is the Illinois Attorney General's office, which first discovered the DoppelPaymer attack on April 10, 2021.

Clop (Cl0p)

The Clop ransomware first appeared in February 2019 and became better known in October 2020 when its operators became the first group to demand a ransom of more than $20 million. The victim, German tech firm Software AG, refused to pay.

Clop made headlines this year for culling through victims' stolen data and retrieving contact information for the company's customers and partners and emailing them to urge them to make the victim company pay the ransom.

DarkSide

DarkSide is a relatively new ransomware group. Esentire's TRU began tracking it last December, about one month after it reportedly emerged. The operators claim on their blog/leak site to have infected 59 organizations in total, compromising 37 of them in 2021.

Victims are located in the U.S., South America, Middle East, and U.K. They include manufacturers of all types of products, such as energy companies, clothing companies, travel companies.

Late on May 13, the DarkSide blog/leak site went down with the DarkSide threat actors claiming that it had lost access to the infrastructure it uses to run its operation and would be closing. The notice cited disruption from a law enforcement agency and pressure from the U.S. Prior to the DarkSide website going down, the operators always stated that they provided their malware via a ransomware-as-a-service model.

The DarkSide operators claimed they are like Robin Hood by only going after profitable companies that can afford to pay a ransom. The group's operators also noted that they will not attack hospitals, palliative care facilities, nursing homes, funeral homes, and companies involved in developing and distributing the Covid-19 vaccine, according to eSentire's report.

Avaddon

Avaddon operators, whose ransomware demands first appeared in the wild in February 2019, claim they infected 88 victims during their lifetime, 47 of them in 2021. The nine ransomware attacks followed the ransomware-as-a-service model.

Its operators allow affiliates to use the ransomware with a portion of the profits paid to the Avaddon developers. The Avaddon threat actors also reportedly offer their victims 24/7 support and resources on purchasing bitcoin, testing files for decryption, and other challenges that may hinder victims from paying the ransom, according to Esentire.

How to Avoid Ransomware Attacks

Ransomware groups are wreaking havoc against many more entities than the public realizes, according to eSentire. No single industry is immune from this ransomware scourge which is happening across all regions and sectors.

Esentire recommends these tips to defend against ransomware attacks:

Backup all critical files and store them offline

Require multifactor authentication to access your organization's virtual private network (VPN) or remote desktop protocol (RDP) services

Only allow only administrators to access network appliances using a VPN service

Domain controllers are a key target for ransomware actors. Ensure your security team has visibility into your IT networks using endpoint detection and response (EDR) agents and centralized logging on domain controllers (DCs) and other servers

Employ the principle of least privilege with staff members

Disable RDP if not being used

Regularly patch systems, prioritizing your key IT systems

Implement network segmentation

Mandate user-awareness training for all company employee

"From a cybersecurity industry perspective, there are some very effective security services, tools and policies available to companies to greatly help them protect their valuable data and applications from cyber threats such as ransomware, business email compromise, cyber espionage, and data destruction," Sangster advised.

Jack M. Germain has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2003. His main areas of focus are enterprise IT, Linux and open-source technologies. He is an esteemed reviewer of Linux distros and other open-source software. In addition, Jack extensively covers business technology and privacy issues, as well as developments in e-commerce and consumer electronics. Email Jack.




Enterprise IT Lead Generation Services

Fuel Your Pipeline. Close More Deals. Our full-service marketing programs deliver sales-ready leads. 100% Satisfaction Guarantee! Learn more.

A Russian-language dark web marketplace called Hydra that is known to facilitate the illegal sale of narcotics has seen cryptocurrency transactions soar over the last five years from US$9.4 million in 2016 to $1.37 billion in 2020.

According to a report released Tuesday by Flashpoint and Chainalysis, Hydra's crypto business began accelerating in 2017 after its chief competitor, the Russian Anonymous Marketplace, known as RAMP, was shut down by Russian law enforcement authorities.

Also contributing to the escalation in transactions is the growing narcotics problem in Russia and the dearth of outlets for turning cryptocurrency into hard cash, explained Flashpoint team lead Vlad Cuiujuclu.

"Transferring crypto into fiat is not something widely available in Russia," he told the E-Commerce Times.

What's more, it's safer to perform cryptocurrency transactions in a marketplace like Hydra than in other mainstream exchanges.

"Services that change cryptocurrency into fiat currency are being increasingly pressured by governments to examine the transactions that go through them and to put in place safeguards to ensure the money can be tracked back to an actual person," noted Flashpoint Senior Analyst Andras Toth-Czifra.

"Services that offer cryptocurrency laundering are becoming more lucrative," he told the E-Commerce Times.

Better Business Model

Hydra's business model has proven to be popular with its clientele, the report noted. The marketplace acts as a host for sellers who can set up and run their narcotics shops on the site. Hydra makes its money by taking a cut of all transactions on the site.

The marketplace also provides valuable services to its customers. It provides greater anonymity that can be found elsewhere, as well as security and "professional quality" deliveries.

"They can help you convert cryptocurrency into fiat currency and will even deliver it to your doorstep," Cuiujuclu said.

Hydra has also established direct suppliers in China, enabling it to build a reputation as a marketplace known for its large quantities of cheap synthetic drugs.

"Sites like Hydra provide an established market and established threat actors with reasonable cover from the authorities, and so it is exploding," Garret Grajek, CEO of YouAttest, an identity auditing company in Irvine, Calif. told the E-Commerce Times.

Buried Treasure

The Flashpoint report noted that Hydra's operators run a tight ship. Since 2018, the marketplace has imposed strict limitations on sellers, requiring that their cryptocurrency funds be withdrawn into Russian fiat currency via select regionally-operated exchanges and payment services.

Despite those limitations, Hydra seller accounts remain in high demand, Flashpoint reported. In fact, a new submarket has emerged created by cybercriminals willing to pay people with established seller accounts to gain direct access to the marketplace to circumvent Hydra's withdrawal restrictions.

"It's surprising how some of these cybercriminals resort to archaic methods to avoid the security measures and identification requirements of cryptocurrency exchanges," Toth-Czifra said.

One such technique is called "Hidden Treasure," where a buyer hires a courier, called a "kladman," to bury cash underground in vacuum-sealed bags within specific agreed-upon locations for the sellers to dig up later.

Once the cash is secured in the hands of the seller, they complete the sale of the contraband by either burying it or shipping it out, as has been done historically.

The report added that as the Hidden Treasure workaround becomes more popular so, too, does the demand for kladmen, which has become a high-paying job. Recent employment ads offer the couriers $400 a day or $1,000 or more for a week's work.

Government Collusion?

One reason Hydra has been able to thrive is that its operations have been largely ignored by the Russian government.

"Taking out a big criminal operation always carries the risk of violence and chaos," Toth-Czifra explained. "One of founding myths of the present political system in Russia is that it saved the country from that kind of chaos in the 1990s so it's a priority of the Russian government not to do anything that would create a vacuum that would lead to a violent struggle for positions."

He added that it would not be surprising to find a link between government officials and organized crime in Russia. "Indeed, the longer Hydra continues its operations undisturbed, the more likely it is that there are such connections," he said.

Grajek maintained that from an outsider perspective, the Russian government's attitude seems far too lax. "We do not know what is going on behind the scenes," he continued, "but they do not appear to be very concerned about shutting down these sites the way the West shut down 'Silk Road.'"

"It appears there is little care about cybercrime generated within its borders, so long as the victims are from other countries," added Erich Kron, the security awareness advocate at KnowBe4, a security awareness training provider in Clearwater, Fla.

"For this reason, as an added bit of insurance against accidentally crossing the government, some strains of malware will not execute on computers that are using a Cyrillic keyboard layout," he told TechNewsWorld.

Allure of Cryptocurrency

Kron explained that cybercriminals use cryptocurrency because there's little chance of them getting caught when they use it.

"In the world of tangible currency, when making an illicit purchase, physical money must be exchanged in-person for the item being purchased," he said. "This type of transaction carries dangers unique to having to be physically present for the exchange, such as being robbed or being arrested by waiting for law enforcement."

"It carries the additional risk of having to transport the purchased illicit goods from the meeting place to wherever the final destination is," he added.

"Even online transactions using funds transfer services run a significant risk of having accounts frozen, funds seized and are often far less anonymous than cryptocurrency," he continued.

"In contrast, cryptocurrency allows payments to happen and transactions to be completed without ever meeting the other party," he said. "It tends to be somewhat anonymous and easy to launder through services, and allows sellers of illicit items to sell to people across the globe with very little risk and effort."

However, cryptocurrency is volatile. Could a crash wipe out the cash of cybercriminals?

"I believe it's here to stay," observed Katherine Kirkpatrick an attorney with the global law firm of King & Spalding.

"You're starting to look at serious institutional investors investing, or at least diversifying with it now," she told the E-Commerce Times.

"This is no longer a fringe investment," she continued. "This is no longer solely associated with criminals. A lot of legitimate businesses are using it."

John P. Mello Jr. has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2003. His areas of focus include cybersecurity, IT issues, privacy, e-commerce, social media, artificial intelligence, big data and consumer electronics. He has written and edited for numerous publications, including the Boston Business Journal, the Boston Phoenix, Megapixel.Net and Government Security News. Email John.


Michael G. Sutterfield, 71, of Effingham, IL, passed away on Monday, July 12, 2021 at HSHS St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital in Effingham. As per Michael's wishes, cremation rites will be accorded. Johnson Funeral Home in Effingham is assisting the family. Memorials may be made to Effingham Co
Paper letter in place until NHS Covid Pass is available to Manx residents

Isle of Man residents requiring proof of their COVID-19 vaccination status for international travel, in the next fortnight only, can now request a letter from Manx Care.



The measure has been put in place as a temporary solution whilst the UK NHS continues its work to make the NHS COVID Pass available to Isle of Man residents via the NHS app.



Minister for Health and Social Care, David Ashford MHK, said: With COVID-19 vaccinations progressing around the globe, many countries are now putting in place measures to waive testing and isolation for fully vaccinated travellers. There is, however, no agreed international system for proof of vaccination status and the rules around how this will work are still emerging and vary from country to country.



I know this uncertainty can be frustrating, especially as we adjust to live with the virus and return to some sense of normality, including international travel.



Issuing letters as proof of a persons vaccination status is a short term, interim solution whilst we await full access to the NHS app. This is a manual process and so letters are only available to those who are travelling outside of the UK in the next two weeks.



Anyone who urgently requires a letter for international travel in the next fortnight only can contact Manx Care on 650800 Monday to Friday between 9am and 4pm. Anyone seeking information in relation to the UK NHS app and vaccination status when travelling should visit https://covid19.gov.im/vaccination/vaccination-certificate-for-travel-faqs/.


Evelyn Hughes Evans, 90, of Athens passed away Thursday, July 15, 2021, at Athens-Limestone Hospital. Mrs. Evans was born December 18, 1930, in Mississippi. She was a bookkeeper for Sharp and Killen for many years as well as her real estate house business. Mrs. Evans was a charter member of 
Athens, AL (35611)

Today

A few isolated thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High around 80F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms this evening. A steady rain arriving overnight. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.
Electrify America's EV charger network still pales in comparison to Tesla's Supercharger grid, but that gap might narrow over the next few years. The Volkswagen-owned company has unveiled a Boost Plan that aims to "more than double" Electrify America's charging infrastructure in the US and Canada by the end of 2025. When the plan is complete, there should be over 1,800 fast charging stations and 10,000 individual chargers  many of them 150kW or 350kW chargers to support newer EVs like the Porsche Taycan and Hyundai Ioniq 5.

Electrify America

The company didn't provide much detail for its expanded coverage, but the expansion will bring Electrify America to the Dakotas, Hawaii, West Virginia, Wyoming and Vermont for the first time, not to mention the Canadian prairies and Maritimes. There's also denser coverage in a few southern states (including new cities like Austin) as well as upgrades to densely-packed regions. If all goes well, you'll have more cross-country routes in addition to more capacity along existing routes.

The expansion could put pressure on Tesla for the first time in a while. The company had 1,101 Superchargers in North America as of February 2021. While that number is likely to grow significantly by 2025, it now needs to build aggressively if it's going to stay ahead of Electrify America. Not that prospective EV owners will mind. The competition should go a long way toward making EVs more practical, particularly for drivers who can't always charge at home.
France has fined Google 500 million ($590 million) in the latest antitrust ruling against the company. Authorities say Google did not reach a fair agreement with publishers to use snippets of their content on Google News, despite a 2020 order for the company to do so.

Google said last September it would not pay French publishers for search results and that it would only show basic news results ahead of the country bringing in new rules based on the European Union's copyright framework . Google and French newspaper group Alliance de la presse d'information generale agreed on a payment framework for news previews in January, and it has been in discussions with Agence France-Presse and magazine publishers. However, regulators said Google's payment offers were "negligible," as Bloomberg reports.

Isabelle de Silva, head of competition regulator Autorite de la concurrence, said Google offered to pay less for news than it does for weather data or dictionary definitions. She said the level of the fine "takes into account the exceptional seriousness of the breaches observed."

Regulators also gave Google two months to enter talks with publishers within two months of them making new requests for discussions. Otherwise, the company faces daily fines of up to 900,000 ($1.33 million). A ruling on the substance of the case, which the regulator is expected to issue later this year, may lead to further fines against Google.

The company can appeal the decision. Google believes it acted in good faith throughout the entire process, a spokesperson told Bloomberg.

This marks the second-largest antitrust fine that France has dished out to a single company, and its far from the first time the country has penalized Google. Just last month, Google said it would change its advertising rules in France and pay a 220 million ($267 million) fine amid claims the company abused its online ad power.

In 2019, Google agreed to pay nearly 1 billion ($1.10 billion) after failing to fully disclose its taxable activities in France. The same year, French regulators fined Google $167 million over allegedly unclear ad rules and $57 million following claims of General Data Protection Regulation violations .
A former NSA and White House official has been appointed to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) at a time when ransomware and other kinds of cyberattacks are on the rise. The Senate has named Jen Easterly as the second person to head up the DHS agency, according to Politico. CISA provides cybersecurity tools and incident response services to government networks, and it also offers security advice to infrastructure operators and businesses.

Politico previously reported that CISA has been struggling to handle one cybercrisis after another and that the agency is understaffed and overworked. It had to face multiple intrusions in the middle of the pandemic as bad actors attacked the healthcare industry with ransomware, forcing them to pay up to prevent delays that could cost lives. CISA also had to respond to the massive SolarWinds hack that the government is blaming on Russia, as well as the ransomware attacks on Colonial Pipeline, software giant Kaseya and meat supplier JBS.

Easterly doesn't only have to lead response efforts to ongoing cyberattacks, it now also falls upon her shoulders to make sure CISA gains the ability to counter new threats as they come up. Before being named as the new CISA head, Easterly spent years as the number 2 official in the NSA's counterterrorism division and was also the National Security Council's senior director for counterterrorism under former President Barack Obama.
Volkswagen hasn't been shy about wanting to switch to electric cars, but it's now setting more tangible goals for that transition. CNBC reports that VW has unveiled a "New Auto" strategy where EVs should represent half of all the company's vehicle sales by 2030. "Nearly" all sales in major markets will be EVs by 2040, the automaker said.

The approach would not only include an expanded EV range, but a "leading" car software platform. Early models like the ID.4 have struggled with rough software that struggles to compete with rivals like the Tesla interface or Android Automotive. VW's development firm Cariad aims to fix that with updates that will include a unified infotainment system in 2023 and a "brand new" platform in 2025.

New Auto will also introduce a more Tesla-like "controlled" battery supply chain, complete with a harmonized battery format and six European gigafactories by 2030. The first, in Skelleftea, Sweden, will be run by a partner (Northvolt) when it starts production in 2023. Another factory is due in Salzgitter, Germany by 2035.

The goal is a significant one for car brand on the scale of VW, which owns brands like Audi, Porsche, Seat and Skoda. However, there are questions as to whether or not those goals are ambitious enough to meet both VW's other targets as well as those of key countries and states. The company wants to stop selling combustion engine cars in Europe by 2035, while the UK, Canada and US states like California all plan to ban sales of those passenger vehicles by the same year. Smaller rivals like Volvo plan to go all-electric by 2030. VW won't have much time to finish electrifying its lineup in some places, and it may seem slow in comparison to a few brands.
Enid, OK (73701)

Today

Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 89F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.
Sacha Baron Cohen, popularly known for his hit movie "Borat," sues a cannabis company over a giant billboard with his photo.

According to TMZ, Baron Cohen is suing Solar Therapeutics, a company that produces cannabis in an energy-sufficient way.

The actor alleges that the medical marijuana vendor is using his photo for their public advertisement in Massachusetts.

The photo featured was his character in the movie franchise "Borat" and his trademark phrase "It's Nice!"

Per legal documents obtained by Hollywood Reporter, Baron Cohen is hitting back for copyright infringement and false advertising.

His legal counsel, attorney David Condon, explained that the actor has never endorsed any of its products and was never affiliated with them.

Condon added that Baron Cohen never uses marijuana himself, and "he never would participate in an advertising campaign for cannabis, for any amount of money."

The actor's legal team alleges that he has never accepted any brand deals or offers from any company despite having "countless opportunities."

READ NOW: Charlie Robinson Cause of Death: Shocking Health Condition Revealed, 'Night Court' Star Was 75

Baron Cohen thinks that accepting endorsements would affect his acting career and his credibility as a social activist.

Condon also added that the Cannabis company thought their billboard would attract more consumers and Baron Cohen wouldn't notice it, but he did, and he's disappointed about it.

The actor's satirical characters in the past are a mockery of "stoner culture," which he thinks the company is celebrating.

In addition, Baron Cohen, born into an Orthodox Jewish family and observes the religion, doesn't want to be involved in any controversies as it is a heated argument within their culture whether Jewish people are allowed to use cannabis for traditions.

The actor is going after the company for $9 million. He also wants the cannabis company to stop using his name, image, and likeness to sell its products.

Solar Therapeutics responds

Following the cease-and-desist letter that attorney Condon sent to Solar Therapeutics, the company has decided to take down the giant billboard in Massachusets.

However, they refuse to pay the actor the amount he's asking after using his photo without any authorization.

At the time of this writing, no further information regarding their final settlement was released.

READ ALSO: Jamie Lynn Supporting Britney Spears Amid Conservatorship Battle - No Matter the 'Bad Rap' She's Getting
2021-07-13

Maeci

Today the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Luigi Di Maio, received his counterpart from the Principality of Andorra, Maria Ubach Font, at the Farnesina.

Reviewing the excellent state of relations between the two countries and recalling the recent 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, Minister di Maio underlined the desire on the Italian side to further expand and deepen collaboration with Andorra, in areas of mutual interest. Minister Di Maio also expressed appreciation for the increase in trade recorded in the first quarter of 2021, which confirms Italy's positioning as the Principality's fourth commercial partner.

On the subject of multilateral cooperation, Di Maio congratulated Andorra for its recent adhesion to the International Monetary Fund and thanked the Principality for its fruitful collaboration on various UN dossiers. Finally, on the negotiation of the Association Agreement with the European Union, Di Maio reiterated the support of the Italian government for the integration of Andorra and other small countries into the internal market, underlining the need to safeguard the integrity and homogeneity of the European legal framework.
2021-07-13

Maeci

The Embassy of Italy in Mexico City, in close liaison with the Italian Foreign Ministry, is following the case of the Italian citizen Michele Colosio, who has died at San Cristobal de Las Casas, Mexico. The Embassy is in contact with the Mexican police authorities in order to keep up with the development of the case. and with the victim's family, to whom it is providing the maximum assistance.
MINNEAPOLIS - The American Academy of Neurology (AAN), the world's largest association of neurologists with more than 36,000 members, is issuing ethical guidance for neurologists and neuroscience professionals who care for people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. The new position statement is published in the July 12, 2021 online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. This update to the 1996 AAN position statement was developed by the Ethics, Law, and Humanities Committee, a joint committee of the American Academy of Neurology, American Neurological Association and Child Neurology Society.

"Dementia care and scientific understanding have advanced considerably, including greater recognition of non-Alzheimer's dementias and advances in genetics, brain imaging and biomarker testing," said position statement author Winston Chiong, MD, PhD, of the University of California San Francisco and a member of the AAN's Ethics, Law, and Humanities Committee. "This American Academy of Neurology position statement focuses on day-to-day ethical problems faced by clinicians, patients and families in the course of dementia care."

The position statement was developed before FDA approval of the new medication aducanumab and does not address that drug.

The AAN position statement notes that communicating a dementia diagnosis can be ethically challenging. Some families may request withholding a diagnosis from their loved one, but that may deprive the person of important opportunities to plan for future needs. In most cases, the statement says family members' fears about potential emotional harm can be lessened by compassionate disclosure and so it recommends ways to communicate serious information.

"Caring for people with dementia requires respecting their autonomy and involving them in their care preferences as early as possible so their wishes can be known, while acknowledging their diminishing ability to make decisions," said Orly Avitzur, MD, MBA, FAAN, President of the American Academy of Neurology. "This position statement offers guidance in accordance with core ethical principles, supporting the American Academy of Neurology's mission to promote the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care."

The position statement notes that Alzheimer's disease is only one form of dementia and symptoms can vary depending on which form of dementia a person has. Some forms begin with behavior disturbances that may be misinterpreted as a psychiatric rather than neurologic disorder.

The statement distinguishes between genetic or biomarker testing in people with symptoms of dementia and testing in people who do not have symptoms but are believed to be at risk of future dementia. Genetic and biomarker testing in people without symptoms of dementia is not recommended except in a research context. The statement recommends that anyone undergoing genetic testing should receive genetic counseling before and after receiving results.

Ethnic and racial disparities are persistent in dementia and dementia care. The statement notes that Black and Latino people are at higher risk for developing dementia compared with white and Asian people, likely due to social and economic differences earlier in life, and often experience delays in receiving a diagnosis of dementia due to poorer access, unequal care by the medical establishment, and the subsequent mistrust that this unequal care generates. It says doctors should be aware that those with ethnic or cultural backgrounds different from their own may have different perceptions of illness and priorities for care than they do.

For decision-making, planning in the early stages of dementia is crucial. The statement says people with dementia should be encouraged to discuss their overall goals with their families and doctors, create advance health care directives, and engage in other financial and legal planning as a guide for when they are no longer able to make decisions. In moderate stages, people may still be able to participate in decision-making by relaying their values to guide care decisions. When a person can no longer make decisions, their representatives should give priority to preferences the person previously expressed.

For daily activities such as driving, cooking and managing finances, the position statement recommends that doctors and family members remain alert to ways of monitoring a person's activities to lessen risks while preserving their independence and dignity when possible.

The AAN also recognizes the potential for abuse and says doctors should look for and document physical signs of abuse, isolation of the person from trusted family or friends, failure to pay for care needs and malnutrition.

The position statement recognizes that for some patients in in advanced stages, there are ways to maintain care for a person in the home. But it also suggests that doctors recommend reassessing whether in-home care remains feasible when caregivers experience burnout.

While some may request physician-hastened death, which is legal in some states, the statement points out that such laws generally do not apply to people with dementia. These laws require that someone have an estimated survival of six months or less yet still be able to make decisions on their own. People with such advanced dementia typically are not able to make these decisions.

Finally, the position statement notes that families often bear significant financial strain associated with dementia care and says new ways of providing and financing long-term care are needed.

###

Learn more about dementia at BrainandLife.org, home of the American Academy of Neurology's free patient and caregiver magazine focused on the intersection of neurologic disease and brain health. Follow Brain & Life on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The American Academy of Neurology is the world's largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals, with over 36,000 members. The AAN is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, concussion, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.

For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit AAN.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Media Contacts:

Renee Tessman, rtessman@aan.com, (612) 928-6137

M.A. Rosko, mrosko@aan.com, (612) 928-6169
Clinician well-being is imperative to providing high-quality patient care, yet clinician burnout continues to increase, especially over the last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Four leading cardiovascular organizations - the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, the European Society of Cardiology and the World Heart Federation - are calling for global action to improve clinician well-being in a joint opinion paper published today.

"Over the last several decades, there have been significant changes in health care with the expansion of technology, regulatory burden and clerical task loads. These developments have come at a cost to the well-being and work-life integration of clinicians," said Athena Poppas, MD, MACC, immediate past president of the American College of Cardiology and co-author of the joint opinion. "The COVID-19 pandemic has caused additional strain on clinicians through increased patient mortality, personal and family safety concerns, fear of the unknown and increased work demands. The time is now to join with our global health care professionals to call for quick action to improve clinician well-being worldwide."

Clinician well-being is described as experiencing satisfaction and engagement with work, while also having a feeling of professional fulfillment and a sense of meaning in work. Conversely, burnout is defined as emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and a sense of low personal accomplishments in a perceived stressful work environment. Burnout is an extremely negative component along the spectrum of clinician well-being and can coexist with other mental health conditions (for example, anxiety and depression).

Recent survey data among 2,274 U.S. cardiologists and fellows-in-training reported that more than one-quarter were burned out and almost 50% were stressed. Only 23.7% said that they enjoyed their work. Women reported burnout more frequently compared with men.

Drivers associated with burnout among cardiologists include lack of control over workload, a hectic work environment, misalignment of values and insufficient documentation time. Furthermore, women are under-represented in cardiology and may have added stressors contributing to burnout such as lack of career promotion, inequalities in income and disparities in mentorship, in addition to working in environments that lack diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.

"These stressors compound over time, and collectively, they diminish our abilities to provide high-quality patient care and to strengthen and diversify our workforce. In addition, stigma related to mental health care must be eradicated," said Mitchell S.V. Elkind, MD, MS, FAHA, FAAN, immediate past president of the American Heart Association. "Our organizations are joined together in this report to ensure that we create a strong and supportive clinician environment - for our personal wellbeing and for our families, loved ones and patients. Well-being is essential to achieving personal fulfilment and satisfaction in our work."

There are serious personal and professional ramifications of clinical burnout. Personal ramifications of burnout consist of higher rates of alcohol abuse, substance use, dysfunctional relationships, depression and suicide. Professional ramifications of clinician burnout include higher rates of medical errors, lower quality of care, decreased patient satisfaction, increased disruptive behavior and loss of professionalism accompanied by a decreased level of empathy.

"The rising rate of stress and burnout among health professionals rings an alarm bell. As well as serious consequences for the individual, they will impact patient care. The ESC joins other professional societies today to raise a red flag and to urge health care systems to create healthy environments for all those providing patient care," said Professor Stephan Achenbach, ESC president.

The joint opinion urges health care organizations and medical specialty societies to implement strategies to prevent clinician burnout. For health care organizations, suggested prevention strategies include:

* Support the psychosocial health of employees and be accountable for a holistic approach. * Create an organizational infrastructure within which clinicians can thrive. * Provide employees with a structure that allows for confidential reporting of mistreatment, as well as destigmatization of clinician access to mental health resources.

For medical specialty societies, suggested prevention strategies include:

* Continue to provide recommendations to health care organizations and advocate for meaningful health policy changes. * Develop specialty-specific tools that may improve practice efficiency or clinician knowledge base in a timely and convenient fashion. * Expand initiatives in diversity and inclusion to improve feelings of being valued and belonging.

"Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, clinicians were often struggling in existing health systems that did not fully support them," said Prof Fausto Pinto, president of the World Heart Federation. "Strategies to prevent clinician burnout must target the root causes of the problem. Medical societies, as well as civil society foundations, have an important role to play in creating support networks for their members and pushing governments to enact meaningful health policy changes."

The joint opinion published simultaneously in the flagship journals of all four organizations: Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Circulation, European Heart Journal and Global Heart. The report was led by Chair Laxmi S. Mehta, MD, FACC, FAHA, professor in the division of cardiovascular medicine, section director of preventive cardiology and women's cardiovascular health, and vice chair of wellness in the department of internal medicine at The Ohio State University Wexler Medical Center.

"As clinicians, we continuously strive for the improved health of our patients and at the same time recognize our own welfare is paramount to them receiving optimal care," Mehta said. "We will continue to work together and strategize to maintain the well-being of our workforce and keep the joy in cardiovascular medicine."

###

About the American College of Cardiology

The American College of Cardiology envisions a world where innovation and knowledge optimize cardiovascular care and outcomes. As the professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team, the mission of the College and its 54,000 members is to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health. The ACC bestows credentials upon cardiovascular professionals who meet stringent qualifications and leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. The College also provides professional medical education, disseminates cardiovascular research through its world-renowned JACC Journals, operates national registries to measure and improve care, and offers cardiovascular accreditation to hospitals and institutions. For more, visit acc.org.

About the American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is a leading force for a world of longer, healthier lives. With nearly a century of lifesaving work, the Dallas-based association is dedicated to ensuring equitable health for all. We are a trustworthy source empowering people to improve their heart health, brain health and well-being. We collaborate with numerous organizations and millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, advocate for stronger public health policies and share lifesaving resources and information. Connect with us on heart.org, Facebook, Twitter or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.

About the European Society of Cardiology (ESC)

The ESC brings together health care professionals from more than 150 countries, working to advance cardiovascular medicine and help people to live longer, healthier lives.

About the World Heart Federation

The World Heart Federation (WHF) unites the cardiovascular community and drives the agenda to reduce the global burden of cardiovascular disease and help people live longer, healthier lives. Together with our Members, we are working to end needless deaths and build global commitment for improved cardiovascular health at the global, regional, national and community levels. We believe in a world where heart health for everyone is a fundamental human right. To learn more, visit worldheart.org.

For media inquiries please contact:

Dana Kauffman - Media Relations Associate, ACC, dkauffman@acc.org

Michelle Kirkwood - National Science Media Relations Director, AHA, michelle.kirkwood@heart.org

Jackie Partarrieu - Media Team Manager, ESC, press@escardio.org

Borjana Pervan - Communications Director, WHF, Borjana.Pervan@worldheart.org
WASHINGTON--In cities and towns across the United States, neighborhoods with more Black, Hispanic and Asian residents experience hotter temperatures during summer heatwaves than nearby white residents, a new study finds. It is the first to show that the trend, documented in some major cities, is widespread, even in small towns, nationwide.

According to the new nationwide study, these racial disparities exist because non-white neighborhoods tend to be more densely built up with buildings and pavement that trap heat and have fewer trees to cool the landscape.

"Urban climate is different from temperatures outside the city," said co-author Susanne Benz, an environmental scientist who conducted this research at the University of California, San Diego, and is now at Dalhousie University. "Inside the city, temperatures are affected by the buildings surrounding you and by the surface of the streets." Dark pavement absorbs sunlight and releases the heat at night, while trees and other vegetation cool an area through transpiration, when they release water vapor through pores in the leaves.

The new study is published in Earth's Future, AGU's journal for interdisciplinary research on the past, present and future of our planet and its inhabitants. The approach offers city planners and policymakers a way to identify disparities and to evaluate initiatives to address urban heat.

Summer in the city

Summer heatwaves cause more than 700 deaths each year in the United States. When heat and humidity are so high that a body can no longer cool itself through sweating, heat stroke can set in, rapidly causing brain and organ damage. People who are older, have certain chronic health conditions or are physically exerting themselves are most at risk. Urban environments are commonly hotter than their rural counterparts, and temperatures can vary even within cities. Those few degrees can mean life or death for some residents.

Benz initially had the idea for this study after reading a New York Times article finding that neighborhoods the U.S. government redlined in the 1930s--meaning they classified them as poor investments because people of color lived there--are now hotter than white neighborhoods in the same cities. She and co-author Jennifer Burney, an Earth scientist at the University of California, San Diego, realized they could do a similar analysis for the entire country.

Benz looked for urban heat patterns using land surface temperatures during summer heat waves collected by a NASA satellite. She subtracted the temperature of nearby rural locations to find variations in urban heat across towns and cities. Then she combined the temperature data with demographic information from the U.S. Census, looking at more than 1,000 counties to see who was most impacted. NOAA and USGS survey data allowed her to estimate how densely built up an area was, and the proportion of land covered by trees.

The researchers found that in 76% of counties with more than 10 census tracts, poorer neighborhoods were notably hotter than wealthier ones, primarily due to physical differences--more pavement and people and fewer trees. Areas with a larger percentage of people of color or where people had less education also experienced higher temperatures.

Big cities weren't the only places with race-related heat differences. Benz and Burney also saw the same patterns playing out in less developed areas. "It turns out that even your tiny towns have the same disparities," Benz said, "and this was something that really shocked me."

The trend held up even when they took wealth out of the picture. When residents had a similar income, non-white neighborhoods still faced significantly higher temperatures than white ones in 71% of the counties.

"The findings are really quite staggering," said Jeremy Hoffman, a climate scientist and chief scientist at the Science Museum of Virginia, who was not involved in the research. "These disparities exist across virtually every built environment in the country. Money doesn't grow on trees, but it is certainly concentrated underneath them across the U.S."

How to beat urban heat

The new analysis provides information for policymakers and establishes a way to evaluate the success of policies designed to address urban heat. "There's a lot of talk in Biden's administration about environmental justice but not so much clarity on what metrics might be used to evaluate policy proposals," said Burney. "These are very concrete metrics that can be tracked over time."

Now that officials can recognize and measure urban heat disparities, the big question is how to fix them.

Hoffman thinks it will take thoughtful investment to cool off hotter neighborhoods, such as planting trees at parks, bus stops and along pedestrian thoroughfares and providing incentives for green or white reflective roofs to cool buildings. These initiatives could dovetail with urban agriculture programs, solar panel installation, workforce development and other programs to more holistically address racial inequality.

Benz hopes that this analysis will be useful for all communities, but especially for smaller towns, whose residents can use the information to understand where disparities exist and take steps to correct them--before they become entrenched through further urbanization. She created a website where interested users can visualize where heat extremes exist in their area.

###

AGU supports 130,000 enthusiasts to experts worldwide in Earth and space sciences. Through broad and inclusive partnerships, we advance discovery and solution science that accelerate knowledge and create solutions that are ethical, unbiased and respectful of communities and their values. Our programs include serving as a scholarly publisher, convening virtual and in-person events and providing career support. We live our values in everything we do, such as our net zero energy renovated building in Washington, D.C. and our Ethics and Equity Center, which fosters a diverse and inclusive geoscience community to ensure responsible conduct.

Notes for Journalists:

Earth's Future is open access. Download a PDF copy of the paper here. Neither the paper nor this press release is under embargo.

Paper title:

"Widespread race and class disparities in surface urban heat extremes across the United States"

Authors:

Susanne A. Benz and Jennifer A. Burney, School of Global Policy and Strategy, UC San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla CA, USA 92037
WASHINGTON, July 13, 2021 -- Clinician well-being is imperative to providing high-quality patient care, yet clinician burnout continues to increase, especially over the last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Four leading cardiovascular organizations - the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, the European Society of Cardiology and the World Heart Federation - are calling for global action to improve clinician well-being in a joint opinion paper published today.

"Over the last several decades, there have been significant changes in health care with the expansion of technology, regulatory burden and clerical task loads. These developments have come at a cost to the well-being and work-life integration of clinicians," said Athena Poppas, MD, MACC, immediate past president of the American College of Cardiology and co-author of the joint opinion. "The COVID-19 pandemic has caused additional strain on clinicians through increased patient mortality, personal and family safety concerns, fear of the unknown and increased work demands. The time is now to join with our global health care professionals to call for quick action to improve clinician well-being worldwide."

Clinician well-being is described as experiencing satisfaction and engagement with work, while also having a feeling of professional fulfillment and a sense of meaning in work. Conversely, burnout is defined as emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and a sense of low personal accomplishments in a perceived stressful work environment. Burnout is an extremely negative component along the spectrum of clinician well-being and can coexist with other mental health conditions (for example, anxiety and depression).

Recent survey data among 2,274 U.S. cardiologists and fellows-in-training reported that more than one-quarter were burned out and almost 50% were stressed. Only 23.7% said that they enjoyed their work. Women reported burnout more frequently compared with men.

Drivers associated with burnout among cardiologists include lack of control over workload, a hectic work environment, misalignment of values and insufficient documentation time. Furthermore, women are under-represented in cardiology and may have added stressors contributing to burnout such as lack of career promotion, inequalities in income and disparities in mentorship, in addition to working in environments that lack diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.

"These stressors compound over time, and collectively, they diminish our abilities to provide high-quality patient care and to strengthen and diversify our workforce. In addition, stigma related to mental health care must be eradicated," said Mitchell S.V. Elkind, MD, MS, FAHA, FAAN, immediate past president of the American Heart Association. "Our organizations are joined together in this report to ensure that we create a strong and supportive clinician environment - for our personal well-being and for our families, loved ones and patients. Well-being is essential to achieving personal fulfilment and satisfaction in our work."

There are serious personal and professional ramifications of clinical burnout. Personal ramifications of burnout consist of higher rates of alcohol abuse, substance use, dysfunctional relationships, depression and suicide. Professional ramifications of clinician burnout include higher rates of medical errors, lower quality of care, decreased patient satisfaction, increased disruptive behavior and loss of professionalism accompanied by a decreased level of empathy.

"The rising rate of stress and burnout among health professionals rings an alarm bell. As well as serious consequences for the individual, they will impact patient care. The ESC joins other professional societies today to raise a red flag and to urge health care systems to create healthy environments for all those providing patient care," said Professor Stephan Achenbach, ESC president.

The joint opinion urges health care organizations and medical specialty societies to implement strategies to prevent clinician burnout. For health care organizations, suggested prevention strategies include:

Support the psychosocial health of employees and be accountable for a holistic approach.

Create an organizational infrastructure within which clinicians can thrive.

Provide employees with a structure that allows for confidential reporting of mistreatment, as well as destigmatization of clinician access to mental health resources.

For medical specialty societies, suggested prevention strategies include:

Continue to provide recommendations to health care organizations and advocate for meaningful health policy changes. Develop specialty-specific tools that may improve practice efficiency or clinician knowledge base in a timely and convenient fashion. Expand initiatives in diversity and inclusion to improve feelings of being valued and belonging. "Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, clinicians were often struggling in existing health systems that did not fully support them," said Prof Fausto Pinto, president of the World Heart Federation. "Strategies to prevent clinician burnout must target the root causes of the problem. Medical societies, as well as civil society foundations, have an important role to play in creating support networks for their members and pushing governments to enact meaningful health policy changes."

The joint opinion published simultaneously in the flagship journals of all four organizations: Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Circulation, European Heart Journal and Global Heart. The report was led by Chair Laxmi S. Mehta, MD, FACC, FAHA, professor in the division of cardiovascular medicine, section director of preventive cardiology and women's cardiovascular health, and vice chair of wellness in the department of internal medicine at The Ohio State University Wexler Medical Center.

"As clinicians, we continuously strive for the improved health of our patients and at the same time recognize our own welfare is paramount to them receiving optimal care," Mehta said. "We will continue to work together and strategize to maintain the well-being of our workforce and keep the joy in cardiovascular medicine."

###

About the American College of Cardiology

The American College of Cardiology envisions a world where innovation and knowledge optimize cardiovascular care and outcomes. As the professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team, the mission of the College and its 54,000 members is to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health. The ACC bestows credentials upon cardiovascular professionals who meet stringent qualifications and leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. The College also provides professional medical education, disseminates cardiovascular research through its world-renowned JACC Journals, operates national registries to measure and improve care, and offers cardiovascular accreditation to hospitals and institutions. For more, visit acc.org.

About the American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is a leading force for a world of longer, healthier lives. With nearly a century of lifesaving work, the Dallas-based association is dedicated to ensuring equitable health for all. We are a trustworthy source empowering people to improve their heart health, brain health and well-being. We collaborate with numerous organizations and millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, advocate for stronger public health policies and share lifesaving resources and information. Connect with us on heart.org, Facebook, Twitter or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.

About the European Society of Cardiology (ESC)

The ESC brings together health care professionals from more than 150 countries, working to advance cardiovascular medicine and help people to live longer, healthier lives.

About the World Heart Federation

The World Heart Federation (WHF) unites the cardiovascular community and drives the agenda to reduce the global burden of cardiovascular disease and help people live longer, healthier lives. Together with our Members, we are working to end needless deaths and build global commitment for improved cardiovascular health at the global, regional, national and community levels. We believe in a world where heart health for everyone is a fundamental human right. To learn more, visit worldheart.org.
The Black Lives Matter movement has brought increasing attention to disparities in how police officers treat Black and white Americans. Now, research published by the American Psychological Association finds that disparity may exist even in subtle differences in officers' tone of voice when they address Black and white drivers during routine traffic stops.

In the study, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researchers gathered short audio excerpts from police body camera footage and found that when officers spoke to Black men at traffic stops, their tone of voice conveyed less warmth, respect and ease than when they spoke to white men. The researchers also found that these subtle negative interactions can contribute to a cycle of mistrust between police and the Black community.

"Police officers are the human face of the law," said Nicholas Camp, PhD, an assistant professor of organizational studies at the University of Michigan and lead author of the study. "Cues as subtle as an officer's tone of voice can shape citizens' trust in the police as an institution."

To study these subtle interpersonal interactions, Camp and his colleagues extracted 250 audio clips of about 10 seconds each from body camera footage of routine traffic stops of male drivers in a mid-size U.S. city. The researchers removed the audio of the drivers' voices so that listeners could only hear the police officers' side of the conversation. Then, they edited out the highest audio frequencies in the recording, a technique that makes the content of conversation impossible to understand but leaves the officers' tone of voice intact.

In three experiments, the researchers asked 414 total participants (239 female, 175 male) to listen to the recordings and rate the officers' tone of voice. Across all three experiments - which included both college students and local drivers recruited at a department of motor vehicles - participants rated the officers' tone of voice as significantly less friendly, less respectful and less at ease in audio taken from traffic stops of Black drivers compared with traffic stops of white drivers, even though the participants did not know the race of the driver in each interaction.

The experiments included a diverse pool of white, Black, Latinx and Asian participants. The researchers found that their results held true regardless of participants' race, ethnicity or gender. The results also held true regardless of the race or gender of the police officers in the audio clips. The majority of the officers whose voices were used were men (105 male, 11 female).

The researchers also asked participants about their own previous encounters with police, and found that participants who felt they'd been treated unfairly in the past rated the officers' tone of voice in the clips as more negative, less respectful and less friendly on average than did participants who felt they'd been treated more fairly by police.

The results suggest that these negative interpersonal interactions contribute to a downward cycle in which police officers treat Black drivers with less respect, which then leads Black drivers to interpret subsequent interactions with police in an even more negative light.

In two further experiments, the researchers found evidence that these subtle negative interactions do in fact erode people's trust in police officers and police departments.

In one experiment, they asked a group of participants to listen to either the 40 most positively rated or the 40 most negatively rated audio clips, and then to imagine what an officer in that department might look like.

Participants who listened to the negative-tone clips pictured an officer who was seen as more likely to treat citizens with disrespect and more likely to be accused of racial profiling, among other responses.

Finally, the researchers asked another group of participants to listen to a sampling of 20 audio clips randomly selected from either police stops of white drivers or of Black drivers, then asked the participants to answer questions measuring their trust in the police departments the officers came from. On average, people who heard the clips from stops with Black drivers indicated that the departments were less likely to care about their local community and to try to do right by the people living there, and were less likely to trust that the department's officers would treat them fairly in a routine stop.

Overall, the study shows that body camera footage can provide a more nuanced look at racial discrimination in policing than is often evident in things like official administrative records.

"Body camera footage offers a way of unpacking the differences in interactions that might look the same on paper," Camp says.

The study also suggests that programs that intervene to change these routine interactions could help to break the cycle of police-community mistrust, according to Camp. He and his colleagues are currently testing an officer training program that aims to reduce racial disparities in how police officers talk to the public, and they plan to use body camera footage to test whether the training works.

###

Contact: Nicholas Camp, PhD, can be reached at npcamp@umich.edu.

Article: "The Thin Blue Waveform: Racial Disparities in Officer Prosody Undermine Institutional Trust in the Police" by Nicholas P. Camp, PhD, University of Michigan, Rob Voigt, PhD, Northwestern University, and Dan Jurafsky, PhD, and Jennifer Eberhardt, PhD, Stanford University. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Attitudes and Social Cognition, published online July 15, 2021.
New York, NY - July 13, 2021- The ATS Research Program is pleased to announce that William Zhang, MD, of Weill Cornell Medical Center is the recipient of the 2020-2021 ATS/CSL Behring Research Award in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. The $50,000 award will support Dr. Zhang's research study, "Hyperferritinemia in COVID-19 ARDS: Friend or Foe?"

ARDS is a life-threatening illness in which the lungs are severely inflamed and injured. Tissue damage throughout the lungs causes tiny air sacs (alveoli) to be injured and blood vessels to leak fluid. The alveoli then fill with fluid and can collapse, preventing the lungs from working well.

"With the COVID-19 pandemic, we are again reminded of the devastating impact of ARDS in public health," said Michelle Gong, MD, MS, chair of the ATS Critical Care Assembly. "Almost all patients who die of COVID-19, die because of ARDS from COVID-19. While there have been breakthroughs in treatment of COVID-19, most are directed at patients with milder diseases rather than patients on mechanical ventilators. This partnership with CSL Behring brings an important opportunity to focus on improving survival and long-term function and outcomes in ARDS and in the sickest patients affected by respiratory pandemic like COVID-19."

"Congratulations to Dr. Zhang on being the recipient of the ATS/CSL Behring Research Award in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome," said Lars Groenke, MD, CSL Behring's vice president for R&D Respiratory. "Supporting Dr. Zhang's study is another example of the strength of CSL Behring's ongoing partnership with ATS as we work together to fund promising research that has the potential to help patients impacted by serious respiratory diseases like ARDS. As an organization that is driven by its promise to patients, CSL Behring looks forward to working with ATS as we continue to support emerging investigators through our partnership."

###

The application process will open for the next cycle of grant opportunities will open July 20, 2021. For more, visit the website here.

Interested applicants may hear more about this grant opportunity here.

About the ATS Research Program

The American Thoracic Society and its Research Program are improving respiratory health worldwide by supporting young investigators in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine. The ATS Research Program, established in 2004, bolsters new investigators as they strive to launch independent research careers dedicated to innovation in patient care.

Since 2004, the Research Program has awarded $21.9 million in research grants to 321 investigators who have gone on to secure more than $491 million in federal funding. That's a return on investment of $22 per dollar awarded.

About CSL Behring

CSL Behring is a global biotherapeutics leader driven by its promise to save lives. Focused on serving patients' needs by using the latest technologies, the company develops and delivers innovative therapies that are used to treat coagulation disorders, primary immune deficiencies, hereditary angioedema, respiratory disease, and neurological disorders. The company's products are also used in cardiac surgery, burn treatment and to prevent hemolytic disease of the newborn.

CSL Behring operates one of the world's largest plasma collection networks, CSL Plasma. The parent company, CSL Limited (ASX:CSL;USOTC:CSLLY), headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, employs more than 27,000 people worldwide, and delivers its life-saving therapies to people in more than 100 countries. For inspiring stories about the promise of biotechnology, visit Vita at CSLBehring.com/Vita and follow us on Twitter.com/CSLBehring.
(Boston)--Proper lung function relies on the precise balance of specialized epithelial cells (cells that line the surfaces of the body) that coordinate functions to maintain homeostasis. One important lung cell type is the goblet cell, which secretes mucus that helps protect the lining of the bronchus (major air passages of the lung) and trap microorganisms. Goblet cells are often increased in lung diseases, but signals that lead to their dysregulation are not well understood.

Researchers have now discovered a new set of signals that control the production of goblet cells in the lung. "By altering the proteins that control these signals we are able to either increase or decrease the production of goblet cells which offers potential new avenues for therapeutically targeting goblet cells in lung disease," explained corresponding author Bob (Xaralabos) Varelas, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry at Boston University School of Medicine.

The researchers used an experimental model carrying a genetic deletion of Yap and Taz, which are genes that encode proteins that control an important signaling network in the lung. They compared the genetic deletion model with a "control" model and found that the Yap/Taz deletion model had severe lung damage and elevated goblet cell number that was associated with increased mucin production.

In order to understand how loss of Yap/Taz led to increased goblet cell numbers, the researchers isolated cells from the experimental model and human lungs and cultured them in the lab. They then used gene expression and chromatin binding analyses to discover how these proteins control a network of genes important for mucus production. Finally, they used these cells in the lab to test inhibitors of goblet cell differentiation and mucus production.

According to the researchers, several lung diseases exhibit an expansion of goblet cells including asthma, COPD, Cystic Fibrosis and chronic bronchitis. "By identifying new regulators of goblet cell production, we offer insight into mechanisms that may contribute to these diseases. By targeting these signals we can repress the production and maintenance of goblet cells and therefore may offer therapeutic directions for limiting the expansion of these cells in lung disease," said Varelas.

These findings appear online in the journal Cell Reports.

###

This work was supported by the Boston University Sequencing Core and Flow Cytometry Core and by BU-CTSI grant UL1TR001430. XV was funded by NIH/NHLBI R01HL124392 and NIH/NICHD R21HD094012 and by an ACS Research Scholar Grant (RSG-17-138-01-CSM). J.H.-B. was funded Q12 by NIH/NHLBI grants F31HL132506 and T32 HL007035. S.M. was in part funded by Find the Cause Breast Cancer Foundation. A.F. and B.N. were funded by Moorman-Simon Fellowships in Computational Biomedicine.

Note to Editor:

X.V and J.B. were supported in part by a Janssen Pharmaceuticals Sponsored Research Agreement. The remaining authors declare no competing interests.
In proof-of-concept study, CHOP researchers used an AAV9 vector to edit a single base mutation, halting progression of a disease that causes irreversible damage before birth

Philadelphia, July 13, 2021--Adding to the growing body of literature demonstrating the feasibility of correcting lethal genetic diseases before birth, researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have used DNA base editing in a prenatal mouse model to correct a lysosomal storage disease known as Hurler syndrome. Using an adenine base editor delivered in an adeno-associated viral vector, the researchers corrected the single base mutation responsible for the condition, which begins before birth and affects multiple organs, with the potential to cause death in childhood if untreated.

The findings were published today in Nature Communications.

"This study shows that prenatal base editing for Hurler syndrome is feasible in a preclinical mouse model," said senior author William H. Peranteau, MD, an attending surgeon in the Division of General, Thoracic and Fetal Surgery at CHOP and Adzick-McCausland Distinguished Chair in Fetal and Pediatric Surgery. "In addition to showing the benefit of treating the disease before birth, we also showed some correction of the disease with base editing after birth, highlighting the promise of both pre- and postnatal base editing for Hurler syndrome."

Hurler syndrome, also known as Mucopolysaccharidosis Type I (MPS-IH), is a lysosomal storage disease that affects approximately 1in 100,000 babies in the Western world and is commonly caused by a single DNA base mutation, where an adenine is present instead of a guanine. By 6 months of age, children can present with swelling of the liver and spleen, abdominal wall hernias, musculoskeletal abnormalities, retinal and neurocognitive degeneration, and cardiac disease. Untreated, patients can die of cardiorespiratory complications by 5 to 10 years of age. Even with treatment, patients experience complications, as current therapies have limited effectiveness, especially with delayed initiation.

Because the pathology of the disease begins before birth, the research team saw the syndrome as a candidate for prenatal treatment. With this goal, the researchers used CRISPR base editing, which requires only a single stranded DNA break and is thought to be more efficient and safer than other editing approaches, to convert the mutated adenine to guanine in the mouse model of MPS-IH.

The researchers used an adeno-associated virus serotype 9 (AAV9) viral vector to deliver the base editor to a fetal mouse model. They showed that prenatally treated mice demonstrated increased survival and improvement of metabolic, skeletal, and cardiac disease. Of note, the researchers observed corrected cells not only in the liver, but also in the heart, demonstrating the treatment was effective in multiple organs.

To assess the feasibility of the treatment after birth, the researchers tested the approach in 10-week-old MPS-IH mice and observed efficient on-target editing in the heart and liver, which was also associated with cardiac improvement. Whereas control models with the disease experienced cardiac decline between 4 and 6 months, sometimes resulting in death, postnatally treated mice demonstrated cardiac disease at 4 months, but the progression slowed between 4 and 6 months of age. Similar to prenatal treated mice, none of the mice treated after birth died by the study endpoint.

"Given the prenatal onset of disease, the potential for non-invasive prenatal diagnosis, and the progressive and morbid nature of the disease, Hurler syndrome and other lysosomal storage diseases represent attractive targets for treatment before birth," Peranteau said. "Although the safety of these approaches for mothers and fetuses still needs to be rigorously characterized prior to clinical translation, this proof-of-concept study offers hope for genetic diseases with limited postnatal treatments."

###

Bose et al. "In utero split AAV9 adenine base editing corrects the multi-organ pathology in a lethal lysosomal storage disease," Nature Communications, online July 13, 2021, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24443-8
Combining chemotherapy and BRAF oncogene inhibitors is a very effective strategy for fighting metastatic melanoma, the leading cause of death from skin cancer in the world. This has been demonstrated in a study by researchers from the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), Hospital del Mar, and CIBER Cancer (CIBERONC), in collaboration with the Bellvitge Medical Research Institute (ICO-IDIBELL), which has just been published in the journal Oncogene.

The study, which involved the IMIM's Stem Cells and Cancer Research Group and doctors from the Dermatology and Pathology Departments at Hospital del Mar, analysed what effect combining the two types of treatment had on malignant melanoma. In previous studies, the same researchers had already demonstrated the usefulness of blocking BRAF oncogene expression to reduce the ability of colon and rectal cancer cells to repair after chemotherapy treatment.

Low-toxicity treatment

The researchers tested the two treatments both separately and together in mice and in tumour cells in vitro. The combination of the two approaches proved to be superior in all trials after one week of treatment. Furthermore, the benefits were maintained after the end of treatment. "We have demonstrated the therapeutic potential of combining the two treatments to eradicate cancer cells. This strategy not only prevents the appearance of resistance to one of the approaches, but also offers a new therapeutic perspective for patients with mutations affecting the BRAF oncogene", explains Dr. Lluis Espinosa, a researcher at the IMIM-Hospital del Mar and CIBERONC, and author of the study.

The study also indicates that chemotherapy administered at low doses, thereby avoiding its toxicity, combined with the standard treatment with BRAF inhibitors, can have an enormous effect on the progression of metastatic melanoma. Furthermore, because the combined treatment eliminates tumour cells rather than stopping their growth, it would also avoid lengthy treatments and the possible development of resistance. The researchers also believe that this approach could be applied to other types of cancer, including some rare subtypes of melanoma that are currently untreatable as they lack mutations in the BRAF oncogene. The authors of the study believe that this possibility is easily assessed, as the treatments already exist and are being used routinely for several types of tumours.

In this case: "The mechanism is simple: by combining low-dose chemotherapy, which has very low toxicity, with BRAF inhibitors, we damage the cell's DNA with the chemotherapy while at the same time we prevent the cell from repairing itself thanks to the BRAF inhibitors. This not only enhances the effect of each of the treatments, but it might make the effect irreversible", comments Dr. Fernando Gallardo, head of the dermatology department and author of the study. One of the main problems encountered with BRAF inhibitor treatment, the gold standard approach to this disease, is that the cancer cells re-grow and become resistant to this therapy, as the inhibitor only stops them, and does not eliminate them. The possibility of using this in combination with chemotherapy could eliminate the problem of certain resistance and relapse.

###

Reference article

Alonso-Maranon J, Villanueva A, Piulats JM, Martinez-Iniesta M, Sole L, Martin-Liberal J, Segura S, Pujol RM, Iglesias M, Bigas A, Gallardo F, Espinosa L. Combination of chemotherapy with BRAF inhibitors results in effective eradication of malignant melanoma by preventing ATM-dependent DNA repair. Oncogene. 2021 Jun 17. doi: 10.1038/s41388-021-01879-2. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34140639.
Survival for a baby born with a birth defect - otherwise known as a congenital anomaly - is a "post-code lottery", according to scientists from 74 countries.

A study published today in The Lancet, led by researchers from King's College London, examined the risk of mortality for nearly 4000 babies born with birth defects in 264 hospitals around the world. The study found babies born with birth defects involving the intestinal tract have a two in five chance of dying in a low-income country compared to one in five in a middle-income country and one in twenty in a high-income country.

Gastroschisis, a birth defect where the baby is born with their intestines protruding through a hole by the umbilicus has the greatest difference in mortality with 90% of babies dying in low-income countries compared with 1% in high-income countries. In high-income countries, most of these babies will be able to live a full life without disability.

Principal Investigator Dr Naomi Wright is a Paediatric Surgery Registrar from King's College London who has devoted the last four years to studying these disparities in outcome. She said: "Geography should not determine outcomes for babies who have correctable surgical conditions. The Sustainable Development Goal to 'end preventable deaths in newborns and children under 5 years old by 2030' is unachievable without urgent action to improve surgical care for newborns in low- and middle-income countries."

Mr Andrew Leather, co-author and Director of the King's Centre for Global Health and Health Partnerships at King's College London said: "There needs to be a focus on improving surgical care for newborns in low- and middle-income countries globally. Over the last 25 years, while there has been great success in reducing deaths in children under 5 years by preventing and treating infectious diseases, there has been little focus on improving surgical care for babies and children and indeed the proportion of deaths related to surgical diseases continues to rise.

"Birth defects are now the 5th leading cause of death in children under 5 years of age globally, with most deaths occurring in the newborn period. Birth defects involving the intestinal tract have a particularly high mortality in low- and middle-income countries as many are not compatible with life without emergency surgical care after birth."

In high-income countries, most women receive an antenatal ultrasound scan to assess for birth defects. If identified, this enables the woman to give birth in a hospital with children's surgical care so the baby can receive help as soon as it is born. In low- and middle- income countries, babies with these conditions often arrive late to the children's surgical centre in a poor clinical condition. The study shows that babies who present to the children's surgical centre already septic with infection have a higher chance of dying.

Co-author Mr Niyi Ade-Ajayi, Paediatric Surgeon at King's College Hospital and Co-Chair of the International Affairs Committee of the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons added: "The study highlights the importance of perioperative care (the care received either side of the corrective operation or procedure) at the children's surgical centre. Babies treated at hospitals without access to ventilation and intravenous nutrition when needed had a higher chance of dying. Furthermore, not having skilled anaesthetic support and not using a surgical safety checklist at the time of operation were associated with a higher chance of death."

The team of researchers found that improving survival from these conditions in low- and middle-income countries involves three key elements:

1) improving antenatal diagnosis and delivery at a hospital with children's surgical care, 2) improving surgical care for babies born in district hospitals, with safe and quick transfer to the children's surgical centre, 3) improved perioperative care for babies at the children's surgical centre.

They acknowledge that this requires strong teamwork and planning between midwifery and obstetric teams, newborn and paediatric teams, and children's surgical teams at the children's surgical centre, alongside outreach education and networking with referring hospitals.

They also urge that alongside local initiatives, surgical care for babies and children needs to be integrated into national and international child health policy and should no longer be neglected within global child health.

###
New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London, in collaboration with Glasgow University, has found that teenagers who have self-harmed five or more times in their life have a significantly higher threshold for pain compared to adolescents that have not.

The study, which has been published in JAMA Network Open, is the largest study of its kind looking at the relationship between self-harm and bodily sensation, found that the threshold for sensitivity, both painful and not, increases significantly the more a participant had self-harmed in the past.

64 participants aged between 12-17 were recruited from a mixture of community and residential care settings, as well as schools and youth groups in London and Glasgow. Each individual underwent a series of 13 tests, including thermal detection and pain thresholds, and pressure pain thresholds to establish at what point they detected a change in sensation or first began to feel pain.

At no point were the participants asked to endure pain and were under strict instruction to stop the test the moment that they felt any sign of discomfort.

Suicide is the second highest cause of death among teenagers, and self-harm is the strongest predictor of suicide. The investigators now say that this has the clinical potential to be an effective test for identifying youths that are at the highest risk.

Dr Dennis Ougrin, the study's Co-Lead author from King's IoPPN, said "Rates of self-harm and suicide in children and adolescents have been rising in the UK, and we most commonly see the first episodes of self-harm take place around the age of 12.

"From the studies that we conducted, we can see that teenagers who have self-harmed five or more times in their past have a dramatically higher pain threshold, particularly in individuals that are living in care."

Young people in care constitute less than 1% of the UK under 18 population, yet account for about half the suicides. There is not yet have a reliable biomarker for suicide, but it is something that Dr Ougrin hopes can change.

"Once a person has become comfortable enough with pain, when they have raised the threshold far above what it would normally be in someone that hasn't self-harmed, it is at that point we can say that they are at greater risk of suicide."

The investigators now hope that these findings can be converted into a simple test using a pressure sensor to effectively identify at risk individuals so that they can be provided with targeted support.

Professor Stephen McMahon, the study's Co-Lead author King's IoPPN, said "We have been using these quantitative measures of sensory function in many different patient groups, and I am amazed at the magnitude of the effects seen in these young people who self-harm".

Professor Helen Minnis, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Glasgow University said, "I was delighted to be part of this exciting study, which couldn't have been completed without the strong support of Glasgow City Council Social Work and Chief Social Worker Susanne Millar"

Tatum Cummins, the study's joint first author from King's IoPPN said, "Surprisingly, these findings extended to non-painful stimuli. We saw a significant hyposensitivity to innocuous stimuli in the most frequent self-harm group compared to our community control participants with no self-harm.

"What we don't yet know is whether pain hyposensitivity is a pre-existing risk factor for self-harm, rather than a result of it. Our findings that youths in care have sensory abnormalities, regardless of whether or not they have self-harmed, is striking and will need further investigation."

###

King's IoPPN, in partnership with the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and the Maudsley Charity, are in the process of opening a world leading centre for children and young people mental health. The Pears Maudsley Centre for Children and Young People is expected to open in 2023 and will bring together researchers and clinicians to help find solutions that will transform the landscape for children's mental health.

This study was possible thanks to funding from the Medical Research Council (UK) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre.

For more information, please contact Patrick O'Brien, Senior Media Officer (Patrick.1.obrien@kcl.ac.uk)

Assessment of Somatosensory Function and Self-harm in Adolescents (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.16853) (Tatum M. Cummins, MSc; Oliver English, MSc; Helen Minnis, PhD; Daniel Stahl, PhD; Rory C. O'Connor, PhD; Kirsty Bannister, PhD; Stephen B. McMahon, PhD; Dennis Ougrin, PhD, MBBS) was published in JAMA Network Open

About King's College London

King's College London is one of the top 35 UK universities in the world and one of the top 10 in Europe (QS World University Rankings, 2020/21) and among the oldest in England. King's has more than 31,000 students (including more than 12,800 postgraduates) from some 150 countries worldwide, and some 8,500 staff.

King's has an outstanding reputation for world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), eighty-four per cent of research at King's was deemed 'world-leading' or 'internationally excellent' (3* and 4*).

Since our foundation, King's students and staff have dedicated themselves in the service of society. King's will continue to focus on world-leading education, research and service, and will have an increasingly proactive role to play in a more interconnected, complex world. Visit our website to find out more about Vision 2029, King's strategic vision to take the university to the 200th anniversary of its founding.

World-changing ideas. Life-changing impact: https:/ / www. kcl. ac. uk/ news/ headlines. aspx

About the University of Glasgow

Ranked in the top 100 of the world's universities, we deliver world-class and world-changing research and education with impact. We are a member of the prestigious Russell Group of leading UK Universities and are joint 1st in this group for student satisfaction. We are connected to seven Nobel Laureates, and 81% of our research is judged to be internationally excellent. Further information can be found here: http://www. gla. ac. uk/ explore/

About the Medical Research Council
New Rochelle, NY, July 13, 2021--Males with COVID-19 had significantly higher rates of hospitalization and of transfer to the intensive care unit (ICU) according to a new study. A higher percentage of males died of COVID-19 compared to females, as reported in the study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Women's Health. Click here to read the article now.

Joanne Michelle Gomez, MD, Rush University Medical Center, and coauthors, studied the first 8,108 positive COVID-19 patients that presented to the Rush University System from March 1-June 21, 2020. Nineteen percent of males required hospitalization, compared to 13% of females. Eight percent of males compared to 4% of females required escalation of care to the ICU. The authors also reported significantly greater need for vasopressor support and endotracheal intubation among males.

"A significant independent association was observed between male sex and in-hospital mortality when accounting for the total cohort of positive COVID-19 patients," state the authors. "The interplay among biological, hormonal, and gendered behavioral factors is likely responsible for the worse outcomes observed in males in COVID-19 infection."

"The findings of this study clearly demonstrate better outcomes for females infected with COVID-19. The authors propose some of the biological, hormonal, and behavioral factors that could be protective in females," says Journal of Women's Health Editor-in-Chief Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women's Health, Richmond, VA.

###

About the Journal

Journal of Women's Health, published monthly, is a core multidisciplinary journal dedicated to the diseases and conditions that hold greater risk for or are more prevalent among women, as well as diseases that present differently in women. Led by Editor-in-Chief Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women's Health, Richmond, VA, the Journal covers the latest advances and clinical applications of new diagnostic procedures and therapeutic protocols for the prevention and management of women's healthcare issues. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Women's Health website. Journal of Women's Health is the official journal of the Society for Women's Health Research.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research. A complete list of the firm's 90 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.
A clinic to help transgender young people and their families receive quicker support has boosted mental health, family functioning and quality of life, according to a new study.

The research, led by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) and published in Pediatrics, found the clinic in Melbourne led to lower levels of depression and anxiety due to transgender young people being able to access help 10 months sooner.

The study involved 142 patients who completed questionnaires before and after attending the First Assessment Single Session Triage (FASST) clinic at The Royal Children's Hospital Gender Service (RCHGS).

MCRI Associate Professor Ken Pang said waitlists continued to grow at many gender services worldwide, resulting in wait times of up to two years.

"Many transgender children and adolescents experience gender dysphoria," he said. "They are also at high risk of depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide, which is likely to be driven not only by gender dysphoria, but also increased exposure to bullying, discrimination, harassment, violence and social isolation.

"Across the globe, increased awareness and understanding of gender diversity have contributed to a marked increase in the number of transgender children and adolescents seeking specialist care. This has placed substantial pressure on clinical resources and wait times for assessment have substantially increased."

To manage this demand, the FASST clinic was established in 2016 to provide information and support to young people, aged 8 to 17 years, and their families. Led by a clinical nurse consultant, FASST has reduced initial wait times by 10 months and triages patients onto a secondary waitlist for additional multidisciplinary care with mental health clinicians and pediatricians.

Associate Professor Pang said the study found the clinic led to improvements in depression, anxiety, quality of life and family functioning.

"Participants found attending the clinic provided validation, not only for themselves, but also their families, classmates and wider communities," he said. "This validation had flow on effects, improving their sense of self, boosting their confidence, and increasing parental understanding, acceptance and support."

Associate Professor Pang said having a child identify as transgender was a momentous change and often highly stressful for families.

"We found that family functioning prior to attending the clinic was at an unhealthy level for many of our participants' families," he said. "But after attending the clinic, this significantly improved."

Mac Zamani, 17, would have been waiting more than a year for support if the FASST clinic didn't exist.

"I didn't know what to expect but I went in with an open mind and found it really rewarding," he said. "The nurse talked me through socially transitioning, mental health concerns, medications, and what other names and pronouns were possible options.

"It was refreshing to have such an easy conversation as you feel these things are still taboo to talk about. "The clinic made me more confident and validated my feelings that this wasn't a phase, which made me a lot less stressed."

Mac said while the relationship with his parents was always one of acceptance the clinic made their bond even stronger.

"My parents appreciated the support too from the nurse as it put them at ease that they were doing and saying all the right things," he said. "They had a lot of questions and the nurse reassured them, which allowed them to block out all the negativity and removed any doubts."

After attending the FASST clinic, Mac was referred to a psychologist, pediatrician and speech therapist at the RCHGS, where he is still a patient today.

"I'd be in a very different place without this support over the past four years," he said. "I consider myself to be one of the lucky ones. I have friends who had very different experiences, parents who weren't supportive and had to wait years to see a psychologist."

Associate Professor Pang also recently received a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grant for the Trans20 study aiming to improve the clinical care of young people who receive specialist gender support by identifying the trajectories, outcomes and predictors of their health and well-being.

It comes as a new study, published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health by the same research team, found most existing tools which measure gender identity, gender expression or gender dysphoria in transgender children and adolescents have substantial limitations.

Study co-senior author, MCRI's Dr Michelle Tollit, said the majority of existing tools were created before 2000 and reflected outdated beliefs and terminology. Few assess gender identity or dysphoria and hardly any consider the substantial conceptual and cultural shifts regarding non-binary or fluid aspects of gender identity, she said.

Dr Tollit said new tools were needed which were not only specifically designed for transgender children and adolescents and capture modern concepts of gender identity, including non-binary and genderfluid identities, but also use gender affirming language and were psychometrically sound.

Researchers from The Royal Children's Hospital, Western Sydney University, the University of Melbourne, and The Gender Identity Development Service in London contributed to one or both of the studies.

###

Publication: Sarah Dahlgren Allen, Michelle A. Tollit, Rosalind McDougall, Donna Eade, Monsurul Hoq and Ken C. Pang. 'A Waitlist Intervention for Transgender Young People and Psychosocial Outcomes,' Pediatrics. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2020-042762

Publication: Thea M Bloom, Thomas P Nguyen, Francesca Lami, Carmen Pace, Zeffie Poulakis, Michelle Telfer, Amelia Taylor, Kenneth Pang and Michelle A Tollit. 'Measurement tools for gender identity, gender expression, and gender dysphoria in transgender and gender-diverse children and adolescents: a systematic review,' The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health. DOI: 10.1016/ S2352-4642(21)00098-5

*The content of this communication is the sole responsibility of MCRI and does not reflect the views of the NHMRC.

Available for interview: Dr Ken Pang, MCRI Team Leader, Brain and Mind

Funding: The Trans20 study is supported by The Royal Children's Hospital Foundation and the National Health and Medical Research Council (APP 2006529) and Michelle Tollit, Ken Pang and Carmen Pace are supported by the Hugh Williamson Foundation.
North Carolina State University researchers have created insecticide-free, mosquito-resistant clothing using textile materials they confirmed to be bite-proof in experiments with live mosquitoes. They developed the materials using a computational model of their own design, which describes the biting behavior of Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that carries viruses that cause human diseases like Zika, Dengue fever and yellow fever.

Ultimately, the researchers reported in the journal Insects that they were able to prevent 100 percent of bites when a volunteer wore their clothing - a base layer undergarment and a combat shirt initially designed for the military - in a cage with 200 live, disease-free mosquitoes. Vector Textiles, an NC State startup company, has licensed the related patent rights and intends to make clothing for commercial sale in the United States.

The researchers think their computational model could be used more widely to develop clothing to reduce transmission of diseases.

"The fabric is proven to work - that's the great thing we discovered," said study co-author Andre West, associate professor of fashion and textile design at NC State and director of Zeis Textiles Extension for Economic Development. "To me, that's revolutionary. We found we can prevent the mosquito from pushing through the fabric, while others were thick enough to prevent it from reaching the skin."

To develop the computational model to design textile materials that could prevent A. aegypti bites, researchers investigated the dimensions of the head, antenna and mouth of A. aegypti, and the mechanics of how it bites. Then, they used the model to predict textile materials that would prevent bites, depending on their thickness and pore size. Researchers said they believe the materials could be effective against other mosquito species in addition to A. aegypti because of similarities in biology and biting behavior.

"There are different uses for clothing," said the study's first author Kun Luan, postdoctoral research scholar of forest biomaterials at NC State. "The idea is to have a model that will cover all possible garments that a person would ever want."

To test the accuracy of their model, the researchers tested the materials predicted to be bite-proof. In experiments with live, disease-free mosquitoes, the researchers surrounded a blood reservoir with plastic materials made according to parameters predicted by the model. They then counted how many mosquitoes became engorged with blood.

One material they initially tested was very thin - less than one millimeter thick - but had a very small pore size to prevent the mosquito from sticking its mouth parts, or proboscis, through the material. Another material had a medium pore size to prevent the mosquito from inserting its head through the textile far enough to reach the skin; and a third material had larger pores, but was sufficiently thick that the mosquito's mouth still couldn't reach the skin.

In a subsequent test, the researchers chose a series of knitted and woven fabrics that met the bite-proof parameters determined by the model, and validated they worked in experiments using both the blood reservoir and human volunteers. The researchers tested the number of bites received by volunteers when study participants inserted an arm covered by a protective sleeve into a mosquito cage. The researchers also compared the fabrics' ability to prevent bites and repel mosquitoes to fabrics treated with an insecticide.

From what they learned in early experiments, researchers developed the bite-resistant, form-fitting undergarment made with a thin material, as well as a long-sleeved shirt, which was initially envisioned as a combat shirt for the military.

When a volunteer wore the garments sitting for 10 minutes and standing for 10 minutes in a walk-in cage with 200 hungry mosquitos, the volunteer found the combat shirt was 100 percent effective at preventing bites. In the first trial testing the base layer, the volunteer received bites on the back and shoulders - seven bites for 200 mosquitoes. The researchers attributed the bites to the fabric stretching and deforming, so they doubled the material layer around the shoulders, and were ultimately able to prevent 100 percent of bites. They also tested the clothing for comfort, and to see how well it trapped heat and released moisture.

"The final garments that were produced were 100 percent bite-resistant," said Michael Roe, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Entomology at NC State. "Everyday clothing you wear in the summer is not bite-resistant to mosquitoes. Our work has shown that it doesn't have to be that way. Clothes that you wear every day can be made bite-resistant. Ultimately, the idea is to have a model that will cover all possible garments that person would ever want - both for the military as well as for private use."

###

The study, "Mosquito-textile physics: A mathematical roadmap to insecticide-free, bite-proof clothing for everyday life," was published online July X, 2021, in the journal Insects. It was authored by Luan, Roe, West, Charles Apperson, Marian McCord, Emiel DenHartog, Quan Shi, Nicholas Travanty, Robert Mitchell, Grayson Cave, John Strider and Youngxin Wang from NC State University and Isa Bettermann, Florian Neumann and Tobias Beck from Aachen University, Germany. The study was supported by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense Deployed War Fighter Program, Natick Contracting Division of the U.S. Department of Defense, the Chancellor's Innovation Fund at NC State, the Southeast Center for Agricultural Health and Injury Prevention, PILOTS and the NC Agriculture Research Experiment Station.

Note to editors: The abstract follows.

"Mosquito-textile physics: A mathematical roadmap to insecticide-free, bite-proof clothing for everyday life"

Authors: Kun Luan, Andre J. West, Marian G. McCord, Emiel DenHartog, Quan Shi, Isa Bettermann, Jiayin Li, Nicholas V. Travanty, Robert D. Mitchell III, Grayson L. Cave, John B. Strider, Yongxin Wang, Florian Neumann, Tobias Beck, Charles S. Apperson and R. Michael Roe.

Published online in Insects on July 13, 2021.

DOI: 10.3390/insects12070636

Abstract: Garments treated with chemical insecticides are commonly used to prevent mosquito bites. Resistance to insecticides, however, is threatening the efficacy of this technology, and people are increasingly concerned about the potential health impacts of wearing insecticide-treated clothing. Here, we report a mathematical model for fabric barriers that resist bites from

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes based on textile physical structure and no insecticides. The model was derived from mosquito morphometrics and analysis of mosquito biting behavior. Precision polypropylene plates were first used to simulate woven and knitted fabrics for model validation.

Then based on model predictions, prototype knitted textiles and garments were developed that prevented mosquito biting and were tested for comfort. Our predictive model can be used to develop additional textiles in the future for garments that are highly bite-resistant to mosquitoes.
The concept of topological phases have not only revolutionized our understanding of physics or materials, but also brought about new possibilities for applications. Recent advances in higher-order topological insulators show that multiple forms of topological states can exist at boundaries of different dimensions, which greatly enriched the potentials for diverse applications. Interesting, the topological phases can also be implemented in artificial structures in photonics, electromagnetism, and acoustics.

A recent work co-led by Dr. Guancong Ma from Hong Kong Baptist University and Dr. Ying Wu from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology explored the controlling sound propagation with topological modes at different dimensions. They designed and built a phononic crystal that hosts robust topological states at three different dimensions, i.e., 2D topological surface states, 1D topological hinge states, and 0D topological corner states. The researchers showed that these different topological states can be used for different kinds of wave steering. The 2D topological surface states can be engineered to realize negative refraction of sound wave. And the 1D topological hinge states are used as transport channels much like waveguides that can bend in all three spatial directions. An acoustic interferometer is realized leveraging this characteristics. This work showcases that topological states can be tailored for wave steering applications across multiple dimensions.

###

This work was supported by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) under Award No. OSR-2016-CRG5-2950 and KAUST Baseline Research Fund BAS/1/1626-01-01. This work was also supported by Hong Kong Research Grants Council (12302420, 12300419, 22302718, C6013-18G), the National Natural Science Foundation of China via the Excellent Young Scientist Scheme (Hong Kong & Macao) (11922416) and the Youth Program (11802256), and Hong Kong Baptist University (RC-SGT2/18-19/SCI/006).

See the article:

Changqing Xu, Ze-Guo Chen, Guanqing Zhang, Guancong Ma, Ying Wu, Multi-dimensional wave steering with higher-order topological phononic crystal, Science Bulletin, 2021, DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2021.05.013
Lee Lynd, the Queneau Distinguished Professor of Engineering at Dartmouth, will be the founding director of the new Advanced Second Generation (A2G) Biofuel Laboratory located at the University of Campinas (Unicamp) in Brazil. The lab's mission is to develop and enable technology to sustainably produce bioethanol, an alternative to fossil fuel, from inedible agricultural products at a much lower cost than is currently possible.

Lynd, who has a long history of involvement with Brazil, will continue to lead the Lynd Lab at Dartmouth, which also aims to cost-effectively produce cellulosic biofuels for the benefit of people and the environment. The Dartmouth lab focuses on switchgrass and poplar feedstocks, while the A2G lab concentrates on sugar cane, which is a plentiful feedstock in Brazil but not in the US.

"Brazil is a distinctively advantageous location to move forward cellulosic biofuels because it is one of the parts of the world that can grow biomass the best, and because biofuels are a big part of the Brazilian identity and economy," said Lynd. "I'm glad to have added resources and a bigger team to devote to these efforts."

The A2G biofuels lab targets strategies for second-generation ethanol production that reduce the cost of production. Once optimized for ethanol, these strategies could also enable commercial production of other renewable fuels, including hydrocarbons.

A member of the Dartmouth faculty since 1987, Lynd is an expert on utilization of plant biomass for production of energy. Spanning science, technology, and policy domains, and including leading research on fundamental and biotechnological aspects of microbial cellulose utilization, his body of work includes more than 250 publications, more than 34,000 citations, and nine granted patents.

Lynd is co-founder, Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), and Director of biofuel start-up Enchi Corp., Consolidated Bioprocessing Team Lead for The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, and founder and Executive Committee Chair of the Global Sustainable Bioenergy Initiative. Previously, he was co-founder, CSO, and Director of Mascoma Corp., co-leader of The Role of Biomass in America's Energy Future project, and a biofuel industry representative on a committee advisory to the executive office of President Clinton on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from personal vehicles.

He has three times testified before the US Senate and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He has received numerous awards and honors, including being named the inaugural recipient of the Lemelson MIT Sustainability Prize for inventions and innovations that enhance economic opportunity and community well-being while protecting and restoring the natural environment; he also won the Charles D. Scott Award from the Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology (SIMB) for distinguished contributions to the field of biotechnology for fuels and chemicals.

Financial support for the A2G biofuels lab comes from the Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) through its Sao Paulo Excellence Chair program, which enables distinguished international scholars to initiate research activities at academic institutions in the state of Sao Paulo. The lab will be co-hosted by theCentro de Biologia Molecular e Engenharia Genetica (CBMEG), and Faculdade de Engenharia Quimica(FEQ) at Unicamp.

As international academic travel begins to resume, Lynd plans to spend two months at the A2G lab in the coming year, and a month each for the following four years of the grant period. In addition, two of the Dartmouth Lynd Lab's group leaders--Dartmouth Engineering professor Daniel Olson and research scientist Evert Holwerda--will spend a month at the A2G lab per year.

"Labs are just starting to reopen in Brazil," said Lynd. "The next step for us will be ordering equipment and retrofitting the lab. We have six Unicamp PhD students who will be supported by this lab, and we hope to have them physically there starting later this year."
A new population-based study looking at nearly 30 years of billing data demonstrates that sex-based differences in Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) payments exists for Canadian ophthalmologists

A new population-based study looking at nearly 30 years of billing data demonstrates that sex-based differences in Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) payments exists for Canadian ophthalmologists.

A team led by researchers and clinicians from the Donald K. Johnson Eye Institute, part of the Krembil Research Institute at University Health Network (UHN), studied 22,389 Ontario physicians across three decades and found a significant payment gap between female and male ophthalmologists even after accounting for age, and some practice differences. This disparity was more pronounced among ophthalmologists when compared to other surgical, medical procedural and medical non-procedural specialty groups.

"This is real and robust health administrative data," says Dr. Tina Felfeli, a PhD student in the Vision Sciences Research Program at UHN and the THETA collaborative group at Toronto General Hospital, as well as first author on the paper. "In a fee-for-service environment, one wouldn't have expected differences between the sexes in OHIP payments." She adds, "These findings are very powerful."

The data was collected on OHIP fee-for-service payments between 1992 to 2018, through the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) database. ICES is a non-profit research institute, leading studies, which evaluate health care delivery and outcomes.

To date, the majority of the studies looking at disparity in pay amongst females and males have relied on self-reported income from surveys or Medicare/Medicaid payments, only capturing a subset of billing data.

"One of the most interesting findings in the study is that females appear to have the smallest representation in ophthalmology as compared to other specialty groups combined, and this is where we see the biggest disparity in payments," says Dr. Yvonne Buys, a Clinician Investigator with the Donald K. Johnson Eye Institute, part of the Krembil Research Institute at UHN, and a senior author on the study.

Studying gender disparity in physician payments and advancement for females working in medical specialties is a major focus for Dr. Buys. This study builds on previous work that she has done in this area.

"There is a perception that women are paid less because they may not work as many hours as men, or that they are somehow less productive," says Dr. Buys, "but this study shows that's not the case."

"So the next step in this research is to find out why the disparity exists."

Although future studies will shed further light on this, possible contributors may include referral patterns, complexity of cases, operating room access, choice of procedures, frequency of patient visits and billing practices. However, it is also possible that some of the differences are due to the individual's choice.

"In an era when a growing number of females are choosing to enter medical school, addressing the barriers to progression for females in surgical specialties will likely improve the appeal of ophthalmology as a profession for future generations," says Dr. Felfeli. She adds, "This will be an important step towards diversity and inclusion in medicine."

Key findings:

The representation of females in medical and surgical specialties has increased from 17% of all physicians in 1992 to 36% in 2018.

In 2018, ophthalmology had one of the lowest representations of females at 22%, compared to most other specialties.

Even after accounting for differences in age, number of patient visits, number of patients, and visits per patient, there was a disparity in pay between males and females, for ophthalmologists and other medical and surgical specialty groups.

Amongst the highest billers in ophthalmology in 2018, males billed approximately 17% more than female ophthalmologists. This was despite female ophthalmologists having a greater number of patients in their practice.

Males earned 8-?12% more than females in other medical and surgical specialities.

This study made use of de-identified data from the ICES Data Repository, which is managed by ICES with support from its funders and partners: Canada's Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR), the Ontario SPOR Support Unit, CIHR, and the Government of Ontario. The opinions, results, and conclusions reported are those of the authors. No endorsement by ICES or any of its funders or partners is intended or should be inferred.

###

Dr. Felfeli is supported by educational grants from the Canada Graduate Scholarships, the University Health Network Vision Science Research Program, the UHN Foundation, University of Toronto Postgraduate Medical Education Research Awards and Fighting Blindness Canada.

About the Krembil Research Institute

The Krembil Research Institute (or "Krembil") is one of the principal research institutes of the University Health Network. Krembil is focused on research programs dedicated to brain & spine, arthritis and vision disorders, with a goal to alleviate debilitating chronic disease through basic, translational and clinical research. Krembil is located at the Toronto Western Hospital in downtown Toronto. For more information: http://www. uhn. ca/ Research/ Research_Institutes/ Krembil

About University Health Network

University Health Network consists of Toronto General and Toronto Western Hospitals, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, and The Michener Institute of Education at UHN. The scope of research and complexity of cases at University Health Network has made it a national and international source for discovery, education and patient care. University Health Network has the largest hospital-based research program in Canada, with major research in cardiology, transplantation, neurosciences, oncology, surgical innovation, infectious diseases, genomic medicine and rehabilitation medicine. University Health Network is a research hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto. The Krembil Brain Institute at Toronto Western Hospital is the home to the largest team of neurosurgeons, neurologists, neuroradiologists and allied health professionals in Canada, with the widest range of expertise and specialty care for neurological diseases. For more information: http://www. uhn. ca

For more information or to book an interview, please contact:

Heather Sherman, Senior Advisor, Public Affairs

Neuroscience | Arthritis | Vision

University Health Network | heather.sherman@uhn.ca
A new wearable device turns the touch of a finger into a source of power for small electronics and sensors. Engineers at the University of California San Diego developed a thin, flexible strip that can be worn on a fingertip and generate small amounts of electricity when a person's finger sweats or presses on it.

What's special about this sweat-fueled device is that it generates power even while the wearer is asleep or sitting still. This is potentially a big deal for the field of wearables because researchers have now figured out how to harness the energy that can be extracted from human sweat even when a person is not moving.

This type of device is the first of its kind, said co-first author Lu Yin, a nanoengineering Ph.D. student at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. "Unlike other sweat-powered wearables, this one requires no exercise, no physical input from the wearer in order to be useful. This work is a step forward to making wearables more practical, convenient and accessible for the everyday person."

The new wearable energy harvester is described in a paper published July 13 in Joule.

The device also generates extra power from light finger presses--so activities such as typing, texting, playing the piano or tapping in Morse code can also become sources of energy.

"We envision that this can be used in any daily activity involving touch, things that a person would normally do anyway while at work, at home, while watching TV or eating," said Joseph Wang, a professor of nanoengineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering and the study's senior author. "The goal is that this wearable will naturally work for you and you don't even have to think about it."

The device derives most of its power from sweat produced by the fingertips, which are 24-hour factories of perspiration. It's a little-known fact that the fingertips are one of the sweatiest spots on the body; each one is packed with over a thousand sweat glands and can produce between 100 to 1000 times more sweat than most other areas on the body.

"The reason we feel sweatier on other parts of the body is because those spots are not well ventilated," said Yin. "By contrast, the fingertips are always exposed to air, so the sweat evaporates as it comes out. So rather than letting it evaporate, we use our device to collect this sweat, and it can generate a significant amount of energy."

But not just any sweat-fueled device can work on the fingertip. Collecting sweat from such a small area and making it useful required some innovative materials engineering, explained Yin. The researchers had to build different parts of the device to be super absorbent and efficient at converting the chemicals in human sweat into electrical energy.

Yin worked on this project with UC San Diego nanoengineering Ph.D. students Jong-Min Moon and Juliane Sempionatto, who are the study's other co-first authors, as part of a team led by Wang, who is also the director of the Center for Wearable Sensors at UC San Diego. Wang and his team pioneered sweat-fueled wearables 8 years ago. Since then, they have been building on the technology to create new and better ways to power wearables using sustainable sources, such as the wearers themselves and their surroundings.

This latest energy harvesting technology is especially unique in that it could serve as a power source anytime, anywhere. It does not have the same limitations as, say, solar cells, which only work under sunlight, or thermoelectric generators, which only work when there's a large temperature difference between the device and the surroundings.

How it works

The device is a thin, flexible strip that can be wrapped around the fingertip like a Band-Aid. A padding of carbon foam electrodes absorbs sweat and converts it into electrical energy. The electrodes are equipped with enzymes that trigger chemical reactions between lactate and oxygen molecules in sweat to generate electricity. Underneath the electrodes is a chip made of what's called a piezoelectric material, which generates additional electrical energy when pressed.

As the wearer sweats or presses on the strip, the electrical energy gets stored in a small capacitor and is discharged to other devices when needed.

The researchers had a subject wear the device on one fingertip while doing sedentary activities. From 10 hours of sleep, the device collected almost 400 millijoules of energy--this is enough to power an electronic wristwatch for 24 hours. From one hour of casual typing and clicking on a mouse, the device collected almost 30 millijoules.

And this is just from one fingertip. Strapping devices on the rest of the fingertips would generate 10 times more energy, the researchers said.

"By using the sweat on the fingertip--which flows out naturally regardless of where you are or what you're doing--this technology provides a net gain in energy with no effort from the user. This is what we call a maximum energy return on investment," said Wang.

"Compare this to a device that harvests energy as you exercise," explained Yin. "When you are running, you are investing hundreds of joules of energy only for the device to generate millijoules of energy. In that case, your energy return on investment is very low. But with this device, your return is very high. When you are sleeping, you are putting in no work. Even with a single finger press, you are only investing about half a millijoule."

In other experiments, the researchers connected their energy harvester to an electronic system consisting of a chemical sensor connected to a small low-power display, which shows a numerical reading of the sensor's data. Either pressing the energy harvester 10 times every 10 seconds or simply wearing it on the fingertip for two minutes was enough to power both the sensor and the display. In one experiment, the researchers hooked up their device to a vitamin C sensor that they developed in the lab. They had a subject take a vitamin C pill and then use the finger-powered system to read their vitamin C level. In another experiment, the researchers showed that their system could also be used with a lab-built sodium sensor to read the sodium ion level of a saltwater solution.

"Our goal is to make this a practical device," said Yin. "We want to show that this is not just another cool thing that can generate a small amount of energy and then that's it--we can actually use the energy to power useful electronics such as sensors and displays."

To that end, the team is making further improvements to the device so that it is more efficient and durable. Future studies will include combining it with other types of energy harvesters to create a new generation of self-powered wearable systems.

###

Paper: "A Passive Perspiration Biofuel Cell: High Energy Return on Investment." Co-authors include Muyang Lin, Mengzhu Cao, Alexander Trifonov, Fangyu Zhang, Zhiyuan Lou, Jae-Min Jeong, Sang-Jin Lee and Sheng Xu, UC San Diego.

This work was supported by the Center for Wearable Sensors at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering.
A decade after scientists discovered that lab rats will rescue a fellow rat in distress, but not a rat they consider an outsider, new research from the University of California, Berkeley, pinpoints the brain regions that drive rats to prioritize their nearest and dearest in times of crisis. It also suggests humans may share the same neural bias.

The findings, published today, Tuesday, July 13, in the journal eLife, suggest that altruism, whether in rodents or humans, is motivated by social bonding and familiarity rather than sympathy or guilt.

"We have found that the group identity of the distressed rat dramatically influences the neural response and decision to help, revealing the biological mechanism of ingroup bias," said study senior author Daniela Kaufer, a professor of neuroscience and integrative biology at UC Berkeley.

With nativism and conflicts between religious, ethnic and racial groups on the rise globally, the results suggest that social integration, rather than segregation, may boost cooperation among humans.

"Priming a common group membership may be a more powerful driver for inducing pro-social motivation than increasing empathy," said study lead author Inbal Ben-Ami Bartal, an assistant professor of psychobiology at Tel-Aviv University in Israel.

Bartal launched the study in 2014 as a postdoctoral Miller fellow in Kaufer's laboratory at UC Berkeley. Bartal, Kaufer and UC Berkeley psychology professor Dacher Keltner led a research team that sought to identify the brain networks activated in rats in response to empathy, and whether they are mirrored in humans. The results suggest they are.

"The finding of a similar neural network involved in empathic helping in rats, as in humans, provides new evidence that caring for others is based on a shared neurobiological mechanism across mammals," Bartal said.

Using fiber photometry, immunohistochemistry, calcium imaging and other diagnostic tools, researchers found that all the rats they studied experienced empathy in response to another rat's signs of distress.

However, to act on that empathy, the helper rat's neural reward circuitry had to be triggered, and that only occurred if the trapped rat was of the same type as the helper rat, or member of its ingroup.

"Surprisingly, we found that the network associated with empathy is activated when you see a distressed peer, whether they are in the ingroup or not," Kaufer said. "In contrast, the network associated with reward signaling was active only for ingroup members and correlated with helping behavior."

Specifically, the rats' empathy correlated with the brain's sensory and orbitofrontal regions, as well as with the anterior insula. Meanwhile, the rodents' decision to help was linked to activity in the nucleus accumbens, a reward center with neurotransmitters that include dopamine and serotonin.

For the study, more than 60 pairs of caged rats were monitored over the course of two weeks. Some of the pairs were of the same strain or genetic tribe while others were not.

In each trial, one rat would be trapped inside a transparent cylinder while the other roamed free in a larger enclosure surrounding the cylinder.

While unconstrained rats consistently signaled empathy in response to the plight of trapped rats, they only worked to free those that were part of their ingroup, in which case they would lean or butt their heads against the cage door to release the rat.

Indeed, in reviewing the results of multiple measures to understand the neural roots of that bias, the research team found that while all the rodents in the trials sensed their cage partner's distress, their brains' reward circuitry was only activated when they came to the rescue of a member of their ingroup.

Moreover, humans and other mammals share virtually the same empathy and reward regions in the brain, implying that we may have similar biases toward our ingroup when it comes to helping others, Bartal noted.

"Overall, the findings suggest that empathy alone doesn't predict helping behavior, and that's really a crucial point," she said. "So, if you want to motivate people to help others who are suffering, it may be that you have to increase their feeling of belonging and group membership, and work toward a common identity."

"Encouragingly," she added, "we find that this mechanism is very flexible and determined primarily by social experience. We will now try to understand how pro-social motivation shifts when rats become friends, and how that is reflected in their brain activity."

###

In addition to Kaufer, Bartal and Keltner, co-authors of the study are Jocelyn Breton, Huanjie Sheng, Kimberly Long, Stella Chen and Aline Halliday of UC Berkeley; Justin Kenney, Anne Wheeler and Paul Frankland of the University of Toronto; and Carrie Shilyansky and Karl Deisseroth of Stanford University.
New research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has shown that the mutations arising in the COVID-19-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus seem to run in the family -- or at least the genus of coronaviruses most dangerous to humans.

After comparing the early evolution of SARS-CoV-2 against that of its closest relatives, the betacoronaviruses, the Nebraska team found that SARS-CoV-2 mutations are occurring in essentially the same locations, both genetically and structurally.

The mutational similarities between SARS-CoV-2 and its predecessors, including the human-infecting SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV, could help inform predictions of how the COVID-causing virus will continue to evolve, the researchers said.

"The problem of looking at only one virus at a time is that you lose the forest for the trees," said Katherine LaTourrette, a doctoral student in the Complex Biosystems program at Nebraska. "By looking at this big picture, we were able to predict the mutational nature of SARS-CoV-2.

"That gets into these questions of: Are vaccines going to be effective long term? Which variants are going to sneak by? Do we need that booster shot? Are vaccinated people going to be infected a second time?"

'YOU'RE MORE LIKELY TO BE HITTING THAT BULL'S-EYE'

The genetic code of a virus determines its ability to infect cells and direct them to churn out more copies of itself. That code consists of fundamental compounds, or nucleotides, with mutations occurring wherever those nucleotides get added, subtracted or swapped for one another. Many mutations have little or no effect, in the same way that trying to hack an intricate password by changing just one character will likely fail.

But given enough chances, a virus will eventually happen upon a mutation or mutations that change the assembly of its structural joints, or amino acids, enough to help it better invade cells and replicate -- advantages that help it outcompete other strains. In some cases, a new strain can also evade the immune responses stirred by existing vaccines, necessitating the development of new vaccines to protect against it.

LaTourrette and her adviser, Hernan Garcia-Ruiz, were busy comparing mutational patterns across viruses that invade a different biological kingdom -- plants -- when the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic struck. To do it, the researchers were analyzing segments of sequenced DNA from parallel locations on the genomes of all viruses in a genus. They were hunting specifically for single-point mutations: segments in which just one nucleotide had changed. By pinpointing them, the team was sussing out whether certain mutations pop up across related plant viruses, then tracing those mutations to functional amino acid changes in the viruses.

"A lot of times, researchers have a specific plant virus they study," LaTourrette said. "They know it really well. But our question was: Big picture, what is the genus doing? We know that variation isn't random. It accumulates in specific areas of the genome, and those areas are (sometimes) consistent across the genus. Those tend to be areas important for things like host adaptation -- basically, areas that are going to need to keep changing in order to keep co-evolving with their host.

"So when COVID-19 happened, we thought, well, we can download the (betacoronavirus) sequences and run them through the pipeline and see where the variation is occurring."

When they did, LaTourrette and her colleagues found that the so-called spike protein, which protrudes from betacoronaviruses and keys their entry into host cells by binding with receptors on the surface, mutates rapidly across all known betacoronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2.

Despite accounting for just 17% of the SARS-CoV-2 genome, the "hyper-variable" spike protein has so far accumulated roughly 50% of the virus's total mutations, the researchers discovered. Those mutations are emerging in the same regions of the genome, and even the same sub-units of the spike protein, as they have in every other betacoronavirus to date.

"All of our analyses showed that that's really where the variation is happening," LaTourrette said. "It didn't matter when we looked at it, what variant we looked at -- the spike protein was key."

The team also concluded, as other virologists have, that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein is disordered --that while its amino acids assemble into the same general architecture, that architecture has what LaTourrette called "some wiggle room" to shift into slightly different configurations. That's bad news, she said, given that its structural flexibility likely gives it some functional wiggle room, too.

"Humans may have slightly different cell receptors, person to person," LaTourrette said. "So then you have to have a (spike protein) receptor that can accommodate those little shifts. If it were very ordered, and it couldn't shift, then maybe it couldn't infect everyone. But by having that flexibility, it's a much better virus.

"Basically, this area is hyper-variable, and it's flexible. So it's the double whammy."

Those qualities will continue to make SARS-CoV-2 a formidable foe that requires vigilance to stave off for the foreseeable future, LaTourrette said. But knowing its strengths, and that the evolutionary history of other betacoronaviruses might serve as a reasonable preview of that future, should help virologists and vaccinologists strategize accordingly.

Vaccines may have to continue targeting the distinctive spike protein as SARS-CoV-2 evolves, but consulting the mutational patterns of betacoronaviruses could help researchers forecast which domains of the protein are most and least likely to mutate. And that could make a moving target much easier to hit, LaTourrette said.

"If you close your eyes when you're throwing a dart at a dartboard, it could go anywhere," she said. "But by looking at the other (betacoronavirus) species, you have an idea of where it's likely to land. And you're more likely to be hitting that bull's-eye."

Though LaTourrette has already returned to the kingdom of plants, she said the opportunity to adapt her work to such a pressing purpose proved gratifying at a time when gratification was in short supply.

"For us, getting to (transition) from plants to coronaviruses was a really positive way of showing that you can take your science and your knowledge, and you can apply it to the benefit of society," LaTourrette said. "We've seen some really great examples in the past year-and-a-half of groups making that shift.

"Even though this is a very difficult time, and there's a lot of hardship, I think it's really positive to see scientists come together and be able to contribute to a cause together."

LaTourrette and Garcia-Ruiz, an associate professor of plant pathology at the Nebraska Center for Virology, conducted the research with recent master's graduate Natalie Holste, doctoral student Rosalba Rodriguez-Pena and Raquel Arruda Leme, a visiting researcher from Brazil.

###

The team, which received support from the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, recently reported its findings in the Journal of Virology.
Rapid filling of a giant dam at the headwaters of the Nile River -- the world's biggest waterway that supports millions of people -- could reduce water supplies to downstream Egypt by more than one-third, new USC research shows.

A water deficit of that magnitude, if unmitigated, could potentially destabilize a politically volatile part of the world by reducing arable land in Egypt by up to 72%. The study projects that economic losses to agriculture would reach $51 billion. The gross domestic product loss would push unemployment to 24%, displacing lots of people and disrupting economies.

"Our study forecasts dire water supply impacts downstream, causing what would be the largest water stress dispute in modern human history," said Essam Heggy, a research scientist at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and lead author of the study. "Averaging losses from all of the announced filling scenarios, these water shortages could nearly double Egypt's present water supply deficit and will have dire consequences for Egypt's economy, employment, migration and food supply."

The study was published July 1 in Environmental Research Letters.

Despite the risks, the study offers policy solutions for sustainability that could potentially minimize the downstream impacts and reduce tensions in the Nile River region. For example, the impacts could be partially offset by adjusting operations at the Aswan Dam downstream in southern Egypt, pumping more groundwater, cultivating different kinds of crops and improving irrigation systems.

So far, despite international negotiations, there's been little progress in the decade-long dispute.

The crux of the controversy is Ethiopia's $5 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam nearing completion at the Nile headwaters. Now in the second phase of filling, it will be the largest hydropower project in Africa and would create a reservoir containing 74 billion cubic meters of water -- more than twice the operational capacity of Lake Mead on the Colorado River.

It's so vast that it will take years to fill, and depending on how long it takes, the water diversions could have devastating impacts downstream. Egypt and Sudan have water rights to the Nile, while Ethiopia was not allocated a quantifiable share. But as water and energy demand grows in the Nile River basin, Ethiopia is asserting its needs for hydropower and irrigated agriculture to promote development.

Some 280 million people in 11 countries in the basin depend on the waterway -- a primary source of irrigation for more than 5,000 years. Egypt relies on the Nile for more than 90% of its water. The region's population could increase by 25% in 30 years, increasing demand at a time when Egypt would expect less water from the Nile. Water rights along the Nile have been in dispute since 1959; today, the conflict threatens to escalate into a war.

The USC study examined various dam filling scenarios and water shortage impacts for Egypt. Based on the short-term filling strategies of 3 to 5 years, presently favored by Ethiopia, the water deficit downstream in Egypt could almost double; 83% of the additional water loss would be due to dam restraining flow and evaporation and 17% lost due to seepage into rocks and sand.

The study helps fill a gap in the dispute by reducing ambiguities about how dam filling scenarios would impact the water budget deficit in Egypt, as well as offering a feasibility index to the different potential solutions. As global warming and aridification accelerates, it underscores the need for more water research in arid lands, which is the core mission of the Arid Climates and Water Research Center at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.

"There is a real need for sound science to resolve the ambiguity surrounding this controversy," Heggy said. "Our analysis doesn't point fingers, yet it shows a dire water situation that will result downstream, which is forecasted as the largest water stress dispute in human history. It can be avoided if proper support is made to the water, energy and environment research in the Nile basin."

The study comes amidst a 10-year dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over water supply on the Nile River. The parties seek an international solution, yet talks led by the U.S. State Department -- and joined by the European Union and the United Nations -- have resulted in little agreement after four years.

Meanwhile, tensions run high as negotiators try to avert armed conflict. Egypt has vowed not to allow the dam to impede its water supply, and it held joint military maneuvers with Sudan in May. Sudan has since petitioned the United Nations Security Council to hold an emergency session as soon as possible.

The dispute is emblematic of wider disputes over water scarcity as climate change affects developing countries experiencing rapid growth. Disputes along the Mekong, Zambezi and Euphrates-Tigris rivers, among others, show the potential for political instability and conflict.

Heggy said it's possible a win-win solution may yet be found for the Nile River, based on policy options the study identifies. Progress has been impeded, though, due to a lack of credible information about downstream water supply and economic impacts. Getting an agreement will likely require better data and forecasts on impacts to human society as well as ecological effects along the Nile River.

###

In addition to Heggy, co-authors of the study are Abotalib Z. Abotalib at USC and Zane Sharkawy at Cornell University.

The research was funded by the James H. Zumberge Research and Innovation Fund allocation to the Arid Climates and Water Research Center at the Viterbi School of Engineering.
Over the past two years, the municipality of Amsterdam, Utrecht University and Google have collaborated on Project Air View, in which the Amsterdam air quality was measured by two Street View cars with special measuring equipment. These maps have now been shared with the world for the first time. They show that motorized traffic can increase the concentration of ultrafine particles, soot and nitrogen dioxide in busy streets up to 3 times compared to quieter streets. The maps and data can be accessed via the websites of Google's Environmental Insights Explorer (EIE) and Utrecht University.

The quality of the air we breathe has a major impact on our health. Hyperlocal street-level air quality information can help residents, city planners and others identify areas of poor air quality and develop plans for improvement.

Low emission zones Amsterdam in Google Maps

Besides sharing the data and maps from Project Air View, Google will also roll out a new feature in Google Maps in Amsterdam in the upcoming weeks that will visualize low-emission zones in the city. This new feature gives drivers insight into when they are navigating through an environmental zone and whether a specific vehicle is allowed in the area. Based on this information, drivers can, for example, choose an alternative means of transport or take a different route.

Measurements at street level

Pollution data are measured at street level with Project Air View, on both busy and less busy roads. This gives hyperlocal insights, which are a unique addition to the measurements from the fixed measuring stations that Amsterdam already uses for monitoring and planning. The project also offered the possibility to measure certain air pollutants that are currently not routinely mapped (such as ultrafine particles and soot). The approximately 6 million measurements with the Street View cars took place in Amsterdam over 9 months in 2019 and 2020.

Insights

Motorized road traffic is the most relevant source of air pollution in Amsterdam. Air pollution in a busy street with a lot of traffic is about three times higher than in a quiet street with little traffic.

The highest concentrations on the maps can be seen at the main access roads to the city, where there is a lot of car traffic. For example, for the three components measured (ultrafine particles, nitrogen dioxide, soot), the A10 ring road has the highest concentrations. Busy streets such as Stadhouderskade, Wibautstraat and Nieuwe Leeuwarderweg also score significantly higher than surrounding neighborhoods and streets. Concentrations around the city center appear to be higher compared to the neighborhoods that are more distant from the center (eg North, New West, South East). The data also show an increase in ultrafine particle concentrations in the vicinity of Schiphol, while concentrations of soot and nitrogen dioxide in these districts appear to be lower than in the rest of the city.

According to the Municipality of Amsterdam, Project Air View confirms existing insights into air quality in Amsterdam. In certain areas it complements the existing air monitoring network, such as the extensive measurements of other substances. Think of the relatively new component ultrafine particles, a substance that is also important for health.

Opportunities

Roel Vermeulen, Professor of Environmental Epidemiology and Exposome Science at Utrecht University: "It is crucial to have these very detailed maps of air pollution for an entire city, especially when we talk about harmful particles that are not regulated yet, like ultrafine particles. They are widely spread, and this is the first time we can see this in detail. This gives us the opportunity to investigate what the health effects are and whether there is a need for regulation."

Google Netherlands' country manager, Martijn Bertisen: "We are happy that we can contribute to creating new insights about air quality in Amsterdam and make them available to researchers, politicians - and the citizens themselves. It also shows how advanced technology and partnerships can help solve some of the greatest challenges of the time, such as sustainability, when government agencies and private actors work well together."

Air View has also been introduced in Copenhagen, Dublin and London, among others. The two Street View cars and the measuring equipment used in Amsterdam have been taken over by Utrecht University and will now be used for the Data- and Knowledge Hub Healthy Urban Living and the European research programme EXPANSE to measure air quality in several European cities, with Basel as one of the next cities.

###
Pfizer says it will meet with US health officials

Pfizer says it plans to meet with top U.S. health officials Monday to discuss the drugmakers request for federal authorization of a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine.
Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Arnold Snyder is one of the initial seven members inducted into the Blackjack Hall of Fame. His book, Radical Blackjack, published by Huntington Press, has been in the works for years. Ive heard many of the stories in it from Arnold himself, but I finally got to read it and there were lot of new things.

Im not going to give all of Snyders arguments as spoiler alerts. But I will touch on what he discusses. If this is something you are interested in, get the book. My goal is to give you enough information for you to decide whether the book has value for you.

When is it smart to double on a hard 12? When is it smart to insure for less than half your bet? What are the main features of loss rebates and how do you figure out how much you should win or lose before you stop?

Those are probably the main theories advanced in the book that are not discussed at length in other blackjack books.

And then there are the stories. Arnold is a gifted storyteller and writer. Im a reasonably competent hack in those areas, and I appreciate listening to or reading a master at work. Arnold is a master. Arnold has been playing and writing for decades. He knows many of the other strong players whove played during that time period and has stories about many of them. He tells about court cases involving players where he was either a defendant or an expert witness. He tells about his wife, Radar, and how she helped him on many of his plays. He tells about the time he was invited, while seated next to his wife, to a promotion where he would be entitled to a Penthouse Pet for a weekend. And his wife encouraged him to go!

There are a number of stories about his shuffle tracking exploits, along with those where he hole carded, ace sequenced, edge sorted, and steered cards to or away from the dealers. This is not a how to book on doing these things. But it explains more about how to do it and what the potential is than many gamblers know.

Finally, he lists short biographies of everybody in the Blackjack Hall of Fame and how he knows them. (Hes met them all except Ian Anderson who is a recluse reportedly living in Australia.) And, thank you Arnold, he lists several links to Gambling with an Edge podcasts where these Hall of Famers have appeared, along with the titles of his favorite books and articles by each of these authors. And he talks of people who he thinks should be in the Blackjack Hall of Fame and are not for one reason or another.

Arnold Snyder will be a guest on Gambling with an Edge, discussing this book, on the episode that will be posted Thursday July 15. It is expected he will return for a follow-up visit on July 29.
Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Regarding Christchurch, New Zealand and The Christchurch Star

Here is an excerpt from the ARRB memo of the interview summary with Fletcher Prouty :

Here is an excerpt from the screenplay for JFK:

X (voice-0ver) It wasn't until I was on my way back to New Zealand that I read of the President's murder. Now, Oswald was charged at 7 P.M. Dallas time with Tippit's murder. That was 2 in the afternoon the next day New Zealand time, but already the papers had the entire history of an unknown 24-year-old man, Oswald -- a studio picture, detailed biographical date, Russian information -- and were pretty sure of the fact he'd killed the President alone, although it took them four more hours to charge him with the murder in Texas. It felt as if, well, a cover story was being put out like we would in a black op.

Here are a few excerpts from Prouty's interview with the ARRB:

Prouty: Well, we left there [Antarctica] and came back to New Zealand on the way back home, and we were in New Zealand on, I think, the 21st, 22nd and 23rd, and then maybe the 24th of November. Among the party that I was the escort officer for was a Congressman. And he and I were getting ready to go down and meet each other for breakfast. And I had already gotten to the table, had a cup of coffee, and was waiting for him to come down; and the PA system in the hotel said, "Ladies and gentlemen, the BBC have announced that President Kennedy has been shot ... [than an] interval ... dead, in Dallas." Just like that, that's all we heard. Sheez! I put my cup down, and on the stairs, coming down into the dining room, was the Congressman. He came up to the table, and he said, "Did you hear what I just heard?" I said, "Of course." The PA system came back on again, and said, "We're very sorry, that's all the news we have; we just picked it up from the BBC, but we'll see what we can do." Well, you know, of course, what we wanted to do was learn more -- what's going on? And the people outside this nice hotel -- it was like a lanai out there, a big patio -- had a flagpole, with a British flag on it. People just got up from breakfast, without any words being spoken or anything, and they went outside and stood around that flagpole, for lack of ... and a few people knew that the man with me was a congressman. And the manager of the hotel came over and stood beside him, and he said, "We're going to lower the flag for your president." And as I understood it, that was the first time the British flag was every lowered for anybody except an Englishman. [It was an] interesting little thing, that happened all by itself; a couple of hundred people standing there. Of course, November down there, it's springtime. We didn't have any news. That was all the news we had. So, during the morning, we wondered what was going on ... finally, we got to a radio and got some news, but it was still all broken. And [we] went out on the street of Christchurch, New Zealand, and I got a newspaper. (Pulls out newspaper) And this is how I learned about it. And since I had some experience in the business, within about fifteen minutes, I knew how it happened. Because there' some things in this picture, and what's in the paper ... and you don't have to go any further. Too bad the picture's a little blurred here in this thing ... The windows are open; obviously open, in the School Book Depository Building, the famous building. And I turned to the congressman, and I said, "You know, there must be something wrong in Dallas. The Secret Service never allows that. Our military protection people never allow that. I wonder what happened." Then down here, it says, "Three bursts of gunfire, apparently from automatic weapons were heard. Secret Service men immediately unslung their automatic weapons and their pistols." Now, from what you know about that event, what we read in the papers -- have you heard that before? But that's the ... I went to the Library of Congress when I got home. I still had the paper with me. I opened up as many different newspapers as I could get from the same date, and they all had that three bursts of gunfire, and they all had the Secret Service men with their automatic weapons -- two things which the literature have never gotten to [sic] subsequent to the very first printings. Down here --

Wray: -- Excuse me, does that credit a wire service or a source for that story?

Prouty: Oh, of course, Yeah. This is published under NZPA, and AAAP. The AAAP is American Associated Press, but the New Zealand is something -- Press Association, I think; New Zealand Press Association. But they're published ... And in places where they borrowed from others, they put the other, like ... this is NZ ... here's Reuters ... Well, it was all ... it was all made up, because they didn't have any information. They didn't have a correspondent out there. That's what was interesting about it. It's all stuff coming in from outside. After we read it a bit, I got interested in this, because it said, "the arrested man lived in Russia." Now to have that accompany the same news that said three bursts of automatic weapon fire, and the other things, convinced the congressman and myself that, 'geez, they've got this guy, and they've known -- they've already queried him and know who it is." But they hadn't. We didn't learn till -- it was the next day when they finally arranged [sic] Oswald for the crime, and even at the time, reporters hadn't gotten to him to find out all this background. Where the hell did it come from? Well, of course, I didn't know that till after I got home. Because I believed it. I thought ... you know, I thought they had the guy. But with that kind of stuff in the paper, and then having the sources that I had in the Pentagon, and going to the Library of Congress, the answer to the whole thing is right there. And this is a copy of the paper. I'll leave it with you if you want it. Because, here's the next page ... see, Oliver Stone made it for the movie. But, it's got the stories in it; if you want it just for the hell of it, you're welcome to it.

Wray: Let me ask you this: is this a copy of the newspaper?

Prouty: It's a precise copy of my original. Except, of course, you can see, there are other pages in there ... if you go back to ... see, what they do in the ... in different parts of the film, they would be using different newspapers that day. Like, here's something interesting, the Dallas Morning News is in there.

Wray: So, actually -- I guess my question is, this is not the ... this item I'm holding in my hands is not the thing that you held in New Zealand -- this is a reproduction?

Prouty: A copy of it.

Wray: A reproduction.

Prouty: But done movie-style; on the next page, it's what is it? -- the New Orleans something-or-other-

Barger: The States-Item .

Prouty: And so on. But that's the way the movies do it. But the subject matter is just -- it's a print of the subject matter.

Wray: Right. So what we're really looking at here is a reproduction that actually has on subsequent pages ... are actually the pages -- reproductions of pages from other newspapers, dealing with information or news about the assassination?

Prouty: See, what they did, when they heard how I got my news by going to the Library of Congress, they did the same thing. They went and got the front page of all the papers that were in the library, and then put them all together so you could see them at one time instead of having to sit in the library and pull them all down, and that was the objective of it. They printed hundreds of them.

Barger: If I can interrupt for just a moment, do you recall approximately what time it was that you purchased or got the paper in New Zealand? What time it hit the streets?

Prouty: We heard about the shooting at 6:30 in the morning. I'm quite sure we didn't have the paper before noon. But if it wasn't before noon, it was very close to noontime. And, if you move back eighteen hours, you can figure what it was, US time. But ... it ... in my opinion, it was just before we had lunch. We were on the street, and we heard the guy yelling, you know obviously; [he was] walking in the middle of the street with the papers. And we got it. So it was somewhere in that area. You know, at that time, we didn't think anything complicated. We figured, "Geez, there's the story -- what more will there be?" See, so, we took the paper for what it was. The funny thing is -- well, it isn't in here - really strange coincidence, is ... the day before, we'd been to the horse track, and all the horse race finishes were here. Well, I didn't think anything of that, either; but, I got home, and found out that one of the neighbors had bought the horse that won the big race that day and the day before. And I kept the paper as much to show my neighbor about this beautiful horse he had bought, which became the biggest money winning ... not a trotter -- what's the name? -- pacer, in this country, ever. So, I had two reasons for bringing the paper home, and one of them seemed to be as important as the other: my neighbor and his new horse. But it's not in there of course, it wasn't the part that was copied.

If you check the early reports in newspapers in the United States, you will find that the statement "Three bursts of gunfire, apparently from automatic weapons, were heard," comes from a UPI report. Here is an excerpt from the November 22, 1963 afternoon edition of the Omaha World Herald:

It was an early report, and clearly not right. But Prouty would go on believing it for the rest of his life (more below).

Prouty is unsure as to when he actually bought the newspaper in Christchurch. He said it certainly wasn't before noon...but it was close. It's quite surprising that Prouty could not do the proper math to figure out the proper times frames.

H ere's a good analysis from David Perry :

"Prouty creates confusion by maintaining the release of information on Oswald could not occur until Oswald was charged with the crime. Any student of the Kennedy assassination remembers Oswald wasn't charged for many hours and then for the Tippit shooting. He was, however, taken into custody at 1:50 PM. (8:50 AM, New Zealand time.) The Warren Report referencing Dallas Police Chief Jessie Curry's testimony at 12H30, the testimony of reporter Glen King at 15H55 and King's notations in Decker Exhibit four (DE4) shows the press had knowledge Oswald was in custody "within an hour of Oswald's arrest." (10:00 AM, New Zealand time.) In fact, King points out there was a live TV news broadcast concerning Oswald at 3:26 PM (10:26 AM, New Zealand time.)

To me and by Prouty's own admission the newspaper had at least two hours to get the "extra" on the street. To make this perfectly clear, we can convert Dallas events to Prouty's time zone (New Zealand). Kennedy is shot at 7:30 AM. Oswald is taken into custody at 9:00 AM. The press knew of Oswald's being in custody by 10:AM, and could start their research on him. King's live TV coverage commenced at 10:26 AM. In essence, the New Zealand newspaper would have from shortly after 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM to get the "Extra" out. Remember an "Extra" is not a complete newspaper. It is a quick compilation of immediate facts on a specific subject. The "Extra" is wrapped around the previous issue."

Here is what the Christchurch Star has to say about this so-called controversy:

The New Zealand perspective





The Christchurch Star reported that the Kennedy assassination took place at 7:00 am (New Zealand time), Saturday, 23 November 1963. Oswald was taken into custody at 8:50 am, at first charged with the shooting of Dallas Patrolman J. D. Tippit. The press knew of Oswalds being in custody by 10 am and could begin gathering information about him. The Christchurch Star was published in the early afternoon.

The Christchurch Star connection





Preoccupation with The Christchurch Star connection had existed since 1963 but intensified with the release in 1992 of Oliver Stones movie JFK, which put forward a conspiracy view of the assassination. It used, as part of its evidence, the front page of The Christchurch Star of 23 November 1963.

There were claims that The Christchurch Star coverage contained information which was pre-packaged by conspirators prior to the assassination taking place, and distributed in the United States and then sent out to New Zealand very soon after the event. They say Oswalds background was reported far too quickly and it must have been a CIA-planted cover story.

An episode in the film features Mr. X, identified by Oliver Stone later as Air Force Colonel L. Fletcher Prouty (1917 - 2001). Prouty served in the Pentagon and was shown being sent out of the way to Antarctica by those who had planned the assassination. Played by actor Donald Sutherland, Mr. X is seen supposedly buying a copy of The Christchurch Star on the morning of 23 November 1963 at Christchurch Airport.

The Stars reporting of the assassination





Bob Cotton, Chief Reporter of The Christchurch Star, says that following the release of JFK, The Star received numerous requests from investigative writers, journalists and authors in the United States for copies of the pages of the November 1963 issue. Some conspiracy theorists have made special trips to Christchurch to interview him and there have even been suggestions that The Christchurch Star company was involved. These theories, however, are based on inaccurate assumptions about The Star newspapers production.

Bob Cotton was a reporter at the paper at the time and can recall clearly the events of November 1963. He says that even in 1963 global communication was fast and effective, and an assassination of an American President meant that everything and everyone on The Star worked doubly quick. News then came by AAP and various wire services which would have been competing to get the news out to their subscribers.

Photographs were usually wired to Australia, then to Auckland and then to Christchurch. This time, to get the photographs early, some of the geographical links were bypassed through technical ingenuity at The Star. Even so, the paper would not have been published until 1:30 pm or 2:15  2:30 pm depending on the edition.

Bob Cotton says that The Star was never published in the morning during his time on the newspaper (from 1958). The JFK character Mr X is not even shown with a genuine Christchurch Star newspaper. He buys a thin-width broadsheet whereas The Christchurch Star was always produced as a full-width broadsheet.

Bob Cotton also explains that every newspaper has a large store of biographical material, and says that Lee Harvey Oswald was not a stranger to the media. Information on him would have been readily available in American newspapers and media offices and would have been sent out quickly. In 1959 there had been much coverage in newspapers about young men defecting to the Soviet Union and Oswalds defection had been covered in detail in The Washington Post, The Washington Evening Star and The New York Times.

Here is part of the front-page of the Christchurch Star:

Here is the front-page story on Oswald:

Further in his testimony, Prouty brings up the picture of Oswald that appeared in the Christchurch Star:

Prouty: But let's go to who is it [that] told the newspapers that there was a burst of ... that there were three bursts of automatic weapon fire in Dallas. Where did that come from? Who planted that? Or was it the truth? And I think it was probably the truth. I think that one, because it was put so high in the headlines. It was one of these things where a reporter immediately called in, and said, "We heard three bursts of gunfire," and that's probably the truth. But then when they start going down ... unfortunately, in his paper, since it doesn't have the inner pages -- I don't have the inner pages of that Christchurch paper. But there's a picture of Oswald there in a business suit, with a tie on... nobody was able to get that picture that day. Where the hell did that picture -- in fact, Sprague told me he'd never even saw that picture. One of the most famous experts on the pictures of this whole thing. Dick Sprague, never saw that picture until I showed him the Christchurch paper. And even after that, they couldn't find it anywhere. [But] it went around the world in the papers. Where'd it come from? Who planted that? Well, it's the cover story; that's not the crime. There's a very serious problem --

And, here is the picture of Lee Harvey Oswald that appeared inside the paper:

Where did they get this picture from? Well, from the 1959 UPI story about his defection:

August Chronicle, November 16, 1959

When the ARRB wrote their analysis of Prouty's allegation about the time frame of the Christchurch Star in their report, they had yet to go through the various press reports. Needless to say, it would not have taken them long to figure out that there was nothing to Prouty's allegations.

You can download the ARRB interview with Fletcher Prouty on the Documents page.

Previous Relevant Posts on Fletcher Prouty

Fletcher Prouty Talks to the ARRB

A summary document of his interview with the ARRB

Fletcher Prouty and Army Intelligence in Dallas

Another summary document from the ARRB about Prouty's allegations and army intelligence.

Was Fletcher Prouty an Antisemite?

Prouty had some very unsavory relationships with antisemitic groups.

Fletcher Prouty's Interview with the ARRB, Part One

Was Fletcher Prouty's Trip to Antarctica Unusual?
DEA / M. SANTINI/De Agostini via Getty Images

You can get to your perfect international beach destination for less than $200 out of Austin. Among the best deals flying out of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is a $75 one-way ticket to El Salvador on Aug. 20.

Flights to islands across the Caribbean and to Mexican cities are also waiting to be booked.
The Republican-led committee that will draw the boundaries of North Dakotas new legislative districts has scheduled its first meeting later this summer at the state Capitol.

The Aug. 26 meeting will be followed by at least six others statewide to gather input on a new legislative map that will influence the political balance of power for the next decade.

Finley GOP Rep. Bill Devlin, chairman of the 16-member committee, said Tuesday that public input will be part of the committees work sessions. The meetings also will be livestreamed, which had not happened previously.

Legislative redistricting happens every 10 years after a federal census. It aims to ensure each lawmaker represents about the same number of people.

Devlin said lawmakers are still awaiting final federal census numbers, which are expected to be released in mid-August.

Population is power in the Legislature because each legislative district must represent roughly the same number of people. When North Dakotas new legislative map is drawn later this year, Fargo and Bismarck will have more power in the Legislature, while North Dakotas rural areas will have less.

When the Legislature completed its last redistricting plan a decade ago, district populations averaged about 14,500 people. The new plan will likely add about 2,000 more people to that, with preliminary census estimates.

North Dakotas population is estimated at a record 779, 000, up 106,000 people from a decade ago, said Kevin Iverson, manager of the census office at the state Commerce Department.

More than 90% of the growth has occurred in the states 13 biggest cities, Iverson said. Of the states 357 cities, 223 have lost population in the past decade,

North Dakota currently has 47 legislative districts, and each is represented by two House members and a senator. The Legislature has 47 senators and 94 House members. Republicans have 80 House seats to Democrats 14, and a 40-7 edge in the Senate.

The redistricting committee, picked earlier this month by legislative leaders, consists of 14 Republicans and only two Democrats.

Democrats hold about 14% of legislative seats, so proportionately, the redistricting committee is in-line with the Legislatures makeup.

The Legislature would finish the redistricting job during a special or reconvened session this fall. The full Legislature has to approve the plan, and the governor must sign off on it.

Any new districts would be reflected in the June 2022 primary.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP)  Rhode Island's governor signed into law Monday two bills focused on gun safety.

The bills signed by Democratic Gov. Daniel McKee ban so-called straw purchases of firearms and prohibit bringing a gun onto school property.

It makes sense to create laws to keep guns out of the hands of people who cannot and should not possess one, he said at a State House ceremony with top lawmakers and state officials. It makes sense to ban guns on school property and on school buses.

The straw purchases ban prohibits the purchase, transfer or sale of a firearm to someone who is legally prohibited from possessing one. It also toughens penalties for lying on a firearms purchase application or license to carry it.

The second bill bans anyone from bringing a gun onto school property except in certain cases, including if they're with school security or retired from law enforcement.

Carrying firearms in schools increases risk, not safety," Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, a North Providence Democrat who sponsored the bill, said in a statement. There have been dozens of examples of mishandling and accidental discharge of firearms in schools across our nation."

Both measures had the support of state Attorney General Peter Neronha.

Gun violence is having devastating effects in Rhode Island and across the country," he said in a statement. My office aggressively prosecutes hundreds of gun crimes every year, and yet plainly there is more we can and must do.

Proposals that gun control advocates wanted that did not pass the legislature included a ban on assault-style weapons and high-capacity gun magazine clips.

Opponents had strongly opposed any gun measures proposed by the Democrat-controlled General Assembly during the legislative session, which lawmakers recently wrapped up.

They called on state leaders to invest more in programs to help youths in cities avoid resorting to gun violence.

An email seeking comment was left Monday with the Rhode Island 2nd Amendment Coalition, the state affiliate of the NRA. The organization had on its website expressed opposition to both measures.

The signing came the day after a shooting death in Providence, the city's 12th homicide of the year.
Ken Branca

Three people were killed and one hospitalized after a car rolled off of a Northwest Side road early Tuesday morning.

San Antonio police were called to the 16000 block of Babcock Road just after 2 a.m. for reports of a 2014 Jeep Cherokee that had rolled off the road. At some point during the incident, the car hit a large rock and went airborne before landing in a tree, according to police.
A soldier found dead at her off-post residence has been identified as Capt. Alexis E. Graff, bringing the number of GIs to die under similar circumstances in recent months to three.

An Army nurse assigned to the 10th Field Hospital at Fort Carson, Colo., Graff had been posted to Brooke Army Medical Center. What she did at the hospital isnt clear.

We were all greatly saddened to learn of Alexis death, said Lt. Col. Chad Vermillion, the 10th Field Hospital commander. She was an outstanding officer and talented nurse who deeply cared for her patients and all those around her. She made a lasting difference to this organization and its people. She will be missed dearly.

Graff, 34, was found unresponsive last Thursday at her home. She was pronounced dead at BAMC.

On ExpressNews.com: Army reservist found dead at San Antonio's Fort Sam Houston

Joint Base San Antonio, which issued a release about her death last week and again Monday, did not say how she died. The base said the incident was under investigation.

Graffs death is the third over the past several months involving soldiers who worked in Army medical specialties at Fort Sam. Joint Base San Antonio has provided little information about the deaths.

Two of the deaths occurred at residences off Fort Sam and were handled by local authorities. San Antonio police did not respond to email and phone messages asking about them.

On ExpressNews.com: Military suicides in COVID era hit a new high

One of the deaths, an Army Reserve soldier training at Fort Sam, occurred a few weeks ago.

Joint Base San Antonio said Monday that Spc. Craig A. Boylston, 38, of El Paso was found unresponsive in a car outside his barracks in mid-June. Authorities said nothing of the death other than that the Army Criminal Investigation Command was investigating.

Boylston had been at Fort Sam since March for training to be a behavioral health specialist and was scheduled to graduate with his class in July.

A short obituary issued by a funeral home in Clarksville, Tenn., said he was survived by his wife, Chelsea Sherrod; mother, Wallanna Boylston, and a sister, Catherine G. Boylston, and that a private graveside service was planned.

A few months earlier, a combat medic assigned to the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence on Fort Sam was found unresponsive April 24 at his San Antonio home following an apparent sudden death report.

Police did not release a report and Joint Base San Antonio has given no cause of death for Spc. Jerald Offer, 24. He had been in the Army more than three years, graduating from basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., in 2017.

On ExpressNews.com: Soldier based at Fort Sam found dead in his San Antonio home

Offer did his advanced individual training at Fort Sam, where he became a combat medic, and had been assigned to the 188th Medical Battalions training support activity since May 2018. In that job, he provided emergency medical care during field training exercises on JBSA-Camp Bullis.

An obituary said Offer, who was known as Jerry, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, April 24, 2021 at his residence minutes from the hospital that helped bring him into this world.

He was raised in Liberty County, northeast of Houston, and graduated from high school there. He initially worked at Flour Daniels before enlisting in the Army as a 68W combat medic. The obituary said he had been accepted to a number of Texas universities and had intended to continue his education in the medical field.

Jerry was an ambitious, motivated, and well-liked man with plans to help who he could, the obituary said. He had words and a heart that could heal like no other.

sigc@express-news.net
San Antonio police Detective Benjamin Marconi was still clutching Ricky Lee Martinezs drivers license when Martinez leaned into the squad car to check on him after watching an assailant dressed in black reach in and shoot the officer twice.

The violence that day still haunts him, the Victoria man said while testifying Tuesday in the capital murder trial of Otis McKane.

It was the second day of the first high-profile trial since the COVID-19 pandemic halted in-person proceedings in March 2020.

McKane, 36, is accused of killing Marconi Nov. 20, 2016, as he sat in a patrol vehicle parked in front of Public Safety Headquarters. The defendant has said he was frustrated over a child custody issue and lashed out at the first law enforcement officer he saw that day.

With his voice trembling, Martinez said he and his family had come to San Antonio for a vacation and to visit the River Walk. He was pulled over as he headed south on Santa Rosa. Marconi, who was nice about everything, took his license back to the squad car, and asked Martinez to wait.

But Martinez never found out why he was stopped.

Minutes after he was pulled over, a man ran up to a cop car and shots were fired, Martinez said. I saw the flame come out of the gun. I didnt want to see no more. I was already scared because I didnt know if he was going to try and shoot at us or what. I was concerned for my family.

Lisa Krantz /Staff photographer

Martinezs testimony capped off an emotional day that began with prosecutors Tamara Strauch, Mario Del Prado and Jessica Schulze presenting video from inside of the patrol car that showed Marconis execution. Many in the courtroom gallery gasped; relatives cried; one spectator left; and a juror ran out of the courtroom and appeared to become ill right outside of the jury entrance.

The video from the rear passenger side of the patrol vehicle was shown twice, the original video and an edited version.

Detective Matt Rosenfield testified that he used a program to edit the video because it had been captured in reverse that day, making it appear as if someone in England was driving the car, because its on the wrong side.

Rosenfield works with San Antonio Police Departments technical unit and collects video evidence at crime scenes.

The only thing that showed up in reverse in the edited version was the time stamp across the top, he said.

Outside the presence of the jury, defense attorneys Raymond Fuchs, Joel Perez and Daniel De La Garza had argued against the prosecutors showing the edited video.

Lisa Krantz /Staff photographer

The idea that this (video) wouldnt be prejudicial is ridiculous, Fuchs told the court.

Prosecutors argued that it was the same video, changed only to fit the correct direction, and that it should be shown to the jury as it actually occurred. Judge Ron Rangel allowed it to be shown a second time for demonstrative purposes for the jury, but said only the original video would be allowed into evidence.

The edited video gave jurors a closer view of an arm reaching into the squad car and firing a second time at Marconi, who had slumped into the passenger seat after the first shot, which hit him in the left cheek. The second shot hit him in the head.

Video has played a key role in the trial.

On Monday, jurors were shown more than a dozen videos and screenshots of the traffic stop and shooting taken from numerous cameras that surround headquarters at 315 South Santa Rosa. Devices from the roof and the front of the building captured McKane driving his black Mitsubishi Galant several times around the rectangular complex, and on foot just hours before the attack.

Bexar County District Attorney Joe D. Gonzales is seeking the death penalty in the case.

This is the first death penalty case since 2015 when jurors sent Mark Anthony Gonzalez to death row in the killing of Bexar County Sheriffs Sgt. Kenneth Vann in 2011. The sergeant was ambushed as he sat at a traffic light on Rigsby Avenue.

The trial resumes Wednesday morning.

ezavala@express-news.net | Twitter: @elizabeth2863
Festivals tell us so much about ourselves. Their origins and histories explain who created them, why and where.

Mardi Gras, French for Fat Tuesday, can be traced to post-Lenten festivals of medieval Europe. The Kutztown Folk Festival in Pennsylvania celebrates the states German culture.

Austins SXSW leaves no doubt where its head space is. In New Mexico, the spectacular Albuquerque International Balloon Festival began with a radio stations anniversary party.

San Antonios biggest festival, on the other hand, traces its roots to a war against Mexico on what was then Mexican soil. The festival was established in the late 19th century to salute defenders of the Alamo and the victors at the Battle of San Jacinto, where Texian forces exacted their revenge for the massacre at the Alamo.

After an abbreviated 2021 Fiesta, held last month, theres time to shed light on those origins before Fiesta 2022. Formally.

Its time to divorce Fiesta from that bloody history, which has not been accurately told, and to start anew amid a nationwide racial reckoning in which weve seen statues to the Confederacy pulled down and white supremacists hold rallies to keep them in place.

Theres a lot to unpack here.

First and foremost, its not a new idea. For decades, Mexican American and Chicano scholars, activists and artists have called for a frank appraisal of Fiestas white supremacist roots.

When I moved to San Antonio in 2010, I was very confused about this connection between this big party and the Battle of San Jacinto, said Sarah Zenaida Gould, interim executive director of the Mexican American Civil Rights Institute in San Antonio, who attended Houston schools and went on field trips to the San Jacinto battle site.

The more she thought about Fiesta, its connection to a war that took Texas from Mexico isnt so surprising. Its not uncommon for places with majority-minority populations to have overt, performative displays of white power, Gould said.

Black majority cities, for instance, tend to have the heaviest concentration of Confederate monuments. Its no accident.

Its a visual reminder of whos in power and where people of color should take their places, she said.

In a recent piece in Glasstire, an online magazine devoted to Texas visual arts, San Antonio scholar and art historian Ruben Cordova makes what he calls a modest proposal to decouple the war and its myths from San Antonios signature party.

In Is it time for San Antonios Fiestas to secede from San Jacinto? Cordova doesnt suggest San Antonio end Fiesta but that it keep the party, lose the war.

He examines the bizarre imagery of celebrating a military victory over Mexico with mariachi music, Mexican-inspired clothing, Mexican food and beer and tequila-fueled margaritas.

One might reasonably conclude that this entire victory celebration is upside down, he said, noting that many Chicano artists have used the Alamo church to depict Texas history as inverted, begging to be turned right-side up.

Newcomers often dont understand San Antonios Fiesta customs, especially the faux royals who parade around town escorted by police to reign over events.

Cordova takes special aim at the most exalted cabals of the Anglo American power elite who perpetuate the myths of the heroic Texas narrative.

It conveniently excludes the enslavement of Blacks as well as Native American removal (and) genocide, he writes. It enshrines Mexicans as the villains of Texas history, and the Alamo myth has always served to obfuscate and disguise the conquest of northern Mexico by the U.S.

To make his argument for the separation of Fiesta from the Texian war against Mexico, Cordova notes that the victors referred to themselves as Anglo-Celts and claimed cultural as well as racial superiority over Mexicans.

He cites a letter in The New Orleans Bee, printed in 1834, in which a Texian described Mexicans as degraded and vile; the unfortunate race of Spaniard, Indian and African is so blended that the worst qualities of each predominate.

He cites a 1836 letter by Stephen F. Austin that describes a war of barbarism and of despotic principles, waged by the mongrel Spanish-Indian and Negro race, against civilization and the Anglo-American race.

Cordova writes: Given this outpouring of racist contempt, why should anyone be celebrating the Texian victory over Mexico with Mexican foodstuffs and culture?

He points to the irony of Texians appropriating a Texas-sized chunk of Mexico and at the same time annexing her cuisine, music, and festive traditions.

He suggests, sarcastically, that Fiesta ought to celebrate instead with haggis (sheep liver, lung and heart cooked in the animals stomach lining), Bubble and Squeak (fried leftovers, often potato or cabbage) and Stargazy Pie (fish pie with the heads sticking of out the crust).

Id argue that many Fiesta events already are divorced from Fiestas origins. Some are fundraisers for nonprofit groups trying to stay afloat. Vendors who serve up fajita tacos are simply making a living.

Most of us surely arent celebrating San Jacinto.

So, if we can put Confederate statues in storage, Fiesta groups clinging to Texas myths should let go of the events origin story and a painful history.

And do it formally.

eayala@express-news.net
Dust from the Saharan Desert has drifted across the Atlantic Ocean and into San Antonio but will likely not cause poor air quality.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said only light to moderate amounts of African dust will persist in the area over the next few days, causing hazy skies. The air quality in some parts of San Antonio may be in the "moderate" range this week, according to TCEQ.

A spokesperson with the organization said the dust plume is expected to persist over the region today and Tuesday but may linger until Thursday, adding that there are indications of a weak dust cloud reaching the area latter in the week and into the weekend.

On ExpressNews: A 'lake house you've dreamed about' is on the market in Austin

The Saharan Air Layer is common in Texas and its peak outbreak is late June to mid-August, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Wind is the cause of the dust's arrival in South Texas, according to a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Some areas, including San Antonio, will experience varied amounts of the dust particles, which may cause respiratory issues for those with asthma and allergies. Limiting your time outdoors might be the best option to avoid exposure if you suffer from respiratory issues, according to Dr. Erika Gonzalez, CEO and president of South Texas Allergy & Asthma Medical Professionals.

"Dust of any kind most often affects people with chronic lung diseases, such as asthma and (chronic inflammatory lung disease)," Gonzalez said.

When there is a higher level of dust in the air, anyone can experience symptoms, which can range from coughing, shortness of breath, increased nasal congestion or sneezing, Gonzalez noted.

"It's important that anyone with an underlying lung condition is aware of the increased risk of complication if exposed," she said.

The dust may also produce stunning sunsets. According to a previous Express-News article, the sun will reflect and bounce off the dust in the air.

Malak.Silmi@express-news.net
Change can be challenging, particularly in the political arena. The filibuster, which allows senators to prohibit voting on a bill unless three-fifths of the Senate vote to limit and then close the debate, is an excellent case in point.

This commentary does not take a stance on the filibuster but instead attempts to learn from its history. An important lesson is that precedents often prove difficult to reverse.

The filibuster is not new. The tactic was present at the origins of the United States, although it would have looked much different than it does today.

Scholars say using a prolonged debate to delay a vote on a bill can be traced to 1790. At the time, a Senate rule allowed senators to vote on closing the debate with a majority vote; this was formally called a motion for the previous question. Researcher Michael J. Gerhardt suggests this rule did not necessarily require a subsequent vote on the bill itself. Nevertheless, this rule was discontinued in 1806 after limited use. Removing the Senate rule, however, ultimately allowed for the filibuster to be employed more frequently.

Most historians would agree that filibusters were relatively limited in the early years of our republic. Despite its typical lack of success, the filibuster became increasingly prevalent during the middle to late 19th century, when partisan issues became more than apparent.

The Senate reinstated the rule for limiting and then closing the debate with a two-thirds vote in 1917, calling it cloture. It was ultimately reduced to a three-fifths vote in 1975. While its intent was to offer the Senate a better chance of passing important legislation at the time, in the long run, it effectively strengthened this precedent due to the significant number of votes it requires to bring the debate to a close.

The filibusters of today, which exponentially increased during the latter half of the 20th century and into the next, differ from the past. To simplify it, the contemporary filibuster does not require endless debate. The simple knowledge that the Senate lacks the required 60 votes to bring the debate to a close and the bill to a vote is commonly sufficient. In other words, the filibuster has been streamlined due to time constraints and arguably more deeply ingrained in the political process.

Still, both parties fear losing it when they are the minority. While calling for bipartisan election reform last month, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., reminded us of this fact when his party was in the minority in 2017 when he stated: Then, it was Senate Democrats who were proudly defending the filibuster. Thirty-three Senate Democrats penned a letter to Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., warning of the perils of eliminating the filibuster.

Legal scholar Caroline Fredrickson argues that because the filibuster slows progress, executive orders have more appeal in recent years  but they do not promote our democratic tradition.

There is no constitutional provision for the filibuster itself; it is simply a byproduct of debate and the Senate rules governing debate. Both are indeed constitutional.

The history of the filibuster illustrates the staying power of precedents. This is irrespective of whether we conclude those precedents are productive or not.

Dale Schlundt is a faculty member at Palo Alto College.
Commissioners are asking all 15 Bexar County courts to open their dockets and help with thousands of pending misdemeanor domestic violence cases.

A resolution approved Tuesday notes a current backlog of 5,600 cases in the two misdemeanor courts assigned the bulk of those cases, even after other misdemeanor court judges have helped during the pandemic.

This is about the safety of the most vulnerable in this community, said Commissioner Trish DeBerry, who sponsored the resolution.

Some domestic violence victims may currently be in real danger because of the delayed cases, DeBerry said.

This resolution is just the beginning, but it sends a message that we hear them, they are not forgotten, and those who committed the crimes will be held accountable, DeBerry said in a statement during the commissioners meeting.

DeBerry wants the cases evenly spread among the 15 county courts, rather than being concentrated in two.

The resolution calls on every county court to open their dockets to hear the domestic violence cases until we have cleared the backlog, DeBerry said, adding that District Attorney Joe Gonzales supports the resolution.

Justice delayed is justice denied for the victims of crime, Gonzales told commissioners.

County Court-At-Law No. 13 Judge Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez, one of the two jurists routinely assigned to hear the cases, said the District Attorneys Office would need more victim advocates to cover all of the courts. Gonzalez said training for judges and prosecutors and information technology improvements also would be needed, especially if the cases are evenly spread as a long-term approach to curbing domestic violence.

Another obstacle is resistance from some county judges who began hearing misdemeanor family violence cases. Since the fall, seven additional judges have begun handling some of the cases in an effort to alleviate the backlog.

But about two weeks ago, some of the judges reversed course  indicating privately they no longer wanted to handle the cases due to problems with the countys IT system in distributing the workload and a growing realization of how difficult and time-consuming it is to handle family violence cases.

DeBerry said the county should provide the support the judges need to bring down the caseload, and Gonzalez said the IT service is outside the jurists authority.

There are other powers that control the quality of IT services that we get, the judge said.

Commissioners also discussed:

Jail overtime

Overtime at the Bexar County Jail has been an ongoing issue as Sheriff Javier Salazar has struggled to fill open positions.

The sheriff requested approval of 96,170 hours of paid overtime at $3.9 million for the period from May 31 to Sept. 30  the end of the budget year. The countys Budget and Finance Department said approval of the request would put the total jail overtime for the year at nearly $12.4 million, about $3.5 million over budget.

Commissioners approved the overtime but said they want to keep working to bring the costs down.

This isnt personal. This is about really being able to find a solution, said DeBerry, who has clashed with Salazar in the past about the jail overtime.

DeBerry said she wants the county to consider hiring an outside jail consultant to reduce the overtime. Salazar countered that hes hired a new jail administrator and is hopeful that an expected new collective bargaining agreement with the Deputy Sheriffs Association of Bexar County will provide pay raises and a faster salary increase schedule to improve recruiting and retention.

Redistricting

Commissioners selected the Law Offices of Rolando L. Rios, at a cost not to exceed $100,000, to provide guidance on county-level redistricting following the 2020 U.S. Census, which was delayed by the pandemic. The Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta law firm also bid for the contract, but commissioners Justin Rodriguez and Tommy Calvert said they were more familiar with redistricting work the Rios firm has done in the past.

When considering changes to precinct boundaries in the past, the county has sought to:

Preserve minority voting strength.

Follow geographic boundaries where possible.

Avoid splitting neighborhoods.

Maintain relatively equal populations in all four districts with less than a 10 percent deviation.

For cyclists, runners and walkers

Commissioners heard a presentation on the citys grant application to build a 4.5-mile extension of the Zarzamora Creek Greenway hike-and-bike trail on the West Side through an infrastructure program of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The trail would run from Tierra del Sol Park on the West Side to the VIA Metropolitan Transit Center, helping link the Leon Creek Greenway with trails on the West Side Creeks.

The Commissioners Court has offered to help expand the local greenway system as funds are available. A local 1/8-cent city sales tax for greenways has expired, and funds from the tax are set to run out in mid-2022.

Constable

Precinct 1 Constable Ruben Tejeda was awarded the countys Hidalgo Award for more than 40 years of service to Bexar County. Tejeda was a sheriffs deputy for 13 years and has been in an elected constables position for 28 years. Last fall, when commissioners considered cutting 38 deputy constable positions countywide in the 2021 budget, Tejeda and others persuaded them to eliminate only 19 jobs.

Its been hard, but I think weve improved the constable office throughout Bexar County for many years, Tejeda said.

From one commission to another

Commissioners presented a Distinguished Service Award from the Texas Historical Commission to the Bexar County Historical Commission for its active and well-balanced preservation program. The local panel is one of 84 county historical commissions receiving the acknowledgment; 175 county historical commissions submitted annual reports during the pandemic.

Also, the countys Hidalgo Award was presented to historian Felix Almaraz Jr. for his nearly 50 years of service on the local commission, starting in 1973.

It has been a splendid ride for 48 years, said Almaraz, who will continue working on borderland studies.

Staff Writer Emilie Eaton contributed to this report.

shuddleston@express-news.net
Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News

Texas Republicans were fuming as Democrats fled the state for Washington on Monday and some took to Twitter to share pictures showing Democrats on a private jet without masks and a D.C.-bound bus with a pack of Miller Lite.

Smiling House Dems fly off to DC on a private jet with a case of Miller Lite, breaking House quorum, abandoning their constituents, while the Senate still works, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick tweeted with a picture of Democrats on a bus, a box of beer nestled in a seat. Its my hope that Senate Dems report tomorrow to do what they were elected to do. We will vote on #SB1.
For 21 years, the software company Kaseya labored in relative obscurity  at least until cybercriminals exploited it in early July for a massive ransomware attack that snarled businesses around the world and escalated U.S.-Russia diplomatic tensions.

But it turns out that the recent hack wasn't the first major cybersecurity problem to hit the Miami-based company and its core product, which IT teams use to remotely monitor and administer workplace computer systems and other devices.

It feels a little like deja vu, said Allie Mellen, a security analyst at Forrester Research.

In 2018, for instance, hackers managed to infiltrate Kaseya's remote tool to run a cryptojacking operation, which channels the power of afflicted computers to mine cryptocurrency  often without its victims noticing. It was a less harmful breach than the recent ransomware attack, which was impossible to miss since it crippled affected systems until their owners paid up. But it similarly relied on Kaseya's Virtual System Administrator product, or VSA, as a vehicle to get access to the companies that rely on it.

A 2019 ransomware attack also rode into computers through another company's add-on software component to the Kaseya VSA, causing more limited damage than the recent attack. Some experts have tied that earlier assault to some of the same hackers who later formed REvil, the Russian-language syndicate blamed for the latest attack.

And in 2014, Kaseyas own founders sued the company in a dispute over responsibility for a VSA security flaw that allowed hackers to launch a separate cryptocurrency scheme. The court case does not appear to have been previously reported outside of a brief 2015 mention in a technical blog post. At the time, the founders denied responsibility for the vulnerability, calling the company's charges against them a bogus assertion.

Nearly all of Kaseya's security problems have as their root cause well-understood coding vulnerabilities that should have been addressed earlier, said cybersecurity expert Katie Moussouris, the founder and CEO of Luta Security.

Kaseya needs to shape up, as does the entire software industry," she said. This is a failure to incorporate the lessons the bugs were teaching you. Kaseya, like a lot of companies, is failing to learn those lessons.

Many of the attacks relied at least in part on what's known as SQL injection, a technique hackers use to inject malicious code into web queries. It's an old technique that Mellen said has been considered a solved problem in the cybersecurity world for a decade.

It points to a chronic product security issue in Kaseyas software that remains unaddressed seven years later," she said. When organizations choose to brush over security challenges, the incidents continue, and, as in this case, get worse."

Kaseya has noted that it's long been a target because many of its direct customers are managed-services providers that host IT infrastructure for hundreds, if not thousands, of other businesses.

In the business were in, and the number of endpoints we manage around the world, as you might expect, we take security extremely seriously," Ronan Kirby, president of the company's European operations, said at a Belgian cybersecurity conference Thursday. You attack a company, you get into the company. You attack a service provider, you get into all their customers. You get into Kaseya, thats a very different proposition. So obviously were an attractive target.

Kaseya declined to answer questions from The Associated Press about the previous hacks or the legal dispute involving its founders.

Mark Sutherland and Paul Wong co-founded Kaseya in California in 2000. They had previously worked together on a project protecting the email accounts of U.S. intelligence workers at the National Security Agency, according to an account on the company's website.

But more than a year after selling Kaseya in June 2013, court records show that Sutherland, Wong and two other former top executives sued the company to recoup $5.5 million in stock buybacks they said they were unfairly denied.

At the heart of the dispute was an attack by hackers who used Kaseya's VSA as a conduit to deploy Litecoin mining malware that secretly hijacks a victim computer's power to make money for the hacker by processing cryptocurrency payments.

Kaseya publicly disclosed the attacks in a March 2014 notice to customers. Privately, it was blaming the company's previous leadership for not warning about serious vulnerabilities in Kaseya's software. It sought to deprive them of the final $5.5 million of the acquisition price to compensate for the loss of business and damaged reputation.

The founders, in turn, blamed the new leadership for scaling back on coding expertise and eliminating a hotfix system for rapidly fixing bugs, according to the lawsuit from Sutherland, Wong, former CEO Gerald Blackie and former Chief Operating Officer Timothy McMullen.

They also argued that the SQL injection technique used by the hackers was highly common and inherent in any computer code" that uses the SQL programming language.

Ensuring that each and every piece of database access code is immune to SQL injection is essentially impossible," said their lawsuit. Mellen and Moussouris both rejected that assertion.

That is a bold statement and provably false, Moussouris said. It highlights the fact they lacked the security knowledge and sophistication to protect their users.

None of the plaintiffs or their lawyers responded to requests for comment. They agreed to dismiss the case in December 2013, just a month after they filed it. It's not clear how it was settled. Kaseya is privately held.

LinkedIn profiles for Sutherland and Wong list them as retired. Blackie went on to become CEO of another Miami-based provider of remote-control software, Pilixo, where he was joined by McMullen. Pilixo didn't return a request for comment.

New vulnerabilities affecting Kaseya's VSA  including the one exploited by the REvil ransomware gang  were discovered this year by a Dutch cybersecurity research group that says it confidentially warned Kaseya in early April. "In the wrong hands, these vulnerabilities could lead to the compromise of large numbers of computers managed by Kaseya VSA, the Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure said in a blog post last week explaining the timeline of its actions.

Some of those Kaseya fixed by May, including another SQL injection flaw, but the Dutch group said others were still unpatched when ransomware started hitting hundreds of businesses in early July. Kaseya has said up to 1,500 businesses have been compromised as a result of the attack. Kaseya on Sunday rolled out patches to the vulnerabilities used in the REvil attack.

With Kaseya in the spotlight, a cybersecurity responder assisting clients stricken by the July 2 ransomware attack discovered what he called a glaring Kaseya security omission: a vulnerability in a public-facing customer portal that had been identified in 2015 but left unpatched.

Alex Holden of Hold Security said he notified Kaseya and that the portal was quickly taken down. But the vulnerability troubled him, he said, because it granted unauthenticated users access to a configuration file that is highly protected on Microsoft web servers  one that often contains passwords and can grant access to core functions.

Moussouris said there's a pattern of ransomware syndicates going after easily detectable software flaws.

Its collective technical debt around the world and the ransomware gangs are technical debt collectors, she said. Theyre coming after organizations like Kaseya" and others that haven't invested in better security.

___

This article has been corrected to note that news of a court case involving Kaseya and its founders was previously described in a 2015 technical blog post.

___

AP technology reporter Frank Bajak contributed to this article.
Los Angeles school teacher Glenn Laird has been a union stalwart for almost four decades. He served as a co-chair of his school's delegation to United Teachers Los Angeles and proudly wore union purple on the picket line.

But Laird is now suing to leave UTLA and demanding a refund of the dues the union has collected since his resignation request. His turning point came in July 2020 when the union, the second largest teachers union in the country, joined liberal activists to demand that Los Angeles defund the police in response to Black Lives Matter demonstrations.

We have to dismantle white supremacy, incoming UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz said.

Laird, who is white, was floored. The union seemed to have forgotten why schools hired on more safety officers back in the 1980s and 1990s when Los Angeles was one of America's most violent cities. While safety is Lairds specific concern, he is also concerned about his unions increasing embrace of so-called social justice issues.

"I would much prefer a union focused completely on wages, hours, working conditions," he said. "When the union goes into political activist mode, I think it dilutes the practice of what a union is supposed to be doing."

Laird is not alone. He is among union rank-and-file nationwide chafing at their leaderships embrace of woke politics as a means of reversing declining membership and maintaining influence in the Democratic Party  dissent shown in many defections to Donald Trump in the last two elections as well as high-profile recent organizing defeats and court setbacks.

Significant as the pushback is, it does not seem to faze Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, the nations largest union federation, of which the Los Angeles teachers group is an affiliate.

A week before the teachers union president called for defunding the police, Trumka issued a statement declaring, The AFL-CIO Must Fight for Trans Lives Inside and Outside the Labor Movement. As he tried to connect the West Virginia coal mines where he cut his teeth to the 1969 Stonewall riots, a catalyst for gay activism, Trumka asserted that the labor movement is focused on electing candidates up and down the ballot who understand the intersectionality of worker and LGBTQ rights.

Trumkas departure from traditional union rhetoric reflects both labors relative weakness and the recognition that its future will depend less on conservative lunch pail workers than on progressive professionals in tech and elsewhere for whom values and social justice are key concerns.

Labor historian Leon Fink, author of the forthcoming book Undoing the Liberal World Order, said American unions have been on the defensive for the past four decades as their membership fell from 17% of the private sector workforce to 6% in 2020.

There are some tensions between the generally liberal leadership and certainly strong pockets of rank-and-file conservatism on social issues, Fink said. The one place that leadership does exercise some autonomy is in the political sphere.

Oren Cass, president of American Compass, a pro-union conservative group, also links the rise of political activism to plummeting membership. Cass argues the decline of union preeminence in the workforce has led the movement to turn to politics for salvation, in the process becoming a functioning arm of the Democratic Party.

Traditionally, labors primary pathway to power was the labor market, Cass says. As unions have less and less to do with the economy, theyve had more and more to do with politics.

And so they hope to reap rewards for helping deliver Joe Biden to the White House. He has pledged to become the most pro-union president in history and he will make good on the promise if he is able to usher in the PRO Act (for Protecting the Right to Organize), which would effectively overturn right-to-work laws in 27 states that allow workers to opt out of union membership.

The PRO Act would force nearly 3 million dissenters into union ranks. The influx of these workers automatically enrolled spares unions the cost of persuading workers to join. Unions collected $11.1 billion in dues and fees in 2020, but those revenues could nearly double to $20 billion if the PRO Act  which is facing strong opposition from Republicans  is passed, according to the Institute for the American Worker. Labor leaders would not be the only beneficiaries. Political spending from labor unions could increase to as much as $3 billion per election cycle, according to the IAW.

But within union ranks, the divisive nature of this strategy was amply illustrated in 2016, when the traditional union man was a driving force behind Donald Trumps surprise victory, and in 2020, when Trump once again outperformed among self-identified union members, according to exit polls of those who voted on Election Day. Though 28% of union membership is Republican, according to the estimate of Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Rick Bloomingdale, Trump won a majority of union voters in Ohio and 50% in the Keystone State.

Certainly it is a concern that a lot of our members bought into the con, Bloomingdale says, referring in part to Trumps opposition to the PRO Act. Its always disconcerting when folks go against their own best interests. Why would you vote for somebody who wants to destroy the right to organize?

While passage of the PRO Act may provide a boon to sagging union membership numbers, Cass says the success may be short-lived if labor remains seen through a strictly partisan lens.

If labors view is that the number one priority is to have Democrats in office because they get better policies, then everything will be subservient to that, Cass says. Increasingly, organizing is not what unions do  a lot of what is done under the heading of labor is just color-by-numbers left-wing activism.

Unions have always been political entities in the United States  the CIO gave birth to the first political action committee in 1943  but they have never been more heavily invested in the political sphere. Union spending on politics has nearly doubled in the past 15 years. An IAW study found that unions spent $791 million on political activities and lobbying in 2020  up from $427 million in 2006. About 90% of those donations went to Democrats. Annual expenditures on representational activities  organizing workplaces, arguing grievances, or negotiating wages and benefits  increased by only 20% over that same time period.

Union political priorities are no longer limited to winning higher wages and benefits for workers, but advancing liberal ideology for its own sake. The labor watchdog Center for Union Facts found that union members shelled out about $1 billion to finance liberal nonprofits and media organizations in the past 10 years. The Center for American Progress has received $10.5 million from labor groups; Planned Parenthood, $4.2 million; the Human Rights Campaign, more than $800,000; Media Matters, $1.5 million. On the surface, these groups may not appear natural allies of labor unions  each has either privately resisted unionization or faced federal labor complaints  but they are still close partners.

Unions are not just alienating members like Laird when they step into the breach of politics. The recent attempt to organize an Alabama Amazon warehouse made blatant racial appeals to its largely African American workforce. Union leaders, and much of the mainstream press coverage, cast the effort as a near slam dunk for the union. A black worker bristled at the campaign pitch, which tried to cast the union drive as an extension of the Black Lives Matter movement because most of the workers are black, according to the New York Times.

After workers voted overwhelmingly against the union, news coverage revealed that workers were more interested in bread-and-butter issues than identity politics. This was not an African American issue, the worker told the Times. Amazon is the only job I know where they pay your health insurance from day one.

The focus on woke talking points may have not been enough to win the support of Amazon workers  though the union has challenged the election results  but organizers are hoping it will strike a chord with a new kind of union member. Bloomingdale is quick to point out that while the building trades do great work, they are not the biggest part of the labor movement. Labor officials are organizing new industries, like your industry  Internet sites  the health care industry and college campuses. In 1994, 25.3% of union members had bachelor's or advanced degrees, while 46.6% had topped out at high school (if they had graduated at all). By 2019, 42% had bachelor's degrees or higher.

The union man of the popular imagination is a dying breed as America has outsourced industrial jobs and right-to-work laws have allowed workers to opt out. Half of Americas union members hold government jobs, with teachers and police being the most heavily unionized professions in the country. That shift is unlikely to change even with the PRO Act. Unlike a steel mill or auto plant, state and local government jobs cannot be outsourced. Trumka may have started out in the coal mines before entering the air-conditioned offices of the AFL-CIO, but many labor leaders now enter straight from graduate school.

The unions see that their own welfare is tied to a larger coalition of a kind of multi-racial alliance that is generally pro-labor, anti-racist, and respecting the rights of sexual expression, Fink says.

One can see this play out in union organizing strategies. Forming a new union is an expensive endeavor with costs that can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Unions have suffered high-profile defeats at Amazon, Nissan, and Volkswagen in recent years, voted down by the blue-collar workers that defined the labor movement throughout the 20 century. But they have found success among liberal professions by marshalling the ideological commitment of their workers. Unions have added tens of thousands of members on college campuses and newsrooms across the country.

The areas of greater unionized employment have tended to be more white-collar in recent years, Fink says. Many of them come from working-class backgrounds, but most do have college educations and have been exposed to more liberal influences outside of economic issues.

Bloomingdale, who represents about 900,000 members spread across hundreds of Pennsylvania unions, is supportive of the injection of intersectionality into the labor movement.

Anything that affects your ability to do your job is a labor issue.  We used to try to divorce those things from hours, work conditions and wages, he says. The labor movement didnt always look through the lens of systemic racism, but that all affects your ability to work and live a decent life.

The search for new members in new industries and the embrace of intersectionality has brought its own complications in traditional union strongholds.

Scabby the Rat has been a staple at union protests since making his debut at Chicago construction sites in 1990. He is about as subtle as you'd expect a multi-story rodent balloon to be: red eyes, sharp fangs, a swollen, disease-ridden belly. What little nuance there is to Scabby was lost on students at the University of Michigan. When labor activists used the image at a strike outside of a dean's house, they received complaints that any depiction of rodents is anti-Semitic. The complaints did not stop there. Students and faculty also pointed out that the dean in question is a woman.

"We also know, and deeply regret, that for many this action raised the spectre of violence against women, and want to reaffirm that as a union committed to feminist and antiracist values, that is a history we would never knowingly reinforce," the union said in an apology letter circulated to faculty members.

Big Labor's foray into social justice may appeal to a growing elite white-collar base, but it creates other problems. Diverting union funds to outside political causes has been a key driver of federal lawsuits that ultimately hamper their efforts. In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled government agencies could no longer mandate union membership or fee payments as a condition of employment. The closed union shop has been a mainstay of American labor law for decades and enjoyed the blessing of the Supreme Court beginning in 1977's Abood v. Detroit Board of Education. The seeds for the court's verdict came when individual union members took issue with their leaders' explicit partisan nature.

Rebecca Friedrichs was a union cheerleader when she began her career as a California elementary school teacher. Like Laird, she served as a school representative hoping to advance the interests of teachers against administrators. She soured on the organization when she saw dues money siphoned into explicitly political ends rather than the broad interests of teachers. She was the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit arguing that mandatory union fees amounted to compelled speech. The high court deadlocked on her case following the death of Antonin Scalia, but it laid the groundwork for the Janus decision two years later barring mandatory union fees for nonunion workers.

There has been this concerted effort to hijack the labor movement, Friedrichs says. They are using government employees to fund a far-left agenda.

The end of forced dues payments led to optimism that unions would moderate in the political realm and recommit to the paycheck interests of its members. That has not occurred. The National Education Association, the teachers union Friedrichs belonged to, sent $14 million to the State Engagement Fund in 2018. The group funneled millions of dollars into partisan political groups that same year, serving as a clearing house for major liberal donors. Despite the funds explicit partisan spending, the NEA classified its payments as "a national partnership/grant" in federal labor filings, rather than a political expenditure. The distinction is meaningful: Labor law has allowed workers to pay partial fees in attempting to avoid compelled political donations. By classifying these payments as charitable, NEA was able to redirect payments from both members and dissidents to the group. The NEA did not respond to request for comment.

Glenn Laird, the Los Angeles teacher, is hopeful the labor movement can return to its narrow mission of fighting for teachers, rather than the interests of union officials who may have aspirations of seeking public office in the future. Asked if he could see himself re-enrolling in UTLA's ranks someday, he had one word in reply: "Absolutely."
(The Center Square)  Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said he is joining the attorneys general from three dozen other states in a federal lawsuit against Google, claiming the tech giant uses monopolistic practices to prevent competition.

An investigation joined by 37 state attorneys general revealed that Google is abusing its market control in the digital economy through Google Play, an app store that comes pre-installed on nearly every Android device, Rokita said in a statement. Through contractual restraints, technical barriers and deception, Google inhibits competition by obstructing reasonable alternative means of downloading apps.

In-app purchases through Google requires the use of its own payment processing service, which comes with a 30% fee.

This is yet another example of a big tech company harming Hoosiers through unfair practices, Rokita said. All businesses certainly have the right to seek competitive advantages and maximize their own profits, but in pursuing these goals they must also comply with anti-trust laws and consumer protection statutes. Competition is an important part of our economy that protects consumers.

Also participating in the lawsuit are Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.

Rokita also said he began an investigation in April regarding the censorship practices of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Twitter. Former President Donald Trump filed a class action lawsuit over that matter last week.

For its part, Google dismissed the lawsuit as meritless in a statement.

This lawsuit isnt about helping the little guy or protecting consumers, the company said. Its about boosting a handful of major app developers who want the benefits of Google Play without paying for it.

Google also said the changes sought by the plaintiffs risk rising costs for small developers, impeding their ability to innovate and compete, making apps across the Android ecosystem less secure for consumers.

A federal judge in the state of Washington earlier through out an antitrust suit filed by the Federal Trade Commission against Google, saying the agency had not presented enough evidence that the company qualifies as a monopoly.

Google is also currently facing three other similar lawsuits, including one filed by the Department of Justice and 14 states saying that the company dominates the mobile search market.

Some 38 states have also filed a separate suit over the same issue, and 15 other states have filed suit regarding Googles dominance in advertising technology.
A farmer has provided a mock weather forecast from the year 2050 in a bid to show the impact climate change could have on the British farming industry.

Presented by 28-year-old North Yorkshire farmer James Johnson, the forecast shows the UK's weather conditions 30 years into the future, to July 2050.

The video, created by the NFU, anticipates far drier, hotter summers and suggests the emergence of new crops, and greater collaboration to secure water supplies for food production.

It also shows a changing landscape with more drought resistant tree species and a greater role for farm-scale renewable energy.

In Yorkshire alone, farmers have suffered significant damage when the county experienced three once-in-100-year floods in 2019/20.

Consistently hotter, drier summers also have the potential to severely impact food production in the county.

Alongside growing 14% of the nations arable crops, the county also produces 19,000 hectares of potatoes, 16,000 hectares of field vegetables and 200 hectares of glasshouse crops  all relying increasingly on irrigated water in the summer.

The NFU's forecast is designed to prompt discussion about the climate challenges facing British farmers now and in the future.

In particular, the video shows the need for a more joined-up integrated water management strategy to help farmers achieve their goal of pursuing climate-friendly food production.

NFU President Minette Batters has urged government, water companies and farmers to 'properly invest' in water management as a 'critical response' to climate change.

As the UK gears up to host the UN climate change conference  COP26  in November, the nation will be at the centre of global discussions on how to respond to climate shifts, she said.

From our farmers perspective, climate change is already here. Since 2002 we have recorded our top-ten warmest years on record and in Yorkshire they are already at the sharp end of increasingly extreme weather events.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change accepts that climate change is affecting food security, predicting that supply could well become more unstable as extreme weather leads to greater disruption.

Mrs Batters added: "We cannot underestimate the importance of food production as we chart a course through our climate challenges.

"We can deliver on our net zero pledge while retaining, if not growing, our agricultural capacity, but adopting a new approach to water will be essential.
Ambitious plans have been made by livestock farmers to eradicate both Bovine Viral Diarrhoea and sheep scab by 2031, among other goals.

The bold measures were set out following a Ruminant Health and Welfare (RH&W) meeting of 70 farmers and vets, held on 29 June.

The group was established to focus the ruminant sectors drive in tackling endemic cattle, sheep and goat diseases across the country.

Sheep scab, now endemic in the UK flock and affecting 10-15% of farms with about 8,000 outbreaks each year costing up to 202m, was one of the most popular topics debated.

Farmers set out co-ordinated control, mandatory annual screening, flock traceability, and vaccination for sheep scab as key objectives on the way to eradication.

Dr Stewart Burgess at Moredun Research Institute said a new vaccine would help in the long term, but interim goals like notifiable or reportable status would create a traceable, sustainable framework.

The reality is that there are imminent threats and the status quo is not working, said Dr Burgess.

Modelling studies have shown that focussing control on disease hotspots not only makes gains in those targeted areas, but can also have a significant impact on sheep nationwide.

The sheep scab ELISA blood test was a real game changer, he said, as it could detect scab in the first two weeks of infestation and before clinical signs.

A new version is currently in development and will offer on-farm results in under 20 minutes at a cost of under 5.

And a future vaccine is also under development at Moredun: In its current form it has up to 80% efficacy and will offer sustainable control of scab," Dr Burgess said.

Kate Hovers, of Wales Veterinary Science Centre, added that disease control schemes and health certification for scab offered benefits  both in controlling disease and offering a premium for certified stock.

But she said it was also important to preserve the use of macrocyclic lactones and organophosphates for sheep scab control.

"We need to know theres an effective treatment available, and we already have scab mites resistant to the macrocyclic lactones present in the UK flock.

BVD eradication, another priority, is already in progress through different statutory and voluntary efforts in each of the UK's four nations.

But introducing mandatory control will be the next step with co-ordinated messaging and approaches.

Sam Strain, chief executive at Animal Health and Welfare Northern Ireland (AHWNI), was involved in establishing NIs compulsory BVD programme, and advised that legislation was critical for eradication.

We live in an archipelago where animals are often traveling across borders, Mr Strain explained.

Any control programme needs to have co-ordinated messages between the four nations  being cognisant of international requirements such as the EU Animal Health Law.

Re-engagement was high on the list of interim goals: Its clear that different sectors have their own priorities and timeframes for BVD control which has led to the diversity of UK schemes, he said.

Co-ordination between the schemes is crucial to controlling this infection across the UK."

A key challenge is the retention of persistently infected (PI) calves; industry initiatives like making the retention of BVD positive animals a non-conformity for the NI beef and lamb farm quality assurance scheme have made significant contributions to the NI programme.

Another ambition from the meeting was to reduce dairy cow lameness by 30 percent year-on-year.

Steps to achieve this include better utilisation of current tools and policy, with a whole food chain approach, consideration of contextual factors on farm, and the collection and use of robust and consistent data.

Martin Green, professor of cattle health at the University of Nottingham, said that lack of data had been identified as an obstacle.

Data is needed to better understand the scale of lameness and what is achievable in terms of targets and sustainability year-on-year, he said.

Mobility scoring is extremely valuable and encouraging widespread uptake with support and mentoring from the industry will be key in meeting industry targets.
Cheshire Police have arrested two men for drug offences after a farmer spotted them in his field chasing after his livestock.

The farmer, who farms near Pott Shrigley, reported the two men to the police as the incident unfolded on Saturday night (10 July).

The men, from the Greater Manchester area, were arrested for possession of cannabis with intent to supply.

Sgt Simpson of the Cheshire Police Rural Crime Team explained the incident on Facebook.

Ive just arrested two males from the Greater Manchester area, for possession of cannabis with intent to supply and one of them [the driver] for providing a positive drugs wipe.

As we arrived the car came down the single track road and came face to face with us. Bad timing for them, but not as bad as their decision making.

Theyre off to custody and their car has been seized for being used in crime."

He added it was 'really important' that the police supported remote rural communities.

"Even this suspicious incident has led to a couple of arrests and our rural roads being safer," Sgt Simpson said.
Morrisons has sought to reassure its farmer suppliers amid concern about the implications of the proposed 6.3bn takeover offer by US private equity firm Fortress.

The retailer's chief executive David Potts wrote to around 3,000 farmers, assuring them that the American company would be a 'suitable and responsible owner'.

In the letter seen by The Guardian and The Sunday Telegraph, he said the board believed that pledges made by Fortress regarding the future of Morrisons 'carry genuine weight'.

Throughout our discussions with Fortress, we considered very carefully whether Fortress would be a suitable and appropriate owner of Morrisons," Mr Potts wrote.

"And whether their plans for the business would protect and develop the fundamental character of Morrisons for the benefit of all stakeholders."

He added: That of course includes the farmers we work with and British agriculture more widely.

Farmers have expressed concerns that the deal would change the retailer's payment practices and force them to negotiate new contracts.

Some producers have also raised worry over the supermarket chain's future direction on sustainability and environmental issues.

NFU president Minette Batters said that farmers would be 'keeping a close watch over any potential takeover of Morrisons'.

Sourcing from British farms has long been part of Morrisons heritage," Mrs Batters said last week.

"It is reassuring that the potential buyer wishes to continue to uphold these core values going forwards.

The private equity firm's bid values Morrisons shares at 6.3 billion, before the inclusion of 3.2bn of net debt.
A Staffordshire potato processing firm has been ordered to pay out over 21,000 after causing pollution which killed over 450 fish.

The Environment Agency prosecuted Edima Holdings Ltd, a Tamworth-based company, in a case heard on Wednesday 7 July.

The court heard that the business operates under the name Mikes Potatoes from premises at Langley Brook Farm, Middleton.

The company pleaded guilty to an offence under the Environmental Permitting Regulations, 2010. It had previously been cautioned for a similar offence.

An investigation began after a member of the public reported seeing two dead fish and milky froth on the water of the Langley Brook in September 2016.

Officers from the Environment Agency found more than 450 dead fish along the brook.

The source of the pollution was traced to a trade effluent lagoon at Edima Holdings Ltd.

A pipe pumping into the lagoon was split, and a crude attempt had been made to repair it. This was discharging into a ditch then into the brook.

Officers gave advice on remedial action needed to prevent further pollution, but a month later, officers received a report of pollution at Middleton Hall Lake on Langley Brook. Following this report, the company agreed to the necessary work.

During the sentencing, District Judge Grego took into account the previous caution that the firm had received and found the offending was highly reckless.

He found that the emergency response plan was so vague it rendered it pointless and praised the quick action of the Environment Agency in responding to the incident.

It was accepted that the offending was not financially motivated and the impact that the pandemic has had on the business was also taken into account.

A spokesman for the Environment Agency, following the hearing, said the incident was a serious case of pollution that resulted in a large number of fish dying.

"We take all such cases seriously and this prosecution sends out a message to companies that they must take their environmental responsibilities with equal seriousness.

"If people have concerns about pollution incidents they should call the Environment Agencys 24/7 hotline on 0800-80-70-60," he said.

Cannock Magistrates Court fined Edima Holdings Ltd 6,500 in a case heard on Wednesday 7 July 2021.

A total financial penalty of 21,264 was imposed on the company which included a contribution to prosecution costs of 10,000.
Parsons, KS (67357)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 85F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Clear skies. Low 66F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you, we are excited to offer 4 weeks FREE Digital & Print access to all subscribers new and returning alike.

We are dedicated to continuing providing reliable, high quality journalism. This is possible with the trust and support of our subscribers in the community we are proud to serve.
Last year, Fethiye Times caught up with HMA Sir Dominick Chilcott during his coastal tour. During our meeting, he explained the responsibilities of the British Embassy towards British nationals living in Turkey and brought us up to date with the situation with regards to Covid-19.

You can read the article at the link below if you missed it.

Fast forward one year, and Fethiye Times was delighted to be invited to meet with Marianne Young, Minister Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission, Turkey. Marianne was accompanied by Liz Moriarty, HM Consul, Turkey.

Fethiye Times was accompanied by local residents, Richard and Vid Oldham to enable Marianne to gain a broader view of life during a pandemic as British nationals living in Fethiye.

(Featured photo above: Left to right: Liz Moriarty, Lyn Ward, Marianne Young, Richard Oldham, Viv Oldham)

We met at the Ece Saray Marina and resort in Fethiye for a chat over coffee on Wednesday morning.

Ece Saray Marina and Resort

Talking with Marianne Young  Minister Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission, Turkey

Can you tell us about your role and your priorities?

As the Deputy Ambassador, my job is to support HMA in delivering for the government (HMG) out here in Turkey. Its all about strengthening our relationship with the Turks and deepening our cooperation in a partnership over a whole range of issues covering everything from our security and defence work all the way through to our trade and commercial work and, most importantly, looking after the British people here and making sure that our consular team are very active on that score. In summary, everything from hard security to prosperity work, looking after British people and people links, its a broad and rich relationship here.

Marianne Young  Minister Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission, Turkey

The difference between an embassy and a consulate

Before we move on, wed like to pause for a moment and explain the difference between an embassy and a consulate, a grey area for many who do not work in the diplomatic service.

Due to the high level of interaction between countries in our interconnected world of today, diplomatic offices, such as embassies and consulates, are needed in each country to aid in and allow such interactions to occur. Ambassadors are their countrys government representatives abroad in matters between the two countries. These offices also provide services for potential emigrants and international travellers. Although the terms embassy and consulate are often used interchangeably, the two are different.

An embassy is a permanent diplomatic mission, which is generally located in a countrys capital city. An embassy is responsible for representing the home country, for handling major diplomatic issues (such as negotiations), and for preserving the rights of its citizens abroad.

By contrast, a consulate is a smaller version of an embassy and is generally located in the larger tourist cities of a country, but not the capital. Consulates (and their chief diplomat, the consul) handle minor diplomatic issues such as issuing visas, aiding in trade relationships, and taking care of migrants, tourists, and expatriates.

Can you give us an outline of the embassy and consulate structure in Turkey?

The embassy is in the capital city (Ankara) and the ambassador is sort of the CEO with the deputy being like the chief operating officer. HMA is front and centre attending all the big engagements with the host government and the big strategic work while the deputy is making sure the machine is running smoothly under him and supporting him to deliver his work.

The consulate general is in Istanbul and is headed up by a consul general (the consul-general for Turkey has recently moved on and were waiting for her replacement to arrive).

You only have one ambassador in a country but you can have a number of consulates run by consuls and thats what weve got here. Istanbul is a consulate general and then weve got three honorary consulates with an honorary consul attached to them. These honorary consulates are only in Mugla  in Fethiye, Bodrum and Marmaris. Mustafa Skman is the honorary consul for Fethiye.

What are the main issues the embassy has had to deal with since our meeting last July when the focus was on rescue flights and helping British nationals get home to the UK?

Since then, the number of cases has gone up and down in waves so the priority has been monitoring that, making sure we stay in very close contact with the government around those developments and then feeding back through things like the Travel Advice.

Theres been quite a lot between the July visit last year with restrictions coming in and out until when finally, on July 1 this year, we entered a new era with most of the restrictions being lifted. Weve been monitoring things very closely and feeding back the key developments and whats going on to our customers through the Travel Advice, particularly around things like curfews as they kept changing, requirements to get HES codes to access different services and gain entry into certain buildings, and when people needed travel permits to move between provinces. or reach flights. Whilst all that was happening, we made sure we were absolutely on the ball with everything that was happening. Thats been a big piece of work.

Weve also been having a lot of discussions between our health experts as weve watched the corona cases go up and down and also as new variants have emerged.

Marianne then asked if the Travel Advice is useful and if there were any other forms of communication they could use to get the updates out

Richard: One of the problems was misinformation, reading translations of the circulars sent out by the government, a lot of it didnt make sense. One of the best sources of information has been the UK government website and we always use that. If its on there, were pretty certain its right (barring a couple of errors)  so yes, its a great source of information. Its not only the travel advice, it was curfew information and clarification of the situation with the over 65s

(Liz pointed out that any error spotted on the Travel Advice could be reported via the UK British Embassy Facebook page)

Marianne: Thats really good to hear because that was one of our key jobs, getting that information translated and up and signposted to people as quickly as possibe through social media, encouraging people to sign up fr the alerts and then directing them to information that has come directly from the Turkish government. When parts werent clear, we go back to the authorities for clarification so we can add a bit more detail to the update.

Liz: We had the same problem in that it wasnt necessarily completely clear the first time round.

Marianne: And the Turkish government thanked us for that because there were quite a few grey areas and when we highlighted they could be interpreted a few ways, it landed well and they were grateful for the interface with us that helped to clarify those grey areas.

Marianne: Are there any other forms of communication that we could use?

Richard: No, I dont think so. Just having one source of information that you know is accurate and you can trust, rather than four or five sources, for me personally is the best. I get an alert on Facebook or an email, I have a quick look at it and if its something we already know, thats fine, but if its something new or that needs clarification I read it in detail.

On the question of priorities, can you share any insights into the travel list and Turkeys red list status?

The big piece of work in May after we had the red listing was to hold very regular discussions with Ministry of Health officials and our own official health experts. We had a team called the Joint Biosecurity Centre which was set up for these groups of experts to exchange information and hold discussions. Obviously, there were concerns that led to Turkey being red-listed and they were very keen to find out why. We could get these experts together and have very frank discussions to set put what our concerns were around the criteria, covid case rates, genomic sequencing and how theyre handling variants of concern and vaccination rate. Whats been very encouraging in recent weeks is that the country has accelerated their vaccine program which has really gathered pace and weve been given a lot of information about that.

As far as variants of concern go, there were obvious issues with a huge hub airport like Istanbul, with a high number of people coming from other parts of the world through Turkey. The government put steps in place to stop flights from some countries with high numbers of variants of concern.

Were very mindful that this is causing hardship, both to the British community and also how important the local tourism sector is to the Turkish community. Its been really tough for the coastal areas that are so dependent on tourism and this is why weve set up these strong links between health experts and carrying out this information exchange.

There are certain thresholds, particularly if cases or variants of concern go over certain levels. This leads to greater concern but generally, were very encouraged by the steps Turkey has taken to bring down the cases, stopping some of the travel corridors, particularly with other red-listed countries that have variants of concern that might have been routed through Istanbul. Were also very impressed with the safe Tourism Scheme that has put coronavirus measures in place for the safety of visitors, and weve witnessed how that has been introduced and applied in the hospitality sector in the hotels where we have stayed during this tour. These are all very good indicators and are the things that our officials are hearing about directly in their discussions.

Our findings are fed back to the UK where an independent risk assessment is carried out by the UK Chief Medical Officer team. Its very much a scientific approach and the data fed back emphasises the strenuous steps the Turks have taken and the tremendous change. In late April when they were looking at data that fed into the May 7 red listing, there were over 60,000 cases a day in Turkey. Thats gone down by a factor of ten and there are now around 5,000 cases a day, with deaths are around 40-50. Thats a huge change and, as we were saying earlier, the vaccination rate has absolutely stepped up.

Marianne was keen to hear more about life in a coastal area during the pandemic

Marianne: Im very interested to know what life has been like down here. Has it been a strong sense of community and has a support network kicked in?

Viv: We had to go back to the UK for a funeral and literally got the last plane back. I dont think we were required to isolate at that time but we decided that we would anyway. Our friends rallied around to make sure we had everything we needed. I was touched by how many people came to us and offered to do our shopping or go to the bank for us, it was wonderful. Just after our 14 days was up, it came in that the over 65s had to stay at home so it was reciprocated. People really rallied around each other. It made you feel like part of a community.

Richard: Of course, it was hard when there were total lockdowns. At one point, there was an issue with some residents challenging whether they were covered by the curfews as their residence permits were for tourist purposes.

Marianne: Residents are residents  it applied to us as well. We didnt have a free pass and had to adhere to all the measures. Thats one of the key messages for your readers  were very keen that people comply and adhere to local restrictions.

Viv: It has reinforced the sense of community as were all in it together.

Richard: Things like pharmacists were fantastic, they speak English and would help with anything you needed, deliver medications, shopping even. And the small markets, corner shops, delivering bread and shopping. I think its fantastic what the local council do  and I mean all departments -they dont get it right every time but they do really make an effort.

Richard: Our experience of the vaccination program has been incredible, so organised. We had our first one in the Devlet hospital  literally walked in, gave them our Ikamet, in-jabbed-sit for 15 minutes -out, and the SMS to say you were vaccinated and when you can book your next jab came as youre walking out. Absolutely superb.

Marianne: Its great that the British community have not been disadvantaged by not being Turkish. The vaccination gives us such a measure of protectin. Things are a. lot better than they were a year ago.

What are the main objectives of your coastal tour?

My costal tour differs from HMA. When the ambassador comes, he does the formal engagements with local officials like the Governor and the Mayor. My tour is more abut visiting the consulates for the first time, checking in with the teams and see how theyre doing, making sure the operation is working efficiently and effectively, meeting the three honorary consuls as they are key to helping us engage with the local authorities, networking and meeting representatives of the British local communities  its lovely to get feedback from you and get a feel for how things are at the moment. Were over a year in and people are tired and, although the vaccinations have really helped, psychologically, the light is at the end of a very long tunnel.

Liz: We also met with regional reps from Jet2 and TUI yesterday in Marmaris and well do the same in Antalya  just to see how they are getting on as theyve been hit hard as well.

What are your messages for British Nationals living in Turkey?

As the ambassador said, and I like that, read Fethiye Times. Its a key information source.

Sign up for notifications on Travel Advice. Its lovely to hear how the advice is landing and the fact that were getting the updates out regularly is well received as its the main route we use to publicize the most up to date info we have direct from the authorities.

Follow the instructions and requirements of the Turkish authorirties as we are residents and its important we adhere to these.

Give us feedback on what were doing and that the information is hitting the mark. If theres anything that can be improved, were always keen to hear and theres a function to ask questions via the Facebook page. Were always keen to hear how we can do things better.

A word from Richard and Viv

It was an interesting and informative meeting with Marianne and Liz. Marianne talked about the differences between Embassy and Consulate staff, their roles and responsibilities. Liz talked about the work she and her team have been doing to keep the British community informed during the pandemic and she was very pleased to receive positive feedback on the UK Gov travel advice site, having been heavily involved in it. We have found that the website provides reliable and up to date information, with email alerts when something changes, regarding restrictions in Turkey during the pandemic and we refer to it often.

We raised the difficulties many ex-pat drivers are currently experiencing with exchanging their British driving licences for Turkish ones. They have made note of it and will look into it to seeing if anything can be done to speed up the process.

Of course, we couldnt discuss the pandemic without mentioning how much we miss seeing family and loved ones in the UK. We are all very much in the same boat and all are hoping that Turkey comes off the Red List soon.

We would like to say a big thank you to Marianne and everyone involved for taking the time to talk with Fethiye Times.

Marianne Young  Minister Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission, Turkey

Marianne Young became the Minister Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission to the British Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, in January 2020. She joined the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in 2001. Previous overseas postings include serving as the British High Commissioner to Namibia from 2011-15 and, before that, as Deputy High Commissioner to the Kingdoms of Lesotho and Swaziland, and Head of the External Political Section at the British High Commission in Pretoria, South Africa.

In London, she has been a Deputy Director in the FCDOs Europe Directorate, working on EU Exit preparations, and Head of the Climate Change Unit, in Economic Diplomacy Directorate. More here

Useful Links:

GOV.UK Turkey Travel Advice

Facebook: UKinTurkey

Twitter: UKinTurkey

Sources: Gov.UK/ThoughtCo
Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release

SubCategory Select Sub-Category


India went through a deadly second wave that paralysed the country and actor and humanitarian Bhumi Pednekar is urging the citizens to not let their guards down. The actress has always spoken about the environment and how people should act responsibly and this time she wants the masses to be aware that the battle against the pandemic is not over yet.







Despite falling COVID-19 cases, Bhumi is now reminding people that we are still in the middle of the pandemic and that we all need to be super careful so that we can arrest another spike in cases. Bhumi, who runs a social media initiative COVID Warrior aimed at helping those affected by the pandemic, says, We need to stay super vigilant because the virus hasnt gone anywhere. Lives are at stake constantly so we will need to act responsibly. Each one of us has the power to contribute and help India to bounce back. Lets do that for our country.
Vancouver, B.C. July 8, 2021 International Lithium Corp. (TSXV: ILC) (the "Company" or "ILC") is pleased to announce an update on its Mariana project in Argentina. As at December 31, 2020 the Company owned 11.243% of the joint venture company owning Mariana called Litio Minera Argentina ("LMA"), and this stake has since then diluted to around 10%, a number which is subject to audit. The Company currently enjoys a back in right to increase its stake in LMA by a further 10%. If exercised, this back in right would increase the Company's stake in LMA to around 20%. The remainder of the shares in LMA are owned by Mariana Lithium Co.Ltd. ("MLC"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Ganfeng Lithium. MLC has also since 2017 been the manager of the Mariana project. The Company currently has no representation on the board of LMA and participates on the management committee only to the extent of its percentage ownership in LMA.

The Company has now received a 300 page report (the "Report") from strategic partner Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd., ("GFL") that contains an updated mineral resource estimate for the Mariana lithium brine project (the "Project") located in Salta, Argentina. This Report was not prepared for public NI43-101 reporting standards, and therefore the Company is unable to disclose it fully. However, in the interests of investor transparency and to avoid selective disclosure, we are disclosing the following details from the Report which have already been disclosed in a news release issued by Ganfeng Lithium on 06 July 2021, and/or in a news release by the Salta Government in Argentina on 16 June, 2021.

Highlights from the Report which are already in the public domain are as follows:

The resource estimate contained in the Report, detailed in the table below, includes:

6,854,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate ("Li 2 CO 3 ") equivalent (LCE) in the Measured and Indicated Resource categories, an increase of 55% over the 2019 estimate of 4,410,000 tonnes of Measured and Indicated Resource (Company news release, February 6, 2020)

an additional 1,267,000 tonnes of Li 2 CO 3 in the Inferred Resource category

these amount are also now stated as 7,863,000 tonnes of lithium chloride equivalent in the Measured and Indicated Resource categories, and an additional 1,454,000 tonnes of lithium chloride equivalent in the Inferred Resource category

Ganfeng have reported that an Environmental Impact Report approval has been received from the Salta regional government in Argentina for the construction of a plant with a designed annualized capacity of 20,000 tonnes per annum of lithium chloride.

The Salta regional government has disclosed in a news release following its discussions with Ganfeng that the likely project expenditure from now to bring the Mariana Project to full production is around US$600 million.

Report - Mariana Lithium Brine Project, Argentina

Further to previous Company news releases dated March 8, 2017, April 20, 2017, and February 6, 2020, ILC has received the Report for the Mariana lithium brine project containing an update to the resource estimate for the Project. Golder Associates Consulting Ltd. ("Golder") prepared the Report based on an independent lithium brine resource estimate by Geos Mining Minerals Consultants ("Geos") based in Sydney, Australia..

Resource Category Aquifer Volume (Mm3) Brine Volume* (GL) Brine Density (g/mL) Li (mg/L) K (mg/L) Li (kt) LCE# (kt) LiCl# (kt) Measured 17,653 2,648 1.217 315 9,598 833 4,436 5,089 Indicated 9,286 1,393 1.213 326 10,044 454 2,418 2,774 Inferred 4,747 712 1.211 334 10,121 238 1,267 1,454 Measured + Indicated 26,939 4,041 1.215 319 9,752 1,287 6,854 7,863

* Brine volumes are reported using a conservative aquifer average specific yield (SY) of 15%. Due to the nature of brine deposits, it is not relevant to estimate Mineral Resources to a specific cut-off grade. However, a nominal grade cut-off value of 230 mg/L Li has been applied for reporting purposes only.

# Based on standard conversion rates, and assumes full extraction and conversion.

LCE = Lithium Carbonate Equivalent; conversion factor 5.324 (Ministry of Energy and Mines, British Columbia, Canada).

LiCl = Lithium Chloride; conversion factor 6.1078

NB. Figures have been rounded. Well efficiency and production efficiency are modifying factors to resources and reserves, respectively.

The Qualified Person who prepared the brine resource estimate in the Report is Llyle Sawyer, MAIG of Geos. The effective date for the estimate is 4 June 2021.

Mineral resources are not mineral reserves as defined by the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, and the Company cannot guarantee that the resources reported here will be converted to mineral reserves. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

John Wisbey, Chairman and CEO of International Lithium Corp., commented as follows:



"This Report highlights what we have always known, that Mariana with now over 7.8 million tonnes Measured and Indicated resource of lithium chloride equivalent is a very large deposit indeed. The key question in future years will be how much of this is capable of being processed economically, and that in turn will depend critically on what technologies are adopted. For now, making use of solar evaporation which is Ganfeng's chosen method detailed in the Report, there is an environmental limit to how much can be extracted without affecting the water levels adversely, and this is why 20,000 tonnes p.a. is the level of environmental approval applied for. It can be hoped that membrane technology or other technologies become suitable technology at Mariana in future years, and that this number can be improved on over time.

I mentioned in my Chairman's Report for the last financials that the board was evaluating its strategic options for the Mariana project. I can now disclose that the board believes that it would be in the best interests of its shareholders to sell its stake in the Mariana project before the Project goes to the next stage of requiring appreciable capital investment. We are conducting a process of talking with possible acquirers of our stake in Mariana, including Ganfeng the majority partner. Shareholders are cautioned that, as with any such discussions, no assurance is possible that the stake will be sold at a price that would reflect the board's view of the economic potential of the salar as a major lithium resource with valuable byproducts such as potassium. Should a suitable price not be agreed, the Company would still enjoy the benefit of a 1% Net Smelter Royalty from Ganfeng on all production from Mariana."

Qualified person

Jon Findlay, Ph.D, P.Geo, a consultant to the Company and a "Qualified Person" for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release.

About International Lithium Corp.

International Lithium Corp. believes that the '20s will be the decade of battery metals, at a time that the world faces a significant turning point in the energy market's dependence on oil and gas and in the governmental and public view of climate change. Our key mission in the new decade is to make money for our shareholders from lithium and battery metals while at the same time helping to create a greener, cleaner planet. This includes optimizing the value of our existing projects in Canada, Argentina and Ireland as well as finding, exploring and developing projects that have the potential to become world class lithium and rare metal deposits. In addition, we have seen the clear and growing wish by the USA and Canada to safeguard their supplies of critical battery metals, and our Canadian properties are strategic in that respect.

A key goal in the new decade is to become a well funded company to turn our aspirations into reality.

International Lithium Corp. has a significant portfolio of projects, strong management, and strong partners. Partners include Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd., ("Ganfeng Lithium") a leading China-based lithium product manufacturer quoted on the Shenzhen and Hong Kong stock exchanges (A share code: 002460, H share code: 1772) and Essential Metals Limited, quoted on the Australian Stock exchange.

The Company's primary strategic focus is now on the Raleigh Lake lithium and rubidium project in Canada and on the Company's strategic options on the Mariana project in Argentina.

The Raleigh Lake project consists of 3,027 hectares of adjoining mineral claims in Ontario, and is regarded by ILC management as ILC's most significant project in Canada. The pegmatites explored there contain significant quantities of rubidium and caesium as well as lithium. Raleigh Lake is 100% owned by ILC, is not subject to any encumbrances, and is royalty free.

The Mariana lithium-potash brine project, which is the subject of this news release, is located within the renowned South American "Lithium Belt" that is the host to the vast majority of global lithium resources, reserves and production. The Mariana project strategically encompasses an entire mineral rich evaporite basin, totalling 160 square kilometres, that ranks as one of the more prospective salars or 'salt lakes' in the region.

Complementing the Company's lithium brine project at Mariana and rare metal pegmatite property at Raleigh Lake, are interests in two other rare metal pegmatite properties in Ontario, Canada known as the Mavis Lake and Forgan Lake projects, and the Avalonia project in Ireland, which encompasses an extensive 50-km-long pegmatite belt.

The ownership of the Mavis Lake project is now 51% Essential Metals Limited ("ESS") and 49% ILC. In addition, ILC owns a 1.5% NSR on Mavis Lake. ESS has an option to earn an additional 29% by sole-funding a further CAD $8.5 million expenditures of exploration activities, at which time the ownership will be 80% ESS and 20% ILC.

The Forgan Lake project will, upon Ultra Resources Inc. meeting its contractual requirements pursuant to its agreement with ILC, become 100% owned by Ultra Resources, and ILC will retain a 1.5% NSR on Forgan Lake.

The ownership of the Avalonia project is currently 55% Ganfeng Lithium and 45% ILC. Ganfeng Lithium has an option to earn an additional 24% by either incurring CAD $10 million expenditures on exploration activities or delivering a positive feasibility study on the project, at which time the ownership will be 79% Ganfeng Lithium and 21% ILC.

With the increasing demand for high tech rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles and electrical storage as well as portable electronics, lithium has been designated "the new oil", and is a key part of a "green tech" sustainable economy. By positioning itself with solid strategic partners and projects with significant resource potential, ILC aims to be one of the lithium and rare metals resource developers of choice for investors and to continue to build value for its shareholders in the '20s, the decade of battery metals.

On behalf of the Company,

John Wisbey

Chairman and CEO

www.internationallithium.com

For further information concerning this news release please contact +1 604-449-6520

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Except for statements of historical fact, this news release or other releases contain certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information or forward-looking statements in this or other news releases may include: the effect of results of the feasibility study of the Mariana Joint Venture Project, timing of publication of the technical reports, possible sale of the Company's interest in the Project, anticipated production rates, the timing and/or anticipated results of drilling on the Raleigh Lake or Mavis Lake projects, the expectation of resource estimates, preliminary economic assessments, feasibility studies, lithium or rubidium or caesium recoveries, modeling of capital and operating costs, results of studies utilizing various technologies at the company's projects, budgeted expenditures and planned exploration work on the Avalonia Joint Venture, satisfactory completion of the sale of mineral rights at Forgan Lake, increased value of shareholder investments, and continued agreement between the Company and Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd. regarding the Company's percentage interest in the Mariana project and assumptions about ethical behaviour by our joint venture partners where we have them. Such forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions and subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those discussed in the sections entitled "Risks" and "Forward-Looking Statements" in the interim and annual Management's Discussion and Analysis which are available at www.sedar.com. While management believes that the assumptions made are reasonable, there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Should one or more of the risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking information. Forward-looking information herein, and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on expectations, estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the time of such statements, are subject to significant business, economic, legislative, and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. These estimates and assumptions may prove to be incorrect and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking information should circumstances or management's estimates or opinions change.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/90053
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 12, 2021) - Battery Mineral Resources Corp. (TSXV: BMR) ("Battery" or "BMR" or the "Company") announces that it has completed a seven hole - 682.00 metre diamond drill program on its 100% owned Bald Rock prospect in the Gowganda Project area (Figure 1).

Highlights

The Bald Rock target comprises an area of extensive historic stripping and channel sampling that yielded intervals grading 51.60 grams per tonne silver ("g/t Ag"), >1.00 percent cobalt ("% Co") and 1.37 percent copper ("% Cu") over 0.58 metres ("m"), and 4.19g/t Ag, >0.30% Co, and 1.13% Cu over 2.05m;

Rock sampling by BMR field crews of the stripped outcrop that was channel sampled in 2011 returned assays of 41.30g/t Ag, 1.53% Co and 7.65% Cu;

No record or field evidence of any historic diamond drilling;

Five holes are designed to test the strike and depth extent of the known 10m wide zone of altered and mineralized zone exposed in the stripped outcrop area, and one hole will target the projected intersection of the Bald Rock vein corridor, the vein system hosting the 3,317ounce per ton ("oz/t") silver rock grab sample result as well as the shaft vein system;

One hole tested the vein mineralisation exposed at the prospect shaft/pit to the northwest of the stripped outcrop area;

The final hole was drilled to test the vertical continuity of high-grade silver vein mineralisation identified in historic rock grab sampling (3,317oz/t silver assay) northwest of the stripped outcrop;

Drilling results and assays are expected by end of July, 2021.

About the Bald Rock program

The Bald Rock prospect is situated in Lawson Township and is also referred to as the LaCarte or Silver Leaf showing. It consists of a shaft that was sunk in the 1930s and numerous pits and mechanically stripped outcrops which have been periodically examined over the years.

In 2010, a stripped outcrop 250m south of the shaft was rock grab sampled and yielded an assay of 3,317oz/t silver (113,725g/t Ag). In 2011, follow-up exploration consisted of a channel sampling program on the Bald Rock showing located approximately 500m south of the shaft. The channel sampling returned several anomalous mineralized zones including;

51.60g/t Ag, >1.00% Co and 1.37% Cu over 0.58m,

4.19g/t Ag, >0.30% Co, and 1.13% Cu over 2.05m.

Reconnaissance rock grab samples collected by BMR from a prospect pit adjacent to the 2011 channel samples yielded assays of 41.30g/t Ag, 1.53% Co and 7.65% Cu (Photo 1). Stripping and detailed mapping of the outcrop revealed that the altered and mineralized corridor is at least 10m wide, extends over a strike length of 40m and is open along strike in both directions.

The vein at the shaft, which was exposed by a pit and stripping strikes N330oE and yielded an assay of 0.93% cobalt and 5.68g/t silver from a BMR rock grab sample of the vein. The orientation of the vein exposed by the stripping and produced the 3,317oz/t silver assay is located 250m south of the shaft and strikes N350oE while the main Bald Rock vein system located further south strikes N050oE.

A seven-hole, 682.00m diamond drill program was completed in late June 2021. Five holes tested the depth and strike extent of the Bald Rock vein exposed in the stripped outcrop. The sixth hole target the intersection of three mineralised vein sets and a seventh hole targeted a historic high-grade silver grade silver rock sample result (Figure 2). A total of 189 drillcore samples were submitted for assay.

Battery CEO, Martin Kostuik, states, "The detailed mapping and sampling at Bald Rock prospect have identified a previously undrilled, 10-metre wide altered and mineralized zone that is open along strike and at depth. We are looking forward to the assay results from the drill testing of this target located southeast of the former producing Gowganda mining camp."

Background

The Gowganda mining camp was one of three historic silver-cobalt districts in Canada's Cobalt Embayment situated in northeastern Ontario about 6 hours drive north of Toronto. Estimated historic production from the Gowganda camp (1910-1969) was 60 million ounces of silver and 1.3 million pounds of bi-product cobalt. This production was sourced from high-grade silver-cobalt veins hosted in Proterozoic Nipissing diabase sill-like intrusions. Thirty-seven mineral occurrences are present on the BMR's Gowganda block which have an extensive exploration & mining history dating back to 1908 when silver was first discovered at Miller Lake.

The Gowganda Project totals 1,138 mining claims and 4 mining leases covering 22,693 hectares (226 square kilometres) in two main blocks. BMR's holdings include 4 of the 5 past producers in the Gowganda Camp including the Capitol, Bonsall, Millerett and Miller Lake-O'Brien mines.

The Gowganda block bedrock geology consists of that intrude Proterozoic Huronian Cobalt Group sediments intruded by Nipissing diabase sills and dykes. The oldest rocks at Gowganda are Archean greenstone metavolcanics - metasediments and/or granitic basement. Late diabase dykes cut all Archean and Proterozoic lithologies.

Most of the polymetallic silver-cobalt-nickel vein occurrences are hosted in the Nipissing diabase although both Archean metavolcanic and Cobalt Group sedimentary rocks have also been recorded to host veins. Most of the productive veins were hosted in the upper half, or hanging wall, of the Nipissing diabase sills. Mineralized quartz-calcite veins are typically vertical to steeply dipping. Vein widths range from mm-scale to 1 metre in width. The highest-grade ores were commonly mined at structural/vein intersections.

Mineralized zones occur as sheets of native silver and finer-grained iron-cobalt-nickel arsenide minerals in calcite gangue, often with minor comb-textured quartz along the vein margins.





Figure 1: Gowganda Project - Bald Rock Location Map

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6076/90048_48a3051674898810_002full.jpg





Figure 2: LiDAR image showing Bald Rock stripped area with the proposed diamond drillhole locations. Vein zones (red dashed lines) are projected from measured orientations on stripped outcrop areas

To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6076/90048_48a3051674898810_003full.jpg





Photo 1: Left-typical Calcite (+/-quartz) vein with Cobalt bloom; Right- typical specular hematite vein; both types are found on the Bald Rock outcrop and in the historic prospect cut/pit.

To view an enhanced version of Photo 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6076/90048_48a3051674898810_004full.jpg





Quality Control

Sample preparation, analysis and security procedures applied on the BMR exploration projects is aligned with industry best practice. BMR has implemented protocols and procedures to insure high quality collection and management of samples resulting in reliable exploration assay data. BMR has implemented formal analytical quality control monitoring for all of its field sampling and drilling programs by inserting blanks and certified reference materials into every sample sequence dispatched.

Sample preparation is performed by ALS Minerals Laboratories ("ALS") in Sudbury, Ontario and sample analyses by ALS in North Vancouver, British Columbia. ALS analytical facilities are commercial laboratories and are independent from BMR. All BMR samples are collected and packaged by BMR staff and delivered upon receipt at the ALS Laboratory in Sudbury. Samples are logged in a sophisticated laboratory information management system (LIMS) for sample tracking, scheduling, quality control, and electronic reporting. Samples are dried prior to crushing. The samples are crushed to 70% < -2 millimeters and a riffle split of 250 grams is then pulverized to 85% of the material achieving a size of <75 microns. These prepared samples are then shipped to the ALS Laboratory in North Vancouver for analyses by the following methods:

ME-MS61: A high precision, multi-acid digest including Hydrofluoric, Nitric, Perchloric and Hydrochloric acids. Analysed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry ("ICP") that produces results for 48 elements,

ME-OG62: Aqua-Regia digest: Analysed by ICP-AES (Atomic Emission Spectrometry) or sometimes called optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) for high levels of Co, Cu, Ni and Ag,

Ag-GRA21: Silver by fire assay and gravimetric finish; 30-gram charge. Weight. Used when samples contain > 1500 g/t silver,

Au-AA25: Gold was analysed by a 30-gram fire assay method, followed by AAS (atomic absorption spectroscopy).

Certified international standards are inserted into sample batches by ALS. Blanks and duplicates are inserted within each analytical run. The blank is inserted at the beginning, internationally certified standards are inserted at random intervals, and duplicates are analysed at the end of the batch.

Additional Information

P. J. Doyle, FAusIMM (#208850), Battery Mineral Resources Corp. - Vice President Exploration - Canada, supervised the preparation of and approved the scientific and technical information in this press release pertaining to the Canada Exploration Program. Scientific and technical information pertaining to the cobalt resource at McAra was extracted from the Company's NI 43-101, "Technical report on Cobalt Exploration Assets in Canada," dated as of May 26, 2020, with an effective date of March 31, 2020, prepared by Glen Cole (P. Geo) of SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc.

About Battery Mineral Resources Corp.

Battery is a multi-commodity resource company which provides investors with exposure to the world-wide trend towards electrification. Battery is engaged in the discovery, acquisition, and development of battery metals (cobalt, lithium, graphite, nickel & copper), in North and South America and South Korea, with the intention of becoming a premier and sustainable supplier of battery minerals to the electrification marketplace. Battery is the largest mineral claim holder in the historic Gowganda Cobalt-Silver Camp, Canada and continues to pursue a focused program to build on the recently announced, +1 million pound cobalt resource at McAra by testing over 50 high-grade primary cobalt silver-nickel-copper targets. In addition, Battery owns 100% of ESI Energy Services, Inc., a pipeline equipment rental and sales company with operations in Leduc, Alberta and Phoenix, Arizona. Finally, Battery is currently developing the Punitaqui Mining Complex, and pursuing the potential near term resumption of operations at the prior producing Punitaqui copper-gold mine. The Punitaqui copper-gold mine most recently produced approximately 21,000 tonnes of copper concentrate in 2019 and is located in the Coquimbo region of Chile.

For further information, please contact:

Battery Mineral Resources Corp.

Martin Kostuik

Phone: +1 (604) 229 3830

Email: info@bmrcorp.com

The securities offered pursuant to the Private Placement have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, United States persons absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections of the Company on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation, the ability of the Company to obtain sufficient financing to complete exploration and development activities, risks related to share price and market conditions, the inherent risks involved in the mining, exploration and development of mineral properties, government regulation and fluctuating metal prices. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Battery undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements contained herein whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR DISSEMINATION DIRECTLY, OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/90048
PARIS, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- With only 200 NXIII red decanters available worldwide, the rare NXIII experience is limited to one decanter per club per night: only 0.0000038361% of people worldwide will have the chance to experience NXIII

For the press page, click here

STRICTLY LIMITED

LOUIS XIII cognac is the result of the life achievement of generations of Cellar Masters, blending the finest eaux-de-vie using grapes grown exclusively in Grande Champagne. It is essential for LOUIS XIII to be experienced as a ritual, drop by drop, to reveal a prolonged and evolving expression of flavour, in a single moment of excellence. Customers who want to try their luck by ordering one of the NXIII Experiences can log on LOUIS XIII Society* or directly through the selected nightclubs. A LOUIS XIII Brand Ambassador will contact each of them to organise this unique adventure.

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click: https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/8918451-louis-xiii-introduces-ultra-rare-red-decanter-no-xiii/

EXTEND TIME WITH A SPECIAL RITUAL

Time is the raw material of LOUIS XIII, and NXIII allows us to explore a whole new expression of time. Nightlife is captured and amplified by the NXIII tasting ritual: a red individually numbered crystal decanter, revealed from under a LED cloche. Six red bespoke crystal glasses on a luminous tray accompany it, standing out from the crowd. LOUIS XIII is served using a pipette, known as the Spear, to prolong the drop-by-drop service ritual.

CRAFTED DECANTER BY HAND

LOUIS XIII has collaborated with Saint-Louis, to create the NXIII red decanter and red cognac glasses; their vibrant red hue can only be achieved using a secret process that requires the addition of gold. Its shared passion for tradition, savoir-faire and innovation comes to life into those rare decanters: blown, cut, decorated and engraved by hand, and individually numbered, it is finished with the LOUIS XIII signature dentelle spikes and a palladium neck. Following a NXIII tasting ritual, the client may leave the nightclub with his NXIII decanter (if the rules of the Club and regulations and laws of the country allow it) as a treasured souvenir of the most memorable of nights. The NFC-enabled stopper grants the owner exclusive access to the LOUIS XIII Society and all its membership benefits.

LOUIS XIII NXIII recommended selling price on demand, available only in nightclubs.

*The LOUIS XIII Society is a private members club for owners of LOUIS XIII Cognac decanters.

PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

communication.louisxiii-cognac@louisxiii-cognac.com

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/777273/LOUIS_XIII__Cognac_Logo.jpg

Video: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1571882/LOUIS_XIII_Decanter.mp4

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1571873/LOUIS_XIII_Decanter.jpg




TOKYO, July 13, 2021 - (JCN Newswire) - Microsoft Corp. (Microsoft) and NEC Corporation (TSE: 6701) on Tuesday announced an expansion of their decades-long collaboration. Through a new multi-year strategic partnership, the companies will leverage Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, NEC's network and IT expertise, including 5G technologies, and each other's AI and IoT solutions to help enterprise customers and the public sector across multiple markets and industries further accelerate their cloud adoption and digital transformation initiatives.The partnership will see NEC adopt Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud platform to deliver enhanced capabilities to drive sustained digitalization, help customers transform their business models, and build Digital Workplaces for the post-pandemic "new normal."To accelerate NEC's Digital Workplace innovation and workforce transformation, the companies will work together to migrate NEC's on-premises IT environment to Azure and deploy Azure Virtual Desktop and other Azure services among the NEC Group's 110,000 employees worldwide. This modernization builds on NEC's existing Microsoft 365 platform and will enable a highly sustainable environment that is more secure and robust, accelerating cloud migration for NEC and its customers throughout the commercial and public sector in Japan and around the world.The companies will work together to help improve digital services for public sector and enterprise customers through workplace and workforce transformation. Greater speed and lower-latency data connections will provide high-performance network experiences to create more efficient workplaces and empower employees to realize more personalized work styles for public sector as well as private sector customers.Leveraging the assets of both companies, including Microsoft's Intelligent Edge solutions and NEC's private 5G networking technologies, the companies will work together to help customers across industries transform. In retail, for example, the two companies will work together to analyze customer transaction data in real time using AI to better understand buying patterns, improve operational efficiency and identify new market opportunities.The combination of Azure and both companies' AI and IoT technologies and expertise will enhance NEC's customer experience through advanced solutions and enable more secure maintenance and operation of stores. In addition, NEC and Microsoft plan to explore network innovation initiatives built on Microsoft Azure for enterprise domains and specific industries.Through the partnership, the companies will work together to double the number of digital-focused engineers within the NEC Group who are specialized in Microsoft technologies. This investment in technical capabilities and the expertise of NEC's employees will help ensure customers' digital transformation success, benefiting the market and society."As we've seen over the past year, digital adoption curves are accelerating across every industry and business function," said Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Microsoft. "Our strategic partnership with NEC brings together the power of Azure and Microsoft 365 with NEC's services and infrastructure expertise to help public and private sector customers build resilience and transform during this era of rapid change.""NEC is pleased to enter into this strategic collaboration with Microsoft Corp.," said Takayuki Morita, president and CEO of NEC Corporation. "With Microsoft's trusted cloud and services, the experience that NEC has cultivated in its own systems, and both companies' AI and IoT technologies, we will enable companies globally to use digital services that are safer and more secure than ever before as they progress with digital initiatives.""The need for sustainable transformation to ensure business resiliency and growth has never been more important in the world and especially Japan," said Hitoshi Yoshida, president & CEO, Microsoft Japan. "Our partnership will help accelerate the industry's cloud-based digital transformation and utilization of data migration and help Japan's continued success globally, leading to greater economic and societal prosperity."This announcement is based on a history of strong collaboration between Microsoft and NEC spanning more than 40 years.Source: NEC CorporationCopyright 2021 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 12, 2021) - Dynasty Gold Corp. (TSXV: DYG) (FSE: D5G) (OTC Pink: DGDCF) ("Dynasty" or the "Company") is pleased to report that it has commenced the exploration program on the Thundercloud gold property (the "Property") announced on July 5. The Property is in the Archean Manitou-Stormy Lakes Greenstone belt that is 80 kilometers long by 30 kilometers wide, in Western Ontario. Close to 30 million ounces of gold have been discovered in the area in recent years and there are several large-scale mining operations in close proximity to the Property.

Several kilometers of the logging road leading to the Property had been washed-out and are now repaired and restored over the past week by the Company. Equipment and machinery were transported to the Property to begin trenching. A technical team has been mobilized.

The new trenching program focuses on two areas in the West Contact Zone. The first trench site is centered on the Glatz outcrop where previous sampling returned 8.02 g/t over 39 meters. Dynasty confirmed and extended the gold zone with 30 meters of chip sampling from the Glatz outcrop which yielded on average 3 g/t gold. Trenching on this target is to determine the full extent of the mineralization at surface and its trend in order to effectively test the zone.

The second trench site is 400 meters south of the first trench site and it is designed to follow up gold anomalies found in previous soil and rock sampling programs as well as to determine the nature of a property-scale fault that was discovered in past work programs but never tested. The fault terminates the southward trending "Timiskaming-type" sediments on the Property. Similar sediments are known to be spatially associated with large gold deposits elsewhere in the Archean Superior Province including the Timmins, Kirkland Lake, Larder Lake, Malartic and Pickle Lake gold camps.

The new data from trenching and the drone-supported magnetic survey combined with the historical IP, Magnetic and geochemical data should produce new drill targets for the next phase of exploration.

Gold mineralization in the West Contact Zone has an association with the QFP dykes. The mineralized dykes suggest that this mineralization is post felsic volcanic flows and pre late QFP dykes. It is further suggested that this brackets the gold event temporally and spatially to the Thundercloud porphyry.

This press release was reviewed by Andrew Tims, a Qualified Person under the definition of National Instrument 43-101.

About Thundercloud Property

The Thundercloud Property is located in the Archean Manitou-Stormy Lakes Greenstone belt in Western Ontario, 47 kilometers southwest of Dryden. The geological setting is comparable to the Abitibi Greenstone Belt in Eastern Ontario but the Thundercloud Property is much less explored. The Belt contains numerous gold showings, several deposits and high grade historic past producers. Regionally, exploration results indicate excellent potential to define bulk-tonnage orogenic gold mineralization, as close to 30 million ounces of gold have been discovered in recent years in the area, including several large-scale mining operations nearby.

About Dynasty Gold Corp.

Dynasty Gold Corp. is a Canadian exploration company currently focused on gold exploration in North America with projects located in greenstone belts in Ontario and the Midas gold camp in Nevada. Currently, the 70% owned Hatu Qi2 gold mine in the Tien Shan Gold belt, Xinjiang, China, is in a legal dispute with Xinjiang Non-Ferrous Industrial Metals Group and its subsidiary Western Region Gold Co. Ltd.

For more information, please visit Company's website www.dynastygoldcorp.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DYNASTY GOLD CORP.

"Ivy Chong"

_________________________________

Ivy Chong, President & CEO

For additional information please contact:

Vancouver Office:

Ivy Chong

Phone: 604.633.2100. Email: ichong@dynastygoldcorp.com

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/90055
BEIJING, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Liuyang fireworks, a geographical indication product in China and a featured product in Liuyang, a county-level city in central China'sHunan Province, is helping Hunan to build a unique cultural brand by pursuing high-quality development.

As a global fireworks production and trade base, Liuyang boasts an output of fireworks that accounts for more than 85 percent of the national total, with a sales volume taking up 60% of the world.

Over the years, Liuyang fireworks has undertaken the fireworks displays of major events at home and abroad, promoting the export of traditional Chinese culture, contributing to the Belt and Road construction, and fostering the opening-up of Hunan.

Liuyang fireworks boasts the whole-industry-chain advantage, and can realize customized production of high-end and major fireworks displays by controlling raw materials, production process improvement, research and development of fireworks display equipment, layout and design, and other related links in an all-round way, said Zhong Ziqi, a national intangible cultural heritage inheritor and chairman of Dancing Fireworks, a fireworks company in Liuyang.

Liuyang fireworks focuses on creativity, scene experience expansion, and the combination of science and technology with the city, so as to promote the mutual prosperity of fireworks culture and the city.

Liuyang has strongly supported and recommended 12 creative design base enterprises to develop the domestic cultural tourism fireworks market by introducing cross-industry talents to create immersive light and shadow carnivals with fireworks as the main character, and encouraging manufacturers to keep innovating and producing products that meet the needs of consumers.

From January to June, fireworks enterprises in Liuyang performed 900+ cultural tourism fireworks displays in many provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, with a total amount of 120 million yuan, accounting for about 85% of the domestic market share.

As a global research center for fireworks and the hometown of fireworks in China, Liuyang has been actively improving the quality of the fireworks, and made 300 cutting-edge innovations in the field of safety and environmental protection, including new environment-friendly firecrackers, regenerated plant fiber firework outer tubes, etc.

The city is also home to multiple national organizations and industry institutions for fireworks, and is the largest talent and technology gathering place in the global fireworks industry.

Liuyang is making efforts to shift its fireworks culture from a Chinese culture to a world culture.

https://en.imsilkroad.com/p/322549.html

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1571411/Xinhua_Silk_Road_111.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1571413/x222.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1571412/x333.jpg
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 12, 2021) - Canadian Nexus Team Ventures Corp. (CSE: TEAM) ("Canadian Nexus" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an Option Agreement with arms-length vendors to acquire a 100% interest in the Abitibi Claims. The Abitibi claims are comprised of two groups: Lac Hebert north of the Urban Barry Project and Lac Lapointe covering the westernmost extent of the greenstone belt in the Urban Barry Gold Camp. The Lac Hebert claims cover approximately 1689 hectares, largely adjoining Osisko's holdings in the area. The principal target at Lac Hebert is the contact between the Urban Barry and the Hebert Formations. The Lac Lapointe claims, comprised of 1412 hectares, are on echelon with several historic gold occurrences and deposits, including Bonterra Resources' Barry deposit and Kent Projects to the east.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Company can acquire a 100% interest in the project by issuing an aggregate of 5,100,000 common shares, paying $650,000 over three years, and completing $850,000 in exploration. No new insiders will be created as a result of this transaction. In addition, a 1% (one percent) Gross Overriding Royalty has been granted to the vendors, of which % (one-half percent) can be purchased from the vendors for $1,000,000.

"This represents a terrific opportunity for Canadian Nexus as an investment issuer to build out its portfolio in the mining sector. We believe this sector will continue to outperform and are diligently working on additional opportunities within the mining and exploration industry. Our management team will not change nor will our business focus as an investment issuer," stated Arni Johannson CEO.

About Canadian Nexus Team Ventures Corp.

Canadian Nexus (CSE: TEAM) is an investment issuer that actively invests in a diversified portfolio of early-stage to mid-level companies and projects. Canadian Nexus leverages its extensive network of operators and global thought leaders to provide investors with a unique multi-opportunity portfolio.

Contact:

Arni Johannson

604-960-1878

Forward-Looking Statements:

This news release includes certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements the timing, consideration, and completion of the joint venture are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by words such as "pro forma", "plans", "expects", "will", "may", "should", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "potential" or variations of such words including negative variations thereof, and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, statements as to the completion of the Acquisition, the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, including the Acquisition, the ability of the Company to obtain sufficient financing to fund its business activities and plans, delays in obtaining regulatory approvals (including of the Canadian Securities Exchange), changes in laws, regulations, and policies affecting the Company's operations and the Company's limited operating history.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this presentation or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/90067
Nokia Corporation

Inside information

13 July 2021 at 9:00 EET

Nokia expects to revise upwards its 2021 financial guidance

Espoo, Finland - Nokia is today providing an update to its financial guidance for full year 2021. In the second quarter Nokia saw continued strength in the business, improving its expectations for the full year. Nokia now expects to revise upwards its prior outlook ranges for 2021. Nokia plans to provide full details on its second quarter and half-year financial performance and revised full year 2021 guidance on 29 July 2021.

The previousoutlook for 2021 (reiterated on 29 April 2021) was:

Net sales, adjusted for currency fluctuations1 20.6bn to 21.8bn Comparable operating margin 7 to 10% Free cash flow Positive Comparable ROIC 10 to 15%

1)Assuming continuation of 2020 year-end EUR/USD rate of 1.23.

"We are progressing well with our three-phased plan to achieve sustainable, profitable growth and technology leadership laid out at our Capital Markets Day in March. Our first half performance has shown evidence of this in good cost control and also benefited from strength in a number of our end markets. We continue to expect some headwinds in the second half as we have previously highlighted but our performance in the first half provides a good foundation for the full year," said Pekka Lundmark, Nokia President and CEO.

The company will release its second quarter and half year 2021 financial results on Thursday 29 July 2021.

Nokia will conduct a conference call with analysts and investors to discuss its second quarter performance and business outlook on 29 July 2021 at 11:30am EET / 9:30am BST / 4:30am US EST.

About Nokia

At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.

As a trusted partner for critical networks, we are committed to innovation and technology leadership across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. We create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs.

Adhering to the highest standards of integrity and security, we help build the capabilities needed for a more productive, sustainable and inclusive world.

Inquiries:

Nokia

Communications

Phone: +358 10 448 4900

Email: press.services@nokia.com

Katja Antila, Head of Media Relations

Nokia

Investor Relations

Phone: +358 40 803 4080

Email: investor.relations@nokia.com

Forward-lookingstatements

It shouldbenotedthat Nokia and its businesses are exposed to variousrisks and uncertainties and certain statementshereinthat are not historicalfacts are forward-lookingstatements. Theseforward-lookingstatementsreflectNokia'scurrent expectations and views of future developments and includestatementsregarding: A) expectations, plans or benefitsrelated to ourstrategies, growth management and operational key performance indicators; B) expectations, plans or benefitsrelated to future performance of our businesses (including the expected impact, timing and duration of that impact of COVID-19 on our businesses, oursupplychain and ourcustomers' businesses) and any future dividendsincluding timing and qualitative and quantitative thresholdsassociatedtherewith; C) expectations and targetsregardingfinancial performance, cash generation, results, the timing of receivables, operating expenses, taxes, currency exchange rates, hedging, costsavings, productcostreductions and competitiveness, as well as results of operationsincludingtargeted synergies, better commercial management and thoseresultsrelated to marketshare, prices, net sales, income and margins; D) expectations, plans or benefitsrelated to changes in organizational and operational structure; E) expectations regardingcompetitionwithinourmarket, marketdevelopments, generaleconomic conditions and structural and legal change globally and in national and regionalmarkets, such as China; F) ourability to integrateacquired businesses intoouroperations and achieve the targeted business plans and benefits, includingtargetedbenefits, synergies, costsavings and efficiencies; G) expectations, plans or benefitsrelated to any future collaboration or to business collaboration agreements or patent licenseagreements or arbitration awards, includingincome to bereceivedunderany collaboration or partnership, agreement or award; H) timing of the deliveries of ourproducts and services, includingour short term and longer term expectations around the rollout of 5G, investmentrequirementswithsuchrollout, and ourability to capitalize on suchrollout; I) expectations and targetsregarding collaboration and partnering arrangements, joint ventures or the creation of joint ventures, and the related administrative, legal, regulatory and other conditions, as well as ourexpectedcustomerreach; J) outcome of pending and threatenedlitigation, arbitration, disputes, regulatoryproceedings or investigations by authorities; K) expectations regardingrestructurings, investments, capital structure optimization efforts, uses of proceedsfrom transactions, acquisitions and divestments and ourability to achieve the financial and operationaltargets set in connectionwithanysuchrestructurings, investments, capital structure optimization efforts, divestments and acquisitions, includingourcurrentcostsavings program; L) expectations, plans or benefitsrelated to future capital expenditures, reduction of support functioncosts, temporaryincrementalexpenditures or other R&D expenditures to develop or rollout software and other new products, including 5G, ReefShark and increaseddigitalization; M) expectations regardingourcustomers' future actions, includingourcustomers' capital expenditureconstraints and ourability to satisfycustomer'sneeds and retaintheir business; and N) statementspreceded by or including "believe", "expect", "expectations", "deliver", "maintain", "strengthen", "target", "estimate", "plan", "intend", "assumption", "focus", "continue", "should", "will" or similar expressions. Theseforward-lookingstatements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyondour control, whichcould cause ouractualresults to differmateriallyfromsuchstatements. Thesestatements are based on management's best assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currentlyavailable to them. Theseforward-lookingstatements are onlypredictionsbaseduponourcurrent expectations and views of future events and developments and are subject to risks and uncertaintiesthat are difficult to predictbecausethey relate to events and depend on circumstancesthatwilloccur in the future. Factors, includingrisks and uncertaintiesthatcould cause thesedifferencesinclude, but are not limited to: 1) ourstrategyissubject to variousrisks and uncertainties and wemaybeunable to successfullyimplementourstrategic plans, sustain or improve the operational and financial performance of our business groups, correctlyidentify or successfullypursue business opportunities or otherwisegrowour business; 2) generaleconomic and market conditions, general public health conditions (includingits impact on oursupplychains) and otherdevelopments in the economieswhereweoperate, including the timeline for the deployment of 5G and ourability to successfullycapitalize on thatdeployment; 3) competition and ourability to effectively and profitablyinvest in existing and new high-qualityproducts, services, upgrades and technologies and bringthem to market in a timelymanner; 4) ourdependence on the development of the industries in whichweoperate, including the cyclicality and variability of the information technology and telecommunications industries and ourown R&D capabilities and investments; 5) ourdependence on a limitednumber of customers and large multi-yearagreements, as well as externaleventsimpactingourcustomersincluding mergers and acquisitions and the possibility of ourcustomersawarding business to ourcompetitors; 6) ourability to maintainourexisting sources of intellectualproperty-related revenue throughourintellectualproperty, includingthroughlicensing, establishing new sources of revenue and protectingourintellectualpropertyfrominfringement; 7) ourability to manage and improveourfinancial and operating performance, costsavings, competitiveness and synergies generally, expectations and timing aroundourability to recognizeany net sales and ourability to implement changes to ourorganizational and operational structure efficiently; 8) our global business and exposure to regulatory, political or otherdevelopments in various countries or regions, includingemergingmarkets and the associatedrisks in relation to taxmatters and exchange controls, amongothers; 9) ourability to achieve the anticipatedbenefits, synergies, costsavings and efficiencies of acquisitions; 10) exchange rate fluctuations, as well as hedgingactivities; 11) ourability to successfullyrealize the expectations, plans or benefitsrelated to any future collaboration or business collaboration agreements and patent licenseagreements or arbitration awards, includingincome to bereceivedunderany collaboration, partnership, agreement or arbitration award; 12) Nokia Technologies' ability to protectits IPR and to maintain and establish new sources of patent, brand and technologylicensingincome and IPR-related revenues, particularly in the smartphone market, whichmay not materialize as planned, 13) ourdependence on IPR technologies, includingthosethatwe have developed and thosethat are licensed to us, and the risk of associated IPR-relatedlegal claims, licensingcosts and restrictions on use; 14) ourexposure to direct and indirect regulation, includingeconomic or tradepolicies, and the reliability of ourgovernance, internalcontrols and compliance processes to preventregulatory penalties in our business or in ourjoint ventures; 15) ourreliance on third-party solutions for data storage and service distribution, which expose us to risksrelating to security, regulation and cybersecuritybreaches; 16) inefficiencies, breaches, malfunctions or disruptions of information technologysystems, or ourcustomers' securityconcerns; 17) ourexposure to variouslegalframeworksregulating corruption, fraud, tradepolicies, and otherrisk areas, and the possibility of proceedings or investigations thatresult in fines, penalties or sanctions; 18) adverse developmentswith respect to customerfinancing or extendedpaymenttermsweprovide to customers; 19) the potentialcomplextax issues, tax disputes and tax obligations wemay face in variousjurisdictions, including the risk of obligations to payadditional taxes; 20) ouractual or anticipated performance, amongotherfactors, whichcouldreduceourability to utilizedeferredtax assets; 21) ourability to retain, motivate, develop and recruitappropriatelyskilledemployees; 22) disruptions to ourmanufacturing, service creation, delivery, logistics and supplychainprocesses, ourability to procure certain standard components such as semiconductors, and the risksrelated to our production sites; 23) the impact of litigation, arbitration, agreement-related disputes or productliabilityallegationsassociatedwithour business; 24) ourability to re-establishinvestment grade rating or maintainourcredit ratings; 25) ourability to achievetargetedbenefitsfrom, or successfullyimplementplanned transactions, as well as the liabilitiesrelatedthereto; 26) ourinvolvement in joint ventures and jointly-managedcompanies; 27) the carryingamount of our goodwill may not berecoverable; 28) uncertaintyrelated to the amount of dividends and equity return (if any) we are able to distribute to shareholders for eachfinancialperiod; 29) pension costs, employeefund-relatedcosts, and healthcarecosts; 30) ourability to successfullycomplete and capitalizeonourorderbacklogs and continue convertingour sales pipeline into net sales; 31) risksrelated to undersea infrastructure; and 32) the scope and duration of the COVID-19 impact on the global economy and financialmarkets as well as ourcustomers, supplychain, productdevelopment, service delivery, otheroperations and ourfinancial, tax, pension and other assets, and the shape of the economicrecoveryfollowing the pandemic as well as the riskfactorsspecified in our 2020 annual report on Form 20-F published on March 4, 2021 under "Operating and financialreview and prospects-Risk factors" and in ourotherfilings or documents furnishedwith the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Otherunknown or unpredictablefactors or underlyingassumptionssubsequentlyproven to be incorrect could cause actualresults to differmateriallyfromthose in the forward-lookingstatements. We do not undertakeany obligation to publicly update or reviseforward-lookingstatements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extentlegallyrequired.
Tikehau Capital raises stake in UK listed fintech investment company

Augmentum to establish a presence in Paris and leverage Tikehau Capital's global footprint

Regulatory News:

Augmentum Fintech, the UK's only publicly listed investment company focusing on the fintech sector, and Tikehau Capital (Paris:TKO), the global alternative asset manager, today announce an enhanced partnership to promote further growth in the burgeoning European fintech sector.

Covid-19 has been a catalyst for many fintech companies with an increasing demand from both consumers and businesses for enhanced digital capabilities. As the only publicly listed Fintech venture capital fund in the UK, Augmentum Fintech is playing a key role in supporting fintech companies to maximise their growth potential. As at end June 2021, Augmentum has backed 22 companies across diversified fintech verticals, with a current NAV of 183m.

Tikehau Capital and Augmentum Fintech are strengthening their links through the establishment of a close partnership. To cement this partnership, Tikehau Capital has raised its stake in Augmentum by becoming an investor in the company's recent 55 million share issuance, which was completed on 13 July 2021.

As a firm driven by a strong entrepreneurial culture, Tikehau Capital wants to seize compelling investment opportunities and support industries that are undergoing major transformation, benefitting from strong growth potential. By partnering with Augmentum, Tikehau Capital increases its exposure to venture capital, on top of its investment in Ring Capital, a leading private equity firm specialising in the financing of technology and digital companies. In addition, Tikehau Capital is already a majority shareholder in two French fintechs, Credit.fr and Homunity, and a significant shareholder in the Australian neo-bank Judo Bank. The Group continues to see ample value-creating opportunity in the innovative fintech sector.

The enhanced relationship between the two companies also sees Augmentum declare its intention to establish a presence in mainland Europe. From Paris, Augmentum will leverage Tikehau Capital's global footprint to support its significant pan-European investment pipeline. Recent investments by Augmentum include Epsor, an employee savings and retirement solution based in France; Tesseract, a digital asset innovator focusing on institutional brokerage and asset management based in Finland; and Grover, a start-up offering a rental service for consumer electronics in Germany.

Tim Levene, CEO of Augmentum Fintech commented: "France, like the UK, has seen a step change in digital adoption because of Covid-19, and Paris, like London, is becoming a major focus for fintech investment. Tikehau Capital, headquartered in Paris, is one of Europe's most entrepreneurial and innovative alternative asset managers, and we look forward to working more closely with them over the coming years

Antoine Flamarion and Mathieu Chabran, co-founders of Tikehau Capital, added: "We have known Tim Levene and the Augmentum team for several years and are delighted to further strengthen our partnership, combining our unique investment expertise and deep European experience. Beyond our financial investment, this partnership will also see Augmentum benefit from Tikehau Capital's pan-European network and footprint, as well as our expertise in the European fintech sector where we continue to see positive market dynamics

About Tikehau Capital

Tikehau Capital is a global alternative asset management group with 29.4 billion of assets under management (as of 31 March 2021). Tikehau Capital has developed a wide range of expertise across four asset classes (private debt, real assets, private equity and capital markets strategies) as well as multi-asset and special opportunities strategies.

Tikehau Capital is a founder led team with a differentiated business model, a strong balance sheet, proprietary global deal flow and a track record of backing high quality companies and executives.

Deeply rooted in the real economy, Tikehau Capital provides bespoke and innovative alternative financing solutions to companies it invests in and seeks to create long-term value for its investors, while generating positive impacts on society. Leveraging its strong equity base (2.8 billion of shareholders' equity as of 31 December 2020), the firm invests its own capital alongside its investor-clients within each of its strategies.

Controlled by its managers alongside leading institutional partners, Tikehau Capital is guided by a strong entrepreneurial spirit and DNA, shared by its 607 employees (as of 31 March 2021) across its 12 offices in Europe, Asia and North America. Tikehau Capital is listed in compartment A of the regulated Euronext Paris market (ISIN code: FR0013230612; Ticker: TKO.FP).

For more information, please visit: www.tikehaucapital.com

About Augmentum Fintech

Augmentum invests in fast growing fintech businesses that are disrupting the financial services sector. Augmentum is the UK's only publicly listed investment company focusing on the fintech sector in the UK and wider Europe, having launched on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in 2018, giving businesses access to patient capital and support, unrestricted by conventional fund timelines and giving public markets investors access to a largely privately held investment sector during its main period of growth.

Disclaimer:

This document does not constitute an offer of securities for sale or investment advisory services. It contains general information only and is not intended to provide general or specific investment advice. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future earnings and profit, and targets are not guaranteed.

Certain statements and forecasted data are based on current forecasts, prevailing market and economic conditions, estimates, projections and opinions of Tikehau Capital and/or its affiliates. Due to various risks and uncertainties. actual results may differ materially from those reflected or expected in such forward-looking statements or in any of the case studies or forecasts. All references to Tikehau Capital's advisory activities in the US or with respect to US persons relate to Tikehau Capital North America.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210712005878/en/

Contacts:

Press contacts:

Tikehau Capital: Valerie Sueur +33 1 40 06 39 30

UK Prosek Partners: Henrietta Dehn +44 7717 281 665

USA Prosek Partners: Trevor Gibbons +1 646 818 9238

press@tikehaucapital.com

Shareholder and investor contact:

Louis Igonet +33 1 40 06 11 11

shareholders@tikehaucapital.com
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Kier Group plc (KIE.L), on Tuesday, announced that trading since the announcement of its half year results continued to be resilient. Further, the company said it expects full year results to be moderately ahead of the Board's expectations, reflecting strong operational performance. The Group also expects to deliver a full year 2021 adjusted operating profit margin of about 3%. In addition, the company said it is 'confident that it now has the platform to achieve its medium-term targets' of: Revenue in the range of 4.0 billion - 4.5 billion, adjusted operating profit margin of about 3.5%, and cash conversion of operating profit of about 90%. With cash generation continuing to be strong, the company anticipates reporting a net debt / cash position at the year end, better than the Board's previous expectations. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Joined by InCert, itrust consulting, LuxConnect, LuxTrust and SnT, the SES-driven consortium will develop satellite-terrestrial infrastructure and the roadmap for wider European integration, setting the path for next-generation cybersecurity

The Luxembourg's Quantum Communications Infrastructure project (LuxQCI), coordinated by the Department of Media, Telecommunications and Digital Policy (SMC) of the Luxembourg Ministry of State, and supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA) under the Luxembourg National LuxIMPULSE programme, will create a secure communications shield against cyber threats based on quantum technology. To design the LuxQCI, Luxembourg has put in place a consortium comprising InCert, itrust consulting, LuxConnect, LuxTrust and the University of Luxembourg (SnT), that is led by SES's fully-owned affiliate SES Techcom.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210712005866/en/

SES-led Consortium to Define Luxembourg's Quantum Communication Infrastructure for Europe (Photo: Business Wire)

One of the LuxQCI's main functions will be to ensure quantum key distribution (QKD), an ultra-secure form of encryption that uses the principles of quantum mechanics. Enabled via satellites, QKD can secure confidential data, power grids, government communications and digital transactions, including against attacks by quantum computers. Once operational, LuxQCI will guarantee the security of digital transactions and of confidential information transfer over geographically dispersed areas. Early users of the infrastructure will be governmental and institutional authorities and business sectors requiring ultra-secure data transmission. QCI will ultimately evolve into a Quantum Internet, linking quantum processors and sensors and enabling an EU-wide distributed quantum computing and communication capability.

The LuxQCI is an integral part of the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI), an initiative from the European Commission that was officially launched in June 2019, which represents a federation of all the national infrastructures of the 27 EU Member States. Luxembourg was among the first seven Member States that signed this declaration.

As the ultra-secure form of encryption is only possible via a combination of terrestrial and space networks, the cornerstone element for the next-generation cybersecurity LuxQCI will be developed by a consortium of renowned Luxembourg-based entities that combines the relevant expertise of the private sector, research and development community and public agencies. Luxembourg's first national Quantum Communication Infrastructure will support the country's ambitions within the EuroQCI strategy, resulting in a roadmap for its implementation.

The LuxQCI project will include among other key objectives the design of the country's national QCI, integrating both terrestrial and space-based Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) into an innovative hybrid Key Management System (hKMS). It will also plan for the integration of Luxembourg's national QCI with other European QCI initiatives.

Luxembourg's national QCI will leverage SES's extensive expertise in developing relevant technologies, such as QUARTZ. Under this ESA-funded initiative, SES and a consortium of partners have since 2018 been developing an engineering model for the QKD system that allows the generation of encryption keys from space, as well as their secure transmission to users on Earth via laser.

Xavier Bettel, the Luxembourg Minister for Communications and Media said: "The Recovery plan for Europe, which includes the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), aims at repairing the immediate economic and social damage brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. Post-COVID-19 Europe will be greener, more digital, more resilient and better adapted to the current and forthcoming challenges. This pandemic has also clearly shown us the importance of digital technologies in our daily lives. One of the main projects in our Recovery and Resilience Plan is the QCI or Quantum Communication Infrastructure where SES, our European champion in satellite communications, collaborates with the research community and the local ecosystem in order to develop a next-generation, ultra-secure communication infrastructure."

Pierre Gramegna, Luxembourg's Minister of Finance commented: "I am pleased to see that the efforts invested into devising Luxembourg's Recovery and Resilience Plan are yielding results swiftly. The LuxQCI project illustrates how EU funds can be effectively used to contribute to a resilient and future-oriented recovery, and is line with the Government's budget strategy to maintain high levels of public investment. LuxQCI has the potential to increase the economic attractiveness of Luxembourg by further strengthening the country's digital infrastructure, and presents promising opportunities for the financial sector."

Marc Serres, CEO of the Luxembourg Space Agency, said: "ESA and a consortium led by SES are already developing the QUARTZ system for generating cryptographic keys in space and their secure transmission to earth. LuxQCI will integrate this technology, being the next major milestone in building the quantum communications infrastructure. This underscores the complementary roles of space and terrestrial technologies in ensuring globally available and reliable systems of the future. It sets the path to an integrated European infrastructure, and Luxembourg takes a clear lead in this groundbreaking development."

Steve Collar, CEO of SES, said: "Satellite-enabled cybersecurity is a technology of the future that is being developed now, and is an integral element of reliable quantum communications infrastructures. We could not be more delighted to be driving the development of Luxembourg's national QCI project with these local partners. The safe and intrusion-resistant data exchange mechanisms developed here will serve as a flagship project that can be replicated on a wider European scale. Luxembourg has the right expertise to deliver on this, as a world-renowned space and financial centre."

Follow us on:

Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram

Read our Blogs

Visit the Media Gallery >

About SMC

The Department of Media, Telecommunications and Digital Policy is part of the Ministry of State of Luxembourg. It supports the development of a diverse media landscape, state-of-the-art data connectivity and forward-thinking policies in Luxembourg that put people first.

About LSA

Established in 2018 with the goal of developing the national space sector, the Luxembourg Space Agency fosters new and existing companies, develops human resources, facilitates access to funding and provides support for academic research. The agency implements the national space economic development strategy, manages national space research and development programs, and leads the SpaceResources.lu initiative. The LSA also represents Luxembourg within the European Space Agency, as well as the space related programs of the European Union and the United Nations.

About SES

SES has a bold vision to deliver amazing experiences everywhere on earth by distributing the highest quality video content and providing seamless connectivity around the world. As the leader in global content connectivity solutions, SES operates the world's only multi-orbit constellation of satellites with the unique combination of global coverage and high performance, including the commercially-proven, low-latency Medium Earth Orbit O3b system. By leveraging a vast and intelligent, cloud-enabled network, SES is able to deliver high-quality connectivity solutions anywhere on land, at sea or in the air, and is a trusted partner to the world's leading telecommunications companies, mobile network operators, governments, connectivity and cloud service providers, broadcasters, video platform operators and content owners. SES's video network carries almost 8,200 channels and has an unparalleled reach of 361 million households, delivering managed media services for both linear and non-linear content. The company is listed on Paris and Luxembourg stock exchanges (Ticker: SESG). Further information is available at: www.ses.com.

About SES Techcom

SES Techcom is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SES that develops and delivers innovative and tailored end-to-end satellite-enabled solutions and services to governmental, institutional and supranational partners and customers. Leveraging its expertise in managing complex system integration projects, the company is a long-standing partner for institutional customers such as the European Commission and ESA on quantum communication infrastructure, navigation, defence security, humanitarian and disaster response initiatives. Further information is available at: www.ses-techcom.com

About EuroQCI

Since June 2019, 26 EU Member States have signed the EuroQCI Declaration, agreeing to work together, with the Commission and with the support of the European Space Agency, towards the development of a quantum communication infrastructure covering the whole EU (EuroQCI). It will consist of an earth-based segment that will use existing fibre communication networks linking strategic sites, and a space-based segment ensuring full coverage across the EU and other continents.

The EuroQCI will integrate quantum technologies and systems into conventional communication infrastructures. This will make it possible to secure Europe's encryption systems and critical infrastructures against cyber threats, store and exchange sensitive information safely, and preserve government data against current and future threats.

The first service to make use of it will be quantum key distribution (QKD), an encryption technique that uses quantum phenomena and is not subject to the same vulnerabilities as many other forms of encryption based on mathematical functions. QKD can therefore be used to enable the long-term security of data and communication messages.

Work is currently ongoing to design the EuroQCI, taking into account the technologies available and in development, and the requirements of the participating Member States. The long-term plan is for the EuroQCI to become the basis of a quantum internet in Europe, connecting quantum computers, simulators and sensors via quantum networks to distribute information and resources securely.

Funding for the EuroQCI for the period 2021-27 is expected to be provided by the EU's Digital Europe programme and Connecting Europe Facility.

[Source: European Commission]

The Luxembourg's Quantum Communications Infrastructure project (LuxQCI) is coordinated by the Department of Media, Telecommunications and Digital Policy (SMC) of the Luxembourg Ministry of State, and supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA) under the Luxembourg National LuxIMPULSE programme.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210712005866/en/

Contacts:

Suzanne Ong

External Communications

Tel. +352 710 725 500

suzanne.ong@ses.com
ESPOO (dpa-AFX) - Nokia Corp. (NOK) said that it expects to revise upwards its prior outlook ranges for 2021. The company said in April that it continued to expect comparable operating margin of 7 percent to 10 percent, and net sales, adjusted for currency fluctuations, of 20.6 billion euros to 21.8 billion euros for 2021. The company noted Tuesday that it plans to provide full details on its second quarter financial performance and revised full year 2021 guidance on 29 July 2021. '...We continue to expect some headwinds in the second half as we have previously highlighted but our performance in the first half provides a good foundation for the full year,' said Pekka Lundmark, Nokia President and CEO. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2021 / Minaean SP Construction Corp. (TSXV:MSP)(Berlin:NJA)(Frankfurt:NJA) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has commenced dialogue with the government of Senegal, Africa, for the development of hospitals and other priority infrastructure projects.

These exciting prospects have come about as a result of the recent visit of Canada's Prime Minister to Senegal, the focus of which was to deepen the relations between Canada and Senegal through trade, investment and advancing shared priorities. Based on the information shared with the Company by the government of Senegal through the Canadian Trade Office, twelve priority projects have been identified to be of mutual interest - of which four are healthcare projects. During the recent webinar held by the Canadian Trade Office, the Company was one of the invitees amongst 37 other Canadian corporations, of which 5 were General Contractors. Being included in these discussions is of major significance to Minaean SP Construction Corp. and its mission to expand on its business prospects in Africa. Through Shapoorji Pallonji International's local Dakar office Minaean SP Construction Corp. is extremely well positioned to potentially realize on some of these business opportunities.

Senegal is characterized as a stable democracy with ambitious plans for expanding private investments. Senegal is working on its "Emerging Senegal Plan" in which it aims to boost sustained and inclusive growth through economic reforms and private sector driven investment projects. With this plan, Senegal is working to structurally to transform its economy, improve its strong macroeconomic performance, and achieve emerging market status by 2035. It is important to note that Senegal has experienced one of the highest GDP growth rates in the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) over the last five years. Due to COVID-19 this growth has slowed down and in order to reignite this economic growth, the government has a $1.7 billion stimulus package that focuses on the health sector, private sector and vulnerable households.

To learn more about the visit of the prime minister to Senegal, click here https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2020/02/13/prime-minister-concludes-productive-visit-senegal.

About the Company

Minaean SP Construction Corp. is a company well known for its pioneering efforts in the manufacture of light gauge steel components for the construction industry and modular metal buildings in India. Upon partnering with India's well known 156 year old construction conglomerate "Shapoorji Pallonji Group" (SP) in 2016 as an affiliated subsidiary, the Company changed its business model to take advantage of its $7 billion revenue partner's expertise and track record in Construction and Infrastructure projects globally. The Company through its business relations established with the Government of Canada's trade offices has been developing contracts in Africa and Latin America and is focusing more towards construction of hospitals in these countries.

SP is known for its expertise in construction of hospitals, having constructed their first hospital project in Mumbai, India in 1923. Since then SP has established its credibility in this field having completed construction of 45 hospitals, the last one being the well known 600 bed "Al Sabah" hospital in Kuwait. The Company establishes its ability to execute these contracts in partnership with SP and is confident of being a front runner in this industry by the end of this decade.

The shares of Minaean SP Construction Corp. (parent company) are publicly traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "MSP" and on the Berlin and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges under the symbol "NJA". For more information, please visit www.minaean.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

MINAEAN SP CONSTRUCTION CORP.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Minaean SP Construction Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/655227/Update-on-Business-Development-Efforts-in-Senegal
SHERMAN OAKS, CA / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2021 / Petroteq Energy Inc. ("Petroteq" or the "Company") (TSXV:PQE)(OTC PINK:PQEFF)(FSE:PQCF), an integrated oil company focused on the development and implementation of its proprietary oil-extraction and remediation technologies, is pleased to announce that it has received irrevocable subscription agreements for gross proceeds of US$2,144,999.92 for an aggregate of 17,874,996 units (a "Unit" or "Units") of the Company at US$0.12 per Unit (the "Equity Offering"). Each Unit shall consist of (i) one (1) common share of the Company, and (ii) one (1) transferable common share purchase warrant. Each warrant shall entitle the holder thereof to acquire one additional common share of the Company at US$0.12 per share, 9,541,663 for twenty-four (24) months from issuance and 8,333,333 for sixty (60) months from issuance. The subscriptions include a US$225,000 subscription from Mr. Alex Blyumkin, an officer and director of Petroteq, for 1,875,000 Units. In connection with the issue and sale of the Units pursuant to the Equity Offering, the Company has agreed to compensate registered dealers (i) cash commissions of an aggregate of US$37,999.99, and (ii) non-transferable compensation options to purchase an aggregate of 577,082 common shares at US$0.12 per share, 316,666 for twenty-four (24) months from issuance and 260,416 for forty-eight (48) months from issuance.

The Company is also pleased to announce that it has agreed to a fourth follow on debt financing with a previous arm's length lender. The lender has provided an irrevocable subscription agreement for (i) a US$3,000,000 principal amount (including a 20% OID) convertible secured debenture of the Company, and (ii) 20,833,333 transferable common share purchase warrants, for the total subscription price of US$2,500,000. The debenture will have a term of forty-eight (48) months and shall bear interest at a rate of 10.0% per annum, payable quarterly, and at the option of the subscriber, subject to a forced conversion right of the Company, will be convertible into common shares of the Company at US$0.12 per share. Each warrant shall entitle the holder thereof to acquire one (1) additional common share of the Company at US$0.12 per share until the date that is forty-eight (48) months from issuance. In connection with the subscription, a registered dealer is entitled on closing to (i) a cash commission equal to 8% ($200,000) of the subscription price, and (ii) compensation options to purchase 5,208,333 common shares of the Company at US$0.12 per share until the date that is forty-eight (48) months from issuance. In addition, the Company will reimburse the subscriber for its costs, expenses and due diligence fees in connection with the subscription. An affiliated party to the previous lender has also provided an irrevocable subscription agreement for (i) a US$300,000 principal amount convertible debenture of the Company, and (ii) 2,500,000 transferable common share purchase warrants, for the total subscription price of US$300,000. The debenture will have a term of twenty-four (24) months and shall bear interest at a rate of 8.0% per annum, payable quarterly, and at the option of the subscriber, subject to a forced conversion right of the Company, will be convertible into common shares of the Company at US$0.12 per share. Each warrant shall entitle the holder thereof to acquire one (1) additional common share of the Company at US$0.12 per share until the date that is twenty-four (24) months from issuance. In connection with the subscription, a registered dealer is entitled on closing to compensation options to purchase 625,000 common shares of the Company at US$0.12 per share until the date that is forty-eight (48) months from issuance.

The Company has also received an irrevocable subscription agreement for (i) US$120,000 principal amount (including a 20% OID) convertible debenture of the Company, and (ii) 833,333 transferable common share purchase warrants, for the total subscription price of US$100,000. The debenture will have a term of twenty-four (24) months and shall bear interest at a rate of 8.0% per annum, payable quarterly, and at the option of the subscriber will be convertible into common shares of the Company at US$0.12 per share. Each warrant shall entitle the holder thereof to acquire one (1) additional common share of the Company at US$0.12 per share until the date that is twenty-four (24) months from issuance.

The net proceeds of the Equity Offering and the debt offerings will be used by the Company on its extraction technology in Asphalt Ridge, Utah and for working capital.

"I believe that the subscriptions for more than US$5 million, including US$225,000 of my own money, is an indication that there is confidence in support in our company, our technology and our prospects," said Alex Blyumkin, Executive Chairman of Petroteq. "We are excited to continue to develop our technology and commence consistent commercial production at our plant".

In addition, the Company announces its intention to complete a debt conversion transaction with an arm's length service providers pursuant to which the Company will issue an aggregate of 5,583,333 common shares of the Company at a deemed price of US $0.12 per share in satisfaction of US$670,000 and 250,000 shares in satisfaction of $30,000. The Company (with the service provider's consent) determined to satisfy the indebtedness with common shares to preserve the Company's cash for use on its extraction technology in Asphalt Ridge, Utah, and for working capital.

The foregoing transactions are subject to negotiation and execution of definitive agreements, approval of the directors of the Company and regulatory approval from the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange"). The foregoing securities will be issued in reliance on exemptions from the registration requirements of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), and applicable state securities laws, and will be issued as "restricted securities" (as defined in Rule 144 under the U.S. Securities Act). In addition, the securities issuable pursuant to the transactions noted herein will be subject to a Canadian four-month hold period.

The subscription by Mr. Blyumkin is a "related party transaction" as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 ("MI 61-101"). The transaction is exempt from the formal valuation requirements of MI 61-101 since none of the securities of the Company are listed on a stock exchange specified in section 5.5(b) thereof. The proposed transaction is exempt from the minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 since, at the time the transaction was agreed to, neither the fair market value of the transaction nor the fair market value of the consideration for the transaction, insofar as it involves interested parties, exceeded 25% of the Company's market capitalization.

About Petroteq Energy Inc.

Petroteq is an integrated oil company focused on the development and implementation of a new proprietary technology for oil extraction and remediation. The Company has an environmentally safe and sustainable technology for the extraction and reclamation of heavy and bitumen from oil sands, oil shale deposits and shallow oil deposits. Petroteq is engaged in the development and implementation of its patented environmentally friendly heavy oil processing and extraction technologies. Petroteq is currently focused on developing its oil sands resources and expanding production capacity at its Asphalt Ridge soil remediation and heavy oil extraction processing facility located near Vernal, Utah.

For more information, visit www.Petroteq.energy.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. and Canadian securities laws. Words such as "may," "would," "could," "should," "potential," "will," "seek," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect" and similar expressions as they relate to the Company are intended to identify forward-looking information, including closing of the transactions noted herein. Readers are cautioned that there is no certainty that it will be commercially viable to produce any portion of the resources. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking information. Such statements reflect the Company's current views and intentions with respect to future events, based on information available to the Company, and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, without limitation: execution of definitive agreements and receipt of director and Exchange approval for the transactions. Material factors or assumptions were applied in providing forward-looking information. While forward-looking statements are based on data, assumptions and analyses that the Company believes are reasonable under the circumstances, whether actual results, performance or developments will meet the Company's expectations and predictions depends on a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results, performance and financial condition of the Company to differ materially from its expectations. Certain of the "risk factors" that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's forward-looking statements in this press release include, without limitation: failure by the Exchange or the directors of the Company to provide necessary approvals; all closing conditions being satisfied or waived; uncertainties inherent in the estimation of resources, including whether any reserves will ever be attributed to the Company's properties; since the Company's extraction technology is proprietary, is not widely used in the industry, and has not been used in consistent commercial production, the Company's bitumen resources are classified as a contingent resource because they are not currently considered to be commercially recoverable; full scale commercial production may engender public opposition; the Company cannot be certain that its bitumen resources will be economically producible and thus cannot be classified as proved or probable reserves in accordance with applicable securities laws; changes in laws or regulations; the ability to implement business strategies or to pursue business opportunities, whether for economic or other reasons; status of the world oil markets, oil prices and price volatility; oil pricing; state of capital markets and the ability of the Company to raise capital; litigation; the commercial and economic viability of the Company's oil sands hydrocarbon extraction technology, and other proprietary technologies developed or licensed by the Company or its subsidiaries, which currently are of an experimental nature and have not been used at full capacity for an extended period of time; reliance on suppliers, contractors, consultants and key personnel; the ability of the Company to maintain its mineral lease holdings; potential failure of the Company's business plans or model; the nature of oil and gas production and oil sands mining, extraction and production; uncertainties in exploration and drilling for oil, gas and other hydrocarbon-bearing substances; unanticipated costs and expenses, availability of financing and other capital; potential damage to or destruction of property, loss of life and environmental damage; risks associated with compliance with environmental protection laws and regulations; uninsurable or uninsured risks; potential conflicts of interest of officers and directors; risks related to COVID-19 including various recommendations, orders and measures of governmental authorities to try to limit the pandemic, including travel restrictions, border closures, non-essential business closures, quarantines, self-isolations, shelters-in-place and social distancing, disruptions to markets, economic activity, financing, supply chains and sales channels, and a deterioration of general economic conditions including a possible national or global recession; and other general economic, market and business conditions and factors, including the risk factors discussed or referred to in the Company's disclosure documents, filed with United States Securities and Exchange Commission and available at www.sec.gov (including, without limitation, its most recent annual report on Form 10-K under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended), and with the securities regulatory authorities in certain provinces of Canada and available at www.sedar.com.

Should any factor affect the Company in an unexpected manner, or should assumptions underlying the forward- looking information prove incorrect, the actual results or events may differ materially from the results or events predicted. Any such forward-looking information is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Moreover, the Company does not assume responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such forward-looking information. The forward-looking information included in this press release is made as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, other than as required by applicable law.

The securities referred to in this news release have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent U.S. registration or an applicable exemption from the U.S. registration requirements. This news release does not constitute an offer for sale of securities, nor a solicitation for offers to buy any securities. Any public offering of securities in the United States must be made by means of a prospectus containing detailed information about the company and management, as well as financial statements.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Petroteq Energy Inc.

Alex Blyumkin

Executive Chairman

Tel: (800) 979-1897

SOURCE: Petroteq Energy Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/655301/Petroteq-Announces-Equity-and-Debt-Financings-Including-Investment-by-CEO
BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - German airport operator Fraport (FRA.DE, 0O1R.L, FPRUF.PK) reported that Frankfurt Airport or FRA served about 1.78 million passengers in June 2021, an increase of about 200 percent from June 2020. However, the traffic figure was based on a low benchmark value recorded in June 2020, when traffic was down amid surging Covid-19 infection rates. In June 2021, the decline in Covid-19 incidence rates and the further lifting of travel restrictions continued to positively impact traffic demand, Fraport said in a statement. For the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic, Frankfurt Airport again welcomed more than 80,000 passengers in a single day, recorded on two separate days in June 2021. When compared with pre-pandemic June 2019, FRA reported passenger decline of 73.0 percent in June 2021. In June 2021, cargo throughput, which comprised airfreight and airmail, jumped by 30.6 percent year-on-year to 190,131 metric tons. Compared to June 2019, cargo was up 9.0 percent. Aircraft movements climbed by more than 114 percent year-on-year to 20,010 takeoffs and landings. Accumulated maximum takeoff weights (MTOWs) rose by 78.9 percent to about 1.36 million metric tons in June 2021. Slovenia's Ljubljana Airport welcomed 27,953 passengers in June 2021. At the Brazilian airports of Fortaleza and Porto Alegre total traffic climbed to 608,088 passengers. In Peru's capital, Lima Airport welcomed 806,617 passengers in June 2021. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
- EMnify enables no-code IoT solutions with workflow automation tool Zapier

- Rapidly growing no-code economy empowers non-developer teams with automation tools to streamline processes and drive productivity

BERLIN, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- EMnify, the leading cloud communication platform provider for IoT, has launched its new integration with workflow automation tool Zapier, making it the first IoT CPaaS provider to offer customers no-code automation for cellular IoT management.

For IoT solution providers operating connected products globally, efficient internal processes for device deployment, troubleshooting, and support are critical. EMnify's integration with Zapier allows businesses to build trigger-based operational workflows - quickly and intuitively - using the tools that work best for them. EMnify customers can now automate IoT device and connectivity management at scale - with a few simple clicks.

PiCo, an Australian smart-retail solution provider, is among the first users of EMnify's Zapier integration. Andrew Lowe, managing partner at PiCo, commented: "Zapier has been a great help to us in managing projects globally across disparate platforms, and we have about 15 Zaps already in use. With this integration, we were able to rapidly integrate EMnify into our project management tool that manages workflows across three continents in under five minutes."

By integrating with Zapier, a leading brand in the rapidly growing no-code economy, EMnify can now connect with 3000+ systems worldwide, including top CRM, ERP, and project management platforms - without the need for specialist developers.

Using Zapier, IoT operations and support teams can select pre-defined EMnify triggers or actions and quickly combine them with their internal tools to create automated workflows, called Zaps. The combination of cellular IoT and no-code automation increases control and visibility for IoT businesses as they scale to deploy and operate thousands of devices globally. EMnify's customers can efficiently manage and stay on top of their device connectivity using the tools they already rely on - without having to switch between applications. Benefits include:

Increased operational efficiency - automated bulk activation and deactivation of device connectivity with the user's management tool of choice (such as, Excel, Asana, Slack, and others). 7

- automated bulk activation and deactivation of device connectivity with the user's management tool of choice (such as, Excel, Asana, Slack, and others). 7 Faster triaging and ticket resolution - real-time, proactive alerts in the user's management tool of choice when connectivity problems arise (for example, usage limit reached).

- real-time, proactive alerts in the user's management tool of choice when connectivity problems arise (for example, usage limit reached). Automated processes - such as automatically blocking a specific network.

Knud Kegel, VP product, EMnify commented: "No-code is to source code what cloud was to on-premises servers. No-code tools enable a higher degree of autonomy for non-technical teams, enabling business teams to participate by automating workflows, building operational dashboards, and more, so that development teams can focus on more strategic engineering tasks. EMnify's goal is to enable everyone to contribute to the connected world, and no-code is critical to making that happen."

To empower customers with more tailored workflows that streamline IoT operations on a global scale, EMnify is working to expand its set of actionable cellular IoT triggers and actions on Zapier. In the future, the company plans to integrate with an even wider range of no-code tools to bring greater automation possibilities to IoT businesses.

To get started with EMnify, go to: https://portal.emnify.com/sign/up

To build your operational workflows with EMnify and Zapier, go to: https://zapier.com/apps/emnify/integrations

About PiCo

Pico is an Australian provider of RetailTech that helps physical stores be successful in a digital world. With customers across four continents, PiCo's IoT devices connect any store with a barcode scanner to the internet in minutes. PiCo helps brands, distributors, and loyalty programs connect with stores and shoppers at the point of purchase. To learn more about PiCo, please visit picolabs.co

About EMnify

EMnify is the leading cloud communication platform provider for IoT that enables businesses with high-growth IoT products to scale across networks worldwide with a single API. EMnify is solely dedicated to IoT - unlike traditional CPaaS vendors. Its disruptive solution and customer-centric approach are made possible by a team of international experts that support thousands of companies in more than 70 countries.

Founded in 2014 by forward-thinking telecommunications experts Frank Stocker, Martin Giess and Alexander Schebler, EMnify revolutionized the industry with its cloud-native service that enables secure IoT connectivity globally - addressing one of the main issues regarding the IoT sector. To learn more about EMnify, please visit emnify.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1283164/EMnify_Logo.jpg
- Former Adyen VP Marketing North America bolsters executive team to elevate brand awareness and drive international growth initiatives

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Leapwork, the world's most accessible automation platform, today announced the appointment of Beatrice Askaner as Chief Marketing Officer.

Beatrice will play a crucial role in building Leapwork's brand as the company continues to scale internationally, strengthening its existing presence across North America, EMEA and Asia.

Beatrice brings a decade of international experience across all facets of marketing and communications within the technology sector. Having spent the last eight years working at global payments technology platform Adyen, Beatrice most recently led the team through a period of global expansion as VP of Marketing North America. Prior to Adyen, Beatrice started her career in advertising, working with various agencies within the Netherlands.

"We are thrilled to welcome Beatrice on board as Leapwork's first ever Chief Marketing Officer. Leapwork is experiencing rapid growth, and Beatrice will play a crucial role in helping us to strengthen our foothold across international markets. Her experience growing Adyen from a European-founded startup to a globally recognized business is invaluable, as we plan to see a similar trajectory at Leapwork over the coming years," said Leapwork CEO and Co-Founder Christian Brink Frederiksen.

"The automation industry is on the cusp of taking off, and I couldn't be more excited to join Leapwork, a company primed to become a leader in this space."

"Just like Adyen, Leapwork is a European-founded company that's already seeing extremely strong global uptake. I look forward to utilizing my experience and leadership skills to internationalize our brand and marketing efforts and really put Leapwork on the map," said Beatrice Askaner.

In her new role as CMO, Beatrice will lead Leapwork's growing marketing department and oversee all aspects of its marketing, communication, and brand operations. She will play an important role in ramping up the company's brand and marketing efforts as it continues to scale.

Since launching in 2017, Leapwork's visual, no-code approach to test automation has attracted interest from business and IT users, with more than 400 companies across different industries currently using the platform to automate repetitive processes so that they can scale more effectively. Clients such as NASA, PayPal, BNP Paribas and Daimler span industries including banking and finance, healthcare and life science, logistics and transportation, retail and ecommerce.

About Leapwork

Leapwork has created the world's most accessible automation platform. Through a visual, no-code approach, Leapwork makes it easy for business and IT users to automate repetitive processes, so enterprises can adopt and scale automation faster. Leapwork is used by more than 400 global enterprises across all industries, from banks and insurance companies to life science, government and aerospace. Clients include NASA, PayPal, BNP Paribas and Daimler. The company is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, and has local offices across Europe, US and Asia.

Media contact

Sophie Brown

+45 50208801

sbr@leapwork.com

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/leapwork/r/leapwork-announces-appointment-of-beatrice-askaner-as-cmo,c3383606

The following files are available for download:
BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - China's exports grew more-than-expected in June despite the closure of major ports in southern China due to Covid-19 cases among port workers. In dollar terms, exports advanced 32.2 percent year-on-year in June, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Tuesday. The annual rate was bigger than the economists' forecast of 23.1 percent and May's 27.9 percent increase. Likewise, imports climbed 36.7 percent on a yearly basis, faster than the expected rate of 30 percent. But the pace of expansion eased from 51.1 percent posted in May. As a result, the trade surplus increased to $51.5 billion in June from $45.5 billion in the previous month. The expected level was $44.2 billion. Chinese customs spokesperson Li Kuiwen reportedly said that foreign trade growth is likely to slow in the second half of 2021 due to higher base effects. Li cautioned that the overall trade still faces a number of uncertainties due to the global pandemic situation. Overall, the data suggests that easing supply shortages and still strong demand have helped to keep trade volumes elevated recently, Julian Evans-Pritchard and Sheana Yue, economists at Capital Economics, said. With trade volumes still well above their pre-virus trend, they will drop back over the coming quarters, economists added. Data showed that exports to the US grew at a slower pace of 17.8 percent in June. But the trade surplus with the US rose to $32.6 billion. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
- Technology transfer process has already started; cultivation process has begun following the approval by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI).

- The parties intend to produce over 300 million doses of the vaccine in India per year with the first batch expected in September 2021.

MOSCOW, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia's sovereign wealth fund), and Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, today announced cooperation to produce the Russian Sputnik vaccine against coronavirus.

SII is the world's largest company in terms of COVID vaccines production with over 500 million doses manufactured. Through several strategic associations, SII has been front running India's fight against the pandemic. In addition to developing its own vaccine, it is currently manufacturing Covishield (developed by AstraZeneca-Oxford), Covovax (by Novavax) and conducting trials of Codagenix in UK.

The first batch of Sputnik vaccine is expected to be produced at SII's facilities in September. The parties intend to produce over 300 million doses of the vaccine in India per year.

As part of the technical transfer process, SII has already received cell and vector samples from the Gamaleya Center. With their import approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), the cultivation process has begun.

India is the leading production hub for production of Sputnik vaccine. RDIF had earlier reached agreements with a number of pharmaceutical companies in India (Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma, Virchow Biotech and Morepen) for production of the Russian vaccine.

To date, Russian Sputnik V vaccine has been registered in 67 countries globally with a total population of over 3.5 bn people. The data obtained by regulators of a number of countries during the vaccination of the population, including in Argentina, Serbia, Bahrain, Hungary, Mexico, San Marino, UAE and others, demonstrates that Sputnik V is one of the safest and most effective vaccines against coronavirus.

Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, commented:

"RDIF is delighted to cooperate with Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer. This strategic partnership is a major step to substantially increase our production capabilities demonstrating a perfect example of joining forces and expertise to save lives both in India and around the world. With technology transfer underway we expect the first batches of the vaccine to be produced jointly with SII in coming months."

Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, commented:

"I am delighted to partner with RDIF to manufacture the Sputnik vaccine. We hope to make millions of doses in the coming months with trial batches starting in the month of September. With high efficacy and a good safety profile, it is critical that the Sputnik vaccine is accessible in full measure for people across India and the world. Given the uncertainty of the virus, it is important for international institutes, and governments to collaborate and further bolster up our fight against the pandemic."

Sputnik V has a number of key advantages:

Efficacy of Sputnik V is 97.6% based on the analysis of data on the coronavirus infection rate among those in Russia vaccinated with both components of Sputnik V from December 5, 2020 to March 31, 2021 ;

The Sputnik V vaccine is based on a proven and well-studied platform of human adenoviral vectors, which cause the common cold and have been around for thousands of years.

Sputnik V has pioneered the use of heterogeneous boosting (two different vectors for the two shots in a course of vaccination among COVID vaccines). This approach provides for immunity with a longer duration than vaccines using the same delivery mechanism for both shots.

The safety, efficacy and lack of negative long-term effects of adenoviral vaccines have been proven by more than 250 clinical studies over two decades.

There are no strong allergies caused by Sputnik V.

The storage temperature of Sputnik V at +2+8 C means it can be stored in a conventional refrigerator without any need to invest in additional cold-chain infrastructure.

***

Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is Russia's sovereign wealth fund established in 2011 to make equity co-investments, primarily in Russia, alongside reputable international financial and strategic investors. RDIF acts as a catalyst for direct investment in the Russian economy. RDIF's management company is based in Moscow. Currently, RDIF has experience of the successful joint implementation of more than 80 projects with foreign partners totaling RUB 2.1 tn and covering 95% of the regions of the Russian Federation. RDIF portfolio companies employ more than 1 mn people and generate revenues which equate to more than 6% of Russia's GDP. RDIF has established joint strategic partnerships with leading international co-investors from more than 18 countries that total more than $40 bn. Further information can be found at rdif.ru

Driven by the philanthropic philosophy of affordable vaccines, Serum Institute of India Pvt, Ltd. (SIIPL) is the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by number of doses produced and sold globally (more than 1.5 billion doses), supplying the world's cheapest and WHO accredited vaccines to as many as 170 countries. It was founded in 1966 with the aim of manufacturing lifesaving immunobiological drugs including vaccines worldwide. With a strong commitment towards global health, the institute's objective has been proliferated by bringing down the prices of newer vaccines such as such as Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Hib, BCG, r-Hepatitis B, Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccines. SII is credited with bringing world-class technology to India, through its state-of-the-art equipped multifunctional production facility in Manjri, Pune; association with Zipline and government agencies to transform emergency medicine and critical care along with spearheading the race of vaccine development against the COVID-19 pandemic.

For additional information contact:

Alexey Urazov Andrew Leach / Maria Shiryaevskaya Russian Direct Investment Fund Hudson Sandler Director for External Communications

Mobile: +7 915 312 76 65 Tel: +44 (0) 20 7796 4133 E-mail: Alexey.Urazov@rdif.ru



Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1140939/Russian_Direct_Investment_Fund_Logo.jpg
13 July 2021



Acron Group's Commercial Output Up 6% in H1 2021

Group's Consolidated Output (including operating results for Acron, Dorogobuzh and North-Western Phosphorous Company)

Product, '000 t 6M 2021 6M 2020 YOY, % MINERAL FERTILISERS Ammonia 1,415 1,374 3.0 Incl. in-house consumption 1,377 1,306 Nitrogen fertilisers, including 2,424 2,442 -0.7 Incl. in-house consumption 427 403 AN 1,118 1,227 -8.8 Incl. in-house consumption 142 135 Urea 651 568 14.7 Incl. in-house consumption 284 269 Including prilled urea 163 276 -40.9 Incl. in-house consumption 11 8 Including granulated urea 231 34 up by factor 6.8 Incl. in-house consumption 16 3 UAN 655 648 1.1 Complex fertilisers, including 1,296 1,140 13.6 Incl. in-house consumption 25 16 NPK 1,201 1,080 11.2 Incl. in-house consumption 25 16 Bulk blends 95 60 57.4 Total commercial output for Mineral Fertilisers 3,307 3,231 2.4 INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS Organic compounds, including 241 187 28.9 Incl. in-house consumption 125 94 Methanol 53 44 21.1 Incl. in-house consumption 46 35 Formalin 86 67 28.1 Incl. in-house consumption 77 58 Urea-formaldehyde resins 101 75 34.2 Incl. in-house consumption 2 1 72.4 Non-organic compounds, including: 590 493 19.8 Low-density and technical-grade AN 244 156 56.1 Industrial urea 79 66 20.5 Calcium carbonate 237 243 -2.7 Liquid carbon dioxide 28 24 13.5 Argon 3 3 -8.3 Total commercial output for Industrial Products 706 585 20.7 PHOSPHATE INPUTS Apatite concentrate 621 538 15.4 Incl. in-house consumption 478 433 Total commercial output for Apatite Concentrate 143 105 36.2 TOTAL COMMERCIAL OUTPUT 4,157 3,921 6.0

Note: Commercial output is output less in-house consumption

Comments from Alexander Popov, Chairman of Acron's Board of Directors:

'In H1 2021, Acron Group posted a new output record. In the reporting period, the Group produced 4,157,000 tonnes of commercial products, up 6% year-on-year. Mineral fertiliser output was up 2% to 3,307,000 tonnes.

'Output of ammonia, which we use as a basic feedstock for finished products, increased 3% to 1,415,000 tonnes, and the share of ammonia processed into finished products rose to 97%. In the reporting period, our flexible production chain allowed us to increase our output of the highest-margin products, primarily urea and complex fertilisers. Agricultural-grade urea output was up 15% to 651,000 tonnes, and complex fertiliser output increased 14% to 1,296,000 tonnes. In response to recovering demand for industrial products, the Group increased its output 21% to 706,000 tonnes. We also benefited from a favourable UAN price environment in Q2 2021 and expanded our UAN output.

'The additional output always reaches its consumer since the demand for our products is very strong both in Russian and global markets. Higher profit margin of agribusiness and farmers' purchasing power supported by high prices for the basic crops contribute to the spike in sales. Notably, the Russian agricultural industry is one of the record holders, as Acron Group's fertiliser supplies to the domestic market for the spring sowing season in 2021 boosted 27%.

'Acron Group has continued to invest heavily in capacity expansion to meet the growing market demand. Over the next several weeks, we will launch the Urea-6+ unit at Acron (Veliky Novgorod) to increase the facility's urea capacity by 520,000 tonnes per annum. Additionally, the Group embarked on upgrades to the Urea-1, Urea-2, Urea-3, and Urea-4 units to increase their consolidated capacity by 390,000 tonnes per annum, and also commenced constructing a new 700,000-tpa urea granulation unit. Upon completing this project, Acron's Novgorod-based facility will become the largest urea production facility both in Russia and in Europe.

'Acron Group increases the output in line with the ESG strategy focused on preserving natural resources, increasing the equipment efficiency and improving its footprint regions. Implementation of the Group's two urea projects will help reduce direct CO2 emissions by 630,000 tonnes per annum, the equivalent of 130,000 cars.'

Market Trends

In Q2 2021, global urea prices continued to grow. By the end of the quarter, the FOB Baltic price was USD 450, reaching its post-2012 high. This price growth was driven by various factors including continued strong seasonal demand in Europe and the United States, extensive urea purchases by India, high grain prices, and higher global gas prices driving up production costs. China's threat of a 30% export duty on urea, which resulted in limited supplies from this country, also contributed to stronger prices. In Q3 2021, purchases by India and Brazil have supported the market amid a seasonal decline in demand in Europe and the United States.

AN and UAN prices increased to their highest level since 2014 in Q2 2021 due to strong demand in the Northern Hemisphere and rising urea prices, which serve as a benchmark for other nitrogen fertilisers prices.

NPK prices were up as well in Q2 2021, supported by a similar pricing trend for the basic product basket (urea, DAP, and potassium chloride). However, the increase in basic product prices outstripped blends because of their higher liquidity, so the NPK 16-16-16 premium over the basic product basket decreased to 0-5% from the historical average of 20%.

Average Indicative Prices, USD/t, FOB Baltic/Black Sea

Q2

2021 Q1

2021 Q2

2020 Q2 2021 /

Q1 2021



change Q2 2021 /

Q2 2020



change NPK 16-16-16 353 312 258 13% 37% AN 245 234 153 5% 61% UAN 250 213 144 17% 73% Urea 359 326 207 10% 73% Ammonia 462 329 197 40% 135%

Media Contacts:

Sergey Dorofeev

Anastasia Gromova

Tatiana Smirnova

Public Relations

Phone: +7 (495) 777-08-65 (ext. 5196)

Investor Contacts:

Ilya Popov

Sergey Smirnov

Investor Relations

Phone: +7 (495) 745-77-45 (ext. 5252)

Background Information

Acron Group is a leading vertically integrated mineral fertiliser producer in Russia and globally, with chemical production facilities in Veliky Novgorod (Acron) and Smolensk region (Dorogobuzh). The Group owns and operates a phosphate mine in Murmansk region (North-Western Phosphorous Company, NWPC) and is implementing a potash development project in Perm Krai (Verkhnekamsk Potash Company, VPC). It owns transportation and logistics infrastructure, including three Baltic seaport terminals and distribution networks in Russia and China. Acron subsidiary North Atlantic Potash Inc. (NAP) holds mining leases and an exploration permit for ten parcels of the potassium salt deposit at Prairie Evaporite, Saskatchewan, Canada. Acron also holds a minority stake (19.8%) in Polish Grupa Azoty S.A., one of the largest chemical producers in Europe.

In 2020, the Group sold 7.8 million tonnes of main products to 74 countries, with Russia, Brazil, Europe, and the United States as key markets.

In 2020, the Group posted consolidated IFRS revenue of RUB 119,864 million (USD 1,661 million), with EBITDA of RUB 35,311 million (USD 489 million). Acron's shares are traded on the Moscow Exchange, and its global depositary receipts are traded at the London Stock Exchange (ticker AKRN). Acron employs over 11,000 people.

For more information about Acron Group, please visit www.acron.ru/en.
London, United Kingdom, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cancer informatics and digital pathology provider Inspirata announced today that King's Health Partners ECMC and Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust will pilot its Trial Navigator software as part of an evaluation the organisations are conducting into how artificial intelligence based automation can improve the identification and efficiency of matching patients with cancer to early phase clinical trials. Trial Navigator's introduction as part of a pilot evaluation within the Cancer Early Phase Trials Unit will see Inspirata collaborate with both King's Health Partners and the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC) Network Programme Office.

Delays in candidate identification and the absence of real-time visibility of open studies introduces a risk that patients miss out on trials for which they could have ultimately proved eligible. By applying oncology-specific natural language processing (NLP) to interrogate both the patient's individual medical reports and potential trial eligibility criteria, this project will explore the extent to which Trial Navigator can help to improve bottlenecks in both identifying and matching patients to relevant clinical trials.

"At the Cancer Centre at Guy's, we're constantly striving to get the best possible outcomes for our patients, and sometimes that means providing them with the opportunity to enrol on trials of new cancer drugs when conventional treatments have been unsuccessful. AI technology offers the potential to better match our patients to available trials, but we need to evaluate them first to prove that they can deliver on their promise," says Danny Ruta, Clinical Artificial Intelligence Lead, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. "We hope that the intelligent automation afforded by Trial Navigator will prove to be an effective solution for identifying greater numbers of our eligible cancer patient population for clinical trials."

"Our patients are looking to us for assurances that all possible options and avenues associated with their care have been thoroughly evaluated," says Debashis Sarker, Reader in Experimental Oncology in the School of Cancer and Pharmaceutical Studies of King's College London, and Honorary Consultant in Medical Oncology at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. "I am hugely attracted to any toolset which serves to augment my own understanding of the different trial options available so that I can impart this confidence and where applicable, see more patients obtain prompt access to potential new treatments in a more timely manner".

While building on an underlying oncology NLP engine that has already been successfully deployed at over 400+ hospitals and cancer centres worldwide, Trial Navigator has been purposely designed to improve clinical trial matching by supporting both the clinician at the point of care, and trial coordinators with patient identification. Trial Navigator can also be deployed to perform instantaneous lookups against any relevant trial database.

"Digital technology will play a key role in ensuring that the UK remains one of the best places in the world to conduct experimental cancer medicine studies, so that our UK patients get access to novel therapies at the earliest opportunity. We are excited to support a project that seeks to aid clinicians in the complex and time-consuming task of matching patients to suitable trials," says Michelle Mitchell, Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, which co-funds the ECMC network.

"We could not be more excited nor proud to work with Guy's and St Thomas', Kings Health Partners and ECMC on this project," says Oenone Duroe, General Manager, Inspirata Europe. "We look forward to collaborating closely with the team to validate the efficacy of AI in a clinical trial matching context, and by drawing on insights derived, support equivalent Trial Navigator engagements within the National Health Service."

About Inspirata Europe Ltd.

Inspirata Europe helps patients fighting cancer-and the clinicians they trust-to make every moment matter. Our comprehensive cancer informatics solutions bring disparate data together throughout the entire cancer care journey to drive informed decisions that improve survivorship.

Inspirata has assembled the most advanced and proven technologies to address the complex challenges of delivering cancer care and conducting ground-breaking research. We combine leading digital pathology solutions with automated cancer registry solutions, comprehensive cancer informatics and advanced patient engagement tools to bring users the broadest oncology informatics platform available globally. For more information, please visit www.inspirata.com or contact info@inspirata.com.

For further information about Inspirata, please contact:

Graeme Collins

Inspirata Europe, Ltd.

Tel: +44 (0)330 330 9038

E-mail: gcollins@inspirata.com

Attachments
HEERLEN, Netherlands, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Royal DSM, a global science-based company in Nutrition, Health and Sustainable Living, informs its stakeholders that CVC Capital Partners today announced the proposed sale of AOC, in which DSM is a minority shareholder, to an affiliate of Lone Star Funds.

DSM owns a minority position in AOC through the contribution of its composite resins business in 2015. It is estimated that DSM will receive about 300 million in cash for its entire shareholding following the closing of the transaction. Closure is subject to the customary conditions and approvals.

DSM - Bright Science. Brighter Living.

Royal DSM is a global, purpose-led, science-based company active in Nutrition, Health and Sustainable Living. DSM's purpose is to create brighter lives for all. DSM addresses with its products and solutions some of the world's biggest challenges while simultaneously creating economic, environmental and societal value for all its stakeholders - customers, employees, shareholders, and society at large. DSM delivers innovative solutions for human nutrition, animal nutrition, personal care and aroma, medical devices, green products and applications, and new mobility and connectivity. DSM and its associated companies deliver annual net sales of about 10 billion with approximately 23,000 employees. The company was founded in 1902 and is listed on Euronext Amsterdam. More information can be found at www.dsm.com.

Or find us on:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DSMcompany

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DSM

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/3108

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/dsmcompany

For more information:

DSM Media Relations Lieke de Jong tel. +31 (0) 45 5782420 e-mail media.contacts@dsm.com DSM Investor Relations Dave Huizing tel. +31 (0) 45 5782864 e-mail investor.relations@dsm.com

Forward-looking statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements with respect to DSM's future (financial) performance and position. Such statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections of DSM and information currently available to the company. DSM cautions readers that such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and therefore it should be understood that many factors can cause actual performance and position to differ materially from these statements. DSM has no obligation to update the statements contained in this press release, unless required by law. The English language version of the press release is leading.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/329419/dsm_logo.jpg


CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks rose on Tuesday as upbeat Chinese trade data boosted hopes of a quick economic rebound from the pandemic in major Asian economies. Investors also awaited cues from a slew of central bank decisions due this week.



The Reserve Bank of New Zealand's decision is due Wednesday, while the Bank of Korea and Bank of Japan will announce their decisions on Thursday and Friday respectively.



Chinese shares eked out modest gains as new data showed the country's exports and imports grew at a much faster than expected pace in June. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index ended up 18.69 points, or 0.53 percent, at 3,566.52.



Exports advanced 32.2 percent year-on-year in June, bigger than the economists' forecast of 23.1 percent, official data showed. Likewise, imports climbed 36.7 percent on a yearly basis, faster than the expected rate of 30 percent.



Additional data, including Q2 GDP and industrial production figures, will be released on Thursday.



Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 448.17 points, 1.63 percent, to 27,963.41 as tech stocks surged.



Japanese shares advanced on optimism over corporate earnings growth. The Nikkei average rose 149.22 points, or 0.52 percent, to 28,718.24, while the broader Topix gained 0.73 percent to close at 1,967.64, marking its highest close since June 16.



Shipping firms, securities brokerages and insurers topped the gainers list. Drugstore chain operator Cosmos Pharmaceutical jumped 9.3 percent and home Builder Tama Home surged 17.6 percent after posting upbeat earnings.



Liquor store company Kakuyasu tumbled 3.3 percent as it withdrew its earnings outlook for the current year through March 2022.



Australian shares gave up early gains to end on a flat note amid lingering worries about the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus variants in New South Wales.



Miners extended gains from the previous session, with Rio Tinto rising 0.6 percent and Fortescue Metals Group climbing 2.1 percent. Banks ANZ, Commonwealth and Westpac fell between half a percent and 0.8 percent.



Nearmap soared 14.4 percent after the aerial imagery tech firm said it expects its fiscal 2021 contract value to beat the top end of its upgraded guidance. Other tech stocks finished broadly lower.



Youfoodz shares skyrocketed more than 77 percent after the ready-made meals provider received a 95 cents per share or $125 million bid from global food giant HelloFresh.



Seoul stocks extended gains for the second day on the back of upbeat Chinese trade data and expectations for strong corporate earnings both at home and abroad.



The Kospi average climbed 24.91 points, or 0.77 percent, to 3,271.38 despite concerns about the toughened social distancing measures in the greater Seoul area. Chipmaker SK Hynix rallied 2.5 percent while internet portal operator Naver surged 5.4 percent.



New Zealand shares ended a choppy session higher, with the benchmark NZX 50 index settling up 21.54 points, or 0.17 percent, at 12,784.94.



Overnight, the major U.S. averages rose between 0.2 percent and 0.4 percent to reach new record closing highs, with Tesla and banking stocks gaining ground ahead of the start of earnings season.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
Adding the Missing Piece to the Puzzle: Solar Energy and EV Charging Infrastructure Developer to Join the SIRC Family of Companies, Adding $50 Million per Year in Incremental Sales as Early as 2022

Company to Prioritize Driving Organic Growth and Profitability over Acquisitions in Near-Future

EL CAJON, CA / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2021 / Solar Integrated Roofing Corp. (OTC PINK:SIRC), an integrated, single-source solar power and roofing systems installation company, today announced that it has signed a purchase agreement to acquire USA Solar Network LLC ("USA Solar Network"), a solar energy and EV charging infrastructure developer.

Founded and led by CEO Pablo Diaz, recipient of the 2020 Top 20 Dynamic CEO Award, USA Solar Network helps customers to install the best available solar energy or EV charging system by comparing hundreds of local installers and financing options. Pablo's leadership has generated over $40 million in revenue since 2018, and quickly scaled into over 37 states including key markets such as Florida, Texas, Illinois, Arizona, Missouri and New Mexico.

Solar Integrated Roofing believes the synergy with USA Solar Network will allow it to scale rapidly and achieve 50-100% growth in incremental residential and commercial sales with 16%+ gross margins in 2022. The acquisition is expected to act as a notable growth driver for solar and EV charger installers within the SIRC family of companies who can complete the on-site contracting work once the sale is complete through USA Solar Network, capturing the full lifecycle value of each customer.

Caption: Leveraging this new network, the SIRC family of companies can now service all pictured markets.

"USA Solar Network has a footprint in exciting new markets that will continue to broaden our national reach- the missing piece to the puzzle, allowing us to expand to new markets nationally with minimal cost using their existing network spanning solar and EV installation," said David Massey, Chief Executive Officer of Solar Integrated Roofing Corporation. "Pablo and his team have built strong regional partnerships with key industry players in the solar and EV charger space, with over 7,000 solar projects completed to-date. We believe the timing of this acquisition is perfect as well given the strong demand growth we are seeing for EV charging installations nationally.

"Given the Company's ability to service both residential and commercial markets, we believe we can efficiently integrate USA Solar Network into the SIRC family of companies and further improve its growth trajectory, while concurrently addressing exciting EV charging network opportunities with various levels of government, leveraging their contractor network to expand without additional costs.

"We believe that this may be our last acquisition in the foreseeable future before focusing inwards on organic growth and reaching cash flow breakeven - a monumental step for the company and its shareholders which we believe will significantly reduce any dilution and grow the company to profitability," concluded Massey.

About USA Solar Network

USA Solar Network is a solar energy developer, helping customers to install the best available solar energy system for any building residential or commercial. Its multiple divisions focus on the following fields in the solar industry: residential solar, commercial solar, finance in the commercial solar space, and solar licensed installations. The Company's vast network of sales companies, dealers and installation partners amount to an over 100+ strong network, covering a marketplace of over 37 states. To learn more, please visit http://usasolarnetworks.com/.

About Solar Integrated Roofing Corp.

Solar Integrated Roofing Corp. (OTC PINK:SIRC), is an integrated, single-source solar power and roofing systems installation platform company specializing in commercial and residential properties throughout the United States. The Company serves communities by delivering the best experience through constant innovation & legacy-focused leadership. The Company's broad array of solutions include sales and installation of solar energy systems, battery backup and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to roofing, HVAC and related electrical contracting work. For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.solarintegratedroofing.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements made in this press release which are not historical facts contain certain forward-looking statements; as such term is defined in the Private Security Litigation Reform Act of 1995, concerning potential developments affecting the business, prospects, financial condition and other aspects of the company to which this release pertains. The actual results of the specific items described in this release, and the company's operations generally, may differ materially from what is projected in such forward-looking statements. Although such statements are based upon the best judgments of management of the company as of the date of this release, significant deviations in magnitude, timing and other factors may result from business risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, the company's dependence on third parties, general market and economic conditions, technical factors, the availability of outside capital, receipt of revenues and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the company. The company disclaims any obligation to update the information contained in any forward-looking statement. This press release shall not be deemed a general solicitation.

Investor Relations Contact:

Lucas A. Zimmerman

Director

MZ North America

Main: 949-259-4987

SIRC@mzgroup.us

www.mzgroup.us

SOURCE: Solar Integrated Roof Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/655241/Solar-Integrated-Roofing-Corp-Announces-Acquisition-of-USA-Solar-Network-Concluding-Near-Term-Rollup-Efforts
CHICAGO, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Solid-State Car Battery Market by Vehicle (Passenger Car and Commercial Vehicle), Battery Energy Density (>450 Wh/kg, >450 Wh/kg), Propulsion (BEV, PHEV), Component (Cathode, Anode, and Electrolyte), and Region - Global Forecast to 2030", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Solid-State Car Battery Market is projected to grow from 27,070 units in 2025 to 661,724 units by 2030, at a CAGR of 89.5%.

The growth of the market is influenced by factors such as increasing demand for electric vehicles around the world, higher battery capacity and EV range using solid-state car batteries and other features of SSB's like higher battery life, higher energy density and better safety features compared to presently used lithium-ion batteries. The growing concern for larger distance commuting using EV's will also boost the market.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Solid-State Car Battery Market"

118 - Tables

51 - Figures

161 - Pages

Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=36752602

Asia is expected to be the largest market during the forecast period.

The Asia Pacific Solid-State Car Battery Market will be led by countries such as China, Japan, and South Korea. The governments of these countries have supported the growth of EV demand through subsidies, favorable policies for EVs and discouraging the use of petrol. This will lead to a fast-growing demand for solid-state car batteries in the region once they come into the market. Premium EVs using solid-state batteries will be launched in China and Japan, followed by South Korea and India. Growth will be slower in the initial years but will speed up after 2026. India will be the fastest-growing market in the region due to current and upcoming EV policies. Japan will also be one of the fastest-growing markets in the region due to top OEMs such as Toyota, Nissan, and Mitsubishi and battery manufacturers working to develop solid-state batteries.

BEV is estimated to account for the largest market size during the forecast period

The demand for solid-state batteries in BEV is expected to be higher in the coming years compared to PHEVs. This will be mostly due to its high demand for premium BEVs with superior features such as larger battery capacity, faster charging, and better safety features. The prices of these batteries will reduce once their mass production starts on a larger scale and other lower-end BEVs also start using these batteries. The market for solid-state batteries in BEVs in North America is expected to grow at the highest rate due to the presence of top OEMs in the region, along with companies like QuantumScape and Solid Power working on the development of solid-state battery technology.

Request FREE Sample Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=36752602

Passenger Car segment is estimated to account for the largest and the fastest market during the forecast period

Passenger cars and a small part of commercial vehicles are considered under vehicle types in the automotive solid-state battery market due to the growing demand for premium electric cars. The demand for other electric cars and commercial vehicles using solid-state batteries will increase in the coming years once solid-state batteries are commercialized to be used in automobiles. Asia Pacific is expected to be the market for passenger cars, followed by Europe and North America. This is due to the strong government support for the adoption of electric passenger vehicles in the region. North America to be the fastest-growing region with fast-growing demand for premium electric vehicles that will use solid-state batteries in the coming years. The market in Europe is expected to grow in the coming years. This is due to strong emission regulations and a variety of subsidies, grants, and incentives for adopting EVs in countries such as Germany, France, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the UK. The demand for solid-state batteries in electric vehicles will be growing with the increased demand for EVs and the mass production of automotive solid-state batteries.

The global Solid-State Car Battery Market is dominated by global players such as Toyota Motor Corporation (Japan), Solid Power (US), QuantumScape (US), Samsung SDI (South Korea), and LG Chem (South Korea). These companies have been developing new products, adopted expansion strategies, and undertaken collaborations, partnerships, and mergers & acquisitions to gain traction in the high-growth Solid-State Car Battery Market.

Browse Related Reports:

Electric Vehicle Market by Component, Vehicle (Passenger Cars, CV), Propulsion (BEV, PHEV, FCEV), Vehicle Drive Type (FWD, RWD, AWD), Vehicle Top Speed (<125 mph, >125 mph), Charging Point, Vehicle Class, V2G, Region-Global Forecast 2030

Electric Vehicle Charging Station Market by Level of Charging (Level 1, Level 2 & Level 3, By Charging Infrastructure (Normal Charge, Type-2, CCS, CHAdeMO and Tesla Supercharger), DC fast Charging (Fast & Ultra-fast) - Global Forecast to 2027

About MarketsandMarkets

MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions.

Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve.

MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets.

Contact:

Mr. Aashish Mehra

MarketsandMarkets INC.

630 Dundee Road

Suite 430

Northbrook, IL 60062

USA: +1-888-600-6441

Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com

Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/solid-state-car-battery-market.asp

Visit Our Web Site: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com

Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/solid-state-car-battery.asp

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Heads of state and of government and senior ministers from over 20 nations have begun arriving in Tashkent in preparation for a major conference on current and perspective ties between Central and South Asia later this week.

The conference, officially entitled "Central and South Asia: Regional Interconnectivity. Challenges and Opportunities", is scheduled for Friday (July 16) and is expected to gather more than 600 participants from over 40 countries. Among the participants will be Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan and President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will address the participants via video-message.

Plans for the conference were first alluded to in September when President Shavkat Mirziyoyev addressed the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly. "Today, the Central Asian states face an important strategic task," he said. "This is to ensure deep integration of our region into the global economic, transport and transit corridors." He then announced specific plans for this week's conference in his yearend address to Uzbekistan's parliament, the Oliy Majlis.

While the event is intended to build links to South Asia and help stabilize and propel economic expansion across the entire region, much discussion is expected to focus on the future of Afghanistan. President Mirziyoyev has spent much of his first term in office creating conditions for friendly relations with Uzbekistan's closest neighbours, including Afghanistan.

One major element of that effort has been his promotion of strategically important transport and energy links through Afghanistan to the South Asia markets beyond. Along with plans for a major transport and energy corridor, also through Afghanistan, the current security situation is expected to be discussed. Regional states will discuss how they can help to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan.

Other stakeholders such as the United States, Russia, China, India, the EU and the United Kingdom will be represented. Russia's and China's delegations will be led by foreign ministers Sergei Lavrov and Wang Yi, respectively. Other delegation leaders will include: EU External Relations Commissioner Josep Borrell, UK Minister of State for the Commonwealth and United Nations Lord Ahmad, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Mevlut Cavusoglu and others.

Representatives of multilateral financial institutions, including the World Bank, ADB, EBRD and IDB will also attend.

Some 80 members of the international media will be present. Much of the conference will be streamed live in Uzbek, Russian and English.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1572853/power_line_route_map.jpg
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES.

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2021 / Hannan Metals Limited ("Hannan" or the "Company") (TSXV:HAN)(OTC PINK:HANNF) is pleased to announce that further to the Company's news release dated April 28, 2021, an additional aggregate of 6,735,167 common share purchase warrants (the "Warrants") have been exercised for aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of $1,695,552.

Highlights:

6.7M warrants exercised for aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of $1.7M;

Almost universal take-up by shareholders of the total warrants that expired on July 06, 2021;

Michael Hudson, CEO, states: "I would like to thank all our shareholders for their almost universal take-up of warrants and their continued support and vote of confidence in Hannan. The interests of shareholders and insiders, given their substantial co-participation in the exercise of warrants, are further aligned to benefit from the success of Hannan's exploration efforts to define large-scale copper-gold-silver mineral systems throughout Peru's frontier areas.

"Hannan is now even better positioned, with both a fully-funded US$35M joint venture with Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation ("JOGMEC") on a third of our Peruvian holdings, as well as a healthy treasury to fund and advance exploration on two thirds of the Company's vast mining concession portfolio in Peru."

Hannan is a Top 10 in-country Peru explorer with 217,200 hectares ("ha"), or 2,172 square kilometres ("sq km") of tenure, of which 62% (135,700ha/1,357 sq km) is explored in its own right and 38% (81,500 ha/815 sq km) explored in joint venture with JOGMEC. JOGMEC has the option to earn up to a 75% beneficial interest from Hannan in the San Martin Project by spending up to US$35,000,000 to deliver a feasibility study to the joint venture ("JV").

The Warrants were exercised pursuant to the terms of warrant certificates issued in connection with the closing of unit private placement financings undertaken by the Company in July 2018 (the "July Warrants"), and February 2020 (the "February Warrants"), with each outstanding warrant exercisable into one common share of the Company. As of July 06, 2021, the expiry date of the July Warrants, 98.38% of the total July Warrants issued were exercised. No commission has been paid in connection with the exercise of the Warrants. Proceeds are being used for the Company's ongoing exploration programs and for general working capital purposes.

There remains 14,517,429 warrants outstanding ranging in prices from $0.30 to $0.35, which, if exercised, will provide the Company with additional proceeds of approximately C$4.4 million. The Company has a total of 91,206,611 shares issued and outstanding, as at today's date.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or the securities laws of any state of the United States, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) absent registration under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration requirements.

About Hannan Metals Limited (TSXV:HAN) (OTCPK: HANNF)

Hannan Metals Limited is a natural resources and exploration company developing sustainable resources of metal needed to meet the transition to a low carbon economy. Over the last decade, the team behind Hannan has forged a long and successful record of discovering, financing, and advancing mineral projects in Europe and Peru. Hannan is a top ten in-country explorer by area in Peru.

On behalf of the Board,





"Michael Hudson"

Michael Hudson, Chairman & CEO Further Information

www.hannanmetals.com

1305 - 1090 West Georgia St., Vancouver, BC, V6E 3V7

Mariana Bermudez, Corporate Secretary,

+1 (604) 685 9316, info@hannanmetals.com

Forward Looking Statements. Certain disclosure contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information or forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. These statements may relate to this news release and other matters identified in the Company's public filings. In making the forward-looking statements the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that are based on the Company's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: the political environment in which the Company operates continuing to support the development and operation of mining projects; the threat associated with outbreaks of viruses and infectious diseases, including the novel COVID-19 virus; risks related to negative publicity with respect to the Company or the mining industry in general; planned work programs; permitting; and community relations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news

SOURCE: Hannan Metals Ltd.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/655261/Hannan-Announces-C17m-in-Proceeds-from-Exercises-of-Warrants
LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2021 / MJ Harvest, Inc. ("MJHI") (OTCQB:MJHI) announced today that MJHI and its portfolio company PPK Investment Group, Inc. ("PPK") executed a non-binding term sheet to acquire certain assets of AOK Ventures, Inc. ("AOK"). AOK manufactures and sells the Sublime brands of cannabis products in Oklahoma.

The AOK acquisition, if completed, would provide PPK and MJHI with the following assets and benefits:

1. PPK would acquire the rights through licenses owned by AOK to manufacture and market products under the Sublime brands in Oklahoma.

2. PPK would sublease AOK's Tulsa Oklahoma manufacturing facility and will continue to produce Sublime products in that facility.

3. PPK would also share a second AOK facility in Oklahoma City with AOK.

4. PPK would acquire a fully equipped kitchen and 4 vehicles for deliveries.

The term sheet is only a mutual indication of interest in the applicable potential transaction by the parties and does not represent any legally binding commitment or obligation on the part of any party. The terms of the potential transaction are subject to a number of contingencies, including the performance of due diligence and the negotiation and execution of definitive agreements. The parties have not established a timetable for executing or closing any definitive agreements for the above transaction.

The principals of AOK control the Sublime brands through Consensus Holdings LLC ("Consensus"). Consensus has an established presence growing cannabis, and manufacturing and marketing high-quality medical marijuana products in Arizona. The sale by Consensus of the AOK manufacturing operations would allow Consensus to focus on promoting Sublime brands in over 80 cannabis dispensaries in Arizona and concurrently apply its marketing methods to Oklahoma to help expand the PPK distribution channels. The Sublime branded products include edibles, extracts, cannabis flower, vapes, topicals and tinctures. Consensus currently employs over 140 full time employees.

MJHI currently owns 10% of PPK with options to acquire 100% of PPK at any time prior to March 31, 2023, provided any increase can then be accomplished in accordance with Oklahoma law.

Patrick Bilton, Chief Executive Officer of MJ Harvest, Inc., commented: "I hope that our business plan is becoming clearer to investors. Through our relationship with PPK, we have now established business relationships with Chronic and Sublime. We believe these two brands represent two of the most recognized and respected cannabis brands within their business areas. Our goal is to make these brands some of the most widely recognized cannabis brands in Oklahoma and then to expand to other states. All of our recently signed agreements anticipate expansion."

PPK is currently operating in Oklahoma, is in the process of expanding into Arizona and South Dakota and is exploring several other expansion opportunities in various other markets, including California.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements and information. Although the forward-looking statements in this release reflect the good faith judgment of management, forward-looking statements are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. Readers are urged not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. No assurances are, or can be given, that the parties will enter into a definitive agreement for the applicable potential transaction, or that if such agreement is entered into, that the terms of the proposed applicable transaction will not change materially from the terms set forth in the applicable term sheet or that the applicable potential transaction will be consummated. Certain conditions to the closing of the potential transaction are outside of the parties' control and the parties cannot provide any assurance that the conditions will be satisfied. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect any event or circumstance that may arise after the date of this

release.

CONTACT:

MJ Harvest, Inc.

9205 West Russell Rd., Ste. 240

Las Vegas, NV 89148

Telephone: 954.519.3115

Tcktsllc@earthlink.net

@HARVESTMJ

SOURCE: MJ Harvest, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/655268/PPK-Investment-Group-Inc-and-MJ-Harvest-Inc-Execute-Non-Binding-Term-Sheet-to-Acquire-Assets-of-AOK-Ventures-Inc
Shareholder Conference Call and Webcast will also be held on Tuesday August 10th, 2021

Sierra Metals Inc. (TSX: SMT) (NYSE American: SMTS) (BVL: SMT) ("Sierra Metals" or the "Company") will release Q2-2021 financial results on Monday August 9th, 2021 after Market Close. Senior Management will also host a webcast and conference call on Tuesday August 10th, 2021 at 10:30am EDT. Details of the Conference Call and Webcast are as follows:

Via Webcast:

A live audio webcast of the meeting will be available on the Company's website:

https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/3193745/DC7EA7F3C83E666235B780E1DAD14D0A

The webcast along with presentation slides will be archived for 180 days on www.sierrametals.com

Via phone:

To register for this conference call, please use the link provided below. After registering, a confirmation will be sent through email, including dial in details and unique conference call codes for entry. As well, reminders will be sent to registered participants in advance of the call. If you experience difficulty registering, please dial: (888) 869-1189 or (706) 643-5902 for extra assistance.

Registration is open throughout the live call, however, to ensure you are connected for the full call we suggest registering a day in advance or at minimum 10 minutes before the start of the call.

Conference Call Registration Link:

http://www.directeventreg.com/registration/event/7308198

About Sierra Metals

Sierra Metals Inc. is a diversified Canadian mining company focused on the production and development of precious and base metals from its polymetallic Yauricocha Mine in Peru, and Bolivar and Cusi Mines in Mexico. The Company is focused on increasing production volume and growing mineral resources. Sierra Metals has recently had several new key discoveries and still has many more exciting brownfield exploration opportunities at all three Mines in Peru and Mexico that are within close proximity to the existing mines. Additionally, the Company also has large land packages at all three mines with several prospective regional targets providing longer-term exploration upside and mineral resource growth potential.

The Company's Common Shares trade on the Bolsa de Valores de Lima and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "SMT" and on the NYSE American Exchange under the symbol "SMTS".

For further information regarding Sierra Metals, please visit www.sierrametals.com or contact:

Mike McAllister

Vice President, Investor Relations

Sierra Metals Inc.

Tel: +1 (416) 366-7777

Email: info@sierrametals.com Luis Marchese

CEO

Sierra Metals Inc.

Tel: +1 (416) 366-7777

Continue to Follow, Like and Watch our progress:

Web: www.sierrametals.com Twitter: sierrametals Facebook: SierraMetalsInc LinkedIn: Sierra Metals Inc Instagram: sierrametals

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian and U.S. securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking information"). Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the date of the 2020 Shareholders' Meeting and the anticipated filing of the Compensation Disclosure. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "projects", "estimates", "assumes", "intends", "strategy", "goals", "objectives", "potential" or variations thereof, or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information.

Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking information, including, without limitation, the risks described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual information form dated March 18, 2021 for its fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 and other risks identified in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, which filings are available at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov, respectively.

The risk factors referred to above are not an exhaustive list of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking information. Forward-looking information includes statements about the future and is inherently uncertain, and the Company's actual achievements or other future events or conditions may differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking information due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors. The Company's statements containing forward-looking information are based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management on the date the statements are made, and the Company does not assume any obligation to update such forward-looking information if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions should change, other than as required by applicable law. For the reasons set forth above, one should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210713005456/en/

Contacts:

Mike McAllister

Vice President, Investor Relations

Sierra Metals Inc.

Tel: +1 (416) 366-7777

Email: info@sierrametals.com

Luis Marchese

CEO

Sierra Metals Inc.

Tel: +1 (416) 366-7777
DiscovOre Plc - Result of GM and Broadening of Investment Strategy

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS DEEMED BY THE COMPANY TO CONSTITUTE INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) NO. 596/2014, AS AMENDED ("MAR"). ON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE ("RIS"), THIS INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

DiscovOre plc

(To be renamed Oscillate plc)

AQSE: ORE

("DiscovOre plc" or the "Company")

All Resolutions passed at General Meeting, including a broadened investment policy to include Medical Psychedelics, Change of Name & Change of TIDM to, AQSE: MUSH

The Company is pleased to announce that at the General Meeting of Shareholders held today, all resolutions were duly passed.

The Company's name will change to Oscillate plc and the change of name will be effective once Companies House has issued a certificate of change of name ("The Certificate"). A further announcement confirming the change of name will be made in due course. Upon issue of the Certificate, the Company's ordinary shares, shall be traded on AQSE Growth Market under the ticker "MUSH". There will be no change to the ISIN number.

The Company's investment strategy will be broadened to include investment in Medical Psychedelic opportunities where consistent with the Company's legal opinion and will be subject to certain review and conditions with the Company's counsel. Upon conclusion of today's General Meeting, DiscovOre plc (to be renamed "Oscillate plc") will maintain an investment strategy covering, medical psychedelics, medical cannabis and special situations.

The Company has also updated the corporate website/domain to reflect the name change and broadened investment strategy, www.oscillateplc.com

DiscovOre plc,

London, 13thJuly 2021

The Directors of the Company, who have issued this RIS announcement after due and careful enquiry, accept responsibility for its content.

Enquiries

Company:

Burns Singh Tennent-Bhohi (Director)

Conrad Windham (Director)

Direct Office Line: +44 (0) 20 3778 0755

Corporate Adviser:

Peterhouse Capital Limited

Guy Miller & Mark Anwyl

Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7220 9796
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 13, 2021) - Provenance Gold Corp. (CSE: PAU) (FSE: 3PG) (OTCQB: PVGDF) (the "Company" or "Provenance") announces the commencement of drilling on its White Rock property in the northeastern corner of Elko County, Nevada. This initial drilling is intended to define the stratigraphic and structural controls and grades within the extensive central area of sediment-hosted gold mineralization. The target mineralization extends across a 3.2km by 1.6km area centered on a complex dome structure that is believed to have formed on the upper plate of a system of thrust faults.

The Company is looking to initially confirm historic drill holes that intersected numerous thick intervals of potentially open-pit grade gold mineralization, while confirming the Company's new understanding of the structural and stratigraphic controls of the gold mineralization. The drilling has started near a historic hole that reported 76 meters of 0.6 g/t gold, within which 3.5 meters ran 5.7 g/t. The initial holes have already clarified and begun to confirm the new structural model for the gold system. Assay results for the initial holes are expected by early August, and visible observation of the drill samples is encouraging.

Sixty-five very widely spaced short holes were historically drilled by several companies on the 20 square km property. These historic holes support Provenance's belief that an extensive shallow gold system occurs on and near the structural dome. Provenance has recognized that pervasive silicification of the host limestones, plus extensive brecciation and faulting have caused some earlier explorers to miscorrelate and misidentify stratigraphic units.

Provenance believes the core area of gold mineralization has never really been tested. The Company's initial drilling program is thus multipronged. While it is designed to verify and expand the known gold mineralization, it will also verify the Company's understanding of the gold controls and clarify both pre-mineralization and post-mineralization folding and faulting. In addition, significant targets outside this core area are yet to be tested.

The Company will keep its investors updated on the advancement of this drilling program, and on developments on its Mineral Hill silver property.

Rauno Perttu, P. Geo., a Qualified Person (as defined by National Instrument 43-101), and the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this News Release.

About Provenance Gold Corp.

Provenance Gold Corp. is a precious metals exploration company with a focus on gold and silver resources within North America. The Company currently holds interests in three properties in Nevada, USA. For further information please visit the Company's website at https://provenancegold.com or contact rclark@provenancegold.com.

On behalf of the Board,

Provenance Gold Corp.

Rauno Perttu, Chief Executive Officer

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange, nor its regulation services provider, accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

This news release may contain certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When or if used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target, "plan", "forecast", "may", "schedule" and similar words or expressions identify forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements or information may relate to the intended development and exploration of the White Rock property, and other factors or information. Such statements represent the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/90074
The Company Engaged Abitibi Geophysics to Conduct a 60km Ground Magnetometer Survey

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2021 / Victory Resources Corporation (CSE:VR)(FRA:VR61)(OTC PINK:VRCFF) ("Victory" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has begun a mag survey program on its Lac Simard Property in Quebec.

The Lac Simard Property (the "Property") is about 5 km south of Val-d'Or, Quebec. The Property abuts the southern edge of the Goldex claim block. There are 3 operating gold mines within 20 km of the Property including Agnico Eagle's (TSX: AEM) Goldex Mine, 6 km north of the property, Agnico Eagle's (in partnership with Yamana Gold TSX: YRI) Canadian Malartic Mine, 20 km northwest of the property, and Eldorado Gold Corp.'s (TSE: ELD) Lamaque property, 6 km north of the Lac Simard.

Highlights of the Lac Simard Ground Magnetometer Survey:

Abitibi Geophysics engaged to conduct a 60 km ground magnetometer survey over the west-central part of the Lac Simard Property

Much of this area has seen little exploration, though several geophysical surveys and 11 drill holes are recorded on the west side of the property

Magnetometer surveys are a primary tool in determining the structure of a property, as well as outlining magnetic units

Structure exerts a primary control on the location of the gold deposits of the Val D'Or camp

Scientific and technical information contained in this press release was reviewed and approved by Mr. Helgi Sigurgeirson, Victory Geologist, and a "qualified person" under NI 43-101.

For further information, please contact:

Mark Ireton, President

Telephone: +1 (236) 317 2822 or TOLL FREE 1 (855) 665-GOLD (4653)

E-mail: IR@victoryresourcescorp.com

About Victory Resources Corporation

VICTORY RESOURCES CORPORATION (CSE:VR) is a publicly traded diversified investment corporation with mineral interests in North America. The company is also actively seeking other exploration opportunities.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding future financial position, business strategy, use of proceeds, corporate vision, proposed acquisitions, partnerships, joint-ventures and strategic alliances and co-operations, budgets, cost and plans and objectives of or involving the Company. Such forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to management. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "predicts", "intends", "targets", "aims", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. A number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause the actual results or performance to materially differ from any future results or performance expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions and dependence upon regulatory approvals. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. The Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by securities laws.

SOURCE: Victory Resources Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/655255/Victorys-Initiates-Mag-Survey-for-Lac-Simard-Property-in-Quebec
Global life sciences company moves from Kendall Square to Waltham to support expansion

BOSTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2021 / The Boston office of Cresa, the world's largest commercial real estate firm representing tenants exclusively, announced today that it was engaged by Abcam for site selection, transaction management, and project management services. As a global life sciences company, Abcam identifies, develops, and distributes high-quality biological reagents and tools that are crucial to research, drug discovery and diagnostics.

Founded and headquartered in Cambridge, England, Abcam opened its first overseas office at One Kendall Square in Cambridge, Mass. in 2003. After outgrowing its current space, Abcam turned to Cresa to locate a larger footprint to support its strategic growth in the United States. Cresa negotiated a 10+-year, 100,000 SF lease at 152 Grove Street in Waltham, Mass. during the early stages of a campus redevelopment, providing Abcam with competitive terms in a rapidly emerging life sciences cluster.

Comprised of workplaces, laboratories, logistics facilities, and building support areas such as loading docks/receiving, Abcam is expected to eventually house approximately 300 of its global 1,600+ employees in Waltham with an expected occupancy transition this summer into the fall.

"Boston is home to a dynamic life sciences community and being an active part of that community is important to Abcam." said Jac Price, Senior Vice President at Abcam. "Our new facility will offer the space and amenities for growth that we need to meet our anticipated demands, while enabling us to actively engage with the life sciences corridors of the Greater Boston region."

"With its expansive startup community, renowned academic and medical institutions, and highly educated workforce, Massachusetts continues to uphold its stature as the best place in the world for the life sciences and attract companies from across the globe," said Kendalle Burlin O'Connell, president and COO, MassBio. "We are so excited to see Abcam expand its presence here, with a new state-of-the-art facility in Waltham - an area well-positioned to become one of the next major clusters within the state."

The Gauge is a former R&D facility located at 152 Grove Street in Waltham which was recently repositioned by Hilco Redevelopment Partners to appeal to growing life science companies. This single-story adaptive re-use features flexible floor plans and Class A amenities, including a fitness center, cafe, outdoor space, indoor bike storage and ample parking as well as access to public transportation. The landlord worked collaboratively with Abcam in creating a world-class space for its employees and long-term presence in the Greater Boston market for the company.

Abcam partners with life science organizations to co-create novel binders for use in drug discovery, in vitro diagnostics, and therapeutics, driven by the Company's proprietary discovery platforms and world-leading, antibody expertise. With 13 sites globally, many of Abcam's 1,600 strong team are located in the world's leading life science research hubs, complementing a global network of services and support.

Paul Delaney and John Coakley of Cresa Boston negotiated the lease for Abcam, and Mike O'Leary and Duncan Gratton from Cushman Wakefield represented the landlord (Hilco Redevelopment Partners).

The project team includes:

Landlord: Hilco Redevelopment Partners

Architect: TRIA

MEP/FP: R.W. Sullivan

General Contractor: JDL Corporate Interiors

About Cresa

Cresa is the world's only global commercial real estate advisory firm that exclusively represents occupiers and specializes in the delivery of fully integrated real estate solutions. Our purpose is to think beyond space, strengthening those we serve and enhancing the quality of life for our clients. Delivered across every industry, Cresa's services include Transaction Management, Workplace Solutions, Project Management, Consulting, Lease Administration, Technology, Investment Banking & Capital Markets and Portfolio Solutions. With over 1000 employees in more than 80 offices globally, Cresa partners with occupiers everywhere. For more information, please visit cresa.com.

Media Contact:

Susan Shelby, FSMPS, CPSM

Rhino PR for Cresa Boston

cresaboston@rhinopr.com

978.985.4541

SOURCE: Cresa Boston

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/655196/Cresa-Manages-Corporate-Relocation-for-Global-Life-Sciences-Company-Abcam
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2021 / Sassy Resources Corporation ("Sassy" or the "Company") (CSE:SASY)(FSE:4E7)(OTCQB:SSYRF) is pleased to announce that crews have mobilized for the start of 2021 drilling at the Company's Westmore gold-silver discovery where a first-ever series of relatively shallow drill holes last fall confirmed that widespread surface mineralization in quartz vein swarms and stockworks extends to a vertical depth of at least 200 meters and remains open in all directions.

Sassy is aggressively following up on this new grassroots discovery in Northwest B.C.'s prolific Eskay Camp while exploration crews are also preparing for a busy summer along the More Creek Corridor and Hanging Valley areas where upcoming results from a recently completed VTEMa Survey will serve as an important guide.

Mr. Mark Scott, Sassy CEO, commented: "This is an exciting time for Sassy as we carry out fully-funded exploration campaigns in Canada's two most exciting gold camps right now, Eskay and Newfoundland. Armed with the data gathered during the 2020 field season and our recently-completed Foremore VTEMa Survey, we now know the Westmore Intrusive to be much larger than originally thought and coeval with some of the significant economic deposits in the region. We look forward to following up this year on the extensive high-grade gold identified at surface, the very encouraging 2020 preliminary drilling at Westmore and the VTEMa results we're confident will generate a number of new targets for follow up across the Foremore Property."

Highlights:

Phase 1 diamond drilling, beginning mid-July, will focus on the Westmore Discovery Zone and will be designed to test areas where 2020 surface sampling highlighted high-grade gold and silver values hosted in quartz vein swarms and stockworks that cut the Westmore Intrusive;

2019-2020 surface sampling at Westmore produced 860 surface samples with an average grade of 2.78 g/t Au. 145 of these samples (17%) were equal to or greater than 1.0 g/t and the top 20 surface samples from Westmore averaged 74.7 g/t Au and 574.7 g/t Ag (see table below);

Sassy recently completed a 1,687 line-kilometer airborne VTEMa Survey of the entire Foremore Property. Preliminary interpretation of the data generated by this high resolution, deep penetrating survey is ongoing;

Phase 2 diamond drilling will be guided by VTEMa results and will test several gold-silver plus base metal occurrences identified by Sassy in the More Creek Corridor, and the Hanging Valley area on the east side of the Foremore Property;

Geological mapping and prospecting will continue at Westmore to define local controls to the gold-silver mineralization identified in 2020 and to define other gold-silver rich areas within the Westmore Intrusive.

Westmore Discovery zone - Top 20 SURFACE SAMPLES

Sample # Type Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) C0012933 Grab 157 83.5 B0020723 Outcrop 125.5 1900 C0012607 Chip 120.4 35.3 B0020721 Outcrop 119.6 1,036 C0012588 Chip 101 1,320 C0026497 Chip 96.9 68.1 C0026509 Chip 92.6 1,510 C0012901 Chip 82.9 35.6 B0020722 Outcrop 81.1 987 C0026571 Grab 61 39.3 C0012801 Chip 59.4 286 C0012938 Grab 54.4 40.6 C0012606 Float 49.6 1,481 C0026494 Grab 48.5 14.8 C0012511 Chip 47.5 691 B0020724 Outcrop 44.3 750 C0026552 Chip 39.8 29 C0026513 Chip 38.7 62.6 B0020725 Outcrop 36.8 450 C0026519 Chip 36.5 674 Average 74.7 g/t 574.7 g/t

Total 2019-2020 Samples: 860 | Average gold grade: 2.78 g/t | 145 samples or 17% >1 g/t Au

Note: Investors are cautioned that surface rock samples are selective in nature and are not necessarily

representative of mineralization hosted on the property.

Foremore Project Map

Sassy Launches New Website: SassyResources.com

Sassy Resources is pleased to announce the official launch of its new corporate website, SassyResources.com . The new site hosts a wealth of Company information, photo galleries, videos, a new corporate presentation and detailed project-by-project descriptions of the Company's holdings in Newfoundland and the Eskay Camp. Current and prospective investors are encouraged to visit the new site and register for Company news alerts and updates as work progresses on the ground at each of the Company's projects and information is added regularly to the new site.

Corporate Presentation

To view the new Sassy Corporate Deck, visit the home page of the website or the following URL:

https://sassyresources.com/SassyResources_July6_2021.pdf

Qualified Person

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Ian Fraser, P.Geo., Vice President of Exploration for Sassy Resources. Mr. Fraser is the Qualified Person responsible for the scientific and technical information contained herein under National Instrument 43-101 standards.

About Sassy Resources Corporation

Sassy Resources is an exploration stage resource company currently engaged in the identification, acquisition and exploration of high-grade precious metal and base metal projects in North America. Its current focus is the Foremore Gold-Silver Project located in the Eskay Camp, Liard Mining Division, in the heart of Northwest B.C.'s prolific Golden Triangle.

Caution Regarding Forward Looking Statements

Investors are cautioned that, except for statements of historical fact, certain information contained in this document includes "forward looking information", with respect to a performance expectation for Sassy Resources Corporation. Such forward looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections formulated using assumptions believed to be reasonable and involving a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Such factors include, without limitation, fluctuations in foreign exchange markets, the price of commodities in both the cash market and futures market, changes in legislation, taxation, controls and regulation of national and local governments and political and economic developments in Canada and other countries where Sassy carries out or may carry out business in the future, the availability of future business opportunities and the ability to successfully integrate acquisitions or operational difficulties related to technical activities of mining and reclamation, the speculative nature of exploration and development of mineral deposits, including risks obtaining necessary licenses and permits, reducing the quantity or grade of reserves, adverse changes in credit ratings, and the challenge of title. The Company does not undertake an obligation to update publicly or revise forward looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. Some of the results reported are historical and may not have been verified by the Company.

Contact Info:

Mark Scott

Chief Executive Officer & Director

info@sassyresources.ca

Terry Bramhall

Sassy Resources Corporate Communications/IR

1.604.833.6999 (mobile)

1.604.675.9985 (office)

terry.bramhall@sassyresources.ca

In Europe:

Michael Adams

Managing Director - Star Finance GmbH

info@star-finance.eu

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Sassy Resources Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/655211/Sassy-Mobilizes-for-Drilling-at-Westmore-Discovery
NEW YORK, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As per analysis by Persistence Market Research, the global urea market size is estimated to expand at a moderate CAGR of 2.3% over the forecast period of 2021-2031.

The agriculture industry has witnessed significant growth in the last few years, and this growth trend is expected to continue over the coming years as well. Growing demand for food and other agricultural products owing to rise in population and urbanization across the globe is driving demand for fertilizers, which, in turn, is elevating demand for urea in the global market.

Demand for industrial-grade urea is also increasing to reduce the emission of nitrous oxide (NOx) gases from diesel, dual-fuel, and lean-burn natural gas engines. There is a growing demand for nutrient-rich NPK fertilizers, which is also boosting the demand for urea globally.

Request for sample PDF of report: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/32544

Key Takeaways from Market study

Demand for urea is increasing due to rising use of fertilizers across the world to increase per hectare production capacity of land to cater to rising demand for food and other agricultural-based products.

Countries such as India , Brazil , Indonesia , and Mexico are the fastest-growing markets, expanding at a healthy CAGR owing to the high production of agricultural-based products in these countries.

, , , and are the fastest-growing markets, expanding at a healthy CAGR owing to the high production of agricultural-based products in these countries. China is one of the most lucrative markets for manufacturers owing to vast population and manufacturer-friendly governmental regulations.

is one of the most lucrative markets for manufacturers owing to vast population and manufacturer-friendly governmental regulations. Various environmental regulations imposed on the use of solid urea due to emission of gaseous ammonia that can be dangerous for the environment as well as human health is a longstanding challenge for manufacturers to overcome.

Demand for industrial-grade urea is also increasing from the automobile sector owing to the use of urea in selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) processes, which are used to reduce the emission of harmful gasses from automobile engines.

Ask an expert for any other query: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/ask-an-expert/32544

"Demand for urea is highest from the fertilizer segment across regions, and will remain so in future," says an analyst of Persistence Market Research.

Competitive Landscape

The global urea market has been identified as a significantly fragmented space, with large manufacturers occupying a major section of the overall industry. Tier-1 manufacturers account for highest market share.

Some of the leading players included in the report are Euro Chem, BASF SE, China National Petroleum Corporation, CF Industries Holdings, Inc., Nutrien Ltd., OST chem, Yara International ASA, Industries Qatar Q.P.S.C, SABIC, PT Pupuk Sriwidjaja Palembang (PUSRI), PT Pupuk Kujang, and PT Pupuk Kalimantan Timur, who are anticipated to create a tough competitive environment at the global level.

Get full access of report: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/32544

Conclusion

The global urea market is witnessing significant growth due to factors such as growth in population, urbanization, rising demand for food products, and rise in need to increase per hectare yield of land. However, factors such as environmental regulations imposed due to the emission of ammonia gas from ammonium-based fertilizers such as urea are hindering market growth to some extent.

Declining natural gas prices are leading to increasing profitability margins, due to which, more private players are increasing their urea production capacities globally.

More Valuable Insights

Persistence Market Research, a research and consulting firm has published a market research report on the industrial explosives market that contains global industry analysis of 2016-2020 and opportunity assessment for 2021-2031.

The report provides in-depth analysis of the market through different segments, namely, end use and region. The report also provides supply and demand trends, along with an overview of the parent market.

Related Reports:

Organic Fertilizer Market

Organic Peroxide Market

Ammonia Market

About Persistence Market Research:

Persistence Market Research (PMR), as a 3rd-party research organization, does operate through an exclusive amalgamation of market research and data analytics for helping businesses ride high, irrespective of the turbulence faced on the account of financial/natural crunches.

Overview:

Persistence Market Research is always way ahead of its time. In other words, it tables market solutions by stepping into the companies'/clients' shoes much before they themselves have a sneak pick into the market. The pro-active approach followed by experts at Persistence Market Research helps companies/clients lay their hands on techno-commercial insights beforehand, so that the subsequent course of action could be simplified on their part.

Contact

Rajendra Singh

Persistence Market Research

U.S. Sales Office:

305 Broadway, 7th Floor

New York City, NY 10007

+1-646-568-7751

United States

USA - Canada Toll-Free: 800-961-0353

Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com

Visit Our Website: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/661339/Persistence_Market_Research.jpg
New DRI and EAF installations in Gijon will reduce carbon e missions at the company's Spanish operations by approximately 50%

The DRI installation in Gijon will also enable ArcelorMittal Sestao to be the world's first full-scale zero carbon-emissions1steel plant

13July 2021, 13:45 CET

ArcelorMittal has today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Spanish Government that will see a 1 billion investment in decarbonisation technologies at ArcelorMittal Asturias' plant in Gijon. The investments will reduce CO 2 emissions at ArcelorMittal's Spanish operations by up to 4.8 million tonnes, which represents approximately 50% of emissions, within the next five years2.

The MoU states the commitment of ArcelorMittal and the Government of Spain to transition towards a decarbonised steel industry. ArcelorMittal will introduce new manufacturing processes that contribute to a considerable reduction of CO 2 emissions. It will also further intensify its R&D capabilities in Spain to support the new project and innovation requirements. The Government of Spain will promote reforms and investments to support the development and growth of a strong, more competitive and sustainable industrial sector, as well as endeavouring to provide maximum financial support for the project, in line with Spanish legislation and European Union regulations.

Given the significant cost associated with the transition, in terms of both capex and opex, it is ArcelorMittal's expectation this support will cover at least half of the additional cost to enable its operations to remain competitive as it accelerates its decarbonisation program.

The MoU was signed at an event in ArcelorMittal Asturias' plant in Gijon, which was attended by ArcelorMittal Executive Chairman, Lakshmi Mittal, CEO Aditya Mittal and the President of Spain, Pedro Sanchez as well as Raul Blanco, the Secretary General for Industry, and Adrian Barbon, President of the Asturias regional government.



At the heart of the plan is a 2.3 million-tonne green hydrogen direct reduced iron (DRI) unit, complemented by a 1.1 million-tonne hybrid electric arc furnace (EAF). This starts the transition of the Gijon plant away from the blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace steelmaking production route to the DRI-EAF production route, which carries a significantly lower carbon footprint. The new DRI - which will be the first of its kind in Spain - and EAF will be in production before the end of 2025.

To maximize the emissions reduction potential, ultimately green hydrogen will be used to reduce the iron ore in the DRI, with the EAF powered by renewable electricity. The support of the national and regional governments in this project is crucial as it will enable ArcelorMittal to have access to green hydrogen supplied through a consortium of companies that will cooperate in the construction of the infrastructure required in order to produce hydrogen in the Iberian Peninsula using solar-powered electrolysis and to transport it directly through a network of pipelines. The initiative involves the construction of multiple large-scale solar farms, with hydrogen produced in situ and with the corresponding impact in terms of employment.

The Gijon DRI will also feed the company's Sestao plant, situated approximately 250km from Gijon, where production is already entirely from the electric arc furnace route. This means thatby 2025ArcelorMittal Sestaowill produce 1.6 million tonnesof steel andbetheworld'sfirst full-scalesteelplantto achieve zero carbon-emissions.

Speaking at the signing of the MoU in Gijon, Aditya Mittal, CEO ArcelorMittal, said:

"It is widely understood that for the world to achieve net-zero by 2050, faster progress over the next decade is essential. The MoU we have signed today will play an important role in doing exactly that. The construction of the new greenhydrogen DRI plant in Gijon will not only enable us to reduce emissions from our Spanish operations by half but will also result in the world's first full-scale zero carbon-emissions steel plant in Sestao.

"Clearly, this is a project that will require the support of many different partners to succeed; our plan hinges on the supply of affordable, mass-scale hydrogen, access to sustainable finance and a supportive legal framework that allows us to be competitive globally. The Spanish government has clearly defined plans to transition the country to a decarbonised economy and I have been impressed by the progress made in creating the energy infrastructure that this green economy will require.

"As a large emitter, the steel industry can make a vital contribution to achieving net zero by 2050. This project demonstrates what is achievable."

Expressing their support for the plan, Spain's Minister of Industry Maria Reyes Maroto said:

"The Government of Spain and the ArcelorMittal Group fully agree that the transition towards a decarbonised economy is an essential objective for Spain, and they both recognise the industrial, technological and regulatory challenges that this transition poses for Spanish industry, as well as the opportunities it offers, in terms of innovation and improved competitiveness. The Government of Spain, through the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, will strongly support a new framework of institutional relations between the Government and the ArcelorMittal Group, because the Government of Spain recognises the importance of the steel industry for the development of the Spanish economy, while also recognising that the industry needs a stable and predictable legal framework as the best tool to enable it to be competitive and attain the targets set in terms of energy transition and digitalisation, both at national and at European Union level. In this regard, the Government of Spain is exploring regulatory instruments to support the industry in the transition process, such as the compensation programmes for electricity-intensive industries, tools to promote improved energy efficiency, public financing for digitalisation, instruments to promote industrial investments, training programmes and strategies to promote the use of clean fuels."

ArcelorMittal Europe has a target to reduce CO 2 emissions by 30% by 2030, and an ambition to be net-zero by 2050. The company is pursuing two pathways to achieve this: Innovative DRI and Smart Carbon.

ArcelorMittal Spain's operations are already contributing to the reduction of CO 2 emissions from the company's steelmaking operations. Earlier this year, ArcelorMittal Asturias completed its project to capture hydrogen-rich coke oven gas and re-inject it into the blast furnace, replacing some of the coke used in the blast furnace. Deploying this innovative technology will result in a reduction in CO 2 emissions of 125,000 tonnes a year, equivalent to the emissions generated by the annual consumption of 84,000 Spanish households with individual natural gas-based heating systems. These CO 2 savings have already generated XCarbgreen steel certificates, which were launched by the company in March 2021, allowing ArcelorMittal customers to report a reduction in their Scope 3 CO 2 emissions.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

ArcelorMittal Asturias' plant in Gijon currently operates using the blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace steelmaking method.

It has two blast furnaces producing hot metal for Aviles and Gijon steel shops:

Aviles steel shop produces slabs for the hot rolling mill (in Aviles) and the heavy plate mill (in Gijon).

Gijon steel shop produces billets for the the wire rod mill (in Gijon) and blooms for the rail mill (in Gijon).

Once the plan announced today has been implemented:

Gijon's blast furnace B will produce hot metal for the Aviles steel shop

DRI will be produced in Gijon for Sestao and Gijon steel shop, which will be revamped as an EAF

ArcelorMittal Sestao operates two EAFs and produces a range of flat products. Sestao is approximately 250km east of Gijon.

About ArcelorMittal

ArcelorMittal is the world's leading steel and mining company, with a presence in 60 countries and primary steelmaking facilities in 17 countries. In 2020, ArcelorMittal had revenues of $53.3 billion and crude steel production of 71.5 million metric tonnes, while iron ore production reached 58.0 million metric tonnes.

Our goal is to help build a better world with smarter steels. Steels made using innovative processes which use less energy, emit significantly less carbon and reduce costs. Steels that are cleaner, stronger and reusable. Steels for electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure that will support societies as they transform through this century. With steel at our core, our inventive people and an entrepreneurial culture at heart, we will support the world in making that change. This is what we believe it takes to be the steel company of the future.

ArcelorMittal is listed on the stock exchanges of New York (MT), Amsterdam (MT), Paris (MT), Luxembourg (MT) and on the Spanish stock exchanges of Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia (MTS).

For more information about ArcelorMittal please visit:http://corporate.arcelormittal.com/



Contact information ArcelorMittal Investor Relations General +44 20 7543 1128 Retail +44 20 3214 2893 SRI +44 20 3214 2801 Bonds/Credit

E-mail +33 171 921 026

investor.relations@arcelormittal.com (mailto:investor.relations@arcelormittal.com) Contact information ArcelorMittal Corporate Communications



Paul Weigh

Tel:

E-mail:







+44 20 3214 2419

press@arcelormittal.com (mailto:press@arcelormittal.com)





1 On a Scope 1 and 2 basis.

2 Should green hydrogen not be available at affordable rates by the end of 2025, natural gas would be used to power the DRI furnace. This would still result in a very significant reduction in CO2 emissions, of 4 million tonnes, approximately 45%.
?Harnessing green hydrogen and renewable electricity, the Sestao plant will achieve zero carbon-emissions





13July 2021, 13:45 CET

ArcelorMittal today announces that its Sestao plant in Spain will become the world's first full-scale zero carbon-emissions steel plant.

The development is the result of a memorandum of understanding signed today with the Government of Spain that will see an investment of 1 billion in the construction of a green hydrogen direct reduced iron (DRI) plant at its plant in Gijon, as well as a new hybrid electric arc furnace (EAF).



By 2025, the Sestao plant - which manufactures a range of flat steel products for the automotive and construction sectors, and general industry - will produce 1.6 million tonnes of zero carbon-emissions steel by:

Changing the metallic input by increasing the proportion of circular, recycled scrap, and using green hydrogen-produced DRI from Gijon in its two existing EAFs. Powering all steelmaking assets (EAFs, rolling mill, finishing lines) with renewable electricity. Introducing several key emerging technologies that will replace the small, remaining use of fossil fuel in the steelmaking process with carbon-neutral energy inputs, such as sustainable biomass or green hydrogen.





Central to this development will be the construction of a 2.3 million-tonne green hydrogen DRI unit in Gijon. Around 1 million tonnes of DRI will be transported to Sestao to be used a feedstock for its two EAFs.

The national and the Basque government's support in this project is crucial, firstly from a funding perspective, given the significant cost associated with the transition to carbon-neutral steelmaking. Secondly, because it will enable ArcelorMittal to have access to green hydrogen supplied through a consortium of companies that will cooperate in the construction of the infrastructure required in order to produce hydrogen in the Iberian Peninsula using solar-powered electrolysis and to transport it directly through a network of pipelines. The initiative involves the construction of multiple large-scale solar farms, with hydrogen produced in situ and with the corresponding impact in terms of employment.

In addition to the investments in the DRI and EAF installations in Gijon, ArcelorMittal will invest 50 million in Sestao. This will fund the introduction of key emerging technologies required to bring the plant to zero carbon-emissions, supporting 1.6 million tonnes of production.

Looking further ahead, the company has also committed to achieving net zero2 at the Sestao plant as soon as possible.

Commenting, Aditya Mittal, CEO ArcelorMittal, said:

"It is widely understood that for the world to achieve net-zero by 2050, faster progress over the next decade is essential. Having announced a net-zero target for 2050, we therefore set ourselves the challenge to identify how we could take an existing steel plant to zero carbon-emissions within the next five years. Our teams have been working incredibly hard to turn this ambition into the plan that we have announced today. This is a hugely significant development and demonstrates the strength of innovation embedded in our people, our unparalleled technology leadership, and what can be achieved through investment in existing steelmaking infrastructure. It means ArcelorMittal will be the first company in the world to be in a position to offer its customers meaningful volumes ofzero carbon-emissions steel.



"The ability of the Sestao plant to become the world's first zero carbon-emissions steel plantwould not be possible without the support and partnership of the Spanish government. This is a project that will require the support of many different partners to succeed; the plan hinges on the supply of affordable, mass-scale hydrogen, access to sustainable finance and a supportive legal framework that allows us to be competitive globally. The Spanish government has embraced the opportunity and developed clearly defined plans to transition the country to having the energy infrastructure that the green economy will require. ArcelorMittal plans to switch Sestao to renewable electricity. This, together with the green DRI and hydrogen feeding the burners, will result in the Sestao plant achieving zero carbon-emissions. We are also working to reduce Scope 3 emissions to zero.

"As a large emitter, the steel industry can make a vital contribution to achieving net zero by 2050. This project demonstrates what is achievable."

ENDS

About ArcelorMittal

ArcelorMittal is the world's leading steel and mining company, with a presence in 60 countries and primary steelmaking facilities in 17 countries. In 2020, ArcelorMittal had revenues of $53.3 billion and crude steel production of 71.5 million metric tonnes, while iron ore production reached 58.0 million metric tonnes.

Our goal is to help build a better world with smarter steels. Steels made using innovative processes which use less energy, emit significantly less carbon and reduce costs. Steels that are cleaner, stronger and reusable. Steels for electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure that will support societies as they transform through this century. With steel at our core, our inventive people and an entrepreneurial culture at heart, we will support the world in making that change. This is what we believe it takes to be the steel company of the future.

ArcelorMittal is listed on the stock exchanges of New York (MT), Amsterdam (MT), Paris (MT), Luxembourg (MT) and on the Spanish stock exchanges of Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia (MTS).

For more information about ArcelorMittal please visit:http://corporate.arcelormittal.com/



Contact information ArcelorMittal Investor Relations General +44 20 7543 1128 Retail +44 20 3214 2893 SRI +44 20 3214 2801 Bonds/Credit

E-mail +33 171 921 026

investor.relations@arcelormittal.com (mailto:investor.relations@arcelormittal.com) Contact information ArcelorMittal Corporate Communications



Paul Weigh

Tel:

E-mail:







+44 20 3214 2419

press@arcelormittal.com (mailto:press@arcelormittal.com)





1 On a Scope 1 and 2 basis

2 Net zero meaning across Scopes 1, 2 and 3
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Combined companies will establish the most trusted, independent technology platform for omnichannel advertising with emphasis on cross-channel video and dynamic creative

NEW YORK, July 13, 2021, the mission-critical platform for omnichannel advertising, and Flashtalking, the leading independent ad management platform, announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement in which Mediaocean will acquire Flashtalking. The combined entity will infuse Flashtalking's best-in-class solutions for primary ad serving, creative personalization, identity management, and verification with Mediaocean's modern system of record used by the world's leading brands and agencies.



The announcement comes at a critical inflection point for the advertising industry as marketers seek trusted, independent solutions to manage the rise of big tech. Mediaocean and Flashtalking customers will benefit from comprehensive and future-forward solutions for global strategic planning, omnichannel media management, closed ecosystems optimization, and financial reconciliation across traditional media, open web, closed ecosystems, and connected TV.

"Bringing together Mediaocean and Flashtalking is an incredible opportunity for our customers, employees, and the industry at large," said Bill Wise, CEO of Mediaocean. "Flashtalking is the source of truth for digital and CTV ads and Mediaocean is the system of record for all media. Combined, we will deliver comprehensive and future-forward solutions for omnichannel advertising. Most importantly, our platform is not compromised by media ownership so we can focus solely on driving outcomes for marketers and their agency partners."

"Our mission of enabling marketers to move consumers to action is a perfect fit for Mediaocean's vision of a world where marketers market the way consumers consume," said John Nardone, CEO at Flashtalking. "Over the years, we've built the most trusted, independent platform for driving advertising relevance and improving campaign performance. Together, our teams and complementary tech will help brands succeed in a future dominated by converged media and anchored on cookieless identity resolution."

"As we continue to innovate, it's crucial to have technology that enables us to meet the moment for consumers," said Deborah Wahl, CMO of General Motors. "It's encouraging to see companies like Mediaocean and Flashtalking come together to deliver on the omnichannel advertising imperative. The industry needs a neutral and independent player in the ecosystem to enable media convergence."

"The combination of Mediaocean and Flashtalking signals a critical milestone as the industry moves towards open and interoperable solutions," said Paul Gelb, Head of Digital Activation and Investment at Bayer. "One of the biggest opportunities in modern media is connecting technology across planning, buying, ad serving, and creative optimization. With Flashtalking, Mediaocean has improved its potential value proposition for omnichannel advertising."

The acquisition of Flashtalking by Mediaocean builds on a partnership the companies launched in 2018 to incorporate ad serving data into media buyer workflow. The combined entity will represent an advertising technology platform with over $200 billion in annualized media spend and over 1 trillion monthly ad impressions. Earlier this year, Mediaocean announced its new product paradigmthat unifies solutions across media intelligence, management, and finance. The company's product transformation and emphasis on culture have been recognized with Customer's Choice designation from Gartner Peer Insights1 and Best Places to Work by Ad Age.

The global advertising industry is a $700 billion market2 undergoing major transformation due to changing consumer habits and privacy expectations. This has led to the rise of CTV and closed ecosystems in which Mediaocean made a large investment via the acquisition of 4Cin July 2020 and, now with Flashtalking, will enhance its best-in-class solutions. The combined companies will enable a number of innovative value propositions for advertisers and agencies:

Unified planning and measurement of traditional and digital media including cross-channel video

In-flight campaign optimization through AI-driven recommendations and automation

Data-driven creative personalization across open web and closed ecosystems

Flexible identity resolution to enable omnichannel reach in a cookie-less world as well as privacy compliance with CCPA and GDPR

Advanced brand insights and analytics for media impact on sales conversions



The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC served as exclusive financial advisor to Flashtalking and Travers Smith LLP and Goodwin Procter LLP as its legal counsel.

About Mediaocean

Mediaocean is the mission-critical platform for omnichannel advertising. With more than $200 billion in annualized media spend managed through its software, Mediaocean connects brands, agencies, media, technology, and data. Using AI and machine learning technology to control marketing investments and optimize business outcomes, Mediaocean powers campaigns from planning, buying, and selling to analysis, invoices, and payments. Mediaocean employs 1,200 people across 20 global offices and is part of the Vista Equity Partners portfolio. Visit www.mediaocean.comfor more information.

About Flashtalking

Flashtalking is the leading global independent primary ad server and analytics technology company. The company uses data to personalize advertising in real-time, independently analyze its effectiveness and enable optimization that drives better engagement and return on spend for sophisticated global brands. Flashtalking's platform leads the market with innovative products and services to ensure creative relevance and actionable insights across channels and formats, powered by unique cookieless tracking, data orchestration and advanced analytics. Flashtalking supports clients at the crossroads where data, personalized creative and unbiased measurement intersect with expertise, service and a deep partner ecosystem to drive successful digital marketing. The company is part of the TA Associates portfolio.

Media Contact

Aaron Goldman

CMO, Mediaocean

Press@mediaocean.com

1 Gartner Peer Insights Customers' Choice constitute the subjective opinions of individual end-user reviews, ratings, and data applied against a documented methodology; they neither represent the views of, nor constitute an endorsement by, Gartner or its affiliates. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

2 Source: eMarketer Worldwide Total Media Advertising Spending, 2021
DRAPER, UT / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2021 / Flexpoint Sensor Systems, Inc. (OTC PINK:FLXT) is pleased to provide an update on market developments as it relates to adoption of its' Bend Sensor technology with various products. Clark Mower, Flexpoint President stated, 'We are seeing significant opportunities with both existing and new customers as the business world reemerges from the hibernation brought on by the COVID 19 Pandemic. Flexpoint is experiencing a resurgence in orders from long term partners as both the volume and frequency of orders has increased, as well as having success in building new relationships and developing new partners. The Bend Sensor is rapidly regaining momentum which was halted by the pandemic and is diversifying potential applications and receiving meaningful orders worldwide. We anticipate the momentum continuing with additional purchase orders in the second half of this year."

AUTOMOTIVE -

We are continuing to work closely with a Fortune 50 automotive company on the integration of a system utilizing Flexpoint's patented Bend Sensor technology which was included in a patent issued to the major automotive manufacturer. By utilizing Flexpoint's technology, this manufacturer, along with Flexpoint, has created an innovative application for automobiles and trucks which allows them to optimize the ride quality of the vehicle. Flexpoint is actively working with the manufacturer on implementation of this new technology in vehicles.

Additionally, we have seen significant market interest and the recent adoption of a variety of sensor applications including the Flexpoint seat occupancy sensor and the companies' more sophisticated, Occupant Classification System (OCS), along with integration of the Impact Detection System. We are currently working with both North American and foreign automotive manufacturers on these systems. These companies include Fortune 50 automotive manufacturers as well as new, well financed companies in the EV and Autonomous Driving vehicle market spaces. We look forward to announcing production agreements with our partners and their anticipated production schedules. We are also working on formalizing an arrangement with a large after-market seller for seat products.

VR/AR/MR -

Hugely popular vendors such as Manus Technology Group, MANUS VR and others have established market presence in this rapidly growing market space as they rely on the Bend Sensor as integral components of their solutions. During June Flexpoint delivered the first shipment of the record order of 3,200 gloves from Manus VR as announced in the May 26, 2021 press release and expect to complete final delivery of the balance of the order before the end of the third quarter 2021. The Purchase order calls for the staged delivery of the glove sensors to meet their projected inventory requirements.

MEDICAL -

Medical Glove Manufacturers (Rehabilitation) - Neofect, (Korea), Idrogenet/Gloreha, (Italy), and others have all placed recent orders for sensors which will contribute to Flexpoint's' revenue stream. Purchase orders are expected to continue increasing in order size and volume through the end of the year and into 2022. The company continues to receive substantial purchase orders as it expands its global medical and medical IoT wearables.

RESELLERS -

Resellers/Channel partners such as RobotShop, has been a steady contributor of purchase orders throughout the past three years. We also receive orders from others such as Shopify, PayPal, Amazon and from orders placed on our website. Flexpoint is currently in the process of formalizing reseller agreements with international partners that have committed to develop markets for our sensors in their countries. We plan to add additional information on these partners as the agreements are formalized and we are working to increase this market area as it provides effective and significant growth and scale.

Please visit http://www.flexpoint.com/ for more information.

About Flexpoint Sensor Systems, Inc.

Flexpoint Sensor Systems, Inc. (FLXT) is an innovative technology firm specializing in developing products that feature the Company's patented Bend Sensor and related technology. The Bend Sensor is a groundbreaking sensing solution that is revolutionizing applications in the automotive, safety, medical and industrial industries. The Bend Sensor single-layer, thin film construction cuts costs and mechanical bulk while introducing a range of functions and stylistic design possibilities that have never before been available in sensing technology. Flexpoint's technology and expertise have been recognized by the world's elite business and academic innovators for over 17 years. The company is setting a new standard for sensing solutions in the 'smart' age of technology.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that certain statements in this release are 'forward-looking statements' and involve both known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Such uncertainties include, among others, certain risks associated with the operation of the company described above. The Company's actual results could differ materially from expected results.

Contact Information:

Flexpoint Sensor Systems

Clark Mower, President

801-568-5111

Brokers and Analysts

Chesapeake Group

410-825-3930

SOURCE: Flexpoint Sensor Systems, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/655243/Flexpoint-Sensor-Systems-Inc-Updates-Progress-on-Automotive-and-VR-Projects
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2021 / 01 Communique Laboratory Inc. (TSX-V:ONE)(OTCQB:OONEF) (the 'Company') one of the first-to-market, enterprise level cybersecurity providers for the quantum computing era, is pleased to announce the new release of IronCAP API. This latest version allows mass adaptation of IronCAPTM across virtually all computing environments including Windows, Linux, Mac, plus the newly added iOS and Android mobile platforms.

IronCAP's patent-pending, post-quantum cryptography can be used in all kinds of vertical solutions such as digital identity, email security, remote access, cloud storage, 5G/IoT devices, blockchains, financial transactions, etc. This greatly sought-after release of the IronCAPTM API empowers vendors to transform their systems or products for virtually all computing platforms to become quantum-safe, protecting their clients from not only the classical world of computers today but also against future attacks from quantum computers.

About 01 Communique

Established in 1992, 01 Communique (TSX-V:ONE)(OTCQB:OONEF) has always been at the forefront of technology. The Company's cyber security business unit focuses on post-quantum cybersecurity with the development of its IronCAP technology. IronCAP's patent-pending cryptographic system is an advanced Goppa code-based post-quantum cryptographic technology that can be implemented on classical computer systems as we know them today while at the same time can also safeguard against attacks in the future post-quantum world of computing. The Company's remote access business unit provides its customers with a suite of secure remote access services and products under its I'm InTouch and I'm OnCall product offerings. The remote access offerings are protected in the U.S.A. by its patents #6,928,479 / #6,938,076 / #8,234,701; in Canada by its patents #2,309,398 / #2,524,039 and in Japan by its patent #4,875,094. For more information, visit the Company's web site at www.ironcap.ca and www.01com.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements in this news release may constitute "forward-looking" statements which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. When used in this news release, such statements use such words as "may", "will", "expect", "believe", 'anticipate', "plan", "intend", "are confident" and other similar terminology. Such statements include statements regarding the business prospects of IronCAP and IronCAP X, the future of quantum computers and their impact on the Company's product offering, the functionality of the Company's products and the intended product lines for the Company's technology. These statements reflect current expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the matters discussed in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, a delay in the anticipated adoption of quantum computers and a corresponding delay in Q-Day, the ability for the Company to generate sales, and gain adoption of, IronCAP and IronCAP X, the ability of the Company to raise financing to pursue its business plan, competing products that provide a superior product, competitors with greater resources and the factors discussed under "Risk and Uncertainties" in the company's Management's Discussion and Analysis document filed on SEDAR. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions, the company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and the company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange ("TSX-V") nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

INVESTOR CONTACT:

Brian Stringer

Chief Financial Officer

01 Communique

(905) 795-2888 x204

Brian.stringer@01com.com

SOURCE: 01 Communique Laboratory, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/655251/01-Communique-announces-new-IronCAP-API-for-Mobile-Platforms
Currency impacts spike 55% globally as North American multinationals triple their losses from previous quarter, putting corporate liquidity at risk

Kyriba's Currency Impact Report (CIR), a comprehensive quarterly report detailing the impacts of foreign exchange (FX) exposures among 1,200 multinational companies based in North America and Europe, revealed a negative impact from currency volatility of $9.54 billion. North American companies experienced greater headwinds than their European counterparts in the first quarter of 2021, reporting $5.87 billion in FX-related negative impact -- a staggering increase of 322% from the last quarter. By comparison, European corporations reported $3.67 billion in negative impact.

"Despite warnings that currency volatility would be on the rise, many companies were unprepared to manage FX exposures, according to the data. As businesses experience a post-pandemic surge in activity, CFOs were unable to keep up with currency movements, unnecessarily risking corporate liquidity," said Wolfgang Koester, Chief Evangelist for Kyriba. "With nearly $10 billion in preventable losses, CEOs need their finance chiefs to understand the currency exposures within their balance sheet and take action to retain profits and maximize liquidity to sustain growth."

Highlights from the July 2021 Kyriba Currency Impact Report include:

The average earnings per share (EPS) impact from currency volatility reported by North American companies in Q1 2021 held steady at $0.03 three times greater than the recommended standard of $0.01 EPS impact.

Publicly traded North American companies that qualified to be monitored in the Q1 2021 report had a collective currency loss of $5.87 billion.

Publicly traded European companies that qualified to be monitored in the Q1 2021 report had a collective currency loss of $3.67 billion.

North American companies indicated the Chinese renminbi (CNY) as the most impactful currency, with 33% of companies referencing it as most impactful, snapping the Euro's (EUR) hold as the most impactful currency over the last two quarters.

The U.S. dollar (USD) remained the currency most mentioned as impactful by European companies on earnings calls for the third quarter in a row, followed by the euro, with the Chinese renminbi ranking third.

The top five industries that experienced the greatest impact from currencies in North America (in order) were machinery, trading, distribution, professional services, healthcare equipment, biotech and pharmaceuticals and chemicals.

The top five industries that reported the greatest impact for Europe (in order) were electronic equipment, instruments and components, construction and engineering, airlines, biotech and pharmaceuticals, and chemicals.

The Kyriba Currency Impact Report is a comprehensive report detailing the impact of foreign exchange exposures among publicly traded companies. All companies analyzed in the report's findings conduct business in more than one currency, with at least 15% of their revenue coming from nations that are located outside of their headquarters.

To learn more about specific industries affected and which currencies were most impactful to multinationals, download the full July 2021 Kyriba Currency Impact Report.

About Kyriba Corp.:

Kyriba empowers CFOs, Treasurers, and their IT counterparts to transform how they optimize financial technology solutions, de-risk ERP cloud migration, and activate liquidity as a dynamic, real-time vehicle for growth and value creation. With 2,000 clients worldwide, including 25% of Fortune 500 and Eurostoxx 50 companies, Kyriba's pioneering Connectivity as a Service platform integrates internal applications for treasury, risk, payments and working capital with vital external sources such as banks, ERPs, trading platforms, and market data providers. Kyriba is a secure, scalable SaaS platform that leverages artificial intelligence, automates payments workflows, and enables thousands of multinational corporations and banks to maximize growth opportunities, protect against loss from fraud and financial risk, and reduce operational costs. Kyriba is headquartered in San Diego, with offices in Dubai, Frankfurt, London, Minsk, Paris, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Warsaw and other major locations. For more information, visit www.kyriba.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210713005286/en/

Contacts:

Daniel Shaffer, dshaffer@kyriba.com +1 858-263-2218
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 13, 2021) - China Education Resources, Inc. (TSXV: CHN) (OTCQB: CHNUF) ("CER") is an ed-tech company with leading technology of intelligent system and contents. It provides online/offline learning, training courses and social media for teachers, students and education professionals. CER today provides shareholders and investors with an update:

CER has retained Alliance Equity Capital Group, Inc. ("Alliance") to provide investor relations and communication services to CER. Alliance provides investor, media, public relations, and merger & acquisition advisory services to both private and public companies in all industries. Alliance will advise CER in all facets of corporate and financial communications, including the coordination of investment conferences and future road shows, as well as building brand awareness with financial and social media outlets.

Under the agreement between CER and Alliance, Alliance has been retained for a term of 12 months and CER will pay $7,500 USD per month to Alliance. Alliance shall receive common stock of CER at the end of the 12 months for any payment that is not paid by CER. In addition, CER will issue 100,000 stock options to Alliance, with each option having an exercise price of ten cents in Canadian dollars. Both parties mutually agree to do a six-month review to determine if services provided have been effective. Either party may terminate agreement at that time.

CER has also granted 2.6 million stock purchase options to directors, employees and consultants of the Company. Each option allows the holder to acquire a common share of the Company at an exercise price of ten cents per share in Canadian dollars. The options are exercisable for a period of five years.

The grant of the options is subject to the terms of the company's stock option plan and the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements made herein, and other statements relating to matters that are not historical facts and statements of our beliefs, intentions and expectations about developments, results and events which will or may occur in the future, constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking information and statements are typically identified by words such as "anticipate", "could", "should", "expect", "seek", "may", "intend", "likely", "plan", "estimate", "will", "believe" and similar expressions suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. All such forward-looking information and statements are based on certain assumptions and analysis made by China Education Resources, Inc.'s management in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors management believes are appropriate in the circumstances. These statements, however, are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information or statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements include those described under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" elsewhere in the Company's MD&A filed at www.SEDAR.com. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements. Except as required by law the Company does not assume the obligation to revise or update these forward looking statements after the date of this document or to revise them to reflect the occurrence of future, unanticipated events.

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed, and does not accept, responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the contents of this press release.

Contact China Education Resources at: (604) 331-2388

Email: admin@chinaeducationresources.com

Website: http://www.chinaeducationresources.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/90037
WEST MELBOURNE, FL / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2021 / BK Technologies Corporation (NYSE American:BKTI) today announced that Farsouth Fire & Rescue has selected BK's new BKR 5000 portable communications technology for purchase and deployment. Farsouth is a volunteer fire station located in in Chaparral, New Mexico and has served Otero County since 1996.

BK President Tim Vitou commented, "We're excited to have gained a new customer in Farsouth Fire & Rescue, who will begin deploying our new BKR 5000 portable communications technology. Providing fire, accident and emergency services to the residents of Otero County requires a portable communications platform with exceptional performance and reliability to enable effective field response and ensure the real-time exchange of information during an emergency. We're pleased to enter this new partnership with Farsouth, to help ensure its local community is safe and protected during fire, medical, and other emergencies."

The BKR 5000 comes in three tiers allowing maximum flexibility and customization for the user's mission-critical needs and has been designed to meet the requirements of today's tough Public Safety communications environment. The BKR 5000 was designed and developed by the BK Technologies engineering team with extensive input from customers to incorporate the features and options needed by first responders.

A full line of accessories is available including intelligent battery and charging solutions, IP68 remote speaker microphones, and the popular BK wildland fire alkaline battery "clamshell". The new BKR 5000 is expected to be a platform that enhances BK's ability to address significant new vertical markets leading to expanded growth and market share.

About BK Technologies

BK Technologies Corporation manufactures high-specification, American-made communications equipment of unsurpassed reliability and value for use by public safety professionals and government agencies. BK Technologies is honored to serve these heroes with reliable equipment when every moment counts. The Company's common stock trades on the NYSE American market under the symbol "BKTI". Maintaining its headquarters in West Melbourne, Florida, BK Technologies can be contacted through its web site at www.bktechnologies.com or directly at 1-800-821-2900.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements concern the Company's operations, economic performance and financial condition and are based largely on the Company's beliefs and expectations. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors and risks, some of which have been, and may further be, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, include, among others, the following: changes or advances in technology; the success of our land mobile radio product line; successful introduction of new products and technologies, including our ability to successfully develop and sell our anticipated new multiband product and other related products in the planned new BKR Series product line; competition in the land mobile radio industry; general economic and business conditions, including federal, state and local government budget deficits and spending limitations, any impact from a prolonged shutdown of the U.S. Government, and the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic; the availability, terms and deployment of capital; reliance on contract manufacturers and suppliers; risks associated with fixed-price contracts; heavy reliance on sales to agencies of the U.S. Government and our ability to comply with the requirements of contracts, laws and regulations related to such sales; allocations by government agencies among multiple approved suppliers under existing agreements; our ability to comply with U.S. tax laws and utilize deferred tax assets; our ability to attract and retain executive officers, skilled workers and key personnel; our ability to manage our growth; our ability to identify potential candidates for, and consummate, acquisition, disposition or investment transactions, and risks incumbent to being a noncontrolling interest stockholder in a corporation; impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the companies in which the Company holds investments; impact of our capital allocation strategy; risks related to maintaining our brand and reputation; impact of government regulation; rising health care costs; our business with manufacturers located in other countries, including changes in the U.S. Government and foreign governments' trade and tariff policies, as well as any further impact resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic; our inventory and debt levels; protection of our intellectual property rights; fluctuation in our operating results and stock price; acts of war or terrorism, natural disasters and other catastrophic events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic; any infringement claims; data security breaches, cyber-attacks and other factors impacting our technology systems; availability of adequate insurance coverage; maintenance of our NYSE American listing; risks related to being a holding company; and the effect on our stock price and ability to raise equity capital of future sales of shares of our common stock. Certain of these factors and risks, as well as other risks and uncertainties, are stated in more detail in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 and in the Company's subsequent filings with the SEC. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements.

Company Contact:

IMS Investor Relations

John Nesbett/Jennifer Belodeau

bktechnologies@imsinvestorrelations.com

(203) 972-9200

SOURCE: BK Technologies Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/655219/Farsouth-Fire-Rescue-Department-Selects-BK-Technologies-BKR-5000
Expected to Provide Additional Support in Nevada & New Mexico

TOCCOA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2021 / Galaxy Next Generation, Inc. (OTCQB:GAXY) ("Galaxy" or the "Company), a provider of interactive learning technology solutions, is pleased to announce it has partnered with Teledata Technologies ("Teledata"), a leading Las Vegas based business technology expert. With offices in Las Vegas, Reno, Bozeman and Albuquerque, Teledata is well positioned to assist Galaxy and its G2 brand in their efforts to scale their education business within the states of Nevada and New Mexico.

Since the early 1990s, the business technology experts at TeleData Technologies have been dedicated to helping businesses streamline operations, increase efficiencies, safeguard assets and property, protect employees and staff, and boost profits through harnessing the power of technology. Beginning with a focus on structured cabling systems, Teledata has evolved into a complete business technology service provider. From consulting, through engineering, design, product selection, installation, and maintenance and support, the business technology experts at Teledata are recognized industry leaders. It provides end-to-end business technology solutions across a vast region in the Western United States.

Its suite of business technology services includes audio-visual systems, CCTV systems, business alarm systems, structured cabling systems, access control systems, data center infrastructure, nurse call systems, and fire alarm systems. Teledata works with businesses of all sizes across all industries.

Gary LeCroy, Galaxy's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are excited to partner with Teledata. The depth of relationships with their customer base, combined with their extensive knowledge base on technologies, all tied together with their unwavering commitment to customer service, we feel we have found the perfect fit for a partner to expand and accelerate the growth of the Galaxy brand in Nevada and New Mexico."

For additional information on Teledata Technologies, please visit: https://teledatanv.com.

About Galaxy Next Generation, Inc.

Galaxy Next Generation (OTCQB:GAXY) is a provider of interactive learning technology solutions that allows the presenter and participant to engage in a fully collaborative instructional environment. Galaxy's products include Galaxy's own private-label interactive touch screen panel as well as numerous other national and international branded peripheral and communication devices. Galaxy's distribution channel consists of 22+ resellers across the U.S. who primarily sell the Company's products within the commercial and educational market. Galaxy does not control where resellers focus their resell efforts, although generally, the K-12 education market is the largest customer base for Galaxy products - comprising nearly 90% of Galaxy's sales.

For additional information, please visit our website at: www.galaxynext.us

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are based on the current plans and expectations of management and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could significantly affect the company's current plans and expectations, as well as future results of operations and financial condition. A more extensive listing of risks and factors that may affect the company's business prospects and cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the reports and other documents filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Investors Contact:

IR@GalaxyNext.us

P:888-859-1274

SOURCE: Galaxy Next Generation, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/655218/Galaxy-Next-Generation-Adds-New-Reseller-to-Accelerate-Sales-in-its-West-Territory
Rydeum Will Soon Launch its First Mobile App, DoGetGo, in Montego Bay, Jamaica

Rydeum is Filing Three U.S. Patent Applications for a Decentralized B2C Local On-Demand Technology (LODE-TECH) Platform

Rydeum States Decentralized LODE-TECH Platform Will Be Exported to Other Caribbean Countries in 2022

MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2021 / OM Holdings International Inc. (OTC PINK:OMHI), an owner and operator of OneMart super merchandising stores and Builders Depot in the Caribbean, and the parent of its wholly owned subsidiary Rydeum Caribbean, Inc., of British Virgin Islands has signed its first business to business (B2B), Local On-Demand Technology (LODE-TECH) contract, with the largest taxicab company in Jamaica. Rydeum Caribbean, Inc., which was acquired from Rydeum Technologies, Inc., for an undisclosed amount of cash and stock, is developing a platform to connect multiple established businesses with local consumers through an on-demand mobile app.

Rydeum Caribbean, Inc. has a regional exclusive software license and IT managed services agreement with Rydeum Technologies, Inc., based in Atlanta, GA. These exclusive agreements allow Rydeum Caribbean, Inc. to efficiently launch LODE-TECH in 27 additional Caribbean countries at a fairly rapid pace. Rydeum Technologies, Inc. is in the process of applying for three U.S. patents for a novel decentralized architecture which will have the ability to power multiple Local On-Demand Economies, allowing numerous local businesses to onboard and many customers to obtain transportation, delivery, and professional services via a single mobile app.

"This acquisition helps us navigate the competitive environment in several ways," said OMHI CEO Mark Vanterpool. "We can continue to bring the highest quality products, services and convenience to our existing and future customers. This is now at their fingertips through their smartphones. The technology will help us to gain efficiencies, increase our strategic options, reduce our costs and substantially increase our profits."

OMHI will vertically integrate Local-On Demand Economy (LODE) technologies to power the purchase and delivery of retail merchandise and services for all of its customers. Via the app DoGetGo, customers will be able to shop OMHI superstores and the company's Builders Depot from their phones and have these purchases delivered. It supports less expensive ordering and delivery from restaurants, which have struggled to profitably offer delivery services. The app also enables people, both residents and visitors, to get around by car.

In Jamaica, Rydeum executed a 5-year contract with the Jamaican Union of Travelers Association (JUTA), a not-for-profit organization based in Montego Bay. JUTA, founded in 1960 with 50 drivers, now boasts 12,000 drivers. Rydeum Caribbean will receive a percentage of gross bookings from JUTA that is typical for mobile app providers in the transportation industry. Rydeum's relationship with JUTA will position the company to expand beyond transportation into delivery and other professional services that require drivers in Jamaica.

"It is our intention to roll out DoGetGo throughout the Caribbean," Mr. Vanterpool added. "We have begun to establish the app in Jamaica, and we expect to see a significant increase in business thanks to the app, as numerous sources suggest that JUTA has 70% market share of the $120 million (pre-Covid-19) Jamaican taxicab industry. This is the first agreement between a taxicab union and a mobile app technology provider in the region, and we're thrilled to be at the vanguard of contactless transportation and delivery in the Caribbean."

As part of the agreement, the Rydeum team will train JUTA employees and users to help ensure the seamless integration and adoption of DoGetGo as part of JUTA's current model.

The Rydeum platform can be adapted for many business-to-consumer (B2C) and peer-to-peer (P2P) business needs, and OMHI intends to approach third-party vendors in Jamaica to expand the use of DoGetGo throughout the country.

On May 20, 2021, the company announced the formation and start of construction of OM Builders Depot in British Virgin Islands; on May 25, 2021, the company announced it has broken ground on its second location, a 34,000 square foot supermarket in Fat Hogs Bay (East End) British Virgin Islands (BVI).

About OM Holdings International, Inc.

OM Holdings International, Inc. (OTC PINK:OMHI), the holding company of OneMart, founded in 1986 in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) by Mark Vanterpool, operates delivery services and grocery stores in the Caribbean, with a mobile application delivery platform that provides an expedient, contactless option for the transportation of people and essential goods. The company's storefront, OneMart, is the second-largest grocery store in the BVI. OMHI will also provide lumber and other construction supplies to contractors throughout the Caribbean. OMHI's delivery subsidiary, Rydeum (DoGetGo), founded by Mark Hannah in 2019, has partnered with Jamacia's largest taxicab union to provide a contactless service model to Jamaican tourists and residents. For more information, please visit https://omholdingsinc.com/.

Forward-Looking Statements

With the exception of the historical information contained in this news release, the matters described herein, may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements preceded by, followed by or that otherwise include the words "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "projects," "estimates," "plans" and similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "should," "would," "may" and "could" are generally forward-looking in nature and not historical facts, although not all forward-looking statements include the foregoing. These statements, involve unknown risks and uncertainties that may individually or materially impact the matters discussed herein for a variety of reasons that are outside the control of the company, including, but not limited to, the company's ability to raise sufficient financing to implement its business plan, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the company's business, operations and the economy in general, and the Company's ability to successfully develop and commercialize its proprietary products and technologies. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward- looking statements, as actual results could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements contained herein. Readers are urged to read the risk factors set forth in the company's filings with the SEC, which are available at the SEC's website (www.sec.gov). The company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Investor Relations

Michael J. Porter, President

Porter, LeVay & Rose, Inc.

T: (973) 865-9357

E: mike@plrinvest.com

LinkedIn

@PlRinvest

SOURCE: OM HOLDINGS INTERNATIONAL, INC.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/655298/OMHI--OM-Holdings-International-Inc-Wholly-Owned-Subsidiary-Rydeum-Caribbean-Inc-Signs-5-Year-LODE-TECH-Contract-with-Jamaicas-Largest-Taxicab-Union-JUTA-with-12000-Drivers
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - United Airlines Ventures or UAV, United Airline's (UAL) corporate venture capital fund, announced Tuesday that along with Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) and Mesa Airlines (MESA), it has invested in electric aircraft startup Heart Aerospace. Heart Aerospace is developing the ES-19, a 19-seat electric aircraft that has the potential to fly customers up to 250 miles before the end of this decade. In addition to UAV's investment, United Airlines has conditionally agreed to purchase 100 ES-19 aircraft, once the aircraft meet United's safety, business and operating requirements. Mesa Airlines, United's key strategic partner in bringing electric aircraft into commercial service, has also agreed to add 100 ES-19 aircraft to its fleet, subject to similar requirements. UAV and BEV are among the first investors in Heart Aerospace, demonstrating confidence in Heart's design and creating potential for Heart to fast track the ES-19 introduction to market as early as 2026. By utilizing electric motors instead of jet engines, and batteries instead of jet fuel, Heart's ES-19 aircraft will have zero operational emissions. Seating 19 passengers, the ES-19 aircraft will also be larger than any of its all-electric competitors and will be designed to operate on the same types of batteries used in electric cars. Once operational, the ES-19 could operate on more than 100 of United's regional routes out of most of its hubs. It will give customers access to the convenience of flight without contributing to carbon emissions that cause climate change. With this new agreement, United is deepening its bold commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 100% by 2050 without relying on traditional carbon offsets. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Virtual Opening Dedication Ceremony of Grasett Park Friday, July 16, 2021

On Friday, July 16th, the Canada Ireland Foundation (CIF), in partnership with The City of Toronto, will host a virtual opening and dedication of Grasett Park. The new park commemorates the brave doctors, nurses and other caregivers who gave their lives providing care to the Irish emigrants who arrived on Toronto's shores in 1847, sickened with typhus. The July 16th date coincides with the 174th anniversary of Dr. George Robert Grasett's death from typhus, less than a month after his appointment as Chief Attending Surgeon of the newly repurposed Emigrant Hospital, then located at the site of the new park.

Situated at 303 Adelaide Street West, the site housed the Hospital's fever sheds which were hastily erected to treat the thousands of sick and dying men, women, and children newly arrived in Toronto. Designed by award-winning Toronto Architectural Studio Denegri Bessai, the park, which was in early planning stages in 2008, features a black granite surface etched with an 1842 map of Toronto, as well as 30-foot tall, laminated glass plates illuminated and imprinted with a pattern recalling the panels of cheesecloth that were hung in the fever sheds to protect the patients for flies.

Due to COVID-19, the Canada Ireland Foundation will host a virtual ceremony to mark the park's opening. The Foundation also marks this occasion to recognize the relevance of the ongoing sacrifices of the medical community who have put themselves at great risk to help the sick and dying in Toronto throughout the pandemic, just as they did in 1847.

The online ceremony will include messages from Irish and Canadian dignitaries, original music composed for the occasion, and a tribute to our healthcare workers, past and present.

Event Details

What: Opening and Dedication of Grasett Park, including a tribute to the healthcare workers of 1847 and today When: Friday July 16, 2021 at 12:00 noon EDT (approximately 35 minutes) Where: Virtual online ceremony Register in advance at https://www.canadairelandfoundation.com/grasett/

Media Availability: Robert Kearns, Chair and Founder of the Canada Ireland Foundation, will be available for interviews. An electronic press kit, including photos and images of the park is also available upon request.

For more information, contact:

Richard Gasee, Marketing Manager

Canada Ireland Foundation

Email: richard@canadaireland.com Phone: 416-302-6936

About Canada Ireland Foundation

Founded in 1997, Canada Ireland Foundation is dedicated to celebrating and commemorating the relationship between Ireland and Canada through arts, culture, and heritage. In 2007, the Foundation completed Ireland Park on Toronto's Eireann Quay and, in autumn 2021, will commence rehabilitation of an adjacent historic property, renamed The Corleck Building. The Foundation has also created Grasett Park, opening July 16, 2021, to commemorate the service and sacrifice of healthcare workers who gave their lives while caring for Irish migrants during the 1847 typhus epidemic.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210713005351/en/

Contacts:

Richard Gasee, Marketing Manager

Canada Ireland Foundation

Email: richard@canadaireland.com

Phone: 416-302-6936
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 13, 2021) - Getchell Gold Corp. (CSE: GTCH) (OTCQB: GGLDF) ("Getchell" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an exploration update on the Fondaway Canyon Gold Project ("Fondaway") and the receipt of drill permits for additional drill pads at Fondaway as well as for the inaugural drill program at the high-grade Star Copper-Gold-Silver project. Both projects are located in Nevada.

Fondaway Canyon 2021 Drill Program Update

The Company is currently drilling its Phase One 4,000 metre 2021 drill program at the Fondaway Canyon Gold Project as announced on June 1, 2021. Two drill holes of the 2021 program, FCG21-07 and FCG21-08, have been completed and the drill core has been delivered to the analytical lab for analysis.

Both drill holes were drilled southwest from the Colorado Pit to expand on the high-grade gold Juniper zone and the thick Colorado SW Extension zone recently intersected by holes FCG20-02 and FCG20-03. Table 1 details the gold mineralized drill intercepts from these holes, Figure 1 provides a plan view of the Central area with the 2020 and 2021 drill pads and drill traces highlighted, and Figure 2 shows the 3D gold mineralization model on the NE-SW Colorado Pit to Pack Rat section.

FCG21-07 and FCG21-08 were designed as 40m respective lateral and vertical step-outs to the Colorado SW Extension interval intersected in FCG20-02. Both drill holes similarly functioned as a step-out to the high-grade Juniper zone. The two 2021 holes reached their targeted depths and the assay results are expected in late July to early August.

As previously planned, the drill will commence a series of holes targeting the North Fork Zone, starting with FCG21-09, before circling back to continue expanding on the Juniper and Colorado SW Extension gold mineralized zones.

Fondaway Canyon Gold Project Permits

The recently granted drill permit adds three drill pads to the Company's existing exploration permit at Fondaway and allows:

Full drill coverage to continue defining the Central Target Area through the foreseeable future; and One drill hole at the Pediment Target Area located on the westernmost extent of the East-West gold mineralization corridor.

The permitted Central Target Area is host to a sizable historic resource and is where the 100-metre-thick Colorado SW Extension and the North Fork zones were discovered in late 2020. The newly permitted Pediment Target Area is the site of two historic drill holes that each intercepted broad gold bearing intervals in 2002 and has yet to be properly characterized (refer to Company news release dated Jan. 27, 2021). As the drill campaign at Fondaway progresses, additional drill pads and access roads will be permitted as required.





Figure 1: Fondaway Canyon Central Area Plan Map showing 2020 and 2021 drill hole locations and gold intercepts.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3941/90038_a516f1dae4016993_001full.jpg





Figure 2: Fondaway Canyon 3D Gold Domain Model* - Colorado to Pack Rat (NE-SW) Section, 150m wide slice.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3941/90038_a516f1dae4016993_002full.jpg

Table 1: 2020 Drill Holes Collared at the Colorado Pit - Gold Grade Interval Highlights

Drill Hole From

(m) To

(m) Interval

(m) Au

(g/t) FCG20-002 41.0 49.5 8.5 2.5 FCG20-002 106.1 128.0 21.9 6.2 Juniper including 116.0 128.0 12.0 9.6 including 120.5 123.7 3.2 20.4 FCG20-002 181.0 224.5 43.5 1.9 Colorado SW Extension including 192.1 207.0 14.9 4.2 FCG20-002 265.6 277.9 12.3 1.1 FCG20-003 2.7 19.8 17.1 1.5 FCG20-003 39.0 42.0 3.0 5.4 FCG20-003 148.7 169.8 21.1 4.3 Juniper including 159.6 169.0 9.4 8.7 including 163.4 166.8 3.4 14.6 FCG20-003 188.3 237.3 49.0 2.0 Colorado SW Extension including 205.1 218.0 12.9 3.6 including 224.9 231.9 7.0 3.4 FCG20-003 262.3 264.5 2.2 4.4 FCG20-003 277.1 282.0 4.9 1.2

Table 2: Colorado Pit Collared Drill Holes - Orientation and Length

Hole ID Azimuth Dip Length (m) FCG20-002 240 -66 353.9 FCG20-003 185 -68 295.0 FCG20-007 225 -72 264.6 FCG20-008 242 -62 459.2

* The modelled gold domain highlights areas where gold intervals have been geologically linked and projected. The modelled gold domain is solely for exploration planning purposes and does not indicate a mineral resource. A qualified person for the Company has not done sufficient work to classify a current mineral resources estimate at Fondaway Canyon.

Star High Grade Copper-Gold-Silver Project 2021 Drill Program

The 2021 drill program at the high-grade Star Copper-Gold-Silver project is scheduled to commence upon completion of the Fondaway Pediment target area drill hole. The Star project is located approximately 60 kilometres north of Fondaway Canyon.

The Company has now received an exploration permit to commence building drill pads and access routes for the three initially planned holes. Targets of the 2021 drill program include a highly prospective geophysical target located beneath the historic Star Point Copper Mine and a strong geophysical response located near the Star South high-grade Copper-Gold-Silver occurrences. For a comprehensive summary of these two highly mineralized surface occurrences, refer to Company news release dated Oct. 14 and Nov. 24, 2021.

Upon completion of the drill program at Star, the drill will return to Fondaway Canyon with the plan to drill through to the end of the year.

Scott Frostad, P.Geo., is the Qualified Person (as defined in NI 43-101) who reviewed and approved the content and scientific and technical information in the news release.

The 2021 drill core will be processed using the same methods for the 2020 drill program. The core will be cut at Bureau Veritas Laboratories' ("BVL") facilities in Sparks, Nevada, with the samples analyzed for gold and multi-element analysis in BVL's Sparks, Nevada and Vancouver, BC laboratories respectively. Gold values are produced by fire assay with an Atomic Absorption finish on a 30-gram sample (BV code FA430) with over limits re-analyzed using method FA530 (30g Fire Assay with gravimetric finish). The multi-element analyses are performed by ICP-MS following aqua regia digestion on a 30g sample (BV code AQ250). Quality control measures in the field include the systematic insertion of standards and blanks.

Corporate News

The Company has given Notice via SEDAR that its Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on September 17, 2021 via conference call at 10:00 AM PDT. The AGM will be followed by a webinar hosted by Mike Sieb where he will provide an update on the 2021 drill program and results. Participant instructions will be provided well in advance of both events.

About Getchell Gold Corp.

The Company is a Nevada focused gold and copper exploration company trading on the (CSE: GTCH) and (OTCQB: GGLDF). Getchell Gold is primarily directing its efforts on its most advanced stage asset, Fondaway Canyon, a past gold producer with a significant in-the-ground historic resource estimate. Complementing Getchell's asset portfolio is Dixie Comstock, a past gold producer with a historic resource and two earlier stage exploration projects, Star and Hot Springs Peak. Getchell has the option to acquire 100% of the Fondaway Canyon and Dixie Comstock properties, Churchill County, Nevada.

The Company reiterates that its near-term strategy to advance its assets is not impacted by the COVID-19 Corona virus. The Company continues to monitor the situation and is in compliance with all government guidelines.

For further information please visit the Company's website at www.getchellgold.com or contact the Company at info@getchellgold.com.

Mr. William Wagener, Chairman & CEO

Getchell Gold Corp.

+1 303 517 8764

info@getchellgold.com

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed this press release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Not for distribution to U.S. news wire services or dissemination in the United States.

Certain information contained herein constitutes "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the private placement and the completion thereof and the use of proceeds. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "will" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, including: the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, use of proceeds from the financing, capital expenditures and other costs, and financing and additional capital requirements. Although management of Getchell have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. The Company will not update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information that are incorporated by reference herein, except as required by applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/90038
Vaughan, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 13, 2021) - Spyder Cannabis Inc. (TSXV: SPDR) ("Spyder" or the "Company"), an established Canadian cannabis and vape retailer, is pleased to announce the results from its annual general and special meeting of shareholders of the Company ("Shareholders"), which was held on Monday, July 12, 2021 (the "Meeting").

Shareholders holding a total of 28,957,203 common shares of the Company (each, a "Common Share") were represented in person or by proxy at the Meeting, representing 39.1% of the votes attached to all outstanding Common Shares as at the record date.

The Company is pleased to report that Shareholders voted in favour of all matters submitted before them at the Meeting, with each motion receiving more than 95.1% support. Such matters approved at the Meeting, as more particularly described and set forth in the Company's management information circular dated June 6, 2021, included:

Appointing Stern & Lovrics LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants, as auditor of the Company for the ensuing year and authorizing the board of directors of the Company (the "Board") to fix their remuneration;

Electing Mark Pelchovitz, Cameron Wickham, Steven Glaser, Daniel Pelchovitz and Marc Askenasi to serve as directors of the Company and to hold office until the next annual meeting of Shareholders or until their successors are elected or appointed;

Approving the Company's omnibus incentive plan;

Authorizing the Company to delist its Common Shares from the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") and subsequently list them on the Canadian Securities Exchange or another stock exchange (the "Delisting and Relisting");

Authorizing the amendment to Company's articles of incorporation (the "Articles") to change the name of the Company to such name as determined by the Board in their sole discretion (the "Name Change");

Authorizing the amendment to Articles to consolidate all of the Common Shares on the basis of a consolidation ratio of up to five pre-consolidated Common Shares for one post-consolidated Common Share, with the exact ratio to be determined by the Board in their sole discretion (the "Consolidation"); and

Authorizing the Company to effect a continuance from the Business Corporations Act (Alberta) to the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) and adopt a new general by-law (the "Continuance").

The Company would like to remind Shareholders that notwithstanding the approval of the Delisting and Relisting, Name Change, Consolidation and Continuance, the Board may, in its sole discretion, choose to not go ahead, change the timing of and/or abandon any of the foregoing matters without further approval of or action by or prior notice to Shareholders. The Board will update Shareholders with the respect to such matters at the appropriate time.

About Spyder Cannabis Inc.

Spyder is an established cannabis and vape retailer that owns and operates two licensed-dispensaries under the brand SPDR Cannabis in Ontario and Alberta and the vape retail brands 180 Smoke and Spyder Vapes. 180 Smoke is a leading omni-channel Canadian vape retailer with 26 locations across Ontario and has a strong e-commerce presence with over 95,000 registered customers. 180 Smoke and Spyder Vapes' retail stores sell vape and nicotine-related products, herbal vaporizers and accessories, and other smoking cessation products. Spyder's vape brands are committed to help adult smokers who seek alternatives to traditional combustible tobacco products.

Cautionary Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance of the Company. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "may", "projected", "estimated" and similar expressions, and negatives thereto, and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, this release contains forward-looking information relating to the Company completing the Delisting and Relisting, Name Change, Consolidation and/or Continuance and the timing thereof. Various assumptions or factors are typically applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking information. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to the parties. The material factors and assumptions include the Company completing the Delisting and Relisting, Name Change, Consolidation and Continuance and receiving all necessary regulatory and stock exchange approvals to complete the foregoing matters. Forward-looking information necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Such risks and factors include, but are not limited to, risk that the Company may not complete one or all the Delisting and Relisting, Name Change, Consolidation and/or Continuance and may not receive all applicable regulatory and stock exchange approvals. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and the parties are not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein.

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information, please contact:

Spyder Cannabis Inc.

Cameron Wickham

Executive Vice Chair and Chief Executive Officer

T: (905) 330-1602

E: corporate@spydercannabis.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/90047
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Consumer financial services company Synchrony Financial (SYF) announced Tuesday it will raise its minimum wage to $20 per hour for all hourly employees in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, effective in August. Synchrony's new hourly minimum wage of $20 will benefit more than 5,000 full- and part-time employees. The company also committed to fund its 2021 bonus program so that full-time hourly employees would be eligible for a $1,000 bonus. This action furthers the company's commitment to a culture of caring and providing its employees with competitive wages and progressive benefits. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Consumer prices in the U.S. saw the biggest monthly increase in thirteen years in the month of June, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Tuesday. The Labor Department said its consumer price index jumped by 0.9 percent in June after climbing by 0.6 percent in May. Economists had expected consumer prices to rise by 0.5 percent. The bigger than expected increase in consumer prices reflected the biggest advance since prices surged up by 1.0 percent in June of 2008. Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices still jumped by 0.9 percent in June following a 0.7 percent increase in May. Core prices were expected to rise by 0.4 percent. The annual rate of consumer price growth accelerated to 5.4 percent in June from 5 percent in May, reaching the highest level since a matching spike in August of 2008. Core consumer prices were up by 4.5 percent year-over-year in June, reflecting an acceleration from the 3.8 percent jump in May. Core prices saw the biggest annual increase since November of 1991. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Experian earned a top score in the 2021 Disability Equality Index (DEI)

Experian North America, a leading information services company, has earned the distinction as a 2021 "Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion" by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and Disability:IN.

Experian North America earned a score of 90 out of a possible 100 on the Disability Equality Index (DEI), which is considered the world's most comprehensive benchmarking tool for the Fortune 1000 and Am Law 200 (the list of the 200 highest grossing law firms in the United States) to measure disability workplace inclusion against competitors.

"I am thrilled Experian is being recognized for our ongoing efforts to improve disability inclusion for employees, in our technology and how we support our clients. We realize there is much more work for us to do, and to be done in the world, and we're committed to continuing our focus on inclusion and belonging for all," said Wil Lewis, Experian North America's chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer.

Globally, people with disabilities represent over one billion people. Disability is a natural part of the human experience, and it crosses lines of age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and religion. As part of Experian's ongoing commitment to disability inclusion, the company has an individual who focuses on ensuring its systems, facilities and processes evolve and ultimately exceed regulatory requirements.

"We are so pleased to partner with 319 companies this year on the Disability Equality Index. Part of corporate commitment to disability inclusion is recognizing your stance and using it as an 'aha moment' to drive the business investments needed to scale change. Inclusion and accessibility cuts across the enterprise, from cultural representation in the workforce, to technology acceleration, to incorporating supply chain diversity. These are tangible opportunities that leading companies can leverage to create sustainable impact for their business and brand," said Disability:IN's President and Chief Executive Officer, Jill Houghton.

Experian has a longstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion for its employees and the communities in which it operates and serves. For the third year in a row, the company earned its recertification as a Great Place to Work and is one of Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For and among the top 10 Fortune's Best Workplaces in Financial Services and Insurance. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation gave Experian North America a perfect score in its Corporate Equality Index for the third year in a row. Experian was also honored as a Comparably Top 50 company for Best Outlook 2021.

About Experian

Experian is the world's leading global information services company. During life's big moments from buying a home or a car to sending a child to college to growing a business by connecting with new customers we empower consumers and our clients to manage their data with confidence. We help individuals to take financial control and access financial services, businesses to make smarter decisions and thrive, lenders to lend more responsibly, and organizations to prevent identity fraud and crime.

We have 17,800 people operating across 44 countries, and every day we're investing in new technologies, talented people and innovation to help all our clients maximize every opportunity. We are listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and are a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Learn more at www.experianplc.com or visit our global content hub at our global news blog for the latest news and insights from the Group.

About the Disability Equality Index

The Disability Equality Index (DEI) is a comprehensive benchmarking tool that helps companies build a roadmap of measurable, tangible actions that they can take to achieve disability inclusion and equality. Each company receives a score, on a scale of zero (0) to 100, with those earning 80 and above recognized as a "Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion."

The DEI is a joint initiative of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the nation's largest disability rights organization, and Disability:IN, the global business disability inclusion network, to collectively advance the inclusion of people with disabilities. The organizations are complementary and bring unique strengths that make the project relevant and credible to corporations and the disability community. The tool was developed by the DEI Advisory Committee, a diverse group of business leaders, policy experts, and disability advocates. Learn more at: www.DisabilityEqualityIndex.org.

About the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)

AAPD is a convener, connector, and catalyst for change, increasing the political and economic power for people with disabilities. As a national cross-disability rights organization AAPD advocates for full civil rights for the 50+ million Americans with disabilities. Learn more at: www.aapd.com.

About Disability:IN

Disability:IN is a global organization driving disability inclusion and equality in business. More than 270 corporations trust Disability:IN to activate and achieve disability inclusion across their enterprise and in the broader corporate mainstream. Through the world's most comprehensive disability inclusion benchmarking; best-in-class conferences and programs; and expert counsel and engagement, Disability:IN works with leading businesses to create long-term business and societal impact. Join us at disabilityin.org/AreYouIN AreYouIN.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210713005711/en/

Contacts:

Victoria Lim, Victoria.Lim@experian.com
Boston, July 13, 2021program through a new relationship with RedZone, provider of an industry-leading wildfire hazard identification solution that enables users to identify not only the wildfire risk for a location, but also understand the detailed drivers behind the risk. Duck Creek users can now access RedZone's API to quickly get site-specific wildfire scores and insights.

"Our core focus is enabling our customers to understand and quantify the potential risk to their assets, to manage the risk, to respond rapidly to incidents, to protect their assets, and mitigate damage claims," said Kwong Yau, RedZone's Director of Risk Products. "Duck Creek's customers need the most accurate information possible to make informed underwriting decisions. With roots in building software for first responders, RedZone is the gold standard for real-time wildfire monitoring and underwriting, and we look forward to working with Duck Creek to help insurers gain a better understanding of wildfire risk across the country."

While RedZone historically has focused on the wildland fire and public safety markets, the company has expanded to support all natural hazards. Its products provide integrated risk-analysis, real-time alerts, and incident management tools that facilitate response planning, improve public relations, mitigate risk and reduce loss. Duck Creek customers now have access to RedZone's capabilities through an Anywhere Enabled Integrationavailable on Duck Creek's Content Exchange. This Anywhere Enabled Integration enables insurers to request an RZRisk wildfire score for a U.S. address or location from within Duck Creek Policy, providing a more efficient workflow and more accurate wildfire risk assessment during the quoting or underwriting process.

"This year has shown us all that the risk of wildfire is increasing at a rapid pace, and that understanding that risk is critical to running a profitable insurance practice," said Elizabeth Del Ferro, Vice President, Partner GTM at Duck Creek Technologies. "RedZone's wildfire underwriting and portfolio management solutions are providing the foundation for carriers, MGAs, and reinsurers to build profitable portfolios in this area, and Duck Creek is thrilled to welcome them into our rapidly-growing partner ecosystem."

About RedZone

RedZone provides smart intelligence on natural disasters. Its wildfire underwriting and portfolio management solutions are providing the foundation for carriers, MGAs and reinsurers to build profitable portfolios throughout the Western US. Learn more at www.redzone.co.

About Duck Creek

Duck Creek Technologies, the company's enterprise Software-as-a-Service solution, insurance carriers are able to navigate uncertainty and capture market opportunities faster than their competitors. Duck Creek's functionally-rich solutions are available on a standalone basis or as a full suite, and all are available via Duck Creek OnDemand. For more information, visit www.duckcreek.com.

Media Contact:

Paul Rechichi

Racepoint Global

617-624-3295

prechichi@racepointglobal.com
Encouraging results include 3.05 METERS AT 20.83 g/t AuEq within 7.62 meters at 9.51 g/t AuEq.

LA JOLLA, CA / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2021 / TONOGOLD RESOURCES, INC. (OTC:TNGL) ('Tonogold' or 'the Company') is pleased to announce the results of recent drilling on the Comstock Lode in the Comstock Mining District near Virginia City, Nevada.

Tonogold aims to prove the existence of a substantial mineable resource of gold and silver in the Comstock Mining District.

Comstock Drilling

Tonogold has received assays from five recently completed holes in the Company's ongoing exploration of the Comstock Lode. Drilling has shifted to testing the mid to shallow levels of the Lode where two holes were completed in the Segregated Belcher target (TC-009 and TC-010) and the remaining three holes tested the Con Imperial-Alpha target (TC-011, TC-012, and TC-013). Highlights of the results include 6.10 meters (m) at 6.77 grams per tonne gold equivalent (g/t AuEq) in TC-009, 1.52 m at 5.60 g/t AuEq in TC-011, 7.62 m at 9.51 g/t AuEq in TC-012 including 3.05 m at 20.83 g/t AuEq, and 1.52 m at 4.02 g/t AuEq in TC-013.

Results of the five holes are summarized in the following table:

Hole No From (m) To (m) Length (m) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) AuEq* 60:1 (g/t) TC-009 213.36 225.55 12.19 3.359 77.7 4.66 including 214.89 220.98 6.10 4.867 113.9 6.77 and 295.66 303.28 7.62 1.754 17.2 2.04 TC-010 274.32 278.89 4.57 1.915 18.9 2.23 TC-011 111.25 118.87 7.62 1.984 31.0 2.50 including 112.78 114.30 1.52 4.560 62.6 5.60 and 129.54 141.73 12.19 1.516 51.8 2.38 including 132.59 135.64 3.05 3.000 89.9 4.50 TC-012 102.11 109.73 7.62 5.959 213.2 9.51 including 102.11 105.16 3.05 13.250 454.5 20.83 and 147.83 156.97 9.14 1.650 18.7 1.96 including 155.45 156.97 1.52 2.840 9.6 3.00 TC-013 22.86 25.91 3.05 1.618 99.8 3.28 including 24.38 25.91 1.52 1.920 126.0 4.02 and 33.53 50.29 16.76 0.822 41.0 1.50 and 59.44 62.48 3.05 1.186 84.0 2.59 including 60.96 62.48 1.52 1.595 141.0 3.95 and 83.82 85.35 1.52 1.965 79.7 3.29 and 102.11 109.73 7.62 2.399 93.6 3.96 including 102.11 105.16 3.05 3.690 171.0 6.54

*AuEq calculated utilizing the following formula: Au g/t + (Ag g/t  60).

True thickness is estimated at approximately 80% to 95% of interval length for TC-009, 65% for TC-010, and 70% to 75% for TC-011, TC-012 and TC-013.

Brian Metzenheim, interim CEO, commented: 'The recent drilling confirms Tonogold's theory that mineralized material assaying between 5 and 50 g/t AuEq remains in place along the Comstock Lode. We look forward to the results of the additional holes completed in the area and are reviewing permitting options for additional drilling.'

Bad ground conditions at the level of the footwall zone in the Segregated Belcher target resulted in little to no sample recovery in both holes that tested this level (TC-009 and TC-010, see Figure 2 below). As a result of the poor sample recovery, the zone has not been adequately tested. The Company is evaluating other techniques to improve sample recovery before committing to additional drilling in the deeper levels of the Comstock Lode.

Results of the drilling are summarized in the following figures.

Figure 1. Plan map showing drill hole locations in red and section traces through the Segregated Belcher and Con Imperial - Alpha targets.

Figure 2. Longitudinal section showing drilling completed to date along the Comstock Lode.

Figure 3. Cross section through the Segregated Belcher target (segment A-A' in Figure 1 above)

Figure 4. Long section in the Con Imperial- Alpha target (segment B-B' in Figure 1 above)

Tonogold has completed an additional three holes in the upper levels of the Comstock Lode, one hole in the southern portion of the Con Imperial target and two holes in the Divide area (at the old Bullion Mine). Assays for these holes are pending.

Drilling with the truck-mounted RC rig was recently discontinued and the rig has been removed from the property. The current phase of exploration anticipates completing an additional nine holes planned on Potosi and Chollar ground, at the northern end of the company's land holdings along the Comstock Lode. These holes will be completed utilizing the track rig following completion of drilling on the Occidental/Brunswick Lode. Looking further ahead, the company is utilizing its unique combination of geological and historical analysis to develop additional exploration targets that will advance its goal of defining a substantial mineable resource of gold and silver in the Comstock Mining District.

Occidental/Brunswick Lode

Due to a persistent shortage of drill rods, Tonogold has been unable to commence the acceleration of its Occidental/Brunswick Lode drill program announced in late April. Recent discussions with the drill company indicate a different track rig will come available during the next several weeks. Current scheduling suggests the rig could begin drilling along the Occidental/Brunswick Lode before the end of July.

Corporate Update

Tonogold would like to announce the resignation of Alan Edwards, Chairman of the Board, effective July 31, 2021. Mr. Edwards has served as Chairman of the Board for Tonogold since April 2020. The Company wishes to thank Mr. Edwards for his support and dedication to the Company.

Tonogold's QA/QC Procedures :

Drill core is logged for geology, photographed, and marked for sampling on breaks averaging 1.52 meters in length. Following logging, the core is sawn in half with one half placed in labeled sample bags and sealed for delivery to the assay lab. RC samples are collected on 1.52-meter intervals in labeled sample bags and generally contain a  split. Representative chips from the intervals are logged for geology. Both core and RC samples are stored at a secure facility prior to transport to the assay lab.

Certified standards, blanks, and duplicate samples are inserted in the sample series at the rate of one each per every 20 samples. Samples are delivered to ALS Minerals' lab in Reno, Nevada where they are dried, crushed, and pulverized. Gold analysis is performed at the Reno facility utilizing a 50-gram fire assay with an AA finish (Au-AA24). Samples containing greater than 10 g/t Au are reanalyzed utilizing fire assay with a gravimetric finish (Au-GRA21). Silver analyses are completed at ALS Minerals' Lab in Vancouver, Canada using a four-acid digestion with an AAS finish (Ag-AA61). Samples containing greater than 100 g/t Ag are reanalyzed utilizing a four-acid digestion with an ICP-AES finish (Ag-OG62). Results for standards, blanks, and duplicates are monitored for precision, accuracy, and contamination upon receipt of assays.

Qualified Persons :

Brian Metzenheim, (MMSA-QP), interim CEO for Tonogold Resources and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has designed and supervised the work completed for Tonogold Resources outlined in this news release. The technical content disclosed in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Metzenheim. Mr. Metzenheim is not independent of Tonogold as he is in the position of interim CEO and holds incentive warrants.

Forward-Looking Statements :

This press release and any related calls or discussions may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 about Tonogold. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements about matters such as: capital raising activities and negotiations; market conditions; future changes in exploration activities, production capacity, and operations; future exploration, production, operating, and overhead costs; production of feasibility studies, technical reports, or other findings related to estimated mineralization; operational and management restructuring activities; capital expenditures (by Tonogold or other parties) and their impact; investments, acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances, business combinations, asset sales; consulting, operational, tax, financial and capital projects, and initiatives; contingencies; environmental compliance and changes in the regulatory environment; offerings, sales, equity dilution, and other actions regarding debt or equity securities; including a redemption of the debenture, and future working capital, costs, revenues, business opportunities, debt levels, cash flows, margins, earnings, and growth. The words 'believe,' 'expect,' 'anticipate,' 'estimate,' 'project,' 'plan,' 'should,' 'intend,' 'may,' 'will,' 'would,' 'potential,' and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of doing so. These statements are based on assumptions and assessments made by Tonogold management in light of their experience and their perception of historical and current trends, current conditions, possible future developments, and other factors they believe to be appropriate. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees, representations, or warranties, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, developments, and business decisions to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Occurrence of such events or circumstances could have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, or the market price of Tonogold's securities. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements by or attributable to Tonogold or persons acting on their behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Tonogold does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement. Neither this press release nor any related calls or discussions constitutes an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any other securities or Tonogold.

Contact Information for Tonogold

Brian Metzenheim

Interim CEO

M: +775 848 9578

bmetzenheim@gmail.com

SOURCE: Tonogold Resources, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/655328/Tonogold-Resources-Inc-Hits-Multiple-Encouraging-Intercepts-on-the-Comstock-Lode
PORT ORANGE, FL / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2021 / FBO Director has recently added QuickBooks Online to its list of accounting systems integrated with aviation point-of-sale software systems. Customers can now transfer data, including item lists, customers, and sales transactions, directly into the popular online accounting system by Intuit. This convenient, easy-to-use system offers general aviation FBOs a long-awaited, modern point-of-sale transaction processing software to run their businesses.

"At FBO Director, we are always listening to our customers and adding new features to benefit their operations," said John Nelson, FBO Director's founder and President. "With more of our customers wanting to work remotely, the need to ensure we could support QuickBooks Online was consistent with our web-based aviation software."

FBO Director is a true web-enabled application and operates on any device, including phones, tablets, and both Apple and Windows computers. FBO Director provides easy invoicing, customer tracking, and fast, reliable processing - all through an easy-to-use interface that users can learn in minutes. In addition, with efficient accounting capabilities and credit card and contract fuel processing, FBOs can check their fuel inventory or enter tickets from anywhere.

Furthermore, FBO Director can support other accounting programs like QuickBooks desktop, Sage, and Great Plains Dynamics, and it provides support for local governments using Tyler Technologies and ADG.

Nelson and his partner Levi Coblentz have brought 25 years of FBO software development to FBO Director. Since its debut in 2017, FBO Director has led the aviation industry in innovations such as fuel automation with Veeder-Root and TCS, QT Pod and Fuel Master connectivity, and on-ramp meter capture through the company's Fuel Meter Cloud application. In addition, FBO Director is the only modern software providing modules for flight schools and maintenance, in addition to the detailed sales capture of fuel sales.

About FBO Director

Since 1998, John Nelson has evangelized paperless FBOs - starting with connections to Contrec USA, then Veeder Root. This resulted in his patent application, Real-Time FBO Management and System, in 2005. Even in the early 2000s, he had built wireless handheld fuel systems on the ramp. This included fuel orders, service orders, capturing fuel meter ticket readings from mechanical and electronic registers, and even swiping fuel-branded credit cards and printing a receipt on the ramp.

These visions continued and started with the first FBO that went live with FBO Director - paperless on the ramp on day one in January 2017. Today, FBO Director uses its own handheld system, Fuel Meter Cloud, and connects to Veeder Root, Liquid Controls and TCS to provide paperless ticket solutions.

To learn more about FBO Director, visit the company's website at www.fbodirector.com.

Connect With Us on Social Media:
Capital raise enables Sofinnova MD Start's pioneering team to further support clinicians in transforming innovative ideas into medical realities

Sofinnova Partners, a leading European life sciences venture capital firm based in Paris, London and Milan, announced today the final close of its medtech acceleration fund, Sofinnova MD Start III, at 63 million ($75 million USD). The fund was oversubscribed and exceeded its original target, with new investors joining existing investors. This capital raise enables Sofinnova MD Start's pioneering team of serial entrepreneurs to further support clinicians in transforming innovative ideas into medical realities through the development of groundbreaking therapeutic medical devices.

The strength of Sofinnova MD Start's unique acceleration model, with its combination of early-stage financing and company building, has been demonstrated through the creation of 10 highly innovative medtech companies and over 25 million deployed to date. Recent investments include two pre-clinical stage companies: Moon Surgical, developing an assistance platform for minimally invasive surgery, and Gradient Denervation Technologies, developing an endovascular device to treat pulmonary hypertension. Last month, a significant milestone was announced with the acquisition of preCARDIA, a company created and accelerated through MD Start II to develop an innovative solution for patients with acute decompensated heart failure.

Antoine Papiernik, Chairman and Managing Partner of Sofinnova Partners, said: "Sofinnova MD Start is a highly differentiated strategy and the only one of its kind in Europe that has demonstrated success in building significant value in the medical technology segment from a very early stage. It is an important part of the Sofinnova Partners' platform of fund strategies, which enables the firm to expand the reach of our investments across the entire life sciences value chain."

Anne Osdoit, Partner in the Sofinnova MD Start Fund, said: "We are grateful for the continued support of our existing and new limited partners their commitment is a recognition of the uniqueness of our active, hands-on approach to company building. The recent flurry of activity of the fund, including the acquisition of preCARDIA and the launch of our call for projects, reinforces the robustness and long-term success of the MD Start strategy."

The Sofinnova MD Start team is comprised of seasoned medtech entrepreneurs and investors with extensive operational experience in high-growth early-stage medical device companies, and a successful track record of catalyzing innovative technology from conception to the clinic. The fund's recently launched call for projects builds on a steady flow of investment opportunities via a privileged access to clinicians, scientists and experts from top hospitals and research centers around the world.

About Sofinnova Partners

Sofinnova Partners is a leading European venture capital firm in life sciences, specializing in healthcare and sustainability. Based in Paris, London and Milan, the firm brings together a team of professionals from all over the world with strong scientific, medical and business expertise. Sofinnova Partners is a hands-on company builder across the entire value chain of life sciences investments, from seed to later-stage. The firm actively partners with ambitious entrepreneurs as a lead or cornerstone investor to develop transformative innovations that have the potential to positively impact our collective future.

Founded in 1972, Sofinnova Partners is a deeply-established venture capital firm in Europe, with 50 years of experience backing over 500 companies and creating market leaders around the globe. Today, Sofinnova Partners has over 2 billion under management. For more information, please visit: www.sofinnovapartners.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210713005724/en/

Contacts:

Media:

Bommy Lee

Head of Communications, Sofinnova Partners

blee@sofinnovapartners.com

+33 (0) 6 47 71 38 11

North America

RooneyPartners LLC

Kate Barrette

kbarrette@rooneypartners.com

+1 212 223 0561

France

StrategiesImage

Anne Rein

anne.rein@strategiesimage.com

+33 (0) 6 03 35 92 05

Italy

Havas PR Milan

Rafaella Casula

rafaella.casula@havaspr.com

+39 (0) 345 3780834
MORRISTOWN (dpa-AFX) - Honeywell International Inc. (HON) and healthcare improvement company Premier Inc. (PINC) announced Tuesday a new commercial relationship dedicated to expanding the domestic production of nitrile exam gloves. This new collaboration is expected to produce at least 750 million domestically made nitrile exam gloves in the first year alone. The financial terms of the collaboration were not disclosed and are not expected to materially impact either Honeywell or Premier. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the supply of exam gloves has been constrained as global demand skyrocketed, exceeding production capacity by nearly 40 percent. Global raw material scarcity, port closures and delays, and increased glove usage as a result of increased hospitalization rates and vaccination efforts have exacerbated ongoing shortages. The collaboration between Premier and Honeywell is expected to expand access to domestically manufactured exam gloves for U.S. hospitals, clinics and other healthcare providers. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 13, 2021) - Seahawk Gold Corp. (CSE: SEAG) (OTCQB: SEHKF) (FSE: 7SR) (the "Company" or "Seahawk") announces that it has retained the services of Toronto-based Oak Hill Financial ("Oak Hill") to assist with investor relations activities.

"This is a particularly exciting time for our Company. We believe that the recent high grade gold intersections reported at our Val d'Or properties makes this the right time to increase our engagement with investors," said Giovanni Gasbarro, CEO of Seahawk Gold. "As we accelerate our exploration plans, Oak Hill will assist in providing investors with greater visibility on our progress."

Oak Hill has been engaged for a one-month renewable period to provide Seahawk with Canadian investor relations advisory activities at a cost of $10,000 plus tax. The Company will also issue 300,000 options to Oak Hill with a price equal to the higher of the closing price of the Company's common shares on the day before or the day of issuance. The agreement may be renewed or extended by the Company and Oak Hill at the end of the one-month term.

Oak Hill and Seahawk are not related parties and operate at arm's length. Aside from the options issued by the Company to Oak Hill, Oak Hill does not have any additional interest in the Company's securities, directly or indirectly, or any right or intent to acquire such an interest.

About Oak Hill Financial Inc.

Oak Hill is a Toronto-based firm which develops strategic platforms for its clients that are utilized to gain exposure and recognition to the capital markets. Oak Hill provides asset management, capital market and investor relations services. Its team has marketed corporate issuers ranging in market cap from $10 million to $1 billion in a variety of different sectors to the Canadian retail brokerage channel, registered family offices and institutional networks. Oak Hill's team has extensive experience across equity capital markets, equity research, portfolio management, institutional equity sales and traditional investor relations - resulting in tailored and highly collaborative solutions. Oak Hill is located at 161 Bay Street, Suite 2460 in Toronto, Ontario.

About Seahawk Gold Corp.

Seahawk Gold Corp. is a publicly traded Canadian resource exploration company trading in Canada (CSE: SEAG), the U.S. (OTCQB: SEHKF) and Germany (FSE: 7SR). Seahawk is the 100% owner of four properties along the Urban-Barry Greenstone Belt in the Abitibi sub province of mining friendly Quebec, Canada.

For more information please contact Seahawk Gold Corp. - seahawkgoldcorp.com

Giovanni Gasbarro

CEO and Director at 1-604-939-1848

Mitchell E. Lavery, P.Geo.

President and Director at 1-613-298-1596

Neither the Canadian Stock Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Stock Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements which include, but are not limited to, comments that involve future events and conditions, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Except for statements of historical facts, comments that address resource potential, upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt and security of mineral property titles, availability of funds, and others are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may vary materially from those statements. General business conditions are factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from forward-looking statements.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/90017
West Palm Beach, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - July 13, 2021) - Rennova Health, Inc. (OTC Pink: RNVA) (OTC Pink: RNVAW), joined Stock Day host Everett Jolly to provide an update on the business and the timing to file the second quarter financial statements.

"Now that the second quarter is over, can you give us an indication of how that looked and if you expect to file your 10-Q on time in mid-August?" asked Jolly to start the interview. "The second quarter, Everett, has been a stabilization of the existing business," said Lagan. "There was quite a lot of activity in the capital markets and we had a significant reduction in our convertible shares," he explained. "With regards to timing for the Q, we've made some changes to our financial team that will help us and currently we are well on schedule with numbers for the 10-Q and we do expect to file on time."

Jolly then asked whether or not the Company expects to continue issuing additional shares moving forward to meet their obligations. "We do have obligations under debt instruments and preferred shares," said Lagan. "But, like I said, there has been a significant reduction and who knows what the second half of the year will bring. I think we are getting to a stage where an end to issuing additional shares is on the horizon."

"You recently put out a press release announcing the completion of the software division separation. Do you remain confident that the division will be successful?" asked Jolly. "We're very confident in the success of that division," said Lagan. "It has plans for a very exciting product on top of its core products that are already fully developed," he shared. "We have worked on this for a long time and the separation is now complete," said Lagan. "We intend to make sure that Rennova shareholders receive shares in that entity and participate in its success."

"Are there any takeaways from the last nine months that you would like to share?" asked Jolly. "Our filings disclose the difficulties that we have coming out of the period of time of the pandemic," said Lagan. "Many have not made it through and we continue to work for the benefit of everyone here, and I still believe very firmly that the longer term outcome of this company will be significant and profitable for all."

To hear Seamus Lagan's entire interview, follow the link to the podcast here: https://audioboom.com/posts/7904163-rennova-health-inc-discusses-the-completion-of-the-separation-of-its-software-division-and-upc

Investors Hangout is a proud sponsor of "Stock Day," and Stock Day Media encourages listeners to visit the company's message board at https://investorshangout.com/

About Rennova Health, Inc.

Rennova owns rural hospitals and a physician's office in Tennessee and a physician's office in Kentucky. For more information, please visit www.rennovahealth.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ from expectations and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as "expect," "estimate," "project," "budget," "forecast," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "may," "will," "could," "should," "believes," "predicts," "potential," "continue," and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results. Additional information concerning these and other risk factors are contained in the Company's most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company does not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in their expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as required by law.

Contacts:

Rennova Health

Sebastien Sainsbury

561-666-9818

ssainsbury@rennovahealth.com

# # #

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/90097
Plymouth, Massachusetts--(Newsfile Corp. - July 13, 2021) - Plymouth Rock Technologies Inc. (CSE: PRT) (OTCQB: PLRTF) (FSE: 4XA) (WKN# A2N8RH) ("Plymouth Rock", "PRT", or the "Company"), a leader in developing detection apparatus and unmanned technologies, is pleased to announce a contract for the sale and delivery of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust ("Durrell") to perform critical environmental operations in Madagascar.

At the beginning of 2019, a team of conservationists from Durrell, alongside researchers from Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) visited Lac Alaotra to trial the use of drone-based thermal infrared cameras as a new way of monitoring the lemurs and identifying any potential poachers. Thermal or infrared imaging is the process of taking digital pictures with a specialized camera, which record infrared or heat radiation as opposed to visible light. In short, the drone would fly over large areas of otherwise inaccessible marshes and detect the lemurs from their body heat, making them much easier to spot and allowing the team to obtain more accurate estimates of their population size. In a single 20-minute flight, the drone was able to cover a greater area of the marsh than a canoe team could cover in two days, hugely increasing the efficiency of the surveys.

The infrared trial had an immediate measurable impact on efficiencies to aid Durrell's work towards rebuilding healthy wetlands for wildlife, and the people that rely on them. The team immediately envisaged how this exciting technology could be adapted for use at other sites and with other species in Madagascar.

Due to the success of this trial, the team received a large research grant from United Kingdom Research Innovation (UKRI) to continue the development of this monitoring system.

https://www.durrell.org/wildlife/news/eyes-sky-using-drones-monitor-lemur-populations/

"This project captivated the entire PRT/Tetra team," stated Carl Cagliarini, Chief Strategy Officer of Plymouth Rock Technologies. "We are honored to have been chosen to supply our UAS technologies to this project and are thrilled to working with Durrell and LJMU / AI Conservation. AI being used to assist in endangered species conservation is a tremendously important technology application. We also look forward to further collaboration with the team at AI Conservation on both their future efforts and other projects that we have identified that can leverage their capabilities," concluded Cagliarini.

Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust is an international charity working to save species from extinction. Headquartered at Jersey Zoo in the Channel Islands, Durrell focuses on the most threatened species in the most threatened places.

Established by author and conservationist, Gerald Durrell, in 1959, Durrell's overall aim is for more diverse, beautiful and resilient natural landscapes in which species can thrive and people can enjoy a deeper connection with nature. Their approach concentrates on the rewilding of animals, the rewilding of ecosystems and the rewilding of people.

www.durrell.org

About LJMU

LJMU an ambitious and forward-thinking institution that challenges convention and believes passionately in the concept of 'One University' - a community working together to achieve common student-centered objectives within a clear strategy. Their vision is to be recognised as a modern civic university delivering solutions to the challenges of the 21st century.

www.ljmu.ac.uk/about-us/faculties/faculty-of-science/school-of-biological-and-environmental-sciences

About Conservation AI

Conservation AI aims to harness machine learning for various conservation projects. At present we focus on detecting and classifying animals, humans, and man-made objects indicative of poaching (e.g. cars, fires). We focus work with images from visual spectrum and thermal infrared cameras that are used on drones or in camera traps. The aim is to provide a user-friendly workflow that can allow for near-real time detection/classification and non-real time detection/classification.

The conservation AI site allows you to upload your media for automatic species detection using our AI models. Using the site you can upload single files or batch upload files to create an online library of classified data all in one place. The conservation AI platform also supports real-time uploads from devices such as camera traps to enable the real-time detection and classification of animal species.

www.conservationai.co.uk

About Plymouth Rock Technologies Inc.

We are on a mission to bring engineering-driven answers to the most critical problems that threaten our safety. We work with government, law enforcement and military to innovate solutions for national security, defense and space systems. The Company is developing the next generation of threat detection solutions and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).

The PRT X1 is a purpose-built multirotor UAS, utilizing Artificial Intelligence, cutting-edge sensors and the latest FLIR dual-camera module as standard, offering thermal capabilities alongside 1080p HD real-time air-to-ground streaming and 4K video recording, with the ability to mount multiple, various sensors, modules and payloads.

Our advanced threat detection methods fuse artificial intelligence with augmented reality interfaces to eliminate human operating error. Plymouth Rock products, both airborne and land-based, will scan for threat items at greater 'stand-off' distances than current existing technologies. Our unique radar imaging and signal processing technology creates new opportunities for remotely operated, non-intrusive screening of crowds in real time.

Plymouth Rock's core technologies include: (1) UAS platforms engineered to conform to H.R.4753 - Drone Origin Security Enhancement Act ("X1") ("XV"); (2) Millimeter Remote Imaging from Airborne Drone ("MIRIAD"); (3) A compact microwave radar system for scanning shoe's ("Shoe Scanner"); (4) A compact modular radar utilized for a variety of applications, from aircraft to weapon detection ("CODA").

www.plyrotech.com

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dana Wheeler

President and CEO

+1-774-404-7685

info@plyrotech.com

Investor Information:

Tasso Baras

+1-778-477-6990

tasso@plyrotech.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding future financial position, business strategy, use of proceeds, corporate vision, proposed acquisitions, partnerships, joint-ventures and strategic alliances and co-operations, budgets, cost and plans and objectives of or involving the Company. Such forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to management. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "predicts", "intends", "targets", "aims", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. A number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause the actual results or performance to materially differ from any future results or performance expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions and dependence upon regulatory approvals. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. The Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/89997
Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - July 13, 2021) - Altiplano Metals Inc. (TSXV: APN) (WKN: A2JNFG) ("Altiplano" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has commenced a significant underground drill program at its Farellon Copper-Gold (Cu-Au) mine located near La Serena, Chile.

The Company's recently purchased diamond drill rig (See News release dated April 4, 2012) has arrived on site in preparation of a 6,000 m underground drilling campaign at Farellon. This program is designed to assist with grade control within the mineralized zones and provide guidance for further underground advancement of the Hugo Decline. Exploration drilling to the southwest will test for continuity of the vein within the concession package beyond the intrusive dyke structure where opportunity exists to expand the underground workings and recover additional copper-gold and iron oxide material.

The drilling stations will be established underground at three positions inside the historical Laura vein system decline located approximately 250 m south of Farellon (Figure 1). This location will provide the opportunity to optimize drilling efficiencies to reach the Farellon vein at greater depth. The work is expected to outline an exploration target of over 60,000 tonnes of copper-gold and iron oxide mineralization. At a rate of 5,000 tonnes per month, this would be sufficient to provide an additional year of extraction. The work will also help with advanced stope design as the Company pushes to increase the height between mining levels to increase efficiency.

CEO Alastair McIntyre comments, "By drill testing the vein at depth, this provides greater confidence on the continuation of the vein structure and assists with mine planning and grade control optimization." McIntyre further comments, "The acquisition of the drill rig provides us with great flexibility to obtain quality geological information at Farellon but also provides us the opportunity to quickly mobilize the unit and drill test Maria Luisa and other projects that we have under review."





Figure 1: Farellon underground development and proposed drill plan

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4303/90015_a22d544714d0f980_001full.jpg

About Altiplano

Altiplano Metals Inc. (TSX: APN) is a Canadian mining company focused on the acquisition and development of near-term cash flowing assets and exploration projects of significant scale. Altiplano's goal is to grow into a mid-tier producer of copper, gold and silver with immediate plans of generating profits from three cash flowing projects in 2021. Management has a substantial record of success in capitalizing on opportunity, overcoming challenges and building shareholder value.

John Williamson, B.Sc., P.Geol., a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this document.

Altiplano is part of the Metals Group of companies, managed by an award-winning team of professionals who stand for technical excellence, painstaking project selection and uncompromising corporate governance, with a proven ability to capitalize on investment opportunities and deliver shareholder returns.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

/s/ "John Williamson"

Chairman

For further information, please contact:

Alastair McIntyre, CEO

alastairm@apnmetals.com

Tel: (416) 434 3799

Jeremy Yaseniuk, Director

jeremyy@apnmetals.com

Tel: (604) 773-1467

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the (TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments that the Company expects are forward-looking statements. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify any historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves and the issuer is not treating the historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. The Farellon mine was previously in production dating back to the 1970's with a reported historical production (to a depth of 70 m) yielding approximately 300,000 tonnes at an average grade of 2.5% copper and 0.5g/t gold. This material was processed locally and sold to ENAMI. Altiplano is relying upon past production records, underground sampling and related activities and current diamond drilling to estimate grade and widths of the mineralization to reactivate production. The decision to commence production on the Farellon deposit is not based on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability and there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with any production decision. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continuity of mineralization, uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary permits, licenses and title and delays due to third party opposition, changes in government policies regarding mining and natural resource exploration and exploitation, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company, investors should review the Company's continuous disclosure filings that are available at www.sedar.com.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/90015
Andersen Global continues its European expansion through a Collaboration Agreement with law firm Hellstrom Advokatbyra in Sweden, reinforcing the organization's commitment to providing integrated, independent services to its clients regionally and globally.

The Stockholm-based firm, founded in 1991 by Managing Partner Mats Hellstrom, operates with 17 Partners and more than 40 professionals, assisting local and international clients in various industry sectors. Specializing in Swedish and international business law, the full-service firm provides legal services in corporate, commercial, financial markets law, employment, M&A, litigation, dispute resolution, real estate and construction, public procurement and data protection.

"Our ability to see the big picture and treat each client interaction with transparency allows us to identify quality services for our clients," Mats said. "The collaboration with Andersen Global reinforces our vision of serving as a benchmark organization in our market as we work with the organization's member and collaborating firms to seamlessly deliver independent, integrated services worldwide."

"Hellstrom Advokatbyra's strong team culture and commitment to stewardship have led them to be one of Sweden's most reputable business law firms," said Andersen Global Chairman and Andersen CEO Mark Vorsatz. "Their legal capabilities complement our existing tax capabilities in the country through collaborating firm Unum Tax and provide broad coverage in this important market. I am confident that our synergy will bring substantial results to our clients in Sweden and abroad."

Andersen Global is an international association of legally separate, independent member firms comprised of tax and legal professionals around the world. Established in 2013 by U.S. member firm Andersen Tax LLC, Andersen Global now has more than 7,000 professionals worldwide and a presence in over 279 locations through its member firms and collaborating firms.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210713005356/en/

Contacts:

Megan Tsuei

Andersen Global

415-764-2700
WASHINGTON, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Keller Williams Capital Properties (KWCP), one of America's most celebrated real estate organizations, announced today that Brandon Green, who co-founded the brokerage in 2006, has stepped down as Principal Broker. Over the last 15 years, with Green at the helm, KWCP has been recognized as one of the Fastest Growing Companies in America, and been named "Best Employer" by the Washington Post. With sales now exceeding $2 billion annually, KWCP has ranked among the top 0.2% of brokerages nationwide. While Green will remain a part of the Keller Williams advisory team, he plans to focus on his new company, Brandon Green Chapter2Ventures.

Chapter2Ventures (C2V) is a modern-day education and investment platform helping entrepreneurs develop and lead better lives. C2V encompasses 3 verticals: a financial education product line, an impact-focused investment portfolio, and curated experiences designed to help entrepreneurs grow. C2V also has a non-profit organization, The Alchemy Foundation, focused on financial literacy and early-stage entrepreneurism.

Green believes that new inspired leadership will allow KWCP to sustain and build upon the success the brokerage has demonstrated since 2006, while strengthening its growth trajectory. "Many entrepreneurs are struggling in the hustle of the day-to-day, dedicating everything they have to their business only to find they are missing the joy they once felt from their work. Making matters worse, many are also falling short in their financial goals. In this new digital age I believe it's time to reinvent what it means to be an entrepreneur and so I made the decision to transition from my role at KWCP so I could focus on helping real estate and other entrepreneurs across the country rediscover their passion and build sustainable wealth. That's the underlying mission at Chapter2Ventures: helping entrepreneurs develop and lead better lives. I'm grateful to our remarkable leadership team at Keller Williams for supporting this transition, and in particular the new Principal Broker, Virginia Gergoff, who I have been mentoring for several years. I know that Virginia and the rest of the team at KWCP will usher in this next chapter of growth with enthusiasm and purpose," Green said.

In celebration of the Chapter2Ventures launch, the company has made its wealth-building assessment tool free to the public. Designed by a team of experts for agents and entrepreneurs alike, this innovative assessment helps professionals evaluate and advance their wealth-building capacity based on current circumstances, skill set, and strengths. Unlike other assessments, this tool provides users with a custom roadmap, complete with personalized results and actionable steps to move forward.

In addition to his role with Chapter2Ventures, Green continues to be a sought after keynote speaker at conferences around the world. As a celebrated thought leader on innovation and corporate culture, Green has brought his message of reinvention to more than 1 million people across the United States, Canada, and Europe.

Press Inquiries: https://brandongreen.com/contact/


NEW BRUNSWICK (dpa-AFX) - Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), AstraZeneca plc (AZN) and the University of Oxford, along with outside scientists, are conducting early-stage research to potentially reduce or eliminate the risk of rare but serious blood clots associated with their Covid-19 vaccines, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing people close to the process.



They are exploring was to modify the Covid-19 Vaccines in response to rare blood clots. Independent scientists in Europe, the U.S. and Canada are in the process and have fast-developing clues into how the clots form.



This is boosting hopes of identifying the cause and possibly re-engineering AstraZeneca's shot by next year. However, it is too early to know whether either shot can be modified, or whether doing so would make commercial sense, these people say.



J&J and AstraZeneca are already working with medical experts, regulators and global health authorities to understand the extremely rare blood-clotting events.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

JOHNSON & JOHNSON-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de
PHOENIX, AZ / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2021 / Hiru Corporation (OTC PINK:HIRU), a Georgia corporation, has tasked its securities counsel with amending its articles of incorporation to lower its authorized Common Stock from 4,995,000,000 shares to 2,000,000,000 shares.

Ms. Kathryn Gavin (President and CEO of the Company), states, 'This amendment to our articles of incorporation, which will lower our authorized common stock from 4,995,000,000 to 2,000,000,000 shares, is part of our efforts to restructure the capitalization of the Company to benefit current shareholders and to become attractive to future company acquisitions. These announced corporate actions will make the Company more attractive to future acquisitions and put in place an anti-dilutive, pro market investor common stock structure.'

Ms. Gavin further stated, 'Once the authorized Common Stock is lowered, the Company has agreed to not effectuate an increase in the amount of stock authorized for a minimum period of three calendar years. Moving forward, the goal of management with the Common Stock cancellation and today's announcement of a lowered authorized common stock, is to let our market shareholders know that we have no intention to dilute the issued and outstanding common stock except with regards to material acquisitions. This change will only leave a small amount of common stock unissued, but more than enough for the Company to make the necessary acquisitions that are now being negotiated. As such, our current shareholders will not suffer any significant dilution of their holdings. As we grow the future business of the Company, we want our public shareholders to understand that we have one goal in mind, to maximize shareholder value.'

Disclaimer Regarding Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements that we make may constitute 'forward-looking statements' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include information concerning future?strategic objectives, business prospects, anticipated savings, financial results (including expenses, earnings, liquidity, cash flow and capital expenditures), industry or market conditions, demand for and pricing of our products, acquisitions and divestitures, anticipated results of litigation and regulatory developments or general economic conditions.? In addition, words such as 'believes,' 'expects,' 'anticipates,' 'intends,' 'plans,' 'estimates,' 'projects,' 'forecasts,' and future or conditional verbs such as 'will,' 'may,' 'could,' 'should,' and 'would,' as well as any other statement that necessarily depends on future events, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees, and they involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. ?Although we make such statements based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable, there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements.? We caution investors not to rely unduly on any forward-looking?statements.

ABOUT US

Hiru Corp. is a Georgia corporation, is a public quoted Pink Sheet issuer under the ticker symbol 'HIRU' (the 'Company'). The Company reports as an alternative reporting issuer with OTC Markets Group, Inc. and is current in its mandatory required filings (e.g., Pink Sheet Current). Currently, the Company has one wholly owned, operational subsidiary, AZ Custom Bottled Water, Inc., a Nevada corporation ('AZ Water'), which owns and operates a commercial water bottling and labeling facility based in Phoenix, Arizona. AZ Water operates a B2C website at https://azcustombottledwater.com/.

CONTACT:

3331 North 35th Avenue

Phoenix, Arizona 95107

Website: www.waterandiceshop.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hirucorp

Phone: 928-408-4486

Email: info@waterandiceshop.com

Contact: Kathryn Gavin, CEO

SOURCE: Hiru Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/655281/HIRU-CORPORATION--Lowering-of-Authorized-Common-Stock
Onbe's momentum builds as payments veteran Bala Janakiraman joins industry-leading team

Onbe, the preferred payments partner for the world's leading brands, today announced the appointment of Bala Janakiraman as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective immediately.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210713005324/en/

Bala Janakiraman, Chief Executive Officer at Onbe (Photo: Business Wire)

Bala brings more than two decades of leadership experience in the integrated payments and e-commerce industries, most recently at Fiserv, as EVP Head, Partner Solutions where Janakiraman was responsible for developing and executing the company's ISV, Agent and ISO partner channel strategy. As CEO of BluePay from 2016 to 2018, he drove growth by implementing a software-driven payments strategy across a variety of fast-growing distribution channels, and led BluePay's subsequent acquisition by First Data, now Fiserv.

Previously, Janakiraman held senior roles at Vantiv, now WorldPay by FIS, and Litle Co., where he launched innovative e-commerce solutions for enterprise clients. In addition to his extensive background in payments, Janakiraman's experience spans industries including banking, telecommunications, and information technology.

With Janakiraman's appointment as CEO, Juli Spottiswood will remain Chairman of the Onbe Board of Directors.

"Onbe has an excellent market position, a marquee client base, a team dedicated to client success and a growing portfolio of products, making it a stand-out player in the corporate disbursements space," said Bala Janakiraman, CEO at Onbe. "I'm incredibly excited to lead this team as CEO, joining an organization that is well-positioned to meet the growing demand for digital payments and to continue shaping the future of corporate payouts."

"When we launched the Onbe brand earlier this year, I shared how Onbe is positioned to elevate its industry leadership and capture the significant global opportunity in corporate disbursements for workforces and consumers," said Juli Spottiswood, Chairman at Onbe. "Bala's appointment as CEO is a key milestone on that path, and I can't wait to see how the company continues to grow, evolve, and push the boundaries of payment innovation under his leadership."

Onbe, a fast-growing fintech with 25 years of industry leadership, received a majority equity investment from funds advised by Centerbridge Partners in December 2020. The company also counts Bain Capital Ventures, Silversmith Capital Partners, MissionOG, and Nyca Partners among its investors. Onbe transforms corporate payments into branded, engaging experiences, seamlessly connecting clients and partners with their recipients across the globe. Onbe's payments can be provisioned to digital wallets for online, in-store, and in-app purchases, meeting customers wherever they choose to shop and pay.

"Bala has an impressive track record as an agent of change, having led payment companies through critical phases of growth and numerous successful transactions," said Dan Osnoss, Senior Managing Director at Centerbridge Partners. "His proven leadership, deep expertise in the payments world, and passion for client-driven innovation make him the perfect fit to lead Onbe into its next chapter."

About Onbe

Onbe, with offices in Chicago, Philadelphia and London, creates engaging payment experiences on behalf of modern brands for consumers, workforces and marketplaces, delivering value beyond currency. Backed by top-tier investors and with over 25 years of industry experience, Onbe's team of experts and purpose-built payment issuing platform seamlessly connect brands to their constituents around the world. To learn more about Onbe, visit www.onbe.com or follow on LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210713005324/en/

Contacts:

Christina Davies

cdavies@ideagrove.com
Philadelphia-based Canary Compliance provides tank monitoring software to the retail fuel industry

FRANKLIN, Tenn., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Titan Cloud Software is pleased to announce that it has acquired Canary Compliance. The move is the latest in a series of growth milestones for Titan Cloud and will enable the company to expand its environmental compliance solutions for SMBs in the retail fuel industry.

"We are excited to welcome the Canary team to Titan Cloud," says David Freese, CEO and Chief Product Officer for Titan Cloud. "They have a great product-market fit for operators with 1 to 5 sites, with an easy-to-use web app and managed connectivity solution. Given Titan's success with the industry's largest operators, adding Canary allows us to serve every owner/operator in the industry with best-in-class technology."

Canary is currently led by founder and CEO Jon Kelly, who started the company in 2016 after several years at ExxonMobil. Following the acquisition, Kelly will be Senior Vice President at Titan Cloud driving growth into the SMB segment.

"We are thrilled to partner with Titan and M33 Growth," said Kelly. "Their resources and go-to-market expertise will help us fulfill and even expand Canary's mission, which is to help underground storage tank (UST) owners and operators achieve and maintain compliance in the most reliable and cost-effective way possible. It also helps us expand access to connectivity hardware and intelligent software products for a historically underserved market segment."

"We are extremely excited to join forces with Canary. As we continue to accelerate our go-to-market momentum, Canary gives us significant reach across the retail SMB segment that we did not have before," said John Donnelly III, Chief Revenue Officer for Titan Cloud.

Donnelly continued: "Our investors at M33 Growth have been great partners as we have continued our M&A strategy in 2021. This is our 3rd acquisition, and they continue to support our organic growth as we scale the business."

Titan and Canary products monitor fuel throughput at over 65,000 sites worldwide and serve the world's top convenience store groups including Circle K, bp, EG, 7-Eleven, Cross America Partners, and Houchens Industries. By combining their software offerings, which include solutions for environmental compliance, SIR, and advanced wetstock management, the company plans for significant global customer expansion.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

About Titan Cloud Software

Titan Cloud Software provides industry-leading solutions for environmental compliance, advanced fuel analytics, wetstock management, and facility maintenance, so that customers can effectively manage risk and run efficient, profitable businesses. Titan Cloud's software currently monitors 50% of all U.S. consumer gasoline throughput and covers more than 65,000 facilities. The company was launched in 2012 and is headquartered near Nashville, Tennessee with offices in Chicago and Melbourne. Learn more at www.titancloud.com.

About Canary Compliance

Canary Compliance provides underground storage tank owners and operators with smart, simple remote tank monitoring solutions at an affordable price. The company was launched in 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Learn more at www.cancomply.io.

About M33 Growth

M33 Growth is a venture and growth stage investment firm that seeks to partner with founders and CEOs who have successfully bootstrapped their companies to strong growth and are positioned to rapidly scale their companies and break through as market leaders. Founded by veterans of renowned investment firms with considerable operational experience, the Boston-based firm seeks to invest in companies in the software, healthcare, and services sectors throughout North America. Learn more at www.m33growth.com.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1435006/Titan_Cloud_Software_Logo.jpg
CHICAGO, IL / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2021 / BLGI, Inc. (OTC PINK:BLGI) ('BLGI' or the 'Company') announced today the release of its new asset management trading platform.

KiMarketWatch.com (the 'Platform') has been designed and built by BLGI's technical team led by CEO Lawrence P. Cummins utilizing next-generation Decentralized Network Architecture.

"Ki MarketWatch will offer unique capabilities at significantly lower costs of entry and execution for our clients than existing competitor platforms available to the asset management industry. We look forward to seeing our partners and clients enjoy the benefits of many new capabilities within our latest release' said Lawrence P. Cummins.

KiMarketWatch is the first platform to offer multiple cryptocurrency management and trading within a full multi-asset securities trading platform globally on 127 market exchanges and 47 crypto exchanges. With real-time market data on all company stocks, Forex, Futures, CFD's, EFT's, Indices, and cryptocurrency markets, the platform provides unparalleled functionalities. With full rollout over the next 6 months, these will include social media integration, cryptocurrency futures, advanced charting, and machine learning tools. The new platform will be released from BETA to open market access via its network connection to circa 30m users. We expect use of our platform to grow quickly as users discover its efficiency speed and capabilities.

The launch marks one year since the re-birth of the Company as BLGI: A data science innovator building technology for the Internet of Economies and providing Machine Learning and blockchain solutions for Fin-tech, Healthcare, and other market sectors. 'We are proud to have spent the last 12 months developing a suite of decentralized finance (DeFi) tools and platforms for launch to financial institutions worldwide based on our new proprietary 'Ki' architecture,' said Lawrence P. Cummins.

In excess of $50bn has migrated to DeFi platforms in just the last two years (source defipulse.com ). This development, plus the solutions that blockchain systems can offer to security and compliance matters are opening up a huge market away from the early adopter retail sector.

Decentralized distributed networks that integrate into blockchain are forging a path to becoming an industry standard as the world awakens to the vulnerability of centralized platforms with tech-crime and system outages rising. Traditional fin-tech platforms are becoming progressively slower as they are encumbered with ever more layers of systems connectivity. New opportunities are arising for financial institutions to adopt next-generation platforms and offer lower cost, faster, secure asset management services with accessibility to the widest range of markets including all cryptocurrencies. The next level of data science will also be applied to DeFi platforms which will create even more market efficiency.

Fin-tech sector clients are already demanding new solutions and BLGI's data science tools are ready to meet compliance, confidentiality, and security requirements as well as providing combined DeFi trading and information platforms with unique features. Experienced asset traders are looking for the best transaction speeds, easy conversion of FIAT to Cryptocurrencies, lower fees, integrated social media, and data sources . These are all key drivers of DeFi and BLGI has the solutions for the large scale institutions. Industries around the world are becoming ever more aware of the risks and costs of keeping data secure, we can see a vast market for platforms and services developing in the near future.

Ki Decentralized Network Architecture - Unlike its centralized counterparts, a decentralized platform doesn't require all information to go through a single point. Without requiring one party to be responsible for all the data and information, the platform operates on a peer-to-peer basis. Utilizing this method, consumers' personal information is not shared with third parties, and third parties have no access to the user's data. It is protected and not shared and therefore offers privacy and control over the assets by taking power away from market makers and leaders ie. the banks, lawyers, and brokers. The Platform also operates with the utilization of a smart contract. When a transaction initiates on the Platform, a DEX (decentralized exchange), the transaction data is processed on different hard drives must be verified to achieve a secure result.

BLGI has white-labeled versions of its platforms and is in negotiation with several asset management companies. Further announcements will be forthcoming once BLGI clients announce respectively to their customers and markets.

About BLGI Inc.

At the core of any data science company is the need to optimize a client's assets, whether the asset is financial trading data or sensitive health care information, as technology across all asset driven industries is moving toward blockchain and AI infrastructures, many organizations are rushing to adapt to these new technologies. At BLGI, we remove the guesswork from data-driven asset optimization. We deliver high-impact strategies that extend our client's assets' lives, reduce life-cycle costs, and ensure asset availability. Doing so aids our clients embrace these new emerging technologies and empower them to compete in an ever-changing digital landscape.

For additional news and information, please visit BLGI's website at www.blgi.net or by contacting BLGI as follows:

Contact Information:

Lawrence P. Cummins

Tel: +44 (0) 777 037 0114

Lawrence.cummins@blgi.net

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations or forecasts of future events, can be affected by inaccurate assumptions, and are subject to various business risks and known and unknown uncertainties, many of which are beyond management control. Therefore, actual results could differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. These cautionary statements should not be construed as exhaustive or as any admission to the adequacy of BLGI's disclosures. BLGI cannot predict or determine after the fact what factors would cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements or other statements. The reader should consider statements that include the words 'believes,' 'expects,' 'anticipates,' 'intends,' 'estimates,' 'plans,' 'projects,' 'should,' or other expressions that are predictions of or indicate future events or trends, to be uncertain and forward-looking. BLGI does not undertake to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Additional information respecting factors that could materially affect BLGI and its operations are contained in its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended April 30, 2019, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE: BLGI Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/655171/BLGI-Inc-Launches-Ki-Market-Watch-a-Real-Time-Market-Data-Trading-and-Asset-Management-Platform-Built-on-Decentralized-Network-Architecture
Top channel partners honoured for their efforts helping organisations digitally transform with the Nintex Process Platform

LONDON, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nintex, the global standard for process management and automation, today announced 15 winners of the 2021 Nintex Partner Awards across five categories and three regions - Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe Middle East and Africa - for their impact helping Nintex customers in every industry accelerate digital transformation and drive business outcomes with the powerful and easy-to-use capabilities of the Nintex Process Platform.

"We are proud to recognise every 2021 Nintex Partner Award winner for their impact delivering digital solutions that improve the way people work with the Nintex Process Platform," said Nintex Chief Executive Office Eric Johnson. "The commitment, expertise, and support of our award-winning channel partners are helping our customers achieve high-impact business results."

Each Nintex Partner Award winner was selected based on measurable business results during Nintex's fiscal year 2021, ending on 30 June 2021. The Nintex Partner Awards celebrate top channel partners who help public and private sector organisations across every industry and geographic region achieve their digital transformation and process excellence goals by leveraging Nintex's process management and automation software.

2021 Nintex Partner Award winners by category and region are available online at https://www.nintex.com/nintex-partner-awards-2021/ and include:

Business Acceleration - strong expansion of automation subscriptions year-over-year:

Americas: Ricoh USA in the United States

in Asia Pacific : Cumulus International Co., Ltd in Thailand

: Cumulus International Co., Ltd in Europe Middle East and Africa : Taqniyat in Saudi Arabia

Business Excellence - bringing the Nintex Process Platform to new organisations:

Americas: Protiviti, Inc. in the United States

Asia Pacific : rapidMATION in Australia

: rapidMATION in Europe Middle East and Africa : SURE Global Technology in Saudi Arabia

Business Transformation - contributing top customer entries to the 2021 Nintex Solution Innovation Awards:

Americas: Publicis Sapient in the United States

Asia Pacific : System RKK in Singapore

: System RKK in Europe Middle East and Africa : Hub Collab in France

Customer Success - supporting long-term adoption and success of the Nintex Process Platform:

Americas: Boost Strategy Partners in the United States

Asia Pacific : CDS Solution Corp., Ltd. in Thailand

: CDS Solution Corp., Ltd. in Europe Middle East and Africa : Synergi in the United Kingdom

Regional Spotlight - regional market impact and momentum with customers:

Americas: QuantumRhino in the United States

Asia Pacific : LakeTree in New Zealand

: LakeTree in Europe Middle East and Africa : Apendo in Denmark

Learn more about the Nintex Partner Network by visiting, https://partner.nintex.com/.

Media Contact

Kristin Treat

Nintex

kristin.treat@nintex.com

cell: (215) 317-9091

About Nintex

Nintex is the global standard for process management and automation. Today more than 10,000 public and private sector organisations across 90 countries turn to the Nintex Platform to accelerate progress on their digital transformation journeys by quickly and easily managing, automating and optimising business processes. Learn more by visiting www.nintex.com and experience how Nintex and its global partner network are shaping the future of Intelligent Process Automation (IPA).

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1572527/2021_Nintex_Partner_Awards_Winners.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/700078/Nintex_Logo.jpg
RAIPUR, India, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Stratview Research announces the launch of a new research report on Aerospace Bars Market by Platform Type (Commercial Aircraft, Regional Aircraft, General Aviation, Military Aircraft, Helicopter, UAV, and Spacecraft), by Material Type (Titanium & Alloys, Aluminum & Alloys, Steel & Alloys, and Others), by Shape Type (Round Bars, Flat Bars, Square Bars, and Others), by Sales Channel Type (Direct Sales and Distributor Sales), and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World), Trend, Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2021-2026.

This strategic assessment report, from Stratview Research, provides a comprehensive analysis that reflects today's aerospace bars market realities and future market possibilities for the forecast period of 2021 to 2026. After a continuous interest in our aerospace raw materials market report from the industry stakeholders, we have tried to further accentuate our research scope to the aerospace bars market to provide the most crystal-clear picture of the market. The report segments and analyzes the market in the most detailed manner to provide a panoramic view of the market. The vital data/information provided in the report can play a crucial role for the market participants as well as investors in the identification of the low-hanging fruits available in the market as well as to formulate growth strategies.

Aerospace Bars Market: Highlights

Materials in the aerospace industry are used in various milled forms, such as sheet, plate, bar, and strip, for a wide range of applications. Bars are majorly used in applications such as engines, fasteners, exhaust ducts (for helicopters), and landing gear. They come in various shapes, sizes, and diameters, best fitting the application at hand. The selection of material depends on several parameters including temperature resistance, lightweight, durability, strength, etc. Titanium & alloys, aluminum & alloys, and steel & alloys are the three major materials used by the bar manufacturers.

Till 2019, the aerospace industry was at its peak with unending demand and insatiable orders. But the industry was hit with the B737 MAX grounding in 2019 disrupting its value chain. The industry stakeholders expected to head towards their old ways of smooth business soon; however, in 2020, the pandemic hit the industry hard, causing unimaginable losses. For the last couple of years, the industry seemed to be revolving around a vicious circle of obstacles and downhill trajectories leading to massive supply chain disruption, production halts, and deferring orders. The aerospace bars market followed suit and logged a massive decline of 27% in 2020, creating a lag of 4 to 5 years in the market (unlike our pre-COVID estimates that suggested a healthy growth in the market, aligning with the market's movement at the time).

Despite the current situation continues to challenge the overall market environment, the long-term outlook still seems fruitful, well backed by the industry's buoyant nature and strong fundamentals. The lift of Boeing's B737 MAX in October 2020, gradual opening of travel restrictions, rebounding aircraft deliveries, and Airbus' reports of the first quarter suggest that the crisis is not yet over but gradually healing. Boeing reported lower losses in its first quarter of 2021 amid signs of a recovery in commercial aerospace and the company's defense business posted strong results. 2021 seems like a key inflection point for the industry as vaccine distribution is continuously accelerating, enabling a robust recovery. The above factors are signaling towards the aerospace bars market's take off to a healthy recovery at a CAGR of 7.5% to reach US$ 2.1 Billion in 2026.

Click Here to Run Through the Detailed TOC of the Report: https://www.stratviewresearch.com/toc/1818/aerospace-bars-market.html

Based on the platform type, commercial aircraft is expected to remain the largest and the fastest-growing segment of the market during the forecast period. Increasing demand for lightweight yet durable parts; market entry of new players, such as COMAC and Irkut; rebounding aircraft deliveries, and ungrounding of B737Max are some of the key factors propelling the demand for bars in the commercial aircraft segment.

Based on the material type, titanium & alloys are expected to remain the most dominant material type in the market during the forecast period. The density of titanium is 40% lesser than that of steel- or nickel-based alloys, yielding a remarkable weight advantage for aerospace structures. It is a desirable material for high-performance metal bars owing to their tensile strength (better than that of austenitic or ferritic stainless steels), stiffness, and toughness along with high melting point. Owing to their massive array of advantages, titanium and nickel are gaining traction in the aerospace industry.

In terms of regions, North America is expected to remain the largest market for aerospace bars during the forecast period. The USA is the growth engine of the region's market with the presence of major aircraft OEMs, tier players, raw material suppliers, and part fabricators. Most of the bar suppliers have their presence in the region to address the emergent needs of OEMs and be the partner for their upcoming aircraft programs or upcoming fuel-efficient variants of existing aircraft programs.

Asia-Pacific is likely to recoup at the fastest rate, witnessing the highest growth during the same period. The highest growth of Asia-Pacific is mainly attributable to the increasing aircraft fleet to support rising passenger traffic, opening of assembly plants of Boeing and Airbus for multiple aircraft programs, increasing procurement of military aircraft, owing to rising defense budget, and upcoming indigenous aircraft, C919.

Register Here for a Free Sample of the Report: https://www.stratviewresearch.com/Request-Sample/1818/aerospace-bars-market.htmlform

The market for aerospace bars is gradually consolidating as the major companies are performing mergers & acquisitions to quickly gain the leading position and to tap the growing opportunities in this briskly expanding market. For instance, Alcoa and VSMPO-AVISMA formed Joint Venture in 2013 to meet the growing demand for high-end titanium and aluminum products for aircraft manufacturers worldwide. The supply chain of this market comprises several nodes including raw material suppliers, bar manufacturers, component/part manufacturers, tier players, distributors, aircraft and engine OEMs, airlines, aircraft leasing companies, and MRO companies. Key players in the aerospace bars market are Allegheny Technologies Incorporated, Arconic Inc., Carpenter Technology Corporation, Constellium SE, Haynes International Inc., Kaiser Aluminum Corporation, Sandvik AB, Titanium Metals Corporation (PCC), Voestalpine Bohler Welding, and VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation.

Report Features

This report provides market intelligence in the most comprehensive way. The report structure has been kept such that it offers maximum business value. It provides critical insights on the market dynamics and will enable strategic decision making for the existing market players as well as those willing to enter the market. The following are the key features of the report:

Market structure: Overview, industry life cycle analysis, supply chain analysis.

Market environment analysis: Growth drivers and constraints, Porter's five forces analysis, SWOT analysis.

Market trend and forecast analysis.

Market segment trend and forecast.

Competitive landscape and dynamics: Market share, product portfolio, product launches, etc.

Attractive market segments and associated growth opportunities.

Emerging trends.

Strategic growth opportunities for the existing and new players.

Key success factors.

This report studies the aerospace bars market and has segmented the market in five ways, keeping in mind the interest of all the stakeholders across the value chain. Following are the five ways in which the market is segmented:

Aerospace Bars Market Size, Share & Forecast, by Platform Type

Commercial Aircraft (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Regional Aircraft (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

General Aviation (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Military Aircraft (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Helicopter (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Spacecraft (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

UAV (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Aerospace Bars Market Size, Share & Forecast, by Material Type

Titanium & Alloys (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Aluminum & Alloys (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Steel & Alloys (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Others (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Aerospace Bars Market Size, Share & Forecast, by Shape Type

Round Bars (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Flat Bars (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Square Bars (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Others (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Aerospace Bars Market Size, Share & Forecast, by Sales Channel Type

Direct Sales (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Distributor Sales (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Aerospace Bars Market Size, Share & Forecast, by Region

North America (Country Analysis: The USA , Canada , and Mexico )

Europe (Country Analysis: Germany , France , the UK, Russia , and Rest of Europe )

Asia-Pacific (Country Analysis: Japan , China , India , and Rest of Asia-Pacific )

Rest of the World (Country Analysis: Brazil , Saudi Arabia , and Others)

Stratview Research has several high value market reports in the aerospace and defense industry. Please refer to the following link to browse through our reports:

https://www.stratviewresearch.com/market-reports/Aerospace-Defense.html

About Stratview Research

Stratview Research is a global market intelligence firm providing wide range of services including syndicated market reports, custom research and sourcing intelligence across industries, such as Advanced Materials, Aerospace & Defense, Automotive & Mass Transportation, Consumer Goods, Construction & Equipment, Electronics and Semiconductors, Energy & Utility, Healthcare & Life Sciences, and Oil & Gas.

We have a strong team of industry veterans and analysts with an extensive experience in executing custom research projects for mid-sized to Fortune 500 companies, in the areas of Market Assessment, Opportunity Screening, Competitive Intelligence, Due Diligence, Target Screening, Market Entry Strategy, Go to Market Strategy, and Voice of Customer studies.

Stratview Research is a trusted brand globally, providing high quality research and strategic insights that help companies worldwide in effective decision making.

For enquiries,

Contact:

Stratview Research

E-mail: sales@stratviewresearch.com

Direct: +1-313-307-4176

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660595/Stratview_Research_Logo.jpg
OCIANA Consortium to lead Port Innovation, Efficiency and Environmental Protection

HALIFAX, NS, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Spatial Technology Solutions ("GSTS" or "the Company") an Artificial Intelligence and Maritime Analytics company announced today that the Ports of Halifax and New York & New Jersey as well as the Laurentian Pilotage Authority have joined the OCIANA Consortium, expanding the consortium to eight members. The consortium was established under the Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) program. The objectives of SDTC are to support the development and demonstration of new environmental technologies that address climate change, clean air, clean water, and clean soil.

OCIANA is an artificial intelligence (AI) based system developed by GSTS that rapidly processes satellite data with other data sets harvested from ocean, weather, and port activity to provide dynamic decision-making information in near real-time. The capabilities include improved port and vessel efficiency, emission reduction, enhanced environmental protection and endangered marine species protection. OCIANA directly supports the objectives of Canada's Ocean Protection Plan and Climate Initiatives while extending the same benefits to the global maritime community.

OCIANA is a modular platform that is configured to the specific operational, geographic, and regulatory conditions of each port, providing unparalleled performance in accuracy and optimization. The system continuously trains over time enabling it to adjust to changes in conditions such as alterations in trade flow, environmental or climate events and resource availability.

Quotes:

GSTS

"The engagement with the new Consortium members will enable GSTS to demonstrate the flexibility of OCIANA to adjust and adapt to the operational and geographic conditions of any port in the world. GSTS is proud to be working with ports committed to innovation, efficiency and environmental sustainability as well as supporting global ocean protection and climate change initiatives."

Richard Kolacz, CEO of GSTS

SDTC

"Canadian climate tech entrepreneurs are developing innovative solutions we need to reach our 2050 net zero targets. GSTS' AI technology has the potential to significantly reduce global CO2 emissions to help achieve the ambitious net zero targets. We are proud to invest in trailblazers like GSTS who are jumpstarting the green economy."

"The addition of the Ports of Halifax and New York and New Jersey along with the Laurentian Pilotage Authority will enable GSTS to demonstrate the highly adaptive and dynamic features of OCIANA to support environmental sustainability and address climate change issues on a global scale."

Leah Lawrence, President and CEO, Sustainable Development Technology Canada

Laurentian Pilotage Authority

"The Laurentian Pilotage Authority is pleased to join GSTS and the OCIANATM Consortium and thus contribute to the protection of the environment on the waters under its jurisdiction. This initiative is directly in line with the Authority's mission to provide a safe, effective and efficient pilotage service and contribute to protecting human health, property and the environment, by innovating and using state-of-the-art technology on the St. Lawrence and Saguenay River."

Fulvio Fracassi, Chief Executive Officer

Port of Halifax

"Supply chain resilience and sustainability are critical, and ports are key players in ensuring these. By working with GSTS and the OCIANA platform, we are able to better understand risk in the maritime context, and through their simulation tools, we will be able to recover quickly after disruptions."

Andrew Black, Executive Director, "The PIER" at the Seaport

Port of New York and New Jersey

"The Port of New York and New Jersey looks forward to working with GSTS and the OCIANA consortium to examine how artificial intelligence and data can help improve operations, support our sustainability goals, and become better neighbors with the communities surrounding our six marine terminals in New York and New Jersey. We are proud of our critical role supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs and ensuring the flow of commerce throughout the U.S. Northeast and bistate region and are always looking for new opportunities and innovative ways to do that more quickly, more efficiently and with a smaller carbon footprint."

Sam Ruda, Director of the Port Department at The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

About GSTS

GSTS is a leader in Artificial Intelligence solutions for the maritime domain. Our solutions are designed to save lives, energy, and the environment on a global scale through the use of innovative applications based on emerging data sets and analytics. Our solutions enable enhanced decision-based operations for civil, commercial and security agencies and industries. For more information, visit www.gsts.ca.

About Sustainable Development Technology Canada

Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) helps Canadian companies develop and deploy competitive, clean technology solutions, to help solve some of the world's most pressing environmental challenges: climate change, clean air, clean water and clean soil. By taking a cross-Canada approach, from seed to scale, and in partnership with the best peers and experts, SDTC is the global benchmark for sustainable development innovation programming. Learn more at www.sdtc.ca

About the LPA

The Laurentian Pilotage Authority, a federal Crown corporation created in 1972, is responsible for establishing, managing, and providing safe and efficient marine pilotage services as well as related services in the Laurentian region waters, notably in the St. Lawrence River and the Saguenay River. The LPA provides services for three pilotage districts that cover a distance of 265 nautical miles between Montreal and Les Escoumins and another 70 nautical miles on the Saguenay River.

About Port of Halifax

The Port of Halifax is Canada's Ultra Atlantic Gateway, connecting to more than 150 countries. In 2020, the total impact of the Port of Halifax on the Province of Nova Scotia was over $3.6 billion in economic output with the direct portion being $2.3 billion. This level of activity generated over 18,775 jobs. Offering a natural, deep harbour and big ship infrastructure, Halifax can accommodate large volumes of containerized cargo, breakbulk cargo and project cargo of any size. Collaborating and working with strong partners and stakeholders, the Port community in Halifax continues to deliver excellence.

About Port of New York and New Jersey

The Port of New York and New Jersey is the gateway to one of the most concentrated consumer markets in North America as the third-largest port in the United States and the largest on the U.S. East Coast. The seaport's ability to get goods quickly into the hands of consumers provides a competitive edge as the port is the first East Coast port of call for 72 percent of shipping lines to the area.

Media Contact: Stephen Martins, GSTS, Email: info@gsts.ca
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2021 / Maxtech Ventures Inc. ("Maxtech" or the "Company") (CSE:MVT)(Frankfurt:M1N)(OTC PINK:MTEHF) is pleased to announce assay results from its first diamond drill holes of its Phase One drilling program on the St Anthony gold mine property located in the Kenora-Patricia Mining District, Ontario.

Highlights:

Hole SA21-15 recorded two instances of visible gold during logging of the core. The upper interval of visible gold reported an assay of 45.2 grams per tonne over 0.48 m with a weighted average composite of 11.9 grams per tonne over 8.4, from 121.4 to 132.0 m , included shoulder samples assaying up to 2.29 and 4.09 grams per tonne.

recorded two instances of visible gold during logging of the core. The upper interval of visible gold reported an assay of weighted average composite of , included shoulder samples assaying up to 2.29 and 4.09 grams per tonne. The upper interval corresponded to the gold zone historically referred to Zone #2.

The lower interval of the same hole reported an assay of 41 grams per tonne over 1 m with a weighted average composite of 6.9 grams per tonne over 10 m , from 164 m to 174 m included shoulders assays of up to 7.44 grams per tonne.

, from 164 m to 174 m included shoulders assays of up to 7.44 grams per tonne. Hole SA21-15 was spotted to twin historical drill hole 10-12-SA and the twinned hole was better than expected.

Maxtech is planning a Phase II 10,000 m drill program based on the strong initial results of the current Phase 1 program consisting of 5,000 m.

Update on the program:

Assays are pending for the next five holes, which were planned for resources delineation to increase confidence.

The second and final twinned hole of Phase 1 assays are also pending.

The eighth hole and most recent drill hole, SA21-21, was abandoned, after intersecting visible gold, due to poor ground conditions around historical underground workings. The proposed hole was repositioned and a second attempt is underway to reach target depth.

More than 1,000 drill core samples have been sent to ALS Global Laboratories (ALS Global).

The two main zones at St. Anthony consist of Zone 1 and Zone 2. Zone 1 is broadly defined over a strike length of 350 metres, with a minimum depth of 200 metres and a true width averaging about 8 metres, based on past production. Historical production focused solely on the vein material and not the adjacent mineralized wallrock.

Zone 2 has had no development work and is largely parallel the Zone 1 over a known strike length of 200 metres. Past drilling indicates Zone 2 is potentially a wider zone with several quartz veins within a wider sericite alteration halo about a quartz stockwork of 20-30 metres.

Peter Wilson, CEO, stated: "Maxtech's exploration targets were selected based on a combination of the following parameters: on past production, previous drill assays, alteration mapping and structural interpretation. Maxtech is encouraged with the progress made to date and will continue to update the market in a timely manner as the results from ALS Global become available. "

Drilling contract and analytical protocols:

The drilling contract was awarded to Full Force Diamond Drilling Ltd. of Ontario. Drill core samples will be sent to ALS Global of Thunder Bay for gold (Au-AA23) and multi-element (ME-MS61) analysis plus spectral mineralogy data will be collected from selected samples through the mineralized envelope to assist in vectoring to additional gold bearing structures. Maxtech applies industry-standard quality assurance/quality control procedures to the program. Certified reference materials, blanks and field duplicates are included in all drill core batches sent to the laboratory.

About The St. Anthony Gold Project:

The St. Anthony Gold Mine is located in the Kenora-Patricia Mining District of Ontario and encompasses four historical mining operations including the largest past-producing mine in the area, the St. Anthony. The mine produced 63,310 ounces of gold from 332,720 tons for an average grade of 5.95 grams per tonne (or 0.191 ounces per ton) up until World War II when gold production was halted. (source: a 43-101 compliant technical report on the St. Anthony and Best/King Bay Properties, prepared by Graeme Evans BSc, PGeo, June 16, 2015). The property consists of 233 contiguous claims totaling 4,224 hectares (42.24 sq. km). In addition to the historical underground workings over 20 gold (-silver) occurrences have been documented, some hosting visible gold, many of which have seen little if any exploration work for several decades. Previous workers in the area include Aubet, Can Con and Falconbridge, companies that carried out work focused on the bulk tonnage potential of a mineralized area hosted within a quartz-feldspar porphyry intrusive located within the property. The St. Anthony Gold Project is located 85 km east of the town of Sioux Lookout, or 13 km south of the smaller town of Savant Lake.

Andrew Tims obtained his B.Sc. in Geology from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, and is a Registered Professional Geologist in Ontario and Manitoba and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101. He has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this news release.

The Company also announced that is has issued 500,000 options to a consultant pursuant to its stock option plan, which options have a term of 2 years and an exercise price of $0.10.

About Maxtech Ventures Inc.

Maxtech Ventures Inc., a Canadian-based diversified industries corporation, is focused on identifying and advancing high-value mineral properties.

For additional information see the Company's web site at

http://www.maxtechventures.com

Email to info@maxtechventures.com

Contact: Peter Wilson CEO - 604-484-0355

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Further information about the Company is available on www.SEDAR.com under the Company's profile.

Certain statements contained in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively "forward-looking information") as those terms are used in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and similar Canadian laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated", "anticipates" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, this release contains forward-looking information relating to the business of the Company, the Property, financing and certain corporate changes. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and the Company is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE: Maxtech Ventures Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/655352/First-Drill-Hole-at-St-Anthony-Gold-Mine-Reports-Near-Surface-119-grams-per-tonne-over-84-metres
Regulatory News:

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) will host a live audio webcast on www.pmi.com/2021Q2earnings on Tuesday, July 20, 2021, at 9:00 a.m. ET to discuss its 2021 Second-Quarter results, which will be issued at approximately 7:00 a.m. ET the same day.

During the webcast, Emmanuel Babeau, Chief Financial Officer, will discuss PMI's results and answer questions from the investment community and news media. The webcast will be in a listen-only mode.

Please note that due to U.K. Takeover Code requirements, PMI does not intend to provide further information on this call regarding its offer to acquire Vectura Group plc that has not already been disclosed in the Rule 2.7 announcement on July 9, 2021. A copy of the Rule 2.7 announcement is available on www.pmi.com.

The audio webcast may also be accessed on iOS or Android devices by downloading PMI's free Investor Relations Mobile Application on www.pmi.com/irapp.

An archived copy of the webcast will be available until 5:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, August 18, 2021, on www.pmi.com/2021Q2earnings.

Slides and script will also be available on www.pmi.com/2021Q2earnings.

Philip Morris International: Delivering a Smoke-Free Future

Philip Morris International (PMI) is leading a transformation in the tobacco industry to create a smoke-free future and ultimately replace cigarettes with smoke-free products to the benefit of adults who would otherwise continue to smoke, society, the company and its shareholders. PMI is a leading international tobacco company engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, as well as smoke-free products, associated electronic devices and accessories, and other nicotine-containing products in markets outside the U.S. In addition, PMI ships versions of its IQOS Platform 1 device and consumables to Altria Group, Inc. for sale under license in the U.S., where these products have received marketing authorizations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) pathway; the FDA has also authorized the marketing of a version of IQOS and its consumables as a Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP), finding that an exposure modification order for these products is appropriate to promote the public health. PMI is building a future on a new category of smoke-free products that, while not risk-free, are a much better choice than continuing to smoke. Through multidisciplinary capabilities in product development, state-of-the-art facilities and scientific substantiation, PMI aims to ensure that its smoke-free products meet adult consumer preferences and rigorous regulatory requirements. PMI's smoke-free product portfolio includes heat-not-burn and nicotine-containing vapor products. As of March 31, 2021, PMI's smoke-free products are available for sale in 66 markets in key cities or nationwide, and PMI estimates that approximately 14.0 million adults around the world have already switched to IQOS and stopped smoking. For more information, please visit www.pmi.com and www.pmiscience.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210713005867/en/

Contacts:

Philip Morris International



Investor Relations:

New York: +1 (917) 663 2233

Lausanne: +41 (0)58 242 4666

Email: InvestorRelations@pmi.com

Media:

Lausanne: +41 (0)58 242 4500

Email: Iro.Antoniadou@pmi.com
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 13, 2021) - Straightup Resources Inc. (CSE: ST) ("StraightUp" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an option agreement to acquire the Bear Head Gold Project (the "Property") comprising 31 mining claims totaling 1,944 hectares in the Meen-Dempster Greenstone Belt of the Uchi Subprovince. The property is located 80km west of the Pickle Lake Gold Camp and is contiguous to Ardiden's massive Pickle Lake Gold Project which covers 870 km2. The Meen-Dempster Greenstone Belt is host to the Golden Patricia former gold mine which produced 620,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 15.2 g/t Au from 1988-1997. The Bear Head Gold Project lies 14km northeast of the Golden Patricia Mine (Figure 1).





Figure 1. Regional location and access of the Bear Head Gold Project.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7737/90057_15e9c016e4148a2a_001full.jpg

The Property

The Bear Head Gold Project of the Meen-Dempster Greenstone Belt (MDGB) lies proximal to the Bear Head Deformation Zone (BHDZ). The BHDZ is a 1st order crustal scale regional fault system over 2km wide that extends over 400km from the Pickle Lake Gold Camp, northeast through Ontario and into Manitoba. Numerous 2nd and 3rd order shear zones cut iron formation and mafic volcanics in the MDGB responsible for numerous mineral occurrences in the belt. The Dorothy Main gold deposit owned by Ardiden lies only 1km from the Bear Head Gold Project. The Dorothy Main gold deposit holds non-compliant historical resources of 46,600 ounces of gold at 6.17 g/t Au (https://www.ardiden.com.au/project/dorothy-dobie-deposit/). The Dobie Deposit owned by Ardiden lies only 7m southeast of the Bear Head Gold Project. The Dobie Deposit holds non-compliant historical resources of 53,000 ounces of gold at 5.5 g/t Au (Figure 2).

Historical drilling in 1989 on the Bear Head Gold Project has recorded 11.09 g/t Au over 1.79m, 3.98 g/t Au over 2.3m and 3.08 g/t Au over 2.5m associated with iron formation and silicified mafic volcanics. Gold values were shallow at <30m vertically. The above results have not been followed up on by additional drilling since 1989.





Figure 2. Location of the Bear Head Gold Project contiguous to Ardiden's Pickle Lake Project. Source Ardiden website.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7737/90057_15e9c016e4148a2a_002full.jpg

Acquisition

StraightUp Resources has entered into an option agreement whereas StraightUp can earn 100% in the property by paying $96,000 in cash and issuing 350,000 shares over a three-year period. The vendors retain a 1.5% NSR with an option buyback by StraightUp of 0.5% for $350,000.

Commentary

StraightUp's President and CEO, Mr. Mark Brezer, said, "The option agreement for the Bear Head Gold Project compliments our Ferdinand Gold Project also located in the metal endowed Uchi Subprovince. We are located in the heat of Ardiden's exploration efforts and close to structure and nearby gold deposits. Significant historical gold assays are reported in shallow drilling on the Property with no follow-up. We look forward to adding the Bear Head Gold Project to our exploration efforts."

Mike Kilbourne, P. Geo, an independent qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed, and approved the technical contents of this news release on behalf of the Company. The QP and the Company has not completed sufficient work to verify the historic information on the properties comprising the Bear Head Gold Project, particularly regarding historical exploration, neighbouring companies, and government geological work.

About StraightUp Resources

StraightUp is engaged in the business of mineral exploration and the acquisition of mineral property assets in Canada. Its objective is to locate and develop economic precious and base metal properties of merit. StraightUp intends to conduct exploration on the RLX North, RLX South, Belanger and the Ferdinand Gold Property, located in the Red Lake Mining Division.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Mark Brezer Chief Executive Officer, President and Director

For further information, please contact:

Mark Brezer

Chief Executive Officer, President and Director

(604) 989-6275

Neither the CSE nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release).

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/90057
NEW YORK, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

Global digital services and business transformation agency, Valtech receives significant funding from BC Partners, valuing the company at $1.4 billion

New investment will accelerate Valtech's global growth ambitions, as it continues to support its clients' business transformations

Former reference shareholder Verlinvest and the new Valtech management team, Olivier Padiou (CEO) and Tomas Nores (COO) will reinvest in the company

Valtech, a global leader in digital services and business transformation, today announced it has reached a definitive agreement to receive a new investment by funds advised by BC Partners ("BC Partners"). Former reference shareholder investment group Verlinvest and new Valtech management will also reinvest into the company. The transaction values Valtech at $1.4 billion and is subject to receipt of customary regulatory approvals.

Valtech designs, builds and delivers transformative digital solutions for the world's leading brands. Recognizing that industries and sectors globally are facing significant economic shifts, Valtech helps its clients innovate digitally at pace to address this, meet changing customer needs and ultimately position their companies to gain sustainable competitive advantage. It also helps its clients shape new customer experiences, develop next generation-connected services to better engage with consumers, build "commerce everywhere" capabilities as a marketing strategy and provides data-driven services that aid better the understanding of customer needs. Valtech is the preferred strategic business transformation partner to many of the world's best-known brands including ADM, Audi, Bayer, Goodyear, Dolby, Estee Lauder, Linde, L'Oreal, LVMH, MARS, Novo Nordisk, PepsiCo, P&G, Samsung, Sanofi, SC Johnson, Toyota, Universal Studios and Volkswagen.

Valtech employs more than 4,000 innovators, design thinkers, marketers, creatives and software engineers spanning five continents with 50+ offices in 18 countries. Valtech is growing rapidly, will deliver 30% revenue growth in 2021 and has sustaining strong annual revenue growth of 17% CAGR for the last ten years.

This new partnership will diversify and strengthen Valtech's shareholder base and enable the company to capitalize on the significant market opportunity for digital services and business transformation. The strategic investment from BC Partners will help drive further global expansion and greater investment in new technology, as Valtech broadens its client offering and enters new markets organically and through targeted M&A.

"We have seen a significant increase in demand for our business transformation services in recent years. More than ever, organizations need digital solutions to adapt to changing technology, consumer trends and expectations that are rapidly reshaping their businesses and markets. We have found in BC Partners the ideal partner to support our ambitious growth plans. Their strategic investment will accelerate our journey of becoming the trusted partner to companies and brands that are integrating digital into every aspect of their go-to-market and customer experience strategy. BC Partners' support and commitment to broadening both our capabilities and geographical reach will provide our existing and new customers with more innovative and transformational services, as well as new exciting opportunities for our people to work on state-of-the-art ground-breaking projects for the best brands," said Olivier Padiou, Chief Executive Officer of Valtech.

"Our investment in Valtech is an opportunity to partner with a clear leader operating at the center of a high-growth, global, digital transformation market," said Raymond Svider, Chairman of BC Partners. "This is an industry in which we see huge potential and Valtech is one of the few businesses of scale, which has built a reputation for providing high-quality, innovative services to a long-standing base of blue-chip customers. We're excited about supporting Valtech to continue its track-record of strong growth as it broadens both its capability set and global reach."

Clement Pointillart, Executive Director of Verlinvest added: "The amazing growth Valtech has achieved since our initial investment has been inspiring. Valtech has grown 5-fold during this time and successfully undertaken strategic M&A to become a leading global digital transformation agency. Olivier and the leadership team's commitment to delivering exceptional client value has driven this growth, as well as the unprecedented demand for their services. We feel privileged to have been part this exciting journey and are looking forward to partnering with BC Partners for this next chapter."

The transaction is expected to close in Q3 2021 following customary antitrust clearances.

PWC acted as financial diligence, tax and structuring advisors, Kirkland & Ellis as legal counsel and Zinnov as commercial advisors to BC Partners.

Bank of America acted as financial adviser, Linklaters served as legal counsel and Clifford Chance advised Valtech, Verlinvest and the other Valtech shareholders.

Media Contacts:??

Valtech

Rebekah Lundberg

Rebekah.lundberg@valtech.com

BC Partners

Prosek Partners

Pro-BCPartners@prosek.com

Verlinvest

Prosek Partners

Pro-Verlinvest@prosek.com

About BC Partners

BC Partners is a leading international investment firm with over 33 billion of assets under management in private equity, private credit and real estate strategies. Established in 1986, BC Partners has played an active role in developing the European buyout market for three decades. Today, BC Partners executives operate across markets as an integrated team through the firm's offices in North America and Europe. Since inception, BC Partners has completed 122 private equity investments in companies with a total enterprise value of 160 billion and is currently investing its eleventh private equity fund.

For more information, please visit www.bcpartners.com.

About Valtech

Valtech is a global business transformation agency delivering innovation with a purpose. We enable clients to anticipate tomorrow's trends and connect more directly with consumers across their digital and physical touch points while optimizing time-to-market and ROI.

Valtech is a globally positioned network established in 1993 with more than 4000 innovators, design thinkers, marketers, creatives and developers spanning 5 continents with 50+ offices in 18 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States).

While our expertise is experience design, technology and marketing, our passion is in addressing transformational business challenges for our clients. Challenges where we re-imagine the customer journey and build new connected experiences. Challenges where we make data work in this new era and help our clients transform the way they operate.

Our services include strategy consulting, service design, technology services, and optimization of business-critical digital platforms for multichannel commerce and marketing.

For more information, visit www.valtech.com.

About Verlinvest

Verlinvest is a privately-owned family investment company focused on investing in visionary business leaders to build global, fast-growing consumer businesses and brands, particularly in the food and beverages, digital and healthcare sectors. Established in 1995 with offices in Brussels, London, New York and Singapore, Verlinvest has over $4bn in AuM, through category-defining portfolio companies that include Oatly, Vita Coco, Mutti, Tony's Chocolonely and Hint Water.

For more information: www.verlinvest.com and LinkedIn.






- An increase in the demand for biopharmaceuticals and generic injectable drugs will prove to be good growth generators for the pharmaceutical water market

- North America is expected to reign supreme in terms of regional contribution across the global market for pharmaceutical water

ALBANY, N.Y., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Water is one of the crucial components across the pharmaceutical industry. Different grades of water are used expansively in every function of the pharmaceutical sector. The industry is heavily reliant on different degrees of purified water. The objectives of such functions cannot be achieved by using normal water. Thus, the market forecast for pharmaceutical water between 2020 and 2030 looks fruitful.

Pharmaceutical water is a type of purified water used for various purposes in the pharmaceutical sector. The overwhelming use of pharmaceutical water in medical device manufacturing, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academics, and research laboratories will invite profitable growth during the forecast period of 2020-2030. A rise in infectious diseases among a large number of countries will further bring expansive growth prospects for the pharmaceutical water market.

Request for Analysis of COVID-19 Impact on Pharmaceutical Water Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=79585

Transparency Market Research (TMR) has conducted a thorough market analysis on pharmaceutical water. According to the key trends across the market, the TMR experts predict the pharmaceutical water market to expand at a CAGR of ~10 percent across the assessment period of 2020-2030. In terms of revenue, the global pharmaceutical water market was at US$ 24.3 bn in 2019 and is extrapolated to surpass US$ 71.9 bn by 2030, the end year of the forecast period.

Pharmaceutical water is being used across the biotechnology sector on a massive scale. The rising use of this water type across specialty enzymes, white biotechnology applications, and diagnostics will invite promising growth for the pharmaceutical water market. In addition, new product developments, distribution, and collaborations will prove to be game-changers for the pharmaceutical water market. The market insights on pharmaceutical water also emphasize the role of mergers and acquisitions in building the growth trajectory.

Key Findings of the Report

Technological Advancements to Dominate the Growth Landscape of the Pharmaceutical Water Market

The players in the pharmaceutical water market are concentrating on strengthening the technological aspect to provide good quality to their consumers. The investments across the pharmaceutical water market are gaining considerable traction and hence, this factor will add extra stars of growth. The players are utilizing varied filtration processes for red biotechnology and plasma fractionation. Such developments will have a positive effect on the growth of the pharmaceutical water market.

See how you can be a leader in Pharmaceutical Water Market with our Research Report, Get Brochure at - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=79585

Rapid Increase in the Diabetic Patients to Boost the Pharmaceutical Water Market

The growing prevalence of diabetics among a considerable chunk of the populace will bring immense growth prospects for the pharmaceutical water market. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 422 mn people have diabetes. These alarming statistics raise the concerns about the need for eliminating diabetes. Pharmaceutical water is essential for the production of injectable drugs used in treating diabetic patients. Hence, the rising number of diabetic patients is directly proportional to the growth of the pharmaceutical water market.

Purchase Premium Research Report on Pharmaceutical Water Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=79585<ype=S

Pharmaceutical Water Market: Key Growth Drivers

The government bodies of numerous countries are focusing on developing a good healthcare infrastructure through various initiatives and funding. These factors will have a positive impact on the growth of the pharmaceutical water market.

The heightening awareness about the importance of disease prevention will also bring a tectonic shift in the growth projections of the pharmaceutical water market.

The development of generic formulations at an accelerated pace will bring tremendous growth opportunities for the pharmaceutical water market during the tenure of 2020-2030.

Large unmet treatment needs across the chronic medical condition landscape will prove to be a boon for the growth of the pharmaceutical water market.

Explore Transparency Market Research's award-winning coverage of the global Healthcare Industry:

Metformin Hydrochloride API Market: According to the report, the global metformin hydrochloride API market was valued at ~US$ 300 Mn in 2020 and is projected to expand at a CAGR of ~5% from 2021 to 2031. The rise in prevalence of diabetes is projected to drive the global metformin hydrochloride API market during the forecast period.

Pharmaceutical Intermediates Market: The high investment in R&D capabilities and infrastructure by the industries and governments alike is anticipated to create lucrative opportunities in the global pharmaceutical intermediates market. The rising R&D pipeline of India-based companies presents significant in-licensing opportunities for global companies.

About Us

Transparency Market Research is a next-generation market intelligence provider, offering fact-based solutions to business leaders, consultants, and strategy professionals.

Our reports are single-point solutions for businesses to grow, evolve, and mature. Our real-time data collection methods along with ability to track more than one million high growth niche products are aligned with your aims. The detailed and proprietary statistical models used by our analysts offer insights for making right decision in the shortest span of time. For organizations that require specific but comprehensive information we offer customized solutions through adhoc reports. These requests are delivered with the perfect combination of right sense of fact-oriented problem solving methodologies and leveraging existing data repositories.

TMR believes that unison of solutions for clients-specific problems with right methodology of research is the key to help enterprises reach right decision."

Browse More Upcoming Reports by Transparency Market Research: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/upcoming.htm

Contact

Mr. Rohit Bhisey

Transparency Market Research

State Tower,

90 State Street,

Suite 700,

Albany NY - 12207

United States

USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453

Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com

Press Release Source: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pressrelease/pharmaceutical-water-market.htm

Website: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1085206/Transparency_Market_Research_Logo.jpg
CNES, the Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA), the European Space Resources Innovation Centre (ESRIC) and Air Liquide signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) confirming their commitment to work together on developing research and technology (R&T) activities. In the months ahead, the four partners will be pursuing their discussions on research projects encompassing space exploration and in situ resource utilization (ISRU).

Previous multilateral discussions between the 4 partners confirmed a shared interest in working together in areas such as in situ production and storage of oxygen and hydrogen, production and storage of hydrogen energy in space and on the lunar surface, technologies for life support, and the refueling of satellites and launchers in orbit.

"We believe this new collaboration between France and Luxembourg will be instrumental in developing our center and we're delighted to be working with players like CNES and Air Liquide" said Mathias Link, ad-interim Director of ESRIC.

Based in Luxembourg, ESRIC is unique of its kind and is focusing on the use of Space Resources for human and robotic exploration. It is powered by LSA and the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), with The European Space Agency (ESA) as a strategic partner.

CNES, LSA, ESRIC and Air Liquide are in discussions to form within the 2022 timeframe joint teams to work on concrete research projects aimed at developing key technologies for in situ production and utilization of gases required to make space exploration more viable in the long term.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210713005864/en/

Contacts:

Juliette Pertuy

Luxembourg Space Agency

Tel: +352 247-74157

Mobile: +352 621 985 150

E-mail: juliette.pertuy@space-agency.lu


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday amid expectations crude stockpiles may have dropped last week.



Analysts expect data from Energy Information Administration, due on Wednesday, will likely show a drop of about 4.4 million barrels last week.



Fears over the spread of the highly infectious Delta virus capped oil's uptick.



West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended up by $1.15 or about 1.6% at $75.25 a barrel.



The American Petroleum Institute (API) will release its weekly oil report later today, while the Energy Information Administration (EIA) will release its weekly inventory data Wednesday morning.



In its latest monthly oil market report, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that oil markets will likely remain volatile until there is clarity on OPEC+ production policy.



'Volatility does not help ensure orderly and secure energy transitions - nor is it in the interest of either producers or consumers,' the IEA said.



Consumer prices in the U.S. saw the biggest monthly increase in thirteen years in the month of June, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Tuesday.



The Labor Department said its consumer price index jumped by 0.9% in June after climbing by 0.6% in May. Economists had expected consumer prices to rise by 0.5%.



The annual rate of consumer price growth accelerated to 5.4% in June from 5% in May, reaching the highest level since a matching spike in August of 2008.



Core consumer prices were up by 4.5% percent year-over-year in June, reflecting an acceleration from the 3.8% jump in May. Core prices saw the biggest annual increase since November of 1991.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The websites of Revil, the hackers who were behind the cyberattack on JBS and Kaseya, were down on the dark web on Tuesday.



According to Forbes, attempts to access the blog prompted a message: 'The most likely cause is that the onionsite is offline.'



The Russian global ransomware group, otherwise known as Sodinokibi, had their other servers down too, this removing their traces from the internet. The incident came right after the Biden administrations hinted at tracking the group after they took ownership of the international ransomware outbreak on July 2.



When asked by a reporter, President Biden said on Friday that it would make sense for his administration to attack the servers with malpractices. However, National Security Council did not want to comment on the how and when of the plan.



'We're not going to telegraph what those actions will be precisely. Some of them will be manifest and visible, some of them may not be. But we expect them to take place in the days and weeks ahead,' said the official representing the security watchdog.



After getting attacked by the ransomware, leading meatpacker JBS had to pay $11 million in ransom to get access back to their website. Another major ransomware attack in recent times was the hacking of the Colonial pipeline which lead to a breakdown of the entire service of fuel supply on the East Coast. The company paid $5 million in ransom of which the Law Enforcement recovered $2.3 million in the following weeks.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de


MOUNTAIN VIEW (dpa-AFX) - Competition regulators in France on Tuesday fined Alphabet Inc.'s (GOOG) Google 500 million euros or $593 million for failing to adhere with an order to negotiate fair deals with news publishers for using their content.



According to the Competition Authority, the popular search engine had violated an April 2020 ruling that ordered the company to negotiate 'in good faith' licensing deals with publishers and news agencies for any reuse of copyrighted content.



The fine of $593 million is one of the largest fines imposed by the country's competition watchdog. The regulator asked Google to provide remuneration for using protected content to publishers within two months or be ready to fined up to 900,000 euros per day.



The problem began in January 2021 when Google arrived at a major digital copyright deal with French publishers. According to the deal, the company said it would negotiate individual licenses with France's press alliance members covering related rights and access to a new service called News Showcase.



This did not sit pretty with the competitive authority who were of the opinion that the deal did not include a discussion on remuneration for current uses of content covered by 'neighboring rights' for the press. The regulator said that the search engine limited the scope of talks with the media by avoiding the issue of the use of press images.



In a statement, Google said it was 'very disappointed by Tuesday's decision. We have acted in good faith throughout the entire process. The fine ignores our efforts to reach an agreement, and the reality of how news works on our platforms.'



France was the first country in Europe to follow controversial new EU copyright laws, which were designed to give news organizations enough protections to make sure they get enough compensation for comments and reactions to their online content.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

ALPHABET-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de
TSX and OTCQX: MPVD

TORONTO and NEW YORK, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. ("Mountain Province", the "Company") (TSX: MPVD) (OTCQX: MPVD) today announces production results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021 ("the Quarter" or "Q2 2021") from the Gahcho Kue Diamond Mine ("GK Mine"). All figures are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

Additionally, the Company is providing the details of its Q2 2021 earnings release and conference call. The Company will release Q2 2021 financial results after market-close on Wednesday August 4th, 2021, with the quarterly conference call on Thursday August 5th, 2021 at 11:00am EST.

Q2 Production Takeaways

(all figures reported on a 100% basis unless otherwise stated)

811,171 ore tonnes treated, a 3% increase relative to Q2 2020, and a 30% increase relative to Q1 2021 (Q2 2020: 786,249 tonnes treated; Q1 2021, 625,852 tonnes treated)

1,763,556 carats recovered, 14% higher than Q2 2020, and a 27% increase relative to Q1 2021 (Q2 2020: 1,547,114 carats recovered, Q1 2021: 1,392,128 carats recovered)

3,155,684 carats recovered at the half year, on-track to meet FY21 guidance of 6,300,000 - 6,500,000 carats recovered

Average grade of 2.17 carats per tonne, a 10% increase relative to Q2 2020 (1.97 carats per tonne)

Q2 2021 Production Figures











2021 Q2 2020 Q2 YoY Variance Total tonnes mined (ore and waste) 8,748,981 6,836,110 28% Ore tonnes mined 993,283 527,664 88% Ore tonnes treated 811,171 786,249 3% Carats recovered 1,763,556 1,547,114 14% Carats recovered (49% share) 864,142 758,086 14% Recovered grade (carats per tonne) 2.17 1.97 10%

Mining and processing performance improved relative to the prior quarter, driven primarily by an increase in operating days (first quarter 2021 featured a previously disclosed unplanned 22-day operational stand-down in February). Additionally, ongoing recruitment drives for relief operators, improving weather conditions, as well as targeted equipment availability improvements have led to an improvement in mining rates.

Q2 Sales Performance and Market Outlook

As previously disclosed, during the quarter 718,549 carats were sold for total proceeds of $64.7 million (US$52.6 million), resulting in an average value of $90 per carat (US$73 per carat). This Q2/21 sales result represents a 3% increase in US$ terms relative to the 603,000 carats sold for C$ 54.2 million (US$42.7 million) in Q1/21 at (US$71 per carat). The mix of diamonds sold varied across the quarters and on a direct comparison basis, second quarter market prices are approximately 18% higher than those achieved in the first quarter. As previously reported the diamond market is extremely strong at the moment and we expect to see more evidence of this in upcoming sales.

Stuart Brown, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"We're pleased to see production increasing in the second quarter, and expect the historically productive summer months to drive the recovery into Q3. With the first of the year complete and a sizeable stockpile of ore in front of the plant, we expect to hit our 2021 production guidance of 6,300,000 - 6,500,000 carats recovered."

Conference Call

The Company will release its Q2 2021 financial results on Wednesday August 4th, 2021 after market hours. The Company will host its quarterly conference call on Thursday, August 5th, 2021 at 11:00am ET.

Title: Mountain Province Diamonds Inc Q2 2021 Earnings Conference Call

Conference ID: 29264662

Date of call: August 5, 2021

Time of call: 11:00 Eastern Time

Expected Duration: 60 minutes

Webcast Link:

https://produceredition.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1480661&tp_key=9a96ec708d

Participant Toll-Free Dial-In Number: (+1) 888-390-0546

Participant International Dial-In Number: (+1) 416-764-8668

A replay of the webcast and audio call will be available on the Company's website.

2021 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders

The Company invites shareholders to attend the virtual Annual General Meeting ("AGM") being held at 11:00AM EDT on Tuesday September 14th, 2021. Shareholders of record as of the close of business on August 5, 2021, being the record date, will be eligible to vote at the meeting. Complete details of the AGM are contained in the Company's 2021 Management Information Circular, which will be available on the Company's website and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com on August 10, 2021.

The meeting is being held more than six months after the 2020 year-end and the Company filed a request for extension for the AGM with the TSX on July 8, 2021 which was accepted by the TSX on July 13, 2021.

About the Company

Mountain Province Diamonds is a 49% participant with De Beers Canada in the Gahcho Kue diamond mine located in Canada'sNorthwest Territories. The Gahcho Kue Joint Venture property consists of several kimberlites that are actively being mined, developed, and explored for future development. The Company also controls 106,202 hectares of highly prospective mineral claims and leases that surround the Gahcho Kue Joint Venture property that include an indicated mineral resource for the Kelvin kimberlite and inferred mineral resources for the Faraday kimberlites.

For further information on Mountain Province Diamonds and to receive news releases by email, visit the Company's website at www.mountainprovince.com.

Qualified Person

The disclosure in this news release of scientific and technical information regarding Mountain Province's mineral properties has been reviewed and approved by Matthew MacPhail, P.Eng., MBA, and Tom E. McCandless, Ph.D., P.Geo., both employees of Mountain Province Diamonds and Qualified Persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Caution Regarding Forward Looking Information

This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian and United States securities laws concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to operational hazards, including possible disruption due to pandemic such as COVID-19, its impact on travel, self-isolation protocols and business and operations, estimated production and mine life of the project of Mountain Province; the realization of mineral reserve estimates; the timing and amount of estimated future production; costs of production; the future price of diamonds; the estimation of mineral reserves and resources; the ability to manage debt; capital expenditures; the ability to obtain permits for operations; liquidity; tax rates; and currency exchange rate fluctuations. Except for statements of historical fact relating to Mountain Province, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "anticipates," "may," "can," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "projects," "targets," "intends," "likely," "will," "should," "to be", "potential" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may", "should" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are based on a number of assumptions and subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Many of these assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of Mountain Province and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct.

Factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from results anticipated by such forward-looking statements include the development of operation hazards which could arise in relation to COVID-19, including, but not limited to protocols which may be adopted to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and any impact of such protocols on Mountain Province's business and operations, variations in ore grade or recovery rates, changes in market conditions, changes in project parameters, mine sequencing; production rates; cash flow; risks relating to the availability and timeliness of permitting and governmental approvals; supply of, and demand for, diamonds; fluctuating commodity prices and currency exchange rates, the possibility of project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated.

These factors are discussed in greater detail in Mountain Province's most recent Annual Information Form and in the most recent MD&A filed on SEDAR, which also provide additional general assumptions in connection with these statements. Mountain Province cautions that the foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive. Investors and others who base themselves on forward-looking statements should carefully consider the above factors as well as the uncertainties they represent and the risk they entail. Mountain Province believes that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included in this news release should not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release.

Although Mountain Province has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Mountain Province undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Statements concerning mineral reserve and resource estimates may also be deemed to constitute forward-looking statements to the extent they involve estimates of the mineralization that will be encountered as the property is developed.

Further, Mountain Province may make changes to its business plans that could affect its results. The principal assets of Mountain Province are administered pursuant to a joint venture under which Mountain Province is not the operator. Mountain Province is exposed to actions taken or omissions made by the operator within its prerogative and/or determinations made by the joint venture under its terms. Such actions or omissions may impact the future performance of Mountain Province. Under its current note and revolving credit facilities Mountain Province is subject to certain limitations on its ability to pay dividends on common stock. The declaration of dividends is at the discretion of Mountain Province's Board of Directors, subject to the limitations under the Company's debt facilities, and will depend on Mountain Province's financial results, cash requirements, future prospects, and other factors deemed relevant by the Board.

For further information: Stuart Brown, President and CEO, 161 Bay Street, Suite 1410, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2S1, Phone: (416) 361-3562, E-mail: info@mountainprovince.com; Matthew MacPhail, VP Corporate Development & Technical Services, 161 Bay Street, Suite 1410, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2S1, Phone: (416) 361-3562, E-mail: info@mountainprovince.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1573506/Mountain_Province_Diamonds_Inc__Mountain_Province_Diamonds_Annou.jpg
VANCOUVER, BC and TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2021 / Silver Elephant Mining Corp. ("ELEF") today has filed an early warning report under National Instrument 62-103 - The Early Warning System And Related Take-Over Bid And Insider Reporting Issues in connection with its disposition (the "Disposition") of 6,888,000common shares ("Shares") of Victory Nickel Inc. ("VN").

Between July 12, 2021 and July 13, 2021, ELEF disposed of 6,888,000through the facilities of the Canadian Securities Exchange at an average price of $0.0227 for a total consideration of approximately $156,537.50. Prior to the Dispositions, ELEF held 32,171,000 Shares which represented approximately 23.28% of the issued and outstanding Shares of VN on a non-diluted basis. Immediately after the Dispositions, ELEF holds 25,283,000 Shares which represents 18.3% of VN's issued and outstanding Shares on a non-diluted basis. All Shares are held directly by ELEF and no joint actor of ELEF holds any securities of VN.

ELEF acquired Shares for investment purposes. ELEF intends to evaluate its investment in VN and to increase or decrease its shareholdings from time to time as it may deem appropriate.

ELEF and VN have entered into a voting trust agreement in respect of the Shares acquired by ELEF whereby ELEF has agreed it shall either vote the Shares held by ELEF in accordance with the direction of VN or shall abstain from voting such Shares. An earlywarning report has been filed by ELEF in accordance with applicable securities laws and will be available on SEDAR under the VN's profile at www.sedar.com or may be obtained directly from ELEF upon request at the telephone number below. The head office of VN is located at 9 Crestwood Drive, Toronto, Ontario M1E 1E6 and the Shares are traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange. The head office of ELEF is located at Suite 1610 - 409 Granville Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 1T2. There are no joint actors in connection with the Acquisition.

Contact Information:

John Lee, Chief Executive Officer, Silver Elephant Mining Corp.

604 569-3661

ir@silverelef.com

SOURCE: Silver Elephant Mining Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/655434/Silver-Elephant-Mining-Corp-Files-Early-Warning-Report-in-Respect-of-Victory-Nickel-Inc
86 Repairs, a Chicago IL-based restaurant tech company, closed an additional $5.3m in funding.

Backers included TDF Ventures, Gordon Food Service (GFS), MATH Venture Partners, Revolution, and Cleveland Avenue. The new financing brings the companys funding in this round to $7.3m, and total capital raised to $8.8m to date.



The company intends to use the funds to scale up product innovations and accelerate growth.



Led by Daniel Estrada, co-founder and CEO, 86 Repairs provides a platform that automates the end-to-end repair and maintenance process for restaurants, providing actionable insights to improve back-of-house operations. The companys solutions are used by multi-unit restaurant groups including Castellucci Hospitality Group, 4 Rivers Smokehouse, Peas and Carrots Hospitality, and brands like McDonalds, Jimmy Johns, Sonic Drive-Ins, Famous Daves and many others.

In March 2021, the company announced $2m in funding from several investors including TDF Ventures, HAVI, Gordon Food Service (GFS), GHS Holdings, Invest Detroit Ventures, Network Ventures, Michigan Rise, and Cleveland Avenue, and previously raised $1.5m in a round led by Tamarind Hill.

FinSMEs

13/07/2021
ISA Pharmaceuticals B.V., an Oegstgeest, The Netherlands-based clinical-stage immunotherapy company, closed a 26m funding round.

Backers included new investors Invest-NL and existing investors including Regeneron.

The company intends to use the funds to advance the lead product ISA101b towards first marketing authorization as well as to broaden the clinical pipeline of immunotherapies based on the Synthetic Long Peptide (SLP) platform technology.

Led by Gerben Moolhuizen, CEO, ISA Pharmaceuticals is an immunotherapy company developing treatments for various cancers and infectious diseases. Its lead asset ISA101b is in late-stage clinical trials for human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) induced cancers in a collaboration with US pharmaceutical company Regeneron. Other assets are in preclinical stage development and include immunotherapies to treat patients that suffer from chronic hepatitis B infections (HBV), cancers that over-express PRAME, cancers caused by other HPV types than HPV16, and SARS-CoV2 infections, the virus that causes COVID-19.

FinSMEs

13/07/2021
Mark43, a New York-based cloud-native public safety software company, raised $101M in Series E funding.

The round was led by The Spruce House Partnership and Tiger Global Management with participation from Radcliff Companies, Australias 29th Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and former Lord Mayor of Sydney Lucy Turnbull, Goldman Sachs, General Catalyst, Spark Capital, HighSage Ventures, and Avenir Capital.



The company, which has raised a total of $257m to date, intends to use the funds to develop new products, foster dialogue between public safety agencies and the communities they serve, and continue to invest in its growth across the U.S. and abroad.



Led by Scott Crouch, Mark43 provides a public safety CAD, RMS, analytics, and property and evidence platform while providing customer care solutions. The platform is used by major U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Washington D.C, San Antonio, and Seattle.

With over 120 public safety agency customers across the U.S. and abroad, the company recently launched Mark43 RMS Essentials to address the largest and most underserved portion of the public safety market: agencies of 50 or fewer sworn personnel. Additionally, the company has continued to expand the capabilities of its platform, announcing its ability to support agencies using Microsoft Azure in addition to Amazon Web Services.

The company will also continue to grow its international presence after signing a contract with the New South Wales Police Force in Australia, the third-largest police force in the English-speaking world, by establishing a new office in the United Kingdom and expanding its Toronto office to support its presence in Canada.

FinSMEs

12/07/2021
OTB Ventures, a Warsaw, Poland-based venture capital firm investing in early-stage technology businesses with R&D in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and global potential, has launched the new OTB Growth Fund I.

The fund, totalling $60m, provides OTB Ventures with the capabilities to support its portfolio companies with additional follow-on investments as they scale-up to pursue and accelerate international growth opportunities. The fund is backed by the ESCALAR programme of the European Commission and the European Investment Fund (EIF).

Todays news follows from the 2020 launch of the first fund of OTB Ventures, raising over $100m of capital to deploy in the European startup ecosystem.

Led by Adam Niewinski and Marcin Hejka, co-founders and Managing Partners, OTB Ventures focuses on technologies from the CEE region and the potential to scale globally. The firm has a proven track record supporting and enabling the expansion of portfolio companies including the recent $60m Series B funding round for Romanias FintechOS (now headquartered in London) and the $87m Series C funding round for Finlands ICEYE. Other investments include Cosmose, SpaceKnow, Silent Eight, Minit and Segron. Recent additions to the portfolio include early-stage funding for Scalarr and Ondato. The firm also exited BabbleLabs to Cisco in 2020.

The new capital will support continued investment for OTB Fund I portfolio companies, spanning the tech industry verticals of cybersecurity, space, fintech and robotic automation. The firm is targeting investment in a total of 15 companies to complete its portfolio by mid of 2022.

FinSMEs

13/07/2021
Trucksters, a Madrid, Spain-based freight transport operator, raised 6.3M in Series A funding.



The round was led by Kibo Ventures, with participation from Amplifier and Bonsai Partners. Sacha Michaud, co-founder of Glovo and a previous investor of the company, participated in this funding and joined the firm as Non-Executive Chairman of the Board.

The company intends to use the funds for international expansion, building its presence in Benelux, Germany, and Poland, offering a wider range of routes to their existing and future clients, and growth of the team.

Founded in 2018 by Luis Bardaji, Gabor Balogh and Ramon Castro, Trucksters is a freight transport operator focused on providing a long distance FTL service through an innovative truck relay system based on big data and artificial intelligence. The service reduces long-distance road transit time by up to 50% by allowing trucks to be continuously on the move through relays.

Trucksters is present in Madrid, the companys headquarters, Valencia, The Netherlands, Belgium, and Greece, and it is being used by more than 500 clients. The team will be opening new offices in Galicia and Dortmund, Germany over the coming months. Currently, the company operates three major corridors that connect Spain, Germany, France, Benelux and Poland.

FinSMEs

13/07/2021
Tampa, FL (33646)

Today

Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. High 91F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 74F. Winds light and variable.
GREENVILLE, SC (FOX CAROLINA) - Two Upstate cities--Greenville and Spartanburg-- have been named to the "Best Places to Live in the U.S." list by U.S. News & World Report.
Anne Klein's Fragrance Comeback: Love, Anne

New Fragrances



36 years have passed since the last time the American fashion brand Anne Klein launched a perfume. After Blazer (1976), Anne Klein (1984), and Anne Klein 2 (1985), the house stopped producing any fragrances, but in 2021 there is a comeback to the fragrant world with the new launch named Love, Anne.

Love, Anne is an ambery vanilla floral fragrance. Serving as the new face of Anne Klein fragrance is COVID first responder nurse and rising model Maggie Rawlins who embodies the founder's dictum "Clothes won't change the world, the women who wear them will," as announced by Anne Klein and PRNewswire.

The fragrance is described as "a fresh start to a day and takes a woman on a journey as she moves through it. Bright citrus gives way to feminine florals and ends with an intimate mix of vanilla and musk. It's complex and alluring: A woman's secret finishing touch that brings her pleasure and the final accessory that she puts on every single day."

Top Notes: Sparkling Bergamot, Mandarin, Passionfruit

Middle Notes: Hyacinth, Tiare Flower, Peach Skin

Base Notes: Vanilla Bourbon, Sensual Musk, Golden Amber, Cashmere Woods



Anne Klein is an iconic legacy women's fashion brand that was founded in 1968, serving women around the world with classic American style. Anne Klein products are sold globally throughout North America, China, South Korea, The Philippines, and Mexico. Palm Beach Beaute is the company responsible for the business branch for fragrance and cosmetics. "Entering into the beauty category with a modern elevated fragrance for the Anne Klein brand is the natural next step to bringing additional offerings to our growing global customers who seek new and meaningful ways to connect and experience the brand," said Effy Zinkin, Chief Operating Officer at WHP Global, which owns the Anne Klein fashion brand.

Anne Klein Love, Anne is available for purchase at Macy's and directly from the Anne Klein Official Website in 100 ml Eau de Parfum Spray bottles for 75 USD. There is also a 4 piece gift set, including an Eau de Parfum (100ml) and Eau de Parfum Rollerball (15ml), as well as a Body Lotion (100ml) and Shower Gel (100ml) for the price of 80 USD.
We welcome your letters and columns!

Use the button below to send us your thoughts.

Remember:

Letters must include your real name, town of residence and daytime phone number, which we use for verification. We do not accept anonymous letters or letters written under a pseudonym. Letters should be no more than about 400 words. Those of no more than 200 to 300 words are more likely to be published.

Submit
Keep the conversation about local news & events going by joining us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Recent updates from The News-Post and also from News-Post staff members are compiled below.




Have any questions? Please give us a call at 907-352-2250
Rubert Ray Marsh, 89, formally of Ralls, Texas left this earth to be with the Lord July 14, 2021. Ray was born May 4, 1932, in Crosby County Texas to James Rubert and Lillian Vaile Porter Marsh. He graduated from Ralls High School and from Texas Tech University with a degree in Business Admi
Galveston, TX (77553)

Today

Sunshine and a few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 91F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 82F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
Galveston, TX (77553)

Today

Sun and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 91F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Low 81F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
Apex Legends and Titanfall hackers are forcing Respawn to divert attention away from upcoming features like cross-progression.

As spotted by Eurogamer, Apex Legends game director Chad Grenier explained that recent hacks, including one that essentially nuked matchmaking for a huge chunk of players (including this writer), has slowed down development.

Grenier was asked by a Twitter user if fans could get an update on cross-progression, and although he confirmed the feature is still very much in development, he added that "recent hacks on Apex and Titanfall have slowed down the progress of it as we context switch to solving live game issues."

Back in May, Respawn's director of communications Ryan Rigney explained that an onslaught of DDoS attacks on Titanfall essentially resulted in the dev team throwing away weeks of work because they were being forced to address "each new stupid thing" hackers were dreaming up.

"Instead of delivering new value, building incredible things for players, we've got people tearing their hair out digging into the newest exploit, the new type of attack, some fresh way to target streamers, or high-rank lobbies or everyone. Weeks of work thrown away," wrote Rigney on Twitter.

"I genuinely don't even hold any anger in my heart toward these people. I mostly just feel sad about it, and I wish it would stop. There is no worse feeling than seeing something you care about being destroyed. Especially something that's meant to bring joy, like a game."

Respawn recently reiterated its commitment to cracking down on cheating, and explained it would be hiring more people to focus on manual bans, developing more tools capable of automatically detecting and preventing DDoS attacks, and investigating new ways of quickly catching and removing cheaters from games.
"I think that is the challenge before the board, is how do you address that concern for families when we really want 90 percent of our kids to be back in person?" she said. "And we have families who are in that distance learning group who aren't coming because they're concerned about the spread of COVID. I think that action could have negative impacts that the board may not be predicting."

In other business Monday, the board voted unanimously to move forward with purchasing modular classrooms for both Waverly and North Albany Elementary schools, which Goff said would allow kindergarten classes to top out at 17 students.

GAPS is expecting a boom in kindergarten class sizes this fall because many families opted to keep their children home a year rather than participate in remote learning. The goal this fall is to have no more than 10% of students using distance learning options.

"Our limitation with getting to 17 students at first grade will be the available space," Goff said following the meeting. "We know we will have the space for kindergarten and will be reducing first grade as space allows."

Board members also agreed to use Robert's Rules of Order, a specific form of parliamentary procedure, beginning with Wednesday's special meeting.
Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021.
Australian three-piece electronic outfit Rufus Du Sol have returned with new music after three years without a release.

Just one day after announcing a North American tour, the Grammy nominated trio released 'Alive' - their first original track since 2018, when they released acclaimed album 'Solace'.

Give Alive a listen up top.

Late last year the group announced that a fourth album was on the way and the majority of 2020 had been spent in the studio - so fingers crossed there's a lot more where 'Alive' came from.
Gillette, WY (82718)

Today

Mostly sunny. High 97F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Mainly clear. Low 63F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph.


Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
New rehabilitation programme for people with multiple long-term conditions

Researchers in Leicester and the University of Glasgow are developing a new programme to provide exercise-based rehabilitation to people living with multiple long-term health conditions.

The PERFORM study (Personalised Exercise-Rehabilitation for people with Multiple long-term conditions) is funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR). The project is led by researchers in Leicester and University of Glasgow and supported by the NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre  a partnership between the University of Leicester and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.

There are a growing number of people living with more than one long-term health condition as care improves and life expectancy has increased. However, health care services often only address one condition at a time. People with more than one health condition often have complex needs that are not always met by this approach.

The researchers hope to produce a personalised exercise-rehabilitation programme for people living with multiple long term health conditions that factors in these complex needs.

Exercise based rehabilitation is currently used to support patients with a range of conditions including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart failure and chronic renal disease. The aim of exercise based rehabilitation is to reduce the impact of symptoms on quality of life, rather than treat the condition itself, yet is usually disease-specific.

Professor Sally Singh, co-lead of the project and Professor of Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation at the University of Leicester and Leicester Hospitals, said: We know that people who undergo respiratory or cardiac exercise-based rehabilitation see a real improvement in their quality of life, a reduction in their symptoms and an increased ability to carry out their day-to-day tasks. However, weve also heard from a lot of people with multiple long term conditions that current rehabilitation programmes dont meet their needs.

This programme will take a more personalised, patient-centred, and holistic approach to exercise rehabilitation. People will undergo individual assessments of their needs so we can focus on improving what matters most to them.

The research team will work with people living with multiple long term health conditions, current rehabilitation service users, and healthcare workers to design the new programme. It will then be tested in clinical trials across the UK to investigate the benefit to patients. The team are also working with experts from the Universities of Birmingham, Exeter, Salford, York and Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

Professor Rod Taylor, co-lead and Professor of Population Health Research, MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit & Robertson Centre for Biostatistics, University of Glasgow said: The traditional approach of rehabilitation which focuses on single diseases, limits what we can offer to the wider population of people with multiple long-term conditions who could benefit from these services. This NIHR Programme Grant represents an exciting opportunity for us to address this important issue.

Enquiries: ali.howard@glasgow.ac.uk or elizabeth.mcmeekin@glasgow.ac.uk / 0141 330 6557 or 0141 330 4831
Virginia Beach, VA, July 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- We're thrilled to announce the launch of our new book. The aim of this helpful new book is to advise lawyers on how to get their firm to stand out from the crowd with proven techniques.



Precision Legal Marketing is thrilled to announce the launch of their new book Legal Marketing Straight Talk Presents Solving the Puzzle: Online Marketing for Attorneys. The aim of this helpful and engaging new book is to advise lawyers on how to get their firm to stand out from the crowd with proven legal marketing techniques.



Legal Marketing Straight Talk Presents: Solving the Puzzle - Online Marketing for Attorneys





While old-school referrals are still important, a strong digital marketing strategy can take your firm to new heights. If you are looking for advice in taking care of your law firms marketing DIY style, this is the book for you. If you are trying to glean some knowledge about online legal marketing so that you dont fall prey to a marketing firm trying to take advantage of you, this book can help.

Steven Long, the co-founder of Precision Legal Marketing, brings more than a decade of legal marketing experience. Long partnered with bestselling author Jessica Ainsworth to address the myths surrounding legal marketing and provide a blueprint for approaching this fast-growing and ever-changing field. No matter if you use this book as a starter kit for all things digital marketing or to block out untrustworthy marketing agencies looking to take advantage, this book has something for every attorney.

The Legal Marketing Straight Talk Presents Solving the Puzzle covers the following important online legal marketing topics:

 What is a Solid Blueprint for Your Law Firm Marketing

 How to Define Your Target Audience

 Understanding Law Firm Websites

 SEO Basics with DIY examples

 How to Create Effective Content

 Social Media Dos and Donts for Lawyers

 The Ins and Outs of Advertising

 PLUS: Bonus Content to Boost Your Marketing Efforts!

About Steven Long

Steven Long takes pride in helping law firms succeed. He began his legal marketing career as a Law Firm Marketing Consultant at LexisNexis  Martindale Hubbell. Long founded Precision Legal Marketing in 2014. As president, Longs influence drives the firms commitment to clients and their marketing strategies.

Legal marketing is a unique field. In order to be successful in the digital marketing space, you have to know the initiatives and goals of a law firm and the needs of its clients. Long is committed to developing unique and customized marketing initiatives for every law firm he assists. Long draws on his extensive background when coming up with tailored solutions for every lawyer he works with. Longs specialties include helping law firms with websites, SEO strategy, pay-per-click, public relations, new client intake management, social media marketing, event planning, and more.

About Jessica Ainsworth

Co-author Jessica Ainsworth is a marketing professional and director of social media and content marketing at Precision Legal Marketing and founder of the Pennsylvania-based digital marketing agency Pendragon Consulting LLC. Ainsworth has extensive experience and an unmatched passion for marketing strategies and research. As a digital marketing expert with vast experience in analytics, intelligence, and research, Ainsworth has helped law firms capitalize on untapped markets and build their brands.

With Ainsworths help, many businesses and law firms have expanded their audiences and clients and maximized their ROI and lead generation efforts. Ainsworth is also the bestselling author of other acclaimed book series The Beginners Guide to Marketing, which includes The Beginners Guide to Facebook Advertising: How to Create Effective Ads, Generate Leads and Increase Your ROI, The Beginners Guide to Content Marketing: How to Drive Traffic, Provide Value and Increase Revenue, and The Beginners Guide to SEO: How to Optimize Your Website, Rank Higher on Google and Drive More Traffic.

About Precision Legal Marketing

Precision Legal Marketing is a highly respected and accomplished Virginia Beach-based digital marketing agency. At Precision Legal Marketing, we realize the challenges lawyers face in trying to stand out from the pack. Prospective clients have no shortage of choices when it comes to law firms. Our goal is to help your firm stand out. Whether you are a novice or a veteran when it comes to online marketing, we can help. Precision Legal Marketing helps attorneys throughout the country with website design, search engine marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), live chat, blogging, video production, and more.

We take a solution-oriented approach to our consultations with law firms. Once we find out your firms specific needs, well put together a custom marketing strategy that fits your agenda and your budget. You can rest assured that well stay on top of all aspects of your firms digital marketing so that you can focus on practicing law. Whether you are a solo practitioner or a large firm, we are committed to growing your firm with cutting-edge marketing techniques.

Media Contact: Steven Long - 8776027510





Attachment
Minneapolis, MN and Sydney, Australia, July 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Provation announced today that its gastroenterology (GI) procedure documentation solution, Provation MD, complies with the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care's effort to increase clinical accuracy and safety when documenting colonoscopy procedures.

Provation MD is a market-leading solution that is proven to improve operational and reporting efficiencies, procedure note accuracy, and overall physician and patient satisfaction. The solution allows endoscopists to efficiently and electronically create procedure notes to document all relevant procedure details and images. Provation MD currently serves over 150 Australian customers and is trusted by more than 80% of the top GI hospitals in the United States. Over 25 years, Provations international footprint has expanded from the United States, Australia, and New Zealand to the Middle East and Canada.

In January 2019, funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, the Commission developed the Colonoscopy Clinical Care Standard. The Standard includes nine quality statements and a set of four clinical indicators for proper colonoscopy procedure care. The indicators include 1) adequate bowel preparation, 2) thorough colon examination, 3) adenoma detection, and 4) the presence of sessile serrated adenomas or polyps.

The Colonoscopy Clinical Care Standard has been endorsed by ten key professional organisations and colleges including the Royal Australian College of Physicians (RACP), the Gastroenterological Society of Australia (GESA), the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS), and the Colorectal Surgical Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSSANZ). By reporting on the Commissions indicators, Australian facilities can increase documentation standardisation for colonoscopies and improve quality patient care.

Now, Australian GI practitioners utilising Provation MD can easily report on the Colonoscopy Clinical Care Standard indicators. Provation MDs Anticipatory Interface guides practitioners through an intuitive workflow navigation tree to offer appropriate selections for quick documentation, including fields for the Commissions requirements. Provation MD also features image management to associate relevant procedure images and electronic medical record (EMR) integration.

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Cares purpose is to contribute to better health outcomes and experiences for all patients and consumers, and Provations purpose is to empower Providers to deliver quality health care for all. Both organisations are committed to ensuring practitioners have the best technology to document required data, so that patients can be accurately assessed and treated.

About the Commission

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care is an Australian Government agency that leads and coordinates national improvements in the safety and quality of health care based on the best available evidence. By working in partnership with the Australian Government, states and territories, the private sector, clinical experts, and patients and carers, the Commission aims to ensure that the health system is better informed, supported and organised to deliver safe and high-quality care.

About Provation

Provation is a leading provider of health care software and SaaS solutions. Our purpose is to empower providers to deliver quality health care for all. We provide innovative solutions in clinical productivity, care coordination, quality reporting and billing. Celebrating 25 years, Provation serves thousands of hospitals, surgical facilities, anaesthesia groups, and medical offices, including 43 of the top 50 U.S. hospitals for gastroenterology (GI) and GI surgery. Our comprehensive portfolio spans the entire patient procedure, from pre-op through post-op recovery and follow-up, with solutions for physician and nursing documentation (Provation MD, Provation Apex, MD-Reports and Provation MultiCaregiver), patient engagement, surgical care coordination, quality reporting, and billing capture (Provation SurgicalValet), order set and care plan management (Provation Order Set Advisor and Provation Care Plans), and EHR embedded clinical documentation (Provation Clinic Note). Provation is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN and backed by Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. For more information about our solutions, visit www.provationmedical.com.

Attachment
LEWES, Del., July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intel 471, the premier provider of cybercrime intelligence for leading intelligence, security, and fraud teams, today announced the appointment of Ms. Yang Coa as the companys senior regional director, Asia-Pacific (APAC). She joins two Intel 471 analysts already on the ground providing in-region cyber threat intelligence. In this new position, Yang will be responsible for accelerating sales to achieve the companys projected global sales goals and creating and fostering new and existing partnerships. Based in Singapore, Yang is a key member of the sales leadership team led by Andy Chandler, chief revenue officer (CRO).



Weve seen tremendous traction in APAC, especially over the last year. To help better serve this growing market, we are allocating more in-country staff to provide greater support for our customers and partners there and will continue to invest in the region, said CEO Mark Arena at Intel 471. Were really excited to have Yang spearhead our sales efforts in the region as weve had the honor of working with her during her time at Anomali where we saw her commitment and aptitude to both the sales and cybersecurity function firsthand, which has earned her great respect from Intel 471 and with APAC customers and partners alike.

Intel 471 works closely with its APAC customers to provide the highest quality threat intelligence that customers require and have come to expect.

"Intel 471 has demonstrated to us that they are on top of the events observed in the cyber underground, said Jurgen Visser, Head of Cyber Threat Intelligence at Gojek. They have differentiated themselves from the competition by their superior intelligence curation in the shape of spot reports that only focuses on the meat of cyber threat intelligence.

Prior to joining Intel 471, Yang served as regional sales manager, South East Asia (SEA) at Anomali, an international leader in intelligence-driven cybersecurity solutions and preferred partner of Intel 471 since 2016. She also held numerous sales and business development roles at high-tech companies such as SAS, a leader in business analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market; SYSTEX Corporation, a leading Taiwan-based IT services provider; and Asias leading communications technology group, Singtel. Yang received a degree in Engineering Informatics from Ngee Ann Polytechnic in Singapore and a Bachelors degree in Engineering Management from Edge Hill University in Ormskirk, West Lancashire, England.

The Intel 471 intelligence analysts are focused on infiltrating and maintaining access to closed sources where threat actors collaborate, communicate, and plan cyber-attacks. They are part of the growing global network of Intel 471 analysts that actively track the most damaging malware families in near real-time to see what threat actors are planning, attacking, and how they operate. The team provides unique intelligence to inform customers where they are vulnerable to drive patch prioritization and helps them mitigate exposure that compromises the credentials of their employees, executives, and key suppliers. In the near future, the company will increase headcount in the sales engineering team to further support the regions growth.

About Intel 471

Intel 471 empowers enterprises, government agencies, and other organizations to win the cybersecurity battle using near-real-time insights into the latest malicious actors, relationships, threat patterns, and imminent attacks relevant to their businesses.

Our TITAN platform collects, interprets, structures, and validates human-led, automation- enhanced results. Clients across the globe leverage this threat intelligence with our proprietary framework to map the criminal underground, zero in on key activity, and align their resources and reporting to business requirements. Intel 471 serves as a trusted advisor to security teams, offering ongoing trend analysis and supporting your use of the platform. Learn more at https://intel471.com/.

Media Contact

CHEN PR for Intel 471

Jennifer Torode

jtorode@chenpr.com

781-672-3119

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4955aec2-eacb-4926-9107-8547ade2f224
NEW YORK, July 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP ( www.kaplanfox.com ) has filed a class action suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against DiDi Global Inc. (DiDi or the Company) (NYSE: DIDI), Chairman of the Board and CEO Will Wei Cheng, CFO Alan Yue Zhuo, the underwriters of the Companys June 2021 initial public offering (IPO), and certain Company Directors that signed or authorized the signing of the Registration offering documents for the IPO.



The Complaint alleges that Defendants violated Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C.  77k and 77o), and Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C.  78j(b) and 78t(a)) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by the SEC (17 C.F.R.  240.10b-5) on behalf of persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired DiDi: (a) American Depositary Shares (ADSs or shares) pursuant and/or traceable to the registration statement and prospectus (collectively, the Registration Statement) issued in connection with the Companys June 2021 initial public IPO and/or (b) purchased DiDi securities between June 30, 2021 and July 2, 2021, inclusive (the Class Period).

If you are a member of the proposed Class, you may move the court no later than September 7, 2021 to serve as a lead plaintiff for the proposed Class. You need not seek to become a lead plaintiff in order to share in any possible recovery.

The Complaint alleges that DiDi purports to be the worlds largest mobility technology platform. Its four key components are: shared mobility, auto solutions, electronic mobility, and autonomous driving. The Company claims to be the go-to brand in China for shared mobility, offering a range of services including ride hailing, taxi hailing, chauffeur, hitch, and other forms of shared mobility services.

The Complaint also alleges that in the IPO and pursuant to the Registration Statement, including the Prospectus filed on June 30, 2021, the Company sold approximately 316,800,000 shares at a price of $14.00 per share, not including the underwriters option to sell an additional 47,520,000 ADSs.

The Complaint also alleges that the Registration Statement was materially false and misleading and omitted to state material adverse facts and that throughout the Class Period, including in the Registration Statement, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Companys business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants are alleged to have failed to disclose to investors: (1) that the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) had already asked DiDi weeks or months prior to the IPO to delay its IPO to conduct a self-examination of its network security and because of national security concerns; (2) that the Company was likely to incur heightened regulatory scrutiny and adverse regulatory action by ignoring the CACs request to postpone the IPO; (3) that, as a result of the foregoing, DiDis apps were reasonably likely to be taken down from app stores in China, which would have an adverse effect on its financial results and operations; and (4) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants positive statements about the Companys business, operations, and prospects, were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.

According to the Complaint, the truth began to emerge on July 2, 2021 when DiDi issued a press release entitled DiDi announces CyberSecurity Review in China, confirming that the Company was under investigation and stating that pursuant to the announcement posted by the PRCs Cyberspace Administration Office on July 2, 2021, DiDi is subject to cybersecurity review by the authority. The Companys press release also allegedly states [d]uring the review, DiDi is required to suspend new user registration in China. On this news, the Companys share price fell $0.87 per share, or approximately 5.3%, to close at $15.53 per share on July 2, 2021, on unusually heavy trading volume.

Further, on Sunday, July 4, 2021, DiDi issued a press release entitled DiDi Announces App Takedown in China[,] which announced, in relevant, part that the CAC ordered smartphone app stores to stop offering the DiDi Chuxing app because the DiDi app collect[ed] personal information in violation of relevant PRC laws and regulations. Though users who previously downloaded the DiDi app could continue to use it, DiDi stated that the app takedown may have an adverse impact on its revenue in China. On this news, the Companys share price fell $3.04 per share, or 19.6%, to close at $12.49 per share on July 6, 2021, on unusually heavy trading volume.

On July 12, 2021, DiDi shares closed at $11.16 per share, a decline of over 20% from the $14 per share IPO price.

Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of the proposed Class and is represented by Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP (www.kaplanfox.com). Our firm, with offices in New York, Oakland, Los Angeles, Chicago, and New Jersey, has decades of experience in prosecuting investor class actions and actions involving violations of the Federal securities laws.

If you have any questions about this Notice, the action, your rights, or your interests, or would like a copy of the complaint, please e-mail or call attorneys Jeffrey Campisi ( jcampisi@kaplanfox.com ; (212) 329-8571) or Pamela Mayer ( pmayer@kaplanfox.com ; (646) 315-9003) or contact the attorneys below:

Jeffrey P. Campisi

KAPLAN FOX & KILSHEIMER LLP

850 Third Avenue, 14th Floor

New York, New York 10022

(212) 329-8571

E-mail: Jcampisi@kaplanfox.com
NEW ORLEANS, July 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors of pending deadlines in the following securities class action lawsuits:

Array Technologies, Inc. (ARRY)

Class Period: 10/14/2020 - 5/11/2021, or purchase of shares issued either in or after the October 2020, December 2020 or March 2021 public offerings

Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: July 13, 2021

SECURITIES FRAUD, MISLEADING PROSPECTUS

To learn more, visit https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-array-technologies-inc-common-stock-arry-securities-litigation

ContextLogic Inc. (WISH)

Class Period: 12/16/2020 - 5/12/2021, or purchase of shares issued either in or after the December 2020 Initial Public Offering

Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: July 16, 2021

SECURITIES FRAUD, MISLEADING PROSPECTUS

To learn more, visit https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-contextlogic-inc-wish-securities-litigation

Ubiquiti Inc. (UI)

Class Period: 1/11/2021 - 3/30/2021

Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: July 19, 2021

SECURITIES FRAUD

To learn more, visit https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-ubiquiti-inc-securities-litigation

If you purchased shares of the above companies and would like to discuss your legal rights and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact us toll-free (844) 367-9658 or visit the case links above.

If you wish to serve as a Lead Plaintiff in the class action, you must petition the Court on or before the Lead Plaintiff Motion deadline.

About ClaimsFiler

ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations.

To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com
Pune, India, July 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global smart meter market size is projected to reach USD 44.18 by the end of 2026. Recent technological advancements have emerged in favor of the market in the coming years. According to a report published by Fortune Business Insights, titled Smart Meter Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Smart Electric Meter, Smart Gas Meter, Smart Water Meter) By Technology (Automatic Meter Reading {AMR} and Advanced Meter Infrastructure), By Application (Residential, Commercial and Industrial), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026, the market was worth USD 24.53 billion in 2018 and will exhibit a CAGR of 7.7% during the forecast period, 2019-2026.

Request To Sample PDF Brochure: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/smart-meter-market-102666

The emergence of COVID-19 has brought the world to a standstill. We understand that this health crisis has brought an unprecedented impact on businesses across industries. However, this too shall pass. Rising support from governments and several companies can help in the fight against this highly contagious disease. There are some industries that are struggling and some are thriving. Overall, almost every sector is anticipated to be impacted by the pandemic.

We are taking continuous efforts to help your business sustain and grow during COVID-19 pandemics. Based on our experience and expertise, we will offer you an impact analysis of coronavirus outbreak across industries to help you prepare for the future.

Click here to get the short-term and long-term impact of COVID-19 on this Market.

Please Visit: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/covid19-impact/smart-meter-market-102666

Smart meter provides two-way communication and acts as a medium between customers and service providers. This allows for improved efficiency, subsequently aiding the demand for the product across the world. Modern smart meters allow for improved product operations. The use of advanced concepts such as the IoT and sensor-based monitoring has opened up the potential for widespread product applications. The presence of several large scale companies has made a huge impact on the growth of the market in the foreseeable future. The increasing number of company mergers and collaborations has also contributed to the growth of the market. The contributions from government organizations, as well as private companies, will bode well for the market.

Increasing Number of Company Mergers Will Aid Growth

The report encompasses several factors that have contributed to the growth of the market in recent years. Among all factors, the increasing number of company mergers and acquisitions has made the highest impact on the market. In March 2017, PUB awarded a contract to CH2M Hill Singapore. The contract will be aimed at the development and installation of 300,000 water meters. The water meters will be installed existing residential, commercial, and industrial premises by the end of 2023.This contract will have a positive impact on the growth of the overall market in the foreseeable future.

Ask for Customization: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/customization/smart-meter-market-102666

Asia Pacific Dominates the Market; Focus on Sustainable Energy Management to Aid Growth

The report analyzes the ongoing smart meter market trends across North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and Europe. Among these regions, the market in Asia Pacific currently dominates the market. The focus on implementation of sustainable products by major companies will aid the growth of the regional market. As of 2018, the market in Asia Pacific was worth USD 12.23 billion and this value is projected to increase further in the coming years. The market in North America and Europe will witness considerable growth in the coming years, driven by the presence of several large scale companies in several countries across this region.

A few of the leading companies that are operating in the global smart meter market include:

Siemens (Germany)

ABB (Switzerland)

Kamsturp (Denmark)

Itron (US)

Landis + Gyr (Switzerland)

Badger Meter (US)

Diehl (Germany)

Secure Meter Limited(UK)

Aclara Technologies (US)

Sensus (US)

BMETER (UK)

Jabil(US)

Honeywell (US)

ZENNER (US)

Industry Developments:

October 2019: The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), announced a new joint venture labeled IntelliSmart.

Quick Buy- Smart Meter Market: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/102666

Major Table of Content for Smart Meter Market:

Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions

Executive Summary

Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities

Key Insights Key Emerging Trends  For Major Countries Latest Technological Advancement Regulatory Landscape Industry SWOT Analysis Porters Five Forces Analysis

Global Smart Meter Market Analysis (USD Billion), Insights and Forecast, 2015-2026 Key Findings / Summary Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Type Smart Electric Meter Smart Gas Meter Smart Water Meter Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Technology Auto Meter Reading (AMR) Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Application Residential Commercial Industrial Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Region North America Latin America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa



TOC Continued !!!

Speak To Our Analyst- https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/smart-meter-market-102666

Have a Look at Related Research Insights:

Smart Solar Market Size, Share and COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Service (Asset Management, Network Monitoring, Meter Data Management, Remote Metering, And Others), By Device (Smart Solar Meters, Intelligrid, and Radio-Frequency Identification [RFID]), By Application (Residential, Commercial & Industrial, and Utility), and Regional Forecast, 2020-2027

Impact of Covid-19 on the Oilfield Services Market Size, Share, Industry Analysis and Regional Forecast 2019-2027

Hydrogen Generation Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (On-site and Portable) By Technology (Steam Methane Reforming, Water Electrolysis, Partial Oil Oxidation, and Coal Gasification), By Application (Ammonia Production, Petroleum Refinery, Methanol Production, Transportation, Power Generation, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2020-2027

Heat Exchanger Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Shell & Tube, Plate & Frame, Air Coolers, Cooling Towers, and Others), By Application (Chemicals, Oil & Gas, Power Generation, HVAC, Automobile, Pharmaceuticals, Food & Beverage, Others), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

Oil and Gas Drill Bit Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Roller Cone Bits {Milled Tooth, Tungsten Carbide Inserts}, Fixed Cutter Bits {Polycrystalline Diamond Compact, Diamond Impregnated}), By Application (Onshore, Offshore), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

About Us:

Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in.



Our reports contain a unique mix of tangible insights and qualitative analysis to help companies achieve sustainable growth. Our team of experienced analysts and consultants use industry-leading research tools and techniques to compile comprehensive market studies, interspersed with relevant data.



At Fortune Business Insights, we aim at highlighting the most lucrative growth opportunities for our clients. We therefore offer recommendations, making it easier for them to navigate through technological and market-related changes. Our consulting services are designed to help organizations identify hidden opportunities and understand prevailing competitive challenges.
Melbourne, Victoria, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

Miss Possible today celebrated the success of digital outsourcing client Asset Plant and Machinery after helping them turn a $100k loss into $8M in sales in just 3 months.

After moving away from a traditional marketing company to work with Miss Possible, Australian B2B industrial metalworking company, Asset Plant and Machinery saw a huge increase in leads and sales. This incredible turn around happened during Melbournes first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. This was a period when many Australian companies struggled just to stay afloat.

Asset Plant and Machinery, with 25 years in the industry, engaged Miss Possible to take over their digital marketing after failing to see results with previous agencies.

Miss Possibles structure enables businesses to have their own digital marketing and admin team that delivers results without the high overheads of a traditional agency or in-house staff.

Dave Tucker, CEO of Asset Plant and Machinery said: Since moving our digital marketing to Miss Possible our lead generation has skyrocketed. Not only that but our marketing costs have halved. Dave goes on to say: I highly recommend Miss Possible to anyone wanting digital marketing.

To learn more about Miss Possible and the Asset Plant and Machinery success story, click https://www.misspossible.pro/success-story to watch Daves video review.

Founder of Miss Possible, Miss Kim, has more than a decade of experience in the Digital Marketing industry. During this time, Miss Kim realized that SMEs could not grow without digital marketing and admin support. However, it was obvious that budgeting for an in-house team of social media experts, SEOs, content writers, graphic designers, email marketing, administrative support etc was not viable for many businesses.

From this realization, Miss Possible was launched and has been a gamechanger in the Australian digital outsourcing industry. Instead of needing to recruit and supervise outsourcers, SMEs like Asset Plant & Machinery and INTEG Solutions have expanded and grown their businesses.

Ron Laurie, CEO of INTEG Solutions says: Thank you for giving INTEG a focus like it never has had.

Miss Kim says: A lot of businesses feel like their traditional digital marketing companies treat them just like they are a number. At Miss Possible, we treat our clients business like our own. We celebrate their successes too and were so excited for Asset Plant and Machinerys latest achievements.

Miss Possible is a Melbourne, Vic based digital outsourcing company that makes outsourcing easy for SMEs.

Website: https://misspossible.pro




Kowloon, Hong Kong, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Headquartered in Hong Kong, babywear retailer Malabar Baby has made a newly launched organic baby sleep sack available for infants and toddlers ranging from 6 months to 36 months of age. The company adds the new product to its existing line of lightweight and quilted sleeping bags for babies.

For more information see https://www.malabarbaby.com/products/fort-wearable-sleepbag-tog-1-0

The newly launched FORT wearable baby sleeping bag is released via Malabar Baby as a breathable, safety-conscious crib complement. With an accessible design, Malabar Baby explained that the non-toxic product provides infants with a comfortable transition from the environment of the womb.

Malabar Baby brings the new baby sleeping bag to consumers to meet rising demands for secure, wearable baby blankets. Industry research indicates that product cleanliness and reusability are among the primary concerns of new mothers when seeking baby clothes and accessories. As such, the new sleep sack is both eco-friendly and machine washable.

The new FORT baby sleeping bag comes equipped with a silent and reversible zipper, bolstering the products protective qualities. Mothers will find that they can unzip the sleep sack without disturbing their resting children.

Babies will further benefit from the handmade products hypoallergenic material, designed to promote healthy sleeping habits. Company representatives explained that the bags organic Indian cotton becomes softer with repeated washes while preventing overheating, making it ideal for long-term usage.

The product is available in multiple sizes for infants and toddlers. It also features the right snap design to facilitate the quick placement or removal of babies from the sleeping bag. According to Malabar Baby, mothers can easily switch their babies from muslin swaddling blankets onto using the new sleep sack as per their requirements.

We came back for a thinner sleeping bag for use in the spring and summer, explained one satisfied customer. Fabric is as soft as always, and the best part is its easy maintenance. I researched other sleeping bags in the market and it seems like only Malabar offers them in organic material that is safe for the dryer. A must for babywear.

Interested parties are invited to visit https://www.malabarbaby.com/collections/sleepbag to learn more about Malabar Babys extensive range of sleeping bags for infants.

Website: https://www.malabarbaby.com
Dublin, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Modular Facilities in Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Market: Industry Trends and Global Forecasts, 2021-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Industry stakeholders are regularly in pursuit of building strategic advantage(s) associated with product development and production processes; one of the ways to drive this is to establish flexible manufacturing capacity and deploy the associated infrastructure / facilities swiftly. Over the past few years, a large number of factors have converged to transform the facility construction paradigm within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The aforementioned factors include optimization of capital expenditure, reduction of construction timelines, integration of single-use technologies (e.g. single-use bioreactors), and the necessity to develop capabilities to support personalized medicine (driven by the need to address therapeutic requirements for rare / orphan clinical conditions).

Pre-engineered, modular facilities have emerged as a versatile solution to the abovementioned problem statement. In fact, this approach has been demonstrated to be capable of addressing several challenges, such as weather-related concerns, shortage of skilled labor, labor contract constraints and delays in supply of raw materials. Furthermore, traditional production platforms require extensive investments, in terms of both capital and time. Such facilities also consist of built-in operating equipment attached to the facility substructure, necessitating extensive renovations for equipment upgrade and reconfiguration. On the other hand, in a modular approach, individual units of a facility and the required equipment (which is integrated into the facility design) are fabricated in factories away from the actual location of the facility. Moreover, the aforementioned facility templates are built to be flexible, with provisions for future expansion of area and capacity. This has been shown to significantly improve infrastructure development and installation time.

For instance, in 2018, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, in collaboration with Legend Biotech, built a modular, commercial-scale facility, using a hybrid construction approach (which involved a combination of off-site and on-site construction); the edifice spanned 38,000 sq ft and was completed within a record time of nine months. It is also worth highlighting that the recent surge in demand for biopharmaceuticals due to COVID-19 pandemic has fueled the need for strategic changes in bioprocessing. In June 2020, Sanofi invested USD 554 million in the construction of a state-of-the-art modular vaccine production facility, in Neuville sur Saone, France, with the capacity to produce three to four vaccines simultaneously.

Productivity in the conventional construction has been shown to never exceed 80%; this is usually attributed to logistical delays (transport of building material to the construction site) and inconsistent availability of manpower. On the other hand, in the modular construction approach, productivities of over 100% (up to 140%) have been reported. This can primarily be attributed to the fact that the latter method is executed in a controlled, fabrication shop environment and much of the fabrication process is automated (which eliminates the excessive reliance on manual labor), thereby, alleviating external risks and minimizing schedule overruns. Next generation construction methods are projected to evolve under the effect of current market dynamics. Several important developments in the pharmaceutical industry are influencing the design and construction of manufacturing facilities.

Therefore, companies must retain the flexibility offered by contract manufacturers when they carry insourced projects in-house. Further, the advent of new modalities and next-generation drugs, such as cell and gene therapies and highly potent small molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients, which require specialized manufacturing facilities and equipment while avoiding cross-contamination and ensuring operator safety and protection, adds to need of platforms that are adaptable. Such trends, coupled to the increased pressure to improve efficiency, lower operating costs and acceleration of the drug development process, are considered to be the key drivers of the adoption of modular solutions. Moreover, biopharma industry continues to seek innovative ways of optimizing drug development costs and timelines. Off-site design and modularization demonstrate great potential to provide the industry with the agility to reduce the overall time to market for a particular product.

Amongst other elements, the report features:

A review of the market landscape of modular facilities along with information on their year of establishment, company size (small, mid-sized or large), location of headquarters (North America, Europe, Asia and rest of the world), geographical coverage, GMP compliance construction and type of industry served (pharmaceutical, biotechnology or others). It also includes details related to certifications obtained and COVID-19 related initiatives undertaken by modular service providers.

A review of the market landscape of modular cleanrooms along with information on their year of establishment, company size (small, mid-sized or large), location of headquarters (North America, Europe, Asia and rest of the world), type of industry served (pharmaceutical, biotechnology or others), type of modular cleanrooms (softwall and hardwall), type of modular cleanroom components (air handling units / HVAC system, fan filter units, laminar flow units, air showers, pass throughs, cleanroom furniture/furnishings, plumbing/piping, lighting/electricals). It also includes details related to regulatory approvals and certifications.

An analysis of the partnerships that have been inked by stakeholders in this domain, during the period between 2012 and 2021 (till January), covering facility construction agreements, cleanroom construction agreements, service alliances, service agreements and other relevant types of deals.

An analysis of modular projects undertaken across key geographical regions, featuring information on type of facility, facility area, most active manufacturers, most active clients, location of facility. We have provided a case study on JHL Biotech's KUBio biomanufacturing facility, which was constructed by GE Healthcare Life Sciences in China. It also includes information on modular projects received by key pharma/biotech players based on location, type and area of facility.

An insightful analysis on facility construction trends in the pharmaceutical industry for the last five years, highlighting facility construction projects established by top 20 pharma / biotech players, along with information on their number of facilities, type of facility, purpose, investments made in modular projects, area of facility and location of headquarters.

Elaborate profiles of key players that provide a wide range of modular manufacturing solutions to pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Each profile features a brief overview of the company (including information on year of establishment, number of employees, location of headquarters and key members of the executive team), details related to modular facility-focused services, modular projects, recent developments and an informed future outlook.

A review of emerging trends, including the combination of single-use technologies / continuous processing technologies with modular facilities, the shift to using smaller, multi-purpose modular facilities, and technological advancements in modular construction processes.

A detailed discussion on the various growth drivers, such as the development of personalized medicines, biosimilars, orphan drugs and the anticipated increase in the adoption of modular solutions in emerging markets by pharmaceutical/biopharmaceutical CMOs. It also highlights trends, such as expansion of existing facilities and adoption of modular facilities by emerging start-ups and small companies.

Key Questions Answered

Who are the key service providers engaged in domain of modular construction? What are the current trends fueling the adoption of modular construction solutions in the pharma/biotech industries?

Which key regions are targeted by pharma/biotech companies for expanding their existing facilities and capabilities?

What type of product lines are actively supported by integrated modular solutions in facility design and construction?

What are the recent initiatives undertaken by modular manufacturers in order to overcome the challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Which regions are the current hubs for modular construction service providers?

Which partnership models are most commonly adopted by stakeholders engaged in this industry?

How is the current and future opportunity likely to be distributed across key market segments?

Key Topics Covered:

1. PREFACE

2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

3. INTRODUCTION

4. MARKET LANDSCAPE: MODULAR FACILITY MANUFACTURERS

5. MARKET LANDSCAPE: MODULAR CLEANROOM PROVIDERS

6. COMPANY PROFILES

6.1. Chapter Overview

6.2. Cytiva

6.2.1. Company Overview

6.2.2. Modular Facility-related Services

6.2.3. Modular Projects

6.2.4. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

6.3. G-CON Manufacturing

6.3.1. Company Overview

6.3.2. Modular Facility-related Services

6.3.3. Modular Projects

6.3.4. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

6.4. Pharmadule Morimatsu

6.4.1. Company Overview

6.4.2. Modular Facility-related Services

6.3.3. Modular Projects

6.3.4. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

6.5. NNE

6.5.1. Company Overview

6.5.2. Modular Facility-related Services

6.5.3. Modular Projects

6.5.4. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

6.6. IPM Technologies

6.6.1. Company Overview

6.6.2. Modular Facility-related Services

6.6.3. Modular Projects

6.6.4. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

6.7. KeyPlants

6.7.1. Company Overview

6.7.2. Modular Facility-related Services

6.7.3. Modular Projects

6.7.4. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

6.8. Germfree Laboratories

6.8.1. Company Overview

6.8.2. Modular Facility-related Services

6.8.3. Modular Projects

6.8.4. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

6.9. ModuleCO Pharma

6.9.1. Company Overview

6.9.2. Modular Facility-related Services

6.9.3. Modular Projects

6.9.4. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

7. PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS

7.1. Chapter Overview

7.2. Types of Partnership Models

7.3. Modular Facility Providers: Partnerships and Collaborations

7.3.1. Analysis by Year of Partnership

7.3.2. Analysis by Type of Partnership

7.3.2.1. Analysis by Year and Type of Partnership

7.3.3. Analysis by Type of Product

7.3.3.1. Analysis by Type of Partnership and Type of Product

7.3.4. Analysis by Type of Modular Facility

7.3.4.1. Analysis by Type of Product and Type of Modular Facility

7.3.5. Most Active Players: Analysis by Number of Partnerships

7.3.6. Regional Analysis

7.3.6.1. Analysis by Location of Headquarters of Partner

7.3.6.2. Analysis by Location of Facility

7.3.6.3. Analysis by Type of Partnership and Location of Facility

7.3.6.4. Analysis by Type of Product and Location of Facility

7.3.7. Intercontinental and Intracontinental Partnerships

7.3.7.1. Country-wise Distribution

7.3.7.2. Regional Distribution

7.3.7.3 Analysis by Type of Partnership, Type of Product, Location of Facility and Type of Agreement

8. FEASIBILITY STUDY

8.1. Chapter Overview

8.2. Modular Facility Projects Undertaken in the Pharmaceutical / Biotechnology Industry

8.3. Analysis by Type of Facility

8.4. Analysis by Facility Area

8.5. Analysis by Type of Facility and Facility Area

8.6. Most Active Manufacturers: Analysis by Number of Projects Delivered

8.7. Most Active Clients: Analysis by Number of Projects Received

8.8. Analysis by Location of Facility

8.9. Analysis by Client and Location of Facility

8.10. Modular versus Conventional Construction Methods

8.11. Return on Investment

8.12. Case Study: Facility Based on KUBio Platform

8.12.1. GE Healthcare's KUBio Platform: Overview

8.12.2. JHL Biotech's KUBio Modular Project in China: Overview and Construction Details

9. FACILITY CONSTRUCTION TRENDS IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY

9.1. Chapter Overview

9.2. Facility Construction Projects Undertaken in the Pharmaceutical / Biotechnology Industry (Top 20 Companies): Historical Data, 2016-2020 (Till December)

9.2.1. Analysis by Number of Facilities

9.2.2. Analysis by Type of Facility

9.2.3. Analysis by Purpose of Facility

9.2.4. Analysis by Investment

9.2.5. Analysis by Facility Area

9.2.6. Analysis by Location of Headquarters

10. MARKET FORECAST

11. PREVELANT AND EMERGING INDUSTRY TRENDS

12. FUTURE GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES

13. CONCLUSION

14. EXECUTIVE INSIGHTS

15. APPENDIX

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/336qu3
Austin, Texas, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zoho Corporation, a leading global technology company, today announced its new Business Intelligence (BI) Platform  an AI-driven data analytics solution empowering businesses to surface precise and actionable insights through self-service data preparation and augmented analytics. Combining newly launched Zoho DataPrep with an enhanced version of Zoho Analytics, Zoho's end-to-end self-service BI Platform enables organizations to cleanse, unify, and analyze cross-departmental data, obtain an encyclopedic view of the company, and ultimately move toward a more competitive business strategy based on real-time insights.

Zoho's BI Platform brings together pre-built, visual dashboards, comprehensive data integrations, data preparation, augmented and embedded BI, security and privacy capabilities, flexible deployment models (cloud or on-premise), and scalability. Below are four standout pillars of this platform, which allow businesses to perform better and remain competitive in their industries:

1) Augmented Data Prep and Management - Zoho DataPrep, a new application, is an AI and machine learning-driven self-service data preparation tool. The addition of Zoho DataPrep to the BI Platform allows business users to easily create and manage data pipelines that enable them to integrate, model, cleanse, transform, enrich, and catalogue data before making it ready for analysis.



2) Data Stories - Zoho's BI Platform now offers an integrated enterprise portal builder (Zoho Sites) and presentation software (Zoho Show). Embedding live reports and dashboards into a website or presentation allows administrators to wrap additional context around data and foster more immersive discussion on business matters. Data Stories reduces friction within an organization, so that businesses can be data-driven without needing to learn new tools.



3) Augmented Analytics - Ask Zia, Zoho's conversational AI, enables business users -- with or without technical know-how -- to surface data through natural language querying. Additionally, the all-new Zia Insights provides textual narration of key insights from reports and dashboards, which significantly reduces the time and effort required to explore data and glean insights. Zia Insights also includes what-if capability, enabling scenario analysis for effective decision-making.

4) Marketplace - Through Zoho Marketplace, an apps marketplace, Zoho is enabling partners to develop and publish analytical apps and integrations to complement Zoho Analytics users, thereby strengthening the BI and Analytics platform. Another dimension is the launch of deep native analytical apps, with domain-specific advanced analytics, in third-party marketplaces such as Shopify, ServiceNow and Atlassian.

The new Zoho BI Platform is built for scale and is extensible to more than 250 data sourcesincluding Zendesk, HubSpot, Microsoft, Mailchimp, Stripe and Googleallowing businesses to integrate and analyze data sourced from diverse third-party systems. Blending with outside data sources has always been one of the key strengths of Zoho Analytics, and a value demonstrated by the fact that 60% of existing users have chosen it as their BI tool while solely running on non-Zoho applications and data sources.

The BI platform gives users on-demand insight into operational data to inform critical business decisions with the support of Zia, Zoho's AI tool. Zia augments data preparation and visualization by using natural language querying and generation, text narration of key insights from reports and dashboards, and cognitive and advanced analytics. These self-service and real-time capabilities make it possible to capture actionable data insights to boost operational efficiency and productivity.

With more than 50,000 organizations already using it, Zoho Analytics has consistently been one of the company's fastest growing products. Within the last two years, Zoho Analytics has grown by 30% YoY with a 40% YoY increase in the enterprise segment. The application has seen a 10% jump in customers switching from competitive platforms. Also, 50% of the customers have chosen Zoho Analytics after evaluating multiple competitive BI products. With this new BI Platform, Zoho expects above 45% YoY revenue growth.

Statements for Media:

"We originally chose the Zoho BI platform because Zoho Analytics was able to give us a complete 360-degree view of our customer journey and made it easy to blend data from multiple systems to do so. Its only continued to innovate. While we used to spend a lot of time writing and maintaining custom scripts to import data, fix errors, and transform the data, the new platform has helped us eliminate custom scripts and manual data preparation. With Zoho DataPrep, we easily found the errors in the data and fixed them all from within the tool, and are now able to completely automate data preparation. This brings immense value to our organization as we are able to get the most relevant and accurate insight into our company-wide analytics while spending our time on more valuable tasks." - Claudio Cabeza, Director of Grupo Premo

Self-service data preparation, computer-augmented analysis and in-context story telling are three important, emerging capabilities that set industry-leading BI and analytics platforms apart. The ability to build and share analytic apps is yet another differentiator, so Im particularly excited to see Zoho enabling customers to publish breakthrough, data-driven applications. - Doug Henschen, principal analyst at Constellation Research

"For data to be a true catalyst of business growth, there can't be any gaps in the collection, management, or analysis process. Too few BI platforms in the market excel in both data preparation and analytics, which leaves businesses with weak -- or worse, flawed -- insights. Zoho's BI Platform is industry-leading because it ensures organizations are acting on legitimate data, which can be effectively leveraged to determine new revenue streams, refocus funds, drive productivity, and overall gain a competitive edge among peers in their market." - Raju Vegesna, Chief Evangelist for Zoho

"Data is now the lifeblood of any organization of every size. The ability to harness analytics and transform it into actionable insights is a strategic imperative  and something that is now far too important to be held hostage by an enterprise analytics or business intelligence team. For this reason, a new generation of self-service-first tools, such as Zoho's new BI platform, are changing the way organizations look at the entire data-to-insight pipeline. This democratized approach enables organizations to put the power of data  from collection, through cleaning and analysis, to insight  into the hands of those who are best positioned to act upon it, and create competitive advantage as a result." - Charles Araujo, Principal Analyst, Intellyx

Pricing and Availability

Zoho BI Platform, which includes Zoho Analytics and Zoho DataPrep, is available immediately in two versions, cloud and on-premise. For monthly option, the cloud version is $8 per user, per month. The on-premise version is $30 per user, per month. For annual option, the cloud version is $96 per user, per year. The on-premise version is $360 per user, per year.

Zoho DataPrep is also available as a standalone. The standard plan starts at $40 per month for 2 million rows including 3 users while the enterprise plan is highly customizable and the pricing is based on the customization.

For more information, please visit https://www.zoho.com/analytics/

Disclaimer: All trademarks, product names, and company names cited herein are the property of their respective owners.

About Zoho

With 50+ apps in nearly every major business category, including sales, marketing, customer support, accounting and back office operations, and an array of productivity and collaboration tools, Zoho Corporation is one of the world's most prolific software companies.

Zoho is privately held and profitable with more than 9,000 employees. Zoho is headquartered in Austin, Texas, with international headquarters in Chennai, India. Additional offices are in the United States, India, Japan, China, Singapore, Mexico, Australia, the Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirates.

Zoho respects user privacy and does not have an ad-revenue model in any part of its business, including its free products. More than 60 million users around the world, across hundreds of thousands of companies, rely on Zoho every day to run their businesses, including Zoho itself. For more information, please visit www.zoho.com

Attachments
Dublin, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Student Information System Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The student information system market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.2% during the forecast period (2021-2026). The growth is majorly driven by increased digitization in the education industry, growing inclination towards e-learning, and emphasis on improving the quality of education. However, the lack of trained users might hamper the growth of the market.

Schools and training centers are moving from the traditional blackboard approach to integrating smart technology into learning environments. At the university level, institutions are adopting innovative methods, such as student information systems, to optimize the overall institution operations by shifting focus from manual workload and labor to providing opportunities for students to develop relevant and valuable skills in line with industry requirements the system offers remote access, security, data backup, and cost-effectiveness.

These systems help in creating the modern, intuitive experience that students, faculty, and staff expect when transacting business on campus, increasing operational efficiency by eliminating data silos and paper-based processes and automating workflows, sustaining financial resources by identifying new sources of revenue and removing unprofitable programs, Providing campus leaders with real-time analytics dashboards and leveraging modern best practices and technology to recruit, retain, and develop top faculty and staff.

For instance, The University of Nottingham is a large, complex organization, with three campuses across the world (in the UK, China, and Malaysia). It is the seventh-largest university in the UK, with 8,000 staff and 46,000 students. The University rolled out Oracle's PeopleSoft Campus Solutions across all three campuses in December 2018. All three campuses are now using a single, integrated system, which is expected to increase efficiencies, reduce costs, and improve the user experience for both employees and students.

The recent COVID-19 outbreak also negatively impacted the education industry worldwide. With the ongoing lockdown schools and colleges have come to a complete hault and have started implementing online solutions to continue the scheduled curriculum and assessments for the year. In this scenario student information system are expected to grow in countries having good network infrastructure and internet penetration. However, these systems cater to comparatively less number of institutes with respect to the current demand for education and thus cost might become one of major factors hindering the growth of the market as this may result in loss of oppotunity in emerging countries.

Key Market Trends



Cloud Segment is Expected to Witness Significant Growth

The need for institutions to provide access to data 24/7 and deliver a more personalized and seamless student experience is vital. Supported by cloud technologies, institutions can see a rapid return on investment and keep moving at pace in this increasingly competitive environment. Solutions usually include software packages such as student management systems, student information management systems, student records systems, and others, which require more data storage capabilities and thus provide growth opportunities for cloud-based student information systems.

For instance, in March 2020, Ellucian announced that the Arkansas State University (ASU) System, a network of universities in Arkansas serving nearly 23,000 students, selected Ellucian Banner as its unified, cloud-based student information system. The statewide effort to align higher education institutions, the ASU System would implement Banner to achieve a shared, scalable cloud platform designed to increase collaboration, combine resources, and support future growth among the system's schools.

Moreover, due to the ongoing pandemic, the education institutes have come to a total shutdown, and the demand for solutions such as student information systems has spiked rapidly. According to the latest figures released by the UNESCO, 1.3 billion learners around the world were not able to attend schools, as of March 23, 2020. Many schools, colleges, and universities are closed across the globe.

As the systems offer cloud deployment, which has higher storage and processing capabilities, the number of features embedded in the system can also increase, facilitating all the requirements demanded in the challenging times right from enrolling the student to maintaining alumni network base which otherwise would be a tedious and time-consuming task.

Asia Pacific to Witness Significant Growth

A student information system with specific built-in mechanisms caters to the purpose of the school management system at the same time meeting the demands of student-related information management in developing countries such as China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, among others majorly in K-12 Education. However, the growth highly depends upon the penetration of devices such as good computers and networking with decent internet connectivity and robust security.

There are diverse sets of countries at different levels of income and development in central Asia. The spread, use, and availability of student information systems are essential for the growth of the market, as is the availability of online learning materials, as well as devices and the level of internet connectivity at home.

For instance, the school education system in India is the largest in the world with over 1.5 million schools, over 8.7 million primary and secondary teachers, and more than 260 million enrolments, is home to the largest and most complex education system in the world catering to over 260 million young population each year making it a region with immense opportunities for student information system vendors to penetrate and increase its customer base.

Moreover, Governments of various countries in the region are taking initiatives to provide quality education and increase the literacy rate, which is expected to help the market grow in the longer run. For instance, the Chinese government is funding technology initiatives that are aimed at narrowing the gap between the quality of education in rural and urban areas. They have deployed a live-streaming network that connects hundreds of students spread across a vast expanse of China's countryside.

Competitive Landscape



The student information system market is moderatly competitive, primarily owing to the presence of multiple players in the market operating in the domestic and international markets. The players in the market are adopting strategies like partnerships and expansions to increase their product functionality and expand their geographic reach.

In February 2020, Ellucian partnered with OnePLM to drive digital transformation for specialist providers of higher education. The partnership is aimed to aid the growth of their leading Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution Ellucian Quercus, developed for specialist providers of higher education.

In October 2019, Campus Management, a provider of cloud-based SIS, CRM, and ERP solutions and services, showcased the latest innovations for its CampusNexus Cloud platform, powered by Microsoft Azure, and next-generation analytics capabilities at EDUCAUSE 2019 in Chicago.

Reasons to Purchase this report:

The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format

3 months of analyst support

Key Topics Covered:



1 INTRODUCTION



2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY



3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY



4 MARKET DYNAMICS

4.1 Market Overview

4.2 Industry Attractiveness - Porter's Five Forces Analysis

4.3 Market Drivers

4.3.1 Increasing Awareness to Improve the Administrative Process among Education Institutes

4.3.2 Rising Focus of Educational Institutions to Improve Education Quality and Customer Satisfaction

4.4 Market Restraints

4.4.1 Lack of Expertise and Infrastructure Among End Users

4.5 Assessment of Impact of Covid-19 on the Market



5 MARKET SEGMENTATION

5.1 By Type

5.1.1 Solution

5.1.2 Services

5.2 By End-User

5.2.1 K-12 Education

5.2.2 Higher Education

5.3 By Deployment Mode

5.3.1 On Premise

5.3.2 Cloud

5.4 Geography

5.4.1 North America

5.4.2 Europe

5.4.3 Asia Pacific

5.4.4 Latin America

5.4.5 Middle East and Africa



6 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

6.1 Company Profiles*

6.1.1 Ellucian Company LP

6.1.2 Eduware ntc

6.1.3 Jenzabar Inc.

6.1.4 PowerSchool Group LLC

6.1.5 Skyward Inc.

6.1.6 Workday Inc.

6.1.7 Tribal Group Plc

6.1.8 Foradian Technologies

6.1.9 Unit4

6.1.10 Oracle Corporation

6.1.11 Campus Management Corp.



7 INVESTMENT ANALYSIS



8 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES AND FUTURE TRENDS



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/py6kna
New York, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Biomass Power Market Overview: According to a comprehensive research report by Market Research Future (MRFR),  Biomass Power Market Research Report, Feedstock, Application and Region - Forecast till 2027 the market is projected to be worth USD 108.64 Billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 10.5% during the forecast period (2021 - 2027), The market was valued at USD 54.1 billion in 2020.

Increased Demand for Power Generation

Biomass is a low-carbon, sustainable alternative to traditional fossil fuels that, when burned, produces bioenergy, which is regarded as a clean fuel for energy generation. Growing global energy demand is expected to boost bioenergy production via biomass, which will also assist the growth of the biomass power market. As per the International Energy Agency (IEA), bioenergy power output increased by around 5% in 2019, which is only 1% less than the 6% annual power production rate required to satisfy the 2030 sustainable development scenario goals.

Furthermore, renewable energy generated from biomass has a significant impact on global warming emissions since it reduces the amount of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere. Furthermore, boosting the supply of renewable biomass power would allow to replace carbon-intensive energy sources while reducing global warming emissions dramatically. As a result, rising demand for clean energy generation is likely to fuel expansion in the worldwide biomass power market throughout the forecast period.



Get Free Sample PDF Brochure https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1692





Key Players

The prominent players active in the global biomass power market are-

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises Inc. (US)

Orsted A/S (Denmark)

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

Ltd. (Japan)

Suez (France)

Amerseco Inc (US)

Licella Holdings Ltd (Australia)

Vattenfall AB (Sweden)

Xcel Energy Inc (US)

VEOLIA (France)

Ramboll Group A/S (US).

Industry News

In February 2021, Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) announced that its B&W Environmental division would design, supply, and install a flue gas energy recovery system as well as innovative water treatment equipment for a waste-to-energy facility in Europe. The contract is worth more than $13 million.



Browse In-depth Market Research Report (155 pages) on Biomass Power



https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/biomass-power-market-1692





Rising Energy & Power Demand

Global energy demand has risen exponentially in recent years as a result of increasing urbanization and a fast-growing global population. The majority of the energy produced around the world comes from fossil fuels, which emit harmful GHG emissions when burned. Biomass, on the other hand, is a carbon-neutral carrier that can make major contributions to lowering greenhouse gas emissions. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has released a biomass action plan. The plan is intended to promote the use of biomass energy as a source of energy with enormous potential for power generation. As a result, increased energy and power demand is likely to fuel the growth of the worldwide biomass power market over the forecast period.

Restrictions Caused by COVID-19 Pandemic to Impact the Global Market

COVID-19's impact on the global economy is altering on a daily basis. It is proving to be a significant hurdle for the renewable industry, resulting in a raw material supply crisis and probable job losses. Companies in the energy and power industry are facing a number of issues as a result of a drop in electricity costs following the COVID-19 outbreak. Furthermore, the United States is one of the greatest markets for biomass power generation. The slowing of the country's economic growth has had an impact on the global generation and renewable energy investment. Similarly, during the COVID-19 crisis, there was a greater emphasis on renewable technologies; however, due to labor restrictions, fewer power plants were operational.

As per the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), just 222 MW of solar and 25 MW of wind capacity were achieved in India in March, as all efforts were halted owing to the pandemic. Similarly, the majority of respondents in a survey done by the World Bioenergy Association (WBA) acknowledged the considerable impact of the pandemic on the bioenergy industry, leading to a reduction in investment and the cancellation of new investments in the bioenergy sector. However, due to fewer limitations, the solid biomass sector, including makers of wood pellets, has not seen a significant change in 2020.

COVID-19 has had a significant impact on all businesses around the world. Due to the rapid growth, governments around the world have taken stronger measures for the functioning of industrial plants and offices, resulting in stricter lockdowns. The lockdown had a significant influence on the energy sector, with energy demand falling by 18% to 20% in 2020. Furthermore, the virus had a considerable influence on the bioenergy sector, with a particular emphasis on processed solid biomass like wood pellets, chips, forest residues, and others. The result was a modest decrease in revenues and a difficult position with controlling the cash flow of market participants. However, producers of industrial pellets faced difficulties in obtaining feedstock since the majority of the sector relies on forestry harvesting, which was hampered by national restrictions.



Share your Queries https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/enquiry/1692





Market Segmentation

The global biomass power market has been classified based on feedstock, technology, and end-use.

By feedstock, the global biomass power market has been segmented into woody biomass, energy crops, agricultural residues, forest residues, biogas landfill & sewage gas, industrial & municipal waste.

By technology, the global biomass power market has been segmented into anaerobic digestion, combustion, gasification, and co-firing.

By end-use, the global biomass power market has been segmented into residential, commercial, and industrial.

Regional Analysis

APAC to Lead the Global Market with Largest Share

The Asia Pacific biomass power industry is expected to account for the largest part of the global biomass power market. The Asia Pacific is one of the world's greatest markets for biomass power. Due to the region's growing population and rising per capita disposable income, there is an increased demand for energy. Furthermore, the fast-developing economies in this region are also the world's top polluters. Furthermore, due to the abundance of natural resources in the region, Asia Pacific is expected to grow significantly. Emerging economies like India and Indonesia are expected to grow significantly as a result of proposed government legislation to promote investment in the biomass power sector.

Segmentation of Market covered in the research:

Information by Feedstock (Woody Biomass, Agricultural Residues, Forest Residues, Biogas, Landfill and Sewage Gas, Energy Crops, Industrial & Municipal Waste), Technology (Anaerobic Digestion, Combustion, Gasification, and Co-Firing), End Use (Industrial, Commercial, and Residential), and Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and South America)



To Buy: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=1692





About Market Research Future:

Market Research Future (MRFR) is a global market research company that takes pride in its services, offering a complete and accurate analysis with regard to diverse markets and consumers worldwide. Market Research Future has the distinguished objective of providing the optimal quality research and granular research to clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help answer your most important questions.
AUI and Accumen, Inc. announced they are partnering to provide services to improve crisis resilience to manmade and natural disasters for the healthcare sector at a historically challenging time.



The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for an enhanced level of crisis resilience essential to avoid overwhelming hospitals and negatively impacting patient care. This new AUI/Accumen partnership is intended to address that need and to improve healthcare industry safeguards against cybersecurity threats.



Underscoring the urgency of the situation, the Department of Homeland Security noted almost a 300% rise in ransomware attacks over the last year affecting small businesses in over half of the incidents,1 while the HIPAA Journal announced more than 29 million healthcare records were breached in the last year alone.2 Further, natural and manmade disasters caused disruptions coast to coast as wildfires challenged West Coast energy and supply chains, extreme weather caused a historic Texas outage, and the Colonial Pipeline shutdown wreaked havoc on the East Coast.



The U.S. healthcare system is vulnerable to all the operational disruptions that one reads about in the news, whether it be natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and extreme heat and cold, or manmade threats such as malware and ransomware, armed intruders, or explosive devices, said Accumen CEO BG Porter. Accumen is partnering with AUI to bring their expertise to our industry and increase the healthcare sectors disaster preparedness and resilience. We want to take some of the pressure off healthcare professionals by keeping the lights on and the doors open and ensuring that needed medical equipment and supplies are available and on hand, letting them focus on what they do best  taking care of patients.



AUI will play a central role in providing cybersecurity and operational resilience measures in the partnership. We are excited to partner with Accumen to provide operational resilience to critical infrastructure and help address this national challenge, said AUI CEO, Dr. Adam Cohen.



Additional information about Accumen/AUIs Crisis Resilience for Healthcare program is available at https://accumen.com/crisis-resilience.



References



abcnews.go.com/Politics/dhs-secretary-warns-ransomware-attacks-rise-targets-include/story?id=77512872 hipaajournal.com/2020-healthcare-data-breach-report-us/ About AUI

AUI collaborates with the scientific community to plan, build, and operate cutting-edge facilities. We cultivate excellence, deliver value, enhance education, and engage the public. Our expertise focuses on continually improving research and development, user facilities, management and operations, technology incubation, and community engagement through workshop and conference planning. Find out more at aui.edu



About Accumen Inc.

Accumen is a technology enabled organization that partners with hospital, health system, commercial laboratory, and payer clients, to provide strategic solutions and services that deliver sustainable performance improvements. Our offerings include lab and imaging transformation, consulting, supply chain optimization, lab outreach, 3D post-processing, patient blood management, test utilization, anemia management, and clinical data exchange. Accumens offerings enable our clients to achieve and exceed their cost, quality, and service targets, as well as deliver excellent patient care through evidence-based data and clinical decision support capabilities.



ACCUMEN | Helping Healthcare Get Better, FasterTM



Find out more at Accumen.com



AUI Media Contact

Matt Schaub

Email: mschaub@aui.edu



Accumen Media Contact

Lisa Osborne, CEO

Rana Healthcare Solutions

Phone: 206.992.5245

Email: lisa@ranahealth.com



# # #
Markham, Ontario, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On July 12th, 2021, member of Parliament Bob Saroya and other distinguished guests attended a ceremony to celebrate a high-tech company, Kinglory Inc., selecting Markham to be its corporate headquarters. Markham is Canada's high-tech capital, anchored by more than 1,500 international tech businesses.

With a team of over 200 technological experts from Canada, the United States, Israel and Russia, Kinglory is a public, open-source platform that is dedicated to maintaining and developing a community that anyone can contribute to.

Kinglory brings a major technological overhaul to the existing blockchains in the data, network, consensus, incentive, and application layers. Kinglory utilizes state-of-the-art technological innovations to eliminate performance, security, accessibility, scalability, and energy consumption issues present in networks such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Founder of Kinglory, Justin Smith, commented: Our vision is to build Kinglory into the most ambitious and innovative technology for the betterment of the world. Kinglory shares its vision for building a vibrant community through the motto: One Chain, One World.

Partnered with a Canadian private equity firm, IF Capital, both parties are committed to transforming Kinglory into a truly distinguished blockchain project. With deep expertise in managing and operating various projects in North Americans high potential new economy market, IF Capital will provide its professional guidance as Kinglory joins the market.

For more information on the Kinglory blockchain platform, please visit Kinglory.org.

About Kinglory: Kinglory is a large-scale, commercial, high-performance blockchain ecological platform using modern cryptography, communications, distributed computing, and distributed storage technologies to support decentralized finance, social networking, e-commerce, search, and storage business applications. Kinglory is a Canadian-based hi-tech company located in Markham, Ontario. The Kinglory public chain R&D team comprises blockchain experts from Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Israel, and other countries. Learn more at Kinglory.org.

Attachments
Hailey, Idaho, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The POWER Engineers Incorporated (POWER) Board of Directors appointed Jim Haynes as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the firm on Friday, July 9. Haynes has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for the past six years and was previously the Division Manager of POWERs Facilities Division.

Jim leads by example and has demonstrated his thoughtful, strategic leadership style over his 18 years at POWER, said Ron Carrington, POWERs Board Chair. He is constantly encouraging his team to work smarter and better together. We look forward to seeing him apply this mindset and his passion for excellence to the entire company.

Haynes joined POWER Engineers Industrial division in 2003 as a project manager, eventually moving to business development manager, business unit director and division manager. He was instrumental in building POWERs food and beverage engineering services team, one of the largest in the U.S.

In June 2015, Haynes was asked to lead POWERs Operations division (Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology, Legal, Corporate Governance, Marketing/Communications) as CAO.

Haynes also serves as chair of the POWER Foundation, the companys non-profit arm. Passionate about the communities where POWER employees live and work, Haynes championed the foundations largest initiative to date, which awarded grants to more than 40 low-income schools struggling with distance learning during the pandemic.

Haynes earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology and is a graduate of the University of Minnesotas Management Institute. He has also completed executive education at Northwestern Universitys Kellogg School of Management, earning the designation of Executive Scholar.

Haynes succeeds former CEO Bret Moffett, who has led the firm since 2016.

Attachment
Converse, IN, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Farmers Financial Corp. (OTCQX:FFMR), announced that the Board of Directors has approved a plan to repurchase up to $2 million in the Corporations outstanding common stock on the open market.

The timing, price, and quantity of purchases under the stock repurchase plan will be at the discretion of management and may be discontinued, suspended, or restarted at any time. The program will be funded from current available working capital. The board feels the stock repurchase plan will provide capital management opportunities and add value for the Companys shareholders depending upon market and business conditions.

First Farmers Financial Corp is a $2.3 billion financial holding company headquartered in Converse, Indiana. First Farmers Bank & Trust has offices throughout Carroll, Cass, Clay, Grant, Hamilton, Howard, Huntington, Madison, Marshall, Miami, Starke, Sullivan, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Vigo and Wabash counties in Indiana and offices in Coles, Edgar and Vermilion counties in Illinois. As of June 30, 2021, the Corporation had 7,049,996 common shares outstanding.
New Jersey, United States, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Over the years, a lot of people have been looking to start their own small business, as doing so right now is easier than ever. Since making websites has gone from days upon days of coding to a few drag-and-drop sessions, it has become very easy for people to get creative and start their own online stores, and start offering their unique products to the world.

However, this process still has one obstacle that cannot be so easily overcome, and that is the quality of delivery. If you have ever ordered something and had to wait for days, weeks, or even months for it to arrive  you are likely well-aware of the problem. But, you are not the only one stressed out by this late arrival of the ordered items. The seller is, too, as the delivery service they employ is typically not their own, but a third-party service.

That means that they have no control over their speed, reliability, or methods of caring for the package while it travels the world to your door. However, like so many other industries, the arrival of the blockchain technology aims to disrupt even the delivery sector, and make it better, faster, more transparent, more secure, and more reliable, overall. This is the task that Buying.com has taken upon itself to complete.

What is Buying.com?

Buying.com is a new company that uses the power of blockchain technology to offer ODDS  On-Demand Delivery System. Essentially, whenever someone wishes to send something, they can simply fill out a short form and offer a delivery job. A driver would then accept the route, pick up the package, and deliver it to its final destination.

However, this is different from other delivery services, as it provides businesses with a competitive edge, as it brings a lot more benefits and advantages than a simple delivery. Buying.com allows users to send the package anywhere, whether it is one mile away from the seller or hundreds of miles. It makes it easy for sellers to hire the drivers, and it lets both the buyer and the seller track the package as it travels by offering direct communication with the driver.

Sellers can also receive their buyers contact information, which makes it easy for them to share special offers, events, promotions, and alike, directly with their customer. It is all done through a very simple, yet advanced interface that puts the driver in the palm of your hand.

It also spares the seller from having its own drivers on a payroll. Doing so is very expensive for businesses, as they also need to pay drivers when there are no deliveries to make, and there is no way to help them out during particularly busy days. It also increases the reliability of delivery, and, if the project continues to grow and develop as it did until now, it would be possible to make worldwide deliveries in only a couple of hours.

With Buying.com offering long-range deliveries, it is also very easy for businesses to expand their customer base, and service people across the country, or even go international as their business continues to grow.

There is also 24/7 live support, and the cost of deliveries is significantly reduced. In fact, the project offers you to save 50% on delivery by taking orders via your smartphone, and not having to worry about marketing fees that 3rd parties tend to charge. It is now easier than ever to become not only the manufacturer and seller of your products, but also to deliver them in a record amount of time and keep the customer happy, thus improving your business and its reputation. Buying.com is quickly becoming a go-to service for deliveries, and is becoming the Uber or AirBnb of supply and logistics.

The token offering will be launched on July 14th, 2021 at 9:00 AM PST in collaboration with TrustSwap. More information can be found in the recent TrustSwap Medium article.

Media details

Company: Buying.com

Email: info@buying.com

Website: https://buying.com/




SAN FRANCISCO, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman urges Full Truck Alliance (NYSE: YMM) investors with significant losses to submit your losses now. A securities class action lawsuit has been filed that relates to the companys IPO issuance of 82.5 million American Depositary Shares at $19/ADS. Certain investors who invested in Full Truck Alliance ADRs pursuant or traceable to the companys IPO may have valuable claims.



Class Period: June 19, 2021  July 12, 2021

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: Sept. 10, 2021

Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/YMM

Contact An Attorney Now:

YMM@hbsslaw.com

844-916-0895

Full Truck Alliance Co. Ltd. (YMM) Securities Class Action:

According to the lawsuit, the companys IPO materials contained misleading statements about the risks that (1) Full Truck Alliances Yunmanman and Huochebang apps would face an imminent cybersecurity review by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), (2) the CAC would require the company to suspend new user registrations, and (3) the CAC would require First Truck Alliance to conduct a comprehensive review of any cybersecurity risks and remediate its systems and technologies as necessary.

Within a month of closing the IPO, investors began to learn the truth.

On July 5, 2021, Full Truck Alliance announced the CAC commenced a cybersecurity review of the Yunmanman and Huochebang apps and required the company to conduct a comprehensive review of cybersecurity risks, remediate deficiencies, and suspend new user registrations in China.

This news sent the price of Full Truck Alliance ADRs crashing lower on July 6, 2021.

Were focused on investors losses and proving Full Truck Alliance and senior management knew of the Chinese regulators demands but nonetheless rushed to market without first satisfying those demands, said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation.

If you are a Full Truck Alliance investor and have significant losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firms investigation, click here to discuss your legal rights with Hagens Berman.

Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Full Truck Alliance should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email YMM@hbsslaw.com.

About Hagens Berman

Hagens Berman is a national law firm with eight offices in eight cities around the country and over eighty attorneys. The firm represents investors, whistleblowers, workers and consumers in complex litigation. More about the firm and its successes is located at hbsslaw.com. For the latest news visit our newsroom or follow us on Twitter at @classactionlaw .

Contact:

Reed Kathrein, 844-916-0895




Gloucester, MA (01930)

Today

Overcast. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 67F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy this evening with showers after midnight. Low 63F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
CASSOPOLIS [mdash] Lorraine Miller, 78, of Cassopolis, Michigan, formerly of Goshen, passed away at 3:45 p.m, on Thursday, July 15, at Spectrum Health Lakeland, St. Joseph, Michigan, with her family by her side. She had been in declining health with a brief illness. She was born on March 28,
Note: We've recently updated our online systems. If you can't login please try resetting your password. You must login with an email address. If you don't have an email associated with your account email circulation@skagitpublishing.com for help creating one.
During the Grand Prix weekend in Austria, talks took place about the new engine regulations in Formula 1, which will take effect after 2025. Audi and Porsche are also at the table as representatives of the Volkswagen Group.

In an interview with the Dutch Motorsport.com, Helmut Marko explains his own future vision for F1 engines. Honda will leave the sport from next year, but Red Bull will take over their engines until at least 2025. Wasn't this decision too quick given the current success? "Well, at least it's a final decision that is irreversible," Marko explains.

Both Marko and Christian Horner were present on behalf of Red Bull at the talks about the future. Especially Audi and Porsche seem to have a clear preference. "The people in charge at VW have made it clear what they want. They are in favour of a completely new engine formula so that they can start with equal opportunities. With the current six-cylinder, Mercedes has the biggest advantage, as they have the most successful engine," the Red Bull advisor reveals.

Marko points to new engine formula

If the German company actually wants to enter Formula 1, VW and Red Bull could join forces, but Marko makes it clear: "As always, there are no agreements or official talks in progress."

The main question remains whether a completely new engine formula will be introduced or continue with the current V6. "Well, our costing points more towards a new engine formula. At Silverstone, the talks continue and the outcome is really not yet determined. The only way to achieve the cost reduction is to standardise parts and reduce the time on the test bench."

Toto Wolff believes that the fully sustainable fuels, which are planned, should be introduced sooner. Marko disagrees. "The increase from five to ten percent bioethanol has already cost us tens of millions of dollars. If you want to switch to fully synthetic fuels, you have to do it at the same time as the new engine regulations. Also, the e-fuels need to be available at a reasonable price, that's not the case at the moment."
The extent to which the number of white evangelicals have declined in the United States has 
A young Formula 3 driver is determined to become the fourth Schumacher in Formula 1.

The great Michael Schumacher made his debut in 1991, his brother Ralf followed in 1997, and this year Michael's only son Mick entered the top category with Haas.

But at the last grand prix in Austria, 19-year-old David Schumacher - the son of Ralf and therefore Mick's cousin - won his first FIA Formula 3 race.

"It definitely changed something in me," David told RTL. "The pressure has definitely gone down. It has helped, and I feel better now.

"You don't forget your first victory in a top category like this. I looked down and saw my dad, who was extremely happy."

Schumacher drives for the well-known Trident team, but he insists he will not be following the policy of handing over the winning trophy to them.

"The team can tell me what they want - I'm taking the trophy with me," David smiled.

It is clear that Schumacher, and his famous father Ralf, have higher ambitions for his future, as David blasted some of his fellow F3 drivers.

"I think this category is generally very aggressive, but there are a lot of aggressive drivers who - I'm sorry to say - are also idiots who risk too much when it will never work out. So that's not easy," he said.

When asked whether his ultimate goal is Formula 1, Schumacher answered: "I would say on a scale of 1 to 10, the answer is probably 100.

"The dream is always there and it always will be. I'll give everything to make it and I hope it works out."

(GMM)
If George Russell is not promoted to the works Mercedes lineup for 2022, Dr Helmut Marko says Red Bull would consider snapping up the 23-year-old Briton.

It is widely expected that Toto Wolff-led Mercedes will in fact announce this weekend at Silverstone that its junior driver Russell - who currently drives for Williams - is replacing Valtteri Bottas next year.

But if Mercedes doesn't make that call, Red Bull's Dr Marko is keen to swoop.

"Russell is certainly worth considering when you look at the performance he is currently delivering at Williams," the 78-year-old Austrian said.

"But it's pointless because Mercedes would make a huge mistake if they didn't get him. I just can't imagine that," Marko added.

When asked why Mercedes has waited so long to promote the highly promising Russell, who upstaged Bottas when he stood in for an ill Lewis Hamilton in Bahrain last year, Marko responded: "That's a question for Mercedes.

"It's not our style to give advice. At the end of the day we just take note of it," he told Sport1.

"But at the end of the day, if a driver like Russell was already with us, he would have been in a competitive car long ago. The performance he does with the Williams in qualifying is extraordinary."

(GMM)
Volkswagen brands Audi and Porsche want Formula 1 to adopt four-wheel drive for the next set of engine regulations from 2025 or 2026.

The CEOs of both German luxury carmakers attended Formula 1's recent meeting at the Red Bull Ring to discuss the future of the engine rules.

Writing in La Gazzetta dello Sport, correspondent Andrea Cremonesi said all the stakeholders fundamentally agree that F1 is sticking with its hybrid concept, but making it simpler and cheaper.

The details are less clear, but according to Cremonesi, Volkswagen may only consider entering F1 with one of its brands if a fundamental element changes.

"Strengthened by the experiences in WEC and Formula E, the two German manufacturers put forward the proposal to introduce four-wheel drive," he said.

Cremonesi said Porsche and Audi's idea is for the front wheels to be powered by a new electric motor.

He explained that while Mercedes, Renault and Red Bull are not keen on the idea, Ferrari is "open to any solution" that costs less and continues to emphasise hybrid technology.

According to Cremonesi, one likely change for 2025-2026 is the scrapping of the expensive, complex, heavy and noise-suppressing MGU-H energy recovery technology.

"Only the MGU-K would remain, but the recovery of the kinetic energy would be increased with the use of a more powerful component," he explained.

As for the combustion engine, the 1.6 litre V6 looks set to stay, offset by the introduction of sustainable fuels.

"In Europe," said Mercedes' Toto Wolff, "we can all imagine driving electric vehicles by 2030.

"But in the rest of the world, we will still have millions of vehicles - including Mercedes vehicles - running on petrol.

"So what we can do is contribute with our innovation to develop sustainable fuels, whether bio or synthetic," he added.

(GMM)
Submit An Obituary

Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death.

Go to form
Skeleton Technologies signed a contract with CAF Power & Automation, the global manufacturer of electric power solutions for the rail industry, to supply ultracapacitors in trams powered by CAF P&As OESS-s (On Board Energy Storage Systems). Skeletons cells will be included in Greentech OESS portfolio already used by some of the leading railway companies worldwide to offer solutions to energy recovery, peak shaving and catenary-free applications.

As energy efficiency is now the key design criteria for any public transportation system, ultracapacitors are ready to significantly contribute to the rail industry.

Attractive features of the Skeleton technology include:

The ultracapacitor technology can significantly improve tram efficiency - reducing costs and CO 2 emissions;

it can also enable compatibility between existing limited power in infrastructure and the demand of high peaks of power of modern trams; and

it enables a unique solution for 100% catenary free solutions operating only with ultra-fast charging in stations.

Skeletons cells will be integrated into Greentech OESS-s, which are already powering trams in dozens of countries including the UK, Australia, Estonia, Luxembourg, and Spain.
Despite fielding calls from two of the states top Democrats, Greenwich resident John Blankley said he has collected the signatures required to run as an unaffiliated candidate, making it a three-way race for the state Senate.

On Monday, Blankley confirmed he had received calls from Gov. Ned Lamont and U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, both of whom are Greenwich residents, about his continued presence in the race as an unaffiliated candidate.

They have made the traditional supposition that in a special election in the middle of the summer that it will be low turnout, and that if I am running as a strong candidate, because they know Im a strong candidate, there is likely to be a split vote and the Republican will win, Blankley said.

3 1 of 3 Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 3 of 3





That is an old-fashioned political supposition, he said. I have discovered while out on the trail getting signatures, that independent voters want a voice. There will be three people on the ballot  a Republican, a Democrat and an unaffiliated. Without me, the unaffiliateds only have one or the other.

Meanwhile, the two major party candidates for the 36th Senate District, who received their party nods last week, said they will use the states public financing system to fund their campaigns.

On Saturday, Republicans formally nominated Greenwich resident Ryan Fazio to carry the GOP banner, and. earlier last week, Democrats rallied unanimously behind Greenwich resident Alexis Gevanter as their nominee.

By completing enough fundraising to qualify for the state Citizens Elections Program, the two candidates are entitled to state grants in excess $77,000 each for their campaigns.

The special election is set for Aug. 17 for the seat, which represents all of Greenwich as well as portions of Stamford and New Canaan. It became vacant when Alex Kasser, a second-term Democrat, unexpectedly resigned last month, citing the demands of her ongoing divorce. The winner will finish out the remainder of the term, which runs through 2022.

Blankleys candidacy

Representatives for Lamont did not return a request for comment Monday. Patrick Malone, communications director for Himes, said the congressman spoke with Blankley about the state of the race. But, Malone said, Himes did not ask him to leave the race.

To run as a petition candidate, Blankley needed to collect signatures from 568 registered voters in the district, representing 1 percent of the total votes cast in the 2020 state Senate election by Monday. On Monday, Blankley said he had collected nearly 680 signatures since he declared his candidacy on July 3.

The time available to do it wasnt very great, but I discovered if you go to the town dump, that is a marvelous place to get signatures, Blankley said. If you stand out there from early in the morning until closing, you pick them up very rapidly.

He turned his petitions in at the town clerks office by the 4 p.m. Monday deadline. Town Clerk Carmella Budkins said her department will turn the petitions over to the towns registrars of voters office to check the signatures, which Republican Registrar of Voters Fred DeCaro said he hoped would be done by Thursday.

Blankley had first sought the Democratic nod, but dropped out of that race before the Democratic nominating convention. A Democrat, he has previously run for state senator, state representative, first selectman and state treasurer.

Campaign funds

Fazio, a member of Greenwichs Representative Town Meeting, said he hit the threshold of $12,000 from 225 unique donors from within the district that is needed to qualify for the Citizens Elections Program within eight hours of winning his nomination.

We think thats as quick as any candidate we know of and were very proud, Fazio said Monday. We think it shows the great grassroots support we have in the community.

Gevanter, the former Connecticut chapter leader for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, announced her participation in the CEP within 24 hours of her nomination on July 6. All of the donations came within a day of winning the nomination, and, as a first time candidate, she said she was grateful for the outpouring of support from the district.

This is an election about local issues and also one about who we are as a local community, Gevanter said. We need everyone to request their ballots, volunteer, get involved and vote.

Noting they had 266 donors who gave an average of $60, Gevanter said that shows the level of excitement in the district for her campaign.

The race begins

Fazio and Blankley have previously made runs for the state Senate. In 2016, Blankley was the Democratic nominee but lost to then-incumbent-Sen. L. Scott Frantz, a Republican. Fazio ran last year and lost to Sen. Alex Kasser, a Democrat who had defeated Frantz in 2018.

Fazio, who also used the CEP in his 2020 run, said he built off the support from last year to secure the Republican nomination and will use that volunteer power and support for the Aug. 17 special election.

Its going to be difficult to spend all of that money in such a short campaign, he said. The individual outreach that I make to voters and my volunteers make to voters on a person-to-person basis over the phone and in person is going to be the most critical  as well as the credibility I believe my campaign has built over the past year with regular voters developing an understanding that we want to build consensus and reach across the aisle and solve problems.

Gevanter said she agreed that outreach, volunteers and person-to-person campaigning will make the difference with so little time before the voting.

My campaign has been fueled by grassroots energy and volunteers, she said. Weve been flooded by volunteers who are anxious to join the campaign and are excited to keep the seat blue.

Blankley will not participate in the CEP program, which he did for his 2016 run. As a petition candidate, he said he would have had to obtain about 11,000 to 12,000 signatures, representing 20 percent of the votes cast in the previous election. That, Blankley said, would have been absolutely impossible.

This is thrown in the way of the petitioning candidate by the major parties, he said.

Instead, Blankley will raise money through networks of supporters from his previous runs for office.

I have no doubt I will be able to raise money, he said.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
File / Bob Lucky / Greenwich Time

PORT CHESTER, N.Y.  Former Mayor Dennis Pilla, a lifelong New Yorker who served four terms as the mayor of Port Chester, died Thursday. He was 60.

According to his obituary, he was born July 19, 1960, in the Bronx, attended New Rochelle Academy, then Fordham University and later the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs at Baruch College. He met his wife Margoth while at Marxe and they were married on Oct. 16, 1983 in Pelham.
This past June, a Danbury doctor performed a groundbreaking new back surgery that had never been done in the state before.

The lower-back procedure uses a metal implant  commonly called a Barricaid device to lower the chances of disk reherniation in patients who have already herniated a disk.

Dr. David Bomback, of CT Neck and Back Specialists, performed the surgery on fellow health care professional and Newtown resident Joe Esposito. Now two weeks out of surgery, Esposito is up and walking, reporting that everything has gone really great so far.

The small device from Massachusetts-based Intrinsic Therapeutics, Inc. only received U.S. Food and Drug Administration and premarket approval in March of 2020. And although its already been commercially available in Europe, Asia and Australia, its new to the U.S. market.

Here are a few things to know about the surgery and the new Barricaid device.

What happens when you herniate a disk?

In order to understand why this surgery works, its essential to understand how herniation happens in the first place.

The spine is made up of a collection of bones called vertebrae that are stacked on top of each other. Between each bone is a round disk of padding that includes a tougher outer shell and a jelly-like substance on the inside. They act as little shock absorbers between bones. As such, these essential cushions, or disks, protect your spine as you go about your life.

Disk herniations occur more frequently in men and tend to occur between ages 35 to 55. Generally, they are caused by the gradual wearing down of tissue, weight gain or a physical injury. They are, unfortunately, quite common.

In a typical disk herniation, the inner jelly leaks out through the disks outer layer. Bomback said to picture an oozing jelly doughnut.

When this inner jelly leaks out, it can press on nerves surrounding the spine and cause radiating or chronic pain. Symptoms differ, depending on the severity and location of the herniation. Often, patients will get a lower-back surgery called a discectomy to remove that jelly from where its escaped from the disk casing.

Intrinsic estimates that there are about 350,000 to 480,000 discectomies performed every year in the United States.

While this surgery helps alleviate pain, it doesnt solve the issue of the herniation itself. Thats where the new device comes in.

What is the device made of and how does it work?

The Barricaid device is made a combination of titanium steel and mesh. When implanted, it looks a bit like an open car jack.

The mesh, or polyester flap as experts call it, helps to close the tear in the disk, while the jagged-looking anchor piece is inserted at a precise angle into the bone to hold the implant steady. The small teeth on the implant help keep the device from moving.

By anchoring into healthy bone near the tear in the disk, the device is able to stay rooted in the spine. The mesh arm then covers the tear in the disk, keeping the jelly inside and preventing any more from escaping and pressing on nerves.

For some patients with large tears, the chance of re-herniation of disks can be as high as 25 percent. And if a patient re-herniates, that can mean another surgery, and another possibility of re-herniation. It can become a painful cycle.

Thats where the device comes into play.

The new technology has been shown to reduce the chance of re-herniation to about 10 to 11 percent.

The device, according to Bomback, is expected to last the patients lifetime.

How can I get the device?

In order to be eligible to receive the implant, the lower disk herniation needs to be a certain size.

Larger tears are more likely to re-herniate than smaller tears, so the surgery can only be performed if the tear is between six to 10 millimeters wide (although the FDA website states 12 millimeters, the company has stated it is really 10) and four to six millimeters high.

While Espositos surgery marked the first completion of the surgery, Bomback had been prepared to implant the new device about six months ago during a surgery. However, once they got into surgery, that patients tear was too small to qualify for the implant.

Espositos happened to be the right size and the physical therapist was enthusiastic about the new procedure.

Barricaid has been training doctors to use the new device, and has also asked Bomback to help train surgeons now that he has successfully completed the procedure himself.

Its a bit of a learning curve, he said.

Currently, the procedure has been performed on roughly 250 Americans in more than 30 states, but it could be hard to find a surgeon trained on the procedure since its relatively new to the market.

Intrinsic provides an online form to help locate a doctor in the event a patient is interested in the procedure.

What happens during the procedure?

The surgery starts like a regular microdiscectomy.

After the excess material from the disk is removed during the microdiscectomy, the surgeon will identify whether you are a candidate based on the size of your disk herniation. This assessment can only be done during the surgery, as the surgeon cannot know how big the tear is until they are able to see it.

If the patient is a good candidate, the surgeon will then use a guided X-ray to take one or two photos of how the device is lined up. It has to be lined up properly at the right angle before being implanted to prevent bone fracturing.

Then, using a small mallet, the surgeon will tap the devices anchor into place in such a way that the sharp teeth are able to secure into the bone.

After the device has been put in, the surgeon checks the placement again and the patient is sewn back up as normal.

If you are a qualified candidate (and have pre-approved the use of the implant in the event you are eligible) the surgeon should be able to implant the device in about 15 to 20 minutes.

Bomback said the microdiscectomy surgery generally takes about 35 minutes, and that in Espositos case, inserting the device only added about 15 minutes. He hopes that with more time and practice, that could be cut down to about 10 minutes.

What is the follow-up care for this procedure?

The initial follow-up care for this procedure is the same as it would be for any microdiscectomy, according to Bomback.

That includes six weeks of limited movement  no heavy lifting, bending or twisting.

But while the immediate time frame contains the same restrictions as a regular discectomy, Bomback said the device allows you to get back to normal faster after those six weeks.

I might be a little more liberal in allowing them to resume normal activities a bit faster than I would if they didn't have a device, he said.

Are there any health risks?

Studies have shown that there are risks related to the implant such as device-related issues and development of voids in your vertebrae, according to Barricaids website.

Theres always concern about a foreign body potentially displacing or moving, said Bomback, noting that Intrinsic did not see this in their studies.

Displacement is a possibility any time a foreign body is put into a patient, but in this circumstance, Bomback said it would be exceedingly rare, and in numerical terms, significantly less than 1 percent.

A void occurs when a bone does not heal itself, leaving a cavity space that can lead to a bone graft or use of a bone void filler. The implant can double your risk of developing voids in your vertebrae, the Barricaid website states.

Despite the risk of bone voids, Intrinsic said it has found that one in five people already have these voids before surgery. Bomback said he wouldnt typically see bone voids created by this type of device. That is more likely with the insertion of larger devices where the surgeon has to remove bone to implant it.

No bone is removed during this procedure.

How many people have had the device implanted so far?

So far, over 8,000 implants have been placed worldwide, with roughly 250 in the U.S., according to Maddox Kay, a senior marketing associate at Intrinsic.

The product was officially approved by the FDA just 72 hours before elective surgeries closed in the U.S. during the coronavirus pandemic in March of 2020, so the company has said initial rollout was slower than expected, he said.

To date, Intrinsic has virtually trained more than 100 surgeons and estimates the device has been used in more than 30 states.

What was the inspiration for the device?

Intrinsic founder Greg Lambrecht was inspired to design the device after watching his own mom struggle with disk herniations and surgery, Kay said.

Lambrecht wanted to find a way to help her and others experiencing degeneration with their spinal disks.

After founding Intrinsic in 1999, the Barricaid device went through different iterations and designs before the incorporation of the bone anchor implant element during 2008 and 2009.

Following some tweaks and changes to their product, the Barricaid device became commercially available in places like Europe, Asia and Australia.

What prompted the doctor to try the new procedure?

Bomback said he has been looking for a solution to the problem of disk re-herniation for years and has been following this specific product for the past two to three years, reading the randomized control studies and talking to another colleague who performed the surgery in Louisiana.

The five-year studies done on patients who received the implant in Europe were really well done, he said.

Im always cautious with new technology, I always try to stay one or two fads behind, Bomback said. Although I did adopt it early, I still waited to see 8,000 patients done internationally before I hopped on the bandwagon.

I just wanted to stay on the sidelines and make sure that there were not any long term device-related complications.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Dozens of left-leaning organizations are asking Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to schedule a new vote this month on Democrats' sweeping voting and elections bill, a top priority for the party that Republicans blocked from debate last month.

In a letter sent to the New York Democrat on Monday, the groups urged him to once again bring the bill to the Senate floor. But this time, they are asking Senate Democrats to weaken filibuster rules, which require 60 votes to advance most legislation, and push the measure through on a party-line basis, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tiebreaking 51st vote.

The only thing standing in the way is the outdated and abused filibuster, states the letter, which was signed by roughly 90 different groups, including the good-government group Common Cause, Our Revolution, the League of Conservation Voters, the Communications Workers of America union and MoveOn.

The letter is one piece of a broader summer campaign to pressure congressional Democrats to change the filibuster and pass their voting bill, which they've touted as a powerful counterweight to an effort in Republican-controlled states to adopt new voting restrictions.

Congressional offices have been flooded with calls, and numerous rallies have been held.

On Monday, a group of Democratic state lawmakers from Texas, where a special session of the legislature is underway to enact voting restrictions, fled the state for Washington, D.C. Their aim was twofold: to deny Texas Republicans a quorum needed to conduct business and to shine a light on the state-level efforts.

Last week, a group of civil rights activists met with President Joe Biden about the issue and publicly called on the White House afterward to get more involved.

There is absolutely growing pressure across the country to eliminate the filibuster as a weapon (Senate Minority Leader Mitch) McConnell can use to block progress, said Eli Zupnick, a spokesperson for the group Fix Our Senate, which advocates for filibuster changes and helped organize the letter.

They face a tough road ahead. There isn't enough support in the Senate Democratic caucus to eliminate the filibuster, with moderate Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona among those opposed, but most are open to changing the Senate's rules. Without changing the filibuster, it is unlikely that Democrats will be able to advance the bill in the face of unified Republican opposition.

Biden's White House has characterized the issue as the fight of his presidency. But Biden, too, opposes eliminating the filibuster.

"The Presidents view continues to be aligned with what he has said in the past, which is that he has not supported the elimination of the filibuster because it has been used as often the other way around, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday.

Meanwhile, the window to pass and implement the bill before the 2022 midterm elections is closing.

Democrats took unified control of Washington in January and made passing the voting bill a top priority. Their measure, known as the For the People Act, would touch on virtually every aspect of how elections are conducted, striking down hurdles to voting that advocates view as the civil rights fight of the era, while also curbing the influence of money in politics and limiting partisan influence over the drawing of congressional districts.

Schumer has said multiple times that failure to pass the measure is not an option."

But the bill languished in the Senate for months after swiftly passing the House. Republicans, who universally oppose it, argue it is overreach that would bring about a massive federal intrusion into the way states conduct elections.

The group behind the letter echoed Schumer's calls for action.

We agree with your repeated promise that failure is not an option when it comes to voting rights, the letter states. To ensure progress in the face of partisan obstruction, we, the undersigned organizations, urge you to hold another vote on voting rights legislation like the For The People Act before the August recess.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Emerging from a private meeting at the White House, Sen. Bernie Sanders said Monday that he and President Joe Biden are on the same page as Democrats draft a transformative infrastructure package unleashing more than $3.5 trillion in domestic investments on par with the New Deal of the 1930s.

Sanders, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and Democrats on his panel also huddled privately at the Capitol for two hours late Monday with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and key White House advisers during a consequential time for Biden's top priority. Congress is racing to put together a sweeping proposal financing infrastructure, family assistance and other programs for initial votes later this month.

Sanders, I-Vt., said he had a very good discussion" with Biden .

He knows and I know that were seeing an economy where the very, very rich are getting richer while working families are struggling, Sanders told reporters.

Sanders said he and the president did not discuss a topline figure, but the Vermont senator mentioned his own more far-reaching $6 trillion proposal, which includes expanding Medicare for older adults. Later at the Capitol, he told reporters that the Democrats' package would be bigger than $3.5 trillion, an amount floated as in line with Biden's initial proposal.

"The end of the day were going to accomplish something very significant," Sanders said.

After Democrats' evening meeting at the Capitol, Sanders said lawmakers were still discussing overall spending and other figures.

What we're trying to do is a multitrillion-dollar bill which is going to address long neglected problems of the working families in this country and the problem of climate change, he told reporters.

Other lawmakers said senators would meet again Tuesday.

Biden's big infrastructure proposals are moving through Congress on various tracks  each potentially complementing or torpedoing the other.

A bipartisan group of 10 senators unveiled a nearly $1 trillion package of traditional infrastructure for roads, bridges, broadband and some climate change investments in electric vehicles and resiliency for extreme weather conditions.

Senators in the bipartisan group are struggling to draft their proposal into legislation but hope to have a bill ready as soon as this week. Disagreements are emerging over how to pay for it.

Pay-fors are still up in the air, said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D.

The rest of Biden's ideas are being collected into the much broader multitrillion-dollar package that could be approved by Democrats on their own under a special budget reconciliation process that allows passage with 51 votes in the Senate, rather than the typical 60-vote threshold that's needed to overcome a Senate filibuster.

Sanders, as chair of the Budget Committee, has been leading his colleagues in a series of private conversations. A one-time Biden rival for the presidency, Sanders now holds an influential position shaping the president's top priority.

My job is to do everything I can to see that the Senate comes forward with the strongest possible legislation to protect the needs of the working families of this country, Sanders said at the White House.

___

Associated Press reporters Alan Fram and Kevin Freking in Washington contributed to this report.
Back in April Motorola released the Moto G60, and now it seems like the company is already busy working on a slightly improved version of that phone.

According to a new leak, the Moto G60S is due to launch in the near future, for a price of around 300-320 in Europe. That's higher than what the G60 was priced at, which is another sign that the S model would bring some improvements compared to the vanilla model.

Moto G60

Another confirmation is the fact that the source of this leak mentions that the G60S will ship with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. That's 2GB extra RAM compared to the G60. The G60S is also said to become available only in blue. It's codenamed Lisbon and unfortunately we don't have any more details about it right now.

It's probably safe to assume that the G60 will be the model the G60S is heavily based on. Hopefully more leaks and rumors will give us a fuller picture soon.

Source
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Submit




Haiti - FLASH : The White House does not rule out sending troops to Haiti





Monday 12 Jen Psaki, the spokesperson of the White House declared that it was not excluded to satisfy the request of the Haitian authorities https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34193-haiti-flash-the-government-requests-the-sending-of-american-soldiers-to-the-country.html to send troops to Haiti after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise last week https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34162-haiti-flash-president-jovenel-moise-assassinated-by-mercenaries-official-updated-7am-+-video.html "That's right... it's still in progress review" stressing that "the proposal was not excluded".



Psaki also mentioned the meetings of the American delegation which has been in Haiti since Sunday https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34212-haiti-politic-a-large-american-delegation-in-haiti.html



Recall that on Sunday, July 11, a United States interagency delegation with representatives from the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, and National Security Council traveled to Haiti in response to the Haitian government's request for security and investigative assistance following the July 7 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise.



The delegation reviewed the security of critical infrastructure with Haitian government officials and met with the Haitian National Police, who are leading the investigation into the assassination. The delegation also met with Acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph and Prime Minister-Designate Ariel Henry in a joint meeting, as well as Senate President Joseph Lambert, to encourage open and constructive dialogue to reach a political accord that can enable the country to hold free and fair elections.



In all their meetings the delegation committed to supporting the Haitian government as it seeks justice in this case and affirmed the United States' support for the people of Haiti in this challenging time. The United States stands with Haiti in becoming a safer, more democratic country.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34203-haiti-usa-no-american-military-assistance-for-the-moment.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34193-haiti-flash-the-government-requests-the-sending-of-american-soldiers-to-the-country.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34162-haiti-flash-president-jovenel-moise-assassinated-by-mercenaries-official-updated-7am-+-video.html



SL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Diplomacy : The Ambassador of Haiti met with the Committee on Foreign Relations of the US Senate





On Monday, Ambassador of Haiti to Washington DC Bocchit Edmond, on behalf of Prime Minister ai Claude Joseph, met with members of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee to update them on the situation in Haiti and the actions that the Haitian authorities take to hold those responsible to account and maintain peace and stability.



During his briefing, he underscored the support Haiti has requested from the United States to ensure justice is done, including by imposing sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act on all those responsible for the assassination of the President Moise https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34216-haiti-news-zapping.html



He also reiterated how the Haitian National Police (PNH) would benefit from technical support and training to ensure security following the assassination of the President and to combat the continued violence linked to gangs across the country.



He thanked the members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for their messages of condolence to the family of President Moise and to the Haitian people during this period and for their willingness to support Haiti and to engage constructively on the challenges facing our Nation is facing.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34216-haiti-news-zapping.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34210-haiti-flash-arrest-of-one-of-the-intellectual-authors-of-the-assassination-of-president-moise-and-an-attempted-coup.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34199-haiti-assassination-of-the-president-names-of-the-20-members-of-the-commando-arrested-5-others-still-on-the-run.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Justice : The DG of the Colombian police wonders about the role of the Chief of Security of President Moise





The Director General of the National Colombian Police, General Jorge Luis Vargas is convinced that Commissioner Dimitri Herard, Head of the General Security Unit of the National Palace (USGPN) in Haiti, is a key element in establishing what happened in the early morning of July 7, when the President was assassinated.



Jorge Luis Vargas also wants to establish what Dimitri Herard did in Colombia during 7 trips to Ecuador, Colombia and the Dominican Republic, between January 2021 and last May, even if the capital of the country Bogota "does not seem to be a stopover".



January 19: Dominican Republic - Bogota

January 20: Bogota - Ecuador

February 1: Ecuador - Bogota - Dominican Republic.

May 22: Dominican Republic - Bogota

May 23: Bogota - Ecuador

May 28 : Ecuador- Bogota.

May 29: Bogota - Dominican Republic



He also intends to clarify the links between Dimitri Herard's private security company and the firm CTU Security LLC which recruited former Colombian soldiers linked to the assassination of the Haitian President. Recalling that Dimitri Herard had already been investigated in Haiti for alleged arms trafficking.



Jorge Luis Vargas awaits answers explaining how President Jovenel Moise could have been assassinated in his own residence, without the commando being detected, without any agent of the security circle being injured and heavily armed men entering the residence without even an exchange of fire with the security...



Recall that in Haiti, "precautionary measures" were taken against the security officials of President Moise and information is being collected to determine "the degree of involvement of each".



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34216-haiti-news-zapping.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34210-haiti-flash-arrest-of-one-of-the-intellectual-authors-of-the-assassination-of-president-moise-and-an-attempted-coup.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34199-haiti-assassination-of-the-president-names-of-the-20-members-of-the-commando-arrested-5-others-still-on-the-run.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34162-haiti-flash-president-jovenel-moise-assassinated-by-mercenaries-official-updated-7am-+-video.html



SL/ HaitiLibre


















Published on 2021/07/12 | Source

New stills added for the upcoming Korean movie "Hostage: Missing Celebrity" (2019)

Advertisement

Directed by Pil Kam-sung

With Hwang Jung-min, Han Kyu-won-I, Lee Ho-jung, Kim Joo-hee-I, Ji Nam-hyuk,...

Synopsis

After a VIP movie premiere, Korean top movie star Hwang Jung-min gets kidnapped by strangers. Jeong-min first thinks that someone is playing pranks, but the kidnappers' cruelty helps Jeong-min realize that the abduction is no joke. Jeong-min tries to find his way out, while the kidnappers demand him a huge amount of ransom within 24 hours.

Jeong-min encounters a real brutality that is way different and more extreme than the ones he has seen in the movies.

Release date in Korea : 2021/08
Hastings, NE (68901)

Today

Sun and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 82F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 64F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph.
Hastings, NE (68901)

Today

Considerable clouds this morning. Some decrease in clouds later in the day. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 82F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 64F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph.
At a meeting of the H. Earl Clack Museum Board Monday night, Board Chair Lela Patera discussed a July 6 visit from state archeologist Patrick Rennie and Montana native Jim Keyser of the Oregon Archeological Society.

Patera said the two archeologists did some work at the Wahkpa Chugn Buffalo Jump behind the Havre Holiday Village Mall.

Why they were here was they wanted to map a stone thats at the bottom of the stairs with a hoofprint on there, she added.

She said the archaeologists verified it is real and she went with the two and their crew to watch the mapping process.

They used a piece of I dont know, plastic, it was sticky and they put that on there. And then they pushed around with their fingers and got it all into the grooves of it. And then they took a marker and then marked all through there to make their picture, Patera said.

She said they took lots of regular pictures and had a blue light to bring that image up, because it doesnt show unless in bright sunshine.

Patera said the board will eventually be sent a report and a book on mapping and stone artwork relating to the area.

Museum to present at Great Northern Fair

Museum Manager Emily Mayer also said during the meeting she will be giving a presentation at the upcoming Great Northern Fair.

Frank English called about in wanted to know whether or not the museum would do something for the Great Northern Pair because he thought it would be a good idea for us to have the (Faber) schoolhouse open. So I decided Friday and Saturday, I would be there, Mayer said.

Ill give a presentation at 1 and 3:30.  Ill do sedition in Hill County on Friday, and then Saturday Ill do a history of the Faber School, just because I know more people might be there and they might be more interested in the history of the schoolhouse rather than sedition, she added.

Mayer said she will be bringing a cooler of water so patrons can combat the heat.

She said in her report on the museum to the board things are going well with new apparel from Pratt & Company selling well at the gift shop.

She also said Montana Dinosaur Trail tour numbers are up.

In May, we had three. In June, we had 76 people come in with their (Dinosaur Trail) passports to get stamped. This month so far from the first to the 11th, 14. So the Dinosaur Trail has been really hot, Mayer said.

Mayer said the museum sold out of trail passports and has ordered more. She said the trail has attracted not just native Montanans, but people from North Carolina, St. Louis and Chicago.

She said visitation to the museum was down from two years ago, but said it wasnt discouraging with everything going on in the past 18 months.

Mayer said in a report on the Buffalo Jump site that visitation numbers are up. In 2019 there were 296 visitors and as of June this year, there have been 417 visitors.

Work on new museum building continues

H. Earl and Margaret Turner Clack Memorial Museum Foundation President Elaine Morse discussed in the foundation report work being done on the future location for the museum, the former Griggs Printing Building on the 10 Block of Fifth Avenue. The work being done right now is flooring but Morse also said garage doors have been replaced.

Morse said the boards next project will be replacing windows and that she has gotten a bid of about $11,000. Morse also said she is completing a grant for $10,000 to make restrooms compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Our board talked about our endowment fund, and the fact that weve always guarded it zealously, and that we need to use this time to start spending some of that, because this is what weve been saving for is our building. So thats why were doing windows, garage doors and a few other things, Morse said.

The board also passed a motion to have Board Vice-Chair David Sageser replace old lights in the Wahkpa Chugn Interpretative Center with energy and cost-efficient LED bulbs.

Fire at Buffalo Jump

Patera said a fire started at the Buffalo Jump July 5 at midnight.

(Buffalo Jump volunteer) Kelly Jones was called to bring keys up there because they had to go through the fence and they were hoping that they could get it stopped but if they couldnt, they wanted to be able to get in the buildings, Patera said.

Luckily, it hardly got through, thank goodness for us. It probably was fireworks and it started behind the mall and came over and it could have been really devastating for us. But luckily it was not, she added.

Patera said the fence was repaired by mall personnel.

The H. Earl Clack Memorial Museum Board will meet next month Monday, Aug. 9, at 6 p.m. at Havre Inn and Suites.
The Hill County Behavioral Health Local Advisory Council met Monday and discussed progress on their mental health PSAs, possible partnerships at the Central Service Area Authority and a recent meeting with a representative of Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont.

LAC Chair Andi Daniel said contracts for the PSAs, which seek to normalize and encourage people to seek help dealing with their mental health struggles by letting local people tell stories about their own experiences, have been drawn up and include the filming of 10 interviews, the creation of five videos, and the production of raw footage to be used for future videos.

These videos, or audio versions of them, could be played on local television, in local businesses and on radio in the county and could be switched out every few weeks to keep them fresh in peoples minds.

Daniel said it was determined that instead of having interviewees be filmed in a studio that they pick the place most comfortable for them and film there if possible, which involves more work but will add visual variety and help make participants more comfortable.

Anyone interested in participating can get in touch with her by email at [email protected], and find more info at http://hillcountylac.com .

LAC Member Matt Erdel thanked Daniel and everyone else who helped get the organizations COVID-19 funds spent by the assigned deadlines, which required a significant amount of work in a relatively short time.

LAC members also discussed possibly having a presence at this years Great Northern Fair later this week by working with the Hill County Health Department, which usually has a booth there.

They also discussed possible uses for a mini-grant including hiring local artists to paint willing businesses windows with messages about mental health.

They also discussed the future of a Health/Health Career Fair that they tried to set up for this year.

LAC Vice-Chair Amber Spring said there is certainly interest in such a thing, but the event just couldnt get set up in time to work for this year.

She said money from a mini-grant could be used, but suggested that the fair would serve its purpose best in the spring, which would require a different funding source.

LAC Member Curtis Smeby also provided an update on his activities working with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services Addiction and Mental Disorders Division and the Central Service Area Authority that Hill Countys LAC is part of.

Smeby said theyre discussing a partnership with the Montana Office of Rural Health and Area Health Education Center in Bozeman, which offers classes in things like management of aggressive behaviors, mental health first aid, youth mental health first aid, applied suicide intervention skills training, Question Prevent Refer, safe talk and secondary trauma.

He said hes also meeting with a working group devoted to increasing mental health first aid among county employees in Montana.

He said hes been trying to work with the Hill County Commission to find out what is preventing them from being able to offer mental health first aid training to all employees.

He said someone hes working with is putting together an estimate of what unaddressed mental health issues cost the county in unexpected leave, potential use-of-force lawsuits against law enforcement and other effects compared to what it would cost to offer the training.

What would be the down side of that? Smeby asked. Why wouldnt we want to do that?

He said mental health first aid should be as common as regular first aid and CPR and he believes Hill County could be a leader in the state by offering training.

Smeby also talked about the Central Service Area Authority working with the areas tribes to possibly create their own LACs.

He said the pitch was made to the Chippewa Cree Wellness Coalition and they seemed interested in using a mini-grant to fund the set up of such an organization.

He said there are still some logistical questions about how tribal LACs would work, but the matter is being looked into.

It was suggested during the meeting that the Hill County LAC meet with the coalition to discuss the issue further and Smeby said they could do that in the coming months.

Daniel also told the LAC about her and Bullhook Community Health Center Behavioral Health Manager and LAC Secretary Deidre Reiters recent meeting with a representative from Daines office.

She said they mostly just explained what the local issues are and what LAC does but made a point to talk about how vital the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid Expansion have been for people seeking mental health treatment.

If Daines is going to support mental health there has to be funding that goes along with that and the ACA and Medicaid Expansion have opened up resources and ways for people to pay for those services, Daniel said.
A fisherman paddles through Bear Paw Lake Friday. Beaver Creek Park Superintendent Chad Edgar told the Hill County Park Board Monday that use of the park is very high.

The Hill County Park Board was presented a draft of their Rules and Regulations Committee's proposed policy on beaver management on Beaver Creek Park Monday, which includes trapping and non-lethal alternatives.

The policy states that beaver provide significant benefits to the ecosystem of the park but that some of their population can be removed for the sake of the park's aesthetics, facilities, infrastructure and public spaces.

The policy has the stated goal of using population control to avoid these problems when necessary but also to protect the beaver population when it is not causing problems, all at the direction of the Beaver Creek Park superintendent.

The policy gives the superintendent the authority to make determinations as to how beaver populations should be dealt with, whether that is through traditional methods of population control including trapping, or alternative non-lethal methods methods like flow devices, though approval from the board will be necessary to implement these alternative methods once they are funded.

Hill County Commissioner Mark Peterson said he's pleased with the work of the committee which has recommended that their policy be taken under advisement by the board.

"They listened to the public, they listened to experts and this is what they came up with," Peterson said. "I'm very proud of that committee, they worked hard on it."

Beaver Creek Park Superintendent Chad Edgar also gave the board an update on the park's usage, which he said is extremely high.

Edgar said the Fourth of July went exceedingly well and compliance is good, though drought conditions have negatively affected the land.

He said the park is very dry, and recent rain hasn't helped that much.

"Conditions are not ideal right now," he said.

Peterson said a burn ban is in effect in Hill County, including Beaver Creek Park, meaning no open burning can take place with the exception of campfires in designated receptacles.

He said propane barbecues are also fine as long as people are being careful.

Edgar also said this past weekend's windstorm damaged trees all over the park and it will take another day or two to get the debris cleaned up.

He said warning signs regarding dangerous blue-green algae have also been installed, and the new folf course is fully operational and looks great.

He thanked Jake Rodgers and Havre Trails for their work setting the course up.

He said Havre Trails will also soon be seeking permission from the board to hold a folf tournament and board members should be on the lookout for that event.

In another piece of good news, Edgar said, the park now has five applicants for the assistant superintendent position, which he hopes to fill in the coming days.

Lou Hagener, a retired rangeland management specialist, provided an update on his observations regarding the production potential of the land on the park this year, which he said is far lower than normal.

Hagener said nearly all kinds of grass on the park are significantly shorter than they would normally be due to the drought with even Kentucky blue grass showing meager growth.

He said the soil is dry, and grasshoppers haven't helped the situation either.

He also requested the the board use the next meeting to discuss the possibility of widening their data collection efforts to include more cause-based data about things like weather, including temperatures and precipitation, as well as land treatment and disturbances.

He said collecting such data will allow the board to better respond to issues on the park.
Editor,

In 2017, Montanas outdoor recreation economy generated $7.1 billion. Two years later, Montana Sen. Jon Tester introduced the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act  BCSA  a piece of federal legislation to bolster Montanas economy by protecting 80,000 acres of land for conservation, recreation, and restoration. Ninety-eight percent of Montanans believe that outdoor recreation is important to Montanas economic future. With thousands of acres dedicated to snowmobiling, mountain biking, hiking and fishing, the BCSA is a tangible step toward further sustaining this valuable resource.

If passed by the U.S. Senate, the BCSA would support a 15-year coalition of ranchers, loggers, conservationists, outfitters, timber companies, local citizens, businesses and outdoor enthusiasts. Given the current state of political polarization, this range of supporters is almost unprecedented. The impetus behind this nonpartisan support are the BCSAs multifaceted components, including development of Montanas National Forest System land, additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System, and recreation land designation. It will also permanently protect the Blackfoot Rivers important tributaries and amplify forest restoration and sustainable timber harvesting.

Through citizen pressure for the BCSA, Sen. Tester can demonstrate the nonpartisan power and potential success of this bill to the U.S. Senate. Seventy-five percent of Montanans endorse this bill, and you can join them by pushing your federal legislators to advocate for the success of the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act.

Shea Brams

Bozeman
The salvation army staff recently welcomed Capt. Jeremiah and Major Missy Romack and their daughers, Emmie (left) and Addison (right),
States that have terminated pandemic unemployment benefits early can restart the programs, but there may be a break in payments for some laid-off Americans, the Biden administration said Monday.

The guidance comes as jobless residents in more states file lawsuits to reinstate the benefits. Unemployed workers in Ohio and Oklahoma this month joined those in Indiana, Maryland and Texas in turning to state courts to force their governors to resume the payments.

Citing workforce shortages, some 26 states are terminating early at least one of the three pandemic unemployment insurance programs Congress enacted in March 2020 and extended twice. Most of these states have already stopped sending the benefits to their residents.

In addition to the $300 weekly supplement, the federal programs provide benefits to freelancers, the self-employed, independent contractors and certain people affected by the coronavirus and to those who have exhausted their regular state benefits.

The three pandemic unemployment programs are scheduled to expire in early September in the states that are continuing them.

If the date of termination has already passed, states may need to enter into a new agreement with the Department of Labor, according to the guidance. Two of the programs -- the $300 weekly boost and the payments to those who've exhausted their regular state benefits -- won't begin again until after the agreement is signed.

However, those in the pandemic unemployment assistance program for freelancers, the self-employed and others must be allowed to certify for the weeks they missed so they can receive those payments, the agency said.

If the termination date has not passed, the state can simply inform the US Department of Labor that it is rescinding or modifying the notice it filed.

After the mostly Republican-led states began announcing the terminations in May, consumer advocates and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont urged the Biden administration to stop the governors from ending the payments.

But the administration said it could not do anything to prevent the states from ceasing the programs.

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request.

Turning to the courts

Jobless residents in at least five states have filed lawsuits, arguing that the benefits were improperly halted.

Judges in Maryland and Indiana have ordered officials to temporarily restore the payments while the cases play out in court, but only Maryland has done so. A state judge is expected to issue a ruling on Tuesday.

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development has said it is "determining how to proceed because the federal programs no longer exist after their termination on June 19."

In both states, the jobless are arguing that state law requires officials to obtain all federal unemployment compensation available for residents.

Meanwhile, unemployed workers in Ohio filed a lawsuit earlier this month arguing that their state officials must do the same. The state terminated only the $300 weekly benefit at the end of June. The plaintiffs are asking the judge to order the resumption of the supplement.

In Oklahoma, a lawsuit filed on behalf of an unemployed resident argues that Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt did not have the authority to terminate the programs and that state law requires officials to secure federal benefits for unemployed workers.

The jobless in Texas have also filed a lawsuit against GOP Gov. Greg Abbott for ending the benefits on June 26, arguing he doesn't have the authority to do so.

The-CNN-Wire

 &  2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.
Taliban fighters execute 22 Afghan commandos as they try to surrender

Over clear but unsteady video, the words ring out: Surrender, commandos, surrender. Several men emerge from a building; they are clearly unarmed.

Gunfire erupts. At least a dozen men are seen shot to death amid cries of Allahu Akhbar  God is Great.

The victims were members of an Afghan Special Forces unit: their executioners, the Taliban. The summary killings took place on June 16 in the town of Dawlat Abad in Faryab province, close to Afghanistans border with Turkmenistan.

CNN has obtained and verified several videos of the incident and has spoken with witnesses.

Videos show the commandos bodies strewn across an outdoor market. After a fierce battle to hold the town, they the commandos had run out of ammunition and were surrounded by the Taliban fighters, witnesses said.

At least 65 killed by lightning strikes and thunderstorms in northern India

At least 65 people were killed by lightning strikes and thunderstorms in the north Indian states of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, authorities said.

In the city of Jaipur in Rajasthan, 23 died after lightning hit Amer Fort  a popular tourist spot on the outskirts of the city, according to Shankar Lal Saini, a senior disaster management official in Jaipur.

There was a tower there. When the lightning struck, the towers wall collapsed, many people were buried under it. Since the fort is on a hill, when the debris was falling and space reduced, some people also fell into a ditch, Saini told CNN.

The incident happened at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, with rescue operations continuing until 7 a.m. on Monday, according to Saini.

Women and children were among the bodies recovered. The victims were declared dead on arrival at the citys Sawai Man Singh Hospital.

I have pain all over my body because stones and honey bee nests fell on me, said 22-year-old Izhar Ali, who survived the strike and is being treated at a hospital in Jaipur, on Tuesday.

US warns China it stands behind South China Sea ruling and is committed to Philippine defense

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has reaffirmed the US commitment to defend the Philippines armed forces from attack in the South China Sea, under a 70-year-old mutual defense treaty.

Blinken made the comments Sunday, in a statement marking the fifth anniversary of a ruling by an independent arbitration tribunal rejecting Chinas expansive territorial claims over the waterway, siding with the Philippines.

Tensions in the South China Sea, which is also contested by Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam have ratcheted up this year, with Manila accusing Beijing of trying to intimidate its coast guard vessels, as well as sending its so called maritime militia to crowd out Philippine fishing boats.

The US top diplomat said the US could invoke the US-Philippine mutual defense pact in the event of any Chinese military action against Philippine assets in the region.

 From wire reports
Note: We've recently updated our online systems. If you can't login please try resetting your password. You must login with an email address. If you don't have an email associated with your account email customercare@heraldandnews.com for help creating one.
Mildred Davis, 86, of Greenville passed away on July 8, 2021. She was born on Oct. 10, 1934. Please go to lynchfuneralservice.com for more details and to make online condolences.
Support local journalism

We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free.

Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story.


Please be aware that Cache Valley Publishing does not endorse, and is not responsible for alleged employment offers in the comments.

Recommended for you
President Joe Biden reaffirmed the United States' solidarity for the people of Cuba, as anti-government rallies erupted in the Communist country over the weekend. The president's remarks follow a White House statement in which the US backed the Cuban people and "their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic, as well as the decades of repression and economic suffering that they have been subjected to by Cuba's authoritarian regime."

Thousands of Cubans swarmed in the streets to protest food and medical shortages caused by the coronavirus pandemic. President Joe Biden urged Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel's administration to hear their people and fulfill their needs and voiced sympathy for the country's demonstrators. People demonstrated across Cuba on Sunday, in what was described as the largest anti-government gathering in 30 years.

Cuba's largest anti-government protests

Cuba is in the midst of its greatest economic crisis in decades, which has been compounded by an increase in coronavirus infections and a low vaccination rate. In an unscheduled broadcast statement, Daz-Canel blamed the protests on US efforts to incite social unrest by increasing sanctions, warning that demonstrators would be met with harsh retaliation.

It would be a "grievous mistake" for the Cuban dictatorship to blame the demonstrations on the US or any other outside actor, said State Secretary Antony Blinken, as per USA Today. The Obama administration, in which Biden served as vice president, had a different stance on Cuba than the Biden administration.

Former President Barack Obama was working to improve the strained relationship between the US and Cuba. Travel and remittance restrictions were relaxed, the US and Cuban embassies reopened, and the nation was removed from the terrorist list. Obama visited Cuba in 2016 after restoring diplomatic relations with the country.

Former President Donald Trump, on the other hand, reinstated travel restrictions, added the nation to the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, and imposed harsh sanctions. After staff at the US Embassy in Havana were stricken by an illness that caused hearing loss, dizziness, loss of balance, and other neurological symptoms, Trump removed staff from the embassy. Biden has not removed the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.

"The Cuban people are demanding their freedom from an authoritarian regime. I don't think we've seen anything like this protest in a long long time, if, quite frankly, ever," Biden said in a brief discussion with reporters at the outset of a meeting with mayors and law enforcement officials to discuss gun violence in the United States, AP News via MSN reported.

The remarks indicated a significant shift in tone from Biden's previous boss, Barack Obama. Demonstrators gathered on Havana's Malecon promenade and elsewhere on the island, which was an unexpected sight given the communist leadership's history of little tolerance for criticism.

Protesters yelled "Freedom," "Enough," and "Unite" as police trailed behind. A US flag was taken out by one motorcyclist, but it was grabbed away by others. Some protestors picked up cobblestones and tossed them at police around 2 1/2 hours into the march, at which time authorities began detaining individuals and the marchers dispersed. At least 20 people were carried away in police cars or by individuals dressed in civilian clothing, according to AP journalists.

Read Also: Donald Trump Confirms Running in 2024 Election, Attacks Biden, Big Techs in His Speech

Marco Rubio mocks Biden administration

Senator Marco Rubio is criticizing President Joe Biden's administration for its early assessment of the causes of the large protests that erupted in Cuba on Sunday. Rubio claimed more than 60 years of "socialist rule and persecution, as well as incredible courage from the Cuban people, have led to this historic moment" in a statement provided to Fox News.

His statement contrasted with that of the State Department, which first attributed the historic protests in Cuba to COVID-19 concerns rather than the communist regime. Rubio said the charge, as well as the president's silence over the weekend, was a "major failure."

Rubio wrote to Biden later Monday, saying the latest protests in Cuba "are not simply about present economic difficulties," but about "longstanding and purposeful efforts done by the regime to stifle the Cuban people's economic prosperity and political freedom." Rubio outlined six measures that President Biden's administration should take to help the Cuban people in his letter.

Meanwhile, White House press secretary Jen Psaki sought to portray the protests as "spontaneous expressions of people who are exhausted with the Cuban government's economic mismanagement and repression." She went on to say that the US is still willing to help Cuba with its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, but that the Cuban government's refusal to join in COVAX - a global initiative focused on providing vaccinations to impoverished countries - has complicated matters.

Related Article: Thousands Join Anti-Government Protests Throughout Cuba Amid Shortages, Price Hikes



@YouTube

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The United States accused China of "genocide" on Monday, citing Beijing's mistreatment of Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in the country's northwest Xinjiang province. The People's Republic of China is perpetrating genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs, who are primarily Muslims and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang, according to the US State Department's annual report to Congress on genocide.

Imprisonment, torture, forced sterilization, and persecution are examples of crimes against humanity. President Joe Biden's administration sanctioned at least 34 Chinese firms on Friday in a massive crackdown over the use of US-made products against Uyghur civilians and the supply of modern technology to Russia and Iran, according to the Commerce Department.

#NEWS Commerce Department Adds 34 Entities to the Entity List to Target Enablers of Chinas Human Rights Abuses and Military Modernization, and Unauthorized Iranian and Russian Procurement https://t.co/2jrjZ1Szd6 @BISgov  U.S. Commerce Dept. (@CommerceGov) July 9, 2021

Biden administration imposes new sanctions against China

All of the firms sanctioned are engaging in actions that are detrimental to US foreign policy and national security, says a statement released by the US Commerce Department. The Department also claimed that fourteen Chinese-owned firms were involved in the suppression of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in the northwest Xinjiang area, Republic World reported.

It stated that these Chinese companies were involved in the continuation of Beijing's "genocide and crimes against humanity." The statement claimed that at least five businesses were involved in purchasing lasers and other technologies to upgrade the Chinese military, despite being prohibited from doing business with US entities.

At the same time, the United States has stepped up its economic pressure on China in response to its treatment of ethnic Uyghurs. The US put 14 Chinese firms on its trade blacklist last week for alleged human rights violations and high-tech monitoring in Xinjiang.

The Chinese companies were implicated in human rights violations and abuses in the implementation of China's campaign of repression, mass detention, and high-tech surveillance against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other members of Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Read Also: Joe Biden Expresses Support to Cuba Protesters; Sen. Rubio Criticizes The Administration's Initial Assessment

China threatens US retaliation

Per Daily Mail, Beijing retaliated angrily despite Beijing's repeated denials of the claims. The Commerce Ministry accused the US of unreasonable suppression of Chinese companies and severe violations of international economic and trade laws and threatened retaliation.

Beijing claims such restrictions are required to combat separatists and religious extremists who organized assaults and inflamed tensions between China's biggest ethnic group, the Han, and the largely Muslim ethnic Uyghurs. Myanmar, commonly known as Burma, is still at risk of genocide, according to the seven-page report.

It stated that the US will continue to work with allies and partners to pressure Myanmar's military administration to end any repression, including crackdowns on dissent following a February coup, as well as brutality against Rohingya Muslims. It also chastised Eritrea and Ethiopia for ethnic cleansing in Ethiopia's northern Tigray area during their military assault.

China said on Sunday that it will take appropriate actions in response to the United States' decision to ban Chinese firms for their alleged involvement in abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities. According to the ministry's statement, China would take appropriate steps to resolutely defend Chinese enterprises' lawful rights and interests.

Although no specifics were provided, China has disputed claims of arbitrary imprisonment and forced labor in Xinjiang's far western province and has increasingly responded to penalties against firms and officials by imposing visa and financial measures of its own. Since 2017, the Chinese government has reportedly imprisoned over a million individuals in Xinjiang.

China is accused by critics of running forced labor camps, torture, and enforced sterilization to integrate Muslim ethnic minority populations. In response to Beijing's persecution of the Muslim minority, the Trump administration put several of Beijing's biggest artificial intelligence firms on its economic blacklist in 2019.

Human rights organizations have accused China of holding more than a million Uyghurs in "re-education camps," where mass sterilization of women and forced labor are allegedly carried out. Hundreds of blindfolded and chained men, thought to be Uyghur and other minority groups, were carried from a train in what seemed to be a transfer of inmates, according to disturbing drone footage released last year. China has vehemently denied the existence of any such camps in Xinjiang, as per Daily Express.

Related Article: US Officials Set to Ban More Chinese Companies From American Economy Over Xinjiang Abuse Controversies



@YouTube

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
United States regulators affixed a new word of caution on Monday to Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine regarding links to a rare neurological reaction that has the likelihood to be dangerous. It remains to be unclear whether the dose resulted in the reaction. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made an announcement of the warning.

The consideration was due to a probable link between Guillain-Barre Syndrome and the vaccine. One hundred cases have been diagnosed in individuals who recently got vaccinated against COVID-19.

Is Guillain-Barre Syndrome the Cause of the Syndrome?

The FDA underscored an increase in reports of the paralyzing illness, even though the FDA stated it had not established Guillain-Barre syndrome as the cause of the syndrome. According to the federal agency, "Today, the FDA is announcing revisions to the vaccine recipient and vaccination provider fact sheets for the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) COVID-19 Vaccine to include information pertaining to an observed increased risk of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) following vaccination," reported ANI.

The FDA will affix the warning to Johnson & Johnson's emergency use authorization fact sheet. The decision arrives following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s recognition on Monday that their overseeing had detected a small probable susceptibility to this side effect.

Many of the 100 people who contracted the syndrome are 50 years old and beyond, reported CBS News.

A Blow for Johnson & Johnson

The reports are a blow for the company. It acquired an emergency use authorization for its vaccine in February. However, it has played a minor role in the coronavirus inoculation campaign of the United States. According to the peope informed regarding the matter, based on the evaluation of a federal vaccine safety monitoring system, officials have identified 100 preliminary reports of GBS following the administration of 12.5 million shots, reported Channel News Asia.

Read Also: Sydney Records First COVID-19 Death; Authorities Announce 77 New Cases

In the US, 2.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine had been administered. The CDC coordinates with the FDA in overseeing vaccine safety systems. According to the FDA, of the reports of 100 people, 95 were in severe condition and required being admitted to the hospital. One individual was recorded as a fatalility.

According to health officials, the side effect is a small probable risk for individuals receiving the dose. Guillain-Barre syndrome emerges when the immune system of the body mistakenly attacks a number of its nerve cells. This results in paralysis at times, which is commonly temporary, and muscle weakness.

Guillain-Barre Syndrome is rare. However, it has the possibility to become severe.

The label states that news of adverse events upon use of the Janssen vaccine under emergency use authorization propose an increased risk of Guillain-Barre syndrome during the 42 days after inoculation. It is insufficient to establish a causal relationship despite the available evidence suggesting a connection between an increased risk of GBS and the Janssen vaccine.

Federal health officials think the benefits of J & J's vaccine remains to outweigh the susceptibilities. The word of caution adds another challenge to a formerly promising single-dose vaccine that faced remarkable scrutiny previously this 2021 over cases of blood clotting.

Related Article: CDC Eases School Guidance, Sets New Recommendations

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Tech giant Microsoft announced on Monday it would buy RiskIQ, a cybersecurity firm, amid the growing number of ransomware attacks in an attempt to better protect companies and residents from cybercrimes.

The acquisition of the firm will support Microsoft (MSFT) and its customers in fighting back against the increasing threat of cybercrimes. The primary victims of these incidents are people who perform remote work and rely on cloud computing. Officials noted that cyberattacks in recent years have become more sophisticated and more frequent.

Protecting Against Cybercrimes

Cybersecurity RiskIQ's software gives companies the power to monitor their entire networks, including operations on various cloud providers. It also allows them to get their hands on threat intelligence research that provides information regarding the threat to help reduce the risks.

In a blog post on Monday, Elias Manousos, founder and CEO of RiskIQ, said they were happily joining forces with Microsoft to provide protection worldwide against cyberattacks, which have surged in recent times.

Microsoft's announcement comes amid a rapid surge of cyberattacks and recent large-scale ransomware attacks on major businesses in the United States. The victims include major pipeline Colonial Pipeline and meat producer JBS that have crippled operations throughout the country and some globally, CNN reported.

The tech giant itself faced its own cybersecurity struggle earlier this year when Hafnium, a Chinese-linked group, breached Microsoft's Exchange email service in March. The incident may have given the criminal group access to data from tens of thousands of organizations, including state and local governments, academic institutions, and infectious disease researchers and businesses.

Read Also: Joe Biden Expresses Support to Cuba Protesters; Sen. Rubio Criticizes The Administration's Initial Assessment

While the terms of the acquisition of RiskIQ were not released to the public, one of Microsoft's officials said the tech giant was ready to purchase the cybersecurity firm for at least $500 million in cash.

RiskIQ has many high-profile clients that can vouch for its effectiveness, including Facebook Inc., BMW AG, American Express Co. and the U.S. Postal Service. It also has an annual report called "Evil Internet Minute" which details the company's security. RiskIQ has raised $83 million from organizations such as Summit Partners and Battery Ventures.

Surge of Ransomware Attacks

In an attempt to protect its clients and customers, Microsoft has continued to bolster its security with features, including strengthening its Windows operating system and Azure cloud services. The efforts aim to protect individual machines and detect ransomware attacks on networks. There will also be employees who monitor the company's own products for vulnerable areas, assist clients to get back up after a cyberattack, and track nation-state hackers, Bloomberg reported.

Recently, United States President Joe Biden threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin for the latter's continued ignorance of ransomware attacks that originated from its country. The Democrat has accused Putin of being responsible for cybercrimes that have targeted thousands of companies worldwide.

However, Biden has still not issued any sanctions or orders in retaliation against Russian's alleged criminal activity. When asked, the Democrat said one possible way of countering the attackers is by shutting down Russia's server which was used as an entryway into the cyberworld, the New York Post reported.



Related Article: Biden Supports Trump's Previous Stance on China's Claims Over Contested South China Sea, Warns of Aggressive Defense

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
PThe Biden administration petitioned a federal appeals court on Monday for a ruling that would put a stop to the Trump administration's efforts to block new TikTok downloads. In a legal filing, the US Justice Department stated that the lawsuit against the Chinese-owned video-sharing app "is now moot" and that the cases had been voluntarily dropped by the government.

Within 14 days, a court ruling is expected. President Joe Biden signed an executive order last month, rescinding measures taken by his predecessor, Donald Trump.

The US asks court to dismiss TikTok ruling

The Commerce Department also revoked its orders prohibiting new app downloads. Last August, Trump attempted to prohibit new downloads of TikTok and the Tencent-owned messaging app WeChat, claiming that the apps might have backdoors that would transmit American users' data to Beijing, endangering US national security.

TikTok was told that unless it sold its US operations to an American, it would be shut down. That deal, which had been in the works with Oracle and Walmart, was put on hold earlier this year while Biden's team looked into Trump's China policy. The US, on the other hand, is currently investigating TikTok's parent firm, ByteDance, for its 2017 acquisition of Musical.ly, as per Reuter via MSN.

On June 22, the Commerce Department publicly retracted a list of banned transactions with ByteDance-owned TikTok and Tencent-owned WeChat that had been released in September and tried to prevent users from downloading the applications. The government's legal challenges, according to the Justice Department, are now moot. It requested the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to reject its appeals.

Separately, the Justice Department stated in a petition with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that it has not yet determined how to proceed with its appeal of a lower court judgment that blocked the Trump administration's attempts to impose limits on WeChat. The government said it was in talks with attorneys for the WeChat users who had filed suit "about suitable future measures in this appeal."

Read Also: Russian-Speaking Hackers Demand $70 Million in Bitcoin in the Recent Ransomware Attack

TikTok still subject to national security assessment

By July 26, the administration intends to tell the court of its decision. The Biden directive instructed the Commerce Department to keep an eye on software programs like TikTok that might compromise US national security and to provide suggestions within 120 days on how to secure US data obtained or accessible by foreign adversary-controlled firms.

In a June 28 interview with Reuters, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the department was "just getting started" with its assessment, which will involve an "evidence-based" study. Another Trump directive, signed in January, that targeted eight other communications and financial technology software apps was also canceled by Biden's executive order.

The Trump directive instructed officials to prohibit transactions using eight Chinese applications, including Alipay from Ant Group and QQ Wallet, and WeChat Pay from Tencent. There were no restrictions imposed. TikTok is still the subject of a separate US national security assessment, which began in late 2019, StraitTimes reported.

According to officials, Biden's directive attempts to define the conditions that the US considers to be harmful to Americans' sensitive data. A White House fact sheet revealed the data contains personally-identifying information and genetic information that would go to persons directly related to foreign rivals, including China.

Per Bloomberg via Yahoo, a senior administration official said a separate national security assessment of the sale of TikTok to an American business is continuing and unrelated to Wednesday's move. At a routine news conference in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin stated that China will continue to protect the interests of its companies.

Related Article: Donald Trump Sues Facebook, Twitter, Google For "Breach of Freedom of Speech" to Recover Accounts



@YouTube

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Authorities are discussing ways to battle climate change amid rising tensions between United States and Russian officials over cybercrimes that have recently targeted many American businesses and other international establishments worldwide.

On Monday, John Kerry, the climate envoy for the United States, and Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, expressed their hopes of continuing talks regarding climate change to deescalate rising tensions between the two nations. Kerry went on a four-day visit to Moscow to meet with Lavrov. Kerry is so far the highest-ranking official of President Joe Biden's administration to travel to Russia.

Climate Change Issue

Lavrov noted how the Russian government values the issue of climate change and how it is continuously willing to work together with other countries to solve the controversies. He added that Kerry's visit to Moscow was a positive signal for the development of relations between the two countries.

Kerry said it was possible for the U.S. and Russia to work together and solve climate change issues. He added it was also possible that the two nations have more opportunities to address other issues, ABC News reported.

Read Also: Joe Biden Expresses Support to Cuba Protesters; Sen. Rubio Criticizes The Administration's Initial Assessment

The two top officials acknowledged that climate change was an important issue for both the United States and Russia, as well as other countries worldwide. Kerry said that authorities have spent years discussing worse problems such as chemical weapons and nuclear armaments. He added that the climate change issue is just as crucial as previous discussions.

Worldwide, Russia, is one of the largest producers of oil and gas. Authorities have recently made commitments to tackle climate change as a proper issue. However, many critics have pointed out that Russia, which is also the fourth-highest producer of carbon, is not doing enough to make a significant impact on the worsening issue.

For years, Putin has been known for his skepticism about man-made global warming. He previously claimed that Russia would benefit from the issue. One of his most recent endeavors is making the development of Russia's Arctic region a strategic priority. The efforts come as ice cover continues to melt and the Northern Sea Route has become more accessible, which could be used to export hydrocarbons to Asian nations, The Moscow Times reported.

Effects of Global Warming

One of the most recent large-scale effects of global warming in the United States was the incident when the drought in the Western parts of the country was recorded as one of the hottest in history. Nearly half of America's territory is experiencing severely dry conditions. Wildfire risk has significantly increased due to dry soil and less water in Mountain snowpacks. Lake Mead, the country's largest reservoir, is also heading down to its lowest level since it was filled in the 1930s.

Southwestern states have recorded the past year to be the driest or second-driest season since 1895 when records were started. Officials have begun implementing water restrictions across farms and cities to conserve water. However, Western regions are now under hotter climates that are shrinking water supplies no matter what type of weather arrives, NPR reported.



Related Article: Biden Supports Trump's Previous Stance on China's Claims Over Contested South China Sea, Warns of Aggressive Defense

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Bill Gates discussed his tumultuous divorce at the private Allen & Co. "summer camp for billionaires" last week, in an emotional session that left one guest on the edge of tears, according to one attendee.

CNBC host Becky Quick asked Bill Gates about his divorce from Melinda, his wife of 27 years, and the future of the Gates Foundation during an "off the record" Q&A session following his presentation on climate change. When describing the end of his marriage, Gates did not use the word "affair," one participant told The New York Post, who also described the session as "very moving."

Bill Gates blames himself

Bill Gates blamed himself for his divorce from Melinda during the Sun Valley billionaires conference, when he "spilled" about their divorce. Gates gave a presentation about climate change on Friday before allegedly disclosing his divorce. The Idaho conference, dubbed as "summer camp for billionaires" by some, attracts the greatest names in tech and media every year; 2021 seemed to be no exception.

However, not everyone was thrilled by Gate's overall demeanor, with one attendee claiming that the renowned tech mogul seemed "agitated" throughout his visit and blew off other guests who sought to approach him. According to sources, Quick also omitted to address another elephant in the room: Gates' alleged relationship with deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The scandal-plagued Microsoft co-founder made the remarks after arriving late at the exclusive Sun Valley, Idaho, to attend an exclusive dinner hosted by former Allen & Co. President Herb Allen, where he broke bread Thursday night with heavy hitters such as Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sheryl Sandber.

After his divorce from Melinda Gates, 56, was announced in May, news of his alleged extramarital relationships and questions about the nature of his relationship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein surfaced. Melinda stated in her divorce papers that their marriage was "irretrievably broken."

Per Daily Mail, following the announcement of the divorce, it was revealed that Gates, who was CEO of Microsoft at the time, had an inappropriate sexual connection with a female employee in 2000 and resigned while the corporate board investigated into the relationship. The affair was revealed after a Microsoft employee detailed it in a letter to the board in 2019 - and allegedly requested that Gates' estranged wife see the message.

While the inquiry was still ongoing, Gates abruptly resigned from the board of directors in March 2020. His spokesperson confirmed that he had an affair over 20 years ago but claimed it had nothing to do with his decision to leave Microsoft's board of directors. The news comes in the wake of two shocking revelations about the couple's marriage falling apart.

Read Also: How Lilibet's Christening Could Mend Prince Harry, Meghan Markle's Rift With The Royal Family

Gates Foundation staff are freaking out

Staff at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are "freaking out" over the organization's future, according to a former top official. The foundation announced an agreement to work together for another two years on Wednesday, guaranteeing French Gates' status as co-chair in the short term, The Independent via MSN reported.

Trustees will be selected to supervise the foundation's work alongside Bill Gates and French Gates, according to the foundation. Staffers were reportedly concerned that the divorce would put the billion-dollar foundation's credibility at risk.

Bill and French Gates have underlined their commitment to the foundation's future, which is estimated to be worth $55 billion and has spent billions battling poverty and disease around the world. The decision to remain as co-chairs were made to guarantee the continuity of the foundation's activities, according to a press release. However, if either determines after two years that they cannot continue to work together as co-chairs, French Gates would leave her role as co-chair and trustee, it stated.

Related Article: Microsoft Employees Accuse Bill Gates of Being an Office Bully



@YouTube

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The former President's detention is being seen as a litmus test for the post-apartheid country's capacity to apply the law equitably, even in the face of strong leaders.

South Africa Former President Zuma Handed Himself to the Authorities

In a recently published article in NBC News, the intermittent pro-Zuma demonstrations that erupted after he turned himself over last week soon escalated into theft and burning, mostly in KwaZulu-Natal but also in Gauteng, home to Johannesburg.

Zuma, 79, was convicted late last month for disobeying a constitutional court order to testify at a high-level corruption investigation during his nine years in government, which ended in 2018, according to MSN News.

South Africa former president denied any wrongdoing and refused to assist with authorities looking into accusations that he enabled three Indian-born businessmen - Atul, Ajay, and Rajesh Gupta - to steal public funds and influence policy.

Meanwhile, in a virtual hearing on Monday, Zuma's counsel asked the constitutional court to rescind his jail term, citing a rule that judgments can be reconsidered if made in the absence of the affected person or containing a patent error. But legal experts say Zuma's chances of success are slim.

He was briefly imprisoned by South Africa's pre-1994 white-minority authorities for his attempts to make all people equal before the law, but his image has already been tainted by a series of corruption and sleaze scandals, according to many.

Read Also: Africypt Scam: South African Brothers Disappear With $3.6 Billion in Bitcoin

Military Forces were Deployed to Stop the Unrest in South Africa

In a recently published article in Yahoo News, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called in the military on Monday to put down violent demonstrations and looting that erupted after former President Jacob Zuma was imprisoned.

Since Zuma, who served as president from 2008 to 2018, handed himself in to police last week, at least six people have died and 500 have been detained. On Monday night, Ramaphosa declared that military troops had been deployed in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, Zuma's home province.

Ramaphosa said, "We will not hesitate to arrest and prosecute those who perpetrate these actions and ensure they face the full might of the law," according to a recently published news article in Reuters.

Protesters marched through the streets of Johannesburg on Sunday, armed with sticks, branches, and other blunt items. Supporters of Zuma believe that he is the victim of a political witch hunt orchestrated by Ramaphosa's supporters.

President Ramaphosa Extended the Country's Lockdown

Ramaphosa delivered his speech one day after extending the country's lockdown for another two weeks. He called the looting sprees and street violence that followed "opportunistic acts of crime," BBC News reported.

Liquor stores, as well as outlets of businesses like pharmacy company Clicks and food merchants, Pick n Pay and Shoprite, were among those impacted since the sale of alcohol is now prohibited due toCovid-19 regulations intended to relieve strain on hospitals.

However, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) warned on Monday that the poor will suffer the brunt of the damage, citing the disruption of vital public services and the loss of numerous small enterprises.

Related Article: Nelson Mandela Update: Former South African President Showing Signs of Improvement



@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The husband's remains were recovered during a search for a missing Wisconsin couple, according to the Dane County Medical Examiner. The remains of Bart Halderson, 50, of Windsor, were discovered Thursday night near the town of Cottage Grove, authorities said.

"Homicide violence, including gunshot injuries," was recorded as the cause of death. He was shot and dismembered, according to investigators.

Why did the missing Wisconsin couple's son lie?

Chandler Halderson, the couple's 23-year-old son, is expected to face charges over his father's death, said the Dane County District Attorney's office. Chandler Halderson reported Bart and Krista Halderson missing on Wednesday. He was detained on Thursday for giving authorities false information.

The Sheriff's Office claims Halderson informed them his parents were taken up by an unknown acquaintance early on July 1, according to a probable cause statement filed on July 9th. Halderson told News 3 Now that his parents were picked up by a couple he didn't know, but that he knew they were going to their cabin in Langlade County and that they departed early the next morning to avoid the holiday weekend traffic.

On July 4, Halderson got a text message from his mother informing him that they had arrived at White Lake, Wisconsin, he told News 3 Now and investigators. Halderson allegedly informed the Sheriff's Office that his mother stated they were going to a parade that day, but their inquiry revealed that there was no parade in White Lake on that day, and Krista and Bart Halderson were never at their White Lake cabin.

Local law officers examined the cabin, interviewed the cabin's neighbors, and discovered no evidence that anybody had gone to the Halderson's cabin or on the property recently. Further investigation revealed that Chandler Halderson was observed at a known acquaintance's home in the Town of Cottage Grove in rural Dane County, driving his car in reverse with the back hatch open in a field near the woods, according to the probable cause statement.

Authorities examined the area and discovered human remains, subsequently identified as a torso, a short distance from Chandler Halderson's vehicle. The remains were turned in for identification, and the torso was recognized as belonging to Bart Halderson by the Dane County Medical Examiner's office on Monday.

Read Also: Man Charged With Hate Crime After Stabbing a Boston Rabbi Eight Times

One of the missing Wisconsin couple remains unfound

Per Fox47, after prosecutors pushed for bail of up to $1 million, the son of a missing Windsor couple is being detained on a $10,000 cash bond. After being arrested last week for giving false information connected to the inquiry, Halderson appeared in court on Monday for a bail hearing.

Despite not having filed official charges against Halderson, Deputy District Attorney William Brown requested the court to impose a million-dollar bail for him. Brown stated that the state intends to prosecute Halderson by Thursday.

During the hearing, defense attorney Catherine Dorl stated that if the state wants a high bond, it must bring charges in court. Because of the lack of charging papers, Dane County Judge Mark Fremgen finally issued the $10,000 bond. He also stated that some cash was required to assure Halderson did not flee. The next court hearing for Halderson is set for Thursday, July 15.

Meanwhile, Krista Halderson, one of the Wisconsin couple, is still missing. Investigators are still looking for information regarding her whereabouts. Krista Halderson was described as having red hair and blue eyes and being around 5 feet 3 inches tall.

The Dane County Sheriff's Office Tip Line may be reached at 608-284-6900. Deputies are still searching the remote property where Bart Halderson's remains were discovered.

A search warrant was also conducted at the couple's home as Chandler Halderson remains incarcerated at Dane County Jail, ABC's WISN reported.

Related Article: New Jersey Police Arrest Man, Rescue Woman After Possible Hostage Situation



@YouTube

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Even though millions of individuals have been vaccinated against COVID-19, they may be banned from visiting specific countries in Europe and abroad.

People Vaccinated With AstraZeneca Manufactured in India Not Allowed to Travel

In a recently published article in the U.S. News, several other individuals who have been vaccinated as part of a United Nations-backed initiative may be denied entry to many European and other countries since the Indian-made form of the vaccine is not recognized for travel.

Although the AstraZeneca vaccine made in Europe has been approved by the European Medicines Agency, the identical vaccine manufactured in India has not received approval, according to a published article in The Washington Post.

AstraZeneca has not finished the required documentation on the Indian plant, according to EU authorities, which includes information on its manufacturing methods and quality control requirements. Meanwhile, public health experts have cautioned that nations who refuse to accept WHO-backed immunizations are hindering global attempts to resume travel.

Read Also: AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine 'Vulnerable' to South African Variant, 'Professor Lockdown' Warns

Experts Describe the Move of EU as Discriminatory

Some experts call the EU's action unfair and unscientific, pointing out that the plant has been audited and authorized by the WHO. According to health experts, the scenario would not only delay travel and upset already-fragile economies, but it will also erode vaccination trust by seeming to designate certain vaccines as inferior.

Vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson are among the officially EU-approved vaccines. They exclude the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is produced in India, as well as many other vaccines used in poor nations, such as those developed in China and Russia.

However, they clarified that individual EU nations are allowed to impose their own regulations for visitors from inside and outside the union; and these rules vary greatly, further confusing tourists. Several EU nations, like Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland allow individuals to enter after receiving vaccines that are not approved by the EU while others, including France and Italy, do not do so, according to MSN News.

Experts Released their Statements

Dr. Ifeanyi Nsofor said that the Indian-made vaccine he got had been approved by WHO for emergency use and was provided via COVAX, a United Nations-backed initiative that provides vaccines to the world's impoverished nations.

He also added that the Serum Institute of India facility was visited by the WHO to verify that it followed excellent production procedures and fulfilled quality control requirements.

Meanwhile, Ivo Vlaev, a professor at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom who advises the government on behavioral science, acknowledged that Western countries' reluctance to recognize vaccines used in developing countries may foster distrust.

Furthermore, countries that refuse to accept vaccinations approved by WHO, according to Dr. Mesfin Teklu Tessema, head of health for the International Rescue Committee, are going against scientific facts.

WHO has encouraged nations to accept all of the vaccines it has approved, including two vaccines manufactured in China. Countries that refuse to do so are "undermining confidence in lifesaving vaccines that have already been shown to be safe and effective, affecting vaccine uptake and potentially putting billions of people at risk," according to a statement released by the United Nations Health Organization earlier this month.

Related Article: Why Couldn't Australians Travel in the 2021 Holiday Despite COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout?



@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Fast Food Giant McDonald's Corp., is reportedly providing its employees with more benefits, including tuition, emergency child care, and paid time off, in an effort to attract more workers amid the ongoing labor shortage across the United States.

Business owners are trying to address the issue of not having enough workers to power all of their branches nationwide. Franchises of the burger chain located in the United States are looking to increase the hourly wages of its employees in addition to other benefits. These efforts aim to improve the image of the brand and attract more applicants.

McDonald's Career Benefits

The corporate parent of the fast-food chain said the effort is a multimillion-dollar investment to support the goal of getting more workers. About 95% of the chain's approximately 13,450 stores in the United States are owned by franchisees.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, one of the biggest struggles that the U.S. economy has faced is the labor shortage. Even with the vaccine and continued protocols to control the spread of the infection, service-heavy businesses that rely on large numbers of workers are hindered in preparing meals or providing service to customers, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The inclusion of benefits is fast becoming a trend among companies that are struggling to fill their workforce after laying off many of their staff. Restaurants were one of the worst-stricken establishments when the coronavirus pandemic spread. With the country slowly reopening its economy, businesses are starting to operate at full capacity but lack the necessary employee count.

Read Also: Joe Biden Expresses Support to Cuba Protesters; Sen. Rubio Criticizes The Administration's Initial Assessment

Other businesses such as Papa John's, Chipotle, and P.F. Chang's have also offered sign-on bonuses and expanded caregiver benefits. Last month, McDonald's franchisees agreed to support training, workplace flexibility, pay, and benefits for all workers.

And in May, the company announced a 10% salary increase for some of its employees during a time where it needed to hire workers to meet the demand. Officials expect the company's average hourly salary to reach $15 by 2024, CNBC reported.

Massive Job Openings

Last month, McDonald's was looking to hire 20,000 new employees to fill its slots amid a rising shortage of manual labor in the UK and Ireland. Paul Pomroy, Chief Executive Officer of McDonald's UK, said it was much more difficult to hire new staff after the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. This issue was echoed by other establishments in the restaurant and hospitality sector.

The Itsu restaurant chain also announced a five-year expansion in June, with 100 new outlets creating 2,000 job opportunities in the UK. Across the UK and Ireland, McDonald's already has 1,400 branches with about 130,000 total employees.

Additionally, authorities noted that the new openings would not replace the slots left open by laying off a number of workers amid the coronavirus pandemic. They said the new hires would be a move to prepare the establishment for the reopening of the economy once lockdown restrictions are lifted, BBC reported.



Related Article: Biden Supports Trump's Previous Stance on China's Claims Over Contested South China Sea, Warns of Aggressive Defense

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
On top of the clear yet tense footage, the words "surrender, commando, surrender" reverberate. A group of Afghan Commandos emerges from the structure.

Afghan Commandos Surrendered But Stil Executed

In a recently published article in CNN News, the victims of the execution were members of an Afghan Special Forces squad; and executioners were the Talibans. On June 16, the town of Dawlat Abad in Faryab province, close to Afghanistan's border with Turkmenistan, became the scene of indiscriminate murders.

The corpses of the commandos are scattered over an outdoor market in footage acquired by a news source. Witnesses claimed the commandos ran out of ammo and were encircled by Taliban militants after a hard struggle to defend the town.

One witness said that the commandos came in town with six tanks; but after two hours of combat, they ran out of ammo and got no air assistance. According to one eyewitness, the commandos were encircled by the Taliban. Then they marched them all into the street and shot them all, according to a published report in News Channel.

Read Also: ISIS Remains a Lurking Danger in Afghanistan as US Continues To Withdraw Troops

Taliban Fighters Denied the Obtained Vides and Execution

Fake videos and footage from years-old recordings depicting Daesh [ISIS] militia operations are also being passed off as current acts by the Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate, according to the Taliban.

California News Times reports that the Taliban informed a news source that the footage showing the soldiers being shot was made up by the government to discourage civilians from surrendering. A Taliban spokesperson claimed that 24 commandos taken in Faryab province were still being held captive, but offered no proof.

Taliban Has Taken Control of Districts Across Afghanistan

The Taliban claim control of approximately 200 districts across Afghanistan, mainly in the north and north-west. They have encountered minimal opposition in many places. This comes after U.S. President Joe Biden said that all US soldiers will leave the country by September 11.

According to the Long War Journal, which monitors territorial control in Afghanistan, 212 districts were under Taliban control as of July 10, 76 were under government control; and 119 were still disputed as of July 10.

Though there are about 11,000 Afghan special forces who are US-trained and better equipped than regular troops, they are overworked as the Taliban intensifies its assaults throughout the nation.

Moreover, after gaining control of the region, the Taliban immediately implemented new regulations, according to many locals. Girls were no longer permitted to attend school, and women were not permitted to walk to the market without escorted by a male.

Top U.S. General Expressed Concern

Gen. Austin Miller, the top US commander in Afghanistan, has voiced worry over the Taliban's territorial advances. Amid the increasing bloodshed, he claims, a political deal cannot be reached.

Miller said "I'm one of the US military officers who's had the opportunity to speak with the Taliban. And I've told them ... it's important that the military sides set the conditions for a peaceful and political settlement in Afghanistan," according to a published article in Tell Us Daily.

Related Article: Taliban Wins the War in Afghanistan as the UK, US Troops Pull Out, General Lord Dannatt Claims



@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
In connection with a fire that caused more than $30,000 in damage, a Taco Bell employee in Tennessee was arrested on suspicion of arson. More workers will be detained soon.

Alleged Arson Inside the Taco Bell

In a recently published article in MSN News, after the Nashville Fire Department responded to a fire at a Taco Bell at 5510 Nolensville Pike on July 5, Courtney Mayes, 25, the shift manager at the time, was charged with aggravated arson.

Employees closed the doors to prevent customers from entering, according to a video from inside the eatery. The Taco Bell employees then raced around the restaurant with fireworks with them.

Additionally, the workers walked inside the men's restroom at one point to get away from the surveillance cameras for a while. They were then seen on camera putting something in a trash bin in the restaurant foyer before walking outside and photographing it with their phones, according to a published report in Newsweek.

Investigators with the Nashville Fire Department arrested a Taco Bell employee after she and other employees were seen on video playing with pyrotechnics, which set the facility on fire. Management called NFD Fire Investigators on Thursday, July 8, to investigate the fire.

Read Also: 10 Babies Killed After Hospital Fire in India

More Arrests To Follow

The restaurant was severely damaged by the fire, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in losses. The investigation is still continuing, according to officials, and additional arrests are anticipated in the coming days. Mayes is being detained on a $5,000 bail at the Davidson County jail.

Nashville Fire Department said in a statement, "Employees then realized they locked themselves out of the restaurant. The employees tried unsuccessfully to get back into the store. When the employees saw the trash can start to smoke, they called 911 for help," according to a published article in Block Voice.

Investigators subsequently discovered damage inside the men's restroom after pyrotechnics were reportedly set off inside a different trash can after the fire was doused. Moreover, the Nashville Fire Department was contacted for further comment, but the news outlet did not receive any response yet.

Fire Incident in the U.S. Increases

In recent years, dangerous fireworks accidents have become more common in the United States. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) of the United States published a study in June that showed a 50 percent increase in fatalities and injuries from fireworks-related events in 2020 compared to 2019.

According to the study, at least 18 individuals died as a result of fireworks-related events in 2018, compared to 12 in 2019. Based on the reports of the CPSC, approximately 15,600 individuals were treated in hospital emergency rooms for fireworks-related injuries in 2020, compared to around 10,000 in 2019.

More individuals attempted to put on their own displays after official ones were canceled throughout the nation due to the COVID-19, which resulted in an upsurge in injuries and fatalities in 2020.

Consumers should watch professional fireworks displays from a safe distance and be especially cautious while using consumer-type pyrotechnics, said CPSC Acting Chairman Robert Adler.

Related Article: Five Killed as Fire Erupts at COVID-19 Vaccine Maker's Complex in India

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
CHICAGO, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SweeTARTS, the beloved candy brand that's known for being more than just one thing, is excited to announce its SweetBEATS online music mixer and contest! Through a world of fresh sounds distilled from the unique properties of SweeTARTS' delicious portfolio, candy-lovers and music fans alike can now combine rhythm and melody to craft a beat as unique as themselves. And looks like it's your lucky summer, Xtina stans, because a pop icon also known for being more than one thing, legendary hit-maker Christina Aguilera, will help bring the whole thing to life.
ST. LOUIS  Students at most St. Louis-area Roman Catholic schools will not be required to wear masks this fall, the Archdiocese of St. Louis announced Tuesday. The decision came amid warnings from local health officials about troubling signs of COVID-19 infections spreading among unvaccinated children in the region.

Beginning this upcoming academic year, the wearing of masks in archdiocesan schools will be optional and at the discretion of each individual family, the Archdiocese of St. Louis said in a message sent Tuesday. The archdiocese urges all school families, students, leadership, faculties and staffs to be thoughtful of their own health  and that of their community  in all of their decisions, especially regarding the wearing of masks and monitoring for COVID-19 symptoms.

The message from the archdiocese also strongly encourages COVID-19 vaccination for eligible staff and students 12 and older. More than 50,000 students in an 11-county region attend Catholic schools, according to the archdioceses website.

Meanwhile, St. Louis Public Schools said it will require masks for all students and staff this fall, in a plan approved Monday by the districts school board.

Most other area school districts have yet to release COVID-19 prevention plans for fall 2021. Northwest School District in Jefferson County and Rockwood School District in St. Louis County dropped their mask mandates for summer school.

As schools plan for fall classes, theres new concern about the rising COVID-19 cases. The St. Louis County Department of Public Health late Monday released a health advisory warning that cases are increasing at an alarming rate with outbreaks among children not previously seen in the pandemic.

We are very concerned about the health and wellness of children in the region. Children are transmitting COVID-19 to each other much more easily now than they were last year, the advisory read. In the last month, we have seen multiple outbreaks in day cares and camps that are largely driven by unvaccinated adults transmitting the disease to children, then children transmitting among each other.

Summer programs and day cares are seeing nearly everyone in a classroom become infected, whereas previously, an infected child may only spread it to a couple of others, said Amanda Brzozowski, senior epidemiologist with the county.

We really didnt see that kind of widespread transmission among kids very frequently last year, Brzozowski said. Day cares have even called me and said, You know, we didnt ever have transmission in the first year and a half of this. Why is this happening now?

Brzozowski suspects that the more infectious delta variant gaining a foothold in Missouri is to blame, exacerbated by the loosening of mitigation measures, such as wearing masks, staying home when sick and minimizing visitors in the building.

It just shows us exactly what kind of beast we might be working with now, and it shows us that maintaining the mitigation is even more important in protecting the kids and the staff, she said.

Brzozowski said she is sympathetic to the need for schools to plan mitigation polices, but it may be premature.

Im really urging all of those schools to be patient so that we can learn from what were seeing this summer and learn from the day cares and learn from the summer camps, Brzozowski said. We can see what is going on with the variants. We want to see what the transmission looks like.

Cases continue to climb

New COVID-19 cases have increased in St. Louis County over the past two weeks by 58%, according to The New York Times tracking site. The city of St. Louis saw a 45% increase, and St. Charles County saw a 181% increase.

Statewide, Missouri saw the seven-day average number of new cases reach 1,525 on Tuesday, nearly double what it was two weeks ago at 823 and the highest level since Feb. 6.

St. Louis County also released a report this week that included detailed case data over two weeks ending July 5, which showed the rate of new cases increased among all youth age groups.

The largest was a 126% increase among ages 15 to 19  which went from 8.8 to 19.9 cases per 100,000 people per day. Positivity rates among youth also saw big increases, with the biggest again among the 15-to-19 group, going from 4.2% to 11.5% in two weeks.

Among children ages 10 to 19 in the county (how the vaccine data is collected), 35% have initiated vaccination, officials said.

Statewide, data shows just 22% of youths ages 12 to 14 have initiated vaccination. Among the 15-to-24 category, 33.6% have gotten at least one dose.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday updated its guidance for COVID-19 prevention in schools. The guidance prioritizes in-person learning and states that only unvaccinated students and teachers need to wear a mask. Students are recommended to stay 3 feet apart if possible.

Ventilation, handwashing, staying home when sick, getting tested and quarantining are also other important layers of prevention.

Cities and states are so far taking different approaches. Some states such as Texas and Iowa are prohibiting schools from requiring masks, while cities like New York and Chicago have required students to wear masks.

Strategies for parents

Dr. David Hunstad, infectious disease specialist at St. Louis Childrens Hospital, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognizes that masking is one strategy out of many to reduce transmission and that each school has different considerations when crafting its policies.

Hunstad says even at schools with mask-optional policies, parents should feel comfortable having their unvaccinated child wear a mask, especially if the child is in close contact with people who have chronic health conditions.

If you as a parent are concerned about that, then please feel free to mask your child or ask your child to wear a mask and as much as possible, he said. And encourage your fellow parents in the school district or class to have their kids wear masks because that helps protect your child at the very least.

Parents being vigilant in identifying when their child is sick will be key, he said.

Really just having a low threshold for holding these kids out of school on a given day and getting tested, because I think that will be really an important piece, he said.

To help answer parents questions about children and the COVID-19 vaccine, two pediatric infectious disease specialists with St. Louis Childrens Hospital, Dr. Rachel Orscheln and Dr. Jason Newland, will host a livestream event on the hospitals Facebook page at 7 p.m. Thursday. Theyll answer questions about how families can navigate the return to school.
Anchor/Multimedia Journalist

Hello! I am the weekend anchor as well as a reporter for Your News Now! You can reach me with news tips (or just to say hello!) at khonigford@wlio.com.
Thank you! You've reported this item as a violation of our terms of use.

This content was contributed by a user of the site. If you believe this content may be in violation of the terms of use, you may report it.
Pipeline

13 July 2021

TFE Hotels, will open its very first Adina branded apartment-style hotel in Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia region on July 15.

The 171-key new-build Adina Apartment Hotel Cologne features spacious studios and apartment-style rooms, smart design and all the amenities needed to turn a hotel into a home away from home. Located on the banks of the Rhine River in the middle of the ultra-modern MesseCity, the hotel is also close to the Cologne Trade Fair entrance and the long-distance train station Messe/Deutz for both corporate and leisure travellers.

Hotel General Manager, Katharina Eckardt - who has joined the Cologne pre-opening team from her perch at Adina Frankfurt Westend - said TFE's newest Adina delivered in spades to both leisure and corporate travellers.

Sports and music fans will be able to take advantage of the hotel's proximity to Cologne's indoor Laxness Arena and outdoor lovers will naturally gravitate to the hotel's two open terraces during the European summer or to the heated pool and sauna in winter.
Appointment

13 July 2021

Hospitality Net, the most trusted source for hospitality industry news and expert opinion articles, today announced the addition of Alan Young to its leadership team.

As Hospitality Net continues to gain momentum as the top-ranked website for the global hospitality community, Alan will assist with the sales and marketing strategy for the online publication. He will also be the primary moderator for Hospitality Net TV events as well as the upcoming HITEC TV production. Alan will report to Hospitality Net's Founder, Henri Roelings.

Alan is co-founder of Puzzle Partner, a seasoned business and technology visionary, a marketing agency focused exclusively on hotel and travel technology, and Knowingli Market Research. He is recognized for his provocative insight into how emerging technology impacts industries and how leaders can better connect with their customers and employees for sustained growth.

He sits on several hotel and travel technology advisory boards and is known for turning complex concepts into easy-to-understand ideas that drive meaningful outcomes and actions. He is a respected thought-leader, battle-tested consultant, mentor, and sought-after keynote speaker on business strategy, growth, transformation, and innovation. Alan focuses on increasing business happiness and believes that everything hinges on the power of communication and compelling storytelling.
Appointment

13 July 2021

Standard Hotels announces the promotion of Elli Jafari to Managing Director of The Standard, London.

Jafari joined the hotel as General Manager in August 2018, ahead of its opening in July 2019. Since opening, the hotel has received numerous awards for its design, hospitality and food - its 10th-floor restaurant Decimo is now a destination in itself. Over the last two years The Standard, London has also played host to some of the City's most iconic events and celebrations.

Prior to joining The Standard, London, Elli was Managing Director for The Curtain Hotel & Members Club. She also enjoyed successes in senior management positions in hotels in both London and the UK, including W Hotels and Morgans Hotel Group.
Appointment

13 July 2021

Four Seasons Hotel Jakarta welcomes Vincent Fredon as Director of Restaurants and Bar. Making the move from Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto, Vincent is excited to bring his international expertise to the culinary scene of Indonesia's vibrant capital.

Arriving with more than 15 years of Four Seasons experience, Vincent will oversee the Hotel's food and beverage outlets, including Alto, the award-winning Italian restaurant on the 20th floor framed by stunning city views. He is looking forward to adding a fresh flair to La Patisserie, the Tiffany-blue cake shop, as well as to Palm Court's all-day international favourites, served under a dramatic crystal chandelier. Also part of his portfolio: coffee-to-go at Dolcetto, banqueting services, and bespoke Weddings by Four Seasons. Last but not least, he is set to welcome a new bartender to Nautilus Bar, an intimate venue serving artisanal cocktails crafted with local spices and ingredients.

Growing up in the west of France, good food was an integral part of Vincent's childhood. His grandparents would pamper him with freshly baked cakes and desserts, while his parents introduced him to the world of fine wine and cheese. Sampling new flavours, discovering seasonal ingredients and sharing elaborate meals were all par for the course in the Fredon household.

After graduating with an Associate Degree in Hospitality, Vincent started his career as a server at the former Four Seasons Resort Provence. Rising rapidly through the ranks, his Four Seasons journey took him to properties in Dubai, Paris, Singapore, Hampshire and Kyoto. It is the brand's Golden Rule that has kept him committed to the company all these years, aligning perfectly with his own focus on service and personal connections.
Appointment

13 July 2021

Sage Hotel Management, a Sage Hospitality Group company, announced today that Patrick Pahlke has been appointed as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for the company. In this newly created role, Pahlke will be tasked with developing an integrated commercial plan and vision for the company, positioning Sage Hotel Management as an undisputed innovator in the hotel industry. He will be a significant partner to Sage and its stakeholders in creating and executing strategies that will help the company exceed its portfolio-wide revenue growth goals.

In this role, Pahlke will oversee sales, marketing, revenue management, distribution, customer relationship management (CRM), central reservations office (CRO), e-commerce, public relations and social media disciplines for Sage Hotel Management, and will collaborate closely with both Sage Studio and Sage Restaurant Concepts on all relevant initiatives.

Pahlke, a 26-year industry veteran, joins Sage from PROPER Hospitality, where he was responsible for strategic oversight of revenue management, distribution, sales, marketing, brand management, culture & programming, public relations, e-commerce and social media. His goal in this role was to drive business growth and market share for the company's rapidly growing and award-winning portfolio. He helped position PROPER as one of the most sought-after new luxury lifestyle hotel brands, winning top accolades from Conde Nast Traveler, Travel & Leisure, Architectural Digest, Wallpaper, The New York Times, Eater, Forbes, and more. Prior to PROPER, Patrick spent two decades working in various sales, marketing and operations leadership roles with Two Roads Hospitality (acquired by Hyatt) and Hyatt International all across the Asia Pacific region. Pahlke holds a Bachelor of Science degree in international hospitality management from the esteemed Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne in Switzerland.
Appointment

13 July 2021

Maui's legendary Forbes Five-Star Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea ushers in a new chapter with the return of Ben Shank as the Resort's new General Manager in July 2021.

Most recently serving as the General Manager at Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia for the past five years where he led the property opening, Shankmarks his return to Maui with more than two decades of experience with the leading luxury hospitality brand. Raised in the City of Brotherly Love, Shank launched his career with a part-time summer position as a busser at the original Four Seasons hotel in Philadelphia in 1999, where he not only learned the art of making a perfect cappuccino but also fell in love with hospitality and ultimately made the decision to switch his major, earning a degree in hotel and restaurant management from Penn State University in 2001.

Having worked his way across the country and up the ranks with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts since 1999, Shank ventured to Maui in 2010, where he served as the Director of Food and Beverage for two years, through which he developed a strong cultural appreciation for the island. During his time at the property, Shank also dreamed up the idea of the FS Taste Truck, which went on to celebrate regional cuisines, visiting sixteen Four Seasons hotels across the continental United States.

Other notable career highlights include the opening Resort Manager at the company's address at Walt Disney World in Orlando, the city's first luxury property, and the Resort Manager of Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale. In his most recent stint as General Manager of Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia at Comcast Center, Shank oversaw a landmark of innovation and a bold new stroke of luxury hospitality within the highest situated hotel in North America, earning the city's first-ever coveted Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star rating for the hotel and its spa. Taken together and by any measure: quite a Four Seasons tenure.

In his new role as General Manager at Four Seasons Resort Maui, Shank brings his polished skills to the forefront to ensure guests get the most out of their visit to the culturally rich and stunningly beautiful island of Maui. After a year spent largely indoors, Ben brings a fresh perspective to the reinvigoration of travel and creating memorable and Unforgettable Experiences that will last a lifetime, including the Fire & Wine experience set at an estate that dates back to the rule of King Kamehameha III that promises a next level tour of tastes and tales, and the Malama Hawaii experience, which encourages responsible travel by rewarding guests who volunteer for shoreline debris monitoring and clean-up work in collaboration with the non-profit Pacific Whale Foundation.
Supplier News

12 July 2021

Event Temple, the Vancouver-based Sales CRM and Event Management Platform, continues to take the Hospitality Sales and Catering space by storm. This time theyve announced the EMEA expansion of their partnership and customer success teams in a strategic move to better serve their global clients, prospects, and partners.

The hospitality software companys expansion occurred in synchronicity with the signing of a chain-wide agreement with Amrath Hotels - a hospitality group based in the Netherlands. The family-run company decided to sign with Event Temple after a thorough evaluation process.

Amrath Hotels was looking for a heavily integrated, growth platform with chain-level management, said Bob Graham, CEO and Co-founder of Event Temple. After seeing our above property functionality, a feature that is unrivalled in the industry, they were able to see how leveraging Event Temple could give them a unique competitive advantage. Were excited to bring them on and see what we can create together.

In spring of 2021, the company started to see an influx in international prospects and clients as a result of increased brand recognition and reopening markets. The software company identified a need for a global team and began looking to hire in the EMEA marketplace.

Event Temple is built around 4 main pillars - ease of use, industry-leading support, best-in-class integrations, and enterprise scalability. Our goal is to empower our clients with the tools and education necessary so they can be sales leaders in their respective markets. In order to continue to provide our community with the level of service and communication that theyve come to expect, we made the decision to expand our teams EMEA presence, explained Graham.

Our people - from the development team all the way to our customer success team - are a massive differentiator for us. Its one of the biggest reasons hotels sign and stay with us, continued Graham. Every member of our team has the unique ability to connect with our clients, prospects, and partners on an authentic level. As we started to see a steep uptick in global demand, we started looking for Customer Success and Partnership team members internationally.

Event Temple has partnered with integration and partnership specialists Eva Fayemi and Ruben Westmeijer of Bond Partnerships. The pair are assisting Event Temple with growing their global partnership programs including their Reseller and Affiliates, Integration Partners, and Customer Ambassadors programs.

Event Temple is a forward-thinking software company that provides hotels with sales enablement tools and event management software. Their goal is to help hotels identify business opportunities and optimize growth channels, said Ruben Westmeijer, Co-founder of Bond Partnerships. In the past year, theyve released an industry-leading, above property CRM for chain level management as well as an open API, built robust PMS integrations, and have grown their international clientele - and this was all during Covid. When we were approached to work with them, we immediately saw that our core values aligned with theirs. Were both customer-centric and believe in empowering the hospitality industry with the technology necessary to serve their guests.

Ruben and Eva have been instrumental in our global expansion. By working with them, weve been able to further build our partner ecosystem and help our hospitality clients win more business, said Graham. Were thrilled to have customer success and partnership teams based in Europe. By expanding our live support hours and working with Bond Partnerships, weve been able to show our international community that we are here to serve them. Its an exciting time at Event Temple and this is only the beginning.

Request a live demo to learn more about Event Temple.

About Event Temple

Event Temple is a modern Hotel and Venue Sales and Catering software company that provides the industry with an easy to use, integrated solution at an affordable price. The scalable enterprise software is ideal for hotels with no meeting spaces all the way to entire hotel chains.

Event Temple helps drive revenue growth while boosting efficiency by providing properties with sales enablement tools including prospecting and lead management, e-proposals and contracts, digital signatures, and group sales management all in one, intuitive platform. Event Temple is the industry's fastest growing Hospitality Sales and Catering CRM, with thousands of users in over 25 countries.
Supplier News

13 July 2021

Markham, Ontario  Although the pandemic has disrupted travel, the vacation rental market is strong. SunStream Hotels & Resorts, operator of eight condo hotels in Southwest Florida, is seeing high occupancy rates with all properties in Fort Myers Beach, Naples, and The Everglades surpassing budget projections and outpacing revenues from prior years. Helping this condo hotel and resort management group meet the rising travel demand and streamline guest services safely is Maestro PMS. For several years, SunStream has been relying on the Maestro Cloud property-management system for multi-property front desk operations, condo owner management, as well as mobile tools, housekeeping, sales and catering, work order management, and yield management.

Condo hotels are in high demand today as they provide more space, privacy, and even safety than hotels, said SunStream Hotels & Resorts Director of Sales and Marketing Jennifer Ellis. The biggest challenge we are facing today is the ability to keep up with demand despite the devastating labor shortage. Thanks to Maestro and its housekeeping and work order modules, we are keeping up with guest requests and turning rooms over quickly. Maestros Housekeeping module has provided the strongest assistance. It keeps us organized and enables our housekeeping managers to schedule workers as needed and it keeps everyone apprised of which rooms need to be cleaned and when in real-time. The work order module is equally as important, as we can easily tag rooms that need maintenance and pull them out of inventory until issues are resolved. Maestro has been indispensable throughout the pandemic, and it continues to prove its worth as we are nearing recovery."

Another critical component of the Maestro PMS is its integration with our third-party booking agent TravelClick, an Amadeus company, Ellis said. The strength of the Maestro/TravelClick connection is key to our success as it provides real-time availability to all sales channels without any manual oversight required. This enables us to make sure we are putting the right inventory into the market with real-time rates and the ability to make changes on the fly.

Customer Service Advocate

As a hotel management company operating resorts, hotels, condominiums, and timeshare properties for 35 years, Ellis said SunStreams No. 1 goal is to deliver genuine hospitality to guests. To do so, she said it takes the same level of dedication from its PMS provider; something she said Maestro excels in.

When we began our search for a PMS provider four years ago, we knew we wanted a product that didnt fit in a box. We were searching for a company with an elevated service platform, not a vendor eager to sell us a product. We found that instantly with Maestro. Throughout my hospitality career, Ive worked with a number of different operational models. Few, if any, are as customer-service focused as Maestro  even companies known globally for their PMS offering cannot match the support Maestro offers its independent customers. And, because Maestro already had a flexible condo hotel model, it checked off every box on our long list of requirements. Operationally and financially, Maestro PMS just makes sense for us as a multi-property condo hotel operator.

Coming to the forefront amidst the pandemic is the need for SunStream to offer contactless mobile guest-facing tools. As occupancy demands rise even more, Ellis said the company will begin leveraging Maestros Digital Registration Card with signature capture so guests do not need to touch paper or pen or can opt to complete registration on their personal mobile device as part of the mobile check in process.

Owners Portal a Turn On

What we did turn on recently is the Maestro Owners Portal, Ellis said. This gives each individual condo owner remote and real-time access to see all reservations  past, present, and future  on the books, gauge the performance of their investments, and even stay updated on expenses. Owners really appreciate this feature; they often tell us how much they appreciate the transparency. This tool is something very rare in a PMS offering.

Recognizing that condo and vacation rental properties each have their own specific requirements, Maestros Owner Management module is designed to streamline the operation for each specific functional requirement. From owner reservation controls to accounting, this module offers a unique feature set to accommodate the flexibility and needs of those who manage condo and vacation club assets. Features of the Owner Management module include:

Multi-property single Owner profile

Owner e-messaging & e-statements

Online Owner booking, availability & statement portal

Flexible Owner availability & billing controls

Commissions payable with check production

EFT  electronic funds transfer

Unit availability, intervals, status & rental pool controls

Equalization of rental revenues or unit booking

Tracking of charges, payments, receivables & balances

We are thrilled that SunStream Hotels & Resorts  and all our condo hotel customers  are navigating recovery so efficiently with Maestro, said Maestro President Warren Dehan. SunStream has had many accomplishments over the last 35 years, and Maestro is proud to be supporting their condo hotels, restaurants, spas, and conference/banquet services with tools designed to specifically address their unique operator/owner needs.

We sincerely value SunStream as a loyal and satisfied Maestro customer and appreciate their recognition of our Diamond Plus Service culture, he said. As they continue to navigate recovery, Maestro is standing ready to assist them with turning on even more in-demand tools, such as our web/mobile/kiosk check-in with mobile key integration, online prepayment portal, express mobile check-out, electronic signature capture, and configurable 48-hour room buffer feature that creates gaps in room reservation spacing to allow time for complete room sanitization.

About SunStream Hotels & Resorts

Founded in 1986, SunStream offers a collection of hotels and resorts in Fort Myers Beach, Naples, and The Everglades, Florida. Although our hotels may all look different, our unifying trait is a place where genuine hospitality is exactly that, and service comes from the heart. We are committed to delivering a truly refreshing, unexpected, and inspiring experience to each guest at every hotel. In addition to the hotel & resort collection, SunStream offers real estate and vacation ownership divisions, as well as sister company design schemes; offering sophisticated commercial design solutions.
Supplier News

13 July 2021

AMSTERDAM & NEW YORK - Mews, the leading cloud-based property management system, has underscored its commitment to its customers with the appointment of Blynn Buckley as Chief Customer Officer. Buckleys appointment will help guide the companys vision and mission to become the property management system of choice for hoteliers, ensuring owners, operators and general managers can deliver remarkable guest experiences for everyone that crosses their threshold.

Mews growth in the market has historically been driven by our maniacal focus on our customers success, said Richard Valtr, Founder of Mews. With over 2,000 properties now using Mews, its imperative that we put the voice of our customer at the heart of our strategy. The appointment of Blynn means were bringing someone to the team with the experience and knowledge of how to scale our customer organization and make sure our customers are our biggest advocates.

Buckley joins Mews having built a career in customer success, including more than six years at Cloudera, where she helped navigate the customer strategy from the company's early years, through its successful IPO in 2017. Blynn brings more than two decades of experience in customer-focused roles for Privitar, The Artesian Network, WebEx and Nextel.

For Mews, Buckley will be based in Europe and will lead the customer organization currently seeing unprecedented global growth. Hoteliers are recognizing the power of cloud computing, automation and integrations and is an industry set to go through an unrivaled transformation.

To be joining Mews at this moment is incredibly exciting, said Blynn Buckley, Chief Customer Officer of Mews. The growth experienced by Mews, despite Covid, has been exceptional and our customers are truly the most innovative, forward-thinking hoteliers in the world. Hospitality is set to go through a huge transformation in the next 5 years and Mews is right at the heart of it.
Supplier News

13 July 2021

Madrid : The Institute of Hotel Technology (ITH) has today entered a partnership with Duetto, hospitalitys innovative software as a service provider of revenue strategy solutions.

The partnership sees Duetto named as the preferred revenue management system for members of Spains National Confederation of Hotels (CEHAT). Working together, Duetto and ITH will provide industry support and revenue management strategy to the entire accommodation sector.

Duetto will be involved in the ITH Hotel Data Game regional workshops and will provide regular educational content to ITHs associate members. Duetto will also have a leading role in the annual ITH Innovation Summit, which will take place October 5-6, 2021, in Madrid, Spain.

We're delighted to partner with ITH at this important time for hotels across Spain as business returns. We're looking forward to participating in ITH events and supporting its members and associations in their initiatives and opportunities starting with the Innovation Summit in October. Thank you to everyone at ITH for making this partnership possible, said Chris Crowley, SVP Global Sales, Duetto.

Collaborating with a company of the quality of Duetto is great news for ITH. Duetto, being the most innovative RMS platform in the country, helps hotels develop profitable strategies based on demand and enables hotels to maximize efficiency while gaining the agility to act more dynamically, said Alvaro Carrillo de Albornoz, general director of ITH.

Duetto has had an active presence in Spain for many years, counting the countrys two largest hotel companies among its portfolio of clients. NH Hotel Group has been running its hotels on Duetto since January 2016, while Melia International signed up for Duetto in August 2017. In total, more than 750 hotels run on Duetto in Spain. Globally, more than 4,000 hotel and casino resort properties in more than 60 countries have partnered to use Duettos applications.

About ITH

ITH is the hotel sector's response to the challenges that technological advances pose for entrepreneurs in the tourism industry. With more than sixteen years of history, this innovation center, attached to the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation (CEHAT), has the mission of promoting the use of new technologies and management systems that contribute to improving competitiveness, profitability, quality, efficiency and sustainability of companies linked to the hotel and tourism industry.
Opinion Article

13 July 2021

The front desk: the emblem of hospitality. For years and years, we have been walking into a hotel to greet smiling faces behind the familiar desk. However, as technology evolves and continues to transform the hospitality industry, does the front desk continue to be a symbol of care and luxury, or is it transforming into a beacon of tedious outdated processes?

Many industries have already scrapped their version of front-desks in favour of more modern and tech-based approaches. The airline industry, for instance, has widely adopted self-service check-in technology. Similarly, movie theatres are also opting to use technology to allow patrons to jump straight into the cinematic experience. Mobile banking began taking over transactions carried out by tellers as far back as 2007.

Recently, Amazon launched just walk out shops where shoppers can simply scan a code on their Amazon app, shop, and simply walk out with the groceries. A combination of sensors, cameras and AI handles the hassle of checking out items, scratching billing desks off the books.

So, why is the hospitality industry defying all trends and hanging on to a physical front desk? A well-tailored change along with adopting the right tech solutions can ensure that the guests enjoy the true highlights of their journey without wasting their time on formalities and due process. Scrapping the ancient and rigid front desk can benefit hoteliers in more ways than one.

Tailored Freedom

A looming front desk by the hotel door is not always a welcoming sight, especially for worn-out guests arriving after a long flight, or the guests who want a speedy check-out to rush to a family emergency. A physical front desk freezes check-in and check-out processes to the spot, and this rigidity can backfire when trying to cater to the unique requirements of each guest.

Research into customer sentiments proves that guests value convenience in front desk operations. A study by Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) revealed that 76% of guests believe that being able to check-in ahead of time would minimise potential frustration and 41% stated that they would be more likely to select a hotel that offers the convenience of advanced check-in via web or mobile device.

Without a front desk standing in the way, hoteliers can adjust processes to tailor to each guest. It can also allow the staff more opportunities to interact with the guests as they no longer have to stare at a screen punching in guest data.

Hoteliers can adjust processes  Photo: IDS Softwares

Smarter and Safer

Amongst the countless changes brought in by the pandemic are the social distancing requirements and the need to reduce touchpoints. The traditional front desk may very well be a hub for contamination as every single guest encounters it. Not to mention the heightened risk to the front desk staff, since, while a guest may only interact with the desk once or twice during their journey, the staff will encounter several such contacts within the day, exponentially multiplying the risk.

However, McKinsey suggests that this is an opportunity to make it better, not just safer. They identified that many hotels are doing away with the antiquated check-in process, allowing guests to go directly to their rooms with keyless entry. The calls for reducing touchpoints can be used as an opportunity to adopt a tech-based approach to replace the physical front desk.

Allow Choice

This does not go to say that hotels need to scrap human interactions. The increasing use of tech from airports to vending machines means that some guests might be desperate for a friendly chat with a human. The pitfall of the worlds first robot hotel, the Henn-na Hotel in Japan, is an excellent example of the need for a balance. The inability of the robots to accommodate the nuances in guest behaviour and the breakdowns forced the hotel to remove 243 of its android staff.

The need to scrap the physical front desk is because it creates a barrier between the guests and the staff. Often, these large desks are a way of masking large computers hosting cumbersome tech solutions. Front desk operations are key points in creating a positive impression on the guest and forcing them through rigid archaic processes will be of little benefit to hoteliers. Adopting simple tech solutions that can run with minimal hardware not only declutters the lobby but, will also create more space for guest engagement.

Instead of a physical front desk, hoteliers can get creative with these processes. Tech-savvy guests can pre-check in and walk straight to their rooms. Others can walk into a cosy lobby where the hotel staff can sit with them and complete the check-in process through a tablet-based solution, while the guests sip on their welcome drinks. This provides an opportunity for hospitality organisations to maintain quality human interactions. Self-check-in kiosks can be used to eliminate waiting times in busier hotels.

Hoteliers can get creative with these processes.  Photo: IDS Softwares

41% of persons use a smartphone a few times every hour (Forbes), and 76% of travellers say their smartphone is the most important travel companion (Openkey). These tech-savvy guests are quite familiar with mobile and social media apps and emails. Imagine the impression an archaic desk with people punching data into a large computer will leave on such guests.

Incorporating mobile technology can achieve safer and smarter operations as opposed to a physical front desk. For instance, FX GeM, a contactless mobile solution designed by IDS Next, allows guests to check-in through their own devices with facilities to upload identity documents.

Also, IDS offers FX Mobile Check-In, a tablet-based solution to check-in guests, generate bills, and handle check-outs on the go. FX Roomate, an innovative in-room solution for guests to easily make room service and other requests, eliminates the need for a dedicated physical desk to accommodate guest requests.

Hoteliers today want to change to the future. However, technology vendors stand as a barrier. Your current technology vendor might not allow you to make a change even if you wanted to. Thats why it is important to partner with futuristic companies with mobile-first solutions.
WASHINGTON - The interim president of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas is proposing that Texas regulators overhaul the states power market to avoid a repeat of the blackout that left millions of Texans without electricity in February.

Brad Jones, the former president of the New York state power grid operator who was appointed to head up ERCOT in May, is seeking a tougher, more risk averse approach to managing the Texas grid while creating a more stable but costlier power system.

In his 60-point, Roadmap to Improving Grid Reliability, a copy of which was obtained by the Chronicle, Jones goes beyond the legislation signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in June, calling for the Texas Public Utility Commission to require that power generators improve their back-up systems, revamping pricing rules to encourage reliability over cheap electricity and even studying a shift from Texass two-decade old free-market power system.

On HoustonChronicle.com: 'Collective amnesia': Texas politicians knowingly blew 3 chances to fix the failing power grid

Jones, who is scheduled to testify Tuesday before the Texas Legislature about his plans, declined to comment for this story. But he has been talking to power executives, past and former regulators, and other parties for months about reforms that many say are a long time coming.

Among them was Michael Greene, the former ERCOT board chairman and executive at the former TXU Energy, who has criticized Texass power market for being too focused on keeping prices low.

Theres always a balance between reliability and low prices, and weve been so successful (on prices) we frankly went a little too far and didnt focus on reliability as much as we should have, Greene said. Its not all that costly to fix. Im sure the generators will disagree with me, but theres things you can do that arent billions of dollars.

Since the events of February, in which the days long loss of power across much of Texas resulted in an estimated 150 deaths, politicians have been moving to try and make sure it doesnt happen again. In June Abbott signed into law new legislation that among other things required power plants, natural gas facilities and other infrastructure to better weatherize their systems, with penalties of up to $1 million for not complying.

OPINION: We helped design ERCOT, here's how to prevent another major electricity failure

But Jones, who has a long history with ERCOT and what is now Vistra Energy in Dallas, is proposing that the PUC go further, requiring that power generators be subject to increased inspections and that their CEOs sign their names twice a year certifying theyve taken necessary steps to weatherize their facilities.

At the height of Februarys winter storm, more than half the states power capacity was offline, according to an ERCOT analysis.

Jones believes the grid can be better managed, with better weather forecasting that takes into account the unknown of extreme storms and better communication with the public and elected officials when conservation is needed.

And he wants to see the variability of wind and solar energy better managed through the expansion of generation than can be turned on and off when the wind dies or clouds roll in, such as natural gas-fired plants and batteries.

Were going to need to find a way for dependable, dispatchable generation to still be around but used a whole lot less often, said Pat Wood, former chairman of both the Texas Public Utility Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Thats going to require a market design change.

The question now is how much of his proposal can Jones actually get through.

The ERCOT board is expected to name a new president by the end of the year, and in the meantime Jones is likely to take some tough questions on some of his proposals.

SPEED IT UP: ERCOT told to release information more quickly about power crises

Among his more controversial ideas are paying gas-fired power plants to store fuel on site, to be burned in the event gas pipelines freeze like they did in February, and requiring wind and solar farms to provide a more steady flow of electricity onto the grid, whatever the weather conditions.

Its a very thorough plan. They talk about reforming the market, but a lot is going to depend on what the PUC does, Greene said.

So far, the newly appointed Texas Public Utility Commission  all the previous members quit after Februarys blackout  is already moving ahead on rule-making to make Texas generators more resilient.

But there remains concern among some that the state is moving too quickly and needs to await state and federal regulators final report on why power plants went down during the blackout, either because of cold or absent fuel supplies or other factors.

As we move into this rule making on weatherization, its going to be important to get that right, Wood said. Lets find out exactly what happened. Everyone is in a rush to get stuff fixed.

james.osborne@chron.com

Twitter.com/@osborneja
A new Houston-based retail electricity company announced last week that its customers will be able to choose to have their bills support a specific wind farm just outside of Corpus Christi.

Rhythm, a renewable power provider that launched in January, has created plans that will support the Chapman Ranch Wind Farm in Nueces County. While many other electricity providers give customers the option to have 100 percent of their bills go to support renewable energy, few, if any, let ratepayers select a specific project to back, said P.J. Popovic, Rhythms CEO.

Were huge fans of efficiency in energy and cleaning up our home state of Texas, so we wanted to allow customers more transparency in which specific projects they support, Popovic said.

Ratepayers will support the Chapman Ranch Wind farm through renewable energy certificates, or RECs. Generators create one REC when they put one megawatt hour of electricity onto the grid from a renewable energy source. When Rhythm customers consume one kilowatt hour of electricity, Rhythm retires one kilowatt hour from the REC. One megawatt hour is enough to power about 200 homes on a hot summer day.

NEW IN TOWN: Houston-based Rhythm enters crowded Texas retail energy market

The Public Utilities Commission of Texas allows RECs to be produced by renewable energy generators outside of Texas if they have the ability to push power onto Texas grid. Popovic said some retailers depend heavily on generation outside of Texas because the cost of producing clean energy there may be cheaper than it is within the state. But that doesnt encourage new solar or wind projects here, he said.

Rhythm, however, sources 100 percent of its energy from within Texas.

We want to make sure our customers understand where are the renewable energy sources, and to help the Texas economy, Popovic said. We are really aiming to support Texas for generations to come.

Chapman Ranch Wind Farm will be one of those beneficiaries. Located 7 miles south of Corpus Christi, its 81 wind turbines are capable of producing 240 megawatts, enough to power about 64,000 homes. Popovic said the steady coastal winds that blow along the Gulf of Mexico made the project a good choice for a partner, as well as its location closer to major demand centers like San Antonio and Houston.

He said he hopes to create more project-specific plans with other wind and solar farms in the coming months.

shelby.webb@chron.com
Guadalupe Pardo/AP

Oil steadied near $74 a barrel in New York while the International Energy Agency warned that deadlock in OPEC+ may cause global markets to tighten significantly.

The Paris-based IEA said that crude traders are braced for a deepening supply deficit as the dispute between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia prevents OPEC+ from boosting supplies. Both countries have locked in stable crude output for next month even as demand rebounds.
WASHINGTON - Texas state senators during a hearing Tuesday signaled their support for plans to redesign the state's power market to focus on reliability over cheap electricity in a bid to avoid a repeat of February's deadly blackout.

The grid manager Electric Reliability Council of Texas in collaboration with the state's Public Utility Commission, earlier released a 60-point plan to improve the Texas power grid, including proposals to increase payments to power generators capable of supplying electricity during times of extreme weather conditions, as well as manage the variability around wind and solar power generation.

Such a system would present a significant shift from the existing power market, which almost exclusively pays power plants for the electricity they generate, not their ability to deliver electricity during a deep freeze or hot summer days when power plants typically break down. It also would likely mean higher electricity costs for Texas residents and businesses.

While a decision by regulators is likely months away, PUC Chairman Peter Lake told senators the existing model of cheap electricity during normal conditions and huge spikes at times of shortage had to change.

"We're not tweaking around the edges," he said. "The way the market is designed, there's only a reward (for power generators) when you get into crisis. We need to move away from that model to one where if you provide reliability, that's where the financial incentive is presented."

The PUC has begun holding workshops to figure out a new system for compensating power companies, with plans to decide on a new market design by the end of the year, Lake said.

The commission considered similar action almost a decade ago, following a far less severe blackout during a winter storm in 2011. But the Legislature fought back, criticizing plans to pay generators extra for maintaining reliability as a giveaway to power companies.

Following February's blackout, in which millions of Texans were left without power for days and nearly 200 people died as a result, the Legislature appears in the mood to take action  and swiftly.

RELATED: ERCOT president pushes tough new rules to overhaul Texas power grid, but challenges lie ahead

"The bottom line is reliability is an issue we feel needs to be addressed soon," State Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, chairman of the Senate Business and Commerce Committee, said. "It is vitally important."

In June, Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law legislation that requires power plants, natural gas facilities and other infrastructure to better weatherize their systems, with penalties of up to $1 million for not complying. The following month he directed the PUC and ERCOT to take steps to improve reliability, including getting more generation built and increasing power reserves.

Market rules

But under Texas's system state officials have no authority to order more generation, instead requiring the creation of new market rules to get power companies to invest. Brad Jones, who replaced the ousted ERCOT president Bill Magness in May, is pushing several changes, including keeping closer tabs on power plant maintenance, paying generators to store fuel on site  so they can keep running if pipelines freeze.

Jones, the interim ERCOT president, also has raised the possibility of creating a so-called capacity market system in which power companies receive compensation just for having generation available, whether they use it or not.

Ultimately where we want this grid and this market to be is serving Texas," Jones, told senators. "It will continue to drive the growth of business and industry in Texas."

How much ERCOTs plan would raise power prices remains to be seen. But it is likely to mean significant increases in energy costs for refineries, manufacturing plants and other commercial and industrial operations, which have lobbied against past efforts to raise power prices.

At some point the leadership of this state needs to stand up to the industrials and say even with these protections in place, your power is going to be cheaper than anyone else in the country, said Tom Smitty Smith, a long-time activist in Austin and executive director of the nonprofit Texas Electric Transportation Resources Alliance.

Texas Industrial Energy Consumers, which represents large power consumers, did not return a phone call for comment Tuesday. The Association of Electric Companies of Texas, which represents power plants, also did not respond to a request for comment.

Even after Tuesdays collegial Senate hearing, efforts to reform the states power market are likely to face significant questions in Austin. Both residents and lawmakers continue to distrust power companies following the events of February

"Most didn't know what ERCOT was prior to the freeze. I still have to write it down," said state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston. "It's a shame the public doesn't have the confidence in the system."

RELATED: 'Collective amnesia': Texas politicians knowingly blew 3 chances to fix the failing power grid

Here comes August

State Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, urged the PUC to move with urgency, reminding commissioners that "we still have the heat of August to come in."

But change is unlikely to come that quickly. The rules proposed by ERCOT and the PUC, which they have the legislative authority to enact, represent the biggest change to the Texas power market since the state deregulated electricity more than two decades ago.

"We have to provide economic incentives for companies to invest not only in existing generation but new generation," Lake said. "It's something we absolutely have to get right."
The failure by natural gas producers to supply adequate fuel to power plants exacerbated the electricity shortage during the February freeze, according to a new report from the University of Texas at Austin.

A dozen researchers from UTs Energy Institute found that while all power sources  including coal, wind, solar and nuclear  faltered during the winter storm, failures to weatherize natural gas wells and ensure electricity to critical equipment compounded the catastrophic power failure. The storm and blackouts killed at least 200 people and caused billions of dollars in property damage across Texas.

Days before ERCOT called for blackouts, natural gas was already being curtailed to some natural gas consumers, including power plants, the reports authors wrote. Natural gas output started to decline rapidly before the electricity forced outages began early on February 15, with production declining about 700 million cubic feet per day from February 8-14. This decline is likely due to weather-related factors and not a loss of power at natural gas facilities."

The 101-page report didnt break new ground on what caused the widespread Texas blackouts, but it provided more details and a solid baseline of facts as policymakers debate ways to improve the electricity grid and natural gas system to prevent future blackouts. UTs report was published on the same day as the Electric Reliability Council of Texas unveiled a roadmap to improve the states power grid.

I think its a really good step forward, said Jay Zarnikau, one of the reports authors. Its not necessarily going to address all failures identified in our report, but I think it was a good roadmap.

UT researchers looked at public data and legislative testimony, but also were given access to confidential data from ERCOT, including the performance of certain power plants, communications about the winter storm and ERCOTs emergency program that automatically shut off power to some natural gas producers. The study was funded in part by the Public Utility Commission, which oversees the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.

Researchers found that frozen wells caused natural gas production to fall by 85 percent in the days leading up to Feb. 16, with up to two-thirds of processing plants in the Permian Basin experiencing an outage. Researchers looked at a sample of 27 natural gas processing plants, and found that as many as 18 of them had zero output at the worst of the storm. Natural gas producers are not required to weatherize their equipment in Texas.

FAILURES OF POWER: Regulators knew of freeze risk to Texas' natural gas system. It still crippled power generation.

Other power sources also failed during the storm. Wind turbines and solar panels froze, a sensor at a nuclear plant malfunctioned and coal plants struggled to keep their fuel dry and plants running.

As the cold temperatures endured, Texas natural gas production fell to 11.8 billion cubic feet per day on Feb. 17 from an average of 21.3 billion cubic feet during the week ended Feb. 13. The Permian Basin produces about half of the natural gas in Texas. UTs report contradicts an oil and gas trade group, which has said power outages to producers and pipelines were the main reason natural gas production plummeted during the storm.

Austin-based energy research firm Enverus, commissioned by the Texas Oil and Gas Association, found in April that the declines in natural gas production before rolling blackouts began were minimal compared to the declines that occurred after power was cut in the oil field.

Without debate, Texas natural gas carried the load of keeping Texans warm during winter storm Uri by providing over 60 percent of daily generating capacity, and this UT Energy Institute report and two ERCOT reports confirmed that weather-related issues at the power generation facilities were the primary cause for power outages, while fuel limitations represented a relatively small percentage of the overall challenges experienced, TXOGA President Todd Staples said in an email. Recently adopted legislation, including enhanced communication and coordination such as critical load designation, Texas Energy Reliability Council, and mapping the entire system, will ensure Texas will be better prepared during emergency weather events, thereby minimizing the possibility of lost production.

UT researchers also found that the natural gas industry failed to ensure that power flowed to critical pipelines supplying fuel to power plants. There were 67 electricity customers in the natural gas industry enrolled in ERCOTs voluntary Emergency Response Service program, which automatically cuts electricity to large industrial power users during a power shortage. At least five critical natural gas production and pipeline locations were enrolled in the program, researchers said. Dozens of natural gas facilities failed to file a two-page application that would have exempted them from power outages.

TXOGA said the critical load application explicitly stated that these blackout exemptions did not apply to oil-field services.

We dont exactly know what they were, but they were in that fuel supply chain of moving fuel to power plants, said researcher Carey King. So these entities would have been turned off whenever the Emergency Response Program was triggered.

Ultimately, 25,000 megawatts of natural gas generation went offline during the storm. One megawatt can power 200 Texas homes on a hot summer day. Natural gas power plants provide a little less than half of Texas power.




For much of the past decade, oil companies engaged in drilling and fracking have been allowed to pump into the ground chemicals that, over time, can break down into toxic substances known as PFAS  a class of long-lasting compounds known to pose a threat to people and wildlife  according to internal documents from the Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA in 2011 approved the use of these chemicals, used to ease the flow of oil from the ground, despite the agencys own grave concerns about their toxicity, according to the documents, which were reviewed by The New York Times. The EPAs approval of the three chemicals wasnt previously publicly known.

The records, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by a nonprofit group, Physicians for Social Responsibility, are among the first public indications that PFAS, long-lasting compounds also known as forever chemicals, may be present in the fluids used during drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

In a consent order issued for the three chemicals on Oct. 26, 2011, EPA scientists pointed to preliminary evidence that, under some conditions, the chemicals could degrade in the environment into substances akin to PFOA, a kind of PFAS chemical, and could persist in the environment and be toxic to people, wild mammals, and birds. The EPA scientists recommended additional testing. Those tests were not mandatory and there is no indication that they were carried out.

The EPA identified serious health risks associated with chemicals proposed for use in oil and gas extraction, and yet allowed those chemicals to be used commercially with very lax regulation, said Dusty Horwitt, researcher at Physicians for Social Responsibility.

For fracking to work, the energy industry has an appetite for chemicals that, when pumped underground at high pressure, can coax oil out of the ground most efficiently. In 2008, a scientific paper published in an oil-industry journal and led by a Dupont researcher referred to the exceptional water-repelling and other characteristics of types of chemicals that include PFAS, and called the chemicals an emerging technology that showed promise for use in oil and gas extraction.

The EPA documents, describing the chemicals approved in 2011 date from the Obama administration and are heavily redacted because the EPA allows companies to invoke trade-secret claims to keep basic information on new chemicals from public release. Even the name of the company that applied for approval is redacted, and the records give only a generic name for the chemicals: fluorinated acrylic alkylamino copolymer.

However, an identification number for one of the chemicals issued by the EPA appears in separate EPA data and identifies Chemours, previously Dupont, as the submitter. A separate EPA document shows that a chemical with the same EPA-issued number was first imported for commercial use in November 2011. (Chemours did not exist until 2015, though it would have had the responsibility to report chemicals on behalf of its predecessor, Dupont.)

There is no public data that details where the EPA-approved chemicals have been used.

But the FracFocus database, which tracks chemicals used in fracking, shows that about 120 companies used PFAS  or chemicals that can break down into PFAS; the most common of which was nonionic fluorosurfactant and various misspellings  in more than 1,000 wells between 2012 and 2020 in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Wyoming. Because not all states require companies to report chemicals to the database, the number of wells could be higher.

Nine of those wells were in Carter County, Oklahoma, within the boundaries of Chickasaw Nation. This isnt something I was aware of, said Tony Choate, a Chickasaw Nation spokesman.

Nick Conger, an EPA spokesman, said that the chemicals in question were approved a decade ago, and that amendments to laws since then now required the agency to affirm the safety of new chemicals before they are allowed into the marketplace. He said the redactions in the documents were mandated by a statute protecting confidential business information. The Biden administration had made addressing PFAS a top priority, he added, for example by proposing a rule to require all manufacturers and importers of PFAS since 2011 to disclose more information on the chemicals, including their environmental and health effects.

Chemours, which has in the past agreed to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to settle injury claims related to PFOA pollution, did not provide comment. In 2005, Dupont also agreed to pay $16 million to settle allegations by the EPA that it had failed to report information about the health and environmental effects of PFAS, in the largest administrative penalty the agency had ever imposed at the time. But Chemours, which was spun off from Dupont in 2015, has not spoken publicly about the use of these chemicals in drilling and fracking.

An Exxon spokesman, in response to questions regarding whether it uses the chemicals, said, We do not manufacture PFAS.

Chevron did not respond to a request for comment.

The presence of PFAS in oil and gas extraction threatens to expose oil-field employees and emergency workers handling fires and spills as well as people who live near, or downstream from, drilling sites to a class of chemicals that has faced increasing scrutiny for its links to cancer, birth defects and other serious health problems.

A class of man-made chemicals that are toxic even in minuscule concentrations, for decades PFAS were used to make products like nonstick pans, stain-resistant carpeting and firefighting foam. The substances have come under scrutiny in recent years for their tendency to persist in the environment, and to accumulate inside the human body, as well as for their links to health problems like cancer and birth defects. Both Congress and the Biden administration have moved to better regulate PFAS, which contaminate the drinking water of as many as 80 million Americans.

Industry researchers have long been aware of their toxicity. But it wasnt until the early 2000s, when the environmental attorney Rob Bilott sued Dupont for pollution from its Teflon plant in Parkersburg, West Virginia, that the dangers of PFAS started to be widely known. In settlements with the EPA in the mid-2000s, Dupont acknowledged knowing of PFAS' dangers, and several other chemical manufacturers subsequently committed to phase out the use of certain kinds of the chemical by 2015.

Kevin A. Schug, a professor of analytical Chemistry at the University of Texas at Arlington, said the chemicals identified in the FracFocus database fell into the PFAS group of compounds, although he added that there was not enough information to make a direct link between the chemicals in the database to the ones approved by the EPA. Still, he said it was clear that the approved polymer, if and when it breaks down in the environment, will break down into PFAS.

The findings underscore how, for decades, the nations laws governing various chemicals have allowed thousands of substances to go into commercial use with relatively little testing. The EPAs assessment was carried out under the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, which authorizes the agency to review and regulate new chemicals before they are manufactured or distributed.

But for years, that law had gaps that left Americans exposed to harmful chemicals, experts say. Furthermore, the Toxic Substances Control Act grandfathered in thousands of chemicals already in commercial use, including many PFAS chemicals. In 2016, Congress strengthened the law, bolstering the EPAs authority to order health testing, among other measures. The Government Accountability Office, the watchdog arm of Congress, still identifies the Toxic Substances Control Act as a program with one of the highest risks of abuse and mismanagement.

In recent days, whistleblowers have alleged in the Intercept that the EPA office in charge of reviewing toxic chemicals tampered with the assessments of dozens of chemicals to make them appear safer. EPA scientists evaluating new chemicals are the last line of defense between harmful  even deadly  chemicals and their introduction into U.S. commerce, and this line of defense is struggling to maintain its integrity, the whistleblowers said in their disclosure, which was released by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a Maryland-based nonprofit group.

David R. Brown, a public health toxicologist and former director of Environmental Epidemiology at the Connecticut Department of Health, said the EPA was expressing concerns at a level that should have caused alarm. Particularly concerning, he said, was that at oil and gas wells, youre putting the chemicals into a high temperature, high pressure environment and thats highly reactive.

Conger, the EPA spokesman, said the agency was committed to investigating the whistleblowers complaints.

The concerns add to the risks posed by hundreds of chemicals used in drilling and fracking, which involves boring deep holes into the earth, and then injecting millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals into rock formations to unlock oil and gas deposits.

In a 2016 report, the EPA identified more than 1,600 chemicals used in drilling and fracking, or found in fracking wastewater, including close to 200 that were deemed carcinogens or toxic to human health. The same EPA report warned that fracking fluid could escape from drill sites into the groundwater and that leaks could spring from underground wells that store millions of gallons of wastewater.

Communities near drilling sites have long complained of contaminated water and health problems that they say are related. The lack of disclosure on what sort of chemicals are present has hindered diagnoses or treatment. Various peer-reviewed studies have found evidence of illnesses and other health effects among people living near oil and gas sites, a disproportionate burden of which fall on people of color and other underserved or marginalized communities.

In areas where theres heavy fracking, the data is starting to build to show theres a real reason for concern, said Linda Birnbaum, the former director of the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences and an expert on PFAS. The presence of PFAS, she said, was particularly worrisome. These are chemicals that will be in the environment, essentially, not only for our lifetimes, but forever, she said.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
NEW YORK (AP)  A New York judge was sympathetic Monday to horse trainer Bob Bafferts claims that his May suspension by the New York Racing Association  after Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit failed a postrace drug test  was unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon at a Brooklyn hearing repeatedly pressed a lawyer for the racing association to explain why the suspension was issued before Baffert was given a chance to defend himself.

Henry Greenberg, arguing on behalf of the racing association, said Baffert will get a hearing after the association announces the length of his suspension by Aug. 11.

Isn't that a little too late?" the judge asked, noting that the duration will be announced months after he was suspended. The problem I have, counsel, is that he was suspended and it's up in the air.

She said the racing association attacked his credibility as it issued the suspension, but never gave him the chance to speak on his own behalf about what happened.

How does that comply with due process? the judge asked.

At another point, Amon said: You just sent him a letter saying, 'You're out,' with no due process whatsoever.

Greenberg repeatedly said the NYRA, which operates Belmont Park, Aqueduct and Saratoga Race Course, took the action to protect the integrity of the sport.

He said the association had to act fast because the Belmont Stakes, the third prong of horse racing's Triple Crown, was fast approaching in early June.

The lawyer noted that the Kentucky Derby test was the fifth time in the past year that a horse trained by Baffert tested positive for drugs.

Rarely in the history of the sport has there been such a confluence of drug positives involving so prominent a trainer, association lawyers wrote in court papers.

In Baffert's lawsuit last month seeking to get the suspension lifted, the Hall of Famer contended he was suspended without any prior notice and was not told the duration or terms of the suspension or any New York state law or regulation he might have violated.

After hearing arguments from both sides, Amon did not immediately rule.

Arguing on Baffert's behalf, attorney W. Craig Robertson III said it was unfair of the racing association to suspend his client without the completion of an investigation into the circumstances surrounding what he called the alleged test on Medina Spirit.

Robertson said it was possible that traces of betamethasone were found in the horse's system as a result of an ointment applied to the horse to treat a skin rash three weeks before the race. The unregulated ointment, he said, contained betamethasone.

Churchill Downs suspended Baffert for two years after an additional drug test of Medina Spirit confirmed betamethasone in the horses system. Baffert cannot enter any horses in the Kentucky Derby or other races at the storied Louisville track through the spring of 2023.

Robertson contended that the New York suspension would be the death knell to Baffert's training business because New York's Saratoga Race Course, which reopens Thursday, is a pivotal stop for a young horse destined for greatness.

He said a top horse farm in Kentucky had already taken two prize horses from Baffert's care and another producer of elite horses was considering finding another trainer if Baffert cannot enter horses in New York races.

Outside court, Baffert and his lawyers declined comment after the hearing.
Local law enforcement is reporting a rise in road rage and is urging drivers to be wary of engaging in any incidents.

According to Harris County Precinct 5 Constable Ted Heaps office, the department is joining with Houston Police Department, Harris County Sheriff's Office, Texas Department of Public Safety and other local law enforcement agencies to protect Houston area drivers.

According to the constables office, deputies have been responding to more road rage incidents lately.

On July 9, a Precinct 5 deputy was flagged down by a driver near Beechnut and Hillcroft who had been shot at in a road-rage attack. The Houston Police Department is investigating that incident.

On July 10, in the 15200 block of the Katy Freeway, a Precinct 5 deputy pulled over a car which was weaving in and out of traffic while trying to catch up to another vehicle that had cut him off several miles back. That driver was arrested and charged with reckless driving.

If you are targeted by a driver exhibiting road rage, make sure your doors are locked first, according to Constable Heap. Do not engage with them. Honking in response or responding in other angry ways will only escalate the situation.

Heap also reported that it is not a good idea to pull over and try to address them face-to-face. In most cases, it is best to move out of the way and avoid a physical, potentially dangerous situation.

If avoiding a confrontation fails, be observant and ready to seek help from law enforcement.

If the driver continues to threaten you and you are still in fear for your safety, note what street and direction you are traveling and the nearest cross street, be able to provide a description of the car and a license plate number if possible and call 911 or drive directly to the nearest police station, according to the constables office.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration via Safe Motorist, 94 percent of traffic accidents occur due to human error. Nearly a third of these could be directly linked to aggressive driving behavior, such as speeding, tailgating, illegal maneuvering, or changing lanes without signaling.

According to data from CarSurance.com, nearly 80 percent of drivers will experience some form of road rage and more than one-third of road rage cases involve firearms.

rkent@hcnonline.com
Shoppers in Montgomery County and The Woodlands will have two new stores to help them get in shape and look good afterward.

Officials with the Market Street shopping venue in The Woodlands announced a new Chanel Fragrance and Beauty Boutique and a new Peloton high-tech exer-cycle dealership are expected to open sometime in the fall.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Mastros coming to Market Street in The Woodlands

Noemi Gonzalez, director of marketing for Market Street, said both new stores are under construction now and plan to open their doors to customers between September and November depending on how fast work progresses.

Peloton is under construction at the moment. They are scheduled to open sometime in the fall. They are on the Bath and Body Works side (of the complex). It is next to Tumi, the luggage store, Gonzalez said. Peloton typically does not have classes, this is a showroom without workout classes.

The second new store will have a wide range of beauty products and self care supplies under the Chanel brand umbrella. The store carries both mens and womens products.

Chanel Fragrance and Beauty Boutique is scheduled to open in the fall. It is their fragrance and their beauty lines, fragrance and beauty products. It is going in next to Tory Burch, she added. Everyone knows about Mastros, thats been announced for a while. Itll be opening soon.

The new Mastros Ocean Club is part of the Landrys Inc. family of restaurants and will be located in the same space as the now-closed Grotto. The Woodlands Township Development Standards Committee approved the renovation plans for the new Mastros in June.

According to an update from Houston Chronicle food editor Greg Morago, the 8,500-square-foot restaurant will offer a menu that includes, raw bar appetizers, sushi, seafood entrees (such as) Alaskan halibut, Chilean sea bass, New Zealand salmon, Maine lobster, and a full slate of steakhouse prime meats and chops.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Fall art show returns to Market Street in The Woodlands

Gonzalez said the shopping destination has been adding fun events to draw customers, including several weeks of free dance lessons, concerts and wine nights. Now, she and others are gearing up for back-to-school sales as well as a still-being-developed fall schedule.

Once the fall kicks off, well have a full list of events, she added.

jeff.forward@chron.com
WASHINGTON (AP)  The investigation into the July 7 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise has so far resulted in at least 23 arrests, with three suspects killed, but no clear picture yet of who ordered the killing and why. What has emerged from the limited disclosures from Haitian authorities, officials in Colombia and elsewhere and people who know the suspects is a growing interconnected web of players. Here's a look at some of the key figures so far:

JOVENEL MOISE

Moise was an obscure businessman from northern Haiti with no political experience when he was chosen by the previous president, flamboyant musician Michel Martelly, as the Tet Kale Party candidate. Moise was declared winner of the 2015 election with a plurality of votes in a crowded field, but the results were thrown out amid suspicions of fraud. After another election, he took office in February 2017 with pledges to strengthen institutions, fight corruption and create jobs. He presided over spiraling violence, widespread power outages and food shortages made worse by the pandemic. He began ruling by decree in January 2020 after parliamentary elections were delayed, prompting increased unrest and charges that he was becoming increasingly authoritarian. In the predawn hours of July 7, gunmen, allegedly including former Colombian soldiers, shot him to death inside his home without wounding any members of the presidential security force.

___

MARTINE MOISE

The first lady was seriously wounded in the attack and evacuated to Florida, where she remains hospitalized. She released an audio statement from the hospital accusing mercenaries of seeking to assassinate the presidents dream, vision and ideas for the country but does not name any possible suspects. She says that whoever was responsible do not want to see a transition in the country. It's unclear if she has been questioned by the magistrate judge in charge of the investigation.

___

CLAUDE JOSEPH

Joseph is interim prime minister of Haiti and was about to be replaced when the assassination occurred. Joseph was named to the post in April following the resignation of Joseph Jouthe, who held the post for just over a year. Two days before the assassination, Moise announced that he had chosen a new prime minister, neurosurgeon Ariel Henry. But the new prime minister had not yet been sworn into office as of July 7. After the assassination, Joseph announced he would be serving as acting prime minister and declared a state of siege in the country, similar to martial law. Henry says he should be prime minister since that was the expressed intention of Moise. The U.S. has recognized Joseph as acting prime minister, but a U.S. delegation also met with Henry and Sen. Joseph Lambert, who is president of Haiti's dismantled Senate, which isn't operating because the lawmakers' terms expired without new elections being held. Lambert also aspires to run the country. U.S. officials say they want to see elections, which had been scheduled for September.

___

CHRISTIAN EMMANUEL SANON

Sanon is a Haitian-born doctor, pastor and businessman and longtime U.S. resident who has been detained as a suspect in the assassination plot. He has said he has done charitable work in Haiti, where he has also owned several businesses,. In a 2011 video on YouTube, he expressed a desire to be president of the country and accused its leaders of corruption. Following his arrest, Haitis national police chief, Leon Charles, said Sanon flew to Haiti in June on a private jet with a private security team with the intention of taking over as Haiti's president. Charles said that after Moise was killed, one suspect phoned Sanon, who then contacted two people believed to be the masterminds of the plot. The chief did not identify them or say if police know who they are. Friends of Sanon have expressed skepticism that he would have been involved in a violent plot. It does not appear that Sanon, who has run a string of failed businesses in the U.S., filed for bankruptcy in 2013 and was largely unknown in Haitian political circles, would have the resources or political backing for the operation.

___

ANTONIO ENMANUEL INTRIAGO VALERA

Intriago Valera is a Venezuelan emigre in the Miami-area who runs Florida-based CTU Security. Colombias national police chief, Gen. Jorge Luis Vargas, said that CTU Security used its company credit card to buy 19 plane tickets from Bogota to Santo Domingo for the Colombian suspects. An associate of Sanon has said that the businessman attended a recent meeting in Florida with Intriago at which a presentation was made about developing Haiti.

___

DIMITRI HERARD

Herard is head of general security at Haitis National Palace. The Colombian national police chief said Herard flew to Colombia, Ecuador and Panama months before the assassination, and Colombian police are investigating whether he had any role in recruiting the mercenaries. In Haiti, prosecutors are seeking to question Herard.

___

FORMER SEN. JOHN JOEL JOSEPH

Joseph is a well-known politician who is an opponent to the Tet Kale party to which Moise belonged. He was elected under the party of Rene Preval and served for six years. Police say he is one of five fugitives sought in the assassination and described him as being armed and dangerous.

___

RODOLPHE JAAR

Police are also seeking Jaar in the killing of Moise, saying he is one of five suspects on the run. Jaar uses the alias Whiskey and was indicted in 2013 with two other men in federal court in South Florida on charges of conspiring to smuggle cocaine from Colombia and Venezuela through Haiti to the U.S. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 46 months in prison, according to court records. At his sentencing hearing in 2015, Jaars attorney told the court that Jaar had been a confidential source for the U.S. government for several years before his indictment.

___

JOSEPH FELIX BADIO

Badio is another of the five suspects being sought by police in the assassination. He previously worked at Haiti's Justice Ministry and joined the governments Anti-Corruption Unit in March 2012. The agency issued a statement saying Badio was fired in May following what it called serious breaches of ethical rules that it did not specify, adding that it filed a complaint against him.
A motorcyclist was killed Monday night in a collision with a dump truck in west Houston, police said.

A woman was driving a motorcycle around 11:30 p.m. on State Highway 6 just south of Westheimer Road when she crashed into the back passenger side of a commercial dump truck, said Sgt. David Rose of the Houston Police Department.

VEHICLE, BODY FOUND: Authorities believe they have found the body of Allison Chapman Kempe

The truck driver left the scene, and the unidentified woman was pronounced dead.

Rose said it's possible the driver was not aware that the motorcyclist struck the truck.

Investigators are sorting through evidence to determine exactly what happened, Rose said.
A man covered in blood approached another outside a Catholic parish in Baytown to reveal something had happened to his wife.

I think my wife is dead, said Mohamed Hismath, now charged with capital murder in his wifes death.

Harris County court records outling the charge against Hismath included details of that late Sunday morning conversation outside St. Joseph Catholic Church. The other man, who saw the blood on Hismaths hands and clothes, convinced him to stay at the church where Mass was coming to an end  until police could arrive.

By that moment, a sons worried call to Baytown authorities around 11:30 a.m. Sunday had already led officers to the body of 62-year-old Sabara Umma, Hismaths estranged wife, outside an apartment in the 3100 block of Decker Drive. Ummas son earlier warned that day that Hismath  his stepfather  had kidnapped her.

Police said they believe Hismath grabbed her from behind at her Baytown home as she spoke to a relative on the phone. Hismath then forced her into a car and drove her to his Decker Drive apartment, about 4 miles from the church.

Hismath described the attack, where he used an ax, in a recorded interview with investigators, according to court documents.

He arrived at his apartment with Umma and realized then that he dropped his keys near where he abducted her, according to authorities.

In that moment, she pushed him away and he returned to his vehicle to grab the bladed weapon. He approached Umma as she set on the steps to his apartment and struck her multiple times in the upper torso region and neck area, according to police. He left her body on the ground and drove away.

Hismath was denied bail Tuesday in a probable cause hearing. He has no known arrests in Harris County.

nicole.hensley@chron.com
A former Houston Community College instructor is suing the community college system, its chancellor and a board member for $15 million, alleging the college system retaliated against her for reporting that she was being sexually harassed by a board member.

Patricia Dodd, who is suing for compensation and damages (including lost income and benefits, attorneys fees and court costs, and mental anguish), filed a Title IX complaint with HCC in May, stating she had been sexually harassed by board of trustee member Robert Glaser since November. Dodd, who taught at HCC for more than eight years, said Glaser pledged to help her with issues at her job in exchange for a sexual relationship, which she describes as quid pro quo sexual harassment.

The 50-year-old English instructor also contended in the July 8 suit that HCC Chancellor Cesar Maldonado knew about the harassment but did nothing to stop it. She claimed Glaser was emboldened by his friend Maldonado, who also had a sexual relationship with one of his female direct reports who is married.

Both Glaser and Maldonado are named as defendants in the lawsuit, which describes a culture of sexual misconduct at the college with little consequence or correction. An attorney representing the community college said Dodd was dismissed because she didnt report two arrests.

Dodd alleged that Maldonado repeatedly turn(ed) a blind eye to other male supervisors sexually harassing actions toward subordinate female employees and attempted to intimidate HCC law enforcement investigating claims against him to protect his job. Dodds attorneys name at least six employees who Dodd asserts have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or sexual harassment, and at least three individuals who have allegedly helped cover for such incidents.

Sexual exploitation and harassment of female employees at HCC is grotesque and widespread. The two most powerful policymakers at the college are male  defendants Glaser and Maldonado  whom both have engaged in repetitive, flagrant, sometimes grotesque bullying and vile sexual exploitation of vulnerable subordinate female employees at the college, Dodds attorneys Ben Hall, George J. Hittner and James Ardoin wrote in the court document.

Maldonado said in a written statement that the allegations against him are false  that he had not had an affair with a direct report, nor had he any prior knowledge of a relationship between Glaser and the instructor.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Former HCC instructor reports she was sexually harassed by a board member and says the chancellor knew

I was not aware of any inappropriate relationship between Trustee Glaser and any college employee until recently, at which time I reported the information to the board and to appropriate regulatory authorities, Maldonado wrote. The college and I take all such allegations very seriously and I expect an objective and thorough investigation.

Glaser has not responded to requests for comment from the Chronicle.

We find the content of the complaint deeply concerning and take this and any allegations very seriously. A comprehensive independent investigation was promptly initiated and is still underway, the university said in a written statement. We hold ourselves to the highest moral, ethical, and legal standards, and want the public to be assured that this matter will be no different. HCC remains committed to transparency and looks forward to a thorough, thoughtful and just review of these allegations.

HCC board of trustees removed Glaser from his position as chair June 25 and launched an ongoing independent investigation following the allegations. No results have been publicly released.

Glaser remains on the board.

Dodds attorneys detailed the instructors interactions with Glaser, whom she said she met at HCC. Their relationship quickly progressed, with Glaser promising to help her career, according to the complaint and lawsuit. Dodd contends Glaser asked to be copied on all of her emails. Court documents state he visited her almost daily at her home for months and sent explicit and nude videos and texts, often calling her to schedule their sexual encounters.

In efforts to end their interactions, the lawsuit states Dodd threatened to tell Glasers wife about their involvement, and Glaser finally withdrew his support. His name was removed from her emails, and Glaser claimed he could no longer help her because it would conflict with his role as board chair. Dodds attorneys claim in court documents that within days of her filing her complaint, she received notice that her contract was not renewed.

Dodd, who is five years from retirement, alleges HCC retaliated against her for reporting Glasers sexual harassment.

On HoustonChronicle.com: HCC board member accused of sexual harassment

But Paul Lamp, outside counsel for the community college and a partner at Karczewski Bradshaw Spalding, said Dodds ultimate firing was a result of her failing to report two arrests, as required by the colleges policy. The nature of Dodds arrests, which were both assaults, was also a cause for concern, Lamp noted.

Dodd was first arrested in Wichita County in May 2019 after being accused of punching her niece in the face. Lamp said Dodd was notified after her first arrest that she failed to meet board policy, which could lead to discipline and possible termination. Dodd was arrested a second time this year and charged April 14 for a felony assault against an elderly person, Lamp said. Dodd did not notify the university of the arrest, Lamp said.

Lamp said HCC placed Dodd on leave with pay days after her arrest so that they could review the matter and requested to meet with Dodd on April 22. Dodds lawyers asked to reschedule the meeting twice and settled May 20, Lamp said.

Before Dodd met with HCC about her arrest, her attorneys filed her official complaint against Glaser and Maldonado on May 10, Lamp said. The college began an independent investigation into Dodds claims shortly after, but Dodd has refused to participate in the investigation, Lamp said.

Dodd later met with HCC about her arrest and admitted to striking her elderly neighbor with a broom. The next day  May 21  HCC notified Dodd that it would not renew her contract due to her pending charges and failure to report her arrests, Lamp said.

HCC has yet to file a response to the lawsuit, but Lamp said his statements to the Houston Chronicle will be submitted to the court as a part of the colleges response.

brittany.britto@chron.com
A large mural depicting a mosaic of the Latino culture in Houston has been painted over by the property owners, disappointing some in the Hispanic community concerned about preserving the local tradition of murals.

The mural contained a collage of vignettes, including a mariachi musician and an astronaut with Houston skyline in the background, all centered around an image of Pancho Claus, a legendary community figure in the city.

They took down a mural that was really a Latino history type of mural, said Richard Reyes, who created the character and performs as Pancho Claus. The fictional character is a Mexican American incarnation of Santa Claus who distributes toys for kids during Chrismas dressing in a zoot suit and often parading in low-riders with volunteers (https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Houston-s-beloved-Pancho-Claus-who-spreads-15775689.php).

I was (painted) in the mural but it was really a larger story because it had everything from Zapatistas (Mexican revolutionaries) to immigrants to Latino astronauts, Reyes said.

The building where the mural was painted is owned by the Houston Avocado Company, which operates in an adjacent facility. The exterior of the building was painted about a month ago, according to the company owners.

NEWSLETTERS Join the conversation with HouWeAre We want to foster conversation and highlight the intersection of race, identity and culture in one of America's most diverse cities. Sign up for the HouWeAre newsletter here.

The mural was a project in 1994 of students from former Reagan High School, now the Heights High School.

Pancho Claus, he represents a big part of our culture, our community, said Sadrach Terwogt, a Houston resident who often volunteers to distribute toys with the Mexican American Santa. Everybody who had seen that mural and saw that zoot suit could easily relate to the only guy that still wears a zoot suit in Houston.

A few comments on the Pancho Claus Facebook page expressed disappointment over the disappearance of the mural. It was painted on the left side of Las Americas Washateria on 2216 Airline Dr. and can still be seen on Google Maps.

For me personally, it was always inspiring to drive down (and) see the Murals, a person posted on Facebook . Its heartbreaking to see they were painted over.

Reyes said he recognizes the owners of private property, have the right to modify or decide what to do with it. He said that the mural was a deal between the students and the former owners of the building.

The new owners are not responsible to preserve it and I'm not mad about it, said Reyes. It was it was inevitable (because) it's on private property and it was there for 30 years, so I am happy that it was there that long.

Representatives of the Avocado Company said that they are surprised by the reaction and the way they feel they are being portrayed.

The mural was in very bad shape; you could barely see the painting anymore, it was peeling off, said Susie Flores, office operations manager for the company. She said that the firm is a frequent contributor of toys for the Pancho Claus program and other initiatives in the Hispanic community.

The company said that no one approached them regarding the mural and its conditions or propose an initiative to restore it. We would have gladly worked with people from the community, Flores said. She added that they painted the whole building because it had a rundown look that didnt favor the businesses renting space there.

Even with the best efforts from the community, the likelihood of the mural staying in place much longer was slim. The company said they are considering demolishing that building to expand the next-door Houston Avocado company facility.

Reyes said the story isnt that the mural was covered up but what the community can do to preserve its murals.

We're stepping up to the plate and not crying over spilled milk; I want to do something about this problem, said Reyes, noting that this is not the first time a Latino mural in private property has disappeared.

Reyes is calling for a community meeting to discuss ideas about how we can recreate this mural and others that we can identify of historic significance to our community.

The meeting is planned at the Latino Learning Center on 3522 Polk St. on Saturday at 3:00 pm.

olivia.tallet@chron.com
Hundreds of Houstonians on Sunday joined demonstrations in support of nationwide protests over food and medicine shortages erupting in Cuba, which is facing a severe economic recession, U.S. sanctions and rising coronavirus infections.

In a Sharpstown parking lot, rhythmic songs thumped from speakers and trucks revved their engines as participants, mostly from Houstons Cuban community, chanted slogans denouncing the Cuban government  and danced the conga. A similar crowd gathered in front of the Flor de Cuba restaurant in northwest Houston.

This is a spontaneous explosion of Cuban people, said Yosuary Martinez, who led the Sharpstown crowd in chants against Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez. People who were afraid of being against the dictatorship, now theyre coming here because they no longer fear with all of us.

As the largest protest movement in decades swept Cuba, President Joe Biden on Monday called on the Cuban government to heed the demands of thousands of citizens who took to the streets on Sunday to protest power outages, food shortages and a worrying lack of medicine.

We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom, Biden said in a statement. The United States calls on the Cuban regime to hear their people and serve their needs at this vital moment rather than enriching themselves.

His comments followed a day of astonishing demonstrations in the island nation. In a country known for quashing dissent, thousands of Cubans took to the streets Sunday in a surge of protests not seen in nearly 30 years.

The protests have energized similar gatherings around the United States, including the Sharpstown rally that drew Cubans from outside Houston. Carmen Salindo on Saturday packed her three children in her car and drove14 hours from their home in eastern Kentucky.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Houstonians turn out to protest Cuban government

Salindo, who entered the U.S. nine months ago to claim political asylum, said her father, a writer and painter, was jailed in Cuba along with her brother, her aunt, and a cousin.

For Salindo, the event was a chance to support people like her family in Cuba, but it was also a rare opportunity to meet other Cubans. I see all of this, now I want to come here, she said. Ive seen my brothers - were all the same blood, were Cubans.

The protests, both in Cuba and among Houstons normally dispersed Cuban community, are unprecedented in their size and visibility, said Luis Duno-Gottberg, who researches Cuban society at Rice University.

Its really a popular movement with an element of almost spontaneity throughout the island, which makes this an extraordinary event, Gottberg said of the protests in Cuba.

Cubans in Houston have held demonstrations before, but mostly about local issues, said Gottberg. Its different this time because people are in the streets protesting for change in the island, for democratic transformation, he said.

But many of the over 30,000 Houstonians of Cuban ancestry remain focused on making a life here, facing their fears and sorrow in private.

Nelly Piquet has for decades run Cafe Piquet, a mainstay in the community. The 71-year-old, who left the country after the Cuban revolution, did not attend the local protests, preferring to spend every day at her restaurant updating regulars about the situation in Cuba. She said she grapples with intense emotions from years of witnessing Cubans struggle to reach the U.S.

Were broken-hearted, said Piquet. Im so worried if people get desperate, theyre going to get on a boat and die in the water.

Piquet said Cubans in Houston are more spread out and less invested in building power or running for office compared to the politically important Cuban communities in Miami or Chicago. The interest is just not there, she said.

But Renier Suarez, who attended the protest in northwest Houston, said having Cuban American elected officials here would not solve the situation Cubans faced.

The problem is not in Houston, the problem is in Havana, he said.

Bidens comments represented something of a shift in tone from that of former President Barack Obama, who had emphasized sweeping aside decades of animosity between the two countries and cutting loose the shackles of the past. Obama made restoring relations with Cuba a focal point of his foreign policy and significantly expanded ties between the two countries  a detente that the Trump administration quickly moved to strip away.

But the protests in Cuba on Sunday offered a rare moment of bipartisanship in the United States, with Democrats and Republicans alike speaking out in support of the demonstrations.

America stands with the oppressed Cuban people assembling for their birthright of #Libertad, former Vice President Mike Pence wrote on Twitter. America stands for a free and democratic Cuba!

Others, however, blamed the American trade embargo for the protests and the deprivation driving them, a position the Cuban government took on Sunday when the demonstrations erupted.

The truth is that if one wanted to help Cuba, the first thing that should be done is to suspend the blockade of Cuba as the majority of countries in the world are asking, Mexicos president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, told reporters Monday. That would be a truly humanitarian gesture.

The embargo has not changed the Cuban government, said Philip Howard, a Caribbean historian at the University of Houston. It has caused a great deal of suffering among the people, however.

In fact, if you ever flew to Cuba from Miami in the 1990s, 2000, and 2010s, you would see how a substantial number of individual Cubans have tended to subvert the embargo by bringing food, medicine, and even car parts, added Howard.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Editorial: Turning the screws on Cuba hurts Texas, too

But some Cuban activists in the United States, including those who oppose the embargo, were quick to challenge that narrative.

Theres no food, theres no medicine, theres nothing, and this isnt a product of the American embargo, which I do not support, said Ramon Saul Sanchez, president of the Movimiento Democracia advocacy group in Miami. He noted that the embargo does allow Cuba to buy food from the United States, though restrictions on financing present significant barriers to the amount.

The unrest in Cuba may spark more organizing in Houston.

Martinez, the Sharpstown protester, said he only arrived in Houston 17 days ago but has already found other local Cubans interested in making a trip to Washington, D.C. to protest in front of the White House. Martinezs group wants the federal government to rescind a 2019 ban on cruises and private boat trips to Cuba, intended to restrict the countrys vital tourism industry.

My family is in Cuba suffering lack of food, medicines, said Martinez. They are really afraid of dying, it is impossible to find antibiotics in Cuba now.

Martinez said he is willing to personally sail back to Cuba to deliver supplies.

I was already invited by a friend to get on a boat as soon as the American government authorizes, he said.

The New York Times contributed to this report.

charlie.zong@chron.com
When it comes to Haiti, Joe Bidens instincts are right: The best the United States can do is to do as little as possible  and, if possible, a bit less.

What the U.S. owes Haiti is what its already giving: legal and forensic aid to investigate last weeks assassination of President Jovenel Moise. Two Haitian Americans reportedly participated in carrying out the plot. Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a Haitian-born doctor based in Florida, has been arrested in Haiti on allegations that he ordered the assassination to make himself president. Former Colombian soldiers suspected of belonging to the hit squad had been hired by CTU Security, a firm based near Miami and run by a Venezuelan emigre.

But if U.S. authorities can help Haiti establish the facts about Moises murder, they cannot help the country change the facts that led up to it  the endemic corruption, rampant lawlessness and institutional decay that have long crippled Haiti, and that make nearly every form of foreign assistance not only useless but also harmful.

That starts with the military intervention that the interim prime minister, Claude Joseph, requested of Washington. The U.S. has a history of sending troops to Haiti, from the long occupation begun by Woodrow Wilson to Bill Clintons invasion on behalf of the demagogic priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide to briefer intercessions by George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

With the exception of the last of these  a limited humanitarian operation in the wake of the catastrophic 2010 earthquake  none of the interventions left Haiti better off. Worse have been deployments of U.N. peacekeepers, whose shameful contributions included child sex abuse and a cholera epidemic that killed thousands.

An American military intervention now would not serve a humanitarian purpose. Nor would it serve a law-and-order purpose, unless Americans want the 82nd Airborne to police gang warfare in the streets of Port-au-Prince.

What it would do is serve the political purposes of Joseph, who has effectively declared martial law even though his own claim on power is contested by the man Moise appointed to take Josephs place just before his death. No U.S. interest would be served by getting in the middle of this. No Haitian interest would be served, either.

The usual alternative to military assistance is development aid. In Haitis case, this is even more destructive.

Following the 2010 earthquake, pundits and economists proposed multibillion-dollar aid packages for Haiti (though some of us demurred). Ultimately, some $9 billion in aid and another $2 billion worth of oil arrived. Billions were embezzled and wasted. Both Moise and his predecessor, Michel Martelly, ruled autocratically and were widely suspected of corruption. A recent story by my colleagues Dan Bilefsky and Catherine Porter, reported from a leafy residential area in Montreal, gives a clear picture of where some of this aid may have ended up.

The problems arent all on the Haitian side. In 2016, Yamiche Alcindor painted a devastating portrait in The New York Times of the work Bill and Hillary Clinton had done in the country. Fewer than half the jobs promised at the industrial park, built after 366 farmers were evicted from their lands, have materialized, Alcindor wrote of one Clinton-supported project. Many millions of dollars earmarked for relief efforts have yet to be spent. Mrs. Clintons brother Tony Rodham has turned up in business ventures on the island, setting off speculation about insider deals.

Yet the question of whether the greater share of blame lies with the donor or the recipient misses the larger point: Aid to Haiti fosters dependence, invites embezzlement, enervates the institutions of state and civil society, discourages local initiatives, misdirects capital to donor-favored schemes, enriches the well-connected and enrages everyone else.

Its also degrading. Treating people as helpless has a bad way of making them so.

What could help? The best way for Haiti to cease being an aid state is to stop the flow of aid, except during humanitarian emergencies. That also means cutting off the spigot to Beltway firms through which the USAID funnels much of the aid.

A humbler effort  to help impoverished and dispossessed Haitians acquire legal title to their property  would go further to establish a basis for prosperity than another Clinton-financed industrial park. A dedicated anti-corruption effort in Canada, the U.S. and France to track down the ill-gotten gains of Haitis political class would also be a useful way of punishing their predatory behavior and encouraging political reform.

But the greatest gift the Biden administration can give the people of Haiti is to stop trying to save them. The unassisted success of the Haitian diaspora shows how talented, enterprising, creative and resourceful ordinary Haitians are when left to their own initiative. What Haitians at home need is the faith that they, too, can be successful captains of their fate, when freed from the clutches of those who would kill them with kindness.

Stephens is a columnist for the New York Times.
Texas House Democrats escape to Washington, D.C., in a bid to kill an elections bill will mark the fifth time in Texas history that lawmakers have fled the state Capitol in an attempt to derail legislation they opposed.

History shows its a splashy move sure to gain national attention  but usually more of a delay tactic than anything else.

The first walkout was the dramatic departure of the Killer Bees in 1979, when 12 Senate Democrats refused to show up for five days in protest of a bill that would have established a March presidential primary separate from the existing general primary in May. Most of them stayed at a friends house in Austin.

The fourth  and most recent  was House Democrats 11th-hour departure from the chamber two months ago. They left the Capitol quietly, just hours before a key legislative deadline, running out the clock on a similar voting restrictions bill. They, too, stayed in Austin.

But the second and third quorum breaks, which both took place in 2003, are the most infamous  and the most comparable to the Democrats dramatic flight to the nations capital Monday. Then, legislators in the House and the Senate independently fled Texas over redistricting plans, heading to neighboring Oklahoma and New Mexico, respectively.

RELATED: Texas Democrats flee to D.C. to thwart Republican voting restriction bills

The plan came to fruition after Texas Republicans, led by then-U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, touted a plan to overhaul Texas congressional maps in early 2003, near the start of the 78th legislative session. The Legislature had failed to agree on new political maps two years earlier, after the 2000 census, and had instead sent the issue to a panel of judges, which maintained many of the lines drawn a decade earlier.

But after Republicans captured a majority in the state House in 2002, DeLay  alongside then-Gov. Rick Perry  urged GOP lawmakers to pursue a new redistricting plan.

Democrats knew they didnt have the votes, and effectively, they were going to lose those battles, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston. So, they decided to head out of town to prevent things from escalating. Its not clear what they wanted. I mean, they got a national story, but it didnt change the outcome.

More than 50 House Democrats, knowing new maps would cost them their majority in Texas congressional delegation, broke quorum May 12, 2003. Nearly all of them hopped on a bus to Ardmore, Okla., and posted up at a Holiday Inn.

The group, nicknamed the Killer Ds in a nod to their predecessors, would return just days later, after a deadline had passed to approve the redistricting legislation. Perry had sent state troopers across the border to appeal to the Democrats, but the officers  who showed up in plain clothes at the hotel  couldnt convince the legislators to return.

TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

State Sen. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio, was a member of the lower chamber at the time. Democrats viewed the redistricting legislation as an abuse of power, he said, and knew it would cost them some of their most tenured federal representatives.

It was just a very organized assessment of the situation, and when we saw that we had exhausted every single opportunity to defeat the bill otherwise, we knew that this was the last actual tool in the toolbox, Menendez said, using words that echo current members explanations for leaving the state Monday.

State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, was also part of the group that chose to break quorum nearly two decades ago. The walkouts are similar in that you see the unity, you see the emotion, he said  but added that the trip to D.C. was easier to organize because of modern technology.

The Legislature adjourned sine die on June 2, 2003, and about two weeks later, Perry called a special session. Legislators returned to Austin on July 28  and this time, it was senators who left Texas, heading to Albuquerque, N.M. Perry immediately called for another special session.

The group of senators, known as the Texas Eleven, would stay in New Mexico for 46 days, outlasting the second special session and stretching into a third. Finally, Democratic Sen. John Whitmire of Houston returned to Texas on Sept. 2, providing the chamber with a quorum.

The Legislature went on to pass the new redistricting plan. The next year, Republicans picked up a 21-11 advantage in the states congressional delegation; under the previous map, the split was 17-15 in Democrats favor.

Menendez said part of the reason the 2003 quorum break didnt yield a positive outcome for Democrats is because there wasnt an endgame. Now, he said, Texas representatives are pushing hard for federal measures that could usurp the voting bill they oppose.

But its unlikely that Congress will advance such legislation over the next few weeks or months. U.S. Senate Republicans, including Texas John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, have already blocked it once.

In 2003, House Democrats returned after a key deadline had passed, and a senator returned voluntarily. Today, lawmakers plan to stay in D.C. until the end of the special session if need be  but beyond that, theres no end in sight for the voting bill battle. Senate Democrats could decide to stage their own walkout, too.

One option for a quick resolution, Rottinghaus said, is if Republicans offer some concessions to Democrats in the voting bill  though there may not be an appetite for compromise at the moment.

I suspect that, if youre a Republican of any ideological stripe, youd like to get this done, Rottinghaus said. It looks embarrassing that your state cant govern itself when youre in charge, and there are a lot of bills that are going to go down as a result of this action. You dont want the whole session to be dragged down with this one.

cayla.harris@express-news.net
During a press conference to announce that he was filing a lawsuit against several social media giants, former President Donald Trump answered a question about the event that triggered his removal from Facebook and Twitter: the storming of the U.S. Capitol by his supporters on Jan. 6.

A reporter asked Trump, "Because so much of your banning (on social media platforms) has to do with comments you made around Jan. 6, just to clarify further, what did you do to stop the insurrection as some people call it, and why were you not able to stop it?"

In his answer, Trump called the storming of the Capitol an "unfortunate event" and pivoted to the death of Ashli Babbitt, a 35-year-old San Diego woman who was shot and killed by a U.S. Capitol Police officer when a crowd of rioters was trying to force its way into the House chamber.

DEMS' ROAD TRIP: Here's what happens when Texas lawmakers flee the state

"The person that shot Ashli Babbitt  boom  right through the head  just boom  there was no reason for that," Trump said. "And why isnt that person being opened up, and why isnt that being studied? Theyve already written it off. They said that case is closed. If that were the opposite, that case would be going on for years and years, and it would not be pretty."

First, we should note that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for Washington, D.C., determined that Babbitt was struck in the front left shoulder, not the head.

Beyond that, Trumps assertion that "there was no reason" for the shooting goes beyond saying that, in his opinion, the shooting was unjustified. Rather, hes saying theres no possible argument to support it.

However, even if one disagrees with the Justice Departments determination not to prosecute the officer for the shooting, video evidence demonstrates that the officer was facing an angry mob near the House chamber. Experts told PolitiFact that the situation involved a risk of serious bodily harm to either law enforcement or lawmakers, which is a longstanding defense made and upheld by the courts in police shootings.

The former presidents office did not respond to an inquiry for this article.

The shooting

Babbitt was a 14-year Air Force veteran who served four tours as a high-level security official, KUSI-TV in San Diego reported. Her husband told the station she was an avid Trump supporter.

Babbitt also sent 21 tweets referencing the QAnon conspiracy beginning in February 2020, according to the Daily Beast. The site reported that Babbitt posted Jan. 5 that the United States would soon see "The Storm," a day of reckoning the conspiracy theorists believed was coming for deep-state pedophiles, sex traffickers and Trump opponents.

FACT CHECK: Gov. Abbott claims migrants are causing 'carnage' at the Texas border

On Jan. 5 she flew from her home in San Diego to Washington to attend the "stop the steal" rally where Trump would speak, according to the investigative website Bellingcat. In a video obtained by TMZ, she described "a sea of nothing but red, white and blue, patriots and Trump. And it was amazing, you could see the president talk." She entered the building when other rioters breached the building.

The deadly showdown occurred in a corridor known as the Speakers Lobby; the lobby is a formal, ornately decorated space that leads directly to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. Capitol Police had used furniture to barricade a glass door to prevent rioters from getting near the lawmakers.

Video footage (warning, graphic content) shows a plain-clothes officer standing with a gun drawn in the Speakers Lobby. The officer fired once as Babbitt was climbing through a broken window adjoining the door. (The officers name has not been released, though Babbitts husband has sued seeking to release the name.)

Babbitt fell to the floor, where she was immediately treated by uniformed officers on her side of the barricade. A Jan. 7 news release from the Capitol Police said she was taken to a nearby hospital where she died of her injuries.

A witness account that Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., shared with "Good Morning America" on Jan. 7 fits with this account.

Mullin was in the Speakers Lobby behind the officer who shot and killed Babbitt. He said that "when they broke the glass in the back, the (police) lieutenant that was there, him and I already had multiple conversations prior to this, and he didn't have a choice at that time.  The mob was going to come through the door, there was a lot of members and staff that were in danger at the time. And when he (drew) his weapon, that's a decision that's very hard for anyone to make and, once you draw your weapon like that, you have to defend yourself with deadly force."

A Jan. 7 statement by Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund confirmed that Babbitt was shot by a sworn Capitol Police officer who was later placed on administrative leave, in line with agency policy.

"As protesters were forcing their way toward the House Chamber where Members of Congress were sheltering in place, a sworn (Capitol Police) employee discharged their service weapon, striking an adult female," Sund said in his statement, referring to Babbitt.

The decision not to prosecute

On April 14, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia and the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division jointly announced that there was "insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution" against the officer who shot Babbitt. The department said:

"The investigation determined that, on Jan. 6, 2021, Ms. Babbitt joined a crowd of people that gathered on the U.S. Capitol grounds to protest the results of the 2020 presidential election.  The investigation further determined that Ms. Babbitt was among a mob of people that entered the Capitol building and gained access to a hallway outside the Speakers Lobby, which leads to the Chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives. ...

"As members of the mob continued to strike the glass doors, Ms. Babbitt attempted to climb through one of the doors where glass was broken out. An officer inside the Speakers Lobby fired one round from his service pistol, striking Ms. Babbitt in the left shoulder, causing her to fall back from the doorway and onto the floor."

The department concluded that it was unable to find sufficient evidence that a federal criminal civil rights statute was violated.

"Prosecutors would have to prove not only that the officer used force that was constitutionally unreasonable, but that the officer did so willfully, which the Supreme Court has interpreted to mean that the officer acted with a bad purpose to disregard the law," the department said. "As this requirement has been interpreted by the courts, evidence that an officer acted out of fear, mistake, panic, misperception, negligence, or even poor judgment cannot establish the high level of intent required."

Investigators concluded that there was "no evidence to establish that, at the time the officer fired a single shot at Ms. Babbitt, the officer did not reasonably believe that it was necessary to do so in self-defense or in defense of the Members of Congress and others evacuating the House Chamber," the department said.

What do experts say?

We asked several law-enforcement experts whether they saw any justification for Trumps assertion that there was "no reason" for the officer to have shot Babbitt. They agreed that the department made the right decision not to prosecute the officer.

"It is very easy, of course, to play Monday-morning police officer and second-guess quick decisions made at the time," said James Alan Fox, a Northeastern University criminologist. "There was clearly a risk of serious bodily harm to the officers and everyone they were protecting, justifying the use of deadly force in defense of self and others."

Fox added that its also worth keeping in mind "the high stakes given the important roles of those being protected," even though that is not written into the relevant statutes.

Philip Stinson, a Bowling Green State University criminologist, agreed.

"A police officer is justified in using deadly force when that officer has a reasonable apprehension of an imminent threat of serious bodily injury or death being imposed against the officer or someone else," Stinson said. "Mr. Trump is wrong in stating that there was no reason to shoot Ms. Babbitt."

Greg Meyer, a retired Los Angeles Police Department captain, said that less harmful measures to subdue the rioters, such as pepper spray or warning shots, should be weighed in after-the-fact analyses of how to handle such situations in the future. But he added that any assumption that these alternatives should have been pursued would be "a matter of speculation based on 20/20 hindsight."

"The reason the officer fired at Ms. Babbitt was because a violent mob was taking over the Capitol and causing police to evacuate House and Senate members out of fear for their lives," Meyer said.

Our ruling

Trump said that "the person that shot Ashli Babbitt  boom  right through the head  just boom  there was no reason for that."

Babbitt was fatally shot in the shoulder, not the head.

As for Trumps assertion that "there was no reason" for the shooting, this means theres no possible argument to support it. But the angry mob that prompted the shooting was captured on video, and at least one member of Congress directly witnessed it.

Experts said that, according to the video evidence, the situation involved a risk of serious bodily harm to either law enforcement or lawmakers, which is a longstanding defense made and upheld by the courts in police shootings.

We rate the statement False.

Caryn Baird contributed to this report.
Houston, MO (65483)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 82F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low around 65F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print.

Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition.

If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create.
Live Nation CEO says North American concert business is fully re-open

Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino says that the concert business has fully re-opened despite concerns of a COVID resurgence in key states.

Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino told CNBC that its North American concert business is fully opened again as the concert industry heads into what is shaping up to be the busiest summer concert season in years.

Were very excited about the American market. You know, 70% of our business is going to be the U.S. and the U.K. Those two markets seem on track, Rapino told CNBCs Julia Boorstin during the interview on Thursday.

According to Rapino, Live Nation is currently hosting 30 nationwide amphitheater tours at full capacity, starting this week and has a slate of 10-15 summer festivals, which kicks off later this month when the Rolling Loud festival lands in Miami.

Rapino told Boorstin that he anticipates Live Nations European touring business will reopen later this summer and fall but added that he doesnt foresee the concert business in Asia returning at full form until next year due to delays in vaccination rollouts.

While there is a lot of pent-up demand for shows and many artists are eager to return to the road, Rapino said Live Nation wont be too aggressive in filling the pipeline and that artists wont perform without the right dates and markets.

Were going to make sure that we dont.. give the four shows in one week and youve got to pick one. Well spread those over a couple of years and a couple markets. So, we look at the pent-up demand as lots of availability, but were also going to make sure the consumer has time to buy it.

Rapino also noted that Live Nation used the fallow pandemic year to reassess its infrastructure and processes to create a safer environment for concertgoers.

We used Covid to do a lot of rebuilding infrastructure programs, product around Ticketmaster, but contactless was a big piece we accelerated, Rapino said. Youll now go to venues and youll be able to get in that venue, buy your ticket, buy that beer, buy that T-shirt contactless through your app through the web.

Watch the full interview:

via Celebrity Access

Share on:
The study area is bounded by Summer Street, Center Street, Park Street, and Hoosac Street.

Public Input Session Set For Adams Local Rapid Recovery Plan

ADAMS, Mass.  Adams residents and business owners are invited to share their thoughts on potential projects designed to help the Adams economy recover from the pandemic while building a foundation for future growth.

Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) scheduled a Public Input Session to discuss the Local Rapid Recovery Plan (LRRP) to be held July 15 in the Select Board Meeting Room at 7:00 PM in the Adams Town Hall.

"All the civic groups are excited and looking forward to working together on these projects," Stephen Stenson, a member of the group spearheading the project said. "We always wanted as many of the community to get involved to re-build the community spirit after the effects of the pandemic."

In March , Downtown Adams received the LRRP grant from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development to create an implementation plan to stabilize and revitalize the downtown area.

The study area is bounded by Summer Street, Center Street, Park Street, and Hoosac Street.

Berkshire Regional Planning Commission will utilize the $60,000 grant to develop a report identifying several projects that can respond to the effects of COVID-19 on the local community and business.

Downtown Adams has partnered with ProAdams and the town to develop a list of fourteen recommended projects

The purpose of this meeting, which BRPC will facilitate, is to seek additional input on projects that are being considered.

From an initial list of over 60 projects, BRPC will present at the public meeting, the list of 14 recommended projects to be considered in this final phase. The selected projects will be developed in greater detail over the next two months.

"We encourage the residents of Adams and businesses to become involved in the selection process," the group stated in a press release. "Our goal is to bring the community together, share ideas, and work together to recover from the effects of the pandemic in the past year."

A final presentation will be made at the end of August with the recommendations to be implemented in the latter part of 2021 and early 2022.

This is the second public meeting for the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) LRRP grant program awarded to Adams in March of this year.
Medical Matters Weekly Addresses the Psychology of Deciding Whether or Not to Get the COVID Vaccine

BENNINGTON, Vt. Southwestern Vermont Health Care's (SVHC) Medical Matters Weekly with Dr. Trey Dobsona weekly interactive, multiplatform medical-themed talk showwill feature Rosalind Case, PhD, a psychologist at Monash University in Australia on its July 21 program. The show will air at 12 p.m.

Dr. Case will discuss the psychological factors involved in changing one's mind, especially as it relates to changing one's mind about getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

The show is produced with cooperation from Catamount Access Television (CAT-TV). Viewers can see Medical Matters Weekly on Facebook at facebook.com/ svmedicalcenter and facebook. com/CATTVBennington. The show is also available to view or download a podcast on www.svhealthcare.org/ medicalmatters.

Dr. Case earned her Psychology PhD and Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Psychology at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand. She leads a program of research investigating the neurocognitive and psychosocial outcomes of cardiac arrest survivors and their families, with a focus on translational outcomes in the development of post-arrest clinical services. She also leads the mental health arm of the Paramedic Health and Wellbeing Research Unit (PHAWRU) in the Department of Paramedicine at Monash University.

After the program, the video will be available on area public access television stations. On CAT-TV, viewers will find the show on channel 1075 at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, 1:30 p.m. Monday, 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 7:30 a.m. Friday, and 7 p.m. Saturday. GNAT-TV's Comcast channel 1074 airs the program at 8 a.m. Monday, 9 p.m. Wednesday, and 1 p.m. Saturday.

Upcoming guests include:

12 p.m. Wednesday, July 28: Dara Zink, of the Project Against Violent Encounters in Bennington, will share local resources for those attempting to escape threats in the home.

12 p.m. Wednesday, August 4: Alya Reeve, MD, medical director of United Counseling Service in Bennington, will discuss the most pressing mental health needs in our community.

12 p.m. Wednesday, August 11: Art Groux, executive director of the Bennington Rescue Squad, will discuss the Rescue Squad and its work in our community.

12 p.m. Wednesday, August 18: Patricia Johnson, RN, and Caitlin Tilley, RN, of SVMC, will discuss their efforts to make vaccines available to the BIPOC community in Bennington and the surrounding area.

To contribute questions in advance of each week's show, please e-mail wellness@svhealthcare. org or post to Facebook with #SVHCMedicalMattersWeekly.
Yangtze River ban puts a generation of fishermen in dry dock

by Ke Jiayun

July 13,2021 | Source: SHINE

For decades, Zhang Hongwei, 53, commercially fished the waters of the Yangtze River near Shanghai. This year, he had to give up his boat and fold up his nets.



On January 1, a new 10-year moratorium came into force, prohibiting fishing on all natural waterways of the Yangtze River system.



Zhang was lucky to land a new job as first mate on a patrol ship operated by the fisheries administration on Chongming Island. He now surveys his old river haunts looking for illegal fishing.



"In the past, I worked on boat, and now I still work on boat," he said. "When I was a fisherman, I had to work day and night, all year round. It was a tough job and could be dangerous. What I am doing now is safer and less demanding."



All 192 local fishing boats that once plied the Yangtze River have now ceased operations, according to Li Furong, deputy chief of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Affairs under the Shanghai People's Congress.



Aside from older fishermen who retired, 194 fishermen have found other jobs, Li said.



The majority of Shanghai fishermen affected by the ban live on Chongming Island. Many are descendants of generations-old fishing families in neighboring Jiangsu Province.



During his childhood, Zhang learned how to fish from his father and grandfather and started fishing on his own when he was 16. He worked on ocean trawlers for about 10 years and then owned his own boat for about eight years.



In 2002, however, China issued strict regulations controlling marine fishing in order to protect deep-sea resources. As a result, Zhang turned from fishing in the ocean to fishing in the Yangtze River.



"When we were out catching 'knife fish,' we would return home once a week or every 10 days," he said. "It all depended on the size of the catch and fish market prices."



Aboard his boat, Zhang and colleagues would start work at dawn and stay up until nearly midnight. One man was always on overnight duty to make sure that the boat was operating well.



"Once I was on the boat when a storm came and the engine conked out," said Zhang. "We had to get someone to haul the boat to shore. It was really dangerous."



Moreover, there were always risks of collision between small fishing boats and larger vessels, sometimes resulting in death.



After the ban came into effect on January 1, all fishing licenses were revoked. Those who lost their livelihoods were eligible for social security and help in finding new jobs.



"We raised subsidies, solved employment problems and created incentives for fishermen to go into other jobs," said Gong Hongxin, Party secretary of the law enforcement team with the Chongming District Commission of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.



The fisheries administration has recruited several former fishermen like Zhang to take advantage of their familiarity with the waterways and marine conditions.



Zhang, who lives in the Chongming village of Yuye, is content with his new life. It gives him more time with his family.



"Our ship sets out at 7am every morning to go on patrol and look for illegal fishing, " said Zhang. "We return to port for lunch, then go out again until 4pm."



Liu Yongcun, another former fisherman in the village, said he has no complaints about the turn of events.



He was born on a fishing boat and fished most of his life. But he admitted that his income had dwindled over the years and the work had become harder as he aged.



"This new policy is good for the ecology of the Yangtze River and also good for fishermen, many of whom are in their 50s now," Liu said.



He said he received more than 200,000 yuan (US$30,900) in compensation when he was no longer able to fish.



Finding new jobs hasn't been easy. Many fishermen have scant education and no skills for other jobs. For older fishermen, the village provided some jobs as sanitation workers, security guards or waterway cleaners.



Younger fishermen were offered skills training to qualify for more sophisticated jobs.



However, not all of them relinquished their former life easily.



One fisherman surnamed Xu initially refused to sign an agreement to give up fishing, arguing that he didn't know how to do anything else. Having been his own boss for so many years, he said he didn't want to work for someone else.



To get him to change his mind, local authorities visited his home many times. After two months of efforts, Xu finally came to grips with the fishing ban and now works as a driver for the hailing service Didi.

 2021  Shanghai Daily. All Rights Reserved.

Theme(s): Communities and Organisations.
EU fuel fight ignites as WTO subsidies negotiations enter final week

by Mark Godfrey

July 13,2021 | Source: SeafoodSource

Daniel Voces, the managing director of the European Unions primary fishing industry advocacy group, Europeche, believes members of the World Trade Organization will reach a deal on curbing illegal fishing subsidies this week.



WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has pleaded with negotiators in Geneva, Switzerland, to come to an agreement before the deadline for negotiations arrives on 15 July. Negotiators are currently considering a draft version of an accord, but differences remain due to sparring over exemptions for developing nations as well as fuel subsidy definitions and enforcement mechanisms.



The E.U. and its member states are pretty serious about reaching an agreement this year, Voces told SeafoodSource. We believe the ministerial meeting taking place on 15 July will constitute a turning point in the political negotiations towards concluding an agreement.



As the talks in Geneva enter their final week, negotiators from the European Union are being pressured to defend the E.U.s fuel tax relief scheme for its fishing fleet. But fuel supplied for the purpose of navigation, fishing, and aviation have historically been exempted from taxation to ensure an international level playing field and cannot be considered as subsidies, Voces said. Fuel "de-taxation schemes, or tax-relief schemes, are also applied in agriculture and road transport, he said.



Therefore, fuel tax relief schemes are a fiscal option, non-specific to our sector, rewarding the added value generated by the fishing industry, Voces said.



Voces said fuel taxes should never have entered the remit of the WTO talks.



Fuel tax relief schemes in the E.U. have not contributed to overcapacity nor to overfishing, Voces said.



Incredibly high E.U. fuel prices and taxes mean European fishing companies face fuel prices 18 percent higher than the world average, according to Voces.



Filling the fishing vessel tank in major developed economies, such as Russia or the United States, is between two to three times cheaper than in the E.U., he said. These schemes should have been excluded from the scope of the WTO instrument from the beginning. A meaningful deal can therefore be found by nations on harmful subsidies without referring to de-taxation schemes.



Voces suggested that non-governmental organizations criticizing the fuel tax remittances received by E.U. fleets are aiding larger, non-European fishing fleets, including Chinas, a country Voces accused of being less transparent about its subsidies and fleet movements.



We understand that some countries, backed by NGOs, want to see the end of these schemes, since their fleets can benefit from low fuel prices or from low tax rates, giving them a competitive edge in the worlds market, Voces said. We reiterate that global problems with overcapacity and overfishing lie in the fact that, opposite to the E.U., many countries do not have transparent fishing vessel registers nor sustainable management measures in place nor fishing capacity ceilings, and therefore continue growing their fishing fleets with or without subsidies.



One of the NGOs critical of E.U. fuel subsidies for its fishing fleet is environmental campaign group ClientEarth



By pushing to keep obviously harmful subsidies, Europeche is promoting a race to the bottom that is threatening the healthy recovery of our ocean and the survival of many fishing communities, ClientEarth fisheries lawyer Flaminia Tacconi told SeafoodSource. The only win-win option is for all countries to get rid of these subsidies and put an end to overcapacity and overfishing.



ClientEarth fisheries lawyer Elisabeth Elisabeth Druel told SeafoodSource she sees the E.U. fishing industry as already benefitting from an impressive assortment of public funds and fuel subsidies for E.U. fleets may be coming to an end in any case.



Cutting their fuel tax exemption at the E.U. level through the upcoming revision of the Energy Taxation Directive, and at the global level through an agreement at the WTO, should not send them into crisis mode. It simply means they will be bearing their business costs, rather than forcing citizens to foot the bill for overfishing, Druel said. [Scientists have] consistently identified fuel subsidies, including tax exemptions, as harmful for the environment and confirmed they contribute to overfishing and to the destruction of marine biodiversity. It should be underlined that in the E.U., industrial-scale fishers benefit far more from these exemptions than smaller players.



Voces said the E.U. fleet has been a leader in reducing its environmental impact on its own, without any governmental directives.



Opposite to other countries in the world that have exponentially grown their fishing fleets, the E.U. fleet has been reduced by 22,000 fishing vessels over the last 20 years, representing 20 percent of the E.U. fleet in number of vessels. In addition, despite tax exemptions, fuel consumption and CO2 emissions from fishing are down by 18 percent in only 10 years, Voces said. Fish stocks have been increasing significantly reaching in the Northeast Atlantic levels 50 percent higher than in 2010. Besides, 99 percent of the landings from E.U.-regulated stocks come from sustainable fish populations.



But those claims were disputed by ClientEarth.



The fishing industrys carbon footprint is much higher than previously thought and it must be part of the global effort to combat climate change  starting with bearing the true cost of its fuel, she said. According to the most recent scientific estimations, the share of Northeast Atlantic overexploited fish stocks assessed by STECF was still above 40 percent in 2019. In the Mediterranean Sea, this percentage is even higher, as 75 percent of stocks there are overfished. Finally, the claim that 99 percent of fish landed in the E.U. come from sustainable sources is grossly misleading and has been refuted on numerous occasions by NGOs and scientists.



The E.U. has pledged to be a leader in environmental protection through the E.U. Green Deal. Former E.U. Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Maria Damanaki last week told an online forum hosted by the Friends of Ocean Action, an organization hosted by the World Economic Forum, the E.U. has to lead by example at the WTO in getting a deal that requires all major fishery nations to cut fuel subsidies for distant-water fleets.



Campaigners and negotiators are worried that a deal reached at the WTO will be too compromised to have an impact. A meaningful deal should not be weakened by zero-sum trade-offs and exceptions for all, said Alice Tipping, former legal advisor to New Zealands mission to the WTO, told the forum.



Negotiators from major fishing nations like China have been closely watching the position of counterparts from the E.U., according to Tipping. In a recent study published by another NGO, Oceana, the E.U. was described as the third-ranked provider of harmful fisheries subsidies worldwide  after China and Japan.

 2021 Diversified Communications. All rights reserved.

Theme(s): Post Harvest Technology and Trade.
We've recently updated our online systems. If you can't login please try resetting your password. You must login with an email address. If you don't have an email associated with your account email circulation@idahopress.com for help creating one.
Randy Stapilus is a former Idaho newspaper reporter and editor and blogs at www.ridenbaugh.com. He can be reached at stapilus@ridenbaugh.com. his new book, What Do You Mean by That? has just been released and can be found on his website.
Community Information

If you would like to submit an upcoming event or community announcement, please contact our staff at 208-232-4161 or send an email to cjohnson@journalnet.com. We will also accept news from local clubs and engagement, wedding and anniversary announcements. You can post your community or club events on our calendar.

Obituaries

Submit an obituary/notice All obituaries must be placed by your mortuary or onlineDeadline is 3 p.m. for publication the next day. The ISJ is not responsible for spelling, grammar, or basic mistakes.
Note: We've recently updated our online systems. If you can't login please try resetting your password. You must login with an email address. If you don't have an email associated with your account email circulation2@journalnet.com for help creating one.
It has become a common element of business and technology vernacular that data is the new oil. For Norway, a country that was at the forefront of the North Sea oil boom of the last century, data centres are replacing oil as an economic powerhouse. So, should organisations consider Norway as the next home for their data centre procurement choices?

At the beginning of the last century, Norway was not considered a wealthy European nation, but it would end the century with one of the highest incomes per capita in the world. North Sea oil and gas accounted for 51% of the nations exports. The proceeds of the oil boom were not wasted; successive Norwegian governments invested in infrastructure programmes to provide Norway with high-quality energy and transport systems, backed by a strong educational ethos. As Norway reduces its economic reliance on oil in the 2020s, the humble data centre is at the heart of a new, environmentally sustainable agenda. In the Nordics region (Norway, Denmark and Sweden), PA Consulting says over 200 data centres have been built, and the digital leaders of our age have all backed the Nordics, with Facebook, Google and Microsoft all setting up shop in the region.

In a post-pandemic economy where consumers and many business leaders have no appetite to go back to the old and outdated methods of 2019, there is an awareness of the need to tackle climate change. Dubbed the dirty secret of technology by data centre insiders, reducing the environmental impact of the data centre is now rising up the strategic agenda, which is why Norway and its neighbours are in a strong position to clean up.
The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate (YJS) has documented systematic violations of media freedom in the country between 1 January and 31 June 2021, including arbitrary detentions, kidnappings and threats. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its Yemeni affiliate in calling for the release and compensation of all media workers who were victims of these violations and urges the warring parties to respect press freedom and the right to information.

Journalists and mourners lift placards and banners during the funeral of TV reporter Adib al-Janani who was killed in an attack on January 2, 2021. Credits: AHMAD AL-BASHA / AFP

The media violations reported by the YJS affect all kinds of media workers, from reporters, photographers, media institutions and journalists working material. The YJS's report includes dozens of cases of arbitrary detention, kidnapping, chasing, harassment, threats, incitement, attacks, coverage banning, confiscation of newspapers, prosecution and investigation of journalists.

According to the YJS's bi-annual report, the Houthi group was responsible for twenty of the thirty-six violations while the government was responsible for ten. The remaining six violations were committed by the Southern Transitional Council (STC).

The YJS also recalls that nine journalists are still held by the Houthis: Wahid Al-Sufi, Abdul-Khaleq Amran, Tawfiq Al-Mansoori, Akram Al-Walidy, Harith Hamid, Nabil Al-Sadawi, Muhammad Abdo Al-Salahi, Walid Al-Matari and Muhammad Ali Al-Junaid.

Of these nine journalists detained by the Houthis, four of them have been sentenced to death: Abdul-Khaleq Amran, Tawfiq Al-Mansoori, Akram Al-Walidi, and Harith Hamid.

In addition, journalist Muhammad Qaid al-Muqri has been in Al-Qaeda's custody since 2015.

The Yemeni warring parties continue to target journalists and media outlets daily, whom they consider as opponents involved in the conflict. The YJS notes that, since the beginning of the civil war, there have been more than 1,400 violations of media freedoms, including 38 killings of media professionals.

Yemen is now one of the worlds most dangerous countries for journalists, with extremely high levels of impunity. The conflict currently receives very little media coverage due to the exceptionally unsafe conditions for media workers.

In 2020, the YJS reported 112 cases of media freedoms violations.

IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said: We join our affiliate the YJS in condemning the ongoing violence against media workers in Yemen. All journalists must be released and the death sentences dropped immediately. We urge the authorities to take steps to guarantee journalists safety and eradicate the culture of impunity for crimes against media workers."
Imperial Valley News Center

Medical Imaging Companies CEO Found Guilty of Running Massive Health Care Fraud Through the State Workers Comp System

San Diego, California - The CEO of several Southern California-based medical imaging companies was found guilty by a federal jury last week of running a scheme in which more than $250 million in claims were fraudulently submitted through the state workers compensation system for medical services procured through bribes and kickbacks to physicians and others.

Sam Sarkis Solakyan, 40, of Glendale, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud and health care fraud, and 11 counts of honest services mail fraud.

Solakyan was the CEO of several medical-imaging companies, including the Glendale-based Vital Imaging Inc., and San Diego MRI Institute. Solakyan operated diagnostic imaging facilities throughout California, including the Bay Area, Los Angeles and Orange counties, and San Diego.

According to the evidence presented at the eight-day trial, from no later than mid-2013 to November 2016, Solakyan conspired with Steven Rigler, a Solana Beach-based chiropractor; Fermin Iglesias, the former CEO of MedEx Solutions, a patient-scheduling company; and others to perpetrate a scheme in which physicians were paid bribes and kickbacks in exchange for the referral of workers compensation patients. The compensation offered to the corrupt doctors consisted of either cash or referrals of new patients in what is known as a cross-referral scheme.

The conspirators obscured the true nature of their financial relationships in order to conceal the bribes and kickbacks, including by entering into various sham agreements such as contracts for marketing, administrative services, and scheduling, when in fact the money Solakyan paid amounted to volume-based, per- magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan bribes and kickbacks to induce physicians to refer and continue referring patients to Solakyans companies.

Solakyans recruiters required physicians to refer a minimum number of patients to receive cross-referrals, and those referrals stopped if the physicians failed to meet the minimum quota. Solakyans recruiters  Fermin Iglesias, 41 of Glendale, and Carlos Arguello, 39, of Bonita  were paid more than $8.6 million for obtaining MRI referrals, payments which were concealed from patients and health insurers.

Solakyan concealed his cash payments to Rigler for patient referrals by calling them reports, and in March 2015 he asked Rigler if Solakyan could send my driver with your reports, then stated, Ill have him contact you then Ill just send him with your reports, buddy, according to a September 2018 federal grand jury indictment.

In total, Solakyan submitted and caused to be submitted more than $250 million in claims for medical services procured through the payment of bribes and kickbacks.

Rigler pleaded guilty in November 2015 to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud and was sentenced to six months in federal prison.

Iglesias pleaded guilty in December 2016 to conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud and health care fraud and was sentenced in February 2019 to five years in federal prison.

Arguello pleaded guilty in August 2016 to conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud and health care fraud and was sentenced in April 2019 to four years in federal prison.

United States District Judge Cynthia A. Bashant has scheduled an October 4 sentencing hearing, at which time Solakyan will face a statutory maximum sentence of 240 years in federal prison.

The FBI and the California Department of Insurance, Fraud Division, investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Faraz R. Mohammadi of the Santa Ana Branch Office and Assistant United States Attorney Adam P. Schleifer of the Major Frauds Section are prosecuting this case.
Imperial Valley News Center

Former Genentech Principal Scientist And Her Husband Convicted Of Crimes Related To Pilfering Corporate Secrets

San Francisco, California - Former Genentech Principal Scientist Xanthe Lam, and her husband Allen Lam, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and other charges related to the theft of trade secrets from Genentech for use by other companies, announced Acting United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds, Internal Revenue Service  Criminal Investigations, Special Agent in Charge Michael Daniels, and Federal Bureau of Investigation, Special Agent in Charge Craig D. Fair. The pleas were accepted by the Honorable William Alsup, United States Senior District Judge.

According to the plea agreements filed Tuesday and made public Wednesday, both Xanthe Lam and Allen Lam conspired to commit theft of trade secrets by stealing confidential, proprietary, and trade secret information from Genentech. Specifically, starting in 2009, Xanthe Lam, an experienced and accomplished scientist then working at Genentech, and her husband, Allen Lam, worked as a team to purloin confidential information from within Genentech and to pass the information on to a number of scientists working for Genentechs competitors. For example, beginning in 2013, Xanthe Lam secretly provided Genentechs high-quality, confidential, intellectual property to help JHL Biotech, Inc., a biopharmaceutical start-up headquartered in Zhubei, Taiwan, with offices in Wuhan, China, and Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., to cut corners, reduce costs, solve problems, save time, and otherwise accelerate product development timelines. Within JHL Biotech, employees were told to refer to Xanthe Lam as Allen Lam and email Xanthe Lam using the email address for Allen Lam to conceal the work Xanthe Lam was doing for the company.

In addition to the conspiracy charge, Xanthe Lam pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse, one count of conspiracy to make false statements to a government agency, and one count of making false statements to a government agency. Allen Lam also pleaded guilty to four counts of filing false tax returns and one count of conspiracy to make false statements to a government agency.

Judge Alsup accepted the Lams guilty pleas and ordered the case adjourned until November 9, 2021, at 1:30 p.m.

The court also may order additional assessments, forfeiture, and restitution; however, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C.  3553.

Following nearly three years of cooperation with the government and remedial efforts in connection with its investigation of thefts of trade secrets and wire fraud, JHL Biotech, Inc., now called Eden Biologics, Inc., and Chime Biologics (Wuhan) Co. Ltd., entered into a Non-Prosecution Agreement with the U.S. Attorneys Office, Northern District of California.

Defendants Xanthe Lam and Adam Lam have admitted that they used confidential documents and trade secrets stolen from Genentech to aid competitors, said Acting United States Attorney Hinds. This United States Attorneys Office will always aggressively prosecute theft of corporate trade secrets to protect innovation, a crown jewel of our District.

Mr. Lam received compensation for his consulting work and failed to report the income he earned for several years on his U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (Form 1040), said IRS Criminal Investigations, Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Daniels. The overarching principle of IRS enforcement strategy is simply this: We protect the integrity of the tax system by ensuring everyone pays the right amount of tax.

The FBI will not tolerate the stealing of intellectual property and trade secrets to gain an advantage in the private sector, said FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig D. Fair. This behavior is contradictory to American values and with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to pursue those who wish to make their profits off the backs of others hard work.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sheila A.G. Armbrust, Adam A. Reeves, and Claudia A. Quiroz are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Beth Margen and Morgan Byrne. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service  Criminal Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Hari Subramanian has a rule for his entrepreneurial career: If what he's working on makes him a little bit scared, he knows he's on the right track.

The founder and CEO of San Francisco-based business app platform Appify, Subramanian has always been wary of getting stuck in a comfort zone, a mindset a former boss instilled in him.

"Don't do things that are smaller than you," he recalls his boss telling him.

Pushing himself to think bigger and push beyond the scope of what seems possible has served as Subramanian's guiding philosophy as an entrepreneur. He says you may always feel like you don't know how you could ever scale your business as much as you want to.

"That burden, in a weird way, kind of inspires you to go after it," he says.

Such a risk-taking approach to business hasn't been great for his sleep cycle, but it's served the serial entrepreneur well. Subramanian is also the co-founder of ServiceMax, a cloud-based tool for field service that General Electric acquired in 2017 for $915 million. Rather than take the opportunity for an early retirement, he soon turned his attention to building a hospital in India for children with congenital heart disease. He credits his father for first inspiring him to want to help others in need during his childhood in Thoothukudi, in the Tamil Nadu state of India.

Next, in 2019, he partnered with venture capitalist Rajeev Batra and his firm Mayfield to raise funding for Turbo Systems, which is now known as Appify. It's a platform that lets businesses quickly create custom apps without any code, instead of farming out the task to a third party. The young company's clients span a wide range of industries, from construction to health care.

Demand soared last year, as the pandemic forced many businesses to take on new functions. The company saw its user base multiply 10-fold in a period of six months in 2020. Hospitals signed on as customers, using Appify to build apps that could track Covid-19-related protocols. Tata MD, the health care arm of Indian auto company Tata, even rolled out a series of apps on Appify for Covid testing and tracking across India.

Subramanian couldn't have predicted the boost Appify would get as a result of the pandemic. But he had long foreseen a shift in consumer expectations that spurred the need for businesses to easily create their own digital tools. Compared with 10 or 15 years ago, he says, customers now expect businesses to be quicker on their feet and more holistic. They also want a brand story that resonates. For example, a company no longer can just sell air conditioners; it must sell the entire idea of comfort.

"There are a lot more forces at work today on companies of all sizes and shapes, and across all verticals and all geographies," Subramanian says. "Companies today need to be a lot more agile and dynamic to be able to respond to these forces quickly, or they'll be eaten."

Looking ahead, Subramanian predicts that rather than making the work of human computer programmers obsolete, low-code and no-code programs like Appify could allow them to focus their attention on building more sophisticated applications. Further, he says, artificial intelligence built on top of no-code platforms will allow businesses to make quicker, more efficient decisions.

That future may still be a ways off, but, as with all his businesses, Subramanian is focused on big-picture outcomes. He warns entrepreneurs not to limit themselves to addressing only what customers need right now.

"Your company needs to potentially morph into other things that can open other opportunities," he says. "Because, ultimately, it is not about you just trying to solve a problem. You're creating a business around it."
It sounds scary, and it might make you think about not encouraging your employees to receive their vaccine. But take a step back. Don't panic. Here's what employers need to know.

The scary side effects are rare.

J&J has administered 12.8 million doses of its vaccine, and there have been 100 reported cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome. Even so, that's not quite 0.0008 percent of the people who received the vaccine. If you get Covid-19, your chances of dying are much higher.

The FDA determined that this side effect was rare enough that the vaccine's benefits still outweigh the risks. As an employer, you should direct people to the FDA's statement that it continues to "find the known and potential benefits clearly outweigh the known and potential risks."

Employers aren't at financial risk for side effects.

If you encourage or even require an employee to receive a Covid-19 vaccination, you don't have to worry about legal problems if an employee suffers an unfortunate side effect. "There's zero liability," says employment attorney Jon Hyman, a director at Wickens Herzer Panza, a law firm in Avon, Ohio. "The vaccines are approved by the FDA for emergency use. No one is being forced to get a vaccine by their employer ... albeit some employers are mandating the vaccine as a condition of employment."

Employees who experience side effects from a vaccine mandated as a condition of employment could file a workers' compensation claim, but this would preclude employer liability, he says. As long as your workers' compensation policy is up to date, you don't need to worry about liability.

What to do if an employee suffers a serious side effect.

Some people will have side effects. And if one of your employees is so unlucky, you should do everything you can to help them. There are laws and programs in place to help people.

If you have more than 50 employees and the affected employee meets the qualifications under the Family and Medical Leave Act, they are entitled to up to 12 weeks of protected leave. If your company has fewer than 500 people, you can choose to participate in the extended version of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act that extends until September 30. This will help provide income for your employee.

If you have 15 or more employees, your employee is eligible for protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act. This can also protect the employee who needs to take time off to get the required medical treatment.

You should continue to work with the employee to help get whatever they need to return to the workplace. That's the right thing to do. And in most cases, it's the law that you give protected time off.

Continue to encourage vaccination.

The only way out of this Covid-19 mess is herd immunity. That can happen with everyone getting sick or with a high enough number of people being vaccinated against Covid-19. There are federal tax credits available to provide sick pay for people to get vaccinated. The CDC and the FDA recommend vaccination in almost all cases. (Send your employees to speak to their own doctors if they have health concerns.)
Sacha Baron Cohen is taking legal action against a cannabis dispensary in Massachusetts that allegedly used his comedy character Borat on a billboard.

The offending poster reportedly features Baron Cohen as Borat giving a thumbs up alongside his characters famous catchphrase: Its nice!

The British actor and filmmaker filed a lawsuit against Sola Therapeutics, accusing them of copyright infringement and false advertising.

The filing states that the advert is placed on a busy interstate highway with the purpose of selling Sola Therapeutics products. The use of Borats image is unauthorised, it says.

Borat first appeared in the Baron Cohens film Ali G Indahouse in 2002, and later became the subject of Baron Cohens 2006 mockumentary comedy Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

A sequel, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, was released in 2020 to critical acclaim.

Baron Cohen has apparently never used cannabis and would not advertise the drug for any amount of money, because he does not believe the drug is a healthy choice, the lawsuit says.

The filing also reveals that Baron Cohen once turned down a $4m (2.9m) offer to appear in a car commercial. He never advertised any product in the UK or the US despite countless opportunities to do so, for fear it could harm his credibility as an actor and seriously social activist.

Baron Cohens lawyer alleges that Solar Therapeutics did not believe he would see the billboard so took a gamble in using Borats likeness.

He is seeking damages of at least $9m (6.5m) and has asked a judge to order the company to stop using his image.

The company is yet to respond to the lawsuit.

Additional reporting by Press Association
Wes Andersons new film, The French Dispatch, had its long-awaited premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday (12 July), and Tilda Swinton celebrated the occasion with a schoolgirl-esque prank on fellow cast member Timothee Chalamet.

The pair were both in the audience as Andersons latest work received a nine-minute standing ovation. As the applause rang out, Swinton embraced Chalamet while surreptitiously affixing her Tilda Swinton seat-holder sign to his back.

The moment was captured by Variety executive editor Ramin Setoodeh, who wrote on Twitter: Look at what Tilda Swinton did to Timothee Chalamet during The French Dispatch standing ovation. You can watch the moment below:

The French Dispatch also stars Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Lea Seydoux, Elisabeth Moss, Jeffrey Wright, Saoirse Ronan and Owen Wilson. The films official synopsis calls it a love letter to journalists set in an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional 20th-century French city that brings to life a collection of stories published in The French Dispatch.

Early reviews have been largely positive, with The Hollywood Reporter writing: While The French Dispatch might seem like an anthology of vignettes without a strong overarching theme, every moment is graced by Andersons love for the written word and the oddball characters who dedicate their professional lives to it.
Drake & Josh star Drake Bell has been sentenced after pleading guilty to child endangerment.

In June, the former Nickelodeon star pleaded guilty to felony-attempted endangering of children, as well as a misdemeanour charge of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.

On Monday (12 July), Bells sentence was revealed, with the former actor avoiding a jail sentence. Instead, an Ohio judge sentenced him to two years probation and 200 hours of community service.

Allegations against Bell were made by a 19-year-old woman, who reported the actor to police in 2018 claiming that he had groomed her since she was 12.

Calling Bell the epitome of evil, she claimed in court via Zoom that their conversations became blatantly sexual when she turned 15. She added that the pair exchanged explicit photos and Bell sexually abused her while she was underage.

Jared Drake Bell is a paedophile and that is his legacy, she concluded her statement.

Bells lawyers disputed claims of pictures being exchanged and sexual abuse, claiming that there was no evidence.

Delivering his sentence, judge Timothy McCormick said that the fact of the matter is your position and celebrity status let you nurture this relationship you were able to gain access to this child.

Bell said: I accept this plea because my conduct was wrong.

Im sorry that the victim was harmed in any way, but that was obviously not my intention. I have taken this matter very, very seriously. And again, I just want to apologise to her and anyone else who may have been affected by my actions.

Bell starred in Drake & Josh, a Nickelodeon sitcom, between 2004 and 2007. He portrayed Drake Parker, while Josh Peck played Parkers stepbrother Josh Nichols.
A Chinese man, who traveled more than 500,000 kilometres for 24 years to look for his son, inspiring a movie in the process, has finally been reunited with his child.

Guo Gangtang's son was abducted by human traffickers in 1997 in front of their home in Chinas Shandong province. The child was just two years old at the time.

Police have arrested two suspects in the case. Chinese media reported that a man and a woman abducted the child 24 years ago with the intention of selling him for money.

The police made progress in the case in mid-June after it received clues about the whereabouts of the now 26-year-old man from Henan province and confirmed his identity after a DNA test, reports said.

Looking for his son since the kidnapping, 51-year-old Mr Guo traveled over 500,000 km on several motorbikes across the country and sustained multiple injuries, including broken bones in traffic accidents and even encountering highway robbers.

Ten motorcycles were damaged since he began his search. In 2010, Mr Guo told China Daily that he had more than 40 stitches on his head from accidents.

If I had been playing with my son in our house instead of delivering goods outside, this would not have happened, he said at the time.

According to Xinhua, before beginning his search, Mr Guo printed a banner with his sons photo and a message that said: Where are you, my son? Daddy will take you home. He spent all his savings during the search and had to go hungry at times, the report said.

His travel across the country in search of his son inspired Lost and Love, a movie starring Hong Kong star Andy Lau that premiered in 2015.

On hearing the news that the father and son have finally been reunited, Lau sent his congratulations. I admire your persistence and pay tribute to the years-long efforts of the public security department, he was quoted as saying by Global Times.

The Global Times report said Chinese social media users are urging for a sequel to be made of Lost and Love to incorporate the happy ending.
At least 43 migrants have died in Arizonas borderlands this summer as several US states reel under a scorching heatwave and soaring temperatures.

Humane Borders, a nonprofit that maps the recoveries of bodies in Arizona using data from the Pima county medical examiners office in Tucson, said 43 human remains of migrants were found across Arizonas border with Mexico in June, reported the Associated Press (AP).

Of the 43, at least 16 bodies were recovered a day after their death, while 13 were dead for less than a week, Mike Kreyche, a mapping coordinator for Humane Borders, told AP.

Mr Kreyche said that in the first six months, 127 bodies were recovered from the region, 31 more than the corpses recovered in 2020 for the said period. This years death toll also surpasses the earlier figure of 2017 when 123 bodies were recovered along the Arizona-Mexico border.

Exposure has been listed as the most common cause of death among the bodies recovered from Arizonas border with Mexico, approximately 400 miles long with a vast stretch of desert land.

Due to the vastness of the territory and the millions of acres of desolate desert that migrants traverse, the sad reality is that a substantial percentage of human remains will never be recovered, says the NGO on its website. They add that as of 31 December 2018, over 1,000 decedents remain unidentified.

Texas also reported an increase in the number of migrant deaths as state officials increase the number of rescue operations along its border with Mexico.

There were 36 migrant deaths in the first five months of this year, more than all the deaths reported in 2020, according to the AP report citing data from the Brooks County Sheriffs Department in southern Texas.

Flames are seen on side of the highway after a bushfire broke out, near St. George, Arizona on 12 July 2021, in this still image obtained from a social media video (Reuters)

The stretch was not always a graveyard. Fewer than five dead migrants were found in southern Arizona each year prior to 2000, according to a report by USA Today.

Numbers began to rise in 2001 as illegal immigration from Mexico to the US increased. With heightened border security in California and Texas, an increasing number of migrants are now forced to move through Arizonas treacherous terrain to seek sanctuary, said the APreport.

The increase in the recorded deaths come as the western states endure dangerously high temperatures this summer.

An estimate of about 200 people  mostly homeless, sick and old  died this month in Oregon and Washington.

According to a recent report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the US recorded its hottest June in 127 years. The average June temperature across the country was 72.6F, about 4.2 degrees above normal, said the report.

To add to worries, soaring temperatures have fanned wildfires across large swathes of the US.

Firefighters battled at least 55 large fires across the country on Sunday, with 11 occurring in Arizona alone. The scale of the wildfires is so large that at least 768,000 acres of land in 12 western US states and more than 500,000 acres in Canada were burning as of Sunday.
Wildlife rescue professionals in Oregon have claimed over 100 baby birds have tried to escape their nest prematurely due to the heatwave engulfing the Pacific Northwest.

Conservationists from Pendleton working at Blue Mountain Wildlife, a organisation committed to helping nature thrive, reported that most of the birds survived their falls but faced injuries. Tragically, 13 had to be put down. Most of those who tried to flee their nest too early were Swainson hawks and Coopers hawks.

Weve never seen anything like this before, the organisations executive director Lynn Tompkins told Reuters.

Pendletons thermostat hit 47C on 29 June, which was one degree less than the towns highest ever recorded temperature of 48C in 1898, according to the National Weather Service.

Ms Tompkins expressed hope that things might be different soon, however acknowledged that the climate crisis was not making that likely.

So hopefully, next year wont be the same. But I know that with climate change and the extreme heat and increasing heat, things like this are going to be more likely, she continued, saying they had been swamped with calls from people worried about local wildlife.

Ms Tompkins provided tips on how to help distressed birds suffering from the heat, such spraying them with a sprinkler on a light setting. She ruled out taking them away from their nest.

She said, Almost all of them, the parents were still there, and we really hate to take babies of any kind away from their parents because theyre the most qualified to take care of them.

Last month was Oregons second hottest June, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information. The average temperature there in June is 22C.

The impact is it having on these birds is just one of the many side effects of the heatwave, which is believed by many experts to be caused by the climate crisis. The heat also has a human toll, with hundreds of deaths reported in the US.

In a statement, Dr Jennifer Vines, the health officer for Multnomah County, said, This was a true health crisis that has underscored how deadly an extreme heat wave can be, especially to otherwise vulnerable people.

This was after the death toll hit 45 in the county (including the city of Portland) on July 1.

I know many county residents were looking out for each other and am deeply saddened by this initial death toll, she continued. As our summers continue to get warmer, I suspect we will face this kind of event again.

Currently, forest fires are blazing in the Fremont-Winema National Forest. The fire that has ripped through 153,000 acres has been nicknamed the Bootleg fire, and firefighters are reportedly struggling to make progress putting it out.
Mondays Downing Street press conference confirmed the already much-trailed news as prime minister Boris Johnson announced that plans to lift the remainder of restrictions in England will go ahead on 19 July.

As part of the measures, Mr Johnson will be removing the government instruction to work from home. He asked those working from home to return to the office where you can, while urging the public to exercise extreme caution and to take personal responsibility.

The statement marks a slight U-turn from a previous announcement on 5 July, when Mr Johnson said it will no longer be necessary for the government to instruct people to work from home after the so-called Freedom Day.

The movement back to a slightly more cautious approach has earned criticism from some trade unions, which rebuked it as unclear and argued that it amounts to the government washing its hands of its responsibility to ensure workplace safety.

Ahead of the lifting of restrictions, heres everything you need to know about the potential return to the office.

What is the governments latest advice?

Boris Johnson has slightly diverted from his previous statement, telling the public that the government will be removing its instruction to work from home where possible but this doesnt mean everyone back to the office on Monday.

We dont expect that the whole country will return to their desk as one from Monday [19 July], Mr Johnson said on 12 July, adding that he expects to see a gradual return to the workplace over the rest of the summer.

Urging the public to exercise common sense and personal responsibility, he said the government is currently working on guidance for businesses as they bring people back into the office.

His statement is in line with comments made by the newly appointed health secretary, Sajid Javid, who told the Commons on Monday that everyone should return to work gradually if they are working from home.

Why has the government advice changed?

The change in tactic, from bringing everyone back to the office to a more gradual return, comes after scientists warned that a rush back to workplaces could see a surge in transmission.

A further 34,471 confirmed cases of Covid-19 were announced in the UK on Monday, the highest figure since January. There have been 228,189 cases in the last seven days, a week-on-week increase of 28 per cent.

Speaking to Times Radio, Dr Susan Hopkins, an epidemiologist consultant in infectious diseases and microbiology at Public Health England, said that while the government is very keen to get people back in the office, she believes the return to the workplace needs to be very cautiously implemented over four to six weeks to keep transmission down.

If you are able to do your business effectively from home then I think over the next four to six weeks, with a rise in cases, we should try our best to do that. Then we should continue to look and see and have a cautious return to the office over the coming weeks once we start to see a decline in the number of cases, she said.

During Mondays press conference, professor Chris Whitty said an exit wave of Covid-19 cases is somewhat inevitable as restrictions lift. There is extremely wide agreement that whenever we go through the next step, there is going to be whats called an exit wave, he said.

In alignment with the governments approach to a gradual return, he advised: The slower we take it, the fewer people will have Covid-19, the smaller the peak will be, and the smaller the number of people who go into hospital and die.

Does it make a difference if youve had both vaccines?

As of Sunday, 11 July, 34,872,131 people in the UK have received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. Despite the huge vaccination effort, cases are on the rise.

In a statement on 5 July, Mr Johnson said scientific evidence has clearly demonstrated that vaccines have helped break the link between disease and death, but that the risks associated with Covid-19, regardless of whether you have been vaccinated, are far from eliminated.

As per the NHS, both doses of the vaccine will reduce your risk of getting seriously ill or dying from Covid-19 and reduce the transmission of the virus. But you can still transmit the virus and can still get unwell - although the risk of serious illness and death is reduced.

How have trade unions responded?

The latest announcement has been criticised by trade unions, calling for a clearer outline of how safe the return to the workplace is for their members.

Gary Smith, the general secretary of GMB, said the union supports a move to get back to normal, but not at the cost of putting lives at risk.

Its very easy for the prime minister to say we should take personal responsibility when his government has prioritised politics over science throughout this pandemic, he said.

Of course we all want to get back to normal, but not at the cost of putting lives at risk  and many of them will be the workers who risked everything to keep the country moving throughout the pandemic.

Trades Union Congress, which represents 48 unions across England and Wales, said Mr Johnsons instructions will confuse employers and called for comprehensive and clear guidance.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to safety at work as restrictions go. Every employer is legally required to make sure their workers can work safely, TUC general secretary, Frances OGrady told The Independent.

Thats why ministers must produce comprehensive and clear guidance, sector-by-sector  and consult on it with unions and employers upfront.

Replacing proper guidance with vague exhortations to employers to do the right thing will result in confusion  and rising infections.

What is a Covid-19 secure workplace?

As per the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), businesses should carry out risk assessments of their workplaces before employees return to the office.

Under current guidelines, employees have been asked to socially distance by keeping two metres apart where possible and wear face masks.

It is expected that these restrictions will not necessarily apply after 19 July, when social distancing measures and the mask mandate in public spaces is lifted.

During Mondays conference, chief scientific adviser sir Patrick Vallance said businesses should ensure that ventilation gets a priority.

The government has also published 14 guides on its website detailing how employers can go about making their workplaces Covid-secure.
A dentist has claimed that using mouthwash straight after brushing your teeth undoes the benefits of toothpaste and could lead to tooth decay.

In a series of TikTok videos, Anna Peterson, a London-based dentist, explained that rinsing with mouthwash after brushing could remove some of the protection that toothpaste provides.

Using mouthwash after brushing your teeth is going to give you tooth decay, so stop doing it, she said in a video that has now been viewed almost two million times.

Her statement prompted confusion from followers, many of whom had been using mouthwash in their routines.

Breaking down the reasoning for her advice, Peterson explained that toothpaste has 1450 parts per million of fluoride. Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that helps prevent tooth decay. It is found in toothpaste, water and some food.

Your mouthwash has only 220 parts per million of fluoride, Peterson said. This is a much lower concentration and its not enough to protect your mouth from sugars that youre going to eat and drink.

This means that rinsing your mouth with mouthwash straight after brushing your teeth, rinses away the protection provided by a high-concentration fluoride for a much lower concentration of the mineral.

Her comments are in line with NHS guidance, which advises: Using a mouthwash that contains fluoride can help prevent tooth decay, but dont use mouthwash (even a fluoride one) straight after brushing your teeth or itll wash away the concentrated fluoride in the toothpaste left on your teeth.

A spokesperson for the British Dental Association told The Independent that unless you have been advised by your dentist, you should not use a mouthwash after brushing your teeth.

I dont know why mouthwash companies havent changed that message. The amount of fluoride in mouthwash is usually at a much lower concentration than in toothpaste, the spokesperson said.

Given that mouthwash has become a staple part of many peoples oral hygiene routine, many were left wondering when the best time is to use it if not after brushing.

By no means am I against mouthwash, because I actually do recommend it to my patients. But not every patient needs it, and I certainly dont tell them to use it after brushing, Peterson said.

In line with the NHS, she explained that mouthwash should be used at a different time in the day, or after eating.

Anything that you eat will have sugars of some sort. What happens when you eat sugars is that your mouth becomes acidic, so it drops in pH she said, describing this as a critical pH zone.

At this point, brushing to increase the pH is harmful as it brushes the acid into the teeth. Instead, Peterson recommends using a mouthwash to get your teeth out of this critical zone.

Although the NHS and BDA agree that mouthwash should not be used straight after brushing, other experts have said that Petersons claim that doing so will lead to tooth decay is not correct.

Dr Nigel Carter, the chief executive of the Oral Health Foundation told The Independent that the evidence around spitting dont rinse is relatively weak.

Its felt that if you spit out [toothpaste] then you keep some of the fluoride in your mouth. Thats where the message dont use mouthwash after brushing comes from.

He stressed that there is absolutely zero evidence that using a mouthwash is going to cause decay, as claimed by Peterson.

Its just going to be, in the same way as water, tending to wash away the fluoride, he said.
Princess Dianas childhood bike has just gone up for auction.

The late Princess of Wales, who died in a car crash in 1997, used to ride the bright red Tracker bicycle around her familys estate in Althorp in the 1970s.

The bike was made by Trust Manufacturing Co and was once owned by Dianas childhood housekeeper, Maudie Pendrey.

It is a copy of the Raleigh Chopper bike, which was one of the most popular toys at the time.

Now, the bike, which is said to be in excellent condition, is being sold by East Bristol Auctions next week and its expected to sell for between 20,000 and 30,000.

It is also being sold alongside a Christmas card dated from 1994 that Diana sent to Ms Pendrey.

It was originally auctioned off by Lord and Lady Spencer, when Ms Pendrey bought it.

The bicycle will be sold on 24 July at East Bristols Specialist Toy Collectors Auction.

Toy Specialist Lucy McCourt commented: Its a really important piece of memorabilia.

Diana was the peoples Princess, and this is a chance to own a personal piece of her history. This is far from just a run-of-the-mill childs bicycle!

One can almost imagine the young Diana riding around her childhood country estate on this.

And there is naturally a tinge of sadness to it also.

Its not the first piece of Diana memorabilia to be auctioned off for a high sum of money.

In May, a blue bike used by Diana when she lived in London sold at auction for 44,000.

Meanwhile, in June, the Ford Escort she drove sold for 55,000.

However, one of the largest sums of money paid for an item owned by Diana was 264,000, which is how much Dianas famous Travolta dress sold for in 2019.

The Princess of Wales wore the midnight blue Victor Edelstein dress to a gala dinner at The White House hosted by then-President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan on 9 November 1985.

While the dress was newsworthy in its own right, it became one of Dianas most iconic outfits after footage of her dancing with Grease actor John Travolta was seen worldwide.
Five people died when a crane toppled off a 25-story residential tower in Canada police said Tuesday.

Four construction workers on the ground were killed in the accident Monday in Kelowna, 241 miles (390 kilometers) east of Vancouver police Insp. Adam MacIntosh said.

The crane operator hasnt been found but police believe his body is buried in the rubble, MacIntosh said.

The upper portion of the crane smashed into a neighboring building.

Jonathan Friesen, head of the Mission Group, the development company building the structure, said he doesnt know what caused the crane to fall.

The collapse knocked out power for most of the citys downtown core and forced an evacuation of the surrounding area.
Most people who perished in last months record-smashing heat wave in Oregons most populous county were white, male, older and socially isolated, according to a preliminary report released Tuesday in Portland

Initial tallies show that heat was likely the cause of death for 71 residents of Multnomah County, home to Oregons largest city. The heat has been officially confirmed as the cause of death in 54 of those people. Some residents bodies were not found for up to a week after the worst of the heat had passed, a fact that authorities said supports the role of social isolation in the deaths. The average age was 70.

Many of them were our elders, those who need our care the most, and many were all alone, County Chair Deborah Kafoury said.

Three consecutive days of extraordinary temperatures in the Pacific Northwest which usually experiences mild summers, shattered all-time records and sent public health officials scrambling between June 25 and June 28. Temperatures in Portland reached triple digits for three days, peaking at 116 degrees Fahrenheit (47 Celsius) as records fell across Oregon Washington and British Columbia Canada.

Oregon blamed 116 deaths on the heat, Washington state reported at least 91 and officials in British Columbia say hundreds of sudden and unexpected deaths are likely due to the soaring temperatures. More people died from the heat in the greater Portland area this June than in the entire state over the past 20 years, authorities said Tuesday.

An initial scientific analysis by World Weather Attribution found that the deadly heat wave would have been virtually impossible without human-caused climate change that added a few extra degrees to the record-smashing temperatures.

The heat that settled over our county, over our family and friends, was life-threatening, and it arrived decades ahead of our best predictions for when this kind of climate disruption should first appear, said Kafoury, who grew up in Portland without air conditioning.

The climate disruption we all feared would happen someday is happening right now and we all need to work together, as a county, as a resilient community, as neighbors, to be prepared."

State emergency management officials acknowledged Monday that 750 people who called an information line over the blistering hot weekend were unable to get through because of a shortage of operators. They struggled to get rides to cooling centers and others endured such long wait times to request a ride that they instead called 911.

Tuesday's report focused specifically on the Portland metropolitan area, where the death toll was highest.

More than three-quarters of those who died lived alone, 55% lived in apartments or other multi-unit housing and, of those, nearly half lived on the third floor or above. Almost a quarter had no source of cooling  not even a fan  while seven victims had air conditioning but it was broken or had not been turned on.

Over 90% were white and 63% were male. Two people were found dead in their vehicles and one person who perished had an air conditioning unit that could not keep up with the scorching temperatures.

Most of the deaths were reported to authorities on or after June 29, when the worst of the heat had passed, authorities said.

I think we've learned a really hard lesson and I'm sorry that we're going to using this event in the future to help convey the risk that heat poses," said Dr. Jennifer Vines, a county health officer.

In advance of the heat, authorities opened three cooling centers and nine libraries for those without air conditioning. County employees also called and sent text messages to thousands of vulnerable residents enrolled in various assistance programs and instructed property managers and developers of low-income housing to check on their residents twice a day during the peak heat.

Dozens of teams also roamed the city handing out water, wet towels, misting devices and electrolytes and checking on the homeless population.

A total of three people died in two different apartment complexes dedicated to housing vulnerable people, many of them transitioning from homelessness or recovering from drug addiction. Two more died in an assisted living facility; those deaths are being referred to the state for further investigation.

County employees worked through the night, every night," Kafoury said. And that's why when death reports started to come in we were devastated and we still are devastated.

___

Follow Gillian Flaccus on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/gflaccus
Images of a glass octopus with transparent skin have been captured by marine scientists exploring seamounts in the Pacific Ocean, giving researchers a rare glimpse of the elusive sea creature.

The octopus, known as Vitreledonella richardi, has only a few visible features - its optic nerve, eyeballs and digestive tract - and has been rarely filmed, despite scientists knowing of its existence for more than 100 years.

Due to a lack of live footage, researchers have been forced to study the animal by analysing specimens found in the gut contents of predators.

Marine scientists aboard a research vessel for the Schmidt Ocean Institute, an oceanographic research group, captured two sightings of the octopus during their expedition near the Phoenix Islands Archipelago.

The researchers spent 34 days conducting high-resolution seafloor mapping of more than 30,000 square kilometres and video exploration of five additional seamounts.

Working with scientists and local researchers, this expedition is a remarkable example of the frontiers of science and exploration that we are able to support, Dr Jyotika Virmani, executive director of the Schmidt Ocean Institute, said in a statement on the trip.

Live-streaming the dives gives us a glimpse of rarely seen and fascinating creatures such as the transparent glass octopus.

By providing this platform to further the understanding of our ocean, we trigger the imagination while helping to push forward scientific insights and the protection of our underwater world.

The research teams underwater robot, named SuBastian, also captured footage for the first time of a rare whale shark that is thought to be more than 40 feet in length.

In addition, scientists witnessed unusual marine behaviour, such as crabs stealing fish from one another, during their 21 expedition dives - which totalled more than 182 hours of exploration on the seafloor.

The Ocean holds wonders and promises we havent even imagined, much less discovered, Wendy Schmidt, co-founder of the Schmidt Ocean Institute, commented on the research.

Expeditions like these teach us why we need to increase our efforts to restore and better understand marine ecosystems everywhere  because the great chain of life that begins in the ocean is critical for human health and wellbeing.
A 10-year-old girl is one of three victims of an acid attack in north London, police have confirmed.

A 36-year-old woman, and a 43-year-old man were also injured in the attack, the Metropolitan Police told The Independent.

No motive has been established and no arrests have yet been made, the spokeswoman added.

Police are appealing for information in their investigation into the attack that happened on Monday 12 July.

Officers were called to a block of flats in the Beaufort Park area of Colindale at approximately 7.20pm.

The three people were injured after a corrosive substance was thrown at them, the Met Police said.

They were taken to hospital and, at this stage, their conditions are not thought to be life threatening, the force added. The victims have since been discharged.

Some officers were also treated at the scene for the effects of the substance, and none of their conditions are thought to be serious.

Pictures of the scene show emergency services vehicles, including fire engines, on the residential street.

Detective Sergeant Ewa Czura said: It is vital that we identify the suspect responsible for this attack and we need the publics help. If you were in the area and witnessed the incident or have any information that could assist, I urge you to come forward and speak to police.

The information you have might be essential to our investigation and help to bring justice to the victims and their family.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 or tweet @MetCC and quote CAD 6733/12July.

You can also provide information anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
A murder investigation has been launched following the death of a woman in a house fire in Manchester.

Police arrested a woman, 33, on suspicion of murder following the blaze at an address in Darras Road in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Emergency services were called to reports of the fire at 2.30am on Tuesday but were unable to save the victim, who was pronounced dead at the scene. She has not yet been identified.

Police and firefighters are investigating the circumstances of the fire and the suspect has been taken into custody for questioning.

Detective Superintendent Amber Waywell, of Greater Manchester Police, said: "This is a devastating incident in which a woman has tragically lost her life.

I would like to reassure the public that this is being treated as an isolated incident and there will be an increased emergency services presence in the area as we work to establish the full circumstances surrounding this death.

Although we have arrested an individual, our investigation is still in its early stages and we are continuing to follow a number of lines of enquiry. If you have any information at all which could assist with our enquiries please do not hesitate to contact police as soon as possible.

A cordon remained at the house as investigations continued on Tuesday.

Police asked anyone with information to share it online, using the LiveChat function at www.gmp.police.uk, calling 101 quoting log 228 of 13/07/21, or anonymously via the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Jamaicas Opposition Leader, numerous equalities campaigners and organisations are calling for the Queen to be removed as the nations head of state as the government prepares to lobby Britain for slavery reparations.

Mark Golding, who took over premiership of the Peoples National Party (PNP) in November 2020, described the measure as being of vital importance, particularly in the wake of the Black Lives Matter resurgence and global discourse around colonialism.

This comes as it emerged that the countrys government, headed up by the Jamaican Labour Party, is preparing a petition to the Queen for compensation for the transatlantic slave trade.

I think the matters of removing the Queen as our head of state and reparations for slavery are very significant; theyre fundamental to our identity and our nationhood, the leader told The Independent.

I dont think that one could argue that we are fully independent when our head of state is somebody who lives on the other side of the Atlantic ocean and isnt a Jamaican. From my perspective, and that of the Peoples National Party, this is something that we have been committed to for a long time and we continue to be committed to it.

He added: There is, as I understand it, bi-partisan support on the matter of removing the Queen as our Head of State in Jamaica, to having a Jamaican person as our Head of State through a non-executive presidency within the Commonwealth; similar what Trinidad did some decades ago. That has been something that both parties have committed themselves to.

The Queen leaving the Palace of Westminster after the State Opening of Parliament in 1964. (PA)

The Jamaican Governments call for reparations reflects the 10 Point Reparations Plan by CARICOM, the Caribbeans regional government body, established in 2013.

The PNP tabled a motion for parliamentary debate regarding the matter months ago but it has not yet been brought forward for debate because the government has not facilitated it, the party leader said.

The legal procedure for removing the Queen, also referred to as the Queen of Jamaica, as head of state is intricate.

Legislation must be approved by a two thirds majority in both Houses of Parliament - the Representatives and the Senate - and then it has to be put to the people of Jamaica through a referendum.

That procedure has not been followed and I think it is probably because the nature of it, in particular the referendum aspect of it, why it hasnt happened before, Mr Golding said.

The experience with referendum is one where often other issues come into play and its treated as referendum on the government of the day, rather than a referendum on the specific issue on the ballot; so I think governments are typically fairly cautious or reluctant to embark upon the procedure.

The only time Jamaica had a referendum was, the year before independence, to decide whether or not the island should remain in the West Indies Federation.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness (Jamaican Government)

In its 2016 manifesto, Jamaicas current government, under Andrew Holness, committed to addressing the matter around removing the Queen.

The PNP, similarly, had identified this as an area of concern during Portia Simpson-Millers administration from 2012 -2016.

The party also moved for Jamaica to move away from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, with its colonial roots, as the islands final court of appeal to the Caribbean Court of Justice. However, this move was blocked by the JLP - the Opposition at the time.

Last week Andrew Holness was appointed a member of the Queens Privy Council - a body of advisors to the sovereign - which, critics argue, indicates a willingness to be closer to the crown, not sever ties with it.

For Carolyn Cooper, Professor Emerita at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica, removing the Queen as head of state and demanding reparations go hand in hand. Its a question of long-overdue liberation, she suggests, and both are equally important.

Its high time for Jamaica to complete the process of emancipation from the British monarchy, Ms Cooper told The Independent.

Flag independence means nothing much as long as the Queen of England remains Jamaicas head of state.

Jamaicans must assert our right to reparations for the atrocities perpetrated against enslaved Africans. But our continued dependence on the Queen of England as our head of state implies acceptance of the monarchys right to rule.

This diminishes our claim for reparations. Seeking reparations from your head of state is ludicrous; the reparations imperative is organically related to fracturing the ties with the British monarchy.

Dr Carolyn Cooper (Supplied)

Barbados recently announced its intention to become a Republic.

Governor General Sandra Mason confirmed that by 30 November 2021, on the 55th anniversary of the countrys independence, Barbados will break the British monarchy and instead swear in a Bajan president as head of state.

Responding to this, Ms Cooper said: If Barbados, long known as Little England, can claim a new identity as a republic, Jamaica, most certainly, must shed the burden of our colonial past, especially given our long history of fierce resistance to imperialism.

Maxine Stowe, Intellectual Property Consultant & Director at Rastafari Millennium Council in Jamaica, echoed this view.

The Queens departure should be phased as a part of the Reparatory framework and a full accounting of all assets currently owned and operated by the Crown should be made public with a clear understanding of who is going to own and administer these assets, she told The Independent.

The Jamaican political system has been hampered by Garrisonization and, so, the Queens removal would have to be replaced by a transparent and egalitarian system and not be dogged by a semi-Haiti situation where a large portion of the voting population is held under political patronage.

Maxine Stowe, Intellectual Property Consultant & Director, Rastafari Millennium Council (Supplied)

The Queen cannot leave African descendants of Jamaica in political and economic conditions not settled through reparations.

In terms of who would be in charge of the reparations and its dispensation, Ms Stowe said the Jamaican governments call for the measure must be as an endorsement and robust funding of a collective independent civil society grouping represented by human rights and business lawyers that head de-colonization process and that they represent in State to State negotiations.

She added: The history of independent Jamaican government towards African descendants and culture is one of oppression and non protection. Jamaica at the same time should be accorded State status in the African Union with more bilateral arrangements connecting civil societies.

Abu Akil, the co-chair of the Global Afrikan Congress (GAC), said: GAC recognises that the legacy of colonism, needs to be challenged, in order to reinstate the humanity of Afrikan people.

The Jamaican people and its government will become more independent by removing the Queen as head of state. This will bring to an end, the ludicrous situation of Jamaicas prime ministers reporting to a Governor general who reports to the Queen, while being paid by the Jamaican people, most of whom continue to pay the price of enslavement.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: Regarding removing the Queen as Head of State, this is a matter for the people of Jamaica. With regards to the petition for reparations, this is a matter for the Government.

The Jamaican government has been approached for comment.
Boris Johnson must begin delivering on his levelling up agenda at pace if real progress is to be made this summer, a 50-strong group of northern Conservative MPs has demanded.

Calling on the prime minister to show the north some love, the Northern Research Group (NRG) urged the government to commit to a further year of funding for so-called red wall seats.

Publishing a 10-point plan, the group said road tax must be abolished and also demanded the end of fuel duty, which it suggested should be placed a with a road pricing system with revenue raised retained in the north.

The NRG added that central government should automatically provide special grants under the towns fund scheme to deprived areas outside of London  ensuring an equal process.

The policy demands comes as Mr Johnson prepares to deliver a keynote speech on Thursday on his election slogan promise to level up the country, with pledges to to rejuvenate the high street as Covid restrictions are eased.

Chairman of the NRG Jake Berry said: We have been in lockdown longer than any other area of the country. Its time for the government to show the north some love with a summer of levelling up for the north.

People in the north want their children to be able to get a world-class education and then good, well-paying jobs locally rather than being forced to migrate southwards.

He added: This is an opportunity for the government to reaffirm its commitment to the north, on which the prime minister now relies on for his majority in Parliament, by encouraging investment and getting jobs and industry back in the north.

Since December 2019 we have heard a lot about plans to level up the north, now is the time to show how we can deliver. Our 10-point plan cuts through the red tape that Whitehall departments try to tie this whole agenda down with.

No one in the north cares about internal governmental turf wars. They want real jobs, real change, and real opportunities. Its time to start delivering an ambitious programme at pace if we are going to see real progress this summer.

Earlier this week, the NRG also demanded the government drops its plans to cut the 20 universal credit uplift, telling The Independent the increased payments had been a life-saver for many during the crisis.

Keeping the uplift is not a zero-sum game for the government. Many people on universal credit are in work or want to be in work and we shouldnt pull the rug from under their feet, the group said.

Ahead of Mr Johnsons speech on Thursday, a government spokesperson said: The prime minister is determined to level up the UK and deliver a fairer, stronger society  one where whatever your background and wherever you live, everyone can access the opportunities they need to succeed.

While talent and potential is distributed evenly across the country, opportunity is not.

Thats why, as we emerge from the pandemic, its vital that we do not make the mistakes of the recovery from the financial crash, and seize this moment to ensure a better quality of life for people in every part of the UK.
MPs have blood on their hands after backing a government plan that indefinitely extends a 4bn-a-year cut to the UKs international aid to the worlds poorest people, international development charities have said.

One anti-poverty campaign said that maintaining the reduction in aid spending from 0.7 to 0.5 per cent of national income at a time of the worst humanitarian crisis in a generation was a retreat from British values akin to cutting the RAF during the Battle of Britain.

And others warned that the UKs standing on the international stage would be damaged, making a mockery of Boris Johnsons claims to be delivering a global Britain agenda.

Theresa May was among 24 Conservative MPs to rebel against Mr Johnsons plans, accusing the government of turning its back on some of the poorest people in the world.

The former prime minister defied a three-line whip for the first time in 24 years as an MP, telling the Commons: We made a promise to the poorest people in the world. The government has broken that promise. This motion means that promise may be broken for years to come.

Also voting to restore the 0.7 per cent commitment  signed into law by David Cameron and repeated in Mr Johnsons 2019 election manifesto  were former cabinet ministers Jeremy Hunt, David Davis, Damian Green, Karen Bradley, Stephen Crabb and Andrew Mitchell, along with the chairs of the Commons foreign affairs and defence committees, Tom Tugendhat and Tobias Ellwood.

But hopes of a revolt of 50 or more failed to materialise, with a number of vocal opponents of the cuts melting away following the offer of a compromise from the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, allowing a comfortable government victory by 333 votes to 298.

Mr Sunaks plan will trigger a return to the United Nations target for overseas aid spending only when underlying debt is falling and day-to-day spending can be met without unsustainable borrowing. He warned that if it was rejected by MPs, tax rises and cuts to domestic spending would be needed to restore the commitment from January 2022.

Mr Johnson said that the plan would provide certainty for our aid budget and an affordable path back to 0.7 per cent, while also allowing investment in other priorities, including the NHS, schools and the police.

But Mr Mitchell denounced the plan as a fiscal trap that could put off a return to the UN target forever. Mr Sunaks conditions had been met only once in the past 20 years, he told MPs.

The Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, said that cutting aid for the worlds poorest during a pandemic was callous and not in our national interest and would damage the UKs image around the world.

And the Liberal Democrats Sir Ed Davey said the Conservative government had lost touch with the values of our country, predicting that traditional Tory voters in Blue Wall seats of southern England would desert the party in droves as a result.

Former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said the rebellion was not big enough, tweeting: For colleagues who stood on manifesto after manifesto committed to this, its a bloody disgrace.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a 7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe PA UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the worlds first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the Mary Shelleys House of Frankenstein experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July PA UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford PA UK news in pictures 12 July 2021 A local resident puts love hearts and slogans on the plastic that covers offensive graffiti on the vandalised mural of Manchester United striker and England player Marcus Rashford on the wall of a cafe on Copson Street, Withington in Manchester Getty Images UK news in pictures 11 July 2021 England's Bukayo Saka with manager Gareth Southgate after the match Pool via Reuters UK news in pictures 10 July 2021 Australias Ashleigh Barty holds the trophy after winning her final Wimbledon match against Czech Republics Karolina Pliskova Reuters UK news in pictures 9 July 2021 England 1966 World Cup winner Sir Geoff Hurst stands on top of a pod on the lastminute.com London Eye wearing a replica 1966 World Cup final kit and looking out towards Wembley Stadium in the north of the capital, where the England football team will play Italy in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday PA UK news in pictures 8 July 2021 Karolina Pliskova celebrates after defeating Aryna Sabalenka during the women's singles semifinals match on day ten of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London AP UK news in pictures 7 July 2021 The residents of Towfield Court in Feltham have transformed their estate with England flags for the Euro 2020 tournament PA UK news in pictures 6 July 2021 A couple are hit by a wave as they walk along the promenade in Dover, Kent, during strong winds PA UK news in pictures 5 July 2021 Alexander Zverev playing against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round of the Gentlemen's Singles on Court 1 on day seven of Wimbledon at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club PA UK news in pictures 4 July 2021 Aaron Carty and the Beyonce Experience perform on stage during UK Black Pride at The Roundhouse in London Getty for UK Black Pride UK news in pictures 3 July 2021 Englands Jordan Henderson celebrates after scoring his first international goal, his sides fourth against Ukraine during the Euro 2020 quarter final match at the Olympic stadium in Rome AP UK news in pictures 2 July 2021 Dan Evans serves against Sebastian Korda during their mens singles third round match at Wimbledon Getty UK news in pictures 1 July 2021 Prince William, left and Prince Harry unveil a statue they commissioned of their mother Princess Diana, on what would have been her 60th birthday, in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, London AP UK news in pictures 30 June 2021 Dancers from the Billingham Festival and Balbir Singh Dance Company, during a preview for the The Two Fridas, UK Summer tour, presented by Billingham International Folklore Festival of World Dance in collaboration with Balbir Singh Dance Company, inspired by the life and times of female artists Frida Kahlo and Amrita Sher-Gil , which opens on July 10 at Ushaw Historic House, Chapel and Gardens in Durham PA UK news in pictures 29 June 2021 A boy kicks a soccer ball in front of the balconies and landings adorned with predominantly England flags at the Kirby housing estate in London AP UK news in pictures 28 June 2021 Emergency services attend a fire nearby the Elephant & Castle Rail Station in London Getty UK news in pictures 27 June 2021 People walk along Regent Street in central London during a #FreedomToDance march organised by Save Our Scene, in protest against the governments perceived disregard for the live music industry throughout the coronavirus pandemic PA UK news in pictures 26 June 2021 A pair of marchers in a Trans Pride rally share a smile in Soho Angela Christofilou/The Independent UK news in pictures 25 June 2021 Tim Duckworth during the Long Jump in the decathlon during day one of the Muller British Athletics Championships at Manchester Regional Arena PA UK news in pictures 24 June 2021 A member of staff poses with the work 'The Death of Cash' by XCopy at the 'CryptOGs: The Pioneers of NFT Art' auction at Bonhams auction house in London EPA UK news in pictures 23 June 2021 Bank of England Chief Cashier Sarah John displays the new 50-pound banknote at Daunt Books in London Bank of England via Reuters UK news in pictures 22 June 2021 Actor Isaac Hampstead Wright sits on the newly unveiled Game of Throne's "Iron Throne" statue, in Leicester Square, in London, Tuesday, June 22, 2021. The statue is the tenth to join the trail and commemorates 10 years since the TV show first aired, as well as in anticipation for HBO's release of House of the Dragon set to be released in 2022 AP UK news in pictures 21 June 2021 Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon receives her second dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 20 June 2021 Joyce Paton, from Peterhead, on one of the remaining snow patches on Meall aBhuiridh in Glencoe during the Midsummer Ski. The event, organised by the Glencoe Mountain Resort, is held every year on the weekend closest to the Summer Solstice PA UK news in pictures 19 June 2021 England appeal LBW during day four of their Womens International Test match against India at the Bristol County Ground PA UK news in pictures 18 June 2021 Scotland fans let off flares in Leicester Square after Scotland's Euro 2020 match against England ended in a 0-0 draw Getty UK news in pictures 17 June 2021 Members of the Tootsie Rollers jazz band pose on the third day of the Royal Ascot horse racing meet AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 16 June 2021 A woman and child examine life-size sculptures of a herd of Asian elephants set up by the Elephant Family and The Real Elephant Collective to help educate the public on the elephants and the ways in which humans can better protect the planets biodiversity, in Green Park, central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 June 2021 Hydrotherapists with Dixie, a seven-year-old Dachshund who is being treated for back problems common with the breed, in the hydrotherapy pool during a facility at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home's in Battersea, London, to view their new hydrotherapy centre PA UK news in pictures 14 June 2021 Scotland's David Marshall in the net after Czech Republic's Patrik Schick scored their second goal at Hampden Park Reuters UK news in pictures 13 June 2021 Raheem Sterling celebrates with Harry Kane after scoring Englands first goal of the Euro 2021 tournament in a match against Croatia at Wembley Reuters UK news in pictures 12 June 2021 Oxfam campaigners wearing costumes depicting G7 leaders pose for photographers on Swanpool Beach near Falmouth, Cornwall EPA UK news in pictures 11 June 2021 Members of the Vaxinol team, who are commercial, industrial and residential cleaners specialising in disinfection and decontamination, use electrostatic spray systems to deep clean the Only Fools Bar in Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 10 June 2021 A woman walks her dogs as the incoming tide begins to wash away the heads of G7 leaders drawn in the sand by activists on the beach at Newquay, Cornwall AP UK news in pictures 9 June 2021 Adam Chamberlain, 45, general manager of Big Tree pub in Sheffield, has put up over 500 flags, taking 36 hours, in preparation for Euro 2020, which kicks off this weekend Tom Maddick / SWNS UK news in pictures 8 June 2021 REUTERS UK news in pictures 7 June 2021 A pedestrian wearing a face covering walks over Westminster Bridge near the Houses of Parliament in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 6 June 2021 Isobel Salamon, founder of the Edinburgh Cinema Club, poses alongside the Leith Trainspotting murals in Quality Yard, Leith, Edinburgh, for the programme launch of the Cinescapes Festival which starts on July 4 with a Trainspotting 1 and 2 double bill PA UK news in pictures 5 June 2021 A long exposure photograph captures the rotation of the earth as the stars blur into circles over Knowlton church ruins in Dorset Nick Lucas/SWNS UK news in pictures 4 June 2021 Balloonists take flight during the opening of the Midlands Air Festival in Alcester, Warwickshire PA UK news in pictures 3 June 2021 Members of the Household Cavalry during the Major General's annual inspection of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment in Hyde Park, London PA UK news in pictures 2 June 2021 Hannah Vitos of the Blenheim Art Foundation, poses for a photograph next to artist Ai Weiwei's Gilded Cage (2017) sculpture in the grounds of Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 1 June 2021 People swim in the Sky Pool, a transparent swimming pool bridge across two exclusive residential blocks standing next to the US Embassy in Nine Elms, in London, Tuesday, June 1, 2021 AP UK news in pictures 31 May 2021 People enjoy the hot weather at Brighton beach Reuters UK news in pictures 30 May 2021 People venture into the sea as they enjoy themselves during a hot day on Brighton Beach AP UK news in pictures 29 May 2021 Swimmers at the Stonehaven Open Air Pool in Aberdeenshire, which reopens after lockdown restrictions were eased PA UK news in pictures 28 May 2021 Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he meets Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at Downing Street in London REUTERS

Speaking after the vote, Mr Sunak said that the outcome had made the 0.7 per cent commitment more secure for the long-term while helping the government to fix the problems with our public finances and continue to deliver for our constituents today in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

But Oxfam GB chief executive Danny Sriskandarajah described it as a disaster for the worlds poorest people.

With more people in need of humanitarian assistance than at any time since the Second World War, aid is needed more than ever, Mr Sriskandarajah said.

We are seeing a yawning gap between the rhetoric of Global Britain and the reality of a government breaking its promises to the worlds poorest and further undermining the UKs credibility on the international stage. These cuts wont balance the books; the government is putting politics above the lives of worlds most vulnerable communities.

Kirsty ONeill of Save the Children said that the outcome of the vote made an indefinite reduction to UK aid spending almost certain.

Children will die as a result, she warned.

We have seen already the immense damage caused in some of the worlds poorest and most fragile countries  from 40 per cent cuts in aid for Yemen to 85 per cent cuts in British support for family planning.

The vote today means that the cuts will not stop there. Faced by the biggest humanitarian crisis in a generation, the UK has stepped back when it needed to step up, and the consequences will be felt for years to come.

Daniel Willis, campaigns and policy manager at Global Justice Now, said that government claims that aid cuts were needed to help pay down the 400bn cost of the pandemic failed to take into account the fact that the 0.7 per cent commitment already provided for automatically reduced spending in difficult economic times.

When the inevitable death and suffering from aid cuts hits the news, each and every MP who has voted to sever the UKs 0.7 per cent commitment should know that blood is on their hands, he said. Today, claims of Global Britain ring hollow.

The UK director of the anti-poverty One Campaign, Romilly Greenhill, said: Todays result is a needless retreat from the world stage, enforced by the Treasury, at the exact moment the UK should be showing leadership and stepping up to the greatest global crises in our lifetimes.

Its akin to cutting the RAF during the Battle of Britain.

This so-called compromise effectively means the end of the 0.7 per cent commitment and will diminish Britains global standing.
Police Scotland have opened a formal investigation into the SNPs finances after complaints were made around the use of donations to Nicola Sturgeons party.

It follows allegations that 600,000 raised for campaigning towards Scottish independence was diverted elsewhere.

Scotlands first minister has consistently denied any money has gone missing  saying the SNPs finances have been independently audited.

Two SNP MPs quit the ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) in May, citing a lack of transparency from the party.

On Tuesday, a Police Scotland spokeswoman said the national force had received seven complaints in relation to donations that were made to the Scottish National Party.

She added: After assessment and consultation with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, we will now carry out an investigation ... Anyone who has any information which may assist with this investigation is asked to contact police.

Police did not say exactly which donations the investigation relates to. In May, SNP MPs Douglas Chapman and Joanna Cherry resigned from the partys executive committee.

Mr Chapman had been the SNPs national treasurer and said he had not been given enough information to do his job despite having a resounding mandate from members to introduce more transparency into the partys finances.

In June, Ms Sturgeon told STV News: Im not concerned about the partys finances. The finances of the SNP are independently audited ... so theres full scrutiny around that.

She added: Money hasnt gone missing ... We dont hold separate accounts, were under no legal requirement to do that, our accounts are managed on a cash-flow basis.

But every penny we raise to support the campaign for independence will be spent on the campaign for independence.

An SNP spokesman said: We will cooperate fully with any investigation.

Scottish Tory MSP Stephen Kerr responded: The SNP have failed to be fully transparent over this funding for months.

The public to deserve to know the truth. It is only right that Police Scotland are stepping up their investigations, having received numerous complaints.

Earlier on Tuesday, Ms Sturgeon said the requirement to wear face coverings in public places will remain in Scotland, despite Boris Johnsons decision to end a legal requirement to do so in England on 19 July.

The first minister said all of Scotland would move to Level 0 of lockdown measures from the start of next week  but with some modifications to original plans.
Protesters clashed with police in several areas of South Africa and looters ransacked shopping malls on Tuesday as frustrations over poverty and inequality boiled over into the countrys worst unrest in years.

Security officials said the government was working to ensure the violence and looting did not spread further, but they stopped short of declaring a state of emergency.

No amount of unhappiness or personal circumstances from our people gives the right to anyone to loot, vandalise and do as they please and break the law, Police Minister Bheki Cele told a news conference.

The violence was triggered by the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma as his supporters took to the streets last week, but the situation has evolved into an outpouring of anger over persistent poverty and inequality in South Africa 27 years after the end of apartheid.

The economic impact of Covid-19 restrictions has exacerbated the problems.

Troops were moving in to flashpoints on Tuesday as outnumbered police seemed helpless to prevent attacks and looting on businesses in Mr Zumas home province KwaZulu-Natal and in Gauteng province, where the countrys biggest city, Johannesburg, is located. Columns of armoured personnel carriers rolled down highways.

Up to 30 people have been killed during the unrest, four in Gauteng and 26 in KwaZulu-Natal, according to state and provincial authorities. Police Minister Cele put the official death toll at 10.

Shops, petrol stations and government buildings have been forced to close. Looters carried off items ranging from beer and foodstuffs to household appliances, footage showed, and at least one shopping mall was completely trashed.

On the streets, protesters hurled stones and police who responded with rubber bullets, Reuters witnesses said.

In some areas of the coastal city of Durban where shops were being looted, there was no police visibility, a Reuter witness said. At a mall in Johannesburgs Soweto township, police and military were patrolling as shop owners assessed the damage.

Mr Cele said 757 people had been arrested so far. He said the government would act to prevent it from spreading further and warned that people would not be allowed to make a mockery of our democratic state.

Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, speaking at the same news conference, said she did not think a state of emergency should be imposed yet.

Mr Zuma, 79, was sentenced last month for defying a constitutional court order to give evidence at an inquiry investigating high-level corruption during his nine years in office until 2018.

The decision to jail him resulted from legal proceedings seen as a test of post-apartheid South Africas ability to enforce the rule of law, including against powerful politicians.

But any confrontation with soldiers risks fuelling charges by Mr Zuma and his supporters that they are victims of a politically motivated crackdown by his successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The violence worsened as Mr Zuma challenged his 15-month jail term in South Africas top court on Monday. Judgement was reserved until an unspecified date.

But the deteriorating situation pointed to wider problems and unfulfilled expectations that followed the end of white minority rule in 1994 and the election of Nelson Mandela in South Africas first free and democratic vote.

The economy is struggling to emerge from the damage wrought by Africas worst Covid-19 epidemic, forcing it to repeatedly impose restrictions on businesses that have hurt an already fragile recovery.

The crisis may have widened the gulf between haves and have-nots. Growing joblessness has left people ever more desperate. Unemployment stood at a new record high of 32.6 per cent in the first three months of 2021.

But in an address on Monday night, Mr Ramaphosa said: What we are witnessing now are opportunistic acts of criminality, with groups of people instigating chaos merely as a cover for looting and theft.

Reuters
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has purportedly confessed to "messing up" his marriage to his ex-wife Melinda French Gates, according to a report.

The New York Post reported that the tech giant made the comments during an off the record question-and-answer session at an exclusive Sun Valley conference last week.

CNBC host Becky Quick reportedly questioned Mr Gates about his divorce, which the couple announced in May this year after 27 years of marriage.

He fessed up to messing up, an unnamed attendee reportedly told The Post. He basically referred to the fact that it [the divorce] was his fault.

Rumours have been swirling around the power couples relationship ever since the pair publicly announced their split. Mr Gates has also faced increased scrutiny over his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein since the divorce was announed.

After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage, the pair previously said in a joint statement on Twitter.

They added: We no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this next life.

The couple works together to run the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the largest private charity in the world. The couple will continue to work together as co-chairs of their foundation even after their planned divorce.

In the event that after two years the couple decides they do not wish to continue working together, Ms French Gates will resign her positions as co-chair and trustee, the charity said last week.

In the weeks following, The Wall Street Journal reported the billionaire had previously had an affair at Microsoft almost 20 years ago and that the company conducted an investigation into the allegations in 2019.

A spokesperson for Mr Gates has acknowledged that there was an affair almost 20 years ago which ended amicably.

During the Allen & Co conference last week Mr Gates refrained from using the word affair when discussing the end of his marriage, an attendee told The Post.

The exclusive conference hosts around 300 to 400 people including some of the biggest names in business, politics and philanthropy.

The outlet reported that Mr Gates and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg were seen walking together on Thursday ahead of Mr Gates talk on climate change on Friday.

The Independent has contacted the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for comment.

Additional reporting by the Associated Press
A Burger King restaurant in Nebraska has had a message on its sign outside the restaurant go viral on social media after disgruntled staff spoke out.

The poster above the restaurant in the city of Lincoln read, WE ALL QUIT and SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.

Former general manager Rachel Flores told ABC 8 News about the staffs decision.

She said, They wanted to put up a sign to say, you know sorry theres really not going to be anyone here.

Just kind of a laugh to upper management. That got put up yesterday before we opened, and I didnt think anybody was going to notice it, because we did just one sign, and then it went pretty crazy on Facebook. I got a call from my upper management and they told me I needed to take it down.

Ms Flores said that she had only been in the job since the beginning of the year due to the high level of staff turnover.

They have gone through so many district managers since Ive been GM, she said. No one has come to the store to help me out. Theyre so in and out.

Ms Flores was ultimately fired over the sign that went up over the weekend of 10 July. It is believed that the location is still open and struggling with low staffing levels.

According to the two former employees who spoke to ABC 8, there are similar problems to the ones they outlined at other branches of the burger chain across the city.

Currently, there is a national shortage of service workers as people have chosen either to leave the industry or dont feel safe returning to crowded indoor spaces amid the Covid-19 pandemic. In June, the sector was down 2.2 million jobs as people are hesitant to return a job with such low pay and often no employer provided healthcare provision.

Weve been through a period of so much stress and uncertainty, and its made people really pause and consider what they want their lives to look like as things move back toward normal, Alison Green, work blogger at Ask A Manager, told PBS News Hour.
A former member of a white supremacist gang was sentenced to six months in jail after he pleaded guilty on Monday to a misdemeanour related to the 6 January Capitol insurrection.

Capitol rioter Michael Curzio would be released on Wednesday, two days after being sentenced to six months in jail, as he has already served time since mid January.

"Mr Curzio should be sentenced to the six-month statutory maximum," Judge Carl Nichols said at a hearing. "I am not in a position to be able to impose a longer sentence than that. I think that a six-month sentence is appropriate here. Mr Curzio will have, in two days, served that entire sentence."

Curzio, 35, from Summerfield, Florida, is the second person to be sentenced among more than 500 people who were charged with federal crimes related to the storming of Capitol on 6 January.

An Indiana woman who pleaded guilty to some of the charges was the first person to be sentenced. She was ordered to serve three years on probation, perform 120 hours of community service and pay a fee as compensation.

Curzio confessed he joined a white supremacist group citing his own protection as the reason while he was in prison for attempted murder. He served an eight-year sentence for shooting his ex-girlfriends new boyfriend.

He previously said he was no longer associated with the gang called the Unforgiven but still has a Nazi symbol tattoo.

He was involved in unlawful protest inside the building and was part of the mob near the door to the House atrium that refused to leave, authorities said.

His attorney said his sentence was "harsher than it should have been because of his criminal history.

He didnt attack anybody. He didnt break anything. He was just walking around the building like a lot of other people were," attorney A Eduardo Balarezo said in an interview.

While pleading guilty during the virtual hearing, he said: "Im gonna own up," he said. "I did parade, demonstrate and picket (inside the Capitol). I cant deny that. You have it on video. Im not gonna contest it."

"Well, I didnt hear (the security) telling us to leave," Curzio said. "When law enforcement came in and started arresting people, they grabbed me. And obviously, I was in the wrong on that part. Once the officer told me I was under arrest, I was compliant."
New York police have released shocking footage of a man throwing burning liquid on a stranger in an unprovoked attack, in the hopes the public can help locate the assailant.

Police released footage of the unprovoked attack on Tuesday, which took place in midtown Manhattan on 5 July at approximately 10pm.

In the footage, a man can be seen running up to the 57-year-old victim before throwing an unknown substance on his back.

The man turns to look at the attacker but then suddenly falls to the ground apparently in pain as the suspect flees.

ABC7 reports that police say there were no words exchanged prior to or during the assault and says that the incident was unprovoked.

Reports said police described the suspect as an adult male with a light complexion who is between approximately five and seven feet tall and 130 pounds.

The man also had brown hair and brown eyes and was wearing black shorts and no shirt. The actions of the man are reported to constitute felony assault.

New York Police Department (NYPD) Sergeant Anwar Ishmael told Newsweek that the victim did not believe they knew the person behind the attack.

The New York Post reported that the victim admitted himself to Columbia University Irving Medical Center the day following and was treated for second-degree burns.

The NYPD said on Twitter that they would be offering a $3,500 reward for information that leads to the apprehension of the suspect.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is being asked to call the NYPDs Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).

The report of the attack comes only a day after the police department revealed its citywide crime statistics for the month of June.

According to the department, there were 2055 felony assaults across the month of June, up from 2039 in June 2020.

As summer proceeds, the NYPD remains focused on precision policing to reduce violence across all five boroughs, police said in a release.
Miamis Palmetto Expressway was brought to a halt by protesters showing support for the people of Cuba, after the biggest anti-government protests on the island in three decades.

Traffic was stopped in both directions, as demonstrators marched on the Miami-Dade highway.

More than 100 activists are being held by the authorities or are currently missing in Cuba, say campaigners.

Cuban authorities deployed riot police after the weekend saw some of the biggest protests to rock the island in perhaps 30 years.

The protests appear to have been triggered by a combination of mounting economic hardship, and the governments faltering response to a new spike in Covid infections. The fact that millions of people now have access to social media helped the protests spread.

On Tuesday it was reported that more than 100 activists had been arrested or else were missing. Reuters said the exiled rights group Cubalex had said some of those detained were arrested at the protests on Sunday, while others were detained as they sought to leave their homes.

Its becoming impossible to live here, one Havana resident, Maykel, 21, who declined to give his surname for fear of retaliation, told the news agency. I dont know if this can happen again, because at the moment, Havana is militarised.

He added: Still, Cubans are losing their fear.

Among those detained by the authorities was a journalist, Camila Acosta, who was working for Spains ABC newspaper.

Spanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares on Tuesday called on Cuba to immediately release Ms Acosta, who had been detained the day before.

Spain defends the right to demonstrate freely and peacefully and asks the Cuban authorities to respect it ... We demand the immediate release of Camila Acosta, tweeted Mr Albares,

On Sunday, Ms Acosta had posted a series of images and reports from the protests, that took place in several of the nations largest cities.

Today I witnessed the violence and repression against peaceful protesters in #LaHabana, of the hatred of the Cuban regime and its crude manipulations, she wrote in one post.

Those of us who take to the streets are motivated by the love of freedom and #Cuba, because we want to live in a better country, without hate.

It was also reported that a leading dissident was detained while trying to join a protest in Santiago, the countrys second largest city.

Many of the protesters were reportedly calling for the resignation of President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who also took on the portfolio of First Secretary of the Communist Party, after Raul Castro, brother of the late Fidel Castro, stood down in April.

Mr Diaz-Canel blamed the US economic blockade of the island, dating back as far as 1958, as adding to his nations problems.

Weve seen how the campaign against Cuba was growing on social media in the past few weeks, Mr Diaz-Canel said in a nationally televised appearance.

Thats the way its done: Try to create inconformity, dissatisfaction by manipulating emotions and feelings.

 Thousands rally against government in Cuba over food shortages and high prices

Meanwhile, Joe Biden, who had been in favour of normalising relations with Cuba when he was part of Barack Obamas administration, said Cuban protesters were asserting their basic rights.

We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cubas authoritarian regime, Mr Biden said in a statement.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, speaking at a news conference, said the tough situation in Cuba was basically due to the US economic embargo against the country.

His country has offered to help Cuba following the protests.

Additional reporting by agencies
Some of the suspects arrested in the assassination of Haitis president Jovenel Moise worked as informants for the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), according to reports.

One of the suspects in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise was a confidential source to the DEA, a DEA official was quoted as saying by the Reuters.

Last week, two Haitian-American men, Joseph Vincent, 55, and James Solages, 35, were arrested in connection with the assassination of the president.

The DEA did not specify who was the informant, but said the person was not an active informant at the time of the killing.

Following the assassination of President Moise, the suspect reached out to his contacts at the DEA, the agency said in a statement quoted by news channel CNN.

A DEA official assigned to Haiti urged the suspect to surrender to local authorities and, along with a US State Department official, provided information to the Haitian government that assisted in the surrender and arrest of the suspect and one other individual, it added.

The agency also said it was aware that one of the gunmen who stormed the presidents residence last Wednesday was heard yelling This is a DEA operation. The agency denied its involvement, saying the gunmen were not acting on its behalf.

Meanwhile, Haitian authorities on Sunday arrested a third Haitian-American, Christian Emmanuel Sanon, 63, who has links to CTU Security, a Florida-based security firm that has been accused of hiring Colombian mercenaries to carry out the assassination.

Mr Sanon has been accused by Haitian authorities of orchestrating the attack.

Links between another suspect and the FBI have emerged as well.

People familiar with the matter told CNN that a suspect involved in the operation that killed Haitis president was working as an informant for the FBI.

However, the FBI in its formal response, declined to comment, saying it uses lawful sources to collect intelligence.

Earlier, a Haitian judge probing the assassination claimed Mr Vincent and Mr Solages told him that they were just translators for the hit squad and were not in the room when the president was killed.

Judge Clement Noel who interviewed the two accused as a part of the investigation, told the New York Times on Friday that the two said their goal was not to kill the president, but to bring him to the national palace.

Mr Moise was shot dead at his private residence on the outskirts of the capital, Port-au-Prince, during an attack in which his wife Martine was also seriously wounded.

Haitian authorities have so far arrested 18 Columbians and three Haitian-Americans over the assassination. No motive behind the murder, however, has been ascertained.

Additional reporting by agencies
This year sees the release of two new biopics about the serial killer Ted Bundy  with Hollywood facing criticism over the two trailers, which were released within days of one another.

Filmmakers have previously been accused of being obsessed with the killer, and bombarding audiences with movies about his life; with Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman starring Chad Michael Murray, and No Man of God, starring Elijah Wood and Luke Kirby, the latest films about Bundy to be released.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, a biopic about serial killer Ted Bundy, was released in 2019.

In that film, Zac Efron portrays the murderer in the Netflix film, while Lily Collins stars as Bundy's former girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer.

Bundy is believed to have started killing and assaulting women in the 1970s, murdering dozens of them until the end of the decade.

Here is what you should know about Bundy:

Who was Ted Bundy?

Theodore Robert Bundy was born on 24 November, 1946 in Burlington, Vermont, and grew up in Tacoma, Washington. He dropped out of college before returning to the University of Washington and obtaining a degree in psychology in 1970, per a New York Times article published in 1978 while he was on trial.

Best films of 2019 (so far) Show all 49 1 /49 Best films of 2019 (so far) Best films of 2019 (so far) The Favourite Macabre and fraught though The Favourite gets, this isnt so much a film about sex or power as it is about plain mischief. Its a hilarious, buffoonish pleasure, right down to the sets and costume design, and a breeze to spend 120 minutes with. Christopher Hooton Fox Searchlight Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Beautiful Boy Casting Chalamet as Nic was a very clever move. The young actor from Call Me by Your Name and Lady Bird has a natural charm and charisma. He still engages an audiences curiosity and sympathy even when his behaviour is at its most selfish and erratic. Geoffrey Macnab Amazon Studios Best films of 2019 (so far) The House by the Sea Guediguians storytelling style is deceptive. At first, it seems as if this is low-key social realism in the Dardennes or Ken Loach mould, albeit set on the French Riviera. Gradually, though, we realise how stylised and theatrical his approach really is. Geoffrey Macnab Best films of 2019 (so far) Stan & Ollie Director Jon S Baird, whose previous film was scabrous Irvine Welsh adaptation Filth, wrings every last drop of pathos he can from his material. This is very much a case of the tears of the clowns. Geoffrey Macnab Entertainment One Best films of 2019 (so far) Vice Vice is bravura storytelling. McKay isnt only taking us through Cheneys life and career but is giving us a whistle stop tour through US politics from the Nixon administration almost right to the present day. Geoffrey Macnab Annapurna Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Can You Ever Forgive Me? Playing Lee Israel, McCarthy manages something very special: she makes a character who is odd, obnoxious, difficult and alcoholic seem lovable and even heroic. The rest of the world is at fault, not Lee. Geoffrey Macnab Fox Searchlight Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Green Book "Green Book flatters the audience about its own good sense and tolerance. It deals with racism and homophobia but still has a fairytale, fantasy feel to it. Whatever humiliations Don endures on their road trip, we know no real harm will ever come to him as long as Tony is at his side. Geoffrey Macnab Universal Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Velvet Buzzsaw The golden age of bonkers horror movies is gloriously evoked by Netflixs latest feature length presentation. Beginning as a satire of the arts world, Velvet Buzzsaw swiftly and gleefully descends into a savage splatter-fest, smeared in paint, viscera and garishly-bright blood. Ed Power Netflix Best films of 2019 (so far) If Beale Street Could Talk The setting is New York in the 1970s. Anyone who has watched Martin Scorseses Taxi Driver knows this was an era of violence, corruption and sleaze on a monumental level, but [Barry] Jenkins somehow makes the city seem like a modern-day Eden. Geoffrey Macnab Annapurna Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) All Is True Written by Ben Elton and directed by its star Kenneth Branagh, the film plays so fast and loose with the playwrights final years that they neednt have bothered fitting Branagh with a prosthetic nose  accuracy is clearly not the priority here. Alexandra Pollard Sony Pictures Classics Best films of 2019 (so far) The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part "The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part is the doomed progeny of a celebrated genius  brilliant but slightly stunted by the knowledge they will never live up to their predecessor. Clarisse Loughrey Warner Bros. Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Piercing Nicolas Pesces sleek and stylish horror comedy is repulsive and funny by turns. In adapting Ryu Murakamis cult novel, Pesce strikes just the right balance between humour and Grand Guignol-style shock tactics. Geoffrey Macnab Universal Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Capernaum "The best moments here are remarkable. Labaki elicits an astonishing performance from her young lead. Hes an irrepressible figure with such an inbuilt sense of moral decency the film seems upbeat and optimistic, even at its darkest moments. Geoffrey Macnab Sony Pictures Classics Best films of 2019 (so far) The White Crow "Ralph Fiennes combines thriller elements with poetic flashbacks to ballet legend Rudolf Nureyevs childhood and keeps a tight focus on the dancer. When he is most at risk, Nureyev makes decisions with his artistic future more in mind than his personal safety. As Fiennes reminds us again and again in what is his best film yet as a director, the 'white crow' will do anything to put himself in the limelight, the one place he is convinced he belongs." StudioCanal Best films of 2019 (so far) Border "Border reverses the perspective taken by most other horror films. In more conventional genre fare, Tina and Vore would be portrayed as malevolent outsiders, but in the world conjured up by director Ali Abbasi, the humans are the monsters. Tina is the innocent  a visionary who hardly understands her own powers but who can sense human venality and corruption wherever it appears." TriArt Film Best films of 2019 (so far) Fighting with My Family "Certain scenes feel very trite and predictable but the film gets you in a choke hold early on and wont let you go. It is far more gripping than its subject matter might suggest. Who ever would believe a story about a wrestling family from Norwich could have quite such heart and resonance?" James Field Best films of 2019 (so far) Us "Doppelgangers abound in Jordan Peeles weird, creepy and ingenious new horror film. As in his Oscar-winning 2017 feature Get Out, Peele leavens matters with ironic humour but the joking becomes increasingly uncomfortable once the main characters come face to face with dark shadows of themselves which wish them extreme harm." AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Avengers: Endgame "The Avengers cycle comes to a rich and very satisfying conclusion with Endgame, surely the most complex and emotional superhero movie in Marvel history. At 181 minutes, this is a veritable epic, but with so many characters and plot strands, it fully warrants its lengthy running time." AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Eighth Grade "Its a rare and precious feeling when a film completely dismantles you. Eighth Grade  the directorial debut of US comedian Bo Burnham  breaks down every delusion we have about ourselves and burrows deep into those parts weve made such an effort to lock away. You may cry. You may shudder as every awkward social interaction thats kept you up at night replays in your head all at once. You may feel the sharp pain associated with those moments when you feel completely isolated from the world. Burnham may have crafted a simple story about the most ordinary of teenage girls, but it speaks with the emotions of a true cinematic epic." A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) Vox Lux "Natalie Portman gives her fiercest, most memorable performance since Black Swan in Brady Corbets enjoyably subversive satire about a troubled pop star whose loss of innocence mirrors the fall from grace of the US itself. Portmans character, Celeste, is certainly one of the most objectionable figures she has played: a pampered, hard-drinking drug-taking floozy whose appearance and high-handed behaviour rekindle memories of Liz Taylor and Joan Crawford at their monstrous worst." Neon Best films of 2019 (so far) High Life Robert Pattinson gives one of his most striking performances as Monte, the death-row criminal in outer space, tricked into making a voyage described at one stage as a class-one suicide ride. The former Twilight star makes his shaven-headed, gaunt-faced character seem hyper naturally sensitive and feral at the same time. A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) Amazing Grace Amazing Grace is as uplifting a film as you will see all year. Its a concert movie filmed over two nights and featuring Aretha Franklin, the first lady of soul, performing gospel standards in a church in Los Angeles in 1972, with a huge backing choir and an enthusiastic congregation. Neon Best films of 2019 (so far) Aladdin Disneys live-action remake of its 1992 animated feature is a rip-roaring, old-fashioned matinee-style spectacle that turns out far better than we had any right to expect. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Booksmart Olivia Wilde is a visually inventive director, who keeps the tempo here so brisk that we hardly notice how glib the storytelling sometimes becomes. We can tell exactly how the film will end, but it still feels original both in its screwball energy and in the deft way it continually reverses stereotypes and gender cliches. Geoffrey Macnab Annapurna Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Late Night Late Night is a caustic satirical comedy that turns into an unlikely tearjerker. Its by turns snide and uplifting, and often very funny too. Its writer/producer/star Mindy Kaling makes vicious observations about the inanity, narcissism and corruption of the mainstream US media at the same time as she celebrates the professionalism of many of those who work within it. The film has a glorious performance from Emma Thompson and a very sly one from Kaling. Thompson is at her most imperious as Katherine Newbury, a legendary entertainer, the only female in a male-dominated field, but one whose career is beginning to slide. Geoffrey Macnab Amazon Studios Best films of 2019 (so far) Gloria Bell Gloria Bell is somewhat exhausting  both unbearably intimate and at a constant remove  but it is endlessly pulled back into focus by Moore, who has a firm understanding of the delicate balance between contentment and yearning, joy and pain, recklessness and spontaneity. In a remake that could have felt indulgent in the hands of people less skilled, she more than justifies its existence. Geoffrey Macnab Curzon Best films of 2019 (so far) Toy Story 4 "The brilliance of the new film lies in the surefooted way it caters both for children too young to have seen its predecessors and for adults whove grown up (or grown older) watching the previous instalments. It takes some kind of genius for the Pixar animators to give such a searing emotional charge to a story in which one of the main characters is a single use plastic spork retrieved from the trash." Pixar/Disney Best films of 2019 (so far) In Fabric In Fabric feels like Peter Strickland at his most free and playful, drawing as much from the British sense of humour  dry and morbid to a fault  as from Italian glamour. Curzon Artificial Eye Best films of 2019 (so far) The Flood "Perhaps The Flood isnt quite the urgent, profound film a crisis of this scale deserves, but in a culture where refugees are so rarely shown any empathy in mainstream media, maybe this is the film we need right now." Best films of 2019 (so far) Midsommar "Ari Aster's follow-up to Hereditary serves up much of the same: its a break-up movie wrapped up in pagan horror. Its also bound to be one of this years most memorable films, proving that Aster is far from a one-hit wonder." A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) The Lion King "The Lion King is undoubtedly a technological marvel that, much like Avatar, will come to be viewed as a milestone in special effects history, yet its just as interesting to see how all this innovation has been employed." AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Varda by Agnes "For a film thats almost entirely narrated by Agnes Varda's own voice, it doesnt feel driven by ego, but by pure intellectual and emotional curiosity." Best films of 2019 (so far) Animals "Animals treats its subjects with patience and generosity. Youll find no life lessons here. Its main characters are free to pursue their desires, to whatever end." Best films of 2019 (so far) Blinded by the Light "Blinded by the Light offers not only a reminder of Springsteens lyrical genius, but of how hes always served as a beacon for the disenfranchised." Warner Brothers Best films of 2019 (so far) Good Boys Lined up against some of this years other more heartfelt offerings, including Booksmart, Good Boys offers further proof that putting a little humanity in our comedy always gets the best results. Best films of 2019 (so far) Hustlers "Hustlers is an electrifying response to the deluge of stories weve had over the years about very rich, very bad dudes. Finally, we can turn the tables on every film thats used women, specifically strippers, as decorative accessories to drape over businessmen as they conduct their illicit backroom meetings. Or, failing that, to shake their out-of-focus tits in the background of a shot." AP Best films of 2019 (so far) For Sama For Sama is one of the most profoundly intimate depictions of the Syrian conflict ever put to film. Its the push to help those on the outside process something so incomprehensible in the depth of its horrors. Republic Film Distribution Best films of 2019 (so far) Ad Astra The real drama here is not whether or not apocalypse can be avoided but whether Brad Pitts character can reconcile himself with his father and overcome his own extreme emotional repression. In other words, in spite of all the jargon and the hardware, this is an intimate family melodrama at heart. Thanks to Pitts performance and Grays delicate direction, it turns into a very moving one. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) The Farewell Wrapped up in all the intricacies of immigrant identity and family politics, The Farewell is a comedy of warmth and bracing honesty. Simply put, its one of the best films of the year. A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) Judy This is Renee Zellwegers Judy. It doesnt belong to Rupert Goold, its director. Nor does it belong to Tom Edge, its screenwriter. Its a performance of such overwhelming force that it wrests authorship from every other hand that guided the films creation. Pathe Best films of 2019 (so far) Ready or Not As absurd and self-indulgent as Ready or Not can get, it doesnt mess around with its social commentary. The class system is the game we never asked to play, dont get a fair chance at, and have no hope of winning. Its a timeless metaphor. 20th Century Fox Best films of 2019 (so far) A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon Despite its mouthful of a title, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon is an utter delight  proof that good storytelling and strong craft are what matters, however familiar the packaging. Studio Canal Best films of 2019 (so far) The Beach Bum Clearly, Harmony Korine is steered by his attraction to the theatrical, the absurd and the grimly nihilistic. The Beach Bum is all of that and absolutely none of it, too  a leisurely, neon-soaked stroll through chaos and hazy bohemia, full of slapstick and pathos. It is as much Korines most mature film as it is his most juvenile. Neon/Vice Best films of 2019 (so far) The Last Black Man in San Francisco Its a beautiful, frightening and tragic vignette of the urban nightmare, though The Last Black Man in San Francisco isnt really an angry film. Its less of a rallying cry against gentrification than a rumination on the kind of pained acceptance those who suffer its effects must face. A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) The Irishman Scorseses signature camerawork goes down like a glass of fine whisky, as smooth and as elegant as youd expect. The violence arrives in short, sharp shocks. Steven Zaillians screenplay even nails the mobster patter, with arguments about fish, tardiness, and business shorts that feel destined to one day be quoted to death. Netflix Best films of 2019 (so far) Le Mans '66 The films greatest trick is saved for its final reel. For much of its running time, youd be easily fooled into thinking Mangold had made a grand ode to the American dream. Its a film about an immigrant worker who, through perseverance and toil, gains the respect of one of the richest men in the country. And then the rug is pulled right out from underneath you. Le Mans 66 may relish in the high life, but its final moments feel devastatingly hollow. AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Marriage Story The film never loses its sense of humour and absurdity. Somehow, in spite of the bleakness of the subject matter, it feels more redemptive than despairing. Best films of 2019 (so far) The Report Adam Driver plays Jones, Annette Bening Senator Feinstein, and director Scott Z Burns captures the events in a cold, rigorously factual, and largely dispassionate manner. But thats the point. The Report chooses to value the truth over bombastic displays of morality. AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Knives Out Casting an ensemble film is a little like perfecting a cocktail blend, balancing flavours until they sing together in harmony. Knives Out hits the mark here: the actors all feel well-suited to their roles and they bounce off each other with ease. Lionsgate

Bundy later entered law school but abandoned those studies as well. By 1971, Bundy was volunteering at a suicide hotline where he met the true crime writer Ann Rule, who later authored the book The Stranger Beside Me about her friendship with Bundy.

Did Ted Bundy confess to his crimes?

Bundy confessed to 30 killings across seven states by the time of his death.

However, the actual death toll might be higher. Several unsolved murders have been linked to Bundy, even though evidence hasn't been sufficient to establish culpability.

Bundy himself suggested that the actual number of his victims might be higher.

When and how did he die?

Bundy was executed by electrocution on 24 January, 1989, after being convicted on three separate murder cases  the killing of 12-year-old Kimberly Diane Leach, and the slayings of Margaret Bowman and Lisa Levy at the Chi Omega sorority house at Florida State University.

He was 42 years old at the time of his death.

More than 100 people cheered outside the Florida State Prison, setting off firecrackers and lighting sparklers, according to the Associated Press's report of the execution.

Who was his girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer?

Kloepfer, a single mother, started dating Bundy in 1969. The relationship started until the mid 1970s.

Around that time, Kloepfer developed doubts about Bundy and gave his name to the police, though authorities didn't consider him a serious suspect.

Kloepfer published a book about her relationship with Bundy, titled The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy, in 1981 under the name Elizabeth Kendall. Bundy was on death row at the time.

She has remained out of the public eye for years, and Michael Werwie, the screenwriter of Extremely Wicked, told Vanity Fair she was "not findable".
The daughter of Dr Marin Luther King Jr took exception to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy using her father's words in the Republicans' latest culture war over Critical Race Theory.

Mr McCarthy invoked Dr King in a tweet, saying "Critical Race Theory goes against everything Martin Luther King Jr taught us  to not judge others by the colour of their skin, and claimed that the "Left is trying to take America backward.

Dr Bernice King, Dr King's daughter, challenged Mr McCarthy to study her father's teachings beyond the final line of his "I Have a Dream" speech.

"Rep McCarthy, I encourage you to study my father's teachings & words well beyond the last lines of 'I Have A Dream,'" she wrote in a response to his tweet. "This nation has yet to firmly commit to the intensive, multi-faceted work of eradicating racism against Black people. You should help with that."

She then linked to a book by Dr King called Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? and encouraged him to read the work.

"In this book, written after 'I Have A Dream,' my father writes about racism in detail," she wrote. "He shares about 'white backlash' and the need for white people to commit to ending racism. Today, this would be called dangerous. It was called dangerous then. My father was assassinated."

The outcry over critical race theory, driven by right-wing media and social media groups, has resulted in a number of explosive school board meeting across the nation. Angry parents, incited by Fox News pundits and other culture warmongers, have confronted school boards and demanded they stop teaching the academic theory, even though in many cases the schools do not utilise it in their curriculum.

One Oklahoma school district has already succumbed to the pressure, passing a resolution that bans K-12 teachers from teaching eight concepts about race on punishment of losing their teaching licenses.

The resolution mirrored a state law passed in Oklahoma banning the teaching of Critical Race Theory.

Critical Race Theory is a legal and academic theory that examines the impact that US history and institutions have had on racial minorities in the US. Conservative critics claim that it casts white people as villains in the evolution of the country, while proponents argue that in order to truly understand American history and society, education must include the experiences of minorities.
Bernie Sanders has joined top Democrats and Republicans in voicing his support for Cubans protesting against their government  while also criticising decades of US policy towards the island nation.

The self-described socialist senator tweeted on Monday that all people have the right to protest and to live in a democratic society, calling on the government to respect opposition rights and refrain from violence.

But he also told the Biden administration: Its also long past time to end the unilateral US embargo on Cuba, which has only hurt, not helped, the Cuban people.

The protests underway in Havana, Santiago and other Cuban cities have sprung up in response to a new spike in Covid-19 cases, the governments strict authoritarianism, and food and water shortages stemming from a deep economic crisis.

Mr Sanderss comments come after President Joe Biden spoke up in support of the protesters, declaring that they are bravely asserting fundamental and universal rights.

We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cubas authoritarian regime, he said.

However, the Biden administration has yet to signal a clear break with the Trump administrations hardline Cuba policy, which effectively reversed the thaw overseen by former President Barack Obama. Earlier this year, the US voted against the UN General Assemblys annual resolution to drop the American embargo on Cuban travel and commerce, as American governments have done for decades  a move that rather flew in the face of Mr Bidens pre-election promise to try and improve the two countries relationship.

Mr Sanders has long been a target of criticism from the political centre and right for past comments praising certain programmes put in place by the decades-long Castro regime, sentiments that came back to haunt him during both his presidential campaigns.

In 2016, a moderator at a TV debate pressed the senator on comments he made in the mid-1980s about both Cuba and Nicaragua, extolling the virtues of their education and healthcare systems. Clarifying his remarks, he said he had for decades opposed the US foreign policy orthodoxy that said that the United States had the right to do anything that they wanted to do in Latin America.

On the same debate stage, Hillary Clinton forcefully condemned his remarks. I think in that same interview he praised what he called the revolution of values in Cuba and talked about how people were working for the common good, not for themselves, she said. I just couldnt disagree more. You know, if the values are that you oppress people, you disappear people, imprison people or even kill people for expressing their opinions, for expressing freedom of speech, that is not the kind of revolution of values that I ever want to see anywhere.

And in the spring of 2020, Mr Sanders defended his past remarks in a 60 Minutes interview, repeating that it was unfair to dismiss Fidel Castros efforts on literacy and healthcare despite the authoritarian excesses of the Cuban regime  and emphasising that that does not mean he wont condemn dictators violence and illiberalism when called upon to do so.

The reaction from some in the Cuban-American community  who remain a crucial constituency in Florida, in particular  was scathing. Yuri Perez, a Cuban political refugee granted asylum in 2009, tore into him in an op-ed for NBC News.

Describing how he was himself taught to hate different ideas, looks and behaviours, he explained that the Cuban educational system is not a literacy programme, but a tool of indoctrination, designed for the creation of the New Man  one who is removed from what we would recognise as Western civilisations values, who is intolerant and ready to kill in order to impose the revolutionary ideology.

Yes, I am feeling the Bern, he wrote, but it is a chilling feeling.
In his most significant remarks yet on the state of voting rights, as Congress faces a narrow path towards expanding access to the ballot, President Joe Biden condemned a wave of Republican-backed legislation fuelled by Donald Trumps persistent lies about the 2020 election.

The big lie is just that. A big lie, he said in remarks from Philadelphia on 13 July.

If you lose, you accept the results, he said. You dont call facts fake and try to bring down the American experiment just because youre unhappy. Thats not statesmanship. Thats selfishness.

He warned about suppressive threats from GOP lawmakers, after dozens of similar bills were filed in nearly every state legislature as part of a coordinated campaign to strip access to mail-in ballots and early voting hours, as well as an effort to move oversight from independent election administrators  to state legislators and partisan actors in the wake of Donald Trumps electoral loss.

This is election subversion. Its the most dangerous threat to voting, he said. Its hard to declare how critical this is. Its simply unconscionable.

He urged Republican lawmakers to stand up, for Gods sake, adding, have you no shame?

Buoyed by the former presidents stolen election narrative under the guise of preserving election integrity and voter confidence, Republican leaders in at least 17 states have enacted at least 28 new laws that restrict access to the ballot, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School.

A parallel effort from GOP lawmakers has seen more than 200 bills in 41 states that give themselves more authority over the electoral process, according to the States United Democracy Center. At least 24 of those bills have been signed into law.

In a major test of what remains of the Voting Rights Act, the US Supreme Court has also upheld two Arizona laws that voting rights advocates argued have disproportionately hurt minority voters, the high courts second decision in the last decade to undermine a portion of the landmark civil rights law.

The president delivered his remarks from the National Constitution Centre, a dramatic setting to underscore his forceful condemnation of laws that he has argued have attacked the centerpiece of American democracy.

Some things in America should be simple and straightforward, he said. Perhaps the most important of those things, the most fundamental of those things, is the right to vote. The right to vote freely. The right to vote fairly. The right to have your vote count.

The president traced the nations bloody legacy of voting rights and the violent disenfranchisement of Black voters and voters of colour  from white supremacist terror under Jim Crow to a civil rights movement echoed in demands for justice.

He urged Congress to pass two voting rights measures  The For The People Act, a sweeping measure that failed following Senate Democrats failure to overcome a Republican filibuster, and a restoration of the Voting Rights Act that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has already vowed to block.

But the president has not rallied Democrats around amending Senate filibuster rules, despite his insistence that protecting and expanding voting remains remains a test of our time and a definitive battle for his term.

The US Department of Justice has expanded its civil rights office to scrutinise new elections laws, and the agency is suing the state of Georgia over its restrictive elections law, which Mr Biden called a vicious anti-voting law.

Mr Bidens remarks followed the arrival of more than 50 Democrats from the Texas House of Representatives who have left the state to break quorum and block passage of similarly restrictive legislation sponsored by Republican Governor Greg Abbott.

That legislation would add new restrictions for those who assist others in casting ballots, a provision criticised by disability advocates, and ban drive-thru voting pioneered by Harris County  one of the largest counties in the nation.

It would also add restrictive ID requirements for mail-in voting and ban the distribution of mail-in ballot applications, increase penalties against election workers, and expand the authority of partisan poll watchers.

Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with the Texas delegation this week, according to the White House.

In his address from Philadelphia, the president repeatedly said that world democracies and Democratic leaders abroad are paying close attention to the voting rights battle in the US.

He said passage of the For The People Act is a national imperative and that he would sign it and let the whole world see it  should it get to his desk.

The world is wondering, he said. What is America gonna do?
Philosopher and activist Dr Cornel West has resigned from his position as a professor with Harvard University in a letter that slams the university for treating him and other Black faculty with disrespect, despite specific commitments made by the school.

In a letter sent to the school at the end of last month, and published on Twitter by Dr West on Monday, the acclaimed activist and orator wrote that Harvard officials reorganised his classes so that all courses taught by the first-ever Black graduate of Princetons doctorate philosophy programme would be considered to be under the umbrella of Afro-American religious studies.

Other transgressions of the university, alleged by Dr West, include refusing to let him take a previously agreed-upon yearlong sabbatical, poor salary conditions, and the accusation that university officials even failed to reach out with condolences after the death of his mother, just as they allegedly failed to do for after one of his colleagues experienced a similar loss.

The letters publication follows a public dispute between Dr West and the university over his tenure application, which was denied in February. Dr West has alleged that the denial stems from his public support for the Palestinian people and the political prejudices of Harvards administration.

It also comes just days after a similar controversy erupted at University of North Carolina  Chapel Hill, where journalist Nicole Hannah-Jones of The New York Times declined a tenured position at the school after members of the board raised concerns about her credentials and threatened to derail the process likely as a result of conservative backlash to her work on The 1619 Project, which looks at the role of race in Americas founding.

This is my candid letter of resignation to my Harvard Dean. I try to tell the unvarnished truth about the decadence in our market-driven universities! Let us bear witness against this spiritual rot! pic.twitter.com/hCLAuNSWDu  Cornel West (@CornelWest) July 13, 2021

Ms Hannah-Jones, who like Dr West is Black, opted instead to take on a tenured position at Howard University in a move that was publicly humiliating for UNC and left professors and others at the school openly questioning the administrations management.

In his letter, Dr West wrote that the actions of Harvards administration betrayed an intellectual and spiritual bankruptcy of deep depths at the university.

With a few glorious and glaring exceptions, the shadow of Jim Crow was cast in its new glittering form expressed in the language of superficial diversity, wrote Dr West.

A university spokesperson declined to comment on Dr Wests letter when contacted by The Independent.
Lawyers for ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi said Monday they have been informed by the military-installed government that four new charges of corruption have been filed against her.

The military overthrew Suu Kyis elected government in February and arrested her and top members of her National League for Democracy party, including President Win Myint. Widespread popular resistance against the military takeover is continuing, despite harsh measures by the security forces to quash it.

Since the takeover, the new government has filed a number of criminal charges against Suu Kyi, who is in detention, and several of her colleagues.

Suu Kyis supporters as well as independent analysts say all of the charges are politically motivated and an attempt to discredit her and legitimize the militarys seizure of power.

She is currently on trial in the capital Naypyitaw on charges of sedition  defined as spreading information that could cause public alarm or unrest  two counts of flouting breaking COVID-19 pandemic restrictions during the 2020 election campaign; illegally importing walkie-talkies that were for her bodyguards use; and unlicensed use of the radios. Win Myint is her co-defendant on several of the charges.

Suu Kyi has also has been facing additional charges that have yet to be tried: accepting bribes, which carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison, and violating the Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum term of 14 years.

One of her lawyers, Min Min Soe, told reporters Monday that there would be a first hearing on the new charges on June 22 in the High Court in Mandalay, the countrys second biggest city. She said two of the charges are solely against Suu Kyi, and the other two include additional people, but no other details were given her team.

A lengthy wide-ranging news conference held Monday by the government made no mention of the new charges.

On June 10, official media reported that the state Anti-Corruption Commission had found that Suu Kyi accepted bribes and misused her authority to gain advantageous terms in real estate deals. Suu Kyis lawyers already denied the allegations when they were first made in March.

Reports in state media including the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper said the anti-corruption body had found that Suu Kyi illegally accepted $600,000 and seven gold bars from the former chief minister of Yangon Region, a political ally.

The report also said the commission had found that Suu Kyi has misused her position to obtain rental properties at lower-than-market prices for a charitable foundation named after her mother that she chaired.

The report said that the action deprived the state of revenue it would otherwise have earned.

State television has presented videos of testimony by alleged witnesses to the payoffs in cash and gold, but there was no explanation of the circumstances in which the videos were made or evidence to back up what was said.
After Donald Trump supporters stormed Capitol Hill on Jan. 6 in a bid to halt the certification of Joe Bidens election, many described their actions as seditious or even treasonous.

Some scholars say key figures in the attacks would qualify for sedition conspiracy under U.S. statutes, though its less clear any would meet the criteria for treason.

Sedition and treason cases are rare, especially in the modern era. According to the FBI, the U.S. government has successfully convicted fewer than 12 Americans for treason in the nation's history.

Some notable treason and sedition cases:

AARON BURR

Former Vice President Aaron Burr was tried in 1807 for treason for allegedly plotting to urge some states to leave the Union as part of military adventures to seize land from Spain and Mexico.

His trial was an early test of treason as defined in the Constitution, which says it consists only in levying war against the U.S. or giving enemies aid and comfort. Jurors acquitted Burr after instructions that prosecutors had to show not just that Burr made plans to go to war but actually went to war against the United States.

The name Benedict Arnold an American military officer who crossed lines to join the British during the Revolutionary War, became synonymous with treason. But he was never captured or tried for it.

___

CHRISTIANA RESISTANCE

Escaped slaves in Christiana, Pennsylvania, and several white people who aided them were charged with treason in 1851 for resisting U.S. marshals seeking to capture the escaped slaves. Following acquittals at an initial trial, in which lawyers argued the resistance was not akin to levying war, charges were dropped against the around 40 others indicted.

___

JEFFERSON DAVIS

The president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis was charged with treason but his prosecution was later abandoned, in part, as an effort at reconciliation following the Civil War. While scholars say they clearly fit the criteria of treason, no Confederate generals or statesmen faced the charge.

___

TOKYO ROSE

Among the last convictions for treason was American-born Iva Toguri DAquino, known as Tokyo Rose during World War II for her anti-American broadcasts. She was convicted in 1949 of giving aid and comfort to Japan. She served more than six years of a 10-year sentence before her release. President Gerald Ford pardoned her after reports U.S. authorities pressured some witnesses to lie. Some former prisoners of war in Japan also came forward to confirm that DAquino had smuggled food and medicine to them during their capture.

Several other Americans of Japanese and German dissent were convicted of treason for giving aid and comfort to Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany. Some also later received pardons or had sentences commuted.

___

ADAM GADAHN

The only American charged with treason against the U.S. since the World II era was Adam Gadahn, also known as Azzam the American. His 2006 federal indictment said he gave al-Qaida "aid and comfort ... with intent to betray the United States. Before he could be put on trial, Gadahn was killed by a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan.

___

SHEIKH OMAR ABDEL-RAHMAN

Seditious conspiracy law was last successfully used in the 1990s in the prosecution of Islamic militants who plotted to bomb New York City landmarks. An Egyptian cleric, Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, and nine followers were convicted in 1995 of seditious conspiracy and other charges in a plot to blow up the United Nations, the FBIs building, and two tunnels and a bridge linking New York and New Jersey. Abdel-Rahman, known as the Blind Sheikh, argued on appeal that he was never involved in planning actual attacks against the U.S. and his hostile rhetoric was protected free speech. He died in federal prison in 2017.

___

PUERTO RICAN NATIONALISTS

Seditious conspiracy charges were successfully brought in another, now largely forgotten storming of the Capitol building in 1954. Four pro-independence Puerto Rican activists rushed the building and opened fire on the House floor, wounding several representatives. They and more than a dozen others who assisted in the attack were convicted of seditious conspiracy.

Oscar Lopez Rivera, a former leader of a Puerto Rican independence group that orchestrated a bombing campaign that left dozens of people dead or maimed in the 1970s and 1980s, spent 35 years in prison for seditious conspiracy before President Barack Obama commuted his sentence in 2017.

___

HUTAREE MILITIA

The last time U.S. prosecutors brought such a case was in 2010 in an alleged Michigan plot by members of the Hutaree militia to incite an uprising against the government. But a judge ordered acquittals on the sedition conspiracy charges at a 2012 trial, saying prosecutors relied too much on hateful diatribes protected by the First Amendment and didnt, as required, prove the accused ever had detailed plans for a rebellion. Three members of the militia pleaded guilty to weapons charges.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday hosted the authoritarian leader of Belarus who has increasingly relied on Moscow s support amid increasing tensions with the West.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko thanked Putin for a very serious support from Russia" and pledged that the country would duly repay its loans.

Putin, in turn, praised Belarus as a reliable and stable partner during their talks in St. Petersburg.

The Belarusian economy, which suffered from the coronavirus pandemic, received a new blow when the European Union has imposed bruising sanctions against some of its top exports over Belarus' diversion of a passenger jet on May 23 to arrest an opposition journalist.

Lukashenko has denounced the restrictions and announced that Belarus would halt cooperation with the EU on stemming illegal migration in retaliation for bruising economic sanctions.

Lithuania, a EU member which has granted refuge to Belarus opposition figures, has accused Belarusian authorities of encouraging a flow of migrants from Iraq, other Middle Eastern nations and Africa. The EU's border agency has pledged to step up its support to Lithuania to help stem the tide of migrants.

Belarus was rocked by months of protests, which were triggered by Lukashenko's reelection to a sixth term in an August 2020 vote that was widely seen as rigged.

The authorities responded to demonstrations with a massive crackdown that saw more than 35,000 people arrested and thousands beaten by police. Leading opposition figures have been either jailed or forced to leave the country.
Texas Democrats in the states legislature have arrived in Washington DC, where they will remain through the duration of a special legislative session in their state in an effort to block passage of Republican-sponsored bills to restrict the ability to vote.

Legislation in Texas mirrors similar bills across the country introduced under the guise of protecting election integrity and ensuring voter confidence despite record-high turnout in 2020 elections and no evidence of widespread vote fraud, against the baseless narrative promoted by Donald Trump and his allies.

We are not going to buckle to the big lie, Texas Rep Rafael Anchia, chair of the states Mexican American Democratic Caucus, told reporters in Washington DC on Tuesday.

The lawmakers have broken quorum in the state House of Representatives, preventing Republicans from advancing an agenda backed by Governor Greg Abbott, who called the legislature into session after Democrats blocked passage of restrictive elections bills by staging a walkout during the regular legislative session in May.

At least 51 of the 67 Democratic members of the Texas House of Representatives left the state on Monday, many of them boarding chartered planes bound for the nations capital.

There are 150 members in the state House, and two-thirds attendance are required to constitute a quorum. At least 57 letters have been sent to the House clerk with instructions to lock their voting machines.

While in Washington DC, the Democrats will lobby members of Congress to pass critical voting rights legislation, including the For The People Act, which was blocked in a Republican-led filibuster in the Senate, and a restoration of the Voting Rights Act to be named in honour of late civil rights leader and congressman John Lewis.

The Texas legislation follows a wave of GOP-sponsored elections bills filed in nearly every state in the wake of the 2020 presidential election. Republican lawmakers have proposed rolling back mail-in voting and early voting options, imposing restrictive voter ID laws, criminalising handing out food and water at the polls, and stripping election oversight from nonpartisan election authorities into the hands of Republican lawmakers, among other measures.

If passed, the Texas bills would add new restrictions for those who assist others in casting ballots, a provision criticised by disability advocates. It would also ban drive-thru voting pioneered by Harris County  one of the largest counties in the nation. It would also add restrictive ID requirements for mail-in voting and ban the distribution of mail-in ballot applications.

Governor Abbott vowed to call a special session after special session after special session all the way up until election next year to pass his agenda, which also includes bills aimed at critical race theory and prohibiting transgender athletes from school sports.

Texas Rep Rhetta Bowers, chair of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus, said we are living on borrowed time.

We cant stay here indefinitely to run out the clock to stop Republican anti-voter bills, she told reporters on Tuesday. We need Congress to act now.

Texas Rep Chris Turner told reporters on Monday that the governors ongoing threats underscore the urgency for federal action.

Thats our message to Congress, he said. We need them to act now.

In a major test of what remains of the landmark Voting Rights Act, the US Supreme Court has also upheld two Arizona laws that voting rights advocates argued have disproportionately hurt minority voters, a decision that will likely make it more difficult to challenge recent Republican-backed laws restricting voting access.

That decision follows a 2013 ruling that gutted critical federal oversight measures from the Voting Rights Act meant to prevent states from enacting discriminatory laws.

In the decade that followed, states closed hundreds of polling places, disproportionately targeting areas with voters of colour, and GOP lawmakers filed scores of restrictive voting laws  culminating in a massive, right-wing lobby-backed campaign to flood state legislatures in 2021 with copycat bills to right the wrongs of November.

Republicans have accused Democrats of abandoning the state and reneging on their duties as elected officials.

Nothing could be further from the truth, Rep Turner said. We are doing our job. We were elected to represent our constituents and fight for our constituents interests. We arent going to sit in Austin in the house chamber and watch the Republican majority steamroll the voting rights of our constituents.

Governor Abbott also has vetoed legislation to fund the state legislature in a threat to Democrats.

Rep Anchia said when you start the process in such a coercive way  you have poisoned the whole process.

President Joe Biden  who has faced increasing pressure from voting rights activists and Democratic lawmakers to pressure Congress and advocate for filibuster reform  will deliver remarks on voting rights from Pennsylvania on Tuesday.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday that the president will use every tool at his disposal to protect voting rights.
Donald Trump has spread false information about the officer who shot US Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt after she stormed the building, according to a law enforcement officer.

The former president claimed on Sunday that the rioter was shot by a head of security for a high-ranking Democratic member of Congress.

Who shot Ashli Babbitt? People want to know and why, Mr Trump said when speaking on Fox News Sunday Morning Futures program, hosted by Maria Bartiromo.

Ms Bartiromo then asked Mr Trump who he thought shot the woman who has become a cause celebre among conservatives as they attempt to downplay the violent episode.

I will tell you they know who shot Ashli Babbitt, theyre protecting that person, he said. Ive heard also that it was the head of security for a certain high official  a Democrat  and well see because its going to come out. Its going to come out.

Ms Bartiromo later said, I want you to know that my team reached out to Senator Chuck Schumers office to check on what he may know about who shot Ashli Babbitt. We have not heard back from Chuck Schumers office.

I wonder why, Mr Trump responded.

A senior law enforcement official who was briefed on the matter told NBC News that Mr Trumps claim was false and that the 35-year-old woman was not shot by a member of security detail for a member of Congress. Also, the officer has yet to return to the police force, the official added.

But that hasnt stopped Mr Trump and other members of the far-right from pushing conspiracy theories surrounding the death of the rioter.

The person that shot Ashli Babbitt  boom  right through the head  just boom  there was no reason for that, Mr Trump said during a 7 July press conference. And why isnt that person being opened up, and why isnt that being studied? Theyve already written it off. They said that case is closed. If that were the opposite, that case would be going on for years and years, and it would not be pretty.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for Washington DC determined that Ms Babbitt was shot in the front left shoulder, not the head, like Mr Trump claimed.

Also a video, which was obtained by The Washington Post, showed the moment that the officer, who has not been identified, shoots Ms Babbitt.

In the video, Ms Babbitt was in the Speakers Lobby attempting to climb through a broken window in order to access the House floor.

The officer was facing an angry mob in the US Capitol, so the Justice Department decided not to prosecute the person on the ground that the mobs advance was a risk to the safety of law enforcement officials and lawmakers in the building.

The investigation revealed no evidence to establish that, at the time the officer fired a single shot at Ms Babbitt, the officer did not reasonably believe that it was necessary to do so in self-defense or in defense of the Members of Congress and others evacuating the House Chamber, the Justice Department said in a statement released in April
Former legal adviser to Donald Trump, Jenna Ellis, said she has quit the Republican Party due to its lack of support for the former president.

Her announcement came during a live 20-minute speech on conservative news platform Real Americas Voice on Monday.

The truth matters, said Ms Ellis during the monologue, in which she vowed not to return to the party until it comes back home to conservatives.

Ms Ellis also called for the resignation of Republican National Committee (RNC) chair Ronna McDaniel over money raised for the party during Trumps 2020 election challenges.

What happened to the millions raised by the RNC in November and December of 2020? The Trump team never saw a dime of that help, she claimed.

All of them, including Ronna McDaniel, should resign now. Until they do, as of today, I am resigning from the party. I am changing my voter registration and I am no longer a Republican until the party decides that it wants to be conservative again  a compromised, corrupted majority is not a majority worth being a part of.

Ms Ellis has flip-flopped on her view of Mr Trump, reportedly previously calling him an idiot and a bully and posting on social media that his supporters dont care about facts or logic. They arent seeking truth.

The irony of her latest stance has not gone unnoticed by Twitter users.

I quite frankly dont give a damn that Jenna Ellis left the Republican Party. I will always see her as a traitor to the rule of law, wrote former Republican and Trump supporter David Weissman.

Which wacky lawyer was that, I get them mixed up mocked another user under a video of her announcement.

However, Republican Arizona Senator Wendy Rogers has come out in support of Ellis: I stand with @JennaEllisEsq, @RudyGiuliani, @BernardKerik and President Trump, she tweeted.

The RNC supports pride month and backstabbed the tens of millions of Trump voters during the election integrity fight. Now Ronna is pretending to care about election integrity. We can do better!
Donald Trump was considering pulling out of Nato and cutting the USs alliance with South Korea if he won the 2020 election, according to an account of his private meetings with top aides.

I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J Trumps Catastrophic Final Year is a behind-the-scenes account of Mr Trumps last year in the White House, authored by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters Phil Rucker and Carol Leonnig.

In an excerpt published in the Washington Post, Mr Trump is said to have lost the confidence of Defense Secretary Mark Esper. According to the book, Mr Esper confided in colleagues that he was rooting for Joe Biden to win the election because he believed he cared about national security.

Esper couldnt say the same about Trump. In fact, Trump had privately indicated that he would seek to withdraw from Nato and to blow up the US alliance with South Korea, should he win reelection. When those alliances had come up in meetings with Esper and other top aides, some advisers warned Trump that shredding them before the election would be politically dangerous.

Yeah, the second term, Trump had said. Well do it in the second term.

According to the excerpt, episodes recounted in the book are based on interviews with senior Trump administration officials, friends and advisers to the president.

White House scenes from election night are described in detail, including Mr Trumps reaction to seeing Arizona called for Mr Biden on Fox News.

Trump, who had been watching Fox, was livid. He could not fathom that the conservative news network he had long considered an extension of his campaign was the first news organization to call Arizona for Biden. This was a betrayal. His top advisers, who had been in the Map Room at the time, rushed upstairs to see the president.

What the f--- is Fox doing? Trump screamed. Then he barked orders to Kushner: Call Rupert! Call James and Lachlan! And to Jason Miller: Get Sammon. Get Hemmer. Theyve got to reverse this. The president was referring to Fox owner Rupert Murdoch and his sons, James and Lachlan, as well as Bill Sammon, a top news executive at Fox.

Trumps tirade continued. What the f---? he bellowed.

I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J Trumps Catastrophic Final Year is published on 20 July by Penguin Press.
A new advertisement by the Australian government aimed at boosting the coronavirus vaccination rate in the country has created a stir.

The government released an advertisement on Sunday featuring a young woman in a hospital bed, as she gasped for air. The 30-second ad ended with the message: Covid-19 can affect anyone. Stay home. Get tested. Book your vaccination.

The critics have slammed the ad for using scare tactics while urging the young people to get themselves inoculated despite the knowledge that those under 40 are not yet eligible for the recommended Pfizer-BioNTech vaccinations.

Responding to the critics, prime minister Scott Morrison said that there will always be criticism. I know that, and it was only a few weeks ago that our very critics were saying that the advertising needed to be stronger, far stronger, even making references to grim reapers, he told Sky News Australia.

[The ad] has two messages... one is to stay at home, Mr Morrison said. We cant be complacent about this. And young people moving around the city was putting people at risk right across the community, including themselves.

Earlier, Australias chief medical officer Paul Kelly had defended the ad saying that it is quite graphic and its meant to be graphic. He added: We are only doing this because of the [Covid-19] situation in Sydney.

Dr Jessica Kaufman, a research fellow at Murdoch Childrens Research Institute told the Guardian the ad leans very, very strongly into scare tactics and fear and argues that it could increase vaccine hesitancy among people.

Weve seen with vaccination in particular that fear campaigns or scary messages about diseases can actually cause people to become more fearful of vaccine side-effects, she was quoted as saying. She further slammed the government for targeting the young through the advertisement.

Theyre really targeting young people because I think they think that the young people are breaking the rules in Sydney, she was quoted as saying. But its muddied by saying: stay at home, and by the way, book your vaccination that youre not eligible for because we dont have enough of it.

Currently, Australians under 40 are not eligible for Pfizer shots due to vaccine shortage. Though Prime Minister Morrison announced last month that those under 40 have the option of getting the AstraZeneca vaccine after speaking with their doctor, the current advice from the Australian Technical Advisory (ATAGI) Group on Immunisation recommends AstraZeneca only for those over 60, saying Pfizer is the preferred vaccine for anyone under that age.

According to the data published by the Guardian, only 9.03 per cent of its population is fully vaccinated.
A newborn baby died within an hour of being mistakenly given laughing gas instead of oxygen, an inquest has heard.

John Ghanem received nitrous oxide because of the botched installation of equipment at the hospital in western Sydney, a coroners court was told.

The blunder had already resulted in a baby girl suffering permanent brain damage just over a year earlier.

However it was only detected after staff discussed the similarities between John's death and another child's death in India.

The day after John's death, the midwifery manager at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital made a "high-priority request" for the gas panel in the operating theatre to be tested - but this was not carried out for another six days, according to a report of the inquest in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Donna Ward, counsel to the inquest, said that it was "fortuitous that no other baby had required the provision of oxygen" from the gas panel during that period.

Contractor Christopher Turner, who installed the gas pipeline in 2015, pleaded guilty to a health and safety charge and was fined $100,000 (54,000) last year.

The inquest at Lidcombe Coroners Court, which began on Monday and is due to last two weeks, will focus on the circumstances of Johns death "to try and minimise the chance of it ever happening again", said Ms Ward.

John, the fourth child of Youssef and Sonya Ghanem, was born by caesarean at 11.54am on 13 July 2016 after doctors detected bacteria linked to neonatal sepsis.

He was placed in a neonatal resuscitation bay when doctors noticed a loose part of his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck and he wasnt breathing properly.

John gave a weak cry but no sustained respiratory effort, said Ms Ward.

A doctor tried to stimulate John by rubbing him with a cloth before using an infant resuscitator to push air into his longs.

He was then given oxygen from a gas line marked oxygen on a wall-mounted panel and CPR but was declared dead by 12.51pm.

John had lived for just under one hour, Ms Ward said.

Ultimately Sonya and Youssef got to spend time with their baby boy, but this was after John had died.

His death also affected the doctors and nurses at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital who had fought so hard to keep him alive. Even after the events, his death made no sense to the treating team.

In the previous incident at the same operating theatre in June 2016, Amelia Khan suffered brain damage and was not expected to survive longer than a few months.

Now five years old, Amelia suffers from quadriplegic cerebral palsy. Her mother Benish told The Sunday Telegraph last year: "Shes been able to make such a big change in four years imagine what she can accomplish the rest of her life as long as she has the right people by her side."
Lithuania has declared a state of emergency due to an influx of migrants in the last few days from neighboring Belarus, as tensions between the European Union and Belarus escalate.

Lithuania's Interior Minister Agle Bilotaite said late Friday that the decision, proposed by the State Border Guard Service, was necessary not because of an increased threat to the country of 2.8 million people but to put a more robust system into place to handle migrants coming in.

Its very important to have a legal system and instruments ... to be able to swiftly make decisions in response to arising challenges, Bilotaite said during a government meeting Friday evening, according to the Baltic News Service.

Belarus authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has warned that his country would retaliate against the latest EU sanctions on his regime by loosening border controls for undocumented migrants. The bloc tightened sanctions against Belarus after Lukashenko's government forced a passenger plane to divert and land and arrested a prominent journalist on the flight.

Prime Minister Ingrida Simonytes Cabinet declared the emergency after border officials reported Friday that they had detained about 150 illegal migrants in the last day who had crossed over from Belarus, with whom Lithuania shares a 679-kilometer (422-mile) border.

That number of detained migrants at the Belarus border is three times higher than the previous daily record, Lithuanian officials said. CCTV footage released by the Lithuanian border guard showed migrants jumping over a fence separating Belarus and Lithuania and either crawling, walking or running to the Lithuanian side.

According to the Baltic News Service, the most of the migrants have already sought asylum in Lithuania and include citizens of Afghanistan Cameroon, Iraq and Syria. Lithuania has set up tent camps to accommodate the growing number of migrants.

Mantas Adomenas, Lithuanias vice minister for foreign affairs, said the main problem was identifying migrants who arrive with no documents.

Were now talking about how to identify them, give them documents so that economic migrants can be returned to their country of origin, Adomenas told broadcaster LNK Lithuania.

A total of 822 migrants crossing in from Belarus have been detained in Lithuania so far this year, up from 81 in 2020, the Baltic News Service said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen paid a visit to Vilnius Lithuanias capital, on Friday, and vowed to help the country, a former Soviet republic, cope with the influx of migrants.

Your worries and your problems here in Lithuania are European worries and problems, von der Layen said in a joint news conference with Simonyte and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda. We really stand by your side in this difficult time.

Von der Layen pledged assistance from Frontex, EUs border and cost guard agency, which said on Thursday said that it would deploy border guard teams not only to Lithuania but also to Latvia, a Baltic neighbor that also shares a border with Belarus.

On Monday, Belarus foreign ministry announced that the government would suspend an agreement with Brussels intended to stem illegal migration into the EU.

___

Follow all AP stories on global migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
Pope Francis has often seemed like a pontiff in a hurry.

In his eight-year papacy, he has tirelessly sought to reshape the Roman Catholic Church in a more pastoral image, and has elevated more than half of the College of Cardinals  the body that will elect his successor. He has opened previously taboo debates about married priests, the role of women in the Church, the welcoming of gay Catholics, and holy communion for the divorced and remarried. He has kept up an exhausting schedule of travel around the world.

But as Francis, 84, convalesces in a Rome hospital after undergoing major colon surgery, experts are wondering if the first major health challenge of his papacy will slow him down or speed up the reforms he has promised. Until now, he has opened up big questions about the future of the Church and its governance, but often pulled back from bold action, preferring instead to take the time to build a broader consensus that perhaps avoids division, but also delays real change.

Now, Church analysts say, time is clearly of the essence.

Surely this is a divide in his pontificate; until now he has never stopped, says Carlo Marroni, a Vatican expert for Italys financial daily, Il Sole 24 Ore. Now time is pressing.

Its not that Francis has ever had any illusions about his own mortality, or about the small window he has in which to enact his vision of a more inclusive Church that emphasises reaching out to the marginalised over laying down Church law.

Our span of life increases, and at a certain age we no longer have the ability to govern well, because our body is weary

I know this will last a short time  two or three years, and then to the house of the father, he told reporters on the papal plane in 2014. A couple of months later, he made a reference to Romes bid to host the 2024 Olympics. I wont be there, eh? he said with a laugh. In 2015 he imagined himself serving as Pope for about another five years.

On Thursday the Vatican released another update about his progress, saying he had spent a quiet day, eating and moving unassisted, but noted that in the evening on Wednesday he temporarily ran a fever, and that on Thursday morning he underwent routine and microbiological examinations, and a chest and abdomen scan, which proved negative for any infections.

He will never be the same, read a 7 July post in The Seismograph, an influential and highly plugged-in Vatican news site, which argued that all of the Vaticans efforts to describe him in the past as a Superman had damaged his image, because he will obviously be slowed down by his ailment.

Age and health are often considerations in the selection of popes.

John Paul II was 58 and vigorous when he was elected in 1978. He reigned for 26 years, a period during which he helped bring down communism and expand the Churchs global footprint, but also, say his critics, one in which he cracked down on dissent and let sexual abuse fester. Parkinsons disease ravaged John Paul in the last years of his pontificate, causing sometimes excruciating pain; the Church argued that he presented a palpably human image of suffering and the havoc of age.

One selling point of Benedict XVI in 2005  besides the continuity he offered with the enormously popular John Paul  was the notion that, at 78 and familiar with the running of the Church, he would be a placeholder pope. In 2013, at age 85, he became the first pope in nearly 600 years to resign, saying he no longer had the energy to lead the Church. And before the conclave, influential cardinals urged electors to pick someone vigorous and dynamic enough to deal with the enormous challenges of the role.

Francis was also 78 at the time of his election, which had led many to count him out as a candidate. But he has clearly not lacked energy. On a trip back from South Korea in 2014 he openly ruminated over, and admired, Benedicts example of calling it quits, saying the position of Pope Emeritus had become an institution.

Why? Because our span of life increases, and at a certain age we no longer have the ability to govern well, because our body is weary; our health may be good, but we dont have the ability to deal with all the problems of a government like that of the Church, Francis said, adding, You can ask me: What if one day you dont feel prepared to go on? I would do the same, I would do the same! I will pray hard over it, but I would do the same thing.

In March 2015, Francis said in an interview with Mexicos Televisa television channel that he believed hed continue as Pope for a little longer and then retire like Benedict, saying he had a vague feeling that the Lord has placed me here for a short mission, and nothing more. But, he added, it is a feeling. I always leave the possibility open.

The Pope leading prayers for Lebanon on 1 July at St Peters Basilica (AFP/Getty)

And in a 2019 interview for a book about the history of the health of popes, Francis told the author, Nelson Castro, that he envisioned his final days being in Rome: I will be Pope, either active or emeritus, and in Rome.

There has been no indication from the Vatican that the end of his pontificate is imminent. And supporters of Francis have argued that he has already done a lot, making concrete progress on issues such as financial transparency, accountability for sexual abuse, and empowering local churches to make decisions for themselves. His conservative critics, who hope Franciss eventual successor will reverse course back towards a more traditional and doctrinaire Church, certainly think he has done plenty of harm.

But liberal critics complain that when push has come to shove, Francis has repeatedly flinched in the face of major changes, and that there is much unfinished business for the Pope once he is discharged.

Theres everything left to do, says Lucetta Scaraffia, a Church historian who in 2019 quit her post as director of the Vaticans womens magazine. She said that the Pope had only nibbled around the margins in his effort to reform the Roman Curia, the bureaucracy that governs the Church; that the Vaticans justice system was a mess; and that when it came to really empowering women in the Church, the Pope had done next to nothing: that he had prevaricated, for instance, on the issue of allowing women deacons, by merely appointing a study commission.

In fact, many of Francis's supporters were vexed when he set aside a vote by local bishops, to whom he usually defers, to allow married priests in very limited circumstances. He argued the time had not yet come.

But some experts and cardinals have argued that the biggest change Francis has made is the composition of the hierarchy. In a Church where personnel is policy, Francis has created more than 1,000 bishops on the front lines, and in 2019 he reached a tipping point by naming more than half of the voters within the College of Cardinals, where a two-thirds majority of those under the age of 80 is required to elect his successor.

Pope Francis holding the weekly general audience, at San Damaso courtyard in the Vatican, on 30 June (AFP/Getty)

The longer Franciss pontificate lasts, the more there will be cardinals in the spirit of Pope Francis, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg said at the time.

And Francis has continued in that direction, though the political calculus of what cardinals believe, and how they vote, is not always as simple as where they are from or who gave them their red hat. Francis, after all, was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2001 by John Paul II.

According to Vatican statistics, Francis has elevated 58 per cent of the cardinals who would enter a conclave were it held today: 72 voting cardinals, compared with the 39 who were elevated by Benedict XVI and the 13 by John Paul II. The number of Franciss cardinals will only increase, and those of his predecessors shrink, with time.

What is clear is that Francis has not previously seen age or sickness as an excuse to rest in his pastoral mission.

In a message to older people when announcing this months World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, Francis called himself an elderly person, like you, and said that it was important not to stop working for the faith. I myself can tell you that I was called to become the bishop of Rome when I had reached, so to speak, retirement age, he said. And thought I would not be doing anything new.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times
The ashes of Hungarian-born actress Zsa Zsa Gabor, renowned for her diamond-studded glamour, witty quips and nine marriages, were buried in Budapest on Tuesday almost five years after her death.

Ms Gabors ashes were laid to rest in a prominent cemetery in the capital city alongside other famous Hungarian actors, writers and poets, in a ceremony where a gypsy band played and her favourite yellow and pink roses were on display.

Born Sari Gabor into a wealthy Hungarian family, she was named Miss Hungary in the 1930s. As the Second World War approached, she and her sisters headed for the United States, leaving behind her first husband, Burhan Belge, a Turkish diplomat.

Her last husband, Frederic Prinz von Anhalt, to whom she was married from 1986 until her death aged 99 in 2016, said that in her will she expressed a wish to end up in Hungary.

Mr Von Anhalt said he carried an urn with three-quarters of Ms Gabors ashes to London, then to Germany and from there to Budapest, using a window of opportunity as border closures due to the coronavirus pandemic eased.

He said the rest of her remains would stay in Los Angeles.

She was first class, she had her own seat and she had her passport, everything there. It was her last trip, she always used to go first class, she had her champagne, caviar.

And then we arrived in Budapest... Thats what she wanted and thats what she had in her last will. She definitely wanted to be in Budapest because her father is buried here too, he told Reuters.

Mr Von Anhalt said Ms Gabor wanted a celebration of life, not a funeral.

Mr Gabors Hungarian cousin, Jozsef Gabor, who was close to her, said he had not been invited to Tuesdays ceremony.

For him, Zsa Zsa was a Hungarian girl in the United States.

She did a lot for Hungarians, be it for those who fled after the 1956 uprising, or during the polio epidemic, and she did not do those things because she wanted to get into the news, he added.

Ms Gabor, one of the last stars of Hollywoods golden age, would address people as dah-link in her thick Hungarian accent. Along with her two sisters, Eva and Magda, she became a fixture on Hollywoods social circuit in her prime.

Zsa Zsa Gabor appeared in more than 30 movies, including Moulin Rouge in 1952 and Lili in 1953. By the 1970s she began to reject smaller roles, saying: I may be a character but I do not want to be a character actress.

Reuters
Thousands more people are expected to be displaced in Afghanistan as a result of the Talibans momentum in seizing power following the withdrawal of US-led troops, the United Nations (UN) has warned.

The country is on the verge of another humanitarian crisis as more Afghans will be forced to flee their homes in fear of living under the Talibans control and its escalating violence with militia groups, the UNs refugee agency said.

On Monday, the 20-year-old conflict between Afghanistan and the US officially came to an end.

US top commander General Austin Scott Miller, who was leading the war in Afghanistan, relinquished command at a ceremony in Kabul before leaving the country.

His departure came days after President Joe Biden said that US-led military operations would cease by 31 August.

In the last 15 days, Taliban advances have driven more than 5,600 families from their homes, most of them in the northern reaches of the country, according to the governments Refugee and Repatriations Ministry.

Babar Baloch, spokesman of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said during a news briefing in Geneva, Switzerland: Afghanistan is on the brink of another humanitarian crisis. This can be avoided. This should be avoided.

A failure to reach a peace agreement in Afghanistan and stem the current violence will lead to further displacement within the country, as well as to neighbouring countries and beyond.

An estimated 270,000 Afghans had been newly displaced inside the country since January, bringing the total population forced from their homes to more than 3.5 million, the UNHCR said.

Those forced to flee blamed the security situation, extortion by non-state armed groups and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on major roads, as well as a loss of income and interruptions to social services, Mr Baloch said.

The number of civilian casualties has risen by 29 per cent during the first three months of this year compared with 2020, the UNHCR said, citing figures from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

We urge the international community to step up support to the government and people of Afghanistan and its neighbours at this critical moment, Mr Baloch said.

General Austin "Scott" Miller, US top commander of coalition forces, has left Afghanistan (AFP via Getty Images)

The Taliban has captured swathes of territory by launching assaults on cities and towns. An agreement that the Taliban signed with the US in February 2020 reportedly prevents the insurgents from capturing provincial capitals.

But now two cities  Kandahar in the south and Badghis in the north  are under siege.

Taliban officials said last week that it has taken control of 85 per cent of territory in Afghanistan, but the Afghan government has said that this is propaganda.

The government has launched a national mobilisation drive to arm local volunteers to back its militia groups.
The widow of antivirus creator John McAfee released a suicide note she believes was written by someone trying to imitate her late husbands style of tweeting.

"The handwriting is suspect & I doubt the authenticity of the note," Janice McAfee said in tweeting out a photo of the note. "This note does not sound anything like someone who has no hope and is contemplating ending their life. This note sounds like one of Johns tweets."

The Associated Press first reported that the 75-year-old was found with a suicide note in his pocket, which came as a surprise to Ms McAfee and her lawyers.

An image of the one-page missive written in capital letters, posted with the hashtag #NotASuideNote, purports to show some of Mr McAfees final thoughts before he was found dead in a Spanish prison.

"I am a phantom parasite," the note begins, before some words are crossed out.

I want to control my future, which does not exist, another part reads.

Ms McAfee previously said the story of his suicide was already prepared and presented to the public before she or his attorneys were notified of his death, and that the "convenient" story was not mentioned when she collected his belongings.

"And if this note was found in his pocket where are the markings of the note being folded into his pocket?" she said in Tuesdays tweets.

While Spanish authorities are conducting an autopsy, El Pais cited unnamed sources in June saying preliminary results concluded he died by suicide.

McAfee had become increasingly worried before his death he would be whacked to keep him silent; warning in 2019 that US officials said they were coming for him.

Following the subtle messages, he got $WHACKD tattoo on his right arm as evidence that he wouldnt take his own life, saying If I suicide myself, I didnt. I was whackd.

McAfee was found dead in a Barcelona prison cell about a week after he testified to a Spanish court that he feared spending the rest of his life in prison if extradited to the United States.

In 2020, he told followers that if he died in prison, it would not be by suicide, saying know that if I hang myself, a la Epstein, it will be no fault of mine.

Ms McAfee suggested in her statement that the "fighter" was not suicidal, saying they spoke twice on the day of his death to discuss the next steps in the legal battle during the months before extradition.

"Besides that John had already won a victory before the hearing in that seven of the 10 charges in the case were dropped in the days leading up to his hearing," she said.

"John was a fighter and he had so much more fight left in him. He told me to be strong and not to worry, we would continue to fight all the necessary appeals."

McAfee was arrested at Barcelonas international airport in October, with the Spanish court ruling to extradite the billionaire to face a Tennessee arrest warrant.

The states prosecutors allege McAfee didnt report earnings from cryptocurrency and speaking fees, as well as income from selling the documentary film rights to his life story.
A motley crew of local fighters have taken their positions on the Siahgerd front line in the north of Balkhs provincial capital, Mazar-i-Sharif. Most are dressed in the traditional shalwar kameez, with limited protective gear and an array of weapons slung over individuals shoulders. But, as is the case across other front lines around the city, the men are buoyed and morale is high.

Raouf Aliyar, 28, is among the group of local men who are fighting on behalf of Abbas Ibrahim Zada  a Hazara member of parliament who is head of the Hezb-e-Wahdat-e-Naweein Afghanistan Party, his extensive wealth having earned him the nickname Abbas Dollar. Aliyar, who speaks fluent English, was working for a local NGO until last week, when he was let go for his lack of attendance, having spent most of the last month on the front line. He felt that it was a necessary sacrifice.

If we dont come here, the Taliban will attack our city and kill us one by one. Were protecting our family and our home, says the father-of-one who, like many of the men he is fighting alongside, is here on an unpaid, voluntary basis.

It is a must for me, to protect Mazar-i-Sharif until the end.

Hundreds of citizen militia forces have been deployed to bolster Afghan security forces efforts to protect Mazar-i-Sharif from a Taliban attack, after the insurgents threatened to breach the city gates at the end of last month.

Taliban fighters have swept across the northeast of Afghanistan, taking control of scores of districts, in a devastating blow to the Afghan government. Approximately one-third of all 421 districts and district centres in Afghanistan are now controlled by the Taliban.

Newly appointed as the defence minister last month, Bismillah Mohammadi called on the public to rally against the Taliban as one of his first tasks in the role.

It is a risky endeavour for Aliyar, who has now received threats from the Taliban as a result of his involvement in the fight against the group.

I sent my wife and my eight-month-old daughter to Kabul for their safety. Lately I sleep on the roof of my house to ensure I can see everything that is going on around the perimeter of the property, he says.

Rauof Aliyar, a member of Abbas Ibrahim Zada's mitilia, has been fighting on the front line at Siahgerd, north of Mazar-i-Sharif, for one month. He has risked his job with international humanitarian organisation IOM to protect his city (Charlie Faulkner)

Intermittent gunfire punctures the otherwise quiet position as he talks, and a strong smell of incendiary chemicals permeates the air. It is late in the day and the flat horizon is filled with a burst of orange and pink from the setting sun. Empty green fields surround the men.

Aliyar says taking up arms is the last thing he wanted to do, but with the deteriorating security situation and flailing government forces, he felt obligated to join the fight.

It was a sad day when I was forced to pick up a gun and head to the front line, leaving behind my wife and child. But I am sure that if the Taliban takes control, my wife wont be able to work, my daughter wont have access to a proper education. These people dont believe in human rights, he says.

From the top of a half-built building, another fighter, who does not give his name but explains that he works as a de-miner for an American company, points out a building in the distance.

That base belongs to the enemy. Previously it was a security forces base wherein 13 soldiers got killed, he says, adding that they are not able to attack, only defend, because the surrounding area has been covered with improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

These men have gathered here based on the orders of Abbas Ibrahim Zada, the representative of people of Balkh. They are tailors, shopkeepers, carpenters, labourers and so on  not a single one of them is a soldier or police officer.

Mohammad Ismaray, 25, is a shopkeeper who has taken up arms as part of Atta Muhammad Noor's militia in the fight against the Taliban in Mazar-e-Sharif, in the north of Afghanistan (Charlie Faulkner)

Approximately 250 men are covering a 10km stretch in the area.

We are here to defend our city and people until the last bullet in our magazines and the last drop of blood in our veins, says the fighter.

Morale has been lagging among government forces in recent months as US troops have departed the country. Over the last couple of weeks, almost 1,600 Afghan government troops have fled over the border into Tajikistan in a bid to escape a Taliban attack.

All districts except for the capitals of Badakhshan and Takhar provinces fell to the Taliban last week, and residents reported government forces surrendering without a fight. The alternative has been for Taliban fighters to destroy basic infrastructure in captured districts, according to officials and residents.

Balkhs provincial governor, Mohammad Farhad Azimi, says this destruction shows the group has no intention of establishing a legitimate governance.

He says the backing of the local population is very important and indicates strong support for the government. However, he emphasises that the militia fighters, numbering approximately 1,000, across Mazar-i-Sharif are only playing a supporting role to the security forces and admits that the uprising of local fighters is cause for some concern.

In the past we have had very bad experiences with militia groups and we dont intend to replace the Afghan national security forces with these groups, says Azimi.

These militia groups argue that they are the protecting force of the city and of the surrounding districts, rather than the national security forces. But they were previously local police who fled their districts. Of course, in an emergency situation we can use them, but they are not the main protector of the city. If we do not believe in [the ability of] our national security forces, it is a mistake.

The governor acknowledges there is a serious shortage of personnel in the Afghan national security forces and a way to combat this issue while also reducing the risk of fracturing along powerbroker lines has been to bring the local fighters under the command of the security forces.

We have to build up the legal armed forces to support the national security forces, to encourage people to register their name, and it is our duty to encourage people to join the police, army and NDS, says Azimi, adding that those who are registered are being paid a salary and are being supplied weapons by the government.

No one expected such rapid moves and huge waves of attacks by the Taliban. Nor that they would capture several districts at once General Atta Muhammad Noor, former governor of Balkh

Although this did not appear to be the case at the front line manned by Ibrahim Zadas men, collaboration between government forces and local fighters answering to General Atta Muhammad Noor was clear to see at another front line where both parties were stationed.

A former Balkh governor and a former mujahedin commander, Noors photograph can be seen on billboards throughout Mazar-i-Sharif. The commander raced back to Mazar-i-Sharif from Dubai as Taliban fighters threatened the city with a bloody onslaught. He was followed by Hazara warlord Mohammed Mohaqiq.

No one expected such rapid moves and huge waves of attacks by the Taliban. Nor that they would capture several districts at once, Noor tells The Independent during an interview at his home.

He says his stance had been to form a national mobilisation force to reinforce government troops early and ahead of the US withdrawal, but it was never accomplished because of fake self-confidence and misconceptions by the government.

General Atta Muhammad Noor, former Balkh governor and a former mujahedin commander, in his home in Mazar-e-Sharif (Charlie Faulkner)

Noor also points out their reliance on international troops in terms of air support, and that losing the technical capacity of American aircraft has left a big gap in the Afghan security forces fight against the Taliban.

If the power of the people is used to support the armed forces, we can conquer all the areas occupied by the Taliban. But, on the contrary, if we fail to do this, we will be confronted with a wide wave of attacks, he says.

Responding to criticism of utilising this crisis to shore up further power, Noor says he has no need to do so, and that his only aim is to defend the Afghan people against the Taliban.

I have good support from people. I am involved in the government, the political arena and in decision-making. We need to defend and save the lives, property, dignity, and self-esteem of Afghan women and men, and children. We do not want our people to live under beatings and violence, he says.

It never can be said that Mazar-i-Sharif will not fall. We say that we will use all our power and capabilities to prevent it from falling to the Taliban, and suppose the city does fall to the Taliban, we will go house to house and fight with the Taliban. We will find them and make them retreat.
Death sentences in Bahrain have risen by over 600 per cent since the start of the Arab Spring and the use of torture is drastically escalating, a new report has found, as family members of those on death row speak out about their living nightmare.

The six-fold rise in death sentences comes despite the fact that the UK has poured millions of pounds of taxpayers money into the tiny Gulf country in a bid to improve its human rights record.

The joint report released by UK charity Reprieve and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) found that at least 51 people have been sentenced to death since the 2011 Arab Spring protests, compared with seven death sentences in the decade before.

In 2019 the rate of executions in Bahrain was almost two thirds of the per capita rate of executions in Iran, one of the worlds top executioners.

The report also shows that Bahrains use of torture has risen dramatically since 2011, and is now endemic even after the UKs million-pound technical assistance to Bahrains justice and security sectors.

The report was released on Tuesday to mark the one-year anniversary of the Bahraini Court of Cassations decision to uphold death sentences against Mohammed Ramadhan, an airport policeman and Hussain Moosa, a hotel driver, who participated in the 2011 protests and in 2014 were arrested on charges of killing a police officer in a bomb attack.

Reprieve said Bahraini court has failed to establish any physical evidence linking them to the crime, a point confirmed in the analysis of court documents by Pete Weatherby QC from the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales.

The two men have said they were tortured to confess to murder, including being blindfolded, stripped, and beaten with iron rods. Hussain said he was sexually assailed, threatened with rape and deprived of food and water.

Although the allegations of torture were investigated they were then effectively thrown out by two Bahraini security bodies  Bahrains Special Investigations Unit (SIU) and Ombudsman  that have received training from the UK. This allowed the case against them to proceed.

Last month a United Nations human rights watchdog called on Bahrain to release and compensate two activists saying they are being arbitrarily detained.

They now face imminent execution by firing squad. Their family and international observers may not even be notified in advance.

Ramadhans wife Zainab told The Independent that the family all live in constant fear that the execution will go ahead without them knowing.

Mohammed has been increasingly paranoid that he will be executed without any given warning. It breaks my heart to speak with him and hear the fear in his voice, she said.

Last week he saw a police officer that escorted his former inmates to their death. He feared for his own life and is constantly afraid when any new developments take place in the prison.

She said she was in a living nightmare and her children keep asking when their father is coming home.

We dont know when we will wake up and hear my husband is going to be executed. He has lost all his appeals and his sentence is final. So we pray every single day that an execution will not take place. If I dont hear from Mohammed for a few days, I worry. Its terrifying and we always fear the worst.

She urged the British government to halt training and funding of the institutions in Bahrain that she said perpetrated abuse against people like her husband.

What is stopping the UK government from echoing the UNs call for my husbands immediate release? Why wont they condemn the abuse and torture he has endured and continues to suffer? To me, the UKs silence represents their complicity.

The report found that 100 per cent of the men executed on terrorism charges in Bahrain since 2011 alleged torture. It added that 26 men currently facing imminent execution are on death row as a result of unsafe capital convictions and death sentences, including those who are believed to have been tortured into confessing.

Sentencing torture survivors to death for their opposition to the government is a heinous act of revenge by Bahrains regime, said Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, director of BIRD, on the launch of the report.

Having trained institutions which facilitated death sentences against political prisoners like Mohammed and Hussain, the British government has a moral obligation to speak out against this injustice before it is too late.

Reprieve echoed the calls for British action, and said the UK must join the UN in demanding both Moosa and Ramadhans immediate release, as well as condemning death sentences and convictions based on torture.

Although the UK government says it is opposed to the use of torture in all circumstances, it continues to provide support to the Bahraini regime and to whitewash its human rights abuses, Harriet McCulloch, deputy director of Reprieve, told The Independent.

British taxes supported the Special Investigations Unit behind the sham report into Mohammed and Husains torture allegations that was relied on when Bahrains highest court upheld their death sentences. This body has been found unfit for purpose by the United Nations Committee against Torture. 

Former minister Sir Peter Bottomley MP last month urged the foreign secretary Dominic Raab to raise Moosa and Ramadhans cases at the highest level. In a letter, shared with The Independent, he urged them to call upon Bahrain to grant the men clemency.

The Bahraini authorities have repeatedly denied allegations of torture or abuse by members of their security services or in their jails. The Independent has approached the government of Bahrain for comment on the latest report by Reprieve and BIRD.
Authorities in Iran have launched an Islamic dating app in an attempt to boost the countrys birth and marriage rates.

Hamdam, or Companion, is the first ever licensed Iranian matchmaking app according to Komeil Khojasteh, the manager of Tebyan Cultural Institute which developed the application, reported Tasnim news agency.

The Tebyan Cultural Institute is run by an organisation that answers to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Irans divorce rate has been on the rise, whilst its birth rate has been declining at a rate of 7.67 per cent since 2015, according to government data.

Indeed, in 2020, birth rates in the country fell to a 100-year low, leading to Irans parliament deciding to pass budgetary provisions in March 2021 to encourage childbirth and marriage.

These provisions have included loans to young married couples as well as first-time homeowners with children.

Authorities probably opened their eyes to global trends and realised that they need to have a matchmaking app of their own, but tuned to Islamic standards, said Mehdi, a single, 33-year-old Tehran who didnt give his surname, reported Bloomberg.

Currently, foreign dating apps such as Tinder are not allowed in the Islamic Republic.

The app Hamdam is suited for those seeking a spouse in accordance with the countrys Islamic laws.

According to the apps website, users must verify their identity and undergo a psychology test before they can start to use it.

The app introduces the families together with the presence of service consultants, once a match is made. These consultants will accompany the couple for a period of four years after marriage.

According to the website, Hamdam has an independent revenue model, hence registration is free.
The death toll from a fire that tore through a coronavirus ward in an Iraq hospital has risen to 92, health officials said, as authorities faced accusations of negligence from grieving relatives and a doctor who works there.

More than 100 people were also injured in the blaze on Monday night in Nassiriya, officials said.

The ward, just three months old, contained 70 beds, according to the hospital authorities.

A local cameraman, Asaad, who arrived shortly after the fire broke out, told The Independent it was started by an electrical fault in the air-conditioning unit and was made worse by oxygen cylinders which are likely to have exploded.

He said people tried to escape through a back door in the ward but it was locked trapping them inside the inferno, although this has not yet been verified by authorities. He added: This ward doesnt have fire extinguishers or any fire safety measures. Some bodies are burned beyond recognition. The only way to identify them is through DNA samples. The fire department did what they could they have no equipment.

Reuters reported that the rescue workers were carrying charred bodies of the victims out of the hospital, while several others coughed incessantly because of the thick smoke.

Locals told The Independent that one family  called Rashid  had lost 6 members.

Hospital guard Ali Muhsin was quoted as saying: I heard a big explosion inside the coronavirus wards and then the fire had erupted very quickly.

Major general Khalid Bohan, head of Iraqs civil defence, told local media that the hospital was constructed from flammable materials and was thus prone to fire.

Families of the fire victims began protesting outside the hospital asking for justice. Protesters clashed with the police and set two police vehicles on fire.

Activists in Nasiriyah told The Independent protesters have set up tents preparing for a sit-in in Habbobi Square

President Barham Salih condemned the mismanagement and corruption pervading the nations health institutions on social media.

Prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has ordered the arrest of the hospitals head.

The parliaments speaker, Mohamed al-Halbousi, wrote on social media that the fire was, clear proof of the failure to protect Iraqi lives and it is time to put an end to this catastrophic failure.

The incident has turned the medias attention to the mismanagement and negligence of authorities in several hospitals, pointing out lax safety rules especially around oxygen cylinders.

This is the second time during the pandemic when a fire has blazed through a hospital in the country.

At least 82 coronavirus patients were killed when a fire engulfed a Covid-19 ward at Ibn al-Khateeb hospital in Baghdad in April. Reports said an oxygen tank explosion had led to the fire.

Iraqs healthcare system is struggling to cope with a severe Covid-19 wave that has caused more than a million infections and 17,592 deaths. Just last week there were 9,000 positive cases in one day.
The evacuation of the US-led coalition from Afghanistan is taking place with such speed, it is as if the forces had initially been sent to an unknown destination by mistake.

The US was meant to be the hero of this war. Freedom from the grip of the Taliban, and the promise of the establishment of democracy and equality between men and women were among the reasons why tens of thousands of American soldiers were dispatched to the country.

Millions of suffering girls and women who had been imprisoned in their homes found the opportunity to study, seek jobs and become members of commissions for the new constitution, loya jirga (a traditional assembly), and the countrys parliament. Masoudeh Jalal was the first woman who competed in presidential elections with Hamid Karzai, the head of Afghanistans transitional government.

I happened to be in Afghanistan during the first days after the fall of the Taliban and witnessed first-hand the impact on the countrys most important cities from north to south  from Kandahar and Jalalabad to Takhar and Mazar-i-Sharif  as they were freed from the Taliban. I spoke to Mujahedin commanders who had key roles in the fight against terrorism and the Taliban, and witnessed mutual strategic cooperation in communication between American and Afghan troops.

Afghans have paid a hefty price for the freedom and security they strived for over the past 20 years. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians have given their lives fighting against the Taliban, killed in unequal fights, ambushes, explosions and suicide attacks.

More than 2,000 US soldiers have also lost their lives in Afghanistan (2,372 soldiers and civilians). Over the past 20 years, thousands of foreign soldiers under the coalition banner have been killed, too, but my focus is on the US forces. These were soldiers whose mothers sent them with pride to fight against terrorism and ignorance. I have spoken to the mothers of these victims, women who are proud of American values and consider their children as heroes who fought to defend the values and principles of democracy. And that is not to mention those whom the war has left disabled or with mental scars.

The US exit from Afghanistan signals a change in strategic policy in the region. But what is Americas answer to the families of American victims? Those young men and women who were sent to Afghanistan to defend democratic values and principles of democracy but returned home in coffins?

The US has a strategic agreement with the elected Afghan government and is committed to defending and supporting this government and the people of Afghanistan. What will become of this strategic agreement signed with Karzai on 4 July 2012 during Barack Obamas presidency and under Hillary Clintons auspices?

Today, Ashraf Ghanis government is under increasing pressure to deliver its commitment to the nation, to fulfil its duties on the one hand, and meet US government demands on the other.

Before I go into the details of that demand, let me refer to the well-known practice of bribery and corruption within Afghanistans government. It is widely reported that President Karzais administration  he was twice elected as the leader of Afghanistan  was corrupt, while the current government has been unable to fight corruption in government departments. The billion dollars that left American taxpayers pockets to build the countrys infrastructure and reorganise security forces and the army were wasted or, better said, embezzled.

While the Taliban government did not receive dollars in the form of aid, their attempts to cultivate opium poppies and their network of heroin smugglers turned Afghanistan into the major centre of production and illegal procurement of narcotics.

Today, the situation is no better. What we now hear about the armed Taliban sailing through the country is the outcome of the peace agreement signed between the US government envoy Zalmey Khalilzad, and the Taliban in Qatar. These are the same Taliban members who had been released at the request of the US from high-security prisons.

Throughout his years of travelling between Kabul and Doha, Khalilzad prepared the grounds for the release of dangerous Taliban members from prison as the pretext for peace. These are people at the forefront of attacks against cities, people preparing for confrontation with the central government.

Moreover, during the past 20 years, plans to eradicate Mujahedin groups who were at the forefront of fighting the Taliban and terrorism were completed. They were marginalised as warmongers, and a considerable number of effective individuals and those with experience of war against the Taliban have been assassinated in recent years.

Today, there are hardly a handful of figures from the key Northern Coalition left. Some are corrupted to the core by American taxpayers dollars and thus have no incentive to fight the Taliban, and some have become too old to continue.

Besides, there are no arms to combat the Taliban, because people have left the task to the police and the national army. Even in better times, soldiers of the national army could hardly feed their families with their meagre wages and now it has been months since they were paid. For whom and for what ideal should they sacrifice their lives when they see that their strategic partner has secretly vacated their base in the dead of night?

What is the United Statess reason for such hurried policy, as unbelievable to foreign observers as to the people of Afghanistan? I believe this is part of Khalilzads plan to impose the peace agreement with the Taliban and implement promises the US gave them in Qatar.

The Afghan government has in the past months refused to accept Khalilzads proposed peace plan and negotiate with the Taliban. Ghani did not accept the establishment of a transitional government and insisted that the solution to reaching peace with the Taliban lies in an early general election.

Today, the advancement of the Taliban and the United Statess refusal to support the army or prevent cities and towns from coming under their control is aimed at putting the central government under enormous pressure to the point of falling. Ultimately, the US envoys plan in Afghanistan is to push the government either to resign or succumb to negotiating with the Taliban and accept their request for power-sharing.

I have referred to shortcomings, to bribery and corruption and security and economic problems left unresolved, but it should be noted that over the past 20 years, schools have been built and government departments established. Afghanistan has a constitution and political, security and government offices.

The threshold of government tolerance should not be tested to the point of the annihilation of these achievements and the fall of the country into national insecurity and wars of attrition.

Like its rugged land, Afghanistan holds within its borders different tribes and cultures, none of which accept the superiority of the other. Memories of the massacre of smaller religious tribes have not been forgotten.

Perhaps it would be best if the US concentrated on security, intelligence and anti-terrorism rather than sending hundreds of thousands of soldiers to get involved in direct combat; to concentrate on building up culture and development of ideas in Pashtun areas at the Pakistani frontier, where people are more prone to extremism and the teachings of backward religious seminaries.

Today, Iran, Russia and Chinas connections with the Taliban are not out of love for them but out of enmity towards their shared enemy. The US aim is to put maximum pressure on the Kabul government while leaving the Taliban a free hand to cause insecurity at the borders of Iran, Russia and China, thus forcing them to appreciate Americas presence in the region. Now with the rise of terrorist groups at their borders, these countries have to foot the bill for the security the US provided for free.

The following days are going to be decisive, but it is unlikely that, even with the fall of the central government or power-sharing with the Taliban, the confrontations will easily cease. Equally, assuming power by the Taliban will not create peace and security in Afghanistan.

Camelia Entekhabifard is the editor-in-chief of The Independent Persian
Since May, Palestinians have been mobilising against the new illegal Israeli settlement outpost, Eviatar near Nablus, with the focal point of these protests my hometown of Beita. Over these last two months, I have been asked the same question repeatedly: Why Beita? How did this West Bank town come to lead a popular resistance struggle?

First, the idea of popular resistance is not new to the Palestinian people; it was adopted during the revolt of 1936, in which we boycotted the British Mandate and declared civil disobedience against it and its institutions, tactics later repeated during the First Intifada.

Beita was present in both uprisings; as children, we grew up with songs and stories of our communitys history of resistance, from the days of British colonial rule through to Israels ongoing occupation and settler expansion. What is happening now is an extension of the experience of cumulative struggle enjoyed by Beita.

One element that has played in Beitas favour is its geographical location. It is a relatively remote town, far from points of direct contact with settlers. In addition, the town is primarily a service economy, with most goods that are produced in Beita sold in the Palestinian, rather than settler, market. Although a large part of the towns economy depends on Israel, the relationship of Beitas Palestinian worker with the Israeli employer ends with the end of the work day. The less dependent the town is on economic integration with Israeli settlers, the more determined and fearless they are in resisting settler expansion.

Strikingly, some 30 per cent of the towns 16,000 population are young people  an important factor that contributes to the vitality of the popular resistance here (and is in contrast to the demographics of other Palestinian towns and villages threatened by settlement activity).

In Beita, Israeli occupation forces never enter without facing fierce resistance. Our youth always rise to defend their town with all theyve got, and our people enjoy a collective sense of defence. Here you will find the doctor, the academic, the pharmacist, the worker and the students all in one front; political and family differences dissolve when the town is exposed to danger.

The popular resistance against the settler takeover has been characterised by creativity; burning tyres so that the wind blows smoke towards the new settlement, shining lasers, night marches with flaming torches, and drumming to make sure settlers dont enjoy any rest on stolen land.

Beitas youth have been able to maintain this spirit and unity through their awareness and belief in the justice of their cause. The occupation did not succeed in disintegrating the common collective spirit of the people of Beita, despite killing four and injuring hundreds since May.

There are daily donations from shops and restaurant owners, who send water, sweets, and meals to the youth on the mountain. Owners of large transport vehicles bring more tyres from the cities, and there is a constant presence of ambulances and paramedics in case they are needed.

The people of Beita might be fighting alone, but the truth is that they are still dreaming of a great homeland. Although only 20 per cent of the area targeted by settlers belongs to Beita, with the rest belonging to neighbouring villages, this has made no difference; thus, I believe Beita has broken a pattern whereby each town or village defends its own lands.

The people are continuing their resistance, after the new Israeli government made a deal with the settlers that leaves the settlement and army on the hillside, while the land theft can be formalised. Just last Friday, Israeli forces injured 31 protesters with live fire.

The people of Beita offer us Palestinians a solution to get out of the crises of trust, division, hesitation and setback that we are experiencing now. We are calling upon the Palestinian Authority to do more than support us with mere rhetoric. We need commitment, action and material support directly from the offices of our leadership. For without such support, and without wider popular support from the Palestinian society, our movement cannot be sustained as it is today.

Dr Amjad El-Ezz is head of the social studies department at the Arab American University, Ramallah
Since 1963, The Independent has helped create a great community!

Since our founding in September of 1963, The Independent has been dedicated to giving Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, and Sunol readers the news they need to be in-the-know about what's going on in the Tri-Valley region.
State-owned Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nepal for executing the 679 MW Lower Arun Hydro Electric Project. With the active support of the Ministry of Power, Govt. of India, SJVN won the project through International Competitive Bidding defeating other companies of the neighbouring countries.At around 11.28 AM, SJVN was trading at Rs29.05 per piece up by 0.5% on Sensex. The has touched an intraday high of Rs29.30 per piece in the early deals.As per the statement on PIB, the Lower Arun Hydro Electric Project is located in Sankhuwasabha and Bhojpur Districts of Nepal. The project will not have any reservoir or dam and will be a tailrace development of 900 MW Arun3 HEP. The project will have four Francis type turbines. On completion, the Project will generate 2970 million units of electricity per annum. It is scheduled to be completed in four years after the commencement of construction activities and has been allocated to SJVN for 25 years on Build Own Operate Transfer basis.Notably, this would be the second project awarded to SJVN in Nepal, the first one being the 900 MW Arun 3 Hydro Electric Project in Sankhuwasabha District. Arun-3 Project is being implemented through a wholly-owned subsidiary company of SJVN i.e. SJVN Arun-3 Power Development Company Limited (SAPDC) incorporated in Nepal. SJVN Limited was allotted even this project through international competitive bidding by the Government of Nepal on Build Own Operate and Transfer (BOOT) Basis with a concession period of 25 years excluding 5 years of construction time.The Foundation Stone of the Arun 3 project was jointly laid by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Nepal K P Sharma Oli at Kathmandu on May 11th 2018. Arun 3 HEP is the largest project in Nepal and also the largest investment of around Rs7000cr by India in Nepal. The commissioning of this project will go a long way in fostering friendship between the two neighbours and also lead to accelerated development and economic revival of Nepal. Project construction works are going on in full swing. The power from this project will be evacuated to India through the 400 kV double circuit transmission line to Sitamarhi in Bihar, India, also being constructed by SAPDC.
The effectiveness and full potential of the current Covid-19 vaccines are still only being studied as it is still early days to get the full picture.

Among the several experiments currently underway around the world, one of them has been much talked about - mixing two different vaccines for the two shots.

BCCL

While some early studies have suggested that mixing two COVID-19 vaccines from two different manufacturers can have provided better protection, the WHO is warning against the practice.

What WHO said

World Health Organisation (WHO) chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan has said that mixing and matching COVID-19 vaccines from different manufacturers is a "dangerous trend" and could lead to chaos as there is limited data on it on the practice.

Addressing a COVID-19 media briefing, Swaminathan said, "Really want to caution folks, because there is a tendency now for people in countries which enough availability of vaccines to voluntarily start thinking."

Dr Soumya Swaminathan (Image: Reuters)

"So it's a little bit of a dangerous trend here where we're in a data-free evidence-free zone as far as a mix and match there is limited data on mix and match. There are studies going on, we need to wait for that," she added.

Early studies

In May, preliminary results from the first trial in Spain involving more than 600 people show the benefits of combining different coronavirus vaccines had shown that vaccinating people with both the OxfordAstraZeneca and PfizerBioNTech COVID-19 vaccines produces a potent immune response against the virus.

Starting in April, the Spanish CombivacS trial enrolled 663 people who had already received a first dose of the OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine, which uses a harmless chimpanzee adenovirus to deliver instructions for cells to make a SARS-CoV-2 protein.

Reuters

Two-thirds of participants were randomly picked to receive the mRNA-based vaccine made by Pfizer, based in New York City, and BioNTech, in Mainz, Germany, at least eight weeks after their first dose. A control group of 232 people has not yet received a booster. The study was led by the Carlos III Health Institute in Madrid.

Several European countries including the UK have been seriously considering mixing Pfizer and Moderna vaccine shots as both are mRNA-based.

Others are mixing AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines as both produce different kinds of immune responses.

Different reasons

Some experts say mixing vaccines that target different parts of the virus can better prepare the immune system against a wider range of threats, including new variants.

In the UK, there is also a proposal for mix and match when it comes to the third, booster dose. This means that if someone has received the two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, they will be administered a different jab as the booster dose.

AP

Thailand said on Monday it will use AstraZeneca Plc's COVID-19 vaccine as a second dose for those who received Sinovac's shot as their first dose to increase protection against the disease.

The plan, if implemented, would be the first publicly announced mix and match of a Chinese vaccine and a Western-developed shot.

The country plans to also give mRNA booster shots to medical workers who received two shots of the Sinovac vaccine.

In India, too there have been some talks about mixing Covishield and COVAXIN, but it has not been implemented. Though there have been some cases of accidental mixups of the two.

Agencies

Another reason for some countries to explore the possibility of mixing two different Covid-19 vaccine shots is available.

With the delta variant spreading fast countries around the world are in a rush to vaccinate most people, but due to the shortage in supplies, many are forced to do it with whichever is available for them.

Past experience

Mixing two different vaccines is not anything new and in the past, such experiments have shown positive results.

One of the most notable such recent cases is Ebola. The Ebola vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson is an example of an effective mixed-product vaccine in use today. It was chosen to provide long-lasting immunity. The first shot uses the same adenovirus vector as AstraZenecas vaccine, and the second uses a modified version of a poxvirus called Modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA).

Side effects a concern

Although there is precedence for mixing vaccine types and there is a sound scientific basis for doing so, mRNA vaccines have only been approved for the first time for COVID-19.

AFP

This means we have no track record of what happens when used in combination with adenovirus vaccines. This is why researchers are calling for careful studies to test different vaccine combinations, paying special attention not only to their ability to boost immunity but also to any additional potential side effects.

The Oxford Vaccine Groups Com-Cov trial analysed different vaccine combinations to test immune responses. They found that people who had the AstraZeneca vaccine first followed by the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, or the other way around, had more reactogenicity, i.e side effects such as fever, chills, headache, muscle fatigue and joint pain compared with people who had two doses of one type of vaccine.
In the biggest anti-government demonstration in Cuba in decades, thousands of Cubans took to the streets protesting from Havana to Santiago chanting "down with the dictatorship," as they called for President Miguel Diaz-Canel to step down, as per TNN.

The protests erupted as Cuba faced the worst economic crisis since the Soviet Union fell. It was an old ally back in the time of the Cold War.

Protestors marched through Havana chanting we want liberty as a heavy military and police deployment kept watch. Police used tear gas to disperse crowds while officers used plastic pipes to beat protestors. At least 10 people were arrested.

Agencies

What's happening?

Public anger in Cuba has grown recently due to a number of reasons, including chronic shortages of electricity and food. There is also a record surge in daily reported cases and critical shortage of medicines for coronavirus infections, with Cuba under US sanctions.

Social media showed scenes from anti-government protests around the country, but mobile internet - only introduced in Cuba since 2018 - was largely cut off on Sunday afternoon.

Diaz-Canel delivered a combative television address, saying: "The order to fight has been given - into the street, revolutionaries!"

"We call on all revolutionaries of the country, all communists, to go out in the streets where these provocations occur... and to face them in a decisive, firm and courageous way."

Reuters

A Cuban-American mafia

Cuban President Diaz-Canel blamed the historic protests on US "economic asphyxiation" and social media campaigns by a minority of counter-revolutionaries, a Cuban-American mafia.

"There is a group of people ... hired by the US government, paid indirectly through US government agencies to organise this kind of demonstrations," said Diaz-Canel, blaming US sanctions imposed by Donald Trump and left unchanged by President Joe Biden.

President Biden on the other hand called on the "Cuban regime" to hear their people demanding an end to "repression" and poverty.

"We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba's authoritarian regime," the White House said in the statement quoting Biden.

Reuters

Reactions around the world

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador gave Cuba backing on Monday, saying the US economic embargo on the island should be ended to help its people.

"The truth is that if one wanted to help Cuba, the first thing that should be done is to suspend the blockade of Cuba as the majority of countries in the world are asking," Lopez Obrador told a news conference.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell urged the Cuban authorities to permit peaceful anti-government protests that have broken out on the island and heed the complaints of demonstrators.

"I would like to call on the government there to allow peaceful demonstrations and to listen to the discontent being expressed by the demonstrators," Borrell said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.


In the US, it has been described as dangerous for children's health and its sale is banned there. But in India it's favourite for kids. If you take this with you in the U.S. you could be fined up to $2,500 per illegal Kinder egg.
In a heart-stopping incident, two women fell off a swing on the edge of a 6,300-ft precipice in Russia.

The duo was swinging over Sulak Canyon in Dagestan when their cable allegedly snapped. That caused the swing seat to tip over at the moment the two women were heading towards the cliff edge, ejecting them over the steep cliffs, Daily Mail reported.

East2West

As fate would have it, both women landed on a narrow decking platform under the edge of the cliff and miraculously survived. Remarkably, they only sustained cuts and bruises before their horrified relatives hauled them back to safety.



Police have launched an investigation and safety checks are being carried out on similar swings nearby, where the canyon is more than one mile deep.

"The girls got scared and sustained scratches, but neither of them suffered serious injuries," a source told the local newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda.

"It is chilling to imagine what could have happened if they slipped when the swings were at a maximum height," the source added.

The local Kazbekovsky council is said to be unhappy with the safety standards and is in favour of removing such precipice.

East2West

The Sulak gorge is said to be deeper than the Grand Canyon in the US, and described as the deepest canyon in Europe.



The Ministry of Tourism in Dagestan has also said that the swing 'did not meet safety standards'.

"Law enforcement agencies and other services are already conducting relevant checks to ensure that nothing threatens lives and health," it said.
With Uttar Pradesh going to vote for the next Assembly early next year along with Uttarakhand and Punjab, the Congress leadership is debating whether Priyanka Gandhi should be assigned a more prominent, perhaps pan-India, role in the party. (IANS photo)
Real-time social media posts from local businesses and organizations across Northern Virginia, powered by Friends2Follow. To add your business to the stream, email cfields@insidenova.com or click on the green button below.
In an April edition of Ask General Counsel, we asked: Can Employers Require Employees to Receive COVID-19 Vaccinations?

Our answer was Yes, with some exceptions and if the mandatory vaccine policy is job-related and consistent with business necessity. This opinion was supported by guidance provided by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC.

Even though employers had this guidance from the EEOC, it was still unsettled whether a court would rule such policies were lawful. Well, on June 12, in Bridges v. Houston Methodist Hospital, a U.S. District Court federal judge dismissed an employee lawsuit challenging a mandatory vaccine policy. This is the first court opinion discussing such policies and is favorable to employers with similar policies.

On April 1, Houston Methodist Hospital announced a new policy requiring all employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 by June 7, or face termination.

A total of 117 employees, including Jennifer Bridges, sued to block the requirement and resulting terminations. Bridges and her co-workers argued that the policy violated Texas public policy and federal law, and that termination of employees who refused to be vaccinated would constitute wrongful termination. The court disagreed and upheld the employer policy. If employees refused to be vaccinated, unless they had valid religious or disability grounds, their employment could be terminated.

What Does Bridges v. Houston Methodist Hospital Mean for Employers?

While a Texas case may not seem relevant to Virginia employers, it sheds light on how courts across the nation may view mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies for employees. This case is the first opinion addressing whether employers can require employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Notably, the court found that such vaccine policies are consistent with public policy.

This case, as well as the EEOC guidance, seems to support mandatory vaccination policies, provided required exceptions are included, consistent with federal and state employment law.

Employers should continue to monitor guidance from state and local governments to ensure they stay in compliance with any changing recommendations or regulations. Attorneys at General Counsel will continue to monitor recommendations and legislation.

For additional guidance, contact the employment law experts at General Counsel, PC today at 703-991-7973 or via email, info@gcpc.com.
A former office administrator in Maryland is facing federal charges for defrauding her employer of more than $700,000 for fraudulently obtaining social security disability payments and for tax evasion.

A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Linda Pylant, age 57, of Grasonville, Maryland, for the federal charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, social security fraud and tax evasion. The indictment was returned on May 19, 2021, and unsealed today upon Pylants arrest and initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

According to the eight-count indictment, from 2012 to July 2020, Pylant worked as an office administrator at a trade association, where she was responsible for bookkeeping, making check deposits and other accounting duties, among other things. The indictment alleges that from 2017 until 2020, Pylant obtained money intended for her employer, which she diverted for her own financial benefit.

Specifically, the indictment alleges that in October 2017, Pylant opened a bank account purportedly for her employer, without the employers knowledge or consent. Pylant allegedly caused more than $700,000 worth of checks intended for her employer to be deposited into the fraudulently opened account.

The indictment alleges that Pylant was the sole signatory on the bank account and hid its existence from her employer by causing bank statements to be mailed to Pylants home address. According to the indictment, Pylant used more than $75,000 of the diverted funds at a local bingo hall, spent more than $100,000 for retail shopping, dining and grocery expenditures and withdrew more than $200,000 in cash.

The indictment further alleges that in August 2015, Pylant applied for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) falsely stating that she was disabled and unable to work, even though she continued to work and earn income from her employment as administrator at the trade association.

As detailed in the indictment, after the Social Security Administration approved her SSDI application, Pylant continued to work for her employer, and since 2018, received and spent more than $125,000 in SSDI benefit payments to which she was not entitled.

According to the indictment, from November 2014 until July 2020, Pylant evaded reporting her taxable income by causing her employer to pay her through a non-existent entity, LPSR Inc. The indictment alleges that Pylant did not register LPSR with the state of Maryland nor the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and caused her employer to fail to issue a 1099 IRS reporting form for LPSR.

As detailed in the indictment, Pylant allegedly caused her employer to pay LPSR more than $100,000, which was not reported to the IRS. Pylant also allegedly made false statements to the SSA concerning her income and employment, including that her employment with the trade association had ended in May 2014.

The indictment alleges that in February 2016, Pylant filed a voluntary petition for bankruptcy, which failed to list her taxable income from her employer. On March 14, 2016, Pylant allegedly made false statements in connection with her bankruptcy petition, claiming that she was disabled, had zero earned income, was not required to file any tax returns and that her employment status had not changed since February 2016.

If convicted, Pylant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each of five counts of wire fraud, a mandatory two years in prison  consecutive to any other sentence  for aggravated identity theft and a maximum of five years in federal prison for social security fraud and for tax evasion.

Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

Source: U.S. Attorneys Office, District of Maryland

Topics Commercial Lines Business Insurance Abuse Molestation Maryland
Hub International Limited (Hub), a global insurance brokerage and financial services firm, has acquired the insurance brokerage assets of Pete Webb Agency. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Owner Pete Webb was previously part of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Companys exclusive distribution model that has transitioned to an independent broker model.

Located in Fredericksburg, Virginia, Pete Webb Agency provides personal and commercial insurance services, including home, auto, life and business.

Webb and his team will be joining Hub Mid-Atlantic and maintaining his agencys presence at their current location in Fredericksburg.

This addition continues to complement and strengthen Hubs personal insurance solutions. Since 2019, Hub has added more than 20 agencies that were previously exclusive Nationwide agents and subsequently became independent.

Source: Hub International Limited

Topics Mergers Virginia
The Ardonagh Group, a top 20 global insurance broker and the UKs largest independent insurance broker, announced it will open the Ardonagh Global Data and Risk Management Centre this month, bringing 60 new highly skilled, data science and analysis roles to Mullingar, County Westmeath, in Ireland.

The Data and Risk Management Centre will deliver data-driven insights to Ardonaghs clients across the globe and help its 7,000-plus colleagues offer tailored solutions across a range of insurance products and related services, said the broker in a statement.

Conor Brennan, the CEO of Ardonaghs Irish broking subsidiary Arachas, created the concept and led an approach to IDA Ireland, the agency that encourages investment into Ireland by foreign-owned companies. With a meaningful investment from Ardonagh, the data center secured the support of the Irish government, said the broker (which did not reveal the amount of the investment).

Ardonagh intends to work closely with the Athlone Institute of Technology to offer its graduates local and world-class career opportunities.

Our Global Data and Risk Management Centre will focus entirely on improved outcomes for every participant in the value chain  forensically investigating our pool of data to build an improved understanding of risk, examining possible future outcomes and working with clients and insurer partners in preparation for the unknown, commented David Ross, CEO of The Ardonagh Group.

This skilled understanding and interpretation of our data will enable improved products with bespoke terms which accurately answer the needs of customers across the group, from our bike and car owners in Carole Nash and Swinton, right through to our newly created reinsurance unit, Inver Re, he added. This investment with the Irish government into an absolute focus on being one step ahead will be at the heart of every risk we manage.

Ardonagh considered many locations worldwide as a home for this centre, but ultimately, the Westmeath area stood out as a home for local talent and a high quality of life. At Arachas, we are delighted to be extending the presence of Ardonagh in Ireland, a further nod to the celtic roots of the Ardonagh brand, said Brennan at Arachas.

The Ardonagh Groups decision to establish its Global Data and Risk Management Centre in Mullingar demonstrates the companys confidence in the highly skilled and talented workforce available in the Midlands, said IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan.

Winning jobs and investment in regional locations is a key pillar of IDA Irelands strategy Driving Recovery and Sustainable Growth 2021-2024 and [the] announcement by The Ardonagh Group demonstrates the agencys continued commitment to that pillar. I wish the team at Ardonagh every success with this expansion, Shanahan continued.

Source: Ardonagh Group

Topics Agencies Talent Risk Management
Holmes Murphy

Waukee, Iowa-based Holmes Murphy named Ellen Willadsen chief innovation officer (CIO); Lindsay Chase assumed the role of the firms chief financial officer (CFO); and Susan Hatten has been promoted to the role of Holmes Murphys chief marketing officer (CMO).

Willadsen previously was CFO for 10 years. She joined Holmes Murphy in 1995, playing a key role in the organizations growth, increasing the organizations profitability, and providing invaluable counsel on major financial decisions. She was also instrumental in the startup of the Women Optimizing Women (WOW) initiative, which cares for the unique potential of women at Holmes Murphy and within the insurance industry.

Chase joined Innovative Captive Strategies (ICS), a subsidiary of Holmes Murphy in 2006 and, as a member of the executive team, has been instrumental to their success. In 2020, Chase was promoted to senior vice president, Finance with Holmes Murphy and will now assume the role of CFO.

Hatten joined Holmes Murphy in 2014 after leading business development for a marketing and advertising firm. She has been involved with Holmes Murphy sales, clients, marketing, and community culture, which is instrumental as she leads the marketing efforts of Holmes Murphy.

In addition, Willadsen and Hatten have been an integral part in building BTV  the industrys first broker-led group and accelerator program co-founded by Holmes Murphy.

The Plexus Groupe

The Plexus Groupe, a Deer Park, Ill.-based commercial insurance brokerage and consulting firm, promoted Gerald Fawcett to senior vice president, Property and Casualty Practice leader. Fawcett will develop the strategic direction of the practices overall business objectives to drive improved client outcomes with leading insurance and risk management business practices. He is based in Illinois.

Prior to this promotion, Fawcett was vice president of Industry and Specialty Practices. He will continue to serve as a member of the senior leadership team.

Fawcett began his insurance career in Texas with Chubb as a graduate of the ACE Early Career Development Program where he was responsible for producing new business across all lines in the Southwest Region. He later worked as an underwriter on the ACE Risk Management team before focusing on their Global Casualty business where he was the U.S. Primary Casualty underwriter.

Missouri Department of Commerce & Insurance

Martin Sam Komo joined the Missouri Department of Commerce & Insurance as the new captive manager.

As captive manager, Komo serves Missourians by acting as the primary contact as it relates to captive insurance in Missouri. This position is responsible for developing and implementing methods that maximize the value that captive insurance brings to the state and for those captive insurance companies that choose to domicile here.

Komos professional experience includes previous leadership and management roles at the Missouri Department of Economic Development and the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Komo is also a former Missouri state representative who was formerly the ranking member on the Job Creation and Economic Development Committee.

Komo joins the DCI Insurance Company Regulation Division which monitors and analyzes the financial condition of insurance companies licensed in Missouri to ensure they can pay claims. The division also certifies and collects premium taxes due the state.

Topics Missouri
A Cornell University-led research team has calculated that by the year 2050, vehicle electrification, driverless cars and ride sharing could prevent 5,500 premature deaths and save $58 billion annually, while simultaneously slashing U.S. petroleum consumption by 50% and carbon dioxide emissions by 75%.

The researchers projected vehicle stocks, distance traveled, energy usage and carbon dioxide emissions in the continental U.S. through 2050 and quantified the impacts of changing emissions on concentrations of fine particulate matter in the atmosphere, as well as ensuing health and economic benefits of populations in 10 major metropolitan areas.

Their simulations show that reductions in emissions from passenger travel could prevent between 2,300 and 8,100 premature deaths annually in the U.S. in 2050.

The largest number of prevented deaths coincided with large metropolitan areas, such as Los Angeles and Chicago. At the state level, California, Texas, New York, Ohio and Florida would see the largest decreases in premature mortality.

The associated economic benefits could range from $24 billion to $84 billion annually, according to the study.

The groups paper, Shared Use of Electric Autonomous Vehicles: Air Quality and Health Impacts of Future Mobility in the United States, is published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. Oliver Gao, professor of civil and environmental engineering, led the project. The papers lead author is former postdoctoral researcher Shuai Pan.

Another key finding is that for carbon mitigations and health benefits, vehicle electrification is by far the most important piece, followed by shared mobility (ride-sharing) and then automation, Pan said. The net energy impacts of self-driving vehicles are highly uncertain and automation alone may not dramatically affect energy use, emissions or vehicle-related pollution.

In fact, the researchers note that automation could actually lead to an increase in travel and offset other gains. So there is a balance, there is a trade-off, Gao told the Cornell Chronicle.

The study concludes that policymakers can help encourage the transition to electric vehicles and boost ride sharing, for example, by issuing tighter fuel economy standards, creating economic incentives for shared mobility, and investing in charging infrastructure and technological developments.

Previous studies have looked at transportation innovation, but this is the first research to employ a transdisciplinary systems approach that factored in human health and the associated economic benefits, according to Gao.

The research was supported by the U.S. Department of Transportations Center for Transportation, Environment and Community Health, and by Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology.

Source: Shared Use of Electric Autonomous Vehicles: Air Quality and Health Impacts of Future Mobility in the United States

Topics Trends
The Dallas-area owners and operators of two durable medical equipment companies have been convicted on insurance fraud and money laundering charges, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Texas reported.

Federal officials said Leah Hagen, 49, and Michael Hagen, 54, of Arlington, Texas, were owners and operators of two durable medical equipment (DME) companies: Metro DME Supply LLC (Metro) and Ortho Pain Solutions LLC (Ortho Pain), both operated out of the same location in Arlington.

The defendants paid a fixed rate per DME item in exchange for prescriptions and paperwork completed by telemedicine doctors that were used to submit false claims to Medicare.

The defendants paid illegal bribes and kickbacks and wired money to their co-conspirators call center in the Philippines that provided signed doctors orders for orthotic braces. The evidence at trial showed emails exchanged between Leah and Michael Hagen and their co-conspirators showing a per-product pricing structure for orthotic braces but disguising their agreement as one for marketing and other services.

Through this scheme, the defendants billed Medicare Parts B and C approximately $59 million and were paid approximately $27 million. The defendants wired millions of proceeds into their personal bank accounts, both in the U.S. and overseas. At sentencing, the Hagens each face a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah of the Northern District of Texas, Special Agent in Charge Miranda Bennett of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector Generals (HHS-OIG) Dallas Region, and Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno of the FBIs Dallas Field Office made the announcement.

This case was investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI and was brought as part of Operation Brace Yourself, a federal law enforcement action led by the Health Care Fraud Unit of the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section, in partnership with the U.S. Attorneys Offices for the Districts of South Carolina, New Jersey, and the Middle District of Florida.

Assistant Deputy Chief Adrienne Frazior and Trial Attorneys Brynn Schiess and Catherine Wagner of the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

Source: U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Texas

Topics Texas Fraud
One General Agency (OGA)

One General Agency (OGA) in Oklahoma City added four new team members.

Jennifer Konemann is the firms new workers compensation underwriter. She has more than 25 years of experience as a commercial lines account manager. Her years on the agency side give her great experience, and she is already very familiar with our markets.

Konemann stepped into the role created by the retirement of Cheryl Magrini.

Micah Macomber has been hired as commercial lines underwriter in Texas. Macomber has over 10 years of experience in rating and risk analysis of P&C, professional, garage, inland marine, and excess lines.

He started his career with Burns and Wilcox as an associate underwriter and has spent the last six years as the senior underwriter for an MGA in Texas.

Kelley Hulin is an associate broker. She is working in both the brokerage and oil and gas departments. She has a broad spectrum of experience in independent retail agencies, direct writer companies, insurance litigation, and surplus lines wholesalers.

Hulin previously served as an underwriter for Insurance House and Burns & Wilcox and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the role.

Janie Williams joined the team a few months ago as an associate broker. She based in Hensley, Ark. Williams previously was a senior account executive with BXS Insurance.

Before that, she held various leadership roles at wholesale brokers and larger agencies in the Little Rock, Ark., area.

TSLAs Patterson

Jean Patterson, executive director of the Texas Surplus Lines Association (TSLA), was honored in June by the Texas House of Representatives in recognition of her 40th anniversary with TSLA. Patterson was presented with a framed resolution that was unanimously approved by House members, filed by State Representative Gene Wu, and signed by Speaker of the House Dade Phelan and Representative Wu.

Topics Texas Oklahoma
A Texas man must serve 10 years probation and pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution after fraudulently filing claims for medical tests he was not authorized to perform on workers allegedly including his mother, state insurance regulators say.

Samuel Yosimar Garza of Katy pleaded guilty in Fort Bend County to first-degree felony theft. Judge Tameika Carter of the 400th Judicial District Court sentenced Garza to 10 years of deferred adjudication, a $5,000 fine, and $410,124 in restitution  $250,000 of which Garza submitted. Garza also must write an apology letter.

An investigation by the Fraud Unit of the Texas Department of Insurance showed that Garza, who isnt a doctor or medical professional, billed an insurance company as a medical provider.

According to the investigation, a Houston-area company initially asked the company administering its employee health insurance why the health plans costs had quickly increased.

TDI investigators found that a company set up by Garza submitted claims in connection with 12 to 14 employees, allegedly including Garzas mother and another relative. The claims were for workers joining sleep studies or getting allergy testing or electromyography (EMG) tests. However, the tests werent ordered or provided by medical professionals.

When the insurance administrator asked Garza for medical records to verify the claims, Garza had none.

Source: TDI

Topics Texas
Crest Insurance Group has acquired SpringbergMcAndrew Insurance in Lake Havasu City, Ariz.

Principal Mike McAndrew joined the firm in 1989. McAndrew and longtime co-owner Brian Springberg have since grown the company to one of the largest firms in Mohave County.

McAndrew and his team will be working from their current location in Lake Havasu City.

Lois Heath will continue her role as a broker as an employee benefits consultant. She joined the firm in 2010.

Dee Erhart will continue her role focusing on property/casualty insurance.

Crest Insurance has offices throughout the Southwest and holds licenses in all 50 states.

Topics Mergers Arizona
Cal/OSHA is cautioning California employers to be prepared to protect workers from unhealthy air due to wildfire smoke.

When workers are at risk form unhealthy air from wildfires, Californias protection from wildfire smoke standard requires employers to take steps such as changing the location of work operations, modifying work schedules or providing proper respiratory protection like N95 respirators.

According to CalFire, there have been over 4,000 wildfire incidents so far in California in 2021 and more than 100 structures have been damaged. Smoke from these wildfires contains chemicals, gases and fine particles that can harm health.

One of the most harmful hazards comes from breathing fine particles in the air (called PM2.5), which can reduce lung function, worsen asthma or other existing heart and lung conditions, and cause coughing, wheezing and difficulty breathing, according to Cal/OSHA.

When wildfire smoke affects a worksite, employers are required to check the air quality index for PM2.5 and throughout the work shift as needed to protect employees.

If the AQI for PM2.5 is 151 or greater, employers must take the following steps to protect employees:

Inform employees of the AQI for PM2.5 and the protective measures available to them.

Provide effective training and instruction to all employees on the information contained in section 5141.1 Appendix B.

Implement modifications to the workplace, if feasible, to reduce exposure. Examples include providing enclosed structures or vehicles for employees to work in, where the air is filtered.

Implement practicable changes to work procedures or schedules. Examples include changing the location where employees work or reducing the amount of time they work outdoors or exposed to unfiltered outdoor air.

Provide proper respiratory protection equipment, such as disposable respirators, for voluntary use. Respirators must be labeled N-95, N-99, N-100, R-95, P-95, P-99, or P-100, and must be labeled as approved by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

If employers move operations indoors, they must follow Cal/OSHAs COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards, which require unvaccinated workers to wear face coverings indoors.

If the AQI for PM2.5 exceeds 500 due to wildfire smoke, respirator use is required. Employers must ensure employees use respirators and implement a respiratory protection program as required in Californias respiratory standard.

Guidance for employers and workers on working safely in conditions with smoke caused by wildfires is available on Cal/OSHAs web page, including information for protecting outdoor workers, details on how to protect indoor workers from outdoor air pollution, and frequently asked questions about N95 masks.

Related:

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Workers' Compensation Wildfire
Horticultural growers will hold a protest outside the Convention Centre in Dublin today to highlight the challenges around the harvesting of horticultural peat and the central role it plays in the sector.

Growers will build a 50sqm display with their produce outside where the Dail is sitting.

It will depict the message No Peat, No Produce to remind the Government that the horticultural sector cannot supply Irish produce for consumers without peat.

Without immediate Government intervention to allow the harvesting of peat, the Irish horticultural sector faces wipe out, said IFA President Tim Cullinan.

The Ministers in charge here have to step in save the sector. The situation is now beyond serious.

As a major segment of the Irish horticulture sector relies on peat, particularly the mushroom and ornamental sectors, this will have devastating consequences.

Producers will either have to close their business or import peat, which will make some businesses unviable because of the extra cost.

Its contradictory for the Minister for Horticulture to commission a report on opportunities for the horticultural sector, while at the same time the industry is facing closure because the raw material required is effectively gone.

Ruling

Meanwhile, following a ruling of the High Court in September 2019, harvesting peat from bogs greater than 30 hectares now requires all harvesters to go through a complex licensing and planning regime.

Horticultural peat harvesting on Irish bogs has all but ceased and Irish peat supplies will be exhausted before September.

Irelands horticultural sector has a farm gate value of 477m.

There are over 17,000 jobs in the sector, which includes an estimated 6,600 people directly employed full-time with another 11,000 being indirectly employed in value added and downstream businesses.

The horticultural sector is a significant aspect of the Irish agri-food sector.
A Cork grandmother has been jailed for a total of 90 days over not wearing a facemask in a shop in what a judge said were offences that were "deliberate and repeated, persistent and wilful, and without justification, or any lawful excuse".

Margaret Buttimer (aged 66) of the Cottage, St Fintans Rd, Bandon, Co Cork, had already received a suspended sentence for an earlier offence in which she did not wear a mask, as required by laws introduced to fight the spread of Covid-19.

Her solicitor, Plunkett Taaffe, had on a number of occasions flagged possible medical issues regarding his client, and had outlined the concerns that some of her family members had for her regarding her recent behaviour.

In addition to having been convicted of an offence arising from an incident in Clonakilty in February, last month Ms Buttimer pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to wear a mask while in shops in Bandon on two dates in May.

Sentencing was deferred on those two charges until July 12, pending the provision of a medical report.

However, she then faced two further counts of refusing to wear a mask at SuperValu, Riverview Shopping Centre in Bandon, on June 25 and July 1, with the latter incident alleged to have taken place while on bail, the conditions of which prohibited her from being in certain parts of Bandon and from entering retail premises.

In court, Ms Buttimer contested the most recent charges, with Judge James McNulty hearing evidence from the store manager at SuperValu in Bandon, Alan Owens, that he had encountered Ms Buttimer on both occasions, once in-store and a second time at the entrance. She was not wearing a mask on either occasion and two gardai also testified that she had refused to wear a mask.

Judge McNulty received and read reports submitted by Mr Taaffe from Dr Eleanor Mullan, of the Department of Psychiatry of Old Age in UCC, and from a psychologist. The court also heard that the defendant did not recall having pleaded guilty last month to two earlier offences.

Judge McNulty said: "This case is about rights and duties.

"Margaret Buttimer is entitled not to wear a mask at home or outdoors  but like every other citizen she is required by law to wear a mask when she enters a shop, or other public indoor space."

The judge said Ms Buttimer was entitled to a pension and a medical card, and had been granted legal aid. But he said: "The primary duty of a citizen is to obey the law.

Inexplicably and inexcusably, Margaret Buttimer has shown profound disrespect for all those who have lost their business, employment, travel, and educational opportunities, lost lives and loved ones, suffered health impairment, and put lives on hold, and tolerated restraints which are much greater than just having to wear a mask when shopping.

"Locally, Margaret Buttimer has disregarded the rights to health and safety of those who work in frontline retail, from the store manager to the checkout girl.

"She has been disrespectful to other compliant shoppers, who may be vulnerable, or who may be the carers of vulnerable children or elderly relatives. Her own elderly mother is 93 and her partner is 69  and they are also entitled to be protected from her irresponsibility."

He described the report by Dr Mullan as "inconclusive", with an MRI scan being recommended, and he said the clinical psychology report recommends a further assessment in nine to 12 months' time.

"In the absence of clear and conclusive medical evidence, the court cannot, unfortunately, indulge in sympathetic speculation as to possible causes for the offending," said the judge.

For the offences in Bandon on May 12 and May 14, he imposed two 14-day terms of imprisonment, adding that because Ms Buttimer had spent the past 12 days in prison, those two sentences were deemed have been served.

As for the June 25 offence, he convicted her and imposed a sentence of 30 days imprisonment.

For the July 1 offence, he convicted her and imposed a sentence of 60 days. Judge McNulty said this sentence was committed while Margaret Buttimer was on bail, and would have to be served consecutively.

"Accordingly, the sentences total 90 days, and to be served forthwith," he said, adding that he would not activate the previous suspended sentence of 21, but that it remained open to the court to do so.

Judge McNulty set recognisance for any appeal at Ms Buttimer's own bond of 100, no cash required, and two sureties of 300, as well as an undertaking that she would be supervised and that she would not commit any offences.

Mr Taaffe said no appeal would be lodged.
A long-time derelict publicly-owned site in Cork City centre is to be sold to facilitate a 25m student apartment project.

City councillors voted last night to dispose of the city councils leasehold interest in number 96 North Main St to Pantherlee Ltd for 100,000  half its current market value. The disposal price was agreed over two years ago.

The vote to dispose followed the granting of planning permission late last year to a linked company, BMOR Developments Ltd, for a 280-bed student apartment development on sites which include the former Munster Furniture Store site, which was gutted by fire in 2008.

The estimated 25m development will also occupy 92 North Main Street, formerly Molloys Footwear, as well as numbers 95 and 96, both of which are long-time vacant.

The project also includes two retail units, and space for a coffee shop or restaurant.

An image of the plans from Bmor Developments Ltd for 49 student apartments, as well as two retail units and a cafe/restaurant at 92-96 North Main Street.

Cork City Council acquired number 96 North Main St in May 2018 and councillors were reminded last night that a report was issued in April 2019 to permit the developers, BMOR, to include number 96 in a planning application for the student apartment scheme, and to agree in principle to dispose of the property at existing market value, subject to planning permission.

In a report to council last night, officials said the 100,000 disposal represents the value of the site when the council granted the developers consent to include the property within the planning application for their consented scheme.

A recent independent valuation taking into account the benefit of the developers consented planning for the scheme gave a market value of 200,000 representing an uplift in value of 100,000, they were told.

But they were also told that following negotiations with the developers, heads of agreement have been agreed which will provide for two eight-bed residential units within the development being leased to the city council for 10 years.

These units represent a floor area in excess of the original floor area of the previous premises at number 96, they were told.

Preferential lease terms have been agreed which will represent a further saving over the 10-year lease period of well in excess of the 100,000 uplift value and accordingly represents the best consideration reasonably obtainable for the councils interest.

The disposal is subject to conditions, including the purchaser agreeing to enter into a lease agreement with the council on two 271 sq m pods, each containing eight-bed spaces in the complex.

The units will be located on the first and second floors on the north-eastern corner of the site, which faces onto North Main St.

Bmor Developments Ltd are planning to build apartments, as well as two retail units and a cafe/restaurant at 92-96 North Main Street.

Rent of the units will be at a discounted rate of 100 per week per bed space, inclusive of all services, heat and light, wifi, refuse, furniture and fittings.

Councillors Fiona Ryan (Solidarity), Ted Tynan (Worker's Party), and Paudie Dineen (Independent) objected to the disposal, with Ms Ryan insisting that more could be done with the site if it was retained in public ownership.

Green Party councillor Dan Boyle said he is not fully in favour of the overabundance of student accommodation in the city, but he welcomed assurances that the city will be paid the derelict site levies owed on the sites earmarked for development.

Councillor Mick Finn (Independent) described it as a good compromise and Fianna Fail Councillor Sean Martin said that during the negotiations with the developers, the council insisted on a social dimension and got it.

Councillors voted 24 to four in favour of disposal.
The Cork man who has been in jail for the past three months on a charge of robbery of a 14-month-old French bulldog indicated he will sign a plea of guilty to the charge.

Defence solicitor Shane Collins-Daly appeared at Cork District Court and told his client Michael Molloy, who appeared by video link from Portlaoise Prison, there was progress in his case.

Sergeant Pat Lyons then informed the court that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had directed trial by indictment and also indicated a signed plea of guilty would be accepted by the DPP, should this arise.

Signed guilty plea

Mr Collins-Daly said the accused man had indicated to him he would enter the signed plea. Judge Olann Kelleher said the defendant would have to be brought to court in person for that purpose.

The judge adjourned the matter for one week for this to happen. Mr Molloy asked when he would then be sentenced. Judge Kelleher said once the plea was signed, the sentencing would then be adjourned until September at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

Mr Molloy, 28, allegedly waved a hammer at the owner of the dog before taking the animal into a waiting car.

Sergeant John Kelleher said directions were still awaited from Detective Garda Brian Murphy, who charged Michael Molloy of An Faill, Cul Ard, Carrigtohill, Co Cork, last month with carrying out a robbery at Ballincollie Road in Ballyvolane on April 11 of the 14-month-old French bulldog, Rocco, from Denis McCarthy.

Lump hammer

Det Garda Murphy said the owner was walking the dog at 4.30pm on April 11 when a Ford Focus pulled up beside him. A young man jumped out of the back of it, swung a lump hammer twice or three times in his direction and demanded the dog. He grabbed the dog, took him into the Focus which was driven away, the detective said.

The owner managed to get partial registration details and the car was traced to Molloy, who later arranged for the dog to be returned to the detective for the owner.

The owner, who is aged about 30, previously thanked the gardai and credited social media for the dog's safe return after a successful online appeal.
The fall-out of the Dublin Bay South by-election has been dominated by the infighting within Fianna Fail, but the result has far-reaching ramifications for Fine Gael and its leader Leo Varadkar.

While James Geoghegans 26% share of the vote was not in the car crash category, the failure of Fine Gael to hold the seat vacated by Mr Varadkars former campaign manager and close ally Eoghan Murphy has been the source of some internal angst within the party.

All has not been well in Fine Gael for a considerable time, with several TDs saying the party has been largely rudderless under Varadkars leadership.

The partys identity has become confused, with some insiders blaming the unsuccessful chasing of so-called woke millennials at the expense of the Fine Gael traditional base.

Having now lost their fifth by-election under the current leader and with the party looking at heading into opposition after the next election, there is also increased doubt about a number of their top stars and veteran TDs as to whether they will stand again.

Problems linked to Fine Gael's poor 2020 General Election have yet to be addressed fully by the party and promises made by Varadkar that the party would renew and reinvigorate in government simply have not been delivered.

It is curious that the more one digs into the Fine Gael problems, the more troublesome the picture looks.

From a high of 76 seats in 2011, the party lost 26 seats five years later and rather than gaining some of those seats back as promised in 2020, they went on to lose another 15 seats.

The departure of Murphy and the failure of Geoghegan to hold the seat means Fine Gael is down to just 34 seats.

As is the case now, the party headed into the 2020 election facing the problem that more than a dozen of their TDs, including Enda Kenny and Michael Noonan, were standing down and many of their replacements failed to hold their seats.

Varadkar, Coveney and Donohoe

Varadkar and his deputy leader Simon Coveney have sat at Cabinet since 2011 and, by any standard, that is a considerable period of time.

Others such as Heather Humphreys and Paschal Donohoe are in Cabinet since 2014 and both too now have high mileage on their clocks.

Varadkar is due to be Taoiseach again in 2022 and has cause to be more optimistic about his immediate future as the promise of taking over the top office in the land is one very few get to taste.

However, the medium to longer-term prospects for him and the party are not so positive.

Despite losing the 2016 and 2020 elections, remarkably Fine Gael still finds itself in power and it is unfathomable that it could be considering a fourth consecutive term in office.

There is a view that should the party head out of power in 2024 or 2025, the likes of Varadkar, Coveney and Donohoe will take the opportunity at that point to bow out.

Insisting his position as Fine Gael leader is safe, Varadkar last week stressed he will be around for a good while yet.

However, even some of his most loyal TDs worry what his appetite will be for a lengthy stint in opposition having tasted power so young.

For months, many in Fine Gael have formed a view that Donohoe is heading for Europe given his elevation to the Presidency of the Eurogroup of EU Finance Ministers and are convinced he will not run again.

For the first time, Donohoe has moved to end speculation with his spokeswoman telling the Irish Examiner he will absolutely be standing at the next election. But in truth, much can happen between now and 2025.

Pre-election exodus?

Aside from the Cabinet, the party will see a number of its veteran TDs retire or decide not to run again, with some internal party estimates of between 12 and 15 people bowing out.

Some Fine Gael members have estimated the pre-election exodus could be as high as between 40%-50% of current TDs.

For example, come the next election, Louth TD Fergus O'Dowd and Kildare North TD Bernard Durkan will be in their mid- and late-70s, respectively, by the time the next election comes around.

Former ministers such as Richard Bruton, Michael Creed, David Stanton, Michael Ring and Charlie Flanagan are insisting, for now, they are not for stepping down but others in the party feel they are likely to go.

Even though he is not yet 50, former chief whip Paul Kehoe will have served more than 20 years if this Dail lasts the full term and would be on the old gold-plated scheme in terms of pensions.

Every election sees a level of churn of older generations stepping down and younger generations take their place, but for a party in crisis, such as Fine Gael, experience will tell you there is a considerable risk in terms of losing seats.

Already Gone

Eoghan Murphy: The former Housing Minister shocked the political system back in April when he resigned his Dublin Bay South seat after 10 years in the Dail.

Having cut a disenchanted figure since leaving Cabinet, Murphys departure was a blow to the Varadkar empire, having been his campaign manager and loyal confidant previously.

Michael D'Arcy: The former junior finance minister had spent three years being responsible for reforming the insurance sector, only to hang up his boots to take up a lobbying position in the industry.

Brian Hayes: Another former junior Fine Gael finance minister from the Varadkar camp has eschewed politics in favour of the private sector. He is now the head of a banking industrys lobby group

Possible retirees

Bernard Durkan: The veteran 76-year-old Kildare TD has been a member of Dail Eireann since 1981, barring a short absence in 1982. A former junior minister in the Rainbow Government between 1994 and 1997, he has held other minor offices since then.

Durkan, a native of Mayo, has held a rock-solid seat for the party in Kildare North and while his may be one the more bankable ones to be retained, there are no guarantees.

Fergus O'Dowd: The 72-year-old former junior minister is a well-respected member of the party and someone who has defended the partys position in the tough constituency of Louth.

There is a widespread belief that ODowd will not seek re-election should the government run its full term until 2024 or 2025.

Michael Ring: The bombastic 68-year-old Mayo minister has been an entertaining addition to the Dail since 1994 when he took the seat vacated by Padraig Flynn in a by-election.

Through thick and thin, Ring has held his seat in the highly competitive political arena.

The former auctioneer and estate agent has held a number of ministerial positions, making it to the Cabinet table in 2016 as the Minister for Rural and Community Development.

Now marginalised to the backbenches by Leo Varadkar, his future at senior Cabinet-level is over.

Michael Creed: The former agriculture minister and current Cork North-West TD might be insisting he is not thinking about retiring but many of his colleagues are not so sure.

His geographical position made him a certainty for Cabinet in 2016 but the new coalition with Fianna Fail and the Greens saw him lose out. While he has been a cogent voice on the Covid-19 pandemic in the Dail, one wonders if the fire remains enough to see him stand again.

David Stanton: The former junior justice minister is one of the Dails quiet and understated characters. The former teacher and guidance counsellor has been in the Dail uninterrupted since 1997.

The 64-year-old Midleton native is one who lost out in 2020 when the major squeeze on ministerial positions occurred following the change of government and his future remains uncertain.

Doubts over

Richard Bruton: The 68-year-old party chairman, serial minister and Dublin Bay North TD has done it all in Irish politics, bar be the leader and that simply isnt going to happen.

The partys Mr Reliable and Dependable has sought to redefine himself with his cooking videos and his flat abs since leaving ministerial office.

Entitled to the maximum TD and ministerial pension, he doesnt need the cash and the lure of an easier life may simply become too tempting, some have suggested.

Paschal Donohoe: After months of whispers and speculation that he is heading off, the Dublin Central TD and Finance Minister has moved to clarify his position.

Responding to queries from the Irish Examiner, a spokeswoman said he absolutely will be running in the next general election.

There is a belief in Fine Gael that he will not stand in the General Election and that some nice sinecure in Europe or high finance awaits. One to watch.

Simon Coveney: Despite only being 49 years old, the Cork South Central TD has been in the Dail for a very long time, having held that seat since he won the by-election to fill the seat following the death of his father Hugh.

His reduced status in government since the coalition formed a year ago has not rested comfortably on his shoulders, some say, leading to speculation his time in politics may be coming to an end.

Paul Kehoe: Another of the Fine Gael brigade who has enjoyed a lengthy stint in high office and is not yet 50 years of age.

The Wexford TD, former chief whip and Defence Minister got nine years sitting at the Cabinet table under Enda Kenny and Leo Varadkar, having safely changed his allegiances during the 2017 transition of power.

Now firmly consigned to the backbenches, an understated TD and rare media performer, there are suggestions Kehoe may fancy a second career elsewhere.

However, the departure of DArcy may see pressure come on Kehoe to remain as the standard-bearer in Wexford. Again, one to watch.

Charlie Flanagan: The long-standing Laois TD and former Justice Minister has recently insisted he is not going anywhere, but there are many in his party who suspect he is for the door at the next election.

He has held all the major offices he possibly could and is unlikely to return to Cabinet in the foreseeable future.

Again, the lure of the TD and ministerial pension could become too much to resist.

Leo Varadkar: On one level, the very notion of questioning Leo Varadkars future in politics would seem absurd. Already a former Taoiseach, a minister of 10 years standing, and is set to return to the top office in December 2022, Varadkar has reached and succeeded at the top echelons of Irish politics.

However, while the immediate picture appears rosy enough, the medium to long term is far less certain.

Read More Fine Gael loss a wake-up call for leader Varadkar

It was he himself who suggested he is not set on a life in politics and didnt see himself still in office by the time he reaches the age of 51. While he has walked back from that statement since he said it in 2016, many in his own party question his appetite for the long haul.
Burma Aung San Suu Kyi Faces 75 Years in Prison as Myanmar Junta Brings Fresh Charges

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in January 2021 / The Irrawaddy

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi faces a potential prison sentence of 75 years, after Myanmars military regime filed four new corruption charges against the detained State Counselor in its latest effort to ensure that the ousted civilian leader stays behind bars.

On Tuesday, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint and Dr. Myo Aung, the former Naypyitaw Council Chairman, appeared at a special court in Naypyitaws Zabuthiri Township for their trial for incitement under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code.

The fresh charges against the ousted State Counselor bring the number of cases she faces to ten. They carry a potential prison sentence of 75 years, if she is found guilty and ordered to serve the sentences for each charge consecutively.

If the court decides that she has to serve the sentences consecutively, she could face a total of 75 years in prison for all ten cases. In political cases, the verdicts tend to be consecutive, said U Khin Maung Zaw, one of the State Counselors lawyers.

U Khin Maung Zaw said the four new charges under the Anti-Corruption Law are to be accepted at Mandalay Regions High Court on July 22, and that they will know the details of the accusations by then.

The allegations are not clear as the lawyers cannot see the first information reports and other documents from the police, he said.

Two of the cases are against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi only, while in the other two cases she is charged along with two others.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Dr. Myo Aung and U Min Thu, an ex-committee member of Naypyitaw Council, face one charge, while Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, U Ye Min Oo, the ousted deputy chair of Naypyitaw Council, and another Council member face a separate charge together.

Last month, they were accused of abusing their powers to obtain a cheap land lease for the Daw Khin Kyi Foundations La Yaung Taw Horticulture Vocational School in Naypyitaw.

The junta-controlled Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) said she was found to have committed corruption using her rank, filing her case under Section 55 of the Anti-Corruption Law.

The other accused were also charged under the Anti-Corruption Law for granting land use permits and land grants in violation of official procedures.

The State Counselor is already on trial for six other charges, including the illegal possession of walkie-talkies, breaching COVID-19 restrictions, incitement and one case under the Official Secrets Act.

She was detained in the early morning of Feb. 1, as the junta staged its coup, and placed under house arrest.

Following the takeover, the regime launched corruption probes against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, accusing her of accepting cash and gold, as well as of abusing her authority and funds donated to a charity foundation she leads.

In early June, the junta said Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been charged under the Anti-Corruption Law and that the ACC was probing the allegations.

U Khin Maung Zaw said that the same legal team is also representing U Min Thu, who faces incitement charges under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code. U Khin Maung Zaw has been representing U Min Thu every Wednesday at his trial at the prison court in Naypyitaw. The court has already heard from prosecution witnesses in the case.

During a meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Dr. Myo Aung prior to their Tuesday court appearance, her legal team said that they had obtained signatures from both the accused for power of attorney documents to be presented to the Mandalay Region High Court.

Testimony from the prosecution witnesses for the incitement charge Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint and Dr. Myo Aung are facing was completed on Tuesday. The case has now been adjourned until 27 July for further arguments, said U Khin Maung Zaw.

For the case that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi faces under the Natural Disaster Management Law, which relates to an alleged breach of COVID-19 regulations, no prosecution witnesses appeared and the trial will continue next Tuesday.



You may also like these stories:

COVID-19 Spreads Among Students in Kachin Independence Army Territory

Detained NLD Legal Chief In Intensive Care with COVID-19

Detained Myanmar State Counselor, President Express Grave Concern for People as COVID-19 Surges
Burma Myanmar Junta Troops Die in Kayah State Clashes

KNPP troops in Kayah State / KNIC

Ethnic armed group the Karenni Army (KA) fought an all-day battle on Monday with junta troops across four different locations in Loikaw Township, Kayah State.

At least seven junta soldiers died during the fighting with the KA, which is the armed wing of the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), claimed the KNPPs Karenni Information Center (KnIC). However, The Irrawaddy could not independently verify the casualties.

The two sides clashed from 7.30am to 7pm near the villages of Dawtahe and Tee Lon to the east of Loilem Lay, and the military responded that night with artillery fire directed at the villages, KNPP Secretary-1 Khu Palu Reh told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday.

The KnIC posted on Monday evening that firefights between Karenni soldiers and the Myanmar militarys infantry battalion 530, under the control of Brigade 66, occurred near Dawtahe and Tee Lon villages around 8am, then near Wan Khaing and Kun Nar villages at around 1.40pm, near a cemetery to the east of Dawtahe at around 4.40pm and to the south of Dawtahe at about 6.11pm.

Fighting broke out after more than 50 junta troops arrived near Tee Lon village on early Monday morning, said a displaced person sheltering near the village. The KA opened fire on the regime forces, who responded with at least five artillery rounds, according to the displaced person.

Around 1,000 residents were forced to flee their homes in Tee Lon and nearby villages, said another displaced person.

Save Our People, a civil society organization helping displaced people in Loilem Lay, confirmed that villagers have fled into the forest on the border of Kayah and Shan states.

People are already faced with the third wave of COVID-19, so the displacement has come as another blow to them. For the time being, they are sharing the food that they brought with them from home. But they might be short of food if they have to stay longer in the forest because of the fighting, said a member of Save Our People.

Mondays battle was the second time the KA and junta forces have clashed in July.

On July 2, the KA fought with the combined forces of the junta, the Karenni National Peoples Liberation Front and the Pa-O National Organization/Pa-O National Army led by Aung Kham Hti in Loikaw.

The KA signed a truce with the previous military regime in March 1995. But the ceasefire collapsed three months later.

Peace talks resumed with U Thein Seins quasi-civilian government in 2012, but the KNPP/KA has not yet signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement.

Since the juntas Feb. 1 coup, the KNPP/KA has reportedly sheltered striking government employees, as well as providing military training to youths wishing to fight against military rule.



You may also like these stories:

Detained NLD Legal Chief In Intensive Care with COVID-19

Detained Myanmar State Counselor, President Express Grave Concern for People as COVID-19 Surges

Myanmar Suffering From Severe Shortage of Medical Oxygen as COVID-19 Cases Spike
Analysis In Myanmars Divided Shan State, a New Appeal for Unity; China Will Be Watching

RCSS/SSA-S troops participate in a military parade in Loi Tai Leng, southern Shan State in 2017. / Kyaw Kha / The Irrawaddy

Last week, a newly formed Shan political organization known as the Shan State Front for Federal (SSFF) and a Shan political party, the Shan State Liberation Party (SSLP), called for a united front against the military dictatorship and urged reconciliation and a truce between two rival Shan armed groups.

It is reported that this new political group comprises Shan youth and intellectuals who want to see unity in Shan State.

They claim to fight for democracy, federalism, ethnic states rights and the right to self-determination. The group made its announcement on July 7. A few days later, on July 11, it declared war on the State Administration Council (SAC), the governing body established by the military after its coup in February. However, the newly formed Shan group remains something of a mystery, and it is not yet clear how much support it commands.

Meanwhile, the two rival ethnic Shan armed groups, the Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP) and the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), have been fighting over a territorial dispute for a month in the mountains of Kyethi Township, southern Shan State.

The war has forced thousands of villagers to flee their homes. Influential Shan monks have been trying to stop the conflict.

On July 8, the RCSS issued a statement in English and Chinese calling for a peaceful solution to the conflict in northern Shan State.

The statement also said that a combined force of SSPP and Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) troops has been attacking military camps and strongholds of the RCSS in Namtu and Kyaukme townships. These prolonged armed conflicts have been causing great difficulties for the local populations, it reads.

But behind both the recent and past armed clashes, Shan analysts suspect that the powerful Wa armed group, the United Wa State Army (UWSA), is behind the SSPP and TNLA. This time, according to Shan observers, the SSPP and TNLA are deploying heavy artillery, suggesting some ethnic forces might have been involved in assisting the SSPP.

Both the Wa and the TNLA have denied claims the former is backing the latter.

Commenting on the ongoing conflict, Sao Pha, the general secretary of the SSFF, told The Irrawaddy that the group is unhappy to see armed clashes between the RCSS and SSPP and said that Shan people want reconciliation between the two Shan groups.

In Shan State, he said, the RCSS and SSPP are at loggerheads and engaged in a protracted armed conflict. The Shan are frustrated as two ethnic Shan armed groups are in conflict instead of targeting the Myanmar military.

In fact, these two major Shan forces have been fighting each other in northern Shan State since 2016-17. In recent years, the RCSS expanded its territory into northern Shan State, which shares a border with China. Notably, this conflict has worsened since the RCSS signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with the government of former President U Thein Sein in October 2015. Soon after, it expanded its forces to the north, resulting in clashes with the TNLA.

The RCSS is based along the northern Thai border but its troops have expanded their territory into central and northern Shan State bordering China. The SSPP is based in northern Shan State.

It is interesting to note that the armed clashes between the two Shan insurgent groups (and those involving several smaller ethnic armies including the TNLA) in Shan State have taken place along the route of Chinas natural gas pipeline in Shan State. In the future, China plans to build major infrastructure projects, railroads and bridges in the area.

Since the coup in February, fighting has intensified between the RCSS and SSPP, as the military has been busy in Yangon and elsewhere trying to contain anti-coup protests.

In Manhlyoe, a town in northern Shan States Muse Township on the Chinese border that is home to a border checkpoint, this year SSPP commanders told RCSS troops to leave the area. This is where China plans to build one of the Myanmar-China Cross-Border Economic Cooperation Zones (CBECZs). The junta has reorganized the members of the central committee for the implementation of CBECZs. The committee is set to play a major role in drawing up implementation policies, in the management of the zones and in pushing to gear up the projects. Under the China Myanmar Economic Corridor agreement, the CBECZs are planned to be constructed in Shan and Kachin states, along Myanmars border with China.

To protect Chinese economic interests and upcoming major projects in Shan State in Myanmar, China has been heavily dependent on local security forces, international security companies and active armed groups in the respective areas.

RCSS leaders suspect that China supports the SSPP. Not long ago, RCSS senior leaders reportedly sought a meeting with Chinese officials at the Chinese Embassy in Yangon. Details of the discussion were not disclosed but the contentious issue of the clashes and control of territory in northern Shan State was discussed.

If China and Chinese businessmen are in favor of the SSPP, this reflects a certain amount of calculation. Beijing thinks the SSPP is an unfailing ally helping China preserve influence in northern Shan State. More importantly some key figures in the SSPP leadership are former members of the now defunct Communist Party of Burma, such as General Sae Htin.

The Chinese feel they can trust them.

Some Shan political analysts say China may think the Thailand-Myanmar-based RCSS is close to Western-funded political organizations, and also has connections to the parallel National Unity Government (NUG). Moreover, in the context of the foundation of the Shan armed resistance movement, China sees the RCSS as historically anti-communist.

Therefore, China feels it cant trust the RCSS.



You may also like these stories:

Myanmar Hit by the Two CsCoup dEtat and COVID-19

COVID-19 Spreads Among Students in Kachin Independence Army Territory

Detained NLD Legal Chief In Intensive Care with COVID-19
Opinion Myanmar Hit by the Two CsCoup dEtat and COVID-19

Anti-regime protesters in Yangon in February. / The Irrawaddy

Myanmar is now a country which has been severely hit by two Csthe coup detat and COVID-19. Both Cs are cruel, but the former made the latter worse.

Ambulance sirens wake people up in Yangon these days. The sounds also convey the sorrows and worries of many residents of Myanmars biggest city with a population of more than 7 million.

Since early July, Ive noticed an alarming increase in the frequency of sirens and even in the urgency and speed with which the ambulances drive. Last week, I started seeing more of them, sometimes up to six or seven ambulances in a row speeding to and fro, blasting sirens continuously and honking at blocked traffic. It doesnt stop all day long.

From my apartment, which is on one of Yangons main roads, I can observe medics and drivers wearing PPE inside the ambulances. Even when I am in bed or in the kitchen, I hear their sirens from dawn to 10 pm, when the curfew is imposed by the military regime to curb protesters anti-coup activities.

On Monday, the regime reported 89 fatalities across the country. But the real death toll is believed to be higher.

Take a look at the death toll in Kale Township in Sagaing Region. In just the first week of July, 207 people are believed to have died from the virus, according to volunteers and residents. And they also said that around 400 have died in the township in the last month. But the regimes Health Ministry announced only six deaths during the first week of July and 11 deaths for the last two weeks of June in the township.

So far, nearly 90 percent of the country has been affected by the countrys third wave of coronavirus infections since May, with nearly 300 of 330 townships across the country reporting cases.

Many friends and colleagues of mine have fallen sick over the past few weeks and some of them have tested positive. But most of them, like countless other patients. couldnt go to hospitals, as there are no proper mechanisms and procedures in place in the public health sector. Many people are desperately searching for oxygen for family members with COVID. Almost everywhere, people are lining up with oxygen cylinders wherever it might be available. But the regime recently banned people from buying oxygen themselves. That has made people panic more, causing chaos in Yangon and elsewhere.

People are helpless. They all, including my friends and colleagues, have been taking care of themselves as the public healthcare system has collapsed.

This is a consequence of the military coup led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on Feb. 1. Systematic mechanisms disappeared right after the elected civilian government led by popular leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was removed and all leaders of the government thrown behind bars or under house arrest.

The coup, which shocked many in Myanmar as well as the world, overturned all the structures of the countryits fledgling democratic reform, economy and so on. Now weve seen how terribly the healthcare system has failed.

The coup has faced strong protests from the public nationwide. But the coup leaders are ruthless. So, the peopleordinary activists, politicians and people of all professions who are against the regimehave since then faced brutal killings, shootings and arrests by the regime. So far, the regimes soldiers and police have killed nearly 900 people, including dozens of children, and detained thousands of anti-coup protesters and politicians, including elected members of the parliaments and the ousted governments ministers. Many people have gone into hiding as the regime issued arrest warrants and tried to arrest them arbitrarily.

Health workers, including doctors and nurses, across the country are among them. The military has issued arrest warrants for 400 doctors and 180 nurses due to their participation in the civil disobedience movement (CDM) against the coup, according to the US-based Physicians for Human Rights. Between the coup and July 6, at least 157 healthcare workers were arrested, 32 wounded and 12 killed, the group said. But many more health workers are still taking part in the CDM against the regime.

The people of Myanmar still face killings and arrests by the regime. The entire population of 54 million has been hit by the first cruel Cthe coup detat.

Now they are being hit by the second cruel CCOVID-19, or the coronavirus.

But the people wouldnt have suffered to this degree unless the military had created the first Cthe coup detat.

Myanmar is a poor country, but the ousted civilian government proved that being poor doesnt really matter if good governance and public trust are established, when it comes to tackling even the deadly global pandemic of COVID-19 during its first and second waves last year. We can still recall reports of how terribly people were suffering at that time in rich and developed countries like the United States, as well as Britain and other countries in Europe.

The ousted government of Myanmar proved that a poor country can tackle the pandemic with seriousness and good management, with the full collaboration of the public and health workers from the national level to the community level.

Myanmar has done extraordinarily well so far, said a representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Myanmar in an interview with The Irrawaddy last year, when asked for his assessment of the countrys COVID-19 response under Daw Aung San Suu Kyis government.

Dr. Stephan Paul Jost said the country had taken a whole-of-government approach, implementing such measures as suspension of flights, mass gatherings, partial lockdowns in all parts of the country, and more. He also said that those measures were examples of how the county has really gone all out to strengthen the public health side and preparedness and response.

By now, however, all such mechanisms have disappeared with the militarys takeover. Sadly, Myanmar people got the worst possible ruler for this most dangerous, once in a century pandemic.

Actually, this regime led by Min Aung Hlaing has already proved in just a few months that he has no ability to run the country at all. Instead, he has surpassed the miserable incompetence of even his former bosses, the previous military dictators, in all aspects: politics, economics, education, health and everything else. Thats why the people of Myanmar see him as the worst among the dictators of this country.

When it comes to fighting the third wave of COVID, many people have expressed their political feeling on social media: We need a revolution to fight the coup, while we need oxygen to fight COVID. It shows their determination that they will succumb to neither the coup nor COVID.

Politics is everything. When a political system or its stability is destroyed, almost everything else collapses.

Some apologists for the regime have been arguing that health workers who have joined the CDM should reinforce hospitals and clinics now that the country has been hit by the third wave of COVID-19. They couldnt do that, as many of them are wanted by the regime.

And many users of Facebook have responded that if Min Aung Hlaing relinquished power and released Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, all people, not only health workers but also volunteers and rich businessmen who donated millions of dollars to build centers across the country for COVID patients under the previous government, will come back tomorrow to fight the third wave of COVID, as they did before.

Thats their response and its what they really want to see. But it is wishful thinking.

In reality, Myanmar is facing a nasty regime and an ugly pandemic at the same time.

Myanmar, however, is resilient after having survived several dark agesa century of colonial rule from the 19th century, more than 70 years of civil war after 1948 and more than half a century of military rule after 1962.

Naing Khit is a commentator on political affairs.

You may also like these stories:

Nearly 1,200 Coronavirus-Positive Myanmar Workers in Thailands Tak Need Help, Groups Say

Myanmar Border Town Locked Down by KIA as New COVID-19 Infections Emerge

The Coup China Saw Coming in Myanmarand Failed to Stop
A day after massive demonstrations throughout the island to protest the worst economic crisis in decades, the communist government restricted internet access and blocked social networking sites in an apparent attempt to stop the flow of information to, from and within the nation.

Version en espanol

The protests, the largest on the island, 90 miles from Miami, have been definitely driven by greater access to the internet and telephones in Cuba, according to Sebastian Arcos, FIUs associate director of the Institute for Research on Cuba. "One of the phrases that dissidents are using now in Cuba is 'we are connected'."

On Monday, Cuban authorities blocked access to Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram, according to Alp Toker, director of Netblocks, a London-based nonprofit internet watchdog group. "This seems to be the response to the protest promoted on social networks," he commented. Twitter did not appear to be blocked, although Toker noted that Cuba can prevent access to the platform if it so wishes.

Toker added that while recent access to the internet by Cuban authorities has increased activity on social media, censorship by the communist regime has also been on the rise.

Restricting internet access has become a proven method of suppressing dissent by authoritarian regimes around the world, along with government-supported propaganda and disinformation campaigns. Regimes like China and North Korea exercise strict control over what ordinary citizens can access on the internet. Elsewhere, service blocks are more limited, and access to common social media platforms is often disrupted near elections or during times of civil unrest, such as what the world saw in Cuba Sunday.

Internet access in Cuba has historically been expensive and not easily accessible, according to rights advocacy groups. The Cuban government restricts independent media and "routinely blocks access within Cuba to many news websites and blogs," according to Human Rights Watch.

Cuba is going through its worst economic crisis in decades, coupled with a rebound in coronavirus cases..
Elon Musk denied all charges against him in his testimony in Delaware courtroom. He also dropped a few controversial statements in the process. Musk said he "definitely" does not control the Tesla company's board during the SolarCity deal.

Musk also emphasized that Tesla would die if he does not work as its CEO.

Earlier reports revealed that Musk is facing trial for the controversial SolarCity acquisition. Dressed in a conservative black suit and black tie, Musk began his testimony on Monday (July 12, 9:20 AM ET). The whole trial is scheduled to last two weeks.

Tesla shareholders claim Musk used the company to rescue SolarCity with its financial problems. Dating back in 2016, SolarCity struggled with its financial status as solar technology had grown cheaper, new competition rose, and investors lost their interest to support the company.



Bloomberg reported that in June 2016, Elon--as one of the largest shareholders for both Tesla and SolarCity--later made a shocking announcement. He said Tesla would acquire SolarCity in a deal he referred to as a "no brainer."

Complete Details of Elon Musk'sTestimony

Elon Musk made three notable remarks during his testimony in court. CNBC reported the specific quotes given during his testimony.

Musk said, "I have absolute faith that Solar City would have been able to raise money independently." He repeatedly emphasized that SolarCity could have raised capital even without Tesla's help. The acquisition was not used to resolve the SolarCity issue but was meant to accelerate Tesla's advent for sustainable energy.

"I tried very hard not to be the CEO of Tesla, but I had to, or it would die." Musk said, adding that he hated being a company boss. Instead, he was committed to being an engineer. He contributed to Tesla with his ideas, and not because he had control over the Tesla shareholders.

"I have great respect for the court, but not for you, sir." Musk said, as he also got into an argument with Randy Baron, the attorney for the Tesla shareholders suing the billionaire. Baron showed clips of Musk's deposition in 2019, pointing out that the CEO is known as a demanding and exacting boss. Musk denied "rage firing" company workers and said he gives "clear and frank feedback which may be construed as derision."

Read Also: Elon Musk Discussed How Aribags Could Be Safer Than Seatbelts, Debunks Car Rating

Elon Musk's Conflict of Interest in Lawsuit vs. Tesla Shareholders

The court adjourned at 4:45 PM ET. Musk is expected to resume his testimony by July 13. The court meeting is kept exclusive, so updates only came out after it ended. There is no live stream available for the court.

It is undetermined who has a better advantage in this trial. Musk brought out good arguments, but the Tesla shareholders' representatives have not yet made their response in court.

There will be undoubtedly more changes expected to happen in these next few days. Keep an eye out for Elon's Twitter account for real-time updates of his status.

Related Article: Elon Musk Goes Viral on Twitter--Neuralink Brain Chips Article Launched a Thousand Memes and Questions
A time capsule carrying humanity's words of wisdom--including some from The Beatles--is getting ready to fly to space. The Lucy spacecraft will visit Jupiter's Trojan asteroids while carrying a plaque engraved with messages from Earth.

Designed to last for thousands, if not millions, of years, distant future descendants from Earth might retrieve Lucy as a relic of the early days of humanity

On Monday, NASA featured the Lucy spacecraft and its mission message to the future.

"Lucy" took its name from the fossil skeleton that revolutionized human origins. It is also a moniker inspired by The Beatles' 1967 classic song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." NASA aims to convert Lucy as a treasure to inspire humans in the future, according to a Cnet report.

Lucy Spacecraft: Time Capsule Plaque to Feature The Beatles

A time capsule plaque was made to engrave the messages from prominent thinkers. Some of the famous quotes listed are from Billy Collins (American Poet), Martin Luther King Jr. (American minister and civil rights activist), and Albert Einstein (German-born theoretical physicist).



Members of The Beatles are also heavily featured in this plaque. The band member's quotes are inscribed as follows:

"And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make." John Lennon (1940-1980)

"We all shine on . . . like the moon and the stars and the sun." Sir Paul McCartney (1942-)

"Peace and Love" Ringo Starr (1940-)

"When you've seen beyond yourself then you may find peace of mind is waiting there." George Harrison (1943-2001)

Full details on the people involved and the specific quotes they contributed are available on the Lucy website.

The plaque has also been inscribed with an image of the current solar system. It shows the opposite phases of Earth and a logo of both NASA and Lucy. This message will be sent with the intent to preserve a copy of the solar system, should it possibly change shape in the distant future.

Read Also: Mars, Venus Conjunction 2021: How to Take Perfect Photo of Mars Kissing Venus Using Your iPhone, Samsung

NASA Lucy Spacecraft Launch Date

The Lucy spacecraft mission is scheduled to start on October 16, together with its launch date. NASA does not elaborate if they have plans to livestream the event. However, NASA constantly keeps its page updated with Lucy's progress through their official website.

NASA Lucy Spacecraft Design

Lucy is not the first spacecraft NASA designed to share wisdom in space. Back in 2015, per Cnet, NASA sent a golden record made for alien ears. It was a sound album containing different sounds from Earth, like a baby's cry, winds, rains or different types of transportation. The full compilation of these sounds is available in NASA's Soundcloud.

However, Lucy is different from the Golden Record. Instead of aliens, Lucy has been designed to carry a message to other human beings. It used English letters to convey its message since English is the international language. More updates for the Lucy spacecraft will be available the closer it gets to the launch date.

Related Article: Elon Musk Touts Third SpaceX Drone Ship for More Rocket Catches at Sea
An alert came out saying Ethereum and Bitcoin prices are in danger. China has continued banning cryptocurrency and activities associated with it, which led to thousands of Chinese miners being decommissioned.

Furthermore, China is reportedly dumping GPUs, implying that their mining capacity has ended--a situation that could lead to all crypto prices dropping to dangerous levels.

Months earlier, China took serious action against its local cryptocurrency miners. A "crackdown" was declared, and China blocked all internet access against major cryptocurrency exchanges. Chinese users on Houbi and Binance were discretely required to use location-masking VPN to continue access in their service

The crackdown ended up a success. Bitcoin and Ethereum miners in China were forced to stop. Now, Forbes reported that these miners have been dumping GPUs, suggesting that the Chinese crypto market won't return.

In reflection, crypto prices for Ethereum and Bitcoin have taken a drop.

ETH Value in 'Danger'

At the time of writing, Coindesk said that ETH is priced at $2,002.4 while Bitcoin is at $32,966.6

Ethereum took a network hash rate drop of 20 percent compared to its May performance. On May 12, ETH peaked at $4,132.7. However, these last few days reflect a struggle to hold on to the $2,000 price mark.

Bitcoin shares the same pattern. In May, Bitcoin peaked at $58,788.2. Unfortunately, recent weeks showed that Bitcoin barely maintained its $30,000 price level.

Read Also: Elon Musk Goes Full 'Harry Potter' to Promote Dogecoin Price: Will Doge Bounce Back

China Crypto Ban Continues

Notebook Check reported that Chinese crypto miners are getting rid of their GPUs. NVIDIA RTX 3060 cards, one of the hardest GPU to find during the global chip shortage, are found in abundance and sold in bargains like Alibaba, AliExpress, Taobao and Bangood,

NVIDIA RTX 3060 retails at $329. The initial dumping price for these GPUs sell at $450. However, since the China ban against cryptocurrency continues, an influx of new sellers brought the offer down to $270.

The report also said that some miners resort to selling their computer rig as a whole. Laptops featuring RTX 3060 mobile GPUs are sold at $1,000 or less.

Ethereum Price Prediction

Experts and analysts worry that the crypto market is entering a "calm before the storm." Since the market is heavily affected by recent changes, Bitcoin falling under a $30,000 value might trigger a new wave of investor liquidation. Panic buying and selling could create a storm that disrupts the market balance.

The recent events can trigger a phenomenon called "Crypto winter." WSJ described it is a cycle with sell-off spikes later followed by long periods of flat trading. The market would use the "crypto winter" to repair balance and its market nature.

Entering the cryptocurrency market, even from big industries like Bitcoin and Ethereum, presents significant danger. Since Chinese crypto markets are seemingly permanently closed, cryptocurrency markets might take a while to recover.

However, analysts from Bloomberg Technology said this is "Fantastic News." China took serious precautions against cryptocurrency since the industry is getting "stronger." Lastly, the analyst says that "US markets are safe" against the ban method used for cryptos.



Related Article: Dogecoin Price, Investment Today: Elon Musk Issues Ethereum and Bitcoin Warning, Gives Boost to Meme Coin
Ithaca, NY (14850)

Today

Generally cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High around 70F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 62F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Ithaca, NY (14850)

Today

Generally cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 70F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 61F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
TPG Telecom launches its Reconciliation Action Plan to help and provide equity and opportunities for First Nations people. The plan also features a bespoke artwork designed by artist Riki Salam to illustrate TPGs commitment.

TPG Telecom is affirming its commitment to creating equity and opportunities for First Nations people through its first Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).

The TPG Telecom Reflect RAP, developed through Reconciliation Australias framework, will act as a strategic plan for the first part of the companys reconciliation journey.

TPG Telecom CEO Inaki Berroeta says all companies have a role to play in helping to drive equitable outcomes for First Nations people.

Our purpose is to build meaningful relationships and support vibrant, connected communities. RAP is a significant step for our company as we build connections with First Nations communities, Berroeta says.

We look forward to partnering with, and learning from, our First Nations communities the meaning of respect and inclusivity into the way we work, and ultimately make a meaningful difference for our customers, employees, and our wider society.

The TPG Telecom RAP speaks to the contributions the company can make to the community through its technological capabilities and skills, Berroeta says.

We will continue to support external programs to create pathways in STEM for First Nations peoples and students, in particular girls and young women, and support them to pursue a future career in technology, he commits.

The TPG Telecom RAP features a bespoke artwork titled Listening to Land - Connecting to Country, designed by artist Riki Salam of We Are 27 Creative, to reflect the story and identity of TPG Telecom and signify its commitment to reconciliation.

According to TPG Telecom, the artwork is about listening to how the land and country are communicating to us and how we in turn respond. The Trumpet Shell or Bu as it is referred to in the Torres Strait, is used to call people to meet, be it for ceremony, the hunting and gathering of food or even for warfare.

When blown, the Trumpet Shell produces a sound that can be heard across land and sea, both near and far.

The three lines emerging from the shell represent the values of reconciliation, respect, relationships, and opportunity. These lines merge into different aspects of the country from freshwater to saltwater, desert to rainforest, and everywhere in between this land connects us all.

The creation spirit known as the Rainbow Serpent is depicted throughout the artwork, drawing the understanding of law, culture, ceremony and creation of the landscape upon which our people and our communities all connect.

The young vine leaves with the goanna refers to growth and the next generation of youth pursuing their aspirations in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

The different treatments and motifs represent the diverse landscapes and vibrant communities across Australia that TPG Telecom is connected to. The sun, stars, and moon help navigate across the land, to respect and connect with the country and one another.

The artwork was unveiled at TPG Telecoms NAIDOC week event and will hang in TPG Telecoms head office in Sydney.
GUEST RESEARCH: Fastly, a global edge cloud platform provider, today released new research in partnership with Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) that uncovers a crucial need for a unified, modern, and simplified approach to security. The study, based on insights from information security and IT professionals in Australia and globally, revealed growing concerns around adequately securing the rapidly rising number of mission-critical cloud services and API-centric applications introduced as part of ongoing digital transformations.

Applications are being modernised, coded and deployed more quickly than ever before: 47% of Australian organisations surveyed expect to support more than 200 internally-developed applications within two years, up from 33% of organisations today. Most if not all internal applications rely on APIs to support the use of microservices, to share data or interconnect with other applications. Organisations are amassing large API footprints as a result.

These APIs are increasingly targeted by attackers as an entry point into the organisation and a way to steal data. In response, organisations are layering multiple web application and API security tools in the hope of creating best-of-breed and defence-in-depth protection. The result is a patchwork of incompatible tools that cause more problems than they solve. Data correlation is difficult, there are multiple 'blind spots', and the amount of alerts generated - and proportion of false positives - is leading organisations to disable automated threat blocking capabilities within the tools, or in some cases the tools themselves. The ESG study shows attackers are exploiting this to slip into many large Australian business environments undetected.

Nine out of ten Australian organisations experienced at least 10 attacks on their web applications and APIs in the past year that went undetected by security tools until they had a negative impact of some kind. For a quarter of Australian respondents, the negative impacts included legal problems, compliance issues, a loss of revenue or brand damage. For one in five respondents, the breaches led to downtime and customer experience impacts.

The type of attacks varied, but included exploitation of the OWASP Top Ten (experienced by 31% of respondents) and zero-days (29%), malware infections (33%), account take-over 24%) and cloud service misconfiguration (21%). Outdated security offerings, alert fatigue and ineffective blocking are among the cracks in organisations' security armour that allowed these incidents to slip through.

Australian organisations surveyed prefer security tools that can detect and block potential attacks automatically but say their existing tools block too much legitimate business traffic when in this mode of operation. The overblocking impacted customer experience (for 40% of Australian respondents), wasted time (40%), led to system downtime or undetected attacks (37%), caused loss of revenue (30%) or led to a failure to meet service level agreements (21%). Many Australian organisations chose to disable blocking or to limit its use to certain windows of time or application traffic types in order to mitigate against these potential impacts.

"One of the biggest security challenges we are seeing today is that technologies are rapidly evolving to better serve the growing demand for digital experiences, but the security offerings that protect those technologies are not experiencing that same level of transformation -- and often erode the benefits of modern technology stacks," said Fastly senior principal technologist Kelly Shortridge. "Security tools should fuel innovation, actively support service resilience, and minimise disruption to software delivery workflows, rather than slowing build cycles and producing disjointed, unactionable, or irrelevant data."

More than three-quarters of Australian respondents recognised an appropriate long-term response would be an overhaul of their security tooling and approach, moving to an evolved and consolidated web application and API security solution from a single vendor.

Fastly APAC sales engineering manager Stephen Gillies added "The DevOps movement proved that rapid automation and testing and rapid iteration would translate into more innovation. But innovation filled with risk is not really the end game. The next crucial step is to implement security directly into the internal app and API workflow process so it is not a hurdle to work around, but a part of the process that can move as quickly as the rest if done right. Otherwise, it's just more of the same, and security will remain elusive."

Research from the study also concludes:

 On average, Australian organisations surveyed spend close to $580,000 annually for web application and API security tools. Security is becoming more complex and costly as organisations are required to protect traditional architectures, in addition to new architectures and cloud environments.

 Traditional security tools are ineffective and impede business growth. Current security tools frequently block harmless business traffic, impacting the organisation's bottom line. As a result, 72% of Australian respondents configured their security tools to run in log or monitoring mode only, rather than in blocking mode; 12% shut the tools off entirely; and 16% did both. This is despite 53% preferring to run tools in blocking mode, since it would reduce manual intervention and effort - if it worked effectively.

 Nearly half of all security alerts are false positives. A majority of Australian respondents spend an equal amount or more time on false positives as they do on actual attacks, suggesting current security tools are causing more problems than they solve for.

 Forty-five percent of Australian organisations surveyed believe most or all of their applications will use APIs in the next two years. Despite an anticipated increase in API implementation, organisations stated that web application and API security is more difficult than two years ago and indicated struggles to maintain adequate security across new application architectures. Driving these difficulties is the shift to public cloud and API-centric applications without a modern security solution to support those innovations.

 Distributed responsibility for security often adds complexity. Among Australian organisations surveyed, 63% of organisations have different teams responsible for securing web applications, but plan to merge and centralise these responsibilities in the future. Responsibilities may fall on developers, cloud engineers, IT ops or line-of-business owners. They rarely fall on specific security personnel. Cybersecurity typically only gets involved just before an app goes into production (35%) or when it starts to store sensitive data (28%).

"The responsibility for protecting enterprise assets, data, and users from cyber threats no longer falls solely on the security organisation, even as the threat landscape becomes increasingly complex. Application security in particular, is a team sport that requires input and cross-functional collaboration across many parts of an organisation," said ESG senior analyst John Grady. "As a result, security professionals have become frustrated with the complex and siloed nature of traditional application security solutions that fail to address these issues. Modern businesses require uniform tools and approaches that can minimise vulnerabilities between their public cloud infrastructure, microservices-based architecture, and legacy applications, while supporting a variety of personas."

To download the full report: Reaching the Tipping Point of Web Application and API Security, visit https://www.fastly.com/web-application-and-api-security-tipping-point.

Methodology

To gather data for this report, ESG conducted a comprehensive online survey of information security and IT professionals knowledgeable about their organisation's application development practices and involved in security purchase processes (61%). The survey also included developers, engineering, and DevOps leaders who build and deliver applications for their organisation (39%). Respondents were distributed across North America (41%), Europe (30%), Australia, New Zealand and Japan (29%). Respondents were employed at organisations with 10 or more employees. Specifically, 10% were employed at small organisations (i.e., those with 10 to 499 employees), 15% at mid-market organisations (i.e., those with 500 to 999 employees), and 75% at enterprises (i.e., organisations with 1,000 or more employees). Respondents represented numerous industry and government segments, with the largest participation coming from manufacturing (23%), financial services (14%), retail/wholesale (14%), technology (11%), healthcare (8%), and communications (8%). The survey was fielded between 17 March 2021 and 31 March 2021.

About Fastly

Fastly helps people stay better connected with the things they love. Fastly's edge cloud platform enables customers to create great digital experiences quickly, securely, and reliably by processing, serving, and securing our customers' applications as close to their end-users as possible  at the edge of the internet. Fastly's platform is designed to take advantage of the modern internet, to be programmable, and to support agile software development with unmatched visibility and minimal latency, empowering developers to innovate with both performance and security. Fastly's customers include many of the world's most prominent companies, including Pinterest, The New York Times, and GitHub. Australia and New Zealand customers include Freelancer, Kogan, Linktree, NRL, Radio New Zealand, Seven Network, Trademe and Vodafone.

About ESG

Enterprise Strategy Group is an IT analyst, research, validation, and strategy firm that provides market intelligence and actionable insight to the global IT community. Learn more at www.esg-global.com.
The Director of the Sydney Institute of Agriculture and Soil Science Professor Alexander McBratney has been appointed to the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee (ERAC) for a period of three years.

Announcing Professor McBratneys appointment, the Federal Government said he had made major contributions to soil science and agriculture through the development of the concepts of pedometrics, digital soil mapping and precision agriculture.

The Minister fo Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said Professor McBratney has extensive expertise in soil carbon, which is a priority under the Governments

Technology Investment Roadmap and soil carbon is also one of five priority methods being developed in 2021 under the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF).

Minister Taylor notes that ERAC advises the Government on ERF methods, to ensure that projects funded under the ERF deliver genuine emissions reductions that help Australia meet and beat its emissions reduction targets.

The Government looks forward to Professor McBratneys contribution to the work of ERAC, particularly in ensuring Australia continues to provide world-class, science-driven methods that underpin soil carbon credits under the ERF, Minister Taylor said.
China infrastructure services company Tencent Cloud has formed a strategic alliance with management consulting services company Boston Consulting Group aimed at cooperating in a range of areas, including finance and retail, to help enterprises in their digital transformation.

Tencent says in the future the cooperation will be extended to Asia Pacific and around the world to jointly explore the development of localised digital solutions, and to leverage the innovations, resources and advantages of both parties.

Since April this year Tencent Cloud has launched new data centres in Bangkok in Thailand, Jakarta in Indonesia, Singapore, Tokyo in Japan, offering more localised services to local enterprises.

Under the alliance, Tencent Cloud and BCG say they will carry out cooperation in various fields, including finance and retail, together to facilitate digital transformation in enterprises, and to provide enterprise architecture design for enterprises access to the cloud.

{loadpositrion peter}

Amid the pandemic, leaders of every industry are exploring ways to bolster the digital transformation of enterprises, Tencent and Boston Consulting said in a joint statement reeased on Tuesday.

However, the transformation requires professional consulting agencies to advice on many aspects such as corporate strategy, business model and organisational transformation, among others.

It also requires strong technical service providers to offer solutions based on new technologies such as cloud computing, big data, AI and IoT, to enable the launch of digital projects.

In addition, talent has been a key element in digital transformation  together, both parties will offer staff enablement solutions, moving employees work and training online through tools such as Tencent Clouds AI, Tencent Agile Product Development (TAPD) and WeCom, to enhance collaboration, efficiency and creativity of employees, the two companies concluded.
Telstra announced a campaign to introduce its new brand positioning, Australia Is Why. The new campaign showcases the role Telstra plays in supporting Australia and its diverse communities and was created by long-term agency partner, The Monkeys, part of Accenture Interactive.

Telstra CMO Jeremy Nicholas said: For over 100 years Telstra has been connecting Australians and we are deeply committed to the countrys progress and prosperity.

"Our new campaign has been created to express the vital and sometimes overlooked role Telstra plays in taking our nation forward; to articulate not just what we do, but why we do it. As the countrys biggest telco and a leader on climate action, a principal sponsor of sport and the arts and strong supporter of the communities we serve, we are committed to Australia and to building world-class infrastructure to keep us all connected.

We know how crucial connection is for people, through all the good times as well as the bad. The last 18 months for most Australians have been tumultuous and challenging. Connectivity has never been more of a necessity  to keep businesses going, to help families and friends stay connected, to keep people informed and kids learning.

"We took our responsibility to Australians during this time very seriously, and we continue to do so as we see paths open up to use technology to build on the innovative thinking that has come out of this disruptive time. Australia Is Why shows how Telstra enables the nation and everyone in it to thrive, said Nicholas.

The campaigns statement is underpinned by many of the significant announcements Telstra has made over the past year, including reaching 75% of the population with 5G, answering all customer service calls in Australia, expanding regional mobile coverage, providing disaster relief packages and making significant progress on our renewable energy targets. This year also marks 20 years of our sponsorship of the NRL and 37 years supporting The Australian Ballet

Australia Is Why  Telstras first brand-focused execution since 2016  includes large format out-of-home executions and a 60-second TVC that bring to life the power of connection and Telstras broader impact on Australians lives. Additional 15-second spots highlight individual stories around Telstras work in sustainability, sponsorship, connectivity and community, with more real-life examples of Telstras influence created specifically for social.

The campaign, which was captured in metro and regional locations, debuted on-air Sunday 11 July and features a diverse snapshot of Australia, including Telstras partners from the Australian Ballet, NRL, NRLW and AFL.

A virtual destination housing curated stories to back up the campaigns tagline and show the breadth of what Telstra does in Australia has been created at telstra.com/is-why.

The Monkeys Group chief creative officer & co-founder Scott Nowell says: We all have a why. Its what gets us up in the morning and compels us to do the things we do, whether its for family, for change, for the future, or to right a wrong. Telstras why is to create opportunities to support every Australian, because we recognise all of our individual whys is what moves the country forward.
Fixed wireless and wholesale network infrastructure provider Swoop has announced the acquisition of regional South Australian wireless broadband provider, Beam Internet, for an enterprise value of $7.2 million.

Beam Internet a large privately owned fixed wireless network in regional South Australia and offers fast and affordable high speed Wireless Broadband on its own network of over 60 towers and masts and has more than 3,600 on-net residential and SME services in operation. The Beam network covers the Fleurieu Peninsula, Barossa, Kangaroo Island, Mid North, Murray Bridge and South East regions in South Australia, and also parts of the West Victoria and Mallee regions in regional Victoria.

The acquisition comes within weeks of several other acquisitions including regional wireless broadband provider, Speedweb, and Perth based, residential and business fixed wireless provider, Community Communications (ComComs).

Swoop CEO Alex West stated, Acquiring Beam is another fantastic opportunity for Swoop to expand our infrastructure coverage into regions we do not have infrastructure. Beam has a recently upgraded and well-built modern network which aligns with our own national network and gives us a strong springboard for growth into the SA market. We look forward to the opportunities this acquisition provides in establishing a South Australian presence for the Swoop brand.

Bonitz Advisory is acting as Swoops M&A adviser on this transaction, Maddocks is acting as legal adviser and PKF as tax adviser.
Today

Sunshine and a few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 108F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph.

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 85F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph.

Tomorrow

Partly cloudy. High near 105F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph.
Extend the moratorium past the current one, scheduled to end Oct. 2021.

Lower the student loan rates.

Cancel a portion of borrowers' student loan debt.

Cancel all borrowers' student loan debt.

Do nothing. Borrowers need to get back to paying their student loan debt.

I don't know.

I have another idea that's not listed here.

Vote

View Results
For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune.
Christina Blossey stands in front of her body piercing business, Piercing Experience, on Tuesday, April 21, 2020, in Atlanta.
Staff Writer

Jonathan Roberts is a reporter and photographer for the Johnson City Press covering Jonesborough, healthcare and higher education. He is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and has been with the Press since 2019.
(June 21, 1952-July 7, 2021) Paula Marlene Woods of Crestline, Kansas, passed away peacefully at 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, July 7, 2021 at the Via Christi hospital in Pittsburg, Kansas, following a period of ill health. Paula was born June 21, 1952 in Oswego, Kansas, to Adrian and Margaret (Wa
Joplin, MO (64801)

Today

Mostly cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 84F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mostly clear. Low 66F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
Three Democratic U.S. senators from states that have refused to expand Medicaid want the federal government to set up a mirror plan to provide health insurance coverage to people in those states
Local writer Esther Blair will release her first childrens book, We Are Made to Praise! on Aug. 15. Blair said that her son, William, was her inspiration for creating and publishing it.
Today

Cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 82F. Winds light and variable.

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms this evening giving way to periods of light rain late. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.

Tomorrow

Showers early then scattered thunderstorms developing later in the day. High 76F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
After years of relative silence surrounding possible war crimes committed in Afghanistan by Dutch soldiers  who were part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)  an Australian probe that found their own special forces had likely unlawfully killed 39 Afghan civilians paved the way for several cases to be investigated in the Netherlands.

The attention in the Dutch media for the so-called Brereton report in Australia (see box) sparked questions of what the Dutch conduct was like. The report showed that a lot had gone wrong with the Australian troops, and this is an understatement, human rights lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld said in an interview with Justice Info. The idea that everything went well during the international mission in Afghanistan gets shot to pieces, and it did shake things loose in the Netherlands, she added.

A soldier comes forward

After initial dismissal from the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who said there was never any evidence of war crimes, stories from Dutch Afghanistan veterans began to surface. The Dutch media started digging around and a month later a former combat support engineer called Servie Holzken, who had served in the central Afghan province of Uruzgan, came forward about participating in possible incidents of war crimes. He told Dutch daily Trouw that on a mission in 2007 he shot and killed people he is convinced were civilians and were targeted unlawfully by his unit.

The Dutch were present in the province of Uruzgan from 2006 to 2011. The Defence Ministry says it is not clear how many civilian casualties there may have been during that period. In a 2012 evaluation of the mission by parliament, the government at the time said that counting civilian casualties had no priority and could endanger Dutch soldiers. They added that any time soldiers used force they had to fill in a so-called After Action Report which was sent also to the military police. The military police would then judge if the use of force was legally justifiable and, in case of doubt, would send the report on to special military law prosecutors. None of these reports ever led to prosecutions, the government stressed.

The Ministry of Defence is not conducting an investigation into possible war crimes in Afghanistan, Defence Ministry spokesperson Sascha Louwhoff wrote in an E-mail to Justice Info. After the publication of the Australian report [in November 2020] the Ministry of Defence has come up with a review to see if there was a reason, from the Dutch perspective, to assume that there was involvement in the abuse by the Australian special units. This yielded no evidence of involvement of Dutch troops, she explained.

Initially the Ministry of Defence dismissed Holzken essentially as PTSD talking  post-traumatic stress disorder. Then they relented and said they would look into the matter. In April, in a letter sent to parliament, Defence Minister Ank Bijleveld said that after the publication in Trouw, the ministry got in contact with Holzken to get more information about the incident. After the meeting the ministry filed a report with the military prosecutors. To prevent any chance that an investigation by the ministry hinders the probe of the prosecutors office, I have chosen to wait for the end of this fact-finding mission before deciding whether or not to start an investigation by the ministry, Bijleveld wrote in a letter to parliament. In response to questions from Justice Info, the Dutch Ministry of Defense added that apart from a report from Holzken they have not received any more information from veterans about possible war crimes in Afghanistan by Dutch troops.

The fate of civilians in the Chora battle

Australias Brereton report also gave a new impulse to a long-running Afghanistan case connected to what is known in Dutch military lore as the battle of Chora. Zegveld, who represents the Afghan victims and families in a civil case against the Dutch government over alleged war crimes in the Afghan district of Chora, had tried in 2018 to negotiate a settlement with the Dutch government for damages for civilian victims of the battle but that was dismissed. She sued the Dutch state in 2019 but it took until March 2021 for judges to start hearing the case in person. Acting for four Afghans and relatives of a fifth who has since died, Zegveld says Dutch troops failed to distinguish between military and civilian targets and used disproportionate force. The victims want compensation from the Dutch state.

The claims revolve around the 2007 battle over Chora valley, a strategic junction in Uruzgan targeted by the Taliban. For many of the 1,400 Dutch soldiers who fought in the four-day battle it is a source of pride. It was the biggest Dutch military confrontation since the Korea War of the 1950s. Some 250 people died during the fighting including between 50 and 80 civilians and 2 Dutch soldiers.

Zegveld outlined that she was told in 2008 through a go-between that there were certain people in the Chora valley that wanted to hold the Dutch state responsible for their suffering. But it was almost impossible to reach the remote region and despite several attempts she did not manage to make contact. We had a lot of problems setting up a stable way to contact our clients, she explained. Then in 2016 a Dutch documentary maker went to Chora, made contact with victims and was able to give Zegveld their names and a reliable contact who could also speak English and translate for the victims.

We could finally get the ball rolling and it just took the time it took, Zegveld said.

A claim that is no longer easy to dismiss

While the timing of the Chora case had nothing to do with the Brereton report, the Australian report did boost her case. Because of that report it is not as easy for the Dutch government and for the judges to say: you must prove us the facts of what happened. We dont have any facts except that bombs fell, and people were killed, but we dont know exactly how and what the information was the Dutch army acted on, says Zegveld. Before the Brereton report and Dutch soldiers coming forward on possible war crimes, a judge would look to victims lawyers to prove that something was wrong. Now arguing that there are no reasons to believe the Dutch army was at fault would no longer fly. The military now has to take a more active role to provide information. Society really demands that, believes Zegveld.

The judges in the civil case seem to agree. They have demanded that the Ministry of Defence provide more information about the intelligence that was the basis for the attacks in Chora after plaintiffs claimed that they had used outdated information. The case is on hold until the autumn, when the judges will review the additional information.

WHATS IN THE BRERETON REPORT The report by the inspector general of the Australian defence forces was published in November 2020. Among its key findings, it said that: All soldiers were trained on human rights laws and war crimes and all understood killing non-combatants or people hors-de-combat is a war crime.

The investigators found credible information of 23 incidents where some 39 civilians and persons hors-de-combat were killed by or at the direction of members of the special forces.

Some of the killings were part of some kind of initiation rites for new soldiers to get a first kill, a practice known as blooding.

In many cases the crimes were covered up by so-called throw downs: planting weapons, ammunition and radios with the bodies of people killed to make them look like legitimate targets. Following the report, the Australian Ministry of Justice set up a special investigators office to look into the allegations which began work in January this year. Currently it is still setting up office and recruiting investigators. Observers estimate the investigation and prosecution is likely to take around five years. Following the report, the Australian Ministry of Justice set up a special investigators office to look into the allegations which began work in January this year. Currently it is still setting up office and recruiting investigators. Observers estimate the investigation and prosecution is likely to take around five years.
The UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday called for those behind massive scale enforced disappearances in Syria over the past decade of conflict to be held accountable.

The resolution, presented by Britain and a number of European countries, along with the United States, Turkey and Qatar, decried that Syrias crisis had entered a second decade marked by consistent patterns of gross violations.

The war in Syria has killed nearly 500,000 people since it started in 2011, with all sides in the increasingly complex conflict accused of war crimes.

Tuesdays resolution, adopted with 26 of the councils 47 members in favour, six opposed and 15 abstaining, voiced particular concern about the fate of tens of thousands of people who have vanished.

The text strongly condemns the continued use of involuntary or enforced disappearances in the Syrian Arab Republic, and related human rights violations and abuses, which have been carried out with consistency, in particular by the Syrian regime.

It also criticised enforced disappearances by other parties to the conflict, including the Islamic State group, but said the Syrian regime was the main perpetrator.

The resolution voiced alarm at recent comments by the UNs independent commission of inquiry on the rights situation in Syria indicating that widespread enforced disappearance has been deliberately perpetrated by Syrian security forces throughout the past decade on a massive scale.

The investigators had indicated that such disappearances had been used to spread fear, stifle dissent and as punishment, and that tens of thousands of men, women, boys and girls detained by Syrian authorities remain forcibly disappeared.

Presenting the resolution to the council, British Ambassador Simon Manley slammed the regimes role in such a massive number of disappearances was simply inexcusable.

That regime, he said, has the bureaucratic means to provide information on these disappeared individuals, the means to end the suffering of the families and loved ones of these people.

But it chooses not to employ those means. This is a deliberate act of unspeakable cruelty.

He echoed a charge in the resolution, accusing Damascuss forces of intentionally prolonging the suffering of hundreds of thousands of family members.

It emphasised the need for accountability, including for crimes committed in relation to enforced disappearance, stressing that accountability is vital in peace negotiations and peace-building processes.
Warning: This story contains some details that may be painful for readers.

Brantford police are looking for a saboteur who spent more than four hours on Friday night sabotaging an indigenous child who died in a boarding school.

The only suspect captured by surveillance video arrived at the Woodland Cultural Center in Ontario-the site of a former boarding school, at around 10:30 pm EST on Friday. For the next four hours, the man burned many items left there to commemorate the victims of the boarding school system.

After the remains of about 215 children were found at the Woodland Cultural Center, childrens shoes were placed in front of the Woodland Cultural Center. An unmarked grave near a former boarding school in Kamloops, British Columbia, in May.

Soon after Tkemlups te Secwepemc First Nation used ground penetrating radar to find the grave near Kamloops, Saskatchewans Cowessess First Nation revealed that it had detected it. 751 unmarked graves In 1997, at the location of Marieval Indian Boarding School, this was the last institution to close in Canada. Since then, other communities have also confirmed their own tragic findings.

Condemned criminal behavior

On Saturday, the police reported the crime in Brantford to the police, and patrol officers went to the scene that day. They are cooperating with the police departments of the six countries to investigate vandalism.

A press release issued by Brantford Police said on Monday: Both agencies condemned the criminal conduct of the suspect. The suspect is believed to be acting alone and continues to work to hold them accountable for their actions.

Anyone with criminal information can contact Det. Justin Torek, Brantford Police Department, phone 519-756-0113 (ext. 2812) or acting sheriff. Justin Isaacs of the Six Nations Police Department, phone 519-445-2811.

Anonymous information can be provided to the Brantford Fight Crime Hotline by calling 519-750-8477 or 1-800-222-8477 or submitting a web reminder online through the following website: https://www.crimestoppersbb.com/submit-a- tip/

Anyone affected by the lingering influence of boarding schools and those affected by the latest report can get support. You can contact the Indian Boarding School Survivors Association at 1-800-721-0066 toll-free.

A nationwide Indian boarding school crisis hotline has been established to provide support to boarding school survivors and other affected people. People can call the 24-hour national crisis hotline: 1-866-925-4419 for emotional and crisis referral services.
Meghan Markle says she made the biggest mistake in the new trailer

Meghan Markle said she made the biggest mistake in the world by adding the royal family to a new trailer for a lifelong movie about Megs Brexit.

The new trailer for Harry and Meghan: Escape from the Palace was posted on Instagram this week, showing the couple leaving their royal roles.

In this 30-second video, Megan, played by actress Sydney Morton, questioned whether she made a mistake in marrying into the royal family.

At the same time, Prince Harry, played by Jordan Dean, insists that he will do everything possible to protect the safety of his wife and son.

Kate Middleton was also portrayed in the movie, and they were seen in the trailer saying that they signed to marry the royal family.

read more Here
San Diego-Tuesday is the 10th anniversary of a woman found naked, tied and hanged at the historic Spreckels Mansion in Coronado.

The death of Rebecca Zahau was once again the focus of a legal action brought by her relatives on Monday.

The revised 153-page complaint against San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore required him to provide Zachaus family with all department records, including detective notes. It also accused the sheriff and his investigators of ignoring key evidence in the case since it began in July 2011.

There is a lot of frustration, said Mary Zahau-Loehner, Rebeccas sister. For more than 10 years, our family has experienced a lot of hurt and heartbreak. But we will not stop fighting

For Zahau-Loehner, who missed her sister every day, this was a difficult decade.

We are afraid of this day, but at the same time we know she is in heaven, she said. This reminds us that we must continue to fight on Earth to get justice for her.

Although the Sheriffs Department has always insisted that the 32-year-old committed suicide, his family disagreed. They believe she was killed.

Sergeant Gore likes to say that science does not lie, Zahau-Loehner said. Yes, science will never lie. Science says my sister was murdered.

In the complaint, the family claimed that the sheriff and his investigators ignored the new evidence presented in the civil trial, which held that Adam Shaknai, the brother of Rebeccas boyfriend, was responsible for her death.

The evidence included expert testimony that Rebecca was strangled to death before the scene looked like hanging.

All the evidence they collected points to murder, she said. They just didnt spend a day really investigating and investigating it.

FOX 5 contacted the Sheriffs Department to respond to the revised complaint, but no response was received. Normally, the department does not comment on pending litigation.

In addition to asking the sheriff to hand over all the records and allowing the forensic doctor to change the cause of Rebeccas death, the family also hoped for another result.

They really need to hand it over to another agency for investigation, Zahau-Lona said. At this point, they need to hand it over to another department, actually any other law enforcement department, but the sheriffs department.

Read the entire complaint below
According to her lawyers, Myanmars deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi is facing four other criminal charges brought in a court in Mandalay, the countrys second largest city, because the United Nations has called for the violence The ravaged Southeast Asian countries reconciled.

Attorney Min Min Soe told Reuters on Monday that Aung San Suu Kyis legal team had little information about the latest allegations, except that these allegations were related to corruption, and two other allegations were also directed against her former government minister, Min Thu.

There are corruption charges. We dont know why they are suing? Or for what reason? We will find out, she said.

New cases may put 76-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi in trouble Legal process In three different cities.

Since the military seized power in the coup on February 1, the Nobel Peace Prize winner has been imprisoned and is currently undergoing trial in the capital, Naypyidaw, on charges including illegal import and possession of walkie-talkie radios and violation of the provisions of the Disaster Management Law. Coronavirus agreement.

She was also charged in a Yangon court for failing to specify a violation of the Official Secrets Act and could be sentenced to up to 14 years in prison.

Her legal team rejected all allegations.

Lead lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said that Mondays cross-examination of a prosecution witness revealed that the raid on Aung San Suu Kyis home was carried out illegally without a search warrant.

At a press conference on Monday, military spokesman Zaw Min Tun did not mention any new allegations.

He said that she violated the Constitution when the position of National Advisor was established, and he said that the position was between the president and the vice president in the command structure.

It is not clear whether this allegation is a new allegation.

Aung San Suu Kyi was banned from serving as president because her late husband and children were foreign citizens. After her party won the countrys first election, she was appointed to a new rolenational adviserand served as the countrys de facto leader before the general seized power.

On Monday night, people were seen waiting in Yangon for hours to replenish oxygen because of a violent coronavirus outbreak in Myanmar. #Myanmar what happened #Coronavirus disease pic.twitter.com/om0gwWgvX7 -Hnin Zaw (@hninyadanazaw) July 12, 2021

Call for reconciliation

On Monday, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution condemning the militarys violation of the human rights of Myanmars Rohingya and other ethnic minorities, and calling for a reconciliation process in the country.

The resolution was proposed by Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and passed without a vote in the Geneva Council.

As one of the 47 members of the Security Council, China stated that it could not join the consensus, but did not insist on putting the text to a vote.

Unfortunately, the humanitarian and human rights situation of Rohingya Muslims is still severe. Therefore, the Council needs a collective call for Myanmar to immediately stop human rights violations and safeguard their basic rights, Pakistans Ambassador to the United Nations Khalil Khalil. Hashmi said. In Geneva.

The text itself calls for constructive peaceful dialogue and reconciliation in accordance with the wishes and interests of the Burmese people, including Rohingya Muslims and other ethnic minorities.

The resolution also called Stop fighting immediately And hostilities, targeting civilians, and all violations of humanitarian law and human rights law.

It expressed serious concern about the continued reports of serious violations and abuses of human rights, including arbitrary arrests, deaths in detention, torture, forced labor, and intentional killing and mutilation of children.

In the face of a surge in COVID-19 coronavirus cases, people stood with empty oxygen tanks, waiting to be filled with oxygen tanks outside a factory in Yangon on Sunday [Ye Aung Thu/AFP]

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Situation in Myanmar, Thomas Andrews, told the Human Rights Council last week that the military had committed crimes against humanity since its control and condemned the international community for failing to end this nightmare.

Michelle Bachelet, the head of UN human rights affairs, also told the council that the situation in the country has evolved from a political crisis to a multifaceted human rights disaster.

According to the United Nations, since the coup, nearly 900 people have been killed and about 200,000 people have been forced to flee their homes.

Following the surge in the number of infections, the country also faces a separate health emergency. Cases of COVID-19.

The military general said that there were 3,400 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, compared with less than 50 a day in early May. Overall, the country has reported at least 192,000 cases and more than 3,800 deaths, but given the collapse of the health system after the coup and the countrys response to COVID-19, the actual numbers may be much higher.

On Tuesday, Myanmar media reported that soldiers opened fire to disperse crowds of people buying medical oxygen in the Nam Dagon area of ??Yangon.
During the brief regency of Philip II Duke of Orleans (1715-23), a Scot named John Law urged the French monarchy to adopt his system of public credit and paper money. Rau fell out of favor and was exiled in 1720, when the failure of his joint-stock company, the Mississippi Company, led to the collapse of Frances newly established central bank. France did not issue banknotes again until 1795, but Law believed that if his system persisted, it will maintain peace in Europe. American scholar John Schofflin called Laos legacy as jealous credit, which means a careful review of the public credit of competitors in order to imitate their innovations or undermine their success.

Xiao Fulin challenged the 18th-century traditional notions of unbridled confrontation and aggression between France and Britain by placing more emphasis on the accumulation of diplomatic negotiations and business lobbying to cut cross-channel tariffs and seek other ways to promote free trade. As the world today turns to increasingly geopolitical competition on trade issues, we can benefit by looking back at the earliest difficult efforts to institutionalize a stable and peaceful global order.

The period after the Glorious Revolution in 1688 confirmed the dominance of parliament and Protestantism. This was the first period when geopolitics was driven mainly by capitalism rather than by religion or dynastic competition. When Britain established the Bank of England in 1694, it spurred commerce by introducing public credit and expanding its money supply, which robbed France of the limelight. If France had agricultural resources and a huge population, and insisted on the labor system, he believed that it could have occupied a dominant position in Europe as a benevolent hegemon without having to compete with the United Kingdom and the Dutch Republic for the trade of Hispanics, thus ensuring Silver currency that maintains its currency and suppresses its money supply. Schoflin believes that paper money is the key to ending trade jealousy, because although some silver is still needed, it will no longer be the lifeblood of the kingdom.

The Founding of the Bank of England, 1694 (1905), The History of England from Kassel, Volume Three  The Print Collector



On the contrary, fierce trade competition between France and Britain evolved into a series of wars. As Schofflin said: Once established, hegemony will be stable; future hegemony may release tremendous violence. The first of these wars lasted from 1688 to 1713, when France, Britain and the Dutch Republic signed The Treaty of Utrecht. (The clever John Law also came up with an idea in 1717 to convert 250 million livres of unfunded French war debts into highly liquid company stocks that helped the money supply.) In the 1720s and 1730s, the United Kingdom Long-term peace between Sir Robert Walpole and France under the leadership of Cardinal Fleury. Walpole stepped down in 1742, Fleury died in 1743, and Britain and France went to war again the following year, this time for four years. Then at the beginning of the Seven Years War in 1756, conflicts between Britain and France broke out in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, India, and Europe.

In the 1760s, Britain tried to use smuggling between Britain and the Bourbon Empire to weaken its rivals, while France used the free port as a counterattack. Free trade is not so much a goal as it is one of the strategies to maintain the balance of power between trading opponents.

But Xiao Fulin is more interested in the various attempts to get rid of the war policy, as well as the various plans put forward by diplomats, literati and mosques, and others. philosopher Encourage trade to replace war. For example, the French heavy farming originally wanted France to become the most important agricultural generator, but later changed its mind and proposed a French-British partnership to control global trade, on the grounds that without Britain or France, no other country could maintain conflict. Finance. David Hume deplored the hindrance of the British war debt to the economy, and opposed the old Pitts dream of a universal monarchy of trade, because the burden of maintaining the sovereign empire far exceeded the commercial benefits of a closed empire.

Robert Clive and Mir Jafar after the Battle of Placy in 1757, Francis Hyman (1760)  Alamy



Congressman Thomas Pownall, who was the governor of Massachusetts and South Carolina, has always been a staunch defender of the British monopoly on American trade. However, after 1776, in Schoughlins words, he accepted taking the new global free trade order as an example. The broad vision of the center. About the United States and urged Britain to play a leading role in it. In fact, American commercial independence is a game changer. The benefits of free trade in the 19th century to Britain were enough to make up for her losses in the American colonies. At the same time, The newly established French Indian company and the British East India Company reached a settlement on the Bangladesh trade issue, while the Earl of De Vergens negotiated a Anglo-French trade treaty. Those who are troubled by Brexit should probably pay attention.

For Schoflin, it is not so much a question of how things will be different if certain counterfactuals prevail, but rather a question of how far this counterfactual has caused policymakers to ease and change direction. He was careful not to overemphasize the influence of physiocrats and Scottish political economists on policy. Officials borrowed ideas in an eclectic manner, he wrote, and instrumentally mobilized them according to their priorities. Free trade became a gospel in the 19th century, but its advocates continued throughout the 18th century. Both sides of the English Channel paved the way for it.

Dealing with the enemy: Britain, France, and the pursuit of a peaceful world order in the 18th century Author: John Schofflin Yale University, 25, 416 pages

Join our online book group on Facebook at FT Book Cafe
Brenda Perez believes that the recent heat wave in BC is nothing compared to the summer in her hometown of Mexico.

However, as her high-rise apartmenta frame with floor-to-ceiling windowsbaked at temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, the health of the 25-year-old girl and her pets began to suffer.

I really vomited. I woke up and I really felt like I was going to faint, the Coquitlam resident said.

Perez said her first task was her dog Lola. They showered nearly 12 times a day just to keep it cool, and then she finally found an air-conditioned dog sitter. But her two pet fish and frog died due to the high temperature.

It changed the way I see the world, she said. This is just a nightmare for me.

When Southern B.C. baked under record-breaking conditions, Lethal temperature In the days of late June, residents like Perez have been worried about their living conditions  and whether these unprecedented events will become More common in climate change.

Although residents are scrambling to find air conditioners, experts say that the hot temperature is an opportunity for homeowners and developers to reconsider how to better keep their houses cool.

BC lacks air conditioning and cooling systems

Acqua Shatz, the vice chairman of the Canadian Green Building Council, explained that because the provinces climate is expected to be milder and many buildings in British Columbia lack cooling, the council focuses on sustainable building practices.

So you end up with these, for example, glass towers that are basically used to bake people, because they are designed with neither open airflow nor real heat absorption, she said.

During the historic heat wave last week, some residents in BC had to buy air conditioners and new HVAC systems-but most of them sold out quickly.

Bobby Watt, the owner of Vancouver-based Watt HVAC, said that since the temperature began to climb, he has seen an increase of nearly 575% in phone and website visits from people who want to install air-conditioning.

On June 28, BC Hydro announced that the provinces electricity demand reached 8,516 megawatts. This broke the record of more than 600 megawatts, which is equivalent to turning on 600,000 portable air conditioners.

However, air-conditioning units are the most energy-efficient models on the market. According to BC Hydro, they generally consume 10 times more energy than central air-conditioning systems or heat pumps.

The experts did not focus on quick fixes like AC, but outlined several long-term and more efficient infrastructure solutions.

Heat pump

Schatz said that, unlike air conditioners, installing a heat pump can both cool the house and heat it. When it cools, the heat pump extracts the heat from your home and moves it back outdoors.

According to BC Hydro, the energy efficiency of the heat pump is increased by 50% compared to a typical window air-conditioning unit. On average, their purchase and installation costs range from US$4,000 to US$10,000.

Schatz also encourages homeowners Research on Provincial Tax Rebate May be available and get guidance from local Energy consultant .

According to BC Hydro, the energy efficiency of the heat pump is increased by 50% compared to a typical window air conditioner. (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)

Radiant cooling

Adam Rysanek, assistant professor of environmental systems at the University of British Columbia, explained that radiant cooling uses special panels with chilled water to cool walls and ceilings.

When a person stands next to or under them, their body heat will radiate to these cool panels.

Rysanek said that compared to a typical central air conditioning system, radiant cooling can save 25% to 60% of energy.

The working principle of radiant cooling is to circulate cooling water through walls or ceilings, and then absorb environmental heat, just like human body temperature. (Lea Ruefenacht)

More middle floors, less high floors

As a larger choice, experts say that developers should reconsider the size and design of our buildings.

UBC urban design expert Patrick Condon said that although high-altitude landscapes are popular, it is wise to give priority to mid-rise buildings.

These buildings are easier to shade each other, especially on the west side, and they are not so high that you cant do simple things like planting trees, he explained.

Condon said that at the urban planning level, trees are essential for cooling because the air in the canopy may be five degrees lower.

Smaller floor-to-ceiling windows

For our buildings, experts also recommend using smaller floor-to-ceiling windows to provide more thermal insulation on the external walls.

According to BC Hydro, apartments made of glass have poor insulation properties, allowing cold air to escape easily and reflecting hot air into the building.

A fairly difficult task

Although these solutions are more energy efficient, experts admit that they are not quick solutions, especially for old buildings.

Tony Gioventu, executive director of the BC Condominium Owners Association, said: Whether you are in a duplex apartment or in a strata with 250 units, this is a very difficult task.

Gioventu agrees that heat pumps and major upgrades are the best solution. Although not every tenant can afford the cost of renovation, he said that the property manager and stratification committee can prioritize cooling solutions and ask the following questions: Does the building have heat pump power capacity? Will the transformation lead to future disasters? How will it be maintained?

As for Perez, when she finally felt the cool breeze drop a bit with the temperature, it was an exciting time.

I started cryinglike, Im so happy, she said.

In response to future heat waves, Perez plans to buy portable air conditioners when they have them. However, if her heat-related discomfort persists, she said her next step is to now consider moving to a building with a better cooling system.
After 11 days of cross-border fighting in May, humanitarian agencies set the latest reconstruction cost of the impoverished Gaza Strip at $500 million.

A government minister said on Tuesday that Israel hopes to provide foreign aid to Gaza through the voucher system to prevent donations from being diverted to support the Hamas ruler and its arsenal in the Palestinian enclave.

After 11 days of cross-border fighting in May, humanitarian agencies set the latest reconstruction cost of the impoverished Gaza Strip at $500 million.

After a war in 2014, Qatar provided more than $1 billion in funding for construction and other projects in Gaza, some of which was in cash. These payments were supervised and approved by Israel, and Doha pledged to provide another $500 million at the end of May.

The new Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett wants to change policy, said Omar Barev, Minister of Internal Security.

Qatars funds for Gaza will not enter Hamas as a suitcase full of dollars, and Hamas essentially takes up a large part of it for itself and its officials, he told Israeli Army Radio.

He said that Bennett envisioned a mechanism in which the content would essentially be food stamps or humanitarian aid vouchers, rather than cash that can be used to develop weapons against the State of Israel.

Hamas previously denied using Gaza aid for its military, but did not immediately comment.

Mohammed al-Emadi, Qatars special envoy for assistance to Gaza, could not be immediately reached for comment.

A Palestinian official told Reuters: Everything is still inconclusive.

Barlev said that the proposed aid mechanism should be operated mainly through the United Nations. He did not rule out the possibility of Qatar continuing to donate, and proposed the possibility of EU assistance.

If this is the mechanism, I have no doubt that Israel will help improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, he said.

Some countries such as the European Union and the United States classify Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Good morning, Gunners fans

Hector Bellerin (Hector Bellerin) was photographed heading to Arsenal for the Scottish pre-season tour in an uncertain future.

It is believed that the right-back is willing to leave Arsenal after playing for the club for 8 years. He joined the youth team.

Both Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain are in contact with him, and manager Mikel Arteta seems ready to raise money by selling unwanted players this summer.

But for now, Bellerin will start with a friendly against Hibernian and participate in Arsenals pre-season preparations.

At the same time, according to a report by Gazzetta dello Sport via FourFourTwo, Arsenal have told Roma that they are only willing to accept Granit Xhakas 17 million offer.

According to reports, the unscrupulous midfielder will leave the Gunners on personal terms, and Mourinhos team has reportedly agreed.

But it is believed that the Serie A giants have not yet reached the price Arsenal offered for this player.

It is believed that the leadership qualities of the Swiss captain-he has played 220 times at Arsenal-attracted Roma.

Finally, according to reports, Portuguese star Renato Sanchez has become Arsenals midfield transfer target.

Sport Witness claims that the Lille Ace is one of three offensive midfielders that the Gunners seek to strengthen their options before next season.

Lyons Houssem Aouar and Rennes Eduardo Camavinga are also on the Gunners hit list.
The results showed that Moldovas main pro-European parties won a huge victory in parliamentary polls, which strengthened the presidents hand when former World Bank economist Maasandu pushed for reforms in her former Soviet country.

Sundays early electionsconvened by Sandu in April to support her position against pro-Russian forcessee her center-right Action and Solidarity (PAS) party with 52.80% of the vote.

The Central Election Commission said on Monday that the PAS will obtain 63 seats in the 101-seat parliament for a four-year term, and all votes have been counted.

The Union of Socialists and Communists led by former President Igor Doton, backed by the Kremlin, ranked second with 27.17%.

After preliminary results showed that her party took the lead late on Sunday, Sandu changed what she called voting for a country plagued by poverty and corruption.

I hope that today will be the end of Moldovas difficult times. I hope that today will end Moldovas thieves rule, she said in a statement.

Her competitor, Doton, expressed disappointment with the results, saying in a statement: We obviously want a higher overall percentage.

He congratulated his opponent, but warned that his troops will pay close attention because it is dangerous for a political party to completely monopolize Moldovan politics.

Doton said at a press conference on Monday, This is democracy, and people want to change, but expressed concern about the ability of reformers to govern the country.

New Politician

Between Ukraine and Romania, a member of the European Union, this country of approximately 2.6 million people has long been divided because of closer ties with the EU or maintaining Soviet-era relations with Moscow.

In 2014, Moldova and the European Union signed an agreement to establish a closer relationship, but high levels of corruption and lack of reform hindered the countrys development. The country ranks 115th among 180 countries in Transparency Internationals 2020 Corruption Perception Index.

As lawmakers loyal to 46-year-old Doton blocked Sandus promise of reform after winning the election in November, she dissolved the parliament and arranged for a quick vote.

The 49-year-old former World Bank economists commitment to honesty and competence resonated with many Moldovans who have seen their country shaken by political crises and corruption scandals in recent years.

I am very happy that the new politicians are here. I hope they can do something for people, not just for themselves, 57-year-old bus conductor Katerina Zhevelik told AFP in Chisinau on Monday.

I hope these people will not steal, and will not be spoiled by power, but will remain honest and decent people, she said.

The Ombudsman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said on Monday that the vote was competitive and functioning well.

However, they pointed out that worries about the fairness of the electoral authorities have weakened trust, and imperfect campaign financial rules have led to unresolved potential irregularities.

The United States congratulated and urged the Moldovans to address the concerns of the OSCE.

We are committed to strengthening our partnership with Moldova on the basis of common democratic values, and we look forward to working with the new government to develop our bilateral relationship, said State Department spokesperson Ned Price.

Symbol of change

Despite Sandus victory, analysts said the presidents political party still faces challenges.

This is a test for Sandu and her government, a political analyst and the countrys former UN special envoy Alexei Tulbray told AFP.

Tulbure said: This administration will have to quickly show that it is more effective than the previous administration and began to push forward reforms.

He said that Sandu, who was briefly prime minister, has become a symbol of change for many Moldovans.

Vadim Pistrinchuk, executive director of the Chisinau-based Institute for Strategic Initiatives and former Congressman, told the Associated Press that the election results were historic.

This is the first time a pro-European party needs a complete [parliamentary] Majority, he said, but added that if the reformists fail to achieve change, it will bring great disappointment.

The Moldovan diasporaaccounting for more than one-third of the countrys eligible voters and widely supported Sandu during the presidential electionvoted more than 200,000 votes, compared with a record 262,000 votes in the second round of the presidential election.

Observers have said that the victory of the Sandu Party will deal a blow to Russia, and Russia hopes that Moldova will stay within its sphere of influence.

Independent analyst Victor Ciobanu said: Even with a majority in Parliament, it will not be easy to implement her ambitious plan for in-depth changes.

He said that the pro-Russian side will strongly oppose.

If all three succeed, then this will be an undisputed break with Russia, Turbray said.
Sacha Baron Cohen, who created and played the role of Borat, is seeking $9 million from Solar Therapeutics Inc, a marijuana dispensary located in Massachusetts, to use the role on a billboard.

According to documents filed by the US District Court in Boston, actor Sacha Baron Cohen has sued a marijuana dispensary in Massachusetts, saying that he used images of his character Borat on billboards without permission.

A billboard for Solar Therapeutics Inc. in Somerset shows Baron Cohen posing as Porat, with two thumbs up and saying Very good!-one of Porats mantras.

By using the billboard, the defendant incorrectly communicated to the public that Mr. Baron Cohen recognized their products and was connected to their business, the complaint filed on Monday read. On the contrary, Mr. Baron Cohen has never used marijuana in his life. He will never participate in marijuana advertising campaigns for any amount of money.

The lawsuit alleges that a billboard along an interstate highway in Massachusetts was removed in April, three days after Baron Cohens lawyer issued a stop order to the pharmacy.

Mr. Baron Cohen highly protects his image and role, as well as his role. Mr. Baron Cohen uses his personality and role very carefully to interact with his fans and the public, the complaint stated.

Baron Cohen and his California-based company Please You Can Touch LLC are seeking $9 million in compensation.

A lawyer for Solar Therapeutics said he was aware of the lawsuit.

After receiving the stop and termination letter from Mr. Cohens legal counsel, Solar immediately asked the sign company to remove the billboard in question, Nicholas Hemond said in an email statement. Since there is an active case in the court, we have no further comment at this time.
A new opinion poll shows that most Canadians prefer to invest more in renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and hydrogen compared to oil and natural gas. There are obvious differences according to political faction, location and age.

An online survey conducted by the Angus Reed Institute found that 54% of Canadians surveyed stated that investing in renewable energy should be a priority for Canada. Only 12% said that oil and gas investment should be the focus, while 34% are in favor of equal investment.

You do see that most Canadians are really talking about wanting to move in the direction of alternative energy, said Shachkul, director of the Angus Reed Institute.

So wind energy, solar energy, hydrogen energy technology, but in many cases, this tilt does not completely exclude continued investment-at least to some extent-the consciousness and desire for oil, natural gas and non-petroleum exploration and production. Renewable Energy.

The vast majority of respondents across the country would like to see more solar energy (84%) and wind energy (77%) investment, but there are large regional differences.

In addition to in-depth understanding of respondents investment issues, the poll also reviewed the countrys energy policy priorities.

In Canada, 31% of respondents said that energy independence should be the top priority, followed by 27% of people who emphasize environmental protection, and 21% of people choose renewable energy.

Only 11% of respondents believe that economic growth is related to stable supply.

The survey results showed clear regional and political differences.

Different regions, different views

In Alberta, 46% of respondents tend to invest equally in oil and gas and renewable energy, while 33% of respondents prefer to focus solely on renewable energy. 21% of Alberta respondents want to focus on oil and gas, second only to Saskatchewan, which is 28%.

53% of respondents in Ontario support investing only in renewable energy, while 34% also support renewable energy and oil and gas, and 13% want to focus only on oil and gas.

A recent survey found that 46% of Alberta respondents also prefer to invest in oil and gas and renewable energy, while 33% of respondents prefer to focus solely on renewable energy. 21% of Alberta respondents want to focus on oil and gas. (Jason Franson/Canada Press)

Quebec has the highest support rate for renewable energy investment at 67%.

In terms of priorities, these regional differences also played a role, with more respondents in the Prairie provinces ranking energy independence as their top issue, while other regions in Canada chose renewable energy as their top issue.

This is the discussion, this is the tension or push-pull relationship between where the country says it wants to go and the extent to which certain parts of the country may be more active about the fact that, well, we cant get there yet-or if When we get there, there will be some trade-offs, Kuhl said.

Political Factors

The opinions of those who voted for the Conservative Party of Canada were found to be inconsistent with supporters of other political parties.

Only 18% of the respondents who voted for the party said they would prioritize investment in renewable energy, and 53% of the respondents support equal investment in oil and gas and renewable energy.

In October 2019, climate change activists and some anti-protesters supporting the oil and gas industry gathered outside the Edmonton Alberta legislature to march and rally with Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. (Dave Kidley/Canada Press)

For the Liberal Party, 71% of supporters surveyed said they support investment in renewable energy. The New Democracy Party (78%) and the Green Party (86%) have higher numbers.

Conservative voters also overwhelmingly prioritize energy independence, while supporters of other political parties are very concerned about renewable energy and protecting the environment.

When it comes to the age of the interviewees, the breakdown is quite obvious. Older Canadian interviewees are more inclined to oil and gas  or mixed investment  than people under 55 who are more concerned about renewable energy.

The survey was conducted between June 2 and 7. A few weeks ago, a thermal dome settled in western Canada and broke record temperatures in the provinces. As the grid struggles to meet demand, heat waves have also put pressure on energy infrastructure.

The survey was conducted using a random sample of 4,948 Canadians who were members of the Angus Reed Forum.

There is no margin of error that can be accurately calculated in the online survey. For comparison purposes only, the margin of error for a probability sample of this size is plus or minus two percentage points, 19 out of 20.
The United States Coast Guard in Miami said it is monitoring any activity aimed at increasing unsafe and illegal border crossings between Florida and Cuba in response to Rare street protest on the island.

Rear Admiral Eric C. Jones issued a warning on Monday night because Cuban groups in the United States said they planned to travel to Cuba on a ship full of supplies to show their support for Cuba. Cuban protesters. South Florida has the largest number of Cuban Americans in the United States.

Please dont go to sea, Jones said in a statement. The Coast Guard and our local, state, and federal partners are monitoring any activity that may be unsafe in the Florida Strait, including unauthorized ships departing from Florida to Cuba.

The Florida Strait borders the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean and lies between the United States and Cuba.

#ThisJustIn  Please read Major General Eric C. Jones, Commander, @USCG District 7 and Director of the Joint Task Force of the Department of Homeland Security-Statement from the Southeast on the recent events in Cuba. pic.twitter.com/hrs5eErWGC  USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) July 12, 2021

Thousands of Cubans on Sunday Sprinkle on the street In protests against the government in cities and towns across the country, many people chanted Libertad-freedom-and We are not afraid. Cubas largest demonstrations in decades occurred under conditions of food shortages and medicine shortages, and the COVID pandemic has dealt a severe blow to the country.

Cuba is sanctioned by the United States, which currently limits the amount of important U.S. dollar remittances that American families can send to their relatives in Cuba.

According to the analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by the Pew Research Center, there are a large number of Cuban diasporas in the United States, estimated at 2.3 million in 2017.

According to the Miami Herald, in Miami, Cuban social media sources announced on Monday that they will take a 10-hour boat to Cuba to show their support for the protesters. Influential people said they would bring aid and guns, and urged people in Miami to provide their ships.

People rally in solidarity with Cuban protesters near Little Havana in Miami, Florida, July 12, 2021 [Maria Alejandra Cardona/Reuters]

According to reports, a group of people gathered at the Pelican Harbor Wharf near Miamis North Bay Village on Monday night. People brought boxes of bottled water, flashlights and a box of Chef Boyardee pasta.

Water, food, medicine, anything we can bring to Cuba. Whatever help we can provide is good, organizer Dennis Zuiero told WSVN, a local Miami news station.

On a rainy Monday night, the group did not go far.

Earlier on Tuesday, organizer Santiago Rivera (Santiago Rivera) posted a message on his Instagram account that the Coast Guard had prevented his team from crossing the strait due to a gun problem.

He promised that they will try to leave again with the permission of the authorities of this country on Wednesday morning.

The Coast Guard statement implied that it would not obtain such permission. It noted that the voyage was dangerous and merciless and nearly 20 Cubans died while trying to cross in recent weeks. It said the Coast Guard is working with state, local and federal partners to monitor illegal ships from Florida to Cuba.

Riveras post thanked the people who supported the mission and stated that the Cubans are deciding their own destiny and eliminating fear. This is not politics, this is brotherhood, this is humanity and common sense, I am proud to be a Cuban, and I gave my life, his post read.

Over the weekend, thousands of Cuban-Americans also gathered in Little Havana to express their support for the Cubans who participated in the protests. Such unauthorized demonstrations are extremely rare, and Cuban police have dispatched on Monday to control them.

According to data from Internet watchdog NetBlocks, the Cuban government also restricted Internet access to major social media platforms on Monday. The organization stated that WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and some Telegram servers were disrupted.

NetBlocks stated that the disruption is similar to the restrictions during the November 2020 protests, and some Cubans were able to use virtual private networks or VPNs to bypass them.

The last time such a large-scale demonstration took place in Cuba was nearly 30 years ago, in August 1994, when thousands of people took to the streets of Havana to protest the governments policies. The demonstration was suppressed by the government and more than 35,000 Cubans left the island, many of whom traveled to the United States on rafts or boats.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel blamed the United States for Sundays demonstrations and accused Cuban-Americans of using social media to incite them. He said that the US sanctions on the island, which he called a blockade, are the chief culprit of the Cuban peoples dissatisfaction.

The Mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez, a Cuban-American, said on Twitter that he has never feeled the eagerness of the people of Miami that the government and themselves intervene on behalf of Cuba. He added that this is a moment of freedom for Cuba.
Vancouver police said an incident started when a man attacked another man with a sword, and the two were treated in the hospital for life-threatening injuries.

A police statement said the police responded to a report on Monday that a man attacked another man outside an apartment building in Vancouver with a sword.

Police said the 29-year-old suspect jumped in front of a car when the police arrived, smashed the window and continued to run in the traffic.

He was eventually taken into custody after the police shot with a beanbag gun and a taser.

The police said the suspect was seriously injured in the initial battle with the 59-year-old victim. The two knew each other and both were receiving treatment in the hospital.

They said that the independent office responsible for reviewing all police injuries and deaths has also been notified, but will not conduct investigations.

Our police officer believes that the suspect committed a violent attack and tried to hurt himself, Sergeant Steve Addison said in the statement.

No allegations have been made.
Prince of Wales recalls first parachute

The Prince of Wales recalled his first parachute landing in Dorset nearly 50 years ago, Initially it was inverted and my legs were on the rigging line.

Charles, 72, gave a speech while showing the new colors to the parachute regiment at a ceremony held at Merville Barracks in Colchester, Essex.

On July 29, 1971, he was 23 years old when he landed from Andover to Studland Bay in Dorset.

At that time, he received training as a jet pilot during a four-month internship in the Royal Air Force.

After he was appointed as a colonel of the parachute regiment in 1977, he asked to join the parachute training course of the British Royal Air Force Britz Norton in 1978.

Speaking to soldiers, veterans and family members on Tuesday, he said: Its hard to believe that I have been your colonel for 44 years, and its been almost 50 years since my first parachute landing. At first, my legs were hanging upside down. The rigging line entered Studland Bay in Dorset, where I was pulled out of the water by the Royal Marines.
Nominations for the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards are in progress.

Crown versus Mandalorian On Tuesday received the most Emmy nominations, 24 per person, but Marvel Universe also won the runner-up bragging rights Wanda Vision.

These nominations reinforce the rapid rise of streaming media, with the most nominated screenplays appearing mainly in the past two years.Among the top three-drama, comedy and limited drama-only NBC shows this is us Nominated.

In a year of the pandemic, Canadians living at home rely more on television to distract attention than ever before. Voters in the TV Academy have recognized a variety of storytelling and a variety of actors and creators.

An example: Mj Rodriguez posture She is the first transgender woman to be nominated in the leading role category.

Crown was nominated for the 4th Best Series

Netflix Crown Won the fourth nomination for the best series, and may be the streaming services best chance to win the first ever top series trophy. This British royal drama uses Josh OConnor and Emma Corrins version of the courtship and difficult marriage of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer, Closer to contemporary events.

OConnor and Corrin were recognized for major theatrical performances. Olivia Colman in the series was also nominated for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II and supported Gillian Andersons performance as Prime Minister Ma Greet Thatcher.

Performance by Mandalorian, The extension of Star wars Franchise and creative Wanda Prestige With Marvels characters Wanda and Fantasy as the features, these shows are included in the past science fiction and fantasy Emmy awards favorites game of Thrones with lost.

The Mandalorian and The Crown tied for the top spot in most Emmy nominations. (Walt Disney Studios)

These nominations represent the work done on television in the most challenging year I can think of, said Frank Sherma, chief executive of the Television Academy, before announcing the first batch of nominees.

Although many people in our media have been working remotely for the past 18 months, I have to say that it feels great to be back on the set. Making a great TV is a collaborative team effort, and the sum is greater than part. And I cant tell you how much I miss it.

Scherma and father actress Ron Cephas Jones (this is us) And Jasmine Cephas Jones (Blind spot) Announce nominees.

The awards ceremony on September 10 last year was actually held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be broadcast live in CBS theaters and will include a limited live audience of nominees and guests. Cedric the Entertainer is the host.

Select nominees for the 2021 Emmy Awards

Best series:

boys

Bridgetown

Crown

The Handmaids Story

Lovecraft Country

Mandalorian

posture

this is us

Best comedy series:

black

Cobra Kay

Emily in Paris

Flight attendant

hacker

Kominsky Method

Pen 15

Ted Russo

Best miniseries:

Queens trick

I might ruin you

East Town Mare

subway

Wanda Vision

Best Actress in a Comedy Series:

Eddie Bryant, sharp

Jean Smart, hacker

Kelly Cuco Flight attendant

Tracy Ellis Ross, black

Alison Jane mom

Best Actor in a Comedy:

Anthony Anderson black

Michael Douglas Kominsky Method

William H. Messi, shameless

Jason Sudekis Ted Russo

Kenan Thompson Kenan

Best Actress in a Drama Series

Emma Colin Crown

Elizabeth Moss The Handmaids Story

Uzo Aduba In treatment

Olivia Coleman Crown

Mj Rodriguez, posture

Juni Smollett Lovecraft Country

Best Actor in a Drama Series:

Sterling K. Brown, this is us

Jonathan Majors Lovecraft Country

Josh OConnor, Crown

Reg-Jean Page, Bridgetown

Billy Porter posture

Matthew Reese Perry Mason

Excellent Variety Show Lecture Series
AN ACTOR who played roles in Peaky Blinders and Emmerdale died alone just hours after being sent home from hospital, an inquest has heard.

Toby Kirkup, 48, was admitted to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary on August 29 after he had been experiencing chest pains and a tingling sensation in his arms.

Doctors diagnosed him with gastritis and he was sent home back to Titanic Mills in Slaithwaite.

But later that afternoon his condition worsened, with him beginning to vomit before he eventually suffered a cardiac arrest, Bradford Coroners Court heard.

A post mortem established that his death was a result of natural causes  but his family have had concerns about his treatment.

Read our Tony Kirkup blog for the latest updates on his death
After intelligence agents arrested him from his car on the Caracas highway, Venezuelan prosecutors announced charges of terrorism and treason against a prominent opposition politician.

In a statement on Monday, Attorney General Tarek Sabo stated that Freddie Guevara was detained by members of the Bolivar National Intelligence Agency (Sebin) because he was connected with extreme ties to the Colombian government. Confucianism has links with paramilitary organizations.

The statement said: He will be charged with terrorist crimes, attacks on the constitutional order, conspiracy and treason.

Guevara, a close ally of opposition leader Juan Guaido, posted on social media in his car after the secret police intercepted him on the Caracas highway.

The 35-year-old said in the live broadcast: Greetings to my family, I am sorry that you are going through this pain, hope it will be short-lived.

A spokesperson for Guaidos office said that Che Guevara, who was pardoned on accusations of inciting violence in 2017, was taken to the Helicoide Prison of the Sabine Intelligence Agency in Caracas less than a year ago.

The Attorney General did not specify where he was held.

Opposition leader Juan Guaido speaks to reporters in the parking lot of his residence in Caracas on July 12, 2021 [Federico Parra/ AFP]

In addition, Guaido also said that when he tried to leave the apartment to assist Guevara earlier on Monday, unidentified armed men threatened to arrest him.

Video circulating in his office showed that in the basement of the Guaido building, at least two men wearing bulletproof vests and hoods approached his car and pointed at him with assault rifles.

The video showed that one of the men opened the drivers door, forcibly pushed the driver to the ground, and shouted Get out!

The Venezuelan Ministry of Information did not respond to a request for comment.

Meeting in Mexico

A person familiar with the matter told Reuters last week that these incidents occurred as the Venezuelan government and the opposition are preparing for negotiations in Mexico next month, and Norway mediates. The talks are aimed at resolving the deep political crisis in South American countries.

In a televised speech by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, according to the authorities, a bullet was seized in a recent clash between the police and the gang [Miraflores Palace/Handout via Reuters]

President Nicolas Maduro (Nicolas Maduro) confirmed the negotiation plan when he appeared on national television on Monday, but said the opposition should abandon its violent strategy before the meeting. Without naming Guevara or Guaido, he said he had evidence that some actors were planning a coup, and said that prosecutors acted on the evidence.

I agree with Mexico and Norways table, but there must be conditions, and violence must be clearly renounced, Maduro said.

The Venezuelan government previously linked Guevara and his political mentor Leopoldo Lopez, now exiled in Spain, to the violent clashes that took place near Caracas last week, which resulted in at least 26 deaths.

They want to disguise themselves as democrats, but they are allied with criminals, Maduro said, but did not directly mention the case of Guevara.

Some of these departmentswe have pardoned them for their previous reasons, but they were pardonedthey immediately joined in finding criminals, paying for violent groups and preparing for assassination, he said.

The U.S.-backed opposition labelled Maduro as a dictator, claiming that he rigged his 2018 re-election and used the judicial system to suppress dissent. But Maduro, who retains military support, denied that the election was rigged and accused Guaido of conspiring with the United States to remove him in the coup.

Threat will not stop us

Following the news of Guevaras arrest, Guaidos wife, Fabiana Rosales, said on Twitter that security forces had entered their apartment building in eastern Caracas.

Today, we have experienced hours of suffering, siege, persecution, and todays attempt to arrest the president in our basement. They are signs of the dictatorship of persecution, murder, and imprisonment. Today they opened fire on our house. pic.twitter.com/jR8pqETrhE -Fabiana Rosales (@FabiiRosales) July 13, 2021

A few minutes later, the reporter rushed to the scene. Neighbors gathered around two unmarked white trucks to protest. There were people wearing bulletproof vests and assault rifles in the trucks, and some people were sitting in them.

Others wore hats with DIE, an acronym for Spanish Intelligence and Strategic Police.

Soon after, an unmarked gray Toyota truck full of police rushed out of the basement garage and left the residential area.

On July 12, 2021, neighbors of opposition leader Juan Guaido slammed an SUV carrying alleged government officials [Federico Parra/ AFP]

Guaido then walked out of an SUV and told reporters that these people had already left. He said it was not clear which part of the security forces they belonged to.

They intercepted us in the basement and pointed their weapons at us, Guaido said.

The United States condemned the actions against Guevara and Guaido.

Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Julie Zhong wrote on Twitter: We strongly condemn the arrest of Venezuelan Congressman Freddie Guevara and the threats against Venezuelan Interim President Juan Guaido.

She urged the international community to condemn these acts and called for the release of all political prisoners in Venezuela.
When neighbors in Grain Valley woke up this morning, they witnessed several agencies searching the outside of a home on Buckner Tarsney Road in connection with a missing persons case out of Independence.
Lee Je Hoon has been making significant buzz online due to his performance in the top rating K-drama "Taxi Driver."

Arguably one of the beloved South Korean stars, the 37-year-old actor has been giving the audience remarkable dramas and movies since his debut--one of which is his latest SBS series.

It follows the story of a former special forces officer named Kim Do Ki, who turns into a secret vigilante crime fighter alongside the Rainbow Taxi CEO Jang Sung Chul, played by Kim Eui Sung, as well as Pyo Ye Jin, Jang Hyuk Jin, and Bae Yoo Ram.

The group's goal is to avenge the victims whom the law failed to protect.

On the other hand, what makes the drama interesting is that it tackles social issues like bullying, harassment, fraud and is reportedly based on real-life cases.

Following the successful finale back on May 29, Studio S, the production company that handles the SBS series, confirmed that Lee Je Hoon's drama is set to return for season 2.

Although the upcoming sequel is still in the early stages of outlining the production, including the cast members' schedule, the company revealed that they plan to release the new season sometime in 2022.

This means that fans can get to see Kim Do Ki and the rest of the Rainbow Taxi team as they plan out their grand revenge scheme against the evil guys.

Since the much-awaited season is still in the process, here's five Lee Je Hoon's drama that you might want to binge-watch if you can't wait for "Taxi Driver 2."

READ MORE: Hit K-Drama 'Taxi Driver' Starring Lee Je Hoon Confirmed for Season 2





Fashion King (2012)

After his acting debut in 2007, he appeared in several supporting roles but eventually starred in his first-ever lead role for the melodrama "Fashion King."

The 2012 SBS series follows the story of an aspiring designer named

Kang Young Gul (Yoo Ah In) owns a humble stall at the Dongdaemun Market.

Meanwhile, Lee Je Hoon plays the role of a second-generation chaebol and was involved in a love triangle between Kang Young Gul and Lee Ga Young (Shin Se Kyung.)

Signal (2016)

Lee Je Hoon is no amateur when it comes to notable crime thriller dramas, including "Signal" with A-listers Kim Hye Soo and Jo Jin Woong.

In the 2016 drama, he portrays Park Hae Yeong, a young criminal profiler who mysteriously interacts with Detective Lee Jae Han (Choi Jin Woong) through a walkie-talkie.

The two police officers try to solve unclosed cases and attempt to prevent crime by using the device despite living in a different time.

"Tomorrow With You" (2017)

Another melodrama starring the South Korean heartthrob is "Tomorrow With You," where he took the role of a wealthy real estate CEO Yoo So Joon.

Interestingly, after surviving the subway explosion, he managed to go back and forth in time after gaining the ability to time travel.

With his capability, he sees that his future has an unhappy and tormented life; however, he chose to change this by marrying the bubbly photographer Song Ma Rin (Shin Min Ah.)

"Where the Stars Land" (2018)

Lee Je Hoon took home the Best Actor Award in the 2018 SBS Drama Awards through the rom-com series "Where the Stars Land."

The K-drama illustrates the lives of employees working at the Incheon International Airport, showing off the challenges they faced every day.

In the SBS drama, the 37-year-old actor took on the role of a passenger services member named Lee Soo Yeon and is described as someone who wants nothing but to be ordinary.

With his mysterious and aloof persona lies a secret that prompted him to distance himself from everyone

"Move to Heaven"

Another well-loved Lee Je Hoon drama is Netflix's "Move to Heaven" alongside Tang Jun Sang and "Navillera" actress Hong Seung He.

It follows the story of a young man named Han Geu Roo, who was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome.

After his father passed away, he opted to continue their business of arranging items left by deceased people--to which they called "Move to Heaven."

One day, his uncle Cho Sang Gu, a former martial artist and ex-con, played by Lee Je Hoon, showed up as his guardian. Despite his tough appearance, Geu Roo believed that he has a good heart.

As Sang Gu witnessed his dedication to his father's legacy, he then realized what "Move to heaven" meant for Geu Roo.

IN CASE YOU MISSED: 'Move to Heaven' Star Lee Je Hoon Official Signed Under His Own Management Agency, Company On





KDramastars owns this article.

Written by Geca Wills
BEATTY, Ore.  After a day of relative reprieve, fire crews on the massive Bootleg Fire were again faced Monday with a highly active fire that ballooned in growth. Fire officials listed the fire's estimated size at 201,923 acres as of Tuesday morning  an expansion of more than 50,000 acres in the space of a day.

According to fire officials, the prevailing hot weather, dry vegetation, and low humidity caused fire behavior to become more active on the fire's northeastern flank, where flames have advanced into Lake County. The latest maps also showed major growth to the southeast, where the fire's footprint stretches across the North Fork Sprague River north of Bly.

Crews were successful in keeping the fire's southern flank from reaching populated areas, but it continued to grow toward the southeast. Officials said that crews built six miles of dozer line toward Obenchain Reservoir, while others worked to connect and improve existing lines.

High-voltage transmission lines that march into California have been de-energized, officials confirmed, and fire officials have been working with the power companies on a plan to safely revive them "as soon as possible."

On the north side of the fire, crews have been battling three new fires totaling 150 acres in the Summer Lake area. Firefighters built dozer lines and set up hose lays in an attempt to keep the fire west of Forest Road 28.

Throughout Monday, structural firefighters from the Office of the State Fire Marshal's task forces worked to find and extinguish spot fires around homes and other buildings. Officials said that firefighters on the northeast side of the fire helped 11 people when winds sent the fire rushing toward them, escorting them to a safe zone in a meadow until the fire passed.

"These firefighters also assisted residents in two vehicles when they became trapped by the fire and were unable to escape because of downed trees. The firefighters removed the trees from the roadway, allowing the group to safely escape," officials said.

The fire's lurch toward Lake County caused law enforcement to issue new evacuations by Tuesday morning, stretching to the north, east, and southeast from Klamath County into Lake. Officials from the U.S. Forest Service also expanded closures in the Fremont-Winema National Forest to ensure that people stay away from threatened recreation areas.

The Bootleg Fire has moved rapidly through Klamath and Lake counties, with extreme fire behavior driven by hot weather, winds and exceptionally dry fuels since it was discovered last Tuesday, said Fremont-Winema National Forest Supervisor Barry Imler. For public and firefighter safety, it is essential that we expand the closure area while firefighters, the Incident Management Team and area fire managers work together to contain and control the fire.

NewsWatch 12 learned from fire officials on Monday that at least seven homes and 43 other structures have been destroyed by the Bootleg Fire thus far, as crews begin initial damage assessments. More than 100 people spent the night at the Red Cross shelter in the Klamath County Fairgrounds, and one man confirmed that his home was one of those destroyed by the fire.

Incident commanders decided Monday to split the firefight into two zones to the north and south. The Oregon Department of Forestry's Incident Management Team 1 took control of the fire's southern zone. Pacific Northwest Team 10 remains in command of the northern zone, while a team from the Oregon State Fire Marshal's office will continue to focus on protecting homes and structures, with almost 2,000 considered threatened.

The Bootleg Fire's explosion of activity on Saturday afternoon prompted fire crews to fall back from direct attack efforts due to the speed and intensity of the fire. On Sunday, a blanket of smoke over the fire area helped to moderate fire activity, allowing firefighters to get in closer and resume work on building lines.

Bootleg Fire evacuations

An interactive map of current evacuation zones can be viewed here.

Level 3 (GO NOW) evacuation order

Klamath County, north of the town of Beatty. East side of Godowa Springs Rd north of the OC and E Trail to the Klamath County Line need to leave immediately.

Klamath County, near the town of Sprague River. Upper tableland area north of Oregon Pines Rd need to leave immediately.

Lake County, south of the Sycan River, south of Forest Roads 3239 and 28, and the Gearhart Wilderness west of Forest Road 3372 in Lake County.

Level 2 (GET SET) evacuation warning

Klamath County, near the town of Sprague River. Klamath Forrest Estates/Moccasin Hills Area need to be prepared to leave.

Klamath County, West side of Godowa Springs Rd, south of Oregon Pines Rd and Tableland Rd. to the river need to be prepared to leave.

Lake County, Sycan Marsh area, Chocktoot Creek Drainage area, west of Forest Road 28 and east of Forest Road 3372, north of Forest Road 34, and through the area that includes Corral Creek Campground and Mitchell Monument.

Level 1 (BE READY) evacuation notice

Klamath County, Between Beatty and Bly 3 miles south of Highway 140 from Yellow Jacket Springs to Fishhole Creek need to be ready in case.

Klamath County, the area from the intersection of Sprague River Rd and Forbes Rd extending east to Godowa Springs and Yellow Jacket Springs and south of the Sprague River 4 miles need to be ready in case.

Lake County, from the northeast at the Lake County line, through the Yamsay Mountain Recreation Area, extending east to the south of Thompson Reservoir to Winter Rim Recreation Area, then south near the Forest Boundary, then following Chewaucan Road south to Forest Road 34.

The Klamath County Sheriffs Office started to issue citations and says it will make arrests if necessary to keep people out of the Level 3 evacuation areas.

The expanded forest closure order is on National Forest System lands south of Silver Lake Road between U.S. Highway 97 and Oregon State Highway 31; west of Oregon State Highway 31 and U.S. Highway 395; north of the Oregon-California Stateline; northeast of Willow Valley Road, Langell Valley Road, Bly Mountain Cutoff Road, Oregon State Highway 140 and Sprague River Road to U.S. Highway 97; and east of U.S. Highway 97 between Chiloquin and Silver Lake Road.

Violations of the closure order are punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000 for an individual or $10,000 for an organization, or imprisonment of not more than 6 months or both.
BROOKINGS, Ore.  A woman visiting Natural Bridges along the southern Oregon coast near Brookings fell to her death from a cliffside Monday, according to the Curry County Sheriff's Office.

Brookings Police dispatch received a 911 call reporting that a woman had fallen in the area about 12 miles north of Brookings, and the information was passed on to the Curry County Sheriff's Office. Dispatch said that they had paged the Brookings and Cape Ferello Fire Departments, in addition to Cal Ore Life Flight Ambulance, and asked the CCSO's Search & Rescue rope team respond along with the on-duty deputies.

Sheriff's Sergeant Mai Mello arrived at the scene and got in contact with the caller, Kim Maloy, a family member of the victim. Maloy said that her sister-in-law, 60-year-old Glenda Tucker of North Carolina, had fallen roughly 300 feet from a cliff and into the ocean. Maloy's husband had tried to climb down to reach Tucker, and was stuck on the side of a cliff.

Sgt. Mello reached a vantage point and could see Tucker below, floating face down in a cove, CCSO said. The Sergeant notified dispatch that Tucker was dead.

CCSO called in for help from the Coast Guard to reach and recover Tucker's body, while the SAR rope team and swimmers prepared to make the recovery if the Coast Guard could not. Rescuers were able to rappel down to James Maloy and got him to safety.

A Coast Guard helicopter team arrived and lowered a swimmer outside of the cove, allowing the swimmer to travel 200 yards in and pull Tucker back outside of the cove. Once outside, the helicopter crew hoisted Tucker's body and delivered her to SAR members and other first responders near the spot where she had originally fallen.

CCSO said that Tucker's body was carried up the trail to the parking lot, where she was released to Redwood Memorial in Brookings.

"The Curry County Sheriffs Office sends our condolences to the family of Glenda Tucker and thanks to the other agencies that responded to help," the agency said in a statement.
ASHLAND, Ore.  The Oregon Shakespeare Festival will lift mask and social distancing requirements initially put in place for its summer performances, the result of lifted state and union restrictions.

OSF made the unexpected announcement at the end of May that it would restart live performances in July, but the as-yet uncertain climate of COVID-19 at that time meant that considerable restrictions were still in place  mask requirements, distanced seating, and proof of either vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test.

The beginning of July saw a sea change for both the state of Oregon's restriction and those required by the actors' union. OSF says that on July 14, masks and social distancing requirements will be lifted within the Allen Elizabethan Theatre and throughout the campus.

As a result, the number of tickets available for Fannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer and OSF's Summer Concert Series have increased, the organization said.

"We are so excited that these wonderful shows will play to full audiences in our landmark outdoor theatre, and we hope you'll join us," OSF continued.

Despite the relaxation of some restrictions, audience members will still need to provide either proof of vaccination or a recent COVID-19 test.
Cintron-Perez also called into question Patinos description of events, saying she was constantly drugged and saying incoherent things.

Gabriele counters

Deputy District Attorney Angelina Gabriele pointed out that the statements she made to the prosecution previously, which Cintron-Perez said were not made under intimidation, matched those she told to the police and to her other son, Nelson, back in 2019. Gabriele questioned why, if the initial statements were false, she would implicate her son in the shooting of two people.

Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

Cintron-Perez repeated that her original statements were untrue and claimed Torres continually harassed her while trying to find her son.

I repeated what Detective Torres told me, I repeated it, Cintron-Perez said. They kept me there for eight hours.

In a particularly charged moment, Gabriele requested that Cintron-Perez identify her son and describe what he was wearing. Cintron-Perez, who began crying again, briefly turned and faced her son. Delgado-Cintron was wearing a green dress shirt and dark gray dress pants.

Version of events
Feel free to believe what you wish about the root causes of the events of Jan. 6, 2021. As a nation, we seem to be horribly divided on why, how or even IF there was a violent attack on the very seat of our elected government. The fact is there are hundreds of thousands of photographs and tens of thousands of hours of video of the destruction and violence  much of it available online.

Many of the protesters, who were happy to take part in the violence and destruction, were less than happy to be photographed or filmed as they committed these federal crimes. Both of what might be called traditional media, as well as citizen journalists were there in droves, however, to document the crimes and the criminals.

Approximately 520 people are charged with federal crimes related to the siege. Incredibly, more than 100 defendants have been charged with assaulting police officers. Others have been charged with the destruction of camera equipment belonging to journalists covering the riot, including an AP video crew.

Last week, a Pennsylvania man was arrested on charges that he assaulted an Associated Press photographer and police officers during the riot at the U.S. Capitol. Before that, an Illinois man arrested on June 24 was the first defendant charged with assaulting a member of the news media during the riot, according to the Justice Department.
Update Required

To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin.
Ketchikan, AK (99901)

Today

A shower or two possible this morning with partly cloudy skies for the afternoon. High 64F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 52F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph.
I was on Capitol Hill on September 11, 2001, when I first learned of the attacks on the World Trade Center. As I was driving away from the Capitol, I saw the smoke from the plane that struck the Pentagon. With air traffic halted, my flight home was canceled, I struggled to get a rental car to drive across the country to get home to my family in California. As I drove on I-80 through our nation, I witnessed the American spirit -- homemade signs of God bless America, flags on display, and the strength and determination of the American people to never allow such an attack to happen again.

And for the past 20 years, America fought back -- with its troops, diplomats, intelligence and development professionals working tirelessly to ensure that Afghanistan would never again be used as a safe haven to attack our homeland. The US has had successes in Afghanistan, including the establishment of a democratic government, expanded rights for women, improved education, and successful operations to decimate core Al Qaeda and bring Osama Bin Laden to justice. And America has suffered losses, with more than 2,200 of its war fighters killed in action, seven CIA officers killed by a suicide bomber in 2010, and countless civilian deaths in a long and frustrating war.

President Joe Biden decided to bring America's troops home by the end of August. At the same time, the President has also made clear that we will not take our eye off the terrorist threat. The problem, however, is that the situation is deteriorating rapidly: our country's military commander in Afghanistan has warned of an imminent civil war; the latest intelligence assessment makes clear that once US troops leave, the Taliban could take control of Afghanistan in six to 12 months; and the Taliban is moving quickly to capture a number of rural districts and threaten the capital Kabul.

The Taliban cannot be trusted when it comes to terrorism. It is up to the United States to make sure that Afghanistan does not collapse and become a base of operations for terrorists again. Already in recent weeks we have seen senseless deaths at the hands of the Taliban, with the killing of 22 members of an Afghan Special Forces unit.

The fact is that the President has a wide array of military, diplomatic and intelligence resources that can be deployed to support Afghanistan at this critical time:

1. Meaningful assistance to Afghan Security Forces

The US and its NATO Allies should continue to fund and train the Afghan security forces. Yes, this has been an ongoing -- and often frustrating -- effort for many years, but ultimately, developing an effective military requires sustained educational, financial and security support.

Every time I went to Afghanistan, military commanders expressed confidence that the Afghan military could do the job -- the consensus was clear: "These guys are fighting and fighting tough." But absent US support, the military will struggle against a motivated Taliban.

2. Continue Counter Terrorism Operations

There will be times when the US military may need to be more directly involved with the over-the-horizon strike capabilities -- including the ability to hit targets with air-to-ground munitions, sea-based surface-to-surface missiles, and if necessary, a raid on particular terrorist targets by US Special Operations Forces.

While some US forces will remain in the region after drawing down in Afghanistan, its diplomats should work to establish new or expanded basing agreements with regional partners. These bases could host remotely-piloted MQ-9 Predator UAVs and other reliable surveillance assets to provide situational awareness and to enable quick reaction forces to deploy when US interests are at imminent risk. US commanders will need the ability to call in strikes from these UAVs and other nearby air and sea-based assets, like F-16s, F-18s, and Tomahawk missiles, to take out terrorist infrastructure as well. As with elsewhere around the globe, America's cyber forces will also remain a valuable tool to collect intelligence and disrupt enemy command-and-control.

3. Maintain Intelligence Networks

The ability of US national security professionals to understand the situation in Kabul and beyond will continue to rely on long-established human intelligence networks. The US will have to seek creative ways to maintain and grow those relationships as US government posture on the ground evolves. America's intelligence professionals were the first into Afghanistan after 9/11, and they will have to remain long after our troops depart.

4. A Strong Diplomatic Presence

Underlying this work will be an important element of the Biden administration's national security team, the diplomatic corps. As Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad has made clear, the US will remain invested in Afghanistan to help support peace and reconciliation, as well as to provide economic and humanitarian assistance to help the Afghan people. It is also important that the US continues to help strengthen Afghanistan's civilian government capacity, not just its military. Core to this needs to be training its law enforcement and judicial officials to make them more effective and ensure they have proper training on rule of law.

5. Protect Those Who Fought With Our Forces

Finally, we must not forget the thousands of brave Afghans who risked their lives to help US security forces and diplomats over the past two decades. Much as with those who helped the US after we withdrew troops from Vietnam in the 1970s, and Kosovo and Iraq in the 1990s, the Afghans who served side by side with Americans deserve expedited visa consideration and other settlement assistance as they seek refuge from possible Taliban retribution. It's not only the right thing to do morally, but it also sends partners around the world the message that if you're there for America, America will be there for you.

I spent four years of my career as Secretary of Defense and Director of the CIA, working intensely on elements of the war in Afghanistan, ranging from operations, to personnel, to policy. I commanded the operation to bring Osama Bin Laden to justice. I understand the reasons Biden made his decision -- the goal of stopping terrorist threats against the American homeland remains the critical objective, and we can achieve that objective with a combination of the on-the-ground and over-the-horizon capabilities to prevent Al Qaeda from reestablishing a safe haven there.

But there are lessons from this war that cannot be forgotten. The President understands the importance of maintaining our support for the Afghan people, so they can live in a pluralistic, democratic society that respects the rights of all its citizens, especially women. And he also understands that it was the Taliban that provided a safe haven for Al Qaeda to plan and execute the 9/11 attack. Surely, we owe it to the victims and families of that attack and all those who fought and died in the wars that followed to make sure that another 9/11 attack never happens again.

The-CNN-Wire

 &  2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.
DRY CREEK, Ore. -- The Jack Fire has grown to nearly 12,500 acres on Monday and is still 10% contained.

Officials said they made significant progress over the weekend and feel confident about securing the area.

Firefighters have been doing a great job particularly in areas up north of Highway 138. They have completed containment lines and completed areas of burnt fuel and created protection around the Dry Creek community, said Jack Fire Public Information Officer Shannon Dunfee.

Dunfee said Monday is the last day of operation for the Oregon State Fire Marshal on this effort and now task forces will shift to local agencies.

Currently, 243 structures are threatened but none have been damaged so far. Four helicopters are working to drop retardant and water to limit the spread of the fire.

The Jack Fire comes nearly ten months after the Archie Creek Fire last fall. Officials said recent conditions cause concern.

Right now the region is in extreme drought so we just ask folks to do their part to prevent fires and just know that its dry, said Dunfee.

Officials estimate full containment will be achieved by July 28, but this is contingent on weather conditions.

CLOSURES

Highway 138 East is closed from Steamboat Creek to milepost 55. The Steamboat Inn is also closed.

Also, the Oregon State Marine Board has issued a temporary closure of the North Umpqua River from the Boulder Flat boat launch downstream to the Alder Creek confluence. This will remain in effect through July 18 or until the rule is lifted. You can find more information HERE.

Some areas of the Umpqua National Forest are closed to the public through Feb. 28, 2022, unless lifted sooner. To protect firefighters, the public will not be allowed to be on a closed road, go into a closed area or be on a closed trail. For a map of the closures, CLICK HERE.

ASSISTANCE

If you have evacuated, contact the American Red Cross at 1-888-680-1455 for resources. Saving Grace will accept small pets for temporary boarding, but they ask that you call before arriving.

EVACUATION NOTICES
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)  People in Oregon struggled to get rides to cooling centers during the recent heat wave that is believed to have killed hundreds across the Pacific Northwest, officials said Monday, and staffing shortages prevented callers from reaching operators at an information line.

State authorities are examining their response to scorching temperatures that broke all-time records across the region late last month as the American West struggles with a historic drought and climate change makes extreme weather more common and intense. Oregon blamed 116 deaths on the heat, Washington state reported at least 91 and officials in British Columbia say hundreds of sudden and unexpected deaths are likely due to the soaring temperatures.

One of the heartbreaking things about this heat wave is that there were resources that were available to communities, whether it was cooling centers or transportation, and folks couldnt access those resources to protect themselves, Andrew Phelps, director of the Oregon Office of Emergency Management, said at a news conference.

In the week leading up to the late June heat wave, Oregon officials contacted providers, set up cooling centers and connected with vulnerable populations, including the thousands of homeless people who live on the streets of Portland and in low-income communities.

One major complaint from community members was not knowing where to go to cool down and a struggle to find that information.

For days, officials urged people to call a helpline that can connect them with health and social service organizations to learn about cooling centers and transportation. But as temperatures started rising, people said they couldnt get through to an operator.

We found out that 211 was not staffed during the weekend, so we asked what it would take to staff the center so people could get information they needed, and Fariborz Pakseresht, director of Oregons Department of Human Services. They told us they needed additional funding to staff the center. We then provided the funding and staffed the phone lines during the heat wave.

However, staffing was still limited, and people said there were long waits before they were connected to an operator. The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that hundreds of Multnomah County residents who called couldnt get through, leaving ailing people stranded in the heat or forcing them to call 911.

Another major challenge, officials said, was getting residents, many of whom do not have air conditioning and are used to mild early summers, to comprehend the danger of the extreme heat.

There have been historically few places in Oregon that experience a substantial number of days over 90 degrees, said Patrick Allen, director of the Oregon Health Authority. Yet, due to climate change, nearly the entire state will need to prepare for steady increases and extreme heat over the next few decades.

State officials say as heat waves become more common, they are adapting to climate change and updating their response to extreme weather, including having more conversations with cities and counties on what they need to help residents.
OREGON -- After COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in Oregon, city councils, boards and organizations were left to decide between continuing to hold meetings virtually or return to in-person gatherings.

This comes after several COVID-19 restrictions were put in place starting in early 2020 due to the pandemic.

The Roseburg City Council held its first in-person meeting in more than a year on Monday at Roseburg City Hall. Roseburg Mayor Larry Rich shared his thoughts now that the mandates have been lifted.

We said we're ready, Rich said. We're ready to get started back at the in-person meetings.

Rich said those who feel more comfortable joining in on Zoom or those who wish to keep their distance can still do so. You can make public comments in-person or by emailing them in.

Its been hard because when you're in a Zoom meeting, you don't have the same connection with people and you don't even have that connection with your own counselors, Rich said. Just to have everybody in the same room, so you can talk to them and even say hi to them and meet them after the meeting or before the meeting. Its just exciting to be back.

Chair Joe Berney of the Lane County Board of County Commissioners said the board's plan is to return to in-person meetings Aug. 31, but he was pushing for a date much sooner.

"Since we've now achieved these levels of vaccination, I also feel it's equally important to start getting on with it," Berney said. "So I think the county certainly needs to walk our talk. I used to enjoy the time driving in a car to collect my thoughts to prepare for the day and that's gone. But with all of that, the county has really stepped up."

He said there are many factors involved.

Some families don't yet have day care and that's not Lane County's fault, that's a bigger social thing," Berney said. "We want to accommodate that.

He said it's also about the transition of people, and others don't feel as comfortable yet.

Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis said the Eugene City Council will continue to meet virtually over Zoom due to construction and supply chain delays. The city moved out of the county offices in December, and they're still working on constructing a new meeting space at Lane Community College.

This was a big learning curve for everyone, Vinis said. "We had the benefit of having invested in high-speed internet downtown, so we knew city offices could be well-connected and speedily connected.

Vinis said more hours were put in due to working virtually, as is the case across the world, but there are great benefits.

So on one hand, I think we were kind of extraordinarily productive as a city, Vinis said. We certainly missed gathering, and we did find a way with our public forum to enable people to engage. I think the learning curve of that is that we will want to keep that kind of virtual access for the community because it is very convenient for folks not to have to give up an entire night, not to have to find a babysitter, but be able to just walk into a meeting. So there are pieces that were really a benefit.

She said she has missed being out at community events to meet people, to celebrate accomplishments and to be in the same room as her team. As she puts it, the future is bright.

I think we are in a unique moment in history, Vinis said. We're coming out of this crisis, and we have a chance to say that we can fix these things. As we have unusual resources coming from the federal government to apply toward solutions, it's a great opportunity for us locally to really make some investments that we haven't been able to make before.

The Springfield City Council is currently on recess from July 5 through Sept. 6 and will return Sept. 7. They will return to in-person meetings at that time.

When it comes to school districts, the Bethel School District met Monday evening in-person for a work session and board meeting. There were both in-person and virtual options.
By Ritah Kemigisa and Michael kakumirizi

A man only identified as Kawalaata by nickname has collapsed at the new taxi park due to suspected hunger.

According to colleagues, he has been earning from carrying peoples luggage.

The Shawuriyako A leader, Yusuf Lwanga says he last met Kawalaata yesterday who complained of having spent a number of days minus eating.

I met him yesterday and he said he was hungry, I gave him shs 2000, says Mr Lwanga.

Lwanga has now appealed to the government to help people in downtown especially those who are using the Nakivubo channel and mall verandahs as their homes.

Police and Red Cross services managed to reach on the scene to help reinstate him.

This incident comes just a day after the United Nations released a report showing that the pandemic has spiked world hunger.

This years edition of the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World notes that while the pandemics impact is yet to be fully mapped, around a 10th of the global population of which approximately 811 million people were undernourished last year.

The report jointly published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization reveals that hunger shot up, outpacing population growth with some 9.9 percent of all people estimated to have been undernourished, up from 8.4% in 2019.
BY DAMALI MUKHAYE

The Minister of Education, Janet Museveni is slated to release the 2020 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) on either Thursday or Friday this week.

The Ministry of Education and Uganda National Examination Board (Uneb) were supposed to release PLE towards the end of last month, but postponed the exercise after a second 42 days lockdown was instituted.

The Spokesperson of the Ministry of Education, Patrick Muida says since Ms Museveni will be briefed about the performance of pupils on Wednesday, she will choose a suitable date for the release.

He says the minister will likely choose between Thursday and Friday.

According to Mr Muida, the Ministry has put in place all the necessary Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to ensure a smooth exercise.

All Uneb and Ministry officials slated to participate in the exercise have been asked to test for covid-19.
"First of all I am sorry"; Youth pastor's Facebook post on appropriate swimwear goes viral
Thank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading.

To subscribe, click here. Already a subscriber? Click here.
MASON CITY, Iowa - It's been a process a couple of years in the making. Now, Cerro Gordo County is a part of Central Iowa Community Services (CICS).

The agency has now expanded to 15 counties in North and Central Iowa, and will have offices based at the Cerro Gordo County courthouse. CEO Russell Wood says residents can expect more services to be available, including vocational and housing supports, as well as outpatient therapy, med management and mobile crisis response.

"It's not you have to drive somewhere to get services. We don't send you an hour away, we'll get somebody there. If you need more services than that, we can look at providing them in your home, we can look at providing them in another community if you need a residential placement. The hope is we can meet people where they are."

Wood says CICS takes a more decentralized approach when it comes to service development, as they base some of the more intensive services where they are needed the most based on population. In all of their counties, regardless of size, Wood adds there are some basic services provided, including mobile crisis response.

"We can send out a team of two people to come and meet with you are where you are and help you with your crisis. If you need more than that, we can do up to five days of community based crisis stabilization, we'll send someone to your home every day. We have residential programs, so if you need to go somewhere for a short period or a long period of time, then we can find those programs for you."

At least one or two staff members will be in Mason City each weekday. CICS is also looking to partner with 43 North Iowa on a crisis stabilization service and intensive residential service homes, as well as with Prairie Ridge on starting a community treatment program.
MASON CITY, Iowa - A father-son duo from Mason City could face decades or life in prison for selling methamphetamine and heroin in Cerro Gordo County.

Charlton Maxwell, 60, and Antione Maxwell, 33, were each convicted by the feds on multiple accounts of conspiracy to distribute meth and heroin. The 3-day trial concluded on Friday.

The evidence at trial showed that Antione and Charleton Maxwell conspired to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine and heroin in and around Mason City between January 2018 and October 2020. Both Charleton and Antione were caught distributing methamphetamine and heroin. Testimony at trial showed that both defendants were involved in a long-term conspiracy involving numerous others to distribute pounds of methamphetamine as well as heroin in the Mason City area, authorities said in a press release.

Authorities said Antoine Maxwell could face life in prison when sentencing occurs.
MASON CITY, Iowa - With coronavirus variants spreading and vaccine administration slowing to a crawl, public health officials say the current health crisis is far from over.

According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, the Delta variant, which was first detected in Iowa back in May, is now the most dominant strain in the state, accounting for more than half of all positive tests. With variants spreading and hitting areas like Southwest Missouri particularly hard, CG Public Health director Brian Hanft encourages those who have not been vaccinated yet to get vaccinated, as it can offer significant protection against the variant.

"The mutations happen in people who are not vaccinated. as it spreads...that's why they're stressing the more people that get vaccinated, the less opportunity this virus has a chance to mutate. viruses mutate all the time, it's just a matter of whether or not it can have a detrimental impact on whoever the host is."

This week, Pfizer officials are meeting with the FDA to seek approval for another emergency use authorization for a booster shot. Though Dr. Anthony Fauci has said that booster shots are not recommended right now, Hanft feels that we may seem them be administered later in the year.

"Whether or not that booster coincides with a flu vaccine, back to school vaccines, whether that's some other kind of effort. The closer we get to the fall and winter months, I think it's more likely we'll need that."

If you remain hesitant to get a vaccine, Hanft encourages people to reach out to your physician or your county health department.

According to Iowa's COVID-19 dashboard, about 49% of Cerro Gordo County residents are fully vaccinated.
A federal judge agreed on Tuesday to free an Iowa man from jail more than six months after his videotaped confrontation of a police officer inside the U.S. Capitol became one of the most menacing images of the Jan. 6 riots.

Douglas Jensen, 41, was wearing a T-shirt bearing the letter Q, a symbol of the QAnon conspiracy theory, when he joined the mob that approached Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman inside the building and followed the officer up two flights of stairs.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly said deciding whether to free Jensen from jail pending trial was a "close case," but he ultimately agreed to release the Des Moines resident on house arrest with electronic location monitoring. The judge also barred him from accessing the internet on any electronic devices.

The judge said Jensen's actions during his confrontation of Goodman were deeply concerning and quite serious. But he noted that Jensen is not accused of toppling any barricades, damaging any property or fighting with anybody at the Capitol.

That said, he clearly disobeyed Officer Goodman and other officers, and he did position himself near the front of a mob as he ran up the stairs toward Officer Goodman," the judge said. That may be some leadership, but only in the narrowest sense."

Kelly noted that a video captured Jensen referring to the Capitol building as the White House. The judge said he didnt believe that Jensen could have coordinated with others or planned an attack in advance when he had no basic understanding of where he even was that day."

Prosecutors said Jensen is a self-proclaimed digital soldier and religious adherent of QAnon, the conspiracy theory that has centered on the baseless belief that former President Donald Trump was secretly waging a campaign against a Satan-worshipping, child sex trafficking cabal of "deep state" enemies, Hollywood elites and Democratic foes.

Jensen traveled to Washington because he was all about a revolution and succeeded in his mission to become the poster boy for the events at the Capitol that day, prosecutors wrote in court papers. They argued that he poses a danger to the public and must remain jailed.

Defense attorney Christopher Davis said his client went to the Capitol to observe what QAnon promoters have prophesized as The Storm," the day when Trump's enemies would be rounded up and executed.

He was in front of everyone for the now disclosed silly reason to get Q recognized for The Storm that was about to take place, Davis wrote in a court filing.

Jensen's lawyer said his client became a victim of numerous conspiracy theories that were being fed to him over the internet by a number of very clever people, who were uniquely equipped with slight, if any, moral or social consciousness.

Six months later, languishing in a DC Jail cell, locked down most of the time, he feels deceived, recognizing that he bought into a pack of lies, Davis wrote.

Jensen faces charges including civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding a law enforcement officer.

Davis said he tried to book a plane ticket for Jensen but wasnt able to, leading him to believe that his client is on a no-fly list.

Few of the more than 500 people charged in the Capitol riot remain locked up while they fight the charges.

An appeals court ruling in March that led to the release of a mother and son charged in the riot set standards for how judges should weigh whether to keep Jan. 6 defendants locked up awaiting trial.

The appeals court found that the judge who ordered Eric Munchel and his mother Lisa Eisenhart detained failed to show how they could be a threat to the community, noting that they didnt assault anyone or destroy anything on Jan. 6.

Judges have since cited that ruling in several decisions releasing defendants.

But the appeals court also said last week that people could still be found to be a danger to the public and kept in jail even if they didnt commit violence on Jan. 6.

That came in an opinion upholding the pretrial detention of an Army reservist whose co-workers told authorities was a known Nazi sympathizer who wore a Hitler mustache. The judge who ordered Timothy Hale-Cusanelli locked up pointed to his violent rhetoric and found him to be a threat to a government informant.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  The Minnesota judge who oversaw the trial of Derek Chauvin is denying prosecutors request to rewrite his sentencing order as it relates to the children and teens who saw George Floyds death.

Judge Peter Cahill sentenced Chauvin last month to 22 1/2 years in prison.

Attorney General Keith Ellison last week asked Cahill to remove suggestions that the four young witnesses were not traumatized.

Cahill said in an order Tuesday that the four girls may have been emotionally traumatized, but that the state failed to objectively prove it. Ellison's office said it was reviewing the judge's order.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  Two men convicted in the 2019 kidnapping and slaying of a real estate agent in Minnesota have been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Cedric Berry and Berry Davis, both 42, were found guilty in Hennepin County District Court last month in the death of 28-year-old Monique Baugh. Prosecutors say Baugh was lured to a phony home showing in the Minneapolis suburb of Maple Grove. She was found shot to death in a Minneapolis alley.

Investigators say the men were part of a scheme aimed at getting to Baughs boyfriend, who had a feud with a former business associate and drug dealer. Baugh's boyfriend was shot and wounded during the altercation, for which jurors convicted both men of attempted second-degree murder.
MASON CITY, Iowa  A plea deal over sex abuse is still sending a North Iowa man to prison.

Lamont Deon Flowers Moore, 26 of Mason City, was accused of third-degree sexual abuse for allegedly having sex with a woman in February 2020 who did not consent or provide conscious permission to perform the sex act.

Moore pleaded guilty to assault with intent to commit sexual abuse. Hes been sentenced to five years in prison and must sign up with the Iowa Sex Offender Registry.
MASON CITY, Iowa  Sex abuse of a teen results in probation for a Mason City man.

DAngelo Lynell Marquis Bowdry, 23, pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual abuse. He was arrested in December 2020 and accused of performing a sex act with a 15-year-old victim at the playground of an apartment complex.

Bowdry has been sentenced to five years of supervised probation and must complete all recommended mental health and substance abuse treatment. Bowdry must also sign up with the Iowa Sex Offender Registry.
A new electric driverless vehicle program arrived in downtown Rochester today.

The program was in collaboration with the city of Rochester, Destination Medical Center, Mayo Clinic, First Transit, EasyMile and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT).

The Med City Mover program supplied downtown Rochester with two shuttles.

Each shuttle can hold six people apiece and have a speed threshold of 12 to 15 miles per hour.

The shuttles will begin mapping their routes today until late August when they will begin carrying passengers.

Tara Olds is the project manager for the Med City Mover program and says the vehicles are a great way to address environmental challenges within Rochester.

"The vehicles are fully electric, so that is pretty exciting to see. It is a great way to address the environmental concerns we see here. They can hold six seated and belted passengers at one time, in addition to an operator or attendant that will be able to take over the vehicle in a manual condition if necessary. That person can also be standing for that operation," Olds said.

Rochester is the only city within Minnesota to be given access to a driverless electric program such as the Med City Mover.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP)  A 57-year-old Armstrong man has been sentenced to more than three years in federal prison for receiving more than $1.3 million in loans in a fraud scheme involving federal programs offering help for coronavirus-related losses.

Federal prosecutors say Donald Franklin Trosin was sentenced this week in Cedar Rapids federal court.

He had pleaded guilty in February to major fraud against the U.S. and money laundering conspiracy.

Federal prosecutors said Trosin was living in Champlin, Minnesota, when he conspired to launder funds from Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster loans he received from banks in northwest Iowa and Minnesota. After receiving the loans, he wired the money to other people in different states.
ROCHESTER, Minn. - A 48-year-old Rochester man is in custody after attempting to stab a man multiple times Monday night.

Police said Ruben Barraza-Diaz is facing charges of second-degree assault and terroristic threats after an incident at Parkside Trailer Park.

It began at 8:37 p.m. Barraza-Diaz showed up at a trailer and wanted to fight the victim before he allegedly pulled a knife and tried to stab the victim multiple times.

The victim was able to find a brick on the property and told the suspect to not come near him. Thats when the suspect left and was taken into custody a short time later.
ST. PAUL, Minn. - $300,000 in state funding is going to help disadvantaged entrepreneurs in southeastern Minnesota.

The Minnesota Emerging Entrepreneur Loan Program is handing out $3.1 million to 26 nonprofit lending partners across the state. $100,000 of that is going to Rochester Area Economic Development, Inc. (RAEDI), Community and Economic Development Associates (CEDA) in Chatfield, and Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) in Owatonna.

The Emerging Entrepreneur Loan Program is an invaluable tool that will help RAEDI empower historically underserved entrepreneurs in the Rochester area, says John Wade, President of RAEDI.

In order to qualify for a loan, businesses must be based in Minnesota and owned and operated by one or more Minnesota residents who are minorities, low-income persons, women, veterans and/or persons with disabilities. Money will give given for a variety of start-up and expansion costs, including normal expenses such as machinery and equipment, inventory and receivables, working capital, new construction, renovation, and site acquisition.

Weve seen the need grow for the ELP firsthand over the last year and a half and are eager to deploy these funds to help grow, retain, and diversify the Rochester area economy, says Sean Williams, Director of Entrepreneurial Services for RAEDI.

Loans can range from a minimum of $5,000 to a maximum of $150,000 per project, matched by new private financing. Beginning microenterprises, which are defined as businesses that have fewer than five employees and have generated sales revenue for two years or less, can apply for $5,000 to $50,000 without private matching funds.

Entrepreneurs interested in learning more can email swilliams@raedi.com or call (507) 288-0208.
Lynn Grooms writes about the diversity of agriculture, including the industrys newest ideas, research and technologies as a staff reporter for Agri-View based in Wisconsin.
'Surprising amount of death' will soon occur in these US regions from increased Covid-19 cases, expert says
Two Easy Ways To Subscribe!

The Kodiak Daily Mirror offers full-service, five-day a week subscriptions with home delivery in addition to unlimited access to our online services (including our e-Edition). Online-access-only subscriptions include unlimited access to the Mirror's online services without delivery of the printed newspaper.

(Note: New users: You must register and login before purchasing a subscription.
Here's what you need to know: Tuesday, July 13




The foreign ministry on Monday extended a travel ban on six countries in the Middle East and other regions, and some parts of the Philippines, for another six months, citing prolonged security risks.







The extension will apply to Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Afghanistan and the southern region of the Philippine archipelago  the Zamboanga Peninsula, Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi  the ministry said.







The measure will take effect from Aug. 1 to Jan. 31, 2022.







The designated regions are exposed to constant risks of terrorist attacks and political instability that will likely persist for a considerable period of time, the ministry said.







Travel to Iraq, Syria, Somalia and Afghanistan has been banned since 2007. Seoul imposed the ban on Yemen in 2011, Libya in 2014 and the islands in the Philippines in 2015. (Yonhap)


Weather Alert

...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING... * WHAT...Dangerously hot conditions with temperatures between 95 and 102 degrees possible. * WHERE...Eastern Magic Valley, Raft River Region, the Snake Plain, Arco Desert and the South Hills. * WHEN...From noon to 9 PM MDT Sunday. * IMPACTS...Extreme heat and humidity will significantly increase the potential for heat related illnesses, particularly for those working or participating in outdoor activities. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1. &&
President Joe Biden speaks about the American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, in the East Room of the White House on July 8 in Washington. Biden's review of former President Donald Trump's restrictive Cuba policy is still underway.
UPDATE: JULY 14 AT 6:42 A.M.

The Peterson Fire saw no additional growth with the help of rain Tuesday, according to a fire behavior analyst.

Fire Behavior Analyst Bruce Giersdorf told Montana Right Now crews helped with three fires caused by lightening in the late afternoon storm Tuesday in Musselshell County. He said a task force was sent to each of those fires.

Later this morning at 10 a.m., crews will do a detection flight around Musselshell County to see if there are any more unreported fires.

Giersdorf said the Peterson fire received two doses of afternoon rain, which prevented additional growth. According to Giersdorf, the Peterson Fire had the most potential for growth.

Right now, the Musselshell Trail Fire is 100-percent contained, the Peterson Fire is 26-percent contained and the Western Road Fire is 79-percent contained.

UPDATE: JULY 13 AT 12:14 P.M.

The evacuation order in the Queen's Point Road area has been lifted as of 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The evacuation orders in the Harvey Road, Melstone-Custer Road and Alkali Creek Road areas Monday.

Peterson Fire:

Musselshell County DES said on Facebook crews built a a dozer and handline across the north portion of the Peterson Fire Monday. Aerial crews dropped water and retardant on spot fires and more active areas of the fire.

On Tuesday, firefighters will build an ongoing line surrounding the fire's perimeter. Engine and hand crews will stabilize the existing line on the northern and eastern parts of the fire. On the southern and western parts, firefighters will try to link the line in rocky and difficult terrain.

Western Road Fire:

The Western Road Fire is now 73-percent contained after crews put out lingering heat pockets more than 100 feet into the fire's interior Mondat.

On Tuesday, crews will stand by for in the event new fires start in the MY Complex area, Musselshell County DES said.

Musselshell Trail Road Fire:

On Monday, crews started to fix damaged resources as a result of fire suppression efforts. This will carry on Tuesday, same with patrolling and monitoring the fire.

High temperatures ranging 80 to 85 degrees is forecasted Tuesday. By afternoon, there will be a 50-percent chance of rain with potential lightening, hail and winds of up to 15 miles-per-hour coming from the east and southeast.

UPDATE: JULY 12 AT 1:43 P.M.

Some evacuation orders have been lifted near the Peterson Fire, according to a Facebook post from Musselshell County DES.

Evacuations are lifted south of Harvey Road, West of Melstone-Custer Road and north of Alkali Creek Road. Evacuation orders remain in place for Queens Point Road.

Musselshell County DES said people living in the areas where evacuations are lifted may return to their homes; however, they should remain prepared for potentially fluctuating events such as additional evacuations.

UPDATE: JULY 12 AT 7:30 A.M

During a fire briefing Monday morning regarding the MY Complex Fire, fire crews said they are expecting good firefighting weather conditions the next couple of days.

According to Kelli Roemer, public information officer for the MY Complex Fire, the Peterson Fire is burning 4,369 acres and is zero-percent contained, the Musselshell Trail Fire is burning 22,481 acres and is 42-percent contained and the Western Fire is burning 905 acres and is 55-percent contained. In total, the fires are burning 27,755 acres.

A release from NRIMT said the Peterson Fire experienced substantial fire activity Sunday afternoon due to high temperatures, low relative humidity and fluctuating winds. The fire grew twice its size.

Crews completed a dozer and handline around structures on Sunday. They will use aircrafts to help firefighters on the ground Monday. Crews will reconnaissance additional fire growth and and establish the southeast part of the fire.

For the Western Road Fire, NRIMT said crews will resume monitoring the perimeter and put out hotspots within several hundred feet of the interior.

Crews put out about four to five acres of interior burning on the Musselshell Trail Road Fire Sunday. On Monday, crews will resume monitoring hotspots to make sure they are not threatening the line, according to NRIMT.

About 15 to 20 homes have been evacuated, and evacuation orders remain in place for the areas east of Queen's Point road, south of Harvey Road, west of Melstone-Custer Road and north of Alkali Creek Road.

No structures have been lost.

UPDATE: JULY 11 AT 4:37 P.M.

Musselshell County DES reports that due to rapidly changing fire conditions with the Peterson Fire, evacuation notices have been issued.

Evacuation notice has been issued for anyone living in the following areas:

Anyone east of Queen's Point road, south of Harvey Road, West of Melstone-Custer Road and north of Alkali Creek Road.

A temporary shelter is being set up by the Red Cross at the Roundup Community Center. The hotline number is 1-800-272-3338 for more evacuation location and check-in.

UPDATE: JULY 11 AT 12:18 P.M.

The Musselshell/Yellowstone Complex, also referred to as the MY Complex, of fires containing the West Road Fire, the Peterson Fire and the Musselshell Trail Fire is now reported to be 24,007 acres large and 60 percent contained.

An update from the Northern Rockies Incident Management Team 7 Sunday says planned activity for the Western Road Fire includes firefighters continuing to patrol the perimeter extinguishing remaining hot spots.

No primary residences are reported to have been lost.

On Saturday around 4:00 pm, winds picked up and the southwest portion of the Peterson Fire and it grew about 600 acres according to the update.

Crews were assisted by increased air support late Saturday afternoon and into the evening.

Sunday's operations with the fire will utilize aircraft to support firefighter efforts on the ground. Crews and heavy equipment will focus on constructing line directly along the fires edge from the southwest corner to the north.

Engine crews will continue to patrol the Musselshell Trail Road Fires 38 miles of perimeter Sunday, extinguishing areas of remaining heat.

UPDATE: JULY 10 AT 2:48 P.M.

Command of the Musselshell/Yellowstone Complex, which contains the Western Road Fire, the Peterson Fire and the Musselshell Trail Fire, has been assumed by the Thompsons Northern Rockies Incident Management Team 7 Saturday morning.

An update from the Northern Rockies Incident Management team says the team is working in coordinating with Montana DNRC, the Bureau of Land Management and Yellowstone County.

As of Friday morning, the Western Road Fire is estimated at 1,500 acres, the Peterson Fire is approximately 1,600 acres and the Musselshell Trail Road Fire is estimated at 22,000 acres.

Overnight into Saturday, firefighters saw minimal fire growth and more accurate mapping is expected Saturday.

On Saturday, crews, assisted by engines and heavy equipment, will continue to hold and patrol the fire line of the Western Road Fire and extinguish any hot spots located near the edge of the fire.

At this time, no primary residences have been lost.

Engine crews will continue to hold and improve completed fire line of the Peterson Fire and additional resources will assess opportunities to construct fire line directly align the fires edge as well as indirect line away from fire activity.

For the Musselshell Trail Road Fire, engine crews are working with heavy equipment to hold and improve completed fire line according to the update.

A 25 percent chance of thunderstorm activity is predicted in the are for the afternoon Saturday between 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm.

UPDATE: JULY 9 AT 9 P.M.

According to a Facebook update from Musselshell County DES, crews will primarily focus on the Peterson Fire on Saturday, since it is producing large amounts of heat and smoke.

Crews made great progress on securing the Western Fire lines Friday, and say the dozer line is 100% around the fire.

A small burnout operation is being conducted to secure one portion of indirect line, which will help ensure the fire can not make a run at the line and potentially jump.

Night crews will patrol and mop up.

Crews also worked putting in line and keeping the Peterson Fire in check.

No major growth of the fire was reported, but it was burning heavy fuels in the rough terrain producing large amount of heat and smoke.

This fire will become the primary focus of Saturday's operations with hand crews and incoming resources.

Northern Rockies Team 7 will take over operations Saturday, allowing local resources the chance to rest and rehabilitate themselves.

UPDATE : JULY 9 AT 10:30 A.M.

Musselshell County DES updated progress Friday on the two fires burning in Musselshell County.

According to a Facebook post from Musselshell County DES, crews worked all night to establish a perimeter for the Western Fire. A small area broke but crews were able to repair it. Dozer lines will be reinforced and lines will be added to the north flank of the fire.

At the Peterson Fire, crews worked on areas of the fire that went outside the rough terrain, Musselshell County DES said. They tried to get air resources to help in the rough areas.

A Type 2 Incident Management Team was called on to help out with efforts for both fires and the Musselshell Trail Fire in Yellowstone County.

Evacuations have been lifted for Johnny Coal Subdivision.

UPDATE: JULY 8 AT 6:48 P.M.

A temporary shelter has been set up by the Red Cross at the Roundup Community Center for those who have been evacuated.

UPDATE: JULY 8 AT 4:30 P.M.

Code Red volunteer evacuation notices are issued for residents of the Johnny Coal Subdivision.

Earlier, potentially affected areas near the fire just off of Winchester Drive at the end of Jeffery Mine Road were given Code Red pre-evacuation notices.

DES says the fire is moving fast in a east to south east direction toward the north portion of the Johnny Coal Subdivision.

The fairgrounds are open for individuals with livestock that needs to be transported from the area.

UPDATE: JULY 8 AT 4 P.M.

Musselshell County DES is reporting two more fires.

Crews are on-site at the second fire just off Winchester Drive.

There are also crews working on the third fire, which is a timber fire east of the five acre fire near Queens Point.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

QUEENS POINT, Mont. - Musselshell County Disaster & Emergency Services reports an estimated five acre fire near Queens Point.

The fire is located southwest of Queens Point Rd.

Crews are working to contain the blaze, but there are concerns with high winds in the forecast.
BILLINGS, Mont. - The Billings YWCA is looking to build a second emergency shelter due to the nearly 40% increase in partner and family member assaults during the pandemic.

"We have been really struggling to figure out how to house everyone who needed support," Billings YWCA CEO Merry Lee Olson said. "So, during the pandemic, we ended up spending $100,000 of unbudgeted money to put people in hotels."

The Billings YWCA points to other rising assault statistics:

39.9% increase in partner or family member assaults

25.8% increase in aggravated assaults committed by a partner or family member that included strangulation

56.9% increase for partner or family member assaults with aggravated serious injury

34% increase in partner or family member assaults at misdemeanor or felony levels causing serious bodily injury

41% increase in sexual assaults

You can go here for Billings Police 2020 statistics.

The second shelter will be a 25 studio unit facility with 66 beds. It will be adjacent to the existing 22-bed shelter. The new shelter will include counseling offices, a food pantry, laundry areas, and indoor/outdoor family areas.

It will cost $4 million to build. The YWCA is planning to start construction in late summer of 2021 or early in the spring of 2022.

The YWCA said:

"Domestic violence and poverty are the two leading causes of homelessness here in Billings. The women and children who come to YWCA are usually victims of both violence and poverty. Their potential for ending up on the streets is an area-wide issue that could result in millions of dollars of expense and impact to the city and county annually if it were not for the YWCA."
BILLINGS, Mont. - The public is invited to voice their input on three proposed safety improvements at three locations in the Billings area.

According to a release from the Montana Department of Transportation, the project proposals include:

Adding reflectors on a 1-mile section of Highway 191 near Judith Gap Adding reflectors and curve signs on an 18-mile section of I-90 from Columbus to Park City Adding reflectors and curve signs on a 6-mile section of I-90 near Wyola.

MDT said the intention of the safety project proposals confronts roadway exit crashes at these locations. Construction is expected to begin fall 2021 on the basis of all other project developments and available funding.

The public may send comments online or in writing to Billings MDT office P.O. Box 20437, Billings, MT 59104-0437, referencing project UPN 9670000.

For further information, contact Project Design Engineer LeRoy Wosoba at (406) 4441280 or Billings Engineering Manager Mike Taylor at (406) 657-0233.
Now that the economy has opened back up, what business or service would you like to see added to the Lakes Regions economy?
ROME, JUL 13 - The battle over long-awaited draft legislation designed to combat homophobia is set to resume on Tuesday, with the so called Zan bill reaching the floor of the Senate, eight months after it was approved by the Lower House. The bill risks being sent back to the Upper House's justice committee and, therefore, facing a fresh delay if an agreement is not reached among the parties supporting Premier Mario Draghi's government. The bill has been at the centre of tension for weeks, with the Vatican recently getting involved, expressing concerns that it could breach the Lateran Treaty that regulates relations between the Italian State and the Holy See/Catholic Church. The Vatican and conservative Italian political parties are worried that the bill could curb freedom of expression, in part because it allegedly leaves areas open to interpretation by courts because it is too vague. The bill's sponsor, Alessandro Zan of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), argues that the bill would not crimp freedom of expression, and Catholic conservatives would still be able to state that they find homosexuality sinful. The bill would make homophobia an aggravating factor in acts of violence or discrimination like racism already is. The bill would also set up an anti-discrimination day that private Catholic schools would be expected to take part in. The parties opposed to the bill in its current form, led by Matteo Salvini's League and Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia (FI), is set to seek a delay to have more time to reach an agreement on a package that can have wider support. The PD, the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) and the left-wing LeU group are against another delay, saying the law is already long overdue. (ANSA).
ROME, JUL 13 - The Italian cabinet is set to OK a decree banning cruise ships from Venice, government sources said Tuesday. The decree, which will be examined by the cabinet later Tuesday, also safeguards the workers involved, the sources said. UNESCO said on June 21 that Venice's survival will be even more in peril if the lagoon city doesn't issue a permanent ban on cruise ships docking there. The UN heritage body said it would examine a proposal to put Venice on its endangered list at its plenary session on July 16 to 31. If approved, it would demand urgent action by the Italian government by next February. A ban on cruise ships appeared to have been passed earlier this year but the seaborne behemoths subsequently returned to Venice. There have long been calls for cruise ships to be banned from Venice because of their impact on the city's delicate historic buildings and on the lagoon's unique ecosytem. The drive to ban them intensified after a cruise ship crashed into a quay in June 2019. Last May 12 the Lower House gave definitive approval to a decree banning cruise ships from mooring in Venice. The decree says a plan for the berth of the cruise ships outside the Venice lagoon must be drawn up and implemented. In the meantime, big ships will keep docking at the city's industrial port, which has been the landing site for them since last December. Culture minister Dario Franceschini said after the UNESCO news that "we took an important step in the decree by putting the big-ship docking outside the lagoon, and now I think more must be done such as stopping the ships going down the Giudecca Canal". He said the "UNESCO decision, sadly, was in the air for a while" and said Venice being put on the endangered list "would be a serious thing for our country, and there is no time to hesitate". (ANSA).
MILAN, JUL 13 - Nicole MInteii, Silvio Berlusconi's former dental hygienist who became a Lombardy regional councillor, on Tuesday plea-bargained a one year and one month term for embezzling funds, to be served in continuation with her two year, 10 month term for pimping for the ex-premier's bunga bunga parties. Minetti, 36, was among 51 defendants accused of embezzlement. The Milan appeals court also upheld a two and a half year term for Renzo Bossi, son of (Northern) League founder Umberto Bossi. (ANSA).
ROME, JUL 13 - Italy's GDP will return to pre-crisis levels in the third quarter of next year, Economy Minister Daniele Franco said after Tuesday's ECOFIN meeting in Brussels. He added that the first 25 billion euros of the 191 billion Italy will get from the EU's Recovery Fund will arrive at the end of July and/or the beginning of August. Franco also said that Italy's Euro 2020 win was a mark of dynamism that extended to the economy. (ANSA).
ROME, JUL 13 - Premier Mario Draghi and Justice Minister Marta Cartabia will on Wednesday afternoon visit a jail near Naples where 52 prison guards were recently arrested on suspicion of brutally beating inmates to punish them for a lockdown protest in April last year, sources said Tuesday. Draghi and Cartabia will address the media after their visit, the sources said. Naples police sent in special penitentiary police forces after the April 6 riot at the jail at Santa Maria Capua Vetere near Caserta north of Naples. The special forces are suspected of brutality and may also face charges of torture in the methods used to 'punish' the rioters, judicial sources said. A preliminary investigations judge (GIP) said prisoners were made to strip and kneel and beaten with guards wearing their helmets so as not to be identified in what he called "a horrible massacre". Some 15 men were also put into solitary without any justification, the GIP said. Police reportedly found chats on the suspects' phones including, before the alleged violence, "We'll kill them like veal calves" and "tame the beasts", and afterwards "four hours of hell for them", "no one got away", and "(we used) the Poggioreale system", referring to a tough Naples prison. Some of the alleged rioters had their hair cut and beards shaved off. Among those probed are doctors who allegedly falsely certified that some warders had been hurt in the clashes. Cartabia has said she had "faith" in Italy's penitentiary police but said a probe would be opened into the alleged brutality. She said that CCTV footage of the violence showed that the officers had betrayed the Italian Constitution. (ANSA).
ROME, JUL 13 - A 38-year-old Brazilian woman and her 49-year-old Italian live-in partner were given life by the supreme Court of Cassation Tuesday for murdering her artisan ex-husband in Sestri Levante near Genoa in November 2017. The court found that the woman, Gesonita Barbosa, convinced her partner Paolo Ginocchio to murder her ex Antonio Olivieri by hitting him over the head with a blunt object and strangling him with electrical ties on November 23 2017. The woman, a gambling addict, was said to have been moved to murder by her ex's refusal to give her enough money to feed her habit. (ANSA).
ROME, JUL 13 - Former premier and centrist Italia Viva (IV) leader Matteo Renzi has been placed under investigation on suspicion of illegal party funding and issuing false invoices together with VIP manager Lucio Presta, the daily Domani reported Tuesday. It said Rome prosecutors placed Renzi, former leader of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) under investigation a few weeks ago "in relation to a probe into economic ties between Renzi and the TV agent". The probe reportedly centres on bank transfers for the documentary Florence According To Me, transactions which ended up in an anti-money laundering report by the Bank of Italy's financial fraud office UIF in 2019. (ANSA).
ROME, JUL 13 - The Italian cabinet on Tuesday approved a decree banning cruise ships from Venice, Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said, calling it a "historic day". The decree also safeguards the workers involved, paying them CIG lay-off benefits. Franceschini said the ships would be moved to berths at the industrial port of Marghera starting in August. "It is not going too far to define this day as historic because after years of waiting from the first of August the big ships will no longer pass in front of St Mark's or the Guidecca Canal," said the minister. UNESCO said on June 21 that Venice's survival would be even more in peril if the lagoon city didn't issue a permanent ban on cruise ships docking there. The UN heritage body said it would examine a proposal to put Venice on its endangered list at its plenary session on July 16 to 31. (ANSA).
Texas Democrats in the House of Representatives have left the state on Monday afternoon, July 12, to travel to Washington, D.C. in a bid to block the passing of a Republican-supported new voting restrictions bill.

Most House Democrats boarded two planes out of Austin without a set return date, with at least 51 out of the 67 Democratic representatives leaving the state, Texas Tribune reported.

The move will paralyze the chamber until the Democrat lawmakers return to town or the session ends. The lawmakers reportedly vowed to stay in Washington until August to run out the clock on the session as they urged Congress to quickly pass federal legislation to protect voting rights.

The House is set to reconvene on Tuesday, July 13. However, the absence of some Democrats will mean that there will not be enough members present to conduct business under House rules.

Democratic leaders said in a joint statement that Texas House Democrats stand united in their decision to break quorum and refuse to let the voting restrictions measure pass, adding that it would affect the Texans' freedom to vote.

Some Democrats said they hope their absence will give them the advantage to force good-faith negotiations with Republicans.

They claimed that GOP members have largely shut them out of negotiations over the voting bill. The bills were expected to hit the House and Senate floors for votes this week.

Lawmakers did not speak with the media before they left, with terminal staff keeping reporters off the premises and on the street outside.

Supporters of the lawmakers were gathered outside the terminal, holding signs that said "Let my people vote", and "Thank you for fighting voter suppression."

READ NEXT: Texas Republicans Renew Voting Restriction Bill During Special Session

Voting Rights

The Democrats noted that the For the People Act is the only way they can permanently fight election limits that Republicans are pushing at the state level.

The For the People Act is an amended version of Republicans filibustered in the U.S. Senate last month, NBC News reported.

Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer said that democracy is on the line, adding that it became very clear to them that any attempts to discuss some Democratic concessions were cut off. Fischer added that it is very clear that Republicans were hellbent on having their own way.

Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has made tightening election rules a priority. Abbott slammed the Texas Democrats' decision to break a quorum of the Texas Legislature.

He noted that abandoning the Texas State Capitol harms the very Texans who elected them to publicly serve. Abbott said the State House Democrats leave undone issues that can help their districts and the state.

Fischer said that they want the U.S. Senate to hear them and act by passing the For the People Act.

Republicans in the state legislature will be unable to continue any business in the special session, possibly lasting up to 30 days, The Guardian reported.

Meanwhile, Democrats who had left the state can face possible arrest as state Republicans can authorize law enforcement to haul the Democratic legislators back to the state.

Republicans extended their power in 2003 when Democratic lawmakers fled the state in an act to block new electoral maps that would favor Republicans.

Republican Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, Dade Phelan, said they would use every available resource under the state constitution to secure a quorum.

READ MORE: Gov. Greg Abbott Defunds Texas Legislature After Democrats Walkout to Block Election Reform Bill

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Texas Dems Flee State To Avoid Voting In Special Legislative Session - From NBC News
An 86-year-old Florida janitor had fatally shot his boss after he was denied another year working at a sugar mill. Suspect Felix Cabrera was being laid off after being on the job for 31 years.

The Florida janitor is now in jail without bail on a first-degree murder charge after the fatal shooting last month at the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative in Belle Glade, Florida, Daily Mail reported.

Cabrera's boss was identified as 67-year-old William Combass from Martin County. He was shot multiple times.

Felix Cabrera was said to have sought to work for an additional year for financial reasons. However, Combass turned down the suspect's request.

The Florida janitor then allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot his boss, authorities said. Felix Cabrera quickly confessed to the killing. In a statement, the cooperative said it was horrified and saddened by the senseless violence.

Authorities earlier said it was simply a case of a disgruntled employee planning to kill his boss. However, Cabrera's lawyers from the Palm Beach County Public Defender's Office said that things are not yet clear. The lawyers also suggested that it could have been self-defense.

READ NEXT: Florida Babysitter Kills 3-Year-Old Boy and Leaves a Note Telling Mom Her Child Drowned in Bathtub While Having Seizure

Florida Janitor Kills His Boss William Combass

Felix Cabrera left his home around 6:30 a.m. on the day of the shooting. After 10 a.m., Combass told the Florida janitor that he was fired and that he should never return to work.

Cabrera pleaded to work for another year but Combass is said to have told him "no" and to leave the office.

An arrest report issued by prosecutors did not cite a reason why Cabrera was being let go, according to a South Florida Sun-Sentinel report. Some of the lines in the reports are blacked out due to exceptions under state public records law.

Cabrera's lawyer said the Florida janitor felt "disrespected" in how his boss was speaking to him in front of other employees. Felix Cabrera stated his confession in his native Spanish.

The Florida janitor was originally from Cuba and exiled to the U.S. in 1980. He no longer had any living relatives as they outlived them all.

The defense lawyers said that Cabrera's life revolved around his job and the sugar plant, adding that the news of being fired devastated him.

Cabrera's lawyers said there was no sign that he threatened other employees and he also was waiting for police to take him into custody. The gun was found in a black bag that the suspect was holding.

This was the first that Felix Cabrera has been in trouble with the law. A friend of Cabrera, who used to work at the cooperative, said the violence does not make sense at all due to the man's non-aggressive nature.

Juan Gonzales Jr. added that almost everyone in the sugar mill loves the Florida janitor, adding that he was never the type of person to fall in your face, What's New 2day reported.

Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page was set up to help pay for the education of Combass' youngest child, as well as his son, Will, a senior criminology student planning to earn a master's degree.

READ MORE: Mom of Florida Teen Accused of Stabbing Tristyn Bailey 114 Times Caught on Video Scrubbing Blood off Her Son's Jeans

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Former Employee Arrested in Belle Glade Workplace Shooting - From WPBF 25 News






The two nieces of Paraguay's First Lady Silvana Lopez Moreira were among the children recently identified as victims of the Florida condo collapse.

New York Post reported that the girls were among the three children identified on Sunday, July 11. Alexia Maria Pettengill Lopez Moreira, 9, and Anna Sophia Pettengill Lopez Moreira, 6, were among the latest victims pulled from the rubble of last month's Florida condo collapse.

The Miami-Dade Police Department noted that the bodies of the two nieces of the Paraguay First Lady were recovered on July 7.

Paraguay first lady's sister, Sophia Lopez Moreira, and her brother-in-law, Luis Pettengill, were already identified earlier, along with their 3-year-old son, Luis Lopez Moreira.

The body of the family's nanny, Leidy Luna Villalba, 23, was also found in the ruins of Champlain Towers South last week. The kin of the Paraguay first lady reportedly owns an apartment inside the condo.

READ NEXT: Florida Building Collapse: Ex-Lawmaker Says Revoked Law Could Have Prevented Condo's Fall Down; Miami Beach Officials Orders Building Inspections

Other Children Identified as Victims of Florida Condo Collapse

The two nieces of the Paraguay first lady are not the only youngsters recently identified by the authorities. Lorenzo De Oliveira Leone, 5, was one of the kids who was also identified on Sunday. Leone's body was recovered by the rescuers on July 9.

New York Post reported that apart from the three children, there were other youngsters found in the rubble of the Florida condo collapse. Among them was seven-year-old Stella Cattarossi, whose father was among the first responders working on the debris.

Ten-year-old Lucia Guara, and four-year-old Emma Guara, who were placed in the same casket at their funeral, were also among the kids found at the site of the Florida condo collapse.

The two children were discovered with their mother. It happened four days after the body of their father was also pulled from the debris.

Florida Condo Collapse Death Toll Rises to 94

The discovery of the three children, including the nieces of the Paraguay first lady, came as the death toll of the Florida condo collapse rose to 94.

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava confirmed that to date, 22 people remain unaccounted for. She added that 83 victims were already identified by the authorities, NPR reported.

"It's obvious that this [Florida building] has become much more of a collapsed building site," Surfside Mayor Charles Buckett said. The Surfside mayor further noted that officials decided to increase the security around the site of the Florida building collapse.

Although there has been "no criminality" at the site, Miami-Dade Police Department Director Alfredo Ramirez III said officials just want to make sure the area is secure to preserve personal items discovered at the Florida condo collapse site.

He said the victims' families always ask about "property" as they want some sort of connection to their family members.

"So it's very important that our process that we have in place continues to flow uninterrupted... It's part of the process. This is a long, painful, hurtful process," Ramirez said.

READ MORE: Florida Building Collapse: Puerto Rican Artist and Costa Rican Accountant Among 18 Dead; Many Latin Americans Still Missing

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written By: Joshua Summers

WATCH: Surfside Condo Collapse Death Toll Climbs To 94 - From NBC News
A Delta Air Lines passenger was arrested and was forced off a flight after refusing to wear a face mask and spitting at other passengers.

Adelaide Schrowang, 23, was escorted off the Delta Air Lines plane at Southwest Florida International Airport when the captain ordered her to be removed from the said flight, Daily Mail reported.

The Florida woman's act was the latest incident of bad behavior on planes. The Federal Aviation Administration said that airlines have already reported more than 3,000 incidents involving unruly passengers since January 1.

The Delta Air Lines crew said that Adelaide Schrowang was disruptive as the plane sat at the gate. They noted that the Delta Air Lines passenger refused to wear a face mask, then argued with flight attendants, and spit on other passengers, which has been caught on camera.

READ NEXT: TikTok Video Shows American Airlines Passenger Duct-Taped to an Airplane Seat

Florida Woman Removed From Delta Air Lines Flight

The captain had ordered that the Florida woman be removed from the Delta Air Lines flight, but she refused to leave her seat.

The Delta Air Lines passenger started shouting at airport police officers as she refused to leave the plane. Police said they restrained her, handcuffed her, and took her off the plane, KKTV reported.

During her trip to the Lee County Jail, the Florida woman continued to be disruptive, even during her booking process. Adelaide Schrowang was arrested and charged with resisting an officer, trespassing, and interference with aircraft operations, with a $65,000 bond.

One officer stated in a report that the Delta Air Lines passenger was exhibiting behaviors of someone under the influence of an unknown narcotic due to her uncontrollable emotions and inability to reason, News-Press reported.

Airline Mask Mandate

The Transportation Security Administration confirmed in April that it would be extending its mask mandate until September 13. The mask mandate requires all passengers to wear a mask on planes and airports, Newsweek reported.

Darby LaJoye, the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the TSA Administrator, earlier said in a statement that the federal mask requirement in the transportation system seeks to reduce the spread of COVID infections on public transportation.

LaJoye noted at the time that wearing masks will remain an important tool when it comes to curbing the rise of infections.

He said they would continue to work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to evaluate the need for the directives.

This was not the first time that airport staff and authorities had faced disruption from passengers after refusing to wear a mask.

On July 5, an American Airlines flight from Charlotte Douglas International Airport to the Bahamas was canceled when around 30 high-school students refused to wear masks.

American Airlines spokesperson Andrew Trull said the students became disruptive and refused to follow crew member instructions while onboard.

Trull noted that they expect their customers to follow the airline's policies when they choose to fly with them. He said they would take action if passengers are not compliant with their flight rules.

READ MORE: American Airlines Cancels Almost 400 Flights Over Staff, Maintenance Issues

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Airline Passengers Clash Over Masks - From NBCLA






President of the Government Accountability Institute (GAI), Peter Schweizer, said on Monday, July 12, that his organization had confirmed that President Joe Biden was a direct beneficiary of Hunter Biden's foreign deals.

In the "Sean Hannity Show," Peter Schweizer noted that they have a copy at GAI of Hunter Biden's laptop and all the files. And he said it confirms that Joe Biden was a direct beneficiary of his son's financial deals with foreign interests, Breitbart News reported.

Schweizer said the GAI had cross-referenced Secret Service travel logs during Joe Biden's vice president term to confirm the authenticity of Hunter's emails.

The president of the GAI further noted that there are official records that stated the Secret Service had traveled with Hunter Biden to certain locations.

Schweizer noted that they are in the middle of the investigation now, and it would be completed by the end of the year, News Binding reported. He said it will take on "a far more sinister tone than it has even now in terms of what it says about the Biden family."

Sean Hannity asked Peter Schweizer how bad are the coming revelations from Hunter Biden's laptop on a scale of one to 10, to which he replied that it's "frankly are an 11."

READ NEXT: A Hunter Biden Painting to Go on Sale for up to Half a Million Dollars

Hunter Biden's Deals

Hunter Biden was earlier asked whether the laptop in question was his, to which he replied that he does not know. Some of the laptop's contents allegedly include Joe Biden's involvement in his son's business ventures.

Five photographs stamped with a date showed Joe Biden posing with four of Hunter's business associates, which include Mexican billionaires Carlos Slim and Miguel Aleman Velasco, New York Post reported.

The 2015 photos were deemed to be taken in the living room of the Naval Observatory, the Vice President's residence, which was painted at the time in a daffodil yellow chosen by now first lady Jill Biden.

Hunter Biden and Jeff Cooper, a longtime Biden family benefactor, had earlier been working on energy deals with Mexico and around countries in Latin America.

According to a BBC report in April, Hunter was being investigated by the Justice Department over his finances, including some of his business dealings in China.

Hunter Biden and his father were frequently accused by former President Donald Trump and his associates of wrongdoing in regards to China and Ukraine during the 2020 election campaign.

Both allegations were denied, with Joe Biden telling a reporter at the time that it was a "smear campaign."

Hunter was reported to be receiving a $10 million annual fee from a Chinese billionaire for introductions alone. However, it was not yet clear who was involved in the said introductions.

The introduction was allegedly about a deal pursued by Hunter with China's largest private energy firm. The deal also listed "10 Jim" and "10 held by H for the big guy?" as seen in an email.

Reports said that "the big guy" in the reported email was Joe Biden. A former business associate of Hunter Biden has come forward to say that he can confirm the allegations.

Joe Biden had repeatedly said he had nothing to do with his son's business affairs.

READ MORE: #RacistHunter and #RacistBiden Trend on Twitter Over Report That Hunter Biden Used Racial Slurs in Texts

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Hunter Biden Tax Probe Involves Chinese Business - From Associated Press






Radio host Larry Elder announced his candidacy as California nears the scheduled September 14 recall elections for Governor Gavin Newsom. New York Post reported that Elder announced his entrance in the roster of the state's gubernatorial candidates on Monday.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Elder noted that he was encouraged by his supporters to run for the post. Among those was his fellow conservative radio host Dennis Prager. Elder noted that he was reluctant to run for the post in a state where Democrats hold a "lopsided" grip on power in Sacramento.

READ NEXT: California Gov. Gavin Newsom Offers Vacation Incentives to Further Promote COVID Vaccinations

Larry Elder Enters California Recall Elections

Elder noted that his driving force in running as a gubernatorial candidate comes from the state's homeless crisis, surging crime rates, and the power and water shortages in the areas.

"Our streets aren't safe from rising violent crime or the disaster of rising homelessness," Elder said in a statement, saying "we've got to save the state." Elder also emphasized that the decline of California is not the fault of its residents, arguing that their government is what's "destroying the Golden State.

Elder also labeled his decision to run as a "long shot," as he acknowledged Governor Newsom's ability to raise funds. However, he was determined to find out if he can do something "to move the needle in the right direction."

"I have common sense. I have a good judgment," Elder said, claiming that he was born and raised in California. "I think I understand the state," the newest gubernatorial candidate added.

Associated Press mentioned that Elder's biography in his radio show described him as someone who was "unafraid to take on liberals and the Black Lives Matter movement." Furthermore, he is also an advocate for school choice programs.

Apart from announcing his candidacy, the newest gubernatorial candidate also retaliated on Governor Newsom's campaign narrative, claiming that the recall effort is "led by Trump White Nationalists."

"Do I look like a White Nationalist?" Elder, who is Black, said.

Elder's campaign would officially start on Tuesday after filing for the official paperwork. Meanwhile, individuals will be given until Thursday to enter the roster of gubernatorial candidates.

Other Gubernatorial Candidates in California Recall Elections

Elder's announcement of candidacy added him to the roster of 70 gubernatorial candidates who will battle for Governor Gavin Newsom's post. Among the famous candidates who will be Elder's opponent on the recall election would be businessman John Cox, Representative Doug Ose, former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, and athlete turned reality TV star, Caitlyn Jenner.

"I think this is a race between Gavin Newsom and me. I don't think about other candidates," Elder noted.

It can be remembered that the California recall election was filed in February of the previous year and it gained traction as Newsom was caught in several issues just like the time he was seen not wearing his face mask as he attended an event in a napa valley restaurant.

In late June, the office of the Secretary of State confirmed that enough signatures were gathered to trigger the California recall elections against Governor Gavin Newsom.

READ NEXT: Alyssa Milano Is 'Considering' Congressional Run Against Rep. Tom McClintock of California's 4th District in 2024

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Joshua Summers

WATCH: Two Additional Candidates Announce Run for CA Governor - From FOX 11 Los Angeles
Making its 5,000-mile long journey all the way from the Saharan desert in Africa, a plume of Saharan dust has moved into Central Texas.

The weather phenomenon, which happens every year in late spring and through the summer of the year, is when plumes of dust from the Saharan Desert travel across the Atlantic, stretching from the Caribbean up to the Gulf of Mexico.

According to KHOU11, experts stated that the plumes could dump up to 60 million tons of dust into the atmosphere. The weather phenomenon is also called the Saharan Air Layer, or more formally known as the Aerosol Optical Thickness.

Satellite images showed that the thick dust layer covered a layer of the atmosphere, and this year it's thick enough to be tracked. Technology is better these days compared to the past because of the available advanced satellites that can tell how much power is lost when sunlight passes through the atmosphere.

However, from more intensely colored sunsets to altering the air quality, there were positive and negative effects brought by the Saharan Dust.

ALSO READ: Air Quality Alert Issued for Northeastern Minnesota; Sensitive Group Warned Over Orange AQI Category

The Positive Effects of the Saharan Dust

There were many positive effects in the presence of the Saharan dust. Among its positive effects include the inhibition of hurricane activity in the Atlantic ocean. Dust is associated with dry air and since hurricanes need moist air to develop and thrive, hurricane activity lessened.

The weather phenomenon also affects the environment positively. The Amazon rainforest is usually stripped of phosphorus and nutrients after heavy rain and flooding and the Saharan dust refuels the rainforest's vegetation and soil. The Saharan dust was filled with nutrient-rich minerals that have played a huge role in the fertilization process of the Amazon Rainforest for thousands of years.

Aside from its effects on land, the Saharan dust can also fertilize Plankton and cause blooms across the Atlantic ocean and into the Gulf of Mexico. The benefits taken by planktons meant food for ocean creatures.

The Negative Effects of the Saharan Dust

High concentrations of the dust locally, which is common during the time of the year, lowers the region's air quality due to the dust particles getting suspended into the air that people breathe.

Based on the satellite images, the state of Texas was under a "Moderate" index. A moderate index means that a small number of unusually sensitive people may have a few health concerns. The elderly and the very young individuals, along with people with asthma and others respiratory issues were considered at highest risk. Experts suggested that these people should limit their time outdoors during the weather phenomenon.

One of the most important things to remember during the phenomenon was that the Saharan dust is an irritant and not an allergy. This means that allergy medication would not work as discomfort prevention. The Saharan Dust does not cause sneezing or runny noses but it can cause itchy eyes and a sore throat. The best prevention to avoid any discomfort is to limit your time outdoors or wear a facemask and eye protection gear.

Take Note

Highest concentration of the Saharan dust looks to move in by Monday evening through the day on Tuesday. Air quality and visibility would be improving on Wednesday night into Thursday as much of the Saharan dust moves and mixes out, KXAN reported.

RELATED ARTICLE: Strong Winds and Dust Storms Lead to Multi-Car Pile Up in New Mexico; Several Injuries Reported

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by Jess Smith

WATCH: LIVE RADAR: Tracking Saharan dust over Central Texas | KVUE
Former U.S. President Donald Trump looks very unhappy when he spent his last days at the White House. Some people thanked him for his efforts to make America great again. However, some individuals were quite happy that he was replaced by the current U.S. President Joe Biden.

Recently, Michael Wolff wrote a book titled "Fire and Fury," which contains provocative behind-the-scenes accounts of the former U.S president's time in the White House. With that, Trump coordinated with his lawyers to send some letters to the book's author and his publisher.

In his letters, Trump is demanding Wolff stop publishing and disseminating more copies of the books since he claimed that it includes libel, malice, and defamation. And now, Wolff is about to release a follow-up book titled "Landslide: The Final Days Of The Trump Presidency."

However, this case will be quite different from the first book since Donald Trump himself decided to have an interview with the main author of the new piece, Mar-a-Lago. This time, he is criticizing the current U.S. Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Donald Trump's Statements Against US Justice Kavanaugh

According to MSNBC's latest report, former U.S. President Donald Trump is clearly disappointed in votes by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. He added that he is his own hard-won nominee.

READ MORE: Pres. Joe Biden, a 'Direct Beneficiary' of His Son Hunter Biden's Foreign Deals, Says Head of Government Accountability Institute

Trump even claimed that Kavanaugh will not have the courage he needed as the U.S. Supreme Justice without him.

"Where would he be without me? I saved his life. He wouldn't even be in a law firm. Who would have had him? Nobody. Totally disgraced. Only I saved him," said Trump via AXIOS' report.

"He would rant endlessly about the treachery of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, reminding people of how he shot up in the primary polls after Trump endorsed him," added the former U.S. president.

Donald Trump confirmed that he is very disappointed with the U.S. Supreme Justice's actions. He added that he would be a great Supreme Justice if he only supported him during the last 2020 U.S. election.

However, Trump did not confirm the thing about Kavanaugh that he is ire about.

Donald Trump's Last Days are Worse Than Expected

According to CNN Politics' latest report, the last days of Donald Trump as the U.S. president are even worse compared to what the people thought.

He spent his remaining days at the White House facing chaos created by protesters who want to impeach him for his actions. On the other hand, some people also blackmailed Trump to leak his video going to the White House bunker during Black Lives Matter protests.

Since he can't control his emotions, Trump even said that he will conduct executions for those who will leak the footage.

READ NEXT: Former U.S. President Donald Trump's Supporters File FCC Complaints Against SNL, NBC, and Other Comedian Impersonators

This article is owned by Latin Post
Need help logging in?

We have transitioned to a new user-friendly interactive website. You will need an account and a subscription to see the site in its entirety.

HOME DELIVERY subscribers get online access for free with their subscription. If you are a home delivery subscriber, create a new account and follow the directions to validate your home delivery subscription.

If you were a previous ONLINE ONLY subscriber, you should have received an email with directions on how to log in. If you are still experiencing issues contact us at bulletincirc@gmail.com.
Two Laois breweries part of a new nationwide initiative to promote Irish craft breweries with the launch of an online Irish beer map.

The project aims to highlight the independent craft breweries around Ireland and to generate public interest in beer provenance, by linking craft breweries to specific destinations.

The map currently has 60 breweries listed. Ballykilcavan Brewery and 12 Acres Brewing Company in Laois are two breweries which produces own malt on-site with full traceability from field to tap.



The Ballykilcavan Brewery near Stradbally was established in 2018 by David Walsh-Kemmis. The inspiration to brew came as David was figuring out how to futureproof his family farm which had been in the Walsh-Kemmis family for 13 generations, dating back to 1639. As the tillage farm grew malting barley and David had a keen interest in homebrewing, it made business sense to try brewing on a professional scale.

David restored a disused 18th century stone farmyard and the adjoining yard for the brewing operation.

12 Acres Brewing Company from Killeshin was established in 2014 by brothers Patrick, Rory, Ian and Barry McDonald. The family farm produced malting barley for the brewing and distilling industries, and also had an excellent spring water supply on-site. As malt and water make up 97% of the raw materials for beer it made sense for the farm to start producing its own brews.

12 Acres Brewing Company claims to be the first micro-brewery in Ireland to be full traceable from ground to glass. The spent grain, yeast & hops are feed to the farm animals resulting in a sustainable brewing process.

The Irish Beer map aims to raise awareness of the vibrant Irish microbrewing industry and to encourage consumers to seek out local beers wherever they are. The Irish Beer map is created in conjunction with the Independent Craft Brewers of Ireland (ICBI) and is supported by Bord Bia. Craft breweries who are not yet listed on the map are asked to register interest using the website contact form.

To discover independent breweries nationwide ww.irishbeer.ie
The Government has agreed a phased approach ease Covid-19 restrictions on pubs restaurants and other parts of the hospitality sector.

The Government has agreed to following:

 Ease restrictions on indoor hospitality for people are FULLY vaccinated OR who have recovered from COVID-19 in the previous six months. Over 2 million people are now fully vaccinated in Ireland;

 The public will be able to avail of indoor services on the presentation of verifiable evidence of vaccination or immunity status. Customer data once verified will not be retained by the cafe, bar or restaurant;

 The new Digital Covid Certificates (DCC) can be used by the public as evidence of being fully vaccinated, or other medical documentation, which will be set out in guidelines in the coming days;

 Visitors to Ireland from outside the EU, such as US, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a nationally certified equivalent can be used for the purposes of verifying the vaccination or immunity status of such persons, in line with agreed Government policy on international travel; and,

 Children under-18 accompanied by a vaccinated or recovered adult parent or guardian can also be admitted for indoor services.

A new law will be needed which it is hoped will be in force bey July 26. MORE BELOW TWEET.

The Govt has approved legislation for the reopening of indoor hospitality. Tanaiste Leo Varadkar says that this will be done in a safe and sustainable way | https://t.co/Rm6LXv63dA pic.twitter.com/hxhsOgVxMr July 12, 2021

Social distancing measures will remain in place in order to protect workers and children in such premises in line with discussions with unions and the hospitality sector. As fully vaccinated and recovered non-residents will be mixing with vaccinated and unvaccinated residents and workers in hotels, full social distancing measures will continue in hotels.

Pub, restaurant and cafe operators and hotels will be required to comply with the Governments Work Safely protocol for the protection of workers and public health, social distancing. Detailed operational guidelines for reopening will be published by Failte Ireland in the coming days.

The Governments Work Safely Protocol and the Failte Ireland guidelines place a strong emphasis on the importance of implementing effective ventilation in all premises where the public and workers congregate, including increasing air flow, air extraction systems and the use of CO2 monitors. Improving ventilation will be part of the operational guidelines to be published by Failte Ireland and will continue to be part of Governments communications campaign.

The ongoing effectiveness and impact of measures will be kept under review by the inclusion of the hospitality sector in the Workplace Health and Safety Monitoring Oversight Group.

Following agreement by Government today of required legal underpinning for the phased reopening of indoor hospitality and for a system of verification, compliance and enforcement, the Minister for Health will present the amending legislation to the Houses of the Oireachtas in the coming days.

In relation to setting a date for opening of this sector, it is the Governments intention to allow the sector to open as soon as practicable. This will be dependent on the passage of the Bill through the Houses of the Oireachtas over the coming days and the submission to the President for signature.

The Government also agreed to give further consideration to the use of PCR and rapid antigen testing in further phases of lifting of restrictions. The Governments new Expert Advisory Group on Rapid Testing, Chaired by Professor Mary Horgan will be asked to provide appropriate guidance.

The Government says Ministers and their officials and agencies have worked with hospitality industry representatives and unions over the last two weeks to assess options to operationalise the NPHET advice of 28th June that restrictions on indoor restaurant and bar services be eased for those that are fully vaccinated or recovered by COVID-19.

The lifting of restriction was initially scheduled for 5th July 2021, but the rapid spread of the Delta variant internationally and modelling of the potential impacts on public health in Ireland led to NPHET advising a more cautious approach to reopening.
A man who did not pay his hotel bill was sentenced to six months in prison at Portlaoise court on Thursday last.

Andrew Cash, 30, of Kilbarry Cottage, Old Manor, Cork was charged with making off without payment at the Heritage Hotel between March 26 and March 31 2018.

The court heard that Mr Cash checked into the Heritage Hotel. He left without paying his bill of 1,181.

Defence Solicitor Josephine Fitzpatrick said it was a credit card issue. He had the money in court on a previous date, but it had not been accepted by the State.

Ms Fitzpatrick said that he was originally from Dublin but had moved to Laois in 2018.

He was currently serving a sentence for dangerous driving. He will have work upon his release with a colleague.

Ms Fitzpatrick said the hotel in question was no longer in being. It was now the Midlands Park Hotel. Judge Staines suggested the reason it may have gone out of business was because of unpaid bills.

Ms Fitzpatrick said Mr Cash was doing well in prison. He was on an alcohol rehab programme.

He had a number of previous convictions but they were historic.

Judge Staines sentenced him to six months in the Midlands Prison Portlaoise.
A unique art project has been unveiled at the Paediatric Unit in Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise.

The project is a series of artworks by the 4th Class students of Portarlington Presentation Primary School, inspired by their classmate who has undergone treatment in the hospital. Each piece of art signifies the resilience, courage and bravery of the children attending the Paediatric Unit in Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise.

Saoirse Ryan, a student in 4th Class in Portarlington Presentation Primary School, recently underwent a bone marrow transplant in Childrens Health Ireland at Crumlin while the Paediatric Unit in Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise supported her recovery. On returning to school Saoirse proposed and developed an art project with her teacher Jenny Kelly and classmates.

The project was inspired by the Beads of Courage project. Beads of Courage enables children to tell their story using colourful beads as meaningful symbols of courage that commemorate milestones along their unique treatment path. MORE BELOW PICTURE

Pictured: Saoirse Ryan admiring her own artwork on display with teacher Jenny Kelly. Saoirses piece is a turtle which signifies protection

and nurturing and a reminder that your home is always near.

The international programme helps to decrease distress, increases positive coping strategies and helps children find meaning in illness. Children have something tangible they can use to explain their experiences.

The children adapted the idea and displayed the philosophy of care and healing through the medium of art.

The art project was officially unveiled by Sandra McCarthy, Director of Nursing at Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise, Saoirse Ryan, her mother Sinead Walsh and her teacher Jenny Kelly with the Paediatric Unit staff. The artworks are currently on display throughout the Paediatric Unit in Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise. MORE BELOW PICTURE.

From left to right: Sinead Walsh; Jenny Kelly, 4th Class Teacher at Portarlington Presentation Primary School; Sandra McCarthy, Director of Nursing,Maura Rice, Assistant Director of Nursing, Berna Keating, CNM2 Paediatric Unit; Saoirse Ryan; and Elaine O' Brien-Doyle, Acute Paediatric Link Nurse(CNSp), MRHP.

The Director of Nursing extended her thanks and praise.

We are so grateful to Saoirse and all her classmates for this wonderful art project that we are proudly displaying in our Paediatric Unit in Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise. The collaboration which took place between Saoirse and the school is truly outstanding. It really shows the courage and determination displayed by Saoirse and her family to embrace the philosophy of Beads of Courage, said Ms McCarthy.

Elaine O' Brien-Doyle is Acute Paediatric Link Nurse(CNSp) at at the Laois hospital.

Through Saoirses leadership, she has won the support of her teacher and classmates to embrace a project which reflects the resilience, courage and bravery of the children that we see every day in our Paediatric Unit and it is humbling for it to also reflect gratitude from our community for the care that we provide, she said. MORE BELOW PICTURE.

From left to right: Nicola Smith, Staff Nurse; Dr Niall Vaughan, SHO; Dr Genoveva Balanica, Paediatric Consultant; and Lesly Levingston, Staff Nurse, all from Paediatric Unit, MRHP with Saoirse Ryan.

Saoirse thanked the staff and her school.

I would like to say a big thank you to all of the staff in Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise which feels like home when Im there. I am very grateful to my teacher and all of my friends for putting this all together for such a wonderful place in the hope that it will make someones stay in hospital a bit brighter, she said

Sinead Walsh, mother of Saoirse, commented on the care her daughter received at Portlaoise hospital.

Saoirse always felt very safe in Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise. The staff should be very proud of themselves as they always made my daughter feel secure, she said.

The aim of the project is to give something back to the Paediatric Unit that supported Saoirse through her journey.

Saoirse and her class have underpinned their project with the Beads of Courage program where every time a bead is given: courage is honoured, suffering is alleviated, resilience is strengthened, and the experience of human caring is affirmed.

The ambition of the project is to reward those that have supported others through challenging times, to demystify medical centres and encourage children to be comfortable through hospital/ medical journeys.

By providing this work and exploring childrens experiences in their local hospital hopefully helping children not to be scared if they need to attend the Paediatric Unit at Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise in particular. They also feel it is a way to celebrate Saoirses journey through illness and return to normal life, she said. MORE BELOW PICTURE.

Pictures are: Saoirse Ryan with teacher Jenny Kelly and nurse Sinead Walsh.

Jenny Kelly is fourth class teacher at Portarlington Presentation Primary School.

Instead of beads the children used different forms of colour and animals to express the philosophy of care and healing through the medium of art. This project taken on by 4th class has infused all students and families with excitement, care and love. We incorporated it as part of the curriculum this year and students diligently put in hours of school and leisure time into it, she said.

Beads of Courage Paediatric Oncology Programme in Ireland at Children's Health Ireland at Crumlin is funded by the Childhood Cancer Foundation Ireland.

There are more than 400 children enrolled on this programme from all over Ireland.

More pictures below:

4th Class students of Portarlington Presentation Primary School displaying their art project that they donated to the Paediatric Unit

Pictured aboved: Elaine O'Brien Doyle APLN and Saoirse

From left to right: Sandra McCarthy, Director of Nursing, MRHP; Maura Rice, Assistant Director of Nursing, MRHP; Jenny Kelly, 4th Class Teacher at Portarlington Presentation Primary School; Saoirse Ryan; Sinead Walsh; Elaine O' Brien-Doyle, Acute Paediatric Link Nurse(CNSp), MRHP; Dr Muhammad Tariq, Consultant Paediatrician, MRHP; Berna Keating, CNM2 Paediatric Unit, MRHP.
A Laois developer has got the ball rolling on new housing estate in Portlaoise which would see nearly 100 homes built.

Thomas Kelly & Sons Group comprising O'Ceallaigh Westfield Ltd & Thomas Kelly & Sons Ltd is in the pre-validation stage of the project with Laois County Council for 99 new homes in Rathevan.

A much bigger development involving Thomas Kelly & Sons Group for Rathevan was withdrawn in 2020. An application to build 262 residential units was made to An Bord Pleanala in the soon to be scrapped Strategic Housing Development process designed to fast-track the building of new homes.

This new project involves the building of 99 residential units a crech and amenity space and associated site works.

The new homes comprise:

Four 2-bedroom back-to-back duplex apartments;

Ten 2-bedroom semi-detached dwellings;

Fourteen 3-bedroom semi-detached dwellings;

Five 3-bedroom detached dwellings;

Four 3-bedroom staggered townhouses;

Twenty 20 3-bedroom terraced townhouses;

Forty two 4-bedroom semi-detached dwellings.

The builders say a total area of 0.4 hectares is provided for open space which equates to 12% of the site area with a multi-use games area.

A new distributor road will be built to adjoining the existing Rathevan link road at the north west of the site (with potential future link provided to the Portlaoise Northern Orbital Route).

Cycle lanes and a future bus corridor are also included.

A total of 212 parking spaces and 211 cycle parking spaces are provided within the proposed development.

The creche will have seven spaces.

The developers have also told the council Natura Impact Statement has been prepared and is included with the application.

The site, which appears to occupy less space then 2020 project, is located off the Borris Road and borders Rathevan, Rossdarragh, the big Kilminchy estate while there are many other estates and standalone houses located nearby. The town's main secondary school campus is located a short distance from the site.

Laois County Council listed nearly 40 objections from residents living nearby to the bigger project in a submission by the CEO to An Board Pleanala in 2020. There was a lot of local opposition among public representatives.

Laois County Council's management conditionally endorsed the original project saying that there is 'clear evidence that demand for housing needs to be accommodated'. It also said the plan would help Portlaoise reach its housing target.

Significantly, a major stumbling was presented by Irish Water which described the development as 'premature' in an submission to An Bord Pleanala. The developer began consultations with Irish Water in 2018. Crucially the utility told An Bord Pleanala it had no plans to upgrade drainage or the local pumping station to deal with wastewater from the development.

Substantial resources were invested into the original plans including a purpose built website.
Irish agriculture needs a systemic change to set it on the path to resilience, according to Senator Pippa Hackett, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture.

Speaking in Seanad Eireann this week, she called on farmers to reduce the use fertilisers and protect the biology of the soil.

We have become addicted to feeding our soil with artificial fertilisers, she said.

Fertilisers are finite  be they mined or produced with fossil fuels. And if we are to fix things, then we have to do more than just cut back. We must wean ourselves off these synthetic inputs and embrace the new agricultural revolution that is now upon us.

The last major food systems shift was in the post-war decades. Then, the rather misnamed Green Revolution fuelled by fossil fuels, led us along the path of abundance and growth, but at an enormous cost to our environment. The next major food systems shift is now and it must be one during which the environment stops paying a heavy price.

The Senator, who farms organically, called on Irish farmers to build a truly sustainable food system and embrace the new agricultural revolution.

We can either lead  and capitalise economically and environmentally on that leadership  or we can sit and wait, pay huge fines, and spend the next decade catching up, licking our wounds, and regretting that we did not act sooner, she said. Because that is what will happen.
Small-scale peat extraction from bogs for Ireland's horticultural sector may be permitted according to Laois Offaly Minister of State Pippa Hackett.

The Green Party senator met with representatives from the Horticulture sector after the IFA protested at the damage to their businesses due to the ban on large scale peat extraction in Ireland.

They say it will take ten years to transition to alternatives to peat to make their sector viable. MORE BELOW PICTURE

Minister Hackett, who sits at the Government table, issued a statement after meeting representatives.

"Horticulture is a sector I am very keen both to support and to develop. I have recently commissioned a report to identify opportunities in it and I also secured a 50% increase in funding for it from 6 to 9 million in the last budget.

"I appreciate the concerns which growers protesting today have, about supply. However I understand that a stock of Irish peat which will alleviate the immediate issue may have been secured.

"There are two quite separate issues in relation to peat.

"One is the need for smaller suppliers to achieve compliance with current legislation; the other is the availability of peat for the amenity horticulture sector.

"Peat is a finite resource, and I know the sector understands the need for transitional phasing out of the use of it. So I welcome the moves already being made towards reducing peat usage within the Sector, with most growers now using Peat blends with material such as bark fibre or coir.

"Through my department I am supporting Research and Development programmes on sustainable peat alternatives. I will also continue to be supportive of exploring all options, including small-scale extraction for the domestic commercial horticultural sector only, while they are transitioning to a peat free future, provided such extraction is legally compliant.

"I will certainly ask my colleague Eamon Ryan to request Bord na Mona to help, as appropriate, with any technical help they may be in a position to offer in this regard.

"Our bogs are among our most precious natural resources. They are part of our precious national heritage and I want to make it clear that I believe peat extraction must stop," concluded the senator.

Horticultural growers, led by IFA President Tim Cullinan, potested outside the Convention Centre in Dublin to highlight the challenges around the harvesting of horticultural peat and the central role it plays in the sector.

Without immediate Government intervention to allow the harvesting of peat, the Irish horticultural sector faces wipe out. The Ministers in charge here have to step in save the sector. The situation is now beyond serious, said Mr Cullinan.

Growers displayed a 50sq metre display with their produce outside where the Dail is sitting. It will depict the message No Peat, No Produce to remind Government that the horticultural sector cannot supply Irish produce for consumers without peat.

As a major segment of the Irish horticulture sector relies on peat, particularly the mushroom and ornamental sectors, this will have devastating consequences. Producers will either have to close their business or import peat, which will make some businesses unviable because of the extra cost, said the IFA leader.

Its contradictory for the Minister for Horticulture to commission a report on opportunities for the horticultural sector, while at the same time the industry is facing closure because the raw material required is effectively gone, he said.

Irelands horticultural sector has a farm gate value of 477m. There are over 17,000 jobs in the sector, which includes an estimated 6,600 people directly employed full-time with another 11,000 being indirectly employed in value added and downstream businesses. The horticultural sector is a significant aspect of the Irish agri-food sector.

Following a ruling of the High Court in September 2019, harvesting of peat from bogs greater than 30 hectares now requires all harvesters to go through a complex licensing and planning regime. Horticultural peat harvesting on Irish bogs has all but ceased and Irish peat supplies will be exhausted before September.

In terms of peat availability, this highly-specialised industry now finds itself at a critical juncture and if action is not immediately taken by the Government, growers will not have sufficient stocks of peat for the backend of the year. There is no viable alternative to peat at the moment.

As it stands, we will be forced to import peat from Europe and the Baltics, which is at odds with the green credentials of the horticultural sector.

The area of peatland required to supply the Irish horticultural industry is just over 1/10th of 1% (.12%) of Irelands total area of peatlands. To further compound the issue, there is a shortage of peat on the European market and growers are having their orders refused.

A Consultation Group was convened by the Minister earlier this year to find a workable solution for the industry. The group has met six times and produced a comprehensive document outlining workable solutions. This document was completed in May. However, no agreement can be reached between the political parties.
Portlaoise Macra were crowned All-Ireland winners at the national final of the Macra Farm Skills competition held in Gurteen College recently.

The team were Siobhan Walsh, Liam Brophy and Thomas Cushen. As part of the competition they were judged on their fence skills, tractor driving skills and 30 questions on different areas of farming.

Portlaoise also won the health and safety award.

The 2020 Farm Skills National final had to be put off due to Covid.

Siobhan Walsh, Liam Brophy and Thomas Cushen have been participating in finals for years. They came very close in 2018 when they were runners up.

This year they put their heart and soul into practising three nights a week for weeks before it. Their club and county are so proud of them.

Liam said that this was five years in the making and the work finally paid off. Siobhan said it was brilliant to win after all the hard work.

The last Portlaoise to win comprised of Padraig Gowing, Donald Scully and James Troy.
The wider Newbridge area has the lowest Covid-19 infection rate in the county  and is over half the national incidence level of the virus.

The 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 people in the Newbridge Local Electoral Area (LEA) up to July 5 was 50.7, based on a population of 35,482.

This number is more than half the national average of 117.7 for the same fortnightly period.

The number of confirmed cases in Newbridge during that two-week period was 18.

Overall, County Kildare has a 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 people of 89 - compared to the highest - 356 in County Donegal and the lowest - 37 in County Leitrim.

These are the first time county by county breakdown of Covid-19 figures are available since a May 16 ransomware attack  the most significant in the history of the state  crashed IT systems within the HSE.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly confirmed on Twitter at the weekend that the datahub facility for 14 day case rates by Local Electoral Area was now back up and running after the cyber attack.

He added: Its going to be important in the face of a surge in Delta cases to keep local communities informed.

The data is based on official figures provided by the HSE and the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC).

After Newbridge, the next lowest area in the county is Kildare LEA which had 18 confirmed cases in the two weeks up to July 5 and an incidence rate per 100,000 people of 70.

Clane LEA had a total of 20 confirmed cases and a rate per 100,000 people of 70.3.

Athy LEA had 22 confirmed cases and a rate per 100,000 population of 82.9.

Naas had 31 confirmed cases during the two week period and a rate per 100,000 of population of 79.2.

Areas of North Kildare are showing the highest concentration of Covid-19 cases.

Leixlip LEA had 22 confirmed cases and a rate per 100,000 people of 138.7  which is higher than the national average.

Maynooth LEA had 30 confirmed cases and a LEA rate per 100,000 of 100.9.

Celbridge LEA had 20 Covid-19 cases and a rate per 100,000 population of 92.5.

HSE boss Paul Reid told a recent Oireachtas Health Committee last month that the immediate cost of the cyber attack amounted to well over 100 million euro but that this will rise much higher when other factors are included.

He also warned that the HSE may not have seen the worst of the attack.

An organised criminal gang of cyber criminals based in Russia, blamed for being be behind the HSE attack, later demanded a multi-million euro ransom or it would release patient data.
The life-changing amyloidosis drug, patisiran, has been approved for patients living here.

The drug is available to people with an amyloidosis diagnosis living in Europe, Britain and the North of Ireland but, until Friday last, it was not approved for use here. Well-known Newbridge photographer Pat Tinsley, is one of those living with the chronic disease and he said a previous HSE decision recommended against paying for the drug.

In February he stated the decision left him feeling thoroughly dejected and depressed with one of the last rays of hope extinguished and the light at the end of the tunnel fading further.

Along with 30-35 sufferers in Ireland of this rare but deadly and debilitating disease, the Kildare man stated they felt totally abandoned by the HSE.

The patisiran application and submitted representations were included on the May 2021 HSEs drugs group agenda for consideration.

The HSE said: Following its review, the drugs group recommended hospital pricing approval of patisiran indicated for the treatment of hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis in adult patients with stage 1 or stage 2 polyneuropathy.

This recommendation was conditional on a managed access programme being implemented by the HSE that would support the appropriate prescribing of this medicine.

The HSE added that as part of the National Service Plan 2021 and budgetary process, it has worked closely with the Department of Health to secure a significantly enhanced budget of 50m for new medicines in 2021. Funding of patisiran will be from this allocation

The processes necessary to implement the managed access programme will now be developed and put in place by the HSE in order for all eligible patients with hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis with stage 1 or stage 2 polyneuropathy to access treatment with patisiran in the near future.

James Green of the All Ireland Amyloidosis Awareness organisation, said he was shell-shocked but absolutely delighted by the news.

We were not expecting to hear (a soon), so that is a completely unexpected but fantastic development.

Sen Fiona OLoughlin said this is very positive news for those with amyloidosis, including Pat Tinsley. Funding will come from a 50m special budget included in budget 2021. This news will change peoples lives and I will be continuing my work to ensure that the access programme is developed as soon as possible

Fine Gael TD and Minister of State Martin Heydon said: Having strongly advocated on behalf of Kildare man Pat Tinsley for this drug to be made available to all Irish patients, Im delighted for Pat and his family and also for all patients throughout Ireland who have been waiting for approval of this drug.

The development was also welcomed by Ballymore Eustace journalist Rose Barrett ODonoghue who was involved with Newbridge public relations expert Aileen OBrien in a campaign calling on the HSE to fund the drug. She said: This is great news for patients like Pat who are suffering from because it gives them hope.
A new Chief of Staff has been appointed to the Irish Defence Forces.

Major General Sean Clancy will take over from current Chief of Staff, Vice Admiral Mark Mellett, who will retire from the appointment on September 29.

Major General Sean Clancy joined the Irish Defence Forces in 1984 as a cadet and commenced his flight training in 1986. He has flown both fixed and rotary wing aircraft and has accumulated nearly 5,000 flight hours. He is a qualified type and instrument-rating examiner, a qualified flight simulator instructor and has most recently held type, instrument and NVG ratings on the AW139.

Major General Clancy has been a driver of change and a champion for innovation within the Defence Forces. He played a central role in the development of the Irelands first Emergency Aeromedical Service established in 2012. He has been a strong advocate for leadership and was the co-author of the Defence Forces Leadership Doctrine published in 2016. He subsequently led the team who developed the current vision and values-based strategy for the Defence Forces post the publication of the White Paper on Defence.

Major General Clancy served in appointments including Squadron Commander, Wing Commander, Senior Staff Officer Operations, Senior Staff Officer Personnel, Chief of Air Staff Support in Air Corps Headquarters and Director of Strategic Planning Branch on the Chief of Defences Staff, Defence Headquarters. Prior to promotion he served as General Officer Commanding, Irish Air Corps and Director of Military Aviation.

Major General Sean Clancy has spent a considerable period of his career as a Search and Rescue pilot and was the commander of the crew who received the Marine Medal for Meritorious Service in 2002.

Major General Clancy has served for a year with the European Union Force in Bosnia as the military advisor to the Force Commander and spent two years as air advisor to the permanent element of SHIRBRIG, the UN standby Brigade.

He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Trinity College, Dublin and a Masters in Military Leadership and Defence Studies from the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. He is a graduate of the Defence Forces Command and Staff College where he was the recipient of the Lt Gen Tadgh ONeill Award. In 2017 he completed a Diploma in Advanced Management Performance with Smurfit Business School.

Major General Sean Clancy is married to Caroline. They have three children and live in Dublin.

Minister for Defence Simon Coveney said I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Major General Clancy on his new appointment and I look forward to working closely with him in the future.

The Minister added: I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Vice Admiral Mark Mellett for his outstanding contribution as Chief of Staff over the last 6 years. On behalf of the Government, I would like to wish him well in his future endeavours and to thank him for his hard work and commitment over many years of service in the Defence Forces. The leadership, professionalism and dedication shown by him has brought great honour on the Defence Forces and on this nation as a whole.
Indoor dining is set to return as early as next week after plans were agreed by the Cabinet last night.

Ministers have approved legislation to allow people who are fully vaccinated or who have recovered from Covid int he past six months to eat indoors.

Ministers meet again this morning to discuss what date indoor dining can resume but it will be before July 26, according to the Tanaiste.

The Digital Covid Cert will be proof of vaccination which should be delivered to all fully vaccinated people by next Tuesday at the latest. There will be fines of up to 2,000 for forging a document, and potential fines for premises not carrying out checks.



Other documents will be accepted from people traveling here from abroad. Children under 18 who are not vaccinated will be allowed to dine indoors. It's likely time limits will apply to indoor dining unless tables are spaced more than 2 metres apart.

Ministers have said detailed guidance will issue from Failte Ireland for pubs and restaurants in the coming days. There are provisions in the bill approved to allow people to access indoor dining with a negative Covid test, but the Government says more work is needed on that.

It is hoped the bill will pass all stages in the Oireachtas this week.
The Department of Health has confirmed 589 new cases of Covid-19.

The number of people in hospital with the disease is 62, of whom 17 are in ICU, one more than yesterday.

Dr Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, said: "Scientific evidence shows that Delta is a much more transmissible variant of Covid-19, now accounting for 80% of the cases reported in Ireland.

"This is a challenge that is facing all of Europe, but we know that the basic public health measures still work against this variant.

"Please continue to avoid crowds, wear a mask, manage your contacts, keep your distance, meet outdoors where possible and if indoors, ensure that the room is well ventilated."

Dr Glynn added: "We are asking anyone diagnosed with Covid-19 to work with our contact tracers to identify all of your close contacts so they, their families and colleagues can be protected.

"If you know you are a close contact of someone with Covid-19, or if you have any symptoms, stay at home and organise a free test as soon as possible."

Elsewhere, a million EU Digital Covid Certificates are being issued by email to people who were fully vaccinated at a Health Service Executive vaccination centre.

The official number of people who have died after contracting the virus currently stands at 5,006, and some 278,000 cases of infection have been recorded in the country.
A NEW apprenticeship programme has been launched at University of Limerick to address the critical skills shortage in the field of cyber security.

Minister of State, Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Niall Collins has announced a new Level 8 Honours Degree Cyber Security Practitioner Apprenticeship at University of Limerick.

The two-year programme, which will commence intake in September 2022, has been developed by UL in collaboration with Limerick for IT industry network and the Mid-West Regional Skills Forum.

The work-based apprenticeship will include 70% of students time spent learning on-the-job with the remainder, two days a week during the academic year, in an academic setting.

Speaking at the launch, Minister Collins said: Cyber security is one of the greatest challenges facing society today and the labour market is crying out for staff who have the skills to combat the criminal gangs that are plaguing businesses, governments and individuals across the world. I am especially delighted that the course, while delivering an honours level 8 degree at the end, will be taught for the most part as an apprenticeship, with students spending 70% of their time learning practical skills with cyber security firms."

Minister Collins, a TD for Limerick, added: We have big plans for increasing the number of apprenticeships in Ireland and this course is a perfect example of how apprenticeships can give learners the skills they need to fill a vital need in the labour market.

Speaking about the need for the new programme Denis Kelly, former VP of Dell and consortia chair, said: The coronavirus pandemic has fundamentally changed the way we work, and that includes cyber criminals, who have had a particularly busy and lucrative time. The scale and complexity of cyber-attacks is wide ranging and financially devastating with a potential cost of $10.5 trillion by 2025 according to Dell EMC.

In 2020, Cyber Ireland surveyed the current labour market for cyber security skills and identified a clear skills gap and skills shortages. These shortages are affecting organisations of all sizes across a range of sectors, including indigenous and foreign owned companies.

The survey shows that 41% of organisations security teams are understaffed, a further 5% are significantly understaffed, and 48% of the companies have open or unfilled cyber security roles. A further 43% of cyber security hires are from outside of Ireland (28% from Europe and 15% outside Europe).

Industry and education providers collaborating is how we address skill shortages in the Mid-West region. This new apprenticeship will help in developing a diverse pool of talent particularly for those working or looking to transition into IT roles, said Joe Leddin, Regional Skills Forum manager.

The new UL apprenticeship was developed with a number of global industry partners and public sector organisations. The industry consortia will advise on desired learning outcomes for graduates and provide on the job learning in Dell, Northern Trust, Johnson & Johnson, WP-Engine, General Motors, BD, Action Point, Lufthansa, Transact Campus, Limerick, Clare and Tipperary County Councils and many more.

The programme will create a learning pathway for those who may have completed the current Level 6 Cyber Security apprenticeship under the Fastrack into IT programme while also facilitating those looking to upskill or reskill and already in employment.

Recognition of prior learning (RPL) will be in place to recognise candidates with a lower or a lack of qualification provided they have significant industrial experience, and evidence of the ability to study at undergraduate level, such as the completion of professional training and development courses, said Professor Ann Ledwith, Dean of Graduate and Professional Studies at UL.

University of Limerick is a member of Cyber Ireland and collaboration with the network will facilitate a national reach for the programme, which will produce cyber security technicians and specialists.

Dr Thomas Newe of ULs Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, a board member of Cyber Ireland, said: This initiative, combined with the suite of industry designed cyber security programmes that will be launched by UL@Work and CyberSkills, will develop Irelands cyber capabilities and provide resilience against future cyber-attacks that will inevitability occur.
A BID is to be made to erect large railings and have fixed opening hours at a skate park.

Councillor Azad Talukder has lodged a notice of motion  expected to be heard at next Mondays metropolitan meeting  in the wake of a spate of anti-social behaviour and drug-taking at the Mount Kennett Skate Park.

Residents have come to me and begged me to stop it going on. It shouldnt happen. Nobody looks after it  people can come 24-hours a day and do whatever they want. That shouldnt happen in any council park, said Cllr Talukder, who lives in the Steamboat Quay apartments, adjacent to the park.

He wants the skate park to have regular opening and closing times  and with the railings in place, to be locked up at night.

If you compare it to any park in the city, these have opening and closing times. If the park was not near city centre apartments, council would stop it straight away. I sometimes feel council is not even aware of these residents. These are working class people, they go to work, they need peaceful sleep. There is so little respect for them. But they should be treated equally. People should not be allowed use drugs and play music just metres away from these homes, he said.
GARDAI attended two non-retail businesses in Limerick within the space of four days  that the Leader is aware of  following Covid complaints from members of the public.

Members of An Garda Siochana called to one premises on the outskirts of the city on Sunday, July 3.

The second business in the city received a visit from gardai on Wednesday, July 7.

A garda spokesperson said they received reports that Covid-19 regulations / guidelines were not being adhered to at both business premises.

"Gardai attended and spoke with the owners in line with the approach of the Four Es which will see gardai engage, explain, encourage, and as a last resort, enforce.

"Following this engagement the business premises closed," said the garda spokesperson.

A video of gardai attending the business on Sunday, July 3, has been published on social media with a number of people expressing their disappointment that the business closed.

The Leader has been in contact with the business in question who have declined to comment.

The garda spokesperson said: "An Garda Siochana continues to engage with businesses to check and ensure compliance with Public Health Regulations.

"It is the responsibility of each business operator to ensure that they are operating in compliance with the current Public Health Regulations."

The spokesperson pointed to a regulation under the Health Act which applies to bowling alleys, amusement arcades, soft play areas and other indoor childrens play areas.

"The Covid-19 pandemic remains a public health crisis and An Garda Siochana continues to appeal to all citizens to demonstrate personal and social responsibility to comply with Public Health Guidelines and Regulations, in order to continue to save lives," said the garda spokesperson.
A HOLIDAY tragedy has left one West Limerick family in deep mourning.

Darren Whelan, from Loughill and Kildimo, has been named locally as the young man found dead following an accident on the Greek island of Ios.

The 23-year-old, had gone on holiday prior to taking up a new job. Travelling out of Ireland on July 3 with a friend, the pair had planned to meet up with another Limerick friend in Greece.

It is understood Mr Whelans body was found around mid-morning on Sunday. A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed to the Limerick Leader they are aware of the case and stands ready to provide consular assistance.

The department does not comment on the details of any specific case, said the spokesperson.

Darren is the son of Eddie and Geraldine and has two brothers Gavin and Eamon. He grew up in Loughill but later moved to Kildimo.

One of many heartbroken at the news over the weekend was close friend, Cllr Dan McSweeney.

As we go through life we learn that what matters most are the friends we make along the way. I was privileged to know Darren from our school days, he said in tribute.

He had all the qualities we appreciate in a friend: he was loyal, honest, caring and great fun. We will miss him but we know he will influence our lives in the years to come, Cllr McSweeney said. Offering sincere condolences to the family, he said in solidarity: Our great memories will sustain us into the future.

Tragically, Darrens death has recalled another tragedy, the death in 2018 of his friend, Jack Walsh, the 19-year-old from Askeaton who died after falling from a balcony in Mallorca.
Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL), a wholly-owned unit of Adani Enterprises Ltd, on Tuesday took over the management control of Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) from the GVK Group.

This followed approvals from the Union government as well as the government of Maharashtra, and Maharashtras City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO).

Our larger objective is to reinvent airports as ecosystems that drive local economic development and act as the nuclei around which we can catalyse aviation-linked businesses. These include metropolitan developments that span entertainment facilities, e-commerce and logistics capabilities, aviation dependent industries, smart city developments, and other innovative business concepts," said Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani Group, in a statement.

Our airport expansion strategy is intended to help converge our nations Tier 1 cities with the Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in a hub and spoke model. This is fundamental to enabling a greater equalization of Indias urbanrural divide, as well as making international travel seamless and smooth," he added in the statement on Tuesday.

AAHL became the countrys largest airport operator after it took a controlling stake in MIAL earlier this year. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) In Mumbai is the second-busiest in the country after the Delhi airport.

AAHL expects its share of passenger traffic to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12% from 80 million in FY20 to 100 million in FY22, according to the statement.

Adani Group has also won competitive bids to run the airports in Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Lucknow, Mangalore and Thiruvananthapuram. It, however, plans to defer the takeover of the airports in Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram by six months to December as these assets have currently turned financially unviable due to the disruptions caused by the pandemic.

According to a March report from rating agency Icra Ltd, the airport sector is likely to incur a net loss of 5,400 crore in the financial year ended 31 March 2021 due to a sharp drop in passenger traffic following the covid outbreak. The report has also estimated a cash loss of 3,500 for the sector.

Icra expects the airport sector to bounce back to profitability this financial year, with industry net profit expected to rise to 190 crore.

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.
In the summer of 2018, Sadir Eli, a Uyghur businessman, was in high spirits. His real-estate firm was pulling in strong profits, and he told his daughter he would buy a house for her in Massachusetts.

Then, Mr. Eli was accused of being a separatist and disappeared into the black box of Chinas prison system in the northwest Xinjiang region.

He did not engage in politics," said Maria Mohammad, who last heard from her husband in June 2018, shortly before he was detained. Instead, she believes, Mr. Eli was targeted in part because he was a rich businessman, giving him influence that the authorities viewed as a threat.

The Xinjiang government didnt respond to a request for comment.

Mr. Elis fate brings to life an overlooked element of Chinas suppression of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang: the arrests of elite Uyghur business owners whose wealth and commercial interests enabled them to act as a bridge between Chinese authorities and Uyghur civil society. Some scholars saw them as helping narrow the economic gap between Chinas Han majority and Xinjiangs mostly Muslim ethnic minoritiesa disparity that has fueled tensions in the strategically vital but fractious northwestern region.

The predecessor of Chinese leader Xi Jinping had envisioned economic development as the foundation to solving all problems" in Xinjiang, a view more or less held by Beijing for more than a decade. But under Mr. Xis drive for national unity and assimilation, Chinese authorities have changed tack, making security and social control the regions top priorities.

In recent years, the Xinjiang regional government has enacted a slew of draconian policies aimed at subduing the regions minorities, including extrajudicial detention of as many as one million people. Lawmakers in the U.S., the U.K. and other countries have described Chinas policies as genocidea charge that Beijing vehemently denies.

The Chinese government has defended its measures as necessary to provide stability to preserve lives and economic development and to combat terrorism, pointing to sporadic attacks that it attributes to separatists and militant Islamic terrorists.

Nearly one-fifth of 4,572 people tracked in a database of individuals who have disappeared into Xinjiangs internment camps and prisons made their livings in private business, according to nonprofit Uyghur Hjelp. The research and advocacy group, which shared its data with The Wall Street Journal, compiled the information through interviews with relatives and friends.

Even in the span of one generation, the impact of increasing the number of Uyghur-owned businesses can be tremendous," said Reza Hasmath, a professor at the University of Alberta who has studied wage imbalances and hiring biases against ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.

Now, he argues, Beijings one-size-fits-all" security measures, which appear to treat all Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims as potential security threats, risk widening the economic gap between Han Chinese and Uyghurs by fostering greater distrust between the two groups.

While such measures have cast suspicion on Uyghurs in general, it couldnt be determined why some businessmen have been targeted while others have been spared. Information about arrested Uyghurs, including details about alleged crimes, is rarely provided to the public. Sometimes even family members dont know why relatives have been arrested.

Accounts from former detainees, scholars who have visited the region and leaked documents from Chinese authorities point to religious practice, overseas financial transactions or even personal grudges and rivalries, settled under the guise of national security measures, as possible reasons for the detentions.

Model City

Before the Chinese governments broad suppression of minority groups in Xinjiang, Mr. Eli and his hometown, the business-friendly city of Atush, showed how Uyghur business people could cultivate friendly ties with the Chinese government while earning the trust of their own community.

Located within driving distance of Chinas border with Kyrgyzstan, the city had a reputation for cultivating entrepreneurs who like Mr. Eli cared more about trade than politics, according to former Atush and Xinjiang residents.

The businessman left a stable job at a municipal bank in the early 2000s to start his own export business, a venture that he hoped would generate enough profit to send his children overseas for university, according to his wife.

Like other wealthy Uyghurs in Atush, Mr. Eli donated money to less affluent members of the community and pooled his money with others to fund the construction of a mosque, she added.

In addition to direct donations, which were sometimes a form of Islamic almsgiving, the citys well-off raised money through lamb auctions and sporting events to cover wedding or school fees for those who couldnt afford them. Many became patrons of Uyghur cultural projects, including calligraphy competitions and art exhibitions.

Atush authorities regarded the city as a model region where community and government interests were more aligned, said Rune Steenberg, a postdoctoral researcher at Palacky University Olomouc in the Czech Republic, who conducted anthropological fieldwork in Atush between 2010 and 2016.

The government felt they could give them a certain amount of freedom," said Mr. Steenberg, adding that it was relatively easy for residents to get passports compared with other parts of Xinjiang.

Silk Road Closure

Controls began to tighten across the region in 2014, when the Xinjiang government nearly doubled arrests in the span of a year. Three years later came the internment camps and mass detentions, including of Uyghur business owners.

In 2018, Mr. Eli was arrested for inviting around 10 people to his home during Ramadan, where they allegedly discussed separatist topics, said his daughter, citing information from her fathers friend in Atush. A relative later confirmed her fathers arrest and said he had been sentenced to 20 years in prison, she said. Both she and her mother deny that Mr. Eli was a separatist.

The Atush government didnt respond to a request for comment.

Without Uyghur businessmen, Uyghur society is paralyzed," said Abduweli Ayup, a Uyghur activist based in Norway, who founded Uyghur Hjelp. Cut off from their charity, he said, poor families, bankrupt business owners and other Uyghurs in need are now totally dependent on the Chinese Communist Party for support.

Many Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang who used to travel to Central Asia to sell goods from China found themselves in trouble, as Xinjiang authorities began to scrutinize visits to Muslim-majority countries. This clampdown came despite a broader push by Beijing to boost cross-border trade with many of the same countries through Mr. Xis Belt and Road Initiative, which envisions Xinjiang as a central trading hub.

Hesenjan Qari, a Uyghur textile seller originally from Atush, was arrested after a routine trip in February 2017 into Xinjiang from his home in Kazakhstana border that traders used to cross freely, said his wife, Gulshan Manapova.

Mr. Qari was later sentenced to 14 years in prison for participating in terrorist organizations" and using extremism to undermine law enforcement," according to a document Mrs. Manapova received from a relative in 2019. The letter, which was issued by a prison in Tumshuq, where her husband is held, didnt include any details about his crimes or the evidence that led to his conviction.

The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, which administers Tumshuq, didnt respond to a request for comment.

Now, the 45-year-old Mrs. Manapova is on her own, juggling her business and caring for their six children, four of whom still live at home with her.

The shop is just barely covering our life expenditures," she said.

We are all guilty

As access to routine trade routes tightened, Xinjiang authorities also arrested prominent business people who sold jade, halal food and other goods.

A few months ago, Atush-born business tycoon Musa Imam, who co-founded Ihlas, one of Xinjiangs best-known supermarket franchises, was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison, though it isnt clear what he is accused of, according to his son, Mustafa Musa, citing news from relatives.

Our family is all business people and has no history of committing crimes, much less involvement in politics or disturbance of public order," the 28-year-old, who lives in Virginia, wrote last May in a letter, seen by the Journal, to the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Musa said the embassy confirmed receipt of the letter, but hasnt said anything about his fathers situation.

The Chinese Embassy in the U.S. didnt respond to a request for comment.

In the pre-Xi era, elite Uyghur businessmen like Mr. Musa wanted others in their community to figure out how to live in a Han-dominated society, instead of hating the government, said Tyler Harlan, a professor at Loyola Marymount University who interviewed Uyghur entrepreneurs in Xinjiangs capital in 2008, including the Ihlas co-founder.

At the time, part of their role in reducing ethnic tensions was hiring Uyghurs who couldnt easily get jobs in state-owned enterprises or in Han-owned firms, he said.

Some of the businessmen now being punished were only a few years earlier being lauded with government accolades. Xinjiangs government named Abdujelil Helil, a wealthy Uyghur exporter, an excellent builder of socialism with Chinese characteristics" in 2015.

In July 2018, Mr. Helil was sentenced to 14 years in prison for allegedly providing financial support for terrorist activities, according to a court document viewed by the Journal. The Kashgar court also fined his firm $770,000 (5 million yuan) and stripped the 57-year-old of personal assets worth approximately $11 million, though Mr. Helil is currently waiting for a fresh legal judgment following a retrial in March, according to an overseas relative.

The Kashgar Intermediate Peoples Court and Kashgar city government didnt respond to a request for comment.

When your conscience is clear, youre not afraid of anything happening," said the relative. Now we know its because were Uyghur."

In their eyes, we are all guilty," he said.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.
The developers of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine and India's Serum Institute announced plans on Tuesday to start producing Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in India in September.

Russia's sovereign wealth fund, which is promoting the vaccine globally, said the plan was to produce over 300 million doses of the vaccine per year in India, the leading production hub for Sputnik V.

"The parties intend to produce over 300 million doses of the vaccine in India per year with the first batch expected in September 2021," the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said in a statement.

SII, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, has already received cell and vector samples from Russia's Gamaleya Centre, RDIF said.

"With their import approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), the cultivation process has begun," RDIF said in a statement.

India is the leading production hub for production of Sputnik vaccine. RDIF had earlier reached agreements with a number of pharmaceutical companies in India (Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma, Virchow Biotech and Morepen) for production of the Russian vaccine.

"To date, Russian Sputnik V vaccine has been registered in 67 countries globally with a total population of over 3.5 bn people. The data obtained by regulators of a number of countries during the vaccination of the population, including in Argentina, Serbia, Bahrain, Hungary, Mexico, San Marino, UAE and others, demonstrates that Sputnik V is one of the safest and most effective vaccines against coronavirus," RDIF said.

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.
Elon Musk thinks hes funny and people who follow him on various social media portals would agree on his proposition.

The Tesla chief executive officer, testifying under oath on Monday at a trial over the electric carmakers controversial 2016 acquisition of SolarCity, said he leans into his sense of humor to generate free publicity for the company.

If we are entertaining people, they would write stories about us and we dont have to spend on advertising which would reduce the price of our cars," Musk said Monday.

I do have a sense of humor," Musk added. I think Im funny."

Elon Musk also made a revelation that he turned down Wall Street jobs to focus on technology

I was offered several high-paid jobs on Wall Street. I declined," Tesla Inc.s chief executive officer told his lawyer

Some who watched his May 8 turn as host of Saturday Night Live" may disagree. Musk got decidedly mixed reviews for the gig, which included his last appearance on the witness stand -- as video-game character Wario facing trial for the murder of Mario of Mario Brothers fame.

Musk discussed his humor in response to questioning in Chancery Court in Wilmington, Delaware, by lawyer Randy Baron. The attorney represents shareholders who claim the Tesla CEO breached his fiduciary duty by pushing the more than $2 billion deal for SolarCity, in which he was also the largest investor.

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard is ready to start slowing the pace of central bank bond buying as soon as his colleagues are, worried in part that the purchases risk overheating the gangbusters housing market.

I think with the economy growing at 7% and the pandemic coming under better and better control, I think the time is right to pull back emergency measures," Mr. Bullard said Monday in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

When it comes to the outlook for the Fed paring its purchases of Treasury and mortgage bonds, we do want to do it gently and carefully, but I think were in a very good position to start a taper. I dont need to get going tomorrow, but I think wereI think were in very good shape for this" once the collective membership of the Federal Open Market Committee is ready to act, Mr. Bullard said.

Some $40 billion a month of the purchases target mortgage backed bonds. Some Fed officials have openly questioned continuing those purchases given the strength of the housing market, and some are ready to start paring the asset buying.

Mr. Bullard does not believe the housing sector is in a bubble and wants to ensure it stays out of trouble.

I am a little bit concerned that were feeding into an incipient housing bubble," he said. We did get into a lot of trouble with a housing bubble in the mid-2000s and itand it caused a lot of damage to the economy, so I dont think we need to be feeding that here given the situation."

What we found out from that era was that housing prices can fall nationally and it does have big consequences for the macroeconomy," Mr. Bullard added, noting that when it comes to the housing market, we dont need to, you know, push that any harder than its already being pushed by markets."

Mr. Bullard appeared open to acting more aggressively on paring back the mortgage buying but didnt call for it explicitly. I would just emphasize that easier financial conditions are expected to move through interest-sensitive sectors, and housing is one of the biggest interest-sensitive sectors," he said, flagging the collective impact of the central bank asset buying.

Some at the Fed, notably New York Fed President John Williams, have played down a direct link between the central banks mortgage bond buying and housing in favor of looking at how both types of purchases help financial conditions support growth.

Mr. Williams said Monday that mortgage bond buying lowers housing borrowing costs on the margin," and that he is focused more on the broad impact of buying both types of securities. Mr. Williams also said he believes the job market hasnt yet improved enough for the Fed to reduce its asset buying.

Mr. Bullard, who is not a voting member of the rate setting FOMC this year, reiterated that based on the evidence the job market is tight and has met, or soon will meet, the Feds thresholds for trimming the purchases.

I just dont think were going to have any trouble at all meeting the substantial further progress" threshold laid out by the FOMC, he said. If you dont think its good enough today, it will be by the end of the year."

Mr. Bullard also said he expects that inflation, as measured by the personal-consumption expenditures price index stripped of food and energy costs, will rise to 3% this year, followed by a 2.5% increase next year. He said this would be a good outcome because the Fed aims for inflation of above 2% to make up for when inflation was below that target.

The St. Louis Fed leader also said the big drop in bond yields over recent days was a bullish" development for the economic outlook, noting it makes me comfortable with the idea that the economy will continue to grow very robustly through the second half of this year, and go through the first half of 2022, and all of 2022."

Mr. Bullard also reiterated that he doesnt expect the Fed to raise the federal-funds rate target range, now near zero, until late 2022. The Fed has used its Treasury and mortgage bond buying to augment the stimulative power of its rock bottom short-term rate policy.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text)

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.
Indian Navy has received its 10th anti-submarine warfare and maritime patrol aircraft P-8I Poseidon from the US-based aerospace company Boeing. The aircraft is used for maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare.

Ministry of Defence had initially signed a contract with Boeing for eight P-8I aircraft in 2009 for Indian Navy. It later signed another contract for four additional P-8I aircraft in 2016.

"This is the second aircraft to be delivered under the option contract for four additional aircraft that the Indian Ministry of Defence awarded in 2016," the statement said. "In addition to unmatched maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare capabilities, the P-8I has been deployed to assist during disaster relief and humanitarian missions."

Based on Boeing's next-generation 737 commercial airplane, the P-8I is a variant of the P-8A Poseidon used by the US Navy. India was Boeing's first international customer for this aircraft. The first P-8I aircraft was inducted into the Indian Navy in 2013; it had received its ninth P-8I aircraft in November last year.

Indian Navy deploys its existing fleet of P-8I aircraft to keep track of movement of ships and submarines in the Indian Ocean Region as well as humanitarian missions during disaster.

The patrol aircraft is an integral part of the Indian Navy's fleet and has surpassed 30,000 flight hours since it was inducted in 2013, the statement read.

"Boeing supports India's growing P-8I fleet by providing training of Indian Navy flight crews, spare parts, ground support equipment and field service representative support," its statement said.

Boeing's integrated logistics support has enabled a high state of fleet readiness at the lowest possible cost, it added.

(With PTI inputs)

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.

Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!!

Topics
France on Tuesday called on all its citizens in Afghanistan to leave the country over security concerns, the French embassy in Kabul said, as the Taliban pressed on with a blistering offensive while foreign forces completed their withdrawal.

"The government will set up a special flight on the morning of July 17th, departing from Kabul, in order to allow the return to France of the entire French community," the embassy said in a statement, adding the flight will be free of cost.

"The Embassy of France formally recommends to all French citizens to take this special flight or to leave the country immediately by their own means."

France joins a growing list of countries that have either told their citizens to leave, or evacuated them -- including in recent days India and China.

The embassy said it will not be in a position to ensure the safe departure of citizens choosing to stay beyond July 17.

The Taliban have launched an offensive across the country since early May, when US-led foreign forces began their final withdrawal, which is now almost complete.

The hardline Islamist group has swept through much of the north, and the government now holds little more than a constellation of provincial capitals that must largely be resupplied by air.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.
Part of the small memorial honoring the recently discovered mass grave at the Kamloops Residential School. The memorial was in front of Queens Park Legislative building in Toronto.

Unmarked graves that may hold the bodies of more than 160 Indigenous children were found this month on Penelakut Island, previously known as Kuper Island, in British Columbia, Canada.

Representatives of the Penelakut Tribe found the graves on the grounds of the former Kuper Island Industrial School, part of a network of mandatory state-run boarding schools for Indigenous children in Canada that subjected children to traumatic family separation, cultural erasure, and abuse. Penelakut Tribe members revealed the discovery in a newsletter that they shared online with neighboring tribes on July 8.

This grim finding is the latest such discovery in recent months. To date, more than 1,000 unmarked children's graves and remains have been identified at former Indigenous residential boarding schools in Canada. In addition to the Penelakut Island graves, unmarked burials at three more locations were detected by First Nations communities between May and July, using ground-penetrating radar scans at sites in British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

Related: 10 things we learned about the first Americans in 2018

On May 28, representatives of the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc Nation reported finding the remains of 215 children that were buried at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, run by the Catholic Church in British Columbia from 1890 until 1978, Reuters reported . Just a few weeks later, on June 24, the Cowessess First Nation announced that radar scans detected up to 751 unmarked graves at the site of the Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan, operated by the Catholic Church from 1899 to 1997, according to BBC News .

Then, on June 30, representatives of the Lower Kootenay Band, a member band of the Ktunaxa Nation, revealed that a recent search at the site of the former St. Eugene's Mission School  another Catholic institution in British Columbia, open from 1890 to 1970  uncovered another 182 unmarked, shallow graves holding children's remains, CNN reported on July 2. (The Penelakut Tribe did not specify how the graves on the island were detected or if remains had been recovered, according to the CBC .)

Some of the children who died at Kamloops were as young as 3 years old, NPR reported, and accounts from former students at dozens of residential schools describe systematic abuse and neglect. Student deaths over decades numbered in the thousands, according to a government report produced in 2015 by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and children who died were often buried on school grounds so that authorities could avoid the costs of shipping remains home to their families.

Cree students at their desks with their teacher in a classroom at All Saints Indian Residential School, in Lac La Ronge, Saskatchewan, March 1945. (Image credit: Library and Archives Canada/National Film Board of Canada fonds/a134110)

For almost 150 years in Canada  from 1863 to as recently as 1998  more than 130 residential schools such as Kamloops, Marieval, St. Eugene's and Kuper Island were funded by the Canadian government, and until 1969 many of the schools were operated by Christian churches. These schools forcibly separated Indigenous children from their families and isolated them from their communities and cultures, according to Indigenous Foundations , a website for the First Nations Studies Program at the University of British Columbia.

During that time, more than 150,000 Indigenous children in Canada  from First Nations, Metis (Indigenous people in parts of Canada whose are of Indigenous and European ancestry) and Inuit communities  attended these schools, Indian Country Today reported . Until 1951, all Indigenous children ages 7 to 15 were required by law to attend a residential school, according to Indigenous Foundations. However, abuse continued as long as the schools were in operation, and students "received cruel and sometimes fatal treatment," representatives of the Lower Kootenay Band said in a June 30 statement .

First Nations children hold letters that spell "Goodbye" at Fort Simpson Indian Residential School in Canada's Northwest Territories, in 1922. (Image credit: Library and Archives Canada/Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development fonds/a102575)

"Horrendous abuse"

At the schools, children of all ages followed strict rules that restricted their use of Indigenous languages and forbade the practice of their traditions and customs. Breaking the rules meant harsh punishments, with former students describing "horrendous abuse at the hands of residential school staff: physical, sexual, emotional and psychological," according to Indigenous Foundations.

George Guerin, a former chief of the Musqueam Nation who attended the Kuper Island Residential School in British Columbia, recalled that one of the instructors, Sister Marie Baptiste, "had a supply of sticks as long and thick as pool cues. When she heard me speak my language, shed lift up her hands and bring the stick down on me," according to Indigenous Foundations. From 2007 to 2015, Indigenous people who were former students at residential schools filed nearly 38,000 claims for injuries caused by physical and sexual abuse at the schools, according to the CBC .

For thousands of children, the schools' rampant abuse and neglect were deadly. The 2015 report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission documented 3,200 children who died while at residential schools, but the number of deaths could be 10 times higher than that, the CBC reported. Four years later, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation released the names of 2,800 of the children who could be identified; many of the children's families were never notified about their deaths, BBC News reported in 2019.

Ciricahua Apache children, photographed upon their arrival at the Carlisle Indian School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in the 1880s. This was the first government-run boarding school for Native American children in the U.S., operating from 1879 to 1918. (Image credit: U.S. Library of Congress)

Beginning in the late 19th century, such residential schools were also established for Native Americans in the United States, according to the Library of Congress . Children at these schools were likewise separated from their families and traditions, and were subjected to harsh rules and often brutal treatment.

"Though we dont know how many children were taken in total, by 1900 there were 20,000 children in Indian boarding schools, and by 1925 that number had more than tripled," according to the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS), a nonprofit that formed in 2012 to increase public awareness about the U.S. Boarding School Policy of 1869. "The stated purpose of this policy was to 'Kill the Indian, Save the Man,'" NABS says. By the 1960s, the policy likely separated hundreds of thousands of Native American children from their families. Many children never returned from the schools, "and their fates have yet to be accounted for by the U.S. government," according to NABS.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland recently announced the formation of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative to review "the troubled legacy of federal boarding school policies," according to a June 22 statement issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Representatives of the Tkemlups te Secwepemc First Nation will release a detailed report of their Kamloops findings on July 15, Global News Canada reported , and the Canadian government has pledged $27 million to Indigenous communities for the identification of burial sites that are still hidden, according to the CBC .

"This was a crime against humanity, an assault on First Nations," Chief Bobby Cameron of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous First Nations in Saskatchewan, told NPR after the discovery of the graves at Marieval.

"We will not stop until we find all the bodies," Cameron said.

Originally published on Live Science.
An estimated 1 billion sea creatures were cooked to death across the Pacific Northwest during the region's record-breaking heat wave, a marine biologist said.

The shores of Kitsilano Beach in Vancouver, Canada, have been littered with tens of thousands of cooked and putrefying marine animals  including clams, mussels, sea stars and snails  after temperatures across British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest smashed records in late June, reaching a recorded high of 121.3 degrees Fahrenheit (49.6 degrees Celsius) roughly 96 miles (155 kilometers) northeast of Vancouver in the village of Lytton, British Columbia on June 29, according to Canadas weather service, Environment Canada.

Chris Harley, a marine biologist at the University of British Columbia, was "stunned" to discover the mounds of dead animals after smelling the stench. Harley thinks that more than a billion seashore animals along the coastline of the Salish Sea  which stretches from British Columbia down to Washington  may have fried in the blistering temperatures.

Related: 10 steamy signs that climate change is speeding up

Intertidal animals such as clams and mussels can only endure high temperatures for a short period of time, he said. But during the heat wave, those unlucky animals may have been exposed to the shoreline heat in the mid-afternoon when tides were lowest, trapping them on land for more than 6 hours.

"A mussel on the shore in some ways is like a toddler left in a car on a hot day," Harley told CBC news . "They are stuck there until the parent comes back, or in this case, the tide comes back in, and there's very little they can do. They're at the mercy of the environment. And on Saturday, Sunday, Monday [June 26-28], during the heatwave, it just got so hot that the mussels, there was nothing they could do."

Shellfish were also baked alive in Washington's Hood Canal, a part of the Salish sea, with the Hama Hama company posting an image on Instagram and calling the situation "clamitous."

Clam beds in Washington state's Hood Canal were littered with the cooked and putrefying mollusks. (Image credit: Adam James/Hama Hama Oyster Company)

The mass death will have a temporary, but significant, effect on the water quality of the more than 4,000-mile-long (6440 km) Salish Sea coastline, according to Harley, as mussels and clams help to filter chemicals, such as excess nitrogen, and pathogens from seawater. Mussels are also in the middle of the food chain, so the die-off will have an impact on the coast's ability to provide nutrition for ducks and starfish, which eat the mollusks

Populations of the sea creatures should rebound in a year or two, but more frequent, and more severe, heat waves could have a more lasting impact on their numbers, Harley said.

The last heat wave to kill shellfish in this way was in 2019, when thousands of mussels were cooked to death in Bodega Bay, a bay north of San Francisco.

"If we don't like it, then we need to work harder to reduce emissions and take other measures to reduce the effects of climate change," Harley said.

Originally published on Live Science
Evolutionary scientists have been thinking about same-sex sexual behavior all wrong.

That's the implication of a new study on same-sex behavior in animals . Instead of asking why animals engage in same-sex behavior (SSB), researchers should be asking, "Why not?" the authors said.

If they're right, same-sex sex may not have evolved independently in different animals for adpative reasons. Instead, same-sex sex may have emerged very early in time and could persist simply because engaging in it doesn't cost animals much, evolutionarily speaking.

"Usually, when evolutionary biologists see a trait that's really widespread across evolutionary lineages, we at least consider the idea that the trait is ancestral and was preserved in all those lineages," said Julia Monk, a doctoral candidate at Yale University, who co-authored the new research. "So why hadn't people considered that hypothesis for SSB?"

Related: Alternative Lifestyles in the Wild

In evolutionary science, same-sex sexual behavior has long been viewed as a conundrum: Why would animals spend time and energy doing something sexual that won't pass along their genes to the next generation? And yet, same-sex sexual behavior has been observed in at least 1,500 species, ranging from lowly squash bugs to humans.

(To avoid anthropomorphizing, the researchers don't use the terms "homosexual," "heterosexual," "gay" or "straight" to refer to animal behavior.)

"We can't assign sexuality to animals  we're trying our best to learn about them by observing their behaviors," Monk told Live Science. "And those behaviors shouldn't be mapped onto human cultural and societal contexts."

The assumption that there must be an evolutionary reason for all this same-sex sex has led researchers to search for possible benefits to same-sex behavior. For example, in humans, researchers have found that having a gay son or brother seems to be associated with a woman having more offspring in total . Other studies have posited that same-sex sexual behavior is a side effect of other genes that have reproductive benefits.

In evolutionary biology, the ability of an animal to reproduce given its environment is called fitness. It's entirely possible that in some species, same-sex sex could have fitness benefits, Monk and her colleagues wrote in their paper, published Nov. 18 in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution . But these evolutionary benefits may not be required for same-sex sexual behavior to exist.

Imagine, instead, that the earliest sexually reproducing animals simply tried to mate with any and all members of their species  regardless of sex. This might have been a logical pathway for evolution, because all the bells and whistles that distinguish males from females are energetically costly to evolve. So any effort expended on mating with the same sex would be compensated for by not spending energy evolving and maintaining distinctive secondary sex characteristics , like differing colors, scents and behaviors. Those sex-distinguishing traits may have all come later in the evolutionary chain, the authors argued.

In this formulation, same-sex and different-sex sexual behavior would have started out on an equal footing, early in animal evolution. This could explain why same-sex sex is so common throughout the animal kingdom: It didn't evolve multiple times independently, but was instead part of the fabric of animal evolution from the start.

The new hypothesis undercuts old assumptions about same-sex behaviors, said Caitlin McDonough, a doctoral candidate at Syracuse University and a study co-author. Much of the research done on these sexual behaviors assumes that same-sex sex is costly for animals and that different-sex sex is not costly, she said.

"You really need to go through those assumptions and test the costs and benefits of both behaviors in a system," McDonough said.

If same-sex behaviors go back to the roots of animal evolution, the fact that these behaviors are so common today makes sense, Monk said.

"If you assume a trait like SSB is a new development and has high costs, it's going to be really hard to understand how it could become more and more common from those low initial frequencies," she said. "It would have to have really large fitness benefits, or be otherwise impervious to natural selection, for that outcome to be probable.

"On the other hand, if you assume a trait is ancestral and was originally common, and it has low costs, it's much more likely that it would remain widespread to this day, even if it doesn't seem to contribute much to fitness."

One piece of evidence supporting this hypothesis is that some echinoderms, including sea stars and sea urchins, engage in same-sex sexual behavior. Echinoderms evolved early in the history of life, likely in the Precambrian period more than 541 million years ago.

But other evidence is slim, largely because scientists haven't systematically studied same-sex sexual behavior in animals. Most observations have been accidental, and biologists have often viewed sex between two animals of the same sex as irrelevant or improper to note, Monk said. Sometimes, researchers automatically assume that same-sex behavior isn't really about sex but instead is about dominance or bonding. And often, if two animals are observed having sex, they're assumed to be male and female without any confirmatory evidence, McDonough said.

"The science that we do is really informed and influenced by cultural biases," she said.

Thinking of same-sex sexual behavior as a standard part of the animal repertoire would change how researchers approach the study of the evolution of these behaviors. The next step, Monk said, would be to gather more data on the prevalence of same-sex behavior in animals. Then, researchers could compare species from across the tree of life to determine if all linages show same-sex behavior. If so, it would strengthen the argument that same-sex sexuality was part of life for the ancestors of all of today's sexually reproducing animals.
Denham Springs, LA (70726)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms. High 91F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms developing overnight. Low around 75F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.
Express-News file photo

Dallas-based Preston Hollow Capital will bring more housing to the rapidly growing Brooks development on the Southside.

The investment company signed a ground lease with Brooks Development Authority to develop 450 detached and duplex rental single-family rental units to the 1,308-acre community, according to a news release.
Click here to read the full article.

Kirill Serebrennikov made an appearance by FaceTime on Monday after the premiere of Petrovs Flu, which bowed in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. The 51-year-old helmer is banned from leaving Russia and was unable to attend the opening.

I would like to thank everyone who is here. This is the first time that I am showing my film, Serebrennikov told the audience. I am obviously delighted and I am celebrating this 21st century which, thanks to new technologies, allows us to be together.

This year marks the second no-show on the Croisette for the Russian director, after he was forced to skip the 2018 premiere of competition title Leto while under house arrest. Serebrennikov was sentenced in June 2020 to a three-year suspended prison sentence and issued a fine over a case of embezzlement, on what his supporters say are trumped-up charges.

Walking the red carpet outside the Lumiere Theater before the Petrovs Flu premiere, the cast and producers wore red badges bearing the directors photo and initials. An empty seat was symbolically reserved for Serebrennikov inside the theater.

The film, which is adapted from an award-winning 2018 novel by Alexei Salnikov and was written while Serebrennikov was under house arrest, is a deadpan, hallucinatory romp through a post-Soviet Russia in the grips of a mysterious flu epidemic.

Varietys Guy Lodge described it as a film that moves as freely and recklessly as possible, untethered by short-leash rules of time, space or storytelling, and praised it as a rowdy, exhilarating return to top form for Serebrennikov.

Speaking to Variety before the films premiere, the director described the experience of making Petrovs Flu while standing trial in a Moscow court as living parallel lives, adding that the film process helped me not to think about all this absurd, Kafkan process.

Commenting on the 20-month period of house arrest, Serebrennikov described himself as a pioneer of isolation, deadpanning, Now its a global trend. But the director waxed philosophical about a creatively fruitful period that led to his second straight Cannes competition premiere, adding: Focusing on yourself is not really bad. Sometimes it opens a lot of new sources for the future, for the next step in your life. You need to find something really good in this isolation. And its possible.

Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
By Katie Kitamura

Riverhead. 225 pp. $26

- - -

At the opening of Katie Kitamura's intense, unsettling new novel, "Intimacies," an unnamed narrator has left New York in a fugue of grief and signed a one-year contract in The Hague. "I rode the tram without purpose and walked for hours at a time," she tells us, "so that I would sometimes become lost and need to consult the map on my phone."

This woman knows no one in The Hague, which allows her to concentrate more than she might like on the legendary city with its "veneer of civility." The harder she looks, the more she sees beneath the "docile surface" of the streets. Her insistent perception - the real action of this novel - is her greatest skill and her riskiest vulnerability.

"Intimacies" is very much a story that seems to be something familiar but soon morphs into something disorientingly strange. Soon after arriving in The Hague, the narrator begins dating a handsome man named Adriaan. Little has been articulated, but much assumed between them. "There was already a certain amount of routine to the way we were together," she says. "That regularity had many possible meanings and was difficult to interpret, at times I thought it was the expression of an intrinsic ease between us, some deep familiarity superseding our many differences."

One of those differences is that he has a wife and family.

As a single woman in a foreign city presuming on the unspoken plans of a married man, she knows she's in a precarious position. That wariness, though, is not enough to keep her from falling in love or moving into Adriaan's apartment when he goes to Lisbon to see his estranged wife. Adriaan says he plans to ask for a divorce. But then his calls become more infrequent, and his trip to Lisbon is inexplicably extended another week. And another. ...

For a smart woman hyper-alert to the nature of language, Adriaan's oblique, infrequent text messages create a crazy-making predicament. But the narrator's attention to the subtlest inflections of communication is not merely a personality trait; it's the central qualification for her job: She's an interpreter working at the World Court.

The incongruity between her domestic life and professional life is what makes "Intimacies" so fascinating. While the narrator is trying to figure out what's going on with her boyfriend, she's spending all day working on a trial that's generating headlines around the world. The former president of a war-torn African country has been apprehended and brought to The Hague to answer charges that he committed crimes against humanity. (Think Charles Taylor or Laurent Gbagbo.) For reasons the interpreter cannot fathom, the former president's defense team has requested her personally. His chief lawyer offers a chilling compliment: "He likes you."

The former president, like the narrator, is never named, an omission that emphasizes their fraught and peculiar relationship. "My job," she says, "is to make the space between languages as small as possible." And as we learn more, we understand just what kind of psychological demands that process of translation involves in this setting.

Although the narrator is horrified by reports of the former president's atrocities, her work requires her to draw so close to this elegant monster that she can inhabit his mind. During victims' testimonies, she must attend to every bullet, every drop of blood, every scream. "Linguistic accuracy was not enough," she says. "Our daily activity hinged on the repeated description - description, elaboration, and delineation - of matters that were, outside, generally subject to euphemism and elision."

To ensure a fair trial, the interpreter believes she must engage in an act of intimacy analogous to love but essentially obscene. "Out of what I can only describe as an excess of imagination, he became the person whose perspective I occupied," she says of the former president. "It was disquieting in the extreme, like being placed inside a body I had no desire to occupy. I was repulsed, to find myself so permeable."

Through parts of this story, Kitamura is exploring impossibly remote territory; few of us will ever have any contact, let alone close contact, with someone who committed crimes against humanity. Her narrator's experiences in the translation box raise some of the same questions as Edna O'Brien's novel "The Little Red Chairs," which imagines the life of a woman briefly infatuated with a man she doesn't realize is Radovan Karadzic. But with her Jamesian attention to the slightest movement of bodies and words, Kitamura keeps "Intimacies" rooted to the ordinary domestic experiences of her narrator, her petty jealousies, her passing suspicions.

The effect is a kind of emotional intensity that's gripping because it feels increasingly unsustainable. Who could endure that raw-nerve sensitivity to the power of language to love, to deceive, to promise, to kill? Kitamura pulls us through a rising panic of hyper-awareness until the story's fever finally breaks with a note of hope and relief. But that can't quell the novel's reverberations, which expose something incomprehensible about the moral dimensions of modern life.

- - -

Ron Charles writes about books for The Washington Post and hosts TotallyHipVideoBookReview.com.
Click here to read the full article.

The Cannes Film Markets Fantastic 7 sidebar returned this year for a pitching session showcasing some of the best genre film projects from emerging talent around the world.

Monica Garcia Massague, the general manager of Sitges Intl. Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, and the lead organizer of Fantastic 7, noted that folk horror was a recurrent theme in this years seven selected projects. The subgenre, which has gained wider popularity in recent years through the success of Ari Asters films Midsommar and Hereditary, typically involves stories inspired from traditional tales and set in natural or rural settings.

In Cannes, the Fantastic 7 initiative connects representatives from seven film festivals around the world who each select a project from their region that befits the Fantastic 7 frame; the project is then pitched to industry members, and the talent is able to connect with potential business partners for funding or co-production purposes.

The idea is that each festival has an overview of their territory, and they choose the best project that more or less anticipates the new trend of horror movies, Garcia Massague told Variety.

The film festivals this year were from seven different countries and almost every continent in the world: Sitges Intl. Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia (Spain), Bucheon Intl. Fantastic Film Festival (South Korea), Cairo Intl. Film Festival (Egypt), Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara (Mexico), New Zealand Intl. Film Festival (New Zealand), SXSW South by Southwest Film Festival (U.S.), and Toronto Intl. Film Festival (Canada).

In her presentation of the pitch session, Garcia Massague highlighted the strong female presence in this years talent cohort, with four out of the seven directors being women. Apart from the emerging talent, this years Fantastic 7 also had a female director as the godmother of the initiative, one whos become an inspiration and an example to many in the horror-thriller genre: Canadian filmmaker Mary Harron, known for writing and directing American Psycho and I Shot Andy Warhol.

Harron mentioned in her video-recorded introductory talk how recent successful films such as Parasite and Get Out have helped bring wider acceptance and understanding of the fantastic genre to mainstream audiences  inciting this emerging group of filmmakers to follow suit in redefining the structures and limits of the genre.

Under the folk horror label, two of the seven films stood out for Garcia Massague: The Passenger, which is already in production with a 3 million-euro budget, and fuses sci-fi with a characteristically Spanish style of aesthetic horror in a story taking us through a dangerous road trip across northern Spain, as well as the Canadian film set for the Toronto Film Festival, Polaris, produced by Epic Pictures and directed by Kirsten Carthew  pitched as Mad Max set in the Arctic, with an all-female cast touching themes of friendship, hope, and a return to nature.

Other notable highlights at Fantastic 7 included a Chile-Peru-Brazil co-production directed by Elisa Eliash. Her new film Fiebre (Fever), set for Guadalajara Intl. Film Festival, sees a child being absorbed into the world of a painting as he enters a maze of images that mixes animation and real-life filming, both in color and black-and-white. The film has a budget of $450,000 and is in the final stages of post-production, soon ready to start worldwide distribution.

Another highlight came from an original project by the young Korean director Yu Eun Jeong in her new film Lay the Ghost, scheduled for the next edition of Bucheon Intl. Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea. After her 2018 debut feature Ghost Walk, the filmmaker returns to the world of ghosts to evoke themes of death and disappearance. This new film delves deeper into fantasy-horror tropes while blending the political in a family story tied to historical events in Korea in which a corporate firm mysteriously killed hundreds of innocent people. Producer Doohee Park said they are still looking for investors and are soon ready to start shooting now that they have finalised the 12th version of the script for this Guillermo Del Toro-influenced project.

The Fantastic 7 pitching session also unveiled promising works from New Zealand, Egypt and the U.S. on themes typically recurrent in the horror genre such as isolation and dying, through tones sometimes humorous otherwise petrifying. On the attendance  although a representative from the Guadalajara Festival was the only non-European from the list of special guests to make the event in Cannes, many at the session were thrilled to be finally back in an in-person pitching session at this years Cannes Film Market.

Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Click here to read the full article.

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Kyle Massey in Washington after the former Disney star missed his court date on Monday morning.

According to the King County Prosecuting Attorneys Office, Massey was due in court at 8:30 a.m. on Monday to be arraigned on a charge of immoral communication with a minor. Massey did not appear, and a judge has signed a $100,000 warrant for his arrest. Masseys attorney did not immediately respond to Varietys request for comment.

This was not the first court date that Massey has missed in regards to this case, as he also did not appear for the initial arraignment on June 28. According to the Prosecuting Attorneys Office, an original summons sent to a Los Angeles address was returned to sender and received by the Department of Judicial Administration on June 24.

The charge against Massey, who appeared on Disney Channel shows like Thats So Raven and Corey in the House, was filed on June 14 in King County. According to court documents, Massey has been charged with intent to reach a minor, [and] did communicate with a person believed to be a minor, for immoral purposes of a sexual nature between December 2018 and January 2019. Massey was previously sued in 2019 for allegedly sending explicit texts and photos to a 13-year-old girl.

Masseys lawyer, Lee A. Hutton, responded to the charge in a statement to Variety on June 29.

It is unfortunate that Kyle Massey had to learn through the media yesterday that the 2019 allegations have resurfaced in the State of Washington a year after their dismissal, Hutton said in the statement. Massey claims that the allegations then and now are extortive. The statements made to the police regarding the accusers own counsels advice seem peculiar, tearing away the veracity from the stale allegations. The accusers in no hidden agenda attempt to use the Washington courts as a platform for revenge after losing the civil matter. Indeed, California counsel withdrew from representation from the accuser leaving us to conclude that he was not willing to make misrepresentations to the court. The Washington matter is already showing problematic signs. Massey was never properly served or notified as represented to the court and the pleadings are procedurally and substantively deficient on its face. Massey intends to aggressively defend these accusations again and will seek civil damages from those that refuse to hear the facts. We plan to seek an early dismissal  finally putting these extortive attempts to rest.

Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Click here to read the full article.

Paramount Plus, the subscription VOD service backed by ViacomCBS, is accelerating its international rollout and aims to be available in 45 territories by the end of next year. It expects to export a strong position on production sector diversity alongside movies and series,

One of the policies I am most proud of started in the U.K., and now is a global policy, is our no diversity, no commission production policy. It applies to our entire production business in more than 180 countries. If you dont have diversity on your crew or in your cast, then we are not going to commission (the content), said Kelly Day, president of streaming at ViacomCBS Networks International. She was speaking Monday at a presentation operated by the Cannes Market, an adjunct to the Cannes Film Festival.

Ben Frow director of programming in the U.K. really championed this a couple of years back, and disappointingly got a lot of pushback, a lot of grief. But weve held our ground and expanded it in the fall of last year to now be a global policy. And, its made the shows better.

Paramount Plus has emerged from the merger of Viacom and CBC and from the ashes of CBS All Access. It now operates in the U.S., Canada, the Nordic region and and 23 markets in Latin America. Australia is up next, where the platform will be the first to offer live sports, and where the outfit has begun commissioning local content. Sex comedy Spreadsheet went into production in recent days.

While Paramount Pictures movies and CBS and Starz shows are the core offering, pricing, and the content mix will vary from market to market. It holds Pay 1 movie rights in some territories, but not all.

The service is available from as little as $3 per month in some markets to A$8.99 ($6.74) in Australia. We think that is competitive price in very competitive market, said Day, acknowledging that consumers are also stacking up multiple VOD subscriptions. Sports initially will be included in that price. But we will reevaluate thereafter.

European markets are likely to be high priories for Paramount Plus expansion in 2022. But the group is also simultaneously expanding Pluto, an advertising-supported streaming service that was acquired some three years ago. Day said it is expected to launch in France and Italy later in 2021 following launches in the U.S and Latin America.

Audiences love it. People still like that (linear), they like turning on TV, diving in and getting immersed in it. Pluto has taken a contrarian path against a heavily VOD environment of the last two year, said Day. People like that it is free, that it is very widely distributed (through deals with major vendors) it is intuitive and easy to use, does not require registration. We definitely see it as a compliment to Paramount Plus and there is a bit of back and for the between them  there is a Paramount Plus channel on Pluto  that serves as a barker or promotional channel.

The international rollout of Paramount Plus will necessitate further content localization. Day said that ViacomCBS International Studios now operates all over the world and is the most direct path for local producers to pitch their projects.

Best opportunities for independent contributions exist in local series. Day said that in Australia the service would be looking for the premium end of scripted comedy and drama, and original content that can sit alongside Paramount Pictures movies, Showtime series, Nickelodeon and MTV brands.

Opportunities for acquisitions of completed shows exist at different levels and are greatest in scripted and unscripted drama and documentaries.

Looking at our five-year plan we see investment in content continuing to go up. Demand for content does not seem to be anywhere close to the top. We are going to see a lot more truly local content that is travelling globally. Credit where credit is due: Netflix has pioneered this investment in and development of incredible local originals, said Day. We have this belief that if we serve that local audience there are going to be lots of audiences all over the world that are also interested in those stories.

We are going to see more language diversity, story diversity, cultural diversity that travels across global services. I think it is amazing. It is going to bring better content.

Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Click here to read the full article.

In kinky Cannes Film Festival sensation Titane, an accident survivor winds up with a metal plate in her head, wounds ooze blood as black as motor oil and a car-show model dramatically expands the definition of autoerotic climax, getting pregnant after making it in the back seat of a pimped-out Caddy  by herself.

Proving that her cannibalism-themed feature debut, Raw, wasnt merely an attention-grabbing stunt, French director Julia Ducournau returns to that untamed place where appetites run dark, using the human body as a vehicle to deconstruct ideas of gender, desire and incredibly dysfunctional family dynamics. Its a daringly queer and undoubtedly controversial ride, resulting in a most uncommon monster movie  a cross between David Cronenbergs Crash and the uterine horrors of Takashi Miikes Gozu, perhaps  where the main character hardly ever speaks and what Ducournau is trying to say is wildly open to interpretation.

From the beginning, its hard to identify what kind of antihero were dealing with  or even what gender the character is supposed to be. Bored in the back of the family car, short-haired Alexia kicks the drivers seat while making low vroom-vroom sounds, prompting Dad (a cameo from director Bertrand Bonello) to lose control. The car spins and smashes against a cement guard rail, knocking the kid hard into the window and requiring a lifesaving titanium plate to be installed just above the right ear.

Revealed to be a girl, Alexia is a human Transformer of sorts, and this implant may as well be her first upgrade. Titane never makes clear what impact the operation has on Alexia, but seems to revel in the idea that shes simultaneously broken and made stronger by it. The first thing she does upon leaving the hospital is run out to the parking lot and kiss the car that nearly killed her  and then the film flashes forward a couple decades to observe her getting far more intimate with automobiles.

From this point on, Alexia will be played by tall, angular Agathe Rousselle, a model-actor whose prior work (most notably the gender-subverting short film Looking for the Self) toys with ideas of androgyny and seduction. Ducournau introduces this newcomer in an elaborate plan sequence, like something out of a classic De Palma movie, opening with a close-up of now-adult Alexias lacerated scalp  a Frankenstein scar that gives her a tough, punk cred as she struts through the crowd.

Alexia works as a dancer for hire, and the long take ends with her twerking on the hood of a flaming muscle car, a show thats at once gymnastically impressive and a major red herring. Shes hardly the sex object such an introduction might suggest, although Ducournau continues to play tricks with that persona for most of the first act, as in the post-show group shower, where Alexia drops the soap and gets her long hair tangled in another dancers nipple piercing. In a more traditional horror movie, a character like this, leaving the venue after everyone else, might wind up victimized  raped or stabbed by a lusty serial killer. But thats not at all how the night plays out, and before long, Alexia has demonstrated that she can defend herself just fine.

She may, in fact, be a lusty serial killer herself, although its worth pointing out that shes far less desirous of flesh than she is of metal. Maybe its that titanium plate in her head. Who knows? Theres not much in the way of cinematic precedent for this story, making the movies logic tricky to follow at times. Her attractions, when they strike, are of an almost magnetic nature, although its not at all intuitive why this young pyro sets fire to her home (with her parents locked inside) and then claims to be the long-lost son of a lonely fire chief (Vincent Lindon).

With Titane, audiences occasionally just have to give themselves over to the movies demented momentum, taking whatever perverse pleasure they can from Ducournaus willingness to push the boundaries: Alexia doesnt stop at cutting her hair and binding her breasts, but decides to demolish her face as well, smashing it against the sink in one of the movies many wince-worthy moments. As if DP Ruben Impens velvety, high-contrast cinematography werent dark enough, theres the unnerving low chanting of Jim Williams score to make it all sound like a Black Mass.

Lindons character, Vincent, enters the film relatively late, but proves to be far more relatable than its unpredictable protagonist, so audiences will almost certainly find their sympathies shifting toward him for the next two acts. Between his grotesquely bulging muscles and the painful-looking injections to his bruised buttocks (likely steroids, but never specified), the character is attempting to change his body as well  although Alexia couldnt have known they share this tendency when she hatched her plan.

She presumably wants to escape the police, although doing so among a squad of pompiers (the studly, ultra-masculine firefighters who serve as a kind of hyper-sexualized fantasy in France) makes no sense. And then theres the small matter of her pregnancy to conceal. Vincent so desperately wants to believe that Alexia really is his missing son that he looks past the glaring clues to the contrary, but the guys on his team arent convinced  nor are we. While Rousselle certainly looks striking from any angle, she doesnt read as a dude.

Perhaps Ducournau was too effective in establishing Alexias female side up front, making it tough for audiences to transition when the characters decides to switch gears. We can sense the movie building to a big reveal, at which point well discover whatever Alexia might be carrying in her womb, but the movie never gives us the tools to interpret that twist. It doesnt matter if its a baby, a bowling ball or a bloody V8 engine when we dont understand how it got there. With Titane, sometimes the shock can be enough.

Reviewed at Cannes Film Festival (Competition), July 13, 2021. Running time: 108 MIN.

Running Time: Running time: 108 MIN.

Production

(France-Belgium) A Neon (in U.S.), Diaphana (in France) release of a Kazak Prods. production, in co-production with Frakas Prods., Arte France Cinema, VOO et Be TV, with the participation of Canal Plus, Cine Plus, Arte France, Film4, Wild Bunch Intl, Diaphana, with the support of CNC, Eurimages, le Centre du Cinema et de lAudiovisuel de la Federations Wallonie Bruxelles, Creative Europe Media of the European Union, la Fondation Gan pour le Cinema, La Region Provence-Alpes-Cote dAzur, le Pays de Martigues, Metropole Aix-Marseille-Provence, La Region Ile-de-France, in association with Cinemage 15, Cofinova 17, le Tax Shelter du Gouvernement Federal Belge, Inver Tax Shelter. (World sales: Wild Bunch Intl, Paris.) Producers: Jean-Christophe Reymond Co-producers: Jean Yves Rubin, Cassandre Warnauts.

Crew

Director, writer: Julia Ducournau. Camera: Ruben Impens. Editor: Jean-Christophe Bouzy. Music: Jim Williams.

With

Agathe Rousselle, Vincent Lindon, Garance Marillier, Lais Salameh, Bertrand Bonello, Dominique Frot. (French dialogue)

Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina and commissioners voted on Monday in a special call meeting in favor of allowing the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Department of Homeland Security right of entry to 30 acres at the fairgrounds to build a new tent facility for immigrants arrested crossing the border.

According to Laredo Sector Chief Matthew Hudak, the facility would hold 500 people and is intended to hold arrests made in this sector or neighboring sectors. He said that approximately 89,000 arrests have been made in this sector alone, along with 23,000 from Rio Grande Valley and Del Rio.

Hudak said that those received from neighboring sectors would be family units, or at least one adult and one child. The facility is said to be a temporary facility to help manage the flow of incoming migrants in a safer way.

The vote comes after Webb County officially entered into Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts disaster declaration for incoming migrants, allowing it in turn to receive resources from the state. According to Webb Emergency Management Coordinator Steve Landin, the declaration was submitted on Tuesday and opens the door to resources to support both state and federal law enforcement.

Landin added that there was no reference to Abbotts proposed border wall. He had asked state officials if entering the declaration would put the county in support of the wall, to which he was answered that it wasnt and the wall would be a separate issue and had nothing to do with the request for aid.

In regard to the safety concern Hudak had, Landin said that there is a current issue regarding COVID-19 at migrant shelters. This recently led to a quarantine of two migrant shelters, and in two instances, a group of arriving migrants had an infection rate of 40%.

We are not saying it is 40% across the board, but those were two instances which would raise the eyebrow to the City of Laredos health authority, Landin said.

When Commissioner John Galo asked Hudak if agents test detainees on-site, he said that there was no testing in place and that the intake point  the Holding Institute  is where they are tested. This essentially exposes agents to anyone infected.

The tent facility is a multi-million dollar operation that is said to be temporary, but how temporary is a question that commissioner Jesse Gonzalez wanted.

According to Hudak, the facility would have a six-month lease at a minimum, and it would become the new intake point for migrants. However, the facility would remain operational based on flow and need. Hudak said he had not seen a similar facility last over a year. This means that the facility has the potential to be in operation during late February or early March when events at the LIFE Pavilion may take place.

Tijerina said that the fairgrounds are not a small area, and the new facility would be isolated amid its over 137 acres. He hopes to avoid confusion or concern over the location of the facility.

In regard to the emotion surrounding tent facilities, Tijerina referenced that the subject has two sides but said the Biden administration and its lack of responsibility over its employees puts USBP agents and the community at risk. Both he and Galo believe that if asked for, the county would provide rapid test kits.

Hudak clarified that the facility will not be intended to be a jail and will be for family units. Criminal suspects will continue to be dealt with in regular facilities.

Lastly, Hudak elaborated that the new facility would provide employee opportunities, at least 180, with a general starting wage of $18 per hour.

The US governments current policy of Title 42  or the release of migrants back into Mexico  was also discussed, and there is still uncertainty about where it will end up, as it is not an immigration guideline but deals with health safety amid the pandemic.

Regardless, the influx of immigrants, compounded by the COVID pandemic, has put the community and non-governmental organizations in a precarious position.

On Monday, Rep. Henry Cuellar released a statement regarding the migrant influx at the border.

Today, I held a call with Mayor Pete Saenz, Dr. (Victor) Trevino, and (Department of Homeland Security) officials to discuss the immigrant crisis situation in Laredo, Cuellar said. DHS has agreed to suspend lateral transfers of immigrants from the Valley to avoid overburdening NGOs and local medical facilities in Laredo. The DHS Chief Medical Officer will be in Laredo on Wednesday to talk with NGOs, hospitals and local city and county officials to assess the situation. DHS will work with my office to provide the local community with additional resources. I want to thank DHS for their quick response to my request.

cocampo@lmtonline.com
This week, one son became a hero for his own father with a kidney donation, as he was close to receiving dialysis for his progressive disease.

The 67-year-old Gerardo Rios De La Cruz was close to receiving dialysis for his progressive disease. But this week, his 21-year-old son, Gerardo Rios Jr., helped his cause with the much needed donation.

Now the family stated that they are glad being able to shed light on their procedure, as it shows how people can save each other if they take the proactive step of organ donation.

Some time ago, they had told my father that he was going to have to go under dialysis treatment because he had problems with his kidney and had a very small percentage that indicated that his lung was no longer working, Rios Jr. said. Nevertheless, thanks to our doctor at the time, we were able to avoid that. And I was able to donate my own kidney to my father. Thank God the doctor determined that I was at the right age and was compatible with my father to donate.

According to Dr. Grace McNutt  the familys Laredo nephrologist  Rios Jr. was the right age to donate as an individual must be between the ages of 21 and 70. This specific cutoff is due to it being the ideal time for the organ to be considered healthy. The doctor also stated that Rios Jr. was a good donor for his father as his health records were impeccable.

The news came as a big surprise for the family as Rios De La Cruz had been registered under the national organ transplant agency since 2017 to no avail. He had been told by local doctors and other health experts that he would have to wait between 6-8 years for a possible donor. As his son turned of age for donation, he became that hero for his father.

I just felt like a big weight on my shoulders was lifted once we were notified, because I was honestly very worried about the health of my father and was very scared of something bad happening to him, Rios Jr. said. So when I found out that I was compatible, I knew right away that I had to help out.

His father stated that the kidney transplant came at a perfect time as his kidney was becoming progressively less healthy. He was quickly nearing the need for dialysis.

As time went by, my kidney became more debilitated. And I was getting closer to getting dialysis, which happens at the fifth phase of the disease, Rios De La Cruz said. This caused my son to become very worried, and then we consulted this with our doctor, and she told us then that we could do this, as she also told us that a person who receives a donation can also live a complete life as well.

Although Rios De La Cruz stated that he could have definitely survived with dialysis for a few years, he knew that the prognosis was not good considering people with dialysis tend to not have large lifespans. The family doctor states that Rios De La Cruz is now significantly more healthy thanks to the new kidney.

He is now doing significantly better as his kidney now has a function that is normal to his age, McNutt said. He still takes good care of himself. I dont suspect that we will see a drop in his kidney function in the future.

Rios De La Cruz states that he is very appreciative for what his son did and what God allowed him to overcome, as he knew his life was on the line. He states that he hopes to spend much more time now with his family.

Now that I am out of this, I promise to spend much more time with my family and continue my life as normal. For so long, I was not able to do so as you constantly feel sick, down and with infections, and now I can just be me, Rios De La Cruz said. To my son, I would like to always tell him that I am much more grateful for him and what he has done for me because he did something invaluable, and he must know that I love him.

Rios De La Cruz says that now his son can say that he has a part of him.

Rios Jr. and his father believe that people should feel free to donate, as evidence does show that people can live a normal life with just one kidney. In fact, McNutt states those who donate an organ tend to live longer and more healthy lives as well.

There are even studies that have shown that people who have donated a kidney tend to live longer lives than people that do not, McNutt said. And people think that maybe this is because, in general, (people who donate) have closer medical care, so if anything else happens to them, it will be caught early and treated early.

McNutt states that cases like that of the Rios family are not very common. In fact, the doctor believes that live donations are extremely rare and that people who want to provide this kind of donation can certainly quickly find an adequate recipient, and she advises all interested people to do so.

I think there are various factors for this reason, McNutt said. I think that one of them is that a lot of these diseases that cause kidney disease, diabetes and hypertension run in families. So for instance I wanted to donate to my brother who had kidney disease, I might have the same factors too and the disease as well which might make it harder to donate.

Another reason why the doctor believes that donations are needed in Laredo is due to there being no organ transplant facility locally that would encourage people to be part of this life-saving procedure.

Nevertheless, the doctor and the family state that the procedure is fast, safe and effective, as they do check both the donor and the recipient to be viable candidates.

Rios Jr. said that the process was quick, as they began the process in mid-March and by April everything was resolved. Additionally, the operation that Rios Jr. underwent to extract the kidney lasted about three hours while his fathers operation took five.

According to Rios Jr., the process does briefly hurt just like any other medical procedure, but in the end it was worth it to save the life of his father.

The pain is already gone, like I dont even feel anything, even though in the beginning I used to have to take medicine to go to sleep, stool softeners and other medicines to help alleviate the pain, Rios Jr. said. But, in the end, it was worth it for my father.

Rios Jr. states that his plans are now to take care of his father, himself and his family and to study to become a police officer upon graduation. He promises to one day make his dad proud with his career in law enforcement.

According to Shelley Kofler  who works at the University Health Transplant Institute in San Antonio, which is headed by Laredoan Dr. Francisco Cigarroa  anyone could be a donor as long as they satisfy certain age requirements, health requirements and the donor understands the risks of the operations. Once this is resolved, then people can donate organs like Rios Jr. did with his father.

She stated that more education awareness will be made in Laredo with Cigarroa in charge, and she expects for more programs and educational information to be presented.

More information about the kidney donation program can be found by going to the institutes website to check if they are eligible for a donation or not at universitytransplantcenter.com/living-kidney-donation.

jorge.vela@lmtonline.com
The boil water notice in Laredo has been rescinded.

After parts of 10 days with locals and businesses unable to normally consume water, the city announced the news on Tuesday afternoon.

The city reports that it provided the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality the laboratory test results at 4 p.m. It then rescinded the notice within the hour.

The City of Laredo has taken the necessary corrective actions to restore the quality of the water distributed by the public water system used for drinking and human consumption, said the city in a statement.

The city stated that the health department reported that all of the samples that returned Tuesday tested negative for total coliform organisms. It was necessary that after the city lines were flushed, Laredo needed to prove that it could maintain healthy levels afterwards following the treatment.

READ MORE: Council approves water bill credit as boil notice remains in effect

On Monday during a special call meeting at city council, officials for the first time discussed a mylar film that was installed in pipes after the boil water notice in 2019 but was found clogging the lines.

Officials stated that this film  along with operational failures and heat  all combined to result in the boil water notice. Previously, the city managers office stated that now former employees were responsible for the incident after sending too little chlorine into the water system.

Laredos Independence Day celebration was marred with news of the boil water notice extending to the entire city. It was announced that the measure was precautionary, as the city is mandated by the state to provide the notice when chlorine residuals are under the required TCEQ minimum levels.

RELATED: Boil water notice causing businesses issues

There were some concerns about the water in the days prior although at a much smaller level. On July 2, the city stated it was flushing lines in some areas of the city, while the following day officials announced a boil water notice for just a part of the Chacon neighborhood.

But things only got worse. After expanding the notice on July 4 to some neighborhoods mostly in south Laredo earlier in the day, it went city-wide by the afternoon. It was the second incident to span all of Laredo in the past three years after an 11-day boil water notice in 2019.

Laredo has also had smaller boil water notices between those city-wide events including a two-month incident in the Highway 359 area starting June 30, 2020, another four-day event in the same area after the major winter storm of February 2021 and a south Laredo broken water main in May of 2021 which led to students from nine schools being sent home.

As there are likely still many questions, the city stated that the community is welcome to contact Juan Rios of Water Pollution Control at 956-721-2007 or the Utilities Department Main Office at 956-721-2000.

zdavis@lmtonline.com
Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended several criminals and gang members over a 24-hour period.

The first incident occurred during the early morning of July 11, when agents assigned to the Laredo North Station apprehended a group of 12 undocumented individuals on a ranch northwest of the city that included two wanted criminals.

One undocumented individual was identified as Ian Abel Vargas-Sanchez, a 34-year-old Mexican national. Record checks revealed that Vargas-Sanchez has an outstanding warrant from Hays County in San Marcos. Webb County Sheriffs Office deputies took custody of Vargas-Sanchez for extradition.

The second undocumented individual was identified as Anastasio Vasquez-Cano, a 28-year-old Mexican National, with a criminal conviction for Indecency with a Child Sexual Contact. Vasquez-Cano will be prosecuted for his immigration violations and remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

The second incident occurred later that evening when agents from the Laredo South Station apprehended a group of 11 individuals attempting to enter the U.S. in south Laredo.

Edilson Sandoval-Sandoval, a 22-year-old Salvadoran, was identified as having an active warrant out of Harris County for Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child and is a registered sex offender. He also self-identified as being a member of the MS-13 gang. Sandoval-Sandoval will be prosecuted for his immigration violations and remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

The third subject was arrested early the next morning when agents from the Hebbronville Station apprehended a group of four undocumented individuals in a ranch west of Hebbronville, Texas.

Agents discovered one individual, a 28-year-old Salvadoran named Ermes Carcamo-Valladarez, who had an extensive criminal history and a member of the MS-13 gang. He is being held by the U.S. Border Patrol pending criminal prosecution for his immigration violations and will be remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

The final incident occurred several hours later when agents from the Freer Station encountered a white SUV that entered the primary inspection lane of the checkpoint west of Freer, Texas.

Agents arrested Jose Mendez-Prieto, a 35-year-old Mexican national in the U.S. illegally, and found he had an active warrant for a parole violation out of Houston, Texas. Mendez-Prieto was taken into custody by WCSO for extradition.

These apprehensions continue to highlight the dangers that illegal immigration poses to our country, said the USBP in a statement. Laredo Sector agents continue to apprehend undocumented individuals crossing illegally into the United States who have been previously convicted for various crimes and deported to their country of origin. Dangerous criminals such as this endanger our communities by showing a lack of regard for our countrys laws. The agents of the Laredo Sector are committed to their duties of protecting the American people, safeguarding our borders and enhancing the nations economic prosperity.

To report suspicious activity such as human and/or drug smuggling, download the USBP Laredo Sector App or contact the Laredo Sector Border Patrol toll free at 1-800-343-1994. If you see something, say something.
Texas statehouse Democrats are camping out in Washington to try and block the GOP's sweeping elections overhaul bill that makes it harder to vote in the state. A similar move successfully killed an earlier version of the bill on the last day of the legislative session in late May, and lawmakers are hoping for a repeat during the 30-day special session called by the state's Republican governor, Greg Abbott.

Here's an explanation of what the Democrats are trying to do, and how likely it is to work.

WHAT'S THE GOAL?

Democrats have two main objectives. First, they hope to deprive the Legislature of a quorum  the minimum number of representatives who have to be present for the body to operate. Without a quorum, the Legislature can't vote on the voting proposal  or other GOP-backed bills on abortion, transgender athletes and teaching about racism in U.S. history  and nothing will pass.

The second goal has probably already been achieved  drawing attention to the Republican push to tighten Texas voting laws. Many Democrats in Congress have hoped their own sweeping elections bill making it easier to register and vote nationwide could counter pushes in the opposite direction in Texas and several GOP-controlled states. Texas state Democratic lawmakers have been pleading for that bills passage in Washington for weeks. But congressional Democrats so far have been reluctant to change Senate filibuster rules to overcome GOP opposition in that chamber and allow it to pass with a simple majority.

HAS THIS HAPPENED BEFORE?

A minority party walking out of state legislatures to block a bill's passage is rare, but has plenty of precedent.

One of the more dramatic instances occurred in Texas in 2003, when 50 Democratic state lawmakers bolted to Oklahoma to block a Republican redistricting proposal that would cost Democrats five seats in the House of Representatives. That move inspired Wisconsin Democrats eight years later to go to Illinois to stop a Republican bill targeting government workers' unions. Indiana Democrats followed the same playbook that year to try to stop a right-to-work bill there. Republicans have tried it, too. In 2019, 11 GOP legislators in Oregon left for Idaho, blocking a Democratic bill fighting climate change.

DOES THIS EVER WORK?

Not often. In 2003, Texas' then-Republican governor, Rick Perry, called a special session. Democrats fled again, this time to New Mexico, but eventually came back and the redistricting plan passed. Wisconsin Democrats were also unable to stop the GOP bill stripping public sector unions of collective bargaining rights  the Republicans amended the measure so it didn't need a quorum to pass  and the fugitive lawmakers returned after three weeks in Illinois. In Indiana, Republicans eventually withdrew the right-to-work bills. But they passed them the following year, with no walkout.

Oregon is one exception: Democrats eventually withdrew their climate bill, but it was not guaranteed passage even before the GOP flight to Idaho.

In Texas, you could say Democrats won the first round with their walkout last month. When Republicans who control the legislature tried to rush a revised elections bill through at the final hour, Democrats walked out and the session ended and the bill died. But Abbott called them back last week for a special session and this one lasts a month. It will be much harder to run out the clock.

That's in part because lawmakers are people, too  with families to feed and mortgages to pay. Extended stays in other states tend to drain household budgets, not to mention political goodwill with voters. In some cases, they can be threatened with losing their state legislative pay or even potentially be sued, as Oregon's Democratic governor threatened to do to the absent GOP lawmakers. Abbott has already docked lawmakers' pay.

Abbott has other cards to play. He said Monday he would continue to call special sessions, until Democrats relent. He also threatened to arrest the lawmakers once they return.

WHY GO TO WASHINGTON?

Generally, state lawmakers head to neighboring states to avoid the police at home. Home-state police can be empowered to round up the AWOL lawmakers and force them to fulfill their legal duty to be present for the legislative session. In Texas, for example, House rules say that any members absent during a quorum call can be sent for and arrested by a simple majority vote of those present. The House sergeant-at-arms is empowered to carry this out.

In May, the Texas Democrats didn't have to travel out of state because they only needed to gum up the statehouse floor for a couple of hours to kill the bill before the midnight deadline. They will need to stay off the floor for far longer this time.

The decision to fly to Washington highlights Democrats' secondary goal of winning attention for their cause. The move will put them in front of the national media and Democratic powerbrokers so they can intensify their push for federal action on voting.

HOW IS THIS LEGAL?

It really isn't  state lawmakers are generally required to attend their legislative sessions. But walkouts have been used almost like the filibuster in the U.S. Senate  as a way for a minority to grind things to a halt.

Ironically, the Texas Democrats will be agitating for Democrats in Washington to end the filibuster, at least for election bills.
The next star, photographer or movie screenwriter might be in Laredo, and Laredo Film Society, a local nonprofit organization, is trying to offer people the opportunity to make their talents shine or learn new ones through a series of workshops throughout July.

On Saturday, one of the workshops was held teaching how to take better photographs and learn about the art of photography. It is part of a workshop plan by the organization to help locals be more involved in the media arts.

Photography is a form of expression, just like any other medium such as painting, poetry, writing, sculpture, Laredo Film Society board member Gabriela A. Trevino said. Just like realist paintings of portraits and landscapes, photographs began as a representation of reality - some say the truest representation of reality in art.

According to Trevino, there are now endless possibilities as to what a photograph can express or how it can be used.

Other than using photography as a tool for self-expression, it is a vital skill in our increasingly interconnected world, Trevino said. Having knowledge of photography is an attractive skill to have on ones resume. A camera will be needed for anything from if your office needs headshots for their website or if you need to document something visually as proof or evidence.

Trevino said learning digital photography is only the start of learning about more digital elements and software. She said once individuals learn how to get a digital image, then they can manipulate it using computer programs, which is another attractive skill they can add to their resume.

Trevino said the workshops they help set up are better than just watching videos at home learning these skills as they are able to apply them in real life while working and mingling with others to know more about the trade.

Although we know that there are other ways one can learn a skill such as through YouTube how-to videos, we also believe in the power of classroom connections, Trevino said. Now that we are coming out of the pandemic, now more than ever we crave social interaction. Discussing ideas, opinions and expressing ourselves among fellow Laredoans is something we encourage.

Trevino said due to the lack of resources and space they have, they have opted to work with smaller means while still allowing those interested to have a clear connection with the instructor.

We had previously had a workshop in conjunction with TAMIU, and about 200 people showed up, Trevino said. We knew the interest was there. However, we had to do it within our means. Our office space is small, so we decided to start having these small-scale workshops  which works out because the instructor gets to spend more time with each individual student.

Some of the courses that the organization has offered to local residents include analog photography, cartoon drawing  which was taught in Spanish  and digital photography. She said all were well attended and have been able to attract a wide range of ages.

The Laredo Film Society continues to have other workshops available throughout this month for people who did not make it Saturday or one of the past events.

These workshops include a VJ Lab, which is going to be taught in Spanish, with a visual artist from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon and a screenwriting workshop with Philip Balli who has worked as a writer for major television networks.

The VJ workshop will run July 16-17. The screenwriting workshop will be held only on July 24.

We also will continue with our Film Club Friday programming, Trevino said.

Trevino said the role and goals of the Laredo Film Society locally are clear, which is to bring more of this art to the area and shine a light on those who are already engaging in making such productions, stories and other mediums come to life.

Our main goal is to empower the community through the exhibition of film and media arts, Trevino said. We also strive to amplify the work of local filmmakers, film industry workers and artists.

Trevino hopes people continue to go to their workshops where they hope people do not just learn about the art but also interact and make new friends along the way.

I would ask them why not? Why not spend the afternoon drawing, taking photos or learning a new skill? Trevino said. Why not meet new people and maybe make some new friends? We exist to create this possibility for connections among the community. It is important for us to create a space for collaboration.

The Laredo Film Society is located at 510 San Agustin Ave. Each workshop costs $20 per person.

jorge.vela@lmtonline.com
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP)  Witnesses say thousands of Tigrayans are being detained and their businesses closed in cities across Ethiopia in a new wave of ethnic targeting by authorities over the eight-month conflict in the Tigray region.

The detentions follow the dramatic turn in the war last month when resurgent Tigray forces marched into the regional capital, Mekele, as Ethiopian soldiers retreated and Ethiopias government announced a unilateral cease-fire. An earlier wave of detentions followed the start of the war in November after months of tensions between the government and Tigrays leaders.

Meron Addis, a 32-year-old attorney who has raised money for food and other aid to people in Tigray and has been outspoken about the toll on civilians, told The Associated Press that two plainclothes police officers came to her home in the capital, Addis Ababa, on June 28 and accused her of storing weapons. Then dozens of uniformed officers searched the place without presenting a warrant, she said.

After finding no weapons, they took her to a police station where she was charged with expressing support for the Tigray forces and spreading hate on social media. She met several other Tigrayans while in custody and was released a week later.

Police told her she was helping the junta, a common term used by authorities for the Tigray fighters. You are causing friction between the government and the people of Tigray by posting pictures on Facebook of children and victims of the war, hunger and rape, she said they told her. After her release, two of her relatives were detained.

Another detainee who was released last week told the AP that several dozen other Tigrayans were held in a center in the outskirts of the capital.

At first we were told that we were suspected of having links with the (Tigray fighters). Once in jail, they began accusing us of sending money to support terrorists and vowed we wont be released unless Ethiopian prisoners of war under the control of the (Tigray forces) are released, he said. None of us were brought to court. Like many others, he spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

With Ethiopia's government having declared Tigray's ruling party a terrorist group, ordinary Tigrayans across the country are under even more pressure even as they seek to speak out about alleged war atrocities and send aid to the region as hundreds of thousands of people face the world's worst famine crisis in a decade,

And Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in a speech after the Ethiopian forces' retreat alleged that ordinary Tigrayans had supported the Tigray fighters.

The new wave of mass detentions has not been publicly acknowledged by security officials. Federal police spokesman Jeylanr Abdi didnt respond to questions, but the federal police told the Addis Standard media outlet they dont arrest citizens based on ethnicity.

The governmental Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, however, said it is monitoring the detentions of Tigrayans and media workers suspected of links to the situation in Tigray. Such measures aggravate the publics concerns on the risk of ethnic profiling, it said in a statement.

A Tigrayan activist told the AP the detentions appear to be occurring in major cities across Ethiopia. People who have never set foot in the Tigray region and those who have no knowledge of politics are becoming victims, he said, adding that some are fleeing the capital out of fear of being detained.

A letter from Tigrayan lawyers to the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, obtained by the AP, said the fate of thousands of people remains unknown. And hundreds of Tigrayan businesses in Addis Ababa, including restaurants, bars, cafes and other places, have been closed and sealed with no apparent reason than the claim of security concerns, it reads. This campaign against Tigrayans must be stopped because it is a dangerous practice that violates the rights of citizens without sufficient evidence.

One lawyer, Tesfalem Berhe, said he has compiled a list of 103 Tigrayans detained in the capital in the past few weeks. Many were taken at shops, cafes and bus stations because their IDs showed their ethnicity or because they were speaking Tigrinya, he said. Others were taken from their homes.

They are disappeared, he said, estimating that tens of thousands have been detained. They are not given access to their families and lawyers. ... There is no allegation of crime. It is purely ethnic profiling.

A Tigrayan civil servant in the capital told the AP he watched as a colleague was detained by two plainclothes officers at the health center where he worked. When the colleagues manager asked why, the officers cited unspecified security reasons.

Im very nervous because we hear about lots of people being arrested. I worry the police and security services are monitoring us, so I barely talk on the phone, the civil servant said. For every Tigrayan in Addis Ababa, its hard for us at this time because of the political situation.

Tsegazeab Kidanu, a volunteer coordinator for a civil society group that campaigns against human rights abuses in Tigray, was detained at his home on June 29 while he was watching TV in his pajamas, a relative said. Again, a warrant wasnt presented. He wasnt charged.

Authorities later told his lawyer, Tesfalem, that he had been released, but his whereabouts remain unknown.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  Lawsuits filed Monday in California seek potential class-action damages from Dow Chemical and its successor company over a widely used bug killer linked to brain damage in children.

Chlorpyrifos is approved for use on more than 80 crops, including oranges, berries, grapes, soybeans, almonds and walnuts, though California banned sales of the pesticide last year and spraying of it this year. Some other states, including New York, have moved to ban it.

Stuart Calwell, lead attorney in the lawsuits, argued that its effects linger in Central Valley agricultural communities contaminated by chlorpyrifos during decades of use, with measurable levels still found in his clients' homes.

Lawyers project that at least 100,000 homes in the nations largest agricultural state may need to dispose of most of their belongings because they are contaminated with the pesticide.

We have found it in the houses, we have found it in carpet, in upholstered furniture, we found it in a teddy bear, and we found it on the walls and surfaces, Calwell said. Then a little child picks up a teddy bear and holds on to it.

All that needs to be cleaned up, he says, because its not going away on its own.

State records show 61 million pounds of the pesticide were applied from 1974 through 2017 in four counties where the lawsuits were filed, Calwell said.

Officials with Dow and its affiliated Corteva Inc. did not immediately respond to telephone and email requests seeking comment.

Corteva stopped producing the pesticide last year. The Delaware-based company was created after a merger of Dow Chemical and Dupont and had been the worlds largest manufacturer of chlorpyrifos. The company has said it believes the product is safe and said it stopped production because of declining sales.

Scientific studies have shown that chlorpyrifos damages the brains of fetuses and children. It was first used in 1965 but was banned for household use in 2001.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is weighing whether to ban the product or declare it safe, including for infants and children. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in April ordered the EPA to make a decision after studying the product for more than a decade. The Trump administration had halted the rule-making process.

The lawsuits were filed on behalf of people in Fresno, Kings, Madera and Tulare counties, though Calwell said they are a precursor to seeking class-action status. Aside from Dow-related companies, they name various farming companies they say applied the chemical near the plaintiffs' homes.

In each case, the plaintiffs are parents suing on behalf of children who suffer from severe neurological injuries that the lawsuits blame on their exposure to the chemical while they were in the womb or when they were very young.

Aside from nearby spraying, the lawsuits say the parent, relatives or others in frequent contact with the child worked in the fields or packing plants and became contaminated with the chemical that they passed on to the child.

Calwell filed related lawsuits last fall on behalf of farmworkers who his firm said spent years marinating in the pesticide.

The first of those related lawsuits blames chlorpyrifos for causing autism, cognitive and intellectual disabilities in a now-teenager born in 2003.

The teen's father worked spraying pesticides on farm fields and his mother packed what the lawsuit says was chlorpyrifos-covered produce in a facility surrounded by fields treated with the pesticide, often applied by aerial spraying.

Calwell similarly sued Monsanto for damages he alleged it caused to homes in Nitro, West Virginia, with its use of dioxin to make the defoliant known during the Vietnam War era as Agent Orange.

That case settled for $93 million, with Monsanto paying to decontaminate 4,500 homes, a fraction of those that he alleges in California will require more extensive decontamination followed by medical monitoring.
WASHINGTON  Shortly after landing in Washington D.C. in an effort to deny the Texas House a quorum to block a voting restrictions bill, House Democrats indicated they plan to remain out of state until the end of the special legislative session that ends Aug. 6.

Democrats Monday departure from the state upends the Legislature's ability to turn any bills into law just days into a 30-day session that was called largely to advance GOP-backed legislation that would enact new restrictions on voting.

Asked by a reporter what the caucus planned to do if Gov. Greg Abbott called another special session for the next day, state Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, suggested that was the reason behind why they had decamped to the capital.

READ MORE: Texas Democrats plan to leave state to stop GOP voting bill

Thats our message to Congress, said Turner, the Fort Worth Democrat who chairs the House Democratic caucus. We need them to act now.

At least 51 of the 67 Democratic members of the Texas House  the number needed to break quorum  fled the state on Monday, most of them boarding two chartered planes that landed in D.C. around 7 p.m. Central time.

Sergio Flores/Getty Images

Last month, a delegation of Democratic state representatives and senators traveled to the U.S. Capital to advocate for a pair of federal bills. The first would preempt significant portions of the Texas bills and set new federal standards for elections like same-day and automatic voter registration. The second would restore sweeping safeguards for voters of color by reinstating federal oversight of elections in states like Texas with troubling records of discriminating against voters of color.

This time the group was much larger  at least two buses full of members as of Tuesday night  and state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, referred to the expanded numbers as reinforcements.

The state legislation currently under consideration resembles the the GOP priority voting bill from the regular legislative session that first prompted Democrats to walk out and break quorum in late May. Republicans bills would ban drive-thru and 24-hour voting options, enhance access for partisan poll watchers and prohibit local election officials from proactively distributing applications to request mail-in ballots. They also include language to further restrict the states voting-by-mail rules, including new ID requirements for absentee voters.

Since the news broke that Democrats were leaving the state, Republicans pounced to characterize them as abandoning their jobs.

"Texas Democrats decision to break a quorum of the Texas Legislature and abandon the Texas State Capitol inflicts harm on the very Texans who elected them to serve, Abbott said in a statement earlier in the day. As they fly across the country on cushy private planes, they leave undone issues that can help their districts and our state.

READ MORE: Gov. Greg Abbott issues scathing response to Texas Dems dramatic block on voting bills

Fellow Republicans from all over the state and the country joined in the criticism.

Nothing could be further from the truth, said Turner. We are doing our job. We were elected to represent our constituents and fight for our constituents' interests. We arent going to sit in Austin in the house chamber and watch the Republican majority steamroll the voting rights of our constituents.

Sergio Flores/Getty Images

Democratic state Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins of San Antonio said in an interview that she was definitely prepared to be out of the state for three weeks as well and packed light.

It wasnt even about clothes, it was about lets do what we need to do to protect our right to vote, she said. We cant go back to the days of old... think about our forefathers who died for us to have the opportunity to vote.

What I did, I went into my clothes, and I got all those things that are washable, she added, when asked how she prepared for such an uncertain trip.

There was a sense Tuesday in this group that Abbotts threat to cut the salaries of legislative staffers could become reality.

I told my staff to get ready for unemployment, said Gervin-Hawkins OK? Think about it. If you are released from a job beyond your control, you qualify for unemployment.

We hope that doesnt happen, she added.

State Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, called the bill toxic piece of legislation.

Were here to fight, Moody said, referring to Congress. We just hope were not alone.

The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans  and engages with them  about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
Conspiracy theory?

When the Auckland Council was created 10 years ago, I often wondered why Rodney Hyde was so keen to include the Wellsford area. Then there was the urgency of completing the northern corridor from Puhoi to Warkworth. And of late, the millions they are spending on the Dome Valley road to bring it up to standard. Now we find that Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) is keen to double toll the new motorway. The Dome Valley dump has always been on the drawing board. Auckland Council needed the Wellsford area for the site. They knew there would be 300-plus truck-loads of rubbish travelling through Warkworth each day and needed to extend the motorway from Puhoi to Warkworth. It is no surprise that the millions being spent upgrading the Dome Valley road finishes conveniently outside the proposed dump entrance. NZTA is keen to double toll the new motorway because it will be very lucrative for them, with 300-plus trucks travelling this road each day. Recently, the dump was given resource consent, despite 958 submissions against the proposal and only 10 in support. The Dome Valley dump was always going to get consent and infrastructure has been built to accommodate it.

Neil Hatfull, Warkworth

Left-wing nonsense

Disgusted to read eight or nine pages of left-wing/green nonsense over the resource consent being allowed (MM June 30). Until we all stop producing waste at the current rate, we are going to need somewhere to put it. Waste Management are the world leaders at building landfills throughout the world. Note, I do not use the inflammatory words like dump or tip. I have lived in this beautiful country for nearly 50 years and am alarmed at how the communist views of the leaders of this country are dictating all sorts of decisions. Time to take New Zealand back for the sensible.

Richard Norburn, Warkworth

Doom Valley

From Magnificent Dome Valley to the Doom Valley Landfill. Trucks, trucks, even more trucks - sucks!

Jen Cousteau, Snells Beach

Put landfill in Parnell

I thought Id come at the issue of where Aucklanders can dump their landfill waste with a solution- orientated mindset. So, after a couple of local craft beers, I had a eureka moment that not only solves the issue of the landfill on our doorstep, but also the housing crisis as well. First, lets consider one of Auckland inner-city low-rise suburbs. Now before anyone says heritage, lets be honest, these old houses are to architectural heritage what the Austin Princess is to automotive heritage. Nice to have a few around as a reminder, but we dont need lots of them. Right then, all we need to do is pick somewhere like Parnell or Ponsonby and replace it with a landfill. In the same way the new SNAs (significant natural areas) can magic away someones property rights, Auckland Council can simply inform the residents of a suburb they are no longer homeowners and instead congratulate them on becoming shareholders in a landfill. They would be relocated to the outskirts of the city, which to be fair is where any other normal city puts high-end stand-alone housing. Once the landfill has been finished with, just build high-density low-cost housing on top of it. Service workers and first home buyers can live centrally and public transport will work due to increased density. In fact, add climate change to the list of things this will fix.

Who knew the cognitive boosting powers of a few tasty beverages would be so powerful?

Josh Kronfeld once wore a t-shirt with a mushroom cloud and the tagline Do it in Paris  perhaps we could get some t-shirts made with a picture of a dump and something along the lines of Do it in Parnell?

S Gonzales, Ahuroa


From left, Debbie Hintz, Brenna Jacob, Claire Knapp, Andrea Nixon and Alicia Nixon.

New Zealands leading group of skincare clinics has arrived in the district, with the opening of Caci Warkworth in The Warkworth Oaks retirement village complex, off Queen Street.

Caci offers a wide range of skin and appearance treatments, from microdermabrasion and laser hair removal to LED light therapy and cosmetic injectables. However, it specialises in personalising a membership and payment plan, where customers individual concerns and goals are set and paid for using weekly, fortnightly or monthly instalments to spread the cost.

Running the new clinic is experienced skin therapist Alicia Nixon, who has moved from the North Shore to Warkworth with her family to coincide with the opening of this, her second clinic  she also owns Caci Silverdale. Alicia, who moved to New Zealand from South Africa 11 years ago, brings 25 years of working with international beauty brands, including Christian Dior, Elizabeth Arden and Estee Lauder, and a passion for helping customers to feel confident in their skin.

At Caci, were all about customers and their needs, their goals and their journey, and creating a loving, safe environment where they can feel comfortable, she says. A lot of people can feel intimidated, but were here to help everyone, no matter what their concerns are.

The first step is a free consultation to chat about what a customer is looking for and the best treatments to achieve that, focusing on skin health, laser hair removal, cosmetic injectables or body shaping, and personalised membership options are put together including easy payment options, savings on treatments and skincare, plus rewards such as free facials.

Alicia says that by breaking the payment down into instalments, it makes the treatments more affordable and more effective, as Caci customers reap the benefits of personalised treatments on a regular basis.

Joining Alicia at Caci Warkworth are registered nurse Debbie Hintz, from Snells Beach, and two skin therapists, Claire Knapp and Brenna Jacob, both Warkworth locals.
Lockport, NY (14094)

Today

Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 82F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 64F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
The beginning of the school year when you got to show off your new duds, new cars, new looks!

Sports! Playing, cheering, watching high school athletics.

The arts: Dramatic arts, musical groups and shows, graphic arts groups, debate, etc.

The prom! No dancing the night away or punch bowl antics.

The daily interactions. Just being with the group, hanging with friends and classmates.

Access to college recruiters and advisors  its harder to line up higher education.

Walking onstage to get a diploma while all the family is watching with everyone elses family.

Vote

View Results
Ensure you get a print copy of the Loudoun Times-Mirror delivered weekly to your home or business!

Complete online access is included with all print subscriptions purchased online. Plus, up to four other members of your household can share online access through this subscription with their own, individual linked accounts at no additional charge.

(Are you a current advertiser? Ask your sales rep for our special advertiser rate code!)
City of London Investment Group PLC - specialist asset manager - Trading update says consolidated funds under management hit GBP8.3 billion in the year ended June 30, up sharply from GBP4.4 billion the year before. Notes the previous financial year's total does not include funds from the merger with Karpus Management Inc, which was completed on October 1, 2020.

Expects unaudited profit before amortisation of intangibles, exceptional merger costs and taxation to be around GBP27.2 million for current financial year, up from GBP10.7 million the year prior. Says basic and fully diluted earnings per share expected to be 39.4 pence and 38.8p respectively, compared to 30.3p and 29.5p in financial 2020.

"Strong investment performance across [our] investment strategies resulted from strong [net asset value] performance at the underlying closed end funds and positive discount effects," the company says.

Proposes final dividend of 22p, bringing total dividend to 33p compared to 30p the previous year. Says it will announce final results on September 13.

"With regard to business development, the group continues to develop an active pipeline across all of its major [closed-end fund] offerings," the firm adds.

Current stock price: 515.00 pence, down 2.5% on Tuesday afternoon

Year-to-date change: up 18%

By Scarlett Butler; scarlettbutler@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Tectonic Gold PLC - Sydney-based gold explorer - Strikes agreement with White Prospecting Pty Ltd to mine alluvial gold in the Mt Cassidy project in Queensland, Australia.

White Prospecting will assume all operational responsibility including permitting, health & safety and rehabilitation, while Tectonic Gold is provided 7.5% of gross production royalty for supporting the exploration and drilling budget.

This will leave the company to focus on further developing the Specimen Hill discovery.

"We are very pleased to be building this new joint venture with the well credentialed team at White Prospecting. As both the diamonds and heavy mineral sands projects in South Africa accelerate and the alluvial gold joint venture with White Prospecting moves into production, Tectonic's aim is to be fully internally funded for gold exploration activities in Australia. This deal is designed to bring funding into the company without dilution to shareholders. We will utilise this to aggressively pursue what has turned into a very large target at Specimen Hill," says Managing Director Brett Boynton.

Current stock price: 1.175 pence

Year-to-date change: down 24%

By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
(Alliance News) - Pan African Resources PLC on Tuesday reported a rise in annual gold production and maintained its outlook for the year to come.

Gold production for the year ended June 30 rose 12% to 201,608 ounces from 179,457 oz a year ago. This beat the company's revised production guidance, set in May, of 195,000 oz.

Chief Executive Cobus Loots said: "We are very pleased with the group's operational performance over the last year, and the fact that our team managed to exceed the revised production guidance for this period.

"Addressing the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic remains a top priority, with ongoing enhancements to our operating protocols to mitigate the constantly evolving characteristics of the virus that has resulted in an increasing number of infections over multiple 'waves'. We will continue to rigorously implement preventative and precautionary measures at our operations to maintain the relatively low infection rate to date, and ensure the health and well-being of our employees."

The Africa-focused gold miner maintained its financial 2022 production guidance at 195,000 oz.

"Our operational focus for the new year emphasises the further improvement of our safety performance and the continued optimisation of our operations," Loots said.

Pan African Resources shares were 0.9% higher at ZAR3.37 each in Johannesburg on Tuesday morning, and were down 0.8% to 16.77 pence each in London.

By Greg Roxburgh; gregroxburgh@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
(Alliance News) - A further 22 people have died during unrest raging in South Africa, a provincial official said on Tuesday, taking the national death toll from days of violence to 32.

The toll in KwaZulu-Natal province now stands at 26, premier Sihle Zikalala told a news conference on Tuesday, a day after officials confirmed six deaths in Gauteng province.

"These were people killed during stampedes as protesters ran riot," he said, without specifying which parts of the province.

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday deployed troops to help police halt the violence and looting sparked by the jailing of ex-president Jacob Zuma.

Southeastern KwaZulu-Natal a Zuma's home region a is the epicentre of the unrest.

Protests erupted last week shortly after Zuma started serving a 15-month term for snubbing a probe into the corruption that stained his nine years in power.

The violence has so far been confined to the two most populous provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, which houses the economic hub of Johannesburg.

source: AFP

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
(Alliance News) - Phoenix Group Holdings PLC has agreed to sell Ark Life Assurance Company DAC to Irish Life Group Ltd for EUR230 million in cash, it announced on Tuesday.

The long-term savings and retirement firm will sell Ark Life, which is a closed-book business managing heritage savings and protection products in Ireland. Ark has GBP1.8 billion in assets under administration. It was acquired by Phoenix in 2020 as part of the FTSE 100 company's purchase of Swiss Re AG's UK business ReAssure Group.

"This transaction simplifies our European operations and accelerates the cash release from this business," Phoenix said.

The proceeds from the sale would be used for investment into "higher return growth opportunities to drive incremental future cash generation."

Shares in Phoenix were up 0.2% at 695.00 pence in early Tuesday morning trading in London.

Last month talks broke down between Phoenix and a third party over a potential sale of its European business, with Phoenix opting instead to progress a "range of management actions" to maximise shareholder value.

By Will Paige; willpaige@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Bonnie Squires is a communications consultant who writes weekly for Main Line Media News and can be reached at www.bonniesquires.com. She hosts the Bonnies Beat TV show at

MLTV- MAIN LINE NETWORK (formerly Radnor Studio 21).
Spain's two-week COVID-19 contagion rate kept rising on Monday, reaching 368 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, officials said, more than tripling in two weeks as infections have soared especially among young people.

Health emergency chief Fernando Simon said the pace of increase had reduced in recent days as officials believe the latest wave is nearing its peak. He praised new restrictions announced in the hard-hit Mediterranean regions of Catalonia and Valencia.

"We are still in a situation where we have to reduce risks," he told a media briefing, deeming "really dramatic" the situation in Catalonia, which last week had Spain's highest incidence with 725 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

Simon said the infection hike in Catalonia could be attributed to the increasing arrival of domestic and foreign tourists amid the spread of the more contagious Delta variant.

The lower vaccination rate among youngsters and the impact of outbreaks related to school graduation trips are also playing a role across Spain, he added.

The Catalan regional government announced on Monday that all activities, including bars, would have to shut at 12:30 a.m., social gatherings would be capped at ten people, while eating or drinking in public areas would be banned.

The measures are pending court approval.

Separately, a court authorised more than 30 towns in the neighbouring Valencia region to impose night curfews to counter a soaring COVID-19 infection rate.

The regional government had asked its regional court to authorise a 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. curfew on towns with more than 5,000 inhabitants considered high-risk, including its capital, Valencia, and local tourism hotspot Benicassim.

Social gatherings of more than 10 people will be banned.

Regional authorities responsible for the COVID-19 response need court authorisation or a government decree for strict measures including lockdowns, travel bans and curfews.

Nationwide, cases began to surge back from the middle of June after a long decline, propelled by the Delta variant and more socialising among younger groups.

"In Spain, we are becoming experts in premature easing of restrictions. When we decided to lift restrictions in this fourth wave there was not enough immunity among citizens to remove many of the restrictions," Dr. Rafael Bengoa, co-founder of Bilbao's Institute for Health and Strategy, told Reuters.

He said the authorities had rushed to boost tourism numbers rather than base their decisions on epidemiological data.
Atlanta, GA (30303)

Today

Generally cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 82F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with still a chance of showers. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.
There will be a memorial service held on July 24, 2021 at 10:30 A.M. for Doris (Stainbrook) Bradshaw at Asbury United Methodist Church in Erie. A luncheon in the fellowship hall will follow the service.
Belgium

July 13, 2021

India

Portugal

Russia

Johan Neyts

Belgium

Xavier Saelens

Nico Callewaert

Belgium

Hilde Crevits

350.000 euro

3 million euro

Hilde Crevits

Belgium

Xavier Saelens

Nico Callewaert

GHENT,/PRNewswire/ -- ExeVir, which is developing single domain antibody therapies providing broad protection against viral infections, today announces that it has generated data on its COVID-19 antibody XVR011 which demonstrateneutralization activity against SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern Gamma and Delta. The company has also obtained grant funding of 3 million from the Flanders Agency for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO) to accelerate clinical development of lead asset, the unique llama-derived VHH72-Fc antibody XVR011.XVR011, is a single domain-based anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody (llama-derived VHH-Fc) optimized for stability, safety, broad neutralizing capability and excellent manufacturability. It demonstrates best-in-class potential offering breadth and potency against a range of Coronaviruses (pan-sarbecovirus neutralisation) and is significantly differentiated from other antibody treatments.The highly transmissible Delta coronavirus variant is spreading rapidly across world. The mutation initially emerged inand is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths. It is already the dominant strain of Covid-19 in the UK,and US.Novel data generated in the laboratory of Professorat the Rega institute (KU Leuven,) shows that XVR011 demonstrated strongneutralization potency against the Variants of Concern Delta (B.1.617.2) and Gamma (P.1). Previously, data was generated showing neutralising potency against Alpha (B.1.1.7) and Beta (B.1.351) VOCs. Additionally, novel results from Profand Prof(both from VIB-Ghent University,) based on epitope sequencing indicate that the potency is not expected to be impacted by any currently circulating Variant of Concern or Variant of Interest.The Flemish government, following the initiative of the Flemish Minister of Innovation, supported early research on XVR011 with an initial subsidy of. Now as ExeVir moves into the clinic, Minister Crevits supports this critical project, ExeVir, withfrom VLAIO, following the approval of the Innovation and Entrepreneur fund.said: "Our Flemish research sits at the forefront of the fight with Corona and demonstrate the necessary entrepreneurship. Als Flemish minister of Innovation I am proud, particularly in the context of the rapid spreading of this very contagious delta variant, that we remain pioneers with the development of new treatments from ExeVir.""Our latest findings demonstrate the potential of our unique XVR011 antibody treatment to neutralise all circulating Covid-19 variants, including Gamma and Delta. We would like to thank the Flemish Government, which is instrumental in supporting innovative research in the Flemish region, for this funding which will be used to further progress clinical development of XVR011."ExeVir Bio is a clinical stage company harnessing its VHH technology platform to generate robust antiviral therapies providing broad protection against viral infections, including pan-coronaviruses. It is a spin out from VIB, the world class-based life sciences research institute. ExeVir's platform is based on the work of and collaboration with Professor Dr.and Professor Dr.from VIB. ExeVir Bio is led by a team of experts that combines international biotech and pharma experience with a successful track record of developing and bringing products to market. It has raised over 42M from blue chip investors led by Fund+, VIB, UCB Ventures, SFPI-FPIM, V-Bio Ventures, SRIW, Noshaq, Vives IUF, SambrInvest and several Belgian Family Offices. ExeVir has also been awarded funding from the Flanders Agency for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO). www.exevir.com.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/exevirs-covid-19-antibody-candidate-neutralizes-coronavirus-variants-of-concern-301331690.html



SOURCE ExeVir




The two communities, Kashmiri Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits, have often proved that communal harmony can still exist despite a bloody past.



Recently, people from both communities shared yet another excellent example of brotherhood as they helped perform the last rites of two Kashmiri Pandit women.

This event took place in South Kashmir in the Kulgam district.

 News 18

As soon as everyone heard the news of the demise of two women, Chand Rani, 80, (wife of BardriNath) and Kaushali Devi, 83, (wife of JankiNath), the Muslim community, within no time, offered help to the families in doing the last rites.



 News 18

Ghulam Mohhudin Shah, a part of the Muslim community, helped with most things, including setting up the cremation pyre and assisted with carrying the earthen pot to the cremation ground. At the same time, other Muslim locals helped with further minute details.



Ramesh Kumar, a Kashmiri Pandit, mentioned that both these communities are two different faces of the same coin. He also said that their bond is eternal. He said, The brotherhood and communal harmony is everlasting and these gatherings are one such example of it.

 News 18

Even though it was the families who did the last rites, it was the local Muslim community who helped with everything else.



This is not the only time when both the communities shared examples of brotherhood. Earlier, Kashmiri Muslims and Pandits both performed the last rites of a woman at Tahram village as well. They carried out all the formalities in line with Kashmiri Pandits for the deceased lady.

 News 18

A similar incident took place in December 2020 when Muslims in the Wussan area helped perform the last rites of Naath Ji. In fact, the community gave shoulders to the deceased Pandit's coffin and arranged everything for the funeral.



Both Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri Muslims have time and again set such heartwarming examples. It's truly a lesson for everyone to live peacefully with no wars based on religions.
Indians achieving respectable things abroad is not all that uncommon, as almost all the organizations that matter, right from Google to Microsoft, have an Indian at the helm. NASA is one such organization that commands a great deal of respect. We as a nation, still derive a sense of success through the achievements of our young ones, irrespective of how major or minor they may be.

via GIPHY

Naturally, when Pratima Roy, an Indian-American, was featured on the Twitter handle of NASA Internships, a conversation started with people congratulating her for the impressive feat.

Today's the day: applications for fall NASA internships are due!



Are you ready? Visit @NASAInterns and apply at: https://t.co/s69uwyR1LJ pic.twitter.com/CVwFJGYbms  NASA (@NASA) July 9, 2021

       Buta Singh Josan (@josanbutasingh) July 13, 2021

Great to see that Indian kids having bright future. You name any field and Indian boys and especially girls perform excellent. Goddess Saraswati has blessed them with knowledge. Can't wait to see their bright future  Jani Amit (@Deshpremi_Amit) July 13, 2021

 ,          ,               -    ,         Nagendra Pratap Singh  (@deoriawale_) July 13, 2021

However, the fact that she had the idols of Goddesses Maa Durga, Maa Lakshmi, and Maa Saraswati in the background, along with pictures of multiple Hindu Gods and Goddesses, gave rise to a parallel, and not so pleasant conversation, bordering on trolling her for her religious beliefs.

In Pic4 you completely ignored Scientific Temperament..  Bahujan Raj (@RajBahujan) July 13, 2021

After seeing this we said;

Science ka Naash kar diya NASA ne. https://t.co/Wx0fy7D1BC  Mission Ambedkar (@MissionAmbedkar) July 11, 2021

NASA is this some joke??? https://t.co/pmYAJYddzp  Ayyuuusssshhhhh (@Saguraocacti) July 10, 2021

The 4th intern will send an email saying "rama built a bridge" and sanghis will use that email to say "nasa accepted rama as real and the blue guy built that bridge". https://t.co/kBuVvd5NeZ  NastikMan (@ManNastik) July 11, 2021

Thought I will completely stay away from posting anything.

But then I saw Ashok Swain still tweeting

What a character. pic.twitter.com/n5BJeWbaBc  Pratyasha Rath (@pratyasharath) July 11, 2021

Right after that, there was an outpouring of support for Pratima, and the trolling took a backseat. Many came forward to congratulate her on the amazing feat and urged her to ignore the trolls.

The lady in the 4th picture has all my respect and appreciation , she has the confidence and dedication every hindu needs to have in order to succeed and make it big with the blessings of our holy GODS , you go girl! may goddess Saraswati bless you with all the wisdom you'd need  Saurav Singh Parihar (@sspgrows) July 13, 2021

Interning at NASA is no easy feat, can we take a moment to admire all these talented young minds. Pratima Roy, don't let the haters get you down! Be proud of your culture, your heritage, your beliefs, and most of all, that you will always have been an intern at NASA. #respect  KC Hulsman (@kchulsmanphotos) July 13, 2021

Accepting one's faith proudly while having qualification is amazing. Those who do not have qualification resort to mock others.  ANUPAM TIWARI (@AnupamTiwariDTW) July 13, 2021

What's the wrong if she believes in her religion and have faith in it and practices hindu religion. That doesn't make her a subject of mockery. And that's her talent, hardwork and dedication that she is part of NASA. And this should be appreciated.  Anish kumar (@Anishku00441113) July 12, 2021

Well done all interns! Kudos Pratima Roy - Keep going - Ma Saraswati's blessings are with you. Ignore the people who are attacking you. There are millions behind you to support you.  d parmar (@dparmar94527626) July 12, 2021

If you don't like 4th photo.

Then don't waste your time, study hard apply for NASA internship, clear the exam and replace the 4th photo with you... pic.twitter.com/iNhB0PQQMV  Yogesh Mandaokar (@mandaokaryogesh) July 12, 2021

All we can say is that one's religious beliefs are absolutely personal, and as long as they are not hurting anyone else, everyone should be allowed to practice and adhere to their religious beliefs. Interning at NASA is no small feat, and Pratima clearly has earned it through merit and her hard work, and deserves all the support from us. Congratulations, Pratima. Way to go!
Google CEO Sundar Pichai admitted in an interview with the BCC that he is a little jealous of fellow tech tycoon Jeff Bezos upcoming space flight. The Amazon founder and his brother are slated to fly on the first human flight of the New Shepard spacecraft designed by Bezos Blue Origin space-exploration company.

"Well, I'm jealous a little bit". The Google CEO added that he would love to see how Earth looks from space.

The New Shepard vehicle can fly six passengers and will base the crew 62 miles (100km) above the Earths surface which will be higher than Bransons maiden flight earlier this week. The rocket is expected to take off from Blue Origins launch site in the Guadalupe Mountains, Texas.

 Blue Origin

Bezos flight will take place about a week after Richard Bransons Virgin Galactic flight on Sunday. Elon Musks space firm is also working on ways to make commercial civilian space touring a reality.



While other billionaires are looking to space, Google and Mr Pichai do not have any such plans. Google has been focusing on the upper atmosphere with its Loon internet project where the company flew giant balloons that would transmit the internet to the people below.

Apart from talking about Bezos upcoming space flight, Pichai also spoke about other issues. "Seeing the morgue trucks parked around the world during COVID. And seeing what's happened in India over the past month," Pichai said on what made him cry recently.

 Reuters

Pichai also warned of threats to online freedom. Many countries are restricting the flow of information, and the model is often taken for granted.



Remembering his Tamil Nadu roots, the CEO of both Google and its parent company Alphabet has said that India is deeply rooted in him and is a big part of who he is.

Im an American citizen but India is deeply within me. So its a big part of who I am, Pichai said. He also urged democratic countries to stand up against the control of internet freedom while speaking to the BBC.

It is worth pointing out that Pichais comments come as social media platforms, search engines, news publishers and OTT websites are dealing with Indias new IT rules, introduced by the Government last month.

Source: BBC
Meridian, MS (39302)

Today

Thunderstorms, accompanied by locally heavy rainfall at times. High 84F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, then thunderstorms developing late. Low 72F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
Click here to log in and see all of our other subscription options for the Mesabi Tribune, including online only & auto-renewal subscriptions.
In summer 2020, The New York Times coordinated a nationwide project to document the lives of Americans out of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study involved collaborating with 11 other local newsrooms around the U.S. The Messenger-Inquirer was the only newspaper from Kentucky in the collaboration. The resulting collection of stories was published Oct. 23, 2020, in the New York Times print edition and at nytimes.com/outofwork. The following list is the Messenger-Inquirer's local unemployment coverage from that time period; read more by clicking the "New York Times Project" header. Click on "Out Of Work In America" to go to the full
MANISTEE COUNTY  Officials are looking to update the county-wide Parks and Recreation Master Plan, and a new survey by Networks Northwest could impact the direction it takes.

The survey is aimed to gather public input to find out what the community wants from their parks and other public areas. Gathering that input is necessary for two key reasons, according to Zach Vega, a community planner with Networks Northwest.

First, it ensures that the plan and the implementation strategy therein reflect the needs and wants of the people who live, work and recreate in the county, Vega stated in an email.

That means local officials tasked with developing parks and recreation projects can more easily garner public support, according to Vega.

Second, as with any public initiative, there will be many voices with ranges of agreeing and conflicting views, he said. Gathering public input early in a process helps the planning team to develop goals, objectives and projects that serve as many interests as possible.

The responses will assist the planning team in developing actionable goals and objectives that reflect the publics expressed preferences. These will supplement the goals and objectives created for each individual jurisdiction, including the City of Manistee, villages and townships.

The DNR, when awarding parks and recreation grants, wants to see that the projects seeking funding are supported by members of the public. The survey results are one component of that, said Vega.

Input also helps to frame conversations in the individual municipalities.

For example, if a majority of residents state a desire for more trail connections, we would likely use part of a public meeting to ask where these trail connections should be or which stakeholders need to be in a discussion to get trails built, Vega said.

Our intent is to have a draft plan to each of the jurisdictions in September and part of the plan will be an analysis of the survey results so it will have to be closed before then, he continued.

Networks Northwest is leading this planning process in conjunction with the Manistee County Recreation Commission and planning department. They will work directly with local officials and the public to update the plan during the spring and summer months, according to the Networks Northwest website.

Tom Oele, vice-chair of the Manistee Parks Commission stressed the importance of this survey in an email to the News Advocate.

This is the county plan that is incredibly vital in seeking grant money for all future county, and city, park improvements and projects, he stated. The plan is highly based on an anonymous quick online survey that is put out to the public.

The survey, which opened in January, is available here. It will be open until the end of July.

For the survey to reach statistical significance, Vega said it would require around a 20% response rate or roughly 5,000 responses across the county.

We can also accept a lower response rate and understand those results as an anecdotal look at what people want to see in Manistee, he said.

The survey had received 282 responses as of July 8.

There are a few notable patterns in the responses, though Vega cautioned that these early results should not be interpreted as statistically significant measures of public opinion.

Most respondents are in agreement that the county should preserve its natural areas and water access, and there is also support for additional trail connections, he said.

The most popular recreation activities cited were beach and water activities, hiking, walking and running.

There is high support for parks and recreation funding in Manistee through a variety of funding mechanisms, Vega said. For example, 54% of respondents would support re-appropriation of existing taxpayer funds and 48% would support a millage to fund site improvements for parks and recreation in Manistee.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources requires municipalities to have a five-year recreation plan on file with the state to be eligible for various funding opportunities, according to the Networks Northwest website. These can include funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund and Waterways grants. The Manistee County Minger Family Endowment Fund also guides its funding through adopted plans.

The previous county-wide plan expired Dec. 31, 2020.

One of the implied benefits of this county-wide plan and the creation of the County Recreation Commission is that they will streamline the grant application and acquisition process. Rather than each jurisdiction expending staff time, hiring a grant writer and applying for various funding sources, the Manistee County Recreation Commission will act as a centralized entity for this purpose, states part of the Networks Northwest website.

The plan will cover everything required by the Michigan DNR in its guidelines, which can be viewed here.

This county-wide plan will also incorporate past planning projects including the Manistee Lake Non-Motorized Plan and the Railroad Relocation for the Manistee Lake Area Communities Plan.

Visit www.networksnorthwest.org for more information.

Related:

Plan to relocate railroad gaining steam

Do Manistee's parks encourage physical activity?

Disc golf course part of 'new era' for parks commission
MANISTEE  Manistee County Visitors Bureau executive director Kathryn Kenny will step down in her role as of Aug. 1.

According to a news release, Kenny intends "to support the Manistee community in a new capacity  as a downtown resident and property manager.

The MCVB is expected to convene a search committee by fall to find a replacement for Kenny.

Kathryn has played an integral role in promoting Manistee County as a visitor destination that has led to a significant increase in visitors and related spending over the years, said Tim Riley, chair of the MCVB board and vacation rental manager with CENTURY 21 Boardwalk Vacation Rentals, in a news release. "We appreciate her leadership over the past decade, and we will strive to maintain that momentum and ensure a smooth leadership transition.

Kenny joined the MCVB as executive director in June 2011.

I have loved Manistee County and promoting our beautiful region, and I will always love and support Manistee County, said Kenny in the news release. I am thrilled with the work I have accomplished at the MCVB in putting Manistee County on the map as a key visitor destination, and Im ready to step back and let others lead while I support Manistee in a new capacity. Its such an exciting time for our region, and I want to be part of the downtown revitalization firsthand.

Kenny, who was born in raised in Manistee, built a career in tourism and economic development. She served as administrative director of the Benzie County Chamber of Commerce for two years and worked in real estate, serving as a licensed real estate agent with CENTURY 21 Boardwalk from 2005 to 2011 prior to joining the MCVB.

The Manistee High School graduate is "returning to her real estate roots." She intends to manage her familys property at the historic Lloyd Henry Building located at 429 River St. in Manistee, where she is "renovating and restoring the upstairs for residential living and seeking a commercial tenant for downstairs." Kenny also plans to provide real estate support services for CENTURY 21 Boardwalk.

I am excited to be part of the energy and revitalization of downtown Manistee and River Street, both as a resident and property manager, said Kenny. Plus, I cant wait to be a tourist in my hometown  taking time to enjoy yoga and tai chi on the beach, floating down our beautiful rivers and spending time at the beach with friends. There couldnt be a better community for the next stage of my life.

The Manistee County Visitors Bureau (known as Visit Manistee County) is the official destination marketing organization promoting Manistee County to grow the local travel economy; it was incorporated in 1997.

During Kenny's time as executive director, visitor spending from tourism dollars grew by 14.64% since 2011, with visitor spending at $157.83 million in 2019, according to the Michigan Economic Development 2019 Tourism Economics Report.

Kenny aided in launching the Manistee Historic Sites Tour, the countys most comprehensive tourism project in history, showcasing more than 100 historic sites through eight themed tours, as well as anchoring a $50,000 grant from USDA Rural Development in 2014 for the development of the Manistee Historic Sites Tours. The grant was "the highest level awarded in its annual grant cycle and the first federal grant received by the MCVB."

In addition, under Kenny's leadership the MCVA developed and launched the Manistee Pure Michigan campaign in 2012.

For more information on the MCVB, visit VisitManisteeCounty.com.
Because Cass City officials constantly monitor the villages infrastructure, they decided there was a need to do more sidewalk work and there is enough money to do so.

We looked at our sidewalk study and found another 792 lineal feet of sidewalk work to be done. This would be a majority of the sidewalk that was deemed poor by our study, explained village Manager Debbie Powell. There are a lot of missing panels, root damage, heaved and cracked sidewalk.

Due to that, she asked the council during the last meeting to approve some additional sidewalk work.

I would like to do an amendment to the original 2021 sidewalk program," Powell said. "The original program covered 720 lineal feet (of work) for $18,320. In the Capital Improvement Plan, we budgeted a total of $50,000. This means we are well under budget, and can afford to do more sidewalk improvements.

Alexander Concrete kept the same price as the original bid.

Where the additional sidewalk work would be done is not easily answered.

We will be replacing or putting in new sidewalks in all areas of the village," Powell said. "There will not be a long stretch of sidewalk planned for this additional work like the M-81 project last year or this years Hill Street."

The council agreed with her that more work could, and should, be done.

Also, approval was given for the police department to upgrade its portable radios.

Police Chief Graig Haynes asked to transfer $11,500 from the Police Capital Outlay Fund to purchase four new Motorola portable radios.

The departments current portable radios came from a grant in 2011 with a life expectancy of about seven years," Haynes said. "Repair support is canceled so they are now considered obsolete."

The states price for the radios is $4,800 each, but with the help of Tuscola Countys Emergency Services Director Steve Anderson, the department can get them at a cost of $2,500 each.

The Michigan Public Safety Communication System charges a one time mic fee of $250 per radio, said the chief. Motorola included the battery charge, but not the lapel mic. They cost $102.85 each.

The total cost for four units would be $10,411.

Haynes pointed out that the department has a fund balance of $72,595, which was set up shortly after he became chief in 2005, but he wants to keep at least 50% of those funds.

The reason for the fund was the possibility of a police parking garage attached to the municipal building, and to save toward replacing radios or unexpected vehicle replacement, legal fees and unforeseen shortages in the police budget, he said.

It was approved to transfer $11,500 from the police departments restricted fund to the Capital Outlay Fund, and for four lapel mics for a cost of $10,411.
When Rudi Hahn recently retired after 17 years of service with the Midland Country Club, MCC members and employees decided to send him off with a giveaway for the Humane Society in his honor. They filled the MCC banquet truck with food, bedding, cat litter, and other needed items.
After not working on it for a few months, the Huron County Planning Commission recently resumed progress toward finalizing its commercial solar energy ordinance.

The commission's monthly meeting on Wednesday saw it get closer to finishing the long in-development ordinance by tackling soil testing, fence heights, setbacks, and distribution connections.

Jeff Smith, the building and zoning director for Huron County, said that AEP Renewables, the company that operates Apple Blossom wind farm in Winsor Township, reviewed the draft ordinance and provided some comments to these topics. The company considers some of the undertakings to be burdensome.

Planner George Lauinger agreed with what AEP said about soil testing, since it was the biggest difficulty the planners would have finding a consensus on.

In my research, I have not encountered any other ordinances that had soil testing, Lauinger said during Wednesdays meeting. If thats true, we would be the first one in the country.

Lauinger added that he did not see the rationale for that requirement, given that only one type of solar cells use cadmium that is considered dangerous and people assume the company in charge would not fix it if an issue occurred.

The planners eventually agreed on eliminating the soil testing requirement and instead replaced it with a Phase 1 Environmental Study Assessment, which is commonly done to research the current and historical uses of a property as part of a real estate transaction.

The planners also lowered the minimum fence height for surrounding solar farms from six feet to four feet. Planner Jeremy Polega said in observing other solar farms he saw had fencing no more than four foot high. Planner Bernie Krueger felt that if people want to get over a six-foot fence, they will do it, along with eight-foot fences.

You cant stop stupidity, Krueger said.

Regarding setbacks, the commissioners agreed on requiring a four-foot setback for perimeter fencing in each solar farm proposal. The fences location will be shown on the site plan and subject to the planners approval.

The planners did not make any adjustments to the distribution/transmission wording, which deals with the transmission lines carrying electricity made from the panels to the grid.

The latest draft says that any electrical substation or transmission line shall be located and maintained underground at a minimum depth of five feet, though planners are open to making the language for flexible to allow above ground line.

The planners wanted Smith to check the countys wind ordinances on this matter, since all the countys turbines have their connecting lines go underground.

The discussion ended with Renn saying they will continue discussing the remaining issues at a future meeting. Smith added the countys corporation counsel can look through the ordinance to help them.

The planning commission plans on holding its next meeting, on Aug. 4, in the third-floor conference room of the county building, where it previously held meetings before the pandemic.

It is the same room the Huron County Board of Commissioners hold its meetings and has Zoom capabilities for presenters or those unable to attend the meetings.
CLINTON  A propane leak has closed a stretch of Route 81 to traffic, according to police.

Route 81 will be shut down in both directions from the entrance of the mall to Glenwood Road, Clinton police said in a post around 8:14 p.m. Monday, while asking drivers to take other routes. The mall area referenced are the outlets located at 20 Killingworth Turnpike, according to a dispatcher.

Police said the leak was on Route 81 in front of the old Morgan High School.

A dispatcher said Monday night that the closure would be in place until further notice.
MIDDLETOWN  After being closed for 15 months, Kidcity Childrens Museum is again filled with the sound of children at play.

We are just picking up where we left off in terms of play, museum co-founder Jennifer Alexander said. Its been a time where families have had a lot of time together at home, but the chance to go out and do things and have new experiences  this is how you build memories.

Alexander gathered with city and state officials to kick off Connecticut Summer at the Museum at the Washington Street musuem, which allows Connecticut residents 18 and younger, as well as one accompanying adult, free admission to 90 museums, aquariums and science centers across the state. The program started July 1 and runs up until Sept. 6.

Alexander noted that 119,000 visitors came to Kidcity the year before the pandemic, and, while the museum is being more reserved in how many people it lets in, they are excited to be again engaging the childrens imaginations.

Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said the pandemic challenged Connecticut families in many ways, one of which was that many children stopped learning. Literally, 100,000 children in our state, students in our state, did not go online. They didnt do the online learning.

For that reason, Bysiewicz said, she and Gov. Ned Lamont wanted to focus on getting children caught up on their lessons, and still learning over the summer. She later said the types of experiences offered at places like Kidcity can be a fun supplement to traditional forms of education.

The administration decided to use $15 million to provide grants to museums and other educational centers in the state, Bysiewicz said.

We decided to use the federal funding to do something really important for kids, she said. To get them ready for a new school year in the fall, and, hopefully, help them get caught up. But, also, to help cultural institutions that really struggled during the pandemic.

In addition to the educational component of the program, Bysiewicz said it will allow children the social interaction they were deprived of during the pandemic. Many of the initiatives funded by grants have special programming, during which they break kids into groups.

Bysiewicz noted that Kidcity struggled during the pandemic, pointing out the inherent challenges of opening a children-centered museum because of social distancing and mask use. She said equity was a big piece of the program.

Of the 90 museums and historic sites, many of them are in urban areas, she said. Were thrilled that so many of them have come up with special programming for kids who are going to be visiting for free.

State Sen. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown, said there is a lot of missed ground to make up this summer because of learning loss during the pandemic.

Weve got kids who have been left behind, who need enrichment, who ... werent able to take full advantage of distance learning, and all of the other things that were out there, for all sorts of reasons and barriers, he said. But, we have this summer to make up lost ground.

Later noting he was part of securing $2 million in funding specifically for kids museums, he said it would not have been possible without support from Congress and the Lamont administration. People coming to Middletown and Kidcity will likely help other parts of the local economy, Lesser said.

When people come to Kidcity, they tend to stick around, the senator said. They go and have lunch at one of our Main Street businesses. They go downtown. They will go to Amatos and buy a toy. They walk down the street. So, its a good economic driver.
BERLIN (AP)  With COVID-19 cases again on the rise, German officials said on Monday said that authorities need a broader focus beyond the countrys infection rate to fully gauge the impact the pandemic is having on the health system and the kind of measures that should be taken.

For much of the past year the incidence rate  how many COVID-19 cases are confirmed per 100,000 people each week  has been key to the government's decisions over what restrictive measures to impose.

The relevance of that figure is increasingly being called into question by those who argue that a sharp rise in new cases  already seen in other European countries such as Britain and the Netherlands  doesn't necessarily mean many more seriously ill patients.

Because the at-risk groups are vaccinated, a high incidence doesn't automatically mean an equally high burden on intensive care beds, Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Twitter. The incidence is increasingly losing significance, we now need more detailed information on the situation in clinics.

His ministry said that as of Tuesday, hospitals will need to transmit more data on their COVID-19 patients, including names, the type of treatment and their vaccination status.

The government says 58.5% of the population have received at least one dose of vaccine, and 42.6 % are fully vaccinated. The number of shots administered daily has dipped slightly in recent days, raising concerns that vaccine lethargy or even outright refusal to get vaccinated could hamper efforts to achieve so-called herd immunity.'

Germanys disease control agency said last week that the country should aim to vaccinate 85% of people ages 12-59 and 90% of people over 60 to prevent the delta variant causing a strong resurgence of coronavirus cases this autumn and winter.

The Robert Koch Institute on Monday reported 324 new coronavirus cases and two deaths in the past day, taking the death toll since the start of the pandemic to 91,233.

Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said tracking case numbers was still important and Germany is closely watching the situation in countries such as Britain, Spain and the Netherlands, which have eased restrictions only to see infections shoot up.

(The vaccine campaign in Germany) is luckily progressing well, but we're not sufficiently protected yet against the possibility that the numbers really rise strongly again, he said.

Seibert added that it was important to curb new cases in order to prevent the rise of a new virus variant against which current vaccines would be less effective.

___

Follow all AP stories on the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/coronavirus-pandemic.
NASIRIYAH, Iraq (AP)  The death toll from a fire that swept through a hospital coronavirus ward climbed to 92 on Tuesday, Iraq's state news agency reported, as anguished relatives buried their loved ones and lashed out at the government over the country's second such disaster in less than three months.

Health officials said scores of others were injured in the blaze that erupted Monday at al-Hussein Teaching Hospital in Nasiriyah.

The tragedy cast a spotlight on what many have decried as widespread negligence and mismanagement in Iraq's hospitals after decades of war and sanctions.

Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi convened an emergency meeting and ordered the suspension and arrest of the health director in Dhi Qar provice, the hospital director and the city's civil defense chief. The government also launched an investigation.

The prime minister called the catastrophe a deep wound in the consciousness of all Iraqis.

Two Iraqi health officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, disputed the reported death toll, saying 88 had been killed.

Authorities at one point said the fire was caused by a short circuit. Another official said the blaze erupted when an oxygen cylinder exploded. The officials were not authorized to talk to the news media and spoke on condition of anonymity.

In April, at least 82 people  many of them coronavirus patients or their relatives  were killed in a fire at a Baghdad hospital that broke out when an oxygen tank exploded. Iraqs health minister resigned over the disaster.

In the holy city of Najaf, the dead from Nasiriyah were laid to rest. Mourning families stood over the coffins at a mosque to say one last prayer.

Their tears were tinged with anger, with some saying the disaster could have been prevented. They blamed both the provincial government and the central government in Baghdad.

Ahmed Resan, who witnessed the blaze, said it began with smoke. But everyone ran away  the workers and even the police. A few minutes later there was an explosion, he said. He said firefighters arrived an hour later.

The whole state system has collapsed, and who paid the price? The people inside here. These people have paid the price, Haidar al-Askari seethed at the scene.

Overnight, firefighters and rescuers  many holding flashlights and using blankets to smother small fires  searched through the ward. As dawn broke, bodies covered with sheets could be seen laid out on the ground outside the hospital. Distraught relatives searched for traces of their loved ones amid charred blankets and belongings.

Ali Khalid, 20, a volunteer who dashed to the scene, said he found the bodies of two young girls locked in embrace.

How terrified they must have been, they died hugging each other, he said.

The ward, opened three months ago, contained 70 beds in three large halls. Maj. Gen. Khalid Bohan, head of Iraqs civil defense, said the building was constructed from cheap, flammable materials.

Ali Karar, a cleaner at the hospital, said the ward had only four fire extinguishers and no fire alarm system. Firetrucks ran out of water quickly, he said.

Doctors have long complained of lax safety at Iraq's hospitals, especially around oxygen cylinders, and have described the institutions as ticking bombs.

Mac Skelton, a medical sociologist focused on Iraq, said chaos and neglect in Iraq's public hospitals since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 have given rise to toxic distrust between patients and doctors.

Doctors in COVID-19 wards often say they avoid confronting patients' families who are mishandling oxygen tanks, for fear they will react violently, he said. But families say that they have legitimate fears about leaving the lives of their vulnerable loved ones up to medical staff that they regard as under-resourced, overburdened and disinterested.

Iraq is in the midst of another severe COVID-19 surge. New cases per day peaked last week at 9,000. Iraqs war-crippled health system has struggled to contain the virus. The country has recorded over 17,000 deaths and 1.4 million confirmed cases.

Fear and widespread mistrust of the public health sector have kept many from seeking hospital care.

Ali Abbas Salman, who rushed to evacuate his COVID-19-stricken father from the building after the fire broke out, swore he wouldn't take the older man back to a hospital.

He wants me to take him home. He said, `Its better to die of coronavirus than being burned alive,' Salman said.

The disaster is likely to stoke public discontent toward Iraqs political establishment ahead of October elections, said Marsin Alshammary, an Iraq specialist at the Brookings Institution. Nasiriyah has been at the heart of past revolutions in Iraq.

Given this entire atmosphere built around the city," she said, you can imagine that something as tragic as this event, where people who were already vulnerable were killed in a needless accident, will create more public anger.



Associated Press writer Qassim Abdul-Zahra contributed.
MOSCOW (AP)  The authoritarian leader of Belarus visited Russia on Tuesday for talks with President Vladimir Putin as soaring tensions with the West have boosted his reliance on Moscows support.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko thanked Putin for the very serious support" Belarus has received from Russia and pledged that the country would duly repay its loans.

Putin, in turn, praised Belarus as a reliable and stable partner.

The Belarusian economy, which suffered from the coronavirus pandemic, received a new blow when the European Union imposed bruising sanctions against some of its top exports over Belarus' May 23 diversion of an airliner and the arrest of an opposition journalist who was a passenger.

Lukashenko has denounced the economic sanctions and said that Belarus would halt cooperation with the EU on stemming illegal migration in retaliation.

Lithuania, a EU member which has granted refuge to Belarus opposition figures, has accused Belarusian authorities of encouraging migration from Iraq, other Mideast nations and Africa. The EU's border control agency has pledged to step up its support to Lithuania to help stem the flow.

Belarus was rocked by months of protests after Lukashenko's August 2020 election to a sixth term in a disputed vote that was widely seen as rigged.

Belarusian authorities responded to the protests with a massive crackdown, including police beating thousands of demonstrators and arresting more than 35,000 people. Leading opposition figures have been jailed or forced to leave the country, while independent media outlets have had their offices searched and their journalists arrested.

Belarusian authorities raided three more independent media organizations, the Belarusian Association of Journalists said Tuesday, after 30 searches of media offices and journalists' apartments last week.

Overall, 39 Belarusian journalists are currently in custody, either serving their sentences or awaiting trial, the Association said.

Speaking at the start of his talks with Putin in St. Petersburg, Lukashenko charged that his foes have switched from trying to stage a rebellion to individual terror" by targeting government supporters and trying to scare them.

He claimed that Western-funded organizations were fomenting the unrest and denounced their alleged actions as disgusting.

We have started to work very actively to deal with all those NGOs,...which were effectively promoting terror instead of democracy, Lukashenko said.

Earlier this month, the Belarusian leader claimed that his government had thwarted a series of purported Western-backed plots, including a plan to blow up a Russian military communications facility in Vileyka.

Russia and Belarus have a union agreement that envisages close political, economic and military ties but stops short of a full merger. Russia has pumped billions of dollars into shoring up the Soviet-style, state-controlled economy of Belarus with cheap energy supplies and loans.

Before last year's election and protests, Lukashenko often accused the Kremlin of trying to force him to relinquish control of prized economic assets and eventually abandon his countrys independence. Faced now with tougher economic sanctions, the Belarusian leader emphasized a need to jointly counter Western pressure.

We will deal with terrorism and all that, but the economy is the most important thing, Lukashenko said, voicing hope that we will resist that economic blow together with Russia and adding that the West will not succeed in trying to monopolize the international agenda and put pressure on us.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the presidents agreed during their five hours of talks that Belarus would receive Russia's natural gas next year at this year's prices, the Interfax news agency reported. The two also discussed terms for new Russian loans and steps to increase cooperation in energy, taxes and customs.

___

Associated Press writer Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv, Ukraine contributed to this report.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is seeking to increase the number of U.S. service members who exercise their right to vote -- especially those stationed in combat zones or deployed overseas.

Sens. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, introduced a bill Tuesday that would establish a secure electronic voting system for those assigned to hazardous duty stations or on a rotational deployment.

According to the senators, the fully auditable system would track votes from the time they are marked through the counting process.

In a release, Duckworth said a new system is needed as part of an overall effort to "strengthen voting rights across the country."

"Service members face numerous barriers to voting that make it more difficult for them to participate in our democracy by exercising their right to vote," she said. "[The bill] would increase access to the ballot box for troops."

According to the Federal Voting Assistance Program's 2018 post-election report to Congress, the Defense Department sent 655,409 absentee ballots to personnel serving abroad, and more than half, or 344,392, were returned, a rate comparable to the overall percentage of Americans who voted in the midterm elections.

Just 26% of those, however, were from active-duty service members.

Read Next: A British Soldier Smashed Through a Roof in California in a Botched Training Jump

The proposal follows an executive order signed March 7 by President Joe Biden that required the Defense Department to establish an "end-to-end tracking system" for all absentee ballots cast by military personnel and Americans living overseas.

Duckworth and Cornyn's legislation would specifically target troops who face the most challenges in voting -- those at remote or dangerous locales.

Similar legislation was introduced in the House earlier this year by Reps. Andy Kim, D-N.J., and Joe Wilson, R-S.C.

"The ballots of military voters are rejected at three times the rate of the general population," Wilson said in May when introducing his bill. "Of those rejected, nearly half are because they arrived too late to be counted. We must do better for our service members who put themselves in harm's way to protect our families by ensuring their ballots are received in a timely manner according to state laws."

Military absentee votes were among those challenged in the numerous lawsuits following the 2020 presidential election. In Nevada, representatives for President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit over more than 3,000 ballots they alleged were improperly cast.

An analysis of the ballots' origins by Military.com found that many came from overseas military post offices and from more than 1,000 domestic ZIP codes where military personnel commonly are stationed.

The plaintiffs dropped their suit the day the state of Nevada certified its election results.

The Federal Voting Assistance Program has yet to release its analysis of the 2020 presidential election and those who voted abroad under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.

But according to the program, roughly 46% of the 1.3 million active-duty members, or nearly 600,000 personnel, voted in the 2016 presidential election. About 75% or those, or nearly 450,000, voted absentee.

Biden's executive order also requires the DoD to offer each active-duty service member annually the opportunity to register to vote in federal elections, update their voter registration or request an absentee ballot.

The proposed legislation would direct the DoD to test the new system with a subset of voters in the 2024 federal election and expand it to all qualifying military personnel in 2026.

The new proposal, known as the Reducing Barriers for Military Voters Act, has bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.

It has been introduced as a stand-alone bill but could be rolled into the fiscal 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. Deliberations on that begin next week in the Senate and the last week of July in the House.

The proposed bill has the support of several military advocacy and voting rights groups, including the Military Officers Association of America, National Military Families Association, Blue Star Families and Mobile Voting Project.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

Related: House Bill Would Require Pentagon to Set Up Apprenticeship, Fellowship Program for Military Spouses
Space Force guardians must wait a little longer for physical training standards unique to their service as it figures out what requirements best match its needs.

The service won't debut PT policy guidelines until late this year at the earliest, spokeswoman Lynn Kirby told Military.com on Monday, adding that they might not come until next year.

"The Space Force is currently building its first policy to capture the service's comprehensive approach to holistic health and wellness, which will incorporate the physical fitness program," Kirby said in an email, adding that all discussions are still "pre-decisional."

Read Next: A British Soldier Smashed Through a Roof in California in a Botched Training Jump

Space Force members have been told to follow the Air Force's PT guidance for now. That service is in the process of overhauling its PT test; in the new year, it plans to offer airmen a menu of options to fit three existing categories -- one aerobic and two strength.

Airmen soon will be able to choose from the standard, 1.5-mile run; a 1-mile walk; or a 20-meter "high aerobic multi-shuttle run," according to a July 2 news release. They also may choose either traditional push-ups or hand-release push-ups for one strength event; and sit-ups, a cross-leg reverse crunch or planking for the second strength component, officials have said.

Officials have stressed that personnel should make their health an overall priority instead of working out aggressively in the days leading up to a PT test to achieve a top score, something that often leads to injury.

The Space Force has been working to build its own culture since then-President Donald Trump signed the service into existence with the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act on Dec. 20, 2019.

Trump first surprised Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in 2018 with his push to form the new branch, with the Pentagon and congressional leadership moving rapidly to establish the service.

The service so far has debuted its unit structure and rank structure; official logo, seal, flag and motto; a dark navy-colored name tape; and a lapel pin. It still lacks an official dress uniform, physical fitness uniform and mess dress uniform; an official song; patch and insignia wear.

Some of these ideas are being crowdsourced to get input from guardians themselves, Chief Master Sgt. Roger Towberman, the service's top enlisted adviser, previously told Military.com

"It's about listening to everyone," he said in an interview last year. "We feel we can craft a service narrative that both honors military traditions and speaks to the things that we want them to speak to the essence of our service, the future of our service."

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.

Related: Can't Hug a Satellite: General Addresses Space Force's PR Problem
The USS Ronald Reagan and the HMS Queen Elizabeth strike groups conducted a large-scale exercise in the Indian Ocean on Monday, marking the first time the two carriers have trained together.

Along with the amphibious ready group led by the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima and the Dutch frigate HNLMS Eversten, the strike groups worked through a variety of training scenarios in the Gulf of Aden, between Yemen, Somaliland and Somalia.

"Our team was proud to operate alongside the UK Carrier Strike Group during this unique opportunity to hone the full scope of our mutual capabilities," said Rear Adm. Will Pennington, commander of the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group and Task Force 50, in a press release Tuesday. "By operating together at sea, we deepen our coalition partnerships and extend our global reach throughout the region's critical waterways."

The exercise focused on the "full spectrum of maritime warfare operations" including anti-air, anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare tactics.

The ships' crews in several scenarios practiced precision maneuvering, hunted simulated enemy submarines, defended against simulated air and surface threats and conducted long-range maritime strikes against simulated enemy combatants, the U.S. Navy said.

Lt. Cmdr. Joe Kelly, spokesman for Task Force 50, said in an email Tuesday that the exercise was the first time the Ronald Reagan and Queen Elizabeth had steamed together.

"The aircraft carrier is the ultimate expression of global maritime power," said Commodore Steve Moorhouse, commander of the United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group, in a Royal Navy press release. "Queen Elizabeth, Ronald Reagan and Iwo Jima symbolize the might of the U.S. and U.K. partnership, and the ease with which our naval and air forces can combine here in the Gulf of Aden, or anywhere else in the world."

The Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group trained in May with the Queen Elizabeth and its strike group conducted off the coast of Scotland.

Monday's exercise took place during the Ronald Reagan's deployment to the Middle East, where it has been assisting the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

The HMS Queen Elizabeth, on the other hand, is in the middle of its maiden operational tour. The carrier departed Portsmouth, England, in late May. It is expected to visit 40 nations -- including India, Japan, South Korea and Singapore -- in a deployment spanning 26,000 nautical miles in seven-and-a-half-months.

On Monday, the Queen Elizabeth's official Twitter page posted a picture of the carrier sailing with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.

"Good to sail with the Japanese destroyer Setogiri in the Gulf of Aden," said the post. "We will see more of the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force as we continue to head East into the Indo-Pacific."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren has lifted two nomination holds on prospective Defense Department officials after they agreed to stay out of the defense industry for at least four years following their work at the Pentagon, an aide familiar with the agreement confirmed to Military.com.

The Democratic senator from Massachusetts halted the nominations of Frank Kendall, President Joe Biden's pick to be the next Air Force secretary, and Heidi Shyu, put forward to be the Pentagon's research and development chief, pending their personal commitments to break the so-called ubiquitous military-defense revolving door in Washington. Inside Defense was first to report the news.

Kendall and Shyu have agreed to avoid working for defense firms for four years after their turns in the administration, up from the two years mandated by law, and won't seek a waiver to amend their ethics agreements, the aide said Tuesday. The two also agreed to recuse themselves from any decisions that involve their former employers during their government service.

Read Next: Court Ruling May Let Veterans Access Both Montgomery and Post-9/11 GI Bill Benefits

The initiative is just one step of Warren's broader work to stop defense contractors from hiring former senior government officials for four years after they leave government.

In 2019, she introduced the Department of Defense Ethics and Anti-Corruption Act to limit the practice, although the bill never received a vote. In January, Warren received a similar pledge from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to recuse himself from any work related to Raytheon Technologies, where he was a member of the board of directors.

"This is precisely the kind of thing that senators should be doing to ensure that we shore up our system to make sure that there's integrity, and that there isn't even the perception that people are going to be using their public service to advance their own personal financial interests," said Mandy Smithberger, director of the Straus Military Reform Project at the Project on Government Oversight.

Smithberger said Warren's efforts are reminiscent of the late Sen. John McCain, who also kept a close eye on defense contractors filling top posts at the Pentagon.

"We don't even want the appearance that decisions are being made because of who someone's prior employers were," Smithberger said in an interview. "[Any] kinds of appearances of conflicts of interest can be extremely costly to the department, and can delay programs -- so they need to get their house in order."

Besides Warren, Sens. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, and Gary Peters, a Democrat from Michigan, have reportedly also put holds on Kendall's nomination for various reasons. Air Force Magazine reported Peters held up Kendall's nomination over the future of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter international training center, which was awarded to Arkansas' Ebbing Air National Guard Base over Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan.

In a statement, an aide from Lee's office would not comment on the matter, and a representative from Peters' office did not reply to a message before publication.

Kendall spent 10 years on active duty and retired as a lieutenant colonel from the Army Reserve. Under the Obama administration, he served as the under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics at the Pentagon between 2012 and 2017. He was previously the vice president of engineering for Raytheon.

Shyu was formerly the U.S. Army's top acquisition official between 2012 and 2016. Like Kendall, she previously also worked with Raytheon.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.

Related: Did Michele Flournoy Face 'Double Standard' Over Defense Industry Ties?
The terminology of the modern business world can sometimes seem packed with hyperbole. For a Starbucks barista, running out of chai might equate to a logistical nightmare. A Staples manager, meanwhile, might consider ordering the wrong size of copy paper a supply chain disaster.

Are those situations inconvenient? Sure. Catastrophic? No, probably not.

Related: Search for business jobs.

For servicemembers, however, supply chain errors or logistical miscalculations can have profound consequences. And that can put lives  not just livelihoods  at risk.

As a result, military personnel and veterans have a deep understanding of logistical imperative. And thats just one reason why servicemembers have the potential to make a successful transition to a civilian career in business. Added to that are the personal qualities that military service fosters  leadership, discipline, perseverance and loyalty, for example  as well as the ability of servicemembers to produce quality work as part of a team or individually.

Finally, servicemembers must be able to shift seamlessly between the short- and long-term view  an invaluable attribute for aspiring business owners and entrepreneurs.

In the franchise industry, veterans and servicemembers already are acknowledged as having the skills and knowledge required to become successful business people. VetFran, a business initiative administered by the International Franchise Association (IFA) in conjunction with the Small Business Administration, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, among other agencies, offers financial incentives, mentoring and training to veterans as they transition into civilian entrepreneurship.

Related: To create a personalized transition plan for yourself, and for transition guides and checklists, visit the Military.com Transition Center.

According to VetFran, nearly 70,000 franchise businesses in the United States are owned by veterans, representing a total payroll of more than 800,000 and in excess of $41 billion in gross domestic product.

Vetfrans Operation Enduring Opportunity, meanwhile, aims to recruit 75,000 veterans and their spouses plus 5,000 wounded warriors as franchise restaurant owners by 2014.

Resources Available for Servicemembers

In 2012, the Small Business Administration (SBA) launched its Boots to Business program, which aims to make entrepreneurial training and resources available to servicemembers transitioning to civilian life. Citing Census Bureau data, the SBA said almost 2.5 million businesses are owned by veterans, representing about 9% of all firms nationwide. Those veteran-owned companies employ an estimated 5.8 million workers.

Another SBA program, Patriot Express, provides low-interest loans of up to $500,000 for veterans and other military members, while the agencys Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (MREIDL) provides loans of up to $2 million to help small businesses compensate for the loss of an employee to active military duty.

Like all entrepreneurs, servicemembers must weigh the costs and benefits associated with a franchise opportunity before making a commitment. However, in an economic environment that remains challenging, franchising can be an attractive option for transitioning military members. According to a 2012 survey by Franchise Business Review, veteran franchisees had average annual profits of $64,000.

As the survey concluded, Hundreds of franchise brands offer special discounts and incentives to prospective franchisees with military experience, making it an excellent time for veterans to consider a franchise opportunity. Franchise brands recognize the significant strengths and related skills that veterans can bring to a businessespecially a franchising business, which is built around systems, teamwork, and following a step-by-step protocol.

Related: Does your resume pass the 6-second test? Get a FREE assessment.

Master Your Military Transition

Looking for more transition tips? Military.com has you covered. Sign up for a free Military.com membership to have military news, updates, and job resources delivered directly to your inbox.
An officer on special duty (OSD) to the Maharashtra chief minister (CM) has been blocking the transfer of a property for over a year, even after the bidder has won and officially paid the full due amount after the formal auction of the property held by Bhandari Cooperative Bank (BCB), alleges Aam Admi Party (AAP).

In November 2011, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had cancelled the licence of BCB and declared it insolvent. The Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) has paid claims of Rs54.88 crore to customers of the Bank. The remaining customers/ depositors of the bank approached Bombay High Court (HC) to get back their money. Subsequently, the HC asked the Bank to auction its properties and repay its depositors. The depositors are waiting for their money while the auction process is being blatantly stalled by the CMs OSD.

However, AAP claims that BCB failed to follow the orders of the HC.

In one case, despite the bidder paying the full auction amount, the Bank has not transferred the property, AAP claimed during a press conference. The winning bidder, one Rashmi Upadhyay, was present during the press conference called by Preeti Sharma Menon, national executive member, national spokesperson, and Mumbai Prabhari of AAP.

While sharing documents Ms Upadhyay says she won the auction for the property and has paid the full amount to the Bank.

The documents do suggest that the transfer process has been stalled without any reason but there is no proof to prove the OSDs involvement in blocking the process. It is also not clear why the party has not approached the RBI and raised this concern with the banking regulator.

The documents shared also include the TDS (tax deducted at source) forms of the bidder which show that the property was purchased during the said period. However, the said property has not been transferred to the bidder as yet.

The Party further highlighted that this has happened in several instances; but only one of the bidders has come forward and said that she has paid the whole amount for the property, followed all due processes; and even received a favourable judgement for the property to be delivered after a hearing in front of the minister of state for cooperation.

However, every time that the government agreed to transfer the property, the officials would get a call from the Chief Ministers OSD - Sudhir Naik, who told them that the CM had prohibited the sale. It seems that Mr Naik is misusing his authority and preventing the High Court order from being executed,the Party alleges.

In November 2019, Sai Data Forms represented by Ms Upadhyay responded to an advertisement in leading newspapers for the auction of a property of Bhandari Bank: Combined Units A to F, Arihant Apartments, Bearing CTS No. 42, in Goregaon East. Sai Data Forms participated in the auction, made all the due payments and was hoping to have the property to transferred to them around March 2020.

However, there were extensive delays, initially due to the pandemic, and then due to ridiculous excuses citing technical errors. Sai Data Forms kept pursuing the transfer of the property at the highest level but were always told it has been put on hold by Mr Naik - OSD to the chief minister. In fact in February 2021, after a hearing made in front of minister of state for cooperation Dr Vishwajit Kadam they were given the go ahead in writing, but were later informed by Sampark Dhaokar OSD to the minister, that Mr Naik has blocked the sale, the Party claimed in its release.

Ms Upadhyay then approached Cabinet minister Balasaheb Patils OSD Antosh Patil, who again directed her to Mr Naik.

She finally spoke to Mr Naik who told her that the order to block the transfer of the defunct BCB's properties has come from the CM!

We find it hard to believe that our Chief Minister has any interest in preventing a rightful owner from receiving his/her property. The question is how can a chief ministers OSD use the CMs name to stall a legal proceeding. What is the interest of Mr Naik in the said property or any other property of Bhandari Cooperative Bank,AAP asked while highlighting the serious issue.

It is shocking that bureaucrats can subvert legal proceedings with no checks or accountability. The Party said that this instance is one of many but the other buyers are afraid to come forward.

Ms Sharma Menon sent a letter to the CM Udhhav Thackeray on 5th July detailing these serious allegations. However, she said there has been no response to her letter so far.

Ms Upadhyay has also sent numerous letters to the government.

The Aam Aadmi Party demanded that the CM Uddhav Thackeray should investigate Mr Naiks role in obstructing the auctions of BCB's properties.

We request the Chief Minister to take action against Mr. Sudhir Naik for misusing his name. The beneficiaries of the auctions should be handed over their purchased properties, and compensated for their loses due to the delay. It is urgent and important that the money owed to Bhandari Cooperative Banks depositors, repaid as soon as possible. said AAP leader Preeti Sharma Menon.

Ms Sharma Menon also tweeted from her Twitter account, After Bhandari Bank folded HC ordered its properties be auctioned to pay off the depositors. This was done, monies collected from buyers. Under what authority has OSD to @OfficeofUT Sudhir Nayak blocked the transfer of properties to the buyers, and the payment to the depositors.

After Bhandari Bank folded HC ordered its properties be auctioned to pay off the depositors. This was done, monies collected from buyers. Under what authority has OSD to @OfficeofUT Sudhir Nayak blocked the transfer of properties to the buyers, and the payment to the depositors  Preeti Sharma Menon (@PreetiSMenon) July 12, 2021

However, when asked by a reporter why they had not approached the RBI regarding this issue, they claimed that cooperative banks come under the 'state governments co-operative ministry'; hence, they were only discussing with the respective ministry in the state government.

It was pointed out by a reporter that while cooperative banks were earlier under the dual regulation of RBI as well as the state government, now cooperative banks have come under the regulation of RBI. Hence, it would have been prudent if they would have approached the banking regulator with an issue of this sort. Ms Sharma Menon acknowledged this and said they would take this suggestion and try to follow up accordingly.
Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has sent another letter to PNB Housing Finance Company with respect to its proposed deal with American private equity investor The Carlyle Group Inc asking the housing finance company why all its shareholders were not given equal opportunities and why the common shareholders have been ignored. SEBIs second letter also termed the proposed deal an 'apparent transgression of law' and asked PNB Housing Finance to explain why action must not be taken against it.

In its examination letter, SEBI has also raised issues related to the corporate governance of the company.

In the letter, SEBI said, On the basis of material available on record, it is evident that the company has failed to comply with the principles governing disclosures and obligations of a listed entity as enshrined in the listing obligations and disclosure requirements (LODR) regulations and the Company Act, 2013.

"Keeping in view the apparent transgression of law, the company and the board of directors are called upon to explain as to why it should not be construed that the directors have failed to discharge responsibility cast upon them in law and consequently why appropriate actions in terms of law be not considered for such failure," the letter added.

The whole matter relates to the 31st May decision of the PNB Housing Finance board approving raising of funds through a preferential issue of shares and share warrants worth Rs4,000 crore from Carlyle, General Atlantic and Salisbury Investments Pvt Ltd.

The capital is being raised by PNB Housing Finance to augment its capital adequacy, reduce gearing and accelerate growth with a focus on retail housing.

As part of this transaction, Salisbury Investments, the family investment vehicle of Aditya Puri, senior Advisor for Carlyle in Asia and former managing director (MD) and chief executive (CEO) of HDFC Bank, would also invest in the capital raise. Mr Puri was also expected to be nominated to the PNB Housing Finance board as a Carlyle nominee director in due course.

The price of the preferential issue of shares and share warrants was fixed at Rs390 per share, which was only Rs6 (marginally) higher than the floor price under the SEBI issue of capital and disclosure regulations (ICDR).

For the share warrants issue of Rs800 crore, only 25% is needed to be infused on allotment, the remaining to be infused within 18 months.

Proxy advisory firm Stakeholders Empowerment Services (SES) had alleged that through this preferential issue, PNB Housing Finance was ceding management control to Carlyle and persons acting in concert (PAC).

SEBI ICDR only indicates past prices at which the stock was traded and need not necessarily indicate the value, SES had further explained, adding, The company cannot take shelter under SEBI ICDR pricing guidelines stating that Rs384.6 (floor price) is the fair value for every share of a company that is having Rs530 as book value," SES said. Floor price is 'not fair value'.

The valuation report from BR Maheswari and Co LLP  provided by PNB Housing Finance to SES  is not legally tenable as it appears that the chartered accountancy (CA) firm is not a registered valuer and the report furnished by it does not meet ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India) valuation standards 2018, SES said.

However, the objection to the transaction was that there was a violation of the articles of association (AoA), and that the preferential issue of shares was unfair to minority shareholders as only 15% of current shareholders were largely impacted.

SES insisted that PNB Housing Finance should have come up with a rights issue and Punjab National Bank (PNB) should have opted to give up it's right for a price determined on stock exchange where such entitlements are traded.

SEBI had earlier sent a letter to the housing finance company on 18th June saying The current resolution bearing item no. 1 (issue of securities of the company and matters related therewith) of extraordinary general meeting (EGM) notice dated 31 May 2021 is ultra-vires of AoA and shall not be acted upon until the company undertakes the valuation of shares as prescribed under 19(2) of AoA, for purpose of preferential allotment, from an independent registered valuer as per the provisions of applicable laws. The said report shall be considered by the companys board while deciding on the preferential issue of shares and warrants.

PNB Housing Finance told the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) that SEBI has issued a second letter to the independent directors on 25th June asking why they failed in saving the interest of the minority shareholders.

SEBI then directed PNB Housing Finance to stop the allotment unless the valuation was done by an independent valuer.

Moneylife had reported last week that PNB Housing Finance and its parent Punjab National Bank are on different pages when it comes to the housing finance company's proposed preferential issue worth Rs4,000 crore to entities led by Carlyle group.

Punjab National Bank (PNB), in a letter on 4th July (one day before the scheduled SAT hearing), said that its board of directors is of the view that the board of PNB Housing Finance should take cognizance of SEBI's order and reconsider restructuring the deal in line with the regulator's directive.

PNB Housing Finance however, decided to wait for the SAT order, which is expected to be pronounced this week.

"Further to deliberations on the PNB letter, the board of the company, by a majority resolution passed on 6 July 2021, decided that since the issue involved relates to interpretation of law and is sub-judice before the SAT, the board will await the SAT's order on this issue," PNB Housing Finance had said in a regulatory filing.

During the SAT hearing on Monday, PNB Housing Finance told the tribunal that SEBI was focusing more on the articles of association, which is an agreement between two shareholders and even cited a similar deal between LIC Housing Finance and Barbeque Nation to prop up its case.

The housing finance company argued that SEBI has no jurisdiction to direct a listed company to stick to its articles of association. It also contended that SEBI issued two letters without giving the mortgage lender any chance to explain its position and, hence, it is against the principles of natural justice.

The lender also pointed that there were other companies, which are not following their AoA but ICDR regulations, and pointedly asked why it is being singled out.

PNB Housing Finance emphasised that it had complied with all provisions under the ICDR regulations in the deal.

The hearing will continue on Tuesday when SEBI is expected to present its arguments.

Sources suggest that SEBI may direct exchanges to conduct a preliminary inquiry and seek an explanation from the two companies named by the mortgage lender as a precedent during its arguments, i.e., LIC Housing Finance and Barbeque Nation.
S&P Global Ratings has affirmed its 'BBB-' long-term and 'A-3' short-term unsolicited foreign and local currency sovereign ratings on India with a stable outlook. The BBB- ratings from S&P denotes the entity to have adequate capacity to meet financial commitments, but more subject to adverse economic conditions.

In a release, the ratings agency says, "The stable outlook reflects our expectation that India's economy will recover following the resolution of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the country's strong external settings will act as a buffer against financial strains despite elevated government funding needs over the next 24 months."

S&P says, the sovereign credit ratings on India reflect the economy's above-average long-term real gross domestic product (GDP) growth, sound external profile and evolving monetary settings.

"India's democratic institutions promote policy stability and compromise, and also underpin the ratings. These strengths are balanced against vulnerabilities stemming from the country's low per capita income and weak fiscal settings, including consistently elevated general government deficits and indebtedness," it added.

While India's economy continues to outperform peers at a similar level of income on a 10-year weighted average real GDP per capita basis, its performance on this metric has weakened somewhat, the ratings agency says adding, prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian economy had already slowed measurably.

It says, "We expect economic activity in India to begin to normalize throughout the remainder of fiscal 2022, resulting in real GDP growth of about 9.5%. A significant proportion of this rebound will be due to the very weak base in the prior fiscal year, when the economy contracted by a record 7.3%."

India's severe second COVID-19 wave, which appears to have peaked in May 2021, has undermined the healthy recovery momentum observed in the economy from September 2020 through March 2021.

During that period, high frequency economic indicators, financial sector data, infrastructure capacity utilisation, mobility and good and services tax (GST) receipts all showed strong signs of recovery, exhibiting the economy's potential when pandemic-related restrictions are lifted.

If the second wave of COVID-19 continues to abate, S&P says it expects India's economic buoyancy to return, and that increased mobility and pent-up demand will power a strong recovery in the second half of the current fiscal year. These near-term prospects remain contingent upon the prevention of further severe epidemic waves, which are highly unpredictable, it added.

According to the ratings agency, the pace of India's ambitious COVID-19 vaccination campaign will be crucial to the mitigation of adverse outcomes from future pandemic waves.

It says, "The nationwide rollout has picked up pace over the past month, helped by increasing domestic supply. India is among a small group of emerging markets with extensive domestic vaccine manufacturing capabilities. Nevertheless, officials face stout challenges in establishing broad-based coverage for the nation's large population, the majority of which live in rural areas."

The Indian economy's long-term outperformance highlights its historical resilience, the ratings agency says adding, the country's wide range of structural trends, including healthy demographics and competitive unit labour costs, work in its favour.

"These strengths have been challenged by the extent of the pandemic, and financial and corporate sector weaknesses. A cyclical investment downturn also predated the pandemic, and a rebound in private sector investment will be a key determinant of the economic recovery's longevity," S&P says.

On the regulatory front, important steps taken by the Union government that led to some improvement in financial sector practices will be delayed amid the pandemic. While restructuring and moratorium programmes introduced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are helping to alleviate immediate pressure on banks' balance sheets, the rating agency feel, this will also likely delay the realisation of banks' exposure to distressed or insolvent firms.

According to S&P, the implementation of India's complicated national GST created some disruption as state and Central governments gradually modified details of the tax. However, it says, there are signs that these disruptions are beginning to ease, and it expects progress in India's tax collection regime to support economic growth.

Notably, GST revenues showed a marked improvement prior to the most recent virus outbreak, it added.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition government retains a healthy majority in the Lok Sabha, or India's lower house of parliament, supporting its efforts to implement economic reforms.

The Central government, in fiscal 2021, approved three labour reform bills that should help to liberalise employment practices in the country, especially at small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) with fewer than 300 employees.

"State elections in 2022 will provide a gauge of the BJP's popularity in the Rajya Sabha, or upper house, following the disruptive second wave of COVID-19," S&P says.

The Indian government introduced a brawny budget for fiscal 2022, with a 137% increase in healthcare expenditure and a 34% boost to capital expenditure, versus what was initially budgeted in the previous year. The Budget follows comprehensive support measures implemented throughout fiscal 2021, although direct fiscal injections were fairly modest under that programme.

According to S&P, although the government's robust expenditure programme this year should help the economy to heal faster, it will also further strain its weak finances. "This increasingly tenuous balance may challenge India's capacity to maintain sustainable public finances and balanced economic growth, if the recovery is slower than we anticipate," it added.

The Union government's stimulus measures have leaned heavily on guarantees as well as on the banking sector and the RBI to support the economy and the financial sector. Amid the second wave of infections from March 2021 onward, the bulk of support measures has ostensibly been provided by the RBI.

As before, the ratings agency says, these measures target the hardest-hit individuals, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs), and should help to contain immediate stress in the broader financial sector.

"There is a risk that some damage to the real economy from India's deep economic downturn last year, and the more recent virus outbreak, could be enduring. Implementation and acceleration of key reforms could help to address this risk over the next few years," S&P warns.

The Indian government has exhibited an awareness of the necessity of reforms to boost productivity in the long run. In 2019, it announced a package of corporate tax reforms that reduced the domestic corporate income tax rate to 22%, from 30% previously, as long as companies do not employ other incentives or exemptions.

Companies making fresh investment in manufacturing may get an even lower rate of 15%. The new corporate tax framework also includes preferential tax rates for new manufacturing companies. Other reforms announced in 2020 include the relaxation of limitations on investment into the defence sector, liberalisation of domestic agricultural markets, and easing of restrictions on commercial mining.

Critically, S&P says, some local governments have made further progress in loosening restrictive labour market policies at the state level. These efforts are likely in coordination with the Central government, which passed three associated labour bills in September 2020. "Should these measures become more permanent, with broadening participation from other states, they could help India's labour market to normalise more quickly following the containment of the pandemic," it added.

The Union government's ability to deliver and execute additional economic reforms, especially those that spur investment and job creation, will be important for India's ability to recover from the economic slowdown, the ratings agency says, adding, existing vulnerabilities, including a relatively weak financial sector, rigid labour markets, and sluggish private investment, could hamper the economic recovery if not meaningfully addressed.

"Although India's banking sector has ample liquidity, risk appetite is still limited. Credit extension to less creditworthy borrowers in the NBFI space may be weak for some time owing to heightened prudence in banks' lending standards. Government measures aimed at backstopping NBFI debt have helped to alleviate these conditions to some extent. Liquidity risks are more prevalent in some parts of the NBFI sector, especially for firms in the automobile, SME, and microfinance segments," S&P says.
Weather Alert

...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 9 PM MDT TUESDAY... * WHAT...Hazardous heat, with afternoon highs of 95 to low 100s, and overnight lows in the mid-50s to mid-60s. * WHERE...Cascade, Judith Basin, Liberty, Toole, Broadwater and Central and Southern Lewis and Clark Counties. * WHEN...From Noon today to 9 PM MDT Tuesday. * IMPACTS...Hot temperatures may cause heat illnesses to occur. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Do not leave young children and pets in unattended vehicles. Car interiors will reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes. Take action when you see symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1. &&
July 13, 2021 Taliban Reject U.S./Turkish Plans To Keep A Foothold In Kabul In mid June Turkey floated a plan to occupy the airport of Kabul with Turkish troops to allow for emergency evacuation of 'western' embassies. The plan seems to have originated on the U.S. side. I had speculated on what might be behind it: One does not protect diplomatic missions by holding the main airport of a foreign country. There must be other reasons why this was put on the table. The CIA has tried to get drone-bases in countries neighboring Afghanistan to continue its drug smuggling business fight against al-Qaida in Afghanistan. Negotiations were held with Pakistan but Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan publicly rejected the plan.

...

With no other country around Afghanistan willing to support the CIA it needed to find a way to stay in Afghanistan. Turkish control of the airport of Kabul would allow it to keep drones within the country and to stay in contact with its networks on the ground. A country that has its main international airport controlled by foreign forces is not sovereign. Such a position can thus only be temporary. When the Taliban take Kabul, and there is little that lets me believe that they will have trouble to do so, the airport will come under fire. The Taliban have by now captured enough long range artillery to put it under siege and to bomb it to smithereens. U.S. air support for the Turkish forces would have to come from the wider Middle East and would have to cross through Pakistani airspace. A long term defense of the airport is therefore not possible. There are well founded rumors that Turkey is hiring 'Syrian rebel' mercenaries to be send to Kabul: According to the Euphrates Media Center, a Syrian Kurdish news outlet, members of Turkeys National Intelligence Organization discussed the issue June 24 with representatives of several rebel factions under the banner of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army, including Suqour al-Sham, Suqour al-Shamal, Faylaq al-Majd, the Samarkand Brigade, the Hamza Division, the Sultan Murad Division and the Suleiman Shah Brigade. The factions were told to start preparations for the deployment of 2,000 fighters to Afghanistan, the report said, adding that the rebel representatives asked for monthly salaries of $3,000 for the mercenaries. Other Syrian Kurdish media outlets reported the meeting took place in Hawar Kilis, a village near the town of Azez, not far from the Turkish border, and the intelligence officials asked for 2,600 mercenaries. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that unlike the transfer of mercenaries to the Libyan and Nagorno-Karabakh wars, this time Turkey is more image-savvy and will recruit them through official contracts with Turkish private security companies. According to the observatory, the process is to be supervised by Turkish intelligence officers because faction members do not trust their leaders. Under the plan, the mercenaries would be tasked mainly with guarding the Kabul airport and government buildings without any involvement in operations against the Taliban, and would receive monthly salaries of $2,000 to $3,000. But at the same time Turkey is still negotiating with the U.S. and with NATO. It seems it wants to get paid excessively for the proposed 'service': Turkey has continued with negotiations on securing and operating Afghanistans Kabul airport with both the United States as well as other countries, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar stated on Tuesday. Speaking to journalists in Ankara, Akar said: There are some issues on which we have agreed with (U.S. Defense Secretary Llloyd) Mr. Austin as part of the negotiations. Moreover, there are positive developments in NATO with Turkeys initiatives. Akar stated that discussions with the technical delegation of the U.S. on the airport continue in a constructive manner. Saying that the issue has multiple sides, Akar said: There are other countries that want to help Afghanistan. We try to pursue the process with our Afghan brothers, NATO, the EU and the international community. The Taliban had already warned Turkey to not pursue those plans. Today their spokesman published another statement which makes it absolutely clear that any Turkish troops in Afghanistan will be seen as enemies.

bigger As AFP summarizes: The Taliban on Tuesday warned Turkey against extending its troop presence in Afghanistan when US-led forces leave the country, insisting the decision was "reprehensible". "The decision... is ill-advised, a violation of our sovereignty and territorial integrity and against our national interests," the group said in a statement, days after Turkey promised to provide troops to protect Kabul airport when foreign forces leave next month. "We consider the stay of foreign forces in our homeland by any country under whatever pretext as occupation," said the Taliban in the statement and added that "invaders" will be dealt with according to the Fatwa (decree) under which they have fought for the last two decades. The statement urged the Turkish people and politicians to "reverse their decision" as it would detrimental to both countries. The Taliban statement makes it difficult for the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to justify a regular troop deployment. His political constituency is in large parts in favor of the Taliban. He can hardly claim to be a 'good Muslim' if he ignores the fatwa that has supported their fight over the last 20 years. Erdogan may have foreseen that problem. Turkish 'security contractors' under Turkish military or intelligence command and two thousand 'Syrian rebels', including Uighurs, working as 'private security guards' can probably be sold as something other than "invaders". This even while they, as they are used to do, secretly work in support of the CIA. But the Taliban will not fall for that ruse. It is pretty obvious that the U.S./Turkish plans are not for the benefit of Afghanistan or even for the foreign diplomats hosted in Kabul. For Erdogan the Kabul deployment is a chance to get back into good grace with the U.S. while gaining some extra money from NATO. For the CIA it is a chance to 'stay in business' in Afghanistan and to watch over China while a new round of the Great Game unfolds: Within the [Shanghai Cooperation Organization], as diplomats told me, theres ample suspicion that the US deep state agenda is to fuel the flames of imminent civil war in Afghanistan and then extend it to the Central Asian stans, complete with shady jihadi commandos mixed with Uighurs also destabilizing Xinjiang. This being the case, the non-withdrawal withdrawal  what with all those remaining 18,000 Pentagon contractors/mercenaries, plus special forces and CIA black op types  would be a cover, allowing Washington a new narrative spin: the Kabul government has invited us to fight a terrorist re-emergence and prevent a spiral towards civil war. The protracted endgame would read like win-win hybrid war for the deep state and its NATO arm. Russia, China and Iran all have these suspicions. They all have recently held talks with the Taliban. They will certainly have told them to reject any new or re-deployment of whatever forces to Afghanistan. Today's Taliban statement underlines that it has understood that message. It will be interesting to see how Erdogan will wiggle himself out of this situation. Posted by b on July 13, 2021 at 17:36 UTC | Permalink Comments
A graduating student has been left surprised after receiving a sweet note from a stranger!

"Accidentally sent a grad invite to my extended familys old address. Received this touching letter (and $20!) in return!" they wrote on Reddit.

The note read "Dear [student]. Regretfully I must inform you that [student's relatives] are not located at this address. I bought this house in September and am not acquainted with the prior owners."

"I unknowingly opened the envelope addressed to them by mistake and am returning the contents to you.

"That being said, I offer my congratulations! My niece attends [redacted] college of engineering. Though I don't know you, I am proud of you for pursuing a career in a STEM field," the stranger added.

STEM is a mainly male dominated field and stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

"Us women have a lot of work to do to take our place in science and I am happy you are joining our ranks,"

"I am a 35-year-old mum of two, and didn't want to pass up the opportunity to wish you well. You are going to do great!" the stranger concluded her message, signing off with a heart and presumably her redacted name."

How awesome is this note? It would've totally made her day!
This map shows the area, shaded in light green, that could become a downtown designated outdoor refreshment area, but the map will be amended slightly to exclude houses on Reid Avenue in Lorain. On July 12, 2021, Lorain City Council held a public hearing on expanding the city's area where restaurant and bar patrons may ask for beer, wine or a mixed drink to go and take it as they walk on the street.
CLEVELAND  Actor Drake Bell has been sentenced to two years' probation on charges relating to a girl who met him online and attended one of his concerts in Ohio when she was 15.
Sheffield Village Council met in the council chambers July 12 for the first non live-streamed meeting since the novel coronavirus pandemic began in March 2020.
John Glenn, shown as a 77-year-old astronaut, will be celebrated with the July 16-18 John Glenn Centennial in Cambridge and New Concord, where he was born and lived.
BANGKOK (AP)  Lawyers for ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi said Monday they have been informed by the military-installed government that four new charges of corruption have been filed against her.

The military overthrew Suu Kyis elected government in February and arrested her and top members of her National League for Democracy party, including President Win Myint. Widespread popular resistance against the military takeover is continuing, despite harsh measures by the security forces to quash it.

Since the takeover, the new government has filed a number of criminal charges against Suu Kyi, who is in detention, and several of her colleagues.

Suu Kyis supporters as well as independent analysts say all of the charges are politically motivated and an attempt to discredit her and legitimize the militarys seizure of power.

She is currently on trial in the capital Naypyitaw on charges of sedition  defined as spreading information that could cause public alarm or unrest  two counts of flouting breaking COVID-19 pandemic restrictions during the 2020 election campaign; illegally importing walkie-talkies that were for her bodyguards use; and unlicensed use of the radios. Win Myint is her co-defendant on several of the charges.

Suu Kyi has also has been facing additional charges that have yet to be tried: accepting bribes, which carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison, and violating the Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum term of 14 years.

One of her lawyers, Min Min Soe, told reporters Monday that there would be a first hearing on the new charges on June 22 in the High Court in Mandalay, the countrys second biggest city. She said two of the charges are solely against Suu Kyi, and the other two include additional people, but no other details were given her team.

A lengthy wide-ranging news conference held Monday by the government made no mention of the new charges.

On June 10, official media reported that the state Anti-Corruption Commission had found that Suu Kyi accepted bribes and misused her authority to gain advantageous terms in real estate deals. Suu Kyis lawyers already denied the allegations when they were first made in March.

Reports in state media including the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper said the anti-corruption body had found that Suu Kyi illegally accepted $600,000 and seven gold bars from the former chief minister of Yangon Region, a political ally.

The report also said the commission had found that Suu Kyi has misused her position to obtain rental properties at lower-than-market prices for a charitable foundation named after her mother that she chaired.

The report said that the action deprived the state of revenue it would otherwise have earned.

State television has presented videos of testimony by alleged witnesses to the payoffs in cash and gold, but there was no explanation of the circumstances in which the videos were made or evidence to back up what was said.
We'll keep you connected to all the updated local news and information about what's happening in Murfreesboro and Rutherford County!

Click Here to Subscribe!
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Contact us
Muskogee, OK (74401)

Today

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 87F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 69F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.
Discuss this article with your neighbors or join the community conversation.

Click here to get access
Discuss this article with your neighbors or join the community conversation.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Community Partner Program

Now more than ever it is important to help local businesses thrive and keep our community informed. Herald/Review Media is offering a Community Partner Program to assist local businesses by getting their message in front of the largest audience in Cochise County!

Click here to fill out form
Since the Longs Post Office went up in flames on June 25, residents are still waiting to hear what the future holds for ways they can retrieve their mail.

Its a wait-and-see, play-it-by-ear-type situation, said South Carolina Rep. William H. Bailey, R-Little River. The only thing I can do for the constituents in this district is to try to push for answers.

According to a statement from the United States Postal Service, the cause of the fire remains under investigation. An incident report from Horry County Fire Rescue concluded the cause of the fire was undetermined. USPS could not answer how much mail was lost in the June fire.

Following the blaze, mail to Longs-area residents was rerouted to the post office in North Myrtle Beach on 6th Avenue South with talks of a mobile unit to be set up next to the burned post office building. Door deliveries to the Longs area will continue.

They said that thats the best they can do at this time, William said.

As of Monday, a small mobile unit is set up on-site at the Longs Post Office. Bailey compared the unit to an ice cream truck.

It has side panels on it that you lift and you find P.O. boxes in, Bailey said.

The building where the Longs Post Office once stood is still there, roof completely missing with the edges of the building charred to a blackened crisp. Bailey said hes been in contact with the Postmaster General regarding the future of the building, noting that the Postmaster General had some concerns.

The structure of the building and being able to get inside and making sure that all required investigations have been done to try and sure us what happened the night [the building] burned, Bailey said.

With it being almost three weeks since the blaze tore through the Longs Post Office and residents are having to go to travel to North Myrtle Beach for their mail, Bailey said he is still working with officials from the Postal Service and the county to ensure the mobile unit will be up and running as soon as possible.

When you consider people are used to being able to get their mail without a huge inconvenience and they have to work and their life goes on and having to travel the extra five, ten, fifteen miles to intertwine themselves with a new postal operation and different personnel, its stressful, Bailey said.

While some mail can be nonsensical items such as credit card applications or coupons to stores, the rest may contain items of vital importance such as bills or medication.

People need to have their mail, Bailey said. They have their bills and some of them get their payment and their funds out of the mail.

Bailey added that many people in the Longs area get their medication through the mail and stressed the urgency in getting the mobile unit properly set up so that normalcy can resume to the community.

Its absolutely one of the most important things we can do is to make sure that people can get back to using their post office to get things delivered to them that they need, Bailey said.

Bailey encouraged Longs residents to remain optimistic with the hope that the ordeal will be taken care of.

These situations are terrible and tragic but at the same time, well overcome it, Bailey said. Hopefully, give it a few months and well get better doing what we do and eventually we will get us a new building and Longs will be better after the effort.

In the meantime, Longs P.O. Box customers can get their mail at the North Myrtle Beach Post Office off 6th Avenue South from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
South Jacksonville officials say a violation of the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund has been corrected.

The employee's employment was found to violate a fund policy that a retired employee can only work up to 1,000 hours while claiming pension benefits, village Mayor Tyson Manker said.

Today, the village of South Jacksonville notified the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund legal division that the previous administration was  violating IMRF regulations that prevent retirees from working more than 1,000 hours while receiving retirement benefits, Manker said in a release.

Manker said the former village administration was violating the policy by improperly paying the employee.

In practice, the Harry Jennings administration intentionally skirted this regulation by compensating a village employee with off-the-books payments in order to avoid the annual IMRF hourly-work limit, the release said. Mayor Manker ended this practice immediately. The employee in question no longer works for the village of South Jacksonville.

Former village President Harry Jennings said at no time during his term at president was he aware of any wrongdoing with the employees retirement fund. Everything was done through the fund coordinator, he said.

The employee in question, his hours were limited to 1,000 hours, Jennings said. When I took office in 2017, his schedule was explained to me. It was something set up by the IMRF coordinator before I took office. She ensured us it was on the up and up. Some time later she (the IMRF coordinator) used said employees schedule to justify a significant raise for him. She explained it to the entire board in a meeting. As far as I or any other elected official knew, it did not violate any rules.

Manker did not return calls or emails Monday.
SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP)  Exhausted crews neared the end of their search for victims of a Miami-area condominium tower collapse Tuesday as the death toll reached 95 with just a handful of people still unaccounted for.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a news conference that the number of people considered missing has dwindled as authorities work to identify everyone connected to the building. The mayor said 14 people remain unaccounted for, which includes 10 victims whose bodies have been recovered but not yet identified  leaving potentially four more victims to be found.

Its a scientific, methodical process to identify human remains. As weve said, this work is becoming more difficult with the passage of time, Levine Cava said, adding that it is truly a fluid situation.

Of the 14 people considered not accounted for, the mayor said 12 are the subject of missing persons reports and detectives are trying to verify information about the other two.

Twenty days after the disaster, Levine Cava said crews had removed 18 million pounds (8 million kilograms) of rubble from the site. Search crews were taking great care to identify and preserve any personal property recovered, the mayor added.

They have given of their heart and soul, Levine Cava said of the crews that have worked around the clock for nearly three weeks. We are totally walking among superheroes.

It will take much longer for experts to figure out what caused the 12-story Champlain Towers South condominium to fall into a tangled heap of concrete and steel on June 24. The building was set for its four-decade recertification review when it collapsed.

Engineers and others investigating the cause of the collapse have been identifying key pieces of the 40-year-old building to determine what happened, Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said.

We're looking at how the building lines up with what the plans say, he said.

The search for answers includes an engineer hired by the town of Surfside, a team from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, experts hired by lawyers representing families and others.

Part of the investigation will include what decisions were made by government building officials and the condominium board, which knew of serious structural problems with the tower as early as fall 2018. Some residents were reluctant to pay assessments in the tens of thousands of dollars for the repairs, leading to acrimonious board meetings.

There is also concern about the stability of Champlain Towers North, a nearly identical building next door built at the same time and by the same developer as its doomed sister structure. So far, no mandatory evacuation order has been given for that building.

If there were a need to make any changes, they would, Levine Cava said of the north tower.

Discussions continue about what to do with the collapse site with families of the victims, Burkett said. Some residents who escaped the disaster want the tower rebuilt so they can move back in. Others want some kind of memorial site.

We want the families to tell us what they want to see, Burkett said. I'm looking forward to having those discussions.

_____

Associated Press writers Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg and Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale contributed to this story.

___

The spelling of Mayor Daniella Levine Cavas name has been corrected in the sixth paragraph.
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP)  El Salvadors congress voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to impose a 90-day ban on sporting events, concerts, festivals and other mass gatherings because of a surge in coronavirus cases.

Face masks will be mandatory at any public event still allowed. Fines and closures will be assessed against any venue or organizer that violates the ban.
PHILADELPHIA (AP)  President Joe Biden declared preserving voting rights an urgent national "test of our time on Tuesday but offered few concrete proposals to meet it. Texas Democrats took their own dramatic action to stymie Republican efforts to tighten ballot restrictions in their state.

Biden, who has proclaimed protecting ballot access the central cause of his presidency, has faced sharp criticism from allies for not doing more, though political headwinds and stubborn Senate math have limited his ability to act. Despite his ringing words Tuesday, he avoided any mention of trying to alter the Senate filibuster rule that stands in the path of federal legislation.

Speaking at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Biden called state efforts to curtail voting accessibility un-American and un-democratic" and launched a broadside against his predecessor, Donald Trump, who baselessly alleged misconduct in the 2020 election after his defeat. Biden called passage of congressional proposals to override new state voting restrictions and to restore parts of the Voting Rights Act that were curbed in recent years by the Supreme Court a national imperative."

Yet, instead of raising the possibility of fighting the filibuster, he appeared to tacitly acknowledge the fading hopes for the bills, saying he would launch a nationwide campaign to arm voters with information on rule changes and restrictions ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

We have to prepare now, the president said.

Biden's sharp rhetoric drew praise from progressive groups in his party but did little to assuage the mounting pressure on him to throw his weight behind replacing the filibuster. The president believes that we have to make the filibuster work the way it used to," said White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who added Biden has not changed his opposition to eliminating it altogether.

Biden's remarks came a day after Texas Democrats decamped for Washington in an effort to deny their GOP-controlled Legislature the necessary quorum to pass a bill placing new restrictions on voting in the state.

The lawmakers, who arrived in the nation's capital Monday night, said they were prepared to stay in Washington  out of the reach of Texas law enforcement  until a special legislative session concludes early next month. Their action marks a dramatic new showdown over voting in America.

Standing near the steps of the U.S. Capitol for a news conference ahead of a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the Democrats promised to stay out and kill this bill.

However, state Rep. Chris Turner, the leader of the Texas Legislatures House Democrats, said their efforts would ultimately be futile unless congressional Democrats take bolder action to overcome a Senate Republican blockade of the sweeping federal voting bill. The legislation, known as the For the People Act, would create national standards for voting that could roll back some of the restrictions that have been approved or are advancing in Republican-led states, including Texas.

We cant hold this tide back forever. Were buying some time. We need Congress and all of our federal leaders to use that time wisely, Turner said.

Several states have enacted new voting restrictions, and others are debating them, as the GOP has seized on Trumps false claim of massive voter fraud in the 2020 election as a rationale for curtailing ballot access.

No other election has ever been held under such scrutiny, such high standards, Biden said of the 2020 race.

Some GOP-led states have worked to roll back the vote-by-mail expansion that was put in place in the past presidential election due to COVID-19 fears. Others have tried to strengthen voter identification requirements and curtail hours and locations for early voting and ballot drop-offs.

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said he would keep calling special sessions through next year if necessary to pass his state's legislation, and raised the possibility of Democrats facing arrest upon returning home.

Asked whether Biden thinks the Texas legislators are doing the right thing by leaving the state, Jean-Pierre said he applauds their courage." She said that in the administration's view, the Texas bill is an assault on democracy.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who is leading the administrations efforts on voting rights, praised the Texas legislators during a meeting with them in Washington.

Defending the right of the American people to vote is as American as apple pie, she told the lawmakers, comparing their actions to women's suffrage and civil rights marches.

Democrats on Capitol Hill have tried to respond with a sweeping federal voting and elections bill that Senate Republicans have united to block. Most Republicans have similarly dismissed a separate bill, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore sections of the Voting Rights Act that the Supreme Court has weakened.

Those roadblocks have increased focus on Senate filibuster rules, which, if left in place, would seem to provide an insurmountable roadblock, requiring 60 votes in the evenly split, 100-member chamber to even bring up controversial legislation.

Moderate Democrats including Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona also have so far expressed reluctance to changing the Senate rules.

Many Democrats have expressed frustration with the lack of a greater White House push to change the filibuster, with civil rights activists stressing that Biden was elected with broad support from Black people whose votes are often put at risk by voting restrictions.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who attended Bidens address, called it a good speech, but also said, I told him that I was going to stay on him about the filibuster." He described Biden as noncommittal on the issue.

Biden, himself a veteran of the Senate, has offered some support for filibuster changes. But he has not put his full political weight behind the issue, believing it counterproductive in both the legislative and political fights over voting. He and Harris met last week with some of the civil rights leaders, who made clear that they expected a legislative solution.

Our backs are against the wall. This is the moment. We have no more time, said Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, after the meeting. I told the president: We will not be able to litigate our way out of this threat to Black citizenship.

Administrative action, litigation, and organizing are critical to combat this, but these tactics are not a substitute for congressional action on the For the People Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, Karen Hobert Flynn, president of the group Common Cause, said Tuesday. As the president ramps up his use of the bully pulpit and engages with senators, we urge him to make clear that the Senate minoritys use of the filibustera Jim Crow relic, in the words of former President Obamamust never stand in the way of the freedom to vote.

Although not abandoning hope of legislative action, the West Wing has been shifting focus to other measures to protect voting, including legal remedies pursued by the Justice Department and action in individual states, according to officials. There also will be an emphasis on boosting voter turnout, with aides pointing to success Democrats had in getting out votes last year during the height of the pandemic.

Officials concede, though, that turning out voters is always harder in a nonpresidential election year.

-

AP writer Darlene Superville contributed from Washington.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP)  The Missouri Attorney Generals Office on Monday said it believes longtime inmate Kevin Strickland is guilty of killing three people in Kansas City and should remain in prison, despite several other prosecutors saying they believe he is innocent.

Assistant Attorney General Andrew Clarke argued in a motion filed Monday that Strickland, 62, was given a fair trial in 1979 and has worked to evade responsibility for the Kansas City killings since then, The Kansas City Star reported.

Also Monday, Circuit Judge Ryan Horsman set an evidentiary hearing in Stricklands case for Aug. 12-13. Horsman will hear arguments from Stricklands lawyers and the attorney generals office before deciding whether to free Strickland.

When the attorney generals attorneys said the quick time frame could be a burden on the office, Horsman noted that Strickland has been sitting in prison since before I was born.

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced in May that her office believed the evidence used to convict Strickland in 1979 has since been eviscerated. Federal prosecutors, Jackson County's presiding judge and members of the team that convicted Strickland agreed he should be exonerated.

When the Missouri Supreme Court declined in June to hear Strickland's case, his attorneys refiled the case in DeKalb County, where Strickland is imprisoned.

Strickland, who was 18 at the time, was convicted in the April 25, 1978, deaths of John Walker, 20, Sherrie Black, 22, and Larry Ingram, 21.

Attorney General Eric Schmitt's office argued in Monday's motion that police said Strickland had offered Cynthia Douglas money the day of the killings to keep her mouth shut, which Clarke called a tampering campaign by Strickland.

The Jackson County prosecutor's office said Douglas, the only eyewitness to the killings, later recanted her identification of Strickland before she died in 2015. Her family has signed affidavits for Strickland's attorneys saying Douglas wanted Strickland released from prison.

But the attorney generals office said Douglas alleged recantation in an email does not name Strickland and the judge cant know if Douglas sent the email, let alone absent coercive pressure. Douglas also did not sign any affidavits while she was alive, Clarke noted.

Two men who later pleaded guilty in the murders, Vincent Bell and Kilm Adkins, have said in affidavits and interviews with The Star that Strickland was not with them and two other accomplices during the killings.

The statements from Bell and Adkins are not new evidence and, even if they were, the two are inherently unreliable, Clarke argued in the motion.

Schmitts office also said Strickland told police if he had been with Bell that night, he would have been shooting because, I love to shoot my gun, Im a good shot and I love to kill people. Strickland, the detectives alleged, said if they let him go, they better draw first next time or he would kill them.

Jackson County prosecutors have said those statements, which Strickland denied making at trial, did not prove Strickland was involved in the killings. They suggested someone not involved in the crime  who stayed in Kansas City while the others fled to Wichita  would be more likely to make aggressive statements to police.

Strickland has paid a steep price for associating with Bell, Adkins and T.A., (another suspect in the case) for mouthing off to police, and for trying to be cool in helping his older neighbor Bell, Baker and Nelson wrote in a letter outlining the prosecutors offices review of the case.

If Strickland is not released by Aug. 28, Jackson County prosecutors said they plan to file a motion then asking a Jackson County judge to exonerate him. Thats when a bill, which Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has not yet signed, would allow local prosecutors to seek to free prisoners they have deemed innocent.

Parson could also pardon Strickland but he has said he's not convinced Strickland is innocent.

___

This story has been corrected in the 9th paragraph to show the familys affidavits say Douglas, not Bell, wants Strickland to be released.
The American Red Cross says it is experiencing blood supply shortages, and is asking those who can donate do so.

Despite summer bringing a steady need for blood, it typically sees a decline in donations, according to the agency.
Vaccinated Illinois residents in Springfield, Quincy and Chicago will receive $100,000 each after their names were drawn Monday as part of the states All in for the Win drawing.

Winners are being contacted by the Illinois Department of Public Health and will have seven days to complete paperwork. Unless they request to remain anonymous, winners names will be released eight days after the drawings.
One of the biggest July Fourth stories from 2021 is whether the United States achieved its independence from COVID-19, in the form of high enough vaccination rates to achieve herd immunity.

America did achieve higher than average rates compared to other countries, but came up short of its goal. And politics may be playing a role in this.

First, theres the good news. According to Johns Hopkins data, the United States ranks 14th in the world for people fully vaccinated  well above the world average. The USA trails only the Seychelles, Malta, San Marino, the United Arab Emirates, Iceland, Bahrain, Chile, Israel, Mongolia, Qatar, Uruguay, Hungary and the United Kingdom. Few are the size or population of the U.S., and America is ahead of most other developed countries, so thats quite an accomplishment for America.

But heres the bad news. Politics may be undermining Americas ability to achieve herd immunity.

To test whether this is the case, Erik Moran (one of my undergraduate students) and I looked at U.S. vaccination rates, counting all cases where the person was fully vaccinated, not just partial cases.

We then looked at whether the state in question voted for Donald Trump in 2020, or his challenger, Democrat Joe Biden, that year. We also gathered data on who was the governor of the state.

States that voted for Trump in 2020 have an average vaccination rate of 37.8%. Those states that voted for Biden in 2020 had an average vaccination rate of 50.23%. The difference of 12.43 percentage points is statistically significant, meaning we can reject the null hypotheses that both variables are unrelated to each other.

We thought it might be a different story with Republican governors. After all, among the top 10 vaccinated states, four of them are led by Republican chief executives, including the top two: Vermont and Massachusetts. New Hampshire and Maryland are also among the top 10, along with Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New Mexico and Washington, just ahead of New York, Oregon, Colorado, Hawaii and Minnesota.

But when you look at the 33rd through 51st states, the ones lagging in vaccination rates, youll only find two Democratic governors on this list (in Louisiana and North Carolina).

States with a Republican governor have an average vaccination rate of 40.56%. For Democratic governors, their states have an average vaccination rate of 48.17%. Like the other test, this difference of means is statistically significant.

The states with low vaccination rates are going to lose out. As Salon and CNN report, In Arkansas, where less than 35% of residents were fully vaccinated, the rate of transmission is roughly five times higher than the national rate. And they add of all the counties with outbreaks, less than 3 percent have vaccination rates higher than 50 percent.

Americans have shown that they can be vaccinated, and can beat international averages. Republican Governors can lead states that can be among the leaders in vaccinations in America.

Its time for those dragging their feet for whatever reason to get on board, and help the rest beat COVID-19 and fully restore our economy.

John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu. Erik Moran is an undergraduate student at LaGrange College.
Our fear for our childrens safety is visceral, and it is universal.

Nothing unites people across all cultural, economic, social and geographic lines like the love for their children and their desire to protect them against every danger real or imagined.

So recent polls showing that one in four American parents dont plan to get their children vaccinated against the coronavirus, whether with the newly approved shots for those at least 12 years of age or with the ones expected in September for little ones as young as 5, is not surprising.

When my son stopped moving for two hours in my wifes womb after she fell on the stairs; when he got behind the wheel for the first time; when he drove off to college with a final wave goodbye  I felt something worse than fear. I felt helpless  helpless to save him from harm.

The mandatory vaccines Julian got at various ages before entering kindergarten  from Hepatitis B (the only one given at birth), polio, and pneumonia to diphtheria, tetanus, and influenza  came with reassurances from pediatricians that theyd been administered safely for decades, to millions of youngsters.

The COVID-19 vaccine is different. While its been provided to 157 million Americans, the vast majority are adults. The FDA only recently gave emergency authorization for children as young as 12 to receive it. Even for adults, the vaccines by Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson have not received final approval as federal and state health agencies collect more data on their effects.

And no vaccine in the history of medicine was developed with the lightning speed of the coronavirus inoculation  in the miraculous blink of nine months during last years pandemic shutdown. The other 16 or so shots that children receive on staggered schedules until adulthood took years to develop.

The coronavirus vaccines rapid development is cause for celebration  but also for pause from parents concerned about the 200 universities that have made vaccines mandatory for attendance this fall, and about the appeals by some principals, teachers and administrators to require them for school attendance at much younger ages.

Only 53% of parents of children under 12, polled in May by Gallop, said they planned to have their kids vaccinated once the FDA greenlights it for younger people.

The scheduled September approval could put parents on a collision course with teachers and school administrators, who might insist on threat of union-led walkout that the vaccine be mandatory for their students.

But however natural their deep-rooted vigilance may be, the COVID vaccines short but spectacular history should put parents hearts and minds at ease.

When Pfizer and Moderna announced last year that their hastily assembled vaccine trials had shown a 95% success rate, it seemed too good to be true. A year later, the news is still better: Among the 156 million Americans who have been fully vaccinated, scarcely 11,000 have contracted the virus. For the mathematically precise, thats a success rate of 99.9999285714%.

Even more astounding, only 3,365 have required hospitalization, and of the 750 who have died, most were elderly or had underlying medical conditions.

You are just as likely to be killed by a meteorite as die from COVID after a vaccine, Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious-disease expert at the University of California in San Francisco, told CNBC.

That should be especially true for children, whose immune systems are more robust than those of adults, and whose rate of coronavirus infection has been a fraction of the rate for their elders.

If history is a guide, whether to make vaccines mandatory for schoolchildren will vary from state to state and even from district to district. And a glut of misinformation coupled with the burden of making a weighty choice can leave wary parents wanting to wait and see what happens to the herd.

Thats when children get sick.

Older vaccines have all but eradicated 10 diseases that once killed children by the tens of thousands, with measles, diphtheria and pertussis leading the list of killers. Despite that success, Connecticut is the only state that requires all of them for kindergarten entry. Illinois, Alabama, Maine, Montana, Rhode Island and South Dakota mandate only four.

Now the B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant, newly dominant in the United States, appears to be targeting younger patients more frequently, making it more urgent for them to be vaccinated.

Parents meeting this challenge must do what they do every day  overcome their fears in order to do what is best for their children.

James Rosen, former Washington Bureau reporter for McClatchy Newspapers, has received multiple National Press Club, Military Reporters and Editors and other honors for his reporting on Congress, the White House and the Pentagon. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.
Lawyers: Myanmars Suu Kyi to face more corruption charges View Photo

BANGKOK (AP)  Lawyers for ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi said Monday they have been informed by the military-installed government that four new charges of corruption have been filed against her.

The military overthrew Suu Kyis elected government in February and arrested her and top members of her National League for Democracy party, including President Win Myint. Widespread popular resistance against the military takeover is continuing, despite harsh measures by the security forces to quash it.

Since the takeover, the new government has filed a number of criminal charges against Suu Kyi, who is in detention, and several of her colleagues.

Suu Kyis supporters as well as independent analysts say all of the charges are politically motivated and an attempt to discredit her and legitimize the militarys seizure of power.

She is currently on trial in the capital Naypyitaw on charges of sedition  defined as spreading information that could cause public alarm or unrest  two counts of flouting breaking COVID-19 pandemic restrictions during the 2020 election campaign; illegally importing walkie-talkies that were for her bodyguards use; and unlicensed use of the radios. Win Myint is her co-defendant on several of the charges.

Suu Kyi has also has been facing additional charges that have yet to be tried: accepting bribes, which carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison, and violating the Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum term of 14 years.

One of her lawyers, Min Min Soe, told reporters Monday that there would be a first hearing on the new charges on June 22 in the High Court in Mandalay, the countrys second biggest city. She said two of the charges are solely against Suu Kyi, and the other two include additional people, but no other details were given her team.

A lengthy wide-ranging news conference held Monday by the government made no mention of the new charges.

On June 10, official media reported that the state Anti-Corruption Commission had found that Suu Kyi accepted bribes and misused her authority to gain advantageous terms in real estate deals. Suu Kyis lawyers already denied the allegations when they were first made in March.

Reports in state media including the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper said the anti-corruption body had found that Suu Kyi illegally accepted $600,000 and seven gold bars from the former chief minister of Yangon Region, a political ally.

The report also said the commission had found that Suu Kyi has misused her position to obtain rental properties at lower-than-market prices for a charitable foundation named after her mother that she chaired.

The report said that the action deprived the state of revenue it would otherwise have earned.

State television has presented videos of testimony by alleged witnesses to the payoffs in cash and gold, but there was no explanation of the circumstances in which the videos were made or evidence to back up what was said.
Some of the more notable protests staged in Cuba

Some of the more notable protests staged in Cuba View Photo

Cuba is known for mammoth, officially sanctioned gatherings to celebrate the anniversary of the Cuban Revolution and May Day, while even very much smaller anti-government demonstrations like those Sunday are very rare on the tightly controlled island.

Some of the most significant protests:

Aug. 5-6, 1994: Thousands of Cubans take to the streets amid a severe economic crisis after the collapse of the Soviet Union, whose aid propped up Cubas economy. President Fidel Castro shows up at one gathering, deterring the protesters.

2003: A group of wives and mothers of prisoners, known as the Ladies in White, demonstrate in front of a church in Havana after the government rounds up dissidents and sentences them to severe prison terms. The group stages rallies, with fluctuating numbers of participants and an irregular schedule, in various places until at least 2018.

May 2019: A demonstration by the LGBT community without the backing of official institutions ends in confrontation and arrests. Authorities call the rally a provocation.

November 2020: Artists, representing numerous approaches to art, gather in front of the Ministry of Culture to demand more space for independent creation.

By The Associated Press
Columbia College logo View Photo

Columbia, CA  Columbia College students have plenty of new incentives to hit the classroom for the fall semester.

College administrators detail that all services will be face-to-face, many classes will be in person and there are unprecedented new offers for financial aid, scholarships and extra support in part due to the coronavirus pandemic.

All of our services and many more of our classes will be face-to-face on campus this fall, said Interim President G.H. Javaheripour. Thats a huge step forward as we come through COVID restrictions.

More than $1 million in new financial aid through COVID relief over the next year and more than $200,000 in new scholarship support through the Columbia College Foundation are being offered to students, which could mean hundreds to thousands of extra dollars each semester.

Weve never had this amount of assistance available before, said Financial Aid Director Marnie Shively. These financial aid and scholarship programs will give students a significant jump-start, and we want as many students as possible to take advantage of this new support.

College officials instruct that expanded financial aid will be available to students who fill out a 2021-22 Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) or California Dream Act application (for undocumented students) and meet registration requirements for the Fall and Spring Semesters. They add that students may be eligible for state and federal emergency grants in addition to standard financial aid. For information call (209) 588-5105 or (209) 588-5272.

Additionally, the Columbia College Foundation is offering new awards to help students attend full-time this fall that are provided below:

A $300-per-student welcome bonus for hundreds of new and returning students covered by its Columbia College Promise Program for local students who completed high school in 2020 or 2021.

20 CCC Finish Line scholarships, at $2,500 per semester, for continuing students who are at least halfway to graduating and can attend fulltime.

CCC Finish Line emergency grants available for students who need extra assistance in the coming school year.

We know its been so hard for students during the pandemic, said Foundation President Jeff Warren. We are grateful for these extra resources to encourage them to stay on track.

Of note, new students are also invited to attend a Claim Jumper Day or orientation day from noon to 3 p.m. on either July 22 or August 11. To register call 209.588.5109 or send an email to claimjumpers@yosemite.edu.
Families of Lebanese blast victims protest interior minister View Photo

BEIRUT (AP)  Riot police fired tear gas and scuffled with protesters  mostly family members of victims of the Beirut Port blast  outside the home of Lebanons caretaker interior minister Tuesday. The demonstrators demanded an end to what they call the obstruction of an investigation into one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history.

Hundreds of protesters marched outside the home of Mohamed Fehmi in a symbolic funeral procession with empty coffins to symbolize the victims. They then tossed the coffins into the yard of the building and pushed their way through security guards to hold a symbolic burial ceremony.

The Aug. 4 explosion at the port devastated the capital, killed more than 200 people and injured thousands. Hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive material used in fertilizers that had been improperly stored in the port for years ignited, causing the explosion. Many blame officials for keeping the explosive material stored at the port.

He killed us another time, said Tracy Naggear, whose 3-year-old daughter was one of the youngest victims of the blast. She was referring to Fehmis decision to reject a request by the judge investigating the explosion to question one of Lebanons most senior generals, the head of General Security Maj, Gen. Abbas Ibrahim.

Investigating Judge Tarek Bitar said earlier this month he intends to pursue senior politicians and former and current security chiefs in the case, and requested their immunity be lifted so he can prosecute them.

Families of the victims and survivors praised the judges move as a bold step. His predecessor leading the probe was removed after he accused two former ministers of negligence that led to the explosion.

Naggear said the symbolic burial outside Fehmis building was held at the scene of the second crime against the families seeking justice.

The gathering turned rowdy when dozens of protesters stormed Fehmis building, breaking down two metal gates, and scuffled with riot police who beat them with clubs. Police fired tear gas to push back against the protesters. The push set off pitched street battles with stone-throwing protesters. Many were injured and treated on the scene.

The protesters sprayed the word killer in red at the entrance of Fehmis building as men pelted the building with tomatoes.

Mohamed Fehmi, we will not leave you alone. Lift the immunity, said Ibrahim Hoteit, whose brother Tharwat, was killed in the blast.

Lebanon is also experiencing one of the worst economic crises in the last 150 years, according to the World Bank. Despite the economic meltdown, politicians have been unable to form a government to lead negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a recovery package.

In a visit to Beirut port Tuesday, a French Cabinet minister criticized Lebanese leaders, warning them of upcoming sanctions from Paris that will target those believed to be blocking the formation of a new government.

Frances Foreign Trade Minister Franck Riester said members of Lebanons political elite failed to respect their declared commitment to reforms and warned of a first wave of sanctions by France, Lebanons colonial ruler. He did not say whether the measures will be imposed only by France or perhaps by the European Union as well.

France respects its promises, unlike Lebanese authorities that did not implement reforms, Riester told reporters, standing amid the ruins in the port. Things cannot continue this way.

French President Emmanuel Macron visited Beirut twice since the port blast, pressing Lebanese politicians to implement reforms in order to release international investments and loans worth billions of dollars.

Repeated promises of reforms by Lebanons political elite, which has run the country since the end of the 15-year civil war in 1990, never materialized. The ruling class, including some former warlords, has been blamed for decades of corruption and mismanagement that have brought Lebanon to near-bankruptcy.

Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diabs government resigned days after the Beirut Port blast.

After meeting with President Michel Aoun, Riester tweeted that a year after pledging to form a government nothing was done.

This blockage is suicidal, he said.

___

Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue contributed from Beirut.

By SARAH EL DEEB and FAY ABUELGASIM

Associated Press
Russia against US troops in Central Asia near Afghanistan View Photo

MOSCOW (AP)  Russia has strongly warned the United States against deploying its troops in the former Soviet Central Asian nations following their withdrawal from Afghanistan, a senior diplomat said in remarks published on Tuesday.

Russias Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Moscow conveyed the message to Washington during Russian President Vladimir Putins summit with U.S. President Joe Biden in Geneva last month.

The warning comes as the U.S. military said last week that 90% of the withdrawal of U.S. troops and equipment from Afghanistan is complete. Biden said the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on Aug. 31.

I would emphasize that the redeployment of the American permanent military presence to the countries neighboring Afghanistan is unacceptable, Ryabkov said. We told the Americans in a direct and straightforward way that it would change a lot of things not only in our perceptions of whats going on in that important region, but also in our relations with the United States.

He added that Russia has also issued the warning to Central Asian nations.

We cautioned them against such steps, and we also have had a frank talk on the subject with our Central Asian allies, neighbors and friends and also other countries in the region that would be directly affected, Ryabkov said in an interview published in the Mezhdunarodnaya Zhizn magazine.

On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized that Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are all members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and any presence of foreign troops on their territories must be endorsed by the security pact. He added that none of those countries have raised the issue.

Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan both host Russian military bases. Kyrgyzstan, which hosted a U.S. military base that supported operations in Afghanistan, closed it in 2014.

Uzbekistan, which also hosted a U.S. base, ordered it shut in 2005 amid tensions with Washington. Uzbekistans Defense Ministry reaffirmed in May that the countrys constitution and its military doctrine rule out the presence of any foreign troops on its territory.

I dont think that the emergence of new American military facilities in Central Asia would promote security in the region, Lavrov said.

The Biden administration has reportedly considered Uzbekistan and Tajikistan that border Afghanistan, as well as Kazakhstan, as possible staging areas for monitoring and quickly responding to possible security problems that may follow the U.S. militarys withdrawal from Afghanistan.

I dont think that anyone is interested in becoming a hostage to such US policy and intentions, and in inviting retaliation, Lavrov said.

The Russian foreign minister questioned what results would be achieved with a small U.S. presence outside Afghanistan when a 100,000-strong NATO force inside the country failed to do anything.

Most probably, they simply want to ensure their military presence in Central Asia and be able to influence the situation in this region.

As the American and NATO troops were swiftly pulling out, the Taliban have made quick gains across the country. They claimed on Friday that they now control 85% of Afghanistans territory.

Russian officials have expressed concern that the Taliban surge could destabilize Central Asia.

Taliban advances already have forced hundreds of Afghan soldiers to flee across the border into Tajikistan which called up 20,000 military reservists to strengthen its southern border with Afghanistan.

Last week, a senior Taliban delegation visited Moscow to offer assurances that the insurgents advances in Afghanistan do not threaten Russia or its allies in Central Asia.

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV

Associated Press
Chicago banker convicted in loans-for-Trump job scheme View Photo

NEW YORK (AP)  A Manhattan jury on Tuesday convicted a Chicago banker of criminal charges for enabling Paul Manafort to get $16 million in loans before the former campaign manager for ex-President Donald Trump helped him get an interview for a job in the Trump administration.

The jury returned its verdict in federal court after less than two hours of deliberations, convicting Stephen Calk of financial institution bribery and conspiracy. Calks lawyers had maintained their client did nothing illegal in the weeks after Trump won the presidential election in November 2016.

But prosecutors said Calk cleared a path for Manafort to receive loans he was not entitled to in the hopes that Calk could secure a high-level post with the Trump administration. Although Calk eventually got an interview at Trump Tower, he was not hired.

Sentencing was set for Jan. 10 for Calk, who was the former chief executive of The Federal Savings Bank.

As Calk left the courthouse, he declined comment. His lawyer, Paul Schoeman, later issued a statement, saying: We are very disappointed by the verdict and will be pursuing all available legal remedies, including an appeal.

In a release, U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said Calk had used his federally insured bank to try to buy himself prestige and power.

During the three-week trial, prosecutors gave jurors proof that Calk played a pivotal role in getting approval for a $9.5 million real estate construction loan and another $6.5 million so Manafort could finish construction on a Brooklyn condominium and avoid foreclosure.

Defense lawyers argued that Calk could not win approval for the loans without the banks loan committee and underwriters agreeing to the terms. And they noted that the loans were obtained at a time when Manafort was considered wealthy and successful and had not yet been criminally charged.

Early in the trial, Anthony Scaramucci testified that he never would have enabled Calk to get the interview for the administration post if he had know that Calk was helping Manafort to get millions of dollars in loans for his real estate ventures.

Scaramucci had testified that Manafort, who served as Trumps campaign manager for a key stretch from June to early August 2016, reached out to him in mid-to-late December 2016 to encourage him to consider Calk for an important position.

At the time, Scaramucci was working on Trumps presidential transition team.

Although Calk had hoped to become Secretary of the Army, he eventually interviewed for other positions because that post had already been filled, Scaramucci said.

Manafort lost his position in Trumps campaign over his ties to Ukraine. Special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation led to his criminal conviction and a sentence of over seven years in prison for financial crimes related to his political consulting work in Ukraine. In December, Trump pardoned him.

By LARRY NEUMEISTER

Associated Press
A woman who couldn't afford to bury her ex-husband last month drew criticism from neighbors and questions from police after she stored his embalmed body in the back of an SUV in the family's driveway for two days.

"The phone rang off the wall with calls such as, 'How  can you all be so cold-hearted and keep Larry in that vehicle in front of your home?' " said Brenda Pitts Bennett, who had let 50-year-old Larry Bennett live with her after their 1995 divorce.

Larry Bennett, a former building inspector whose poor health had cost him his job and drained his finances, died Feb. 26. His cause of death is pending, but his ex-wife said he died of complications of Lyme disease, a bacterial disease spread by ticks.

Larry Bennett was buried in his ex-wife's hometown of Farmersville, but not before the Bennetts became the talk of the neighborhood.

Brenda Bennett said she went to Rockwall County shortly after the death to collect money for a burial. A judge told her the county allows up to $1,000 for cremation of paupers. The ex-wife said she took the $1,000 to a funeral home because she thought it would pay for a burial instead of cremation, but she later was told that it wouldn't be enough.

So, she said, the family had little choice but to load Larry Bennett's body in their SUV and take him home while they figured out what to do.

She said the family soon started getting angry calls _ so many, that they had to take the phone off the hook _ and people started driving by just to look at the body, which was in a bag.

Royse City police received numerous calls about the body, Sgt. Jim Baker said. But the body wasn't removed because no law was violated, and since the body was embalmed, it posed no health issue, Baker said.

"It was believed to be safe, and the family had a right to claim it," he said.

After two days, a mortuary agreed to store the body. Larry Bennett was buried March 10 with the help of donations.

Brenda Bennett said the treatment from the community was disheartening.

"Everyone acted like I was insane.  I know they could not have come up with the money at all to afford a funeral for their loved one, yet they wanted to condemn us," she wrote.

___

Information from: The Dallas Morning News, http://www.dallasnews.com
Maybe youve heard of Lockheed Martins Skunk Works, Googles X lab, Boeings Phantom Works or Amazons Lab126. But how about San Antonios Foxworks?

Those secret research and development workshops have produced mind-boggling technology  spy planes, stealth materials, self-driving cars, drones and e-readers. Foxworks, part of the San Antonio Museum of Science and Technology at Port San Antonio, aims to do the same.

David Monroe, the museums founding chairman, envisioned it as a place to inspire people through science, technology, engineering and math. Foxworks is a part of that vision.

Its not as glitzy or welcoming as the museums preview center that moved into the old Kelly Air Force Base chapel in 2017 or the Ports $60 million innovation center thats under construction. No, Foxworks is gritty, unmediated and closed to the public.

On ExpressNews.com: Robocity, USA? With the rise of robots in San Antonio, were heading that way

From the outside, it looks like another aging military building on Port San Antonio. But inside the single-story cinder block structure  the former Kelly commissary  old and new technologies are colliding.

Think of Foxworks as the back lot of the museum.

But its a lot more than that, said Monroe, 67, a serial inventor and entrepreneur who has more than 50 patents to his credit, including the cell phone camera. This is the makers space, the co-working space and the tech transfer space.

The facility is designed for conversations and connections and brings together a diverse collection of people and technologies.

Yes, its partly storage for roughly 10,000 of Monroes tech relics that havent made it into the museums exhibits. But its also a co-working space that hosts the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the WEX Foundation that exposes middle and high schoolers to space through STEM, and tech startups like XArc space architecture, Reckon Point robot makers and Hatchbed robotics consultants. It also has classrooms, workshops and labs.

Antique telephones, radios, computers, cameras and military communications equipment rest in rows of glass display cases and on open shelves. Packing plastic encases most of the shelves, which run into the darkened back half of Foxworks. The place feels like a mini version of the warehouse at the end of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark with a touch of mad scientist flare.

On ExpressNews.com: A Texas-sized space summer has billionaires racing for the heavens

Monroe knows which artifacts are where and hes not afraid to rip through the plastic-covered shelves to prove it. He can rattle off each items history in vivid and funny stories that explain why its important today.

To understand Foxworks, you should know more about Monroe. Growing up in Wichita, Kansas, he fell in love with science and electronics. Bill Lear, inventor and founder of Learjet, was one of his earliest mentors. Monroe subscribed to magazines and found joy in building projects and doing science experiments.

Some of his childhood science projects are on display, but these are no baking soda volcanoes. His ninth-grade project  a tall wooden cabinet covered with switches, tubes, lights and gauges  looms near a 1950s telephone switchboard and some of the earliest personal computers.

Its a particle accelerator, or atom smasher, he said of the contraption. This thing boils mercury.

He also built a Tesla coil for his seventh-grade project and, in the eighth grade, a laser.

My poor dad was terrified, Monroe said. We got into arguments over two things: One is he knew I was going to kill myself (in a lab accident), which was probably really valid, and the second was I never wanted to go to bed. I still dont.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio firm is working on moon launch pads for NASA

His hobby led to a career in tech and engineering. Now he wants to share his passion.

I wanted to make it easier for kids to get introduced to technology and see all the fun things about it because science is better than fiction, he said. If you study the real world and study real science, its just as fascinating and more exciting than science fiction because its real.

For years, much of Monroes collection was hidden away in boxes and crates. But a meeting with Jim Perschbach, CEO of Port San Antonio, changed that.

The really impressive thing was sitting down and talking to David and realizing that his vision for this was not really to create a museum, Perschbach recalled. It was to bring young people, and not so young people, into an environment where they could see these technologies, these artifacts, these quirky little things as a jumping off point to realize that the people who did that werent different than they are, and they had the ability to do the same thing.

Perschbach invited Monroe to bring his expertise, vision and collection to Port San Antonio.

Foxworks name is a nod to the famous Skunk Works in Palmdale, Calif., with a San Antonio wildlife twist. A skulk of foxes had lived in the building while it was empty. (Yes, a group of foxes is a skulk.)

There were holes where the Freon pipes came up for the refrigeration, and they would dig under the foundation and go through the crawlspace and up those pipe holes, Monroe said. So wed come in here and a little head would pop up and look at us.

Monroe shared a video of a fox his team rescued after it was caught in the buildings ceiling. The foxes have moved on, but the name stuck.

Now, dozens of people including 17 high school interns work in Foxworks every day. These young scientists help with various projects for the museum. One created a computerized 3-D holograph of the future Innovation Center. Others made pieces on 3-D printers for museum exhibits.

In one corner, the Reckon Point crew tests a new robot. Next to them, an exhibit on the evolution of video games covers several tables. And, in the old grocery stores freezers, XArc engineers study how to build lunar habitats from moon dust.

Everyone in the building toils next to artifacts from both famous and not-so-famous scientists: A space station toilet prototype. A collection of 19th-century Edison dynamos  early generators  that range in size from a microwave to walk in refrigerator. Francis Blake transmitters. Alexander Graham Bell and Edison telephones. The list goes on.

These pieces from the past are influencing tomorrows engineers and scientists, and its happening right here in our community.

Brandon Lingle writes for the Express-News through Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. ReportforAmerica.org. brandon.lingle@express-news.net
Images of the World Trade Center towers collapsing in New York were still fresh in the minds of the first American troops arriving in Afghanistan, as the U.S. launched an invasion targeting the Afghanistan-based al-Qaida leaders who plotted the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. More than 800,000 U.S. troops have served in the Central Asian country since then, in a war that quickly expanded to confronting Afghanistan's Taliban and to nation-building. On Monday, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Scott Miller, relinquished his command in Kabul, underscoring the winding down of Americas longest war.

One-third of the roughly 4 million troops who served in the post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan and Iraq served multiple tours, some in well-secured bases in times of comparative quiet, others facing improvised explosive devices on the roads, mortar and rocket attacks on their positions, and firefights. While the U.S. quickly succeeded in quelling the al-Qaida fighters behind the 9/11 attacks, Americans leave with the Taliban rapidly claiming fresh territory. Many Afghans fear the return of civil war, or strict Taliban rule, with the Western troops' departure.

The Associated Press talked to some of the U.S. veterans of Afghanistan as Americans withdraw, after nearly 20 years:

ARMY VETERAN

For Andrew Brennan, 36, its the days the painful memories subside that bother him. A former Army captain who flew combat missions, Brennan lost one of his closest friends, pilot Bryan Nichols, when his Chinook helicopter was shot down in 2011, killing 30 Americans, seven Afghan soldiers and one interpreter. It was the single deadliest day for U.S. troops during the war.

Brennan spent a week helping recover the bodies.

As much as I hate admitting it, there are days that go by when I dont think about Bryan, our crew, and the team guys on the back of that aircraft. And if I dont think about it and I was that close to it, what do most Americans think? the Baltimore man wrote in an email to The Associated Press.

Brennan has worn a Killed in Action bracelet in honor of Nichols for nearly a decade. He has worked to get a memorial wall built for 9/11 veterans.

While he honors those who sacrificed their lives, he believes it was a senseless war.

What have we ended up with at the end of it, other than trillions spent, 7,000+ Americans dead, and more than two broken generations of warriors? Brennan wrote.

The only stakeholder group that learned anything through this entire period were politicians: They learned that the American population is so removed from their modern day legions that they can do anything with our nations all-volunteer military and no one will pay attention or care enough to change it.

___

MARINE VETERAN

Marine veteran Jennifer Brofer will never forget the loud, popping noise.

It was on a hot July afternoon in 2010 when her convoy rolled over an IED on a road in Helmand Province four months into her deployment to Afghanistan. Her heart froze as she and her fellow Marines stopped and realized what had occurred. But what followed were only the sounds of daily life.

This was a lucky day.

For some reason it did not detonate, the former staff sergeant said.

It was a defining moment to be that close to death, said Brofer, one of the comparatively few female Marines to serve in Americas longest war.

A public affairs officer, Brofer was charged with documenting the stories of troops.

Those moments in Afghanistan really put everything into perspective for me. Because I really didnt fully appreciate all of the luxuries that I had been afforded prior to my deployment, such as hugs from loved ones, hot showers and driving down a road without fear of her vehicle exploding, she said.

Brofer, 38, who now works in the television and film industries in Hollywood, said she feels proud to have served shoulder-to-shoulder with my male Marine counterparts in a time of war.

Still, Brofer cant say whether the war was worth it.

War is ugly. And sometimes its necessary and its not like we can go back and change anything. We can only change how we respond in the future, she said. When I was deployed it was already considered then the longest war and I think its about time that our men and women came home.

___

NATIONAL GUARD

After the United States launched a second war, in Iraq, in 2003, Oklahoma National Guard Sgt. Eran Harrill was one of hundreds of thousands of guard members called to duty as an all-volunteer U.S. military strained to fight two wars simultaneously.

Harrill fought in 2011 as part of a combat unit in Afghanistan's Laghman Province, as the U.S. surged troops in hopes of crippling Afghanistan's Taliban. A marketing director and business development executive in Oklahoma City, he patrolled alongside a mechanic, a K-9 police officer, students and other Oklahomans.

The very first firefight we got in was certainly an aha moment for the citizen soldiers, Harrill said.

I think we did some good there, maybe helped some people and prevented some loss of life, said Harrill, 38, who had always wanted to serve in the military, while some guard colleagues had seen it as a way to bring in money for college. Was it worth the loss of life we had? I dont know, thats for someone else to answer.

Back home, Harrill served in jobs that included leading Oklahoma City's Black Chamber of Commerce. He's developing a directory aimed at identifying which employers are most suitable for members of the military like National Guard members.

That's after seeing guard members struggle with bosses unhappy over time away for training and deployment, including managers who reached out to a deployed guard member in the field to threaten him with firing if he didn't return.

We have a bad habit in this country of putting little yellow ribbons, support our troops, in the window," Harrill said. But we dont really support our troops as to how it affects us when the rubber hits the road."
MOSCOW (AP)  Russian President Vladimir Putin has described Russians and Ukrainians as one people and argued that Ukraine can only be stable and successful if it maintains friendly ties with Russia.

He also charged in an article published on Monday that Ukraine has no intention of honoring a 2015 peace deal to end a conflict with Russia-backed separatists in the country's east.

I am convinced that the true sovereignty of Ukraine is possible only in partnership with Russia, the article posted on the Kremlin's website states. Our spiritual, human and civilizational ties have formed for centuries and have been rooted in the same sources, they have been hardened by common trials, achievements and victories.

In televised remarks on Tuesday night, Putin said he had pondered the article for several months, but now was the time to release it.

It looks like active work on the project anti-Russia has begun, and this, of course, elicits certain concerns, he said.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refrained from commenting Tuesday when asked if Russia could move to incorporate rebel-controlled areas of Ukraine's industrial heartland, Donbas.

I would leave that question unanswered, Peskov said during a conference call with reporters.

Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter tug-of-war since Moscows 2014 annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula following the ouster of a Russia-leaning president in Ukraine. Russia has supported the separatist insurgents in eastern Ukraine during the conflict that has killed more than 14,000 people in seven years.

In his article published in both Russian and Ukrainian, Putin also accused the West of working methodically to rupture historic links between the two neighbors and to turn Ukraine into a key bulwark to contain Russia.

The Western authors of the anti-Russia project set up the Ukrainian political system in such a way that presidents, members of parliament and ministers would change but the attitude of separation from and enmity with Russia would remain, Putin wrote. Today, the right patriot of Ukraine is only the one who hates Russia. Moreover, the entire Ukrainian statehood, as we understand it, is proposed to be further built exclusively on this idea."

Putin charged that Ukraine has failed to fulfill its obligations under a 2015 peace deal to grant broad autonomy to Donbas and would likely refrain from honoring the deal.

The 2015 agreement that was brokered by France and Germany envisioned that Ukraine could reclaim control of its border with Russia in the rebel-controlled regions after it grants them broad autonomy and they elect local leaders and legislatures. Those provisions were resented by many Ukrainians as a betrayal of national interests, and the peaceful settlement has stalled.

I have become increasingly convinced that Kyiv simply doesnt need Donbas, Putin wrote in the article. Because, firstly, the residents of these regions will never accept the rules they tried and are still trying to impose by force, blockade and threats.

The Russian leader noted that Ukraine acquired broad territories in the countrys southeast and elsewhere during the period when it was part of the Soviet Union and criticized the Soviet leaders for sacrificing Russian interests for the benefit of Ukraine and other republics.

Putin further charged that Ukraine and other former Soviet republics unfairly retained after gaining independence through the Soviet Union's collapse the historic Russian lands given to them by Communist rulers.

Asked to comment about Putin's article, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that he would analyze and comment on it in detail later. He said that despite Putin's mention of brotherly populations, Russia's action has been anything but brotherly.

It looks more like Cain and Abel, said Zelenskyy, who has pushed for months for a meeting with Putin.

The Ukrainian leader also expressed hope that U.S. President Joe Bidens meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel this week would help safeguard Ukraines interests and ensure its energy security for the next 10-15 years.

Washington has long argued that the prospective Nord Stream 2 pipeline, designed to carry natural gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, endangers Europes energy security and harms Ukraine, which currently profits from transit fees for Russian gas.

The United States recently waived sanctions against German companies involved in the project, raising hopes in Berlin that an agreement acceptable to all sides would be reached.

Energy security isnt mere words for us, Zelenskyy said on Tuesday. We are earning $2 billion a year in transit fees. Its a lot of money. We spend some of that money on our infrastructure and on our military.

In his Tuesday night comments, Putin said Russia would fulfill its obligations on natural gas transit to Europe through Ukraine, outlined in a five-year contract signed in 2019, regardless of today's various difficulties.

___

Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv, Ukraine contributed to this report.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP)  Democrats in the Texas Legislature bolted Monday for Washington, and said they were ready to remain there for weeks in a second revolt against a GOP overhaul of election laws, forcing a dramatic new showdown over voting rights in America.

Private planes carrying more than 50 Democrats left Austin for Dulles International Airport midafternoon, skipping town just days before the Texas House of Representatives was expected to give early approval to sweeping new voting restrictions in a special legislative session. The numbers meant the House would not have enough lawmakers in attendance to conduct business and could not, at least for now, vote on the bill.

The cross-country exodus was the second time that Democratic lawmakers have staged a walkout on the voting overhaul, a measure of their fierce opposition to proposals they say will make it harder for young people, people of color and people with disabilities to vote. But like last month's effort, there remains no clear path for Democrats to permanently block the voting measures, or a list of other contentious GOP-backed proposals up for debate.

Hours after they took off, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott told an Austin television station he would simply keep calling special sessions through next year if necessary, and raised the possibility of Democrats facing arrest upon returning home.

"As soon as they come back in the state of Texas, they will be arrested, they will be cabined inside the Texas Capitol until they get their job done, Abbott said.

As they arrived in Washington Monday evening, the lawmakers said they would not be swayed.

We are determined to kill this bill, said state Rep. Chris Turner, who said he and his colleagues were prepared to run out the clock on a special session that ends early next month.

Democrats' decision to hole up in Washington is aimed at ratcheting up pressure on President Joe Biden and Congress to act on voting at the federal level. Biden is set to deliver a major address on the issue Tuesday in Philadelphia, after facing growing criticism for taking what some on the left call too passive a role in the fight.

This is a now-or-never for our democracy. We are holding the line in Texas," said Democratic state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer. "We've left our jobs, we've left our families, we've left our homes. Because there is nothing more important than voting rights in America.

The Texas bills would outlawing 24-hour polling places, banning ballot drop boxes used to deposit mail ballots and empowering partisan poll watchers.

The measures are part of the GOPs rush to enact new voting restrictions in response to former President Donald Trumps false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. More than a dozen states this year have already passed tougher election laws  but only in Texas have Democrats put up this kind of fight.

The state has a history of attention-getting political tactics. Texas Democrats, shut out of power in the state Capitol for decades, last fled the state in 2003 to thwart a redistricting plan. They ultimately lost that fight.

Turner noted this time the state lawmakers had dual goals. They called on Congress to pass the Democrat-backed, federal voting rights law prior to when they go on August recess, which is around the same time Texas' special session will end. He said the group would meet with Democrats across Washington, but a White House official said there are no current plans for a White House visit.

Turner said in order to pass the voting rights expansion law, the Senate may have to modify its procedural rules, but added, I don't really care how they do it."

Back in Texas, Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan promised to use every available resource to secure a quorum. He did not elaborate, but some House Republicans signaled they would take action when the chamber reconvenes Tuesday. When Democrats fled the state two decades ago state troopers were deployed to bring them back.

In an interview with Austin television station KVUE, Abbott said he was prepared to keep calling special sessions though next year's election.

If these people want to be hanging out, wherever theyre hanging out on this taxpayer-paid junket, theyre going to have to be prepared to do it for well over a year, he said.

But it was not immediately clear who was footing the bill for the Democrats' trip. Martinez Fischer said he would use his own campaign funds to pay for hotels for House members, but declined to comment on who funded the chartered flights.

Speaking in the airport parking lot, he blasted the governor for likening the group, which includes many Black and Latino lawmakers, to animal or property, to say he will corral us and he will cabin us in the capitol to get this agenda. After addressing the media, Black lawmakers led the group in singing We Shall Overcome."

Over the weekend, Texas Republicans began advancing measures that also bring back provisions to ban drive-thru voting, add new voter ID requirements to absentee ballots and prohibit local elections officials from proactively sending mail-in ballot applications to voters. Abbott also gave lawmakers a lengthy to-do list this summer, heavy on hot-button conservative issues including restrictions over how race is taught in schools and banning transgender athletes from playing in girls' sports.

The decision to flee carries risks, and no guarantee of victory in the long run.

Abbott, who is up for reelection in 2022 and has demanded new election laws in Texas, could keep calling 30-day special sessions until a bill is passed. He also punished Democrats after their May walkout by vetoing paychecks for roughly 2,000 Capitol employees, which will begin taking effect in September unless the Legislature is in session to restore the funding.

Staying away for an extended time could also carry repercussions in next years midterm elections, although many Texas Democrats are already expecting a difficult cycle in 2022, particularly with Republicans set to begin drawing new voting maps this fall that could cement their majorities.

For weeks, Democrats have signaled they were ready to draw a line. Adding to their anger: A Houston man who gained attention last year after waiting more than six hours to cast a ballot was arrested on illegal voting charges a day before the special session began Thursday. Attorneys for Hervis Rogers say the 62-year-old did not know that his being on parole for a felony burglary conviction meant he wasnt allowed to vote.

Vice President Kamala Harris applauded Texas Democrats for their "courage and commitment before they boarded the flight. Back in Texas, Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick signaled that he would still try to pass a voting bill as early as Tuesday in the Senate. It was unclear whether Democrats in that chamber would continue showing up.

___

Weissert reported from Sterling, Virginia.
The populations of suburban cities between San Antonio and Austin are booming, and developers are rushing into the I-35 corridor to build housing.

SouthStar Communities planned development  which would include housing, parks, schools and space for businesses on over 1,800 acres just outside New Braunfels  is one of the most ambitious projects in the region to date.

The company wants to build about 6,000 units of housing, more than 300 acres of public parks, a 160-acre business park, over 120 acres of mixed-use development, over 70 acres of commercial property, more than 35 miles of trails and four schools in the Comal Independent School District.

The project, dubbed Mayfair, will be located east and west along I-35 north of the Town Center at Creekside Crossing shopping center.

Weve seen this tremendous expansion along the I-35 corridor that has really been driven by a variety of demographics, said SouthStar vice president Gretchen Howell.

Populations and home prices are swelling in cities such as Converse, Schertz and New Braunfels as families with children, remote workers and out-of-state buyers flock to the area.

New Braunfels ranked second among the fastest-growing U.S. cities of at least 50,000 people between July 2017 and July 2018, according to estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau. The citys median income from 2015 to 2019 was $71,044 annually, lower than $71,576 in Austin but higher than $52,455 in San Antonio.

On ExpressNews.com: New Braunfels, San Antonio sustain their population surges

The median price of a home there was $316,228 in May, up 26.5 percent from the same month last year, according to the Four Rivers Association of Realtors.

Courtesy of SouthStar Communities and RVi Planning + Landscape Architecture

Active listings were down 71.5 percent and inventory was 0.6 months, down from 2.5 months in May 2020. A six-month inventory, or the time it would take for a home to be sold if no new homes were listed, is generally considered a balance between buyers and sellers.

Business is booming, said Scott Schwandt, broker/owner at Re/Max River Cities.

Across Comal County, the median home price jumped to $374,499 in May. Year-to-date through May, the median price was up 14.7 percent, inventory was down 77.1 percent and the average number of days a home spent on the market was down 30.4 percent, according to the association.

There are not enough homes, not enough listings, not enough sellers and more than enough buyers, Schwandt said.

Families who used to vacation in New Braunfels are moving there permanently, drawn to the schools, rivers and small-town feel. Many buyers are now able to work remotely, freeing them to live in cities of their choosing.

Its also a manageable commute to San Antonio or Austin for workers who have to show up at the office. Housing costs in Austin in particular are skyrocketing, and the number of buyers moving from there to New Braunfels has increased over the past two years, Schwandt said.

Californians as well are snapping up houses in the area; their money can go much further in the New Braunfels area, he added.

We love the idea of these master-planned communities and more homes to satisfy the buyers need, Schwandt said.

SouthStars project will include single-family homes, townhomes, apartments and duplexes. That includes affordable and workforce units, but its too soon to say what those prices will be.

Were really looking forward to introducing whats been coined the missing middle housing  providing a lot of different housing options that lend themselves to a broad price point and a broad configuration of housing, SouthStars Howell said.

The company also plans to add an east-west connector under I-35 and said the community will have dedicated bike lanes.

Building out Mayfair is expected to take about 15 years and generate 2,000 permanent jobs. Its also anticipated to create a property tax base of nearly $2 billion, according to a study by TXP Inc., an Austin-based economic analysis and public policy consulting firm.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio and Bexar County poverty rates declined - before the pandemic

The New Braunfels City Council recently approved the creation of a water improvement district and a development agreement with SouthStar, which permits the city to exercise some level of governance over the project on a long-term basis, said city spokesman David Ferguson. It also specifies housing limits, park commitments, completion schedules and other items.

Construction on Mayfair is slated to start this year, with the first homes finished in 2023.

SouthStar was originally founded in Coral Gables, Fla., and has developed projects in Florida, South Carolina and Georgia. The company started branching into Texas about 20 years ago and moved its headquarters to New Braunfels in 2018, Howell said.

We loved the diversity of the economy in Central Texas, she said. Weve really pared down our development activities to the area.

The company operates or developed The Crossings and Vintage Oaks in Comal County and Mission Del Lago and VIDA in Bexar County. The latter is a master-planned community to be built around Texas A&M University-San Antonio.

When SouthStar came to the area, buyers were primarily retirees or people getting ready to retire, Howell said. That quickly expanded to include families drawn to local schools and the Hill Countrys beauty.

Military personnel and their families are another major demographic, she said.

Along with the proximity to San Antonio and Austin and less traffic, people are drawn to the close-knit community that a smaller city like New Braunfels provides, said Jennifer Shemwell, president of real estate company Phyllis Browning Co.

While she hasnt seen many Austin residents relocating to the area, she expects thats on the horizon. Buyers from California, Ohio and Colorado are moving in.

People love the culture, they love the Main Street, they love the historic downtown, they love the river, Shemwell said. (Its) a slightly slower pace of life that you get in a small town.

madison.iszler@express-news.net
By Medea Benjamin, cofounder of CODEPINK for Peace, and author of several books, including Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Nicolas J. S. Davies is an independent journalist, a researcher with CODEPINK and the author of Blood On Our Hands: the American Invasion and Destruction of Iraq

At Bagram air-base, Afghan scrap merchants are already picking through the graveyard of U.S. military equipment that was until recently the headquarters of Americas 20-year occupation of their country. Afghan officials say the last U.S. forces slipped away from Bagram in the dead of night, without notice or coordination.

The Taliban are rapidly expanding their control over hundreds of districts, usually through negotiations between local elders, but also by force when troops loyal to the Kabul government refuse to give up their outposts and weapons.

A few weeks ago, the Taliban controlled a quarter of the country. Now its a third. They are taking control of border posts and large swathes of territory in the north of the country. These include areas that were once strongholds of the Northern Alliance, a militia that prevented the Taliban from unifying the country under their rule in the late 1990s.

People of good will all over the world hope for a peaceful future for the people of Afghanistan, but the only legitimate role the United States can play there now is to pay reparations, in whatever form, for the damage it has done and the pain and deaths it has caused. Speculation in the U.S. political class and corporate media about how the U.S. can keep bombing and killing Afghans from over the horizon should cease. The U.S. and its corrupt puppet government lost this war. Now its up to the Afghans to forge their future.

Iraq when our leaders suddenly decide that the over 150,000 bombs and missiles they have dropped on Iraq and Syria since 2001 were not enough, and dropping a few more on Iranian allies there will appease some hawks in Washington without starting a full-scale war with Iran.

But for 40 million Iraqis, as for 40 million Afghans, Americas most stupidly chosen battlefield is their country, not just an occasional news story. They are living their entire lives under the enduring impacts of the neocons war of mass destruction.

Young Iraqis took to the streets in 2019 to protest 16 years of corrupt government by the former exiles to whom the United States handed over their country and its oil revenues. The 2019 protests were directed at the Iraqi governments corruption and failure to provide jobs and basic services to its people, but also at the underlying, self-serving foreign influences of the United States and Iran over every Iraqi government since the 2003 invasion.

A new government was formed in May 2020, headed by British-Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, previously the head of Iraqs Intelligence Service and, before that, a journalist and editor for the U.S.-based Al-Monitor Arab news website.Despite his Western background, al-Kadhimi has initiated investigations into the embezzlement of $150 billion in Iraqi oil revenues by officials of previous governments, who were mostly former Western-based exiles like himself. And he is walking a fine line to try to save his country, after all it has been through, from becoming the front line in a new U.S. war on Iran.

Recent U.S. airstrikes have targeted Iraqi security forces called Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), which were formed in 2014 to fight the Islamic State (IS), the twisted religious force spawned by the U.S. decision, only ten years after 9/11, to unleash and arm Al Qaeda in a Western proxy war against Syria.

The PMFs now comprise about 130,000 troops in 40 or more different units. Most were recruited by pro-Iranian Iraqi political parties and groups, but they are an integral part of Iraqs armed forces and are credited with playing a critical role in the war against IS.

Western media represent the PMFs as militias that Iran can turn on and off as a weapon against the United States, but these units have their own interests and decision-making structures. When Iran has tried to calm tensions with the United States, it has not always been able to control the PMFs. General Haider al-Afghani, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard officer in charge of coordinating with the PMF, recently requested a transfer out of Iraq, complaining that the PMFs are paying no attention to him.

Ever since the U.S. assassination of Irans General Soleimani and PMF commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in January 2020, the PMFs have been determined to force the last remaining U.S. occupation forces out of Iraq. After the assassination, the Iraqi National Assembly passed a resolution calling for U.S. forces to leave Iraq. Following U.S. airstrikes against PMF units in February, Iraq and the United States agreed in early April that U.S. combat troops would leave soon

But no date has been set, no detailed agreement has been signed, many Iraqis do not believe U.S. forces will leave, nor do they trust the Kadhimi government to ensure their departure. As time has gone by without a formal agreement, some PMF forces have resisted calls for calm from their own government and Iran, and stepped up attacks on U.S. forces.

>At the same time, the Vienna talks over the JCPOA nuclear agreement have raised fears among PMF commanders that Iran may sacrifice them as a bargaining chip in a renegotiated nuclear agreement with the United States.

So, in the interest of survival, PMF commanders have become more independent of Iran, and have cultivated a closer relationship with Prime Minister Kadhimi. This was evidenced in Kadhimis attendance at a huge military parade in June 2021 to celebrate the seventh anniversary of the PMFs founding.

The very next day, the U.S. bombed PMF forces in Iraq and Syria, drawing public condemnation from Kadhimi and his cabinet as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. After conducting retaliatory strikes, the PMF declared a new ceasefire on June 29th, apparently to give Kadhimi more time to finalize a withdrawal agreement. But six days later, some of them resumed rocket and drone attacks on U.S. targets.

Whereas Trump only retaliated when rocket attacks in Iraq killed Americans, a senior U.S. official has revealed that Biden has lowered the bar, threatening to respond with airstrikes even when Iraqi militia attacks dont cause U.S. casualties.

But U.S. air strikes have only led to rising tensions and further escalations by Iraqi militia forces. If U.S. forces respond with more or heavier airstrikes, the PMF and Irans allies throughout the region can respond with more widespread attacks on U.S. bases. The further this escalates and the longer it takes to negotiate a genuine withdrawal agreement, the more pressure Kadhimi will get from the PMF, and other sectors of Iraqi society, to show U.S. forces the door.

The official rationale for the U.S. presence, as well as that of NATO training forces in Iraqi Kurdistan, is that the Islamic State is still active. A suicide bomber killed 32 people in Baghdad in January, and IS still has a strong appeal to oppressed young people across the region and the Muslim world. The failures, corruption and repression of successive post-2003 governments in Iraq have provided fertile soil.

But the United States clearly has another reason for keeping forces in Iraq, as a forward base in its simmering war on Iran. That is exactly what Kadhimi is trying to avoid by replacing U.S. forces with the Danish-led NATO training mission in Iraqi Kurdistan. This mission is being expanded from 500 to at least 4,000 forces, made up of Danish, British and Turkish troops.

If Biden had quickly rejoined the JCPOA nuclear agreement with Iran on taking office, tensions would be lower by now, and the U.S. troops in Iraq might well be home already. Instead, Biden obliviously swallowed the poison pill of Trumps Iran policy by using maximum pressure as a form of leverage, escalating an endless game of chicken the United States cannot wina tactic that Obama began to wind down six years ago by signing the JCPOA.< The U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and the JCPOA are interconnected, two essential parts of a policy to improve U.S.-Iranian relations and end the U.S.s antagonistic and destabilizing interventionist role in the Middle East. The third element for a more stable and peaceful region is the diplomatic engagement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, in which Kadhimis Iraq is playing a critical role as the principal mediator.

The fate of the Iran nuclear deal is still uncertain. The sixth round of shuttle diplomacy in Vienna ended on June 20th, and no date has been set for a seventh round yet. President Bidens commitment to rejoining the agreement seems shakier than ever, and President-elect Raisi of Iran has declared he will not let the Americans keep drawing out the negotiations.

In an interview on June 25th, U.S. Secretary of State Blinken upped the ante by threatening to pull out of the talks altogether. He said that if Iran continued to spin more sophisticated centrifuges at higher and higher levels, it will become very difficult for the United States to return to the original deal. Asked whether or when the United States might walk away from negotiations, he said, I cant put a date on it, (but) its getting closer.

What should really be getting closer is the U.S. withdrawal of troops from Iraq. While Afghanistan is portrayed as the longest war the United States has fought, the U.S. military has been bombing Iraq for 26 of the last 30 years. The fact that the U.S. military is still conducting defensive airstrikes 18 years after the 2003 invasion and nearly ten years since the official end of the war, proves just how ineffective and disastrous this U.S. military intervention has been.

Biden certainly seems to have learned the lesson in Afghanistan that the U.S. can neither bomb its way to peace nor install U.S. puppet governments at will. When pilloried by the press about the Taliban gaining control as U.S. troops withdraw, Biden answered,

For those who have argued that we should stay just six more months or just one more year, I ask them to consider the lessons of recent history Nearly 20 years of experience has shown us, and the current security situation only confirms, that just one more year of fighting in Afghanistan is not a solution but a recipe for being there indefinitely. Its the right and the responsibility of the Afghan people alone to decide their future and how they want to run their country.

The same lessons of history apply to Iraq. The U.S. has already inflicted so much death and misery on the Iraqi people, destroyed so many of its beautiful cities, and unleashed so much sectarian violence and IS fanaticism. Just like the shuttering of the massive Bagram base in Afghanistan, Biden should dismantle the remaining imperial bases in Iraq and bring the troops home.

The Iraqi people have the same right to decide their own future as the people of Afghanistan, and all the countries of the Middle East have the right and the responsibility to live in peace, without the threat of American bombs and missiles always hanging over their and their childrens heads.

Lets hope Biden has learned another history lesson: that the United States should stop invading and attacking other countries.
One of the worlds biggest vaccine proponents and strident defender of intellectual property rights is funding, directly and indirectly, large trials into cheap, off-patent, off-label COVID-19 treatments, including ivermectin.

The evidence backing ivermectins efficacy against Covid-19 continues to stack up, even as most health authorities refuse to approve its use. The last two months have seen the publication of three peer-reviewed meta-analyses demonstrating clear benefits. A review by Pierre Kory et al summarised findings from 18 randomized controlled treatment trials, concluding that ivermectin produced large, statistically significant reductions in mortality, time to clinical recovery, and time to viral clearance. Another study, led by Doctor Andrew Hill, a well-respected international medical researcher reported a 56% reduction in mortality together with favourable clinical recovery and reduced hospitalisation.

A third study, by Andrew Bryant et al, analysed the existing data from clinical trials according to conservative Cochrane meta-analysis standards  a gold-standard in science. Published in the American Journal of Therapeutics, the study found that ivermectin prophylaxis reduced COVID-19 infection by an average 86%. The study concluded that large reductions in COVID-19 deaths are possible using ivermectin, adding that the apparent safety and low cost suggest that ivermectin is likely to have a significant impact on the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic globally.

Still in Limbo

But national and supranational health authorities continue to drag their feet. The US Food and Drug Administration, together with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the World Health Organization, insist that there is still not enough good quality data to approve ivermectin as an off-label treatment against Covid. Its use, they say, should therefore be restricted to well-designed, randomised control trials.

Over 20 countries around the world, including India, Bolivia, Mexico and Slovakia, have ignored that advice and are using the medicine, to some degree or another, largely with significant success. The latest country to do so is Indonesia, which is in the grip of its biggest wave of infections to date. In most countries, however, the drug is still in limbo as their respective health authorities await the outcome of large randomised controlled trials.

The problem is that large randomised trials are prohibitively expensive, costing millions of dollars to conduct. As a result, they tend to be funded by large pharmaceutical companies seeking FDA or EMA approval for the drugs they themselves have developed. It also makes it difficult to secure new indications for generic medications that are already approved for other purposes. After all, who is willing to invest millions of dollars testing a drug that is likely to generate little, if any, financial return?

But with the world fighting a losing battle against a fast-spreading, rapidly evolving coronavirus that has sent the global economy spinning, desperate times call for desperate measures. Money has been found and mobilised. According to Hill et al, there are at least five large, placebo-controlled clinical trials on the use of ivermectin for COVID-19 currently underway.

One of them, dubbed the TOGETHER trial, is being conducted at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. The trial has been running since last summer. The goal, according to the trials official website, is to identify which repurposed therapies are most effective, in order to slow the pandemic while many countries await the delivery of vaccines.

The trial has already tested and dropped hydroxychloriquine, lopinavir/ritonavir (an antiretroviral medication used in the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS) and metformin (an anti-diabetes medication). It is currently testing fluvoxamine (an anti-depressant), interferon-lambda (a regulator of intenstinal viruses), doxazosin (used to treat prostatic hyperplasia and hypertension) and ivermectin and will report its findings in the coming months.

Theres only one potential problem: where it gets its money.

The Together Trial has received millions in funding from three main sources: the Rainwater Foundation; Fast Grants, an American charity that provides funding for scientific research whose donors include Arnold Ventures, The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk; and last but not least, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Gates Foundation, as readers are no doubt aware, is one of the worlds biggest backers of vaccine research, as well as the second largest funder of the World Health Organization (WHO). It is also heavily invested in large pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer and BioNTech, the joint manufacturers of the worlds most profitable Covid-19 vaccine, and Merck, the original manufacturer of ivermectin which has an antiviral compound, molnupiravir, in Phase 3 clinical trials for COVID-19.

As well as founding and funding the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI), the Gates Foundation is a passionate defender of pharmaceutical companies intellectual property rights. For months the worlds largest private foundation blocked attempts to temporarily lift coronavirus vaccine patent protections, preventing poorer countries from gaining cheaper access to COVID-19 vaccines, until it was finally forced to reverse course. As for McMaster, it is developing homegrown vaccines to fight COVID-19 in its specialised lab and production facilities.

In other words, an organisation that is hugely committed and invested in vaccine development is running one of the worlds largest clinical trials into one of the biggest threats facing COVID-19 vaccines: existing off-label medicines. To top it off, the trial is being part-financed by arguably the worlds biggest vaccine cheerleader whose interests are closely aligned with the worlds biggest pharmaceutical companies, some of which it is directly invested it.

The potential for conflicts of interest is huge. If a cheap, off-patent drug like ivermectin were approved for use against COVID and if it worked as effectively and as safely as most trials suggest, it would pose a direct threat to novel treatments being rolled out by pharmaceutical companies whose safety data is no match for ivermectins. It could also even jeopardise the emergency use authorisation granted to the COVID-19 vaccines, one of the basic conditions for which is that there are no alternative effective treatments available for the disease. As such, if ivermectin or some other promising medicine were green-lighted, the vaccines could be stripped of authorisation.

Gaming Trials

Pharmaceutical companies have a long track record of gaming the drugs trials they themselves finance and design. Unfortunately, most trials these days are industry funded. In a 2013 article for Scientific American Ben Goldacre showed how that could dramatically skew trial outcomes.

In 2010, three researchers from Harvard and Toronto found all the trials looking at five major classes of drugantidepressants, ulcer drugs and so onthen measured two key features: were they positive, and were they funded by industry? They found over five hundred trials in total: 85 per cent of the industry-funded studies were positive, but only 50 per cent of the government funded trials were. Thats a very significant difference. In 2007, researchers looked at every published trial that set out to explore the benefit of a statin. These are cholesterol lowering drugs which reduce your risk of having a heart attack, they are prescribed in very large quantities, and they will loom large in this book. This study found 192 trials in total, either comparing one statin against another, or comparing a statin against a different kind of treatment. Once the researchers controlled for other factors (well delve into what this means later), they found that industry-funded trials were twenty times more likely to give results favoring the test drug. Again, thats a very big difference. Well do one more. In 2006, researchers looked into every trial of psychiatric drugs in four academic journals over a ten-year period, finding 542 trial outcomes in total. Industry sponsors got favorable outcomes for their own drug 78 per cent of the time, while independently funded trials only gave a positive result in 48 per cent of cases. If you were a competing drug put up against the sponsors drug in a trial, you were in for a pretty rough ride: you would only win a measly 28 per cent of the time

Those who design the trials and control the data also control the outcome, says Tess Lawrie, a British medical researcher and doctor who led the Bryant et al meta-analysis. So this system of industry-led trials needs to be put to an end. Data from ongoing and future trials of novel COVID treatments must be independently controlled and analyzed. Anything less than full transparency cannot be trusted.

Usually the goal of a trial is to achieve a favorable outcome for the drug under trial. This can be done through a number of means, including ignoring certain inconvenient data, using subjective outcomes or changing outcomes in the middle of the trial. In the case of the TOGETHER trial, the potential risk of bias is in the opposite direction  i.e. achieving an unfavorable outcome. This can be done by, say, setting unrealistic magnitudes of benefit, stopping the trial early, using easily recognizable placebos so people can tell the difference or giving inadequate or toxic doses.

The Gates Foundation position on ivermectin is not exactly clear. Most organizations tied to the foundation have largely taken an antagonistic stance to the drug  at least in its current off-patent form. GAVI, for example, recently published an article titled Ivermectin: Why a Potential COVID Treatment Isnt Recommended. The article includes the totally erroneous claim that the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) does not recommend the drug. As weve reported before, the NIH has taken a neutral stance on IVM, neither advocating for or against its use. This is the reason why its possible, albeit difficult, to get ivermectin prescribed for COVID in the US, unlike most other advanced Western economies.

In a curious twist, at the same time that GAVI is publishing articles cautioning governments and doctors against using ivermectin against COVID, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is quietly funding work on an injectable form of the drug. The project, developed by French biotech company Medincell, was officially announced on April 6, 2020. That was just after lab researchers in Australia had discovered that a single treatment of ivermectin could deliver a 500-fold reduction in virus cell culture after just 48 hours.

Medincell had already been studying Ivermectin in the context of malaria. According to the companys own press release, its program aims at developing a long-acting injectable Ivermectin formulation for several months to protect people who are not infected with Covid-19 in order to break the virus chain of transmission. Such a tool could play a decisive role in the management of Covid-19 pandemic, by enabling many people around the world, especially those most exposed and at risk, to protect themselves.

Since Medincell uses a long-acting injectable technology to deliver the drug, it will presumably hope to secure a patent on its finished product, despite the fact that ivermectin has been off-patent for years. In April this year, the company announced that its clinical trial had confirmed the safety of administering ivermectin against COVID. Yet health authorities around the world, including the Gates-funded WHO, continue to call for more data.

Conflicts of Interest

The person leading the TOGETHER trial, Edward Mills, is a McMaster associate professor as well as the clinical trial advisor for the Gates Foundation. Asked for comment on potential conflicts of interest, Mills denied that the Gates Foundation was having any say on the conduct of the trial even though he himself is leading the investigation and is employed by the Gates Foundation.

Another big trial into repurposed drugs, the so-called PRINCIPLE trial, is taking place at Oxford University, which developed the AZ vaccine. Once again, the conflicts of interest are glaring.

The University of Oxford is heavily invested in the immunotherapeutics products and vaccines being developed by Vaccitech, a spin-out from the universitys Jenner Institute. It has also received hundreds of millions of pounds of funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, including a grant for the objective of maintaining two websites that provide data regarding substandard and falsified medicines. As NC reported a few months ago, the foundation was instrumental in dissuading Oxford University from donating the rights to its coronavirus vaccine to any drugmaker, which would have made the vaccine cheaper and more accessible in poorer countries.

In a letter to the lead investigators of the PRINCIPLE trial, the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC), a group of widely published critical care physicians and scholars, and the British Ivermectin Recommendation Development Group (BIRD), a U.K. based group of medical and scientific experts from more than 16 countries, questioned the ethics of the trial, given that half of the participants who are suffering from COVID will receive NO treatment. Some could end up dying  completely unnecessarily, the letter says, given the latest research shows beyond a doubt that ivermectin is an effective treatment for COVID-19 in all stages of the disease.

The letter also raises serious concerns about the quality of data the trial is likely to produce:

The trial intends to observe the antiviral properties of ivermectin in patients that have been showing COVID-19 symptoms for up to 15 days. It is well known that the virus naturally clears the body in 5 to 7 days. Measuring antiviral properties of a treatment when the virus may have cleared the body naturally is unlikely to be useful for providing reliable evidence or clinical guidance.

One can only hope that the concerns raised by FLCCC and BIRDs joint letter are unfounded, and that: a) nobody dies in the trial; and b) its processes are not rigged to ensure that the findings come out negative. Such an outcome would no doubt be reported massively and uncritically by the media. That could be enough to kill off all hopes of using the medicine against COVID  at least in its cheap off-patent form  not only in the countries that arent using it yet but even some of those that are. The result would be many more lives needlessly lost as well as the loss of one of the potentially most important lines of defence we have against this pandemic.
Yves here. Before some of you get riled up, I was involved with a mindfulness group that used techniques other than meditation (they focused on being mindful on an active basis, or as they liked to put it, clear, awake, aware). Their implicit pitch, which for most participants seemed to be true, was not that their training made you a better person, in the sense of being more ethical or generous, but that it made you more effective. They promoted it as a way to get yourself out of dead end jobs and relationships and into better ones.

By Michael J. Poulin, Associate Professor of Psychology, University at Buffalo. Originally published at The Conversation

When Japanese chef Yoshihiro Murata travels, he brings water with him from Japan. He says this is the only way to make truly authentic dashi, the flavorful broth essential to Japanese cuisine. Theres science to back him up: water in Japan is notably softer  which means it has fewer dissolved minerals  than in many other parts of the world. So when Americas enjoy Japanese food, they arguably arent getting quite the real thing.

This phenomenon isnt limited to food. Taking something out of its geographic or cultural context often changes the thing itself.

Take the word namaste. In modern Hindi, its simply a respectful greeting, the equivalent of a formal hello appropriate for addressing ones elders. But in the U.S., its associations with yoga have led many people to believe that its an inherently spiritual word.

Another cultural tradition that has changed across time and place is the practice of mindfulness. Mindfulness is a nonjudgmental expansive awareness of ones experiences, often cultivated through meditation.

A range of studies have found mindfulness to be beneficial for the people who practice it in a number of ways.

However, very little research has examined its effects on societies, workplaces and communities. As a social psychologist at the University at Buffalo, I wondered if the growing enthusiasm for mindfulness might be overlooking something important: the way practicing it might affect others.

A Booming Market

In just the past few years, the mindfulness industry has exploded in the U.S. Current estimates put the U.S. meditation market  which includes meditation classes, studios, and apps  at approximately US$1.2 billion. Its expected to grow to over $2 billion by 2022.

Hospitals, schools and even prisons are teaching and promoting mindfulness, while over 1 in 5 employers currently offer mindfulness training.

The enthusiasm for mindfulness makes sense: Research shows mindfulness can reduce stress, increase self-esteem and decrease symptoms of mental illness.

Given these findings, its easy to assume that mindfulness has few, if any, downsides. The employers and educators who promote it certainly seem to think so. Perhaps they hope that mindfulness wont just make people feel better, but that it will also make them be better. That is, maybe mindfulness can make people more generous, cooperative or helpful  all traits that tend to be desirable in employees or students.

Mindfulness Migrates

But in reality, theres good reason to doubt that mindfulness, as practiced in the U.S., would automatically lead to good outcomes.

In fact, it may do the opposite.

Thats because its been taken out of its context. Mindfulness developed as a part of Buddhism, where its intimately tied up with Buddhist spiritual teachings and morality. Mindfulness in the U.S., on the other hand, is often taught and practiced in purely secular terms. Its frequently offered simply as a tool for focusing attention and improving well-being, a conception of mindfulness some critics have referred to as McMindfulness.

Not only that, mindfulness and Buddhism developed in Asian cultures in which the typical way in which people think about themselves differs from that in the U.S. Specifically, Americans tend to think of themselves most often in independent terms with I as their focus: what I want, who I am. By contrast, people in Asian cultures more often think of themselves in interdependent terms with we as their focus: what we want, who we are.

Cultural differences in how people think about themselves are subtle and easy to overlook  sort of like different kinds of water. But just as those different kinds of water can change flavors when you cook, I wondered if different ways of thinking about the self might alter the effects of mindfulness.

For interdependent-minded people, what if mindful attention to their own experiences might naturally include thinking about other people  and make them more helpful or generous? And if this were the case, would it then be true that, for independent-minded people, mindful attention would spur them to focus more on their individual goals and desires, and therefore cause them to become more selfish?

Testing the Social Effects

I floated these questions to my colleague at the University at Buffalo, Shira Gabriel, because shes a recognized expert on independent versus interdependent ways of thinking about the self.

She agreed that this was an interesting question, so we worked with our students Lauren Ministero, Carrie Morrison and Esha Naidu to conduct a study in which we had 366 college students come into the lab  this was before the COVID-19 pandemic  and either engage in a brief mindfulness meditation or a control exercise that actually involved mind wandering. We also measured the extent to which people thought of themselves in independent or interdependent terms. (Its important to note that, although cultural differences in thinking about the self are real, there is variability in this characteristic even within cultures.)

At the end of the study, we asked people if they could help solicit donations for a charity by stuffing envelopes to send to potential donors.

The results  which have been accepted for publication in the journal Psychological Science  detail how, among relatively interdependent-minded individuals, the brief mindfulness meditation caused them to become more generous. Specifically, briefly engaging in a mindfulness exercise  as opposed to mind wandering  appeared to increase how many envelopes interdependent-minded people stuffed by 17%. However, among relatively independent-minded individuals, mindfulness appeared to make them less generous with their time. This group of participants stuffed 15% fewer envelopes in the mindful condition than in the mind-wandering condition.

In other words, the effects of mindfulness can be different for people depending on the way they think about themselves. This figurative water can really change the recipe of mindfulness.

Of course, water can be filtered, and likewise, how people think about themselves is fluid: Were all capable of thinking about ourselves in both independent and interdependent ways at different times.

In fact, theres a relatively simple way to get people to shift their thinking about themselves. As the researchers Marilynn Brewer and Wendi Gardner discovered, all you have to do is have them read a passage that is altered to have either a lot of I and me statements or a lot of we and us statements, and ask people to identify all of the pronouns. Past research shows that this simple task reliably shifts people to think of themselves in more independent versus interdependent terms.

Our research team wanted to see if this simple effect could also shift the effects of mindfulness on social behavior.

With this in mind, we conducted one more study. This time, it was online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but we used the same exercises.

First, however, we had people complete the pronoun task mentioned above. Afterwards, we asked people if they would volunteer to contact potential donors to a charity.

Our results were striking: Engaging in a brief mindfulness exercise made people who identified I/me words 33% less likely to volunteer, but it made those who identified we/us words 40% more likely to volunteer. In other words, just shifting how people thought of themselves in the moment  filtering the water of self-related thoughts, if you will  altered the effects of mindfulness on the behavior of many of the people who took part in this study.

Attention as a Tool

The take-home message? Mindfulness could lead to good social outcomes or bad ones, depending on context.

In fact, the Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard said as much when he wrote that even a sniper embodies a type of mindfulness. Bare attention, he added, as consummate as it might be, is no more than a tool. Yes, it can cause a great deal of good. But it can also cause immense suffering.

If practitioners strive to use mindfulness to reduce suffering, rather than increase it, its important to ensure that people are also mindful of themselves as existing in relation with others.

This water may be the key ingredient for bringing out the full flavor of mindfulness.
(Natural News) Arizonas attorney general sent a letter to President Biden condemning his new strategy to promote coronavirus vaccines by having representatives go door to door to speak with Americans about getting the shots.

(Article by Lexi Lonas republished from TheHill.com)

The letter sent by Attorney General Mark Brnovich, first obtained by Fox News, calls the effort government intrusion into Americans health care privacy.

Americans trust medical researchers and their family doctors to provide information and recommendations to make personal decisions but they do not trust government intrusion or the politicization of the health care process, the letter states.

The attorney general also raised concerns about the possibility of the government using private medical information to find out which Americans are not vaccinated.

I, along with many Arizonans, was greatly alarmed by your White House indicating that it might be in possession of medical records revealing the contact information for Americans who have not been vaccinated, the letter states. If this is the case, this is a severe breach of privacy, and I will not tolerate such intrusions within Arizona.

The letter comes a day after Biden stated his new strategy to push for vaccinations after the administration fell just shy of its goal to have at least 70 percent of Americans get at least one shot of the vaccine by July 4.

Biden said door-to-door community outreach would be one of the ways to promote the vaccine and ease concerns of those hesitant to receive it.

Lets keep the bureaucrats out of American neighborhoods and keep these health care decisions between people and their trusted medical professionals, Brnovich said.

Officials are renewing their strategy for vaccines as the delta variant spreads in the U.S. and is causing a rise in cases among unvaccinated individuals.

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.

Read more at: TheHill.com and JoeBiden.news.
(Natural News) Disturbing footage out of Australia shows a New Wales MP declare the beginning of the New World Order as the government locks down the country over COVID once again.

(Article by Jamie White republished from Infowars.com)

New Wales Minister for Health and Medical Research Brad Hazzard dismissed lockdown concerns as just the way it is, claiming citizens must accept this New World Order paradigm.

This is a world pandemic, Hazzard said Saturday. Its a one in 100-year event. So you can expect that we will have transmission from time to time, and thats just the way it is.

Weve got to accept that this is the New World Order.

07/10/2021: Australia announces the New World Order pic.twitter.com/1d5r1VLmKJ  Pieter Christiaens (@PieterChrist) July 10, 2021

As part of the New World Order model, the following measures have been imposed upon Australian citizens:

Outdoor gatherings limited to 2 people

Exercise permitted no farther than 10km away from home

Browsing shops forbidden

1 person in household allowed to shop for essentials

Funeral limited to 10 people

If that sounds unreasonable and authoritarian, thats because it is.

In fact, Australia recorded its first COVID death of 2021 just last week.

So 1 person dies, and now a country of over 25 million must be locked down forever.

Welcome to the New World Orders Great Reset agenda.

Read more at: Infowars.com and GreatReset.news.
(Natural News) A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request has brought to light another damning email showing that Tony Fauci has, in fact, been heavily involved with illegal gain of function research on bat coronaviruses is communist China.

The latest incriminating email to surface was sent to Fauci by EcoHealth Alliance President Peter Daszak back in 2017, in which Daszak admitted that he was doing assays to find out if [manipulated bat coronaviruses] can infect human cells in the lab.

The subject line of the email reads, Confidential  A new bat-origin coronavirus emerging in pigs in China discovered under our NIAID R01, proving that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under Fauci was actively funding Daszaks gain of function research.

It would appear as though Daszak was directly referencing a $3.7 million grant that Fauci awarded to the EcoHealth Alliance for the purpose of understanding the risk of bat coronavirus emergence in humans, a project that took place at the infamous Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).

Attached to the incriminating email was an unpublished paper on novel bat-origin coronavirus that is not known to be zoonotic.

Were also doing assays to find out if it can infect human cells in the lab  so far no evidence of this, Daszak wrote, listing Wuhan researcher Shi Zhengli as the co-principal investigator behind the research.

Fauci lied, and millions have died

These and other details in the email prove that Fauci lied to Sen. Rand Paul and to the American people  under oath  about his involvement in illegal gain of function research on bat coronaviruses.

Fauci has repeatedly attempted to distance himself from any such research, playing dumb about its existence. Fauci also says he never sent a penny of American taxpayer money to Wuhan, which has also been exposed to be a lie.

Based on the contents of the email, we also now know that Fauci met up with Daszak that very same day, which also coincided with the opening day of a conference on Emerging and Re-emerging Viruses, at which Fauci delivered the keynote address.

Daszak and Shi also spoke at the gathering, suggesting that they all knew what was going on, including Fauci. There is simply no way that Fauci could have not known the type of research that was taking place, and that he was funding with American taxpayer dollars.

It is because of Fauci that we had a plandemic at all. Had Fauci not have funded illegal gain of function research, there never would have been a bat coronavirus capable of transmitting to humans, which makes Fauci a mass murderer.

Daszak is likewise complicit, though he would not have been able to conduct his Frankenstein experiments were it not for the funding that came from Fauci.

Daszak never disclosed his financial conflicts of interest, it turns out, which is why he was ultimately recused from The Lancets COVID-19 commission.

Both Fauci and Daszak are criminals who belong in prison  or worse  for their crimes against humanity. Neither of them can be allowed to get away with their wickedness, no matter the amount of time it takes to bring them to justice.

When will the arrests happen? Never, commented one of our own, unsure about whether or not there will ever be justice unless people really push for it.

And that is because we are fine with corruption. Is there a better explanation?

Be sure to contact your representatives and demand that justice be served, and encourage others to do the same. That will help to prevent this from all being swept under the rug.

More of the latest news about criminal Fauci can be found at Pandemic.news.

Sources for this article include:

TheNationalPulse.com

NaturalNews.com

TheNationalPulse.com
(Natural News) After initial reports alleged finding unmarked graves, a former British Columbia chief has revealed that the existence of these graves is common knowledge, as they are part of an actively-used graveyard.

(Article by Clare Marie Merkowsky republished from LifeSiteNews.com)

This week, mainstream media reported that ground-penetrating radar discovered 182 unmarked graves at the site of the former Kootenay Residential School at St. Eugene Mission just outside Cranbrook, B.C.

Former chief of the St Marys Indian Band and former student of this school, Sophie Pierre, told Global News that this was not news to the community. Theres no discovery, we knew it was there, its a graveyard, Pierre said. The fact there are graves inside a graveyard shouldnt be a surprise to anyone.

She explained that the graves had been marked with wooden crosses which had either been burned or deteriorated over time. Currently, the use of wooden markers is still common practice among many Indigenous communities across Canada.

Additionally, Pierre revealed that the graves may contain the bodies of children from the residential schools; however, this is not confirmed. There could very well be, and in good likelihood, some children that were in the residential school that died here because of [tuberculosis] or other diseases, and were buried there, Pierre said. But its a graveyard.

To just assume that every unmarked grave inside a graveyard is already tied to a residential school, weve got to be a little bit more respectful of our people who are buried in our graveyards, Pierre continued.

This graveyard is still being actively used. We just buried one of our people there last month, she said. Anyone who died in my community would be buried there.

Most mainstream media reports blame the Catholic Church, neglecting to mention the excessively high rates of tuberculosis?among Indigenous children and the substantial lack of proper financial support from the Canadian government, which forced Indigenous children into those schools in the first place.

Once the government?mandated?attendance at the schools?in the 1920s, children were?forcibly removed from their families?and parents threatened with prison if they did not comply. Upon arrival at school, children rarely saw their families, with many disappearing or never seeing their families again.

Catholic author Michael OBrien, who attended residential schools, gave testimony to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He?previously told?LifeSiteNews that the chief underlying issue in the residential school saga was the institutional abuse of children being removed from their families by the state authorities, and then taken to the schools, noting the long-term psychological and social effects of this.

An important element to the residential school narrative, often ignored by the mainstream media, is that, citing financial costs, the Department of Indian Affairs refused to ship home the bodies of children who died at the government-mandated schools, meaning that they had to be buried there.

Additionally, mortality?rates?for children under the age of five had been recorded as 296.75 deaths per 1,000 births in 1900. That figure only dropped beneath 100 deaths per 1,000 births in 1935, with high rates of child mortality consistently seen from 1910 through 1920.

Indeed, the First Nations people have historically been?noted?to be less resilient against infectious diseases, such as influenza epidemics, measles, and smallpox.

As media outlets publish allegations and grossly overexaggerated accounts, many Catholic churches are being burned to the ground while others are vandalized. These churches serve Indigenous Catholics, who are now left without parishes or access to necessary sacraments. Some officials are even encouraging these acts on social media.

Read more at: LifeSiteNews.com and RealHistory.news.
(Natural News) Scientists in the state of Washington identified a new murder hornet (Vespa mandarinia) found in Snohomish Country. A Marysville resident found the dead insect and reported it to the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) on June 4, which identified it as a male. The discovery came more than six months after the WSDA successfully destroyed a nest of the murder hornets late last year.

V. mandarinia, also known as the Asian giant hornet, is the worlds largest hornet, measuring 2 inches (5 centimeters). It boasts of an extremely painful sting and administers seven times more venom than a honeybee when it delivers the sting. The murder hornets venom acts as a neurotoxin and can lead to seizures and cardiac arrests.

WSDA noticed that the hornet specimen had a different coloring compared to earlier collected samples. It then submitted the insect to the U.S. Department of Agricultures (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for final verification. The June 11 results confirmed that the hornet was indeed V. mandarinia  but was unrelated to the ones seen in Whatcom County and neighboring Canada. Entomologists believed that it was an old hornet from a previous season that was not discovered until now, based on its exceptionally dry appearance.

USDA Plant Protection and Quarantine Program Deputy Administrator Dr. Osama El-Lissy said in a June 16 statement: This find is perplexing because it is too early for a male [hornet] to emerge. Last year, the first males emerged in late July, which was earlier than expected. It was also unclear how the hornet made it to Marysville.

El-Lissy nevertheless reiterated that the USDA will work with its counterpart in the Evergreen State to verify if a murder hornet population exists in Snohomish County. He added that the USDA will continue to provide technical expertise and monitor the situation there. USDA has already provided funding for survey and eradication activities as well as research into lures and population genetics, El-Lissy said.

The report of the new specimen came as the 2021 murder hornet season neared

The June 4 discovery of the murder hornet came as Washington state made plans for this years murder hornet season. The Evergreen State emphasized the importance of public outreach, reporting and trapping to keep the murder hornets at bay.

WSDA Managing Entomologist Sven Spichiger said in the June 16 statement: This new report continues to underscore how important public reporting is for all suspected invasive species, but especially Asian giant hornets. None of this would have happened without an alert resident taking the time to snap a photo and submit a report.

A June 15 statement said that WSDA will continue to use orange juice and rice cooking wine as bait for trapping hornets. It added that residents will have the option to use either orange juice or a brown sugar-based bait for trapping. WSDA will focus its trapping on Whatcom County areas  where murder hornets were detected in 2019 and 2020.

In the statement, WSDA also exhorted residents in the Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan, Island, Jefferson and Clallam counties to join hornet trapping operations. Spichiger said a day later that hornet traps would now be set up in the Snohomish and King counties. He also called on the residents in both counties to participate.

The new finding highlighted the publics role in fighting the invasive species that have targeted honeybees already threatened by mites, diseases, pesticides and loss of food. (Related: Asian hornet arrives in Britain, countless honeybees at risk.)

The murder hornet was first confirmed in the U.S. back in December 2019 near Blaine, a city in Whatcom County. The first live V. mandarinia was trapped in July 2020. WSDA had already killed six or seven hives in the state since the first hornet specimen was trapped. NBC News reported back in October 2020 that WSDA successfully destroyed the first murder hornet nest in the country. (Related: First murder hornet nest in the US found and destroyed.)

WSDA entomologists attached radio trackers to three hornets caught prior  with one hornet leading them to the nest in a tree. Workers wearing protective suits used foam to seal off the nests crevices on Oct. 24, wrapped the tree in cellophane and vacuumed out the hornets. Carbon dioxide gas was then pumped in to kill any remaining hornets in the nest.

Spichiger told reporters during an Oct. 26 video news conference: We wanted to make sure that we took the nest out as quickly as we possibly could to avoid any queens escaping. No one was stung, and no one was even attacked that were aware of. He added that the cold weather during the nest removal aided entomologists as the hornets inside remained docile throughout the operation.

Ecology.news has more articles about murder hornets and states fights against the invasive species.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

Agr.WA.gov 1

Agr.WA.gov 2

NBCNews.com
(Natural News) The Central Asian nation of Turkmenistan announced that citizens are now required to get vaccinated against the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). Turkmenistans Ministry of Health and Medical Industry (MHMI) made the announcement on July 7, which was subsequently published in state media. The ministrys order applied to all Turkmens 18 years old and above.

State newspaper Neutral Turkmenistan published the MHMIs announcement, saying that citizens aged 18 years and older should be vaccinated. The health ministrys announcement added: To make preventive vaccinations effective, each of us should actively participate in this process. However, those with medical contraindications to vaccines will be exempted from the inoculation program.

Turkmenistans neighbors in Central Asia also put mandatory vaccination orders in place. In late June of this year, Kazakhstan made COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for a wide range of public and private sector employees  following a similar mandate by Russia. Just four days earlier, Tajikistan made COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for all its citizens aged 18 and older.

Turkmenistan procured vaccines from Russia and China for use in its COVID-19 vaccination program. It approved the two Russian vaccine candidates  Sputnik V and EpiVacCorona  alongside the CoronaVac vaccine.

The announcement followed the Central Asian region reporting a fresh spike in new COVID-19 infections. Nevertheless, the Turkmen government introduced restrictions such as mask mandates in response.

Alongside North Korea, the secretive Turkmenistan had yet to declare a single COVID-19 case. Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said in a June 2021 interview: [Thanks] to work [we] have carried out, [the country has] yet to discover a case of this disease.

Foreign media outlets, however, have regularly cast doubt on this claim  with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reporting two such cases. Turkish diplomat Kemal Uchkun died of COVID-19 in July 2020 at a Turkmen hospital. Later, British Ambassador to Turkmenistan Hugh Philpott admitted on social media that he had contracted COVID-19 while stationed in the country. Philpotts December 2020 tweet spoke of his recovery from a virus trending in the physical world.'

Mandatory vaccinations are tantamount to death sentences on citizens

The COVID-19 vaccine mandates implemented by Turkmenistan and its Central Asian neighbors evoked memories of the Soviet Union  where these nations were formerly part of. While the MHMIs mandate did not lay out punishment for those declining, the fact that COVID-19 vaccines have been linked to different health issues made the required vaccination order comparable to the death penalty.

A similar effort had been launched by the U.S., with so-called vaccine strike forces to conduct door-to-door visits on Americans and administer COVID-19 vaccines. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters during a June 6 press conference that the Biden administrations campaign sought to provide Americans with purportedly safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines against the Delta or B16172 variant. (Related: White House officially announces vaccine strike forces that will go door-to-door, targeting anti-vaxxers in their homes, forcing Americans to take KILL SHOTS.)

Psaki said that the door-to-door campaign is one of five areas U.S. President Joe Biden and his team are focusing on in the effort to inoculate more people. [The] targeted, community-by-community, door-to-door outreach [aims] to get remaining Americans vaccinated by ensuring they have the information they need on how both safe and accessible the [COVID-19] vaccine is, she elaborated.

The campaign appeared to be the fulfillment of a vaccine-related plan initially announced early this year. Back in January 2021, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said the public health agency will commission military medical personnel to help out in COVID-19 vaccination efforts.

Walensky said during a Jan. 19 Good Morning America appearance: We need to make sure we have the people  on the ground. Were going to commission military medical personnel. Were going to look at upper level nursing students and medical students [to help out]. (Related: Biden orders TROOPS to administer coronavirus vaccines in California as military is repurposed for genocide.)

Visit MedicalTyranny.com to read more news about mandatory COVID-19 vaccination in different countries.

Sources include:

Reuters.com

MacauBusiness.com

COVID19.TrackVaccines.org

RFERL.org

News.Yahoo.com

WhiteHouse.gov

DailyMail.co.uk
(Natural News) A new study revealed that demand for biodiesel in Europe came with a heavy price  disappearing forest land. It mentioned that ever since the EU introduced its green fuels law in 2010, forests the size of the Netherlands have been lost to fields for growing crops for biodiesel. The study called on the EU to end support for palm and soy biodiesel to address the deforestation caused by their cultivation.

The European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E) was behind the June 2021 study penned by Suren Rangaraju, an energy analyst at the organization. It said that the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), first introduced in 2010, set a 10 percent renewable energy target for transport by 2020 for each EU member state. This inadvertently drove up demand for cheaper crop-based biodiesel mainly sourced from Asia and South America.

Since 2010, Europe has burned around 39 million tons of palm and soy biodiesel alone in its cars and trucks. This translated to about a three-fold amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil diesel. Because of this, T&E said the EU needs to drop its support of all crop biofuels by 2030 at the latest in its upcoming Fit for 55 package. The package involved the EU slashing greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030.

T&E Energy Director Laura Buffet said: 10 years of this green fuels law and what have we got to show for it? Rampant deforestation, habitats wiped out and worse emissions that if we had used polluting diesel instead. A policy that was supposed to save the planet is actually trashing it. We cannot afford another decade of this failed policy. We need to break the biofuels monopoly in renewable transport and put electricity at the center of the RED instead.

The report also focused on palm oil  one of three vegetable oils used in almost 80 percent of feedstock in biodiesel production in 2020, alongside rapeseed and soy. Palm oil reached its highest consumption level, capping a decade of growth that has seen its consumption increase threefold.

Buffet commented that consumers can choose whether to purchase goods with palm oil or not  a luxury unavailable to the transport sector in Europe. The EUs transport sector is currently propping up demand for ruinous palm oil without consumers knowing it. We need to phase out palm oil biofuels immediately, she said. (Related: Cocklebur seed oil may become an alternative biodiesel source.)

The cultivation of palms for oil undermined orangutan populations

According to the T&E study, the EUs demand for biofuel required 4 million hectares of land to address. Forest lands were subsequently razed to accommodate this need, destroying an estimated 10 percent of the worlds remaining orangutan habitats.

A large percentage of palm oil imported by the EU came from Indonesia and Malaysia  at the cost of the orangutans homes. Reuters reported back in July 2019 that at least 650 orangutans were lost in protected areas in the Malaysian state of Sabah between 2002 and 2017. Despite this loss, overall orangutan populations in the state remained steady at around 11,000.

In a statement, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said that while the orangutan population has stabilized in large forest areas, their numbers declined in forest patches within oil palm landscapes of the eastern lowlands of Sabah. The statement added: The monoculture nature of oil palm plantations means that they tend not to support species that are dependent on forest environment like the orangutan.

Palm oil is Malaysias largest agricultural crop and export, but its total production fell second to Indonesia. Sabah assumed the top position among the other Malaysian states when it came to palm oil production. However, the palm oil industry has been blamed for widespread deforestation as land is cleared to make way for new palm plantations. (Related: Industrial agriculture terrorizes Borneo: Palm oil plantations are responsible for deforestation, fires, habitat loss, air pollution.)

Fortunately, the REDII adopted in 2018 put down a plan to wean Europe off palm oil. According to the updated version of the 2010 directive, use of palm oil biodiesel would be frozen at 2019 volume levels. From 2023, it will then be progressively phased out until 2030 as part of the EUs green targets.

However, T&E called the move too late and warned of the risk that other vegetable oils will simply replace palm oil  further driving deforestation.

While palm oil may be the worst, producers will simply move to what is cheap. In reality, unless we take action now, palm will be replaced with soy or other virgin oils  moving the problem from one part of the world to another. Crop biofuels are not the solution for Europes transport and they will never be, Buffet ultimately remarked.

Visit NewEnergyReport.com to read more stories about how the cultivation of crops for biodiesel does more harm than good.

Sources include:

CleanTechnica.com

TransportEnvironment.org 1

TransportEnvironment.org 2 [PDF]

Reuters.com
(Natural News) On Friday, July 9, a South Korean think tank said that North Korea has rejected planned shipments of AstraZenecas coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine due to concerns over side effects.

The vaccine shipments were being organized under the global COVAX distribution scheme. COVAX has said it would provide nearly 2 million doses of AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccines to North Korea. The first batch had been expected in late May but was delayed amid protracted consultations, South Korea said last month.

North Korea has not reported any COVID-19 cases, a position questioned by South Korean and U.S. officials. But the reclusive country has imposed strict antivirus measures, including border closures and domestic travel curbs.

According to the report by the Institute for National Security Strategy (INSS), which is affiliated with South Koreas intelligence agency, Pyongyang is now looking at other vaccine options. While North Korea allowed its diplomats overseas to receive COVID-19 shots starting at the end of March, it is not making attempts to secure the vaccines for internal use, INSS said.

The INSS report also said North Korea is not keen on Chinese vaccines due to concerns they may not be that effective, but it has shown interest in shots made in Russia, hoping they would be donated free of charge.

Its leaning towards the Russian vaccine, yet no arrangements have been made, Lee Sang-keun, director of strategic research on the Korean peninsula at INSS, told Reuters. Lee added that North Korean authorities had become concerned about the AstraZeneca vaccine after reports of rare but serious blood clotting events among some people who received it.

On Wednesday, July 7, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow has offered Pyongyang vaccines on a number of occasions.

The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), one of the organizations leading COVAX, did not confirm or deny the INSS report.

We continue to work with DPRK authorities, as we work with all the countries we serve, to help respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, a GAVI spokesperson said, using the initials of North Koreas official name  Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.

North Korea may be doing the right thing this time

North Korea had reasons to be concerned. AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine made headlines several times for all the wrong reasons since it received the green light from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in late January.

Right after its approval, various countries in Europe decided to not use it for the elderly and chose to wait for more data. (Related: Researchers confirm antibodies from the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine cause blood clots.)

In March, more than a dozen European countries temporarily suspended the use of AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine after cases of blood clots and low platelet counts emerged. The company had also been accused of withholding data to make the vaccine seem more effective than it actually was in human trials done in the U.S., Chile and Peru.

AstraZenecas COVID-19 was also listed in an interim fact-of-death certificate as one of the possible factors that led to the death of BBC presenter Lisa Shaw.

Shaws family said the 44-year-old was treated for blood clots days after receiving the first dose of AstraZeneca. She died on May 21. The BBC Radio Newcastle presenter was not known to have any underlying health problems.

Lisa developed severe headaches a week after receiving her AstraZeneca vaccine and fell seriously ill a few days later, Shaws family said in a statement. Lisa developed severe headaches a week after receiving her AstraZeneca vaccine and fell seriously ill a few days later.

Not all adverse effects were fatal, but they were surely leaving marks on their victims. Sarah Beuckmann, a mother from Scotland, spent 16 days at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital as her legs essentially turned into a pair of giant blisters.

She started to notice a rash flaring up and around her ankles a week after receiving her first dose of AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine. Doctors determined that the vaccine caused the reaction after carrying out two biopsies.

Follow Immunization.news for more news and information related to coronavirus vaccines.

Sources include:

MSN.com

Reuters.com

BigLeaguePolitics.com

BBC.com

DailyRecord.co.uk
(Natural News) With zero science to back up giving zoo animals China virus jabs, and zero animals testing positive for Covid, the Oakland Zoo and Denver Zoo are both moving forward, shooting up animals with toxic inoculations that cause blood clots and heart inflammation in humans. There are also no records of any animals transmitting Covid to humans, but since some pharma group donated a bunch of poisonous jabs to some zoos, they figure why not add to the chaos and paranoia, and juice them up.

The vice president of veterinary services at the Oakland Zoo claims hes utilizing an abundance of caution vaccinating the animals for the Fauci virus  you dont say? Whats next, social distancing for all animals and mandatory masks tied around their faces?

No animal has been proven by science to transmit Covid to humans, its all just part of the theater

Covid vaccines are NOT needed in pets or livestock. MSM tried to fake a test for a German shepherd in New York, but after lying and saying the dog tested positive, they had to retract the story and repost it admitting it tested negative. Plus, why would we believe any news out of China or from the CDCthe center for disease creation?

According to the CDC, the transmission of Covid from the zoo animals is possible, though they have no science or clinical data whatsoever to back up that claim. Arent we often reminded by the CDC to rely on science and not speculate? They must have gotten vaccinated and forgot.

Only a handful of animals have tested positive for Covid-19 and with all these fake and false positives from the PCR tests, whos to know if any of it is even real.

Dr. Pamela Popper talks about zoo animals getting Covid-19 vaccines:

(skip to the 3:00 minute mark)

Denver Zoo wants to vaccinate 100 animals by end of summer to perpetuate LIES about COVID-19

Its all smoke and mirrors folks. Smoke and mirrors. Its a show to convince more Americans to go out and get the deadly Covid-19 jabs, with zero science to justify giving the vaccines to humans or zoo animals. Just feed the paranoia and aim for a 70% full-vaccination rate among Americans, in preparation for the massive genocidal event (the next booster or variant jabs).

Even in India, where they claim 8 lions tested positive for Covid-19, they too admit that there is no scientific evidence anywhere to be found that the animals could transmit the virus to humans, and that the variants the animals do have are not of concern.

And dont you go worrying that the zoos are using up needed shots for humans, because the pharma companies claim these jabs are made especially for the zoo animals. Oh, really? Can we see those ingredients and clinical trials proving safety and efficacy? Do they cause blood clots and heart inflammation for the zoo animals, like they do for humans? Will 7,000 zoo animals die, like the 7,000 humans did that got Covid jabs so far?

Its time to call out the CDC and the FDA on all their evidence-based and science-backed claims about medicine and virus treatments. Theyve been lying and degrading natural remedies and indigenous medicine for 100 years based on so-called scientific research and peer-reviewed studies, so lets see all these studies on vaccines as of late. Put your money where your mouth is, big pharma.

Covid-19 vaccines are not safe or effective; theyre unsafe and defective. Visit CovidVaccineReactions.com if you already got a dirty jab or two and feel like youre sick and dying. Then call an attorney. Also, check out Pandemic.news for updates on these crimes against humanity and the upcoming vaccine holocaust.

Sources for this article include:

Pandemic.news

NaturalNews.com

TruthWiki.org

TimesofIndia.com
(Natural News) A researcher from Europe recently conducted a survey that looked at the state of magnetism in peoples bodies after they get vaccinated for the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19), the results of which are nothing short of disturbing.

It turns out that getting jabbed for the Fauci Flu causes a persons body to become increasingly more magnetic over time, emitting a strange electromagnetic field that becomes progressively stronger with each passing day.

Amar Goudjil set out to evaluate 200 individuals living or working in Luxembourg. Half of them were to have gotten jabbed for the Chinese Virus in accordance with government recommendations, while the other half were those who decided to protect their DNA from permanent chemical alteration.

Each of the two groups was to then be divided into half women and half men, and all of them were to be considered active as opposed to inactive in terms of their lifestyles.

The location of the study took place at the Belle-Etoile shopping center and the route dArlon in Strassen. For practical reasons, all of those interviewed had to be wearing short-sleeved or sleeveless shirts to fully test the magnetism.

Goudjil made an introduction, explained the purpose of the study, and conducted an anonymous statistical survey of jabbed versus un-jabbed people living in the area.

Its a survey about information according to which vaccinated people show electromagnetic effects and at EFVV, we are trying to find out what the observed reality is, Goudjil told each participant.

From there, he presented each participant with a magnet to press against the skin. Participants were also asked to have an electric and magnetic field tester placed on the shoulders to test for electric fields.

In the end, due to various reasons, only 30 vaccinated and 30 unvaccinated people were interviewed and tested by Goudjil, with 15 women and 15 men in each of the groups. Still, the results were undeniably clear: getting injected causes severe magnetism.

In the non-vaccinated group, out of the 30 individuals interviewed, the number of people showing attraction to the magnet was 0 (zero), the studys results explain.

In the vaccinated group, on the other hand, 29 of the 30 individuals interviewed showed attraction to the magnet. That is, the magnet adhered to their skin without difficulty.

Of these same 29 individuals, the study further found, 22 had the magnet stick to only one shoulder, that being the one where they were injected. Interestingly, these 22 people had only received one injection of a Wuhan Flu shot.

The remaining seven people in this same group all had the magnet stick to both shoulders.

According to Goudjil, the breakdown of which injections the vaccinated group received is as follows:

17 received at least one injection from Pfizer-BioNTech

Seven received at least one injection from AstraZeneca

Three received at least one injection from Moderna

Three received the single injection from Johnson & Johnson (J&J)

Six received both Pfizer-BioNTech injections

One received two injections from AstraZeneca

One received two injections from Moderna

You can review the study in its entirety at this link.

Chinese Virus injections are destroying peoples lives, including emotionally

Goudjil further found that in nearly every case, those who were vaccinated the earliest showed the strongest electromagnetic fields and associated bodily attraction to the magnet.

Conversely, those vaccinated more recently had a weaker magnetism, suggesting that it takes time for the full post-injection magnetic imprint to develop.

The exercise being totally destabilising for the respondents, at no point were they asked to apply the magnet to any area other than the shoulders, Goudjil clarified.

It would have been very interesting to know whether the magnet also adhered to the neck, chest, forehead or leg areas and whether other objects such as spoons, scissors and smartphones also adhered.

Goudjil noted that many who were initially willing to participate suddenly changed their minds after seeing the magnet stick to their skin. They apparently had no idea that Chinese Virus injections would cause them to become magnetic, and thus became fearful or full of panic.

The findings lend credence to ongoing speculation that Fauci Flu shots contain a substance called Magneto that is designed to travel into the brain and lodge itself there, allowing for outside control from an external source.

Think mind control through 5G towers, for instance, or a magnetic operation system or hard drive upon which medical software can be uploaded through future government injections.

Sadly, many people who are getting these injections have no clue about any of this. One lady who participated in the survey actually broke down crying after seeing what the magnet did to her, explaining to Goudjil that she did not even want to get injected but was basically forced to by her employer.

During the exchanges, people clearly express their dismay by saying afterwards that they are taken as hostages, Goudjil noted, explaining that he ultimately ended up stopping the study early because he was unable to cope with the helplessness of people whose faces become petrified when they realise that they have been injected with a substance of which they know nothing.

Many acknowledge that this injection is non-consensual and that at no time were they given rational explanations, even if only from the point of view of the benefit-risk balance. After reflection and discussion, they then describe this act as: mistake, madness, loophole, solution, or even blackmail.'

More related news about the damage being caused by Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) injections can be found at ChemicalViolence.com.

Sources for this article include:

EFVV.eu

EFVV.eu

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) According to new reports, at least four members of the San Francisco Gay Mens Chorus, which promised in a now-deleted YouTube video to convert everyones children into LGBTQs, are convicted pedophiles.

David Wallace, Lawrence Earl Friedberg, Luis Cuadra, and Keith Pepper have all been identified by The Western Journal as registered sex offenders in the state of California, which explains why the chorus removed the highly offensive video once word got out about its members.

Each of the aforementioned names has a match with the chorus members list, and the Journal cross-referenced all four of them with those referenced in Californias database of registered sex offenders.

Back in 1985, David Eugene Wallace was convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age. The chorus roster lists the name David Shawn Wallace as one of its members.

While the names are technically not an exact match, someone on Twitter  see below  pointed out that the mug shot for David Eugene Wallace is a close match to the photo of David Shawn Wallace on the chorus roster.

In 2001, Lawrence Earl Friedberg was similarly convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age. A man by the name of Earl Friedberg is listed as a member of the chorus.

In 2018, Luis Cuadra was also convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age  are you beginning to see a pattern here? Cuadra was released in 2020, and is now a member of the chorus as well as one of its board members.

Finally, Keith Aaron Pepper was convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age back in 1998. Pepper is listed under the same name as a board member of the chorus.

San Francisco Gay Mens Chorus has an outreach program to recruit city youth into its ranks

None of this would have gone public had the chorus not released a filthy music video called A Message from the Gay Community that contained lewd and lascivious threats against parents and their children.

The lyrics included promises that homosexual men are out to deliberately corrupt the youth by quietly and subtly converting them into the Cult of LGBTQ.

You will barely notice it, the gays sang in the video.

Were coming for them. Were coming for your children, they further threatened.

After the disturbing video went viral, sleuths began to dig up the rap sheets for the members of the chorus, some of whom have preyed on children in the past.

The Western Journal and others attempted to get answers from the chorus, only to have the chorus refuse to respond and remove its Contact Us link from its website.

It has also been revealed that the chorus has long maintained an outreach program throughout the city of San Francisco that brings [the San Francisco Gay Mens Chorus] into elementary, middle, and high schools across the Bay Area to share a message of love, inclusivity, and strength.

What you quietly hoped they werent doing is exactly what they are doing, wrote one commenter at The Western Journal about part of the lyrics from the now-deleted chorus video.

I am a victim of that and can tell you it is quite prevalent. A well-known desire. Luckily I escaped.

Another pointed out that the LGBTQ agenda has never been about love, tolerance, or inclusion, but rather about trying to manipulate and corrupt innocent children into a deviant and destructive lifestyle.

More related news about the Cult of LGBTQ and its ties to pedophilia can be found at Evil.news.

Sources for this article include:

WesternJournal.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) The Center for Rural Development is launching a new training course to teach Joe Bidens vaccine brownshirts how to isolat[e] and quarantine a large portion of a local rural population.

Listed as MGT 433 in the Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium (RDPC) course catalog, the eight-hour class is designed to provide both public- and private-sector emergency managers, community policymakers, public health and public safety personnel with the general knowledge necessary to begin planning for situations requiring the isolation and quarantine of a large portion of a local, rural population.

A rural communitys ability to collectively respond to an emergency requiring isolation and quarantine is not only essential to minimizing the negative impacts to the community at risk, but also to minimizing the long-term negative economic and health effects on the American public as a whole, the course description states.

In order to take the course, students must be United States citizens. They are also advised to have already taken several other courses about incident management and national response to crises.

The Center is a DHS (Department of Homeland Security) / FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) training provider for Rural Development, the site further explains.

Hunters dad does not respect your right to choose

It would appear as though the Biden regime is planning to more aggressively target Americas rural areas with Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines. which are more popular in the cities than they are out in the country.

Vaccine hesitancy, as they are calling it, is much higher in rural parts of the country that tend to be conservative, which seems to be the impetus behind this new course.

If American conservatives refuse to get a Fauci Flu shot, then Beijing Biden is planning to isolate and quarantine them, perhaps in special rural zones much like what fascists from the past did by rounding people up and putting them in camps.

RDPC was created back in 2004 after Congress decided that there was a pressing need for consistent quality training, specifically among the nations rural and tribal first responder communities.

This new Consortium should provide a regional approach to rural first responder awareness level training, develop emerging training, and provide technical assistance in support of rural homeland security requirements, Congress noted at the time.

To this day, RDPC remains an integral part of the DHS and FEMA National Training and Education System, which touts a whole community approach to providing training and resources.

RDPC says it has already successfully trained more than 100,000 rural and tribal practitioners using multiple modalities to spring into action when commanded to by DHS and FEMA.

Will these trained assets soon be used to pressure or even threaten rural Americans into taking a Chinese Virus injection at warp speed? Will these people set up barriers around towns or blockade streets and roadways to punish the non-compliant?

China Joes Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) pick, Xavier Becerra, has already indicated publicly that the regime has spent trillions of dollars to keep Americans alive during this pandemic, which warrants further intervention if people continue to resist the shots.

It is absolutely the governments business [to know who is vaccinated], Becerra told CNN. It is taxpayers business if we have to continue to spend money.

Billionaire eugenicist Bill Gates agrees, having stated that when the world is faced with biological threats, there is a sense of urgency that needs to be taken into account.

The world needs to prepare for pandemics in the same serious way it prepares for war, Gates squeaked during the presentation.

More of the latest news about Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) tyranny can be found at Pandemic.news.

Sources for this article include:

RuralTraining.org

WeLoveTrump.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it is actively working on a new digital wallet system where people who agree to get jabbed can store their Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine certificates.

Dr. Michael Ryan, an Irish epidemiologist who is heading up the program, told listeners at a July 12 gathering in Geneva, Switzerland, that countries will soon have the ability to opt in to the international program, which will function in a 1930s papers, please format, but this time on a global scale.

We have encouraged countries that want to, they may use the international certificate for vaccination and prophylaxis  that requires other countries to recognize that certificate of vaccination, Ryan explained.

Ryan added that the WHO is also working to increase the distribution of the paper versions of its international certificate of vaccination prophylaxis, and also developing a digital wallet that could be used for the same purpose.

Individual nations that choose to generate their own digital vaccination certificates will be able to blend them together with those of other nations using detailed data standards.

But that does not get around the policy issues around which vaccines are recognized within that system that is essentially an international policy issue between countries, Ryan further detailed.

Though Ryan did not specifically address it, many worry that the new system will be used by the WHO to force Fauci Flu shots as a condition of international travel. Many countries could individually attempt to force the injections as well, which is of great concern.

ACLU, Republican lawmakers warn that vaccine passports violate civil liberties

Civil liberties and human rights groups are also decrying the WHOs proposal, warning that any form of vaccine passport is a clear violation of personal privacy and the right to bodily autonomy.

Some Republican lawmakers have also warned that vaccine passports would create a two-tiered society in which the jabbed are afforded special privileges not available to the un-jabbed, including access to essential services like medical care.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) wrote a blog post warning that there is a lot that can go wrong with vaccine passports.

Its likely that such requests will become over-used as people get asked for credentials at every turn, the group said back in March.

While there are legitimate circumstances in which people can be asked for proof of vaccination, we dont want to turn into a checkpoint society that outlasts the danger of COVID and that casually excludes people without credentials from facilities where vaccine mandates are not highly justified.

A few states, including Florida and Texas, have passed laws or issued executive orders prohibiting vaccine passports at the state and local levels. Florida has specifically outlawed their use at private businesses.

The White House, meanwhile, has been dubious in its position on vaccine passports. While the regime itself says it is not pushing for a federal vaccine passport mandate, the suggestion from White House press secretary Jen Psaki is that the regime may support state and local vaccine passport edicts.

Thats not currently the role of the federal government, Psaki told reporters during a recent press conference.

There are a number of private sector entities, universities, institutions, that are starting to mandate, and thats an innovative step that they will take and they should take. Thats not  and were not taking issue with that.

One Epoch Times commenter who claims to not even be a Christian noted that all of this talk about vaccine passports sure does look very much like the mark of the beast.' This writer certainly agrees with that sentiment.

More related news about the governments warp speed injections for the Chinese Virus can be found at ChemicalViolence.com.

Sources for this article include:

TheEpochTimes.com

NaturalNews.com
Sign up to get breaking news, weather forecasts, and more in your email inbox.

Sign Up Now
President Joe Biden on Tuesday nominated former Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican lawmaker who endorsed his 2020 run for the White House, to serve as U.S. ambassador to Turkey.

Flake served in the U.S. Senate from Arizona from 2013 to 2019 and in the U.S. House from 2001 to 2013.

Flake retired from the Senate at the end of his term in 2019, saying he was out of step with the Republican Party in the era of former President Donald Trump. He later wrote a book, Conscience of a Conservative, that was a critique of Trump.

With this nomination, the Biden Administration reaffirms the best tradition of American foreign policy and diplomacy: the credo that partisan politics should stop at the waters edge. U.S. foreign policy can and should be bipartisan, Flake said in a statement. That is my belief as well, and my commitment.

Flake was one of more than two dozen former Republican lawmakers to announce their support for Republicans for Biden.

Former Reps. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, Jim Greenwood of Pennsylvania and Jim Leach of Iowa and Sen. John Warner of Virginia, who died in May, are among the former Republican lawmakers who endorsed Biden last year.

The White House also announced Tuesday that Biden is tapping career senior foreign service officer Kent Logsdon to serve as ambassador to Moldova.

Flake, if confirmed, will be dispatched to Ankara at a difficult moment in the U.S.-Turkey relationship.

The list of disagreements is unusually long for the two NATO allies: Theres U.S. support for Kurdish fighters in Syria, as well as Turkeys purchase of a Russian weapons system. And in April, Biden infuriated Ankara by declaring that the Ottoman-era mass killing and deportations of Armenians was genocide.

Previous U.S. presidents had avoided using the term out of concern that it would complicate ties with Turkey, which is fiercely proud of its Ottoman history and insists that those killed in the early 20th century were victims of civil war and unrest.

Biden administration and Turkish government officials are also currently in talks about Turkey providing security at Kabuls Hamid Karzai International Airport after the U.S. completes its pullout from Afghanistan later this summer.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, said Flake was well suited to serve as Biden's chief envoy to Turkey at a critical moment in the relationship.

Jeff is a perfect choice to work toward a more constructive relationship that would be good for both of our countries, for the region, and for the world, Leahy said.

Flake would succeed David Satterfield, a well-respected career foreign service officer who has served as the U.S. ambassador to Turkey for more than two years.
LONDON (AP)  After Dr. Ifeanyi Nsofor and his wife received two doses of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine in Nigeria, they assumed they would be free to travel this summer to a European destination of their choice. They were wrong.

The couple  and millions of other people vaccinated through a U.N.-backed effort  could find themselves barred from entering many European and other countries because those nations don't recognize the Indian-made version of the vaccine for travel.

Although AstraZeneca vaccine produced in Europe has been authorized by the continents drug regulatory agency, the same shot manufactured in India hasn't been given the green light.

EU regulators said AstraZeneca hasn't completed the necessary paperwork on the Indian factory, including details on its production practices and quality control standards.

But some experts describe the EU move as discriminatory and unscientific, pointing out that the World Health Organization has inspected and approved the factory. Health officials say the situation will not only complicate travel and frustrate fragile economies but also undermine vaccine confidence by appearing to label some shots substandard.

As vaccination coverage rises across Europe and other rich countries, authorities anxious to salvage the summer tourism season are increasingly relaxing coronavirus border restrictions.

Earlier this month, the European Union introduced its digital COVID-19 certificate, which allows EU residents to move freely in the 27-nation bloc as long as they have been vaccinated with one of the four shots authorized by the European Medicines Agency, have a fresh negative test, or have proof they recently recovered from the virus.

While the U.S. and Britain remain largely closed to outside visitors, the EU certificate is seen as a potential model for travel in the COVID-19 era and a way to boost economies.

The officially EU-endorsed vaccines also include those made by Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. They don't include the AstraZeneca shot made in India or many other vaccines used in developing countries, including those manufactured in China and Russia.

Individual EU countries are free to apply their own rules for travelers from inside and outside the bloc, and their rules vary widely, creating further confusion for tourists. Several EU countries, including Belgium, Germany and Switzerland, allow people to enter if they have had non-EU-endorsed vaccines; several others, including France and Italy, dont.

For Nsofor, the realization he could be barred was a rude awakening. After a tough year of working during the pandemic in Abuja, Nsofor and his wife were looking forward to a European vacation with their two young daughters, perhaps admiring the Eiffel Tower in Paris or touring Salzburg in Austria.

Nsofor noted that the Indian-made vaccine he received had been authorized by WHO for emergency use and had been supplied through COVAX, the U.N.-backed program to provide shots to poor corners of the world. WHO's approval included a visit to the Serum Institute of India factory to ensure that it had good manufacturing practices and that quality control standards were met.

Were grateful to the EU that they funded COVAX, but now they are essentially discriminating against a vaccine that they actively funded and promoted, Nsofor said. This will just give room to all kinds of conspiracy theories that the vaccines were getting in Africa are not as good as the ones they have for themselves in the West.

Ivo Vlaev, a professor at Britains University of Warwick who advises the government on behavioral science during COVID-19, agreed that Western countries refusal to recognize vaccines used in poor countries could fuel mistrust.

People who were already suspicious of vaccines will become even more suspicious, Vlaev said. They could also lose trust in public health messages from governments and be less willing to comply with COVID rules.

Dr. Mesfin Teklu Tessema, director of health for the International Rescue Committee, said countries that have declined to recognize vaccines cleared by WHO are acting against the scientific evidence.

Vaccines that have met WHOs threshold should be accepted. Otherwise it looks like theres an element of racism here, he said.

WHO urged countries to recognize all of the vaccines it has authorized, including two Chinese-made ones. Countries that decline to do so are undermining confidence in lifesaving vaccines that have already been shown to be safe and effective, affecting uptake of vaccines and potentially putting billions of people at risk, the U.N. health agency said in a statement this month.

In June, the Serum Institute of Indias CEO, Adar Poonawalla, tweeted that he was concerned about vaccinated Indians facing problems traveling to the EU and said he was raising the problem at the highest levels with regulators and countries.

Stefan De Keersmaeker, a spokesman for the EU's executive arm, said last week that regulators were obligated to check the production process at the Indian factory.

"We are not trying to create any doubts about this vaccine, he said.

AstraZeneca said it only recently submitted the paperwork on the Indian factory to the EU drug regulatory agency. It didn't say why it didn't do so earlier, before the agency made its original decision in January.

The refusal of some national authorities to recognize vaccines manufactured outside the EU is also frustrating some Europeans immunized elsewhere, including the U.S.

Gerard Araud, a former French ambassador to Israel, the U.S. and the U.N., tweeted this week that France's COVID-19 pass is a disaster for people vaccinated outside the country.

Public health experts warned that countries that decline to recognize vaccines backed by WHO are complicating global efforts to safely restart travel.

You cant just cut off countries from the rest of the world indefinitely, said Dr. Raghib Ali of the University of Cambridge. To exclude some people from certain countries because of the vaccine theyve received is wholly inconsistent because we know that these approved vaccines are extremely protective.

Nsofor said he and his wife are still deciding where to take their summer vacation and are leaning toward Singapore or East Africa.

I didnt realize there were so many layers to vaccine inequity, he said.

___

Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Angela Charlton and Lori Hinnant in Paris, and Lorne Cook in Brussels, contributed to this report.

___

Follow APs pandemic coverage at:

https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
Dr. Richard F. Zarilla, Ph.D., 84, of Douglassville, Amity Township, Pennsylvania, passed away on Thursday, July 15, 2021, at The Keystone Villa at Douglassville. Born in New Castle, Pennsylvania, he was the son of the late Alfred and Cecilia (Saletra) Zarilla. Richard was a lifelong learner
Volant council to meet July 27 Volant's borough council has rescheduled its July monthly meeting for later this month.

UPDATE: Volant's borough council will meet at 6:30 p.m. July 27.

Volants borough government continues to publicly run on autopilot despite decisions being made in the three months since it last held a public meeting.

The boroughs monthly meeting, scheduled for Tuesday night, was canceled the night before due to an expected lack of quorum. A sign posted in the window of the borough municipal building read Due to a lack of quorum, the Volant council meeting on July 13, 2021 has been canceled. Sorry for any inconvenience. The note is signed by Volant Borough Secretary. Carmen Ortiz Brown is the boroughs secretary and lone employee.

The boroughs government hasnt met since April 22. The May and June meetings were canceled over a lack of quorum when only two councilmen showed both times.

Despite this, councilwoman Deb Lakin indicated in an email to a merchant that council had agreed upon a one-time waived permit fee for a request to place removable toilets on borough property next to the closed public restroom. Council created an ordinance banning portable toilets earlier this year.

The portable toilets will be located near the public restroom building. A group of merchants are suing the borough after it failed to hold up its end of an agreement of that restrooms upkeep in return for a yearly tax paid by merchants. Merchants have paid about $15,000 since 2014 while the restroom has remained closed.

Story continues below video

Further, no public discussion was ever made about the issue since the council has not met in three months. Borough officials current stance is that the restroom now cant be open because it is the subject of a lawsuit between a group of merchants against the borough.

Just hours before its April 22 meeting, detectives from the Lawrence County district attorneys office served a sealed search warrant on the borough building and were seen removing boxes.

County law enforcement was called twice to the borough over a dispute between people handing out information outside a polling location during the May 18 primary election. In that election, three residents gained enough write-in votes to appear on the November ballot for council, while one candidate will appear in the mayors race. Incumbent Mayor Ingrid Both-Hoesl and Councilman Donald Little both blamed the borough for not letting them know their terms were ending this year.

Two other councilmen, vice president Tony Bevilacqua and Howard Moss, will see terms end this year despite the Lawrence County elections office having no records of their appointments to council.

Attempts to reach council president Robert McGary and borough solicitor John J. DeCaro Jr. were unsuccessful and messages were left for both.

psirianni@ncnewsonline.com
Norwich priest seeks the prosperity of the City Norwich priest seeks the prosperity of the City

After his ordination in Norwich Cathedral, Ian Fifield is exploring how business and church can work together to make the City prosper.

Ian was ordained on June 27 and has taken up his new role as curate at St Stephens Church in the heart of Norwich. He and his wife Lisa fell in love with Norwich when they moved here in 1989. Soon after, Ian qualified as an accountant and worked for the City Council, before they moved back to Upminster, Essex in 1994, where Lisa became a head teacher and Ian started his own finance training company.



They had planned to retire in Norwich but jumped at the chance of moving back in 2015 when Lisa took up a new teaching post. I could run my business from anywhere, so it seemed like a good move said Ian. But I don't think that either of us realised what God had got planned for us.



Ian remembers praying that God would show him what He wanted him to do church-wise and a series of chance conversations made it clear to him that God was calling him to seek to be ordained into the Church of England, whilst also continuing to run his training business.



I have always known that following Jesus is not just about church and Sundays and so I wanted to find a way to combine my business life with my calling to being ordained, says Ian. This led him to the book of Jeremiah. The people of Israel had found themselves in the City of Babylon, wondering what the future held for them. God speaks through Jeremiah in a letter, telling them to get on with their life and to seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper. (Jer. 29:7)



Reflecting on this made him realise that combining his business life with his calling to ordained ministry might be a way to help bridge the gap between church and business life, and that St Stephens church was ideally located for this ministry. As the new curate, he is looking forward to spending time making new relationships with the business community that surrounds the church and understanding how the church community can better serve, support and pray for them.



It has been a challenging time for the business community in the City due to the restrictions that were necessary due to the pandemic, and I want to get to know as many people as possible who work in the offices and shops within the City to better understand how business and the church can work together to bring peace and prosperity to the City, says Ian.



As a part of this work, Ian would love to meet up with Christians who work in the City and who might be interested in joining forces in praying and serving our City. If you are inspired by his story, please drop him an email on ian.fifield@ststephensnorwich.org .



Pictured above is Ian Fifield



Eldred Willey, 13/07/2021
By Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: As suspected by the Forest department, the tiger skin seized from M Rampur in Kalahandi district two days back has turned out to be fake. The skin is that of a jackal.Kalahandi (North) DFO Nitish Kumar said experts who examined the skin found out that it was the hide of a jackal that was coloured to make it look like a tiger skin.

PCCF (Wildlife) Shashi Paul had earlier stated that the size of the skin and nails on it were relatively smaller than of a tiger. The department will now send the skin sample to Wildlife Institute of India (WII) Dehradun for confirmation.

A joint team of Kalahandi South and North divisions, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) and Chhattisgarh forest officials had recovered the skin from a person in M Rampur area of the North division. Nine leopard skins have also been recovered from the two divisions leading to the arrest of seven persons so far. All these persons were forwarded to court on Monday.

Forest officials said four persons arrested from Kalahandi North division were forwarded to SDJM court in M Rampur, while the remaining three arrested from South division were forwarded to SDJM court in Dharamgarh. Both the divisions have planned to seek the judicial custody of all the accused for further investigation into the inter-state big cat smuggling racket.

The forest officials have also come to know about possession of more leopard skins by a middleman in the smuggling racket, who is still at large. Special team has been formed to nab him, said officials of Kalahandi South division.
SV Krishna Chaitanya By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Have you ever heard of Sambal Era or Ash Prawns? You should visit Kosasthalaiyar river flowing underneath North Chennai Thermal Power Station (NCTPS) ash pipeline bridge in Ennore. K Veeramani, a fisherman from Sivanpadaiveedhi Kuppam, says the prawns that are caught in the waterbody have changed their colour off-late and are no longer edible!

Sambal Era dont have a market. The toxic ash that is spewed regularly from the existing old rusted ash pipelines has totally changed the texture of the species. It looks diseased and no one consumes it. We have lost our livelihood, said Veeramani to Express showing the ash prawns freshly fished out of the backwaters. Express visited the place on Monday and it was visibly evident that Kosasthalaiyar river in this part of Ennore backwaters is heavily contaminated with fly ash slurry reducing its depth and obstructing the waterflow.

In this scenario, Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO) is building another ash pipeline from NCTPS Stage-3 to the ash pond. This pipeline also cuts across the Kosasthalaiyar river and tonnes of construction debris are dumped right next to the river for sinking pillars in the waterbody for the pipeline bridge for which there is no Coastal Zone Regulation (CRZ) clearance, which is mandatory.

The environment and CRZ clearance obtained in 2016 by TANGEDCO for NCTPS Stage-3 does not mention anything about the ash pipeline, which is under construction illegally. NCTPS committed before the Union environment ministry that the fly ash and bottom fly would be collected and stored in silos and supplied to cement and brick manufacturers. Besides, it also said 100 per cent dry fly ash collected will be done.

The ministry, while granting the CRZ clearance, imposed specific conditions saying, Construction activity shall be carried out strictly as per the provisions of CRZ Notification, 2011, and no work other than those permitted shall be carried in CRZ area. No water bodies including the natural drainage system in the area shall be disturbed due to activities associated with the setting-up/operation of the power plant.The ministry also said in case of any deviation or alteration in the project proposed requires filing of fresh application. The failure to comply with any of the conditions would result in withdrawal of the clearance and attract action under the provisions of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

Meanwhile, in another alleged violation just a few kilometers from pipeline site, TANGEDCO is building a bridge to carry a coal conveyor belt and seawater from Kamarajar Port to its Ennore SEZ power plant smothering the mangroves and filing large tracts of Ennore creek area allegedly with ports dredge soil, which is again prohibited.RL Srinivasan, president, Cooperative Society Fisheries, Kattukuppam, said two fishermen died in the last one year when their boat capsized in the main channel as the water flow increased unusually.

Professor S Janakarajan, who is an expert on water management and disaster risk reduction; G Sundarrajan of Poovulagin Nanbargal and musician TM Krishna, who lended his voice for Chennai Poromboke Paadal in 2017 to raise awareness about the encroachment on Ennore Creek, visited the TANGEDCOs project sites on Monday and expressed dismay over the scale of fresh encroachments.

Janakarajan told Express what is currently happening is not development, but a massacre of a critical ecosystem which can not be created again even if the government is ready to spend thousands of crores. The plundering of Ennore Creek, adjacent salt pans and marshlands will be detrimental for the whole of North Chennai in terms of water security and flood management.TM Krishna questions will the government or the authorities conceive such projects in South Chennai? Why should only North Chennai people bear the brunt of such polluting and ill-conceived projects? This is nothing but regional bias.

TANGEDCO refutes allegations

Rajesh Lakhoni, chairman-cum-managing director, told Express that no construction works were carried out without proper permissions. Both the projects have prior CRZ clearance. The issue of construction debris dumped near Kosasthalaiyar river in the ash pipeline construction site will be removed immediately, he said. The Chief Engineer of ash pipeline argued that though the NCTPS Stage-3 CRZ clearance does not make a direct reference to construction of ash pipeline, it did say, ash pond water will be collected, treated and reused for slurry making.

"Since it is only for contingency purposes, the clearance did not talk about the pipeline project in detail. Compared to the existing pipeline, this will be small and only 216 meters of Kosasthalaiyar river and 40 meters of Buckingham Canal passes through the CRZ area in the total 6 km pipeline," the official said.

Meanwhile, the Chief Engineer of Ennore SEZ project claimed that there was no violation of environmental norms. He said: "We got CRZ clearance. We are doing works along the backwater of the river and have built a temporary road dumping sand dredged from the river itself, not the dredged soil from Kamarajar port, to undertake works. After the work, we will restore the place to its original condition. We will not block the flow of water. We are following the PWD norms, the official said, adding that they had deposited Rs 10 lakhs with PWD if the contractor failed to remove the temporary structures on the backwater.

Govt forms inter-departmental committee to investigate violations

The State government has formed an inter-departmental committee to investigate the alleged violations committed by TANGEDCO in Ennore Creek.

Sources told Express the committee will be meeting next week to holistically address the issue and resolve the environmental concerns.

Tiruvallur district collector Alby John visited the construction sites last week and tooks stock of the matter after representatives from Save Ennore Campaign went and met him.

K Phanindra Reddy, Commissioner of Revenue Administration, Disaster Management and Mitigation, told Express, "We have already flagged the issue of fly ash and leaking pipelines to TANGEDCO."

N Subbaiyan, director of Disaster Management, said, if any of the new construction projects are hampering the flow of water bodies, it will be immediately looked into and the corrective measures will be taken. "An inspection team will be sent. These are matters of concern with the monsoon fast approaching."
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Not only adults but also children who have battled Covid are coming to hospitals in the city with post-coronavirus symptoms like gastric issues, headaches, brain fogging, shortness of breath, doctors at private hospitals here said.

Apart from complaints of MISC (multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children), experts are also seeing children, who had mild Covid, coming to them with delayed recovery.

Dr Rahul Nagpal, Director, Pediatrics, Fortis Hospital Vasant Kunj said, "Fortunately, children did not have very severe Covid. We got a handful of patients who had congenital heart disease, some kidney disorders, severe asthma or obesity who required hospitalisation."

"Post-Covid we are seeing multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. It happens in one to two percent of cases, but that is also a huge number. With proper drugs and identification, it can be cured. Then there are lots of patients with diarrhoea, fatigue, body ache, digestive issues," he said.

The senior doctor said that some of the adolescents are coming with headaches, which might be the start of migraine in them.

But it needs to be studied more.

Since it has happened after Covid, it is felt that it is because of the infection, but it needs to be investigated.

Dr Shuchin Bajaj, Founder-Director, Ujala Cygnus Group of Hospitals, said that children are facing the issue of brain fogging and are unable to remember what they studied.

"They do not have much energy left, are stressed, anxious. Parents might confuse brain fogging with children trying to make excuses to not study or attend online classes but these are real symptoms," he said.

Bajaj also said that in children who had severe Covid, symptoms like shortness of breath, developing severe heart rate even while going to toilet, severe headaches were found.

"These symptoms were found to be persisting for three to four months," he added.

Dr Nameet Jerath, Senior Consultant, Pediatric Intensive Care, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi, said most children have had mild Covid, but stressed that even those who were asymptomatic are having prolonged low grade fevers, weakness, headache even after recovery.

Dr Shyam Kukreja, Director and Head of Department of Pediatrics and Infectious Disease Specialist, Max Hospital, said children are also facing psychological issues because of no social interaction, staying at home and due to fear of Covid.

"I have seen children scared to come to hospitals because they have seen Covid in their families or have lost their grandparents to the virus. They are unduly concerned or are facing nervous breakdown," he said.

Kukreja added that they have seen around 50 cases of MISC after the second Covid wave.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Haryana government has released 16,000 cusecs of water in the Yamuna from the Hathnikund Barrage in Yamuna Nagar district and the crisis in the capital will be resolved now, Delhi Jal Board vice chairman Raghav Chadha said on Tuesday.

He said Haryana released Delhi's legitimate share of water after the DJB moved the Supreme Court and held several rounds of talks with the officials of the neighbouring state.

In 1996, the apex court had told the Haryana government and other states to share Yamuna's water to ensure that there was no shortage of drinking water in Delhi.

The water utility had on Sunday moved the SC seeking directions to the Haryana government to release Delhi's share of water.

"The Haryana government on Tuesday released 16,000 cusecs of water which will reach Delhi in three to four days. After this, the water crisis in the capital will resolve and people will get clean drinking water," Chadha said.

Cusec is a unit of flow (especially of water) equal to one cubic foot per second.

"We tried to build pressure on the Haryana government. We even filed a petition in the SC and held several rounds of talks with the officials of the neighbouring state," he added.

ALSO READ | Plea in HC claims mixing of drinking, contaminated water; Delhi court asks authorities to consider it as representation

Chadha had earlier said Haryana had been withholding 120 MGD (million gallons per day) water belonging to Delhi, which led to a water crisis in the Union Territory.

He had said the water level at the Wazirabad pond had hit the lowest mark since 1965 and the river had dried up because of Haryana not releasing water.

DJB officials said the level at Wazirabad pond had come down from a normal level of 674.5 feet to 667 feet.

The water from Wazirabad pond is drawn for treatment at Wazirabad, Okhla and Chandrawal treatment plants.

The treated water is then supplied to central, south and west Delhi. The DJB supplies 935 MGD of water to city residents against the demand of 1,150 MGD.

At present, the capital has been receiving 479 MGD against 609 MGD from Haryana.

Besides, it draws 90 MGD groundwater and receives 250 MGD from the Upper Ganga Canal.

Chadha had earlier said that with Haryana withholding 120 MGD water, the river has completely dried up and the operational capacity at various treatment plants has reduced by 40 to 50 per cent.

Water supply had been hit in central Delhi, south Delhi, west Delhi and the NDMC area where important institutions, including Rashtrapati Bhavan, Supreme Court, Prime Minister's Residence, embassies are located, he had said.
By PTI

GHAZIABAD: With the farmers' protest over the Centre's farm laws in its eighth month now, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) has adopted a new strategy to balance the number of protesters at the Ghazipur border.

The directions are simple, one village, 10 people and 15 days.

"We have asked all supporters who are planning to join the protest here at Ghazipur to ensure that there should be only 10 people from one village who are prepared to stay here for 15 days," BKU's co-media in-charge Saurabh Upadhyay told PTI.

"This way we want to ensure that a balance is maintained in the number of farmers at the protest site in Ghazipur. We have around 4,000 to 5,000 people at present," he said.

The BKU is part of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmers' unions.

The BKU has a large support base in Uttar Pradesh, especially the western part of the state, besides Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan, from where scores of people have joined the ongoing protest at Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border.

At Ghazipur, farmer leader and BKU national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait has been leading the charge.

The farmers, who are occupying a stretch on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway and camping under a flyover at the UP Gate, braved the bone-chilling winter and the scorching summer heat.

They are getting ready to face the monsoon rains now.

"No doubt winter and summer were difficult to bear as it's an open space. The monsoon could also be a trying time for us with the kind of arrangements we have but efforts are on to ensure we have adequate facilities here for the farmers to stay," Upadhyay said.

"We are covering our temporary shelter structures with new tarpaulin sheets to prevent entry of water during rains. We have also informed the farmers who are planning to join the protest in the coming days to come prepared with arrangements for sleeping and cooking on their tractor-trolleys during rains," he said.

The protesters are procuring potable water from Ghaziabad through tankers every day and the local administration has been largely cooperative, he added.

Besides Ghazipur, farmers have been protesting at Delhi's border points of Singhu and Tikri since November last year.

The agitating farmers have been demanding that the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; Farmers' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 be rolled back and a new law made to guarantee minimum support price for their crops.

The government has maintained the laws are pro-farmer and will usher in new technology in farming.

Several rounds of talks between the farmers and the government have failed to break the deadlock over these contentious laws.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The national capital vaccinated 36,342 people against the coronavirus on Monday, according to the Delhi government's vaccination bulletin issued on Tuesday.

The first dose of the Covid vaccine was administered to 22,262 beneficiaries while another 14,080 received the second dose, it said.

Meanwhile, a 'pink vaccination centre', which will exclusively cater to women, was set up in west Delhi's Tilak Nagar area.

The city has administered 89,37,969 vaccine doses so far, and a total of 20,94,502 people have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to the bulletin.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said the "shortage of doses" was the reason behind the low numbers of vaccination in the city.

"However, we received about 1.5 lakh doses of Covishield last night. But, this would last only for about a day and a half," he told reporters.

The city currently has 1,68,000 Covishield doses after receiving a fresh stock of 1,57,630 doses on Monday.

Apart from Covishield, Delhi has 2,27,000 Covaxin jabs in its stock.

However, only a 20 per cent of the available Covaxin shots can be used for the first dose since "its stocks are limited and have irregular delivery cycles," the Delhi government said.

Meanwhile, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Vasant Vihar on Tuesday revoked its order asking heads of temples, gurudwaras, mosques and churches to strictly follow the DDMA order stating "no visitors" to be allowed in religious places.

According to the Delhi Disaster Management Authority's (DDMA) fresh orders issued on July 10, "religious places shall be permitted to open, but no visitors will be allowed".

The four separate but similar orders issued by the SDM on Monday for temples, gurudwaras, mosques and churches warned "strict penal or criminal action" against heads and members of the concerned religious place as well "as against the individual" will be taken incase of any violation.

"It is hereby informed that the above four orders are withdrawn. Kindly find attached latest Delhi Disaster Management Authority, Govt. of NCT of Delhi order No.F.2/07/2020/pt file-III dated 10/7/2021 for Covid appropriate behaviour," read the new order issued by Ankur Prakash Meshram, SDM (Vasant Vihar).

The revocation order comes hours after the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) criticised it, claiming that the order meant for all religious places was singling out gurudwaras only.

"Shocked to read Ankur Prakash''s circular which concerns all religious places but mentions only Gurudwara Sahibs to remain closed for visitors.

Why are other religious places not given a specific mention? Why such a harsh tone agnst Presidents/Secretaries & Sewadars of Gurudwaras?," tweeted DSGMC president Manjinder Singh Sirsa.

"We condemn this biased attitude of Delhi Disaster Management Authority either this order should be revoked or the circular must mention all religious places," he said.

The earlier ordered issued for gurudwaras said, "all the president/secretary/joint secretary/sewadar of respective gurudwara are hereby directed to strictly follow the above guidelines; incase any violation is found during visit of higher authorities strict penal/criminal action shall be taken against president/secretary/joint secretary/ sewadar of the concerned gurdwara, as well as against the individual, and the premises shall be sealed forthwith."

The national capital on Monday recorded 45 COVID-19 cases, the lowest single-day rise in over a year, and three deaths while the positivity rate stood at 0.08 per cent.
Prasanta Mazumdar By

Express News Service

GUWAHATI: A party of government officials undertook a nine-hour arduous journey to a village, perched at an altitude of 14,000-ft in Tawang district Arunachal Pradesh, not to conduct any polling but inoculate a group of locals.

Officials do trek mountains negotiating inhospitable terrain in the Himalayan state during elections. For a change this time around, they carried refrigerated boxes containing vaccine vials instead of electronic voting machines.

The team, led by Tawang District Magistrate Sang Phuntsok, trekked mountain peaks, walked through deep forests, and crisscrossed a river to reach the village, Luguthang.

Phuntsok and Zila Parishad Chairperson (ZPC) Leki Gombu monitored the drive, conducted for 16 grazers. They were called back to the village through messengers.

One of the beneficiaries is being vaccinated. (Photo | Special arrangement)

Official sources said the persons were left out during the special vaccination drive conducted at Domtsang on May 19. Domtsang lies between Thingbu Hydel and Luguthang.

The journey on foot started at 7:15 am (July 12) with the first climb of Nyukteng peak and it culminated at 4:30 pm with the last climb of Nahchhot peak after over nine hours. The officials also had to cut through deep forests, swampy foot track, and criss-cross the river Luguthang several times, the sources said.

The next morning, the DM and the officers accompanying him reviewed the developmental activities being taken up in the village. The locals conveyed their gratefulness to the DM and the ZPC for their first-ever visit to the village.

Besides the vaccination drive, 19 patients were treated for different ailments. Senior veterinary officer Dr Thutan Tashi gave free medicines for diarrhea, de-worming, and other ailments of livestock, the sources said, adding the team reached back Tawang on Tuesday.

Two years ago, a polling party in the state returned home exhausted  thirsty, hungry, and sick, nearly a month since it was dropped in a village near the China border by a chopper.

The team members got stuck due to inclement weather and rescue was not in sight. So, they decided to return on foot and were eventually rescued three days later by the police.
Kannalmozhi Kabilan By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: To have a roof over ones head can become a thing of such immense privilege. More so when every part of your identity is met with discrimination and dismissal. For people of the transgender community, this has been a long-suffered reality, relieved only when they step up to help their own.

Only now, they seem to have better means to offer help. One such upgraded means is the Garima Greh: Shelter Home for Transgender Persons in Kolathur. With almost no conditions or criteria, the place provides food and shelter to trans people in need  free of cost.

A provision assured by the Transgender persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, this shelter home is the first such place set in Tamil Nadu through the allocation from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, says Jeeva, founder and director of Transgender Rights Association.

This would serve trans men and trans women. A lot of them leave the family and their home behind but hardly get a good platform to start their life. Hence, they are often pushed into the direction of begging or sex work. It is to avoid these issues that this project was initiated by the Union government, she elaborates.

Teach a man to fish

The shelter home, however, doesnt just stop with providing them wi th shel ter and sustenance. It goes one step further and tries to ensure a means of living  a way to secure ones livelihood  during their stay here. If they have been educated, we try to arrange for jobs for them. Otherwise, we have several training courses  tailoring, beauty course, making jute bags, jewellery-making, soapmaking, candle-making, and computers. Once trained, we try to place them in a job where they can put this to use, details Jeeva.While the Ministrystipulated limit on the number of people the home can train is 25, Jeeva says they try to do the best within that limited means. Resource people (depending on the course in demand and the number of people taking it) will be called in to offer the lessons, she adds.

Aiding dreams

Barely a month since it opened its door s to the community, the shelter home is already serving eight trans men a n d women. Jensy and K Sahana had been struggling to find accommodation, having lived in mens hostels before finding their way here.It was in a WhatsApp group that I heard about this. As soon as I reached out, they asked me to come here with my things immediately. Its been five days and Ive been going to college from here. And everything has been made available. Even thoughts of the family dont come up; this has turned into a family, shares Jensy. While she lost both her parents, it was trouble with her sisters husband that pushed her out of the house. Now, she is pursuing PhD in English at Loyola College and hopes to give back to Jeeva and the shelter home in her own right.

Sahana, nearing the end of her MEd course, dreams of becoming a teacher at a government school, contributing what she can for society. Meanwhile, she has found a haven here and has even taken up embroidery classes offered at the shelter home. She will soon make good use of the Spoken English classes too. Maina, another beneficiary, could even stand to have her PhD course funded through the home (be s ide s the scholarship).

A place for everyone

Unlike these trans women, Gautham had come to the city from Thenkasi to simply acquire the Transgender Identity card, with which he can get the governments corona aid of Rs 2,000 a month. He needed a place to stay for what seemed to be a weeks work. With no place to go and friends too uncomfortable to take a trans man home, he spent the first night in the city at Egmore railway station. It was then that he got to know about this shelter and moved in here. Its been more than a week and hes yet to get the card, but his stay here has only gotten more fruitful. A BSc Botany graduate, he couldnt land a job primarily for his identity as a trans man. Here, hes being trained in Computer Science and English to improve his prospects in the job hunt.

While awareness about trans women is quite prevalent, not a lot of people know about trans men. While trans women are treated as men for their assigned gender, with us, they are seen as women who are lying about our identity. So, there is no acceptance. Theres no way to find a job back home. Thats why so many people come to Chennai, he adds, offering the extra discrimination that comes to this set of people. The shelter is already home to many ambitions and second beginnings. Jeevas only wish is that more people make adequate use of these facilities. And more such centres, of course. Heres hoping.
By PTI

SRINAGAR: Authorities sealed off the martyrs' graveyard in the old city area here on Tuesday to prevent people from assembling to commemorate the killing of 22 people, who were protesting against the autocratic rule in Jammu and Kashmir, by Dogra forces on this day in 1931.

The entry to the graveyard inside Naqshband Sahib Shrine in Khawaja Bazaar near Nowhatta was sealed and security forces were deployed around the area to prevent anyone going inside, officials said.

The National Conference (NC) and the PDP had applied to the Srinagar district magistrate for permission to visit the graveyard for paying tributes to the martyrs of 1931 but they were not allowed.

The NC on Monday had accused the administration of using dilly-dallying tactics of not allowing the party leaders to offer homage to the July 13, 1931 martyrs.

The party said it had sought permission from the administration to offer 'Fateha' (special prayers) and floral tributes at Mazar-e Shohada (martyrs' graveyard) at Khawaja Bazaar area of the city here.

"However, the administration till this evening has not responded to our repeated calls, NC spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar had said in a statement.

The party took strong exception to the measure and decried the dilly-dallying tactics of the government, calling it unfortunate.

Dar said the party had decided to refrain from holding a big commemorative function at the spot because of the ongoing pandemic and Covid SOPs.

The People's Democratic Party also said that the party had sought permission from the Srinagar district administration, but there was no response from the authorities.

The NC on Tuesday took to Twitter to pay tributes to the martyrs.

"July 13, 1931 marks the assertion of JK's IDENTITY and RIGHTS of its people. The martyrs of July 13, will continue to be a beacon of LIGHT for us and for the coming generations," party vice president Omar Abdullah was quoted as saying in a tweet on NC's official Twitter handle.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti also took to Twitter to express her outrage over the locking down of the graveyard.

"Today on the occasion of Martyrs' day, gates leading to their graveyards have been locked up. Attempts to distort & rewrite Kashmir's history is being done only to create a sense of defeat & helplessness amongst Kashmiris," she said.

Meanwhile, normal life in some parts of Kashmir was affected due to the strike called by the moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference.

Shops and other business establishments in the commercial hub of Lal Chowk, adjoining areas and old city remained closed due to the strike.

"July 13 1931 was the turning point in the contemporary history of Kashmir when 22 Kashmiris killed in cold blood by the ruler of the day became its first martyrs and led to the launch of a political agitation by the people of Kashmir for their political and economic unshackling,' the Hurriyat said in a statement.

It said to this day, the people of Kashmir are struggling for the realisation of that aspiration, having lost tens of thousands of lives since and being devastated by a conflict over the land".

"The people of Kashmir have always honoured these martyrs on this day and commemorated it as the martyrs' day by holding rallies at the martyrs graveyard to pay tributes to them and observed a protest strike in their memory," it said.

July 13 was a public holiday in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and a grand official function was held every year on this day where the chief minister or the governor would be the chief guest.

The holiday was cancelled and all official ceremonies stopped in 2020 after abrogation of article 370 and splitting of Jammu and Kashmir state into two union territories.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Top BJP leaders and Union ministers, including party president J P Nadda, Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, held a meeting to discuss matters related to the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament and frame the party's strategy to counter the opposition, sources said.

The meeting was held at Union Minister Rajnath Singh's residence, they said.

The Monsoon session of Parliament, which is scheduled to start from July 19, will be the first session after the second wave of COVID-19, which was far more worse than the first.

The opposition is expected to rake up this issue and launch a scathing attack on the government.

Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Bhupender Yadav and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and ministers of state Arjun Ram Meghwal and V Muraleedharan, among others, were present in the meeting.

Besides them, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi also attended the meet.

The BJP leaders held wide ranging discussions on the party's floor strategy for the upcoming session and also to ensure the passage of important bills and financial business including Supplementary Demands for Grants, the sources said.

With the opposition being exuberant after the BJP's defeat in the assembly election in West Bengal and planning to raise issues related to the second wave of COVID-19, the BJP wants to further fine tune its strategy so that it can effectively counter the opposition while at the same convincingly put forward its case, they said.

The meeting lasted for more than an hour at Singh's residence who also chairs the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs and is deputy leader of the BJP in Lok Sabha.

Around 17 bills are listed for introduction in Lok Sabha, including and five bills for consideration and passage, and a similar number of bills are expected to be introduced in Rajya Sabha as well.
By PTI

BHOPAL: Amid demand by a ruling BJP legislator to enact a population control law in Madhya Pradesh, a senior minister on Tuesday said no such proposal is under consideration of the state government "as of now".

BJP MLA from Bhopal Huzur Rameshwar Sharma on Tuesday wrote a letter to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan seeking enactment of a law to control the rising population in the state.

Sharma's demand has come in the backdrop of BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh announcing a new population policy.

Asked about the letter seeking a population control law, Home Minister Narottam Mishra, who is also state government's spokesman, said, "No such proposal is under consideration of the government as of now."

In the letter, Sharma, a former protem speaker, said, "It is estimated that the population of Madhya Pradesh has now grown to 8.75 crore, adding around 1.5 crore people in the last one decade. This population is more than several European countries, which have much more resources than Madhya Pradesh."

Sharma said a population control law will ensure all-round development, good governance and security of the state.

On the other hand, Congress MLA from Bhopal Central Arif Masood alleged this demand is being made to further the RSS agenda.

Though mooted in the name of a minority community, Dalits and tribals living in villages are the actual target of such a policy as they have more children, he said.

This has nothing to do with development, he added.

On July 11, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath unveiled the Uttar Pradesh Population Policy 2021-2030 aiming at bringing down the gross fertility rate among women by 2030.

A draft bill on UP population control policy says people having more than two children in Uttar Pradesh will be debarred from contesting local bodies polls, applying for government jobs or receiving any kind of subsidy.

It also seeks to prohibit promotions in government jobs for such people, while offering incentives to those limiting their children to two.
By PTI

MUMBAI: The NIA told the Bombay High Court on Tuesday that the Centre suo motu (on its own) decided to transfer the probe into the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case from Pune police to the central agency as it had implications on national security.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) also said its credibility is being questioned, while it is fighting for the prevention of unlawful and terrorist activities in the country, in which "Naxal plague" has caused destruction at many levels.

It further claimed that while considerable autonomy and functional prerogatives have been accorded to state governments, greater powers and prerogatives over a complex range of all-encompassing subjects are vested with the Union government.

The central agency submitted its affidavit in the HC in response to a petition filed by human rights lawyer Surendra Gadling and activist Surendra Dhawale, arrested in the case, challenging the January 2020 decision of the Union government to transfer the probe into the case from the Pune police in Maharashtra to the NIA.

The petition, filed through advocate S B Talekar in 2020, alleged that the case was transferred by the central government after the BJP lost power in Maharashtra and hence, the decision was 'politically motivated'.

On Tuesday, Talekar told a division bench of Justices S S Shinde and N J Jamadar that the probe into the case was transferred to the NIA two years after the FIR was registered.

He submitted to the court that the NIA had filed an affidavit in the case, but the Centre and the Maharashtra government were yet to file their affidavits.

However, NIA's counsel Sandesh Patil said he was not aware of the affidavit filed by the probe agency.

"The earlier advocate appearing for the NIA must have filed it. I will have to check. Give me a week's time to put our house in order," Patil said.

The bench then posted the petition for further hearing on July 19.

The NIA in its affidavit said considering the gravity of the offence and its "inter-state link and implications on national security", the Centre suo motu directed the NIA to take up the investigation into the case.

"The present petition is malafide and vexatious as it is a desperate attempt by the petitioner to thwart the investigation into the case related to the Elgar Parishad," the affidavit said.

It further said the petitioners were questioning the credibility of the agency which is fighting towards prevention of unlawful and terrorist activities in the country, in which the 'Naxal plague' has caused destruction at many levels.

The affidavit said the NIA was probing the case against the petitioners and other co-accused in a 'responsible and impartial manner' and it had no personal agenda against them.

After the NIA took over the probe into the case, a Pune court transferred the case to the special NIA court in Mumbai, it added.

The NIA in its affidavit also said the "continuous preservation and promotion of national security is the first and final sovereign function of a country".

It claimed that while considerable autonomy and functional prerogatives have been accorded to state governments, greater powers and prerogatives over a complex range of all-encompassing subjects are vested with the Union government.

"A contextual construction of the provisions of the Constitution of India would show that the sovereign function of maintenance of national security is squarely vested with the Union (government)," it said.

The affidavit further said the primary objective to establish the NIA was to better tackle cross-border crimes with inter-state and international originations and ramifications.

Apart from Gadling and Dhawale, several other activists - Varavara Rao, Gautam Navlakha, Sudha Bharadwaj, Anand Teltumbde, Shoma Sen - have been arrested in the case.

They are accused of being active members of the CPI (Maoist) and propagating Maoist ideology and inciting violence.

The activists have been booked under provisions of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), apart from various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy was also arrested in the case.

The 84-year-old tribal rights activist died in a Mumbai hospital last week in the middle of his fight for bail on health grounds.

The Elgar Parishad case is related to inflammatory speeches made at a conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which, the police claimed, triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.

The police had claimed the conclave was organised by people with alleged Maoist links.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Indian Air Force (IAF) is likely to operationalise its second squadron of the Rafale combat aircraft by the end of July and it will be based in Hasimara air base in West Bengal, officials said on Tuesday.

The first squadron of the Rafale jets is stationed at Ambala Air Force station in Haryana.

The first batch of five Rafale jets arrived in India on July 29, 2020, nearly four years after India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to procure 36 of the aircraft at a cost of around Rs 59,000 crore.

Currently, the IAF has around 25 Rafale jets and the remaining ordered aircraft are expected to be delivered by 2022.

The first squadron will look after Pakistan border on western frontier and the northern frontier.

The second squadron will look after the eastern frontier of India, the officials mentioned.

The formal induction ceremony of the Rafale fleet had taken place at Ambala on September 10 last year.

Later on, other batches of the fighter jet also arrived in India.

The IAF officials said the second Rafale squadron would be operationalised at the next main operating base at Hasimara by July-end.

A squadron comprises around 18 aircraft.

The Rafale jets are India's first major acquisition of fighter planes in 23 years after the Sukhoi jets were imported from Russia.

The Rafale jets are capable of carrying a range of potent weapons.

European missile maker MBDA's Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missile, Scalp cruise missile and MICA weapons system will be the mainstay of the weapons package of the Rafale jets.

The IAF is also procuring a new generation medium-range modular air-to-ground weapon system Hammer to integrate with the Rafale jets.

Hammer (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range) is a precision-guided missile developed by French defence major Safran.

The missile was originally designed and manufactured for the French Air Force and Navy.

Meteor is the next generation of BVR air-to-air missile designed to revolutionise air-to-air combat.

The weapon has been developed by MBDA to combat common threats facing the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Sweden.
By PTI

ALIBAUG: At least 68 inmates and an employee of the central jail in Maharashtra's Raigad district have tested positive for COVID-19, an official said on Tuesday.

The inmates and jail staffers were administered COVID-19 tests on Monday, following which 68 prisoners tested positive for the infection, the jail superintendent said.

The infected persons, including a jail staffer, have been shifted to a COVID-19 centre in Nehuli village, around 4 km from Alibaug city, for treatment, the official added.

Meanwhile, the district administration has identified COVID-19 hotspots in 36 villages in Alibaug taluka, it was stated.
By PTI

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government on Tuesday submitted to the Bombay High Court the medical records of Jesuit priest and activist Stan Swamy, an 84-yar-old accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoists links case who died in a hospital here while being in judicial custody last week awaiting a medical bail.

Chief public prosecutor Aruna Pai told a bench of Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar that the state had submitted "a compilation of Swamy's complete medical records" since the time he was lodged in the Taloja prison as an undertrial.

Swamy was arrested by the National Investigating Agency (NIA) from Ranchi in October 2020.

He was interrogated at the time of his arrest by the NIA but the central agency never sought his custody.

Suffering from Parkinson's disease and a host of other medical ailments, Swamy, who was then 83-year-old, was remanded to judicial custody following his arrest.

ALSO READ | Father Stan Swamy was the 'voice of oppressed' for decades, activist decry 'institutional murder'

He was then admitted to the Taloja prison hospital in Navi Mumbai.

After informing the high court about Swamy's death on July 5 this year, senior counsel Mihir Desai, who had represented the tribal rights activist in the HC, had told the court that Swamy's death was a result of negligence on part of the NIA and the Maharashtra prison authorities who had failed to provide him timely and adequate medical aid.

Desai had also urged the HC at the time to keep Swamy's plea for medical bail and his plea challenging the bar on grant of bail under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act pending.

He had also urged the HC to call for Swamy's medical records.

On Desai's request, the high court had passed an order calling for the medical records to ascertain the veracity of the allegations made against authorities.

On Tuesday, Pai submitted that the "Taloja prison authority had placed on record a 300-page long compilation of documents including medical reports from the time Stan Swamy was brought to Taloja Jail till his postmortem report".

Besides the state government, the private Holy Family Hospital in Mumbai, where Swamy died during treatment, also submitted the late activist's medical records and the treatment provided to him.

The high court took all the documents on record.

ALSO READ | Activists blame Indian system for Stan Swamys demise

The bench also said that since Swamy died in judicial custody, a magisterial inquiry into his death, as mandated by section 176 of the CrPC, will be conducted.

"Whatever inquiry or investigation by the magistrate under 176 (CrPC) takes place, someone will have to participate in it now," the high court told Desai.

Desai said he had some submissions to make on such inquiry and he will do so on the next date of hearing.

The HC will hear Desai and all other parties on July 19.

The Elgar Parishad case is related to inflammatory speeches made at a conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which, the police claimed, triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.

The police had claimed the conclave was organised by people with alleged Maoist links.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said it is a matter of concern that big crowds are thronging hill stations and market areas without masks and social distancing.

During an interaction with chief ministers of eight North-Eastern states through video conferencing, the prime minister also said the vaccination drive needs to be continuously ramped up to combat the third wave of the pandemic.

The virtual meeting was attended by chief ministers of Assam, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram, as also by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, among others.

Modi urged people not to compromise on COVID protocols to prevent a third wave of coronavirus.

"It is true that tourism and business have been greatly affected due to Corona. But today I will say with great emphasis that it is not right to have huge crowds in hill stations, markets without masks," Modi said.

"We all need to work together to stop the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic," he said.

ALSO READ | PM Modi says farm sector needs post-harvest revolution; govt impetus on scientific ecosystem

Emphasizing the need to keep an eye on every variant of the coronavirus, he said experts are constantly studying how troubling the virus could be after mutations, but in such a dynamic situation, prevention and treatment are very important.

"We have to move forward by improving the infrastructure related to testing and treatment. For this, recently the cabinet has also approved a new package of Rs 23,000 crore. Every state in the North East can take help from this package to strengthen its health infrastructure," Modi said.

The prime minister said the COVID-19 situation was worrisome in some districts of North-East and urged the chief ministers to stay alert and act fast to check the further spread of the virus.

The PM said stricter steps were needed at the micro-level to check the virus spread and called for greater emphasis on micro-containment zones.

"We need to continue accelerating our vaccination drive," he added.

While most parts of the country have seen a steady decline in the COVID0-19 numbers, the northeast region has been a cause of concern with the number of cases either rising or not falling in line with the nationwide trend, experts have noted.
By PTI

MUMBAI: Amid reports that she was sulking over her MP sister Pritam Munde not finding a place in the newly-reshuffled Union cabinet and many BJP office-bearers from Beed in Maharashtra resigning in protest, party national secretary Pankaja Munde on Tuesday denied she was using any "pressure tactics" and said she will always try to avoid a "dharmayuddha".

Addressing BJP workers who came to Mumbai from Munde's home turf Beed and other parts of the state, Pankaja hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda as her leaders.

Invoking the epic Mahabharata, Pankaja said the righteous demands made by the Pandavas were rejected by the Kauravas.

"I will like to continue to work at a place as long as there is 'Ram' in it. If there is no Ram, I will see what to do," she said in Marathi.

The word "Ram" is loosely used in public communication denoting whether it is worth doing some work.

"(In Mahabharat), the Pandavs always tried hard to avoid the 'dharmayuddha' with the Kauravs. The good person, always tries to avoid such war and I will do the same as long as it is possible," Pankaja said without naming anyone.

In a veiled swipe, Pankaja also said that some companions of the 'Kauravas' wanted to be with the Pandavas from their heart.

Pankaja, daughter of BJP stalwart from Vanjari community late Gopinath Munde, also said she would always protect her fortress and keep it strong.

Pankaja had served as Rural Development Minister during the BJP-led government from 2014 to 2019.

She lost the 2019 Assembly polls from Parli seat to her estranged cousin and NCP leader Dhananjay Munde.

"The Pandavs had placed a very small demand before the Kauravs demanding (administrative rights of) five villages but it was rejected which resulted in a 'dharmayuddha'," she said.

"If the roof comes down, (I) will decide what to do next," she said cryptically.

Asserting that she cannot be written off, Pankaja said, "I had lost an election but I am not finished. If I had finished already, there would not have been efforts to finish me. I am standing here before you because of my supporters," Pankaja said.

More than 20 office-bearers of the BJP from Beed district had resigned last week including a member of the Zilla Parishad and a member of the Panchayat Samiti besides BJP district general secretary, student wing president, district vice president, tehsil president, and district vice president of the BJP youth wing, a local leader said on Sunday.

Pankaja on Sunday attended a meeting of BJP national secretaries in Delhi convened by Nadda and also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi with other office-bearers.

Speaking about her Delhi visit, Pankaja said, "I had gone to Delhi to attend a meeting of the national secretaries of the party. It triggered some speculation in Maharashtra that I was scolded by national leaders. Look at my face now, and tell me whether I look like a person who got scolded".

She said Nadda had asked her to convince my supporters.

"Incidentally, the news of I was scolded by PM Modi followed," she said.

Pankaja claimed she had refused to accept a Union ministry offered to her after the death of her father Gopinath Munde in a car accident in 2014.

"Why would I demand a ministerial berth now," she questioned.

Pankaja also stressed that she was not greedy for any post.

"I did not join the politics for any post. My politics do not revolve around the ending careers of others. If I have to mount pressure on someone, this is not the place. I need a bigger place for that kind of work," she added.

After her address, when reporters asked her why she did not mention the name of former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis as her leader, Pankaja said, "I work at the national level and hence my leaders are Modi, Shah and Nadda."

She did not take names of either Fadnavis, current Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly, or state BJP president Chandrakant Patil.

However, she said that there was a "strong perception" among the party workers that she was constantly getting sidelined.

"I have asked the party workers not to submit their resignations. I do not need them to resign from their local posts to mount pressure on senior BJP leaders. I have had proper communication with my leaders in New Delhi," she told reporters.

Pankaja said many people are feeling strongly that she was being sidelined purposefully.

"My name was slated for the post of an MLC but Ramesh Karad was chosen that time and I was made to withdraw my form. A similar thing happened with Bhagwat Karad (MoS in Union cabinet from Aurangabad) also. When my name was discussed. I had even attended his nomination to Rajya Sabha. Instead of me, he was given the ticket to Rajya Sabha," she said.

Pankaja said she was intimated about Karad, groomed by late Gopinath Munde, getting inducted into the Union cabinet at the last moment.

"Because of these incidents, supporters of late Munde feel that we are being denied an opportunity at every front," the former minister said.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with the chief ministers of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Maharashtra and Kerala on July 16 to discuss the COVID-19 situation in these states.

These are among the states where the Covid infection numbers have seen an increase in several districts or have not in general seen a dip like they have in most other states.

Modi on Tuesday interacted with the chief ministers of eight North-Eastern states, another region of concern, through video conferencing, and said the vaccination drive needs to be continuously ramped up to deal with the pandemic.

He also said that it is a matter of concern that big crowds are thronging hill stations and market areas without masks and social distancing.
By PTI

KOLKATA: Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday met Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar seeking his intervention in MLA Mukul Roy's appointment as the chairman of Public Accounts Committee (PAC), maintaining that norms were not followed.

Adhikari stated that Roy, who switched over to the ruling TMC after winning the assembly polls on a BJP ticket, should no longer be considered a member of the saffron camp, and his elevation as PAC chairman defies the well-established norm of appointing an opposition leader to the post.

Claiming that the TMC wants to be its own judge, Adhikari alleged that the ruling party has ensured that its member gets chosen as the chief of PAC a panel that keeps a tab on government expenses to hide "questionable" pursuits.

"We met the governor and sought his intervention as he is the custodian of the Constitution," Adhikari, who led a delegation of BJP MLAs to Raj Bhavan, told reporters.

Earlier in the day, eight BJP MLAs resigned as heads of Assembly panels in protest against Roy's appointment.

The leader of opposition further said that his party wishes to meet President Ram Nath Kovind and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and submit memoranda "describing how democracy is being throttled by the TMC in West Bengal with post-poll violence and unfair practices in the assembly".

He pointed out that Roy's name did not figure in the list of six MLAs given by the BJP for the PAC chairman's post.

The BJP had been seeking disqualification of Roy as a legislator under the anti-defection law, arguing that he changes sides after his election to the assembly.

Adhikari said that the hearing of the BJP's application for Roy's disqualification is scheduled to be held before the Speaker on July 16.

Claiming that the by-polls should not be conducted in the state until the process of vaccination is over, the BJP leader said the TMC, however, is "worried" as Banerjee needs to get elected to the assembly to retain the CM's chair.

Adhikari defeated Banerjee in Nandigram by 1,956 votes, according to the Election Commission.

Banerjee has moved a petition before the Calcutta High Court challenging Adhikari's win.
By Express News Service

DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand government on Tuesday cancelled the Kanwar Yatra in view of a possible third wave of COVID-19.

Cheif Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, "We have done a lot of exercise on this issue and have also discuss with the officials of the neighboring states too. After all these talks we have finally decided that we are not going to let Haridwar become a center of Covid-19 spread. People's lives are priority for us and we are not going to take it lightly. That is why we have decided to cancel the Kanwar Yatra."

When asked that the Chif Minister of Uttar Pradesh has decided to start the yatra from July 25, Dhami said, "Our government has decided to cancel the yatra. We appeal everyone that because Covid 19 pandemic is still here so saving people's lives is more important. God would also not like it if people die."

It is for the second consecutive year that the yatra is not being held due to the pandemic.

The Indian Medical Association had also written to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami recently asking him to not allow the yatra to go ahead in the interest of the people of the state and the country.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had said that though Kanwar Yatra is part of Sanatan culture, saving lives in the time of the pandemic was paramount.

The fortnight-long yatra which begins with the onset of the month of Shravan by the Hindu calendar goes on till the first week of August and sees a large gathering of Kanwariyas in Haridwar from neighbouring states including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi to collect the holy waters of the Ganga.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday acknowledged the cultural significance of Kanwar Yatra but reiterated that his government's priority remains saving lives amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Anoop Nautiyal from Social Development for Communities Foundation said, "This is a good decision. A big crisis has been averted. We all witnessed what happened in Mahakumbh 2021. Honorable CM is right that God would not want people to die."

"Kanwar is part of the Sanatan culture but saving lives is paramount. Government's focus is to ensure that COVID does not spread," Dhami said addressing a meeting of all morchas (wings) of the state BJP here.

It is still uncertain whether or not the Kanwar Yatra will be held this year with the third wave of the coronavirus knocking at the country's doors.

Even the Indian Medical Association's Uttarakhand chapter has written to the Chief Minister requesting him to learn from the "previous failure" and not allow Kanwar Yatra in the interest of the state and the whole country.

People had to pay a heavy price for going off guard after the first wave which had led to a stronger and more fatal second wave, IMA Uttarakhand Secretary Amit Khanna said in a letter to Dhami.

The Haridwar Kumbh held in April had led to a surge in COVID-19 cases.

Dhami, who met central leaders in Delhi including the Prime Minister to discuss a range of issues, has been saying repeatedly that saving human lives is important.

However, a categorical statement from him on whether or not the Kanwar Yatra will be held this year is still awaited.

The fortnight-long yatra which begins with the onset of the month of Shravan around July 25 and goes on till the first week of August sees crores of Kanwariyas from neighbouring states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi gathering in Haridwar to collect the holy waters of the Ganga.

Dhami also assured his party that the state government will finish all development work taken up within the stipulated time frame and an action plan for this is ready.

The monsoon may cause some interruptions in the work but by August 15 all government orders (GOs) will be out, he said.

State BJP president Madan Kaushik asked all office bearers of the morchas to stay in their areas or blocks for at least 10 days every month.

Praising all morchas for their performance during both waves of COVID, he said they had done a commendable job by holding blood donation camps, distributing masks, sanitisers and oxygen cylinders among people, getting them vaccinated and helping them get hospital beds.

Asking them to gear up for the assembly polls scheduled to be held early next year, Kaushik said the party members had to take the message of a young leadership and the slogan of securing 60 plus seats to the people of the state.

(Inputs from ENS)
By ANI

DEHRADUN: Just days after Uttar Pradesh unveiled its proposed population control policy, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami spoke on the matter and said that his government will implement whatever is in favour of the people of Uttarakhand.

While speaking to the reporters yesterday on whether the state would bring a law on population control, Dhami said, "Law on population control, land laws, various other laws and acts which are already in place will be implemented if it is in the favour for the people of Uttarakhand."

This comes in the backdrop of the Population Policy 2021-2030 unveiled by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adtyanath on Sunday.

Yesterday, Uttarakhand BJP leaders held a meeting in the state titled "Bharatiya Janata Party's Mission 2022". After the meeting was concluded, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and BJP State President Madan Kaushik addressed the media personnel.

"Today, we gave the slogan 'Yuva Mukhyamantri--60+ seats' and with this resolution we started the election campaign (for 2022 Assembly polls). We'll go with this programme among the people and other works we've done," said Kaushik.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami spoke on the upcoming Kanwar yatra to be held in the state and said that God would not like anyone to die, amidst the prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic. "Kanwar Yatra is not solely a matter for the state of Uttarakhand. Kanwar yatra is a matter of shraddha (reverence) and aastha (faith). God would not like anyone to die," said the Chief Minister.

As per the Hindu traditions, Kanwar Yatra is an annual pilgrimage of devotees of Shiva to Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand wherein devotees fetch holy waters of the Ganga River and seek blessings of God.

This comes around a time when Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday said that the Kanwar Yatra is not a one-state affair and the state government will take the decision regarding the yatra after discussing with other states, including Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
Iffath Fathima By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: With the detection of 14 positive cases of the Zika virus in Kerala, and Karnataka on high alert, health professionals point out that pregnant women should not travel to the affected state or come in contact with people travelling from there.

Those who have recently come from Kerala should also be cautious about getting pregnant, and its best avoided for at least two months, they added. Zika virus is caused by the bite of the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopiticus mosquitoes, and primarily impacts pregnant women, causing neurological disorders in the foetus.

Dr Bharati Kamoji, Senior Consultant - Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Aster CMI Hospital, stated that as the Zika virus can cause severe birth defects, it is recommended that pregnant women should not travel to areas which report Zika outbreak.

As no vaccine has been developed for the Zika virus, it is advisable that couples use precautions or avoid sex with someone who has recently travelled to a risk area. Men who have been infected with the virus, and even those with a travel history to affected areas should wait for three months, and women should wait for two months after their journey or falling ill, before attempting to get pregnant, said Dr Kamoji.

Dr Gayathri D Kamath, Senior Consultant - Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Fortis Hospitals, said, Anyone who has travelled back from Kerala now should be watchful of getting pregnant. As the mosquitoes bite during the day, its advisable to keep the entire body covered. Dr Sunil Eshwar, Lead Consultant - Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Aster RV Hospital, said EPA-registered insect repellents are proven to be safe and effective, even for pregnant and breastfeeding women.

Preventive measures should be followed at home, said Dr Vidhyashree, Consultant OBG, KMC Hospital, Mangaluru. Stay in places with air-conditioning or with screens on doors and windows. Make sure your clothes cover and protect your skin. Treat clothes, shoes and other gear with a bug spray called permethrin. Dont spray permethrin on your skin. Remove still water inside and outside your home and workplace. Empty water from flowerpots, buckets, pet water bowls and childrens pools, as mosquitoes can lay eggs in very small amounts of water.
By PTI

JAIPUR: Eleven cases of the new Kappa variant of COVID-19 have been detected in Rajasthan, Health Minister Raghu Sharma said on Tuesday.

Of these, four cases each are from Alwar and Jaipur, two from Barmer and one is from Bhilwara, he said.

The minister said reports of nine samples have been received from Delhi and two from the Sawai Mansingh (SMS) Hospital.

The Kappa variant is a moderate form of the coronavirus as compared to its delta variant, Sharma said.

No fresh fatality linked to the coronavirus was recorded in Rajasthan on Tuesday, even as 28 new cases raised the infection count to 9,53,187 in the state, according to an official report.

The death toll from the pandemic stands at 8,945 in Rajasthan, it said.

Ten of the fresh COVID-19 cases were reported from Jaipur and six from Alwar, the report said.

A total of 9,43,629 people in the state have recovered from the infection and the number of active cases at present is 613, it said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday said the state is managing COVID-19 vaccination excellently, while blaming the delay in the drive on short supply of vaccine doses.

Reviewing the progress of the inoculation campaign in the state from his official residence, the chief minister urged the Centre to give adequate supply of vaccines as a large number of people are yet to get their second dose.

He directed officials of the state government to demand an increase in the supply of vaccines from the Centre so that people can be vaccinated on time.

In a statement, the chief minister said that the World Health Organization (WHO) has appreciated the vaccination management of Rajasthan.

"It is a matter of pride for the state. Our medical personnel have done the vaccination with utmost efficiency," he added.

Gehlot said a protocol should be prepared for religious events in the coming months in the wake of the viral disease.

Health Minister Raghu Sharma said his department was ensuring proper preparations, keeping in mind the possibility of a third wave of the pandemic.

A door-to-door survey has been started for non-communicable diseases, he added.

So far, 2.67 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the state.

Out of these, 2.18 crore people have received their first dose and 48.87 lakh people have received both doses, Health Secretary Siddharth Mahajan said.
P R Kumaraswamy By

While the Indian government described it as a technical halt, many eyebrows were raised over the brief stopover of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Tehran on July 7. The diplomatic surprise took place amidst the major Cabinet reshuffle in New Delhi. The official announcement before Jaishankars Moscow visit did not indicate a detour to Iran. For his part, Jaishankar tweeted: Thank President-elect Ebrahim Raisi for his gracious welcome. Handed over a personal message from PM Appreciate his warm sentiments for India. Deeply value his strong commitment to strengthen our bilateral ties and expand cooperation on regional and global issues.

It is obvious that the technical halt was pre-planned and choreographed. The few hours of stay in Tehran was marked by the EAMs meeting with President-elect Raisi and his Iranian counterpart Dr Javid Zarif. The meeting with the latter is a mere formality as he would be leaving office when Raisi becomes president. The MEA official spokesperson listed out issues discussed between the two sides: regional and global issues, Afghanistan, the Vienna negotiations over the resumption of the nuclear deal abandoned by former US President Donald Trump, the North-South Transport Corridor and Chabahar port. Another twist came a few days later when India announced its acceptance of the invitation for the inauguration of Raisis presidency on August 3.

Iran has been the most challenging aspect of Indias foreign policy since the end of the Cold War. New Delhi has been unable to synchronise its overlapping and conflictual interests vis-a-vis Tehran. At one level, it has been seeking closer ties with the dominant country in the Persian Gulf region that also has considerable oil and gas reserves vital for Indias economic growth. In addition, interest convergence over Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia added a strategic dimension to the bilateral relations.

At the same time, since the Islamic revolution, Iran has been pursuing a belligerent, and some might say hegemonic policy, vis-a-vis its Arab neighbours. Opposed to external powersincluding Indiaplaying any role in the region, Tehran sees the Persian Gulf as its exclusive sphere of influence. Over time, the Iran-Saudi rivalry and competition transformed into a sectarian conflict between the two branches of Islam, Sunni and Shia. Tehrans policy towards the US and Israel also complicated Indias options.

If these challenges are not sufficient, the Ministry of External Affairs has also created operational complications. The Islamic Republic does not fall under the West Asia and North African (WANA) Division of the Ministry but is part of the PAI Division comprising Pakistan and Afghanistan. This means the Gulf Division, which deals with the countries along the Persian Gulf, does not include Iran. Ironically, when Iran is the major preoccupation of the Gulf Arab states and their political stability, Indias Gulf policy is formulated without any inputs from or on Iran. Clubbing Iran with Pakistan made sense during the Cold War when both were close allies or when Pakistan was Indias dominant foreign policy preoccupation. But to perpetuate this when India is seeking closer ties with Gulf Arab countries? The much-publicised restructuring undertaken in 2020 did not address Indias Persian puzzle in the Gulf.

If keeping Iran out of the internal deliberations on the Gulf is not enough, India found a new hurdle. Since early 2005, some of the critical decisions concerning Iran have been taken not by the PAI Division but by the US Division as New Delhi tries to coordinate and synchronise its Iran policy with Washington. Whether it was the vote on the Iranian nuclear programme in IAEA in 2005 or stopping oil imports from Iran, the US Division had a pre-eminent role. Therefore, questions arise if Jaishankars brief halt in Tehran and the meeting with President-elect Raisi were coordinated with Washington.

Two, while several Western nations were reluctant, on June 20, the day after Raisi was declared the winner in the presidential election, PM Narendra Modi tweeted his congratulatory message and expressed his desire to working with him to further strengthen the warm ties. This would add a twist with the US, especially the liberal section of the Democrats committed to human rights. Indeed, Raisi becomes the first incoming president of Iran under US sanctions (imposed in November 2019) over his alleged role in the systematic abuse and violation of human rights. So any Indian move towards Iran under Raisi will add more spice to Modi-Biden relations.

Three, for its part, Iran has outmanoeuvred India and is perhaps seeking a wedge between New Delhi and its Gulf Arab partners, especially Saudi Arabia. By bestowing on Jaishankar the honour of being the first foreign dignitary to meet the incoming President, Tehran might use the meeting in its relations with its other friends like Russia and China. Thus, Jaishankars brief meeting with Raisi days before the latters inauguration opens a new and interesting chapter for India and its ability to manage conflicting pulls over its Gulf policy.

P R Kumaraswamy

Professor at JNU, Teaches contemporary Middle East there

(kumaraswamy.pr@gmail.com)
Dr Chandrakant Lahariya By

It has been nearly 16 months since 250 million school-going children in India have attended physical classes. By June 2021, schools were operating in some capacity in around 170 countries across the world. In fact, in most countries, schools continued to operate during the pandemic, except for some periods. It is time Indian policymakers urgently consider bringing children back to the schools.

The pandemic has forced school students to attend classes online. However, online teaching is not a replacement for in-school learning. It puts children from underprivileged backgrounds at a disadvantage as online teaching works better when supplemented by the parents. Moreover, interactions in school are important for overall development of communication, proficiency in language, interpersonal and social skills, and physical and emotional well-being, all of which have taken a backseat. Even before the pandemic, the quality of education and learning in Indian schools were considered suboptimal; with online teaching, the inequities have further widened.

Indias Covid-19 unlock plan has put emphasis on restarting tourism and opening up economic activities; however, there seems to be insufficient attention on restarting education activities and opening schools. It has been estimated that every month away from schools results in two months of learning lost, and children in India have already lost learning equal to 32 months. The children supposed to start school from the previous and this academic year are amongst those at the biggest disadvantage.

Some of the apprehensions on opening the schools are based upon alarmist and evidence-bereft high-decibel discourse, such as the claim that a third wave of Covid-19 would primarily affect children. This incorrect assertion created a lot of panic amongst the policymakers and parents, and any possible discussion about opening schools was put on hold. The fact is that children are not at additional risk of disease in any subsequent wave. The evidence from various sero-surveys across Indian states indicates that children have been infected at a similar rate as adults; however, their risk of developing severe disease is low. The reason is that the receptors that SARS-CoV-2 needs to enter lungs are underdeveloped in children. The evidence from the US indicates that vaccination of the adult population does not result in any change in severity of disease in children. The new variants do not alter the risk of moderate to severe disease in children.

There are three other key scientific pieces of evidence that should be given consideration. One, there is no need to wait for vaccination of children before opening schools. Global experts have concluded that vaccination of children is not a prerequisite to open them. In fact, no country in the world has yet started the vaccination of children younger than 12 years. With low risk, this age group is unlikely to be prioritised for vaccination for many months to come. Second, the inoculation of school staff would be a good idea but is not essential for opening schools. Third, schools for young children (up to Class 8) should be started first as this age group is at very low risk. The opening for older children (Class 9-12) should be more careful and with additional precautions.

It is imperative that Indian states give urgent attention and priority to formulating detailed plans and operational strategies to reopen schools. The broad principles of a school reopening strategy should be drafted by the Union government with complete freedom to the states for modification and implementation. The strategy should use global evidence, be guided by domain experts, informed by local epidemiology and flexible to be modified as the situation evolves.

Schools that cater to underprivileged children should be prioritised for opening up as many kids in these schools do not have anyone to guide their learnings at home. Special focus must also be given to those children who are about to enter the school education system.

As they plan to open up, schools should do the necessary structural modifications to ensure proper ventilation and spacing inside the classroom. Conducting classes in open (but shaded) spaces should be considered. The reopening can be supplemented by strengthening school health services, facilitating regular health check-up of children; periodically educating them on Covid-appropriate behavior as well as engaging parents should become integral to the process. School teachers and other staff need to be trained and sensitised in adherence to Covid protocols to ensure they are followed by students in classes.

The classes could be fewer than the earlier routinealternate days, once in three days or even once a weekand there can be multiple shifts with reasonable breaks in between. The proportion of children attending school on a given day can be determined by the school authorities in consultation with parents. A hybrid of classroom and online teaching has to be continued, where parents would have complete choice on the mode of learning they would prefer. Regular sensitisation of parents to alleviate their fears would be needed. Approaches such as a school bio-bubble, in which students of a specific class would not interact with anyone outside it, need to be explored.

In our overzealous attempt to protect children from Covid-19, we should not end up depriving children of education and learning. Opening of schools is essential for their physical, mental, social and emotional well-being and development. With available scientific evidence, it is possible to develop a plan and get children safely back to schools, compensate for the lost time and bring them on the path of learning. It is time schools in India are opened once again.

Dr Chandrakant Lahariya

Epidemiologist and public health specialist

(The author has co-written the book Till We Win: Indias Fight Against The COVID-19 Pandemic)

(c.lahariya@gmail.com)
By Express News Service

NIZAMABAD: The State logged more than 1,500 new Covid-19 infections from 62,000-odd samples in the past 24 hours with a positivity rate of 2.5 per cent. The total number of cases have crossed 19.24 lakh, while recoveries reached over 18.84 lakh. The fresh infections came down considerably when compared to 2,665 from more than 91,000 samples on Sunday. The total number of samples tested so far in the State has crossed the 2.30 crore mark.

According to the media bulletin released by the State Command Control Room, East Godavari district reported the highest of 305 new infections followed by 257 in Chittoor. All the other 11 districts recorded less than 200 cases, while seven of them registered as less as 100 new infections. The lowest of 31 new infections emerged in the Srikakulam district and four districts have less than 50 new cases.

All 13 districts reported new infections in lesser numbers when compared to Sunday. With the fresh cases, the cumulative cases in East Godavari district crossed 2.70 lakh, the highest in the State. Meanwhile, 3,041 patients recovered from the virus taking the overall recovery rate to 98 per cent. The active cases have further come down to a little over 27,000 and East Godavari district has the highest of 4,756 active cases, while Kurnool has the lowest of 437 active cases. Three districts have less than 1,000 active cases.

On the other hand, 22 persons succumbed to the virus, taking the overall deaths to 13,024 with a mortality rate of 0.68 per cent. Three deaths were reported in Chittoor, East Godavari, Guntur, Krishna, Nellore and Prakasam districts each, while two deaths were reported from Srikakulam and one each in Kurnool and Visakhapatnam. Anantapur, Kadapa, Vizianagaram and West Godavari districts did not report a single death. The overall deaths in Srikakulam district crossed 750-mark, while Chittoor reported the highest of 1,663 deaths so far. Kadapa has the lowest of 616 deaths so far.
By Express News Service

BAGALKOT: Covid-19 norms went for a toss as a large number of people gathered to welcome former chief minister Siddaramaiah at his constituency Badami on Monday. While the police struggled to prevent people from crowding, it was found that most of them were not wearing marks and were flouting social-distancing norms.Siddaramaiah attended a meeting of the Karnataka Development Programme (KDP) and also took part in various events in Badami on the first day of his two-day visit.

Speaking to reporters, Siddaramaiah said that he will contest the next Assembly polls too from Badami. There is a demand from the residents of Badami that I contest the next elections from there. People from other districts too have invited me to contest a seat in their respective districts. I am representing Badami and will contest from the same segment in the next Assembly polls, he reiterated.

Last week, supporters of the Congress leader from Badami visited him at his Bengaluru residence and urged him to contest from their segment in the next polls. Lashing out at the State Government, Siddaramaiah said, The government is not working efficiently. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa is trying hard to save his chair while his son is busy making money. Only two things are happening in the state and I have raised these issues in the Assembly too.

For every transfer of officials, a commission is sought in this government. There is also a gang of sub-inspectors which will be transferred to their place of choice if they give money, he thundered.

Criticising the government for failing to stop illegal mining, Siddaramaiah said the government has failed to learn a lesson even after blasts in quarries in Shivamogga and Chikkaballapur. When allegations are being made by an MP, the government should consider it seriously. It is not just in Mandya, but across the state, he said when asked about allegations of illegal mining in the vicinity of the KRS reservoir by Mandya MP Sumalatha.
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government on Tuesday announced more lockdown relaxations after a review meeting chaired by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

As per the new decisions, shops can function till 8 pm and banks can stay open for public for five days in a week.

In category 'A' (TPR rate up to 5 per cent), all types of shops and business establishments will remain open on all days except during weekend lockdown.

In 'B' category (TPR rate up to 10 per cent), the shops which sell essential provisions will remain open on all days, while other shops would function on Monday, Wednesday and Friday till 8 pm.

In 'C' category (TPR rate up to 15 per cent), the shops which sell essential provisions will remain open all days while other shops are allowed to open only Friday.

In 'D' category (TPR rate above 15 per cent), only shops which sell essential provisions are allowed to open.

It was also decided that the weekend lockdown will continue in the state.

The traders community has asked the state government to allow them to open shops on all days of the week. But the state government is of the view that the state cannot afford opening all shops until test positivity rate comes below 10 per cent.
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: KEAM-2021 (Kerala Engineering Architecture Medical), the entrance exam for admission to engineering and pharmacy courses in the state, will be held on Aug 5.

The entrance exam, scheduled to be held on July 24, was postponed as the date clashed with JEE-Main exam to be held at the national level from July 20 to July 25.

The clash of dates was brought to the notice of the Minister for Higher Education R Bindu who held a meeting with the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations (CEE) on July 7.

The meeting decided to postpone the state entrance examination as many students aspiring to take up engineering courses appear for both exams.

The new date for the exam was decided at a meeting chaired by the Minister with the CEE here on Tuesday.

Around 1.13 lakh students appear for KEAM every year in the state and also in special exam centres in Delhi, Mumbai and Dubai (UAE).
Unnikrishnan S By

Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Monoclonal antibodies, a single shot drug cocktail given to former US president Donald Trump against Covid, is getting popular in the state as doctors and patients vouch for its effectiveness in preventing deaths. The drug contains artificial antibodies that mimic the ability of the immune system to fight off harmful pathogens like viruses.

At present, the drug is given as a single dose to Covid positive people in high-risk category and those with compromised immune system. The medical colleges and select tertiary care private hospitals have started giving the drug with promising results. The drug is given intravenously at outpatient units.

The drug is found to be effective in reducing possibility of deaths due to Covid if given at an early stage of infection. High-risk patients with co-morbidities stand to benefit from the drug, said the chairman of research cell, Indian Medical Association (IMA), Dr R C Sreekumar.It can be given to mild to moderate Covid patients above 12 years and weighing over 40 kg. As of now people with ailments such as cancer, diabetes or diseases affecting heart, liver, lungs, kidneys or those taking immunity compromising medications are considered for administering the drug.

The drug is given at the viral replication phase in the body. It will block the virus from entering the host (human) cell. High-risk patients, especially dialysis patients, who do very badly in Covid will benefit from the cocktail drug. We have given the drug to over 40 patients. So far we found good results, said infectious diseases specialist at KIMS HEALTH, Thiruvananthapuram, Dr Rajalakshmi A.

Covid patients are informed of the cost and benefits. An OP appointment is scheduled to administer the drug. Those developing symptoms after drug is given will be observed for one or two days as inpatients, she added. According to her, people in the age group of 40 to 91 have been given drug in the hospital. Casirivimab and imdevimab are monoclonal antibodies given as cocktail by the hospital which started the treatment with 25 patients two weeks ago.

According to Dr Sreekumar, the availability and cost are the prohibiting factors for wider use. A single shot of drug will cost between Rs 50,000 and Rs 55,000 in private hospital. However experts say it was effective in saving cost by preventing ventilator and ICU admission for high-risk patients. The drug is produced from human blood and by cloning the specific antibodies. It is considered to be a better treatment option than the convalescent plasma therapy (CPT) to treat Covid patients. The treatment using the latter suffered due to non-availability of donor pool, timing etc. The antibodies developed in the drug have 1,000 times more concentration and target specific receptors when compared to the crude antibodies used in CPT, said Dr Rajalakshmi.

If administered when symptoms are mild to moderate, monoclonal antibodies have shown promising results in the treatment of Covid by reducing hospitalisation time and risk of death among high-risk patients

THE WONDER ANTIBODY THERAPY

Monoclonal antibodies

It can be given to mild to moderate Covid patients above 12 years, weighing over 40 kg

It can be administered even for vaccinated persons (for treating breakthrough infection) among high-risk group

Can be used in patients in high-risk group

A single shot of drug will cost between C50,000 and C55,000 in private hospital

Drugs Controller General of India has given approval for emergency use in the country

Potential

Studies have found 70% reduction in hospitalisation due to Covid

Studies are under way whether the drug can be given to cancer patients (high risk) even if they are asymptomatic

Studies are on regarding the effectiveness of the high dose of the drug against severe Covid conditions

Companies and drug combinations

Roche: Casirivimab and imdevimab

Eli Lilly and Company: Bamlanivimab and Etesevimab

Despite the high cost, the drug saves on ICU and ventilator charges. It is a combination of man-made proteins that act like human antibodies in the immune system. The cocktail drug is targeted against the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 that causes Covid. If administered during the early stages of infection (3 to 7 days), it can block the virus attachment and entry into human cells
By PTI

IDUKKI: A tribal village in Kerala, which remained untouched by the novel coronavirus till Monday, reported its first cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, Health department officials said.

A 26-year old man and 40-year old woman, hailing from Edamalakudy, the first tribal panchayat of the state, have been admitted to hospitals in Munnar and Kottayam after being diagnosed with the virus, they said.

However, officials said the source of their infection is not believed to be Edamalakkudy as they had gone out of the village for various purposes.

The man, who had left the village on June 29, had been serving as a bystander of a patient in various hospitals.

The source of his infection is certainly not his village.

The woman had also gone out seeking treatment for some ailments.

She was referred to the Medical College hospital, Kottayam after she complained of allergies to some medicines.

The source of her infection is not believed to be the hamlet, they said.

Idukki DMO Dr N Priya said, a COVID vaccination camp will be organised in Edamalakudy near Munnar next week.

During the camp, antigen tests will also be conducted to find out if more people are infected with the virus, she told P T I.

Long before the government clamped lockdown officially, the tribals were confined to their fringe hamlets isolating themselves to ensure that no one among them got infected.

They come out of the shelter of forests only rarely to collect essential articles, baby food and medicines.

They were also not hesitant to request the outsiders including police and health workers to ensure that they are not carriers of the virus while visiting them.
T Muruganandham By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: The State unit of the BJP is organising a kind of royal welcome to K Annamalai who will be assuming charge as its president on July 16 here and it is clear that the partys national leadership wishes to promote him as the BJPs face in Tamil Nadu.

The partys intent is evident from the mega arrangements being made for welcoming him throughout his way from Coimbatore. For the first time, such a reception is being accorded to a person even before he formally assumes charge.

At BJP headquarters here, on July 16, he will be received with 'poornakumbham honour. Besides L Murugan, the former president of BJP's Tamil Nadu unit who has assumed charge as a Union Minister, party's senior leaders CT Ravi, P Sudhakar Reddy, L Ganesan, Pon Radhakrishnan, CP Radhakrishnan, H Raja, BJP legislature party leader Nainar Nagenthran and others will be receiving Annamalai at party's State headquarters.

When he joined the BJP 11 months ago, there were speculations that the party might go it alone in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections and Annamalai was expected to be the chief ministerial candidate of the party in the State. However, Annamalai was made a vice president just five days after he joined the party and he unsuccessfully contested Assembly elections from Aravakurichi Assembly constituency a few months ago.

The clean image about Annamalai and the goodwill he earned as an IPS officer besides as a motivational speaker among the youth are expected to help the growth of the party in Tamil Nadu in the coming years.

Annamalai will start from Coimbatore on Wednesday morning and will reach Chennai after visiting Palladam, Tirupur, Perundurai, Erode, Sangagiri, Salem, Namakkal, Paramathi Velur, Karur and Kulithalai.

On July 15, Annamalai will be given a warm reception by the party cadre at Trichy. From there he will be reaching party headquarters in Chennai on July 16 by visiting Perambalur, Veppur, Ulundurpet, Villupuram, Vikravandi, Tindivanam, Melmaruvathur, Madurantakam, Chengalpattu, Guduvanchery, Tambaram, Pallavaram, Alandur, and Saidapet. In all places, district office bearers of the BJP will be giving reception to Annamalai.
Harish Murali By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Observing that the evidence of the disabled should not be counted as inferior to that of an able-bodied person, the Madras High Court has upheld the order of a lower court convicting an auto-driver to seven years imprisonment on charges of abducting and molesting a blind woman in 2013.

Law does not distinguish the evidence of an able-bodied person with that of the disabled. Merely because of the factum of disability, her evidence cannot be treated as inferior in nature to that of an able-bodied person. To do so, could be negation to the constitutional principle of the right of equality, ruled Judge Teekka Raman, in an order dated July 7.

The convict, Anbuselvan, had appealed against a Mahila Court order that upheld the charges against him and sentenced him for seven years in jail. He was an auto driver, hired by the victim to reach a music institute in Chennai. But he took her to an isolated spot and molested her. On hearing her cries for help, a few locals rescued her.

Anbuselvans counsel contended that the identity of the convict was not proved. Since the victim is a visually-challenged person, she cannot be termed as eye witness and she can only be treated as a hearsay witness. Hence, the counsel argued that her statements indicting the convict must be rejected. The counsel argued that the convict is not the person who had committed the crime.However, the court rejected the arguments by citing precedents set by other higher courts on the matter.

The court ruled, The blindness meant that she had no visual contact with the world. Her primary mode of identifying those around her, therefore, is by the sound of their voice and so the victims testimony is entitled to equal weight as that of a prosecutrix who could have been able to visually identify the appellant.It also said others who rescued the victim identified the presence of the convict. In the absence of anything in the cross-examination to disbelieve evidence of the victim and her statements as to the sexual assault... by the accused cannot be rejected merely because she is visually-challenged, said the judge. The court ordered the State Legal Services Authority to grant a compensation of `1 lakh to the victim.

Courtroom talk

The convicts counsel contended that since the victim is visually-challenged, she cannot be termed as eye witness and can only be treated as hearsay witness. To this, the court said merely because of the factum of disability, her evidence cannot be treated inferior
Harish Murali By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Tuesday dismissed the BJP's plea challenging a committee formed by the Tamil Nadu government to study the impact of NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) that was made mandatory by the Union government for medical admissions. After the DMK came to power winning the recent Assembly polls, it constituted the committee to study the impact of NEET especially on students from socially and economically backward classes.

The first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy said that the constitution of the committee by no stretch of imagination can be seen as contrary to the orders of the Supreme Court or the powers of the Union government. The court also stressed that there is nothing to stop an elected government from studying the impact of NEET.

The court also added that the committee does not even pose the remotest challenge to the constitutional right of the Union government to fix standards for higher education.

ALSO READ: 'Act like real hero': Madras HC orders actor Vijay to pay entry tax for Rolls Royce

The issue pertains to the state general secretary of the BJP Karu Nagarajan challenging the constitution of a nine-member committee by the ruling DMK government to study the impact of NEET on socially deprived students.

The petitioner contended that the constitution of the committee headed by retired High Court judge Justice AK Rajan is "arbitrary, illegal, unconstitutional and unreasonable", given the Supreme Court's 2017 order. In earlier hearings on the matter, the High Court had raised questions on the legal validity of the committee and had asked the Union and state government to respond.

The Union government's counsel submitted that the constitution of such a committee by the state government is illegal. However, on Tuesday, hearing the arguments of the BJP's counsel, the court observed that it does not find anything wrong with an elected government studying the impact of the entrance exam and this does not challenge the authority of the Union government. The plea was dismissed by the court.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin, who chaired an all-party meeting on the Mekedatu-dam issue on Monday, explained how the new project planned by the Karnataka government would affect Tamil Nadu. In his lengthy speech, Stalin recalled Tamil Nadus decades-long legal battle to establish its rights on its share of Cauvery water.Not just Karnataka, Tamil Nadu too has full rights on Cauvery water as the river flows through Tamil Nadu along a longer stretch than through Karnataka. We have also legally established our rights on Cauvery water, Stalin said.

Giving a detailed account of how the proposed dam would affect Tamil Nadu, Stalin said: Karnataka is supposed to release Cauvery water from three sources: 1) The water flowing in the areas downstream River Kabini, catchment areas of Krishnarajasagar reservoir, the sub-basins of Shimsha, Arkavathi, and Suvarnavathi rivers, and the water from minor rivers; 2) water released from Kabini dam; 3) water released from Krishnarajasagar dam.

As the second and third sources are under the control of Karnataka, water could be released to Tamil Nadu only after storing sufficient water for their use. But, since there is no dam on the first source, water from this area has been reaching Tamil Nadu so far without any hindrance. Now, Karnataka is conspiring to block this source also in the guise of Mekedatu dam, the chief minister pointed out.

He said that Karnataka had been failing to release the Cauvery water due to Tamil Nadu. If another dam also comes up there, how would the water come to Tamil Nadu? he asked and pointed out that during floods, Karnataka released only surplus water to Tamil Nadu and did not give water as per the specifications given by the Cauvery tribunal and in the Supreme Court verdict.

In this backdrop, if Karnataka builds a new dam at Mekedatu with a storage capacity of 67.16 tmcft, the future of Tamil Nadu farmers will become a question mark. The claim of Karnataka that the new dam would be built for meeting the drinking water requirements of Bengaluru is not true and it is aimed at cheating Tamil Nadu, Stalin added.

If the new dam is built, water received by Tamil Nadu through the first source will be stored in it and Karnataka will release only residual quantities of water to Tamil Nadu. This is the reason we are opposing a new dam at Mekedatu. Tamil Nadu government is firm that it will not allow a new dam at Mekedatu, Stalin asserted.

Stalin underlined the fact that Karnataka was trying to build a dam on Cauvery river at Mekedatu, a place just four kilometer away from Tamil Nadu border, and rubbished that States claim that such a dam would not affect Tamil Nadu. That is not true at all. As such, we have to stall all efforts of the Karnataka government to build this new dam, Stalin added. Stalin also explained that just ahead of Mekedatu, Arkavathi river flows into Cauvery, which then continues to flow into a narrow, rocky area at Mekedatu; the Karnataka government is trying to build a dam in this place.
T Muruganandham By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Giving a gentle nudge to the Union government over the disproportionately low allocation of vaccine doses to Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday renewed his request to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make a special allocation of one crore doses to compensate for the fewer number given to Tamil Nadu in the past months.

The Chief Minister, in his letter to the Prime Minister, said till July 8, the state had received only 29,18,110 vaccine doses from the Union government for people in the 18-44 years category and 1,30,08,440 vaccine doses for those above 45 years.

ALSO READ: Madras High Court dismisses BJP's plea against Tamil Nadu government's NEET committee

"As the allocation of vaccines is very inadequate, we are finding it extremely difficult to meet the huge demand for vaccination throughout the state. The success of my governments efforts to eliminate vaccine hesitancy and make the vaccination drive a mass movement now squarely rests on the doses made available to us," he underscored.

Pointing out that Tamil Nadu had not received vaccine doses proportionate to its population size which resulted in the current acute shortage, Stalin said, The number of vaccine doses provided to our state is only 302 per thousand eligible population. This is very low when compared to the vaccine doses made available to comparable states like Gujarat, Karnataka and Rajasthan, which are at 533, 493 and 446 respectively.

In this connection, Stalin recalled that the Union Health Ministry, in its affidavit before the Supreme Court recently, specifically submitted that states had been allocated the available vaccine doses in proportion to the population between 18-44 years of age to ensure an equitable distribution.
By Express News Service

PUDUCHERRY: Villupuram Lok Sabha member D Ravikumar has urged the Puducherry government to initiate political and legal action against the proposed Mekedatu dam across Cauvery river by the Karnataka government to protect the rights of farmers in the UT.

In a memorandum submitted to the PWD minister K Lakshminarayanan on Tuesday, Ravikumar said that Puducherry government should also convene an all-party meeting, on the lines of TN government, and unanimously adopt a resolution urging the central government to not accord any permission to Karnataka to construct the dam. Ravikumar is a member in the parliamentary consultative committee on agriculture.

He further detailed the dependence of the UT on Cauvery water for agriculture and how the dam will pose an obstacle for providing water in the Karaikal area that is located at the tail-end of Cauvery delta.

Due to the unique geographical environment of Puducherry, it is not conducive to construct any water storage reservoir here. Agriculture here is heavily dependent on the northeast monsoon and the Cauvery water. In addition, seawater has infiltrated the entire coastal area and groundwater has become saline. So the farmers of Pondicherry state depend only on Cauvery water, he said.

The Supreme Court in its final judgment also recognized the right of Puducherry farmers to cultivate crops in two seasons, given the unique geographical location of the UT in a total of 42,533 acres. The arbitral tribunal upheld the first crop of Kuruvai in 27,145 acres and the second cro of Thaladi in 15,388 acres. The apex court also ruled that Puducherry should get the allotted 7 TMC of water through the seven tributaries of Cauvery in Tamil Nadu namely Nandalaru, Nattaru, Vanji river, Nularu, Arasalaru, Thirumalairajan river and Pravidayan river.

Currently, the Karnataka government is trying to build the dam, which will affect the water supply to Tamil Nadu and eventually to Puducherry.
By PTI

KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress chief Sher Bahadur Deuba, who has been appointed the new Prime Minister of Nepal, will not take the oath of office until President Bidya Devi Bhandari revises the notice of his appointment, a media report said on Tuesday.

President Bhandari on Tuesday issued the notice appointing the 75-year-old Opposition leader as the prime minister in line with the ruling issued by the Supreme Court on Monday.

A five-member Constitutional Bench led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana, in its order, had said that Deuba must be appointed the Prime Minister in line with Article 76 (5) of the Constitution.

However, the president's office has failed to disclose the article under which Deuba is being made the prime minister in the notice, The Himalayan Times reported.

After receiving some legal counsel, Deuba has sent across a message to President Bhandari that he will not take the oath until the error is rectified, the paper said.

The swearing-in ceremony was initially set to be held at 6:00 pm (17:45 IST).

Previously, Deuba served as Nepal's Prime Minister four times from June 2017February 2018, June 2004February 2005, July 2001October 2002 and September 1995March 1997.

Deuba is required to seek a vote of confidence from the House within 30 days of his appointment as the Prime Minister, as per the constitutional provisions.
By Associated Press

LONDON: After Dr. Ifeanyi Nsofor and his wife received two doses of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine in Nigeria, they assumed they would be free to travel this summer to a European destination of their choice. They were wrong.

The couple  and millions of other people who have been vaccinated through a U.N.-backed effort  could find themselves barred from entering many European and other countries because those nations don't recognize the Indian-made version of the vaccine for travel.

Although AstraZeneca vaccine produced in Europe has been authorized by the continents drug regulatory agency, the same shot manufactured in India hasn't been given the green light.

EU regulators said AstraZeneca hasn't completed the necessary paperwork on the Indian factory, including details on its production practices and quality control standards.

But some experts describe the EU move as discriminatory and unscientific, pointing out that the World Health Organization has inspected and approved the factory. Health officials say the situation won't only complicate travel and frustrate fragile economies but also undermine vaccine confidence by appearing to label some shots substandard.

As vaccination coverage rises across Europe and other rich countries, authorities anxious to salvage the summer tourism season are increasingly relaxing coronavirus border restrictions.

Earlier this month, the European Union introduced its digital COVID-19 certificate, which allows EU residents to move freely in the 27-nation bloc as long as they have been vaccinated with one of the four shots authorized by the European Medicines Agency, have a fresh negative test, or have proof they recently recovered from the virus.

While the U.S. and Britain remain largely closed to outside visitors, the EU certificate is seen as a potential model for travel in the COVID-19 era and a way to boost economies.

The officially EU-endorsed vaccines also include those made by Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. They don't include the AstraZeneca shot made in India or many other vaccines used in developing countries, including those manufactured in China and Russia.

Individual EU countries are free to apply their own rules for travelers from inside and outside the bloc, and their rules vary widely, creating further confusion for tourists. Several EU countries, including Belgium, Germany and Switzerland, allow people to enter if they have had non-EU-endorsed vaccines; several others, including France and Italy, dont.

For Nsofor, the realization he could be barred was a rude awakening. After a tough year of working during the pandemic in Abuja, Nsofor and his wife were looking forward to a European vacation with their two young daughters, perhaps admiring the Eiffel Tower in Paris or touring Salzburg in Austria.

Nsofor noted that the Indian-made vaccine he received had been authorized by WHO for emergency use and had been supplied through COVAX, the U.N.-backed program to provide shots to poor corners of the world. WHO's approval included a visit to the Serum Institute of India factory to ensure that it had good manufacturing practices and that quality control standards were met.

Were grateful to the EU that they funded COVAX, but now they are essentially discriminating against a vaccine that they actively funded and promoted, Nsofor said. This will just give room to all kinds of conspiracy theories that the vaccines were getting in Africa are not as good as the ones they have for themselves in the West.

Ivo Vlaev, a professor at Britains University of Warwick who advises the government on behavioral science during COVID-19, agreed that Western countries refusal to recognize vaccines used in poor countries could fuel mistrust.

People who were already suspicious of vaccines will become even more suspicious, Vlaev said. They could also lose trust in public health messages from governments and be less willing to comply with COVID rules.

Dr. Mesfin Teklu Tessema, director of health for the International Rescue Committee, said countries that have declined to recognize vaccines cleared by WHO are acting against the scientific evidence.

Vaccines that have met WHOs threshold should be accepted. Otherwise it looks like theres an element of racism here, he said.

WHO urged countries to recognize all of the vaccines it has authorized, including two Chinese-made ones. Countries that decline to do so are undermining confidence in lifesaving vaccines that have already been shown to be safe and effective, affecting uptake of vaccines and potentially putting billions of people at risk, the U.N. health agency said in a statement this month.

In June, the Serum Institute of Indias CEO, Adar Poonawalla, tweeted that he was concerned about vaccinated Indians facing problems traveling to the EU and said he was raising the problem at the highest levels with regulators and countries.

Stefan De Keersmaeker, a spokesman for the EU's executive arm, said last week that regulators were obligated to check the production process at the Indian factory.

"We are not trying to create any doubts about this vaccine, he said.

AstraZeneca said it only recently submitted the paperwork on the Indian factory to the EU drug regulatory agency. It didn't say why it didn't do so earlier, before the agency made its original decision in January.

Public health experts warned that countries that decline to recognize vaccines backed by WHO are complicating global efforts to safely restart travel.

You cant just cut off countries from the rest of the world indefinitely, said Dr. Raghib Ali of the University of Cambridge. To exclude some people from certain countries because of the vaccine theyve received is wholly inconsistent because we know that these approved vaccines are extremely protective.

Nsofor said he and his wife are still deciding where to take their summer vacation and are leaning toward Singapore or East Africa.

I didnt realize there were so many layers to vaccine inequity, he said.
By PTI

KATHMANDU: Nepal will receive over a million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from Japan at a time when the country is facing a severe shortage of the jabs.

The Japanese Embassy here in a statement said Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu on Tuesday announced that the government will donate about 1.6 million doses of Japanese-made COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine for Nepal as a grant through COVAX facility, the global COVID vaccine equity scheme.

"The exact shipping schedule will be confirmed once the procurement arrangement will be finalised by the international organisation which is in charge of the matter," it said.

Nepal started its vaccination drive with the 1 million doses of Covishield, the AstraZeneca type vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, which were gifted to Nepal by the Indian government.

Of the 2 million doses Nepal bought from the Serum Institute, only 1 million doses were shipped.

Japan's announcement has brought much needed respite to senior Nepali citizens who, following months of uncertainty, have now been assured of receiving the second booster dose, The Himalayan Times newspaper reported.

Close to 1.30 million Nepalis above the age of 65 who had received the first dose of Covishield in March are yet to receive the second dose owing to India's ban on export of Covid vaccines (following the rise in the coronavirus cases in that country), the report said.

ALSO WATCH:

As many as 1.6 million doses of the Japan-made vaccines will be delivered to Nepal between mid July and the end of August, it said.

According to the Japanese Embassy statement, the vaccine being provided by the country will "effectively assist the second injection of elderly people who already had the first vaccination of Covisheld".

"They would be also useful to proceed the vaccination campaign for the young generations who are not yet vaccinated," it said.

Meanwhile, Nepal's coronavirus caseload reached 658,778 on Tuesday with 1,639 more people testing positive for the infection in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said.

The countrywide Covid-19 mortality toll rose to 9,412 with 12 more fatalities, it said.
By PTI

LAHORE: Pakistan's private schools' association on Monday launched a documentary on Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai for her controversial views on Islam, marriage and her pursuit of the Western agenda.

Malala, who turned 24 on Monday, was the co-recipient of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for her struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.

Having received the prize at the age of 17, Malala is the youngest Nobel laureate.

She shared the prize with Kailash Satyarthi, a children's rights activist from India.

Addressing a press conference at his office in Gulberg here the All-Pakistan Private Schools Federation president Kashif Mirza said: "Through this documentary film -- I am not Malala -- we will tell 20 million students in 200,000 private schools across the country about her controversial views on Islam, marriage, pursuing of Western agenda."

"The idea behind this is we want to expose Malala among the youth as it does not get impressed by her so-called story of struggle for women rights" Mirza said.

He said Malala had advocated "partnership" that is adultery in Islam.

"Marriage is a sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) and partnership is adultery," he said.

'I am not Malala's Day' is also observed on July 12 in private schools as lectures and seminars are held to expose her western agenda to students.

Mirza said Malala has categorically rejected the institution of marriage and suggested that 'partnership' is better than getting married.

"Malala has attacked the institution of marriage and family structure by advocating that people should live in sin No one can justify Muslims living together without marriage as it is strongly condemned in Islam," he said.

Similarly, Mirza said in her book "I am Malala", the Nobel Peace winner book has highly controversial material in it which is contrary to the teachings of Islam, Quranic injunctions, ideology of Islam and Pakistan's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah and the Pakistan Army.

"This book is written at the behest of western forces that used Malala for their ulterior motives. Malala has declared Islam and Pak army as militant' in her controversial book. She also criticised Quranic verses about two women's testimony to be equal to that of a man and also about the four witnesses in rape case," he said.

Mirza said a group photo with writer Tasleema Nasreen and strong ties with an Indian for Nobel award are enough to explain Malala's designs.

Mirza alleged her blog in BBC under the name "Gul Makai" was written by someone else as she could not even read or write by then.

"Malala's father Ziauddin had admitted in a TV programme that her blog was written by BBC correspondent Abdul Hai Kakar and the book 'I am Malala' was written by Christina Lamb," he said.
By Associated Press

AFGHANISTAN: Sakina, who is 11, maybe 12, walked with her family for 10 days after the Taliban seized her village in northern Afghanistan and burned down the local school.

They are now among around 50 families living in a makeshift camp on a rocky patch of land on the edge of the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif.

They roast in plastic tents under scorching heat that reaches 44 degrees Celsius at midday.

There are no trees, and the only bathroom for the entire camp is a tattered tent pitched over a foul-smelling hole.

As the Taliban surge through northern Afghanistan  a traditional stronghold of US-allied warlords and an area dominated by the country's ethnic minorities thousands of families like Sakina's are fleeing their homes, fearful of living under the insurgents' rule.

In the last 15 days, Taliban advances have driven more than 5,600 families from their homes, most of them in the northern reaches of the country, according to the government's Refugee and Repatriations Ministry.

In Camp Istiqlal, family after family, all from the Hazara ethnic minority, told of Taliban commanders using heavy-handed tactics as they overran their towns and villages  raising doubts among many over their persistent promises amid negotiations that they will not repeat their harsh rule of the past.

Sakina said it was the middle of the night when her parents packed up their belongings and fled their village of Abdulgan in Balkh province, but not before the invading Taliban set fire to her school.

Sakina said she doesn't understand why her school was burned.

In Camp Istiqlal, there's not a single light, and sometimes she hears noises in the pitch blackness of night.

"I think maybe it's the Taliban and they have come here."

I am afraid, said the girl, who hopes one day to be an engineer.

Yaqub Maradi fled his village of Sang Shanda, not far from Abdulgan, when the Taliban arrived.

He said they tried to intimidate villagers into staying.

Maradi's brother and several members of his family were arrested, held hostage to stop them from leaving, he said.

Maybe he is released today, but he cannot leave, Maradi said from inside his small sweltering plastic tent pitched over a sunbaked mud floor, with mattresses folded in one corner.

A howling, brutally hot wind ripped through the tent as Mohammad Rahimi, the self-appointed camp leader, who also fled from Abdulgan, recalled how a poorly equipped militia force in his Zari district tried to defend against a larger Taliban force.

Rahimi named a handful of militia fighters he said died defending their district.

In areas they control, the Taliban have imposed their own fees and taxes.

Ashor Ali, a truck driver, told The Associated Press he pays the Taliban a 12,000 Afghani ($147) toll for every load of coal he brings from a Taliban-controlled part of neighbouring Samangan province to Mazar-e-Sharif.

That amounts to more than half of what he makes on each haul.

The Taliban are attending international conferences, even sending their ex-ministers on missions to Afghanistan from Qatar, where they have a political office, to assure Afghans they have nothing to fear from them, especially minorities.

The group still espouses Islamic rule but says its methods and tenets are less severe.

But if it's a gentler face they are seeking to portray, fleeing residents say it seems many Taliban commanders in the field either haven't gotten the message or aren't listening.

A February 2020 agreement the Taliban signed with the United States reportedly prevents the insurgents from capturing provincial capitals.

Yet two Kandahar in the south and Badghis in the north are under siege.

In the capital of Kabul, where many fear an eventual Taliban assault, a rocket defence system has been installed, the Ministry of Interior said over the weekend.

The statement offered no detail about its origin or cost.

The US, Russia, China and even Afghanistan's neighbour Pakistan, where the Taliban leadership council is headquartered, have all warned the Taliban against trying for a military victory, warning they will be international pariahs.

Taliban leaders have vowed they are not doing so, even as they boast of their gains in recent meetings in Iran and in Russia.

The Taliban blame the Afghan government for foiling efforts to jumpstart stalled talks that would elevate discussions to include leaders on both sides of the conflict.

Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban's political spokesman and a member of its negotiation team, told the AP that on three different occasions his side waited for a high-level delegation from Kabul to come to Doha for talks.

"They never came," he said.

The Kabul delegation was to include former President Hamid Karzai, as well as Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the National Reconciliation Council, and senior warlords like Ata Mohammad Noor, one of the most powerful northern commanders.

Afghan officials familiar with the planned meetings confirmed their intent to travel to Doha and participate, but said President Ashraf Ghani has been reluctant, often obstructing efforts.

They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the negotiations with reporters.

Last week, President Joe Biden urged Afghanistan's leaders to find unity and said it was up to Afghans to bring an end to decades of war.

With 90% of the final US and NATO withdrawal completed and its top commander Gen. Scott Miller having relinquished his command, Washington is nearing the end of its forever war.

Maradi, whose brother was refused permission to leave, said he doesn't trust the Taliban promises.

Many are still haunted by memories of the tit-for-tat massacres that had characterized the Taliban rule in areas dominated by Afghanistan's ethnic minorities in the late 1990s.

Mazar-e-Sharif was the scene of horrific bloodletting.

In 1997, Uzbek and Hazara fighters killed some 2,000 ethnic Pashtun Taliban, who were captured in the city after a truce deal fell through.

In some cases, they forced the captives to jump into pits on the plains north of the city, then threw in grenades and sprayed them with automatic weapons.

The next year, the Taliban rampaged through Mazar-e-Sharif, killing thousands of Hazaras and driving tens of thousands more out fleeing to Kabul.

At Camp Istiqlal life is brutal.

There's little water to wash, most meals are bread and tea brought to the camp by Rahimi, the leader.

Fatima, who cradled her sickly 2-month-old daughter Kobra, said she hadn't had much food or drink since arriving about one week ago and was unable to produce enough milk to feed her infant.

Another mother showed blisters covering the arms and legs of her 2-year-old son, Mohammad Nabi.

In the nighttime blackness, he knocked over scalding water.

They said they have no money for a doctor.

The camp residents say no one has come to help them.

At the edge of the camp, Habibullah Amanullah cried, his 7-year old daughter hiding behind his arm.

"She asks me for something to eat. What can I tell her? We have nothing."
Help support your local hometown newspaper/website. Independent local news reporting matters. Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription, for as little as $3, so we can continue to provide independent local reporting on our communities.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.  The largest of the Navajo Nation casinos is preparing to reopen for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began.

The Twin Arrows Resort Casino east of Flagstaff has been closed since March 2020. Officials have planned a job fair Saturday ahead of the Monday reopening. The casino will have limited hours and a 50% occupancy level for now.

Tribal President Jonathan Nez recently signed legislation that allows visitors to travel on the reservation, paving the way for the casino to reopen. Casino patrons will be required to wear masks and have their temperatures checked. The tribe on Saturday reported 13 additional cases.

___

MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

 New virus surge is sending younger patients to Spain's hospitals

 Indonesia short on oxygen, seeks help as virus cases soar

 Malta poised to become first EU member to require visitors to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination

 Mexico enters 3rd wave of coronavirus, infections up 29%

___

Follow more of APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

___

HERES WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.  Florida health officials reported an increase in COVID-19 cases and a higher positive test rate over the past week.

The number of virus cases in Florida rose by about 8,000 compared with the week before, for a total of 23,747 new cases, the state Department of Health reported Friday.

New cases of the coronavirus have been on the rise in Florida over the past month. The rate of positive tests was 7.8% last week after trending at about 4% positivity in recent weeks.

There were 172 deaths in Florida from COVID-19 last week, the health department reported.

The state has recorded at least 2.4 million coronavirus cases and 38,901 deaths since the pandemic began.

Officials also said about 11 million Floridians have been fully or partially vaccinated, or 58% of those 12 and older.

___

ALBANY, N.Y.  New York is seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases as vaccination rates slowly rise, according to the states latest data released Saturday.

About 525 people each day tested positive for COVID-19 in New York for the seven days through Friday. Thats up from 369 people for the prior week  a 42% increase.

Its unclear why more people in New York are testing positive at a time when fewer people are getting tested.

The state Department of Health says a higher percentage of cases are linked to more contagious variants. It is urging more people to get vaccinated.

New York City is driving much of the increase, though cases are also rising in parts of Long Island.

Hospitals reported 342 COVID-19 patients as of Friday, similar to 340 patients from last Friday.

About 55% of 20 million New Yorkers are fully vaccinated. Thats up from nearly 48% as of June 6.

Vaccination rates are lowest in parts of western and central New York: about one-third of residents in Allegany County are fully vaccinated. Rates are also lower in parts of New York City: 43% of Bronx residents and 45.5% of Brooklyn residents are fully vaccinated.

___

NASHVILLE, Tenn.  Health officials in Tennessee have linked a small coronavirus cluster to a meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention last month.

It was Nashvilles first large-scale conference after lifting restrictions on gatherings.

The Tennessean reports that Metro Public Health Department epidemiologist Leslie Waller said eight to 10 infections have been detected among attendees, but the cluster is almost certainly larger. Waller said its difficult to know how many other cases there might be because most of the more than 18,000 attendees live out of state.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued an alert asking health officials in other states to contact Nashville health officials if they discover more infections that trace back to the annual meeting of the nations largest Protestant denomination.

Jonathan Howe, a spokesman for the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, said the organization has not alerted attendees about the cluster and is working with city and state health officials to identify its next steps.

___

MOSCOW  Coronavirus deaths in Russia have hit another daily record, with authorities reporting 752 more fatalities amid a continuing surge in infections.

Russias coronavirus task force on Saturday reported 25,082 new coronavirus cases. The daily tally of confirmed infections has soared from around 9,000 in early June to over 23,000 in early July.

Officials have attributed a steady rise in infections and an increase in mortality to the spread of the delta variant.

Despite the surge, the Kremlin has said there are no plans to impose another lockdown. Russia had one nationwide lockdown in the spring of 2020 that lasted six weeks, and the government has resisted another one to avoid damaging the economy.

The coronavirus task force has reported over 5.7 million confirmed coronavirus cases and a total of 142,253 deaths in the pandemic. However, reports by Russias state statistical service Rosstat that tally coronavirus-linked deaths retroactively reveal much higher numbers.

___

BRUSSELS  The European Union says it now has enough doses to meet its goal of vaccinating 70% of the regions adult population by the end of this month.

With infections resurging in many European countries, the next challenge will be ensuring that the doses find takers, as demand wanes in some areas. According to the European Centre for Disease Control, 44% of the adult EU population is fully vaccinated, and 64% have received at least one dose.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Saturday that by Sunday 500 million doses will have been delivered to all regions of the 27-nation EU. She urged member countries to do everything to increase vaccinations.

So far EU countries have administered 386 million doses for the overall population of 447 million, according to the ECDC.

___

PARIS  Music is pulsing from Paris nightclubs for the first time in 16 months as other European countries shut night life down again because of rising coronavirus cases.

The reopening of Paris dance clubs Friday night was the final step in Frances process of lifting pandemic restrictions. The move was meant to mark victory over the virus, since night clubs were among the few venues that had remained closed since March 2020.

But the delta variant is spreading faster than vaccinations in France, and infections are rising again after weeks of decline. President Emmanuel Macron is expected to speak to the nation Monday about the situation, and the government could opt for new restrictions.

At the popular La Bellevilloise club, many people were eager to return to the dance floor. Parisian Laurent Queige called it a liberation, an immense happiness to rediscover the clubbing, the party, friends.

La Bellevilloise owner Renaud Barillet said this weekend could serve as a useful test to see how the public, the organizers, all that reacts and manages to adopt new habits.

___

TOKYO  Tokyo has reported 950 new coronavirus cases, the highest daily number in two months, as infections steadily spread less than two weeks before the city hosts the Summer Olympics.

Saturdays tally compared with 822 confirmed cases reported Friday. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has declared a state of emergency in Tokyo starting Monday to keep the infections from becoming explosive during the Olympics, which open on July 23.

His government initially planned to take less-stringent measures, but came under pressure to issue the emergency order as the more contagious delta strain spread in the Tokyo region.

Experts warned that caseloads could surge to thousands within weeks as people travel on summer vacations and the Olympics draws foreign and domestic visitors to Tokyo.

Despite the recent acceleration of Japans vaccination program, only 16.8% of the population is fully vaccinated. Japan has reported about 812,000 cases and nearly 15,000 deaths in the pandemic.

___

HELSINKI  A passenger arriving in Finland may soon be fined hundreds of euros for refusing to take a coronavirus test.

A new amendment to the Finnish infectious diseases act with regard to border security imposes a fine to a tourist who enters Finland and opposes a required COVID-19 test. The law takes effect July 12 and is valid until Oct. 15.

It already was possible for the police to fine those refusing of COVID-19 tests, but authorities say the amendment will remarkably clarify the situation in judicial terms.

Konsta Arvelin, an inspector at the National Police Board, told the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat on Saturday that the change creates a completely new criminal offense in Finland, titled violation of the COVID-19 test."

Finland has a population of 5.5 million and one of the lowest coronavirus figures in Europe. The Nordic country has maintained tight border control during the pandemic.

___

BEIJING  A Chinese vice foreign minister claims the possibility that the COVID-19 virus leaked from a lab in China has been ruled out, and called on Washington to release more information about how the virus originated as well as how it spread in the U.S.

Le Yucheng on Saturday cited a World Health Organization report saying the pandemic most likely began through the passing of the virus from animals to humans, not from Chinese laboratory. The vice foreign minister reiterated that the origin of the virus remains unknown.

Le said that, "If the U.S. actually respects the truth and transparency, it should accept an international investigation to find the source of the U.S. epidemic, the cause of the U.S.s ineffective fight against the epidemic, and problems at U.S. biological laboratories.

While similar to earlier official statements, Les comments come from a more senior official than in the past, indicating Beijing may be firming up its political stance in the dispute over the virus origins.

Chinas outspoken Foreign Ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, has thrown suspicion on the U.S. military biological laboratory at Fort Detrick, Maryland, calling for an investigation into the possibility the virus originated there. No evidence has been produced to support that claim or that the virus emerged from any U.S. military-run biological lab.

___

BUCHAREST  Moldova is set to receive half a million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines from the United States to help the small nation combat the coronavirus pandemic.

The first 150,000 doses of J&J are set to arrive in Moldova  a country of 3.5 million, Europes poorest sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine  on July 12, U.S. Embassy officials in Moldova said in a statement.

Incumbent Moldovan President Maia Sandu thanked the U.S. for the vaccines and said that they will help save lives, preserve the health of our citizens and reduce the force of the pandemic.

The announcement came days ahead of an early parliamentary election in Moldova that pits pro-Western reformists against a Russia-friendly bloc of Socialists and Communists, with recent polls giving a lead to the former.

Only 305,000 people in Moldova have so far been fully inoculated against COVID-19, around just 11% of the population. Moldova has reported more than 257,000 infections and 6,207 deaths.

___

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka  Sri Lanka has launched a massive vaccination program aimed at inoculating tens of thousands of people in the countrys tourism industry.

It's the latest attempt to contain the spread of the virus and to revive the lucrative tourism industry.

The vaccine drive took place in the countrys southern coast which is famous among tourists for its white sandy beaches. On Saturday, more than 1000 hotel workers, tourist guides and safari drivers were inoculated, said the tourism ministry.

The Ministry said it plans to inoculate 500,000 people who are directly employed in the tourism sector.

COVID-19 has dealt a severe blow to the tourism, which is a vital economic sector for Sri Lanka. Workers and businesses linked to tourism are currently facing crippling employment losses.

Sri Lanka has so far recorded 269,946 confirmed cases and 3,391 deaths.

___

MADRID  Managers at the Hospital del Mar in Barcelona are facing a sharp surge in infections by, once again, rearranging staff shifts and moving patients around in their sprawling facilities.

The increase in Spain comes amid the advance of the delta variant that spreads far more easily. And its being driven mostly by younger, unvaccinated patients who require less ICU care but are turning in droves to health centers and emergency wards. If they reach the point of needing hospitalization, they typically spend longer in regular wards until they recover.

At this facility, the number of COVID-19 patients has gone from eight to 35 in just two weeks. That is far from the hundreds that the hospital nursed at the height of previous virus surges. But it comes as a warning of what could await unless drastic measures are taken against the spread of the virus, according to Juan Pablo Horcajada, who coordinates all the COVID-19 activity there.

___

VALLETTA, Malta  Malta is now requiring proof of vaccination for visitors to the Mediterranean island nation in hopes of stemming the latest rise in coronavirus infections.

Starting Wednesday, visitors must present a COVID-19 vaccination certificate that is recognized by Maltese health authorities, meaning certificates issued by Malta, the European Union or the United Kingdom.

The EUs green passport certifies people who are vaccinated, receive a negative PCR test result or have recovered from COVID-19. But Malta has decided to recognize only those who are fully vaccinated.

Malta will be the first EU country taking this step, said Health Minister Chris Fearne.

Children aged 5-12 can present a negative PCR test, while those under age 5 are exempt.

Malta, which has a population of just over half a million, had 46 active cases on July 1 but the number rose to 252 on Friday. The government says 90% of new cases are among unvaccinated people. Currently 79% of Maltese adults are fully vaccinated.

___

SEOUL, South Korea  South Korea has set a new high in daily coronavirus cases for the third straight day as officials prepare to enforce the strongest social distancing restrictions in the greater capital area.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Saturday that more than 1,000 of the 1,378 new cases were from capital Seoul and nearby Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, a region where officials from Monday will clamp down on private social gatherings of three or more people from 6 p.m. Nightclubs and churches will close, visitors will be banned at nursing homes and hospitals and weddings and funerals will be limited to family-only gatherings.

Dozens of new cases were each reported in major cities and regions across the country, including Busan, Daejeon, Ulsan, South Chungcheong Provine and South Gyeongsang Province.

After adding 9,700 cases in July alone, the countrys caseload is now at 166,722, including 2,038 deaths.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Senate Democrats announced late Tuesday that they'd reached a budget agreement envisioning spending an enormous $3.5 trillion over the coming decade, paving the way for their drive to pour federal resources into climate change, health care and family-service programs sought by President Joe Biden.

The accord marks a major step in the partys push to meet Bidens goal of bolstering an economy that was ravaged by the pandemic and setting it on course for long-term growth  and includes a Medicare expansion of vision, hearing and dental benefits for older Americans, a goal of progressives.

But Democrats behind the agreement face possible objections from their rival moderate and progressive factions, and will have to work hard to convert their plans into legislation they can push through the closely divided Congress over what could be unanimous Republican opposition.

We are very proud of this plan, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters. We know we have a long road to go. Were going to get this done for the sake of making average Americans' lives a whole lot better.

Biden was set to attend a closed-door lunch at the Capitol on Wednesday with all Senate Democrats to lead us on to getting this wonderful plan enacted, Schumer said.

All told, the ambitious proposal reflects Bidens vision for making the most substantive potential investments in the nation in years, some say on par with the New Deal of the 1930s. Together with a slimmer, $1 trillion bipartisan effort of traditional road, highway and public works also being negotiated, they represent close to the presidents initial $4 trillion-plus effort that could reach almost every corner of the country.

The Democrats' goal is to push a budget resolution reflecting Tuesday's agreement through the House and Senate before lawmakers leave for their August recess. The resolution sets only broad spending and revenue parameters, leaving the actual funding and specific decisions about which programs are affected  and by exactly how much  for later legislation.

Nonetheless, approving a budget will be a major boon for the Democrats' effort to enact their subsequent funding bill. Thats because the budget contains language that would let Democrats move the follow-up spending measure through the 50-50 Senate with just a simple majority, not the 60 votes Republicans could demand by using a bill-killing filibuster.

The later spending legislation will likely not start moving through Congress until the fall.

Separately Tuesday, a bipartisan group of senators continued working on a third measure that would spend around $1 trillion on roads, water systems and other infrastructure projects, another Biden priority. Biden and 10 senators  five from each party  had agreed to an outline of that compromise measure last month, and bargainers have worked ever since to flesh it out.

In discussing the budget agreement, Schumer and other lawmakers did not respond when asked if they had the support of all 50 Democratic senators, which they will need to succeed. They also have virtually no margin for error in the House, where they will be able to lose no more than three Democratic votes and still prevail.

Moderates like Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., might still demand further changes to reduce the plan's price tag and impact on already huge federal deficits. Progressives in both chambers might insist on beefing it up or other changes.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the Budget Committee chairman, and other progressives pushed initially for a $6 trillion budget top line while party moderates insisted on a far lower price tag. Biden had proposed around $4.5 trillion.

The Democrats' announcement Tuesday left many questions about their budget accord unanswered. These included how much it would raise through tax increases on the wealthy and corporations and other revenue to pay for its costs; how much would be spent on specific programs; and how Bidens proposals would be curtailed or eliminated to fit into the legislation.

Schumer said the proposal would call for financing Bidens budget priorities in a robust way. He also said it would include a priority of Sanders and other progressives: an expansion of Medicare, the federal health insurance program for older people, to cover dental, vision and hearing services.

Sanders said the agreement would end an era in which, he said, rich people and big companies werent bearing enough of the burden of financing government programs.

Those days are gone, he said. The wealthy and large corporations are going to start paying their fair share of taxes, so that we can protect the working families of this country.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., a leading moderate who helped shape the budget package, said the measure would be fully paid for with offsetting revenue but provided no detail. Biden has proposed financing the measure with higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations and beefing up the IRS's budget so it can collect more revenue from scofflaws.

The budget will include language calling for no tax increases on people making less than $400,000 a year, a Biden demand, or on small businesses. The provision was described by a Democratic aide who requested anonymity to discuss the negotiations.

On infrastructure, senators from both parties met Tuesday evening and their bipartisan deal appeared back on track, after days of disputes. Lawmakers said they were aiming for a new Thursday deadline to wrap up the details despite opposition from business leaders, outside activists and some GOP senators over how to pay for it.

The bipartisan infrastructure effort was thrown into doubt earlier Tuesday when Republicans said it was unlikely it would be ready for a vote next week, as hoped.

But senators exiting the meeting suggested they hadnt so much resolved the questions over how to pay for the package but moved past them  apparently accepting that some of the proposed revenue streams may not pass muster in formal assessments by the Congressional Budget Office, the lawmakers nonpartisan fiscal scorekeeper.

Manchin said he hoped that the CBOs score, as it is called, would show that everythings paid for. If not, well have to make some adjustments.

Even if the bipartisan group can meet its new deadline for agreement, its still a long shot the bill would be ready for a vote next week.

Senators have struggled to agree to revenue streams to fund the $1 trillion plan, which includes about $579 billion in new spending beyond regular expenditures already funded by gas taxes and other sources.

At least 10 Republican senators would be needed to back the infrastructure bill, joining with all 50 Democrats to reach the 60-vote threshold because it would still be vulnerable to a filibuster.

___

Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.
Reporter

Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk).
Among those guest narrating this week's trip down memory lane: three FBI agents who helped bring down the Unabomber and three former Illini who didn't see their coach's retirement announcement coming.
Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death.

Submit
The Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force is offering a reward for information which would lead to the capture of fugitives Kevin McKitrick and Justin Hamilton, according to a news release.
Asia accounts for more than half of the over five million global deaths attributed to ambient cold and hot temperatures, according to an international study. But many governments are failing to prioritize health in their climate change strategies, experts warn.

The study, published 1 July in The Lancet Planetary Health, found that mortality rates in low-lying and crowded coastal cities in East and South Asia were particularly affected by temperature.

Researchers found that 9.4 per cent of global deaths from 2000 to 2019 could be attributed to non-optimal temperatures, with most of those caused by exposure to cold. However, this is predicted to change as global warming increases heat-related deaths.

Over 2.4 million people died annually due to cold in Asia, followed by 1.18 million cold-related deaths in Africa. But our findings show that in the long-term global warming is expected to increase the heat-related mortality burden." Yuming Guo, study author, professor, Monash University's School of Public Health and Preventive Medicinein Australia

The findings come as the Global Climate and Health Alliance warns that governments are not doing enough to prioritize health in their national climate commitments ahead of COP26, the UN climate change summit, later this year. This is despite extreme temperatures, resulting in heatwaves, forest fires and cold snaps, having severe impacts on health.

The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2019 showed that non-optimal temperatures were among the 10 leading causes of death worldwide.

"Understanding the geographic patterns of temperature-related mortality is important for future climate change and health-related policies and strategies," says Guo. "During the 20-year period (2000-2019), earth's temperature increased by 0.26 degree Centigrade per decade. This reduced cold-related deaths by 0.51 per cent and increased heat-related mortality by 0.21 per cent, which led to a reduction in net mortality due to hot and cold temperatures."

The study also calculated the global annual excess death ratio and excess death rate to evaluate the geographical variation in temperature-related mortality burden.

Of all excess deaths, about 51 per cent occurred in Asia, 24 per cent in Africa, 16 per cent in Europe, eight per cent in the Americas, and 0.5 per cent in Oceania.

Fiona Armstrong, executive director of the Climate and Health Allianc esays: "This study confirms that we can expect more deaths worldwide from heat exposure driven by climate change, which poses a threat to people's health in the short and long term.

"Nations must urgently prepare their health systems to cope, not only with the increased illness and deaths from heat, but with all climate-related health impacts -- extreme weather, novel infections and vector-borne diseases, mental distress, food and water insecurity, and more."

"Wealthy countries, like Australia, must bear their fair share of the global responsibility for reducing emissions and supporting lower-income countries to make the transition, accounting for historic emissions and health equity."
Women who received free meals in primary school have children with improved linear growth, according to a new study by researchers at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

India is home to the highest number of undernourished children and the largest school feeding program in the world--the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) scheme--yet long-term program benefits on nutrition are unknown. As school feeding programs target children outside the highest-return "first 1000-days" window spanning from conception until a child's second birthday, they have not been a focal point in the global agenda to address stunting. School meals benefit education and nutrition in participants, but no studies have examined whether benefits carry over to their children.

Findings from previous evaluations of India's MDM scheme have shown a positive association with beneficiaries' school attendance, learning achievement, hunger and protein-energy malnutrition, and resilience to health shocks such as drought--all of which may have carryover benefits to children born to mothers who participated in the program." Harold Alderman, Study Co-Author

The study, "Intergenerational nutrition benefits of India's national school feeding program", co-authored by University of Washington's Suman Chakrabarti and IFPRI's Samuel Scott, Harold Alderman, Purnima Menon and Daniel Gilligan, was published in Nature Communications. The authors used nationally representative data on mothers and their children spanning 1993 to 2016 to assess whether MDM supports intergenerational improvements in child linear growth. Further, they suggest a potential pathway through which school feeding programs may have intergenerational effects on child nutrition outcomes.

The study found that investments made in school meals in previous decades were associated with improvements in future child linear growth. "Our findings suggest that intervening during the primary school years can make important contributions to reducing future child stunting, particularly given the cumulative exposure that is possible through school feeding programs," explains study co-author Suman Chakrabarti.

Study results also show that school meals may contribute to education, later fertility decisions, and access to health care, reducing the risk of undernutrition in the next generation. "School feeding programs such as India's MDM scheme have the potential for stimulating population-level stunting reduction as they are implemented at scale and target multiple underlying determinants of undernutrition in vulnerable groups," explains study co-author Samuel Scott. Importantly, further research is required to understand whether improving the quality or quantity of meals provided and extending the program beyond primary school might further enhance its benefits.
An inflammatory-aging clock called developed by Stanford University School of Medicine and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging can predict how strong your immune system will be in 10 years, when you'll become frail or whether you may develop cardiovascular diseases a few years down the road.

The research, published in the journal Nature Aging, shows how the inflammatory-aging clock or iAge predicts a person's immunological decline and the risk for incurring age-related diseases and frailty.

Good and bad inflammation

The immune system is responsible for protecting us from foreign invaders such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and toxic chemicals. The immune system is a group of cells that work together to counter threats to health, such as injuries and pathogen attacks. In response to a threat, it mounts a quick, intense, localized, and short-term response, called acute inflammation.

Good inflammation is a natural response of the immune system to invaders or infection. It emerges and goes away in a few days. However, chronic inflammation occurs with aging. As people grow older, low-grade inflammation occurs, causing organ damage and increases susceptibility to chronic diseases such as heart attacks, strokes, cancer, neurodegeneration, and immunity.

To date, there are no accurate assessment criteria to determine a person's inflammatory status that could predict impending diseases and clinical issues.

Inflammatory aging clock

The inflammatory aging clock (iAge) is more accurate than biological age in predicting the immune system's strength, how soon a person becomes weak or undiagnosed chronic diseases.

This new method could help doctors and clinicians determine an older person's risk for diseases that could take a toll on their overall health. The study also shed light on why some people, though the same age, are not similar in their health status.

The differing rates at which the decline of the immune system can explain why some older adults are disease-prone at the same age while others are perfectly healthy.

To arrive at the study findings and the accurate inflammatory aging clock, the team collected blood immunome from 1,001 individuals between the ages of 8 and 96. They developed a deep-learning tool based on the patterns of systemic age-related inflammation. Called iAge, the resulting inflammatory aging clock could help predict multimorbidity and other conditions related to aging.

Chemokines and chronic illness

The researchers noted that the most potent contributor to iAge was CXCL9, a chemokine involved in cardiac aging, poor vascular function, and adverse cardiac remodeling. The CXCL9 is secreted by immune cells to attract other immune cells to the site of injury or infection. At the age of 60, the levels of this chemokine start to increase.

They later found that higher levels of CXCL9 are tied to an elevated risk for strokes, kidney failure, and heart attacks. Apart from this, CXCL9 levels are also linked to the hardening of arterial walls and excessive thickness of the heart's left ventricle. All these are predisposing factors to cardiovascular disease.

"In conclusion, we identify a key role of CXCL9 in age-related chronic inflammation and derive a metric for multimorbidity that can be utilized for the early detection of age-related clinical phenotypes," the team concluded in the study.

When the team performed experiments on tissue from mice and human cells, they found that decreasing CXCL9 levels have restored youthful endothelia-cell function. The findings suggest that chemokine is directly related to cell dysfunction. Thus, inhibiting CXCL9 can be a promising treatment to reduce the risk of cardiovascular illness.

In a nutshell, the team concluded that the inflammatory aging clock's ability to detect accelerated cardiovascular aging could help doctors treat aging patients. Aside from that, it can be used to detect the likelihood of developing chronic diseases early, paving the way for timely treatment.

Source:
Experts in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at the DZNE are optimizing the operation of MRI scanners as part of an international research effort to enable visualization of finer details of the human brain. This is to detect pathological changes that occur in "spinocerebellar ataxias", which are neurodegenerative diseases manifested by movement disturbances and other impairments. The project, coordinated by the DZNE, is scheduled for three years and is funded under the aegis of the "EU Joint Programme - Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND)" with a total of about 1.4 million euros. Of this, the DZNE will receive around 630,000 euros provided by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

MRI provides insights into the inside of the human body - and into the brain in particular - through the ingenious combination of magnetic fields and radio waves. Hydrogen atoms, which are abundant in the body's tissues, are thereby induced to emit electromagnetic signals that are received through antennas and translated into images by computer. In this, the magnetic base field, whose strength is measured in "tesla", plays an important role. In clinical routine, scanners operating with up to three tesla are mostly used. Higher field strengths - experts refer to this as "ultrahigh-field MRI" - are still mainly reserved for research.

Inhomogeneous fields

The current project named "SCAIFIELD" addresses 7-tesla MRI. There are about 20 of these devices throughout Europe, including at the DZNE in Bonn. Although the high field strength in principle enables a particularly high spatial resolution - it thus has the potential to capture minute details - this technique also entails challenges. That's because, due to physics, in 7-tesla MRI, the wavelength of the radio waves in the tissue is smaller than the size of the human head.

"We have wave peaks and troughs that spread across the brain and can also overlap. As a result, the strength of the electromagnetic field is not the same everywhere. This degrades the signal-to-noise ratio in some places, and thus the possible resolution. In the center of the brain, the image quality is good and gets worse toward the outside," says Prof. Tony Stocker, a physicist and MRI expert at the DZNE in Bonn, who coordinates the SCAIFIELD consortium. "In a way, it's like illuminating a large mural in a dark room with a flashlight. Outside the light spot, the painting remains in semi-darkness. Details are then difficult to make out."

Parallel transmission

Since a few years, there is an approach to correct these inhomogeneities: "parallel transmission" (pTx). Instead of generating radio waves in the conventional way with just one transmitting coil, several transmitting coils are used simultaneously and controlled separately.

This results in numerous degrees of freedom, because you can individually adjust the amplitude of the radio waves and their phase relation to each other. The hardware for this is available in the form of special transmitting coils. But development is still in the early stages for the control programs needed to optimally operate such coil configurations." Prof. Tony Stocker, Physicist and MRI Expert, DZNE

Room for adjustment

This is exactly where SCAIFIELD comes in: In collaboration with experts from Belgium, Norway and Turkey, the DZNE researchers want to develop measuring protocols and other procedures to make maximum use of existing MRI technology. "We benefit from the fact that many parameters of MRI scanners can be set via software. This offers enormous flexibility, but also makes the task complex," says Stocker.

The project partners are taking on complementary work packages: The DZNE focuses on the control programs for the brain scanners - also called "MRI sequences" -, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim and Bilkent University in Ankara contribute know-how on the pTx methodology, and experts from the University of Liege will develop software for data analysis.

Quantitative biomarkers

"Ultimately, we want to generate metrics that can be used to quantify pathological brain changes with numerical values. We talk about quantitative biomarkers here," says Stocker. "We are aiming for a resolution of half a millimeter - in all three dimensions. The tissue volumes we image in this way would be almost ten times smaller than what is currently standard in MRI brain images. Thus, we could capture finer details." The aim is not just to measure the extents of brain structures. The researchers also want to precisely determine tissue properties - such as water transport capacity, water content and other parameters - as well as blood flow through fine vessels. All these parameters provide information about the condition of the brain.

Clinical study

The MRI procedures optimized in this way will be used in a clinical study involving individuals with a genetic mutation leading to spinocerebellar ataxia. This will happen in Bonn and at four other European sites. The spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) are a group of rare neurological inherited disorders that affect balance, motor coordination and speech. In patients with the disease, brain changes occur that are predominantly found in the cerebellum and brain stem. To date, there are no effective therapies.

"Interventional trials against several types of SCA are in preparation," says Prof. Thomas Klockgether, Director of Clinical Research at DZNE, who leads the clinical work package of SCAIFIELD. "Thus, there is an urgent need for highly sensitive biomarkers that are able to detect subtle brain changes and measure treatment effects. With SCAIFIELD we aim to identify new imaging biomarkers that can detect early disease manifestation, monitor progression, and serve as outcome measures for future therapeutic and preventive trials in SCA. Clinical research into other brain diseases could also benefit from the methods emerging from the project."

Clinical investigations will start in the second year of the project and will go hand in hand with method development. The patient organization "Euro-ataxia" is actively involved in SCAIFIELD, supporting the consortium regarding patient information and communication activities and contributing the perspective of individuals with SCA and their families.
Clapping for the NHS revealed the desire to express gratitude during the pandemic, and now researchers have created a virtual tool to enable people to say thank you more easily.

Launched as Englands Covid19 lockdown restrictions are lifting, the Gratitude Tree is a website where anyone can plant a virtual tree for any groups or themes - like thanking the NHS or their colleagues - and then add virtual leaves to the tree with their expression of thanks.

It was developed by researchers involved in the Citizen Forensics project based at The Open University, Lancaster University, and Lero - the Irish Software Research Centre - and is part of the 1M Citizen Forensics project funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The Citizen Forensics team are investigating how digital technologies impact on, and have the potential to enhance, citizen collaboration with authorities (including the police) to solve problems that are relevant to a community.

Clapping for the NHS earlier in the pandemic showed how people like to express their gratitude so this is an opportunity for people to share, and read messages of gratitude from others relating to Covid-19 - or indeed anything else. Our digital gratitude tree is a way to keep that spirit going. Dr Zoe Walkington, OU Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Counselling and member of the Citizen Forensics project

The project site highlights published research which suggests that gratitude is associated not only with better psychological wellbeing but even better physical health. In addition, both receiving and giving thanks have been shown to contribute towards positive emotions.

Professor Mark Levine of Lancaster University said: After seeing expressions of thanks and gratitude on social and mainstream media during the pandemic, we wanted to find new ways of harnessing the power of thanking others.

Professor Arosha Bandara from The Open University, who leads the project, explains: Our research into Citizen Forensics had started well before the pandemic and made us aware of the importance of online communities, but when the pandemic started this was felt all the more keenly. We therefore had the idea of developing a central place in which people could publicly share thanks with their communities.

Contributions to the site will be anonymous and will not be analysed by the academics, but visitors to the site will be given an opportunity to take part in other related research projects.

One leaf planted on the tree expresses gratitude for the staff at the Princess Royal University Hospital, for their incredible care and compassion while another reads We are feeling sad, lucky and all kinds of weird in equal measure. But I think there is an awful lot to be grateful for.

The ultimate aim of the project is for the forest to grow and enable people all over the world to plant their own trees and thank their own contacts. The academics want people to interact with the tree, to use it to develop new trees for groups they want to thank and to add new leaves to existing trees.
A study on 149 healthcare professionals in Spain and Mexico reveals that, during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, 57.8% of them suffered from mental disorders such as anxiety, acute stress and depression.

This is stated in the doctoral thesis of Ivan Echeverria, a doctoral student at CEU Cardenal Herrera University, whose research has just been published in the scientific journalInternationalJournal of Environmental Research and Public Health. The results indicate that the moral courage shown by healthcare professionals to face the first wave was one of the factors that increased the risk of suffering from mental illness.

Echeverria's thesis has been carried out at the CEU Cardenal Herrera University, under the direction of Dr. Gonzalo Haro, professor of Mental Health in the Medicine degree and principal investigator of the TXP Group, and Ana Benito, a member of the same group. This thesis studies the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of healthcare workers, as well as the role of factors such as moral courage and purpose in life in preventing the appearance of mental disorders in these professionals. The study was carried out on a sample of 149 health professionals: doctors, nurses, psychologists, assistant nursing care technicians, hospital porters, and also administrative, security or kitchen staff. It compares the results between 90 Spanish professionals, belonging to the Castellon Health Department, and 59 professionals from the Psychiatric Hospital of Campeche, in Mexico.

The research shows that 57.8% of the Spanish healthcare professionals in the first wave presented anxiety, depression or acute stress, while only 39% of their Mexican counterparts suffered from one of these disorders, who were still at the beginning of the pandemic. "We have been surprised that this psychopathology is not related so much to occupational exposure to the COVID-19 virus, but is mainly due to the exposure of friends and family to this virus" says professor Gonzalo Haro. Among the referred mental illnesses, Spanish professionals have suffered mainly from Anxiety Disorder, in 43.7%; followed by Acute Stress Disorder, in 32.6%; and, to a lesser extent, Major Depressive Disorder, in 21.3% of the cases.

"Healthcare kamikazes": moral courage and mental health

The idea for the study came to Ivan Echeverria when he was confined, waiting to join as a resident doctor, and read an article published in the New York Times about "healthcare kamikazes", referring to the courage of Spanish healthcare workers in the first wave of the pandemic. "Moral courage", defined as the set of moral values that gives these professionals the determination to go to work for their patients despite the danger of contagion, was a risk factor for their mental health. "This phenomenon is explained by the concept of "moral distress ", which occurs when the professional cannot act according to their values due to external factors that prevent it, as happened in the first wave of the pandemic due to the lack of personal or personal protective equipment (PPE)", adds Dr. Ana Benito.

Another factor that has influenced the appearance of these disorders is the "purpose in life", which is defined as the perception that a person has about the goal and value of their life. In this first article of his doctoral thesis, Ivan Echeverria highlights that "a high purpose in life behaves as a protective factor against anxiety, depression and acute stress. In the same way, a low purpose can favor the appearance of these disorders".

From the waves of infections, to the "flood" in mental health

The three researchers emphasize the relevance of these results at a time when Spain is facing a "fifth wave", with its healthcare professionals physically and mentally exhausted.

The mental health problems of healthcare professionals and workers from other essential areas, as well as of the world population, will not be like waves with a visible peak due to the increase of infections, hospital admissions and deaths, but will be reflected in the form of a flood, with a slow but lasting rise. A flood of emotional suffering and mental disorders for which we are not prepared in the health sector, nor in the social sphere." Gonzalo Haro, Professor of Mental Health in the Degree in Medicine at CEU UCH

Ivan Echeverria, a doctoral student at the CEINDO school of CEU UCH, has carried out the research for his doctoral thesis under the direction of Dr. Ana Benito, clinical psychologist at the Torrent Mental Health Unit, and Professor Gonzalo Haro, director of the group TXP Research Center at CEU Cardenal Herrera University.
A study by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has found that as the type of COVID-19 misinformation rectified by Singapore's mainstream news media evolved over the course of the pandemic, the role played by the media in debunking those myths became increasingly important to citizens in the nation's fight to manage the outbreak.

Out of 2,000 news articles on COVID-19 published between 1 January to 30 April 2020, the NTU team analyzed 164 news articles.

The team observed that news reports correcting science and health-related COVID-19 misinformation were dominant at the start of the outbreak due to the uncertainty surrounding the nature of the coronavirus, but then tapered off over the course of the pandemic's first four months.

Meanwhile, false information about government policies and measures implemented during the outbreak became increasingly reported on and subsequently corrected, found the communication researchers from NTU's Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information (NTU WKWSCI).

The type of misinformation that was corrected in mainstream media also evolved over the course of the four months, changing from fabricated misinformation - defined as made-up, completely false claims - to reconfigured misinformation, defined as a mix of authentic and fabricated information.

An example of fabricated content corrected by mainstream media includes false claims alleging that an MRT station was closed for disinfection due to COVID-19 when it was operational. An example of reconfigured misinformation rectified by mainstream media includes a WhatsApp post about a food delivery rider being fined $300 for wearing a cloth mask when the rider was, in fact, approaching the police officer for assistance.

The study findings highlight how public health crises like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic can be the perfect breeding ground for misinformation, as well as the potential for mainstream media to play an important role in debunking myths as part of the nation's wider pandemic efforts.

At the beginning of the pandemic we were seeing misinformation that is clearly fake based on clear visual and text cues, but as the pandemic evolved with latter phases and infodemic waves, the misinformation styles and presentation became more sophisticated and harder for the lay audience to discern." "This is where the mainstream news media, with their social importance, wide reach, and role as a credible information source to the public during times of uncertainty, can play a crucial role in the timely dissemination of misinformation correction and prevent people from being hoodwinked and acting on potentially harmful misinformation. It is important to combat the propagation of misinformation, which can undermine key public health communication efforts and worsen the strain on public health systems." Professor May Oo Lwin, Chair of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information and Study's Lead Author

The study was published in the scientific journal Health Communication in June.

Evolving misinformation

From more than 2,000 news articles on COVID-19 identified from a database through keywords related to the coronavirus and misinformation, the NTU team selected 164 unique Singapore-specific articles for analysis based on criteria such as articles with keywords mentioned in the headline and lead.

In these 164 articles, the team found 100 unique misinformation claims that were corrected 305 times. Of these 100 unique claims, 59% of the misinformation claims reported by the mainstream news media were based on fabricated information, while the remaining 41% were reconfigured misinformation.

To study how the mainstream newspaper's coverage and correction of COVID-19 misinformation varied across the pandemic timeline in Singapore, the researchers divided their study into different stages:

pre-outbreak stage (1 Jan to 22 Jan);

initial outbreak stage, between the first COVID-19 case and right before the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (Dorscon) level was raised to orange (23 Jan to 6 Feb);

first wave of the outbreak, (7 Feb to 4 Apr); and

second wave of the outbreak (5 Apr to 30 Apr).

In the pre-outbreak stage, fabricated misinformation accounted for 87% of the corrections published in mainstream media. However, by the second wave of the outbreak, the proportion of rectified fabricated misinformation published in mainstream media had dipped to 48%.

More than half (55%) of the misinformation that was corrected in the pre-outbreak stage was about science and health, but this figure gradually dipped to just 8% by the second wave of the outbreak. Meanwhile, the proportion of misinformation related to government policy and measures that was corrected jumped from 11% at the start to 42% during the second wave.

The researchers also found that misinformation on government policy and measures (68%), as well as science and health (66%) found on social media was more likely to be fabricated. Misinformation related to scams was more likely to be reconfigured, that is, a mix of authentic and fabricated information (88%).

Associate Professor Edson Tandoc Jr. of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information and co-author of the paper said: "As the news media fact-checks what goes viral, the fact-checks also reflect the trend in misinformation swirling around. We see that the types of misinformation that spread are affected by the actual situation, and to some extent this is what makes them go viral, because they seem to be timely and relevant to what's going on.

"In the earlier stages of the pandemic, most misinformation centred on what's happening outside Singapore as well as on the origin of and remedies for COVID-19; when it hit Singapore and measures were being put in place, the misinformation messages switched to being about social distancing ambassadors fining violators or drivers being fined for wearing cloth masks."

Trust in Singapore media improved amid pandemic

The importance of the media in fighting misinformation during a health crisis was reiterated in a separate survey of over 2,000 Singaporeans commissioned by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) at Oxford University, which found that trust in media has increased amid lingering concerns over misinformation during the pandemic.

The survey, done in collaboration with researchers at the Centre for Information Integrity and the Internet (IN-cube) at NTU WKWSCI was part of the recently published global Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2021, and found that 50% said they could trust most of the news content that they consume, up from 42% during the same period last year, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Singapore.

This increased trust in the news exists alongside lingering concern over false information online. Close to two-thirds of those polled (64.8%) remained concerned about false information online, a marginal dip from last year (65.8%).

Assoc Proc Tandoc, who is also director at NTU's IN-cube, said: "These findings in Singapore, which found that interest in news, even from traditional news outlets, increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, are consistent with those from many countries around the world. The increased interest in news during the pandemic may explain the increase in the level of trust in news media as the public relied on the news to keep track of the outbreak."
Earlier this year, Viji Santhakumar, an associate professor of molecular, cell and systems biology at the University of California, Riverside, received funding from the National Institute of Neurological Disaster and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, to further pursue research on moderate concussive brain injury. Now three scientists in her lab have received federal funding -- no small achievement for a university research group.

Department of Defense award

Deepak Subramanian, a postdoctoral researcher, has received a three-year Department of Defense Idea Development Award of $466,000 to examine the "molecular and immune axis of neurological deficits in posttraumatic epilepsy." The project starts July 15.

Subramanian explained that traumatic brain injury, or TBI, often sets off an avalanche of immune responses, which can disrupt downstream molecular signaling cascades and result in altered neuronal function and subsequent development of posttraumatic epilepsy, or PTE.

We believe targeting early immune responses and their downstream molecular targets are key to effectively mitigate long-term consequences of TBI." Deepak Subramanian, Postdoctoral Researcher, UCR

PTEs are a form of acquired epilepsy where an injury to the brain predisposes it to developing seizures in the future. Commonly referred to as the "silent epidemic," PTEs are often associated with poor functional outcomes and increased mortality.

"Our study will identify a potential marker for subsequent development of PTE, which can help identify individuals at risk," Subramanian said. "Importantly, identifying a critical link between immune-molecular signaling cascades that are activated in response to brain injury will highlight a potential therapeutic target."

According to Subramanian, the development of PTE is notoriously unpredictable, with no effective way to identify individuals at risk or reduce the risk of developing PTE.

"Insights from our study will provide much needed tools to help identify individuals at risk of developing PTE and highlight a clinically relevant therapeutic target to mitigate long-term neurological consequences," he said. "These findings will immensely help civilians, soldiers, and war veterans suffering from traumatic brain injury."

The grant will support Subramanian and a lab technician.

NIH fellowships

Graduate students Laura Dovek and Susan Nguyen have each won a Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award.

The four-year fellowship to Dovek of more than $46,000 per year will allow her to better understand a subset of granule cells -- semilunar granule cells -- in the brain's hippocampus, which plays an important role in learning and social interactions. A granule cell, which is very small, is a kind of neuron in the brain involved in learning and memory, and it plays a role in processing information.

"Our lab has previously examined semilunar granule cells," said Dovek, who expects to receive her doctoral degree in late 2023. "The objective of the proposed study is to determine the role of semilunar granule cells in information processing, and their involvement in microcircuit changes related to epilepsy to gain insights into mechanisms of cognitive comorbidities of epilepsy and enable novel treatment approaches."

Nguyen, who was awarded a one-year predoctoral fellowship by the American Epilepsy Society last year, will study how an innate immune receptor in the brain, known as Toll-like Receptor 4, or TLR4, affects neuronal inhibition in the injured and uninjured brain as well as its role in the development of post-traumatic epilepsy and effect on memory functions after brain injury.

"How neural immune interactions affect neuronal excitability is still widely understudied," said Nguyen, who expects to receive her doctoral degree in late 2022. "Our lab is one of the first to characterize the role of neuronal TLR4 in neuronal changes following brain injury and found that pharmacologically blocking TLR4 24 hours following brain injury can have beneficial effects while blocking TLR4 in the uninjured brain can be deleterious."

The proposed study will shed light on whether inhibitory currents and specific inhibitory interneurons are involved in TLR4 signaling before and after brain injury. The researchers hope to better understand interactions between the immune system and memory dysfunction and changes in neuronal signaling following mild to moderate concussive brain injuries.

The Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award to Nguyen covers two and a half years at more than $46,000 per year.

"Deepak, Susan, and Laura are dedicated and talented researchers," Santhakumar said. "I am delighted by their richly deserved success in receiving federal funding to pursue their projects in my lab. I am privileged to mentor such a motivated team of trainees and am confident the fellowships will be the first of many such honors that will mark their careers."

Santhakumar came to UC Riverside in 2018 from Rutgers University. Her graduate student, Lucas Corrubia, who is currently a Rutgers student but conducts his research at UCR, received the Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award through the NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in September 2019. Earlier this year, Dovek received a predoctoral fellowship from the American Epilepsy Society; she declined it in favor of the Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award.
Several new contributions in the health sector have been made possible by 3D printing technology in the fight against COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). 3D printing or additive manufacturing (AM) has enabled rapid prototyping and scalability. This technology is notable for its flexibility in structural design, waste minimization, mass customization, and complex architectural manufacturing.

COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact globally, with over 187 million infected individuals and 4 million deaths. A variety of scientific research, prototyping, methods, and technologies, large-scale manufacturing, etc. occurred as a result of this impact. By printing PPEs, medical devices, personal accessories, and isolation wards using 3D printing technology, we were able to meet this unprecedented crisis.

In a recent review published in the journal, Advanced Functional Materials, researchers K. P. A. Kumar and Martin Pumera focused on the contributions of 3D printing technology towards the health sector in the wake of this deadly pandemic. They discussed various 3D printing techniques, prototypes for medical appliances, detailed analysis of printed parts, safety regulations, and also certain shortcomings associated with the technique.

They have detailed how 3D printing techniques efficiently handled the pandemic over other conventional methods of printing. In short, the article examines how helpful 3D printing can be in similar cases of emergency in the future as well, noted the authors.

Overview of 3D Printing

The revolution of the 3D printing emerged in the 1980s, printing various objects in a bottom-up method by the digitally-controlled process of fabricating 3D structures in a layer-by-layer manner.

The components to be printed are initially designed using a computer-aided design (CAD) software or by 3D scanner or by photogrammetry (a combination of images from different positions) and printed directly from STL files (files that store information about 3D models; a file format native to the stereolithography CAD software created by 3D System). These files are easily accessible through websites or specific community sites.

These STL files undergo a slicing process, get converted to a G-code file that contains the geometrical information about the structure, and finally direct the printer to start printing 2D layers on top of each other to make a 3D structure. There are different types of printing techniques based on the printable material such as metals, thermoplastics, carbon-based composites, ceramics, the complexity of printed structure, the cost-effective approach, and targeted applications.

Various 3D printing techniques include 1) Fused deposition modeling (FDM) - filaments melted and extruded via a nozzle in layers stacked to form a 3D structure; 2) Stereolithography (SLA) - uses UV light to focus on a thin film of photopolymer resin to solidify it to a 3D printed structure, 3) Selective laser sintering (SLS) - a powdery material is melted by heat source into layers of a solid structure, and 4) Polyjet technology - employs a photocuring technique.

Evidently, 3D printing has contributed phenomenally towards industry and academia, and recently in handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

3D Printed Medical and Safety Devices

With the rapid prototyping ability of 3D printing, the digital printing world helped limit the spread of the virus at a significant level.

During the pandemic of COVID-19, 3D printing was pivotal for producing personal protective equipment, the first physical barrier against the virus. It included facemasks, face shields, protective eyewear, and also personalized 3D printed masks. For example, during the first COVID-19 wave, Prusa, a well-known Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) manufacturer in the Czech Republic, 3D printed nearly 200,000 face shields for medics and professionals.

A Canada-based company called Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen) invested more than $21 million in manufacturing companies to produce face shields, ventilators, and test kits in a limited time frame.

Parts of the N95 and KN95 masks were also 3D printed to replace defective or broken bands, ensuring a longer lifetime of the masks. Following regulatory and safety specifications, CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, designed 3D printed flexible and washable masks with replaceable filters.

Additionally, 3D printed medical accessories such as ventilators and ventilator valves (to support OCVID-19 patients experiencing breathing difficulties), HEPA filters (for safety measures), and splitters (used for multiple the supply of oxygen to patients) were made available.

At a time when the demand for 3D printed valves for respirators was and is still on rise, in many parts of the world, a prompt action taken by an Italian engineering startup called Isinnova (Italy) proved to be life-saving.

While 3D printed nasopharyngeal swabs and test kits came in handy in collecting samples for COVID-19 testing, 3D printed negative airflow isolation chambers and mobile wards to quarantine patients were highly useful as they were able to be constructed in record time.

Hands-free accessories such as door openers, button pushers, wristbands to carry sanitizers, etc., were also 3D printed; these aid in reducing the contact from a contaminated surface.

Image Credit: Carolina Jaramillo

The review has listed a few institutes/communities that came forward to print the 3D medical components to fight the pandemic. However, the reviewers emphasized the importance of safety and regulatory norms. They said, manufacturers of 3D printed medical devices must synchronize their production work with concerned sectors for accountability, quality, and safety assurance.

Comparing 3D printing with conventional methods in COVID-19 times, it is evident that due to lockdown restrictions and shortage of manpower, 3D printing helped manufacture the essential emergency medical equipment.

Conclusions and Future Perspective

During these difficult times, 3D printing became an appealing prospect to the medical community and provided immense possibilities that saved lives. This review examines how this technology has benefited the medical community during a sudden disruption in supply.

As a parallel manufacturing method, 3D printing technology may prove beneficial in times of emergency, such as this current pandemic, because it is capable of rapid prototyping. Biodegradable materials will thus open up tremendous possibilities for dealing with future epidemics and write the reviewers.
The Biden administration will support whatever expansions to Medicare Congress is willing to make, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said Tuesday.

Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill are working on plans both to add benefits to the health program for seniors and to lower its eligibility age from 65 to 60. But the efforts are mired in competing priorities among different wings of the party as they try to push through a spending plan this year that Republicans have vowed to oppose. President Joe Biden called for the change in Medicare age eligibility while campaigning in 2020.

But asked if the administration has a preference on which Medicare provisions Congress takes up, Becerra said, "Our preference is to get it done. What's the 'it'? We'll take everything we can get."

In a wide-ranging sit-down interview for KHN's "What the Health?" podcast, Becerra also said he will support efforts to bring down drug prices, including allowing importation from such countries as Canada that have lower prices and giving Medicare the ability to negotiate prices.

In addition, he said he's looking forward to efforts to expand the Affordable Care Act, now that it has been upheld  again  by the Supreme Court last month.

As California's attorney general for the previous four years, Becerra led a coalition of Democratic state officials that defended the 2010 health law in that case from efforts by Republican state officials and the Trump administration to have it declared unconstitutional.

"Now we're playing offense," he said. "We've got the ball and we've got to march it down the field, and we intend to because there are many Americans who still need good coverage."

Among the top priorities for the ACA, he said, is maintaining the covid relief law's temporary increases in subsidies for people who purchase coverage on the health law's marketplaces. Those new subsidies, he said, "have made it possible for countless American families to stay on those affordable health plans."

HHS is ready to engage in the fight over prescription drug prices, according to Becerra. "The president has been pretty explicit," he said. "He is supportive of negotiation of drug prices, so when we get a price for our tens of millions of Medicare recipients and our tens of millions of Medicaid recipients, [we know] that it's the best price we could have bargained for." At the same time, Becerra said, Biden "has supported efforts to import the same drug that cost too much here from another country if it costs less, if we can do it safely."

Becerra, who has been on the job since late March, said his top priority as secretary is to work on health equity issues. "I love that President Biden has said he wants everyone to feel treated equally," he said. "There are a whole bunch of Black and brown communities that have never had the kind of access to care that others have. And when they come to the doctor, they come with the kind of conditions that show they didn't have health care before."

Within that broader priority, Becerra said he wants to pay particular attention to the Indian Health Service: "It's time we really focus on our tribal communities and let Indian Country know we really are serious about being good partners."

Another priority is maternal mortality, given in the U.S. "there are women dying in childbirth at greater numbers than in developing countries," he said, and African American mothers die "in some cases at three or four times the rate of white mothers."

Still high on Becerra's to-do list is battling covid and, particularly, vaccine hesitancy in states where new variants are spreading fast. Of the people who are dying, he said, "more than 99% are unvaccinated. I don't know how you can spin that any other way than to say: If you're vaccinated, you're probably going to live. And if you're unvaccinated, you've done yourself and a lot of other folks a disservice."

But Becerra, who drew criticism from conservatives last week after saying "it is absolutely the government's business" to know who has been vaccinated, continued to shrug off the idea of any sort of federal vaccine registry. The secretary has said those comments were taken out of context and on Tuesday added, "We want to work with our state and local partners."

To hear the conversation or see a transcript, go to KHN's "What the Health?" podcast.
One week the food pantry had frozen crabmeat; other weeks, deli meat or plant-based "meat." The week before the Fourth of July, there was no meat at all, and a reminder that the pantry would be closed the next two weeks.

Even though she never knows exactly what she'll get, Lesli Pastrana is grateful for the Mercado El Sol food pantry. She has frequented it ever since she lost her job in January. On a recent Friday, she walked away with produce, eggs and staples like ramen noodles, pasta and oats.

She and her husband are both in the United States without legal authorization. Before the pandemic, they got by with their wages and the food stamps they received for their two young children  both U.S. citizens.

But now that Pastrana has lost her job at a bowling supplies factory where she worked 10 years, and her husband has been downgraded to part-time work at a warehouse, the couple must save every dollar for their $1,500-a-month, two-bedroom apartment in Tustin. Pastrana is looking for a single room to rent for her family of four. She's worried about her kids.

"I don't want them to focus on the fact that I don't have a job right now," she said. "They don't know the magnitude of the situation, but they can sense the worry."

Additional food stamps could help lighten Pastrana's load and cut down on trips to the food pantry, but like all undocumented immigrants in the U.S., she and her husband are not eligible for these benefits, despite having worked and paid taxes here.

Democrats in the state legislature this year proposed opening California's state-funded food stamp program  which serves about 35,000 authorized immigrants who don't qualify for federal food stamps  to all income-eligible Californians, regardless of immigration status. The cost of the proposed expansion, starting in 2023, was put at about $550 million a year.

But after negotiations with Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration, the proposal was pared down to a two-year, $30 million project to update the state food aid program so it can accept applications from some of the more than 2 million undocumented people in California, should the program be extended to them in the future.

A bill under consideration in the legislature would expand the food stamp benefit to the undocumented once the system is updated and the legislature has appropriated funds for the expansion.

For now, the state has not committed to expanding the program. But the legislature's efforts this year put California at the forefront of extending food aid to unauthorized residents. Advocates say the state has a responsibility to help feed them, especially since hundreds of thousands of undocumented farmworkers toil in California's fields, feeding the state and the rest of the country.

"They're working and risking their lives, not just through the pandemic, but right now through a heat wave," said state Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger), co-author of the bill, whose district is in the Central Valley. "They're risking their lives to provide food for us. Why wouldn't we invest in them as well?"

The program would be expensive, and the state would have to foot the whole bill. Right now, California is flush with a $76 billion surplus, but state revenue can swing wildly. For instance, the pandemic's economic restrictions had the Newsom administration projecting a $54 billion deficit just the year before.

California has already expanded eligibility to undocumented immigrants for its Medicaid health coverage program. Since last year it has allowed people under age 26 to participate if they meet income guidelines, at a cost of roughly $450 million annually. Starting in 2022, unauthorized immigrants age 50 and over will be eligible, and the state's annual costs are expected to grow to $1.3 billion by fiscal year 2024.

Up to 1 million unauthorized immigrants would meet the income requirements for food stamps, according to advocate Jared Call of Nourish California, which co-sponsored Hurtado's bill. But the program would likely begin by offering the benefit to subgroups such as children and seniors.

To qualify for food stamps in California, most families would have to earn 200% or less of the federal poverty level for their household size. For a family of four, this would mean grossing no more than $4,368 per month.

The governors office declined to comment on the "Food for All" proposal and its funding, citing ongoing discussions with the legislature to finalize the budget.

Conservatives have expressed caution. Republican state senators voted as a bloc against Hurtado's bill. In an email explaining his "no" vote, Sen. Brian Jones (R-Santee) said it asks California taxpayers to "bear the burden of a chaotic border situation that is a federal responsibility."

In the Assembly, where committees are debating the bill, member Steven Choi (R-Irvine) suggested the program's generosity would compound problems at the U.S.-Mexico border by encouraging people to try to immigrate to California.

Even Democrats, who hold supermajorities in both houses of the state legislature, are wary of making commitments they can't keep. Food for All would need to be phased in incrementally in case revenues lag or other spending increases, according to an Assembly budget report.

The 2021-22 state budget, which Newsom was expected to sign Monday, includes other measures to make food available to poor people, regardless of immigration status, including more investment in food banks and a program to expand free breakfast and lunch to all California public school students, regardless of income.

The crushing demand for emergency food assistance during the pandemic put a spotlight on food insecurity. In California, more than 3 million residents said they went without sufficient food during the first three months of the pandemic lockdown, up 22% from before it began in March 2020, according to a study by researchers at UCLA's Fielding School of Public Health and Luskin School of Public Affairs.

Food banks in response doubled or tripled their food distribution. Schools, closed for classes, kept cafeterias running so families could drop by every week for free breakfasts and lunches. Nonprofits scrambled to organize emergency grocery deliveries for those sick with covid-19.

But people behind these efforts say charity food giveaways are stopgap solutions that often distribute unhealthy food, result in massive waste and rob people of choice.

"Food banks get  I don't want to say 'hand-me-down food'  but they often get food near its expiration date," said Claudia Keller, chief mission officer of Second Harvest Food Bank in Orange County. "Food that might be high in sugar, salt and fat. And that, to us, is a disservice to the most vulnerable in our community."

Advocates say there is a better solution to hunger: Simply give families cash or stamps to buy their own food.

Vanessa Teran of Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project, on California's Central Coast, said this is why her organization, which primarily serves undocumented immigrant farmworkers, switched from organizing food drives to raising money for prepaid grocery cards.

"People are able to buy what they need, and also there's a shopper's dignity," she said. "They can make choices for their own families that best meet their needs."

The same approach was taken by the federal benefits program  known nationally as SNAP and in California as CalFresh and often called food stamps  which mails beneficiaries grocery-usable cash cards that automatically reload each month.

Undocumented immigrants make up an estimated 8.1% of Californias workforce, according to a 2019 summary of data from the Center for Migration Studies think tank. A 2019 analysis by the nonpartisan California Budget & Policy Center estimated the state's undocumented immigrants contribute $3.2 billion annually in state and local taxes.

Hurtado praised her colleagues' decision to expand Medi-Cal to more groups of undocumented immigrants, saying "hunger and health go hand in hand."

"The foundation for good health is having access to adequate food, and healthy food," she said. "But I think that something is better than nothing, and I'm happy with the progress that we're making."

This story was produced by KHN (Kaiser Health News), a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.
Scientists from the Michigan State University, USA, have conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare mortality rate in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients who are aspirin users or non-users. The Findings reveal that the use of aspirin is associated with a significant reduction in overall and in-hospital mortality rates. The study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

Background

As of July 13, 2021, globally, there have been 186 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 4 million deaths, registered to the World Health Organization. Although a significant proportion of COVID-19 patients remain asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, the disease can cause severe complications in susceptible individuals, including older adults and persons with comorbidities. In severely affected in-hospital COVID-19 patients, an estimated mortality rate of 11.5% has been reported in a recent study.

According to available literature, the pathogenesis of severe COVID-19 is associated with immune dysfunction, excessive inflammation, hypercoagulation, and cardiopulmonary thrombosis. Given these observations, the scientists in the current study have hypothesized that intake of aspirin may reduce the severity of COVID-19 through its anti-inflammatory, anti-thrombotic, and immunomodulatory effects.

Study design

In the meta-analysis, the scientists included recently published as well as unpublished studies from the PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases that reported the effect of low-dose aspirin consumption on COVID-19 related mortality. The studies that specifically compared aspirin use with no aspirin use in COVID-19 patients and reported events of mortality were included in the meta-analysis. The primary aim of the analysis was to determine all-cause and in-hospital mortality rates.

The scientists used Newcastle-Ottawa Scale to assess the quality of included studies. For each study, the scale provides a maximum of 9 points. A study with a score of 6 or higher is considered a high-quality publication with a low risk of bias.

Important observations

From more than 900 initially included studies, the scientists finally selected five studies for the final qualitative and quantitative analyses. All selected studies were retrospective cohort studies, with four were on in-hospitalized COVID-19 patients, and one was on non-hospitalized patients. Based on the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale scores, four out of five studies were high quality, and one was low quality.

In the final five studies, there were 6,797 participants in the aspirin group and 7,268 participants in the non-aspirin group. The pooled data from 5 studies revealed that aspirin intake is associated with a 53% reduction in all-cause mortality in COVID-19 patients. In the case of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, the analysis revealed that the use of aspirin is associated with a 49% reduction in in-hospital mortality.

Study significance

The study highlights the potential importance of aspirin intake in reducing mortality risk among hospitalized and non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Apart from anti-inflammatory and anti-platelet effects, aspirin is known to have antiviral effects against seasonal and pathogenic coronaviruses, such as human coronavirus-229E and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Moreover, aspirin has been used as one of the therapeutic interventions in COVID-19 patients.

As mentioned by the scientists, the current study has some limitations. Because of the non-availability of clinical trial data on aspirin, the current analysis has included only observational studies. Moreover, the majority of selected studies are single-centered studies conducted in the USA and China. Thus, the findings may not be generalized to the global population.

*Important notice

medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
The Biden administration stands ready to work with Congress to address drug prices and expand Medicare, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a wide-ranging interview with "What the Health?" on Tuesday.

The former California attorney general also said his top priority while in office is to attack health disparities. "There are a whole bunch of Black and brown communities that have never had the kind of access to care that others have," he said. "And when they come to the doctor, they come with the kind of conditions that show they didn't have health care before."

Becerra, who before coming to Washington successfully led a coalition of Democratic attorneys general in defending the Affordable Care Act from efforts to have it declared unconstitutional, said as secretary he's looking forward to further expanding the 2010 health law.

"Now we're playing offense," he said. "We've got the ball and we've got to march it down the field, and we intend to because there are many Americans who still need good coverage."

Check back later for a full transcript of the conversation.

To hear all our podcasts, click here.

And subscribe to KHNs What the Health? on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Coronaviruses are RNA viruses that infect both animals as well as humans. The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has claimed more than 4 million lives globally.

This virus has been described as a zoonotic virus and might have originated from bats with an unknown intermediate host. Scientists have suggested a few potential intermediate hosts, such as pangolins, rodents, and bats. However, the transmission dynamics associated with the jumping of the virus between different species, including humans, are not clear.

Determination of wide-ranging species that can be infected by SARS-CoV-2

Several studies have been conducted to identify the wide range of species that can be infected by SARS-CoV-2. Researchers have determined the affinity of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) from different animal species for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S). Previous research has found that susceptibility to infection varies from one species to another. Higher susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 was found, in cats and members of the family Felidae, because of the high affinity of the virus to the ACE2 orthologue. However, dogs are found to be less susceptible to the virus due to the lower expression of ACE2 in the respiratory tract cells.

Earlier studies have reported that different viruses from the family Coronaviridae can infect domestic and wild felines. These viruses are classified as feline coronaviruses (FCoVs). These studies have shown that felines infected with coronavirus can develop mild enteric disease (feline enteric coronaviruses; FECV) or viruses can undergo mutations and create feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV). FIPV is more infectious and can cause severe disease that can lead to death.

Importance of studying clinical signs of SARS-CoV-2 infections in felines

Typically, pet cats share a close relationship with their owners. Also, felines in the zoo or wildlife center are very much connected with their keeper. Hence, an increasing number of reports of feline infection with SARS-CoV-2 has created the need to understand the clinical implications of SARS-CoV-2 infections in felines.

Now, a new systematic review has been published in the journal Animals that focuses on the clinical symptoms in felines diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 worldwide.

Distribution of cases of SARS-CoV-2 reported in domestic and wild cats worldwide. Red circles denote cases in domestic cats reported by country. The virus has been detected in at least three different continents (the Americas, Europe and Asia) in these animals. Yellow triangles denote cases in captive wild felines which have been reported in the Americas, Europe and Africa.

Scientists conducting this review implemented different search strategies for obtaining research associated with felids diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infections from the existing databases and found 19 articles and 65 detailed reports from official sources.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) website was the primary official source of information. Here the authors found evidence of 76 domestic cats in the US with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, only 22 documented relevant information regarding the occurrence or absence of clinical signs among these cases.

A global distribution pattern was observed concerning felids infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, most cases were reported in the Americas and Europe. Such an observation aligns with the fact that these regions were massively hit by COVID-19 infection. Limited studies are available on felids infection from other badly affected areas, such as India and Brazil.

Clinical symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection in felines

Both domestic, as well as wild felines, have been reported to be infected with SARS-CoV-2. The following section describes the clinical symptoms associated with the disease.

Domestic cats

In 54% of the cases, the cats were asymptomatic. They were identified because their owners were diagnosed with COVID-19. So the researchers, out of curiosity, screened the cats for the disease and interestingly found them to be COVID-19 positive.

In the remaining 46% of the cases, the cats showed clinical symptoms associated with COVID-19 infection. Among these infected felids, 26 survived, and six died owing to the infection.

One of the reports indicated that cats developed shortness of breath and tachypnea. They were also diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and Mycoplasma haemofelis infection.

One of the cats that died from the disease showed clinical symptoms such as nasal discharge and neurological signs such as head pressing. The necropsy symptoms indicated that the cat developed bacterial meningoencephalitis.

The cats infected with COVID-19 were also diagnosed with anemia, thrombocytopenia, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. An ultrasound examination showed a bronchointerstitial pattern in the lung.

Additionally, tissue analysis revealed signs of severe pulmonary edema, hemorrhage, and congestion in the infected cats. Some of the other symptoms, such as vomiting, mouth ulcers, and diarrhea, were also reported.

Wild cats

Several cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in wild felines have been reported around the world. Scientists have revealed that members of the genus Panthera (e.g., tigers, lions, and snow leopards) and genus Puma (e.g., Puma concolor) have been infected by the virus.

Infection of wild felines with SARS-CoV-2 is associated with human-animal transmission, where the staff responsible for caring for these animals were COVID-19 positive and might have transmitted the disease to the animals.

All animals that tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (except for one asymptomatic tiger) showed clinical signs such as coughing and wheezing. In addition to the respiratory symptoms, other symptoms such as lack of appetite and lethargy have also been reported.

Felid species reported with SARS-CoV-2 infection. SARS-CoV-2 infection has been reported in the members of two subfamilies, Pantherinae and Felinae, belonging to the family Felidae. Despite the evident morphological differences between pantherids and felines, the virus is capable of infecting members of these two dissimilar families and causing very similar clinical signs.

Conclusions

Experimental studies have shown that cats previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 can be re-infected with the virus. However, infected cats could not transmit the infection to another healthy cat.

Histopathological studies revealed that SARS-CoV-2 infection might cause lesions in the nasal and tracheal mucosa and lung parenchyma. This may be because virus replication occurs in these tissues. The histopathological lesions showed suppurative lymphoplasmacytic rhinitis in nasal turbinates and lymphoplasmacytic tracheitis and alveolar histiocytosis.

The authors conclude, Given the current complex situation which has arisen due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of viruses with zoonotic potential, it is of paramount importance to establish both national and international surveillance systems to closely monitor the development and occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 and other agents of public health relevance in animals and its possible spillover to humans and the possible spill-backcausing public health concernshighlighting that all efforts should be focused on the concept and implementation of One Health/One Medicine to understand how aspects involving the environment, animals, and humans could contribute substantially to the control of epidemics in the near future.
The Centre for Health Protection said today it is investigating one additional COVID-19 case involving a 27-year-old woman who arrived from Cambodia.

A total of 31 cases were reported in Hong Kong in the past 14 days, including one local case with an unknown infection source, 29 imported cases and one import-related case.

The centre has been conducting epidemiological investigations into an earlier confirmed case involving the L452R mutant strain. The 50-year-old man worked as a porter at the apron of Hong Kong International Airport.

Genetic sequencing revealed that this case involved the L452R mutant strain but it was found to be different from that in the case involving a 27-year-old airline ground crew staff member with the Delta mutant strain.

Genetic analysis of the porters case is found to be related to the genomes of four imported cases from Russia, one of which involved an aircrew member of cargo flight RL9933 on which the patient had served.

According to the centres latest epidemiological investigation, among the flights that this patient had served during the incubation period, there was one confirmed case involving an aircrew member of flight RL9933 arriving from Moscow on July 6.

While the patient had no direct contact with the infected aircrew member, he had stayed and worked in the cabin for several hours, during which some turn-around aircrew members had stayed in the plane.

The centre said the patient might have been infected by some undiagnosed cabin crew on this Russia flight. It is following up on the case with overseas health authorities.

In relation to a non-locally confirmed case involving the L452R mutant strain and a man who had lived in Hong Kong, any person who had been at six specified premises during the specified period must undergo additional testing, including those who have completed a COVID-19 vaccination course.

A school that reported an outbreak of upper respiratory tract infection or influenza-like illness is covered in the compulsory testing notice today as a precaution.

The service period of the mobile specimen collection station at North Transition Deck, L6, Terminal 1, Hong Kong International Airport will be extended to July 17.

For information and health advice on COVID-19, visit the Governments dedicated webpage.
Jeffersonville, IN (47130)

Today

Sun and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 86F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some passing clouds. Low 66F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.
Jeffersonville, IN (47130)

Today

Mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 85F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some passing clouds. Low 67F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.
What's Included

With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 574-583-5121 or email cgrace@thehj.com.
(Newser)  A Canadian who lives part time in Florida never completed his trip to Ontario over the weekend after an incident that caused chaos at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Per a police report and release cited by the Sun Sentinel, Wegal Rosen, 74, became miffed on Saturday when he was told he'd have to not only pay a fee for his carry-on, but also walk to a different terminal to buy a Visa card to pay for it. Per the documents, Rosen started walking away from the Air Canada ticket counter, leaving his bag behind, and a worker told him he'd need to take his bag with himwhich is when he allegedly announced there was a bomb in it. Three terminals were evacuated, eight flights were canceled, dozens of flights were delayed, and travelers were stuck outside for four hours while deputies checked out the airport. What was actually in Rosen's bag, per police: his CPAP machine.

story continues below

On Monday, Rosen appeared in court, where his lawyer acknowledged: "He said the magic words you do not say." The Sentinel notes this isn't Rosen's first brush with the law: In 2019, he was arrested after he tussled with an elderly woman over a parking spot in the Deerfield Beach retirement community where he owns a condo. He was hit with a third-degree felony charge of battery on a person over 65, but that charge was eventually dropped. If convicted of falsely reporting a bomb threat, Rosen could see 15 years behind bars, plus a $10,000 fine. He may also have to pay restitution for damages. Rosen is allowed to return home while he waits for the next steps in his caseand if he's able to post his $20,000 bond, per the Washington Postbut on Monday, Judge Tabitha Blackmon told him he's persona non grata at the Fort Lauderdale airport. "To get back to Canada, he'll have to go through Miami, West Palm Beach, or any other county." (Read more bomb threat stories.)
(Newser)  Last fall, metal detectorists turned up some old coins in a Polish field. Now, what had at first seemed like a not-so-surprising find has the potential to be quite the opposite, reports the New York Times. Archaeologists have since found nearly 120 silver coins at the location near the town of Biskupiec, all of which were believed to have been minted about 1,200 years ago in what is now France, per Live Science. So how did the coins get from there to a field roughly 1,000 miles away? A working theory is that the money was paid as ransom to Vikings to keep them from attacking Paris. The Vikings would have then brought the coins to their trading post of Truso, which was located about 30 miles from Biskupiec, and from there they entered the local economy.

story continues below

"This is an exceedingly rare and surprising find," Lukasz Szczepanski, head of archaeology at a museum in the Polish town of Ostroda, tells the Times. "We previously only knew what happened in Paris from written sources, but now, suddenly, we have it in a physical form." The theory still needs to be confirmed through further chemical analysis of the coinsto better determine exactly when and where they were mintedand a larger excavation of the field (once its current crops are harvested). The discovery of more coins would bolster the theory, given that the ransom paid to the Vikings by Carolingian King Charles the Bald in AD845 was said to be more than two tons of silver, per the Times and Ancient Origins. Either way, it's the first time so many Carolingian coins have been found in Poland, notes Live Science. In fact, only three had previously turned up. (Read more Poland stories.)
(Newser)  In 2013, Pamela Hupp testified that her best friend, Betsy Faria, had been murdered by her husband, Russ Faria, who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Six years after the conviction was overturned, however, Hupp herself is accused of stabbing her best friend to death, then staging the scene to look like a domestic assault, per NBC News. Russ Faria's defense attorney suggested Hupp was the killer at his retrial in 2015. But it wasn't until she shot and killed a man outside her Missouri home in August 2016 that authorities began to look at her seriously. Hupp claimed the disabled man was an intruder. But investigators found she'd staged a home invasion, luring 33-year-old Louis Gumpenberger to her home, then planting a note on his body suggesting he'd been hired by Russ Faria to attack her, per the Washington Post. She was sentenced to life in prison for the killing in 2019.

story continues below

On Monday, she was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Betsy Faria, who had terminal cancer. Authorities will seek the death penalty. Unbeknownst to Russ Faria, Hupp had replaced him as beneficiary of his wife's $150,000 life insurance policy just four days before the murder, Lincoln County Prosecutor Mike Wood said. On Dec. 27, 2011, Hupp allegedly drove Betsy home from a chemotherapy appointment, then stabbed her multiple times as she lay on a couch, leaving the knife stuck in her throat, per the Post. Prosecutors claim Hupp then used socks to smear blood around the house. Russ Faria called 911 after returning from a weekly game night. Wood said a new investigation will probe "potential prosecutorial and police misconduct" in the case, given that Russ Faria was convicted despite four alibi witnesses and cellphone and video evidence placing him away from the scene. (Read more murder stories.)
(Newser)  A Florida man wanted his ex-girlfriend and two other people killedand he told the "hit man" he hired to link the murders to Black Lives Matter. Daniel Slater, 51, had actually been dealing with an undercover FBI agent, the Washington Post reports. The Jupiter resident pleaded guilty to the murder-for-hire plot as part of a plea deal last week and is expected to receive the maximum 10-year sentence. Prosecutors said Slater blamed his ex-girlfriend's sister and brother-in-law for the end of the relationship and he told an associate that he wanted him to shoot the pair and spray paint "Black Lives Matter" on the home to throw police off the trail. As for the ex-girlfriend, Slater said he wanted someone to throw acid in her face and knock her teeth out before killing her.

story continues below

The associatean FBI informant who wore a wire during his conversations with Slaterconnected Slater with the undercover agent. Prosecutors said Slater gave the agent $200 and "some drugs" as a down payment in June 2020, reports the Sun Sentinel. He was indicted days later. The FBI started investigating Slater after the death of a woman linked to the plot, Complex reports. Brianne Slabaugh, 26, was found dead in Everglades National Park in February last year from what the medical examiner ruled was an accidental heroin and cocaine overdose. Weeks before her death, she told police that Slater had recruited her to kidnap and kill "several people associated with his ex-girlfriend." He has not been charged in connection with her death. (Read more Florida stories.)
(Newser)  Seoul has seen a recent spike in COVID cases, but the government's latest health measure in the South Korean capital to try to contain them has prompted a fair amount of head-scratching. Gymgoers in Seoul won't be able to rely on hard-driving music to get their hearts pumping during their next session, as new guidelines dictate that, while in group exercise classes such as spinning or aerobics, tunes faster than 120 beats per minute (bpm) are banned, reports CNN. "Harsh breathing from intense activities can spatter a lot of saliva," the nation's Health Ministry explained in a release. Treadmills in gyms are also seeing restrictions, limited to about 3.72 miles per hour, or a 16-minute mile. A health official says the guidelines were arrived at to avoid having to completely shut gyms down, and after "taking into consideration a broad range of opinions," reports Reuters.

story continues below

Patrons and gym owners remain unconvinced that music choice is an effective mitigation tool. "My biggest question is whether playing classical music or BTS songs has proven to have any impact on spreading the virus," says one gym owner in the northern part of the city. He also posed an interesting logistical dilemma: "Many people use their own earphones and wearable devices these days. ... How do you control their playlists?" In a bit of good news for locals, the BBC does note that, of the top 10 songs on the South Korean pop charts at the moment, eight of them meet the bpm benchmark. The broadcaster even offers a suggested playlist. (Read more Seoul stories.)
(Newser)  The national debate over voting laws is very much in the spotlight again Tuesday, and not only because President Biden plans to address the topic in a speech in Philadelphia. Democratic lawmakers in Texas remained holed up in DC after fleeing the state to prevent new restrictions from going into place. Coverage:

The walkout: More than 50 Democrats boarded two planes and flew out of Austin on Monday, a move that deprives the Republican majority in the state House of a quorum and thus temporarily stops them from passing new voting laws, reports the Texas Tribune. Democrats say they're prepared to stay away for weeks, until the current special session ends.

More than 50 Democrats boarded two planes and flew out of Austin on Monday, a move that deprives the Republican majority in the state House of a quorum and thus temporarily stops them from passing new voting laws, reports the Texas Tribune. Democrats say they're prepared to stay away for weeks, until the current special session ends. Governor's threat: "As soon as they come back in the state of Texas, they will be arrested," GOP Gov. Greg Abbott tells KVUE. He said the lawmakers would be "cabined inside the Texas Capitol until they get their job done." Abbott's comments reflect a common sentiment in coverage: State Democrats can gum up the vote, but they don't have a permanent way to block new legislation. Abbott, for example, can keep calling special sessions. (State Democrats have done this before.)

story continues below

The changes: Texas Republicans are looking to put several new rules into place, including bans on 24-hour polling places and ballot drop boxes, and new ID requirements that could curb mail voting. They would also give more power to partisan poll watchers, per the AP.

Texas Republicans are looking to put several new rules into place, including bans on 24-hour polling places and ballot drop boxes, and new ID requirements that could curb mail voting. They would also give more power to partisan poll watchers, per the AP. No. 18: Texas would be the 18th state to enact new voting rules like those above, per the Brennan Center for Justice. Republicans say it's all about improving election security, while Democrats accuse them of trying to depress Democratic turnout.

Texas would be the 18th state to enact new voting rules like those above, per the Brennan Center for Justice. Republicans say it's all about improving election security, while Democrats accuse them of trying to depress Democratic turnout. The impact: It's difficult to gauge the impact of all this, per the Morning newsletter of the New York Times. "The laws certainly have the potential to accomplish their goal of reducing Democratic turnout more than Republican turnout," reads the analysis. "In closely divided states like Arizona, Florida or Georgiaor in a swing congressional districteven a small effect could determine an election." However, the piece cites an analysis by Bill Scher at Real Clear Politics, who writes: The Republican intent behind restrictive election laws may be nefarious, but the impact to date has been negligible." Much will depend on the severity of restrictions to come. The ones in Texas appear to be stronger than most.

It's difficult to gauge the impact of all this, per the Morning newsletter of the New York Times. "The laws certainly have the potential to accomplish their goal of reducing Democratic turnout more than Republican turnout," reads the analysis. "In closely divided states like Arizona, Florida or Georgiaor in a swing congressional districteven a small effect could determine an election." However, the piece cites an analysis by Bill Scher at Real Clear Politics, who writes: The Republican intent behind restrictive election laws may be nefarious, but the impact to date has been negligible." Much will depend on the severity of restrictions to come. The ones in Texas appear to be stronger than most. Strategy: The Democrats who fled to DC say they want to convince Congress to pass federal legislation to supersede state laws and protect access to the polls. "This is the fight of our lives," says state Rep. Jessica Gonzalez, per the Dallas Morning News. So far, no White House meeting is in the cards. State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer says he is using his own campaign funds to help pay for hotels for the lawmakers.

(Read more Texas stories.)
(Newser)  As a five-car convoy left the palace of Haiti President Jovenel Moise in the early hours of Wednesday, its inhabitants perhaps thought they'd gotten away with murder. But just down the road, they came up against a blockade, which forced them to flee on foot, leaving behind guns and a supply of bottled water. Thats according to CNN, which reports the hunt for Moise's killers centered around an abandoned storefront and the nearby Taiwanese embassy in Port-au-Prince, and drew a link to the US Drug Enforcement Administration. Moise, found dead in his residence around 1am Wednesday, was shot multiple times and apparently gouged in the eye. He also had a broken leg, per CNN, which reports indications are that the president was tortured.

story continues below

The suspects seen leaving his home apparently had no idea a trap was waiting on a narrow road between a steep hillside and walled-off ravine. Armed with assault rifles and a grenade, they fled their vehicles on foot, most taking up shelter in an empty storefront, where a gunfight erupted. At least three suspects were killed, while two Haitian-Americans ultimately surrendered. Two hostages from the presidential guard then exited, telling security forces that 25 people were inside. But several suspects escaped to the nearby Taiwanese embassy. Eleven suspects were eventually arrested inside and more in the surrounding area. CNN reports 20 of 28 total suspects are in custody, including several men who were DEA and FBI informants. Read CNN's full account of the "wild chase" here. (A Florida resident has been named as the mastermind.)
(Newser)  Former President Trump is in lots of headlines Tuesday, in part because of advance looks at two upcoming books. One is Landslide, the latest from Michael Wolff (a Newser co-founder). The other is I Alone Can Fix It from Washington Post reporters Carol Loennig and Philip Rucker. Coverage:



In Landslide, one part getting attention comes via excerpts published by Axios in which Trump rails against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. "In retrospect, he just hasn't had the courage you need to be a great justice," says Trump of his nominee. "I'm basing this on more than just the election." As Axios notes, that Kavanaugh didn't vote to overturn the election must have been a "betrayal of the highest order" to Trump, who's big on loyalty.

"Where would he be without me?" Trump asks in the book, a reference to his sticking by Kavanaugh during the latter's confirmation controversy. "I saved his life. He wouldn't even be in a law firm. Who would have had him? Nobody. Totally disgraced. Only I saved him."

story continues below

In I Alone Can Fix It, the authors go inside the White House on Election Day and recount a defiant Trump refusing to accept that he lost to Joe Biden. Theyre stealing this from us, Trump says, per a published excerpt. We have this thing won. I won in a landslide and theyre taking it back.

Mediaite ticks off its favorite revelations from the Post book, including Rudy Giuliani's advice to top aides going on television the night of the election. "Just say we won," he told them in regard to key states still too close to call. "Giulianis grand plan was to just say Trump won, state after state, based on nothing," per the book. Chief of Staff Mark Meadows rejected the suggestion. "We can't do that," he responded, his voice rising. "We can't."

Wolff tells Britain's Channel 4 that "virtually everyone around Trumpwe're not talking Democrats here, we are talking Trump aides, intimates, and supporterseveryone believes he has gone off his rocker," per Insider. "Let's not put too fine a point [on it]: They believe he is crazy." But that doesn't mean Trump can't be elected again, says the author. "He commands a, if not a majority of the country, a very, very substantial minority [who] comes to believe that this election is stolen and whose support for him ever hardens." See the interview here.

Not all the Trump news is book-related. Politico is out with an analysis on how he changed the political landscape by installing staunch allies as party leaders in key states. "They are emerging not just as guardians of the former president's political legacy, but as chief enforcers of Trumpism within the GOP," write David Siders and Stephanie Murray. Read the analysis in full here.

(Read more Donald Trump stories.)
(Newser)  A new Texas law inviting citizens to file lawsuits against anyone who helps a woman obtain an abortion has been challenged in federal court. Several advocacy groups, including Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Austin against the law, which is scheduled to take effect in September. Opponents say the bill is unconstitutional and would reduce available support resources for pregnant women. "The state has put a bounty on the head of any person or entity who so much as gives a patient money for an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy," said Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights. "Worse, it will intimidate loved ones from providing support for fear of being sued." Clinics that provide abortion access say the law essentially would shut them down.

story continues below

Under the measure, it's not just clinics that could be sued but anyone who helps a patient who's more than six weeks pregnant by providing transportation, lodging, recovery care, child care, money, or other support, per NBC. Doctors could be taken to court. The suits could be filed by a spouse or parent, for example, and seek up to $10,000. Other states have passed legislation with similar deadlines that judges already have blocked. The fact that these would be private lawsuits, not enforcements by government officials, could make the Texas measure harder to stop from taking effect. The suit filed Tuesday responds to that by targeting every state trial court judge and county court clerk in Texas, as well as state medical boards and the attorney general. It asks that county clerks not be allowed to accept the citizen lawsuits and that trial judges not be allowed to enforce the measure. (Read more anti-abortion laws stories.)
(Newser)  A paperwork mistake means California Gov. Gavin Newsom can't identify himself as a Democrat in the upcoming recall election. It seems that Newsom's office missed the deadline to submit his party affiliation, and a judge in Sacramento declined to give the governor a do-over on Monday, reports the Los Angeles Times. Newsom previously acknowledged the gaffe, and he sued his own secretary of state to make the fix, but Superior Court Judge James P. Arguelles shot him down on Monday, per Courthouse News. Newsom's name will still be on the ballot; it just won't have any party affiliation next to it.

story continues below

"Circumstances do not justify excuse from the deadline," wrote the judge, per CNN. The governor's many, many opponentsincluding former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, GOP Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, and Caitlyn Jennercan list their party affiliation, assuming they made the deadline. Newsom could still appeal, and it's possible the mistake won't have much of an effect on the outcome anyway. CNBC reports that the latest polls suggest Newsom is likely to prevail in September. "COVID has waned, the economy is resurging and there are far more Democrats than Republicans in this state that will vote in favor of him," says a former aide to Arnold Schwarzenegger, who won the governorship in a recall vote of his own. "I think Newsom should be in good shape." (Read more Gavin Newsom stories.)
(Newser)  President Biden on Tuesday nominated former Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican who endorsed his 2020 run for the White House, to serve as US ambassador to Turkey. Flake served in the US Senate from Arizona from 2013 to 2019 and in the House from 2001 to 2013. Flake retired from the Senate at the end of his term in 2019, saying he was out of step with the Republican Party in the era of former President Trump. He later wrote a book, Conscience of a Conservative, that was a critique of Trump, the AP reports. "With this nomination, the Biden Administration reaffirms the best tradition of American foreign policy and diplomacy: the credo that partisan politics should stop at the water's edge. US foreign policy can and should be bipartisan," Flake said in a statement.

story continues below

The post, which is subject to Senate confirmation, is a high-profile one, especially with relations between the US and Turkey tense. The Biden administration is in the middle of vetting candidates for other major ambassadorships, per CNN. Flake was one of more than two dozen former Republican lawmakers to announce their support for Biden's candidacy, which didn't go over well in the Arizona party. After leaving the Senate, Flake became a distinguished fellow at Arizona State University, lecturing and leading seminars, per the Arizona Republic. He is also a distinguished fellow at Brigham Young University's Sorensen Center for Moral and Ethical Leadership.

(Read more Jeff Flake stories.)
(Newser)  "Were facing the most significant test of our democracy since the Civil War," President Biden warned in a speech to supporters in Philadelphia Tuesday. The president, speaking at the National Constitution Center, spoke out against GOP-led efforts to restrict voting rights, linking them to Donald Trump's "Big Lie" about the 2020 election being "stolen" from him, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. Biden said no other election has been held under such tight scrutiny. "In America, if you lose, you accept the results," Biden said, per the Hill. "You follow the Constitution, you try again. You don't call facts 'fake' and then try to bring down the American experiment just because you're unhappy. That's not statesmanship, that's selfishness."

story continues below

The president described efforts to restrict access to voting as "un-American." "The 21st Century Jim Crow assault is real, its unrelenting, and were going to challenge it vigorously," he said. Biden said passing new federal voting rights legislation is a "national imperative," but he didn't raise the possibility of scrapping the filibuster in order to pass the For the People Act, the AP reports. Instead, he said he would launch a nationwide campaign to inform voters of rule changes before next year's midterm elections. Biden also urged Republicans to support voting rights legislation, asking them to "stand up for Gods sake and help prevent this concerted effort to undermine our election and the sacred right to vote." RNC spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez accused Biden of attacking "commonsense election integrity efforts." (Read more President Biden stories.)
Local

top story

Siko succeeds Tobias as chief of police

Larry Deklinski / LARRY DEKLINSKI/STAFF PHOTO Mayor John Brown administers the oath of office to Chief of Police Raymond Siko II as Sikos mother, Lucille, wife, Roni, and 13-year-old niece, Sydney, look on during a ceremony on Monday. Siko succeeded Darwin Tobias III. Larry Deklinski / Shamokin Mayor John Brown presents now-retired Chief of Police Darwin Tobias III with a key to the city on Monday in recognition of 20 years of service. Larry Deklinski / LARRY DEKLINSKI/STAFF PHOTOs Outgoing Shamokin Chief of Police Darwin Tobias III, left, and incoming Chief Raymond Siko II shake hands during a ceremony Monday night. with a key to the city in recognition of 20 years of service. Mayor John Brown administered the oath of office in a meeting room at Mill Road Square following a retirement send-off for Tobias that was attended by city officials and those in the law enforcement community. Larry Deklinski / Outgoing Shamokin Chief of Police Darwin Tobias III, left, and incoming Chief Raymond Siko II embrace during a ceremony Monday night. Larry Deklinski / LARRY DEKLINSKI/STAFF PHOTO Outgoing Shamokin Chief of Police Darwin Tobias III share a moment with Mayor John Brown before officially retiring Monday night. Tobias was succeeded by Raymond Siko II.

SHAMOKIN  Raymond Siko II succeeded Darwin Tobias III as chief of police for the City of Shamokin during an emotional ceremony Monday evening.

Mayor John Brown administered the oath of office in a meeting room at Mill Road Square following a retirement send-off for Tobias that was attended by city officials and those in the law enforcement community. Taking part in the sweating-in were Sikos wife, Roni, his mother, Lucille, and 13-year-old niece, Sydney.

This was a decision by the men of this department, not by political favors or anything else. The man deserves the job that he got. I am proud to have him taking over for Darv. I truly am, Brown said of Siko being named chief.

As his first official duty as top cop, Siko presented Tobias with a letter of appreciation in lieu of a plaque being fabricated. Siko and Tobias marked the change in command with a hug and firm handshake. The moment drew applause from the gallery, which included friends and family of both officers.

Tobias graduated from the Reading Police Academy in 2000, and was hired by the city in May 2001. He served as patrolman for 10 years until promoted to the rank of corporal. In May 2014, he was chosen to lead the department following the retirement of Edward Griffiths.

City officials thanked Tobias for his 20 years of service. In a tearful speech, Brown, a former police chief, said Tobias was his first trainee, but now considers him a son.

Buddy, I could not be prouder of you for what you accomplished. You are like one of my own kids, Brown remarked. I am truly going to miss you.

Tobias leadership kept the department moving in a positive direction despite the city entering Act 47, the states program for distressed municipalities, Brown said prior to presenting him with a key to the city.

Following the celebratory activities, Siko recognized fellow officers and his father, the late-Raymond Siko Sr., who steered him onto the path of becoming a public servant.

In June 2004, Siko graduated from the Municipal Police Officers Training Program at Lackawanna College, where he served as president of the Act 120 class. He was hired as a police officer in Ralpho Township and was placed under the supervision of Chris Kreisher, who Siko described as a phenomenal officer.

In 2015, he started testing for the Shamokin Police Department, which at the time was led by the late Richard Nichols. In 2006, Brown was promoted to chief and shortly after hired Siko and now-retired officer Nathan Rhodes.

When I came on, then-corporal (Robert) Wolfe, now Sheriff Wolfe, was my FTO (field training officer). He was my original supervisor, Siko said. Darv got promoted and he was then my supervisor. Darv and I were partners under Corp. Wolfe.

The night Siko learned he was hired by the city was the anniversary of his father joining the U.S. Marine Corps. His father was on active duty from 1963 to 1967, and was in the Marine Corps Reserves from 1967 to 1969. He was also an active member of the community, serving as a Scoutmaster, emergency management coordinator for his hometown of Kulpmont, a life member of the Kulpmont Fire Co. No. 1 and a member of Kulpmont Community Ambulance.

I ended up starting the academy that year on my dads birthday, Siko said. I graduated in June and got hired by Ralpho.

On Oct. 15, Siko took his test to become Act 120 certified. The following day, his father passed away.

I lost my dad the day after I passed my exam, Siko said. I was pinned with my badge from Ralpho at my dads casket site the day he was buried. I was presented with my badge and my credentials just so he knew that.

Siko has had two goals in life: to be a paid firefighter or a police officer. He is an EMT with Elysburg Ambulance, a firefighter at Brady Fire Co. and assistant chief of the Kulpmont Fire Department, having served as an officer, including chief, since 2001. He is also a fire investigator for the City of Shamokin.

Where you came from  your roots  is all important. And I am fortunate enough to have it all, Siko said. I am one of the lucky ones. I drive a mile to work and I have a good job.

Siko once served as a dispatcher for the Shamokin Police Department and remarked that he always wanted to serve the city.

I just want to continue on and do what everyone before has. We have had a lot of great changes when Darv was here. I am taking a little bit of every chief I served under, Siko said. I want to model myself under Darv because I was able to watch him closely, and I just want to keep going the way that he went.

He added that the Shamokin Police Department is entering a new era in that most of the force consists of relatively new officers.

I am proud of them, because every one of these officers, with a year or two on the job, are handling themselves like veteran officers. And that comes back to the testing process and the training they are getting from the chief, Siko said. We take pride in who we hire. Our selection process is very strict  and it pays off with the quality of police work that we get.

The residents of Shamokin should be proud of the police department they have had in the past  and they can be extremely proud of the police department they have in the present.
Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death.

Go to form
"A moose calf and cow stopped by our house and had a drink from our grandkids' wading pool. The look on the calf's face is priceless!" Thanks to Dan King, of Two Rivers, for sending along this shot.
Daniel Perry shot Garrett Foster in the middle of a Black Lives Matter protest on July 25, 2020, in downtown Austin, Texas. His attorney said he fired in self-defense.
Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Generally cloudy. High 74F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 52F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

The High Appeals Court upheld the jail term issued against an Asian man convicted of selling hashish oil. The 26-year-old defendant was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

He will be deported back to his mother country after he completes his jail time. Ironically, the defendant didnt just sold hashish oil, but he also cheated his customers by using regular food oil to increase the quantity and profits.

The defendant is said to have been very vigilant while dealing with his customers. An undercover agent was assigned to get the defendant arrested while committing the crime. According to court files, the police officer in plain clothes had to sacrifice a lot of time to get closer to the defendant and earn his trust. The pair finally agreed to meet and the defendant accepted to sell hashish oil to the undercover agent for BD60.

However, the Asian man made a last-minute decision, cancelling the meeting over fear he will be caught. The 26-year-old man was arrested after police sources managed to identify his whereabouts.

It was discovered that he brought the oil from his country, where he spent his holiday. He admitted to selling the 2mm bottle for BD50 and BD80, stating that he completed around 15 transactions before being arrested.
From concerts to parades, festivals and more, News-Press NOW is the place to find out about events in the community.

Subscribe for only 25/ week.
NEW HAVEN  Former Chief of Police Anthony Campbell Jr. is no stranger to gun violence: The deaths of two close family members years ago were part of what prompted him to go into law enforcement  and during his years as chief he went to countless funerals of people gunned down on city streets.

But Campbell, now an assistant chief at the Yale University Police Department after retiring from the New Haven force in 2019, is ready to scream from the mountaintops to get gun violence the attention it needs in the wake of his familys latest tragedy:

His own younger brother, Devin Campbell, was shot multiple times and killed June 28 at about 7:30 p.m. in New York Citys Harlem, where Campbell grew up.

Campbells family buried Devin Campbell, 32, a twin who was the youngest of six children, on Friday  and as is the case with many urban families of color in the United States of America, it wasnt the first such tragedy to strike the family.

Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media

Its just one of those things that ... when youre 16 years older than your little brother and youre in law enforcement, you never think that youre the one whos going to get that call, said Anthony Campbell, whose extended family previously lost two other members to gun violence.

Chief Campbell learned of his brothers death in a call from his cousin, Harrison Campbell, as he was walking out of New Haven Police Headquarters, with a cupcake in his hand, after attending a retirement celebration for his successor, recently retired Chief of Police Otoniel Reyes.

He said hes been told that his brothers shooting was caught on security cameras.

Aside from the personal loss, the manner in which Campbells brother died  shot multiple times as he arrived to visit his uncle Dale Chop Campbell, who lives in the Grant Houses on 125th Street near Amsterdam Avenue in Harlem and helped raise Devin Campbell after his father passed away in 1995  stung Chief Campbell.

Courtesy of Anthony Campbell / Contributed photo

It also echoed two past family tragedies: when Campbells cousin, Kevin Campbell, then 23, was shot and killed in a parked car in Harlem back in 1991  and then, two years later, when his uncle Stanley Campbell was shot several times and killed.

The time in which I grew up in Harlem was a time when gun violence was just non-stop, Campbell, who was back at work Monday, said in a phone interview. A lot of the reason that my family poured so much time and money into my education was to save me from that.

Campbell said his little brother, lovingly nicknamed Fat Boy, wasnt perfect and had had some issues back in the day. But he served his time and had moved beyond them and gotten his life back on track.

Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media

In later years, he was an entrepreneur, who produced music and clothing lines, also working at a hospital at one point. He was a big guy  muscular, but real big. But he was a teddy bear, Campbell said. He was all about providing for his family, including his wife, Terry, whom he married in 2013, and stepson, TJ.

Devin was the type of man who never forgot where he came from, Campbell said.

The terrible thing about Devins death is that Devin was a twin, he said. His sister, Devon, lost her twin brother. Seeing her at funeral, she was devastated.

Campbells father, Anthony Campbell Sr., died in 1995. His mother is alive and living in Atlanta.

If anything, losing his little brother is pushing Chief Campbell to do more.

I dont care if it takes me another 10-15 years, if I have to scream from the mountaintops ... but weve got to do something about it, Campbell said of the growing, nationwide problem of gun violence, which has seen homicide levels spike across the country during the coronavirus pandemic.

Catherine Avalone / Catherine Avalone /New Haven Register

This has been going on forever, and right now, were heading backwards, Campbell said. He recalled the sky-high homicide rates in New York City, New Haven and other Connecticut cities and across the country in the 1980s and 1990s.

Thats the problem. Its normalized  not just in our communities, but in our society, said Campbell, a graduate of Yale University and the Yale Divinity School who also teaches at the divinity school.

In order to make a serious dent in gun violence, We have to address this in the same way that we address the pandemic, in the same way that weve begun to address the opioid crisis, Campbell said. Societys too comfortable with it ... We have to break that cycle.

Im fortunate. Im a person of faith ... and I know my faith in God is going to get me through this, Campbell said. ...But when you really look at the victims, the families of these homicide victims, many of them dont have what I have ... and we have to do something to make sure it stops.

Its terrible  the gun violence in Hartford, in New Haven, in New York City and elsewhere, he said. And everywhere it happens, Its Black and brown people who are the victims, Campbell said.

As a chief, I always would go to the funerals of homicide victims, and nine times out of 10, those victims looked just like me, he said.

Anthony Campbell / Contributed photo

Gun violence is ripping through these families, ripping through these communities, he said. ... I was lucky to have a father and a family who said, We need to get him out of here.

For Campbell, as he moved up in law enforcement and ultimately was named acting chief and then chief, It was one of the most joyous feelings in 2017 to have one of the lowest levels of homicides in New Haven ... and then in 2018 having the lowest number of shootings since we began keeping records, he said.

...It feels good saving lives, and if we could get everyone to feel that way  not just people in law enforcement and social work  I think we could do it again, Campbell said.

To me, the fact that we did it in the past demonstrates that if we put our focus and our energy into it, we can do it again, he said.

Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media file

Anthony Campbell was a New Haven police officer for 21 years. He was chief for two years and acting chief for a year before that. He retired in 2019 as a result of proposed changes in police retirees health coverage, then joined the Yale police force as an assistant chief.

Campbell graduated from Yale in 1995. He earned a masters in divinity from Yale in 2009.

Devin Campbells death was one of several shootings reported across New Yorks five boroughs the night he died. Eight others were injured in the violence, according to the New York Post.

Anthony Campbell shared his familys loss on Facebook the morning of the funeral.

Today the Campbell family will be burying my younger brother, Devin Campbell who was only 32 years old when he was murdered in my hometown New York City, Chief Campbell wrote.

As a Police Chief I have always made it a point to attend the funerals of those who were murdered in New Haven while I was the Chief because I wanted the family to know that they were not alone, he wrote. Well today as I head to New York, I will not be alone as my beautiful wife Stephanie will be at my side and my boss and friend, Chief Ronnell Higgins will be driving us to the funeral and 5 members of the Yale Police Honor Guard will be there to support me and my extended family.

Anthony Campbell Jr. / Contributed photo

As a person of faith I know that I will see Devin again but it is so comforting to have my New York family, my aunts and uncles and sisters and cousins to share the burden of grief and its truly comforting to have the support of my brothers and sisters in blue to lift my spirits during this time, Campbell wrote.

Please pray for the entire Campbell family especially Devins wife Terry, Campbell wrote. Rest In Peace baby brother until we meet again. The Peace of Christ be with you always.

mark.zaretsky@hearstmediact.com
SALEM, Ore. (AP)  After 16-months of being closed to the public as a COVID-19 safety measure, Oregon's Capitol building reopened on Monday.

The buildings closure has been a point of tension between Democratic and Republican lawmakers, as Republicans argued throughout the pandemic that everyone should have access to the Capitol.

Last March, we consulted with infectious disease doctors and public health officials about what changes were needed to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission in the Capitol," House Speaker Tina Kotek and Senate President Peter Courtney said in a joint statement on Monday that announced the Capitols reopening now that more than 70% of Oregon's adults have been partially or fully vaccinated. In the end, we made the very difficult decision to limit Capitol entry to legislators, essential staff, and members of the press.

Republican legislators opposed closure of the Capitol stating that it is the peoples building and should be open to the public.

In protest of the closure, some Senate Republicans routinely voted no on matters unrelated to COVID-19. In the House, Republicans refused to suspend rules that require bills be read in their entirety on final passage, slowing the pace of the session.

Tensions boiled over in the community as well. During a special legislative session in December, a group of people  some toting guns  gathered outside Oregons Capitol to protest the buildings closure to the public and other ongoing statewide coronavirus restrictions.

At one point, Republican lawmaker Rep. Mike Nearman left the Capitol, letting in protesters who had planned to occupy the Statehouse. In June, the Oregon House voted to remove Nearman, marking the first time a member has been expelled by the chamber in its 160-year history.

While the Capitol is open, and guided tours will resume July 19th, there are still parts of the building the remain inaccessible due to the Capitol Accessibility, Maintenance and Safety project taking place throughout the summer and into the fall. The Senate and House wings of the building will be closed through Dec. 31.

Last month, lawmakers concluded a historic 2021 legislative session. They are not set to return until at least late August when theyll begin discussions around redrawing the states legislative and congressional district maps.

-

Sara Cline is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP)  Wichita State University plans this fall to stop allowing Kansas residents 60 and older to audit its courses for free.

The university sent a letter this month to people who've previously audited its classes to notify them of the fees, The Wichita Eagle reports. Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Shirley Lefever said the new fees will help cover instructional costs.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), an intense high-speed solar storm flare is approaching the Earth at a speed of 1.6 million kilometres per hour and is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field later today.

The planet Earth switched to an unusually unpleasant phase of deadbeat, owing to an enormous catastrophe at the hands of a Wuhan fish market. Sounds like quite an odd description, when one puts it like that. As kill scores continue every day due to the global pandemic, theres another bad news for the Earth-The Sun has awoken!

According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), an intense high-speed solar storm flare is approaching the Earth at a speed of 1.6 million kilometres per hour and is expected to hit Earths magnetic field later today, impacting GPS navigation, mobile phone signals and satellite TV.

From a gaping hole in the Suns atmosphere, a high-speed stream of highly charged particles has been launched in the direction of Earth which may trigger a minor solar storm in the Earths magnetosphere. The scientists describe that once the energy-charged particles enter the magnetosphere, the particles might perhaps be guided further into the magnetic field lines and penetrate into Earths atmosphere near both the north and south poles.

Due to the highly charged particles which have high velocities from the solar atmosphere gets accelerated to large fractions of the speed of the light towards the Earth, the solar storm has significant impacts that likely to be caused. The Space Weather Prediction Centre in a release on Saturday, July 10 stated When energetic protons collide with satellites or humans in space, they can penetrate deep into the object that they collide with and cause damage to electronic circuits or biological DNA. As a result, it can cripple power grids, jam satellite communication, causing dangerous levels of radiation, impacting passengers and crews in high flying aircraft.

A solar flare is a sudden flash of increased brightness on the Sun, usually observed near its surface and in close proximity to a sunspot group. Powerful flares are often, but not always, accompanied by a coronal mass ejection.

The Centre have marked the solar flares at X1 wherein X denotes the classification and the number denotes the strength of the flare. The smallest flares are from the A-class. It is followed by B, C, M and X. The Sun goes through a solar cycle every 11 years that fluctuates the activity of the solar flare radiations. In this process, flares escape the Sun and hurl towards outer space. A strong solar flare has the potential to leave millions of people without power!
The meeting will discuss the achievements of the organisation as it celebrates the 20th anniversary of its formation this year. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are also expected to attend these meetings.

External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar will undertake a two-day visit to Tajikistan from today, July 13 to take part in the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers, the Ministry of External Affairs informed on Monday. The meeting will discuss the achievements of the organisation as it celebrates the 20th anniversary of its formation this year, the MEA said in a statement.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are also expected to attend these meetings. While Mr Jaishankar is expected to hold bilateral talks with foreign ministers of some participating countries on the side-lines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meet, there was no official word on any bilateral interaction or pull aside with Pakistan or China. Meeting will also assess the preparation for the upcoming SCO Council of Heads of States, which will take place on September 16-17 in Dushanbe, and exchange views on current international and regional issues, MEA said.

During the visit, Jaishankar is also expected to participate in the SCO Contact Group on Afghanistan on July 14. This meeting will also see the participation of the Afghanistan government to review the worsening security situation in that country amidst speedy return of American forces to the US, the MEA said. Leaders from India, Pakistan, Russia, Iran, China, the US, and the EU will be participating in the summit.

The SCO contact group meeting on Afghanistan assumes significance as it comes amidst the intense fighting near Kandahar city and the Taliban gaining control of new areas around the southern Afghan city, triggering huge security concerns. There were reports that a sizeable number of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists are also operating in the Kandahar and Helmand provinces. India has evacuated around 50 diplomats and security personnel from its consulate in Kandahar in a military aircraft in the wake of intense fighting between Afghan forces and Taliban militants.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankars efforts at touching base with old northern alliance partners will take him to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan this week. According to MEA, Jaishankar was invited by Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin to visit Tajikistan.

The SCO is an eight-member economic and security bloc, seen as a counterweight to NATO. It has emerged as one of the largest trans-regional international organisations. The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. However India and Pakistan became its permanent members only in 2017.
Eds: This story was supplied by The Conversation for AP customers. The Associated Press does not guarantee the content.

Luis Josue Sales, Scripps College

(THE CONVERSATION) Opponents and supporters of legal abortion in the U.S. will be watching when the Supreme Court hears Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization during its upcoming term. In this lawsuit, a Mississippi womens health center has challenged the constitutionality of a 2018 state law banning abortions after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy. In the Supreme Courts hands, the case has the potential to affect provisions of Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that legalized abortion in the U.S., and further limit womens access to abortion in many states.

Such challenges to abortion in the United States are often fueled by the belief of many Christians that abortion and Christianity are incompatible. For example, the catechism of the Catholic Church, an authoritative guide to the beliefs and practices of Roman Catholic Christians, states: Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable.

However, this statement tells only one part of the story. It is true that Christian leaders, virtually all male, have largely condemned abortion. Nonetheless, as a scholar of premodern Christianities, I am also aware of the messier realities that this statement conceals.

Celebrating womens celibacy

The earliest Christian writings  the letters of the Apostle Paul  discouraged marriage and reproduction. Later Christian texts supported these teachings. In a second-century text known as the Acts of Paul and Thekla, a Christian author in Asia Minor praised Thekla for rejecting her suitors and avoiding marriage in favor of spreading Christian teachings instead.

In the third century, Theklas story inspired a Roman noblewoman called Eugenia. According to the Christian text titled the Acts and Martyrdom of Eugenia, Eugenia rejected marriage and led a male monastery for a time. Afterward, she discouraged Alexandrian women from having children, but this advice angered their husbands. These men convinced the emperor Gallienus that Eugenias teachings about womens reproductive choice endangered Romes military power by reducing the supply of future soldiers. Eugenia was executed in 258 A.D.

Even as the Roman Empire became increasingly Christian, women still received praise for avoiding marriage. For example, the bishop Gregorios of Nyssa, an ancient city near Harmandal, Turkey, wrote the beautiful text Life of Makrina to celebrate his beloved sister and teacher, who died in 379 A.D. In this text, Gregorios admires Makrina for wittily rejecting suitors by claiming that she owed faithfulness to her dead fiance.

To sum up, while early Christian texts did not exactly encourage women to explore sexual experiences, neither did they encourage marriage, reproduction and family life.

Choices beyond celibacy

Premodern Christian women had options beside celibacy as well, although the state, the church and mediocre medicine limited their reproductive choices.

In 211 A.D., the Roman emperors Septimius Severus and Caracalla made abortion illegal. Tellingly, though, Roman laws surrounding abortion were centrally concerned with the fathers right to an heir, not with women or fetuses in their own right. Later Roman Christian legislators left that largely unchanged.

Conversely, Christian bishops sometimes condemned the injustice of laws regulating sex and reproduction. For example, the bishop Gregorios of Nazianzos, who died in 390 A.D., accused legislators of self-serving hypocrisy for being lenient on men and tough on women. Similarly, the bishop of Constantinople, Ioannes Chrysostomos, who died in 407 A.D., blamed men for putting women in difficult situations that led to abortions.

Christian leaders often gathered at meetings called synods to discuss religious beliefs and practices. Two of the most important synods concerning abortion were held in Ankyra  currently Ankara, Turkey  in 314 A.D. and in Chalkedon  todays Kadikoy, Turkey  in 451 A.D. Notably, these two synods drastically reduced the penalties for abortion relative to earlier centuries.

But over time, these legal and religious opinions did not seem appreciably to affect womens reproductive choices. Rather, pregnancy prevention and termination methods thrived in premodern Christian societies, especially in the medieval Roman Empire. For example, the historian Prokopios of Kaisareia claims that the Roman Empress Theodora nearly perfected contraception and abortion during her time as a sex worker, and yet this charge had no impact on Theodoras canonization as a saint.

Some evidence even indicates that premodern Christians actively developed reproductive options for women. For instance, Christian physicians, like Aetios of Amida in the sixth century and Paulos of Aigina in the seventh, provided detailed instructions for performing abortions and making contraceptives. Their texts deliberately changed and improved on the medical work of Soranos of Ephesos, who lived in the second century. Many manuscripts contain their work, which indicates these texts circulated openly.

Further Christian texts about holy figures suggest complex Christian perspectives on the acceptable termination of fetal development  and even newborn lives. Consider a sixth-century text, the Egyptian Life of Dorotheos. In this account, the sister of Dorotheos, an Egyptian hermit from Thebes, becomes pregnant while possessed by a demon. But when Dorotheos successfully prays for his sister to miscarry, the text treats the unusual termination of the pregnancy as a miracle, not a moral outrage.

Around 1,100 years later, a similar event happens in the Ethiopian Life of Walatta Petros. According to this text, Walatta Petros, a noblewoman later canonized as a saint, married a general and became pregnant three times. However, every time she conceived, she prayed for her fetus to die promptly if it would not please God in life. The narrator tells us that all three of her children died days after birth, since God heard her prayer.

Certainly, Christians have a history of opposing methods for preventing and terminating pregnancies. But these premodern texts, spanning some 1,500 years, indicate that Christians also have a history of providing these services, and making them safer for women.

This tense and inconclusive relationship to abortion may be poorly known  or perhaps overlooked for political convenience. But that does not change the fact, as I see it, that Christians who support womens reproductive rights are also following the historical precedent of their religious tradition.

[3 media outlets, 1 religion newsletter. Get stories from The Conversation, AP and RNS.]

The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. The Conversation is wholly responsible for the content.
BRUSSELS (AP)  European Union nations approved the pandemic recovery plans of the bloc's four biggest economies and eight other member countries Tuesday, a move seen as a bellwether for an economic revival from the unprecedented recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The approval will allow a dozen of the EU's 27 members to start unlocking funds for the pre-financing of projects that are intended to put Europe on more solid economic footing while also making it greener and more digitally advanced.

The nations include the EUs economic juggernauts - France, Germany, Italy and Spain - and Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg, Portugal and Slovakia.

EU funding can now start to flow to finance much-needed reforms and investments in each of these countries. But this is only the start, EU Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said.

The green light to prepare for the release of funds is a key step in an 800 billion-euro ($950 billion) support program that EU members agreed on in principle last summer when their economies were mired in the worst economic downturn of the blocs existence.

Tuesday's agreement will allow the 12 nations to unlock 13% of pre-financing, perhaps as soon as the end of the month, Dombrovskis said. In the case of France, which is to get some 40 billion euros $47.3 billion from the pandemic recovery fund, that would amount to 5.1 billion euros ($6 billion.)

EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said the action will boost confidence in the markets, in countries, and allow investments and reforms to start.

After last year's economic nosedive, EU economies are set to rebound by their highest levels in decades as coronavirus restrictions ease. They remain at risk, however, due to virus variants that are causing infections to spike again in several countries.

Dombrovskis expressed optimism.

As business confidence grows, investments pick up and people begin to spend more on. The economy is forecast to rebound somewhat faster than previously expected.

Other EU members are expecting approvals of their recovery plans later in the summer although Hungary could pose a potentially divisive problem.

The EU's executive commission is currently working past a Monday deadline to vet Hungary recovery plan amid allegations Budapest might not meet all the requirements to tap into the funds. Critics have said that corruption safeguards might be insufficient in the Hungarian plan.
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

Roshanna P. Sylvester, University of Colorado Boulder

(THE CONVERSATION) Pioneering spacefarer John Herschel Glenn Jr. would have turned 100 on July 18, 2021.

When Glenn died in 2016, the famed astronaut was lauded as the last genuine American hero. NASA, the U.S. Marine Corps, President Barack Obama and many others posted tributes on social media.

Hundreds of nostalgic fans testified to Glenns impact on their own senses of youthful possibility. One woman recalled being a fifth grader in February 1962, listening to coverage of Glenns orbital flight at school on a transistor radio: This was the definition of the future  I wanted to do hard math with slide rules and learn hard languages and solve mysteries. I wanted to be like John Glenn.

Glenns life and legacy continue to be widely celebrated. Yet recent scholarship on the early Space Age has reawakened questions about the ways gender, race, ethnicity and class shaped the human space flight program in the U.S.

Was Americas first starman really everybodys hero?

Even though I am a girl

As a historian undertaking a major research project called A Sky Full of Stars: Girls and Space-Age Cultures in Cold War America and the Soviet Union, I have analyzed hundreds of fan mail letters written by girls in the U.S. and USSR to the spacefarers Yuri Gagarin, John Glenn and Valentina Tereshkova. I set out to discover how young people experienced the early triumphs of human space flight, and how the dramatic events they witnessed influenced their own senses of what they could aspire to and achieve.

My research in the John H. Glenn Archives at The Ohio State University revealed that the majority of American girls letters to Glenn conformed to established gender conventions.

Girls frequently congratulated the astronaut on stereotypically masculine characteristics  strength and bravery  while denying that they themselves possessed those qualities. Some were openly flirtatious, offering admiring personal comments on Glenns appearance, physique and sex appeal. Some also wrote to request an autograph or glossy photo, embracing a well-established culture of celebrity and fandom that was pervasive among American girls of the era.

The letters that interest me most are from girls who were so inspired by Glenns accomplishment that they envisioned for themselves a place in the STEM world of science, technology, engineering and math.

Some wrote to Glenn to report about their science fair projects or rocket design clubs and to ask for technical advice. Some expressed the desire to follow their hero into careers in aviation and astronautics, even as they expressed skepticism that such a path would be open to them.

The formulation even though I am a girl I hope to be just like you in various manifestations appeared as a steady refrain in girls letters.

Diane A. of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, wrote, I would very much like to become an astronaut, but since I am a 15-year-old girl I guess that would be impossible.

Suzanne K. from Fairfax, Virginia, was more defiant: I hope I go to the moon sometime when Im older. Im a girl but if men can go in space so can women.

Carol C. of Glendale, New York, wrote to ask this one simple question concerning a womans place in space. Will she only be needed around Cape Canaveral or will she eventually accompany an astronaut into space? If so I sure wish I were she.

The news that the Russians had sent a woman into space in June 1963 emboldened some girls to ask Glenn more pointed questions.

Ella H., an African American girl from segregated Meridian, Mississippi, wrote on behalf of her junior high school class to inquire, What were our male astronauts reactions when Russias female astronaut made more orbits than they?  Do you seven male astronauts think that a woman will go into space within the next two years?

Meanwhile, Patricia A. of Newport News, Virginia, asked Glenn outright, Do you think that sending women into space is a very good idea?

Glenn and the problem of lady astronauts

While few of his replies to letter writers were preserved in the archive, those that exist suggest Glenn avoided encouraging girls dreams of flight and space exploration.

Fourteen-year-old Carol S. in Brooklyn wrote to her idol to share her strong desire to be an astronaut and seek Glenns advice on how to overcome the obstacle of being a girl, a slight problem it seems. Glenn replied four months later to thank Carol for her letter, but rather than answering her query directly he enclosed some literature which I hope will answer your questions.

A girl named Pudge from Springfield, Illinois sent a long enthusiastic letter sharing her plans to join the Air Force and her thrill at the sight or sound of jets, helicopters (especially the H-37A Mojave) rockets or anything connected with space, the Air Force or flying. Glenn sent a friendly reply including some literature about the space program which I hope you will enjoy, but said nothing about the viability of the girls aspirations.

Hard evidence of Glenns position on the question of lady astronauts came in the form of his congressional testimony in July 1962. A Special Subcommittee on the Selection of Astronauts of the House Committee on Science and Astronautics was formed in response to the quashing of the privately funded woman in space program and related allegations of sex discrimination at NASA.

A March 1962 letter from the director of NASAs Office of Public Services and Information to a young girl who had written to President John F. Kennedy to ask if she could become an astronaut stated that we have no present plans to employ women on space flights because of the degree of scientific and flight training, and the physical characteristics, which are required.

Glenns testimony before the subcommittee echoed that position. In his opinion, the best-qualified astronauts were those who had experience as military pilots, a career path that was closed to women. In a much-quoted statement, Glenn asserted that the men go off and fight the wars and fly the airplanes and come back and help design and build and test them. The fact that women are not in this field is a fact of our social order. The subcommittees final report concurred, effectively barring female applicants from consideration for the Apollo missions.

Girls in space

The relationship between Glenn and his young female fans was complicated by the male-dominated cultures of mid-20th-century America. Prevailing gender stereotypes, limited opportunities, sexism and a lack of STEM role models all stood between girls dreams and the stars.

Glenns position on the lady astronaut problem evolved in a more egalitarian direction after he left NASA. As historian Amy E. Foster noted, a May 1965 Miami Herald article headlined Glenn Sees Place for Girls In Space quoted the astronaut as saying that NASAs plans to develop a new scientist-astronaut program should offer a serious chance for space women.

Glenns prediction was on the mark. The social order that Glenn discussed in July 1962 has shifted dramatically in the intervening decades. NASAs space shuttle program opened the door for Sally Rides voyage in 1983, establishing her as a powerful inspiration for girls. While cultural obstacles remain, NASA has diversified the astronaut corps significantly and has taken conscious steps to make the agency more inclusive overall.

A much wider spectrum of positive STEM role models exists for girls today. The book and film Hidden Figures celebrated the accomplishments of Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughn  three Black women of NASA who helped make Glenns success possible. Documentaries and websites record the stories of pioneering female spacefarers. Television series including For All Mankind and Away imagine a past and future where female astronauts are central to American ambitions in space.

Womens opportunities in the real world are expanding as well. Two of Virgin Galactics first flown astronauts are women. At 82, Mercury 13 alumna Wally Funk is poised to break Glenns record as the oldest human in space when she flies with Blue Origins on July 20, 2021.

As barriers continue to fall, NASA has grand plans for the revival of human spaceflight. Prompted in part by womens tepid support for high-stakes missions to the Moon and Mars, NASA is taking unprecedented steps to showcase the talents and ambitions of female astronauts. After an initial misstep, the first all-female spacewalk took place in October 2019. More importantly, Project Artemis promises to land a woman on the Moon in 2024.

Fan mail letters to John Glenn offer a potent reminder that astronaut heroics can have a powerful impact on young peoples attitudes and aspirations. A woman on the Moon is sure to inspire a new generation of girls to reach for the stars. NASA is banking on just that.

This is an updated version of an article originally published on Dec. 12, 2016.

[Get our best science, health and technology stories. Sign up for The Conversations science newsletter.]

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/john-glenns-fan-mail-shows-many-girls-dreamed-of-the-stars-but-sexism-in-the-early-space-program-thwarted-their-ambitions-164054.
MANCHESTER  Police have released photos of an individual they say was involved in a motor vehicle theft where one person was armed with a gun over the weekend.

Officers responded to a Hillcrest Road home for a reported car theft around 5 p.m. Saturday, according to Lt. Ryan Shea.

The theft was reported by a witness who told police one of the suspects had a gun, Shea said. The caller told police the individuals pulled up in a silver sport utility vehicle with Massachusetts plates.

Responding officers saw the vehicle fleeing the area, driving erratically at a high rate of speed, Shea said. The SUV fled north on South Main Street. The white Acura TL stolen from the Hillcrest Road home was following close behind, Shea said.

Officers spotted both vehicles headed west on Interstate 384. Shea said while the officers saw the vehicles, no pursuit was attempted.

The silver SUV was later identified by police as a 2016 Lexus RX that was also stolen. Shea said the SUV and Acura might have been involved in other incidents over the weekend, including three other attempted car thefts.

As of Monday, Shea said, police have recovered the Acura and the Lexus.

Shea said detectives are still working to gather evidence and information. There were no injuries reported.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 860-645-5500.
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP)  The Navajo Nation reported four new cases of the coronavirus on Monday, but no additional deaths.

The figures released by the Navajo Department of Health bring the total number of cases on the reservation to 31,100 since the pandemic began. The death toll remains at 1,361.
HAMDEN  A New Haven man was sentenced Monday to 20 years behind bars for his role in a 2018 shootout with local police after an interrupted store robbery, according to prosecutors.

Kwaun Cole, 34, was sentenced by Judge Gerald L. Harmon. The sentencing came just weeks after Cole pleaded guilty on June 3 to criminal attempt to commit first-degree assault, first-degree robbery and criminal possession of a firearm as the jury selection process was underway for his scheduled criminal trial.

Harmon sentenced Cole to 20 years on the assault charge, 20 years on the robbery offense and five years followed by the special parole on the illegal possession charge, New Haven States Attorney Patrick J. Griffin said. The sentences were ordered to be served concurrently.

The charges against Cole stemmed from an incident on Jan. 24, 2018.

That night, Cole went into the Krauszers at 1959 State St. in Hamden, wearing a mask and armed with a semi-automatic handgun, Griffin said. Cole accosted the clerk and a customer with the gun, demanding they comply as he stole cash from the register and a cellphone from the shopper, Griffin said. But before Cole could flee, he was confronted by Officer Andrew Pfeiffer.

Pfeiffer had been flagged down by a witness in the parking lot who told the officer the store was being robbed by a man with a mask and a gun. Pfeiffer called for backup and went inside the store.

The officer confronted Cole, telling him to put his hands up. Instead, Griffin said, Cole ducked behind some shelves, pointed the gun at the officer and fired.

Pfeiffer retreated from inside the store to seek cover, and Cole popped up in the front doorway, exchanging gunfire with the officer, Griffin said. He said Cole left the store, still firing his gun, to seek cover.

Pfeiffer returned fire, prompting Cole to return inside the store, before later emerging from an emergency side exit and run toward Pfeiffer, Griffin said. Cole ran along the side of the building and Pfeiffer lost sight of him.

Cole was later found hiding under a vehicle in a State Street driveway, Griffin said. He was found with injuries to his right hand and fingers. He also had a gunshot wound to the torso. He was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital for treatment.

Forensic evidence collected from the scene showed Cole fired six shots at Pfeiffer. Officials did not indicate how many shots the officer fired.

The Connecticut State Police Central District Major Crime Squad investigated Pfeiffers use of force, finding that it was in defense of himself and others in the store. The shooting was deemed justified, Griffin said.
BRIDGEPORT  A man found suffering from a gunshot wound in a vehicle on Rennell Court late Monday died at the hospital Tuesday morning, according to police officials.

Police responded to the area of Gregory Street and Rennell Court around 11:30 p.m. for a report of shots fired and a person possibly shot.

Capt. Kevin Gilleran said that arriving officers found a group surrounding a car parked on Rennell Court. Inside the car, officers found an unresponsive man in the drivers seat.

The victim, identified by Gilleran as a 27-year-old Ansonia man, was rushed to Bridgeport Hospital with a critical gunshot wound. He died Tuesday morning at the hospital, Gilleran said.

The victims identity is not being released pending notification of next of kin.

A crime scene was processed and evidence collected in the area around Rennell Court.

Gilleran said detectives are chasing down several leads in what marked the citys 10th homicide of the year.

This homicide comes on the heels of another fatal shooting over the weekend.

Shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday, police responded to the intersection of Lexington and Harral avenues after a ShotSpotter gunfire activation and calls about two people shot inside the Copa Restaurant.

Officers found two people suffering from gunshot wounds. They were both rushed to St. Vincents Medical Center.

One of the victims, identified as 54-year-old Stratford resident Joselito Calderon, later died at the hospital. The second victim, a 30-year-old Bridgeport man, was listed in stable condition and is expected to survive.

Anyone with information on the 10th homicide is asked to call Detective Robert Winkler at 203-581-5244. Anyone with information on the ninth homicide is asked to call Detective Martin Heanue at 203-581-5242. Callers can also utilize the departments anonymous tips line at 203-576-TIPS.
FRANKSVILLE, Wis. (AP)  A man filling up his car at a Wisconsin gas station was shot and killed by another man on Tuesday, with the suspect fleeing the scene and dying soon after in a shootout with an undercover sheriff's investigator.

Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling said the initial shooting happened about 7:30 a.m. at the Pilot Travel Center in the village of Caledonia. Schmaling said a 32-year-old man approached and viciously executed a 22-year-old man putting gas in his car.

Schmaling said the gunman then shot at another person driving through the Pilot parking lot  that person was unhurt  and then drove away. The sheriff said the man then approached a person who was filling up his car at a Mobil station about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) away.

That man happened to be an undercover sheriff's investigator with 21 years of experience, Schmaling said. He said the two men exchanged gunfire, and the suspect was struck several times and killed.

The investigator was also hit and was taken to a Racine hospital, where he was conscious and alert, the sheriff said.

It should be noted, ladies and gentlemen, this is 7:30 in the morning at this Mobil station. It was bustling with activity. People getting their gas. People getting their morning cup of coffee. There is no doubt in my mind the quick, heroic actions of our investigator saved lives today, he said.

Schmaling said he had watched video of the initial shooting. Though he described the shooting as an execution, he gave no indication of what preceded the attack.

Schmaling did not provide the names of the shooter or his victims, but did say the gunman was from Hartland and the man he shot and killed was from Elkhorn.

One witness to the aftermath of the shooting at the Pilot, just off Interstate 94 about 22 miles (35 kilometers) south of Milwaukee, described a sea of people fleeing from inside the station.

A trucker who declined to give her name, citing fears for her safety, told The Associated Press she had just pulled into the Pilot to fuel up when a man ran out of the store. She said she then saw a truck ahead of her back up and make a U-turn to leave.

Then, everybody starts running out of the Pilot, it's truckers just running, sea of people, this one guy is yelling, Run! Run,' and I'm like, Oh my God," the woman said. She said she asked one of the people what was going on.

He said that somebody's in there shooting, the woman said. She said she did not witness any shooting or see anyone hurt.

In a statement, Pilot Co. spokeswoman Stephanie Myers said it's an open investigation, we are cooperating fully with local authorities. The statement went on to say that the safety and well-being" of the company's' employees and customers "is always our main concern.

___

Associated Press writers Gretchen Ehlke in Milwaukee; Doug Glass in Minneapolis; and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed to this report.
Getty Images / Contributed

WATERBURY  Police are asking for the publics help to identify the driver involved in a hit-and-run that left a pedestrian in critical condition.

Sgt. Robert Davis said officers responded to the 200 block of Pine Street around 9 a.m. Sunday for a report of a man lying in the roadway.
WEST HAVEN  A couple who lives adjacent to a Shingle Hill Road site targeted for housing have sued the city and a developer to overturn a variance granted last month for a proposed development on that road.

Attorney Thomas Lynch of Lynch, Trembicki and Boynton filed a lawsuit in state Superior Court on behalf of John and Patricia Antonelli, who live on a property adjacent to 37 Shingle Hill Road. In June, the citys Zoning Board of Appeals granted an exception to developer BLLT LLC to construct eight duplexes  or 16 units of housing  on the 2.95-acre parcel at 37 Shingle Hill Road.

Attorney Vincent Amendola, who represented the developer before the board, described the variance as necessary for the developer to create a community large enough that the planned active adult development community could remain within the bounds of the federal Housing for Older Persons Act. The development as planned would add housing density to the neighborhood and would allow for housing to be reserved for city residents 55 years and older in a way that does not violate the Fair Housing Act, according to Amendola.

Amendola declined to comment on pending litigation. An attorney for the city said he was unfamiliar with the lawsuit and could not comment.

Lynch said the area is zoned only for single-family housing, meaning multifamily developments such as duplexes violate the zoning ordinance. He said the zoning board of appeals acted outside of its parameters by voting to allow duplexes.

The applicant has to show a legal hardship, and a legal hardship is something pertaining to the land itself that prevents him from developing the property in accordance with the zoning regulations, Lynch said. I think its going to be a tough argument for the town or the applicant to make that the board acted within its discretion.

At the June board meeting, Patricia Antonelli spoke of how the development would reduce the quality of her property. The Antonelli living room has a bay window overlooking their backyard; the proposed development would place a home outside that window, she said.

To create the planned development on 37 Shingle Hill Road  16 1,250-square-foot housing units in eight single-story duplex buildings, plus an attached two-car garage on each building  BLLT must knock down the vacant eight-bedroom colonial-style residence that sits on the 2.95-acre parcel its owned since 2018.

My clients understand the residence located (at 37 Shingle Hill Road) now is a large piece of property, the house is in bad shape and dilapidated and in bad repair. A proper development of it would be seeking a subdivision to put 4 to 5 houses on the property. Its the overdevelopment of the property they have a dispute with, Lynch said.

Its too dense, he said.

brian.zahn@hearstmediact.com
Caspian Elliott Albright-Maroney became one of the Lord's little angels on Wednesday, July 14, 2021 at Strong Memorial Hospital. He was the son of Amber Elliott-Albright and Mark Maroney. Besides his parents he is survived by his siblings, Athena Marie Maroney and Noah Maroney; grandparents,
Amnesty International has called for the immediate release of five protesters who were unlawfully arrested by the Department of State Servic...





Amnesty International has called for the immediate release of five protesters who were unlawfully arrested by the Department of State Services, DSS on Sunday at Dunamis Church, Abuja.

Recall that the DSS had arrested some activists during the churchs service on Sunday for wearing BuhariMustGo shirts.

Reacting, the group in a post via its official Twitter account on Tuesday urged the Nigerian government to immediately effect their release.

It also stated that protest is not a crime and the authorities have an obligation to respect their rights.

Last Sunday, the Department of State Services (DSS) arrested some activists at Dunamis.

The protesters, who go by the names; Emmanuel Larry, Victor Anene Udoka, Samuel Gabrizi Iwatannaye, Henry Nwodo, and Ben Mennaseh, should be freed and allowed to join their respective families.

Protest is not a crime and the authorities have an obligation to respect their rights, the tweet said.
Microsoft Founder, Bill Gates has blamed himself for messing up as he opens up about his messy divorce. Recall that Bill and Melin...

Microsoft Founder, Bill Gates has blamed himself for messing up as he opens up about his messy divorce.

Recall that Bill and Melinda announced on Monday that they will be getting a divorce in a joint statement after 27 years of marriage.

The Microsoft founder said after a great deal of thought and a lot of work, we have made the decision to end our marriage.

He noted that they raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives.

We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue to work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives, he said.

However,during an interview with CNBC host, Becky Quick, at a summer camp for billionaires, Gates said he messed up, adding that the divorce was his fault.

It hasnt been an easy one but the decision was in our best interest. At some point I think I messed up and I feel we are here because of me, he said.

The summer camp for billionaires was attended by some of the most powerful people in sports, technology, and media.
The Peoples Democratic Party on Tuesday applauded the Senate for declining the confirmation of Lauretta Onochie, an aide of President Muha...





The Peoples Democratic Party on Tuesday applauded the Senate for declining the confirmation of Lauretta Onochie, an aide of President Muhammadu Buhari, for appointment as National Commissioner representing Delta State, at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Earlier today, Onochies nomination was rejected by the Senate for reasons bordering on potential violation of the Federal Character Principle.

The Upper house while confirming Prof. Muhammad Sani Kallah, (Katsina), Prof. Kunle Ajayi (Ekiti), Saidu Ahmad (Jigawa), Dr Baba Bila (North-East) and Prof. Abdullahi Zuru (North-West) said it was against the Federal Character Principle to have two persons from the same state as INEC National Commissioner.

Committee Chairman, Kabiru Gaya cited the presence of Mrs May Agbamuche Mbu from Delta, as a National Commissioner of INEC, as a reason for her rejection.

Reacting, PDP, in a statement titled, INEC: Onochies Rejection At Senate Is Victory For Nigerians, Democracy- PDP and signed by National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the rejection of Onochie saved Nigeria from a serious crisis that may befall the country in the 2023 general elections.

The statement read in part, The PDP asserts that the rejection of Lauretta Onochie by Nigerians has saved the nation from a very serious crisis as well as salvaged INEC and the entire Nigerian electoral process from ruinous pollution that would have led to the collapse of our democratic order.

The party asserts that Onochies vexatious nomination, in a total affront to paragraph 14 of the 3rd schedule of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), was a very dangerous machination by the Buhari-led APC Presidency against our electoral process, in the attempt to subvert the will of the people in the 2023 elections.

The APC (All Progressives Congress), in spite of its shenanigans, is aware that it will have difficulties winning election at any level in a free, fair and credible election and as such it is determined to rig every process ahead of the 2023 elections.

Our party, therefore, commends Nigerians including civil society organizations, the media as well as other political parties, for joining forces with the PDP in fighting for the sanctity of our electoral process by resisting Onochies nomination.
The House of Representatives has called on the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, to stop the ongoing media trial of Chidinma Ojukwu, the suspecte...

The House of Representatives has called on the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, to stop the ongoing media trial of Chidinma Ojukwu, the suspected killer of the Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, Usifo Ataga.

This followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved by Rep Tolu Sadipe at the plenary on Tuesday.

Sadipe while moving the motion, raised concerns over the unending parade and media trial of the suspect by the police.

The lawmaker said the police should rather conclude its investigation in Chidinmas matter and charge her to court for trial rather than the ongoing media trial the suspect is being made to go through.

Chidinma was first paraded by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, on June 24 at the Police Command in connection with the murder of Ataga.

The suspect has not been charged to court yet.

She has made a series of confessional statements through media interviews granted to both the print and electronic media while in the custody of the police.

Meanwhile, in a video that went viral on Monday, Chidinma denied killing the Super TV CEO, a claim that is contrary to her initial confession.

According to the undergraduate, the deceased had locked the room before she left, but she was surprised when she came back to find out that the room wasnt locked.

Chidinma added that she fled with a bag containing his credentials because she was confused about what to do as he was already dead.
Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Sun and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 77F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 61F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 77F. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Mainly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 61F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
Wars arent always won with conventional weapons. The Greeks famously used a giant wooden horse. Andrew Higgins did it with his eponymous New Orleans-made landing craft.

Then theres Sam Zemurray. He used a banana. Millions of them, actually.

Zemurray, fittingly also known as Sam the Banana Man, was the Russian-born entrepreneur who, as an enterprising teenager, parlayed the overripe bananas he could buy for a song on the Mobile, Alabama, waterfront into one of the worlds largest fruit businesses.

Among other things, history remembers him as a man unafraid to meddle in the politics of small South American and Central American countries  even if that meant destabilizing them or, indeed, staging coups  if that was to his companys benefit.

(Youve heard of banana republics? Sam the Banana Man is at least partly responsible for some of them.)

But whatever else he was, he was one of 20th-century New Orleans most well-known and influential businessmen and philanthropists.

Zemurrays United Fruit Co.  nee Cuyamel Fruit Co.  isnt around anymore, having been absorbed into Chiquita Brands. But its legacy still exists, standing 10 stories tall at 321 St. Charles Ave., at its corner with Union Street.

United Fruits time on that corner actually predates the building named after it. Initially, the company resided in the old four-story Louisiana Lottery building that had long stood there. But by 1919, United Fruit had become so big, and so spread out in multiple buildings around town, that company leaders decided to bring them all together under one roof.

So, they began buying up buildings nearby, including the Peoples Homestead building on the Perdido Street side of the old lottery building, as well as a building owned by Investors Realty on the Carondelet side.

In March 1920, a team of men with pickaxes brought them all down.

In their place: the 10-story, 50,000-square-foot United Fruit Co. building, designed by the local architectural firm of Diboll and Owen, constructed by the Fuller Construction Co. and representing a total estimated investment of $1 million (or $14 million in 2021 money), according to a Times-Picayune story published upon its opening 100 years ago this month, on July 26, 1921.

Constructed on a steel frame, it would be clad in brick and terra cotta and designed to reflect the Spanish Renaissance style. Easily its most eye-catching characteristic would be its ornate entryway, a massive terra cotta sculpture crowded with raised carvings of urns, garland, rosettes and other ornamentation, and crowned with two stone cornucopias flanking a carved basket of fruit.

Just beneath it, raised lettering spells out United Fruit Company and 1920, the year work on the building started.

Smaller, similarly styled friezes would frame the windows on the buildings upper floors.

Inside, it was just as impressive, according to the Picayune.

Every modern convenience has been placed in the building, the newspaper wrote. It is equipped with a pneumatic mail distributing system that connects all departments; there is running ice water in every section from the companys own refrigerating plant in the basement; four high speed elevators are provided.

"The only stairway is the fireproof stairway in the rear. Fireproof vaults are provided on every floor. A wireless set has been installed on the roof of the building.

It went on to note that the buildings interior decorations are of unusual attractiveness, although the most conspicuous adornment was a 15-foot circular mural painted by local artist William Woodward  the longtime director the Newcomb College School of Art  and installed on the ceiling of the rotunda in the buildings gilded elevator lobby.

Depicting a colorful and lush tropical scene set in Havana Harbor, Woodwards painting is dominated by a likeness of the SS Atenas, a hulking white oceangoing steamer that was part of United Fruits so-called Great White Fleet, which carried tourists to the tropics and brought bananas back.

+3 Two 1900s buildings have the same name and the same architect, but their fates are vastly different This is a tale of two buildings, both with the same name, both designed by the same prominent New Orleans architect in the modernist style and

On the floor beneath it: a star-shaped mosaic evoking a compass rose and incorporating 12 types of domestic and imported marble, according to a Works Progress Administration document.

United Fruit offices would occupy all but three of the floors.

By 1964, three years after Zemurrays death, United Fruit sold its interest in the building, although it continued to lease four floors from the propertys new owners.

For a time, it was home to a bank. Then, in February 2020, it was purchased by entrepreneur Eric George, who has said he will redevelop it but without providing further details.

+6 Italians and jazz? A former Italian culture center on Esplanade Avenue doubles as jazz landmark As New Orleans jazz landmarks go, its an unlikely one. For starters, its still standing, somehow having survived that period in history in w

There's no denying the building's history," George said in a news release issued at the time. "United Fruit and Sam Zemurray were among the most influential organizations and people of 20th-century New Orleans. It's important for us to fully understand the context of the building at that time. There's a story to be told, which we're working to uncover.

Whatever it becomes, it wont likely feature William Woodwards mural of Havana Harbor. It was removed at some point and now graces the ceiling of the Truck Farm Tavern in St. Rose.

Bananas arent on the menu, but diners can dig into a side order of fried plantains to go with their Woodwards Cuban sandwich.

Sources: The Times-Picayune archive; Works Progress Administration; Bananas: How the United Fruit Company Shaped the World, by Peter Chapman

Know of a New Orleans building worth profiling in this column, or just curious about one? Contact Mike Scott at moviegoermike@gmail.com.
Its one of those cliches that just happens to ring true. When New Orleans people get together for a meal, very often were talking about the last restaurant we visited and the next one on our lists.

But then suddenly it wasnt our future restaurant plans on the table, but the future of our restaurants. The first coronavirus shutdown orders back in March 2020 were sweeping. The citys never-ending restaurant conversation changed to which would come back, which would make it.

Thankfully, the answer has been most of them, at least so far. The exceptions, the ones that have closed for good, have landed like gut punches to people who cared about them. But they have been the exceptions overall  thanks to federal stimulus programs, thanks to staunch local support, thanks to the quick thinking, hard choices and force of will that people poured into the effort to somehow save these places.

Still, the road back has been long and winding, and its far from over, with many questions of how the business will recover, change and adapt still on the horizon. Even the future of economic programs to rebuild the industry is in question.

The federal Restaurant Revitalization Fund ran dry before vast numbers of restaurants received any support, with the Small Business Administration that runs the fund citing overwhelming demand. Industry leaders have been pleading with Congress to refill the fund, but its future is unclear.

Muddying prospects further, thousands of restaurants around the country that had been approved for grants were informed by the SBA that these funds wont be coming after all, the result of a court ruling that found the governments prioritization of grant recipients by race and gender was unconstitutional.

This means restaurants that have been hemorrhaging money or stacking up debt to maintain a framework for their businesses over the past 16 months cant count on help from our federal lawmakers right now.

As a diner, theres no doubt that it feels great to get back to the table, to return to our favorite places and to again explore new restaurants, or the ones just new to us. But we have to remember how they got here, and what the people who make them tick have gone through to even get to this point.

In other words, New Orleans restaurants are still not back to normal, even if things are feeling more normal in other parts of our own lives.

Food and restaurant news in your inbox Every Thursday we give you the scoop on NOLA dining. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

Ive made this case before in the pandemic recovery, but it bears repeating because progress can be hard to gauge in this phase of the crisis. The economy is wide open again, and more people are feeling comfortable being out and about. Individuals who have received federal stimulus funds may be in a spending mood.

But building back something as complex, fragile, personal and rewarding as our restaurants has to be a gradual process. For the people who have been fighting to save their businesses and keep their jobs and livelihoods intact through all this, its also been exhausting.

Along the way, though, they are providing ample reminders of why its worth it. Just think about why were returning to restaurants right now.

We are going to celebrate and seek comfort, to reconnect and refresh, to learn and to experience. That describes so much of what we wanted and needed and missed when the pandemic kept us apart.

To visit restaurants again, to see them in action in this community, is a reminder that they comprise something beyond a business sector. They are all-too-susceptible to business realities, of course. But what we get from them belongs at the corner of culture and identity  they connect us to this place, its stories, even the future, through the new voices and relationships we can forge around them.

In normal times, we proudly proclaim how this is one of things that makes us New Orleanians, how we take our restaurants and our food culture seriously and treat them as a way of life.

Its why, at the table, we talk about what we just had, where were headed next. Today, whatever that answer is, wherever it takes us, we should head there with some new appreciation, plenty of empathy and generosity for people who are working again to keep them open and gratitude that they indeed are back.

+12 Coolinary dining deals get early start, aiming to help New Orleans restaurants revive The annual Coolinary dining promotion is the answer to a challenge many New Orleans restaurants normally face each summer  getting people in 
HOUMA  Filming for Reese Witherspoon's new movie, Where the Crawdads Sing, brought out locals to witness a little piece of Hollywood magic.

Downtown Houma was transformed to look as it might have in the 1950s and 60s as crews filmed scenes in late June for the movie.

Tina Parfait of Houma said she loves seeing the old-fashioned clothes, vintage cars and downtown buildings featured on the big screen.

And its just pretty cool that theyre here in our little ... town of Houma doing this wonderful movie. And I didnt read the book, but now it motivates me to want to read the book, Parfait said. Im a big fan of Reese Witherspoon.

+2 Reese Witherspoon visits 'Where the Crawdads Sing' movie set as filming transforms Louisiana town Reese Witherspoon visited Louisiana this week to oversee her new production of "Where the Crawdads Sing" as it films in downtown Houma.

Witherspoon, a New Orleans native who was raised in Nashville, Tennessee, is producing the movie. She visited Louisiana in June for the filming.

Incredible day on set of the @CrawdadsMovie, Witherspoon tweeted, accompanied by photos from the set.

An incredible day on set of the @CrawdadsMovie. This story has such a special place in my heart and to see it all come to life is true MOVIE MAGIC! Between the stunning location, detailed set design and amazing cast & crew, It truly brought tears to my eyes.  @hellosunshine pic.twitter.com/9H0XUJ9DeJ  Reese Witherspoon (@ReeseW) June 18, 2021

Filming for the Hollywood movie, an adaptation of Delia Owens best-selling novel by the same name, has also taken place in New Orleans.

The novel and movie focus on an unforgettable young woman, abandoned at age ten to survive alone in the wild coastal marsh of North Carolina, says a summary on Owens website. For years, rumors of the Marsh Girl' haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet fishing village. Kya Clark is barefoot and wild; unfit for polite society. So in late 1969, when the popular Chase Andrews is found dead, locals immediately suspect her.

Lucy Alibar, who co-wrote the screenplay for "Beasts of the Southern Wild," is doing to the screenplay.

Actors Daisy Edgar-Jones will star as Clark, Taylor John Smith will play Tate Walker, and Harris Dickinson will play Andrews.

The film issued a call in March for local extras.

Parfait watched take after take on the corner of Lafayette Street.

We really got entertained with two little extras that were walking. They would stop because they would walk maybe 20 yards, and then they would call cut, and then they have to turn around and do it back over again. But those two guys, they were like, not aggravated, Parfait said. They were gonna play it off like this is fun. And you could tell it was fun for them because they were just dancing and singing and, and Im like, if those two guys are not in that movie, I will be disappointed because they have entertained us spectators watching.

Linsi Cenac Matherne, owner of Linsi L Cenac Interiors, saw her storefront turned into a retro furniture store. Cenac Matherne said it was cool to see the production work outside the stores front door.

To see them quickly make changes, and its really one of those kind of fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants things, like with the weather and with so many people. Its pretty amazing to watch, Cenac Matherne said.

Shes excited to be able to show her kids where the shop is in the background when the movie comes out.

They asked, Were the movie people there? And they were like, Whats that look like? The kids are 3 and 4, but when the movie comes out, they can obviously tell where it is since our building is mint green, Cenac Matherne said. You cant miss it. For them to be able to see that, I think its gonna be really, really neat. Were kind of in the thick of it.

Families took photos with the vintage cars and decorations when the production was not filming. Emmalyn Pellegrin, 8, was with her mom, Haley, sister Kate and friend Journee to watch a scene being filmed with an old rail bus.

Its cool, Emmalyn said. I want to be in a movie one day.

Annette Ruffin came out after work to watch filming. Shes been an extra in three movies previously filmed in Houma: Crazy in Alabama, The Apostle and A Lesson Before Dying.

I love seeing when they come out and do the takes and they say its good or go back, Ruffin said. I love it all  everything.

Some of the production crew wore shirts that riffed on variations of Happy Houma Days, signaling the time they filmed here.

Lauren Rebstock, a resident of Cut Off and owner of La Boujee Boutique, had her storefront transformed into a hardware store.

From a business owner perspective it was really incredible to watch them work. I think the magic of Hollywood and how they can transform things and piece things together, its just really amazing. To watch downtown Houma become that 1950s-1960s look has just been really phenomenal, Rebstock said.

Its just really great to have the opportunity to have so many of those people from out of town coming in and really kind of breathing some life into our local economy, she said. I mean, just walking into Downtown Jeauxs yesterday to grab coffee with some of the girls who work with me. It was amazing to see all of the crew and the hair and makeup girls in there just eating lunch.

Rebstock was also able to work as an extra with her fellow employees for several scenes. She looks forward to having a community gathering once the film comes out.

I want to do a whole viewing party. The manager of the store and I were talking yesterday. We want to get some of the big, like, Hollywood lights out in front of the store and maybe do a blow-up projection screen and an outdoors kind of thing, Rebstock said. I definitely encourage people to come downtown and check it out. I know the film crew is going to be packing up on Thursday, but just come in to see the remnants in the near future. Its really great just knowing that their community was part of something thats gonna stand the test of time like a movie.
Facing dozens of accusations of sexual assault and misconduct against children and young adults going back decades, the National Federation of the Blind is creating a new $250,000 fund for survivors to help pay for therapy services.

Members of the organization voted to set up the fund July 10, at the conclusion of NFBs annual convention.

The Survivor Assistance to Facilitate Empowerment (SAFE) fund will serve as a dedicated financial resource for providing therapy support to survivors of incidents where the Federations Code of Conduct is known to have been violated, according to the resolution, which was adopted.

The NFBs Board of Directors will oversee the fund, including determining who will be eligible to receive money from the fund and how that process will work. They will also be in charge of ensuring that survivors are not retaliated against for accessing money from the fund.

The Board of Directors unanimously advanced the measure in June.

Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech University, also in Ruston, has announced it will update the terms of its partnership with LCB after several former students alleged sexual and emotional abuse by staff and students at the NFB-affiliated training center for the blind.

+10 Months after National Federation of the Blinds abuse scandal, survivors want accountability More incidents of abuse and misconduct have been uncovered, with little in the way of accountability or systemic change.

Louisiana Tech will require LCB to report to them any incidents of misconduct involving LCB staff, volunteers or Tech students that could impact the program and update them on policies and training, according to Tonya Oaks Smith, a spokesperson for the university.

Additionally, Louisiana Tech students participating in programming at LCB will agree to a code of conduct and the university is creating an advisory board to review LCBs operations, policies and procedures relevant to Tech on a yearly basis.

Between 2014-2019, Louisiana Tech paid LCB more than $230,000 as part of its immersion program, during which university students sit in on LCB training programs. LCB founder Joanne Wilson also created the universitys Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness  where students learn how to teach blindness skills  forming a longstanding partnership between the two institutions.
The body of the Kenner native who went missing after the collapse of a Miami-area condominium tower last month has been recovered, her husbands law office announced Monday.

Cassondria Cassie Billedeau-Strattons body was identified Sunday, a day after it was found by crews searching the site, according to a statement from the Denver firm where her husband, political strategist Mike Stratton, is a partner.

Her husband  and family again thank everyone who prayed for Cassie over the past two weeks and reiterate their eternal gratitude to the rescue workers whose courage and determination was unmatched, the statement from Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck said. Mike and Cassies family respectfully request privacy as they mourn and prepare for her memorial service.

'Hope dims' for husband of Kenner native missing after Miami-area condo collapse The husband of the Kenner native who has been missing for a week in a collapsed Miami-area condominium tower said hope dims with each excruci

Billedeau-Stratton, 40, was last heard from in the early morning of June 24, the day the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, collapsed. At least 94 people were killed and more than 20 others are still unaccounted for as of Monday, according to authorities.

She had called her husband, who was in Washington D.C. for work, to tell him the pool outside their window had turned into a sinkhole. She screamed, and the line went dead.

Her relatives in Kenner  including her mother, sister and daughter  soon flew to Surfside to join Mike Stratton and watch as rescuers combed through the rubble looking for survivors. But by Thursday, it had become clear to her family that she had been killed in the collapse alongside dozens of others.

+4 After Miami condo collapse, 'full of life' Kenner native missing; family holds out hope A Kenner native was in the Miami-area beachfront condominium building that collapsed Thursday, and her family was holding out hope that she wo

Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

Cassie meant so much to so many, and everything to me, Mike Stratton wrote in a statement provided to news media outlets. Hearts around the world are breaking as friends and family accept the loss of a bright and kind soul with an adventurous spirit.

Billedeau-Stratton was raised in Kenner and graduated from Bonnabel High School. She later spent time in Miami and New York, teaching Pilates, modeling and pursuing a career as an actress.

Her interests led her to travel all over the world, her family has said. But she loved coming home, and trips back were an excuse to indulge.

She wanted her red beans and rice, she wanted me to cook her gumbo, and I would have to (cook) big  pots of it, her sister, Ashley Irwin Dean, has said.

Mike Stratton said survivors include her daughter, Ariana, and two stepsons.

Your love means so much, Cass, Mike Strattons statement read. We will take care of Ariana the way you took care of all of us.

Investigators havent specified what caused the Champlain Towers South beachfront condo complex to fall.

But in 2018, an engineering report found that the buildings ground-floor pool was resting on a concrete slab that had major structural damage and needed extensive repairs. The report also highlighted cracked concrete columns, beams and walls in the complexs parking garage, and the buildings managers estimated it would cost more than $15 million to fix everything.
Louisiana health officials sounded the alarm on rising COVID cases among unvaccinated people on Tuesday, releasing a flurry of worrisome statistics suggesting the delta variant, a highly transmissible version of the coronavirus, is continuing to spread throughout the state.

The data are very clear, said Dr. Joseph Kanter, Louisianas state health officer, in a press release. COVID-19 cases among unvaccinated people in Louisiana are surging."

Louisiana health officials reported 631 more confirmed coronavirus cases and four more deaths in its noon update Tuesday, a significant jump of 175.5% over the past two weeks.

The number of confirmed cases Tuesday was also the highest seven-day total since Feb. 17, increasing by 64% since last week.

Tuesday's data also represented the highest daily increase of hospitalizations since Jan. 11 with 44 patients, and the number of hospitalized people in need of ventilators increased by 10. Hospitalization data was up by 30.5% since last week and 56% in two weeks.

+5 Surge in Louisiana COVID cases traced to Delta variant, low vaccination rate: 'We're in it' For weeks, experts have been bracing for the effects of the Delta variant, a version of the coronavirus first discovered in India that is twic

Nearly all COVID cases since May have occurred in unvaccinated people, the state said. About 6% occurred in people who were vaccinated.

In the last several weeks, officials and public health experts have warned of another potential wave as the delta variant spreads, particularly in the South, and vaccine rates are far from reaching herd immunity levels.

Vaccination protects against the delta variant, which is thought to be twice as contagious. But protection is not absolute, especially in people who are immunocompromised, such as the elderly, cancer patients or transplant recipients.

Risk of infection increases for everyone, but particularly the unvaccinated, as the amount of coronavirus in the community increases.

"All people in Louisiana, especially those who are not yet vaccinated, should know they are now at increased risk of exposure to COVID-19 due to the more transmissible delta variant, and they should consider their personal risk and their familys risk," said Kanter.

The spike in cases and hospitalizations was paired with a small increase in vaccinations in Louisiana, a state that continues to remain behind most of the country in terms of its vaccine rate.

First case of delta-plus, 'double-whammy' variant of COVID, detected in Louisiana The delta variant of COVID-19 has spawned a new, troubling variant known as delta-plus that has been identified for the first time in Louisian

In Louisiana, 21,758 more doses of COVID vaccines have been administered, according to a noon update Tuesday from the Louisiana Department of Health.

There are 1,667,447 people who are fully vaccinated and 1,819,328 people who have received at least one dose of a vaccine.

The total number of administered doses is now 3,359,788. Most of those shots are part of the two-dose regimen recommended for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which is why the total number of people who have received at least one dose is lower than the total number of doses.

Out of Louisiana's entire estimated population, 39.1% of people have received at least one dose and 35.9% of people are fully vaccinated.

Vaccine news in your inbox Once a week we'll update you on the progress of COVID-19 vaccinations. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

These are another few key statewide statistics as of Tuesday:

Total confirmed cases: 412,986

Total "probable" cases: 77,918

Total confirmed deaths: 9,764

Hospitalized: 454

On ventilators: 47

Vaccine series initiated: 1,819,328 (updated twice weekly)

Vaccine series completed: 1,667,447

Note: The Advocate and The Times-Picayune staff calculates daily case count and confirmed death increases based on the difference between today's total and yesterday's total of confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths. The Louisiana Department of Health releases a daily case count on its dashboard that includes probable cases as indicated by a positive antigen test. That case count can be different than the one listed here.

Here are some of the parishes with the highest single-day increase in confirmed coronavirus cases, based on the Tuesday's report:

East Baton Rouge: 202

St. Tammany: 138

Orleans: 133

Jefferson: 122

Lafayette: 120

Tangipahoa: 82

Livingston: 79

Ascension: 75

Can't see chart below? Click here.

Can't see chart below? Click here.

Louisiana began reopening for Phase 1 on May 15-16 then moved to Phase 2 on June 5. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards extended Louisiana's Phase 2 restrictions twice in August before moving the state to Phase 3 on Sept. 11. The governor then moved the state back to a modified Phase 2 near the end of November before putting Louisiana back in a modified Phase 3 on March 2, 2021.

Those looking for more information about where to get vaccinated can call the Louisiana Department of Health COVID-19 Vaccine Hotline at 855-453-0774.
A man was killed and a woman injured in an overnight shooting in Algiers, New Orleans police said Tuesday.

The man was 34, police said, but his name has not been released.

The double shooting was reported to police at 1:33 a.m. in the 1400 block of Shirley Drive (map), according to preliminary information from NOPD.

Someone in a vehicle approached the two people, police said, and starting shooting at them. The man and woman were both hit.

The man died at the scene, police said, and the woman was taken via ambulance to a hospital. Her condition was not immediately available.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with new information from police.
A young man already facing an attempted murder charge has been re-arrested for allegedly shooting a teenage boy to death while out on bond, presenting Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams with the question of whether to try him as an adult.

The suspect, Joshua Williams, was 17 and legally a minor at the time of the killing. But because of the gravity of his alleged crime, the DA's Office acknowledges it is weighing the possibility of seeking to indict Joshua Williams  now 18  as an adult, again testing Jason Williams promise on the campaign trail last year to keep youths in juvenile court.

While we believe handling juvenile matters in the juvenile system ensures developmentally appropriate adjudication of young people, in some cases the sentencing limits of juvenile court are inadequate to address the offense, read a statement from Jason Williams first assistant, Bob White.

Joshua Williams' case unfolds after the DAs Office in May secured an adult second-degree murder indictment against two 15-year-olds accused of killing Anita Irvin LeViege, 52, in a botched carjacking attempt on Jan. 3.

The move drew backlash from progressive groups who supported Jason Williams campaign in part because of his promise to try underage criminal suspects in juvenile court. But the DA said it would not be justice to try Irvin LeVieges suspected killers, Quedyn Growe and Demond Thomas, in a setting that could leave them serving as little as three or five years in jail for taking a womans life.

We must pursue appropriate accountability, Jason Williams said at the time.

Joshua Williams attorney, Eusi Phillips, said his client has pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder case and is also innocent of the more recent accusation.

At this point, we havent been presented with any evidence that puts him on the scene of a crime, Phillips said. We 100% maintain his innocence.

Joshua Williams legal troubles date back at least to July 20, 2020, when a 16-year-old boy riding a four-wheeler was shot by the passenger of a passing pickup truck in the 8000 block of Gus Street in the Little Woods section of New Orleans East.

Teen boy, young man killed in recent New Orleans shootings identified The Orleans Parish Coroners Office on Tuesday identified a teen boy and a young man who were shot to death recently.

Paramedics took the victim to a hospital, and he survived. Investigators later booked Joshua Williams on a count of attempted murder.

Few details about the evidence in the attempted murder case are available because of the secrecy mandated in juvenile court cases.

But Jason Williams predecessor, Leon Cannizzaro, first charged Joshua Williams as an adult on Sept. 28. He pleaded not guilty and was out on $100,000 bond by the time Jason Williams took office in January.

Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

Following through on his promise to treat juveniles as juveniles, the attempted murder case was transferred to juvenile court on April 8. That transfer did not affect Joshua Williams' custody status, since he had already been released on bond, Jason Williams' office said.

Three days later, a shooting at the corner of Duane and Forum roads in Little Woods killed KRon Hoskins, 16, and injured a 15-year-old boy.

Police said Joshua Williams became a suspect in the case when they found a security camera video showing Hoskins two killers leaving the scene in a 2014 Ford Explorer that Joshua Williams was known to drive.

Officers said they later found that Explorer parked outside of Joshua Williams home.

According to investigators, an unidentified witness confirmed that Joshua Williams was in possession of the Explorer around the time Hoskins was killed. Investigators also alleged that they had found additional surveillance footage showing Joshua Williams leaving his home minutes before Hoskins slaying, while wearing clothes which were identical to those worn by one of the killers in the other video.

Police by April 14 obtained a warrant to arrest Joshua Williams on a count of second-degree murder, and they initially booked him as a juvenile at the citys Youth Study Center.

The case was automatically transferred to adult court on July 1  five days following his 18th birthday  after a juvenile court judge found probable cause for his arrest in connection with Hoskins shooting death. His bail in the murder case was set at $500,000.

While prosecutors said they hadnt decided whether they would seek to indict Joshua Williams as an adult, they made clear that the option remained on the table.

In Louisiana, youths convicted in juvenile court can be held in the states youth prisons only until their 21st birthday. Youths convicted of murder in the state's adult courts face life imprisonment, though they would be eligible to seek parole after 25 years because of their age.

Should we decide it is in the interest of justice to send this matter to (adult court), we will do so, White said.
One of two victims shot on Interstate 310 in St. Rose early Sunday morning has died of his injuries, the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office said.

The man was identified as Dovante Mitchell, 25, of Edgard.

The other victim, an 18-year-old from Vacherie, suffered a gunshot wound to his back, said Cpl. James Grimaldi, a spokesperson for the Sheriff's Office. He was treated and released.

Detectives believe the shooting occurred on the elevated portion of southbound I-310, where the interstate crosses Airline Highway, Grimaldi said.

Mitchell and the 18-year-old were coming from New Orleans, headed to St. John the Baptist and St. James parishes around 3 a.m. in a white Dodge Durango when the shootings occurred, according to authorities.

Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

The Sheriff's Office 911 center received several calls reporting the incident. Deputies found the two wounded men inside the sport utility vehicle, which was still in the roadway, Grimaldi said.

Mitchell and the 18-year-old were taken to University Medical Center in New Orleans. But Mitchell succumbed to his injuries Sunday night, Grimaldi said.

No arrests have been made in the case.

The shootings on I-310 follow a troubling trend in New Orleans, where at least 15 people have been shot while driving or riding on I-10 or I-610 this year.

Anyone with information about the shooting death of Dovante Mitchell is asked to called Det. Amanda Buchanan with the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office at 985-783-6807. The public can also call Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111 or toll-free at 1-877-903-7867. Callers do not have to give their names or testify and can earn a reward of up to $2,500 for information that leads to an indictment.
City Council at-large candidate JP Morrell released a plan Monday aimed at addressing the city's rising crime rate, calling for a unit focused on carjackings and other policy changes as New Orleans' election season begins to ramp up.

Morrell's plan, which he said was the first of several proposals he will release before the Oct. 9 primary, outlined what he called "common-sense solutions" for the intractable issue of crime, including policies to tackle juvenile delinquency, ways to hire and retain more police officers and ways to better prevent carjackings and other crimes that have seen increases in recent years.

In the proposal, which was quickly criticized by rivals, Morrell said he would work with state lawmakers to create tougher penalties for adult criminals who recruit children to commit crimes. He would invest in parks and recreation programs to keep young people out of trouble, and work with the New Orleans Police Department to develop a new unit that would focus solely on carjackings, among other steps.

He argued that the city's current budget, a plan that's created by the mayor and approved by the council, hadn't put enough funding towards addressing the crime issue.

Council members "control the budget, and the resources to fight crime are always budget issues," Morrell said. "And if you are not spending the money to figure out how to deal with rampant, violent gun crime, what you're saying to the public is, 'It's not a priority.'"

Qualifying for the at-large council race and other fall elections in New Orleans opens Wednesday, and the citywide campaign between Morrell and City Council members Kristen Gisleson Palmer and Jared Brossett is expected to be among the most closely contested.

Palmer dismissed Morrell's plan in a statement through a spokesperson Monday, saying that the former state senator did little to help New Orleans address crime during his 14 years in the Louisiana Legislature.

"The Morrell family business is politics. They have a lot of practice releasing these kind of fluff reports that use a lot of words but don't say much," she said.

Morrell's father, Arthur Morrell, has served as Clerk of Criminal District Court since 2006 after serving in the state Legislature. JP Morrell's mother, Cynthia Hedge-Morrell, served on the City Council for almost a decade.

Brossett called the plan "more of the same rhetoric" often heard from politicians who are unwilling to take a tough stand on criminals. He promised to release a plan in coming weeks "that establishes a well-functioning criminal justice system that is focused on restoring order and protecting every person's life and property."

Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

Morrell pointed out that he is the only candidate thus far that has announced a crime plan, and said that he'll be releasing several documents over the coming weeks that will serve as blueprints for his first term if he is elected.

One of his chief goals, he said, is to help create a more active council, one that uses its power over the municipal purse strings to influence city policy on a broader scale than has been done in recent years.

Morrell's focus on crime to kick off his policy proposals comes as the issue is increasingly on the minds of city voters. Three-quarters of respondents to a recent survey from the New Orleans Crime Commission cited crime as among their top concerns.

As of mid-June, there were 240 carjackings investigated in the city over the past 12 months, according to a Times-Picayune analysis. That's 160% higher than the average annual number of carjacking investigations over the past decade.

One of his proposals included working with other council members to fund special units within NOPD and the New Orleans District Attorney's office that could help stop adult ringleaders of juvenile crimes, in addition to pushing for revised state laws that would harshly penalize those offenders.

He also called for re-creating the police department's TIGER teams to focus on carjackings. The hybrid investigative-tactical units were created in 2016 to respond to a spike in armed robberies. NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson disbanded them last year, part of a reorganization that created new units to focus on homicides, shootings, armed robberies and other crimes.

The NOPD said in April that it is working with the DA's office on a plan to target car burglars and carjackings.

Morrell said he would work to provide more young people with jobs to help them avoid criminal activity, and ask police to present retention data regularly to the council, so that members can recommend steps to recruit and keep new officers. Morrell would also direct the city's Civil Service Commission to give NOPD more leeway on hiring officers to help bolster the force's numbers.

Read the full crime plan, here and below:
WASHINGTON  If you have children, filed a tax return electronically for 2019 or 2020 and your income qualifies, youll see $250 to $300 per child in your bank account Thursday.

Then youll see the same amounts around the same time every month this year.

If you filed taxes and are eligible you dont need to do anything. The IRS will just send you your payments, said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

But what if you didnt file a tax return? Or dont want the full tax break until next year? At what income level does a parent no longer qualify for the credit?

Here's what you should know about the child tax payments.

How do I get a payment?

According to the IRS, the White House, Murray and Debi Linderholm, free tax prep manager at United Way, California Capital Region, these are some of the questions most often asked by parents around the country so far:

Q. What exactly is this tax break?

A. Its the Child Tax Credit, approved in March as part of the Biden administrations American Rescue Plan. It is available only for this tax year.

Q. Where will I get the money?

A. If the IRS has your bank account number on file, the first monthly payment will be deposited July 15, and on or about that time every month through December. If you do not have an account on file, you should get the payment in the mail around the same time.

Q. How much of a monthly payment can I get this year?

A. Up to $250 per month per child age 6 to 17 and $300 for each child younger than 6.

Q. Is there any other child tax credit available?

A. Those payments will constitute half the credit for 2021. You can claim the other amount  up to $1,500 per child 6 to 17 and $1,800 for younger children on your 2021 tax return next year.

Q. Suppose I got the credit last year but my child no longer lives with me? Or other things have changed since I filed my last tax return. What should I do?

A. Unenroll in the program through the IRS portal.

Do I qualify for the child tax break?

Q. Do I earn too much to qualify?

Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

A. The maximum benefit is available to taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes of up to $75,000 for single filers, up to $112,500 for heads of households and up to $150,000 or less for married couples filing jointly or filing as a qualifying widow or widower. As incomes go up, the benefit phases out.

Q. What are the phaseout limits?

A. $150,000 to $400,000 if filing married filing jointly, $112,500 to $200,000 if filing head of household, and $75,000 to $200,000 if filing single or married filing separately

Q. How do I know if I qualify?

A. Check your eligibility through the IRS portal here.

Q. And how do I know how much I could receive?

A. There are several online calculators to help. One is from H & R Block: https://www.hrblock.com/child-tax-credit-calculator/

Q. Suppose I dont want to take the credit this year, but claim it all on my tax return next year?

A. You have to unenroll. Deadlines for doing so are set for each month. Its too late to stop the July payment. Go to https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/child-tax-credit-update-portal for more information.

Q. I didnt file taxes this year. Can I still get the monthly payments?

A. Yes. You only needed to file taxes if as a married couple you earned $24,800, $18,650 as a head of household or $12,400 as a single filer. If you fall into this category, you need to file your 2020 tax return to get the monthly payments. If your total income in 2020 was below those levels and you choose not to file, you can sign up to receive monthly Child Tax Credit payments using the non-filer sign up tool.

Q. What if I receive the monthly payments this year, but then dont qualify for a full credit. Do I have to repay the money?

A. If that happens, the IRS says, You may need to repay to the IRS some or all of that excess payment.

More about the child tax payments

 The Internal Revenue Service has different web pages aimed at explaining all the nuances. This one explains the child tax credit.

Here's another one that covers all the frequently asked questions.

 Check with a local tax preparation expert.

 Call or email your local congressman or senator.

2021 McClatchy Washington Bureau. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Staff Writer

Reese Gorman covers elections, local politics and the COVID-19 pandemic for The Norman Transcript. He started as an intern in May of 2020 and transitioned into his current position as a staff writer in August of 2020.
Elsie DeLois Livesay, known by her friends as "Dee", 88, of Reynoldsburg, Ohio passed away Tuesday, July 13, 2021. She was born February 3, 1933 in Mangum, Oklahoma to the late Lettie and Robert Dutton Sr. Elsie is preceded in passing by her beloved husband Robert Livesay, brothers William a
Williamsport, Pa.  Retired faculty member Darla B. Logue has established a scholarship for first-generation college students at Pennsylvania College of Technology, in honor of retiring President Davie Jane Gilmour.

The James E. and Darla B. Logue Scholarship also honors Darla Logues late husband, who taught for 49 years  39 of them at Penn College  and was the recipient of the institutions highest teaching honor: the Veronica M. Muzic Master Teacher Award.

Darla Logue, who taught for 23 years, retired in 2004 as an associate professor of dental hygiene. James Logue, who died in 2004, was an associate professor of English.

The college says the Logues abiding belief in the power of higher education was the impetus for the new scholarship.

One of James Logues greatest joys was teaching first-generation college students at Penn College and its immediate predecessor, Williamsport Area Community College. Darla Logue was the first member of her family to attend and graduate from college, according to the college.

The Logeue's had both realized a solid foundation for a life well-lived is grounded in education, the college said. The Logues have been longtime supporters of the Penn College experience, making annual and planned gifts to benefit academics, facilities and scholarships.

Darla Logue shared some inspiration for future recipients of the scholarship.

As the recipient of this scholarship, it is hoped that you will set a new tradition in your family by being the first in a long line of future college graduates."

We wish you much success as you embark on your education and future career," she added.

Jim and Darlas wide-ranging support for teaching and mentoring at Penn College has transformed countless lives throughout the years, Gilmour said.

I am honored by Darlas intention to set the stage for the next 100 years by joining the Legacy Campaign," Gilmour added.

Gilmour announced the Legacy Campaign at Penn College in May when she informed the college community of her impending plan to retire in June 2022.

She served nearly a quarter century as president of Pennsylvania College of Technology.

The Logue legacy lives on at Penn College and is creating opportunities for first-generation college students to transform tomorrow, noted Loni N. Kline, vice president for college relations.

We thank Darla for her thoughtful investment in honor of President Gilmour," Kline said.

Preference for the James E. and Darla B. Logue Scholarship will be given to students who are enrolled full time, are first-generation college students and have a high school GPA of 3.0 or greater.




Williamsport, Pa.  The Lycoming County United Way is busier than ever, and show no signs of slowing down.

Recently, the organization was the receipt of a grant from the Waldron Memorial Fund at the First Community Foundation Partnership of Pennsylvania at their recent Spring/Summer Grant Reception held on June 24.

Funding support from generous donors to FCFP have been instrumental in our efforts to help fund the most critical human service programs in our communities for almost 100 years, said Ron Frick, President of the Lycoming County United Way.

The Lycoming County United Way mobilizes resources to improve lives by fighting for the health, education, and financial stability for every person in every community.

Services in Lycoming County are provided by program partners including the American Rescue Workers - Williamsport, Diakon Family Life Services, Family Promise of Lycoming County, Journey House, North Central Sight Services, River Valley Health and Dental Clinic, River Valley Regional YMCA, Shepherd of the Streets, Sojourner Truth Ministries, UPMC Susquehanna Nurse Family Partnership, Susquehanna Valley CASA, and the YWCA Northcentral PA.

In Sullivan County, community partners include the Sullivan County 4-H, Sullivan County Action, and the Sullivan County Library.

In Tioga County, community partners include the American Red Cross of Northcentral PA, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Twin Tiers, the B/S/S/T Area Agency on Aging, Tioga County Partnership for Community Health, Tioga County Special Olympics, Tioga County 4-H, the Wellsboro Area Food Pantry, and the Wellsboro Montessori Childrens Center.

The grant, which helps offset operating expenses, allows us to grant more money to our community partners. We are grateful for our partnership with FCFP which allows us to supplement our own resource development efforts to get critical services to residents who need it most in each of the three counties we serve. FCFPs mission to create powerful communities through passionate giving is embodied in their partnership with nonprofit organizations like ours. Together, we truly do live united," Frick added.

LCUW also works with libraries, school districts and the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank as outreach partners, supporting summer reading programs, advocating for students health, and feeding the hungry.

Services provided to individuals and families include child and adult day care, counseling, crisis intervention, disaster/emergency services, health & safety, hunger, homelessness, information and referral, literacy skills for adults, mental health counseling, military family communications aid, prevention/education, rehabilitation/physical therapy/speech therapy, youth development and mentoring.
Williamsport, Pa. - Lycoming-Clinton Counties Commission for Community Action (STEP), Inc., is seeking to build agency capacity and coordinate staff training opportunities through a grant from the Williamsport-Lycoming Fund at the First Community Foundation Partnership of Pennsylvania.

The grant will support a contracted position that will develop, coordinate, and implement the agency-wide training calendar.

Because each of the many programs under STEPs umbrella have different requirements, trainings have not typically been offered on an agency-wide basis in the past. We expect this position to build our capacity by establishing a robust training calendar and coordinating attendance across all programs, said Rachelle Abbott, STEP Chief Operations and Planning Officer.

STEP is one of 1,100 Community Action Agencies nationwide, and a member of the Community Action Association of Pennsylvania.

Founded in 1966, formally known as the Lycoming-Clinton Counties Commission for Community Action, the agency recently celebrated 55 years of partnerships and service to the community.

The mission of STEP is to engage diverse individuals, families, and communities in the pursuit of social and economic success. Their mission is accomplished through their five Pathways to Success: Early learning, housing options, workforce development, community collaboration, and independent living.

Trainings in the areas of leadership development and supervisor training, including mental health first aid, diversity/equity/inclusion, and implicit bias are just some of the options that will be built into STEPs training calendar through this grant opportunity.

STEP has been focusing staff training opportunities on the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion. According to them, this project will allow for more robust training offerings in this area for all staff.

In addition to having its own Social Justice Task Force, STEP is also active in the Community Action Association of Pennsylvanias Equity Committee.

Having a diversity statement formalizes the ideals of diversity, equity, and inclusion, which have always been part of community action. It is also a good starting point so that we can move from ideals into implementation, said Jim Plankenhorn, STEP President/CEO.

We are grateful for this opportunity to create a pilot program for staff trainings, and feel confident that our success will be seen through greater impact in the community, Plankenhorn added.

The success of the training program will be tracked internally by looking at staff retention, rate of transitioning to supervisory roles, and increased engagement and understanding with topics surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion at STEP.
Rome, GA (30161)

Today

Thunderstorms likely. High 81F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Variable clouds with showers at times, and perhaps a rumble or two of thunder, especially this evening. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
Rome, GA (30161)

Today

Thunderstorms likely. High 81F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms this evening followed by occasional showers overnight. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.
LOS ANGELES  After three Southern California venues canceled Republican Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greenes America First rally amid significant public outcry, the lawmakers said Saturday they planned to host a protest in Riverside instead. In a video posted to Twitter Saturday afternoon, Gaetz called on all California patriots to join him and Greene outside Riverside City Hall at ...
Rome, GA (30161)

Today

Mixed clouds and sun with scattered thunderstorms. High around 80F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy with showers and a few thunderstorms. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.
Shallow ponds and ditches are producers of greenhouse gases, especially methane, which is released by the breakdown or decay of organic material. Gijs Schalkx harvests this methane from ponds  by hand  and uses it to power his moped. Eight hours of hoeing in a ditch supplies him with enough fuel to ride his vehicle for 20 km. He calls it a quest on keeping the combustion engine alive in a fossil free future.

* * *

Gijs Schalkx graduated with the project from the ArtEZ University of the Arts in Arnhem, the Netherlands. In an interview with Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, Schalkx explains that he likes to work on old motorcycles but dislikes oil companies like Shell who promise all kinds of things about a better world, but dont deliver.

In a book, he came across a story of a fisherman who hung a special tank behind his boat to harvest methane from the water. When the fisherman got home, he was able to fry the fish he caught on the methane gas that he also caught himself. I found that totally awesome and I set out to develop that idea. Why depend on big corporations and their promises to save the world when you can do it yourself?.

He calls his contraption the slootmotor, which translates into Ditch motorcycle.

Refueling from the ditch

Harvesting methane from ditches and ponds is hard work, explains Schalkx: Methane can rise to the surface spontaneously, but it works better to give it a hand by agitating the bottom of the pond. With an upturned, floating mortar tub, I catch the gas by hoeing underneath. The gas is then led through a hose into the reservoir of the engine, on the back of the motorcycle. I then pressurize the methane with an inverted bicycle pump. A special small petrol tank for the engine is still needed to start the engine.

It takes the young Dutchman roughly eight hours to collect enough fuel to fill the tank and ride his moped for about 20 km. This is not comparable to the convenience of filling up a gasoline tank or charging an electric battery, but that is exactly the point. Eight hours of hoeing for a twenty kilometer drive will ensure that it will be the best twenty kilometers of your life.

The moped achieves a top speed of 43 km/h. According to Schalkx, riding his vehicle also helps the environment. Capturing methane and using it emits CO2, but that is less bad for the environment than when that methane gas bubbles up and ends up in the environment anyway.

More images, data and a video (which shows the whole process) can be found at his website. All images courtesy of Gijs Schalkx.

Thanks to Tim Joye.
"I'm living proof that it's a good program," Rosario said.

Patrol Cmdr. Justin Orange said the cadet program provides a way for police to get into the school and familiarize themselves with students and to break the barrier between kids and police while encouraging a career in law enforcement.

"There's nothing like being an officer in your city," Orange said. "You can give back to the community and help your community stay safe."

Among the classes taught in the cadet program was one on criminal investigations, and one on how to process a crime scene.

"They got a chance to do a lot of hands-on stuff that our crime scene guys do," Orange said.

There was also a class that taught cadets how to respond to an active shooter and how to stop a victim from bleeding.

A simulator allowed cadets to encounter different situations that require split-second decisions on whether to use deadly force or not.

"Out the of the six that graduated, I can tell two of them are really interested in becoming police officers," Orange said.

But he said all six have ambitions to go into the law enforcement field.
The man told police he was on foot somewhere on 15th Avenue when he heard four to five shots and realized he'd been shot, she said. He called a friend for a ride to the hospital.

Police were called to the hospital about 3 a.m. Saturday to speak with a 28-year-old Merrillville man, who suffered a gunshot wound to his leg, Westerfield said.

The man told police he was at a gas station near Broadway and 15th Avenue when he heard shots and a friend drove him to the hospital, she said.

About 12:10 p.m. Saturday, a 27-year-old Gary man was wounded in a shooting in the 4900 block of West Seventh Avenue, Hamady previously told The Times.

Gary police were called about 1 a.m. Friday to Methodist Hospital Southlake Campus in Merrillville, where a 27-year-old Gary man was being treated for a graze wound to his head, Westerfield said.

The man told police he was driving south in the 5000 block of Broadway when he passed another vehicle, heard shots, felt pain to his head and realized he was bleeding. He drove himself to the hospital, police said.

Later Friday, two men were wounded in a shooting about 8 p.m. in the 4600 block of Harrison Street, Hamady said.
Attorney General Todd Rokita is demanding numerous officials connected to two Indiana virtual schools repay more than $154 million in state funds he claims the schools misspent or were not entitled to receive.

The lawsuit filed Monday against Indiana Virtual School and Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy, along with various related business entities, is the largest amount of money the state has sought to recover following a State Board of Accounts audit.

According to the lawsuit, officials at the online-only schools spent some $86 million in state funds without properly documenting the spending, used money for prohibited purposes or outside the terms of contracts, or funneled it to related businesses controlled by school officials.

The schools also received nearly $69 million in state tuition support and other state aid between 2011 and 2018 for 4,706 students state auditors said never logged into an online class, and another 3,811 students who were listed as completing some courses despite no online activity, according to the lawsuit
BOSTON (AP)  Actor Sacha Baron Cohen has sued a Massachusetts cannabis dispensary he says used an image of his character Borat on a billboard without his permission, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Boston.

The billboard for Somerset-based Solar Therapeutics Inc. showed Baron Cohen posing as Borat with two thumbs up and the words Its nice!  one of Borat's catchphrases.

By use of the billboard, the defendants falsely have conveyed to the public that Mr. Baron Cohen has endorsed their products and is affiliated with their business, according to the complaint filed Monday. To the contrary, Mr. Baron Cohen never has used cannabis in his life. He never would participate in an advertising campaign for cannabis, for any amount of money.

The billboard along a Massachusetts interstate highway was taken down in April, three days after Baron Cohen's attorneys sent a cease-and-desist order to the dispensary, according to the suit.

Mr. Baron Cohen is highly protective of his image and persona, and those of his characters. Mr. Baron Cohen is very careful with the manner in which he uses his persona and his characters to interact with his fans and the general public," the complaint says.
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter tug-of-war since Moscows 2014 annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula following the ouster of a Russia-leaning president in Ukraine. Russia has supported the separatist insurgents in eastern Ukraine during the conflict that has killed more than 14,000 people in seven years.

In his article published in both Russian and Ukrainian, Putin also accused the West of working methodically to rupture historic links between the two neighbors and to turn Ukraine into a key bulwark to contain Russia.

The Western authors of the anti-Russia project set up the Ukrainian political system in such a way that presidents, members of parliament and ministers would change but the attitude of separation from and enmity with Russia would remain, Putin wrote. Today, the right patriot of Ukraine is only the one who hates Russia. Moreover, the entire Ukrainian statehood, as we understand it, is proposed to be further built exclusively on this idea."

Putin charged that Ukraine has failed to fulfill its obligations under a 2015 peace deal to grant broad autonomy to Donbas and would likely refrain from honoring the deal.
In 2011, Dr. Edward Ryan Horton spent about a month of his summer break working in the reproductive endocrine unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He was approaching his final year as an undergraduate at Brown, and focused on securing a full-time job at the lab when he graduated.

I was this kind of nervous college kid working in the lab, said Dr. Horton, 31, who goes by Ned.

Dr. Valerie Feryal Sidhoum, 32, had been working at the lab since 2010.

Val was like this really cool person who had already graduated and was part of the lab, said Dr. Horton.

They were acquaintances that summer, but rarely crossed paths outside work. It wasnt until the summer of 2012, after Dr. Horton had graduated and joined the lab full time, that they became friends.
The photos are horrifying. They seem to portray the body of President Jovenel Moise of Haiti laid out in the morgue, his left eye crushed in, the flesh of one of his arms torn by bullets, his mouth gaping.

A country already reeling from the assassination of its leader on Wednesday and the chaos that followed reacted to the images with horror and despair, afraid that the photos circulating on social media channels would rip the last shreds of dignity from both the person and the office he held.

Even his critics were outraged.

Even if @moisejovenel was decried and declared a de facto president, lets not go down to the level of dehumanization established by the @PHTKhaiti, tweeted the journalist Nancy Roc, referring to Mr. Moises political party. Haitians are better than that.

She was among many who beseeched others not to forward the photos that were circulating through the countrys buzzing WhatsApp channels.
Optimism blooms in earnings season

After closing the books on the second quarter, executives are the most positive they have ever been about the profits their companies are generating, according to data from FactSet. And that might be a good sign that bottom-line growth will continue even after the expected rebound from the pandemic economic plunge.

Companies begin reporting their second quarter profits this week. Things really kick off tomorrow, when Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and PepsiCo publish their earnings before the market opens. The big banks, in particular, are likely to reveal bumper profits, The Timess Lananh Nguyen reports.

Profits are soaring, for now. Analysts predict that earnings for companies in the S&P 500 rose more than 60 percent in the second quarter compared with last year. That would be the strongest growth in more than 10 years, but its less impressive than it sounds. Almost all of the growth is a result of the reopening of the economy as well as the fact that the same period a year ago was the depth of pandemic lockdowns.
Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.

Call it journalistic pessimism. This spring, even before President Biden announced the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Afghanistan, I began to think about how Kabul might compare with Saigon just before it fell in 1975. Were there clear differences? Important similarities? Maybe even lessons to be learned?

I began digging through The New York Timess archives, reading all the dispatches out of Saigon starting shortly after all U.S. combat units left South Vietnam in 1973.

Its a period of history Americans rarely think about. When talking Vietnam, we tend to think less about the period after the big American ground combat offensives, which wound down after October 1971, than we do about the last helicopters lifting away from the roof of the American embassy in 1975.

But what happened in the years between was strikingly similar to what is happening now in Afghanistan: The United States signed a deal with the enemy that cleared the path to pull out American forces but purposefully left its local ally out of the negotiations and allowed enemy troops to retain their weapons and their territory.
Over the weekend J.D. Vance, the author of Hillbilly Elegy and now a Trumpist candidate for U.S. senator in Ohio, tweeted that he was planning a visit to New York, which he has heard is disgusting and violent. Vance, a graduate of Yale Law School who currently works as a venture capitalist, surely knows better. But he presumably hopes that Republican voters dont.

But why do so many Americans still believe that our major cities are hellholes of crime and depravity? Why do so many politicians still believe that they can run on the supposed contrast between urban evil and small-town virtue when many social indicators look worse in the heartland than in the big coastal metropolitan areas?

To be sure, there was a national surge in homicides  although not in overall crime  during the pandemic, for reasons that remain unclear. But New York is still safer than it was a decade ago, vastly safer than it was 30 years ago, and, for what its worth, considerably safer than, say, Columbus, Ohio.

And if you wanted to single out some region as being in crisis, New York is hardly the place youd choose. Our biggest social problems are in the eastern heartland, an arc running from Louisiana to Michigan. This is where an alarmingly large number of men in their prime working years dont have jobs and where deaths of despair  that is, deaths from alcohol, suicide and drug overdoses  are running high.
The United States stands ready to continue to provide assistance, Mr. Biden told reporters at the White House. He promised more details on Haiti and Cuba later: Stay tuned, he said.



The turmoil presents a potential crisis closer to home, with a possible exodus of Haitians as the Biden administration contends with a surge of migrants at the southwestern border. It is also forcing the White House to focus on the region more broadly after years of indifference  or limited attention  from previous Republican and Democratic administrations.

The clear trend line is that weve been very worried about democratic institutions over time, Patrick Ventrell, the State Departments director of Central American policy, said on Monday. He estimated that more than half of the seven countries in Central America were grappling with challenges to freely elected systems of government.

But U.S. influence began waning in the region over the past decade, as it turned toward fighting terrorism in the Middle East and as Russia and especially China moved in to finance projects and offer political support and other incentives.

Ryan C. Berg, a senior fellow and scholar in the Americas program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said that China was now the top trading partner for at least eight Latin American nations, and that 19 countries in the region were participating in Beijings extensive infrastructure and investment project, known as the Belt and Road Initiative.

The United States took Latin America for granted for decades as a source of stability and strength, Mr. Berg said.
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba  One of the five men accused of conspiring in the Sept. 11 attacks is refusing to eat after being placed in isolation and has been told he could be force-fed, his lawyers said in a legal filing that asked a military court to intervene.

Lawyers for the man, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, a 49-year-old Yemeni who had been held by the C.I.A. before being moved to Guantanamo, described the threat of force-feeding as the first of its kind in the long-running death-penalty case, and psychologically traumatizing for their client.

During the George W. Bush administration, the defendants in the Sept. 11 case were held in secret C.I.A. prisons where some detainees were tortured and, when they went on hunger strike, were subjected to a quasi-medical technique of rectal refeeding or rectal hydration.

The court filing, dated July 9, is the first sign of protest at the maximum-security prison where the former C.I.A. detainees were relocated in April from a dilapidated if more communal facility that regularly suffered power outages and sewage backups.
Americans who have been fully vaccinated do not need a booster shot at this time, the statement said, adding, We are prepared for booster doses if and when the science demonstrates that they are needed.

The move may make good business sense for Pfizer-BioNTech. Since the onset of the pandemic, the partner companies have pursued a get to market first strategy in manufacturing and marketing their vaccine.

The companies did not take federal money or participate in Operation Warp Speed, former President Donald J. Trumps fast-track vaccine initiative. They were not only the first to win Food and Drug Administration authorization for their coronavirus vaccine, the first to use novel mRNA technology, but also the first to gain authorization for their vaccines use in adolescents.

The strategy has paid off as handsomely as anyone could ask for, said Steve Brozak, the president of WBB Securities, a research investment bank focused on biotechnology.

Last week, Pfizer and BioNTech said a booster given six months after the second dose of the vaccine increased the potency of antibodies against the original virus and the Beta variant by five- to tenfold. But antibody levels may not be the best biological measurement of the need for booster doses, according to experts, who say it is no surprise that antibodies would increase after taking a third dose.

Antibody response is not the only measure of immune protection, said Dr. Leana S. Wen, a former health commissioner for Baltimore. There have been multiple studies that suggest these vaccines also stimulate B cell and T cell immunity, so even if there isnt as much antibody, that doesnt mean someone isnt protected.

In Israel, the government agreed to provide Pfizer with data on its vaccine recipients, and Pfizer has been matching the Israeli data with its own laboratory tests on antibody responses. Some people familiar with the data say that taken together, the two data sets indicate that immunity is waning among the vaccinated after roughly six to eight months, leading to a growing number of breakthrough infections.
WASHINGTON  Whatever else might be said about the curious lawsuits filed last week by former President Donald J. Trump, in which he accused three big tech companies of violating his First Amendment rights by denying him access to their platforms, it is fitting that he sued in Florida.

The state has long been on the cutting edge, and on the losing end, of efforts to force private companies to publish political messages to which they object.

Almost 50 years ago, the Supreme Court struck down a Florida law that would have allowed politicians a right to reply to newspaper articles critical of them. And late last month, a federal judge in Florida blocked a new state law that would have imposed large fines on some tech companies (but not those that own theme parks in the state, like Disney) that willfully deplatform a candidate for office.

Together, the two decisions, one from the Nixon era and the other issued on June 30, demonstrate that the lawsuits Mr. Trump filed in Miami on Wednesday against Facebook, Twitter and YouTube face steep odds. The First Amendment applies to government censorship and not private activities, courts have said, and it protects publishers editorial judgments, including ones that decline to give politicians a forum.
Wildfires left their mark across the Western landscape this week, scorching more than a million acres in the United States and Canada. The intensity of the blazes, at such an early stage in the wildfire season, was called unprecedented by officials.

New large fires were reported in Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana and Oregon on Tuesday, the National Interagency Fire Center said. There are currently 67 large fires burning, the center said; together, they have scorched nearly 918,000 acres across 12 states.

Montana, Idaho and Arizona, where two firefighters were killed on Saturday while responding to a blaze, all have at least 12 fires currently ablaze. In Canada, fires have burned more than 500,000 acres.
But some Cuban activists in the United States, including those who oppose the embargo, were quick to challenge that narrative.

Theres no food, theres no medicine, theres nothing, and this isnt a product of the American embargo, which I do not support, said Ramon Saul Sanchez, president of the Movimiento Democracia advocacy group in Miami. He noted that the embargo does allow Cuba to buy food from the United States, though restrictions on financing present significant barriers to the amount.

Cubas fragile economy has been battered by American sanctions, but also by financial mismanagement and a severe drop in tourism because of the pandemic, depriving it of a vital source of the foreign currency that it depends on for a wide array of the islands needs. The government has also had to contend with the economic collapse of its closest regional ally, Venezuela.

Do you know what its like not to be able to buy my child food from the store? said Odalis, a 43-year-old homemaker in Havana, who asked that her last name be withheld for fear of reprisals by the government. People are fed up with the abuse of power. We are desperate.

In the first five months of this year, the number of international travelers to Cuba fell nearly 90 percent compared with the same period in 2020, according to the Cuban national statistics agency. The price of goods has also soared, with inflation skyrocketing some 500 percent and still increasing, according to Pavel Vidal Alejandro, a former Cuban central bank economist who is now an economics professor at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Colombia.

The situation is very, very serious, said Mr. Vidal, noting that official numbers for inflation are not available. High inflation is something that always causes a lot of social unrest.

Cuba suffered excruciating hardships after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the islands powerful backer, ultimately forcing it to open up its economy to tourists and, ever so slowly, to some private business and property ownership.
The field for the Primetime Emmy Awards was looking a little more open than usual this year. The Covid-19 pandemic pushed back new seasons of a number of 2020s most nominated shows: Insecure, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Ozark, Succession and Westworld are all out of contention. And Schitts Creek, which Hoovered up nine awards last year, is no longer around.

That additional space did not lead to a lot of surprises in the nominations that were announced Tuesday morning, however. Category after category went largely or entirely as predicted. In the four major categories for outstanding programs, there was only one real upset, but it was a shocker 
How does a woman who has just fled a fundamentalist community debut a luxury shoe brand?

Before I even left, I had started the concept of the shoe brand. I taught myself to sew when I was 16. Id been making my own clothes, even though in my community fashion is a giant no-no. The only point of clothing is to hide you. And if you love clothing and color, that means youre too focused on the physical, youre not thinking about your soul. But I loved color. And I had always worn high heels. So it made so much sense.

How did you fund it?

I found investors in the craziest places. I found one investor at a restaurant. Second investor on an airplane. Third investor in an eye doctors office. Miracles. Literal miracles. I once said to them, what made you invest in me? One of them said, Julia, you just looked like you wouldnt fail, and we just trusted that.

Why did La Perla bring you on board?

This guy in Hong Kong, he was on the board of La Perla; the women in his office had bought my shoes, and all they talked about was how comfortable they were. So he contacted La Perla, which had just gone through four creative directors. I had comfort and luxury. Thats what it was.

That was your goal for La Perla? Comfort and luxury?

Women shouldnt have to choose between beauty and comfort. Were still suffering to make some dude look at us? Its outrageous. My goal became: It has to feel like pajamas, even if it looks like glitz and glamour. We changed the way that stretch was incorporated into materials. We made the most whisper-light chiffons with stretch. We made the first ever stretch Leavers lace so that when you wore a thong, it didnt slide up your crotch.

You met your husband at La Perla?

He was the C.E.O. So he was there a lot. The first year of our interaction was me yelling at him. I was horrible to him. But I had a lot of respect for him. As sheltered as my life had been, his life had been the diametric opposite. Hed been everywhere. Hed seen everything. And when I yelled at him, he took it like a man. That made me happy.
A TOUCH OF JEN

By Beth Morgan

When private citizens conduct their lives in public, posing and pleading for our attention, who can blame us for watching, for liking, for indulging in the abundant supply of their influence? Who among us hasnt stalked a crush on social media  then brought our girlfriend in on our obsession and let our role-playing fantasies leak into our reality, disintegrating social boundaries and ultimately rending the fabric of the universe?

This is the relatable conundrum faced by the central characters of A Touch of Jen, a satirical, ferocious, shape-shifting novel from the debut author Beth Morgan, a current M.F.A. student at Brooklyn College. Remy and Alicia are an unglamorous New York couple living with a nice roommate they hate and working unfulfilling jobs in food service. Honestly, all I want is $8,000, Alicia says. Eight thousand dollars would really set me up. I could quit the Hungry Goat. I could just chill for a while. Alicia is insecure and devoted, while Remy is bitter and cruel  a toxic, codependent combination. Their dominant common interest is Remys former co-worker Jen, an attractive, New Agey, globe-trotting jewelry designer with freckled breasts and braces who unknowingly plays an outsize role in their sex life. Remy has talked to Alicia many times about these adult braces. Theyve discussed the spectacular, loopy temerity of a beautiful person like Jen taking such a risk with her appearance. She could have done Invisalign. But no. Now she looks like a hot shark.

When they bump into Jen at an Apple Store (where Alicia, who has offered to wear a photo of Jens face during sex, meets her for the first time), everything theyve projected onto Jens social media presence transfers to her actual person, bringing their infatuation into their actual world. They take her up on a casual invite to go surfing in Montauk with some friends and her rich, handsome boyfriend.

Remy doesnt bother hiding his desire for Jen or his disdain for everyone else, his girlfriend included. Alicia, for her part, makes everyone uncomfortable, touching Jen at every opportunity and oversharing trauma: I was actually  and here Alicia raises a finger as if bragging  one of the youngest bulimic patients at the recovery center! In fact, I deprived myself of so many nutrients during my developmental years that my mom thinks my brain was permanently damaged! They exhibit a disregard for norms that feels dangerous. If someone can lock himself in the bathroom, scrolling through your Instagram feed and liking week-old photos while you wait outside  is there even a limit to what he might do?
The pacing is swift and the plot turns seem authentic to this billowing, blustering family, which propels the story along. If you had told Eleanor this would be part of her familys story  the child she had thought of as her daughter, who had sent her a letter to say that he was actually her son  she might have imagined this as their familys central challenge. Eleanors life has many bigger challenges than Al. In fact, his happiness as a man offers consolation for all the pain thrown her way from elsewhere. Ache, resignation and a stalwart determination to move forward are captured in the earnest and crisp tone of Eleanors voice.

Johnsons Lorna Mott Comes Home features the eponymous main character returning from France to San Francisco and a life she left some 20 years earlier when she married Armand-Loup Dumas, a Frenchman from the small village of Pont-les-Puits. Obama is now president, the country is in the midst of the epic housing bust, and Lorna, in her late 60s, a granny on the verge of a second divorce, is determined to start again: She would prove, to herself if to no one else, that you can make a new life at any age. This kind of vow, which we see valorized everywhere in contemporary culture, is tested by the many family intrigues to which Lorna returns. Her plan is to resurrect her career as an art historian, writer and lecturer. Reunited with her grown children, she discovers layer upon layer of familial intrigue that interrupts her plans for a new awakening.

An almost picaresque cavalcade of family dramas unspool: Her youngest son embezzles money and disappears in Thailand; she suffers financial setbacks; her daughter and granddaughter also struggle with money. Lornas first husband, the father of her children, married now to a wealthy woman, has the potential to solve many of the larger family woes. But that easy solution is not forthcoming. Their teenage daughter, ill with diabetes, upsets the apple cart when she becomes pregnant. This is followed by the head-spinning revelations.

There are many turns of events that eventually lead a fair number of this ever-swelling group back to France for the birth of the baby and a reunion with Armand-Loup. For all the twists and turns in Lornas domestic life, her crew takes it all in stride and doesnt seem terribly disturbed by the ugly hand of fate. Though there are many points of view in the novel (which frequently lends a repetitive quality to the storytelling), Lornas is the most captivating. She is cheeky and has a buoyant sense of humor that grounds the dizzying pace of events. Next to the voluptuous Madame Trebon, Madame Lorna looked like a slightly desiccated sprite, seeming young until you looked more closely; then you thought, Young for her age.

The jacket copy for Lorna Mott Comes Home says the novel captures the way we live now. But, as we all know far too well, the way we live now is uncharted compared with 2008  and with 1975. The historic periods of both novels appear far in the rearview mirror in the wake of a global pandemic, the financial ruin of so many, the immediate urgency of racial reckoning. But there is comfort to be found in the familiar dissection of family  in how we navigate the unhappiness that family, and life, throw our way, and by this measure these two novels offer solace and hope.
THE CASE OF THE MURDEROUS DR. CREAM

The Hunt for a Victorian Era Serial Killer

By Dean Jobb

On a chilly London night in October 1891, Ellen Donworth collapsed on the pavement near Waterloo Station. She was carried home suffering such violent convulsions that it took three people to hold her still. She knew who was to blame.

A tall, dark, cross-eyed man gave me something to drink, she said. Some white stuff.

One week later, Matilda Clover, who lived less than a mile from Donworth, was struck by spasms so painful she was certain she would die. The agony lasted for hours, interrupted occasionally by periods of peace in which she called for her 2-year-old son so that she could say goodbye. Like Donworth, she had a culprit in mind.

That man Fred has poisoned me, she said. He gave me some pills.

Although the womens deaths showed all the signs of strychnine poisoning, those in power dismissed any question of murder. Donworths statement about the cross-eyed man was regarded as an attempt to cover up an obvious suicide, while Clovers warning about Fred was written off as the ravings of a dying alcoholic. It would be months before their deaths were connected. By then, two more women would be dead.

In all four cases, the killer was Thomas Neill Cream, a Canadian obstetrician whose villainy is chronicled in Dean Jobbs excellent new history, The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream. A serial killer who found victims on both sides of the Atlantic, Cream killed an unknown number of people between the 1870s and 1892, when he was hanged by the British crown. Most of his victims were women from marginalized backgrounds  women the authorities have always ignored. Although in every respect a mediocre man, Cream flourished as a killer thanks to a society that did everything it could to ignore victimized women while bending over backward to accommodate even the most repellent men  particularly if they were doctors.
When William Gardner Smith submitted what would be his final novel, THE STONE FACE (New York Review Books, paper, $16.95), to a French publisher, his friend and biographer LeRoy Hodges recalled, the editor told Smith it was very courageous to have written the book, but we cant publish it in France. How could a courageous novel by an established writer have met with such immediate dismissal? In America, The Stone Face (1963) had been accepted by Farrar, Straus, like Smiths three previous novels. Why not France?

The answer is more complicated than the rejection. In 1951, Smith, a Black journalist and novelist from Philadelphia, joined the celebrated cadre of African American expatriates who made France their home in the mid-20th century. He was a close friend of Richard Wright, and often shared the illustrious company of James Baldwin, Chester Himes and others. Smith, for his part, was a wunderkind. Before leaving Temple University, hed established himself as a journalist for the Black-owned Pittsburgh Courier. Farrar, Straus published his first novel, The Last of the Conquerors, in 1948, when he was only 21 years old. Like his peers, he felt France would provide a safe haven from the bigotry and violence he had experienced at home; he may also have hoped that the move would save his marriage. While abroad, he made his living as an editor and a correspondent for Agence France-Presse in Paris, and helped start a TV station in Ghana.

Smiths fiction belies a lifelong skepticism. His books, now mostly out of print, are sometimes referred to as protest novels, and while they tackle social issues, theyre far from prescriptive; none ever provides an easy answer. The Last of the Conquerors details the experiences of a Black soldier in Germany after World War II who realizes that he has found more acceptance in what was enemy territory than he ever did in his own country. The Stone Face represents the maturing of a voice determined to confound preconceived notions about patriotism, Blackness and sanctuary, and accordingly the story takes no prisoners, so to speak.

The Algerian War began in 1954, three years after Smith arrived in France. As a reporter, Smith knew the details of the conflict and couldnt ignore the parallels he saw between his treatment by whites at home and the anti-Arab sentiments he witnessed in his adopted country. With semi-autobiographical overtones, The Stone Face traces the journey of Simeon Brown, a journalist and aspiring painter who, like Smith, hails from Philadelphia. Brown has lost an eye in a racially motivated attack and comes very close to avenging his mutilation, but his gun jams. Shaken, he moves to France, claiming, I left to prevent myself from killing a man.
Studies have repeatedly found that voter fraud is not a widespread problem. Some of the very few cases have involved Republicans trying to vote more than once.

The substance of the laws makes their true intent clear: They are generally meant to help Republicans win more elections.

Increase partisan control

So far, at least 14 states have enacted laws that give partisan officials more control over election oversight  potentially allowing those politicians to overturn an election result, as Donald Trump urged state-level Republicans to do last year.

In Georgia, a Republican-controlled commission now has the power to remove local election officials, and has already removed some. In Florida, elections officials who fail to supervise drop boxes continuously can be fined $25,000. Arkansas has empowered a state board to take over and conduct elections in a county if the G.O.P.-dominated legislature deems it is necessary. Arizona Republicans took away the Democratic secretary of states authority over election lawsuits and gave it to the Republican attorney general.

Its not hard to imagine how Republican legislators could use some of these new rules to disqualify enough ballots to flip the result of a very close election  like, say, last years presidential election in Arizona or Georgia. The election-administration provisions, The Timess Nate Cohn has written, are the most insidious and serious threat to democracy in the new bills.

Making voting harder

Many Republican politicians believe that they are less likely to win elections when voter turnout is high and have passed laws that generally make voting more difficult.

Some of the new laws restrict early voting: Iowa, for example, has shortened the early-voting period to 20 days from 29 and reduced poll hours on Election Day. Georgias new rules on early voting hours will most likely limit access for voters with less flexible schedules. Others make it harder to cast a ballot in person on Election Day. Montana has eliminated same-day registration and will require voters to show a photo ID.
Republican officials have justified these new laws by saying that they want to crack down on voter fraud. But voter fraud is not a widespread problem, studies have found. Some of the very few cases have involved Republicans trying to vote more than once.

The substance of the laws makes their true intent clear: They are generally meant to help Republicans win more elections.

Increase partisan control

So far, at least 14 states have enacted laws that give partisan officials more control over election oversight  potentially allowing those politicians to overturn an election result, as Donald Trump urged state-level Republicans to do last year.

In Georgia, a Republican-controlled commission now has the power to remove local election officials, and has already removed some. Arkansas has empowered a state board to take over and conduct elections in a county if the G.O.P.-dominated legislature deems it is necessary. Arizona Republicans took away the Democratic secretary of states authority over election lawsuits and gave it to the Republican attorney general.

Its not hard to imagine how Republican legislators could use some of these new rules to disqualify enough ballots to flip the result of a very close election  like, say, last years presidential election in Arizona or Georgia. The election-administration provisions, The Timess Nate Cohn has written, are the most insidious and serious threat to democracy in the new bills.

Making voting harder

Many Republican politicians believe that they are less likely to win elections when voter turnout is high and have passed laws that generally make voting more difficult.

Some of the new laws restrict early voting: Iowa, for example, has shortened the early-voting period to 20 days from 29 and reduced poll hours on Election Day. Other states have made it harder to vote by mail: Florida has reduced the hours for ballot drop-off boxes and will also require voters to request a new mail ballot for each election.
92 die in fire in an Iraqi Covid ward

Most of the victims were patients, and the blaze was so intense that at least 22 bodies could not be immediately identified. An electrical short in a ventilator caused oxygen canisters to explode late on Monday, a police spokesman said.

Witnesses said that fire extinguishers malfunctioned, fire trucks ran out of water and volunteers desperately tried to pry open a padlocked door. Patients on ventilators could not move or leave, but staff members were able to escape. At least 92 people have died.

The lack of precautions at the teaching hospital in the city of Nasiriya and its feeble ability to fight the blaze reflected a country in deep crisis. Years of corruption and government mismanagement have gutted basic government services across Iraq.

Government response: Iraq is battling a third wave of coronavirus infections. After the fire, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi ordered the detention of the provincial health director, the civil defense chief and the hospital director.
BRUSSELS  The United States is hopeful that Ireland will drop its resistance to joining the global tax agreement that it is brokering, as Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen made the case to her Irish counterpart this week that it is in its economic interests to join the deal.

During a weeklong trip to Europe, Ms. Yellen worked to gather more support for a global plan that is intended to put an end to tax havens and curb profit shifting with a new global minimum tax. The agreement, which gained the support of the Group of 20 nations on Saturday, would usher in a global minimum tax of at least 15 percent. It would also change how taxing rights were allocated, allowing countries to collect levies from large, profitable multinational firms based on where their goods and services were sold.

For Ireland, low taxes has been an economic strategy that has been incredibly successful, Ms. Yellen said in an interview on Tuesday ahead of her return to Washington. They see it as very vital to their economic success. And I think to go along with it, probably they need to be able to make the case that its in the interest of the country.

Ms. Yellen held high-stakes meetings in Brussels this week with Paschal Donohoe, Irelands finance minister and president of the Eurogroup, a club of European finance ministers. She needs Mr. Donohoes support because the European Union requires unanimity among its members to formally join the deal, which will require changes to domestic tax laws.
The fight over requiring vaccinations for travel is heating up.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings sued Floridas surgeon general on Tuesday, accusing the state of preventing it from safely and soundly resuming trips by barring it from requiring customers to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

The filing represents the latest twist in a monthslong fight over the resumption of cruises from Florida, a hub for the industry. Under Gov. Ron DeSantis, the state has fought vaccine requirements by cruises and other businesses, claiming that such policies are discriminatory. Supporters of vaccine requirements have argued that requiring vaccines is necessary to protect public health.

Under a state law approved in May, businesses that force customers to provide proof of vaccination could face fines of up to $5,000 per violation. In its lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Norwegian said it was forced to sue Scott Rivkees, the states surgeon general, as a last resort.

One anomalous, misguided intrusion threatens to spoil N.C.L.H.s careful planning and force it to cancel or hobble upcoming cruises, thereby imperiling and impairing passengers experiences and inflicting irreparable harm of vast dimensions, the company said in the lawsuit.
Several years ago, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, an intergovernmental agency, had considered Mr. Kokorich a security risk. The governments concerns led him to step down from the company in January, two months after the merger was announced. The S.E.C. said his shares had been placed in a trust.

Under the terms of the agreement, Momentus, Stable Road, its sponsor SRC-NI, and its chief executive, Brian Kabot, agreed to pay $8 million in penalties. Mr. Kokorich did not settle with the S.E.C., and regulators filed a civil complaint against him in federal court in Washington, alleging that he was reckless or potentially reckless in not sharing information about the governments concerns about him with Stable Road.

Mr. Kokorich, a Russian citizen living in Switzerland, could not be immediately reached for comment. Thomas Gorman, his lawyer, said Mr. Kokorich believes the firm has a bright future.

The claims of the S.E.C. are unfortunate, but he looks forward to their resolution in a most favorable way for him, Mr. Gorman added.

The S.E.C. notified Stable Road in January that the agency was looking into the planned merger, the company disclosed earlier. The deal between the two companies was on shaky ground even before the S.E.C. action; Stable Road noted in a regulatory filing that it had experienced a number of operational and regulatory delays.

The level of due diligence done by the owners of blank check companies when choosing merger partners is one of the criticisms of the SPAC market  especially with so many cash-rich companies chasing after start-ups to acquire.

Normally, when a SPAC raises money from investors in an initial public offering, those funds are returned to investors if it cannot find a company to acquire within two years. Stable Road raised about $172 million in an I.P.O. in November 2019.
Theres always a concern: When the money goes away, how do you sustain it? said Walter Gonsoulin, the superintendent of Jefferson County Schools in Alabama. We think that weve done a good job in planning for that, but of course, we have to continue to assess that.

His district plans to hire 57 part-time teachers  enough to place one in every school  who will pull the most at-risk students out of classrooms for specialized sessions. It will also continue to deep clean buildings.

Michael Hinojosa, the superintendent of Dallas Independent School District, said the district planned to use some of its $543 million to hire about 1,300 new math, science and humanities tutors. But he said the district was being very cautious  hence the warning letter to the new employees.

Some district leaders question the deadline  and whether students can fully make up for academic losses by then. Exactly how far students have fallen behind is not yet clear, but in Texas, the pandemic appeared to have erased several years of gains in reading and math scores. The decline was greatest among poor students and those who were learning remotely.

Its going to take more than two or three years, said John Davis, the chief of schools at Baltimore City Public Schools. This stuff should be sustained because theres going to be kids that are behind.

Federal officials have acknowledged the challenges that schools face but pointed to other Biden administration proposals, including its American Families Plan, that would, among other things, offer more money for preschool.
Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.

By all accounts, election fraud is rare.

But following the 2018 election, the small, rural community of Bladen County, N.C., made news when state officials threw out the results of a congressional race over suspicions of fraud.

Two years earlier, in the same county, state officials received similar reports of vote rigging, although those turned out to be unfounded.

Zoe Chace, a producer for the podcast Serial and the radio program This American Life, set out to understand how Bladen County became fertile ground for these allegations. The result of her reporting is The Improvement Association, a five-part podcast series produced by Serial Productions and The New York Times. The episodes explore the corrosive power of claims of election fraud and the role that race played in those claims in Bladen County.

Bladen County was consumed with rumors and accusations of election fraud long before the 2020 presidential election, and we wanted to understand how that happened and how it has affected peoples lives there, Ms. Chace said.
CANNES, France  Wes Anderson has been waiting a long time for The French Dispatch to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

A star-studded comedic anthology about the final issue of a literary magazine, The French Dispatch was meant to debut here last year until the pandemic prevented the festival from being held. Instead of putting his movie out in the interim, Anderson held on to it for another year, and at Monday nights glitzy Cannes premiere, he finally got his wish.

So did the film festival. Cannes runs mainly on auteur worship and movie stars, and The French Dispatch offered heaping helpings of both. Cast members, including Timothee Chalamet, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Benicio Del Toro and Owen Wilson, all turned out in support of Andersons film, contributing to what is almost certainly the biggest movie premiere that has been held since the pandemic began.

Cannes responded in kind, and the audience at the Grand Theatre Lumiere offered The French Dispatch a nine-minute standing ovation after the closing credits rolled. These epic-length orgies of applause are one of the festivals best-known quirks, but to outsiders, the ovations must be baffling: Does the audience really stand up and clap for that long? Wouldnt that get old fast?
Donovan Richards, the Queens borough president who is narrowly leading in his re-election battle, called Mr. Adamss primary victory and those of other Black candidates a watershed moment  one that will help determine whether issues of improving infrastructure, public safety and schools can be achieved equitably in a city shaped by deep racial and socioeconomic disparities.

We had a Black president before we had our second Black mayor, so its our time, said Mr. Richards, who is Black, recalling the excitement he felt as an elementary school student when David N. Dinkins, the citys first Black mayor, was elected more than three decades ago.

Other diverse American cities, from Detroit to Kansas City, Mo., have elected more Black mayors than New York City has, while cities including Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta are led by Black women. Los Angeles, like New York, has had just one Black mayor.

But the results in New York this summer, especially at the top of the ticket, underscored the central role Black voters play both in city politics and in the national Democratic Party, less than a year after Black Americans played decisive roles in electing President Biden and flipping the Senate to the Democrats. Some have likened Mr. Adamss coalition, at least in part, to the one that propelled Mr. Biden to the presidency, a comparison both Mr. Adams and the White House chief of staff have embraced.

Black voters were also vital to the Democratic efforts to reclaim the Senate, a goal that came down to two victories in Georgia. And in New York, Black voters played a significant role in electing Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2013 (though his coalition also included far more white progressives than Mr. Adamss did).

There was little exit polling available on the New York City mayors race, but surveys from other years showed that Black voters were not the majority of the electorate. Still, Black voters are among the most reliable voters in the Democratic Party, and the sparse polling data that was available during the primary showed that Mr. Adams was the overwhelming favorite of those voters  meaning that they packed a more unified electoral punch than other constituencies whose preferences were spread more evenly among several contenders.
Were now seeing the results in real life of what the pandemic will continue to mean for riders in terms of delays and longer commutes, said Ms. Daglian.

Danny Pearlstein, a spokesman for Riders Alliance, a grass-roots advocacy group, said that complaints over longer commutes and subway waits have increased significantly among riders, eclipsing even recent concerns about crime on the subway. He added that some riders have shared stories of waiting as long as half an hour for a train.

This is a genuine crisis because people who see a train coming every 20 to 30 minutes are going to be much less likely to ride trains at all, Mr. Pearlstein said. It couldnt come at a worse time because the city is opening up and people want to travel around. New Yorks recovery hinges on public transit.

Carolyn Holman, 42, a home health aide, said subway service had became so inconsistent that she would switch to Uber if she could afford it. She has even considered walking about 50 blocks to work in Upper Manhattan because she thinks she can get there faster. Its frustrating, she said.

The bulk of vacancies among train operators, conductors and signal tower operators are the result of more than 300 retirements since the start of the pandemic, many of which were prompted by concerns over being exposed to the virus, said Eric Loegel, a vice president of rapid transit operations for Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents transit workers.

Were not anywhere close to having replaced those 300-plus retirees, he said.

As the M.T.A. hires new workers, Mr. Crichlow said it was focusing on high-priority positions, including train operators and conductors. Salaries start at $36.48 per hour for train operators and $23.67 per hour for train conductors.

Andrew Rein, the president of the Citizens Budget Commission, a government watchdog group, said the staffing shortage highlighted the importance of the M.T.A. finding ways to operate more efficiently.
So a world where the French somehow held on to their territories might have been more Catholic (obviously a good thing) while offering more possibilities for Indigenous influence, power and survival than the world where England simply won the continent.

Theres a terribly poignant moment at the end of Andersons Crucible, when tribes of the Great Lakes and Ohio River Valley, under the Ottawa leader Pontiac and others, begin to rise against the British shortly after the French retreated from North America. The British imagine that French agents must still be around stirring up trouble, but the reality is that the Native Americans still understand themselves to be in a relationship with the French king and imagine that their war can help bring France back to their aid. But no: Theyre alone now with Anglo-America, and foredoomed.

Imagining an alternative timeline, a history in which New France endures and a more, well, French and Indian civilization takes shape in the Great Lakes region, isnt exactly the stuff of the patriotic American education that I wrote about last weekend.

But it also makes a poor fit with contemporary progressive pieties, in which organized Christianity is a perpetual scapegoat for the mistreatment of Native peoples  since it was arguably the power of the church and the Catholic ancien regime in New France, relative to the greater egalitarianism, democracy and secular ambition in the English colonies, that helped foster a more humane relationship between the French colonizers and the Native American population.

Once you recognize that kind of deep historical complexity, you can go in two directions. Along one path lies a kind of cynicism about almost every aspect of the past, where the reader of history is encouraged to basically root for nobody, and the emphasis is always on the self-interest lying underneath every expression of idealism. The French might have modeled what seemed like a kindlier form of colonization, but they were only following their own self-interest as greedy traders and proselytizing Catholic zealots. The New England colonies might have pioneered what seemed like an impressive form of egalitarian democracy, but they achieved their wide distribution of property by ruthlessly crushing the Pequot and the Wampanoag.

This is the mood that I sense, for instance, in Taylors American Colonies and its sequels, American Revolutions and American Republics  the last out just this year, and much praised for its disenchanted view of the early-1800s United States. These books are capacious histories, remarkable works of synthesis, in which you sometimes get the sense that apart from the occasional sympathetic victim, the author finds very little in hundreds of years of history to actually admire.

That mood has its place in historical analysis. But continuing my attempts to propose solutions to our current K-12 history wars, I want to suggest a different path, in which the kind of patriotic spirit that made me root for the British at Fort William Henry as a child and the kind of speculations about a Catholic-Huron imperium that I can entertain as an adult are both appropriate.
For two months after the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump fought to invalidate and overturn the results. When election administrators and judges refused to play ball, he urged his most loyal followers to march on Congress, to prevent final certification of the electoral vote. We fight like hell. And if you dont fight like hell, youre not going to have a country anymore, he told a crowd of thousands on Jan. 6.

Were going to the Capitol, Trump said, and though he did not, many of his supporters did.

Trump was impeached for his leading role in the insurrection, but not convicted. The stain of that second impeachment notwithstanding, he left office without sanction. He lives in freedom, cushioned by continued wealth and influence. He still has the Republican Party in his thrall, and within that party, the only orthodoxy that matters is whether you also want to stop the steal. After a brief and uncharacteristic silence on this point, Trump now hails the Jan. 6 insurrectionists as heroes.

These were peaceful people. These were great people, he said during a recent interview on Fox News, in which he also embraced the MAGA martyrdom of Ashli Babbitt, who was killed inside the Capitol.

We are not the only democracy to have had a corrupt, would-be authoritarian in high office. But we have had a hard time holding that person minimally accountable, much less keeping him out of contention for future office, which would have been accomplished had he been removed from the White House.
Why is everyone suddenly talking about critical race theory?

The furor over critical race theory owes its greatest debt to Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist and documentarian. Rufo came to prominence in the wake of George Floyds murder, which compelled millions of Americans  many of them white  to attend racial justice protests, read up on racial inequality and register for webinars on how to raise antiracist children.

Many felt newfound hope that the injustices of 400 years of white supremacy  injustices manifest in policing, health care, infant mortality, wealth, unemployment, education, housing and water quality  could be remedied, but only if Americans were willing to confront the immensity of the challenge. The marching feet say what the Congress cannot yet hear: Our national history and character carved these scars into our body politic, William Barber II, Liz Theoharis, Timothy B. Tyson and Cornel West wrote last June. Policy tinkering will not heal them.

The past year has not brought about the sweeping political changes those authors called for, but it did lead to a great deal of consciousness-raising. As Benjamin Wallace-Wells explains in The New Yorker, Rufo realized that the obscurity of critical race theory made it a useful catchall term for a certain strain of antiracist thought that animates some workplace diversity and anti-bias trainings, which the shift to remote work had made easier to record.

People were looking around for some way to play this card of racial grievance, Charlie Sykes, a former conservative talk-show host and Rufo critic, told Sarah Jones at New York magazine. They were looking for another cause in the cultural war. And this happened to be it, and he happened to be on it.

In one antiracism seminar Rufo unearthed, white employees of the city of Seattle were shown a slide listing supposed expressions of internalized white supremacy, including perfectionism, objectivity, and individualism.
Last week, Ashley Olsen swapped city sidewalks, single-use Starbucks cups and oversize bags for evergreens, a glass containing some amber liquid and a machete. Her signature layers remained intact.

In a photograph posted by her boyfriend, Louis Eisner, as an Instagram story, Ms. Olsen strides through an unidentified forest (possibly in the Pacific Northwest, if another recent photo is any indicator) wearing loose white pants, a white shirt tied around her waist, a white sweatshirt hiked up to reveal an arm, and black Yeezys.

The photo  a highly unusual upload from Mr. Eisner, whose grid contains no photos of Ms. Olsen, and a rare image of a designer known for being, as her sister Mary-Kate put it recently, discreet  set off a flurry of excitement on social media, where it was widely deemed a mood, as well as a sexuality, a summer vibe and a spirit animal. It also inspired several artistic interpretations.

Alyce Peeler, who has run the Mary-Kate and Ashley fan account @olsenoracle since 2017, wrote in an email that fans usually only see photos of the twins when they attend a red carpet event  Ms. Peeler estimates about three times a year  or when they walk in and out of the Manhattan office building where The Row, their fashion label, is headquartered.
Its spare, and more sober than you might imagine given his material. There are no couches, no soft surfaces of any kind, really. Just racks of paints and a Bose speaker, which is switched off, perched on a wooden stool. A few cardboard boxes and a sheet of plywood form a makeshift drafting table. The only inducement to slacking off is a narrow bookshelf (some Francis Bacon monographs, a lot of World War II histories) under a bank of windows. Sauls placed two metal folding chairs in front of the picture on which hes at work, in which Superman, a favorite motif, trades right hooks with God over the Brooklyn Bridge. Hes just about finished inking it in. Saul, who is nearing 87, has never employed assistants, something he prides himself on: I dont want any advice, he said.

Tacked to an adjacent wall is a recently completed work, Artist Receives Mind-Blowing Inspiration, the titular painter gripping wilting brushes as his cranium floats away in a geyser of foaming, toxic-spill green. I wanted an excuse to have the brain come out of the head without bloodshed, Saul said. Its my second attempt at art appreciation as a subject.

Saul doesnt put much stock in art appreciation. Hes only recently been embraced by the market, which has finally caught up to him. For a long time, his work was held at a polite distance from the inner sanctums of the art world. Politeness isnt an idea Saul has ever been much interested in either, of course. It didnt occur to me to join up with anything in a friendly way, he said. Still hasnt, really. I just do what I want and try to make it through life without doing an honest days work. I wanted to live without working, and without going to prison. So what are you going to do? Modern art, its a blessing. I felt it was a do-anything-you-want area of life, though I didnt find any agreement with that idea among people I knew. People I knew took it more seriously. I felt that it was serious enough.
When the coronavirus jammed up Chinas economy last year, Rao Yong needed cash to tide over his online handicrafts business. But he dreaded the idea of spending long, dull hours at the bank.

The outbreak had snarled delivery services and made customers slow on their payments, so Mr. Rao, 33, used an app called Alipay to receive early payment on his invoices. Because his Alipay account was already tied to his digital storefront on Alibabas Taobao bazaar, getting the money was quick and painless.

Alipay had helped Mr. Rao a few years before as well, when his business was just starting to expand and he needed $50,000 to set up a supply chain.

If Id gone to a bank at that point, they would have ignored me, he said.

China was a trailblazer in figuring out novel ways of getting money to underserved people like Mr. Rao. Tech companies like Alipays owner, an Alibaba spinoff called Ant Group, turned finance into a kind of digital plumbing: something embedded so thoroughly and invisibly in peoples lives that they barely thought about it. And they did so at colossal scale, turning tech giants into influential lenders and money managers in a country where smartphones became ubiquitous before credit cards.
For Caitlyn Hunters 21st birthday trip to Las Vegas last month, her mother booked spots on a Las Vegas Cannabis Tour, a business started during the pandemic that guides tourists through marijuana dispensaries in that city. Ms. Hunter, of Houston, Texas, expected an educational afternoon where she, her mother and grandmother could smoke marijuana together, and her grandmother could learn about different marijuana strains that might help her with knee pain.

What they got instead, Ms. Hunter said, was a crazy experience, involving a guide in 4-inch pink stilettos cracking dirty jokes, a raucous van ride around the Las Vegas Strip (with a sober driver), the consumption of multiple cannabis products, a shopping bag full of decorative bongs to use as flower vases back home and, at one point, a grandmother unable to speak without bursting into uncontrollable laughter. In short, Ms. Hunter concluded, a perfect celebration.

Sharon Erick had a different experience in Vegas. Vacationing there from Atlanta in May, she and her small group of friends, all in their 30s, had to work to find outdoor dining where they werent overwhelmed by the odor of cannabis. We had no idea weed had been legalized in Nevada, she said. We smelled it everywhere.

So did Judi Durand, on a recent business trip in Arizona. She encountered the telltale aroma outside the Phoenix airport, on the shuttle bus to the rental car area and even when she checked in to her lodging. I didnt expect to be in a family-friendly hotel in Chandler, Ariz., and get a vague waft of marijuana in the room, said Ms. Durand, who was visiting from her home in North Carolina (where the substance is not legal).People are getting bolder with it, she said. Its not very fair.
When health officials leave

In Tennessee, the states top immunization official said this week that she was forced from her position for doing her job educating the public about coronavirus vaccine access.

The official, Dr. Michelle Fiscus, wrote a memo describing a decades-old legal doctrine that suggested that some teenagers might get vaccines without their parents permission. The memo came as conservative lawmakers in the state were lashing out at her agencys efforts to raise awareness of vaccines among teenagers. One Republican lawmaker accused the Department of Health of employing peer pressure to prod young people to be inoculated.

But its not just Tennessee. A review last June by The Associated Press found that 27 health officials had left their jobs across 13 states during the pandemic.

Its a reflection of how challenging the job has become, said my colleague Rick Rojas, who covers the American South. Not only is there the exhaustion of dealing with the pandemic, theres also more recently the political rancor around it. These public health officials have been caught in the middle of it, and for many of them, its a new and difficult thing to navigate.
WASHINGTON  President Biden intends to nominate Dr. Rahul Gupta, who led West Virginias response to a devastating opioid crisis, to run the Office of National Drug Control Policy  a choice that immediately drew mixed reviews from advocates for people with substance abuse problems.

If confirmed by the Senate, Dr. Gupta would become the first medical doctor to serve as the nations drug czar since the role was created in 1988. He would take office at a critical juncture in twin public health crises: the coronavirus pandemic and the nations long-running addiction epidemic, which has taken a sharp turn for the worse over the past year with a surge in drug overdose deaths.

The White House announced Mr. Bidens choice of Dr. Gupta

just as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was preparing to publish statistics, expected on Wednesday, on drug overdose deaths in 2020, which all evidence suggests will shatter previous records. Overdose deaths rose by nearly 30 percent over the 12-month period that ended in November, to over 90,000 from more than 71,000, according to preliminary federal data released last month.

Addressing that surge will be Dr. Guptas biggest challenge if he is confirmed, said Daniel Raymond, the director of policy for the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable and an expert on substance abuse issues.
A former Chicago bank executive was convicted on Tuesday of financial crimes related to his facilitation of millions of dollars in high-risk loans to Paul Manafort, all in an effort to obtain a coveted position in the Trump administration.

A jury in New York unanimously found the banker, Stephen M. Calk, 54, guilty of one count each of financial institution bribery and conspiracy to commit financial institution bribery.

The charges stemmed from Mr. Calks use of his position as chairman and chief executive of the Federal Savings Bank to push the bank to give $16 million in loans in 2016 to Mr. Manafort, who served as chairman of Donald J. Trumps presidential campaign during a key stretch.

Just after the election, Mr. Calk sent Mr. Manafort a list of 10 positions ranked in order of preference, including Treasury secretary, commerce secretary and defense secretary, as well as 19 ambassadorships, which he also ranked, starting with Britain, France, Germany and Italy.
Still, veteran dissidents said the repression was to be expected following what many called the biggest day of protest in the country since the Cuban Revolution, forcing Cubas leaders to acknowledge the severe economic crisis that had sent thousands into the streets. Many described it as a potential turning point in a country where the Communist Party has managed to stifle even small challenges to its authority for decades.

The spark has been lit, ladies and gentlemen, theres no turning back, the independent journalist Yoani Sanchez said in a brief podcast she recorded on Tuesday. People felt what its like to scream freedom in the streets of Cuba.

The Cuban government often detains dissidents for a day or two after security forces break up demonstrations. It was unclear whether Sundays detentions would lead to a new generation of long term political prisoners.

Daniel Triana, a Cuban actor who was held at a Havana detention center for about 24 hours, described a flood of protesters being led into the cell where he was kept.

A lot of people throughout the country are still detained, I would say hundreds, he said in a phone interview. In my wing, there were dozens of people and they were bringing in people when I got there, and they were bringing in people when I left.

Camila Remon, a member of Movimiento San Isidro, said the recent protests were enabled by widespread internet connectivity on the Island, a relatively new phenomenon.
Italy announced on Tuesday that it was banning large cruise ships from entering Venices waters and was also declaring the citys lagoon a national monument, in a move to protect a fragile ecosystem from the downsides of mass tourism.

The ban, demanded for decades by both Venice residents and environmentalists, will take effect on Aug. 1.

The intervention could no longer be delayed, Italys culture minister, Dario Franceschini, said in a statement.

In recent weeks, as cruise ships returned to Venice after the pause imposed by the pandemic, protesters in the city rallied on small boats and on the waterfront with No big boats flags. Last Sunday, they demonstrated during the Group of 20 summit for economic ministers that took place in the city, attracting international media attention.
It was open, but it was a narrow door and people were pushing to get out, he said. Nurses rushed to try to put out the flames with portable fire extinguishers, but almost none of them were working, he added.

Mr. al-Ghizzi said he and others broke the front door down to allow more people to flee while desperate relatives who had heard about the fire tried to rush into the burning building.

People were shouting and crying: I want my dad! Im looking for my brother! Where is my mom? he said. We made a human chain to keep them out so we could try to rescue some of the wounded.

Salam al-Ghizzi, another volunteer, said that when he arrived at the hospital to try to help, he found the front door padlocked with chains. He said the ceiling began to collapse while flames engulfed the door, and no one could get in or out.

We saw the firefighting vehicles had run out of water and there was no emergency water source in the hospital, he said. We could hear people screaming, saying they needed help, that their mothers or fathers were inside. But we could not help them.

The dead were almost all patients, family members caring for them, or others who tried to rescue them, according to provincial health officials in Nasiriya. They said two health care workers were killed but other staff members managed to flee before the fire spread and the ceiling of the prefabricated building collapsed.

Dr. Adel said the dead included at least one volunteer, an engineer, who rushed into the burning building to try to help.
GENEVA  The United Nations decided on Tuesday to set up a panel of experts to investigate systemic racism in policing against people of African descent, adding international weight to demands in the United States for accountability for police killings of African Americans, and reparations for victims.

A panel of three experts in law enforcement and human rights will have a three-year mandate to investigate the root causes and effects of systemic racism in policing, including the legacies of slavery and colonialism, and to make recommendations for change. It will look at issues ranging from excessive use of force, racial profiling and police handling of peaceful protests to links between racial supremacy movements and the police and the criminal justice system.

The panel is the outgrowth of a resolution by African countries that built on a report released this month by the U.N. human rights office. The report analyzed the deaths of 190 people of African descent, mostly in the United States, detailing the lack of accountability for police killings and urging states to pursue change.

There is an urgent need to confront the legacies of enslavement, the trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonialism and successive racially discriminatory policies and systems, and to seek reparatory justice, said Michelle Bachelet, the U.N.s human rights chief, in presenting that report to the United Nations Human Rights Council on Monday.
The South American country of Uruguay is home to a unique eucalyptus plantation with a very distinct shape that can only by admired from high above.

Up until a few years ago, few people even knew that the Florida Goblet existed. It wasnt until Google Earth became a thing that people discovered its unusual shape. To some, it looks like a goblet with a crown on top of it, while others see a chandelier, but the thing that everyone can agree on it its massive size. The plantation measures about 500 meters long by 235 wide and the lines that make up the top and bottom of the design are around 13-meters-wide. Its so large that from the ground, you could never tell it has this peculiar shape.

Photo: Marcelo Campi/500px

The Florida Goblet, or El Candelabro, as some of the locals know it, is located in a rural area of Uruguay, about 12 kilometers from the city of Florida, at latitude 34  1240.03  S, longitude 56  94.85  W. One of the best way to inspect this unusual landmark is via Google Earth, the same online tool that made it famous on the internet. You can also see it from a plane, or by using a drone, although youd have to fly it pretty high to capture it in all its glory.

So why is this Uruguayan eucalyptus plantation shaped the way it is. There isnt a lot of clear information on that, but according to some of the comments on this 2011 article in El Pais, its actually the cattle brand of the rancher that owns the land the trees are planted on.

In Uruguay cattle have been branded by their owners since the early 19th century, and in the beginning, every rancher designed their own brand. Nowadays, the Rural Code forces cattle owners to go trough the Registry of Marks and Signs to prove ownership of their animals.

Its estimated that the eucalyptus plantation was planted over 50 years ago, but its shape remained a mystery to the world until the 2000s. It consists of just under 24,000 trees.



The Florida Goblet is just one the unusual tree plantations we featured on Oddity Central. For more such oddities, check out the worlds largest signature, the Smiley Face of Oregon, and the Lenin-shaped forest of Siberia.
The New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism selects Reach Global Marketing as its agency of record. The Toronto-based agency will launch targeted public relations, travel trade initiatives and strategic partnerships to elevate the states presence in of Ontario and Quebec. Canada is New Hampshires largest international market, said New Hampshire Travel Tourism Director Lori Harnois. We look forward to working with Reach Global to increase New Hampshires presence here and bring more visitors to New Hampshire as a result. she added.

Allen & Gerritsen, which has offices in Boston and Philadelphia, will provide public and media relations support for the Riverfront Alliance of Delaware County, a consortium of businesses and non-profit groups working together to implement physical, economic and social programs to stimulate the development of the Delaware County waterfront and the adjoining city of Chester, Pennsylvania. A&G will build on its 2020 partnership with RADC to further position and solidify the organization as a leader in economic and social development. The agency will promote local priority programs and initiatives, identify thought leadership opportunities and provide advice and consultation on social media and public speaking engagements. Their knowledge of the local and national media landscape has played an instrumental role in generating greater awareness and interest in the work were doing on the waterfront, and throughout Chester, said Lisa Gaffney, RADC executive director.

Augustine Agency lands North Lake Tahoe Marketing Cooperative, the official destination marketing and management organization for the North Lake Tahoe region. The agency has led brand development, creative strategy and design and search engine optimization for North Lake Tahoe since 2016, and will now also manage all strategy, content development, creative and branding work, and marketing tactics for the destination. Augustine will continue to partner with both the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association and the Incline Village Crystal Bay Visitors Bureau (the cooperative agreement between both entities form the North Lake Tahoe Marketing Cooperative). As we emphasize the importance of sustainability and driving responsible travel, Augustines strategic approach will ensure we achieve our destination marketing and management goals, said North Lake Tahoe Resort Association CEO Jeffrey Hentz.
Sard Verbinnen & Co. handles the bankruptcy of St. Croix-based Limetree Bay Refining, which has run afoul of US environmental regulators.

The US Environmental Protection Agency ordered the temporary shutdown of the US Virgin Islands facility after its gas releases contaminated local drinking water, forced the shutdown of a school and sickened the locals.

The Justice Dept. on July 11 filed a complaint in federal court that alleges the Limetree refinery, which was once the largest in the western hemisphere, presents an imminent and substantial danger to public health and the environment.

Limetree filed for Chapter 11 on July 12, saying the bankruptcy was necessitated in part by the recent temporary suspension of its refining and processing operations and the indefinite suspension of its plans to restart the refinery due to severe regulatory and financial constraints.

CEO Jeff Rinker said those constraints left us no choice but to pursue this path, after careful consideration of all alternatives.

The Chapter 11 process provides Limetree with the clearest path to maximize the value of our estate for our stakeholders while safely preparing the refinery for an extended shutdown, he added.

Sard Verbinnens Kelly Kimberly and Brandon Messina represent Limetree.
RIVERSIDE CAFE in Tullamore has braved the Covid-19 lockdown and is preparing for the reopening of indoor hospitality in the coming weeks.

The team at the popular cafe, located on Main St in Tullamore, look forward to the reopening of indoor dining later this month.

The business was developed and is managed by business partners Paraic Jennings and David Bong and commenced trading on October 1 last during the coronavirus emergency.

The duo took the brave decision to open the new venture despite the huge challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Paraic is a native of Tullamore and son of Mrs Mary Jennings and the late Mr Pat Jennings who operated the highly successful Jennings Truck Centre business, known throughout the length and breadth of Ireland, for many years.

As such he is deeply committed to his native Tullamore and Offaly and determined to conduct as much business locally as possible.

David is a native of Malaysia who has managed restaurants in Ireland for over 20 years.

Riverside Cafe is located in the town centre premises where Cafe Q operated successfully for many years.

It is a beautifully appointed and spacious cafe with extensive outdoor dining options both at the front near Millennium Square and at the rear where if faces onto the Tullamore River.

Paraic stressed the success of Riverside Cafe is based on three pillars  its excellent daytime menu options, the newly launched weekend wine and tapas menu introduced for Fridays and Saturdays and its dedicated and hard-working customer focused staff.

At present the cafe can comfortably seat 28 people outdoors and in the coming weeks will be able to accommodate 30 people inside. This latter number will increase when a full indoor dining hospitality regime in introduced hopefully in the near future when the country has emerged fully from the coronavirus pandemic.

Riverside Cafe boasts a mouth-watering menu both for outdoor dining and for takeaway options.

Popular items include the all-day breakfast, both full and mini Irish options and other favourites such as avocado on toast, pancakes, scrambled egg with toast, the New York bagel with cream cheese and the breakfast wrap.

There is also a selection of soups and starters, salads, sandwiches, pastries together with a large range of beverages, smoothies and teas and coffees. There is also a dedicated kiddies corner section on the menu.

The takeaway menu has proved very popular during lockdown and it also boasts a wide selection ranging from soups, salads, wraps, sandwiches, bagels, combos, breakfast options, hot food, beverages, tapas, sweet treats and an extensive red and white wine list.

Diners can use the app whatsfordinner.ie to order from the extensive takeaway menu.

Paraic introduced the wine and tapas option on Fridays and Saturdays when hospitality was allowed to open briefly last December and it has proven exceptionally popular with diners.

Despite the onerous restrictions due to coronavirus business has been thriving at the Riverside Cafe said Paraic who is eagerly awaiting the reopening of indoor hospitality in the coming weeks.

He said the outdoor dining options are proving tremendously popular with diners particularly the riverside seating area which has its own hedging and grass.

Paraic, who is a practising qualified accountant, said he always enjoyed being involved in the hospitality sector and was delighted to grasp the opportunity to open the Riverside Cafe last year.

He said the Main St location in the town centre, now connected to the Bridge Centre and its car park by a recently opened bridge, is ideal.

Paraic also paid tribute to his neighbouring businesses on Main St who have been hugely supportive since the Riverside Cafe opened last October.

Local support has been very important since we opened and we buy local where possible at all times, said Paraic.

So if this feature has whetted your appetite and you fancy a meal out, a tasty lunch, irresistible tapas and wine or a mouth watering takeaway why not pop down to Riverside Cafe on Main St, Tullamore or contact them at 057 9323843/ 087 6507000.

You'll be delighted you did!
Independent TD for Laois Offaly Carol Nolan has urged President Michael D Higgins not to sign the government's proposed legislation on vaccine passes for the hospitality sector.

Deputy Nolan was speaking after Cabinet signed off on the controversial proposals which will see access to indoor dining limited to those who can confirm they have been fully vaccinated or who have medical proof that they have already recovered from Covid.

The Rural Independent Group, of which Deputy Nolan is a member, is instead to bring forward a private members motion in the Dail on Wednesday calling on government to allow businesses to reopen without what it describes as the "discriminatory vaccine system" as a mandatory requirement.

President Higgins, in his former life as a respected parliamentarian, was always to the forefront in calling out instances of major political injustices," Deputy Nolan said.

"To our minds, this proposed system is just such an instance and it must be resisted if our motion is opposed and the legislation is pushed through on foot of the government's majority in the Dail.

"President Higgins has the capacity to refer the Bill to the Council of State for deliberation and indeed the Supreme Court to verify its constitutionality. I believe this is what he should do.

"This is a profoundly new and dangerous departure in terms of Irish legislation.

"Our private members motion calls on government not to abandon all restrictions, but merely to allow hospitality businesses across the State to responsibly carry on their trade and to allow attendance at sporting and religious events, subject only to non-discriminatory limitations as are necessary and proportionate in the interests of public safety.

"By no stretch of the imagination can the system proposed by government be seen as non-discriminatory or proportionate.

"It is irredeemably discriminatory in the most negative sense.

"It is also coercive and controlling.

"In fact, it not just bad law, it is a contorted and twisted version of what a good law should be.

"For those reasons, I believe it is vital that President Higgins does not rush to sign the legislation that will be brought before him.

"The government has the option, if it can generate the political will, to take the road we are proposing and simply allow businesses, sporting events and religious places of worship to re-open without recourse to a complex, time-consuming and deeply unethical system of state surveillance of peoples private medical status, concluded Deputy Nolan.
MEMBERS of the biffochallenge team - Trish, John Dolores and Tony  pictured at the end of a long day in St Brendan's Park in Birr, where the Caman Agus Puc challenge took place.

The overall winner was Cathal Kiely with a score of 123.33yards. The under 16 boys winner was Robert Carney with 106.33 yards and the under 16 girls Emma Buggy with 62.66yard.

More results will be published in the coming weeks when the corporate board is compiled. This will have the the top 15 participants and their sponsors on the jersey with the remaining participants named on the board by score.

The corporate board will be proudly display on the Offaly Search and Recovery boat House in the peoples park in Banagher where it will remain until it is replaced after next year's final.

There are big plans to extend the competition next year which will be announced in the coming weeks.

The biffochallenge team wish to thank all that made this challenge such a success especially their partners Offaly Search and Recovery, Pat Thompson and the team at St Brendans Park in Birr. Cillian and Cathal Kiely for their expertise in running event and the many participants.

Watch this space over the coming weeks for more photos and updates from this the biggest biffochallenge.

For all the people who have taken on a challenge since March at home here in Ireland and further afield in Australia, Canada, USA, England, Scotland Wales and France the organisers extended their thanks.

The challenge has exceeded the 24k target by 2k with a grand total of 26k. The Caman Agus Puc challenge will drive the overall total to the region of 30k when all monies are collected.

The biffochallenge team and the greater Wallace and Clear families are eternally grateful for the wonderful support along the way.

They thank each and every person who helped them achieve this fabulous goal from the bottom of our hearts.

This is a very fitting tribute to our brother Martin who in life was always there to help everyone or anyone. We'll Marty as you sit up there in your eternal resting place the helping goes on. Love and respect to you all, commented John on behalf of all the team.
Francais

"A victim of torture is one too many," said Nils Melzer, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture at a special webinar held to mark the 40th anniversary of the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture (the Fund) and the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. "It's a man-made disaster that we can end here and now if we so decide."

While thousands of people around the world continue to be subjected to torture every day, the webinar discussed the urgency in fostering an open and secure civic space for victims in order for them to obtain accountability, reparation and rehabilitation. The panel was organized by the UN Human Rights Office, in coordination with the American University, Washington College of Law, Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law.

Since 1981, the Fund, the first of its kind at the UN, supports hundreds of civil society organizations worldwide to assist victims of torture in their challenges to receive redress, explained Ilze Brands Kehris, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights.

Thomas McCarthy, the first Secretary of the Fund, noted the Fund's historic beginning. Before the Fund's inception, he explained, the UN Trust Fund for Chile was created in the late 1970s to provide support to victims whose human rights had been violated by detention or imprisonment in that country. The General Assembly recognized that torture was occurring worldwide, so they expanded the mandate to have a global reach and established the Fund, he said.

Civil society organizations play a crucial role in protecting torture victims, even while working in constrained environments, Kehris explained. Many challenges include harassment and threats, criminalization of activities leading to arrests and lawsuits, and less access to funding. These roadblocks continue to increase, especially online, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We are seeing the ability and freedom of civil society representatives shrinking online  of particular concern in times of a pandemic and the growing influence of virtual platforms in policy and decision-making processes and free debate," Kheris said.

Even with these challenges, the Fund has awarded 4,887 grants to 630 organizations in 139 countries for over USD 180 million, said Dr. Vivienne Nathanson, Chair of the Fund. This year, the Fund is awarding 172 direct assistance grants to help nearly 50,000 victims of torture in 70 countries worldwide, she added.

"Hundreds of thousands of torture survivors and their families all over the world receive medical, psychological, social, legal, humanitarian and other support, allowing them to recover from the trauma of torture and rebuild their lives," Nathanson said.

One of the first grantees of the Fund in 1984, the Comite para la Defensa de la Salud, la Etica y los Derechos Humanos (COSDESEDH) in Argentina currently provides medical, psychological, legal and social services to 465 torture victims, said Dr. Norberto Liwski, President of CODESEDH. He stressed the importance of offering victims and their families comprehensive care to overcome post-traumatic stress.

"These areas must have interdisciplinary teams duly and rigorously trained in ethical values and sustained professional intervention from the perspective of human rights," Liwski said.

While the Fund enables victims to recover from trauma, there are preventative monitoring measures found in the Optional Protocol to help prevent torture from taking place such as making unannounced visits to places where someone is under continuous supervision, control and not free to leave, according to Suzanne Jabbour, Chairperson, UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture.

For those organizations in fear of reprisals, the UN Committee against Torture and other treaty bodies adopted guidelines in 2015 on the handling of allegations of reprisals against individuals and organizations cooperating with Committees.

"In the past years, we have observed cases of reprisals against organizations that provided information to the Committee, either during the reporting procedure, during the individual complaints procedure or during the enquiry procedure," said Claude Heller, Chair, UN Committee against Torture.

Civil society face many challenges in their work. The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRFT) is an organization helping to rehabilitate victims where there is an increase in the systematic and widespread practices of torture. A grantee of the Fund since 2008, HRFT has aided 3,800 torture survivors at its five rehabilitation centers, according to Elcin Turkdogan, HRFT Programmes Coordinator.

"The crackdown on civil society in Turkey has intensified since 2013," Turkdogan said. "In the current oppressive atmosphere in Turkey, torture survivors may refrain from applying for rehabilitation or may interrupt rehabilitation due to fear and security concerns."

HRFT has been able to continue its work by relying on its strong network of volunteers and supporters, deepening their creditability among society to build trust, and utilizing their expertise in operating in extreme environments, Turkdogan said.

A grantee of the Fund since 2020, the Centre for Human Rights Education Advice and Assistance (CHREAA) in Malawi provides legal education, advice and assistance to prisoners, as well as paralegal services to prisons, courts and police. As a way to work within the constraints, Victor Mhango, Director of CHREAA, leans on international networks and the media for assistance.

"The media is very important because it captures the story," Mhango said. "If something happens to you, everyone will know."

The Fund is harnessing the anniversary to host a series of events throughout the year and share the hard work the grantees are doing worldwide, Nathanson said.

"These brave people who have survived torture have gone on to become activists in the anti-torture community, global leaders and human rights defenders and many were tortured as a reprisal for their commitment to human rights work," Nathanson said. "Grantees bring a richness to the work globally and we will continue to support them."



13 July 2021


What's Included

With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 716-372-3121 or email nfinnerty@oleantimesherald.com.
Are you a current print subscriber? You qualify for online access to the Omak Chronicle. To receive your access, create a website account and then verify your print subscription or e-edition subscription with your subscriber number, which may be found on your bill or mailing label.
Commentary

Imagining what fox weather will sound like
The Papua New Guiena Government has welcomed donor grants and loans which, it says has assisted greatly in delivering development projects, especially during the pandemic.



PNG Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey . PNG Parliament Photo

PNG Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey had announced in his Final Budget Outcome report, that income from cheap external financing from development partners totalled K4.4 billion, with a further K1.4 billion in donor grants.

He says key donor-funded activities were the National Submarine Fibre Cable Network, the PNG National Power Grid sections around Mt Hagen, Mendi and Tari, the Kagamuga Airport highway reconstruction, and the new Enga Provincial Hospital.

Also the Nadzab Airport redevelopment, Ramu power transmission system redevelopment and the major Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Project.

He adds that donor grants and loans exceeded expectations, and allowed faster implementation of donor projects, which was a very welcome source of economic activity, especially in rural areas.

NBC News / ONE PNG

Next : Increase Criminal Activities in PNG's Daru Town Concerns Police
LeoVegas Endears Itself to the Japanese market to Mainstream iGaming Play

Published July 12, 2021 by Lee R

The Japan market is welcoming the West with with popular reception of LeoVegas offerings.

The once enigmatic Japan has progressed from IR reliance to mainstream iGaming licensing with a major new deal.

The Transition

Sweden-based online casino giant LeoVegas is introducing its platform in Japan, bringing LeoVegas' popular bonuses and advanced online casino features to Japan.

LeoVegas' Expansion

With a huge following which has experienced considerable growth of late to add to its already massive following through mobile use of its casino app, the move of King of Mobile Casino LeoVegas into Japan significantly expands the global presence to which the LeoVegas organisation is committed. LeoVegas' introduction of highest cutting edge standards to the massive Japanese market has already been received with massive local approval.

Impact

The move evolves Japanese players' adaptation to new styles in game play and user experience. Early test cases of LeoVegas in Japan have been highly successful, reflecting well on the ability of Japan to adapt to mainstream casino play while maturing Japan's market growth.

Reception

Japanese Players have taken a keen liking to LeoVegas through new player bonuses of 24,000-136,000 Yen in bonus funds on initial deposits, and up to 30 free spins. The convenience and security of the 3-step registration has been well-received as well.

The Appeal of Japan

With the most smartphone users in the world, Japan is a hotbed for online casino play and fertile territory for LeoVegas to introduce a new mobile app to. The LeoVegas mobile app has forged competitive advantage in Japan based on qualities of seamless user experience; fast loading times; and content variety, with deposits and withdrawals as easy on the mobile version as on desktop.

More Winning Features

The LeoVegas App is also known for its transparency, which has been established as a key priority for the company. This adaptation moves the needle for Japanese players, who are becoming more discerning as they experience increasing varieties of online casino games from western operators.

Outlook

After operating in Japan for under a year, LeoVegas has established a standard of quality that has attracted thousands of players in the local marketplace which other operators coming into Japan from the west will have to match and compete with to connect with Japanese players going forward.
Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia:

Private equity and venture capital (PEVC) deal flow continue to surge higher as 510 funds managed to close during Q2 2021, 35% higher than the same period last year, with venture capital now the standout strategy in terms of performance over the last three years.

According to the Q2 2021 Private Equity & Venture Capital Quarterly Report published by Preqin, venture capital funds returned 31.8% during 2020 compared to 23.0% for PEVC overall. Over three years to December 2020, venture capital returned 20.0% compared to 18.5% for PEVC.

$241bn capital raised by private equity funds closed in Q2 2021, said the report.

Preqin also revealed a record number of funds still in the market looking to raise additional capital. A total of 5,248 PEVC funds were seeking $899bn at the end of Q2 2021.

Buyout deal value reached $126bn in North America in 2021 - almost double the value in Q2 2019. By contrast, Europe and Asia registered a 10% increase in quarterly deal value, reaching $72bn.

Mega buyout funds closed during Q2 such as EQT's XI fund which raised a total of $19bn and KKR's North America XIII and Asia Fund IV, which raised $19bn and $15bn respectively, are key contributors to the growth in fundraising.

North America accounts for 56% of total funds and 46% of the total capital raised.

The report also suggests aggregate deal value for venture capital in Q2 is expected to surpass previous quarters following a record quarter of $150bn......................

To view our full article Click here
Do you appreciate the work we do as the only independent media outlet dedicated to serving OU students, faculty, staff and alumni on campus and around the world for more than 100 years?

Then consider helping fund our endeavors. Around the world, communities are grappling with what journalism is worth and how to fund the civic good that robust news organizations can generate. We believe The OU Daily and Crimson Quarterly magazine provide real value to this community both now by covering OU, and tomorrow by helping launch the careers of media professionals.

If youre able, please SUPPORT US TODAY FOR AS LITTLE AS $1. You can make a one-time donation or a recurring pledge.
Firefighters working in searing heat struggled to contain the largest wildfire in California this year while state power operators urged people to conserve energy after a huge wildfire in neighboring Oregon disrupted the flow of electricity from three major transmission lines.

A large swath of the West baked during the weekend in triple-digit temperatures that were expected to continue into the start of the work week. The California Independent System Operator that manages the states power grid issued a five-hour flex alert starting at 4 p.m. Monday and asked consumers to conserve as much electricity as possible" to avoid any outages.

California and other parts of the West are sinking deeper into drought and that has sent fire danger sky high in many areas. In Arizona, a small plane crashed Saturday during a survey of a wildfire in rural Mohave County, killing both crew members.

The Beech C-90 aircraft was helping perform reconnaissance over the lightning-caused Cedar Basin Fire, near the tiny community of Wikieup northwest of Phoenix.

Officials on Sunday identified the victims as Air Tactical Group Supervisor Jeff Piechura, 62, a retired Tucson-area fire chief who was working for the Coronado National Forest, and Matthew Miller, 48, a pilot with Falcon Executive Aviation contracted by the U.S. Forest Service. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.

In Oregon, the Bootleg Fire exploded to 224 square miles (580 square kilometers) as it raced through heavy timber in the Fremont-Winema National Forest, near the Klamath County town of Sprague River. The fire disrupted service on three transmission lines providing up to 5,500 megawatts of electricity to neighboring California.

The largest wildfire of the year in California was raging near the border with Nevada. The Beckwourth Complex Fire  a combination of two lightning-caused blazes burning north of Lake Tahoe  grew by a third Sunday to 134 square miles (348 kilometers). However, firefighters working in temperatures that topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) were able to gain some ground, doubling containment to 20%.

Late Saturday, flames jumped U.S. 395, which was closed near the small town of Doyle in California's Lassen County. The lanes reopened Sunday, and officials urged motorists to use caution and keep moving along the key north-south route where flames were still active.

Do not stop and take pictures, said the fire's Operations Section Chief Jake Cagle. You are going to impede our operations if you stop and look at what's going on.

Cagle said structures had burned in Doyle, but he didn't have an exact number. Bob Prary, who manages the Buck-Inn Bar in the town of about 600 people, said he saw at least six houses destroyed after Saturday's flareup. The fire was smoldering Sunday in and around Doyle, but he feared some remote ranch properties were still in danger.

It seems like the worst is over in town, but back on the mountainside the fire's still going strong, Prary said.

A wildfire in southeast Washington grew to almost 60 square miles (155 square kilometers) as it blackened grass and timber while it moved into the Umatilla National Forest.

In Idaho, Gov. Brad Little declared a wildfire emergency Friday and mobilized the states National Guard to help fight fires sparked after lightning storms swept across the drought-stricken region.
BEIRUT (AP)  Riot police fired tear gas and scuffled with protesters  mostly family members of victims of the Beirut Port blast  outside the home of Lebanon's caretaker interior minister Tuesday. The demonstrators demanded an end to what they call the obstruction of an investigation into one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history.

Hundreds of protesters marched outside the home of Mohamed Fehmi in a symbolic funeral procession with empty coffins to symbolize the victims. They then tossed the coffins into the yard of the building and pushed their way through security guards to hold a symbolic burial ceremony.

The Aug. 4 explosion at the port devastated the capital, killed more than 200 people and injured thousands. Hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive material used in fertilizers that had been improperly stored in the port for years ignited, causing the explosion. Many blame officials for keeping the explosive material stored at the port.

He killed us another time," said Tracy Naggear, whose 3-year-old daughter was one of the youngest victims of the blast. She was referring to Fehmi's decision to reject a request by the judge investigating the explosion to question one of Lebanon's most senior generals, the head of General Security Maj, Gen. Abbas Ibrahim.

Investigating Judge Tarek Bitar said earlier this month he intends to pursue senior politicians and former and current security chiefs in the case, and requested their immunity be lifted so he can prosecute them.

Families of the victims and survivors praised the judge's move as a bold step. His predecessor leading the probe was removed after he accused two former ministers of negligence that led to the explosion.

Naggear said the symbolic burial outside Fehmi's building was held at the scene of the second crime against the families seeking justice.

The gathering turned rowdy when dozens of protesters stormed Fehmis building, breaking down two metal gates, and scuffled with riot police who beat them with clubs. Police fired tear gas to push back against the protesters. The push set off pitched street battles with stone-throwing protesters. Many were injured and treated on the scene.

The protesters sprayed the word killer in red at the entrance of Fehmi's building as men pelted the building with tomatoes.

Mohamed Fehmi, we will not leave you alone. Lift the immunity, said Ibrahim Hoteit, whose brother Tharwat, was killed in the blast.

Lebanon is also experiencing one of the worst economic crises in the last 150 years, according to the World Bank. Despite the economic meltdown, politicians have been unable to form a government to lead negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a recovery package.

In a visit to Beirut port Tuesday, a French Cabinet minister criticized Lebanese leaders, warning them of upcoming sanctions from Paris that will target those believed to be blocking the formation of a new government.

Frances Foreign Trade Minister Franck Riester said members of Lebanon's political elite failed to respect their declared commitment to reforms and warned of a first wave of sanctions by France, Lebanon's colonial ruler. He did not say whether the measures will be imposed only by France or perhaps by the European Union as well.

France respects its promises, unlike Lebanese authorities that did not implement reforms, Riester told reporters, standing amid the ruins in the port. Things cannot continue this way.

French President Emmanuel Macron visited Beirut twice since the port blast, pressing Lebanese politicians to implement reforms in order to release international investments and loans worth billions of dollars.

Repeated promises of reforms by Lebanons political elite, which has run the country since the end of the 15-year civil war in 1990, never materialized. The ruling class, including some former warlords, has been blamed for decades of corruption and mismanagement that have brought Lebanon to near-bankruptcy.

Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diabs government resigned days after the Beirut Port blast.

After meeting with President Michel Aoun, Riester tweeted that a year after pledging to form a government nothing was done."

This blockage is suicidal, he said.

___

Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue contributed from Beirut.
PARIS (AP)  Frances competition regulator fined Google 500 million euros ($592 million) on Tuesday for failing to negotiate in good faith with French publishers in a dispute over payments for their news.

The agency threatened fines of another 900,000 euros (around $1 million) per day if Google doesnt come up with proposals within two months on how it will compensate publishers and news agencies for their content.

Google France said in a statement it was very disappointed by the decision, and that the fine doesn't reflect the efforts put in place or the reality of the use of news content on our platform. It said it is negotiating in good faith toward a solution, and that it's on the verge of reaching an agreement with some publishers.

The dispute is part of a larger effort by authorities in the European Union and around the world to force Google and other tech companies to compensate publishers for content.

The French antitrust agency had issued temporary orders to Google in April 2020 to hold talks within three months with news publishers, and fined the company Tuesday for breaching those orders.

When the authority imposes injunctions on companies, they are required to apply them scrupulously, respecting their letter and their spirit. In the present case, this was unfortunately not the case, the watchdog's president, Isabelle de Silva, said in a statement.

Googles negotiations with publishers and press agencies cannot be regarded as having been conducted in good faith."

The company was forced to negotiate with French publishers after a court last year upheld an order saying such agreements were required by a 2019 European Union copyright directive. France was the first of the blocs 27 nations to adopt the directive, which lays out a way for publishers and news companies to strike licensing deals with online platforms.

Google had initially balked at paying for news, saying news companies benefited from the millions of readers it sends to their websites. News companies, meanwhile, have been demanding for years that digital giants pay for news content they siphon from commercial media while taking the lions share of ad revenue.

In Tuesday's decision, the watchdog focused on a few specific violations of its orders by Google. It said the company pushed news publishers to negotiate deals for its News Showcase product, which lets publishers package stories with panels and features like timelines, while excluding income from general search results. Google also told French news agencies including AFP they couldn't pursue payments if their content appeared on other news sites and came up in search results.

In Australia, Google and Facebook have signed licensing deals with news companies after the government passed a law this year requiring digital giants to help pay for journalism.

Google has been repeatedly targeted by French and European Union antitrust authorities for various business activities seen as abusing its market dominance, including a 220 million euro fine that the French competition watchdog issued the company last month for abusing its dominant position in the online advertising business.

___

For all of APs tech coverage, visit https://apnews.com/apf-technology
The U.S. has seen a string of COVID-19 outbreaks tied to summer camps in recent weeks in places such as Texas, Illinois, Florida, Missouri and Kansas, in what some fear could be a preview of the upcoming school year.

In some cases the outbreaks have spread from the camp to the broader community.

The clusters have come as the number of newly confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the U.S. has reversed course, surging more than 60% over the past two weeks from an average of about 12,000 a day to around 19,500, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The rise in many places has been blamed on too many unvaccinated people and the highly contagious delta variant.

Gwen Ford, a 43-year-old science teacher from Adrian, Missouri, was cautiously optimistic when she eyed the dropping case numbers in the spring and signed up her 12-year-old daughter for the West Central Christian Service Camp.

But one day after the girl got home from a week of playing in the pool, worshipping with friends and bunking in a dormitory, Ford got an email about an outbreak and then learned that her daughter's camp buddy was infected.

It was very nerve-wracking. It kind of seems like we finally felt comfortable and it happened," Ford said, adding that her daughter ultimately tested negative.

Ford said she definitely plans to get her daughter vaccinated but hadn't done so because there wasn't much time between the start of camp and the government's authorization of the Pfizer vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds in May.

A note posted on the camps Facebook page showed that the camp nurse and several other staff members and volunteers were among those infected. Staff members at the camp did not return a call for comment.

JoAnn Martin, administrator of the public health agency in surrounding Pettis County, lamented the difficulty in getting people to take the virus seriously and get vaccinated.

It has been a challenge since the first case," she said. You have people who still say it is not real. You have people who say it is a cold. You have people who say what is the big deal. You have people who say it is all a government plot."

Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University infectious disease specialist, said he isn't surprised by the outbreaks as camps reopen this year after being closed last summer. He said he had his doubts that some camps thought through all the implications of camping during COVID.

Ideally, he said, camps would require vaccinations for adults and for campers who are old enough, and would take other measures such as serving meals in shifts, putting fewer youngsters in the cabins and requiring anyone unvaccinated to wear masks indoors.

In the Houston area, health officials reported more than 130 youths and adults tested positive for the virus in cases connected to a church camp. The pastor of Clear Creek Community Church in League City said the outbreak happened in two waves, first at the camp and then when people returned home in late June.

In some cases, entire families are sick, pastor Bruce Wesley said on the churchs Facebook page.

In Illinois, health officials said 85 teens and adults at a Christian youth camp in mid-June tested positive, including an unvaccinated young adult who was hospitalized, and some people from the camp attended a nearby conference, leading to 11 additional cases.

The Illinois Department of Public Health said all the campers were eligible for the vaccine, but only a handful of campers and staff had received it. The camp didnt check people's vaccination status or require masks indoors, according to the department.

The health department in Leon County, Florida, which includes Tallahassee, tweeted this month that an increase in cases there also was tied in part to summer camp outbreaks.

And in Kansas, about 50 people have been infected in an outbreak linked to a church summer camp held last month not far from Wichita.

Elsewhere the situation is better. The roughly 225 overnight camps and thousands of day camps run by local YMCAs are mostly open this summer, though with slightly reduced capacity, said Paul McEntire, chief operating officer for YMCA of the USA.

McEntire said he is aware of a few cases of Y camps where people tested positive for the virus, but no instances of significant spread. He said many camps are taking precautions such as serving meals in shifts or outside and trying to keep youngsters in separate groups. Most are requiring masks indoors, but he acknowledged it can be a challenge.

To be frank, there are some parents that didnt want to send their kids unless they were assured that masking was being used indoors," he said. There were others that took the exact opposite viewpoint.

Ahead of the school year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance last week to say vaccinated teachers and students dont need to wear masks inside and 3-foot distancing of desks is not necessary for the fully vaccinated.

On Monday, California announced rules for public schools that let students and teachers sit as close to each other as they want but still require them to wear masks. Other state and district officials have adopted a patchwork of coronavirus regulations for schools.

Summer camp outbreaks certainly could be a precursor to what happens when youngsters return to classrooms in the fall, said Dr. Michelle Prickett, a pulmonary and critical care specialist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. The outcome will depend on vaccination rates and which virus variants are prevalent, she said.

We just need to be vigilant, Prickett said.

Schaffner said he thinks schools wont face similar outbreaks because they tend to be more structured and disciplined than camps and because most got used to making adjustments over the past year and a half. But he said the best way to reduce the risk is to get most people vaccinated.

There are many parts of the country that simply have not grasped this, he said.

It could be several months before regulators make a decision on authorizing shots for children under 12. Studies on such youngsters are still going on.

Meanwhile, in Tennessee, the state's top vaccination official was fired Monday after facing scrutiny from Republican state lawmakers over her departments outreach efforts to vaccinate teenagers against COVID-19. Dr. Michelle Fiscus told The Tennessean newspaper about her termination. A Health Department official said the agency would not comment.

The Department of Health instructed county-level employees recently to stop vaccination events aimed at teens and to halt any online outreach to them, The Tennessean previously reported, citing emails it obtained.

Ford, the teacher whose daughter narrowly escaped getting COVID-19 at a Missouri summer camp, is worried.

With the uptick in cases, I am concerned that we wont be able to go back to normal, and we will have to ask people to mask and stuff, she said, "and I have a feeling that there is going to be a huge argument.
TROY, Mich. (AP)  Sections of Interstate 75 outside Detroit were closed after a fuel tanker caught fire Monday after being involved in an accident, authorities said.

The Michigan Department of Transportation closed both the northbound and southbound lanes of the interstate after the tanker struck a concrete median and burst into flames. Authorities said they didnt know when the lanes would be reopened.
The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Andrew Mullin.

Thursday, July 9

10:18 p.m.  Deputies, Michigan State Police, MidMichigan EMS, Jerome Township Fire Department, and Lincoln Township Fire Department responded to a Lincoln Township highway for a traffic crash. A 67-year-old Clare County male was pronounced deceased at the scene. The crash is under investigation.

9:45 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched to lose goats in the roadway. The deputy attempted to contact the owner via text message. The deputy was called off the complaint for a higher priority call and was then turned over to Michigan State Police troopers.

9:21 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched to a two-vehicle crash in Ingersoll Township. The deputy was disregarded for a higher priority call. The crash was turned over to Michigan State Police.

8:05 p.m.  A deputy was sent to an Edenville Township residence reference a well-being check on an 11-year-old girl. The deputy spoke with the mother and found the girl was at a safe location.

6:59 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched to Homer township regarding the theft of a wooden outdoor glider chair. A 56-year-old male reported an unknown suspect cut a cable lock at his outdoor furniture business and stole the chair valued at $395.

5:17 p.m.  Deputies were dispatched to Midland Township after two Midland Township residents argued over grass clippings being blown onto the others property. The parties involved were asked to try and get along better.

3:22 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched to a Jerome Township residence. A 60-year-old Jerome Township woman gave her 31-year-old neighbor permission to use her pond. He overstepped the permission and started cutting down trees and using the pond as his own. She asked for assistance in telling him he was no longer allowed to use the pond, so deputies told him so.

3:02 p.m.  Deputies were dispatched to Larkin Township after an 84-year-old Bay County female stopped at a 52-year-old Larkin Township female's house who was unknown to her. The elderly female appeared to possibly be lost. Deputies spoke with both parties and the elderly female accepted a ride home from the complainant.

12:52 p.m.  Deputies responded to Edenville Township for a verbal argument between a 17-year-old male and his 56-year-old grandmother. The argument was over the government stimulus checks. The grandmother thought she should receive the 17-year-old's money also. Deputies advised them they need to figure out their finances when everyone has had a chance to calm down.

11:33 a.m.  A 71-year-old Jerome Township male called 911 and reported a private property damage accident that occurred three days prior. It was determined to be a hit-and-run crash that occurred at a Jerome Township business parking lot.There are no suspects at this time.

11:15 a.m.  A deputy responded to an address in Lee Township for a damage to property report. The deputy spoke with the 40-year-old male about a truck and trailer turning around an intersection. The truck had backed onto the grassy shoulder of the road and left some indentations. The male asked the driver to kick the dirt back into the indents, but the driver left. The male wanted the driver found and talked to about respect. The deputy was able to find a company and left a message reference the incident.

9:09 a.m.  A deputy cited a 21-year-old Gladwin male for driving without registration, after a traffic stop in Hope Township. A report will be forwarded to the Midland Prosecuting Attorneys Office.

2:05 a.m.  Deputies were dispatched to a Lee Township business regarding a stolen vehicle. Upon arrival, the 40-year-old male victim stated his vehicle was stolen by one of his passengers while they were stopped at a gas station. While deputies were interviewing the victim, he began making suicidal statements. The 40-year-old male was transported to the Mid-Michigan Medical Center and a deputy completed a mental health petition. The vehicle was located later and the victim declined prosecution.

2:04 a.m.  A deputy and Larkin Township Fire Department responded to a streetlight, pole, and wire down in a Larkin Township roadway. Consumers Energy responded to remove the hazard.
I do not want to be the big looking glass of civilization but just the little pocket mirror of everyday life.  Peter Altenberg

The two incidences occurred just a day apart. Norma and I were in Gladwin looking for antiques and we were crossing the street. We were in the middle of the four lane highway when the lights turned red and cars came at us from both sides. She grabbed my hand and we began running, making it safely through the traffic to the other side of the street. That was the first incident.

The next day, Leona came over, and there is a six inch step from the porch to the living room. She reached her hand out and I took hold of it to help her over that six inch gap. In both cases, a clasping of hands between friends underscored how badly we need someone taking our hand when we need a little help.

For some unknown reason, I thought of both those things while putting sheets and towels in the washer. Doing dishes, sweeping the floor. Household chores lend themselves to philosophical thoughts.

Do people reach out to clasp hands anymore? We live in an age where so many things are considered suspect that we neglect all the little things that at one time meant, Let me help you. Im so glad you came. Im so glad were friends.

I remember Jean and me walking down Wackerly Road with Gloria and Ardis Briggs after choir practice at the little Methodist Church in Averill just past where Wackerly veered off from US 10. The four of us held hands while walking home. Side by side. Gloria and Ardis were sisters. Jean and I were sisters. The four of us took up most of the gravel road running along the railroad track. And sometimes the four of us spent the night together, all four of us in the same bed. But its the clasping of hands that meant we were friends. Jean and Ardis are gone. Gloria and I are still close friends.

I remember being 11 years old and we were visiting our uncles family in Davison and Ringling Brothers had a circus in Flint. Mom and the twins stayed at Uncle Shirlees and Dad took Jean and me to Flint to the circus. Halfway through the performance, a small tornado went through the area with the huge sheets of canvas on the tent whipping in the wind. The animals alarmed, prowled in their cages. People jumped off the wooden seats to get out of the Big Top. But we didnt run.

Once safely out of the tent, Dad clasped our hands firmly in his and we stood there, unmoving, while people ran past us. Shouting. Pushing. The air was alive with sounds almost obliterated by the wind rushing through the circus tent. In a few minutes, the storm passed. People filed back under the huge tent and the show went on. But I remember the feeling of my hand clasped in my dads hand. Firm. Solid. Nothing would hurt us. Dad was there to protect us.

The years passed. There were other handclasps. The years and years of a pastors handshake after church. Grandma taking hold of my hand. Come sit on Grandmas lap, you big girl. And I sat on her lap, so big now that my feet touched the floor but that was all right. Such comfort, leaning against her shoulder as she rocked us back and forth.

Grandpa holding on to my hand when I visited him in the nursing home. This once strong man who knew why tree leaves turned red in the fall. Who could tell such ghost stories that I was afraid to look out the windows after dark. And when I said, I love you, Grandpa, he replied, I know you do, girl. I know you do.

My brother and I holding hands as we walked up and down, up and down the halls of the facility where he spent the last three years of his life. We didnt talk much. The world had grown small for him. He would say, Can I go home with you tonight? And I would almost stammer saying, I cant take you home without permission. And then one night, out of the blue, he said a complete sentence. He said, Its a good feeling. And I said, What is? And he replied, holding my hand, Having you here with me.

Today, the third incident happened to show me how important the clasping of hands is. Mary, Joanne and I went to Alma to visit our Aunt Julia. She was 98 on May 1st this year. We went out for lunch and feeble now, using a cane, our aunt needed our help. Mary and I helped our Aunt Julia to the car where Joanne was waiting for us. This wonderful aunt of ours!

Part of our childhood. Part of our growing up. And today we are holding on to her, clasping her hands in our hands to get her safely to the car and the ride back to her home. Saying goodbye, we drive home quietly. Little talking. And when we get to my house, I get out of the car. Joanne rolls the windows down. We should plan to go over at least once each month, she said and Mary and I agreed. Once a month. Before we are left without the aunt we love.

Growing up in a small town like Midland has made my life sheltered from much of what the world is like today. Things that never crossed my mind come into my living room because of television. It doesnt have to be a program. The ads are so blatant it leaves me wondering when we got this far? Did it happen suddenly and thats why Im noticing it or was it slowly creeping into our world through the years?

The world changes but what we need most will never change. Our greatest need is each other.

Virginia Florey pens a monthly Pocket Mirror column for the Midland Daily News.
Director of Content and Operations

Spencer McKee is OutThere Colorado's Director of Content and Operations. In his spare time, Spencer loves to hike, rock climb, and trail run. He's on a mission to summit all 58 of Colorado's fourteeners and has already climbed more than half.
Livingston, TN (38570)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms. High 82F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Cloudy skies after midnight. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.
CHICAGO  Two states have been added back to Chicagos emergency travel order this week, breaking a several-weeks streak of no travel restrictions in the city as the delta variant surges in certain pockets of the U.S.

Missouri and Arkansas will be the only two states where unvaccinated travelers returning to Chicago will have to abide by quarantine or COVID-19 test requirements, according to a Tuesday news release from the Chicago Department of Public Health. The list is updated every two weeks and restrictions on new states go into effect on Friday.

Media literacy requirement, animal products ban among latest 53 bills signed by Pritzker Public high schools in Illinois will soon be required to teach students how to access and evaluate various kinds of news and social media. See what other bills Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed last week.

The COVID-19 pandemic is not over, and this only goes to show that the virus is still very much a threat and that we must all remain vigilant against it, the citys public health commissioner, Dr. Allison Arwady, said in a statement. That means getting vaccinated and wearing a mask in public settings if you are not fully vaccinated.

Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

Since the start of June, no states had been on the citys COVID-19 travel restriction list as the pandemic appeared to ebb in the U.S. thanks to vaccinations. But as the more contagious delta variant began spreading and states hit a wall with vaccine outreach, positive tests began creeping up once again.

In addition to the new advisories, several other states  Nevada, Louisiana, Utah, Wyoming, Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands  could also be added to the restricted list if their caseloads continue rising, CDPH said.

Missouri and Arkansas were added this week because they met the threshold of at least 15 daily cases per 100,000 residents. Once a state breaches that ceiling, travelers returning from there to Chicago must be fully vaccinated, quarantine for 10 days or test negative for COVID-19 no more than 72 hours before arrival.

In adding Missouri to the list, CDPH in its Tuesday statement noted rising case rates in central and southern Illinois. Almost three-quarters of new cases in Missouri are made up of the delta variant, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. That variant has become the dominant strain in the country.

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
MIAMISBURG, Ohio  Health officials are reporting a COVID-19 outbreak among people who attended a church retreat in Ohio that also had participants from Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky.

Dayton and Montgomery County public health officials said more than 800 people attended the Baptist Church retreat at Camp Chautauqua in Miamisburg from June 27 to July 3. The retreat included attendees and churches from Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana.

Officials said at least 30 cases among attendees living in Ohio and Kentucky have been identified so far.

Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

Health officials said camp and event organizers haven't provided contact information for attendees, so authorities are asking anyone who may have attended to contact them or their local health department.

The outbreak demonstrates that the COVID-19 virus is still circulating and continues to make people sick, said Dr. Michael Dohn, medical director for Dayton & Montgomery County Public Health.
Photo: (Photo : Lauren A. Little/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images)

Parents in Chicago are not happy with the plan to distribute free condoms to students between the ages of 10 to 18 years old once schools start in-person classes in August. The move is an intiative of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) board of education and it's a part of their expanded policy to promote better sexual health education among the youth.

Under the new policy, over 600 public schools across Chicago are expected to have a free condom program along with its distribution of menstrual products for female students. The school board believes that this program will prevent young people from having unwanted pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS/HIV infection.

Read Also: The One Secret To Avoid Raising Spoiled Kids, Experts Reveal

Reports cited that CPS issued the policy in December 2020 but could not actively implement the rule as schools were closed due to the COVID-19 lockdowns. The school board once again announced and confirmed that the distribution of free condoms will be available at the start of this year's school season.

A Public Health Issue

The move has the support of the Chicago Department of Public Health and the city's chief health officer, Dr. Kenneth Fox. He said that the children have every right to access "accurate and clear information" so they can make healthy choices, protect their health and the health of other people who will be affected by their decisions.

"When you don't have those protections and don't make those resources available, then bad stuff happens to young people," Fox said, adding that students in fifth grade already have a developmental understanding of sex.

The public health office will provide the initial supplies of condoms for the schools. They will also write letters to parents about possible condom demonstrations, if necessary.

Schools in Chicago are also expected to help the children develop their social and emotional understanding of safe sex and meaningful relationships. Fox reiterated that there are studies supporting the concept of age-appropriate, medically advised sex education for children.

According to experts from the Chicago Women's Health Center, making condoms accessible to children above 10 years old doesn't mean that they have to use the protection. Rather, it is a "harm reduction approach."

'But they are kids!'

One parent who is part of the Healing to Action organization, which promotes healthy sex education, expressed her objection to the initiative. Maria Serrano said that children age 10, 11 or 12 are still kids and they should focus on learning and developing other skills, instead of how to put on a condom.

The mom believes that public schools could teach kids healthy sex education through other resources and information. Serrano also thinks that a 10-year-old is not yet ready to understand what a condom is for. She stated that CPS has a backward approach on this matter.

Serrano also said that, rather than distribute free condoms, parents should also be educated on talking about sex to kids. In some communities, it's still taboo for children to discuss this topic with their parents, making it harder for the children to have a wholesome and accurate approach to sex.

Related Article: Survey Shows Majority of Teenagers Not Ready for In-Person Classes
Photo: (Photo : Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry received an award and a cash prize from a charity group based in the United Kingdom for choosing to have just two children. Population Matters hailed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for making such an "enlightened decision" as parents to limit the number of their kids.

The Sussex pair welcomed their first child, Archie Harrison, in May 2019. In June 2021, the couple had Lilibet Diana, who was named after Queen Elizabeth.

Read Also: Former 'NCIS' Actress Zoe McLellan 'Disappears' After Allegedly Kidnapping Son

According to the organization, the choice made by Harry, 36, and Markle, 39, to have a smaller family impacts the planet Earth as they create a lesser carbon footprint. Population Matters is an advocate for a sustainable population so that the Earth can flourish and remain healthy for future generations.

Harry and Markle also won $500 for this parenting award, which they can donate to a charity of their choice.

'Just Two Maximum'

As Harry was expecting the birth of his first child, he said in an interview with British Vogue in 2019 that he and his wife plan on having "just two maximum" children in an effort to save the planet. The Duke of Sussex said that as evolved beings, the older population should consciously strive to leave something better for the next generation so he and his wife intend to stop having more children.

His bold statement was a stark contrast to the choice of his brother, Prince William, who has three children with his wife, Kate Middleton. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who have been married for 10 years, are parents to Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.

However, a top numerologist predicted that Harry and Markle will have a third child in three years. Heather James, who works for a dating agency, said that the Sussex couple's numbers show that they are such a good match both in business and in their personal life that having another child could still be in the cards.

Securing a Digital Footprint

Meanwhile, following the birth of Lilibet, Harry and Markle confirmed that they have registered a public domain for their baby girl. A spokesperson for the couple said that the Sussex purchased a "significant number of domains" to protect their daughter's name from being exploited, given that her parents are such public figures.

The websites, however, have not been activated but this will prevent other people from cashing in on LilibetDiana.com and LiliDiana.com. The couple also did the same for their son and has parked ArchieHarrison.com as their property.

Related Article: Scarlett Johansson Fondly Calls Daughter Her 'Shadow' Amid Second Pregnancy

But it's not just Harry and Markle who are setting and securing their children's digital footprint. According to a study enlisted by GoDaddy, the web hosting company, about 48 percent of millennial parents purchase domain names bearing for their children for about $12 a year. Of these numbers, 38 percent have proceeded to create a dedicated website filled with milestones and photos.

According to a tech and cybersecurity expert, it's not a bad idea for parents to protect their children's digital identity since hijacking domain names is common. However, some parenting experts cautioned putting a lot of their children's information out in public as the child could be upset about it later on.
Photo: (Photo : PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

Billionaire Sir Richard Branson became the first business magnate to embark on a journey to space aboard the Virgin Galatic's VSS Unity on July 11. While his journey was short, he still managed to send out a special and inspiring message to children around the world.

In a video post on Twitter, Branson said that he used to dream about venturing in the stars as a child, and his short trip to space has been a culmination of this childhood dream. He then motivated the "next generation of dreamers" to "imagine what they can do," challenging them to also never give up on their dreams despite how impossible it may be.

I was once a child with a dream looking up to the stars. Now I'm an adult in a spaceship looking down to our beautiful Earth. To the next generation of dreamers: if we can do this, just imagine what you can do https://t.co/Wyzj0nOBgX #Unity22 @virgingalactic pic.twitter.com/03EJmKiH8V  Richard Branson (@richardbranson) July 11, 2021

During his ascent to space some 53 miles above the Earth, Branson's 39-year-old daughter, Holly Branson, was cheering him on. She also described how emotional she felt for her father's space trip and had many butterflies in her stomach while he was in the atmosphere.

Read Also: Parenting School in China Certifies 222,000 'High-Achieving' Participants

Days before leaving the surface of the Earth, Holly had been by her father's side and anticipated his space flight like a child. In a message to the press, Holly described the anticipation as similar to her father's balloon trips when she was a little girl, where she also followed him around before his trip.

Details of the VSS Unity Trip

Branson returned to Earth one hour after VSS Unity launched its sub-orbital flight as the first independent civilian spacecraft to travel outside the atmosphere. The billionaire was accompanied by a small crew of experienced pilots and space mission specialists. They had weightlessness for about four minutes.

Arriving back to Earth, Branson told family, friends, and the press, who were waiting at the landing, that it was such a "magical experience." He said that it was worth the 17 years they've been working hard for this Virgin Galactic venture.

Branson, who hails from London, is the founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways and other companies under the Virgin umbrella. He is not the only billionaire planning to open a commercial space flight. Amazon's founder, Jeff Bezos, is also launching his rocket for the first time, with him as one of the passengers, on July 20 under his venture, Blue Origin. Space X founder, Elon Musk, has also launched his rocket ships for tests in 2020, but he has yet to ride on one trip.

Can Children Go On Space Flights?

With these billionaires creating a niche for space tourism, anyone who can afford to pay for space rides may eventually travel outside of the Earth's orbit. However, these companies currently impose physical and psychological requirements for travelers with height and weight requirements that can't apply to children.

Related Article: Spelling Bee Champ Zaila Avant-garde Offered Full Scholarship at LSU

Before the flight, guests will also have to undergo extensive training just like an astronaut because they will need safety briefings or master in-flight procedures. The training can take up to three days at a remote location. Suffice it to say, space tourism is currently not aimed at kids.

Additionally, the space tickets are very expensive and could go for millions, depending on the provider. The flight Branson took cost about $250,000. However, some industry analysts said that once it goes commercial, the trip could go as high as $500,000, per The Washington Post.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!
In late March Xiaomi unveiled its first foldable smartphone branded the Mi Mix Fold to take on Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 2. One of the unique aspects of their phone was the introduction of a "Liquid Lens" which uses a motor to precisely manipulate a packet of fluid, in order to switch between telephoto mode (3x optical zoom or 30x hybrid zoom) and macro mode (down to 3cm). The Liquid Lens is used in place of a periscope zoom folding lens currently used by Samsung.

In January Patently Apple posted a report about Apple patenting a periscope camera lens. It was rumored by Ming Chi Kuo in 2020 that Apple was lining up periscope lens suppliers. A Liquid Lens could be a viable alternative to a periscope lens. Below is a video of Xiaomi's Liquid Lens.

We're learning today from The Elec that Apple suppliers LG InnoTek and Corning are collaborating in the research of liquid lens and their patents prove that out The pair have reportedly decided to share 50/50 stakes in nine US patents related to liquid lens on April 5, 2021.

Corning decided to share stakes in six of its patents with LG InnoTek: the South Korean company shared stakes of three of its patents with the US firm.

In South Korea, LG InnoTek had six of its patents registered as co-owned with Corning; the US glass firm made one of its patents co-owned by the South Korean firm.

Out of the sixteen patents now co-owned by the pair, the core technologies listed on them include liquid lens system, how to control a camera lens that include a liquid lens, and lens curvature varying instrument.

Liquid lens fill vinyl bag shaped lens with liquid material. The lens goes in and out of focus by manipulating the curvature of the liquid lens with current or voltage.

Unlike current lens that made out of glass or plastic, the lens itself doesnt have to move to control the focal length.

If liquid lens are commercialized, this could reduce the number of lens and the size of the lens in camera modules.

Current camera modules on smartphone use multiple lens with different curvatures. Around six to seven lens are stacked together. Some of the lens in the stack could be replaced with liquid lens, which will make overall lens thinner. The number of other accessory components to activate the lens and power consumption also decreases. This also allows camera lens design to become simpler and easier to manufacture.

LG InnoTek and Corning has been filing for patents related to liquid lens since 2017. According to Kipris, a patent portal run by the Korean Intellectual Property Office, there were a total of 131 patents related to liquid lens in South Korea __ 85 of them were owned by LG InnoTek. All of LGs patents were filed since 2016. LG InnoTek and Coring had 30 and 11 related patents, respectively, in China as well.

liquid lens could see applications in smartphones, wearable devices, automotive cameras, virtual reality and augmented reality, among other areas.

Alternatively, a person familiar with the matter said LG InnoTek could be researching liquid lens to overcome its weakness in folded zoom. Samsung subsidiary Corephotonics currently owns multiple patents on folded zoom, which uses prism to bend the light. Currently, it is difficult for LG InnoTek to develop its own folded zoom technology that workaround these patents. For more on this, read the full report by The Elec.

The use of a "Liquid Lens" developed by Apple suppliers LG InnoTek and Corning could be an ideal solution for future iPhones and a means of sidestepping any potential legal confrontations with Samsung or Corephotonics that sued Apple back in May 2018 over the iPhone's dual camera lens.

At the very least its an alternative lens solution that Apple may consider using in the future.
Apple's win in federal court against a developers antitrust claims against the App Store has erased one legal headache. Now, it awaits a more high-profile decision on similar grounds.

On Friday, a federal judge in Delaware dismissed a lawsuit from Blix Inc. because it failed to demonstrate how Apple AAPL, -0.42% harmed competition in the mobile operating-system market by requiring developers to offer an Apple-specific log-in function.

Blix, which lost to Apple for the second time since December, is one of the founding members of Coalition for App Fairness. One of the groups other founding members, Epic Games Inc., awaits a federal judges decision in its antitrust lawsuit vs. Apple and the App Store.

Apples current policy of requiring Sign In With Apple whenever any SSO [single sign-on] product is offered permits new competitors and competition (including Blix) because it does not foreclose the use of other SSOs. Allowing competition is the opposite of unlawfully constraining competition, so, again, Blix has failed to state a claim, U.S. District Judge Leonard P. Stark wrote in his decision.

Blix is likely to appeal the ruling, company co-founder Ben Volach told MarketWatch.

Blix, a member of the Coalition for App Fairness and frequent complainer to press and regulators, alleged false conspiracy theories and anti-competitive claims against Apple, Apple said of the decision: "The court correctly rejected these claims and threw out Blixs case. This case demonstrates that Apple has consistently acted legally by introducing its own innovative products and features that promote competition." For more on this, read the full MarketWatch report.

Past Reports related to Blix

01: "Apple has been sued by Blix, owner of BlueMail, for Patent Infringement and Illegal Monopolization."

02: App Maker Blix Sent EU Antitrust Chief a Letter Complaining that Apple's App Store does not provide a Level Playing Field
Payson, AZ (85541)

Today

Partly cloudy early followed by scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. High 87F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms early, then cloudy skies after midnight. Low 67F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
Payson, AZ (85541)

Today

Thunderstorms likely this morning. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. High 87F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms early, then cloudy skies after midnight. Low 67F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
The Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana has appealed to the Ministry of Trade and Industry to intervene in measures taken by the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) which has caused a hike in freight duty.



The Association appealed to Custom to collaborate and not antagonize the ordinary businessman, importers, and exporters, as they pursue measures and aggressive drive towards tax mobilization to meet the annual revenue target.



Mr Samson Asaki Awingobit, Executive Secretary of the Association, in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency at Tema expressed concern over the surge in freight charges for duty purposes.



The statement alleged that Customs in the face of agitations against the abnormal increment in freight charges had adopted a new strategy to increase value or duty paid on freights, even though they were not mandated to determine the freight value for the purposes of duty.



It noted that freight in the carriage of cargo was subject to negotiation and also to a commercial level, hence Customs cannot set a benchmark value for freight for duty purposes.



The Association explained that the current surge in freight was not normal and this may go away as soon as the imbalance of freight containers are realigned, hence the need for Customs to exercise some caution in their new found revenue-making avenue.



"The freight surge is already hurting trade traffic and if Customs intends to use this for revenue purposes, it can best be described as unfortunate," it said.



The statement revealed that other countries who were under similar circumstances were rather assisting businesses to stay afloat and not introducing or riding on the unfortunate freight hike for generation of revenue.



It questioned whether Customs will reduce same when freight begins to fall, stating that there had been similar instances in the past where Customs refused to reduce duty value when freight saw a nosedive.



According to the Association, "benchmark was an outlawed practice but we have it for all the good reasons".



It said, "between 2016 and 2018 freight rates fell drastically yet Customs did not apply the price paid or payable argument, they used the averages before the fall.



"And with businesses crumpling in the face of a global pandemic, we are convinced beyond measure that Customs with their track record will continue to stay with the current freight value, even when the current freight drops, just to balance their revenue," the statement said.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The TESCON President of the Wisconsin International University College, Prince Amadu Anuwar-Sadat was adjudged the Political Personality of the Year in the just ended Private Universities Students Association of Ghana (PUSAG) Excellence Awards at the National Theater.



The president of PUSAG, while giving his welcome address intimated that the event gives them the opportunity to bring together all the Private Tertiary Institutions in the country to celebrate and award most hardworking and deserving students and other stakeholders of their immense contributions and sacrifices towards education in the country.



The event attracted a lot of dignitaries, particularlythose in the educational sector who graced the occasion, including but not limited to the former minister of state in charge pf Tertiary Education, Prof. Kwasi Yankah, former Ambassordor and minister of Education and Trade, Dr.EkowSpio-Garbrah and the Member of Parliament for Assn-North and deputy minister of education, Rev.JohnNtim Fordjour amongst others.



The president also used the opportunity to express his immense gratitude to the government in addressing some of their concerns including issues of accreditation and affiliation but suggested for an expansion and grant of equal and unfettered access to the students loan scheme and other scholarship packages by private tertiary students in the country.



Speaking at the event, the Member of Parliament for Assin South and Deputy Minister of Education, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour said the role of private tertiary institutions in the country cannot be over emphasized. He reiterated governments unwavering commitment and resolve in addressing the challenges faced by private tertiary institutions and the students, particularly in the arear of opening more access to the students loan scheme. He said, this year alone, the Scholarship Secretariat intends to grant scholarship to about 5,500 students through the District Assembly.



In an interview with peacefmonline.com, the self-effacing and well composed Prince Sadat said I am indeed humbled and honoured to receive this coveted award. I wish to dedicate this award to all the people in my life whose continuous support and prayers made this happen. A special mention must be made of Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong (Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies; my bosses, Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta (Minister for Finance), Alhaji Abubakar Abdul-Rahman (ALHAJI SHORT), for they have always givenme the room to realize my full potential. My brothers, Sammi Awuku (National Organiser, NPP) and NuhuBayorboMahama (former deputy National Organiser, NPP), you made this happen. To Rt. Hon. Alban S. K. Bagbin (Speaker of Parliament, Ghana), Hon. George MirekuDuker (Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources), Hon. Razak Tahidu(MP for Chereponi), Hon. Dickson Adomako Kissi (MP for Anyaa/Sowutuom), Hon. Dakoa Newman (MP for Okaikoi South), may God bless you for thesupport. Number 16, (Mr. William, Mr. Marfo, Auntie Nyuetor, Ahmed, Daakyehene, Abraham, Ernie and Awudu) I cannot love you less. To my TESCON Executives and members, Wisconsin University, GUPS, Kwame Raj, Oscar Jonas and Steve Carlos, you have supported me every step the journey, andI thank you all. To the Upper West region, the Reality Team and the entire NPP, God bless you all. I cannot thank all my friends and family enough; I love you all dearly. You have all shown me enough love and support. To the numerous people who voted for me; may God bless you abundantly and replenish your effort in a million-fold.



Prince A. A. Sadat is a student of the Law Faculty of the Wisconsin International University, College, Ghana offering a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degree. He is currently a Research Assistant at the Campaign Fund Raising Office of H. E. the President (Number 16) and also a Press & Media Aide to Alhaji Short (former Member of the Council of State). Prince Sadat is also the TESCON President for Wisconsin University and the Chief Justice for the Ghana Union of Professional Students. He has previously worked for corporate giants like Vodafone Ghana, Fidelity Bank Limited, Glico Life Insurance Company Limited; and has over seven (10) years of work experience in corporate Ghana. He has also worked as Personal Assistant to some of the finest politicians in the country. And his contributions towards the 2016 and 2020 victory of the NPP and H. E. Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo cannot be overemphasized.



He is a prolific writer with over 100 publications on social and political issues of national interest to his name; and has received several awards both in the corporate space and in politics as well.



In a related development, Prince A. A. Sadat, also received PUSAGs Best Law School award on behalf of Wisconsin International University College, Ghana. Other winners for the night include Influential PUSAG Executive (LINDA AFOA AMOAKO), Best Local PUSAG Secretary (OWUSU FRANCIS), Beauty Queen (DORA DEBRA), Best student DJ (EBENAITA NORBU), Best law School (WISCONSIN UNIVERSITY), Beat SRC President (BENJAMIN TAYLOR), Beat SRC PRO(KINGSLEY ATTITSOGBUI), Best Student Comedian (EMMANUEL AKAGBOR), Best Student in Academics (HENRY KORANTENG), Best Student in Acting (BENJAMIN GYESI ADDO), Best student Actor (NASTY BAE), Best Student MC (EMMANUEL MAWULI TSIKATA), best student Photographer (RICHARD WIAFE), Best Male student poet/spoken word (SALIFU ABDUL WADUD), Best female student poet/spoken word (TIA YINMAALE GRACE), Best student programmer (OPUNI HESPERUS YIDAN ADAMS), Student blogger of the year (HILDA D. DASSAH), Student writer of the year (DAVIS NII ATTUQUAYE CLOTTEY), Entrepreneur of the year (GODFRED AWUAH), Influential senator of the year (BETTY TUTUWAA), Best local PUSAGPresident (THOMAS KWADWO DANSO), Most Outstanding International Student (CHINEKE JESSE KOSISOCHUKWU), Most Outstanding Student Leader (EMMANUEL NARGEH), Media Personality (GILBERT TETTEH), Radio Personality (ASARE AMPONSAH EMMANUEL), Best Speaker of Parliament (SHADRACH AHIATI EGBLORLA), Male Sport Personality (EMMANUEL DANSO), Female Sport Personality (JEWEL TEYE BART-PLANGE), Best SRCExecutive (PHILIP BAAH JNR), Best SRCGeneral Secretary (ANGEL ANNANT), Best SRCJudicial Committee Chairperson (ASANA AWUNI AYUMAH), Best SRCOrganizer (AARON MENSAH), Best Student Activist (GOMNA IBRAHIM), Student Artiste of the Year (KONFIDENTIAL), Gospel Artiste of the Year (ACQUAH SELBY KOFI GIDEON), Female Model of the Year (HAMIDU FUSSEINA BRIMA YALA), Male Model of the Year (OSCAR KOMLA VIDEDU), Student of the year (DAASA VITUS MARIA), Women Commissioner of the year (IBRAHIM A. RAMATU and Face of PUSAG (DORWODOE MAVIS).



Indeed, it was a memorable occasion that provided the opportunity to the students to interact and socialize among themselves.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
About 20,000 former beneficiaries are yet to settle their indebtedness to the Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) after the completion of their studies in tertiary institutions in the country.



The students, who are owing GH44 million, are part of the 55,000 borrowers due to repay their loans.



Out of the number, 35,000 of them have started repaying while the rest are yet to start repayment or make any plans of repayment.



Recovery drive



To recover the debt, the Fund has embarked on an aggressive media campaign to ensure that all debtors settle their obligations to the fund.





In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Chief Executive Officer of the SLTF, Nana Kwaku Agyei Yeboah, explained that the objective of the campaign was to remind borrowers of the importance of repaying their loans.



Every year, tens of thousands of students who would otherwise have struggled to finance their tertiary education are given a leg up by this subsidised government facility.



Sadly, when its time to repay the loans, many of them decide to default, thereby denying others the opportunity to benefit, he said.



Objective



Nana Agyei Yeboah indicated that the campaign which would involve the use of traditional and social media would also involve meetings with employers who were bound by law to deduct loan payments at source on behalf of the SLTF.



Additionally, the campaign would be used to introduce the debtors to new and more convenient payment platforms, including the recently introduced Students Loan Mobile App.



Observation



When the Daily Graphic checked the official website of the SLTF, it observed that a notice had been put up for both new and old applicants.



The information for applicants advised them not to pay any money to anybody during the application process as it was free of charge.



On the other hand, the notice to the defaulters read: Loan Defaulters:



The following beneficiaries of the Students Loan are due for repayment. The borrowers are in default of their monthly installments or have not started repayment of their loans.



We are therefore asking the under-listed borrowers to repay the loan in order for others to access the fund.



The Trust Fund will publish the names of these defaulters and their respective amounts in the national dailies if they fail to repay their loans on time.



Attached to that notice is another link that sends the reader to the list of defaulters.



The Daily Graphic observed that a number of names, the institutions they attended and the courses they read had been posted on the site.



Prosecution on hold



The SLTF CEO noted that the plans to start prosecuting loan defaulters this year had been temporarily put on hold due to job losses and hardships suffered by some borrowers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.



The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact and has resulted in job losses and other economic hardship, thus management has decided to put on hold for this year, the proposed plan to prosecute defaulting beneficiaries for the repayment of the loans, he explained.



The Head of Operations of the SLTF, Mr Kofi Abbew Nkrumah, encouraged borrowers who were having difficulties in repaying their loans to come forward and engage the Fund to avoid publication of their photographs and details in the national media, as well as prosecution in the near future.



The Students Loan Trust Fund



The SLTF currently disburses loans to over 35,000 students in 105 tertiary institutions across the country.



The SLTF was established in December 2005 under the Trustee Incorporation Act 1962, Act 106.



As part of reforms to make accredited tertiary education more accessible to the majority of qualified Ghanaian students, the Government of Ghana passed the Students Loan Trust Fund Act, Act 820 (2011) for the efficient and effective disbursement of financial resources to tertiary students.



The Trust Fund has the responsibility to recover loans from students after the completion of their tertiary education.









Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
A communication and journalism expert, Professor Kwame Karikari, has said the media in Ghana are well-positioned to promote a cohesive and harmonious society in which democracy and the rights of the people thrive.



He said suggestions that the media were promoting tendencies that could plunge the country into war were far-fetched as the facts did not support that position.



The media cannot cause war; they can create an atmosphere which political forces can manipulate to create chaos or unrest.



Wherever the media have been instrumental in creating unrest there is always a political force using a section as an instrument and tool to carry out a systematic agenda, Professor Karikari, who is also the Board Chairman of the Graphic Communications Group Ltd (GCGL), said.



Speaking at the first in a series of workshops on professional and ethical journalism for editors and correspondents of the group, Prof. Karikari explained that in Nazi Germany, Serbia and Rwanda, which were countries often cited as examples, it was not the plurality of the media, but particular outlets that were controlled by political forces to perpetrate their own parochial agenda.



For example, Prof. Karikari said in the often-cited most recent example, Radio Television Libre des Mille Collines of Rwanda (RTLM), it was controlled by Hutu politicians who used the medium for decades, not a day or a year, to perpetrate their agenda of denigrating the Tutsi tribe.



They used the RTLM platforms over decades to create hatred against the Tutsi people, demean and lower their dignity as human beings, he explained.



For instance, just before the genocide, which started on April 7, 1994, RTLM was used to direct people to the locations and residencies of Tutsis for the perpetrators to kill them.



Again, although RTLM played that role, it was not responsible for the importation and arming of the people with machetes and guns, rather the political forces were ones that were carrying out an agenda, Prof. Karikari stated.





It wasnt the radio station, as such, that went about killing the people. It was only one of the elements that was used to cause the disaffection, he said.



The reports of the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (Rwanda) and the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda at Arusha, Tanzania, stated the role of the radio and TV, Prof. Karikari stated.



It is unfortunate that speaking about whether the media can cause war, people glibly and simplistically conclude, always citing Rwanda, without knowing what really it is all about, Prof. Karikari, who is also a researcher and community radio consultant, said.



Prof. Karikari said Mr Emile Short served as Ad Litem Judge on the tribunal and could offer rich and deep perspectives on the role of RTLM in the Rwandan genocide.



Mind your language



The professor of communication and journalism also advised political parties in the country to desist from using certain expressions and language on the radio stations that they controlled.



If there will be chaos in this country, that will come from political forces, religious groups or such other groups who may have prejudices or who may have some disgruntlement against some other sections of society, he stated.



The closest the media came to creating insurrection, Prof. Karikari recalled, was in the 2012 election when two radio stations, Oman FM with leanings towards the New Patriotic Party (NPP), and Radio Gold, which leans towards the National Democratic Congress (NDC), urged supporters to march to occupy the Electoral Commission.



Ethical Graphic



He extolled the Daily Graphic and its sister publications for maintaining high ethical standards over the years.



What you see is what we put out. You dont reduce it, embellish or minimise it, you present the facts and in putting out the facts, you explain what they mean to the public.



So you read the Daily Graphic for many months and you will not find words that denigrate or minimise anybody or institution because we respect the rights of every citizen as the Constitution enjoins you, Prof. Karikari stated.



Be critical



The board chairman said the Graphic could be critical of the government, agencies and institutions but not oppositional.



We must be critical of the government, agencies, opposition parties, but cannot be an opposition to the government.



Being critical is not about insults but raising questions about what government, policymakers, ministers, officeholders etc. do and how they do it in the interest of the public, Prof. Karikari stated.



Content challenge



Media consultant, Nana Kwesi Gyan-Apenteng, in a presentation on overcoming the news content challenge in a dynamic news market, said newspapers could command bigger audiences when they had the citizens on their minds in everything they wrote about.



He encouraged journalists to see their work as a service to their communities and to think much more deeply about the impact of what they put out.



Nana Gyan-Apenteng, who is a former Chairperson of the National Media Commission, asked journalists of the company to pay particular attention to issues which affected the daily lives of Ghanaians.



Expectations



The Editor of the Daily Graphic, Mr Kobby Asmah, urged journalists of the company to apply the lessons learnt to help sustain their relevance and leadership.



Brand editors of The Mirror, Graphic Showbiz, Graphic Sports, Graphic Online, Graphic Business as well as the Photo Editor outlined their expectations from correspondents of the company.

Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
One of the glowing and widely accepted flagship social intervention programmes by the Government of Ghana is the Planting food and Jobs which was introduced through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture as the supervising Ministry.



Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) Campaign was launched by His Excellency President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in April, 2017.



Subsequently, Planting for Export and Rural Development and Rearing for Food and Jobs were launched in Dunkwa- On- Ofin and Wa respectively.



On account of its success in 2017, government implemented an expanded version of the PFJ in 2018 with more ambitious targets of 500, 000 farmers. At the end of the day, a total 577,000 farmers had accessed the inputs in excess of the planned target for the year.



In 2019, the Planting for Food and Job programme continued with an enrolment of about 1,183,313 farmers. For 2020 PFJ season, the target is to reach out to 1.2 million farmers in the country.



The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Hon Dr Afriyie Akoto Osei has umpteenth time said the ministry is planning to expand the project to allow more small holder farmers to come on board.



However, peacefmonline can confirm that all these projections are likely to be dreams or wishful thinking.



Checks by PeaceFM News Senior Reporter and HelloFM's Sampson Kwame Nyamekye has revealed that the project is likely to be a white elephant since the government is owing companies who have been providing fertilizers to these farmers.



Through investigations, it was revealed that the Ministry of Finance is flexing its muscles by refusing to release financial clearance to the Agric Ministry to pay these companies.



As to why the Ministry has delayed, no official reason has been assigned, but reliable sources have hinted that it could be a form of power play between the two ministers.



It will interest one to know that, from April to July, no fertilizer has been distributed to these farmers because companies engaged in the program are finding it difficult to fulfil their obligations to the banks and continue to import more raw materials for fertilizer production.



Companies say, they can no longer continue to finance the programme as they used to and according to them, the banks are unable to support them in the wake of governments continued non-payment for fertilizers distributed to farmers.



Some farmers too have started losing interest in the programme since they are having challenges in accessing the fertilizers.



One disturbing moment is how the Major farming season has skipped these farmers due to unavailability of fertilizers, which of course, is as a result of the huge sums of monies owed to the companies, thus making productions go limp.



Famers told Sampson Nyamekye that they have missed the opportunity to harvest major production because of these factors, their lifeline, in terms of business and trade.



".....Currently, our only hope is in the minor farming season in August....we are appealing to the Ministry of Finance to pay the monies owed us as soon as possible because its left with few weeks to the minor season.



"We need to prepare ahead of the minor season and before that, we must get assurance from the government of the distribution of fertilizers, some of the them who spoke on conditions of anonymity told Sampson.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.
Ghanas re-appointed High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Papa Owusu-Ankomah has presented his Letters of Credence to Queen Elizabeth II.



The ceremony, which took place at Buckingham Palace, the official residence of the Queen, on Tuesday 6th July, officially signifies the assumption of duty by Papa Owusu-Ankomah.



Papa Owusu-Ankomah who completed his first term as High Commissioner in November 2020, was re-appointed by President Nana Akufo Addo in March 2021 as Ghanas envoy to the UK, making him the first Ghanaian High Commissioner to the UK to serve for two terms consecutively.



Madam Rita Tani Iddi, who served as Deputy High Commissioner until November 2020 and was re-appointed has also assumed duty.



In his remarks after the ceremony, The High Commissioner extended his greetings to all Ghanaians in the UK, assuring them of his commitment to work with them in championing their progress and well-being in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Some 16 people have reportedly been killed by lightning strike in India.



Many others have reportedly been injured in the lightning strike in Jaipur in northern India on Sunday.



According to a report by BBC, the victims were taking selfies in the rain on top of a watch tower at the citys 12th Century Amer Fort, a popular tourist attraction.



Reports say on average, lightning strikes kill some 2,000 Indians yearly.



Among the dead at the forts tower were young people, reports say.



The chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan and Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi have announced compensation for the families of those who died.









The Prime Minister was briefed about the loss of lives and damages due to lightning in parts of Uttar Pradesh. An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs. 50,000 would be given to the injured.

 PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 12, 2021

Source: bbc









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The momentum in the build for the NPP's presidential election seemed to have shifted in favour of Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr. Alan Kyerematen, with a bold declaration of support by the electoral in the Ashanti Region.



The frank declaration from the Ashanti region confirmed the notion of many party faithfuls that any candidate aside Alan Kyerematen will be blacklisted by the party.



In a massive turn of events at the funeral grounds of the late mother of Hon Asenso Boakye, the vocal youth wing of the New Patriotic Party confirmed the much feared stand from the Ashanti block, "No Alan No Vote".



Usually described as the winning card in any election in the country, the latest stand from the Ashanti Block could potentially put Alan Kyeremanten clearly ahead of all others heading into the presidential showdown. The NPP grassroots in Ashanti saw Alan Kyeremanten and respond by cheering Alan nie osono nie Yenim no firi tete  Hes our own; It's our turn



Described by the political pundits as the apparent replacement for Nana Addo on the presidential ballot , Hon Alan Kyerematen is tipped as the undisputed candidate for the New Patriotic Party.



The political fraternity in the New Patriotic Party is poised for a landslide endorsement of Hon Alan Kyerematen when the party needs to the poll in 2022.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The Greater Accra Regional Youth Organiser, Hon. Moses Abor, together with the Youth Organisers of Tema zone paid a courtesy call on the Director General of the Ghana Ports And Harbours Authority (GPHA), Mr. Michael Luguje in his office.



The move is part of the Youth Organiser's "Empowerment Agenda", to lobby for jobs in various institutions for the teeming youth who are unemployed in his Region.



In a discussion, the Regional Youth Organizer made known the challenges facing the youth in securing permanent jobs in his Region.



He appealed to the Director General for GPHA to consider the Youth Anytime there are job vacancies at the port.



The affable and quintessential Director General was so delightful to receive the leadership of the Youth and assured them his Commitment to helping the Youth at anytime opportunities are unveiled.



The entourage, led by Hon. Moses Abor expressed their gratitude to the Mr. Michael Luguje for his kind gestures, sobriety and professionalism.

Source: Josephine Acheampomaa/[email protected]









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ejusu constituency in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, Lawyer John Ampontuah Kumah, has pleaded with Ghanaians to treat Members of the August House with the fairness they deserve.



He also says that, the Member of Parliaments office is part of the Article 71 office holders described by the Constitution, hence they should be treated just as all the other offices under the Article.



He explained that, the Constitution is explicit on the individuals who are to receive their emoluments under the Article, including the President, the Vice President, Speaker of Parliament, Ministers, Parliamentarians, Chief Justice, Justices of the Superior Court of Judicature, Municipal Chief Executives, Council of State members., the Electoral Commission, etc.



Speaking in an interview on Akoma FM, John Kumah stated further that, all those in these offices are given duty vehicles and are well taken care of, in terms of other incentives and allowances that enable them have the comfort to execute their duties for the state with effectiveness and efficiency.



According to him, it is very unfair that, MPs who are equally part of Article 71 office holders are given no duty vehicles, but rather given loans to purchase their vehicles and to pay back.



He further asserted that, an MP is sometimes deducted of about GH6,000.00 monthly for 48 months, leaving financial stress on the individual at the end of the day, whilst pools of cars are periodically bought for the other Article 71 office holders as their duty vehicles without having to pay for them.



The Ejisu MP therefore suggested that, government should consider buying a pool of vehicles for the Members of Parlaiment to be used as their duty cars over the period of their engagement, with same car returned to the state after one leaves Parliament, to enable the next Parliamentarian elected to use it.



Same vehicles could be maintained and replaced when they become obsolete.



He was unhappy about the way the deentralization process of Ghana is progressing, saying, the system has deprived the very important community development tool and rather centered the resources mostly around the bigger offices.



He wondered why the Assembly member who is also voted for and the unit committee member are not given any allowances, incentives or logistics to enable them deliver their developmental mandate.



On the salaries of the spouses of the first two gentlemen, he said, it was just a gesture to formalize what already existed.



He appealed to Ghanaians to be patient with issues and understand the plight of the MP.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
A Deputy Minister for Finance, Lawyer John Ampontuah Kumah, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ejisu constituency, has called for a reform in the local governance structure of the country so as to allow for elected officers to be properly resourced for their work.



He said, the practice of providing some Article 71 office holders with official cars while others are given loans to go and purchase their own cars for official business and payback these loans by the end of their tenure in office is unfair, and a major factor to the stagnant nature of our the countrys democracy.



An elected assembly member has no monthly salary yet he or she is depended on for the replacement of the bulb in the streetlight in his area. I think we must work to change some of these governance laws in this country  when you are elected you are not entitled to a loan, but when you are appointed like a public servant or chief director you get a free car. Every chief director in this country has been given a car. Even in the Assemblies every Coordinating Director has a car but an elected Assembly member has no such priority, how can we develop our local governance system by this structure? he queried.



Speaking in an interview on Akoma FM, Lawyer John Kumah gave this suggestion in a radio interview when he was given the opportunity to clarify the big issue with an agreement currently before parliament for the purposes of securing car loans for all 275 MPs in Ghanas parliament for their work.



Giving detailed explanation on the loan the deputy minister said the provision which talks about the emoluments of Article 71 office holders has existed since 1992 and has been used by all previous governments to settle the emoluments of Ministers, Members of the Council of State, Commissioners of the Electoral Commission (EC), National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Judges, Members of Parliament, among others.



He said the law specifies how they should all carry out their work and their entitlement after service some of which include buying cars for them to facilitate their movement.



However, in the case of an elected MP the law says they should use their own money to buy cars for their official use, and I dont think this is progressive, he stated.



To him it is insensitive and a cheat if elected officers like parliamentarians and Assembly members are not given official cars even though they are expected to deliver on their work just like ministers of state.



So every MP is being deducted Ghc6000 from your monthly salary which is already considered as meager. It is from this same salary that your constituents expect you to pay their school fees, among other issues, and so for 48 months you are being deducted, and if you are unable to pay by the end of your tenure it is deducted from your ex-gratia.



This is the situation of the Ghanaian MP, yet Ghanaians dont even understand why the MP should be given a loan for a car. I personally consider this a cheat, because if it can be done for Ministers and Judges, why cant it be done for MPs?



I have said that the biggest mistake anyone would make in this country is to run for political office, from the Unit Committee member to Assembly member through to an MP. So while ministers, judges and all article 71 office holders are being given cars, you the MP is being given a loan to go and buy your own car so it can be deducted from your salary.



It is his suggestion therefore that changes are made to the laws so an official car would be allocated to the office of the MP so that when one completes his tenure and is leaving whoever comes to take over that office continue using that car, just as in the case of ministers and others.



It should be made official such that the car bought for an MP should be there for whoever takes over from him, he noted.



Some of the MPs have kicked against the loan and I agree with them that it shouldnt be a loan. If we should treat all article 71 office holders in a particular way lets be fair to all of them, it shouldnt be that when you are elected then you dont deserve it, but when you are appointed then you deserve it. As we speak I have been given a car because I am a minister, but my colleague MP who is not privileged to be a minister is being asked to go and take a loan for car to serve his people, why should it be so?



Ghanaians should understand that we are cheating the MPs. It is unfair and unreasonable to give a car loan to an MP who is an article 71 office holder, yet buy cars for ministers, members of the judiciary, council of state members, etc, why should it be so? Why cant we give allowances and special budgets to assembly members who have responsibility over an electoral area and are to see to its development?



He emphasized the need for the whole process to be universal because it would make all elected officers to enjoy doing their work.



Me I am not happy with the decentralization programme of this country, where, when you are elected official you are not entitled to any financial arrangement of the country, this is why we are not moving forward as a country.



You voted for an assembly member without resourcing him, and so when there is a chocked gutter in the area he has to depend on money from Accra, you elect an MP and say he should go and buy his own personal car for official use, why? Meanwhile when you appoint a minister you provide him with a house, a car and security, among others, why should it be so?



Let us arrange the governance structure well so that the Assembly member, the unit committee, the MP is well resourced for the system. MPs are supposed to pay their drivers and security details from their pay but it is not the situation for ministers and others even though we are all article 71 office holders.



The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta last week laid before Parliament a car loan purchase agreement totaling $28 million for MPs. Each of the 275 MPs is expected to receive an amount of US$100,000 for the purchase of a vehicle for official use. The Speaker of the House has since referred the agreement, to the Finance Committee for consideration.





















Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
A Youth Organizer aspirant of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) Prince-Kamal Gumah has visited the affected families of the Ejura riots.



His visit was to console the families and some NPP youth members whose houses were vandalized during the revolt after Kaakas death.



Prince-Kamal also visited one Madam Salamatu, a 78-year-old lady whose house has been threatened by some youth for shielding some alleged NPP youth in her house during the violence.



He assured the woman that no one can burn your house, well protect you.



Prince Kamal also urged the NPP youth to remain calm and allow the police to do their work to fish out the perpetrators to book.



May Allah have mercy on brother Kaaka and bless him Jannah, he said





Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
General Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party(NPP), John Boadu, has described as half-truth the press statement released by the Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Dr Yaw Baah on the salaries of the spouses of Presidents and Vice Presidents.



According to the statement of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), as they have followed the ongoing spirited public debate on the payment of salaries to spouses of Presidents and Vice Presidents, they have gathered the facts that salary arrears dated back to January 2017 have since been paid to the wives of President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Bawumia.



The press statement further recounts that the salary arrears have been paid to First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo and Second Lady Samira Bawumia under the Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu Committees recommendation which was approved by the NDC and the NPP Members of Parliament.



Reacting to the press statement of the TUC on Okay FMs 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show, the NPP Chief Scribe reiterated that the salary arrears were not paid only to the wives of President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia as indicated in the press statement of TUC, but rather the wife of former President Mahama and the rest of the former Presidents and their Vices have received their salary arrears.



What Trades Union Congress (TUC) has written is the half-truth; the money was not paid to only President Akufo-Addos wife and that of Vice President Bawumia but also Lordina Mahama, Fulera Limann, wife of Atta-Mills and that of Amissa-Arthur have all received their back-pay, and so if the TUC wants to report about the spousal salary arrears, they have to be factual, he debunked the report.



However, he was emphatic that the payment of money to the First and Second Ladies in Ghana is not the initiation of President Akufo-Addo but rather inherited from his predecessors.



The payment of the First and Second Ladies in Ghana is not the initiation of President Akufo-Addo. It is neither Bawumias initiative and so it is not fair for anybody to sit somewhere to say that President Akufo-Addo is paying salary to his wife . . . it is a program that former President Rawlings started and successive Presidents are continuing, he posited.



He added that the salaries given to the First and Second Ladies are an intervention from the Office of the President through the Chief of Staff, indicating that the recent promise of President Akufo-Addo to pay for the surgery of the conjoined twins is part of the intervention from the Office of the President.



Regarding the salary arrears, John Boadu explained that the Emolument Committee as part of its norm presents its recommendations for Parliamentary approval at the end of the 4-year term of the government, hence, arrears are accumulated if the recommendations suggest a salary adjustment.



He stressed that every successive government from 1992 to date goes through this ritual of late presentation of the recommendations made by the Emolument Committee; thus, the government later has to calculate the differences per the approval of Parliament to the Article 71 officeholders.

Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, is calling for the establishment of an Independent Emoluments Committee (IEC) to address concerns over emoluments due Article 71 officeholders.

According to the MP, the current Article 71 emoluments regime whereby the Executive approved the emoluments of the Legislature and the Legislature approved the emoluments of the Executive was "incestuous" and lent itself to a quid pro quo system.



Review



In an interview with the Daily Graphic yesterday, Mr Ablakwa said it had become evident that Ghanaians were not in support of the current Article 71 emoluments regime and the leaders of the nation must review it through a constitutional amendment.



"I agree with the 2010 Constitution Review Commission that it is too incestuous, I want that whole arrangement changed and I want us to learn from the United Kingdom where they now have an Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority which determines the salaries and conditions of members of the House of Commons," Mr Ablakwa said.



"The current emoluments regime has created an apartheid regime where our conditions of service are so different from the rest of the workers in the public sector and the rest of the country. So, even when the tri-partite committee meets to deliberate on wages, it doesn't seem to affect us," he stated.



He said the current arrangement for approvals was shrouded in secrecy because successive Presidents had always kept the formation of the Emoluments Committee until the last hours of their tenure when it was likely to be rushed through Parliament.



"I can understand that in the beginning, the framers of our constitution wanted to do these things, particularly so that Presidents will have confidence in leaving office so that they won't hold onto power and have input on their conditions of service and retire on their salaries.



Stability



Mr Ablakwa said that regime might have served the country well to stabilise the early years of democracy but just as other jurisdictions such as the UK had carried out reviews, it is time for us to carry out a review if you look at the level of animosity and anger for those of us who fall into that category such as judges, CHRAJ, NCCE and Controller and Accountant-General and it is not in our interest because it creates the impression that there is a certain special class that only looks out for themselves and milks the system dry".



MP vehicle loans



The legislator said he and other like-minded MPs would not be supporting a $28 million loan agreement for the purchase of 275 vehicles for members of the 8th Parliament.



He said MPs must be treated like other Article 71 officeholders who were assigned vehicles by the state for official use.



Mr Ablakwa said under the current arrangement, 40 per cent of the total sum for the MPs vehicle loan was deducted from their salaries from the beginning of the year.



"Take ministers, take district chief executives, take chief executive officers, take presidential staffers, security services, the state is able to provide vehicles for them. For some of them, there is a pool and you are able to access vehicles from that pool, including the judges who also are provided vehicles but when it comes to MPs, you have a totally different regime.



"Why is it that we are able to provide vehicles for some officeholders but for MPs we cannot, I would have thought that it would have been a lesser burden on the taxpayer where MPs can access and leave the vehicles behind for their successors".



Personal loans



Mr Ablakwa suggested that if the state could not afford vehicles for MPs, it must allow legislators to broker personal loans for their vehicles because the current regime portrayed them as being insensitive to the plight of Ghanaians.



"Fortunately, the loan has not been approved yet. It has just been laid and some of us (MPs) are really passionate about this proposal and we are taking steps to actualise it," he stated.









Source: Graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA) has described the decision by the First Lady to refund all monies paid to her in allowances since 2017, in line with recommendations made by the presidential committee on emoluments for Article 71 office-holders, as a mark of ingratitude.



Rebecca Akufo-Addos decision is coming on the back of the huge public outcry that has greeted governments decision to put her and the Second Lady on monthly remuneration.



I have sighted a letter purporting to be from the Office of the First Lady angrily claiming it is going to refund all allowances paid the first lady since 2017 because Ghanaians are talking too much about the recent recommendations by the Prof. Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu Committee to pay first/second ladies the same salaries as cabinet ministers, Mensah Thompson, the executive director of ASEPA, posted on Facebook.



He added: First of all, apart from the tone of the letter being unnecessarily arrogant, this smacks a huge sense of INGRATITUDE from the first lady. This letter goes a long [way] to show how unaccommodating the first lady is to public criticisms.



Thompson said if the First Lady cannot contain the outburst of the taxpayer then she should refund everything the state has done for her.



Oya refund everything and from now on, dont use anything that belongs to the taxpayer if you cannot contain the taxpayers outbursts.



But once we continue to finance your living from head to toe, Auntie Becky we will talk papa, Hw3!!! Tax tua y3 ya papa, he said.



Refunding allowances

Rebecca Akufo-Addo and Samira Bawumia have both said they are refunding all allowances paid to them since 2017 and will also not accept any monthly remuneration.



In a statement issued on Monday 12 July 2021, the Office of the First Lady said:  the public discussion has been laced with some extremely negative opinions, in some cases, which she finds distasteful, seeking to portray her as a venal, self-serving and self-centered woman, who does not care about the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian.



In view of this, the First Lady, in consultation with the President of the Republic, has decided to refund all monies paid to her as allowances from the date of the Presidents assumption of office, ie, from January 2017 to date, amounting to GHC899,097.84.



The First Lady has also decided not to accept any monies that have been allocated to be paid to her pursuant to the recommendations of the Ntiamoa-Baidu Committee, as approved by Parliament, the statement signed by Korkor Bleboo, director of communications in the Office of the Second Lady, said.



Meanwhile, Bawumia is set to refund a total amount of eight hundred and eighty-seven thousand, four hundred and eighty-two (GHC 887,482) she has thus far received as allowances from January 2017 to March 2021.



Post below:-







Source: facebook/asaaseradio









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
This was the damage done to a Kelowna lawyer's office following Monday morning's crane collapse which has left at least one person dead.
A hand sanitizer dispenser and a sign indicating steps to be taken to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 is seen at an entrance to the Vancouver Convention Centre, in Vancouver, on Saturday, March 14, 2020. The Vancouver Convention Centre that was repurposed into an overflow hospital for COVID-19 patients is being shut down without every taking patients.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
The last thing you expect to see while spending a quiet day fishing is a Bigfoot moving about on the shoreline and throwing rocks. A Kentuc...
Logansport, IN (46947)

Today

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 61F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 61F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.
Thank you for reading the Philadelphia Tribune.

You have exhausted your free article views for this month. Please press the "subscribe" button below and see our introductory price of $0.25 per week for 13 weeks. Otherwise, we look forward to seeing you next month.
We had the chance to visit the Shimano Osaka facility in 2018, you can read more about that visit, here

The new plant will come online by the end of 2022 and will manufacture high end transmission parts.

Shimano has invested $179 million (20 billion yen) in a new plant in Singapore and $118 million (13 billion yen) in its existing Japanese facilities that will help it meet the increased demand for cycling parts brought on by the pandemic, Bicycle Retailer reports, citing asia.nikkei During the pandemic, cycling allowed people to avoid public transport and undertake socially distanced exercise which, in combination with government infrastructure policy, meant that demand for cycling parts skyrocketed. This has been a fruitful time for the industry and Shimano itself ended the year with a 2.7% net sales increase in its bicycle department despite a 15% sales slump in Q1.However, the pandemic has been a double-edged sword as bike brands have struggled to keep up with the increased demand due to factory shutdowns , a shortage of shipping containers and even the grounding of the Evergiven in the Suez Canal. Brands are now reporting lead times of more than a year for some products and it seems unlikely that this will change through the rest of 2021.We've previously reported that manufacturers have been reluctant to increase their capacity as they were wary of the sustainability of the current boom. If the bubble were to burst, a manufacturer could be left with excess capacity and not enough orders to fill its slots however, Shimano's investment may be a sign of confidence that the growth from the pandemic is more sustainable than previously believed.Shimano already has a facility in Singapore however that plant was built in 1973, whereas this new plant is said to be the "factory of the future" with an emphasis on digitization. The new plant is expected to come online by the end of 2022 and will manufacture high-end transmission parts. Shimano is also investing another $118 million (13 billion yen) in its two Japanese factories in Osaka and Yamaguchi. These investments will go towards new machinery and software that will reportedly allow it to increase capacity by 1.5 times by the end of the year compared to 2019.Shimano isn't alone in betting on the continued success of the cycling industry. This Reuters piece cites "industry insiders" who believe that, "the increase in ridership will endure after the outbreak eases, citing governments interest in improving health and easing city congestion, as well as expectations that people will stick with leisure and exercise habits formed during lockdowns, especially if they continue working from home".
Would you like to receive breaking news notifications from The Post and Courier?

Sign up to receive news and updates from this site directly to your desktop.

Breaking News Columbia Breaking News Greenville Breaking News Myrtle Beach Breaking News Aiken Breaking News

Click on the bell icon to manage your notifications at any time.

Success! Please click the 'Allow' button in the 'Show Notifcations' alert in your browser if one is available. Thank you for signing up!

Please enable notifications in your browser and reload the page.
NASIRIYAH, IRAQ  The death toll from a fire that swept through a hospital coronavirus ward climbed to 92 on Tuesday, Iraq's state news agency reported, as anguished relatives buried their loved ones and lashed out at the government over the country's second such disaster in less than three months.

Health officials said scores of others were injured in the blaze that erupted Monday at al-Hussein Teaching Hospital in Nasiriyah.

The tragedy cast a spotlight on what many have decried as widespread negligence and mismanagement in Iraq's hospitals after decades of war and sanctions.

Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi convened an emergency meeting and ordered the suspension and arrest of the health director in Dhi Qar provice, the hospital director and the city's civil defense chief. The government also launched an investigation.

The prime minister called the catastrophe "a deep wound in the consciousness of all Iraqis."

Two Iraqi health officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, disputed the reported death toll, saying 88 had been killed.

Authorities at one point said the fire was caused by a short circuit. Another official said the blaze erupted when an oxygen cylinder exploded. The officials were not authorized to talk to the news media and spoke on condition of anonymity.

In April, at least 82 people  many of them coronavirus patients or their relatives  were killed in a fire at a Baghdad hospital that broke out when an oxygen tank exploded. Iraq's health minister resigned over the disaster.

In the holy city of Najaf, the dead from Nasiriyah were laid to rest. Mourning families stood over the coffins at a mosque to say one last prayer.

Their tears were tinged with anger, with some saying the disaster could have been prevented. They blamed both the provincial government and the central government in Baghdad.

Ahmed Resan, who witnessed the blaze, said it began with smoke. "But everyone ran away  the workers and even the police. A few minutes later there was an explosion," he said. He said firefighters arrived an hour later.

"The whole state system has collapsed, and who paid the price? The people inside here. These people have paid the price," Haidar al-Askari seethed at the scene.

Overnight, firefighters and rescuers  many holding flashlights and using blankets to smother small fires  searched through the ward. As dawn broke, bodies covered with sheets could be seen laid out on the ground outside the hospital. Distraught relatives searched for traces of their loved ones amid charred blankets and belongings.

Ali Khalid, 20, a volunteer who dashed to the scene, said he found the bodies of two young girls locked in embrace.

"How terrified they must have been, they died hugging each other," he said.

The ward, opened three months ago, contained 70 beds in three large halls. Maj. Gen. Khalid Bohan, head of Iraq's civil defense, said the building was constructed from cheap, flammable materials.

Ali Karar, a cleaner at the hospital, said the ward had only four fire extinguishers and no fire alarm system. Firetrucks ran out of water quickly, he said.

Doctors have long complained of lax safety at Iraq's hospitals, especially around oxygen cylinders, and have described the institutions as ticking bombs.

Mac Skelton, a medical sociologist focused on Iraq, said chaos and neglect in Iraq's public hospitals since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 have given rise to "toxic" distrust between patients and doctors.

Doctors in COVID-19 wards often say they avoid confronting patients' families who are mishandling oxygen tanks, for fear they will react violently, he said. "But families say that they have legitimate fears about leaving the lives of their vulnerable loved ones up to medical staff that they regard as under-resourced, overburdened and disinterested."

Iraq is in the midst of another severe COVID-19 surge. New cases per day peaked last week at 9,000. Iraq's war-crippled health system has struggled to contain the virus. The country has recorded over 17,000 deaths and 1.4 million confirmed cases.

Fear and widespread mistrust of the public health sector have kept many from seeking hospital care.

Ali Abbas Salman, who rushed to evacuate his COVID-19-stricken father from the building after the fire broke out, swore he wouldn't take the older man back to a hospital.

"He wants me to take him home. He said, `It's better to die of coronavirus than being burned alive,'" Salman said.

The disaster is likely to stoke public discontent toward Iraq's political establishment ahead of October elections, said Marsin Alshammary, an Iraq specialist at the Brookings Institution. Nasiriyah has been at the heart of past revolutions in Iraq.

"Given this entire atmosphere built around the city," she said, "you can imagine that something as tragic as this event, where people who were already vulnerable were killed in a needless accident, will create more public anger."



Associated Press writer Qassim Abdul-Zahra contributed.
WASHINGTON  Facing rising fears of summer violence, President Joe Biden is embarking on a political high-wire act, trying to balance his strong backing for law enforcement with the police reform movement championed by many of his supporters.

His focus Monday was on crime.

Biden met at the White House with Democratic urban leaders  including Eric Adams, the heavy favorite to be the next mayor of New York City  about increased shootings, as they warily watch a surge across the nation. Though limited to what can be done at the federal level, Biden promised to support efforts on the ground to combat crime.

"We know when we utilize trusted community members and encourage more community policing, we can intervene before the violence erupts," the president said.

The meeting was the second in just three weeks, underscoring the political concern crime has become for Democrats as they look to protect their thin margins in Congress. Big city mayors and lawmakers have sounded the alarm on the rise in crime, believed partly fueled by destabilizing forces of the pandemic, and polls suggest it is an increasing matter of concern for many Americans.

White House aides believe that Biden, with his long legislative record on crime as a former senator, is not easy to paint as soft on the issue, and the president has been clear that he is opposed to the "defund the police" movement, which has been effectively used against some Democrats to paint them as anti-law enforcement.

The president promotes the money for policing in his COVID-19 relief bill and, reflecting on his nearly four decades in the Senate, declares that "Most of my career has been on this issue."

At the same time, Biden has also tried to boost progressives' efforts to reform policing and has backed a bill that, after initial promise, has stalled in the Senate.

Biden lent his support to the protests that swept the nation last year after the death of George Floyd, a Black man, under the knee of a white police officer. That incident sparked a national reckoning on race, including sometimes-violent protests that were seized upon by then-President Donald Trump to raise anger among his conservative supporters.

Crime has become a major Republican talking point and has been a frequent topic of conversation on conservative media.

That's where Biden's balancing act comes in.

Biden received overwhelming support from Black voters and picked the first Black woman, Kamala Harris, to be vice president. The president and White House aides are frequently in touch with civil rights leaders to consult on police reform and voting access.

While combating crime and reforming the police don't inherently have to be at odds, the two efforts have been increasingly billed that way. And the presence in the White House meeting of Adams, who doesn't face general election voters until November, was symbolic of the administration's effort to find a middle ground.

A rise in shootings as New York City began to emerge from the pandemic helped propel a late charge for Adams, a black former police captain who rejects defund-the-police talk. Adams also says he would bring back a contentious plainclothes anti-crime unit that focused on getting guns off the streets, a unit that was disbanded amid charges that it used excessive force and strained ties with communities.

Adams beat more liberal candidates, but his lifetime of speaking out against police misconduct and his blunt, working-class style make it difficult to pigeonhole him. He spoke frequently on the campaign trail of being beaten by police officers as a teenager and joining the force to reform it from within. And Adams, who appears to only face token Republican opposition this fall, was a founder of a group called 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care that fought against racial profiling and advocated for the hiring of more officers of color.

Biden recently announced new efforts to stem the tide of violence, but the federal government is limited in what it can do to help localities reduce the spike. His plan focuses on providing funding to cities that need more police, offering community support and cracking down on gun violence and illegal firearms.

But much of Biden's effort is voluntary  centered on encouraging cities to invest some of their COVID-19 relief funds into policing and pushing alternative crime reduction steps such as increased community support and summer jobs for teenagers, who are often both targets and perpetrators of violence. He again on Monday called for Congress to pass gun legislation, but there are no signs of movement on Capitol Hill.

Federal statistics show significant increases in murder nationwide, though spikes in crime are common in the summer months. The federal government has been trying to step up its efforts, launching strike forces in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. to help address illegal gun trafficking.

And while crime is rising, violent crime overall remains lower than it was a decade ago or even five years ago. And most violent crimes plummeted during the first six months of the pandemic, as people stayed indoors and away from others.

In fact, the spike in crime defies easy explanation. Experts point to a number of potential causes: the pandemic that has killed more than 600,000 people in the U.S., worries about the economy, large gatherings after months of stay-at-home orders, intense stress and even the weather.

Police leaders nationwide have said they are struggling with the increase in shootings and homicides. They're grappling with retirements and fewer staff and a difficulty in recruiting officers to help push back.

In the cities, "disparities exist everywhere; we're talking education, health care, criminal justice system," Portland Oregon Chief Chuck Lovell said recently at a forum on crime.

"We're solely focused on law enforcement at the moment. My hope is that throughout this time we can do some things that really benefit people in general, but we really need to think globally."
After a 10-month, international search, Spoleto Festival USA has announced the appointment of its new general director.

Mena Mark Hanna is the fourth person to hold the top spot since the festival's launch in 1977, at times sharing the leadership role with other key curators and administrative leaders. He succeeds Nigel Redden, who last year announced his retirement after 35 years leading the nonprofit.

Hannas appointment concludes a comprehensive search by a Spoleto Festival USA committee comprised of board and staff members. He will begin his new role in October, timed with Redden's departure.

Mena possesses a depth of knowledge and experience across artistic genres, and also  essential for Spoleto and Charleston  understands and is passionate about the power of artistic expression to bridge differences and bring people together, said Alicia Gregory, president of Spoleto's board.

An arts administrator, musicologist, educator and composer, Hanna brings wide-ranging experience in the performing arts field. He has held both leadership and educator roles in arts organizations based in the United States, at renowned cultural centers such as the Houston Grand Opera, as well as internationally.

Hanna's educational background, as well as his love of opera and deep understanding of classical music, two hallmarks of the festival, resonated strongly with the search committee, Gregory said.

Spoleto did not disclose Hanna's salary, saying it was on par with similar groups. In 2019, the group paid Redden $271,530, which was just over 3.3 percent of the charity's overall revenue, according to documents filed with the federal government. Overall, just over one-fifth of the nonprofit's revenue went to administration.

The new general director comes to Spoleto from Berlins Barenboim-Said Akademie, a music academy offering a bachelor's degree in music. It is fully supported by the federal government of Germany and draws most of its students from the Middle East and North Africa.

The institution also boasts a renowned Frank Gehry-designed concert hall, the Pierre Boulez Saal, which presents a wide array of programs and festivals over the course of a year.

As founding dean and professor of musicology and composition, Hanna led the conceptualization and implementation of a multidisciplinary curriculum, instituted comprehensive academic and artistic administrative processes and drove successful fundraising campaigns.

Hanna was also instrumental in curating innovative and experimental programming, championing the music of both emerging and established composers. He forged collaborative ventures with numerous arts-and-culture and academic institutions as well, including the Goethe-Institut, the British Council and the Guggenheim Museum.

Hanna's experience in Berlin was particularly compelling to the Spoleto search team. Renowned as a vibrant contemporary arts hub, Berlin is celebrated for looking to art to reconcile with its past.

"We felt that he would bring back to us a unique skill set and that he would have this terrific understanding of all of the genres that the festival programs and that he would understand how to approach the programming in a cohesive manner," Gregory said.

Similarly, Charleston is also a place currently reconciling with its past, as evidenced in recent cultural projects such as the International African American Museum. For Hanna, those parallels offer an opportunity for the arts in Charleston.

"That's what art can do. Art can help us understand that complexity ... and that's why Charleston is so amazing," he said.

As assistant artistic director of the Houston Grand Opera, Hanna was the main artistic planning partner with the companys artistic and music director, supporting the companys strategic management and vision, developing opera commissions, leading main-stage educational initiatives and amplifying the companys fundraising campaigns.

Hanna brings a global perspective to the festival by way of his personal background as well. Born in London and raised in New Jersey, he is a first-generation American of Coptic Egyptian descent who discovered his love for music at around age 9 through a fascination with Coptic chant, a passion he has pursued in his scholarship.

As a youth, Hanna also performed as a soprano in the Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale, traveling to the Czech Republic to perform, which further enthralled him.

He is a graduate of Temple University, where he was recognized with the inaugural Distinguished Alumni Award. He received a doctorate from Merton College, Oxford, England, where he studied musicology and music composition. Recent lectures have included The Conversation by Music: from Divided Past to Unified Tomorrow given at the Gyeonggi Arts Center, South Korea.

According to a statement from the Spoleto board, Hanna will advance Spoletos commitment to produce and present innovative and world-class artistic programming across performing arts disciplines; provide a platform for young and established artists alike; feature the rich cultural diversity and creative community of Charleston and promote the festivals hometown as an international arts destination.

Spoleto Festival USA has a strong legacy of presenting exemplary, cutting-edge work that showcases and celebrates the breadth of artistic expression. It has been a dream of mine to lead a multidisciplinary festival, and there is no other like Spoleto, Hanna said.

What really excites me most about Spoleto is the opportunity to promote robust engagement with these art forms, and a deeper understanding of what it means to be human and how we can use the arts to bridge our differences.

Under the leadership of Redden, Charleston's 17-day annual arts infusion established its position as a premier performing arts festival in the U.S.

Spoleto reflects the dynamism, creativity, and passion of the local community, and I know that under Menas leadership the festival will continue to have a profoundly positive impact in supporting, inspiring and nurturing young performers, artists and creatives who practice between and beyond genres," Redden said. "I am excited to see the innovative and forward-thinking ideas that Mena will bring to Spoleto and am confident it will thrive under his direction.

The top Spoleto Festival USA position was first held by Gian Carlo Menotti. The acclaimed Italian composer previously founded the Festival dei Due Mondi (Festival of Two Worlds) in Spoleto, Italy, in 1958. In 1977, he mounted a similar cross-disciplinary festival in the U.S. in Charleston. Following Menotti's departure in 1993, Milton Rhodes was appointed the post, working with Marcus Overton, with Redden taking over in 1995.

Since its inception, Spoleto Festival USA has been widely regarded as a catalyzing, dynamic force that elevated the city's status as vibrant arts destination while also serving as an economic driver for the city of Charleston.

It regularly attracts leading artists, from its early days with then-emerging cellist Yo-Yo Ma and jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald to recent years presenting productions by heavy hitters such as composer and musician Rhiannon Giddens and Shakespeare's Globe. At the same time, the festival does not shy away from works that demonstrate an appetite for risk-taking.

According to Gregory, the festival is primed for its next chapter with a new leader ready that has the breadth of knowledge, experience and perspective to address the challenges and issues of today's art world.

She also points out that at a time when creating access to and opportunities for meaningful representation is crucially important  in the cultural sector and across society  the next leader of the festival must understand the power of art in promoting civic pride and effecting social change.

"The board is unanimous in Menas appointment, and is confident that we have found such a leader in Mena, who brings energy, collaborative instincts and empathetic leadership to the position."

Hanna is ready for the move to Charleston in October with his wife, Sarah Moriarty, a publishing professional, and their 15-month-old son. During a Zoom interview from Berlin, his enthusiasm was palpable. In an affable, easygoing fashion, he expanded upon the possibilities of his new role.

"It's such a dream for me, this organization, this festival," he said, adding he has always wanted to run a multidisciplinary festival, drawn by how different art forms and a diverse set of artists play off of each other, influence each other and create a more impactful artistic and aesthetic experience.

"There are certain things that art can do. Art uplifts, art confronts, art provides catharsis, and, for me, most importantly, it's through the varieties of different artistic expression that we can understand the other  that 'they' are not so different from 'us.'"
Boeing Co. has found another problem with its 787 Dreamliner jets that has to be fixed, further delaying deliveries and temporarily slowing production of the aircraft in South Carolina.

The newly identified issue was found in part of the nose of the plane. Small gaps were identified between two sections of a part of the aircraft called the forward pressure bulkhead, which helps maintain cabin pressure in flight.

Boeing said the issue doesn't present an immediate safety concern, but it will be fixing the problem on all affected undelivered 787s.

The widebody jet program, which is now based solely in South Carolina, was already in the midst of a second lengthy pause on 787 deliveries after regulators at the Federal Aviation Administration declined to accept Boeing's request to start using a different inspection method for the jets.

Now, with the new issue requiring more rework and additional time, Boeing has decided to slow down production in North Charleston.

The planemaker will be "reprioritizing production resources for a few weeks to support the inspection and rework," according to a statement. That means the production rate for the 787 will temporarily be lower than the already reduced rate of five per month.

Boeing says it will "gradually return to that rate."

Federal regulators are aware of the issue, according to statement from the FAA, and the agency confirmed the problem was found "as part of the ongoing system-wide inspection of Boeings 787 shimming processes required by the FAA."

The production flaws "pose no immediate threat to flight safety," the FAA said in its statement, but Boeing "has committed to fix these airplanes" before delivering 787s again. Regulators will be using data to decide whether 787s that are in service will need the same work done.

The FAA is also still evaluating the inspection method Boeing proposed to use to address the production flaws that were identified earlier. The agency had said it needed more data from Boeing to determine whether its proposal, which involved doing targeted checks of planes instead of broader inspections of every aircraft, was adequately safe.

The new production issue found in the forward pressure bulkhead is bound to further complicate the FAA's approval process.

Delivery projections

Boeing revised its estimate of how many undelivered 787 jets it will hand over to customers by the end of the year. Previously, Boeing leaders said the majority of the about 100 Dreamliners sitting in inventory would make their way to customers by the end of 2021. The company said July 13 that fewer than half will be delivered within the year.

Delivery projections are still being influenced by the coronavirus pandemic, too, the planemaker said. Though domestic travel has been rebounding quickly, international travel has lagged and so has the interest in accepting new jets like the widebody 787s that are geared for long-haul routes.

Sign up for our business newsletter. Our twice-weekly newsletter features all the business stories shaping Charleston and South Carolina. Get ahead with us - it's free. Email

Sign Up!

Boeing has declined to give any estimate of how long the current delivery pause, which started in May, will last.

We will continue to take the necessary time to ensure Boeing airplanes meet the highest quality prior to delivery," the company said.

The previous five-month hiatus on Dreamliner deliveries had ended in late March, after the FAA took over airworthiness checks for four aircraft as one of its "corrective actions" to "address 787 production issues."

The issues that prompted that pause, like the problem in the nose section, had to do with tiny gaps found in places where parts of the aircraft's fuselage were joined. The gaps were very small, Boeing said, about the width of a human hair, but they didn't mean design specifications, so the company has been working to inspect all 787s and do the necessary rework to fix the issues.

That work has been split between North Charleston and Boeing's widebody site in Everett, Wash., which had been producing new Dreamliners up until late February. All the 787s assembled in Everett prior to that point are being inspected and fixed by West Coast Boeing workers.

The Lowcountry site had been balancing a five-per-month production rate with 787 rework and inspections, but, while Boeing said production will not be stopping entirely, a timeline for when the factory might return to building five aircraft per month wasn't given.

That rate is already greatly reduced from the 787 program's pre-pandemic peak rate of 14 per month. Boeing officials gradually lowered their estimates throughout last year of how many 787s it could keep making a month under the current market conditions and eventually settled on five.

Boeing handed over 13 Dreamliners in the window between the first and second delivery stoppages. In June, one 787-9 was delivered to Turkish Airlines, bringing the year's total to 14, but that plane was issued its airworthiness certificate before deliveries were paused, and Boeing had been holding the plane for the customer.

Lagging 787 orders

The planemaker's second quarter delivery totals, released Tuesday, show how the 787 is lagging behind other jet programs, particularly the narrowbody 737. So far this year, Boeing has delivered 113 of its 737 jets.

Thanks to the return of 737 Max deliveries, Boeing has by mid-year delivered 156 aircraft in 2021, compared to the 157 jets it delivered during all of 2020, when the Max remained grounded because of its two deadly crashes until mid-November.

Max jets have also accounted for the majority of both orders and cancellations. Last month, United Airlines agreed to buy 200 Max jets. Another 19 freighters were ordered for a June total of 219 aircraft. Another 73 jet orders were canceled, 72 of which were Max jets, leaving a net total of 146  Boeing's fifth straight positive net order total.

The Dreamliner, meanwhile, has secured orders for nine jets this year, and no new orders were logged in June.
LEXINGTON  The Lexington Police Department is trying to find out who stole seven American flags in the town's Wellesley neighborhood.

Residents first noticed on June 25 that one American flag and a flagpole were missing from a home on Tolbert Street, police spokesman Cameron Mortenson said.

Then six additional American flags and one decorative ladybug yard flag went missing from Ashford Street and Ashford Way during the early morning hours of July 11 and July 12, police said.

The stolen American flags were standard sizes flown outside home and six of them included a flagpole, Mortenson said.

Video footage from several homes in the neighborhood captured images of man suspected in the crimes.

"There's a lot of emotion when it comes to someone stealing American flags off people's homes, Mortenson said. And then there's confusion on why this would happen, especially since at first it would seem that maybe teenagers are involved, but then when you see that it's actually an adult that is doing it, then you wonder what the reasons are for it happening.

A resident found four of the stolen flags lying on the ground in the woods near Ashford Way on July 13 and hung them from trees, Lexington police said. The resident also recovered the decorative yard flag with ladybugs. Three of the flags remain missing.

The suspect is believed to be a man with short dark hair and a full beard. The suspect was seen wearing a hooded sweatshirt, shorts, and slide sandals with socks, and he is believed to be driving a dark color Honda CRV, officials reported.

"We feel like we've got good images and good video of the person that is involved, Mortenson said. Hopefully someone is going to come forward that will be able to identify that person."

Mortenson said he wants residents to continue to report thefts like these, even if they happened weeks ago.

Police Chief Terrence Green and the police department ask that anyone with information calls the Lexington Police Department at 803-359-6260. Residents can also submit a tip to Midlands Crime Stoppers.
Charleston street food vendors claim King Street is less safe at night after a new city ordinance went into effect banning sales past 1:30 a.m.

According to owners and employees of the area's food stands, vans and trucks, the new curfew has forced them to shut down and stop monitoring the crowds, like they typically do, during the busiest time of night after the surrounding bars close at 2 a.m.

The ordinance, passed by Charleston City Council on June 30 after discussions with the Charleston Police Department, was enacted to address public safety issues late at night in the central business district.

The ruling was made in hopes to clear late-night crowds from King Street faster and also pushes the vendors 10 feet back from the sidewalk in order to not obstruct pedestrian pathways.

"The problem was that people would just congregate (by the food vendors)," said Lt. James Byrne of the Charleston Police Department. "And when you have large crowds and intoxication and people standing in line, arguments and fights and violent crime happen. We saw that materialize many times at the end of last year and beginning of this year."

Mohamed Bayoumi, an Egyptian immigrant who owns three of the four Gyro Food Stand carts along Upper King Street, said the food vendors being present into the early hours of the morning served as a benefit to public safety.

"Sometimes there are no cops in the street, so if something happens, we're here," said Bayoumi, whose Mediterranean food carts have been serving King Street for seven years. "We make extra eyes and ears."

Bayoumi's uncle Mohammed Mohammedi, who owns the fourth Gyro Food Stands cart, said that in addition to assisting people by handing out free waters and calling ride shares for them, he's waited with women who were trying to evade predatory men from bars.

Woody Norris, an Army veteran and owner of Booze Pops, which operates out of blue vans decked out with lights and speakers that offer up alcohol-infused popsicles and kid-friendly ice cream, said the food vendors serve as known safe havens along King Street with their bright lights common gathering points to wait for Ubers.

"There haven't been any violent incidents at my vans or the food carts since opening," said Norris. "And it's not making it any safer by taking away our lights that light up these dark parking lots."

Joe Clarke, owner of neighboring Forte Jazz Lounge, agreed.

"It's good to have an extra pair of sober eyes out there," he said during a City Council meeting leading up to the passing of the ordinance. "I cant imagine better help if theres some trouble."

Lt. Byrne said that food vendors aren't necessarily an ideal way to light up dark areas along the street, and he wasn't sure if the benefit gained outweighed the risk of having people on King Street later into the night.

Sign up for our food & dining newsletter. We publish our free Food & Dining newsletter every Wednesday at 10 a.m. to keep you informed on everything happening in the Charleston culinary scene. Sign up today! Email

Sign Up!

Bar-goers on a Friday night told The Post and Courier they often turn to street vendors' food and free water to sober up after partying, and those who work at the bars also need a place to eat after their shifts end.

"It's imperative that we have this option after getting out of the bars," said bar-goer and street food vendor frequenter Elliott Getz. "What else are you supposed to do to sober up? You have nowhere else to go. You can't send drunk people back home without a belly full of food."

Bayoumi said in addition to having to turn away hungry customers, he's losing around 80 percent of his income with the 1:30 a.m. closing time, since a majority of his customers come between 1:30-3 a.m. It's been devastating to his family business, which is his only source of income.

Meanwhile, other brick and mortar locales along the street are allowed to stay open later, causing bar patrons to wander longer in search for those establishments instead of the food vendors which would usually be right around the corner.

Food vendors argue that if they must be subject to this ordinance, then so should Benny Ravello's and Gilroy's Pizza Pub, now the only post-1:30 a.m. options for satisfying King Street's communal drunk hunger.

Those lines, along with notoriously long bar lines, are much more responsible for crowding the sidewalks than food vendors, said Bayoumi.

Like the permanent businesses in the district, street food vendors rent their allocated spaces, mostly empty lots or nooks between brick and mortars, and pay a 2 percent hospitality tax and local and state taxes to operate.

"This isn't how America works," said Bayoumi. "I came to this country because the justice, but what they've done to us is not fair at all. What's the difference between our business and their business?"

But, better yet, all should be allowed to stay open at least for some time after the bars close to help sober up and provide a safe spot for drunk people turned out onto the street, the vendors agreed.

"It's just making drunk people make worse decisions," offered Antonio Brown, owner of Chris & Tony's Flame in the U-Haul parking lot by Spring Street, who's been hoping to set up chairs as a resting place for people who have left the bars.

"If you actually go and get your food and sober up, you're usually fine or at least have some time to chill and call an Uber," he said.

Charleston City Council member Peter Shahid said that, at a certain point in the night, the party needs to end.

Bayoumi argues his business is not about extending the party, but providing a service to the partiers after it's over.
More adults age 18 to 49 are now being hospitalized for COVID-19 related issues than those who are 65 and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The agency said this is likely because younger adults have lower COVID-19 vaccination rates. In the United States, 58.9 percent of people who are 18 or older are fully vaccinated. Close to 80 percent of adults 65 and older have been fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

The average age for vaccine recipients in South Carolina is 52. But residents as young as 12 have been eligible to receive a COVID-19 shot in the state since May.

The CDC recommends people who are eligible to get vaccinated do so as soon as possible. To find a nearby vaccination location, go to scdhec.gov/vaxlocator or call 866-365-8110.

Statewide numbers

New cases reported: 158 confirmed, 85 probable.

Total cases in S.C.: 494,862 confirmed, 105,421 probable.

Percent positive: 5.4 percent.

New deaths reported: 0 confirmed, 0 probable.

Total deaths in S.C.: 8,672 confirmed, 1,184 probable.

Percent of ICU beds filled: 68.3 percent.

S.C. residents vaccinated

Sign up for our new health newsletter The best of health, hospital and science coverage in South Carolina, delivered to your inbox weekly. Email

Sign Up!

DHEC's vaccine dashboard shows that 49.3 percent of the state's residents have received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Hardest-hit areas

In the total number of newly confirmed cases, Horry County (31), York County (15) and Richland County (12) saw the highest totals.

What about tri-county?

Charleston County had 10 new cases on July 13, while Berkeley County had seven and Dorchester County had one.

Hospitalizations

Of the 192 COVID-19 patients hospitalized as of July 13, 53 were in the ICU and 16 were using ventilators.

What do experts say?

Children who are sick should be kept home from child care to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The CDC said children 2 and older who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 should wear a fitted mask over their mouth and nose while indoors and in crowded outdoor spaces.
About variants of the virus that causes COVID-19
An Edisto Island man was sentenced to two years in federal prison for setting a police cruiser on fire during the May 2020 riots in downtown Charleston.

Kelsey Donnel Jackson, 28, was sentenced July 12 by U.S. District Judge Richard M. Gergel to 24 months followed by 36 months of supervised release for the offense.

Jackson pleaded guilty in the fall to maliciously damaging a police vehicle with fire during the riots that erupted May 30, 2020, following protests over the death of George Floyd, a Black man killed by a Minneapolis police officer.

The minimum sentence for this charge is five years, but the government lowered his sentence as part of a plea agreement.

Evidence presented to the court showed that Jackson traveled throughout Charleston, vandalizing businesses and public property, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. Jackson also acknowledged during his sentencing that he assaulted two civilians.

Evidence presented in court showed that, while traveling to the protests, Jackson streamed a video of himself on Facebook live in which he held a handgun, racked the slide on the handgun, and pointed the handgun at the screen of his phone, a July 12 news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office said.

Jackson is heard in a live stream making threatening statements about the police, including let a cop run up and get done up and you about to get hit when Jackson thought he was being pulled over by a police officer, reports show.

We stand committed with our local, state and federal partners to protect the citizens of South Carolina, and we commend the tremendous effort made by detectives and crime analysts from the Charleston Police Department to not only identify those responsible for the violence and destruction last summer but also to document evidence and quickly apprehend them, acting U.S. Attorney M. Rhett DeHart said July 12.

Christopher Reginald Geel, Jacksons attorney, declined to comment on Jacksons sentencing.

In letters of support written for Jackson before his July 12 sentencing hearing, family and neighbors described Jackson as a good father and community member. The letters said he mentors youth and looks after neighbors.

Charleston Police Chief Luther Reynolds said his department applauded the successful resolution of Jacksons case and the continued investigation of violent offenders during the protests.

On May 30, 2020, peaceful protests against Floyds killing transitioned into rioting as night fell, with protesters downtown shooting fireworks and deploying fire extinguishers at police while others looted and vandalized businesses.

Residents and business owners flooded dispatch systems with calls for service as officers in riot gear confronted protesters in the citys business district.

Thirty-five people were arrested in connection with the riot, and fires alone caused an estimated $2.28 million in damage, according to a report later released by the city.

Jackson is the third of six defendants to be sentenced on federal charges stemming from the participation in civil disorder in Columbia and Charleston.

Earlier in July, Abraham AJ Jenkins, 26, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison followed by 36 months of supervised release for the offense. In April, Tearra Guthrie, 23, was sentenced to time served and ordered to pay $1,224 in restitution to the city of Charleston after pleading guilty to a civil disorder charge, according to court records.

Jackson is being investigated by the 9th Circuit Solicitor's Office on multiple state charges in connection with the Charleston riots, according to state court records.
State-owned utility Santee Cooper has been fined almost $30,000 by South Carolina environmental regulators for air pollution at three different power stations.

In each case, levels of a dangerous pollutant were recorded above federal standards, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control determined.

In March 2019, DHEC found that two combustion turbines at the natural-gas run Rainey facility in Anderson County were releasing more nitrogen oxides than allowed by the EPA. The federal agency says this class of chemicals are "a family of poisonous, highly reactive gases" that are also produced by gas-burning vehicles.

And on two separate occasions in 2018 and 2019, DHEC found that stacks at the Winyah coal plant in Georgetown, and the Cross coal plant in Pineville, were releasing more particulate matter, or soot, than is allowed by federal rules.

These tiny particles are small enough to be inhaled and cause lung damage, and also lead to haze, the EPA says.

The pollution fine was first reported by The State newspaper.

A DHEC spokeswoman confirmed the power provider had violated the terms of its air pollution permits, but Santee Cooper disputed there were violations at all in a consent order reached by the two parties in the spring. In that document, the utility argued that each reading above EPA limits was due to the testing procedure.

"Although each event was distinct, they all involved technical testing protocols, and Santee Cooper does not believe that public health or the environment was impacted by any of the events," Nicole Aiello, a spokeswoman for the utility, wrote in an email.

"Santee Cooper has taken steps to make adjustments and improvements to system procedures, maintenance and inspections to avoid any recurring issues," Aiello said.

The utility has paid the fine, Aiello and DHEC confirmed. DHEC spokeswoman Laura Renwick also said that Santee Cooper had identified why they failed the air tests and passed in subsequent re-sampling.

"The air near these plants is safe to breathe," Renwick wrote in an email.

Alan Hancock, communications director for the Coastal Conservation League, said that air regulations testing is complex and it's not always clear whether a specific reading constitutes a violation or not. Hancock was an enforcement officer in DHEC's air pollution program from 2006 to 2009 and later helped write clean air rules.

"A lot of times there are shades of gray here, but the fact that DHEC went forward with a penalty suggests it was a violation," he said.

DHEC was also recently sued for failing to enforce water pollution rules for three coal plants in South Carolina, including the Cross and Winyah facilities. The state agency ended the suit by saying it would review the water permits for those plants, which had been expired for a decade or more. Santee Cooper was not named in that suit.

At the same time, Santee Cooper has announced it would shutter the remaining coal furnaces in the Winyah station by 2027.

But ultimately, Hancock argued the complexity of clean air rules is a testament to the dangers of certain power sources.

"This is what happens when you're burning fossil fuels. Coal is incredibly dirty, gas is incredibly dirty," he said. "In some ways, what's scandalous is what's legal."
North Augusta City Council started the process of receiving COVID-19 relief money from the American Rescue Plan Act.

The city will receive approximately $11 million dollars, more than the originally estimated $8.9 million. The city also agreed to open a second bank account specific to ARPA funds for transparency in accounting purposes.

Council member Jenafer McCauley liked the citys efforts to make the accounting transparent.

Personally, I did something similar with our small business we had, McCauley said. We received the PPP loan so we opened the second bank account for our business and we did that to help with the account traceability.

The law, written by Congress, explicitly says infrastructure needs. Water, stormwater, wastewater, utilities, broadband and revenue replacement are on the table.

The ARPA money cannot be used for bridge and road construction.

The city is likely to receive the money in late 2021 or early 2022. Before the city can allocate where the funds can go, the state of South Carolina must request the money from the federal government.

I think that gives us a lot of flexibility. And ultimately we continue to look at other communities and how they are doing the ARPA funding, City Administrator Jim Clifford said. Me personally, I think that we have a lot of infrastructure needs and we can get a good list together for water, wastewater and stormwater specifically. We are trying to figure out how to best utilize these funds.

Other business

 City council held the first reading of an ordinance that would reprioritize the Capital Project Sales Tax IV list to move the Greeneway up to second priority, behind building a new public safety headquarters. Funds for this project will not be known until a decision is made on the Public Safety headquarters.

 Sketch plans for the proposed public safety headquarters on Georgia Avenue, also known as the Seven Gables Flythe property, will be brought to the planning commission on Thursday. One of the renderings shows the legacy historic buildings intact. The city said they had met with the nonprofit groups Punch and Judy Players and Historic North Augusta. This is a public meeting and people can come and see the presentation so they can get more details on where we are on the project, Council member David McGhee said.
Syndicated and guest columns represent the personal views of the writers, not necessarily those of the editorial staff. The editorial department operates entirely independently of the news department and is not involved in newsroom operations.
Last week, SLED arrested a Spartanburg County sheriffs deputy on charges of criminal domestic violence. The next day, the agency arrested a Spartanburg police officer for the same crime. Both men were charged with injuring their partner while their children watched.

The arrests werent front-page news. The local paper ran a 168-word article after the second arrest, nothing after the first; the charges didnt even merit a mention in The Post and Courier. They might not have been mentioned in Columbias State newspaper but for the fact that the paper had conducted an investigation earlier this year into a troubling phenomenon known as officer-involved domestic violence.

That investigation, which found at least 96 S.C. police officers were charged with violence against partners or relatives from 2010 through 2020, focused on the problem from the perspective of the victims; counselors say they're less likely to report the violence than other victims, because either they're more afraid of a batterer with a badge or else they worry more that their batterers will lose their jobs if they complain.

Thats an important perspective, particularly given South Carolinas still-disturbingly high rate of domestic violence. But theres an additional reason we ought to take notice of this problem: This is a warning sign.

Just as animal abuse is a warning sign for people who go on to abuse human beings, just as angry outbursts on the job are a warning sign for actual physical violence, shoving and hitting intimate partners are warning signs. They identify people who arent able to control their anger, who believe that force is a justified response when they dont get the respect or obedience they demand or when they simply dont like whats going on at a given moment. And those are people who should never, ever be allowed to be law enforcement officers.

Sign up for our opinion newsletter Get a weekly recap of South Carolina opinion and analysis from The Post and Courier in your inbox on Monday evenings. Email

Sign Up!

The fact is that even if police are more likely to be batterers than non-police, most police dont beat up their partners or children, or anyone. Just as most police officers dont injure or kill people who dont pose a danger to the officers or others.

This is not an easy time to be a cop, because a growing number of people see police as the enemy rather than the people who protect us from harm. That might not be a fair perception, but its a real and frankly understandable perception, particularly for people who live in poor neighborhoods, particularly for people who live in poor minority communities.

It is absolutely essential for law enforcement to work to overcome that distrust, and that starts with weeding out those cops who arent fit to be cops. That means disciplining or firing officers who clearly cross the line in the line of duty  even if they didnt break the law  rather than rallying to their defense. It also means looking for signs of officers who have no business wearing a badge, and removing them before they become abusive on the job.

One such sign  a flashing red light in fact  is battery. When an officer is charged with domestic violence, the expectation ought to be that he will lose his job  even if hes ultimately found not guilty.

And our goal needs to be identifying such people and removing them from the profession before they ever lay the first finger on a loved one.
An old cartoon depicts two teenagers leaving a house. Parents standing in the doorway say, Have fun at the concert.

One teen looks to the other and says, I told you theyre always telling me what to do!

Sometimes nothing a parent says to a teen is acceptable, and that seems to be the state of todays partisan world.

Gov. Henry McMaster views President Joe Bidens suggestion to send local trusted volunteers, such as religious leaders and health care workers, door to door to offer vaccinations as coercive and intrusive rather than instructive and potentially lifesaving.

An example of helpful outreach occurs when dangerous hurricanes approach and police go door to door to encourage occupants who have decided not to evacuate to reconsider, both because of the risks involved in staying and because they may put potential rescue workers lives at risk.

There are certainly many examples of reflexive opposition by each major political party to sensible suggestions offered by the other.

Such reactions are neither helpful nor productive.

Because our state has a low vaccination rate, the COVID-19 delta variant will cause increasing hospitalizations and deaths.

Giving folks a chance to rethink their decision about the vaccine should be above politics and applauded rather than opposed.

JANE STEELE

Smith Street

Charleston

Wetlands, nature losing

Chloe Johnsons July 10 Post and Courier coverage of the loss of wetlands in the 3,000-acre Long Savannah development plan gave me pause.

Anyone who has seen that area would know that it is certainly low and wet.

The article stated that the developers had agreed to avoid filling or excavating another 50 acres of wetlands. In the same paragraph, it was implied that 209 acres of wetlands had previously been approved for filling and/or excavation.

My concern is why and how were the 209 acres of established wetlands ever approved for disruption in the first place?

A little loss of wetlands here and a little loss of wetlands there assure incremental loss of habitat and nature.

EDDIE COLLINS

Oldwanus Drive

Mount Pleasant

Teach historical facts

Sign up for our opinion newsletter Get a weekly recap of South Carolina opinion and analysis from The Post and Courier in your inbox on Monday evenings. Email

Sign Up!

Teachers must absolutely stand up against attempts on the part of many states to alter historical facts.

The excuse that students would feel guilty for the actions or prejudices of their forefathers is not valid.

By the time they are ready to study American history, students should be aware that they are responsible for their own actions or nonaction.

Past events must be taught with complete honesty.

To alter or distort such is to short-change our youth and follow the path of unethical regimes, such as the one in North Korea.

With the bombardment of questionable information on social media and fantasy games on screens, it is difficult enough for them to discern reality without lawmakers turning history into fairy tales.

I do not recall any students feeling guilty about the wicked step-mother, but they did feel empathy for Cinderella, and cheered when justice prevailed.

MARSHA MORELAND

Cherokee Rose Circle

Mount Pleasant

Dont disrespect US

If you dont like our country, then leave.

While I dont agree when we pay money to support illegal immigrants entering our country, we should pay for those who dislike our nation to leave. They can go in search of a place where they think life is better.

This includes Colin Kaepernick, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Olympic athlete Gwen Berry.

Mr. Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem.

Rep. Omar had a tirade against our country and Israel.

Ms. Berry turned her back to our flag and anthem during an Olympic trial medal ceremony.

All of those who support that lack of respect for our country should join them on the way out.

ROGER STEEL

Marsh Hen Drive

Seabrook Island
COLUMBIA  South Carolina State University's board of trustees voted to fire college President James Clark on July 13, ending a five-year tenure that had been marred by recent criticism that the former AT&T executive had not done enough to salvage the historically Black university's enrollment struggles.

In a brief statement, board chairman Rodney Jenkins said the majority of the board had voted to terminate Clark for cause effective immediately.

"The Board thanks President Clark for his service to South Carolina State University over the last five years of his term and wishes him much success in his future endeavors," Jenkins said.

Clark's lawyer, Donald Gist, told The Post and Courier that Clark was "shocked and dismayed" by the board's actions, saying they had offered no substantive explanation to the public for their decision.

"This university's stability has constantly been called into question, and once again the board has taken a step that we believe is a very damaging and drastic step to oust another outstanding leader of South Carolina State University," Gist said.

Gist declined to say whether Clark would pursue legal action against the university, but he said his law firm intends to "uphold and vigorously defend the integrity of James Clark."

The board's abrupt decision capped off a sharp fall from grace for Clark, who took over as the Orangeburg university's president in July 2016 with hopes of turning it around.

Sign up for updates! Get the latest political news from The Post and Courier in your inbox. Email

Sign Up!

While S.C. State has historically been one of the largest and best-known of the Palmetto States eight historically black colleges and universities, the school has been mired in controversy for years.

In the early days of Clark's tenure, he helped steer the school away from the debilitating possibility of losing its accreditation due to financial messes and declining enrollment.

But another hit to enrollment during the coronavirus pandemic landed Clark in hot water. Some faculty and alumni declared that they had lost confidence in Clark's leadership, putting pressure on the board to take action.

The vote to fire Clark came just months after he received a boost of support from Nikki Haley when the former S.C. governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations toured the campus and said she believes in Clark's vision for the school.

"I would love to see what five more years of President Clark would do because I think it would be magic," Haley, a Republican who is likely to run for president in 2024 or beyond, said at the time of her visit.

Instead, Clark is out and the school is poised to search for a replacement.

Vice President Alexander Conyers, a retired U.S. Army colonel and S.C. State alumnus, will take over in an interim capacity after a unanimous vote by the board.
Note: We've recently updated our online systems. If you can't login please try resetting your password. You must login with an email address. If you don't have an email associated with your account email circulation@postregister.com for help creating one.
@montcocourtnews on Twitter

Carl Hessler Jr. is a multi-media reporter who writes about crime and justice from the Montgomery County Courthouse for 21st Century Media Newspapers Greater Philadelphia area publications. Follow Carl on Twitter: @MontcoCourtNews
DFL state representative John Thompson is a bully, thug, liar, and race hustler supreme. He made a name for himself threatening to burn down Hugo, Minnesota, in a threatening diatribe outside the home of then Minneapolis police union president Bob Kroll last summer. As a result of his good works, he was elected to the legislature in November 2020 from St. Pauls East Side.

Thompson has held a Wisconsin drivers license ever since he moved to Minnesota, assuming he moved to Minnesota. He has held a Wisconsin drivers license since 2000. Indeed, he renewed it in November 2020, around the same time he was elected to the legislature. To obtain his Wisconsin license he swore he was a Wisconsin resident. Further, he was obligated to secure a Minnesota drivers license within 60 days of moving to Minnesota.

In the early morning hours of July 4 Thompson was stopped by a St. Paul police sergeant because his car lacked a license plate on the front. He displayed his Wisconsin drivers license while the officer found that Thompsons driving privileges in Minnesota were under revocation as a result of a failed child support obligation (subsequently remedied).

I take it that Thompson was ineligible to drive with a Minnesota drivers license and may have been ineligible to drive in the state, period. Assuming he is a Minnesota resident, Thompson had obtained his Wisconsin drivers license under false pretenses.

Performing his race hustle last week outside the governors mansion in St. Paul, Thompson alleged that he had been a victim of driving while black. Having reviewed the bodycam footage of Thompsons encounter with the officer himself, St. Paul police chief Todd Axtell reported that the stop was by the book and called for Thompson to authorize the release of the bodycam footage. See my post What Rep. John Thompson represents.

Thompson has refused all requests for interviews. Rather, he has enlisted the necessary assistance to craft an evasive and question-begging statement that purports to address the issues raised by these events. In the statement Thompson makes no mention of the revocation of his driving privileges under Minnesota law. He notes, however, that he was ticketed for driving under suspension of what must have been his Wisconsin drivers license.

Thompson asserts over and over again in the statement that the stop was pretextual. I believe this to be misleading, although this depends on what is meant by pretextual. However the word is defined, we can infer to a certainty Thompsons race had nothing to do with the stop. Thus Thompsons statement represents more shtick.

Thompson acknowledges that his interaction with the officer was by the book. The gist of Thompsons statement  that he was the subject of some racially motivated wrongdoing  is a lie. Referring to his emotions, Thompson implies that the bodycam footage will not show him in a favorable light. It will show him performing his hustle with the officer. That is how I read what he is saying.

Thompsons statement is posted here. I have posted it in its entirety below the break. This crock compounds his misconduct. There should be more to come.

* * * * *

Five years ago last week, we marked the killing of my friend Philando Castile, who was shot by a police officer during a traffic stop. Since being pulled over myself on July 4, my greatest regret is how the recent events have allowed us to overlook this time that should have been spent reflecting on the life of my friend and the changes that are needed to create a Minnesota where he would not have lost his life.

I was pulled over in what is referred to as a pretextual traffic stop. The same type of stop that led to the killing of Philando, as well as Daunte Wright this April. Pretextual stops have been shown to not only do little to stop serious crimes, but they also disproportionately target nonwhites. This was the racial profiling I spoke to, and Ive been working to get rid of these types of stops long before this summer.

There have been calls to release the bodycam footage from my stop, which I want to make clear I fully support. It is within the power of the St. Paul Police to release that footage, and I am not a barrier to that. In the video, you wont see the officer do anything that isnt by the book, but the issue is we need to rewrite the book. I do not know the officer who pulled me over, and I have no reason to believe they have any hate towards me specifically. Officers do, however, work in a system that has allowed these too often pretextual traffic stops to continue despite tragic consequences.

As much as I hate how recent coverage of this issue has been about me, I recognize I have an obligation to my constituents, and owe them an explanation. I have an obligation for Black men who dont have the platform that I do. Im pushing legislation for more police accountability, and this situation is a great example of why that work matters.

During my stop, it was brought up that my vehicle did not have a front license plate, I did not have a Minnesota drivers license, and there was a record of me having missed a child support payment. While all of these have relatively simple explanations, I take responsibility for my fault in not addressing these issues and allowing them to eclipse the hard-fought work done in the name of police reform.

My family bought a new car, and as with any new vehicle, we had to wait for our plates and get the proper tools to attach them. Not long after purchasing this car, it was rear-ended, and we did not drive the vehicle for some time. When I did drive the car on July 4, it should have had a front license plate, but I didnt have the right part for the front bracket. After I was stopped, they ran my license, which is a Wisconsin drivers license. I previously lived in Wisconsin, and my family and I considered moving back there to care for a family member, who will now be coming to live here. I live and work in St. Paul, and have for many years. My Wisconsin license hadnt previously posed an issue for me, but I will now be changing it to a Minnesota license, as I should have before. During my stop, I was also informed that my license had been suspended for a minor child support issue, one which was resolved long ago. I owe $0 in child support.

After all of this, I was only given a ticket for driving with a suspended license. I do not know why I wasnt cited for driving without the front license plate  the reason for my stop.

I was able to drive away from this interaction while other Black Minnesotans, in very similar situations, have not. The desire to be treated with respect and be able to drive away from this interaction safely was why I informed the officer I was a State Representative during our conversation. Too many Minnesotans are dealing with barriers like this without a respectable title in front of their name. Philando was notably pulled over 49 times, largely for minor violations. I believe these pretextual stops are part of structures that operate to restrict access to jobs and housing, lock us up, and publicly humiliate Black, Indigenous, and communities of color. Interactions like this block us from our families, block us from our kids, and create new barriers to a quality of life.

We need better, and thats what Im working towards. I understand that my emotions can sometimes make it hard for some people to hear the real message. These are difficult issues, and Ive lost loved ones, but I ask you to work with me. We need a broad coalition, including law enforcement, to come together to understand that Minnesotans that look like me  my family, friends, and community  are living with these issues every day. I hope we can focus on conversations that center around making that change possible.
John noted last night the large anti-regime protests in Cuba, and one hopes that this is the beginning of the end for the Castro tyranny, in just the way that mass protests in Eastern Europe in 1989 presaged the fall of the Berlin Wall in November of that year, and the collapse of Communist rule shortly thereafter.

There are reasons to worry about this scene, however. Protestors took to the streets in cities all around the country according to media reports. Did these protests happen spontaneously? There are credible reports of building unrest among Cubans for several months now, but protests usually require some planning, coordination, and communication. Cuba keeps a tight lid on communications (and especially the internet). It is reported today that Cuba has shut down the internet to hinder further protest planning.

Cuban intelligence is really good: can it be they had no inkling that a protest might be reaching critical mass? Or could this have been a false-flag operation of Cuban intelligence to smoke out leading dissidents so as to identify and arrest them? There are lots of examples of the Communist regimes of old in Eastern Europe actually setting up or running opposition groups for the very purpose of identifying and arresting potential troublemakers. And protests of any kind in Cuba are very rare. Keep your eye out to see if we get credible reports of mass arrests, though the the Cuban government will likely do this quietly and out of sight of foreign observers to the largest extent possible.

Maybe the Cuban regime has grown less competentwouldnt be the first time thats happened in a Communist countryor has lost its nerve to some extent. Incompetence is actually the proximate cause of the Berlin Wall coming down in an instant in 1989. But it is good to bear in mind a central fact from that now long-ago happy ending: As Angelo Codevilla once put it in his inimitable direct style: Communist rule collapsed when the rulers lost the will to shoot their own people in large enough numbers. Do we think Cubas rulers have reached that point? I doubt it.* Hope to be wrong about all of this.

* I know of a credible account from more than 25 years ago where someone asked Fidel and Raul Castro over a fancy dinner what would happen if they liberalized Cuba at all. One of the Castros reportedly answered: Wed all be hanging from lampposts in a week.

Postscript: The Bee stings again.

OMG, theyre not going to let up!
File this report under good news if true. According to NBC News, opposition to attempts to impose left-wing race-oriented propaganda in Americas schools is taking a toll on those who are trying to impose it.

NBC leads its story with the case of Rydell Harrison, the superintendent of the Easton-Redding-Region 9 School Districts in Connecticut. He resigned after coming under fire from parents opposed to CRT.

NBC tries to make Harrison sound heroic and innocuous at the same time, but this New York Post article paints a different picture. After the January 6 riot at the Capitol, Harrison accused Trump supporters, through their words, silence, actions or inactions, of being complicit in the rioting and of pav[ing] the way for Confederate flags to be waved in our nations capitol.

Among the offenses Harrison cited as making Trump supporters co-conspirators who sided with domestic terrorism were jump[ing] on board with [Trumps] sleepy Joe narrative and countering [BLM] with All Lives Matter.

Harrison should have been fired for this alone.

Harrison also introduced a diversity, equity and inclusion survey for students, parents and staff. Among other things, the survey asked students as young as 11 years old about their gender identification and sexual orientation.

Thank God he resigned.

NBC News describes other cases in which administrators are under fire and in some cases have stepped down for imposing their radicalism on students:

In Southlake, Texas, at least four administrators who were instrumental in crafting or implementing a plan combat racial and cultural discrimination in the Carroll Independent School District left the district this spring following a community backlash to diversity and inclusion efforts.

NBC fails to provide context. It was in Southlake that voters elected a slate of school board and City Council candidates who opposed the so-called diversity plan. You can read about some of the objections to the plan here.

Given the outcome of the election, it was fitting that administrators stepped down. Their leftist services were no longer required.

Meanwhile, NBC says that the only Black woman in the Rockwood (Missouri) School Districts administration resigned from her position as diversity coordinator after threats of violence grew so severe that the district hired private security to patrol her house. Clearly, threats of violence are not an acceptable means of opposing CRT indoctrination.

NBC also reports on backlash against teachers who try to indoctrinate their students. One teacher reportedly is facing termination for assigning an essay on Donald Trump by far-left race hustler Ta-Nehisi Coates and for showing a video of a poetry reading about white privilege that included curse words. The district says the teacher did not present opposing viewpoints.

Another teacher reportedly was removed from her duties for displaying a Black Lives Matter banner in her classroom.

In my view, its plainly improper for teachers to peddle anti-Trump, pro-BLM propaganda without presenting the other side. Whether the best response is to fire such teachers or instead to reprimand and warn them is a different question.

The key point is that Americans are fighting back at the grass roots level against attempts by leftists and race mongers to take control over public schools and use them to indoctrinate students with anti-White, anti-American ideology. If administrators and teachers are feeling the heat, thats good news, as I said, as long as the pressure does not include violence or the threat of it.
Donald Trump unloaded on Brett Kavanaugh during an interview with Michael Wolff, an anti-Trump author who has published a book about the final days of Trumps presidency. Wolff isnt the most trustworthy reporter around, but Trumps criticism of Kavanaugh is in keeping with his attacks on other of his nominees and selections. In addition, some of Trumps criticism of his nominee is valid.

According to Wolff, Trump said this about Kavanaugh:

Where would he be without me? I saved his life. He wouldnt even be in a law firm. Who would have had him? Nobody. Totally disgraced. Only I saved him.

This quotation is so Trumpian, its hard to imagine that the ex-president didnt say it.

Heres the answer to Trumps question: Without him, Kavanaugh would be a judge on the second most important court in America.

And had Trump not nominated Kavanaugh, the age-old, dubious rape allegation never would have surfaced. Thus, Kavanaugh could have become a partner at almost any law firm, had he tired of being an appeals court judge.

The idea that what Trump did for Kavanaugh should influence the Justices rulings is also seriously misguided. Kavanaughs only obligation is to judge cases on their merit, to the best of his ability.

Trump also said (again according to Wolff):

In retrospect, [Kavanaugh] just hasnt had the courage you need to be a great justice. Im basing this on more than just the election.

This is certainly true. But Kavanaugh has never had that courage. Hes always been a careerist. There are people in Washington who could have told Trump that.

Some people may have told him. Kavanaugh didnt make the list of jurists from whom Trump said during the campaign he would pick his Supreme Court nominees.

Kavanaugh joins a long line of key Trump selections, including both of the men he nominated for Attorney General, whom he has denounced (some with ample justification, some not). One of the qualities of a good president is the ability to select top-notch people for Cabinet slots, key advisor positions, and judgeships.

By his own admissions, Trump failed that test.

If you believed that under a Trump presidency America, in particular conservative America, would win non-stop, then you probably believed that Mexico would pay for Trumps wall. Neither was going to happen in the real world.

But it was reasonable to expect that, with very few exceptions, Trump would select the brightest and the best conservatives for key positions. It was reasonable to expect that his Supreme Court nominations would come from the list he provided during the campaign or that, if he departed from the list, the non-listed nominee would be stellar.

This didnt happen, either. Kavanaugh isnt exactly a dud, though if he keeps growing in office he will become one. But hes a suboptimal Justice from a conservative perspective.

And he was always going to be. It was unrealistic to have expected him to join the Alito-Thomas wing of the Court. The best one could hope for was that he would locate himself somewhere between those two and Justice Kennedy on the spectrum.

Thats where he is. He sits about where Chief Justice Roberts does, but without the years of strong conservative rulings Roberts made before he moved towards the center.

Lets not forget that candidate Trump blasted George W. Bush for nominating Roberts. By the same token, its fair to blast Trump for nominating Kavanaugh  and a host of others.
Yes, no matter what

Yes, but it depends on variety

No, for medical reasons, uncertainty

No, principle

Vote

View Results
A popular Nigerian music entrepreneur, Ubi Franklin, has publicly acknowledged three of his four baby mamas for taking care of his children without drama.

He made this confession in a series of dramatic posts on his official Instagram account. The father-of-four praised each of his women for holding it down with his children and deliberately left out his fourth baby mama, Sandra Iheuwa.

Franklin became a household name in the Nigerian music industry after managing Iyanya, producing his hit Kukere, and establishing his music label, Made Men Music Group (Triple MG) in September 2012.

The label was home to Iyanya, Emma Nyra (the only female act), Selebobo, Tekno, Dj Coublon and Baci.

Mr Franklin is a talent manager and a Special Adviser on Tourism to the Cross Rivers State Governor, Ben Ayade.

These days, he manages the influencer career of Davidos baby mama, Chioma Rowland (Chef Chi).

Nicole Siyo

Franklins tributes to the women in his life were as dramatic as they were revealing.

He began by hailing his South African baby mama, Nicole Siyo, for doing a good job with his son, Shiloh.

Ms Siyo worked closely with him as his personal assistant. They were an item when he launched his real estate business, Instant Apartment-an online platform that provides short medium-term accommodation for business trips in November 2017.

She currently lives with their son in her home country, South Africa.

His tribute to her read, Not her birthday, but I want to appreciate her for the job she has been doing with my son Shiloh. God has shown me mercy, He looked past our sin, our guilt, our shame and poured your love. He looked beyond me. Mother to my handsome son, thank you.

Lilian Esoro

Franklin also hailed his ex-wife and popular actress, Lilian Esoro, for sacrificing a lot for their son. Their marriage was short-lived. They wedded in November 2015 but began living apart a year after.

In 2019, Franklin filed for divorce at an Abuja high court. The judge ruled that their divorce was invalid since Esoro testified that Franklin provides for their son and maintains a cordial relationship with her.

Her tribute to her read, This picture will be three years old this weekend as Jayden turns 5. Its been 5 years of different levels of emotions and love. I want to thank Mummy Jay for always holding it down, we made unplanned sacrifices for Our son, Jayden First always.

He also praised his ex-mother-in-law for her motherly role.

He wrote: No one is good and none is bad, we live as our memories can last, we live as we pray to God for a good life. Thank you Mummy Jay, and most especially THANK YOU to Jaydens Grandma.

Their union was officially dissolved on January 28, 2021, at an Abuja High Court.

Igala Finest

Igala Finest is the mother of his first daughter, Zanetta. Franklin jocularly praised the U.S.-based model for coping with Zanettas troubles.

ADVERTISEMENT

Mummy Zee, strong woman. You give me a problem and my daughter pays you back. Thank you so much for always holding it down. Thank you for trying. May God keep blessing and granting you all your heart desires. Amen.

Sandra Iheuwa

The only exemption from his congratulatory list was his outspoken ex-lover, Sandra Iheuwa.

Ms Iheuwa is the mother of his second daughter, Ariella.

He gave no reason for exempting her from his list.

But it might not be unconnected to their recent online spats and call-outs on social media.

The estranged duo had fought dirty over social media after Iheuwa accused him of cloning her Dollar credit card and not caring for his children.

READ ALSO:

He has since denied the allegations and claimed that he paid her back in Naira after his trip to Dubai.

The duo met at a musical tour a few years back. Their affair turned sour about two years ago and she began constantly bashing him on Instagram for not owning up to his fatherly responsibilities.

Iheuwa is betrothed to a popular Lagos businessman and owner of Royal Hair, Steve Chidi.

They both broke the news of their engagement on Instagram in June. Iheuwa also announced that they are expecting a baby, her fourth pregnancy, in March.

Iheuwa, who originally lives in the U.S., describes herself as an internet entrepreneur and philanthropist.
About 91 per cent of the people of Jigawa are involved in agricultural practices, yet an increasing number of children in the state are suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition.

According to official figures, 3,944 children under the age of five years died between 2010 and 2020 at centres established by the state government across the state for the treatment of acute malnutrition in children. This implies that an average 10 children died from malnutrition daily in the state in the past 10 years.

Medical experts said aside from causing death, the condition also contributes to stunting, low cognitive development and low intelligence quotient (IQ) in children.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how two days after the confirmation of the most transmissible delta variant in Nigeria, cases are now consistently on the rise again in the country.

The data was compiled with figures reported by the 67 Community-Based Management of Acute Malnutrition Centres (CMAM Centres) created by the state government and located in 15 of the 27 local government areas of the state.

According to the data, the CMAM centres admitted 836,000 children with malnutrition cases in the decade under review, but 39,155 of the children absconded from the centres. This indicates that the fatality figures in the state could be higher as deaths from the condition occurring outside the centres were not reported.

According to the data, more deaths were recorded at the centres in 2015 and 2016 than in any other year within the period, with 628 and 811 fatalities reported respectively.

The data shows that in 2010, there were 92 fatalities, 244 in 2011 and 503 in 2012. In 2013, the centres recorded 558 fatalities, 419 in 2014 and 628 in 2015.

In 2016, the number skyrocketed to 811 deaths but declined in 2017 to 170; 274 in 2018; 164 in 2019 and 76 in 2020.

Within the period, the CMAM centres successfully treated 363,601 cases with ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), according to the official data updated on October 7, 2020.

Children are diagnosed for malnutrition at the centres by measuring the circumference of their mid-upper arms with a tape.

Shuaibu Kafingana is the chairperson of Jigawa Social Protection Platform (JISOP), a coalition of civil society organisations and the media working on malnutrition in the state. He said a demographic health survey in 2015 revealed that 63.4 per cent of children in Jigawa had stunted growth. Although the stunting rate in the state declined to 54 per cent in 2018, it has again risen in subsequent years, Mr Kafingana said.

He urged the government to establish treatment centres in the remaining 12 LGAs of the state so as to bridge the gaps in treating malnutrition in the state.

Mr Kafingana also said, as an agricultural advantageous state, Jigawa should focus on the prevention of malnutrition through a nutrition-sensitive approach, instead of the nutrition-specific approach that targets cure. He said the former approach is cheaper and more effective.

He said JISOP was able to persuade the government to budget N100 million this year as its counterpart funding for the purchase of ready-to-use therapeutic food and another N10 million for nutrition programmes.

But for Musbahu Basirka, who is the chairperson of Jigawa Civil Societies Forum, Jigawa would more effectively tackle child malnutrition and reduce many child-killer illnesses by simply focusing on the implementation of its social protection policy.

ADVERTISEMENT

This is because the social protection policy, which has nine domains with child welfare and protection, was designed for individuals and households throughout the life cycle to prevent and reduce poverty and socio-economic shocks by promoting and enhancing livelihoods and a life of dignity, Mr Basirka said.

Mr Basirka stressed that the policy has a life cycle approach from childbirth to death, with each stage having its peculiar risks and social needs.

The policy also focuses on human development which addresses the problems of malnutrition and illiteracy. However, both the government and the governed always prioritise capital projects that consume a lot at the expense of human capital development, he said.

Human capital development takes years to make an impact and the best time to start investing is now. There is also a need for attitudinal change for the government and the people to focus on human capital development by investing in child development.

Jigawa has citizens participatory budget proposals where residents make inputs on their development needs, which are normally capital projects. But we need to shift to human capital development and focus on child brain development, Mr Basirka said.

Tackling malnutrition in Jigawa

Action Against Hunger, a non-governmental organisation, says between 2013 and 2019, it empowered over 46,000 pregnant women through its Child Development Grant Programme (CDGP) in three local government areas of Jigawa State.

The Programme Manager, Stella Esedunme, said the programme wants to address widespread poverty, hunger and malnutrition in the state, the conditions which he noted affect the potential of children to survive and develop.

Mrs Esedunme said the programme provided an unconditional cash transfer of N3,500 per month to pregnant women. The transfer began during pregnancy and lasted until the child turned two years old, meaning that it covered the first 1,000 days of the childs life.

Also, Mrs Esedunme said aside from the cash transfer to the pregnant women, the programme provided communities with education and advice on nutrition and health. This was to improve food security and adoption of beneficial practices and behaviors to support better maternal and child health.

The overall aim of the cash transfer was to improve child nutrition and maternal health. The money was expected to increase the income of beneficiary households and womens control over the use of that income, enabling greater spending on food and investment in household health, Mrs Esedunme said.

Governments efforts

On its part, the Jigawa State Primary Healthcare Development Agency said it has introduced an indigenous innovation informed by science and evidence in tackling the scourge of malnutrition in the state.

The Executive Secretary of the agency, Kabiru Ibrahim, told PREMIUM TIMES that the state introduced the Masaki Initiative as a community-based approach in tackling malnutrition, where rural women are trained on how to identify, measure, and treat a malnourished child.

The state government packaged a community-based approach, the Masaki initiative, as an empowerment for rural women to identify malnourished children, to classify and address malnutrition to prepare appropriate delicacies and recipes to address malnutrition within their limitations.

The Masaki intervention, started about a year and half ago, made a significant impact in a community in Guri Local Government Area on over 60 children in different stages of malnutrition. Six weeks after implementation of the Masaki Agenda, the women have converted the children and none of them is affected by malnutrition.

Support PREMIUM TIMES' journalism of integrity and credibility Good journalism costs a lot of money. Yet only good journalism can ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government. For continued free access to the best investigative journalism in the country we ask you to consider making a modest support to this noble endeavour. By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you are helping to sustain a journalism of relevance and ensuring it remains free and available to all. Donate TEXT AD: To advertise here . Call Willie +2347088095401...

There are 300 sites in Jigawa where the Masaki Initiative is taking place. The state and local governments and development partners are supporting the Masaki programme, hoping in the coming years the issues of stunting, severe acutewill be of the past in the state, the official policy of the programme said.
The Nigerian government has disclosed that it is expecting 41,282,770 doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of September 2021.

The expected dose is a combination of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, Pfizer-Bio-N Tech/Moderna and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19, Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, said at a briefing on Tuesday.

Mr Shuaib said the AstraZeneca and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines are expected through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Assess Facility (COVAX) while the Jassen vaccines are expected from the African Union Commission.

He said; We have received communication for the delivery of the following vaccine shipments in the coming months. 3,924,000 doses of Oxford/AstraZeneca/Moderna by end of July or early August 2021 from the COVAX facility.

3,930,910 doses of Pfizer-Bio-N Tech/Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in August from the COVAX facility donated by the United States Government, 3,577,860 doses of Pfizer-Bio-N Tech/Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in Q3 from the COVAX facility

29,850,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson (Jassen) COVID-19 vaccine by the end of September will arrive in batches from the African Union Commission.

He said the government is putting in place all necessary logistics for storage, distribution, security, and accountability for the range of vaccines expected.

To this end, the federal government has procured 60 units of U701 ultra cold chain equipment, and as we speak, about 37 of them have been deployed to all the 36 States and FCT in preparation to receive all COVID-19 vaccines that would require an ultra-cold temperature of below 40 to 85 degrees, he added.

Vaccination campaign

Nigeria had commenced COVID-19 vaccination on March 5, 2021, having received approximately four million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines from COVAX, a UN-backed effort that promises access to vaccines for up to 20 per cent of participating countries population

Mr Shuaib said this has led to the successful vaccination of 3,938,945 eligible persons across 36 states and FCT, representing 98 per cent utilisation of the vaccines received from COVAX.

The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is given in double doses. A person is required to come back for a second shot, some weeks after taking the first jab.

He said 2,534,205 people have been vaccinated for the first dose and 1,404,205 have received their second dose of the vaccine.

Mr Shuaib said the country recorded 14,550 cases of mild/moderate Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI), with only 148 cases considered to be severe.

However, we did not record any case of death associated with COVID-19 vaccination, he said.

He noted that the country has officially ended the first phase of its strategic COVID-19 vaccination plan and is now preparing to commence the second phase in the next few weeks.

Mr Shuaib said the country will make more significant utilisation of the COVID-19 vaccines that would be supplied to the country in coming weeks.

He appeals to everyone eligible to take the COVID-19 vaccines to make themselves available for vaccination on due dates.

New variant

As of July 13, Nigeria has recorded 168,713 COVID-19 cases, of which the Delta variant, described by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the most transmissible, is one.

ADVERTISEMENT

Out of these infections, 2,124 fatalities have so far been registered in the country.

Mr Shuaib said the Astrazeneca vaccines already used in Nigeria have shown to be 88 per cent effective against the Delta variant.

The Delta variant has so far shown that it has very minimal vaccine escape properties against the AstraZeneca vaccine. So we are still in a good place, he said.

He said with the detection of the Delta Variant of COVID-19 in the country, it is important to continue to observe non-pharmaceutical measures such as wearing of facemask, social distancing and hand hygiene in order to curb the transmission of the disease.

The Delta variant has already spread to 104 countries globally, according to the WHO.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the COVID-19 Delta variant was ripping around the world at a scorching pace, driving a new spike in cases and deaths from COVID-19.

WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, said this at a media briefing on COVID-19 on Monday at WHO headquarters in Geneva.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how two days after the confirmation of the most transmissible delta variant in Nigeria, cases are now consistently on the rise again in the country.

In his speech posted on WHO website, the director-general said last week marked the fourth consecutive week of increasing cases of COVID-19 globally, with increases recorded in all but one of WHOs six regions.

He said after 10 weeks of decline, deaths were increasing again such that the Delta variant is ripping around the world at a scorching pace, driving a new spike in cases and death.

Not everywhere is taking the same hit though, were in the midst of a growing two-track pandemic where the haves and have-nots within and between countries are increasingly divergent.

In places with high vaccination coverage, Delta is spreading quickly; especially infecting unprotected and vulnerable people and steadily putting pressure back on health systems, he said.

He added that in low-income countries, exhausted health workers were battling to save lives among shortages of personal protective equipment, oxygen and treatments.

Mr Ghebreyesus explained that vaccines had never been the way out of the crisis on their own, but the current wave is demonstrating what a powerful tool they are.

We are experiencing a worsening public health emergency that further threatens lives, livelihoods and a sound global economic recovery.

It is definitely worse in places that have very few vaccines, but the pandemic is not over, anywhere, he added.

Inequity

The WHOs head reiterated that the global gap in vaccine supply was hugely uneven and inequitable.

Some countries and regions are actually ordering millions of booster doses, before other countries have had supplies to vaccinate their health workers and most vulnerable, he said.

He added that data had shown vaccination offered long lasting immunity against severe and deadly COVID-19, and instead of Moderna and Pfizer prioritising the supply of vaccines as boosters to countries whose populations have relatively high coverage.

Mr Ghebreyesus appealed to those countries to channel supply to the COVAX global initiative, the Africa Vaccine Acquisition Task Team, and low-middle income countries, while tens of millions of donations of shots were starting to come through.

The whole world is sick and tired, and everyone wants to open up and ending the pandemic is key; when we have a pandemic everywhere, the virus will continue to circulate, the UN correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted the WHO DG as saying.

He also said it was extremely disappointing to see countries that had vaccinated most of their population with two doses, thinking about a third. It actually makes no sense, he said.

ADVERTISEMENT

The director-general also explained that vaccine sharing does not necessarily mean giving vaccines for free.

I have a list of countries that say they have money, they can pay, but there are no vaccines. The world has the means to increase production quickly, what we lack is global leadership, he added.

The WHO director-general reiterated that pharmaceutical companies must share their licenses, know-how and technology.

Do what AstraZeneca is doing he said, which started in Europe but has production in India, Korea, Australia and Japan, with more expansion planned, explaining that this gives COVAX the green light to buy vaccines from additional facilities.

Ann Lindstrand, WHO COVAX co-lead, explained that currently there wasnt enough evidence pointing to a need for booster doses.

If you have a full course of vaccination of any of the WHO approved vaccines, you have a good protection, she explained.

WHO Chief scientist, Soumiya Swaminathan, also said that while there had been an increase of infections in vaccinated populations, there had not been more hospitalisations.

There are reports coming in that vaccinated populations are having cases of infection, particularly Delta, but the majority of them are mild. The people in the hospitals are unvaccinated, she explained.

Ms Swaminathan reminded that decisions about booster doses should be made based on data and not on companies saying we need a third dose.

(NAN)
ADVERTISEMENT

The Senate has rejected Lauretta Onochie as a national commissioner for the electoral umpire, INEC.

The rejection of Ms Onochies controversial appointment was sequel to the consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on INEC which had the responsibility of screening Ms Onochie and the other nominees.

The committee chairman, Kabiru Gaya, who presented the report, recommended that Ms Onochies appointment be rejected.

Mr Gaya said she was disqualified based on federal character principles. He also added that there is currently a serving commissioner from Delta State, where she hails from.

Ms Onochie, currently the Personal Assistant to the President on New Media, was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in October 2020 as an INEC commissioner to represent Delta State  an appointment which had triggered outrage among Nigerians as many described it as unconstitutional.

Many called on the president to withdraw the nomination on grounds that Ms Onochie is partisan and so it would be undemocratic for her to be appointed into such an office. Some civil society organisations also wrote petitions to the Senate opposing Ms Onochies appointment. The main opposition party, PDP, had also protested against her nomination.

Despite the criticisms, the Senate went ahead to screen her last Thursday.

At the screening exercise, Ms Onochie described herself as madam due process. She told the Senate panel that she quit politics in 2019 and that she is no longer partisan  a claim which turned out to be false.

I have seen the petitions against me but I stand for justice and fairness. Thus nobody has anything to fear. I am madam due process and this is the reason behind my attacks, because I follow the law and due process.

READ ALSO:

Since Buhari was elected as president for the second term, I have removed myself from everything about politics. Since 2019, I dont have anything to do with politics. As I am sitting down here, I am not a member of any political party in this country, she told the panel.

The report of the Senate committee was adopted in the Committee of the Whole and Ms Onochie was rejected while the lawmakers confirmed five other nominees.

They are Muhammad Kallah, Kunle Ajayi, Babura Ahmad, Sani Adam and Abdullahi Zuru.

The confirmation of one nominee, Baba Bila, was stepped down. The chairman said the panel will revisit his nomination.

More details later
The Personal Assistant to the President on New Media, Lauretta Onochie, cannot be a commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for now, despite President Muhammadu Buharis nomination, the Senate Commitee on INEC has said.

This is because there is currently no vacancy for Delta State (where she hails from) as a National Commissioner, Chairperson of the committee, Kabiru Gaya, who presented the report of the vetting done on Ms Onochies nomination, said. The committee therefore recommended that the presidential aides appointment be rejected.

Mr Gaya said she was disqualified based on federal character principles as there is currently a serving commissioner from Delta State, where she hails from.

By nominating Ms Onochie, the president committed another blunder in addition to his disregard for the Nigerian Constititution which forbids him from nominating partisan individuals for such a position. The president committed a similar blunder in the past when he appointed dead people to boards of federal parastatals.

Section 14(1)(a&b) of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution as amended stipulates that theCommission (INEC) shall comprise the following members: a). a chairman, who shall be the Chief Electoral Commissioner; b). twelve other members to be known as National Electoral Commissioners.

That means that two national commissioners must be drawn from each of the countrys six geopolitical zones.

That was also the part of the law the president referred to when he wrote to the Senate seeking the confirmation of the appointment of Ms Onochie and three others.

Pursuant to Paragraph 14 of Part I(F) of the Third Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, I hereby forward for confirmation by the Senate, the appointment of the following four Commissioners forINEC, the letter read.

The letter specifically listed the nominees as Muhammad Kallah (National Electoral Commissioner), Katsina; Lauretta Onochie (National Electoral Commissioner), Delta; Kunle Cornelius Ajayi (National Electoral Commissioner), Ekiti; and Saidu Babura Ahmad (Resident Electoral Commissioner), Jigawa.

But Ms Onochie cannot be appointed to the position at this time because there is a sitting National Electoral Commissioner, May Agbamuche-Mbu, from the same Delta State that the presidential aide hails from.

Not only is Ms Agbamuche-Mbus tenure yet to expire, she also represents the South-south region in the commission. She hails from Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State. A single state cannot produce the two national commissioners meant for a geopolitical zone.

Blunder?

Mr Buharis decision to appoint Ms Onochie is curious especially because Ms Agbamuche-Mbu still has over five months to serve in the Commission. As a matter of fact, the presidents initial letter nominating Ms Onochie to the position came in October 2020, when Ms Agbamuche-Mbu still had over a year to the expiration of her five-year tenure.

The Senate had on November 17, 2016 confirmed Ms Agbamuche-Mbu as a National Electoral Commissioner. This means she has at least five more months in office  if she is not reappointed.

There is also nowhere in Mr Buharis letter where he indicated to the Senate that Ms Onochie will replace Ms Agbamuche-Mbu now or later.

Blunder apart, Law breached too

Besides naming a nominee for an office that has no vacancy, the president also breached Section 14(2a) and 14(3b) of the Third Schedule of the Constitution which specifically declares that appointees to the electoral body must be non-partisan and also not a card-carrying member of any political party.

Section 14(2a) of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution as amended states that a member of the commission shall be non-partisan and a person of unquestionable integrity.

Section 14(3b) of the same Schedule states that there shall be for each state of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja, a Resident Electoral Commissioner who shall be a person of unquestionable integrity and shall not be a member of any political party. This, however, directly applies to members appointed as Resident Electoral Commissioners.

This completely disqualifies Ms Onochie who is not just a presidential aide but also a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC). She is known to have repeatedly expressed partisan views in the past.

ADVERTISEMENT

She had in 2018 and 2019, campaigned for the presidents second term (#NextLevel Agenda).

Ms Onochie was also one of the Nigerian politicians identified in a PREMIUM TIMES analysis who deployed fake news as campaign strategies online.

Her nomination triggered outrage among Nigerians. Individuals and civic groups asked the president to withdraw the nomination on grounds that Ms Onochie is partisan.

Many also said her appointment could jeopardise the credibility of future elections.

Deafening silence

The presidency has been silent on the issue.

Ms Onochies controversial nomination as INEC commissioner is not the first case of a partisan individual transmitted to the ninth Senate for appointment to the commission.

Raheem Olalekan was a former APC member nominated as a resident electoral commissioner by the president. He confessed to being a member of the APC during his screening exercise.

He also admitted that he contested for local government chairmanship in Osogbo, Osun State even though he said he stopped being a card-carrying member of the party in 2017.

His nomination was rejected by the Senate after the chairman of the panel, Kabiru Gaya, asked his colleagues to stand down Mr Olalekans screening because a petition had been written against him accusing him of being a card-carrying member of the APC.

The senators have now given Ms Onochie the same treatment they dished out to Mr Olalekan.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has commended the Senate for rejecting the nomination of Lauretta Onochie as a national commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The party, in a statement, on Tuesday, described the rejection as a victory for Nigerians.

Ms Onochie, personal assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari, was on Tuesday rejected by the Senate, which said the appointment violated the federal character principle.

Mr Buhari nominated her in October 2020.

In a statement by its spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, the opposition party described the rejection as the triumph of the Nigerian people over the barefaced attempt by the Buhari led-APC administration to corrupt and hijack the commission ahead of 2023 elections.

The party, which had led a protest to the National Assembly over the nomination, said the action of the Senate had not only saved the nation from a very serious crisis but also salvaged INEC and the entire Nigerian electoral process from a ruinous pollution that would have led to the collapse of the countrys democratic order.

Read the full statement:

INEC: Onochies Rejection At Senate Is Victory For Nigerians, Democracy  PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) describes the Senates rejection of President Muhammadu Buharis nomination of his aide and All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Lauretta Onochie, as a national commissioner in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as the triumph of the Nigerian people over the barefaced attempt by the Buhari led-APCadministration to corrupt and hijack the commission ahead of 2023 elections.

The PDP asserts that the rejection of Lauretta Onochie by Nigerians has saved the nation from a very serious crisis as well as salvaged INEC andthe entire Nigerian electoral process from a ruinous pollution that would have led to the collapse of our democratic order.

The party asserts that Onochies vexatious nomination, in total affront to paragraph 14 of the 3rd schedule of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), was a very dangerous machination by the Buhari-led APC Presidency against our electoral process, in the attempt to subvert the will of the people in the 2023 elections.

The APC, in spite of its shenanigans, is aware that it will have difficulties winning election at any level in a free, fair and credible election and as such it is determined to rig every process ahead of the 2023 elections.

Our party, therefore, commends Nigerians including civil society organizations, the media as well as other political parties, for joining forces with the PDP in fighting for the sanctity of our electoral process by resisting Onochies nomination.

The stiff resistance displayed by Nigerians across board, in repelling this vicious attempt to hijack and pollute the electoral commission, underscores their collective and unwavering determination to resist and kick out the APC in 2023, despite its shenanigans.

The PDP urges Nigerians not to rest on their oars but to continue in this spirit in fighting for our democracy, particularly in further resisting the attempt to alter the Electoral Act to prohibit direct electronic transmission of election results from polling units.

It is clear that the APC is pushing for the prohibition of electronic transmission of results because it seeks to use its usual malpractices alteration of figures, switching of results as well as disappearance of ballot materials while on transit to collation centers to, again, subvert the will of the people and manipulate its hold on power in 2023.

Our party, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Nigerian people, will use every means available and permissible under our laws to ensure that such a provision that seeks to institutionalize and endorse rigging is not allowed to pass.

The PDP therefore counsels the APC to read the handwriting on the wall and know that Nigerians are ready and waiting to resist them at any turn ahead of the 2023 election.

ADVERTISEMENT

Signed:

Kola Ologbondiyan

National Publicity Secretary
ADVERTISEMENT

South African Police Minister, Bheki Cele, on Tuesday said the number of people detained during the riots in South Africa has exceeded 750.

According to him, the latest reports indicate that total of 757 people have been arrested.

In KwaZulu-Natal a total of 304 were arrested while in Gauteng 453 were arrested, he said.

Cele added that at least 10 people died in the protests.

According to Sihle Zikalala, KwaZulu-Natal Premier, the number of those killed in the protests in the province reached 26 people.

Protests erupted on Friday night following the news of the jailing of South Africas ex-president Jacob Zuma.

The first waves of unrest began in Zumas home province of KwaZulu-Natal and have since spilled over to South Africas economic capital of Johannesburg in Gauteng.

The protests were accompanied by looting and vandalism on Monday and the government dispatched the troops to quell the unrest.

Zuma, 79, turned himself in on Wednesday to begin serving a 15-month sentence he was handed for contempt of court after skipping a corruption trial.
The Oyo State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on police brutality and other related matters, widely referred to as #EndSARS panel, concluded its public sittings on Tuesday.

A press statement by the state government said the panel heard 163 cases brought before it.

The chairman of the panel, Bolajoko Adeniji, a former Chief Judge of the state, said after Tuesdays sitting that the panel heard 163 petitions during its 63 sittings spanning over six months.

She added that the panel would then begin the process of reviewing each petition through technical meetings and deliberations, which would lead to the final report to be submitted to the state government for implementation.

The sittings held at the House of Chiefs, House of Assembly Complex, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

Ms Adeniji appreciated the governor of the state for appointing men and women of integrity, probity and honest disposition to serve on the panel.

She equally appreciated the Secretary to the State Government, Olubami Adeosun, the Ministry of Justice, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and the police legal team, among others, for different roles played while the sittings lasted.

She said: It should be recalled that there were protests nationwide against Police brutality tagged #EndSARS sometime in October 2020.

The youths saw the protest as a means of expressing their bitter experiences at the hands of the Nigerian Police Force.

The #EndSARS protesters presented what was termed 5 for 5 demands to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Consequent upon the above, the Federal Government directed that all state governments should set up a judicial panel of inquiry to look into petitions submitted by alleged victims of police brutality, victimisation and unlawful killings in the various states.

Consequent upon the directive of the Federal Government, His Excellency, the Governor of Oyo State, Engr. Seyi Makinde, set up a 10-man Committee to form the judicial panel of inquiry in Oyo State.

Background

Ms Adeniji said the panel was inaugurated in November 2020, to receive and investigate police brutality on the latest extrajudicial killings; to evaluate evidence presented or/and other surrounding circumstances and draw conclusions as to the validity of the complaints; recommend compensation and other remedial measures where appropriate.

The panels inaugural meeting held on Wednesday, November 22, 2020, at the conference room of the Ministry of Justice.

The purpose of this meeting was to set out the modus operandi of the panel and all other relevant logistics, Ms Adeniji said.

She added that further meetings held on December 23, 2020; January 11, 2021 and January 19, 2021 respectively at the same venue.

The first sitting of the panel came up on January 26, 2021 at the House of Chiefs, Secretariat, Ibadan, having received 163 petitions.

The petitions have been completed as of today, Tuesday July 13, 2021 to the glory of God.

The work has been very strenuous and tasking but the panel members and all the stakeholders that are the petitioners, witnesses, Police legal representatives, counsel, especially the pro-bono lawyers, news media men were all up to the task.

The Panels report will be submitted to the relevant authority in due course, the panel chairperson added.

ADVERTISEMENT

Both the federal and state governments had agreed to set up the panels of inquiry following the October 2020 nationwide protest against police brutality.

The protest tagged #EndSARS denounced the now disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) notorious for the inhuman activities of its operatives.
ADVERTISEMENT

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed as fake a letter which claimed that the former governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, has been suspended from the party.

Mr Okorocha is the senator representing Imo West Senatorial District.

The letter, which is being circulated on social media, said the senator has been suspended because of anti-party activities.

The letter has the signatures of the national chairman and the secretary of the APC caretaker committee, Mala Buni and John Akpanudoedehe respectively.

But Mr Akpanudoedehe told PREMIUM TIMES, Tuesday night, that the suspension letter was fake.

Its fake, its completely rubbish, he said.

How can we do that when we are trying to resolve issues in the party? Those who did it just copied our signatures and pasted it on the letter, it is not from us, he added.

Some online newspapers, unaware that the letter was fake, ran a story on it on Tuesday night.

Mr Okorochas aide, Ebere Nzewuji, also told PREMIUM TIMES that the suspension letter was fake.

Fake news. So fake. The person who planted that cant even write good English, you see a lot of mistakes (on the letter), he said.

When asked if he could figure out where the fake letter emanated from, Mr Nzewuji responded Maybe from the pit of hell! He then laughed out loud.

Mr Okorocha and his successor, Governor Hope Uzodinma have been engaged in a political battle which has polarised the APC in Imo State.

The senator on Monday denied media reports that he was planning to defect from APC to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He said Governor Uzodinma was behind the report that he was planning to defect.

Governor Hope Uzodinma cannot and will not blackmail Senator Rochas Okorocha out of the All Progressives Congress, APC. Governor Uzodinma was behind the fake story of Senator Rochas Okorocha leaving the APC for the PDP, last Monday, said the senators media aide, Sam Onwuemedo.

He had come up with the fake story of Okorocha leaving APC because the National Secretariat of the Party had set up a reconciliation committee.

And also because of Okorochas visit to the National Office of the Party, with men and women who had sacrificed all they had, to make APC the Party to beat in Imo. And with National Assembly members who have the mandate of the people, Mr Onwuemedo added.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), again, on Tuesday, explained why its Independent Investigation Panel set up to probe allegations of human rights violations perpetrated by the operatives of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and other police units, has not been sitting.

The panel, which holds its proceedings in Abuja, stopped sitting about three months ago, with the NHRCs Executive of the NHRC, Tony Ojukwu, assuring later in June that the panel would soon resume.

Speaking in an interview with journalists again on Tuesday in Abuja, Mr Ojukwu said the panel was busy handling some administrative issues.

He said the panel had a larger volume of work than the panels conducting inquiries on the similar matters of police brutality in different states of the country.

Mr Ojukwu spoke during the public presentation of a book titled, The Dialectic of Rights: Nigerias Engagement with the Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights Council, in Abuja.

He explained that with almost 300 complaints filed at the Abuja #EndSARS panel, huge resources, capacity, collaborations and sum of money, are required to adequately compensate petitioners for the infringement of their rights.

Mr Ojukwu did not say if all the petitions that need to be heard by the panel at public sittings had been concluded.

He also did not say if the panel was going to resume sitting soon as he said last month.

Panel not idle

Meanwhile, the NHRC boss dispelled rumours that the panel was idle, adding that the non-sitting of the panel since March was being used to streamline things.

Why we are not sitting is not as if the panel is idle; we are doing administrative things, analysing things.

Most of the complaints are judgements of courts against the police. We dont have to sit over them again. All these things have to be compiled and analysed, Mr Ojukwu explained.

He also reiterated the need for the availability of money to compensate victims of police cruelty.

When you have the idea, you must now make arrangement for money, which government has to get, Mr Ojukwu said.

#EndSARS panels

Conceived in the wake of the #EndSARS protest against the notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and the cases of police brutality in the country in October last year, the panel was inaugurated on October 21, 2020 to address the grievances of Nigerians whose rights were violated by the police over the years.

The panel, officially known as the Independent Investigative Panel (IIP) to probe allegations of human rights violations against the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and other units of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), is headed by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Suleiman Galadima.

Similar panels were also set up in most of the states of the federation. Some of them have submitted their reports to the governors in their states for implementation.

Book presentation

At the unveiling of the book, Nigerias minister of foreign affairs, Godffrey Onyeama, explained that the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a human rights promotion and protection system of the United Nations General Assembly that assesses the commitment of member states to their international human rights obligations.

Mr Onyeama, who was represented by Bolaji Akinremi, a staff member of the foreign affairs ministry, said Nigeria pledged to promote and protect human rights at home and support the NHRC in its mandate.

ADVERTISEMENT

Commenting on the importance of the book, the minister said it would spur Nigeria to work harder for better realisation of the human rights of Nigerians.

On his part, Abubakar Malami, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, said the Federal Government had cooperated with the UN human rights protection mechanism.

Mr Malami, who was represented by Abiodun Aikhomo, enumerated a number of human rights instruments such as the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (2015), the Anti-Torture Act (2017) and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (2015), to give effect to Nigerias commitment UPR.

However, a former UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, Joy Ezeilo, said Nigerians human rights are well-documented in both national and international legal frameworks, but lacking in implementation.

According to Ms Ezeilo who is a professor of law at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, noted that Nigerians are not enjoying the human rights, adding, We are still battling with basic human rights.

In his welcome remarks, the NHRC boss, Mr Okukwu, said the book was the first of its kind in Nigeria.

Mr Ojukwu itemised three areas of the UPR, noting that the most crucial stage is the implementation of the goals of the mechanism  improvement of the human rights situation on ground.
In what appears to be a confirmation of PREMIUM TIMES report on Tuesday, the management of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, has said there are signs of imminent third wave of coronavirus disease on the campus.

The university in a statement posted on its website, a copy of which the institutions spokesperson, Nonye Oguama, shared with our reporter on Tuesday evening, said there is an increased number of patients presenting COVID-19-related symptoms at its medical centre.

But the university failed to mention specifically whether any positive cases have been recorded on the campus or not.

The statement reads in part; The University of Lagos community has also been affected by this potential 3rd wave, with an increase in the number of patients presented to the University of Lagos Medical Centre with flu-like symptoms which are similar to COVID-19.

The Medical Centre hereby assures all members of the university community that all necessary actions in line with the Federal and Lagos State Government guidelines have been taken regarding this potential threat in our community.

Varsity to treat emergency cases only

Meanwhile, the university authorities said due to the current situation, only emergency cases will be attended to by the medical centre.

The institution said the decision was to protect members of the university community and avoid the spread of infections within the facility.

The Medical Centre will also return to providing EMERGENCY ONLY SERVICES during this period, in order to protect all members of the community from potential infection within the facility, the statement said.

It, however, noted that the telephone line for the medical centre would be available at all times. The Medical Centre Emergency Contact line: 09095879781 remains open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Protocols re-echoed

The university urged staff, students and other members of the university community to adhere strictly with the coronavirus guidelines.

The university listed the guidelines to include appropriate use of masks, adequate distancing, regular hand washing, temperature checks, labelling of seats, maintaining 50 per cent capacity of facility occupancy, and vaccination, among others.

It also advised all members of the university community who embark on international travel to self-quarantine for a minimum of seven days on return to the country before taking the arrival COVID-19 PCR test.

The university management also promised to liaise with the Lagos State Government to ensure provision of vaccines for members of the university community as soon as the state receives another batch of vaccines.

Like UNILAG, like LASU

Meanwhile, the authorities at the Lagos State University (LASU) Ojo, a state-owned university, have advised members of its community to also observe the coronavirus pandemic regularly.

The university gave the charge through a message shared on the official WhatsApp platform for its centre for information, press and public relations (CIPPR), warning against flouting the regulations.

The message is titled; A Potential Third Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic: Management Mandates Compliance with Protocols.

The statement reads in part; Lagos State government over the weekend announced the possibility of a third wave of Covid-19 pandemic in the state. This is as a result of the recent increase in the number of positive cases being reported and increased occupancy rate at the Isolation Centres. This has necessitated the need for proactive measures to mitigate spread of the infection on our campuses.

The University Management therefore mandates all members of LASU community to adhere to all the preventive protocols as designed by NCDC to curtail any spread. The measures include; compulsory and proper use of facemask in public places, regular hand washing with soap and water or use of alcohol based sanitizer, maintenance of physical distance of two metres, among others.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday evening hosted leadership and members of the National Assembly to a dinner at the Conference Centre of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the dinner was attended by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; and the Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Gambari.

Others in attendance included some cabinet ministers as well as presidential aides.

Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, had during the plenary on Tuesday read a letter from Mr Buhari inviting the lawmakers for the dinner.

Before the dinner, the president had received the report of House of Representatives special committee on national security.

Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila led the leadership of the House to present the report to the president.

The committee which was chaired by Mr Gbajabiamila organised a three-day security summit during which 19 recommendations were made to stem the pervading security challenges in the country.

All the 19 resolutions were adopted by the House during the plenary session earlier on Tuesday.

Receiving the report, Mr Buhari commended the 9th National Assembly for its cooperation with the executive arm.

The president said he tried very hard to get the cooperation of the 8th Assembly to do same for the sake of the country, and I didnt succeed much.

But time has proved me right.

(NAN)
ADVERTISEMENT

the Buhari administration is not interested in these technologies to fight crime. Right now, the mobile telephony operators can help them catch terrorists and bandits using various cell phones to communicate and ask for ransom. Instead of facing the real threats, they are afraid of their shadows, they are seeking these tools to suppress dissent and punish anyone who disagrees with them and their policies.

Letting words roll off the tongue without having to second guess ones thoughts is one of the greatest gifts of being human. The Nigerian Constitution guarantees our rights to say what we want without censorship or restraint, as long as it is not injurious to anyone or group. Does freedom of speech apply online if the government actively seeks to monitor speech? Has the right of individuals to express themselves freely become smudged? The answer lies in the latest misadventure of the Buhari administration. In the supplementary budget approved by the National Assembly last week, the executive asked the legislators for N4.8 billion, for the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to monitor phone lines and social media communications, including WhatsApp messages, calls, text messages. Of the N4.8 billion, N1.93 billion is for WhatsApp Intercept Solution and N2.93 billion for Thuraya Interception Solution  these are communications system used for monitoring voice calls, text messages and data traffic. The Intercept Solution is the kind the Saudis used to monitor Jamal Kashoggis messages, itineraries and online footprints, until he was butchered in their embassy in Turkey.

As long as people have evolved language and personal conversations, those who eavesdrop have tried to listen in. Our people say, the wall have ears. They say so because before the phone, before the internet and the social media platforms it birthed, when important matters were discussed in homes, people listened in through the eaves. Literally they slither in, within the eavesdrop, to hear what was being said. Technology has made it even more convenient with the telephone; just tap the wires. Why talk if someone is eavesdropping on your conversation? What the government is trying to do is to mute our voices and create a police state. Intercept Solution is designed to invade our privacy interests. It is a shame that a government that cannot protect us from terrorism, banditry, armed robbery, is seeking to prevent us from talking about and showcasing their ineptitude to the world.

By this approval, the government will acquire the technology to overhear and record all conversations of their targets and persons they are interested in. They will gain access to homes and offices and will have access to information that is extremely private in nature. We know how a Nigerian wields power without a just judicial system to rein him in.

No doubt, the government has the right to use electronic surveillance to investigate crime. However, we know this government, the Buhari administration is not interested in these technologies to fight crime. Right now, the mobile telephony operators can help them catch terrorists and bandits using various cell phones to communicate and ask for ransom. Instead of facing the real threats, they are afraid of their shadows, they are seeking these tools to suppress dissent and punish anyone who disagrees with them and their policies. With electronic surveillance, the thin line between privacy interests and effectual law enforcement is effectively blurred. It is totally shameful that we have an unquestioning, pliant National Assembly membership who are mere agents of the Presidency. They really do not care what we think. By this approval, the government will acquire the technology to overhear and record all conversations of their targets and persons they are interested in. They will gain access to homes and offices and will have access to information that is extremely private in nature. We know how a Nigerian wields power without a just judicial system to rein him in. Left to the discretion of officials, the potential for clandestine use, abuse and elimination of personal privacy is huge!

I am worried that this government is oblivious of the fact that social media has helped to keep Nigerians sane amidst buffetting winds of economic incapacitation, insecurity, and hopelessness. On the positive side, it has become the refuge for many, the village square, a place to keep up with news, gossip, to do business, and a sanctuary where people can say their minds. Government does not have to regulate Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp. These platforms are making conscious effort to regulate content posted on their platforms. Users of these platforms are empowered to report abuse. That is why President Buhari was hit. He violated the rules and he was reported. Does being a President hold you to a different standard on social media? No! It is up to a platforms algorithms to control what ideas or speech are censored. What Nigeria is trying to do is to stifle dissent and control the narrative by creating polices that impose on our rights and destroy positive user experience on platforms they did not create.

Bamidele Ademola-Olateju a farmer, youth advocate and political analyst writes this weekly column, Bamidele Upfront for PREMIUM TIMES. Follow me on Twitter @olufunmilayo
In January, the United Nations reported that over 3,000 people had been killed, more than 200 villages have been burned, over 750,000 people had been internally displaced, and 1.3 million people require aid. The deadliness and complexity of the crisis have left the world in a place of deep concern about what could be done to settle the prevailing dispute.

There is no such thing as an authentic narrative in war and conflict situations. All facts in war are contested. Anger, hate, and resentment produce their messy narratives. Even the initial colours used in the advert poster for this Interview sparked a mini war, prompting me to change them. Now let me thread on lands that angels would not dare.

By composing this piece, I have started yet another war! A war of disagreement! Sure, I will suffer the consequences in the foreseeable future, one of which may be a ban from entering Yaounde. However, before the government goes into full rage and rampage, I must clearly state that this is the first part in a series. An interview has been extended to the officials to present their side of the story, to rebut everything in this piece, and challenge the narratives of the Interview on July 18. Alas! Power does not like to explain itself, preferring to dominate forcefully. Thus far, there has been no response from the government!

Following four years of civil war in anglophone Cameroon, the official and rebel troops have failed to engage in genuine negotiation, endangering the residents, including children! According to statistics, the crisis in Cameroon has led to the displacement of over 750,000 citizens. Before you quote me, war figures are casualties of fact! The crisis and aggravations continue to be at the forefront of political debate when discussing the civil war in Cameroon; however, the crisis was engineered in the colonial times. Thus, to understand the root cause of the Cameroonian crisis is to go deep into history, back to the European scramble for Africa, back to the colonisation of France and Britain in 1919, then to the unification of the Anglophone and Francophone Cameroons in 1961. All these historical milestones embedded in them a century of hostility, establishing a preset to the war in Cameroon, which began in 2017 when Anglophone Cameroon protested peacefully over the marginalisation and discrimination of the North-West and South-West regions of the country.

African crises did not just start today, and in this case, the blame game is well deserved. Understanding the prevailing cause of almost all African civil wars should be traced to colonisation and Western imperialism. Colonisation brought people of different cultures, traditions, and languages together without their consent. Previously autonomous nations found themselves in polygamous relationships with their former friends and enemies.

People from different cultures merged to form a single colonial entity, without considering how people of diverse cultures and traditions could live together in peace and harmony. This situation becomes pertinent in light of todays discussion about Cameroon. In 1884, Cameroon was shared with Germany. However, following the defeat of Germany after the First World War, the political history of Cameroon changed. German troops were forced out by British and French soldiers in 1916, creating a new Cameroon. Three years later, they were split and formed a part of the colonies of the British and the French, necessitating the Anglophone Cameroon (20 per cent) and the Francophone Cameroon (80 per cent). The subsequent 42 years saw the unification of these two colonial entities and the emergence of the present Cameroon. But Anglophone Cameroon has felt marginalised as a result of the formation, and Francophone Cameroon has dominated the political space, with Paul Biya becoming the leader of the Republic of Cameroon since 1982. The claim by Anglophone Cameroon is that the treaty regarded them as a separate country named Ambazonia.

Cameroons formation, which happened in the 1960s when a hitherto French-speaking mandated territory became merged with an English-speaking region to become an independent country, was met with dissatisfaction and objection. After the emergence, both entities were left to retain their languages, cultures, educational and judicial systems. As a result, Cameroon now has two systems of education, two official languages (English and French), and two judicial systems. But Anglophone Cameroon was not happy with the unification. Their grievances began after reunification when Ahmadou Ahidjo, the countrys authoritarian leader at the time, systematically undermined major democratic institutions and expanded the repressive police state in French Cameroon to Anglophone areas.

the fighting became more intense in the spring of 2018. Separatists intensified their attacks on the military, prompting retaliation by Cameroonian forces, which left civilians trapped in the crossfire. The sound of heavy machine-gun fire awoke the southern village of Azi in the early hours of April 2018. It was claimed that government troops had arrived in the village to search for armed separatists. There were random shootings and killings.

In western Cameroon, the English-speaking minority (Ambazonia) felt marginalised, neglected, and repressed by the central government in Yaounde. They blamed the British for abandoning them and handing them over to the French government, which eventually transferred power to Francophone Cameroon. In this context, Professor Carlson Anyangwe pointed out: The Southern Cameroons was one of the territories set for decolonisation in the context of the UNs decolonisation agenda. Britains devious handling of it and the British wheeling and dealing at the UN in 1959 and 1960 caused a great historical injustice to the people of Southern Cameroons. Anyangwe continued, That injustice continues to cry out for redress.

Altogether, the feeling of distaste, marginalisation, negligence of the government, transfer of French teachers to English-speaking schools, and Paul Biyas authoritarian rule as the president of Cameroon for 39 years, are factors responsible for the outbreak of the civil war. Since November 6, 1982, Paul Biya, a ruthless politician, has been the president of Cameroon. He is ranked as Africas second-longest-serving president, the worlds longest-serving non-royal leader, and the continents oldest leader. He has a reputation as one of the most corrupt African leaders and boasts of a net worth of over $200 million. He is known for making irrational decisions and carelessly employing the use of violence at the slightest opportunity. His approach to settling the dispute is said to have triggered the civil war.

The Civil War

For civilians caught in the crossfire between government forces and separatists, the conflict is a brutal reality.

Poor resource allocation and a lack of effective political representation are two of the most common complaints among the Anglophones, and this led to the beginning of the unrest in the country. They accused the government of Francophonising the state through a planned cultural agenda. In late 2016, the Anglophones union of lawyers and teachers opposed the appointment of French-speaking teachers, judges, and prosecutors to their courts and schools. These demonstrations, which were influenced by social media, lasted more than one year. The North-West and the South-West, two of Cameroons English-speaking (minority) areas, have been embroiled in a terrible civil conflict that has gone mostly unreported. Anglophone rebels have been fighting for a new Republic of Ambazonia since 2017. However, in October 2017, the harsh repression of protesters, the labeling of demonstrators as terrorists, and the authorisation of the use of lethal force against unarmed civilians, escalated the unrest into a full-fledged uprising and civil war. The violence started from the peaceful protests in Anglophone Cameroon, which stemmed from long-standing prejudice and marginalisation in the North-West and South-West regions.

Additionally, the fighting became more intense in the spring of 2018. Separatists intensified their attacks on the military, prompting retaliation by Cameroonian forces, which left civilians trapped in the crossfire. The sound of heavy machine-gun fire awoke the southern village of Azi in the early hours of April 2018. It was claimed that government troops had arrived in the village to search for armed separatists. There were random shootings and killings. Soldiers on the ground opened fire on an older woman attempting to flee and burnt several houses. This was the height of Paul Biyas aggressive approach to stop the Ambazonians from engaging in their secessionist movement.

On February 14, 2020, nothing less than 21 civilians, including 13 children and one pregnant woman, were murdered by government forces and armed ethnic Fulani in Cameroons Ngarbuh village. They also set fire to five homes, pillaged several other properties, and assaulted locals. Some of the victims bodies were discovered charred inside their homes. According to the Human Rights Watch report, a 32-year-old man witnessed his entire family, including seven children, being murdered. He said in the interview conducted with him that: I heard gunfire and ran to the side of my house to hide. As they sought to flee, I witnessed the soldiers shooting my family members one by one. They started with our mum. The children were then shot, and their bodies all fell on her. Then they set fire to my house.

Sadly, it has been denied that these crimes took place, adding to the survivors trauma and simply encouraging government troops to conduct additional atrocities. Nevertheless, these heinous murders of citizens, especially children, are crimes that should be thoroughly and independently investigated, and those responsible brought to justice.

President Biyas nonchalant attitude has continued to fuel the civil war and the aggression of secessionists to depart from the Republic of Cameroon and form the Ambazonian Republic. Would this movement and agitation for a separate state be possible? What are the various undertones embedded in the current civil war in Cameroon?

The war in Cameroon continues to wreak havoc on southern Cameroon, and it is safe to say that the war does not appear to be enraging political leaders in Yaounde as it formerly did. However, civilians caught in the crossfire between government forces and separatists continue to die due to the fighting. On January 10, 2021, in the South-West region, the Cameroon army killed at least nine members of the public and wounded four others. The following week saw the killings of more civilians.

Due to its complexity, the war remains one of the most complicated African conflicts. It is a territory with a history of three colonial masters, and there is an intense debate about who should respond to the crisis among the world leaders. Still, the killings and displacements keep increasing, such that in 2018, the UN cautioned that there has been an upsurge in violence between the Anglophone and Francophone Cameroon. Amnesty International recorded the death of over 400 civilians in 2017 and reports that at least 400 civilians were killed in the previous year. According to Colonel Didier Badjeck, the spokesman for Cameroons army, as of November 2018, over 170 Cameroonian troops had been killed. The UN estimates that out of hundreds of thousands of people, about 30,000 Cameroonians have fled to Nigeria as refugees.

In January, the United Nations reported that over 3,000 people had been killed, more than 200 villages have been burned, over 750,000 people had been internally displaced, and 1.3 million people require aid. The deadliness and complexity of the crisis have left the world in a place of deep concern about what could be done to settle the prevailing dispute. Various dialogues have been conducted in a bid to put an end to the crisis. For instance, on February 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vaticans Secretary of State, went on a five-day visit to Cameroon and met with President Biya to address the Anglophone secessionist issue. This came after the initial calls for peaceful solutions from the European Union and United States of America senators. However, international attempts to convince aged President Biya to embrace a peaceful settlement have thus far been unsuccessful. Despite these appeals, Biya has continued to advocate using a violent approach to handle the crisis. Interestingly, when he addressed Cameroonians in December 2020, he claimed that the country had returned to peace.

President Biyas nonchalant attitude has continued to fuel the civil war and the aggression of secessionists to depart from the Republic of Cameroon and form the Ambazonian Republic. Would this movement and agitation for a separate state be possible? What are the various undertones embedded in the current civil war in Cameroon? What is the take of the French and British governments in the crisis that has affected Cameroon in the last four years?

ADVERTISEMENT

Professor Carlson Anyangwe has been invited to the next Toyin Falola Interviews to answer these questions and to discuss the ongoing war in the Cameroons as part of a more extensive set of initiatives to attain peace. Do Please join us on:

Sunday, July 18

5:00 PM Nigerian/Cameroon Time

4:00 PM GMT

11:00 AM Austin CST

Register and Watch.

Join via Zoom.

Watch on Facebook.

Watch on YouTube.

Toyin Falola, a professor of History and University Distinguished Teaching Professor, is Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities at The University of Texas at Austin.
ADVERTISEMENT

Unidentified gunmen have shot dead a priest of the Christian Reformed Church in Nation (CRCN), Timothy Damisa, in Baissa, Kurmi Local Government Area of Taraba State.

Although the police are yet to confirm the incident, the family said Mr Damisa was shot several times by the assailants in his house, located in the church premises in Baissa, in the early hours of Sunday.

His wife, Rahab Damisa, told journalists that the assailants, suspected to be hired assassins, stormed the house around 2:30 a.m. and shot her husband to death right in her presence.

When they came in their large number, they kept shooting to scare the entire community and then forced their way into our home.

According to her, the assailants did not ask for money or anything before shooting her husband several times. She said they left immediately after ensuring he was dead.

The Chairman of Kurmi local government council, Joseph Amamzala, also confirmed the incident to PREMIUM TIMES on telephone.

Members of the church have reacted with shock to the incident.

My entire family are members of CRCN for several years and we knew him as a gentleman who is very passionate, bold and vibrant about the work of the kingdom of Christ  said Simon Tiben.

He was someone who was treasured by the entire community. He was very loving and caring not only to his church members. Everyone knew him very well. He was very loved in the community and a kind man, Mama Bishara told PREMIUM TIMES.

A journalist, Jonathan Tikon, wrote on his Facebook timeline that, The only CRC-N Pastor, Rev. Timothy Damisa I always pray to see as the Resident Pastor of CRC-N LCC Jalingo has been killed May your gentle soul rest in peace with your creator Man of God.

The deceased clergy worked in different branches of the church across the country, including Abuja.

CRCN is one the largest Christian denominations in Taraba State.
ADVERTISEMENT

The convoy of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Monday ran into a gang of suspected traffic robbers at the Ojota area of Lagos State and the governor personally arrested the criminals, the state government said in a statement.

The three suspects, armed with machetes, had attacked a motorist and were trying to force him out of his vehicle when the governors convoy arrived.

Mr Sanwo-Olus security details swooped on the suspects and disarmed them before they were arrested.

After the arrest, the governor said the exercise was a warning signal to other criminal elements and prospective traffic robbers in Lagos that there is no hiding place for criminality in Lagos State

Traffic robberies have continued to be a major problem across Lagos, particularly during rush-hour traffic in busy areas such as Ojota, CMS, Costain Bridge, Maryland, Gbagada, Mile 2, Mushin, Orile, Oshodi Bridge.

In April, the police said it had deployed additional 1,000 officers around the metropolis to stem the tide of traffic robberies.

At least 127 suspects had been arrested for attacking Lagosians in traffic between March and June, the police said.

Last month, the governor handed over security equipment purchased by the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) to the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, for the use of Lagos Police Command.

He said there would be no hiding place for criminals in the state.

We are determined to stabilise the security situation in Lagos State, as our own contribution towards lasting national security, he said, at the event.

Let me also use this opportunity to sound a note of warning to all criminals who are operating in Lagos State or planning to operate here; all armed robbers, kidnappers, cultists, bandits, and other criminals, we will leave no stone unturned in making this State inhospitable to you. We will find you, wherever you may be lurking and we will bring the full weight of the law on you.

The new crime-fighting equipment included 150 Double Cabin Vehicles, 30 Saloon Patrol Vehicles, 1,000 Ballistic Vests; 1,000 Ballistic Helmets, 1,000 Handheld Police Radios/Walkie-Talkies, 100 Security Patrol Bikes; two Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs), four High Capacity Troop Carriers, and two Anti-Riot Water Cannon Vehicles.

On Monday, the Strike Squad of the Lagos State Taskforce carried out a raid on motorcycle (okada) riders at Second rainbow and Toyota Bus Stop along Apapa-Oshodi Expressway.

During the raid, which lasted for some hours, a total of 105 motorcycles were impounded. Prior to Mondays raid, a total of 201 motorcycles were impounded last week.
ADVERTISEMENT

The police in Akwa Ibom State said they have arrested a 25-year-old man for allegedly stealing Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) armoured cable at Eket, Eket Local Government Area of the state.

The police spokesperson in the state, Odiko MacDon, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Eket on Tuesday.

Mr MacDon, a superintendent of police, said the suspect was caught by members of the community at the Stadium Road in Eket on Sunday.

He said the culprit stole the PHED armoured cable along Church Road.

On Sunday, July 11, at about 7: 40 a.m., we received a report from a PHEDC Staff that at about 4:04 a.m., of the same date, one suspect was caught with an armoured cable wire by members of the community at Stadium Road in Eket, Mr MacDon said.

The suspect was almost lynched by a mob before he was rescued by some community elders who handed him over to the police.

Mr MacDon said the suspect confessed to the crime and has given useful information about other accomplices currently at large.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Amiengheme Andrew, has commended the vigilance and efforts of members of the community in Eket for their swift action, he said.

He assured that the police would expedite action on the investigations, and that the suspect would be charged soon.

READ ALSO:

A resident of Eket told NAN that the suspect has been known by members of the community for his nefarious activities.

He first went to Afaha Ukwa Street in Eket to steal armoured cable and disconnected the transformer on Friday, and between Saturday night and Sunday morning, he went to cut the armoured cable.

And later proceeded to cut another armoured cable in Edem Udoh Street. While stealing it, some youths in the area caught him and drew the attention of the PHED staff, the resident said.

(NAN)
ADVERTISEMENT

The Lagos House of Assembly has passed a resolution urging Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to adequately equip security agencies in the state.

This, the House said, would enhance the protection of lives and property of the residents.

The House passed the resolution sequel to a matter of urgent public importance, raised by Rauf Age-Sulaiman (APC-Amuwo-Odofin II) during plenary session on Monday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the resolutions of the House were sequel to the attempt on the life of Mr Age-Sulaiman, on July 2, during a political rally at his constituency ahead the forthcoming local government elections in the state.

Mr Age-Sulaiman, the mover of the motion, urged the House to call on Mr Sanwo-Olu to increase the number of officers in the Neighbourhood Safety Corps.

The lawmaker urged the House to further resolve that the governor should call on the Commissioner of Police in the state to intensify efforts to secure the state.

Mr Age-Sulaiman, while narrating how he escaped death from gunshot at Oriade Local Council Development Area, regretted how a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Kayode Samuel, who stood beside him, was hit and later confirmed dead.

I heard some people making noise while the campaign was on and I called for calm, but I didnt know that there were some elements who came with another intention.

We were about going out when somebody told me not to go out and two persons stood beside me and right there I heard a gunshot sound and the next person beside me shouted my leg with blood-stains, he said.

Commenting, Rotimi Olowo (Shomolu I) condemned the use of thugs to settle political matters, urging that security issue should be given more seriousness through the establishment of state police.

Mr Olowo urged the commissioner of police to investigate the issue, adding that politicians and other Nigerians were not safe at this period.

Adedamola Kasunmu (Ikeja II) said with the increasing crime rate in the society, the call for the establishment of state police for the protection of lives cannot be overemphasised.

Mr Kasunmu urged other Houses of Assembly in the federation to start calling for state police so that the National Assembly would take it serious.

In his contribution, Setonji David (Badagry II), said those against state police were enemies of the country.

The Deputy Speaker of the House, Wasiu Eshilokun-Sanni, who presided over the sitting, said the incident was shocking, while he also commiserated with the family of the deceased.

Mr Eshilokun-Sanni, therefore, urged the Clerk of the House, Olalekan Onafeko to communicate the resolutions of the House to the governor for urgent action.

(NAN)
ADVERTISEMENT

Traditionalists in Ogun, under the aegis of Isese practitioners, on Monday called on the State Assembly to stop legislation on the Obas, Chiefs, Council of Obas and Traditional Council law of Ogun State, Bill 2021, before it.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the traditionalists are asking the assembly not to pass into law the bill which seeks to regulate activities relating to Obaship and traditional institutions in the state.

Ifayemi Osunlabu, spokesperson for the Isese practitioners, told journalists in Abeokuta that the bill, if passed, would eradicate all traditional rites pertaining to Obaship stool in the state.

Mr Osunlabu noted that whoever wanted to be a king must be ready to abide by customs and traditions guiding the stool.

He noted that if the bill sails through and signed into law, it would constitute an infringement on the rights of the traditional worshippers and might promote chaos and pandemonium in the communities.

Obaship institution is contained under the traditional institution, as such, anybody who voluntarily gives himself out to be crowned and installed as a king will immediately attain status of the second in command to oracle of their respective lands and domain.

Having agreed, accepted and concurred to fall in line and abide with rules, regulations, doctrines and practices of such tradition, such person should abide by the tradition, he said.

He called on members of the State House of Assembly to stop the passage of the bill to maintain peace and order in the state, saying the bill would create a deficiency in the traditional institution that would be impossible to correct.

He maintained that the lawmakers had no business legislating over the installation and burial rites of traditional rulers.

He noted that the bill was first introduced in 2020 but did not sail through because all traditionalists in the state rose and fought against it.

We are not saying that they should not do whatever they want to do, but when it comes to Obaship, it belongs to traditional practitioners.

The bill is absolutely not acceptable to us, because our traditional rulers are not politicians, he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the assembly would hold a public hearing on the proposed bill on Wednesday.

(NAN)
The Lagos State Government on Tuesday commenced a three-day training for 20 police officers on how to respond to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in the state.

The training is being coordinated by the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT), in partnership with the Lagos State Police Command and the Ford Foundation.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 20 police officers were drawn from the five police divisions newly upgraded to Family Support Units (FSUs).

The police divisions are Okokomaiko, Owutu, Bariga, Epe and Ajegunle.

In her remarks, the DSVRT Coordinator, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, said the FSUs would serve as specialised police stations designated to investigate and prosecute SGBV cases.

This journey has been six-years in the making and we are very elated that we have upgraded some police divisions to SFUs, Mrs Vivour-Adeniyi said.

Also, the Director, Office of the Public Defender (OPD), Babajide Martins, said law enforcement officers had a responsibility to give back to society and protect the vulnerable, especially women and children.

Mr Martins, a facilitator at the training, charged the participants to be upright and uphold the law while investigating cases of sexual and gender-based violence.

When officers become mischievous by not revealing vital information uncovered during their investigations, it makes the work of the prosecutors difficult in court.

There is nothing concerning gender-based violence that is not under the law. You have to know the law.

If during investigation you are confused about what the law says, you can contact the OPD or the DSVRT for clarity, Mr Martins said.

Also speaking, Bimbo Williams, the Second in Command, Gender Desk, Lagos State Police Command, noted that the state had zero tolerance for SGBV.

Ms Williams, an assistant superintendent of police, also stressed the importance of police officers knowing how to handle SGBV cases and charged them to take the training seriously.

I hope we will all learn a lot from this training and implement such to reduce the rate of this crime in Lagos State.

I know with this training, when you get back to your various divisions, you will impart the knowledge to others who do not have the knowledge on how to handle these cases.

Gone are the days when people will come to us to report gender-based matters and we chase them back home by saying they are family affairs, Ms Williams said.

Topics to be handled during the training include SGBV and Human Rights, Consideration of the Relevant Laws, Guiding Principle of SGBV, Handling of SGBV Cases, and Exploring Existing State Structure and Services for Sexual Assault Survivors.

Others are: Improving the Practice of Reporting at Police Stations, Role of Forensic Evidence on SGBV Investigation, Mediation, Best Practices for Investigating SGBV Cases and Police as a Service Delivery Agency.

ADVERTISEMENT

(NAN)
A middle-aged civil servant, Emmanuel Bello, has asked an Agege Customary Court in Lagos to dissolve his marriage with his wife, Motunrayo, alleging lack of care and threat to life.

The petitioner, a father of four, who resides at Acme Road, Ogba, Lagos, also wants the 19-year-old union dissolved on grounds of stubbornness, harshness to the children, and other irreconcilable differences.

Mr Bello told the court that his wife is too heady, not respectful and insultive.

The petitioner, who described his wife as a debtor, said she had no iota of respect.

She is not a loving wife and mother; she has no iota of respect.

On many occasions, she ran out of the house very early in the morning trying to evade her creditors, he told the court.

Mr Bello claimed that when the embarrassment became unbearable, he had to refund the sum of N1.5 million to some of the creditors.

When l noticed that my wife misbehaves and does not care about our children, l reported the matter to her family members, but it made no difference as she refused to change her attitude.

My wife has been disrespectful and she no longer allows me to have sex with her.

Whenever we are together in the room, my wife puts on her underwear and knicker and does not allow me access to her.

l kept hoping she will change for the better, but it became worse over time, coupled with the fact that she became a party freak.

l rented a shop for my wife to start a business, but she never contributed to the upkeep in the house.

On so many days, she ran out of the house as early as 5.00 a.m. to avoid people she borrowed money from, without my knowledge. I ended up paying N1.5 million, he claimed.

The petitioner alleged that his wife usually beat the children without any provocation.

I no longer feel safe living with her.

My life is not secured as she has vowed to deal with me, Mr Bello said.

The petitioner insisted on the dissolution of the marriage because he could no longer cope with his estranged wifes misbehavior and irresponsible acts.

I am no longer interested in the union; my wife does not care for me and beats my children habitually, he said.

ADVERTISEMENT

The petitioner prayed the court to give him custody of their children and to award him other consequential orders, as the court may deem fit.

The respondent, however, denied her husbands claim that he had contributed to her business and also dismissed the allegations that she was not loving.

I still love my husband and do not want to divorce him, she said.

Motunrayo, a fashion designer, therefore, urged the court not to dissolve the marriage.

The respondent told the court that her husband does not like listening to her or heeding her advice.

Motunrayo said she only disciplines her children because she wanted them to be upright in life.

The court president, Biola Alani, told the couple to remain at peace and adjourned the suit until August 3 for judgment. (NAN)
In commemoration of the 87th birthday of the Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, policy advocates and activists on Tuesday discussed ways of remaking Nigeria into a better country.

The conversation was held in Lagos at the annual media lecture series organised by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) in celebration of the Nobel Laureate.

The 13th media lecture was tagged Remaking Nigeria: Towards a Secure and Viable Union.

The lecture examined several perspectives towards transforming Nigeria including! constitutional restructuring, the rule of law, true independence, community-based education, Nigeria and oil, among others.

Speakers at the lecture included Moses Ochonu, Professor at Vanderbilt University; Hafsat Abiola-Costello, President Obama Women in Africa Initiative; Inibehe Effiong, Human Rights lawyer; Ahmadu Shehu, Assistant Professor, American University of Nigeria; Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, Director, Spaces for Change (S4C), Nubari Saatah, Acting President of Niger Delta Congress; and Ndi Kato, social and human rights activist.

In their joint remarks, Motunrayo Alaka, executive director of of WSCIJ, and Chidoh Onumah, coordinator AFRICMIL said Nigeria has many challenges that are important and urgent and it is important to hold conversations on how to resolve them.

Conversations like the one we are holding today serve as reminders that our problems as a nation are solvable. They also give the much-needed inspiration that Nigeria has the human resources needed to think through and work on a way out of our current quagmire once we gather the will to do the right things and do things right.

More importantly, conversations like this highlight the right to access information, hold divergent opinions and freely express them. These rights are becoming scarcer in our polity as the government of the day works hard to stifle the voices of the people and dodge accountability by all means.

If Nigeria must be helped, we must be deliberate about including various voices as we map our change.

A community-based model for basic education

Mr Shehu, an associate professor at the American University of Nigeria, said it was important Nigeria begins to look for viable means to improve education at the most basic level.

To remake Nigeria, we have to build a solid foundation which is education.

Common Nigerians no longer have access to quality basic education. Most of our kids are on the floor, under the shed of trees called schools. Worse to that, one out of five out of school children in the world lives in Nigeria, Mr Shehu said.

The scholar said the current chaotic arrangement that the country has been running since 1999 till date in terms of basic education is no longer effective.

He said community-based education is the right way to go to give basic and quality education to the people.

We want Nigeria to hand over basic education to people, to the very community who are the recipient of that basic education by dismantling the current arrangement of a confused federal parastatal which is called Universal Basic Education, he said.

The speaker added that the confusion with the local government council being the employers of the teachers but state universal basic board being the supervisors of the teachers need to stop.

Mr Shehu said there is a need to strengthen communities and allow them to take responsibility for the basic education for their people.

Rule of law

Speaking at the lecture, Inibehe Effiong, a human rights lawyer, said Nigeria was at a very difficult period, where there was no regard for the rule of law.

ADVERTISEMENT

I have never seen a time in our national history where the fundamental of nationhood, and where what keeps the soul of a nation alive has ever been challenged as this period.

Mr Effiong said the core elements of rule of law which are respect for human rights, equality before the law, and supremacy of the law are being trampled upon by the Buhari-led administration.

These three fundamental ingredients of the rule of law have been totally annihilated under the current regime.

What is more tragic about the assault on the rule of law under the Buhari regime whether in terms of flagrant disobedience to court orders, the reckless violations of Nigerians on a daily basis, the audacious intrusion indy our civic space, the continuous and sustained attacks on free press.

It is more shameful that it is happening under a government that pretends to be progressive, under a party that promised Nigerians change, he said.

The human rights lawyer said he was not very optimistic because the signs are very troubling, but Nigerians must arise to save the country.

He said illegal arrests of people demanding their rights, the obnoxious legislative proposals being introduced to stifle the press and other key issues threatening the rule of law is troublesome.

The economy is collapsing, but the rule of law is under assault. Things have never been this bad.

We are now in a time where people will openly tell you go to court. When they tell you to go to court, it simply means the court is inconsequential, he said.

Mr Effiong said the battle to salvage the country lies squarely with the Nigerian people as people must be united to challenge executive impunity.

Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, who spoke on Nigerias unity and the cracks within, said the excessive focus on oil and natural resources is one of the major problems of the country.

She added that the kind of laws Nigeria has in terms of wealth sharing among states is also creating problems.

The legislatures we have that has conerned all opportunities of wealth creation and pushed into the exclusive legislative needs.

She said the laws that made the federal government the sole controller and distributor of resources had destroyed the imaginative and entrepreneural capacity of states.

All of those mechanisms that made the federal the sole controller needs to be dismantled, she said.

Speakers at the event also spoke about constitutional restructuring, sueing for real independence, the role of women in nation building, the media and the new Nigeria.
Providing maximum transparency for AccuGroup's customers - top automotive OEMs in the world

SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- For almost 20 years, AccuGroup has provided unparalleled automotive quality solutions including consulting, inspections, and certifications to some of the world's largest brand names such as BMW, Volkswagen, and Samsung. As the industry evolves, these supply chain ecosystems have become increasingly more complex, and AccuGroup's team comes into contact with an ever-more complex set of stakeholders. To ensure that all critical interactions, especially transactional ones, are well documented, easily traceable, keeping all stakeholders accountable, AccuGroup has selected Marinate app to help track thousands of informal interactions that occur during its normal business operations, helping to provide an extra degree of transparency to its customers.

"We're excited to announce a commercial collaboration with Taraxa today to make our world-class quality solutions even more transparent and auditable, giving our customers added assurance". David Chen, founder and Chairman of AccuGroup.

"To be selected by a company of AccuGroup's caliber is both an honor and market validation for Marinate and Taraxa's solutions and technology, we believe this collaboration marks the beginning of a much broader supply chain offering for Taraxa". Steven Pu, co-founder and CEO of Taraxa.

Media inquiries: [email protected]

Partnership inquiries: [email protected]

About Taraxa:

A purpose-built, fast, scalable, and device-friendly public ledger designed to track informal and unstructured transactional data to minimize business friction. Founded in 2018 by a group of accomplished engineers and academics, Taraxa has not only built a state-of-the-art decentralized infrastructure, but also delivered market-tested application platforms to secure machine state integrity, and track everyday agreements between people.

About AccuGroup:

As the world's leading consulting and total quality solution provider, AccuGroup is committed to building a world-leading service platform. ACCU relies on its worldwide quality relay centers and after-sale service centers to provide integrated solutions to multiple industries along the global supply chain of intelligent manufacturing by virtue of its independently-developed TQS cloud data platform APP. ACCU has now become the world's top consulting company engaged in global business management and quality management, Asia's largest quality service company for the supply chain of electronics and automotive manufacturing, the first quality management company in China to serve globally-top automobile manufacturers, and the world-leading quality solution provider and successful implementer for the new-energy vehicle and electric automotive industry.

Related Links

https://www.taraxa.io



SOURCE Taraxa
SELBYVILLE, Del., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the latest report "Animal Diagnostics Market by Technology (Immunodiagnostics, Clinical Biochemistry, Hematology, Molecular Diagnostics, Urinalysis), Animal Type (Farm Animals, Companion Animals), Regional Outlook, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast 2027" by Global Market Insights Inc., the market valuation of animal diagnostics will cross $7.8 billion by 2027.

Major animal diagnostics market players include IDEXX Laboratories, Heska Corporation, Neogen, Zoetis, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH and Virbac.

Technological developments in molecular biology have augmented advancements in animal diagnostic instruments. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology is broadly used for genome sequencing of pathogens to create essential elements that are further utilized in biological research, disease diagnosis, and parasite control, among others. Different versions of PCR, including Real-Time PCR (RT-PCR), nested PCR and multiplex PCR, have been designed to facilitate the diagnosis of veterinary ailments. The application of DNA biotechnology has positively impacted animal disease control programs, thus fostering the market demand.

Request a sample of this research report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/2495.

Modern biotechnology facilitates genome sequencing along with DNA manipulation that is further used to develop specific immunoassays. Isothermal technology is another technological advancement that performs reactions at a constant temperature with the support of isothermal chemistries, hence removing the requirement of thermal regulation as required in other conventional techniques. It decreases price, size, and issues related to point-of-care testing. Numerous isothermal methods have been developed to diagnose livestock and avian pathogens. The industry players' emphasis on the development of innovative and cost-effective animal diagnostic services is anticipated to spur the animal diagnostics market growth.

The molecular diagnostics segment in the animal diagnostics market is projected to reach around USD 1.12 billion by 2027, owing to the growing demand for precise & affordable veterinary molecular diagnostics and the development of novel technologies such as Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), microarrays, and biomarkers among others. A wide range of molecular diagnostic techniques of different requirements are available that provide fast and reliable diagnostic outcomes related to animal diseases. The ability to rapidly diagnose pathogens along with their characteristics facilitates accurate decision-making and preventive measures such as optimal therapeutics, prophylaxis and biosafety plans to restrict disease outbreaks to be implemented. Moreover, major industry leaders introducing advanced molecular diagnostic products is promoting the segment growth.

The companion animals segment dominated more than 60% of the animal diagnostics market share in 2020 and will capture USD 4.6 billion by 2027 on account of the rising initiatives by government organizations and private agencies to promote animal health. The American Veterinary Medical Association and Food and Agriculture Organization are working in a collaborative effort to protect public health through the control & prevention of zoonotic diseases by safeguarding companion animal health. As per Animal Medicines Australia, in 2019, around USD 2.6 billion was spent on animal health services in Australia. Growing adoption and easy accessibility to pet health insurance is another factor propelling the segment revenue. Increasing awareness pertaining to animal health, rising demand for rapid tests along with the need to detect genetic disorders and chronic ailments in the early stages is expected to promote the segment expansion.

The Brazil animal diagnostics market size will reach USD 287 million by 2027 due to the growing number of companion animal ownership and increasing prevalence of infectious & parasitic diseases across the country. As per the article published in 2019, dogs continue to be the most popular pet in the Brazilian household with a population of around 52 million in 44.3% of households. The rising number of serious disorders among pet animals is encouraging the market players to develop innovative animal diagnostics techniques in order to improve their quality of life. Further, the presence of supportive government regulation in the country for pet ownership is creating opportunities for industry participants to introduce novel animal diagnostics services into the market.

Request a customization of this research report @ https://www.gminsights.com/roc/2495

Some of the major companies operating in the animal diagnostics market are IDEXX Laboratories, Heska Corporation, Neogen, Zoetis, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH and Virbac among others. These prominent leaders focus on implementing several strategic initiatives such as mergers & acquisitions, product launches, and research activities to expand their product portfolio and market presence.

Table of Contents (ToC) of the report:

Chapter 3 Animal Diagnostics Market Insights

3.1 Industry segmentation

3.2 Industry landscape, 2016 - 2027 (USD Million)

3.3 Industry impact factors

3.3.1 Growth drivers

3.3.2 Industry pitfalls & challenges

3.4 Growth potential analysis

3.4.1 By technology

3.4.2 By animal type

3.5 COVID-19 impact analysis

3.6 Regulatory landscape

3.7 Porter's analysis

3.8 Competitive landscape, 2020

3.9 PESTEL analysis

Browse Complete Table of Contents (ToC) @ https://www.gminsights.com/toc/detail/animal-diagnostics-market

About Global Market Insights Inc.

Global Market Insights Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider, offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision-making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy, and biotechnology.

Contact Us:

Arun Hegde

Corporate Sales, USA

Global Market Insights Inc.

Phone: 1-302-846-7766

Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688

Email: [email protected]

Related Images

animal-diagnostics-market-growth.png

Animal Diagnostics Market Growth Predicted at 8.5% Through 2027: GMI

Major animal diagnostics market players include IDEXX Laboratories, Heska Corporation, Neogen, Zoetis, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH and Virbac.

SOURCE Global Market Insights Inc.
--This bridging study to select doses for the Phase II trial in China in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB)

--ASC42 clinical trials are being conducted in the U.S. and China for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and CHB.

HANGZHOU and SHAOXING, China, July 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascletis Pharma Inc. (HKEX: 1672) today announces the dosing of the first cohort of healthy subjects in the ASC42 bridging study in China for CHB indication. ASC42 is an in-house developed, novel non-steroidal, selective, potent FXR agonist with best-in-class potential.

On June 7, 2021, Ascletis announced that China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) had approved the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for ASC42 to conduct clinical trials in China for CHB indication. (Details referring to press release: https://www.ascletis.com/news_detail/175/id/503.html)

On June 16, 2021, Gannex, a wholly owned company of Ascletis announced ASC42 positive topline results of safety and pharmacodynamic biomarkers from the U.S. Phase I trial of NASH indication. The data indicated that there were no pruritus observed during 14-day treatment of the once-daily human therapeutic dose of 15 mg and no treatment-emergent alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) elevations during 14-day, once daily treatment with 15 mg. (Details referring to press release: https://www.ascletis.com/news_detail/175/id/507.html)

Based on the pharmacokinetic data from the ASC42 Phase I trial in 64 healthy subjects in the U.S., the bridging study in China is a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind single-ascending dose (5 mg and 15 mg) study in 30 healthy subjects receiving ASC42 or matching placebo (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04679129). The objective of the bridging study is to select doses for the upcoming Phase II trial in China in patients with CHB.

As an FXR agonist, ASC42 has unique mechanism of action against hepatitis B virus (HBV): ASC42 inhibits the transcription of HBV cccDNA into HBV RNA, which in turn inhibits the translation of HBV RNA into HBsAg. ASC42 may also reduce HBV cccDNA stability. Both in vitro primary human hepatocyte (PHH) cells and in vivo AAV/HBV mouse studies demonstrated that ASC42 significantly inhibited serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and HBV pregenomic RNA (pgRNA), indicating that ASC42 has therapeutic potential to functionally cure CHB.

"We are excited about moving FXR agonist ASC42 into CHB indication," said Dr. Jinzi J. Wu, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Ascletis, "Dosing the first cohort subjects in China for CHB indication is achieved merely one month after receiving China NMPA's IND approval. This demonstrates again the execution excellence of our clinical development team."

About Ascletis

Ascletis is an innovative R&D driven biotech and listed on Hong Kong Stock Exchange (1672.HK). Ascletis is committed to developing and commercializing innovative drugs in the areas of NASH, cancer lipid metabolism and oral checkpoint inhibitors, viral hepatitis and HIV/AIDS for unmet medical needs in China and globally. Led by a management team with deep expertise and a proven track record, Ascletis has developed into a fully integrated platform covering the entire value chain from discovery and development to manufacturing and commercialization.

Ascletis has three marketed products and seventeen R&D pipeline drug candidates or combination therapies (eleven of them developed in-house). 1. NASH: Gannex, a wholly-owned company of Ascletis, is fully dedicated to the R&D and commercialization of new drugs in the field of NASH. Gannex has three clinical stage drug candidates against three different targets  FASN, THR-beta and FXR, and three combination therapies. 2. Cancer lipid metabolism and oral checkpoint inhibitors: focus on a pipeline of oral inhibitors targeting FASN which plays a key role in cancer lipid metabolism and a pipeline of oral PD-L1 small molecule inhibitors as the next generation checkpoint inhibitors. 3. Viral hepatitis: (i) Hepatitis B: focus on breakthrough therapies for HBV clinical cure with subcutaneously injected PD-L1 antibody - ASC22 and Pegasys as cornerstone drugs. (ii) Hepatitis C: successfully launched all oral regimen of ASCLEVIR and GANOVO combination (RDV/DNV regimen); and ASC18 fixed dose combination (FDC) is an upgraded version of RDV/DNV regimen with bridging study finished. 4. HIV/AIDS: ASC09F is a FDC treatment of HIV targeting protease. The clinical trial application of ASC09F has been approved. For more information, please visit www.ascletis.com.

SOURCE Ascletis Pharma Inc.

Related Links

www.ascletis.com.cn


NIEL and GHENT, Belgium, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- eTheRNA immunotherapies NV ('eTheRNA'), a clinical-stage company developing mRNA immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases, announces a collaboration and license agreement with Ghent University.

Under the terms of the agreement, eTheRNA will receive exclusive worldwide rights to commercialise a new library of novel ionizable lipids, co-developed with the research group of Prof. Bruno De Geest from Ghent University, for a new generation of lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulations. Ionizable lipids are a main driver of LNP activity, enhancing the entrapment and stabilisation of mRNA into the LNP and facilitating the release of the mRNA payload into the cell cytoplasm where the mRNA is subsequently translated into the protein of therapeutic interest. The ionizable lipids in the new library have been designed for improved biodegradability and therefore offer a better safety profile. In addition, LNPs formulated with these ionizable lipids are expected to have favourable thermostability properties, reducing the need for cold chain storage of the final product.

Steven Powell, CEO at eTheRNA immunotherapies commented: "We are delighted to collaborate with the laboratory of Prof. De Geest from Ghent University with their valuable, combined expertise in chemistry, nanotechnology and immunology. One of the bottlenecks with current mRNA pharmaceuticals is the need for elaborate cold-chain logistics. This collaboration and license agreement gives us access to lipid nanoparticles with enhanced thermostability and improved safety profiles. The new ionizable lipids with improved properties will provide the basis for our second generation of LNPs that will be used to develop future prophylactic vaccines and tumor-microenvironment modulating therapies."

Prof. Bruno De Geest, Ghent University commented: "I am delighted that my long-lasting collaboration with Dr. Stefaan De Koker from eTheRNA immunotherapies has culminated in this successful technology platform. I also wish to acknowledge support from the European Research Council (ERC) which enabled my lab to endeavor into this field of research." Dr. Dominic De Groote, Business Development Manager at Ghent University added: "This partnership is the result of continuing efforts by Ghent University and Ghent University Hospital to become a leading academic and clinical center for the development of advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs). This LNP technology is part of our growing portfolio of ATMP related assets that we are actively developing from the bench to the bedside through our translational platform GATE."

About eTheRNA immunotherapies

eTheRNA immunotherapies NV is developing immunotherapy and vaccine products for the treatment of cancer and infectious disease from its multiple RNA, formulation and manufacturing technology platforms. The company is headquartered in Belgium and was established in 2013. Its founding shareholders include Progress Pharma and VUB. eTheRNA is supported by an international group of specialised investors; BNP Fortis Private Equity, Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Funds, Everjoy Fortune PTE. LTD, Grand Decade Development Limited, Fund+, LSP, Novalis Lifesciences, Omega Funds, PMV and Ying Zhou Enterprise Management Company Limited who share the Company's ambition to build a world-leading company in the RNA field. To date, the Company has raised 63 million of venture funding. Further details relating to eTheRNA can be found at www.etherna.be

About Ghent University

Ghent University (UGent) is a top 100 university in the Shanghai Ranking and one of the largest Belgian universities in the heart of Europe. We are an active partner in national and international educational, scientific and industrial cooperation. Our organization is committed to research and innovation with more than 5,500 researchers active in a wide range of the life, physical and social sciences. GATE  the Ghent Advanced Therapies and Tissue Engineering platform (www.gatehealth.be)  connects researchers and clinicians in the field of gene and cell therapy, and regenerative medicine, covering the complete process from early research to first-in-human clinical trials. GATE works together with UGent TechTransfer and UGent Business Development Centers to support researchers in developing groundbreaking science to bring innovations to the market.

SOURCE eTheRNA
- Data illustrates potent neutralization activity against the Gamma and Delta Variants of SARS-CoV-2

- Receives EUR3 million grant to accelerate clinical development

- Exevir one step closer in development of 'pan-coronavirus' nanobodies

GHENT, Belgium, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ExeVir, which is developing single domain antibody therapies providing broad protection against viral infections, today announces that it has generated data on its COVID-19 antibody XVR011 which demonstrate in vitro neutralization activity against SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern Gamma and Delta. The company has also obtained grant funding of 3 million from the Flanders Agency for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO) to accelerate clinical development of lead asset, the unique llama-derived VHH72-Fc antibody XVR011.

XVR011, is a single domain-based anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody (llama-derived VHH-Fc) optimized for stability, safety, broad neutralizing capability and excellent manufacturability. It demonstrates best-in-class potential offering breadth and potency against a range of Coronaviruses (pan-sarbecovirus neutralisation) and is significantly differentiated from other antibody treatments.

The highly transmissible Delta coronavirus variant is spreading rapidly across world. The mutation initially emerged in India and is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths. It is already the dominant strain of Covid-19 in the UK, Portugal, Russia and US.

Novel data generated in the laboratory of Professor Johan Neyts at the Rega institute (KU Leuven, Belgium) shows that XVR011 demonstrated strong in vitro neutralization potency against the Variants of Concern Delta (B.1.617.2) and Gamma (P.1). Previously, data was generated showing neutralising potency against Alpha (B.1.1.7) and Beta (B.1.351) VOCs. Additionally, novel results from Prof Xavier Saelens and Prof Nico Callewaert (both from VIB-Ghent University, Belgium) based on epitope sequencing indicate that the potency is not expected to be impacted by any currently circulating Variant of Concern or Variant of Interest.

Support from the Flemish region: The Flemish government, following the initiative of the Flemish Minister of Innovation Hilde Crevits, supported early research on XVR011 with an initial subsidy of 350.000 euro. Now as ExeVir moves into the clinic, Minister Crevits supports this critical project, ExeVir, with 3 million euro from VLAIO, following the approval of the Innovation and Entrepreneur fund.

Flemish Minister of Innovation and Science policy Hilde Crevits said: "Our Flemish research sits at the forefront of the fight with Corona and demonstrate the necessary entrepreneurship. Als Flemish minister of Innovation I am proud, particularly in the context of the rapid spreading of this very contagious delta variant, that we remain pioneers with the development of new treatments from ExeVir."

Torsten Mummenbrauer, CEO of ExeVir Bio, said: "Our latest findings demonstrate the potential of our unique XVR011 antibody treatment to neutralise all circulating Covid-19 variants, including Gamma and Delta. We would like to thank the Flemish Government, which is instrumental in supporting innovative research in the Flemish region, for this funding which will be used to further progress clinical development of XVR011."

About ExeVir Bio

ExeVir Bio is a clinical stage company harnessing its VHH technology platform to generate robust antiviral therapies providing broad protection against viral infections, including pan-coronaviruses. It is a spin out from VIB, the world class Belgium-based life sciences research institute. ExeVir's platform is based on the work of and collaboration with Professor Dr. Xavier Saelens and Professor Dr. Nico Callewaert from VIB. ExeVir Bio is led by a team of experts that combines international biotech and pharma experience with a successful track record of developing and bringing products to market. It has raised over 42M from blue chip investors led by Fund+, VIB, UCB Ventures, SFPI-FPIM, V-Bio Ventures, SRIW, Noshaq, Vives IUF, SambrInvest and several Belgian Family Offices. ExeVir has also been awarded funding from the Flanders Agency for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO). www.exevir.com.

SOURCE ExeVir
DUBLIN, July 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Military Robots and Autonomous Systems - Market and Technology Forecast to 2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Global Military Robots and Autonomous Systems Report 2021 examines, analyzes, and predicts the evolution of airborne military robot systems, technologies, markets, and outlays (expenditures) over the next 8 years

Military robots are autonomous robots or remote-controlled mobile robots created for military functions, from transport to search & rescue and strike mission. Some of these robotic systems are presently in use, and several such robots are under development. These military robots and autonomous systems just rolling out or already in the prototype stage are far more proficient, logical, and autonomous than ones now in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As new add-ons are developed, military robots will be able to take on a wider set of battlefield roles. As of now, the United States military remains the largest user of these robots, however, countries like China and Russia are investing billions in robotics research and development that will allow them to narrow the gap with the US.



Throughout the report, we show how military robots and autonomous systems are used today to add real value. To provide the most thorough and realistic forecast, this report provides a twin-scenario analysis, including "steady state", the emergence of a new military robot and autonomous system technology.



In this report, we have classified military robots and autonomous system industry under 5 major groups.

Key Topics Covered:

1 Introduction

1.1 Objective

1.2 Market definition

1.3 Methodology

1.4 Events based Forecast Scenario

1.5 Who will benefit from this report

1.6 Language



2 Executive Summary

2.1 Global Military Robots & Autonomous Systems - Trends and Insights

2.2 Major Findings

2.3 Major Conclusions

2.4 Important Tables and Graphs



3 Current and Future Technologies Overview of the Global Military Robots & Autonomous Systems

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Types of Military Robots & Autonomous Systems

3.3 Current Technologies

3.4 Future Technologies



4 Current and Future Market Overview of the Global Military Robots & Autonomous Systems

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Number of Military Robots & Autonomous Systems - Per Region

4.3 Current Markets

4.4 Future Markets

4.5 How to reach scale

4.5.1 Challenges Involved in Scaling

4.5.2 Strategy for Scaling



5 Market Analysis

5.1 Introduction

5.1.1 Industry Chain Structure

5.1.2 Support for Local Industry

5.1.3 Policy

5.1.4 Drivers

5.1.5 Inhibitors

5.1.6 Opportunities

5.1.7 Challenges

5.2 Porter's 5 Forces Analysis

5.3 Macro environment

5.3.1 Macroeconomic factors

5.3.2 Political

5.3.3 Economic

5.3.4 Social

5.3.5 Technological

5.4 Forecast factors



6 Global Military Robots & Autonomous Systems by Regions to 2028

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Global Military Robots & Autonomous Systems Market by Regions overview



7 Global Military Robots & Autonomous Systems Market by Technology to 2028

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Global Military Robots & Autonomous Systems by Software Technologies overview

7.2.1 Computer Vision

7.2.2 Natural Language Processing

7.2.3 Edge Computing

7.2.4 Complex Event Process

7.2.5 Transfer Learning AI

7.2.6 Hardware Acceleration for AI

7.2.7 Reinforcement Learning

7.2.8 Generative Adversarial Networks

7.2.9 Mixed Reality

7.2.10 Emotion Research - Affective Computing

7.3 Global Military Robots & Autonomous Systems by Hardware Technologies overview

7.3.1 Power Source

7.3.2 Actuation

7.3.3 Sensing

7.3.4 Manipulation

7.3.5 Locomotion

7.3.6 Environmental Interaction & Navigation

7.3.7 Human-Robot Interaction

7.3.8 Control



8 Global Military Robots & Autonomous Systems Market by Applications to 2028

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Global Military Robots & Autonomous Systems Market by Applications overview

8.2.1 Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR)

8.2.2 Search and Rescue

8.2.3 Combat

8.2.4 Transportation

8.2.5 Explosive Ordnance Disposal

8.2.6 Mine Clearance

8.2.7 Firefighting

8.2.8 Others



9 Global Military Robots & Autonomous Systems Market by Operations to 2028

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Global Military Robots & Autonomous Systems by Operations overview

9.2.1 Fully Autonomous

9.2.2 Semi-Autonomous



10 Global Military Robots & Autonomous System Market by Platforms to 2028

10.1 Introduction

10.2 Global Military Robots & Autonomous Systems Market by Platforms overview

10.2.1 Land-Based Platforms

10.2.2 Air Based Platforms

10.2.3 Sea Based Platforms



11 Global Military Robots & Autonomous Systems Market by End Users to 2028

11.1 Introduction

11.2 Global Military Robots & Autonomous Systems by End Users overview

11.2.1 Army

11.2.2 Air Force

11.2.3 Navy



12 Events based forecast for the Global Military Robots & Autonomous Systems Market to 2028

12.1 Introduction

12.2 Events forecast factors

12.3 Event Forecast by Regions

12.4 Event Forecast by Software Technologies & Hardware Technologies

12.5 Event Forecast by Applications

12.6 Event Forecast by Operations

12.7 Event Forecast by Platforms

12.8 Event Forecast by End Users



13 Leading Companies in the Global Military Robots & Autonomous Systems Market

Agility Robotics

Airbus Defence & Space

Autonomous Solutions Inc

BAE Systems

Boeing Co

Clearpath Robotics

Cobham

Ekso Bionics

Elbit Systems

Energrid

FLIR Systems

Inmarsat

iRobot Corporation

Israel Aerospace Industries

L3 ASV

Leonardo

Lockheed Martin

Meggitt

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group

Northrop Grumman Corp

Percepto

Saab

Sarcos Robotics

Seismic

ST Engineering

Sterela

Textron

Thales

UVeye

Velodyne

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/fdze3j

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]

For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com


SOUTH COAST METRO, Calif., July 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Golden State, an investment advisor registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, is pleased to announce its expansion into New Mexico with the addition of Denise Herrell. After leaving Level Four Advisory Services, Ms. Herrell chose Golden State as her RIA for the flexible and efficient business strategies offered. Golden State allows their advisors to operate their businesses under the DBA of their choice, so location can be outside the California border without issue. Golden State's alignment with LPL Financial simplified Ms. Herrell's conversion to Golden State and allowed her to maintain the current business model she had in play and continue to provide her clients with the service they have come to value from her. Located in Ruidoso, and having learned early the value of a dollar, saving and that hard work, honesty and integrity do payoff, she focuses on retirement and estate planning with quality investments, planning and valuable time in the market.

"As we continue to grow our national footprint, we are excited about the addition of Denise Herrell our first firm in New Mexico. Denise comes to us with a diverse career history that transformed her into the financial advisor she is today and adds a wealth of experience to the Golden State team," says Daniel R. Catone, Founder and CEO of Golden State.

About Golden State

The Golden State family of companies ("firm"), comprised of Golden State Wealth Management, Golden State Equity Partners and Golden State Asset Management, are investment advisers registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The firm is located in 11 states supporting clients in 45 states. The initial company was founded in 2013 by a group of executives who collectively contribute over 50 years of industry experience and has partnered with advisors serving over $1.3 billion in advisory assets. Golden State's infrastructure provides an extensive support network through with the option for advisors to operate under their own DBA. The firm offers compliance oversight, dedicated transition support, a Turnkey Asset Management Program, mergers and acquisition support, a digital advice platform, and marketing and technology resources. The Golden State family of companies maintain business alignments with LPL Financial, the nation's largest independent broker/dealer, Raymond James, TD Ameritrade Institutional and Charles Schwab, some of the nation's largest independent custodians, who provide comprehensive tools and research necessary in today's complex markets.

Recognized as one of Orange County's largest RIAs, Golden State's flagship office is located in South Coast Metro, California. With a goal to continue expanding offices across the country, Golden State is committed to creating an atmosphere that benefits both advisors and their investors. For more information about Golden State, visit www.teamgoldenstate.com.

As of April 2021.

As reported in Financial Planning magazine, June 1996-2021, based on total revenue.

As reported in Orange County Business Journal, June 1, 2021, based on assets under management.

Media Contact:

Matt Catone

714-900-1194

[email protected]

SOURCE Golden State Wealth Management

Related Links

http://www.teamgoldenstate.com/


BOSTON, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hastings Equity Partners ("Hastings"), a preferred capital partner to founders of lower middle market businesses, is pleased to announce its fifth Fund IV platform investment in Celerity Consulting Group, LLC ("Celerity").

Celerity is a leading provider of information management consulting services for gas and electric utilities, state governments, law firms, and corporations. Headquartered in San Francisco CA, Celerity specializes in helping its customers retrieve, organize, and analyze large, complex data and records for litigation, compliance, and risk management purposes.

The current team, led by Rachelle Yowell, Chief Executive Officer; Chris Yowell, President; and Norman Yee, Chief Operating Officer will remain and is committed to Celerity's continued growth and success. Customers can expect Celerity to continue its focus on serving its clients with cutting-edge technologies and world-class professionals.

"Rachelle, Chris, and Norman have positioned the business as a critical partner to its customers and we look forward to building on this strong foundation for future growth," said Grant Reckhow, Principal at Hastings. "We are excited to continue growing the business through both organic and intentional means."

"Hastings is the perfect partner for us. They understand our services, our history, our culture, and most importantly our people. They have a strategy for helping us take the business to new heights," said Chris Yowell, Celerity's President.

Celerity CEO, Rachelle Yowell, added "we believe that partnering with Hastings will enable Celerity to continue providing leading- and cutting-edge services to both existing and new customers."

About Celerity Consulting Group

Celerity is a leading provider of information management services focused on the retrieval, organization and analysis of complex data for gas and electric utilities, state governments, law firms, and corporations. Celerity is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, and has several additional offices nationwide. Learn more at https://www.consultcelerity.com/.

About Hastings Equity Partners

Hastings Equity Partners is a private equity firm focused exclusively on the lower middle market. Hastings invests in North American business services and industrial companies, where it has deep operating and investing experience. Since 2004, the firm has formed long-term partnerships with entrepreneurs, providing first institutional capital, while accelerating growth and creating value. Learn more at https://www.hastingsequity.com/.

SOURCE Hastings Equity Partners

Related Links

https://www.hastingsequity.com


HONG KONG and MADRID, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hong Kong government has granted Lleida.net a new patent, this time for its method for producing electronic contracts certified by a user of a telecommunications operator.

This is the 205th patent granted to the company at an international level.

In addition to the patent granted this week, the company has already received two awards for its innovations from the authorities of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The first was for its method for the registration and certification of electronic mail.

"Hong Kong is one of the world's most dynamic markets for technological innovations in the realm of telecommunications. This patent will strengthen our stance in the region and will open up further opportunities for us in the short and medium term," explained Sisco Sapena, CEO and founder of the company.

So far, more than 60 countries have recognized Lleida.net's technological inventions.

Among them are the United States and the European Union, but also China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

For the company, the commitment to intellectual property is one of its three strategic pillars, together with internationalization and investment in innovation and development.

In the region, Lleida.net has a special presence in China, where it signed interconnection agreements with China Mobile and China Telecom in 2019, and where it has also been granted five patents since 2017.

These include the patent for certified mail, certified SMS and registered email reception.

Lleida.net was listed on the current BME Growth in 2015 and on Euronext Growth in 2018. At the end of 2020, it was listed on the OTCQX Best Market index in New York.

In yesterday's session, its share rose 6.60 percent on the Madrid stock exchange, closing at a price of 6.14 per share.

Contact :

The Paloma Project

Media, [email protected]

+356-7946-7486

SOURCE Lleida.net
OEGSTGEEST, Netherlands, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ISA Pharmaceuticals B.V., a clinical-stage immunotherapy company, announces the closing of a EUR 26 million funding round with participation from new investors including Invest-NL and existing investors including Regeneron. The proceeds of this round will be used to advance the lead product ISA101b towards first marketing authorization as well as to broaden the clinical pipeline of immunotherapies based on the Synthetic Long Peptide (SLP) platform technology.

Gerben Moolhuizen, CEO of ISA Pharmaceuticals, said, "We are very happy with the continued support of our existing partners and shareholders. Invest-NL's support underlines the innovation at ISA Pharma and potential impact of our SLP immunotherapies for the treatment of serious diseases."

SLP immunotherapies act through the specific activation of the patient's own immune system. Lead product ISA101b targets cancers caused by human papilloma virus type 16 (HPV16). It is in late stage clinical development in three trials for the treatment of advanced stages of HPV16-positive head and neck cancer and cervical cancer in combination with Libtayo (cemiplimab, anti-PD1 immunotherapy), which is being co-developed by Regeneron and Sanofi.

Leo Holwerda, Director Capital at Invest-NL, notes: "Our investment in ISA Pharmaceuticals is a good example of how our TOPSS program can help promising Dutch start-ups and innovative companies which were affected by COVID-19. Invest-NL is happy to support ISA Pharmaceuticals to accelerate its clinical studies and we are confident that the company will succeed in bringing its lead therapy for patients with HPV16-positive head & neck cancer and cervical cancer to the market. This innovative and impactful therapy will strengthen the prospects of many patients."

Persistent HPV16 infection can cause head & neck, cervical and anogenital cancers. These cancers can be severe and life-threatening with low overall survival rates once these cancers progress to advanced stages. HPV16 is a major cause of head & neck cancer with over 25,000 new cases and 11,000 deaths in Europe1 and 46,000 new cases and 9,000 deaths in the US2.

HPV16 is also responsible for about 50% of cervical cancer cases. Cervical cancer is the 2nd most common cancer in women aged 15 to 44 years in Europe, with over 60,000 new diagnoses and 25,000 deaths each year in Europe. Globally there are more than 500,000 new patients and 300,000 deaths3.

The SLP technology platform is at the basis of several ISA pipeline products that are scheduled to proceed into clinical trials over the next few years. Three promising products are in the final stages of pre-clinical development. ISA104 targets the hepatitis B virus (HBV) in chronically infected patients. Chronic HBV is a major cause of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer and affects over 250 million people worldwide4. ISA103 is aimed at tumours that express PRAME, a protein closely associated with the malignant behaviour of cells in numerous types of cancers. ISA106 is a potential treatment for high risk COVID-19 infected patients.

About ISA Pharmaceuticals

ISA Pharmaceuticals B.V. is an immunotherapy company developing treatments for various cancers and infectious diseases. ISA Pharmaceuticals has best-in-class technology to stimulate and activate the human immune system, specifically T cells, to fight diseased or infected cells. Its lead asset ISA101b is in late-stage clinical trials for human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) induced cancers in a collaboration with US pharmaceutical company Regeneron. Other assets are in preclinical stage development and include immunotherapies to treat patients that suffer from chronic hepatitis B infections (HBV), cancers that over-express PRAME, cancers caused by other HPV types than HPV16, and SARS-CoV2 infections, the virus that causes COVID-19. For more information, please visit www.isa-pharma.com.

1 Adapted from https://gco.iarc.fr/today/data/factsheets/cancers/3-Oropharynx-fact-sheet.pdf

2 Adapted from https://www.cancer.org/cancer/oral-cavity-and-oropharyngeal-cancer/about/key-statistics.html

3 ICO/IARC Information Centre on HPV and Cancer website https://hpvcentre.net/datastatistics.php, accessed May 2021

4 Source WHO website: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hepatitis-b

SOURCE ISA Pharmaceuticals
CHICAGO, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In-depth analysis and data-driven insights on the impact of COVID-19 included in this Japan crawler excavator market.

The Japan crawler excavator market is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 3.08% during the period 20212027.

Key Highlights Offered in the Report:

The Japanese construction machines and equipment industry is extremely mature and comprises of a wholesome ecosystem to cater to the demand for both domestic and export markets. Japan ranked the 6th most globally competitive country in the world in global competitiveness report in 2019, citing country's large market size, quality of local suppliers, business sophistication, and strong international distribution controls. The construction sector remained in good financial shape. Orders for large scale public work projects such as budget execution by local governments that received national resilience plan, highway construction and Shinkansen extension work, are thought to have provided underlying support, despite the fact that orders for private sector projects decreased due to the spread of COVID-19 with postponement and reconsideration of hotel construction plans. In 2025, Osaka will host high profile events such as G20 and world expo. As a result of city's popularity as a tourist destination, Kansai airport announced a USD911 million this year to enhance its facilities and increase capacity, while hotel and restaurant buildings increased six folds. The rising levels for air pollution have compelled governments around the globe to impose stringent emission regulations for all vehicles and equipment being manufactured. The Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) introduced new regulations in 2006 for off road engines with a power output between 25-750HP. This has encouraged operators to shell out old excavators and replace them with new fuel-efficient excavators.

Key Offerings:

Market Size & Forecast by Revenue | 20212027

Market Dynamics  Leading trends, growth drivers, restraints, and investment opportunities

Market Segmentation  A detailed analysis by excavator type, gross power output, and application

Competitive Landscape  9 key vendors and 7 other vendors

Get your sample today! https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/japan-crawler-excavator-market-opportunities-assessment-forecast

Japan Crawler Excavator Market  Segmentation

Mini excavators are mostly used in construction activities in suffocating urban areas, wherein machines find good usability, given the compact design and flexible movement of these machines in small areas.

The less than 60HP category predominantly hosts a wide range of mini excavators used for compact operations such as landscaping, excavating, demolishing, and material handling in cities and farms majorly in the construction sector.

Japan's crawler excavator market by construction is expected to reach 43,128 units by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 4.18%. The crawler excavator market by construction accounted for 54.6% of the overall crawler excavator market.

Japan Crawler Excavator Market by Excavator Type

Mini (>6 tons)

Small (6-15 tons)

Medium (15-30 tons)

Large (above 30 tons)

Japan Crawler Excavator Market by Gross Power

61-101 HP

102-200 HP

>201 HP

Japan Crawler Excavator Market by Application

Construction

Mining

Agriculture

Forestry

Others

Japan Crawler Excavator Market  Dynamics

The Japanese construction sector has seen good inflow of investments in recent years. The major factors that have triggered investments were Olympics that were to be hosted by Tokyo in 2020 and the subsequent construction activities. Migration within the country between various prefectures has also stimulated residential construction activities in the country. Private investments in the construction sector reached 95.3% in 2020 from 94.3% in 2015, funding 1,137 thousand square meters more construction. This increase in construction activities with added investments in turn impacts the crawler excavator market positively and further drives the growth of the market. Residential construction activities provide a vital boost to the mini excavator market, while residential and non-residential activities benefit the medium and large excavator markets.

Key Drivers and Trends fueling Market Growth:

Steady and continuous growth in construction investments

Increasing replacement of equipment that is Tier-IV emission rules complaints

Eco construction in Japan will boost the demand for crawler excavators

will boost the demand for crawler excavators Increasing popularity of energy-efficient excavators

Get your sample today! https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/japan-crawler-excavator-market-opportunities-assessment-forecast

Major Vendors

Caterpillar

Komatsu

Hitachi

Sany

Volvo Construction Equipment

Kobelco

JCB

Hyundai Construction Equipment

Doosan

Prominent Vendors

LeeBoy

Sumitomo

Mahindra

XCMG

Kubota

Ingersoll Rand

Liebherr

Explore our industrial machinery profile to know more about the industry.

Read some of the top-selling reports:

About Arizton:

Arizton Advisory and Intelligence is an innovation and quality-driven firm, which offers cutting-edge research solutions to clients across the world. We excel in providing comprehensive market intelligence reports and advisory and consulting services.

We offer comprehensive market research reports on industries such as consumer goods & retail technology, automotive and mobility, smart tech, healthcare, and life sciences, industrial machinery, chemicals and materials, IT and media, logistics and packaging. These reports contain detailed industry analysis, market size, share, growth drivers, and trend forecasts.

Arizton comprises a team of exuberant and well-experienced analysts who have mastered in generating incisive reports. Our specialist analysts possess exemplary skills in market research. We train our team in advanced research practices, techniques, and ethics to outperform in fabricating impregnable research reports.

Contact:

Mail: [email protected]

Call: +1-312-235-2040

+1 302 469 0707

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/818553/Arizton_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Arizton Advisory & Intelligence
LOS ANGELES, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- An investor in Nagoya, Japan has filed a FINRA arbitration case against Bancwest Investment Services after she suffered six-figure losses in Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda).

The claimant, who is an inexperienced investor, was referred to her Bancwest Investment Services broker by Bank of the West, which was her bank at the time. Now, she is requesting up to $500K in damages. This claimant contends that her Bancwest Investment Services broker, who spoke Japanese, advised that she invest her funds in Northstar investment products rather than keeping her money in savings and checking accounts.

This financial advisor told her this product was so safe, with minimal risks, that it was even suitable for retirees. Instead, this off-shore entity likely now has an over $260M deficit and toward the end of last year was only able to report $8M in assets.

Our Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) investment fraud attorneys are representing this claimant and other investors in their FINRA arbitration claim.

Bancwest Investment Services is just one of many brokerage firms that we are pursuing damages from on behalf of investors who were unsuitably recommended and sold Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) fixed- and variable-rate annuity and investment products. This offshore entity is now in liquidation proceedings after filing for bankruptcy.

SSEK Law Firm is also representing investors of Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) products in the United States and internationally.

Below, is a list of the Northstar Financial investment products and the variable annuities being sold by various US-based brokers to investors both nationally and internationally.

Global VIP Elite

Global Advantage Plus Series

Global Index Product

Global Advantage Select

Global Interest Accumulator

Although there is nothing wrong with selling off-shore products to investors both in the US and abroad, Northstar Financial (Bermuda) products have proven to be an unsafe and risky investment for investors that trusted their brokers' recommendations. Your best chance for financial recovery is to retain the legal services of seasoned FINRA arbitration lawyers. Contact Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm at investorlawyers.com) for a free consultation.

Contact:

Kirk Smith: [email protected]

US Toll Free: (800) 259-9010

Internationally: text us via WhatsApp at (713) 227-2400

Northstar Bermuda FAQs

Northstar Bermuda 

SOURCE Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas LLP

Related Links

http://www.investorlawyers.com


AUCTION INFORMATION HERE

WATCH JOE'S VIDEO ABOUT THE NFT & GUITAR PACKAGE HERE

Bonamassa calls this lot "the one-song record company" because it totally transforms the way musicians can make a business from their intellectual property. Joe's business partner Roy Weisman elaborates: "That is what this NFT concept gives artists -- the opportunity to raise capital on an independent basis that will allow them to overstep the so-called gatekeepers of the music industry."

"One of the things that I like about being an independent artist is that Roy and I came up with this idea," Bonamassa says. "We didn't have to run it up any sort of chain of command. It was like, let's do this because it feels right. And it's the next logical step in how independent artists are going to be on equal footing with major labels."

Weisman says "we're now truly in a unique time in the music business where it is completely just supply and demand. People can find artists online anytime, people can buy their music, investors can invest in them with an artist having to go through that typical major label or even large independent label system that is heavily weighted against artists from the start."

This history-making auction from the music-business revolutionary is far from routine; then, nothing Bonamassa does is ever ordinary.

Bonamassa is breaking new ground in the music industry and playing by his own rules with this lot featuring highly collectible items, including not only some of the most prized musical instruments on the planet, but pairing them with a series of certificates of authenticity as cutting-edge non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The type of guitar has been used by rock royalty such as Keith Richards, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield. The instrument with the "unmatched deep, throaty sound," as David Schiller writes in his book Guitar, was the ax that built rock and roll.

Non-fungible tokens are changing the business world and Bonamassa's clever use of the new technology is now allowing other artists to build what is their own business. Bonamassa's auction is unique and stands to reshape how musicians make and sell their art. This incredible lot includes 13 items individually tokenized on the Ethereum blockchain. Each physical item will have a digital NFT component. This lot is a dream come true for any serious collector of vintage gear or NFT investor looking to diversify their portfolio.



It should surprise no one who follows Bonamassa's career that he's leading this revolution. No guitarist has ever received as much coverage in the music and business media as the two-time Grammy Award nominee who has topped Billboard's Blues chart 24 times  at only the age of 44, no less. Only last year, in fact, Forbes heralding the guitarist for "Taking Control Of His Business, Building A Brand And Investing In Himself."

Hi-Res images available:

Robert Wilonsky, Communications Director

214-409-1887; [email protected]

SOURCE Heritage Auctions
KANAZAWA, Japan, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers at Kanazawa University describe in Scientific Reports the identification of small compounds that can regulate the cellular production of extracellular vesicles  nanocontainers transporting biomolecules between cells. Such compounds hold promise for use in therapies for various diseases.

Biological vesicles are nano-sized containers that transport proteins and other substances within or between cells. Most cells release so-called extracellular vesicles (EVs), which play important roles in cell-to-cell communication. EVs also are involved in diseases, however  the spreading of a tumor, for example, is sometimes stimulated by particular EVs. For the development of therapies, regulators that can inhibit the secretion of specific EVs, without severe side effects, are therefore needed. On the other hand, EVs can also be employed as therapeutic agents. For example, EVs derived from certain stem cells are known to have a therapeutic effect on damaged tissues. Therefore, regulators that activate EV secretion are also in demand. By screening a large set of biomolecular compounds, Rikinari Hanayama from Kanazawa University and colleagues have now identified 4 potential regulators (1 inhibitor and 3 activators) for EV secretion for a variety of cells.

Central to the scientists' EV regulator identification strategy is a protein called TIM4, which is known to easily bind to a molecule called phosphatidylserine. The latter is present in EVs generated by various cells, and so TIM4 acts as a receptor for the uptake of EVs. Based on this notion, the researchers developed a screening procedure in which more than 1500 candidate EV secretion regulators (inhibitors or activators) were tested.

After the first run of screening, 60 compounds remained as possible regulators. (Potential activators and inhibitors were defined as increasing the secretion of EVs by more than 50% or decreasing it by more than 33%, respectively.) In a second run of screening, the candidate compounds' toxicity to cells was tested, leaving only 24 compounds. In the third, final screening run, the scientists measured the concentration of EV particles by nanoparticle tracking analysis (a method for visualizing and analyzing particles in a liquid). As a result, one inhibitor, called AA2, and three activators were identified.

Hanayama and colleagues tested the effect of AA2 on EV secretion from several human and mouse cells in vitro, including tumor and non-tumor cells, and observed regulatory effects on the bioactivity of EVs. They also compared the effect of AA2 with slightly different biomolecules, which enabled them to identify the chemical group responsible for the inhibitory effect on EV secretion. This is important for the future development of AA2 derivatives that inhibit EV secretion without simultaneously affecting apoptosis (cell death).

The scientists acknowledge that " there are still several issues to be clarified before [EV regulators] are used for the treatment of EV-related diseases, including the delivery system of EV regulators to target cells, effects on EV secretion from normal cells, and side effects." Nevertheless, the work of Hanayama and colleagues is an important step towards the controlled regulation of the bioactivity of EVs, as it demonstrates the feasibility of "a high-throughput method to detect EVs with high sensitivity and versatility".

Background

Extracellular vesicles

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are biological particles enclosed by a lipid bilayer (as are cells). EVs are secreted by almost all types of cells. The size of their diameter can range from 20 nanometer to 10 micrometer  but most EVs have a diameter below 200 nanometer. Their purpose is to carry biomolecules, such as proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. The latter has important medical implications, as nucleic acids can be easily amplified as markers of a disease, and therefore be related to their cell of origin, for example a tumor cell. Apart from EVs being biomarkers, they also have potential as therapeutic agents delivering nucleic acids or other substances to diseased tissue.

Rikinari Hanayama from Kanazawa University and colleagues have now screened more than 1500 biochemical compounds for their use as regulators of EV secretion  either inhibiting or activating the process. The researchers identified one inhibitor and three activators.

Reference

Yunfei Ma, Takeshi Yoshida, Kazutaka Matoba, Katsuhiko Kida, Rito Shintani, Yingshi Piao, Jingchun Jin, Taito Nishino, and Rikinari Hanayama. Identification of small compounds regulating the secretion of extracellular vesicles via a TIM4affinity ELISA, Sci. Rep. 11, 13471 (2021).

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-92860-2

URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-92860-2

Related image

https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/topic-figure.jpg

Caption

Schematic of an extracellular vesicle (EV) and the screening procedure. An EV is 'captured' by a TIM4 molecule. Then, the captured EV is detected with a primary antibody against an EV-specific marker, and then with a secondary antibody.

About WPI nanoLSI Kanazawa University

Hiroe Yoneda

Vice Director of Public Affairs

WPI Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI)

Kanazawa University

Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa 920-1192, Japan

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +81 (76) 234-4550

About Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI)

https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/en/

Nano Life Science Institute (NanoLSI), Kanazawa University is a research center established in 2017 as part of the World Premier International Research Center Initiative of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The objective of this initiative is to form world-tier research centers. NanoLSI combines the foremost knowledge of bio-scanning probe microscopy to establish 'nano-endoscopic techniques' to directly image, analyze, and manipulate biomolecules for insights into mechanisms governing life phenomena such as diseases.

About Kanazawa University

http://www.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/e/

As the leading comprehensive university on the Sea of Japan coast, Kanazawa University has contributed greatly to higher education and academic research in Japan since it was founded in 1949. The University has three colleges and 17 schools offering courses in subjects that include medicine, computer engineering, and humanities.

The University is located on the coast of the Sea of Japan in Kanazawa  a city rich in history and culture. The city of Kanazawa has a highly respected intellectual profile since the time of the fiefdom (1598-1867). Kanazawa University is divided into two main campuses: Kakuma and Takaramachi for its approximately 10,200 students including 600 from overseas.

SOURCE Kanazawa University
VASTERAS, Sweden, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Linxon has awarded Kirby Group Engineering a subcontract for the onshore substation mechanical & electrical installation and building services works as part of the Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm Substation package.

The works include the installation of the onshore primary and secondary HV power equipment including the super-grid transformers, switchgear, dynamic reactive compensation, shunt reactors, harmonic filters, and protection & control systems as part of the Linxon engineered system solution. Utilising its local delivery model, Kirby expects to employ approximately 60 people from the local Angus / Scottish region to deliver these works.

Linxon is supporting Petrofac to deliver the turnkey onshore substation and supply, install and commission the HVAC equipment for the offshore substation of the Seagreen offshore wind farm project. Seagreen 1 is a joint venture between SSE Renewables and TotalEnergies. When complete, Seagreen 1 will be Scotland's largest offshore wind farm, able to provide around 1 million homes with renewable electricity each year.

Linxon and Kirby have a long-term relationship, delivering some of the UK's largest electricity substation projects and are exploring opportunities to expand this collaboration across new markets. The two organizations are taking steps to ensure that they are prepared to support developers in UK and Ireland to realise their projects.

"Building upon the works being undertaken on the Seagreen project, we look forward to growing our relationship with Kirby Group Engineering to target key opportunities in target markets", said Derek Duggan, General Manager, Linxon UK & Ireland. "Kirby's M&E installation capability and local knowledge complements Linxon's EPC substation capability and that of our Tier 1 strategic partners."

"Our appointment to the Seagreen project is one which sees Kirby continue to build on its world-class reputation of being a trusted leader in the delivery of high voltage substation installation and commissioning services. Working closely with our client, Linxon, with our aligned values, efforts and goals, we will once again deliver best in class services for the end customer. With this essential piece of infrastructure, we will help build an offshore wind farm that will contribute to Scotland's 2045 net-zero target", said Daniel Greenan  UK & Ireland Business Development Manager, Kirby T&D.

About Linxon:

Linxon was incorporated in 2018 by Hitachi ABB Power Grids and SNC-Lavalin to deliver turn-key High Voltage Alternating Current (HVAC) substation projects across the globe. This is complimented by Kirby which has established High Voltage Mechanical & Electrical Installation and Commissioning capability in its native Irish market, the UK and mainland Europe.

About Seagreen project:

The 1,075MW Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm project is located 27km off the coast of Angus in the North Sea firth. A 3bn joint venture between TotalEnergies (51%) and SSE Renewables (49%), Seagreen will be Scotland's largest and deepest offshore wind farm when complete. The project secured a 15-year CfD contract in 2019, for 454MW. The project reached Final Investment Decision on 3 June 2020 and will built out to 1,075MW capacity (up to 114 turbines). Seagreen will provide enough green energy to power more than 1.6 million homes, equivalent to two-thirds of all Scottish homes. Seagreen will displace over 2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from electricity generated by fossil fuels every year  similar to removing more than a third of all of Scotland's annual car emissions and making a significant contribution to Scotland's net-zero ambition by 2045*.

CONTACT:

Kristina Holmstrom Matses

Head of Communications

[email protected]

+46 70 608 3017



Derek Duggan

General Manager, Linxon UK & Ireland

[email protected]

+41 79 340 7076

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/linxon/r/linxon-award-kirby-seagreen-mechanical-and-electrical-package,c3384038

The following files are available for download:

https://news.cision.com/linxon/i/seagreen-onshore-substation,c2935709 Seagreen onshore substation

SOURCE Linxon
CHICAGO, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Medical student Mohamed Zeyara is a personality inspiring millions of people and touching lives in several places across the world. His humanitarian activities have helped build schools, provide shelter, improved health facilities, and delivered food for those who're desperately in need.

Mohamed Zeyara

Recently, the city of Gaza has faced major devastation. According to reports, the incident led to the death of more than 240 people, including 66 children. Families are torn apart, buildings are razed to the ground, people are rendered homeless, and critical infrastructure is completely damaged, making it difficult to live.

With the help of multiple non-profit organizations, Mohamed Zeyara started fundraising and humanitarian projects to help reduce the pain and sorrow of the people who are injured, left without a roof, and completely devastated by the attacks on the city of Gaza. The project is in three phases, and the hope is to reach as many as possible, helping to raise them back up from their pain and anguish.

The project's first phase is to provide medical aid, psychological support, and food for people. Doctors and health workers will attend to the sick and wounded, providing them with medical help, medicine, and other clinical support so they can begin the healing process. For everyone at risk of mental health issues, the project will provide them with psychological backing through well-trained and experienced professionals. Food will be provided for everyone, including men, women, and children. The attacks have affected people in Gaza so much that they have little or no access to food.

The days of bombardment on Gaza left many houses and homes in partial or total ruin. At present, things are still a bit difficult to assess. Once the situation on the ground is calm, the Gaza project will initiate the second phase, which will involve rebuilding homes that were damaged. The idea is to help families resettle and regroup so that they can get back to normal life. Some of the buildings that will be restored are businesses or commercial structures. The enterprises operating in the city will begin their services again so that life can gradually return to Gaza.

Many communities were affected by the destruction and demolishment of Gaza City. The ancient city is always very busy with activities, engagements, and lifestyles that involve the citizens. The team will also be revitalizing economic and social structures and assisting people who have become refugees in nearby locations to begin returning to their homes. They will also be supporting reconciliation to build friendship, support, and engagement among citizens. Such activities will help encourage more people to participate in social, economic, and political activities in the city for the growth and development of society.

Apart from the Gaza city project, Mohamed Zeyara is helping raise funds to support different causes and community support efforts worldwide. For example, they provide food and water for people in Mali, emergency relief and food baskets in Ethiopia, small business support for farmers in Chad, and free eye surgery in Pakistan to help children and adults regain their sight.

For more information, please visit the official site .

About Mohamed Zeyara

Mohamed Zeyara is a medical student and humanitarian who has helped raise millions of dollars to support underserved communities worldwide. He aspires to become an Internal medicine physician with a strong interest in psychiatry, and mental health.

SOURCE Mohamed Zeyara
Made in the Saint Sauvant in the Saintonge area of France by expert distillers, Fleur Charmante begins with a simple base. Then, a maceration of blackcurrant, raspberry and cherry fruits are followed by a petite bouquet of natural violet, lavender, and jasmine essence. This creates a liqueur that is both lush in flavor and superb in elegance and style  hence, 'charming flower.'

Fleur Charmante, a new liqueur perfect for creating unique cocktails, is now available to add to your back bar.

The blend of all-natural flavors and botanicals draws inspiration from a Golden Age of cocktail making a time where creativity, artistry and style collided in a coup. But with true modern flair, Fleur Charmante is versatile as a liqueur  it can be mixed with a number of spirits, or simply poured over crushed ice and soda water with a twist of lemon for a low alcohol aperitif.

The goal in creating Fleur Charmante was to craft a liqueur that is accessible to simple cocktails at home but can also be used by expert mixologists in their own creations. Fleur Charmante's signature pour puts the liqueur's unique fruit and botanical blend on display, and makes for a wonderful aperitif, or one can add vodka for a classic cocktail experience.

Signature Pour: The Charming Flower

Pour 4oz soda water over crushed ice, top with about 2oz of Fleur Charmante (shaken with vodka if desired) and serve with lemon peel.

Fleur Charmante is currently available in Florida, Georgia, New York, and South Carolina with expanded distribution coming soon to several states. Fleur Charmante is also available to ship to more than 40 states at https://www.mashandgrape.com/products/fleur-charmante To learn more and see other cocktail inspiration, visit www.fleurcharmanteliqueur.com

Fleur Charmante

Fleur Charmante is a liqueur brand represented by Blue Ridge Spirits & Wine Marketing, based in Atlanta Georgia. Fleur Charmante's mission is to inspire and connect mixologists, bartenders, and folks making drinks at home to the tradition of cocktail making with modern flair. A perfect addition to the back bar, Fleur Charmante is unlike any other liqueur on the market.

SOURCE Blue Ridge Spirits & Wine Marketing

Related Links

www.blueridgespirits.com


SINGAPORE, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Registration for the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) 25  29 October 2021 is now open. Organised by the Energy Market Authority (EMA), SIEW is Asia's leading platform for the discussion of energy issues that impact the region and beyond. SIEW 2021 will run in a hybrid format at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre with both onsite participants in Singapore and live streaming for online participants from around the world.

At this gathering of energy leaders and experts, key speakers include:

Francesco La Camera , Director General, International Renewable Energy Agency

, Director General, International Renewable Energy Agency Damilola Ogunbiyi , Chief Executive Officer, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Co-Chair of UN Energy, Sustainable Energy for All

, Chief Executive Officer, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Co-Chair of UN Energy, Sustainable Energy for All Pradeep Pujari , Chairperson, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission ( India )

, Chairperson, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission ( ) Prof Kang Seung-Jin , Chairman, Electricity Regulatory Commission (Korea)

, Chairman, Electricity Regulatory Commission (Korea) Eric Pang , Director, Electrical and Mechanical Service Department, Hong Kong SAR, Mainland China

, Director, Electrical and Mechanical Service Department, Hong Kong SAR, Paulo Kautoke, Senior Director of Trade Oceans and Natural Resources Directorate, Commonwealth Secretariat

Paddy Padmanathan , President and Chief Executive Officer, ACWA Power

, President and Chief Executive Officer, ACWA Power Audra Low , Chief Executive Officer, Clifford Capital

, Chief Executive Officer, Tan Su Shan , Managing Director, Group Head of Institutional Banking, DBS

, Managing Director, Group Head of Institutional Banking, DBS Lei Zhang, Chief Executive Officer, Envision Group

Yoshiyuki Hanasawa, Executive Vice President, Chief Regional Officer for Asia Pacific and India at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Managing Director of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Asia Pacific (MHI-AP)

and at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Managing Director of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Asia Pacific (MHI-AP) Sumant Sinha , Chairman and Managing Director, Renew Power

, Chairman and Managing Director, Renew Power Martin Houston , Vice Chairman, Tellurian Inc

SIEW's key anchor events organised by EMA include:

SIEW Opening Keynote Address & Singapore Energy Summit: These key events set the stage by bringing together energy leaders and industry captains to discuss key topics, including: Reset  Advancing the Low Carbon Energy Transition Restructure  Pursuing Green Growth Reinvent  Innovation and the Future of Energy Singapore-IRENA High Level Forum: The inaugural Forum will discuss Investing in an Inclusive and Just Clean Energy Transition with a focus on 3 key themes: Mobilising Investments to Support the Energy Transition Shaping an Inclusive and Just Energy Transition The Role of Technology in Driving the Energy Transition Singapore-International Energy Agency (IEA) Forum: The Forum will address key energy trends in Southeast Asia and across the globe. Asia Pacific Energy Regulatory Forum (APER) For the first time, Singapore will be hosting the APER Forum as part of SIEW. The Forum is a key platform for energy regulators in the Asia Pacific to exchange information and experiences on regulatory best practices. SIEW Thinktank Roundtables: Held in partnership with SIEW, new hosts this year include the ISEAS  Yusof Ishak Institute and the Asia-Europe Foundation.

SIEW also features a suite of events held in collaboration with our event partners:

New this year, the Future of the Grid will explore the impact of increased demand on global grid networks arising from worldwide trends including greater electrification and e-mobility. Asia Clean Energy Summit 2021 is the region's premier platform shaping clean energy dialogues and will cover Energy Efficiency, Solar and Electric Vehicles. The LNG & Hydrogen Gas Markets Asia 2021 will cover the relationship between LNG and Hydrogen and its evolution in the energy transition as we move towards a carbon-neutral world. The Asia Downstream Summit and the Asia Refining Technology Conference will examine how downstream oil and gas players can maximise the sustainability of their operations in a low carbon world.

Register at www.siew.gov.sg and find out more about early bird rates as well as an All-Access Masterpass available for partner conferences.

Related Links

www.ema.gov.sg



SOURCE Energy Market Authority
MANCHESTER, N.H., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MANCHESTER-BOSTON REGIONAL AIRPORT (MHT) is excited to announce that United Airlines will resume nonstop service to New York/Newark on October 5, 2021. United will operate two daily flights between Manchester-Boston Regional Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).

"As the country continues to return to travel, we are pleased to offer Manchester customers the only non-stop flights to the New York City metro and convenient connections to destinations worldwide served from our global gateway at Newark Liberty International Airport," said Ankit Gupta, vice president of network planning and scheduling at United. "And customers traveling on this route will get to experience our CRJ-550, which is the world's first and only 50-seat regional aircraft that offers first-class seats and additional amenities such as Wi-Fi."

With their recently returned service to Washington, D.C. via Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) and now service to EWR, United will connect MHT to 106 domestic and international markets, including 62 served through both IAD and EWR as well as 31 new ones served only through EWR.

"Resuming service to Newark has been a desire of the community since it stopped in 2019," said Airport Director Ted Kitchens, A.A.E. "Connecting to a second United hub provides passengers with more options and flexibility when traveling to and from Manchester-Boston Regional Airport to our nonstop and one-stop destinations across the globe."

United's route to Newark adds 31 new, one-stop destinations for MHT passengers, including international destinations such as Athens, Greece; Tel Aviv, Israel; Johannesburg, South Africa; London, England and Tokyo, Japan.

"This is great news for Manchester-Boston Regional Airport and New Hampshire residents," said Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig. "United's route to Newark brings more exciting opportunities to Manchester, allowing more passengers to Fly MHT and easily reach their destinations."

The flights to EWR are scheduled to depart Manchester at 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. Returning flights from Newark, New Jersey, are scheduled to arrive at MHT at 11:29 a.m. and 8:23 p.m.

All flights will be on United's regional aircraft, the new CRJ-550, the world's only 50-seat regional aircraft to offer true first-class seating and other premium amenities, including:

Space for every customer to bring a roller bag on board.

A self-serve refreshment center for United First customers featuring a wide assortment of snacks and beverages.

More overall legroom per seat than any other 50-seat aircraft flown by a U.S. airline.

The ability to stay connected while in flight with United Wi-Fi.

The aircraft will be operated by GoJet Airlines.

To buy your ticket today, please visit the Purchase Flights tab on the Airport's website, or go directly to www.united.com.

ABOUT MANCHESTER-BOSTON REGIONAL AIRPORT

Strategically situated in the heart of New England, Manchester-Boston Regional Airport is located less than fifty miles north of Boston, Massachusetts, and less than an hour's drive from the region's most popular ski areas, scenic seacoast beaches and peaceful lakefront resorts. Having not closed for winter weather in over 30 years, MHT provides operational certainty and is the premier aviation gateway for the region. For more information, visit www.flymanchester.com.

ABOUT UNITED

United's shared purpose is "Connecting People. Uniting the World." For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter and Instagram or connect on Facebook. The common stock of UAL is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".

Contact: Thomas J. Malafronte, A.A.E.

Deputy Airport Director

603-624-6539

[email protected]

SOURCE Manchester-Boston Regional Airport

Related Links

https://www.flymanchester.com/


PHOENIX, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- With small and large businesses alike relying more than ever on fast and reliable internet service, Sparklight Business is honored to be named a top Business Choice Internet Service Provider (ISP) by PC Magazine.

The leader for rigorous, labs-based comparative reviews of internet products, PC Magazine asked businesses to rate their internet service provider based on a variety of criteria, including overall satisfaction, cost, reliability, support and whether they would recommend their provider.

Sparklight Business ranked fifth in the nation out of 23 business internet providers, scoring top marks from its customers in all categories.

"We work tirelessly for our customers, providing fiber solutions, products and services that enable businesses of all sizes to grow, compete and succeed in this competitive landscape," said Chris Boone, Senior Vice President of Business Services and Emerging Markets. "We live in the communities we serve, and our goal is to be the most trusted provider of business services to our customers and neighbors. Sparklight Business does everything possible to ensure our customers have an outstanding experience. That's why we offer 24-hour technical support, and more importantly, local offices where our customers can talk to a business specialist in their community."

Sparklight is investing across its footprint, laying the groundwork to increase the company's current broadband speeds of up to 5 gigabits for business customers to speeds as fast as 10 gigabits (10G) and beyond. Delivering speed 10 times faster than today's networks, 10G will transform the customer experience, creating new possibilities for smart cities, connected homes, virtual and augmented reality and business.

PC Magazine also ranked Sparklight third in the nation on the magazine's list of the top 10 Fastest Internet Service Providers for 2021. For this recognition, PC Magazine tested internet service providers via PCMag Speedtest from April 1, 2020 through June 7, 2021  a time period that saw unprecedented broadband usage due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information about Sparklight Business, visit business.sparklight.com.

About Sparklight

Sparklight is a leading broadband communications provider and part of the Cable One family of brands, which serves more than 1.1 million residential and business customers in 24 states. Sparklight provides consumers with a wide array of connectivity and entertainment services, including high-speed internet and advanced Wi-Fi solutions, cable television and phone service. Sparklight Business provides scalable and cost-effective products for businesses ranging in size from small to mid-market, in addition to enterprise, wholesale and carrier customers.

SOURCE Sparklight Business
SELBYVILLE, Del., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on the Global Market Insights Inc. report, the global Aromatic Solvents Market was estimated at $5.7 billion in 2020 and is slated to exceed $7.7 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 4.4% from 2021 to 2027. The report provides a thorough analysis of the main investment avenues, major winning strategies, drivers and opportunities, wavering industry trends, market estimations as well as size, competitive scenarios.

The Aromatic Solvents Market is projected to surpass $7.7 billion by 2027, says Global Market Insights Inc.

The growing exploration and production activities in North America and Europe are projected to substantially add to the demand for heavy aromatic solvents during the review period. The presence of strict environmental regulations coupled with the extensive use of enhanced oil recovery methods will further surge the use of aromatic solvents in the oil & gas industry.

Request Sample Report: https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/761

According to the corrosion study by the United States Department of Commerce (National Technical Information Service), the corrosion cost in oil & gas exploration and production activities comes up to USD 1.4 billion annually. Moreover, the growing oil & gas exploration activities mainly in the U.S. post the shale gas boom are anticipated to further accelerate the demand for heavy aromatic solvents during the forecast period.

For instance, according to EIA, the overall natural gas production in the U.S. was close to 20 trillion cubic feet in 2010 and is forecast to surpass 35 trillion cubic feet by 2024. Such inclination in natural gas production will subsequently boost the aromatic solvents market growth in the oilfield chemicals segment.

The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have a huge impact on the supply of raw materials. Petrochemical manufacturers are likely to witness a drop in the manufacturing of aromatic solvents owing to the shutdown of petrochemical facilities across the globe. Furthermore, many medium-scale manufacturers who rely on raw material imports will face substantial challenges over the coming months.

Among various product segments, toluene and xylene are projected to generate substantial gains during the forecast period. The growing demand for these products mainly from the paints & coatings industry will substantially contribute to the aromatic solvents market share. Toluene and xylene held a market share of over 50% and 41%, respectively in 2020.

Based on application, the paints & coatings segment was the largest end-user industry in 2020 and is projected to exhibit similar trends throughout the assessment period. The paints and coatings segment will hold around 50% of the overall demand for aromatics solvents in 2027. Massive construction spending in various developing countries such as India, Indonesia, the UAE, etc. will complement growth.

Request customization of this report: https://www.gminsights.com/roc/761

The European aromatic solvent will show a growth rate of around 3% from 2021 to 2027. The presence of major manufacturing companies, such as Exxon Mobil, BASF, and others, coupled with the increasing construction spending is projected to complement the market growth. On the other hand, the Asia Pacific held a share of over 50% in 2020 and will exhibit a CAGR of over 5.1% during the forecast timeline.

Key industry participants in the aromatic solvents industry are Exxon Mobil Corporation, Royal Dutch Shell plc, UOP LLC, and Eastman Chemical Company. Other notable players include Lyondellbasell Industries N.V., BASF SE, and Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC.

Related Reports:

Tetraethyl Benzene Market Future Business Strategies and Revenue Impact Analysis - 2027

Automotive Paints & Coatings Market Strategies and Revenue Impact Analysis - 2026

Toluene Market Future Business Strategies and Revenue Impact Analysis - 2027

About Global Market Insights Inc.

Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider. Offering syndicated and custom research reports, growth consulting, and business intelligence services, Global Market Insights, Inc. aims to help clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data that aid in strategic decision making.

GMIPulse, our business analytics platform offers an online, interactive option of exploring our proprietary industry research data in an easy-to-use and dynamic manner. Clients get to explore market intelligence across 11 top-level categories and hundreds of industry segments within them, covering regional, company level, and cross-sectional statistics that make our offering a stand-out for decision-makers.

Contact Us:

Arun Hegde

Corporate Sales, USA

Global Market Insights, Inc.

Phone: 1-302-846-7766

Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688

Email: [email protected]

Web: https://www.gminsights.com

Related Images

aromatic-solvents-market.jpg

Aromatic Solvents Market Statistics - 2027

SOURCE Global Market Insights Inc.
SEATTLE, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- TinyDoge is prepped up to hit the market with its innovative approach. This project has created much buzz in the crypto space due to its creativity quotient and the vision which focuses on giving back to the community. The platform has taken many unique measures to ensure its validity and value. It has created a liquidity pool where it will store 4% of its transacted value in Dxsale for a period of 2 years. This will provide more liquidity to the token and create more scarcity in the long run.

TinyDoge ensures transparency and concentrates on building a community that is filled with passionate owners. It's not only a coin that will help you amass profits effortlessly but also is designed to carry out charitable operations as per the founder's and team's decisions. Users can find $TNDOGE on Trustwallet or Metamask. Owners need to store this coin for an extended period in their wallets, and it would reward them for their loyalty.

According to its developers, "It's the reliable pet, the companion and the loyal friend that will ensure that its owners are always happy and rewarded." TinyDoge treasures its owners and maintains a liquidity pool to support the existing and new investors. It charges 4% fees on every transaction and distributes the amount as annual interest to all the liquidity providers. As the number of owners increases, the treats also keep on rising. Therefore, the company recommends that owners keep their $TNDOGE for a more extended period.

Apart from tempting treats and rewards, TinyDoge's vision is to make this world a better place. To fuel this vision, the platform dedicates 3% of all transaction fees to charitable causes. The team collectively decides the kind of charity, and funds are allocated for the same. The first donation made by TinyDoge was for The Man That Rescues Dogs, a Thailand-based foundation established by Michael J. Baines that rescues, rehabilitates, and rehomes strays. This organization works for dogs' welfare, helps them get new homes, shelters them, and organizes fundraising programs to provide better living conditions to dogs in their care.

TinyDoge has a devoted team of experienced experts who have developed the platform to cater to the modern needs of crypto players. The company aims to target those who want to gain returns by conveniently keeping their coins in the wallet. It's main element is based on the idea that -the more time you store the coins, the more rewarding the results would be.Their team also says, "Since the project is devised to be extremely transparent and supportive, the community of investors is assured fair and honest services at all times."

TinyDoge considers them as "Daughter of Dogecoin", Recently, Dogecoin hit a new all-time high of $0.60 pushing its market cap north of $70 billion to become the fourth-most valued coin. This rapid increase in the price of Dogecoin was fueled by its community after Elon Musk Joined among its backers or Hello Pal International Inc., a public company having 100M+ market cap Acquired Dogecoin Miner "Crypto Pal". TinyDoge aims to create a supportive, transparent and fair community for all their beloved owners.

TinyDoge is available on Metamask and Trustwallet to be purchased directly without any hassle. To make the best out of the $TNDOGE coins, users have to keep them safe for a long time and enjoy the benefits thus accumulated. As TinyDoge plans to create partnerships with Worldwide Animal Protect Organizations, the owners are enabled to participate in charity works fostered by the service and lend a helping hand in making the world a better place.

Media Contact Details:

Company Name: TinyDoge

Website: https://tinydoge.io/

Email: [email protected]

Telegram: https://t.me/TinyDOGEchannel

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TinyDOGEio

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TinyDoge-109887694690421/

SOURCE TinyDoge
CHICAGO, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Veo, the first profitable micromobility company, today announced the closing of a $16 million Series A funding round led by Autotech Ventures, with participation from UP.Partners, FJ Labs, and Interplay Ventures. Veo will use the funds to expand its footprint of custom-designed, shared-use scooters and bikes to transform the way micromobility operates, while raising the standard of sustainability for the industry.

Veo is unique among urban micromobility players due to its competitive edge: having reached profitability in conjunction with a sustainable business model. Armed with a robust fleet, partnerships with cities, and low capital requirements, Veo is ready to scale next to the biggest names in the industry and was chosen over dozens of competitors to provide micromobility programs in New York City, and Santa Monica, California.

"At Veo, we are laser-focused on the long term with high quality vehicles and lasting city partnerships. Today, we are proud to scale the business with investors that share our philosophy to grow respectfully and responsibly," said Edwin Tan, President of Veo. "Our goal is to overhaul a dangerously unsustainable transportation sector with fun, affordable, and safe electric vehicles."

For Veo, a successful sustainability model means governing the business's impact on the environment and on roads, as well as innovation and manufacturing, while working hand in hand with city partners. In fact, Veo's in-house design and manufacturing team launches purpose-built seated and standing scooters, bikes, and ebikes for the rigors of shared use, and often innovates specific models for the needs of each city. Veo products lead the industry in terms of vehicle durability and life cycle sustainability and are widely recognized by users as the most comfortable and safest to ride.

"We share Veo's vision for a sustainable transportation future backed by sustainable business models. Veo's overwhelming respect for the needs of its city partners and relentless focus on delivering a quality product for the community has made it a leader in the industry while requiring an order of magnitude less external capital than other micromobility companies. Veo is the most promising company to usher a micromobility future alongside city partners over the long-term," said Jeff Peters, Autotech Ventures. "We are proud to play a role in the scaling of Veo."

"UP.Partners supports Veo's mission to enable people to move more economically and sustainably. We are impressed with Veo's commitment to rider safety and the strong relationships it has established with thought-leading cities throughout the United States. We look forward to supporting Candice and Edwin on Veo's amazing journey to transform and democratize personal mobility," said Ally Warson, UP.Partners.

About Veo

Headquartered in Chicago and founded in 2017, Veo is one of micromobility's fastest growing and most innovative companies. Veo partners with dozens of cities and universities nationwide with exclusive and semi-exclusive contracts in its mobility share programs and is adding additional municipalities and campuses every month. Veo's hands-on design and manufacturing process enables Veo to integrate safety, comfort, compliance, and reliability directly into the hardware, including its unique e-swappable-battery technology, turn signals, and underdeck light messaging to help keep sidewalks clear of fallen scooters. The Cosmo, for example, has a 2-3x higher utilization than typical scooters. For more information, please visit www.veoride.com .

SOURCE Veo

Related Links

https://www.veoride.com


SAN DIEGO, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- VOXOX , a leading 5G-enabled AI cloud communications company in the U.S, today announced a strategic partnership with GTS Africa, a leading French value added communications network operator doing business in Cameroon and Nigeria. This partnership will integrate VOXOX's full platform of services to empower GTS Africa to offer virtual voice and SMS solutions to small businesses and entrepreneurs. This will begin in Cameroon and then throughout the world, specifically in France where they can establish local call interactions with customers at a much more affordable price.

VOXOX, which processes billions of calls and texts monthly, will be working with GTS to integrate the VoxDirect all-in-one cloud communications platform, with their local virtual business numbers under Mobinawa brand to reach the underserved very small enterprises that so desperately need more reliable and suitable business communications tools at affordable pricing.

"We're excited to establish this long term partnership with GTS Africa as a pioneer of Telecom VAS in Africa. The continent of Africa has millions of underserved SMEs who need these services and we are honored to partner with GTS Africa to offer businesses a simple, convenient and economical way to modernize their business phone communications," said Cleve Adams, CEO of VOXOX.

The VOXOX solution for the GTS Mobinawa brand will help small businesses stay connected with their customers and enhance communications. This partnership will allow SMEs to turn any smartphone or group of smartphones into a virtual cloud-based phone system with unlimited virtual receptionists, intelligent call routing, unlimited employee extensions, custom greetings, virtual phone numbers, voicemail transcriptions, call recording, and a robust AI-supported SMS marketing platform with automation.

"We are thrilled to work with VOXOX to further accelerate our mission to enable small businesses in French speaking Africa countries to professionalize and improve their Voice and SMS communication with customers on ID business numbers at an affordable price, instead of being obliged to use personal mobile numbers. Therefore, we are happy to launch the Mobinawa solution with GTS numbers in Cameroon. This innovative solution will also allow Professionals in the Diaspora to acquire a local virtual number to maintain permanent contact and at a lower cost with their customers...." said Pierre-Francois Kamanou, GTS Africa's CEO.

VOXOX international partnerships like GTS Africa are hosted from U.S. data centers to ensure reliability and support of the local billing in countries like Cameroon through a merchant payment gateway integration. GTS Africa's Mobinawa will leverage VOXOX' patent-pending breakthrough VoIP codec, for crystal clear voice quality in poor bandwidth conditions. This is of extreme importance particularly in suburban and rural areas where internet connectivity and quality are less developed.

About VOXOX

VOXOX is an innovator in 5G/AI cloud-based communication solutions for businesses. The foundation of the company's offerings is its award-winning Platform as a Service, which enables the company and its customers to build powerful, scalable white-labeled applications and services. For end-users, VOXOX provides an extensive suite of carrier-grade business phone solutions, including VoxDirect, SIP Trunking, and a wide array of wholesale services, such as high-volume SMS. For service provider partners, VOXOX delivers cutting-edge voice and text messaging apps and services, including white-label versions of VoxDirect, a small business solution for global mobile operators. VOXOX is headquartered in San Diego.

For more information, please visit http://www.voxox.com

About GTS

After 19 years of experience in the development of value-added mobile services in Cameroon and Nigeria, GTS Africa is now positioned as the first Pan-African alternative operator of value-added communications services, dedicated to local businesses of each country and its Diaspora through its GTS network. The GTS network is currently operational in Cameroon and operated by GTS-Infotel Cameroon, the 1st local licensed alternative telecom operator offering virtual fixed numbers dedicated to Enterprise VoIP & SMS services, thanks to its strategic partnership agreement with CAMTEL, the incumbent operator. For more information, please visit http://www.gtsnetwork.africa

Media Contact:

Staci Wallace

[email protected]

1-800-350-6187

SOURCE VOXOX
WASHINGTON, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, 369 mayors  including Republicans, Democrats and Independents from all 50 states and the District of Columbia  sent a letter to Congress urging them to take immediate action on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework announced by President Biden and a group of Republican and Democratic Senators on June 24th.

In their letter, the mayors write, "This framework would be the largest long-term investment in our nation's infrastructure and competitiveness in nearly a century  $1.2 trillion over eight years  to help make our economy more sustainable, resilient, and just. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework is crucial to making meaningful progress on one of the most pressing and unifying challenges facing our country  the need for comprehensive investment in public transportation; roads; bridges; passenger and freight rail; drinking water and wastewater; clean energy and electrification; legacy pollution cleanup; cyber-attack and extreme weather-resiliency; and universal broadband access. Thus, we believe that this framework deserves bipartisan support in the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives."

In the letter, mayors emphasized two key implementation priorities for the Framework. First, mayors strongly urged that no funding previously signed into law to help cities address the health, public safety and economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic be "clawed back," repurposed or redirected to help pay for new investments in America's infrastructure. Second, mayors stressed that federal leaders should continue to empower local leaders by investing in communities through proven delivery systems such as Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants, Community Development Block Grants, and Surface Transportation Block Grants.

The full text of the letter with signatures can be found here and below:

The Honorable Charles E. Schumer

Majority Leader

United States Senate

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi

Speaker

United States House of Representatives

The Honorable Mitch McConnell

Republican Leader

United States Senate

The Honorable Kevin McCarthy

Republican Leader

United States House of Representatives

Dear Leader Schumer, Speaker Pelosi, Leader McConnell, and Leader McCarthy:

On behalf of The United States Conference of Mayors, we urge you to take immediate action on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework announced by President Biden and a group of Republican and Democratic Senators on June 24 in the spirit of both progress and compromise.

This framework would be the largest long-term investment in our nation's infrastructure and competitiveness in nearly a century  $1.2 trillion over eight years  to help make our economy more sustainable, resilient, and just. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework is crucial to making meaningful progress on one of the most pressing and unifying challenges facing our country  the need for comprehensive investment in public transportation; roads; bridges; passenger and freight rail; drinking water and wastewater; clean energy and electrification; legacy pollution cleanup; cyber-attack and extreme weather-resiliency; and universal broadband access. Thus, we believe that this framework deserves bipartisan support in the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives.

As was the case with the historic American Rescue Plan  where Democrat, Republican and independent mayors came together through The United States Conference of Mayors to help secure $350 billion in direct relief for state and local governments  we know that details of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework will need to be developed by the leadership and relevant committees in Congress. As this process moves forward, we would like to work closely with you and stress the following points.

First, we strongly urge that no funding previously signed into law to help cities address the health, public safety and economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic be "clawed back," repurposed or redirected to help pay for new investments in America's infrastructure. Second, we call on our federal leaders to continue to empower local decision-makers by investing federal resources to help us build stronger communities and lift up those who have suffered so much during this pandemic  many of whom never fully recovered from the economic meltdown of '08. Committing to more localism can be accomplished by investing directly in our cities through existing and proven delivery systems such as Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants, Community Development Block Grants, and Surface Transportation Block Grants. These are the tools that will help us build back better.

With these priorities in mind, we strongly urge Congress to move forward on developing and implementing the details of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework so that it can be passed in the Senate and House and then signed into law as soon as possible.

Thank you for your leadership, and please feel free to reach out to our CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran at 202-744-9110 / [email protected] or Chief of Staff Ed Somers at 202-744-9223 / [email protected] to discuss this priority request.

About the United States Conference of Mayors -- The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are more than 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

SOURCE U.S. Conference of Mayors

Related Links

www.usmayors.org


LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Stuart M. Copperman, the former Long Island serial pedophile-pediatrician alleged to have sexually abused scores of young girls over decades, today was sued in New York State Supreme Court by 77 of his former patient-survivors. The plaintiffs are jointly represented by the law firms Saltz Mongeluzzi & Bendesky (SMB), and Gruenberg Kelly Della (GKD). The starkly similar complaints, collectively spanning nearly 6,000 pages, detail each survivor's claims of assault and battery and child abuse. Despite numerous investigations, and the 2001 revocation of his medical license, Copperman, who is believed to maintain residences on Long Island and in southern Florida, has never been criminally charged.

The complaints (Plaintiff-survivors v. Stuart M. Copperman, Stuart M. Copperman, MD., et al. Index Nos. 4000096/21, 400097/2021 and 75 others), filed under New York's 2019 Child Victim's Act (CVA), assert that Copperman sexually abused his first patient, a 13-year-old, in 1961 - during his internship and residency - and continued to sexually abuse his minor female patients unchecked, despite the complaints that were made against him. New York state authorities revoked his license after at least six patients testified under oath that he sexually molested them. Six of Copperman's survivors, all named plaintiffs in the litigation, issued the following statements after their complaints were filed here in New York Supreme Court, Queens County:

Jeanna Limmer-Salgado, who filed a sexual abuse complaint against Copperman with criminal authorities and the state medical board in 1985: "It has taken all these decades for our voices to finally be heard. Meanwhile, Copperman had a long and prosperous career, and got away with violating me and countless other little girls and young women. We are thankful that finally, thanks to the state's Child Victims Act (CVA), which we fought hard for along with so many other survivors, we can finally have our day in court."

Dina Ribaudo: "He was a horrible predator in a white coat, with a stethoscope around his neck, who, if I had a paper cut, would sexually assault me and call it medically necessary. The mere thought of him triggers emotional trauma and fear for the safety of my young daughter. Still, I am proud to join the other survivors in seeking justice and look forward to testifying at a jury trial."

Francine Iacona: "Looking back, he was always charming to my mother, but he terrified me and he robbed me of my youth. I can never recover what was lost, but I can and will share my story under oath in hopes that what we are doing will result in justice and permanent change to protect the young and the innocent."

Debra Zuckerwise: "My life has been a horror; an endless nightmare because of Copperman," said Debra Zuckerwise. "I cry every time I think about it. I was only a little girl and, I'm sad to say, many of our own mothers thought we were telling a story. I finally have some hope that the whole truth will be told in court and he'll be held to account."

Lynn Barnett Seigerman: "I want him to have to experience the shame that he made me feel. I want him to have to face us in court and not be able to manipulate us. Above all, I want justice."

Dana Marcus: "Copperman told me, when I was a pre-teen, that I was 'dirty down there', but not to worry because he could 'clean' me and wouldn't tell my mother. At the time, I felt ashamed, and it hurt, but I was also thankful for his 'keeping it our secret' because I was so embarrassed. If you feel queasy hearing that, imagine how I felt as an adult realizing I had been 'groomed' by a pedophile.

Their lead attorney, Kristen Gibbons Feden, who heads the Survivors of Sexual Abuse unit at SMB, was a former prosecutor on the team that convicted sexual predator Bill Cosby. Ms. Feden, whose legal career has focused on fighting for the rights of survivors of crime, particularly of a sexual nature, explained that the "brave survivors, like our 77 Plaintiffs, and the Child Victim's Survival Act has afforded the opportunity for survivors to seek justice and to hold predators, like Copperman, and their enablers accountable in a court of law, and, force them to make the necessary changes to prevent this type of harm from ever happening again."

"Copperman's repulsive behavior  which resulted to date in only the loss of his medical license - was heinous by any standard, but especially for a pediatrician", Ms. Feden continued, adding that according to the complaints, he repeatedly sexually abused and exploited young girls in his exam room, violating and manipulating these young girls' private parts and often penetrating them. "Copperman would sexually abuse his pediatric patients under the guise of conducting a medically necessary 'cleaning' procedure, and engage in this sexually exploitative behavior against these children even if they were seeking treatment of a minor cold, sore throat, or a hand injury." Ms. Feden stated.

New York born-and-raised trial attorney Robert J. Mongeluzzi, of SMB, said, "These survivors, under New York's 2019 CVA, can finally seek justice years after they were brutalized and traumatized." Mr. Mongeluzzi added, "For nearly 40 years he preyed upon his prepubescent and teenage patients, and now it is time for him to be held accountable for his despicable actions." Attorney Mongeluzzi said, "This is particularly crucial as we slowly emerge from the grip of the Covid-19 pandemic, because we also reflect on the unprecedented attention that has been focused on America's healthcare workers - including those in and around New York - deservedly called 'heroes'. Let's be clear, their heroics are in stark contrast and magnify the cowardly and contemptible misconduct of Mr. Copperman."

Andrew R. Duffy, of Philadelphia-based SMB, and part of the legal team, stated, "Copperman physically and emotionally had his way with his underage and vulnerable patients. For decades Copperman avoided disciplinary action by his profession along with criminal prosecution despite clearly engaging in what could only be considered criminal misconduct."

Michael Della, of GKD, and co-counsel on the legal team, said the complaint contains demands for presently unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. "The amount of damages will be determined by the jury, but there is no question they will be substantial given the tremendous amount of pain and suffering inflicted on these women since they were young children, and who are now courageously fighting for justice."

Jessica E. Vertullo, also of Long Island-based GKD, added, "Dr. Copperman was publicly revered by his profession on Long Island; a former U.S. Army doctor, top official of the Nassau County medical society, public health advisor to elected officials, a talk-show host focusing on children's health. But he had a very dark and savage side that was ignored or concealed for decades, and which now, for the sake of the survivors and Long Islanders past, present and future, must be fully revealed and addressed through the courts and these lawsuits."

NOTE: Members of the Copperman Survivors Legal Team will be available to discuss the complaint filing. All plaintiff interview requests will be handled through counsel. Anyone with information regarding Dr. Copperman's misconduct can confidentially contact a legal team member at [email protected]. Numerous resources are available to assist sexual assault survivors. These include the National Sexual Assault Hotline operated by RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network). To speak confidentially to a trained staff member from a local sexual assault service provider call 800-656-HOPE or visit https://hotline.rainn.org/online. Other resources include Long Island Against Abuse

Contacts:

Kristen Gibbons Feden / [email protected] / 215-575-2974

Jessica E. Vertullo / [email protected] / 631-533-0095

Andrew R. Duffy / [email protected]/ 609-320-4919

Michael Della/ [email protected]./ 631-796-3995

Steph Rosenfeld / [email protected] / 215-514-4101

SOURCE Saltz Mongeluzzi & Bendesky

Related Links

http://www.smbb.com/


RAIPUR, India, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Stratview Research announces the launch of a new research report on Aerospace Bars Market by Platform Type (Commercial Aircraft, Regional Aircraft, General Aviation, Military Aircraft, Helicopter, UAV, and Spacecraft), by Material Type (Titanium & Alloys, Aluminum & Alloys, Steel & Alloys, and Others), by Shape Type (Round Bars, Flat Bars, Square Bars, and Others), by Sales Channel Type (Direct Sales and Distributor Sales), and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World), Trend, Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2021-2026.

This strategic assessment report, from Stratview Research, provides a comprehensive analysis that reflects today's aerospace bars market realities and future market possibilities for the forecast period of 2021 to 2026. After a continuous interest in our aerospace raw materials market report from the industry stakeholders, we have tried to further accentuate our research scope to the aerospace bars market to provide the most crystal-clear picture of the market. The report segments and analyzes the market in the most detailed manner to provide a panoramic view of the market. The vital data/information provided in the report can play a crucial role for the market participants as well as investors in the identification of the low-hanging fruits available in the market as well as to formulate growth strategies.

Aerospace Bars Market: Highlights

Materials in the aerospace industry are used in various milled forms, such as sheet, plate, bar, and strip, for a wide range of applications. Bars are majorly used in applications such as engines, fasteners, exhaust ducts (for helicopters), and landing gear. They come in various shapes, sizes, and diameters, best fitting the application at hand. The selection of material depends on several parameters including temperature resistance, lightweight, durability, strength, etc. Titanium & alloys, aluminum & alloys, and steel & alloys are the three major materials used by the bar manufacturers.

Till 2019, the aerospace industry was at its peak with unending demand and insatiable orders. But the industry was hit with the B737 MAX grounding in 2019 disrupting its value chain. The industry stakeholders expected to head towards their old ways of smooth business soon; however, in 2020, the pandemic hit the industry hard, causing unimaginable losses. For the last couple of years, the industry seemed to be revolving around a vicious circle of obstacles and downhill trajectories leading to massive supply chain disruption, production halts, and deferring orders. The aerospace bars market followed suit and logged a massive decline of 27% in 2020, creating a lag of 4 to 5 years in the market (unlike our pre-COVID estimates that suggested a healthy growth in the market, aligning with the market's movement at the time).

Despite the current situation continues to challenge the overall market environment, the long-term outlook still seems fruitful, well backed by the industry's buoyant nature and strong fundamentals. The lift of Boeing's B737 MAX in October 2020, gradual opening of travel restrictions, rebounding aircraft deliveries, and Airbus' reports of the first quarter suggest that the crisis is not yet over but gradually healing. Boeing reported lower losses in its first quarter of 2021 amid signs of a recovery in commercial aerospace and the company's defense business posted strong results. 2021 seems like a key inflection point for the industry as vaccine distribution is continuously accelerating, enabling a robust recovery. The above factors are signaling towards the aerospace bars market's take off to a healthy recovery at a CAGR of 7.5% to reach US$ 2.1 Billion in 2026.

Click Here to Run Through the Detailed TOC of the Report: https://www.stratviewresearch.com/toc/1818/aerospace-bars-market.html

Based on the platform type, commercial aircraft is expected to remain the largest and the fastest-growing segment of the market during the forecast period. Increasing demand for lightweight yet durable parts; market entry of new players, such as COMAC and Irkut; rebounding aircraft deliveries, and ungrounding of B737Max are some of the key factors propelling the demand for bars in the commercial aircraft segment.

Based on the material type, titanium & alloys are expected to remain the most dominant material type in the market during the forecast period. The density of titanium is 40% lesser than that of steel- or nickel-based alloys, yielding a remarkable weight advantage for aerospace structures. It is a desirable material for high-performance metal bars owing to their tensile strength (better than that of austenitic or ferritic stainless steels), stiffness, and toughness along with high melting point. Owing to their massive array of advantages, titanium and nickel are gaining traction in the aerospace industry.

In terms of regions, North America is expected to remain the largest market for aerospace bars during the forecast period. The USA is the growth engine of the region's market with the presence of major aircraft OEMs, tier players, raw material suppliers, and part fabricators. Most of the bar suppliers have their presence in the region to address the emergent needs of OEMs and be the partner for their upcoming aircraft programs or upcoming fuel-efficient variants of existing aircraft programs.

Asia-Pacific is likely to recoup at the fastest rate, witnessing the highest growth during the same period. The highest growth of Asia-Pacific is mainly attributable to the increasing aircraft fleet to support rising passenger traffic, opening of assembly plants of Boeing and Airbus for multiple aircraft programs, increasing procurement of military aircraft, owing to rising defense budget, and upcoming indigenous aircraft, C919.

Register Here for a Free Sample of the Report: https://www.stratviewresearch.com/Request-Sample/1818/aerospace-bars-market.html#form

The market for aerospace bars is gradually consolidating as the major companies are performing mergers & acquisitions to quickly gain the leading position and to tap the growing opportunities in this briskly expanding market. For instance, Alcoa and VSMPO-AVISMA formed Joint Venture in 2013 to meet the growing demand for high-end titanium and aluminum products for aircraft manufacturers worldwide. The supply chain of this market comprises several nodes including raw material suppliers, bar manufacturers, component/part manufacturers, tier players, distributors, aircraft and engine OEMs, airlines, aircraft leasing companies, and MRO companies. Key players in the aerospace bars market are Allegheny Technologies Incorporated, Arconic Inc., Carpenter Technology Corporation, Constellium SE, Haynes International Inc., Kaiser Aluminum Corporation, Sandvik AB, Titanium Metals Corporation (PCC), Voestalpine Bohler Welding, and VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation.

Report Features

This report provides market intelligence in the most comprehensive way. The report structure has been kept such that it offers maximum business value. It provides critical insights on the market dynamics and will enable strategic decision making for the existing market players as well as those willing to enter the market. The following are the key features of the report:

Market structure: Overview, industry life cycle analysis, supply chain analysis.

Market environment analysis: Growth drivers and constraints, Porter's five forces analysis, SWOT analysis.

Market trend and forecast analysis.

Market segment trend and forecast.

Competitive landscape and dynamics: Market share, product portfolio, product launches, etc.

Attractive market segments and associated growth opportunities.

Emerging trends.

Strategic growth opportunities for the existing and new players.

Key success factors.

This report studies the aerospace bars market and has segmented the market in five ways, keeping in mind the interest of all the stakeholders across the value chain. Following are the five ways in which the market is segmented:

Aerospace Bars Market Size, Share & Forecast, by Platform Type

Commercial Aircraft (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Regional Aircraft (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

General Aviation (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Military Aircraft (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Helicopter (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Spacecraft (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

UAV (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Aerospace Bars Market Size, Share & Forecast, by Material Type

Titanium & Alloys (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Aluminum & Alloys (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Steel & Alloys (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Others (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Aerospace Bars Market Size, Share & Forecast, by Shape Type

Round Bars (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Flat Bars (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Square Bars (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Others (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Aerospace Bars Market Size, Share & Forecast, by Sales Channel Type

Direct Sales (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Distributor Sales (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Aerospace Bars Market Size, Share & Forecast, by Region

North America (Country Analysis: The USA , Canada , and Mexico )

Europe (Country Analysis: Germany , France , the UK, Russia , and Rest of Europe )

Asia-Pacific (Country Analysis: Japan , China , India , and Rest of Asia-Pacific )

Rest of the World (Country Analysis: Brazil , Saudi Arabia , and Others)

Stratview Research has several high value market reports in the aerospace and defense industry. Please refer to the following link to browse through our reports:

https://www.stratviewresearch.com/market-reports/Aerospace-Defense.html

About Stratview Research

Stratview Research is a global market intelligence firm providing wide range of services including syndicated market reports, custom research and sourcing intelligence across industries, such as Advanced Materials, Aerospace & Defense, Automotive & Mass Transportation, Consumer Goods, Construction & Equipment, Electronics and Semiconductors, Energy & Utility, Healthcare & Life Sciences, and Oil & Gas.

We have a strong team of industry veterans and analysts with an extensive experience in executing custom research projects for mid-sized to Fortune 500 companies, in the areas of Market Assessment, Opportunity Screening, Competitive Intelligence, Due Diligence, Target Screening, Market Entry Strategy, Go to Market Strategy, and Voice of Customer studies.

Stratview Research is a trusted brand globally, providing high quality research and strategic insights that help companies worldwide in effective decision making.

For enquiries,

Contact:

Stratview Research

E-mail: [email protected]

Direct: +1-313-307-4176

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660595/Stratview_Research_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Stratview Research
HOUSTON, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The AI Innovation Consortium (AIIC) is hosting an artificial intelligence (AI) conference and symposium on August 12th and 13th. The event will be hosted at the University of Houston College of Technology in Sugar Land, Texas, with virtual or in-person options for attendees.

Evolve will feature thought leaders from Fortune 500 organizations and tier-1 universities. Speakers and panelists represent such companies as NVIDIA, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Siemens Digital Industries Software, ExxonMobil, Penn State University, University of Louisville (UofL) and University of Houston (UofH).

"It will be an unprecedented gathering of industry," said AIIC Chairperson, Konrad Konarski. "We are all here together moving collectively into the future with AI."

NVIDIA is providing access to NVIDIA expertise and accelerated computing technology that are essential to AI and machine learning development.

Marc Spieler, Global Energy Director for NVIDIA, will be amongst the speakers featured. "We look forward to joining the AIIC in their efforts to educate the industry on the benefits of accelerated computing and AI through their digital, AI-enabled oilfield and events such as Evolve 2021," said Spieler.

Recently, NVIDIA and VAST Storage collaborated to provide the AIIC and UofH with a NVIDIA DGX system, an advanced AI computer that can process huge datasets and train AI models in a fraction of the time compared to traditional infrastructure, with VAST Universal Storage providing the high-performance storage.

Kris Skrinak, Leader of Machine Learning for AWS, has been actively working with the group for the past 3 years.

"I'm a strong advocate of what the AI Consortium has been doing to support industry and academia collaboration and glad to be a part of its efforts," said Skrinak.

Joining these leading technology companies will be presenters from organizations actively using AI, including Guillermo Romero, Manufacturing Manager at Vallourec, and Jay Gorajia, Director of Global Services for Siemens Digital Industries Software.

"I'm honored to be a part of this unique event and to be a trustee of the consortium," said Gorajia. "The work we're doing is helping pave the road for future organizations to take their AI journey successfully."

Dr. Anthony Ambler, Dean of the College of Technology, and Konrad Konarski, AIIC Chairperson, have been key players in bringing Evolve 2021 to life.

"Collaborating with the AIIC has helped enhance our ability to provide hands-on AI skills and experience to our students," said Dr. Ambler. "It's also extending a hand to the student and IT communities of greater Houston by sharing these successes and creating AI upskilling opportunities through this event."

"I'd like to extend a personal call-to-action to the oil & gas, retail, manufacturing and life sciences industries, as well as IT professionals and students, to attend Evolve 2021," Konarski said. "The collective ecosystem of the AIIC has set out to help break barriers of adoption of AI. This event is a great representation of that effort."

For more information or to register, visit: https://aiinnovationconsortium.org/evolve-2021

Contact:

Konrad Konarski

[email protected]



SOURCE AIIC - Artificial Intelligence Innovation Consortium

Related Links

https://aiinnovationconsortium.org/


IRVINE, Calif., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AIVITA Biomedical, Inc., a private biotechnology company specializing in innovative stem cell applications, today announced the publication of the peer-reviewed manuscript, "Retinal organoids on-a-chip: a 3D printed micro-millifluidic bioreactor for long-term retinal organoid maintenance," in the journal Lab on a Chip. In the study, researchers from AIVITA Biomedical and the University of California at Irvine designed and demonstrated a bioreactor for nearly labor-free retinal organoid maintenance. The success of the bioreactor serves as an important proof of concept for future clinical and commercial applications, and builds upon AIVITA Biomedical's prior success in generating 3D retinal organoids from human stem cells and demonstrating their ability to restore visual acuity to rodent models of human blindness.

Retinal degeneration is a leading cause of vision impairment and blindness worldwide, with limited treatment options available for advanced stages of the disease. Stem cell-derived retinal organoids for tissue replacement therapy have recently emerged as a promising potential treatment. However, controlled and predictable methods for manufacturing the retinal organoids are not yet standard in the industry. In this study, researchers designed a shear stress-free micro-millifluidic bioreactor for nearly labor-free retinal organoid maintenance. The result was the successful creation of bioreactor-cultured retinal organoids with cell types and morphology comparable to static cultured retinal organoids and exhibiting similar retinal gene expression levels. Researchers also observed comparable metabolic activity to tissue grown in static culture.

"To have validated an automated device that can reliably produce retinal organoids expands their potential therapeutic and diagnostic applications," said Gabriel Nistor, M.D., Chief Scientific Officer at AIVITA and a contributing author to the paper. "We look forward to exploring the therapeutic and drug-screening potential of these bioreactor-grown organoids."

AIVITA researchers believe the bioreactor may prove to be a more reliable and controlled method of producing retinal organoids, making it more suitable for producing 3D retina tissue for therapeutic use. The ability to consistently produce large quantities of tissue could also have useful applications in drug screening and formula optimization, facilitating streamlined testing of pharmaceuticals to treat vision loss.

This work is supported by funding from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and National Institutes of Health (NIH).

About AIVITA Biomedical

Founded in 2016 by pioneers in the stem cell industry, AIVITA Biomedical, Inc. utilizes its expertise in stem cell growth and directed, high-purity differentiation to enable safe, efficient and economical manufacturing systems which support its therapeutic pipeline. Our cancer immunotherapy targets the seed of all cancers, tumor-initiating cells, with a unique pan-antigenic approach that targets all neoantigens specific to the patient's cancer. Our patient-specific cancer treatments have shown tremendous promise in eradicating tumors, without harmful side effects, in melanoma and glioblastoma clinical studies.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as applicable. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our plans, beliefs, expectations and assumptions, as well as other statements that are not necessarily historical facts. You are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve risks and uncertainties. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date as of which it is made, and we do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements. This communication also contains market data related to our business and industry which includes projections that are based on a number of assumptions we believe are reasonable and most significant to the projections as of the date of this communication. If any of our assumptions prove to be incorrect, our actual results may significantly differ from our projections based on these assumptions. This communication is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein.

SOURCE AIVITA Biomedical, Inc.
LAS VEGAS, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Alkame Holdings, Inc. (OTC PINK: ALKM) today confirmed that its annual blueberry production is underway going from the farm to the sealed jar within 24 hrs.

The partnership between Pacific Flavor Inc. and Alkame's subsidiary Bell Food & Beverage Inc. is now in its 5th year as the contract manufacturer for hundreds of thousands of jars to be exported to Japan.

"We are very excited to continue on the tradition with Pacific Flavor and are now moving full steam ahead into our 5th year together," stated Alkame CEO Robert Eakle.

About West Coast Co Packer, Inc.

West Coast Co Packer, Inc., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alkame Holdings, Inc. and is a specialty liquid and single-serve manufacturer, co-packer, private labeler, and contract manufacturer, and is expected to immediately complement and seamlessly integrate with Alkame's other subsidiaries including Bell Food and Beverage, Inc. Bell Food and Beverage, Inc. is a specialty natural, organic liquid-based hot and cold fill food & beverage manufacturer in glass and PET bottles and jars. To learn more about West Coast Copacker visit www.westcoastcopacker.com .

About Alkame Holdings, Inc.

Alkame Holdings, Inc. is a publicly traded health and wellness technology holding company, with a focus on patentable, innovative, and eco-friendly consumer products. The Company's wholly owned subsidiaries manufacture products with enhanced water utilizing a proprietary technology to create products with several unique properties. The organization is diligently building a strong foundation through the launch and acquisition of appropriate business assets, and by pursuing multiple applications by placement into several emerging business sectors, such as consumer bottled water and RTD products, household pet products, horticulture and agriculture applications, hand sanitizers, and many other various water-based treatment solutions to both new and existing business platforms.

For more information, visit www.alkameholdingsinc.com .

Alkame Holdings, Inc. Investor Relations

Website: www.alkameholdingsinc.com

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 702-273-9714

Disclaimer/Safe Harbor: This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act. The statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events that involve risks and uncertainties. Among others, these risks include the expectation that Alkame will achieve significant sales, the failure to meet schedule or performance requirements of the Company's contracts, the Company's liquidity position, the Company's ability to obtain new contracts, the emergence of competitors with greater financial resources and the impact of competitive pricing. In the light of these uncertainties, the forward-looking events referred to in this release might not occur. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

SOURCE Alkame Holdings, Inc.
"Since opening the doors to our distillery in 2016, we've been so fortunate to see an increased demand from guests hoping to visit us and take part in tours, experiences and classes. This expansion will double the number of fans we're able to meet and raise a glass of Angel's Envy with throughout the year," said ANGEL'S ENVY Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer Wes Henderson. "We're proud to call Louisville our hometown and contribute to its continued growth by creating new jobs for Kentuckians and offering a new reason for people to visit downtown and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail as a whole."

Specific additions to the distillery experience will include: an additional bar space, where the ANGEL'S ENVY team will continue to craft cocktails for reservation and event guests; five new tasting rooms, where guests can partake in educational bourbon tastings; an event space and full catering kitchen, allowing the distillery to be used for pairing dinners and private gatherings such as conferences and corporate events; and a designated room for ANGEL'S ENVY's " Bottle Your Own " experience, which, post-expansion, will offer guests the chance to fill their own bottles of ANGEL'S ENVY's distillery-exclusives.

"ANGEL'S ENVY is a prime example of how Kentucky's signature bourbon industry immensely benefits our commonwealth by attracting visitors to the state while creating quality opportunities for Kentuckians. This expansion proves we can expect more great things from ANGEL'S ENVY as our state's economy continues to strengthen," said Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. "Tourism is a crucial component of our vision to build a better Kentucky for all our residents, and this development brings us another step forward in bringing that vision to fruition."

The ANGEL'S ENVY brand home expansion would not be possible without the ongoing or continuous support of the Kentucky Distillers' Association, the Kentucky Governor's Office, Kentucky Tourism, the Louisville Mayor's Office, Louisville Forward and Louisville Tourism. It is one of several recent growth projects for ANGEL'S ENVY, following news from 2018 that the brand would be constructing three new rickhouses on its property in Henry County.

The ANGEL'S ENVY distillery will remain open to the public throughout the construction process; for more information about current offerings at the distillery, please visit angelsenvy.com/distillery/.

About ANGEL'S ENVY

ANGEL'S ENVY is a Louisville-based craft distiller that produces small batch, finished whiskeys. Co-founded in 2010 by the late Master Distiller Lincoln Henderson and his son Wes Henderson, it began as a passion project that combined their family's deep-rooted passion for and knowledge of the industry with an innovative outlook on bourbon making and finishing. Today, Wes Henderson and his sons continue the family legacy, working together to produce ANGEL'S ENVY's core offerings  Kentucky Straight Bourbon Finished in Port Wine Barrels and Rye Whiskey Finished in Caribbean Rum Casks  as well as a variety of innovative, special releases.

ANGEL'S ENVY opened the doors to its distillery in 2016  it was the first full-production

whiskey distillery in downtown Louisville and is located at 500 East Main Street. The company distributes to all 50 U.S. states and several select international markets as of February 2020. ANGEL'S ENVY is produced by Louisville Distilling Company, a subsidiary of Bacardi Limited.

For more information, please visit us at www.angelsenvy.com , or on:

Facebook: facebook.com/AngelsEnvyBourbon or facebook.com/TourAngelsEnvy

Twitter: @angels_envy

Instagram: @angelsenvy

ENJOY RESPONSIBLY.

2021. Angel's Envy is a registered trademark. Bottled by Louisville Distilling Company, Louisville, KY. Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Port Wine Barrels  43.3% Alc. By Vol.

SOURCE ANGEL'S ENVY
NEW YORK, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- From the fallout of COVID-19 to the Suez Canal incident to the increasing tensions with China, recent crises have exposed the myriad challenges to America's reliance on global supply chains, prompting economic and security concerns about the reliability and resiliency of these international trade channels. To help both businesses and policymakers manage the challenges posed by global supply chains in the postpandemic economy and ensure the US remains an innovative and competitive leader on the world stage, the Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board (CED) has issued a new report, Global Supply Chains: Compete, Don't Retreat.

As detailed in the report  the latest in a series of Solutions Briefs on Sustaining Capitalism  widespread, reoccurring supply chain failures pose five fundamental threats to the nation's safety and prosperity: risks to national security; economic disruption; reduced economic growth from denial of access to technology; predatory pricing following monopoly power; and threats to overall public health. Failure to address these glaring limitations now could have very serious consequences.

"Global trade in materials, tools, components, and services deserves an immediate assessment of both security and economic needs for the long term," said Lori Esposito Murray, President of CED. "Given the size of China's economy, its extensive role in global supply chains, its growing military strength, and the growing tensions in its bilateral US relationship, China is at the nexus of these major concerns about supply chain resilience. Security with prosperity must be the goal of any strategy to manage our supply chains."

In its new Solutions Brief, CED offers five recommendations through which public and private decisionmakers could maintain much of the cost savings provided by successful global supply chains, at the minimum economic and security risk. They include:

Cultivate additional sources of materials or intermediate inputs : Relying on a single source (or multiple sources from a single geographic region) of any essential input, whether simple or sophisticated, expensive or cheap, entails risk. Businesses must assess the security of their supply chains and seek alternative domestic sources. At the governmental level, the United States should work with allies to cooperate when supply chains are interrupted, and to enforce free and fair trade and environmental rules, should nonmarket economies engage in "industrial policies" and subsidize production or degrade the environment to cut costs and gain a competitive advantage.

: Relying on a single source (or multiple sources from a single geographic region) of any essential input, whether simple or sophisticated, expensive or cheap, entails risk. Businesses must assess the security of their supply chains and seek alternative domestic sources. At the governmental level, should work with allies to cooperate when supply chains are interrupted, and to enforce free and fair trade and environmental rules, should nonmarket economies engage in "industrial policies" and subsidize production or degrade the environment to cut costs and gain a competitive advantage. Build stockpiles : To prepare for a larger-scale supply interruption, or for an interruption that affects national security or public health, public stockpiles may be necessary. Private inventories at some level of the production supply chain must also be adequate. The US already stockpiles key public health and national security materials and goods that have comparatively long shelf lives. Now we must learn to do better, including monitoring the types, quantities, and the useful lives of stockpiled goods. The nation can safely import stockpiled goods in times of safety  cutting off cost-saving global supply chains to buy domestic in times of safety is wasting money, and in the instance of scarce raw materials could "drain America first." To combat this, international cooperation will be essential.

: To prepare for a larger-scale supply interruption, or for an interruption that affects national security or public health, public stockpiles may be necessary. Private inventories at some level of the production supply chain must also be adequate. The US already stockpiles key public health and national security materials and goods that have comparatively long shelf lives. Now we must learn to do better, including monitoring the types, quantities, and the useful lives of stockpiled goods. The nation can safely import stockpiled goods in times of safety  cutting off cost-saving global supply chains to buy domestic in times of safety is wasting money, and in the instance of scarce raw materials could "drain America first." To combat this, international cooperation will be essential. Invest in research and development (R&D) : The US government's funding for R&D has lagged. Technological progress through research can potentially reveal alternative materials to circumvent supply risks in some applications. To remain competitive, the United States also needs a strong talent base, which requires taking full advantage of our nation's unparalleled attractiveness to talented workers from all around the world, our world-class higher education institutions, and the postpandemic opportunity to train a highly skilled workforce.

: The US government's funding for R&D has lagged. Technological progress through research can potentially reveal alternative materials to circumvent supply risks in some applications. To remain competitive, also needs a strong talent base, which requires taking full advantage of our nation's unparalleled attractiveness to talented workers from all around the world, our world-class higher education institutions, and the postpandemic opportunity to train a highly skilled workforce. Invest in production : Manufacturing capacity for goods that truly support national security or public health and that cannot be stockpiled in sufficient quantity may need to be maintained, even if unprofitable. Such a decision must cross a very high bar, which must not be lowered by rent-seeking by powerful private interests. Contingency planning for another global pandemic, in which importing foreign-produced supplies like surgical masks cannot be counted upon, may require prior arrangements with US manufacturers to undertake surge production, potentially with public subsidies to maintain such facilities.

: Manufacturing capacity for goods that truly support national security or public health and that cannot be stockpiled in sufficient quantity may need to be maintained, even if unprofitable. Such a decision must cross a very high bar, which must not be lowered by rent-seeking by powerful private interests. Contingency planning for another global pandemic, in which importing foreign-produced supplies like surgical masks cannot be counted upon, may require prior arrangements with US manufacturers to undertake surge production, potentially with public subsidies to maintain such facilities. Maintain standby production facilities: If the probability of a catastrophic national security or public health event is high enough, it might be necessary for public funds to build and maintain production capacity on a standby basis, or to subsidize private backup capacity. The potential costs of any rupture in a global supply chain would need to be considerable to justify such an extreme remedy.

The new Solutions Brief, Global Supply Chains: Compete, Don't Retreat, can be accessed here.

About CED

The Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board (CED) is the nonprofit, nonpartisan, business-led public policy center that delivers well-researched analysis and reasoned solutions in the nation's interest. CED Trustees are chief executive officers and key executives of leading US companies who bring their unique experience to address today's pressing policy issues. Collectively they represent 30+ industries, over a trillion dollars in revenue, and over 4 million employees. www.ced.org

About The Conference Board

The Conference Board is the member-driven think tank that delivers trusted insights for what's ahead. Founded in 1916, we are a non-partisan, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States. www.conference-board.org

SOURCE Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board (CED)

Related Links

http://www.ced.org


BETHESDA, Md., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) has launched a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Awareness Initiative with founding partner, Invesco. This Initiative will be a sustained campaign to inform individuals from underrepresented communities about career opportunities in corporate finance and treasury.

AFP and Invesco will showcase opportunities for professional development, skills building, ongoing training, and continuous learning that will prepare individuals for challenging and rewarding careers in corporate finance and treasury.

"The corporate treasury and finance profession offers individuals a dynamic, growth-oriented career opportunity that drives the success of organizations globally," said Jim Kaitz, president and CEO of AFP. "We are excited, with the support of Invesco, to highlight these long-term career opportunities to diverse communities."

"We are committed to improving diversity and inclusion throughout the industry as well as across our global business to create better outcomes for our clients and provide a rewarding work environment for our colleagues," said Laurie Brignac, CIO and Head of Global Liquidity, Invesco. "This new endeavor directly aligns with those values, and we're proud to be a founding partner with AFP on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Awareness Initiative designed to bolster awareness and encourage individuals in underrepresented communities to explore a career in corporate finance and treasury."

For any press queries regarding the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Awareness Initiative, please contact Melissa Rawak, [email protected].

About AFP

Headquartered outside of Washington, D.C. and located regionally in Singapore, the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) is the professional society committed to advancing the success of treasury and finance members and their organizations. AFP established and administers the Certified Treasury Professional and Certified Corporate FP&A Professional credentials, which set standards of excellence in treasury and finance.

SOURCE Association for Financial Professionals (AFP)

Related Links

https://afponline.org


NEW YORK, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Atento S.A. (NYSE: ATTO), the largest provider of customer relationship management and business process outsourcing solutions (CRM/BPO) in Latin America and among the top five providers worldwide, announced today that it will release its fiscal Second Quarter 2021 financial results after the market close of the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, August 4, 2021. Atento's senior management team will host a conference call and webcast to discuss the financial and operating results on Thursday, August 5, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

You are invited to visit Atento's Investor Relations website at http://investors.atento.com. A replay will also be available after the event in the Presentations and Webcast section of the website.

Dial In Info:

USA: +1 866 807 9684

Brazil: +55 11 4933-0682

Spain: +34 91 414 9260

UK: +44 20 3514 3188

International: +1 412 317 5415

Webcast: click here

About Atento

Atento is the largest provider of customer relationship management and business process outsourcing ("CRM BPO") services in Latin America, and among the top five providers globally. Atento is also a leading provider of nearshoring CRM BPO services to companies that carry out their activities in the United States. Since 1999, the company has developed its business model in 13 countries where it employs approximately 140,000 people. Atento has over 400 clients to whom it offers a wide range of CRM BPO services through multiple channels. Atento's clients are mostly leading multinational corporations in sectors such as telecommunications, banking and financial services, health, retail and public administrations, among others. Atento's shares trade under the symbol ATTO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). In 2019, Atento was named one of the World's 25 Best Multinational Workplaces and one of the Best Multinationals to Work for in Latin America by Great Place to Work. Also, in 2021 Everest named Atento as a star performer Gartner named the company as a leader in the 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant. For more information visit www.atento.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "intends," "continue" or similar terminology. These statements reflect only Atento's current expectations and are not guarantees of future performance or results. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic, and governments' extraordinary measures to limit the spread of the virus, are disrupting the global economy and Atento's industry, and consequently adversely affecting the Company's business, results of operation and cash flows and, as conditions are recent, uncertain and changing rapidly, it is difficult to predict the full extent of the impact that the pandemic will have. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, competition in Atento's highly competitive industries; increases in the cost of voice and data services or significant interruptions in these services; Atento's ability to keep pace with its clients' needs for rapid technological change and systems availability; the continued deployment and adoption of emerging technologies; the loss, financial difficulties or bankruptcy of any key clients; the effects of global economic trends on the businesses of Atento's clients; the non-exclusive nature of Atento's client contracts and the absence of revenue commitments; security and privacy breaches of the systems Atento uses to protect personal data; the cost of pending and future litigation; the cost of defending Atento against intellectual property infringement claims; extensive regulation affecting many of Atento's businesses; Atento's ability to protect its proprietary information or technology; service interruptions to Atento's data and operation centers; Atento's ability to retain key personnel and attract a sufficient number of qualified employees; increases in labor costs and turnover rates; the political, economic and other conditions in the countries where Atento operates; changes in foreign exchange rates; Atento's ability to complete future acquisitions and integrate or achieve the objectives of its recent and future acquisitions; future impairments of our substantial goodwill, intangible assets, or other long-lived assets; and Atento's ability to recover consumer receivables on behalf of its clients. In addition, Atento is subject to risks related to its level of indebtedness. Such risks include Atento's ability to generate sufficient cash to service its indebtedness and fund its other liquidity needs; Atento's ability to comply with covenants contained in its debt instruments; the ability to obtain additional financing; the incurrence of significant additional indebtedness by Atento and its subsidiaries; and the ability of Atento's lenders to fulfill their lending commitments. Atento is also subject to other risk factors described in documents filed by the comp any with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which the statements were made. Atento undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE Atento S.A.

Related Links

http://www.atento.com


DENVER, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Atlas Real Estate, a full-service real estate company specializing in investment brokerage, property management and institutional acquisitions, is excited to announce the promotion of Eric Thorsen to Vice President, Acquisitions and the addition of Brent Gray as Joint Venture Controller.

In his new role on the Executive Leadership Team, Eric Thorsen will lead and manage the acquisition of single-family homes across the eight markets Atlas operates in. Eric will play an integral role in the execution of Atlas' joint venture with DivcoWest.

Eric first joined the Atlas team as an Acquisitions Specialist in 2012, where he underwrote and acquired $100 million worth of single-family rentals as part of a small team. He went on to further develop his skills at Northstar Commercial Partners and Redevelopment Capital Partners before returning to Atlas in 2019 as Director of Acquisitions.

Brent Gray comes to Atlas as a financial professional with over a decade of experience. Previously serving as the CFO at Northstar Commercial Partners, Brent will oversee finances and accounting for Atlas' joint venture with DivcoWest.

"As we enter the next phase of growth, it is critical to have a team that can deliver results and execute on our ambitious acquisition strategy," said Tony Julianelle, CEO of Atlas Real Estate. "Eric and Brent are fantastic leaders for that team. They bring a high level of expertise and proven track records. We are overjoyed to have them at Atlas."

About Atlas Real Estate: Atlas Real Estate is a full-service real estate company specializing in investment services, property management and institutional acquisitions. A buy/sell brokerage, Atlas is also a Zillow Offers Partner Agent. Since its inception in 2013, Denver-based Atlas Real Estate has made a commitment to Uplift Humanity Through Real Estate. With offices in eight markets nationwide, Atlas transacts over $1 billion in real estate annually and manages more than 4,500 residential units. Atlas has been recognized by leading media outlets as a one of the Best Places to Work, the Best Property Management Company and a Top Company in Real Estate. To learn more about Atlas, visit www.realatlas.com.

Victoria Evans

Flackable

(866) 225-0920 ext. 103

[email protected]

SOURCE Atlas Real Estate
IRVINE, Calif., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ATTOM, curator of the nation's premier property database, today announced that Lionel Etrillard has joined the ATTOM leadership team as chief financial officer. In this role, Etrillard will leverage over two decades of experience in driving ATTOM's financial strategic vision, while building a solid planning, accounting, and compliance foundation. In addition, he will play an integral role in continuing ATTOM's rapid organic growth and increasing profitability.

"As ATTOM continues its growth and expansion, an experienced, forward-thinking financial leader is critical to our future success," said Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM. "Lionel has an impressive background in FP&A and M&A activity, as well as an achieved proficiency in effectively managing industry relationships, as well as an exceptional ability to build and manage high-performing teams, while fostering a culture of productivity and success."

This exciting announcement comes on the heels of ATTOM's recent acquisition of GeoData Plus, solidifying ATTOM's mission to increase real estate transparency, and showcasing its steadfast investment in data and people.

Prior to joining ATTOM, Etrillard was the chief financial officer at Episource, a technology-based healthcare risk adjustment platform, where he took full ownership of the global operational and strategic financial role, which included important tasks such as growth management, debt funding, KPIs, building a highly functional and cross-functional team across geographies (US and India), and managing board communications. Prior to his tenure at Episource, Etrillard served as CFO at Callfire, a Marketing Technology company, where he led the finance and accounting functions charged with managing the growth and profitability of the company while building teams, business intelligence and capital relationships. Etrillard has led similar teams during his tenure at InvestCloud and iRise.

Etrillard's involvement spans from board and investor communications to day-to-day management, with a focus on being proactive and action-oriented in a collaborative manner. His skills include investor relations, strategic planning, financial planning and budgeting, metrics and dashboards, M&A, financing, valuation, system implementation, leadership and team building, as well as business development and management. Lionel possesses a wealth of financial experience in SaaS, software, hardware, and M&A in companies ranging from startups to publicly traded entities.

"This is an exciting time to be joining ATTOM as its growth and profitability are accelerating through organic and inorganic opportunities," said Etrillard.

Etrillard earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Redlands and a Master of Business Administration in finance from Pepperdine University.

About ATTOM

ATTOM provides premium property data to power products that improve transparency, innovation, efficiency, and disruption in a data-driven economy. ATTOM multi-sources property tax, deed, mortgage, foreclosure, environmental risk, natural hazard, and neighborhood data for more than 155 million U.S. residential and commercial properties covering 99 percent of the nation's population. A rigorous data management process involving more than 20 steps validates, standardizes, and enhances the real estate data collected by ATTOM, assigning each property record with a persistent, unique ID  the ATTOM ID. The 20TB ATTOM Data Warehouse fuels innovation in many industries including mortgage, real estate, insurance, marketing, government and more through flexible data delivery solutions that include bulk file licenses, property data APIs, real estate market trends, and more. Also, introducing our latest solution, that offers immediate access and streamlines data management  ATTOM Cloud.

Media Contact:

Christine Stricker

949.748.8428

[email protected]

SOURCE ATTOM

Related Links

https://www.attomdata.com/


NEW YORK, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Autism Care Partners is excited to announce the acquisition of Autism Bridgesa founder-led, New Hampshire-based multi-state autism treatment organization. With this acquisition, Autism Care Partners ("ACP" or "the Company") will represent one of the most clinically forward and regionally dense providers of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and related behavioral therapies in the Northeast.

Autism Care Partners Acquires Autism Bridges, Expands Services to Children With Autism Throughout the Northeast

"Joining our companies together to spread clinical excellence, serve more families and demonstrate clinical and cost outcomes is what drives our excitement about this partnership. Early in our discussions, both organizations realized how aligned our missions are. I'm eager to start working with the Bridges team to accelerate the delivery of evidence-based autism services throughout the Northeast. Bridges' commitment to clinical excellence coupled with the provision of data-driven, comprehensive, and customized treatment is the perfect complement to ACP's family of behavioral care companies," said Jim Spink, CEO of ACP.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ("CDC") now estimates that one in 54 children in the U.S. is diagnosed with ASD by the age of eight resulting in unprecedented access to care challenges. To address the lack of access and often uncoordinated care needs of the autism community, ACP is focused on ensuring "no wrong door" to individuals on the spectrum and their families by providing and coordinating ABA, diagnostic and related services across diverse care settings including home, school, telehealth, and state-of-the-art treatment centers.

"Ever since I founded Bridges 14 years ago, I've been focused on giving our clients the absolute best chance at gaining the skills needed to live happy, productive lives and restoring hope to their families by implementing high-quality ABA treatment. With the incredible resources and breadth of services that ACP brings to the table such as diagnostic evaluations, speech and language services to name a few, I'm even more excited about the life-changing impact we can have on the future of our clients and their families," said Thea Davis, Founder of Autism Bridges.

For more information, visit https://www.autismcarepartners.com/

About Autism Care Partners

Founded in 1992 as an Early Intervention provider in New York City, Autism Care Partners has become a recognized leader in the delivery of comprehensive behavioral therapy to individuals on the autism spectrum. ACP's family of care companies provides diagnostic evaluations, early intervention services, ABA, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and social work services to individuals on the autism spectrum, and their families, through their network of center and home-based practices. The company operates 11 multi-disciplinary centers throughout the Northeast. The combined platform will continue to be led by Jim Spink, CEO with Thea Davis BCBA joining as the CCO.

About Autism Bridges

Founded in 2007, Autism Bridges specializes in the delivery of high-quality individualized ABA programming for young children diagnosed with autism and serves communities in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts. Together, the combined organizations will serve families across the Northeast from New York to Vermont, helping each child reach their full and unique potential.

About Coppermine Capital

Coppermine Capital provides equity capital to middle-market companies throughout the U.S. As investors of private capital, the firm tailors its strategy to meet the unique objectives of each individual platform. They can move quickly and be flexible in solving capital requirements without managing toward a fixed return threshold or hold period. The firm maintains a focused, closely held portfolio and actively partners with each leadership team. Through its capital resources and broad network of industry relationships, Coppermine offers companies growth capital, critical strategic and operational support, and business development assistance.

Contact:

Name: Nick James

Title: Chief Development Officer

Company: Autism Care Partners

Phone: 617.694.0829

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: https://www.autismcarepartners.com/

Name: Dave Jones

Title: Managing Director

Company: Coppermine Capital

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: https://www.copperminecapital.com/

Name: Harris Drantch

Title: Principal

Company: Coppermine Capital

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: https://www.copperminecapital.com/

SOURCE Autism Care Partners

Related Links

https://www.autismcarepartners.com/


NEW YORK, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Ascend Wellness Holdings, Inc. ("AWH" or the "Company") (CSE: AAWH.U) (OTCQX: AAWH), a multi-state, vertically integrated cannabis operator, announced that it has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market.

Shares of Class A common stock of AWH will commence trading at the open on July 14th, under the new symbol "AAWH." U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the Company on www.otcmarkets.com.

"We are extremely proud to announce the commencement of trading on the OTCQX Best Market," said Abner Kurtin, CEO and Chairman of AWH. "We are excited to welcome a wider pool of retail and institutional shareholders throughout the United States the opportunity to participate in our success, which has been driven by our high-quality, strategically located vertically integrated operations and well-established flagship retail locations in high-traffic areas. We will continue to provide best-in-class disclosure, as we are the first US domiciled MSO to complete an SEC registered IPO with GAAP financials."

Information relating to the Company, including copies of the Company's financial statements, are available on the Company's website .

Recent Company Highlights

Edie Parker and AWH Announce Strategic Licensing Agreement to Bring Flower by Edie Parker Products to Illinois and Massachusetts . For more information click here .

and AWH Announce Strategic Licensing Agreement to Bring Flower by Edie Parker Products to and . For more information click . AWH announced Q1 2021 financial results. For more information click here .

. AWH Launched Its 6,000 Sq. Ft. Flagship New Jersey Medical-Use Cannabis Dispensary in Rochelle Park. For more information click here .

. AWH Completed Initial Public Offering. For more information click here .

About Ascend Wellness Holdings, Inc.

AWH is a vertically integrated operator with assets and partners in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. AWH owns and operates state-of-the-art cultivation facilities, growing award winning strains and producing a curated selection of products. AWH produces and distributes Ozone branded products. For more information, visit www.awholdings.com.

FINRA Form 211 Details

On 06/25/2021, FINRA processed a Form 211 relating to the initiation of priced quotations of AWWH, which means that the submitting broker-dealer has demonstrated to FINRA compliance with FINRA Rule 6432 and therefore has met the requirements under that rule to initiate a quotation for AWWH. FINRA's processing of a Form 211 in no way constitutes FINRA's approval of the security, the issuer, or the issuer's business and relates solely to the submitting broker-dealer's obligation to comply with FINRA Rule 6432 and SEA Rule 15c2-11 when quoting a security. Subsequently, AWH pursued a ticker symbol change and is now traded on the OTC under the tickerOTCQX: AAWH. Trading under the symbol AAWH will commence on July 14th.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes forward-looking information and statements, which may include, but are not limited to, information and statements regarding the plans, intentions, expectations, estimates, and beliefs of the Company. Words such as "expects", "continue", "will", "anticipates" and "intends" or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current projections and expectations about future events and financial trends, and on certain assumptions and analysis made by the Company in light of experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors management believes are appropriate.

Forward-looking information and statements involve and are subject to assumptions and known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause actual events, results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future events, results, performance, and achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking information and statements herein. Such factors include, among others: the risks and uncertainties identified in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, and in the Company's other reports and filings with the applicable Canadian securities regulators and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the Company believes that any forward-looking information and statements herein are reasonable, in light of the use of assumptions and the significant risks and uncertainties inherent in such information and statements, there can be no assurance that any such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, and accordingly readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such risks and uncertainties and should not place undue reliance upon such forward-looking information and statements. Any forward-looking information and statements herein are made as of the date hereof, and except as required by applicable laws, the Company assumes no obligation and disclaims any intention to update or revise any forward-looking information and statements herein or to update the reasons that actual events or results could or do differ from those projected in any forward looking information and statements herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the content of this news release.

SOURCE Ascend Wellness Holdings, Inc.
TACOMA, Wash., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bayview Recovery is partnering with First Choice Health, a provider-owned healthcare organization headquartered in Seattle, WA, to offer addiction treatment services to more of those in need. This partnership will remove barriers to treatment, as many of those who struggle with substance abuse put off seeking help due to concerns about the cost.

Bayview Recovery is proud to offer proven outpatient addiction treatment programs for Washington state residents. Those in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction can receive the support and care they need confident that treatment is covered by their insurance.

First Choice Health offers quality coverage in South Dakota, North Dakota, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Oregon, Alaska, and Washington. This healthcare provider gives employers a forward-thinking alternative to traditional health insurance. They're committed to reducing costs and maintaining flexible plan designs, custom networks, and medical management. Being in-network with First Choice Health will allow Bayview Recovery to serve more of the Greater Tacoma community.

About Bayview Recovery: Bayview Recovery is a premier drug and alcohol rehab center located in Tacoma, Washington. They offer partial hospitalization programs, intensive outpatient programs, and outpatient programs for those struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. Additionally, they provide dual diagnosis treatment and a range of holistic and evidence-based therapeutic modalities. With the help of Bayview Recovery, clients can move past their addiction and begin to change their lives. To learn more, reach out to the Bayview Recovery team at 855.478.3650 or visit their website today at https://www.bayviewrecovery.com/.

SOURCE Bayview Recovery

Related Links

https://www.bayviewrecovery.com/


70.8% of our miner fleet by hash rate was already deployed, in transit to or awaiting installation in North America at June 30, 2021 . Following regulatory changes in China , the Company suspended mining operations there effective June 21, 2021 , accelerated its migration program to North America , and anticipates completing migration of its remaining China -based fleet during the third quarter of 2021.

at . Following regulatory changes in , the Company suspended mining operations there effective , accelerated its migration program to , and anticipates completing migration of its remaining -based fleet during the third quarter of 2021. The Company owned 32,500 miners as of June 30, 2021 , with a maximum total hash rate of 1.92 EH/s. The 0.34 EH/s reduction from the first quarter was due to fleet repositioning, in which the Company sold or disposed of certain models, in anticipation of purchase opportunities for newer, more efficient machines. The Company recognized a small gain on miner sales, and expects to reinvest sale proceeds of $ 5.4 million into purchases of newer vintage miners.

, with a maximum total hash rate of 1.92 EH/s. The 0.34 EH/s reduction from the first quarter was due to fleet repositioning, in which the Company sold or disposed of certain models, in anticipation of purchase opportunities for newer, more efficient machines. The Company recognized a small gain on miner sales, and expects to reinvest sale proceeds of $ million into purchases of newer vintage miners. The Company purchased 3,515 miners on the spot market during the second quarter, and expects to make additional miner purchases subsequent to quarter end, potentially in significant volumes, subject to market conditions and capital availability.

The Company earned 562.9 bitcoins in the second quarter of 2021. The reduction from the first quarter was due to the accelerated migration program, in which more miners were offline while in transit to or awaiting installation in North America , as well as miner sales and disposals.

, as well as miner sales and disposals. Treasury holdings of bitcoin increased to 588.4, with a fair market value of approximately $20.6 million as of June 30, 2021 .

Miner Migration Update

Following the recent announcement of the Chinese government's decision to ban bitcoin mining, the Company immediately suspended its remaining mining operations in mainland China, effective June 21, 2021. Accordingly, we further accelerated our migration strategy to North America, that had been ongoing since October 2020. As a result, a greater proportion of the Company's fleet was offline than in the prior quarter, due to more miners being in transit to or awaiting installation in North America.

During the quarter, the Company shipped 14,500 miners to the United States. The Company expects to complete the migration of its remaining China-based miners to North America early in the third quarter of 2021.

The following table represents our miners' geographic locations as of June 30, 2021:

Miner Geographic Distribution as of June 30, 2021

Location

Number of

Miners



Percentage

of Total

Miners

In transit to or awaiting installation in U.S.



14,500





44.6 % United States



7,090





21.8 % China



9,484





29.2 % Canada



1,426





4.4 % Total



32,500





100.00 %

During the quarter, the Company signed two new hosting agreements in North America, representing 60 megawatts of additional hosting power capacity. As of June 30, 2021, the Company believes it had secured the majority of hosting capacity required to complete redeployment of its remaining China-based fleet in North America. The Company continues to evaluate additional hosting arrangements with existing and new partners in North America, to secure additional capacity and in anticipation of an expected increase in our spot market miner purchase activity and growth of our miner fleet in the coming months.

Bitcoin Production Update

In the second quarter of 2021, Bit Digital earned 562.9 newly minted bitcoins, a reduction from 1013.4 earned in the first quarter. The reduction was due to the aforementioned acceleration of the Company's miner migration strategy, as well as fleet repositioning in which the Company sold or disposed of certain miners. Bitcoin production is expected to increase following completion of the migration, which is expected during the third quarter of 2021, and upon completion of anticipated miner purchase activity.

The Company's quarterly bitcoin production since commencement of our mining operations was as follows:

Miner Fleet Update

As of June 30, 2021, the Company owned 32,500 miners, with a total maximum hash rate of 1.92 EH/S, a decrease from 40,965 miners and 2.26 EH/s as of March 31, 2021. The reduction was due to sales and disposals of certain older miners, partially offset by miner purchases, as further discussed below. The Company's fleet of owned miners comprised the following models:

Model

Owned as

of June 30,

2021

MicroBT Whatsminer M21S



15,072

Bitmain Antminer S17+



7,955

MicroBT Whatsminer M20S



3,691

MicroBT Whatsminer M10



2,190

Bitmain Antminer S17 Pro



1,259

Bitmain Antminer T3



800

Bitmain Antminer T17



700

MicroBT Whatsminer M30S



261

Bitmain Antminer T17+



256

Bitmain Antminer S19 Pro



205

Bitmain Antminer S17



101

Bitmain Antminer S17E



10

Total



32,500



Miner Purchases, Sales and Disposals

During the second quarter, we purchased 3,515 miners on the Chinese spot market, including 1,259 Bitmain S17Pro, 954 MicroBT M20S, 930 Bitmain S17+, 261 MicroBT M30S, 101 Bitmain S17 and 10 Bitmain S17E models. As of July 11, 2021, 1,678 of the newly purchased miners had already been deployed in North America and 878 were in transit to North America.

The Company anticipates a significant opportunity to purchase additional miners on the Chinese spot market at attractive prices, potentially in substantial volumes, in the coming months, and continues to closely monitor market conditions for such purchase opportunities. Due to spot market disruption following the Chinese government's ban of bitcoin mining in June 2021, the Company believes there have been significant spot market pricing reductions, and anticipates an opportunity to make further purchases of newer-vintage miners in the coming months, subject to market conditions and capital availability.

During the quarter, we began to reposition our fleet by selling 11,608 miners that were deemed to have a lower expected return on invested capital than miners we anticipate purchasing in the near future, and/or were deemed unsuitable for long-distance migration to North America. The sold miners included 8,410 Bitmain T17, 1,525 MicroBT M21S, 1,346 MicroBT M20S, 195 Bitmain S17E, 100 MicroBT M31S and 32 Bitmain S17 Pro models. The Company recorded a small gain on these sales, in aggregate. We intend to reinvest the net sales proceeds of $5.4 million into purchases of newer, more efficient models in the coming months.

During the quarter, we abandoned 372 miners in mainland China that were deemed to have reached the end of their useful lives, were no longer operational and/or would have been uneconomical or impossible to repair. The disposed miners included 320 MicroBT M21S, 42 MicroBT M20S and 10 MicroBT M10 models.

Management Commentary

"Bit Digital faces an unprecedented opportunity to scale its miner fleet," said Bryan Bullett, Bit Digital's CEO. "This is driven the historic disruption, in which we believe that bitcoin mining equipment is flowing onto the Chinese spot market in large volumes, in the aftermath of China's recent shutdown of the sector."

"Bit Digital is uniquely positioned to acquire these miners at scale. Headquartered in New York and led by a primarily US-based management team, to our knowledge, Bit Digital is the only US-listed miner with deep relationships among the major former Chinese operators. Our team on the ground in China is positioned to source equipment and transact with reputable counterparties rapidly, at scale. As illustration of this capacity, the Company grew to its current position as one of the largest US-listed miners, primarily through several large spot market purchases."

"We have been successfully shipping large quantities of miners purchased in China and redeploying them in North America since October 2020, and the recent regulatory change in China served as a catalyst to significantly accelerate our miner migration program. Bit Digital is fortunate, in that we already have in-place the logistical and technical know-how and relationships that we believe will enable us to fully complete the migration in during the third quarter."

"We are also fortunate to have already built strong partnerships with several high-quality hosting providers in North America. Working with these existing and new hosting partners, we secured 60 megawatts of additional capacity, which we believe represents the majority of additional hosting needed to fully accommodate our current fleet migration to North America. We are also in discussions with multiple parties to further expand hosting capacity, and to facilitate new deployments for anticipated miner purchase activity."

"We also used the accelerated migration as an opportunity to reposition our miner fleet, selling machines that we deemed to represent a lower expected return on invested capital than newer-vintage machines that we anticipate purchasing in the near future, at attractive prices. As part of this repositioning, we culled the majority of our Bitmain T17 miners, which in our view was among the less desirable models in our fleet. We generated a small gain on these sales, and intend to reinvest the net proceeds into purchases of newer, more efficient models."

"Our co-founders had the foresight to acquire miners on the Chinese spot market at scale, assembling one of the largest US-listed miner fleets, and to begin the process of migrating those miners into North America, well in advance of potential regulatory changes in China. Those regulatory changes have now come to pass, and we believe that Bit Digital is now uniquely positioned to emerge as a sustained leader in the US-listed mining sector, with its operations expected to be entirely North America-based in the near future."

About Bit Digital

Bit Digital, Inc. is a bitcoin mining company headquartered in New York City with one of the highest operating hash rates (or computing power) among all US listed bitcoin miners, and growing. Our operations are in the United Statesand Canada. For additional information, please contact Sam Tabar at [email protected] or visit our www.bit-digital.com.

Investor Notice

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the risks, uncertainties and forward-looking statements described under "Risk Factors" in Item 3.D of our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. If any material risk was to occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations would likely suffer. In that event, the value of our securities could decline and you could lose part or all of your investment. The risks and uncertainties we describe are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. In addition, our past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance, and historical trends should not be used to anticipate results in the future. Future changes in the network-wide mining difficulty rate or Bitcoin hash rate may also materially affect the future performance of Bit Digital's production of bitcoin. Additionally, all discussions of financial metrics assume mining difficulty rates as of June 2021. See "Safe Harbor Statement" below.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release may contain certain "forward-looking statements" relating to the business of Bit Digital, Inc., and its subsidiary companies. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included herein are "forward-looking statements." These forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects," or similar expressions, involving known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in the company's periodic reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its website at http://www.sec.gov. All forward-looking statements attributable to the company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Other than as required under the securities laws, the company does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements.

[1] Actual operating hash rate will vary depending on network difficulty rate, total hash rate of the network, the operations of our facilities and the status of our miners.

SOURCE Bit Digital, Inc.
"Our mission is to create a space for Black women and empower them as leaders in communities across the country," said Marty McDonald, Founder and CEO of Boss Women Media. "We are especially proud to partner with Capital One, along with Amazon, as they continue to support our mission and serve as allies by helping women thrive in their financial and entrepreneurial endeavors. I know this unique hybrid event is a catalyst for hope and action for so many."

Keynote speakers for the summit include author, businesswoman and former White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett as well as actor, model and activist Yara Shahidi. Additional speakers including Naturi Naughton, Ivy McGregor & Candace Parker will also be featured throughout the summit's programming.

For the second consecutive year, Capital One will join as the lead corporate sponsor, activating their network of executives, community partners, as well as finance and career experts to discuss topics related to financial well-being, generational wealth, small business, career development and more.

The partnership builds off Capital One's recently announced Impact Initiative , a $200M multiyear commitment which invests in diverse communities and businesses, and supports organizations that expand economic opportunity, particularly for Black and Latinx communities.

"At Capital One, we celebrate the powerful impact women of color have on the workplace, economy and broader society," said Celia Edwards Karam, Chief Audit Officer at Capital One. "We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Boss Women Media to host this year's summit, and motivated by our opportunity to leverage our scale and resources to hold space for important conversations around financial wellbeing, building generational wealth and more."

Capital One Business will also sponsor the Black Girl Magic Summit Pitch Competition, providing $25,000, $15,000 and $10,000 grants to three women-owned small businesses. Applications will be accepted between now and August 13. To learn more, visit https://www.capitalone.com/about/.

First-year sponsor Amazon, which recently launched its Black Business Accelerator to drive economic equity for Black entrepreneurs, has collaborated with Boss Women Media to develop content, panels, and opportunities to teach and inspire Black women entrepreneurs at all stages of business ownership. Through strategic guidance and advice from Amazon leaders and selling partners, Amazon will help equip attendees with the tools needed to thrive as small business owners.

The company will also host watch parties for on-campus students to participate in the Black Girl Magic Digital Summit at the following Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Delaware State University, Florida A&M University, Howard University, North Carolina A&T University, Spelman College and Tennessee State University. To attend, students should reserve a spot at bosswomen.org/blackgirlmagic.

"We are committed to championing women of color entrepreneurs and business owners. We know they often need access to tools, mentorship, and networks to drive success for their businesses," said Latasha Gillespie, Head of DEI, Amazon Studios and IMDb. "We are excited to partner with Boss Women Media to help equip these enterprising women with the resources needed to help them generate wealth for themselves and their communities."

The summit is free and open to the general public. The first 5,000 registrants will receive a Boss Box complete with products from all sponsors including Capital One, Amazon, and Creme of Nature.

Register for the 2021 Black Girl Magic Summit, at bosswomen.org/blackgirlmagic

About Boss Women Media

Boss Women Media (www.bosswomen.org) was established in 2016 as a female empowerment organization curating a networking community for women who strive to achieve their dream careers. Formed by Marty McDonald, it serves as a vital resource in connecting women with the tools and information they need in order to obtain the opportunities they desire. Boss Women Media is committed to helping corporate and entrepreneur women cultivate their dream careers by providing tips and tools from professionals and encouraging the community to participate.

About Capital One

Capital One, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients through a variety of channels. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index. Capital One was founded on the principle that great talent, great analytics and great technology could revolutionize financial services and democratize credit. We believe that attracting, hiring, and enabling great people can change banking for good. To learn more about Capital One, visit www.capitalone.com/About .

About Amazon

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company, Earth's Best Employer, and Earth's Safest Place to Work. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge are some of the things pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.

SOURCE Boss Women Media

Related Links

https://bosswomen.org/


COMMERCE TOWNSHIP, Mich., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bundled, a premier online gifting company based in Michigan, now offers technology which helps corporations automatically send gifts or "bundles" of Michigan-made products to its employees and clients.

Bundled's fulfillment software is fully customizable to integrate and communicate with a corporation's customer relationship management (CRM) system or human resources (HR) software. For any pre-determined occasion, Bundled is automatically alerted and a personalized gift is then shipped to the recipient's address.

"Birthdays, work anniversaries and professional milestones will never go unrecognized. Our automated technology does all the leg work for corporations," said Chelsea Gheesling, co-founder of Bundled. "Thoughtful gifting is so much easier when you don't have to worry about the details - Bundled handles them all so employees feel appreciated."

During each point in the production process, Bundled sends gifting updates via email to the salesperson or HR representative, and when the bundle arrives at its destination, an email is sent to confirm that the gift was received.

Bundled currently gifts for more than 30 corporations, including the Detroit Pistons, DTE Energy, Stryker, PNG, General Motors and Quicken Loans.

To date, Bundled has shipped upwards of 7,000 gifts via its automated gifting service for Rocket Pro TPO alone.

"Assuming it would take about five minutes to place a single online order, we estimate that we've saved Rocket Pro TPO more than 35,000 workday minutes since 2019," said Courtney Taylor, co-founder of Bundled. "Not to mention, corporations that have used our automated gifting system have seen customer satisfaction scores skyrocket."

For more information on Bundled or to place an order, visit www.bundledmi.com.

About Bundled

In 2015, Michigan natives Chelsea Gheesling and Courtney Taylor created Bundled with a mission to become the premier online gifting company in the state, shipping personal and business occasion gifts while supporting Michigan-based businesses and brands. As its name suggests, Bundled offers hand-packed, curated gift "bundles" of any kind, for any occasion  seasonal, novelty, personal, build-your-own, or custom corporate packages. Supporting local businesses and giving back is paramount to the Bundled team, and the company serves those two missions in the following ways: (1) Buying local: 99% of products included in bundles are purchased from Michigan-based small businesses. The Bundled team only ventures out-of-state if a Michigan business can't process the order, or a custom group order has a specific request, and (2) Providing meaningful jobs and training for adults with disabilities through a partnership with Services to Enhance Potential (STEP), a Wayne County nonprofit. Bundled is a Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) certified company. For more information, visit www.bundledmi.com.

SOURCE Bundled

Related Links

https://www.bundledmi.com


Catheter Stabilization Device Market: Key Highlights

Product scope, market trends, market influence factors, market risks, marketing strategy to increase market position.

The top players and global market share of Catheter Stabilization Devices Market

Global consumption by region, with market size, key players, type application, and major countries

Global production by region, with market size, import & export

Market dynamics, Market Vendors, and channel analysis.

Buy Catheter Stabilization Device Market Report to aid your decision making in Healthcare Industry

Catheter Stabilization Device Market 2021-2025: Methodology Analysis

The data presented by Technavio is comprehensive, reliable, and the result of extensive research for all modules such as -

Primary & Secondary Sources

Data Synthesis & Data Validation

Qualitative & Quantitively Reports

Explore more about the global trends impacting the future of market research.

Download a free sample!

COVID-19 Impact on the Catheter Stabilization Device Market

This Technavio report analyzes includes the short-term & long terms impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on each segment of the Catheter Stabilization Market. As the business impact of COVID-19 spreads, the market is expected to have positive & superior growth.

Request for a Free Sample on the Impact of COVID-19

Catheter Stabilization Device Market  2021 - 2025 | Segmentation

Catheter Stabilization Device Market 2021 - 2025, has been prepared based on in-depth market analysis from industry experts. The report covers the competitive landscape along with market landscape, market segmentation type, five forces analysis, marketing size, vendors, the market size by application, vendor analysis, and geographical landscape.

Market Landscape

Market ecosystem

Value chain analysis

Market Sizing

Market definition

Market segment analysis

Market size 2020

Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025

Five Forces Analysis

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

Market Segmentation by Application

Market segments

Comparison by Application

General surgery and gastrointestinal procedures - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Cardiovascular procedures - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Urological procedures - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Respiratory procedures - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Others - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Market opportunity by Application

Customer landscape

Customer landscape

Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Asia - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ROW - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Key leading countries

Market opportunity by geography

Market drivers

Market challenges

Market trends

Vendor Landscape

Overview

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

3M Co.

B. Braun Melsungen AG

Baxter International Inc.

BioDerm Inc.

ConvaTec Group Plc

Dale Medical Products Inc.

ICU Medical Inc.

Medline Industries Inc.

Smiths Group Plc

Want a Customized report?

We understand your needs and to meet our client's requirements, we are happy to customize the report to cater to you the best. Please connect with our team [email protected] to get a report that suits your requirement. You can also get in touch by reaching us at www.technavio.com/

Appendix

Scope of the report

Currency conversion rates for US$

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contact

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

Report: Catheter Stabilization Device Market | Size, Share, Growth, Trends | Industry Analysis | Forecast 2025 | Technavio

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/technavio

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Technavio

SOURCE Technavio

Related Links

http://www.technavio.com


Stock Market Symbols

GIB.A (TSX)

GIB (NYSE)



cgi.com/newsroom

MONTREAL, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - CGI (TSX: GIB.A) (NYSE: GIB) signed a full managed IT services contract with the international life sciences firm Nexelis. Through the agreement, Nexelis will leverage CGI's global scale, best practices in IT modernization, and approach to accelerate business transformation.

Following the successful launch of a managed security services platform, CGI developed a three-year IT strategy to support Nexelis' rapid growth. This IT transformation roadmap includes the delivery of full managed services for the company's core IT infrastructure and a portfolio of enterprise applications. Nexelis' first transformation priorities are the upgrade and international rollout of Infrastructure Managed Services (IMS) and a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS).

"We believe that success in our field is best achieved by a fusion of scientific discipline, human agility and client partnership," said Benoit Bouche, Nexelis CEO. "CGI's proven and comprehensive managed IT services will allow us to focus on science, which is what we do best, while giving us a competitive advantage through the advancement of our IT modernization and the digitization of our business and IT workflows."

"As Nexelis' trusted advisor and partner of choice, CGI brings years of in-the-field experience in managing both security and core business processes in life sciences and other sectors," said Guy Vigeant, President of CGI's operations in Canada. "We look forward to helping Nexelis build a more secure IT infrastructure as well as a solid portfolio of enterprise applications to drive its business agility, performance and growth."

About CGI

Founded in 1976, CGI is among the largest independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world. With 77,000 consultants and other professionals across the globe, CGI delivers an end-to-end portfolio of capabilities, from strategic IT and business consulting to systems integration, managed IT and business process services and intellectual property solutions. CGI works with clients through a local relationship model complemented by a global delivery network that helps clients digitally transform their organizations and accelerate results. CGI Fiscal 2020 reported revenue is C$12.16 billion and CGI shares are listed on the TSX (GIB.A) and the NYSE (GIB). Learn more at cgi.com.

About Nexelis

With an unrivaled expertise in immunology, 5 operating sites in North America and Europe, and a translational offer of services covering the needs of the pharmaceutical industry from the lead selection stage to late clinical stage, Nexelis is a leading provider of assay development and advanced laboratory testing services in the infectious diseases, metabolic diseases, and oncology fields. Our versatile team of scientists, working with our state-of-the-art technology platforms, were instrumental in the development, qualification, validation, and large-scale sample testing of assays that supported the FDA filing of almost 100 new molecular entities, including blockbuster vaccines and biologics, anti-viral drugs, immunotherapy, gene and cell therapy products.

SOURCE CGI Inc.

Related Links

www.cgi.com


AUSTIN, Texas, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Citizens, Inc. (NYSE: CIA) today announced that Sheryl Kinlaw has been appointed Chief Legal Officer, reporting directly to Gerald W. Shields, Vice-Chairman of the Board and interim CEO, effective immediately.

Ms. Kinlaw brings over 20 years of experience as senior-level counsel, including senior leadership positions with publicly held corporations. She will lead the legal team with responsibility for all legal, regulatory, governance and compliance matters.

"Sheryl is a proven executive advisor with extensive legal expertise that will help us deliver on our long-term commitment to sustainable growth," said Gerald W. Shields. "She brings a passion for advancing diversity along with her knowledge of the insurance industry, public company experience and demonstrated ability to navigate complex legal challenges. We are excited to welcome Sheryl to the management team."

Ms. Kinlaw said, "I am prepared to play a pivotal role in enabling Citizen's strategic mission, working alongside a team of talented and diverse professionals and helping the Company to deliver on its commitment for long-term growth in the years to come."

Ms. Kinlaw knows the Company well, having served as Interim Chief Legal Officer since April 2021 and dedicated outside counsel since March 2020. Before joining Citizens, Ms. Kinlaw built a law practice acting as a dedicated outsourced general counsel for companies that need to supplement their in-house legal capability. Ms. Kinlaw has extensive experience in the financial products industries, with clients including insurance carriers and organizations that distribute insurance products.

Ms. Kinlaw holds a bachelor's degree in Economics / International Studies from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and a Juris Doctor from the University of Texas, Austin.

About Citizens, Inc.

Citizens, Inc. is a financial services company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CIA. The Company utilizes a three-pronged strategy for growth based upon worldwide sales of U.S. Dollar-denominated whole life cash value insurance policies, life insurance product sales in the U.S. and final expense and limited liability property product sales in the U.S.

Information herein contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which can be identified by words such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate", "intends," "continue" or comparable words. In addition, all statements other than statements of historical facts that address activities that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Readers are encouraged to read the periodic reports the Company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, and its current reports on Form 8-K, for "Risk Factors" and other meaningful cautionary language disclosing why actual results may vary materially from those expected or implied by the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no duty or obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or changes in the Company's expectations. Accordingly, you should not unduly rely on these forward-looking statements. The Company also disclaims any duty to comment upon or correct information that may be contained in reports published by the investment community.

For further information contact:

Investor Relations

[email protected]

SOURCE Citizens, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.citizensinc.com


HARTFORD, Conn., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- If you're a recent college graduate, you know it's a hard, competitive world when it comes to starting a career in your desired industry. However, some colleges can give their graduates a leg up thanks to the relationships they've forged with business and industry in booming sectors.

Graduates need to ensure that the first job they land after college is a high-quality position. There's a lot of income at stake. In fact, as CNBC notes, "Students who have a desirable job lined up after college are more than twice as likely to be earning $60,000 a year more than those graduates who took between two and 12 months."

Picking a college with solid connections to strong industries should be a major priority for any student.

CollegeValuesOnline took up the challenge to find the 30 Colleges That Have Strong Links To America's Prospering Industries

"It was industry that built this nation and industry that will lead the way into the future," says Julie McCaulley, CollegeValuesOnline Editor. "When colleges forge bonds with the leaders in the industrial sector, it's a win for both the school and for the corporations they work with. It's also a huge benefit to the students. The relationship provides the perfect segue for graduates to enter the industrial workforce with the perfect qualifications to succeed. In the end, this is a win for us all."

CollegeValuesOnline developed a multi-part methodology to determine the 30 top colleges with strong links to prospering industries.

Here's a sampling of those colleges and universities:

University of St. Thomas

In late 2020, the University announced the creation of the Department of Alumni Engagement, Corporate Engagement, and Career Development. It will help build industry connections and boost graduate employment. Some areas of the college had already been championing strong industry connections. For example, the Opus College of Business runs a range of industry connection programs and has formed strong partnerships with U.S. Bank, UnitedHealth Group, API, and others.

University of Wisconsin, Stout

Collaboration with business is one of the University of Wisconsin, Stout's three tenets. It has formed a wide range of industry partnerships, including with businesses such as 3M, Spectrum Brands, Target, Lockheed Martin, Pepsico, IBM, and others. In fact, the college has assisted over 1,000 companies to date. These connections translate into graduate careers thanks to the fact that over 750 employers attend the college's career conferences.

Stanford University

Stanford's University and Corporate Foundation Relations department runs dozens of industrial affiliate programs. They cover everything from aeronautics to US-Asia technology management. Other departments have built their own industrial connections. For instance, the Energy Department runs initiatives such as the Natural Gas Initiative, the StorageX Initiative, and the Sustainable Finance Initiative to connect with businesses.

Savannah College of Art and Design

There are more than 50 industry-sponsored projects every year at Savannah College of Art and Design. The industry sponsors of these projects include Adult Swim, Coca-Cola, Fox Sports, Google, HP, NASA, and more. The primary center for this collaboration is SCADpro, which is the college's innovation studio. Its mission is to connect "current and future creative business leaders to discover what's next."

Boston University

Boston University's industry connections have led to hospitals detecting lung cancer earlier, a stronger scientific foundation for diagnosing kidney disease, and the development of new ultraviolet LED technology. More than 130 centers and institutes in the college have grown their connections with industries. Currently, the college is engaging with industries to solve a wide range of issues. It's researching a bionic pancreas for type-1 diabetes, developing acoustic metamaterial that can cancel 94% of sound, and exploring how human hearts change as they age.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Several divisions in the college have fostered its industry connections in different manners. For instance, the Office of Technology Commercialization helps inventors by working with the Tech Advisors Network. The Institute's Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center runs a range of business link-building activities, such as hosting mentors in residence. In 2021, the Institute's technology connections received a new boost. The Massachusetts Digital Games Institute is moving to the college and launching a new $100,000 grant.

Drexel University

Drexel's Solutions Institute acts as "the gateway for organizations to connect" to the college's resources and experts. It helps leading industry organizations with corporate education, talent acquisition, research/development, and other business engagement activities. Additionally, the college's Steinbright Career Development Center connects students to a wide range of employers.

Media Contact:

Julie McCaulley

518-496-0845

[email protected]

https://www.collegevaluesonline.com/about/



SOURCE College Values Online
"The cannabis industry as we know it today would not exist without the hustle, innovation and sacrifice of many of the very people who today remain imprisoned and unable to participate in the 'upside' of the recreational market," said Aaron Selverston, CEO of Cosmic parent company Radiant Canna.

Cosmic, an award-winning California extracts brand, developed a new line of packaging for the collaboration with LPP.

"Last Prisoner project is incredibly grateful for the support of Cosmic. We believe that anyone profiting from the legal cannabis industry has a moral imperative to help those who have been negatively and disproportionately affected by the criminalization of cannabis and we commend Cosmic for being part of the solution with this first-of-its-kind partnership," said LPP's Managing Director and Founding Member, Mary Bailey.

The concentrates are being manufactured in partnership with Hollister-based Euphoric Life, Inc., which is producing a variety of strain-specific extracts for the collaboration. "Last Prisoner Project is committed to undoing the wrongs caused by cannabis criminalization. We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to leverage our facility to help fight for criminal justice reform, a cause that my family has been directly impacted by," said Aidan Rafii, COO of Euphoric Life, Inc.

ABOUT RADIANT CANNA

Radiant Canna and its logistics arm, Cosmic Distribution , provides manufacturing, distribution and technology solutions to more than a dozen multi-award-winning brands, including Ahti Hash , SOG Army , Mendocino Grasslands , Wonder Extracts , Arcanna , Woodstock Heritage Strains , Ridgetop Botanicals , Madame Munchie , Exir, by Euphoric Life and its own in-house extracts brand, Cosmic . Cosmic Distribution operates fulfillment centers in Northern and Southern California, including Santa Rosa, Hollister and Los Angeles.

ABOUT LAST PRISONER PROJECT

The Last Prisoner Project (LPP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to cannabis-related criminal justice reform. As the United States moves away from the criminalization of cannabis, giving rise to a major new industry, there remains the fundamental injustice inflicted upon those who have suffered under America's unjust policy of cannabis prohibition. Through intervention, advocacy, and awareness campaigns, the Last Prisoner Project works to redress the past and continuing harms of these inhumane and ineffective laws and policies. Visit www.lastprisonerproject.org or text FREEDOM to 24365 to donate and learn more.

SOURCE Radiant Canna

Related Links

https://radiantcanna.com/


HONG KONG, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co., Ltd. (the "CPIC", the "Company" or the "Group"; Stock code: 2601.HK, 601601.SH, CPIC.LSE) participated the "Intelligent Connectivity, Inspirational Cities" World Artificial Intelligence Conference 2021 (the "Conference") which was recently held in Shanghai. In the Conference, the Group hosted the Summit Forum on Intellectualized Insurance through both offline and online channels and demonstrated a wide range of intelligent insurance products with futurist concept, showing the advancement of science and technology.

Under the guidance of "Digital China", CPIC hosted a "CPIC Insures Your Digital and Intelligent Life" theme exhibition at the Conference, which focuses on the three key topics, i.e. healthcare, regional integration initiatives and big data. The exhibition launched various smart insurance products with futurist concept, including CPIC AI intelligent loss assessment, CPIC e-Agricultural Insurance and VR enjoyment watching .

"CPICAI" Intelligent Loss Assessment and Tiered Insurance Plans

Leading the Development of Insurance Industry

Insurance customers have been facing numerous issues with traditional auto insurance claims in general. In order to provide a better solution, CPIC partnered with Baidu to release "CPICAI", an intelligent auto loss assessment product. With the support of the big data of insurance claims and tens of millions of accident case studies, combined with Baidu's face recognition and AI algorithm technologies, "CPICAI" is an all-rounded intelligent and zero-manual-supported auto loss assessment tool with holistic claim settlement capabilities. With coverage of over 97% passenger vehicle brands on the market and 92% auto parts identification accuracy, this product provides intelligent, digital, differentiated and highly efficient loss assessment solution to customers. Not only does it realizes loss evaluation within seconds, it also offers tiered claims payment.

The cooperation between CPIC and Baidu further promotes the integration and development of the insurance industry and AI technology, as well as accelerates the pace of intelligent upgrade of the insurance industry and creates new value for customers, and hence, facilitating the development of the insurance industry.

"CPIC e-Agricultural Insurance"' Transforms the Traditional Perception to Solve Pain Points and Improve Experience

In recent years, China's agricultural insurance business has been developing rapidly, becoming an important part of modern agricultural risk management system. In order to solve the operational issues of agricultural insurance from the angles of insurance companies, insured farmers and the government, as well as to meet the current and future demands of agricultural insurance services, CPIC Property Insurance launched "CPIC e-Agricultural Insurance", a digital operation management platform which significantly enhances agricultural technologies by including functions such as bio-identification, drone near-ground remote sensing, satellite remote sensing and risk maps, forming the digital agricultural insurance operation system of "CPIC e-Agricultural Insurance". We are confident that this platform will be the solution of low operational efficiency, severe risk management, poor customer service experience and high cost service in the traditional agricultural insurance.

Meanwhile, the launch of CPIC e-Agricultural Insurance has also transformed the traditional perception of agricultural insurance services by the industry, government and farmers. Leveraging the high-tech application, the Company realized its continuous leadership that surpasses the industry in innovative agricultural insurance service experience.

"CPIC VR Enjoyment" Breaks Geographical Restrictions to Provide CPIC Service of Immersive Experience

VR technology has been used in many areas with the rapid development of science and technology. As a medium for transmitting and displaying information, the potential application of VR in the field of insurance shall be valued. The "CPIC VR Enjoyment" released by CPIC allows audience to enjoy VR experience in an immersed space composed of four screens. All videos are shot on spot and projected through multiple projectors through projection integration technology, creating a gigantic, seamless and realistic visual experience. Surrounded by a full range of high-definition real-life scenes, the audience can enjoy the visual and audio impact as if they are on the spot.

"CPIC VR Enjoyment" will exhibit two scenes of CPIC Home and Life Bank, and will include more CPIC service scenes in the future. Leveraging this innovative display technology, it solves issues on multiple fronts, including the 3D dizziness of VR glasses, the difficulty of branch visits in different places and geographical restrictions, and hence, allowing more people to visit and experience the CPIC services featuring with "Responsibility, Intelligence and Temperature".

CPIC Successfully Held the Summit Forum on Intellectualized Insurance to Explore the Value of Insurance Technologies

On 9 July, the "AI Technology Leads the Exploration of the Value in The Insurance Industry" summit forum hosted by CPIC was successfully held at the Shanghai World Expo Center. As the only intelligent forum of the insurance industry at the Conference, a number of magnates, such as leaders of the insurance and AI industries, world-renowned experts and scholars gathered in this forum to explore the development of the insurance ecosystem. During the forum, CPIC released three representative intelligent technology products, namely, "Intelligent IoT Insurance", "Insurtech - platinum version" and "Zero-perception Intelligent Claims Settlement". Tens of thousands of viewers watched the online webcast, sharing this wonderful feast for exchange of intelligence.

Fu Fan, President of CPIC, said in his speech, "CPIC hopes to work together with ecological partners to upgrade of AI cutting-edge technology, enhance the variety and further adoption of the application, and explore the value of AI that leads insurance technology."

During the forum, Wei Yingning, former Vice Chairman of China Insurance Regulatory Commission, delivered a keynote speech on the topic of "Digital Transformation of Insurance". Shan Shufeng, Deputy General Manager of Shanghai Insurance Exchange Co., Ltd., shared his thoughts on "Intelligent Service of Health Insurance". Yang Qiang, Chief AI Officer of WeBank, introduced the application of "AI Security Ethics / Federal Learning" in business scenarios of WeBank. Liu Weiguang, Vice President of Alibaba Group, made a prospect for insurance technology to reshape intelligent insurance services. Wang Lei, President of Digital Intelligence Research Institute of China Pacific Insurance Group, introduced AI empowerment insurance.

Focusing on the topic of "How AI can empower work in the insurance ecosystem", Yang Xiaokang, Associate Dean of the Artificial Intelligence Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Zhao Zhenyu, Chief Technology Officer of Panasonic China Northeast Asia, Tian Feng, President of SenseTime Intelligent Industry Research Institute, Michelle Hu, Managing Director and Global Partner of Greater China region of BCG, and Wei Jiaohua, Head of Preparatory Group of CPIC Fintech (Preparatory), launched a wonderful cross-border conversation. The exchange between AI and insurance has created infinite possibilities.

Yu Bin, Vice President of CPIC, said, "CPIC insists on empowering the business development and being the pioneer of new technology application in the industry. We see these as our missions. On one hand, CPIC pays attention to the long-term capacity building of technology to build the technical foundation for the sustainable growth of the value of the Company and its customers; On the other hand, it stresses on the application of new technologies such as AI in a moderate advance, and is committed to exploring new business exploration and new business models, so as to cultivate new momentum and new ecology for business development."

As an important part of social progress, technology is also one of the core driving forces for the transformation and development of the insurance industry. By actively developing the application and innovation of cutting-edge technology, CPIC is dedicated to comprehensively improving the level of service supply through the empowerment of technology, and continuously promoting the development strategy of smart insurance, which leads to the good practical results in its digitization and intelligent transformation. Looking ahead, CPIC will actively embrace the digital era, continue to consolidate the application scenarios of "Insurance + Technology + Service", empower the industry development with technology and guarantee people's health, and therefore, leading the quality development of the insurance industry.

About China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co., Ltd

China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co. Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "CPIC", or the "Company"; Stock Code: 2601.HK, 601601.SH, CPIC.LSE) is an insurance holding company incorporated on the basis of China Pacific Insurance Company, which was established on May 13, 1991. It is a leading insurance group headquartered in Shanghai, which is the first insurance group simultaneously listed on Shanghai, Hong Kong and London Stock Exchanges. CPIC is a leading comprehensive insurance group; the Company provides a broad range of risk solutions, financial planning and asset management services to over 100 million customers via its nationwide network of distribution and diversified services platforms.

This press release is distributed by Wonderful Sky Financial Group for China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co. Ltd.

For further information, please contact:

Wonderful Sky Financial Group Holdings Limited

Jelly Lin / Jessica Huang / Tracey Wei

Tel: (86) 139 189 32311 / (852) 3970 2177 / (852) 3641 1313

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co., Ltd.
SOAR Platform Adds Dynamic Vulnerability Exploit Score to Predict Risks Based on Threat Actor Intent

TEL AVIV, Israel, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cybersixgill , the leader in threat intelligence enablement, today announced that its Dynamic Vulnerability Exploit (DVE) Score is now available on the Swimlane security automation platform to help users accelerate focused prioritization and mitigation of dangerous vulnerabilities with intelligence from the dark web. Now, Swimlane users can anticipate the exploitation of a vulnerability up to 90 days in advance, using the only solution that predicts risk based on threat actors' intent.

"Threat actors from the criminal underground have an abundant supply of vulnerabilities at their fingertips, while security teams have more potential security holes than they can patch," said Ron Shamir, VP of products and tech alliances at Cybersixgill. "To stay ahead of threats, security teams need the best intel, but most importantly, they need better ways to consume it. By integrating directly with the Swimlane platform, we're making it effortless for customers to prioritize vulnerabilities for mitigation based on industry leading intelligence."

DVE Score is generated by the continuous, AI-driven, real-time analysis of several streams of threat intelligence - including dark web discourse, code repositories, clear web, social media, blogs, and more - to propel a risk-based vulnerability management program of unparalleled prowess. Fueled by the most comprehensive collection of vulnerability-related threat intelligence available on the market and organized for easy consumption, DVE Score helps security teams maximize performance and results by zeroing-in on the right vulnerabilities and accelerating the pace of mitigation.

Swimlane customers can benefit from DVE Score to gain vital context that accelerates threat response and decision-making, effectively giving security teams a head start on threat actors' intent to exploit certain vulnerabilities. DVE Score integrates with the Swimlane security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR) platform to enrich vulnerability management and help organizations target the vulnerabilities that matter most to their specific industry, infrastructure, and assets.

"Automation is now undeniably a requirement for security operations teams," said Karen Wood, VP of Global Partner Strategy for Swimlane. "We are pleased to be working with Cybersixgill to tie together the power of security automation with the capability to gain more proactive scoring of exploits to improve vulnerability mitigation and the overall security posture."

The addition of DVE Score builds on the successful partnership between Swimlane and Cybersixgill. Earlier this year, Swimlane integrated Cybersixgill's Darkfeed , an automated feed of deep and dark web malicious indicators of compromise (IOCs), including suspected domains, URLs, hashes and IP addresses.

Learn more about Cybersixgill DVE Score. Learn more about Swimlane security automation.

About Cybersixgill

Cybersixgill's fully automated threat intelligence solutions help organizations fight cyber-crime, detect phishing, data leaks, fraud and vulnerabilities as well as amplify incident response  in real-time. The Cybersixgill Investigative Portal empowers security teams with contextual and actionable insights as well as the ability to conduct real-time investigations. Rich data feeds such as Darkfeed and DVE Score harness Cybersixgill's unmatched intelligence collection capabilities and deliver real-time intel into organizations' existing security systems. Most recently, Cybersixgill introduced agility to threat intel with their CI/CP methodology (Continuous Investigation/Continuous Protection). Current customers include enterprises, financial services, MSSPs, governments and law enforcement entities.

To learn more, visit https://www.cybersixgill.com/ and follow us on Twitter: @CyberSixgill and LinkedIn .

Media Contacts

Matt McLoughlin

Gregory FCA on behalf of Cybersixgill

[email protected]

Laurie Ben-Haim

Cybersixgill

+1-646-300-9549

+972-52-7831911

[email protected]

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1447996/Cybersixgill_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Cybersixgill
LOS ANGELES, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 8th, D.A.R.E. International concluded one of the most productive and successful prevention education training conferences of the past decade. Nearly 1,400 law enforcement officers, educators, and government officials came together virtually for the free, two day training conference consisting of 22 workshops conducted in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

The D.A.R.E. prevention education program is the largest in the world being taught to millions of K-12 students in dozens of countries. As such, the annual training conference has always had attendees from several countries. However, this year's free, virtual conference format was unprecedented enabling participants from 28 countries including Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, the Kingdom of Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Panama Philippines, Spain, Thailand, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, and, of course, the United States.

"The tragedies of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States and throughout the world has had an immense impact upon the mental health of our children, and sadly also resulted in a frightening increase in opioid and other substance abuse, increased depression among students, and a dramatic spike in suicide ideation by teens. Consequently, this year's conference focused heavily on student mental health issues which have been exacerbated by the high use of social media by children and teens." stated Francisco Pegueros, President & CEO of D.A.R.E. International.

In response, President Pegueros, during his opening ceremony remarks, announced that D.A.R.E. International had formed a groundbreaking collaboration with the Organization for Social Media Safety (www.ofsms.org) to teach essential social media safety skills to students across the country. In just the first year of this initiative, vital lessons on social media-related dangers, like cyber-bullying, screen addiction, sexting, human trafficking, and the sale of illegal substances will potentially reach thousands of classrooms across the country through the D.A.R.E. program and parent programs presented by OFSMS.

"Accidental overdose is now the leading cause of unintentional death in the United Sates, and a lot of the drugs causing these deaths are being sold to our teens through social media," said Dr. Laura Berman, a member of the Board of Directors of the Organization for Social Media Safety and this year's conference Keynote Speaker. Earlier this year, Dr. Berman lost her 16-year-old son, Sammy, to Fentanyl poisoning after he connected with a drug dealer on social media.

Other topics covered in the 22 workshops included student mental health; social media safety; the impacts of COVID-19 on drug abuse; teen suicide update; teen vaping trends; what the marijuana industry doesn't want you to know; and updates on D.A.R.E curricula and training.

Highly respected speakers from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, SAM - Smart Approaches to Marijuana, Stanford University, University of North Carolina Greensboro, the United States Public Health Service, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention were among the many individuals presenting the workshops.

Launched in 1983, D.A.R.E. is the largest and most comprehensive K-12 prevention education program in the world taught in thousands of schools throughout America, as well as in dozens of other countries. D.A.R.E.'s official mission today is teaching students good decision-making skills to help them to lead safe and healthy lives. While D.A.R.E. curricula address drugs, it also focuses on violence, bullying, internet safety, and other high risk circumstances that could be a part of the daily life of students. For more information, visit www.dare.org.

SOURCE D.A.R.E. America

Related Links

http://www.dare.org


MENLO PARK, Calif., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Kukun, the leader in property data and predictive analytics for home renovations, announces that SoFi will be adding the new Kukun Digital Cost Estimator into the SoFi app via Relay, SoFi's personal financial management tool. This addition builds on SoFi and Kukun's existing partnership since 2018 with SoFi offering Kukun and SoFi's Home Improvement Cost Calculator products to their customers. Kukun is providing Relay users property data, property photos, and property values with Automated Valuation Models (AVM) for those who want to know details about specific home investments.

By implementing Kukun's Property Tracking feature, Relay will allow members to track the value of owned real estate and manage various financial aspects related to the home. Relay aims to be the single destination to help SoFi members have a comprehensive understanding of their money, and real estate is often the most significant financial investment, making it a critical asset to track and manage.

Kukun's latest Cost Estimator can now be found on Relay so consumers can better allocate their remodeling budgets for the best possible result, improving the investment value of their homes.

"We are excited for this expansion of our technology relationship given the booming real estate market and growth of the renovation economy," says Raf Howery, CEO and founder of Kukun.

Under the arrangement, Kukun will provide SoFi with Automated Valuation Models (AVM), images and enhance its current digital estimator. The improved tool will include new rooms such as home gym and office and a real-time calculation of the return on investment (ROI) of every remodeling project.

"At SoFi, we're on a mission to help our members achieve financial independence to realize their ambitions," said Jennifer Nuckles, Executive Vice President at SoFi. "With Relay, we want to provide our members with a holistic, real-time look at their finances and now, in partnership with Kukun, we'll differentiate our personal finance offering by giving members insight into their real estate assets, which is a critical component in helping members get their money right."

How to find Kukun's Tools on SoFi Relay: You can activate SoFi Relay through your SoFi.com login on the web or in the SoFi mobile app. Register to get started and access SoFi Relay from the web.

About Kukun:

Kukun is the leading originator of property data and predictive analytics, enabling homeowners to buy better, remodel smarter, and maintain easier. Kukun's products help consumers, realtors, real estate investors make forward-thinking financial decisions to generate wealth. The Company provides solutions that illustrate which communities are likely to see the most price appreciation, how to make a profit on home renovations, easily estimate the cost of any renovation, and include all information a home buyer and homeowner needs to optimize their home experience. Kukun's data and analytics products also serve leading companies in the investment, real estate, construction, and banking industries. Kukun is the only real estate renovation engine that is used on the websites of many of the largest banks across America. Visit https://mykukun.com/ to learn more.

About SoFi:

SoFi helps people achieve financial independence to realize their ambitions. Our products for borrowing, saving, spending, investing and protecting give our more than one million members fast access to tools to get their money right. SoFi membership comes with the key essentials for getting ahead, including career advisors and connection to a thriving community of like-minded, ambitious people. SoFi is also the naming rights partner of SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Chargers and the Los Angeles Rams. For more information, visit SoFi.com or download our iOS and Android apps.

PR CONTACTS:

Tiffany Woo

Press Pass LA PR + Social for Kukun

[email protected]

(310) 817-0230

SoFi:

[email protected]

Related Images

image1.png

SOURCE Kukun
The conference, officially entitled "Central and South Asia: Regional Interconnectivity. Challenges and Opportunities", is scheduled for Friday (July 16) and is expected to gather more than 600 participants from over 40 countries. Among the participants will be Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan and President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will address the participants via video-message.

Plans for the conference were first alluded to in September when President Shavkat Mirziyoyev addressed the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly. "Today, the Central Asian states face an important strategic task," he said. "This is to ensure deep integration of our region into the global economic, transport and transit corridors." He then announced specific plans for this week's conference in his yearend address to Uzbekistan's parliament, the Oliy Majlis.

While the event is intended to build links to South Asia and help stabilize and propel economic expansion across the entire region, much discussion is expected to focus on the future of Afghanistan. President Mirziyoyev has spent much of his first term in office creating conditions for friendly relations with Uzbekistan's closest neighbours, including Afghanistan.

One major element of that effort has been his promotion of strategically important transport and energy links through Afghanistan to the South Asia markets beyond. Along with plans for a major transport and energy corridor, also through Afghanistan, the current security situation is expected to be discussed. Regional states will discuss how they can help to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan.

Other stakeholders such as the United States, Russia, China, India, the EU and the United Kingdom will be represented. Russia's and China's delegations will be led by foreign ministers Sergei Lavrov and Wang Yi, respectively. Other delegation leaders will include: EU External Relations Commissioner Josep Borrell, UK Minister of State for the Commonwealth and United Nations Lord Ahmad, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Mevlut Cavusoglu and others.

Representatives of multilateral financial institutions, including the World Bank, ADB, EBRD and IDB will also attend.

Some 80 members of the international media will be present. Much of the conference will be streamed live in Uzbek, Russian and English.

SOURCE Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan, London
AUSTIN, TX, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Disco Learning Media Inc. ("Disco"), a subsidiary of ProBility Media Corp. (OTCPK: PBYA), an education company building the first full-service training and career advancement brand for the skilled trades, has confirmed it will support a new educational career program for CPS Energy in San Antonio, Texas. CPS Energy is the nation's largest public power, natural gas and electric company, that serves the Greater San Antonio Region.

This new program, the CPS Energy Summer Fellowship, aims to provide high school and college age students interested in energy careers with access to award-winning science documentaries, online STEM resources, hands-on learning opportunities, and the unique chance to engage with energy/water industry experts. The program will be done in collaboration with multiple educational organizations, including the Best Earth Ever ("BEE") Program, MakeWater, Students of Service ("SOS") San Antonio, and the Webber Energy Group at the University of Texas at Austin.

"Our Fellowship students are champions of change and are passionate about creating a better, more sustainable tomorrow," says Juan Garcia, President of Disco Learning Media. "We are proud to support CPS Energy in this exciting new pathway for students to gain valuable career experience, and we're thrilled to be offering this program with our partners."

Disco's partnership with CPS Energy is also linked to the Smart Energy Education program, established in 2020, and sponsored by CPS Energy, global technology leader Itron, Inc., and the State of Texas. Smart Energy Education is composed of several robust STEM programs, such as the Resourcefulness, an energy and water eCourse for high school students, and the Watt Watchers of Texas, a K-12 energy-saving program for schools and families. Like the CPS Energy Fellowship Program, Smart Energy Education is part of a robust initiative to build a strong future talent pipeline for the energy industry.

About Disco Learning Media

Disco Learning Media specializes in eCourse development, program management, and consulting. The company also offers instructional design and media production services. Their mission is to enhance learning experiences through integrated design and data. With over 20 years of media production and educational design experience, their vision is to create a fundamental shift in teaching and learning through innovative, high quality educational products.

About ProBility Media Corp.

ProBility Media Corp. is an industrial education and training technology company headquartered in Coconut Creek, Florida, offering education online and in person programs including training in a variety of vocational industries. ProBility is executing a disruptive strategy of defragmenting the education and training marketplace by offering high quality training courses and materials to prepare the workforce for excellence. ProBility services customers from the individual to the small business to the enterprise level corporation. For more information, visit http://www.ProBilityMedia.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This Press Release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements reflect the Company's current beliefs and are based upon information currently available to it. Accordingly, such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or advise in the event of any change, addition or alteration to the information included in this Press Release including such forward-looking statements, except as required by federal securities laws.

SOURCE Probility Media Corp.

Related Links

http://www.ProBilityMedia.com


Thousands of enterprise customers work with Bridgepointe's trusted team to execute technology purchasing decisions every day. "Bridgepointe and Element Critical share the same commitment to deliver innovative technology that ensures optimal IT results for our customers," states Wayne Dietrich, Chief Operations Officer at Element Critical. "Together, we can solve customer's crucial technology challenges with cost-effective and highly-reliable data center services, amplifying the customer-focused solutions for which Bridgepointe is known."

Element Critical brings a consultative approach to compute and storage deployments for businesses, from high-growth startups to large enterprise businesses. "Element Critical's data centers are located in key business markets across the nation," says Mel Melara, Head of Bridgepointe's DC3 Data Center Practice. "Our IT strategists are especially excited about Element Critical's latest data center addition to the Houston market - Houston One. Utility power flexibility extends beyond the meter in Houston, where customers can negotiate directly with multiple utility power providers, a notably unique client advantage."

In addition to providing flexible and custom engineered solutions for today's businesses requirements, adding Element Critical's Tier III facilities to Bridgepointe's supplier portfolio extends Bridgepointe's market reach. Modern enterprises recognize with 5G networks and edge computing on the horizon, that the future of infrastructure is distributed; IT architectures must be everywhere required by businesses. This partnership between Element Critical and Bridgepointe means that customers can deploy hybrid IT infrastructure solutions, either for corporate or production workloads or for high-density compute footprints, in key markets across the U.S.

About Element Critical

Element Critical is a leading provider of tailored data center colocation services backed by solutions engineering expertise. Element Critical's Tier III hybrid IT-ready facilities are carrier-neutral, network-rich, concurrently maintainable, and available in various deployment sizes and densities. Element Critical cares as much about the people we serve as the servers we house. For more information, visit www.elementcritical.com or connect with our team at [email protected].

About Bridgepointe Technologies

Bridgepointe Technologies is a leading IT Strategy firm that provides unbiased solutions to help meet their client's technology needs. Since 2002, Bridgepointe's deep and broad supplier relationships have offered true freedom of choice to clients from SMEs to the Fortune 500. Supported by in-house, best-in-class Solution Architects and IT Strategy Experts, the firm has developed a proven process to quickly and cost-effectively achieve optimal IT results. For more information about Bridgepointe, please visit bpt3.net.

SOURCE Element Critical

Related Links

https://elementcritical.com/


"EnviroKidz new Penguin Party and Polar Beary waffles are chock full of healthy whole grains and protein," says Arjan Stephens, General Manager of Nature's Path. "Believe it or not, the protein comes from navy beans and peas. Which means your kids are getting lots of delicious, certified organic veggies in every bite. But I guarantee they'll never guess (my kids didn't), because they taste so good!"

Polar Beary also gets its delightful pink color from beets and fresh blueberries. And despite their sweet taste, there are just 5 grams of sugar per serving in both varieties of waffles.

As with all EnviroKidz products, a portion of every purchase goes towards protecting endangered species. To date, EnviroKidz has donated more than $3.5 million to organizations that work towards saving threatened and endangered animals, including the Jane Goodall Institute and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.

EnviroKidz Polar Beary waffles will highlight the plight of the polar bear. Polar bears are endangered due to climate change, increased commercial activities, pollution, disease and habitat erosion. EnviroKidz has now deepened its existing partnership with Defenders of Wildlife, which is dedicated to the conservation of the polar bear. Their efforts include advocating against proposed oil and gas development on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, among many other initiatives.

The African penguin is also under threat due to climate change and industrial fishing. The EnviroKidz Penguin Party waffles will highlight the plight of penguins and the work of Penguins International. In the last 50 years, the population of the African penguin (featured on our EnviroKidz Penguin Party box) has dropped by 80% and there are only about 23,000 breeding pairs left in the wild. Penguins International is working hard to protect their future.

"As part of our mission to always leave the earth better than we found it, it is so important for us as a company to help protect endangered and threatened species," says Jyoti Stephens, VP Mission and Strategy at Nature's Path. "We treasure both Polar bears and African penguins and hope our donations will help ensure they flourish for many generations to come."

EnviroKidz Penguin Party and Polar Beary waffles are now available at retailers including Whole Foods Market.

ABOUT NATURE'S PATH FOODS

Nature's Path Organic Foods is North America's largest organic breakfast and snack food company and produces USDA and Canadian Certified Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified breakfast and snack foods sold in grocery and natural food stores in over 50 countries around the world. Committed to the triple bottom line socially responsible, environmentally sustainable and financially viable, Nature's Path works diligently to support communities and champion the cause of people and planet. Brands include Nature's Path, Love Crunch, Qi'a, Que Pasa, Flax Plus, and EnviroKidz. Founded in 1985, Nature's Path is headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia and employs hundreds of valued team members at its four facilities in Canada and the United States.

ABOUT DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE

Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With nearly 2.2 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit Defenders.org/newsroom and follow us on Twitter @Defenders.

ABOUT PENGUINS INTERNATIONAL

Penguins International is a non-profit organization committed to preserving and protecting penguins around the world. Founded in 2017, Penguins International is on a mission to actively engage in penguin conservation projects, to advance knowledge and understanding of penguins through scientific research and to promote awareness of threats to penguins, and to provide conservation education to the public.

Penguins International does not focus on one specific type of penguin, but on the protection and conservation of all species of penguins worldwide. Currently, 9 out of 18 species of penguins are threatened with extinction. Penguins International programs include penguin pollution exposure research, educational penguin workshops, development of artificial nest boxes, habitat restoration, and supporting penguin conservation partners.

Find out more at www.penguinsinternational.org and follow us at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PenguinsIntl

Instagram: @penguins_international

Twitter:@PenguinsIntl

To learn more about EnviroKidz, head to our website www.envirokidz.com or follow us on social:

Instagram: @envirokidz

TikTok: @envirokidz

Facebook: @envirokidz

Twitter: @Envirokidz

Contact: Samantha Falk

Director of Communications, Nature's Path

[email protected]

SOURCE Natures Path
SHANGHAI, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Envision Group, a world-leading green technology company, recently donated dozens of oxygen concentrators and 44,000 protective masks to India in wake of the shortage of essential medical supplies during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Shri Ajith Pawar inaugurated the donation event on 16th June 2021, together with the Minister of Food and Drug Administration Dr. Rajendra Shingane, Minister of State for Home Affairs Mr. Shambhuraj Desai, and Mr. Milind Kulkarni, CEO of Envision Energy India Company.

Kane Xu, Vice President of Envision Energy said, "Envision Group has strong ties with the local communities, and we want to do our best to protect the health and safety of the local people. Following the outbreak of Covid-19, Envision donated several batches of masks and other medical supplies to support the local health care system and frontline workers to fight against the pandemic, and we will continue to do more."

Since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak, Envision Group led and coordinated a series of efforts to donate essential medical supplies to countries around the world. On March 01 2020, Envision Group put into operation the Envision Smile Manufacturing Center, a mask production facility set up within just 15 days, with a daily output of 100,000 masks. To date Envision Group has donated over 6 million masks, along with protective clothing and other medical to Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Italy, Germany, France, the United States and Argentina, and will continue to support the global effort in combating Covid-19.

About Envision Group

Envision Group is a leading global green tech company. With the mission of "solving challenges for a sustainable future", the Group designs, sells and operates smart wind turbines and smart energy storage systems through Envision Energy, AIoT-powered batteries through Envision AESC, and the world's largest AIoT operating system through Envision Digital. Envision also manages the RMB ten billion Envision-Sequoia Capital Carbon-Neutral Fund, and owns the Envision Virgin Racing Formula E team.

In 2019, the Group ranked among the Top 10 of the "World's 50 Smartest Companies" by the MIT Technology Review; as an innovation powerhouse, Envision leverages a global network of R&D and engineering centres across China, the United States, Germany, Denmark, Singapore and Japan, to lead in the development and innovation of green technologies.

Envision Group joined the global "RE100" initiative in 2019, becoming the first company in mainland China to commit to achieving 100% green power consumption by 2025. On April 22, 2021, Envision Group announced that it will achieve carbon neutral in operations by the end of 2022, and achieve carbon neutral throughout its supply chain by the end of 2028.

SOURCE Envision Group
WASHINGTON, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- China Tech Threat Co-Founder Roslyn Layton issued the below statement on Alan Estevez, who President Biden named today to head the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). Read here for more on the elevated importance of BIS as the People's Republic of China seeks to acquire strategic U.S. technology to advance its military.

"We congratulate Mr. Estevez on his nomination at a time of expanded responsibility and oversight at BIS," said Roslyn Layton. "Without the Bureau's due diligence, the latest and greatest American-made, sensitive and strategic technologies could end up in the hands of the Chinese military and threaten our national security. During his confirmation hearing, we expect the members of the Senate Banking Committee to ask Mr. Estevez how he intends to strengthen controls on strategic technologies like advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment, whether BIS will move quickly to restrict known semiconductor fabs aligned with the Chinese military like YMTC and CMXT, and how BIS will enforce the updated requirements of the Export Control and Reform Act (ECRA) of 2018."

Given his three decades of Pentagon experience, Mr. Estevez has an unparalleled understanding of defense technology, supply chain security and foreign investment  all of which is an immense asset in helping him to direct BIS in strengthening our national and economic security by enforcing export controls, treaty compliance and continued U.S. technological leadership.

"Placing Mr. Estevez at the helm of BIS signals that the Biden administration understands the threat posed by China and is taking it seriously," Layton added.

SOURCE China Tech Threat
Web hosting provider, eukhost, launches a brand new Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) tool to help businesses optimise their websites for search engines.

LEEDS, England, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading UK web host, eukhost, has partnered with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) tools developer, marketgoo, to provide an all-in-one SEO tool for online businesses. Easy to use and with customised advice, marketgoo helps companies optimise their websites for greater search engine visibility, enabling them to drive more traffic to their websites and increase revenue.

"We're constantly looking for new ways to help our customers run their online businesses and marketgoo stood out as an exceptional toolkit with extensive SEO functionality," said eukhost Director, Robert King. "Simple to use, even for beginners, it gives online businesses expert guidance about how to improve their web visibility and attract new customers."

With SEO expertise built-in, marketgoo enables eukhost customers to generate detailed, site-wide SEO audits, download progress reports, get real-time dashboard updates and carry out customised SEO plans, prioritised for the needs of their own websites. Covering both technical and on-page optimisation, the tool assists with indexing issues, backlinks, keyword ranking, mobile-friendliness, website speed and more.

"With a lot of the hard work automated, it's ideal for organisations with little time or budget to devote to search engine optimisation," added Mr. King.

Features include:

User-friendly dashboard

Customised SEO plans

Progress over time analytics

Integration with Google Analytics

Tools to increase traffic and inbound links

Competitor tracking

Mobile optimisation recommendations

Monthly SEO reports

Available in Lite and Pro versions, eukhost is making marketgoo available for anyone with a website, not just its existing hosting customers. More information is available at https://www.eukhost.com/seo-tools.

For further information, please contact

Robert King, Director

eukhost Ltd

7 Commercial Street

Morley, Leeds

West Yorkshire

LS27 8HX

[email protected]

Tel: 0800 862 0380

Available times: 08:00 - 18:00 (BST)

Related Images

eukhost-seo-tools.png

eukhost seo tools

eukhost SEO tool for digital marketing.

SOURCE eukhost
DENVER, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- National direct primary care provider Everside Health ("Everside"), formerly Paladina Health, Activate Healthcare and Healthstat, announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire Pennsylvania-based provider R-Health . R-Health, a leader in direct primary care, supports employers with self-funded health plans with the aim to improve health outcomes and lower costs through providing employees with near-home and on-site health clinics and 24/7 access to virtual care. The acquisition of R-Health expands Everside's presence in the Mid-Atlantic and is another step in its plans to provide better access to care, while also giving R-Health clients access to expanded direct primary care capabilities nationwide. The terms of the deal remain confidential.

With the integration, R-Health adds 12 clinics to Everside's national footprint of health centers across 33 states. Everside, one of the nation's largest direct primary care providers, improves the health of employees, retirees and their dependents by providing customized solutions to deliver accessible, high-quality care while lowering healthcare costs. Its tech-driven, value-based business model delivers quality outcomes and cost savings  typically reducing employers' total healthcare costs by 17% in three years and 31% in five years, respectively.

"Everside Health and R-Health share a common vision of providing a highly differentiated patient experience that delivers exceptional satisfaction, improves clinical outcomes and reduces costs," said Chris Miller, CEO of Everside. "We are excited to bring our organizations together  this acquisition will position us to strategically increase the number of employers and patients that we can serve, particularly in Pennsylvania and New Jersey."

Everside has scaled its technology infrastructure to create a flexible and integrated system for cross-center utilization nationwide, including a virtual care mobile application to further support primary care services. Employers that engage Everside to co-manage the health of their communities have seen measurable benefits, both for patients and for the employers themselves.

"Both of our organizations believe that patients should have access to the right care, in the right place, at the right time, leveraging data analytics and technology to support meaningful doctor-patient relationships," said Mason Reiner, CEO of R-Health. "We are pleased to have found in Everside a partner that will give R-Health clients access to a direct primary care organization with national reach and which shares our commitment to providing access to better healthcare at lower costs."

R-Health was represented by financial advisor Westcove in the transaction.

About Everside Health

Everside Health, formerly Paladina Health, Activate Healthcare and Healthstat, is one of the largest direct primary care providers in the United States, operating 340+ health clinics in 33 states located at or near the facilities of its employer, union and other benefit sponsor clients. Everside's patient-focused, care-obsessed, technology-driven healthcare delivery model aims to align incentives to benefit the patient, the physician and the benefit provider, all while reducing the total cost of care. Patients receive convenient, low- or no-cost access to physicians and 24/7 virtual care, reducing the need for costly ER use. Everside Health is based in Denver. For more information, visit www.eversidehealth.com.

About R-Health

R-Health is a direct primary care provider that is working to change the way patients engage with their doctors by removing barriers to care. R-Health provides convenient access to a personal doctor, supports building an enduring and trusting relationship with care providers, and delivers technology to support this partnership every step of the way. R-Health's unique approach leads to significant cost savings for its partners and improved health outcomes for its patients. R-Health provides care to members in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. For more information, visit www.r-health.md.

Contact

[email protected]

SOURCE Everside Health

Related Links

https://www.eversidehealth.com


LONDON, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- EY today announces being awarded five 2021 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards. This includes two Global Partner of the Year Awards 2021: Global Advisory Services Partner of the Year and Global Power Apps and Power Automate Partner of the Year. The EY organization was also named Country Partner of the Year in the US, Chile and Lithuania.

The Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards recognize Microsoft partners that have developed and delivered outstanding Microsoft-based solutions during the past year. Awards were classified in various categories, with recipients chosen from a set of more than 4,400 submitted nominations from more than 100 countries. The EY organization was recognized among a global field of Microsoft partners for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology.

Jim Little, EY Global Microsoft Alliance Leader, says:

"I am proud and excited that the EY organization has been recognized as the recipient of five notable 2021 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards and as a finalist in multiple categories. Being awarded the Global Advisory Services Partner of the Year Award for the second year in a row, and now receiving the Global Power Apps and Power Automate Partner of the Year accolades, highlight how EY teams are combining business ingenuity with Microsoft technology excellence to develop leading, innovative and differentiated solutions that help create exponential value for clients. The award recognitions in the US, Chile and Lithuania are also a testament to the outstanding work of EY teams to deliver value through the development and implementation of solutions-based on Microsoft technology."

For the second consecutive year, EY has received the Global Advisory Services Partner of the Year Award. The award highlights high value consulting services offered by EY teams, and solutions that leverage Microsoft technologies to help society and businesses to digitally transform. With the launch of the EY Microsoft Services Group, the EY organization has invested in skills, assets, solutions and Microsoft capabilities combined with industry and functional focus to help drive exponential outcomes for clients.

The Global Power Apps and Power Automate Partner of the Year Award showcases EY excellence in developing innovative solutions using Power Apps and Power Automate technologies to help address clients' needs and societal challenges. Specifically, through the EY PowerApps Center of Excellence (CoE) and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, EY teams developed a number of solutions to quickly help governments and citizens connect during the crisis, including:

EY Grant Accelerator, a fast, scalable and affordable way to help get pandemic relief to citizens and small businesses using technologies such as Dynamics 365 and Power Platform developed by EY teams.

The EY Vaccine Management Solution, which provides the infrastructure required for documenting, managing, administering and monitoring the vaccine distribution life cycle.

The EY Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Forgiveness Platform, a technology that supports banks and borrowers navigating Paycheck Protection Program lending and loan-forgiveness programs.

Rodney Clark, Corporate Vice President, Global Partner Solutions, Channel Sales and Channel Chief, Microsoft, says:

"I am honored to announce the winners and finalists of the 2021 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards. These remarkable partners have displayed a deep commitment to building world-class solutions for customersfrom cloud-to-edgeand represent some of the best and brightest our ecosystem has to offer."

Lastly, the EY organization was named a global finalist in two industry awards, Energy and Education, and one Modern Work and Security award for Apps & Solutions for Microsoft Teams. The EY organization was also recently recognized as a worldwide Leader for Microsoft Implementation Services by IDC MarketScape.

For more information, please visit ey.com/microsoft.

Joanna Hardy

EY Global Media Relations

+1 212 773 4473

[email protected]

SOURCE EY
MILAN, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Roberto Righi, CEO of the Milano Musical Awards (MMA), together with MMA's board and Broadway International Group, have announced the inaugural Festival Internazionale del Musical (International Festival of Musical Theatre), a global celebration showcasing the creativity of the world's talented contemporary musical theatre artists and productions, in Milan, Italy in Summer, 2022.

Academy and Tony Award winner Whoopi Goldberg is featured in a special video introducing the Festival, with appearances by Tony Award winner Ben Vereen and musical theatre stars from around the world performing the iconic song "Magic to Do" from the musical Pippin by Academy and Grammy Award winner Stephen Schwartz. Click here to watch and share the video.

For the Inaugural Festival, several acclaimed musical productions will be invited to perform in prominent theatres in Milan and the Lombardy region over a two-week period in Summer, 2022. The Festival will include a Gala Event, featuring performers and presenters honoring a Musical Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. The recipient honoree will be announced in the fall of 2021.

With strong support from the city government of Milan and the Lombardy region, the local arts industry and Italian fashion icons, the Festival will embrace the hubs of Broadway and London's West End, as well as musical theatre art and artists around the globe, from Europe to Asia to Latin America and beyond.

Giuseppe Sala, Mayor of Milan, said: "Milan is the natural home for all expressions of creativity and beauty. We wish this team all the best on this first edition of the International Festival of Musical Theatre, and we'll see you in Milan in 2022."

Fabrizio Carbon, Board member of MMA said: "We are thrilled to welcome the international musical community to our beautiful city, which has a long and illustrious history as a center for the arts and commerce."

Simone Genatt, Chairperson of Broadway International Group, said "Musical theatre is a powerful international voice which crosses cultural barriers and unites us. Broadway International Group is proud to partner with our colleagues and friends in Milan and around the world on this exciting new Festival."

More specifics including rules regarding eligibility and further logistic details will be announced in October 2021.

www.festivalinternazionaledelmusical.com

www.milanomusicalawards.com

Follow the Festival on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Click here to download photo and video assets.

Contacts for Media Inquiries: Chris Boneau / Heath Schwartz

[email protected]; [email protected]

SOURCE Festival Internazionale del Musical

Related Links

http://www.festivalinternazionaledelmusical.com


LAKEWOOD, Ohio, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- First Mutual Holding Co. (FMHC), a member-owned holding company headquartered in Ohio, welcomes Kathy Dockery as SVP, Chief Information Officer. In her role, Kathy leads the enterprise IT division, including IT service delivery, enterprise systems, business intelligence and digital strategy. Her focus is on delivering technology business solutions in partnership with key business units and affiliate banks to enable growth objectives, drive agility and improve the employee and customer experience.

Kathy brings proven leadership and technology expertise, demonstrated success in building talented teams and a commitment to operational excellence to the FMHC senior management team. She joins FMHC from Fifth Third Bank where she served as a Technology Director. Before joining Fifth Third, Kathy was with Key Bank for over 20 years, serving in technology roles of increasing responsibility, including leading the development of a Digital Business Automation Center of Excellence.

"Kathy brings a unique blend of strong leadership competencies, technology acumen and an innovative mindset to FMHC," said FMHC CEO Thomas J. Fraser. "Kathy's collaborative leadership approach will help us accelerate our technology transformation and ensure we are delivering enhanced technology services and digital solutions to our employees and the customers of our family of mutual banks."

In addition to her professional accomplishments, Kathy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational Development from Baldwin Wallace University, an associate degree in Computer Science and completed the Women in Stem Leadership Program at Case Western Reserve University.

About First Mutual Holding Co.

First Mutual Holding Co. (FMHC) is a member-owned holding company headquartered in Ohio. FMHC provides a structure that allows independent affiliate banks to continue to serve their communities and grow as member-owned institutions. Affiliates of FMHC include First Federal Lakewood (Lakewood, OH), First Mutual Bank FSB, (Belpre, OH), Blue Grass Federal Savings and Loan (Paris, KY), Warsaw Federal Savings and Loan (Cincinnati, OH) and Martinsville First Savings Bank (Martinsville, VA). firstmutualholding.com

SOURCE First Mutual Holding Co.
SHENZHEN, China, July 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As a technical storage brand from Longsys, FORESEE focuses on the industry storage field. By relying on long-term R&D investment and technological breakthroughs, it has never stopped striving to be the best in storage. To this end, FORESEE has launched enterprise-level products such as the DDR4 R-DIMM and S802 SATA SSD in quick succession. The enterprise-level DDR4 R-DIMM memory module adopts a 2Rank 72bit architecture, and the gold fingers are processed according to the industry's highest 30u" standard. In terms of performance, the product can reach a frequency of up to 3200Mhz, with CL19-19-19-19 and CL22-22-22-22 stable and low timing. Its superior performance can meet the operating requirements of data centers while also allow them to perform at a higher level and provide them with a more stable experience.

The S802 SATA SSD adopts the original 3D TLC flash memory medium, DRAM-base and capacitor array. The original manufacturer's 3D TLC flash memory medium can achieve sequential read and write speeds of 550MB/s / 500MB/s, and random read and write speeds of 85K/75K, which can allow data centers to perform at an exceedingly high level. In addition, the product has passed the company's rigorous reliability tests to ensure that S802 SATA SSD has a mean time between failures of 2 million hours. In terms of hardware technology, of particular note is how the product has added power failure protection technology to provide continuous power supply in the event of a power failure. This allows for the cached data and key data stored in the SSD to be saved in time to prevent the loss and damage of key data under abnormal conditions, thus ensuring that data remains safe and work can continue to proceed normally. Whether dealing in enterprise-level or industrial-grade storage products, FORESEE has reached the mainstream level of the industry and can meet the diverse storage needs of various industry and consumer products.

For application scenarios such as government and enterprise smart terminals, industrial Internet of Things, and autonomous driving which are undergoing digital transformation, platform systems such as ERP, CRM and cloud storage need to achieve uninterrupted normal operation by storing massive amounts of data to ensure daily business operations continue to develop normally. This means that the storage system associated with the data center must possess various capabilities such as data error correction, data protection, expansion and scalability. Therefore, storage products must also advance with the times, and continue to evolve and upgrade themselves.

In the past 22 years, thanks to its strong innovation capabilities, Longsys has developed abundant upstream and downstream resources in the supply chain and maintained close cooperative relationships with many top semiconductor chip manufacturers. Over the years, Longsys has continued to accumulate technology and steadily enhanced its position in the storage market through various core strengths such as self-developed equipment and firmware. Since the creation of the FORESEE brand in 2011, the company has invested extensively into the R&D and innovation of industrial-grade storage products. It has established industrial and R&D bases in Shanghai and Zhongshan, and introduced four product lines: embedded storage (including industrial storage), industrial memory card, solid- state drive, and memory module. At the same time, it has implemented a quality management system to FORESEE's full line of products which covers five major areas: resource management process, project quality management, product quality management, supplier quality management and customer quality management. Every segment of the product's entire life cycle is strictly controlled in order to ensure supply chain delivery for industry customers. Longsys also provides professional after-sales services.

With the continued refinement of this "new infrastructure" and the completion of digital transformation in various industries and fields, the storage system, functioning as the core of data centers, is bound to widen the playing field for development opportunities. It is clear to see that FORESEE's strategy of driving the development of the storage industry forward through the use of innovative technologies will not only provide more high-quality, stable and reliable storage solutions for government and enterprise-level data centers in the professional market, but also expand into the industrial regulation and vehicle regulation markets.

SOURCE Longsys
LEONARDTOWN, Md., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The St. Mary's County Health Department and PinPoint US, LLC have partnered to offer free digital COVID-19 vaccine cards for those living in St. Mary's County. Initially launched in English, the VaccineCheck service is now also available in Spanish for community members. VaccineCheck generates a personalized digital version of a CDC vaccine card after verifying COVID-19 vaccine history through Maryland's statewide immunization registry. Community members can also use this service to upload images of their paper CDC vaccine card for safe digital record-keeping accessible through their smartphone or computer. Data uploads and verification of vaccine history are conducted using the HIPAA-compliant PinPoint platform.

Lost your CDC Card? Register for a Verified Digital Vaccine Card. Now available in Spanish.

Visit smchd.org/vaccinecheck to get your digital vaccine card today! For more information on getting your COVID-19 vaccine, visit smchd.org/covid-19-vaccine or call the St. Mary's County Health Department at (301) 475-4330.

"We could not be more excited about the partnership with St. Mary's County Health Department. They were the first local health department to implement the VaccineCheck program in the country and now we are expanding the program throughout other counties in Maryland," says Mr. Chris Nickerson, PinPoint Managing Partner. "Adding the Spanish version of the program will increase accessibility."

"Since launching this effort in April, already over 9,000 St. Mary's County community members have utilized this convenient way to maintain an electronic version of their personal COVID vaccine record," said Dr. Meena Brewster, St. Mary's County Health Officer. "It's great for those who want ready access to their personal medical record, especially if they have lost their paper vaccine card. We hope this tool also helps employers in offering incentives to their employees who get vaccinated."

About VaccineCheck

VaccineCheck is the industry leader in innovative solutions for digital health card issuance, management & verification. Secured data collection and multi-factor verification of vaccine history are conducted using our HIPAA-compliant EMR platform. Learn more at https://vaccinecheck.us/health

Contact: Abby Chandler, [email protected], 888-750-2247

SOURCE St. Mary's County Health Department
DUBLIN, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global and China CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization) Market Insight Report, 2021-2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The total size of the global CDMO market in 2019 is US$ 63.3 billion, including US$ 7.03 billion in clinical stage, US$ 44.63 billion in chemical commercialization stage and US$ 11.66 billion in biological stage. We estimate that by 2025, the total size of the global CDMO market will be US$ 119.58 billion, with a compound growth rate of 11.2%.



In 2019, the total size of China's CDMO market was 44.1 billion yuan, of which the chemical CDMO scale was 39.22 billion yuan and the bio CDMO scale was 4.88 billion yuan. We estimate that by 2025, the total size of China's CDMO market will be 131 billion yuan, with a compound growth rate of 19.9%, of which the chemical CDMO scale is 107.86 billion yuan, and the bio CDMO scale is 23.15 billion yuan, with compound growth rates of 18. Overall, China's CDMO industry will still maintain rapid growth, among which bio CDMO will grow faster.

In recent years, multinational pharmaceutical companies have focused on core business by selling API and preparation factories. We estmiate that with multinational pharmaceutical companies focusing on front-end R&D and production of new treatment technologies, the current production function of chemical drugs will gradually shift to CDMO enterprises, and the overall outsourcing ratio is expected to continue to increase.



Globally, the penetration rates of CXO in different R&D and production stages are quite different. From the current penetration rates in various fields of pharmaceutical outsourcing, the penetration rates of pharmacology and toxicology assessment, API outsourcing production and clinical stage are relatively high, which are 55%, 35% and 33%, respectively, while the penetration rates of preparation development and API development are only 16% and 9%. This is mainly due to the high requirements for technological innovation and research ability of outsourcing enterprises in preparation development and API development business, and only a small number of CXO enterprises with independent innovation ability can be competent.



We expect the bio-CDMO market to grow at a double-digit annual pace, driven by the expansion of the biodrug market and upturn in consignment ratio. We also anticipate a boost to CDMO market growth from consigned manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines. Fujifilm HD, JSR, and other Japanese companies are making the bio-CDMO business a core component of their growth strategies, and this business could contribute to earnings expansion.



Biodrug and CDMO Markets: The global biodrug market was worth about 30tn in FY3/20. Compared to conventional small-molecule drugs, these technologies operate at genetic and cellular levels, and achieve high precision. We expect the market to continue growing at a double-digit pace. Currently the outsourcing ratio for biodrugs is about 12%, a fairly low level versus 30% in the small-molecule drug market.

Biodrugs require more sophisticated manufacturing and quality control. Biodrug outsourcing product developers include many venture capital companies with modest capital accumulation, in addition to major drug companies. We forecast double-digit growth in the biodrug CDMO (bio-CDMO) market, led by expansion of the biodrug market and upturn in outsourcing ratio.



In recent years, CDMO international giants such as Catalent and Lonza have continuously expanded the capacity of cell and gene therapy by means of merger and acquisition. Lonza first realized the production of 2000L adeno-associated virus CMO, with more than 50 virus vector customers and more than 120 nuclear gene therapy projects; Catalent has a production area of over 400,000 square feet and 60 gene therapy projects. In 2020, it strengthened its layout through the acquisition of MaSTherCell.



WuXi PharmaTech is the earliest one who deployment of cell gene therapy in China and has accumulated a good customer research and development pipeline. WuXi PharmaTech laid out the cell and gene therapy business in advance many years ago, and now has 31 clinical stages of cell and gene therapy CDMO projects; 23 phase I clinical trials; eight phase II/III clinical trials.



Key Topics Covered:



1. A Glance of CDMO



2. Snapshot of Polices



3. China CDMO industry driving forces

3.1 The return on investment of innovative drugs declined

3.2 Pharmaceutical companies' willingness to R&D remains high

3.3 Share of emerging peers in R&D pipelines continues to increase

3.4 The rise of domestic innovative drugs brings incremental space

3.5 COVID-19 Vaccines and Therapeutic Drugs



4. Global and China CDMO Market Insight and Forecast

4.1 CDMO - M&A Transaction Comps

4.2 Global CDMO Market

4.3 China CDMO Market



5 Competitive Landscape

5.1 Small molecule CDMO

5.2 Macromolecular CDMO



6. Depth Insight of Overseas & Domestic Peers

Lonza

Catalent

Samsung Biologics

FUJIFILM Diosynth

Asymchem

Wuxi Biologics

Pharmaron Inc.

SynTheAll Pharmaceutical

Jiuzhou Pharmaceutical

3SBio Inc.

Lianhe Chemical Technology

Laviana Pharma

PharmaResources ( Shanghai )

) Shanghai ChemPartner

Frontage Labs

Viva Biotech ( Shanghai )

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/e5ek48

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com


DUBLIN, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global and China Bispecific Antibody Market Insight Report, 2021-2024" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The platform of preparation technology of bispecific antibodies is of great value, but the commercialization ability is more important, and the bispecific antibodies based on large targets will win.



At present, there are only 9 small molecules in the global Top 30 drugs. The first batch of antibody drug patents expired, and tumor necrosis factor TNF, Her2 and CD20 target drugs gradually declined. New targets emerge one after another, and immune checkpoint PD-(L)1, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor VEGFR, interleukin IL12/17/23/4R/6R, GLP-1, etc. increase rapidly.

Next, it is expected that other big targets will be squeezed into this list, such as immune checkpoints LAG-3, TIM-3, IDO, OX40, etc., monoclonal antibody derivatives bispecific antibodies, antibody-coupled drugs (chemical drugs and nuclear drugs), etc., and drugs at RNA and DNA levels gradually surfaced.

Because of the characteristics of high response rate, high specificity, low toxicity and moderate cost, although the preparation techniques are various and not yet fully mature, commercialization begins to rush. Compared with the PD-1 monoclonal antibody five years ago, it began to enter the stage of rapid commercialization.



The commercialization direction of bispecific antibodies is clear: breaking the pain points existing in previous treatment schemes one by one, and PK with existing drugs.



Taking the 10 bispecific antibodies closest to commercialization as an example, Faricimab is an ultra-long-acting VEGF/ANGPT2 bispecific antibody developed by Roche, which solves the problem of time interval between each medications of Aflibercept and may have better curative effect.

The EGFR/c-MET bispecific antibody Amivantamab developed by Johnson & Johnson solves the problem of EGFR Exon20ins mutation and EGFR classic mutation and resistance to the third generation TKI; Akeso's AK104 PD-1/CTLA-4 bispecific antibody solves the problem that PD-1 has poor curative effect and combined with CTLA-4, the second immune checkpoint, has better curative effect, but it has more toxic and side effects.



Global antibody giants Roche, Johnson & Johnson and Amgen have accelerated the deployment of bispecific antibody products.



Roche mainly relies on Genentech, a wholly-owned company, and Chugai, a Japanese company, to develop bispecific antibodies. At present, 26 antibody drugs are in clinical practice, including 9 bispecific antibodies, of which 3 bispecific antibodies are in stage III or BLA.

Among the 10 antibody drugs in clinical practice of Johnson & Johnson Company, 8 are bispecific antibodies and 1 is in phase III clinical practice. The technical source is mainly from DuoBody platform of partner GenMab Company. Among the 14 antibody drugs in clinical status of Amgen, 9 are bispecific antibodies, and their technical sources mainly come from BiTE platform of Micromet Company acquired in the early stage, and blinatumomab (anti-CD3/CD19 bispecific antibody) has been developed based on this platform.

In addition, in 2015, Amgen obtained the commercialization rights of 6 early biospecific antibody products of Xenocor (based on XmAb platform of Xenocor). China's R&D speed and quantity of bispecific antibodies keep up with those of the United States and Europe, and the technical strength of Chinese enterprises exceeds that of Japan peers.



At present, there are 42 domestic biospecific antibodies entering the clinical stage, of which 18 are in international multi-center clinical practice (accounting for 14% of international multi-center clinical molecules).

The enterprises with higher clinical quantity and progress are Cinda Bio, Kangfang Bio, Baekje Shenzhou, Corning Jerry, Zaiding Medicine, Hengrui Medicine, Youzhiyou and Lingteng Bio. In the past two years, domestic biopharmaceuticals have signed many momentous License-out transactions with overseas Big pharma peers.

These cooperations are not for large pharmaceutical companies looking for alternative solutions, but for making use of Chinese products to make up for their shortcomings in R&D.



Key Topics Covered:



1. General Overview

1.1 A Glance of Bispecific Antibody

1.2 Industry Chain Analysis

1.3 Snapshot of Policies



2. Main technology platforms

2.1 IgG-like bispecific antibody platform with Fc fragment

2.1.1 Chain mismatch problem

2.1.2 Knob-in-Hole(KiH)

2.1.3 CrossMab

2.1.4 YBODY

2.1.5 DVD-Ig

2.1.6 FIT-Ig

2.1.7 HCAb and HBICE

2.2 Non-IgG-like bispecific antibody without Fc fragment

2.2.1 half-life problem

2.2.2 HLE BiTE

2.2.3 DART

2.2.4 TandAbs

2.2.5 Bi-Nanobody



3. Global and China Market Insight and Forecast

3.1 Bispecific Antibodies on the Market-Catumaxomab (Delisted)

3.2 Bispecific Antibodies on the Market-Blinatumomab (Blincyto)

3.3 Bispecific Antibodies on the Market-Emicizumab (Hemlibra)

3.4 Global and China Bispecific Antibody Market Forecast



4. Competitive Landscape

4.1 R&D on pop target products

4.2 Pipeline under R&D of domestic peers



5 Pipeline and R&D progress of domestic peers

Akeso, Inc.

Alphamab Oncology

Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Co. Ltd.

Innovent Biologics (Suzhou) Ltd.

BeiGene, Ltd.

Zai lab Ltd.

Yifan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

YZY Biopharma

EpimAb Biotherapeutics

LintonPharm Co., Ltd.

Biotheus Inc.

Biokin Pharmaceutical

Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co., Ltd.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/qw5n9s

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com


Enterprises will go through the Response, Recovery, and Renew phases.

Download a Free Sample Report on COVID-19

The caviar market will witness a positive impact during the forecast period owing to the widespread growth of the COVID-19 pandemic. As per Technavio's pandemic-focused market research, market growth is likely to increase in 2021 as compared to 2020.

With the continuing spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic, organizations across the globe are gradually flattening their recessionary curve by leveraging technology. Many businesses will go through response, recovery, and renewal phases. Building business resilience and enabling agility will aid organizations to move forward in their journey out of the COVID-19 crisis towards the Next Normal.

This post-pandemic business planning research will aid clients to:

Adjust their strategic planning to move ahead once business stability kicks in.

to move ahead once business stability kicks in. Build Resilience by making effective resource and investment choices for individual business units, products, and service lines.

making effective resource and investment choices for individual business units, products, and service lines. Conceptualize scenario-based planning to mitigate future crisis situations.

Download the Post-Pandemic Business Planning Structure

Key Considerations for Market Forecast:

Impact of lockdowns, supply chain disruptions, demand destruction, and change in customer behavior

Optimistic, probable, and pessimistic scenarios for all markets as the impact of pandemic unfolds

Pre- as well as post-COVID-19 market estimates

Quarterly impact analysis and updates on market estimates

Gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports by using

Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform

Related Reports on Consumer Discretionary Include:

Global Shark Meat Market - Global shark meat market is segmented by product (shark fin and shark meat) and geography (APAC, Europe, North America, South America, and MEA).

Download Exclusive Free Sample Report

Global Plant-based Meat Market - Global plant-based meat market is segmented by type (plant-based beef, plant-based chicken, plant-based pork, and others) and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA).

Download Exclusive Free Sample Report

Major Three Caviar Market Participants:

Agroittica Lombarda Spa

The company offers Caviar brands such as Calvisius Caviar, Cavalier Caviar Club, and Ars Italica Caviar.

Amur Caviar Co. Ltd.

The company offers caviar brands such Amur River Sturgeon Caviar, Kaluga Caviar, and Hybrid Sturgeon Caviar.

California Caviar Co. LLC

The company offers Caviar brands such as Paddlefish Sturgeon Caviar, Classic White Sturgeon Caviar, and Paddlefish Sturgeon Caviar, Golden Russian Osetra Caviar, Royal Russian Osetra Caviar, and Royal White Sturgeon Caviar.

If you purchase a report that is updated in the next 60 days, we will send you the new edition and data extract FREE! Get report snapshot here for a detailed market share analysis of market participants during COVID-19 lockdown:

https://www.technavio.com/report/caviar-market-industry-analysis

Caviar Market 2021-2025: Segmentation

Caviar market is segmented as below:

Product

Inorganic Caviar



Organic Caviar

Distribution Channel

Hypermarkets And Supermarkets



Independent Retailers



Specialty Stores



Others

Geography

Europe



North America



APAC



South America



MEA

The caviar market is driven by the increasing demand for luxury foods and new methods of processing caviar. In addition, the health benefits of caviar are expected to trigger the caviar market toward witnessing a CAGR of over 7% during the forecast period.

Get more insights about the global trends impacting the future of the caviar market, Request Free Sample @ https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR43436

Market Drivers

Market Challenges

Market Trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

Competitive scenario

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contact

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

Report: www.technavio.com/report/caviar-market-industry-analysis

Newsroom: newsroom.technavio.com/news/caviarmarket

SOURCE Technavio

Related Links

http://www.technavio.com


FACTS AT A GLANCE Edition: 16; Released: June 2021 Executive Pool: 79739 Companies: 311 - Players covered include Acxiom Corporation; Alibaba Group Holding Limited; Amazon.com, Inc.; Baidu, Inc.; Dentsu International; Eniro AB; Epsilon Data Management, LLC; Facebook, Inc.; Google, Inc.; IAC/InterActiveCorp.; Microsoft Corporation; LinkedIn Corporation; Sohu.com, Inc.; SXM Media; Tencent Holdings Ltd.; TradeDoubler AB; Twitter, Inc.; Xaxis, LLC; Verizon Media and Others. Coverage: All major geographies and key segments Segments: Mode/Format (Display, Search, Other Modes/Formats); Vertical (Retail & Consumer Goods, Automotive, BFSI, IT & Telecom, Media & Entertainment, Tourism, Education, Other Verticals) Geographies: World; USA; Canada; Japan; China; Europe; France; Germany; Italy; UK; Spain; Russia; Rest of Europe; Asia-Pacific; Australia; India; South Korea; Rest of Asia-Pacific; Latin America; Argentina; Brazil; Mexico; Rest of Latin America; Middle East; Iran; Israel; Saudi Arabia; UAE; Rest of Middle East; Africa.

Complimentary Project Preview - This is an ongoing global program. Preview our research program before you make a purchase decision. We are offering a complimentary access to qualified executives driving strategy, business development, sales & marketing, and product management roles at featured companies. Previews provide deep insider access to business trends; competitive brands; domain expert profiles; and market data templates and much more. You may also build your own bespoke report using our MarketGlass Platform which offers thousands of data bytes without an obligation to purchase our report. Preview Registry



ABSTRACT-

Global Digital Advertising and Marketing Market to Reach $786.2 Billion by 2026

The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in people staying at home and/or working remotely from home, resulting in huge increase in online traffic. The large increases in online traffic provide opportunities for companies to keep their target audience engaged through digital marketing initiatives. While overall digital marketing spending declined due the pandemic-induced cuts in marketing and advertising budgets during the lockdown , available budgets are being directed at digital marketing initiatives. In addition, advertisers are realizing higher returns on their investments owing to lower competition for advertising space. As a result, the pandemic is driving changes to digital marketing strategies at companies, especially at companies where digital marketing initiatives had relatively low priority.

Clicks and display ads are among the most prominent forms of digital marketing initiatives. Clicks are expensive compared to display ads, as clicks ensure the customer is directed to the advertiser's website. However, clicks provide a better return on investment. The declines in digital marketing budgets across the spectrum resulted in lower costs per click. As a result, marketers are gaining more clicks for the same cost. Proactive advertisers with long-term outlook are utilizing the lower costs of clicks to improve their marketing plans and stand to gain the most when conditions improve. The continued spending on digital marketing initiatives would ensure that such advertisers have a high recall for their products or services when the conditions improve. In addition, the lower costs of digital marketing, as well as the unfavourable circumstances for other marketing and advertising formats is resulting in advertisers exploring and/or increasing their marketing spends on digital marketing.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Digital Advertising and Marketing estimated at US$350 Billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of US$786.2 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 13.9% over the analysis period. Display, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to grow at a 15.5% CAGR to reach US$521.5 Billion by the end of the analysis period. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Search segment is readjusted to a revised 12.2% CAGR for the next 7-year period. This segment currently accounts for a 40.9% share of the global Digital Advertising and Marketing market.

The U.S. Market is Estimated at $155.3 Billion in 2021, While China is Forecast to Reach $254.9 Billion by 2026

The Digital Advertising and Marketing market in the U.S. is estimated at US$155.3 Billion in the year 2021. The country currently accounts for a 38.6% share in the global market. China, the world second largest economy, is forecast to reach an estimated market size of US$254.9 Billion in the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 18.4% through the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 7.6% and 8.1% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 5.8% CAGR while Rest of European market (as defined in the study) will reach US$288.5 Billion by the close of the analysis period.

Developed regions including the US, Canada, Japan and Europe, constitute key revenue contributors for the global digital advertising and marketing market. Factors such as huge penetration of connected devices, highly developed digital ecosystem backed by large media companies and ICT services providers, and robust focus on digital media campaigns among businesses remain the prime contributors for growth and progress digital ad market in the developed countries. Per capita spending on connected devices remains high in the developed regions, with a significant portion of consumers purchasing mid- to high-end devices for various purposes. Products with sophisticated features and functions are popular among consumers, and price of the product remains mostly irrelevant as majority of consumers are affluent. While consumer affluence and general inclination towards advanced technologies favour wider acceptance of connected devices, active participation of leading electronics manufacturers drives momentum in the market. As penetration of connected devices and consumer inclination towards digital solutions remains high, developed regions represent the primary markets for digital advertising and marketing, globally.

By Vertical, Retail & Consumer Goods Segment to Reach $158.3 Billion by 2026

Global Retail & Consumer Goods (vertical) segment is estimated at US$78.7 Billion in 2020, and is projected to reach US$158.3 Billion by 2026 reflecting a compounded annual growth rate of 11.9% over the analysis period. China constitutes the largest regional market for Retail & Consumer Goods segment, accounting for 36.1% of the global sales in 2020. China is poised to register the fastest compounded annual growth rate of 15.3% over the analysis period, to reach US$76.7 Billion by the end of the analysis period. More



MarketGlass Platform

Our MarketGlass Platform is a free full-stack knowledge center that is custom configurable to today`s busy business executive`s intelligence needs! This influencer driven interactive research platform is at the core of our primary research engagements and draws from unique perspectives of participating executives worldwide. Features include - enterprise-wide peer-to-peer collaborations; research program previews relevant to your company; 3.4 million domain expert profiles; competitive company profiles; interactive research modules; bespoke report generation; monitor market trends; competitive brands; create & publish blogs & podcasts using our primary and secondary content; track domain events worldwide; and much more. Client companies will have complete insider access to the project data stacks. Currently in use by 67,000+ domain experts worldwide.



Our platform is free for qualified executives and is accessible from our website www.StrategyR.com or via our just released mobile application on iOS or Android



About Global Industry Analysts, Inc. & StrategyR

Global Industry Analysts, Inc., (www.strategyr.com) is a renowned market research publisher the world`s only influencer driven market research company. Proudly serving more than 42,000 clients from 36 countries, GIA is recognized for accurate forecasting of markets and industries for over 33 years.



CONTACTS:

Zak Ali

Director, Corporate Communications

Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

Phone: 1-408-528-9966

www.StrategyR.com

Email: [email protected]



LINKS

Join Our Expert Panel

https://www.strategyr.com/Panelist.asp

Connect With Us on LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/global-industry-analysts-inc./

Follow Us on Twitter

https://twitter.com/marketbytes

Journalists & Media

[email protected]

SOURCE Global Industry Analysts, Inc.
FACTS AT A GLANCE Edition: 18; Released: June 2021 Executive Pool: 536 Companies: 61 - Players covered include American Cast Iron Pipe Company; ArcelorMittal SA; Borusan Mannesmann Boru Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S.; Europipe GmbH; EVRAZ North America; JFE Steel Corporation; Jindal SAW Ltd.; Jindal Tubular USA LLC; Kuwait Pipe Industries and Oil Services Company (KSC); Liaoyang Steel Tube Co., Ltd.; Man Industries Ltd.; National Pipe Company Ltd.; Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation; Noksel Aelik Boru Sanayi A.S; Northwest Pipe Company; PAO TMK Group; PSL Limited; Shengli Oil & Gas Pipe Holdings Limited; Stupp Corporation; Welspun Corp Ltd. and Others. Coverage: All major geographies and key segments Segments: Outer Diameter (18-24 Inches, 24-48 Inches, Over 48 Inches); End-Use (Oil & Gas, Water, Construction, Chemical, Other End-Uses) Geographies: World; USA; Canada; Japan; China; Europe; France; Germany; Italy; UK; Spain; Russia; Turkey; Rest of Europe; Asia-Pacific; India; South Korea; Rest of Asia-Pacific; Latin America; Middle East; Saudi Arabia; Rest of Middle East; Africa.

Complimentary Project Preview - This is an ongoing global program. Preview our research program before you make a purchase decision. We are offering a complimentary access to qualified executives driving strategy, business development, sales & marketing, and product management roles at featured companies. Previews provide deep insider access to business trends; competitive brands; domain expert profiles; and market data templates and much more. You may also build your own bespoke report using our MarketGlass Platform which offers thousands of data bytes without an obligation to purchase our report. Preview Registry



ABSTRACT-



Global Helical Submerged Arc Welded (HSAW) Pipes Market to Reach $6.3 Billion by 2026

Spiral Weld Pipes or Helical Submerged Arc Welded (HSAW) is a steel pipe that has a seam running its entire length in a spiral form. HSAW pipes are mainly used in onshore transportation of oil and gas, in water distribution, and cooling water lines by power generation facilities. In addition, these pipes are also used in structural applications such as piling in civil engineering constructions including high rise buildings and bridges. Earlier, use of HSAW pipes was limited to low pressure applications. However, improvement in manufacturing technology and steel grades over the years has extended its use to high pressure applications. In addition to the improvement in investments in oil and gas industry amidst the surge in energy consumption worldwide, replacement demand for most of the antiquated pipeline infrastructure, particularly in developed regions offers potential growth prospects.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Helical Submerged Arc Welded (HSAW) Pipes estimated at US$5.1 Billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of US$6.3 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 3.4% over the analysis period. 18-24 Inches, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to grow at a 3.2% CAGR to reach US$1.6 Billion by the end of the analysis period. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the 24-48 Inches segment is readjusted to a revised 3.7% CAGR for the next 7-year period. This segment currently accounts for a 60.8% share of the global Helical Submerged Arc Welded (HSAW) Pipes market.

The U.S. Market is Estimated at $830.2 Million in 2021, While China is Forecast to Reach $2.3 Billion by 2026

The Helical Submerged Arc Welded (HSAW) Pipes market in the U.S. is estimated at US$830.2 Million in the year 2021. The country currently accounts for a 15.74% share in the global market. China, the world's second largest economy, is forecast to reach an estimated market size of US$2.3 Billion in the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 4.1% through the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 2.1% and 2.4% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 2.3% CAGR while Rest of European market (as defined in the study) will reach US$2.4 Billion by the end of the analysis period. The US experienced significant growth in recent years led by factors such as commencement of large natural gas and shale gas exploration projects, liberalization of gas prices, and unbundling of pipeline transportation from gas commercialization. The high tide in the domestic natural gas sector, especially in the shale gas vertical, pumped in huge investments into pipeline infrastructure development projects. Major portion of the growth in the HSAW pipes over the next two decades is expected to emerge from the rapidly growing non-OECD economies, specifically China and India, led by an ever increasing demand for energy and rise in infrastructure development projects.

Over 48 Inches Segment to Reach $850.4 Million by 2026

Driven by uptake in drilling activity across the world, as exploration of deep-water oil & gas reserves intensify further and CAPEX spending improves, growth in large diameter pipes is expected to be upbeat. Rising demand from Asia is also expected to result in natural gas and oil being transported from long distances as the gap between consumer and supplier begins to expand. As a consequence, a significant rise in global investments for infrastructure projects such as pipeline networks is anticipated in the years ahead leading to growth in large diameter pipes. In the global Over 48 Inches segment, USA, Canada, Japan, China and Europe will drive the 1.9% CAGR estimated for this segment. These regional markets accounting for a combined market size of US$495.9 Million in the year 2020 will reach a projected size of US$584.7 Million by the close of the analysis period. China will remain among the fastest growing in this cluster of regional markets. Led by countries such as Australia, India, and South Korea, the market in Asia-Pacific is forecast to reach US$131.6 Million by the year 2026. More



MarketGlass Platform

Our MarketGlass Platform is a free full-stack knowledge center that is custom configurable to today`s busy business executive`s intelligence needs! This influencer driven interactive research platform is at the core of our primary research engagements and draws from unique perspectives of participating executives worldwide. Features include - enterprise-wide peer-to-peer collaborations; research program previews relevant to your company; 3.4 million domain expert profiles; competitive company profiles; interactive research modules; bespoke report generation; monitor market trends; competitive brands; create & publish blogs & podcasts using our primary and secondary content; track domain events worldwide; and much more. Client companies will have complete insider access to the project data stacks. Currently in use by 67,000+ domain experts worldwide.



Our platform is free for qualified executives and is accessible from our website www.StrategyR.com or via our just released mobile application on iOS or Android



About Global Industry Analysts, Inc. & StrategyR

Global Industry Analysts, Inc., (www.strategyr.com) is a renowned market research publisher the world`s only influencer driven market research company. Proudly serving more than 42,000 clients from 36 countries, GIA is recognized for accurate forecasting of markets and industries for over 33 years.



CONTACTS:

Zak Ali

Director, Corporate Communications

Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

Phone: 1-408-528-9966

www.StrategyR.com

Email: [email protected]



LINKS

Join Our Expert Panel

https://www.strategyr.com/Panelist.asp

Connect With Us on LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/global-industry-analysts-inc./

Follow Us on Twitter

https://twitter.com/marketbytes

Journalists & Media

[email protected]

SOURCE Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.strategyr.com


Complimentary Project Preview - This is an ongoing global program. Preview our research program before you make a purchase decision. We are offering a complimentary access to qualified executives driving strategy, business development, sales & marketing, and product management roles at featured companies. Previews provide deep insider access to business trends; competitive brands; domain expert profiles; and market data templates and much more. You may also build your own bespoke report using our MarketGlass Platform which offers thousands of data bytes without an obligation to purchase our report. Preview Registry

ABSTRACT-

Global Marketing Automation Market to Reach $6.3 Billion by 2026

When marketing activities are automated using software, it is referred to as 'marketing automation'. Repetitive activities like posting on social media platforms and email marketing are being increasingly automated, as it offers businesses dual benefits. A successful marketing automation strategy would also aim at reducing the number of customer friction points. Lead nurturing, personalized email marketing, campaign management, CRM integration, forms & landing pages, lead scoring, lead management and social media management are the important features of marketing automation. Growth in the global is set to be driven by rise of digital advertising, growing usage of the Internet and other technologies, and surging popularity of social media networks. Companies are increasingly relying on the digital media marketing techniques such as search engine marketing, social media marketing, online advertising and mobile advertising while continuing to engage in traditional channels to gain benefits of both the worlds. Ensuring that the brand stands available, relevant and consistent on social media is difficult for various companies. In addition, organizations are required to regularly update blogs and information while tracking trends, measuring effectiveness of social efforts and engaging with customers. These issues have paved way for social media automation solutions that allow companies to realize the power of marketing automation along with social media to drive gains.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Marketing Automation estimated at US$3.9 Billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of US$6.3 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 8.6% over the analysis period. Cloud, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to grow at a 9.6% CAGR to reach US$4.6 Billion by the end of the analysis period. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the On-Premise segment is readjusted to a revised 6.8% CAGR for the next 7-year period. This segment currently accounts for a 37.3% share of the global Marketing Automation market. Cloud-based tools allow marketers to gain more control over their marketing and business content. These tools allow for the proper implementation of strategies independently without the need to rely on other departments.

The U.S. Market is Estimated at $1.2 Billion in 2021, While China is Forecast to Reach $898.4 Million by 2026

The Marketing Automation market in the U.S. is estimated at US$1.2 Billion in the year 2021. The country currently accounts for a 29.31% share in the global market. China, the world's second largest economy, is forecast to reach an estimated market size of US$898.4 Million in the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 10.6% through the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 7.1% and 7.4% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 8.3% CAGR while Rest of European market (as defined in the study) will reach US$989.3 Million by the end of the analysis period. In the US, the COVID-19 pandemic onset led to a significant impact on digital advertising during the early part of 2020. However, in the second half of the year, the holiday season and ad spend by political parties aided in compensating for the losses registered earlier in the year. Digital ad spend therefore increased at a double-digit rate for the year. The increase in online shopping, home deliveries, and connected TV helped maintain the market's growth. Thriving economies, growing employment opportunities, rising income levels, continuous development of cellular markets, rising 4G penetrations, and increasing spending power in major countries are driving growth prospects in the Asia-Pacific region. More

MarketGlass Platform

Our MarketGlass Platform is a free full-stack knowledge center that is custom configurable to today`s busy business executive`s intelligence needs! This influencer driven interactive research platform is at the core of our primary research engagements and draws from unique perspectives of participating executives worldwide. Features include - enterprise-wide peer-to-peer collaborations; research program previews relevant to your company; 3.4 million domain expert profiles; competitive company profiles; interactive research modules; bespoke report generation; monitor market trends; competitive brands; create & publish blogs & podcasts using our primary and secondary content; track domain events worldwide; and much more. Client companies will have complete insider access to the project data stacks. Currently in use by 67,000+ domain experts worldwide.

Our platform is free for qualified executives and is accessible from our website www.StrategyR.com or via our just released mobile application on iOS or Android.

About Global Industry Analysts, Inc. & StrategyR

Global Industry Analysts, Inc., (www.strategyr.com) is a renowned market research publisher the world`s only influencer driven market research company. Proudly serving more than 42,000 clients from 36 countries, GIA is recognized for accurate forecasting of markets and industries for over 33 years.

CONTACTS:

Zak Ali

Director, Corporate Communications

Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

Phone: 1-408-528-9966

www.StrategyR.com

Email: [email protected]

LINKS

Join Our Expert Panel

https://www.strategyr.com/Panelist.asp

Connect With Us on LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/global-industry-analysts-inc./

Follow Us on Twitter

https://twitter.com/marketbytes

Journalists & Media

[email protected]

SOURCE Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.strategyr.com


NEW YORK, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Global mobile cranes market generated revenue of $13 billion in 2020, and is expected to grow significantly during 20212030. The major reasons behind this would be the rising construction activities and rapid industrialization in developing countries. Additionally, such cranes offer higher operational flexibility than tower cranes.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the mobile cranes market has been affected negatively due to the movement restrictions, social distancing measures, and lockdowns implemented around the world. These measures have led to the curtailed manufacturing of construction equipment, since the manufacturing plants have been shut down. Additionally, construction has also been stalled, which has led to a decreased demand for mobile cranes.

Get the sample copy this report @ https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/mobile-cranes-market/report-sample

Side-lifter, truck-mounted, all-terrain, telescopic handler, rough-terrain, crawler crane, and others are the categories of the type segment. Among these, the mobile cranes market was dominated by the truck-mounted category in 2020, as these cranes offer movability and flexibility during construction.

The categories of the mobile cranes market, on the basis of application, are industrial, construction, and utility. The construction category generated the highest revenue in 2020 due to the rising renovation and construction activities. Mobile cranes prove helpful while building skyscrapers, rail and road bridges, and pavements.

The mobile cranes market is expected to be dominated by Asia-Pacific (APAC) throughout the forecast period owing to the booming construction sector of the Philippines, China, Indonesia, and India. The India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) says that the Indian government is planning to invest heavily in highways, renewable energy, and urban transport. For this, in Union Budget 20202021, it sanctioned $24.27 billion for the development of transport infrastructure and $10.3 billion to the Indian Railways for related construction. Other factors propelling the market advance in the region are the increasing usage of mobile cranes at logistics and shipping ports and growing mining sector.

Browse detailed report with COVID-19 impact analysis on Mobile Cranes Market Research Report: By Type (Truck-Mounted, Side-Lifter, All-Terrain, Rough-Terrain, Telescopic Handler, Crawler Crane), Application (Construction, Industrial, Utility) - Global Industry Analysis and Growth Forecast to 2030 @ https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/mobile-cranes-market

Companies in the mobile crane market are launching new crane models to gain more customers.

For instance, in October 2020, the LTM 1150-5.3 telescopic boom crane was introduced by Liebherr-International AG. Its telescopic boom is 66 meters long, and the crane has a maximum payload capacity of 150 tons.

In the same way, in October 2020, the National Crane NBT60XL boom truck was unveiled by Manitowoc. The counterweight of the truck can be configured from 0 to 16,000 lbs and removed hydraulically.

Make enquiry about this report @ https://www.psmarketresearch.com/send-enquiry?enquiry-url=mobile-cranes-market

The most-significant players in the global mobile crane market are Bauer AG, Kobelco Construction Machinery Co. Ltd., Kato Works Co. Ltd., Liebherr-International AG, Manitex International, LiuGong Machinery Co. Ltd., Manitowoc, Sany Heavy Industry Co. Ltd., Palfinger AG, Sarens n.v./s.a., Tadano Ltd., Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd., Terex Corporation, Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co. Ltd., and XCMG Group.

Browse More Reports

Hydraulic Equipment Market Insights - Globally, Asia-Pacific dominated the hydraulic equipment market in 2020. The market is also expected to surge sharply in the region in the upcoming years, due to the surging requirement for agricultural and construction equipment, on account of the soaring investments being made in infrastructural development activities and booming population in the regional countries.

Power Liftgate Market Insights - The growing demand for increasing customer convenience and comfort, mushrooming sales of autonomous and electric vehicles, and rising incorporation of electronic components, sensors, and devices in vehicles are predicted to drive the expansion of the power liftgate market in the region in the forthcoming years.

About P&S Intelligence

P&S Intelligence is a provider of market research and consulting services catering to the market information needs of burgeoning industries across the world. Providing the plinth of market intelligence, P&S as an enterprising research and consulting company, believes in providing thorough landscape analyses on the ever-changing market scenario, to empower companies to make informed decisions and base their business strategies with astuteness.

Contact:

Prajneesh Kumar

P&S Intelligence

Contact: +1-347-960-6455

Email: [email protected]

Web: https://www.psmarketresearch.com

SOURCE P&S Intelligence
LONDON, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Whether rolling out across global sites, implementing IFS Cloud or looking for a cross-continent, multilingual support hub, this latest strategic IFS focused partnership makes a global project feel local.

Enterprise Analytics, an industry leader and preferred partner for IFS Applications, today announced a global partnership with Oracle partners and industry specialists, ERP Dynamics. Together, forming Enterprise Analytics Global, the industry leaders will offer a seamless go-to support and services offering for IFS customers.

ERP Dynamics' technology suite puts the user experience at the heart of business systems and processes. Combined with Enterprise Analytics' IFS Partnership, deep system integration knowledge and process understanding, both organisations can support a variety of core business functions on an international scale without ever compromising on quality.

The London based Enterprise Analytics Global will unite industry leaders Robert Mullen, CEO, Kevin Douglas, COO, Abigail Allman, CMO, Eranda Maldeniya, CFO, Nadeera Jayasinghe, CCO, Janaka Bandara, CTO and Executive Directors Lalindu Samaraweera and Pethum Ruhunage in their approach to market. Collaboration on this scale, with the industry's leading innovation ambassadors, is of huge benefit to IFS users globally, particularly those engaging in a rollout or implementing IFS across global sites.

"We're delighted to be joining the Enterprise Analytics group, having worked with the team for a while now we are well aware of the quality of output and level of customer services Enterprise Analytics offer. Our new board consists of senior IFS industry professionals who know and understand the UK and European market requirement for IFS and other business systems solutions and services," - Robert Mullen, CEO, UK and Europe at Enterprise Analytics.

The new formation of Enterprise Analytics Global unites both companies in an effort to strengthen Enterprise Analytics' market presence across the UK, Europe and North America. The partnership will enable the companies to identify new market opportunities where they can expand their capabilities and bring further added value to customers.

"We're proud to offer more value to our customers dispersed across 4 continents, as one of the leading providers of IFS Applications Software, solutions and support globally. The new partnership signifies an important milestone for us. At a time when most organisations have faced uncertainty, we have thrived and expanded," - Eranda Maldeniya, Director, Enterprise Analytics.

About:

ERP Dynamics

Established in 2021, ERP Dynamics are an innovative technology organisation experiencing rapid growth. They are specialists in ERP and bespoke development using ancillary software. Offering expert consultancy on a global scale, they support their clients on their digital transformation journeys from selection and implementation through to user adoption and ongoing support. http://www.erpdynamics.co.uk

Enterprise Analytics

Founded in 2018, IFS Applications partner Enterprise Analytics focuses on improving IFS Applications via implementation, rollouts and adoption across industry. Enterprise Analytics is a preferred supplier of consultancy and support services for IFS Applications internationally. http://www.e-analytics.com

Marketing & Communications Contact:

Abigail Allman

CMO, Enterprise Analytics

e: [email protected]

w: https://www.e-analytics.com

SOURCE Enterprise Analytics

Related Links

www.e-analytics.com


DALLAS, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A Dallas County jury returned a swift and unanimous $22 million verdict for Godwin Bowman PC client Maya Walnut LLC in a case that began as a commercial lease dispute but evolved into a complex fraud matter.

Maya Walnut, which held a lease agreement with defendant Walnut Creek Center Inc. to operate a grocery store in Garland, Texas, was awarded $1.5 million for past lost profits and $3 million for future lost profits, or alternatively $12 million for lost business value. In addition, the jury awarded $10 million for punitive damages.

According to court documents, Maya Walnut conducted lease renewal negotiations with Walnut Creek Center over an 18-month period. During that time, the defendants were "surreptitiously negotiating a lease agreement for the same premises with the plaintiff's competitor." Even after the property had been leased to the competing business, Walnut Creek Center continued to represent to Maya Walnut that it was willing to keep negotiating the lease for the same premises, according to the lawsuit.

The June 29 verdict found Walnut Creek Center and related parties liable for fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and promissory estoppel.

"It was clear the defendants concealed and misrepresented information from Maya Walnut, and we were pleased the jury returned with a decision that affirmed Walnut Creek Center's wrongdoings," said Godwin Bowman attorney Ira Bowman.

The case was the first multiday live jury trial in Dallas County's 68th District Court before Judge Martin Hoffman since COVID-19 shut down the courthouse.

In addition to Mr. Bowman, Maya Walnut LLC was represented at trial by Godwin Bowman attorney Samantha Baynes.

The case is No. DC-19-06309 Maya Walnut LLC f/k/a Maya Foods Inc. v. Brian Ly and Walnut Creek Center, Inc., in the 68th Dallas County District Court.

For more than three decades, the Texas commercial litigation lawyers at Godwin Bowman PC have provided experienced and effective representation to clients. The firm represents Fortune 500 companies in some of the nation's most public, high-stakes trials, as well as individuals facing a wide range of litigation, including complex divorces. Ultimately, the firm's goal is to help clients achieve a successful result. To learn more about the firm's award-winning business litigation lawyers, visit https://www.godwinbowman.com/.

Media Contact:

Rhonda Reddick

800-559-4534

[email protected]

SOURCE Godwin Bowman PC

Related Links

https://www.godwinbowman.com


Ambassador Garza serves as Counsel in the Mexico City office of White & Case LLP, one of the world's leading global law firms. Prior to joining White & Case, Garza served as the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico from 2002 to 2009.

Drawing on decades of high-profile political, legal and business experience, Ambassador Garza is recognized for his knowledge of U.S.-Mexico relations and both nations' business and political environments. Greenbrier has more than 4,000 employees at its five business operations in Mexico, primarily in railcar manufacturing.

Ambassador Garza currently serves as a director of Kansas City Southern, a publicly traded rail-based transportation company and is the chairman of its Mexican subsidiary Kansas City Southern de Mexico. He is also on the board for MoneyGram, a publicly-traded global money transfer company, and serves as chairman of the board's compliance and ethics committee.

Ambassador Garza is a member of the board of trustees of Southern Methodist University where he chairs the University's Committee on Governmental and Legal Affairs. Garza also serves as a Director to the Americas Society, the US Chamber of Commerce in Mexico and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and COMEXI, the CFR's Mexican counterpart. Ambassador Garza is a past recipient of the Aguila Azteca (Aztec Eagle), highest honor bestowed by the Mexican government upon a foreign national.

Ambassador Garza is a past chairman of the Railroad Commission of Texas, elected to that statewide office in 1998, and serving through 2002. From 1994 through 1997 Ambassador Garza was the State of Texas Secretary of State, and Senior Policy Advisor to the Governor of Texas from 1994 to 1997. Prior to that, Ambassador Garza held the position of Cameron County Judge from 1988 to 1994.

Ambassador Garza holds a B.B.A from the University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. from Southern Methodist University School of Law and has been honored as a distinguished alumnus at both institutions, and was recently inducted into the McCombs School of Business Hall of Fame. Ambassador Garza is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the District of Columbia Bar and is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court.

"Ambassador Garza is a critical addition to our Board, bringing an unmatched combination of experience in the railroad industry combined with a deep understanding of the people and government of Mexico," said William A. Furman, Chairman & CEO. "Greenbrier is a global company, firmly rooted in North America. More than 55% of our employees are based in North America, predominantly in the United States and Mexico. By every measure, North America is our largest market served. Among his many expected contributions to Greenbrier, Ambassador Garza will help us navigate the USMCA trade agreement, review aspects of the North American rail interchange system from new perspectives and support outreach to our employees in Mexico, the United States and Canada."

James R. Huffines

James R. Huffines has more than 35 years of experience in banking and finance. He most recently served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for subsidiaries of Hilltop Holdings, Inc., a publicly-traded banking and financial services company (HTH). He also served as a member of the Hilltop board of directors from the time of the merger in 2012 with the primary subsidiary, Plains Capital Corporation until the end of 2017. Huffines joined Plains Capital Bank in 2001 as chairman of the Central and South Texas banking markets. He served as President and COO of Plains Capital Corporation from 2010-2015 before assuming the role at Hilltop Holdings. In addition, he served on the Plains Capital Bank board for 15 years as well as serving on the Plains Capital Corporation board. From 2007 to 2012, Huffines also served on the board of Energy Future Holdings as an independent director and as the board's audit committee chairman.

Huffines brings extensive community and state involvement to Greenbrier, including serving as chairman on the University of Texas (UT) System board of regents for four years during his seven years as a Regent. The UT System board is responsible for nine academic campuses and five different medical schools in the state. He served as well on the board of the UTIMCO, a $35 billion endowment fund for higher education in Texas. Huffines currently serves as chair of the board of Southwestern Medical Center, the largest foundation in the Dallas area, which has a mission of providing funding for research and support at the UT Southwestern Medical School. From 2015-2019, he chaired the Governor's University Research Initiative. In April of 2020, Governor Abbott named Mr. Huffines to chair his business strike force to reopen Texas after the COVID shutdown. Mr. Huffines currently serves on the board of Susser Bank holding company.

In 2009, Huffines was inducted into the UT McCombs School of Business Hall of Fame and in 2011 he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from University of Texas at Austin. He also received the Santa Rita Award in 2010 which is the highest honor bestowed by the board of regents for service to advancing all higher education in the state of Texas. He holds a B.B.A. in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin and attended the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University. Huffines is a lifelong Texan and his family is well known for growing a successful group of car dealerships established in 1924. After nearly 100 years of continuous family-run operations, The Huffines Motor Company practices two foundational principles which remain the touchstone for all decisions  "treat the customer the way they want to be treated and support the community." This credo aligns perfectly with Greenbrier's values and culture.

Furman added, "James Huffines is a remarkably talented leader who brings broad experience in banking and finance to Greenbrier. His years of service in higher education will inform our talent development programs. Likewise, his career in banking and finance will help us identify opportunities to make investments and seek access to capital. All of this will be extremely beneficial to Greenbrier's strategic planning and in executing our financial goals."

"Ambassador Garza and James Huffines are two exceptional additions to the Greenbrier Board. We expect them to make immediate and enduring contributions to our Board activities and deliberations. I join all of my fellow Greenbrier Directors in welcoming them both to the Board," Furman concluded.

About Greenbrier

Greenbrier, headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon, is a leading international supplier of equipment and services to global freight transportation markets. Through its wholly-owned subsidiaries and joint ventures, Greenbrier designs, builds and markets freight railcars and marine barges in North America, Europe and Brazil. We are a leading provider of freight railcar wheel services, parts, repair, refurbishment and retrofitting services in North America through our wheels, repair & parts business unit. Greenbrier manages 445,000 railcars and offers railcar management, regulatory compliance services and leasing services to railroads and other railcars owners in North America. GBX Leasing (GBXL) is a special purpose subsidiary that owns and manages a portfolio of leased railcars that originate primarily from Greenbrier's manufacturing operations. Together, GBXL and Greenbrier own a lease fleet of 8,700 railcars. Learn more about Greenbrier at www.gbrx.com.

SOURCE Greenbrier Companies, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.gbrx.com


MEKELLE, Ethiopia, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As the war-torn Tigray Region in northern Ethiopia continues to experience extreme food shortages (tens of thousands have died, 1.8 million are on the verge of famine, according to UNICEF; 400,000 are already there), one group is using a relatively new way to support aid efforts: NFTs.

Women mourn massacre victims one NFT created from photo

According to Mirna Saraswati of SaveTigray, "Last year we planned to create NFTs from Fair Trade Art created by women from Tigray. But the advent of the war in November put an end to those plans. So instead, we are making NFTs based on interpreted photos of the tragedy. We will sell them on our NFT marketplace, and donate the proceeds equally to four groups: the World Food Program, International Rescue Committee, UNICEF, and Save the Children." An example can be seen on their website, savetigray.net.

Using NFTs to support charities is something that has never been done before. The group hopes to use the Tigray project as a prototype, so that they can later create similar projects to address Climate Change, Racial Injustice, Disease, and other issues. "We believe that NFTs are here to stay," says the group's COO Savannah Partridge. "We've solved the biggest problem associated with them, which is energy usage. Our platform uses 10 million times less energy than the standard Etherium-based ones. Like any NFT, the provenance of each work can be easily traced through the Blockchain. And buyers can continue to use each image to raise more for the cause, if they so choose. NFTs earn Royalties every time they are sold, so they can keep fundraising forever."

SaveTigray also plans a publicity drive to make the public aware of the Famine and quasi-Genocide in Tigray. "Most people in the West, including celebrities who usually rally round for a tragedy this big, are not involved," says Partridge. "As much as we want to raise funds for victims, we really want to spread the news to millions. The Ethiopian government has announced that aid flights can resume from the capital, but so far none have been given approval. An outcry from the public can compel them to act."

To learn more visit SaveTigray.net.

To volunteer write to [email protected].

To bid on an NFT write to [email protected]

To donate, give to Paypal account [email protected]

Media Contact:

John Toomey

(626) 230-8862

SOURCE SaveTigray

Related Links

https://www.savetigray.net/


TAMPA, Fla., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- HealthEdge Investment Partners, LLC ("HealthEdge"), a healthcare focused private equity fund, and Synergistic Capital Partners ("SCP"), an independent sponsor, announced the completion of an investment in Today's Dental Network ("TDN"), a premier multi-specialty concierge dental practice network and support organization. TDN supports a diverse group of best-in-class clinical practices with leading providers offering general dentistry, periodontics, orthodontics, oral surgery, and a full-service dental lab for permanent and removable fixtures through seventeen locations serving Southwest Florida.

"We saw a unique opportunity to create an integrated community dental network platform with the depth and breadth of services, local geographic coverage, and leading technology to deliver a true "infant-to-senior" continuum-of-care service offering through a single patient experience," said Dr. Kevin Krause, TDN's Chief Executive Officer and co-founder. "With the addition of HealthEdge and SCP to the TDN team, we now have experienced investment partners who truly understand our space, share our vision, and can provide the financial backing and operational expertise to help guide our company through its next stages of growth."

HealthEdge Partner Scott Heberlein commented, "With an immediate addressable market in excess of $10 billion in the state of Florida alone and growing, favorable market tends, and more dental practice owners seeking to join multi-specialty DSO platforms, we believe TDN is well positioned to become a leader in the space. We are excited about the opportunity to back a dynamic, talented, and highly skilled clinical management team by providing the capital and operational support needed to expand and grow while providing a world-class patient experience." Josh Hamrick, Vice President of HealthEdge added, "We are pleased to partner with these highly respected practices and look forward to expanding TDN through additional partnership acquisitions in existing and other leading specialty practices across the state of Florida."

Synergistic Capital Partners, Co-Founder, Managing Director, Colin Forde, and Partner, Cory Mims, are excited to support TDN's growth thesis of aggressive expansion via investments in additional general dentistry and sub specialty practices across the Florida marketplace and will work in close partnership with CEO Kevin Krause and the HealthEdge team to identity and execute on suitable targets.

ABOUT TODAY'S DENTAL NETWORK

Today's Dental Network is a premier multi-specialty concierge dental practice network and support organization focused on providing complete turnkey practice management outsourcing solutions to a captive network of best-in-class, entrepreneurial, dentist specialists & surgeons across the Southwest Florida. The company offers a full suite of solutions and services through its centralized business office including IT systems, infrastructure & security, finance and accounting, sales & marketing solutions, human resources, risk management, legal and compliance administration, as well as acquisition and de novo practice expansion support. Today's Dental Network offers a truly integrated community network model with the depth and breadth of services and local geographic coverage to provide a true "infant-to-senior" continuum-of-care service offering through a single patient experience.

ABOUT HEALTHEDGE

HealthEdge Investment Partners, LLC is an operating-oriented private equity firm founded in 2005 that focuses exclusively on the healthcare industry. HealthEdge seeks to achieve superior returns by investing in businesses that benefit from the knowledge, experience, and network of relationships of its partners. HealthEdge's partners have more than 100 years of combined operating experience in healthcare as CEOs and investors. For more information on HealthEdge, please visit www.healthedgepartners.com.

ABOUT SCP

Synergistic Capital Partners is a healthcare-focused private equity firm led by healthcare experts and physicians with over a century of combined healthcare expertise. SCP generally invests solely in the healthcare services sector, where their investment methodology is rooted in patient-centered care and provider-centric values which has led to superior investment performance across their investment portfolio. To learn more about SCP, please visit: www.synergisticcapitalpartners.com.

Contact:

HealthEdge Investment Partners, LLC

5550 W. Executive Drive, Suite 230

Tampa, Florida 33609

(813) 490-7100

www.healthedgepartners.com

SOURCE HealthEdge Investment Partners, LLC

Related Links

https://www.healthedgepartners.com


SOMERSET, N.J., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- High5 , the world's first and only global total talent experience platform, has been honored as The Best New or Scale-up Solutions Provider at the 2021 TIARA Talent Solutions Awards for its innovative technology used to deliver immediate access to qualified global talent.

Congratulations to High5 for winning The Best New or Scale-Up Talent Solutions Provider Award!

Hosted by TALiNT Partners, the TIARA U.S. Talent Solutions Awards celebrate the best RPO, MSP, and talent solutions providers in the United States. High5, among seven other category winners, has been recognized as an inspiration to the talent solutions sector for its impact across the entire spectrum of talent activities, including:

Improving hiring effectiveness

Enhancing employer brand

Transforming candidate experience

Enabling better compliance

Supporting diversity and inclusion

Improving learning and development

Facilitating better onboarding or internal redeployment

"Every organization needs people and every individual needs a job. With the growing shift to a more global era of work, hiring at scale can either be increasingly difficult or it can be a great opportunity  the right technology can make the difference. At High5, our goal is to develop products that put talent and recruiters to work and connect employers with high-quality talent for any form of work, anywhere in the world," said Ben Thakur, CEO at High5.

The awards judging process was designed around the varied and complex demands of employers based on key performance metrics, case studies, and testimonials. The 2021 judging panel brought together some of the leading practitioners in talent acquisition from organizations such as GE Healthcare, PepsiCo, Omnicom Health Group, and LinkedIn.

"The quality of entries across the board was very high, with the winners' entries being nothing less than outstanding," said Ken Brotherston, Managing Director of TALiNT Partners. "Our finalists have shown that they can not only respond to rapidly changing client requirements, but do so in a way that is commercially viable for their own sustainability and long-term success."

High5 being recognized as Best New Solution validates the market need for talent solutions that make it easy to find ready-to-deploy, pre-vetted global talent as the labor market becomes more dispersed. Whether full-time, contract, contract-to-hire, freelance, on-site, or remote, High5's total talent experience platform gives employers immediate access to trusted talent on a global scale.

About High5

High5 is the world's first and only global total talent experience platform. With over 20 years of global staffing experience, we deliver immediate access to qualified global talent by connecting employers, recruiters, and working people to a trusted talent and vetting process, in-demand talent supply, and enduring talent communities. Unlike niche talent marketplaces, with High5, you can get it all done  any job, skill, work type, and in any geography. High5 is work, liberated. Learn more at www.high5hire.com .

Media Contact

Robert Merritt

732-248-1900

[email protected]

SOURCE High5
CHICAGO, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hireology , the leading recruitment CRM built for multi-location, decentralized enterprises, today announced the acquisition of employee referral technology provider, EmployUs . The acquisition further expands Hireology's solution set, helping customers attract and hire qualified talent from a range of channels including Google, Facebook, job boards and more. With EmployUs, Hireology customers will be able to fill positions faster by converting fragmented processes into a valuable employee referral program and broader recruitment strategy.

"As the economy reopens in the wake of the Covid pandemic, employers face a new challenge: finding enough people to hire," said Adam Robinson, CEO of Hireology. "I'm excited for our customers to see firsthand how running a successful employee referral program can help build a more robust talent pipeline and accelerate hiring."

EmployUs is a modern employee referral software that empowers organizations to leverage their employees and their networks to help hire. Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, EmployUs enables organizations like Syneos Health, Anderson Automotive Group, and Krispy Kreme to reward employees for recommending people to jobs, providing them with a pipeline of interested talent for open roles.

"Employee referrals are hired faster, stay employed longer and are more engaged compared to employees hired through other sources," said Ryan O'Donnell, CEO of EmployUs. "By bringing our solution together with Hireology, the market leader, employee referral programs will amplify existing sourcing strategies, saving time and reducing cost."

With the acquisition of EmployUs, Hireology customers will have the ability to easily design a referral program, invite employees to participate, get referrals, and manage rewards. Applicants referred will seamlessly flow into Hireology where hiring managers can automate communication and next steps for open roles or nurture referrals for future opportunities.

For more information on the Hireology platform, visit www.hireology.com .

About EmployUs

EmployUs helps companies make employee referrals their #1 source of hires. Their modern employee referral software helps companies create referral programs, send campaigns, track referrals, and reward employees. Employers and staffing agencies that use EmployUs see employee referrals increase by 50-200% while boosting employee retention and reducing hiring costs. Founded in 2015 in Raleigh, North Carolina, EmployUs has served 100+ enterprise customers across 50+ countries. For more information, visit www.employus.com .

About Hireology

Hireology's recruitment CRM empowers multi-location, decentralized enterprises and independently owned businesses to build their best teams with confidence. The company equips HR and business leaders with the skills and technology needed to manage the full employee lifecycle  from hire to retire  in one seamless platform. With focused expertise across several industries  including retail automotive, healthcare, hospitality, and professional and consumer services  more than 7,500 businesses today trust Hireology to help build great teams, lift customer service, and drive profitability. For more information, visit www.hireology.com .

MEDIA CONTACT

For Hireology

Erica Nooromid, Edelman

312.297.7576

[email protected]

SOURCE Hireology
NEW DELHI and SHENZHEN, China, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Huawei recently released its 2020 Sustainability Report. The company has been publishing this annual report for 13 consecutive years. The 2020 report explains the major progress that Huawei has made over the past year in its four strategies for sustainability: digital inclusion, security and trustworthiness, environmental protection, and a healthy and harmonious ecosystem.

TECH4ALL digital inclusion initiative: Leaving no one behind in the digital world

The COVID-19 pandemic has strained global education and healthcare systems in a way that has never been seen before. The company has been using its innovative ICT solutions to provide people across different regions with equal access to quality education and healthcare resources, and playing its part in the fight against the pandemic.

In 2020, Huawei rolled out its Skills on Wheels and Connecting Schools programs in over 200 schools around the world, benefiting more than 60,000 people. Huawei also used ICT solutions to assist the pandemic response in the communities where it operates and provided technical assistance to nearly 90 countries, doing its best to support local communities in this time of great need.

As part of its efforts to provide universal access to digital technologies and applications, Huawei provides 15 accessibility functions on its smartphones. Every month, about 10 million people use these functions that allow them to better enjoy a smart lifestyle.

In 2020, Huawei helped 22 protected areas in 18 countries manage natural resources and protect biodiversity more efficiently using its digital technologies. Huawei also launched the RuralStar Pro solution, which provides voice and mobile broadband services for sparsely populated remote villages. Its RuralStar solutions now provide network coverage for more than 50 million people in remote communities.

Staying people-centric: Building secure, trustworthy, and high-quality products, solutions, and services

"We believe that technology should be people-centric," said Tao Jingwen, a board member and Chairman of the CSD Committee of Huawei, in the report. "Technology should serve people in a manner that fully respects their rights by guaranteeing informed choice and consent."

Huawei treats cyber security and privacy protection as its top priorities. In 2020, Huawei released the Software Process Trustworthiness Capability Framework and Assessment Criteria, establishing a complete set of trustworthy coding production mechanisms. As of the end of 2020, Huawei had been granted 2,963 patents relating to cyber security and privacy protection around the world. Last year, the company signed data processing agreements with more than 5,000 suppliers and performed extensive due diligence to ensure compliance.

Despite the pandemic and being on the Entity List, Huawei continued to ensure the smooth communications of more than three billion people worldwide and support network stability during more than 200 disasters and major incidents.

Tech for a better planet: Powering green and sustainable development with technology

"An intelligent world should be a green world," said Liang Hua, Chairman of Huawei, in the report. "Advances in technology can help us better understand and protect nature, mitigating the impact of human activity on the planet. We believe that technology can work in harmony with nature and help make this world a better place."

As part of its efforts to create a greener and more sustainable digital world, Huawei focuses on cutting carbon emissions, promoting renewable energy, and contributing to a circular economy. In 2020, Huawei's CO 2 emissions per million RMB of sales revenue showed a 33.2% reduction compared to the base year (2012), beating the target (30%) the company set in 2016.

In 2020, the global environmental non-profit CDP scored more than 5,800 companies for their efforts to tackle climate change, and Huawei was one of the few companies that were recognized with a prestigious 'A' score for its actions to cut emissions, mitigate climate risks and develop the low-carbon economy.

To promote renewable energy, Huawei has deployed its digital power solutions in more than 170 countries and regions, serving one third of the world's population. To date, these solutions have generated 325 billion kWh of electricity from renewable sources and saved 10 billion kWh of electricity. These efforts have resulted in a reduction of 160 million tons in CO 2 emissions.

The company is also using more eco-friendly materials, designing its products for greater longevity, using more sustainable packaging, and reducing waste. Combined, these actions will help promote a circular economy.

Tech for good: Continuing to create social value and driving progress towards the UN SDGs

In addition to creating more business value for its customers, Huawei recognizes the importance of creating social value for all stakeholders and advancing progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Huawei cares about its employees and puts their safety first. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company took a number of steps to ensure the health and safety of employees and help suppliers and contractors safely resume work.

In 2020, Huawei organized more than 650 charitable activities around the world. Its flagship CSR program Seeds for the Future has benefited nearly 9,000 students from 130 countries and regions, and these young people will become a valuable talent pool for the ICT industry in the future.

Over the past year, Huawei continued to enhance its compliance program and engaged and collaborated openly and proactively with stakeholders to foster mutual understanding and trust.

In the post-pandemic era, technology is poised to play an even greater role in supporting sustainable social development. Huawei is ready and willing to work with its partners, and use innovative ICT solutions to support progress towards the UN SDGs, and ultimately, to bring digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world.

The 2020 Sustainability Report can be found at: http://www.huawei.com/en/sustainability/sustainability-report

About Huawei

Founded in 1987, Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. We have more than 197,000 employees, and we operate in more than 170 countries and regions, serving more than three billion people around the world.

Our vision and mission is to bring digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world. To this end, we will drive ubiquitous connectivity and promote equal access to networks; bring cloud and artificial intelligence to all four corners of the earth to provide superior computing power where you need it, when you need it; build digital platforms to help all industries and organizations become more agile, efficient, and dynamic; redefine user experience with AI, making it more personalized for people in all aspects of their life, whether they're at home, in the office, or on the go.

For more information, please visit Huawei online at www.huawei.com or follow us on:

http://www.linkedin.com/company/Huawei

http://www.twitter.com/Huawei

http://www.facebook.com/Huawei

http://www.google.com/+Huawei

http://www.youtube.com/Huawei

SOURCE Huawei
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- HubSpot , the customer relationship management (CRM) platform for scaling companies, announced today that its World Certification Week event will take place from August 2 to August 6, 2021. First introduced and founded by HubSpot as World Certification Day in 2020, the event has grown into a week-long global, virtual event that encourages professionals around the world to dedicate their entire week to learning by completing HubSpot Academy certifications. For every certification awarded, HubSpot will donate $5 to an education-focused nonprofit (up to $35,000); certifications secured in Australia and New Zealand will count toward a donation to the GO Foundation , with all other regions going to Teach For All 's Global Girls' Education Fellowship. In 2020, HubSpot donated $20,000 to UNICEF thanks to certifications completed on World Certification Day.

World Certification Week offers an opportunity for learners around the world to invest in themselves and their careers, while doing their part to support access to quality education worldwide. Existing HubSpot customers and marketing, sales, service, website management, and revenue operations professionals around the globe can refresh their skills in the tools they use everyday with the HubSpot software certifications, or learn something new with recently released certifications on topics like digital marketing and SEO . Obtaining a HubSpot certification can have career benefits as well for students or those just starting out in the industry as they receive a digital badge to add to resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and professional portfolios for every certification completed.

"Now, more than ever, individuals around the world are re-evaluating what they want from their careers. The first step is dedicating time to leveling up, and this is exactly what World Certification Week is all about," said Matthew Howells-Barby, VP of marketing at HubSpot. "You'll be joining thousands of global learners investing in themselves and cheering each other on while having the added benefit of supporting a great charity. What could be better?"

This year, to provide an opportunity to take learning to the next level, HubSpot will offer live events in the two weeks leading up to World Certification Week, starting on July 19, 2021. Learners can join HubSpot Academy Professors to prepare for their exams, hear from experts on trends in the digital economy, learn how to make the most of certifications on resumes and networking profiles, and more. HubSpot will also be hosting study groups in its Community to give participants the opportunity to learn alongside peers. Throughout the event, learners can share their progress with colleagues and friends on social media using the hashtag #WorldCertificationWeek.

"Teach For All is so grateful to HubSpot for their partnership and shared commitment to education, equity, and a global approach through their World Certification Week," said Wendy Kopp, CEO of Teach For All. "Their support of our Global Girls' Education Fellowship will allow us to support the efforts of more local leaders across our global network to foster girls' education and leadership in partnership with the schools and communities where they work."

Interested participants can get a head start now by going to HubSpot Academy , choosing the certifications they want to complete, and starting their courses and videos. Each certification completed between August 2 and August 6, including recertifications and multiple certifications achieved by the same learner, represents $5 toward supporting education around the world.

To learn more about World Certification Week and to register for the event, head to worldcertificationweek.com .

About HubSpot

HubSpot (NYSE: HUBS) is a leading customer relationship management (CRM) platform that provides software and support to help companies grow better. The platform includes marketing, sales, service, operations, and website management products that start free and scale to meet our customers' needs at any stage of growth. Today, nearly 114,000 customers across more than 120 countries use HubSpot's powerful and easy-to-use tools and integrations to attract, engage, and delight customers.

Named Glassdoor's #4 Best Place to Work in 2021, HubSpot has been recognized for its award-winning culture by Great Place to Work, Comparably, Fortune, Entrepreneur, Inc., and more. HubSpot was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company's thousands of employees work across the globe in HubSpot offices and remotely.

Learn more at www.hubspot.com .

SOURCE HubSpot

Related Links

http://hubspot.com


The 55-ton vehicle supplied by Hyzon, a HyMax 450 Puller built on a Class-8 DAF truck chassis, is expected to have up to 520 kilometer range with motor power up to 550 kilowatt capacity. Transport Groep Noord plans to operate the truck on specific routes in the North of the Netherlands, where the first hydrogen-powered milk delivery took place last week in a Hyzon truck.

Transport Groep Noord operates 25 trucks for FrieslandCampina, leading decarbonization in its industry. This order lays the foundation for FrieslandCampina in the transition of its entire fleet to zero-emissions vehicles.

With branches in 38 and brands in over 100 countries, as well as over 20,000 employees, FrieslandCampina is one of the largest dairy cooperatives in the world. In its sustainability program 'Nourishing a better planet', FrieslandCampina sets itself a few ambitious goals, including CO-neutral production in the year 2050. As an intermediate step the dairy company wants to have reduced the greenhouse gas emissions by more than one third in the year 2030. With its wide reach and network of partners, its operational influence can be significant.

"Over five years ago, FrieslandCampina started using liquid natural gas as a cleaner fuel and we successfully stimulated filling stations all over the Netherlands to supply this type of fuel," said Hans Wieleman, FrieslandCampina's Milk Logistics Manager. "Now we try to do the same with hydrogen, in close cooperation with Hyzon and Transport Groep Noord. Transport is and will remain important to further increasing sustainability at FrieslandCampina."

For applications in which payload is critical, such as milk, beverage, and water transport, hydrogen-powered vehicles provide a compelling solution for zero-emissions transport. Hydrogen-powered trucks can carry 2-5 tons more than battery electric trucks due to lower weight of hydrogen fuel systems; additionally, Hyzon leads the industry in fuel cell power density, leading to significant advantages over both fuel cell and battery electric competitors.

"FrieslandCampina's commitment to decarbonizing their operations can serve as a model for transitioning commercial transport to hydrogen-powered vehicles," said Hyzon CEO Craig Knight. "Its existing successes demonstrate that reducing emissions is possible in the short-term. Deploying Hyzon's hydrogen fuel cell-powered trucks to a global company like FrieslandCampina provides another tangible example that companies can make a real impact in reducing fleet emissions right now."

About Hyzon Motors Inc.

Headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., with U.S. operations also in Chicago and Detroit, and international operations in the Netherlands, Singapore, Australia and China, Hyzon is a leader in hydrogen mobility. Hyzon is a pure-play hydrogen mobility company with an exclusive focus on hydrogen in the commercial vehicle market. Utilizing its proven and proprietary hydrogen fuel cell technology, Hyzon aims to supply zero-emission heavy duty trucks and buses to customers in North America, Europe and around the world. The company is contributing to the escalating adoption of hydrogen vehicles through its demonstrated technology advantage, leading fuel cell performance and history of rapid innovation. Visit www.hyzonmotors.com.

About Royal FrieslandCampina

Royal FrieslandCampina daily provides millions of consumers throughout the world with dairy products containing the valuable nutrients from milk. FrieslandCampina produces and sells consumer products such as dairy-based beverages, infant nutrition, condensed milk, cheese, and desserts. It supplies cream and butter products for professional use to bakeries and catering businesses. Furthermore, FrieslandCampina produces and sells ingredients and semi-finished products to producers of infant nutrition, the food industry, and the pharmaceutical sector. In 2020, annual revenue amounted to EUR 11.1 billion. FrieslandCampina has locations in 38 countries and employs about 23,877 employees. The Central Office is located in Amersfoort, the Netherlands. The company is fully owned by Zuivelcooperatie FrieslandCampina U.A. and with over 16,995 member dairy farmers in the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium is one of the largest dairy cooperatives in the world. For additional information, please visit www.frieslandcampina.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of present or historical fact included in this press release, including those regarding Decarbonization Plus Acquisition Corporation's ("DCRB") proposed acquisition of Hyzon and DCRB's ability to consummate the transaction, are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, the words "could," "should," "will," "may," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "project," the negative of such terms and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions about future events and are based on currently available information as to the outcome and timing of future events. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, DCRB and Hyzon disclaim any duty to update any forward - looking statements, all of which are expressly qualified by the statements in this section, to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release. DCRB and Hyzon caution you that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of either DCRB or Hyzon, including risks and uncertainties described in the "Risk Factors" section of Exhibit 99.3 of DCRB's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on February 9, 2021, the "Risk Factors" section of DCRB's definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A filed with the SEC on June 21, 2021, and other documents filed by DCRB from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, such as risks related to the ability to convert non-binding memoranda of understanding into binding orders or sales (including because of the current or prospective financial resources of the counterparties to Hyzon's non-binding memoranda of understanding and letters of intent), or the ability to identify additional potential customers and convert them to paying customers. Hyzon gives no assurance that Hyzon will achieve its expectations.

Important Information for Investors and Stockholders

In connection with the proposed business combination, DCRB filed a proxy statement and other relevant documents with the SEC. Stockholders and other interested persons are urged to read the proxy statement and any other relevant documents filed with the SEC because they contain important information about DCRB, Hyzon and the proposed business combination. Stockholders may obtain a free copy of the proxy statement, as well as other filings containing information about DCRB, Hyzon and the proposed business combination, without charge, at the SEC's website located at www.sec.gov.

Participants in the Solicitation

DCRB, Hyzon and their directors and executive officers and other persons may be deemed to be participants in the solicitations of proxies from DCRB's stockholders in respect of the proposed business combination and the other matters set forth in the proxy statement. Information regarding DCRB's directors and executive officers is available in DCRB's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the annual period ended December 31, 2020, and under the heading "Information About DCRB" in DCRB's definitive proxy statement related to the proposed business combination filed with the SEC on June 21, 2021. Additional information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, is set forth in the proxy statement relating to the proposed business combination.

Media contacts

Hyzon Motors

For U.S., Europe and Asia media:

Caroline Curran

Hill+Knowlton Strategies

+1 256-653-5811

[email protected]

For Australasian media:

Fraser Beattie

Cannings Purple

+61 421 505 557

[email protected]

For investors:

Caldwell Bailey

ICR, Inc.

[email protected]

SOURCE HYZON Motors

Related Links

https://hyzonmotors.com


MINNEAPOLIS, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A settlement has been reached in a class action antitrust lawsuit filed on behalf of Commercial and Institutional Indirect Purchaser Plaintiffs with Defendants JBS USA Food Company, JBS USA Food Company Holdings, Swift Pork Company, and related or affiliated entities ("JBS" or "Settling Defendants"). The Settlement requires JBS to pay $12,750,000. There will be no payments to the Settlement Class at this time. You will be notified later of an opportunity to file a claim. Before any money is paid, the Court will hold a hearing to decide whether to approve the Settlement.

The United States District Court for the District of Minnesota authorized this notice. This Court ordered notice may affect your rights. Please read this notice carefully.

WHO IS INCLUDED?

For settlement purposes, members of the Settlement Class are defined as all entities who indirectly purchased Pork from Defendants or co-conspirators or their respective subsidiaries or affiliates in the United States from January 1, 2009, to May 3, 2021, for their own business use in commercial food preparation.

Only Settlement Class members in the following jurisdictions are eligible to potentially recover money from the settlement: Arkansas, Arizona, California, District of Columbia, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and/or Wisconsin.

For purposes of the Settlement, "Pork" means porcine or swine products processed, produced or sold by JBS, or by any of the Defendants or their co-conspirators, including but not limited to: primals (including but not limited to loins, shoulders, picnics, butts, ribs, bellies, hams, or legs), trim or sub-primal products (including but not limited to backloins, tenderloins, backribs, boneless loins, boneless sirloins, riblets, chef's prime, prime ribs, brisket, skirt, cushion, ground meats, sirloin tip roast, or hocks), further processed and value added porcine products (including, but not limited to bacon, sausage, lunch meats, further processed ham, or jerky products), offal or variety products (including, but not limited to hearts, tongues, livers, head products, spleens, kidneys, feet, stomach, bladder, uterus, snoot, ears, tail, brisket bone, intestines, jowls, neck bones or other bones, skin, lungs, glands, hair, or pet food ingredients), rendered product and byproducts (including, but not limited to, lard, grease, meat meal, bone meal, blood meal, or blood plasma), casings (including, but not limited to, mucosa), and carcasses.

In addition to JBS, the Defendants and alleged co-conspirators in this lawsuit are Clemens Food Group, LLC, The Clemens Family Corporation, Hormel Foods Corporation, Seaboard Foods LLC, Smithfield Foods, Inc., Triumph Foods, LLC, Tyson Foods, Inc., Tyson Prepared Foods, Inc., Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc., and Agri Stats, Inc.

If you are not sure you are included, you can get more information, including a detailed notice, at www.PorkCommercialCase.com or by calling toll-free 1-855-867-0738.

WHAT IS THIS LAWSUIT ABOUT?

Commercial and Institutional Indirect Purchaser Plaintiffs allege that Defendants and their co-conspirators conspired and combined to fix, raise, maintain, and stabilize the price of Pork, as of January 1, 2009, with the intent and expected result of increasing prices of Pork in the United States, in violation of federal antitrust laws and various state antitrust, consumer protection and unfair trade practices, and unjust enrichment laws. JBS denies it did anything wrong. The Court did not decide which side was right, but both sides agreed to the Settlement to resolve the case and get benefits to the Settlement Class. The case is still proceeding on behalf of the Commercial and Institutional Indirect Purchaser Plaintiffs against other Defendants who may be subject to separate settlements, judgments, or class certification orders.

WHAT DOES THE SETTLEMENT PROVIDE?

The Settlement Agreement provides that JBS will pay $12,750,000 to resolve all Settlement Class members' claims against JBS for the Released Claims (as defined in the Settlement Agreement). In addition to this monetary benefit, JBS has also agreed to provide specified cooperation in the Commercial and Institutional Indirect Purchaser Plaintiffs' continued prosecution of the litigation. No money will be distributed at this time. Settlement Class Counsel will continue to pursue the lawsuit against the other Defendants. Settlement Class Counsel may request that the Court award attorneys' fees, permit the reimbursement of certain litigation costs and expenses, set aside funds for future expenses, and grant the class representatives service awards. If such request is made at this time, it will be filed at least fourteen days before the objection deadline and posted on the website www.PorkCommercialCase.com at that time. Settlement Class Counsel will ask the Court for attorneys' fees not to exceed one third of the Settlement Fund and may ask to be reimbursed for costs not to exceed $350,000. All Settlement funds that remain after payment of the Court ordered attorneys' fees, costs, expenses, and service awards will be distributed at the conclusion of the lawsuit or as ordered by the Court. You will be notified later, if and when there is an opportunity to make a claim to receive a payment.

WHAT ARE YOUR RIGHTS AND OPTIONS?

You do not need to take any action to remain a member of the Settlement Class and be bound by the Settlement Agreement. As a Settlement Class member, you may be able to participate in (or exclude yourself from) any future settlements or judgments obtained by Commercial and Institutional Indirect Purchaser Plaintiffs against other Defendants in the case.

If you do not want to be legally bound by the Settlement Agreement, you must exclude yourself. Your exclusion request must be postmarked by September 11, 2021, or you will not be able to sue or continue to sue Settling Defendants for the Released Claims (as defined in the Settlement Agreement). If you exclude yourself, you cannot get money from the Settlement. If you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, you may object to the Settlement. Your objection must be postmarked by September 11, 2021. The detailed notice explains how to exclude yourself or object. Details may also be found on the FAQs page of the Settlement website.

While this Settlement is only with Settling Defendants at this time, the Settlement Class includes persons who purchased Pork products (as defined in the Settlement Agreement) from any of the Defendants or their co-conspirators. If you are a member of the Settlement Class and do not exclude yourself, you may be eligible to participate in (or exclude yourself from) any additional settlements which may arise with any other Defendants in the case.

The Court will hold a hearing in this case In re Pork Antitrust Litigation (Commercial and Institutional Indirect Purchaser Actions), Case No. 0:18-cv-01776 (D. Minn.) on November 3, 2021, at 10:00 a.m., to consider whether to approve the Settlement Agreement. You may ask to speak at the hearing, but you do not have to.

This notice is a summary only. You can find more details about the Settlement at www.PorkCommercialCase.com or by calling toll-free 1-855-867-0738. Please do not contact the Court.

SOURCE United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
POMPANO BEACH, Fla., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- IMI (International Medical Industries, Inc.) bolsters expertise in secure drug delivery products with the release of their Prep-Lock Tamper Evident Cap for IV Syringes with incorporated Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology.

IMI's Prep-Lock line of Tamper Evident Products helps ensure medication safety from pharmacy to patient. RFID Technology presents an opportunity to augment the proven benefits of tamper-evident products. "RFID technology represents the future of inventory management and medication safety. This technology aligns perfectly with IMI's core business strategy of providing drug security solutions to healthcare institutions worldwide," says Bryan McGurn IMI Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing.

Prep-Lock Tamper Evident Caps are an established method for providing safeguards to ensure medication safety and are utilized by 84% of the top outsource compounders in the US. RFID technology enables real-time scanning that optimizes inventory management, efficiency, and medication safety while creating quantifiable pharmaceutical supply chain benefits by providing item-level inventory visibility. Every drug secured with a Tamper Evident Cap featuring RFID is trackable throughout its entire lifecycle. These two powerful technologies in combination enhance workflow efficiencies, eliminate time-consuming manual inventory control processes, provide assistance with growing regulatory demand, and supply a comprehensive strategy to prevent, detect, and resolve drug diversion events. In addition, Tamper Evident Caps with incorporated RFID technology offer a significant reduction in RFID implementation costs. IMI joined DoseID, a consortium of RFID proponents in 2020 with the goal of supporting the interoperability, quality, and performance of RFID tagged products. The DoseID RFID tag now incorporated in the Prep-Lock Tamper Evident Cap is certified by Auburn University RFID Lab's ARC Program to ensure the high standards set by the DoseID consortium are met and that those standards meet the needs of the healthcare industry.

"We're using RFID tags to automate some of our inventory management and get better insight into inventory movement," says Dr. Paul Stranges, PharmD, BCACP, AE-C Clinical Assistant Professor at the Department of Pharmacy Practice at The University of Chicago's College of Pharmacy. "It really helps our efficiency." The incorporation of RFID technology in IMI's Tamper Evident Cap delivers a big advantage in supply chain management. They offer both hospital and outsource compounding operations an efficient and cost-saving method for applying RFID benefits to their drug preparations.

For more information about IMI visit https://imiweb.com/rfid-tamper-evident-iv-syringe-caps/

CONTACT: Angela Merlo, [email protected]

SOURCE International Medical Industries, Inc.

Related Links

https://imiweb.com


LOS ANGELES, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Immix Biopharma, Inc. ("ImmixBio"), a biotechnology company pioneering Tissue-Specific Therapeutics (TSTx) for oncology and inflammation, today announced that accounting and financial expert Helen C. Adams, CFA has joined the Company's Board of Directors.

Immix Biopharma, Inc.

"I am thrilled to welcome Ms. Adams to our Board of Directors at ImmixBio. Ms. Adams has three decades of experience as a celebrated leader in the accounting and finance fields and as a board member of multiple public companies," said Ilya Rachman, MD PhD, ImmixBio Chief Executive Officer. "Ms. Adams brings unique and valuable experience to our team to drive forward our mission to make a systems approach to oncology and inflammation a reality and bring Tissue-Specific Therapeutics to patients."

"ImmixBio is a transformative company that has attracted a stellar team to its novel therapeutic approach and platform," commented Ms. Adams. "I am looking forward to working with Ilya, Gabriel and the team at this exciting time."

Helen C. Adams is the Audit Committee Chair and a member of the board of directors of Prometheus Biosciences, Inc. From January 2013 to March 2018, Ms. Adams was the San Diego Area Managing Partner for Haskell & White LLP, a regional certified public accounting firm. Previously, Ms. Adams was a certified public accountant at Deloitte & Touche LLP from 1982 to 2009, serving most recently as a Partner in the Life Sciences and Technology Group. From 2010 to 2013, Ms. Adams was a member of the board of directors of Genasys Inc. (formerly known as LRAD Corporation), serving as the Audit Committee Chair and member of the Compensation Committee. In addition to her public company board service, Ms. Adams has served on the boards of directors and working committees of many organizations, including Athena San Diego, the Athena Foundation, Corporate Directors' Forum, Make A Wish San Diego, the YWCA, and the California State University at San Marcos Foundation. Ms. Adams received her BS from San Diego State University and completed an Executive Management Program at Columbia Business School. Ms. Adams' experience in public accounting and the life sciences industry qualifies her to serve on our board of directors.

About ImmixBio

ImmixBio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering Tissue-Specific Therapeutics (TSTx). Our lead asset, IMX-110, is currently in phase 1b/2a clinical trials for solid tumors in the United States and Australia. Our proprietary System Multi-Action RegulaTors SMARxT Tissue-Specific Platform produces drugs that accumulate at intended therapeutic sites at 3-5 times the rate of conventional medicines. Our TME Normalization Technology allows our drug candidates to circulate in the bloodstream, exit through tumor blood vessels and simultaneously attack all components of the tumor micro-environment, or TME. We have uncovered fundamental biological systems that link oncology and inflammation. Our pipeline includes Tissue-Specific Biologic candidates to treat inflammatory bowel disease, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Learn more at www.immixbio.com

Contacts

Immix Biopharma, Inc.

Gabriel Morris

Chief Financial Officer

[email protected]

888-958-1084

SOURCE Immix Biopharma, Inc.
Collecting Airborne IFSAR for Southeast Asian Government Agency

Building large-scale topographic base maps with unique and hybrid technologies

Advancing national planning, strategic digital infrastructure and economic development

DENVER, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Intermap Technologies (TSX: IMP) (OTCQX: ITMSF) ("Intermap" or the "Company"), a global leader in geospatial content development and intelligence solutions, today announced a contract with Malaysia's federal mapping agency, pursuant to an ongoing program, to map their sovereign territory on the island of Borneo, the largest island in Asia and the third largest in the world. This marks the Company's second complete mapping program of Malaysia and its seventh deployment to Borneo, including previous mapping projects for Indonesia's territory on the island.

A pioneer in remote sensing, Intermap provides world-class, high-resolution imagery and precise 3D elevation models, feature and vector data extraction and software tools, which meet stringent national mapping agency specifications for large-scale base mapping in difficult and austere environments. Particularly in the regions of the world where optical LiDAR and other SAR sensors are inhibited by near-permanent cloud cover, rainfall or dense jungle canopy, Intermap is uniquely positioned to fulfill high-resolution geospatial data creation and exploitation requirements.

In Borneo, Intermap will use its proprietary sensor technology to collect airborne IFSAR imagery and create 3D digital elevation models (3D DEMs) and 3D-derivative feature products to build authoritative base maps for the island. The Company will deploy its recently upgraded multi-frequency radar to collect cloud-free imagery and detect features through dense tropical canopy. These unique sensors operate beyond the visual range of the electromagnetic spectrum, providing situational awareness not available from narrow-spectrum cameras. To further maximize information content from its 3D models, Intermap will deploy proprietary IRIS technology to create DEMs with advanced multi-sourced pixel integration, delivering superior data products quickly, accurately and economically. The extracted content layers will be combined to form high-resolution topographic base maps, supporting planning and development.

Intermap's sensors and technology collect 25-centimeter resolution IFSAR imagery and produce 1-meter resolution DEMs and feature products, including full triple canopy foliage penetration, for foundational base maps at better than 1:5,000 scale in harsh terrain environments. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, the Company's patented IRIS engine automatically extracts primary features from multi-sourced data, including high-frequency and low-frequency radar, multi-spectral imagery, LiDAR, satellite SAR, optical sensors, aerial photo and other sources, in near real-time, to assist in identifying and monitoring changes in features, objects and hybrid vectors.

Topographic maps and their derivatives are vital for national planning and development, such as security design, sovereign border enforcement, urban and rural development, search and rescue, disaster management, flood forecasting and warning, taxation, natural resource management, tourism and sustainability planning. Operations for this contract will employ local personnel, including for advanced project responsibilities such as data processing, field surveys and project management. A series of training courses will be conducted to help government users understand, employ and deliver some of the world's most advanced geospatial imagery, DEMs, feature products and software tools.

After not completing any government work during 2020 due to COVID-19, today's announcement marks Intermap's third government contract award from a national government mapping agency since the end of the second quarter of 2021. The government contracts announced so far in 2021 will increase the Company's revenue per employee by 65% over 2020, reflecting Intermap's tremendous progress towards extending its automation, scalability, productization and profitability.

In addition to Intermap's recently announced award with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) in the United States, the Company's other new national government contracts are in Asia and Latin America, representing regional total addressable markets of $8.3 billion and $4.2 billion, respectively. These markets are growing at 15.7% and 17.3%, respectively, versus the global geospatial market, which is growing at 12.6%. Now that Intermap has been qualified and its advanced and patented technology has been endorsed by national mapping authorities, Intermap will leverage decades of local relationships and past performance to capture increasing market share in these critical, high-growth regions. With today's announcement, Intermap is currently fulfilling critical digital infrastructure requirements for national governments on three continents, reflecting the Company's ongoing success during the COVID-19 period in expanding its total addressable market and growing its market share.

"We are pleased to announce this milestone contract and Intermap's redeployment to Southeast Asia, where we have been established for more than three decades as a trusted local partner to national governments and their commercial contractors," said Patrick A. Blott, Intermap Chairman and CEO. "Particularly in this strategically critical region of the world, where territory and natural resources are frequently contested, Intermap's high-acuity 3D models provide proprietary tools to advance regional sovereignty, economic development and public safety."

Intermap Reader Advisory

Certain information provided in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate", "expect", "project", "estimate", "forecast", "will be", "will consider", "intends" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Although Intermap believes that these statements are based on information and assumptions which are current, reasonable and complete, these statements are necessarily subject to a variety of known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Intermap's forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties pertaining to, among other things, cash available to fund operations, availability of capital, revenue fluctuations, nature of government contracts, economic conditions, loss of key customers, retention and availability of executive talent, competing technologies, common share price volatility, loss of proprietary information, software functionality, internet and system infrastructure functionality, information technology security, breakdown of strategic alliances, and international and political considerations, as well as those risks and uncertainties discussed Intermap's Annual Information Form and other securities filings. While the Company makes these forward-looking statements in good faith, should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary significantly from those expected. Accordingly, no assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits that the Company will derive therefrom. All subsequent forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, attributable to Intermap or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the forward-looking statements made herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities law.

About Intermap Technologies

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Intermap (TSX: IMP;OTCQX: ITMSF) is a global leader in geospatial intelligence solutions. The Company's proprietary 3D NEXTMap elevation datasets and value-added geospatial collection, processing, analytics, fusion and orthorectification software and solutions are utilized across a range of industries that rely on accurate, high-resolution elevation data. Intermap helps governments build authoritative geospatial datasets and provides solutions for base mapping, transportation, environmental monitoring, topographic mapping, disaster mitigation, smart city integration, public safety and defense. The Company's commercial applications include aviation and UAV flight planning, flood and wildfire insurance, environmental and renewable energy planning, telecommunications, engineering, critical infrastructure monitoring, hydrology, land management, oil and gas and transportation. For more information, please visit www.intermap.com.

SOURCE Intermap Technologies Corporation

Related Links

https://www.intermap.com/


Mr. Evanson's role on the advisory board is a component of a comprehensive engagement between p-Chip Corp and Traust IP Finance. Mr. Evanson is a partner at Traust IP Finance. p-Chip Corp has engaged Traust IP Finance as its exclusive agent to secure a Master License Agreement for the use of its technology platform within the automotive market segment.

"We are honored to have someone of Jeff's experience, influence, expertise and a member of the Traust IP Finance team as our advisor," stated Harry Epstein, p-Chip Corp's co-founder and CEO. "There are few executives in the automotive industry who rival his accomplishments of not only securing an unprecedented level of investment for a nascent and technically disruptive automotive OEM, but also securing the shareholder support for key acquisitions. Jeff will be a huge asset to our executive team, and we are excited to work together."

Mr. Evanson's experience and perspective will be valuable as p-Chip Corp continues to innovate its CryptoAnchor solutions. At Tesla, Mr. Evanson reported directly to Elon Musk and guided Wall Street investors into providing the company more than $3 billion in equity investments and an additional $13.5 billion in debt capital. He was instrumental in gaining 85% shareholder support for the $2.7 billion acquisition of Solar City. This funding facilitated the development and manufacturing of the successful global launch of the Model 3 that led to the company's profitability. Before joining Tesla, Mr. Evanson held key roles at RSM McGladrey, Piper Jaffray, Cherry Tree Investment Bank and Smart Express, Inc.

"I'm pleased to be a part of Traust IP Finance's engagement with p-Chip Corp at an early stage," stated Mr. Evanson. "There are major segments of the automotive industry that would greatly benefit from a secure, durable and inexpensive indexing platform. p-Chip Corp is the first to bring world-class, disruptive tracking technology to the automotive industry. By implementing the breakthrough p-Chip, global automotive companies can monitor electronics and other critical safety components, prevent counterfeiting, and mitigate the negative effect of recalls, for substantial revenue improvements. I look forward to helping the company realize the massive potential of this technology."

About p-Chip Corporation

Since 2017, p-Chip Corporation has revolutionized the tracking of physical products and materials with its breakthrough microtransponder technology. Its p-Chip, a highly durable chip as small as a grain of salt, functions like a digital anchor for physical items, delivering breakthrough visibility and index-ability at a scalable price point. From pharmaceuticals to electronics, automotive components to agricultural ingredients, companies worldwide rely on patented p-Chip tracking technology to unlock business intelligence, deepen brand loyalty, and enhance revenue. To learn more, visit www.p-chip.com

About Traust IP Finance, LLC

Traust is in the business of valuing, collateralizing and capitalizing intellectual property (IP) and general intangible assets to provide innovative growth companies non-dilutive collateral debt to finance corporate growth. The IP debt capital secured by Traust for growth companies replaces the C, D & E rounds of equity funding, significantly reducing dilution. IP debt collateral products provided by Traust may be insured or uninsured and is generally tailored to fit various investment objectives and guidelines.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1572952/p_Chip.jpg

Related Links

https://www.p-chipcorp.com



SOURCE p-Chip Corporation
NEW YORK, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Living Cities, a collaborative of 19 major foundations and financial institutions that works to close racial income and wealth gaps in American cities, announced Tuesday that Joe Scantlebury will serve as the organization's next Chief Executive Officer starting Sept. 6.

"Joe Scantlebury's leadership in civil rights, racial equity and economic justice spaces illustrates his deep commitment to advancing policies that close racial and socioeconomic gaps in our country," said Brandee McHale, President of the Citi Foundation and Head of Community Investing and Development at Citi. "Joe will be an excellent steward of Living Cities' work addressing racial disparities that exist across public, private, and philanthropic sectors so that all people can thrive  regardless of race or ethnicity. I look forward to working closely with Joe and charting the next chapter of Living Cities' work."

Scantlebury was most recently Vice President for Program Strategy at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Mich., and Vice Chair of Living Cities' Board of Directors. He previously served as senior program officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where he led policy advocacy in the Northeast, Ohio, Arkansas, and Louisiana, as well as civil rights and equity initiatives.

"Living Cities was ahead of its time when it declared that its core mission would be eliminating the racial wealth gap in America's cities, years before the COVID-19 pandemic and global uprisings over racial injustice forced these issues to the center of the public debate," said Scantlebury. "After five years serving on our board, it is the honor of a lifetime to lead Living Cities as the next CEO. Living Cities plays a truly unique and indispensable role in the field, uniting cross-sector leaders from philanthropy, the private sector, and local government behind a common goal of ending racial disparities in access to capital and funding in communities across the country."

Living Cities was established in 1991 with a race-neutral focus on community development and building the capacity of local community development corporations. In 2007, as current CEO Ben Hecht joined Living Cities, the organization pivoted from a focus on community development to a cross-sector commitment to neighborhood and systems transformation. And over the following years - prompted by events including the 2015 killing of Freddie Gray, as well as calls by the organization's staff to embrace an antiracist approach to the work - Living Cities began infusing racial equity across its portfolio of initiatives.

In July 2019, the Board of Living Cities committed to another three-year funding round - the 10th such commitment since the organization's founding - with the explicit mission of putting racial disparities at the center of the collaborative, and seeking to use the organization's grants, loans, and influence to close the racial income and wealth gaps in American cities. Hecht's announcement in 2020 that he would be leaving Living Cities after 14 years prompted a national search for his replacement.

"I am truly fortunate to be joining Living Cities following Ben Hecht's incredible leadership over the last decade and half," Scantlebury said. "Ben's vision and values have both been crucial factors behind the success and impact of Living Cities. I am deeply grateful for his service and his example as a leader."

Scantlebury added: "The mission of Living Cities is deeply tied to my lifelong work advocating on behalf of the country's most vulnerable. But it's also personal. My mother emigrated from Panama and worked two jobs to raise me and my sister in the Crown Heights and Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhoods in Brooklyn. But two jobs still weren't enough to keep the electricity from getting cut off, or stave off the threat of eviction. She, like millions of women and people of color in communities across the country, confronted systemic racism in nearly every aspect of her life, from employment to housing and beyond, and rooting out these injustices is precisely what motivates our work at Living Cities."

Donald Schwarz, Senior Vice President of Program at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, added: "Joe Scantlebury brings years of experience serving others and working to advance racial and economic equity across the country. It's clear he shares the same values that guide and define the mission of Living Cities  to harness the collective power of philanthropy, financial institutions, and local governments to tackle institutional and systemic racism that has too often kept people of color from building wealth. I cannot think of anyone better to lead this work than Joe."

Today, Living Cities leads three key initiatives, working with capital market players, community leaders, and the public sector to reduce barriers for people of color to start and grow businesses; build wealth; and exercise power, dignity and agency. Those initiatives include:

Closing the Gaps Network: A ten-year initiative launched in October 2020 to bring together leaders from cities across the country who are committed to imagining what an anti-racist society might look like, and to playing an important role in closing racial income and wealth gaps through the transformation of local policies, practices, and operations.





A ten-year initiative launched in to bring together leaders from cities across the country who are committed to imagining what an anti-racist society might look like, and to playing an important role in closing racial income and wealth gaps through the transformation of local policies, practices, and operations. Capital for the New Majority : For over a decade, Living Cities has made direct impact investments through its two funds: the $38 million Catalyst Fund, which launched in 2008 and fully repaid investors earlier this year, and the $37 million Blended Catalyst Fund, which blends grant dollars, philanthropic, and commercial debt and has been deployed to show how capital can accelerate closing racial gaps when we put people of color in decision-making positions and challenge norms and definitions of creditworthiness that prevent entrepreneurs of color from accessing capital and growing their businesses.





: For over a decade, Living Cities has made direct impact investments through its two funds: the Catalyst Fund, which launched in 2008 and fully repaid investors earlier this year, and the Blended Catalyst Fund, which blends grant dollars, philanthropic, and commercial debt and has been deployed to show how capital can accelerate closing racial gaps when we put people of color in decision-making positions and challenge norms and definitions of creditworthiness that prevent entrepreneurs of color from accessing capital and growing their businesses. Member Collective Action: In 2019, Living Cities announced a historic recommitment with its board to leverage the collective power of the 19 foundations and financial institutions that serve as member institutions to eliminate racial wealth and income gaps.

About Living Cities

Founded in 1991, Living Cities is a collaborative of the world's largest foundations and financial institutions. Living Cities fosters transformational relationships across sectors to connect those who are willing to do the hard work of closing racial income and wealth gaps. The organization partners with cross-sector leaders in cities across the country to imagine and create an America in which all people are economically secure, building wealth and living abundant, dignified, and connected lives. To learn more about Living Cities and its member institutions, visit www.livingcities.org.

Contact: Jack Temple, [email protected] , 734-395-8441

Raul Contreras, [email protected] , 516-353-8486

SOURCE Living Cities

Related Links

https://livingcities.org


MILWAUKEE, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI), the global leader for smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, today launched the Johnson Controls Community College Partnership Program. As part of the program, Johnson Controls will give $15 million over the next five years to support academic programs at nonprofit community colleges. Starting in the 20212022 academic year, the program will endow a total of $1 million to ten community colleges across the U.S. In addition to the funding, Johnson Controls employees will support the community colleges through volunteering and mentorships.

The grants support the expansion of associate degree and certificate programs in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), fire and security and digital building automation systems, all areas where the U.S. Bureau of Labor is predicting an increased need for skilled trades expertise in the coming years. A core objective of the program is to change the trajectory of the lives of students from underserved communities by equipping them with in-demand knowledge and skills that will support employment and a pathway for life-long careers upon graduation.

"Just as smart, healthy buildings are critical to our well-being, well-educated and trained technicians are crucial to keeping our environments operating safely and efficiently. As a leader in the building industry for over a century, Johnson Controls is honored to share our expertise with the country's leading community colleges," said Grady Crosby, vice president of Public Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer at Johnson Controls. "The Community College Partnership Program supports institutions through its funding and supports their students through volunteerism and mentorships. We believe this will empower people to build life-long careers that will transform their lives and their cities."

The initial ten community colleges receiving grants are located in cities where Johnson Controls has significant customer base and employee presence. Funding for each community college differs based on its needs; in general, colleges will use the support to purchase and develop classroom materials, learning technologies and student scholarships. Local Johnson Controls employees in each market will serve as volunteer educators, providing students with counseling and real-world experiences. This mentoring will be directly incorporated into various college programs and also provide a pathway for student internships and entry-level employment opportunities at Johnson Controls.

2021-2022 Community College Partnership Award Recipients:

Kennedy-King College ( Chicago, IL ): Founded in 1911, Kennedy-King College is part of the City Colleges of Chicago , a system of two-year education institutions. The college will use its funding to establish an HVAC certification bootcamp, develop a job shadowing and field experience course as well as provide students with their own HVAC toolsets. Suffolk County Community College (Selden, NY) : Founded in 1959, Suffolk County Community College is a public community college, sponsored by SUNY and Suffolk County, NY . The college will use its funding to invest in state-of-the-art training simulators and growth of a guided mentoring program featuring Johnson Controls employees supporting peer mentoring and career counseling. Montgomery College (Rockville, MD) : Founded in 1946, Montgomery College is a public community college in Montgomery County, Maryland . The college will use its funding to expand program marketing to local, low-income communities, hire additional faculty to serve as retention and recruitment associates and create a Building Automation Systems lab. Community College of Baltimore County ( Baltimore, MD ): Founded in 1957, Community College of Baltimore County is a public community college with campuses across Baltimore County, Maryland . The college will use its funding to hire additional faculty and grow a guided mentoring program featuring Johnson Controls employees supporting peer mentoring and career counseling. Lone Star College ( Conroe, TX ): Founded in 1992, Lone Star College is a Texas community college in The Woodlands , north of Houston . The college will use its funding to provide financial assistance for students to obtain HVAC toolkits, PPE and learning materials, as well as tuition support. Further, the college will use funding to grow programs that encourage students to go beyond HVAC/R certification courses and complete a full Associates Degree. Henry Ford College ( Dearborn, MI ): Founded in 1938, Henry Ford College is a public two-year college in Dearborn , west of Detroit . The college will use its funding to expand the Energy Technology-HVAC program into modular units that will also be developed into open-source, online educational resources that can be shared and further developed by other learning institutions. Further, the college will purchase HVAC simulators featuring industry standard components. Essex Country Community College ( Newark, NJ ): Founded in 1968, Essex County College is a public community college in Essex County, New Jersey . The college will use its funding to purchase learning materials and training technologies as well as create a partnership with CompTIA to expand IT certification programs for careers in IT and help desk positions. Camden County College ( Blackwood, NJ ): Founded in 1965, Camden County College is a public community college serving western central New Jersey and the greater Camden area. The college will use its funding to expand its HVAC technician training and Programmable Logic Controller Certificate of Achievement programs. Further, the college will develop a Programmable Logic Controller certificate program specifically tied to using Johnson Controls technology. Georgia Piedmont Technical College ( Clarkston, GA ): Founded in 1961, Georgia Piedmont Technical College is part of the Technical College System of Georgia , serving students in the greater metro Atlanta area. The college will use its funding to purchase additional lab equipment for the Building Automaton Systems program and upgrade hands-on training simulators. Further, the college will refresh its commercial refrigeration and welding programs and update related program marketing to underserved communities. Milwaukee Area Technical College ( Milwaukee, WI ): Founded in 1912, Milwaukee Area Technical College is a public, two-year vocational-technical college. The college will use its funding to expand local recruitment for HVAC career training as well as upgrade lab and training equipment.

According to a 2020 report from the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, part of the United Nations environment program, the buildings construction industry accounts for 40% of total global energy-related carbon emissions. And three quarters of those emissions are attributable to building operations. Yet the current renovation rate of buildings is less than one percent. It will take commitment and expertise across generations to reverse the damage already done to our environment and then continue with a new, sustainable way of life. Specialty knowledge is needed to develop more sustainable spaces and deploy and maintain operational and informational technologies that drive healthier buildings. Therefore, Johnson Controls is investing in the technicians of tomorrow, today.

To learn more about Johnson Controls strategic approach to philanthropy and volunteerism, please visit https://www.johnsoncontrols.com/corporate-sustainability/community.

About Johnson Controls:

At Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI), we transform the environments where people live, work, learn and play. As the global leader in smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, our mission is to reimagine the performance of buildings to serve people, places and the planet.

With a history of more than 135 years of innovation, Johnson Controls delivers the blueprint of the future for industries such as healthcare, schools, data centers, airports, stadiums, manufacturing and beyond through its comprehensive digital offering, OpenBlue. With a global team of 100,000 experts in more than 150 countries, Johnson Controls offers the world's largest portfolio of building technology, software as well as service solutions with some of the most trusted names in the industry. For more information, visit www.johnsoncontrols.com or follow us @johnsoncontrols on Twitter.

SOURCE Johnson Controls International plc

Related Links

https://www.johnsoncontrols.com/


"Kirkland is a community of remarkable lawyers who practice law at the highest level. I have been privileged to work with so many dedicated partners, associates and support staff at the firm for two decades. Over the past few years, in addition to my work at Kirkland, I have had the opportunity to immerse myself in the world of politics and policy, opening my eyes to the critical business need for helping CEOs navigate the convergence of business, finance and law with social justice, diversity, inclusion and politics," Mr. Henes said. "It is bittersweet to leave my Kirkland colleagues, many of whom I think of as family, but I'm excited to embark on this new chapter of my career."

Mr. Henes started at Kirkland in September 2001 and was instrumental in helping to build both the New York office and the firm's restructuring group of more than 200 attorneys globally. A market-leader, Kirkland's restructuring group advised debtors in six of the top 10, and 12 of the top 20, largest bankruptcies of 2020.

Mr. Henes has successfully guided public and private companies through transformative restructuring and other corporate transactions in a multitude of sectors, including retail, technology, automotive, energy, industrials, printing, media, radio broadcasting, television, healthcare, airlines and publishing. He is a trusted advisor to the C-Suite and boards of directors regarding corporate governance and negotiations in highly complex and "bet the company" situations.

"Jon has been a terrific partner, stellar legal advisor and great friend for many years. We've watched as his interest and energy for politics, policy and philanthropy have continued to grow, and it's very exciting to see him pursuing his passions fully with this new venture. We wish him nothing but success as he goes forward," said Jon A. Ballis, Chairman of Kirkland's Executive Committee.

"Jon and I have been business partners and close friends for over 20 years. Jon's countless contributions over those past two decades towards helping us build the preeminent and market-leading restructuring practice cannot be overstated. While I'm saddened to see Jon leave the Firm, I'm beyond excited for him as he embarks on a new adventure and I look forward to continuing to collaborate with him for many years to come," said Edward O. Sassower, a restructuring partner and member of Kirkland's Executive Committee.

In addition to his legal career, Mr. Henes focuses on charitable and political endeavors. He was the National Finance Chair for Kamala Harris' Presidential campaign, Co-Finance Chair for Ray McGuire's Mayoral campaign and Co-Finance Chair for Jaime Harrison's Senate campaign.

Mr. Henes is the Co-Founder and a member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Education in Honduras. He also serves on the Boards of Directors of CaringKind, the Heart of Alzheimer's Caregiving, and the Partnership for New York City. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Union College, the Chair of the Advisory Committee of the Heyman Center for Corporate Governance and a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy.

SOURCE Kirkland & Ellis
BATON ROUGE, La., July 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Entrepreneur Kelly Sills recently made a $2,500 donation to an organization determined to bring affordable childcare to Zachary, Louisiana. Kountry Kids Playhouse made one giant step toward being able to offer consistent childcare to local families with the financial contribution, which will be used to install a fire sprinkler system.

Kountry Kids Playhouse teaches children ages 5-12 a range of life skills along with creative play. Kids learn everything from school prep, culinary arts, dance and drama and participate in water games and sports. Launched by Clorissa Hayes, a black female entrepreneur from East Baton Rouge Parish, the organization has been bridging the gap between community needs and child education.

"Clorissa Hayes has shown tireless dedication in helping local children," Kelly Sills said, noting that it is the responsibility of successful businessmen and women to empower others to have equal access to opportunities that "drive adamancy and ambitions into entrepreneurship."

Experts are calling the cost of childcare a national crisis as prices now hover around the $10,000 mark annually per child. According to CNBC reporting, American parents are now spending $42 billion for early child care and education programs.

"I am grateful to Mr. Sills ... I created this organization to meet a need in the community. Local parents need a safe and affordable place to bring their kids, and the kids need the opportunity to learn life and social skills," said Hayes. "This donation brings us closer to fulfilling our goal."

Sills says this effort speaks to the reality of the American Dream because "hard work and dedication have awakened to create an actionable agenda."

"I'm honored to support what Ms. Hayes stands for and how Kountry Kids Playhouse is giving back within its own community. I'm looking forward to the futures she's building into the hearts and minds of children who fall under her tutelage. I admire her leadership and manifestation of the entrepreneurial spirit," he said.

About Kountry Kids Playhouse

Located in Zachary, Louisiana, Kountry Kids Playhouse teaches children life skills in a camp setting and will soon be expanding operations to include daycare for local children.

About Kelly Sills

Kelly Sills is a Louisiana-based serial entrepreneur who is dedicated to philanthropy. A family man of faith, he contributes significant time and money to organizations in order to create a better future and a kinder world.

SOURCE Kelly Sills
MELBOURNE, Fla., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Kona Gold Beverage, Inc. (OTCQB: KGKG), a holding company focused on product development in the better-for-you and hemp and CBD functional beverage sector, is pleased to announce its new distribution partnership with Wisconsin based distributor, Central City Distribution Company. Central City Distribution Co will be distributing the Company's popular Kona Gold Hemp Energy drinks throughout the state of Wisconsin. Central City Distribution Co, established in 2000, operates across the great state of Wisconsin, delivering to key chain accounts, such as Woodman's, Festival Foods, Save a Lot, BP, Mobil, Citgo, Walgreens, and more.

Kona Gold has sent members of its team to Wisconsin to kick off Central City Distribution Co this week. They will be assisting in opening new retail accounts, along with dropping in Kona Gold Hemp Energy Drink displays into the market. Work has already begun to get Kona Gold Hemp Energy Drinks into the grocery and convenience store chains that Central City Distribution Co already delivers to.

"I'm excited to announce our new distribution partnership with Wisconsin based Central City Distribution Company who will be distributing our Kona Gold Hemp Energy Drinks," stated Robert Clark, CEO of Kona Gold Beverage, Inc. "Central City Distribution Co is an established distributor who has the focus factor we look for in distribution partners. Our team is in Wisconsin this week to kick off Central City Distribution Co, ride with their sales team, and get Kona Gold into key accounts."

Mr. Clark continued, "Central City Distribution Co is one of several distribution partners we have been working with to bring on Kona Gold Hemp Energy drinks to new markets as we continue to create strategic partnerships that will increase market share for all of our brands."

Kona Gold Beverage recently announced its net revenues for Q2 were the biggest in Company history for a single quarter in almost 6 years of its existence. 2021 Q2 revenues were approximately $830,000, with an additional $45,000 of open sales orders not yet invoiced. The Company announced it anticipate third quarter revenues to be approximately $1,000,000, building upon its second quarter growth.

For more information regarding Central City Distribution Company, please visit: https://www.centralcitydist.com/

For more information regarding Kona Gold Beverage, please visit:

https://konagoldbeverage.com/

About Kona Gold Beverage, Inc.

Kona Gold Beverage, Inc., a Delaware corporation, has created wholly-owned subsidiaries, Kona Gold LLC, HighDrate, LLC, and Gold Leaf Distribution, LLC. Kona Gold, LLC has developed a premium Hemp-Infused Energy Drink line; please visit its website at www.konagoldhemp.com. HighDrate, LLC has developed the beverage industry's first CBD-Infused Energy Water, available in 6 delicious flavors; please visit its website at www.highdrateme.com. Gold Leaf Distribution, LLC was created to fill the Company's distribution needs in markets that it wants to enter quickly; please visit its website at www.goldleafdist.com. Kona Gold Beverage, Inc. recently acquired S&S Beverage, Inc., which manufactures and distributes LEMIN Superior Lemonade line; please visit its website at www.drinklemin.com. Kona Gold and its family of companies are located on the east coast of Florida in Melbourne and in Greer, South Carolina.

Safe Harbor Statement:

The information posted in this release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these statements by use of the words "may," "will," "should," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "continue," "estimate," "project," "intend," and similar expressions. The Company may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in press releases and other written materials, and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. The Company cautions that these forward-looking statements are further qualified by other factors including, but not limited to, those set forth in the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-1. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, general economic and business conditions, effects of continued geopolitical unrest and regional conflicts, competition, changes in technology and methods of marketing, delays in completing various engineering and manufacturing programs, changes in customer order patterns, changes in product mix, continued success in technological advances and delivering technological innovations, shortages in components, production delays due to performance quality issues with outsourced components, and various other factors beyond the Company's control. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any statements in this release, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Investor Relations Contact:

Robert Clark

844-714-2224

[email protected]

SOURCE Kona Gold Beverage, Inc.
CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Tipperary Sales, d.b.a. La-Z-Boy Southeast, recently received a bevy of national acknowledgements from national trade publication, Furniture Today, and La-Z-Boy, Inc.

No. 96 in Furniture Today's 38th Annual "Top 100 U.S. Furniture Stores 2021"

Tipperary Sales is recognized as No. 96 in Furniture Today's 38th annual "Top 100 U.S. Furniture Stores" exclusive list with annual sales of $48.9M.

Furniture Today, known as the premier publication for the retail and manufacturing home furnishings landscape, compiles its 2021 list ranking furniture stores by 2020 sales of furniture, bedding and decorative accessories, including fabric and furniture protection, warranties and delivery.

"We are grateful to once again achieve a spot on Furniture Today's Top 100, which includes some of the industry's most excellent and reputable retail operations nationwide," says Martha Brown, CEO, Tipperary Sales. "As a family owned and operated business, we are deeply committed to our mission of creating customers for life through exceptional experiences. We believe our continued presence on the Top 100 list exemplifies our dedication being realized by our outstanding staff. We are fortunate to have an incredible team who came together during difficult circumstances to once again make this happen."

Tipperary Sales Receives "Ronald McDonald House Charities Lifetime Achievement Award"

During La-Z-Boy, Inc.'s annual Furniture Market award presentation, which was held virtually in early summer, the company presented a new award given to Tipperary Sales: The Ronald McDonald House Charities Lifetime Achievement Award.

The acknowledgment recognizes Tipperary Sales for its tireless work over the entire twelve years of the company's partnership with RMHC, which it embraced from the very beginning. Tipperary was honored for transforming a "national program into a local labor of love."

"We remain committed to charitable organizations in our marketplaces, which we hope demonstrates dedication to the communities in which our teams and our clients live and work. And nothing brings us greater joy than bringing comfort to those in need," said Brown.



Tipperary Sales Retail Locations Receive No. 9 and No. 2 Sales Volume Awards in North America

In its 45th year of business, two of Tipperary's eight locations landed in the top ten La-Z-Boy stores in North America producing the largest amount of sales volume. Its Greenville, S.C. location secured the No. 9 spot for 8.7 million dollars in sales volume. The company's Pineville, N.C. location (recently renovated in 2020), landed the No. 2 spot with 12.7 million dollars in sales volume.

Rising Above Challenges

"Despite the obvious challenges our company faced in 2020, including mandated store closures, high demand, and long production delays due to strained supply chains, I am pleased with how we weathered the storm as a team," continued Brown.

She believes that the company's commitment to innovation is another reason it sees continued success, propelling the business forward during an arduous year. "Part of our company culture includes 'rising to to the occasion' and 'forging ahead.' We did both of these things in 2020 by successfully renovating our Pineville, NC location; relocating our North Charlotte, NC location; and improving customer engagement through a variety of technological improvements. This dedication contributed to our success. We believe these investments will prove fruitful in years to come."

About Tipperary Sales, Inc.

Tipperary Sales, Inc., is a family-owned company, founded in 1976. With eight stores throughout the region (located in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina), La-Z-Boy Southeast offers customers an exceptional buying experience. The company's vigilant training creates a staff that are experts in the retail and interior design industry. Customers are offered the opportunity to engage with a professional, degreed interior designer for a complimentary design program that was created to take the fear out of furniture buying. And, with more than 900 fabrics and leathers for a wide-variety of both in-stock and custom styles, La-Z-Boy Southeast is equipped to meet customers' needs effectively. A comprehensive website and YouTube channel also provides customers with a detailed and helpful pre-buying experience, answering frequent questions about products and the furniture buying experience.

La-Z-Boy Home Furnishings & Decor stores operated by Tipperary Sales, Inc. are in the following locations: 4205 Washington Rd. in Evans, Ga.; 150 Traders Way in Pooler, Ga.; 107-B River Hills Rd in Asheville, Nc.; 9215 Northlake W Dr. in Charlotte, Nc.; 11515 Carolina Place Pkwy. in Pineville, Nc.; 4960 Centre Pointe Dr Suite 102 in N. Charleston, Sc.; 5342 Sunset Boulevard in Lexington, Sc.: 1046 Woodruff Rd. in Greenville, Sc.

For more information, please visit https://www.furnitureacademy.com.

About La-Z-Boy

Headquartered in Monroe, MI, La-Z-Boy is one of the world's leading residential furniture producers. The company manufactures a full line of comfortable products for the living room and family room, including the company's world-famous recliners, reclining sofas and love seats, sleep sofas, modular furniture and leather upholstery, as well as stationary sofas, love seats and chairs. It is a division of La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE: LZB), one of the world's leading residential furniture producers, marketing furniture for every room of the home. Live Life Comfortably. SM

SOURCE La-Z-Boy Southeast
In 2018 and 2020, California enacted two lawsSB 826 and AB 979that require all publicly traded corporations headquartered in California to discriminate based on sex and race in selecting their board members.

The 2018 statute, SB 826, requires corporations headquartered in California to have specific numbers of women on their boards, depending on how many seats the board has. The 2020 statute, AB 979, similarly requires these companies to set aside a specific number of director seats for members of "underrepresented communit[ies]," which it defines as those who self-identify as "Black, African American, Hispanic, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Native Hawaiian, [] Alaska Native, . . . gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender."

As noted in the complaint, both of these laws are an exercise in unconstitutional and patronizing social engineering. The legal regime they institute relies on and perpetuates invidious racial categories and sex stereotypes that the American legal system has rightly discarded. These statutes not do not claim to remedy any particular past discrimination. Rather, California says that mandating race and sex discrimination is justifies because it thinks imposing these quotas will be lucrative for California's corporations and shareholders and thus for the state.

If the Fourteenth Amendment and our foundational civil rights laws stand for anything, it is that money is no justification for race or sex discrimination.

The members of the Alliance for Fair Board Recruitment include biological males who do not self-identify as women or underrepresented minorities as defined in AB 979 and are actively seeking corporate director positions. Because of California's laws, they are unable to compete on an equal footing for positions on the boards of directors of corporations headquartered in California, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and 42 U.S.C.  1981. Other members of the Alliance are stockholders in publicly traded companies headquartered in California who object to being required to illegally discriminate on the basis of race and sex in nominating and selecting board candidates.

Edward Blum, president of the Alliance for Fair Board Recruitment, said, "California's sex and race quotas for corporate board membership are indisputably violations of our nation's civil rights laws and the U.S. Constitution. It is our hope the courts end these unfair and unlawful practices immediately."

Alliance for Fair Board Recruitment

FairRecruitment.org

703-505-1922

[email protected]

Contact: Edward Blum, President

[email protected]

(703) 505-1922

SOURCE Alliance for Fair Board Recruitment
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Leapwork, the world's most accessible automation platform, today announced the appointment of Beatrice Askaner as Chief Marketing Officer.

Beatrice will play a crucial role in building Leapwork's brand as the company continues to scale internationally, strengthening its existing presence across North America, EMEA and Asia.

Beatrice brings a decade of international experience across all facets of marketing and communications within the technology sector. Having spent the last eight years working at global payments technology platform Adyen, Beatrice most recently led the team through a period of global expansion as VP of Marketing North America. Prior to Adyen, Beatrice started her career in advertising, working with various agencies within the Netherlands.

"We are thrilled to welcome Beatrice on board as Leapwork's first ever Chief Marketing Officer. Leapwork is experiencing rapid growth, and Beatrice will play a crucial role in helping us to strengthen our foothold across international markets. Her experience growing Adyen from a European-founded startup to a globally recognized business is invaluable, as we plan to see a similar trajectory at Leapwork over the coming years," said Leapwork CEO and Co-Founder Christian Brink Frederiksen.

"The automation industry is on the cusp of taking off, and I couldn't be more excited to join Leapwork, a company primed to become a leader in this space."

"Just like Adyen, Leapwork is a European-founded company that's already seeing extremely strong global uptake. I look forward to utilizing my experience and leadership skills to internationalize our brand and marketing efforts and really put Leapwork on the map," said Beatrice Askaner.

In her new role as CMO, Beatrice will lead Leapwork's growing marketing department and oversee all aspects of its marketing, communication, and brand operations. She will play an important role in ramping up the company's brand and marketing efforts as it continues to scale.

Since launching in 2017, Leapwork's visual, no-code approach to test automation has attracted interest from business and IT users, with more than 400 companies across different industries currently using the platform to automate repetitive processes so that they can scale more effectively. Clients such as NASA, PayPal, BNP Paribas and Daimler span industries including banking and finance, healthcare and life science, logistics and transportation, retail and ecommerce.

About Leapwork

Leapwork has created the world's most accessible automation platform. Through a visual, no-code approach, Leapwork makes it easy for business and IT users to automate repetitive processes, so enterprises can adopt and scale automation faster. Leapwork is used by more than 400 global enterprises across all industries, from banks and insurance companies to life science, government and aerospace. Clients include NASA, PayPal, BNP Paribas and Daimler. The company is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, and has local offices across Europe, US and Asia.

Media contact

Sophie Brown

+45 50208801

[email protected]

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/leapwork/r/leapwork-announces-appointment-of-beatrice-askaner-as-cmo,c3383606

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/20800/3383606/1443950.pdf Press release (PDF) https://news.cision.com/leapwork/i/beatrice-askaner-leapwork-cmo,c2935457 Beatrice Askaner Leapwork CMO

SOURCE Leapwork
STRICTLY LIMITED

LOUIS XIII cognac is the result of the life achievement of generations of Cellar Masters, blending the finest eaux-de-vie using grapes grown exclusively in Grande Champagne. It is essential for LOUIS XIII to be experienced as a ritual, drop by drop, to reveal a prolonged and evolving expression of flavour, in a single moment of excellence. Customers who want to try their luck by ordering one of the NXIII Experiences can log on LOUIS XIII Society* or directly through the selected nightclubs. A LOUIS XIII Brand Ambassador will contact each of them to organise this unique adventure.

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click: https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/8918451-louis-xiii-introduces-ultrarare-red-decanter-no-xiii/

EXTEND TIME WITH A SPECIAL RITUAL

Time is the raw material of LOUIS XIII, and NXIII allows us to explore a whole new expression of time. Nightlife is captured and amplified by the NXIII tasting ritual: a red individually numbered crystal decanter, revealed from under a LED cloche. Six red bespoke crystal glasses on a luminous tray accompany it, standing out from the crowd. LOUIS XIII is served using a pipette, known as the Spear, to prolong the dropbydrop service ritual.

CRAFTED DECANTER BY HAND

LOUIS XIII has collaborated with SaintLouis, to create the NXIII red decanter and red cognac glasses; their vibrant red hue can only be achieved using a secret process that requires the addition of gold. Its shared passion for tradition, savoirfaire and innovation comes to life into those rare decanters: blown, cut, decorated and engraved by hand, and individually numbered, it is finished with the LOUIS XIII signature dentelle spikes and a palladium neck. Following a NXIII tasting ritual, the client may leave the nightclub with his NXIII decanter (if the rules of the Club and regulations and laws of the country allow it) as a treasured souvenir of the most memorable of nights. The NFCenabled stopper grants the owner exclusive access to the LOUIS XIII Society and all its membership benefits.

LOUIS XIII NXIII recommended selling price on demand, available only in nightclubs.

*The LOUIS XIII Society is a private members club for owners of LOUIS XIII Cognac decanters.

PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

[email protected]

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/777273/LOUIS_XIII__Cognac_Logo.jpg

Video: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1571882/LOUIS_XIII_Decanter.mp4

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1571873/LOUIS_XIII_Decanter.jpg

SOURCE LOUIS XIII COGNAC
SAN JOSE, Calif. and OPELOUSAS, La., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Because of its fast and widespread implementation of augmented and virtual reality technology (AR/VR) in the past year, zSpace , a Silicon Valley education company, is proud to honor St. Landry School Board in Louisiana as a "District of Distinction."

The St. Landry Parish School Board is the first district in Louisiana to enhance its Career and Technical Education (CTE) instruction with AR/VR including 200 zSpace laptops and teacher stations. zSpace features AR/VR technology built into a Windows 10 laptop and all-in-one PC that creates an immersive and interactive experience where lifelike content seems to "leap out of the screen." This is particularly helpful for CTE instruction because it allows students to do things that would otherwise be too dangerous, impossible or expensive.

"Nothing replaces hands-on learning, but sometimes we need to fill a gap," said Michael Carbenia, senior executive director of workforce at zSpace. "The team at St. Landry has done an amazing job delivering meaningful CTE teaching to students during the pandemic, and I know they'll continue using zSpace even as students return to the classroom."

zSpace can be used for remote, in-person, and/or a blended learning strategy. Dr. Therese Ellender, STEAM Supervisor for St. Landry Parish School Board, credits the technology for keeping the district's CTE program intact and preventing students from losing ground during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"zSpace has been a lifesaver," said Ellender. "Our teachers have been able to teach and our students haven't fallen behind. We are better positioned to fully continue our students' education, better than any other district in the state. I truly feel confident in that statement."

zSpace and CTE at St. Landry

St. Landry Parish Schools has a robust CTE program providing students with the ability to earn certifications in HVAC, carpentry, automotive skills, welding and agriculture. As an example, a construction activity may have a student study the components of a typical wall of a home. Using a stylus and special glasses, the student can virtually pull the wall out of the screen and take it apart to see the insulation and electrical conduit inside.

CTE content is built into the zSpace units and is mapped against recognized industry credentials, allowing students to complete tasks and build upon their knowledge in zSpace or in real life. In addition, teachers have the opportunity to customize content by creating personalized videos, building quizzes and using zSpace either synchronously or asynchronously.

Practical Matters: Getting Technology into the Community

Purchasing zSpace units, learning the technology and distributing the laptops and PCs to students and teachers was the first major step of the process. The district's technology team handled the deployment, drafting a user agreement and offering insurance in case a unit was lost or stolen. Teachers -- tech-savvy or not -- knew they had to learn how to use the technology for the sake of the program and their students. Luckily, learning to use zSpace is intuitive for both students and teachers.

"We haven't had a problem with any of the units," said Ellender. "I think it's because the students think they're really cool."

About zSpace

zSpace is the leading evidence-based augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR) platform providing innovative hands-on, experiential learning to improve achievement in science, math and career and technical education credentialing. Over 2,500 school districts, technical centers, community colleges and universities use zSpace to provide equitable access to instruction for millions of learners preparing for success in college and careers. A privately held, venture-backed company located in San Jose, California, it has more than 50 patents. zSpace was named "Cool Vendor" by Gartner, Inc., "Best in Show at ISTE" by Tech & Learning Magazine for three consecutive years and ranked two years in a row on the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing companies. Visit www.zspace.com, or follow @zSpace on Twitter.

SOURCE zSpace, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.zspace.com


SAN FRANCISCO, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Marvel Power Group ("Marvel"), a woman-owned clean energy advisory firm, is celebrating its second anniversary with a big number: $1B in closed transactions.

Launched mere months before the onset of COVID-19 and self-funded, Marvel has persevered to become the go-to source for term offtake structuring and deal expertise in the biogas space. Right from the start, Marvel had identified renewable natural gas ("RNG") as a fully commercialized, near-term option in the race to Net-Zero. While many other solutions are still in R&D mode, methane-reducing biogas leverages existing infrastructure and is a significant pillar to the ESG agenda.

"Decarbonization requires action today. It is not an exercise in writing down goals and revisiting them in 2040," said Katherine Ryzhaya, Marvel's CEO. "We apply institutional rigor from our renewable power days to biogas offtake structuring, enabling our clients to finance large portfolios and displace meaningful amounts of fossil gas with a sustainable resource."

RNG has long been a game-changer in the transportation space, but now the market has expanded to stationary energy users as well. Large corporations, universities and gas retailers are buying RNG as replacement for fossil gas in their power generation and thermal applications. A vibrant European market is also accepting U.S. exports as feedstocks to its own production.

Marvel projects that, by year's end, it will have placed 100M+ dekatherms of biogas into long-term supply purchase contracts, equivalent to removing 1.5M cars from the road. "We are super proud of our milestones and infinitely grateful to our clients for their loyalty, trust and support."

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Marvel Power Group

Sam Peelle

Senior Director

[email protected]

www.marvelpowergroup.com



SOURCE Marvel Power Group

Related Links

http://www.marvelpowergroup.com


MOJAVE, Calif., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Masten Space Systems today announced it was awarded a Phase II SBIR contract through the Air Force Research Laboratory's AFWERX program to develop and demonstrate a lunar positioning and navigation network prototype. With functionality similar to a Global Positioning System (GPS), the network will enhance cislunar security and awareness by enabling navigation and location tracking for spacecraft, assets, astronauts, and objects on the lunar surface or in lunar orbit. As the lunar ecosystem grows, the network will also help advance lunar science and resource utilization by improving landing accuracy and hazard avoidance near critical lunar sites.

PNT beacons can be deployed in orbit to penetrate the lunar surface and enable consistent wireless connectivity.

"Unlike Earth, the Moon isn't equipped with GPS so lunar spacecraft and orbital assets are essentially operating in the dark," said Matthew Kuhns, vice president of research and development at Masten. "As a result, each spacecraft is required to carry heavy navigation hardware and sensors on-board to estimate positioning and detect potential hazards. By establishing a shared navigation network on the Moon, we can lower spacecraft costs by millions of dollars, increase payload capacity, and improve landing accuracy near the most resource-rich sites on the Moon."

In Phase I, Masten completed the concept design for the network prototype that offloads position, navigation, and timing (PNT) beacons from a spacecraft into a dedicated sensor array on the Moon. In Phase II of the project, scheduled to be complete in 2023, Masten will develop the PNT beacons that are equipped to survive harsh lunar conditions. Masten is collaborating with Leidos to build shock-proof beacon enclosures that can be deployed in lunar orbit to penetrate the lunar surface and create an autonomous surface-based network. Similar to a mesh network, the surface-based network can enable consistent wireless connectivity to lunar spacecraft, objects, and orbital assets.

"Leidos is proud to collaborate with Masten Space Systems in their quest toward a successful lunar surface-based positioning and navigation network," said Thomas Sereno, vice president and division manager of the Applied Science operation at Leidos. "We are prepared to support the team as they progress through the next phase of the contract."

In Phase II of the project, the PNT technology will also be tested aboard Masten's rocket-powered lander, Xodiac, to demonstrate payload integration and beacon operations in a terrestrial environment, enabling a path towards lunar demonstration. Masten has more than a decade of experience maturing PNT systems, including Jet Propulsion Laboratory's lander vision system that was tested on Masten's Xombie rocket to enable a successful Mars mission for the NASA Perseverance rover.

"As one of the first commercial companies sending a lunar lander to the Moon, we're in a unique position to develop and deploy a shared navigation system that can support other government and commercial missions and enable a thriving lunar ecosystem," said Masten CEO Sean Mahoney. "We are literally blazing the trail with this effort, creating the pathway for regular, ongoing, and reliable access to the Moon."

About Masten Space Systems

Masten Space Systems is enabling sustainable access and utilization of the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Founded in 2004, Masten has been building and flying reusable rockets for nearly two decades with the most successful rocket-powered landings in the industry. The company is now applying its terrestrial rocket experience to lunar missions that will accelerate space ecosystems and enable new commercial applications. Masten's end-to-end mission solutions include everything from tech development and testing to off-Earth delivery and operations.

Related Images

lunar-pnt-beacon-deployment.png

Lunar PNT beacon deployment

PNT beacons can be deployed in orbit to penetrate the lunar surface and enable consistent wireless connectivity.

SOURCE Masten Space Systems
BALTIMORE, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Michael Baker International, a global leader in engineering, planning and consulting services, announced today that Kyle Kramer, AIA + LEED AP, has joined the firm as Vice President and Baltimore Office Executive. Mr. Kramer will leverage his 17 years of professional experience, including 10 in operations management, to focus on expanding client relationships and implementing projects that utilize the firm's wide-ranging expertise for its clients and communities.

"Kyle's diverse design background, including architecture, planning, urban design and interior design, gives him a deep understanding of the specific needs associated with a multi-discipline and multi-office firm like ours," said John Walsh, Mid-Atlantic Regional Director at Michael Baker International. "I am confident the expertise Kyle will bring to his role as Baltimore Office Executive will help us accelerate growth and deliver project excellence for our clients throughout the company and Mid-Atlantic Region."

Mr. Kramer is an experienced architect and project manager who most recently served as the Operations Manager for STV Inc.'s Mid-Atlantic Building Practice, where he provided leadership to the architecture and engineering staff in the firm's Baltimore and Virginia Beach offices. He has also served a diverse group of transportation, state, federal and commercial clients during his time as Operations Manager  Architecture Department, Project Architect and Project Manager at AECOM. Mr. Kramer has served clients such as the Maryland State Highway Administration, Maryland Port Administration, Maryland Transit Administration, Virginia Railway Express and others key to the Baltimore and D.C. Metro Region, and he has project experience in bus rapid transit and commuter rail station design, as well as Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) projects in which he served as the lead architect.

Mr. Kramer holds a Master of Business Administration degree in Management from Frostburg State University in Frostburg, Maryland, and Master of Architecture and Bachelor of Architecture degrees from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia.

About Michael Baker International

Michael Baker International is a leading provider of engineering and consulting services. The firm's Practices encompass all facets of infrastructure, including design, civil engineering, planning, architecture, environmental, construction and program management. For more than 80 years, the company has been a trusted partner, providing comprehensive services and solutions to commercial clients and all branches of the military, as well as federal, state and municipal governments. Embracing emerging technologies and the latest innovations  like intelligent transportation and design-build project delivery  Michael Baker is an industry leader that delivers expertise and quality. The firm's more than 3,000 employees across nearly 100 locations are committed to Making a Difference for clients and communities through a culture of innovation, collaboration and technological advancement. To learn more, visit https://mbakerintl.com/.

Contact: Julia Covelli

[email protected]

(866) 293-4609

SOURCE Michael Baker International

Related Links

http://www.mbakerintl.com


BANGALORE, India and WARREN, N.J., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Mindtree, a global technology services and digital transformation company, announced its consolidated results today for the first quarter ended June 30, 2021, as approved by its Board of directors.

"We are pleased to report a strong start to FY22 with broad-based first-quarter growth across all service lines and industry segments," said Debashis Chatterjee, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Mindtree. "For the quarter, revenues were $310.5 million, up 7.7% sequentially, and EBITDA was 20.3%, demonstrating the resilience of our business in a challenging environment. Our highest-ever orderbook of $504 million affirms that the focused execution of our strategy and our client-centricity in re-imagining business models for the digital era are helping us drive profitable and sustainable growth. We are proud of the passion and perseverance with which Mindtree Minds have continued to deliver value to our clients and exceed their expectations despite difficult conditions."

Key financial highlights:

Quarter ended June 30, 2021

In USD:

Revenue was $310.5 million (growth of 7.7% q-o-q / 22.6% y-o-y)

(growth of 7.7% q-o-q / 22.6% y-o-y)

Net profit was $46.5 million (growth of 7.5% q-o-q / 64.7% y-o-y)

(growth of 7.5% q-o-q / 64.7% y-o-y) In INR:

Revenue was 22,917 million (growth of 8.6% q-o-q / 20.1% y-o-y)



Net profit was 3,434 million (growth of 8.2% q-o-q / 61.2% y-o-y)

Other highlights:

Clients:

260 active clients as of June 30, 2021



$5 million+ clients grew by 3, total 47



$10 million+ clients grew by 5, total 25



$20 million+ clients grew by 1, total 8

People:

27,256 Mindtree Minds as of June 30, 2021



Trailing 12 months attrition is 13.7%

Q1 deal wins with leading global clients:

One of the world's leading investment managers has selected Mindtree as a strategic partner for a multi-year managed services engagement to drive innovation and differentiated experiences by modernizing and transforming its IT infrastructure and application portfolio, while enabling multiple strategic business and technology change initiatives.



A global travel management company has chosen Mindtree for a multi-year, end-to-end, large-scale AWS cloud migration and cloud operations program to drive its new business and product strategy.



A global leader in automobile manufacturing has chosen Mindtree as a multi-year strategic partner to transform its applications ecosystem.



A multinational technology leader has entered into a long-term agreement with Mindtree for cloud and infrastructure support services.



A global high-tech industrial conglomerate has partnered with Mindtree to enable digital selling and an omnichannel customer experience.



A world leader in steel wire-based products has partnered with Mindtree for a multi-year digital transformation program, where Mindtree will deliver digital commerce platforms globally with a data-first approach to enable digital revenue acceleration and enhanced customer experience.

Recognitions:

Mindtree was ranked second for client satisfaction in the 2021 UK IT Sourcing Study, conducted by Whitelane Research in collaboration with PA Consulting. Mindtree's overall satisfaction score of 80% was well above the industry average of 72%.



Mindtree was named a Major Contender by Everest Group in its 'Application and Digital Services in Banking PEAK Matrix Assessment 2021: Global Focus' report.



Mindtree was named among 40 customer analytics service providers in Forrester's 'Now Tech: Customer Analytics Service Providers, Q2 2021' report. Customer analytics service providers help clients transform data into analytical insight to optimize decisions and improve customer experience (Source: Now Tech: Customer Analytics Service Providers, Q2 2021).



Mindtree was recognized with the 2021 ISG Digital Case Study Awards for best-in-class digital transformation work with enterprise customers. Mindtree was one of the companies to have four or more standout case studies.



Mindtree was among the top 5 companies with the highest ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) scores in an evaluation by CRISIL Ltd. that analyzed three annual reporting cycles of 225 companies across 18 sectors in India through fiscal 2020.

through fiscal 2020.

EcoVadis awarded Mindtree a Silver rating in this year's sustainability assessment, placing Mindtree among the top 25% of the more than 75,000 companies it assessed.

About Mindtree

Mindtree (NSE: MINDTREE) is a global technology consulting and services company, helping enterprises marry scale with agility to achieve competitive advantage. "Born digital," in 1999 and now a Larsen & Toubro Group Company, Mindtree applies its deep domain knowledge to 260 enterprise client engagements to break down silos, make sense of digital complexity and bring new initiatives to market faster. We enable IT to move at the speed of business, leveraging emerging technologies and the efficiencies of Continuous Delivery to spur business innovation. Operating in 24 countries across the world, we're consistently regarded as one of the best places to work, embodied every day by our winning culture made up of over 27,000 entrepreneurial, collaborative and dedicated "Mindtree Minds."

To learn more about us, visit www.mindtree.com or follow us @Mindtree_Ltd

Safe harbour

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks, and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could decrease customer's technology spending, affecting demand for our services, delaying prospective customers' purchasing decisions, and impacting our ability to provide on-site consulting services; all of which could adversely affect our future revenue, margin and overall financial performance. Our operations may also be negatively affected by a range of external factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic that are not within our control. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf.

For more information, contact: [email protected]

Mindtree Limited, Global Village, RVCE Post, Mysore Road, Bangalore-560059;

CIN: L72200KA1999PLC025564; Phone: + 91 80 6706 4000; Fax: +91 80 6706 4100;

E-mail: [email protected]/[email protected]; Website: www.mindtree.com

SOURCE Mindtree
SAN FRANCISCO, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ModSquad, the global leader in on-demand CX services, won the Gold Globee Sales and Customer Service Excellence Award in the 8th Annual 2021 Customer Sales and Service World Awards. These prestigious awards recognize achievements in sales, service, support, and business development worldwide. ModSquad was recognized for "Best Use of Social Media in Customer Service" for its work with Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport. The awards are an international industry and peer competition honoring achievements in disciplines that create the best customer experience for business success everywhere.

Every day, ModSquad's experienced professionals (called "Mods") engage and support consumers globally. Mods cover DFW's social networks 24/7, engaging passengers as well as maintaining a constant vigilance for security issues. Mods react quickly to passenger concerns and have a history of providing crucial help in real-time, whether guiding underage travelers to DFW agents, alerting airport authorities to a potential security concern on airport grounds, or providing in the moment social coverage of a last minute Blue Angels flyover to recognize frontline COVID workers.

"This Gold award reinforces the innovative services and great customer experiences we provide to ModSquad's clients," said Amy Pritchard, CEO and Founder of ModSquad. "The past year in particular demonstrated the importance for companies to establish and maintain relationships with their customers and communities. ModSquad plays a key role in those connections."

Sales and Customer Service Excellence Awards is the world's premier recognitions program created to honor achievements of individuals, teams, departments, most valuable professionals, milestones, and champions. The awards focus on outstanding accomplishments in Sales & Customer Success, Customer Service & Contact Centers, Sales and Service Enablement which includes Training, Consulting, and Outsourcing.

"Continuing to raise the bar higher for standards in sales and customer service is key to customer success," said San Madan, co-President at Globee Awards. "Effective customer success strategy can lead to higher business growth."

About ModSquad

ModSquad is a global provider of on-demand CX services, known as ModSourcing: outsourcing modernized. Our experienced professionals engage your customers and communities on a personal level across online, mobile, e-commerce, in-game, application, and social media channels. ModSquad offers expert service in customer support, moderation, social, and community. We've strategized, designed, and delivered digital initiatives for clients in 70+ countries, in 50+ languages and dialects. We are the Mods!

About the Globee Awards

Globee Awards are conferred in eleven programs and competition: the CEO World Awards, the Consumer World Awards, The Customer Sales and Service World Awards, the Globee International Best in Business Awards, the Golden Bridge Awards, the Cyber Security Global Excellence Awards and Security World Awards, the IT World Awards, One Planet American Best in Business Awards, the Globee Employer Excellence Awards, the Globee Corporate Communications & Marketing World Awards, and the Women World Awards. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind their success, the Globee Awards recognize outstanding achievements and performances in businesses worldwide. Learn more about the Globee Awards at https://globeeawards.com

Contact:

Amy Kennedy

916.913.4465

[email protected]

SOURCE ModSquad

Related Links

modsquad.com


MENLO PARK, Calif., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Job seekers will have plenty of options in the coming months, research from talent solutions firm Robert Half shows. According to the "State of U.S. Hiring" survey of more than 2,800 senior managers, 51% of respondents anticipate adding new permanent positions in the second half of 2021, and another 48% plan to fill vacated positions or bring back furloughed employees. Among the 28 U.S. cities in the survey, those with the highest percentages of employers who expect to staff up are San Diego (62%), Dallas (61%), Atlanta and Los Angeles (58% each).

Employers need to exceed candidates' expectations or risk losing them to better offers. Tweet this Research from Robert Half shows U.S. companies' hiring plans and challenges in the second half of 2021, as well as popular incentives to entice prospective employees.

View an infographic of the highlights and results by practice area, company size and city.

Top Hiring Challenges

While many companies are optimistic about increasing staff levels, there will be hurdles. Senior managers predict the biggest recruiting challenges for the remainder of the year:

Finding candidates with the right skills Hiring quickly enough to land the best talent Finding candidates who complement the company culture

"Hiring is happening across the board, and competition for talent is intensifying. Simultaneously, job seekers are becoming more discerning when evaluating opportunities," said Robert Half senior executive director Paul McDonald. "With these two forces at play, employers need to exceed candidates' expectations or risk losing them to better offers."

New Recruiting Strategies

According to the research, some companies are pulling out the stops to entice prospective hires:

48% are providing signing bonuses

43% are giving more paid time off

40% are offering better job titles

But there are some non-negotiables. Only 10% of senior managers are willing to overlook soft skills and certifications when recruiting for hard-to-fill roles. The qualifications they are most willing to bend on include:

Advanced degree (23%)

Years of experience (19%)

Education level (14%)

Pivoting When the Clock is Ticking

Many employers are also flexible when it comes to a candidate's location. Senior managers said it can take up to 7 weeks, on average, to hire for an open position; for nearly 1 in 4 employers (22%), it can take more than 2 months. When faced with a lengthy hiring process, 60% of companies are broadening their search beyond their geography to find qualified candidates.

McDonald noted, "Professionals with in-demand skills often have their pick of jobs. To stand the best chance of winning over top candidates, employers need to modernize and minimize role requirements, move quickly, and make the most competitive offer possible from the start."

About the Research

The online survey was developed by Robert Half and conducted by an independent research firm from June 4 to July 1, 2021. It includes responses from more than 2,800 senior managers in finance, technology, marketing, legal, administrative support, human resources and other areas at companies with 20 or more employees.

About Robert Half

Robert Half (NYSE: RHI) is the world's first and largest specialized talent solutions firm that connects opportunities at great companies with highly skilled job seekers. Robert Half offers contract, temporary and permanent placement solutions, and is the parent company of Protiviti, a global consulting firm. Visit roberthalf.com.

SOURCE Robert Half

Related Links

http://www.roberthalf.com


FRISCO, Texas, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Evolve Mortgage Services, a top provider of onshore outsourced mortgage services, has hired mortgage technology pioneer Tim Anderson as executive vice president, director eMortgage strategy, to oversee further deployment of its unique end-to-end digital closing platform. The move follows the company's recent acquisition of E-Notary Seal and solidifies Evolve's standing as the mortgage industry's only complete eClosing provider. It also marks Anderson's return to Evolve, where he previously served as president of the company's SigniaDocs subsidiary from 2007 to 2010.

A thought leader and frequently sought-after expert on digital mortgages, Anderson has received multiple industry awards and accolades over his 35-year career, including Mortgage Banking magazine's IT All-Star designation and Mortgage Technology Magazine's Steven Fraser Award. Anderson has held leadership roles at Black Knight, DocMagic and Pavaso, and most recently served as senior vice president and director of digital strategy at MortgageConnect.

"Our recent investment in E-Notary Seal has enabled us to build the mortgage industry's only complete end-to-end digital closing platform in real estate finance," said Evolve Mortgage Services Founder and CEO Paul Anselmo. "Now, with Tim on board, we have an industry pioneer with deep roots in developing the digital closing process to fuel mass adoption of this truly digital end-to-end closing experience that we have created."

Anderson, who will oversee further improvements to Evolve's platform, will lead a team of well-known mortgage experts with a long history, keen understanding and deep industry knowledge and experience executing all things digital. The team includes Charlie Epperson, Evolve's Chief Technology Officer who built one of the industry's first eVaults. There is also Katie Paolangeli, the company's SVP, production management - eMortgage technology, who was VP eCommerce at MERSCORP Holdings for nearly a decade and was very instrumental in the eRegistry and eNote adoption while at MERSCORP. Joanne Wight, who is responsible for client onboarding at the North Texas-based firm, has worked for several large retail, wholesale and correspondent operators, as well as Docutech. Also on the digital leadership team is Marci Bowers, who is VP, eMortgage sales and an alumnus of both DocMagic and Docutech.

"I'm looking forward to working with the entire team at Evolve to empower the mortgage industry to fully digitize the entire mortgage process from application to closing to investor delivery and servicing  end to end, start to finish," Anderson stated.

Evolve's digital closing platform customers have immediate access to the E-Notary Seal services.

About Evolve Mortgage Services

Evolve Mortgage Services is a leading provider of on-shore outsourced mortgage solutions that have helped hundreds of clients dramatically grow and scale their mortgage operations. Founded and run by a team of industry veterans, Evolve provides seamless component or end-to-end loan services and creates custom strategies for each client. The firm has extensive experience in origination and post-closing services; institutional, whole loan, and servicing acquisition due diligence; collateral recovery HMDA and forensic compliance reviews; whole loan sales; agency deliveries; and TPR securitizations. Evolve is based in Frisco, Texas. For more information, visit www.EvolveMortgageServices.com.

Media Contact:

Sam Garcia, Publicist

Strategic Vantage Marketing & Public Relations

214.762.4457 | [email protected]

SOURCE Evolve Mortgage Services

Related Links

https://www.EvolveMortgageServices.com


NEW YORK, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CUSIP Global Services (CGS) today announced the release of its CUSIP Issuance Trends Report for June 2021. The report, which tracks the issuance of new security identifiers as an early indicator of debt and capital markets activity over the next quarter, found a significant monthly increase in request volume for new municipal identifiers and a slight decline in request volume for new corporate identifiers.

CUSIP identifier requests for the broad category of U.S. and Canadian corporate equity and debt declined 3.3% in June from last month. The monthly decrease was driven largely by U.S. corporate debt identifier requests, which declined by 5.7%. On a year-over-year basis, corporate CUSIP requests were down 6.4%.

Monthly municipal volume increased for a fifth straight month in June. The aggregate total of all municipal securities  including municipal bonds, long-term and short-term notes, and commercial paper  rose 14.3% versus May totals. On an annualized basis, municipal CUSIP identifier request volumes were up 7.2% through June. New York led state-level municipal request volume with a total of 226 new CUSIP requests in June, followed by Texas with 211 and California with 108.

"Municipalities continue to issue new debt offerings at a rapid clip, especially during the peak short-term notes season, suggesting opportunistic capital raising in a largely favorable rate environment," said Gerard Faulkner, Director of Operations for CGS. "The recent slowdown in corporate activity has been notable, however, and will be important to watch over the course of the coming months."

Requests for international equity and debt CUSIPs were mixed in June. International equity CUSIP requests were down 9.2% versus May. International debt CUSIPs increased by 14.3% on a monthly basis.

To view the full CUSIP Issuance Trends report for June, click here.

Following is a breakdown of new CUSIP Identifier requests by asset class year-to-date through June 2021:



Asset Class 2021 YTD 2020 YTD YOY Change

International Debt 2,871 1,600 79.4%

Canada Corporate Debt & Equity 2,784 1,848 50.6%

U.S. Corporate Equity 7,369 5,211 41.4%

Syndicated Loans 1,432 985 45.4%

International Equity 1,550 1,192 30.0%

Private Placement Securities 1,799 1,496 20.3%

Long-Term Municipal Notes 331 274 20.8%

U.S. Corporate Debt 7,724 6,745 14.5%

Municipal Bonds 6,823 6,016 13.4%

Short-Term Municipal Notes 441 487 -9.4%

CDs > 1-year Maturity 2,099 4,154 -49.5%

CDs < 1-year Maturity 744 3,105 -76.0%

About CUSIP Global Services

The financial services industry relies on CGS' unrivaled experience in uniquely identifying instruments and entities to support efficient global capital markets. Its extensive focus on standardization over the past 50 years has helped CGS earn its reputation as a trusted originator of quality identifiers and descriptive data, ensuring that essential front- and back-office functions run smoothly. Relied upon worldwide as the industry standard provider of reliable, timely reference data, CGS is also a founding member and co-operates the Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA) Service Bureau, a global security and entity identifier database for over 34 million public and privately traded instruments, contributed by 91 national numbering agencies and 25 partner agencies representing 120 different countries. CGS is managed on behalf of the American Bankers Association (ABA) by S&P Global Market Intelligence, with a Board of Trustees that represents the voices of leading financial institutions. For more information, visit www.cusip.com.

About The American Bankers Association

The American Bankers Association represents banks of all sizes and charters and is the voice for the nation's $13 trillion banking industry and its 2 million employees. Learn more at www.aba.com .

For More Information:

Farhan Husain

[email protected]

212-438-3271

SOURCE CUSIP Global Services

Related Links

http://www.cusip.com


ST. MARYS, Ga., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Michael Newsom, Managing Director of National CRS and Liquidating Trustee of the Durango Georgia Paper Company Bankruptcy Estate ("DGPC" or "the Bankruptcy"), reported that on June 30, 2021, the former DGPC mill property had been sold to Jacoby Development, Inc. ("JDI"). Over more than a decade of sales attempts, Mr. Newsom held strong to his vision that the mill property had many outstanding characteristics that made it a prime piece of real estate for an organization that shared his vision. Furthermore, he believed that right sale would give a fair return to the creditors of the Bankruptcy, and it would complement the future of the City of St. Marys. Mr. Newsom also overcame pressure to sell this property to low bidders, and he did not compromise because of false, negative rumors and publicity about the land. JDI, in the persons of Mr. James Jacoby and John Loudon, likewise did not bow to obstacles, and with the help of funding from the local Joint Development Authority, they secured the required capital.

Wood Stork Reserve Area Gilman Paper Mill circa 2000

Mr. Jacoby showed interest in the property two times previously during the storied sales process. The timing was just not right for either of those times, but unbeknownst to Mr. Newsom, Mr. Jacoby had kept a keen eye on the property. When Mr. Newsom reached out to him approximately two years prior to the closing of the deal, Mr. Jacoby launched an all-out effort to buy the mill site. Mr. Jacoby is known to be just the man with big plans that this property needs. His company, JDI, has had success in Georgia's Brownfield Program, and he is highly respected by the folks at the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

This complex effort to sell the mill site needed a skillful and varied team to draw this process to a conclusion. At the top of the list is Ward Stone, a partner in the Georgia law firm Stone & Baxter. Mr. Stone flawlessly navigated the bankruptcy process and helped keep the Bankruptcy Estate alive and free from any legal problems. Gregg Marx, of Marx Enterprise, provided on site management of the site with daily inspections. Gregg was a former plant engineer at the mill, and his comprehensive knowledge of the site was key in winning over the JDI. Mr. Newsom greatly appreciates the unwavering support from St. Marys Mayor, John Morrissey. Without his backing, it is likely that such a successful sale would not have happened. Kudos also goes out to Dr. J. Brad Peebles of the environmental firm TetraTech for his guidance on environmental issues. Lastly, Mr. Newsom would like to thank the residents of the City of St. Marys for their hospitality. He voiced that after many years of visiting St. Marys, he feels like he is a member of the community.

Media Contact Michael L. Newsom, 727-515-8949, [email protected]

Home (nationalcrsllc.com)

SOURCE National CRS LLC
PALO ALTO, Calif., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Neosensory , a California-based startup founded by Stanford neuroscientist Dr. David Eagleman and neuroengineer Dr. Scott Novich, has partnered with Oaktree Products, the leading multi-line distributor of audiology supplies, to bring their new tinnitus program, Neosensory Duo, to thousands of hearing professionals across the country.

Neosensory has been developing innovative hearing and sensory augmentation solutions since 2015 and was recently recognized by Fast Company's 2021 World Changing Ideas Awards. Neosensory's program uses their patented wristband that creates specific vibrational patterns on the skin, synchronized with a set of tones picked up by the user's ears.

This proprietary, non-invasive method  known as bimodal stimulation  leverages neuroplasticity and has been shown to reduce tinnitus symptoms in more than 87% of users. The effectiveness of bimodal stimulation in tinnitus sufferers has been previously demonstrated in studies conducted by separate teams at the University of Michigan and Trinity College, Dublin.

Kevin Liebe, AuD, Clinical Audiologist and President of Hearing Health & Technology Matters, notes that, "Audiologists have a unique opportunity to help their patients and expand their practices by including Neosensory Duo as part of a tinnitus management program or package. Duo is much more affordable than traditional tinnitus devices making it an appealing option for both patients and clinicians."

The Neosensory Duo is now available for audiologists to order on Oaktree's website: www.oaktreeproducts.com .

For more information about Neosensory and its products, contact Neosensory at [email protected] or visit https://neosensory.com.

About Neosensory

Founded in 2015 by neuroscientists David Eagleman and Scott Novich, Neosensory builds non-invasive brain-machine interfaces to create new senses.

Dr. Eagleman demonstrated the company's first sensory substitution device, the VEST, in a widely acclaimed TED Talk. A second, more compact version of the device, a wristband called Buzz, became available in 2020. Since then, Neosensory has built a growing community of users, developers, and neurotech enthusiasts. The company's tinnitus program, Neosensory Duo, launched in March 2021, is based on new scientific research on bimodal stimulation. For more information on Neosensory's technology and its applications, visit neosensory.com.

SOURCE Neosensory

Related Links

https://www.NeoSensory.com


The research, which polled 251 people with tinnitus across the UK, found that 76.1% of respondents have never used any form of tinnitus treatment. It also revealed that 67.7% of those polled don't feel adequately informed about tinnitus. This translated as 12.7% of respondents who didn't feel informed at all about their condition; 22.3% feeling somewhat uninformed and 31.5% who were unsure about how informed they were about their tinnitus.

The poll also asked respondents about their awareness of treatment options open to tinnitus patients and found that 28.3% of respondents didn't feel informed at all about their options and a further 30.3 said they were 'somewhat uninformed'.

Speaking on research, Dr Ross O'Neill, CEO of Neuromod Devices said: "Our poll shows that there is a clear gulf in knowledge of tinnitus treatments in those suffering from this debilitating condition. This may stem from the fact that so many people with tinnitus never seek any form of treatment for it. Recent research has told us that tinnitus is a symptom of long-COVID and we now know that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on people who have tinnitus."

"In addition, a recent study led by Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, found that 46% of tinnitus sufferers in the UK reported a worsening of their tinnitus during the COVID-19 pandemic[i]. With Lenire, our goal is to improve the quality of life of those suffering from tinnitus and this is what motivates us to bring this treatment to as many people as we can. The results of large-scale clinical trials, involving more than 500 participants, are very positive, as are the real-world outcomes for our patients in Europe so this is a very exciting time for the company."

The Lenire tinnitus treatment device is available to people with tinnitus through The Tinnitus Clinic's network of seven locations across the UK or online via the company's Neuromod Medical tinnitus telemedicine service.

The Tinnitus Clinic's audiologists will provide Lenire to patients, as well as devising and monitoring their tinnitus treatment plans using the device. The Tinnitus Clinic is the leading provider of the latest evidence-based tinnitus treatments in the UK, with clinics in London, Bristol, Leeds, Leicester, Manchester, Newcastle, and Stirling.

Neuromod specialises in non-invasive neuromodulation technologies and has developed Lenire, the first non-invasive bimodal neuromodulation tinnitus device which has been clinically proven in large-scale clinical trials to soothe tinnitus symptoms.

Tinnitus affects between 10 and 15% of the global population and the British Tinnitus Association estimates that more than seven million people suffer from this condition in the UK alone[ii].

Dr Ross O'Neill continued: "I am absolutely delighted to launch Lenire in the United Kingdom and to begin treating tinnitus patients with the device. Interest in Lenire from the UK has been strong, so in order to best serve those with tinnitus in the UK, it is important to provide patients with the best treatment option for them, whether that's an in-clinic assessment or one they can do online via telemedicine. This is why working with The Tinnitus Clinic is a great fit for us. The Tinnitus Clinic and Neuromod share the goal of providing evidence-based and clinically proven treatments to those afflicted by tinnitus. I look forward to working with their accomplished team".

Mark Williams, Chief Audiologist for the Tinnitus Clinic said: "We are delighted to be partnering with Neuromod to introduce Lenire to the UK. It is a novel, but evidence-based treatment which we are pleased to be providing alongside the suite of treatments which are currently available from the service."

Patients in the United Kingdom can also opt to have tinnitus assessments online via Neuromod's telemedicine service, which launched earlier this year and has had over 1,000 people use the service to date. The service is delivered through Neuromod Medical, a centre of excellence for tinnitus care, based at the Hermitage Medical Clinic in Dublin, Ireland, and aims to provide patients with quick access to tinnitus care, without waiting lists.

With this service patients can get assessed, fitted for the Lenire device and complete follow up appointments with their healthcare professional via a video call from the comfort of their own homes, using a mobile device or home computer.

Neuromod has been advancing the commercialisation of Lenire across Europe having opened its German office in Forchheim, Bavaria last year. Since then, the company has made Lenire available to patients in Germany by taking on 57 partners who make the device and its treatment plan available in 96 clinics throughout Germany. Neuromod also has three partner clinics in Austria.

The company, which raised 10.5 million in an oversubscribed Series B financing round late last year, has been scaling manufacturing of the Lenire device to meet demand in Europe. This funding has also seen the employee numbers at the company grow by more than 50% in six months. which is being used to expand European commercialisation and scale-up manufacturing of the Lenire device to meet demand.

Lenire is prescribed and fitted under the supervision of a qualified healthcare professional who specialises in the field of tinnitus treatment such as audiologists and Consultant Otolaryngologists or ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) surgeons.

The device has been used in large-scale clinical trials, the most recent of which, involving 326 participants, delivered dramatic improvements in patients' tinnitus symptoms[iii]. 86.2% of treatment-compliant participants reported an improvement in their tinnitus symptoms after a 12-week treatment period. When followed up 12 months post treatment, 80.1% of these participants had sustained the improvements. This study represents one of the largest and longest followed-up clinical trial ever conducted in the tinnitus field.[iv]

For more information please contact:

Robert Magee

Senior Communications Manager,

Neuromod Devices

[email protected] / +353 87 670 6826

Notes to Editor:

About Neuromod Devices Limited

Founded in 2010, Neuromod Devices Ltd is a medical technology company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Neuromod specialises in the design and development of neuromodulation technologies to address the clinical needs of underserved patient populations who live with chronic and debilitating conditions. The lead application of Neuromod's technology is in the field of tinnitus, where Neuromod has completed extensive clinical trials to confirm the efficacy of its non-invasive neuromodulation platform in this common disorder. Neuromod's tinnitus treatment device, Lenire is currently available in Ireland and throughout Europe. For more information visit www.neuromoddevices.com.

About Lenire

Lenire is the first non-invasive bimodal neuromodulation tinnitus treatment device shown to soothe and relieve tinnitus in a large-scale clinical trial. Lenire has CE-mark certification for the treatment of tinnitus under the supervision of an appropriately qualified healthcare professional in Europe. Further details on Lenire including a list of providers can be found at www.lenire.com.

Connect with Neuromod Devices

About The Tinnitus Clinic Ltd

The Tinnitus Clinic is an independent audiological practice specialising in tinnitus treatment and management and providing hearing aid consultations and fitting.

The clinics offer a highly personalised service and a commitment to audiological best practices for tinnitus treatment and hearing loss from centres in Harley Street, London, and across the UK. Tinnitus Clinic is one of the few private audiology clinics that has been registered by the Care Quality Commission in the UK. Further details can be found at www.thetinnitusclinic.co.uk

References

[i] Beukes et al., DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2020.592878

[ii] British Tinnitus Association - https://www.tinnitus.org.uk/blog/more-people-living-with-tinnitus-than-previously-thought

[iii] As measured by Tinnitus Handicap Inventory score

[iv] Conlon et al., Sci. Transl. Med. 12, eabb2830 (2020)

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1572809/Neuromod_Devices_1.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1572810/Neuromod_Devices_2.jpg

SOURCE Neuromod Devices Ltd.
GENEVA, Ill, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Caravel Autism Health is opening the doors this week to a new center in Geneva, Ill. that is designed to meet the unique needs of children with autism and their families. The center will be led by expert clinicians who specialize in the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of autism in children ages 2 to 18.

Caravel Autism Health has been helping families living with the challenges of an autism diagnosis for more than a decade. The organization's wraparound services include Applied Behavior Analysis therapy, family support, and counseling. ABA therapy is evidence-based treatment that uses positive reinforcement to help children develop skills, create connections with others, and gain confidence.

According to Caravel Autism Health CEO Mike Miller, the decision to build an autism therapy center to serve families in the Geneva/St. Charles/Batavia region was driven by local demand:

"One in 54 children has autism, but families struggle to find the care they need because there is a shortage of providers. ABA therapy changes lives, so we are stepping up and expanding our presence in these communities to create better outcomes for families touched by autism." Located at 2323 Fargo Boulevard, the Geneva center is the eighth that Caravel Autism Health has opened in northern Illinois.

"The best possible scenario for a child with autism is making sure we diagnose at an early age and create an ABA treatment plan that is customized for that child's needs," according to Andrea Whalen, BCBA and Regional Director for Caravel Autism Health in Illinois. "We're passionate about providing ABA therapy because we know what a positive impact this treatment has for children who are on the autism spectrum," explained Whalen. "We can truly change the trajectory of their early development and help them lead happier lives."

To schedule an appointment, call 847.443.5806 or visit caravelautism.com.

About Caravel Autism Health

Since 2009, Caravel Autism Health has been devoted to helping families navigate the challenges of childhood autism. Our team of clinical experts specializes in the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of children on the autism spectrum. Caravel's research-based and data-driven programs are designed to provide better outcomes that help children with autism reshape their development and embrace new ways of interacting with the world.

SOURCE Caravel Autism Health

Related Links

caravelautism.com


Points transfers from banks into frequent flyer schemes are accelerating and trending ahead of airline passenger recovery

US points transfer activity already exceeding pre-pandemic level by 30%

LONDON, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Ascenda , the technology company that makes banking rewarding, revealed consumer confidence in travel is returning quickly according to leading indicators from its bank solution TransferConnect , the world's largest global exchange for frequent traveller miles and points.

TransferConnect facilitates the exchange of rewards currencies between financial services brands and a broad set of major airlines, hotel chains, super apps and retailers worldwide. The network enables banks across 40 markets to connect with 50 major merchants and delivers access to real-time points transfers for 1.2 billion consumers worldwide.

The newly published data is the first of its kind ever released in the industry and showcases how rewards currency exchange volume from banks into frequent flyer schemes has compared against airline Revenue Passenger Kilometers (RPKs) over the past 18 months. The analysis provides unique insight into how the multi-billion dollar bank rewards value chain has been impacted by the pandemic and where travel recovery is heading in coming months.

When COVID-19 first brought global travel to a standstill in March 2020, bank consumers naturally ceased to transfer their accumulated points into frequent flyer miles. Both RPKs and rewards transfers plummeted more than 80% during a 60-day period.

However, customers continued to earn bank rewards unabated on their everyday card spend as the pandemic unfolded, with growing points balances waiting to be redeemed. The year 2021 then brought the turning point, as news of global vaccination progress unleashed pent up travel aspirations and prompted a reinvigoration of bank point conversions into frequent flyer schemes. Since March 2021, that transfer activity has accelerated its recovery materially ahead of passengers carried. The effect is consistent across geographies and especially pronounced in the US market, where the volume of bank points exchanged into frequent flyer miles has actually surpassed pre-pandemic levels from April 2021 onward and is still continuing its upward trajectory.

In addition to these strong signals of returning consumer confidence in air travel, the analysis also reveals that hotel chains have capitalized on the pandemic to sustainably grow their share of global rewards currency transfers. Following the onset of the crisis, transfers into hotel points had naturally gained relative share as consumers were forced to opt for local vacations. Hotel points represented less than 10% of currency transfer volume in 2019, increasing three-fold in March 2020 to 30%. What's most remarkable, however, is that the behavior change has persisted into 2021, even during the recent months of recovery, indicating that the chains have sustainably grown their level of engagement with loyalty program members.

Sebastian Grobys, Chief Commercial Officer at Ascenda, said: "As the pandemic unfolded, the world's eyes were glued to plummeting operating statistics published by airlines and travel industry bodies across the world. Since then, there have been many attempts to analyse the slope of the recovery curve and make predictions about the future, for example looking at forward booking patterns. Today we're excited to contribute a new and unique source of data that shows frequent flier mile transfers are rising significantly in a strong signal of accelerating recovery."

The newly released TransferConnect report is available here for download.

About Ascenda

Ascenda is a global technology company that makes banking rewarding. Ascenda delivers digitally native, intuitive and easy-to-deploy loyalty solutions that enable banks to build deeper customer connections across the entire financial relationship. The company serves financial services clients in more than 40 markets, including leading banks such as HSBC, Capital One, ICBC, and Standard Chartered as well as disruptors such as Virgin Money.

For more information about Ascenda, please visit ascendaloyalty.com .

Media Contact

Valerie Perridon

[email protected]

SOURCE Ascenda

Related Links

https://www.ascendaloyalty.com


PALO ALTO, Calif., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Women were more than twice as likely to start a business during COVID-19 than men - just one of the findings unveiled today from a study commissioned by NEXT Insurance, the leading digital insurtech company transforming small business insurance. The survey, conducted by interviewing more than 500 small business owners of various ages, gender, industries and geographic locations, was highlighted as part of the NEXT's Small Business Guide: How to Thrive from Day One released today.

Women were two times more likely to start a small business in 2020 than men.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its corresponding economic and human health impacts posed one of the biggest threats to American small business owners in a century. With partial or complete regional shutdowns impacting the ability of some businesses to service their customers for more than a year, small business owners were forced to adapt and find new ways to generate revenue, secure financing and make ends meet. "The State of Small Business Survey" showed how small business owners adapted to COVID-19 restrictions, while also uncovering some longer-term lessons, gender and generational trends. Some of the findings include:

COVID-19 Forced Businesses to Go Digital, Embrace Government Assistance

The pandemic had a major impact on small business with close to 44% of all small business owners saying they experienced a revenue or business loss due to COVID-19, with more than half of all GenX and Baby Boomer owners saying they experienced a loss.

of all small business owners saying they experienced a revenue or business loss due to COVID-19, with more than half of all GenX and Baby Boomer owners saying they experienced a loss. Digital-savvy Gen Z-owned businesses fared best with only 17% of those businesses citing a loss from COVID-19. This was likely due to the fact that more than 80% of Gen Z-owned businesses expect to get more than half of their revenue from digital (web, mobile, online delivery, social media) by 2022 versus only 33% of Baby Boomer-owned businesses.

of those businesses citing a loss from COVID-19. This was likely due to the fact that more than of Gen Z-owned businesses expect to get more than half of their revenue from digital (web, mobile, online delivery, social media) by 2022 versus only of Baby Boomer-owned businesses. Overall, close to half of all small business owners said they embraced more digital practices in response to COVID-19 which will contribute to 52% of all small businesses getting more than half of their revenues digitally by 2022, up from 42% in 2019.

of all small businesses getting more than half of their revenues digitally by 2022, up from in 2019. More than half (56%) of all small business owners took advantage of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) as a way to supplement their revenue and pay key expenses.

Women Are Starting Businesses More Than Men, Often from Scratch and By Themselves

Women were more than twice as likely to start a business during 2020 than men, which is noteworthy in a year when new business applications reached an all-time high of 4.35 million according to Census.gov. This was likely in part driven by the 2.3 million women who left the labor force between February 2020 and January 2021 due to the economic, health and childcare impacts of COVID-19 according to the National Women's Law Center.

and due to the economic, health and childcare impacts of COVID-19 according to the National Women's Law Center. Data suggests women are more likely to start a business from scratch than men, with men twice as likely (11.3% to 5.6%) to buy into an existing business or franchise. Women (57%) are also more likely to start their businesses without a partner or partners than men (42%).

Small Business Owners are Bullish on Their Businesses and the Broader Economy

When asked about the broader economy, 84% of small business owners said they are somewhat, very or extremely optimistic about a recovery.

of small business owners said they are somewhat, very or extremely optimistic about a recovery. When asked about their own businesses, 94% expressed optimism about a recovery.

expressed optimism about a recovery. Gen Z is the most optimistic generation and the only generation that was more optimistic about the broader economy than their own business.

Other Interesting Findings:

Retail and ecommerce businesses tend to be the most exposed in terms of lack of insurance with 64% of those small businesses without insurance.

of those small businesses without insurance. Nearly half ( 49% ) of small business respondents shared that PayPal is the most used product/service, followed by email and LinkedIn.

) of small business respondents shared that PayPal is the most used product/service, followed by email and LinkedIn. 52% of respondents cited friends, family and colleagues as the most useful resource used for direction and business advice.

of respondents cited friends, family and colleagues as the most useful resource used for direction and business advice. More than half (55%) of small business owners expect to work from home in the next 12 months. Baby Boomers (65.5%) have higher expectations of working from home than any other generation. Gen Z (30%) expects to work more from an on site location than any other generation, followed by Millennials (20.9%) .

of small business owners expect to work from home in the next 12 months. Baby Boomers have higher expectations of working from home than any other generation. Gen Z expects to work more from an on site location than any other generation, followed by Millennials . More than half of survey respondents (52%) expect 50 percent of sales or greater to happen online by 2022 (up from 42% in 2019).

"Small business owners have recently faced one of the most challenging times seen in decades, yet they remain resilient, nimble and unstoppable," said Guy Goldstein, CEO and co-founder of NEXT. "This entrepreneurial spirit is what drives NEXT's dedication to provide small businesses with a more accessible, affordable and customized insurance experience. But we also want to be a resource on their journey to success, and we hope this guide will be a useful asset."

"Starting your own business is incredibly rewarding but equally as challenging and even more so if you don't have the proper resources or mentors to support you along the way," said Kelly Dramberger, founder of Sweet Tea Catering in Houston, Texas. "COVID-19 was tough for the small business community; however, the entrepreneurial spirit cannot be broken. I am encouraged by the optimism we are seeing amongst so many entrepreneurs, women in particular, who have taken the past year as an opportunity to chase their dreams. NEXT's Small Business Guide is a valuable resource for all aspiring entrepreneurs and something I would have found very useful early on in my career."

The Definitive Guide to Starting Your Small Business, which includes expert advice from small business owners, subject matter experts in banking, payroll and insurance, along with data from the State of Small Business Survey, is available for download for free from the NEXT blog post. Full survey results from the State of Small Business Survey can be requested from [email protected].

About NEXT Insurance:

NEXT Insurance is transforming small business insurance with simple, digital and affordable coverage tailored to the self-employed. Trusted by 250K business owners, NEXT offers policies that are easy to buy in 10 minutes or less and provides 24/7 access to Live Certificates of Insurance, Additional Insured, and more, with no extra fees. Revolutionizing a historically complicated insurance industry, NEXT utilizes AI and machine learning to simplify the purchasing process and drive down costs by up to 30% compared to traditional policies. Founded in 2016, the company is headquartered in Palo Alto, has received a total of $881 million in venture capital funding and has been recognized two consecutive years by Forbes Fintech 50, JMP Securities InsurTech 50 and Forbes Best StartUp Employers. For more information visit NextInsurance.com. Stay up to date on the latest with NEXT on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and our blog.

Press Contact:

Kerry Ogata

[email protected]

301-717-4224

SOURCE NEXT Insurance

Related Links

https://www.nextinsurance.com/


SAN FRANCISCO, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The fiscal 2021-22 state budget signed into law Monday by Gov. Newsom includes a $20 million appropriation for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to underwrite the work of the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA). BAHFA, which is jointly managed by MTC and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), plans to use this money to seed five new pilot programs designed to ease the Bay Area's housing affordability and homelessness crises.

"BAHFA was established to transform how the Bay Area delivers on housing affordability and stability," explained Napa County Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza, who also serves as Chair of both MTC and BAHFA. "We appreciate the Legislature investing some of the state's budget surplus in BAHFA so we can start working immediately on the five pilot projects that take a comprehensive approach to solving the crisis. The state's commitment will support many of the Bay Area's most vulnerable residents today and put us firmly on the path to long-term change."

The five BAHFA pilot programs include an online platform known as Doorway to connect residents with affordable housing opportunities throughout the Bay Area; financing and technical assistance to support and increase the acquisition and preservation of affordable housing to help combat the displacement of low-income residents; a database to track the development or "pipeline" of affordable homes across the region to help match available funding with projects in areas with the most urgent needs; establishment of an anti-displacement services network to link service providers focused on keeping tenants housed, share best practices and ensure the efficient and equitable distribution of rent-relief dollars; and a partnership with San Francisco-based nonprofit All Home to design and implement a regional homelessness prevention system.

Berkeley mayor and ABAG Executive Board president Jesse Arreguin emphasizes BAHFA's regional approach to solving the Bay Area's chronic housing affordability problems through what are known as the Three Ps: producing more new housing at all income levels, protecting current residents from displacement, and preserving existing affordable housing. "The crisis is a combination of complex and inter-related problems that has been growing for decades. But by working together at a regional scale, our nine counties and 101 cities and towns no longer have to try to solve every problem on their own."

Established in 2019 by state Assembly Bill 1487, BAHFA is the first regional housing finance authority in California. While BAHFA is comprised of the same membership as MTC, its procedures also are managed by the ABAG Executive Board; and both boards must approve any decision to put a regional housing finance measure on a future ballot. Oakland mayor and MTC Commissioner Libby Schaaf serves as Chair of MTC's BAHFA Oversight Committee.

ABAG is the council of governments and the regional planning agency for the 101 cities and towns, and nine counties of the Bay Area. MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

SOURCE Metropolitan Transportation Commission; Association of Bay Area Governments

Related Links

http://www.mtc.ca.gov


HOUSTON, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A new report from Newsweek ranks Houston board certified plastic surgeon Dr. C. Bob Basu one of the top breast augmentation surgeons in the nation. The report, "America's Best Plastic Surgeons 2021," recognizes plastic surgeons who stand out within the field, and was compiled using surveys of fellow plastic surgeons throughout the country.

Dr. Bob Basu of Houston has been named a top plastic surgeon in the nation for breast augmentation. As an author of the internationally recognized textbook "Cosmetic Breast Surgery," Dr. Basu is a thought leader in aesthetic breast surgery.

"I'm honored and humbled to be one of the surgeons recognized by Newsweek," said Dr. Basu. "It is because of my patients' loyalty and appreciation that the practice has grown to be what it is today. It's not lost on me that patients have many options when it comes to choosing a plastic surgeon."

As an author of the internationally recognized textbook Cosmetic Breast Surgery , Dr. Basu is a thought leader in aesthetic breast surgery. As an Allergan Black Diamond breast implant provider, his practice is ranked in the top 1% of breast implant practices in the nation. He has also been named an H Texas Magazine Top Doc in Plastic Surgery for over 14 years. He currently serves as Vice President of Finance for the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

"My goal with every procedure is to make a connection with my patients and create a plan to enhance their natural beauty," said Dr. Basu. "With breast augmentation in particular, it is key for me to spend time learning what the patient wants to ensure we achieve their desired aesthetic."

Dr. Basu is passionate about patient education, with such initiatives as the podcast Behind the Double Doors in which he answers lesser-discussed questions submitted by real patients. He also makes frequent media appearances , discussing topics like Brazilian butt lift safety and reconstructive surgery after cancer.

Basu Aesthetics + Plastic Surgery offers a luxurious cosmetic surgery experience in the greater Houston area

Aesthetic plastic surgery patients, in particular, are each faced with an important choice: their surgeon. Excellent results require an eye for aesthetics, specialization in cosmetic procedures, and careful attention to the patient's goals. When it comes to booking a procedure, patients have numerous choices, and they are looking for a surgeon who has a proven safety track record and can also deliver superb results.

"We are the perfect destination practice for patients who want both luxurious treatment and access to all of the top aesthetic treatment technologies in one location," Dr. Basu said. "The combination of reassuring care and top-notch results truly increases patients' sense of vitality, and my team and I hope to give every patient we see the extra confidence they need to shine."

In addition to aesthetic breast surgery, Dr. Basu specializes in body contouring, mommy makeovers, facial rejuvenation, and plastic surgery after weight loss.

About Dr. Bob Basu: Dr. Basu is a board-certified plastic surgeon in the Houston, Texas area who has performed over 16,000 cosmetic procedures. Both in and out of his practice, Dr. Basu is renowned and respected for his kind demeanor, surgical skill, and commitment to providing patients with safe, quality treatment. His practice, Basu Aesthetics + Plastic Surgery, is located at 9899 Towne Lake Pkwy Suite 100, Cypress, TX 77433; (713) 799-2278. For more information, visit www.basuplasticsurgery.com .

SOURCE Dr. Bob Basu

Related Links

http://www.basuplasticsurgery.com


"We are proud to recognize every 2021 Nintex Partner Award winner for their impact delivering digital solutions that improve the way people work with the Nintex Process Platform," said Nintex Chief Executive Office Eric Johnson . "The commitment, expertise, and support of our award-winning channel partners are helping our customers achieve high-impact business results."

Each Nintex Partner Award winner was selected based on measurable business results during Nintex's fiscal year 2021, ending on June 30, 2021. The Nintex Partner Awards celebrate top channel partners who help public and private sector organizations across every industry and geographic region achieve their digital transformation and process excellence goals by leveraging Nintex's process management and automation software.

2021 Nintex Partner Award winners by category and region are available online at https://www.nintex.com/nintex-partner-awards-2021/ and include:

Business Acceleration  strong expansion of automation subscriptions year-over-year:

Americas: Ricoh USA in the United States

in Asia Pacific : Cumulus International Co., Ltd in Thailand

: Cumulus International Co., Ltd in Europe Middle East and Africa : Taqniyat in Saudi Arabia

Business Excellence  bringing the Nintex Process Platform to new organizations:

Americas: Protiviti, Inc. in the United States

Asia Pacific : rapidMATION in Australia

: rapidMATION in Europe Middle East and Africa : SURE Global Technology in Saudi Arabia

Business Transformation  contributing top customer entries to the 2021 Nintex Solution Innovation Awards:

Americas: Publicis Sapient in the United States

Asia Pacific : System RKK in Singapore

: System RKK in Europe Middle East and Africa : Hub Collab in France

Customer Success  supporting long-term adoption and success of the Nintex Process Platform:

Americas: Boost Strategy Partners in the United States

Asia Pacific : CDS Solution Corp., Ltd. in Thailand

: CDS Solution Corp., Ltd. in Europe Middle East and Africa : Synergi in the United Kingdom

Regional Spotlight  regional market impact and momentum with customers:

Americas: QuantumRhino in the United States

Asia Pacific : LakeTree in New Zealand

: LakeTree in Europe Middle East and Africa : Apendo in Denmark

Learn more about the Nintex Partner Network by visiting, https://partner.nintex.com/.

Media Contact

Kristin Treat

Nintex

[email protected]

cell: (215) 317-9091

About Nintex

Nintex is the global standard for process management and automation. Today more than 10,000 public and private sector organizations across 90 countries turn to the Nintex Platform to accelerate progress on their digital transformation journeys by quickly and easily managing, automating and optimizing business processes. Learn more by visiting www.nintex.com and experience how Nintex and its global partner network are shaping the future of Intelligent Process Automation (IPA).

SOURCE Nintex

Related Links

http://www.nintex.com


Top channel partners honoured for their efforts helping organisations digitally transform with the Nintex Process Platform

MELBOURNE, Australia, July 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nintex, the global standard for process management and automation, today announced 15 winners of the 2021 Nintex Partner Awards across five categories and three regions  Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe Middle East and Africa  for their impact helping Nintex customers in every industry accelerate digital transformation and drive business outcomes with the powerful and easy-to-use capabilities of the Nintex Process Platform.

"We are proud to recognise every 2021 Nintex Partner Award winner for their impact delivering digital solutions that improve the way people work with the Nintex Process Platform," said Nintex Chief Executive Office Eric Johnson. "The commitment, expertise, and support of our award-winning channel partners are helping our customers achieve high-impact business results."

Each Nintex Partner Award winner was selected based on measurable business results during Nintex's fiscal year 2021, ending on 30 June 2021. The Nintex Partner Awards celebrate top channel partners who help public and private sector organisations across every industry and geographic region achieve their digital transformation and process excellence goals by leveraging Nintex's process management and automation software.

2021 Nintex Partner Award winners by category and region are available online at https://www.nintex.com/nintex-partner-awards-2021/ and include:

Business Acceleration  strong expansion of automation subscriptions year-over-year:

Americas: Ricoh USA in the United States

in Asia Pacific : Cumulus International Co., Ltd in Thailand

: Cumulus International Co., Ltd in Europe Middle East and Africa : Taqniyat in Saudi Arabia

Business Excellence  bringing the Nintex Process Platform to new organisations:

Americas: Protiviti, Inc. in the United States

Asia Pacific : rapidMATION in Australia

: rapidMATION in Europe Middle East and Africa : SURE Global Technology in Saudi Arabia

Business Transformation  contributing top customer entries to the 2021 Nintex Solution Innovation Awards:

Americas: Publicis Sapient in the United States

Asia Pacific : System RKK in Singapore

: System RKK in Europe Middle East and Africa : Hub Collab in France

Customer Success  supporting long-term adoption and success of the Nintex Process Platform:

Americas: Boost Strategy Partners in the United States

Asia Pacific : CDS Solution Corp., Ltd. in Thailand

: CDS Solution Corp., Ltd. in Europe Middle East and Africa : Synergi in the United Kingdom

Regional Spotlight  regional market impact and momentum with customers:

Americas: QuantumRhino in the United States

Asia Pacific : LakeTree in New Zealand

: LakeTree in Europe Middle East and Africa : Apendo in Denmark

Learn more about the Nintex Partner Network by visiting, https://partner.nintex.com/.

Media Contact

Kristin Treat

Nintex

[email protected]

cell: (215) 317-9091

About Nintex

Nintex is the global standard for process management and automation. Today more than 10,000 public and private sector organisations across 90 countries turn to the Nintex Platform to accelerate progress on their digital transformation journeys by quickly and easily managing, automating and optimising business processes. Learn more by visiting www.nintex.com and experience how Nintex and its global partner network are shaping the future of Intelligent Process Automation (IPA).

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1572531/2021_Nintex_Partner_Awards_Winners.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/700078/Nintex_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Nintex

Related Links

http://www.nintex.com


CHICAGO, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- No more ifs, ands, or butts about your pets' health. Mella Pet Care , which empowers both veterinarians and pet parents to better track pet health with connected devices, today announced the launch of the Mella Thermometer.

"I wish Mella were around when my adopted kitty, Miles, was running a fever," said Tennille Teague of Brooklyn. After adopting, something didn't seem right. Teague called the vet, tried using a human thermometer from a bodega but ended up in the ER to save Miles. "If I had a Mella thermometer, I wouldn't have gone through that back and forth."

CEO & Co-Founder Anya Babbitt was inspired after realizing there was no easy way to measure her dog Mella's temperature. Many pet parents find the process uncomfortable, with some pets even showing signs of fear or distress during the process. With Mella, vets and pet parents easily measure a dog or cat's temperature via the foreleg or hindleg at the vet or from the comfort of home.

"Before Mella, the vet inserted an anal probe, hand-wrote the temperature, and entered it into a system," Babbitt said. "We achieved a breakthrough in hardware by creating the world's first accurate underarm thermometer, and also in software with innovative integrations into patient records."

Mella is announcing $1.2 million in financing led by Pet Health Innovation Labs (Phil Ventures), a pet health & wellness technology hub backed by PETstock Australian pet retailer, with 160+ stores, 30+ veterinary hospitals across Australia and New Zealand.

"Vets and parents have a real need for non-invasive diagnostic tools. This is the beginning of what we are doing to meet that need," said Babbitt. "This investment from such a prestigious investor group dedicated to pet tech will allow us to expedite our first product, the Mella Thermometer, the world's first underarm pet thermometer."

"We chose Mella as our first investment and are proud to back this exceptional company," said Shane Young, PETstock CEO. "Mella's founders have the vision and ability to execute  essential for a rapidly changing pet care industry. We look forward to working together to build a connected, integrated health environment for vets and pet parents."

In building the first accurate thermometer to measure under the foreleg, Mella utilizes multiple sensors, millions of patient records and machine learning. Clinical trials are ongoing at multiple universities to publish a peer-reviewed study to demonstrate accuracy data.

Releasing first is the Mella Pro, for veterinary professionals, followed by the Mella Home, for parents, in late summer. In addition, Mella is developing the Biggie Bodyfat Analyzer, scheduled for release by end of 2021, to address pet obesity.

Mella has won 10+ awards including the 2021 Purina Pet Care Innovation Prize.

Mella is accepting orders for the Mella Pro and Home including a 30-day trial.

For more information, visit Mella Pet Care .

For imagery and assets, visit the Media Kit .

About Mella Pet Care

Mella, a Chicago-based startup, is building an ecosystem of health monitoring solutions for veterinarians and pet parents, starting with the first-ever accurate axillary thermometer, followed by a body fat analyzer, pulse ox, EKG and more. Preventative tools are now accessible, allowing pets to live longer, happier lives. Mella's founders have worked together since 2014. Their last company was acquired by a Fortune 100.

SOURCE Mella Pet Care

Related Links

https://www.mella.ai


OSLO, Norway, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Norwegian Energy Company ASA ("Noreco" or the "Company") today announced its second quarter 2021 results. The strong second quarter results delivered production of 27.3 mboepd, generating revenues of USD 135 million, and adjusted EBITDA of USD 60 million.



Highlights:

Hydrocarbon production of 27.3 mboepd

Total Revenues of USD 135 million compared to USD 105 million in previous quarter

compared to in previous quarter Adjusted EBITDA of USD 60 million versus USD 31 million in Q1

versus in Q1 A positive net cash flow from operating activities of USD 18 million compared to a negative net cash flow of USD 122 million in first quarter

Net hydrocarbon production for the quarter of 27.3 mboepd is in the upper range of annual guidance of 25.5  27.5 mboepd. The Noble Sam Turner drilling program commenced a planned well workover and maintenance campaign this spring, delivering positive results on operating performance during the second quarter. Activity levels on the Tyra project continue to be high with the fabrication of topsides close to sail away from Sembcorp Marine and progress being made towards first production in Q2 2023.



The financial results for second quarter were significantly stronger than the previous quarter, with revenues of USD 135 million and adjusted EBITDA of USD 60 million. The Company had total liquidity of USD 245 million at the end of second quarter, with cash on the balance sheet of USD 145 million and available undrawn RBL capacity of USD 100 million. In May, Noreco announced the successful closing of an USD 1.1 billion RBL facility that matures in 2028. This is an amendment of the Company's existing USD 900 million facility which provides access to significant additional liquidity, while at the same time as deferring amortisation payments to the second half of 2024.



"Quarter on quarter, operational performance has improved significantly, and the Noble Sam Turner rig program continued to make a positive impact with three well workovers completed during the quarter, adding more than 2000 bpd. The Tyra Redevelopment project is progressing towards first gas, and will further de-risk as Tyra East Wellhead & Riser Platforms are preparing for sail away this summer," said John Hulme, Chief Operating Officer in Noreco.



"In addition to a quarter of strong underlying financing performance, we significantly strengthened our capital structure during the period. The successful completion of the RBL refinancing process ensured the Company is fully funded to Tyra first production at oil prices below USD 55 per bbl. We also announced a covenant amendment process for NOR14 and, with the prior support of more than two thirds of the bondholders, concluding this will ensure our capital position is set to deliver the Tyra Redevelopment. At start-up, this unlocks a real step-change for the Company and our stakeholders, with an expected production increase of 90 percent materially enhancing our free cash flow generation potential," said Euan Shirlaw, Chief Financial Officer in Noreco.



The report and investor presentation may be downloaded from the Company's website www.noreco.com or www.newsweb.no.



The Company will host an earnings call today at 12:00 CEST.



To join audiocast: https://channel.royalcast.com/hegnarmedia/#!/hegnarmedia/20210713_2



Contacts:



Euan Shirlaw, Chief Financial Officer, Noreco

Phone: +44 7979 690622

Email: [email protected]



Cathrine Torgersen, EVP Investor Relations & Communications, Noreco

Phone: +47 91 52 85 01

Email: [email protected]

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/noreco/r/noreco-announces-second-quarter-2021-results,c3383955

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/4225/3383955/1444249.pdf Noreco Q2 2021 Report https://mb.cision.com/Public/4225/3383955/b364a37594ecc336.pdf Noreco Q2 2021 Investor Presentation

SOURCE NORECO
GETTYSBURG, Pa., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- An exciting new website DiscoverSouthMountain.com  launched on Friday, April 16, 2021. DiscoverSouthMountain.com is an online event guide to all that is happening in the South Mountain region, a 70-mile stretch and little-known extension of the Blue Ridge Mountain range  it covers parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia. Discover South Mountain will keep followers up to date on everything happening in the area, from food festivals and live music to guided tours and local cultural celebrations.

DiscoverSouthMountain.com is a digital invitation to get out and explore the region full of natural beauty, history, and adventure. The South Mountain region is the perfect getaway destination for all: nature-lovers, art-enthusiasts, history buffs, foodies, sommelier-wannabes, and so much more. Plus, the region is home to America's most famous small town, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where history, music, art, theater, food, drink, and opportunities for exploration abound.

This site is for tourists and business owners alike. For tourists, it provides an opportunity to discover the gems of a little-known region and plan trips to an area filled with activities and adventures for all ages. For business owners and organizations in the South Mountain region, it provides a free opportunity to promote their events, festivals, and other offerings  which will hopefully drive business to an area whose economy has been negatively impacted by the recent pandemic.

Key features of DiscoverSouthMountian.com:

Searchable list of events and festivals occurring in the South Mountain Region

Ability for users to plan their trip to the region with listings by date and links to events and festivals

Expanding list of events and festivals as area businesses partner with Discover South Mountain to feature their events and festivals

Weekly newsletter featuring upcoming events and festivals

Submission form for businesses and organizations to submit their events for listing

OPEN MINDS is a national behavioral health and social service industry market research and management consulting firm. Founded in 1987 and based in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the more than 75 associates of OPEN MINDS provide information services, executive education, market research, and management consultation services. The firm's mission is to provide behavioral health and social service payers, consumer associations, and service providers with the management knowledge needed to improve their efficiency and effectiveness in order to better serve consumers.

Contact: Colleen Christian, Consultant / Portfolio Manager

Phone: 717-334-1329; E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE OPEN MINDS
Hannah says Parity's unique HVAC control platform could be the answer to the NYC energy reduction laws that are fuelling momentum

TORONTO, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Building HVAC technology innovator, Parity Inc. (Parity) is powering up and accelerating its US growth strategy with the appointment of James Hannah, former Chief Customer Officer at NYC's Bright Power, as its new US Managing Director.

Hannah officially joined Parity on July 5, 2021  after spending 10 years with Bright Power, Inc., an energy management services leader headquartered in New York City. While at Bright Power, Hannah played a critical role in the company's transformation from a local energy consulting firm into one of leading energy management services companies in the "US" multifamily market growing revenues over 12X of his time there.

Flexible, Remote-Control Build Software Technology

"Our vision is to make Parity the trusted operating system for HVAC systems in every large multifamily building in North America," explains Hannah. "Parity's AI-powered, constant commissioning algorithm is what allows us to directly deliver guaranteed energy savings remotely and continually. It's our secret sauce," says Hannah.

Energy Peace of Mind and Reduced Exposure

According to Hannah, New York City's progressive green building energy reduction laws are fueling Parity's growth as a flexible, cost-effective technology. "Because our service is software based, we are able to minimize the energy consumption of the buildings that we work with without sacrificing resident comfort in any way. For building owners, this allows Parity to provide them with peace of mind knowing that the maximum energy performance of their HVAC systems is being achieved. Parity also backs its service with a savings guarantee, which is rare in the energy efficiency industry," he says. "Local Law 97 and other performance-based energy regulations are quickly transforming energy savings from a nice to have, to a must have for building owners. Parity offers a cost-effective and time-efficient way to limit exposure to these regulations on an ongoing basis.," he adds.

Hannah says Parity's unique solution is also striking a chord within the institutional real estate community, where investors are pressuring operators to deliver increasingly energy efficient assets while demonstrating progressive ESG guidelines and principles.

New Funding Supports Company's Continued Growth

"With New York City opening faster than anywhere else in North America, the pent-up demand, along with a favourable regulatory environment, is driving our growth," explains Brad Pilgrim, Co-Founder and CEO, Parity. "As a result, this is the time to focus on New York and the Northeast  and welcoming James onboard is our next big step forward."

The largest cleantech venture fund in Canada, ArcTern Ventures, is one of Parity's largest investors.

"We know real estate is an easy target for profitable energy efficiency plays," says ArcTern Ventures' Co-founder and Managing Partner Tom Rand. "Parity is targeting the NY and Boston markets which are perfectly positioned with some of the highest utility rates in the US and stringent legislation related to greenhouse gas emission reductions in buildings. To really unlock that market, we looked for a capital light, easy-to-install solution based on intelligence, not hardware. Parity has perfected that solution and has brought incredible talent to every position to support the company's growth."

Parity anticipates initiating a Series B funding round later this year.

About Parity Inc.

Established in 2016, Parity Inc. helps make urban living more sustainable by eliminating energy waste in multi-residential buildings. The company's artificial intelligence (AI)-driven Energy Management Platform guarantees energy savings while maintaining maximum comfort for building residents. Trusted by property managers, condo boards and mechanical partners, Parity's real-time dashboard and monthly reporting keep stakeholders always in the loop and in full control.

To learn more, visit www.paritygo.com

SOURCE Parity Inc.

Related Links

http://www.paritygo.com


MIAMI, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Affirming Youth Foundation, Inc. (AYF) in partnership with JLB Ministries, the City of Miami, Miami-Dade County, and One Healthy Reason invites the community to join in a July 14th Peace Walk, tomorrow hundreds will gather to participate in a Peace Walk around the Lincoln Field Community located at 2020 NW 63 Street, Miami, 33147, this event seeks to empower the community with education and resources to reduce gun violence and positively affect Social Determinants of Health (SDOH).

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines SDOH as the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play worship and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. AYF Executive Director, Jonathan Spikes adds "SDOH includes access to healthy foods, safe housing, supportive social networks, education, and exposure to violence; it is known that poverty poses a barrier to these determinants."

Pastor Johnny L. Barber, of JLB Ministries, and leader of the Peace Walk notes, "As mentioned in recent Miami Herald article, A history of broken promises: Miami remains separate and unequal for Black residents, we know why gun violence is so rampant in our community; the disparities in jobs, housing insecurity, and transportation to get to jobs, create the environments in which gun violence flourish."

The public is urged to attend the Peace Walk celebration 11am-1pm on Wednesday July 14th to bring together residents and community organizations that provide services to this important Liberty City community. In an effort to grow, impact and affirm this community there will be prayers, guest speakers, a peace walk around the perimeter of the Lincoln Fields Apartments, and free lunch provided to community residents.

AYF, Inc. recognizes the efforts and extends "special thanks" to the office of Mayor Francis X. Suarez of City of Miami, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, of Miami-Dade County, Miami-Dade County District 3 Commissioner Keon Hardemon and JLB Ministries.

Affirming Youth Foundation, Inc., is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization with the vision to curate safe spaces for youth to address their traumatic experiences and discover their strengths. Our mission is to provide trauma-informed services that meet the educational, emotional, physical, and mental health needs of youth and their families. Through Affirming YOUth's PROJECT ACES, we also aim to serve low-income working families disproportionately at risk for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including racial and ethnic minority families in the greater Liberty City community in Miami, FL.

Media Contact:

Jonathan Spikes

305-230-4598

[email protected]



SOURCE Affirming Youth Foundation, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.affirmingyouth.org


SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pictalk is excited to announce its official launch in North America on July 15, 2021. Pictalk is a multi-feed, ad-free social network, designed from the ground up with users in mind. The platform has been in development since 2016, now having gone through numerous production and beta user group testing phases to improve platform functionality and stability. With its most recent production phase completed, Pictalk is now ready to be launched to the general public throughout the U.S., with additional international launches to come at a later date.

Pictalk, a new, multi-feed social media platform is excited to announce its official launch in North America. Tweet this Pictalk is social media done not just differently, but better. Pictalk puts users first, and provides an ad-free, multi-feed platform that puts users back in control.

Pictalk's mission is to put the control of social media back into the hands of its users, moving away from the current standard of ad congested, algorithmically controlled platforms; however, Pictalk is designed to be more than simply an alternative to current popular social media sites. Because of its user-first focus, Pictalk is structured around a multi-feed layout that combines and improves on the most popular features and capabilities found in numerous other leading social media sites. This makes the jump to using Pictalk not just about being different, but better.

The Pictalk platform benefits and features include:

Multi-platform structure - Connections, Collections, and Crosstalk. Users have multiple ways to share, connect, and discuss ideas and topics with other users.

Ad-free - Pictalk does not share user data or provide it for paid advertising purposes.

Privacy - Your content is yours and only shared with the friends and followers you choose to show it to. It is never sold to third parties for any usage inside or outside the site.

Full content distribution - content is distributed to all followers and friends, always.

As the site grows beyond its launch phase, numerous new features are being planned, including - Stories, Live Streaming, Pages, Verified Status, and more.

In addition to its numerous user-oriented sharing features, Pictalk has a thorough content moderation system in place to protect users from items that, among other things, are overly violent, pornographic, or illegal (for more details on the Pictalk Community Standards, please visit: https://help.pictalk.com/popular-topics/community-standards/ ).

"Our mission is to put control back in the user's hands," says Robert Regan, Project Manager for Pictalk. "We want to promote a free marketplace of ideas without biased intervention, and maintain a respectful community through healthy moderation."

Pictalk is now available for North American users via desktop at Pictalk.com , and for mobile through the Apple App Store ( https://apple.co/2SSm455 ) or Google Play ( https://bit.ly/2V6Tuh5 ).

About Pictalk: Pictalk is social media done better. Pictalk began development in November 2016 under the leadership of its Project Manager Robert Regan and a team of like-minded individuals looking to not just re-do social media, but to do it better. Their desire was to create a social media platform that's first and foremost about its users.

SOURCE Pictalk

Related Links

pictalk.com


What are the major market threats?

The pressure from substitutes and a high level of threat from new entrants have resulted in the moderate bargaining power of suppliers.

The pressure from substitutes and a high level of threat from new entrants have resulted in the moderate bargaining power of suppliers. What is the expected price change in the market?

Prices will increase by 1.2%-2.5% during the forecast period and suppliers.

Prices will increase by 1.2%-2.5% during the forecast period and suppliers. Who are the top players in the market?

Allianz SE, American International Group Inc., AXA SA , Aon Plc, Chubb Ltd., Zurich Insurance Group Ltd., Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Tokio Marine Holdings Inc., Aviva Plc, and Hiscox Inc., are some of the major market participants.

Allianz SE, American International Group Inc., , Aon Plc, Chubb Ltd., Zurich Insurance Group Ltd., & Co., Tokio Marine Holdings Inc., Aviva Plc, and Hiscox Inc., are some of the major market participants. What are the pricing models followed by buyers?

Risk-based pricing, price-plus markup pricing, and preferential rates are the widely adopted pricing models in commercial vehicle cabin procurement.

Risk-based pricing, price-plus markup pricing, and preferential rates are the widely adopted pricing models in commercial vehicle cabin procurement. What will be incremental spending in commercial vehicle cabin procurement?

During 2020-2024, the Product Warranty Insurance market will register an incremental spend of about USD 27.75 billion .

During 2020-2024, the Product Warranty Insurance market will register an incremental spend of about . What is the CAGR for the Product Warranty Insurance market?

The Product Warranty Insurance will grow at a CAGR of about 4.40% during 2020-2024.

Find more detailed COVID-19 impact analysis on the Product Warranty Insurance Market:

www.spendedge.com/report/commercial-vehicle-cabin--procurement-market-intelligence-report

Related Reports on Professional Services Include:

Catering - Forecast and Analysis : This report offers key advisory and intelligence to help buyers identify and shortlist the most suitable suppliers for their catering requirements. Some of the leading catering suppliers are profiled extensively in this report.



This report offers key advisory and intelligence to help buyers identify and shortlist the most suitable suppliers for their catering requirements. Some of the leading catering suppliers are profiled extensively in this report. Legal Services Sourcing and Procurement Report : The legal services will grow at a CAGR of 2.91% during 2021-2025 . This report evaluates suppliers based on compliance with inland and overseas, specialized knowledge, technical abilities, and proven track record.



The legal services will grow at a . This report evaluates suppliers based on compliance with inland and overseas, specialized knowledge, technical abilities, and proven track record. Integrated Facility Management - Sourcing and Procurement Intelligence Report: The integrated facility management will grow at a CAGR of 8.58% during 2021-2025. Prices will increase by 2.25%-3.25% during the forecast period and suppliers will have a moderate bargaining power in this market.

Key Insights Provided in the Product Warranty Insurance Research Report:

What are the changes expected in the price forecast report?

What are the factors driving the price changes?

How is the price forecast expected to change?

Which pricing models offer the most rewarding opportunities?

Which pricing models offer the most rewarding opportunities?

Table of Content

Executive Summary

Market Insights

Category Pricing Insights

Cost-saving Opportunities

Best Practices

Category Ecosystem

Category Management Strategy

Category Management Enablers

Suppliers Selection

Suppliers under Coverage

US Market Insights

Category scope

Appendix

About SpendEdge:

SpendEdge shares your passion for driving sourcing and procurement excellence. We are the preferred procurement market intelligence partner for 120+ Fortune 500 firms and other leading companies across numerous industries. Our strength lies in delivering robust, real-time procurement market intelligence reports and solutions.

To know more: https://www.spendedge.com/request-for-demo?

Contacts

SpendEdge

Anirban Choudhury

Marketing Manager

Ph No: +1 (872) 206-9340

https://www.spendedge.com/contact-us

SOURCE SpendEdge
"At Bayen Group, we take pride in our culture of inclusion," said Huy Nguyen, President of Bayen Group. "We strongly believe that diversity is one of our core business competencies that enables us to approach all of our client challenges from different perspectives, so it is incredible to be nominated for the SCMSDC Supplier of the Year award by our partner at Northrop Grumman."

Bayen Group is a frontrunner in technology solutions, taking on complex challenges from large enterprises and providing unique and innovative answers. Bayen Group is honored to have received several prestigious awards recently, including the Burns & McDonnell California Community of Inclusion Enterprising Excellence Award, the Northrop Grumman President's Innovation Excellence Award, and the Northrop Grumman President's Award for Quality Excellence.

Every year, SCMSDC members have the opportunity to celebrate their minority suppliers by nominating them for Supplier of the Year. These nominations represent companies that have demonstrated high-quality performance in their contracts. These organizations are outstanding in their fields and provide quick and effective solutions for their customers. This year's event hopes to bring attention to the "Power of Partnerships" by bringing members and suppliers together through an afternoon of virtual networking.

The SCMSDC is made up of approximately 1,300 NMSDC-certified Minority Business Enterprises (MBES) and over 1,700 National corporate members. They are dedicated to fostering a community of diverse suppliers and encouraging connections between these organizations and corporations that can benefit from their distinct perspectives. Visit the Southern California Minority Supplier Development Council at www.scmsdc.org for more information.

About Bayen Group

Bayen Group is a highly experienced SharePoint and Microsoft 365 services company. Their team is experts in migration, process automation, system integration, and providing tailor-made SharePoint solutions. They facilitate collaboration across departments by streamlining business processes and connecting Enterprise applications and databases with SharePoint. Their approach results in a seamless, intuitive SharePoint modern workplace experience that greatly increases productivity and efficiency while maintaining security. Bayen Group is proud to be recognized as a HUBZone Certified Small Business, Department of Transportation Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE), and California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Minority Business Enterprise. Please visit www.bayengroup.com for more information and follow us on Twitter @BayenGroup.

Greg Saliba, [email protected], 424-271-9291

SOURCE Bayen Group

Related Links

https://bayengroup.com/


CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Prime Medicine, a company delivering on the promise of Prime Editing to provide lifelong cures to patients, today announced its launch with $315 million in financing.

The financing comprised a $115 million Series A; based on the rapid progress of the science and the company, Prime Medicine expanded its syndicate support with a $200M Series B financing approximately nine months after the company began operations. Investors in the Series A included ARCH Venture Partners, F-Prime Capital, GV, and Newpath Partners. The Series B included all Series A investors, plus Casdin Capital, Cormorant Asset Management, Moore Strategic Ventures, Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), Redmile Group, Samsara BioCapital, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., and a number of additional, unnamed life sciences investment funds.

"Prime Editing is a wonderful example of the revolution in genetic medicine that we are living through," said Robert Nelsen, co-founder and Managing Director of ARCH Venture Partners. "When mature, gene editing technologies like this could totally change our conception of what's possible in treating disease."

"This is an opportunity to take a giant step toward cures for a much wider range of diseases than previously possible," said Stephen Knight, MD, President and Managing Partner of F-Prime Capital.

The funds raised will be used to continue building the company, rapidly advance towards clinical indications, expand the capabilities of the platform, and to further enhance the exceptional promise of Prime Editing. By the end of 2021, Prime Medicine expects to employ more than 100 people full-time.

"Prime Editing represents an opportunity to do what no gene editing approach has yet been capable of  correcting nearly all types of pathogenic gene mutations, correcting multiple mutations at once, and bringing durable cures to patients across multiple disease areas, potentially with a single 'once and done' treatment approach," said David Schenkein, MD, General Partner at GV. "We are tremendously excited about the potential of this technology, and about the talented team at Prime working to bring it to patients."

Prime Editing is a next-generation gene editing technology that acts like a DNA word processor to "search and replace" disease-causing genetic sequences at their precise location in the genome, without resulting in double-strand DNA breaks that cause unwanted cellular changes. It is versatile, with the potential to address more than 90 percent of known disease-causing mutations, and works in a variety of dividing and non-dividing primary human cells, as well as in animals. Prime editing has been shown by multiple independent laboratories to make genome edits with high fidelity, making edits precisely at the desired location with minimal or no editing in other parts of the genome. Together, these features overcome several technical barriers attributed to earlier gene editing technologies.

"Prime Editing is a transformative technology that we believe will make a significant impact by addressing the fundamental causes of genetic disease," said Keith Gottesdiener, MD, CEO of Prime Medicine. "Since Prime began operations in the summer of 2020, we have continued to make great progress in advancing the performance of Prime Editing, which allowed us to close our Series B financing nine months later. We are operating from a position of financial strength, and look forward to further developing the technology and progressing our preclinical programs toward the clinic, with the hope that they may cure or halt the progression of genetic diseases for patients."

Scientific Approach

Prime Editing was developed by scientific founders David R. Liu, PhD and Andrew Anzalone, MD, PhD, at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Dr. Liu is the Richard Merkin Professor, director of the Merkin Institute of Transformative Technologies in Healthcare, core institute member and vice chair of the faculty at the Broad Institute, and a professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Harvard University. Dr. Anzalone conceived of Prime Editing and brought it to Dr. Liu's laboratory, where it was developed. Dr. Anzalone is now advancing Prime Editing as Head of Prime Editing Platform at Prime Medicine.

Prime Medicine is currently advancing multiple drug discovery programs targeted at liver, eye, ex-vivo hematopoietic stem cell, and neuro-muscular indications.

A study describing Prime Editing's ability to "search and replace" to restore normal genetic function almost anywhere in the genome was first published in Nature in 2019. The technology was immediately and widely recognized as a major advance in gene editing, with the potential to overcome fundamental barriers that have prohibited existing gene editing approaches from addressing many genetic diseases. Since then, Prime Editing has been validated in numerous laboratories around the world and dozens of peer-reviewed articles.

The technology works by using a prime editor protein comprising a Cas nickase domain and a reverse transcriptase domain, together with a prime editing guide RNA (pegRNA) that carries both a targeting sequence and a template for a replacement sequence. The prime editor searches for the specific DNA sequence that needs to be edited. Once located, the prime editor uses the pegRNA's "replace" sequence to activate the reverse transcriptase domain, which makes a DNA copy of the template carried by the pegRNA, creating a corrected DNA sequence. The corrected sequence then preferentially replaces the original genomic DNA, resulting in a permanent edit of the DNA at the target location.

Prime Medicine also benefits from a relationship with Beam Therapeutics. Prime and Beam are separate companies that both emerged from the laboratory of Dr. David R. Liu. Sharing many common interests, Prime and Beam have built a partnership to form a collaborative approach to fighting disease and accelerating the development of Prime Editing to deliver therapies for patients. In the areas of partnership, Prime Medicine and Beam share research, expertise, and intellectual property for assays, know-how, delivery, and manufacturing.

The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has extended a license for prime editing technology to Prime Medicine for human therapeutic uses under the Broad Institute's inclusive innovation model.

Leadership team

Biotech veteran Keith Gottesdiener, MD is president and chief executive officer of Prime Medicine. Dr. Gottesdiener helmed Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for nine years, leading the company to FDA submission of IMCIVREE (setmelanotide), the first treatment for rare genetic diseases of obesity, which was rapidly followed by FDA approval. Over the course of Dr. Gottesdiener's tenure, Rhythm raised approximately $700 million through both private and public financings, as well as licensing deals, and grew from 3 employees to 100. Before joining Rhythm in 2011, Dr. Gottesdiener spent 16 years at Merck Research Laboratories, where he held positions of leadership across Merck's early and late clinical development organizations.

The Prime Medicine leadership team brings significant company building, scientific and drug development experience and also includes:

Jeremy Duffield , MD, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer

, MD, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer Meredith Goldwasser , ScD, SVP, Strategy and Corporate Operations

, ScD, SVP, Strategy and Corporate Operations Andrew Anzalone , MD, PhD, Co-founder and Head of Prime Editing Platform

, MD, PhD, Co-founder and Head of Prime Editing Platform Karen Brown , PhD, JD, SVP Intellectual Property and Legal Affairs

The company's investors and board members are life sciences leaders with extensive experience building biotech companies pioneering novel technologies, including:

Keith Gottesdiener , President and CEO, Prime Medicine

, President and CEO, Prime Medicine Stephen Knight , President and Managing Partner, F-Prime Capital

, President and Managing Partner, F-Prime Capital Robert Nelsen , Co-founder and Managing Director, ARCH Venture Partners

, Co-founder and Managing Director, ARCH Venture Partners David Schenkein , MD, General Partner, GV

, MD, General Partner, GV John Evans , Chief Executive Officer, Beam Therapeutics

About Prime Medicine

Prime Medicine is a biotechnology company founded to deliver on the promise of Prime Editing, a versatile gene editing technology that can truly "search and replace" to restore normal genetic function and address the fundamental causes of disease. Prime Medicine envisions a world where Prime Editing can cure, halt, and ultimately prevent genetic diseases, providing lifelong benefit to patients and shaping the future of gene editing. For more information, visit www.primemedicine.com or LinkedIn.

Investor Contact

Hannah Deresiewicz

Stern Investor Relations, Inc.

212-362-1200

[email protected]

Media Contact

Morgan Warners

Finsbury Glover Hering

202-295-0124

[email protected]

SOURCE Prime Medicine, Inc.
SAN DIEGO, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ProciseDx Inc. announces a $13 million convertible note financing to support international commercialization of the ProciseDx platform and US regulatory approval. Participants in the financing round included existing major shareholders (Nestle Heath Science, Biosynex SA) management and new investors.

The ProciseDx instrument is about the size of a shoe box and can provide diagnostics results in as little as 2 minutes from a finger prick drop of blood. ProciseDx in San Diego, CA is producing point-of-care diagnostics which provide easy, immediate and accurate results.

"We're investing to bring the ProciseDx Point-of-Care platform to the US market and to accelerate international growth." said President and CFO, Peter Westlake, "This funding round enables us to move forward with FDA submissions for the platform and to expand our test menu for gastroenterologists."

ProciseDx has obtained CE Mark on its instrument and on four gastroenterology (GI) assays which were launched in Q3 2020. ProciseDx has established distribution relationships in more than 15 countries in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and expects to continue its market expansion for the rest of 2021. These relationships are driving rapid growth. Already over 100 instruments have been shipped to EMEA and further growth is expected in the second half of 2021. The company expects revenues of between $2 million and $3 million for 2021.

ProciseDx has submitted a 510k application to the FDA for its instrument and Procise CRP assay. Further submissions for additional assays are expected in 2021 and will create a compelling menu for GI's in the US.

"The ProciseDx platform has been generating impressive data in Europe and the US," noted Dr. Larry Mimms, CEO and CSO.

So far this year, there have been three publications in ChemRxiv on the performance of ProciseDx assays for C-Reactive Protein (Procise CRP), fecal calprotectin (Procise FCP), therapeutic drug monitoring of infliximab /Remicade (Procise IFX) and adalimumab /Humira (Procise ADL). Five scientific posters on ProciseDx assay performance were presented at the European Crohn's and Colitis Organization meeting in July.

"ProciseDx is building a reputation for changing the course of medical care by delivering high quality results in less than 5 minutes," concluded Dr. Mimms.

About ProciseDx Inc.

ProciseDx is an in vitro diagnostics (IVD) company developing a broad portfolio of rapid diagnostic tests for the physician's office. Founded by experienced IVD specialists with a track record of successfully launching innovative Point of Care platforms, ProciseDx tests have a turn-around time of only 2-5 minutes and are easy, quantitative and accurate. ProciseDx tests use a finger prick blood sample or a stool sample and ProciseDx's first menu is focused on GI physicians (gastroenterologists).

ProciseDx occupies 30,000 sq. ft. of laboratory, manufacturing and office space in San Diego, California. ProciseDx is ISO13485 certified.

For more information about ProciseDx, please visit us at www.procisedx.com .

About Biosynex

Founded in 2005 and based in Illkirch-Graffenstaden in Alsace, a major player in public health with more than 225 employees, the French laboratory Biosynex designs, manufactures and distributes Rapid Diagnostic Tests (TDRs). In their professional version, they offer better medical care of patients thanks to the speed of their result and their simplicity of use. In their self-test version, they allow patients to self-monitor various pathologies thus ensuring better prevention and accelerating the demand for care. Biosynex is the leader in the TDR market in France and is the only player to fully control its value chain thanks to its technology platform, which can be used in a variety of applications and is adapted to different types of users such as laboratories, hospitals, doctors and the general public.

About Nestle Health Science (NHSc)

Nestle Health Science, a leader in the science of nutrition, is a globally managed business unit of Nestle. We are committed to redefining the management of health, offering an extensive portfolio of science-based consumer health, medical nutrition, pharmaceutical therapies, and vitamin and supplement brands. Our extensive research network provides the foundation for products that empower healthier lives through nutrition. Headquartered in Switzerland, we have more than 7,000 employees around the world, with products available in more than 140 countries. www.nestlehealthscience.com

MEDIA CONTACT:

Peter Westlake, President

[email protected], +1 619-821-0660

SOURCE ProciseDx

Related Links

http://www.procisedx.com


- Technology transfer process has already started; cultivation process has begun following the approval by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI).

- The parties intend to produce over 300 million doses of the vaccine in India per year with the first batch expected in September 2021.

MOSCOW, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia's sovereign wealth fund), and Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, today announced cooperation to produce the Russian Sputnik vaccine against coronavirus.

SII is the world's largest company in terms of COVID vaccines production with over 500 million doses manufactured. Through several strategic associations, SII has been front running India's fight against the pandemic. In addition to developing its own vaccine, it is currently manufacturing Covishield (developed by AstraZeneca-Oxford), Covovax (by Novavax) and conducting trials of Codagenix in UK.

The first batch of Sputnik vaccine is expected to be produced at SII's facilities in September. The parties intend to produce over 300 million doses of the vaccine in India per year.

As part of the technical transfer process, SII has already received cell and vector samples from the Gamaleya Center. With their import approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), the cultivation process has begun.

India is the leading production hub for production of Sputnik vaccine. RDIF had earlier reached agreements with a number of pharmaceutical companies in India (Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma, Virchow Biotech and Morepen) for production of the Russian vaccine.

To date, Russian Sputnik V vaccine has been registered in 67 countries globally with a total population of over 3.5 bn people. The data obtained by regulators of a number of countries during the vaccination of the population, including in Argentina, Serbia, Bahrain, Hungary, Mexico, San Marino, UAE and others, demonstrates that Sputnik V is one of the safest and most effective vaccines against coronavirus.

Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, commented:

"RDIF is delighted to cooperate with Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer. This strategic partnership is a major step to substantially increase our production capabilities demonstrating a perfect example of joining forces and expertise to save lives both in India and around the world. With technology transfer underway we expect the first batches of the vaccine to be produced jointly with SII in coming months."

Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, commented:

"I am delighted to partner with RDIF to manufacture the Sputnik vaccine. We hope to make millions of doses in the coming months with trial batches starting in the month of September. With high efficacy and a good safety profile, it is critical that the Sputnik vaccine is accessible in full measure for people across India and the world. Given the uncertainty of the virus, it is important for international institutes, and governments to collaborate and further bolster up our fight against the pandemic."

Sputnik V has a number of key advantages:

Efficacy of Sputnik V is 97.6% based on the analysis of data on the coronavirus infection rate among those in Russia vaccinated with both components of Sputnik V from December 5, 2020 to March 31, 2021 ;

The Sputnik V vaccine is based on a proven and well-studied platform of human adenoviral vectors, which cause the common cold and have been around for thousands of years.

Sputnik V has pioneered the use of heterogeneous boosting (two different vectors for the two shots in a course of vaccination among COVID vaccines). This approach provides for immunity with a longer duration than vaccines using the same delivery mechanism for both shots.

The safety, efficacy and lack of negative long-term effects of adenoviral vaccines have been proven by more than 250 clinical studies over two decades.

There are no strong allergies caused by Sputnik V.

The storage temperature of Sputnik V at +2+8 C means it can be stored in a conventional refrigerator without any need to invest in additional cold-chain infrastructure.

***

Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is Russia's sovereign wealth fund established in 2011 to make equity co-investments, primarily in Russia, alongside reputable international financial and strategic investors. RDIF acts as a catalyst for direct investment in the Russian economy. RDIF's management company is based in Moscow. Currently, RDIF has experience of the successful joint implementation of more than 80 projects with foreign partners totaling RUB 2.1 tn and covering 95% of the regions of the Russian Federation. RDIF portfolio companies employ more than 1 mn people and generate revenues which equate to more than 6% of Russia's GDP. RDIF has established joint strategic partnerships with leading international co-investors from more than 18 countries that total more than $40 bn. Further information can be found at rdif.ru

Driven by the philanthropic philosophy of affordable vaccines, Serum Institute of India Pvt, Ltd. (SIIPL) is the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by number of doses produced and sold globally (more than 1.5 billion doses), supplying the world's cheapest and WHO accredited vaccines to as many as 170 countries. It was founded in 1966 with the aim of manufacturing lifesaving immunobiological drugs including vaccines worldwide. With a strong commitment towards global health, the institute's objective has been proliferated by bringing down the prices of newer vaccines such as such as Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Hib, BCG, r-Hepatitis B, Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccines. SII is credited with bringing world-class technology to India, through its state-of-the-art equipped multifunctional production facility in Manjri, Pune; association with Zipline and government agencies to transform emergency medicine and critical care along with spearheading the race of vaccine development against the COVID-19 pandemic.

For additional information contact:

Alexey Urazov Andrew Leach / Maria Shiryaevskaya Russian Direct Investment Fund Hudson Sandler Director for External Communications

Mobile: +7 915 312 76 65 Tel: +44 (0) 20 7796 4133 E-mail: [email protected]



Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1140939/Russian_Direct_Investment_Fund_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF)
Similar to other tokenized hashrate products hitting the market (such as Blockstream's BMN token and Poolin's hashrate token), LMX makes it easier for a much broader spectrum of investors to access bitcoin mining, an investment space that typically has an extremely high barrier to entry. Unlike tokenized hashrate however, LMX holdings will scale with the overall mining operations of the fund's assets rather than be locked-in to a set and limited amount of hashrate.

Liquid Mining Fund is composed of multiple special purpose vehicles (SPVs) with each SPV coupled with the right to convert traditional equity holdings into digital securities via LMX. As of July 4th, 2021 (the 1 year anniversary of the initial closing), 100% of the investors in Liquid Mining Fund I (Fund 1) have exercised their conversion option to LMX, representing approximately $20M of value. Another $8M of LMX conversion options in Fund 2 (which closed in April 2021) will now become available as well.

"We are thrilled to see a 100% conversion rate with Fund 1, a significant milestone which should enable retail access via an ATS this summer," says Derek Boirun, CEO and founder of Realio. "Our investment thesis for Liquid Mining Fund is simple, find the lowest-cost producers of bitcoin with a capacity to scale, and invest early. Investor demand for bitcoin mining in the Americas is stronger than ever, especially considering recent events in China. Given the demand, we are now excited to launch our 3rd SPV with a target of $50M - $100M".

Realio anticipates the LMX digital security will be admitted for trading on the tZERO ATS, subject to customary due diligence, regulatory holding periods, and compliance with federal securities laws. The tZERO ATS is an alternative trading system that is operated by tZERO ATS, a FINRA member broker-dealer.

Bitcoin mining is emerging as a low-risk way for institutional investors to get sizable exposure to the asset class, as it requires large capital outlays yet maintains a similar risk profile to datacenters. By directly converting cheap/excess electricity into bitcoin, mining combines the cash-flow predictability of commercial real estate with the asymmetric upside potential of bitcoin.

Since Q1 of 2020, a growing number of institutional investorsincluding Microstrategy, Alliance Bernstein, BlackRock, and Paul Tudor Joneshave started investing in cryptocurrencies, offering funds and derivatives. In light of bitcoin's historic bull run from Q3 2020 to Q2 of 2021, investors continue to seek alternative exposure to the leading cryptocurrency, transforming bitcoin mining into a lucrative and monetizable operation for decentralized and centralized markets. Moreover, bitcoin mining can withstand bear markets considering the operations are coins mined as future assets. Operations have been monetized by going public as of late, with funds springing up around the trend and offering investing opportunities.

"The unique proposition we offer with Liquid Mining Fund and the LMX conversion will open up new avenues for the investor community that's seeking out structured bitcoin investment opportunities, without needing to invest directly in bitcoin," says Soohuck Chun, co-CIO and co-founder of Valentus Capital Management.

Realio initially launched Liquid Mining Fund in July 2020, with Fund I already returning 80 percent of invested capital.

About Realio

Realio Technology LTD, is an end-to-end, blockchain-based SaaS platform for the issuance, investment, and life-cycle management of digital assets. Realio combines access to a decentralized (p2p) exchange with the features of a sophisticated issuance/investment platform to merge enterprise-grade blockchain solutions with institutional-quality investment vehicles. The platform satisfies the need for stringent securities regulations while allowing uniquely democratized access to investment products normally reserved for a select subset of institutional investors.

About Valentus Digital

Valentus Digital is an affiliate of Valentus Capital Management. Valentus Digital focuses on investment opportunities in the digitalization of real assets. Valentus Capital Management ("Valentus") is the Investment Manager of the Valentus Fund Limited Partnerships ("Valentus Funds"), founded on the core principles of nimbleness, agnostic investing, and innovation. We focus on value-oriented investment opportunities within the consumer and corporate-focused credit sectors. The company combines experienced investing through the peaks and troughs of credit cycles with disciplined and prudent capital deployment to identify attractive risk-adjusted opportunities for Valentus Funds.

About tZERO ATS

tZERO ATS, LLC is a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and a member of FINRA and SIPC. More information about tZERO ATS may be found at https://brokercheck.finra.org/ . Digital securities that trade on tZERO ATS are conventional uncertificated securities. Ownership of such securities is reflected on the traditional books and records of regulated market participants. The term "digital" refers to the blockchain technology elements of a security that are intended to enhance investor experience through added transparency.

About Algorand

Algorand is building the technology to power the Future of Finance (FutureFi), the convergence of traditional and decentralized models into a unified system that is inclusive, frictionless, and secure. Founded by Turing Award-winning cryptographer Silvio Micali, Algorand developed a blockchain infrastructure that offers the interoperability and capacity to handle the volume of transactions needed for defi, financial institutions and governments to smoothly transition into FutureFi. The technology of choice for more than 500 global organizations, Algorand is enabling the simple creation of next generation financial products, protocols and exchange of value. For more information, visit www.algorand.com .

SOURCE Realio Technology LTD
CHICAGO, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Chicago-based R.J. O'Brien & Associates (RJO), the oldest and largest independent futures brokerage and clearing firm in the United States, today announced the promotion of two senior executives. Terry Gilhooly assumes the role of Global Chief Operating Officer (COO) from COO, North America, and Heather Rucci takes on the new position of Chief Human Resources Officer, from Managing Director, Human Resources.

The move follows the promotion late last month of Daniel Staniford to President. Both Gilhooly and Rucci will continue to report to RJO Chairman and CEO Gerald Corcoran.

Corcoran said: "I'm delighted to recognize the outstanding contributions of Terry and Heather, who have both demonstrated extraordinary capabilities and sage counsel in their areas of expertise. RJO has been the beneficiary of Terry's skills and extensive experience in the futures industry  including in key roles at major banks  along with his calm, cool and collected approach. Now he will assume responsibility for our entire global operations and technology teams and infrastructure. He will continue to lead our critical and massive project to transform our back-office platform and processes."

"Heather is truly a talented executive who ensures that we achieve our strategic goals from a human resources perspective and successfully navigate the people challenges presented by global expansion, acquisitions and most recently the coronavirus pandemic. She's been a tremendous resource to the organization, integrating and aligning our efforts around the world. Her new position reflects the importance and global nature of the role, as well as the prioritization of efforts to promote continued learning and development at all levels of the company. Our culture is a vital part of who we are as a firm, and Heather ensures that our strategic priorities, goals and people programs remain true to that culture."

Gilhooly and Rucci have been co-heads of the firm's Coronavirus Response Task Force, working in tandem since early 2020 to facilitate the successful mobilization of all aspects of the firm's business and work-from-home capabilities.

Gilhooly

With three decades of futures industry experience, including the launch of his career at RJO, Gilhooly assumes the Global COO role after his promotion in May 2019 to COO, North America, overseeing the region's Operations groups, along with RJO's Client Service, Market Insights and Facilities teams. Before that, he served since 2016 as Senior Director in the Commercial Agricultural division, running its Operations functions, including the support of Asian activities.

Prior to his return to RJO, Gilhooly in 2014 began leading operations for listed derivatives in the Americas for the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). Previously, he helped launch the futures commission merchant at State Street. In 2000, he joined Merrill Lynch to run the futures division's U.S. Client Services, taking on additional responsibilities until 2011, when he left as Director and Head of Global Client Services and Global Documentation. Gilhooly's career began at RJO in 1991 as a trading floor runner, and he remained at the firm for nine years, ultimately managing RJO's agricultural trading desks on the trading floor of the Chicago Board of Trade. Gilhooly earned a Bachelor of Science degree and MBA from Indiana University Northwest in Gary.

Rucci

A 22-year human resources (HR) veteran, Rucci joined RJO in April 2019 after serving since 2016 as Senior Managing Director, Human Resources Business Partner at Nuveen. She joined Nuveen in 2008 as Assistant Vice President, Human Resources and served in several roles of increasing responsibility during her tenure there. Among her responsibilities were leading the firm's recruitment efforts.

Rucci spent the first 10 years of her career in HR and human capital consulting at Mercer Human Resources Consulting and later at Capital H Group. She graduated with distinction from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management/Engineering, with a minor in Organizational Behavior/Human Resource Management.

About R.J. O'Brien & Associates

Founded in 1914, R.J. O'Brien & Associates is the largest independent futures brokerage and clearing firm in the United States, serving more than 80,000 institutional, commercial and individual clients globally, in addition to a network of approximately 300 introducing brokers (IBs). RJO services the industry's most expansive global network of IBs, a vast array of middle market firms and many of the world's largest financial, industrial and agricultural institutions. The firm offers state-of-the-art electronic trading and 24-hour trade execution on every major futures exchange worldwide. RJO has received the FOW International Award for Non-Bank FCM of the Year for the past five years. At the HFM US Quant Awards 2020, RJO won the award for Best Independent FCM  the eighth honor bestowed by the HFM Global publications on RJO and its UK affiliate.

SOURCE R.J. O'Brien & Associates

Related Links

http://www.rjobrien.com


MILWAUKEE, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), the world's largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation, has been named a finalist of the 2021 Microsoft Internet of Things Partner of the Year Award. The company was recognized among a global field of top Microsoft partners for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology.

"We're honored to receive this recognition from Microsoft," said Rockwell Automation Chairman and CEO Blake Moret. "Achieving results is what Rockwell is all about, and teaming with Microsoft helps us to deliver on that promise. Our intelligent industrial systems enable our customers to seamlessly save on infrastructure costs, speed time-to-value, and increase productivity."

The Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards recognize Microsoft partners that have developed and delivered outstanding Microsoft-based solutions during the past year. Awards were classified in various categories, with honorees chosen from a set of more than 4,400 submitted nominations from more than 100 countries worldwide. Rockwell Automation was recognized for providing outstanding solutions and services for IoT.

The Internet of Things Partner of the Year Award recognizes a Microsoft partner that has designed, developed and deployed IoT solutions built on its intelligent cloud and edge innovations, such as Azure, IoT and edge devices with their customers. These solutions are helping companies quickly improve their business by increasing visibility into their digital assets, such as where they are at a given time or predicting maintenance required to ensure zero downtime. As a result, they can drive business results and grow customer value.

"I am honored to announce the winners and finalists of the 2021 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards," said Rodney Clark, corporate vice president, Global Partner Solutions, Channel Sales and Channel Chief, Microsoft. "These remarkable partners have displayed a deep commitment to building world-class solutions for customers  from cloud-to-edge  and represent some of the best and brightest our ecosystem has to offer."

The Microsoft press release with more information about the awards and a full list of winners and finalists can be found at: https://news.microsoft.com/2021/07/08/microsoft-announces-2021-partner-of-the-year-awards-winners-and-finalists/

About Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation Inc. (NYSE: ROK), is a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation. We connect the imaginations of people with the potential of technology to expand what is humanly possible, making the world more productive and more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 24,000 problem solvers dedicated to our customers in more than 100 countries. To learn more about how we are bringing the Connected Enterprise to life across industrial enterprises, visit www.rockwellautomation.com

SOURCE Rockwell Automation
BENTON, Kan., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Russell E. Scheffer, MD is being recognized by Continental Who's Who as a Trusted Psychiatrist for his outstanding achievements in Psychiatry and his professional excellence as a Medical Director with Cigna Healthcare.

Russell E. Scheffer

Russell E. Scheffer, MD is a board-certified psychiatrist with 30 years of academic and clinical excellence. He has garnered a well-deserving reputation among the Best Doctors in America since 2005 for his devotion to his patients. Dr. Scheffer serves as the medical director within Cigna Healthcare, a global health service company, where he consults and reviews policies. Additionally, Dr. Scheffer operates a small private practice specializing in child, adolescent, and family psychiatry, bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders, ADHD, and more.

A graduate of the University of Nebraska, Dr. Scheffer completed his undergraduate studies in Biology and Chemistry in 1982. He furthered his Chemistry training at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, from 1983 to 1985. Following this, he obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Human Biology from the University of Kansas in 1987. In that same year, he began the health professional scholarship program with the U.S. Army Reserves until his completion in 1991. He earned a medical degree from Kansas University Medical Center in 1991, followed by a general psychiatry internship and residency at the Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center in 1995. Shortly after, he completed a child, adolescent, and family psychiatry fellowship at DDEAMC/Medical College of Georgia in 1996. He is board certified in Child, Adolescent, and General Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He is currently pursuing his MBA at the University of Kansas.

Dr. Scheffer served the U.S. Army Medical Department at Fort Hood, TX, and Fort Gordon, GA. Highly awarded, he earned the Army Commendation Award, the Army Achievement Award, the Army Superior Unit Award, and the Cold War Victory Award. He served at the Medical College of Georgia as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry from 1996 to 2002 and at A&M Health Science Center as an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry from 1996 to 1998.

He maintains memberships with the American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, International Early Psychosis Association, International Society for Bipolar Disorders, International Society for Affective Disorders, Kansas Medical Society, Medical Society of Sedgwick County, Kansas Psychiatric Society, International Society of Psychiatric Genetics, and American Association of Physicians. He is a distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, a member of the Educational Board Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. An Ad Hoc reviewer, he peer reviews and researches for Schizophrenia Research, Academic Psychiatry, Biological Psychiatry, Bipolar Disorders, and the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Dr. Scheffer has received numerous accolades throughout his career, including the KUMC Endowment Association Early Career Award, the Anthony Meyer Best Teacher Award by the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Division Medical College of Wisconsin, and the Outstanding Teacher Award by the Child Psychiatry Division UT Southwestern Medical Center.

His research can be found at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Russell+E.+Scheffer

Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected]

SOURCE Continental Who's Who

Related Links

http://www.continentalwhoswho.com


He has deep expertise in building customer success, experience and support teams in cybersecurity and technology risk management companies, from large publicly traded firms to fast-growing startups. Kumar has built large success teams at several rapidly growing companies and understands how to scale this function quickly and effectively, while improving the team's performance and driving revenue retention and expansion.

"Raman has created a culture of customer success excellence everywhere he has gone," says SafeBreach CEO Guy Bejerano. "Raman's passion in helping customers get the most out of their technology solutions creates powerful word-of-mouth recommendations and increases customer retention, two key components of success for technology companies."

"I am delighted to join SafeBreach as they expand their footprint and build out global customer success as we bring on more users onto the platform," says Kumar. "Continuous security validation has become an essential element of risk management and it is growing in importance as we face a rising tide of cybersecurity threats. SafeBreach is uniquely positioned to win this market with the best product and the broadest coverage of any solution today. I look forward to building a team that has a customer-first mindset."

Kumar will scale the SafeBreach customer success team at a critical time as the firm rapidly expands its sales and channel footprint while balancing strong customer growth. Over the past six months, SafeBreach was named Company of the Year 2021 in Breach and Attack Simulation by Frost & Sullivan and to the Forbes' Top 20 Cybersecurity Companies to Watch. During the past year, SafeBreach added multiple Fortune 500 customers across several verticals including healthcare, financial services, and consumer packaged goods. With strategic partnerships with cybersecurity leaders like Palo Alto Network, Microsoft, IBM, SentinelOne, and Blackberry Cylance, SafeBreach has the widest partner and channel network of any continuous security validation solution.

SafeBreach has continued to set the standard for research excellence, identifying multiple zero-day vulnerabilities and expanding the Hacker's Playbook - the largest compendium of attack playbooks and tactics - to over 30,000 entries. By integrating tightly with the leading SIEM, vulnerability management and threat analysis platforms, SafeBreach has become an indispensable solution for CISOs and their teams to reduce the attack surface and improve their security posture.

About SafeBreach

SafeBreach is the world's most widely used continuous security validation platform in large and global scale enterprises. The patented SafeBreach platform empowers CISOs and their teams to validate security controls, maximize their effectiveness, and drive down risk. SafeBreach provides a "hacker's view" of an enterprise's security posture by continuously validating security controls. The platform presents findings in customized dashboards, enabling stakeholders to focus on the biggest risks to the organization. SafeBreach automatically and safely executes thousands of attack methods to validate network, endpoint, cloud, container and email security controls against its Hacker's Playbook, the world's largest collection of attack data broken down by methods, tactics and threat actors. Data from SafeBreach validations can improve SOC team responses and empower management teams to make smarter decisions to better manage risk and invest resources. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, the company is funded by Sequoia Capital, Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners, OCV Partners, DNX Ventures, Hewlett Packard Pathfinder, PayPal and investor Shlomo Kramer. For more information, visit www.safebreach.com or follow us on Linkedin .

Contact: Corinna Krueger, 510-219-3634, [email protected]

SOURCE SafeBreach

Related Links

safebreach.com


OKLAHOMA CITY, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SandRidge Energy, Inc. (the "Company" or "SandRidge") (NYSE: SD) today announced that Carl Giesler, Jr. has resigned as Chief Executive Officer, President and a member of the Board of Directors for the Company (the "Board") in order to pursue another career opportunity. Mr. Giesler's resignation will be effective July 16, 2021, and is not the result of any disagreement with the Company or any matter relating to the Company's operations, policies or practices.

The Board has appointed Grayson Pranin, the Company's current Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, to serve as President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer. For the past 10 years, Mr. Pranin has served in various engineering, operational and leadership roles at the Company. Further, Mr. Pranin's appointment represents a continuation of the Board and the Company's focus on maximizing cash flow. Mr. Pranin held a significant role in right sizing the Company's cost structure and operations during his tenure.

Jonathan Frates, Chairman of the Company's Board, commented, "We would like to thank Carl for his leadership since joining the Company in the spring of 2020. He guided SandRidge through a difficult period to reposition the Company and to right-size its cost structure. We believe that with the Board, Grayson and Salah's leadership, the Company is well positioned to maximize the cash flow of its long-lived, primarily PDP oil and gas properties."

About SandRidge Energy, Inc.

SandRidge Energy, Inc. (NYSE: SD) is an independent oil and gas company engaged in the development and acquisition of oil and gas properties. Its primary area of operations is the Mid-Continent region in Oklahoma and Kansas. Further information can be found at www.sandridgeenergy.com.

Contact Information

Investor Relations

SandRidge Energy, Inc.

1 E. Sheridan Ave. Suite 500

Oklahoma City, OK 73104

[email protected]

SOURCE SandRidge Energy, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.sandridgeenergy.com


BOSTON, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sayata Labs congratulates one of its own, Valorie Owens, for being one of 64 women named to the Insurance Business Elite Women of 2021 list. Valorie was one of only two women representing Insurtech businesses on the list. The list was rounded out by women from more traditional insurance companies such as carriers and brokers as well as adjunct businesses.

As Vice President of Business Development, Valorie oversees all of Sayata's growth on a national scale working directly with partner companies as well as internally with virtually every facet of the company from development to marketing.

"While we're ecstatic to see Val honored with such a prestigious award, we were not surprised," said Sayata Labs CEO Asaf Lifshitz, "Val is one of the prime reasons we've experienced hyper-growth over the last 18 months. She is the force that brings Sayata to market and simultaneously brings the needs of the client back to us so we always serve their business."

About the Insurance Business 2021 Elite Women in Insurance Awards

Insurance Business America received over 360 applications from 200+ companies. Winners were selected by a diverse panel of judges reflecting a variety of disciplines within the insurance industry. The judges based their decisions on the nominee's achievements and initiatives over the past 12 months, specifically focused on their professional accomplishments and contributions to the industry as a whole. This is the eighth year of the awards.

About Sayata Labs

Sayata delivers exponential growth to brokers and carriers that place cyber risk. The Sayata platform streamlines the quote-bind-issue process allowing insurance professionals to seamlessly place cyber risk in a fraction of the time. Sayata provides an end-to-end technological solution along with educational tools, giving our partners the ability to grow their book quickly and efficiently. To date, over 70 brokerages and carriers partner with Sayata to grow their cyber book.

Media Contact

Lazer Cohen

[email protected]

+1-347-753-8256

SOURCE Sayata Labs
VANCOUVER, BC, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ScalePad is pleased to invite members of the MSP community to beta test its new API integration with Microsoft Endpoint Manager (MEM). While ScalePad is already integrated with over thirty of the MSP industry's most popular remote monitoring and management (RMM) and professional services automation (PSA) tools, this is ScalePad's first partnership with software giant Microsoft.

ScalePad rocket taking flight

"Microsoft's unified endpoint management tool is used by thousands of MSPs, and works well for partners providing secure co-managed IT services in Microsoft 365 environments. Integrating ScalePad with Microsoft Endpoint Manager provides some unique new benefits," said Dan Wensley, chief executive officer of ScalePad. "The MSP community has asked us to integrate with Intune, and so we've made it happen."

ScalePad's integration with Microsoft Endpoint Manager automates discovery and import of Intune-managed devices. This is especially important given the unique security and other risks found in a co-managed environment, where clients may have added mobile devices, or bypassed recommended onboarding processes and have active devices without RMM tools in place.

Intune's live dataset of active devices when combined in ScalePad with data from other already integrated RMM tools provides a more complete picture of each client environment. ScalePad's automated matching feature deduplicates devices viewed through multiple integrated platforms, providing MSPs with a trusted single view of all their networked assets.

The ScalePad Microsoft Endpoint Manager integration also helps MSPs deploying Intune for the first time by providing an important check to ensure no device is missed. "We can make sure that the device list matches what's in our tools," stated Barry Semple, Vice President, Information Security and Technology at Fully Managed, a large industry-leading MSP. "And if we're rolling Intune out for a customer, we can make sure it's rolled out everywhere as well."

While Microsoft Endpoint Manager provides sophisticated management tools, its single tenant view may be limiting for MSPs who want a snapshot of every asset they manage in one place. ScalePad's new partnership provides that new option for asset management of Intune devices  a multi-tenant, single-pane view with detailed, automated reporting capabilities.

ScalePad MSP partners interested in previewing the beta Microsoft Endpoint Manager integration can simply log in and follow the instructions to activate it in-app. The new integration is included on all ScalePad plans. IT service providers and MSPs who are not currently ScalePad partners can also sign up to test this integration at no cost.

"I'm excited about how this integration can help our partners manage their businesses and work with clients more efficiently," stated Wensley. "ScalePad and Microsoft are a winning combination, and we look forward to working with our partners to continue to make our product even better."

About ScalePad

ScalePad helps MSPs easily identify and prioritize their asset risks and revenue generating opportunities. Our insightful reports not only communicate asset status to your customers, but will also drive them into making important IT investments to improve their environment.

ScalePad's innovative software is trusted by more than 8,500 partners across 76 countries and is used by over 60% of the MSP 501.

Dina Genkin

[email protected]

ScalePad

415-985-2895

www.ScalePad.com/news

Related Images

scalepad-rocket.jpg

ScalePad Rocket

ScalePad rocket taking flight

SOURCE ScalePad

Related Links

http://www.ScalePad.com


IoT asset trackers have become an indispensable part for many industries. However, tracking assets can become costly if a tracker runs out of battery and stops relaying data. Another challenge is replacing depleted batteries, particularly for large industries which need to allocate time and resources on maintaining thousands of trackers. Besides operational nuisance, this process is detrimental to the environment, especially considering that it can be avoided.

The number of IoT devices worldwide is growing rapidly; and so is the volume of batteries needed to facilitate this growth. With an expected 100 billion wasted AA-batteries in 2050, this is roughly equivalent to 300 Olympic size swimming pools. Evidently, there is a growing environmental problem, one that IoT companies need to take responsibility for. But how do we deal with such an immense amount of toxic waste? The solution begins with creating low power devices that make more efficient use of the energy they have at their disposal. Then, as a result of the lower power requirements, it can function with the voltage generated by attaching a solar panel and harvesting (more) sustainable energy sources, such as sun or indoor lights.

However, simply integrating a solar panel is not enough to build an effective solar-powered tracker. Typically, solar panels need to generate a certain level of power for the energy to be stored. Therefore, selecting an appropriately sized solar panel and matching it with highly versatile configurable Power Management Integrated Circuit PMIC is essential for harvesting enough energy for the device function.

The solution

Dealing with the plethora of challenges associated, solar-powered asset tracking requires a multi-faceted approach:

Firstly, the device needs to be low power , meaning that its components need to use minimal power, while the embedded software manages onboard processes to only use power when necessary.

, meaning that its components need to use minimal power, while the embedded software manages onboard processes to only use power when necessary. Secondly, the device needs to harvest solar energy as efficiently as possible, even in conditions where there is little sun or indoor light.

Finally, the device needs to store the energy it accumulates to operate when light isn't available.

IoT Industry leader SODAQ decided to take on this challenge. SODAQ's expertise in low power asset tracking and e-peas' energy harvesting knowledge enabled the creation of the TRACK Solar : a small, solar-powered tracker designed for a variety of outdoor asset tracking use cases.

SODAQ TRACK Solar

Utilizing the e-peas' AEM10941 , TRACK Solar is capable of operating on a 6.9 x 6.9 cm Monocrystalline Solar Panel. Harvested solar energy is stored in a 2400mAh lithium-ion battery, which enables the tracker to operate for up to a month without sunlight. The AEM10941 module plays an important role as it allows the TRACK SOLAR to harvest solar energy at very low voltages, resulting in a smaller solar panel and thus a smaller form factor. Additionally, the e-peas chip helps reduce the depth-of-discharge for the battery, leading to increased battery life and overall product longevity. TRACK Solar is designed to last for an estimated five years in the field, but it is likely to last much longer depending on the environmental conditions it is exposed to over its lifetime.

The result of the merging expertise of the two companies makes TRACK Solar capable of monitoring the location of non-powered objects for years on end, without the need for battery replacement. In addition to the hardware, TRACK users gain access to a cloud platform environment enabling them to view the location of assets, configure devices and administer over-the-air updates. Device configurations can be managed from SODAQ's dashboard environment, whereby users can tailor the tracker to their use case by controlling motion triggered messages and the frequency at which messages are sent.

Where can it be used? Examples of existing use cases

TRACK Solar is ideal for any outdoor asset tracking use case where sunlight is available. Objects that can be tracked include equipment such as compressors, welding machines, generators and other equipment one might find on a construction site. Integrating SODAQ TRACK not only enables construction workers to find equipment faster, but allows operators to monitor the running hours of their equipment and identify opportunities to optimize workflow.

Airports are another operator that can benefit from this technology, particularly to alleviate the difficulties of monitoring ground support equipment. Integrating the tracker with dollies, tugs and refuelers allows airport operators to save time when trying to find these valuable assets on-site. Using pre-existing geofences, operators can keep overview of equipment and prevent assets from leaving their designated working zones.

"With the TRACK Solar we are already saving the equivalent of more than 50 non-rechargeable batteries per device over a 5 year lifespan, but what is even more exciting is that we are able to go batteryless by using e-peas AEM10941 and a supercapacitor that holds the charge from the solar panel in the moments where it isn't catching sunlight. This means we will go completely batteryless, having an unlimited number of charge cycles and therefore a much more sustainable device." - Ollie Smeenk, CEO SODAQ

5 benefits of using harvested energy in asset tracking:

- No battery changes for an estimated period of more than 5 years

- Reduced maintenance costs

- Reduced negative environmental impact

- Increased product lifetime

- Ideal for uses in environments with sunlight or indoor light

Technical specifications of SODAQ TRACK Solar and AEM10941

SODAQ TRACK Solar

Dimensions Life Span Flanges: 98 x 80 x 27 mm No Flanges: 80 x 80 x 27 mm Over 5 years Power Operating conditions 0.4W Monocrystalline Solar Panel USB-C Charging Port 2400mAh Lithium-ion Battery - 10 to + 60C Positioning Communication GNSS (5-20m) WiFi (10-50m) Cell (100m+) Nordic nRF9160 (LTE-M/NB-IoT) Certifications Sensors IP67 (dust/water ingress) CE FCC (pending) PTCRB (pending) 3-Axis Accelerometer (motion) Temperature Sensor 1x RGB LED Magnet for activation Mounting (if applicable) Memory Flanges: Screws, bolts or zip-ties No Flanges: Adhesive tape 2MB flash

AEM10941

e-peas' solar energy harvesting IC solution  AEM10941  is an integrated energy management circuit within SODAQ Track Solar that extracts DC power from up to 7-cell solar panels to simultaneously store energy in a rechargeable element and supply the system with two independent regulated voltages. The solar energy harvester AEM10941 allows to extend battery lifetime and ultimately eliminates the disposable battery energy storage element in a large range of wireless applications, such as industrial monitoring, geolocation, home automation, e-health monitoring and wireless sensor nodes.

Vin 50 mV to 5 V Cold start 3 W @ 380 mV Pin 3 W to 550 mW Pout 20 mA @ 1.2-1.8 V and 80 mA @ 1.8-4.1 V MPPT Yes Package QFN28 5 x 5 mm

How to purchase SODAQ TRACK

TRACK Solar is a revolutionary B2B solution with an MOQ of 1,000 units. The device is completely agnostic to connectivity and platform providers.

To discuss opportunities for your business case, please get in touch with SODAQ's sales consultants through [email protected] . A dedicated team is ready to support in identifying key business case components, getting started through a pilot service ensuring the right product fit and guidance on technical integration of the solution.

About e-peas

e-peas develops and markets disruptive ultra-low power semiconductor technology. This enables industrial and IoT wireless product designers to substantially extend battery lifespans and eliminate the heavy call-out costs of replacing batteries, without in any way compromising on reliability. Relying on 15 years of research and patented intellectual property, the company's products increase the amount of harvested energy and drastically reduce the energy consumption of all power consuming blocks within wireless sensor nodes. Headquartered in Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium, with additional offices in Switzerland and the USA, e-peas offers a portfolio of energy harvesting power management interface ICs, microcontrollers and sensor solutions.

Website: www.e-peas.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/e-peas

Twitter: https://twitter.com/epeas_news

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/epeas

About SODAQ

SODAQ is a leader in low-power sensing and tracking solutions. Since 2012 the company has been a pioneer in the field of creating autonomous devices using low-power wide area networking and energy harvesting. SODAQ provides a range of asset tracking solutions for businesses as well as offering custom hardware, software and industrial design development as a service.

SODAQ is motivated by a vision of seeing a world without batteries and aims to be the primary driver of sustainability within the Internet of Things industry.

Website: https://sodaq.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sodaq

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_vO0wp9-83KMZZHiuK3lAQ

Media Contact:

[email protected]

(+32) 10 77 12 30 and

[email protected]

+31 (0) 35 300 0301

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1571890/mini_solar_tracker.jpg

SOURCE e-peas S.A. and SODAQ
CHICAGO, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Solid-State Car Battery Market by Vehicle (Passenger Car and Commercial Vehicle), Battery Energy Density (>450 Wh/kg, >450 Wh/kg), Propulsion (BEV, PHEV), Component (Cathode, Anode, and Electrolyte), and Region - Global Forecast to 2030", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Solid-State Car Battery Market is projected to grow from 27,070 units in 2025 to 661,724 units by 2030, at a CAGR of 89.5%.

The growth of the market is influenced by factors such as increasing demand for electric vehicles around the world, higher battery capacity and EV range using solid-state car batteries and other features of SSB's like higher battery life, higher energy density and better safety features compared to presently used lithium-ion batteries. The growing concern for larger distance commuting using EV's will also boost the market.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Solid-State Car Battery Market"

118  Tables

51  Figures

161  Pages

Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=36752602

Asia is expected to be the largest market during the forecast period.

The Asia Pacific Solid-State Car Battery Market will be led by countries such as China, Japan, and South Korea. The governments of these countries have supported the growth of EV demand through subsidies, favorable policies for EVs and discouraging the use of petrol. This will lead to a fast-growing demand for solid-state car batteries in the region once they come into the market. Premium EVs using solid-state batteries will be launched in China and Japan, followed by South Korea and India. Growth will be slower in the initial years but will speed up after 2026. India will be the fastest-growing market in the region due to current and upcoming EV policies. Japan will also be one of the fastest-growing markets in the region due to top OEMs such as Toyota, Nissan, and Mitsubishi and battery manufacturers working to develop solid-state batteries.

BEV is estimated to account for the largest market size during the forecast period

The demand for solid-state batteries in BEV is expected to be higher in the coming years compared to PHEVs. This will be mostly due to its high demand for premium BEVs with superior features such as larger battery capacity, faster charging, and better safety features. The prices of these batteries will reduce once their mass production starts on a larger scale and other lower-end BEVs also start using these batteries. The market for solid-state batteries in BEVs in North America is expected to grow at the highest rate due to the presence of top OEMs in the region, along with companies like QuantumScape and Solid Power working on the development of solid-state battery technology.

Request FREE Sample Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=36752602

Passenger Car segment is estimated to account for the largest and the fastest market during the forecast period

Passenger cars and a small part of commercial vehicles are considered under vehicle types in the automotive solid-state battery market due to the growing demand for premium electric cars. The demand for other electric cars and commercial vehicles using solid-state batteries will increase in the coming years once solid-state batteries are commercialized to be used in automobiles. Asia Pacific is expected to be the market for passenger cars, followed by Europe and North America. This is due to the strong government support for the adoption of electric passenger vehicles in the region. North America to be the fastest-growing region with fast-growing demand for premium electric vehicles that will use solid-state batteries in the coming years. The market in Europe is expected to grow in the coming years. This is due to strong emission regulations and a variety of subsidies, grants, and incentives for adopting EVs in countries such as Germany, France, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the UK. The demand for solid-state batteries in electric vehicles will be growing with the increased demand for EVs and the mass production of automotive solid-state batteries.

The global Solid-State Car Battery Market is dominated by global players such as Toyota Motor Corporation (Japan), Solid Power (US), QuantumScape (US), Samsung SDI (South Korea), and LG Chem (South Korea). These companies have been developing new products, adopted expansion strategies, and undertaken collaborations, partnerships, and mergers & acquisitions to gain traction in the high-growth Solid-State Car Battery Market.

Browse Related Reports:

Electric Vehicle Market by Component, Vehicle (Passenger Cars, CV), Propulsion (BEV, PHEV, FCEV), Vehicle Drive Type (FWD, RWD, AWD), Vehicle Top Speed (<125 mph, >125 mph), Charging Point, Vehicle Class, V2G, Region-Global Forecast 2030

Electric Vehicle Charging Station Market by Level of Charging (Level 1, Level 2 & Level 3, By Charging Infrastructure (Normal Charge, Type-2, CCS, CHAdeMO and Tesla Supercharger), DC fast Charging (Fast & Ultra-fast) - Global Forecast to 2027

About MarketsandMarkets

MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions.

Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model  GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve.

MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets.

Contact:

Mr. Aashish Mehra

MarketsandMarkets INC.

630 Dundee Road

Suite 430

Northbrook, IL 60062

USA: +1-888-600-6441

Email: [email protected]

Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/solid-state-car-battery-market.asp

Visit Our Web Site: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com

Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/solid-state-car-battery.asp

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg

SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
DALLAS, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) today was recognized for its continued commitment to inclusion. The carrier was named a "Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion" after achieving a top score on the 2021 Disability Equality Index (DEI). The DEI is the world's most comprehensive benchmarking tool for the Fortune 1000 and America's top 200 revenue grossing law firms (Am Law 200) to measure disability workplace inclusion.

"Southwest Airlines was founded on the principle of putting People first," said Julie Weber, Southwest Airlines' Vice President and Chief People Officer. "We believe in providing our Employees an inclusive and welcoming environment, valuing them for their unique skills, perspectives, and abilities they bring. By doing our best as an employer, we create an environment where our People can do their best."

Globally, people with disabilities number over one billion, crossing lines of age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and religion.

The DEI was launched in 2015 by Disability:IN and The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and is acknowledged today as the most robust disability inclusion assessment tool in business. In 2021, out of 319 participants, 191 companies received a score of 100; 58 companies received a score of 90, and 23 companies received a score of 80.

Southwest Airlines is proud to receive a score of 100 on the 2021 DEI and is committed to fostering an inclusive workplace for its Employees. To learn more about career opportunities at Southwest, visit Southwest Careers.

ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.

In its 51st year of service, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. continues to differentiate itself from other air carriers with exemplary Customer Service delivered by more than 56,000 Employees to a Customer base that topped 130 million Passengers in 2019. Southwest has a robust network of point-to-point service with a strong presence across top leisure and business markets. In peak travel seasons during 2019, Southwest operated more than 4,000 weekday departures among a network of 101 destinations in the United States and 10 additional countries. In 2020, the carrier added service to Hilo, Hawaii; Cozumel, Mexico; Miami; Palm Springs, Calif.; Steamboat Springs; and Montrose (Telluride), Colo. Thus far in 2021, Southwest has initiated service to Chicago (O'Hare) and Sarasota/Bradenton both on Feb. 14; Savannah/Hilton Head and Colorado Springs both on March 11; Houston (Bush) and Santa Barbara, Calif. both on April 12; Fresno, Calif. on April 25; Destin/Fort Walton Beach on May 6; Myrtle Beach, S.C. on May 23; Bozeman, Mont. on May 27; and Jackson, Miss. on June 6; and will begin service to Eugene, Ore. on Aug. 29; Bellingham, Wash. on Nov. 7; and Syracuse on Nov. 14.

The carrier issued its Southwest Promise in May 2020 to highlight new and round-the-clock efforts to support its Customers and Employees well-being and comfort. Among the changes are enhanced cleaning efforts at airports and onboard aircraft, along with a federal mandate requiring every person to wear a mask at all times throughout each flight. Additional details about the Southwest Promise are available at Southwest.com/Promise.

Southwest coined Transfarency to describe its purposed philosophy of treating Customers honestly and fairly, and low fares actually staying low. Southwest is the only major U.S. airline to offer bags fly free to everyone (first and second checked pieces of luggage, size and weight limits apply, some carriers offer free checked bags on select routes or in qualified circumstances). Southwest does not charge change fees, though fare differences might apply.

Consistently ranked among the best Employers in the United States, Southwest focuses its effort on a triple bottom line approach that contributes to the carrier's performance and productivity, the importance of its People and the communities they service, and an overall commitment to the efficiency and the planet. Learn more about the carrier gives back to communities across the world by visiting Southwest.com/citizenship.

Book Southwest Airlines' low fares online at Southwest.com or by phone at 800-I-FLY-SWA.

ABOUT THE DISABILITY EQUALITY INDEX (DEI)

The Disability Equality Index (DEI) is a comprehensive benchmarking tool that helps companies build a roadmap of measurable, tangible actions that they can take to achieve disability inclusion and equality. Each company receives a score, on a scale of zero (0) to 100, with those earning 80 and above recognized as a "Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion."

The DEI is a joint initiative of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the nation's largest disability rights organization, and Disability:IN, the global business disability inclusion network, to collectively advance the inclusion of people with disabilities. The organizations are complementary and bring unique strengths that make the project relevant and credible to corporations and the disability community. The tool was developed by the DEI Advisory Committee, a diverse group of business leaders, policy experts, and disability advocates. Learn more at www.DisabilityEqualityIndex.org .

ABOUT THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES (AAPD)

AAPD is a convener, connector, and catalyst for change, increasing the political and economic power for people with disabilities. As a national cross-disability rights organization AAPD advocates for full civil rights for the 50+ million Americans with disabilities. Learn more at www.aapd.com.

ABOUT DISABILITY:IN

Disability:IN is a global organization driving disability inclusion and equality in business. More than 270 corporations trust Disability:IN to activate and achieve disability inclusion across their enterprise and in the broader corporate mainstream. Through the world's most comprehensive disability inclusion benchmarking; best-in-class conferences and programs; and expert counsel and engagement, Disability:IN works with leading businesses to create long-term business and societal impact. Join us at disabilityin.org/AreYouIN #AreYouIN.

SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co.

Related Links

http://www.southwest.com


COLUMBIA, Md., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SparkPost today announced it has launched Inbox Tracker on Salesforce AppExchange, offering deliverability analytics to users, enabling them to monitor and optimize their email marketing programs in real time to get more emails to the inbox. A fully-integrated version of Inbox Tracker is now available to users via AppExchange, providing the ability to take action using real-time insights and deliverability data within Salesforce Marketing Cloud. SparkPost Inbox Tracker gives enterprises enhanced email campaign visibility and control, and access to a wide variety of email data and insights within Salesforce's easy-to-use interface.

SparkPost Inbox Tracker is currently available on AppExchange at https://appexchange.salesforce.com/appxListingDetail?listingId=a0N3A00000FN7iLUAT

According to SparkPost deliverability data, nearly 20% of permission-based emails never reach consumers' inboxes because they are filtered as spam/junk, which translates into huge missed revenue and engagement opportunities. SparkPost's Inbox Tracker solution, first developed in 2017, continues to provide advanced technology and customer support for email deliverability success including metrics for Inbox Placement; Deliverability by ISP, Domain, and Campaign; Authentication performance; Complaint, Blacklist, and Spam Trap Monitoring; and more. SparkPost's holistic approach to email marketing execution and performance has enabled organizations, including Zillow and Twitter to use Inbox Tracker to improve email campaign deliverability.

SparkPost Inbox Tracker

SparkPost Inbox Tracker email performance data will be available within the Salesforce Marketing Cloud. Its integrated Marketing Cloud application will allow users to harness the power of Inbox Tracker within their dashboard. SparkPost data provides enterprise users with the ability to monitor, evaluate, and optimize deliverability throughout a campaign in real-time allowing digital marketers to build email deliverability analytics into every part of the customer journey.

The Inbox Tracker-Journey Builder integration will further protect brands by including an all-inclusive authentication reporting platform to ensure optimal configuration and protection against phishing attacks. Users will also have access to the following:

A single platform for users supporting sending and deliverability analytics reduces the challenge of multiple systems and separate tools to monitor delivery and deliverability issues

Journey Builder Integration with custom activities that can help manage campaign execution using user-defined deliverability rules. Configurable domain thresholds give the flexibility to prioritize & access the data that matters most

Easily accessible and detailed email deliverability metrics from the Salesforce Marketing Cloud dashboard to monitor campaign and domain inbox placement and reputation

Comments on the News

"Creating effective and efficient connections with audiences using email requires integrated approaches that can not only do the job, but highlight where and how to improve quickly. We make it easier to manage and continuously monitor getting into the inbox, and take action when needed, a requirement in today's ever-changing environment. Delivering an automated solution that both benefits recipients and helps businesses increase the effectiveness of their email is another important step in SparkPost's innovation." -- Hal Muchnick , Chief Commercial Officer at SparkPost

, Chief Commercial Officer at SparkPost "SparkPost's Inbox Tracker is a welcome addition to AppExchange, as they empower marketers to deploy and optimize campaigns," said Woodson Martin , GM of Salesforce AppExchange. "AppExchange is constantly evolving to connect customers with the right apps and experts for their business needs."

About Salesforce AppExchange

Salesforce AppExchange, the world's leading enterprise cloud marketplace, empowers companies, developers and entrepreneurs to build, market and grow in entirely new ways. With more than 6,000 listings, 9 million customer installs and 117,000 peer reviews, AppExchange connects customers of all sizes and across industries to ready-to-install or customizable apps and Salesforce-certified consultants to solve any business challenge.

Additional Resources

Like Salesforce on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/salesforce

Follow Salesforce on Twitter: https://twitter.com/salesforce

Become a fan of SparkPost: https://www.facebook.com/sparkpost/

Follow SparkPost on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SparkPost

Salesforce, AppExchange, Marketing Cloud and others are among the trademarks of salesforce.com, inc.

About SparkPost

SparkPost is the industry's most trusted email optimization platform. SparkPost helps senders reliably reach the inbox with powerful solutions to help them plan, execute and optimize their email programs. The SparkPost platform is powered by the industry's largest data network, a team of email experts to help brands elevate every aspect of their email program, and a security and compliance posture to support even the most regulated industries. SparkPost is the world's largest sender, delivering 40% of all commercial email - 4-5 trillion sends annually - and also boasts the world's largest data footprint to help enterprise-level brands make data-driven decisions to improve their email performance. The world's most sophisticated senders, including The New York Times, Zillow, Adobe and Booking.com trust SparkPost to elevate their email. Learn more at www.sparkpost.com or connect via Twitter , LinkedIn or the SparkPost blog .

Media Contact:

Carol Tong

PR for SparkPost

510-304-6139

[email protected]

SOURCE SparkPost

Related Links

http://www.sparkpost.com


CALGARY, AB, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Strathcona Resources Ltd. ("Strathcona") announced today that it is planning to commence, subject to market and other conditions, a private offering (the "Offering") under Rule 144A and Regulation S of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), to eligible purchasers, of U.S.$500 million in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes due 2026 (the "Notes").

Strathcona intends to use the net proceeds from this Offering, if completed, to repay a portion of the outstanding borrowings under its revolving credit facility and operating facility without cancelling the revolving commitments thereunder and repay a portion of the outstanding borrowings under its term loan facility.

The offer and sale of the Notes have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act or any United States state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. The Notes will be offered and sold only to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers in the United States pursuant to Rule 144A and non U.S. persons outside the United States in compliance with Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act. In Canada, the offer and sale of the Notes have not been qualified for distribution to the public under a prospectus and the Notes will only be offered and sold pursuant to an applicable private placement exemption in certain provinces of Canada. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, the Notes or any other security and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful.

About Strathcona Resources Ltd.

Strathcona is a Calgary-based private, oil-weighted company focused on the exploration, development and production of oil and gas resources in Western Canada. Strathcona is 100% owned by its private-equity sponsor, Waterous Energy Fund, and Strathcona employees.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements including but not limited to the proposed Offering and issuance of the Notes, the timing and successful completion of the Offering and the use of proceeds therefrom. Such forward-looking information is based on certain assumptions and analysis made by Strathcona in light of its experience and perception of current conditions and expected future developments as well as other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. However, whether actual results, performance or achievements will conform to Strathcona's expectations and predictions is subject to market conditions and a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from Strathcona's expectations. Other factors which could materially affect such forward-looking information are described in the risk factors detailed in the offering documentation prepared and delivered by Strathcona in connection with the Offering.

Related Links

https://www.strathconaresources.com/

SOURCE Strathcona Resources Ltd.
IRVINE, Calif., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (the "Company" or "Sunstone") (NYSE: SHO), the owner of Long-Term Relevant Real Estate in the hospitality sector, announced that it has priced an underwritten public offering of 4,000,000 shares of its 5.70% Series I Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (the "Series I Preferred Stock") for gross proceeds of $100 million.

The joint book-running managers for this offering are Wells Fargo Securities, J.P. Morgan and Raymond James. The joint lead managers for this offering are PNC Capital Markets LLC and US Bancorp. Baird is serving as the co-manager for this offering. The offering is expected to close on July 16, 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

The Company expects to contribute the net proceeds from this offering to Sunstone Hotel Partnership, LLC, its wholly owned subsidiary (the "Operating Partnership"), in exchange for preferred membership units in the Operating Partnership. The Operating Partnership will subsequently use those net proceeds to fund the redemption of all of the Company's outstanding 6.450% Series F Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (CUSIP: 867892-70-5) and for general corporate purposes. This press release does not constitute a notice of redemption.

The Series I Preferred Stock is being offered pursuant to an effective registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is being made only by means of a prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus. Copies of these documents have been or will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and, when available, can be obtained by contacting Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, 608 2nd Avenue, South Minneapolis, MN 55402, Attn: WFS Customer Service, Telephone: 1-800-645-3751 or Email: [email protected], J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, 383 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10179, Attn: Investment Grade Syndicate Desk, Telephone: (212) 834-4533, or Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Attn: Syndicate, 880 Carillon Parkway, St. Petersburg, FL 33716, by telephone at (800) 248-8863, or by email at [email protected].

This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which the offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of that state or jurisdiction.

About Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc.

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. is a lodging real estate investment trust ("REIT") that as of the date of this release has interests in 18 hotels comprised of 9,147 rooms, the majority of which are operated under nationally recognized brands. Sunstone's business is to acquire, own, asset manage and renovate or reposition hotels considered to be Long-Term Relevant Real Estate.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws and regulations. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "should," "will" and other similar terms and phrases, including opinions, references to assumptions and forecasts of future results. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made. These risks include, but are not limited to: the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has on the Company's business and the economy, as well as the response of governments and the Company to the pandemic, and how quickly and successfully effective vaccines and therapies are distributed and administered; increased risks related to employee matters, including increased employment litigation and claims for severance or other benefits tied to termination or furloughs as a result of temporary hotel suspensions or reduced hotel operations due to COVID-19; general economic and business conditions, including a U.S. recession, trade conflicts and tariffs, regional or global economic slowdowns and any type of flu or disease-related pandemic that impacts travel or the ability to travel, including COVID-19; the need for business-related travel, including the increased use of business-related technology; rising hotel operating costs due to labor costs, workers' compensation and health-care related costs, utility costs, property and liability insurance costs, unanticipated costs such as acts of nature and their consequences and other costs that may not be offset by increased room rates; the ground, building or airspace leases for three of the hotels the Company has interests in as of the date of this release; the need for renovations, repositionings and other capital expenditures for the Company's hotels; the impact, including any delays, of renovations and repositionings on hotel operations; new hotel supply, or alternative lodging options such as timeshare, vacation rentals or sharing services such as Airbnb, in the Company's markets, which could harm its occupancy levels and revenue at its hotels; competition from hotels not owned by the Company; relationships with, and the requirements, performance and reputation of, the managers of the Company's hotels; relationships with, and the requirements and reputation of, the Company's franchisors and hotel brands; the Company's hotels may become impaired, or its hotels which have previously become impaired may become further impaired in the future, which may adversely affect its financial condition and results of operations; competition for the acquisition of hotels, and the Company's ability to complete acquisitions and dispositions; performance of hotels after they are acquired; changes in the Company's business strategy or acquisition or disposition plans; the Company's level of debt, including secured, unsecured, fixed and variable rate debt; financial and other covenants in the Company's debt and preferred stock; the impact on the Company's business of potential defaults by the Company on its debt agreements or leases; volatility in the capital markets and the effect on lodging demand or the Company's ability to obtain capital on favorable terms or at all; the Company's need to operate as a REIT and comply with other applicable laws and regulations, including new laws, interpretations or court decisions that may change the federal or state tax laws or the federal or state income tax consequences of the Company's qualification as a REIT; potential adverse tax consequences in the event that the Company's operating leases with its taxable REIT subsidiaries are not held to have been made on an arm's-length basis; system security risks, data protection breaches, cyber-attacks, including those impacting the Company's hotel managers or other third parties, and systems integration issues; other events beyond the Company's control, including climate change, natural disasters, terrorist attacks or civil unrest; and other risks and uncertainties associated with the Company's business described in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that the expectations will be attained or that any deviation will not be material. All forward-looking information provided herein is as of the date of this release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the Company's expectations.

This release should be read together with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Copies of these reports are available on our website at www.sunstonehotels.com and through the SEC's Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval System ("EDGAR") at www.sec.gov.

For Additional Information :

Bryan Giglia

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc.

(949) 382-3036

Aaron Reyes

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc.

(949) 382-3018

SOURCE Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.sunstonehotels.com


SEATTLE, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Talking Rain Beverage Company, the maker of Sparkling Ice beverages, today announced the promotions of three corporate leaders, as the company continues its innovative and successful growth across the global beverage industry. Adam Lapp has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Sales, Nina Morrison has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Community Experience, and Ken Sylvia has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer.

"Adam, Nina and Ken are incredibly dynamic leaders who continue to grow and advance in each of their respective divisions," said Chris Hall, CEO of Talking Rain Beverage Company. "As long-time executives and loyalists of the Talking Rain community, their dedication and commitment is unparalleled in our industry and we're excited to see them succeed and continue innovating our leadership team in each of their new roles."

Adam Lapp is now Senior Vice President of Sales where he will oversee all retail and distribution sales in the U.S, with the goal of enhancing collaboration throughout the various sales channels in order to motivate and maximize potential. Since joining the company in 2008, he has held various leadership roles including Director of Sales, Regional VP of Sales and VP of National Accounts.

Nina Morrison is now Senior Vice President of Community Experience. As the head of Community Experience, Nina will oversee synergy for all community-facing touchpoints, including public relations, communications, social media, influencer relations, and creative services for the Talking Rain portfolio of brands. Nina has been with Talking Rain Beverage Company for over 26 years where she has helped lead a number of purpose-driven campaigns including the brand's Cheers to Heroes campaign, designed to celebrate and give back to America's everyday hometown heroes.

Ken Sylvia has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer, where he will oversee all of Sales and Supply Chain Operations. In his new role, his focus will be uniting both sales and supply chain functions to produce successful growth results and create optimal value, and exceeding Talking Rain partner and customer expectations. With nearly twenty years of experience in the beverage industry, Ken's expertise on industry trends, distribution networks and the CPG marketplace has allowed him to drive growth for Talking Rain's portfolio of brands, including Sparkling Ice and Sparkling Ice +Caffeine, TRE, and the Talking Rain Essentials line.

Talking Rain has seen significant growth over the last year, with new team members and promotions, including the addition of 121 new employees since January 2021. Led by a leadership team that continues to evolve with today's new era of consumers, the brand continues to expand its product portfolio into new categories including better-for-you-beverages, new innovative flavors, and even hard seltzers through its subsidiary, Sparkling Ice Spiked.

About Talking Rain Beverage Company

Talking Rain is a Washington-based beverage company that has been an industry leader in the Seattle-area for more than 30 years. The company's portfolio of brands includes Sparkling Ice, Sparkling Ice +Caffeine, Talking Rain Sparkling Water, TRE, and Talking Rain Essentials Hydration, all of which offer better-for-you beverage options in a variety of flavors. With a commitment to developing best-in-class brands and driving meaningful community engagement, Talking Rain is creating connections with every sip.

Talking Rain is building a sustainable future. The company is committed to connecting with like-minded partners who prioritize corporate, social, and environmental responsibility, so together, they can educate and inspire the continuous work that supports these efforts. Through innovative carbon reduction initiatives, positive social programs, and philanthropic support, Talking Rain aims to create a lasting impact in the community. To learn more about Talking Rain, please visit www.talkingrain.com.

SOURCE Sparkling Ice

Related Links

https://www.sparklingice.com


WASHINGTON, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Teamsters applaud the U.S. Senate confirming California Labor Secretary Julie Su as the next deputy U.S. Secretary of Labor. Su has long, established record of standing with workers who are being taken advantage of by their employers.

Su has been a friend to the Teamsters in their fight for justice at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Her leadership led to a crackdown on the misclassification of port truck drivers there, and her work to revamp the California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement changed the culture and made it work much more efficiently and effectively to uphold workers' rights.

"Julie Su will make an outstanding Deputy U.S. Secretary of Labor," Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said. "All working men and women will benefit from her vision and leadership in her new role."

As California labor secretary, Su took on key issues that negatively impacted workers head-on. This included supporting the Teamsters in their fight to put an end to wage theft and worker misclassification.

"Julie Su has been a true friend and ally to California's working families during her time as our state's labor secretary," said Teamsters International Vice President Ron Herrera, who serves as Director of the union's Port Division and Secretary-Treasurer Local 396 in Covina, Calif. "I am confident that she will continue to be a champion for workers throughout the nation."

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.

Contact:

Galen Munroe (202) 439-7427

[email protected]

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Related Links

http://www.teamster.org


LOS ANGELES, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- FOUNDRY (foundrycres.com) is a new, disruptive Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform designed specifically for commercial real estate (CRE) brokers looking for an edge over the competition.

Developed by industry veteran, Rick Peltz, who spent nearly two decades as the CIO of commercial real estate brand Marcus & Millichap, the new CRM platform appeals especially to CRE vice chairmen, managing brokers, senior managing directors, CFO's, C-level executives and other top tier industry professionals and their teams.

Rick Peltz, FOUNDRY CEO A FOUNDRY SOCIAL MEDIA MEME

"This CRM was created with the top guns in mind: They are back in the office and working on deals; they are the productive base of a company. These are the brokers who work hard, play hard and don't have time to waste on internal or external CRM tools that are clunky, riddled with glitches and don't work efficiently or effectively," says CEO Peltz.

According to FOUNDRY's Chief Financial Officer Mark Klauer," We created FOUNDRY because we identified several glaring issues concerning CRM platforms. Firstly, the brokers demand a robust, easy to use platform that is streamlined and allows them to focus on the core of their business  prospecting, networking & closing deals. Secondly, our model of purchasing the software and all data upfront is the ideal way for your CRE brand to dramatically improve not only the bottom line, but every line."

FOUNDRY is the first and only CRE enterprise software solution that you own, complete with deal, property, CRM and prospecting management. Unlike all other CRM solutions, there is no service contract and there are no recurring subscription fees.

What Foundry provides companies:

Complete Ownership of CRM; No Contract; No Fees

Enormous Annual Savings

An easy-to-use user application interface designed for CRE

A platform for deal management, property & CRM

Complete pipeline status management

Detailed reports in real-time

Request a Product Demo here: FOUNDRY (foundrycres.com)

Read More About Foundry (foundrycre.blogspot.com)

Contact:

Miguel Kirner

[email protected]

415.299.5873

SOURCE FOUNDRY
As the city's only private beach club without a hotel component, The Bath Club is designed for an intimate membership roster and exclusively inclusive experiences, including new culinary concepts, a full-service spa and fitness center, expansive resort-style pool with cabanas, restorative health and wellness courses, landscaped gardens, clay tennis courts, and sprawling outdoor lounge areas, amongst other luxurious offerings.

Steeped in history, the original Bath Club dates back to the Jazz Age as the first established members-only club in the southeast. During its heyday, the Club gained instant popularity among the nation's prominent families. In 1999, Don Peebles purchased the property with plans to revive the Club with a fresh, 'exclusively inclusive' mission reflective of today's era.

The Bath Club boasts a membership profile reflective of all cultures and lifestyles, with a limited number of memberships available. To date, the Club is nearly sold out of family plans, with individual and couple membership options launching next month.

"The Bath Club offers a sense of place, legacy and authenticity for all," says Peebles, Chairman & CEO of The Peebles Corporation. "The overwhelming response by founding members has been a true testament to the Club's storied past and promising future. This is truly where members can come together for enriching experiences surrounded by privacy and luxury."

Members of The Bath Club will have exclusive access to distinctive food and beverage experiences throughout the property, including the bougainvillea-filled Courtyard and Veranda, the picturesque beach and pool, the intimate cigar and tasting room, the historic Governor's Loggia and the formal chophouse, which pays homage to the 1950's golden era of drinking and dining. Expertly curated by Apicii Hospitality, culinary offerings play on the simple elegance of Mediterranean-style cuisine, with a unique coastal flair reflective of the Club's tropical locale.

"The Bath Club is once again shaping Miami's private club culture, with an evolved membership concept rooted in bespoke hospitality," said Tom Dillion, CEO of Apicii Hospitality. "We've designed a sophisticated environment with Don and Katrina Peebles for a new generation that intimately embraces elegance and privacy, surrounded by the most sought-after amenities  expansive beach, exquisite cuisine and custom luxuries. This is history reinvented and perfected."

For the redesign, Alison Antrobus and Ruby Ramirez blended British-style elegance with casual island luxury to create a bold yet sophisticated aesthetic. The reimagined space retains the Club's existing romantic architecture, with new vintage furnishings, fresh drapery fabrics, European style treillage and various unexpected elements, including a secret door with a private dining room.

Tim Miller, an industry veteran who has opened iconic hotels in Miami including the EDITION and The Delano, oversees the Club's hospitality and programming, while Beverage Director Kyle Tran, whose pedigree includes The Aviary and Employees Only, crafted The Bath Club's library of over 400 fine and rare spirits.

The Club's highly seasonal menus boast a commitment to locally sourced ingredients, and were created by Executive Chef Jeff Masanz, known for his work at esteemed establishments such as the Boca Raton Club & Resort and Diplomat Beach Resort. All menu items  ranging from Chicken Paillard and Maine Lobster Cocktail to Sea Scallops and Truffle Pizza  are served on vintage china as a nod to the Club's original kitchen.

The Bath Club is slated to open its second restaurant this fall, titled Cafeteria, led by Fernando Dallorso, former manager of Cipriani.

Photos can be found HERE. For more details on membership, please visit https://www.thebathclub.com/.

Contact:

Helyne Levy

786-449-7007

[email protected]

SOURCE The Bath Club

Related Links

https://www.thebathclub.com


RESTON, Va. and EAST SUSSEX, United Kingdom, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ellucian, the leading higher education technology solutions provider, today announced that The BIMM Group, the largest specialist provider of creative arts education in the UK, has selected Ellucian to modernise its technology operations. A new Ellucian customer, BIMM joins more than 1,100 institutions worldwide that are in the cloud with Ellucian.

BIMM will be using Ellucian Banner Student with Ellucian Managed Cloud, a student information system (SIS) to support registration, enrolment, grading, advising, and course planning. In addition, BIMM's suite of Ellucian cloud-based solutions will include CRM Recruit, CRM Advise, Intelligent Learning Platform (ILP) and Ethos, to enable future growth and development in a connected environment. Implementing these solutions across BIMM's colleges and future colleges will automate processes to improve efficiencies and ensure consistency with an improved experience for students and staff. BIMM's technology modernisation will make it easier to incorporate new colleges in the future. Ellucian's cloud-based solutions support institutional transformation, student engagement and success across all stages of the student lifecycle.

"Today the BIMM Group has 8 colleges across Europe, serving the music industry established through strategic acquisitions and new campus roll-outs. As part of strategic diversification, BIMM has also moved into the broader creative arts education market with the acquisition of performing arts and film schools, consolidating BIMM as a hub for its three creative arts areas: Music, Performing Arts and Filmmaking," said David Jones-Owen, Chief Operating Officer, The BIMM Group. "With over 8,000 students and to continue to grow, the institution needed a scalable student record system, and we look forward to implementing the Banner product which will enhance our student experience and streamline business processes across multiple geographies and curriculum areas."

"Leveraging our cloud solutions, BIMM's unique model will realize the benefits of a modern technology ecosystem, including seamless integrations, resiliency and scalability. Efficiencies gained will span their growing footprint across Europe," said Darren Hunt, Senior Vice President and Managing Director EMEA and APAC, Ellucian. "We welcome BIMM to the Ellucian customer community and look forward to helping them meet their strategic goals for improved business operations and expansion."

About Ellucian

Ellucian is charting the digital future of higher education with a portfolio of cloud-ready technology solutions and services. From student recruitment to workforce analytics; from fundraising opportunities to alumni engagement; Ellucian's comprehensive suite of data-rich tools gives colleges and universities the information they need to lead with confidence.

Working with a community of more than 2,700 customers in over 50 countries, Ellucian keeps innovating as higher education keeps evolving. Drawing on its comprehensive higher education business acumen and suite of services, Ellucian guides its customers through manageable, sustainable digital transformationso that every type of institution and student can thrive in today's fast-changing landscape. To find out what's next in higher education solutions and services, visit Ellucian at www.ellucian.com.

About BIMM

BIMM provides university-level education courses in modern music, performing arts, and filmmaking to over 8,000 students across 12 colleges in the UK, Ireland, and Germany. It has established itself as the market leader through a long-standing commitment to providing the highest quality creative arts education, allowing students to maximise their career potentials.

The BIMM Group is made up of BIMM Institute, Institute for Contemporary Theatre, Performers College, Northern Ballet School, and Screen and Film School. This wide network of colleges provides unique opportunities for students to collaborate creatively on projects with others working in music, performing arts, and film.

CONTACT:

Lindsay Stanley

[email protected]



Tom Picken

[email protected]

SOURCE Ellucian

Related Links

http://www.ellucian.com


WALTHAM, Mass., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO), the world leader in serving science, today announced an expansion of its collaboration with My Green Lab, a non-profit organization committed to improving the environmental sustainability of scientific research. The company has set a goal to obtain Accountability, Consistency and Transparency (ACT) labelling for its entire cold temperature storage portfolio by the end of 2021. Over time, Thermo Fisher expects to ACT label more than 1,200 additional SKUs, enabling research, pharmaceutical and clinical laboratories to achieve their sustainability objectives by providing a broader range of purchasing options.

"Our customers are committed to adopting more sustainable laboratory practices, and My Green Lab enables them to take proactive steps to meet their objectives," said Paul Parker, senior vice president of strategy and corporate development for Thermo Fisher Scientific. "We are proud of our efforts to support environmentally friendly laboratory management, in part, with a portfolio of laboratory equipment and consumables that has earned top scores across a range of sustainability metrics. The ACT label serves as an objective tool for making impactful and responsible purchasing decisions."

Thermo Fisher's freezers are among the first to be ENERGY STAR certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The systems are powered by Thermo Fisher's unique V-Drive technology, designed to detect and adapt to changing usage patterns, and adjust compressor speed, offering significant energy savings without compromising performance. The freezers use environmentally friendly hydrocarbon refrigerants that meet the requirements of the US EPA's Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) and the European Union's F-Gas Regulation, which focus on the elimination of ozone-depleting refrigerants.

"The ACT Label program provides the unique opportunity for laboratories to reduce their environmental impact by allowing purchasers to compare products and make informed buying decisions based on sustainable manufacturing, use and disposal practices," said James Connelly, chief executive officer, My Green Lab. "Thermo Fisher Scientific has been a key driver in this effort, helping establish a culture of sustainability through eco-friendly cold storage solutions. We rely on this long-standing collaboration to further expand the ACT Label program to ensure global scientific research reflects the highest standards of environmental responsibility."

The Thermo Scientific TSX Series ULT freezers and the Thermo Scientific Standard Performance (STP) ULT freezers were the company's first cold storage solutions to be recognized with the ACT label. Today, more than 200 models are similarly labeled. These systems provide a 70 percent reduction in energy consumption compared with conventional options. The instruments are manufactured in an award-winning, zero waste-to-landfill facility. Thermo Fisher's collaboration with My Green Lab began in 2017 when it participated in the ACT Label pilot program for laboratory consumables. The company now offers about 100 products within its plastic consumables and reagents businesses that are ACT labelled.

This video provides more about Thermo Fisher's work with My Green Lab. For more information about Thermo Fisher's complete offering of environmentally friendly freezers, please visit www.thermofisher.com/cold.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue exceeding $30 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, improving patient diagnostics and therapies or increasing productivity in their laboratories, we are here to support them. Our global team of more than 80,000 colleagues delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services and Patheon. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com.

Media Contact Information:

Ron O'Brien

Phone: 781-622-1242

E-mail: [email protected]



Investor Contact Information:

Rafael Tejada

Phone: 781-622-1356

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Thermo Fisher Scientific

Related Links

http://www.thermofisher.com


Philadelphia-based Canary Compliance provides tank monitoring software to the retail fuel industry

FRANKLIN, Tenn., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Titan Cloud Software is pleased to announce that it has acquired Canary Compliance. The move is the latest in a series of growth milestones for Titan Cloud and will enable the company to expand its environmental compliance solutions for SMBs in the retail fuel industry.

"We are excited to welcome the Canary team to Titan Cloud," says David Freese, CEO and Chief Product Officer for Titan Cloud. "They have a great product-market fit for operators with 1 to 5 sites, with an easy-to-use web app and managed connectivity solution. Given Titan's success with the industry's largest operators, adding Canary allows us to serve every owner/operator in the industry with best-in-class technology."

Canary is currently led by founder and CEO Jon Kelly, who started the company in 2016 after several years at ExxonMobil. Following the acquisition, Kelly will be Senior Vice President at Titan Cloud driving growth into the SMB segment.

"We are thrilled to partner with Titan and M33 Growth," said Kelly. "Their resources and go-to-market expertise will help us fulfill and even expand Canary's mission, which is to help underground storage tank (UST) owners and operators achieve and maintain compliance in the most reliable and cost-effective way possible. It also helps us expand access to connectivity hardware and intelligent software products for a historically underserved market segment."

"We are extremely excited to join forces with Canary. As we continue to accelerate our go-to-market momentum, Canary gives us significant reach across the retail SMB segment that we did not have before," said John Donnelly III, Chief Revenue Officer for Titan Cloud.

Donnelly continued: "Our investors at M33 Growth have been great partners as we have continued our M&A strategy in 2021. This is our 3rd acquisition, and they continue to support our organic growth as we scale the business."

Titan and Canary products monitor fuel throughput at over 65,000 sites worldwide and serve the world's top convenience store groups including Circle K, bp, EG, 7-Eleven, Cross America Partners, and Houchens Industries. By combining their software offerings, which include solutions for environmental compliance, SIR, and advanced wetstock management, the company plans for significant global customer expansion.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

About Titan Cloud Software

Titan Cloud Software provides industry-leading solutions for environmental compliance, advanced fuel analytics, wetstock management, and facility maintenance, so that customers can effectively manage risk and run efficient, profitable businesses. Titan Cloud's software currently monitors 50% of all U.S. consumer gasoline throughput and covers more than 65,000 facilities. The company was launched in 2012 and is headquartered near Nashville, Tennessee with offices in Chicago and Melbourne. Learn more at www.titancloud.com.

About Canary Compliance

Canary Compliance provides underground storage tank owners and operators with smart, simple remote tank monitoring solutions at an affordable price. The company was launched in 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Learn more at www.cancomply.io.

About M33 Growth

M33 Growth is a venture and growth stage investment firm that seeks to partner with founders and CEOs who have successfully bootstrapped their companies to strong growth and are positioned to rapidly scale their companies and break through as market leaders. Founded by veterans of renowned investment firms with considerable operational experience, the Boston-based firm seeks to invest in companies in the software, healthcare, and services sectors throughout North America. Learn more at www.m33growth.com.

SOURCE Titan Cloud Software

Related Links

https://www.titancloud.com


July Market Trends report showcases a seller's market with strong returns across all price indexes

VANCOUVER, BC, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Through the first half of 2021 Ritchie Bros. has driven unprecedented demand through its online auctions and marketplaces and achieved strong prices for its consignors. In fact, truck tractor prices in the United States are up 30% year over, while medium earthmoving and vocational truck prices are each up 25%.

With the July 2021 Market Trends Report, Ritchie Bros. takes a closer look at tandem-axle truck tractor sales (4 to 7-year old models) in Canada and the United States. In the U.S. the company is seeing a particularly hot market for 6-year-old trucks (2015 models) right now, while four-year-old models (2017 models) appear to be in strongest demand in Canada. One of the most popular make/models in both countries is the Freightliner Cascadia. Even though 2014  2017 truck models were a year older and had higher usage, the median price for Cascadias was more than 45% higher in the first half of 2021 vs. 2020.

"Online shopping continues to drive an extremely hot transportation market right now, with record high truck prices," said Doug Olive, Senior Vice President, Ritchie Bros. "But it's not just transportation. We are seeing pricing strength across the board as this seller's market continues."

The free July report is now available for download at: rbassetsolutions.com/market-trends-report.

Used Commercial Assets - Pricing Highlights

Price change (1.5%) year-over-year for the 3 months ending June 30, 2021 Categories USA CANADA Large Earthmoving ^ Increased ~ 8% ^ Increased ~ 9% Medium Earthmoving ^ Increased ~ 25% ^ Increased ~ 28% Aerial ^ Increased ~ 20% ^ Increased ~ 17% Truck Tractors ^ Increased ~ 30% ^ Increased ~ 14% Vocational Trucks ^ Increased ~ 25% ^ Increased ~ 21%

Ritchie Bros.' Market Trends application is an independent part of Ritchie Bros. Asset Solutions (rbassetsolutions.com), a cloud-based asset management and disposition system with a suite of tools and services to help customers better manage, analyze, and sell their assets. For more information about Market Trends, please email [email protected].

About Ritchie Bros.:

Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is a global asset management and disposition company, offering customers end-to-end solutions for buying and selling used heavy equipment, trucks and other assets. Operating in a number of sectors, including construction, transportation, agriculture, energy, oil and gas, mining, and forestry, the company's selling channels include: Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, the world's largest industrial auctioneer offers live auction events with online bidding; IronPlanet, an online marketplace with featured weekly auctions and providing the exclusive IronClad Assurance equipment condition certification; Marketplace-E, a controlled marketplace offering multiple price and timing options; Mascus, a leading European online equipment listing service; and Ritchie Bros. Private Treaty, offering privately negotiated sales. The Company's suite of solutions also includes Ritchie Bros. Asset Solutions and Rouse Services LLC, which together provides a complete end-to-end asset management, data-driven intelligence and performance benchmarking system. Ritchie Bros. also offers sector-specific solutions including GovPlanet, TruckPlanet, and Kruse Energy, plus equipment financing and leasing through Ritchie Bros. Financial Services. For more information about Ritchie Bros., visit RitchieBros.com.

Photos and video for embedding in media stories are available at rbauction.com/media.

SOURCE Ritchie Bros.
NEW YORK, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- United Spinal Association recently launched its 'Voices United' campaign to amplify the strengths and talents of its membership community as the organization celebrates its 75th Anniversary.

"The success of our diverse membership base in overcoming the challenges of living with spinal cord injuries and disorders and ultimately regaining their independence, propels United Spinal's mission. Everyday our members prove that there are significant benefits to building an inclusive world that embraces their abilities," said Brook McCall, MPH, senior director of United Spinal's Tech Access Initiative.

The Voices United campaign offers United Spinal Association members and partners the opportunity to share their stories and selfies on a digital map showcasing the organization's reach across the country.

"I became a T4 complete spinal cord injury in 2009 at 48 due to an auto accident. United Spinal was a lifeline for assisting me to interact with others for information and to carefully navigate the new life I was now living," said Patty Kunze of Chesterfield, Virginia.

"I've learned that I am the best me when I'm part of a strong but loving community. I have many but the United Spinal community is one I've been a part of for about a decade. It's the community that I've given a lot too while gaining much more in return. Your voice matters. Our voices matter," said Matthew Tillford of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Along with spotlighting quotes from its supporters, the map also features information on United Spinal's chapters, peer support groups and programs.

United Spinal's 75th Anniversary year will culminate with a Virtual Gala on Wednesday, November 10th attended by honorees and special guests that will reflect United Spinal's unique role in empowering the disability community and its champions.

Award-winning PBS Senior National Correspondent, Amna Nawaz, will join United Spinal as its Gala Emcee. Nawaz, who is the Host of "Beyond the Canvas" and is the PBS "NewsHour" Primary Substitute Anchor, is also an esteemed Peabody Award recipient, a recipient of the News & Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing and Society for Features Journalism Award.

To participate in United Spinal's Voices United campaign, put yourself on the map by visiting https://unitedspinal.org/75th-anniversary/share-your-story/.

To register for United Spinal's Virtual Gala and Community Event, visit https://unitedspinal75thanniversarygala.eventbrite.com.

About United Spinal Association

Formed in 1946 by paralyzed veterans, United Spinal is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to empowering people with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D), including veterans, to live successful and fulfilling lives. Membership is free and open to all individuals with SCI/D, with over 53,000 members across 50 chapters nationwide. Known for its revolutionary advocacy efforts, United Spinal played a significant role in writing the Americans with Disabilities Act, provided important contributions to the Fair Housing Amendments Act and the Air Carrier Access Act, and was instrumental in attaining sidewalk curb ramps and accessible public transportation in New York City, which created the standard accessibility model used in many United States cities.

SOURCE United Spinal Association

Related Links

www.unitedspinal.org


NEW YORK, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the market research firm P&S Intelligence, global unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) market generated $4,104.2 million revenue in 2020, the market is being driven by the increasing requirement for maritime security equipment, advancements in underwater inspection systems, and surging spending by governments for the procurement of UUVs.

Manufacturing plants, including those that produce UUVs, were shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting decline in product sales affected the unmanned underwater vehicles market negatively till the third quarter of 2020. But, since the last quarter of 2020, lockdowns have been lifted, manufacturing has resumed, and imports and exports have been allowed in several countries, thereby pushing the market on the path to recovery once again.

Get the sample copy this report @ https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/unmanned-underwater-vehicles-uuv-market/report-sample

The bifurcations of the UUVs market under the type segment are remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) and autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). Of these, the AUV category, which generated the higher revenue during 20152020 (historical period), will continue this trend during the forecast period (20212030). AUVs are used extensively to prepare seafloor maps before the underwater oil and gas infrastructure is created. This allows exploration and production companies to easily and cost-effectively install the pipes and other equipment with a rather weak impact on the marine environment.

Defense, commercial, scientific research, and others are the categories of the UUVs market on the basis of application. Till 2030, the fastest growth will be seen in the commercial category because UUVs are widely used for seabed mapping, deep surveys, pipelining, offshore drilling, cabling, and many other commercial purposes.

North America dominated the UUVs market in 2020 on account of the increasing defense budget of the U.S. and adoption of enhanced technologies. The usage of UUVs by the regional navies for maritime surveillance and defense is rising. Other key applications of these vehicles in the continent are harbor and port security, explosives detection and disposal, and mine hunting.

Browse detailed report with COVID-19 impact analysis on Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) Market Research Report: By Type (Remotely Operated Vehicle, Autonomous Underwater Vehicle), Propulsion Type (Electric, Non-Electric), Application (Commercial, Defense, Scientific Research)  Global Industry Analysis and Growth Forecast to 2030 @ https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/unmanned-underwater-vehicles-uuv-market

Companies in the UUVs market are pursuing product development contracts and partnerships to augment their revenue.

For instance, in February 2020, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) granted Lockheed Martin Corporation a contract worth $12.3 million for developing and demonstrating extra-large UUVs for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The UUVs are required for long-duration missions, wherein they will carry heavy payloads, so that the dependence on different types of logistical technologies and vessels of opportunity can be reduced, especially in forward-working conditions.

In the same way, in December 2019, Saab AB was awarded a contract by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) for the development of a self-propelled naval mine based on the UUV technology.

Make enquiry about this report @ https://www.psmarketresearch.com/send-enquiry?enquiry-url=unmanned-underwater-vehicles-uuv-market

Key players in the global UUVs market are Lockheed Martin Corporation, Teledyne Technologies Inc., Kongsberg Gruppen, Oceaneering International Inc., Saab AB, Subsea 7 S.A., The Boeing Company, Oceanserver Technology Inc., and Fugro.

Browse More Reports

Unmanned Ground Vehicles Market Report - Globally, North America held the largest share in the unmanned ground vehicles market in 2020. In recent years, the players in the UGVs market have actively focused on producing advanced UGVs.

Airborne Detection Systems for Submarines Market Report - The growing defense budget of many countries is a major factor fueling the sales of airborne detection systems for submarines across the world. The global airborne detection systems for submarines market is predicted to register huge growth in the coming years.

About P&S Intelligence

P&S Intelligence is a provider of market research and consulting services catering to the market information needs of burgeoning industries across the world. Providing the plinth of market intelligence, P&S as an enterprising research and consulting company, believes in providing thorough landscape analyses on the ever-changing market scenario, to empower companies to make informed decisions and base their business strategies with astuteness.

Contact:

Prajneesh Kumar

P&S Intelligence

Contact: +1-347-960-6455

Email: [email protected]

Web: https://www.psmarketresearch.com

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1224988/P_and_S_Intelligence_Logo.jpg

SOURCE P&S Intelligence
COLUMBIA, Md., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA recently awarded a cooperative agreement entitled "The Partnership for Heliophysics and Space Environment Research" (PHaSER) to the Catholic University of America (CUA), Institute of Astrophysics and Computational sciences and five other partners including Universities Space Research Association (USRA). This cooperative agreement will support the scientific and technical program of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Heliophysics Science Division (HSD).

The six-member team includes the Catholic University of America, University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), University of Maryland College Park (UMCP), Howard University, George Mason University, and Universities Space Research Association (USRA). Dr. Robert Robinson from CUA serves as the Director of the program supported by five Associate Directors from partner universities and USRA. Dr. Linda Neergaard Parker, Director of USRA's Science and Technology Institute (STI), will serve as an Associate Director representing USRA.

Dr. Ghassem Asrar, Senior Vice President, Science, noted, "This is a unique opportunity for USRA and we are pleased to be a member of the PHaSER team which allows us to support formally the NASA Goddard Heliophysics science program for the first time, and Dr. Linda Neergard Parker is uniquely qualified to serve as an associate director for this exciting partnership between the universities and HSD at NASA/GSFC." "This effort will also provide USRA another opportunity to continue engaging universities in NASA science and exploration programs, and in supporting the development of the Artemis generation of scientists, engineers and explorers," said Dr. Asrar.

The USRA research focus on heliophysics at STI includes space weather assessments that benefit human spaceflight and operations in low Earth orbit and the exploration of the Moon, Mars and beyond. Studies on space radiation, space weather, and space environmental testing conducted at STI contribute significantly to the NASA science and exploration programs.

The purpose of the PHaSER program is to:

sustain and strengthen the existing partnerships with HSD civil service researchers

nurture early-career scientists by providing a broad range of opportunities for students and newly minted Ph.D. scientists

facilitate collaborations with visiting scientists and the broader research community

strengthen diversity and inclusion through aggressive programs for underrepresented groups and

integrate PHaSER staff in heliophysics science planning, technology development and all phases of mission implementation.

The overall goal is also to assist Goddard HSD using PHaSER institutions that have the scientific and technical expertise aligned with all the laboratories in HSD, including current staff working in those organizations and university faculty members with access to students, university resources, and recruitment programs aimed at minority populations.

PHaSER will primarily support HSD through the recruitment, hiring, and retention of high-quality scientists and students in cooperation with HSD scientists responsible for specific research areas.

"PHaSER represents a network as much as a partnership, leveraging the many linkages the member institutions have to help move HSD scientific and technical projects forward," according to the proposal submitted by the group. "This is particularly important for being well positioned to support new initiatives in HSD by providing access to people and resources with little delay and optimum results."

Similarly, PHaSER supports special programs to stimulate collaborations, connections, and scientific interchanges between HSD and the external science communities through visiting scientists, postdoc and sabbatical appointments, student and internship activities, and organizing and hosting scientific and technical conferences and workshops.

ABOUT USRA

Founded in 1969, under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences at the request of the U.S. Government, the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) is a nonprofit corporation chartered to advance space-related science, technology and engineering. USRA operates scientific institutes and facilities, and conducts other major research and educational programs, under Federal funding. USRA engages the university community and employs in-house scientific leadership, innovative research and development, and project management expertise. More information about USRA is available at www.usra.edu.

PR Contact:

Suraiya Farukhi, Ph.D.

[email protected]

443-812-6945 (cell)

SOURCE Universities Space Research Association

Related Links

http://www.usra.edu


NEW YORK, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

Global digital services and business transformation agency, Valtech receives significant funding from BC Partners, valuing the company at $1.4 billion

New investment will accelerate Valtech's global growth ambitions, as it continues to support its clients' business transformations

Former reference shareholder Verlinvest and the new Valtech management team, Olivier Padiou (CEO) and Tomas Nores (COO) will reinvest in the company

Valtech, a global leader in digital services and business transformation, today announced it has reached a definitive agreement to receive a new investment by funds advised by BC Partners ("BC Partners"). Former reference shareholder investment group Verlinvest and new Valtech management will also reinvest into the company. The transaction values Valtech at $1.4 billion and is subject to receipt of customary regulatory approvals.

Valtech designs, builds and delivers transformative digital solutions for the world's leading brands. Recognizing that industries and sectors globally are facing significant economic shifts, Valtech helps its clients innovate digitally at pace to address this, meet changing customer needs and ultimately position their companies to gain sustainable competitive advantage. It also helps its clients shape new customer experiences, develop next generation-connected services to better engage with consumers, build "commerce everywhere" capabilities as a marketing strategy and provides data-driven services that aid better the understanding of customer needs. Valtech is the preferred strategic business transformation partner to many of the world's best-known brands including ADM, Audi, Bayer, Goodyear, Dolby, Estee Lauder, Linde, L'Oreal, LVMH, MARS, Novo Nordisk, PepsiCo, P&G, Samsung, Sanofi, SC Johnson, Toyota, Universal Studios and Volkswagen.

Valtech employs more than 4,000 innovators, design thinkers, marketers, creatives and software engineers spanning five continents with 50+ offices in 18 countries. Valtech is growing rapidly, will deliver 30% revenue growth in 2021 and has sustaining strong annual revenue growth of 17% CAGR for the last ten years.

This new partnership will diversify and strengthen Valtech's shareholder base and enable the company to capitalize on the significant market opportunity for digital services and business transformation. The strategic investment from BC Partners will help drive further global expansion and greater investment in new technology, as Valtech broadens its client offering and enters new markets organically and through targeted M&A.

"We have seen a significant increase in demand for our business transformation services in recent years. More than ever, organizations need digital solutions to adapt to changing technology, consumer trends and expectations that are rapidly reshaping their businesses and markets. We have found in BC Partners the ideal partner to support our ambitious growth plans. Their strategic investment will accelerate our journey of becoming the trusted partner to companies and brands that are integrating digital into every aspect of their go-to-market and customer experience strategy. BC Partners' support and commitment to broadening both our capabilities and geographical reach will provide our existing and new customers with more innovative and transformational services, as well as new exciting opportunities for our people to work on state-of-the-art ground-breaking projects for the best brands," said Olivier Padiou, Chief Executive Officer of Valtech.

"Our investment in Valtech is an opportunity to partner with a clear leader operating at the center of a high-growth, global, digital transformation market," said Raymond Svider, Chairman of BC Partners. "This is an industry in which we see huge potential and Valtech is one of the few businesses of scale, which has built a reputation for providing high-quality, innovative services to a long-standing base of blue-chip customers. We're excited about supporting Valtech to continue its track-record of strong growth as it broadens both its capability set and global reach."

Clement Pointillart, Executive Director of Verlinvest added: "The amazing growth Valtech has achieved since our initial investment has been inspiring. Valtech has grown 5-fold during this time and successfully undertaken strategic M&A to become a leading global digital transformation agency. Olivier and the leadership team's commitment to delivering exceptional client value has driven this growth, as well as the unprecedented demand for their services. We feel privileged to have been part this exciting journey and are looking forward to partnering with BC Partners for this next chapter."

The transaction is expected to close in Q3 2021 following customary antitrust clearances.

PWC acted as financial diligence, tax and structuring advisors, Kirkland & Ellis as legal counsel and Zinnov as commercial advisors to BC Partners.

Bank of America acted as financial adviser, Linklaters served as legal counsel and Clifford Chance advised Valtech, Verlinvest and the other Valtech shareholders.

Media Contacts:

Valtech

Rebekah Lundberg

[email protected]

BC Partners

Prosek Partners

[email protected]

Verlinvest

Prosek Partners

[email protected]

About BC Partners

BC Partners is a leading international investment firm with over 33 billion of assets under management in private equity, private credit and real estate strategies. Established in 1986, BC Partners has played an active role in developing the European buyout market for three decades. Today, BC Partners executives operate across markets as an integrated team through the firm's offices in North America and Europe. Since inception, BC Partners has completed 122 private equity investments in companies with a total enterprise value of 160 billion and is currently investing its eleventh private equity fund.

For more information, please visit www.bcpartners.com.

About Valtech

Valtech is a global business transformation agency delivering innovation with a purpose. We enable clients to anticipate tomorrow's trends and connect more directly with consumers across their digital and physical touch points while optimizing time-to-market and ROI.

Valtech is a globally positioned network established in 1993 with more than 4000 innovators, design thinkers, marketers, creatives and developers spanning 5 continents with 50+ offices in 18 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States).

While our expertise is experience design, technology and marketing, our passion is in addressing transformational business challenges for our clients. Challenges where we re-imagine the customer journey and build new connected experiences. Challenges where we make data work in this new era and help our clients transform the way they operate.

Our services include strategy consulting, service design, technology services, and optimization of business-critical digital platforms for multichannel commerce and marketing.

For more information, visit www.valtech.com.

About Verlinvest

Verlinvest is a privately-owned family investment company focused on investing in visionary business leaders to build global, fast-growing consumer businesses and brands, particularly in the food and beverages, digital and healthcare sectors. Established in 1995 with offices in Brussels, London, New York and Singapore, Verlinvest has over $4bn in AuM, through category-defining portfolio companies that include Oatly, Vita Coco, Mutti, Tony's Chocolonely and Hint Water.

For more information: www.verlinvest.com and LinkedIn.

SOURCE BC Partners

Related Links

https://www.bcpartners.com/


RICHMOND, Va., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Barry DuVal, President and CEO of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, issued the following statement regarding Virginia's consecutive recognition as the Top State for Business by CNBC. The full ranking, released today, is available at https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/13/americas-top-states-for-business.html.

"Today's ranking reaffirms what we already knew  Virginia is the best state for business. The ranking reflects our long-standing investments in workforce training and our robust education system, while also recognizing the increasingly inclusive nature of the Commonwealth. This ranking validates our approach to maintain Virginia's standing as the top state for business through long-term planning efforts and targeted policy recommendations as part of Blueprint Virginia.

"Although we are proud of this distinction, it is important for us to not get complacent. It is going to take a growth mindset and vigilance to maintain our status as the top state for business. The ranking also highlighted targeted areas for improvement. In December, the Virginia Chamber will release the Commonwealth's next statewide strategic plan, Blueprint Virginia 2030, and through this initiative we will provide Virginia's elected officials with a policy roadmap to support our return as the best state for business in the years to come.

"Continued growth of Virginia's economy, support of our longstanding investments in workforce, education, and promotion of greater equity and inclusion will serve as the foundational components for the road ahead. The Virginia Chamber will continue to work for what is right for Virginia's businesses and its workers to keep our economy strong."

CNBC's methodology incorporated 85 metrics across 10 categories. Some of the key features of the 2021 metrics include an increased importance of the "Cost of Doing Business" and "Infrastructure" categories. Additionally, a new category, "Life, Health and Inclusion" has been added in place of the former "Quality of Life" category. This new category includes metrics relating to the battle against Covid-19, health care, and inclusiveness. The full methodology can be found here.

Contact:

Nicole Bunce; [email protected]

SOURCE Virginia Chamber of Commerce

Related Links

www.vachamber.com


SANTA ROSA, Calif., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- VisiQuate, Inc., the leading provider of advanced analytics and AI-powered automation offerings to America's most respected healthcare providers, today announced a new $50 million equity investment from Sixth Street Growth.

"We consider tackling the nearly trillion dollars of administrative waste in healthcare as a moral imperative. To fuel that vision, we are partnering and collaborating with Sixth Street, who is well aligned with our vision," said Brian Robertson, VisiQuate Founder & CEO. "Our mission is to help health care providers dramatically improve clinical, financial and operational outcomes. Sixth Street's deep capital, wide-ranging expertise, and stellar reputation in the healthcare industry make them ideal partners to help us fulfill our mission and vision."

Recognized for its groundbreaking automated data assistant, Ana , VisiQuate understands there is little value in using automation to merely replicate human activity. Instead, the software and consulting company focuses on Intelligent Process Automation, first analyzing and retooling each client's unique processes to take full advantage of the power of the human + machine combination. VisiQuate's artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) make it possible for the entire system to continuously self-monitor and correct for revenue cycle anomalies that erode hospital margins. This approach reduces waste and increases yield, with an even shorter time to revenue.

"We look forward to supporting Brian and the VisiQuate team as they continue to build analytics solutions for healthcare providers that are both more advanced and easier to use," said Bo Stanley, Partner and Co-Head of Sixth Street Growth. "Informed by their crowdsourced AI and ML capabilities, VisiQuate's enterprise class offerings and advanced data integration technologies make it possible for providers to dramatically reduce cost, increase yield, and improve time to revenue. We are excited to partner with them as they enter their next phase of growth and continue to lead the advanced analytics and intelligent process automation field."

In related news, Lee Mooney at Sixth Street will join VisiQuate's Board of Directors. Canaccord Genuity LLC acted as exclusive financial adviser to VisiQuate, while Paul Hastings LLP served as legal adviser. Goodwin Procter LLP served as legal adviser to Sixth Street Growth.

About VisiQuate

Founded in 2009, VisiQuate, Inc.'s user-friendly data management and analytics solutions let virtually anyone in a healthcare organization explore complex data from multiple sources to quickly gain insights and create actionable workflows. This ability helps clients improve yield, optimize cost efficiencies, and dramatically improve the quality and velocity of decision making. Ana, VisiQuate's cognitive learning platform and interactive, automated data assistant, makes the process even simpler by using natural language chats that are powered by AI, ML, and informed by crowdsourced data. Underlying the advanced analytics is the collective experience of industry domain leaders who constantly share knowledge and best practices. The company is headquartered in Santa Rosa, CA, with offices in Harrisburg, PA and Dallas, TX. Learn more about VisiQuate at www.visiquate.com or contact [email protected].

About Sixth Street

Sixth Street is a global investment firm with over $50 billion in assets under management and committed capital. Sixth Street Growth is the firm's dedicated platform for making private investments in growth companies. The Sixth Street Growth team partners with companies and management teams to provide bespoke, accretive financing solutions to accelerate organic and inorganic growth. Sixth Street has invested over $5 billion in more than 40 companies in its growth investing strategy since inception. Select current and past representative Sixth Street investments in healthcare technology include Caris Life Sciences, Datavant, DrFirst, MDLive, and Medsphere. For more information, visit www.sixthstreetgrowth.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

Media Contact:

Grace Vinton

Amendola Communications for VisiQuate

Phone: (203) 561-8935

[email protected]

SOURCE VisiQuate

Related Links

https://www.visiquate.com


NORTH CANTON, Ohio, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Visual Edge, Inc. announced the hiring of Christa Hurst for Director of Sales Operations with responsibility for the systems and processes for Visual Edge IT (VEIT) managed services that support ongoing sales and business success.

Visual Edge, Inc. Announces Director of Sales Operations

Ms. Hurst will be accountable to manage the sales forecasting, planning, and budgeting processes used within the sales organization. This includes administering all the tools that support the process and training for the teams, and partnering with internal teams to identify opportunities for process improvement and facilitating the successful implementation of new programs to ensure a well-defined, efficient sales machine.

Visual Edge created the role to address efficiencies for sales processes and sales tools, and administration of ConnectWise Sell and Manage.

"Christa's 10-plus years of experience in a managed services organization focused on projects and sales operations will add a positive impact immediately," shared Jason Bowra, General Manager, Managed IT Services for Visual Edge IT. "She will provide a lead role to standardize the sales enablement process and tools while enabling all of Visual Edge IT to be efficient."

Christa brings more than 15 years of experience in managed services and process improvement and more than 10 years' experience in project management and sales support. She will lead and manage all sales process/tools and maximize revenue growth through development, implementation of sales and service programs and initiatives. She will address managed sales forecasting, planning, and budgeting processes, drive analytical support, and provide leadership to improve strategies.

Ms. Hurst will also be developing key performance metrics and dashboards that help the sales organization focus on performance drivers, implement comprehensive pipeline reporting tools tracking opportunities from lead generation to revenue realization, account development, and retention. Additionally, she will design, develop and implement training programs to support the sales process.

Christa resides in the Lexington, Kentucky, area and went to Lexington Community College, where she studied Business Administration and Management.

ABOUT VISUAL EDGE INC.

Visual Edge Inc. specializes in managed IT services and security, cloud computing, and print/copy solutions for businesses across the U.S., including remote office locations. We offer a full line of office technology and services, including 24/7 remote monitoring and administration of networks, service desk, and data backup and restore to improve business processes across a variety of industries. Plus, Visual Edge represents the industry's leading manufacturers of office technology, allowing businesses to get equipment, supplies and service from a single source. Backed by more than 20 years of technology service and a national network of expert engineers, Visual Edge is uniquely positioned to support business technology needs. The company is headquartered in North Canton, Ohio. For more information, visit www.visualedgeit.com.

Visual Edge IT is a trademark of Visual Edge, Inc. in the United States.

For more information, press only:

Jen Arthur

National Marketing Manager, MITS

(317) 475-9519 x5013

Related Images

christa-hurst.jpg

Christa Hurst

SOURCE Visual Edge IT
CHICAGO, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Vodori, creator of cloud-based software that streamlines and automates how life science companies get critical content to key audiences, announced today the appointment of Attorney Brian Parker to its board of directors effective May 19, 2021. Parker is Partner at Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP , a US-based law practice with more than 230 lawyers in eight offices in the Southeast. Vodori additionally added two new advisory board members, Sarah Bennett, VP of Sales at Birdeye, an experience marketing platform; and Andrew Stapleton, VP of Customer Success at G2, a business software review platform.

"We are pleased to welcome Brian, Sarah and Andrew in their board and advisory roles with our company as we move through future phases of growth," said Scott Rovegno, Vodori's CEO and co-founder. "They join Vodori at an exciting time as we continue to focus on our mission of transforming lives by empowering life science companies to bring vital drugs, vaccines, medical devices, and diagnostic solutions to market faster. We are confident they will provide valuable perspectives to our sales, marketing, and customer success teams as we execute our strategy, drive growth, and enhance value for all Vodori's customers. We look forward to their contributions."

Brian Parker's addition to the Vodori Board of Directors brings the total number of members to eight, including:

Richard Gochnauer - Former CEO of United Stationers; former Vice Chairman and President, International, and President and Chief Operating Officer of Golden State Foods (GSF); current member of the board of AmerisourceBergen Corporation, UGI Corporation, Golden State Foods, and The Center for Higher Ambition Leadership;

- Former CEO of United Stationers; former Vice Chairman and President, International, and President and Chief Operating Officer of Golden State Foods (GSF); current member of the board of AmerisourceBergen Corporation, UGI Corporation, Golden State Foods, and The Center for Higher Ambition Leadership; Feyzi Fatehi - Chairman and CEO of Corent Tech; former Executive Vice President, Business and Corporate Development at Medsphere Systems Corporations; former Director of Global Channels and Alliances at Hewlett-Packard

- Chairman and CEO of Corent Tech; former Executive Vice President, Business and Corporate Development at Medsphere Systems Corporations; former Director of Global Channels and Alliances at Hewlett-Packard Jim Hussey - CEO and member of the Board of Directors of Seneca Therapeutics; former CEO of Nanolink, NeoPharm and Physicians Quality Care; former President at Sagent Pharmaceuticals, Executive Vice President at Athenex, and General Manager at Bristol-Myers Squibb;

- CEO and member of the Board of Directors of Seneca Therapeutics; former CEO of Nanolink, NeoPharm and Physicians Quality Care; former President at Sagent Pharmaceuticals, Executive Vice President at Athenex, and General Manager at Bristol-Myers Squibb; Richard Gadbois - Senior Advisor to Oakmont Corporation and Chairman of HS Group; former Senior Vice President with Merrill Lynch;

- Senior Advisor to Oakmont Corporation and Chairman of HS Group; former Senior Vice President with Merrill Lynch; Rich Padula - Faculty at the Farley Center for Entrepreneurship at Northwestern University and mentor at The Garage, NU's innovation hub; former Founder and CEO of Syclo; co-founder of Deep Dish Technology;

- Faculty at the Farley Center for Entrepreneurship at and mentor at The Garage, NU's innovation hub; former Founder and CEO of Syclo; co-founder of Deep Dish Technology; Dennis Sweeney - President at Newport Consulting Partners, former Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company;

- President at Newport Consulting Partners, former Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company; Scott Rovegno - Founder and CEO of Vodori.

In addition, Vodori is also expanding its Advisory Board with the appointments of Sarah Bennett and Andrew Stapleton, bringing the total number of members to five, including:

Kurt Johnson - CEO and Managing Partner of 11.2 Ventures, Managing Partner and Founder of Trivium Group;

- CEO and Managing Partner of 11.2 Ventures, Managing Partner and Founder of Trivium Group; Lesly Marban - Senior Vice President Marketing at Intuitive, Mentor and Faculty member at MATTER;

- Senior Vice President Marketing at Intuitive, Mentor and Faculty member at MATTER; Will Wiegler - Strategic consultant in the SaaS sector, advising on marketing, business development and communications, and former marketing leader at DocuSign, Salesforce, SteelBrick, SpringCM and BigMachines.

For more information on the Vodori Board of Directors and Board of Advisors, please visit: https://www.vodori.com/leadership

About Brian Parker

Attorney Brian Parker, Partner at Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP, has over 20 years of experience advising branded and generic pharmaceutical, biopharma, and biotech companies in the areas of medical, legal, and regulatory matters. These life science and healthcare companies range in revenue from 50 million to 75 billion dollars and include some of the largest companies in the S&P 500 Index. He regularly works with life science and healthcare C-Suite executives, Directors, and Management professionals on developing and implementing strategies involving marketing, sales and business development to achieve sustainable recurring revenue growth. He has a proven track record of working alongside pharmaceutical and healthcare executives on key performance indicators in developing cross-selling strategies across various verticals to improve cash flow, profitability, and lifetime customer value. He currently serves on multiple for-profit and non-profit boards including Duquesne University, UPMC Mercy Hospital, Union Bridge Capital, and the Forbes Fund.

About Sarah Bennett

Vice President, Sales at Birdeye, Sarah has spent the last 20+ years driving organizational change by building and developing top-performing teams. She is motivated by innovation, employee growth and obsessed with customer success. Sarah is an advocate for the diversity and inclusion of women in leadership in technology and sales. She serves as an advisor to Vodori's Sales and Marketing teams.

About Andrew Stapleton

Andrew Stapleton has led Customer Success in an entrepreneurial family of tech companies since 2009: BigMachines (acquired by Oracle in 2014), SteelBrick (acquired by Salesforce in 2016), and most recently G2. After cutting his teeth as a Sales Engineer at BigMachines, he got the chance to revamp and lead their Customer Success Advisor team. He joined SteelBrick as employee #35 to start their customer success team of one, which grew to a large global organization now continuing to delight, retain, and grow customers at Salesforce. At G2 he owns customer success, customer support, and solutions consulting, and all teams share in learning about G2's vendors, analyzing their marketplace data, and recommending ways that they can reach their potential. Andrew serves as advisor to the Vodori Customer Success team.

About Vodori

Vodori is transforming lives by empowering life science companies to bring vital drugs, vaccines, medical devices, and diagnostic solutions to market faster. Vodori's Pepper Cloud Product Suite streamlines and automates how life science companies get critical content to key audiences including patients, healthcare providers, and key opinion leaders. It is one connected platform that modernizes content review, sales and MSL enablement, and delivers timely analytics to optimize essential processes. The Pepper Cloud Product Suite is used by thousands of life science professionals in more than 50 countries worldwide who trust Vodori's ongoing commitment to excellence in product usability and customer service. For more information, visit vodori.com.

Contact

Annalise Ludtke

Vodori, Inc.

269.808.0012

[email protected]

SOURCE Vodori, Inc.
BETHESDA, Md., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Walker & Dunlop, Inc. announced today that it closed on the previously announced acquisition of Zelman & Associates ("Zelman"), the leading housing research and investment banking firm in the United States. Zelman's talented team and housing-focused research and advisory capabilities support many of Walker & Dunlop's strategic growth initiatives, including expansion of its property sales platform, growth in its core debt financing business, and development of investment banking capabilities.

The combination of Zelman's research and market insights with Walker & Dunlop's growing property sales platform, which continues to add top talent including a recent team in Denver, Colorado, will be a differentiator for that area of the business on its path to growing sales volume to $25 billion by 2025. In addition, Walker & Dunlop is focused on expanding its debt financing business to $65 billion of annual originations by 2025, and part of that growth will be driven by an increased demand for single-family rental (SFR) and build-for-rent (BFR) financing. Zelman's insights into the single-family housing market, including the SFR and BFR spaces, and client relationships are unmatched in the industry, and will accelerate Walker & Dunlop's growth in this specialized area of the multifamily market. Finally, Zelman's housing-focused investment banking capabilities will serve as a foundation for Walker & Dunlop's investment banking platform, a key component of its Drive to '25 objectives.

"We are thrilled to officially welcome the Zelman team to Walker & Dunlop," stated Chairman and CEO Willy Walker. "Every area of our business will benefit from the exceptional research and advisory capabilities that Zelman has built over the past fifteen years. In particular, Walker & Dunlop's use of data and technology has driven fantastic growth in new clients we are attracting and new refinancings we are adding to our servicing portfolio. As we merge our data with Zelman's proprietary research, market surveys, and analytics, we will generate even more actionable insights, further differentiating us in the market and making us a more valuable partner to our clients."

About Walker & Dunlop

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD) is the largest provider of capital to the multifamily industry in the United States and the fourth largest lender on all commercial real estate including industrial, office, retail, and hospitality. Walker & Dunlop enables real estate owners and operators to bring their visions of communities  where Americans live, work, shop and play  to life. The power of our people, premier brand, and industry-leading technology make us more insightful and valuable to our clients, providing an unmatched experience every step of the way. With over 1,000 employees across every major U.S. market, Walker & Dunlop has consistently been named one of Fortune's Great Places to Work and is committed to making the commercial real estate industry more inclusive and diverse while creating meaningful social, environmental, and economic change in our communities.

About Zelman & Associates

Founded in 2007 by Ivy Zelman and Dennis McGill, Zelman & Associates is the leading institutional research advisory and investment banking firm dedicated exclusively to the U.S. housing industry. Zelman provides distinguished institutional research and investment banking capabilities with the highest levels of client service, trust, sophistication and credibility unique to the housing, institutional research and investment banking industries.

All securities offered through Zelman Partners LLC, a registered broker dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC.

SOURCE Walker & Dunlop, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.walkerdunlop.com


COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- White Castle broke ground today on the expansion of its retail food manufacturing plant in Vandalia, Ohio. The plant, now named "The House That Bill Built" in honor of former president and CEO Bill Ingram, supplies packaged Sliders to retailers, large and small, in all 50 states.

White Castle broke ground on a major expansion of its retail food manufacturing plant in Vandalia, Ohio. Tweet this White Castle renamed its retail manufacturing plant in Vandalia, Ohio, after former president and CEO Bill Ingram, who was responsible for launching White Castle's retail division in 1987. Local and state officials join White Castle leaders as they break ground for the expansion of White Castle's retail manufacturing plant in Vandalia, Ohio.

"Our retail division has been growing steadily over the past 10 years, and we saw huge growth last year as people cooked and ate at home more during the pandemic," said Lisa Ingram, president and CEO of White Castle and daughter of Bill Ingram. "Having more dedicated space to make more sandwiches will enable us to keep up with the increasing demand for our frozen Sliders."

White Castle is investing $27 million in the expansion project, which should be complete by June 2022. The expansion will double the size of the plant from approximately 75,000 square feet to 150,000 square feet. It also will result in the addition of 75 jobs to the current workforce of 160 once the new production lines are fully operational. The city of Vandalia, JobsOhio, the Ohio Department of Development, Montgomery County and the Dayton/Montgomery County Port Authority all played a part in making the expansion project possible.

During the ceremony, which was attended by members of the Ingram family as well as officials from Vandalia, the Dayton region and JobsOhio, White Castle leaders dedicated the building to Bill Ingram, naming it "The House That Bill Built." Bill Ingram is a third-generation family member who served as president from 1980 to 2015 and was responsible for creating and expanding the retail division.

During the early years of his tenure as president and CEO, Bill Ingram noticed how more and more customers were taking Sliders home from White Castle restaurants and freezing them for future meals. In response, he suggested White Castle sell its famous Sliders as a frozen food in grocery stores across the country. Some industry experts scoffed at his idea, but true to his reputation as an innovator, Bill forged ahead. White Castle introduced its retail division in 1987, becoming the first fast-food restaurant to offer its menu items for purchase at grocery stores for preparation at home.

"Dad wanted to make sure Sliders were available to everyone, even to people who didn't live in a White Castle market," Lisa Ingram said. "He played an essential role in getting us where we are today, and it's so fitting that we honor him this way during our 100th year as a family-owned business."

"I'm honored by the recognition and the new name," Bill Ingram said. "But the greatest honor of all is knowing how many people enjoy our Sliders right out of their microwave, and the number of team members we've employed in this important part of our business."

Over the years, White Castle has invested heavily in the supply chain that feeds both its restaurant and retail divisions. It owns and operates its own bakeries, meat processing plants and frozen food manufacturing plants. The strategy helps ensure that the Sliders available at food retailers nationwide offer the same high quality and great taste as Sliders sold in the Castles. White Castle's retail product lineup includes the Original Slider, Cheese Sliders, Jalapeno Cheese Sliders and Chicken Breast Sliders.

About White Castle

White Castle, America's first fast-food hamburger chain, has been making hot and tasty Sliders as a family-owned business for 100 years. Based in Columbus, Ohio, White Castle started serving The Original Slider in 1921. Today White Castle owns and operates more than 350 restaurants dedicated to satisfying customers' cravings morning, noon and night. Through its retail division, which launched in 1987, White Castle also offers its famous fare in freezer aisles of grocery, convenience and club stores nationwide. The Original Slider, named in 2014 as Time magazine's "Most Influential Burger of All Time," is served alongside a menu of creatively crafted Sliders and other mouthwatering food options, including White Castle's Impossible Slider, named by Thrillist in 2019 as the "Best Plant-Based Fast Food Burger." White Castle's commitment to maintaining the highest quality products extends to the company owning and operating its own meat processing plants, bakeries and frozen-food processing plants. In 2021, 100 years after the first Slider was sold, Fast Company named the fast-food pioneer one of the "10 Most Innovative Dining Companies." White Castle is known for the legendary loyalty of its team members, more than 1 in 4 of whom have worked for White Castle for at least 10 years, and also for its faithful fans ("Cravers"), many of whom compete each year for entry into the Cravers Hall of Fame. The official White Castle app, available at iTunes App Store or Google Play, makes it easy for Cravers to access sweet deals and place pickup orders at any time. They can also have their orders delivered using one of White Castle's delivery partners. For more information on White Castle, visit whitecastle.com.

SOURCE White Castle

Related Links

http://www.whitecastle.com


LONDON, July 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MORE than 80 pre-eminent scientists, campaigners and MPs will today call on the Government to fund urgent research into the health impact of plastic waste.

The research fund is the brainchild of social enterprise Common Seas and is backed by leading charities Greenpeace, WWF, Friends of the Earth and the National Federation of Women's Institutes.

Writing in an open letter to the Prime Minister, experts have today called on the Government to ringfence 15 million for a National Plastic Health Impact Research Fund.

In recent years, more evidence has suggested that plastic poses a threat to human health.

Yet despite finding plastic in our air, food and water, little research has been conducted to fully establish what this means for our health.

Within the next 20 years, 1.6 trillion will be invested in plastic production, doubling the amount generated and significantly increasing our exposure to plastic. It is vital the Government acts now.

The National Plastic Health Impact Research Fund requires a commitment of just 0.1 percent of the UK's total spend on research and development.

Leading UK scientists, including Professor Susan Jobling, Professor Tamara Galloway and Dr Stephanie Wright, have joined the call urging the Government to address this chronically underfunded area of research.

MP's Henry Smith, Mick Whitley, and Rosie Cooper have also joined the list of signatories lending their support to the National Plastic Health Impact Research Fund.

Jo Royle, Founder and CEO of Common Seas said: "We breathe in, drink and eat plastic particles every day. As plastic production skyrockets so does our exposure. The scientists are worried that plastic may harm our immune system and increase chronic illnesses, like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. We all have a right to know what plastic is doing to our bodies.

"Whitehall recently announced its commitment to making Britain a world leader in R&D in health and life sciences. We are asking the Government to lead the investigation into what could become one of the most profound public health challenges in generations."

SOURCE Common Seas
Lykova brings nearly a decade of experience in managing strategic partnerships with Google, Salesforce, Resellers, GSIs and ISVs. She has launched multiple strategic product OEMs, reseller opportunities and partner champion programs. She joins Workspot from Copper, where as vice president of global partnerships, she played an instrumental role in working with Google and Google's resellers, including partnering with the Chrome Enterprise Program to launch their offering to the market. Prior to that, she managed global alliances at NewVoiceMedia, later acquired by Vonage, where she launched the company's Salesforce partnership globally.

Lykova joins Workspot as the Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) market continues to grow and more companies adopt cloud strategies. In fact, according to Gartner, Inc. "The DaaS market is forecast to continue growing by 253% between 2021 and 2024. This follows a 98% increase in spending from 2019 to 2020, largely driven by the rapid move to remote work caused by the pandemic."1 The Workspot SaaS platform and highly-regarded customer success team reduce the complexity commonly associated with provisioning virtual desktops, simplifying adoption and allowing IT organizations to focus on delivering more strategic business value.

David White, infrastructure modernization solutions manager at Google, said: "The Google Cloud team is discussing the future of work with our customers to reimagine enterprise-focused solutions. Companies are facing a challenge of balancing security and IT resources on a global scale to support remote work. Our VDI partnership with Workspot is key to support and accelerate the shift to remote work flexibly and securely while leveraging Google Cloud's infrastructure."

Olga Lykova, vice president of strategic partners, Workspot, said: "I like to explore innovative cloud solutions that partner with Google's ecosystem to challenge industry standards with a cloud-first mentality, and I could tell that Workspot had something special. I genuinely believe Workspot is key to helping Google's team accelerate their cloud-first strategy across financial services, manufacturing and digital-native organizations. I'm glad to join Workspot and help further the relationship with partners like Google Cloud."

1. Gartner, Inc. Market Guide for Desktop as a Service, 29 June 2021. Stuart Downes, Mark Margevicius, Tony Harvey, Brandon Medford, Eri Hariu

About Workspot

The Workspot Enterprise Desktop Cloud platform is the only 100% cloud-native SaaS solution that delivers enterprise-class desktop-as-a-service (DaaS). This innovative service lets IT provision cloud desktops and workstations in minutes  not months  and securely deliver the right compute capabilities for each user, on any device, anywhere they want to work. Unlike do-it-yourself style virtual desktop offerings, Workspot's innovative Desktop Control Fabric taps the reach and power of every hyper-scale, public cloud region globally, all from a central console. IT can expect fast time-to-value and on-demand, global scalability. Business leaders can respond faster to changing market dynamics, pursue new opportunities globally and hire the best talent anywhere, while fulfilling cloud-first mandates that position their companies for accelerated growth. For more information on Workspot Enterprise Desktop Cloud solutions please visit www.workspot.com.

PR contact:

Corey Eldridge

Nadel Phelan Inc.

831-440-2414

[email protected]

SOURCE Workspot

Related Links

http://www.workspot.com


This agreement brings the Digital Forge's combined precise and reliable 3D printing hardware and cloud-based learning software, along with its wide portfolio of 3D printing materials such as metals, composites, and continuous fiber, to Wurth Additive Group and Wurth Industry North America customers. These solutions are utilized by blue chip companies around the world in industries like aerospace, industrial automation, space exploration, military & defense, automotive, and healthcare to deliver mission-critical end-use parts on-demand and at the point of need.

"We are excited to expand our partnership with Markforged globally. As the global market leader in the sale of assembly and fastening materials, active in over 80 countries, we joined forces with Markforged to reinvent manufacturing with the Digital Forge and look forward to bringing this technology to customers looking to enable, implement and support digital supply chain solutions around the world," said Dan Hill, chief executive officer, Wurth Industry North America. "Our strategic supplier portfolio is a key part of our additive solutions strategy, and Markforged has added proven value in North America, and we are excited to take that globally."

This arrangement expands on a previous agreement between Wurth Industry North America and Markforged, signed in March 2020. The geographical reach of the expanded agreement grows outside of North America and is expected to accelerate Wurth's penetration into its install base with the Digital Forge. Ongoing collaboration between Wurth Additive Group and Markforged has created innovative solutions in digital industrial solutions, including digital Kanban solutions. Virtually managed inventory is now possible thanks to Markforged's cloud native platform. The platform automatically connects to the Wurth Additive Group's inventory systems to produce inventory right on the factory floor by simply scanning a barcode, which triggers the Digital Forge to start printing. To further ensure high-quality parts, Markforged's Blacksmith, an artificial-intelligence software, automates inspection capabilities by building in closed-loop quality control to validate and verify parts.

"We are excited to see Wurth Additive Group's deep experience and extensive global coverage and the Digital Forge's capabilities come together to overcome global supply chain limitations with customers on a global scale," said Shai Terem, president and chief executive officer at Markforged. "Our technology enables some of the world's biggest manufacturers to create digital supply chains that transcend the limitations of conventional manufacturing by fabricating robust production parts right on their factory floors. Together with Wurth, we are aiming to reinvent manufacturing on a global scale."

About Wurth Industry North America

Wurth Industry North America (WINA) is a $1 billion division of the Wurth Group, the world's largest fastener distribution company. As a part of the Wurth Group, founded in 1945, WINA is a privately held, family-owned business that believes collaboration and partnerships make better business. They have strategically aligned vertical market divisions: Industrial, MRO/Safety/Metalworking, Construction, and Specialty Markets, consisting of more than 110 locations across North America that allow industries to have better planning, parts management, and inventory accuracy. As industry solution drivers, WINA works together onsite by offering products and services such as 3D printing and additive services, digital Kanban, construction services, engineering assistance, quality control, inventory management, vending, safety supplies, kitting and assembly, structural fasteners, and MRO/industrial supplies. With over 420,000 parts in their international supply chain, WINA not only provides each customer with an extensive global reach but also a local feel from a deep investment in an ever-expanding network of North American locations across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

For more information on Wurth Industry North America and a complete list of companies and locations, go to wurthindustry.com.

For news updates from Wurth Industry North America visit:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wurth-industry-north-america

Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/WurthIndustry

Twitter  @WurthIndustryNA

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/WurthIndustryNorthAmerica

Wurth Industry North America Key facts:

110+ locations across North America , Mexico , and Brazil

, , and More than 2,250 employees

More than 420,000 standard parts

Part of the Wurth Group, $15B+, which operates 400 companies in more than 80 countries and has more than 78,000 employees

About Wurth Additive Group

Wurth Additive Group, led by CEO AJ Strandquist, launched in April 2021 to provide expanded industrial 3d printing products and services, including financing and rental options. Wurth Industry North America began providing additive solutions to customers in late 2017 with rapid prototyping and printing production tools. It now offers full digital Kanban solutions by integrating 3D printing technology in its existing vendor-managed inventory programs. The group aims to streamline customers' supply chain and increase adaptability through additive manufacturing and digital inventory.

For more information on Wurth Additive Group, go to shop.wurthindustry.com.

North America Contact: Molly Hauer, Tel: +1 612-270-7613, [email protected]

About Markforged

Markforged transforms manufacturing with 3D metal and continuous carbon fiber printers capable of producing parts tough enough for the factory floor. The Markforged Digital Forge brings the power and speed of agile software development to industrial manufacturing, combining hardware, software, and materials to eliminate the barriers between design and functional parts. Engineers, designers, and manufacturing professionals all over the world rely on Markforged metal and composite printers for tooling, fixtures, functional prototyping, and high-value end-use production. Founded in 2013 and based in Watertown, Mass., Markforged has more than 250 employees globally. Markforged has been recognized by Forbes in the Next Billion-Dollar Startups list, and was listed as the #2 fastest-growing hardware company in the US in the 2019 Deloitte Fast 500. In February 2021, Markforged announced it entered into a definitive agreement to merge with one (NYSE: AONE), a special purpose acquisition company founded and led by technology industry veteran Kevin Hartz. The transaction is expected to close in the summer of 2021, subject to regulatory and stockholder approvals, and other customary closing conditions. The combined company will retain the Markforged name and be listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "MKFG".

For more information about Markforged, please visit www.markforged.com.

SOURCE Wurth Industry North America

Related Links

https://www.wurthindustry.com/


FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- YATCO, the Official MLS and Ultimate SaaS Platform of YachtingTM, has been growing at a continuous and rapid rate digitally, which is reflecting in its lead generation for its professional clientele, as well as in social media and its consumer site, YATCO.com. YATCO has seen a significant jump in website traffic with over 43% growth in new visitors, a 48% growth in social media followers, and a 362% growth in social media interactions and engagement - all driving consumer traffic to its highly active website.

With over 150K registered consumers and over 2,000 professional users, YATCO.com reports over $5 billion USD in annual sold transactions within a global marketplace of over $30 billion USD. "Our steady growth is due to the hard work and dedication of our newly formed and expanded teams in both marketing and sales. YATCO is continuously moving forward and upward to establish new legitimate leads for its esteemed professional partners and is pleased to have such significant digital growth," says Steven Myers, CEO and Founder of YATCO.

During Q2 2021, YATCO also created several recent digital publications to help market its clientele's listings; the recently published REGIONAL LISTS have covered areas such as Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus, as well as the Pacific and Northwest regions. These REGIONAL LISTS are accurate and comprehensive digital guides displaying pricing and yacht-for-sale listings powered by YATCO. Each online REGIONAL LIST includes the vessels available in the featured region or location. The YATCO REGIONAL LISTS are shared on YATCO's website, social media channels and to thousands of registered consumers through its newsletter.

The company has recently launched the Facebook plugin for its clients that combines the power of the largest social media platform in the world with the YATCO boat and yacht MLS database.

Yachting enthusiasts worldwide can now search, find, and inquire about any boat and yacht listings in the YATCO database without having to leave the client's Facebook page.

YATCO also continues to expand its industry partnerships and has recently collaborated with the US Superyacht Association (USSA) to help bolster its website with YATCO's robust MLS platform. The features provided by YATCO allow the USSA to better engage with and meet the needs of their members and the entire superyacht community.

About YATCO

YATCO, The Official MLS and Ultimate SaaS Platform of YachtingTM, is the sole online service dedicated exclusively to central listings by qualified professionals only with over 20 years in the yachts-for-sale marketplace. With over $30 billion in yachts for sale, the company supports more than 2,000 professional yacht brokers and facilitates over $5 billion a year in sold vessel transactions through its proprietary BOSS (Back Office Software Solution). Committed to 100% pure data, YATCO serves the professional yachting community with accuracy, integrity, and cutting-edge technology.

Media Contact

Lisbet Castillo

[email protected]

+1 (786) 316-5698

SOURCE YATCO

Related Links

https://www.yatco.com


"We have not forgotten that many people remain vulnerable around the world." Tweet this

This commitment follows initial donations made by the Z Zurich Foundation to help UNICEF deliver over 1.1 million doses globally through the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX Facility). The Z Zurich Foundation has also launched various local fundraising campaigns in collaboration with the local business units and employees of Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) around the world, inviting contributions from communities, including Zurich's suppliers, distributors, customers and the public.

"As citizens in wealthy countries begin to return and resume their lives in a post-vaccination world, for low-income countries the future is still uncertain, with the vaccine roll-out slow and uneven," said Carla Haddad Mardini, UNICEF's Director of Private Sector Fundraising and Partnerships. "UNICEF welcomes this expanded commitment from the Z Zurich Foundation to continue raising valuable resources and help us in our mission to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to where they are needed most."

"Many colleagues, customers, distributors and community members in North America have stepped up to support this global COVID-19 vaccine fundraising campaign with the Z Zurich Foundation and UNICEF," said Kristof Terryn, CEO of Zurich North America and a Z Zurich Foundation Board Member. "As we achieve broader vaccination in our local communities, we have not forgotten that many people remain vulnerable around the world."

UNICEF and partners have been working tirelessly on the largest vaccination procurement and supply program in history to vaccinate frontline health care and social workers, as well as high-risk and vulnerable people around the world. Through the COVAX Facility, together with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), UNICEF is leveraging its unique experience as the largest single vaccine buyer in the world by working with manufacturers and partners on the procurement and supply of COVID-19 vaccine doses.

Together with WHO, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), GAVI and other partners at the global and regional levels, UNICEF is also working to support countries in preparing for their COVID-19 vaccine roll-out. This includes assessing capacity and helping countries to strengthen their cold storage capabilities and supply chains to ensure the countries have adequate infrastructure to transport and store the vaccines.

Those who wish to donate can click here.

About Z Zurich Foundation

Z Zurich Foundation is a charitable foundation with registered office in Zurich established by Zurich Insurance Company Ltd and Zurich Life Insurance Company Ltd in accordance with Swiss law. It is the main vehicle by which the Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) delivers on its global community investment strategy.

The Z Zurich Foundation works alongside Zurich employees, businesses and NGOs in pursuit of a future where people can thrive in the face of increasing climate hazards, where those of us feeling the stresses of life are empowered to speak up, and where the marginalized in our society can reach their full potential.

Visit the Z Zurich Foundation's website to learn more about its work: https://zurich.foundation. Follow Z Zurich Foundation on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

About UNICEF

UNICEF is the world's largest children's organization, working in some of the world's toughest places, to reach the world's most disadvantaged children. Across 190 countries and territories, they work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone. For more information about UNICEF and its work for children, visit www.unicef.org. Follow UNICEF on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram and YouTube.

About the COVAX Facility

COVAX is the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, a ground-breaking global collaboration to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines. COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO. Its aim is to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world. https://www.who.int/initiatives/act-accelerator/covax UNICEF, in collaboration with the PAHO Revolving Fund, is leading efforts to procure and supply doses of COVID-19 vaccines on behalf of the COVAX Facility. This initiative will lead the procurement and delivery of vaccines for 92 low and lower-middle income countries.

SOURCE Zurich North America

Related Links

www.zurichna.com


Caremother's BabyBeat, a fetal monitoring device for pregnant women, received an honorary mention in ZS's healthcare innovation program under the mentorship of Ravi Venkatesan (Founder, G.A.M.E, ex-Microsoft), Kiran Mazumdar Shaw (Biocon), Sangita Reddy (Apollo), Prof. Srinath Reddy (Public Health Foundation of India) among others

MUMBAI, India, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Caremother- BabyBeat - a wireless, portable, smartphone-based clinical-grade smart device, received an honorary mention at ZS's inaugural healthcare innovation program, ZS PRIZE, in their awards ceremony on July 2, 2021. The solution is designed as a fetal monitoring device for pregnant women which provides AI-powered auto-interpretation features to assist doctors and frontline workers in making accurate diagnosis and real-time remote monitoring for an expert review.

More than 20 million pregnancies occurring in India are devoid of quality fetal monitoring. In the government health sector, fetal monitoring is not a part of the primary service range as it requires infrastructure investment and lacks an adequate number of specialists who can interpret the results. Hence, a large proportion of women do not get access to fetal monitoring which is an important part of quality antenatal care, resulting in more than 500,000 neonatal deaths every year. In cities, expectant mothers need to make frequent clinic visits for NST (Nonstress Test) which becomes inconvenient, costly and increases the risk of exposure during the pandemic. Therefore, to ensure quality monitoring access and to enable frontline workers with semi-skills to perform the required fetal health assessment test, Caremother has come up with- 'BabyBeat'.

Speaking about the solution, Shantanu Pathak, Co-founder of BabyBeat, mentioned that, "The solutions which are currently available for evaluation of fetal wellness are expensive, require high-maintenance (space, power supply, etc.), not portable, difficult to use by nurses, and need a gynecologist's presence for interpretation. One such example is-Cardiotocography (CTG) machines. Mainly they are placed in busy tertiary care facilities and accessing these facilities during the pandemic is a challenge in itself. Whereas, Baby Beat overcomes these challenges and ensures medical- grade fetal monitoring at the last mile with non-stress test and fetal heart rate monitoring, anytime and anywhere that too at 30% lesser price."

This cloud-based solution is ideal for remote areas as it is economical and easy to use. Furthermore, it is easy to share patient reports in PDF format via email/Whatsapp or it can even be printed using any basic printer. It is an affordable product that significantly reduces the cost per test. This directly benefits the low-income group segment who cannot afford such facilities. For expecting mothers living in cities, BabyBeat provides the ease of taking tests from home and that too by themselves, while reducing clinic visits and associated costs.

Commenting on ZS PRIZE, Ravi Venkatesan, Jury Chairman of ZS PRIZE and former Chairman, Microsoft, said, "Prizes like ZS PRIZE are incredibly important because they recognize good ideas and help teams behind them to take their ideas to impact. And that, in turn, inspires many others to start innovating. The second wave of COVID-19 highlighted the urgent need for a tremendous amount of innovation to make healthcare in India preventive, affordable, and accessible."

About ZS

ZS is a professional services firm that works side-by-side with companies to help develop and deliver products that drive customer value and company results. We leverage our deep industry expertise, leading-edge analytics, technology and strategy to create solutions that work in the real world. With more than 35 years of experience and 7,000-plus ZSers in 28 offices worldwide, we are passionately committed to helping companies and their customers thrive. To learn more, visit http://www.zs.com/ or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/512249/ZS_Logo.jpg

SOURCE ZS
Washington, July 13 : Covid-19 cases rose in more than 40 US states over the past week as the vaccination rate has slowed down and the highly transmissible Delta variant continues to spread.

The country is averaging about 19,455 new cases over the last seven days, a 47 per cent increase from the week prior, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, Xinhua reported.

It marked the largest weekly rise since April 2020, according to a Bloomberg report.

More than 99 per cent of COVID-19 deaths in the United States in June were among unvaccinated people, said Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In addition, preliminary data indicates that over the past six months, nearly all of the COVID-19 deaths in various states have occurred in unvaccinated people, she said.

The pace of vaccinations has also dropped in the country sharply in the past few months. About 246,000 people initiated vaccination each day over the past week, down 88 per cent from the April peak, and about 278,000 people became fully vaccinated each day over the past week, down 84 per cent from the April peak, CDC data show.

About 48 per cent of the US population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and 55.5 percent of the population has received at least one shot as of Sunday, according to CDC data.

Experts have said COVID-19 vaccines are key to managing spread and prevent variants from mutating into even more dangerous forms.

"We really need to get more people vaccinated, because that's the solution," said Anthony Fauci, White House chief medical advisor, on Monday. "This virus will, in fact, be protected against by the vaccine."

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Havana, July 13 : Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has accused the US of attempting to stoke social unrest on the island, where violence broke out in several towns.

The president, who on Sunday called on loyalists "to take to the streets to defend the revolution", appeared on national TV again on Monday, accompanied by members of his cabinet and the politburo of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), reports Xinhua news agency.

Diaz-Canel said he was taking "to clarify that a whole group of interests in recent weeks and in recent hours has tried to discredit the work of the government, to discredit the work of the revolution".

The first secretary of the PCC Central Committee said his appearance had been planned for days to "provide information" to the people about the situation in the country, which is undergoing shortages of food, medicine, and fuel.

Diaz-Canel accused the US of seeking to stoke social unrest in Cuba when the country is experiencing its worst Covid-19 outbreak.

He highlighted the efforts made by the government to tackle the pandemic, particularly in the western province of Matanzas, which has become the epicentre of the outbreak in Cuba.

In response to the unrest and Diaz-Canel's call for solidarity, thousands of Cubans took to the streets on Sunday to show their support for the government.
Lucknow, July 13 : A surge of 28 new Covid cases in Sitapur district and 20 new cases in Sultanpur have become a cause of worry for the Uttar Pradesh government, especially since Covid cases in all other districts are showing an appreciable downtrend.

The cases were recorded on Monday.

A team of experts has been sent to these two districts to assess the reasons for the surge in cases.

Health teams from the surveillance unit have reached Sitapur and Sultanpur to collect details. Samples of patients will also be sent for genome sequencing.

Nodal officer Sitapur Dr P.K. Singh said, "The patients belong to three different areas. None of them has a travel history. Each of the 28 cases was asymptomatic. In fact, some of them were attendants of patients brought to the health facility. Strangely, they tested negative." In Sultanpur, 25 cases have surfaced in two days.

Chief Medical Officer Dr D.K. Tripathi said 10 of these 25 belong to the same family while others are scattered over five villages.

"The source of infection in the family of 10 is a youth who returned from Kolhapur while the others belong to other villages. Containment and contact activities were carried out in all places," he said.

Meanwhile, 96 new cases were reported from 33 districts till Monday night while 42 districts recorded zero cases.

The new cases took the total to 17,07,446 of which 16,83,170 (or 98.6 per cent) have recovered. The state recorded two Covid deaths taking the total loss of lives to 22,700.

There are 1,576 active cases now with three districts having zero active cases and another three having more than 100 active cases.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Chennai, July 13 : The academic community and school managements of Tamil Nadu are waiting for the government's nod to open in the state. The call for reopening of schools has begun after neighbouring Puducherry announced resumption of classes for students from 9 to 12 standard as well as opening of all colleges.

Tamil Nadu school managements are of the opinion that online classes are affecting the studies of the students and that the schools are waiting for a government nod to resume classes.

K.R. Neelakantan, Principal, Bhavan Vidya Mandir School, Ashok Nagar, Chennai, told IANS, "The government should at least give clearance for the opening of 12 standard classes. Once the classes are open in this category, we can try to reopen classes from 9 to 11 and then at a later stage of junior classes. The Covid-19 cases are coming down and the reported fresh cases and active cases have also fallen, hence it is the appropriate time that schools are reopened." The teachers and managements are of the view that due to online classes, students' physical strength as well as their social interactions are badly affected.

Muthu Ramalingam, Principal, AMRP higher secondary School, Madurai, told IANS, "The children don't have any social contacts and they are just working online with the only interface being a machine. This is affecting them socially and there are no physical activities. This will lead to a major depression in these children. I strongly advocate reopening of schools, at least for class 12 students." With the calls from different corners coming up regarding the opening of schools in Tamil Nadu, the state government is likely to take a decision after a high-level meeting scheduled in a couple of days.

Sources in the Tamil Nadu education department told IANS that the department has already communicated to the ministry regarding the opening of schools but is awaiting clearance from the chief minister.

A senior official with the department told IANS, "I think in a couple of days time, there will be a high-level meeting chaired by the chief minister and a decision will be taken. It is high time, schools are opened in Tamil Nadu and we expect the government to respond pro-actively for the same."

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Colombo, July 13 : Sri Lankan authorities have started administering the Chinese Sinopharm vaccines against Covid-19 to teachers and school staff across the country, with an aim to re-open schools as soon as possible.

Minister of Education G.L. Peiris, who was present at one of the vaccination centres in Colombo on Monday along with Army Commander Shavendra Silva, said they hoped to complete vaccinating teachers, principals, and non-academic employees within a week, reports Xinhua news agency.

Accordingly, arrangements have been made to vaccinate all school employees of 10,155 schools in the country under this program, Peiris said.

The Minister added that this program had been launched directly under the directives of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, following which discussions were held with all the provincial governors, chief secretaries, provincial directors of education, and the health division.

Peiris said continuing to keep schools closed in this manner due to the pandemic was not possible and expressed confidence that this vaccination program would be completed soon.

Health authorities said that following the arrival of a batch of Sinopharm vaccine on Sunday morning, doses had been distributed to the respective districts to begin vaccinating teachers.

According to official statistics from the Health Ministry, nearly 3 million people in Sri Lanka, above the age of 30 years, have received the Sinopharm vaccines to date.

Out of the nearly 3 million people jabbed, over 1 million have received their second injections as well, Health Ministry statistics showed.
Shimla, July 13 : Rescuers on Tuesday said seven villagers were rescued from Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district where a massive mudslide triggered by flash floods hit a remote village, damaging several houses and shops and leaving one dead. Nine people are still missing.

The seven people were rescued by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) after an eight-hour operation that started late Monday evening, officials told IANS over phone from the spot.

They are suspecting nine people might be trapped either in the mud piles that spread over a large area in the worst affected Rulehar village in the Boh panchayat of Shahpur subdivision or in raging floodwaters.

Senior Superintendent of Police Vimukt Ranjan told the media that the rescue operation is on.

"The NDRF started its operation around 10 p.m. on Monday after the road to the village was restored by the local administration," he said.

Eleven houses were either washed away or damaged in the flash floods, he said.

The nine missing people of Rulehar village comprise four women.

Elsewhere, at least 10 parked cars, largely of tourists, were washed away and houses were partially damaged in flash floods on Monday in upper Dharamsala.

Dharamsala, nearly 250 kms from the state capital Shimla, recorded precipitation of 392 mm, the highest ever during this monsoon. The damage to property was reported in the vicinity of McLeodganj, the political, cultural and spiritual hub of the Tibetan diaspora.

Chetru, some 10 km from Dharamsala, was among the worst affected villages in Kangra where six houses, 10 shops and a bridge were washed away. A school in nearby Passu village was also damaged.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur expressed grief over the loss of life and property due to heavy rains.

He directed the district authorities to ensure speedy relief and rescue operations in the affected areas. He urged local people and tourists to refrain from going near the river banks to avoid any untoward incident.

The Pathankot-Mandi highway has been blocked for traffic due to landslides at several places and minor damage to a bridge near Manali.

The rail traffic on the Pathankot-Jogindernagar narrow gauge line was halted due to landslides.

A total of 184 roads, including three national highways, were blocked due landslides across the state.

The national highway 5 was blocked near Jhakri in Shimla district.

The weather bureau here has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall likely to continue in Kangra, Hamirpur, Mandi, Bilaspur, Shimla, Sirmaur and Solan districts in the next 24 hours. Thereafter, rainfall intensity may decrease.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director Surender Paul told the media that heavy rains may trigger landslides, inundations in low-lying areas, heavy runoff in rivulets and disruptions of civic amenities.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Moscow, July 13 : The Council of the European Union (EU) has announced its decision to prolong sanctions against Russia by an additional six months over delays to implement agreements.

The Council said in a statement on Monday that EU leaders unanimously decided to roll over the economic sanctions in place against Russia over its failure to fully implement the Minsk agreements on the settlement of the Donbas conflict, reports Xinhua news agency.

During the European Council meeting in late June, leaders of the EU member states had called on Russia to fully assume its responsibility in ensuring the full implementation of the agreement as the key condition for any substantial change in the bloc's stance.

EU's economic sanctions against Russia had been first introduced on July 31, 2014 in response to Russia's incorporation of the Crimean Peninsula in March 2014 following a local referendum.

But Kiev and Western countries reject the results of the referendum.

The sanctions were reinforced in September that year and in March 2015, the European Council agreed to link their duration to the complete implementation of the Minsk agreements.

The sanctions limit access to EU primary and secondary capital markets for certain Russian banks and companies and prohibit forms of financial assistance and brokering towards Russian financial institutions.

The measures also prohibit the direct or indirect import, export or transfer of all defence-related material and establish a ban for dual-use goods for military use or military-end users in Russia.

The sanctions further curtail Russian access to certain sensitive technologies that can be used in the Russian energy sector, for instance in oil production and exploration.
Chennai, July 13 : The Tamil Nadu police have constituted a special team headed by Dindigul Superintendent of Police, Ravali Priya, to investigate the alleged gang rape of a 40-year-old woman at Palani temple premises in Kerala on June 19.

The woman from Tamil Nadu and her husband are now staying at Thalassery in the Kannur district of Kerala and were on a pilgrimage to the famous hill shrine of Palani in Tamil Nadu when the incident happened. Lord Murugan is the presiding deity at the temple.

Tamil Nadu Director-General of Police (DGP), C. Sylendra Babu constituted a special team after he received a letter from his counterpart in Kerala, DGP, Anil Kant after the woman and her husband lodged a complaint with the Thalassery police.

According to the FIR, when the husband had gone to the nearby restaurant to buy food for the evening, a three-member gang forcefully took her to the nearby lodge and sexually abused her. Her husband who rushed to her rescue was beaten up by the lodge owner and his goons.

The woman's husband in his complaint said that they had approached the Palani police, but they turned them down and again when he approached the police after the woman was released, the officers threatened the family.

The family was traumatized by the incident and after reaching Thalassery, they did not inform about the incident to anyone but as the woman's health deteriorated, she was taken to a hospital. The hospital authorities informed the police and a formal complaint was registered after the family sent an e-mail to Kerala DGP, Anil Kant.

Thalassery Dy SP, Moosa Vallikadan told IANS, "The investigation is on and I have taken the statement of the woman at Government Medical College, Kannur where she is convalescing. However, according to medical reports at the Medical College, there are no injuries in her private parts as alleged and it might have healed as the incident took place on June 19, almost three weeks ago." Dindigul Superintendent of Police and the head of the Special investigation team, Ravali Priya was not available for comment.
Tel Aviv, July 13 : Israel's Health Ministry has instructed four health maintenance organisations to start offering the third doses of the Covid-19 vaccine for adults with weak immune systems.

The direction on Monday came a day after Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz announced the move on Sunday, saying the Ministry is looking into the possible authorisation of booster shots to the general public, reports Xinhua news agency.

The move came amid Pfizer's request to the regulators of the US and Europe for approving a booster dose of its vaccine.

The ministry has reported a steady rise in the number of infections driven by the spread of the Delta variant.

On Sunday, 423 new cases were diagnosed across Israel.

About 61 percent of the country's 9.3 million citizens have been vaccinated with at least one dose, and about 55 per cent with two doses.

Most of them received the Pfizer vaccine.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New Delhi, July 13 : The long delayed monsoon finally arrived early on Tuesday giving much needed respite to the citizens in Delhi-NCR.

The national capital along with adjoining cities including - Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida, and Ghaziabad have also received rainfall.

On Monday evening, the Met Department had predicted that the conditions were favourable for further advance of southwest Monsoon over Delhi, parts of West Uttar Pradesh, some more parts of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.

"Thunderstorm with light to moderate intensity rain and winds with speed of 20-40 Km/h would occur over and adjoining areas of isolated places of Delhi, North-East Delhi, East Delhi, NCR (Noida, Ghaziabad), Sonipat, Aurangabad, Palwal (Haryana)," IMD had tweeted on Monday.

The South-West monsoon arrived in Delhi-NCR after India Meteorological Department's (IMD) several predictions made in the last 15 days went wrong.

Reacting to the arrival of monsoon on Tuesday, Madhavan Rajeevan, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, tweeted, "Finally Monsoon Rains over Delhi! Even though monsoon conditions were prevailing the last 2-3 days, India MET dept was waiting for these rains to declare the onset of monsoon. Last 2 days it has rained everywhere surrounding Delhi, except Delhi." "Rain realised over Delhi between 7 to 8.30 hrs of today, the 13th July 2021. Safdarjung - 2.5 (cm), Ayanagar - 1.3, Palam - 2.4, CHO Lodi Road - 1.9 and Ridge- 1.0," read another tweet of IMD.

Due to the delay in the arrival of the monsoon, the MET Department had to face criticism. On July 11, Madhavan Rajeevan, responding to criticism on its wrong prediction, had said, "We just don't download someone's model forecast to provide users. We have one of the best end-to-end forecasting systems, thanks to the Monsoon Mission. Trust us, we are one of the best and we will keep improving. Our forecasts sometimes can go wrong." This year, the rains were first predicted to make a record early march across the country, initially predicted to hit Delhi by June 13-15. But in the latter half of the month, the progress slowed down before it eventually stalled and entered a three-week break phase.

The Monsoon had reached almost all parts of the country but had stayed away from Delhi, Haryana, parts of west Uttar Pradesh and west Rajasthan. The weather forecasting agency had predicted that monsoon is expected to cover these parts by June -- a little less than a month back but that did not happen.

K Jenamani, a senior scientist at IMD has said they will study why the arrival of monsoon was delayed in Delhi despite favourable conditions.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Tel Aviv, July 13 : Israel has started administering a booster shot of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine to people with weak immune systems, the media reported. It is one of the first countries to globally approve a booster shot.

The decision for the third jab comes as Israel is witnessing an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant, after being one of the first to fully inoculate more than 60 per cent of adults in the country.

The Health Ministry will offer the third jab to immunocompromised patients, such as recipients of organ transplants, the Wall Street Journal reported.

This is following evidence that the booster shot may increase such patients' antibody counts, according to a Health Ministry letter sent to Israeli healthcare providers, the report said.

The Ministry said the recommended time between a second and third shot would be eight weeks, with a minimum gap of four weeks.

While the booster shots are not yet rolled out for the general public, the government is, however, weighing the option.

Israel is trying to halt a new outbreak of the Delta variant and has launched a campaign calling teenagers over 12 years old to get vaccinated.

Although most reported cases have been mild or asymptomatic, there has been a steady rise in the number of infections.

On July 11, Israel also signed a deal with Pfizer to receive a new batch of Covid-19 vaccines in August.

In a statement at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that "last night we closed a deal to bring forward the next shipment of vaccines to August 1", reports Xinhua news agency.

He said that together with existing vaccine stocks, the new batch will ensure "from this moment, a continuous inventory of vaccines in Israel".

Meanwhile, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), last week, released a joint statement on vaccine boosters, saying that people who are fully vaccinated are protected from severe illness and death, including from emerging variants such as the highly contagious Delta variant.

"FDA, CDC, and NIH (National Institutes of Health) are engaged in a science-based, rigorous process to consider whether or when a booster might be necessary," said the statement.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Ramallah, July 13 : Israel has decided to ease the tight restrictions imposed two months ago on export, import and fishing in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials here said.

The Palestinian general authority of civil affairs said on Monday that the Jewish state allowed the movement and travel from Gaza to Israel and the West Bank, reports xinhua news agency.

Emad Qaraqreh, spokesman of the authority, told reporters that Palestinian journalists who work for international press and employees of the Palestinian Ministry of Information will be allowed to travel from Gaza to Israel.

Chief of the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories Ghassan Alian said in a press statement that the Israeli move was decided following the state of calm that dominated the coastal enclave since the end of the 11-day clashes on May 21.

Alian added that the area for fishing off the Gaza Strip coast was expanded from 9 nautical miles to 12 miles, starting from Monday morning.

"The import of medical supplies and raw materials for industry and textiles will be allowed from Israel to Gaza through the commercial crossing of Kerem Shalom," the statement said.

It added that exporting agricultural products and textiles from Gaza to Israel "will be allowed too".

Meanwhile, chairman of the Palestinian fishermen association in Gaza Nizar Ayyash told Xinhua that the Palestinian liaison office informed him about the Israeli decision to expand the fishing area in Gaza.

"We hope that the decision would be a sign of hope for more than 4,000 fishermen who live off the fishing profession," he said.

Since the outbreak of the 11 days of hostilities between Israel and Gaza militant groups, Israel has banned the entry of raw materials to the Gaza Strip.
Johannesburg, July 13 : The South African government has deployed the army in the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng to help curb the violent protests and looting.

The South African National Defense Force (SANDF) said on Monday that it was invited by the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure to help law enforcement agencies, reports Xinhua news agency.

"The deployment will commence as soon as all deployment processes are in place," SANDF Director of Defense Corporate Communication Brig. Gen. Mafi Mgobozi said.

"The SANDF's deployment objective is to provide safety and a safe working environment" for police and other law enforcement agencies when "they carry out their Constitutionally mandated law and order duties", he added.

Police said six people were killed and 219 people arrested over the weekend in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal following violent protests after former President Jacob Zuma was jailed for 15 months for contempt of court.

Hundreds of shops and businesses across the two provinces were looted.
New Delhi, July 13 : Eight BTech students of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham have been selected for Google Summer of Code (GSoC) 2021, a global annual programme in which the search engine giant awards stipends to students who successfully complete a free and open-source software coding project during the summer.

The selected Amrita students include Alluri Harshit Varma (The Terasology Foundation) and Nived (TensorFlow) as well as others from Amrita's student clubs amFOSS and bi0s, namely, Pranjal Singh, Vishnu Madhav, Simran Kathpalia, Aswin C, Anoushka Ramesh and Mainak Deb. Two former GSoC students of Amrita from amFOSS, Shashank Priyadarshi and Abhijit Ramesh are also participating this year as mentors for The Apache Software Foundation.

"Google Summer of Code programme is a great opportunity for students and mentors to work together on an open-source project for a period of over three months. Over the last 14 years, many of our students have contributed to various open-source organisations such as VideoLAN, The Linux Foundation, WikiMedia, NetBSD, GNOME, KDE, Mozilla, and INCF. Since 2010, members from amFOSS have been getting selected for the Google Summer of Code program every year," said Vipin Pavithran, Chief Mentor of amFOSS and bi0s, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, in a statement.

Last year, seven students were selected for GSoC 2020.

GSoC, dubbed as the largest open-source event, requires interested students to submit proposals to one or two participating open-source organisations, describing the details of the project that they wish to do along with their past experiences. The organisation mentors then selects the most promising proposals and mentors the students for completing the project.

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham has been ranked the fourth Best Overall University in India in the 2020 National Institution Ranking Framework (NIRF).

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Thiruvananthapuram, July 13 : The country's first Covid positive case was a medical student who had arrived from Wuhan in China to her hometown in Thrissur in January last year. One and a half years later she has once again turned positive, as per reports on Tuesday.

According to the medical authorities, she wanted to make an air trip to Delhi and for that she underwent the Covid test. Much to everyone's surprise she tested positive. According to the authorities she is yet to take her first vaccine shot.

The medical authorities said that there was nothing to worry about and she is asymptomatic as of now.

After her return from Wuhan, she has not gone back and had been continuing her classes online, from her home.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Thiruvananthapuram, July 13 : Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan will join a protest against dowry abuse on Wednesday here.

Deeply saddened after several women in the state committed suicide due to dowry abuse, the Kerala Governor had last month promised to work as a volunteer against the evil of dowry abuse. He had also promised to join a group of people who will sit on a fast to highlight the issue.

Gandhian organisations are organising the fast from morning to evening at the Gandhi Bhawan to create awareness against the giving and taking of dowry.

Khan had visited the family of a young final year Ayurveda medical student, who took her life after her husband allegedly demanded an expensive car last month. After paying tributes, Khan had told the media that NGOs and volunteers should step up the awareness drive in a campaign against dowry and promised that he is ready to work as a volunteer.

Khan then said 'dowry is an evil and as far as laws are concerned, they are very strong and the need is to create a general and social awareness against it'.

The Governor, who has become hugely popular with the people, said in Kerala there is no dearth of NGO's or volunteers.

"I am ready to work as a volunteer and we should create awareness against this. It should be made very clear to anyone who asks for dowry, that they are not interested in proceeding with the marriage proposal," added Khan.

In the previous month, many dowry harassment cases surfaced, forcing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to take new steps, and a a female IPS officer was made in-charge to deal with all such cases

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Paris, July 13 : French President Emmanuel Macron said that Covid-19 vaccination will be mandatory for health workers as part of new efforts to contain the spread of the more infectious Delta variant.

Warning about a strong resurgence of the pandemic, Macron on Monday pointed to the necessity "to go towards vaccination of all French people" as "it is the only way towards a normal life", reports Xinhua news agency In a televised address, he announced that "vaccination will be compulsory for all those in contact with fragile people".

Healthcare workers and nursing home staff will need to get inoculated by September 15 or risk sanctions.

In June, France administered an average of 167,524 vaccines per day, sharply down from the 450,000 doses administered daily in May, according to the Public Health Agency.

The vaccination rate remains alarmingly low among medical staff and care workers.

Less than 60 per cent of nursing home workers and less than 64 per cent of hospital workers have been vaccinated.

Till date, some 35.79 million people, or 53.1 per cent of France's adult population, have received one Covid-19 vaccine dose, and 27.38 million, or 40.6 per cent, have received both doses.

The French government aims to have 35 million people fully vaccinated by the end of August.

"We will surely have to ask ourselves whether vaccination should be compulsory for the entire population," Macron said.

"Get vaccinated is the only way to protect yourself and protect others. This is what our freedom depends on all of us." As part of the new measures, "we are going to extend the health pass as much as possible to encourage as many of you as possible to be vaccinated", he said.

Starting from July 21, only vaccinated people, those who showed negative test, or recently recovered from the flu-like illness, will be allowed in amusement parks, to attend concerts and festivals.

In the future, the health pass will be required in bars, restaurants, cafes, shopping centres, hospitals, in addition to nursing homes, trains and planes from next month.

"If we don't act now, case numbers and hospital numbers will rise," the President added.

The Delta strain, believed to be around 60 per cent more transmissible, now accounts for half of the new infections in France, up from 20 per cent estimated on June 29, according to official data.

On Monday, France logged 1,260 new coronavirus cases, up by 58 per cent from last week.

To date, 5,465,094 French people have been tested positive for the virus, and at least 111,543 others have died.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Houston, July 13 : Texas Democrats have left for Washington D.C., in an effort to block a Republican attempt to pass voting restrictions in the state.

At least 51 of the 67 Democratic representatives left for the capital city on Monday, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Texas House is set to reconvene on Tuesday morning, but the absent Democrats would mean there will not be enough members present to conduct business under House rules, according to the Texas Tribune.

Media reports said the decision to hole up in Washington is aimed at ratcheting up pressure in the nation's capital on President Joe Biden and Congress to act on voting at the federal level.

The Republican-let bill further tightens the state's voting rules, with measures such as banning drive-thru voting, adding new voter ID requirements to absentee ballots and prohibiting local elections officials from proactively sending mail-in ballot applications to voters.

As the minority party in the state, Democrats walked out in the final hours of the regular legislative session in May, causing the House to lose its quorum and killing the voting legislation.

The latest attempt is their second one to block the bill on voting restrictions.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Hyderabad, July 13 : Rising fuel prices have upset the budget of households across the country and have even forced motorists to cut down on their commute or find other ways to deal with the situation.

However, a man in Telangana came out with an innovative idea to insulate himself from the steep hike in price of petrol. Kurapati Vidyasagar replaced the petrol engine of his 15-year-old motorcycle with batteries, converter and a motor, turning it into a cost-effective electric bike.

A television mechanic in Jangaon town, Vidyasagar told IANS over phone that he first hit upon the idea during the Covid-19 induced lockdown last year. With the price of petrol crossing Rs.100 mark recently, he decided to implement his plan.

The 42-year-old, who runs a shop in the town, purchased four 30-ah 12-volt batteries by investing Rs 10,000 and bought electric bike conversion kit comprising 48V motor, converter etc by spending another Rs 7,500. He removed the petrol engine of his Bajaj Discover bike and replaced it with batteries and motor with the help of a two-wheeler mechanic.

"In all, I spent about Rs 20,000 but this is helping me save Rs.3,000 every month as I no longer need to buy petrol," Vidyasagar said.

He earlier used to buy 1-1.5 liter of petrol every day and rising price had added to the burden. Today, he is covering the same distance of 50-60 km every day with minimum expenses.

Every night, he charges his vehicle for five hours and this is enough for covering 50-60 km. "The charging required 1-2 unit of power which works out to about Rs.10 every day," he said.

Vidyasagar, who has studied up to 12th Class, is now working to ensure charging of the bike while on the move with a dynamo. He says this will help in covering longer distance.

He is also ready to help others covert their petrol vehicles into electric one and is looking forward for support from the government agencies.

He believes that by using the simple technology one can convert existing vehicle into electric one instead of buying a new e-vehicle. He pointed out that he used his old vehicle which was kept idle. He was using Activa for his daily commute before he converted his old bike into electric bike.

According to Vidyasagar, speed is the only limitation with the converted e-bike. "It can help prevent pollution and safe, but it can run up to maximum speed of 25-30 kmph. If you increase the weight, the speed comes down further," he said

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New Delhi, July 13 : As 5G technology slowly but steadily spreads across the world, smartphone brand OPPO on Tuesday released its 6G strategy, saying that artificial intelligence (AI) will act as a new dimension to the next generation of communication networks, helping 6G networks self-optimise and dynamically administrate themselves.

The 6G technology will fundamentally revolutionise how AI infers, learns, interacts, and is applied, making the technology and its benefits available to all, according to a 6G white paper released by the OPPO Research Institute.

Mobile communication technology evolves in decade-long periods, and standardisation of the next generation of communication technology is expected to begin in 2025, with commercial implementation following in around 2035," said Henry Tang, OPPO's Chief 5G Scientist.

"Looking towards 2035, OPPO expects the number of intelligent agents in the world to far exceed the number of humans. Therefore, the next generation of communication technology, 6G, should be able to serve the needs not only of people but of all forms of intelligence and their various interactions," he elaborated.

OPPO has established a pre-research team to conduct preliminary research on 6G service and technology requirements, key technologies and system features.

Empowered by 6G, smart devices will become important participants and users of AI, downloading and deploying AI algorithms at different application levels to create new immersive experiences while also constantly collecting data to feed more advanced AI models.

For example, in the case of autonomous vehicles, 6G networks will be able to assign the most appropriate AI algorithm and the optimal communication connection based on the location of the vehicle and the current physical environment.

The vehicle will be able to immediately download and run AI algorithms that have been trained by countless other vehicles and devices, allowing the vehicle to provide the safest and most comfortable journey for the passenger.

Under the proposed network, 6G devices will be allocated to an AI domain-based on the location and requirements of the device.

This AI domain will then issue the most suitable AI algorithm and task needed to deliver the desired services while providing the most optimal communication connection to carry out the relevant tasks.

"Unlike 4G and 5G networks, the AI used for inferring and decision making in 6G networks will be organically integrated on the device side and the network side, with the device assuming a more important role," the OPPO research team said.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Ottawa, July 13 : Multiple people were killed and three others wounded after a crane collapsed in Canada's British Columbia province, according to local media reports.

The crane attached to a high-rise building under construction in Kelowna city collapsed at around 11 a.m. on Monday, falling into an adjacent building and a private residence, reports Xinhua news agency.

TV footage from the scene shows major damage to the building and at least one vehicle.

A 250-foot radius surrounding the building has been evacuated in case the rest of the crane was to collapse.

The city has declared a local state of emergency in response to the threat to people and property caused by the collapse.

The exact number of fatalities is yet to be declared.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New Delhi, July 13 : A group of 26 employees, including five women, have been arrested here for duping over 1,250 US citizens through a fake call centre by impersonating as Amazon customer service providers, police said on Tuesday.

On an average, the accused used to cheat over six US citizens per day. Thus, approximately over 1,250 US citizens have been cheated so far, the Delhi Police said.

The call centre had been running for the last seven months and as per an estimate, police said, total cheating so far has been approximately more than Rs 4 crore ($5,25,000 USD).

The people at the call centre were pretending to be employed by Amazon and used illegal techniques like VOIP calling, thereby bypassing the legal international long-distance gateways.

The accused were extorting Amazon customers based in the US by claiming their amazon ID had been hacked.

The call centre was being run in outer Delhi's Sultanpur area. The employees were caught red-handed while trying to dupe people on calls.

Special Staff South district police apprehended the 26 employees and seized 29 computers, two Internet switches and two modems and other accessories.

Police carried out searches based on a tip-off, and surveillance was mounted around the premises.

A team led by Inspector Atul Tyagi raided the premises and found an office set-up in place.

On being asked about any license and authority to run the call centre, no documents could be produced, the police said.

"Mobile phones were recovered from the possession of the accused persons, which contained various US mobile numbers in a WhatsApp group." When the customer would call back to know more about it, the accused would show them fake repair of their amazon ID through AnyDesk app.

The target would be made to pay up in the form of Target gift cards, which the accused would redeem.

"Further investigation is being carried out to unearth the whole gang of cheaters," police said.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Baghdad, July 13 : At least 41 people were killed and several others wounded in a massive fire that broke out in a hospital treating Covid-19 patients in Iraq's southern province of Dhi Qar, official media reported on Tuesday.

The fire eruoted on Monday evening at the quarantine centre for coronavirus patients in al-Hussein Hospital in the provincial capital city of al-Nasiriyah, some 375 km south of Baghdad, Xinhua news agency reported citing the media reports as saying.

Firefighters and civil defence teams were trying to evacuate patients and health workers while trying to put out the blaze, the reports added.

Spokesman for the Health Department of Dhi Qar province Ammar al-Zamily told the Iraqi News Agency that the firefighters managed to put out the fire.

Dhi Qar's health department declared a state of emergency after the fire, al-Zamily said.

Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi held an emergency meeting with some cabinet ministers and security commanders to discuss the hospital fire and its consequences.

Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi tweeted that the session on Tuesday will discuss the incident.

In April, an exploding oxygen tank started a fire that killed at least 82 people at a hospital in the capital Baghdad.

Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi resigned after that fire.

The coronavirus pandemic has severely strained Iraq's health service, already suffering from years of war, neglect and corruption.

Iraq has recorded 1.4 million infections and reported more than 17,000 deaths from coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

The country has given at least one dose of a vaccine against Covid to just over one million of its roughly 40 million citizens, the World Health Organization says.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Chennai, July 13 : Forest departments of Tamil Nadu and Kerala are on a state of high alert after a dead wild elephant was found in the Anaikatti forest area which falls between the two states and was detected with anthrax bacteria.

The team of Coimbatore forest division on routine inspection found the carcass of a female elephant which, according to the officials was around 13-15 years of age.

Forest officials confirmed that the blood smear samples collected from the elephant had the presence of Bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax. The officials said that after the department went for a blood sample test when blood was found oozing out from the mouth and anus of the elephant. This is a typical sign of anthrax, according to officials.

After anthrax is confirmed in the elephant, the forest department of Tamil Nadu has conducted an online meeting with the forest department of Kerala as the forest area of Anaikati is shared between the two states. The area is also close to human habitation and most of those living in the borders have domesticated animals including goats, buffaloes, oxen and cows, and the animal husbandry department and the forest department of both the states are on high alert.

A senior forest officer with the Coimbatore Forest division told IANS, "We are in touch with the Palakkad forest division of Kerala as the forest area of Anaikati is shared between the two states and there is a high alert as this is a border area with large human settlements that have domesticated animals. With the domestic animals also grazing in the forest areas and with common water bodies, it has to be seen how we are going about the vaccination and other measures to be taken." Meanwhile, the carcass of the dead elephant will be cremated on Tuesday to prevent the spread of the infection. Directions have also been given by both the Coimbatore and Palakkad forest divisions to the rangers to monitor wild elephants and other wild animals in the forest range of Anaikati.

The Animal Disease Intelligence Unit under Coimbatore Forest Division is monitoring the situation. The Palakkad forest division in Kerala along with the state Animal husbandry department is also conducting a high-level meeting of forest officials, veterinarians, and other concerned officials on the vaccination of cattle in the border areas.

I. Anwardeen, Additional Chief Conservator of Forests (Coimbatore Circle) while speaking to IANS said, "We are checking with the Kerala Forest Department on whether any cases of anthrax were reported in that state recently."

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New Delhi, July 13: The area where Indias consulate office in Kandhar is located has not fallen into the hands of the Taliban and "Indian consulate is still open. The situation is very normal" Bahir Ahmadi, spokesman of the Kandahar governor said on the WION news. Bashir told the TV channel that the situation has been tense but the area where the Indian mission is located is safe. Even consulates of Pakistan and Iran, situated in the same area, are safe.

Quoting diplomatic sources, ANI news said reports of shutting of Indian Consulate in Kandahar, are incorrect; the mission remains functional. Due to the deteriorating security situation in Kandahar, some staff of the Indian embassy has been evacuated, emergency services of the consulate remain operational.

According to MEA sources, the local staff at the Indian mission in Kandahar are still attending office and some emergency services are still available.

As the Taliban's attacks increased on Kandhar, India temporarily withdrew its diplomats for security reasons and local staff of the consulate are carrying emergency services and the consulate remained operational: the works there. Basir said additional forces are being deployed, "there will be no security issue in Kandahar." "The enemy's offensive attacks were repelled, and they suffered heavy and unprecedented casualties, as a result of which 55 enemy soldiers were killed and 90 were wounded," the governor of Takhar province Abdullah Qarluq told Reuters.

The Taliban had posted a video on the social media claiming that its fighters have taken over the Indian Consulate building but the Afghan government has called it the Talibani propagandas.

Talibani propaganda is in full swing. Recently, one of the top leaders of the group said in Moscow that the Taliban has captured 85% of Afghanistan.

"When the Taliban says it controls 85% of Afghanistan's territory, one should not believe that the Taliban controls 85% of Afghanistan's territory. It frequently exaggerates its battlefield achievements. Yes, it's seizing space at an alarming rate in battle ground as well as in the propaganda war," says Saad Illahi, an Afghan expert.

Even Taliban's benefactors in Pakistan do not believe these claims. Pakistani army's military spokesman Major Gen Babar Iftikhar said that the Taliban's claim of controlling 85% of Afghanistan is exaggerated, "I think it is between 45% to 50 %," he told the Pakistani media.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Abdul Hakeem, the head of the Doha based Taliban's political office is trying to get "support" from Central Asian countries including Russia and China.

"Some countries, including Russia, China and Iran, had some reservations about their own militants presently hiding in Afghanistan. We have signed an agreement with the United States that we would not allow foreign militants to use our soil against any other country, particularly the US and its allies," reported the Pakistani daily The News quoting a top Talibani leader.

In fact the Taliban has dispatched letters to the Chinese embassy and explained to them that they should not worry about the Uyghur militants. The Taliban leader "confessed" that the group has fighters from China, Russia, Iran, Central Asian, Arab world and Pakistan but these militants would not be allowed to continue their armed struggle against their respective countries in Afghanistan. He made it clear that these foreigner militants are guests of Afghanistan.

"We will not ask the foreign fighters to leave their country as they came here as refugees, but will not allow them to exploit our hospitality and soil against these countries." Thousands of Pak terrorists from Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and other groups like Al-Qaeda are currently fighting alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan in a clear violation of the 2020 peace deal signed by the Taliban and the US. The Taliban has assured Pakistan that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) won't be allowed to carry out any attack from Afghanistan once the group comes to power.

Meanwhile the spokesperson of the Taliban Sohail Shaheen told Geo TV that "we care about the oppression of Muslims, be it in Palestine, in Myanmar, or in China, and we care about the oppression of non-Muslims anywhere in the world. But what we are not going to do is interfere in China's internal affairs." Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has recently echoed the same "sentiment." He said that his country believes in China's version regarding the treatment of Uighurs. "Because of our close proximity and friendly relationship with China, we actually accept the Chinese version," Khan said.

The Taliban knows that China is trying to make an entry into post-U.S. Afghanistan with its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which involves the construction of highways, railways and energy pipelines between Pakistan and China to Afghanistan.

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Sydney, July 13 : Health authorities in Australia's most populous state of new South Wales (NSW) on Tuesday warned against complacency a there was a slight drop in Covid-19 cases following a triple-digit peak, saying it does not necessarily indicate a downward trend.

On Tuesday, the state recorded 89 new locally acquired cases, compared with the 112 infections registered a day ago, reports Xinhua news agency.

A total of 767 locally acquired cases have been reported in the outbreak.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the one-day drop should not be a cause for complacency.

"One day is not a trend. The numbers will keep bouncing around, we have to say that." she said.

Of the newly reported cases, 21 were infectious in the community and a further four remain under investigation.

Berejiklian said in order for the lockdown to be lifted on Friday this number would need to be near to zero.

The authorities would announce the decision on Wednesday or Thursday.

Of the 89 new cases in NSW, 64 were recorded in Fairfield in Sydney's south-east, the current epicentre of Sydney's latest outbreak.

Meanwhile, the NSW Health reported the second death related to the recent outbreak, a man in his 70s in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

The authorities imposed some new rules for the area including mandatory testing for people going out of the area for essential working.

NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro warned that restrictions may be further strengthened in some local government areas if the situation goes worse.

The state's Chief Health Officer, Kerry Chant also raised concerns about the geographical spread of the virus, after an essential worker who travelled to the regional NSW town of Goulbourn for work, 195 km south west of Sydney, tested positive for the virus.

"It does highlight why people cannot be complacent about the risk anywhere," said Chant.

At the same time, the state of Victoria recorded three locally acquired cases after a family travelled from Sydney, while the state of Queensland recorded two local cases.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Thiruvananthapuram, July 13 : Kerala minister for SC/ST K. Radhakrishnan has received death threats after he started to take strong steps in the embezzlement of funds meant for the community.

The minister's office has pointed out that the threats came on the landline number of his office in the state Secretariat.

More than half a dozen officials have been alleged to have been involved in misappropriation of funds and one of them is U.R. Rahul who has already been arrested, while a few others managed to get anticipatory bail.

The accused have been found misappropriating around Rs 4 lakh between August last year and March, 2021.

Radhakrishnan said that they will not be cowed down by such threats and strict action will be taken, even as they have resorted to such acts.

Rahul, the clerk who has been arrested, has by now tampered and destroyed his mobile and laptop, which according to the police probe team, was done when he travelled to Delhi.

The probe team will take the accused to Delhi as part of the investigation.

The Congress and the BJP have by now raised this issue and have launched a series of protests and one such protest was held before the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation office, here.

The BJP which is the opposition in the Corporation has demanded for a special meeting to discuss this graft and a CBI probe into this.

The funds are meant for the various programmes for the upliftment of the SC/ST community and this programme is conducted with the help of SC promoters in the Corporation office.

Radhakrishnan has already gone on record to state that this discrepancy was found by his department itself and all the wrong doers will be taken to task.

This surfaced after Rahul was transferred from the job he was doing and the probe found out that the money was transferred to other bank accounts.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Tokyo, July 13 : Japan's Health Ministry has decided to reduce Covid-19 vaccine supplies to some municipalities that are thought to have adequate inventories, local media reported on Tuesday.

Japan is stepping up the vaccination rollout currently, but some municipalities are forced to stop accepting reservations for inoculations because of the shortages of vaccine supply, Xinhua news agency quoted the media reports as saying.

Accordingly, the Ministry will conduct a review on the allocation of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for the first two weeks of August.

The Japanese government decided on Monday to decrease supplies by 10 per cent to municipalities that are deemed to have sufficient vaccines.

The decisions were made based on the comparison between the number of doses received by each municipality on July 4 and the number of administered doses registered in the national database on July 8.

As a result, Osaka city will receive 148 boxes, reduced from 164.

Nagoya City will receive 124 boxes, a decrease from 137.

Sapporo City will receive 103 boxes, reduced from 114, while Sendai City will receive 59 boxes, reduced from 65.

The review has released a total of 298 boxes to be added to the 2,000 boxes that were set aside for prefectural governments.

The distribution of those reserved boxes will prioritise municipalities that face the vaccine bottlenecks.
Mumbai, July 13 : Actress Bhumi Pednekar took to social media on Tuesday to express her concern about the impact of climate change on our planet. The actress highlights the necessity to regenerate Earth, which is heating up owing to climate change.

Bhumi, who has been vocal about climate change, tweeted on Tuesday: "Climate Change is real. We have accelerated it to levels of heavy repercussions. Our planet is heating up. Flash floods, drought, forest fires, disease outbreaks, mass extinction. Instead of regenerating our planet we are putting billions into finding our next home/planet." Commenting on the actress' tweet, netizens shared their opinion.

"The manufacturing of clothes that we wear are polluting our water bodies. We are destroying rain forests just to make luxury apartments and also with that animal habitats also reducing. Climate change is not related with finding home over other planet. We need to expand our horizon and stop using things that are responsible for climate change," commented a user.

"Each individual needs to think how he or she can make a difference. Cannot have best of both worlds. So, are we ready to turn off our AC, use bicycle instead of car staring today?" shared another user.

On the work front, the actress will feature alongside Akshay Kumar in the upcoming film, "Raksha Bandhan" directed by Aanand L. Rai.

She also has "Badhaai Do" with Rajkummar Rao and "Mr Lele" with Vicky Kaushal lined up.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Phnom Penh, July 13 : Cambodia will host the 13th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit on November 25 and 26 via videoconference, the Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday.

Cambodia will host the summit virtually given that the Covid-19 pandemic still prevails and emerging variants trigger new waves in many parts of the world, including Cambodia, said Foreign Ministry's secretary of state Luy David, who is the ASEM Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) leader for the country.

"The decision has been made based on the recommendation of the National Committee for Combatting Covif-19 that a physical summit is neither safe for ASEM leaders to attend nor practical as the virus continues to rage on while travel restrictions are being re-imposed by many countries," Xinhua news agency quoted the ministry as saying.

The announcement comes after the ASEM SOM was held via videoconference last week which was attended by all 51 member leaders, as well as the representatives from the European Union, ASEAN Secretariat, and Asia-Europe Foundation.

The meeting substantively discussed the draft of the Phnom Penh Statement on the Post-Covid-19 Socio-Economic Recovery, which will be one of the two outcome documents to be adopted at the ASEM13, the Ministry said.

Originally scheduled for November 16-17, 2020 in capital Phnom Penh, the summit had been twice postponed due to the pandemic.

ASEM comprises 53 partners, including 21 Asian countries, 30 European countries, the ASEAN Secretariat, and the European Union.

Collectively, ASEM partners represent 65 per cent of the global economy, 60 per cent of the world's population, 55 per cent of the world trade and 75 per cent of the world tourism.

ASEM was founded in 1996 and Cambodia became its member in 2004.
Hyderabad, July 13 : YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) leader Y.S. Sharmila on Tuesday went on a fast in Wanaparthy district of Telangana demanding the state government to fill the vacancies in government departments.

A day after announcing that every Tuesday will be observed as 'unemployment day', Sharmila reached Tadiparthi in Wanaparthy district and consoled the family of an unemployed youth who recently committed suicide.

Sharmila, sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, broke down while consoling Kondal's family members at their house. She offered some financial assistance to the family.

The YSRTP leader later sat on fast at Tadiparti bus stand. Speaking on the occasion, she slammed Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for his indifference to the burning issue of unemployment.

The daughter of late chief minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy said that her protest is to wake up KCR from the deep slumber. She alleged that the problem of unemployment was driving many youth to suicide.

Sharmila, who launched YSRTP last week, said the government should take immediate steps to fill 1.90 lakh vacancies in various government. She said the government need to recruit over 3 lakh people to fill the vacancies and the posts created with the formation of new districts.

She said 54 lakh unemployed have submitted applications for jobs to Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC).

She earlier announced that till the government fills the vacancies, her party will observe every Tuesday as unemployment day. She said every Tuesday she will console the family members of unemployed who died of suicide and sit on day-long fast near their house.

This is the first public protest launched by Sharmila after launching her political party on July 8. She vowed to bring back 'Rajanna Rajyam', a reference to the welfare rule of her late father.

Rajasekhara Reddy had implemented several pro-poor and welfare schemes when he was the chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh from 2004 to 2009.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Lucknow, July 13 : When Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra arrives in Lucknow on Friday, after a gap of almost a year and a half, to assess ground realities in her party, she will be in for some surprises and shocks - more of the latter.

Among the 'shocks' she will be faced with are a non-existent organization at the grassroots level, dwindling public support to the party, severe infighting in party ranks and a total loss of direction on the eve of assembly elections.

"During her tour, she is expected to interact with various sections in the party. It remains to be seen whether only a selected group is allowed to meet her so that reality remains hidden or if Priyanka actually meets rank and file," said a party leader.

The Congress has put up a poor show in the recent panchayat polls, exposing the claims made by state leadership that it had built strong organization teams at district and block levels following the party's revamp.

The UPCC leaders had assured the party leadership of a good show in the panchayat polls that they said would make the party a strong claimant for power in the 2022 UP assembly elections.

However, the Congress fared miserably even in its bastions, including Amethi, Raebareli and Sultanpur, and the party could not make its presence felt in the panchayat elections.

Except for three block panchayats in Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhana Mishra's assembly constituency and a block panchayat in Amethi MLC Deepak Singh's area, no other party leader has been able to ensure victory of any party supported candidate in the rural polls.

Infighting within the Congress has increased manifold and more and more leaders are resigning after airing their resentment against the 'autocratic and casteist function of UPCC chief Ajay Kumar Lallu.' "Congress workers are resigning almost every day in protest against the state of affairs in UP. They are posting their resignations on the social media. Some leaders have also been accused of taking money to make appointments in the organization. We will definitely want to meet Priyanka Gandhi and apprise her of the situation. However, we are not sure if her coterie allows us to meet her," said Konark Dixit, an expelled Congress leader.

A sizeable section of the Congress in UP wants Priyanka to bring back old guards and other senior leaders into party's mainstream.

A divide has persisted between the UPCC's new team and the old guards following action taken against them. Efforts have yet to be initiated to bring the old guards into the mainstream and many senior leaders still find themselves isolated.

As a veteran leader put it, "The Congress first needs to stop fighting with its own leaders before it can devise a plan to challenge the BJP. The UPCC leaders are making time-tested mistakes of reaching out to communities like Muslims and OBCs, instead of addressing issues that involve all."

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Seoul, July 13 : South Korea on Tuesday protested against Japan's renewed territorial claims to the disputed islets lying halfway between the two countries, called Dokdo by Seoul and Takeshima by Tokyo.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the government strongly protests against the Japanese government's reiteration of "futile" territorial claims over Dokdo through Japan's 2021 defence white paper released earlier in the day, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Ministry noted that Dokdo is clearly an integral part of the South Korean territory in terms of history, geography and international law, calling for Japan to immediately retract such claims.

It said the government particularly expresses strong regrets over the Japanese government's recent intensification of its unjust claims over Dokdo, noting that the unjust claims do not, and will not, have any impact on South Korea's sovereignty over Dokdo.

The Ministry added that South Korea will respond strictly and firmly to any provocation over the islets.

The Foreign Ministry summoned Hirohisa Soma, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, in protest against the white paper.

The Defence Ministry separately summoned an attache of Japan to lodge a protest, according to Yonhap news agency.

Since 2005, Japan has laid territorial claims to the rocky outcroppings every year in its diplomatic blue and defence white papers.
Baghdad, July 13 : At least 64 people were killed and some 50 others wounded in a massive fire that broke out in a hospital treating Covid-19 patients in Iraq's southern province of Dhi Qar, a state media report said on Tuesday.

"The latest toll of the fire in the quarantine center in al-Hussein Hospital in the provincial capital al-Nasiriyah rose to 64 killed and 50 wounded," the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) report quoted Ammar al-Zamily, a spokesman for the provincial Health Department, as saying.

According to the INA report, the fire erupted on Monday evening in the the quarantine centre and quickly spread to 20 sandwich panel caravans nearby.

Firefighters and teams of civil defence rushed to the scene to evacuate the patients and health workers, while they put out the fire hours later, al-Zamily said.

Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi held an emergency meeting with some cabinet ministers and security commanders to discuss the hospital fire and its consequences, his office said in a statement.

Al-Kadhimi decided to suspend and detain the director-general of the provincial health department, the director of the hospital, and the provincial civil defence director, and ordered an investigation into the deadly incident, said the statement.

He also decided to declare a national mourning in honour of the casualties, it added.

Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi tweeted that the session on Tuesday will discuss the incident.
raping her along with his accomplices on June 19 in the temple town of Palani, the accused has stated that the woman and her partner had threatened him with dire consequences if money was not given.

Chennai, July 13 (IANS) After a woman accused a lodge owner of raping her along with his accomplices on June 19 in the temple town of Palani, the accused has stated that the woman and her partner had threatened him with dire consequences if money was not given.

The lodge owner Muthu told IANS over the telephone from Palani, "The couple came to my lodge and took a room. The next day they entered into a brawl after consuming liquor and later in the day they left the lodge with their belongings and without paying money. This was on June 20. On June 25 they came back and took their Aadhar card and requested some money which I gave them and then they left." He added, "On July 6, I received a call stating that it was from the Thalassery police and asked me to give money or face the consequences of rape. I said I will not pay and after this, I am hearing about these charges." A senior officer with the Tamil Nadu Police told IANS "The woman and the man are not husband and wife and instead are living together and we have got information on this." The woman had complained that "she was gang-raped by a group of three persons who took her forcibly to the lodge and beat her husband and that the culprits had injured her private parts using beer bottles." However, the Kerala Police investigating officer and Deputy Superintendent of Thalassery in Kannur district, Moosa Vallikadan told IANS on Friday that according to the medical report provided by the Government Medical College, Kannur there were no such injury marks. Moosa had then said that the injuries would have healed as the alleged incident had taken place on June 20 and the report was lodged on July 9. The woman and her partner are working in Kerala and had come to Tamil Nadu's Palani to visit the temple.

With the new allegation levelled by the owner of the Palani lodge, the Special Investigation Team constituted by the Tamil Nadu Police will be conducting a detailed interrogation of the woman and her partner.
Mumbai, July 13 : A trial court here has granted bail to Dhanesh Vrajlal Sheth, the managing director of three firms accused in the multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case and a close aide of fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi.

Sheth's lawyer Vijay Aggarwal argued during the case hearing on Monday that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was trying to "fire from the shoulder of the judge".

He said that in this matter a supplementary charge sheet was filed by the CBI, summons were issued by the court and cognizance was taken on June 15 this year.

He argued that summons were also issued by the court to Sheth, managing director of Nakshatra Brands Ltd. and pursuant to such summons he appeared and filed bail application before the court.

Aggarwal vehemently argued that the investigation was completed in the present case and a charge sheet has been filed without the arrest of the accused person, which depicts that there was no need for custodial interrogation of Sheth.

Aggarwal also brought light to the fact that a company cannot be represented till an application under section 305 CrPc is not filed.

He emphasised that 'it has been three years since the accused persons have not been arrested, and now the CBI is trying to fire from the shoulder of the judge'.

Aggarwal said that the judge granted bail to the accused person on a surety of Rs one lakh.

This comes forth as another relief to the accused as Nitin Prem Shahi, Assistant Finance executive of Gitanjali Gems Ltd and Aniyath Shivraman Nair, AGM Gitanjali Jewels were also accused of being actively involved along with the main accused in getting LOU's issued from PNB without having sanctions. They were granted bail in 2018, while Choksi continues to be in custody in Dominica.

Last month, the CBI, in its supplementary charge sheet in the PNB scam, charged Choksi with criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence and cheating.

Choksi is currently in the custody of the Dominican Police on charges of illegal entry into the Caribbean nation. He was granted bail by Dominica HC on Monday on medical grounds.

The CBI charge sheet also revealed that Choksi had told his associates that they might get into trouble with the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

This was two months before he fled India in January 2018, months before a case was registered against him and his nephew Nirav Modi.

It further stated that Choksi conspired with employees of the PNB for the issuance of 165 LoUs (Letters of Undertaking) and not 142 LoUs as alleged by the bank in its complaint, says the charge sheet.

The CBI charge sheet claimed that none of these LoUs were ever entered into the bank's core system since bank employees were bribed by Choksi and his associates.

The CBI also found that 347 FLCs (foreign letters of credit) were issued to overseas banks on behalf of Mehul Choksi's firms between 2014 and 2016.

The charge sheet pointed out that 88 of these FLCs were issued in 2014, followed by another 143 in 2015 and 116 in 2016.

The FLCs were issued in favour of Choksi's firms Gili India Ltd, Gitanjali Exports Corporation Ltd, Nakshatra Brands Ltd and Asmi Jewellery India Ltd.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Amaravati, July 13 : Andhra Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Somu Veerraju on Tuesday castigated the state government for allegedly deeming Polavaram project to be an ATM.

"Looks like this government is also thinking that Polavaram is an ATM just like the last government," alleged Veerraju.

His remarks echo similar comments made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi against Nara Chandrababu Naidu earlier.

On Monday, Veerraju inspected the Polavaram project along with a team of BJP leaders.

He claimed that the state government is wasting time by taking the name of Polvaram without the motivation to actually complete it.

"Instead of correctly estimating the cost of Polvaram and getting reimbursements from the Centre, they are always raising the estimates, talking about reverse tendering and fooling people," the BJP leader alleged.

According to Veerraju, the Andhra Pradesh government is also exhibiting negligence with respect to doling out a package for the Polavaram evacuees and their resettlement.

"This is not correct, if needed, BJP will take up a movement for the sake of evacuees until they get complete justice. We will take this matter to the elders in the Central government," Veerraju added.

Veerraju claimed that the Centre has given Rs 11,000 crore for Polavaram project and until now the state government has stated spending Rs 7,000 crore for building the dam and Rs 4,000 on the evacuees.

"From now onwards, AP BJP is demanding that all the money allocated should be equally divided for the dam construction and on evacuees," he added.
Thiruvananthapuram, July 13 : The Congress led UDF opposition in Kerala on Tuesday demanded the immediate setting up of a Covid Disaster Relief Commission.

Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan said after the April 6 election when Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan retained power, things have come to a standstill.

"Since the elections are over, Vijayan has turned complacent and has the attitude, let anything happen. On account of the pandemic, there is all round suffering and the need of the hour is to set up a Covid Disaster Relief Commission, which will have to do a comprehensive study and suggest measures to help the society at large," said Satheesan.

The state presently has more than one lakh active cases and the daily number of cases is more than 20 per cent in the country. The test positivity rate (TPR) continues to hover around 10 per cent, which also is a high in the country.

"There appears to be all round dissatisfaction with the manner in which Covid is being managed and the present lockdown protocols seem to defy logic, nor are they effective. During the 2020 lockdown, there were efforts to ensure that people got a moratorium on their loans, but this time so far no such attempt has been made. Private moneylenders are making hay while traders showed their ire at Kozhikode by protesting. While all this is happening, the Vijayan government continues to be blissfully unaware of the real situation," added Satheesan.

On Tuesday, the state government came out with fresh relaxations in the lockdown norms and allowed the opening of banks on all days from Monday to Friday. Till now these banks and financial institutions opened only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Likewise it was decided to allow shops to open in local bodies that came under the A, B, C category till 8 p.m., while norms will be strict in category D areas which have a TPR above 15 per cent.

The traders body headed by T. Nasirudhin on Tuesday said that they will wait till Thursday to see if the government will come out with further relaxations as their members are in deep trouble and have to open their shops. If there is no favourable response, then they will have to look for other options.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Bengaluru, July 13 : BJP national general secretary C.T. Ravi has proposed implementation of the new controversial 'National Population Policy' in the state of Karnataka also.

Putting out a tweet, he has opined that the policy should be implemented on lines of Assam and Uttar Pradesh to check the growth of population as natural resources are depleting.

Ravi in his tweet wrote, "It is high time Karnataka formulates a new population policy on the lines of Assam and Uttar Pradesh to control its growing population." "It will be difficult to meet the needs of every citizen if there is a population explosion," he underlined.

Meanwhile, state home minister Basavaraj Bommai maintained that a decision in this regard will be taken after discussions and deliberations. The implementation of the New Population Policy had already gained momentum in BJP ruled states of Assam and Uttar Pradesh.
Guwahati, July 13 : Hit by acute poverty, some villagers in Assam are selling off their kidneys. The development came to light after people of the Dakshin Dharamtul village in Morigaon district apprehended an "agent" and two others and handed them over to the police earlier this week.

Local residents told the media that at least 31 people from Dakshin Dharamtul and adjoining villages have reportedly sold off a kidney each so far.

According to the villagers some poor people took the step to repay loans, while some others did it for the treatment of family members or other economic reasons.

The poverty-stricken villagers are mostly farm labourers or daily wage earners and they have been acutely affected by the Covid induced pandemic.

Those people who sold their kidneys were taken to Kolkata by the middlemen and underwent surgeries in private hospitals.

Morigaon district Superintendent of Police Aparna Natarajan said that the police so far arrested three people over the racket.

Of the three people, the agent Lilimai Bodo is from Guwahati, one is a local and the other two are outside the district.

She said that they do not have any specific information on the number of people who had sold their kidneys.

"Police probing the matter and also talking with the villagers to collect the necessary details," the IPS officer told IANS over phone on Tuesday.

The villagers told the police that some people sold the kidney for Rs 5 lakhs to Rs 6 lakhs, but the agent took a "commission" of Rs 1.50 lakh.

Police received a complaint against the agent on Sunday from a person, whose kidney was allegedly transplanted last month, but only Rs 50,000 was paid to him against the promised amount of Rs 6 lakhs.

Buying and selling of kidneys and other human organs is prohibited in India by the Transplantation of Human Organs Act 1994.

However, body organs can be transplanted from living donors, who are close relatives of the patient or non-related persons after proper permission by the government and from brain-dead patients.
Bengaluru, July 13 : Pinarayi Vijayan, the chief minister of Kerala has written to Karnataka's opposition leader Siddaramaiah, to clarify that no attempt is being made by the Kerala government to change the names of the villages in Kasaragod district.

The issue snowballed into a major controversy when the local administration of Kasaragod district was alleged to have come up with a proposal to change the names of many villages derived from Kannada language, to that of Malayalam.

Opposition leader Siddaramaiah had written to Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on June 29 expressing his concern over the development.

Replying to his letter, Vijayan has said that, "Let me assure you that no decision has been taken to change the name of any village in Kasargod district. There need not be any apprehensions in this regard." He further stated, "We fully appreciate the feelings expressed by you for strengthening harmony and the bond among people of both the states." All schools remain closed in Kerala due to the pandemic, steps have been taken to relay classes in Kannada medium also through cable channels, he stressed.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New Delhi, July 13 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to examine whether UAPA, a stringent anti-terror law, is applicable in gold smuggling cases, in the backdrop of conflicting rulings by two high courts.

A bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana agreed to examine the issue, in view of applications filed by the Centre and the NIA, stating that UAPA is applicable in gold smuggling cases. However, the top court declined to cancel the bail granted to 12 accused in the controversial case pertaining to smuggling of gold through diplomatic baggage from UAE to Thiruvananthapuram. Notice has been sent to all the 12 accused who were granted bail.

The Centre and the NIA, before the top court, pointed out at confusion arising out of the rulings of two high courts -- Rajasthan and Kerala -- which arrived at diametrically opposite conclusions.

In February this year, the Kerala High Court, while granting bail to the 12 accused, had observed that gold smuggling does not come under the purview of terrorism. "We are unable to hold that smuggling of gold simpliciter will fall within Section 15(1)(a) (iiia) of UA(P) Act", the high court had said.

The court added that gold smuggling, clearly covered by the provisions of the Customs Act, will not fall within the definition of terrorist act in Section 15 of UA(P) Act unless evidence is brought out to show that it is done with the intent to threaten, or it is likely to threaten the economic security or monetary stability of India.

On the contrary, the Rajasthan High Court in February, had ruled that a gold smuggler prosecuted under Customs Act could also be prosecuted under UAPA. The high court had refused to quash the FIR registered by the NIA under the offences of UAPA.

Mohammad Aslam, the petitioner in the matter, was caught at Jaipur International Airport for smuggling over 1.5 Kg gold. The high court rejected Aslam's plea contending that registering the case under UAPA would amount to "double jeopardy", as he was already facing prosecution under the Customs Act.

The high court had noted that smuggling gold with the intent to threaten the economic security of the country can be termed as a "terrorist act" under UAPA. Aslam had moved the top court, seeking stay of investigation and the proceedings connected with FIR, which was registered by NIA under provisions of the UAPA. In March, a bench headed by Justice R.F. Nariman issued notice on his plea.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Bengaluru, July 13 : Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding illegal mining, Sumalatha Ambareesh, an Independent MP from Mandya in Karnataka, on Tuesday began a two-day tour of the parliamentary constituency she represents.

The visit is expected to become a flash point between her and JD(S) workers as she is at loggerheads with former Karnataka Chief Minister and senior JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy over the safety of the Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) Dam due to alleged illegal mining in the area.

Sumalatha, who had earlier visited the Baby Hills region where illegal mining is said to be taking place, is scheduled to visit the KRS Dam on Wednesday.

Kumaraswamy had earlier commented that Sumalatha should sleep at the entrance to the KRS Dam to ensure its safety. The statement was condemned widely with Sumalatha vowing that she would continue to fight against illegal mining.

While Mandya district is considered to be a bastion of the JD(S), Sumalatha had sprung a surprise in the last Lok Sabha elections by defeating Kumaraswamy's son with a handsome margin.
Bengaluru, July 13 : Considering the needs of the students appearing for SSLC examinations, the Karnataka government has announced free travel for them in State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses in the state.

The students can freely travel to the examination centre and return to their hometowns and villages, according to the directive. It has been told to the KSRTC authorities to make stops wherever is required for the students to reach examination centres.

The students appearing for the exams are asked to carry the hall ticket compulsorily, said Shivayogi Kalasad, the Managing Director of the KSRTC. The SSLC exams are being held in the state on July 19 and 22.
New Delhi, July 13 : Amazon Web Services (AWS), which is the cloud arm of Amazon, on Tuesday announced the launch of an India-first programme that will help early-stage startups in the public sector build solutions on its platform.

Called 'AWS Startup Ramp,' it is an acceleration programme for startups that are building innovative solutions for public sector customers worldwide in the fields of government, space, defense, healthcare and others.

"We are excited to launch the 'AWS Startup Ramp' in India where there is incredible opportunity for startups to solve public sector challenges through their innovative solutions," said Sandy Carter, vice president of public sector partners and programmes at AWS.

According to Rahul Sharma, President, Public Sector, AISPL, AWS India and South Asia, the programme aims to accelerate digital transformation that has seen a tremendous growth in the public sector amid the pandemic in the country.

"As digital transformation gets in top gear, AWS is betting big on creating public sector startup entrepreneurs in India. We are seeing a strong momentum in the startup ecosystem in India and 'AWS Startup Ramp' will help early-stage public sector startups innovate further and create better solutions," Sharma told IANS.

Startups in their early stage growth can apply to join the AWS Startup Ramp in one of two tiers -- pre-revenue startups can apply to the Innovator tier, and post-revenue startups (with up to Rs 100 crore in revenue) can apply to the Member tier.

According to the company, startups meeting all qualifying application criteria will be reviewed and evaluated for participation based on their potential contributions to public sector customers.

AWS Startup Ramp is modelled after AWS EdStart, which works with education technology (EdTech) focused startups, and AWS GovTechStart, the US-based programme that supports commercial technology companies serving state and local governments.

According to Sam Harris, Regional Public Sector Startup Lead, Asia Pacific and Japan, AWS, the goal is to help startups complete their otherwise lonely journey and grow faster than ever.

"The pandemic has accelerated digital transformation and we see India right on the path as far as nurturing its strong startup ecosystem is concerned. The desire to transform and innovate is great across the spectrum, especially in the fields of agriculture, space tech, healthcare and education. 'AWS Startup Ramp' will only fuel this growth," Harris told IANS.

By joining the programme, 'AWS Startup Ramp' members will have access to technical experts, education, and live or virtual events.

Fintech startup Whrrl is working to revolutionise the post-harvest ecosystem through its integrated blockchain platform.

"We are assured that with AWS support, we will not disappoint our stakeholders. The financial support in the form of AWS Promotional Credit that we've received is hugely helpful for us as an early-stage startup," said Ashish Anand, chief executive officer (CEO) of Whrrl.

"Most of our data is sensitive information related to the farmers and farmland, and with security features of AWS implemented, we are able to manage data security with ease," added Praveen Kuruganti, co-founder of Unmiti, an agritech startup that is working to monitor and evaluate agriculture projects.
New Delhi, July 13 : Expressing his concern over the growing number of Covid cases in some districts of the northeastern states during an interaction with the Chief Ministers of the region, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday stressed on the need to catch these signals and take strict actions at the micro level.

The Prime Minister re-emphasised the use of micro containment protocol in dealing with the situation and asked the CMs to make full use of the experience and best practices gathered over the last one-and-a-half years in this regard.

Modi made the remarks while interacting with the Chief Ministers of Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Assam on the Covid-19 situation in the region.

The Prime Minister also lauded the people, health workers and the governments of the Northeast for their hard work in the fight against the pandemic and for creating infrastructure for testing, treatment and vaccination despite the difficult terrains of the states.

Noting the fast-mutating nature of the virus, the Prime Minister advised strict monitoring of the mutation and keeping track of all the variants. He informed that experts are studying the mutations and their impact.

In such a scenario, prevention and treatment are critical, Modi said while emphasising Covid appropriate behaviour.

The Prime Minister also emphasised the utility of physical distancing, wearing masks, and vaccination. "Similarly, strategy of testing, tracking and treatment is a proven strategy," he said.

Acknowledging the impact of the pandemic on tourism and business, the Prime Minister cautioned against crowding at the hill stations without taking proper precautions.

Rejecting the argument that people want to enjoy before the arrival of a possible third wave of the pandemic, Modi said that one must understand that the third wave will not come on its own, and the main question in people's mind should be how to prevent its possible outbreak.

Referring to repeated warnings against carelessness and crowding by the experts, the Prime Minister said these habits can lead to a massive surge in cases, as he strongly advocated preventing avoidable crowding.

Modi said that in the 'vaccine for all - free for all' campaign of the Central government, the Northeast too is given the same importance, and one needs to keep accelerating the vaccination process.

To deal with the myths pertaining to vaccination and mobilising people, the Prime Minister asked the CMs to enlist the help of social/educational institutes, celebrities and also the organisations of religious faith.

He asked to accelerate the vaccination drive in the areas where the spread of the virus is expected.

Referring to the recent Cabinet nod to the Rs 23,000 crore package for improving the infrastructure for testing and treatment, the Prime Minister said that the package will help in strengthening the health infrastructure of the Northeast region.

"This package will expedite testing, diagnostics and genome sequencing in the Northeast," he said.

The Prime Minister further stressed on the need to quickly increase the number of beds, oxygen facilities and paediatric care infrastructure in the Northeast, and informed that hundreds of oxygen plants are being established in the country through the PM-CARES Fund and the Northeast region too has got about 150 plants.

The Prime Minister urged the CMs to complete the process of establishing these plants quickly.

Underlining the need to establish temporary hospitals due to the geographical situation of the Northeast, Modi asked them to prepare trained manpower for the oxygen plants, ICU wards and new machines that are reaching the block level hospitals.

He assured all help from the Central government.

Noting the capacity of 20 lakh tests per day in the country, the Prime Minister highlighted the need to augment the testing infrastructure in the affected districts on a priority basis.

He further stressed on aggressive testing along with random testing and expressed hope that India will surely be able to contain the spread of the virus with the collective efforts.

Apart from the Chief Ministers, Union Ministers for Home, Defence, Health, DoNER and other ministers were present during the interaction.

The Chief Ministers briefed about the progress of vaccination in their states and the steps that are being taken to take the drive to the far-flung areas. They also discussed the issue of vaccine hesitancy and the measures being taken to overcome it.

They gave an account of improvement in medical infrastructure to better tackle Covid cases, and the support lent through the PM-CARES Fund. They gave assurance of taking timely action to bring down the positivity rate as well as the number of cases in their states.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah talked about the reduction in the overall daily number of cases but forewarned that this should not lead to one becoming lax and letting one's guard down.

He said that some areas of the country are witnessing high positivity rates, and emphasised on the importance of testing, tracing, tracking and vaccination.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Bengaluru, July 13 : The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday deferred, to July 20, its judgment on the plea by Twitter India Managing Director Manish Maheshwari over the sensational Loni assault case.

Maheshwari had filed a plea before the high court on July 8, appealing for quashing of a notice issued by UP Police summoning him to the state for the investigation. He also contended that there is a "hidden agenda" in the process of summoning him.

He also maintained that the notice under Section 41-A of the CrPC was without sanction of law and without jurisdiction.

It was expected that the court would dictate the order on Tuesday but Justice G. Narendar has deferred it.

Maheshwari was booked, along with others, after a communally sensitive video showing an elderly Muslim man being beaten up in Loni region of UP's Ghaziabad district was uploaded.
New Delhi, July 13 : As part of the plans to extend its digital footprint in the neighbouring countries, India on Tuesday launched the BHIM-UPI-led services in Bhutan.

The launch was carried out virtually by Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, and the Finance Minister of Bhutan, Lyonpo Namgay Tshering.

Speaking on the occasion, Sitharaman said that the services have been started in Bhutan under India's neighbourhood first policy and the country is proud and happy to share them with its valued neighbour.

The Finance Minister said that BHIM UPI has been one of the brightest spots and an achievement for digital transactions in India during the Covid-19 pandemic with more than 100 million UPI QRs being created in the last five years, while in 2020-21 alone, it processed 22 billion transactions worth Rs 41 lakh crore.

The Finance Minister of Bhutan, Lyonpo Namgay Tshering, thanked and appreciated the Government of India for the launch of BHIM-UPI services in Bhutan and added that the bond between the two countries is becoming stronger each passing day.

The launch fulfils the commitment made by the two countries during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bhutan in 2019. Following that visit, India and Bhutan have already enabled inter-operability in acceptance of Rupay cards in each other's countries in two phases -- acceptance of Rupay cards issued in India at Bhutan based terminals in the first phase, and vice versa in the second phase.

With the launch of BHIM-UPI in Bhutan, the payment infrastructures of the two countries are seamlessly connected and will benefit a large number of tourists and businessmen from India who travel to Bhutan each year. This will also enhance the ease of living and ease of travelling through cashless transactions at the touch of a button.

As a part of the launch, Sitharaman also made a live transaction using BHIM-UPI to purchase an organic product from a Bhutanese OGOP outlet, which sells fresh farm produce made organically by the local communities in Bhutan.
Chittoor : , July 13 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh police in Chittoor district have arrested a gang of seven inter-state motorcycle thieves who stole two-wheelers at nine places in AP and seven in Karnataka.

"From the past several days, six people have been stealing two-wheelers and selling them to Meghnadh and Ganesh," said a police official on Tuesday.

Gudupalli, Kuppam, Rallabaduguru, Ramakuppam, V. Kota, Palamaneru, Gangavaram, Punganuru and Bangarupalya in AP and HAL, Kolar town, Maasti, Mullabgal, Anugondhanahalli, Sampigehalli and Varthur in Karnataka are the places where this gang struck for stealing vehicles.

T. Vinay Kumar (21), V. Ekambaram (20), M. Muniraju (20), K. Lakshman (20), B. Santosh (22), K. Meghnadh (24) and K. Ganesh (27) were arrested for the series of vehicles thefts in the neighbouring states.

The police received complaints on a series of two-wheeler thefts near PES college in Gudupalli mandalam, prompting them to mount a vigil on nabbing the vehicle lifters.

S. Tamil Selvam (23), an AC technician at PES medical college, residing in hostel room number 103 had also lodged a complaint that his two-wheeler was stolen from the college parking place.

On Monday, around 1.30 p.m. in the afternoon, Gudupalli police sub-inspector and Rallabuduguru sub-inspector were monitoring Govindapalli - Arimanupenta road at Palarevu near Subramanya Swamy temple, where they noticed six of the accused moving on six vehicles.

"On seeing the police, they tried to run away but were nabbed and interrogated. On probing them, A1 to A5 admitted that they would steal two-wheelers and sell them to A6 Meghnadh and A7 Ganesh," he said.

Most of the time, the accused lifted vehicles parked in front of the victims' houses itself.

The police recovered 26 two-wheelers, valued at Rs 18 lakh from the accused. In the case of Selvam, police registered a case under IPC Section 379.
Lucknow, July 13 : With active Covid caseload in Uttar Pradesh dropping below the 1,500-mark, the state is on its way to becoming Covid-free.

Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday witnessed the steepest decline in the number of fresh cases as the state logged below 60 new infections for the first time in over four months. This is the lowest single-day tally recorded in the state since February-end.

The active caseload in Uttar Pradesh has come down to 1,479, of which 1,186 people are under home isolation, while the percentage of active cases as against the total confirmed cases is just 0.1 per cent.

The recovery rate in the state now stands at 98.6 per cent, which is a testimony to the success of the 'Yogi model' in taming the virus, said a government spokesperson.

Uttar Pradesh had also recorded a significant drop in the daily test positivity rate (TPR) -- the number of positive cases against the total tests done -- on Monday as it dipped to 0.03 per cent, the lowest so far.

The spokesperson said that Uttar Pradesh has been pushing for more testing and has set up 11 new bio-safety level-2 laboratories to further boost the state's testing capacity, which is already nearly 4 lakh tests a day.

With these new RT-PCR laboratories, over 44 districts of the state will get accessible testing facilities.

Work is underway to set up such laboratories in the other 30 districts of the state within three to four months, the spokesperson informed.

Uttar Pradesh has also ramped up its oxygen production as 153 out of the 542 sanctioned plants have become functional, he added.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New Delhi, July 13 : The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Tuesday gave final approval for developing affordable rental housing complex (ARHC) scheme under its Master Plan of Delhi (MPD)-2021.

The approval was granted in a board meeting chaired by Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal, who is also chairman of the DDA.

The policy will now be sent to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for final notification, said a senior DDA official.

The scheme, which was granted initial approval from the land owning agency (DDA) earlier in March this year, has been framed to develop affordable rental housing avenues for urban migrants and urban poor.

"The proposal has been taken up in line with the operational guidelines for the ARHC scheme, issued by the Centre. It will now be forwarded to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for its consideration and final notification," a DDA official said.

The proposal paved the way for ARHCs on privately owned land, government land or other agencies. This will also include plots auctioned by DDA where developers can utilise the purchased plot for developing affordable rental housing complexes.

As per the approved norms, the housing complexes will consist of a mix of dwelling units (single and double bedrooms) with all common facilities.

The approved policy provides a maximum 10 percent of permissible floor area ratio (FAR) to be utilised as a commercial component, which could be rented or sold by the building developers.

"The occupancy of the ARHCs will be granted on the basis of license deed with a minimum tenure of three months and a maximum tenure of three years, ensuring accessibility to all the eligible beneficiaries for ARHCs," DDA said.

The policy has included affordable and easily accessible rental housing in the vicinity of workplaces for the urban poor and migrant workers in Delhi.

Meanwhile, the DDA has also given primary approval for its proposed dynamic parking norms in the meeting.

The parking norms have been formulated based on the study conducted by The Delhi Urban Arts Commission and discussions with the National Institute of Urban Affairs, Delhi Municipal Corporations and other agencies.

DDA said if the proposed policy was approved, the residential projects will be based on the number and size of the dwelling units instead of built-up area ensuring the residents a balanced facility.

"The proposed policy has rationalised the parking norms of Delhi to cater to the current and future requirements of the city. Metro deductions and multi-level car parking deductions have been inbuilt while calculating parking requirements for various use categories. Once notified, these norms shall be applicable on the new as well as all the ongoing projects," DDA said.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Hyderabad, July 13 : Telangana Industry and Information Technology Minister K.T. Rama Rao on Tuesday said if Singapore companies evinced interest in investing in Telangana, the state government would set up an exclusive zone or Singapore hub.

He mooted the idea during a meeting with a delegation from Singapore headed by its High Commissioner to India, Simon Wong.

Wong welcomed the idea and said they would definitely consider this proposal positively.

He said that when he was working in Vietnam, a similar initiative was taken up to draw investments and has been successfully operational since then.

The High Commissioner said Telangana offers several investment opportunities in new sectors, and told the minister that he will help brief Singapore companies and investors about these opportunities.

He also told the minister that he received positive feedback about the business climate in Telangana from companies like DBS who have invested here. He said Singapore companies were keen to invest in information technology, innovation and emerging areas like blockchain.

He noted that T-Hub and other such initiatives are driving conducive atmosphere in IT ecosystem and innovations in Hyderabad.

Rama Rao stated that Telangana government's friendly industrial policies have helped attract major global companies to the state. He added that many Singapore-based firms have already established their units here and are positive about the state's ecosystem.

KTR, as the minister is popularly known, told the High Commissioner that ever since the formation of Telangana, the government's "investor-friendly policies, TSiPASS singe-window clearance and other steps have helped Telangana attract international investors".

Citing the investment opportunities that exist in Telangana, he pointed out that for centuries, Hyderabad has been developing with a cosmopolitan culture. Companies from various states in the country and from various countries in the world have their presence in Hyderabad for a long time.

The minister claimed that Telangana is not only competing with other states in the country but is also competing in attracting investments from around the world.

He said the state offer tremendous investment opportunities in sectors like life sciences, pharma, information technology, textiles, food processing, and agriculture.

The minister felicitated the Singapore delegation, including Singapore Consul General in Chennai Pong Kok Tian.
Patna, July 13 : Political leaders of Bihar are divided over the population control policy brought about by the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh. There are different views and opinions among the allies of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) with regard to the new policy in Bihar.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, while expressing his views on population control, said on Monday that population control cannot be achieved only by enacting a law unless women are educated and made aware about it.

"Introducing legislation for population control is not going to be of much help. For this it is necessary to educate and make women aware," he said.

However, he also said that, "different states have different views on the issue. Do whatever you want, but our opinion is that just making laws will not control the population. We are thinking on how to work with all the communities." However, JDU leader and former union minister Upendra Kushwaha has supported the population control policy envisaged by the Uttar Pradesh government. Kushwaha said, "With the passage of time the need for such a law has increased in Bihar too, because the way the population is increasing, its effect will be seen on development of the state. The Bihar government also needs to implement this law." On the other hand, Bihar deputy chief minister Renu Devi's views seem to be different from those of chief minister Nitish Kumar. Renu Devi says, "For population control, there is a need to make men more aware than women because there is a lot of fear among men about sterilization." The Congress has also jumped into the debate. Rajesh Rathod, chairman of the party's media department, said, "The Congress has been running awareness campaigns for population control. Chief minister Nitish Kumar talks about awareness on the issue, which we welcome." Rathod, however, also asked whether it was a personal statement of Nitish Kumar or the statement of the JD(U), as the statement of Kushwaha does not match with that of the chief minister on this matter.

He said the JD(U) should first speak in one voice in his own party and then the chief minister should clarify on the situation by creating consensus among the NDA parties.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath released 'Population Policy Uttar Pradesh 2021-30' on World Population Day. Since then there has been a debate over population control in the country.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Guwahati, July 13 : Responding to the request of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) authority, the Gauhati University on Tuesday agreed to introduce NCC as a credit-based elective subject in the colleges under the varsity, officials said.

Brig Jogesh Talukdar, Group Commander, NCC, Guwahati, on Tuesday met Gauhati University Vice-Chancellor Pratap Jyoti Handique and discussed about the significance of NCC besides requesting him to include NCC as a credit-based elective subject in different colleges of Assam.

An official statement said that the group commander stated that inclusion of NCC as an elective subject in the academic curriculum would bring "revolutionary and paradigm shift in the opportunities for the students of the northeast in joining the armed forces of the country".

"It will usher in nationalism, patriotism and a sense of social service to the student community. The Vice-Chancellor has agreed in principle to introduce NCC as an elective subject as soon as possible for the betterment of the student community of the northeast region," the statement said.

Talukdar said that it would also steer a sense of voluntary community service among the student community.
Chennai, July 13 : Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) leader and Member of Parliament from Villupuram Lok Sabha seat D. Ravikumar has submitted a memorandum to the Puducherry government to call an all-party meet and pass a resolution against the proposed Mekedatu dam project of Karnataka across the Cauvery river.

The Villupuram MP submitted the memorandum to the Puducherry minister for public works, K. Laksminarayanan on Tuesday and urged the UT government to extend complete support to the Tamil Nadu government's move to stall the construction of the Mekedatu dam. Stiff protest was voiced by the Tamil Nadu government against the proposed dam over Cauvery river and the Chief Minister had openly come out against the construction of the dam.

Tamil Nadu water resources minister and senior DMK leader S. Duraimurugan had already met Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and got an assurance that no construction will commence at Mekedatu without the consent of Tamil Nadu.

Ravikumar in the memorandum said, "The construction of Mekedatu dam would lead to a situation wherein Puducherry will not get its share of Cauvery water and that if it does not act swiftly the agricultural activities of the Karaikal region will be completely wiped out." The Villupuram MP also said that the Puducherry government must initiate legal and political steps in coordination with the Tamil Nadu government to safeguard its rightful share of Cauvery waters.

Ravikumar said that the geographical features in the territory were not conducive for construction of a dam. He also said that the claims meted out by the Karnataka government that it was constructing the dam across the Cauvery river for the drinking water needs of its people were not true.
Chennai, July 13 : AIADMK coordinator and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, E.K. Palaniswami, on Tuesday urged the state government to revive the scheme of providing free 2GB data to students of government colleges, polytechnics and government-aided colleges.

In a statement, the senior leader said that the previous AIADMK government led by him had launched the scheme in January 2021 and had covered 9.7 lakh students of the state.

He said that the scheme was in operation till April 2021, adding that the poor students of the state are not in a position now to renew the cards by spending Rs 200 or Rs 400 a month.

Palaniswami called upon Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to get the cards of 2 GB capacity (per day) renewed and distributed among the students.

Palaniswami also said that the students of the state are in confusion over whether the educational institutions will be reopened soon or if online classes would continue. He called upon the state government to clear the apprehensions of the student community in this regard.
Hyderabad, July 13 : Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has evinced interest in setting up a first generation ethanol production plant in Telangana, at an investment of Rs 1,000 crore.

A high-powered team of the public sector company called on Telangana's Principal Secretary, Industries & Commerce, Jayesh Ranjan, here on Tuesday to express interest in setting up the plant with a capacity of 5 lakh litres per day.

This meeting came after the Central government announced a favorable policy to increase ethanol production in the country.

The BPCL team was led by its Executive Director, Bio Fuels, Anurag Saraogi, and included ED, Engineering and Products, L.R. Jain, and Project Leader, KHPL Project, B. Manohar.

Saraogi pointed out that Telangana is ethanol deficient as on date, considering 10 per cent blending requirements in motor spirit. ln view of 20 per cent blending targets by 2025-26 as per the road map document released by Niti Aayog and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry in June 2021, the BPCL is planning to set up a 500 KLD capacity grain based first generation ethanol plant.

This will not only facilitate the production of first generation ethanol and contribute revenue to the state, but will also generate huge direct and indirect employment in the state. This project will also go a long way in reducing air pollution.

The delegation told the official that for setting up the project, they need about 100 acres of land having proximity to source of water as the plant requires about 4,000 KL day of water for its regular operations.

Ranjan assured that the Telangana government will extend all necessary support to set up the plant and allotment of land along with necessary clearances will be fast tracked.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New Delhi, July 13 : With advancement into remaining parts of the country including Delhi, the remaining parts of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, the southwest monsoon has covered entire country as on Tuesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The normal date for monsoon covering the entire country was July 8 but it was delayed by five days due to weather conditions.

The continued prevalence of moist easterly winds from the Bay of Bengal in the lower levels for the last four days resulted in enhanced cloud cover and scattered to fairly widespread rainfall, the IMD said.

"The monsoon advance over Delhi thus occurred on Tuesday against the normal date of June 27." The rainfall at Safdarjung observatory centre was measured at 2.5 cm followed by Ayanagar (1.3 cm), Palam (2.4 cm), CHO Lodi Road (0.9 cm), Ridge (1 cm) - all Delhi, Gurgram (5.1 cm), Faridabad (2.8 cm), Panipat (1 cm), Rohtak (2.2 cm), Hisar (3.3 cm), Fatehabad (3 cm) - all Haryana, and Jaisalmer (7.7 cm), Bikaner (6.8 cm), Churu (9 cm) - all Rajasthan.

The long-delayed monsoon finally arrived early on Tuesday giving much needed respite to the citizens in Delhi-NCR.

The national capital along with adjoining cities including Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida, and Ghaziabad also received rainfall.

The southwest monsoon arrived in Delhi-NCR after IMD's several predictions made in the last 15 days went wrong.

The monsoon had reached almost all parts of the country but had stayed away from Delhi, Haryana, parts of west Uttar Pradesh and west Rajasthan. The weather forecasting agency had predicted that monsoon is expected to cover these parts by June -- a little less than a month back but that did not happen.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New Delhi, July 13 : Delhi Jal Board (DJB) Vice Chairman Raghav Chadha on Tuesday said the Haryana government has released nearly 16,000 cusecs (cubic foot per second) of water for Delhi, which will reach the Yamuna river in the next three-four days.

Chadha claimed that Haryana released Delhi's legitimate share of water after the DJB moved the Supreme Court and held several rounds of talks with officials of the neighbouring state.

In 1996, the apex court had told the Haryana government and other states to share Yamuna's water to ensure that there was no shortage of drinking water in Delhi.

The DJB on Sunday moved the SC seeking immediate directions to the Haryana government to release Delhi's share of water.

"We tried to build pressure on the Haryana government. We even filed a petition in the SC and held several rounds of talks with the officials of the neighbouring state. Now Delhi's water crisis will be resolved in next three or four days," he added.

On Friday, the DJB had said Haryana had been withholding 120 MGD (million gallons per day) water belonging to Delhi.

On Monday, Delhi's water authority had claimed that the water level at the Wazirabad pond had hit the lowest mark since 1965.

According to a DJB official, the level at Wazirabad pond had come down from a normal 674.5 feet to 667 feet.

The water from Wazirabad pond is drawn for treatment at Wazirabad, Okhla and Chandrawal treatment plants. The treated water is then supplied to central, south and west Delhi.

The DJB supplies 935 MGD of water to city residents against the demand of 1,150 MGD.

At present, the national capital has been receiving 479 MGD against 609 MGD from Haryana. Besides, it draws 90 MGD groundwater and receives 250 MGD from the Upper Ganga Canal.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New Delhi, July 13 : Supreme Court judge Justice D.Y. Chandrachud has said that criminal laws, including the anti-terror law, should not be misused for quelling dissent and courts must act as first line of defence against deprivation of liberty.

Justice Chandrachud made these remarks in his address at the Indo-US Joint Summer Conference on Indo-US legal ties on Monday evening. He emphasised that no law can be employed to harass citizens and take away their freedom.

"Criminal law, including anti-terror legislation, should not be misused for quelling dissent or harassment to citizens," he said, citing his judgement in Arnab Goswami case to emphasise that courts must ensure that they continue to remain the first line of defence against the deprivation of liberty of citizens.

Justice Chandrachud underscored that depravation of liberty for even a single day is "one too many" and that judges must always be mindful of the deeper systemic issues of their decisions.

"Today, the world's oldest and largest democracies represent these ideals of a multicultural, pluralist society where their constitutions are focused on a deep commitment and respect for human rights." Justice Chandrachud's remarks have come amid the outrage over the death of 84-year-old activist Stan Swamy, who was arrested under the anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), in the Elgar Parishad case last year. Swamy died last week in Mumbai while fighting for bail on health grounds.

Many other cases where the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act has been invoked have also been seen controversies.

After spending 17 months behind the bars, Assam leader Akhil Gogoi walked out of jail. He was jailed under the UAPA in connection with a case against him over violent protests against the contentious citizenship law.

Recently, the Delhi High Court granted bail to student activists Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita and Asif Iqbal Tanha booked under the UAPA in connection with February 2020 Delhi riots, making strong observations against the indiscriminate invocation of UAPA by the government and police.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Thiruvananthapuram, July 13 : The Congress on Tuesday asked Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to immediately intervene in the issue of garments major Kitex Group, which has already entered into a deal with the Telangana government to set up its unit there, after expressing displeasure over the way it was treated in Kerala.

Deputy leader of Congress in the Kerala Assembly and former state minister, K. Babu, said that it is strange that despite Vijayan sharing very good relations with the family of Sabu Jacob, the Chairman and Managing Director of Kitex Group, the Chief Minister has done nothing to resolve the burning issue.

"During 2011-16, I as a state minister after being told by then Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had intervened and sorted out the issues facing Kitex then. One fails to understand why Vijayan is keeping mum. Everybody is certain that the present issue can be resolved if Vijayan takes the lead," said Babu.

"Just see the response Jacob received from the other states... the Chief Ministers and other state ministers were running after him, inviting his company to their state, while here Vijayan is maintaining a laid-back approach. One fails to understand the reason.

"Another surprising thing is that the Left government here is trying to blame four Congress legislators from Ernakulam for raising complaints against Kitex. Is it not natural that when an issue arises in a particular locality, the local legislator intervenes? That's what happened and nothing else," added Babu.

Jacob along with his six-member team returned from Telangana on Sunday, after flying out in a private jet chartered by the Telangana government.

In Telangana, Jacob announced that Kitex Group will invest Rs 1,000 crore to set up an apparel manufacturing unit at the Kakatiya Mega Textiles Park (KMTP) in Warangal, after having a few rounds of discussions with Telangana Industry Minister K.T. Rama Rao and other senior officials.

Jacob had earlier claimed that he was haunted and hunted by numerous government departments in the past one month in Kerala, a charge that was flatly denied by both Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Industries Minister P. Rajeev.

Kitex Garments, the second-largest children's apparel manufacturer in the world, after a series of raids by various state government agencies, had announced the scrapping of the Rs 3,500 crore project for which it had signed a memorandum with the Kerala government at the 'Ascend Global Investors Meet' in Kochi in January 2020.

Jacob even went on record to state that the Kerala government was not providing any subsidy, including for power, noting that it was all profit for the state government and there was no professional interest being envisaged by it.

He had also alleged that things were at the mercy of the local-level leaders in Kerala, and even an upper division clerk in the state could scuttle the prospects of an industrialist.

Kerala is lagging behind in industrial growth and the attitude of the rulers and the bureaucracy is the reason behind this, he had said.

Jacob and his establishment witnessed 11 teams from various departments raiding the company in the past one month. Even the company employees were also grilled for hours.

It was then that Jacob had announced that he will move out of the state, following which offers poured in from nine states.

Even during the present controversy, the share value of Kitex continues to rise and after Jacob's visit to Telangana and the subsequent announcement made by him, its share price rose by Rs 28 to touch Rs 168 and continues to rise.
Chennai, July 13 : The Madras High Court has dismissed a Public Interest Litigation filed by BJP's Tamil Nadu General Secretary, K. Nagarajan, against setting up of the Justice A.K. Rajan Committee to study the impact of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) on students, especially from the socially and economically backward classes.

The committee was constituted by the DMK government on June 10. The DMK had, in its election manifesto, opposed the NEET and had promised that it would do away with the exam which was causing great stress to the people from economically and socially deprived backgrounds. This was challenged by the BJP's Nagarajan.

A bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, while dismissing the PIL, said that the constitution of such a committee cannot be seen as contrary to the orders of the Supreme Court or the powers of the Union government.

"There is nothing to stop an elected government from studying the impact of NEET," it held.

Nagarajan had, in his plea, stated that the constitution of such a committee was a "futile exercise" as the study of such a committee would not have any impact on the conduct of the NEET examination since the Supreme Court has already passed an order on the competitive examination earlier.

He had also contended that the NEET was introduced after several studies and legal pronouncements and said that relying upon plus two marks for medical admissions would lead to the selection of "average minds and below average students".

The BJP leader also claimed that the constitution of the committee was far beyond the competence of the state and had termed it as a "reckless act".
San Francisco, July 13 : Tech giant Google has been hit with a 500 million euros fine by France's competition authority for failing to negotiate "in good faith" with news organisations over the use of their content.

The authority has accused Google of not taking an order to do so seriously, the BBC reported on Tuesday.

The tech giant said the decision "ignores our efforts to reach an agreement".

The fine is the latest skirmish in a global copyright battle between tech firms and news organisations, the report said.

Last year, the French competition authority ordered that Google must negotiate deals with news organisations to show extracts of articles in search results, news and other services.

Google was fined because, in the authority's view, it failed to do this.

In 2019, France became the first EU country to transpose a new Digital Copyright Directive into law.

The law governed so-called "neighbouring rights" which are designed to compensate publishers and news agencies for the use of their material.

As a result, Google decided it would not show content from EU publishers in France, on services like search and news, unless publishers agreed to let them do so free of charge.

Citing French authorities, The New York Times reported that Google has two months to come up with fresh ideas for compensating news publishers or risks further fines of up to 900,000 euros per day.

The French decision is the latest flashpoint in a battle between news publishers and internet platforms over the use of news content.
Mumbai, July 13 : The long-standing wait for India's "bad bank" has come to an end with the incorporation of the National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL).

The company has been registered with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Mumbai with a paid up capital of Rs 74.6 crore, as per RoC filing.

NARCL is headed by Padmakumar Madhavan Nair, a former SBI executive, as its MD and CEO. The other directors include SBI Deputy Managing Director Salee Sukumaran Nair, Canara Bank's Ajit Krishnan Nair and Indian Banks' Association (IBA) chief Sunil Mehta.

The asset reconstruction company is a major move by the government in its move to clean up the banking sector.

Amid concerns of rise in non-performing assets in banks due to the pandemic, the government decided to come up with a bad bank to take over the stressed assets of the lenders.

Presenting the Union Budget for 2021-22, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that an Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd and an Asset Management Company will be set up to consolidate and take over the existing stressed debt.

The ARC and AMC will then manage and dispose of the assets to Alternate Investment Funds and other potential investors for eventual value realisation.

Sitharaman had said that the high-level of provisioning by public sector banks of their stressed assets calls for measures to clean up the bank books.
Kathmandu, July 13 : Nepal is now receiving Covid vaccines from different countries and facilities.

A day after Nepal received 1.5 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine from the US under the COVAX facility, Japan on Tuesday announced to donate about 1.6 million doses of the Japan-made AstraZeneca vaccine to Nepal under grants through COVAX.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan officially announced the grant of 1.6 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine on Tuesday, according to a press statement issued by the Embassy of Japan in Kathmandu.

Earlier, Nepal had received 1.8 million Covid vaccine doses from China, 1.1 million from India and 3,48,000 doses from COVAX under the grant.

Nepal also separately purchased two million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from the Serum Institute of India, but has received one million doses so far.

Nepal is waiting to receive another one million doses from the Serum Institute of India but due to export ban in India, it is not certain when Nepal will get them. Nepal has also procured four million Sinopharm vaccine doses from China and has started receiving them.

According to the Japanese Embassy in Kathmandu, the vaccine doses will be shipped from Japan to Nepal during the period between mid-July and the end of August.

"The exact shipping schedule will be confirmed once the procurement arrangements are finalised by the international organisation which is in charge of the matter," the statement read.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population of Nepal, 2,611,807 Nepalis have been given Covid-19 vaccine doses, of which 1,079,192 have been fully vaccinated with two doses.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Milan, July 13 : A team of scientists from the World Health Organization, investigating the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic, has zeroed in on a 25-year-old woman in Milan who reportedly suffered from coronavirus symptoms, the media reported.

The Milan resident in November 2019 visited a hospital with a sore throat and skin lesions -- the symptoms of Covid -- a month before the virus was actually discovered in the city of Wuhan in China, the Wall Street Journal reported.

A research published by the British Journal of Dermatology, in January, revealed that the woman left behind a skin sample, smaller than a dime, that in two tests conducted more than six months later yielded traces of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19.

Previous studies have shown that the deadly infectious virus likely began spreading unnoticed in China, before causing an outbreak a month later. The woman's case further asserts the theory, the scientists said, pressing the need for additional studies.

"The Covid-19-positive skin sample, sitting in wax in a researcher's office in Milan, is an example of the scattered clues about the pandemic's early days that the WHO-led investigation is pursuing outside of China, where the pandemic began," the WSJ report said.

"You cannot ignore it," Dutch virologist Marion Koopmans, a member of the WHO-led team, was quoted as saying, referring to the Italian case in an interview earlier.

According to Koopmans, the case offered enough evidence to merit broader investigation into whether the virus had spread to Italy by November 2019.

The problem, researchers say, is that the identity and whereabouts of the woman remain unknown, the report said.

The WHO has recommended searching for possible Covid-19 cases in other countries that predate the first confirmed Wuhan case. The finding may help draw a timeline of the early spread of the virus. For this, the team has also asked blood banks in several countries to test samples from late 2019 for the presence of coronavirus antibodies.

Globally, many experts have pushed to determine the origins of the pandemic. The debate is between its natural origin and the theory that Covid-19 leaked out of a Chinese laboratory.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
New Delhi, July 13 : Commenting on the vaccination drive, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said the Aam Aadmi Party government has the capacity to vaccinate all the eligible population but enough vaccines are not being made available to them. Nearly 500 vaccination centres in Delhi have closed due to lack of vaccines.

Jain said, "The Delhi government cannot follow Haryana's vaccination policy of saving as much vaccines as possible with it. Instead we are immediately using whichever vaccines are made available to us by the Central government." "At present, we have to assume that the wave of Covid-19 pandemic may resurface. Therefore, I appeal to the people of Delhi to step out of their houses wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing norms," he added.

The Minister on Monday said only 45 Covid-19 cases were reported in the national capital, which is the lowest in the last year-and-a-half. The infection rate in Delhi is less than 0.1 per cent. There are 693 active cases of Covid-19 in Delhi. "Still I would request the people of Delhi to take due safety measures and leave their house wearing a mask and following social distancing." The AAP leader said there is a shortage of vaccines in Delhi. "On Monday nearly 1.5 lakh Covishield vaccines arrived in the national capital and now we have nearly 1.68 lakh vaccines, which will be sufficient till Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. After this there will be a shortage of vaccines in Delhi again." "Due to lack of availability of vaccines, nearly 500 vaccination centres have been closed in Delhi, but as soon as the vaccines are available we will open all vaccination centres again. We (Delhi government) have already said that we have the capacity to vaccinate all people for which we require three to four lakh vaccines daily," Satyendar Jain added.

Asked to vaccinate the whole of Delhi within three months, Satyendar Jain said, "If we receive the Covid-19 vaccines we are ready to carry out large number of jabs. Due to lack of vaccines we have to close our vaccination centres repeatedly. We cannot follow Haryana's vaccination policy to save as many number of vaccines as possible. Whatever vaccines we are receiving from the Central government, we are using them immediately." Jain said, "It is very important for everyone to receive the vaccine jabs to save themselves from Covid-19. That is why we have made all preparations to vaccinate every individual. As soon as we receive the vaccines, we will get people inoculated as soon as possible." Regarding the possible third wave of Covid-19 infection, Satyendar Jain said, "I believe that the possible third wave of Covid-19 can be stopped, but it is possible only when everybody follows Covid-appropriate guidelines. What happened last time? In January and February 2021, the number of Covid-19 cases had drastically come down. At that time, the people thought that now the infection is over. But afterwards the infected cases reported a spike. So we should not assume that Covid-19 is over yet. Right now we have to remember that a new wave of Covid-19 can resurface. As long as the coronavirus is active, it can spread. Therefore, the only way to prevent Covid-19 is that every person must wear a face mask. If you step out of home and meet other people, one must wear a mask." He added, "Even when Covid-19 was at its peak, there were nearly 25 per cent patients from outside the national capital undergoing treatment in Delhi hospitals. Each person was provided free treatment at Delhi government hospitals. Even today, 10 to 15 patients are admitted in Delhi government hospitals every day, of which 25 to 30 per cent patients reside outside Delhi. We haven't denied treatment to any person."

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Shimla, July 13 : Rescuers on Tuesday said five villagers were rescued from Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district where a massive mudslide triggered by flash floods hit a remote village, damaging several houses and shops and left one person dead. Nine people are still missing.

The five people were rescued by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) after an eight-hour operation that started late Monday evening, officials told IANS over the phone from the spot.

They are suspecting nine people might be trapped either in the mud piles that spread over a large area in the worst affected Rulehar village in the Boh panchayat of Shahpur subdivision or were washed away in raging floodwaters.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur made an aerial survey of flood-hit areas in the Boh Valley in Kangra district and later met affected families.

He took stock of the losses suffered and met affected families of the area. He directed the district administration to take up the relief and rehabilitation work on war-footing in the affected areas.

Thakur said Rs 400,000 each would be provided to the families of the deceased and financial help would be given to the people whose houses had been damaged in the calamity.

The Chief Minister said a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was coordinating with the district administration in rescue and relief works and all-out efforts were being made to trace the missing persons.

He also talked to Sirmaur Deputy Commissioner Ram Gautam on the phone and enquired about the rescue of the people who got stranded on an island in Giri river in Paonta Sahib subdivision.

Kangra Senior Superintendent of Police Vimukt Ranjan told the media that the rescue operation is on.

Eleven houses were either washed away or damaged in the flash floods, he said. The nine missing people of Rulehar village comprise four women.

The weather bureau here has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to continue in Kangra, Hamirpur, Mandi, Bilaspur, Shimla, Sirmaur and Solan districts in the next 24 hours. Thereafter, rainfall intensity may decrease.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director Surender Paul told the media that heavy rains may trigger landslides, inundations in low-lying areas, heavy runoff in rivulets and disruptions of civic amenities.
New Delhi, July 13 : The Centre has set up a committee to look into the demand for holding examination for clerical cadre in Public Sector Banks (PSBs) in local and regional languages, an official statement said on Tuesday.

A Finance Ministry statement said that the Committee will give its recommendations within 15 days, and only after that the ongoing process of holding the examination initiated by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection will be restarted.

The ministry is looking at conducting bank examination even in regional languages as is being done in case of recruitment examinations conducted for regional rural banks (RRBs). This comes in wake of controversy surfacing recently that the IBPS is conducting examinations for selection of clerical cadre staff in PSBs only in two languages - English and Hindi - even though 22 languages are recognised by the Constitution.

It also sought to clarify a statement made by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in 2019 when she had assured holding banking exams in local languages, while linking the IBPS' latest advertisement offering choice of just two languages.

"It may be clarified that the Finance Minister's statement referred to above was made in the context of regional rural banks (RRBs) only. With a view to provide a level playing field to the local youths for availing employment opportunities, the government in 2019 decided that for recruitment of Office Assistant and Officer Scale I in RRBs, examination will be held in 13 regional languages including Konakani and Kannada, besides Hindi and English. Since then, examination for these recruitments are being conducted in regional languages also," the statement said.
Colombo, July 13 : Colombo Archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith on Tuesday slammed the Sri Lanka government, claiming that it is trying to sweep the truth relating to those responsible for the Easter Sunday attack under the carpet, and demanded the President to reveal the 'grand conspiracy theory behind the terror attack that had killed 269 people and injured over 500 on April 21, 2019.

The 20-page letter to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa signed by eight bishops, including Cardinal Ranjith, and 28 priests, citing the findings of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry appointed to investigate the Easter Sunday attack, demanded that legal action be taken against former President Maithripala Sirisena and action be taken against ex-Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for his soft approach towards Islamic terrorism.

Additionally, the Cardinal also demanded that action be taken against a number of Muslim politicians and a large number of senior police officers who had failed to prevent the attack.

Cardinal Ranjith told the media that Indian intelligence gave prior notice and comprehensive information about the series of attacks, but its local counterparts did not act on it, nor did it do anything to prevent the tragedy.

"They hid all that information. By doing that, they took part in the conspiracy. They took part in this mass murder and they were part of it," the Cardinal stated.

Cardinal Ranjith, the head of the Colombo Diocese of Catholic church in Sri Lanka, quoting the Presidential Commission of Inquiry report and some of the revelations made by the MPs in the Parliament, stated that there are many unresolved mysteries relating to the attack.

The letter to the President stated that the suicide bomber, Jameel, who tried to blast himself at the Taj Samudra hotel in Colombo, was met by an intelligence officer of the Security Services and later the suicide bomber was alleged to have blasted himself at a guesthouse in the suburbs of Colombo.

The Cardinal also questioned the President as to what happened to Pulasthini Rajendran alias Sarah, the wife of Hasthun, the suicide bomber who blasted himself at a church in Negombo, killing the highest number of church attendees, as there are evidence to say that she, escorted by a police officer, was sent from Batticalo in the Eastern province to Mannar and from there she had travelled to India.

He also demanded that instead of part of the report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry appointed to investigate the attack, the full report be made available to the public.

"The report was handed over five months ago but we are truly saddened by the lethargic pace at which the state machinery is moving in order to fine those who are responsible for the attack. Even though they had forewarning about it (the attack) and could have easily prevented it, they did not fulfil their responsibility and willfully neglected it," the Cardinal wrote to President Rajapaksa.

The Cardinal further stated that the former Attorney General himself had specifically stated that it was a "grand conspiracy".

"We have the right to know what was this conspiracy," the Cardinal demanded.

The senior Catholic church leader also complained about political interference in the Easter Sunday attack probe.

"A new investigation by the Criminal Investigation Department, the police and lawyers who act on the agenda of political leaders would end only in another series of questions. We have the right to know what was the conspiracy... Who was responsible for this and who gained what from this tragedy," the Cardinal wrote.

He said that the struggle would not end until the final truth is revealed.
New Delhi, July 13 : The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said social media had made desecration of a public figure's reputation "child's play", as it slammed activist Saket Gokhale for posting defamatory tweets against former United Nations Assistant Secretary General Lakshmi Puri, wife of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

The court directed Gokhale to immediately delete the tweets alleging Puri had purchased certain property in Switzerland which was disproportionate to her income.

A bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar said: "In the age of social media, desecration of the reputation of a public figure has become child's play. All that is needed is the opening of a social media account and, thereafter, the posting of messages on the account." "It is an unfortunate truism, of human nature - which forms subject matter of philosophical debate since ages - that we prefer brickbats to bouquets." Justice Shankar made it clear if Gokhale, fails to delete the tweets, then Twitter is directed to take down those URLs.

As Gokhale's counsel argued that before posting messages on a social media platform, made accessible to all members of the public, against any person, no due diligence, by way of conducting, at the very least, a preliminary enquiry into the facts, is necessary, the court said: "Such a submission, if accepted, would place the reputation of every citizen in the country in serious jeopardy, and open to ransom at the hands of every social media vigilante, some of whose intentions may be less than honourable." The bench noted that criticism always makes for better press than praise, and the more vitriolic the criticism, the better, and the exponential growth of social media platforms provided fertile soil for the growth and mushrooming of this unfortunate human tendency.

"Social media, for all its unquestionable and undeniable benefits, as well as its indispensability in modern times, comes with its own sordid sequelae. The present instance appears to be a case in point," it noted.

The court noted the damage that the plaintiff, and her husband, have suffered, as a result of Gokhale's tweets is apparent; but that is one of the unavoidable pitfalls of access to social media platforms and the way in which they work, by those who abuse their facility, as Gokhale has, in the present case, prima facie chosen to do.

The high court noted that Puri has brought on record all necessary documentary and communication shared with government in connection with the property. "I am unable to find, prima facie, even a scintilla of impropriety, or lack of transparency, either in the purchase of the apartment, or in the disclosures made to the statutory authorities in that regard, either by the plaintiff or by her husband," it said.

Senior advocate Maninder Singh, representing Puri, contended that Gokhale is a "pseudo-activist, whose intent is only to blackmail vulnerable persons in public life, such as his client".

The court declined to accept the submission of Gokhale's counsel that the law did not require a vigilante, who sought to post, on social media platforms, messages against public figures, to carry out any preliminary exercise of verification before doing so.

The court noted ideally, in the first instance, clarifications ought to have been sought from the person against whom the messages were intended to be posted. It also took a grim view on tagging the Finance Minister in one of the tweets by Gokhale.

"Such 'tagging' has, however, no sanctity whatsoever in law and is, in any event, woefully inadequate to serve as notice to the Finance Minister regarding the issues which the defendant was choosing to highlight," it said.

The court added that loss and prejudice that the plaintiff is likely to suffer, as a consequence of the thoughtless tweets of the defendant, cannot be compensated in monetary terms.

The court noted a series of tweets, posted between June 13 and June 23, appeared to have been actuated by a clear desire to target her and her husband, for reasons which seem, at the very least, to be recondite.

Puri had filed the suit against Gokhale claiming that the tweets were defamatory, malicious, and based on false information.

The court issued summons in the main suit, asking Gokhale to respond within four weeks. It has listed the matter for further hearing on September 10, before the Registrar (Judicial). The order was passed in the defamation suit filed by Puri, where she sought damages to the tune of Rs 5 crore, besides an order to take down the tweets.
New Delhi, July 13: As the Covid 19 infection rate eases in India, many expatriates who had returned home, are now eager to come back notwithstanding a possibility of a third wave.

Sources said that about 60 per cent of the expats who were living in India had left for their home countries in the wake of the second wave that hit India in May and June.

However, limited flights operating on the international routes are gradually being opened up.

"Many expats, especially from Japan, Singapore and South Korea are looking to come back to India. Many of the expats with work visas had left. Even those who stayed back had sent their families back home. But now, with things improving, they are returning," Sanjeev K Ahuja, promoter of Asian Community News-a platform that works closely with the East Asian community told India Narrative.

Ahuja pointed out that Covid 19 cases have also increased in a few East Asian countries including Japan.

Meanwhile, India is all focused to increase the availability of Covid 19 vaccines. The country registered 31,443 news cases in the last 24 hours.

Mansukh Mandaviya, the new Health Minister, said in a tweet that the positivity rate is at 2.25 per cent. As many as 37.7 crore people have been vaccinated so far. However, only about 7.33 crore are fully vaccinated.

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
New Delhi, July 13 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Alok Kumar Agarwal, a Delhi-based Chartered Accountant, in connection with a money laundering case involving IFFCO MD and CEO U.S. Awasthi.

An ED official said that Agarwal was arrested on Monday and after a court sent him to 10 days' agency custody.

The ED initiated a case of money laundering on the basis of FIR registered by the CBI in May this year under several sections of the IPC and PC Act against Awasthi and others for criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal misconduct.

The official said that Agarwal is Chairman of Alankit Group, which is engaged in providing various services including Equity Broking or Commodity Broking, Depository Participant, GST Suvidha Centre, PAN Centre and TIN Facilitation Centre, among others.

He said that the allegations against the accused include routing of proceeds of crime involved in the impugned investigations through his group entities based in India and Dubai.

"Agarwal facilitated cross border transfer of proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 40 crore identified so far to India from Dubai for a monetary consideration," the official said.

The official said that probe is underway to identify all the other beneficiaries of the illegal money exchange module (Hawala) being operated by him.

Earlier, the ED had arrested RJD Rajya Sabha MP A.D. Singh in this case and he continues to be in judicial custody after rejection of his bail application.

The official said that the probe conducted so far have revealed that a part of the proceeds of crime has been received by him through this module.
Chandigarh, July 13 : Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday hit out at the opposition AAP and SAD for "lying blatantly" on the issue of political funding from private power companies, saying unlike the illegal donations made to these parties by various shell companies, the funds provided to the Congress had nothing to do with the Punjab election.

Political donations by certain power companies were made not to the Punjab Congress but to the AICC, back in 2009 and 2014, with no connection whatsoever to the incumbent government in the state, said the Chief Minister, slamming both the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for spreading a "carnage of lies" in a desperate attempt to mislead the people ahead of the 2022 Punjab Assembly election.

The power purchase agreements (PPAs) in question were signed by the previous SAD-BJP government, and were legally binding so that his government could not rescind the same without heavy penalties on the cash-strapped state, he added.

His government, said the Chief Minister, was exploring legal recourse to neutralise ill-effects of the PPAs without further burdening the state's exchequer, "which the Akalis, along with their BJP allies, had milked dry to fill their own pockets," the Chief Minister said in a statement.

In fact, he added, as per media reports, the Akalis led by the Badals had taken more than Rs 100 crore in political funds and declared a measly Rs 13 crore, putting the rest in their personal pockets.

As for AAP, the donations taken by Arvind Kejriwal's party during the 2014 election were already under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate as, unlike the funds donated to AICC by the private power companies, these were neither accounted for nor declared, he said.

Media reports recently said the ED had registered a case pertaining to four cheques amounting to Rs 50 lakh, allegedly given to AAP during the 2014 Delhi Assembly election. Last year, Delhi Police had registered a case of forgery and cheating against the four companies.

While his government was busy working on solutions to address the problems "donated" to the people of Punjab by the Akalis, the party was busy wasting time on creating law and order problems in the state amid the Covid pandemic, thus multiplying the problems of the people, said the Chief Minister.

AAP also seemed to be in total collusion, choosing not to question the controversial and anti-people decisions of the previous SAD-BJP government in Punjab, but instead contributing to the troubles of the state's people, he added.

The Chief Minister challenged both the parties to declare all their political funding of the past 10 years so that the people of Punjab would know the truth behind their claims and counter-claims.
Kolkata, July 13 : The three operatives of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), who were arrested from the southern fringes of Kolkata a couple of days back, have opened up a Pandora's Box for Kolkata Police.

Interrogating the arrested trio, the Kolkata police have come to know that they were not alone but as many as 15 neo JMB terrorists have sneaked into the state and 10 of them are moving around in various parts of the country.

At least 15 neo JMB operatives had entered West Bengal from the neighbouring Bangladesh earlier this year, and 10 of them moved to various parts of India, including Jammu and Kashmir, an officer of Kolkata Police's Special Task Force (STF) said.

The remaining five had stayed back in West Bengal and three of them, who are Bangladeshi nationals, were arrested from south Kolkata's Haridevpur area on Sunday, the officer said.

The arrested trio has been identified as Naziur Rahman Powell alias Jayaram Vyapari alias Joseph (30), Raviul Islam (22) and Sheikh Shabbir alias Mikail Khan (30).

The police said the accused persons illegally crossed the border about a month ago and arrived here. Asked if they had links with the two suspected Ansar Ghazwat-ul Hind operatives arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in Lucknow during the day, an officer said, "We are checking that angle also." The STF said that it recovered mobile phones, two religious books, a diary and an Indian identity card from the accused.

According to the police, the three had rented a house claiming that they were here for medical treatment. They masqueraded as fruit and mosquito net sellers.

The initial investigation has revealed that the suspected Bangladeshi nationals, who are reportedly from the neighbouring country's Gopalganj area, were living in a rented house on MG Road, and were collecting funds for the organisation.

Presently, the Kolkata Police are looking for Sheikh Sakil and Salim Munshi, who allegedly helped the trio prepare fake Aadhaar cards and also arranged for their accommodation.

"Sakil had helped them prepare fake Aadhaar cards which they had used to get accommodation on rent. The three came to India following the instructions of senior JMB leader Al Ameen," the officer said.

The STF has contacted the Bangladesh Police to know more details about the arrested trio, the officer said, adding that the landlord of the house in which they had taken two rooms on rent was called for questioning.

"We need to know how he came to know these people," he said.

On Monday, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) also started collecting information about the three arrested JMB operatives.

"We have started gathering information about them and are trying to find out who else is associated with them. We are at a very initial stage," an NIA officer said.
Chennai, July 13 : South Indian superstar and Makkal Needhi Maiam leader Kamal Haasan has called upon the Tamil Nadu government to launch a radio channel exclusively for education purposes, saying that this would reduce the time spent by children on screen as well as reduce the connectivity problems and smartphone issues they face.

The radio channel could be modelled in the lines of the exclusive television channel for education "Kalvi TV" and this could benefit the children in a big way, he said.

Citing the example of Karthikraja, a middle school teacher in Kattazhai panchayat in Cuddalore district, and his internet radio, www.kalviradio.com for the benefit of students, Kamal said that the teacher had begun this initiative to help students in rural areas who just have 2G connections.

He said that around 75 teachers have joined this mission on their own in love for their children and it has benefitted students from Class 1 to 8. Students required only 300MB data for attending the classes, he noted.

The actor said that the internet radio has attracted more than 3.2 lakh visitors and had functioned for more than 14,500 hours.
Chennai, July 13 : Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian inaugurated the pneumococcal vaccine campaign for children under the age of five years on Tuesday at a public health centre at Poonamalle.

In his address, the minister said that bringing the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) under the universal immunization programme will reduce the death rate in children under five years of age due to pneumonia and meningitis.

Each child, according to the state health department, will be given three doses of vaccine -- in the 6th week, 14th week, and 9th month respectively. This is to protect children from pneumonia, one of the major causes for the death of children under the age of five.

Earlier the children used to receive oral polio vaccine (OPV), rotavirus vaccine (oral drops), inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) and Penta vaccine (intramuscular injection) under the universal immunisation programme. This list will now include the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine. All these vaccines are administered free of cost to children.

The health department statement said that pneumonia in children is mainly caused by Hemophilus influenza and Streptococcus pneumonia. While the incidence of pneumonia due to Hemophilus influenza was earlier 85%, it has now been reduced to 15% due to the Penta vaccine. With the administration of PCV, pneumonia due to Streptococcus pneumonia will be reduced, the health department said.

The health department stated that this programme has reduced the incidence of pneumonia among children in developed countries like the United States.

The vaccine is expensive in the market and costs anywhere between Rs 1500 to Rs 3200 per dose. Including the vaccine in the Universal Immunisation Programme makes it available free of cost, according to senior paediatricians.

With medical organisations like the Indian Medical Association warning of the possibility of a third wave of the pandemic, the Tamil Nadu government's initiative to vaccinate children under the age of five with Pneumococcus vaccine has been widely accepted in health circles as a welcome sign.

Dr Manonmani. G, a paediatrician in Chennai, told IANS, "The pneumonia is a dangerous disease among toddlers and by including Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine under the UIP, several children will be benefitted and this in turn will help the children not to contract a disease like pneumonia which when coupled with a possibility of Covid-19 will turn fatal in many cases."
Hyderabad, July 13 : A desperate pet owner in Hyderabad, on Tuesday, announced a Rs 30,000 reward for anyone providing information about her cat which went missing last month from a pet hospital.

Serina Natto had admitted her cat to Trusty Vet Multispecialty Pt Hospital at Jubilee Hills on June 23 after it fell sick after a family planning surgery.

The resident of Toli Chowki area in the city organised a media conference, where she told reporters that the cat named Ginger went missing from the hospital on June 24.

She alleged that she lost her eight-month-old cat due to the negligence of the hospital. She also said that the hospital staff is not trained in taking care of animals.

The pet owner, who has been taking care of the cat since its birth, released a poster announcing reward for anyone who helps trace her cat.

"A cry for help," reads the poster which also has the picture of the animal. "It's not the question of money. She needs immediate medical attention. It's almost 20 days and we are very worried about her safety," Natto said.

The woman said though it is a stray cat, they had been taking care of it and are very attached to it.

Natto said she also lodged a complaint at Raidurgam police station on June 27. Police said after receiving the complaint, they visited the hospital and spoke to local people to trace the cat but remained unsuccessful.

The pet owner also contacted the Regional Director of the Animal Husbandry Department. She also appealed to animal welfare organisations to come forward to help her.
Jaipur, July 13 : Rajasthan Police have busted a gang of four people, including two women, which honeytrapped their own friend to accomplish their dream of living a luxurious life.

This gang demanded Rs 10 lakh from their friend, threatening to implicate him on charges of rape. The victim filed a police complaint in Karauli, said Karauli district SP Mridul Kachhawa, adding that a police team was soon formed to probe the matter.

The team was sent with Rs 10 lakh to the gang and a trap was laid to arrest the accused. As soon as the gang came to the site, they were arrested by the police team.

The gang leader was identified as Prakash and his two women and one male companion.

The main accused Prakash and the women during investigation said they wanted to live a high profile life and wanted to arrange for funds to meet their day-to-day heavy expenses. But with no employment available, they were unable to meet their expenses and hence thought of forming a 'honeytrap' gang to realise their aim.

They conspired to get money by trapping people and hence lured their friend into a trap, demanding Rs 10 lakh from him, and threatening him with making a video viral and filing a rape case against him.

Police are now investigating if there are other victims too who were honeytrapped by the gang, said Kachhawa.
New Delhi, July 13 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday said that it has arrested Central Railway employee Akhilesh Choube in a graft case.

A CBI spokesperson said said Choube, posted as Senior Divisional Mechanical Engineer in the Central Railway at Nagpur, was held for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 from the complainant.

He said that a case was registered on a complaint against Choube on allegations of demanding a bribe to pass pending bill of a Nagpur-based travel company.

In the FIR, it was said that the travel company had provided a car on rent to the Central Railway, Nagpur and a rental bill of Rs 1.73 lakh for the period November 16, 2020 to May 15, 2021 was pending for payment in the office of Choube.

"CBI laid a trap and caught the accused while demanding and accepting bribe of Rs 10,000 from the complainant." The official said that agency carried put searches have been conducted at the premises of accused which led to recovery of certain documents.
Bengaluru, July 13 : In an important development, a petition seeking quashing of a case against a sub-inspector (SI), who allegedly forced a Dalit youth to drink urine while in custody, has been dismissed as it was withdrawn on Monday by the advocates appearing for the accused petitioner in the Karnataka High Court.

The high court bench had earlier told the petitioner that it was not possible to quash the matter. It had also directed the police not to take any coercive measure and file a charge sheet in the case. The matter seeking quashing of the case by the cop was supposed to be heard this week, but surprisingly the petition was withdrawn.

Pallavi Shankar and Roshan Yadav, advocates offering legal help to victim Punith K.L. in the case, said that on July 2, the petition by the accused in the case was filed before the court and the matter was withdrawn on July 12.

Meanwhile, in yet another important development in connection with the case, various organisations are joining hands to form a movement demanding action against the accused police officer in the case which made national headlines.

Various Dalit organisations, farmers' bodies and political parties from across the state staged a protest last Friday, and will again meet this Friday to chalk out plans for a bigger protest in Gonibeedu in Chikmagalur district in support of the victim.

B. Rudraiah, state secretary for CPI (ML), questioning the inaction against the accused police officer Arjun, who is under suspension presently, stated that the JD (S) and Congress are also joining hands to register a stronger protest.

The police in Gonibeedu had picked up Punith on May 10 in connection with an elopement case probed by SI Arjun. That night, Arjun allegedly tortured Punith and asked another youth to urinate on his face. It has also been charged that Punith was asked to lick the urine on the floor.

The matter came to light when Punith wrote a letter to the police department and the Human Rights Commission. An FIR was registered in this connection against the accused police officer Arjun on May 22. Following the backlash, the accused was kept under suspension.

Meanwhile, a rape case was lodged against Punith and his relatives but he had obtained bail in the case. Both the cases are being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
Mumbai, July 13 : Actress Bhumi Pednekar urges citizens to be extra cautious amid the ongoing second wave of Covid-19. She reminds fans that they are still in the middle of the pandemic and need to be careful to avoid a fresh spike in cases.

"We need to stay super vigilant because the virus hasn't gone anywhere. Lives are at stake constantly, so we will need to act responsibly. Each one of us has the power to contribute and help India to bounce back. Let's do that for our country," she said.

"We have to understand that by being careful, we are also aiding the medical fraternity who have worked every single day since March 2020. We have to understand that they too have families," she added.

Bhumi stressed that people are putting their families at risk by being casual about the virus.

"By being conscious about our responsibilities, we will be helping the health infrastructure too," she said, adding: "We are in the middle of the pandemic and now is not the time to put our guards down." "Yes, we all have to work and look after our families despite the pandemic but we can be very mindful about maintaining social distance, washing our hands or sanitizing them regularly and follow all the recommended steps as soon as we reach home after stepping out. We can try and keep the virus at bay. Let's aim to do that," she said.
New Delhi, July 13 : The Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to inquire into the mysterious deaths of Rosy Sangma and her brother Samuel Sangma.

Rosy died in a hospital in Gurugram on June 24 after she had complained of a medical condition. Later, Samuel, suspecting medical negligence, had an altercation with doctors and staff of the hospital. On the next day, June 25, the Delhi Police received information regarding his death.

The family of the deceased has alleged that Rosy had died due to negligence on part of the hospital. They also attributed some alleged foul play in the death of Samuel by the hospital personnel.

The Home Mintry took the action following the complaint from Tura MP, Agatha Sangma who had written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on June 30, seeking a proper investigation into the "mysterious" death of Samuel, hailing from Nagaland's Dimapur.

The MP said that Samuel's death under mysterious circumstances raises suspicion of foul play, and therefore, a detailed enquiry was needed.

Claiming that the circumstances that led to the death of Samuel and his sister pointed to homicide and may have been orchestrated, she urged the Centre to look into the matter and book the perpetrators of the crime in cognisance with the law of the land so that justice can be delivered to the grieving family members.
Kathmandu, July 13 : Indian Defence Minister and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh on Tuesday congratulated Sher Bahadur Deuba for being appointed as the new Prime Minister of Nepal.

During a telephonic conversation between Singh and Deuba, both the leaders discussed the long-standing bilateral ties between the two countries and the ways to further strengthen them.

Singh was the first foreign leader to congratulate Deuba upon his appointment as the Prime Minister of the Himalayan nation for the fifth time.

Deuba was sworn in as Prime Minister on Tuesday evening after the Supreme Court overturned outgoing PM K.P. Sharma Oli's decision to dissolve the House of Representative on May 21.

The court also issued a mandamus in the name of President's office to appoint Deuba by Tuesday evening before he proves majority in the House.

As per the court's order, President Bidhya Devi Bhandari appointed Deuba as the Prime Minister, following which he formed a five-member Cabinet.
Gandhinagar July 13 : The Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL), a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Limited, has taken over the management control of the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) from the GVK Group following the a board meeting of MIAL held on Tuesday.

The development came after approvals were received from the Government of India, the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) of Maharashtra, and the Government of Maharashtra.

MIAL is India's second busiest airport both in terms of passenger and cargo traffic. With eight airports under its management and development portfolio, AAHL is now India's largest airport infrastructure company, accounting for 25 per cent airport footfalls. With the addition of MIAL, AAHL will now control 33 per cent of India's air cargo traffic.
New Delhi, July 13 : Supreme Court judge Justice D.Y. Chandrachud has stressed that criminal laws, including the anti-terror law, should not be misused for quelling dissent and courts must act as first line of defence against deprivation of liberty.

He made these remarks in his address at the Indo-US Joint Summer Conference on Indo-US legal ties on Monday evening. The conference was organised by the American Bar Association's International Law Section, and the Society of Indian Law Firms.

Stressing on the role of the top court in protecting the fundamental rights of citizens amid the Covid pandemic, Justice Chandrachud, citing his judgment on Centre's vaccine policy, said: "The Supreme Court was cautious that it could not transgress into the domain of policymaking and usurp the role of the executive. However, in a humanitarian crisis, it could not stand as a silent spectator." The top court had then termed Centre's liberalised vaccination policy "arbitrary and inconsistent". Later, the Centre revised this policy.

Highlighting the top court's intervention in the crisis, he said: "As the guardian of the Constitution, it has to put a break where executive or legislative actions infringe fundamental human rights. Even in the context of the separation of powers, the scheme of checks and balances through supervision results in a certain degree of interference by one branch into the functioning of the other." Justice Chandrachud also said: "Criminal law, including anti-terror legislation, should not be misused for quelling dissent or harassment to citizens." Citing his judgement in Arnab Goswami case to emphasise that courts must ensure that they continue to remain the first line of defence against the deprivation of liberty of citizens, he emphasised that no law can be employed to harass citizens and take away their freedom.

Justice Chandrachud underscored that depravation of liberty for even a single day is "one too many" and that judges must always be mindful of the deeper systemic issues of their decisions.

"Today, the world's oldest and largest democracies represent these ideals of a multicultural, pluralist society where their constitutions are focused on a deep commitment and respect for human rights." Justice Chandrachud's remarks have come amid the outrage over the death of 84-year-old activist Stan Swamy, who was arrested under the anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), in the Elgar Parishad case last year. Swamy died last week in Mumbai while fighting for bail on health grounds.

Many other cases where the stringent UAPA has been invoked have also been seen controversies.

Justice Chandrachud also cited similarities between the Supreme Courts of India and the US while referring to the "constitutional relationship" between the two countries.
New Delhi, July 13 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday carried put searches at three locations in Tamil Nadu's Madurai in connection with a case it registered against a Regional Passport Office official, who was allegedly issuing Indian passports to foreign nationals, including Sri Lankans.

A CBI source said that the agency sleuths carried out the searches after booking RPO Madurai Senior Superintendent Veeraputhiran, and a travel agent identified as Ramesh in connection with the case.

In the FIR, the CBI alleged that in 2019-20, Veeraputhiran entered into a criminal conspiracy with Ramesh and other travel agents operating in Madurai.

"In pursuance of the conspiracy, Veeraputhiran, while posted as granting officer at Passport Seva Kendra, Tirunelveli, fraudulently issued Indian passports to Sri Lankans and other ineligible people in return for pecuniary benefits from the travel agents," the CBI FIR alleged.

The agency has found that he had demanded and accepted an amount of Rs 45,000 from Ramesh which was deposited in Veeraputhiran's savings account.
Patna, July 13 : Three persons of a family were stabbed to death in Bihar's Rohtas district on Tuesday evening, police said.

The deceased were identified as Vijay Singh and his two sons, Kaju Singh and Dipak Singh.

The incident occurred in Khudraw village under Darihat police station.

According to an official of Darihat police station, the reason for the incident appeared to be a property dispute.

"The family members of the victims alleged that they had a property dispute with a person living in the same village. On Tuesday evening, a group of men attacked Vijay and his two sons with sharp-edged weapons, stabbing them to death," the official said.

The attackers are at large after the incident. As the situation in the village remains tense, police have deployed additional force there to prevent further untoward incidents.

"We have identified the accused persons. They will be put behind the bars soon," the official said.
Bhubaneswar, July 13 : Eying the upcoming panchayat and urban local body polls in the state, the Odisha unit of BJP has intensified its fight against the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government.

At a press conference convened here on Tuesday, state BJP President Samir Mohanty announced the launch of a week-long protest across the state from Wednesday against the power tariff hike and poor electricity services. Accordingly, BJP workers will stage protests in front of all electricity offices across the state from Wednesday.

Mohanty said that amid the Covid-19 pandemic, when people are suffering a lot, the BJD government has increased the power tariff. Since April 4, the government has imposed an additional burden on consumers, increasing the tariff by 30 paise per unit, he said.

"When our party MLAs raised the issue in the Assembly, the Energy Minister had assured the House to file a review petition before the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC). But till now the government has not filed any petition before the OERC," Mohanty said.

The BJP leader said that power distribution companies are hoodwinking the people of the state by frequent power cuts.

State BJP spokesperson Golak Mohapatra said when power consuming states like Delhi can provide free electricity up to 200 units, why can't Odisha do the same? The BJP leaders also demanded the state government to make public the utilisation of Central funds meant for post-cyclone restoration works.

The BJP has nowadays intensified its attack against the state government. The saffron camp first conducted a two-day protest from July 1 at various places of the state alleging irregularities in paddy procurement by the BJD government.

Following this, the party alleged scam to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore in the allotment of PMAY houses and staged protests before all block headquarters for three days from July 7. Now, it has announced this week-long protest.

Though the leaders have cited Covid as the reason behind not conducting any major political programme in the past several months, a local political analyst said that the BJP wants to send out a message that it is the strongest opposition party in the state.

Following the recent Cabinet reshuffle, a message is being circulated that the BJP and the BJD have a close tie-up.

Meanwhile, the Congress is also holding demonstrations against price hike. Therefore, to give a message to its supporters and the public, the BJP has intensified its fight against the Naveen Patnaik government, the political expert said.

Reacting to BJP's allegations, BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said, "By raising the price hike issue, the BJP President has invited trouble for his own party. People are facing the heat of fuel price hike. The price of essential commodities has also gone up." As far as the power tariff hike is concerned, the BJD leader cited that the BJP-ruled Bihar had increased power tariff in March by 35 paise per unit, the same was raised by 64 paise in Uttar Pradesh last year.
New Delhi, July 13 : Lambda has now gone globetrotting. According to a recent World Health Organisation (WHO) report, it has been found in 29 countries, writes Tara Hurst, Lecturer, Biomedical Science, Birmingham City University in The Conversation.

The report states: "Lambda has been associated with substantive rates of community transmission in multiple countries, with rising prevalence over time concurrent with increased Covid-19 incidence." On June 14, the WHO declared lambda a "global variant of interest". Public Health England followed suit on June 23, designating it a "variant under investigation" because of its "international expansion and several notable mutations".

Of the eight confirmed cases of lambda in the UK, most have been linked to overseas travel.

Hurst writes that Peru currently has the highest number of Covid-19 deaths per capita. For every 100,000 of the population, 596 have died of coronavirus.

Hurst says that one of the main reasons for the high number, is due to emergence of the lambda variant, which currently accounts for 97 per cent of cases in Peru.

Hurst adds that the variant contains many mutations, which could increase transmissibility and severity, reduce susceptibility to vaccines and confound diagnostics. It remains a variant of interest rather than a variant of concern, Hurst adds.

A preprint from the New York University Grossman School of Medicine looked at the effect of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines against the lambda variant and found a two-to-threefold reduction in vaccine-elicited antibodies compared with the original virus. In the scheme of things, this is not a massive loss of neutralising antibodies. The researchers conclude that these mRNA vaccines will probably remain protective against the lambda variant.

Hurst says researchers from the University of Chile investigated the effect of the Sinovac (also known as "CoronaVac") vaccine against the lambda variant. They also found a threefold reduction in neutralising antibodies compared with the original variant.

Hurst adds the fact that these two studies found that neutralisation is at least partially retained is promising, not least because this is only one facet of the immune response elicited by vaccination.

According to PHE's latest "risk assessment" (July 8) of lambda, there is no evidence of a country where lambda has outcompeted delta. Studies are ongoing, but for now, lambda remains a variant of interest rather than a variant of concern.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Guwahati, July 13 : The Assam Human Rights Commission (AHRC), taking suo moto cognisance, has served notice to the state government inquiring into the circumstances leading to the gunning down of 12 accused in the state in two months, officials said on Tuesday.

An AHRC official said that Commission member Naba Kamal Bora has issued notice to the Principal Secretary, Home and Political Department, to undertake an inquiry into the facts and circumstances leading to the death and injuries of alleged accused persons and submit a report thereof by August 7.

The AHRC notice, which is available with IANS, said that it is reported that six suspected Dimasa National Liberation Army (DNLA) militants and two alleged insurgents of United People's Revolutionary Front (UPRF) were killed in two separate encounters with police in Karbi Anglong District.

Four other suspected criminals were killed by police in different encounters, the AHRC said, quoting media reports.

In another incident, accused Sayed Ali alias Patha was injured in police firing at Morigaon while he tried to escape from police custody, according to police.

Earlier, Delhi-based lawyer from Assam, Arif Jwadder, had filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) against the Assam Police' series of encounters that have taken place since Himanta Biswa Sarma took over as Chief Minister on May 10.

In his July 10 complaint, Jwadder alleged that petty criminals were being shot and the reason mentioned for such "fake encounters" is that they tried to "flee from police custody, snatching pistols".

More than 20 such "encounters" have taken place in the past two months and most of the persons at the receiving end were alleged drug dealers and cattle lifters with a few having died on the spot, he said.

"Recently, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who also holds the Home Department, said in a police conference that police should shoot at alleged criminals at legs which is permitted by law. After such a statement by the Chief Minister, now police are staging fake encounters with impunity," Jwadder said.

He had urged the NHRC to take note of these incidents and call for an inquiry.

Justifying the encounters, Sarma had on July 5 said that shooting at criminals "should be the pattern" if they attempt to escape from custody or try to snatch guns from the police to fire at them.

Opposition Congress and other parties have, however, strongly condemned the recent incidents of "encounters". State Congress President Ripun Bora said Sarma's remark that firing upon criminals in custody by the police or while in chase should be a "pattern" has dangerous ramifications of turning Assam into a police state and making the security personnel trigger-happy, thus setting a dangerous trend of disregarding human rights concerns.

"Sarma should be aware that the Supreme Court and the high courts have ruled that no matter how dreaded a criminal may be, he should be apprehended alive.

"The police have no right to fire at criminals at will. They can open fire only for self-defence and that too below the knee," Bora, a Rajya Sabha member, told the media.
Hyderabad, July 13 : The Telangana government on Tuesday decided to prepare an annual recruitment calendar for recruitment of government employees.

The decision was taken at the state cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.

The Cabinet, which resolved that an annual recruitment calendar should be prepared for the recruitment after identifying the posts lying vacant and employees recruited based on it, will meet again on Wednesday to take measures to filling up of the vacancies and identifying the vacant posts.

Secretaries of all the departments were directed to come for Wednesday's meeting with all the data and information.

At its seven-and-a-half hour long meeting, the Cabinet discussed several issues and took decisions.

It discussed the drinking water problem in the municipalities under the jurisdiction of Hyderabad city, and approved release of Rs 1,200 crore in addition to the funds already allocated. The CM has instructed the officials concerned to take immediate measures for resolving the drinking water problem.

The Cabinet discussed the land pooling method in the layouts for construction of houses in urban areas, and instructed municipal administration officials to finalise the guidelines in this regard.

It also decided to provide 50 per cent reservation to the local students in the residential schools in the local constituencies. It instructed the officials concerned to invite the local MLA, MPP, ZP Chairman and Municipal Chairman for the monthly meetings of the residential educational institutions without fail.

The Medical and Health Secretary and other officials who have toured seven districts as per the instructions of the Chief Minister, briefed the Cabinet about Covid situation in the districts, suggestions given for the curtailment of the pandemic and other field level observations.

The Cabinet discussed at length on the availability of oxygen, medicines, and basic infrastructure. The Medical and Health Department officials have briefed it about the vaccination, availability of the beds, medicines and preparedness for a possible third wave of Covid. The Cabinet has instructed the Medical and Health Department to take all the precautionary measures including the fever survey as the Cabinet has given all the required permissions.
Amaravati/Hyderabad, July 13 : The School of Communication at the University of Hyderabad has mourned the untimely demise of its alma mater and noted film critic, actor and Dalit intellectual Kathi Mahesh.

Mahesh (44), who was critically injured in a road mishap near Nellore on June 27, was shifted to the Apollo Hospitals in Chennai, where he breathed his last on Saturday.

"We mourn the loss of Kathi Mahesh, MA Communication, Class of 1998-2000. A noted film critic, public intellectual, developmental activist, writer (fiction and non-fiction), translator, actor and filmmaker, Mahesh gained immense popularity and following in the Telugu public sphere in a very short span of time," said an official statement issued by the School of Communication on Tuesday.

The media school highlighted that its student (Mahesh) presented his ideas in various formats on myriad platforms and said his passion for cinema compelled him to bid farewell to a lucrative career in the development sector, where he worked for globally reputed institutions.

The media school recollected Mahesh's work as script consultant for many movies, including making the screen adaptation of Bala Gangadhara Tilak's 'Ooru Chivari Illu' (House at the End of the Village) as 'Edari Varsham', a short film, as well as producing multiple documentaries.

"His work as co-writer for the movie 'Egise Tarajuvvalu' won laurels at many film festivals. It was also the first Telugu movie script to be preserved at the Oscar Library's permanent core collection," the school noted.

The University of Hyderabad alumnus gained much popularity after contesting in the Telugu version of 'Bigg Boss'. He also acted in many Telugu movies.

"Kathi Mahesh, who is arguably the first TV film critic in the Telugu society, will be remembered for many decades to come for his ideological positions and articulations in cultural and political spheres in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana," the statement said.

Vasuki Belavadi, professor and head of the School of Communication, said that Mahesh was an outspoken person who stood his ground even though some people disliked his views.

"A very knowledgeable person, Mahesh was in touch with the department even after he finished his course. We used to see him at our alumni meets without fail. The accident was a shock for us," said Belavadi.

The professors, students and officials at the media school had hoped that Mahesh would recover with treatment and bounce back to doing what he did best, but that was not the case unfortunately.

Belavadi said the best this he liked about Mahesh was his fearlessness and how he always strived to enjoy his Constitutional rights.

"Suppose you make a statement and somebody threatens you, most people get into a shell and withdraw themselves. That fellow (Mahesh) was not like that. He was totally fearless," he noted.

Belavadi termed Mahesh's death as a personal loss and noted that his honest reviews exposing plagiarism in the Telugu film industry got him into trouble.
Hyderabad, July 13 : In a shocking incident, an official under NREGA sustained burn injuries after a village sarpanch set him ablaze in Telangana on Tuesday.

The incident occurred at Sanvli village under Kubheer mandal in Nirmal district.

The technical assistant sustained about 50 per cent burn injuries and has been admitted to a hospital in Bhainsa, the police said.

Sanvli village sarpanch L. Sainath poured petrol on the technical assistant named Raju, a person with disability, and set him ablaze.

Some employees managed to rescue Raju by putting out the flames. They then shifted him to a government hospital in Bhainsa town. Some documents in the office were also burnt in the incident.

The sarpanch was forcing the technical assistant to give approval to wages for works taken up under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) for the past few days. However, Raju had refused to give the approval, which angered the public representative who then attacked the public servant and set him ablaze.
Bengaluru, July 13 : Even as the Covid-19 pandemic's second wave abates, Karnataka is bracing up to fight a possible third wave of the pandemic in the near future, state Revenue Minister R. Ashoka said on Tuesday.

"The state government is gearing up to tackle a possible third wave of the pandemic by ramping up its healthcare infrastructure across the state," Ashoka said at a function at his Assembly segment in Padmanabhanagar in the city's southwest suburb.

Ashoka said on the advice of experts, the state health department is setting up paediatric hospitals in all the 30 districts to treat children contracting the virus, as feared during the possible next wave.

"Several doctors are being trained to treat the infected children in case of the outbreak of a possible third wave of the pandemic. Medicines are being procured on priority to ensure hospitals are well-stocked for treating Covid patients," asserted Ashoka.

On May 13, the state government had constituted a 13-member expert committee headed by noted cardiologist Devi Prasad Shetty to prepare Karnataka for tackling a possible third wave in the coming months.

In its interim report submitted on June 22, the committee had recommended ramping up health infrastructure with more beds, oxygen, ventilators and other medical devices to treat Covid patients in the state-run and private hospital.

"Though cases have been under control in our state over the past few weeks, they are high in neighbouring states like Kerala and Maharashtra, which is a concern and calls for following Covid appropriate behaviour to contain the virus spread," said Ashoka.

The state government has set up check-posts in the border areas to test people entering the state from Kerala or Maharashtra if they do not carry a 72-hour negative report or vaccine certificate.

"We are taking tough measures to ensure that Covid cases do not rise again in the state," he noted.

Meanwhile, Ashoka and BJP legislator Satish Reddy on Tuesday distributed about 1 lakh food kits to the needy, who have been affected by the Covid-induced lockdown during the second wave.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
United Nations, July 14 : Henrietta Fore, executive director of UN Children's Fund (Unicef), has informed the UN secretary-general of her intention to resign, "to devote herself to a family health issue," the United Nations announced on Tuesday.

Through a statement attributable to his spokesperson, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed his full understanding of Fore's decision and "has accepted it, with deep regret", Xinhua news agency reported.

"He extends his thanks and his best wishes to Executive Director Fore and her family. The secretary-general wishes to express his sincere appreciation to Ms. Fore for her inspiring leadership of UNICEF and for her service to improve the lives of children all around the world. In particular, he noted Unicef's critical role in the global response to Covid-19 and in reimagining education," said the statement.

"As a result of her leadership, Unicef is now an organization with a broader array of public and private sector partnerships and a bolder focus on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. She has also contributed enormously to efforts to build a UN system with a much stronger focus on inclusion and organizational culture. The secretary-general thanks Fore for her outstanding work to address the extraordinary challenges facing children and young people around the world," the statement added.

Fore took up the position of Unicef executive director on January 1, 2018 and will remain in her post until her successor is appointed, according to the statement.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Commutifi's ETRP Compliance Tool Colorado The Commutifi ETRP platform will not only help employers comply with new state rules, but Commutifi's TDM data tools for agencies can give policymakers the data they need to create a better, more equitable and efficient transportation system in the region. - Michael Hughes, West Corridor TMA

Commutifi, the standard for commuter scoring and transportation demand management (TDM) data automation, announced today a new product aimed at simplifying compliance with the pending Employer Traffic Reduction Program (ETRP) rule in the Denver Metro Region.

As a Colorado-based company already focused on reducing emissions through commuter scoring and education, building a Colorado ETRP compliance tool was an easy decision, said Commutifi Co-Founder and CEO, Rich Schmelzer. We understand the potential impact this may have on many of our fellow employers, so we built a product that simplifies and automates the compliance process for companies AND provides much needed support to local Transportation Management Associations (TMAs) and transit agencies. And it all starts with etrp.co, a web page dedicated to simplifying ETRP for everyone.

At no cost, companies with offices in Colorado can:



Register their worksites;

Distribute and manage surveys with a commuter survey connected to all transit options;

Explore alternative TDM options to meet compliance with their dynamic TDM Calculator.

To simplify the process further, Commutifi is offering a Compliance Automation tier that will allow employers to automate submissions for a small fee. CRAQC estimates it will cost $7,200 on average for each employer just to meet all reporting requirements. With Commutifi, you can do it for as little as $250.

We see this as a great model for similar initiatives around the country, continued Schmelzer. As climate change moves further into the forefront of the national discussion, programs like Colorados ETRP are becoming more prevalent.

Commutifi has also been holding discussions with key stakeholders throughout the rule-making process to ensure the tool provides benefits to TMAs, transit agencies, cities, and the State. As such, they are providing their TDM Data Automation platform to any interested public or non-profit agency for free. With this tool, key transportation stakeholders can leverage ETRP data to improve transportation options in the region and support employers in achieving compliance.

The Denver region's businesses need new tools as they work with their employees to reduce single-occupant car trips, reduce congestion, and improve our air quality, said Michael Hughes, Executive Director of West Corridor TMA. The Commutifi ETRP platform will not only help employers comply with new state rules, but Commutifi's TDM data tools for agencies can give policymakers the data they need to create a better, more equitable and efficient transportation system in the region.

Commutifi has been working with cities and employers nationwide to improve commutes, including a multi-year project with the City of Boulder. Commutifis data platform provides employers with the ability to manage, monitor, and improve employee commute programs and city planners with an opportunity to track progress on mode shift and greenhouse gas emissions goals, said Chris Hagelin, Acting Transportation Planning Manager at the City of Boulder.

For more information on Commutifis ETRP Compliance product or to learn more about how ETRP will impact your organization, please visit etrp.co.

About Commutifi

Commutifi empowers businesses, cities, TMAs, real estate managers, and individuals to make data-driven commuting decisions that help them solve their stickiest problems. Their patented Commuter Score provides a standardized methodology to compare commutes to identify the best option for each individual according to time, cost, and carbon. Through the complex information they collect about each commuter, transportation managers can easily understand current commuting behavior, plan and model future programs, and track and measure progress. Commutifi customers include the City of Boulder, CDPHE, WeWork, and Fortune 500 Companies. To learn more, visit commutifi.com.

Commutifi was founded by Rich Schmelzer, a serial start-up founder, Techstars alum, and proud father of three based in Boulder, CO. His previous Colorado-based companies have created hundreds of jobs in Colorado, including Jibbitz (acquired by Crocs), SkyConnect, and Worldprints.
Jay M. Atkinson is CEO of AIS Network. We welcome the opportunity to help GENEDGE clients improve their overall compliance and cybersecurity posture while maintaining or growing their competitive position in this critical sector.

AIS Network, a leading IT and cybersecurity provider to the Commonwealth of Virginia and private sector businesses, has been awarded a contract with the GENEDGE Alliance to make available a full suite of cybersecurity services to more than 200 small and mid-sized manufacturers in the Virginia Defense Industrial Base.

GENEDGE is Virginias only manufacturing and economic development organization partnered with the National Institute of Standards and Technologys Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a public-private partnership that empowers small and medium-sized manufacturing, engineering and technology companies to grow and thrive through direct business and technical assistance, educational resources, industry connections and best practices. Through its affiliation with NIST and the MEP National Network of 51 national centers, GENEDGE is able to deliver to its clients access to industrywide benchmarks as well as proven, results-based solutions.

After completing an extensive and competitive bidding process, AISN is delighted to partner with GENEDGE as it achieves its mission to be the best public resource in helping Virginias small- and mid-sized manufacturing and technology companies to innovate, compete and grow, said AISN CEO Jay Atkinson.

We welcome the opportunity to help GENEDGE clients improve their overall compliance and cybersecurity posture while maintaining or growing their competitive position in this critical sector.

AISN information security experts have extensive experience providing cybersecurity assessment, implementation and remediation services designed to enhance client security and mitigate risk. The SWaM-certified provider is prepared to help GENEDGE clients as they implement cybersecurity controls in compliance with CMMS and NIST SP 800-171 cybersecurity requirements and endeavor to meet DFARS 7012 CUI regulations. For years, the company has also been delivering similar services to public entities through the CAI Virginia IT Contingent Labor Contract Statement of Work.

GENEDGE has been granted funding from the Department of Defense and the Virginia Department of Veterans Affairs to pilot Virginias Defend CUI Program, known as DEFENDCUI-VA. This program helps Virginia companies improve their cyber security for Controlled Unclassified Information. This grant pays up to 80% of costs so Virginia companies can begin their journey to enhanced cybersecurity.

About AIS Network

AIS Network is a Virginia SWaM-certified leader in cloud enablement, information security and risk management, managed services and award-winning application development with a wide footprint in the health care, government, financial and other corporate sectors. Solving complex IT challenges and managing digital risk to help clients thrive in an unpredictable world has been our core business for more than 28 years. As the trusted and reliable partner of the Commonwealth of Virginia since 2012, we drive exceptional value through our deep knowledge of state agency data protection, compliance, governance and internal auditing procedures and controls. Our unmatched customer experience is rooted in decades of expertise engaging with Forbes- and Fortune-ranked global corporations, government agencies and other large enterprise clients to deliver these solutions in addition to multi-cloud managed services for the worlds leading platforms, data visualization and analytics, high security hosting and consultative reviews. Visit http://www.aisn.net.
monday.com, a customizable work operating system (Work OS), and Atlas Authority, a full-service technology consulting firm, today announced a partnership to provide professional services to monday.com users, as well as a new app to sync data in monday.com from remote sources. DuraSync (https://atlasauthority.com/durasync/), a recent winner in the monday apps challenge, makes it possible for organizations to connect even more data sources to monday.com, without a full technology integration. Through this partnership, monday.com aims to equip companies with the resources to be more competitive and help distributed workforces achieve targeted goals.

monday.com Work OS is an open platform where anyone can create the tools they need to run every aspect of their work. By combining building blocks, like apps and integrations, teams can build or customize the solutions of their dreams.

monday.coms Work OS creates endless possibilities for organizations to break down and rebuild any work process so it fits a specific need  leading to enhanced efficiency through task automation, and more time to focus on important, creative work.

Today, remote work has become the new reality for companies everywhere. The monday.com platform effectively facilitates this transition by providing the necessary tools to collaborate, monitor output, and get a birds eye-view of projects and processes all while adapting to the unique needs of every company.

Boris Berenberg, founder at Atlas Authority, said: monday.com offers a one-of-a-kind Work OS that helps companies of all sizes, industries, and verticals power their workflow. Our partnership with monday.com allows us to expand our portfolio of technology solutions so that we can better enable teams to stay connected, collaborative, and productive. With the new DuraSync app, we hope to help monday.com users access the data they need in order to be more efficient and work smarter.

Matt Tesdell, Vice President at Tesdell Electric, an Iowa-based electrical contracting company, said: Working with Atlas Authority and monday.com has allowed us to get all of our ticketing data across divisions in one centralized place so we can better manage ticket assignment, progress, and resolution  which has led to immediate increases in customer satisfaction.

Atlas Authority brings incredible technical expertise to our partner ecosystem. Their team has solved numerous complex use cases through their deep understanding of our product and incomparable development capabilities. Were so thankful for their partnership and the value they bring to our customers, said Alexandra Detweiler, Regional Director of North America at monday.com.

About Atlas Authority

Atlas Authority is a full-service consulting firm offering best-in-class technology solutions that empower companies to improve performance, streamline workflows, and increase operational efficiency. Companies of all sizes, from start-ups to Fortune 500s, turn to Atlas Authority to design solutions tailored to meet unique business requirements and maximize the capabilities of their software. To learn more, visit http://www.atlasauthority.com.

About monday.com

The monday.com Work OS is an open platform that democratizes the power of software so organizations can easily build work management tools and software applications to fit their every need. The platform intuitively connects people to processes and systems, empowering teams to excel in every aspect of their work while creating an environment of transparency in business. monday.com has teams in Tel Aviv, New York, San Francisco, Miami, Chicago, London, Kiev, and Sydney. The platform is fully customizable to suit any business vertical and is currently used by over 127,000 customers across over 200 industries in 190 countries.
Legacy tools like VPN are sorely lacking in delivering secure and compliant access required by today's modern digital enterprises. Block Armour's solution, on the other hand, replaces four different, conventional point products - VPN, NAC, Cloud Firewall and Multi-factor Authentication

Block Armour, a Singapore and Mumbai based cybersecurity venture, today announced the launch of its Unified Secure Access solution based on Zero Trust principles. The solution enables organizations to provide secure and compliant access to enterprise-IT systems for users working within the office or remotely. Based on the philosophy of Never trust. Always verify, the integrated solution delivers secured access to on-prem and Cloud / multi-Cloud based systems.

The solution is especially crucial in the wake of the rapid adoption of cloud and remote access technologies among organizations due to the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. This has resulted in highly distributed and hybrid IT ecosystems that have been deployed without adequate vetting of their cybersecurity capabilities, leaving enterprise-IT systems even more vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Speaking about the solution, Co-founder and CEO at Block Armour, Narayan Neelakantan, observes, "Legacy tools like VPN are sorely lacking in delivering secure and compliant access required by today's modern digital enterprises. Block Armour's solution, on the other hand, replaces four different, conventional point products - VPN, NAC, Cloud Firewall and Multi-factor Authentication - and additionally delivers Zero Trust Network Access and Server Protection.

The solution provides protection against malware / ransomware spreading to the corporate network, while its device posture check ensures access only from trusted and compliant devices. It also provides a single pane of visibility for all network access and is easy to implement, requiring minimal changes to the existing IT environment.

Block Armour's Unified Secure Access solution is powered by Software Defined Perimeter (SDP) architecture and Blockchain technology and harnesses digital signatures, instead of only IP addresses, as a means to identify, authenticate and authorize all devices accessing corporate networks, applications and data. The solution simplifies the implementation of Zero Trust across the organization and empowers Cloud adoption while reducing the overall costs and complexity of providing secured access to users.

About Block Armour

Block Armour is a Singapore and Mumbai based venture focused on harnessing modern approaches and emerging technologies to counter Cybersecurity challenges in bold new ways. Its integrated solution  powered by Software Defined Perimeter (SDP) architecture and Blockchain technology  provides Zero Trust Cybersecurity for Enterprise, Cloud, and IoT. Accelerated by Airbus, Block Armour was featured among the Top 25 Cybersecurity innovations worldwide by Accenture.

For more information, please visit https://blockarmour.com
Our new partnership with Bluefin to provide their PCI-validated P2PE solution confirms our commitment to adhere to the highest security standards in the industry," said Jeffrey Sumner, Executive Vice President of System Innovators.

Bluefin, the leading provider of payment security technologies including PCI-validated Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE) solutions for healthcare, higher education, government and petroleum, has announced a new partnership with System Innovators that will provide their users integrated payment processing capabilities backed by PCI-validated P2PE.

With over 700 integrations to government host and financial systems, System Innovators  through its iNovah platform  simplifies revenue management into one central solution for payments, audits, reporting, and reconciliation, providing a convenient and positive customer experience.

Bluefin specializes in PCI-validated P2PE solutions that secure credit and debit card transactions by encrypting all data within a PCI-approved point-of-entry device, preventing clear-text cardholder data from being available in the device or the merchants system where it could be exposed to malware. Data decryption is only done offsite in a Bluefin hardware security module (HSM). Organizations can learn more about Bluefins P2PE benefits through several case studies on the Bluefin media page.

One of our top priorities has been guaranteeing the security and protection of our customers data, said Jeffrey Sumner, Executive Vice President of System Innovators. Our new partnership with Bluefin to provide their PCI-validated P2PE solution confirms our commitment to adhere to the highest security standards in the industry.

Through the partnership, System Innovators clients can get PCI-validated P2PE and integrated payment processing with EMV through Bluefins PayConex payment platform or a P2PE gateway-only solution without payment processing. PayConex is integrated directly with iNovah and will provide debit and credit card acceptance for all in-person transactions.

Government and utility companies are prime hacker targets because not only do they process an enormous amount of payment and personal data, but they are also part of U.S. critical infrastructure which has recently been targeted by ransomware attackers, said Greg Cornwell, Chief Revenue Officer, Bluefin. We applaud System Innovators for taking the initiative with PCI-validated P2PE to protect their clients payment data and their customers.

About Bluefin

Bluefin is the recognized leader in encryption and tokenization technologies for payment and data security. Our security suite includes PCI-validated point-to-point encryption (P2PE) for contactless face-to-face, call center, mobile and unattended payments, and our ShieldConex data security platform for the protection of Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Personal Health Information (PHI), and payment data entered online. The companys partner network currently includes over 200 processors, payment gateways and ISVs operating in 43 countries, which provide Bluefins P2PE solutions direct to merchants, enterprises, healthcare organizations and more. Bluefin is a Participating Organization (PO) of the PCI Security Standards Council (SSC) and is headquartered in Atlanta, with offices in Waterford, Ireland. For more information, please visit http://www.bluefin.com.

About System Innovators

System Innovators, a division of N. Harris Computer Corporation, is the leading provider of enterprise revenue management solutions for governments across North America. Over 100 cities, counties, states, and utilities trust System Innovators technology to provide a seamless customer payment experience through channels including online, kiosk, IVR, and point-of-sale. For more information, please visit https://www.systeminnovators.com/.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and developer Morris Bailey cut the ribbon at One Willoughby Square grand opening ceremony on June 15. Photo by John Reid We were pleased to celebrate this significant milestone with JEMB at a time when New York and Brooklyn are reopening in a significant way post-Covid. We expect the strong leasing activity to continue this year and the project to continue to be successful.

CanAm Enterprises (CanAm) is thrilled to announce that One Willoughby Square has officially opened. CanAm funded two separate mezzanine loans totaling $90 million to fund the development of the project. One Willoughby Square is the tallest office building in Downtown Brooklyn and the first constructed since the area was rezoned in 2004 under the Bloomberg administration. John Reid, CanAms Project Development Director, and his associates joined the ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday, June 15.

Developed by JEMB Realty and designed by the renowned architectural firm FXCollaborative, One Willoughby Square offers approximately 500,000 square feet of new Class-A office space and approximately 20,000 square feet of prime retail space in the heart of Fulton Mall, Brooklyns most popular and successful retail area. FXCollaborative is the buildings anchor tenant, occupying three floors, and is relocating 100 employees from Manhattan to One Willoughby Square this month. The building is also leased to a public elementary school, which will take up the buildings first six floors and will ultimately serve approximately 300 students.

We were pleased to celebrate this significant milestone with JEMB at a time when New York and Brooklyn are reopening in a significant way post-Covid, commented Reid. The Bailey and Jerome families (JEMB principals) are important partners for CanAm and theyve done an excellent job in developing this unique property. We expect the strong leasing activity to continue this year and the project to continue to be successful. 

CanAms loans to the project were structured in compliance with the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program as a job-creating investment. The EB-5 Program is administered by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The EB-5 Program provides qualified foreign investors with the opportunity to earn a conditional, or temporary, two-year green card in return for investing $900,000 in projects located in high unemployment areas that create at least ten permanent full-time jobs for U.S. workers. As a qualifying EB-5 project, the One Willoughby Square project received an I-526 Exemplar Petition approval from USCIS.

# # #

About CanAm Enterprises

CanAm is an integrated, multinational investment management firm that specializes in immigration-linked investment funds and private equity. With over three decades of experience, CanAms strategic approach to utilizing investor capital and managing risk has raised over $3 billion in private placement funds. Headquartered in New York City with offices in China, Vietnam, India, and Singapore, CanAm is proud to serve a domestic and international community of investors.


Carrie has a proven track record of success on both the legal and underwriting side of our industry and will bring a wealth of experience in handling complex title matters.

World Wide Land Transfer (WWLT), a leading title and settlement services agency, is pleased to announce that Carrie L. Mann, Esq. has joined the company as Commercial Underwriting Counsel.

Ms. Mann received her undergraduate degree in Political Science cum laude from Allegheny College and her J.D. cum laude from Syracuse University College of Law. Ms. Mann began her law career as a clerk for the Honorable Robert J. Shenkin, Chester County Court of Common Pleas and was an associate for a firm in Paoli, PA, where she handled real estate litigation, including clearing and defending title matters. Prior to joining World Wide Land Transfer, Ms. Mann worked for a major national title insurance underwriter serving as Claims Counsel and then as Pennsylvania and Delaware Underwriting Counsel. Ms. Mann is an active member of the Pennsylvania Land Title Association serving as the Chair of the Title Issues & Records Committee and as a member of the Legislative & Judicial Committee. She is also the 2020 recipient of the Associations Albert E. Pentecost Award which is given annually to an individual who has made the greatest contribution to the Association.

"Carrie has a proven track record of success on both the legal and underwriting side of our industry and will bring a wealth of experience in handling complex title matters. Adding a talent like Carrie to our Commercial group helps elevate WWLT's in-house counsel support and will allow us to continue in our upward growth in the sector," World Wide Land Transfer CEO Marc Shaw said. "We are thrilled to have her leadership and knowledge on our team."

World Wide Land Transfer is a leading tech-enabled, full-service, independent title and settlement services agency providing comprehensive title insurance services for all forms of real estate transactions ranging from a home purchase or refinance to the most complex commercial transaction. World Wide Land Transfer now covers most states throughout the nation with offices in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Florida.
Zydis is an ideal dose form for the delivery of drugs, as it offers an easy and convenient route of administration for patients that can also assist in the rapid onset of effects.

Catalent, the leading global provider of advanced delivery technologies, development, and manufacturing solutions for drugs, biologics, cell and gene therapies, and consumer health products, today announced that it has signed a development agreement with JOS Pharmaceuticals, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on anesthesiology. Under the agreement, Catalent will undertake a feasibility study for the potential development of a licensed cannabidiol (CBD) product for use as an anesthetic premedication using Catalents proprietary Zydis orally disintegrating tablet (ODT) technology.

Zydis technology creates a freeze-dried tablet that disperses almost instantly in the mouth without water, and is recognized as one of the worlds best-performing ODTs. In the feasibility study, scientists at Catalents facility in Swindon, U.K., will focus on establishing proof of concept and prototype development of a Zydis formulation of a highly purified, naturally derived CBD. JOS Pharmaceuticals extracts CBD from certified hemp and is developing its sed8 prescription CBD wafer for awake sedation anesthesia administered for cataract surgery, as well as anxiolysis during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedures.

Our clinical trial product is specifically designed to provide rapid and reliable relaxation for the patient, while still allowing for awake cooperation during the procedure. It would be paradigm changing to replace the DEA controlled drugs used currently as premedication with a safe and effective botanical, said Stephen D. Ochs, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of JOS Pharmaceuticals.

Zydis is an ideal dose form for the delivery of drugs, as it offers an easy and convenient route of administration for patients that can also assist in the rapid onset of effects, said Jonathan Arnold, President of Oral and Specialty Delivery at Catalent. CBD derived from hemp is a rapidly evolving market, and our team in Swindon is looking forward to applying its experience and expertise in product development to this licensed program.

Catalents 250,000-square foot site in Swindon, U.K. houses the companys Zydis development and manufacturing operation, which produces more than one billion ODTs annually.

For more information about JOS Pharmaceuticals, visit http://www.jospharmaceuticals.com.

About Catalent

Catalent is the leading global provider of advanced delivery technologies, development, and manufacturing solutions for drugs, biologics, cell and gene therapies, and consumer health products. With over 85 years serving the industry, Catalent has proven expertise in bringing more customer products to market faster, enhancing product performance and ensuring reliable global clinical and commercial product supply. Catalent employs over 15,000 people, including approximately 2,400 scientists and technicians, at more than 45 facilities, and in fiscal year 2020 generated over $3 billion in annual revenue. Catalent is headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey. For more information, visit http://www.catalent.com

More products. Better treatments. Reliably supplied.
Christmas Decor, the Texas-based holiday decorating franchise, is celebrating 25 years of lighting up homes and hearts during the holiday season.

Founded in 1986 by Blake Smith as an off-season supplement to his landscaping business, Christmas Decor has become the leading holiday decorating brand in the U.S. and Canada, bringing holiday cheer to more than 300 communities across North America.

Now, as the holiday lighting brand reaches its quarter century milestone, the company is seeing unprecedented growth.

Our average sales are climbing, our reach is climbing, the market is getting bigger and we're still bringing on new franchisees, said Brandon Stephens, president of Christmas Decor.

In the 18 years he's been at Christmas Decor, Stephens said hes never seen the kind of phenomenal growth the company experienced in 2020.

Our numbers were up 20% year over year, he said. Thats a big number that speaks to unprecedented demand. We took a huge step forward last year, and were expecting that momentum to continue.

Along with new homeowner customers, 2020 brought new commercial customers to Christmas Decor. There was a huge increase in municipalities ordering holiday installations, Stephens said. Communities recognized people were bored, so they made investments in their local quality of life with drive-through lighted parks and festive downtown displays. And this year again, early interest has been very strong.

For landscapers and other outdoor business owners, Christmas Decor provides an opportunity to offset fixed overhead costs, generate new income streams and maintain key employees year round.

With a customer retention rate of 80%, Christmas Decor also brings its franchisees affluent repeat business from homeowners and commercial contacts who value the brands renowned white glove service and customized designs.

Our professional installers approach each project as a unique creation, Stephens said. Were here for our clients who dont want any hassle, and we want their homes and businesses to look cheery and professional. In a world where you can get on YouTube and figure out everything, we're still attracting homeowners and companies who want to use our service."

With the ability to diversify revenue through complimentary sister brand Nite Time Decor, the worlds leading provider of low-voltage landscape lighting products, Christmas Decor is a year-round revenue generator for its franchise partners. Franchisees who offer Nite Time Decors services even see a 25-30% increase to their seasonal sales.

For a brand whose name is synonymous with spreading joy during the giving season, thats something to be proud of. Our quality continues to wow customers, Stephens added. We've had our biggest growth year ever last year, which is fairly remarkable. After 25 years of success, were still proving were the leaders in holiday lighting.

About Christmas Decor

Founded in 1986 by Blake Smith, Christmas Decor has become the leading holiday decorating brand in the U.S. and Canada. Originally created as an off-season supplement to the landscaping business, the Texas-based franchise now brings holiday cheer to over 300 communities across North America, ultimately creating jobs for 3,000-plus seasonal workers that might otherwise be unemployed. Backed by a strong business model and double-digit revenue increase year-over-year for the last 11 years, Christmas Decor is looking to grow in markets across the U.S. and Canada. For more information on Christmas Decor, please visit https://www.christmasdecor.net/franchise/.

*For more details about potential franchise earnings, please see the full 2021 Franchise Disclosure Document
Smart Campus, School, & City solutions offered in Clovity's IoT-as-a-Service model! "We believe in this strategy and model because it allows for our IoT platform, CSensorNet, to be deployed and start working immediately upon deployment."

Clovity understands the complexity of bringing an entire ecosystem together to launch and manage an end-to-end IoT solution. As an IoT-as-a-Service provider, Clovity provides all hardware, software, cloud, network connectivity, and installation for any of our Smart City, School, or Campus solutions. Furthermore, with all implementations we include a support model that ensures timely upgrades and maintenance for the entire solution as well as 24x7 tech support.

With the extensive grants that are being rolled out on the federal level to both cities as well as schools or universities this year, it has become an optimal time to move towards deploying these solutions. These grants coupled with the ability to pay per month is opening up a plethora of opportunities to increase the equity, safety, health, and accessibility students deserve. Furthermore, the smarter we make our schools and campuses, the more resilient our society will be to disruptions similar to what we faced in 2020. Plus, adding school building automation solutions will create a seamless experience for our administrators and teachers enabling them to focus on the most important aspects of education. Clovity will continue to leverage its partnerships with major players like Lenovo and Qualcomm to further enhance and fund opportunities in this area.

We believe in this strategy and model because it allows for our IoT platform, CSensorNet, to be deployed and start working immediately upon deployment. The depth and breadth of our partnerships, our pre-integration to major OEMs for cameras and IoT enabled devices, as well as our partnership with an array of Cloud and Network providers, translates to a quicker, more robust deployment day 1 and lower bundled cost overall, explains Chief Strategy Officer Chris Medina.

For Facility or City Managers and Planners, this means fully developed business cases that can be deployed immediately, with no upfront costs, and for a single monthly price per device. For Schools, Universities, and Cities in general, the barrier to afford expansive IoT capabilities have been removed with our solution offering. Clovity, through its innovative service, creates a monthly fee plan that kicks off IoT projects quickly and enables these entities to budget more easily for the long term, while not requiring a heavy upfront investment.

We support several key use cases out-of-the-box for Smart buildings, Schools and Universities which include but are not limited to:



Smart student tracking

Student wayfinding

Emergency or Alert notifications

Facility Climate management & heat map of occupancy tracking

Facial recognition & touchless access to environments

Automated AI-Powered Thermal Screening

Asset tracking of fixed & mobile assets

Fleet management including School Bus monitoring, routing & drop off

Distant learning & remote work capabilities

Gunshot detection & first responder integration

Facilities access and controls for authorized occupancy

Smart spaces with connected conference rooms & occupancy tracking

Smart lighting & motion detection for adaptive lighting

Clean Air monitoring inside & outside of a facility for personalized safe breathing notification & activity monitoring.

Automated attendance tracking

Touchless lunch transactions & food monitoring

Our solutions orchestrate network connectivity and edge processing technologies that include Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G, 4G, LTE and small cells to bring efficiency, privacy, safety and innovation to a quickly evolving digital environment. By addressing the challenges of deployment, maintenance and multiple contracts and agreements for infrastructure, hardware warranties and data plans, Clovity has created solutions that are sustainable and that minimize the total cost of ownership, greatly enhancing the possibilities for the future.

Check out our dedicated site on Smart Campus solutions!

About Clovity

Clovity is an IoT software provider and IoT product company based in Silicon Valley. Our proprietary IoT Hub called CSensorNet connects companies to their assets and the world of things around them. We have engineered our solution to provide edge computing, artificial intelligence, cloud agnostic and network, coupled with powerful data analytics and data visualization. Our deployments provide IoT capabilities in days, not months, Clovity simplifies the deployment, management & operations of IoT solutions.

We operate in several engagement models, most importantly in our unique IoT-as-a-Service perspective. By providing all hardware, software, and professional support all for a single monthly price. Our service includes data analytics, 24x7 tech support, hardware replenishment or replacement, on-line customer portal and a team of engineers to ensure the solutions are future proof.

We were named 2018 and 2019 Top Growth IoT Provider in the US by CIO Review magazine as well as 2020 IoT Breakthrough Award for Emerging Company of the Year for the Enterprise Market and again in 2021 as "Global IoT Innovation Vendor of the Year". Clovity's platform and global partnerships enable millions of interactions with thousands of connected devices daily, while serving up massive amounts of actionable data in milliseconds for numerous types of vertical use cases.

Clovity is a fully staffed software and services organization, with operations in major US cities and abroad in New Delhi India where our Deliver Center is located. We are an approved Government Services Provider (System for Award Management), and are a Diversified & Inclusive Certified Minority Owned Business.

Follow us at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/clovity/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClovityInc